Elisa Morgan: Let God Love You

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Hey friends, thank you for listening to the Her

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God Story podcast, where you will always hear

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a good story to encourage and inspire you in

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your walk with the Lord. I am so glad you tuned

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in. I'm your host, Jodie Chiricosta, ministry leader

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at Somebody Cares America and international author

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and traveler on this journey with Jesus. God

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cares deeply about the overlooked and hurting

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among us, and he has a special place in his heart

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for widows and orphans. Over and over again in

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Scripture, he directs us to care for widows and

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orphans, which is why Somebody Cares created

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the Widow and Orphan Fund. As a company together,

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we can do so much to take care of the special

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needs of those who's put in the care of our ministry

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partners around the world. Recently, we funded

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a delivery of special care packages for five

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destitute widows in Africa who are struggling

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to put food on their table for their children.

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And while this is only temporary relief, efforts

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are underway to provide monthly assistance to

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them while they seek employment and secure living

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situations. Because of the gifts of so many of

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you, dear friends, these precious women know

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that God has heard their cries and is answering

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with tangible help. Please pray about joining

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our number with a gift at hergodstory .org and

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click on help now. We even accept cryptocurrency.

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Recently, the Lord has led me to do a deeper

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study on the Sermon on the Mount. I have slowly

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been making my way through these powerful and

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seemingly contrary truths taught by Jesus. It

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has brought to mind the idea of God's kingdom

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being an upside -down kingdom. The least shall

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be the greatest. Finding life means dying to

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self. We must love our enemies and pray for those

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who persecute us. And the list goes on and on.

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Our human expectations of life are usually so

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divergent from God's plan. We can quickly become

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disillusioned if we cling to our expectations

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when things don't go according to our plan, and

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they rarely do. As children, we have dreams about

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our future. As we move through life, we have

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expectations about our health, relationship,

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financial stability, security. As parents, we

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have hopes and dreams for our families and children.

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Do we? Dare we? Can we truly trust God when things

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veer horribly off track? How do we cope? What

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do we do? Jesus begins the Sermon on a Mount

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with the Beatitudes, attitudes that we as believers

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must embrace to more carefully and clearly access

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the benefits and blessings of Christ's kingdom.

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The very first one in Matthew 5 .3 from the NIV

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reads, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs

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is the kingdom of heaven. An initial reading

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likely brings to mind our salvation experience.

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We recognize our desperate need for God's forgiveness

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and salvation to enter eternal life. But as I

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have read, pondered, and prayed about this, it

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has become clear to me that this attitude is

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meant to permeate our approach and outlook in

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every area of our lives. And that does not come

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easily. God graciously works in us, as Philippians

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2 .13 says, to will. and to act in according

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to fulfill His good purpose. But that work can

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be painful, because it means dying to self, putting

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to death our expectations, our dreams, our vision,

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and embracing and trusting the work He is doing

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in and around us, even when it looks like disaster.

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My guest, Elisa Morgan, is intimately acquainted

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with God's work in her life. Piece by piece she

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has laid down her expectations, realizing her

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desperate need for God to bring his kingdom work

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into each and every situation. Elisa was named

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by Christianity Today as one of the top 50 women

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influencing today's church and culture, and is

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one of today's most sought after authors, speakers,

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and leaders. She's authored more than 25 books

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on mothering, spiritual formation, and evangelism,

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and we have a link to some of those in our show

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notes. For 20 years, Elisa served as the CEO

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of Mops International. She received a bachelor's

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degree from the University of Texas and a master's

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of divinity from Denver Seminary. She currently

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is co -host of the syndicated radio program,

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Discover the Word, writes regularly for our Daily

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Bread Devotional, and co -hosts the podcast,

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God Hears Her. Married to Evan for over 40 years,

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they have two grown children, three grandchildren,

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and a beloved Jack Russell Terrier who shouts

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her everywhere. God used Elisa's book, The Beauty

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of Broken, my story and likely yours too, to

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show me areas in my life where I need to more

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fully die to self and trust Christ's work. I

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believe you will connect with parts of her story

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and I pray that God will use it to work in you

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to both will and act according to his good pleasure.

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Welcome, Elisa. Jodi, that was a great, great

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little sermon. You filled me up. Thank you. Yeah,

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I think we all get very confused with the Sermon

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on the Mount and feel like, oh, I'm doing my

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life totally backwards. But, you know, when we

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really enter those words and the relationship

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that God's inviting us to have, it is an upside

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down kingdom. You're right. Well, Elisa, share

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a little about your formative years and how You

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came to know Jesus. I grew up in a home that

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was a broken home. When I was five years old,

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my father called me into his home office and

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pulled me up onto his lap and said, at least

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I've decided I don't love your mother anymore

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and we're going to get a divorce. And I felt

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like in that moment at five, everything fell

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and broke. And as children often do crazily in

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our minds, I wondered what I had done to cause

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it, you know, had I not been enough. our little

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broken family of my mom, my older sister, and

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my younger brother. And I moved across the United

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States to the west coast. And things were fine

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for a while. I only saw my dad about once a year,

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which was awkward because he would take my sister

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and I out to dinner. And we'd saw our steaks

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and try and make adult conversation. It was super

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weird. And we'd leave our little baby brother

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at home because he was too young to saw at a

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steak. I missed him and I didn't understand.

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When we were a little older, we moved to Houston,

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Texas. Again, our single mom family. It's in

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those years that I felt responsible to help my

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mom get up in the morning because her alarm would

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go off down the hall in our ranch style home

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and she would never turn it off. I'd get up and

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pad down the hall and turn it off and she'd still

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be dead asleep and I'd start the process of trying

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to wake her up. Looking back, I realized my mom

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struggled with alcohol and she couldn't get up

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and I took it on as my job to wake her up. I'd

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get her Coca -Cola and some cookies out of the

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cookie jar and take them to her nightstand for

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her breakfast and try to get her to get up because

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she was the single mom and we needed her to go

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to work. So she would do a wonderful thing for

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my sister and I though she would drop us off

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at the local church down the street every Sunday

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and We didn't know what to do. So we joined the

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adult choir And they're very kind to us, but

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I I recognized early on a deep love for Jesus

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I can remember this moment walking down this

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long hall and there was this kind of weird but

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portrait plate collection of Jesus and the disciples

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and it set the end of the hall in this glass

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case, and I could look at Jesus' face as I was

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walking toward him, and it felt like it was just

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a locked stair, and that he was wooing me, and

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I didn't quite know what it meant. In fact, it

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wasn't until later when I was in the Ministry

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of Young Life in high school that I finally understood

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that not only did God love me, but that he wanted

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to have a relationship with me. I felt kind of

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bad, like maybe I'd done something wrong because

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I hadn't understood that all those years. But

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I immediately gave my life over to Jesus. And

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it's kind of fun because I was actually ordained

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as an elder in the Presbyterian Church about

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six months before I actually asked Jesus into

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my heart. But it's like we come to Jesus often

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in stages of understanding as we mature and grow

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up. And I loved him. after I accepted him I understood

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more why. Yeah well once you committed your life

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to Jesus even as a teenager you were all in.

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Yeah. So tell us about your spiritual formation.

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How did that happen in those early years and

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how did God lead you? I was discipled by an older

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woman. I mean she's probably 30. Older than you.

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Older than me. I was discipled by her and she

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taught me how to read the Bible and I was in

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small Bible study groups and things like that.

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I stayed very active in my church still. I went

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away to college out of state and then came back

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to state. I had dated a guy all the way through

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high school and college and near the end of graduation

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it was just clear we were not supposed to get

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married and it was crushing but it was also clear

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and so we broke up and I needed to clarify what

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was I supposed to do with the rest of my life

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because I'd had a plan of being with him and

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as I prayed about it I journaled a lot which

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I think is a big part of it but I felt like the

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Lord was asking me, when did you feel most alive

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in your life? And in an odd moment, I was able

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to identify that it was when I was doing an independent

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study in college on death and dying. And I was

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shadowing a hospital chaplain in a veterans association

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hospital. And I just I felt very at home in the

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ministry that I was doing there. So I decided

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to check out seminary and moved to Denver, Colorado

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and enrolled in Denver seminary. And that's where

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I met my husband who had come down from Laramie,

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Wyoming to go to seminary as well. And it wasn't

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very long before we knew we were for each other

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and this was going to be it. And I continued

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my studies at seminary even after we got married.

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Yeah. So when you graduated from seminary, God

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opened doors for both of you to serve him in

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ministry. But you also wanted to start a family,

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of course, you know, which for you meant adoption.

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Explain why and a little about that journey to

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become parents. Honestly, on our first date,

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I think I asked Evan to go get a Whopper with

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me at Burger King because I just thought he was

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so cute. Anyway, we were sitting there with our

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hamburgers hanging out of our mouths and he just

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said, I need to tell you something straight up

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front. And I'm like, okay. And he said, well,

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I just ended a relationship that didn't go well

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because I waited a while to disclose this and

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I don't want to make that mistake again. He said,

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I'm not going to be able to have children biologically.

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And I'm like, okay. And we talked about it and

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he revealed that he'd had testicular cancer just

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a few years prior. And so if we were going to

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be parents, if our relationship moved beyond

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the Whopper stage, then we would need to adopt.

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And I thought, no big deal. I mean, honestly,

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I thought no big deal. I had come from this messy

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family. My sister had had a child by then, but

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it just wasn't that important to me at the moment.

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We continued our relationship. Actually, we got

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married pretty quickly. We just knew God had

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us for each other. So I continued on in ministry

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and became a dean of a Bible college, and Evan

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became a CFO of a seminary. And we applied. for

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a child through adoption, which is a ridiculous

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process. I mean, it's good, but it just takes

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forever. And we waited four and a half years.

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And when finally, finally we received our daughter,

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I was so over the moon because during that four

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and a half years of wait, I realized how very

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much I wanted to be a mom. And, you know, to

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be honest too, Jodi, and I think this is important

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I was just talking to a gal doing my hair one

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day not long ago and she asked me about my kids

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and I told her they were adopted and she said

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I've been thinking about adoption tell me about

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it it's a different path and it turns out uniquely

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for each child and each family and I didn't really

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know that there are some easy beautiful stories

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there are some challenging heartbreak stories

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and there's some in -between stories but as I

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anticipated receiving our first child I was really

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aware that I was gonna get to like have this

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child and I wanted to make up for everything

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they might have ever experienced in terms of

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loss and in my prayer time God made it really

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clear to me that by the time that baby was put

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in my arms because we were adopting a baby he

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or she would have already experienced one of

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the greatest losses of their lives in their parents

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a loving gift to relinquish but nevertheless

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a loss. And I think sometimes we skate over that

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in our efforts to put a bow on top of God's work

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in our lives. You know, there still was a gritty

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wound in my daughter's life and then later in

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my son's life when we received him. Yeah, so

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you dreamed of creating the perfect family. We

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all do. Being the perfect mom, raising kids that

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love Jesus, of course, with your love. And as

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you threw yourself into motherhood, God had also

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called you into a ministry to other moms. How

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did that happen? And what did you see God do

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through your time leading MOPs International,

00:13:57.450 --> 00:14:00.029
which is, you know, global organization. I know

00:14:00.029 --> 00:14:02.370
many, many, many of my friends have been involved

00:14:02.370 --> 00:14:05.409
in MOPs and it's been wonderful for them. So

00:14:05.409 --> 00:14:07.470
how did you get involved? Because you were in...

00:14:07.289 --> 00:14:09.490
You were involved at the right, very start of

00:14:09.490 --> 00:14:13.149
it. I was shocked as much as anybody else. So

00:14:13.149 --> 00:14:16.629
yeah, we had our two kids by then and I was staying

00:14:16.629 --> 00:14:19.330
at home for a little bit with them and received

00:14:19.330 --> 00:14:21.950
this phone call to apply to become the first

00:14:21.950 --> 00:14:25.269
president of, it's now called the MomCo, Mops

00:14:25.269 --> 00:14:27.889
International, the MomCo, which was at that time

00:14:27.889 --> 00:14:30.169
even an international mothering movement. It

00:14:30.169 --> 00:14:33.129
had been around for 15 years at this point, but

00:14:33.129 --> 00:14:37.799
led by volunteers totally. So I was like, This

00:14:37.799 --> 00:14:41.200
is bizarre. Here's me. I've never been pregnant.

00:14:41.799 --> 00:14:45.179
Here's me. I come from a broken home, but here's

00:14:45.179 --> 00:14:49.320
me. I have no idea how to be a mom. I doubled

00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:51.580
up my therapy sessions as anyone should with

00:14:51.580 --> 00:14:56.840
such a moment. I remember being in the grocery

00:14:56.840 --> 00:14:59.320
store and just going, Lord, how could you ever

00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:02.259
want me to do this? Sure, I had a little shingle

00:15:02.259 --> 00:15:04.980
after my name and some degrees and stuff. I knew

00:15:04.980 --> 00:15:09.220
I was. I had leadership giftings. But anyway,

00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:11.120
in the grocery store, I looked around and there

00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:13.879
were all these moms way back in the days, long

00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:16.580
time ago. And they in those days had on sweatpants

00:15:16.580 --> 00:15:19.379
and, you know, they had ponytails and et cetera

00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:21.600
today as be yoga pants or Lululemon and, you

00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:23.580
know, messy buns. But the same thing. And all

00:15:23.580 --> 00:15:25.440
the kids are, you know, crawling out of the carts.

00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:29.740
And I felt like the Lord just said. Just. be

00:15:29.740 --> 00:15:32.379
on a platform of vulnerability. You know, nobody

00:15:32.379 --> 00:15:35.279
knows how to do this job the first time. I don't

00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:37.600
know why God doesn't give kids to grandparents

00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:39.659
because we're pretty awesome, but he doesn't.

00:15:39.700 --> 00:15:41.500
He gives them to people who have never been parents

00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:45.779
before. And he just said, let your deficits come

00:15:45.779 --> 00:15:48.039
into my hands and I'll make them your offering.

00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:54.940
And that has really been the mantra of my leadership.

00:15:56.139 --> 00:15:58.379
I don't know what I'm doing. Every day I get

00:15:58.379 --> 00:16:00.559
up and every day is a different day and I have

00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:03.820
no idea. And sure, I'm old now and I have some

00:16:03.820 --> 00:16:06.419
wisdom under my belt, but honestly, it's a new

00:16:06.419 --> 00:16:09.460
day. And each day is one that he needs to make

00:16:09.460 --> 00:16:12.259
sense of for us. Well, as head of MOPs International

00:16:12.259 --> 00:16:14.940
for so many years, you were in a really public

00:16:14.940 --> 00:16:19.080
position. And in the midst of all of that, you

00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:23.600
experienced unexpectedly some great brokenness

00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:27.169
in your family. Tell us what happened and how

00:16:27.169 --> 00:16:29.649
God used that in your life personally, because

00:16:29.649 --> 00:16:31.590
God is always working with us personally no matter

00:16:31.590 --> 00:16:33.250
who we are, no matter what kind of leadership

00:16:33.250 --> 00:16:35.809
position we have, right? And what he taught you

00:16:35.809 --> 00:16:37.830
about modeling brokenness as a leader? You know,

00:16:38.070 --> 00:16:41.019
you referenced that. I wanted to have a perfect

00:16:41.019 --> 00:16:43.539
family like we all do. And, you know, when I

00:16:43.539 --> 00:16:46.100
found Jesus back in my teens, way before I met

00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:48.980
my husband, I really did commit, Lord, I'm going

00:16:48.980 --> 00:16:51.399
to raise a perfectly intact second family. I

00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:53.120
mean, I've got you now. I can do this. You know,

00:16:53.500 --> 00:16:55.919
my parents didn't know you this way and they

00:16:55.919 --> 00:17:00.330
were really lost. It was the early 80s. It was

00:17:00.330 --> 00:17:02.830
the season of we can do it as Christians with

00:17:02.830 --> 00:17:06.029
our families. And I bought in completely to what

00:17:06.029 --> 00:17:08.589
I see now is a bit of mythology that we can control

00:17:08.589 --> 00:17:11.690
our kids and we can raise a perfectly intact

00:17:11.690 --> 00:17:16.490
family. So I was still in that season when as

00:17:16.490 --> 00:17:20.400
the CEO of Mops International. I found out one

00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:23.099
day that my daughter was concerned she might

00:17:23.099 --> 00:17:26.960
be pregnant. And my daughter was 16, had just

00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:30.700
returned from a missions trip to Kenya to help

00:17:30.700 --> 00:17:36.160
HIV AIDS positive orphans. She was a star swimmer.

00:17:36.339 --> 00:17:38.839
She was in her sophomore year of high school.

00:17:39.539 --> 00:17:41.920
She loved Jesus. She went to church and youth

00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:45.299
group. And when she told me she thought she might

00:17:45.299 --> 00:17:47.359
be pregnant, you know, I never before pregnant

00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:49.019
me, I get to go to the grocery store and buy

00:17:49.019 --> 00:17:52.339
a pregnancy test and stand outside the bathroom

00:17:52.339 --> 00:17:57.059
door and wait to find out that, yep, she's pregnant.

00:17:57.619 --> 00:18:00.700
And it felt like my perfectly intact second family

00:18:00.700 --> 00:18:03.420
fell and broke. So it wasn't just that I came

00:18:03.420 --> 00:18:07.559
from a broken family, but now I live in and maybe

00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:11.099
have even created a broken family. And in that

00:18:11.099 --> 00:18:14.900
season, remember I'm the CEO of Mops, the mothering

00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:20.779
organization. I went to our board chair along

00:18:20.779 --> 00:18:22.619
with my husband and just said, do you want me

00:18:22.619 --> 00:18:27.519
to resign? And Jody, his words stunned me. He

00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.519
said, why would we want you to resign? And I

00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:31.640
said, well, my daughter's pregnant. I mean, clearly.

00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:36.740
He said, Alisa, now we have one more mother of

00:18:36.740 --> 00:18:42.210
preschoolers and she lives with you. And God

00:18:42.210 --> 00:18:47.190
began to show me that as humiliating as it is,

00:18:47.569 --> 00:18:50.950
being broken doesn't have to excommunicate you

00:18:50.950 --> 00:18:55.470
or disqualify you. It was a long season. My daughter

00:18:55.470 --> 00:18:58.589
chose to relinquish her baby. She decided she

00:18:58.589 --> 00:19:02.170
was too young to raise that little one. And God

00:19:02.170 --> 00:19:05.509
provided an amazing family through an open adoption

00:19:05.509 --> 00:19:08.809
where she knew where he was and knew he was safe.

00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:15.740
She came back into life and got her GED and moved

00:19:15.740 --> 00:19:21.299
on. But boy, it was not an easy season and it

00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:24.119
didn't end there. Her teen pregnancy wasn't the

00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:27.440
only parental crisis. None of us just have one.

00:19:27.859 --> 00:19:30.059
Share some of the other struggles and how God

00:19:30.059 --> 00:19:32.460
worked in you and even in your marriage through

00:19:32.460 --> 00:19:35.259
them. My dear son, her younger brother began

00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:39.849
to struggle. with addiction issues and truancy

00:19:39.849 --> 00:19:43.049
and things like that and you know looking back

00:19:43.049 --> 00:19:46.069
and getting really deep psychologically I was

00:19:46.069 --> 00:19:48.109
able to piece together that his birth mother

00:19:48.109 --> 00:19:50.710
was just about the same age as my daughter was

00:19:50.710 --> 00:19:54.210
when she had a baby having him so I wondered

00:19:54.210 --> 00:19:56.529
a lot I don't know I can't say this for sure

00:19:56.529 --> 00:19:58.490
if some of those issues were being replayed in

00:19:58.490 --> 00:20:01.049
his own you know right in front of his eyes but

00:20:01.049 --> 00:20:04.650
he really lost himself for a long season and

00:20:05.069 --> 00:20:07.809
ran into very difficult struggles where we had

00:20:07.809 --> 00:20:10.630
to do a lot of tough love kinds of parenting

00:20:10.630 --> 00:20:15.670
and relinquish him over to God as well. In addition

00:20:15.670 --> 00:20:19.569
to that, my brother is gay and he began to have

00:20:19.569 --> 00:20:22.569
some health problems. Only recently have they

00:20:22.569 --> 00:20:25.589
been resolved, but I've been the caregiver for

00:20:25.589 --> 00:20:28.089
him over thousands of miles because he lives

00:20:28.089 --> 00:20:30.490
in a totally different part of the country. That

00:20:30.490 --> 00:20:33.650
was difficult. I also recognize in my marriage

00:20:33.650 --> 00:20:38.660
that began to I'll kind of be admiral of all

00:20:38.660 --> 00:20:40.920
I called it you know I thought I could handle

00:20:40.920 --> 00:20:42.920
all of the teen issues because you know I'd grown

00:20:42.920 --> 00:20:44.880
up in young life which was a great ministry to

00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:47.259
teens and my husband had been more sheltered

00:20:47.259 --> 00:20:50.539
in his upbringing I think his greatest disobedience

00:20:50.539 --> 00:20:52.900
was to say darn one time to his parents you know

00:20:52.900 --> 00:20:58.259
and so I just figured I knew better how to parent

00:20:58.259 --> 00:21:00.720
wayward struggling teens and so I kind of shoved

00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:04.380
him out and That was a big mistake because they

00:21:04.380 --> 00:21:07.640
needed him and I needed him. And the Lord showed

00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:12.640
me strongly how he'd provided my husband for

00:21:12.640 --> 00:21:14.940
me as well. So those are just some of the examples.

00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:17.519
I also had to continue leading, you know, during

00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:21.880
these seasons where, again, I'm the one in charge

00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:26.299
helping our ministry, help moms be better moms.

00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:29.019
When I'm still pulling my hair out, I'm now a

00:21:29.019 --> 00:21:31.440
grandmother of preschoolers, not just a mom.

00:21:32.339 --> 00:21:35.960
Well, parenting, you know, it always leads to

00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:38.339
self -reflection. What did I do right? What should

00:21:38.339 --> 00:21:42.420
I change? Where have I blown it? And it can be

00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:45.220
really healthy. It can be helpful to self -reflect,

00:21:45.259 --> 00:21:49.380
but it can also set us into a minefield of shame

00:21:49.380 --> 00:21:53.490
and despair and doubt. As a leader, of a Christian

00:21:53.490 --> 00:21:55.589
organization that really can be magnified, can't

00:21:55.589 --> 00:21:59.349
it? So what do you do when shame and despair

00:21:59.349 --> 00:22:01.630
and doubt rears its ugly head in your life? How

00:22:01.630 --> 00:22:04.009
do you keep it from debilitating you? It's not

00:22:04.009 --> 00:22:06.410
all about that, but when it hits, it's like a

00:22:06.410 --> 00:22:08.309
shame spiral. You know, we have a little shame

00:22:08.309 --> 00:22:13.269
fest and, oh, and it doesn't go away. There are

00:22:13.269 --> 00:22:17.160
a couple of truths that the Lord showed me over

00:22:17.160 --> 00:22:19.519
like a decade period. Well, three, maybe I'll

00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:21.119
just start with the first one. And with the first

00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:25.339
one is the confession that I was proud. There

00:22:25.339 --> 00:22:29.099
was a way in which I thought I could raise a

00:22:29.099 --> 00:22:33.220
perfect family. That I was sandwiched between

00:22:33.220 --> 00:22:35.680
a mom who struggled with alcohol and children

00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:38.119
who were having struggling with their lives.

00:22:38.119 --> 00:22:40.359
And I thought, well, why can't they just do it

00:22:40.359 --> 00:22:45.440
like me? I'm great. And, you know, the Lord began

00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:48.900
to show me, no, hon, you know, it's almost like

00:22:48.900 --> 00:22:54.019
the woman that came and anointed Jesus' feet

00:22:54.019 --> 00:22:58.359
in the home of Simon the Pharisee. And Simon

00:22:58.359 --> 00:23:00.279
the Pharisee was saying, how can you love her?

00:23:00.299 --> 00:23:02.180
Don't you know she's a prostitute, et cetera?

00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:06.599
And Jesus did love her. But Simon, he turned

00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:08.819
and spoke to and said, you know, the one who's

00:23:08.819 --> 00:23:12.309
been forgiven, little, loves little. But the

00:23:12.309 --> 00:23:16.930
one who's been forgiven much loves much. And

00:23:16.930 --> 00:23:19.630
so instead of seeing myself as the woman, I went,

00:23:19.829 --> 00:23:22.329
oh, Alisa, you've been a Simon. You've been a

00:23:22.329 --> 00:23:25.269
pharisaical. I'm doing it all right. Why don't

00:23:25.269 --> 00:23:28.930
you push all these other losers away? That was

00:23:28.930 --> 00:23:31.910
a big lesson for me and still is years and years

00:23:31.910 --> 00:23:37.009
later. Another one is that I don't think I ever

00:23:37.009 --> 00:23:40.170
understood until this broken time that God loves

00:23:40.170 --> 00:23:43.029
me. And as my pastor says, God loves you and

00:23:43.029 --> 00:23:46.329
there's nothing you can do about it. And I love

00:23:46.329 --> 00:23:48.650
that so much, but I didn't believe it. And one

00:23:48.650 --> 00:23:51.250
of my therapists just challenged me to try sitting

00:23:51.250 --> 00:23:54.289
five minutes every day and just let God love

00:23:54.289 --> 00:23:56.029
me. Just think about it, which is really hard

00:23:56.029 --> 00:23:57.309
to do. You know, you're gonna do that and you're

00:23:57.309 --> 00:23:58.750
strengthening what you need to get at the store.

00:23:59.190 --> 00:24:00.569
You know, there's clothes in the drawer you need

00:24:00.569 --> 00:24:03.609
to get out or whatever. But one day I finally,

00:24:04.250 --> 00:24:06.230
I just realized there was a sentence going through

00:24:06.230 --> 00:24:09.940
my head and it said, I love you, Alisa. Just

00:24:09.940 --> 00:24:12.859
like first -person God to me. I love you Alisa

00:24:12.859 --> 00:24:17.539
That's riveting when you hear that and when you

00:24:17.539 --> 00:24:22.759
realize that's true and that next truth is that

00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:26.619
I've come to watch that God uses the broken,

00:24:26.619 --> 00:24:29.460
you know, he loves the broken and he uses the

00:24:29.460 --> 00:24:34.200
broken and When we take our brokenness and put

00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:39.359
it into Jesus hands he really can use this more

00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:41.859
powerfully than he could before we were broken.

00:24:42.119 --> 00:24:43.900
You know, he can redeem that brokenness. I mean,

00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:45.279
think about all this stuff in your life. Think

00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:47.099
about stuff in my life. You know, I come from

00:24:47.099 --> 00:24:49.619
a divorced family. I understand divorce a little

00:24:49.619 --> 00:24:53.819
bit differently. When my oldest grandson, my

00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:56.500
daughter was pregnant again later as a single

00:24:56.500 --> 00:25:00.200
woman. And when the father of my oldest grandson

00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:03.740
came into his life, he had come from divorced

00:25:03.740 --> 00:25:05.859
parents. And I was able to sit down with him

00:25:05.859 --> 00:25:09.769
and say, We share that. Maybe it's something

00:25:09.769 --> 00:25:11.990
of alcoholism like you might have with a parent,

00:25:12.029 --> 00:25:13.990
or maybe it's a disease. Maybe you've endured

00:25:13.990 --> 00:25:17.509
breast cancer, or maybe it's adoption, or maybe

00:25:17.509 --> 00:25:20.490
it's unemployment. There are so many things we

00:25:20.490 --> 00:25:23.930
go through in life, and we crazily think, well

00:25:23.930 --> 00:25:26.089
if God loves you, he's going to cause you to

00:25:26.089 --> 00:25:28.690
prosper. Isn't that what scripture says in Jeremiah

00:25:28.690 --> 00:25:32.009
29 11? I know the plans I have for you says the

00:25:32.009 --> 00:25:35.130
Lord plans to not to harm you but to give you

00:25:35.130 --> 00:25:38.710
a future and a hope to prosper you. But prospering

00:25:38.710 --> 00:25:45.390
isn't always money and safety and security. Sometimes

00:25:45.390 --> 00:25:49.650
prospering is a kind of a spiritual heritage

00:25:49.650 --> 00:25:51.869
that becomes our investment in the world around

00:25:51.869 --> 00:25:56.009
us. a hope, seeds of hope that we plant, the

00:25:56.009 --> 00:25:58.730
fruit of the Spirit that we express in our character,

00:25:59.130 --> 00:26:01.250
that other people get to watch and therefore

00:26:01.250 --> 00:26:04.589
get to go, that's what Jesus looks like then,

00:26:04.789 --> 00:26:09.210
her, you know. So those three, recognizing my

00:26:09.210 --> 00:26:12.029
need for God, that I was proud, recognizing that

00:26:12.029 --> 00:26:15.150
he loves the broken me, and recognizing that

00:26:15.150 --> 00:26:18.160
he can still use. and sometimes further use those

00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:20.140
who've been broken. I love all of those, but

00:26:20.140 --> 00:26:25.279
I love how in your book you mentioned when you

00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:30.720
were honest and transparent about some of the

00:26:30.720 --> 00:26:33.559
issues that you were dealing with, how it really

00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:37.740
ministered to a lot of your team. Share a little

00:26:37.740 --> 00:26:40.099
about that. Because, you know, we can think,

00:26:40.119 --> 00:26:42.319
gosh, if they only know, they're going to reject

00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:44.940
me. But that just the opposite happened. After

00:26:44.940 --> 00:26:46.920
I had shared with the chair of our board and

00:26:46.920 --> 00:26:49.279
our board knew about my daughter being pregnant,

00:26:49.539 --> 00:26:52.920
et cetera. I mean, you can't hide something like

00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:56.160
that forever. You know, hello, I'm a grandma.

00:26:58.180 --> 00:27:00.599
Even though she relinquished and he was born

00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:03.740
with some great needs, which is another heartbreaking

00:27:03.740 --> 00:27:07.940
story. He didn't have any adoptive parents standing

00:27:07.940 --> 00:27:10.220
waiting for him when he was born. So he was in

00:27:10.220 --> 00:27:14.039
the NICU for four or five months. And Evan and

00:27:14.039 --> 00:27:16.400
myself and my daughter, we parented him. We went

00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:18.660
and saw him every day and took care of him and

00:27:18.660 --> 00:27:21.519
were with him until God brought some parents

00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:24.759
miraculously forward. But I couldn't hide that.

00:27:24.839 --> 00:27:27.160
I mean, I guess I tried, but I couldn't hide

00:27:27.160 --> 00:27:30.980
that from my staff. So we had a staff meeting.

00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:34.400
where the board chair came, he was great and

00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:37.920
just helped me announce this to the staff. And

00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:40.619
I was all expecting them to go, oh, you know,

00:27:40.619 --> 00:27:43.220
you are done. You know, you are disqualified.

00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:47.380
And instead, two or three women came and got

00:27:47.380 --> 00:27:49.759
me later in my office or walked up to me quietly

00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:52.740
in the hall and said, I'm so proud of your daughter.

00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:57.920
I had a baby. I made a different choice. You

00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:01.099
give me great hope with your honesty. and you

00:28:01.099 --> 00:28:04.319
know it it it harkened back to that moment in

00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:07.660
the grocery store jody where god just said get

00:28:07.660 --> 00:28:10.240
up on a platform of vulnerability you know let

00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:13.039
people watch you and i think that's been my number

00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:16.200
one leadership principle over my whole life is

00:28:16.200 --> 00:28:19.980
that people don't learn very much from perfect

00:28:19.980 --> 00:28:22.339
people. They learn from people who are in process

00:28:22.339 --> 00:28:25.619
just like them. When you slip and you hold on

00:28:25.619 --> 00:28:28.460
to Jesus' hand and they can watch you cling to

00:28:28.460 --> 00:28:30.900
Him and Him pull you back up, they learn a lot

00:28:30.900 --> 00:28:33.400
more than if you're, you know, all that and,

00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:36.220
you know, the hat, every day all perfect. They're

00:28:36.220 --> 00:28:39.349
like, I have to be like that, I can't. So the

00:28:39.349 --> 00:28:41.089
Lord has shown me that year after year after

00:28:41.089 --> 00:28:44.470
year over decades of ministries that really transparency

00:28:44.470 --> 00:28:48.150
is our calling and especially the younger generations

00:28:48.150 --> 00:28:51.630
who are so attracted to authenticity. Vulnerability

00:28:51.630 --> 00:28:54.829
is believability and it makes Jesus very attractive

00:28:54.829 --> 00:28:57.210
to others when they see how we need him and how

00:28:57.210 --> 00:29:00.180
he meets our needs. Yeah, and when we say it,

00:29:00.380 --> 00:29:03.619
we do really recognize more when it's coming

00:29:03.619 --> 00:29:07.180
out of our mouth, our need for Jesus, which can

00:29:07.180 --> 00:29:12.480
bolster our commitment, our, you know, to actually

00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:14.880
do it his way, because we know people are watching.

00:29:15.220 --> 00:29:16.759
I mean, I think the fruit of the Spirit, which

00:29:16.759 --> 00:29:19.119
is something I've been writing on recently, also

00:29:19.119 --> 00:29:22.380
seems outreach to us. A lot of times it's like,

00:29:22.420 --> 00:29:25.400
I can't be self -controlled or kind or patient

00:29:25.400 --> 00:29:29.880
or whatever. And God doesn't ask us to ratchet

00:29:29.880 --> 00:29:33.400
that stuff up. He just says, cooperate with me

00:29:33.400 --> 00:29:36.539
as I grow those qualities in your life. And as

00:29:36.539 --> 00:29:40.059
he grows those qualities in our lives, we become

00:29:40.059 --> 00:29:43.900
more attractive and hope bringers to those around

00:29:43.900 --> 00:29:47.460
us. And they want what we're having, if you will.

00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:50.680
They want God, too. Well, God eventually led

00:29:50.680 --> 00:29:53.700
you away from mops and called you to some new

00:29:53.700 --> 00:29:58.369
things. But how did that transpire in the first

00:29:58.369 --> 00:30:00.390
place? And then how, in the midst of all that

00:30:00.390 --> 00:30:03.869
you were going through for years, did you have

00:30:03.869 --> 00:30:06.390
the confidence to step into new areas of ministry?

00:30:06.490 --> 00:30:10.410
I felt very whole, even near the end of my ministry

00:30:10.410 --> 00:30:13.950
at MOBS. It's like the Lord used that season

00:30:13.950 --> 00:30:18.890
of mothering ministry, both to break me into...

00:30:18.700 --> 00:30:23.200
heal me. You know, and I, I was able to minister

00:30:23.200 --> 00:30:27.019
from this platform of honesty, but I sensed a

00:30:27.019 --> 00:30:30.880
great longing that the whole ministry of MOPs

00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:32.900
needed to be handed over to the next generation.

00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:37.200
I was just in my early to mid fifties. I probably

00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:39.460
could have stayed another 10, 20 years, but,

00:30:39.460 --> 00:30:43.220
um, it just really seemed important because MOPs,

00:30:43.240 --> 00:30:45.400
the MomCo had always been a ministry by mothers

00:30:45.400 --> 00:30:48.759
of preschoolers. four mothers of preschoolers.

00:30:49.240 --> 00:30:51.900
And now I'm a grandmother of not even a preschooler

00:30:51.900 --> 00:30:56.319
anymore. So I just really sense God wooing me

00:30:56.319 --> 00:30:59.819
to relinquish leadership, which is more what

00:30:59.819 --> 00:31:03.880
I did than be called out to something else. Isn't

00:31:03.880 --> 00:31:05.619
that interesting? It was more of a laying it

00:31:05.619 --> 00:31:08.579
down and being willing to be a part of what he

00:31:08.579 --> 00:31:11.539
wanted to do next. So I did that. And for the

00:31:11.539 --> 00:31:15.809
first year or two, I was lost. I was just, I

00:31:15.809 --> 00:31:19.250
didn't know who I was. I had been grown up inside

00:31:19.250 --> 00:31:22.789
that leadership role and my kids were still around

00:31:22.789 --> 00:31:25.670
and definitely needed me as adults. But you know,

00:31:25.750 --> 00:31:28.890
it was just, I've made for ministry and then

00:31:28.890 --> 00:31:30.589
leadership. So I didn't know what to do. I said

00:31:30.589 --> 00:31:33.309
yes to everything that came my way. I did all

00:31:33.309 --> 00:31:38.869
kinds of things. Like I ended up going with Bono's

00:31:38.869 --> 00:31:44.029
group. of the one campaign to Sub -Saharan Africa

00:31:44.029 --> 00:31:48.130
with nine other mom bloggers to track the work

00:31:48.130 --> 00:31:51.349
of USAID and what was happening with the HIV

00:31:51.349 --> 00:31:54.789
AIDS pandemic and micro enterprise for impoverished

00:31:54.789 --> 00:31:57.150
women and all kinds of stuff. Came back and blogged

00:31:57.150 --> 00:32:00.130
about that and ended up in the White House for

00:32:00.130 --> 00:32:04.529
a specific campaign as well. I did promos on

00:32:04.529 --> 00:32:07.779
TV for Mother's Day stuff. I spoke all of it

00:32:07.779 --> 00:32:12.380
whatever you know I just okay and I just said

00:32:12.380 --> 00:32:15.839
yes and then each time it got quiet which it

00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:19.980
would I would go Lord I would kind of panic and

00:32:19.980 --> 00:32:21.839
one of my friends said Alisa you feel really

00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:24.039
kind of desperate sometimes it's like you're

00:32:24.039 --> 00:32:26.079
scrambling to attach to something and I thought

00:32:26.079 --> 00:32:29.140
that is exactly it I there had to be like this

00:32:29.140 --> 00:32:31.799
label Alisa Morgan blah you know kind of thing

00:32:31.799 --> 00:32:34.599
and the Lord was really clear I want you to attach

00:32:34.599 --> 00:32:38.430
yourself to me. So I tried that and, you know,

00:32:38.430 --> 00:32:40.789
I would take little sabbaticals and work on that.

00:32:41.390 --> 00:32:43.269
And eventually my husband in those years was

00:32:43.269 --> 00:32:45.910
working at our Daily Bread Ministries as one

00:32:45.910 --> 00:32:49.230
of their heads of all their content. And the

00:32:49.230 --> 00:32:52.950
radio program Discover the Word, there had a

00:32:52.950 --> 00:32:56.269
host transition, Haddon Robinson and Alice Matthews

00:32:56.269 --> 00:32:59.450
were retiring. And somebody threw my name in

00:32:59.450 --> 00:33:02.029
there and they asked me to audition. Well, that's

00:33:02.029 --> 00:33:05.319
been 10 years and I've been part of our Daily

00:33:05.319 --> 00:33:07.420
Bread Ministries writing for the devotional,

00:33:07.740 --> 00:33:10.960
co -hosting the Discover the Word radio, and

00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:14.380
now the God Hears Her podcast with Vivian Mabuni

00:33:14.380 --> 00:33:18.519
and Erin Eddy and love that one too because generationally

00:33:18.519 --> 00:33:21.869
we're so different, and we represent different

00:33:21.869 --> 00:33:24.650
eras. Erin's in her late 30s, Viv's in her 50s,

00:33:24.650 --> 00:33:28.990
I'm almost 70. And it's super cool to minister

00:33:28.990 --> 00:33:31.809
to women in the trenches of life, very much like

00:33:31.809 --> 00:33:34.890
what Mops did, very much like what we all are

00:33:34.890 --> 00:33:38.230
doing. So that's what I'm doing now. Wow. So,

00:33:38.269 --> 00:33:40.029
you know, it's been really a number of years

00:33:40.029 --> 00:33:42.289
since you wrote the book, The Beauty of Brokenness,

00:33:42.289 --> 00:33:45.369
that I referenced earlier on. And what areas

00:33:45.369 --> 00:33:48.849
of brokenness in your life? are currently bringing

00:33:48.849 --> 00:33:51.630
forth more and more beauty? Well of course my

00:33:51.630 --> 00:33:54.349
grandchildren. They're awesome. My oldest is

00:33:54.349 --> 00:33:57.170
21 now and my youngest is two and then I have

00:33:57.170 --> 00:34:01.650
one in between that's 10. So I adore them and

00:34:01.650 --> 00:34:06.789
I'm very grateful for the abnormal kind of family

00:34:06.789 --> 00:34:09.190
we've had. My daughter and my oldest lived with

00:34:09.190 --> 00:34:11.530
us for three years so we're very very close.

00:34:12.190 --> 00:34:14.809
and then my youngest to watch my son watching

00:34:14.809 --> 00:34:17.170
him fall in love and be married for 11 -12 years

00:34:17.170 --> 00:34:19.849
now and then become a dad has been a great joy.

00:34:21.130 --> 00:34:23.730
An issue that the Lord has invited me into that

00:34:23.730 --> 00:34:26.090
I referenced a little bit earlier in our conversation

00:34:26.090 --> 00:34:30.190
is my brother's situation. He lives in California.

00:34:30.190 --> 00:34:33.289
I live in Colorado and about almost five years

00:34:33.289 --> 00:34:35.550
ago he found out that he would need to have a

00:34:35.550 --> 00:34:40.250
liver transplant and I'm his closest caregiver.

00:34:40.250 --> 00:34:44.050
He's single. And so I had to step up to become

00:34:44.050 --> 00:34:47.110
his caregiver, even from a distance. And Jody,

00:34:47.190 --> 00:34:51.110
that was totally breaking for me. I mean, I had

00:34:51.110 --> 00:34:54.309
to call him every single day and try and handle

00:34:54.309 --> 00:34:56.469
all of his doctor appointments. We had to get

00:34:56.469 --> 00:34:59.590
in -home support. We had to get a caregiver locally,

00:34:59.590 --> 00:35:02.550
just on and on. And I thought that was exhausting,

00:35:02.849 --> 00:35:05.329
but praise God, he finally got a liver just about

00:35:05.329 --> 00:35:08.409
six months ago. But that requires you to be in

00:35:08.409 --> 00:35:12.219
person 24 seven or. be a part of a team. So we

00:35:12.219 --> 00:35:14.219
had arranged a team of six people who would come

00:35:14.219 --> 00:35:16.559
in and out, but my husband and I ended up having

00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:19.739
to cover at least six weeks of that time ourselves.

00:35:19.760 --> 00:35:21.659
So we didn't even see each other for weeks and

00:35:21.659 --> 00:35:25.860
weeks at a time. And carrying my work, caring

00:35:25.860 --> 00:35:28.659
for grandkids, et cetera, while being with my

00:35:28.659 --> 00:35:32.760
brother who was very sick. I thought I was going

00:35:32.760 --> 00:35:37.099
to crack up. I wrote a blog. I called it Playing

00:35:37.099 --> 00:35:40.619
Badminton with Myself. And it's like I would

00:35:40.619 --> 00:35:43.539
shoot the birdie up in the air and I'd run around

00:35:43.539 --> 00:35:46.179
to the other side of the net and I'd shoot it

00:35:46.179 --> 00:35:48.320
to the other side and run back and forth and

00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:51.949
back and forth. And sometimes for me, God speaks

00:35:51.949 --> 00:35:54.269
to me as I'm writing. And as I'm writing out

00:35:54.269 --> 00:35:58.590
this experience, I realized that He was keeping

00:35:58.590 --> 00:36:01.789
the birdie in the air until I reached the other

00:36:01.789 --> 00:36:06.030
side. I wasn't playing all by myself. And that

00:36:06.030 --> 00:36:09.030
was really encouraging. That would be one of

00:36:09.030 --> 00:36:11.150
my most recent struggles with brokenness. There's

00:36:11.150 --> 00:36:14.670
just not quite enough of us in a given situation,

00:36:14.670 --> 00:36:18.369
you know, to be. what we have to be in this life.

00:36:18.989 --> 00:36:22.510
And the older I get, the more I understand that.

00:36:22.750 --> 00:36:26.090
It's not easier, but I do understand that. Well,

00:36:26.269 --> 00:36:28.010
yeah, there's different seasons in life that

00:36:28.010 --> 00:36:29.849
we take on different roles and responsibilities,

00:36:30.030 --> 00:36:33.070
but none of them are necessarily easy. I mean,

00:36:33.150 --> 00:36:38.289
with God, He carries us through, but doesn't

00:36:38.289 --> 00:36:40.949
mean it's without... without some struggle. Well,

00:36:40.989 --> 00:36:42.969
you know, I always say we're not done. If we

00:36:42.969 --> 00:36:46.170
were done, we'd be dead. So we're still learning.

00:36:46.369 --> 00:36:49.150
We're still growing. That process of sanctification

00:36:49.150 --> 00:36:52.409
goes on and on. Well, as we close, Alyssa, would

00:36:52.409 --> 00:36:55.630
you share about a woman of the Bible who's inspired

00:36:55.630 --> 00:36:58.190
or encouraged or taught you something? I think

00:36:58.190 --> 00:37:02.610
of several, maybe one that is really maybe a

00:37:02.610 --> 00:37:04.690
little bit unusual, maybe will empower somebody

00:37:04.690 --> 00:37:06.730
today who's got a struggle in this area, but

00:37:06.730 --> 00:37:10.280
it's Abigail. Abigail was married to a fool,

00:37:10.860 --> 00:37:13.940
Nabal, and his name meant fool, and he was a

00:37:13.940 --> 00:37:18.840
drunkard and pretty much just an idiot. And King

00:37:18.840 --> 00:37:23.860
David had helped out Nabal with some of his flock,

00:37:23.980 --> 00:37:27.619
his sheep, his livestock, and Nabal refused to

00:37:27.619 --> 00:37:30.719
send a tip to take care of David and his men.

00:37:31.260 --> 00:37:35.400
And so David was ticked off and got on his donkeys

00:37:35.400 --> 00:37:39.139
and rode off with his men and Abigail knew that

00:37:39.139 --> 00:37:41.539
David would come because her husband has been

00:37:41.539 --> 00:37:45.139
so inappropriate and yet her husband was asleep

00:37:45.139 --> 00:37:48.079
because he was drunk and so she rode out to meet

00:37:48.079 --> 00:37:50.599
David and she brought with her this offering

00:37:50.599 --> 00:37:53.699
of a whole bunch of food and other gifts to give

00:37:53.699 --> 00:37:58.199
him and caught him in a in the wilderness and

00:37:58.199 --> 00:38:01.159
got off her donkey and he was way impressed she's

00:38:01.159 --> 00:38:04.619
beautiful and he was way impressed with her but

00:38:04.619 --> 00:38:10.809
she confronted him boldly in truth and said don't

00:38:10.809 --> 00:38:15.690
go kill David when you are king you need to have

00:38:15.690 --> 00:38:18.369
a pure record basically is what she said you

00:38:18.369 --> 00:38:21.590
know God has bound you in the bundle of the living

00:38:21.590 --> 00:38:24.510
were her words and you just picture this cocoon

00:38:24.510 --> 00:38:27.869
around him and she's saying trust God to protect

00:38:27.869 --> 00:38:29.869
you don't take this into your own hands because

00:38:29.869 --> 00:38:31.469
then you're gonna have bloodshed on your hands

00:38:31.469 --> 00:38:34.860
and you don't need that as a king and he said

00:38:34.860 --> 00:38:39.460
okay and she went back home and nape was drunk

00:38:39.460 --> 00:38:41.980
all over again having a big party and he had

00:38:41.980 --> 00:38:44.900
a stroke and heart attack and died and she was

00:38:44.900 --> 00:38:47.900
freed from this man and david married her now

00:38:47.900 --> 00:38:51.860
that's a happy little story for sure and it doesn't

00:38:51.860 --> 00:38:53.880
always work out that way i have a friend right

00:38:53.880 --> 00:38:56.539
now who is in a deep struggle of domestic violence

00:38:56.539 --> 00:38:59.880
and it is horrific and i want to encourage anybody

00:39:00.190 --> 00:39:02.869
who's in that spot to reach out immediately and

00:39:02.869 --> 00:39:05.929
get help, called the domestic violence hotline.

00:39:06.530 --> 00:39:10.469
But I also see in that a woman who was convinced

00:39:10.469 --> 00:39:13.969
that God would care for her and she took God

00:39:13.969 --> 00:39:17.050
at her word and she clung to him. So I think

00:39:17.050 --> 00:39:20.289
of Abigail. I love Abigail too. She's one of

00:39:20.289 --> 00:39:24.429
my favorite characters, women in the Bible as

00:39:24.429 --> 00:39:30.269
well. lived to tell of God's faithfulness in

00:39:30.269 --> 00:39:32.469
the midst of some heartbreaking situations. You

00:39:32.469 --> 00:39:34.530
know, we all go through trials of many kinds,

00:39:35.369 --> 00:39:38.949
which James 1, 2 through 4 assures us is meant

00:39:38.949 --> 00:39:43.010
to produce in us perseverance, character, and

00:39:43.010 --> 00:39:46.369
completion. It takes looking beyond the natural

00:39:46.369 --> 00:39:49.510
to see by faith that God is doing what he promises

00:39:49.510 --> 00:39:54.110
to do in Isaiah 61, verse 3, to bestow on them

00:39:54.110 --> 00:39:57.980
a crown of beauty instead of ashes. the oil of

00:39:57.980 --> 00:40:00.619
joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise

00:40:00.619 --> 00:40:03.539
instead of a spirit of despair. They will be

00:40:03.539 --> 00:40:06.300
called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the

00:40:06.300 --> 00:40:10.500
Lord for the display of His splendor." That's

00:40:10.500 --> 00:40:13.079
really the ultimate goal, the glory of God. And

00:40:13.079 --> 00:40:15.900
He works in each of us to bring about things

00:40:15.900 --> 00:40:19.019
that will glorify Him. Elisa, would you take

00:40:19.019 --> 00:40:21.500
a moment and pray for our listeners? Father,

00:40:21.519 --> 00:40:24.440
you know exactly who is listening right now.

00:40:24.840 --> 00:40:28.039
You know what she's going through, what he's

00:40:28.039 --> 00:40:32.059
enduring, what they are questioning and struggling

00:40:32.059 --> 00:40:38.239
with. Father, you know the unique needs. Lord,

00:40:38.260 --> 00:40:40.039
would you reach out to that individual right

00:40:40.039 --> 00:40:42.019
now and convince them in a tangible way that

00:40:42.019 --> 00:40:47.039
you hear them, that you love them, that they

00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:51.800
are yours. Father, would you encourage them that

00:40:51.800 --> 00:40:55.119
whatever brokenness they have endured or are

00:40:55.119 --> 00:40:58.920
enduring, it is not beyond your repair? God,

00:40:59.079 --> 00:41:02.559
in fact, thank you that the very broken body

00:41:02.559 --> 00:41:08.159
of your Son nailed to a cross on our behalf is

00:41:08.159 --> 00:41:12.420
that very entity that brings about our healing.

00:41:13.179 --> 00:41:16.440
Thank you that you broke for us, that we would

00:41:16.440 --> 00:41:20.079
not have to live in brokenness forever. May you

00:41:20.079 --> 00:41:23.039
bring about healing and hope and restoration

00:41:23.039 --> 00:41:26.039
and redemption Through your power and through

00:41:26.039 --> 00:41:30.500
the blood of Jesus in your name. Amen. Amen Well,

00:41:30.500 --> 00:41:32.699
thank you for tuning in check the show notes

00:41:32.699 --> 00:41:36.679
at her God story org for scriptures Book references

00:41:36.679 --> 00:41:38.579
and other information we talked about there You

00:41:38.579 --> 00:41:41.039
can also download a free six -week devotional

00:41:41.039 --> 00:41:43.900
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00:41:43.900 --> 00:41:45.900
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00:41:45.900 --> 00:41:48.800
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00:41:48.800 --> 00:41:51.579
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00:41:51.579 --> 00:41:56.420
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00:41:56.420 --> 00:41:59.500
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00:41:59.579 --> 00:42:01.420
dear friends, I bless you with an adaptation

00:42:01.420 --> 00:42:05.300
from 1 Peter 5 -10. May the God of all grace

00:42:05.300 --> 00:42:08.019
who called you to his eternal glory in Christ,

00:42:08.500 --> 00:42:11.260
after you've suffered a little while, himself

00:42:11.260 --> 00:42:16.360
restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.

00:42:16.599 --> 00:42:19.079
Her God Story is a ministry of Somebody Cares

00:42:19.079 --> 00:42:21.980
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00:42:21.980 --> 00:42:24.360
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00:42:24.360 --> 00:42:25.079
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