I Was Changed By The Power of the Holy Spirit, Kay Horner’s Story

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Hey friends, welcome to Her God Story podcast, where you will always hear a good story to encourage,

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inspire, and equip you in your walk with the Lord. I'm your host, Jodie Chiricosta, ministry leader at

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Somebody Cares America and International, author and traveler on this journey of faith. In 1678,

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John Bunyan wrote The Pilgrim's Progress, a story that's still considered a classic today. It tells

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the journey of a young man from his hometown, the city of destruction, to the celestial city,

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as he encounters challenges and help along the way. It's written as an allegory of our faith

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journey, as you probably know, but if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. I mention it now

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because my guest Kay Horner reminded me of that book recently, as she was sharing a bit of her

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story with me. Kay's life also has had some twists and turns, and she has always kept her eyes on

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where she's going, that celestial city. You're going to be inspired by her tale. Kay is the

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executive director of Awakening America Alliance and the Helper Connection, but she's served in a

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lot of other roles as well, including being the executive director of New Hope Pregnancy Center,

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associate pastor of a church, administrator for Voice of Salvation Ministries, and much more.

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Kay has authored two books, The Christmas Dance and Today's Church, and is the contributing author

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in several more, which you can find listed in our show notes. On top of that, her favorite role,

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of course, is being the wife of Perry, mother of two, and now a grandmother. Welcome, Kay.

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Thank you, Jody. It's so great to be with you today.

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Before we jump into your story, give us a glimpse of what Awakening America Alliance

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and Helper Connection do. I'm not sure that a lot of our listeners have heard of those organizations.

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Well, the Awakening America Alliance's mission is to serve and resource kingdom initiatives for

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true Christ awakening and missional living. That's the vision statement, but when it was first formed,

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the leaders from a broad spectrum of the kingdom of God came together and asked the question,

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if we're seeking God for a Christ awakening in America, what would it look like? And so they

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identified 10 indicators in the church and 10 in the culture, and these are listed on our website.

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So essentially, we're really pursuing seeing those become a reality, and it's amazing how many have

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since we began in 2007. Give us one example of that.

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For instance, we were praying for a restoration of the influence of faith and Christ in the media

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and arts and entertainment. And in 2007, how many Christian movies or faith-based movies did you know

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of? Wow, yeah, not many. The Cross and the Switchblade, maybe. And now look at that,

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how many are being produced on a consistent basis. As a matter of fact, Kendrick Brothers has another

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one coming out in just a few weeks called Life Mark that's based on a pro-life story about adoption,

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and that was one of the other indicators that we would see the church and the society come to

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recognize children as gifts from the Lord. In other words, a pro-life indicator and look what's happening.

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Yeah, well that's so encouraging. That is so encouraging. It's really churches working together,

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I mean, God working to bring churches together for His purposes, and you play a really important

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role in that. I don't know how important my role is, but they did recognize there were four

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components of earlier Great Awakenings, and that was united, prevailing prayer, pastor renewal,

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courageous preaching, and revitalized churches that were helping to transform their communities.

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And so that's some of the things that we are engaged with. Multiple prayer resources we provide,

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and we're also engaged in national and international prayer initiatives. As a matter of fact, yesterday

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I was with the National Prayer Assembly Task Force planning our biannual gathering that's scheduled

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for October 31st through November 2nd this year. So that's kind of the Awakening America Alliance

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pouring into that pastor renewal with Care for Pastors, marriage retreats, and intensives,

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a pastoral care line. We have something called Preach, the number two, Preach to Engage,

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and we do some online training and briefings for equipping denominational leaders and pastors.

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Well, the Helper Connection was birthed as an initiative of the Awakening America Alliance,

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and we uniquely serve the pastor's wives and women in ministry through some of the same initiatives,

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but we host a multi-denominational, multi-generational virtual meeting almost monthly.

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We have relational retreats and e-newsletter and just kind of one-on-one encouragement, but

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I would say I'm really thankful for our Awakening America Chairman, David Ferguson, who also leads

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the Great Commandment Network, and that's our partner ministry in Austin, and their team really

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are instrumental in helping all of this be a possibility. Prayer gathering in October is

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who's that open for? Who should participate in that? Well, it's open to anyone that's really

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sincere and interested in praying for an awakening in the nation and praying for the upcoming

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elections and just for an overall revival in America. Essentially, we invite the National Prayer

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Ministry leaders and others. This year, it's really exciting. We are collaborating with our First

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Nations people, and they are helping to co-host because God's really bringing in a revival in our

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First Nations population in the nation. That is wonderful. So we'll have a link to that information

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on the show notes, so if you're listening and you want more information about that prayer gathering,

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check out the show notes where you can find out more. Kay, you have likened your story to

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that of Christian in the Pilgrim's Progress story. What ignited your quest for that celestial city?

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Well, I guess my journey to discovering Christ and this quest for the celestial city,

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it really began through the lens of story. Listening to Bible stories that my mom would read

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to me and my three brothers each night before bedtime, I actually still have the Bible story

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book that she used, and I've read from it to my children and grandchildren, even though the book's

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backbone is held together with some warm masking tape. When you want to know really about what my

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younger years were like, I don't have a real vivid memory of that, but I do know that my parents had

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wonderful servant hearts and they were really actively engaged in our local church. You probably

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remember when families didn't miss a service, Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday evening,

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every revival service, a gospel singing or district convention, I mean, we were there.

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Little League games or all these other activities, they didn't interfere. We were going to go to

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church. Yeah, they took second place. Exactly. I even remember one morning riding the Memphis

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City bus with my grandmother to the ladies quilting session and playing around their

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quilting frame while they fellowshiped and sewed. Wow. That was a neat memory that just came as I

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was thinking about our time today, but both of my grandmothers were very committed Christians.

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When my dad's mom would visit us from Louisiana, she always slept in my room because I was the one

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who had the double bed and early in the morning she would sit up on the edge of the bed,

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turn around, you know, put her feet on the floor and pray for a little while before she ever went

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about her day. Wow. And later I'd see her sitting in the den where she would lay aside her crocheting

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to read the Bible. You just don't forget things like that. Exactly. I mean, that's such a good

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foundation for you as you're growing in your faith to know really what to do even if you don't see it

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modeled, you don't know how to go about it unless someone teaches you. Exactly. A lot of people grow

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up in the church, but not everybody makes that personal decision to follow Christ at a young age.

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Sometimes it takes many, many years and many, many departures along the way, but you did. What drew

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you to Jesus? Much like Pilgrim and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, I accepted evangelists

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invitation to journey with him and became a Christian around the age of eight. We were blessed

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with folks like Aunt Maudie. We called her Aunt Maudie. She taught what was known then as gleaners.

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That was our term for children's ministries because we were gleaning things from our

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children's ministries because we were gleaning things from the Word of God. She didn't have all

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the fancy decorations, the bells and the whistles or the technology that children's ministries use

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now, but she, like my mom, instilled a knowledge of and a love for God's Word, even if it was just

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using flannel graph stories. Yeah, I remember the flannel graphs. They were great. That was the

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technology of our day. That was. Uh-oh, we're telling our age here, Jodie. But Aunt Maudie's

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contagious joy combined with this godly influence of my parents, and it helped me to make an early

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commitment to Christ. That's great. I remember you telling me about seeing a bunch of young people,

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your age, you know, seven, eight-year-olds up at the altar praying together, and you were kind of

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a little bit jealous, and that's one of the things that brought you to the Lord. Exactly. That's

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something that made a really strong impression on me. We experienced those at altar services at

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church, and I would join the other children at the altar just crying and praying for one another to

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be saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit. And it may have initially been because I wanted to fit in

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with the group, but it made a huge impact in my life. You know, I miss those times, Jodie. I miss

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now that we're in an era of programmed or timed church to make sure the live stream fits the

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appropriate schedule. Sometimes we limit those opportunities, especially for children. Now,

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don't misunderstand me. I think we have to continue this new normal because we're reaching thousands of

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people around the globe with the gospel, but we can't afford to sacrifice seeing people saved,

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healed, and delivered during spontaneous moves of the Spirit in our worship services and during

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our altar services. And we called it a service. Yeah, you called it an altar service. Yeah, some

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of the most profound memories I have of a young child, I accepted the Lord when I was six, and we

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were in a home fellowship group. Now, this home fellowship group had a hundred plus people in it,

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it was met in a big house. And every Thursday night we would get together, we would pray,

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we would sing, we had traveling evangelists come through and minister. And the children, as well

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as the adults, all sat together and learned together. But it made an experience. You know,

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I mean, we prayed for healings and we saw it. I remember one time we were all at this house and

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we were outside playing kickball and the kickball came right at my face. I stuck up my thumb, you

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know, to protect myself and it hit my thumb and broke it. I mean, it was deformed, it was swelling,

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black and blue, hurt. My mom and dad wanted to rush me to, you know, the emergency room. There

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were no patient cares at the time. And I said, no, no, no, we need to pray about it. So we gathered

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around and we prayed. And while we were praying, I watched my thumb, the swelling went down, the

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black and blue went away, my finger went back to normal. It actually has just a slight tilt in my

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thumb so I can always remember what God did for me when I was eight years old. But I mean, when you

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see God heal you at a young age, when you experience the power of God, you never question it again.

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I mean, no matter what's going on in the world, you know, hey, God's power is greater. He heals,

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he sets free, he delivers. And when we see that as a young child and experience it, it just

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makes a world of difference. Jodi, you know, I had a similar experience to that. As an adult,

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we were meeting in a home prayer gathering and one of the guys had had a broken arm issue

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and we prayed for him. He felt he was healed. He took off the cast and never had any issues.

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Yeah. So you see these things and I believe that the Lord wants to do that again. He wants that

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power flowing through his people, regardless of, you know, what position they hold, because we're

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all part of the body of Christ and he wants to move through all of us. And I say, God deliver us

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from barren altars and bring back the signs and the wonders and the miracles that cause people to

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be hungry to know this Jesus we serve. So what happened? I mean, you came to know the Lord and

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you said you were about eight and what helped you grow in your faith at that young age? I mean,

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you talked about your mom reading the Bible when you were growing up, but what other practices or

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experiences did you have that just grounded you for all the things to come in your life?

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Well, lest I sound like a Miss Goody Two Shoes, I faced my share of temptations and bad influences

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in school. In fact, I remember one time being at a friend's house with some other girls and we were

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going to sneak and taste her mom's Jack Daniels. It was so nasty and burned my mouth so bad.

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Curred you from drinking probably for a while, huh? I spit it out in the sink.

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And of course, we tried to look cool by smoking a few cigarettes or whatever. So, you know,

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there were opportunities to definitely go the other direction. But thankfully, that was short

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lived because I became involved in playing basketball. I was even a cheerleader for the

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football team in the eighth grade. And never mind the fact that my skirt had to be longer than the

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others because I was a church girl, right? But around that same time, we had a wonderful youth

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leader who happened to be married to our Sunday school teacher. And they spent a lot of time not

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only teaching us and doing things with us at church, but relationally connecting with us outside of

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church. My attention sort of shifted away from sports and the bad influences at school to a

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really active involvement with my church friends and activities. And suddenly I found myself

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wanting to read the word on my own, not just living off the Bible stories mama and aunt

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Maudi taught me, but I wanted to know Jesus for myself. Well, pre puberty really can be a tough

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time for kids. And you know, while the Lord was working in your life to draw you closer to him,

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Satan really came at you with a vengeance during that time. And he tried to destroy your identity,

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literally, and derail your future. What happened during that time? Well, during my middle school

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years, mom began working outside the home. And often she worked second shift, which left a gap

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between when we came home from school and when dad got in from work. And there were certain people

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who found they could take advantage of a very vulnerable situation. And without going into a

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lot of details unnecessary, Satan really caused some potentially dangerous seeds to be sewn in my

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life, seeds of lust, manipulation, intimidation. And there were other incidents that occurred

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earlier in my life. I vaguely remember, but I chose to forgive. And one could say that like

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Pilgrim and Bunyan story, I was having one of my many encounters with Apollyon. But his destructive

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tactics would be defeated because Satan wanted to name me dirty, damaged, unusable. But Christ had a

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purpose and a destiny for my life that was mightier than the enemy's plan for my destruction. And he

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called me chosen, anointed, a called daughter of the most high God. Yeah, you really could have

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embraced the victim identity for the rest of your life after some of the abusive situations you

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experienced, but you didn't. There was even a moment during your high school years that

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reoriented you toward that new identity that Lord had for you. What was that? Well, it was kind of

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like all of a sudden who I'd been in those tween years, those troubled times between childhood and

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teenage. My name and my character began to be really changed by the power of the Holy Spirit and

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growing in my love for the Word. And God began to cleanse and just anoint me in amazing ways because

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of this influence of our youth leader and her husband. It's when my life kind of took a turn in a

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healthier direction. I still had a long way to go before God could reveal more of his plan for my

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life, but let me elaborate on it just a bit here. One Sunday afternoon, several of the youth from

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our church had gone home for lunch with these wonderful mentors and we gathered around their

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piano that afternoon and began singing. So what started as just fun became serious and we found

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ourselves singing in church that night. Wow. And this eventually led to singing in other churches

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and denomination state functions, that type thing. And some in our group were exceptionally

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talented. However, I was never allowed to sing solos or duets for obvious reasons. Yet they often

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asked me to introduce the songs or the Holy Spirit would just break into our worship and move me to

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share what I would now know as maybe a word of knowledge or an exhortation or some type of

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perception or insight. And sometimes you now hear those called spoken words and you see them

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and you see them performed real dramatically. But I just began to flow in the Spirit in unique ways

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and some of the spiritual mothers and fathers in our church began to recognize God's anointing on

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my life and speak words of encouragement about his ministry through me. So essentially God's call to

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active or vocational ministry was beginning to be developed in my life. And some people describe

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their call to ministry as like a definitive moment or event, but I think mine was just more gradual.

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Well, yeah, I mean, you went to Christian Junior College, you met your husband, you got married,

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you started a family, all the things that many women kind of expect, desire in their life.

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You became a mom and obviously that was your calling for that season. But how did your

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experiences as a child shape that season in your life? You bring to my memory one of my experiences

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as a child that's kind of humorous. When my sixth grade teacher, Miss Lawson, told mom that Angela,

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that was my name at school, was an excellent student, but she could place me on the other

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side of the room and I would still talk. Someone should have recognized then that I would eventually

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be in a profession where words would be such an integral part of my life and ministry journey

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with teaching and praying. But other than just being involved in church, involved with our youth

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group, that type thing, both Perry and I had really good Christian examples and we wanted to teach our

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children about the Lord and have them involved in church too. But I was determined to be a stay at

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home mom because I wanted to love and teach and protect my children from what I had experienced.

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I wasn't exactly a helicopter mom, but our children still laugh and talk about how protective

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we were. A few things that I'm too embarrassed to mention on a live podcast.

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But they've also shared that we were one of the few homes among their friends that had consistent

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family devotions and prayer. One of my favorite books I read intermittently to them was this

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beautiful illustrated version of, guess what, Pilgrim's Progress. It was one for children.

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It was called Dangerous Journey. I remember they finally asked, mom, do we have to read that one

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again? So we graduated to teenage devotions and activities. But Jodi, I might mention one other

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aspect. I've often said that how we lived as teens can be projected onto our children, even though

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they may be nothing like we perceive or fear they will become. Some parents want their children to

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fulfill their dreams or passions they had and weren't allowed or able to fulfill, maybe like

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playing the violin or professional or college sports. I wanted to be so careful. My children

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didn't go down some of the roads I took. Like going on my first date at the age of 13 during

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a state convention. The good thing was that we triple dated in a Volkswagen so we couldn't get

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into too much trouble that night. So I don't know if you'd actually call it a date, but I thought it

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was. And that was partly because of some of the things I had experienced that I wanted or longed

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for that male attention and that affirmation or whatever that I might not have received

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and longed for from my parenting experience. Perry, I remember, took Emily out for her first date.

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He met her at the front door. He gave her this special heart-shaped necklace, which was kind of

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like a purity ring. And he wanted to show her how she was to be respected and treated by anyone who

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chose to date her. I mean, we even required young men who wanted to date her to request her father's

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permission. That's not such a bad idea. I mean, after all, you wouldn't let a teenage boy or a

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college kid bar you on more without asking, right? That's right. That's right. Yeah. But the truth

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was neither of us wanted them to act the way we had during some of our own dating experiences.

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And so that impacted our parenting as well as the good things that we had experienced impacted it.

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Looking back on their growing up years, did your son and your daughter appreciate all of that?

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Do they model some of that in their child raising or their kid's not old enough yet?

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Well, we have a biological granddaughter and then I have a grandson from my days at the pregnancy

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center. He's probably old enough to date, but I don't have a lot of influence with that one.

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Our daughter and her husband are very involved with keeping their daughter in church. As a matter

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of fact, our son-in-law last week was involved with doing the puppets at Vacation Bible School

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with Lillian, our granddaughter. So some of it carried over. Some of it they probably didn't

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always appreciate, but we wouldn't flex a whole lot, especially on that asking permission to date

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our daughter. Yeah. I mean, I think that's, wow, that's a great idea. I mean, you hear all the time

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of men asking for their father for their hand in marriage, although I'm not even sure that that is

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as common as it used to be. But asking if you can date, that shows respect and honor. And there's

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an accountability there that young men need. Well, it also showed her and our son, of course,

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he wasn't as involved in the dating scene for a while there, but it also showed them how much we

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valued and treasured them. That they were precious, priceless treasures in our lives.

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And we wanted them treated with respect and kindness. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not sure I would have

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appreciated it when I was a teenager, if that was the rule at my house. But I certainly, looking back,

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it would have, I mean, my parents were wonderful parents. I don't want to say anything bad about

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them at all. But I know that in my teenage years, I was a little bit of a rebel. So

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it might have actually been a good thing if that had been a rule in my house. But long before

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homeschooling was even common, you took that road less traveled with your kids on top of having them

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involved in church and you actually homeschooled them as well. And that was a really big decision.

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What was that process like? And how did your son and daughter respond to homeschooling when it

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wasn't as widely observed or practiced then? Well, homeschooling definitely was not something I had

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planned. I was a PTO mom and volunteer around the school and that was enough for me. And I was also

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traveling and ministering in ladies retreats by this time. I was involved in church leadership

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roles and volunteering at the local pregnancy care center. Yet our daughter began to have some

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struggles in the middle school experience, especially when I was traveling. And just a variety

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of situations and circumstances caused us to sense that the Lord was calling us to begin teaching

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them at home during the seventh and ninth grades, which was a bit opposite for most homeschool

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parents who did it during the elementary grades. A little more difficult. You have to remember

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what you're doing. You have to remember what you said. You have to remember what you said.

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You have to remember what you're doing. You have to remember what you studied.

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Well, I gave the Lord a list of things that we were going to need if I did this, you know, this,

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you know, we'll need a computer, we'll need da da da and some things for a library or whatever.

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And he began to check them off one by one and several things confirmed that this was what we

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were to do. Of course, we had our share of struggles, especially when it came to teaching

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algebra. I was grateful for friends who were professors in math that could help along the way.

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Yeah. But God was teaching us to resolve some sibling rivalry and dysfunctional family dynamics

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that we probably would have never addressed otherwise if we had not been put in that

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environment together. Yeah, they kind of vacillated between loving and hating homeschool,

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but involvement in church, the church youth group, along with taking biology lab and doing coral union

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at a local university helped to give them that social interaction with other young people that

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they might have felt like they were missing. But I recall one summer while our children were on a

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youth mission trip to the reservation, I think it was a Navajo reservation in Utah. I was praying

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and asking the Lord if he was sure that we were to continue homeschooling that fall. And it was a

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lot of work and I became weary at times. He reminded me of the scripture that he had given me at the

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beginning of this journey. And it happened to be in my devotional reading for that day. And that's

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in Proverbs nine and 10. It's also in Psalms, which I wasn't aware of that the fear of the Lord

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is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding. And I sensed him saying,

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Kay, what do you really want your children to learn? Because you know, if we live with a

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reverence for God and acknowledge of the Lord's sovereignty in our lives, he can manage every

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challenge we ever face. Parents today need that word more than ever because of all of the garbage

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that is seeping into so many schools, not every school, and not every parent can homeschool,

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nor does God call every parent to homeschool, but sowing that fear of the Lord and knowledge

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of the Holy into your children's lives very intentionally is so key in establishing them

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in truth and helping guide them away from real problems and struggles in their life.

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None of us or our children are exempt from those struggles. We've seen our children go through

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some difficult times and some challenges that we would have loved to have helped them to be exempt

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from those you might say. Yeah, but we've seen them come out on the other side victorious. We're

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still praying for some issues that haven't fully been overcome yet. But I'm thankful for the

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opportunity that God gave us and provided for us in such a way that we were able to consistently

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train and equip them during those years. Yeah, so you've you're starting to see the fruit

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of that investment in your kids lives as they're adults, as they gain victory. Yeah, no one's

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exempt from challenges and troubles. The Lord uses those in our lives to conform us more into

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the likeness of his image. But when you walk into them with some equipping the fear of the Lord,

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the knowledge of the Holy One, it sure makes going through them a whole lot easier. Oh, so true. And

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of course, I'm biased, but our children have done very well both in their higher educational

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pursuits and their vocation. Because I mean, we completed our textbooks, we did research papers,

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book reports and things that sometimes they don't ever even do or attempt to do in some school

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settings. Our son Ben had scholarships throughout his undergraduate education. He acquired a

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master's degree in counseling from a Christian university. Our daughter attended a local junior

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college and while she was there, she was asked to tutor other students in English comp. So something

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worked right. Yeah. And except for a brief time when she was out of state, she worked from the age

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of 15 until recently with our denominations International Headquarters Office. And she was

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chosen as employee of the year for three years in a row. So I'm bragging, that's okay. They're my

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kids. You did a good job. But I would like you say, I would be very clear that homeschooling is

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not for everyone. Right. But there's multiple curricula, online schools, homeschooling, co-ops

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and a lot of things that are available to assist if this is what God is calling you to do.

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I would just caution and say, make sure you're hearing him clearly and you're willing to be

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disciplined and make the commitment it requires. Yeah, one of our sons, when he was going into

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his junior year, came home and said, I want to be homeschooled. And that was shocking to my husband

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and I because he was the life of the party. He liked to be out and about with his friends and

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wanted to be involved in sports. So I was kind of shocked, one, but you know, there was some

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maturity there. He realized that some of the friends that he was hanging around with was kind

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of pulling him into troublesome areas. Yeah, I'm not sure he totally understood the implications

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of what he was asking, but I know the Holy Spirit was working through that. And I mean, my husband

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and I were both working full time in ministry. So I wasn't quite sure how that was going to work.

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So we said, well, if you come up with a solution for this, we'll check it out. And if we think

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it's okay, we'll do it. So there was, there was a co-op in our home school. And I was like,

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what? There was a co-op in our area that looked promising. So that's what we did for him. Our

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other kids stayed in schools. They were doing fine. They liked it and that was okay with us. But it

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was, you know, it was an interesting time when he was a junior decided he wanted to be homeschooled.

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But you know, God cares deeply about children over and over again in scripture. He directs us to care

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for all of our children, particularly orphans, in addition to widows, which is why somebody cares

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created the Widows and Orphan Fund. As a company of women together, we can do so much to take care

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of the special needs and cultivate the special gifts of children in the care of our ministry

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partners around the world. Like recently, two brothers we helped stay in their family home

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after both of their parents passed away. I invite you to join our number with a gift at

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hergodstory.org by clicking on help now. If you have cryptocurrency, which isn't doing so well at

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the moment, but once it turns up again, if you have cryptocurrency, we even accept that. Kay,

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how did you move from being a full-time homeschooling mom to leading organizations? I mean,

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you've been in ministry for many years now and been a part of leading quite a few organizations.

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Did you plan and carefully strategize a career path or just how did you move from mom to ministry

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leader? I wish I was that structured and organized with my life plan, but Jody, I can honestly say I

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never submitted my resume or applied for a single ministry position without first being asked to

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serve. Really? I began in a volunteer position at the Pregnancy Care Center. Of course, that was

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because someone had come to our church and asked for people to volunteer. And from that point,

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they asked me to become like the office manager. And eventually I served as the executive director

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of that nonprofit for six years before God dramatically changed the course of my ministry

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journey. So it was no strategizing or putting your name forward or trying to network your way into a

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position. It was just serving the Lord, being obedient to His call. Oh, you said it exactly

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right. I just wanted to serve wherever He put me. And you've read my bio. It's amazing to see the

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doors He's opened for a little girl who grew up in a family in Horn Lake, Mississippi near Bullfrog

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corner. And I've been able to minister in multiple states and numerous countries outside the U.S.

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I can't explain it. It had to be God. And I think sometimes when we try to force it,

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especially as women in ministry, the doors close more quickly than they open. But if we allow God

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to direct our steps and we put our trust fully in Him and His plan for our life, He opens the doors

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and provides the opportunities where He wants to use us. Yeah. And you know, that applies to women

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who are working in the marketplace, women who are educators, women who are in the medical profession.

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I mean, not that you never put a resume in, but the Lord is the one who opens the doors. It says in

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Scripture, and I can't remember the actual verse right now, but the Lord is the one who raises up.

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You know, the Lord is the one who opens those doors for us. And I think there's a message in

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the world, particularly for women today, that you have to just push your way through those doors.

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You have to break those glass ceilings. And it's the Lord who elevates. I mean, I've seen over and

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over, and we talked about this the other day, I've seen over and over again in my own life, I have

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these Lord, how did I get here? Moments recognizing it was only God who could have opened the doors

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for me to be where I was. And I know you've had similar experiences. Share some of those moves and

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moments that, you know, only God could have arranged. The reality is we all deal with

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stained glass ceilings. Yes. And sticky floors. And for me, I think sometimes the sticky floor,

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my own feelings of insecurity and inadequacy could have been real hindrances for me. But after

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leaving New Hope Pregnancy Care Center, I became the first female associate, and later the interim

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pastor of our local church. This was a church at that time we had attended for more than like 28

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years. And that was just God divinely moving me from one position to the other. That's a long story,

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and I won't go into all of the details. But when the pastor called me into his office that day to

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ask if I wanted to serve on staff at that local church, I had so clearly heard from the Lord before

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that, and he and his wife, and you know, they had prayed through it the night before, or probably

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for some days before that, that when I said yes, I didn't even know what I was fully saying yes to.

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Yeah. I didn't know if it was full-time or part-time, and I didn't even know the title. I

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just knew that God was directing me in that way. And for three years after that, I began during

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that time serving with the pastor in a media ministry that he was leading, and I moved from

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that church to become the administrator of this international media ministry and the Christian

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education minister providing insight segments on this World Impact Television program. I did that

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for three years. So you were Crisis Pregnancy Center leader. You were on staff at a church,

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you were the head of a media ministry. I mean, you hadn't really trained for any of that, but you were

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consistently spending time with the Lord and hearing what he was saying to you, which makes

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you qualified. It's funny that you talk about how I had really qualified or prepared. I was actually

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in the process of becoming a licensed minister. I was still just considered like a lay minister

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when I was asked to serve at that church, because earlier that year, I had sensed God saying,

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Kay, it's time to move to the next level. And even though I'd always said, you don't have to

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have a license to do what you do, Kay, the Lord was saying, it's time for you to become credentialed.

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So I became credentialed during the time that I was serving at that church and then moved to the

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media ministry. And amazingly, God blessed me to become a ministries project coordinator for an

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International Center for Spiritual Renewal, which was the spearhead organization for the 2006

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Azusa Street Centennial. And they brought in like 50,000 people from 106 nations of the world.

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And bear in mind, this is the little girl from Horn Lake, Mississippi that grew up in a family

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without many ministers at all. It had to be God. Yeah. Well, he likes to use those who are so

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unlikely so that he gets the glory. That's what I have come to realize in my own life. You know,

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when I have that moment of how did I get here, Lord? It's like, well, I got you here because I

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want to be glorified through you. And, you know, when we recognize that it's kind of fun to see

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what God's up to in your life. You know, it's an adventure that you never know how he's going to

381
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use you next or where he's going to move you next. Well, it was during my adventure with the Center

382
00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:11,040
for Spiritual Renewal that we together formed the Awakening America Alliance. And after

383
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doing that, I stepped away for a brief time to finish a degree in Christian ministries with an

384
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emphasis in Bible. And afterwards, I became the coordinator for that national prayer ministry

385
00:42:25,360 --> 00:42:31,680
known as Cry Out America. That was part of the Awakening America Alliance. And this evolved

386
00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:39,680
into serving as the interim director of this ministry because I was a Christian.

387
00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:49,200
Because the leader at that time moved to be a president of a university. And it was so funny,

388
00:42:49,200 --> 00:42:56,720
Jody, well, maybe not so funny, that when I was called in to meet with the board of directors,

389
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they asked if I would serve because they had not yet found God's man for the job. And they must not

390
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have found him because later they began to talk with me about the possibility of just dropping

391
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that interim descriptive from my title. And I became the executive director of that ministry.

392
00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:26,240
Most recently, though, a really exciting thing that the Lord allowed me to do was serve a two-year

393
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term as the first executive director for the Pentecostal Charismatic Churches of North America.

394
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And that encompassed leaders from Canada, Mexico, and the US.

395
00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:37,360
Wow.

396
00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:43,360
Yeah. But I was trying to wear a few too many hats. And I think I've heard some others on your

397
00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:50,000
podcast mentioned, we have to be careful that we're doing the God things and not just the good

398
00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:50,720
things.

399
00:43:50,720 --> 00:43:51,520
Right. Yeah.

400
00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:56,800
And even though I knew the Lord directed me to do that for a season, I also knew when he said,

401
00:43:56,800 --> 00:44:03,440
okay, it's time to stop that. And sometimes our egos will say, Lord, how can I do that? How can

402
00:44:03,440 --> 00:44:11,840
I step aside from this? Look where you've placed me. But I knew he was saying, I want you to focus

403
00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:20,720
back on the Awakening America Alliance. And since I have, it's really become very involved with a

404
00:44:20,720 --> 00:44:23,280
recent campaign called He Gets Us.

405
00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:25,520
Yeah, that's an exciting campaign.

406
00:44:25,520 --> 00:44:33,680
It is. And multimillion dollars have been put into this campaign, where a company called Glue

407
00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:43,200
has the technology to connect the people who see the advertising, we call them explorers, to help

408
00:44:43,200 --> 00:44:49,200
connect them with local churches. And so I'm really blessed to be able to interact and help

409
00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:58,480
pastors and churches to take advantage of this amazing harvest opportunity, because I believe

410
00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:05,520
that we are really in an accelerated harvest in the kingdom of God. And all of us have got to be

411
00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:14,480
very sensitive to the journey that God has us on so that we don't miss the harvest. Like when Jesus

412
00:45:14,480 --> 00:45:20,080
was sitting at the well that day ministering to the Samaritan woman, and the disciples came up,

413
00:45:20,080 --> 00:45:26,640
and she's just left to go back to the village to tell her friends. And he says to them, guys,

414
00:45:26,640 --> 00:45:33,040
it's not about lunch. Lift up your eyes and look, the harvest just ran past you.

415
00:45:33,040 --> 00:45:39,680
Yeah, you know, it reminded me, I was on a call not too long ago with one of the gentlemen

416
00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:45,280
representing the He Gets Us campaign. And it reminds me of back in the 70s, there was an I

417
00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:51,200
Found It campaign, where there were bumper stickers and billboards and everything. And it was a

418
00:45:51,600 --> 00:45:59,360
similar campaign to raise the awareness of Jesus in our culture. And so, so many people

419
00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:05,760
encountered the Lord through everyday people, through everyday Christians that were out in

420
00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:12,960
the marketplace representing the Lord. And this is this He Gets Us campaign is similar, although

421
00:46:12,960 --> 00:46:18,480
it's much more technologically advanced because of all the technology today. So we're going to

422
00:46:18,480 --> 00:46:24,240
have a link to the He Gets Us campaign on the show notes as well. So if you're with a church or

423
00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:30,400
you're with a ministry and you want to know more about it, check out the show notes and you can

424
00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:32,880
find out a little bit more and see if you want to get involved.

425
00:46:32,880 --> 00:46:38,880
Yes. And if they want to reach out to me, Jody, I would love to connect them and help them get

426
00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:47,360
actually a free subscription to this technology platform to actually be able to text and connect

427
00:46:47,360 --> 00:46:54,640
with the people who are exploring this Jesus who loves and cares for us right where we are

428
00:46:55,280 --> 00:47:00,240
and understands us when we're dealing with issues like I dealt with.

429
00:47:00,240 --> 00:47:10,000
As an adolescent or a teen or issues of being judged or are facing racial biases and prejudices

430
00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:18,880
and so many things. These videos are so amazing at how they reveal a contemporary Jesus who loves

431
00:47:18,880 --> 00:47:23,920
and cares like the Jesus of the Bible. Yeah. So we will have your information, your contact

432
00:47:23,920 --> 00:47:29,280
information on there as well. So people can connect with you and you can get involved in

433
00:47:29,280 --> 00:47:32,560
the community and people can connect with you and find out more about it too because it's,

434
00:47:32,560 --> 00:47:40,000
it is powerful and I really expect the Lord to do great things through it as people encounter

435
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:45,760
him in a way that they never knew they could. And they see a church who also lives and loves

436
00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:51,360
like Jesus who reaches out to them at that point of need. Well, things haven't always been rosy

437
00:47:51,920 --> 00:47:58,640
in your journey. While you were faithfully serving in a church, you had a fatal attraction

438
00:47:58,640 --> 00:48:03,840
kind of experience. God used it for his glory, but for a while it was pretty rough. Share what

439
00:48:03,840 --> 00:48:10,240
happened and what God showed you in and through that experience. Well, the full story would require

440
00:48:10,240 --> 00:48:17,840
a completely separate podcast. Yeah. But briefly, while I was serving as the associate pastor of

441
00:48:17,840 --> 00:48:25,040
our church, we began assisting a young single mom with two little girls. We soon discovered

442
00:48:25,040 --> 00:48:32,960
that she had some deep emotional, mental and spiritual issues that were resulting partially

443
00:48:32,960 --> 00:48:41,360
from her, her childhood, but also from having prostituted herself to ministers and living in

444
00:48:41,360 --> 00:48:49,120
a same sex relationship. She might show up at our house at two 30 in the morning saying that God

445
00:48:49,120 --> 00:48:56,560
sent her to pray for me or leave a voice message filled with cursing and horrible accusations.

446
00:48:57,680 --> 00:49:04,560
One of the first criminal things she did, and this is very interesting considering that I

447
00:49:05,200 --> 00:49:11,600
helped to lead a national prayer ministry after this, but one of the first criminal things she

448
00:49:11,600 --> 00:49:19,040
did was vandalize our church's prayer chapel and later attempted to attack me while I was there

449
00:49:19,040 --> 00:49:28,960
in the prayer chapel for morning prayer time. Wow. Yes, we prayed, we counseled and after a 40 day

450
00:49:28,960 --> 00:49:37,360
fast, the pastor and I spent hours interceding with her for deliverance from this demonic oppression.

451
00:49:38,240 --> 00:49:45,120
Yet within a few days, she had opened her spirit to all of this darkness again and she became worse

452
00:49:45,120 --> 00:49:52,080
than before according to scripture and the constant stalking and harassment. It lasted

453
00:49:52,080 --> 00:49:57,200
for more than three years. Wow. How did you deal with that? How did your family deal with that?

454
00:49:57,200 --> 00:50:03,600
I mean, what were you must have been thinking? Well, it was not easy, but I was so thankful for

455
00:50:03,600 --> 00:50:10,560
a godly husband, protective companion for the body of Christ who helped to surround us during

456
00:50:10,560 --> 00:50:16,800
that time. I was thankful for friends in local law enforcement and in the judicial system,

457
00:50:18,160 --> 00:50:28,000
but also I was very protective of my children trying to care for them during that time. It was

458
00:50:29,040 --> 00:50:34,400
unbelievable. There's really no words to describe it until you've walked through it,

459
00:50:34,400 --> 00:50:43,040
but the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back was when she attempted vehicular homicide

460
00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:50,960
by ramming our car in a head-on collision that my husband was able to swerve and avert

461
00:50:51,520 --> 00:50:59,520
because he was the driver at that time. Thankfully, God protected us. Perry protected me multiple

462
00:50:59,520 --> 00:51:06,800
times, but this incident combined with other charges culminated in her spending six years

463
00:51:06,800 --> 00:51:15,520
of an eight-year sentence in prison. Wow. This is amazing how you can tell that it was

464
00:51:15,520 --> 00:51:23,200
demonically motivated in many ways. She would call us, collect from the local justice center

465
00:51:23,200 --> 00:51:32,000
and even tried to reach to me when she was at the state prison. The significance of the timing when

466
00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:39,760
these attacks occurred revealed God's hand and anointing on my life. You say what lessons-

467
00:51:39,760 --> 00:51:41,760
Now they're always critical times, huh?

468
00:51:41,760 --> 00:51:48,160
Yeah. You say what lessons did you learn? I learned that obviously God's hand was on my life

469
00:51:48,160 --> 00:51:56,400
or the enemy would not be opposing me so dramatically because God desired to bring unity

470
00:51:56,400 --> 00:52:01,440
in the body of Christ, still wants to bring unity in the body of Christ. That's what the Awakening

471
00:52:01,440 --> 00:52:09,440
America Alliance is really about is unifying the body across our barriers and walls and divides

472
00:52:09,440 --> 00:52:18,080
that we have. The enemy hates that. He hates anything involved with unity. We were involved

473
00:52:18,080 --> 00:52:26,160
in some real strategic unifying initiatives after I left the church and this continued

474
00:52:27,040 --> 00:52:34,720
with the stalking and harassing. I saw because of the enemy's opposition at strategic moments,

475
00:52:34,720 --> 00:52:42,240
it was because he was fighting that pursuit of unity. But overall, I think we can truly

476
00:52:42,240 --> 00:52:48,480
find joy and honor in being counted worthy to suffer for Christ.

477
00:52:49,840 --> 00:52:55,040
Now that's amazing perspective. Something like that starts to happen and I'm sure

478
00:52:56,320 --> 00:53:00,960
you thinking, Lord, what did I do wrong? Am I in sin? Do I need to repent from something?

479
00:53:00,960 --> 00:53:06,240
What's going on? Am I prayer is not effective? I'm sure all those things run through your mind,

480
00:53:06,960 --> 00:53:13,360
but eventually God kind of revealed this deeper meaning to you. I went through all of those things,

481
00:53:13,360 --> 00:53:19,360
Jody. You are so on track. I said, Lord, what have I done to deserve this? Lord, cleanse me,

482
00:53:19,360 --> 00:53:25,600
purify me. If there's anything in my life, anything from my past, any trigger points,

483
00:53:25,600 --> 00:53:34,160
any targets, I don't want to be a target for the enemy. But I remember, and I think this may be

484
00:53:34,160 --> 00:53:40,880
what you're referencing. I remember one day walking up the sidewalk from the parking lot

485
00:53:40,880 --> 00:53:50,320
to our church offices and it was if I just had this overwhelming sense, Lord, what a joy and a

486
00:53:50,320 --> 00:53:59,440
privilege it is to suffer this for you. I had suffered plenty of things for my own wrongdoing.

487
00:54:01,040 --> 00:54:10,000
And for other people's wrongdoing or disobedience to God. But it was in this moment that I realized

488
00:54:11,120 --> 00:54:17,440
the Lord was just saying, Kay, this is not, it hasn't anything to do with this. It's not

489
00:54:17,440 --> 00:54:26,320
this as it's not, it hasn't anything to do with you except that I have chosen you to suffer for my

490
00:54:26,320 --> 00:54:32,800
sake. Yeah, it's, you know, not something that you want to hear the Lord say, Hey, you're going to

491
00:54:32,800 --> 00:54:39,760
suffer for my sake in the beforehand. But to give that revelation you were in the middle of it is,

492
00:54:39,760 --> 00:54:47,040
you know, kind of a mark of his favor. And yet I count myself so unworthy when I

493
00:54:48,080 --> 00:54:54,800
look at those around the world who are suffering so horrendously. I truly, I was blessed. One of

494
00:54:54,800 --> 00:55:03,520
those opportunities that I had and was blessed with was to attend a summit in DC called the World

495
00:55:03,520 --> 00:55:11,040
Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians. And as I sat in those room, in that room with other

496
00:55:11,040 --> 00:55:18,800
believers from around the world, even places like North Korea, Syria, Myanmar, those places,

497
00:55:19,360 --> 00:55:27,920
and we partook of the Eucharist together. I sat there and I said, Oh, oh God, I'm so unworthy.

498
00:55:27,920 --> 00:55:34,720
And yet this is what it's going to be like in heaven when we all sit together at the marriage

499
00:55:34,720 --> 00:55:43,120
supper of the Lamb and all of us together are able to celebrate how we overcame through the blood of

500
00:55:43,120 --> 00:55:49,520
Jesus Christ and through the word of our testimony and through our willingness to give it all.

501
00:55:49,520 --> 00:55:55,040
You know, sometimes we stop short, we say that we overcome by the word of our testimony and the

502
00:55:55,040 --> 00:56:00,080
blood of the Lamb, but the rest of that verse says, and they did not count their lives worthy,

503
00:56:00,080 --> 00:56:06,160
even to death. Yeah, it's humbling. Kay, as a woman who's served in leadership roles for

504
00:56:06,160 --> 00:56:13,200
many years now, what biblical truths or principles do you encourage younger women to embrace in their

505
00:56:13,200 --> 00:56:17,120
journey, whether they're in ministry or whether they're just walking with the Lord, you know,

506
00:56:17,120 --> 00:56:21,840
in another calling in the marketplace or some other aspect? What are some of those principles

507
00:56:21,840 --> 00:56:27,440
or truths that you would really want to impart to women who are trying to lead a godly, holy life?

508
00:56:27,440 --> 00:56:36,640
First, I would say something that I did not learn initially, but I have grown to love and appreciate

509
00:56:36,640 --> 00:56:43,440
as I've matured in my walk with Christ. I would say give God the first fruits of every day

510
00:56:44,320 --> 00:56:48,240
by taking time to develop an intimate relationship with him.

511
00:56:48,240 --> 00:56:55,840
This principle of perichoresis that's referred to by some as the dance, it begins in Genesis and

512
00:56:55,840 --> 00:57:02,800
it's threaded throughout scripture. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were already in ongoing communion

513
00:57:02,800 --> 00:57:10,880
and conversation in the heavenlies, and yet through creation, they invite us to join them in the dance.

514
00:57:10,880 --> 00:57:17,120
And we do this through prayer and engagement with God's word and joining him on mission in the world

515
00:57:17,120 --> 00:57:27,120
around us. And secondly, I would say enjoy every step of the dance or the journey. Take advantage of

516
00:57:27,120 --> 00:57:34,640
the cross training along the way. To quote another Jody with the last name Dietrich from her book,

517
00:57:34,640 --> 00:57:42,560
The Jesus Hearted Woman, she says, take the stairs. Some people are what I call elevator leaders.

518
00:57:42,560 --> 00:57:49,920
They want a quick and easy ride to the top, skipping everything in between, but the strength

519
00:57:49,920 --> 00:57:57,840
to lead well when you get to the top and the stamina to stay there is built by taking the stairs,

520
00:57:57,840 --> 00:58:04,720
by putting one foot in front of the other, dealing with incremental levels of leadership.

521
00:58:04,720 --> 00:58:12,640
Finally, there's one other thing I would say to a younger person just launching out into ministry

522
00:58:12,640 --> 00:58:21,760
wherever God has called them, do it with authenticity. You have nothing to prove and nothing to lose by

523
00:58:21,760 --> 00:58:28,560
being who God created and called you to be. You don't have to fit into anyone else's ministry shoes.

524
00:58:29,440 --> 00:58:36,560
God has your pair of high heels or combat boots personally designed for you. Amen. That reminds me

525
00:58:37,200 --> 00:58:44,640
just what you said earlier about the sticky floors and not getting stuck because we feel we're not

526
00:58:44,640 --> 00:58:52,720
worthy. I mean, we're not worthy, but God equips us and to fully embrace either those high heels

527
00:58:52,720 --> 00:58:58,240
or their combat boots according to what God has for us. So conversely, not taking that elevator.

528
00:58:58,800 --> 00:59:06,080
I think that's more the mentality. We live in such a fast paced world. I mean, our world's become a

529
00:59:06,080 --> 00:59:15,600
neighborhood and with drive through restaurants and microwaves and internet technology, we think

530
00:59:15,600 --> 00:59:22,880
things should happen instantly. I graduate from high school. I pursue my degree and my credentials

531
00:59:22,880 --> 00:59:29,920
and I'm on the high road now, but God wants us to take it a step at a time as He leads us to

532
00:59:29,920 --> 00:59:37,840
and as I say, as He cross trains us for what He has ahead. That's true. My career path was,

533
00:59:38,880 --> 00:59:44,800
I started as a computer programmer and then I was an event planner and then I was in marketing.

534
00:59:44,800 --> 00:59:50,560
I mean, all of these, it seemed like I was schizophrenic, but it was where the Lord was taking

535
00:59:50,560 --> 00:59:58,080
me and as every next step along the way of my career, I was in marketing. I was in marketing.

536
00:59:58,080 --> 01:00:03,360
Every next step along the way of where God had me, I could see all the things I'd learned from the

537
01:00:03,360 --> 01:00:10,080
past were strengthening and weaving together so I could do a better, I could serve Him better in the

538
01:00:10,080 --> 01:00:17,920
next role He had me in. I jokingly say my bio sounds like I had trouble keeping a job.

539
01:00:17,920 --> 01:00:27,280
Yeah, but that was really God training and equipping me for the next step and the next step

540
01:00:27,280 --> 01:00:34,640
and the next step and I had not arrived by any means and there are still times that I'm thinking,

541
01:00:34,640 --> 01:00:40,560
Lord, I could go home to bake and chocolate chip cookies and doing things with my husband who's

542
01:00:40,560 --> 01:00:48,080
semi-retired, but when I start considering that, there's this passion and drive in my spirit

543
01:00:48,080 --> 01:00:54,960
that I still want to reach out and touch other young women and pastors' wives and people in

544
01:00:54,960 --> 01:01:02,720
ministry and I want to continue to mobilize and engage the body of Christ in united prevailing

545
01:01:02,720 --> 01:01:09,920
prayer that is going to be required if we're going to experience the Christ awakening He has for us

546
01:01:09,920 --> 01:01:15,040
in this nation. Well, I'd love to ask my guests to share if there's a woman in the Bible whose story

547
01:01:15,040 --> 01:01:20,800
has inspired or encouraged or taught you something and how her story relates to yours. Is there someone,

548
01:01:20,800 --> 01:01:28,880
Kay? I would have to say that I'm a blend of both Mary and Martha. I love sitting at the feet of

549
01:01:28,880 --> 01:01:37,600
Jesus clinging to His word, pouring the oil of anointed worship and sharing with others, teaching or

550
01:01:37,600 --> 01:01:46,320
preaching. Yet, I'm also called to be a leader who serves leaders and sometimes the Martha side of me

551
01:01:46,320 --> 01:01:54,240
becomes so involved in serving and administrative responsibilities that I'm robbed of the joy of

552
01:01:54,240 --> 01:02:00,080
spending more time in His presence. So it's a constant balancing act, but I think we need both

553
01:02:00,080 --> 01:02:10,080
in the kingdom of God. We need the Martha's and we need the Mary's. So I say whichever one you feel

554
01:02:10,080 --> 01:02:18,000
that you might be, don't despise it and allow God to synergize if you're a little bit of both.

555
01:02:18,720 --> 01:02:27,360
Yeah, amen. That's great. Well, as we wrap up, I want to share Psalm 119 verses 105 and it says,

556
01:02:27,360 --> 01:02:33,440
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it and

557
01:02:33,440 --> 01:02:39,440
I will follow Your righteous laws. Kay shared how crucial the word of God has been in her journey

558
01:02:39,440 --> 01:02:45,280
and should be in our journey, keeping her on the path of righteousness for His sake. And there are

559
01:02:45,280 --> 01:02:50,720
many blessings that come from following that path of righteousness. Proverbs 12-28 says,

560
01:02:50,720 --> 01:02:56,320
In the way of righteousness there's life. And Psalm 16 says, The Lord watches over the way of the

561
01:02:56,320 --> 01:03:03,360
righteous. The way of the sinner will perish. While Psalm 5-12 reminds us that the Lord blesses the

562
01:03:03,360 --> 01:03:09,120
righteous and surrounds them with favor as with a shield. If you've listened to Kay's story, you can

563
01:03:09,120 --> 01:03:14,560
see that all of those things are true in her life and they will be in yours as well. No matter where

564
01:03:14,560 --> 01:03:21,200
you are in your faith journey, the word of God has direction, has hope, has encouragement, and so much

565
01:03:21,200 --> 01:03:25,920
more for you. We've developed a devotional actually that is freely available for you at Her God's

566
01:03:25,920 --> 01:03:32,080
Story dot org. It's based on the life of women in the Bible. It's there to help you to start,

567
01:03:32,080 --> 01:03:37,680
to restart, or continue a meaningful time with the Lord, giving Him that first fruit of your day.

568
01:03:38,320 --> 01:03:43,280
So we hope you'll take advantage of it. Kay, would you take a moment and pray for everyone

569
01:03:43,280 --> 01:03:48,480
who listens to your amazing God story? Thank you Jody. I would be honored. Abba Father,

570
01:03:48,480 --> 01:03:55,200
thank you. Thank you for this special time today sharing about your amazing grace and goodness in

571
01:03:55,200 --> 01:04:03,440
our lives. I pray that you would speak, revealing your love and compassion for every person listening

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to this podcast. May they hear you calling them by their name, the name you have given them,

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revealing your purpose and your calling in their lives. Grant grace and favor in their place of

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ministry, whether that's in their home, the marketplace, the church, or the broader kingdom

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of God. And along with the words of Francis Frangipane, I want to decree that you can topple

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the stronghold of our experiences, Father. We have to let you be found true in your love and

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you be found true, though every man be found a liar. You're the only one who has a right to

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shape our lives, Jesus. Help us, help us determine, help us to determine to allow nothing and no one

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to shape us, not even our personal experiences, unless they are consistent with your word and

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your promises for us. We declare that God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is ruling and reigning

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in our lives with victory and power for overcoming every obstacle the enemy might try to throw our

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way. So thank you, Jesus Christ, for choosing and inviting us into personal relationship and on

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mission with you. Amen. Thank you for tuning in. Links to Kay's books, as well as the scriptures

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and information about the Awakening America Alliance, the Helper Connection, the He Gets Us

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campaign, they're all in our show notes at hergodstory.org. There you can also sign up for

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periodic emails and get that free devotional book downloading on women in the Bible. We'd love for

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you to share Kay's story with your friends and be sure to follow the podcast so you don't miss an

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episode. And now, dear friends, I leave you with a blessing that I've adapted from 1 Kings 8,

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verses 60 and 61, and Deuteronomy 4.1. May you know the Lord is God and that there is no other,

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and may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord your God, to live by his decrees and obey his

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commands, so that you may live and take possession of everything the Lord has spoken and is giving to

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you. Her God Story is a ministry of Somebody Cares America and International. To find out more about

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or support the ministry, go to somebodycares.org.