(gentle upbeat music)
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- Welcome, everyone.
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We're excited to share
some country wisdom with you.
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- King Solomon had
a thing or two to say
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about the path to wisdom.
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In Proverbs 4, he wrote,
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"Let your eyes
look directly forward
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and your gaze be
straight before you.
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Keep straight the
path of your feet,
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and all your ways will be sure."
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- Join us now
for Country Wisdom.
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(gentle upbeat music continues)
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(crickets chirping)
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(Janice chuckles)
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- Well, we've got the
cameras ready, and we're are.
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- Yeah, well, and it's-
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- There ready
to go. - Let's see.
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Yeah, it should be about time.
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You're looking for
an interviewee, huh?
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- Yep, you said she was coming.
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- Well, actually,
she's already here.
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(crickets chirping)
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It's you today.
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I know this is kind of pulling
a little fast one on you,
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but it's-
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- You could've
warned me. (chuckles)
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- Yeah, go ahead
and sit in the hot seat,
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and I'll tell you what the
topic is in a minute, okay?
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(Janice laughs)
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- Oh, this is fun.
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(Jim laughs)
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- Hey, you look
pretty good over there.
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- Oh, this is a
little different.
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It's not
different that I look good.
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It's just a
different thing over here.
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(both laughing)
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- Okay, touche, touche.
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No, you know, I
wanted you over there today
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because I want to interview you.
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- But you already have.
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- Well, this is
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a totally different
subject. - We did my testimony,
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and I don't know what else
I can come up with for you.
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- Well, let, let
me give you an idea.
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You know, for years,
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you've been studying the
women of God in the Bible,
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and you've gone to
great depths to look at them
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and then portray them to
audiences in many places.
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And I just kind
of want to ask you,
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what first of all gave
you that idea to do that?
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- Well, actually it was
helping a classmate of my sons.
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She did not belong
to the same church,
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but she was going
to a youth conference,
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and you could get scholarships
to Christian colleges.
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And she said, "I can't sing,"
you know, "I can't preach."
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You've got 10 minutes, you
know that you can do something.
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She goes, "But they do have
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where you can
use other mediums."
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And she goes, I would
like to portray Noah's wife.
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I wanna tell the
story of the flood
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and what it might have
really been like for her,
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think about it a different way.
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And I was intrigued by
that. And so I said, "Sure."
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And I studied a
little, wrote it, you know,
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and I realized it was so hard
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to pack that
story into 10 minutes.
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That was the hard part.
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But we did it. And
she did win a scholarship.
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And I thought, you know,
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I've gotta redo that whole
thing and put in all the parts
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that I couldn't
get in 10 minutes.
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And so. I wrote the
fuller length, you know,
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closer to 30-minute version.
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And honestly, I thought,
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"I'm gonna do this
for my own congregation
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and that'll be it."
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But other people heard of it,
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so you get invited to
another church or a school
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or a women's, you know,
Christian women's function.
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- Now, I may be
a little, you know,
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not watching every
preacher out there,
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but it's very seldom
that preachers talk about
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the mighty women and the
great women of the Bible.
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- Oh, when I was in high school-
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- You're clenching your jaw.
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- I am clenching
my jaw (Jim laughing)
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at the memory.
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It used to just drive me
crazy because you would read,
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for instance, about the Exodus,
and in scripture, it says,
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it actually tells you
how many men there were,
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how many donkeys they had,
how many camels, how many this,
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and then you'd get
this little line at the end,
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"Ah, plus women and children."
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And the early
feminist in me would just,
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oh, that just bothered.
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- Now, you really don't fit
a feminist mold, but it was-
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- Okay, no, this
was the 70s, all right?
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You know? (Jim laughs)
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But it just bothered me, and
it bothered me how many women
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that are mentioned in the
Bible aren't even given a name.
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You know, Noah's wife? - Yeah.
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- That's all we know.
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She went through
everything that he did
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and doesn't even get, you
know, her name in the credits.
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But I began, you know, I
never quite gave up on God.
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I just had a chip on
my shoulder, you know,
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a little bit angry.
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But then you run across stories,
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I remember distinctly,
still in high school,
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and I ran across the story
of the daughters of Zelophehad,
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which is not one of the
big stories in the Bible.
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Most people, if you mention
it, they go, "Zelophehad who?"
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You know,
"Phalafol who?" (Jim laughs)
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These five young women
went to Moses, and they said,
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"Look, our father
died in the wilderness.
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He doesn't have
any sons, he's got us.
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We were the ones
who worked the land,
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who took care of
property, but we can't inherit.
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We're just going
to lose everything
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that belonged to our
father, and that's not fair."
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And I fully expected the
first time I was reading that,
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going, "Ah, you're just
gonna have to marry someone
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'cause that's
your only salvation."
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Moses, to his credit
though, didn't just say,
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"Don't be
ridiculous, you're female."
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He said, "Let me
go ask God about it."
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And for me, it was like,
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"Well, isn't that what we
should do with every decision
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that we have?" (laughs)
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- Amen. Amen.
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- But it impressed me
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that Moses didn't
just simply dismiss them.
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And God said,
"Yeah, they're right."
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And so the rule after
that was women could inherit
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if there was no
brother or uncle.
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It wasn't completely
what we would call fair,
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but it was sure a
big step toward it.
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They just, if they married,
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couldn't marry outside the tribe
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'cause he didn't
want one tribe's land
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going to another tribe,
- To another tribe, yeah.
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- But that was a huge step.
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And in my mind, I
remember distinctly thinking,
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well, maybe God doesn't
just dismiss females as being,
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you know, they're
just little appendages
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attached to a
man, if they're lucky.
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And it began to
change my attitude toward God
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and toward some
of the patriarchs
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that I would've
thought were just,
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you know, misogynistic jerks.
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(Jim laughs)
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- I'm not even
gonna go there, but.
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- Let's not. (laughs)
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- Let's fast
forward a little bit,
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Give me an idea before
we name some of the women,
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gimme an idea how you
prepare for, you know,
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to do this portrayal.
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You've done many, but
how do you dig into it?
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Give us an idea.
- First place I go
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is scripture.
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You might think
you know a story,
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but when you're
really studying the story,
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things will jump out
at you that you missed.
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In fact, that's
one reason I do this
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because a lot of these stories,
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whether they involve
women or not, you know,
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even people who aren't
particularly gung ho Christians,
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go to church all the time,
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they'll like
know the story of Noah
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or Daniel in the
lions' den, or Jonah,
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some of those biggies.
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But our mental
image of those stories
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is kind of like
these cute little pictures
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in a children's storybook.
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One-dimensional.
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And we do a
disservice when we think,
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"Oh, yeah, I know that story.
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I learned it when I was a kid."
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You go in and you
really put yourself
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in their shoes, literally,
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or, you know,
trying to mentally do that.
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I also love history.
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I might have mentioned
that on an episode or two.
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And so, I'll begin to study,
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what do we know
about that time period?
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Because-
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- [Jim] You're gonna immerse
yourself in into the culture
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of the time. - Right.
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I don't wanna do what, you know,
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there's a whole
genre of historical novels,
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which I don't touch,
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but it's like all they've
done is taken a modern woman
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and dressed her
in a Tudor costume
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and then called
this a historical novel.
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But all of her thoughts,
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everything that's happening
to her is completely like,
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"Oh, yeah, that's me,
just in a pretty costume."
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- I can tell
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that even the way you're
portraying that at the moment,
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it's kind of repugnant to you.
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- It is, it is.
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But first and
foremost, I go by scripture
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because I don't want to just
be inserting my ideas in there.
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And then I start
studying historical records
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from the period.
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And it's incredible some
of the things you can find.
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I was asked to do the story
of Daniel and his three friends,
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and, you know,
I'm a decent actress,
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but I can't portray Daniel.
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You'd never believe it,
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no matter how big a
beard I stuck on myself.
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And so, I do it from the
perspective of a Babylonian
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woman who was there
on the plains of Dura.
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You know, in fact
I made her the wife
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of someone who had
been teaching these Hebrews
00:09:06.21\00:09:09.24
and had been
quite miffed that they,
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he could tell they
didn't quite believe it.
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You know, they were
learning the things,
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they were doing
better than everybody else,
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but he hadn't truly
convinced them of, you know,
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the arts he was
trying to teach them
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and what it would be like
to be on the plains of Dura.
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See what these young men did.
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- You've kind of
touched on it a little bit,
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go ahead and if you would
take a couple minutes here
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and dig in a little
deeper into her character
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of what it was like
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and, you know, maybe
portray just a teeny bit of it.
00:09:38.14\00:09:42.64
- Well, you imagine the jealousy
00:09:42.64\00:09:46.08
that these Hebrews inspired?
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We know that
Daniel inspired jealousy.
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That's why they
set him up in the trap
00:09:49.95\00:09:51.72
of convincing the
king to make a law
00:09:51.72\00:09:54.69
where for 30 days
people can only pray to you
00:09:54.69\00:09:58.03
because they knew exactly
that Daniel wouldn't do it.
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In the story of
the fiery furnace,
00:10:02.23\00:10:04.10
we don't even
know where Daniel was.
00:10:04.10\00:10:06.97
There's speculation
00:10:06.97\00:10:08.34
that God may have simply
given him the stomach flu,
00:10:08.34\00:10:12.57
you know, 24-hour flu.
00:10:12.57\00:10:14.14
It may be that Nebakanezer knew
00:10:15.08\00:10:17.75
"Daniel's not gonna go for this.
00:10:17.75\00:10:19.58
We'll send him on a
little diplomatic mission."
00:10:19.58\00:10:21.95
- It's interesting, you know,
00:10:21.95\00:10:23.32
I heard one preacher call some
of these things white space.
00:10:23.32\00:10:25.72
You know, it's like you're
reading along in the Bible,
00:10:25.72\00:10:27.12
and it just quits.
00:10:27.12\00:10:28.26
There's no more,
you know? - Uh-huh.
00:10:28.26\00:10:29.99
And what I do is
have to fill that in,
00:10:29.99\00:10:32.86
but within the context of
the times that they were in.
00:10:34.30\00:10:38.03
And like I said,
not just putting my,
00:10:38.03\00:10:40.77
"Well, wouldn't it be
fun if we had her do this?"
00:10:40.77\00:10:43.37
You know, you can't just
put your own fiction in there.
00:10:43.37\00:10:46.81
You're simply trying to
fill in some of that white space
00:10:46.81\00:10:49.24
and make people think about
the story in a different way.
00:10:49.24\00:10:52.55
Because stories reach
people where sermons can't.
00:10:53.95\00:10:56.25
- Hi, I'm Steve Hicks,
director of Podcast Ministries
00:10:57.92\00:11:00.39
for Talking
Donkey International.
00:11:00.39\00:11:02.16
And I'm inviting you to join
us for our new daily podcast,
00:11:02.16\00:11:06.26
Monday through Friday, called
Something's Happening Here.
00:11:06.26\00:11:09.80
I need you to go to the website
00:11:09.80\00:11:11.23
that's on your screen right now.
00:11:11.23\00:11:13.37
That's the Something's
happening Here Facebook page,
00:11:13.37\00:11:16.44
like that page, that will
make you a follower of it,
00:11:16.44\00:11:19.44
and you will get all of
our content as we create it.
00:11:19.44\00:11:22.51
I look forward to
seeing you there. God bless.
00:11:22.51\00:11:24.88
(gentle music)
00:11:28.35\00:11:30.99
- When I got to
the well that day,
00:11:32.25\00:11:34.09
I realized I wasn't alone.
00:11:34.09\00:11:36.42
There was a man sitting on
the curb stone of the well.
00:11:36.42\00:11:39.36
He was obviously exhausted
00:11:40.16\00:11:42.03
and looked almost
as miserable as I felt.
00:11:43.26\00:11:45.57
And I might have
felt some pity for him
00:11:46.87\00:11:50.11
if he hadn't also
obviously been Jewish.
00:11:50.11\00:11:53.58
The weave of his tunic
was definitely Galilean.
00:11:55.64\00:11:58.28
Where had he even come from?
00:11:59.21\00:12:01.28
Most Jews do anything they
can to stay out of Samaria,
00:12:01.28\00:12:05.15
which is fine by us.
00:12:05.15\00:12:07.06
(gentle music)
00:12:07.06\00:12:09.69
- [Announcer]
Please help Talking Donkey
00:12:11.33\00:12:12.53
produce this important project
00:12:12.53\00:12:14.10
To support the
Women of God project.
00:12:14.10\00:12:16.40
go to
TalkingDonkeyInternational.org
00:12:16.40\00:12:19.73
and click on the donate button.
00:12:19.73\00:12:21.60
That's
TalkingDonkeyInternational.org.
00:12:21.60\00:12:25.91
- I noticed you've done...
00:12:27.98\00:12:29.04
A matter of fact, Terry and I,
00:12:29.04\00:12:30.85
when my wife and I
first kind of noticed you
00:12:30.85\00:12:33.72
doing a program
someplace and thought,
00:12:33.72\00:12:35.95
"You know, that
really touched our hearts,"
00:12:35.95\00:12:37.75
you know, from a
biblical standpoint,
00:12:37.75\00:12:40.02
from knowing God better.
00:12:40.02\00:12:41.96
And we thought,
"We need to, you know,
00:12:41.96\00:12:43.63
see more of Janice
and talk with her more."
00:12:43.63\00:12:46.13
And, well, here you are now,
you know, with the ministry.
00:12:46.13\00:12:49.30
And we've got a lot more.
00:12:49.30\00:12:50.53
I'll share shortly
about that, but, yeah,
00:12:50.53\00:12:53.50
I mean you come at
it from a standpoint
00:12:53.50\00:12:55.47
of how can this character
touch the people in the audience
00:12:55.47\00:12:59.21
so they draw closer to God?
00:12:59.21\00:13:00.48
It has nothing to do with you.
00:13:00.48\00:13:02.41
You're portraying this person
00:13:02.41\00:13:03.85
to help them live closer to God.
00:13:03.85\00:13:06.65
- Let's look at Rahab. She's
again, one of my favorites.
00:13:06.65\00:13:09.78
I have people ask me, you know,
which one is your favorite?
00:13:09.78\00:13:12.05
'Cause I think at this point
I do 14 or 15 different women.
00:13:12.05\00:13:16.46
And usually, my favorite is
whoever I'm just now working on
00:13:18.36\00:13:21.73
or have just finished.
00:13:21.73\00:13:22.80
It's like, there's
your newest baby. Rahab.
00:13:22.80\00:13:26.07
I love the story of
Jericho. Who doesn't know?
00:13:27.37\00:13:29.60
That's one of those,
00:13:29.60\00:13:30.97
you almost think of it in
the terms of a children's story.
00:13:30.97\00:13:33.31
You know, you've got
the children's song about,
00:13:33.31\00:13:37.15
well, I guess
it's not children's,
00:13:37.15\00:13:38.28
"Joshua Fit The
Battle of Jericho," you know.
00:13:38.28\00:13:40.55
We all know about
the walls falling down.
00:13:41.65\00:13:43.72
When I got to studying
00:13:44.75\00:13:46.69
and actually reading
archeologists reports
00:13:46.69\00:13:49.96
who have worked in Jericho,
00:13:49.96\00:13:52.33
it's like right down the line,
00:13:52.33\00:13:54.20
it's supporting the
whole biblical story.
00:13:54.20\00:13:57.10
It's giving you even
more reason to trust God
00:13:57.10\00:14:00.34
because when He says something,
like two little texts,
00:14:00.34\00:14:04.11
one refers to
Rahab living on the wall,
00:14:04.11\00:14:07.31
and one says "in the wall."
00:14:07.31\00:14:09.41
And that's kind of
weird "lived in the wall."
00:14:09.41\00:14:11.85
Well, it turns out
those walls of Jericho,
00:14:11.85\00:14:14.18
and there were
three six-feet thick,
00:14:14.18\00:14:18.29
and they had hollow pockets.
00:14:18.29\00:14:19.75
It wasn't solid brick.
00:14:19.75\00:14:22.12
Well, in between,
in those hollow spaces,
00:14:22.12\00:14:25.16
people literally
would build their homes
00:14:25.16\00:14:27.36
right up against the wall.
00:14:27.36\00:14:29.03
They found them
in the archeology
00:14:29.03\00:14:31.20
because one wall
was already there.
00:14:32.93\00:14:34.54
So, poorer people
would build against the wall.
00:14:34.54\00:14:38.14
And you could
actually look over the wall
00:14:38.14\00:14:39.74
from the top of the roof.
00:14:39.74\00:14:41.44
And they would break through
and be able to use that pocket
00:14:41.44\00:14:45.51
for storage or, you
know, sleeping, you know,
00:14:45.51\00:14:48.58
stuff the kids in
there or whatever.
00:14:48.58\00:14:50.22
(Jim laughs)
00:14:50.22\00:14:51.89
So, she literally did live
00:14:51.89\00:14:55.56
in the wall. - In the wall.
00:14:55.56\00:14:57.53
- And probably had slits.
00:14:57.53\00:15:01.13
Like we think of for
archers in those pockets
00:15:01.13\00:15:04.50
so that she could watch,
00:15:04.50\00:15:06.37
because we know she saw
those spies approaching.
00:15:06.37\00:15:09.34
So, I'm researching this story
00:15:10.41\00:15:12.81
and trying to put
myself in her place.
00:15:12.81\00:15:15.08
I don't know why I'd
never noticed it before.
00:15:16.14\00:15:18.75
Why did God send those spies?
00:15:20.32\00:15:23.28
You know, it's a divine
appointment that she saw them,
00:15:25.95\00:15:29.42
she recognized probably
'cause she was a good judge
00:15:29.42\00:15:31.96
of the average
male and the travelers.
00:15:31.96\00:15:34.73
And she's looking for
who might wanna stay here
00:15:34.73\00:15:36.87
and have a good time.
00:15:36.87\00:15:39.00
So, we know it was
a divine appointment.
00:15:40.40\00:15:42.80
Why did God impress
Joshua to send spies?
00:15:43.91\00:15:47.38
You might think,
00:15:49.21\00:15:50.31
"Well, to judge just
how big those walls are."
00:15:50.31\00:15:53.31
You know, how can...
00:15:53.31\00:15:54.82
They never had
to touch the walls.
00:15:54.82\00:15:56.99
So, Joshua didn't need to
know how thick the walls were.
00:15:56.99\00:16:00.89
You might be thinking,
"Oh, well, trying to figure out
00:16:02.26\00:16:04.53
how many
soldiers are in the city
00:16:04.53\00:16:06.76
that we might run up against."
00:16:06.76\00:16:08.30
Well, they never had to fight,
00:16:08.30\00:16:09.66
and God knew they
weren't going to have to fight.
00:16:09.66\00:16:12.43
They weren't
trying to figure out
00:16:12.43\00:16:14.47
how much grain do
they have, how much water.
00:16:15.60\00:16:18.31
Because Jericho, actually,
00:16:18.31\00:16:20.48
they've discovered
could have withheld a siege
00:16:20.48\00:16:22.54
for a year or more
00:16:22.54\00:16:24.28
because they had
enough grain in the city,
00:16:24.28\00:16:26.55
and they had springs
of water inside the walls
00:16:26.55\00:16:29.78
that never ran dry.
00:16:29.78\00:16:30.89
And you realize that
whole setup was just for Rahab.
00:16:32.29\00:16:36.99
And when you think God
put that whole plan in motion
00:16:38.39\00:16:42.93
for one person who just
barely even knew who he was.
00:16:44.27\00:16:48.17
- Who happened
to be a prostitute.
00:16:49.27\00:16:50.34
- Yeah. You know,
she was an innkeeper.
00:16:50.34\00:16:52.34
Some translations say
inkeeper, but back then,
00:16:52.34\00:16:55.51
you know, yeah, you can,
you know, you get a meal,
00:16:55.51\00:16:57.78
you can sleep on a
floor, we'll provide a mat,
00:16:57.78\00:17:00.55
but for a few extra coins
there were extra services.
00:17:00.55\00:17:03.05
So, it was a little of both.
00:17:03.05\00:17:04.52
But the fact that
you take this person
00:17:06.02\00:17:08.42
in this completely pagan culture
00:17:09.22\00:17:11.96
who somehow there
was something in her,
00:17:11.96\00:17:14.83
stories that they knew
00:17:14.83\00:17:16.10
'cause they were
terrified of the Israelites,
00:17:16.10\00:17:18.00
they knew how God
brought 'em out of Egypt.
00:17:18.00\00:17:19.97
- Matter of fact, in Joshua 2,
00:17:19.97\00:17:22.54
she goes to the spies and said,
00:17:22.54\00:17:24.57
"Your God who parted the seas
and killed the other kings,"
00:17:24.57\00:17:28.41
you know, "this God,
our hearts did quake,
00:17:28.41\00:17:30.95
our hearts did melt."
00:17:30.95\00:17:32.61
- There was something
in her that recognized,
00:17:32.61\00:17:34.62
"Your God is the one I want."
00:17:34.62\00:17:38.22
But, I mean, how big
could her faith have been?
00:17:38.22\00:17:41.49
How much could she possibly
have really known about Yahweh?
00:17:41.49\00:17:44.43
- Yeah, very little. - Not much.
00:17:44.43\00:17:47.50
And yet God responded to
that with this whole plan,
00:17:47.50\00:17:51.63
with spies and everything
that was completely unnecessary.
00:17:51.63\00:17:56.07
And you think, what
would he do to rescue me?
00:17:56.07\00:18:00.54
Look at the trouble he
went to to rescue Rahab
00:18:00.54\00:18:04.25
who was not a fine
upstanding, you know,
00:18:04.25\00:18:06.65
deaconess in her church.
00:18:06.65\00:18:08.75
And that just hit me.
00:18:08.75\00:18:11.25
It's like how
precious each one of us are.
00:18:11.25\00:18:15.22
And so, any young
woman who sees my portrayal,
00:18:15.22\00:18:19.29
who watches, who
listens to that story,
00:18:19.29\00:18:21.53
and at the end
where I talk about that,
00:18:21.53\00:18:24.17
what would he do to rescue you?
00:18:25.40\00:18:27.87
That's what I want them to
walk away with, is thinking,
00:18:27.87\00:18:31.11
"I am so precious that he
would do anything to get to me."
00:18:31.11\00:18:36.18
- I almost feel like
00:18:38.61\00:18:39.68
that should be the
end of the interview.
00:18:39.68\00:18:40.95
And we have a call,
00:18:40.95\00:18:42.05
but you've got-
- But I find that
00:18:42.05\00:18:43.55
in every woman.
00:18:43.55\00:18:44.99
Peter's mother-in-law,
two verses in the whole Bible,
00:18:46.59\00:18:50.59
Peter says she's sick,
00:18:52.33\00:18:54.00
all we know is she
had a fever of some kind,
00:18:54.00\00:18:56.43
Jesus healed her,
00:18:56.43\00:18:57.77
and she got up and
started cooking for everyone.
00:18:57.77\00:18:59.83
everyone.
00:19:01.10\00:19:02.00
And one day, I was thinking
about her because I thought,
00:19:03.41\00:19:08.28
"Boy, you just couldn't be
the same after that, could you?"
00:19:09.64\00:19:11.55
We don't know if she
actually was a full believer
00:19:12.81\00:19:17.15
or if she thought her
son-in-law was just crazy.
00:19:17.15\00:19:20.36
He'd given up a good job,
00:19:20.36\00:19:22.72
walked off the job
to join some crazy cult.
00:19:22.72\00:19:26.33
And so, I put her
in a modern setting
00:19:26.33\00:19:29.46
because I could
picture her as this, you know,
00:19:29.46\00:19:33.60
east coast Jewish woman
00:19:33.60\00:19:35.07
with this jerk of a
son-in-law, you know?
00:19:35.07\00:19:37.54
(Both laugh)
00:19:37.54\00:19:38.64
What scheme is he
coming up with now?
00:19:38.64\00:19:41.58
But you cannot encounter Christ,
00:19:41.58\00:19:44.41
you can't have
Christ reach out His hand,
00:19:44.41\00:19:47.02
and, you know, heal you,
feel that healing within you
00:19:47.02\00:19:52.09
and be the same
person, could you?
00:19:53.19\00:19:54.96
- What's so amazing
about your portrayals
00:19:54.96\00:19:57.59
and the women you've
picked throughout the Bible
00:19:57.59\00:20:00.23
is I think right now
in this age we live in,
00:20:00.23\00:20:03.80
we see women have gotta
take this whole other role.
00:20:03.80\00:20:07.54
You know, they've
gotta be masculine.
00:20:07.54\00:20:10.07
They've gotta be
this way or that way.
00:20:10.07\00:20:11.94
But the Bible
lays out these women
00:20:11.94\00:20:13.71
as grabbing a hold of God,
00:20:13.71\00:20:15.34
and God lifts them up
into incredible ministries,
00:20:15.34\00:20:18.48
into touching so many people.
00:20:18.48\00:20:20.15
Their influence becomes so wide
00:20:20.15\00:20:22.32
simply because they
submitted and trusted God.
00:20:22.32\00:20:24.52
- Look at Lydia.
Lydia was a businesswoman.
00:20:24.52\00:20:28.22
We clearly know she had smarts
00:20:28.22\00:20:30.13
because she was running a
business, and it was a high-end.
00:20:31.43\00:20:34.10
I suppose kind of like
today a Wall Street trader
00:20:34.10\00:20:36.97
because it says, you
know, "a dealer in purple,"
00:20:36.97\00:20:39.90
but I love studying
about what went into
00:20:39.90\00:20:43.57
making that purple
cloth and who could afford it.
00:20:43.57\00:20:47.41
So, she had a very
upper end studio, if you will.
00:20:47.41\00:20:51.35
And here she is for some reason.
00:20:53.45\00:20:55.55
She's not Jewish,
00:20:55.55\00:20:57.39
but she's meeting
with the Jewish believers
00:20:57.39\00:21:00.46
about a mile out of
town where the river went by
00:21:00.46\00:21:04.66
because all Jewish congregations
met where there was water.
00:21:04.66\00:21:09.33
And what did Lydia do?
00:21:09.33\00:21:12.03
She listens to Paul,
she accepts Christ and goes,
00:21:12.03\00:21:14.80
"Look, there's water
right here," you know, "Let's
00:21:14.80\00:21:17.61
baptize." And
her whole household.
00:21:17.61\00:21:19.41
And imagine, all of
her clients, you know,
00:21:19.41\00:21:22.14
how many ripples
went out from that.
00:21:22.14\00:21:24.18
- Yeah, exactly.
00:21:24.18\00:21:25.25
Speaking of ripples,
00:21:25.25\00:21:26.88
we've got an incredible project
00:21:26.88\00:21:29.22
that you're the major player
00:21:29.22\00:21:31.45
in this project, (Janice laughs)
00:21:31.45\00:21:32.59
and that's creating
a series, Women of God.
00:21:32.59\00:21:35.56
Many of these women,
00:21:35.56\00:21:36.96
we want to do them
in a spectacular fashion
00:21:36.96\00:21:40.56
to attract hearts and lives.
00:21:40.56\00:21:42.86
But we've already
started in a smaller way,
00:21:42.86\00:21:45.33
and one of those was Lot's wife.
00:21:45.33\00:21:48.90
Tell us quickly,
- She's another one
00:21:48.90\00:21:50.17
that I did
modern. - And I'll say,
00:21:50.17\00:21:51.64
we don't have a lot of
time left in the interview.
00:21:51.64\00:21:52.91
Tell us a little
bit about Lot's wife.
00:21:52.91\00:21:54.44
We've got that one,
as they say, in the can.
00:21:54.44\00:21:56.71
We've got that one filmed.
00:21:56.71\00:21:57.98
- She, I also put
modern because quite frankly,
00:21:59.35\00:22:03.65
I kind of related to her.
00:22:03.65\00:22:05.72
We think of her as one of the,
00:22:06.86\00:22:08.46
you know, bad
girls of the Bible.
00:22:08.46\00:22:10.89
I read a book that she was in
00:22:10.89\00:22:12.03
that she was one of
the bad girls of the Bible.
00:22:12.03\00:22:15.10
But when I read her story,
what I was struck with was,
00:22:15.10\00:22:19.53
oh, I literally, but
for the grace of God,
00:22:19.53\00:22:22.90
I could so easily be her.
00:22:22.90\00:22:25.24
- You mean cell
phone glued to your ear
00:22:25.24\00:22:26.64
in a nice home? (chuckles)
00:22:26.64\00:22:28.01
- Yes, and not
doing anything bad.
00:22:28.01\00:22:32.38
You know, probably
she was influential,
00:22:32.38\00:22:34.32
her husband was
influential, we know,
00:22:34.32\00:22:36.08
so she probably was too,
00:22:36.08\00:22:38.19
probably entertaining
important people in town
00:22:38.19\00:22:41.62
and people traveling through.
00:22:41.62\00:22:43.59
But her focus just wasn't
where it should have been.
00:22:43.59\00:22:48.53
It was too focused
on her little life.
00:22:48.53\00:22:53.17
And it was
scary when I read her,
00:22:53.17\00:22:58.17
really read her
00:22:58.17\00:22:59.91
and could put myself
lit in her shoes quite easy.
00:22:59.91\00:23:03.38
I could step
into those, you know,
00:23:03.38\00:23:05.31
kitten heel pumps really easily.
00:23:05.31\00:23:07.88
And that's how I wrote her.
00:23:07.88\00:23:09.55
Not a bad woman,
00:23:10.42\00:23:13.29
just someone whose
focus was here and not there.
00:23:13.29\00:23:17.49
- A little off, yeah.
00:23:17.49\00:23:19.03
Well, I think, like I say,
00:23:19.03\00:23:20.30
I believe you did an
incredible portrayal of her,
00:23:20.30\00:23:22.70
and it leaves you, you know,
00:23:22.70\00:23:24.03
when you leave that last scene,
and you're saying, you know,
00:23:24.03\00:23:27.70
"I won't look back,"
00:23:27.70\00:23:29.57
and then the last second you
turn around, and you look back.
00:23:29.57\00:23:32.97
And all of a sudden, it
leaves you like, you know,
00:23:32.97\00:23:34.71
"Is that me?"
00:23:34.71\00:23:35.81
- And I did it because I felt
00:23:37.05\00:23:38.15
like that was me
too much of the time.
00:23:38.15\00:23:42.22
I mean, I have moments where
I rise above and listen to God
00:23:42.22\00:23:46.65
but too much of my life is
spent thinking about my life.
00:23:46.65\00:23:50.99
- Yeah, and right
now- - It's easy to do.
00:23:52.06\00:23:52.86
- we have that episode posted
00:23:52.86\00:23:54.36
on
TalkingDonkeyInternational.org.
00:23:54.36\00:23:56.90
Folks can go there and watch
it, but there is more to come.
00:23:56.90\00:23:59.80
And one of 'em I'm excited about
00:23:59.80\00:24:01.17
is we recently
filmed in Kentucky
00:24:01.17\00:24:03.54
at the replica of Noah's arc.
00:24:03.54\00:24:05.74
And we had Mrs-
00:24:05.74\00:24:07.14
- [Janice] You cannot get a
better backdrop than an arc.
00:24:07.14\00:24:09.64
- [Jim] A 510 foot
arc. (Janice laughing)
00:24:09.64\00:24:11.98
- Right. Oh, and they were
so delightful to work with.
00:24:11.98\00:24:15.88
And, as you know,
because you were there,
00:24:15.88\00:24:18.22
being able to film
from an angle, you know,
00:24:18.22\00:24:21.02
where the public isn't allowed,
00:24:21.02\00:24:22.29
but you've got it
looming in the background,
00:24:22.29\00:24:24.26
'cause we were back in an area
00:24:24.26\00:24:26.06
that's more of a
little service road.
00:24:26.06\00:24:28.36
And I thought, you know,
00:24:28.36\00:24:30.63
it's an
incredible story that I tell,
00:24:30.63\00:24:33.64
it's an incredible
story in the scriptures,
00:24:33.64\00:24:36.20
but visually, to have
the arc looming over you
00:24:36.20\00:24:41.01
just makes it so much more real.
00:24:41.01\00:24:43.11
And it's no longer
00:24:43.11\00:24:44.28
that little
one-dimensional nursery story.
00:24:44.28\00:24:46.58
- Yeah. I can never look
at my bible in Genesis again
00:24:46.58\00:24:49.85
and think about the
arc the way it used to be.
00:24:49.85\00:24:51.62
Like say one-dimensional,
here it is, you know.
00:24:51.62\00:24:54.02
- And you say
that and it reminds me
00:24:54.02\00:24:56.79
when I have been invited to
different churches or schools,
00:24:56.79\00:25:00.53
the nicest thing,
00:25:02.10\00:25:03.37
the best thing that
people can say to me,
00:25:03.37\00:25:05.40
and I get it a lot, is
people who come up and say,
00:25:05.40\00:25:08.87
"I'll never think about
that story the same again,"
00:25:08.87\00:25:11.87
because we shouldn't
think about them the same.
00:25:11.87\00:25:14.28
- One of the things that, I'm
gonna tell on Terry, you know,
00:25:14.28\00:25:17.88
who's filming
this, (Janice laughing)
00:25:17.88\00:25:19.71
I think he got
tears in his eyes,
00:25:19.71\00:25:21.22
and we all
choked up a little bit
00:25:21.22\00:25:23.05
when you got to that moment
00:25:23.05\00:25:24.75
talking about the people
outside of the arc in the storm
00:25:24.75\00:25:28.42
and had you said and
done everything you could.
00:25:28.42\00:25:30.89
- And feeling like,
"What else could I have done?"
00:25:32.26\00:25:35.33
- What is it? Sound like
they ran into somebody there.
00:25:35.33\00:25:37.07
- As long as they don't come
00:25:37.07\00:25:38.60
punching through the trees
this direction, we're good.
00:25:38.60\00:25:41.37
Yeah, because I fully believe,
as I say, as I wrap her up,
00:25:43.24\00:25:47.21
that there's
another storm coming.
00:25:47.21\00:25:49.61
And are we going to be any
more prepared for that storm
00:25:49.61\00:25:54.68
than the majority
of people were prepared
00:25:55.82\00:25:56.62
for the literal storm there.
00:25:56.62\00:25:58.35
- In about the last
minute really, Janice,
00:25:59.45\00:26:01.39
kind of tell us what
we're looking forward to,
00:26:01.39\00:26:03.99
what the ministry wants to do
00:26:03.99\00:26:05.43
and produce this
package of Women of God.
00:26:05.43\00:26:08.40
(Janice chuckles)
00:26:08.40\00:26:09.66
- Well, I'm ready and
willing, and the crew is too.
00:26:09.66\00:26:12.43
Unfortunately,
in this day and age,
00:26:12.43\00:26:14.20
it'll be in God's time
and with God's provision,
00:26:14.20\00:26:19.27
because you can't
film these for free,
00:26:20.38\00:26:22.51
especially if you want
to put the different women
00:26:22.51\00:26:25.65
in settings that truly,
at least, look biblical.
00:26:26.92\00:26:31.99
Our ultimate goal would be
to go to places like Morocco
00:26:33.36\00:26:35.26
where a lot of big
biblical movies are filmed.
00:26:35.26\00:26:38.06
- Most of the Jesus
movies now are filmed
00:26:38.06\00:26:40.13
in Morocco. - Right,
00:26:40.13\00:26:41.46
so that you can get lost
in it and not not feel like,
00:26:41.46\00:26:44.13
"Oh, yeah, they're just filming
00:26:44.13\00:26:45.37
against a little
ticky tacky backdrop,"
00:26:45.37\00:26:47.44
because that takes
away from the story.
00:26:47.44\00:26:49.47
And since I can't get,
you know, to everywhere,
00:26:50.57\00:26:54.48
if we could get
these all on DVD.
00:26:54.48\00:26:57.01
- The other
exciting thing to me,
00:26:57.01\00:26:58.25
and we kind of gotta
wrap up here, I'm sorry,
00:26:58.25\00:27:00.38
but you're on that side now, so-
00:27:00.38\00:27:02.88
- Right,
(chuckles) you're in charge.
00:27:02.88\00:27:03.99
- But we want to do
a women's Bible study
00:27:03.99\00:27:06.29
to tie into, specifically,
00:27:06.29\00:27:08.39
the greatness of
these women because of God.
00:27:08.39\00:27:11.46
And folks, I
wanna ask you, you know,
00:27:11.46\00:27:13.90
if you might be touched by this,
00:27:13.90\00:27:15.53
if you'd like to
financially help out, if you do,
00:27:15.53\00:27:17.50
simply go to
TalkingDonkeyInternational.org
00:27:17.50\00:27:20.30
or give us a call,
00:27:20.30\00:27:21.70
and we're happy to talk
with you more about the project,
00:27:21.70\00:27:24.81
and we're looking
forward actually to seeing you
00:27:24.81\00:27:27.88
doing those
different women in that project
00:27:27.88\00:27:30.48
because I know it's
gonna change heart and lives.
00:27:30.48\00:27:32.51
- That's the point.
00:27:32.51\00:27:33.52
My grandmother was number
11 in a family of 13 girls,
00:27:34.88\00:27:39.79
and she sometimes
felt lost in the crowd.
00:27:40.86\00:27:43.19
Do you ever feel that way?
00:27:43.19\00:27:45.36
But there is
someone who notices.
00:27:45.36\00:27:48.13
If you'd like proof,
00:27:48.13\00:27:49.53
go to
TalkingDonkeyInternational.org
00:27:49.53\00:27:52.53
and request offer number
130 for this free pamphlet.
00:27:52.53\00:27:57.61
There's not another you.
00:27:58.27\00:27:59.44
(gentle music)
00:27:59.44\00:28:02.04
- Thank you for watching.
00:28:02.04\00:28:03.45
Join us again for another
exciting "Country Wisdom.
00:28:03.45\00:28:05.38
- See you next time.
00:28:05.38\00:28:06.65
(gentle upbeat music)
00:28:06.65\00:28:09.88