God Delights in You, Jan Tennyson’s Story

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Hey friends, you know I love a good story, especially when it's a God story that equips,

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inspires, and encourages us in our walk with the Lord.

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I'm your host, Jody Caracosta, ministry leader at Somebody Cares America and International,

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author and traveler on this journey of faith, and I'm delighted to welcome you to the Her

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God Story podcast.

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I was reading Psalm 37: 23 seemed to jump off the page.

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The New Living translation reads, The Lord directs the steps of the godly.

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He delights in every detail of their lives.

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Of course, I've read that scripture many times, but this time I realized something

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I had not before.

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God actually delights in every detail of our lives.

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I know that's what the verse says, but have you ever really thought about it?

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It's truly quite amazing.

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My guest, Jan Tennyson, has seen that truth active in her life in remarkable ways.

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36 years ago, she founded and still serves as president of the Dare to Dream Children's

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Foundation.

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Jan has had some amazing adventures that God has taken her on and has been involved in

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life-changing ministries that he's opened up to her.

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She's the recipient of the 2007 Governor's Lone Star Achievement Award in the state of

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Texas, one of the 2014 Women of Achievement honored by the Miss Texas Pageant, and recently

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a 2023 World Trumpet International Honor Award for recognition for her years of visionary

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guidance, exceptional leadership, and unconditional commitment and love for humanity, among many

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other awards.

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I can't list them all.

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We'd be here all day.

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But Jan has risen from a foster child to a successful ministry leader and author, and

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I am very honored to have her as my guest.

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Welcome, Jan.

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I'm delighted to be here, and I really am so excited about this opportunity.

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Well, Jan, you've written a book about your life called She Dares to Dream, and you titled

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the first section Humble Beginnings.

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Tell us about your early years.

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What happened to your family and to you?

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Well, I was born in New York City in the 40s, and to a mom and a dad who must have had very

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good intentions, and I say that because each child that they had were baptized in the Catholic

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Church at a very early age.

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So that tells me that they did have some kind of a spiritual connection.

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However, because I was placed in the New York Foundling Home as an infant, I know very little

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about their lives.

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My brother and sister were born in the height of depression, and it was very hard days.

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Jobs and money were very scarce.

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And my oldest brother, Joe, recalled that our dad was lined up on the waterfront hoping

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to be chosen as a longshoreman, loading crates and tankers.

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And I've also heard that he was a milkman, and some people out there don't even know

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what that is, but it's where they would have carts go by your house, and those who could

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afford it would get a fresh bottle of milk at their doorstep.

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My mom was born to a family in Staten Island, and what was really interesting is that my

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dad, I found out that my dad and his three siblings were placed in Mount Loretto Orphanage,

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which happens to be in Staten Island.

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And they got married, they had four children, and he died when I was 14.

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Because of the storms of life, both of them became alcoholics, and they were neglecting

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their children.

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And in the beginning of my book, I have a story which could be the opening of a movie,

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and it's two little children about six and eight years old were walking along the docks

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of New York City looking and asking people in the middle of the night, could you tell

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us where our father is?

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Do you know my dad?

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And eventually they were picked up by the police, and the police took them to the station,

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gave them some ice cream cones to kind of dry their tears, and they said, well, where

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do you live?

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Do you have any idea where you live?

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And so my brother gave them the address, and the police went to a tenement apartment in

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Manhattan, and there they found this baby who was just in diapers and crying, and that

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was me.

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And because of the fact that they could see that there was neglect involved, they transported

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me because I was just an infant, I was about three months old, and they took me to the

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New York boundling home.

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And that was a place run by the Sisters of Mercy, who actually had baskets outside the

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stone building on 68th Street in New York, where mothers, instead of putting their baby

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in a garbage can, they would put the baby in a basket, and the nuns would come and feed

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it.

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And you could live there until you were about two years old, but then you had to go out

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into the foster care system.

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So I was placed in the New York foster care system, but it was through the New York boundling

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home, so we still had to go there for our dentist appointments and our checkups and

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everything like that, which was a blessing.

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So I think God was working in my life even back then.

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And because of the fact that my parents both were alcoholics and they were in and out of

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Bellevue Hospital for alcoholism, there's a lot of abuse that's involved, and I have

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no idea what that looked like for my brother and sister, but they were put in a children's

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shelter because they were older.

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So you grew up entirely in foster care, and so you really know the pain of rejection,

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the disappointment of unmet longings.

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Share some of what you experienced, but really also, as you mentioned earlier, how God cared

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for and guided you even long before you really even knew Him.

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Right.

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Well, you know, when I think about it, and I was thinking about it through getting ready

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for this podcast of all the separation that I've had, when I think about it, I was separated

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from my birth mother as an infant.

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I went to the boundling home and was there with the nuns until I was two years old, and

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then they took me out of that loving situation.

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And then they put me with an older couple, and I was with them for two years, and they

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really did love me because they used to write to me in my second foster home.

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And I used to, because the reason that I was taken from that loving couple was because

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after a certain age, you couldn't sleep in the same room, even in the crib, with the

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parents or the foster parents, just because they had a tiny house, and so they didn't

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have another bedroom.

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So they took me out of that home again, so there's another time in your life that you're

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interrupted and was placed actually in another foster home where my brothers and sisters

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were.

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Now, I considered that very a blessing.

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Ask my brothers, and they'll say no, because I became like the second favorite in that

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particular home.

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And in that home, we must have had eight to ten kids from all over.

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It was like a smorgasbord of all different nationalities.

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But I was like the second favorite.

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There was one other favorite, which I will go into right now, but I was like the second

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favorite because they could see potential in me, even though my foster parents didn't

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have a good education or anything like that.

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But my foster mother wanted to be a pianist, and she had a Baldwin Baby Graham piano in

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the living room, and she offered piano lessons to all of the children.

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She says, I will pay for piano lessons for you if you would like to take them, and everyone

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else turned their nose up at it, but I said, I'll go.

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And so she took me to the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, which she knew that director, which

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was Mr. Bird Brady.

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And she introduced him to me and sat me down on the piano on the stage at the Brooklyn

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Conservatory, and they said, just put your hands on the piano and I'll tell you what

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to do.

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They wanted to see how I could follow direction because I was very young.

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I was like six years old.

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And so after about ten minutes with the director, he said, I would be delighted to have you

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as a student here at the conservatory, which again was a blessing.

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This nobody throwaway kid ends up taking lessons there at the conservatory and then ends up

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playing the piano in Carnegie Hall.

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Only God could make that happen.

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I can remember standing with the backstage, you know, as a tiny little girl, you know,

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with my hands sweating and a big audience outside and just coming to walk across the

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stage and they had to put me up on the stool because I was so little.

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And then playing three of Buck's fugues, which is not the most interesting music for me,

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but it was all classical music.

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And so if I had to look at it today, I would have said, I wish I could have had some modern

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music, you know.

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Now God has given me the gift of the gratitude for those lessons.

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And that's pulled me through a lot.

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That attitude of gratitude, which I had no had to be God given because there were a lot

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of things happening in our home where I couldn't be grateful.

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You know, friends, there are orphans and widows all over the world who need to experience

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the tangible expression of God's love right now.

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Many have special needs that we as a community of women can meet together.

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Would you consider joining us with a special gift to help?

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Just go to hergodstory.org and click on the widow and orphan tab at the top of the page.

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Now, Jan, your foster parents, they also were Catholic and they took you to a Catholic church

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every week.

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So how did that impact your view of God?

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Well, I really believe that God was always tugging on my heart in some way or another.

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It was real interesting that we lived three doors away.

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We moved from Brooklyn to Bayside, Queens, and my foster mother bought a large home that

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was just three doors away from Sacred Heart School.

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And the church was just across the street, was being built across the street.

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They had it in the gymnasium to start like lots of churches do.

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But I can remember one incident that I know had to be God because we were very dedicated

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to Mother Mary.

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And in the month of May, they would have a procession in church where all the little

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girls would dress up in white dresses like little brides and they would crown Mary as

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Queen of the May.

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And I remember so well the song, Oh, Mary, would crown thee with blossoms today.

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And so how they picked the girl who was going to crown Mary, the nuns in a certain class

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would pass a basket around to all of the girls and there were pieces of paper in there.

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And only one of them had the name of Mary.

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Well, as God would have it, three years in a row, I picked the name of Mary.

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And I thought that was quite significant because I would, you know, again go up there and place

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that crown on her head and just feel like I was chosen.

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You know, it was, it still brings tears to my eyes when I think of it.

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But I really think that God was calling me then.

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He was letting you know that he saw you in the midst of what was going on in your life.

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Right, right.

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I'd leave that and then I'd go back across the street to my house and I'd go from like

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a stairway to heaven into, you know, a really difficult situation because my siblings were

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jealous of me because I would go and play at concerts and I would get dressed up and

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they'd be staying home peeling potatoes.

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So they didn't like me very much.

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And I was always feeling different.

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When in grandma school, you know, we had these funny little haircuts and we had clothes,

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you know, it was all hand-me-downs.

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But I understand that when you've got so many children.

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I mean, you don't all need to wear this brand new clothes.

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So I think that my foster parents were, especially my foster mother, she was very frugal in her

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choices as far as what she did with us.

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I got to volunteer at the rectory and the pastor of the church wanted to actually send

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me to Catholic high school.

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My foster mother refused.

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She said, no, she's going to public school just like the rest of them.

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And so I found that I was very close to the church, but I really didn't have a personal

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relationship with Christ.

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And I knew, in fact, when I was 17, I wrote a letter to the Mary Knoll Nuns and they are

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an order of nuns that go around the world and into the jungles and serve children and

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feed them and clothe them and love them and teach them about the love of God.

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Well, I thought that was a great thing to do.

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So I got a book from the Mary Knolls and I started diligently reading it and I was reading

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it and they said you had to be quiet and you had to do all these things that were so holy.

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And I'm saying I'm not really that holy.

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So I wrote back to them and I said, well, it sounds interesting and I'd like to come

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and try it out.

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And they said, no, we want to make sure that you're called for this.

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And it turned out that I wasn't called to the nunnery, but I was called into ministry

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many, many years later.

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Yeah, God had put that in your heart even as a young age.

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You didn't know exactly how he was going to bring that out.

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But it's really interesting how when we look back on our lives, you know, we see those

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little things.

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And when I was five years old, we were living in England and we had a woman who would come

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and help out around the house because my mom had a lot of responsibilities outside of the

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house.

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And every week she would go to an orphanage to help care for children at the orphanage.

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And I remember at five years old, when I learned about this, I ran to my pantry and I just

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pulled out whatever I could, you know, some crackers and, you know, a can of pop or something.

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And I gave it to her for the orphans because I just had that heart of compassion.

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This is before I knew the Lord as well.

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And years later, you know, when the Lord opened the door for me to start ministering to, you

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know, help children around the world, he reminded me of that.

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You know, he plants those desires in us at a young age that he brings to fulfillment

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at just the right time.

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Absolutely.

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Absolutely.

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So, Jan, when you graduated from high school, kind of foster care was over and you pretty

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immediately began working in New York City and your desire for adventure was born there.

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Share about your life in the Big Apple and as a single woman.

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Right.

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Well, I had a girlfriend not too far from where I lived and she was in my class and

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she was going to go into the city to work.

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And I said, you're going to go into New York City?

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So I said, well, I want to do that, too.

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So it turns out that I had the most boring job in the entire world.

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My first job was typing policy cards at an insurance company.

225
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And I did that for about six months.

226
00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:08,280
And I just said, this is not going to work.

227
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So I was dating a young man who had an uncle at Bank of America in Manhattan, in fact,

228
00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:16,720
right on Wall Street.

229
00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:19,520
And he said, I'm going to introduce you to him.

230
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And for some, I had some pretty good administrative skills, even as a child.

231
00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:27,320
When I was at the rectory, I was doing administrative work.

232
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And then and then when I went to the bank, they actually made me a floating secretary.

233
00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:37,080
So I would go from department to department to work from everything from the vice president

234
00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:39,560
to the mail room, you know.

235
00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:45,040
And so I got some very good skills even just from from that particular job.

236
00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:48,920
But three years went by and I didn't feel like I was challenged.

237
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I always wanted to keep learning.

238
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And I was hungry for knowledge.

239
00:16:53,280 --> 00:17:00,000
And I said, you know, I want to get a job that's exciting and that the company who

240
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:06,700
hires me will not be asking me for a fee to get hired, that they'll pay a fee to get me.

241
00:17:06,700 --> 00:17:12,160
And so I had that strategy even way back then of negotiation.

242
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:15,040
And so that again was a gift, I think, from God.

243
00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:16,040
I never learned that.

244
00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:18,160
I never had anybody teach it to me.

245
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So it was God's gift.

246
00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:26,280
And so I went and I went and I found a job.

247
00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:29,940
They found a job for me at Thoroughbred Racing Associations.

248
00:17:29,940 --> 00:17:38,160
It was TRA, which was J. Edgar Hoover's right in there, who was like the FBI of the racetracks.

249
00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:45,180
And so I got to be in an administrative capacity there on 42nd Street up in the Daily News

250
00:17:45,180 --> 00:17:50,080
Building, which was one of the biggest, one of the most wonderful buildings in New York.

251
00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:52,720
And in the lobby, I'll never forget the huge globe.

252
00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:57,520
It looked to me like the biggest globe in the world with clocks around the world, around

253
00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:00,520
the globe of all over all different nations.

254
00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:05,520
And I just could dare to dream way back then and say, I'm going to go to each one of those

255
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:07,000
places someday.

256
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:13,120
And no intentions particularly, but just kind of, you know, dreaming, dreaming.

257
00:18:13,120 --> 00:18:17,280
And as it would have been, a lot of them I did go to.

258
00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:24,840
But I went from the bank was exciting place to work because on my lunch hour I could go

259
00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:31,960
and get on a ferry to Staten Island, which is another borough of New York, and go past

260
00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:32,960
the Statue of Liberty.

261
00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:35,240
And I loved the lady.

262
00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,360
I was very patriotic.

263
00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:39,600
That was again just another gift given to me.

264
00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:45,160
I would just almost want to stay in there with my hand up when I would pass the statue.

265
00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:49,360
And I would end up in Long Island and then the ferry would turn around and come.

266
00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:55,800
Little did I know that, not Long Island, Staten Island, little did I know that that's where

267
00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:58,080
my mother was born.

268
00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:03,160
That's where the orphanage was located, where my father and his siblings were put because

269
00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:11,200
they didn't have food for money or anything to be able to live during the depression days.

270
00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:16,560
And there was an orphanage at the end of Staten Island that he went, that he lived.

271
00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:21,640
Now I didn't ever know about that orphanage at the time that I was working there.

272
00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:26,360
But when I decided that I wanted to write my book, I said, you know what, I'm going

273
00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:31,240
to investigate everything I can to try to find out who are my grandparents, where did

274
00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:34,960
my, you know, what caused this, what caused that.

275
00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:43,360
And I did a lot of research and come to find out that as children that's where they grew

276
00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:44,540
up.

277
00:19:44,540 --> 00:19:47,040
And I said, someday I'm going to go there.

278
00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:50,400
Well this was not going to be in the podcast, but I'll tell you any because I think it's

279
00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:52,120
really significant.

280
00:19:52,120 --> 00:20:01,600
I went to that orphanage I went from Queens on buses, trains, and you know, and finally

281
00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:07,560
got on a long bus ride to the end of Staten Island wondering who am I going to see, what

282
00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:12,080
am I going to learn, what's my story, da da da da da da.

283
00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:20,440
And I, there I was and I went into the chapel of Matt Loretto and they said, oh, we're

284
00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:23,880
glad to see you because I told them my father grew up there.

285
00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:26,960
They said, well, let us show you the pictures upstairs.

286
00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:33,320
And there were pictures upstairs all along the hallways of how it first started.

287
00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:38,720
And one of the pictures said, children without dreams.

288
00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:44,120
And it's no children that were in stairwells of New York and, you know, or on a subway

289
00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:48,240
station sleeping or things that I'd never even thought about.

290
00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:53,360
And I'm saying this is the heritage, this is where my father grew up.

291
00:20:53,360 --> 00:20:58,040
And that's who knows if that wasn't one of them in the picture.

292
00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:06,120
So, and so that kind of said to me, you know, that's when I went back to Dallas and I started

293
00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:10,480
my organizations and called it Dare to Dream.

294
00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:15,320
So that's skipping ahead just a little bit.

295
00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:22,880
So you're in New York now and, and, and, and working for this organization in the, in the

296
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,120
building with the big globe.

297
00:21:25,120 --> 00:21:31,920
And so there I am and there's three, there's three companies on that floor, the sixth floor.

298
00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:37,840
And there was the TRA, there was United Airlines and there was IBM.

299
00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:42,320
And each one was significant in my life because I started at the TRA.

300
00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:49,800
I went to United Airlines because I said in the bathroom, everybody was talking about

301
00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:54,360
their trips and they all had great tans and they all looked so beautiful.

302
00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:58,040
And I said, oh, I think I might want to work for an airline one day.

303
00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:02,960
And I met the secretary and she said, Jan, she says, we're going to be hiring reservation

304
00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:03,960
people.

305
00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:05,240
She says, maybe six months from now.

306
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:07,960
I said, well, would you please come down and get me?

307
00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,120
Well, you know, so I can fill out an application.

308
00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:12,120
And she did that.

309
00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:14,600
I filled out the application and I took the test.

310
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:16,600
I thought they wanted me to be a pilot.

311
00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:18,600
It was not easy.

312
00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:21,680
It was not easy at all.

313
00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:27,160
And so I did and I got the job and within another six months I became the executive

314
00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:31,760
secretary for the manager of the United Airlines.

315
00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,680
And then on Friday nights we would go dancing the night away.

316
00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:38,160
We'd go to the Taft Hotel dancing like crazy.

317
00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:43,880
And I met one of the men from IBM and I actually had was going to marry him.

318
00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:51,840
And that was I was filling out my invitations to the wedding and something in my spirit

319
00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:54,400
said you're up the wrong trail, Jan.

320
00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:56,480
This is not the man you're supposed to marry.

321
00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:58,000
And again, something inside of me.

322
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:02,920
And I just started crying as I was writing those invitations.

323
00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:07,640
And I'm obedient to my feelings.

324
00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:12,400
Maybe it was the spirit, but I didn't know about the spirit really then.

325
00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:15,320
But I said this is not right.

326
00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:17,280
So I did not marry him.

327
00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:24,040
And I decided to just take a leave of absence from my Thoroughbred Racing Association.

328
00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:29,240
I said I've had some storms here and I need time off.

329
00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:31,760
So I said I need six months.

330
00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:34,360
And I said if the place is still open, fine.

331
00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:36,540
Otherwise I'll just find another job.

332
00:23:36,540 --> 00:23:40,360
So I worked for United Airlines.

333
00:23:40,360 --> 00:23:43,120
I was working for TRA for six months.

334
00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:50,840
And then from 9 to 5 and then from 9.30, 5.30 till 9, I would work at the airlines.

335
00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,940
But I had no social life at all.

336
00:23:53,940 --> 00:23:58,420
I wasn't even enjoying trips because I was so tired.

337
00:23:58,420 --> 00:24:04,640
So I said I was going to take that leave of absence, but I was going to stay with the

338
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:05,680
airlines.

339
00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:10,080
So I would work for the evening for the airlines and then I would become a Kelly girl, which

340
00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:14,040
meant that you were a floating secretary in New York and you could say yes or no to the

341
00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:15,040
job.

342
00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:24,960
And you could work at TV stations, modeling studios, exciting jobs, which I did.

343
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:31,500
And somewhere along the way, your longing for a family was eventually fulfilled.

344
00:24:31,500 --> 00:24:36,060
When you met a dashing young man, fell in love, and you got married, tell us a little

345
00:24:36,060 --> 00:24:40,640
about that part of your life and what you thought about spiritual things during that

346
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:45,240
season because you still didn't really know the Lord.

347
00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:52,020
I think probably my whole life I was in church at some point, but it was just that you must

348
00:24:52,020 --> 00:24:54,280
go to church or you're going to go to hell.

349
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:56,440
That was kind of the way it was.

350
00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:58,120
It was a demanding thing.

351
00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:02,920
And Sundays, you would find me in church on Sundays and somebody wanted to go with me

352
00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:08,440
great if they didn't, but I would always try to find my way to a church on a Sunday.

353
00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:18,080
And I just met a girl, she was English, and she said, let's have lunch on a particular

354
00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:20,640
Sunday before you have to go to work.

355
00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:29,360
And so I did, and we sat at a sidewalk cafe in Manhattan in Germantown, and I had to go

356
00:25:29,360 --> 00:25:32,000
and make a telephone call to my sister.

357
00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:36,600
And that was when they had telephone booths way back, not cell phones.

358
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:43,960
And I passed the bar and went into the phone booth and I was calling my sister and talking

359
00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:48,480
to her and it was a glass phone booth so I could see her out.

360
00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:52,760
And I just said, Peggy, there is a very handsome man sitting at the bar and he's reading a

361
00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:54,680
race car magazine.

362
00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:57,480
He is just so good looking.

363
00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:01,400
And I said, he looks like Dr. Kildare on the television show.

364
00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,680
And it was a very popular show at the time.

365
00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:08,840
And I said, I think I'm supposed to marry him.

366
00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:09,840
I did.

367
00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:10,840
I told her.

368
00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:14,000
Wow, you hadn't even met him yet.

369
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,640
I said, I think I'm supposed to marry him.

370
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,880
She says, well, let me know what the outcome is.

371
00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:24,320
Well, eight months later, I did marry him.

372
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:31,320
I won't go into all the details, but anyway, it was a hard marriage.

373
00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:35,480
I loved him with all my heart and I think he loved me the best way he knew how.

374
00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:41,720
But he was not a real, he was not really a, I can't say he wasn't a believer, but he

375
00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:42,720
never showed it.

376
00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:43,720
He never prayed.

377
00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:49,960
His mother was extraordinarily religious, as you might say, and from the Baptist world

378
00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:55,760
in Alabama, they had preachers in their home all the time, but the boys never got it.

379
00:26:55,760 --> 00:27:00,240
The girls did, but the boys never got it.

380
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:03,920
And so I didn't think about, oh, well, we're unequally yoked.

381
00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:06,480
I didn't even know what those words meant.

382
00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:11,920
And so it was a struggle and I did a lot by myself.

383
00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:16,160
And that's not what I signed up for.

384
00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:17,600
Really wanted a partner.

385
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:22,800
And after 17, we had two children, two wonderful children, Lisa and James, and I loved them

386
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:23,800
dearly.

387
00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:26,680
And I have four grandchildren now and that's a blessing.

388
00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:28,320
So I did get the family.

389
00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:32,400
God did answer that desire of my heart.

390
00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:37,600
But he left after 17 years of marriage and I thought I was going to die.

391
00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:43,640
And I was very mad at God and I just said, how could you, with my background, take this

392
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:44,920
leader of my family?

393
00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:47,360
I wanted him to be the leader of my family.

394
00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:51,120
And we were really just on different worlds.

395
00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:56,400
He came from a very poor background and didn't have big dreams like I did.

396
00:27:56,400 --> 00:27:59,600
He was very content to have a very simple life.

397
00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:02,480
And I didn't know that I didn't want a simple life.

398
00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:04,680
I mean, I could have been very happy.

399
00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:08,840
If he didn't leave, I would stay there until the day I died.

400
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:15,160
However, somehow we had a short separation.

401
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,000
I used to beg him to come back, beg him to come back.

402
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:23,720
And he was into other things, racing and lots of other things.

403
00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:27,800
Staying as a dedicated husband was not in the picture for him.

404
00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,520
And he was 33 when I married him.

405
00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:34,280
So he wasn't a young man to just go there.

406
00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:39,120
He had aspirations of his own, which I was very excited about because he seemed to be

407
00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:41,520
a very exciting man.

408
00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:44,640
And yet we got married and he turned into a couch potato.

409
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:48,480
And you weren't in New York anymore by the time, 17 years ago.

410
00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:54,960
We had moved to Dallas and we were right by Love Field, but he traveled all the time.

411
00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:58,400
He worked for Multiple Sclerosis and traveled all the time.

412
00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:00,360
And I had my little girl by that time.

413
00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:05,360
I loved the fact we'd go over to Bachman Lake and feed the ducks and that was content for

414
00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:06,360
me.

415
00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:10,600
But I said to myself, you know, I think we want to have a house.

416
00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:16,760
I went scooting around the neighborhood for, you know, I didn't certainly didn't look at

417
00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:21,400
gated communities, but I looked at a house, little house in Richardson and I said, you

418
00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:25,920
know, the money we were paying for rent, we can very easily be putting into here.

419
00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:29,240
And he just said to me, you're just never satisfied.

420
00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:31,560
And see, he just didn't have that.

421
00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:34,160
You know, he was satisfied in an apartment.

422
00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:37,720
And I really thought that that was not a good thing.

423
00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:41,680
And eventually when he saw the house, he said, yeah, he says, this is really nice.

424
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:44,520
It had a fireplace, you know, no, no, wait a minute.

425
00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:45,520
The first one did not.

426
00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:51,380
But it was still a three bedroom home with a, with a chain link fence.

427
00:29:51,380 --> 00:29:57,780
And I think I was happiest there with my two little babies and my husband and my, I had

428
00:29:57,780 --> 00:30:00,560
a Mustang convertible, which he didn't have a car.

429
00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:02,100
So he took my car.

430
00:30:02,100 --> 00:30:07,760
So it was, it was interesting, but at the same time I was happy.

431
00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:11,500
But then he left you, as you mentioned, and you said you were devastated.

432
00:30:11,500 --> 00:30:14,440
So what, what did you do then after he left?

433
00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:18,360
I mean, you're here, single mom with two children.

434
00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:21,560
He was giving us some child support, which was fine.

435
00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:25,820
And at the same time, I knew that I, I wanted to be able to do something.

436
00:30:25,820 --> 00:30:31,000
So I, I became a, a part-time secretary.

437
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:35,800
You know, I took a part-time job and, and yet this tugging in my heart to be able to

438
00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:42,440
travel was, I was still with United and, and I, I skipped over something that before I,

439
00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:50,200
before I left New York and had my babies, I decided to travel because I said, you know,

440
00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:56,880
trips, my whole life has also been wanderlust.

441
00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,560
And I said, I wanted to travel to different places.

442
00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:05,760
And so it was a situation where I had a situation at United Airlines that said, well, we'll

443
00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:09,600
give you familiarization trips if you'll sign up first.

444
00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:12,080
And so I would sign up all the time to go on these trips.

445
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:18,720
And so I would go to, to the first, the first place, let's see, where did I go?

446
00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:19,720
To Paris.

447
00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:24,480
I had my first escargot in Paris, which I would never eat in the States.

448
00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:27,400
But I said, well, if I'm ever going to have it, I'm going to try it in Paris.

449
00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:31,080
In Turkey, it was like going back a hundred years.

450
00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:37,680
In, in Spain, I would see the bullfights on TV and said, I'm never going to a bullfight.

451
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:43,040
And in Germany, I took a table, a cable car to the top of the Zugspitz, which is the highest

452
00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:44,920
mountain in Germany.

453
00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:49,540
And with permission, this mountain paradise was turned into a concert hall.

454
00:31:49,540 --> 00:31:55,320
I played Malagueña on their grand piano in a very fancy dining room.

455
00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:57,240
And I was by myself.

456
00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:02,280
So it was, it was easy for me to just say, would you be willing to let me use your baby

457
00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:03,280
grand?

458
00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:05,700
And they would say, oh, we'd be so happy.

459
00:32:05,700 --> 00:32:10,040
So it was really interesting that I got to do that.

460
00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:12,760
I said, I might marry a man that doesn't want to travel.

461
00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:14,400
And that's exactly what I did.

462
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:17,160
So we have to be very careful what we say.

463
00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:22,720
I know when you asked me about spiritual things, I was the happiest woman in my life when I

464
00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:24,960
walked down the aisle to marry Bill.

465
00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:29,640
We had the two children and we were married 17 years.

466
00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:34,320
But the first scripture that I have in my autobiography, because I didn't really know

467
00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:35,480
scripture.

468
00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:39,520
We didn't read the Bible, you know, that we had priests and we didn't.

469
00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:43,720
So I didn't know anything about really memorizing scriptures.

470
00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:49,160
But the first scripture that's in my book says, I am the vine and you are the branches.

471
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:55,200
But without me, no, he who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit for without me,

472
00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:56,560
you can do nothing.

473
00:32:56,560 --> 00:33:02,600
So spiritually, I was kind of in a nothing situation, even though God had favor on my

474
00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:05,640
life ever since I was a little girl.

475
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:10,080
And my life changed after divorce and I didn't go to church at all.

476
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:12,320
I was very mad at God.

477
00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:21,160
And then one day I was in I was shopping and I was in Albertsons in Dallas and I came out

478
00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:24,920
and I met a lady who was Zig Ziglar's right hand lady.

479
00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:32,120
And she said to me, she said, Jan, you talk all over the world.

480
00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:37,880
By this time, I was talking to youth in different places and different countries, refugee camps

481
00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:39,180
and everything.

482
00:33:39,180 --> 00:33:42,360
And she said, you have got to meet Jerry Johnson.

483
00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:46,080
He's going to be speaking at that church across the street.

484
00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:49,080
And I really think you should go hear his testimony.

485
00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:51,720
And I didn't even know what that word meant.

486
00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:55,080
While you were still married or right after you got married, you were speaking all over

487
00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:56,080
the world?

488
00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:58,200
I had started Dare to Dream.

489
00:33:58,200 --> 00:33:59,640
This was after I was married.

490
00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:01,640
I had started Dare to Dream.

491
00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:02,640
OK.

492
00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:10,240
And I did it because I did other things, but at the same time, that was my to give at risk

493
00:34:10,240 --> 00:34:17,440
youth positive memories to be able to have something to hang on to that would give them

494
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:19,400
some hope for a future.

495
00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:22,840
If that could happen for me, it could happen for them because God didn't love me any more

496
00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:23,960
than them.

497
00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:27,560
So that's that's what I would tell them.

498
00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:36,000
So you know, hearing this testimony of Jerry Johnson, he I said, well, she wants this Catholic

499
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:37,760
girl to go in that Baptist church.

500
00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:39,480
I will die and go to hell.

501
00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:41,800
That's the way that's the way it was.

502
00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:47,420
I said, but I said, you know, but I'm a prayer lady and I always was a prayer person.

503
00:34:47,420 --> 00:34:52,500
And I said, you know, well, God, if you really want me to hear this speaker, give me peace

504
00:34:52,500 --> 00:34:58,120
in my heart so that I will know next Wednesday, I'm going to be going to this Baptist church

505
00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:01,000
and listening to Jerry Johnston.

506
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:02,160
So but I'm going to do this.

507
00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:08,040
I said, I drove up and I parked my car and I walked in and there was a wonderful person

508
00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:10,040
that greeted me at the door.

509
00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:16,520
And I just walked into the church and I said, oh, my gosh, I never saw someone so big.

510
00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:20,960
And I sat in the very last row just in case anything was that I didn't like.

511
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:24,160
I could just run out the door and nobody would see me.

512
00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:25,160
That was my strategy.

513
00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:30,840
Well, anyway, I sat in the back row and Jerry Johnson came out on the stage and he got a

514
00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:31,840
standing ovation.

515
00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:38,080
I said, well, maybe maybe this guy does have something to say.

516
00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:46,680
So I just sat there and I listened and he told his story of being a very wealthy kid

517
00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:52,400
from a father was a dentist and he had everything that you could imagine.

518
00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:56,920
But he had gotten into drugs and porn and really bad stuff.

519
00:35:56,920 --> 00:36:02,280
And he couldn't even remember how he got home to his apartment one time.

520
00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:09,080
And he said, God, if you're real, show yourself to me because I'm going to kill myself tonight.

521
00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:10,880
I just I don't want to live anymore.

522
00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:13,640
I'm miserable.

523
00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:16,880
And as it would be, God revealed himself to him that night.

524
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:22,480
He got down on his knees and never did another drug at all from that night forward.

525
00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:26,040
And I never heard a story like that in my entire life.

526
00:36:26,040 --> 00:36:30,140
I'm saying that's how in the world could that happen?

527
00:36:30,140 --> 00:36:35,220
You know, and so then he said, you know, and as life progressed for him, he's probably

528
00:36:35,220 --> 00:36:41,440
one of the most well known speakers to youth around the nation or maybe around the world.

529
00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:43,400
He's phenomenal.

530
00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:46,520
And he had two questions to ask that audience.

531
00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:53,640
And the first question was, those of you who know for sure that you're going to go to heaven,

532
00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:56,680
I want you to stand up right now.

533
00:36:56,680 --> 00:37:00,520
And I thought at the time that that was the most crazy question I've ever heard.

534
00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:02,960
How could you be sure you can be good?

535
00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:04,520
You can do all these things.

536
00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:08,160
You can, you know, try to please God or whatever.

537
00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:10,500
But, you know, you never know.

538
00:37:10,500 --> 00:37:15,080
And so I just sat there with my arms closed.

539
00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:18,560
And he said, they got a standing ovation.

540
00:37:18,560 --> 00:37:22,560
You know, when they clapped, everybody was standing up, not me.

541
00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:27,440
He says, those of you who did not get up, he said, I want to ask you another question.

542
00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:32,080
He says, you may not know for sure that you're going to heaven, but you really, really want

543
00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:33,520
to.

544
00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:35,440
Would you please stand up?

545
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:37,880
And I said, there's no way that I'm going to stand up.

546
00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:42,960
And he says, I would like to invite you down to be able to say a prayer with me that will

547
00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:48,520
give you the blessed assurance to know that God is calling you and that he wants to be

548
00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:50,720
in your heart.

549
00:37:50,720 --> 00:37:56,280
And there was no way I was going to go down the longest aisle in the whole world, never.

550
00:37:56,280 --> 00:38:03,200
And so it was like a shovel picked up my body and paraded me down that long aisle with tears

551
00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:09,360
flowing down my eyes that I knew I was changing as I was walking.

552
00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:15,640
And it was just a divine experience that anybody listening, just know that God will call you

553
00:38:15,640 --> 00:38:17,420
if you'll let him.

554
00:38:17,420 --> 00:38:22,480
And when you can give your heart to Christ, everything changes.

555
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:29,120
So I have so many stories that I can tell of how it changed and what were some of the

556
00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:31,380
instances that it changed.

557
00:38:31,380 --> 00:38:36,320
In your brokenness from your marriage, God was revealing himself to you in very deep

558
00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:37,440
ways.

559
00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:45,680
And one of them, tell the story about how you realized you were adopted by God.

560
00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:50,760
Well, I was at a Bible study.

561
00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:58,720
And a lot of the people knew that I was from foster care, but they didn't know the story.

562
00:38:58,720 --> 00:39:04,560
And one of the gentlemen asked me, said, well, Jan, when were you adopted?

563
00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:07,240
And I said, oh, I was never adopted.

564
00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:11,400
I said, because of the fact that we had living parents, regardless of the fact that they

565
00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:19,060
weren't capable of raising us, we were not allowed to be adopted at that time.

566
00:39:19,060 --> 00:39:23,280
And so he looked at me and he says, Jan, he says, I need to tell you something.

567
00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:29,080
He says, you were adopted a long time ago by a heavenly father who's never going to

568
00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:32,440
leave you, never going to forsake you.

569
00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:36,960
And that will be with you your whole life once you let him come in your heart.

570
00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:43,440
And I still can cry when I think about that moment, because it was very, very significant.

571
00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:45,880
And I saw so many things happen.

572
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:53,560
And one of the stories that I think is very profound is that I had met a Top Gun fighter

573
00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:57,960
pilot who was watching some of the things I was doing and was amazed.

574
00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:02,480
And it was at a political rally of some kind that we were together.

575
00:40:02,480 --> 00:40:06,900
And he said, well, Jan, he says, the stories you tell me make me feel like I haven't even

576
00:40:06,900 --> 00:40:07,900
been in the war.

577
00:40:07,900 --> 00:40:10,200
And he'd been in three wars.

578
00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:18,640
And he said, there's a convention in Phoenix, and it's the National Speakers Association,

579
00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:20,720
and I would like you to go to that.

580
00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:23,600
Well, I didn't have any money to go to a speakers convention.

581
00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:27,320
I didn't have any funds, anything.

582
00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:33,280
And I said, I don't know that I said I'll pray about it at the time.

583
00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:35,800
I just said I'll think about it.

584
00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:38,320
But now I pray about everything.

585
00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:44,880
So I went, I just, I said, God, if you want me to go, you're going to have to make a way.

586
00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:48,240
And God will make a way when there seems to be no way.

587
00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:53,000
And I was in my home, walking down my hallway to a bookshelf.

588
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:57,200
Have no idea what, which book or why I picked that book out.

589
00:40:57,200 --> 00:41:03,160
But in it, I opened it and there was three $100 bills, which was exactly the fare that

590
00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:05,800
I needed to get to Arizona.

591
00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:14,280
And I had put those $300 in there for a rainy day or sunny day or whatever, and totally

592
00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:16,160
forgot about them.

593
00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:19,360
Never even remembered that I had done that.

594
00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:25,120
And I was working for a, I was a sales manager for a newspaper.

595
00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:28,720
And there in there was three $100 bills.

596
00:41:28,720 --> 00:41:29,720
I couldn't believe it.

597
00:41:29,720 --> 00:41:31,400
So that was just one.

598
00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:38,480
Another one is that I was in New York with my brother Gene, and we were down to, we went

599
00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:44,920
down to look at the terrible 9-11 thing, the memorial.

600
00:41:44,920 --> 00:41:48,640
And we went and we were down looking at different stuff.

601
00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:56,000
And I, we were taking the train from, we'd go from Manhattan to go to Pensacola station

602
00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:59,520
to get on the train to take us to where we were going.

603
00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:03,840
And I left my purse in the cab and it had everything.

604
00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:06,800
It had my money, it had everything.

605
00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:12,200
And on Sixth Avenue in New York, you've got hundreds of cabs.

606
00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:18,440
And so this cab pulled away and I couldn't, I tried to see which one was it and I couldn't

607
00:42:18,440 --> 00:42:19,980
find it.

608
00:42:19,980 --> 00:42:22,480
And my brother said, Gene, what are you going to do?

609
00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:23,480
You lost your purse.

610
00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:26,440
We don't even have a ticket to get on the train.

611
00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:29,760
And I said, well, I said, only one thing I know how to do.

612
00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:30,860
Let's pray.

613
00:42:30,860 --> 00:42:35,720
So there, right across from Times Square and everything, we're just standing there in the

614
00:42:35,720 --> 00:42:39,600
street and I'm holding his hands and we're praying.

615
00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:42,880
And I said, God, please help me.

616
00:42:42,880 --> 00:42:45,760
So nothing was happening.

617
00:42:45,760 --> 00:42:47,720
I said, I need to find that purse.

618
00:42:47,720 --> 00:42:51,880
So we went into the station and I saw a bunch of people and I said, can I, because I didn't

619
00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:52,880
even have a phone.

620
00:42:52,880 --> 00:42:54,440
I couldn't do this.

621
00:42:54,440 --> 00:42:55,440
Could I borrow your phone?

622
00:42:55,440 --> 00:43:00,000
I want to call the cab and they couldn't get through to the cabs.

623
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:01,960
Nothing was happening.

624
00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:11,120
And then I finally made another call and I did get through and I called my phone and

625
00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:12,560
was man answered.

626
00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:14,680
His name was Paul.

627
00:43:14,680 --> 00:43:17,760
And he said, I have your purse.

628
00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:19,120
I said, really?

629
00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:25,040
I said, I'm in a restaurant down on third Avenue and here's the address and I will bring

630
00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:28,320
you in here until you get here if you can come right now.

631
00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:29,800
I said, right now?

632
00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:31,120
I'm coming right now.

633
00:43:31,120 --> 00:43:32,120
I'm finding here.

634
00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:33,120
We're going to get in there.

635
00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:38,680
Got in the cab, drove to this restaurant.

636
00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:41,960
Can you imagine what the name of that restaurant was?

637
00:43:41,960 --> 00:43:43,640
The Miracle Grill.

638
00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:44,640
Wow.

639
00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:51,680
I mean, how many times could you lose your cab in New York?

640
00:43:51,680 --> 00:43:55,720
It took the same day and then Paul is like disappeared.

641
00:43:55,720 --> 00:43:57,000
So it must've been an angel.

642
00:43:57,000 --> 00:43:58,560
I have no idea.

643
00:43:58,560 --> 00:43:59,560
Never met Paul.

644
00:43:59,560 --> 00:44:00,560
Isn't that amazing?

645
00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:03,760
Wow, Jan, that is amazing.

646
00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:07,680
And I know you've got many more stories to share with us, which we'll hear in our next

647
00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:08,680
episode.

648
00:44:08,680 --> 00:44:12,640
You know, Jan's last story reminds me of the widow of Zarephath.

649
00:44:12,640 --> 00:44:17,080
She lived in Sidon during the time of a great famine and she and her son had just enough

650
00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:21,340
oil and flour for one more meal than they expected to die.

651
00:44:21,340 --> 00:44:27,240
But God, God sent Elijah to that widow and performed a miracle of multiplying the oil

652
00:44:27,240 --> 00:44:28,600
and the flour.

653
00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:31,320
So they had enough to live on until the famine was over.

654
00:44:31,320 --> 00:44:37,200
Now Jan's predicament wasn't quite as dire, but still God intervened in a seemingly impossible

655
00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:40,200
situation and he took care of her.

656
00:44:40,200 --> 00:44:43,040
God is quick to respond to those who call out to him.

657
00:44:43,040 --> 00:44:50,480
Zephaniah 3 17 in the NIV says, the Lord your God is with you, the mighty warrior who saves.

658
00:44:50,480 --> 00:44:53,480
He will take great delight in you in his love.

659
00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:58,200
He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.

660
00:44:58,200 --> 00:45:03,520
The Lord delights in you, dear friend, no matter what you've been through or where you've

661
00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:04,520
come from.

662
00:45:04,520 --> 00:45:09,700
God loves you and desires so much for you to have a loving and vibrant relationship

663
00:45:09,700 --> 00:45:10,700
with him.

664
00:45:10,700 --> 00:45:16,380
He wants to sing songs of deliverance over you and provide you with all you need as a

665
00:45:16,380 --> 00:45:19,000
loving parent provides for their children.

666
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:24,720
John 1 12 tells us that if we receive Jesus and we believe in his name, God gives us the

667
00:45:24,720 --> 00:45:30,400
right to become his children and he will take care of you just like he takes care of Jan

668
00:45:30,400 --> 00:45:33,320
and me and every other child of his.

669
00:45:33,320 --> 00:45:36,480
Let me take a moment and pray for you.

670
00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:40,440
Heavenly Father, thank you for your grace and your love.

671
00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:45,760
Thank you that through belief in your son Jesus, we are born again and we become your

672
00:45:45,760 --> 00:45:52,340
children, joint heirs with Jesus and we get to share in all your promises and know we

673
00:45:52,340 --> 00:45:55,220
now live eternally with you in heaven.

674
00:45:55,220 --> 00:45:59,860
Because I'm your child, I come boldly to you Lord and ask that you bless my listening friends

675
00:45:59,860 --> 00:46:05,720
with healing and provision and guidance and most of all, a deeper revelation of who you

676
00:46:05,720 --> 00:46:11,960
are and give them joy in the journey and let them experience your amazing love through

677
00:46:11,960 --> 00:46:16,080
miraculous interventions on their behalf even this week.

678
00:46:16,080 --> 00:46:18,160
I pray this in Jesus name.

679
00:46:18,160 --> 00:46:19,160
Amen.

680
00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:20,920
Thank you for tuning in.

681
00:46:20,920 --> 00:46:25,680
Listen to the next Her God Story episode for the rest of Jan's story.

682
00:46:25,680 --> 00:46:32,160
I can tell you it's amazing and you will be inspired to dream big dreams with God.

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Check out our show notes at hergodstory.org for scriptures, links and other information

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and sign up there for our emails and then you'll get a six week devotional book that

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you can download for free on Women of the Bible or you might want to purchase the 12

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week devotional on Women of the Bible for just $12 knowing that all the proceeds will

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go to our widow and orphan fund.

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We'd love to pray with you on our 24 seven prayer and text line.

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Give us a call or text anytime at 855-459-CARE or email us at prayer@somebody cares.org

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and now to your friends, I bless you from Psalm 18 verses 18 and 19.

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May the Lord support you and bring you into a spacious place.

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May he rescue you because he delights in you and may he reward you from his great love.

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Her God Story is a ministry of Somebody Cares America and international.

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To find out more about or support the ministry, go to somebodycares.org.