Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Couple of Nukes. As always, I'm your host, Mr. Whiskey. And normally I describe the background to those of you just listening. But it's not relevant today. It's just some beautiful flowers and, uh, you know, God made a beautiful world. And a lot of people just don't spend enough time outside or observing nature to realize how beautiful and intricate the world is, but what I do want to point out to our listeners who aren't watching, but are listening, our guest has an exclamation mark at the end of her name.
That's how excited she is to be here and sharing the word of God. So. Ms. Brenda, you know, emphasis on the Brenda, you know, Seafelt is here and she's going to talk to us about something super important, which is in a rapidly advancing world with technology changing the way we do a lot of things, how can we apply that to the youth?
We talked in the previous episode, back during Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month and during that week, focusing on how we can use social media to bring people to the faith in terms of fighting depression and suicide. But how else can we use it just to educate, inform, and help in those other aspects of life?
Dating, finances, you know, just human to human connection and so much more. So today we're going to get into that along with a couple of other things. So, Ms. Seafelt, would you please introduce yourself for us? Well, hello, Mr. Muskie. I am, uh, Brenda Seafelt. I'm a pastor. Probably what matters most to your listeners right now is I'm a pastor.
I was a youth pastor for 40 years. And then the last. Coming up here four years. I've been a lead pastor of a pretty innovative church Using the internet to do church differently to reach people differently reach people particularly those who have Been disappointed by the church or been let down by the church or mostly, you know hurt by the church And i've been leading this church this way and so my heart Comes from 40 plus years of working with teenagers, loving teenagers, believing that Jesus is, is the answer for this increase in anxiety that we're feeling, this increase of so many, many mental health issues.
Um, I've been around long enough to, To be there back in the eighties when I was a youth pastor and suicide was a major, major problem. And now I get to, I saw it decrease and now I get to see it come around again and become a major problem again. So I've been around that long, um, and seen, seen all kinds of solutions and I keep going back to it's, it's a life with Jesus that makes a difference.
It really is. And in regard to the suicide statistics, it's really awful. And y'all can check out, I've in a description below, I was on the Catholic life coach for men podcast with Mr. Jaquith. And I went over some of those stats and I show them here as well. We were talking about, you know, suicide and children starting between the ages of 10 and 23, from like back around 2016, it went from around 8, 000 to now in more recent years, 22, 000.
And For each completed, uh, each completed suicide, there's about 100 to 200 attempts, whether that's self harm or failed suicide attempts. So those numbers are really staggering. And something you mentioned which is critical, which is all these different generations of teens. So you have lived and seen and worked with so many different teens.
Uh, But at the same time, you've seen so many of the same issues, you know, they changed in terms of, you know, now online play some role in it or this or that. But at the base core of it, you see a lot of overlapping issues. At the end of the day, people are the same, you know, in terms of those different generations.
And I think it's so beautiful technology, how it allows us to connect with people. And one of the stories I've shared before my show is that it was some comic I saw. And this guy gets to heaven, and he's in purgatory waiting, and he's playing on his phone in a lobby, and Paul comes up to him, Paul the Apostle, and he goes, Wow, what is this?
And the guy's explaining how a cell phone works, and Paul goes, Wow, you know, when I was converting people, I had to walk by foot or go on, you know, a donkey's back or whatever. And, uh, it took so long to reach all these churches with letters and by foot. You must have converted thousands of people if you can reach so many people.
The guy goes, you know, he was embarrassed he'd never reached once online, never converted a single soul. And that comic really stuck with me, uh, because that's the reality of it, is we do have the means to reach so many people. Uh, I think you talked about disappointment in church, which is Um, topic we've covered before and something we'll definitely get into, but also just the fact that the church, um, you know, maybe you can't access it because of medical issues, because of finances, all these different reasons.
Um, or maybe the church that you connect with, the people you connect with are in a different area than the church that's local to you. You know, not every church is the same and we connect with different ones differently. So it's really important to have access to that. If we have the means to do so then we are called to do so and I could pull up a whole list of Bible quotes Telling you why but I you know what y'all know that we're supposed to spread the word Not just as our duty to God as his servants But also just because it can be very beneficial to people it can change their lives.
And so Let's get into that with mentioned earlier You know before we recorded here. I was talking to you about bravery and the idea of being brave and in so many different things. It's something we can see on your website a lot. So I'm curious, what is your definition of brave in relation to the faith and not?
And why do you apply that so much to your teachings? This is something I discovered, oh man, maybe 20 years ago now, that I've made a lot of brave decisions in my life. And that caught me off guard when I, when I reflect, reflected back on that. Um, I just say, yeah, I found Jesus when I was 15. It was a black and white experience.
And then I became that. This back in the seventies now that Jesus freak high school student who led Bible studies at, at school, right. Yeah. Two ended up in the ministry very, very young. And I've been in the ministry my whole adult life, right. You know, I'm a woman, this is back in the eighties and just brave decision to brave decision, to brave decision, but every brave decision.
Requires vulnerability. You have to take that risk that you're going to fail at something, but there's also something inside of you. And I, you know, this, this is a lot of Holy spirit just that says, try it. This is going to be worth it. Go. You can't just live in fear. You can't live mediocre. What, you know, what if, and that's, that's where your brave decisions come from.
Yeah, I think so many people get this mindset that bravery is the absence of fear, when in reality, bravery is the acceptance and challenging of fear, right? So, your brave decision, yeah sure, it was a brave decision, but that doesn't mean that you weren't scared, you know, while making that decision or even afterward.
And, you brought up a great point that, you know, I was thinking when we sat down to record here, Am I going to have some of those more traditional listeners who are saying, how can a woman preach? You know, and I've done, you can do your own biblical research on it. You know, I believe we were all meant to spread the word of God.
And you can look at some of Paul's words exactly. And some people misinterpret them and misuse that to say women can't preach about what Paul was saying, which is applies to everyone is if you're going to do something, Be educated in it and be professional in it. Don't just copy what other people are doing.
Just don't do it just because you can, you know? And, uh, So can we talk about that just for a little bit? I know times have changed, uh, but not all churches, not everywhere. And I mean, have you experienced rejection, uh, from any of the youth you work with or from other communities for being a woman who is spreading the word of God?
Yes, of course. Of course. Um, men in the church will be men in the church. And I put that in, you know, quotations. Um, but I, I, I believe. I believe for one, I was called, I, I, nobody could take away the call that God put in my life. It was a very clear call that, and I'm grateful that God gave me a very specific call, because when these times came, I still could reflect on, I know that I had this moment with God and it was real.
And then for my first decade, I had, um, two really great men, Open a lot of doors for me and that gave me, um, the, like the possibility. It gave me a lot of opportunity and just also reinforce this call in my life that I was recognized by two very respected men. Now I will say. In January of 1990, um, both of those men at, I mean, separate men from me, they weren't in this, you know, they're different men, both fell in scandals of adultery at the same time.
Um, so I have lost these men in my life. I've lost these protectors and these door openers and I've been hurt. By this and one is reconciled, sort of, and one is not reconciled with me. So these, these great men that opened the door for me, and again, this, this, this sin that's been creeping into the church has affected me from very early on in my ministry, which of course has also shaped me and how I have made my decisions.
And so since then, because I lost my protectors, I have been, you know, told no and stuff like that, but I've also have, just have, I guess, and this is where I, again, just more brave decisions have just continued on, ended up serving 25 years in one church as a youth pastor. That was a gift to be recognized and honored for 25 years.
I had a lot of, um, of safety in that and a lot of influence and that, that's kind of sets your heart. To become stronger and stronger and bolder and bolder and then you got me today. So that's where it goes Yeah, and I think you talk about When you're in the church or in any faith based community and you see some of the greatest examples fall short and fall into sin uh, it's very easy for people to see that and to use it as an excuse to Not continue pursuing the faith.
I've seen a lot of people leave because of Hypocrisy and sin. But I think it's so important to remember that the people in the church are people. They're not God. And whether that's the people who are preaching or the people attending. You know, I, uh, a good friend of mine, he, uh, left the church because he saw people going to church and then leaving, and Being sinners and you know church isn't a miracle pill where people go and they leave different It can be that way for some people but it's so important to remember that we are people and I've had so many episodes discussing how Judging God based off of people It is the wrong way, and I always encourage seeking a relationship with God, and the example I always use is, you know, you might meet some bad employees, but does that mean the founder of the company is a bad person?
It could be he or they could be a totally different person than the employees, uh, with any community. I mean, just think about your family. And how some members you're like, yeah, that's my, you know, that's my brother. That's my dad. And then other members are like, Oh, well we're kind of related, you know, it's like, you know, you kind of start talking quieter and I think that's so important to remember.
And, you know, Ms. Brenda, would you just, uh, have any words of encouragement for our young women out there who are thinking of joining the ministry, whether it's being a nun, being a, you know, faith based influencer online, or whatever it may be within their community, just some words of encouragement and advice for them who are kind of on the fence about it, or having some second thoughts because they're a woman.
Well, If God is calling you, you need to make that brave decision. And I say, um, Oh, I could, I'm going to say two things, but it may be more. Okay. We'll see. Uh, one is find an older woman in your life to guide you through this. Um, we have. Taken on the brunt for you. It's so much easier for you now. Um, there's ways to do this through social media, of course.
That's great. I also want to just give a little caveat. I'm keep hearing from young people that they're tired of Christianity being a social media brand. Yeah. So if you're going to use social media and I, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm not good at it, but then of course I'm a baby boomer. So you know, you keep your expectations low and you do what you're strong in.
But if you feel called in that area and because you can't cause you're younger and I, this is where who I'm talking to, just make sure you don't go into the social media brand about it, but it really does reflect your whole life and you staying true to the word of God, which means you do need to get some kind of training.
I encourage, um, if you can't afford seminary, the Bible project has got some really great, um, online training that you can do. That's a great, great start. Get these older women in your life to give you some training for you. And then I'm going to have to say you are going to have to make some very, um, virtuous decisions all the time.
You're not going to get the grace or the assumptions that men get. And so you have going to have to have a lifetime of virtuous decisions, more so than men. And this is just part of the game, but it's not so bad to live within your virtues, by the way, there's many other fruits to it. So it's not like a burden we have to carry.
It's actually a privilege we get to carry, um, because it makes us make braver and wiser decisions. Yeah. A couple of things to unpack there, starting with. Young women or older women, whoever you are listening, you know, if you don't have someone in your life who can fill that role that we're talking about, to be an older woman and guide you, uh, by all means reach out to Ms.
Brenda or she has contacts she could connect you with, I'm sure there are people in your local community online that can connect you with other people, there's no one immediate, and You know, just as believers in general, we are going to live a life of being judged, of being outcasted, and, uh, you know, the enemy will use whatever he can against us, including if you're a woman, uh, the fact that you're a woman.
So it's important to keep in mind that it's just a part of the faith, and, you know, it's all for the greater good. And you talked about the social media, uh, you know, quickly falling into sin with it. I don't have the exact quote on me. I'll paraphrase, but it, the Bible says, uh, when correcting someone else for a sin, be careful that you don't fall into temptation yourself.
And I see, like you said, a lot of these social media influencers or people who are just online posting, whether it's memes and comedy, whether it's music, whatever it may be, uh, they fall into it sometimes where now they're doing the same thing. Where they are leading people astray, they are twisting the message, uh, they are becoming merchandise, you know, capitalists selling Christian clothing.
I love my Christian clothing, don't get me wrong. Um, but there, there's, there's a balance to be had. Uh, there's a level of respect and there's a level of, of greed, right? I, you know, I'm not saying if you run a non profit and you sell, Christian emerge to help support that nonprofit that is wrong, right? But there is a wisdom and discernment when it comes to these matters and you got to think that you're a reflection on The entire community of believers of your community and of God so it's important to keep that in mind now going back to What you do, Ms.
Brenda, specifically with incorporating technology to reach more people, can you tell us a little more about how exactly that plays out and what that looks like? Okay, well, I pastor a very unique church that meets over Zoom. Now, how that happened, it was, it was during the pandemic. Right. And that's all we had, right?
And I was laid off from my church, and the parents of the teens of my church came to me and said, We think you should start a church. I'm like, I think you're crazy. Cause I'm a youth pastor, not a pastor. And they're like, no, no, we think you should start a church. And they also said, we're missing having faith conversations.
You know, at that time, you know, this is. You know, maybe six months in on the pandemic. We're just live streaming. And of course there was no conversations happening. The world is changing. George Floyd happened and the teens and everybody wanted to talk about what was going on and what was the Jesus perspective of it.
So I thought I, I can do that. So we got on zoom and I thought this church would be for about a year and actually we're getting ready to celebrate our fourth anniversary here. Wow. Coming up here and. What happened is people started joining us across the United States, because you could on zoom, right?
Right. And, uh, and we, we've been having, so we've been having these faith conversations as a church. For four years now, it's been very fun. I've had, um, some of my grown teens from past youth groups join me, which I love. I gotta say they're my favorites. I give them all kinds of favor because they're my grown teens, but we've also have had lots of people I've never met before find us and come and join in on these conversations.
Uh, we meet on Friday nights. Now this is, this is odd. Um, but. Again, the same parents of the teen said, we're really enjoying having Sunday mornings quieter. We're enjoying having Sunday mornings as a quiet family time and not rushing the church, not the arguments on the way to church and that rush into church where we're, we're age divided and we're not together.
We're enjoying the Sunday morning time. Can we meet during another night of the week? And they chose Fridays because Fridays are another family night. And so we continue to meet even now, you know. So, pandemic's over. We're back to normal. We have continued to meet on Friday nights because we're finding one, parents of teens like it.
Um, to other people like it. We have a group of people in our church. No, we're not very big. Understand here. We're not very large, but we have some people in our church who serve their own church locally on Sunday morning, but they're not getting fed at their local church. They're coming on Friday nights and they give us aged wise wisdom That contributes to our conversation.
So we had this intergenerational in this going on. That's just wonderful. Um, and so we are, so this is how we're just, we're trying to do something different, maybe innovative and we're finding life in it and we're seeing, we're seeing growth through it. I am as a pastor, just super excited. I'm seeing growth through it.
So go to church on Friday night and try that one for a change. Yeah, in Psalm 23, there's a quote in there that says, you know, depending on what translation you use, it says, My cup overfloweth with blessings. My cup overrunneth with blessings. And that's kind of how it is sometimes. Like with your life, for example, you thought, all right, this is going to be a temporary thing and now it has grown into something much more than you expected.
And I do want to go back, back in time to, you know, I guess. 70s or 80s or a little around that time, you talked about having a black and white Jesus moment. And for a lot of people, it's gray. I think for a lot of people, it's very gray and muddled, but you talk about a black and white moment. Uh, what exactly happened in your life?
What was that moment? Um, I probably should add, I grew up in a Christian home, so it, this could have been gray. It could have been great, but I, I was very, uh, um, very depressed child. I do believe, I do believe if I was up, growing up in the eighties, a decade later, suicide would have been much more a part of my life, but in the seventies, it wasn't yet.
So I mean, again, this trend of suicide, I've been a part of all of it, but, um, And so I was very angry at God because God didn't heal me. I had a strong stutter, which makes it crazy that I'm a pastor, but a very strong stutter. So I was a very awkward teenager, late bloomer teenager. So I was very angry at God because this is the God I said, Oh, to my parents, they brought me to several healing services in the 1970s.
Um, this would be like with the Jesus people movement, you know, and there's great big healing services going on. And I really, really, really wanted to be healed in my stutter. And I was not, and I was not, and that disappointment grew into anger, grew into self hatred. And I was, I was, I was very low. So when I was 15, my parents changed churches, we, um, the youth group hated me, which is going to go 50, 50.
I don't think I was that pleasant, but I think they are also, we're pretty mean Christians. I will say that. And, and that there's one weekend. In October 1978, we went on a retreat and it was a three hour car ride and I did not want to go. I did not want to go with those Christians who were, who were mean to me.
They were. Right. And again, I'm not sure I was pleasant either, but they were mean to me. And we, we arrived three hours later. We joined several other churches for this retreat. And this is, this is the moment. I got out of that church van. Three hours of self hatred built up. And three beautiful teenage girls, who are my age, met me at the van door.
And they said, Hi, I'm Gina, I'm Tony, and I'm Marie. Do you want to hang out with us? And I'd never had pretty girls want to hang out with me before. And I did. I hung out with them Friday night, Saturday night. Dang, Saturday night there was an altar call. And that altar call time interfered with me hanging out with my new friends where I was, I was, I had, I had pretty friends who were nice to me.
And during that altar call time, they came to me and they said, Brenda, we just want you to know that Jesus loves you. I'm crying. It's a hundred thousand years later and I'm still crying about this. And then we'll win. These girls told me that Jesus loved me. I believed them and it broke this damn inside of me of all this hatred, all this disappointment of all, you know, why did God make me the way he made me?
It broke all of it. And that night I cried for hours and just broke all this pain. Like it just came rushing out of me. And it changed me overnight. I remember when I, um, got home the next day on Sunday, I got, I got dropped off at my parents house or my house when I was living there at 15. And, um, my mom and dad looked through the kitchen window and saw me getting out of the car and they saw that my whole composure.
Had changed. I went from dark to light. I had changed. And my mom started crying when she saw me because she knew I was going to live.
That's the power of Jesus love. And when you can, when you understand how personal Jesus is. It is, and it's true. And there's things that have broken your heart. There are things that have disappointed you and, and made you distrust who God is. But when someone gives you that message and you know it's true, it changes you for the rest of your life.
And again, it, it did, it did just like that. And I was a different person. I was alive. And, um, speaking about Jesus, every chance I could. Yeah, I know we've talked before on the show about, there's a lot of people out there who are frustrated, who feel alone, uh, like they don't have a relationship with Jesus, that he's not seeking out after them, and, uh, for a lot of people, they just haven't had that moment yet, with the right people or the right place.
Uh, cause like you said, it could just, you just need the right person to say the same thing you've been hearing, and it's, it's different. And that goes not just with the faith, but with anything. Yeah. And you talked earlier about two great men who helped lead the way and helped open doors for you in the church, uh, but those aren't the only great men you had in your life.
I know in your bio talked about four. You know, excellent sons that you had the pleasure of raising. And I just wanted to get a little bit into that and the impact that had on your life. This is probably my bravest decision. It's that I've ever made. So let me just back up a bit. I was. Pastor, single pastor for 15 years.
I, I called it the ministry when I was 20, but I was called to the Washington DC area when I was 18. So I was very directed with where God was going to take me. Um, I also knew when I was about. 17 or 18, I wasn't going to have children. Uh, I just knew. So when I was 31, I found out why physically I was not going to be able to have children.
So, um, this mom part of my story, I'd never ever imagined, never ever desired. I just, it just was, I just, God told me my, I was, my body was really broken. So I knew something was wrong with me, but then I found out why when I was 31 and the doctor was just ready, you know. Didn't want to tell this single woman that she could never have children.
And I'm like, it's okay. God told me when I was younger, I am just fine. So yes. So now here I am. I have a, I'm a mom of four boys and with six grandchildren because something amazing happened, um, in the early nineties. I met a group of boys who didn't go to our church, but I met them, and they were, they were, they were beautiful, but they were, they were a lot, they were a lot of trouble, they were a lot, and they kept inviting me over to their home after school, inviting me to sit with them on the drug corner, or to just to be with them.
And I just was following God because I see teenagers. I see they, they're, they're looking for something. There was one summer afternoon. I kid you not. I'd stopped by to see them in their neighborhood. I was on the way to a funeral that I had. I was up as second pastor on this funeral. They stole my keys and begged me to go with, go with me to the funeral.
They just wanted to be with me. So I'm just following God here. Right. And their eighth grade year of school. So long story, they all became, they all became Christian. I arranged a weekend retreat with them and they all became Christian. God told me your life has just changed, but that's not, not all of it.
So just shortly after that, I met the man I married, who I married. I now I've been married for 27 years to this wonderful man named John Amadea. And. That was a whole another brave decision as a whole, because pretty, I was pretty single at the time and he's a, he's a brave decision just to marry this one and, um, that's another good story, but so I finally say yes to a proposal and I tell the boys first because I'm pretty, I'm pretty excited about it.
I'm going to tell the boys first and I'm pretty excited. And they pulled me aside away from John, and they said, these words I will never forget. We like John and all, but we'll think he'll be like every other stepfather and take you away from us. Wow. And that's when I knew I had something different with these boys.
And as I was praying through this and getting ready for the wedding, I heard God clearly say to me, Um, these boys need a parent, not a pastor. And so John and I had long discussions and we just, they, they were part of our wedding. They gave me away on my wedding day. Um, they were in and out of our homes.
And then when they turned 18, they became mostly ours. And so now we've got, oh, well, almost 35 years with them now, raising them. It has been my bravest decision. It's been my hardest decision. Hmm. I, I cannot, I, this, this mother love I never thought I had in me, unbelievably strong. Wow. Um, the heartbreak they have given me has been awful.
Um, two of them ended up in prison anyway. You know, the love of Jesus, the love of safety and a good home didn't prevent the outcome that these boys were heading for anyway. So prison's been a part of my life for 26 years straight. Um, we're, we're getting near the end of that, and I'm, you know, really looking forward to that.
But at the same time, we've been a part of so many good things, and all my boys love Jesus. They're going to heaven. Now that they're in their early 40s, I can kind of say most of them are successful. They're not making me crazy and scared anymore. And I don't, I think we're done with. the justice system.
Just got to serve out our sentences here. And they've given me, this is, they've given me six grandchildren who I've been able to hold since they were born. I never had that experience with my boys. And because my boys made the decision to follow me, which introduced them to Jesus, and they stuck with me, their children, had been born wanted, loved, and known the name of Jesus every day of their lives.
My boys didn't have that privilege, but my grandchildren do. Wow, that is so beautiful. So, so beautiful. And I agree, I mean, talk about your husband being brave, it's like, he's in love with this woman about to get married, and you're like, Oh, by the way, uh, we're gonna have these four boys in our life. And he's like, what?
Okay. Exactly. Yeah, that's, um When you said a long discussion, I imagine it was a long discussion. Like, what are you talking about? But, um, that's great. And I think it's so beautiful that you work with youth and when, just to clarify, when we're saying youth here, I mean, from what age to what age do you primarily work with?
Well, I'm a pastor now, so I'll take you all. Um, but when I was a youth, when I was a youth pastor, um, until you want to let me go, my oldest teens I've ever worked with, I met in 1981. And they are now 56 years old. I have three of them from that 1981 youth group who I still talk to. Wow. I will stay with you forever, if you will let me.
That is very powerful. Very powerful. And so, you know, we've talked a bit about the online, you know, applications. And I wanted to talk about, I know you have a new Bible study from Bravester called Trust Issues with God. If you just want to talk about that a little bit. I'd love to. Wow. Um, this Bible study came out of my church.
So again, we're having faith conversations for the last four years now. And we kept going back to this breakdown that this is a trust issue with God. You know, it's a disappointment that it happened. Yeah. And they said to me one day, you need to write this down into a Bible study. Yeah. Oh no, I don't. But anyway, I did, um, took about two years, but I kept taking our conversations that we had during church.
And when I saw something. Really hit home and something that really revealed a trust issue and an answer to a trust issue And I saw our conversation come out about that. I wrote it down So all this stuff in this bible study is going to say this is bobs had not written from a pastor's point of view It is written by me, but it's written from the stories of the people in my church.
So my favorite, there's a lot of favorite parts of the Bible study, but there is a prop, a parable in Luke 18, the parable of the unmerciful judge. And this is where in short, there's a, there's a widow and she has a need and she goes to the judge and he says no. And she keeps going back to the judge and back to the judge until the judge says yes.
So we had this. We parable at church one night, and one of my, one of my people said, why would God put himself as this unmerciful judge? Why is God such a jerk in this parable? Wow. And this is the trigger of that parable. It's like, why is this guy, why doesn't he see the widow? Why? Anyway, we proceeded to have this conversation about this parable.
And the depth. We uncovered once we got past the fact that why was God making himself be a jerk to, and we ended up, and there's a lot, and this is in the Bible study for you to study and learn on your own. I can say this is a workbook and you're gonna have to do some work in this workbook. So this is not easy.
You are gonna have to think and put your heart into it. But what the thing that we came to at the end here is. If a relationship with the judge, because we, we kind of came up with the idea that if the widow kept going back to the judge, they must have had some kind of relationship over time for a relationship with an unmerciful judge can change his mind.
How much will. a merciful God change his mind towards us when we're in relationship with him. Wow. And then all of a sudden you can have trust issues with God because this merciful God, I mean, is still for me. I don't understand what, I don't understand where I got the no, but I'm going to go back and find out.
I'm going to go back and find out. I'm going to ask again and again. And in that asking and in that questioning and in that anger, you seeing a whole new view of God that you never saw before. Yeah, and you can trust that God more and you know what it's not always that God wants to say no There's a lot of times that you know, it's not the right timing or you're not at the right place in your spirit You know where at one point in your life something that may tempt you into sin and destroy your life later on in life might not even if it's the same thing because we change and and a relationship with God changes us and I think that's an amazing example And definitely a lot of questions that are asked are pretty common and reasonable and ones that we've all had ourselves as believers, you know Why didn't God allow this?
Why did God allow that? Why, you know, all these questions, especially if you've read through the whole Bible Uh, and through the whole Testament, there's a lot of questions of why this and why that, and how could God do this or do that? So I think it's great to have those discussions, and I love that, you know, online technology has allowed you to have those discussions across states and with so many different people.
It's so important to have those, and I highly encourage people to, you know, if they can't find a Community in their local area to form one or go online if not both then ms. Brenda Before we sign off here What I want to get into is if you could leave us with one bible quote that really speaks to your heart today Uh, like you and I have discussed and i've discussed with a lot of people there are so many good quotes The bible is packed with wisdom And as you said before we started recording here Uh, different situations and different times call for different quotes and, um, the quote that was with you all throughout your youth might not apply to your adulthood, you know, a lot of them are timeless, but sometimes it's the quote you need and what I will say is, at least in my life, what I've experienced is, um, God will put the same message or the same quote into my life multiple times in a row if he's really trying to get through to me.
Can I leave you with two verses? As many as you'd like. Um, the first one I thought of was, um, is Galatians 5. Oh, that's a good one. 513, let me just do that one. It says, For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. And I think of what happened to me on that October night in 1978, and the freedom that I discovered.
So you are called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters, but don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. And we have a saying here at my church, um, kind of defining what a Christian life is. And it is with boundaries. I know who I am, who I'm maturing to be in my identity in Christ so I can give up my privilege and show compassion to the world.
And we begin that with, with boundaries because if we are to, you know, pick up our cross and follow him, deny yourself, pick up the cross and follow him. I can't deny myself if I don't have boundaries around my life. Right. So with boundaries, I know who I am in Christ. So now I am maturing to be in my identity in Christ so I can give up my privilege.
And now show compassion to the world. I get to live in the freedom because I am in Christ. I am maturing into who I already am. Now, go show compassion to the world. Wow. And then, the other verse I want to share is all about, about the brave decision, something I've learned. It's that one you might see often on like, throw pillows or in greeting cards.
God is close to the brokenhearted. Psalm 34, 17.
And I've discovered again, when you make brave decisions, you're not guaranteed the outcome is not a hundred percent guarantee of any outcome. If you, you make a decision in the name of God, you're still going to have heartbreak. You know, I'm going to, I'm going to raise my boys and they're going to trust in Jesus.
And they end up in prison anyway. I wasn't guaranteed that outcome, but God is close to the broken hearted. Have I learned that God is close to me because I have been broken hearted? Because I dared to make the brave decisions, I dared to risk my love, I dared to risk expectations that were disappointing, been broken hearted, and found out every time that God is close to me.
I think that's what that verse means. Amen to that. I 100 percent agree. Well, Ms. Brenda, thank you so much for coming on the show. Like I said, ladies and gentlemen, the information for her website and everything will be in the description below. So be sure to check that out and, uh, open up a little time slot Friday night to attend one of those services.
But Ms. Brenda, thank you so much for coming on the show. Thanks for this tearful and honest conversation. Thank you.
