WEBVTT
00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:11.679
What's going on, guys?
00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:13.439
Back at it again.
00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:16.719
Gonna start you off with a little fun fact.
00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:23.679
The Book of Esther in the Old Testament is the only book in the Bible where God is not explicitly mentioned.
00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:36.159
Despite this, it remains a significant and captivating narrative that tells the story of how Queen Esther, with help of her cousin Mordecai, saved the Jewish people from destruction during the Persian Empire.
00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:42.560
Okay, I did not know until recently that that is a thing.
00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:48.719
Like, don't get me wrong, like I have read the story of Esther, I have known the story of Esther my whole entire life.
00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:57.119
But until I read the whole book for myself all the way through, I still did not even realize it until someone told me.
00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:01.200
And like I mean, how much sense that God's not mentioned in it?
00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:09.040
And it's not one of those things to where, like, some people are saying, like, well, what's the you know, biblical importance of the story or anything like that?
00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:13.359
And I'm like, okay, understand what I was saying there.
00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:25.840
I did not even realize that God was not mentioned like by name, because the whole story you can feel God's presence in what's going on.
00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:29.840
I mean, you have just go read the book of Esther and we can talk about it.
00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:31.519
Maybe we can do a Bible study about it.
00:01:31.599 --> 00:02:05.599
I don't know, maybe we'll do like a whole episode on the story of Esther because it's one of those things to where it's like, no, he may not have been mentioned directly, as in, you know, like where oftentimes in the Old Testament or you know, wherever you're like it has like a narrative from God, like a dialogue with God and whoever that doesn't happen in this book, but you feel God's presence carrying Esther, carrying Mordecai through the entire story, and but it's funny, like I just did not realize that until I had read that a while back.
00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:10.080
Yeah, did you know that before you fun fact it up?
00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.520
No, yeah, we're getting there.
00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:20.960
So if you are new to anything with me and Andy here, um, we're the first few episodes.
00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:31.680
I know we're gonna sound like a broken record on some things, but we're trying to acclimate all of our new listeners and also getting our old listeners used to this new side of us.
00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:40.319
So we used to be true crime podcasters, God called us out of that, and now we are starting a new platform, and it is a Christian platform.
00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:42.319
So a little bit of background.
00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:52.719
I did not go over this much in the introduction that we dropped, but I'm just gonna explain a few things and kind of get you up to date on why Andy just giggled at that.
00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:58.000
So I am a preacher's daughter, I am the oldest of three.
00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:01.199
I have been in church my entire life.
00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:07.599
Dad started preaching, he started preaching when I was really little, but we started the church when I was seven.
00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:13.280
I'm old enough to I remember other churches, but my brother and sister, they were born in the church.
00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:18.159
Like the church, my sister was born the year we started the church.
00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:20.400
So I think it's actually a year older than her.
00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:22.080
So that is all they have known.
00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:24.080
That is all I have ever known.
00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:36.400
But I want to make sure I say that because just because I grew up as a PK, that does not mean that everything was just easy, smooth sailing for me, understanding-wise.
00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:41.840
There are a lot of things that I struggled with, and we'll talk about that in some other episodes down the line.
00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:52.400
But I did grow up with that easy go and Sunday school basic knowledge of things because I was just taught that growing up.
00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:57.919
Like I knew who I knew who Jonah in the well and Noah in the Ark was.
00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:06.960
Now, Andy on the other hand, do you want to tell your side so they can kind of that you didn't talk a whole lot in the first episode, so I want them to kind of get to know who you are.
00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:08.159
Well, I did not.
00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:13.199
I mean, I remember a little, like once or twice, or it may have been more than that.
00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:15.360
I don't have very good memory.
00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:19.040
Um, when I was younger, we went a little.
00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:20.959
I can't remember how much.
00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:30.240
But then when I was like sixteen, I went to one and it wa it wasn't for You were s you were a sixteen-year-old boy, you're going to church for the girls.
00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:30.800
Yeah.
00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:31.680
Youth group.
00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:38.560
No, never really was into church that much other than just going and playing games or whatever.
00:04:39.040 --> 00:04:48.639
And then Andy and I have known each other our entire lives, but we started dating when we were 17, and Andy's son was 11 months old.
00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:51.519
We'll get into that more later.
00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:57.120
Andy was a teen parent, and it's fine, it all worked out.
00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:06.560
But he, you know, me and him got together, and I'm actually gonna talk a little bit more about this part of our relationship later on in the episode because it ties in.
00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:14.079
But we when he decided we decided that things were getting more serious, and we were talking about getting engaged and stuff.
00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:20.319
I remember he asked my dad for my hand in marriage because you know, it's the south, we still do that around here.
00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:31.519
Well, Andy he asked my dad, and dad gave him a few stipulations of like, hey, you know, yes, that's fine, but I need to see you do A, B, C, and D.
00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:40.399
One of those things was he was like, Look, man, you need to be in church, like because Andy was not in church at that time, so that's all of a sudden when Andy's popped up in church.
00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:48.000
Um, but he mentioned something one time, and he was calling it Jonah in the Ark and Noah in the well.
00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:50.720
So, I mean, please do not feel bad.
00:05:50.800 --> 00:06:05.839
Like, if this is your first time really diving into the Word of God, and this is like you're at a very basic level, Sunday school level knowledge of what's going on, do not feel like you are alone in this because my man over here, you know, he he's working on some things.
00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:10.319
He's you know, I figure I don't think I know very much until I'm arguing with somebody.
00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:16.240
And then all of a sudden you realize you know more than you've what is it, you've absorbed more around us than you realize.
00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:20.639
That is actually gonna be coming into play in an episode or in this episode too.
00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:22.319
So I'm very proud of you for saying that.
00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:24.160
Look at you picking up on things.
00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:32.160
But I just wanted to make sure that everybody understood where we were coming from because it has a lot to do with the episode that we're about to get into.
00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:40.879
It's a great way to start out this show because this is technically episode one, and I just want you to understand where we're at with this.
00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:44.160
So are you oh, we are not ready.
00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:47.360
I do have a few little shout-outs that I need to give.
00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:48.399
Look at me.
00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:57.759
Alright, so I have uh we have a brand new Patreon member, and it is one of our close friends from church, actually.
00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:01.199
It's Crystal, so she is a part of our Patreon now.
00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:02.240
Thank you so much.
00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:13.759
She um I actually saw her at church this morning, and we were both coming out of the bathroom at the same time, and she was like, I just wanted to say I love your podcast and I really enjoy it and all this stuff, and I'm like, look at this.
00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:15.519
You're making my heart so happy.
00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:18.079
Who knew that somebody can make me this happy in a church bathroom?
00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:18.879
Thank you.
00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:28.560
But a few other shout-outs is we have Misty, Amy, Robin, Shelby, and Katie.
00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:38.160
So all of these women have actually purchased a Bible from us this last week or a hand-painted Bible, and it just you guys have no idea.
00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:50.959
If you are a Patreon member, if you have purchased a hand-painted Bible from me, all of that money, all of the money that I get from all of the things, monetizing everything that we monetize, it goes back into the show.
00:07:51.040 --> 00:08:02.959
And it now that we are doing this in a more Christian-based way, it's actually going back into a ministry that we are a part of, and it's just helping us kind of do everything that we need to do.
00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:10.720
And I just appreciate every bit of what you guys have done for us and all of the things, and I actually want to give an even bigger shout out here to Amy.
00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:14.800
She is a moderator of ours and has been with us for quite a while.
00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:23.120
I think we picked her up somewhere around Lake Lanier when we were doing the other show, and she's been with us ever since, so almost two full years now, I think.
00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:32.080
And she is just one of those type of people who she will just make your heart swell, and she's the sweetest person ever.
00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:42.240
She found a whole bunch of bumblebee themed stuff, and she sends me a text and said, Hey, Amazon's coming by your place tomorrow, and I get this package that says Bridget Baker Queen Bee.
00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:45.919
And it was just the sweetest thing, and she sent me all kinds of Bumblebee stuff.
00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:52.639
So thank you, Amy, for being just such an amazing friend, an amazing moderator, and a huge part of what we do.
00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:54.879
But step it up, Trisha.
00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:56.080
Why okay?
00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:59.679
If you're new here, one of our other moderators, her name is Trisha.
00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:03.440
Andy and Trisha have a brother-sister love-hate relationship.
00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:05.919
You're gonna hear about that, I'm sure.
00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:06.799
Yes.
00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:10.639
Um, real quick, two other announcements before we get into this.
00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:18.000
One, if you are a part of our Patreon, we did pick a book of the month for March, and it is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.
00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:19.600
Okay, listen to me.
00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:23.759
I like I said, guys, I'm a preacher's kid, okay?
00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:31.679
I've seen all the cheesy shows, I've seen all the cheesy stuff when it comes to stuff like uh Christian books, Christian movies, Christian songs.
00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:33.279
I get it, okay?
00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:41.600
And I am trying so hard to make this a new place for Christians because I hate crazy, crazy.
00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:44.240
I hate cheesy Christian things, okay?
00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:46.879
I've watched all of the touched by an angels, okay?
00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:47.600
I get it.
00:09:47.919 --> 00:09:50.320
This book, I avoided sure.
00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:58.320
After pausing and further discussing with what he thought he was talking about, I can it he is not talking about the same show.
00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:11.600
No, touched by an angel is the one where like something's going on and like some bad thing is happening, and then towards the end of the show the angel starts glowing, and they're like, God has sent me here to do this, that, whatever.
00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:14.639
And it it don't get me wrong, it's a great show.
00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:25.440
It is, it's just a very cheesy show, and I'm on a mission to make all Christian things not cheesy because I think that that's why a lot of people like stray away from it or they feel weird about it.
00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:26.799
So I'm on a mission here.
00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:36.399
But I had every time I would ask for a book recommendation, I had like 37 people recommending me Redeeming Love, and I avoided it like the plague.
00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:44.240
I was like, no, dude, I don't want to read a Christian book other than the Bible, obviously, but I don't want to read like a non-fiction Christian book.
00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:48.080
Non-fiction, I mean fiction book, because they're just all so cheesy.
00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:48.720
Aye.
00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:50.240
When who said that?
00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:51.840
The middle one.
00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:56.960
He's like reading, and he'll go, he'll read something.
00:10:57.120 --> 00:10:59.200
Oh, that's obviously fiction right there.
00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:00.080
That's fiction.
00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:02.240
A dog can't go up on a roller coaster.
00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:03.679
Look how big those dogs are on that.
00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:04.799
That is straight fixed.
00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:06.320
He's learning how to read.
00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:09.039
He's doing a fantastic job too, by the way.
00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:12.720
But this book is so good.
00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:14.000
It is so good.
00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:19.919
There is a movie that came out, I want to say 2022, 2023, 2022.
00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:21.759
Um, oh last year.
00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:23.039
And it's just it's such a good book.
00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:26.320
So if you're the one you woke me up in the middle of the night because you were crying?
00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:27.840
They didn't need to know that.
00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:28.720
They did.
00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:30.960
No, listen, and let me explain this to you, okay?
00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:35.440
It has been a hot minute since something got me.
00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:40.159
As hard as Redeeming Love got me, okay?
00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:45.679
I was not expecting it to hit me in the soul the way that it hit me.
00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:50.159
And let me tell you, I was crying so hard.
00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:56.559
I was like moving while I was crying, and I woke Andy up.
00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:57.759
And I said, What are you doing?
00:11:57.919 --> 00:11:58.399
Nothing.
00:11:58.879 --> 00:11:59.840
You mean nothing?
00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:01.679
Can I just have a hug?
00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:04.320
It's such a good book.
00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:09.279
So if you want to be part of our Patreon and our book club, definitely hop on over.
00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:11.919
The links are always gonna be in the show notes.
00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:13.039
Last thing.
00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:18.320
If you are a part of our$15 tier on Patreon, it is called the Sweet Faith tier.
00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:26.879
You are getting, we used to call them bookie bundles, and if you know, you know, but we are trying to figure out what the new name for this is.
00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:31.200
But we send out like these quarterly swag boxes, if you will.
00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:32.879
Call them bumble butt boxes.
00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:34.320
Bumble butt boxes?
00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:34.960
Yes.
00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:37.200
Oh goodness, we're gonna have to figure out something.
00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:39.039
But so that's that's what I'm asking though.
00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:42.320
Like if you have a better name for these things, please let us know.
00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:48.559
But that they will be coming out or going out soon because I think I get everything in this week that I was looking for.
00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:56.879
There's a few other little things I want to stick in there, so it may be another week or so, but it should be going out within the next two weeks, and I'm super excited.
00:12:57.200 --> 00:13:01.440
But are you ready to dive into what we have to talk about today?
00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:02.080
See.
00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:07.759
Alright, guys, I want to take you back to the moment when you first got saved.
00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:12.240
And I want you to remember what you felt like for those first few days.
00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:17.840
Do you remember what it felt like after those that first couple of days after you got saved?
00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:19.120
What were you doing?
00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:23.679
Like, own it, boy, like reading and all that jazz.
00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:27.039
Praying and reading and rebuking and all of it.
00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:36.720
Yeah, you're you know how much times I was like gonna r sm smoke some demons out of people by the forehead, and somebody snore the wrong way.
00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:37.840
No, no, no.
00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:49.440
Let me tell you, I the other day, I was I was I don't even know what kind of day I was having, but I was like rebuking in the name of Jesus everything, okay?
00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:55.440
And I remember about halfway through the day, I stopped and I was like, God, am I am I getting on your nerves?
00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:56.240
Am I rebuking?
00:13:56.320 --> 00:14:05.120
And I looked at I like thought for a second and I was like, wait, did I literally just stop and ask God, does he want me to tell the demons that are trying to attack people to stop?
00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:10.799
And listen, if you're new to this and I just sound like a crazy person, we're gonna do a spiritual warfare episode, I promise.
00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:12.000
Just bear with me on this part.
00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:15.120
And I know I just said I want y'all to look at Christianity a different way.
00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:18.240
That was probably a little much to dive into at first, but hey, we're here.
00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:19.600
But that's what I'm getting at.
00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:28.159
Like when you are a brand new baby Christian, okay, like you are just in this, you are sharp as a tack, okay?
00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:31.440
That we're just we're doing all the things.
00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:39.600
It's literally like you are you're just as sharp as you can possibly be, and you'll see why I'm saying that in a second.
00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:43.759
It's like we're sharing the prayer post on Facebook, okay?
00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:50.480
Like we may even throw out an extra prayer request at Wednesday night service, Sunday morning service, whatever that may be.
00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:56.320
We may even hang out a little longer at church and talk to people.
00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:59.519
No, not you, even when I was fresh out the boat.
00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:01.600
Okay, no, no, sir.
00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:28.799
No, okay, but here's the thing sometimes we get a little dull after a while, and you know, things are easing down, and maybe it's just not as exciting as you think it used to be, or maybe the sermon you feel like it's starting to get a little boring, or it's a little harder to get up on Sunday mornings, and the song just isn't hitting like it would hit when you first got saved.
00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:32.320
The word isn't jumping off the pages like it used to.
00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:35.519
Maybe you've stopped reading your Bible every day.
00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:42.399
Maybe you've you know you you'll carry your Bible around the house, like from room to room, maybe with in your car.
00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:45.679
But do you ever actually sit down and open the Bible?
00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:47.200
Let me tell you something.
00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:50.159
I have done that with my Kindle for two months.
00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:50.720
Okay.
00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:55.120
I have full intentions of sitting down and reading my Kindle every day.
00:15:55.200 --> 00:16:02.799
I have carried it in the parent pickup line to the doctor's office, in the car, from room to room, car to house.
00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:08.080
I still I have read two books because I have just been so busy and I'll keep going.
00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:10.720
But some I've done that with my Bible before too.
00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:16.399
Maybe you know, you've even eased back into listening to certain music you shouldn't be listening to it.
00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:28.799
And all of this time that you're doing this, like you feel yourself doing it, like you feel that you're not as sharp as you used to be with God, that you aren't as on fire as you used to be for God.
00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:34.480
So the question today is how do you get back to that point?
00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:39.120
How do you get back to being as sharp as you need to be?
00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:44.080
And King Solomon in Proverbs tells us exactly how to do that.
00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:50.559
So Proverbs 27, 17 says, iron sharpeth sharpeneth iron.
00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:54.480
So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
00:16:54.799 --> 00:17:04.000
Listen, I had a whole other episode planned, and then I was like, something just ain't something's not working.
00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:16.720
If this the gears aren't turning the way that they need to be turning, and then my sister, she's gonna come up quite a lot um in a few episodes, and you'll understand why at the end of this episode.
00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:35.440
But she I'd heard her praying two or three times lately, and she had said a little phrase, and she had said, iron sharpens iron, and it's stuff that I have heard, but I was like, you know, as I'm sitting here praying and I'm getting ready with this other episode, I'm like, okay, well, why does that phrase keep coming back to me?
00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:36.960
Like, what does that mean?
00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:39.519
What does iron sharpeneth iron mean?
00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:44.160
And then you go on and it says, so that a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:46.319
But what does that mean, right?
00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:53.440
So God is telling us through Solomon that you need these friendships to sharpen you.
00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:58.960
You need mentors or people who are gonna guide you in Christ.
00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:02.960
And for me, that is my dad and my sister.
00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:12.000
Now, my dad, he is I kind of use him as like a like a Google, if you will, like a biblical Google.
00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:15.920
Like if I have a question that can be easily answered, I will Google it.
00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:26.400
But 90% of the time, if I have a Bible question, I send it to my dad because he can explain it to me in a way that I can understand and I trust his sources, you know what I mean?
00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:30.559
Like, I I don't think that his vision is warped on what he's telling me.
00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:34.400
But my sister, this is who we're gonna be talking about for a minute here.
00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:46.720
My sister is who I really look to as a mentor, and that is a very humbling experience to look at your baby sister for something like that.
00:18:46.960 --> 00:19:02.400
But I've you know, I in my testimony that's on our YouTube and other times I have explained that we both grew up in church, yes, but my sister really is the one who out of all three of us, the siblings, started this.
00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:06.799
You know, she really dove into the word, and then I did, and then our brother did.
00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:09.920
But she is someone who keeps me sharp.
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:19.759
She's someone who tests me and she tests my surroundings, and she has taught me without even realizing it, she has trained me to do the same thing.
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:31.440
Things that I maybe had gotten dull on, or maybe you know, relaxed with that I didn't realize that I really maybe needed to pay a little bit more attention to or I needed to be more careful with.
00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:35.839
My sister would come in and she would like immediately look at me and be like, hey, hey, hey, buddy.
00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:37.200
Um, we might move on.
00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:39.759
I'm gonna double check that one just real quick.
00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:49.519
And at first I was so irritated with her about this because I never in a million years felt like my sister was coming in thinking she was better than me.
00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:52.079
And that is where other people that issue comes in.
00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:57.440
I knew that wasn't what Cassie was doing, but with Cassie, I was just like, stop being so dramatic.
00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:00.559
Like it, I what you're talking about is fine.
00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:13.119
But then the more that I dove into the word and the more that I was trying to understand everything, I realized unfortunately, Cassie was she was kind of making sense on that.
00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:15.440
Like, I will give you a perfect example.
00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:24.720
So, a while back, back at the beginning of the year, I had called my sister one morning after dropping off the kids at school, and I was boo-hooing.
00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:37.519
Like I could not stop crying, and I could have absolutely called Andy, I could have absolutely called my daddy, both of them are m like my people in my life, especially Andy.
00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:45.359
But the thing is, is like I knew what Andy would tell me, and I knew what my dad would tell me, and yes, they could have made me feel better.
00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:46.799
A more sensible thing.
00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:53.599
No, I knew that they would explain, like I knew Andy was gonna tell me, not in a mean way, I don't mean this bad.
00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:56.480
I knew Andy was gonna tell me what I needed, like what I wanted to hear.
00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:00.720
He was gonna make me feel better, he was going to, you know, he would talk me through it.
00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:05.119
He's very well versed on how to make Bridget feel better after all these years.
00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:06.400
And my dad is too.
00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:13.200
Like, my dad, you know, he knows exactly what to say and how to calm me down if I'm having a moment, whatever, but that's not what I needed.
00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:21.920
I needed my sister to make it make sense in my head, and I also knew that at the time I was like, This has to be hormones, like something is just off.
00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:23.200
I feel weird.
00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:25.359
And I could not call my dad.
00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:30.079
Like, Andy won't tell me that, but but my dad would be like, How you feeling?
00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:31.920
Like, are you are your hormones messed up?
00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:35.519
I'm like, Don't talk to me about my hormones, you don't know about my hormones.
00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:45.920
So I called my sister because I could take it from her, but she did something that it meant so much to me, and I knew immediately that this is why I called her.
00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:59.680
And the thing is, is like I I'm like crying to her, I'm squalling, and I was worried sick about my babies over something, and I just kept saying, like, I don't know if this is my anxiety or if this is God telling.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:02.240
Me that I need to listen to him.
00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:04.880
Like, I can't make sense of what's going on.
00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:08.720
Like in my head, I was thinking, okay, I am worried sick about this.
00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:10.000
Oh, it's just the devil.
00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:10.960
I'm gonna ignore it.
00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:15.920
But what if no, this is God telling me to listen to him and I'm not listening to him, and then something bad happens.
00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:17.920
And Cassie shut it down immediately.
00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:20.480
And she hit me with something that I still keep.
00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:26.240
She hit me with 2 Timothy verse 1, or sorry, 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 7.
00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:31.200
I'm gonna try to say this verse without singing this verse because it's also a song.
00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:38.079
But chapter 1 verse 7 says, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.
00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:42.799
And she was like, Bridget, that that's not God that's giving you that feeling.
00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:45.359
That God's not gonna give you fear.
00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:47.920
He's not gonna give you something to be scared.
00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:51.359
You're squalling because you were scared, and that's not from God.
00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:52.480
That's a spirit of fear.
00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:53.839
He wouldn't give you that.
00:22:54.079 --> 00:23:06.640
And she's like, you know, you're five seconds away from a panic attack because the enemy has filled you with so much fear, with so much panic, so much anxiety, like you are actually like not functioning right now.
00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:08.720
And she was like, Look, I want you to be serious.
00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:10.880
Like she's like, rebuke it in the name of Jesus.
00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:18.079
And she's like, I know it sounds weird, and let me tell you, when you first start doing that, and I feel like the word rebuke gets such a bad rep.
00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:19.759
Let me explain it in a different way.
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:32.079
When you realize the authority that you have in the name of Jesus Christ to be able to pray and tell something, it's not welcome here, it's not gonna hurt you, it's not gonna hurt your family, it's not, it has no power here.
00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:41.119
When you realize the authority that you have that's given to you by God, you can do so much.
00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:44.319
And she was like, you know, rebuke it right now.
00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:51.519
Tell him he has no power over you, he has no power over your children, and that they are covered by a hedge of protection by God.
00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:56.000
And immediately I felt better, and I knew that that's why I had called my sister.
00:23:56.160 --> 00:24:04.960
I mean, I know that Andy would have prayed with me, I know that my dad would have prayed with me, but it was something that I needed from her, and it was the way that she explained it to me.
00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:08.880
She said, You don't need to be afraid, here's Bible for that.
00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:11.839
You don't need to be worried, here's Bible for that.
00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:15.839
Rebuke it and tell it to go away, here's Bible for that.
00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:20.079
And what she was doing in that is sharpening me.
00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:35.039
She was in that moment, you know, it says iron sharpens iron, a man sharpens the countenance of a friend, like she was sharpening me and teaching me how to fix this next time or how to do this in the future.
00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:49.039
And from then on out, I have been able to do that and realize, like, hey, let's just, you know, sometimes it's just a reminder, like, you know, you're scared, but remember, like, God did not give you that spirit of fear.
00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:56.160
And I know that you know, sometimes that's easier said than done, but you really have to kind of hold on to that and use that.
00:24:56.240 --> 00:25:15.119
And it's not only that, like, I want everybody who is a Christian, everybody needs some kind of mentor, whether that be the person who led you to Christ, whether it be your preacher, whether it be your husband, your wife, your sister, your dad, whatever.
00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:17.599
Everybody needs that mentorship.
00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:23.279
You have to surround yourself with people who are of like mind, and that is so important.
00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:36.160
And honestly, that really kind of leads me into what I wanted this episode to be about in the first place, which was unequally yoked relationships, and then I just kept hearing God saying, no, no, no, iron sharpens iron, iron sharpens iron.
00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:53.279
And we're gonna talk a little bit about that, but I want to explain to you the difference between a friendship that you have between two people who are gonna sharpen each other versus a friendship of an unequally yoked relationship.
00:25:53.599 --> 00:26:01.519
So do you know what it means to have like be to be yoked together, basically?
00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:04.079
I do not.
00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:09.200
Okay, so a yoke is like we're gonna talk literal for a second, okay?
00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:18.559
A yoke is a wooden beam that connects two animals, like two ox, or is it oxen if you're talking about two, and then an ox is a singular one?
00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:19.279
Not sure.
00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:20.240
Oxen though.
00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:21.759
See, I wouldn't have took it that way.
00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:23.759
That'd have been like an egg yoke.
00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:25.039
No.
00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:26.480
No.
00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:30.400
So it's like two animals that are isn't that yoke?
00:26:30.720 --> 00:26:32.640
L Y Y O L K.
00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:35.039
That's not how I say it right now.
00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:35.920
Oh, hickey.
00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:37.359
No, it's a yoke.
00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:46.400
But it's two animals that are yoked together, and it's a wooden beam that kind of ties them together, and it's so the animals can share the workload.
00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:54.480
They may be hooked up to a car or a plow or something like that, and they kind of pull it together and they share this workload.
00:26:54.720 --> 00:27:03.599
But if the animals were uneven, say like one ox isn't hooked up properly and it gets off balance, there's a few things that can happen.
00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:18.720
Either there's one ox that's pulling the whole load by itself and also the dead weight of the other animal, or it kind of gets stuck in a rut and they end up going in circles, or it causes both of the animals to stop completely.
00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:38.400
And in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 4 or verse 14, Paul is writing a letter to the Corinthians, and he says, Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion hath light with darkness?
00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:51.920
So Paul is using this letter to tell the Corinthians, like, hey, if you yoke yourself together with an unbeliever, if you tie yourself together with an unbeliever, you are going to be held back.
00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:57.119
You are going to be going in circles, and eventually you may even stop.
00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:19.599
And he's trying to be, he's being very, very serious and very purposeful about what he's saying because just in the same way that iron sharpens iron, and you know, a friendship that is a godly friendship, a relationship that is a godly relationship can build one another up, an unequally yoked relationship can tear one down just as quickly.
00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:28.400
And it's something that the Bible revisits several times in Deuteronomy, Judges, First Kings, Ephesians, all throughout.
00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:32.799
And we can I'll put all of the verses to where they're talking about that in the show notes.
00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:43.599
But I think a lot of people, specifically women, look at this as somewhat of a challenge, almost.
00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:53.519
And they see a man that they like, they end up falling for some guy who is not a Christian, he's not a believer, and she says, What?
00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:54.960
What do they say?
00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:56.240
I can change him.
00:28:56.400 --> 00:29:04.480
I can fix that, I can change him, and it's almost like a challenge, but there are two different paths that we can start with on this.
00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:10.799
We can, you know, we can look at it from the perspective of their dating, or maybe they're already married.
00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:17.519
And I asked my dad today, I was like, Dad, what's your advice to someone who's in an unequally yoked relationship?
00:29:17.839 --> 00:29:19.839
He said, Are they married or are they dating?
00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:21.200
And I said, Let's just say they're dating.
00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:22.319
He goes, Leave them.
00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:24.000
Easy as that, leave them.
00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:24.880
And he's right.
00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:39.359
I mean, it's very hard to say that and to for some people to understand that, but if you are in an unequally yoked relationship, it is one that you need to get out of because you are just gonna end up going in ruts, you're gonna end up stopping eventually.
00:29:39.519 --> 00:29:41.519
And some people say, you know, that's so hard.
00:29:41.599 --> 00:30:04.880
I've built a life with this person, and that can put us into a whole nother episode of you have soul ties with someone that you're not supposed to have soul ties with yet, you know, and I mean you're saying you're living with this person, you've already built a life with this person, and there's a foundation there that isn't supposed to be there yet, and that's why this is so hard.
00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:12.319
And again, that is a whole other like episode that we can get into, and I can go through all the Bible for that.
00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:16.079
But let's say, you know, you're married.
00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:23.119
Well, what do you do if you have it's usually it's usually the wife that goes to church first?
00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:38.880
Let's just start with that one, and I've seen it the other way around, but let's say that you know you're the wife who is in church and you're getting up on Sundays and you're taking the kids to church, and your husband doesn't want to be there, he doesn't want to get up, he doesn't want to do it.
00:30:39.200 --> 00:31:01.279
That's going to put a strain on your marriage, it's gonna put a strain on everything because you know, as you're moving forward with God, you want your family to move forward too, and it kind of gets you in this place to where you're frustrated, and of course, when you're married, you can't just walk out, like when you made your vows, you made your vows.
00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:05.440
You can't just give up and go on, but it makes it a lot harder.
00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:23.279
And I remember I was asking Andy today, I was telling him about you know, we were gonna talk about unequally yoked, or we were gonna do this iron sharpened iron thing, and he was like, Well, you know, everything worked out for us, and he was saying, you know, we were kind of unequally yoked in the beginning, and I was like, you know what?
00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:40.319
I've thought about that so much, like how you know you weren't in church at all, and I was in church, and you know, it just ended up working out how it worked out, and then I realized something that kind of hit me a little harder than I think I expected it to.
00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:45.839
But the sad truth of it is is we weren't unequally yoked at all.
00:31:46.079 --> 00:31:58.319
Just because I was sitting in church every Sunday didn't make me a Christian, it didn't make me any different from you not sitting in the church, you know what I'm saying?
00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:15.359
Like I was at the church because that's just where I was expected to be, but it didn't mean that I was doing what I should be doing, like I knew exactly what to do and how to do it, but that I was just a bench warmer, you know what I'm saying?
00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:24.720
And that was kind of a hard realization for me, but I mean when you when you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, you can tell the difference.
00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:29.279
Like you're not counting the minutes until the sermon's over, you're not counting like this.
00:32:29.359 --> 00:32:30.640
She's done saying four songs.
00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:32.640
How many more songs is she gonna sing?
00:32:32.799 --> 00:32:35.519
Like the sermon isn't boring, you're not falling asleep.
00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:51.119
And if you have ever sat in a church service to where like you I can the difference in the church services I can explain is you know, before I really got saved, I'm just sitting there and I'm not falling asleep, I'm counting the minutes, I'm drawing.
00:32:51.359 --> 00:33:16.079
Like it felt like I had sat there for four days, but being as excited as I am to walk in those doors, to see all the people there, to talk to everybody, to sing, to worship, to, you know, dive into whatever dad's talking about for the day, and then it's it's over so quickly now, and it's just funny the difference between being saved and not saved.
00:33:16.160 --> 00:33:20.880
The whole point of everything that I'm saying today is relationships.
00:33:21.440 --> 00:33:31.519
You need to be careful who you are around and who you are creating, you know, these ties with in your life.
00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:43.279
And you know, we've talked about iron sharpens iron, and we've talked about how you know lightness and darkness can't go together, and believers and unbelievers that they just you can't be unequally yoked.
00:33:43.599 --> 00:34:02.480
All of that is to say, look at who you are surrounding yourself with, and that is a very hard thing to do when you really start looking because there's a lot of people that will mean a lot to you, and you have to kind of realize, like, okay, am I guiding this person to a better place?
00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:04.880
Like, am I really doing what I need to be doing?
00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:11.360
And I'm talking like in a friendship way right now, or are they pulling me into their bad habits?
00:34:11.679 --> 00:34:13.679
Or let's talk about relationships.
00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:19.920
Like, am I really going anywhere in this relationship, or is she holding me back?
00:34:20.159 --> 00:34:21.840
Is he holding me back?
00:34:22.079 --> 00:34:35.440
And I just want everybody to kind of take a minute wherever you're at today and just examine what you're doing, and please do not tell me 47 of y'all have done left your husbands after this episode.
00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:37.280
This is not what I'm trying to do.
00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:43.760
I just want you to, if you're married and you're unequally yoked, we can talk about that in another episode.
00:34:43.920 --> 00:34:53.920
I didn't dive into it a whole lot today, but you know, you really have to start the hard work then and be like, look, like, I mean, there came a point, I'll be a little transparent with you.
00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:59.599
There came a point with me and Andy where I was like, Look, I love you and I want to be with you.
00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:04.079
We're married, we're building this life together, but that's not who I am anymore.
00:35:04.159 --> 00:35:10.719
And if that's who you're going to be, then we need to sit down and have like a come to Jesus meeting because I'm not doing that.
00:35:11.039 --> 00:35:21.519
Now, obviously, it worked out for us, and I never I did not force him into any salvation, and I know there's some people who have done that, that they literally like, I'll get saved.
00:35:21.599 --> 00:35:22.800
She wants me to get saved.
00:35:22.960 --> 00:35:24.480
That's not getting saved.
00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:34.159
No, I just told him, like, hey, this is where I'm gonna be at on Sunday morning, this is what I'm gonna be doing on Wednesday nights, this is what I'm gonna be doing instead of doing this.
00:35:34.239 --> 00:35:35.840
And if you want to follow me, that's great.
00:35:35.920 --> 00:35:36.880
We can have a great time.
00:35:37.039 --> 00:35:39.280
If not, it's gonna be a bad time.
00:35:39.360 --> 00:35:41.280
Like, we're just not gonna have a great time.
00:35:41.440 --> 00:35:43.760
And you know, he weighed out his options there.
00:35:43.920 --> 00:35:52.559
And the thing is, is like just because it was the girl versus the guy, does not I mean that means nothing, like it could have very easily been the other way around.
00:35:52.639 --> 00:36:00.719
I'm not trying to pick on the guys for anything, it's just from my perspective, from our relationship point, that's where we were at.
00:36:01.039 --> 00:36:15.599
And you know, like I said, it worked out and it could not be better, but there's so many things in our lives that I don't know how we would have made it had we not had the foundation of God that we have in our marriage.
00:36:16.079 --> 00:36:36.320
And it's you know, that like at my absolute lowest points in my life, which again to be it's it's hard to go from one podcast where I try so hard to not tell anybody anything, to going to one to where I literally share the darkest, deepest.
00:36:36.559 --> 00:36:38.320
And I guess that's what we're gonna be doing.
00:36:38.480 --> 00:37:59.440
But like the two or the two lowest points of my life were when we were dealing with infertility and going through at that same time a lot of hard changes with our our family in general, because like y'all know, you know, we have um I have a stepson, and then we have two together as well, and there it there was just a very odd time in the midst there where we're figuring out how to co-parent, and then we're also trying to bring in a new baby, and it was just like we're all babies at the same time because we were, and that was just a very rough period of my life and Andy's life, and then also dealing with the last two years of my mom's life, and then ultimately her passing, and even through all of that, I thank God for what he has done in my marriage because I know that there's a reason that God put me and Andy together, there's a reason that Andy did come to God the way that he came to God, because I needed somebody who was going to remind me that not only did he have my back, but God had my back, and there is something so intimate, so amazing about having a marriage like that.
00:37:59.599 --> 00:38:16.880
Like for a man to stand with you and say, I have you, I don't know why I'm about to cry, but for your man to stand there with you and say, you know, I have you, I I will do whatever needs to be done to make sure that I've provided for you and our kids.
00:38:17.199 --> 00:38:21.280
But hey, don't forget none of this is without God.
00:38:21.440 --> 00:38:32.639
Don't forget that God has you too, and that's something that I that's why you have to find somebody who is a believer.
00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:40.000
That's why you have to surround yourself with people who are believers because iron sharpens iron.
00:38:40.320 --> 00:39:27.519
And you when I was dealing with all of this stuff with my mom specifically, it I could have gone so deep into the pain that I felt with all of that, and like dealing with the abandonment that I had dealt with, dealing with just me being a mom and having all of these babies in my life, even the ones, you know, like my brother and sister that I helped my dad finish raising, and all of these babies in my life that look to me, and I'm a grown woman at this point, you know, there's still that little girl that wants her mom.
00:39:27.760 --> 00:40:05.119
And I, you know, I'm dealing with all of that, and it was like every time I would get to a certain place, I would kind of fall back a little bit, and Andy would have to kind of pull me back up out of it, and then after she passed away, and you deal with this this complicated grief, I could have fell so far deep into that that I would not have been able to come up out of it had I not had people surrounding me screaming and preaching the love of God at me, and in this I'm gonna stop talking about all this in just a second, but it just when I say iron sharpens iron, this is what I mean.
00:40:05.360 --> 00:40:34.559
There was a point in dealing with my mom's passing that me, my sister, and my brother were on the phone with some people in my mom's life who we were not getting along with at the time, and we were all starting to argue, you know, like we get on the phone at first and we're all trying to be very like diplomatic and like you know correct and everything that we're saying, and then the the accent came out soon after that, and I wasn't having a good time.
00:40:35.119 --> 00:40:48.480
And I just started like screaming at this person, and if you know me, you know that I am not a confrontational person at all, but I became a very confrontational person that day.
00:40:48.559 --> 00:40:54.960
I'm sure I think we were in one room with the door closed, and Andy and everybody heard every word I said from the other room.
00:40:55.199 --> 00:41:01.119
Um, but my sister, you know, she's looking at me and she's like, You're opening a door, you're opening a door.
00:41:01.280 --> 00:41:01.679
Stop.
00:41:01.760 --> 00:41:03.039
You need to stop.
00:41:03.360 --> 00:41:08.239
And I absolutely didn't stop, and I absolutely did open a door.
00:41:08.559 --> 00:41:23.599
And the anger that I let inside of me that day stayed with me, and I was seething for months until finally one day I just kind of broke, and my sister was looking at me and she was like, Bridget, I told you.
00:41:23.760 --> 00:41:34.960
I, you know, I wasn't being mean, I wasn't trying to tell you what to do, I was trying to make sure that you understood, hey, that anger's not from God, that anger is not something that you need to give into.
00:41:35.440 --> 00:41:53.360
And I j I thank God every day for my sister, she has no idea the person that she has become, the woman that she has become, and the way that she has guided me is just like I said at the beginning of this a very bizarre thing to watch your baby sister lead you into something.
00:41:53.519 --> 00:42:10.559
Like I raised that kid, like don't get me wrong, my dad raised us, but like I'm the one that had to kind of mama her and teach her things, and now she's teaching me things, and it's just a very bizarre way to deal with everything in the end, not in the end, but just deal with everything.
00:42:10.719 --> 00:42:14.800
But I'm just so thankful for her, and I encourage everybody to find a Cassie.
00:42:14.960 --> 00:42:26.400
Okay, you need a Cassie in your life, you need a mentor in your life, you need somebody who, if you need to pray, she'll come up to your house and she'll pray.
00:42:26.559 --> 00:42:33.199
I called my dad one night at like 10:30, 11 o'clock, because something had scared me really bad.
00:42:33.360 --> 00:42:38.320
And I guess Cassie had just got home and my dad said, Hey, we're going up to Bridget, something happened.
00:42:38.559 --> 00:42:47.920
My sister busted in my front door at 11 o'clock at night with a Bible in one hand and her keys in the other, looking like the Ghostbusters trying to fight some demons walking up in my house.
00:42:48.159 --> 00:42:49.760
And she was like, Let's pray.
00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:51.679
But that's the kind of friends that you need.
00:42:51.760 --> 00:42:55.119
You need somebody that's going to pray with you.
00:42:55.280 --> 00:43:07.599
You need somebody that instead of letting you wallow in the self-pity, wallow in the depression, that they are going to pull you out and say, Hey, is this really where you think God wants you to be right now?
00:43:07.679 --> 00:43:09.679
Like, let me help you out of that.
00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:18.559
And I know I'm talking about my sister a lot, but she's really the person who, at least for me, she is that iron that has sharpened my iron.
00:43:18.719 --> 00:43:24.480
But it's somebody that, you know, it's what is it, see one, do one, teach one kind of situation.
00:43:24.800 --> 00:43:26.639
Like that's kind of how you have to take the Bible.
00:43:26.800 --> 00:43:36.880
Like, I'm learning from Cassie, and I'm learning from dad, and I'm doing the best that I can, like, I'm doing this, I'm trying my best, but then I'm also trying to teach it.
00:43:36.960 --> 00:43:37.840
You know what I'm saying?
00:43:37.920 --> 00:43:40.239
Like, I see it, I'm doing it, and I'm teaching it.
00:43:40.480 --> 00:43:45.199
And Andy is also picking up on a lot of that too.
00:43:45.280 --> 00:43:48.480
Like, like I said at the beginning of this, he is not.
00:43:49.440 --> 00:44:03.599
I I wanted to make sure that everybody understood where we both were in the beginning of this because you know, he I grew up as a preacher's kid, I grew up as someone who I could tell you all 66 books of the Bible at seven years old.
00:44:03.760 --> 00:44:06.880
I could tell you all of these things, and that's not who Andy was.
00:44:06.960 --> 00:44:16.400
And I'm I made a point to say that, not to downplay who he is or not to make him seem like less of a Christian, but we're all at different levels at any given time.
00:44:16.559 --> 00:44:19.039
Everybody as it is at a different level.
00:44:19.280 --> 00:44:23.440
And I didn't want anyone to feel like they had to be at a certain place to start this.
00:44:23.679 --> 00:44:32.639
Like, I can, you know, let my iron sharpen your iron, whatever, but there's questions that maybe Andy can answer better than I can answer.
00:44:32.880 --> 00:44:35.199
I'm a very, how would you explain?
00:44:35.440 --> 00:44:39.039
I'm a very emotional, sensitive type person.
00:44:39.199 --> 00:44:43.039
Like I'm gonna explain it to you this way, but not everybody learns that way.
00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:47.840
Andy is what is Andy?
00:44:49.199 --> 00:44:51.360
You probably can't say that on this podcast.
00:44:52.159 --> 00:44:59.599
He's very direct, but he's also, if you know anything about apologetics and what that is, that is Andy.
00:44:59.679 --> 00:45:01.440
Like that is where he shines at.
00:45:01.519 --> 00:45:04.400
And I don't even think that he realizes that to an extent.
00:45:04.559 --> 00:45:10.079
But you know, he was talking earlier about how I don't think he I don't think we were recording when you said it though.
00:45:10.159 --> 00:45:23.920
You said um you don't realize how much you know until people start asking questions, and that's when you know, buddy over here starts like sni like he's got scriptures coming out then or like well not script, maybe he get he nails it down to the book.
00:45:24.239 --> 00:45:27.760
I'm like, ah, you know that one thing, uh we're getting there, we're getting there.
00:45:27.920 --> 00:45:39.199
But that's like that's why you have to like you have to read, you have to know these things, and the more you read, the easier it comes, the easier it just flows out of you.
00:45:39.440 --> 00:45:58.480
But my encouragement for you today is to find somebody who can help you through your walk with God, to find somebody who sharpens you as a Christian and use them as you know, tell them, say, hey, I need to know more, I want to learn more.
00:45:58.639 --> 00:45:59.760
Can you pray for me?
00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:02.960
Can you be here for me if I have questions?
00:46:03.119 --> 00:46:07.199
And you know, if I can be that person, I absolutely will try my best to.
00:46:07.440 --> 00:46:12.320
We have people all the time who are DMing us, and I try to answer as many questions as I can.
00:46:12.480 --> 00:46:17.679
But if I can't, I'm sure somebody on our page can if you ever have any questions.
00:46:17.920 --> 00:46:22.960
We made a group chat on the Facebook page today, and it's just called the Beehive.
00:46:23.280 --> 00:46:31.039
But if you ever have a question, you can just send it into that group chat, and I'm sure somebody can point you in the direction of where it's at in the Bible.
00:46:31.280 --> 00:46:44.320
And I I just I want everybody to find a person, you know, find somebody who makes you not only a better you, but they make you a better Christian, they bring you closer to God instead of pulling you away from God.
00:46:44.559 --> 00:46:47.840
So that is just where I want to end today's episode.
00:46:48.079 --> 00:46:49.760
And stay with us, guys.
00:46:49.840 --> 00:46:55.360
We're still slowly trying to figure out how the format of this show is gonna work.
00:46:55.599 --> 00:47:03.360
Um, we have a lot of things that we're kind we're working on, we're trying to figure out the flow of it and how we want everything to go.
00:47:03.679 --> 00:47:21.679
But I just wanted to also make sure I told you guys that if you ever have any prayer requests, there's always gonna be like a little form in our show notes that you can click on, and it's just like a Google form, and you can always leave a prayer request in there, and we'll check it and we'll pray over them, and you can leave it anonymously, you can leave your name, it's completely up to you.
00:47:21.920 --> 00:47:30.800
But just know that that is there if you ever need prayer and make sure you have entered into our giveaway for the hand-painted Bible.
00:47:30.960 --> 00:47:32.800
You have one week left.
00:47:33.119 --> 00:47:36.719
I think Sunday the 17th is when we're gonna announce the winners.
00:47:36.960 --> 00:47:44.960
So make sure that you are inviting people to our group, make sure you are following our group, and that you have shared the page.
00:47:45.280 --> 00:47:52.000
So many of you have already done this, and I'm blown away by all of you that are in the group now, and I'm just so proud of it.
00:47:52.159 --> 00:47:58.000
So just keep it going, guys, and I want to grow this group to everything that I know it can be.
00:47:58.320 --> 00:48:02.719
But are you ready to pray and then we can let them go?
00:48:03.119 --> 00:48:03.679
Sure.
00:48:04.079 --> 00:48:05.440
Alrighty, God.
00:48:05.599 --> 00:48:11.679
I just want to ask that whoever it is that needed this message today, God, that you help them receive it well.
00:48:11.840 --> 00:48:32.719
And I pray that everyone who has listened, no matter if it's right now when the episode drops or if it's five months to a year from now, God, I pray that this person just tries every relationship in their life and they find out who is going to sharpen them, who is going to bring them closer to you, God, instead of pulling them away.
00:48:32.880 --> 00:48:44.880
And I ask that if they have wrong people in their life, God, take the wrong people out of their life and bring the right ones in and just help them build up this foundation that they need to be with you, God.
00:48:45.119 --> 00:48:51.920
And I just ask that you watch over everybody and you bring them through this week and that you keep everybody safe.
00:48:52.000 --> 00:48:55.360
And we just thank you for bringing everybody together to be able to listen to this.
00:48:55.519 --> 00:48:57.280
In your holy name that we pray, God.
00:48:57.360 --> 00:48:57.840
Amen.
00:48:58.079 --> 00:48:58.480
See ya.
00:48:58.719 --> 00:48:59.599
Toodles.
00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:11.679
What's going on, guys?
00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:13.439
Back at it again.
00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:16.719
Gonna start you off with a little fun fact.
00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:23.679
The Book of Esther in the Old Testament is the only book in the Bible where God is not explicitly mentioned.
00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:36.159
Despite this, it remains a significant and captivating narrative that tells the story of how Queen Esther, with help of her cousin Mordecai, saved the Jewish people from destruction during the Persian Empire.
00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:42.560
Okay, I did not know until recently that that is a thing.
00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:48.719
Like, don't get me wrong, like I have read the story of Esther, I have known the story of Esther my whole entire life.
00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:57.119
But until I read the whole book for myself all the way through, I still did not even realize it until someone told me.
00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:01.200
And like I mean, how much sense that God's not mentioned in it?
00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:09.040
And it's not one of those things to where, like, some people are saying, like, well, what's the you know, biblical importance of the story or anything like that?
00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:13.359
And I'm like, okay, understand what I was saying there.
00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:25.840
I did not even realize that God was not mentioned like by name, because the whole story you can feel God's presence in what's going on.
00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:29.840
I mean, you have just go read the book of Esther and we can talk about it.
00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:31.519
Maybe we can do a Bible study about it.
00:01:31.599 --> 00:02:05.599
I don't know, maybe we'll do like a whole episode on the story of Esther because it's one of those things to where it's like, no, he may not have been mentioned directly, as in, you know, like where oftentimes in the Old Testament or you know, wherever you're like it has like a narrative from God, like a dialogue with God and whoever that doesn't happen in this book, but you feel God's presence carrying Esther, carrying Mordecai through the entire story, and but it's funny, like I just did not realize that until I had read that a while back.
00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:10.080
Yeah, did you know that before you fun fact it up?
00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.520
No, yeah, we're getting there.
00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:20.960
So if you are new to anything with me and Andy here, um, we're the first few episodes.
00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:31.680
I know we're gonna sound like a broken record on some things, but we're trying to acclimate all of our new listeners and also getting our old listeners used to this new side of us.
00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:40.319
So we used to be true crime podcasters, God called us out of that, and now we are starting a new platform, and it is a Christian platform.
00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:42.319
So a little bit of background.
00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:52.719
I did not go over this much in the introduction that we dropped, but I'm just gonna explain a few things and kind of get you up to date on why Andy just giggled at that.
00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:58.000
So I am a preacher's daughter, I am the oldest of three.
00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:01.199
I have been in church my entire life.
00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:07.599
Dad started preaching, he started preaching when I was really little, but we started the church when I was seven.
00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:13.280
I'm old enough to I remember other churches, but my brother and sister, they were born in the church.
00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:18.159
Like the church, my sister was born the year we started the church.
00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:20.400
So I think it's actually a year older than her.
00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:22.080
So that is all they have known.
00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:24.080
That is all I have ever known.
00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:36.400
But I want to make sure I say that because just because I grew up as a PK, that does not mean that everything was just easy, smooth sailing for me, understanding-wise.
00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:41.840
There are a lot of things that I struggled with, and we'll talk about that in some other episodes down the line.
00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:52.400
But I did grow up with that easy go and Sunday school basic knowledge of things because I was just taught that growing up.
00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:57.919
Like I knew who I knew who Jonah in the well and Noah in the Ark was.
00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:06.960
Now, Andy on the other hand, do you want to tell your side so they can kind of that you didn't talk a whole lot in the first episode, so I want them to kind of get to know who you are.
00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:08.159
Well, I did not.
00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:13.199
I mean, I remember a little, like once or twice, or it may have been more than that.
00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:15.360
I don't have very good memory.
00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:19.040
Um, when I was younger, we went a little.
00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:20.959
I can't remember how much.
00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:30.240
But then when I was like sixteen, I went to one and it wa it wasn't for You were s you were a sixteen-year-old boy, you're going to church for the girls.
00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:30.800
Yeah.
00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:31.680
Youth group.
00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:38.560
No, never really was into church that much other than just going and playing games or whatever.
00:04:39.040 --> 00:04:48.639
And then Andy and I have known each other our entire lives, but we started dating when we were 17, and Andy's son was 11 months old.
00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:51.519
We'll get into that more later.
00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:57.120
Andy was a teen parent, and it's fine, it all worked out.
00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:06.560
But he, you know, me and him got together, and I'm actually gonna talk a little bit more about this part of our relationship later on in the episode because it ties in.
00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:14.079
But we when he decided we decided that things were getting more serious, and we were talking about getting engaged and stuff.
00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:20.319
I remember he asked my dad for my hand in marriage because you know, it's the south, we still do that around here.
00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:31.519
Well, Andy he asked my dad, and dad gave him a few stipulations of like, hey, you know, yes, that's fine, but I need to see you do A, B, C, and D.
00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:40.399
One of those things was he was like, Look, man, you need to be in church, like because Andy was not in church at that time, so that's all of a sudden when Andy's popped up in church.
00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:48.000
Um, but he mentioned something one time, and he was calling it Jonah in the Ark and Noah in the well.
00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:50.720
So, I mean, please do not feel bad.
00:05:50.800 --> 00:06:05.839
Like, if this is your first time really diving into the Word of God, and this is like you're at a very basic level, Sunday school level knowledge of what's going on, do not feel like you are alone in this because my man over here, you know, he he's working on some things.
00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:10.319
He's you know, I figure I don't think I know very much until I'm arguing with somebody.
00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:16.240
And then all of a sudden you realize you know more than you've what is it, you've absorbed more around us than you realize.
00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:20.639
That is actually gonna be coming into play in an episode or in this episode too.
00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:22.319
So I'm very proud of you for saying that.
00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:24.160
Look at you picking up on things.
00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:32.160
But I just wanted to make sure that everybody understood where we were coming from because it has a lot to do with the episode that we're about to get into.
00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:40.879
It's a great way to start out this show because this is technically episode one, and I just want you to understand where we're at with this.
00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:44.160
So are you oh, we are not ready.
00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:47.360
I do have a few little shout-outs that I need to give.
00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:48.399
Look at me.
00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:57.759
Alright, so I have uh we have a brand new Patreon member, and it is one of our close friends from church, actually.
00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:01.199
It's Crystal, so she is a part of our Patreon now.
00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:02.240
Thank you so much.
00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:13.759
She um I actually saw her at church this morning, and we were both coming out of the bathroom at the same time, and she was like, I just wanted to say I love your podcast and I really enjoy it and all this stuff, and I'm like, look at this.
00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:15.519
You're making my heart so happy.
00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:18.079
Who knew that somebody can make me this happy in a church bathroom?
00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:18.879
Thank you.
00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:28.560
But a few other shout-outs is we have Misty, Amy, Robin, Shelby, and Katie.
00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:38.160
So all of these women have actually purchased a Bible from us this last week or a hand-painted Bible, and it just you guys have no idea.
00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:50.959
If you are a Patreon member, if you have purchased a hand-painted Bible from me, all of that money, all of the money that I get from all of the things, monetizing everything that we monetize, it goes back into the show.
00:07:51.040 --> 00:08:02.959
And it now that we are doing this in a more Christian-based way, it's actually going back into a ministry that we are a part of, and it's just helping us kind of do everything that we need to do.
00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:10.720
And I just appreciate every bit of what you guys have done for us and all of the things, and I actually want to give an even bigger shout out here to Amy.
00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:14.800
She is a moderator of ours and has been with us for quite a while.
00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:23.120
I think we picked her up somewhere around Lake Lanier when we were doing the other show, and she's been with us ever since, so almost two full years now, I think.
00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:32.080
And she is just one of those type of people who she will just make your heart swell, and she's the sweetest person ever.
00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:42.240
She found a whole bunch of bumblebee themed stuff, and she sends me a text and said, Hey, Amazon's coming by your place tomorrow, and I get this package that says Bridget Baker Queen Bee.
00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:45.919
And it was just the sweetest thing, and she sent me all kinds of Bumblebee stuff.
00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:52.639
So thank you, Amy, for being just such an amazing friend, an amazing moderator, and a huge part of what we do.
00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:54.879
But step it up, Trisha.
00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:56.080
Why okay?
00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:59.679
If you're new here, one of our other moderators, her name is Trisha.
00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:03.440
Andy and Trisha have a brother-sister love-hate relationship.
00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:05.919
You're gonna hear about that, I'm sure.
00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:06.799
Yes.
00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:10.639
Um, real quick, two other announcements before we get into this.
00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:18.000
One, if you are a part of our Patreon, we did pick a book of the month for March, and it is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.
00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:19.600
Okay, listen to me.
00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:23.759
I like I said, guys, I'm a preacher's kid, okay?
00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:31.679
I've seen all the cheesy shows, I've seen all the cheesy stuff when it comes to stuff like uh Christian books, Christian movies, Christian songs.
00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:33.279
I get it, okay?
00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:41.600
And I am trying so hard to make this a new place for Christians because I hate crazy, crazy.
00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:44.240
I hate cheesy Christian things, okay?
00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:46.879
I've watched all of the touched by an angels, okay?
00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:47.600
I get it.
00:09:47.919 --> 00:09:50.320
This book, I avoided sure.
00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:58.320
After pausing and further discussing with what he thought he was talking about, I can it he is not talking about the same show.
00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:11.600
No, touched by an angel is the one where like something's going on and like some bad thing is happening, and then towards the end of the show the angel starts glowing, and they're like, God has sent me here to do this, that, whatever.
00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:14.639
And it it don't get me wrong, it's a great show.
00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:25.440
It is, it's just a very cheesy show, and I'm on a mission to make all Christian things not cheesy because I think that that's why a lot of people like stray away from it or they feel weird about it.
00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:26.799
So I'm on a mission here.
00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:36.399
But I had every time I would ask for a book recommendation, I had like 37 people recommending me Redeeming Love, and I avoided it like the plague.
00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:44.240
I was like, no, dude, I don't want to read a Christian book other than the Bible, obviously, but I don't want to read like a non-fiction Christian book.
00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:48.080
Non-fiction, I mean fiction book, because they're just all so cheesy.
00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:48.720
Aye.
00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:50.240
When who said that?
00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:51.840
The middle one.
00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:56.960
He's like reading, and he'll go, he'll read something.
00:10:57.120 --> 00:10:59.200
Oh, that's obviously fiction right there.
00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:00.080
That's fiction.
00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:02.240
A dog can't go up on a roller coaster.
00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:03.679
Look how big those dogs are on that.
00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:04.799
That is straight fixed.
00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:06.320
He's learning how to read.
00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:09.039
He's doing a fantastic job too, by the way.
00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:12.720
But this book is so good.
00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:14.000
It is so good.
00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:19.919
There is a movie that came out, I want to say 2022, 2023, 2022.
00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:21.759
Um, oh last year.
00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:23.039
And it's just it's such a good book.
00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:26.320
So if you're the one you woke me up in the middle of the night because you were crying?
00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:27.840
They didn't need to know that.
00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:28.720
They did.
00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:30.960
No, listen, and let me explain this to you, okay?
00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:35.440
It has been a hot minute since something got me.
00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:40.159
As hard as Redeeming Love got me, okay?
00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:45.679
I was not expecting it to hit me in the soul the way that it hit me.
00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:50.159
And let me tell you, I was crying so hard.
00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:56.559
I was like moving while I was crying, and I woke Andy up.
00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:57.759
And I said, What are you doing?
00:11:57.919 --> 00:11:58.399
Nothing.
00:11:58.879 --> 00:11:59.840
You mean nothing?
00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:01.679
Can I just have a hug?
00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:04.320
It's such a good book.
00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:09.279
So if you want to be part of our Patreon and our book club, definitely hop on over.
00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:11.919
The links are always gonna be in the show notes.
00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:13.039
Last thing.
00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:18.320
If you are a part of our$15 tier on Patreon, it is called the Sweet Faith tier.
00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:26.879
You are getting, we used to call them bookie bundles, and if you know, you know, but we are trying to figure out what the new name for this is.
00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:31.200
But we send out like these quarterly swag boxes, if you will.
00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:32.879
Call them bumble butt boxes.
00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:34.320
Bumble butt boxes?
00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:34.960
Yes.
00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:37.200
Oh goodness, we're gonna have to figure out something.
00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:39.039
But so that's that's what I'm asking though.
00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:42.320
Like if you have a better name for these things, please let us know.
00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:48.559
But that they will be coming out or going out soon because I think I get everything in this week that I was looking for.
00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:56.879
There's a few other little things I want to stick in there, so it may be another week or so, but it should be going out within the next two weeks, and I'm super excited.
00:12:57.200 --> 00:13:01.440
But are you ready to dive into what we have to talk about today?
00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:02.080
See.
00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:07.759
Alright, guys, I want to take you back to the moment when you first got saved.
00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:12.240
And I want you to remember what you felt like for those first few days.
00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:17.840
Do you remember what it felt like after those that first couple of days after you got saved?
00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:19.120
What were you doing?
00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:23.679
Like, own it, boy, like reading and all that jazz.
00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:27.039
Praying and reading and rebuking and all of it.
00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:36.720
Yeah, you're you know how much times I was like gonna r sm smoke some demons out of people by the forehead, and somebody snore the wrong way.
00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:37.840
No, no, no.
00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:49.440
Let me tell you, I the other day, I was I was I don't even know what kind of day I was having, but I was like rebuking in the name of Jesus everything, okay?
00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:55.440
And I remember about halfway through the day, I stopped and I was like, God, am I am I getting on your nerves?
00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:56.240
Am I rebuking?
00:13:56.320 --> 00:14:05.120
And I looked at I like thought for a second and I was like, wait, did I literally just stop and ask God, does he want me to tell the demons that are trying to attack people to stop?
00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:10.799
And listen, if you're new to this and I just sound like a crazy person, we're gonna do a spiritual warfare episode, I promise.
00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:12.000
Just bear with me on this part.
00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:15.120
And I know I just said I want y'all to look at Christianity a different way.
00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:18.240
That was probably a little much to dive into at first, but hey, we're here.
00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:19.600
But that's what I'm getting at.
00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:28.159
Like when you are a brand new baby Christian, okay, like you are just in this, you are sharp as a tack, okay?
00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:31.440
That we're just we're doing all the things.
00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:39.600
It's literally like you are you're just as sharp as you can possibly be, and you'll see why I'm saying that in a second.
00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:43.759
It's like we're sharing the prayer post on Facebook, okay?
00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:50.480
Like we may even throw out an extra prayer request at Wednesday night service, Sunday morning service, whatever that may be.
00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:56.320
We may even hang out a little longer at church and talk to people.
00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:59.519
No, not you, even when I was fresh out the boat.
00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:01.600
Okay, no, no, sir.
00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:28.799
No, okay, but here's the thing sometimes we get a little dull after a while, and you know, things are easing down, and maybe it's just not as exciting as you think it used to be, or maybe the sermon you feel like it's starting to get a little boring, or it's a little harder to get up on Sunday mornings, and the song just isn't hitting like it would hit when you first got saved.
00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:32.320
The word isn't jumping off the pages like it used to.
00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:35.519
Maybe you've stopped reading your Bible every day.
00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:42.399
Maybe you've you know you you'll carry your Bible around the house, like from room to room, maybe with in your car.
00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:45.679
But do you ever actually sit down and open the Bible?
00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:47.200
Let me tell you something.
00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:50.159
I have done that with my Kindle for two months.
00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:50.720
Okay.
00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:55.120
I have full intentions of sitting down and reading my Kindle every day.
00:15:55.200 --> 00:16:02.799
I have carried it in the parent pickup line to the doctor's office, in the car, from room to room, car to house.
00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:08.080
I still I have read two books because I have just been so busy and I'll keep going.
00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:10.720
But some I've done that with my Bible before too.
00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:16.399
Maybe you know, you've even eased back into listening to certain music you shouldn't be listening to it.
00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:28.799
And all of this time that you're doing this, like you feel yourself doing it, like you feel that you're not as sharp as you used to be with God, that you aren't as on fire as you used to be for God.
00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:34.480
So the question today is how do you get back to that point?
00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:39.120
How do you get back to being as sharp as you need to be?
00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:44.080
And King Solomon in Proverbs tells us exactly how to do that.
00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:50.559
So Proverbs 27, 17 says, iron sharpeth sharpeneth iron.
00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:54.480
So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
00:16:54.799 --> 00:17:04.000
Listen, I had a whole other episode planned, and then I was like, something just ain't something's not working.
00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:16.720
If this the gears aren't turning the way that they need to be turning, and then my sister, she's gonna come up quite a lot um in a few episodes, and you'll understand why at the end of this episode.
00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:35.440
But she I'd heard her praying two or three times lately, and she had said a little phrase, and she had said, iron sharpens iron, and it's stuff that I have heard, but I was like, you know, as I'm sitting here praying and I'm getting ready with this other episode, I'm like, okay, well, why does that phrase keep coming back to me?
00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:36.960
Like, what does that mean?
00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:39.519
What does iron sharpeneth iron mean?
00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:44.160
And then you go on and it says, so that a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:46.319
But what does that mean, right?
00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:53.440
So God is telling us through Solomon that you need these friendships to sharpen you.
00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:58.960
You need mentors or people who are gonna guide you in Christ.
00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:02.960
And for me, that is my dad and my sister.
00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:12.000
Now, my dad, he is I kind of use him as like a like a Google, if you will, like a biblical Google.
00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:15.920
Like if I have a question that can be easily answered, I will Google it.
00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:26.400
But 90% of the time, if I have a Bible question, I send it to my dad because he can explain it to me in a way that I can understand and I trust his sources, you know what I mean?
00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:30.559
Like, I I don't think that his vision is warped on what he's telling me.
00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:34.400
But my sister, this is who we're gonna be talking about for a minute here.
00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:46.720
My sister is who I really look to as a mentor, and that is a very humbling experience to look at your baby sister for something like that.
00:18:46.960 --> 00:19:02.400
But I've you know, I in my testimony that's on our YouTube and other times I have explained that we both grew up in church, yes, but my sister really is the one who out of all three of us, the siblings, started this.
00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:06.799
You know, she really dove into the word, and then I did, and then our brother did.
00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:09.920
But she is someone who keeps me sharp.
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:19.759
She's someone who tests me and she tests my surroundings, and she has taught me without even realizing it, she has trained me to do the same thing.
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:31.440
Things that I maybe had gotten dull on, or maybe you know, relaxed with that I didn't realize that I really maybe needed to pay a little bit more attention to or I needed to be more careful with.
00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:35.839
My sister would come in and she would like immediately look at me and be like, hey, hey, hey, buddy.
00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:37.200
Um, we might move on.
00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:39.759
I'm gonna double check that one just real quick.
00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:49.519
And at first I was so irritated with her about this because I never in a million years felt like my sister was coming in thinking she was better than me.
00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:52.079
And that is where other people that issue comes in.
00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:57.440
I knew that wasn't what Cassie was doing, but with Cassie, I was just like, stop being so dramatic.
00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:00.559
Like it, I what you're talking about is fine.
00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:13.119
But then the more that I dove into the word and the more that I was trying to understand everything, I realized unfortunately, Cassie was she was kind of making sense on that.
00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:15.440
Like, I will give you a perfect example.
00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:24.720
So, a while back, back at the beginning of the year, I had called my sister one morning after dropping off the kids at school, and I was boo-hooing.
00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:37.519
Like I could not stop crying, and I could have absolutely called Andy, I could have absolutely called my daddy, both of them are m like my people in my life, especially Andy.
00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:45.359
But the thing is, is like I knew what Andy would tell me, and I knew what my dad would tell me, and yes, they could have made me feel better.
00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:46.799
A more sensible thing.
00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:53.599
No, I knew that they would explain, like I knew Andy was gonna tell me, not in a mean way, I don't mean this bad.
00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:56.480
I knew Andy was gonna tell me what I needed, like what I wanted to hear.
00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:00.720
He was gonna make me feel better, he was going to, you know, he would talk me through it.
00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:05.119
He's very well versed on how to make Bridget feel better after all these years.
00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:06.400
And my dad is too.
00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:13.200
Like, my dad, you know, he knows exactly what to say and how to calm me down if I'm having a moment, whatever, but that's not what I needed.
00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:21.920
I needed my sister to make it make sense in my head, and I also knew that at the time I was like, This has to be hormones, like something is just off.
00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:23.200
I feel weird.
00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:25.359
And I could not call my dad.
00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:30.079
Like, Andy won't tell me that, but but my dad would be like, How you feeling?
00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:31.920
Like, are you are your hormones messed up?
00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:35.519
I'm like, Don't talk to me about my hormones, you don't know about my hormones.
00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:45.920
So I called my sister because I could take it from her, but she did something that it meant so much to me, and I knew immediately that this is why I called her.
00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:59.680
And the thing is, is like I I'm like crying to her, I'm squalling, and I was worried sick about my babies over something, and I just kept saying, like, I don't know if this is my anxiety or if this is God telling.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:02.240
Me that I need to listen to him.
00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:04.880
Like, I can't make sense of what's going on.
00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:08.720
Like in my head, I was thinking, okay, I am worried sick about this.
00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:10.000
Oh, it's just the devil.
00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:10.960
I'm gonna ignore it.
00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:15.920
But what if no, this is God telling me to listen to him and I'm not listening to him, and then something bad happens.
00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:17.920
And Cassie shut it down immediately.
00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:20.480
And she hit me with something that I still keep.
00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:26.240
She hit me with 2 Timothy verse 1, or sorry, 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 7.
00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:31.200
I'm gonna try to say this verse without singing this verse because it's also a song.
00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:38.079
But chapter 1 verse 7 says, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.
00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:42.799
And she was like, Bridget, that that's not God that's giving you that feeling.
00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:45.359
That God's not gonna give you fear.
00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:47.920
He's not gonna give you something to be scared.
00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:51.359
You're squalling because you were scared, and that's not from God.
00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:52.480
That's a spirit of fear.
00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:53.839
He wouldn't give you that.
00:22:54.079 --> 00:23:06.640
And she's like, you know, you're five seconds away from a panic attack because the enemy has filled you with so much fear, with so much panic, so much anxiety, like you are actually like not functioning right now.
00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:08.720
And she was like, Look, I want you to be serious.
00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:10.880
Like she's like, rebuke it in the name of Jesus.
00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:18.079
And she's like, I know it sounds weird, and let me tell you, when you first start doing that, and I feel like the word rebuke gets such a bad rep.
00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:19.759
Let me explain it in a different way.
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:32.079
When you realize the authority that you have in the name of Jesus Christ to be able to pray and tell something, it's not welcome here, it's not gonna hurt you, it's not gonna hurt your family, it's not, it has no power here.
00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:41.119
When you realize the authority that you have that's given to you by God, you can do so much.
00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:44.319
And she was like, you know, rebuke it right now.
00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:51.519
Tell him he has no power over you, he has no power over your children, and that they are covered by a hedge of protection by God.
00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:56.000
And immediately I felt better, and I knew that that's why I had called my sister.
00:23:56.160 --> 00:24:04.960
I mean, I know that Andy would have prayed with me, I know that my dad would have prayed with me, but it was something that I needed from her, and it was the way that she explained it to me.
00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:08.880
She said, You don't need to be afraid, here's Bible for that.
00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:11.839
You don't need to be worried, here's Bible for that.
00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:15.839
Rebuke it and tell it to go away, here's Bible for that.
00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:20.079
And what she was doing in that is sharpening me.
00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:35.039
She was in that moment, you know, it says iron sharpens iron, a man sharpens the countenance of a friend, like she was sharpening me and teaching me how to fix this next time or how to do this in the future.
00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:49.039
And from then on out, I have been able to do that and realize, like, hey, let's just, you know, sometimes it's just a reminder, like, you know, you're scared, but remember, like, God did not give you that spirit of fear.
00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:56.160
And I know that you know, sometimes that's easier said than done, but you really have to kind of hold on to that and use that.
00:24:56.240 --> 00:25:15.119
And it's not only that, like, I want everybody who is a Christian, everybody needs some kind of mentor, whether that be the person who led you to Christ, whether it be your preacher, whether it be your husband, your wife, your sister, your dad, whatever.
00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:17.599
Everybody needs that mentorship.
00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:23.279
You have to surround yourself with people who are of like mind, and that is so important.
00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:36.160
And honestly, that really kind of leads me into what I wanted this episode to be about in the first place, which was unequally yoked relationships, and then I just kept hearing God saying, no, no, no, iron sharpens iron, iron sharpens iron.
00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:53.279
And we're gonna talk a little bit about that, but I want to explain to you the difference between a friendship that you have between two people who are gonna sharpen each other versus a friendship of an unequally yoked relationship.
00:25:53.599 --> 00:26:01.519
So do you know what it means to have like be to be yoked together, basically?
00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:04.079
I do not.
00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:09.200
Okay, so a yoke is like we're gonna talk literal for a second, okay?
00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:18.559
A yoke is a wooden beam that connects two animals, like two ox, or is it oxen if you're talking about two, and then an ox is a singular one?
00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:19.279
Not sure.
00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:20.240
Oxen though.
00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:21.759
See, I wouldn't have took it that way.
00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:23.759
That'd have been like an egg yoke.
00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:25.039
No.
00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:26.480
No.
00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:30.400
So it's like two animals that are isn't that yoke?
00:26:30.720 --> 00:26:32.640
L Y Y O L K.
00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:35.039
That's not how I say it right now.
00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:35.920
Oh, hickey.
00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:37.359
No, it's a yoke.
00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:46.400
But it's two animals that are yoked together, and it's a wooden beam that kind of ties them together, and it's so the animals can share the workload.
00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:54.480
They may be hooked up to a car or a plow or something like that, and they kind of pull it together and they share this workload.
00:26:54.720 --> 00:27:03.599
But if the animals were uneven, say like one ox isn't hooked up properly and it gets off balance, there's a few things that can happen.
00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:18.720
Either there's one ox that's pulling the whole load by itself and also the dead weight of the other animal, or it kind of gets stuck in a rut and they end up going in circles, or it causes both of the animals to stop completely.
00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:38.400
And in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 4 or verse 14, Paul is writing a letter to the Corinthians, and he says, Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion hath light with darkness?
00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:51.920
So Paul is using this letter to tell the Corinthians, like, hey, if you yoke yourself together with an unbeliever, if you tie yourself together with an unbeliever, you are going to be held back.
00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:57.119
You are going to be going in circles, and eventually you may even stop.
00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:19.599
And he's trying to be, he's being very, very serious and very purposeful about what he's saying because just in the same way that iron sharpens iron, and you know, a friendship that is a godly friendship, a relationship that is a godly relationship can build one another up, an unequally yoked relationship can tear one down just as quickly.
00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:28.400
And it's something that the Bible revisits several times in Deuteronomy, Judges, First Kings, Ephesians, all throughout.
00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:32.799
And we can I'll put all of the verses to where they're talking about that in the show notes.
00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:43.599
But I think a lot of people, specifically women, look at this as somewhat of a challenge, almost.
00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:53.519
And they see a man that they like, they end up falling for some guy who is not a Christian, he's not a believer, and she says, What?
00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:54.960
What do they say?
00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:56.240
I can change him.
00:28:56.400 --> 00:29:04.480
I can fix that, I can change him, and it's almost like a challenge, but there are two different paths that we can start with on this.
00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:10.799
We can, you know, we can look at it from the perspective of their dating, or maybe they're already married.
00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:17.519
And I asked my dad today, I was like, Dad, what's your advice to someone who's in an unequally yoked relationship?
00:29:17.839 --> 00:29:19.839
He said, Are they married or are they dating?
00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:21.200
And I said, Let's just say they're dating.
00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:22.319
He goes, Leave them.
00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:24.000
Easy as that, leave them.
00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:24.880
And he's right.
00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:39.359
I mean, it's very hard to say that and to for some people to understand that, but if you are in an unequally yoked relationship, it is one that you need to get out of because you are just gonna end up going in ruts, you're gonna end up stopping eventually.
00:29:39.519 --> 00:29:41.519
And some people say, you know, that's so hard.
00:29:41.599 --> 00:30:04.880
I've built a life with this person, and that can put us into a whole nother episode of you have soul ties with someone that you're not supposed to have soul ties with yet, you know, and I mean you're saying you're living with this person, you've already built a life with this person, and there's a foundation there that isn't supposed to be there yet, and that's why this is so hard.
00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:12.319
And again, that is a whole other like episode that we can get into, and I can go through all the Bible for that.
00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:16.079
But let's say, you know, you're married.
00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:23.119
Well, what do you do if you have it's usually it's usually the wife that goes to church first?
00:30:23.359 --> 00:30:38.880
Let's just start with that one, and I've seen it the other way around, but let's say that you know you're the wife who is in church and you're getting up on Sundays and you're taking the kids to church, and your husband doesn't want to be there, he doesn't want to get up, he doesn't want to do it.
00:30:39.200 --> 00:31:01.279
That's going to put a strain on your marriage, it's gonna put a strain on everything because you know, as you're moving forward with God, you want your family to move forward too, and it kind of gets you in this place to where you're frustrated, and of course, when you're married, you can't just walk out, like when you made your vows, you made your vows.
00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:05.440
You can't just give up and go on, but it makes it a lot harder.
00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:23.279
And I remember I was asking Andy today, I was telling him about you know, we were gonna talk about unequally yoked, or we were gonna do this iron sharpened iron thing, and he was like, Well, you know, everything worked out for us, and he was saying, you know, we were kind of unequally yoked in the beginning, and I was like, you know what?
00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:40.319
I've thought about that so much, like how you know you weren't in church at all, and I was in church, and you know, it just ended up working out how it worked out, and then I realized something that kind of hit me a little harder than I think I expected it to.
00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:45.839
But the sad truth of it is is we weren't unequally yoked at all.
00:31:46.079 --> 00:31:58.319
Just because I was sitting in church every Sunday didn't make me a Christian, it didn't make me any different from you not sitting in the church, you know what I'm saying?
00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:15.359
Like I was at the church because that's just where I was expected to be, but it didn't mean that I was doing what I should be doing, like I knew exactly what to do and how to do it, but that I was just a bench warmer, you know what I'm saying?
00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:24.720
And that was kind of a hard realization for me, but I mean when you when you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, you can tell the difference.
00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:29.279
Like you're not counting the minutes until the sermon's over, you're not counting like this.
00:32:29.359 --> 00:32:30.640
She's done saying four songs.
00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:32.640
How many more songs is she gonna sing?
00:32:32.799 --> 00:32:35.519
Like the sermon isn't boring, you're not falling asleep.
00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:51.119
And if you have ever sat in a church service to where like you I can the difference in the church services I can explain is you know, before I really got saved, I'm just sitting there and I'm not falling asleep, I'm counting the minutes, I'm drawing.
00:32:51.359 --> 00:33:16.079
Like it felt like I had sat there for four days, but being as excited as I am to walk in those doors, to see all the people there, to talk to everybody, to sing, to worship, to, you know, dive into whatever dad's talking about for the day, and then it's it's over so quickly now, and it's just funny the difference between being saved and not saved.
00:33:16.160 --> 00:33:20.880
The whole point of everything that I'm saying today is relationships.
00:33:21.440 --> 00:33:31.519
You need to be careful who you are around and who you are creating, you know, these ties with in your life.
00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:43.279
And you know, we've talked about iron sharpens iron, and we've talked about how you know lightness and darkness can't go together, and believers and unbelievers that they just you can't be unequally yoked.
00:33:43.599 --> 00:34:02.480
All of that is to say, look at who you are surrounding yourself with, and that is a very hard thing to do when you really start looking because there's a lot of people that will mean a lot to you, and you have to kind of realize, like, okay, am I guiding this person to a better place?
00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:04.880
Like, am I really doing what I need to be doing?
00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:11.360
And I'm talking like in a friendship way right now, or are they pulling me into their bad habits?
00:34:11.679 --> 00:34:13.679
Or let's talk about relationships.
00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:19.920
Like, am I really going anywhere in this relationship, or is she holding me back?
00:34:20.159 --> 00:34:21.840
Is he holding me back?
00:34:22.079 --> 00:34:35.440
And I just want everybody to kind of take a minute wherever you're at today and just examine what you're doing, and please do not tell me 47 of y'all have done left your husbands after this episode.
00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:37.280
This is not what I'm trying to do.
00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:43.760
I just want you to, if you're married and you're unequally yoked, we can talk about that in another episode.
00:34:43.920 --> 00:34:53.920
I didn't dive into it a whole lot today, but you know, you really have to start the hard work then and be like, look, like, I mean, there came a point, I'll be a little transparent with you.
00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:59.599
There came a point with me and Andy where I was like, Look, I love you and I want to be with you.
00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:04.079
We're married, we're building this life together, but that's not who I am anymore.
00:35:04.159 --> 00:35:10.719
And if that's who you're going to be, then we need to sit down and have like a come to Jesus meeting because I'm not doing that.
00:35:11.039 --> 00:35:21.519
Now, obviously, it worked out for us, and I never I did not force him into any salvation, and I know there's some people who have done that, that they literally like, I'll get saved.
00:35:21.599 --> 00:35:22.800
She wants me to get saved.
00:35:22.960 --> 00:35:24.480
That's not getting saved.
00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:34.159
No, I just told him, like, hey, this is where I'm gonna be at on Sunday morning, this is what I'm gonna be doing on Wednesday nights, this is what I'm gonna be doing instead of doing this.
00:35:34.239 --> 00:35:35.840
And if you want to follow me, that's great.
00:35:35.920 --> 00:35:36.880
We can have a great time.
00:35:37.039 --> 00:35:39.280
If not, it's gonna be a bad time.
00:35:39.360 --> 00:35:41.280
Like, we're just not gonna have a great time.
00:35:41.440 --> 00:35:43.760
And you know, he weighed out his options there.
00:35:43.920 --> 00:35:52.559
And the thing is, is like just because it was the girl versus the guy, does not I mean that means nothing, like it could have very easily been the other way around.
00:35:52.639 --> 00:36:00.719
I'm not trying to pick on the guys for anything, it's just from my perspective, from our relationship point, that's where we were at.
00:36:01.039 --> 00:36:15.599
And you know, like I said, it worked out and it could not be better, but there's so many things in our lives that I don't know how we would have made it had we not had the foundation of God that we have in our marriage.
00:36:16.079 --> 00:36:36.320
And it's you know, that like at my absolute lowest points in my life, which again to be it's it's hard to go from one podcast where I try so hard to not tell anybody anything, to going to one to where I literally share the darkest, deepest.
00:36:36.559 --> 00:36:38.320
And I guess that's what we're gonna be doing.
00:36:38.480 --> 00:37:59.440
But like the two or the two lowest points of my life were when we were dealing with infertility and going through at that same time a lot of hard changes with our our family in general, because like y'all know, you know, we have um I have a stepson, and then we have two together as well, and there it there was just a very odd time in the midst there where we're figuring out how to co-parent, and then we're also trying to bring in a new baby, and it was just like we're all babies at the same time because we were, and that was just a very rough period of my life and Andy's life, and then also dealing with the last two years of my mom's life, and then ultimately her passing, and even through all of that, I thank God for what he has done in my marriage because I know that there's a reason that God put me and Andy together, there's a reason that Andy did come to God the way that he came to God, because I needed somebody who was going to remind me that not only did he have my back, but God had my back, and there is something so intimate, so amazing about having a marriage like that.
00:37:59.599 --> 00:38:16.880
Like for a man to stand with you and say, I have you, I don't know why I'm about to cry, but for your man to stand there with you and say, you know, I have you, I I will do whatever needs to be done to make sure that I've provided for you and our kids.
00:38:17.199 --> 00:38:21.280
But hey, don't forget none of this is without God.
00:38:21.440 --> 00:38:32.639
Don't forget that God has you too, and that's something that I that's why you have to find somebody who is a believer.
00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:40.000
That's why you have to surround yourself with people who are believers because iron sharpens iron.
00:38:40.320 --> 00:39:27.519
And you when I was dealing with all of this stuff with my mom specifically, it I could have gone so deep into the pain that I felt with all of that, and like dealing with the abandonment that I had dealt with, dealing with just me being a mom and having all of these babies in my life, even the ones, you know, like my brother and sister that I helped my dad finish raising, and all of these babies in my life that look to me, and I'm a grown woman at this point, you know, there's still that little girl that wants her mom.
00:39:27.760 --> 00:40:05.119
And I, you know, I'm dealing with all of that, and it was like every time I would get to a certain place, I would kind of fall back a little bit, and Andy would have to kind of pull me back up out of it, and then after she passed away, and you deal with this this complicated grief, I could have fell so far deep into that that I would not have been able to come up out of it had I not had people surrounding me screaming and preaching the love of God at me, and in this I'm gonna stop talking about all this in just a second, but it just when I say iron sharpens iron, this is what I mean.
00:40:05.360 --> 00:40:34.559
There was a point in dealing with my mom's passing that me, my sister, and my brother were on the phone with some people in my mom's life who we were not getting along with at the time, and we were all starting to argue, you know, like we get on the phone at first and we're all trying to be very like diplomatic and like you know correct and everything that we're saying, and then the the accent came out soon after that, and I wasn't having a good time.
00:40:35.119 --> 00:40:48.480
And I just started like screaming at this person, and if you know me, you know that I am not a confrontational person at all, but I became a very confrontational person that day.
00:40:48.559 --> 00:40:54.960
I'm sure I think we were in one room with the door closed, and Andy and everybody heard every word I said from the other room.
00:40:55.199 --> 00:41:01.119
Um, but my sister, you know, she's looking at me and she's like, You're opening a door, you're opening a door.
00:41:01.280 --> 00:41:01.679
Stop.
00:41:01.760 --> 00:41:03.039
You need to stop.
00:41:03.360 --> 00:41:08.239
And I absolutely didn't stop, and I absolutely did open a door.
00:41:08.559 --> 00:41:23.599
And the anger that I let inside of me that day stayed with me, and I was seething for months until finally one day I just kind of broke, and my sister was looking at me and she was like, Bridget, I told you.
00:41:23.760 --> 00:41:34.960
I, you know, I wasn't being mean, I wasn't trying to tell you what to do, I was trying to make sure that you understood, hey, that anger's not from God, that anger is not something that you need to give into.
00:41:35.440 --> 00:41:53.360
And I j I thank God every day for my sister, she has no idea the person that she has become, the woman that she has become, and the way that she has guided me is just like I said at the beginning of this a very bizarre thing to watch your baby sister lead you into something.
00:41:53.519 --> 00:42:10.559
Like I raised that kid, like don't get me wrong, my dad raised us, but like I'm the one that had to kind of mama her and teach her things, and now she's teaching me things, and it's just a very bizarre way to deal with everything in the end, not in the end, but just deal with everything.
00:42:10.719 --> 00:42:14.800
But I'm just so thankful for her, and I encourage everybody to find a Cassie.
00:42:14.960 --> 00:42:26.400
Okay, you need a Cassie in your life, you need a mentor in your life, you need somebody who, if you need to pray, she'll come up to your house and she'll pray.
00:42:26.559 --> 00:42:33.199
I called my dad one night at like 10:30, 11 o'clock, because something had scared me really bad.
00:42:33.360 --> 00:42:38.320
And I guess Cassie had just got home and my dad said, Hey, we're going up to Bridget, something happened.
00:42:38.559 --> 00:42:47.920
My sister busted in my front door at 11 o'clock at night with a Bible in one hand and her keys in the other, looking like the Ghostbusters trying to fight some demons walking up in my house.
00:42:48.159 --> 00:42:49.760
And she was like, Let's pray.
00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:51.679
But that's the kind of friends that you need.
00:42:51.760 --> 00:42:55.119
You need somebody that's going to pray with you.
00:42:55.280 --> 00:43:07.599
You need somebody that instead of letting you wallow in the self-pity, wallow in the depression, that they are going to pull you out and say, Hey, is this really where you think God wants you to be right now?
00:43:07.679 --> 00:43:09.679
Like, let me help you out of that.
00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:18.559
And I know I'm talking about my sister a lot, but she's really the person who, at least for me, she is that iron that has sharpened my iron.
00:43:18.719 --> 00:43:24.480
But it's somebody that, you know, it's what is it, see one, do one, teach one kind of situation.
00:43:24.800 --> 00:43:26.639
Like that's kind of how you have to take the Bible.
00:43:26.800 --> 00:43:36.880
Like, I'm learning from Cassie, and I'm learning from dad, and I'm doing the best that I can, like, I'm doing this, I'm trying my best, but then I'm also trying to teach it.
00:43:36.960 --> 00:43:37.840
You know what I'm saying?
00:43:37.920 --> 00:43:40.239
Like, I see it, I'm doing it, and I'm teaching it.
00:43:40.480 --> 00:43:45.199
And Andy is also picking up on a lot of that too.
00:43:45.280 --> 00:43:48.480
Like, like I said at the beginning of this, he is not.
00:43:49.440 --> 00:44:03.599
I I wanted to make sure that everybody understood where we both were in the beginning of this because you know, he I grew up as a preacher's kid, I grew up as someone who I could tell you all 66 books of the Bible at seven years old.
00:44:03.760 --> 00:44:06.880
I could tell you all of these things, and that's not who Andy was.
00:44:06.960 --> 00:44:16.400
And I'm I made a point to say that, not to downplay who he is or not to make him seem like less of a Christian, but we're all at different levels at any given time.
00:44:16.559 --> 00:44:19.039
Everybody as it is at a different level.
00:44:19.280 --> 00:44:23.440
And I didn't want anyone to feel like they had to be at a certain place to start this.
00:44:23.679 --> 00:44:32.639
Like, I can, you know, let my iron sharpen your iron, whatever, but there's questions that maybe Andy can answer better than I can answer.
00:44:32.880 --> 00:44:35.199
I'm a very, how would you explain?
00:44:35.440 --> 00:44:39.039
I'm a very emotional, sensitive type person.
00:44:39.199 --> 00:44:43.039
Like I'm gonna explain it to you this way, but not everybody learns that way.
00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:47.840
Andy is what is Andy?
00:44:49.199 --> 00:44:51.360
You probably can't say that on this podcast.
00:44:52.159 --> 00:44:59.599
He's very direct, but he's also, if you know anything about apologetics and what that is, that is Andy.
00:44:59.679 --> 00:45:01.440
Like that is where he shines at.
00:45:01.519 --> 00:45:04.400
And I don't even think that he realizes that to an extent.
00:45:04.559 --> 00:45:10.079
But you know, he was talking earlier about how I don't think he I don't think we were recording when you said it though.
00:45:10.159 --> 00:45:23.920
You said um you don't realize how much you know until people start asking questions, and that's when you know, buddy over here starts like sni like he's got scriptures coming out then or like well not script, maybe he get he nails it down to the book.
00:45:24.239 --> 00:45:27.760
I'm like, ah, you know that one thing, uh we're getting there, we're getting there.
00:45:27.920 --> 00:45:39.199
But that's like that's why you have to like you have to read, you have to know these things, and the more you read, the easier it comes, the easier it just flows out of you.
00:45:39.440 --> 00:45:58.480
But my encouragement for you today is to find somebody who can help you through your walk with God, to find somebody who sharpens you as a Christian and use them as you know, tell them, say, hey, I need to know more, I want to learn more.
00:45:58.639 --> 00:45:59.760
Can you pray for me?
00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:02.960
Can you be here for me if I have questions?
00:46:03.119 --> 00:46:07.199
And you know, if I can be that person, I absolutely will try my best to.
00:46:07.440 --> 00:46:12.320
We have people all the time who are DMing us, and I try to answer as many questions as I can.
00:46:12.480 --> 00:46:17.679
But if I can't, I'm sure somebody on our page can if you ever have any questions.
00:46:17.920 --> 00:46:22.960
We made a group chat on the Facebook page today, and it's just called the Beehive.
00:46:23.280 --> 00:46:31.039
But if you ever have a question, you can just send it into that group chat, and I'm sure somebody can point you in the direction of where it's at in the Bible.
00:46:31.280 --> 00:46:44.320
And I I just I want everybody to find a person, you know, find somebody who makes you not only a better you, but they make you a better Christian, they bring you closer to God instead of pulling you away from God.
00:46:44.559 --> 00:46:47.840
So that is just where I want to end today's episode.
00:46:48.079 --> 00:46:49.760
And stay with us, guys.
00:46:49.840 --> 00:46:55.360
We're still slowly trying to figure out how the format of this show is gonna work.
00:46:55.599 --> 00:47:03.360
Um, we have a lot of things that we're kind we're working on, we're trying to figure out the flow of it and how we want everything to go.
00:47:03.679 --> 00:47:21.679
But I just wanted to also make sure I told you guys that if you ever have any prayer requests, there's always gonna be like a little form in our show notes that you can click on, and it's just like a Google form, and you can always leave a prayer request in there, and we'll check it and we'll pray over them, and you can leave it anonymously, you can leave your name, it's completely up to you.
00:47:21.920 --> 00:47:30.800
But just know that that is there if you ever need prayer and make sure you have entered into our giveaway for the hand-painted Bible.
00:47:30.960 --> 00:47:32.800
You have one week left.
00:47:33.119 --> 00:47:36.719
I think Sunday the 17th is when we're gonna announce the winners.
00:47:36.960 --> 00:47:44.960
So make sure that you are inviting people to our group, make sure you are following our group, and that you have shared the page.
00:47:45.280 --> 00:47:52.000
So many of you have already done this, and I'm blown away by all of you that are in the group now, and I'm just so proud of it.
00:47:52.159 --> 00:47:58.000
So just keep it going, guys, and I want to grow this group to everything that I know it can be.
00:47:58.320 --> 00:48:02.719
But are you ready to pray and then we can let them go?
00:48:03.119 --> 00:48:03.679
Sure.
00:48:04.079 --> 00:48:05.440
Alrighty, God.
00:48:05.599 --> 00:48:11.679
I just want to ask that whoever it is that needed this message today, God, that you help them receive it well.
00:48:11.840 --> 00:48:32.719
And I pray that everyone who has listened, no matter if it's right now when the episode drops or if it's five months to a year from now, God, I pray that this person just tries every relationship in their life and they find out who is going to sharpen them, who is going to bring them closer to you, God, instead of pulling them away.
00:48:32.880 --> 00:48:44.880
And I ask that if they have wrong people in their life, God, take the wrong people out of their life and bring the right ones in and just help them build up this foundation that they need to be with you, God.
00:48:45.119 --> 00:48:51.920
And I just ask that you watch over everybody and you bring them through this week and that you keep everybody safe.
00:48:52.000 --> 00:48:55.360
And we just thank you for bringing everybody together to be able to listen to this.
00:48:55.519 --> 00:48:57.280
In your holy name that we pray, God.
00:48:57.360 --> 00:48:57.840
Amen.
00:48:58.079 --> 00:48:58.480
See ya.
00:48:58.719 --> 00:48:59.599
Toodles.
