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Speaker 1: Life audio.

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Speaker 2: Find inspiration as close as your phone.

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Speaker 3: Download the Jesus Calling app and get started today for free.

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Speaker 2: Look for the Jesus Calling app in both the Apple

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Speaker 2: and Google Play stores.

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Speaker 3: Hey, I'm Susie McIntyre. Eaton for Jesus. Listen stories of prayer. Today,

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Speaker 3: I'm going to go into the studio and talk to

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Speaker 3: Ruth cho Simons. She's an author and artist. She's just

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Speaker 3: a wonderful lady. She has a brand new, new, new

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Speaker 3: new book. It's out in October, and you're gonna want

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Speaker 3: to get this because she is such a gifted writer.

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Speaker 3: She is a very compassionate speaker. She's one who has

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Speaker 3: been through some trials and tribulations, even just coming to

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Speaker 3: an America from Ti One at the age of four

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Speaker 3: to have to adapt and learn new language as a

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Speaker 3: little girl. I enjoy her so much in her life

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Speaker 3: and I'm looking so forward to visiting with her today. Hey,

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Speaker 3: I just wanted to tell you that my girls group

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Speaker 3: at church here in southeastern Oklahoma did your Bible study.

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Speaker 2: Oh.

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Speaker 3: I think it was such a blessing to us. What's

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Speaker 3: life like for you with I mean, you've got six

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Speaker 3: six boys, so there's seven males in your household. Was

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Speaker 3: it a stress on your life for you? Naturally?

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Speaker 2: I thought it would be, and I didn't even feel

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Speaker 2: like a natural mama. But it's been such a joy.

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Speaker 2: They're really amazing boys, and so my husband's just a

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Speaker 2: great I mean, I thought he was going to be

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Speaker 2: a girl dad, but he really is a great dad

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Speaker 2: to these boys. And so it's been really lovely. And

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Speaker 2: I mean, obviously there's been times where you're like, what,

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Speaker 2: that's a lot of energy, and there's a lot of

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Speaker 2: testos in the South, but they're also very much renaissance men.

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Speaker 2: They love arts and music, and they go hiking and

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Speaker 2: dirt biking and motorcycles, but also play music. And so

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Speaker 2: it's been it's really sweet.

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Speaker 3: You seem so calm. I can't imagine you having to

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Speaker 3: speak about topics like replacing the gospel of self improvement

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Speaker 3: with the gospel of life transforming grace that you would

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Speaker 3: ever even struggle with that. What was your struggle to

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Speaker 3: cause you to minister here?

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Speaker 2: English was not my first language. So I was born

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Speaker 2: in Taiwan and came to the US when I was young,

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Speaker 2: and ultimately grew up and became a citizen and became

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Speaker 2: fluent in English, and now I write books in English.

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Speaker 2: And yet that journey was one where I was really

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Speaker 2: living in the tension of two cultures. And then I

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Speaker 2: became a believer and lived in the tension of being

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Speaker 2: in between what I wanted to understand through the Gospel

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Speaker 2: and yet what the world was telling me. And so

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Speaker 2: there was a lot of striving involved in all that.

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Speaker 2: And so I would say, you know, regardless, I mean,

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Speaker 2: somebody can look really calm on the outside and be

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Speaker 2: completely stressed out and fearful and anxious on the inside.

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Speaker 2: My desire has always been that my outside would reflect

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Speaker 2: what's really going on inside.

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Speaker 3: I'd like to share a quote from your book. Wildflowers

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Speaker 3: don't need to be taught how to live freely or

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Speaker 3: release their burdens. They're dependent on their maker. Could you

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Speaker 3: talk about that passage from Luke, what it's based on,

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Speaker 3: and how you've learned this in your own life.

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Speaker 2: You know, when Jesus is giving his sermon on the

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Speaker 2: mountain and he's giving instructions, he's talking to people and

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Speaker 2: sharing what it is to live free in unburdened and

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Speaker 2: trusting God because they've been trusting in a lot of

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Speaker 2: you know, their own resources, they were trusting in their

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Speaker 2: religious efforts. And this is Jesus saying, take a look around,

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Speaker 2: look at how the wildflowers grow, look at how the

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Speaker 2: birds of the year. They're not fretting, they're not worried,

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Speaker 2: they're not trying to store up from themselves. And look

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Speaker 2: at the flowers in the field. They don't have to

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Speaker 2: work so hard at being beautiful and luscious that they

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Speaker 2: truly are just stepping into exactly what God has for them.

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Speaker 2: And so it's always been just a really beautiful picture

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Speaker 2: of living free in Jesus.

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Speaker 3: Could you give us an example of one of the

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Speaker 3: meditations that you have in your new book.

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Speaker 2: I really believe that when Jesus said, consider how the

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Speaker 2: flowers grow, how the field, the flowers of the field grow,

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Speaker 2: or if in the in IV translation, how the wildflowers grow.

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Speaker 2: When he's describing that, he's really saying, look up and

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Speaker 2: pay attention to how I have taken care of everything.

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Speaker 2: There's not one thing you can do or what place

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Speaker 2: you can go in life where I'm not already there

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Speaker 2: and I'm not already providing. And so we read it first,

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Speaker 2: Peter cast your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

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Speaker 2: And so that statement in Peter First Peter is the

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Speaker 2: reminder that every anxiety and everywhere we have we can

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Speaker 2: actually lay at his feet. And so through the book,

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Speaker 2: I talk about these thirty different scenarios, and there are

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Speaker 2: meditations to help us remember, whether you use it as

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Speaker 2: a devotional or you keep it on the coffee table

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Speaker 2: just to help you remember when you need to, like

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Speaker 2: lock in and say, oh, I'm not alone when I

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Speaker 2: worry about these things. But I can turn my eyes

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Speaker 2: to Jesus.

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Speaker 3: I'm going to order this book, and I'm going to

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Speaker 3: look at your art, and I may even somehow try

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Speaker 3: to get hold of something to hear you sing, because

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Speaker 3: I bet you sing a lot better than what you're

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Speaker 3: talking about.

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Speaker 2: Oh no, no, no, absolutely not.

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Speaker 4: But but we always yeah, you're welcome. We always close

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Speaker 4: our episode with a reading from Jesus. Listens Sarah Young,

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Speaker 4: who has gone on to be with the Lord. It's

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Speaker 4: from August the twenty fifth, and it is a prayer

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Speaker 4: if you'd like to pray along with me, delightful Jesus,

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Speaker 4: thank you for showing me that Heaven is both present

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Speaker 4: and future. As I walk along my life path holding

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Speaker 4: your hand I am already in touch with the essence

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Speaker 4: of heaven nearness to you. While journeying with you, I

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Speaker 4: perceive lovely hints of heaven. The earth is radiantly alive

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Speaker 4: with your presence. Shimmering sunshine awakens my heart, gently reminding

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Speaker 4: me of your brilliant light. Birds and flowers, trees and skies.

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Speaker 4: Evoke praises to your holy name. Help me to be

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Speaker 4: fully open to the splendors of your creation as I

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Speaker 4: walk in the light of your love in your heavenly name.

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Speaker 3: Amen. Thank you so much for joining us on Jesus'

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Speaker 3: Listen Stories of Prayer. I am so honored to be

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Speaker 3: a part of this. We'll be back next time with

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Speaker 3: another episode another guest, but until then, please always remember

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Speaker 3: that Jesus hears you, he cares for you, and he's

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Speaker 3: just a prayer away.

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Speaker 1: Be sure to follow us on social media and on

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Speaker 1: the Jesus Calling podcast on Apple or wherever you get

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Speaker 1: your podcasts so that you can keep up with our

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Speaker 1: weekly audio episodes in special monthly series like this one,

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Speaker 1: and be sure to subscribe to the Jesus Calling channel

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Speaker 1: on YouTube, where you'll find the video version of this interview.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening,