Welcome back to our
3ABM Thursday Night Live.
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This is our Woman's Live.
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We've been talking
about helper, not lesser.
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God's purpose for woman.
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If you missed the first hour,
you can always go on YouTube or
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3ABM Plus and you can
watch it on demand later.
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It was a powerful hour we heard
from Sister Angela Vandervalk
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as she shared about
the helpmate in marriage.
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Right now we're
talking with Fotini.
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Martinez and her story as far
as being a helpmate as a single
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mom and her daughter being
autistic and that journey and
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what that looks like.
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And then of course we have
Sasha Thomas with us and Sasha
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is going to be sharing about
helpmate as a mom with your
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children and then Sister Terri
Stanley in the middle here is
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going to be sharing as well
about helpmate as a mentor and
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then I'm going to be
talking about ministries.
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So just a blessing to
be together and to share.
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And we left off last hour
right in the middle of Fotini's
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testimony talking about Artemis.
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So you want to pick back up?
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Sure.
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child with autism and allowing
room for growth is something
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that you want to keep at
the forefront of your mind if
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you're a parent of a child with
autism because what comes to my
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mind is Now to him who is able
to do exceedingly abundantly
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above all that we ask or think
and add that to your prayer
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life, add that to the way
you interact with your child.
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And I don't want to give
a false hope because I know
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sometimes things go a different
way, sometimes they don't.
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But especially in those
early years when you receive a
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diagnosis, it can seem so grim.
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But just keep that in mind that
God can work good things out of
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every situation.
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And I wanted to make
sure to point that out.
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That's beautiful.
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I love that.
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Yeah.
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being a helpmate outside of
being a mom, because I know we
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spoke about
identity and being a helper.
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And one of those ways would
be understanding submission as a
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Christian virtue at large,
right, because we all strive to
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be more Christ-like.
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Well, Christ was a very
submissive person while he was
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here and still is.
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And we even hear in Ephesians
521 that we need to submit to
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one another.
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understanding
that very practical.
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Yeah, I was going to bring
that out as how it works in the
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friendship circle, too.
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And that's the
word that came to mind.
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I'm a very practical helper
because, one, I don't have a
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lot of time to sit there
and think about or plan grand
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gestures for somebody.
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And I don't want that to also
fall astray and not be what the
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person really wanted, because
I understand helping is actually
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advancing the cause or
doing something that assists the
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person instead
of just doing stuff.
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And so one way that I do that
is helping in a very practical
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way, like for a Sister Lenny,
it will be helping with her
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with her son, either that
picking him up from school or
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watching him for a couple
of hours or things like that.
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And that's how I try to be help
made both in the church and in
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friendship circles.
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Now, mind you, I do consider
myself an introvert, which
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means I can only handle about
one or two friends at a time.
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So this is maxed out.
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This is super maxed out.
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Could I just share a thought
real briefly about you saying
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aside from being a parent and
how you help in the community,
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I would just like to say
that as you are helping, you are
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helping your child because
you're teaching her to serve.
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And that's something that I've
put a big emphasis on with my
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girls is I don't want them to
be self, just always looking at
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themselves and wanting
everybody to serve them.
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But I want them to
have the spirit of service.
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And so as you're doing that,
Artemis is seeing you and she
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will develop that same
thing, because that's what she's
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growing up watching.
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See, I love
what you have to say.
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Your role is so perfect.
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And so while I'm doing
that, you mentioned like your
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daughter sees you grow, right?
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That's kind of what I'm
hoping for, I guess now.
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Thank you for
wording that that way for me.
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She's seeing me grow.
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And so I see it as part of
my responsibility to be able to
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foster skills that are
actually helpful, right?
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And teaching her how to serve
and training up a child in the
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way she should go.
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every so often.
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And I wonder if you
guys can figure it out.
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So let me give you a
scenario and then I'll ask you a
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question.
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Well, it's a mug, really, like,
or dainty as mothers say, so
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it's teacup.
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It's really pretty teacup.
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And I put some nice tea in it
and I'm walking around going to
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go sit down on the couch and
set it down on the table with
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my Bible study.
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And then Artemis comes and runs
into me slightly and the tea
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falls out or some
of the tea spills out.
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So now why did
the tea spill out?
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Because she ran into it.
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Because it was full.
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It has something to
do with what was in it.
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Tea came out
because tea was in it.
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And so I try to think of
filling my heart, filling my
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mind, filling my
spirit with godly virtues.
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I don't want to come across
as complaining, as whining, as
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thinking that she's not good
enough, you know, because she
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can't do
something a certain way.
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And so I want what's in
my heart to come out when she
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bumps into me and some
spills out of her, right?
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So in a spontaneous moment, I
want more joy and cheerfulness
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and support to come out.
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And that's something
that I keep in my mind.
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And it's not that
sounds very lovey-dovey.
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That's not always what happens.
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That's just the
analogy that I keep in my mind.
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Even after the fact, I'm
like, oh, remember your teacup,
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remember your teacup.
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And then so then I go back and
I have that conversation with
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Artemis.
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And I think that that helps
her to understand things too.
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That's so important to have
those conversations with our
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kids because I grew up in a
household where your parents
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did not apologize to you
when they were impatient or said
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something unkind.
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And so that's something
I've tried to cultivate with my
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grandchildren is to let
them know that grandma's not
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perfect.
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Grandma's growing too.
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Absolutely.
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child because I feel, you know,
when you when you look at your
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parents, and I'll come into
this in a second, they they're
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supposed to know everything.
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Right.
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support.
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Right.
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They've got a plan.
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They know how to do stuff.
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And along with being a single
parent comes the fact of not
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wanting to show weakness in
front of your child because,
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you know, you're
their only guard.
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Right.
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And, of course, they've got
extended family and things like
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that, but they view
their parents differently.
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And that's something
that I really struggle with,
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especially when it comes to
the point of being a helpmate is
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being vulnerable also in
certain ways and acknowledging
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where you can grow because you
need to be real and vulnerable
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with yourself too.
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And when you have that guard
up of, oh, no, I can't cry.
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That's weak.
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scare them, you know.
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And along with that autonomy,
like I said, it's really hard
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to work on being submissive and
putting others before you when
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you're used to being
the person in charge.
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So and I'm sure
you can attest to that.
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That's powerful.
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I think, and I don't know,
maybe it's just a human thing.
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I was going to say maybe it's
a female thing, but maybe it's
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just humanity.
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It's difficult to
let those walls down.
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I love what you said about
being vulnerable or not feeling
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like you have to be the one
always in control or in, you
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know, I've got this.
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I'm the good Christian, as you
mentioned before, Angela, you
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know, not bringing up those
negative emotions because a
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good Christian wouldn't feel
that way or wouldn't whatever.
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But it's hard to let that down
and to let yourself cry or to
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let yourself whatever.
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But in a safe place with
sisters or a spouse where you
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can be vulnerable.
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Hey, I'm struggling today.
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Can we pray?
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That's a beautiful thing.
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I think it's very important,
you know, when you find that
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one person that you can relate
to, that you can be yourself
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and that helped you just make
sure that person is Christlike.
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Because I have friends
that they go and they get advice
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from people that
are not Christlike.
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And then they're like,
why didn't this work out?
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It's very important.
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And I know I always
had my cousin Suzanne.
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She was always there whenever
I had trouble in my house or I
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wanted somebody
just to cry or talk to.
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I'll always call her and she
would just always open up the
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Bible and just
help me all the time.
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I was just I am
so thankful for her.
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Amen.
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And then considering submission
as a greater Christian virtue,
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First Corinthians
1227 also comes to mind.
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It's like now you are the
body of Christ, but you're also
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members individually.
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Yes.
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And so that's how I try
to find which member I am.
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Because you don't always know,
especially if you're a young
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Christian.
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You're like, OK, I'm here.
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What do I do?
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And they're like, well,
you could be the pinky toe.
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I don't know.
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You're trying
to figure that out.
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You might try to do it
all and just be overwhelmed.
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Oh, or that.
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Yeah, I feel that.
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And so that's something that
I'm still trying to figure out
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is how to use the gifts
that the Lord has given me to be
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part of the body.
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And we can't all
be the head, right?
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We can't all be the brain.
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I understand that, which
means I'm somewhere down here,
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possibly.
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You know, I
could be the pinky toe.
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I could be the left nostril.
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Like, I don't know.
00:11:23.61\00:11:24.55
OK, I'm still working on it.
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So it depends on on
what God would have me do.
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But I do kind of have this
understanding or communication
00:11:30.82\00:11:36.32
with God, if you will.
00:11:36.32\00:11:37.53
Because if I'm asked, I will
do my best to do what I'm asked,
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even if I can't figure it
out on my own or step up to the
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plate or volunteer for things.
00:11:45.83\00:11:47.60
If I'm asked and if it comes in
front of my eyes often enough,
00:11:48.10\00:11:51.37
I will say something.
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And that is pretty much
the only way that I found to be
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able to be submissive in
a church environment, if you
00:11:58.21\00:12:01.25
will.
00:12:01.25\00:12:03.72
super structured.
00:12:03.72\00:12:04.39
There's
definitely a hierarchy there.
00:12:04.82\00:12:06.62
But understanding my role in
that as a single woman in the
00:12:06.62\00:12:10.49
church, and I understand
the elders give good advice.
00:12:10.49\00:12:13.66
And I would likely go to an
elder for more life important
00:12:15.33\00:12:21.27
advice.
00:12:21.27\00:12:22.47
I'm not sure if
that's the way to say it.
00:12:22.64\00:12:24.54
But then overall understanding
my place in how everything
00:12:24.97\00:12:29.38
works in the big
machine that is called church.
00:12:29.38\00:12:31.91
Amen.
00:12:32.18\00:12:32.65
That's beautiful.
00:12:32.65\00:12:33.88
Thank you so much for sharing.
00:12:34.05\00:12:35.18
I mean, I love the analogy
of the body and we each are
00:12:35.18\00:12:38.05
members and we each
have that role in that part.
00:12:38.05\00:12:40.32
That's beautiful.
00:12:40.36\00:12:41.09
Thank you for sharing, Sasha.
00:12:41.62\00:12:42.89
Let's come to you
and the role of mom.
00:12:42.99\00:12:45.83
And I know she was talking
about a mom from a single mom
00:12:45.99\00:12:48.00
perspective, but you have
the married mom perspective.
00:12:48.00\00:12:50.93
Well, as a mom, I would say I
would label my role as helping
00:12:51.93\00:12:55.70
to build
characters fit for eternity.
00:12:55.70\00:12:58.07
And one of the first things
that we need to do is to know
00:12:58.51\00:13:00.94
God for ourselves.
00:13:00.94\00:13:02.01
And there's a quote in
Adventist home that says the
00:13:02.01\00:13:05.98
Christian mother has her God
appointed work, which she will
00:13:05.98\00:13:09.68
not neglect if she is closely
connected with God and imbued
00:13:09.68\00:13:13.69
with his spirit.
00:13:13.69\00:13:14.66
And I look at Hannah as an
example, like she clearly had a
00:13:14.86\00:13:18.66
relationship with God
individually in her marriage.
00:13:18.66\00:13:22.26
So she was able to
go and talk to God.
00:13:22.33\00:13:23.90
And because of that,
her prayer was answered.
00:13:23.93\00:13:26.17
So it's important to have a
relationship with God yourself
00:13:26.23\00:13:28.97
prior to getting married even.
00:13:28.97\00:13:31.04
And it sets you up for success,
especially when the trials come
00:13:31.77\00:13:35.91
and many trials will come.
00:13:35.91\00:13:37.11
And we're able to handle it
better, like Hannah did, if we
00:13:37.45\00:13:40.72
have that relationship with God.
00:13:40.72\00:13:42.08
And also, there's a quote that
says the mother is the queen of
00:13:42.92\00:13:46.29
the home and the
children are her subjects.
00:13:46.29\00:13:48.89
And at immediate thought,
people might think, oh, is
00:13:50.19\00:13:52.89
mother supposed to be a tyrant?
00:13:52.89\00:13:54.13
She is in charge.
00:13:54.20\00:13:55.10
But no, that's not
what it means at all.
00:13:55.40\00:13:57.30
But it is our job to acquaint
children with Jesus and lead by
00:13:57.30\00:14:01.70
example.
00:14:01.70\00:14:02.30
It's the mother's duty to
create a pleasant and orderly
00:14:02.90\00:14:05.94
atmosphere and teach
children to do the same.
00:14:05.94\00:14:09.11
A quote from Letters
and Manuscripts says,
00:14:09.44\00:14:11.55
So as the queen of the home,
you're doing your duties, but
00:14:21.02\00:14:23.99
you have your children to help
you if you're leading them in
00:14:23.99\00:14:26.43
the way that God
would have them to go.
00:14:26.43\00:14:28.03
And my next point is to be
a help and not a hindrance.
00:14:29.16\00:14:32.53
And I think of
Moses and Zipporah.
00:14:33.07\00:14:34.77
Moses was commanded to
circumcise his son by God and
00:14:36.00\00:14:39.74
Zipporah didn't want that.
00:14:39.74\00:14:41.01
And she ended up
being a hindrance.
00:14:41.18\00:14:43.11
But as women, we have to
recognize that there's a heavy
00:14:43.31\00:14:46.75
weight resting on the husband
and the father to ensure that
00:14:46.75\00:14:49.48
his family is following where
God would have them to go and
00:14:49.48\00:14:53.29
following God's instruction.
00:14:53.29\00:14:54.39
And as a mother, we can't get
in the way, which is easy to do
00:14:54.79\00:14:57.69
sometimes, but it's
important that we don't.
00:14:57.69\00:15:01.10
And sometimes moms can be ruled
by our emotions and not by a
00:15:01.46\00:15:06.33
thus say of the Lord.
00:15:06.33\00:15:07.27
So that's when we can defer
to our husbands as the priest of
00:15:07.60\00:15:10.81
the home.
00:15:10.81\00:15:11.27
Okay, what does God say?
00:15:11.37\00:15:12.17
And we can come together.
00:15:12.17\00:15:12.21
What does God say?
00:15:13.17\00:15:14.08
And not be fooled by those
heartstrings that sometimes we
00:15:14.38\00:15:17.85
think, well, I'm a nurturer,
so I have to do this as a mom.
00:15:17.85\00:15:20.48
Sometimes we have to go
straight to the word and say,
00:15:20.48\00:15:23.12
well, God
doesn't say to do that.
00:15:23.28\00:15:24.59
So you might have to go against
what we feel in our heart to
00:15:24.59\00:15:27.72
do.
00:15:27.72\00:15:27.96
But can we pause
a second on that?
00:15:28.92\00:15:30.69
I love that thought
about emotions because we are
00:15:31.06\00:15:33.83
emotional creatures.
00:15:33.83\00:15:35.80
I don't know if that's the
right word, but women can be
00:15:35.90\00:15:38.30
emotional and men can too.
00:15:38.30\00:15:39.53
Of course,
emotion is a human thing.
00:15:39.77\00:15:41.54
But what do we do with that?
00:15:41.97\00:15:43.71
I love what you said
about going to the word of God.
00:15:43.74\00:15:45.87
But any thoughts on that with
emotion as far as as a woman
00:15:45.87\00:15:49.28
and as a mom from anyone?
00:15:49.28\00:15:50.95
Well, I think it's hard,
especially when you're seeing
00:15:52.08\00:15:54.28
your child struggle with
something, to not want to do it
00:15:54.28\00:15:58.02
for them.
00:15:58.02\00:16:02.56
way.
00:16:02.56\00:16:05.56
child grow is a hindrance
to their development as well.
00:16:05.56\00:16:10.67
And that's one thing that I
really appreciated about what
00:16:10.97\00:16:14.37
you said right now.
00:16:14.37\00:16:18.64
emotions leaning in the
direction of not wanting to
00:16:18.64\00:16:23.48
discipline children.
00:16:23.48\00:16:24.55
And it's important that we do
discipline our children because
00:16:25.35\00:16:28.55
it's our responsibility
to teach them the difference
00:16:28.55\00:16:31.32
between right and wrong, the
power of choice, but also that
00:16:31.32\00:16:34.96
when they make the wrong
choice, there are consequences.
00:16:34.96\00:16:37.29
And so when we're allowing
our children, because of our
00:16:37.86\00:16:40.56
emotions, or they'll think
I don't love them or whatever
00:16:40.56\00:16:45.13
emotion comes up when it's
time to discipline, we have to
00:16:45.13\00:16:48.37
remember that we're doing
what's best for that child.
00:16:48.37\00:16:50.97
And we're not doing them
any service by allowing them to
00:16:51.21\00:16:54.88
make poor choices
without having some kind of
00:16:54.88\00:16:56.98
consequences.
00:16:56.98\00:16:58.61
I'm like, there's parents
out there that don't even care.
00:16:58.81\00:17:01.38
I care.
00:17:01.45\00:17:02.25
That's why you're
getting in trouble.
00:17:02.32\00:17:03.28
That's why you're going
in your room or something.
00:17:03.45\00:17:05.52
I'm like, I'm disciplining
you because I love you.
00:17:05.85\00:17:08.32
Honey, sorry about Angela.
00:17:09.46\00:17:10.99
It was cute.
00:17:11.86\00:17:17.37
must have fallen off
his bike at some point.
00:17:17.37\00:17:19.07
Something happened with her.
00:17:19.13\00:17:20.20
It was Emma.
00:17:20.37\00:17:21.07
It was Emma.
00:17:21.37\00:17:22.17
Well, Angela goes running
across the field and she said,
00:17:22.74\00:17:25.04
Mommy's coming!
00:17:25.31\00:17:26.01
Mommy's coming!
00:17:26.17\00:17:26.88
He's a teenager.
00:17:28.14\00:17:29.34
Poor son.
00:17:29.94\00:17:30.45
He will always be my baby.
00:17:32.51\00:17:34.02
It was cute.
00:17:35.35\00:17:36.32
He actually got off his
bike to help his cousin.
00:17:36.32\00:17:39.59
But I thought it was him
because he was sitting on the
00:17:40.29\00:17:42.42
floor.
00:17:42.42\00:17:42.69
So I was like, oh, no.
00:17:42.99\00:17:44.23
And other times she would call
him to say, all right, Liam,
00:17:45.63\00:17:48.53
it's time to get some water.
00:17:48.63\00:17:49.66
And he's like, Mom.
00:17:49.70\00:17:50.70
So it is important
to have those emotions.
00:17:52.77\00:17:55.17
They are important.
00:17:55.24\00:17:56.07
And Alan White says, even when
your children are bothering you
00:17:56.47\00:17:59.21
or coming to you with some
small thing that really you
00:17:59.21\00:18:02.98
think is not important,
you take time and you show that
00:18:02.98\00:18:05.28
emotion.
00:18:05.28\00:18:07.68
But especially when it comes
to discipline is important that
00:18:08.08\00:18:11.02
you are unified in
purpose with your husband.
00:18:11.02\00:18:13.92
Because I could be studying
Adventist Herm all I want.
00:18:15.46\00:18:18.76
But if he hasn't studied with
me, we're not going to be on
00:18:18.79\00:18:21.60
the same page about what
God expects of us as parents.
00:18:21.60\00:18:25.13
So he could be looking at child
guidance and learn a principle
00:18:25.17\00:18:28.30
that I haven't looked at.
00:18:28.30\00:18:29.54
But if we're not studying
together, it's not going to
00:18:29.60\00:18:31.61
make much difference.
00:18:31.61\00:18:35.18
to disciplining our children.
00:18:35.18\00:18:36.51
So what we can do is pray
and study together, especially
00:18:36.95\00:18:40.25
about our children and the
government of the home and what
00:18:40.25\00:18:43.32
God requires of us.
00:18:43.32\00:18:44.52
Because we both had, Doral and
I had two different upbringing.
00:18:45.39\00:18:48.62
So the ideas of raising
children are going to be
00:18:49.09\00:18:51.29
different.
00:18:51.29\00:18:54.93
together and see what God wants
and exercise that in our home.
00:18:54.93\00:18:58.80
And to be a help and not a
hindrance when differences do
00:19:00.24\00:19:04.51
arise, especially with
discipline, it's important that
00:19:04.51\00:19:08.04
you don't discuss these things
in front of your children.
00:19:08.04\00:19:10.81
That's good.
00:19:10.88\00:19:11.81
Because that can cause a
breakdown with your children
00:19:12.01\00:19:15.48
and your children can then
minimize the authority of your
00:19:15.48\00:19:19.79
husband.
00:19:19.79\00:19:22.52
right in front of your children.
00:19:22.52\00:19:23.76
I'll be honest, I struggle
with that still sometimes.
00:19:23.89\00:19:26.76
But it's in those moments
that silence is eloquent.
00:19:26.76\00:19:29.96
And really, if there is a
problem, you go behind closed
00:19:30.47\00:19:33.87
doors and discuss those
things and then work together to
00:19:33.87\00:19:37.77
fulfill what God
would have you to do.
00:19:37.77\00:19:39.64
And my third point is to carry
out your household duties with
00:19:40.84\00:19:45.68
joy.
00:19:45.68\00:19:46.05
It's not always easy.
00:19:46.78\00:19:48.35
And many times women may
complain about the laundry,
00:19:49.28\00:19:51.89
like you were saying earlier,
the laundry and the dishes.
00:19:51.99\00:19:54.22
And a lot of times I am
included in this will say, I
00:19:54.22\00:19:57.56
wish my husband
would help more in this.
00:19:57.56\00:19:59.63
Doesn't he see that
the laundry is piled up?
00:19:59.69\00:20:02.60
Doesn't he want to help?
00:20:02.80\00:20:03.90
But just my husband is doing
audio for this program and he
00:20:04.47\00:20:08.27
will probably be thrilled
with what I'm about to say.
00:20:08.27\00:20:10.97
That's great.
00:20:13.78\00:20:14.74
In Titus 2, 3 through 5,
it gives some attributes of a
00:20:15.38\00:20:20.15
woman that we should
learn from the older women.
00:20:20.15\00:20:22.32
It says we should be discreet,
that is of a sound mind and
00:20:22.32\00:20:26.25
self -control.
00:20:26.25\00:20:27.19
Chaste, which is
pure, modest and clean.
00:20:27.42\00:20:29.76
Homemakers, which is to
take care of the household.
00:20:30.59\00:20:33.36
Be good, which is pleasant,
joyful is what we're talking
00:20:33.73\00:20:36.67
about, having joy in
these household duties.
00:20:36.67\00:20:39.13
Obedient to your husband, which
really means to yield to one's
00:20:40.20\00:20:44.04
admonition or advice that
the word of God may not be
00:20:44.04\00:20:47.41
blasphemed.
00:20:47.41\00:20:51.51
It is our duty as
women to be a homemaker.
00:20:51.51\00:20:53.72
As much as we complain and want
our husbands to help with it,
00:20:53.82\00:20:57.12
it's our duty.
00:20:57.12\00:20:58.02
And this is not an excuse for
husbands to not help because it
00:20:58.72\00:21:03.09
is your God-given duty to
ease the burden of your wife.
00:21:03.09\00:21:05.79
Because this is what Jesus did
for the church and they should
00:21:05.96\00:21:10.30
love their wives as
Christ loved the church.
00:21:10.30\00:21:11.97
But since it's our duties to
be the homemakers, if there's
00:21:12.67\00:21:15.84
anything standing in the way
of doing that, we might have to
00:21:15.84\00:21:19.14
let it go.
00:21:19.14\00:21:19.81
Because this is our first work.
00:21:19.81\00:21:22.51
And there's a quote that says
this work of molding, refining
00:21:22.98\00:21:28.52
and polishing is the mother's.
00:21:28.52\00:21:30.32
The character of the
child is to be developed.
00:21:30.72\00:21:32.62
The mother must engrave upon
the tablet of the heart lessons
00:21:34.02\00:21:37.36
as enduring as eternity.
00:21:37.36\00:21:39.19
And she will surely meet the
displeasure of the Lord if she
00:21:39.53\00:21:42.60
neglects the sacred work or
allows anything to interfere
00:21:42.60\00:21:46.10
with it.
00:21:46.10\00:21:51.01
have to rest on just us.
00:21:51.01\00:21:52.41
We're training our children
to also take care of the home.
00:21:52.47\00:21:55.54
So as they get older, they
will also take on that burden of
00:21:55.68\00:21:59.68
taking care of the home and
being homemakers themselves.
00:21:59.68\00:22:02.78
And I also want to discuss
self -care versus home care.
00:22:04.02\00:22:08.32
There's a movement for women
to make sure you have self-care.
00:22:08.86\00:22:13.03
And I don't want you to
think that is not important.
00:22:13.33\00:22:16.20
It is very important that
you take care of yourself, you
00:22:16.20\00:22:18.77
exercise.
00:22:18.77\00:22:19.47
But if you have a home
that is not a well-ordered, well
00:22:20.04\00:22:23.94
-disciplined, clean home
in which your children love to
00:22:23.94\00:22:27.51
obey, you can go and have
all the self-care that you want.
00:22:27.51\00:22:30.18
It's only going to
be a temporary fix.
00:22:30.25\00:22:32.05
So you're going to get a
manicure, get a massage to
00:22:32.35\00:22:35.65
escape this chaotic household.
00:22:35.65\00:22:37.72
And when you come back,
you still have to deal with it.
00:22:38.25\00:22:40.56
So how much better would
it be to have a peaceful, well
00:22:40.56\00:22:44.89
-ordered home so that
there is where you can find joy.
00:22:44.89\00:22:48.66
And then if you have time to
do the manicures and pedicures,
00:22:48.70\00:22:50.93
then you can do that.
00:22:51.17\00:22:52.17
And finally, my final point
is to redeem the time that may
00:22:55.14\00:22:59.84
have been lost.
00:22:59.84\00:23:00.74
Many times we have discord
between our spouses, but we can
00:23:01.61\00:23:05.45
redeem that time and try to
make right those wrongs and the
00:23:05.45\00:23:11.39
areas that we disagree and come
to God, bring it to prayer, and
00:23:11.39\00:23:14.92
we can make them better.
00:23:14.92\00:23:16.06
And also the mistakes that
we have made in raising our
00:23:16.26\00:23:19.83
children, we can
also do better in that.
00:23:19.83\00:23:22.50
My personal testimony is that
I went through a period of great
00:23:22.56\00:23:27.20
depression.
00:23:27.20\00:23:31.31
lives of my children.
00:23:31.31\00:23:32.14
I had a baby.
00:23:33.04\00:23:34.38
I moved away from my home.
00:23:34.71\00:23:36.04
Sickness struck my husband and
my son, and it caused a great
00:23:37.28\00:23:41.82
depression.
00:23:41.82\00:23:42.68
And I can liken myself to
Rachel as she was given birth
00:23:43.02\00:23:46.86
to Benjamin.
00:23:46.86\00:23:47.46
She decided to call his name
Benoni, I think, Benoni, which
00:23:48.36\00:23:53.63
means son of my sorrow.
00:23:53.63\00:23:55.16
And so I felt after my children
in my household, I felt as
00:23:55.50\00:23:58.93
though my life
was slipping from me.
00:23:58.93\00:24:00.40
I just wasn't the
person that I was.
00:24:00.47\00:24:01.87
I was dying and I was depressed.
00:24:01.87\00:24:04.31
But it doesn't have to be that
way if you would follow God's
00:24:04.31\00:24:08.14
counsel, because Rachel's
husband, Jacob, then went and
00:24:08.14\00:24:15.15
called his son Benjamin
instead, which means son of the
00:24:15.15\00:24:18.72
right hand or strength.
00:24:18.72\00:24:20.02
So even though having children
can bring those trials that
00:24:20.96\00:24:24.73
sometimes feel as though your
life is slipping away, I'm just
00:24:24.73\00:24:27.13
not the same
woman that I was before.
00:24:27.13\00:24:29.66
But it can, if you would follow
God's advice, you raise your
00:24:29.66\00:24:33.97
children to take on the burdens
of the home with you, then they
00:24:33.97\00:24:37.54
can be the children
that bring strength to you.
00:24:37.54\00:24:39.57
They can be your right hand.
00:24:39.57\00:24:40.98
And I'll finish with this quote.
00:24:41.48\00:24:43.14
That's beautiful.
00:25:04.40\00:25:05.43
I like you sharing that.
00:25:06.47\00:25:07.87
That's a personal testimony
about the depression, because I
00:25:07.97\00:25:11.07
think people in
general struggle with that.
00:25:11.07\00:25:14.54
And women can deal with that.
00:25:15.84\00:25:17.21
Depression is a real thing.
00:25:17.25\00:25:18.58
So let's talk just a moment
about that before we switch to
00:25:18.68\00:25:21.75
Terri.
00:25:21.75\00:25:21.95
Any thoughts or ideas?
00:25:22.95\00:25:24.39
Because you at home could
be struggling with depression
00:25:24.45\00:25:27.26
right now.
00:25:27.26\00:25:27.99
And we say, be
a ray of sunshine.
00:25:27.99\00:25:29.99
And you say, but I can't, but
I don't know how to get out of
00:25:30.09\00:25:33.83
what I'm in right now.
00:25:33.83\00:25:35.13
And I understand
there's biological reasons.
00:25:35.13\00:25:37.20
There could be a
chemical imbalance in the brain
00:25:37.43\00:25:39.97
contributing to that.
00:25:39.97\00:25:41.17
We know that.
00:25:41.37\00:25:42.34
But there could also be other
factors that could play into
00:25:42.60\00:25:46.01
that or other factors that
play into healing from that.
00:25:46.01\00:25:49.08
Any thoughts on that?
00:25:49.11\00:25:50.18
What really jumped out at
me that she shared was that our
00:25:50.51\00:25:53.01
children are our first work.
00:25:53.01\00:25:55.02
And back around, I think it was
in the 1960s, I was a baby, but
00:25:55.02\00:25:59.79
I know that there was
a women's lib movement.
00:25:59.79\00:26:02.12
And women were, from that point
on to this very day, taught
00:26:02.92\00:26:06.06
that, oh, I can do
anything a man can do.
00:26:06.06\00:26:08.13
I can be out there working all
day and then come home and take
00:26:08.23\00:26:13.80
care of the family.
00:26:13.80\00:26:14.54
We put such high
expectations on ourselves.
00:26:14.80\00:26:17.11
And I think sometimes that's
what brings on the depression
00:26:17.24\00:26:20.51
is that we have these high
expectations of what our life
00:26:20.51\00:26:23.81
should be like.
00:26:23.81\00:26:26.35
And then when we find ourselves
struggling and doing too much,
00:26:26.65\00:26:29.65
it becomes very depressing.
00:26:30.05\00:26:31.49
Yeah, I agree with that.
00:26:32.39\00:26:34.22
Absolutely.
00:26:34.59\00:26:34.69
Because it's not possible.
00:26:35.22\00:26:37.79
And a lot of times the goals
that are part of movements like
00:26:37.99\00:26:42.53
that, they're
not even realistic.
00:26:42.53\00:26:44.03
They're just fiction.
00:26:44.80\00:26:45.83
There's
something that's made up.
00:26:46.07\00:26:48.24
And yeah, you could probably
maintain something like that
00:26:48.24\00:26:51.44
for a year or two, maybe longer.
00:26:51.44\00:26:53.51
It probably is possible.
00:26:53.84\00:26:55.18
But then once you start adding
more things to the equation,
00:26:55.64\00:26:58.91
like, oh, now you
have, I don't know, a pet.
00:26:59.11\00:27:00.92
Or now you have children
that you need to take care of.
00:27:00.98\00:27:03.75
And you're noticing, oh, the
spouse is more like a child now
00:27:03.79\00:27:09.02
because now I
have to go to work.
00:27:09.02\00:27:10.93
I have to take care of the home.
00:27:10.99\00:27:13.36
I have to take
care of the children.
00:27:13.46\00:27:15.10
I have to take
care of the husband.
00:27:15.16\00:27:16.83
I have to take care of myself.
00:27:16.83\00:27:18.43
And you're supposed to be
very happy while doing that.
00:27:18.93\00:27:21.24
That's not real.
00:27:21.24\00:27:22.20
It's not real.
00:27:22.90\00:27:24.01
No one can sustain that.
00:27:24.54\00:27:26.64
And I think that has kind of
taken the place of the biblical
00:27:27.14\00:27:32.11
role, of
biblical womanhood, right?
00:27:32.11\00:27:34.62
Of being submissive, of being
able, yes, to put others above
00:27:34.62\00:27:39.05
yourself, right,
or before yourself.
00:27:39.05\00:27:41.69
But also
recognizing for what purpose.
00:27:42.02\00:27:44.29
It's not to clean up after them.
00:27:44.29\00:27:45.96
It's not to make sure that
they're successful in life.
00:27:46.13\00:27:48.83
It's to speak life into
them because you're rooted and
00:27:48.86\00:27:52.27
grounded in the word and
not trying to chase behind every
00:27:52.27\00:27:55.57
fashion and, you know, whatever
it is that the world puts
00:27:55.57\00:28:00.51
before our eyes.
00:28:00.51\00:28:01.58
You walked that journey, Sasha.
00:28:04.05\00:28:05.81
Anything that helped
you specifically come out?
00:28:06.08\00:28:08.08
Well, for me personally, I
don't know that I could advise
00:28:08.72\00:28:12.25
anyone else to do this.
00:28:12.25\00:28:13.66
But I had to step
away from the situation.
00:28:13.66\00:28:17.09
We had moved to
Michigan and I was isolated.
00:28:17.23\00:28:20.33
So I went back home, even
though it meant separating
00:28:20.66\00:28:24.13
physically from
Doral for a time.
00:28:24.13\00:28:26.20
I don't know, really,
if it's what God wanted.
00:28:26.60\00:28:29.57
But at that time, I just needed
that familial support and the
00:28:29.67\00:28:32.77
raising of my children.
00:28:32.77\00:28:33.54
He worked long hours.
00:28:33.61\00:28:34.71
He was away from home.
00:28:34.74\00:28:35.61
I didn't drive.
00:28:35.64\00:28:36.64
So I was stuck inside
all day with these children.
00:28:36.85\00:28:39.25
So it was depressing.
00:28:39.28\00:28:40.35
So I had to step away
from the situation, just get my
00:28:40.42\00:28:42.88
bearings.
00:28:42.88\00:28:45.85
And another example is
I desperately wanted to
00:28:46.42\00:28:50.89
homeschool my children.
00:28:50.89\00:28:52.46
But when I got moved out here,
I was still getting my bearings
00:28:52.86\00:28:56.93
and trying to
get back on my feet.
00:28:56.93\00:28:59.63
So I had to send my
children to school for a time.
00:28:59.67\00:29:02.70
And I'm considering
homeschooling again.
00:29:02.80\00:29:04.67
And I have no
problems with the school.
00:29:04.67\00:29:04.71
But it's just I want to kind
of have that firsthand role in
00:29:06.64\00:29:10.18
raising my children and
developing their characters.
00:29:10.18\00:29:12.61
But I had to send
them to school for a time.
00:29:13.05\00:29:15.45
And like Hannah, I had to
put them in the hands of someone
00:29:15.92\00:29:18.55
else.
00:29:18.55\00:29:23.89
And I pray that if I do go back
to homeschooling, I now have
00:29:24.06\00:29:27.93
that strength built back up
again and that faith in God and
00:29:27.93\00:29:30.90
that relationship with
God to help me overcome.
00:29:30.90\00:29:33.37
That's beautiful.
00:29:33.57\00:29:34.27
You all talked
about expectations.
00:29:34.40\00:29:36.07
And sometimes we put
expectations even on recovering
00:29:36.44\00:29:39.21
from depression or the things
that we, the challenges that we
00:29:39.21\00:29:42.34
deal with.
00:29:42.34\00:29:42.84
Well, it needs to look this way.
00:29:43.14\00:29:44.41
But everyone's
situation is different.
00:29:44.81\00:29:46.92
And we incorporate
those biblical principles.
00:29:46.92\00:29:49.25
But yet the expectation,
oh, I want to homeschool.
00:29:49.88\00:29:52.12
But maybe right now the right
thing is in school, you know.
00:29:52.29\00:29:54.76
So I like that.
00:29:54.76\00:29:55.96
That's good.
00:29:55.99\00:29:56.49
Absolutely.
00:29:56.83\00:29:57.39
Terri, I know we're
running out of time here.
00:29:57.79\00:29:59.06
So let's transition
the role of a mentor.
00:29:59.06\00:30:01.63
Yeah.
00:30:02.20\00:30:04.37
And I'm here to
represent the older women.
00:30:04.37\00:30:04.40
And so God has
blessed us all with gifts.
00:30:06.67\00:30:10.47
And no matter what age we are,
we can use those gifts for his
00:30:10.67\00:30:13.17
glory.
00:30:13.17\00:30:13.84
And so I've already shared a
little bit about my background.
00:30:14.38\00:30:16.61
But I'll just start by saying
I was married to a wonderful man
00:30:16.68\00:30:19.58
for 33 years.
00:30:19.58\00:30:20.85
We had a wonderful marriage.
00:30:21.12\00:30:22.25
We had a lot of growth together.
00:30:22.38\00:30:23.99
And we had one
daughter together.
00:30:24.62\00:30:26.86
Unfortunately, when my husband
was only 53, he died from an
00:30:27.82\00:30:31.86
autoimmune disease.
00:30:31.86\00:30:32.76
And that was very difficult.
00:30:33.66\00:30:35.66
And so I became a widow at
51 years old, unexpectedly.
00:30:35.66\00:30:39.77
And around the same time,
my daughter gave birth to our
00:30:40.77\00:30:44.61
first grandchild.
00:30:44.61\00:30:45.61
And under some other
circumstances, I ended up with
00:30:46.11\00:30:48.18
that child.
00:30:48.18\00:30:48.81
And a year later, I
ended up with another child.
00:30:49.24\00:30:51.65
And so I'm raising my
two grandchildren by myself.
00:30:51.75\00:30:55.12
But it's been a
tremendous blessing.
00:30:55.38\00:30:56.95
I will say God has a
way of speaking to you.
00:30:57.09\00:31:00.89
And my first grandchild
was born on my husband's last
00:31:00.92\00:31:03.26
birthday.
00:31:03.26\00:31:03.93
So that was a beautiful gift.
00:31:03.93\00:31:06.26
And he was able to see her.
00:31:06.33\00:31:07.73
And then our second one is
what I will call his heavenly
00:31:07.76\00:31:10.13
surprise.
00:31:10.13\00:31:10.83
But I wanted to share with
our viewers at home that we can
00:31:12.00\00:31:18.04
relate our experiences to a
lot of the experiences in the
00:31:18.04\00:31:21.98
Bible.
00:31:21.98\00:31:25.61
in there?
00:31:25.61\00:31:29.12
the things in the
stories to your own life.
00:31:29.12\00:31:30.72
And so the one that I relate
to is found in the book of Ruth.
00:31:30.72\00:31:34.02
And I love the story in
the book of Ruth because it
00:31:34.89\00:31:38.79
includes a lady
by the name of Naomi.
00:31:38.79\00:31:41.16
And so Naomi's situation
was very similar to mine in many
00:31:42.56\00:31:46.30
ways.
00:31:46.30\00:31:46.90
She was married to
a man named Elimelech.
00:31:47.24\00:31:50.91
And they had two sons.
00:31:51.01\00:31:52.54
And as a result of a famine,
they had to go to Moab and just
00:31:52.64\00:31:58.58
to survive and have food.
00:31:58.58\00:31:59.91
And so they go to Moab.
00:31:59.91\00:32:02.48
And unfortunately, the Bible
doesn't tell us what happened.
00:32:03.55\00:32:05.59
It just says
that her husband died.
00:32:05.72\00:32:07.36
And so here she is in Moab
by herself with her two sons.
00:32:07.49\00:32:12.56
And after the husband's
death, her two sons married two
00:32:14.46\00:32:18.30
Moabite women, one named
Orpah and one named Ruth.
00:32:18.30\00:32:22.10
And so, you know, everything
she still had a family and
00:32:22.70\00:32:26.21
everything, everything
was probably going OK at that
00:32:26.21\00:32:28.81
point.
00:32:28.81\00:32:32.91
And again, the Bible doesn't
say what happened, why they
00:32:33.21\00:32:36.12
died.
00:32:36.12\00:32:36.58
But here she is now
in a foreign country.
00:32:36.99\00:32:39.39
And she's with her
two daughters-in-law.
00:32:39.79\00:32:42.32
And she decides that she's
going to go back to her home
00:32:42.59\00:32:46.09
country because she heard that
they now were doing better with
00:32:46.09\00:32:49.10
food and she
could go back there.
00:32:49.10\00:32:50.50
So she decides to go
back to Bethlehem Judah.
00:32:50.53\00:32:53.50
And this is where I love where
the story picks up because the
00:32:54.44\00:32:58.51
character of Naomi
really shines here.
00:32:58.51\00:33:00.88
And her two daughter-in-laws
want to go with her, which, I
00:33:02.31\00:33:06.08
mean, speaking in general,
it doesn't always work out where
00:33:06.08\00:33:09.45
the mother-in-law is someone
that you're really close to.
00:33:09.45\00:33:11.59
But these two women, they
wanted to leave their home
00:33:11.62\00:33:14.26
country and go back to
Bethlehem Judah to be with
00:33:14.26\00:33:18.03
their mother-in-law.
00:33:18.03\00:33:23.23
kind of person she was.
00:33:23.23\00:33:24.47
And so she encourages them not
to go with her to stay back in
00:33:24.93\00:33:29.87
their own country because she
wants them to be remarried and
00:33:29.87\00:33:33.04
have a productive life and
be able to have children and all
00:33:33.04\00:33:35.31
that.
00:33:35.31\00:33:35.58
They didn't really want to.
00:33:36.68\00:33:38.21
In the end, Orpa
decides that she'll go back.
00:33:38.68\00:33:41.12
She will not stay
with her mother-in-law.
00:33:41.15\00:33:43.45
But Ruth says,
No, I'm not going.
00:33:43.89\00:33:45.72
She says, I want to be
with you where you die.
00:33:45.72\00:33:48.96
I will die and
your God will be my God.
00:33:48.96\00:33:51.36
And so I just thought that
here's a here's an older woman.
00:33:52.83\00:33:56.16
She is ministering to these two
younger women, one for a time
00:33:56.97\00:34:02.47
and one for a lifetime.
00:34:02.47\00:34:03.91
And so as women, God will bring
other women across our pathway.
00:34:04.41\00:34:08.41
And sometimes we'll just
minister to them for a short
00:34:08.64\00:34:11.65
time.
00:34:11.65\00:34:15.15
that it's meant to be for a
lifetime that we're going to
00:34:15.15\00:34:18.19
mentor them and we're
going to be there for them.
00:34:18.19\00:34:21.02
So Ruth goes back with her
and they they get back to town.
00:34:23.29\00:34:30.33
And it's really interesting
what happens when they get back
00:34:30.37\00:34:33.40
to town.
00:34:33.40\00:34:34.80
Naomi's everybody comes out
and they're like happy, so happy
00:34:36.54\00:34:39.47
that she's back.
00:34:39.47\00:34:40.11
Oh, you're back.
00:34:40.11\00:34:40.71
You're back.
00:34:40.78\00:34:43.78
She says, I don't want
to be called Naomi anymore.
00:34:44.78\00:34:46.61
And they're like, Well,
what do you want to be called?
00:34:46.75\00:34:48.28
And she says, Just call
me Mara, which translates as
00:34:48.28\00:34:51.82
bitter.
00:34:51.82\00:34:52.35
And so I thought about that and
I thought, Well, you know, she
00:34:53.05\00:34:55.52
had a loving character.
00:34:55.52\00:34:56.66
She had these two women
that wanted to follow her.
00:34:56.79\00:34:58.73
She couldn't
have been that bitter.
00:34:58.73\00:35:00.53
But I looked more into it.
00:35:00.53\00:35:01.70
And it's the same word that was
used in Job's situation and in
00:35:01.70\00:35:06.27
Jeremiah's
situation for two examples.
00:35:06.27\00:35:08.57
It was bitterness of soul.
00:35:09.10\00:35:10.57
It was more of a grief
over the loss of her loved ones.
00:35:10.71\00:35:13.81
But it wasn't like a
bitter, an angry bitter.
00:35:14.04\00:35:16.85
And so there's a
difference there.
00:35:17.35\00:35:18.91
And so I think it's important
for us as women to remember
00:35:18.95\00:35:21.75
that we can have a
situation that can be bitter.
00:35:21.75\00:35:25.35
The grief of the
loss of a loved one.
00:35:25.35\00:35:28.36
But we don't have to
allow it to make us bitter.
00:35:28.66\00:35:30.86
And that's so important for
me to really reflect on that
00:35:31.73\00:35:34.36
because after I lost my
husband, I can honestly say
00:35:34.36\00:35:37.60
that I wasn't bitter about
his death because he died in
00:35:37.60\00:35:41.84
Christ.
00:35:41.84\00:35:47.44
relationship with him.
00:35:47.44\00:35:48.41
And I knew how
he related with God.
00:35:48.41\00:35:50.51
And so I was secure in that.
00:35:50.65\00:35:52.15
But what I was bitter about was
the fact that my daughter was
00:35:52.15\00:35:55.02
not living up to her
responsibilities as a mother.
00:35:55.02\00:35:57.65
And so now here I was
with this baby at 51 years old.
00:35:58.12\00:36:01.52
And so I was still going to
church and I was still doing
00:36:01.96\00:36:04.46
all of those things.
00:36:04.46\00:36:05.56
But I was bitter because
now it had disrupted my life.
00:36:06.16\00:36:09.50
But also I knew that my
grandchild was growing up
00:36:09.50\00:36:09.53
without her mother.
00:36:12.47\00:36:13.27
And so I would just encourage
all of us as women, your
00:36:13.77\00:36:18.81
situation can be bitter, but
you don't have to allow it to
00:36:18.81\00:36:21.74
make you bitter.
00:36:21.74\00:36:22.38
But praise God, he
doesn't give up on us.
00:36:22.91\00:36:25.55
And so Ruth went back and
her and Naomi were back in town.
00:36:26.68\00:36:30.19
And what I see here now is that
Naomi is guiding Ruth on her
00:36:30.79\00:36:35.69
journey because now
Ruth is in a foreign country.
00:36:35.69\00:36:39.19
And Naomi has an understanding
of all the customs and
00:36:39.56\00:36:42.40
traditions and things like that.
00:36:42.40\00:36:43.83
And so she's guiding her
on where she can work and the
00:36:43.83\00:36:47.84
things that she can do.
00:36:47.84\00:36:48.94
And of course, we know
Boaz comes into the picture.
00:36:48.94\00:36:51.34
And so what I see there is
Naomi steps out of the role as
00:36:54.58\00:37:00.62
mother and wife.
00:37:00.62\00:37:02.75
And now she's become a mentor
to this young woman who doesn't
00:37:02.98\00:37:06.86
have an understanding of
that culture or that religion.
00:37:06.86\00:37:11.43
But she had the
desire to follow that.
00:37:11.46\00:37:14.46
And so Naomi is
leading her step by step.
00:37:14.76\00:37:17.40
And what I think is beautiful
is that through the course of
00:37:17.40\00:37:21.57
events, God allows Ruth
to marry into Naomi's family
00:37:21.57\00:37:26.01
again.
00:37:26.01\00:37:26.61
And so I encourage everyone at
home to go and read that story.
00:37:27.24\00:37:30.05
There's so much
more that could be said.
00:37:30.15\00:37:31.81
And so as a result of Ruth
marrying into the family again,
00:37:32.58\00:37:37.19
she gives birth to a child.
00:37:37.52\00:37:39.19
And Naomi has the privilege of
becoming what the Bible calls a
00:37:39.82\00:37:43.79
nurse.
00:37:43.79\00:37:46.49
She becomes the
nanny for that child.
00:37:46.49\00:37:48.53
And I saw a similarity in
my situation where I was a wife
00:37:48.56\00:37:53.13
and a mother.
00:37:53.13\00:37:53.70
My husband dies.
00:37:53.97\00:37:54.94
My daughter steps out
of the situation by choice.
00:37:55.04\00:37:57.27
God gives me these two
beautiful grandchildren to take
00:37:57.67\00:38:00.44
care of.
00:38:00.44\00:38:01.28
And then I have
a new role in life.
00:38:01.28\00:38:03.28
And so something else that
you wanted me to speak to was
00:38:03.45\00:38:07.02
figuring out who you are
after you lose your husband.
00:38:07.02\00:38:10.79
Because when you've been
married to somebody for 33
00:38:10.82\00:38:13.05
years and then
they're gone all of a sudden.
00:38:13.05\00:38:15.66
It's like, wow,
now what do I do?
00:38:15.66\00:38:18.19
But thank God that
he's a faithful husband.
00:38:18.83\00:38:21.43
And so it even tells us in
the book of Isaiah, thy maker is
00:38:21.56\00:38:24.67
thy husband.
00:38:24.67\00:38:25.13
And so I leaned heavily on that.
00:38:25.47\00:38:27.37
And I remember my sister saying
to me, sis, how are you going
00:38:27.60\00:38:30.77
to live by yourself?
00:38:30.77\00:38:31.71
I married him when I was
18 and now here I am alone.
00:38:31.84\00:38:34.24
And I said, well, you know,
I'm not going to do anything but
00:38:34.38\00:38:37.25
live by myself because I didn't
want to be a burden to anybody
00:38:37.25\00:38:39.38
else.
00:38:39.38\00:38:39.78
And I was going
through a heavy time of grief.
00:38:40.35\00:38:43.15
And I couldn't
hardly really study or pray.
00:38:43.15\00:38:46.25
But I read through the book
of Psalms because the book of
00:38:46.42\00:38:49.22
Psalms just has such
rich meaning and prayers.
00:38:49.22\00:38:52.93
And it's just real.
00:38:52.96\00:38:53.86
It's what I would call raw.
00:38:54.20\00:38:55.50
And so as I was reading
through the Psalms and then into
00:38:56.13\00:38:58.67
Proverbs, God brought
me to a beautiful verse.
00:38:58.67\00:39:00.80
And it just simply says that
God establishes the border of
00:39:00.80\00:39:04.01
the widow.
00:39:04.01\00:39:09.28
And he says, you can
come here to anybody else.
00:39:09.28\00:39:11.58
You can come here, but
you can't come any further.
00:39:11.61\00:39:13.78
And that brought me
such comfort and such peace.
00:39:13.82\00:39:16.32
And so I was able to live
by myself and not worry about
00:39:16.38\00:39:19.65
anybody coming in
the house to this day.
00:39:19.65\00:39:21.22
I still don't worry about
anybody coming into the house
00:39:21.26\00:39:23.83
because I know that God has
established the border of the
00:39:23.83\00:39:26.76
widow.
00:39:26.76\00:39:27.03
And so that's been
that's brought me such peace.
00:39:28.03\00:39:30.27
But back to finding out who
we are, something else that the
00:39:30.27\00:39:34.17
Lord has shown me.
00:39:34.17\00:39:35.14
Did somebody
else have a comment?
00:39:35.67\00:39:36.67
Go ahead.
00:39:36.67\00:39:37.94
I'm sorry.
00:39:38.07\00:39:38.41
About the being in a bitter
situation, but not allowing it
00:39:39.77\00:39:42.84
to make you bitter.
00:39:42.84\00:39:43.71
That made me think of Abigail
and in the Bible, right, where
00:39:44.11\00:39:48.65
her marriage was
likely arranged or whatever.
00:39:48.65\00:39:50.85
And Nabal was a drunkard.
00:39:51.25\00:39:52.32
So I'm sure if anybody had
reason to be disappointed in
00:39:52.42\00:39:55.02
their marriage, it was Abigail
was right up there on the list.
00:39:55.02\00:39:59.03
But still, you know, later
on, when we see her interaction
00:39:59.46\00:40:02.63
with David, who's coming to
kill her husband, she's still
00:40:02.63\00:40:06.10
submissive to Nabal.
00:40:06.10\00:40:08.44
She takes the
responsibility for him.
00:40:09.04\00:40:11.34
She still doesn't blame
him or talk poorly of him.
00:40:11.47\00:40:16.18
You know, so she didn't allow
that to make her bitter because
00:40:16.41\00:40:18.51
she could have very easily
been like, yeah, this is great.
00:40:18.51\00:40:20.75
Come kill him.
00:40:20.85\00:40:21.72
You know, I'll be
I'll be rid of him.
00:40:21.75\00:40:23.62
But she still takes on that
role and honors her husband in
00:40:23.92\00:40:27.72
that biblical way
because she she loved the Lord.
00:40:27.72\00:40:30.89
And I absolutely saw that
and how you were describing the
00:40:30.89\00:40:35.33
situation with Naomi
and her daughters-in-law.
00:40:35.33\00:40:38.07
So that was beautiful.
00:40:38.13\00:40:38.90
I just wanted to point that out.
00:40:38.93\00:40:40.10
Thank you.
00:40:40.34\00:40:40.77
Thank you.
00:40:41.30\00:40:41.60
Did anyone else have a thought?
00:40:42.00\00:40:43.07
I thought it was amazing how
you know, God gave you courage
00:40:44.27\00:40:47.54
and living with your
husband for 33 years.
00:40:47.54\00:40:49.64
So that's like more
than half your life.
00:40:49.64\00:40:52.21
It was like and
everything you knew.
00:40:52.25\00:40:54.48
Yeah.
00:40:54.72\00:40:55.22
And we grew up together.
00:40:55.28\00:40:56.12
And everything you've learned.
00:40:56.95\00:40:58.79
Yeah.
00:40:59.15\00:40:59.52
So it took time.
00:41:01.06\00:41:02.29
It wasn't something that
happened overnight, but it took
00:41:02.46\00:41:05.33
time for me to settle into my
new role as a single mom and as
00:41:05.33\00:41:10.00
an unmarried woman.
00:41:10.00\00:41:11.00
I still have
times that I miss him.
00:41:11.33\00:41:13.30
But something the Lord has
been showing me lately is that
00:41:13.64\00:41:16.34
everything is for a season.
00:41:16.34\00:41:17.51
Yes.
00:41:17.67\00:41:21.98
and verses 1 and then 11.
00:41:21.98\00:41:24.58
So Ecclesiastes
3 verses 1 and 11.
00:41:24.68\00:41:27.05
And the Bible says to
everything, there's a season, a
00:41:27.52\00:41:31.35
time for every
purpose under heaven.
00:41:31.35\00:41:33.56
I love verse 11 because it
says he has made everything
00:41:34.09\00:41:37.76
beautiful in its time.
00:41:37.76\00:41:39.73
Also, he has put eternity in
our hearts, except that no one
00:41:40.33\00:41:45.07
can find out the work that
God does from beginning to end.
00:41:45.07\00:41:48.04
But what I just want to point
out is yes, everything is for a
00:41:48.04\00:41:50.91
season.
00:41:50.91\00:41:53.98
Now I have a season of
the privilege of raising my
00:41:54.01\00:41:56.68
granddaughters.
00:41:56.68\00:42:00.28
like this.
00:42:00.28\00:42:01.05
And it's just a beautiful thing.
00:42:01.05\00:42:02.28
But what I wanted to point out
in verse 11 is that he's made
00:42:02.55\00:42:05.75
everything
beautiful in its time.
00:42:05.75\00:42:07.69
And sometimes we
want to rush things.
00:42:08.22\00:42:09.56
So if you're going through
a time right now where you're
00:42:09.56\00:42:09.59
grieving the loss of your
husband, just know that this
00:42:12.39\00:42:14.73
too shall pass.
00:42:14.73\00:42:18.90
or forget about him because
that won't happen, but you will
00:42:18.90\00:42:22.77
get better.
00:42:22.77\00:42:23.44
So just hold on to the Lord.
00:42:23.64\00:42:25.24
And when it says that he has
put eternity in our hearts, we
00:42:25.61\00:42:29.51
can look past the here and now
to the season that we're in and
00:42:29.51\00:42:32.45
know that God has a
greater plan for us.
00:42:32.45\00:42:35.05
And he has given us
eternal life through his son.
00:42:35.32\00:42:37.92
And so we can hold on to
that as our blessed hope.
00:42:37.92\00:42:40.72
So we need to look past
our present circumstances.
00:42:41.46\00:42:44.69
And what I love about the life
of Jesus is that he lived in an
00:42:44.69\00:42:48.80
atmosphere of heaven.
00:42:48.80\00:42:49.90
Even though he was surrounded
by people that were finding
00:42:50.47\00:42:52.83
fault with him and persecuting
him, he still kept his peace
00:42:52.83\00:42:57.71
about him.
00:42:57.71\00:42:58.51
And I love Hebrews
12 verses 1 through 3.
00:42:58.84\00:43:02.41
It says that therefore we also,
since we are surrounded by so
00:43:02.41\00:43:07.35
great a cloud of witnesses, let
us lay aside every weight and
00:43:07.35\00:43:11.49
the sin which does so easily
beset us and let us run with
00:43:11.49\00:43:15.12
endurance the race
that is set before us.
00:43:15.12\00:43:18.29
Now, how do we
run with endurance?
00:43:18.29\00:43:19.73
The Bible tells us looking
unto Jesus, the author and the
00:43:20.46\00:43:24.87
finisher of our faith.
00:43:24.87\00:43:25.93
And here's the
example that Jesus gave us.
00:43:25.93\00:43:28.44
It says,
00:43:28.64\00:43:28.94
And so Jesus was able to
endure the cross because he was
00:43:37.68\00:43:41.48
looking at the joy
that was set before him.
00:43:41.48\00:43:43.39
He was looking at the souls
that would be saved as a result
00:43:43.62\00:43:46.42
of his sacrifice.
00:43:46.42\00:43:47.62
And so my sisters out there
listening to the conversation
00:43:47.62\00:43:51.46
today, just know that you
can dwell in the presence of God
00:43:51.46\00:43:55.90
each day.
00:43:55.90\00:43:56.53
You don't have to wait
just for the coming of Christ.
00:43:57.00\00:43:59.23
You can dwell in his presence
today knowing that he has
00:43:59.57\00:44:02.94
promised you eternal life and
you can live in that joy now.
00:44:02.94\00:44:05.97
And like I said, I do miss
my husband, but knowing that he
00:44:06.71\00:44:11.15
died in Christ, I have
that hope of seeing him again.
00:44:11.15\00:44:14.48
And I know right after he died,
1 Thessalonians chapter 4 just
00:44:14.48\00:44:19.22
really came alive to me where
it says, The Lord himself shall
00:44:19.22\00:44:21.82
descend from heaven with a
shout with the voice of the
00:44:21.82\00:44:23.96
archangel and with the trump
of God and the dead in Christ
00:44:23.96\00:44:26.66
shall rise first.
00:44:26.66\00:44:27.60
And I got so excited and I'm
like, OK, I'm going to see him
00:44:28.13\00:44:30.83
again.
00:44:30.83\00:44:35.84
because he said, you know what,
your husband didn't die for
00:44:35.84\00:44:38.31
you.
00:44:38.31\00:44:42.08
Christ before he died?
00:44:42.08\00:44:44.31
And so it's not that he was
rebuking me for being excited
00:44:44.58\00:44:47.22
to see my husband, but more
so to be excited to see the face
00:44:47.22\00:44:51.19
of our Redeemer.
00:44:51.19\00:44:52.15
And so the last thing that
I really want to share is that
00:44:52.85\00:44:56.89
God can do a new
thing in your life.
00:44:56.89\00:44:58.59
When you go through the
seasons of life, when you've had
00:44:59.09\00:45:02.36
different experiences,
no matter what you're going
00:45:02.36\00:45:06.53
through, God can
bring you out of it.
00:45:06.53\00:45:08.40
And I love what he says in
Isaiah 43, 18 and 19, Do not
00:45:08.40\00:45:13.54
remember the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
00:45:13.54\00:45:17.45
Behold, I will do a new thing.
00:45:17.85\00:45:19.98
Now it shall spring forth.
00:45:20.45\00:45:21.95
Shall you not know it?
00:45:22.05\00:45:23.15
I will even make a road in
the wilderness and rivers in the
00:45:23.59\00:45:27.72
desert.
00:45:27.72\00:45:31.43
matter what you're going
through, God can do a new
00:45:31.43\00:45:33.23
thing.
00:45:33.23\00:45:36.10
to him in prayer.
00:45:36.10\00:45:37.07
And he hears you.
00:45:37.37\00:45:38.93
And so I have the testimony now
that God has done a new thing.
00:45:39.23\00:45:42.64
After my husband died
and I ended up having my two
00:45:43.81\00:45:46.71
grandchildren, the Lord was
putting a heavy burden on my
00:45:46.71\00:45:49.88
heart that I needed to
raise those kids in a different
00:45:49.88\00:45:52.28
atmosphere.
00:45:52.28\00:45:56.85
System.
00:45:56.85\00:45:57.69
And I was working in their
maintenance department as a
00:45:58.02\00:46:00.12
senior bookkeeper.
00:46:00.12\00:46:03.53
my window in my office
and saying, Lord, I just need
00:46:03.53\00:46:07.66
something different.
00:46:07.66\00:46:08.73
If you don't get me out of
here, I just don't know what's
00:46:08.83\00:46:10.43
going to happen.
00:46:10.43\00:46:11.27
And so I just had this
heavy burden to move away.
00:46:11.50\00:46:14.64
And I started looking online
for different places that I
00:46:14.67\00:46:17.57
could move to.
00:46:17.57\00:46:18.77
And the last place on earth
I ever thought I would move to
00:46:18.77\00:46:21.44
would be
Thompsonville, Illinois.
00:46:21.44\00:46:22.98
But God brought me here.
00:46:24.48\00:46:26.11
And so through a course of
events, I moved my girls 1,100
00:46:26.15\00:46:29.72
miles away.
00:46:29.72\00:46:30.49
Was it easy?
00:46:31.39\00:46:32.15
No, it was not.
00:46:32.15\00:46:32.19
And I just remember after I
made an offer on a home here
00:46:33.66\00:46:36.46
that I had not seen, by the
way, which people at home are
00:46:36.46\00:46:38.86
probably going to
say, are you crazy?
00:46:38.86\00:46:40.13
You bought a
house you didn't see.
00:46:40.30\00:46:41.60
But I said to the Lord, Lord,
if this is really what you want
00:46:42.20\00:46:45.77
me to do, you're going
to have to give me faith.
00:46:45.77\00:46:47.64
And you're going to have to
give me the courage to do this.
00:46:47.64\00:46:50.54
Because, mind you, my sisters,
you need to know that when I
00:46:50.84\00:46:54.08
first gave my heart to Christ,
I was afraid to go out of the
00:46:54.08\00:46:56.88
house at night by myself.
00:46:56.88\00:46:57.98
I married my
husband at 18 years old.
00:46:58.08\00:46:59.91
He took me everywhere.
00:46:59.91\00:47:00.88
I didn't drive at night.
00:47:01.22\00:47:02.45
So to pack up a six by 12 U
-Haul and two little girls and
00:47:02.68\00:47:06.79
drive 1,100 miles by myself
and even through the Smoky
00:47:06.79\00:47:10.33
Mountains because we took a
little detour to go to the camp
00:47:10.33\00:47:12.63
meeting in North Carolina,
that was an amazing feat of God.
00:47:12.63\00:47:15.53
It wasn't me.
00:47:15.53\00:47:16.63
But anyway, the Lord brought
me here and I have a wonderful
00:47:17.67\00:47:20.57
church family.
00:47:20.57\00:47:21.74
I have a wonderful 3ABN family.
00:47:21.77\00:47:23.77
And it's just
been such a blessing.
00:47:24.07\00:47:25.61
God has done a
new thing in my life.
00:47:25.77\00:47:28.71
And so my encouragement to
those of you watching is that
00:47:28.84\00:47:33.25
God makes everything
beautiful in His time.
00:47:33.25\00:47:36.45
You look past your present
circumstances and hold on to
00:47:36.69\00:47:40.22
Him.
00:47:40.22\00:47:40.69
Don't let Him go.
00:47:40.69\00:47:45.13
way.
00:47:45.13\00:47:45.79
But Lord, I'm
taking you at your word.
00:47:46.03\00:47:47.40
And just know that you're
going to go through times.
00:47:47.73\00:47:50.07
I went through times where I
was very bitter and things were
00:47:50.20\00:47:52.53
very dark.
00:47:52.53\00:47:53.37
But I just kept
holding on to the Lord.
00:47:53.67\00:47:56.04
And it wasn't
that I was faithful.
00:47:56.27\00:47:57.97
It was that God was faithful.
00:47:58.21\00:47:59.61
And now that I look back on
my past journey, I can see that
00:47:59.64\00:48:03.85
His hand was always with me.
00:48:03.85\00:48:05.61
So just know that
He's a loving God.
00:48:05.75\00:48:07.55
He loves you and
you can trust Him.
00:48:07.88\00:48:10.59
Amen.
00:48:10.59\00:48:11.25
That's powerful.
00:48:11.65\00:48:12.22
Praise the Lord.
00:48:12.45\00:48:12.99
Makes my heart so happy.
00:48:12.99\00:48:13.02
Thank you for sharing that.
00:48:14.02\00:48:15.16
Yes!
00:48:15.59\00:48:16.06
Yes, Terri, yes!
00:48:16.12\00:48:17.19
I just think how God has
handpicked each one of you and
00:48:17.29\00:48:21.10
our camera people and people
at 3ABN to come here for such a
00:48:21.10\00:48:24.83
time as this.
00:48:24.83\00:48:25.93
You know, to be able to
proclaim the gospel message.
00:48:25.97\00:48:27.90
We are sisters in Jesus.
00:48:28.04\00:48:29.30
I'm so grateful for that.
00:48:29.34\00:48:30.67
And God is your husband.
00:48:30.94\00:48:31.91
That's just a
powerful testimony.
00:48:32.11\00:48:33.81
It encouraged my heart
in our few moments here.
00:48:34.24\00:48:36.44
Just share just a little bit.
00:48:36.75\00:48:38.65
And then we'll have a
time of prayer at the end.
00:48:38.65\00:48:40.75
I want to make sure
we have that as well.
00:48:40.78\00:48:42.25
But just a little bit
about when your spouse is in
00:48:42.28\00:48:45.92
ministry.
00:48:45.92\00:48:46.76
And when your spouse is in
ministry, you're in ministry,
00:48:47.12\00:48:49.59
too.
00:48:49.82\00:48:50.13
That's just an automatic given.
00:48:50.53\00:48:51.99
But I have three keys to
be a helpmate in ministry.
00:48:52.09\00:48:55.63
Key number one, be sold
out for ministry yourself.
00:48:55.93\00:48:59.93
So very important.
00:49:00.47\00:49:01.90
You know, say your husband's
a pastor and you're at home
00:49:02.47\00:49:06.64
saying, Well, why do you
have to go visit so-and-so?
00:49:06.64\00:49:08.81
Well, why are you
preparing sermons?
00:49:09.08\00:49:10.55
Why do you spend so
much time at the church?
00:49:10.88\00:49:12.78
If you are, as the wife, sold
out for ministry yourself, if
00:49:13.58\00:49:19.72
you know God, if you love God,
then you will encourage your
00:49:19.72\00:49:25.03
husband in that ministry.
00:49:25.03\00:49:27.60
You know, sometimes we can
just think about ourselves.
00:49:27.76\00:49:30.17
Sometimes we can be selfish, be
sold out for ministry yourself.
00:49:30.37\00:49:35.20
Love God, love other
people, seek to serve Jesus.
00:49:35.20\00:49:40.01
I remember a
ministry spouse talking to me.
00:49:40.04\00:49:43.18
This was a few years ago.
00:49:43.18\00:49:43.21
And her husband's a
leader in a ministry.
00:49:45.05\00:49:46.88
And she said, When they
got married, they were on their
00:49:47.35\00:49:51.09
honeymoon.
00:49:51.09\00:49:51.89
And he said, Let's go visit
this project that the ministry
00:49:52.32\00:49:55.99
was associated with.
00:49:55.99\00:49:57.09
And she said, Honey,
we're on our honeymoon.
00:49:57.19\00:49:59.43
You know, this is us time.
00:50:00.23\00:50:01.70
This is whatever.
00:50:01.96\00:50:03.10
And he said, Oh, but we
got to see the progress of the
00:50:03.10\00:50:06.27
project.
00:50:06.27\00:50:06.94
We need to see what's happening.
00:50:07.07\00:50:08.27
She said, I
learned right then, Jill.
00:50:08.64\00:50:10.77
I need to give up my
selfishness and myself.
00:50:11.34\00:50:16.68
And I need to be able to think
of things beyond me and things
00:50:16.78\00:50:21.78
beyond the marriage.
00:50:21.78\00:50:23.02
And so that's a beautiful thing.
00:50:23.35\00:50:25.15
Be sold out for
ministry yourself.
00:50:25.35\00:50:28.09
And that leads us to
key number two, be balanced.
00:50:28.36\00:50:31.39
It's so important because we
could overbalance that and we
00:50:31.39\00:50:37.27
could always give and always
serve others and never make
00:50:37.27\00:50:42.44
time for your
own walk with Jesus.
00:50:42.44\00:50:44.51
Never make time for your own
relationship with your spouse.
00:50:45.34\00:50:49.84
So there's a balance in that.
00:50:50.28\00:50:52.08
Yes, we don't want to be
selfish because ministry is
00:50:52.18\00:50:54.92
about serving other people.
00:50:54.92\00:50:56.12
Ministry here at 3ABN is
about proclaiming the gospel.
00:50:56.22\00:50:59.32
But at the same time, you
can't give what you don't have
00:50:59.32\00:51:02.09
inside.
00:51:02.09\00:51:02.82
And so if you don't have
your own time with Jesus, if you
00:51:03.32\00:51:08.20
don't do that, if you don't
take time as a marriage with
00:51:08.20\00:51:12.73
your relationship,
that's important too.
00:51:12.73\00:51:15.67
So that's kind of boundaries
around the marriage and around
00:51:15.94\00:51:19.04
the relationship.
00:51:19.04\00:51:19.84
For Greg and I, that
boundary is suppertime for us.
00:51:20.44\00:51:25.28
So ministry here is 24-7.
00:51:26.11\00:51:28.32
And middle of the
night, we have phone calls.
00:51:29.62\00:51:32.42
It's constant.
00:51:32.82\00:51:33.86
It never goes away.
00:51:33.96\00:51:35.12
And so for us, we put our
phones aside and we won't pick
00:51:35.76\00:51:40.00
up a text.
00:51:40.00\00:51:40.70
We won't answer the phone.
00:51:40.73\00:51:42.10
And it's just he and I to talk
and have that time together.
00:51:42.26\00:51:45.53
It's so vitally important.
00:51:45.87\00:51:47.24
As we look at, yes,
we want to serve others.
00:51:48.00\00:51:50.61
And yes, we need to
be sold out for ministry.
00:51:50.71\00:51:52.77
But you need balance in that
and have time for your own walk
00:51:52.77\00:51:57.35
with God and
your own relationship.
00:51:57.35\00:51:59.38
Number three, be an example.
00:52:00.35\00:52:03.49
You know, like it or not,
when you're in ministry, people
00:52:04.49\00:52:07.59
look.
00:52:07.59\00:52:08.12
People say, oh, well,
is this the way to do it?
00:52:08.66\00:52:12.09
Or is this, oh,
I didn't recognize.
00:52:12.09\00:52:13.96
You know, you
look at other people.
00:52:14.50\00:52:16.00
Are they a true Christian
or are they hypocritical?
00:52:16.33\00:52:19.13
Are they fake?
00:52:19.33\00:52:20.40
Are they real?
00:52:20.40\00:52:21.40
I'll never forget.
00:52:23.04\00:52:24.31
We were at it was
camp meeting here, 3 p.m.
00:52:24.67\00:52:28.11
And a man came up and he said,
my wife always says you can
00:52:28.11\00:52:31.51
tell the health of a
marriage by watching the wife.
00:52:31.51\00:52:34.58
Now, that's an
interesting comment.
00:52:35.52\00:52:37.02
And he said, you can
tell the health of a marriage.
00:52:37.22\00:52:39.35
Just look at the wife.
00:52:39.45\00:52:40.26
Is she free?
00:52:40.76\00:52:42.26
Does she have joy?
00:52:42.46\00:52:44.16
Does she seek to serve?
00:52:44.63\00:52:46.86
And when you look at that,
it gives an indication of what's
00:52:46.86\00:52:50.90
actually happening behind
closed doors, you know, in that
00:52:50.90\00:52:53.64
relationship.
00:52:53.64\00:52:58.71
ministry and be balanced.
00:52:58.71\00:53:00.08
Be an example.
00:53:00.24\00:53:00.64
Be prayerful.
00:53:00.68\00:53:01.78
Pray for your spouse when
they're involved in ministry.
00:53:01.88\00:53:05.28
Be real, be authentic.
00:53:05.61\00:53:07.15
Don't be afraid to be honest
about your own battles and
00:53:08.02\00:53:11.95
struggles because we can share
together and encourage each
00:53:11.95\00:53:15.46
other as well.
00:53:15.46\00:53:16.69
The last thing I want to touch
on before a time of prayer is
00:53:16.69\00:53:21.23
leading with spiritual gifts
yourself because sometimes your
00:53:21.23\00:53:25.73
spouse can be involved in
ministry and you say, well, my
00:53:25.73\00:53:28.74
role is just to sit here
and I'm going to pray and do my
00:53:28.74\00:53:32.64
thing.
00:53:32.64\00:53:36.58
Greg and I, it's interesting.
00:53:37.25\00:53:39.25
We don't really have time to
unpack this, but in marriage or
00:53:39.28\00:53:44.12
I should back up from
a woman's perspective.
00:53:44.12\00:53:47.99
I used to think, okay, the
gifts of a woman are to have
00:53:48.26\00:53:52.39
grace and humility and serve
and compassion and nurturing.
00:53:52.39\00:53:58.37
But what about teaching?
00:53:59.53\00:54:00.74
What about sharing the word?
00:54:01.34\00:54:02.60
And I used to think, well,
maybe I'm not supposed to do
00:54:03.00\00:54:05.67
that, but I love to study
the word and I love to read the
00:54:05.67\00:54:09.64
word.
00:54:09.64\00:54:13.58
would say, don't you
want to teach Sabbath school?
00:54:13.58\00:54:15.68
Because then we
can teach together.
00:54:15.78\00:54:16.99
This was years ago
because I thought, well, maybe I
00:54:17.05\00:54:20.09
shouldn't be the one teaching
and my husband should be the
00:54:20.09\00:54:22.22
one doing that and I
shouldn't be doing that.
00:54:22.22\00:54:24.66
And he would say, okay, Julie.
00:54:24.83\00:54:26.73
And so he would prepare and
we would team teach together.
00:54:27.23\00:54:30.23
And then he said, Julie,
why don't you share what God has
00:54:31.20\00:54:35.50
given you?
00:54:35.50\00:54:36.10
Why don't you
step forward in that?
00:54:36.57\00:54:39.07
Now, I'm not ordained.
00:54:39.44\00:54:41.21
We're not stepping over into,
you know, I'm not a pastor,
00:54:41.21\00:54:44.41
nothing like that.
00:54:44.58\00:54:45.61
But we do women's
events and conferences.
00:54:45.88\00:54:49.22
And Greg always says, Jill, I
love to sit back and watch you
00:54:49.35\00:54:52.65
share and operate in
what God has given to you.
00:54:52.65\00:54:55.69
So that means as women, if God
has given you spiritual gifts,
00:54:56.29\00:55:00.70
operate within the gifts
that God has given to you.
00:55:01.50\00:55:06.13
I think of Deborah
in the Old Testament.
00:55:06.47\00:55:08.14
She was a judge and
she was a prophetess.
00:55:08.20\00:55:11.14
And she led the woman in battle.
00:55:11.14\00:55:13.31
Now, that's incredible.
00:55:13.34\00:55:14.61
You could spend a
long time on that.
00:55:14.61\00:55:14.64
But operate within the
gifts that God has given to you.
00:55:16.95\00:55:21.18
We're at the end of our time.
00:55:21.58\00:55:22.45
I can't believe it.
00:55:22.55\00:55:23.49
Thank you for being our family.
00:55:23.69\00:55:25.15
Know that we love
you and pray for you.
00:55:25.45\00:55:27.26
And let's have
some time of prayer.
00:55:27.26\00:55:27.29
Sasha, you want to pray for
us and pray for our sisters at
00:55:30.03\00:55:33.29
home and maybe the battles
and things that they're dealing
00:55:33.29\00:55:35.43
with.
00:55:35.43\00:55:35.80
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank
you for this time that we have
00:55:36.93\00:55:39.60
had together to discuss you
and how you can help us in our
00:55:39.60\00:55:42.94
roles as a helpmate
in our various areas.
00:55:42.94\00:55:46.57
We pray for each
woman that is listening.
00:55:47.14\00:55:49.08
We have single moms.
00:55:49.28\00:55:50.28
We have moms who may
be battling depression.
00:55:50.51\00:55:52.01
We have women
who are in ministry.
00:55:52.98\00:55:56.05
We have women who may be taken
on the role of a mother who are
00:55:56.25\00:56:01.06
grandmothers.
00:56:01.06\00:56:01.69
We have women who
are single mothers.
00:56:02.49\00:56:05.03
We pray for each and every
situation that you will be by
00:56:05.03\00:56:07.86
them.
00:56:07.86\00:56:08.36
Come in every household.
00:56:08.66\00:56:10.13
We pray that each household
will seek after you and any
00:56:10.97\00:56:14.97
struggles that they
may be going through.
00:56:14.97\00:56:16.37
We pray that
you would help them.
00:56:16.57\00:56:17.64
You said, Lord, that our homes
can be a little heaven on earth
00:56:18.14\00:56:21.08
whether we're a single
mother household or a married
00:56:21.08\00:56:23.65
household or
household with children.
00:56:23.65\00:56:25.25
And so we ask that you would
help us to look to you for that
00:56:25.68\00:56:28.78
strength.
00:56:28.78\00:56:29.45
Look to you to be our
burden bearer when we feel
00:56:29.85\00:56:32.49
overwhelmed.
00:56:32.49\00:56:37.09
you care for us as
mothers, as women, and as wives.
00:56:37.09\00:56:41.33
We pray that every listener
will be blessed by this program
00:56:41.76\00:56:46.33
and that we will also take a
hold of this blessing, take the
00:56:46.33\00:56:49.97
things that we have learned
here and go on to make our
00:56:49.97\00:56:52.77
homes a little heaven on earth
as we seek that better home, a
00:56:52.77\00:56:56.31
heaven up with you.
00:56:56.31\00:56:57.18
In Jesus' name we pray.
00:56:57.31\00:56:58.21
Amen.
00:56:58.25\00:56:58.61
Sasha, Fotini, Terri, and
Angela, thank you for being
00:56:59.41\00:57:02.28
sisters in Jesus, for sharing
tonight, and we thank you for
00:57:02.28\00:57:05.69
joining us as well.
00:57:05.69\00:57:06.89
We will see you next time.
00:57:07.16\00:57:08.82