April 14, 2025

Lana Silk: A Life of Adventure

Lana Silk: A Life of Adventure
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Lana Silk: A Life of Adventure
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All or nothing. That’s the kind of faith Lana Silk has lived—rooted in daily obedience, unwavering trust, and bold steps into the unknown. Raised in an environment where faith came at a cost, Lana witnessed firsthand the power of saying “yes” to God, even when the path was unclear. From the underground church in Iran to moments of deep personal surrender, her story is a powerful testament to God’s faithfulness in both the miraculous and the mundane.

As you listen, you’ll gain inspiration to follow God wholeheartedly, recognize His voice in your own life, and find courage to take your next step of faith—no matter how small or daunting it may seem.

✅ Be inspired by real-life faith in action—radical trust and obedience, even in the face of persecution.

✅ Gain courage to overcome fear and step out in faith, even when the path is uncertain.

✅ Discover how daily obedience and hearing God's voice shape a life of purpose and impact.

✅ Witness God's unexpected provision and guidance in ways that strengthen your trust in Him.

✅ Feel challenged to say “yes” to God’s call—no matter where it leads.

Our Guest: Lana Silk

 

Lana Silk is an advocate for seeing the people of Iran come to know the Lord. That is where she first encountered him. Born and raised in Iran, Lana later moved to the UK, where she earned an honors degree in computer engineering, followed by postgraduate studies in marketing communication strategy.

 

Her journey led her into a career in branding, fundraising, and nonprofit consulting, as well as ministry. She served as a church minister, worship leader, and college chaplain, focusing on youth mental health and safeguarding. Now living in Ohio with her husband and three children, Lana serves as the chief executive officer of Transform Iran USA. She's committed to bringing freedom and hope to the people of Iran through ministry and humanitarian aid. Fluent in three languages, and deeply dedicated to advocacy, she considers it her life's calling to be a voice for Iran in the West. 



Key Thoughts and Scriptures:

 

Acts 17:24-28 NLT He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples…

 

  • Lana’s parents invited her and her siblings as children into a life of adventure where God was exciting and active in their lives. 
  • Her parents modeled what it was to live in steps of faith.
  • Just do the step in front of you.
  • The truth of what Lana experienced in Jesus was so real that there was never any risk of that being compromised in her mind.

 

1 Peter 2:9 KJV But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light

 

  • We have come too far wanting to appease people in the name of tolerance.
  • Jesus was offensive to the powers that be in His day.
  • Understand that to go from death to life in the spirit is actually the most dramatic conversion that we can have.
  • This is an all or nothing kind of faith. 
  • When we are baptized, we are dying to our own self and raising to a new life.

 

“Christians, we are dead men walking, we are dead to ourselves and we live for Christ. And whatever happens in our life, we know we're alive for eternity, but we have to die to everything else.” - Derek Prince

 

Lana discovered there is freedom that comes in relinquishing our hold on the things that we don't need to hold. Letting God be God.

 

  • “It's His story. If He wants me here, then it's His responsibility to provide for me here.”

 

Isaiah 54:2 NKJV Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings…

 

  • The actual process of stretching is uncomfortable, but it increases the ground that we cover. It increases our territory. Also it'll increase our legacy, even our impact.
  • Lana made a decision that she wouldn't make any life-altering decisions without a prophetic confirmation from God.
  • “Do I really believe that He's good and He is a God of clarity? So then if I really believe this, then why wouldn't He tell me what I should do?”

 

Psalm 16:6 NIV The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places…

 

  • “‘I feel like what God is saying is ‘You need to go and I'm going with you.’” It was just not the right answer.”
  • Obedience is dying to self. It's that little bit, little by little, God shows us that part of you is now dead and you're alive in Me.
  • “But when I get  in the middle of it, I realize God knows me so much better than I know myself.”

 

Isaiah 30:21 NKJV Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,”...

 

Ephesians 1:3-6 NLT All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms…This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure…

 

  • It's God’s pleasure to bless us and to lead us along the way. 
  • Often it is harder for parents to trust God with their kids than with themselves. 
  • If we protect them too much, then we protect them from the adventure.

 

Every nudge from the Lord that we hear has a plan and a purpose and an impact.

 

Psalm 119:105 NKJV Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

 

  • We don't know where our journey leads. And that's His kindness as well. 
  • Sometimes we think we know the best way to get there. God has a much better way.
  • Lana has learned to not get ahead of herself in her own ego, but also not get ahead in fear and paralysis.
  • Our callings are unique. But our ability to fulfill those callings is also unique.
  • God prepares us and gifts us and lines us up, so that our gifting and  preparation collides with our calling all at the right time.
  • And that can only happen if our obedience is in step as well.
  • But when we follow God's leading, when we just say yes, He's not asking us to bring anything with us, but ourselves.
  • And God may not be asking us to bleed for Him literally, but He is asking for sacrifice. 
  • “He wants me more than He wants my ministry.”
  • God is the God of today.
  • So what does He want from me today? Where is He stretching me today? 
  • Spend time with God so that you can learn to hear what His voice sounds like.
  • And then when He does speak, no matter what it is, take that risk, do it with joy, it will be good for you. 

 

Matthew 25:14-30 NIV The Parable of the Talents

 

Anna’s Story

 

Luke 2:36-38 ESV

 

  • Anna was a simple woman who saw what God was doing right before her eyes that other people missed.
  • It’s so important that we don't miss what God is doing.

 

I Chronicles 12:32 NKJV …the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…

 

Matthew 24 NIV …Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near…

 

  • You could walk by and carry on with what you're doing, or you could engage with what God is doing. Don't miss it. Because it's a blessing for you.
  • It was a blessing for Anna. She got to speak blessing over the Messiah before hardly anyone else knew that He was there.
  • Partnering with Him becomes an adventure.

 

Ephesians 3:20 NLT Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

 

  • It requires our “Yes.”
  • God is able to meet every need, reach those who seem unreachable, work in us to transform us, and bring God glory.

 

Luke 1:37 NKJV For with God nothing will be impossible.

 

  • God invites us into relationship with Him and has a vision for each of our lives.
  • Are you willing to say ‘Yes’?
  • If there's any doubt, what's the harm?
  • Worst case scenario, you'd take a step into the unknown and if it was to share a word with someone, it would have given somebody a good word and that would be it. 
  • Best case scenario, you've obeyed God and somewhere in between you've shown God that even if you're not sure, you're willing to take that step.



Links:

 



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Connect with Us:

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Twitter:     https://twitter.com/_SomebodyCares

 

Somebody Cares Prayer Line (855) 459-CARE (2273)

prayer@somebodycares.org

 

Want to help Widows and Orphans? Join our growing company of women meeting special needs of parentless children and nurturing their unique gifts so they can be ALL God has in mind for them!  And help meet real needs of women who have given a lifetime of service to God! Support the Somebody Cares Widows and Orphan fund today!  

 

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Hey friends, welcome to the Her God Story podcast

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where you will always hear a good story to encourage

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and inspire you in your walk with the Lord. I

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am so glad you tuned in. I'm your host, Jodie

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Chiricosta, ministry leader at Somebody Cares

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America, international author and traveler on

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this journey with Jesus. God cares deeply about

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the overlooked and hurting among us, and he has

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a special place in his heart for widows and orphans.

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Over and over in scripture, he directs us to

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pray about joining our number with a gift at

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hergodstory .org and click on help now. We even

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accept cryptocurrency. God is moving around the

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world. We can at times get so caught up in our

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own lives, church, and community that we forget

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God's interest and reach is vast. While He's

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answering our prayers and intimately supplying

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our needs, He's also doing that for people all

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over the world. He is Lord of all the earth,

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and His desire is that all people from every

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nation, tribe, and tongue become part of His

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family. Acts 17, 24 through 28a gives us a glimpse

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of his plan. The New Living Translation reads,

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He decided beforehand when they should rise and

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fall, and He determined their boundaries. His

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purpose was for the nations to seek after God

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and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find

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Him, though He's not far from any one of us.

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For in Him we live and move and exist. My guest,

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Lana Silk, is an advocate for seeing the people

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of Iran come to know the Lord. That is where

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she first encountered Him. Born and raised in

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Iran, Lana later moved to the UK, where she earned

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an honors degree in computer engineering, followed

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by post -graduate studies in marketing communication

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strategy. Her journey led her into a career in

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branding, fundraising, and nonprofit consulting,

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as well as ministry. She served as a church minister,

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worship leader, and college chaplain, focusing

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on youth mental health and safeguarding. Now

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living in Ohio with her husband and three children,

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Lana serves as the chief executive officer of

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Transform Iran USA. She's committed to bringing

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freedom and hope to the people of Iran through

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ministry and humanitarian aid. Fluent in three

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languages and deeply dedicated to advocacy, she

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considers it her life's calling to be a voice

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for Iran in the West. She has an amazing story,

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and I know it will inspire you. Welcome, Lana.

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Thank you, Jody. Can you tell us, take us back

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to your early years in Iran? It's a nation that's

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so mysterious to many people in the West. How

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did your faith journey begin and in what ways

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did God shape your upbringing? So I was born

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in an Islamic Republic in Iran. And so right

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from the beginning, I was surrounded by Muslim

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propaganda and a desire by the authorities around

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me to brainwash me for want of a better word

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and have me sign up to the government's ethos.

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I was very privileged that my parents were both

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Christians. My dad is a second generation Christian.

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My mom is a first generation Christian. And they

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brought us up to love Jesus. And really I think

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one of the many things I'm so grateful for for

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those early years is an understanding of a living,

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active relationship with Jesus where he really

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is the source of all my needs, the source of

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my relational needs, my fulfillment, my joy,

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and everything was God -centered. So I think

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right from the beginning the yes was always stronger

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than the no. You know, what our parents were

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inviting us into as children was a life of adventure

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where God was exciting and alive and supernatural

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and, you know, active in our lives, and that

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was always more appealing than the alternative.

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So we learned from an early, right from the beginning

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what it was to live that way. And I think that's

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what shaped things for me because it caused me

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to, well, my parents modeled to me what it was

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to live in steps of faith. So from an early stage

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with them following the voice of God to leave

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Iran when they didn't know why, And then following

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his voice to establish a ministry to Iranians,

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step by step obedience, acts of faith, no need

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for the full picture, just need the step in front

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of you now. And I think when that's modeled to

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you as well, and you walk in the good of what

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it looks like to have the fruit of that in your

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life. then it shapes your own decision -making.

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That is so true. My parents also modeled a living

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faith for me when I was young. And it was just,

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there was no question that God is alive and well

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and loving. And I know not everyone's experience

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is that. And you certainly lived in an environment

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where people all around you were not experiencing

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the goodness of God. I would imagine you may

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have faced some persecution along the way. Yes,

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a little bit. For me personally, I was a little

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bit oblivious to some of those dangers. My mom

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tells me the story of when I was maybe eight

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years old, something like that, standing on the

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balcony in our apartment in Tehran and shouting

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out to the pastors by about how Jesus was Lord

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and they needed to repent of their sins. They

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were having to drag me into the house. You cannot

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shout like that from the balcony. I was naive

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in it a little bit, but also I think that stemmed

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from such a a pure and sort of passionate faith

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that surely this is true and surely everyone

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needs to hear and what are we going to do about

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it? It's that kind of urgency. Yeah, so they

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did a good job of walking that fine line of protecting

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me so that I didn't walk in fear, but also protecting

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me so I didn't make the crazy mistake. But yeah,

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I mean, I went to an Islamic school. They lined

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us up in the schoolyard in the mornings and had

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us shout, death to America, death to Israel.

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Everything was very Islamic, very propaganda

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driven. And yet I guess the truth of what I'd

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experienced in Jesus was so real and so dominating

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in my thinking that there was never any risk

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of that being compromised in my mind. Yeah, that's

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amazing because boy, you sure could have just

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bowed to the the cultural pressure, the peer

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pressure, you know, this is what everybody else

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believes. Why am I different? Yeah. But we are

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a peculiar people, a chosen generation, a royal

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priesthood. And you knew that from an early age.

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Yeah, I did. Yeah. Never afraid to be different.

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Some of that is personality makeup, I think.

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And some of that is Christian personality that

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I guess we all should have a little bit of, which

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is that we are supposed to be different. And

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actually, our message is a little bit offensive.

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I think we have come too far down the line of

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wanting to appease people and keep people happy.

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In the name of tolerance, some things get compromised

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sometimes. Jesus was offensive to the powers

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that be in his day. Yeah, yeah. To the powers

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that want to keep us captive, certainly offensive.

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Yeah, yeah. Well, throughout your life, I'm sure

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you have many, many stories, but, you know, whether

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in your move to UK or career or relationships,

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what are some of those pivotal moments where

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you saw clearly God's hand guiding you and protecting

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you along the way, starting when you were eight

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years old even? Yeah, that's right. Yeah, I've

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always been passionate by nature, like in every

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way. I'm an all -in kind of person. So it was...

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Faith could never have been a bolt on, it was

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everything. And some of that was also because

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of what I'd experienced and I wanted everything.

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I didn't want half of it. I think one of my earlier

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memories that sort of had a shaping effect on

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my life was when I was baptised. I was sort of

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13, 14, 15, that kind of age. And I was... I

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was very excited and the way they did baptisms

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in my church was you would get up and you would

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give your testimony and that in itself had been

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a bit of a journey for me because I didn't have

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a, you know, I was a drug addict and a criminal

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and I didn't have that story and I was a little

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bit sort of, I remember that process of struggling

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a little bit with well my story's not very exciting

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and then having a revelation of how exciting

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it is too. go from death to life in the spirit,

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you know, that understanding that that's actually

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the most dramatic conversion that we can have.

00:09:53.269 --> 00:09:55.970
So that revelation had led to my testimony that

00:09:55.970 --> 00:09:58.269
written was very excited to share it. And it

00:09:58.269 --> 00:10:00.970
was just so there was so much joy and excitement

00:10:00.970 --> 00:10:04.350
in the moment. And then after I was baptized,

00:10:04.389 --> 00:10:07.409
I was at the back and was getting changed. And

00:10:07.409 --> 00:10:10.769
I didn't what I didn't know was that my dad had

00:10:10.769 --> 00:10:13.409
received a phone call just before I was baptized.

00:10:14.330 --> 00:10:16.570
to let him know that his best friend had just

00:10:16.570 --> 00:10:19.789
been martyred in Iran. And his best friend was

00:10:19.789 --> 00:10:21.570
the superintendent of the church in Iran. It's

00:10:21.570 --> 00:10:23.409
actually ended up being one of the most sort

00:10:23.409 --> 00:10:26.789
of infamous martyrdoms that took place in those

00:10:26.789 --> 00:10:29.830
early days of the story changing for what the

00:10:29.830 --> 00:10:31.929
church looked like in Iran and how it was being

00:10:31.929 --> 00:10:36.250
persecuted. And so he carried that in himself

00:10:36.250 --> 00:10:39.049
to let me have that sort of excitement of the

00:10:39.049 --> 00:10:41.070
baptism. And then after when I was at the back,

00:10:41.070 --> 00:10:43.679
he got up and shared it with the church. And

00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:46.100
so then my cousin had come running to the back

00:10:46.100 --> 00:10:50.519
in floods of tears while I was getting ready

00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:52.659
saying, they've killed him, they've killed him.

00:10:52.659 --> 00:10:54.299
And I had no idea what she was talking. You know,

00:10:54.299 --> 00:10:55.659
there was no point of reference. They weren't

00:10:55.659 --> 00:10:59.480
killing people at that time. Yeah. So it took

00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:01.240
a little while for me to understand what she

00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:03.759
was saying and exactly what had happened. And

00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:06.440
I'd known him as uncle. Like it was, he had grown

00:11:06.440 --> 00:11:09.659
up with his kids. It was very close to home.

00:11:10.429 --> 00:11:13.690
And I remember as I was processing that, the

00:11:13.690 --> 00:11:15.029
Lord's speaking to me saying, you know, what

00:11:15.029 --> 00:11:17.429
you've just done, that process that you've just,

00:11:17.490 --> 00:11:20.190
you know, that baptism that you've just publicly

00:11:20.190 --> 00:11:22.610
declared that you want to follow me. This is

00:11:22.610 --> 00:11:24.549
what we're talking about here. You know, this

00:11:24.549 --> 00:11:26.830
is an all or nothing kind of faith. So it was

00:11:26.830 --> 00:11:30.850
very, very dramatic in my mind because it was

00:11:30.850 --> 00:11:35.009
a reminder of what it means to follow Christ.

00:11:36.269 --> 00:11:40.049
So. Yeah, it was more of what I knew I guess

00:11:40.049 --> 00:11:42.769
but it was very just that the timing of it has

00:11:42.769 --> 00:11:48.389
never been lost for me just that yeah, so That

00:11:48.389 --> 00:11:51.590
was very very formative when we do baptism We

00:11:51.590 --> 00:11:53.950
are dying to our own self and we are raising

00:11:53.950 --> 00:11:57.110
to new life and when I was growing up I listened

00:11:57.110 --> 00:11:59.889
a lot to a minister named Derek Prince. He was

00:11:59.889 --> 00:12:03.409
a fabulous Bible preacher a Bible teacher And

00:12:03.409 --> 00:12:06.149
he, I remember hearing him talk one day about

00:12:06.149 --> 00:12:10.190
our approach to Christianity and that the communists

00:12:10.190 --> 00:12:12.149
say, we are just dead men walking. And Jesus

00:12:12.149 --> 00:12:14.929
and, and, and Derek Prince said, no, you know,

00:12:15.049 --> 00:12:17.350
Christians, we are dead men walking. We are dead

00:12:17.350 --> 00:12:21.350
to ourselves and we live for Christ. And whatever

00:12:21.350 --> 00:12:23.690
happens in our life, we know we're alive for

00:12:23.690 --> 00:12:27.090
eternity, but we have to die to everything else.

00:12:27.129 --> 00:12:31.960
And that. That revelation and that embracing

00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:36.419
that kind of lifestyle is transformative. It's

00:12:36.419 --> 00:12:39.120
shocking at first when you think, whoa, wait

00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:42.639
a minute, this is really it. It's all or nothing.

00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:45.620
But it's also so freeing when you finally realize

00:12:45.620 --> 00:12:48.200
that and you embrace it. And I think a lot of

00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:49.840
people have a hard time embracing that. They

00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:52.879
think, you know, I really kind of like. doing

00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:57.279
some things my way and God loves for us to enjoy

00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:01.460
life and the beauty of his creation but dying

00:13:01.460 --> 00:13:04.799
and being real realizing that at any moment he

00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:07.559
could call for that you know he could call it

00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:10.200
call us in call us home for his purpose for his

00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:13.480
glory I'm sure that even though there was great

00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:16.059
hardship God was glorified through that martyrdom

00:13:16.059 --> 00:13:18.580
in some way yeah absolutely and he continues

00:13:18.580 --> 00:13:21.429
to be is that story continues to have ripple

00:13:21.429 --> 00:13:25.950
effects and new people are exposed to it. Absolutely.

00:13:26.429 --> 00:13:30.269
I think there is a, like you say, a sort of a

00:13:30.269 --> 00:13:35.889
freedom that comes in relinquishing our hold

00:13:35.889 --> 00:13:40.330
on the things that we don't need to hold. Letting

00:13:40.330 --> 00:13:45.350
God be God. You know, we've lived a life of adventure

00:13:45.350 --> 00:13:47.190
with him, my husband and I now with our children

00:13:47.190 --> 00:13:51.860
and it's... we've taken some steps of faith that

00:13:51.860 --> 00:13:57.399
have been illogical for humans, and yet so freeing

00:13:57.399 --> 00:13:59.440
for us, because when God tells you to jump, you

00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:00.879
jump, and you think, well, it's kind of God's

00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:05.100
problem now. It's his story, and if he wants

00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:08.919
me here, then it's his responsibility to provide

00:14:08.919 --> 00:14:13.899
for me here, so I'm in his care, and it's...

00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:16.460
Yeah, letting him do his part and us doing that

00:14:16.460 --> 00:14:18.679
part is very free. Yeah, give us an example of

00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:20.919
just one of those things that you felt like you

00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:25.740
were just jumping. There have been a few. He's

00:14:25.740 --> 00:14:29.720
very gracious in that he eases us into the next

00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:32.279
stage. The word talks about stretching your tent

00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:37.019
curtains. The actual process of stretching is

00:14:37.019 --> 00:14:40.090
uncomfortable. but it increases the ground that

00:14:40.090 --> 00:14:42.509
we cover, it increases our territory, it'll increase

00:14:42.509 --> 00:14:46.330
our legacy, even our impact. And I feel like

00:14:46.330 --> 00:14:48.690
for me, every step, every decision that I've

00:14:48.690 --> 00:14:50.570
made got to stretch me a little bit more into

00:14:50.570 --> 00:14:52.230
that little bit of a bigger risk, that little

00:14:52.230 --> 00:14:55.470
bit of a bigger ask, a bigger dream, a bigger

00:14:55.470 --> 00:14:57.850
unknown, and then every time a bigger blessing,

00:14:58.190 --> 00:15:00.230
a bigger impact, a deeper understanding of him,

00:15:00.769 --> 00:15:04.330
a greater intimacy with him. So... you know the

00:15:04.330 --> 00:15:07.789
first one that I remember well you know for me

00:15:07.789 --> 00:15:10.549
I made a decision right in my teens that I wouldn't

00:15:10.549 --> 00:15:14.830
make any life -altering decisions without a prophetic

00:15:14.830 --> 00:15:17.110
confirmation from God. I think it was kind of

00:15:17.110 --> 00:15:20.230
a revelation of this letting God be God thing

00:15:20.230 --> 00:15:23.409
of well look do I really believe that he has

00:15:23.409 --> 00:15:25.350
a plan and a will for my life and do I really

00:15:25.350 --> 00:15:27.830
believe that he's good and he is a God of clarity

00:15:27.830 --> 00:15:32.190
so then if I really believe this thing then Why

00:15:32.190 --> 00:15:35.049
wouldn't he know what I should do in every big

00:15:35.049 --> 00:15:37.190
decision that I make and then why wouldn't he

00:15:37.190 --> 00:15:40.350
tell me what I should do? So that was a revelation

00:15:40.350 --> 00:15:42.929
I had pretty early on and right down to so the

00:15:42.929 --> 00:15:44.730
first decision of course was what college do

00:15:44.730 --> 00:15:48.590
I go to and it was a it was a prayerful decision

00:15:48.590 --> 00:15:50.870
and actually ended up going somewhere that I

00:15:50.870 --> 00:15:54.970
wasn't hadn't been a plan a and it was such a

00:15:54.970 --> 00:15:58.230
big blessing for me and I met my husband there

00:15:58.230 --> 00:16:00.629
and so then every step you know with my husband

00:16:00.629 --> 00:16:03.110
when we were dating we sort of reaffirmed this

00:16:03.110 --> 00:16:05.470
decision well we won't there'll be there's no

00:16:05.470 --> 00:16:08.149
marriage in this without God's confirmation and

00:16:08.149 --> 00:16:11.549
then the story of how he confirmed through a

00:16:11.549 --> 00:16:13.830
vision and through a prophetic word through another

00:16:13.830 --> 00:16:16.870
person to each of us that we are we are his best

00:16:16.870 --> 00:16:20.629
plan for each other and so we we've always lived

00:16:20.629 --> 00:16:24.309
like that but the first one that really was a

00:16:24.309 --> 00:16:29.710
big step for me was when we made a big sort of

00:16:29.710 --> 00:16:32.730
career change for my husband, well, a job change,

00:16:32.889 --> 00:16:36.110
and with that, a big house move. So I was pregnant

00:16:36.110 --> 00:16:42.669
with our third child, and we bought a house near

00:16:42.669 --> 00:16:46.769
where my parents live, we were settled, I picked

00:16:46.769 --> 00:16:49.470
up the schools that my kids would go to, and

00:16:49.470 --> 00:16:52.080
my husband had just been promoted to... director

00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:55.159
at his company and everything was going really

00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:57.500
well and my mom was down the road and I was gonna

00:16:57.500 --> 00:17:01.080
have another baby and then he my husband started

00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:08.839
getting headhunted for a job and I for me it

00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:10.880
was just fun like oh isn't this fun that you

00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:13.400
know you you can be noticed by people and they

00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:15.680
you know they want to interview you and he was

00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:18.500
keen to explore it but I think in my head it

00:17:18.500 --> 00:17:20.660
was all Well, you're just having some fun here

00:17:20.660 --> 00:17:24.000
and you're seeing what the wider market thinks

00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:26.059
of you, but of course I'm not going anywhere.

00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:28.140
And I remember my mom once said to me, how do

00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:30.259
you feel about moving? And I said, no, we're

00:17:30.259 --> 00:17:33.740
not moving. He's just interviewing, we're not

00:17:33.740 --> 00:17:36.059
moving. God hasn't said anything and he hasn't

00:17:36.059 --> 00:17:38.619
said anything. And we both knew that we wouldn't

00:17:38.619 --> 00:17:40.640
move without God saying anything. And this place

00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:44.160
was like a two, three hour drive. from our house,

00:17:44.220 --> 00:17:45.759
which in England is a big deal. That's right

00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:47.740
across the country. Like in America now I'm learning

00:17:47.740 --> 00:17:49.400
everything's shrinking. Like three hours is,

00:17:49.400 --> 00:17:52.000
you know, you go shopping three hours away. In

00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:57.480
England you don't do that. So it was just a whole

00:17:57.480 --> 00:17:59.579
different world. We didn't know anyone there.

00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:03.000
And he came home from one of his interviews and

00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:05.299
said, I'm really getting excited about this job.

00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:08.700
I think I want it. And I said, well, you know,

00:18:08.700 --> 00:18:10.720
we can't... We're not moving because God's not

00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:12.359
saying anything. He said, well, we need to really

00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:15.000
start praying because my emotions are changing

00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:18.180
about this. I started digging into the word and

00:18:18.180 --> 00:18:20.740
everything that I was reading was confirming

00:18:20.740 --> 00:18:23.579
my own earthly desire to stay. So it was all

00:18:23.579 --> 00:18:25.299
like the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant

00:18:25.299 --> 00:18:28.619
places and those kinds of scriptures. It was,

00:18:28.619 --> 00:18:32.019
we're not going. And then it got a bit more urgent

00:18:32.019 --> 00:18:33.680
and I thought, no, I really, really need to pray.

00:18:33.980 --> 00:18:36.539
At that time, nobody knew because he was very

00:18:36.539 --> 00:18:40.809
senior in his company and Rod couldn't get out

00:18:40.809 --> 00:18:44.390
that this was happening. And so it was just us,

00:18:44.450 --> 00:18:45.930
just us and our parents that knew that we were

00:18:45.930 --> 00:18:48.369
even exploring this possibility or that he was.

00:18:48.930 --> 00:18:50.990
So I thought, well, I'm just going to cast the

00:18:50.990 --> 00:18:54.710
net wide. So I went on Facebook. And this is

00:18:54.710 --> 00:18:57.910
like 30 years ago now. Facebook is slightly different

00:18:57.910 --> 00:19:00.930
to what it was back then. But I put on Facebook,

00:19:01.269 --> 00:19:06.349
Lana needs to hear God. Anyone got a word? and

00:19:06.349 --> 00:19:09.349
I got some very funny responses and then this

00:19:09.349 --> 00:19:14.049
one guy went and prayed and he sent me a message

00:19:14.049 --> 00:19:18.450
and he said I felt I needed to pray for you properly

00:19:18.450 --> 00:19:21.589
and I've got something for you, I'm not really

00:19:21.589 --> 00:19:23.490
sure if it makes sense but I feel like what God

00:19:23.490 --> 00:19:30.630
is saying is you need to go and I'm going with

00:19:30.630 --> 00:19:35.390
you. It was just It was not the right answer.

00:19:36.910 --> 00:19:40.250
It was such a shock. And I remember just sitting

00:19:40.250 --> 00:19:43.130
there and crying, reading this message over and

00:19:43.130 --> 00:19:45.910
over and thinking, wow, we're going. But it never,

00:19:45.910 --> 00:19:49.009
ever crossed my mind that I wouldn't go because

00:19:49.009 --> 00:19:52.690
I wanted God's will. And I knew that the blessing

00:19:52.690 --> 00:19:56.630
was in God's will. But I also didn't want to

00:19:56.630 --> 00:20:00.250
go in my earthly self. It was a really difficult

00:20:00.250 --> 00:20:04.000
time for me because It was a wrenching goodbye.

00:20:04.859 --> 00:20:06.839
And actually, I'm going into a lot of detail

00:20:06.839 --> 00:20:08.660
now, but my husband had ended up having to go

00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:11.460
earlier because the job started, but I was setting

00:20:11.460 --> 00:20:14.420
up the house. So in the end, I drove up by myself.

00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:17.079
And I remember in that drive listening to Chris

00:20:17.079 --> 00:20:18.940
Tomlin's, Where You Go, I'll Go, Where You Stay,

00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:21.779
I'll Stay, and just processing that and singing

00:20:21.779 --> 00:20:25.400
and crying and thinking, God, it's hard because

00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:27.740
I'm leaving my family behind. I'm leaving everything

00:20:27.740 --> 00:20:29.920
I planned that was going to be so good for my

00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:33.490
children behind. I don't know anything of what's

00:20:33.490 --> 00:20:35.789
waiting for me there, but I will go where you

00:20:35.789 --> 00:20:38.190
go. I want what you want, but this is right.

00:20:38.329 --> 00:20:40.890
Yeah. Obedience is, is, you know, it is that

00:20:40.890 --> 00:20:42.970
way. You know, it is that dying to self. It's

00:20:42.970 --> 00:20:44.470
that little bit, little by little, you know,

00:20:44.529 --> 00:20:47.529
God shows us. That's that part of you is now

00:20:47.529 --> 00:20:50.230
dead and you're alive in me. And I've had a few

00:20:50.230 --> 00:20:52.529
of those experiences where, you know, I've obeyed,

00:20:52.529 --> 00:20:54.490
but begrudgingly it's like, okay, God, I'm going

00:20:54.490 --> 00:20:57.829
to obey because it's you, but you know, I'm doing

00:20:57.829 --> 00:21:01.519
it under protest almost. But when I get there

00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:04.460
and get in the middle of it, I realize God knows

00:21:04.460 --> 00:21:08.079
me so much better than I know myself. He brings

00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:11.960
me and shows me who I am by the steps he has

00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:16.500
me take and the fulfillment of obedience. You

00:21:16.500 --> 00:21:18.579
know, we spent 10 years in the end in that place

00:21:18.579 --> 00:21:21.200
before there was another similar story that brought

00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:26.279
us to America that, you know, we just, we had

00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:29.799
never had better like. deeper, more lasting friendships.

00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:32.460
We'd never been more fulfilled in ministry. Our

00:21:32.460 --> 00:21:37.720
children thrived in that environment. We'd never

00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:41.240
been happier. And it was God's goodness to us

00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:44.779
in that place. And of course, I'm sure if God's

00:21:44.779 --> 00:21:46.720
will had been for us to stay, I'd have been saying

00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:49.539
the same thing about what we left. But you know,

00:21:50.059 --> 00:21:52.059
the scriptures changed as I began to understand

00:21:52.059 --> 00:21:53.740
what he was saying. And it was all about the

00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:55.420
pillar of fire moving and the pillar of cloud

00:21:55.420 --> 00:21:57.920
moving, you know, the blessing then. moves and

00:21:57.920 --> 00:22:02.519
sometimes place one is where God is and where

00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:05.019
he wants us and where we're blessed but when

00:22:05.019 --> 00:22:08.140
he then moves on and he wants us in place two

00:22:08.140 --> 00:22:11.380
suddenly place one is no longer as good for us

00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:14.140
and we can be in a place that is blessed but

00:22:14.140 --> 00:22:18.380
then overstay we've got comfortable and suddenly

00:22:18.380 --> 00:22:20.460
it's not as good as it was before and I think

00:22:20.460 --> 00:22:23.900
we avoided that in the courage that it took to

00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:26.960
obey him and the blessing was greater and you

00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:29.180
know when we talk about that stretching little

00:22:29.180 --> 00:22:31.940
by little then the next move that came for us

00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:34.380
was across the Atlantic to a place that we'd

00:22:34.380 --> 00:22:36.839
never heard of and never knew anyone and that

00:22:36.839 --> 00:22:39.559
was an even tougher move and then we had teenagers

00:22:39.559 --> 00:22:44.380
at that time but it God had prepared us for that

00:22:44.380 --> 00:22:47.079
and again, I would say I've never been happier.

00:22:47.220 --> 00:22:48.859
I've never been more fulfilled I've also never

00:22:48.859 --> 00:22:51.079
been more stretched I've also never been more

00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:54.279
uncomfortable and he's growing me and he's he's

00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:56.839
he wants more and more for me, you know And and

00:22:56.839 --> 00:22:59.140
he tells me like it says in Isaiah your ears

00:22:59.140 --> 00:23:01.440
shall hear that word behind you saying This is

00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:03.680
the way walk in it. And every time he's doing

00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:06.359
that in his kindness and he's growing. Yeah,

00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:09.519
it is in his kindness. I was reading the last

00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:13.000
night in Ephesians one, and it talks about, you

00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:15.119
know, that God gives us all these inheritance

00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:18.660
in heavenly realms. But it says he does it for

00:23:18.660 --> 00:23:21.140
his great pleasure. Yeah. I mean, out of his

00:23:21.140 --> 00:23:23.960
great pleasure gives him pleasure to bless us

00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:26.619
and to lead us into more blessing. Yeah. Yeah.

00:23:26.619 --> 00:23:29.779
It's not just let me see what I can do. that

00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:33.059
to them, you know, let me see what trouble I

00:23:33.059 --> 00:23:36.400
can get them. No, it's his pleasure to bless

00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:40.039
us and to lead us along the way. Well, Lana,

00:23:40.059 --> 00:23:43.079
was there a particular experience or season that

00:23:43.079 --> 00:23:45.519
really significantly deepened your relationship,

00:23:45.579 --> 00:23:47.839
your personal relationship with God, and helped

00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:50.880
define your personal and even spiritual path?

00:23:51.059 --> 00:23:53.259
I think probably the most recent would be this

00:23:53.259 --> 00:23:59.210
move to the U .S. It was... step up from what

00:23:59.210 --> 00:24:02.970
we've done before in terms of trust and Really

00:24:02.970 --> 00:24:08.789
leaning into him. I had to really practice More

00:24:08.789 --> 00:24:12.009
than I've ever had to before The process of God

00:24:12.009 --> 00:24:14.630
being my source of everything, you know friendship

00:24:14.630 --> 00:24:23.109
fulfillment validation Joy peace Because as well

00:24:23.109 --> 00:24:27.150
as having that physical dislocation and sort

00:24:27.150 --> 00:24:30.549
of Cut being cut off from my whole community

00:24:30.549 --> 00:24:32.170
and everything that I knew but it was also a

00:24:32.170 --> 00:24:36.549
cultural range and so Everything like all the

00:24:36.549 --> 00:24:38.789
creature comforts to win right down to like my

00:24:38.789 --> 00:24:42.190
favorite food, you know It's just a really basic

00:24:42.190 --> 00:24:44.190
things when you just complete in a different

00:24:44.190 --> 00:24:51.630
world So it was hard but when God Gives you clarity

00:24:51.630 --> 00:24:55.569
for his will and he does do that. I think are

00:24:55.569 --> 00:24:59.609
willing to be patient and wait and practice what

00:24:59.609 --> 00:25:01.750
it is to hear his voice, what his voice sounds

00:25:01.750 --> 00:25:05.690
like. I didn't go from zero to get on a plane

00:25:05.690 --> 00:25:09.410
and move to America. The first steps would have

00:25:09.410 --> 00:25:11.470
been things like go to school this morning and

00:25:11.470 --> 00:25:13.490
tell this person that I love her and then I go

00:25:13.490 --> 00:25:15.670
to school and I find out it's her birthday and

00:25:15.670 --> 00:25:18.950
I didn't even know. Just every time, little steps.

00:25:19.390 --> 00:25:21.950
Lord, I'm willing to look a fool for you. I'm

00:25:21.950 --> 00:25:24.319
willing to be uncomfortable for you, I'm willing

00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:28.359
to take a risk for you and so it's like an adventure

00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:30.180
that he's inviting you on, he's saying okay,

00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:33.519
you did that, that was great, now try this, now

00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:36.819
like you would do with your own child, now let's

00:25:36.819 --> 00:25:39.259
try something even bigger that will be a greater

00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:42.230
risk but a greater reward. Um, and this move

00:25:42.230 --> 00:25:45.009
was like that for me. Um, and you know, he'd

00:25:45.009 --> 00:25:47.930
been very, very clear or five of us then with

00:25:47.930 --> 00:25:50.230
our three children had been praying. God had

00:25:50.230 --> 00:25:52.230
confirmed it prophetically. We knew we needed

00:25:52.230 --> 00:25:55.309
to move. And then just before we were supposed

00:25:55.309 --> 00:25:58.130
to have our sort of visa interview, COVID happened

00:25:58.130 --> 00:26:02.029
and everything was delayed. Um, all immigration

00:26:02.029 --> 00:26:05.930
was stopped. And then it was the process and

00:26:05.930 --> 00:26:08.049
what joy for me as a parent to take my children

00:26:08.049 --> 00:26:11.700
through that process of waiting. but we thought

00:26:11.700 --> 00:26:14.160
we heard God, but now what is this? And delay

00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:16.339
and disappointment and what it looks like just

00:26:16.339 --> 00:26:21.200
to let God be God and let His part be His problem,

00:26:21.859 --> 00:26:23.859
which is what we were saying to each other all

00:26:23.859 --> 00:26:26.680
the time. Well, if God wants us in America, then

00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:29.980
He'll take us to America. That's His part, because

00:26:29.980 --> 00:26:32.160
everything earthly was saying, yeah, you can't,

00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:35.839
this is it now, or it's all off. And then just

00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:39.079
the miracles one after the other like we were

00:26:39.079 --> 00:26:42.200
granted a national interest exception which very

00:26:42.200 --> 00:26:46.700
hard to get we moved on that We with the NIE

00:26:46.700 --> 00:26:48.799
have one month to move We have one month to set

00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:51.380
our house sell the cars like just everything

00:26:51.380 --> 00:26:53.960
close everything up move or happen right the

00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:55.720
same time that the British government was putting

00:26:55.720 --> 00:27:00.400
in tax breaks for house sales, so all location

00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:04.170
services local lawyers that dealt with it, selling

00:27:04.170 --> 00:27:06.589
houses, the state, everyone was booked up because

00:27:06.589 --> 00:27:08.230
in England the process takes months and months

00:27:08.230 --> 00:27:10.910
and we'd only had 30 days notice, but other people,

00:27:10.970 --> 00:27:13.650
it had months notice to me. And you know, everyone's

00:27:13.650 --> 00:27:15.029
saying to us, well, this will never happen, that

00:27:15.029 --> 00:27:16.950
will never happen. And then it did, and then

00:27:16.950 --> 00:27:20.950
it did, and then it did. So it was so great to

00:27:20.950 --> 00:27:24.930
walk in the bubble of God has made a decision

00:27:24.930 --> 00:27:27.730
that now is the time that we move and God is,

00:27:27.769 --> 00:27:31.559
it was like the sea parted. It was amazing. And

00:27:31.559 --> 00:27:33.599
then to get here after all that excitement, and

00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:35.779
then to have the sort of crash back to reality

00:27:35.779 --> 00:27:39.140
of we literally don't know anyone. There's a

00:27:39.140 --> 00:27:42.220
total sort of language disconnect, culture disconnect,

00:27:42.980 --> 00:27:45.579
and that whole process of figuring things out,

00:27:45.700 --> 00:27:48.039
the kids each going through their own process

00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:51.059
of it. Your pain as a parent, watching them struggle

00:27:51.059 --> 00:27:53.400
with that and figure it out, but also trusting

00:27:53.400 --> 00:27:55.140
that God knew that this was good for them, not

00:27:55.140 --> 00:27:59.960
just for you, and just all of that. So it was

00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:03.180
it was so formative in the five of us just digging

00:28:03.180 --> 00:28:06.319
really deep in God and letting him be Everything

00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:09.480
first and then he provided all the extras again

00:28:09.480 --> 00:28:12.140
But first he wanted to be that friend that we

00:28:12.140 --> 00:28:14.900
needed or that whatever community or whatever

00:28:14.900 --> 00:28:19.500
So it was it was great Yeah, it is harder to

00:28:19.500 --> 00:28:22.619
often for parents to trust God with their kids

00:28:22.619 --> 00:28:25.119
than with their own with themselves, right? I

00:28:25.119 --> 00:28:27.710
mean because we want to step in We want to step

00:28:27.710 --> 00:28:32.490
in and do what we can to ease their angst or

00:28:32.490 --> 00:28:36.109
their suffering. And sometimes, not always, sometimes

00:28:36.109 --> 00:28:38.789
we need to do that. But sometimes we have to

00:28:38.789 --> 00:28:42.029
just step back and say, OK, God. Yeah, I do.

00:28:42.750 --> 00:28:45.190
Exactly. If we protect them too much, then we

00:28:45.190 --> 00:28:48.549
protect them from the adventure. You know, the

00:28:48.549 --> 00:28:50.970
whole cliche, there's no testimony without the

00:28:50.970 --> 00:28:54.230
test. And, you know, I think it's our instinct

00:28:54.230 --> 00:28:59.410
to stop those tests for our kids. And we deny

00:28:59.410 --> 00:29:02.150
them the pleasure of the other side of it. So

00:29:02.150 --> 00:29:05.589
I guess because we had lived in the good of what

00:29:05.589 --> 00:29:08.730
it was to go through those pain barriers to the

00:29:08.730 --> 00:29:11.769
other side of the blessing, we wanted our kids

00:29:11.769 --> 00:29:13.450
to experience it. And we wanted them to be part

00:29:13.450 --> 00:29:15.029
of the journey. So right from the beginning,

00:29:15.089 --> 00:29:16.869
when we're praying for it, like, are we even

00:29:16.869 --> 00:29:19.529
going? What has God said? And for them to hear

00:29:19.529 --> 00:29:21.269
for themselves that God has said, because a lot

00:29:21.269 --> 00:29:23.269
of that comes with the ownership of the vision.

00:29:23.410 --> 00:29:26.869
Yeah, sure does. I'm going to tell you. God is

00:29:26.869 --> 00:29:29.369
doing this, and I'm going to make it happen for

00:29:29.369 --> 00:29:32.690
you. I've heard that's very different to you

00:29:32.690 --> 00:29:35.450
going here for yourself. You be sure what God

00:29:35.450 --> 00:29:38.069
has said to you, and then you walk in that. Our

00:29:38.069 --> 00:29:40.769
kids had that. So when they moved here, they

00:29:40.769 --> 00:29:43.630
knew what God had said to each of them. It would

00:29:43.630 --> 00:29:46.230
be good for them. And so they've had their own

00:29:46.230 --> 00:29:50.029
journey, and they're better for it. Yeah, that's

00:29:50.029 --> 00:29:54.980
such a... powerful tool for parents to use. It's

00:29:54.980 --> 00:29:58.660
not really a tool, but just encouraging the kids

00:29:58.660 --> 00:30:01.599
to not just hear from God through me, but to

00:30:01.599 --> 00:30:04.460
hear God for yourself. Yeah, it's important.

00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:08.759
Yeah, so important. You've shared a couple testimonies,

00:30:08.799 --> 00:30:12.819
but are there any more that you can share at

00:30:12.819 --> 00:30:15.940
how you've seen God move in your family and your

00:30:15.940 --> 00:30:18.779
life through answered prayers and provision?

00:30:19.720 --> 00:30:21.839
unexpected doors opening. I mean, seems like

00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:23.839
your whole life has kind of been that way. Yeah,

00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:27.640
well, it's all more of the same, really, in hearing

00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:32.240
God, Him telling you what to do. And then you're

00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:34.559
doing it, even though, for whatever reason, it

00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:37.740
doesn't make sense. And then walking in the good

00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:41.460
of what that looks like. Yeah, it's all in the

00:30:41.460 --> 00:30:43.799
same vein. I'm trying to think of another, but

00:30:43.799 --> 00:30:46.339
I keep going, my mind keeps going back to the

00:30:46.339 --> 00:30:51.210
moves or the kids. the churches we've joined,

00:30:51.490 --> 00:30:55.190
even that is a decision that is made in faith.

00:30:55.269 --> 00:30:58.910
There are lots of different options for us spoiled

00:30:58.910 --> 00:31:02.329
Westerners in terms of where will we worship?

00:31:03.109 --> 00:31:06.049
What's gonna be our community? And God knows

00:31:06.049 --> 00:31:08.490
each time, and he's made it really clear to me

00:31:08.490 --> 00:31:10.950
each time, and each time I've had a little bit

00:31:10.950 --> 00:31:14.569
more courage in asking him for an extra, like

00:31:14.569 --> 00:31:17.890
obvious, if this person invites me for dinner,

00:31:18.049 --> 00:31:20.589
then I'll know that then I'll know. And actually,

00:31:20.589 --> 00:31:23.210
that was the story for our church, for our current

00:31:23.210 --> 00:31:27.130
church, because it's a whole long story, but

00:31:27.130 --> 00:31:32.789
I just had it in my head that it was important

00:31:32.789 --> 00:31:35.950
to me that somebody would want me in their home

00:31:35.950 --> 00:31:38.029
for a meal. And I've learned now that culturally,

00:31:38.089 --> 00:31:40.950
that doesn't happen so much. In England, that's

00:31:40.950 --> 00:31:45.059
how we connect in our homes. And so it became

00:31:45.059 --> 00:31:47.720
a bit, sort of almost like a fleece for me. Right

00:31:47.720 --> 00:31:49.819
Lord, that will be when I know that this is my

00:31:49.819 --> 00:31:52.380
church. What I didn't know was there was another

00:31:52.380 --> 00:31:55.960
person in my church at the same time who had

00:31:55.960 --> 00:31:59.079
never ever had somebody to her house for a meal.

00:31:59.940 --> 00:32:03.579
And it was a huge, it was almost like a fear

00:32:03.579 --> 00:32:06.240
thing for her. Like she, it was too hard. It

00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:08.660
was too big of a deal. And yet that morning,

00:32:08.759 --> 00:32:10.720
the Lord spoke to her and told her to invite

00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:14.460
us for a meal. And that's another woman who knows

00:32:14.460 --> 00:32:17.259
the voice of God and is willing to take some

00:32:17.259 --> 00:32:20.539
crazy steps. And so I didn't know her part of

00:32:20.539 --> 00:32:22.640
that story until much later. And so she invited

00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:26.119
me us for dinner that day. And I didn't even

00:32:26.119 --> 00:32:29.960
fully believe it, to be honest. There's a lot

00:32:29.960 --> 00:32:32.039
of, oh, we should get together and nothing would

00:32:32.039 --> 00:32:36.019
happen. So I was like, okay, great, let's make

00:32:36.019 --> 00:32:38.460
it happen. So we exchanged numbers and sure enough,

00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:40.839
she made it happen. Within a week, I want to

00:32:40.839 --> 00:32:43.640
say, we were at their house and we ended up sharing

00:32:43.640 --> 00:32:46.940
our story and she shared her story. And isn't

00:32:46.940 --> 00:32:51.240
it great when it's not just about you? So, you

00:32:51.240 --> 00:32:54.440
know, God is bringing you all together. And in

00:32:54.440 --> 00:32:58.400
that one moment, she and I were both having a

00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:01.769
personal upgrade in the Lord, in his... commitment

00:33:01.769 --> 00:33:04.789
to us and his love for us and you know she was

00:33:04.789 --> 00:33:07.130
encouraged because she did something super hard

00:33:07.130 --> 00:33:10.509
for her and she was used by God to be his voice

00:33:10.509 --> 00:33:13.009
in someone else's life and I was encouraged because

00:33:13.009 --> 00:33:15.670
something that seemed a little impossible suddenly

00:33:15.670 --> 00:33:18.150
happened with God going okay fine I'll play your

00:33:18.150 --> 00:33:21.150
game here go and have dinner at her house so

00:33:21.150 --> 00:33:23.109
you know and it leaves me in no doubt then I

00:33:23.109 --> 00:33:24.890
know that this is the body that he's called me

00:33:24.890 --> 00:33:26.690
to that I'm supposed to be a blessing in and

00:33:26.690 --> 00:33:30.420
I will be blessed by so Yeah and you know I just

00:33:30.420 --> 00:33:33.400
I love that such a sweet story because you know

00:33:33.400 --> 00:33:36.279
you've been sharing these big huge steps that

00:33:36.279 --> 00:33:38.839
God you know had you take moving away from family

00:33:38.839 --> 00:33:40.819
moving across the ocean and the miracles that

00:33:40.819 --> 00:33:43.819
he worked but he also directs us in the simple

00:33:43.819 --> 00:33:46.079
little things doesn't he have someone over for

00:33:46.079 --> 00:33:50.059
dinner I mean it was a big thing to her but short

00:33:50.059 --> 00:33:53.640
of moving across the ocean so you know every

00:33:53.640 --> 00:33:57.049
every nudge from the Lord that we hear has a

00:33:57.049 --> 00:33:59.990
plan and a purpose. It really does. And an impact.

00:34:00.690 --> 00:34:02.890
Yeah. Lana, your journey, it's taken you from

00:34:02.890 --> 00:34:05.769
marketing and business into full -time ministry

00:34:05.769 --> 00:34:09.289
and advocacy for the people of Iran. How has

00:34:09.289 --> 00:34:11.170
God shaped your calling along the way? I mean,

00:34:11.230 --> 00:34:13.789
did you know from, you know, when you were a

00:34:13.789 --> 00:34:16.130
child that you were going to be an advocate for

00:34:16.130 --> 00:34:19.389
Iran or how did that, how did you realize that

00:34:19.389 --> 00:34:21.190
throughout your life? Yeah, it's interesting

00:34:21.190 --> 00:34:23.869
this word calling, isn't it? I guess some of

00:34:23.869 --> 00:34:27.039
it is more about our awareness of our calling

00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:31.099
rather than necessarily the calling itself. Because

00:34:31.099 --> 00:34:34.800
I'm not sure that the calling itself has changed

00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:38.760
as much as my character, my readiness for it,

00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:43.199
my understanding of it, my appreciation of what

00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:46.329
it really is. I think he's known all along and

00:34:46.329 --> 00:34:48.190
he's just given me steps like that Isaiah verse

00:34:48.190 --> 00:34:50.349
like this is the way walking it each step by

00:34:50.349 --> 00:34:53.110
step or that in Psalms under 19 when it says

00:34:53.110 --> 00:34:54.809
your words allow them to my feet and the light

00:34:54.809 --> 00:34:57.550
to my path like it's the picture I have of that

00:34:57.550 --> 00:35:00.889
is that very first next step is lit up but we

00:35:00.889 --> 00:35:03.250
don't see the entire town lit up we don't know

00:35:03.250 --> 00:35:05.570
where it's all leading and I think that's his

00:35:05.570 --> 00:35:07.150
kindness as well that I think he would freak

00:35:07.150 --> 00:35:10.010
us out if he told us the whole thing from the

00:35:10.010 --> 00:35:15.239
beginning so you know I've always Iran has just

00:35:15.239 --> 00:35:19.780
been deep in my heart always. The connection

00:35:19.780 --> 00:35:22.380
has been strong. My love for the country, my

00:35:22.380 --> 00:35:24.460
love for the people has been strong. Even after

00:35:24.460 --> 00:35:26.719
we moved to England, I continued to read my Bible

00:35:26.719 --> 00:35:31.059
in Farsi. I wanted that connection to remain.

00:35:31.760 --> 00:35:34.239
And I'd always said that I was called to Iran.

00:35:34.280 --> 00:35:36.840
I had said that always, that my call is Iran.

00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:38.599
I didn't know what that meant or what that looked

00:35:38.599 --> 00:35:41.639
like, but I knew that's what it was. And then...

00:35:41.710 --> 00:35:44.610
Because I'm listening and the Lord is now guiding

00:35:44.610 --> 00:35:48.889
each step, I end up having a degree in engineering,

00:35:49.190 --> 00:35:52.250
a career in marketing, and each step is a little

00:35:52.250 --> 00:35:54.349
bit confusing. Marrying an Englishman, I always

00:35:54.349 --> 00:35:56.250
figured I would marry an Iranian or an Armenian.

00:35:56.989 --> 00:35:59.769
That didn't make sense, but I fell in love with

00:35:59.769 --> 00:36:01.369
him and the Lord confirmed it, and you know,

00:36:01.429 --> 00:36:03.349
okay, so this is obviously your best choice for

00:36:03.349 --> 00:36:06.269
me. Little did I know that God would use him

00:36:06.269 --> 00:36:10.260
to shape me, to better me for my... Calling and

00:36:10.260 --> 00:36:13.599
and his his career path has enabled my ministry

00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:16.719
because we're because of him It's his work that

00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:18.760
brought us here and and so much more, you know,

00:36:18.860 --> 00:36:22.639
so sometimes we we think we know what even if

00:36:22.639 --> 00:36:24.099
we know what the end game is we think we know

00:36:24.099 --> 00:36:28.400
the best way to get there and And I'd sort of

00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:31.119
figured it all out in my head and God had a much

00:36:31.119 --> 00:36:36.039
better way So it's been a journey and now, and

00:36:36.039 --> 00:36:37.719
I think there's more, I think there's more to

00:36:37.719 --> 00:36:41.179
come that I don't know yet. Kind in not telling

00:36:41.179 --> 00:36:43.659
me, so I don't, partly so I don't get ahead of

00:36:43.659 --> 00:36:46.599
myself even in my own ego, but also that I don't

00:36:46.599 --> 00:36:49.559
get ahead of myself in fear and paralysis because

00:36:49.559 --> 00:36:53.440
how on earth are you gonna do that for me? But

00:36:53.440 --> 00:36:55.960
I think now at this point in my life, when I

00:36:55.960 --> 00:36:58.639
look at how he's using me, I think about all

00:36:58.639 --> 00:37:01.199
the skills that I learned through secular work

00:37:01.199 --> 00:37:04.820
in business and communications that have really

00:37:04.820 --> 00:37:09.340
equipped me uniquely for this very specific task

00:37:09.340 --> 00:37:13.360
that he has called me to do. And, you know, our

00:37:13.360 --> 00:37:18.320
callings are unique, we all know that. Our ability

00:37:18.320 --> 00:37:22.590
to fulfill those callings is also unique. and

00:37:22.590 --> 00:37:25.550
in the way that he prepares us and gifts us and

00:37:25.550 --> 00:37:29.030
lines us up so that when our gifting and our

00:37:29.030 --> 00:37:31.590
preparation collides with our calling all at

00:37:31.590 --> 00:37:33.909
the right time then it really comes together

00:37:33.909 --> 00:37:35.909
in a beautiful story and that can only happen

00:37:35.909 --> 00:37:38.949
if our obedience is in step as well because he's

00:37:38.949 --> 00:37:43.090
giving us opportunities or we can say no. So

00:37:43.090 --> 00:37:45.829
we have to have the courage to say yes and take

00:37:45.829 --> 00:37:48.369
those opportunities and let it lead whatever

00:37:48.369 --> 00:37:51.219
meandering path it needs to lead to take us where

00:37:51.219 --> 00:37:55.019
it needs to go. I think that's exciting and I

00:37:55.019 --> 00:37:56.860
definitely know from me there are things that

00:37:56.860 --> 00:37:59.800
he's doing today that I think, wow, no way without

00:37:59.800 --> 00:38:02.739
God and I want it to be that way. I want people

00:38:02.739 --> 00:38:06.280
to look at me and not give glory to me and not

00:38:06.280 --> 00:38:08.619
say, oh, isn't Lana amazing? I want them to look

00:38:08.619 --> 00:38:10.780
at me and think, wow, isn't God amazing? Didn't

00:38:10.780 --> 00:38:13.920
he do something out of this world that only he

00:38:13.920 --> 00:38:17.840
could have done through her? That's the ultimate

00:38:17.840 --> 00:38:20.420
aim, isn't it? And that can only happen if...

00:38:20.489 --> 00:38:22.969
if we're just busy with what's right in front

00:38:22.969 --> 00:38:26.090
of us and let him plan it all out in the way

00:38:26.090 --> 00:38:29.269
he thinks works best. Yeah, I think of my circuitous

00:38:29.269 --> 00:38:31.429
route to where I am, you know, never. I mean,

00:38:31.429 --> 00:38:33.550
I started with a computer science degree and

00:38:33.550 --> 00:38:35.570
worked as a computer programmer and, you know,

00:38:35.610 --> 00:38:39.289
God took me on a circuitous route to the nations

00:38:39.289 --> 00:38:44.050
and never would I have dreamed of that either.

00:38:44.070 --> 00:38:46.389
But when we follow God's leading, when we say,

00:38:46.510 --> 00:38:49.960
when we just say yes. He's not asking us to bring

00:38:49.960 --> 00:38:53.440
anything with us but ourself. Lana, Transform

00:38:53.440 --> 00:38:57.480
Iran, which is where you are now, has really

00:38:57.480 --> 00:38:59.980
been a powerful instrument of hope and change.

00:39:00.800 --> 00:39:03.860
Share really how it got started. I know your

00:39:03.860 --> 00:39:05.900
parents were instrumental in that, but also maybe

00:39:05.900 --> 00:39:08.519
a testimony of how God's work through that ministry

00:39:08.519 --> 00:39:11.480
impacting lives in Iran, if you can. Yes, there's

00:39:11.480 --> 00:39:13.579
a lot that I can say. We're careful with names

00:39:13.579 --> 00:39:16.280
and locations, but it's fun to share the stories

00:39:16.280 --> 00:39:20.210
of what God is doing. It started with a step

00:39:20.210 --> 00:39:23.909
of obedience. So my parents had been, were in

00:39:23.909 --> 00:39:27.329
ministry in Iran. There were sort of senior leadership

00:39:27.329 --> 00:39:30.809
in the church. The church was growing. We're

00:39:30.809 --> 00:39:33.510
now in the context of the Islamic Republic. We're

00:39:33.510 --> 00:39:36.610
10 years into, we've had 10 years of war with

00:39:36.610 --> 00:39:39.909
Iraq and that's just ending. So stability coming

00:39:39.909 --> 00:39:44.449
back to Iran. People are starting to leave. and

00:39:44.449 --> 00:39:46.849
the government is looking more internally, and

00:39:46.849 --> 00:39:48.769
so it's getting a little bit harder to be a Christian,

00:39:48.929 --> 00:39:52.389
more Christians are leaving, but also more people

00:39:52.389 --> 00:39:56.489
are turning to Jesus. So in that sort of environment,

00:39:56.650 --> 00:39:58.150
the Lord spoke to my parents and told them He

00:39:58.150 --> 00:40:00.130
wanted to move them out of Iran, and they were

00:40:00.130 --> 00:40:02.849
very resistant at first, like, we must have heard

00:40:02.849 --> 00:40:05.269
wrong. They both went and prayed and fasted for

00:40:05.269 --> 00:40:07.349
a bit, came back and compared merits. No, we're

00:40:07.349 --> 00:40:09.449
here in the same thing. Took it to the overseeing

00:40:09.449 --> 00:40:13.420
pastor, which was the same... a pastor who was

00:40:13.420 --> 00:40:17.039
martyred a few years later after we moved out

00:40:17.039 --> 00:40:20.099
of Iran. He said, no, you must have heard wrong,

00:40:20.239 --> 00:40:23.019
we need you here. They said, great. And then

00:40:23.019 --> 00:40:25.340
he had a dream and God confirmed it in a dream

00:40:25.340 --> 00:40:27.099
and said, no, I need you to release them, they

00:40:27.099 --> 00:40:30.860
need to leave. And he, of course again, obedient

00:40:30.860 --> 00:40:33.980
man of God, knows the voice of God, came and

00:40:33.980 --> 00:40:36.159
woke us up early hours and said, I've heard from

00:40:36.159 --> 00:40:38.340
God, you did hear right and you need to leave

00:40:38.340 --> 00:40:41.750
quickly. So we left very quickly within a few

00:40:41.750 --> 00:40:43.369
months and you can't take anything out of the

00:40:43.369 --> 00:40:46.409
country with you. So it was literally a leave

00:40:46.409 --> 00:40:48.510
it all behind, very sort of Abrahamic kind of

00:40:48.510 --> 00:40:50.369
story in terms of how God calls him out of one

00:40:50.369 --> 00:40:53.829
place, but he doesn't tell him any more detail.

00:40:54.050 --> 00:40:56.730
Like first Abraham has to step away, before then

00:40:56.730 --> 00:40:59.789
God says, okay, now you're out. Now this is where

00:40:59.789 --> 00:41:02.190
we're heading and this is what's coming. And

00:41:02.190 --> 00:41:04.869
that's what happened for us. So we moved out.

00:41:05.170 --> 00:41:08.909
It was just before my 10th birthday. then the

00:41:08.909 --> 00:41:10.710
Lord spoke to them and said the church is about

00:41:10.710 --> 00:41:12.829
to be driven underground, persecution is going

00:41:12.829 --> 00:41:14.349
to really increase and I'm going to need you

00:41:14.349 --> 00:41:16.909
here to resource and strengthen and help grow

00:41:16.909 --> 00:41:19.269
what will become this persecuted but thriving

00:41:19.269 --> 00:41:21.949
church. And you know people say today that Iran

00:41:21.949 --> 00:41:24.409
is the fastest growing church in the world and

00:41:24.409 --> 00:41:31.650
it's 99 % owing to what God is doing and in his

00:41:31.650 --> 00:41:34.929
supernatural grace and kindness and 1 % because

00:41:34.929 --> 00:41:37.650
people like my parents have been obedient and

00:41:38.489 --> 00:41:42.309
put in measures to support this movement. So

00:41:42.309 --> 00:41:45.469
there's satellite TV, there's radio, there's

00:41:45.469 --> 00:41:47.230
a digital church network. There's so much that

00:41:47.230 --> 00:41:50.750
they've put in place that supports. And my parents

00:41:50.750 --> 00:41:52.510
have always been pioneers. They've seen things

00:41:52.510 --> 00:41:54.750
ahead. They were the first to have the vision

00:41:54.750 --> 00:41:57.409
for satellite TV. They established it for Farsi

00:41:57.409 --> 00:41:59.570
and got it running. They were first to set up

00:41:59.570 --> 00:42:01.630
a digital church network. They're first to set

00:42:01.630 --> 00:42:03.690
up an apologetic center. Like it was always,

00:42:03.730 --> 00:42:06.659
now we need this, now we need this. Praise God

00:42:06.659 --> 00:42:11.400
for that legacy and it's been very powerful in

00:42:11.400 --> 00:42:13.619
exactly what God called them to do, to resource

00:42:13.619 --> 00:42:16.340
and strengthen and help grow what will be this

00:42:16.340 --> 00:42:20.460
persecuted church. So the Testaments we hear

00:42:20.460 --> 00:42:22.880
are all tied into that with, you know, the suicidal

00:42:22.880 --> 00:42:24.900
man will turn the TV on and suddenly hear the

00:42:24.900 --> 00:42:27.039
voice of God saying, this is who I've called

00:42:27.039 --> 00:42:30.460
you to be and has a turnaround and calls us and

00:42:30.460 --> 00:42:32.699
now is a Christian or the isolated believer who

00:42:32.699 --> 00:42:35.039
doesn't know anyone else in their community.

00:42:35.260 --> 00:42:37.880
but now she's connected to tens of thousands

00:42:37.880 --> 00:42:40.019
of Farsi Christians through the digital church

00:42:40.019 --> 00:42:43.480
network that we provide and you know Muslim clerics

00:42:43.480 --> 00:42:46.159
who come to us through their the apologetic center

00:42:46.159 --> 00:42:49.679
and they're sort of pulling at this thread oh

00:42:49.679 --> 00:42:51.199
but what about this what about this what and

00:42:51.199 --> 00:42:53.539
then they find truth and they you know we've

00:42:53.539 --> 00:42:56.539
had testinies and Muslim clerics leading other

00:42:56.539 --> 00:42:58.920
clerics to the Lord because they they've finally

00:42:58.920 --> 00:43:02.070
understood who God really is and want to follow

00:43:02.070 --> 00:43:04.510
him and want to tell others and so on and so

00:43:04.510 --> 00:43:08.349
forth. So God is using Google media very powerfully

00:43:08.349 --> 00:43:12.250
and now diving into the ethnic communities of

00:43:12.250 --> 00:43:16.710
Iran. The church is fast growing but that growth

00:43:16.710 --> 00:43:18.769
is really limited to the Farsi -speaking community

00:43:18.769 --> 00:43:20.829
and less than half of the Iranian population

00:43:20.829 --> 00:43:24.989
will speak Farsi at home. We've got 55 % speaking

00:43:24.989 --> 00:43:29.400
some... 39 plus different languages and the bulk

00:43:29.400 --> 00:43:31.760
of them are unreached. They don't have Bibles.

00:43:31.900 --> 00:43:34.019
They don't have Christian materials. So now we're

00:43:34.019 --> 00:43:37.139
busy translating the word and actually just today

00:43:37.139 --> 00:43:40.719
I heard a testimony of somebody saying that so

00:43:40.719 --> 00:43:43.280
we translated the Bible into Gilaki, never had

00:43:43.280 --> 00:43:45.739
the word before, never had established churches.

00:43:45.840 --> 00:43:47.699
We're now establishing a digital church community

00:43:47.699 --> 00:43:51.380
in Gilaki and developing resources for that community

00:43:51.380 --> 00:43:53.769
and this person was saying just that he'd been

00:43:53.769 --> 00:43:56.550
a Christian for years but he'd never had the

00:43:56.550 --> 00:43:59.510
courage to share the gospel with his mother who

00:43:59.510 --> 00:44:04.309
is a staunch Muslim because it would have had

00:44:04.309 --> 00:44:06.829
to do with Farsi. And you know there's a disconnect

00:44:06.829 --> 00:44:10.929
with Farsi. It's such a controlling regime and

00:44:10.929 --> 00:44:14.070
these ethnic communities have all these different

00:44:14.070 --> 00:44:16.550
traditions and cultures and music and the arts

00:44:16.550 --> 00:44:18.610
and the government is stifling all of that. So

00:44:18.610 --> 00:44:21.699
you're coming with Farsi. It feels far, it feels

00:44:21.699 --> 00:44:25.440
controlling, it feels outside. So he'd never

00:44:25.440 --> 00:44:28.320
really been able to, well, had felt comfortable

00:44:28.320 --> 00:44:30.900
to share with her for whatever reason. But now

00:44:30.900 --> 00:44:33.559
he has the Bible in her language, so he began

00:44:33.559 --> 00:44:36.420
sharing it with her. And now seeing her heart

00:44:36.420 --> 00:44:39.139
touched, she then connects with the digital church

00:44:39.139 --> 00:44:42.780
community. She has a whole testimony around healing

00:44:42.780 --> 00:44:45.139
from cancer from it. And now she's evangelizing

00:44:45.139 --> 00:44:47.579
other people saying how, you know, the Christian

00:44:47.579 --> 00:44:49.940
God has healed me, the Christian God has... has

00:44:49.940 --> 00:44:52.920
spoken to me. So, you know, those kinds of stories,

00:44:53.179 --> 00:44:56.400
lives really having a turn around. When Iranians

00:44:56.400 --> 00:44:58.519
know Jesus, they are exploding with it because

00:44:58.519 --> 00:45:00.980
it's so transformative. So now they're telling

00:45:00.980 --> 00:45:03.179
others and the church is growing this way. That

00:45:03.179 --> 00:45:05.420
is amazing. I love to hear the testimonies of

00:45:05.420 --> 00:45:07.860
what God's doing around the world because and

00:45:07.860 --> 00:45:10.260
you know, we're believing for God to start a

00:45:10.260 --> 00:45:12.820
massive awakening here in the United States as

00:45:12.820 --> 00:45:15.559
well. But it's happening. You know, it's happening

00:45:15.559 --> 00:45:23.260
in places as as what may seem to many as strange

00:45:23.260 --> 00:45:28.320
as Iran, God is moving there. He's at work. He

00:45:28.320 --> 00:45:30.539
loves the people and is calling them to himself.

00:45:30.880 --> 00:45:34.300
Yeah, I think it's also a real strengthening

00:45:34.300 --> 00:45:37.980
encouragement for us because Iran is sort of

00:45:37.980 --> 00:45:42.360
synonymous with evil, unreachable, hopeless,

00:45:42.760 --> 00:45:47.460
dark. And a lot of that is true, except that

00:45:47.460 --> 00:45:50.820
God then is doing miraculous things in the background.

00:45:51.599 --> 00:45:54.639
And when we hear what God is capable of doing

00:45:54.639 --> 00:45:59.000
and is doing, like Iran, I think it stirs faith

00:45:59.000 --> 00:46:01.599
in us to think, well, surely then he can do that

00:46:01.599 --> 00:46:03.940
in this circumstance in my life, because look

00:46:03.940 --> 00:46:07.039
what he's done in this country that is gripped

00:46:07.039 --> 00:46:11.619
by this evil regime and yet... and yet the fastest

00:46:11.619 --> 00:46:13.480
growing church in the world. I mean, how does

00:46:13.480 --> 00:46:16.059
that happen? Only God can do those things. But

00:46:16.059 --> 00:46:18.619
you know, the prayer, the prayer of the saints

00:46:18.619 --> 00:46:20.800
has paved the way for that. The blood of the

00:46:20.800 --> 00:46:23.719
saints, the sacrifice of the saints has paved

00:46:23.719 --> 00:46:26.360
the way for that. And God may not be asking us

00:46:26.360 --> 00:46:29.019
to bleed for Him literally, but He is asking

00:46:29.019 --> 00:46:32.860
for sacrifice. And when we lay things down, when

00:46:32.860 --> 00:46:35.900
we're prepared for it to cost us something, then

00:46:35.900 --> 00:46:38.099
it can move in really great power. That's very

00:46:38.099 --> 00:46:40.980
good. Well, Lana, as you look ahead, what do

00:46:40.980 --> 00:46:43.460
you sense God speaking to you in this season

00:46:43.460 --> 00:46:46.159
and how is it shaping your next steps in ministry

00:46:46.159 --> 00:46:48.440
and in your personal life even? I think it's

00:46:48.440 --> 00:46:51.179
that constant invitation for more. He's invited

00:46:51.179 --> 00:46:54.019
me for greater intimacy, growth and dependency.

00:46:54.860 --> 00:46:58.440
He wants me more than he wants my ministry. And,

00:46:58.440 --> 00:47:02.260
you know, that's been a real fun exploration

00:47:02.260 --> 00:47:05.000
for me in just that love affair between me and

00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:08.639
him that I actually matter more to him than anything

00:47:08.639 --> 00:47:11.639
I can do for him. That constant mind, that's

00:47:11.639 --> 00:47:15.239
been good for me. And then it's just that stretching.

00:47:15.460 --> 00:47:18.400
You know, I don't want to stop stretching, stop

00:47:18.400 --> 00:47:22.360
learning, stop taking risks. There's always more.

00:47:22.960 --> 00:47:26.099
So I feel like whatever the story may have been

00:47:26.099 --> 00:47:29.800
to date, I can rejoice in what God's done up

00:47:29.800 --> 00:47:31.780
now, but that's history. God is the God of today.

00:47:31.900 --> 00:47:33.960
So what does he want from me today? Where is

00:47:33.960 --> 00:47:38.429
he stretching me today? Whereas inviting me to

00:47:38.429 --> 00:47:41.449
partner with Him in something new, for me to

00:47:41.449 --> 00:47:44.849
learn more about Him, to depend more on Him,

00:47:44.929 --> 00:47:48.650
to give Him more glory and to give Him the opportunity

00:47:48.650 --> 00:47:52.530
to do more exciting things, to show off. I think

00:47:52.530 --> 00:47:56.409
it's such an amazing revelation when we realize

00:47:56.409 --> 00:48:00.769
God is so much more interested in our relationship

00:48:00.769 --> 00:48:04.780
with Him than in what we do for Him. Yeah. especially

00:48:04.780 --> 00:48:08.440
when you're working in a ministry setting. All

00:48:08.440 --> 00:48:10.460
of us are in ministry, whether we work in a secular

00:48:10.460 --> 00:48:12.219
setting or in a Christian setting, but when we're

00:48:12.219 --> 00:48:14.099
working in a Christian ministry setting, it's

00:48:14.099 --> 00:48:18.119
often easy to get our eyes focused on what we're

00:48:18.119 --> 00:48:21.820
doing rather than our relationship. Yeah, yeah,

00:48:21.820 --> 00:48:25.500
exactly. So what would you encourage our listeners

00:48:25.500 --> 00:48:27.480
in their, how would you encourage our listeners

00:48:27.480 --> 00:48:29.820
in their walk with the Lord? I would say spend

00:48:29.820 --> 00:48:33.619
time with him so that you can learn to hear what

00:48:33.619 --> 00:48:36.619
his voice sounds like so that you would love

00:48:36.619 --> 00:48:39.420
him more. As you get to know him, the love increases.

00:48:39.920 --> 00:48:43.239
And then when he does speak, no matter what it

00:48:43.239 --> 00:48:46.579
is, take that risk, do it with joy. It will be

00:48:46.579 --> 00:48:52.199
good for you. And I think the baby steps fine.

00:48:52.360 --> 00:48:55.860
It starts small. But as each step gets bigger,

00:48:56.039 --> 00:48:59.460
then you learn to trust him with more. He will

00:48:59.460 --> 00:49:03.849
trust you with more audacious things. um so you

00:49:03.849 --> 00:49:05.210
know just makes me think of the power of the

00:49:05.210 --> 00:49:08.469
talents even they gave him a handful of coins

00:49:08.469 --> 00:49:12.550
and those that did something with that he then

00:49:12.550 --> 00:49:14.230
came back and gave them an equivalent number

00:49:14.230 --> 00:49:17.829
of cities like it he trusts you with more so

00:49:17.829 --> 00:49:20.769
take those steps let him stretch you stretch

00:49:20.769 --> 00:49:23.130
yourself get those spiritual muscles working

00:49:23.130 --> 00:49:25.329
and see where he'll take you well as we close

00:49:25.329 --> 00:49:27.909
Lana is there a woman of the bible whose story

00:49:27.909 --> 00:49:30.289
has particularly inspired or taught you something

00:49:30.289 --> 00:49:33.420
meaningful and And how has her story impacted

00:49:33.420 --> 00:49:35.860
your journey of faith? Well, actually, one of

00:49:35.860 --> 00:49:38.860
my favorite Bible stories, Bible characters is

00:49:38.860 --> 00:49:43.139
Anna, the prophetess testament. I named my daughter

00:49:43.139 --> 00:49:48.880
after her. You know, I love that there's no big

00:49:48.880 --> 00:49:51.099
sort of airs and graces and bells and whistles

00:49:51.099 --> 00:49:55.199
around her, but this is a simple woman who saw

00:49:55.199 --> 00:49:58.119
what God was doing right before her eyes that

00:49:58.119 --> 00:50:02.769
other people missed. I just think that's so,

00:50:02.769 --> 00:50:05.809
so important that we don't miss what God is doing.

00:50:06.909 --> 00:50:09.909
She could have just walked straight past and

00:50:09.909 --> 00:50:12.309
nothing would have really been that different,

00:50:12.969 --> 00:50:17.130
but she would have missed out on being part of

00:50:17.130 --> 00:50:20.889
that celebration of what Jesus was and what God

00:50:20.889 --> 00:50:23.800
was doing in humanity at that time. She caught

00:50:23.800 --> 00:50:25.780
that wave, you know, the word talks about how

00:50:25.780 --> 00:50:28.519
the sons of Issachar knew the times. It's that

00:50:28.519 --> 00:50:30.699
knowing of the seasons. When you look in the

00:50:30.699 --> 00:50:32.340
New Testament, Jesus is actually quite cross

00:50:32.340 --> 00:50:34.880
with the Pharisees. You're missing it. Like you

00:50:34.880 --> 00:50:36.780
just, you miss it. It's right before your eyes

00:50:36.780 --> 00:50:40.659
and you're missing it. So that's always the encouragement.

00:50:40.860 --> 00:50:43.119
I think serving in a country like Iran as well,

00:50:43.219 --> 00:50:45.199
and whenever we encourage people to get involved,

00:50:45.300 --> 00:50:48.079
to partner, that's sort of... That's the story

00:50:48.079 --> 00:50:50.739
behind it. Like, let's not miss it. Right now,

00:50:50.960 --> 00:50:53.639
God has his hand on your arm. He's doing something

00:50:53.639 --> 00:50:56.800
amazing. You could walk straight by and carry

00:50:56.800 --> 00:50:59.079
on with what you're doing, or you could engage

00:50:59.079 --> 00:51:02.079
with what God is doing. Don't miss it. And it's

00:51:02.079 --> 00:51:04.059
because it's a blessing for you. It's a blessing

00:51:04.059 --> 00:51:06.840
for me. It was a blessing for Hannah. She got

00:51:06.840 --> 00:51:11.719
to speak blessing over the Messiah before hardly

00:51:11.719 --> 00:51:14.980
anyone else knew that he was there. So it's that

00:51:14.980 --> 00:51:17.539
partnering with him then in that. dream in that

00:51:17.539 --> 00:51:21.800
vision and then it becomes an adventure. That

00:51:21.800 --> 00:51:25.500
is very good. You know Ephesians 3 20 in the

00:51:25.500 --> 00:51:27.400
New Living Translation it reminds us that God

00:51:27.400 --> 00:51:29.860
is able through his mighty power at work within

00:51:29.860 --> 00:51:33.280
us to accomplish infinitely more than we might

00:51:33.280 --> 00:51:36.440
ask or think. Of course it requires our yes.

00:51:36.809 --> 00:51:40.630
It requires us doing it when he reveals what

00:51:40.630 --> 00:51:43.389
he wants us to do. He's able to just do so much

00:51:43.389 --> 00:51:46.050
more than we could imagine, as he's done in your

00:51:46.050 --> 00:51:49.130
life, Lana. You know, God is able to meet every

00:51:49.130 --> 00:51:52.610
need, reach those who seem unreachable, work

00:51:52.610 --> 00:51:56.530
in us to transform us and bring God glory. Dear

00:51:56.530 --> 00:52:00.949
friends, nothing is impossible for God. Lana,

00:52:00.989 --> 00:52:02.829
would you take a moment and pray for our listeners?

00:52:05.320 --> 00:52:08.440
the amazing people who've taken time out of their

00:52:08.440 --> 00:52:12.300
day to listen to this story and my heart that

00:52:12.300 --> 00:52:15.300
it really is. the God story that they're hearing,

00:52:15.699 --> 00:52:19.460
your ability to invite somebody into relationship,

00:52:19.679 --> 00:52:22.079
into partnership, your ability to speak and lead

00:52:22.079 --> 00:52:25.900
clearly, your ability to bless, your desire to

00:52:25.900 --> 00:52:30.039
bless, your ability to have a vision for each

00:52:30.039 --> 00:52:32.219
of our lives and a calling and then to work it

00:52:32.219 --> 00:52:34.800
out in our lives if we're just willing to say

00:52:34.800 --> 00:52:38.880
yes. So I pray for that courage to rise up in

00:52:38.880 --> 00:52:43.869
our listeners now to... say yes to whatever that

00:52:43.869 --> 00:52:46.690
niggling thing is right now in their mind. And

00:52:46.690 --> 00:52:49.289
if there's any doubt, I would say, what's the

00:52:49.289 --> 00:52:53.150
harm? Go for it. I remember the first crazy word

00:52:53.150 --> 00:52:56.070
that God gave me when I was a teenager. And I

00:52:56.070 --> 00:52:59.289
was thinking, oh, is this really God? Is it not?

00:52:59.730 --> 00:53:01.989
And somebody encouraged me and said, well, what's

00:53:01.989 --> 00:53:04.849
the harm? Worst case scenario, they've taken

00:53:04.849 --> 00:53:09.079
a step. into the unknown and it was to share

00:53:09.079 --> 00:53:10.739
a word with someone. You would have best somebody

00:53:10.739 --> 00:53:13.500
with a good word and that would be it. Best case

00:53:13.500 --> 00:53:16.480
scenario, you've obeyed the voice of God and

00:53:16.480 --> 00:53:18.940
somewhere in between you've shown God that even

00:53:18.940 --> 00:53:20.639
if you're not sure, you're willing to take that

00:53:20.639 --> 00:53:23.159
step that you think is leading you to step. So

00:53:23.159 --> 00:53:27.639
take that risk. Practice taking risks. So I want

00:53:27.639 --> 00:53:29.840
to encourage the listeners, Lord, I want you,

00:53:30.119 --> 00:53:32.219
Holy Spirit, to speak in them now. I ask you

00:53:32.219 --> 00:53:35.739
to encourage them and to... compel them with

00:53:35.739 --> 00:53:38.219
the clarity of your voice to take that next step

00:53:38.219 --> 00:53:42.059
of risk that will push them into a whole life

00:53:42.059 --> 00:53:44.820
of adventure with you. For your glory, Jesus,

00:53:44.980 --> 00:53:48.880
that your name will be heard, your fame will

00:53:48.880 --> 00:53:54.380
increase, and your kingdom will expand. Jesus,

00:53:54.460 --> 00:53:58.030
in your precious name I pray. Amen. And now,

00:53:58.130 --> 00:54:00.349
dear friends, I bless you with an adaptation

00:54:00.349 --> 00:54:04.010
of Ephesians 320. May God's mighty power work

00:54:04.010 --> 00:54:07.769
in you to accomplish infinitely more than you

00:54:07.769 --> 00:54:11.570
could ask or imagine. Thank you for tuning in.

00:54:11.789 --> 00:54:14.070
Check out our show notes at hergodstory .org

00:54:14.070 --> 00:54:16.030
for scriptures and other information we talked

00:54:16.030 --> 00:54:18.969
about. There you can find a download. There you

00:54:18.969 --> 00:54:21.230
can also download a free six -week devotional

00:54:21.230 --> 00:54:23.889
on Women of the Bible and consider joining our

00:54:23.889 --> 00:54:26.050
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00:54:26.050 --> 00:54:28.659
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00:54:28.659 --> 00:54:31.780
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00:54:31.780 --> 00:54:36.699
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00:54:36.699 --> 00:54:39.659
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00:54:39.659 --> 00:54:42.619
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00:54:42.920 --> 00:54:45.239
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