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Best Recipe All in One · Fostering Faith

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Welcome back to Fostering Faith. And so we are
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here and we are back for another episode. And
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so if you do not know us, we are Fostering Faith.
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My name is Tracy Foster. I'll be your host today.
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And we're going to do something a little different
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today. You know how sometimes you can just be
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listening to something and you just want to laugh
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and think and grow a little closer to Jesus.
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Well, we have that for you today. And so we're
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going to cover every topic. Think of this episode
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as like a casserole, kind of like whenever you
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go for Christmas. morning breakfast and it's
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like you have your pancakes and your sausage
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and your eggs all like kind of in one casserole
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uh it's a little bit of everything and so we're
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gonna have a very good bite of soul searching
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food so grab your coffee settle in and let's
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get started and so some topics that we have been
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looking at um if you just scroll through any
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social media or podcast and so you look on apple
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or spotify and you see true crime you see comedy
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you see Faith and wellness and navigating the
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news, family, friends, fiction. You have faith
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forward. And so we have so many different topics.
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And so what about having a podcast that kind
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of covers it all? And so as we had the opportunity
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to do a women's conference two weeks ago, it
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was a war conference. And so we were able to
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gather around women and encourage them and inspire
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them. And I loved every minute of it. I loved
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it because we got to do breakout sessions. I
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got to lead one on leadership and how to lead
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with grace and just walk the women through how
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I have ran my business and have been. successful
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in that because we let Christ lead everything
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as far as schedules and money and just whatever
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he wants to do with our time and our attention.
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Our focus is on him and we live by godly principles.
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We don't go by what earthly standards of success
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are and we lead by grace. We lead people in the
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way that he has led us and so we were able to
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do that breakout session. And then we were able
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to do the devotion in the morning. And I called
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it Wake Up Esther. And so our script was Esther
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414. And so you were made for just a time as
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this. And so we got to encourage the ladies and
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women that they were made for just a time as
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this. And so if you know the story of Queen Esther,
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she was made the queen to save the Jews. And
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so as we walked through the story, we were able
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to encourage and motivate. that no matter where
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and what position that you are in, you are able
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and well -abled to do things that are really
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hard with Christ by your side. And so Esther
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prayed and fast, and she walked into the king's
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corridor, and she didn't know whether she was
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going to get the golden scepter passed to her
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or what, but she did it by faith. She did it
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knowing that God has called her for more, and
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she was able to save the Jewish nation. So we
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are always... in prayer with our heavenly father
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because his ways are greater than our ways and
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whenever it does not make no sense uh we know
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that his ways are greater and he's equipped us
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with everything that we need if we allow him
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to lead um then we really can't fail and so as
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we were looking into doing uh podcast topics
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for this week uh we were just like you know what
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are people searching for what are people like
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really interested and how can we tie that into
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a biblical principle and so you have true crime
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and so We have true crime in scripture. And so
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let's address the elephant in the room. True
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crime. It's everywhere. I mean, you can't scroll
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through podcasts without tripping over a story
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of disappearance and murder and like what happened
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to them. But if you've ever thought about one
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of the greatest true crime stories ever, seriously,
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it was about the betrayal of a conspiracy. Prison
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escapes, God redeeming it all. Joseph's brother
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threw him in a pit, sold him for slavery, and
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they thought they got away with it. But plot
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twist, God used that to save a whole nation.
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That's divine justice at its finest. And so you
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can just see the headlines now, CSI, Canaan.
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And so we look at the scripture and we have such
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true crimes and we have so many different things
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that we can look at in scripture that really
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are. juicy. I mean, even just look at the story
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of David. Look at the story of Moses. I mean,
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you have murder, you have deceit, you have kings,
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you know, hiring people to kill people off. I
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mean, so you really have just a really true crime
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story. You have brothers killing their brother
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because they raped their sister. I mean, you
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walk through 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel. I mean, you
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walk through the Old Testament. And I mean, you
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really do have true crime situations. And you
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just like, how can people be bored reading scripture?
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There's no way. I just can't imagine like opening
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it up and just being bored out of your mind.
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And then you have the comedy. We all need to
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laugh. Laughter is literally almost the best
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medicine. I mean, just a good laugh. I mean,
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even just to assign depressed patients, like
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they have to watch funny movies. They have to
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laugh every hour. And that really does break
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the cycle in your brain. And so you produce endorphins.
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You produce, you know, hormones that make you
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naturally happy. And so speaking of drama, which
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lightens things up. So you have the awkward prayer
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moments, like whenever you're in a small group
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and someone says, let's go around and pray out
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loud. Suddenly your brain is like loading screen
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and it's like doing that buffering, buffering,
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like buffering, like what? So how about when
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someone's prayer is like really long and you
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start mentally assigning like your spiritual
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Fitbit that's like 10 ,000 words and counting.
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But hey, God hears it all. Even if it's the ums,
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the awkwards, the pauses. And it's done with
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grace. And so as you walk into, you know. religion
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and faith. It doesn't have to be serious. God
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is funny. And he has a really big sense of humor.
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Try praying for something and you getting it
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and realizing how bad of an idea it was. And
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he's saying, he asked for it. Like, there you
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go. And so he really does have a sense of humor
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and he is kind and he is funny. And just the
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times throughout the day that you could just
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sit back and laugh and just be like, oh my gosh,
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like. I asked for this. This is what I got. And
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I bet he's just up there just kind of laughing.
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And so it really is just a walk with him in our
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everyday lives and we don't have to take it so
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seriously and we can just laugh and carry on.
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So what about the wealth or the fitness and faith
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aspect of all the podcasts? And so let's talk
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about health. And no, I'm not here to push anyone
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to drink. a kale smoothie, because I don't do
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that myself, or a recipe. It's all about balance.
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Our bodies are temples. And let's be honest,
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we've done a ton of podcasts before on faith
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and wellness. And those are my two most favorite
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topics is health and wellness. And it is about
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faith in Jesus. And so it's a different aspect.
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And you can go back and listen to the other podcasts
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that we've done. And so in my journey, whenever
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I delivered Gia, I was 300 pounds. And I was
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on 100 units of insulin a day. I had gestational
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diabetes with her. And I made it a goal to be
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back to my pre -pregnancy weight before her first
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birthday. And so it was with hard work and discipline
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and the want to be the mom that could chase her
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around the room and to be the mom that could...
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Just have so much energy and just be up and just
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do all the things that god has called me to do
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with her I really do feel like health and wellness
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are so important with your faith because he cannot
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take you in ministry if you're not healthy. And
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so sometimes we just need to let go and let God
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in that sense. God created rest too. And so it's
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about the temple and what you're putting into
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it. And so in our practice, we really focus on
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the food that God made. We focus on protein.
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We focus on, you know, low carb vegetables, cruciferous
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vegetables, berries, you know, low glycemic index
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foods, you know, water, tea, and coffee. We don't
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trade, you know, cocaine for heroin. We're not
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doing and fake sugar for real sugar. We're not
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doing any of that. You know, we're just eating
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simple one word ingredients and then we're leaving
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it at that. And we're working out, we're moving,
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we're strength training, we're gaining muscle,
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we're getting our, you know, gram of protein
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per ideal body weight. We're drinking our gallon
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of water. We're, you know, having electrolytes.
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We're doing all the hard things. And so it is
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about hydration and movement. you know, being
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careful of what you're putting in your gates.
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And so that, you know, the worship music that
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you're listening to, you know, the, whatever
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you're running to, whenever you're listening,
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whenever you're on a treadmill, those are things
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that are going into your gates. And please know,
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you know, trying to worship whenever you're running
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on a treadmill is harder than it is because I've
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almost fell off several times. And it is, um,
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you know, it's, it's pretty funny, but, uh, it's
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also very scary whenever you're trying to fall
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off a treadmill. Uh, and so we really do have,
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you know, faith and wellness, you know, whenever
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we're talking about Christ, he is, um, he made
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you. And so I just take it as such a, a journey
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to take care of what he's given us. And it really
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is just a, a desire of mine to inspire and encourage
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people that if I can do it, you guys can do it
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and you can see all my other videos. I've lost
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the weight. I've lost more than that. I've lost
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160 pounds. I've kept it off. And we work out
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every day except for on Sundays. We have a day
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of rest and we hydrate. We eat clean food and
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we thrive. It's not about struggling and just
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being all the things because really what you're
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linked to, I mean, we know that your gut health
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is so important and you are what you eat. So
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if you eat junk, you're going to feel like junk.
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And so it really is. I just try to take care
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and be a great steward of what he's. given us
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and navigating the news in Christianity. What
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are we doing? Um, and so watching the news sometimes
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can feel like taking a drink from a fire hose,
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overwhelming and not refreshing, but as Christians,
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we don't have to live in fear. Psalm 46 one says
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that God is our refuge and our strength and ever
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present help in our trouble. So instead of doom
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and gloom and like just scrolling just trying
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to think to like the latest news and like all
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the things every news line just pause and pray
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and trust me it'll change how you see the world
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all the headlines who's in charge uh who's ever
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sitting in the president's seat who's in charge
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and so these headlines are maybe an opportunity
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to expand our prayer life because those things
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that we necessarily wouldn't have prayed for
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we now have access to for him to take over because
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he has the final say, because he has what our
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best interests are in heart. And we have the
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opportunity to intercede for those people that
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don't even know us. And so we see a tornado,
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we see a fire, we see famine, we see all this
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negative stuff and like, how could God let this
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happen? But in the same instance, like where
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we can take the opportunity to grow in our spiritual
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life and to pray and to really have the heart
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and the empathy and the sympathy and the apathy
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for those people that are going through these
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tough times. And it is about, um, my patients
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bring me the news every day. I don't have to
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turn on the weather. I don't have to turn on
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the news. I don't have to turn on anything because
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they inform me of everything that is going on.
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And it is an opportunity to, to, for them to
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remember like, that's great, but. you know, who
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sits on our throne, you know, we are Christians.
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And so we really do believe that he is the King
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of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and that, um, he
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will take care of everything. And so we are not
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going to just sit by idly. We're going to do
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our part and we're going to act like he has asked
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us to, to be. And, but it's just a great opportunity
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instead of, you know, just scrolling, doom scrolling.
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Um, what happens if we pray or scroll? And so
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like looking at that, looking at those negative
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things that are happening, but taking that chance,
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to sit back and pray for those people and to
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see those people like God sees those people.
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And it really could just maybe change the way
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that you see the world. And then you have your
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section of family and friends and fiction. And
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now for my fellow parents out there, you know
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family time is... Just blessed and stressed.
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And in .2 seconds, the little moments matter,
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but maybe bedtime Bible stories with a side of
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silly voices in the living room dance party for
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Jesus in my jam. Fictional fun is great, but
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making memories rooted in joy sounds even better.
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And so as we walk through the time with your
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family and your friends, we have a teenage daughter.
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You have Gia that was on the podcast before,
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and she's the one that originally wanted to do.
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this and a 13 year old girl with all the things
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that she has going, um, she wanted to go ahead
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and have me continue with this podcast just to
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continue with it. And she'll jump in, uh, whenever
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her life calms down, but it's about those little
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moments. It's about those little memories. It's
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about, you know, like, oh my gosh, like this
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is so amazing, but then you can get frustrated
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or you can get angry or you can get lost in your
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busy schedule. and your family and your friends
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and who you surround yourself with is so important.
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And we've mentioned it on the podcast so many
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times about how important it is to have those
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friends and those families, members that, you
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know, just surround yourself with, that edify
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you, that build you up, and that you're really
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being resourceful whenever it comes time to having
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your tribe, to having your people, that you are
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utilizing the people that God has given you to
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build you up and not tear you down. taking inventory
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about your most precious thing which is your
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time who are you allowing in your time who are
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you allowing in your life who are you needing
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to weed out but yet you don't want to, and you
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have like, oh, they've, we've been friends for
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20 years and, and it really isn't, um, the best
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situation. And, um, loving people from a distance
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is a thing. And, and selecting that tribe of
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those people that you can call at one o 'clock,
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two o 'clock that you are praying for that you,
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that you love them like a sister or a, you know,
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a brother and you, their kids and their, their
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husbands and their, all the things. And so it
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really is. And so, you know, that fictional time
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and you have structured time and you have all
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this. other stuff. And so we used to read this
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book whenever Gia was little. It was a crayon
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book and every color had a different personality.
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And so I would change my voices and She still
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talks about it to this day. I mean, so she talks
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about how we would read books and we would have
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so much pretend time and we would have creativity
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boxes and we would do all these fun things and
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I would make her food that looked like animals
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or whatever she wanted that day. We would do
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just fun things for lunches and she would like,
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oh, I want a campfire. And so I would make her
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a sandwich and I would put like a campfire on
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the piece of bread and I would make like little
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you know pretzels with a little marshmallow um
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on there and it was just a fun way for her to
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know just how much I loved her and that she was
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worth the time and the energy to make um you
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know homemade pop tarts and to make homemade
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applesauce and make it in little tubes because
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that package stuff freaked me out and so I would
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make her food for her because I just felt like
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that was something that my mom did for me uh
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she always uh she would have a Tracy friendly
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uh egg McMuffin in the bathroom for me in the
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morning in high school and she would make it
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and she there was a stuff called Maggie I don't
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know if you guys are familiar with it it's just
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junk in a bottle but it's delicious it's salty
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briny and I don't even know and she would put
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with turkey bacon and cheese and an egg and put
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that Maggie on there with an English muffin and
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I would have a glass of something to drink and
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she wouldn't make it and she would wrap it up
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and stay warm and she would come and wake me
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up. And that's the kind of memories that I wanted
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for my daughter. I wanted my daughter to know
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that she had a mom that took time out of her
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schedule to make sure that she had something
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special every day. And then you have lunch notes
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and then you have like, you know, I love you
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and like just a little bit of something. And
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then you have the teenager that. oh my gosh,
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don't do that, mom. Like, what are you doing?
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Like, she wants Lunchables and I thought I was
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going to cry the first time that she asked me
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for a Lunchable because that's all what her friends
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had. I'm like, oh my gosh, like, I just can't.
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I just can't. give you that it's just horrible
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and I felt so bad and um and we pick our battles
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and it's gonna be fine and so now I get to hand
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my daughter her cold water in the morning and
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then I hand her her supplements um because she
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chooses not to eat breakfast for the most part
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And so it's those little functional, you know,
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fictional moments that you're taking time that
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you're just making those memories because the
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memories are what's going to last. And so as
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we move forward into our faith forward, what's
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next? And so as we wrap up today's episode, remember
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this, that God is in every part of our lives.
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Laughter, questions, praise, and even true crime
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podcasts you can't stop listening to. It's all
17:59
there. his faithfulness. And I am so grateful
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that we got to navigate this together. And so
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until next time in fostering faith, laugh, pray,
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and praise. in one time and so as we've walked
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through this true crime comedian corner faith
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and wellness navigation family friends and functionality
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of life you have the faith to move forward because
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he is with you he is every part of our lives
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he is our laughter he is our joy he is the author
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of the greatest true crime manuscript. He has
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wrote us a love story that we have the opportunity
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to read every day. And so if you love this episode,
18:44
we would like for you to share it with a friend
18:46
and add your stories in the comments. We would
18:51
love to hear them. DM me, message me on Instagram,
18:53
YouTube. We have a large following on YouTube.
18:57
And don't forget to subscribe and leave a review.
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It's really important for us to help guide people
19:03
with their faith in this faith -filled corner
19:06
of the podcast world. And so we would like to
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pray for you. And so dear heavenly father, thank
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you so much for the listeners. Thank you that
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we are growing and maturing in our faith and
19:16
our walk with you. Thank you for fostering our
19:19
faith. Thank you for the best book and scripture
19:22
that you have left us a love story that we can
19:24
read. Thank you for your humor. Thank you that
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you are our smile, that you are our joy. Thank
19:29
you for our bodies. Thank you for wellness. Thank
19:31
you for the inspiration to be better, to choose.
19:35
healthier foods. Thank you that we hunger for
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your word, that we thirst for your love. Thank
19:40
you that you are the greatest news, the great
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news, the good news of scripture that we have
19:46
to tell and share with everybody. Thank you for
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our family and friends that are listening to
19:51
this. Thank you that you have built us up and
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that you edify us. Thank you for our faith that
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is getting stronger because you love us and you're
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walking with us. Thank you for everything that
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you do. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. And we hope
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that you guys have a great week this week. We
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will see you next week. Bye.