Welcome back!
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It is really interesting to me
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that we look at this testimony
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where Gerri was talking about
just spiraling out of control
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with making good money, and
doing well, and getting married,
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doing cocaine and soon
she is strung out on crack.
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It was amazing to listen to
her story and her journey back
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through not only suicide, but
some past Pastoral sexual abuse
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and then finding herself
in a mental health clinic.
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Then getting to the point
where prayer was part of the
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answer, if not
all of the answer.
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How do you turn it over,
when you say let go and let God?
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How do I do this step because
this whole season has been
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how do I do that?
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How do I get to a point, first
of all where realize that I
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have an issue, that I
realize there is a God that will
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restore me to sanity?
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For some of us being restored
to sanity, some of us in a
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mental health hospital
totally freaked out and we don't
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hardly know our name, so
God has to come in and do
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the whole restoration.
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But how do I get to a point
where I begin to trust Him?
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How am I able to turn it over?
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One of the things we have to
do is to learn to communicate,
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that
communication process is prayer.
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For some reason, I do not know
why it is, but we think that
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is a huge magical thing.
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I have watched hard-core addicts
and I have said this before
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on many programs, where as soon
as they think okay, wait, wait
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I have to pray now.
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They will sit
seriously, get on their knees,
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put their hands in position and
when they are all in position
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they say God, bestow on me.
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I am thinking, bestow what?
What are you talking about?
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When have you
ever used that word?
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So it is like that prayer
becomes something that is so
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artificial even to
them that it doesn't work.
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Then a lot of
people back away from it.
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Think of prayer as a dialogue,
that I am talking to God.
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I am opening
communications with God.
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If I have an issue at
work I am going to ask Him,
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hey I have got this issue
at work can you deal with that?
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There are times that I am
going to get on my knees because
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the reference of
God is just so exciting.
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I do realize that He is a
Creator God and that is really
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cool, I am going
to get on my knees.
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Other times I'm going to
be driving down the street
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and going, what's up with that?
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I can't believe I'm here
again, and I will be freaked out
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and crazy and there are
other times, there was one time
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it was the coolest thing, I
was laying flat on the ground.
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Just laying there and
waiting for God to speak to me.
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It was the coolest thing,
it may sound weird to you,
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but it was unbelievable to me.
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There are times when somebody
has come around and I have
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work for somebody who is
totally out of control and I
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just silently started talking to
God in my mind for that person,
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and watch peace come over them.
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Because that is who God is,
prayer is just speaking to God.
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Communication to God, it is
nothing magical, it is nothing
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odd, it is nothing weird,
it is like I would talk with
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Caroline as my friend.
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It is like I would talk
with Gerri as my friend,
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it is making that connection
and I cannot do recovery
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without stepping into an
intimate connection with God
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that created all things and
wants to re-create in me this
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person that He knows that I am.
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Gerri is not a crack addict,
she is an incredible woman
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of God and God
wants to stand that up.
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So figure prayer out,
start praying for everybody
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all the time,
definitely for yourself.
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Because we all need it and
if you run out of people to pray
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for, pray for me and until
next time always remember that
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God is crazy about you.
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Absolutely I am
crazy about you too.
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Stay in
recovery, connect with God,
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learn how to speak to Him.
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