No Big Plan, I Just Said “Yes,” Marlene Yeo’s Story

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I love a good story, especially if it's a God story.

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And I have a special story for you today.

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Hi, I'm your host, Jodie Chirircosta,

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ministry leader at Somebody Cares America and International,

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author and traveler on this journey of faith.

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I am so excited to introduce to you today

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one of my favorite people, a special friend,

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and a mighty woman of God who has more energy

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than an Energizer Bunny.

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Marlene Yeoh is the founder and executive director

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of Somebody Cares New England, just outside of Boston.

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She's the pastor of Community Christian Fellowship

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in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

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And she has founded a ministry of healing and deliverance

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called He Cares for Me.

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Marlene has also authored three books

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and has a fourth one in the works.

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So I don't know how you do it all, Marlene.

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You are a busy, busy woman.

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Marlene is passionate about prayer.

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She is passionate about God's presence

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and she desires that his kingdom will come

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and his will would be done on the earth.

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With all that she has accomplished,

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you might think that she can walk on water.

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I haven't seen her do it though,

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but there's always so much more to the story.

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I know that there is more to her God story

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and you are going to be riveted by what she has to say.

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So welcome, Marlene.

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Hey, thanks for having me, Jody.

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It's a joy to be with you.

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There is so much to your story.

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We're not gonna be able to go into everything today,

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but you've written about some of it

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in your first three books

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and they have some really interesting titles.

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So before we delve into what we're gonna talk about today,

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I just wanna allow you to summarize

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what's in those books that you've written so far.

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The first one is called Where Is God on Tuesday?

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We could talk about that all day.

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But briefly, what's it about?

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Okay, so I was at a Somebody Kiss Summit in Texas

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and I spoke at the session that I spoke at

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and I made this comment.

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I said, it's amazing how on a Sunday we're encouraged,

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we're blessed, we're pumped up.

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And then by Tuesday, we're wondering, where's God?

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And Katie Stevens wrote on a napkin, she said,

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what a great title for a book.

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Well, I had no book on my radar.

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And then another person at the summit said,

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hey, God told me that you're gonna write a book.

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So I got assigned the title.

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And basically what it means is this.

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As a believer, we go get the word of God in our heart,

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we worship, we do all the things that we know to do

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and we feel strong.

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And then we walk through a dark place

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in our own personal life

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and all of a sudden we wonder, where's God in it?

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So I wrote about some of the very difficult,

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challenging things in my own personal life,

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beginning with my first chapter,

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which is home is where the hurt is.

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So I talk about the family dynamic,

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what I was raised in an alcoholic home

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with a bipolar mother and the challenges that I faced,

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but then also the journey as a new believer,

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the things I had to overcome.

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So that's what book number one is mostly about.

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My personal journey to overcome.

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Your second book took a little turn.

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It is called, He Cares for Me.

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So there's a scripture verse Psalm 142

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and David is in a very dark place.

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And he says, basically no one cares for my soul.

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But in reality, David writes

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that God is the one that cares for us.

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And so basically that book was birthed out of a tragedy

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that happened in my personal family life

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with one of my children.

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That tragedy brought me to my knees, desperation,

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calling out to God, where can I send my child

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for the help that's needed?

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And searching out to the body of Christ,

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who is really offering deliverance and healing?

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Now, over the years I've been to many conferences

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which are all beneficial and have been wonderful

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in my life about healing and deliverance.

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I learned a lot, I experienced a lot,

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but I never came away from them.

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And I'm not faulting the experiences or the conferences,

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but I never came away really feeling equipped

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as a minister now to minister deliverance to others.

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And so when I was crying out to the Lord,

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I found a ministry in the middle of the country.

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He would have had to fly there, very expensive,

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$1,200 for four days of ministry,

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hotel, food, miss work, everything.

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Would have cost him over $3,000 for the whole enchilada.

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And I thought, really Lord,

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only the rich get to be delivered?

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And I heard the Lord speak to my heart and he said,

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I want you to do for others what I've done for you.

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Now I'm talking to him about my child

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and the Lord's talking to me about his kids.

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So I sat down at my computer and I started writing out,

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what has the Lord done for me?

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And it's been a journey.

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It's not like a weekend.

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And so I wrote it out and it turned into a manual,

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a training manual to train people to learn to do

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the work of the ministry, which is deliverance and healing.

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Cause we know it says in Luke chapter four,

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he not only came to preach the good news,

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but he came to set the captive free.

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So we're pretty good with sharing the good news,

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but we don't feel as confident in deliverance and healing.

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So anyway, wrote the manual, gathered together

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some believers who had also expressed a desire

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to learn deliverance and healing for their own personal life,

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for their family and for their church.

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So it's in now seven years old, it's an LLC,

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it's a 501 C3.

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The whole goal is to train people

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to do the work of the ministry.

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And so there's many chapters in the book

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that will help people to identify their own areas

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where they need deliverance

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and it gives them the tools to do it.

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Here's the interesting thing about it, Jody.

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It's not a counseling ministry.

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We don't counsel people.

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The Lord told me that I was to do for others

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what he'd done for me.

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What he'd done for me is he walked me through trauma

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in my life and as I released and forgave and let go

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and forgave myself and blessed

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and did the things that I wrote about in the book,

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I got deliverance.

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As a matter of fact, when I went for an appointment

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with a minister that's very well known

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in the deliverance ministry realm, they said to me,

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well, the Lord already told me that he's ministered to you

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in five areas of brokenness in your personal life.

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So do you wanna share with us what the Lord's been doing?

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So instead of me getting deliverance that day,

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they asked me what's the Lord been doing in your life?

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So basically it's training people to really lay hold

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of the hem of the garment

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and experience deliverance for themselves.

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Too often we look at for everybody else to do it for us.

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You know, I love that it's so practical.

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Oftentimes we hear these principles taught

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in real religious language or just conceptual

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and not practical.

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And I love that you're bringing this down

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to a practical level that every believer can lay hold of

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and apply to their life and minister to others.

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Yes, well, it's our calling.

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Salvation, healing and deliverance, that's our calling.

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We're all called.

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Your third book has an even interesting title as well.

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He's looking for a donkey to ride into your city.

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In 1999, I watched a transformation video

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and it rocked my world.

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If people don't know what that is,

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you can find it through the Sentinel Group.

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And I watched the very first one

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and I was alone in my basement.

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A friend of mine said,

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I think that you're really gonna like this.

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I think that God's gonna use this in your life.

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Well, by cracky, he did.

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And alone in my basement, I went into travail.

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I had never experienced travail and intercession before.

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I had never felt broken in my heart

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with what breaks God's heart.

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And basically what happened to me

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when I watched that video,

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I saw documentation videos of real people

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testifying the depravity, the brokenness,

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the disgusting condition of their city or their country,

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and how a few got together, repented before God,

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humbled themselves, cried out to God,

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and God came in such miraculous ways.

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You're very familiar with all of them.

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So after watching that video,

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what happened to me is I went from being a church person

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to a kingdom person.

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That expanded my heart that God so loved the world.

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It wasn't just Molly and Yo and her family and her church.

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The world.

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Well, I didn't have a burden for the lost.

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I didn't have a burden for the world.

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I actually would have said and did say,

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I'm quoting myself,

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to people that would say to me about evangelism,

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I'm not called to the lost, I'm called to the found.

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Yeah.

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I've said that before as well.

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So anyway-

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That corrects us, doesn't he?

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Oh boy, praise God he does.

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So he sent me literally to a city

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that wasn't far from my home,

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a city I did not grow up in.

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And he sent me as a prayer compassion missionary in 1999.

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So I started working, just doing whatever.

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I'd say, God, I have no idea what I'm doing.

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And whatever he put in my hand, I gave it away.

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Wherever he told me to go, I went.

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Whoever told me to see, I saw.

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I just obeyed.

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I love what Dr. Young He Cho says.

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I hear and I obey.

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That's it.

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That's it.

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You said God didn't call you to build the church.

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He called you to build his kingdom.

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Yes.

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Explain what you mean by that.

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Jesus is the head of the church.

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He said, I'll build my church.

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Okay, so Jesus is the head of the church.

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What happened is I was so consumed

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with what happened in the four walls of the church

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that I didn't have a biblical worldview

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for anything outside of the four walls.

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So when I say that I was gripped

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with the hearts of the kingdom,

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what I mean by that, it's no longer my denomination,

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my church, my people, my friends, what I like, my ministry.

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It's his.

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It's his world, his church, his people.

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Everything shifted.

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I saw it through a different lens.

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And because of that experience,

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literally God spoke to me out of Luke.

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Sorry, on the top of my head, I can tell you the verse.

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I can't tell you the exact spot.

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It says he sent them out two by two into every city

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he was about to show his face.

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And so God sent me out to a city with just me and my daughter,

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Bethany, that was it.

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And as I got sent out from this local church,

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they did not get this concept at all.

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And so it was very hard for them to not only believe

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what had happened to me, but encouraged me to follow

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what God had put in my heart to do.

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It became a very uncomfortable battle.

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And so through it, I learned a lot of things.

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I was angry at God for upsetting the whole apple cot.

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I'd been at this church for 20 years.

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I loved the pastor and his family.

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I loved the church.

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And now God's sending me out.

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And now there's a relational conflict.

261
00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:03,460
And I'm a woman under authority.

262
00:10:03,460 --> 00:10:04,780
I believe in submission.

263
00:10:04,780 --> 00:10:06,280
And now God's telling me to do something.

264
00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:08,560
My pastor said, no, that's not part of our mission.

265
00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:10,600
That's not the city that we're going after.

266
00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:11,600
That's not God.

267
00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:13,800
And I'm like, oh snap, I'm in trouble

268
00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:18,800
because how do I obey God and say, I was so conflicted.

269
00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:22,160
And it wasn't until I met Pastor Doug,

270
00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:26,200
but that's another segment about talking about mentors.

271
00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:28,980
The book is really about God sending an ordinary girl

272
00:10:28,980 --> 00:10:32,040
into a city where there were low income distress,

273
00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:35,320
drug problems, prostitution, all of this kind of stuff

274
00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:37,540
that I had not been exposed to at all.

275
00:10:37,540 --> 00:10:39,380
And here I am.

276
00:10:39,380 --> 00:10:42,340
I'm like in a city, not knowing what the heck to do.

277
00:10:42,340 --> 00:10:43,220
And what does God do?

278
00:10:43,220 --> 00:10:44,440
He leads me to this woman.

279
00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:46,380
She's known as the worst drunk in the city of Harrell.

280
00:10:46,380 --> 00:10:47,720
She drank straight vodka.

281
00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:49,980
She literally tried to beat up policemen.

282
00:10:49,980 --> 00:10:52,260
I mean, she was a raving maniac

283
00:10:52,260 --> 00:10:54,100
and God used me to get her saved.

284
00:10:54,100 --> 00:10:56,420
So in the book, it has a lot of stories

285
00:10:56,420 --> 00:10:59,760
about how God would lead me to places, to people.

286
00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,440
He gave me the resources, miracles happened.

287
00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:03,900
I mean, amazing things.

288
00:11:03,900 --> 00:11:06,100
It's just a testimony of our amazing God.

289
00:11:06,100 --> 00:11:07,640
So before you started writing the books,

290
00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:08,940
you lived a lot of life.

291
00:11:08,940 --> 00:11:10,680
I mean, they're written in the books,

292
00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:12,680
but where did it all start?

293
00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:14,180
Being raised in an alcoholic family,

294
00:11:14,180 --> 00:11:15,940
not exposed to Christ at all,

295
00:11:15,940 --> 00:11:18,280
not understanding anything with the Bible,

296
00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:19,580
never saw our Bible.

297
00:11:19,580 --> 00:11:21,920
I got saved when I was 26 years old.

298
00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:25,300
I went to a Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service

299
00:11:25,300 --> 00:11:26,400
and I got healed.

300
00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:28,660
That's when it started when I was 26.

301
00:11:28,660 --> 00:11:31,900
But because, and I'm not faulting, I'm just identifying,

302
00:11:31,900 --> 00:11:34,600
because the church was not really equipped

303
00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:35,860
with deliverance and healing,

304
00:11:35,860 --> 00:11:38,000
they didn't know what to do with people like me.

305
00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:41,100
So at one point, being an alcoholic myself,

306
00:11:41,100 --> 00:11:44,080
being very distressed, very disturbed,

307
00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:47,780
and I will say showing signs of mental instability,

308
00:11:47,780 --> 00:11:50,020
as is in my family bloodline,

309
00:11:50,020 --> 00:11:52,320
went to the pastor of the church that I was attending

310
00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:53,660
and I lied to him.

311
00:11:53,660 --> 00:11:54,960
I said, my husband's gonna kick me out

312
00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:56,220
because I come to this church.

313
00:11:56,220 --> 00:11:57,720
Well, that's not why he was gonna kick me out.

314
00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:00,160
He was gonna kick me out because he was tired of coming home,

315
00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:02,160
me laying in vomit.

316
00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:04,360
And so it was difficult.

317
00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:08,600
And so I was searching, as I said before, for deliverance

318
00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:11,900
and I just, I couldn't find it in the local church.

319
00:12:11,900 --> 00:12:15,800
So I ended up in a really great, awesome Bible teaching

320
00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:18,880
church and served there for 20 years.

321
00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:21,280
And that's the church that I got sent out to.

322
00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:23,180
What happened is when I got sent out,

323
00:12:23,180 --> 00:12:25,680
the Lord sent me out, the church didn't send me out.

324
00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:26,920
That's a big difference.

325
00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:28,760
I didn't know where to go, I didn't know what to do.

326
00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:31,300
And the Lord sent me to a church in Lowell, Massachusetts,

327
00:12:31,300 --> 00:12:34,600
which was 25 minutes south of the city I was called to.

328
00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:36,000
And I was really ticked off about that.

329
00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:37,600
I'm like, what the heck?

330
00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:40,660
I don't wanna be in Lowell, I wanna be in Haverhill.

331
00:12:40,660 --> 00:12:43,100
And anyway, it was a God appointment to meet

332
00:12:43,100 --> 00:12:44,240
who is now my pastor.

333
00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:48,000
And I've been under his leadership for going on 18 years.

334
00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,480
And in 2005, I had been with him one year,

335
00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,020
told him all about somebody kids and the work in the city.

336
00:12:54,020 --> 00:12:55,780
He said, how can I serve you?

337
00:12:55,780 --> 00:12:58,020
And I thought, I've never had a pastor ask me

338
00:12:58,020 --> 00:12:59,380
how they can serve me.

339
00:12:59,380 --> 00:13:01,880
And I said, well, I'm leaving behind

340
00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:04,280
when I leave this church, my license and ordination.

341
00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:06,960
I'm leaving behind all of my resources, my friends,

342
00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:08,060
I'm leaving everything.

343
00:13:08,060 --> 00:13:10,560
I'm not gonna leave a trail for anyone to find me.

344
00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:13,000
What I'd love to see is a church planted in the city

345
00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,800
that I'm called to, but I'm not called to plant it.

346
00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:19,200
I'm a prayer compassion missionary, I'm not a pastor.

347
00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:20,800
Not that I hadn't pastored, I had,

348
00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:22,400
I'd been a youth pastor for 10 years

349
00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:24,140
and associate pastor for two.

350
00:13:24,140 --> 00:13:25,640
I wanted nothing to do with pastoring,

351
00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:27,040
not because I don't love people.

352
00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:29,740
I don't like the minutia, the jots and tittles,

353
00:13:29,740 --> 00:13:31,680
the crossing the T's and dotting the I's

354
00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:33,420
and the paperwork and all the stuff

355
00:13:33,420 --> 00:13:35,680
and the building maintenance and blah.

356
00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:38,780
Lord have mercy, I don't play political games well at all.

357
00:13:38,780 --> 00:13:41,620
And that's part of the problem I was running into.

358
00:13:41,620 --> 00:13:43,660
So anyway, we spent a year in prayer

359
00:13:43,660 --> 00:13:45,320
while I was at his church that first year.

360
00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:46,420
And at the end of the year, he said,

361
00:13:46,420 --> 00:13:48,760
I found the pastor for the church.

362
00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:50,000
And I said, awesome, who is it?

363
00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:51,300
He said, it's you.

364
00:13:51,300 --> 00:13:53,000
I said, I'm not applying for the job.

365
00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:54,660
And he said, tell me why.

366
00:13:54,660 --> 00:13:57,000
I said, because pastors don't have time to pray.

367
00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:58,700
And they don't have time to be with people.

368
00:13:58,700 --> 00:14:01,000
And I wanna pray and I wanna be with people.

369
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,880
And he said, what kind of a pastor was Jesus?

370
00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:05,680
And I said, well, he was a praying pastor

371
00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:06,880
and he was a people pastor.

372
00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,080
And he said, then go do likewise.

373
00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,120
I said, that's my job description.

374
00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:12,680
He said, yes.

375
00:14:12,680 --> 00:14:13,720
I said.

376
00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:14,720
That's a good one.

377
00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:16,360
Yeah, see, he's from the Middle East.

378
00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:17,620
He has a biblical worldview

379
00:14:17,620 --> 00:14:20,200
that's very different than Western Christianity.

380
00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:22,860
Anyway, we planted a community Christian fellowship,

381
00:14:22,860 --> 00:14:27,060
which really the LLC is CCF Ministries of Haverhill.

382
00:14:27,060 --> 00:14:29,900
And so I planted that in 2005.

383
00:14:29,900 --> 00:14:31,940
And we're a church that was planted in the city

384
00:14:31,940 --> 00:14:33,740
for the low income distressed,

385
00:14:33,740 --> 00:14:35,540
for the addicts, for the prostitutes,

386
00:14:35,540 --> 00:14:37,780
for the people that have mental illness.

387
00:14:37,780 --> 00:14:40,580
God has used us through Somebody Cares

388
00:14:40,580 --> 00:14:42,540
for us to start a lot of initiatives in the city

389
00:14:42,540 --> 00:14:43,640
that were never done before,

390
00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:45,560
that have been not only recognized by the city,

391
00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:48,760
but then I passed it on for the city to maintain it.

392
00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:49,880
So.

393
00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:50,980
It's interesting that you didn't have a big plan

394
00:14:50,980 --> 00:14:52,660
when you started all of this.

395
00:14:52,660 --> 00:14:53,920
Nope.

396
00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:55,420
You just said yes to the Lord,

397
00:14:55,420 --> 00:14:56,900
sometimes kind of kicking your heels about it.

398
00:14:56,900 --> 00:14:58,760
But you said yes, you went forward,

399
00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:00,900
and God gave you that plan step by step

400
00:15:00,900 --> 00:15:03,700
and opened doors that you probably never would have thought

401
00:15:03,700 --> 00:15:04,900
were gonna be opened.

402
00:15:04,900 --> 00:15:06,640
Never, never thought.

403
00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:09,140
You know, you mentioned Pastor Najim

404
00:15:09,140 --> 00:15:10,780
as one of the people who,

405
00:15:10,780 --> 00:15:12,640
key people who really influenced your life.

406
00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:14,020
I'm sure there have been others.

407
00:15:14,020 --> 00:15:16,980
God has used to open some of these doors.

408
00:15:16,980 --> 00:15:19,220
And these aren't the social media kind of influencers.

409
00:15:19,220 --> 00:15:21,420
I mean, they are really godly influencers

410
00:15:21,420 --> 00:15:25,720
that are hearing the Lord and about building the kingdom.

411
00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:29,160
Not their own empires, but really kingdom builders,

412
00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:30,420
which is what we're all called.

413
00:15:30,420 --> 00:15:32,900
Tell us a little bit about how some of that happened

414
00:15:32,900 --> 00:15:34,040
and who they were.

415
00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:36,160
Well, when I watched the first transformation video,

416
00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:38,660
what happened is I got a flyer from Utica, New York.

417
00:15:38,660 --> 00:15:41,900
At that time, it was called Mountain Zion Ministries

418
00:15:41,900 --> 00:15:44,380
in Utica, Pastor Mike Civello, Sr.

419
00:15:44,380 --> 00:15:46,940
And on the flyer, it had three of the speakers

420
00:15:46,940 --> 00:15:49,980
that were from the first transformation video.

421
00:15:49,980 --> 00:15:52,780
And I'm like, oh my gosh, they're five hours away from me.

422
00:15:52,780 --> 00:15:53,980
I'm gonna go see them.

423
00:15:53,980 --> 00:15:55,740
So I went to a compassion conference,

424
00:15:55,740 --> 00:15:58,720
Colosanacondia, Pastor Harold Cabellos,

425
00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,660
and gosh, my brain, sorry, happens sometimes, another one.

426
00:16:02,660 --> 00:16:04,300
So anyway, they were the keynote speakers.

427
00:16:04,300 --> 00:16:08,060
And when I was there, man, I got so blasted, so blessed.

428
00:16:08,060 --> 00:16:11,300
And Pastor Mike Civello didn't know me from Adam.

429
00:16:11,300 --> 00:16:13,800
He just said to me, he met me through the conference

430
00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:15,340
and stuff and we talked and he said,

431
00:16:15,340 --> 00:16:17,380
Marlene, whatever I can do to help you.

432
00:16:17,380 --> 00:16:19,100
And I'm like, again, here's a pastor saying,

433
00:16:19,100 --> 00:16:20,580
what can I do to help you?

434
00:16:20,580 --> 00:16:21,980
And I'm like, help me?

435
00:16:21,980 --> 00:16:23,140
You wanna help me?

436
00:16:23,140 --> 00:16:25,620
I'm not even a part of your church, you wanna help me?

437
00:16:25,620 --> 00:16:28,740
He said, we've got a warehouse and we've got resources

438
00:16:28,740 --> 00:16:30,340
and the work you're doing in the city,

439
00:16:30,340 --> 00:16:31,580
we just wanna bless you.

440
00:16:31,580 --> 00:16:34,560
I'm like, hello, who does this?

441
00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:36,820
So I started bringing tractor trailer trucks

442
00:16:36,820 --> 00:16:39,920
into our city every year for big block parties

443
00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,460
with upwards of 2000 people that we'd serve,

444
00:16:42,460 --> 00:16:44,900
but we'd also bless agencies in the community.

445
00:16:44,900 --> 00:16:48,260
So depends would come in, we'd bless the elderly community.

446
00:16:48,260 --> 00:16:50,800
Diapers would come in, we'd bless Pregnancy Care Center.

447
00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:52,100
So we have a drop-in center.

448
00:16:52,100 --> 00:16:53,580
The drop-in center needed medicine.

449
00:16:53,580 --> 00:16:55,040
We gave them the medicine.

450
00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:57,880
So this relational net that we built with the community

451
00:16:57,880 --> 00:16:59,940
because of these tractor trailer trucks,

452
00:16:59,940 --> 00:17:02,120
and I will say the open doors that came

453
00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:03,880
even through the city because of this.

454
00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:05,580
The mayor came down one day and he was like,

455
00:17:05,580 --> 00:17:07,420
who's doing this?

456
00:17:07,420 --> 00:17:10,220
And so, I mean, it's pretty amazing.

457
00:17:10,220 --> 00:17:12,420
So Pastor Mike Civello, I would say

458
00:17:12,420 --> 00:17:15,760
was probably the first time that I experienced

459
00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:17,560
before meeting the others.

460
00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:20,460
Then from there, I met Pastor Doug Stringer,

461
00:17:20,460 --> 00:17:22,740
2002 at the call in New York.

462
00:17:22,740 --> 00:17:25,240
Again, I got this man saying to me,

463
00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:26,500
I wanna come and serve you.

464
00:17:26,500 --> 00:17:29,640
And I'm like, who are these people?

465
00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:31,300
Pastors wanna serve people.

466
00:17:31,300 --> 00:17:33,020
I've never heard such a thing.

467
00:17:33,020 --> 00:17:34,620
And I didn't know how to answer him.

468
00:17:34,620 --> 00:17:35,440
How can you serve me?

469
00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:37,880
He said, listen, the chapters for somebody cares chapters,

470
00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:39,140
you don't have to be one.

471
00:17:39,140 --> 00:17:41,880
We just wanna add to whatever God's doing in your city.

472
00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:45,380
You're the person of peace in that city that God's using.

473
00:17:45,380 --> 00:17:47,160
We just wanna be a blessing.

474
00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:49,660
And I said, I don't even know what to say.

475
00:17:49,660 --> 00:17:51,100
And he said, well, how about if I come

476
00:17:51,100 --> 00:17:53,100
and just walk the streets and pray with you?

477
00:17:53,100 --> 00:17:54,200
And I'm like, what?

478
00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:55,540
I don't have a budget.

479
00:17:55,540 --> 00:17:57,140
I can't put you in a hotel.

480
00:17:57,140 --> 00:17:59,140
You can sleep on my couch in the basement.

481
00:17:59,140 --> 00:18:00,680
You know?

482
00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:02,840
And bless his heart, he came.

483
00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:04,500
He walked the city with me.

484
00:18:04,500 --> 00:18:06,140
And one of the things he said was,

485
00:18:06,140 --> 00:18:08,080
which I saw on the transformation videos,

486
00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:10,240
and I heard when I was at Pastor Mike's,

487
00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:13,380
is he said, Molly, you have the DNA of city transformation.

488
00:18:14,660 --> 00:18:16,180
And that's what happened to me that day

489
00:18:16,180 --> 00:18:17,080
I watched that video.

490
00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:19,320
Now, why can others watch that video

491
00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:20,420
and that doesn't happen to them?

492
00:18:20,420 --> 00:18:22,220
I have no idea.

493
00:18:22,220 --> 00:18:25,300
Because I've shown that video high and low and wide

494
00:18:25,300 --> 00:18:27,860
and far as to anybody that will watch them.

495
00:18:27,860 --> 00:18:30,600
As a matter of fact, I'm the New England Regional Director

496
00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:32,200
for the Sentinel Group.

497
00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:33,840
So I have access to these videos

498
00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:35,000
and I get them out to people.

499
00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,300
So I met Pastor Doug Stringer, 2002.

500
00:18:37,300 --> 00:18:38,440
That changed everything.

501
00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:39,700
He came to Haverhill.

502
00:18:39,700 --> 00:18:41,220
We did some meetings and he's so funny

503
00:18:41,220 --> 00:18:43,940
because when he came, I was still at the church.

504
00:18:43,940 --> 00:18:45,480
I hadn't left yet.

505
00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:47,180
The one that didn't embrace the...

506
00:18:47,180 --> 00:18:48,920
And I said to him, I said, Pastor Doug, whatever you do,

507
00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:50,720
don't mention Haverhill and the mission there

508
00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:53,020
because they're really not excited about that.

509
00:18:53,020 --> 00:18:54,760
They see it as something that's pulling away

510
00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:57,100
from the people here instead of really adding.

511
00:18:57,100 --> 00:18:59,200
They didn't want the people that I was ministering to

512
00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:01,740
in the streets to come to our church.

513
00:19:01,740 --> 00:19:03,160
It was a country church.

514
00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:04,200
They were city people.

515
00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:06,000
They were inner city issues

516
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:07,700
and they weren't prepared for them.

517
00:19:07,700 --> 00:19:10,000
So I said, whatever you do, don't mention Haverhill,

518
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:11,740
don't mention me.

519
00:19:11,740 --> 00:19:13,440
So what's he do?

520
00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:15,020
He mentions Haverhill, he mentions me.

521
00:19:15,020 --> 00:19:16,620
And he says, and thank you so much

522
00:19:16,620 --> 00:19:17,940
for the offering that you took for me,

523
00:19:17,940 --> 00:19:19,840
but I'm gonna give it to Malino

524
00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:21,020
for the work she's doing in Haverhill.

525
00:19:21,020 --> 00:19:23,120
And I went, oh snap, I'm gonna get arrested.

526
00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:25,780
But I'm...

527
00:19:25,780 --> 00:19:27,180
Not literally, not literally.

528
00:19:27,180 --> 00:19:28,700
Not literally, just, you know,

529
00:19:28,700 --> 00:19:30,260
I'm gonna be put in jail now.

530
00:19:30,260 --> 00:19:31,700
And I couldn't believe he did that,

531
00:19:31,700 --> 00:19:32,860
but he's a man of God.

532
00:19:32,860 --> 00:19:34,440
And you're not gonna tell the Holy Spirit

533
00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:36,260
and the man of God what to say and not to say.

534
00:19:36,260 --> 00:19:38,400
He's gonna do exactly what God leads him.

535
00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:39,640
So I thank God for that.

536
00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:42,580
And we became a chapter in celebrating 20 years

537
00:19:42,580 --> 00:19:44,380
of somebody kids, New England.

538
00:19:44,380 --> 00:19:45,380
20 years.

539
00:19:45,380 --> 00:19:46,500
And so much has happened.

540
00:19:46,500 --> 00:19:48,940
I mean, if you look back at what you started,

541
00:19:48,940 --> 00:19:51,520
where you started, and all that God has done

542
00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:52,980
in the past 20 years,

543
00:19:52,980 --> 00:19:54,720
it seems like it should have been 50.

544
00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:55,560
I know.

545
00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:56,580
Well, you know, that's scripted verse.

546
00:19:56,580 --> 00:19:57,780
Things happen.

547
00:19:57,780 --> 00:19:59,020
And that's scripted verse that I said,

548
00:19:59,020 --> 00:20:00,560
he sent them out two by two into every city

549
00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:01,660
he was about to show his face.

550
00:20:01,660 --> 00:20:04,220
I left that and it says, don't take a money bag.

551
00:20:04,220 --> 00:20:06,900
Don't take any extra coats and just go.

552
00:20:06,900 --> 00:20:08,600
And I'm like, I had nothing.

553
00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:10,100
I left with nothing.

554
00:20:10,100 --> 00:20:13,040
And God has given me everything that I have today.

555
00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:14,700
And it's been miraculous.

556
00:20:14,700 --> 00:20:15,880
No government funding.

557
00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:17,940
And I'm not faulting those that do.

558
00:20:17,940 --> 00:20:19,600
I'm not saying you should or shouldn't.

559
00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:22,480
I'm just saying for us, no government funding.

560
00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:24,620
It's been by his spirit.

561
00:20:24,620 --> 00:20:26,080
Well, you know, you talked about some of these

562
00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:29,720
key influencers that really sewed into your life.

563
00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:34,120
And one of the things that this podcast is about

564
00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:37,460
is raising up an army of women who will be

565
00:20:37,460 --> 00:20:39,960
that kind of encourager and influencer

566
00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:41,860
to orphans around the world.

567
00:20:41,860 --> 00:20:45,440
Somebody Cares has now a widows and orphans fund

568
00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:48,440
where we can come alongside and help widows

569
00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:51,580
who have served the Lord throughout their lives

570
00:20:51,580 --> 00:20:54,140
and are now wanting.

571
00:20:54,140 --> 00:20:58,180
And as well as come alongside partners of ours

572
00:20:58,180 --> 00:21:02,260
who have orphanages and children's homes

573
00:21:02,260 --> 00:21:05,360
to help meet special needs of those children.

574
00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:08,260
Things that they wouldn't necessarily have the ability

575
00:21:08,260 --> 00:21:13,260
to have like special wheelchairs or ramps

576
00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:15,600
for special needs children.

577
00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:19,300
And also to help some of those children

578
00:21:19,300 --> 00:21:22,880
who are specially gifted in areas receive the nurture

579
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,980
that they need to be all that God wants them to be.

580
00:21:25,980 --> 00:21:29,080
So if you want listener, dear listener, dear friend

581
00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:31,320
if you wanna be a part of doing that

582
00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:36,320
you can go to hergodstory.com and give

583
00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:39,060
to the widows and orphan fund join us

584
00:21:39,060 --> 00:21:41,700
in being those influencers and encouragers

585
00:21:41,700 --> 00:21:43,740
for the next generation of children

586
00:21:43,740 --> 00:21:46,440
who God wants to use to do mighty things

587
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:47,900
in the days to come.

588
00:21:47,900 --> 00:21:49,800
But getting back to your story Marlene

589
00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:51,780
in the midst of all that you've done

590
00:21:51,780 --> 00:21:53,440
I know you've had some rough patches.

591
00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:55,840
I mean, you've talked about a few of them.

592
00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:58,380
What has been really your maybe your biggest challenge

593
00:21:58,380 --> 00:22:00,720
or your biggest failure and what did you learn

594
00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:01,820
from that experience?

595
00:22:01,820 --> 00:22:03,920
Well, I can't say I have the biggest

596
00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,020
because they're all pretty big.

597
00:22:06,020 --> 00:22:07,620
I don't know what would be

598
00:22:07,620 --> 00:22:09,900
but I'll tell you what one prophet said to me one time.

599
00:22:09,900 --> 00:22:12,460
He said, I see your life and about every seven to 10 years

600
00:22:12,460 --> 00:22:15,360
the enemy came in like a flood trying to literally

601
00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:18,440
not only destroy your life, but literally cancel you out.

602
00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:23,580
So this fourth book that I'm writing, it's a book

603
00:22:23,580 --> 00:22:24,800
and what it is it's called

604
00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:26,980
and I'm gonna answer that for a second.

605
00:22:26,980 --> 00:22:30,920
It's called Gain Understanding and then we will talk.

606
00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:34,180
It's a scripture verse taken from Job 18 to.

607
00:22:34,180 --> 00:22:35,720
Job's one of my favorites

608
00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:37,560
and I don't think you'll find too many people.

609
00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:38,400
No, I don't think so.

610
00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:39,460
Let's say that.

611
00:22:39,460 --> 00:22:41,160
We don't want a life of Job typically.

612
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:42,860
No, we don't, but I'm gonna tell you what

613
00:22:42,860 --> 00:22:44,300
I have learned so much.

614
00:22:44,300 --> 00:22:45,600
This is what Job said.

615
00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:47,100
I had heard of you by the hearing of my ears

616
00:22:47,100 --> 00:22:48,700
but now I see you.

617
00:22:48,700 --> 00:22:51,940
So what I've gone through has revealed who God is to me

618
00:22:51,940 --> 00:22:53,840
in a greater measure than I could have ever known

619
00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,640
if I hadn't gone through those things that I went through.

620
00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,040
Now in this book, what I'm writing about

621
00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:00,620
it's a book for men and women.

622
00:23:00,620 --> 00:23:01,880
It's about the women in the Bible

623
00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:03,340
and the men in their life.

624
00:23:03,340 --> 00:23:05,160
So I go through the different chapters

625
00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:07,520
and I talk about the women and the men in their life.

626
00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:10,920
Through it, I've also asked women that I've ministered to

627
00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:12,760
through our deliverance and healing ministry and say,

628
00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:17,600
can I anonymously use your story without identifying you

629
00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:21,640
so that it reiterates it's not just a Bible story

630
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:23,300
but these are real women that have been

631
00:23:23,300 --> 00:23:24,340
through these kinds of things.

632
00:23:24,340 --> 00:23:25,480
Like the woman at the well.

633
00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:26,800
Yeah, today.

634
00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:30,140
I have a personal acquaintance that I've done ministry for

635
00:23:30,140 --> 00:23:31,940
and she was married six times.

636
00:23:31,940 --> 00:23:33,020
She's a believer.

637
00:23:33,020 --> 00:23:34,820
And so I asked, can I tell you a story?

638
00:23:34,820 --> 00:23:36,920
And she said, no, I don't identify you.

639
00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:41,520
So I get to tell my story of some of those very dark,

640
00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:45,200
tragic things in my life mixed in with the stories

641
00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:47,200
of these other women, all anonymous

642
00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:50,060
and nobody knows if it's me or them or who.

643
00:23:50,060 --> 00:23:51,340
So I get to tell it.

644
00:23:51,340 --> 00:23:54,340
So what is the worst?

645
00:23:54,340 --> 00:23:56,680
I can't go through those right now

646
00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:58,000
because it has to be anonymous.

647
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,780
Sure, well, a challenge or failure that you learned

648
00:24:01,780 --> 00:24:02,920
something from.

649
00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:05,580
There are three health issues right now.

650
00:24:05,580 --> 00:24:07,980
The one that you're aware of, December 15th,

651
00:24:07,980 --> 00:24:09,280
my son passed away.

652
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:12,280
And that was very tragic and very sudden.

653
00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:16,160
He did have three very critical health issues already

654
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,620
at work in his body before he got COVID.

655
00:24:18,620 --> 00:24:22,240
And as the doctor said, as a 47 year old young man of 46,

656
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:24,240
he would have been 47 February.

657
00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:28,040
He should have been able to get over this

658
00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:31,080
but he had three other critical health issues at work.

659
00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,280
And he went into this already critical.

660
00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:36,140
So we lost him December 15th.

661
00:24:36,140 --> 00:24:38,920
That was just 10 days before Christmas.

662
00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:42,820
He's left a wife, a widow and children,

663
00:24:42,820 --> 00:24:44,720
two adult children, two adult girls

664
00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:47,160
and then a son 13 years old who's really struggling.

665
00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,600
So that's been hard.

666
00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:51,200
But let me tell you this.

667
00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:54,500
What happened is there were three particular videos

668
00:24:54,500 --> 00:24:57,040
that God made sure I saw.

669
00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:00,200
One was about the story about the little boy Colton Burpo

670
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:02,800
the movie, Heaven is for Real was made about.

671
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:03,900
And there's a book.

672
00:25:03,900 --> 00:25:05,880
The other was by Jesse Duplantis.

673
00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:07,480
Jesse was caught up to heaven.

674
00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,640
As a matter of fact, the Burpo boy was not dead.

675
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:11,760
He got caught up.

676
00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:13,560
God took him, but he didn't die.

677
00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:16,080
Jesse Duplantis was taken, but he didn't die.

678
00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:19,200
And then a pastor in Australia, his name is Alwin Matthews.

679
00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:21,360
He got taken up, but he didn't die.

680
00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:23,560
So the stories that they told about heaven.

681
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:25,600
Now we've read the book, the Bible,

682
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:28,760
and we know no more tears, no more sorrow,

683
00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:32,240
you know, all no sickness, no all this stuff.

684
00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:34,680
But I'm telling you what to hear the personal testimony

685
00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:38,360
of three people that were actually in the presence of God

686
00:25:38,360 --> 00:25:41,040
and told stories, they don't know each other.

687
00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:45,000
The stories complimented each other, confirmed each other.

688
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,300
And yet they were different from each other.

689
00:25:47,300 --> 00:25:50,280
The little boy, it was all about seeing family.

690
00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,600
Jesse Duplantis, it was all about the rewards in heaven

691
00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:55,600
for the people of God.

692
00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:57,040
It was unbelievable.

693
00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:00,280
And then the last one, Alwin Matthews,

694
00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:03,440
was about the church in heaven.

695
00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:05,920
I never thought about that.

696
00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:07,360
God showed him the church in heaven,

697
00:26:07,360 --> 00:26:11,280
and he talked to him about the impact of the church now

698
00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:13,320
that Alwin couldn't have seen

699
00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:15,000
without having gone to heaven.

700
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:16,500
It was amazing.

701
00:26:16,500 --> 00:26:20,200
So watching these three videos, something happened to me.

702
00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:22,240
God used them as a divine appointment,

703
00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:24,440
and this is what happened to me, Jody.

704
00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:27,080
I went from the sorrow and the sadness

705
00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:31,360
of the loss of my son into the joy and the rejoicing

706
00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:33,600
of what he has now.

707
00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:35,520
And it's what every one of us want

708
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:37,040
for the people that we love.

709
00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:38,760
It was so beautiful.

710
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,480
It shifted me, just like those transformation video,

711
00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:43,960
that transformation video shifted me.

712
00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:45,820
I had a different biblical perspective.

713
00:26:45,820 --> 00:26:47,880
I have a different biblical perspective,

714
00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:50,280
not only of heaven, but of now

715
00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:52,660
because of what I saw and heard.

716
00:26:52,660 --> 00:26:54,760
So I encourage that to anybody.

717
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:58,560
We're still dealing with fallout from that

718
00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:00,240
with the children and different things like that.

719
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:02,000
We're doing what we can.

720
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,080
We've started a college fund for my grandson.

721
00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:07,280
So my son passed December 15th.

722
00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:09,500
His birthday was February 23rd.

723
00:27:09,500 --> 00:27:11,080
And two days after his birthday,

724
00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:13,480
we welcomed a new baby boy into our family.

725
00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:16,720
That's beautiful. What a gift.

726
00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,480
So every birthday of Brandon's, every anniversary,

727
00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:21,120
every Christmas, every holiday,

728
00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:24,040
anytime that we would have celebrated anything as a family,

729
00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:28,240
we put aside money for the fund for Braden's College.

730
00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:29,880
That's my grandson's name, Braden.

731
00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,240
Get to spend time with him now more than ever,

732
00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:33,080
and it's beautiful.

733
00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:34,000
And so that's amazing.

734
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:35,760
So that's one of the things.

735
00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:39,160
But in my book, the last one that I'm writing,

736
00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:40,400
I think it's the last.

737
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:42,240
The chapter-

738
00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:43,080
It's the current one you're writing.

739
00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:43,920
The current one.

740
00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:45,120
It's about Naomi.

741
00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:49,120
Naomi lost her husband and then she lost her two sons.

742
00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:51,960
And I have had such revelation from the Lord

743
00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:54,720
writing about loss of loved ones.

744
00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:57,440
So much so that I'm just,

745
00:27:57,440 --> 00:27:58,940
I'm ecstatic that I'm writing a book

746
00:27:58,940 --> 00:28:01,000
that I can share it with other people.

747
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,620
And so what happened is Lou Engel had called me.

748
00:28:03,620 --> 00:28:05,560
My daughter is licensed and ordained under Lou,

749
00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:07,480
her and her husband, they have a church in Boston.

750
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:09,720
Lou called to congratulate me

751
00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:12,080
and on our new addition to the family.

752
00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:14,960
And he also called to see how our family's doing

753
00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:16,980
in the recovery from the loss of Brandon.

754
00:28:16,980 --> 00:28:19,040
Well, Lou has lost a grandson.

755
00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:20,120
He lost his husband this year.

756
00:28:20,120 --> 00:28:22,120
And so I was sharing with him about the chapter

757
00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:24,080
and what I'm learning from Naomi's life.

758
00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:25,760
But also what I'm learning from God

759
00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:26,920
that he's downloading in me

760
00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:28,680
because of what I've walked through.

761
00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:30,080
And you know, Lou, he goes,

762
00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:32,000
I gotta read that book.

763
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:33,200
I gotta read that book.

764
00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:34,280
Yeah.

765
00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:37,160
Now I had had a prophetic word many years ago saying,

766
00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:39,760
you're gonna have an opportunity to minister to Lou Engel.

767
00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:42,080
And I laughed at the person that gave it to me.

768
00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:43,920
And like Sarah laughed and I said,

769
00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:46,120
you have no idea the man surrounded by prophets.

770
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:48,680
There's no way I'm gonna have anything

771
00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:50,080
to minister to Lou Engel.

772
00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:51,680
Well, when Lou said, I gotta read that book,

773
00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:53,520
I said, well, Lou, I'll send you the chapter.

774
00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:54,960
He said, send me more than the chapter.

775
00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:56,200
And I said, if you're willing to read the book,

776
00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:58,560
would you be willing to endorse it?

777
00:28:58,560 --> 00:28:59,640
And he said, absolutely.

778
00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:01,360
So there you have it.

779
00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:02,840
You know, I ministered to Lou Engel

780
00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:05,040
from what God had downloaded in me.

781
00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:08,080
And you know, you never should minimize.

782
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:11,080
You know, I minimize that I'm just a donkey,

783
00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,360
but in reality, what that means is

784
00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:15,640
we're a carrier of Jesus' presence.

785
00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:16,960
There's nothing great about us.

786
00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:19,240
You take the presence of Jesus out of our life

787
00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:20,880
and what are we?

788
00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:22,280
I'm nothing without him.

789
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:23,680
I know what I was before him.

790
00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:26,000
Trust me, I am nothing without him.

791
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:27,360
So anyway, it's just kind of amazing.

792
00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:28,800
I forget what you were asking me

793
00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:30,080
because I went all over the place.

794
00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:31,720
Did I answer you?

795
00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:32,560
Yeah, you did.

796
00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:33,400
Did I answer what you asked?

797
00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:34,240
Okay, good.

798
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:35,080
You did.

799
00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:37,080
You know, you've kind of given a little advice

800
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:39,840
for people who find themselves in a similar situation.

801
00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:43,680
I mean, my husband and I lost a son two years ago

802
00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:44,560
in the middle of COVID.

803
00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:45,560
It wasn't from COVID.

804
00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:47,600
He was waiting for a kidney transplant.

805
00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:50,080
He was estranged from us.

806
00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:51,680
We had been praying for him for years,

807
00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:53,720
reaching out to him for years.

808
00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:56,720
He knew Christ when he was young, but had walked away.

809
00:29:56,720 --> 00:29:59,360
There was evidence that he was reading the Bible

810
00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:01,000
before he passed.

811
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,920
So we have faith and belief that God is faithful

812
00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:06,560
because we prayed for him constantly

813
00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:07,840
and lifted him up to the Lord

814
00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:10,880
and reminded God of his promises over his life.

815
00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:13,680
So we have faith that God in the end

816
00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:15,840
brought him back to himself.

817
00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:19,400
But we don't, you know, we won't have confirmation of that

818
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,200
until we get into the presence of the Lord ourselves.

819
00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:24,920
So many people have suffered great loss

820
00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:26,640
in these last few years.

821
00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:31,160
What advice can you give people who have?

822
00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:32,360
Well, that's funny.

823
00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:34,720
You should say the little boy Colton Burpo

824
00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:38,160
in the movie there, he saw his great grandfather.

825
00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:39,720
This relates to what you shared.

826
00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:40,880
He saw his great grandfather

827
00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:43,120
when he came back from the vision in heaven.

828
00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:44,920
He told his dad, he said, I saw,

829
00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:46,480
I think he called him Paw Paw.

830
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:48,880
He said, we had no idea that my father,

831
00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:50,840
who was this boy's grandfather,

832
00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:53,400
even had a relationship with Christ

833
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:54,800
and yet he was in heaven.

834
00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:56,920
See, there were people that will have a relationship

835
00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:58,760
with God and they're not comfortable sharing it

836
00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:00,400
with other people necessarily.

837
00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:02,800
We don't know the hearts of men and women.

838
00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:05,120
We always have to have the hope

839
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:06,920
that right up until the last breath,

840
00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:09,440
God is so faithful, God is so good.

841
00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:12,360
When I went to minister to my uncle before he passed,

842
00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:14,720
he said to me, Marlene is my mother in heaven?

843
00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:16,000
I said, yes.

844
00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,080
I said, I led her to the Lord.

845
00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:20,240
And he said, then I'll burn in hell.

846
00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:23,320
I don't wanna be anywhere she is for eternity.

847
00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:25,240
That's how much suffering in my mother

848
00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:28,800
and my family's life from this precious woman

849
00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:30,920
who was bipolar as well.

850
00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:33,520
It was in our family bloodline, mental illness.

851
00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:36,280
But I had led my grandmother to the Lord in her nineties.

852
00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:39,400
She repented and she confessed Christ.

853
00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:41,280
So here's my uncle saying I'll burn in hell.

854
00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:43,400
Well, he said it in front of his children while I was there.

855
00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:45,240
They had called me in to pray for him.

856
00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:46,400
And they were heartbroken.

857
00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:47,800
They were mortified.

858
00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:48,920
But here's the good news.

859
00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:51,760
Just before passing, he called for someone and said,

860
00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:53,520
I wanna be right with God.

861
00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:54,560
See, we don't know.

862
00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:59,560
And all it takes is them to say, Lord, Lord.

863
00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:02,440
Hey, on the cross, the thief.

864
00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:04,880
Jesus said, you're gonna enter

865
00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:06,720
into the kingdom with me today.

866
00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:09,680
I don't see the man saying the sinner's prayer.

867
00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:12,960
He didn't say what we call the sinner's prayer.

868
00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:15,120
It was his heart was right.

869
00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:17,320
His heart cried out and the Lord said,

870
00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:19,760
you're gonna be with me today in paradise.

871
00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:22,600
So we just have to hold onto the hope.

872
00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:23,440
Yeah.

873
00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:27,360
Well, I know we still have some other ones

874
00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:29,040
that we are dear loved ones

875
00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:30,520
that we are praying for and believing.

876
00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:32,920
And we know that God has promised.

877
00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:35,080
You train up a child in the way he will go.

878
00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,080
When he's old, he won't depart from it.

879
00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:39,240
And I have to remember that it doesn't say

880
00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:41,240
all their life they won't depart from it.

881
00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:42,880
It says when they're old, they won't depart from it.

882
00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:45,920
So some people stray along the way, but God is faithful.

883
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:48,440
When we keep lifting them up for the Lord

884
00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:50,600
and reminding him of his word

885
00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:52,880
and declaring his promises over their lives,

886
00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:55,400
he is faithful and he is able.

887
00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:57,600
He's able and he's willing.

888
00:32:57,600 --> 00:32:58,600
And he's willing.

889
00:32:58,600 --> 00:32:59,560
He's willing.

890
00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:00,400
He is willing.

891
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:01,960
His love is so great.

892
00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:03,520
So I think the only other transition

893
00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:05,320
is being that I'm turning 70.

894
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:08,360
I am at the stage of life that I'm passing mantles

895
00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:10,440
onto the next generation.

896
00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:13,080
Pastor Lori Jane Simas, she's been with me 17 years

897
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:16,520
and we're passing on to her directing,

898
00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:17,640
somebody cares New England.

899
00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:19,520
And so while Doug's here, we're gonna lay hands on her

900
00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:21,960
and really just make it from the authority,

901
00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:23,880
the head over me all the way down.

902
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:25,360
And so that's exciting.

903
00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:26,960
And then as far as the church goes,

904
00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:29,160
because as I've planted another church,

905
00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:31,560
Renaissance City Church, which was two years ago

906
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:34,480
with Pastor Dave and Pastor Donna Hanshemeka,

907
00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:37,040
they're the lead pastors, but I'm the lead elder.

908
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:40,400
And so I will be spending two Sundays a month

909
00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:42,400
with Renaissance and then two Sundays a month

910
00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:44,040
with CCF on the Hill.

911
00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:46,040
And so that's an amazing opportunity.

912
00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:48,040
That's college and career age and performing

913
00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:49,840
and creative artists and business people

914
00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:50,840
and entrepreneurs.

915
00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:53,520
And it's a whole nother world than the world on the Hill

916
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:55,720
with all the poor, low income, distressed

917
00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:57,240
and addicts and all of that.

918
00:33:57,240 --> 00:34:00,000
So I get to be in the best of both places

919
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,360
and be a part of what God's doing.

920
00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:03,720
But the transition's difficult.

921
00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:06,720
When you birth a church, you birth a ministry,

922
00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:10,200
you're poor, it's your life, it's your sweat,

923
00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:13,120
it's your equity, it's your blood, it's your tears,

924
00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:13,960
it's everything.

925
00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:17,920
And so releasing that to people is difficult.

926
00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:19,840
It's emotionally difficult.

927
00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:21,640
But it doesn't mean I'm disappearing or quitting.

928
00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:25,000
It just simply means the next generation is coming up.

929
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:25,840
So that's a-

930
00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:27,800
God's moving you to a new level.

931
00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:29,440
As he always does, he always moves us

932
00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:31,320
to a new level or a new season.

933
00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:32,680
I know there've been times in my life

934
00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:36,000
where I sewed into one thing and I was all into that.

935
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:38,560
And then all of a sudden, the grace

936
00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:41,920
for that particular ministry lifted

937
00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:43,320
and I felt total release.

938
00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:46,480
And I walked away thinking, I don't know how I did that

939
00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:47,600
in all of those times.

940
00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:49,000
It wasn't that I hated it, I loved it,

941
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,200
but just the energy it takes to do that.

942
00:34:51,200 --> 00:34:53,360
But when God's grace is on something,

943
00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:55,280
you can do exceedingly abundantly above

944
00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:57,320
what you could even think you could do.

945
00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:01,840
Because when God empowers you to do it, it's easy.

946
00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:03,800
It's like mounting up on eagle's wings, right?

947
00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:06,520
We can run and not be weary, we can walk and not faint.

948
00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:08,720
I know that you are always leaning into God

949
00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:10,760
and always hearing what his heart is.

950
00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:13,680
So what is God encouraging you with lately?

951
00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:15,960
I guess we could maybe identify what's happening

952
00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:18,440
in the world and how we're encouraged in that.

953
00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:21,360
You know, the Bible says, believe my prophets

954
00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:22,640
and so shall you prosper.

955
00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:25,920
But not everybody who prophesies is a true prophet.

956
00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:30,240
There are some true voices that I have come to learn

957
00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:33,760
over the years that what they've said has come to pass.

958
00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:38,520
And I listen to first and foremost scripture.

959
00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:41,520
I listen to the Holy Spirit in my own heart.

960
00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:45,400
And then I do look at, I don't rely upon,

961
00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:49,080
but I do look at what the prophets are saying.

962
00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:52,360
And one of those prophets is Kim Clement.

963
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:57,360
And he had a prophecy about Putin and about Ukraine.

964
00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:00,280
He had, that was in 2014.

965
00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:02,920
So there are the ones that have their,

966
00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:04,800
by the way, Kim Clement is no longer with us,

967
00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:06,200
he's passed away.

968
00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:08,160
He's not even lived to see the things

969
00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:09,760
that he prophesied about.

970
00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:10,600
So-

971
00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:11,720
Like many prophets in the Old Testament.

972
00:36:11,720 --> 00:36:12,560
Many prophets.

973
00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:15,040
And I wonder if it's because we would worship them.

974
00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:16,000
Don't you wonder?

975
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:19,640
The human heart is a very idolatrous thing.

976
00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:20,480
Yep.

977
00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:21,320
So who knows?

978
00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:24,040
John the Baptist, I must decrease so that he can increase.

979
00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:25,560
Who knows if the Lord takes him.

980
00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:28,320
And that's one of the things that I've learned too, Jody,

981
00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:31,440
through it all with losing my son.

982
00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:32,440
I thought about this.

983
00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:33,920
Jesus came as a baby.

984
00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:35,800
He lived 33 years on the earth.

985
00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,760
Now, if I were God, I would have let him live a lot longer.

986
00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:40,720
He could have done a whole lot more, right?

987
00:36:40,720 --> 00:36:41,800
He could have cleaned us up.

988
00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:43,760
Could have taken care of business.

989
00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:46,040
But he commissioned the business, the fathers,

990
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:48,240
the kingdom business to us.

991
00:36:48,240 --> 00:36:49,800
And that's kind of like what I'm doing at the church,

992
00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:50,640
passing the mantle.

993
00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:51,960
He passed the mantle onto the 12

994
00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:55,880
and it's been passing down from Jesus ever since.

995
00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:57,960
But here's the thing, he died at 33 years old.

996
00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:00,560
Now, one of the things that Colton Burpo said

997
00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:02,320
as a little boy, four years old, going to heaven,

998
00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:04,280
is he said, Papa wasn't old,

999
00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:06,400
but Papa was old when he died.

1000
00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:09,160
And he told his father, he said, he was young, Dad.

1001
00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:10,000
He was young.

1002
00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:12,160
So they took out a picture when Papa was younger.

1003
00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:13,760
And about 30 years old,

1004
00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:15,720
the boy points to a picture of his grandfather

1005
00:37:15,720 --> 00:37:17,960
that he never met when he was 30 years old.

1006
00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:19,960
He says, that's what Papa looks like.

1007
00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:23,080
And his father was like, Papa had wrinkles and glasses.

1008
00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:25,960
He's like, no, Papa looks like that.

1009
00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:29,360
And so what I realized is if Jesus died at 33,

1010
00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:33,440
I wonder if that was the age that Adam and Eve sinned.

1011
00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:37,560
Because everything he did was intentional.

1012
00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:41,120
Everything he did was about restoration and redemption.

1013
00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:43,040
Everything.

1014
00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:45,040
So if we go to heaven and we're not old,

1015
00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:47,320
we're about 30-ish.

1016
00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:48,280
Who knows?

1017
00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:49,760
I don't know.

1018
00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:52,680
But what I realized, I know, right?

1019
00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:54,840
But what I realized is in heaven,

1020
00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:57,920
this is what everybody has said, there's no old people.

1021
00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:02,720
They're at the age that we were meant to live eternally.

1022
00:38:03,720 --> 00:38:04,560
That's something.

1023
00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:06,680
So we get a new body.

1024
00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:08,560
Yeah, I know, right?

1025
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:09,720
Anyway, the point is,

1026
00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:11,680
is that what we're talking about right now,

1027
00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:14,080
about the transition, what's happening in the world

1028
00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:16,000
and what's encouraging to me right now,

1029
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:18,000
as I listen to the word of God,

1030
00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:19,240
I listen to the Holy Spirit,

1031
00:38:19,240 --> 00:38:22,280
and I listen to men of God who have their pulse

1032
00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:26,400
on the prophetic timeline of where we're at now.

1033
00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:29,280
I am encouraged, I'm not discouraged.

1034
00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:32,600
It has been written, these will be dark times.

1035
00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:35,680
Men's hearts will fail because of the trauma

1036
00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:37,280
and the tragedy and the tribulation

1037
00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:38,880
and all of the things that are happening.

1038
00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:41,080
But the Bible, Jesus says, rejoice.

1039
00:38:41,080 --> 00:38:42,680
Now, how do you get happy and rejoice

1040
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:44,400
in the middle of all the darkness?

1041
00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:46,840
It's the biblical worldview you have.

1042
00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:48,840
If your worldview is on the politics

1043
00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:50,480
or your worldview is on medicine

1044
00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:52,720
or your worldview is on the economy,

1045
00:38:52,720 --> 00:38:54,320
you're gonna suffer.

1046
00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:56,680
But if your eye is on the Lord

1047
00:38:56,680 --> 00:38:58,560
and what he says and what he's doing,

1048
00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:00,880
you will have rejoicing.

1049
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:03,600
It brings me back to really two scriptures

1050
00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:05,440
that you have shared with me,

1051
00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:07,800
kind of life scriptures for you,

1052
00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:10,800
but one of them is in 2 Corinthians 10.

1053
00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:14,440
It says, we are mighty in God to pull down the strongholds,

1054
00:39:14,440 --> 00:39:15,720
casting down arguments,

1055
00:39:15,720 --> 00:39:18,520
and every high thing that exalts itself up

1056
00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:20,080
against the knowledge of God

1057
00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:22,120
and bringing every thought into captivity

1058
00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:23,640
into the obedience of Christ Jesus.

1059
00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:26,280
And that's really what you were talking about right there.

1060
00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:30,160
We can get our focus so on what is going on in the world

1061
00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:34,520
that we take it off of God and obedience to God.

1062
00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:38,240
And we have to take those thoughts captive

1063
00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:40,640
and cast them down and pull down

1064
00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:43,760
the vain philosophies of this age

1065
00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:46,480
and replace them in our minds,

1066
00:39:46,480 --> 00:39:48,720
of course, with the help of the Holy Spirit,

1067
00:39:48,720 --> 00:39:50,720
allow the Holy Spirit to do it

1068
00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:55,720
with a kingdom mentality and truth from God's perspective.

1069
00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:57,360
And it's a warfare.

1070
00:39:57,360 --> 00:39:59,240
This is where the war is in the head.

1071
00:39:59,240 --> 00:40:01,640
And when the head's sick, the whole body's sick.

1072
00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:03,040
And there has been documentation.

1073
00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:04,880
I don't know if you've heard of Dr. Caroline Leaf.

1074
00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:07,320
She's a born again, spirit-filled doctor.

1075
00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:09,840
And she talks about the scientific

1076
00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:11,280
and the biblical connection

1077
00:40:11,280 --> 00:40:13,960
between what you think in your mind.

1078
00:40:13,960 --> 00:40:15,040
And the scripture talks about

1079
00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:16,320
what a man thinks in his heart,

1080
00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:18,680
as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

1081
00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:20,200
So the thinking,

1082
00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:22,160
and that's what that scripture verse you just quoted

1083
00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:24,240
is all about pulling down thoughts.

1084
00:40:24,240 --> 00:40:26,840
Every thought that comes across our mind,

1085
00:40:26,840 --> 00:40:28,720
we have to hold it in light of truth.

1086
00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:30,600
If it's not truth from the word of God,

1087
00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:32,440
if it's not truth from the Holy Spirit,

1088
00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:35,200
then do not receive it.

1089
00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:36,520
And it's hard work.

1090
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:38,120
And that's what a lot of people don't wanna do.

1091
00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:40,400
They don't wanna do the hard work

1092
00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:43,800
of having a mind of peace.

1093
00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:46,520
Yeah, I have been a believer for a long time.

1094
00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:49,160
I got saved when I was six years old.

1095
00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:52,920
But still, I find myself at times

1096
00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:56,760
having to stop and say, no, that is a vain thought.

1097
00:40:56,760 --> 00:40:59,680
I have to capture that thought and tear it down

1098
00:40:59,680 --> 00:41:01,560
and replace it with the truth of God.

1099
00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:04,120
And I mean, sometimes it's a daily battle

1100
00:41:04,120 --> 00:41:06,800
when the things of the world are like they are today.

1101
00:41:07,720 --> 00:41:11,440
I really guard my mind with what I allow in my eyes

1102
00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:12,280
and in my ears.

1103
00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:16,160
I have to limit what I hear from a secular standpoint

1104
00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:18,000
and really focus on the truth of God.

1105
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:19,960
Of course, we can't stick our head in the sand

1106
00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:22,000
like an ostrich and not know anything

1107
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:23,080
that's going on in the world,

1108
00:41:23,080 --> 00:41:27,240
but we have to filter everything through the scripture

1109
00:41:27,240 --> 00:41:28,280
and through the word of God

1110
00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:31,720
and through what he is saying about us and about the end,

1111
00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:35,960
where he is victorious and he will be glorified.

1112
00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:37,800
We don't end with a whimper.

1113
00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:38,640
No, we don't.

1114
00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:40,680
We end with a victory. End with the glory of God.

1115
00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:41,800
That's right. Amen.

1116
00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:42,640
That's right.

1117
00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:43,960
And we're not going out on a donkey either.

1118
00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:45,360
We're going out on a horse.

1119
00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:48,280
Are there a couple of books or two?

1120
00:41:48,280 --> 00:41:49,920
I mean, you've mentioned a lot of resources

1121
00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:52,200
and just so if you're listening,

1122
00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:55,160
we will have these resources, links to them,

1123
00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:58,720
links to the videos, links to the articles in our show notes.

1124
00:41:58,720 --> 00:42:01,720
So if you wanna watch these transformation videos

1125
00:42:01,720 --> 00:42:05,440
or these videos about heaven, check out the show notes.

1126
00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:07,080
We will put those links there for you.

1127
00:42:07,080 --> 00:42:09,680
Do you have any books or that you'd like to recommend

1128
00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:11,680
in addition to the three that you've written so far

1129
00:42:11,680 --> 00:42:13,240
and the one that's coming out?

1130
00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:14,160
Well, you know, it's so funny.

1131
00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:16,640
When I was in school, the 12 years,

1132
00:42:16,640 --> 00:42:18,600
you couldn't get me to read a book.

1133
00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:21,360
And since being a believer, hungry for the word,

1134
00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:24,200
hungry to know truth, hungry to gain insight

1135
00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:26,960
into many things, I've become an avid reader.

1136
00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:29,120
I can't tell you over these 40 plus years

1137
00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:31,640
that I've been a Christian, I think it's 46 years,

1138
00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:34,480
what book stands out to me, but I will tell you

1139
00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:38,560
in what we're discussing here about this journey

1140
00:42:38,560 --> 00:42:42,040
to transformation and personal transformation,

1141
00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:45,000
I will say this, I believe that Doug's book,

1142
00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:48,200
Mending the Net, which was somebody kid's book

1143
00:42:48,200 --> 00:42:50,480
and it's new revision and that's the new title,

1144
00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:52,720
Mending the Net, if people are interested

1145
00:42:52,720 --> 00:42:56,560
in really being involved with seeing transformation

1146
00:42:56,560 --> 00:42:59,600
in their church or in their community, read that book.

1147
00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:02,000
The other book as a leader, I recommend,

1148
00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:04,360
of course his book, Leadership Awakening is amazing

1149
00:43:04,360 --> 00:43:08,000
and the DVDs or the videos, phenomenal,

1150
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:10,920
phenomenal teaching, phenomenal principles.

1151
00:43:10,920 --> 00:43:13,520
It's a go-to book, it's not like you read it once

1152
00:43:13,520 --> 00:43:16,120
and put it down, you can teach from it.

1153
00:43:16,120 --> 00:43:18,040
You have to revisit it over and over again.

1154
00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:20,480
But there's something else that is also,

1155
00:43:20,480 --> 00:43:22,320
now a lot of people would be like,

1156
00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:24,680
that's not a Christian book, but it's called

1157
00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:27,160
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

1158
00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:30,480
You talk about the practical nuts and bolts

1159
00:43:30,480 --> 00:43:35,480
of being a, I don't wanna use the highly successful,

1160
00:43:35,480 --> 00:43:37,920
I don't mean it like you earn millions of dollars

1161
00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:41,720
in success that way, but as a person for your soul,

1162
00:43:41,720 --> 00:43:43,600
for your soul to prosper.

1163
00:43:43,600 --> 00:43:46,240
There are biblical principles in this book.

1164
00:43:46,240 --> 00:43:48,160
If you will put into practice what it says,

1165
00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:50,560
my goodness, your personal life will change

1166
00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:52,320
because they are biblical principles.

1167
00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:55,680
The writer doesn't write as if they're biblical principles,

1168
00:43:55,680 --> 00:43:59,120
but as you read, you're like, oh, I know that verse.

1169
00:43:59,120 --> 00:44:01,800
I know that principle, that's this chapter in the Bible.

1170
00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:05,280
So I went through his whole book writing chapters and verses

1171
00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:08,040
of Bible scriptures in the book.

1172
00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:10,840
So I teach it, I live it, and we're teaching

1173
00:44:10,840 --> 00:44:12,920
at our youth center for our children,

1174
00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:15,040
ages seven to 11 and 12 to 18.

1175
00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:17,960
They get seven habits of highly effective teens.

1176
00:44:17,960 --> 00:44:20,920
And so it's biblical principles in practical way.

1177
00:44:20,920 --> 00:44:22,640
When I was in graduate school, one of the things

1178
00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:25,080
that one of my first professors said was,

1179
00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:27,520
all truth is God's truth.

1180
00:44:27,520 --> 00:44:29,880
No matter where it's found, if it's truth,

1181
00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:31,160
it came from God.

1182
00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:32,760
And we don't have to be afraid of it.

1183
00:44:32,760 --> 00:44:35,000
Of course, we have to filter everything that's coming in

1184
00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:37,080
from sources, well, everything that's coming in

1185
00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:39,280
from all sources, we have to filter by the word of God.

1186
00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:40,920
But if it's truth, it came from the Lord.

1187
00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:42,880
So we don't need to be fearful of it

1188
00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:44,480
and fearful of the source.

1189
00:44:44,480 --> 00:44:46,200
Yeah, you know, Song of Solomon,

1190
00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:48,560
I think it's chapter one, verse six says,

1191
00:44:48,560 --> 00:44:50,360
they made me a keeper of the vineyard,

1192
00:44:50,360 --> 00:44:53,280
but I did not keep my own.

1193
00:44:53,280 --> 00:44:55,360
We can be busy taking care of our families,

1194
00:44:55,360 --> 00:44:57,840
taking care of our church, taking care of our city,

1195
00:44:57,840 --> 00:45:00,560
but not take care of ourselves.

1196
00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:02,960
And just like they say on the plane when you're bored,

1197
00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:05,440
if we're gonna have a problem and the air masks them down,

1198
00:45:05,440 --> 00:45:09,080
put it on your face first, so you can help somebody else.

1199
00:45:09,080 --> 00:45:11,000
And that's, I think there's such a lack

1200
00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:13,120
in the body of Christ, it's not selfishness.

1201
00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:15,000
We're not talking about narcissism,

1202
00:45:15,000 --> 00:45:18,440
about pampering yourself and just being a big baby.

1203
00:45:18,440 --> 00:45:20,600
We're talking about taking care of yourself

1204
00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:22,840
so you can be useful in the kingdom of heaven.

1205
00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:27,560
Well, as we wrap up, I just wanted to share a couple things

1206
00:45:27,560 --> 00:45:29,920
that came to mind as we were talking, Marlene.

1207
00:45:29,920 --> 00:45:32,880
One of them is in the book of Acts,

1208
00:45:32,880 --> 00:45:35,600
Peter and John were preaching boldly,

1209
00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:38,720
Acts chapter four, they were preaching boldly

1210
00:45:38,720 --> 00:45:41,560
and they got arrested and the members of the council

1211
00:45:41,560 --> 00:45:43,120
started questioning them.

1212
00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:45,080
And in verse 13, it says,

1213
00:45:45,080 --> 00:45:47,240
the members of the council were amazed

1214
00:45:47,240 --> 00:45:49,840
when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,

1215
00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:52,960
for they could see that they were ordinary men

1216
00:45:52,960 --> 00:45:55,800
with no special training in the scriptures.

1217
00:45:55,800 --> 00:46:00,640
They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.

1218
00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:03,920
Ordinary men doing extraordinary things

1219
00:46:03,920 --> 00:46:06,160
because they had been with Jesus.

1220
00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:09,400
And it brings me to Daniel 11 verse 32,

1221
00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:11,080
be, the second part of the verse,

1222
00:46:11,080 --> 00:46:13,680
it says, the people who know their God

1223
00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:17,880
shall be strong and carry out great exploits.

1224
00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:21,880
That is a verse to me that exemplifies your life, Marlene,

1225
00:46:21,880 --> 00:46:26,880
and anyone who really determines in their heart to know God,

1226
00:46:26,880 --> 00:46:30,680
to take seriously what you just said,

1227
00:46:30,680 --> 00:46:32,960
know God first in yourself,

1228
00:46:32,960 --> 00:46:35,520
be built up in yourself to know God

1229
00:46:35,520 --> 00:46:37,560
and he will have you do exploits.

1230
00:46:37,560 --> 00:46:39,480
Won't be the same as Marlene,

1231
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:42,280
won't be the same as what God has me doing

1232
00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:44,100
or what God has your pastor doing

1233
00:46:44,100 --> 00:46:46,000
or what God has someone else doing,

1234
00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:48,320
it will be uniquely suited for you

1235
00:46:48,320 --> 00:46:52,600
because God designed you for good works in advance.

1236
00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:55,640
That's another verse in Ephesians.

1237
00:46:55,640 --> 00:46:58,200
He prepared in advance good works for you to do.

1238
00:46:58,200 --> 00:46:59,840
And if you will know God,

1239
00:46:59,840 --> 00:47:01,120
he will show you what they are

1240
00:47:01,120 --> 00:47:04,200
and lead you into amazing, amazing, amazing things.

1241
00:47:05,080 --> 00:47:08,840
Thank you, Marlene, so much for sharing your story

1242
00:47:08,840 --> 00:47:11,040
and we could have talked all day long.

1243
00:47:11,040 --> 00:47:13,000
I can't wait till we're in the same room again.

1244
00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:14,720
We're talking on the phone today.

1245
00:47:14,720 --> 00:47:16,400
I can't wait till we're in the same room again

1246
00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:19,000
and you can give me all the gory little details.

1247
00:47:19,000 --> 00:47:20,360
But for listeners out there,

1248
00:47:20,360 --> 00:47:22,240
please check out the show notes

1249
00:47:22,240 --> 00:47:24,280
for a link to Marlene's book,

1250
00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:28,440
ministry, the videos, the scriptures we've referred to,

1251
00:47:28,440 --> 00:47:30,580
as well as the book she suggested.

1252
00:47:30,580 --> 00:47:34,440
And check out our podcast webpage at hergodstory.com.

1253
00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:37,440
We have blogs there, we have free resources

1254
00:47:37,440 --> 00:47:38,940
and find out how you can join us

1255
00:47:38,940 --> 00:47:42,260
in supporting the Somebody Cares Widows and Orphans Fund.

1256
00:47:42,260 --> 00:47:43,760
Also, if you need prayer,

1257
00:47:43,760 --> 00:47:46,760
feel free to call or text the Somebody Cares 24 seven

1258
00:47:46,760 --> 00:47:49,360
prayer line, we'd love to pray with you.

1259
00:47:49,360 --> 00:47:53,560
That number is 855-459-CARE,

1260
00:47:53,560 --> 00:47:58,560
855-459-CARE, or email us at prayer at somebodycares.org,

1261
00:47:58,960 --> 00:48:00,280
prayer at somebodycares.org.

1262
00:48:00,280 --> 00:48:02,140
Thank you so much for joining us today.

1263
00:48:02,140 --> 00:48:04,820
Join us again for another episode of Her God Story.

1264
00:48:06,240 --> 00:48:07,800
Her God Story is a ministry

1265
00:48:07,800 --> 00:48:10,260
of Somebody Cares America and international.

1266
00:48:10,260 --> 00:48:12,760
To find out more about or support the ministry,

1267
00:48:12,760 --> 00:48:23,760
go to somebodycares.org.