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Speaker 1: Life Audio had their creekmore here. We're in a fun

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Speaker 1: series called Waiting for Weight Loss. If you've not joined

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Speaker 1: our community yet, do so at waitingfoweightloss dot com. We're

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Speaker 1: having awesome conversations about the content there. Today's episode four

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Speaker 1: and today we're continuing our exhale and we're talking about

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Speaker 1: reestablishing identity. So I want to start with the question,

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Speaker 1: have you ever lost your wallet? So? I was mugged

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Speaker 1: at age twenty when I lived in Washington, DC. Okay,

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Speaker 1: it's kind of a traumatic story. I was with a

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Speaker 1: few guy friends. We were walking back from the metro

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Speaker 1: station late at night. Our other friends had gone on ahead,

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Speaker 1: but we kind of lingered at their restaurant. We're having

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Speaker 1: some great conversation. We stayed and I really wasn't worried

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Speaker 1: about my safety because I was with two pretty decent guys.

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Speaker 1: But we were walking down D Street in northeast Washington,

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Speaker 1: d C. And these three other much bigger guys, one

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Speaker 1: guy was well over six foot five, came on us

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Speaker 1: pretty quickly and I realized that we were defenseless. They

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Speaker 1: robbed all of us, and I was very grateful that

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Speaker 1: it wasn't more violent than that a police car was

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Speaker 1: actually driving that way. They had a getaway car waiting.

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Speaker 1: In the getaway car spat of the police car blinked

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Speaker 1: its lights. The guys got in super fast and drove away.

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Speaker 1: But I didn't ever want to go outside after dark

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Speaker 1: like ever again. And I still feel that way sometimes.

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Speaker 1: But that day I was carrying this is so embarrassing.

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Speaker 1: I was carrying it all. I was carrying my Social

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Speaker 1: Security card. I was carrying my check book because it

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Speaker 1: was the nineteen nineties, maybe I needed to write a

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Speaker 1: check for something. I was carrying every source of identification

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Speaker 1: that I had, And so they stole not just my

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Speaker 1: money and my credit card, but in some ways they

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Speaker 1: stole my identity too. I could no longer prove who

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Speaker 1: I was. Oh, it was such a pain trying to

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Speaker 1: get all of those ID cards done again. So my

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Speaker 1: question for you today is this, as we think about exhaling,

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Speaker 1: kind of breathing out after years or decades of holding

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Speaker 1: our breath and clenching our fists trying to improve our bodies,

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Speaker 1: my question for you is this, has your identity been

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Speaker 1: stolen to Now? I don't mean literally like mine, but figuratively,

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Speaker 1: as followers of Christ were to place our identity in him.

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Speaker 1: But in this world we live in, it's pretty easy

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Speaker 1: to find other places to derive identity. We can be

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Speaker 1: the nice one, the competent one, the smart one, or

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Speaker 1: the pretty one, the thin one, the athletic one. They

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Speaker 1: always put together one. What are the things that you've

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Speaker 1: tried to find identity in? What would you add to

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Speaker 1: this list? But here's the truth. Any ID that's not

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Speaker 1: in Christ is a false ID. If you're trying to

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Speaker 1: put your identity and your ability to look a certain

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Speaker 1: way or be a certain way, you're carrying a fake ID. Friend,

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Speaker 1: the devil stole your ID. Now, I'll be honest. Identity

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Speaker 1: and Chris can sometimes found like sound like an amorphous concept,

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Speaker 1: Like I know those words, I kind of know what

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Speaker 1: they mean altogether, but practically, what does that mean? How

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Speaker 1: do I know if I have my identity in Christ

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Speaker 1: or not. I did another podcast on this topic a

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Speaker 1: few years ago. It was around the concept of boasting.

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Speaker 1: I can link in the show notes for you. But

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Speaker 1: Paul tells Us in Galatians six fourteen that he'll only

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Speaker 1: boast in the cross, not in his resume, not in

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Speaker 1: his personal strength. And this is part of our understanding

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Speaker 1: of identity. We have to ask this question, what do

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Speaker 1: I boast in? What do I want people to think

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Speaker 1: of or associate with me? What's most important to me?

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Speaker 1: Paul answers this question with one word, Jesus. What's most important?

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Speaker 1: Can you see Jesus in me? That's more important than

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Speaker 1: thinking that I'm someone who's good with exercise or I'm

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Speaker 1: someone who's good with food. That's more important than you

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Speaker 1: thinking I'm really put together. But here's another angle on

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Speaker 1: identity in Christ. Are you ready for this question? Is?

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Speaker 1: Have you been adopted by Him? Now let me back

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Speaker 1: up and explain us a little bit. You have an

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Speaker 1: identity in your family, don't you. We all do. I'm

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Speaker 1: a daughter, I'm a wife, I'm a mother, I'm a sister.

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Speaker 1: Depending on the context, the family my husband and I

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Speaker 1: have built under the last name Creek Moore means that

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Speaker 1: each of us has an identity as a Creek More.

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Speaker 1: My children get identified in relation to their parents all

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Speaker 1: the time, like, oh, you're a Creek more kid. People

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Speaker 1: say at church this is an identity that they have

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Speaker 1: to wear. Scripture tells us that when we become Christians,

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Speaker 1: we become God's adopted sons, and we're fully adopted by him.

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Speaker 1: Ephesians one four and five says, in love, he predestined

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Speaker 1: us for adoption to himself as sons or daughters through

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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. Galatians

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Speaker 1: four four through seven says, But when the fullness of

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Speaker 1: time had come, God sent forth his son so that

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Speaker 1: we might receive adoption. John one, twelve and thirteen. But

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Speaker 1: to all who did receive him, he gave the right

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Speaker 1: to become children of God. The Bible uses this concept

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Speaker 1: that we have been adopted to teach us something very

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Speaker 1: important about our identity. Like my kids are Creek Moore kids.

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Speaker 1: We're God's kids, We're his daughters. Now here's where this

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Speaker 1: gets interesting. My children have never once asked me what

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Speaker 1: do I have to do to be a creek more?

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Speaker 1: Are there more chores that I can do? Can I

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Speaker 1: behave better? Do I get to be a creek more

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Speaker 1: if I do this or that, or if I do

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Speaker 1: all these things better? Like that would be so silly.

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Speaker 1: There it's because there are children, and although we didn't

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Speaker 1: adopt any of them, the same principles applies a child

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Speaker 1: that is adopted is legally and fully a child of

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Speaker 1: the parents who signed those adoption papers. There's nothing they

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Speaker 1: have to do to earn that spot or prove that

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Speaker 1: they're worthy. The transaction is complete. They are fully daughters

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Speaker 1: or sons of the one who adopted them. Your identity

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Speaker 1: is settled in Christ because you've been adopted to. In

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Speaker 1: other words, you don't have to do anything to prove

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Speaker 1: your worth to your Father. You don't have to try

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Speaker 1: to earn his love. You already have it. Now here's

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Speaker 1: where this gets challenging. Many of us received mixed messages

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Speaker 1: growing up. We may have learned that Jesus loves and

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Speaker 1: accepts us, and we may have also learned that the

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Speaker 1: best way to be loved and accepted by mom, dad, Grandma, friends, aunt,

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Speaker 1: susie was to lose weight or look good or keep

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Speaker 1: trying to make your body look better so that even

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Speaker 1: more people will love you. But friend, this isn't the gospel.

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Speaker 1: In fact, this distracts us from the truth of how

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Speaker 1: fully accepted and loved we are in Christ. Many of us,

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Speaker 1: as we've tried to pursue weight loss goals or body

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Speaker 1: change goals, we've done it from a place of insecurity.

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Speaker 1: We're searching for identity that comes when we reach a goal,

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Speaker 1: but even if we get it, it's a fake ID

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Speaker 1: that's not our true identity. Here's what I've observed. Pursuing

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Speaker 1: your goals, be a weight loss or body change, from

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Speaker 1: a place of secure identity is the healthiest way to proceed.

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Speaker 1: It's not I must have this thing or I won't

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Speaker 1: be okay. I must have this thing so I can

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Speaker 1: feel okay. It's this I am already loved. I have

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Speaker 1: a secure identity. And just like I'm going to keep

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Speaker 1: trying not to yell at my kids or trying to

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Speaker 1: keep my house clean or spend less time on social media,

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Speaker 1: I'm also trying to watch my habits and trying to

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Speaker 1: drop some weight. To you, hear the distinction you see.

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Speaker 1: Weight loss won't determine my worth. I'm already fully loved

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Speaker 1: and accepted in Christ. Is just one of the things

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Speaker 1: on my to do list. It's not the thing. It's

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Speaker 1: one of the things. Having a secure identity in Christ

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Speaker 1: means that you are an adopted daughter. You're no longer

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Speaker 1: trying to earn your acceptance. He chose you believing that

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Speaker 1: you are already loved and living like you're already loved

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Speaker 1: is the only solid place from which to pursue weight

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Speaker 1: loss goals. So what would it look like for you

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Speaker 1: to exhale and pursue your goal from a place of

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Speaker 1: knowing that you're already fully accepted. You're already part of

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Speaker 1: the family, your identity is secure in him. That's what

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Speaker 1: I want you to consider today. Take that big inhale

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Speaker 1: and say, I'm already fully left and the next sale

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Speaker 1: and I'm already fully accepted. Hey, let's talk about this.

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Speaker 1: Go to the community waiting for weightloss dot com. If

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Speaker 1: you're brand new, join the community at waiting for weightloss

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Speaker 1: dot com. Otherwise, log in and be part of the conversation.

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Speaker 1: I want to hear from you. Do you have a

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Speaker 1: fake ID? Are you ready to cut up your fake

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Speaker 1: ID and replace it for a real one. Let's talk

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Speaker 1: about it. I hope to see you over in the community.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening today. The Compared To Podcasts is proud

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Speaker 1: to be part of the light Boudio podcast network. For

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Speaker 1: more great Christian podcasts, go to Lifebodio dot