Stay tuned to meet a woman
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who was born in the 20th Century
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but raised in
the 19th Century...
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My name is Yvonne
Lewis and you're watching
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Urban Report...
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Hello and welcome
to Urban Report...
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My guest today Dr.
Rachel Williams-Smith...
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Chairwoman of the
Department of Communications
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at Andrews University,
and author of "Born Yesterday"
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in addition to being a
very accomplished woman,
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Ms. or Dr. Williams-Smith
has a very interesting story
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to share...
welcome to Urban Report
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Dr. Williams-Smith...
Thank you for having me...
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May I call you Rachel...
Please... okay, that's who I am
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Okay... good, good,
good... Rachel, your story
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is so compelling... I
have heard bits and pieces
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and I know a little bit about it
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but I want...
and our viewers love
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a good story... so, I want you
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to share with us
your background...
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because your background is
really, really interesting...
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So, the questions most
people would ask me then
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in relation to my background is,
"Why does your book title say
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that you were born in the 20th
Century but raised in the 19th?"
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So start there...
that would be a good
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starting place...
that's a good starting place...
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so, my background is
that up until the age of 5,
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my life was fairly normal...
but at around 5-years-old
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my parents... when I
was about 5-years-old
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my parents had been
doing a lot of reading
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and they began to make
changes in our lifestyle...
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so it was a process
that happened over...
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just a few years...
it started with our diet
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and then it moved to dress...
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my mom told me that
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she had been reading about
how women should wear their
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dresses down to the foot,
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and how Jesus wore a
robe down to the foot...
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so, that was the
first thing... and then...
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And this is an Adventist home...
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this was an Adventist
home... so she was telling me
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that she had read in the
writings of Ellen G. White...
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two to three
inches from the floor...
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Jesus wears a garment...
Revelation Chapter 1...
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down to the foot... so,
I wanted to be like Jesus
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so I started wearing
the dress, the long dress...
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and then it was the
diet... and I still remember my
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mother said that
she was going to fix us
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one last... really
good meal... and then...
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we were going
to go "all healthy"
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and we did... I
didn't like it...
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Wow, it's interesting because
it was not a gradual shift...
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it was an... just
an immediate shift?
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It was a gradual but
intense, it was not gradual...
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it was a series of
things... Kind of incremental...
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Yes, but it all
happened very rapidly
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and one on top of the
other... so, first, the dress...
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the diet and then
the next thing was...
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my parents began to feel
like they needed to separate us
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from the worldly
influences, and at this time...
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we were living in
Huntsville, Alabama...
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near Oakwood College...
it was... at the time...
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and my brothers were attending
the Annanite Elementary School
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Yeah... I went there too...
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Did you really?
I did... I did...
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for a couple of years...
All I ever got to do was visit
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my brothers there one
time, to see where I was
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supposed to go next
year, and my parents decided
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at the end of that
school year that they were not
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going to re-enroll
my brothers in school...
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because they felt like
they were being exposed to
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too many worldly influences...
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so, they decided
to homeschool us...
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but this was in the
very, very early 70s...
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about 1971 or
1972... somewhere there...
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and homeschooling was not
legal in the State of Alabama...
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so the city ended up...
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we were reported to the City
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and the City ended up
giving my parents an ultimatum
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they either enroll
us in either Annanite
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or one of the Public
Schools or we'd be taken away...
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my father said, "I
have a different...
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I have a different option...
" Exit... Stage Left...
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so he bundled us up
whisked us off to Arkansas
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and then we began a
kind of nomadic life
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we ended up living in a
bus that had been converted
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into a mobile home,
and we lived in Tennessee
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and then we
moved to a State Park
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we lived in a
State Park for a year,
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and finally we bought 50 acres
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out in Tennessee
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the Central,
Southern part of Tennessee...
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and it was among
a range of hills...
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it was difficult to
get to, several dirt roads
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removed from the
nearest paved road
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no electricity, running water,
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we were pretty
much isolated up there
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and by this time, we
were also wearing bonnets...
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that started when I
was about 8- years-old...
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we began wearing
bonnets, my mother and I,
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so we were in
bonnets and long dresses...
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living out... in
the middle of nowhere...
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and our modern
convenience was a car...
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and so we did have that...
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and we had a chain
saw for cutting trees
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so we didn't just
use the hand saw...
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we had a chain saw there...
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Now, let me just ask
you something... were you...
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did you have any
other friends around...
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did you have...
was it just the family
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in isolation or did
you associate with other
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like-minded families?
It's a cross between the two
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it depended on the time of the
year and what was happening...
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so, in the summer,
in the spring and summer
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sometimes people of
like-mind would come
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and either stay with us or
stay with the Moreland family
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which lived a mile up the road,
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so it was just
he and his wife...
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but sometimes, they would...
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people would come
and stay on his property
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in little campers and
wherever they could live
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or sometimes in
his home with him
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and we also brought
people to stay with us
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from time to time...
they'd stay anywhere from
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days to weeks and a
few stayed for a month
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or a few months,
there was one family,
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Sister Martha as I
called her and she ended up
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in the later half of the
time I was living on the hill,
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she ended up
pulling up her mobile home
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and she was up there
on a piece of property
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at some distance... so
she had two younger children
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so my closest companions
were about 4 and 5 years
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younger than me...
and that was a period of
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probably the last two years
that we lived on the hill...
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Can you remember what you
were thinking during that time,
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it seems like the
adjustment must have been so...
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it was such a rigid way
to live, do you remember
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how you were thinking then...
was it just something that
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you were hating, or
were you just thinking
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it was normal? I
knew it wasn't normal
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for other people's lives,
but it was normal for mine...
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it was... remember I
never started school...
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so, I never really did...
I was right at the age where
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the social life
was about to happen
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and then it didn't
happen so, it was normal for me
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pretty much... I knew
that other people didn't live
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the way we did...
but the way they lived
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seemed strange to
me... and foreign...
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so, I couldn't
relate to it... Why?
00:07:05.11\00:07:07.87
I could only
relate to our lives...
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What was going on
with your parents...
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that they went from a moderate
way of living to extreme?
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Well, first they
weren't trying to be extreme,
00:07:21.21\00:07:25.23
what they were trying to
do is what a lot of Christians
00:07:25.26\00:07:29.31
and Adventist
parents often tried to do
00:07:29.34\00:07:32.26
which is to live out everything
that they believe is right...
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but they had
probably been reading more
00:07:35.38\00:07:37.56
than the average
parent about all the reforms,
00:07:37.59\00:07:41.24
and they got
focused on the reforms...
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one thing I've
learned in life is that...
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what you focused
on and emphasized...
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is always more important
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than what you say
is more important...
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Hmmm... unpack
that a little bit...
00:07:52.97\00:07:55.04
Okay, so, they did
believe in salvation by faith
00:07:55.07\00:07:58.48
in Jesus Christ
and all... you know...
00:07:58.51\00:08:00.36
righteousness by
faith, they believed
00:08:00.39\00:08:02.17
in all of these things...
but the focus became about
00:08:02.21\00:08:06.62
what we knew and
what we did... Hmmm...
00:08:06.66\00:08:09.74
and that's not unlike a
lot of people you know...
00:08:09.77\00:08:11.67
Hmmm... their focus
is on what they know
00:08:11.70\00:08:13.29
and what they do...
and they tend to focus on
00:08:13.32\00:08:15.64
the details... so the number
of inches from the floor...
00:08:15.68\00:08:18.59
you know... the width
of your bonnet brim...
00:08:18.63\00:08:22.86
we kept New
Moons and Feast Days...
00:08:22.89\00:08:24.88
and that became an
issue because, you know,
00:08:24.92\00:08:27.07
do you observe the New
Moons according to when the moon
00:08:27.10\00:08:30.73
is completely black and
can't be seen like one segment
00:08:30.76\00:08:34.35
of the Jews believe,
or do you observe the moon
00:08:34.39\00:08:37.81
New Moon Day
according to whether there is
00:08:37.84\00:08:40.43
this little fingernail of a
sliver... like another segment,
00:08:40.46\00:08:44.02
and see what would
happen is, if you believe "this"
00:08:44.05\00:08:47.49
the black moon... and
I believe in the little
00:08:47.53\00:08:49.78
sliver fingernail of the moon,
then I can't worship with you
00:08:49.81\00:08:53.15
you can't worship with me,
00:08:53.18\00:08:54.26
so, there are very
few people... anyway
00:08:54.29\00:08:56.08
that held our beliefs and
then, so often, it was like,
00:08:56.12\00:08:58.96
"Get off my property
and don't come back...
00:08:59.00\00:09:00.74
you're teaching
error... " you know,
00:09:00.77\00:09:02.29
so I know I'm kind of
going off of your question
00:09:02.33\00:09:05.18
but this is what...
when you begin to focus on
00:09:05.21\00:09:08.00
details... there is no limit to
how small those details become
00:09:08.03\00:09:11.48
because they all
seem to be important...
00:09:11.51\00:09:14.35
Yes... what an
interesting point...
00:09:14.38\00:09:16.65
as you're talking... I'm
sensing... I'm feeling like
00:09:16.68\00:09:21.62
this was such bondage...
we are to be free in Christ
00:09:21.66\00:09:26.69
and this is...
nothing personal...
00:09:26.72\00:09:29.12
Sure... I understand...
you know what I'm saying,
00:09:29.15\00:09:31.47
yeah... it's not
anything against your
00:09:31.51\00:09:33.89
family or your
journey... I understand...
00:09:33.93\00:09:36.24
but I'm just saying that
the bondage involved here
00:09:36.28\00:09:40.34
has got to be so
off-putting, you are such a...
00:09:40.37\00:09:44.36
as I interact with you...
and we as interacted prior
00:09:44.40\00:09:47.87
to this Program... I mean...
you're warm and you're friendly
00:09:47.90\00:09:50.75
and you're... you
know... and you seem free
00:09:50.78\00:09:52.65
and I praise God for that...
00:09:52.69\00:09:54.14
I'm going to find
out how that happened...
00:09:54.17\00:09:55.60
but prior to whatever happened
00:09:55.64\00:09:59.78
to turn this situation around,
you were in such bondage...
00:09:59.82\00:10:04.55
I really was...
you know, Jesus says,
00:10:04.58\00:10:07.49
"These things you
ought not have done... "
00:10:07.53\00:10:09.96
and He is talking about the
Pharisees paying tithe on mint
00:10:09.99\00:10:12.67
and anise and
cumin... okay... He says,
00:10:12.70\00:10:15.05
"These things you
ought to have done...
00:10:15.08\00:10:17.08
but not... these
things you ought to
00:10:17.12\00:10:19.05
have done but not
let the other undone. "
00:10:19.08\00:10:20.97
it's good that you want to
get all the details right...
00:10:21.00\00:10:23.34
but you can't focus on
all the details and the big
00:10:23.38\00:10:26.07
things at the same time...
00:10:26.11\00:10:27.16
you literally have to focus on
what is most important first...
00:10:27.19\00:10:31.00
and the little
details can fall into place...
00:10:31.04\00:10:33.80
more naturally... and
yes... you are right...
00:10:33.83\00:10:36.52
I feel so amazingly free...
00:10:36.56\00:10:38.98
it's a place in my life
00:10:39.01\00:10:41.36
that I've wanted to be
for a long time and I'm here
00:10:41.40\00:10:43.96
and I've been here for
a while and it's a freedom
00:10:43.99\00:10:46.52
that comes in Jesus
and understanding too...
00:10:46.55\00:10:49.68
there's a picture
of me... at some point
00:10:49.71\00:10:51.66
you'll probably show it,
00:10:51.69\00:10:52.97
I'm dressed in a bonnet
00:10:53.00\00:10:54.39
and you can't
see much of the dress
00:10:54.43\00:10:56.63
but I'm holding
a Bible in my hand
00:10:56.67\00:10:58.84
and I'm looking so pious
00:10:58.87\00:11:00.16
and even though, by
that time in my life
00:11:00.19\00:11:02.45
I had had a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ,
00:11:02.49\00:11:05.58
my mind-set was
so filled with rules
00:11:05.62\00:11:09.33
and laws and obligations...
00:11:09.37\00:11:11.89
that I didn't
know how to be free,
00:11:11.93\00:11:13.73
I didn't know
how to be spontaneous
00:11:13.76\00:11:15.49
you know...
righteousness was not about love
00:11:15.53\00:11:19.49
which is what it
is about... Right...
00:11:19.52\00:11:21.12
instead it was about being right
00:11:21.15\00:11:22.71
in every exact way...
00:11:22.74\00:11:24.01
and that's why we couldn't,
we had to live in seclusion
00:11:24.04\00:11:27.81
in our own little
outpost as it were...
00:11:27.85\00:11:29.86
that's what we
used to refer it to...
00:11:29.90\00:11:31.84
"Outpost on the Hill"
we had to live like that
00:11:31.88\00:11:34.39
because there was
no way we could have
00:11:34.42\00:11:35.66
maintained that life
in mainstream society...
00:11:35.70\00:11:38.06
we had to
separate... and yet, Jesus says,
00:11:38.10\00:11:40.44
that you are the
light of the world...
00:11:40.47\00:11:42.78
you are the salt of the earth,
00:11:42.82\00:11:44.55
I want you to be in the world
00:11:44.58\00:11:46.25
I just don't want
you to be of it...
00:11:46.28\00:11:47.57
Yes... right...
right... but I have to say,
00:11:47.60\00:11:48.79
"I'm all up in this world... "
00:11:48.83\00:11:51.65
I'm not just of it...
because the world is not
00:11:51.68\00:11:53.85
filled by love,
and God has put love
00:11:53.89\00:11:55.78
into my life, you're
supposed to be asking
00:11:55.82\00:11:57.40
my story and I'm
preaching you a sermon...
00:11:57.44\00:11:58.99
No... preach... we love that...
00:11:59.03\00:12:01.09
I just have to say, "I
have been set free... "
00:12:01.12\00:12:02.26
it's an amazing thing...
00:12:02.29\00:12:03.50
We can see that... we can
see it in your countenance...
00:12:03.53\00:12:06.83
you are free... and
you're free because of the
00:12:06.87\00:12:09.82
love of Jesus... it's
not propelled by law...
00:12:09.85\00:12:14.74
it's propelled by love...
00:12:14.77\00:12:16.35
Yes... and
relationship and that's
00:12:16.38\00:12:18.88
what you're showing...
so, let's go a little bit more
00:12:18.92\00:12:21.62
into your journey...
so we can find out how you
00:12:21.65\00:12:23.59
did the
turnaround... so, so, okay...
00:12:23.63\00:12:26.70
so you're five-years-old...
you're off to this outpost,
00:12:26.74\00:12:30.44
you lived there
for how many years?
00:12:30.48\00:12:32.90
So, by the time we
actually got out to the
00:12:32.94\00:12:36.11
hill in Tennessee... I
was nine... by that time...
00:12:36.14\00:12:38.94
so just a few years of
living in a bus and all that...
00:12:38.98\00:12:42.06
and then out on the hill
and I was there until I was 16
00:12:42.09\00:12:45.14
heading towards 17...
So you're a teenager now...
00:12:45.18\00:12:48.76
living... like
that... where was your head
00:12:48.80\00:12:53.07
about the Lord... were
you resenting all of this
00:12:53.11\00:12:56.60
all of these rules
and... restrictions...
00:12:56.64\00:12:58.44
No, the funny thing
about children and I've seen
00:12:58.47\00:13:01.69
other children
raised in extremes like this
00:13:01.72\00:13:03.43
they kind of take the day-to-day
some of the hardest things
00:13:03.47\00:13:06.69
are like hunger...
when you are always hungry
00:13:06.72\00:13:08.93
I wasn't always
hungry, my mother did her best
00:13:08.96\00:13:11.28
to feed us... both
our parents did their best
00:13:11.31\00:13:13.60
to feed us...
but there were times
00:13:13.63\00:13:15.24
when the food ran
scarce and they'd tell us,
00:13:15.28\00:13:17.37
"You know what... time
to exercise your survival
00:13:17.41\00:13:19.27
skills... go out and
find your food today... "
00:13:19.31\00:13:22.06
so, there were those
times but for the most part
00:13:22.09\00:13:24.16
they did try to feed us,
but we only ate 2 meals a day,
00:13:24.20\00:13:26.73
another reform... see,
I don't think we had it
00:13:26.76\00:13:28.86
in balance because I'm
sure Ellen White meant that
00:13:28.89\00:13:31.54
young growing children
should eat two meals a day...
00:13:31.57\00:13:34.18
right... so...
going to bed hungry...
00:13:34.22\00:13:36.05
it was a routine thing...
00:13:36.09\00:13:37.78
I didn't even think
of it as being hungry,
00:13:37.81\00:13:40.14
because you just drink
cold water and go to bed...
00:13:40.17\00:13:42.31
it's not something you
can do anything about...
00:13:42.35\00:13:43.90
I really have a hard time
00:13:43.93\00:13:46.81
answering questions
about how did I feel...
00:13:46.85\00:13:49.22
because I think one
of the things that I
00:13:49.26\00:13:51.56
learned early was
probably not to feel so much...
00:13:51.59\00:13:54.21
Hmmm...
00:13:54.24\00:13:55.34
because it's just the way it was
00:13:55.37\00:13:58.19
and you don't
necessarily question it...
00:13:58.22\00:14:00.66
Hmmm... hmmm...
now I had an older...
00:14:00.70\00:14:03.11
the younger of my
two older brothers
00:14:03.14\00:14:05.67
he did start questioning,
and so... he had his eyes
00:14:05.70\00:14:09.98
wide open...
long before he left,
00:14:10.01\00:14:12.46
but I was more of a gullible
one I just... this is the way
00:14:12.49\00:14:16.82
it's supposed to be...
and I'm ingesting it...
00:14:16.86\00:14:19.44
but yet the Lord
was showing me things
00:14:19.48\00:14:21.57
after I gave my
heart to him at 14...
00:14:21.60\00:14:23.62
He began to show me
things that just didn't add up
00:14:23.66\00:14:25.84
to His character...
Hmmm... now let's go back
00:14:25.88\00:14:28.75
and unpack this a
little bit, how did you...
00:14:28.79\00:14:31.60
what happened that you
decided to give your heart
00:14:31.63\00:14:34.68
to the Lord at 14?
I had felt the drawing
00:14:34.71\00:14:37.27
since I was
little... toward the Lord,
00:14:37.30\00:14:39.45
I even felt like
He chose my name...
00:14:39.49\00:14:41.57
my name, Rachel Elizabeth,
Rachel means "Ewe lamb"
00:14:41.61\00:14:45.60
and Elizabeth
means "Consecrated one"
00:14:45.63\00:14:47.75
so I thought of myself as
a lamb consecrated to God,
00:14:47.79\00:14:51.19
and I felt like
00:14:51.22\00:14:53.20
He had chosen my
name... I had always felt
00:14:53.23\00:14:55.45
like I was special
to Him in some way...
00:14:55.49\00:14:57.64
but at 14... what happened
is there had been some people
00:14:57.67\00:15:02.58
had a number of
families, probably about
00:15:02.61\00:15:05.31
five families
total... when I say families
00:15:05.35\00:15:07.69
I mean it loosely
because some were like
00:15:07.72\00:15:09.93
one person living in
one unit, and then maybe
00:15:09.96\00:15:13.38
a single mother,
a couple of children
00:15:13.42\00:15:15.14
and then another
family here and there...
00:15:15.17\00:15:16.80
so there was a total of
about five families that were
00:15:16.83\00:15:19.58
staying on the hill...
in various mobile homes
00:15:19.61\00:15:22.99
and makeshift living facilities
00:15:23.03\00:15:25.13
between our home and
Brother Moreland's home
00:15:25.17\00:15:27.77
which was a mile up the road,
and so... for me it was like
00:15:27.80\00:15:31.07
an extremely social atmosphere,
I actually had people
00:15:31.10\00:15:34.30
to be around from time to
time and so, I was enjoying that
00:15:34.34\00:15:39.12
then they all moved...
because as the fall turned
00:15:39.15\00:15:43.43
toward winter,
nobody wanted to be up there
00:15:43.46\00:15:45.89
in that environment
because it was very harsh...
00:15:45.93\00:15:48.46
No heat, no electricity...
00:15:48.49\00:15:51.34
right, exactly,
they didn't want it...
00:15:51.38\00:15:53.34
so they all
moved... and so I felt...
00:15:53.38\00:15:55.31
utterly alone,
my only brother Mo
00:15:55.34\00:15:56.67
even he and his wife
went to stay somewhere else
00:15:56.70\00:15:58.39
during the winter
and so it was just
00:15:58.42\00:16:00.06
him living up the road by
himself and then my family
00:16:00.09\00:16:03.86
and I felt so utterly
alone after that little tease of
00:16:03.90\00:16:07.28
socialization... and
that's when I began to realize
00:16:07.31\00:16:10.61
I can't control
anything in my life...
00:16:10.64\00:16:12.70
I don't have the
ability to make people be
00:16:12.74\00:16:14.73
around me... I can't
break out of this environment
00:16:14.76\00:16:17.52
that I'm in... I
don't have control
00:16:17.55\00:16:19.60
of anything... I
need to give my life
00:16:19.64\00:16:21.79
over to one who
does have the control...
00:16:21.83\00:16:24.00
and so... I
surrendered my life to God
00:16:24.04\00:16:26.33
kind of strange
way of coming there...
00:16:26.37\00:16:28.53
but feeling utter
despair sent me to the Lord...
00:16:28.56\00:16:32.74
Amen... and you know
God knew what you needed,
00:16:32.77\00:16:36.91
Yes... and always does know what
00:16:36.95\00:16:39.19
we need... and so
you were in utter despair
00:16:39.22\00:16:41.87
and it seems as though
00:16:41.90\00:16:43.07
He just revealed
Himself to you even more.
00:16:43.11\00:16:45.89
Yeah, I think that,
you know, I mentioned that
00:16:45.92\00:16:47.12
I learned not to feel...
but at that time I could not
00:16:47.16\00:16:50.56
keep the sense of isolation
and loneliness and aloneness...
00:16:50.60\00:16:54.51
it was so profound...
I was just completely
00:16:54.55\00:16:57.03
in despair... and
that's why I had to
00:16:57.07\00:16:59.81
turn to the One... who
would never leave me...
00:16:59.85\00:17:01.53
And that's so
beautiful... and so how did...
00:17:01.56\00:17:05.16
how did that play
out... after you did that...
00:17:05.19\00:17:08.75
where did you go from there?
00:17:08.78\00:17:10.46
I began to pray...
00:17:10.49\00:17:13.48
after I accepted the Lord,
00:17:13.52\00:17:15.70
I began to read the
Bible and Spirit of Prophecy
00:17:15.74\00:17:17.80
in different ways
to really understand
00:17:17.83\00:17:19.39
for myself... is what I
was learning about God...
00:17:19.42\00:17:22.24
really what God was...
because some things just didn't
00:17:22.27\00:17:24.63
seem right... and the more
I read... the more I prayed
00:17:24.67\00:17:27.54
the more I read...
the more I began to pray
00:17:27.58\00:17:30.37
and asked the Lord, "Let
me leave that environment"
00:17:30.40\00:17:33.71
because I realized that
even if I was not on the
00:17:33.75\00:17:37.03
right path... I
wasn't free to change...
00:17:37.06\00:17:39.20
Hmmm... there was
no option to change
00:17:39.24\00:17:41.43
and most of all,
I wanted education
00:17:41.47\00:17:43.54
I wanted to go
to school so badly
00:17:43.58\00:17:45.58
and I was tired of just
being alone... learning alone
00:17:45.61\00:17:49.32
and I couldn't
learn... so I began to pray
00:17:49.35\00:17:51.61
and the answer to that
prayer came in the form of
00:17:51.64\00:17:53.91
my father
leaving... he just left...
00:17:53.94\00:17:57.12
he took my older brother,
they went to build houses
00:17:57.15\00:17:59.57
in Texas... and it was
supposed to be something
00:17:59.60\00:18:01.99
they would be
gone for a few months
00:18:02.02\00:18:03.14
and come back with some funds
00:18:03.17\00:18:05.26
because we were
very low on funds...
00:18:05.30\00:18:06.69
but... on the way...
00:18:06.73\00:18:09.00
getting ready to leave...
00:18:09.04\00:18:10.22
he told me that he
wasn't going to come back
00:18:10.26\00:18:11.61
and I was
shocked... and I could tell
00:18:11.64\00:18:13.68
that my mother didn't
know and she was standing
00:18:13.71\00:18:15.29
by the car getting
ready to say goodbye
00:18:15.33\00:18:16.79
and her first warning
of it was when she went
00:18:16.82\00:18:19.45
to give him a goodbye
kiss he turned his head away
00:18:19.48\00:18:21.39
and then he ended up
saying some words to her
00:18:21.43\00:18:23.94
that I hadn't heard
before and, you know,
00:18:23.97\00:18:26.45
he was like... he was leaving...
00:18:26.48\00:18:28.07
and he had already told
me he was not coming back...
00:18:28.11\00:18:30.27
and that turned
out to be the case...
00:18:30.31\00:18:32.45
he didn't even stay in
Texas for more than a month
00:18:32.49\00:18:34.67
he ended up going back
up north to his hometown
00:18:34.70\00:18:37.75
and began trying to
create a life for himself...
00:18:37.79\00:18:40.12
and the only thing I
could think of was that
00:18:40.16\00:18:42.55
everything about the
lifestyle he set up for us
00:18:42.58\00:18:44.91
was all focused on Jesus
coming by the end of that decade
00:18:44.94\00:18:48.72
which was the 1970s...
and now, we were into 1980
00:18:48.75\00:18:52.55
and '81... and heading into
'82, and Jesus still hadn't come
00:18:52.58\00:18:56.89
so, he left... my mother
and the younger of my two older
00:18:56.92\00:19:03.52
brothers and I... went
through a horrible winter
00:19:03.56\00:19:05.93
I write about how my heel
froze and... it was just...
00:19:05.97\00:19:09.96
it was incredibly cold
we didn't even know if we'd
00:19:10.00\00:19:11.97
survive that
particular winter but we made it
00:19:12.00\00:19:13.90
and I'm still not answering
your question... I'm so sorry...
00:19:13.94\00:19:17.80
No, you're doing
great... you're doing great...
00:19:17.83\00:19:19.33
no, I'm just
thinking here's the...
00:19:19.37\00:19:22.25
it's kind of... blowing my mind
because you have a situation
00:19:22.28\00:19:27.53
where the whole point is
to live according to what
00:19:27.57\00:19:33.35
God would have you...
00:19:33.38\00:19:34.58
the way He
would have you live...
00:19:34.61\00:19:36.78
down to every jot and tittle...
00:19:36.81\00:19:38.94
Yes... of reform...
00:19:38.98\00:19:40.68
Yes... but when
it came to staying
00:19:40.72\00:19:44.86
with your family... you
just... it's over, it's done...
00:19:44.90\00:19:48.47
and you got to make it
the best way you can...
00:19:48.50\00:19:50.98
how devastating was that
event to your mom, to you...
00:19:51.01\00:19:56.23
how devastating!
Well, it really was...
00:19:56.26\00:19:58.80
because I had no...
nothing in my mind that could
00:19:58.83\00:20:04.51
understand what was happening
because everything had been...
00:20:04.55\00:20:07.66
you have to understand...
my environment was so saturated
00:20:07.70\00:20:10.78
with religion... and God
and religion... everything
00:20:10.82\00:20:14.44
that the concept of
my parents' breaking up
00:20:14.48\00:20:18.40
was not there...
00:20:18.43\00:20:19.77
I mean, the family that prays
together... stays together...
00:20:19.81\00:20:22.49
we prayed together 3
times a day... one hour each...
00:20:22.52\00:20:25.79
and we had one-hour
worships 3 times a day...
00:20:25.83\00:20:29.06
okay... we prayed
together, we did...
00:20:29.10\00:20:32.59
we had training,
00:20:32.63\00:20:34.39
everything... Bible...
the whole idea of just...
00:20:34.42\00:20:37.14
this happening...
wouldn't have occurred to me
00:20:37.18\00:20:39.80
but it happened... Right...
00:20:39.83\00:20:41.83
and so... then in the end
00:20:41.87\00:20:43.79
my younger brother went
to join my older brother
00:20:43.83\00:20:48.73
because he was
extremely restless...
00:20:48.77\00:20:49.92
and he wanted to
leave, he wanted to get out...
00:20:49.95\00:20:52.27
so he ended up
joining my older brother
00:20:52.30\00:20:54.04
and then... it was
just my mom and I...
00:20:54.08\00:20:55.75
there was no way we
could make it on our own
00:20:55.78\00:20:57.72
you know, the manual
labor involved in daily life
00:20:57.75\00:21:01.93
we're talking
about washing clothes,
00:21:01.97\00:21:03.87
even washing dishes...
you got to haul the water
00:21:03.90\00:21:06.52
to wash dishes...
you know, I often use the
00:21:06.56\00:21:08.80
illustration of making
a... getting a glass of milk,
00:21:08.83\00:21:11.14
if you want a glass of milk,
you reach in your refrigerator
00:21:11.17\00:21:13.30
pour it and drink it...
we had to take the soy beans,
00:21:13.34\00:21:16.16
soak them... grind them up...
00:21:16.19\00:21:17.27
rinse them out in
cheese cloth into water...
00:21:17.31\00:21:19.64
boil it on the stove, but
boiling on the stove means
00:21:19.67\00:21:22.75
you have to have cut
your wood and gather kindling
00:21:22.78\00:21:25.79
and gone through a whole process
just to be able to lay a fire
00:21:25.83\00:21:29.09
and then you're
going to burn a fire...
00:21:29.12\00:21:31.61
year-round to boil
your milk because...
00:21:31.65\00:21:34.11
or whatever you're
fixing... every day of the year
00:21:34.14\00:21:36.60
we had to create a
fire except on the Sabbath,
00:21:36.64\00:21:39.01
because we didn't
cook on the Sabbath...
00:21:39.05\00:21:40.22
but other than that,
it could be 90 degrees...
00:21:40.26\00:21:43.35
it could be a 100
degrees you still have to use
00:21:43.39\00:21:45.92
the stove to
cook... so, you know,
00:21:45.95\00:21:48.10
so there's all of that,
and then, when you finally
00:21:48.13\00:21:50.77
get done making
your glass of milk...
00:21:50.80\00:21:52.28
and it's boiled...
because you can't drink raw
00:21:52.32\00:21:55.40
soy beans... you have to
boil it and you cool it...
00:21:55.44\00:21:58.56
because there's no ice that
you can add to it to cool it...
00:21:58.59\00:22:01.08
it's naturally
cool for a few hours
00:22:01.11\00:22:02.88
and you finally
drink your glass of milk...
00:22:02.92\00:22:05.81
the rest of it...
you can't just put in the
00:22:05.84\00:22:08.07
refrigerator... That's right...
00:22:08.11\00:22:09.54
so you either have to
can it, which means more heat
00:22:09.58\00:22:11.56
in the summer... if
it's during the summer...
00:22:11.59\00:22:13.12
or you could put a
little bit in a jar
00:22:13.16\00:22:16.81
and store that in the stream...
overnight and that was about it
00:22:16.84\00:22:19.99
otherwise... so...
think about that...
00:22:20.03\00:22:22.30
that's just a glass of milk...
every process was so manual
00:22:22.34\00:22:25.83
we couldn't do it...
so my mom ended up writing
00:22:25.86\00:22:28.69
someone who had been
corresponding with my father
00:22:28.72\00:22:31.48
and they had been trading
magazines and she had come to
00:22:31.52\00:22:34.88
visit us once before...
and she was planning to come
00:22:34.91\00:22:38.24
that summer... and my
mom just took a chance
00:22:38.27\00:22:40.06
and wrote her and
said, "Would you send us two
00:22:40.09\00:22:41.81
one-way tickets instead
of coming on a round-trip
00:22:41.84\00:22:44.35
a round-trip ticket
because we need to leave,
00:22:44.39\00:22:47.43
we don't have anywhere to go...
00:22:47.46\00:22:48.76
so, she did... and
I was determined...
00:22:48.79\00:22:51.56
I just knew one
thing... I wasn't coming back
00:22:51.60\00:22:53.70
without going to
school... that was the thing...
00:22:53.74\00:22:55.77
I knew that God had given
me a way to go to school...
00:22:55.80\00:22:58.32
Hmmm... hmmm...
and I ended up going to
00:22:58.35\00:23:00.94
Fountainview... it
was a Farms back then
00:23:00.97\00:23:03.53
and now it's
Fountainview Academy
00:23:03.56\00:23:05.64
I feel like I'm a racing train
running away with your interview
00:23:05.67\00:23:08.17
I'm sorry... No,
no, no, no... believe me
00:23:08.20\00:23:10.95
if I have a
question, I will ask...
00:23:10.98\00:23:12.39
I'm just loving where
you're going with this
00:23:12.42\00:23:15.57
because you're really
tracing your journey for us,
00:23:15.60\00:23:18.52
and so... who knows
better than you do...
00:23:18.55\00:23:21.13
my question, now though, is
so... you said something that
00:23:21.16\00:23:27.61
I wasn't aware of and that is...
00:23:27.64\00:23:29.89
your family was
basically living like that
00:23:29.93\00:23:33.77
in expectation of
the return of Christ...
00:23:33.80\00:23:37.57
and when that didn't happen,
when your dad thought it would,
00:23:37.61\00:23:41.74
he became disillusioned...
I guess... with everything...
00:23:41.78\00:23:45.17
You know, I really
want to comment on that...
00:23:45.20\00:23:47.16
you're right in
your observation,
00:23:47.19\00:23:49.48
I really want to comment on
that because I think there are
00:23:49.52\00:23:52.41
a lot of people,
have you noticed...
00:23:52.44\00:23:53.67
there is this fervor... you
know Jesus is coming again...
00:23:53.70\00:23:56.55
and... got to be ready...
let's get out there and share
00:23:56.59\00:23:58.67
the truth... and tell the
world and warn the world...
00:23:58.70\00:24:00.71
"He's coming, He's coming...
" people will drop out of school
00:24:00.75\00:24:03.06
they'll make changes
like... to use all their
00:24:03.09\00:24:05.79
retirement funds for
a particular project...
00:24:05.82\00:24:08.21
that kind of thing...
and I am not condemning
00:24:08.24\00:24:10.59
anybody's choice
to do those things
00:24:10.63\00:24:12.56
but it's clearly
based on the idea
00:24:12.59\00:24:14.54
that Jesus is coming so soon,
00:24:14.58\00:24:16.46
that I don't need
to do these things...
00:24:16.49\00:24:18.30
I don't need to
prepare to stay here...
00:24:18.33\00:24:20.38
I don't need to
occupy till He comes...
00:24:20.41\00:24:22.38
I don't need to occupy...
and then, often, if you try
00:24:22.42\00:24:24.77
to say something to people like
that... they will say to you...
00:24:24.80\00:24:26.88
"You're just not
serious about Jesus' coming... "
00:24:26.91\00:24:29.61
Hmmm... but what I noticed...
00:24:29.77\00:24:30.99
even though Jesus
says to watch the signs...
00:24:31.02\00:24:33.12
He never said to
live by them day by day...
00:24:33.16\00:24:35.23
Hmmm... He said to watch them,
00:24:35.26\00:24:36.64
observe them... Hmmm... hmmm...
00:24:36.68\00:24:38.55
but He also...
if you look at the
00:24:38.59\00:24:40.39
focus of the Bible... it's on
the certainty of Christ's coming
00:24:40.42\00:24:43.92
and the
unexpectedness of His return...
00:24:43.95\00:24:47.09
not on the nearness... Hmmm...
00:24:47.13\00:24:48.83
not on the nearness...
00:24:48.87\00:24:50.55
Which is not to say
00:24:50.58\00:24:52.23
that it's not
near... it is to say that
00:24:52.26\00:24:56.71
the emphasis has to
be in the right place...
00:24:56.74\00:24:59.33
And the reason why
I'm bringing this out
00:24:59.37\00:25:02.23
is if you're living
on expectancy of Jesus'
00:25:02.26\00:25:05.05
coming within a short time,
based on your understanding
00:25:05.09\00:25:08.07
of "short" and "long"
it can create an urgency
00:25:08.11\00:25:11.71
in your life which
cannot sustain itself...
00:25:11.74\00:25:15.15
Hmmm... there is
an urgency that God
00:25:15.19\00:25:17.49
can place in your life
that runs from day to day...
00:25:17.53\00:25:20.25
so, I'm aware every
moment, that I'm ministering
00:25:20.29\00:25:22.97
whether I'm
talking to one individual
00:25:23.01\00:25:24.58
or I am talking to thousands,
I'm aware, every moment,
00:25:24.61\00:25:28.10
that God is going
to save somebody...
00:25:28.14\00:25:29.18
God is trying to use somebody,
00:25:29.21\00:25:30.48
I'm also aware of the fact
that I won't appreciate others
00:25:30.52\00:25:33.71
to become a castaway...
and there's an urgency about
00:25:33.75\00:25:35.90
what I do... everyday...
but it's not related to
00:25:35.94\00:25:37.92
whether Jesus is
going to come in 2016
00:25:37.95\00:25:40.90
or whether He's going to come
in you know... you name it...
00:25:40.94\00:25:44.01
it's related to the
fact that every moment
00:25:44.05\00:25:46.30
is a moment that's been given us
00:25:46.33\00:25:48.26
and tomorrow is
not mine... Hmmm...
00:25:48.30\00:25:50.16
so I can only do what He's
asked me to do... right now...
00:25:50.20\00:25:52.33
Hmmm... hmmm... you
see... and I guess I want
00:25:52.36\00:25:56.44
to say to people
who are running on the
00:25:56.47\00:25:58.45
"Second-return fervor"
sometimes it's not sustainable
00:25:58.48\00:26:03.57
and if it is
sustainable for you... great...
00:26:03.60\00:26:05.59
but it's not sustainable
for everybody around you...
00:26:05.62\00:26:07.60
and it wasn't for my father...
00:26:07.64\00:26:08.96
because everything
was based on the fact
00:26:09.00\00:26:10.84
that the world was
not going to continue...
00:26:10.88\00:26:12.66
and then the world kept going...
obviously it's still going...
00:26:12.69\00:26:15.46
Right... right...
right... and even though,
00:26:15.49\00:26:18.13
we feel closer to His return, we
are closer than we've ever been
00:26:18.17\00:26:21.95
We're always closer... yeah...
00:26:21.99\00:26:23.28
but you still... it
does need to be sustainable
00:26:23.31\00:26:27.41
and your focus has to
be on that relationship...
00:26:27.44\00:26:31.47
and sharing Jesus with others,
that's really the bottom line...
00:26:31.51\00:26:35.94
Every moment
that God gives you...
00:26:35.97\00:26:37.40
is a moment that
you won't have again...
00:26:37.43\00:26:39.24
That's right...
whether He comes tomorrow
00:26:39.27\00:26:41.00
or whether He comes a
thousand years from now...
00:26:41.04\00:26:42.86
the moment you have right
now, is all you actually have...
00:26:42.90\00:26:46.22
Hmmm... yesterday is gone...
00:26:46.26\00:26:47.59
tomorrow may never be...
the urgency is always to live
00:26:47.62\00:26:51.30
fully in the moment...
00:26:51.34\00:26:52.39
That's right... right now...
00:26:52.43\00:26:53.67
Live in the moment...
that's absolutely true...
00:26:53.71\00:26:56.58
Tell us... in 30
seconds what you're doing now?
00:26:56.62\00:26:59.88
I can't believe our
time is up, this is so good
00:26:59.92\00:27:03.12
you've just given me
such great information...
00:27:03.15\00:27:05.26
I lost all
perspective of time... so...
00:27:05.29\00:27:06.70
but I'm... I'm... I'm
it's amazing this young lady...
00:27:06.74\00:27:10.15
this child who was kept
away from media and the world
00:27:10.18\00:27:13.56
and kept at home...
00:27:13.59\00:27:14.94
now, I am the
Chair of a Department
00:27:14.97\00:27:18.09
in which I'm able... I
feel called to this place
00:27:18.13\00:27:21.60
and at this time...
to help with young people
00:27:21.63\00:27:25.04
being able to re-shape
media so that it can appeal
00:27:25.07\00:27:28.63
to other young people...
I find that our young people
00:27:28.66\00:27:32.18
are not watching our
Adventist Programming
00:27:32.22\00:27:34.31
and I'd like to see that
change and that's a mission
00:27:34.34\00:27:36.60
that's on my
heart... Well we need to talk
00:27:36.63\00:27:38.50
because this is a
Network here Dare to Dream...
00:27:38.53\00:27:42.06
and we are looking to make a
difference with young and old...
00:27:42.09\00:27:45.80
Thank you so much
for being with us...
00:27:45.83\00:27:47.70
It was a blessing to have you...
Thank you for having me...
00:27:47.74\00:27:50.47
Make sure to pick up a copy
of her book, "Born Yesterday"
00:27:50.50\00:27:53.20
well thank you so
much for tuning in...
00:27:53.23\00:27:55.88
join us next time...
because you know what?
00:27:55.91\00:27:59.19
it just wouldn't be
the same, without you...
00:27:59.23\00:28:02.48