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Prescriptions · Fostering Faith

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  in this fostering faith episode and if you're listening
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  to it when it drops we drop every Thursday at
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  5 in the morning because I am an early riser
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  and in this episode it has it's just so funny
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  because God just teaches you so much stuff if
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  you just listen but if you're like me it just
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  takes a long time for it to sink in and people
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  tell you all the things and you just ignore them
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  and then you have a moment where it just kind
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  of all falls into place. And so in this episode,
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  we're going to be calling it God's prescription
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  time with him. And so, hey, friends, welcome
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  back to Fostering Faith. I am so glad that you're
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  here today. And I've got something to tell you
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  that if I could write out the best prescription
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  in the world, it would not come from Walgreens
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  or CVS or even a specialty pharmacy. It would
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  have unlimited refills, zero copay. No long pharmacy
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  lines and absolutely no prior OSS. But also to
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  the great part about this prescription is there
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  is no side effects. And so you may be wondering,
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  yes, sign me up. I want something to help me
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  with all the problems and how to get through
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  life and everything like that. And I'm here to
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  say. Yes, this is the best prescription. And
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  I will also say, absolutely, medications when
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  possible, medications when applicable, because,
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  I mean, there are medications out there for a
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  reason. But we're going to be talking about today
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  is time with him. And so what is the best prescription
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  that you can actually that you can hand to somebody?
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  And that's time with God. And so now let me pause
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  because Know what you're thinking Tracy. I do
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  spend time with God. I've prayed I've begged
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  and my husband still cheated My kids still walked
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  away and my health did not improve. My marriage
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  didn't get better. My bank account didn't magically
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  fill itself and You're right This is where we
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  need to be real time with God isn't a magic pill
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  it's not a genie in a bottle and When you say
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  the right words three times poof everything gets
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  better The prescription isn't about controlling
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  your life's outcomes. It's about anchoring yourself
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  in the one who doesn't change, even when everything
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  around you does. And so we have Psalm 46 one
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  that says God is our refuge and strength and
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  ever present help and trouble. That verse doesn't
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  say that he would prevent trouble. It says that
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  he is present in it. And that's the prescription
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  that we're going to be talking about today. We're
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  going to be talking about how life can suck and
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  how it is gonna happen, but we need to be with
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  the ultimate physician. And so let's dive in.
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  So we're gonna be talking about what it looks
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  like to take this prescription daily in parenting,
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  marriage, and when life leaves you torn to pieces.
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  And if you read the prescription on the thing,
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  It's the prescription label to read that you
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  might just laugh at. So just kind of stick with
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  me for that. And so let's talk about a parenting
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  prescription. And so let's be honest. And let's
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  go back. And so I want to say the reason why
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  we're going to do this. Episode is because he
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  just teaches me so much and so you've heard me
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  Say many a times on here that I'm very fast -paced
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  that I just want you know, I get things done
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  I've made Comments on here about how I'm fast
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  -paced my husband is slow -paced how my husband
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  always says slow down slow down slow down I'm
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  gonna tie your shoes together. Like, you know
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  all the things and so I Think God will use people
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  in your life to speak to you. We just have to
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  be paying attention And so my whole life I have
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  been told to slow down. It's, you know, even
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  on grade cards, you know, whenever I was in,
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  you know, kindergarten, it was like Tracy has
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  to finish her work first. She has to be the first
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  one done. And it's just kind of been my pace
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  through life. And so I did go back to school.
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  I am in seminary right now and I tried to have
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  three classes in seminary and my advisor was
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  like, no. Like you can't do that. Like you have
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  a full -time job. And this is hard. This is like
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  really critically thinking. And I'm just like,
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  bruh, excuse me. My last master's class, I took
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  17 hours, worked full -time, did didactic, did
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  clinicals, did all the things and made straight
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  A's. Like I can do this. Like you don't understand
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  what's under this hood. Like I got this. I'm
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  good. And she said, no, like you're not doing
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  it. You can do two classes. and see how it goes.
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  And so I was just like, huh. OK, OK. She's like,
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  you know, we don't want you to rush through classes.
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  We don't want you to just to get the work done.
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  We want you to be transformed. We want you to
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  sit with God and wrestle with him and and learn
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  how to just be with him. And I was like, I'm
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  with him every day like. I spend all day with
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  this man and you want me to spend more time with
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  him. Okay. And then so we get into class and
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  the first assignment is over Acts 1 8. And so
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  it is I'll just read it to you. And so Acts 1
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  8 is but you will receive power when the Holy
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  Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my
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  witness both in Jerusalem and all of Judea. in
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  Samaria and as far as the remotest parts of the
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  earth. And that's all the information that you
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  have. You have no forward of the Bible. You have
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  no back part of the Bible. That is the only piece
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  of paper that you have, and you have to give
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  25 observations over this. You cannot use a study
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  Bible. It is just your word, the Bible, nothing
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  else. You, God, the Holy Spirit, and that is
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  it. And so you have to come up with 25 observations
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  and that's all you have. And so what can you
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  observe from that? You have no knowledge. You
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  have no, you've never heard of Jesus. You have
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  to be a completely blank slate and let him just
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  illuminate it. And the professor was like, I
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  know that you're going to get annoyed with this.
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  I know that you're going to be frustrated with
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  that. And that's fine. I need you to wrestle.
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  I need you to wrestle with this and just spend
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  time with him. And you're going to think that
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  you can only come up with eight or nine and that
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  is it. And you're just like, there's no other
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  observations in this text. And this is it and
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  all the things. And it really is just. So funny
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  that it just time and time again, he's like,
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  slow down, slow down, spend time with me, spend
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  time with me. It's it's it's me. It's it's me
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  that you want. And so. I just think it's just
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  so good and so wonderful that he just does not
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  give up on me or you or All the people that are
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  hard -headed and don't listen and he's just such
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  a good he's such a good father And so that's
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  where kind of like I got this idea about just
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  a prescription just time with him I mean because
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  that's all you have sometimes is just you him
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  and the Holy Spirit and so Let's get on with
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  the podcast. And so we are going to be talking
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  about parenting prescriptions And so let's be
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  honest parenting is not for the faint of heart
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  and sometimes it feels like you're hurting Like
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  cats that have like rabies. I mean, it's just
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  it's messy It's everywhere and you don't know
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  what's going on and the cat may not even be nice
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  and I and I don't like cats I'm super allergic
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  to them and it's fine. I just Don't bring him
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  around me. I'm talking about hormones and moods
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  and iPhones and attitudes. And we have Proverbs
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  22 .6 that says, train up a child in the way
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  that they should go. And whenever he is old,
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  he will not depart. That sounds great, right?
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  But notice that it didn't say whenever he was
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  young. It says that whenever he is old, which
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  means there's a whole lot of messy middle when
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  it looks like everything. That you've poured
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  out into your kid is not sticking it is about
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  Having this kid that you have raised for 15 years
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  you grew you know inside your womb if you didn't
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  adopt and it is How in the world that I love
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  this child that has lost their mind and so you
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  you know you're thinking that God I've prayed
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  I have raised them in church. I have quoted scripture
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  over them I have prayed I have anointed I have
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  spoken in tongues over this child And now my
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  son is vaping behind the school ground. My daughter
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  is rolling her eyes at me so hard, I'm afraid
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  that they're going to get stuck in the back of
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  her head. And so it is about, can we talk about
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  the prodigal son in Luke 15? He was raised in
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  his father's house that he had love, he had provisions,
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  he had blessing. And what does he do? He left.
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  He squandered all of it. He hit rock bottom.
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  And that's what his father didn't do. He didn't
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  quit. He didn't give up. He didn't say, well,
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  I guess you failed as a parent. No. The Bible
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  says that he watched and waited. And when his
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  son came home, he was ready with open arms. And
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  so parents, that's a prescription. You can't
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  control your kids choices. You can't force maturity.
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  You can't skip them past the hard lessons. But
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  you can stay faithful. You can pray. You can
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  model what it looks like to walk with Jesus,
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  even when your kids don't. And here's something
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  practical. Pray out loud in front of them, and
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  not like a fake, see how holy I am kind of way.
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  It's the real, Lord, I do not know what I do
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  here. Please give me wisdom. The kind like James
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  1 .5 says, If any of you lack wisdom, you should
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  ask God who gives generously to call without
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  finding fault. And so when teenagers slam the
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  door, take prescriptions the right way and hear.
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  Pray, breathe, and remember, this isn't about
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  a quick fix. This is about long -term healing.
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  Now, let me... Say something that I think is
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  kind of funny. So taking time with God is as
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  a parent It's like your vitamins. You don't always
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  feel the difference immediately and please let
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  me know I love some supplements But you skip
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  a week and suddenly you're snapping at everybody
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  in the drive -through line because your you forgot
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  your fries Time with God is like that You may
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  not notice the change in a day a week a month,
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  but if you stick with it, it's over time. That's
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  what makes the difference. And so let's move
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  on to the prescription for marriage. And so,
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  no, I'm not a marriage expert. No, I don't have
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  a perfect marriage for you to go off of. I do
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  have a marriage that has been a mess. We have
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  been together for over half my life and we've
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  been married for over 20 plus years. And so I
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  don't have a perfect prescription, but what I
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  do have is a God that's seen us struggle and
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  put us back together. And so right now let's
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  talk about marriage. And so because parenting
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  is hard, marriage is even harder. And if that
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  can feel like you're trying to sync two completely
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  different operating systems together, Droid and
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  iPhone. And so you're trying to squish these
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  two people together. And now I just thought about
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  that. We really are. I have an iPhone and my
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  husband still has a Droid. And my dislike for
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  Apple and my love for Droid is just, it's just
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  something else. But that's for another episode.
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  So maybe you're listening right now and your
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  husband doesn't even want to go to church. You're
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  dragging your kids on Sunday morning He's still
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  in bed and you're thinking God Why am I carrying
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  this alone or maybe you've prayed and he's still
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  cheated or she's still cheated or you know, there
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  is No romance left in your rope your your life.
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  I mean What what is romance? Like what like what
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  is that? Like I don't even know what that is.
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  And so It fizzled out. It was left beside the
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  laundry, the bills, the arguments. And let's
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  just say it. It is hard work. Prayer does not
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  override free will. People still make choices
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  and sometimes devastating choices. But here's
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  a prescription in Isaiah fifty four five, and
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  it says your maker is your husband, the Almighty.
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  is His name. Meaning, even when your earthly
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  marriage feels shaky, your covenant with God
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  is unshakable. And you have John 15 .5 that says,
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  I am the vine and you are the branches. If you
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  remain in me and I in you, you will bear much
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  fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing. And
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  that verse isn't just for ministry, it's for
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  marriage. You can't bear fruit by yourself. You
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  can't fix your spouse, but you can abide. You
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  can stay connected to the vine. And let me just,
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  okay, so let's just say it kind of more practical.
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  And so stop trying to be the Holy Spirit for
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  your husband. That's not your job. And it's not
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  your job, even if you're a male listening to
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  this. You're not your wife's Holy Spirit. That's
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  not your role. Your role is to abide in Christ,
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  love with patience, and trust God with the rest.
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  And so that doesn't mean tolerate abuse or betrayal.
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  Absolutely not. That's not what we're saying.
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  Boundaries are biblical. But it does mean you
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  anchor yourself in God's love first, because
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  that's the only love that will never fail. And
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  so a marriage prescription, Label which should
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  read caution May increase patience towards husband
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  who leaves socks on the floor does not substitute
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  nagging for prayer It reduces effectiveness and
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  results may vary consult the greater physician
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  for clarity And so friends marriage is messy,
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  but God's prescription isn't about a perfect
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  spouse It's about the perfect presence his presence
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  So as you guys are going through rough times
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  it's about having that open honest communication
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  and it takes two people to make a marriage and
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  It's about you going to counseling it may be
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  him going to counseling. It's about you guys
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  coming together But no your job is not to fix
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  your spouse. Your job is not to fix his heart
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  It's about you being that person at four o 'clock
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  on your knees praying for your husband praying
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  for your kid praying for Your your wife your
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  wayward kids And it's about that connection because
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  you're never going to change someone's heart.
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  That is your father's job. That is God's job.
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  Quit trying to take his job. You're not qualified
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  for it. You never will be. So stop doing it.
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  And so what happens whenever you feel torn? Let's
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  talk about the moments where it's not just one
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  thing. It's everything. It's your kids. It's
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  your marriage. It's your job. It's your bills.
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  It's your emotions. You're torn in 10 different
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  directions and you don't even know What to pray
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  you're just like you have so many things and
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  you don't even know where to begin But you have
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  Jesus that said in John 16 33 it says in this
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  world you will have trouble but take heart I
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  have overcome the world Notice he didn't say
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  follow me and you'll avoid trouble. He said trouble
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  is guaranteed but so is My victory and so we
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  just had this discussion today And so I was talking
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  with a friend and she's had all the things and
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  she was baptized and she just felt like her life
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  fell apart. And I'm like, duh, because you just
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  gave your life to Christ. What literally happened
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  in scripture? You know, Jesus was baptized. He
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  wouldn't spend 40 days in the wilderness with
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  Satan. He literally says in scripture, trouble
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  is going to come. Why do we act surprised when
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  it does? He already told us that that's what
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  was going to happen. And so I just, you know,
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  I laughed kind of at her and, you know, in a
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  loving way because we knew that this was going
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  to happen. You gave your life to Christ. It is
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  not cupcakes and rainbows. It is about we know
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  that there's a light at the end of the tunnel.
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  We know that he's not giving up on us. We know
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  that he is faithful. We know that he has died
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  on the cross. for us and that death is defeated
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  and that we have the ability to stop on the enemy's
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  head with our heels. We're going to crush him
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  and we get upset whenever trouble comes our way.
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  Why? It's not because we didn't know. It's because
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  we didn't time in scripture. We didn't spend
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  time with him to know that. And so we know that
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  trouble is going to come. And so it's not about
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  erasing the storm. It's not about any of that.
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  It's about being anchored. In it and so you have
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  Philippians 4 7 through 6 that says do not be
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  anxious for anything but in every situation by
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  prayer petition with Thanksgiving Present your
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  request to God and the peace of God which surpasses
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  all understanding will guard your heart and your
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  mind in Jesus Christ That peace doesn't come
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  with an instant result It is not insta pot, but
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  it does come with an unshakable presence And
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  here's here's the practical part of it making
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  time with God is as ordinary as brushing your
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  teeth, five minutes in the car before work, worship
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  music while you're folding laundry, reading Psalms
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  before you go to bed. It's little doses, micro
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  -dosing. Everyone's talking about micro -dosing.
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  Micro -dosing, you know, the new DLP's and like
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  all this other stuff. I mean, so little micro
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  doses of Jesus, he did not say that you have
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  to spend 30 minutes with me, 20 minutes with
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  me, and you have to do this, and you've got to
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  do this, and you've got to do that. Keep it simple,
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  Saint. Talk to Him all throughout the day. He's
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  with you. Pray in the morning, pray at lunch,
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  pray in the evening. Have a Bible verse on your
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  phone, and that way you can memorize it. And
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  so these prescriptions, yes, you know, they are
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  real. That they are going to help you get through
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  these things. But in that same instance, we're
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  gonna land, you know, and so sometimes whenever
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  you pray that your husband is is better People
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  are gonna do What they can I mean they have free
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  will and so let's land it here And so sometimes
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  you will pray and your husband or wife was gonna
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  cheat Sometimes you pray and your kids will still
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  wonder Sometimes you pray and the illness won't
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  go away. That's real But God's prescription was
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  never about guaranteeing outcomes. It's about
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  guaranteeing his presence. Psalm 34 18 that says
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  the Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves
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  those who are crushed in spirit. And that's the
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  promise. Not that everyone gets fixed, but that
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  you are never alone in the breaking. And today.
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  Fill the prescription. Take it with coffee. Take
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  it with tears. Take it with laughter, but take
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  it. Take the prescription, take it again tomorrow,
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  and the next day, and the next day, and the next
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  day. Because with him, you'll never run out of
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  refills. And so we hope this message encouraged
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  you, and we could go into prescriptions. for
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  every one of these in so much more detail. And
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  so if you guys want a deeper podcast, please
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  leave comments, write them down below, send us
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  messages. We are here to help walk and foster
• 21:24
  your faith with you guys. We love you guys. We
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  would love to pray for you. And so dear Heavenly
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  Father, thank you so much for these listeners.
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  Thank you so much that you have allowed us your
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  presence in the midst of. What we have no idea
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  what is going on. Thank you for children that
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  are not what we thought that they would be because
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  you are going to mold them and you're going to
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  shape them and you're going to have a greater
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  testimony because we want your will for our marriage.
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  We want your will for our children because they
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  are your sons and they're your daughters. Thank
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  you for the prescription just to be in your presence.
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  Thank you that you've never left us. Thank you
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  that you've never forsaken us. Thank you that
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  you are such a good. Father, thank you that you
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  have been the best husband. Thank you for all
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  that you do. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. And
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  so if this message encouraged you, send it to
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  somebody, share it, like it, put some comments
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  down there. Until next time, have an amazing
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  week and we love you guys.