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
00:06:32.52\00:06:35.16
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...
00:07:01.18\00:07:05.09
so, I couldn't
relate to it... Why?
00:07:05.12\00:07:07.89
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?
00:07:14.00\00:07:21.17
Well, first they
weren't trying to be extreme,
00:07:21.20\00:07:25.21
what they were trying to
do is what a lot of Christians
00:07:25.24\00:07:29.28
and Adventist
parents often tried to do
00:07:29.31\00:07:32.25
which is to live out everything
that they believe is right...
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but they had
probably been reading more
00:07:35.35\00:07:37.55
than the average
parent about all the reforms,
00:07:37.59\00:07:41.22
and they got
focused on the reforms...
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one thing I've
learned in life is that...
00:07:43.53\00:07:46.33
what you focused
on and emphasized...
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is always more important
00:07:49.16\00:07:50.70
than what you say
is more important...
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Hmmm... unpack
that a little bit...
00:07:52.93\00:07:54.97
Okay, so, they did
believe in salvation by faith
00:07:55.00\00:07:58.44
in Jesus Christ
and all... you know...
00:07:58.47\00:08:00.38
righteousness by
faith, they believed
00:08:00.41\00:08:02.18
in all of these things...
but the focus became about
00:08:02.21\00:08:06.65
what we knew and
what we did... Hmmm...
00:08:06.68\00:08:09.75
and that's not unlike a
lot of people you know...
00:08:09.78\00:08:11.69
Hmmm... their focus
is on what they know
00:08:11.72\00:08:13.29
and what they do...
and they tend to focus on
00:08:13.32\00:08:15.66
the details... so the number
of inches from the floor...
00:08:15.69\00:08:18.59
you know... the width
of your bonnet brim...
00:08:18.63\00:08:22.83
we kept New
Moons and Feast Days...
00:08:22.86\00:08:24.87
and that became an
issue because, you know,
00:08:24.90\00:08:27.04
do you observe the New
Moons according to when the moon
00:08:27.07\00:08:30.71
is completely black and
can't be seen like one segment
00:08:30.74\00:08:34.34
of the Jews believe,
or do you observe the moon
00:08:34.38\00:08:37.78
New Moon Day
according to whether there is
00:08:37.81\00:08:40.42
this little fingernail of a
sliver... like another segment,
00:08:40.45\00:08:43.99
and see what would
happen is, if you believe "this"
00:08:44.02\00:08:47.46
the black moon... and
I believe in the little
00:08:47.52\00:08:49.76
sliver fingernail of the moon,
then I can't worship with you
00:08:49.79\00:08:53.13
you can't worship with me,
00:08:53.16\00:08:54.46
so, there are very
few people... anyway
00:08:54.50\00:08:56.03
that held our beliefs and
then, so often, it was like,
00:08:56.06\00:08:58.90
"Get off my property
and don't come back...
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you're teaching
error... " you know,
00:09:00.80\00:09:02.30
so I know I'm kind of
going off of your question
00:09:02.34\00:09:05.21
but this is what...
when you begin to focus on
00:09:05.24\00:09:08.01
details... there is no limit to
how small those details become
00:09:08.04\00:09:11.48
because they all
seem to be important...
00:09:11.51\00:09:14.35
Yes... what an
interesting point...
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as you're talking... I'm
sensing... I'm feeling like
00:09:16.69\00:09:21.62
this was such bondage...
we are to be free in Christ
00:09:21.66\00:09:26.70
and this is...
nothing personal...
00:09:26.73\00:09:29.10
Sure... I understand...
you know what I'm saying,
00:09:29.13\00:09:31.43
yeah... it's not
anything against your
00:09:31.50\00:09:33.87
family or your
journey... I understand...
00:09:33.90\00:09:36.20
but I'm just saying that
the bondage involved here
00:09:36.27\00:09:40.31
has got to be so
off-putting, you are such a...
00:09:40.34\00:09:44.35
as I interact with you...
and we as interacted prior
00:09:44.38\00:09:47.85
to this Program... I mean...
you're warm and you're friendly
00:09:47.88\00:09:50.72
and you're... you
know... and you seem free
00:09:50.75\00:09:52.62
and I praise God for that...
00:09:52.65\00:09:54.12
I'm going to find
out how that happened...
00:09:54.16\00:09:55.59
but prior to whatever happened
00:09:55.62\00:09:59.76
to turn this situation around,
you were in such bondage...
00:09:59.79\00:10:04.50
I really was...
you know, Jesus says,
00:10:04.53\00:10:07.44
"These things you
ought not have done... "
00:10:07.47\00:10:09.90
and He is talking about the
Pharisees paying tithe on mint
00:10:09.94\00:10:12.61
and anise and
cumin... okay... He says,
00:10:12.64\00:10:15.01
"These things you
ought to have done...
00:10:15.04\00:10:17.01
but not... these
things you ought to
00:10:17.08\00:10:18.98
have done but not
let the other undone. "
00:10:19.01\00:10:20.92
it's good that you want to
get all the details right...
00:10:20.95\00:10:23.28
but you can't focus on
all the details and the big
00:10:23.32\00:10:26.02
things at the same time...
00:10:26.05\00:10:27.39
you literally have to focus on
what is most important first...
00:10:27.42\00:10:30.96
and the little
details can fall into place...
00:10:30.99\00:10:33.76
more naturally... and
yes... you are right...
00:10:33.80\00:10:36.43
I feel so amazingly free...
00:10:36.46\00:10:38.90
it's a place in my life
00:10:38.93\00:10:41.27
that I've wanted to be
for a long time and I'm here
00:10:41.30\00:10:43.87
and I've been here for
a while and it's a freedom
00:10:43.91\00:10:46.44
that comes in Jesus
and understanding too...
00:10:46.47\00:10:49.58
there's a picture
of me... at some point
00:10:49.61\00:10:51.58
you'll probably show it,
00:10:51.61\00:10:52.95
I'm dressed in a bonnet
00:10:52.98\00:10:54.32
and you can't
see much of the dress
00:10:54.35\00:10:56.55
but I'm holding
a Bible in my hand
00:10:56.58\00:10:58.75
and I'm looking so pious
00:10:58.79\00:11:00.19
and even though, by
that time in my life
00:11:00.22\00:11:02.42
I had had a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ,
00:11:02.46\00:11:05.56
my mind-set was
so filled with rules
00:11:05.59\00:11:09.26
and laws and obligations...
00:11:09.33\00:11:11.83
that I didn't
know how to be free,
00:11:11.87\00:11:13.67
I didn't know
how to be spontaneous
00:11:13.70\00:11:15.44
you know...
righteousness was not about love
00:11:15.47\00:11:19.44
which is what it
is about... Right...
00:11:19.47\00:11:21.08
instead it was about being right
00:11:21.11\00:11:22.64
in every exact way...
00:11:22.68\00:11:24.01
and that's why we couldn't,
we had to live in seclusion
00:11:24.05\00:11:27.75
in our own little
outpost as it were...
00:11:27.78\00:11:29.82
that's what we
used to refer it to...
00:11:29.85\00:11:31.79
"Outpost on the Hill"
we had to live like that
00:11:31.82\00:11:34.32
because there was
no way we could have
00:11:34.36\00:11:35.69
maintained that life
in mainstream society...
00:11:35.72\00:11:37.99
we had to
separate... and yet, Jesus says,
00:11:38.06\00:11:40.40
that you are the
light of the world...
00:11:40.43\00:11:42.70
you are the salt of the earth,
00:11:42.73\00:11:44.47
I want you to be in the world
00:11:44.50\00:11:46.17
I just don't want
you to be of it...
00:11:46.20\00:11:47.54
Yes... right...
right... but I have to say,
00:11:47.57\00:11:48.90
"I'm all up in this world... "
00:11:48.94\00:11:51.57
I'm not just of it...
because the world is not
00:11:51.61\00:11:53.78
filled by love,
and God has put love
00:11:53.81\00:11:55.68
into my life, you're
supposed to be asking
00:11:55.74\00:11:57.31
my story and I'm
preaching you a sermon...
00:11:57.35\00:11:58.91
No... preach... we love that...
00:11:58.95\00:12:01.08
I just have to say, "I
have been set free... "
00:12:01.12\00:12:02.45
it's an amazing thing...
00:12:02.48\00:12:03.82
We can see that... we can
see it in your countenance...
00:12:03.85\00:12:06.82
you are free... and
you're free because of the
00:12:06.86\00:12:09.79
love of Jesus... it's
not propelled by law...
00:12:09.82\00:12:14.73
it's propelled by love...
00:12:14.73\00:12:16.30
Yes... and
relationship and that's
00:12:16.33\00:12:18.83
what you're showing...
so, let's go a little bit more
00:12:18.87\00:12:21.57
into your journey...
so we can find out how you
00:12:21.60\00:12:23.54
did the
turnaround... so, so, okay...
00:12:23.57\00:12:26.64
so you're five-years-old...
you're off to this outpost,
00:12:26.68\00:12:30.38
you lived there
for how many years?
00:12:30.41\00:12:32.85
So, by the time we
actually got out to the
00:12:32.88\00:12:36.05
hill in Tennessee... I
was nine... by that time...
00:12:36.08\00:12:38.89
so just a few years of
living in a bus and all that...
00:12:38.92\00:12:41.99
and then out on the hill
and I was there until I was 16
00:12:42.02\00:12:45.09
heading towards 17...
So you're a teenager now...
00:12:45.13\00:12:48.66
living... like
that... where was your head
00:12:48.70\00:12:52.97
about the Lord... were
you resenting all of this
00:12:53.03\00:12:56.50
all of these rules
and... restrictions...
00:12:56.54\00:12:58.34
No, the funny thing
about children and I've seen
00:12:58.37\00:13:01.68
other children
raised in extremes like this
00:13:01.71\00:13:03.41
they kind of take the day-to-day
some of the hardest things
00:13:03.45\00:13:06.68
are like hunger...
when you are always hungry
00:13:06.72\00:13:08.92
I wasn't always
hungry, my mother did her best
00:13:08.95\00:13:11.25
to feed us... both
our parents did their best
00:13:11.29\00:13:13.59
to feed us...
but there were times
00:13:13.62\00:13:15.22
when the food ran
scarce and they'd tell us,
00:13:15.26\00:13:17.36
"You know what... time
to exercise your survival
00:13:17.39\00:13:19.26
skills... go out and
find your food today... "
00:13:19.29\00:13:22.00
so, there were those
times but for the most part
00:13:22.03\00:13:24.10
they did try to feed us,
but we only ate 2 meals a day,
00:13:24.13\00:13:26.67
another reform... see,
I don't think we had it
00:13:26.70\00:13:28.80
in balance because I'm
sure Ellen White meant that
00:13:28.84\00:13:31.47
young growing children
should eat two meals a day...
00:13:31.51\00:13:34.14
right... so...
going to bed hungry...
00:13:34.18\00:13:36.01
it was a routine thing...
00:13:36.04\00:13:37.71
I didn't even think
of it as being hungry,
00:13:37.75\00:13:40.08
because you just drink
cold water and go to bed...
00:13:40.12\00:13:42.25
it's not something you
can do anything about...
00:13:42.28\00:13:43.85
I really have a hard time
00:13:43.89\00:13:46.76
answering questions
about how did I feel...
00:13:46.79\00:13:49.16
because I think one
of the things that I
00:13:49.19\00:13:51.49
learned early was
probably not to feel so much...
00:13:51.53\00:13:54.13
Hmmm...
00:13:54.20\00:13:55.50
because it's just the way it was
00:13:55.53\00:13:58.10
and you don't
necessarily question it...
00:13:58.13\00:14:00.64
Hmmm... hmmm...
now I had an older...
00:14:00.67\00:14:03.10
the younger of my
two older brothers
00:14:03.14\00:14:05.64
he did start questioning,
and so... he had his eyes
00:14:05.67\00:14:09.94
wide open...
long before he left,
00:14:09.98\00:14:12.45
but I was more of a gullible
one I just... this is the way
00:14:12.48\00:14:16.79
it's supposed to be...
and I'm ingesting it...
00:14:16.85\00:14:19.42
but yet the Lord
was showing me things
00:14:19.45\00:14:21.56
after I gave my
heart to him at 14...
00:14:21.59\00:14:23.59
He began to show me
things that just didn't add up
00:14:23.63\00:14:25.83
to His character...
Hmmm... now let's go back
00:14:25.86\00:14:28.70
and unpack this a
little bit, how did you...
00:14:28.73\00:14:31.53
what happened that you
decided to give your heart
00:14:31.57\00:14:34.64
to the Lord at 14?
I had felt the drawing
00:14:34.67\00:14:37.21
since I was
little... toward the Lord,
00:14:37.24\00:14:39.41
I even felt like
He chose my name...
00:14:39.44\00:14:41.51
my name, Rachel Elizabeth,
Rachel means "Ewe lamb"
00:14:41.54\00:14:45.55
and Elizabeth
means "Consecrated one"
00:14:45.58\00:14:47.68
so I thought of myself as
a lamb consecrated to God,
00:14:47.75\00:14:51.12
and I felt like
00:14:51.15\00:14:53.15
He had chosen my
name... I had always felt
00:14:53.19\00:14:55.39
like I was special
to Him in some way...
00:14:55.42\00:14:57.59
but at 14... what happened
is there had been some people
00:14:57.63\00:15:02.56
had a number of
families, probably about
00:15:02.60\00:15:05.30
five families
total... when I say families
00:15:05.33\00:15:07.67
I mean it loosely
because some were like
00:15:07.70\00:15:09.90
one person living in
one unit, and then maybe
00:15:09.94\00:15:13.38
a single mother,
a couple of children
00:15:13.41\00:15:15.11
and then another
family here and there...
00:15:15.14\00:15:16.78
so there was a total of
about five families that were
00:15:16.81\00:15:19.55
staying on the hill...
in various mobile homes
00:15:19.58\00:15:22.98
and makeshift living facilities
00:15:23.02\00:15:25.12
between our home and
Brother Moreland's home
00:15:25.15\00:15:27.76
which was a mile up the road,
and so... for me it was like
00:15:27.79\00:15:31.06
an extremely social atmosphere,
I actually had people
00:15:31.09\00:15:34.30
to be around from time to
time and so, I was enjoying that
00:15:34.30\00:15:39.07
then they all moved...
because as the fall turned
00:15:39.10\00:15:43.37
toward winter,
nobody wanted to be up there
00:15:43.41\00:15:45.84
in that environment
because it was very harsh...
00:15:45.87\00:15:48.41
No heat, no electricity...
00:15:48.44\00:15:51.28
right, exactly,
they didn't want it...
00:15:51.31\00:15:53.28
so they all
moved... and so I felt...
00:15:53.31\00:15:55.25
utterly alone,
my only brother Mo
00:15:55.28\00:15:56.62
even he and his wife
went to stay somewhere else
00:15:56.65\00:15:58.32
during the winter
and so it was just
00:15:58.35\00:16:00.09
him living up the road by
himself and then my family
00:16:00.12\00:16:03.86
and I felt so utterly
alone after that little tease of
00:16:03.93\00:16:07.30
socialization... and
that's when I began to realize
00:16:07.30\00:16:10.60
I can't control
anything in my life...
00:16:10.63\00:16:12.67
I don't have the
ability to make people be
00:16:12.73\00:16:14.70
around me... I can't
break out of this environment
00:16:14.74\00:16:17.51
that I'm in... I
don't have control
00:16:17.54\00:16:19.57
of anything... I
need to give my life
00:16:19.61\00:16:21.78
over to one who
does have the control...
00:16:21.81\00:16:23.98
and so... I
surrendered my life to God
00:16:24.01\00:16:26.31
kind of strange
way of coming there...
00:16:26.35\00:16:28.52
but feeling utter
despair sent me to the Lord...
00:16:28.55\00:16:32.72
Amen... and you know
God knew what you needed,
00:16:32.75\00:16:36.89
Yes... and always does know what
00:16:36.93\00:16:39.16
we need... and so
you were in utter despair
00:16:39.19\00:16:41.83
and it seems as though
00:16:41.86\00:16:43.20
He just revealed
Himself to you even more.
00:16:43.23\00:16:45.83
Yeah, I think that,
you know, I mentioned that
00:16:45.87\00:16:47.20
I learned not to feel...
but at that time I could not
00:16:47.24\00:16:50.51
keep the sense of isolation
and loneliness and aloneness...
00:16:50.54\00:16:54.44
it was so profound...
I was just completely
00:16:54.51\00:16:56.98
in despair... and
that's why I had to
00:16:57.01\00:16:59.75
turn to the One... who
would never leave me...
00:16:59.78\00:17:01.55
And that's so
beautiful... and so how did...
00:17:01.58\00:17:05.19
how did that play
out... after you did that...
00:17:05.22\00:17:08.76
where did you go from there?
00:17:08.79\00:17:10.46
I began to pray...
00:17:10.49\00:17:13.50
after I accepted the Lord,
00:17:13.53\00:17:15.66
I began to read the
Bible and Spirit of Prophecy
00:17:15.73\00:17:17.77
in different ways
to really understand
00:17:17.80\00:17:19.37
for myself... is what I
was learning about God...
00:17:19.40\00:17:22.20
really what God was...
because some things just didn't
00:17:22.24\00:17:24.61
seem right... and the more
I read... the more I prayed
00:17:24.64\00:17:27.51
the more I read...
the more I began to pray
00:17:27.58\00:17:30.35
and asked the Lord, "Let
me leave that environment"
00:17:30.38\00:17:33.68
because I realized that
even if I was not on the
00:17:33.72\00:17:37.02
right path... I
wasn't free to change...
00:17:37.05\00:17:39.19
Hmmm... there was
no option to change
00:17:39.22\00:17:41.42
and most of all,
I wanted education
00:17:41.46\00:17:43.53
I wanted to go
to school so badly
00:17:43.56\00:17:45.56
and I was tired of just
being alone... learning alone
00:17:45.59\00:17:49.26
and I couldn't
learn... so I began to pray
00:17:49.30\00:17:51.57
and the answer to that
prayer came in the form of
00:17:51.60\00:17:53.87
my father
leaving... he just left...
00:17:53.90\00:17:57.07
he took my older brother,
they went to build houses
00:17:57.11\00:17:59.51
in Texas... and it was
supposed to be something
00:17:59.54\00:18:02.01
they would be
gone for a few months
00:18:02.04\00:18:03.38
and come back with some funds
00:18:03.41\00:18:05.28
because we were
very low on funds...
00:18:05.31\00:18:06.72
but... on the way...
00:18:06.75\00:18:09.02
getting ready to leave...
00:18:09.05\00:18:10.39
he told me that he
wasn't going to come back
00:18:10.42\00:18:11.75
and I was
shocked... and I could tell
00:18:11.79\00:18:13.69
that my mother didn't
know and she was standing
00:18:13.72\00:18:15.29
by the car getting
ready to say goodbye
00:18:15.36\00:18:16.79
and her first warning
of it was when she went
00:18:16.83\00:18:19.46
to give him a goodbye
kiss he turned his head away
00:18:19.49\00:18:21.36
and then he ended up
saying some words to her
00:18:21.40\00:18:23.93
that I hadn't heard
before and, you know,
00:18:23.97\00:18:26.43
he was like... he was leaving...
00:18:26.47\00:18:28.04
and he had already told
me he was not coming back...
00:18:28.10\00:18:30.24
and that turned
out to be the case...
00:18:30.31\00:18:32.44
he didn't even stay in
Texas for more than a month
00:18:32.47\00:18:34.64
he ended up going back
up north to his hometown
00:18:34.68\00:18:37.71
and began trying to
create a life for himself...
00:18:37.78\00:18:40.12
and the only thing I
could think of was that
00:18:40.15\00:18:42.52
everything about the
lifestyle he set up for us
00:18:42.55\00:18:44.89
was all focused on Jesus
coming by the end of that decade
00:18:44.92\00:18:48.69
which was the 1970s...
and now, we were into 1980
00:18:48.72\00:18:52.53
and '81... and heading into
'82, and Jesus still hadn't come
00:18:52.56\00:18:56.83
so, he left... my mother
and the younger of my two older
00:18:56.87\00:19:03.54
brothers and I... went
through a horrible winter
00:19:03.57\00:19:05.94
I write about how my heel
froze and... it was just...
00:19:05.97\00:19:09.98
it was incredibly cold
we didn't even know if we'd
00:19:10.01\00:19:11.98
survive that
particular winter but we made it
00:19:12.01\00:19:13.92
and I'm still not answering
your question... I'm so sorry...
00:19:13.95\00:19:17.82
No, you're doing
great... you're doing great...
00:19:17.85\00:19:19.35
no, I'm just
thinking here's the...
00:19:19.39\00:19:22.26
it's kind of... blowing my mind
because you have a situation
00:19:22.29\00:19:27.50
where the whole point is
to live according to what
00:19:27.60\00:19:33.34
God would have you...
00:19:33.37\00:19:34.70
the way He
would have you live...
00:19:34.74\00:19:36.77
down to every jot and tittle...
00:19:36.81\00:19:38.91
Yes... of reform...
00:19:38.97\00:19:40.68
Yes... but when
it came to staying
00:19:40.71\00:19:44.85
with your family... you
just... it's over, it's done...
00:19:44.88\00:19:48.45
and you got to make it
the best way you can...
00:19:48.48\00:19:50.95
how devastating was that
event to your mom, to you...
00:19:50.99\00:19:56.22
how devastating!
Well, it really was...
00:19:56.26\00:19:58.79
because I had no...
nothing in my mind that could
00:19:58.83\00:20:04.47
understand what was happening
because everything had been...
00:20:04.50\00:20:07.60
you have to understand...
my environment was so saturated
00:20:07.64\00:20:10.74
with religion... and God
and religion... everything
00:20:10.77\00:20:14.38
that the concept of
my parents' breaking up
00:20:14.41\00:20:18.35
was not there...
00:20:18.38\00:20:19.71
I mean, the family that prays
together... stays together...
00:20:19.75\00:20:22.45
we prayed together 3
times a day... one hour each...
00:20:22.48\00:20:25.72
and we had one-hour
worships 3 times a day...
00:20:25.79\00:20:28.99
okay... we prayed
together, we did...
00:20:29.06\00:20:32.53
we had training,
00:20:32.56\00:20:34.30
everything... Bible...
the whole idea of just...
00:20:34.36\00:20:37.07
this happening...
wouldn't have occurred to me
00:20:37.10\00:20:39.70
but it happened... Right...
00:20:39.73\00:20:41.74
and so... then in the end
00:20:41.77\00:20:43.71
my younger brother went
to join my older brother
00:20:43.74\00:20:48.64
because he was
extremely restless...
00:20:48.68\00:20:50.01
and he wanted to
leave, he wanted to get out...
00:20:50.05\00:20:52.18
so he ended up
joining my older brother
00:20:52.21\00:20:53.95
and then... it was
just my mom and I...
00:20:53.98\00:20:55.65
there was no way we
could make it on our own
00:20:55.68\00:20:57.62
you know, the manual
labor involved in daily life
00:20:57.65\00:21:01.92
we're talking
about washing clothes,
00:21:01.96\00:21:03.86
even washing dishes...
you got to haul the water
00:21:03.89\00:21:06.49
to wash dishes...
you know, I often use the
00:21:06.53\00:21:08.73
illustration of making
a... getting a glass of milk,
00:21:08.76\00:21:11.10
if you want a glass of milk,
you reach in your refrigerator
00:21:11.13\00:21:13.23
pour it and drink it...
we had to take the soy beans,
00:21:13.30\00:21:16.10
soak them... grind them up...
00:21:16.14\00:21:17.47
rinse them out in
cheese cloth into water...
00:21:17.51\00:21:19.57
boil it on the stove, but
boiling on the stove means
00:21:19.61\00:21:22.71
you have to have cut
your wood and gather kindling
00:21:22.74\00:21:25.75
and gone through a whole process
just to be able to lay a fire
00:21:25.78\00:21:29.05
and then you're
going to burn a fire...
00:21:29.08\00:21:31.55
year-round to boil
your milk because...
00:21:31.59\00:21:34.06
or whatever you're
fixing... every day of the year
00:21:34.09\00:21:36.56
we had to create a
fire except on the Sabbath,
00:21:36.59\00:21:38.96
because we didn't
cook on the Sabbath...
00:21:38.99\00:21:40.33
but other than that,
it could be 90 degrees...
00:21:40.36\00:21:43.26
it could be a 100
degrees you still have to use
00:21:43.30\00:21:45.83
the stove to
cook... so, you know,
00:21:45.87\00:21:48.00
so there's all of that,
and then, when you finally
00:21:48.04\00:21:50.67
get done making
your glass of milk...
00:21:50.71\00:21:52.21
and it's boiled...
because you can't drink raw
00:21:52.24\00:21:55.31
soy beans... you have to
boil it and you cool it...
00:21:55.34\00:21:58.48
because there's no ice that
you can add to it to cool it...
00:21:58.51\00:22:01.05
it's naturally
cool for a few hours
00:22:01.08\00:22:02.85
and you finally
drink your glass of milk...
00:22:02.88\00:22:05.79
the rest of it...
you can't just put in the
00:22:05.82\00:22:08.06
refrigerator... That's right...
00:22:08.09\00:22:09.52
so you either have to
can it, which means more heat
00:22:09.56\00:22:11.53
in the summer... if
it's during the summer...
00:22:11.56\00:22:13.09
or you could put a
little bit in a jar
00:22:13.13\00:22:16.77
and store that in the stream...
overnight and that was about it
00:22:16.80\00:22:19.93
otherwise... so...
think about that...
00:22:19.97\00:22:22.24
that's just a glass of milk...
every process was so manual
00:22:22.27\00:22:25.77
we couldn't do it...
so my mom ended up writing
00:22:25.81\00:22:28.64
someone who had been
corresponding with my father
00:22:28.68\00:22:31.41
and they had been trading
magazines and she had come to
00:22:31.48\00:22:34.82
visit us once before...
and she was planning to come
00:22:34.85\00:22:38.19
that summer... and my
mom just took a chance
00:22:38.22\00:22:40.02
and wrote her and
said, "Would you send us two
00:22:40.06\00:22:41.76
one-way tickets instead
of coming on a round-trip
00:22:41.79\00:22:44.29
a round-trip ticket
because we need to leave,
00:22:44.33\00:22:47.36
we don't have anywhere to go...
00:22:47.40\00:22:48.70
so, she did... and
I was determined...
00:22:48.73\00:22:51.47
I just knew one
thing... I wasn't coming back
00:22:51.50\00:22:53.60
without going to
school... that was the thing...
00:22:53.67\00:22:55.67
I knew that God had given
me a way to go to school...
00:22:55.70\00:22:58.24
Hmmm... hmmm...
and I ended up going to
00:22:58.27\00:23:00.91
Fountainview... it
was a Farms back then
00:23:00.94\00:23:03.51
and now it's
Fountainview Academy
00:23:03.55\00:23:05.61
I feel like I'm a racing train
running away with your interview
00:23:05.65\00:23:08.15
I'm sorry... No,
no, no, no... believe me
00:23:08.18\00:23:10.92
if I have a
question, I will ask...
00:23:10.95\00:23:12.35
I'm just loving where
you're going with this
00:23:12.39\00:23:15.56
because you're really
tracing your journey for us,
00:23:15.59\00:23:18.49
and so... who knows
better than you do...
00:23:18.53\00:23:21.06
my question, now though, is
so... you said something that
00:23:21.10\00:23:27.57
I wasn't aware of and that is...
00:23:27.60\00:23:29.84
your family was
basically living like that
00:23:29.87\00:23:33.71
in expectation of
the return of Christ...
00:23:33.74\00:23:37.51
and when that didn't happen,
when your dad thought it would,
00:23:37.55\00:23:41.68
he became disillusioned...
I guess... with everything...
00:23:41.72\00:23:45.12
You know, I really
want to comment on that...
00:23:45.15\00:23:47.12
you're right in
your observation,
00:23:47.16\00:23:49.42
I really want to comment on
that because I think there are
00:23:49.46\00:23:52.36
a lot of people,
have you noticed...
00:23:52.39\00:23:53.73
there is this fervor... you
know Jesus is coming again...
00:23:53.76\00:23:56.46
and... got to be ready...
let's get out there and share
00:23:56.50\00:23:58.57
the truth... and tell the
world and warn the world...
00:23:58.60\00:24:00.70
"He's coming, He's coming...
" people will drop out of school
00:24:00.74\00:24:03.04
they'll make changes
like... to use all their
00:24:03.07\00:24:05.77
retirement funds for
a particular project...
00:24:05.81\00:24:08.18
that kind of thing...
and I am not condemning
00:24:08.21\00:24:10.58
anybody's choice
to do those things
00:24:10.61\00:24:12.55
but it's clearly
based on the idea
00:24:12.58\00:24:14.52
that Jesus is coming so soon,
00:24:14.55\00:24:16.45
that I don't need
to do these things...
00:24:16.48\00:24:18.29
I don't need to
prepare to stay here...
00:24:18.32\00:24:20.36
I don't need to
occupy till He comes...
00:24:20.39\00:24:22.36
I don't need to occupy...
and then, often, if you try
00:24:22.39\00:24:24.76
to say something to people like
that... they will say to you...
00:24:24.79\00:24:26.86
"You're just not
serious about Jesus' coming... "
00:24:26.90\00:24:29.56
Hmmm... but what I noticed...
00:24:29.73\00:24:31.07
even though Jesus
says to watch the signs...
00:24:31.10\00:24:33.07
He never said to
live by them day by day...
00:24:33.10\00:24:35.17
Hmmm... He said to watch them,
00:24:35.20\00:24:36.57
observe them... Hmmm... hmmm...
00:24:36.64\00:24:38.51
but He also...
if you look at the
00:24:38.54\00:24:40.34
focus of the Bible... it's on
the certainty of Christ's coming
00:24:40.38\00:24:43.88
and the
unexpectedness of His return...
00:24:43.91\00:24:47.05
not on the nearness... Hmmm...
00:24:47.08\00:24:48.78
not on the nearness...
00:24:48.82\00:24:50.49
Which is not to say
00:24:50.52\00:24:52.19
that it's not
near... it is to say that
00:24:52.22\00:24:56.66
the emphasis has to
be in the right place...
00:24:56.69\00:24:59.26
And the reason why
I'm bringing this out
00:24:59.33\00:25:02.20
is if you're living
on expectancy of Jesus'
00:25:02.23\00:25:05.03
coming within a short time,
based on your understanding
00:25:05.07\00:25:08.04
of "short" and "long"
it can create an urgency
00:25:08.10\00:25:11.67
in your life which
cannot sustain itself...
00:25:11.71\00:25:15.14
Hmmm... there is
an urgency that God
00:25:15.18\00:25:17.48
can place in your life
that runs from day to day...
00:25:17.51\00:25:20.22
so, I'm aware every
moment, that I'm ministering
00:25:20.28\00:25:22.95
whether I'm
talking to one individual
00:25:22.98\00:25:24.55
or I am talking to thousands,
I'm aware, every moment,
00:25:24.59\00:25:28.09
that God is going
to save somebody...
00:25:28.12\00:25:29.46
God is trying to use somebody,
00:25:29.49\00:25:30.83
I'm also aware of the fact
that I won't appreciate others
00:25:30.86\00:25:33.70
to become a castaway...
and there's an urgency about
00:25:33.73\00:25:35.83
what I do... everyday...
but it's not related to
00:25:35.90\00:25:37.87
whether Jesus is
going to come in 2016
00:25:37.90\00:25:40.84
or whether He's going to come
in you know... you name it...
00:25:40.90\00:25:43.97
it's related to the
fact that every moment
00:25:44.01\00:25:46.24
is a moment that's been given us
00:25:46.27\00:25:48.21
and tomorrow is
not mine... Hmmm...
00:25:48.24\00:25:50.11
so I can only do what He's
asked me to do... right now...
00:25:50.15\00:25:52.28
Hmmm... hmmm... you
see... and I guess I want
00:25:52.31\00:25:56.38
to say to people
who are running on the
00:25:56.42\00:25:58.39
"Second-return fervor"
sometimes it's not sustainable
00:25:58.42\00:26:03.59
and if it is
sustainable for you... great...
00:26:03.63\00:26:05.59
but it's not sustainable
for everybody around you...
00:26:05.63\00:26:07.60
and it wasn't for my father...
00:26:07.66\00:26:08.96
because everything
was based on the fact
00:26:09.00\00:26:10.83
that the world was
not going to continue...
00:26:10.87\00:26:12.63
and then the world kept going...
obviously it's still going...
00:26:12.67\00:26:15.44
Right... right...
right... and even though,
00:26:15.47\00:26:18.11
we feel closer to His return, we
are closer than we've ever been
00:26:18.14\00:26:21.94
We're always closer... yeah...
00:26:21.98\00:26:23.31
but you still... it
does need to be sustainable
00:26:23.35\00:26:27.38
and your focus has to
be on that relationship...
00:26:27.42\00:26:31.45
and sharing Jesus with others,
that's really the bottom line...
00:26:31.49\00:26:35.92
Every moment
that God gives you...
00:26:35.96\00:26:37.39
is a moment that
you won't have again...
00:26:37.43\00:26:39.23
That's right...
whether He comes tomorrow
00:26:39.26\00:26:40.96
or whether He comes a
thousand years from now...
00:26:41.00\00:26:42.80
the moment you have right
now, is all you actually have...
00:26:42.83\00:26:46.17
Hmmm... yesterday is gone...
00:26:46.20\00:26:47.54
tomorrow may never be...
the urgency is always to live
00:26:47.57\00:26:51.24
fully in the moment...
00:26:51.27\00:26:52.61
That's right... right now...
00:26:52.64\00:26:53.98
Live in the moment...
that's absolutely true...
00:26:54.01\00:26:56.51
Tell us... in 30
seconds what you're doing now?
00:26:56.58\00:26:59.81
I can't believe our
time is up, this is so good
00:26:59.88\00:27:03.12
you've just given me
such great information...
00:27:03.15\00:27:05.29
I lost all
perspective of time... so...
00:27:05.32\00:27:06.72
but I'm... I'm... I'm
it's amazing this young lady...
00:27:06.76\00:27:10.16
this child who was kept
away from media and the world
00:27:10.19\00:27:13.56
and kept at home...
00:27:13.60\00:27:14.93
now, I am the
Chair of a Department
00:27:14.96\00:27:18.07
in which I'm able... I
feel called to this place
00:27:18.10\00:27:21.57
and at this time...
to help with young people
00:27:21.60\00:27:25.01
being able to re-shape
media so that it can appeal
00:27:25.04\00:27:28.61
to other young people...
I find that our young people
00:27:28.64\00:27:32.15
are not watching our
Adventist Programming
00:27:32.21\00:27:34.28
and I'd like to see that
change and that's a mission
00:27:34.32\00:27:36.58
that's on my
heart... Well we need to talk
00:27:36.62\00:27:38.49
because this is a
Network here Dare to Dream...
00:27:38.52\00:27:42.02
and we are looking to make a
difference with young and old...
00:27:42.06\00:27:45.79
Thank you so much
for being with us...
00:27:45.83\00:27:47.66
It was a blessing to have you...
Thank you for having me...
00:27:47.73\00:27:50.43
Make sure to pick up a copy
of her book, "Born Yesterday"
00:27:50.47\00:27:53.13
well thank you so
much for tuning in...
00:27:53.17\00:27:55.84
join us next time...
because you know what?
00:27:55.87\00:27:59.14
it just wouldn't be
the same, without you...
00:27:59.17\00:28:02.48