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Speaker 1: Life audio.

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Speaker 2: Walk through the season of Lent with an intentional focus

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Speaker 2: on your savior and prepare for the joy and victory

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Speaker 2: of his resurrection With Jesus Listens for Lent and Easter.

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Speaker 2: This book offers seasonally themed devotions from Sarah Young's New

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Speaker 2: York Times bestseller Jesus Listens. Inside you'll find prayers, reflections,

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Speaker 2: and Bible verses based on Jesus life and sacrifice, plus

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Speaker 2: stunning Spring and Easter illustrations, making this a holiday treasure

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Speaker 2: to cherish for years to come. Find Jesus Listens for

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Speaker 2: Lent and Easter today at your favorite retailer.

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Speaker 3: I think religion puts Us in chains, and Jesus came

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Speaker 3: to get us out of the chains. It's all about relationship,

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Speaker 3: not religion, and I think we've really lost touch with

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Speaker 3: that in Western Christianity.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the Jesus Calling Podcast. This week, we're joined

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Speaker 2: by beloved television host, actress, songwriter, an author, Kathy Lee Gifford.

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Speaker 2: Kathie Lee shares her deeply personal faith journey, emphasizing that

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Speaker 2: she is not a churchy person, but a relationship person.

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Speaker 2: She advocates for understanding the scriptures deeply, going beyond surface

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Speaker 2: level readings and ultimately seeking to bring Jews and Christians

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Speaker 2: together in the love story of God. Later in the episode,

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Speaker 2: we'll hear from doctor Julia Garcia, also known as Doctor J,

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Speaker 2: who joins us to dismantle the myth that hope is

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Speaker 2: an elusive personality traite. Drawing from years of clinical practice

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Speaker 2: and her own raw lived experience, including overcoming addiction, failed businesses,

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Speaker 2: and seasons of deep uncertainty, Doctor j offers a powerful

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Speaker 2: practical pathway back to hope even when the darkness feels permanent.

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Speaker 2: Let's begin with Kathy Lee's story.

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Speaker 3: My name is Kathy Lee Gifford, and I have felt

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Speaker 3: for many, many years that if I wake up in

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Speaker 3: the morning and I have a pulse, that means I

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Speaker 3: still have a purpose, and I don't know what that

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Speaker 3: purpose is for to be that unfolds as the day

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Speaker 3: goes on. Well, I never dreamed at all that at

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Speaker 3: this time in my life that I would be talking

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Speaker 3: the way I am talking. I talk about Jesus with anybody.

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Speaker 3: I sing my songs about Jesus. I write songs about Jesus.

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Speaker 3: I write songs about everything, and I've been blessed to

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Speaker 3: do it. So It's one of the gifts that God

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Speaker 3: gave me, and that has guided me my whole life,

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Speaker 3: knowing that why I'm here. I never wanted to be

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Speaker 3: a star. I never dreamed I could be a star.

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Speaker 3: I don't even like the word stars. Stars are what

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Speaker 3: I look up at that God created. You know, the

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Speaker 3: media machine creates human stars. And we're not meant to

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Speaker 3: be worshiped in either of the stars above us. They're

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Speaker 3: all part of God's creation. And so I, as a

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Speaker 3: young child, had an understanding that I was made in

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Speaker 3: the image of God. We didn't grow up in a

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Speaker 3: religious family. My father was Jewish, my mom was a Shixa,

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Speaker 3: a beautiful gen tell A woman. But I grew up

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Speaker 3: with a great respect for God, the creator of all things.

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Speaker 3: Most of my family came to know the Lord through

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Speaker 3: Billy's ministry. I was a kid, twelve years old or

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Speaker 3: something like that, and I got to know Billy and

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Speaker 3: he said, Kathy, you're going to have a huge career

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Speaker 3: in the entertainment field. I said, I am. I mean,

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Speaker 3: I hadn't done hardly anything then, and he said, but

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Speaker 3: stay true to the calling on your life, Kathy, which

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Speaker 3: is God loves you. Remember the songs.

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Speaker 4: You just says, I am without one. Please, you know,

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Speaker 4: do you do have to clean up your act? Just

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Speaker 4: come to him, give your life to him, and watch

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Speaker 4: him make something beautiful out of it. She said, Just

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Speaker 4: keep telling people that, Kathy.

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Speaker 3: I've always been incredibly grateful that I came to a

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Speaker 3: personal relationship with Jesus early in my life and didn't

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Speaker 3: have a whole lot of religious baggage with me. It

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Speaker 3: was all about hearing that voice. I heard him say

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Speaker 3: very clearly to me in a movie theater. That's where

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Speaker 3: the Lord met me. Why because I wanted to be

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Speaker 3: an actress. I was an actress. He met me right

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Speaker 3: where my desires and my dreams were, and he said, Kathy,

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Speaker 3: I love you, and if you follow me, I will

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Speaker 3: make something beautiful out of your life. I will make

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Speaker 3: something beautiful. And I believed him, and I went running

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Speaker 3: down that aisle to give my life a fishery to Jesus.

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Speaker 3: But in my heart, he already.

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Speaker 1: Had my heart long before that.

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Speaker 3: When Jesus says, well done, my good and faithful serpent,

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Speaker 3: he didn't say perfect servant. He said good. Your heart

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Speaker 3: was good. Your heart was in the right place. She

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Speaker 3: walked with me and faithful to the little things, faithful

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Speaker 3: to proclaim me. People always say to you were so

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Speaker 3: bold on television, And I said, why wouldn't I be?

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Speaker 3: God put me there to be bold. He didn't put

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Speaker 3: me there to be a big star and make a

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Speaker 3: ton of money, have my star on them. I mean,

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Speaker 3: all of that has happened, but it wasn't because that

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Speaker 3: was the purpose for my life. The greatest surrender is

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Speaker 3: that first moment where we surrender to His lordship. That's

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Speaker 3: called salvation. Right, we receive this amazing gift of grace

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Speaker 3: of salvation. But what we don't study enough in the

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Speaker 3: West is the gift of sanctification that comes afterwards. That's

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Speaker 3: the hard part. When the Holy Spirit renews our hearts

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Speaker 3: and our minds in Christ Jesus, that's the hard part.

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Speaker 3: That's when it's a surrender every single day. I would

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Speaker 3: never take a rule that required anything that dishonored the Lord.

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Speaker 3: The Lord gives us a conscience for a reason. I

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Speaker 3: follow him, and I'm going to use every opportunity that

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Speaker 3: comes my way to proclaim him. Because people are hurting,

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Speaker 3: people are broken, people are desperate. People are hungry, not

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Speaker 3: just for food, they're hungry for life itself. They're hungry

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Speaker 3: for truth, tired of being lied to all their lives,

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Speaker 3: and it happens every day, all day long in their lives.

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Speaker 3: And I get that me too. I'm sick of it.

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Speaker 3: But the only thing that has been constant in my

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Speaker 3: life that never changes is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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Speaker 3: So I'm very much a kind of person wants life

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Speaker 3: to unfold authentically. I like organization. I despise chaos, but

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Speaker 3: I also don't want to manipulate life. So I guess

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Speaker 3: I enter into a new day, which starts very very

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Speaker 3: early for me and always has. Usually one or two

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Speaker 3: o'clock in the morning is when I do wake up,

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Speaker 3: and the first thing I do is have a conversation

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Speaker 3: with the Lord, and usually it starts with praise.

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Speaker 1: You know.

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Speaker 3: I love to say the scripture. Let the morning bring

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Speaker 3: me word of your unfailing love, for I put my

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Speaker 3: trust in you. Show me the way that I should

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Speaker 3: go for unto you, I lift up my hope, and

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Speaker 3: then I do a bl Bless the Lord, oh my

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Speaker 3: soul and all that is within me.

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Speaker 1: Bless your holy name.

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Speaker 3: And then I do show me your ways, Lord, and

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Speaker 3: teach me your past and guide me in your truth,

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Speaker 3: and I give it to him. Basically, I can't do

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Speaker 3: anything without him. I love the scripture and acts that

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Speaker 3: says you know in Him we live and move and

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Speaker 3: have our being. I'm not a churchy person at all.

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Speaker 3: I'm a relationship person. And the word for a church

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Speaker 3: in the Greek is ecclesia, and it doesn't mean a building.

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Speaker 3: It means a movement. It means a gathering of people

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Speaker 3: and the gathering of the Holy Spirit. And that's how

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Speaker 3: I start my day, and it's hopefully it's the way

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Speaker 3: I live my day. It's an attitude of prayer. Our

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Speaker 3: life should be a prayer constantly, even if it's just

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Speaker 3: a thank you Jesus for that, just like Sarah Young's

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Speaker 3: Jesus calling and everything else that's come from her magnificent

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Speaker 3: ministry is all based on Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and

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Speaker 3: the Father's and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity. I was

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Speaker 3: honored to meet her before she passed away. She moved

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Speaker 3: back here in Tennessee for the last part of her

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Speaker 3: life after battling limes disease for years and years. We

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Speaker 3: had the same publisher, and I said, yah, I meet

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Speaker 3: her she means a lot to me. Her books have

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Speaker 3: meant a great deal to me, and I did. I

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Speaker 3: went and had lunch with her one day, and we

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Speaker 3: spent the day together.

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Speaker 1: And I'll never forget it.

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Speaker 3: And Sarah would be the first one to tell you,

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Speaker 3: she said, it's not about my faithfulness to him all

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Speaker 3: these years. It's about his faithfulness to me and anybody

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Speaker 3: that truly walks with God. We know the difference, you know.

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Speaker 3: I have tried to be a faithful follower of Jesus,

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Speaker 3: but I have failed. I have failed many times. I'll

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Speaker 3: fail to day in one way or another. I'll be

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Speaker 3: angry at somebody that's not driving fast enough, or I'll

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Speaker 3: be short with somebody, or I'll be irritable. I will fail.

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Speaker 3: I'm not perfect, and one day I will be. One day,

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Speaker 3: we all will be perfect when we're with our Savior,

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Speaker 3: who was perfection himself.

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Speaker 2: To learn more about Kathie Lee at Kathy Lee Gifford

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Speaker 2: dot com and be sure to check out her new

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Speaker 2: books Nero and Paul and Herod and Mary at your

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Speaker 2: favorite retailer. Stay tuned at doctor Julia Garcia's story. After

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Speaker 2: a brief message looking for a source of daily encouragement

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Speaker 2: and peace. The Jesus Calling App brings you closer to

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Speaker 2: God with daily devotionals right on your phone. Explore features

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Speaker 2: like personalized daily devotionals and soothing audio readings. You can

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Speaker 2: bookmark your favorite passages, set reminders for your devotional time,

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Speaker 2: and even share inspirational messages with loved ones. Now, the

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Speaker 2: Jesus Calling App brings even more comfort and connection with

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Speaker 2: the introduction of Spanish devotions from author Sarah Young. Whether

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Speaker 2: you start your day with a quiet moment of reflection

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Speaker 2: or use it to end your evening in gratitude, the

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Speaker 2: Jesus Calling App offers comfort, guidance, and a deeper connection

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Speaker 2: to God at your fingertips. Get started today for free.

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Speaker 2: The Jesus Calling App is available in both the Apple

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Speaker 2: and Google Play stores. Our next guest is doctor Julia Garcia.

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Speaker 2: Drawing from years of clinical work and lived experience, she

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Speaker 2: shares how hope is not a personality trait or a

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Speaker 2: constant feeling, but something we can practice through simple, intentional habits.

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Speaker 2: She helps people name their pain, interrupt harmful thought patterns,

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Speaker 2: and begin discovering what it looks like to find hope again,

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Speaker 2: even when it feels out of Reach.

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Speaker 1: My name is doctor Julia Garcia Newroth, but I'm also

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Speaker 1: known as doctor j In. My work started at a

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Speaker 1: really young age. I was actually still a teenager when

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Speaker 1: I was positioned to work with people in some of

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Speaker 1: the most difficult challenges that they were going through in life.

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Speaker 1: I have struggled for years personally and professionally learning about

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Speaker 1: the concept of hope and the habits of hope started

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Speaker 1: to form personally for me when I started that habit

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Speaker 1: of reflection and really facing myself, and then it started

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Speaker 1: to build professionally. I could see how it was shaping

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Speaker 1: my world professionally and educationally and personally and spiritually. I

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Speaker 1: was finally getting to a place where I wasn't running

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Speaker 1: and I was reflecting, and it was really really powerful

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Speaker 1: for me on my journey. I had to do that

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Speaker 1: in order to build a life I believed in. But

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Speaker 1: I couldn't build from a place where I didn't have

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Speaker 1: real roots. I didn't know what was below the surface.

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Speaker 1: I couldn't build nothing was stable, so I had to

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Speaker 1: rebuild my life. From a young age, I was running

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Speaker 1: from so many things that I was running towards, things

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Speaker 1: like drugs and alcohol. I was suspended in undergrad. I

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Speaker 1: was forced in to rehab before I was even old

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Speaker 1: enough to drink. I had not only been suspended from undergrad,

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Speaker 1: I dropped out of grad school not once, not twice,

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Speaker 1: but three times. There was a period where I was

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Speaker 1: a single mother. I had started businesses, failed businesses. There

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Speaker 1: were so many times in my life where there were

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Speaker 1: seasons of stress and uncertainty. And I've always had to

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Speaker 1: go back to different habits at different times to make

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Speaker 1: sure that I don't associate how I feel with who

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Speaker 1: I am. I have to make sure that I have

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Speaker 1: these habits in place so that I can keep building

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Speaker 1: who I am and the life that I believe in,

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Speaker 1: that I can keep having faith, because without hope, I

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Speaker 1: can't even reach out for faith. I have to have

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Speaker 1: that first, and it doesn't always have to be this

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Speaker 1: huge thing. I didn't come into the church and come

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Speaker 1: to know God and Jesus until I was in my twenties,

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Speaker 1: and I remember one of the first gifts people would

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Speaker 1: give me when they heard, Oh, she's going to church.

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Speaker 1: Oh this is crazy? Is this like this is really happening?

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Speaker 1: And they are so much disbelief within my friend group

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Speaker 1: and my family and a lot of people would gift

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Speaker 1: me the Jesus Calling Book. I have so many copies

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Speaker 1: because people would gift it to me, and it took

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Speaker 1: me a little bit to actually open it because I

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Speaker 1: was still so nervous. And I always felt like faith

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Speaker 1: is for certain types of people, not someone like me,

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Speaker 1: not someone who has done so many terrible things and

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Speaker 1: failed and had seen some of the traumas I had, Like,

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Speaker 1: that's for other people. Faith is not for someone like me.

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Speaker 1: That's maybe for that girl next doors type that sounds

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Speaker 1: a certain way, who has raised a certain way. But

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Speaker 1: maybe I've had purple hair before, not someone like me, right,

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Speaker 1: And so I would always count myself out, like maybe

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Speaker 1: I can't even read that. But it was such a

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Speaker 1: powerful thing when I was brave enough to do it,

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Speaker 1: and it helped to start shaping myself in a way

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Speaker 1: of building these emotional patterns to con instantly come back

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Speaker 1: to that reflection and gratitude. What it really boils down

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Speaker 1: to is how we feel about hope. And with hope,

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Speaker 1: it's like you know when you have it, and you

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Speaker 1: can feel it when you don't. And I think a

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Speaker 1: lot of people struggle to really maintain hope and to

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Speaker 1: hold on to it for a lot of different reasons,

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Speaker 1: but I'm going to just break it down into a couple.

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Speaker 1: One is people, if you're like me, you associate hopeful

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Speaker 1: people with happy people. And if you feel like you're

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Speaker 1: not in a happy place, or maybe you're not generally

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Speaker 1: some happy person that you perceive someone else to be

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Speaker 1: by the way that they project themselves or the way

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Speaker 1: that they are, if you don't think you are happy,

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Speaker 1: then you might think that hope is not for you.

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Speaker 1: But it's not a personality trait. Hope is not a

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Speaker 1: personality trait. So I'm going to debunk that right now

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Speaker 1: for you. And another thing is people can feel like

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Speaker 1: they need to have a lot, a huge amount of

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Speaker 1: hope and they don't really wreck. Is that it really

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Speaker 1: just takes that mustard seed, a tiny, tiny, tiny little

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Speaker 1: piece of hope is enough to carry you through. And

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Speaker 1: so when we debunk those first two things right off

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Speaker 1: the bat, we're turning these hope blocks, these things that

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Speaker 1: can get in the way of us having hope and

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Speaker 1: saying I'm going to switch the perspective and they're going

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Speaker 1: to help me build hope, not be barriers. The habits

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Speaker 1: of hope are not meant to be super complex things

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Speaker 1: that you can't apply and practice daily. They're meant to

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Speaker 1: be simple things that start in our mind, that start

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Speaker 1: with how we feel. Because our feelings often will find

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Speaker 1: that they dictate what we do or don't do, the

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Speaker 1: decisions we make, the relationships we have or build or

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Speaker 1: grow or don't push away. Our feelings navigate so much

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Speaker 1: of our life. So what we have to go back

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Speaker 1: to is those feelings. And that's what the habits of

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Speaker 1: hope are about. They're an emotional framework to help us

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Speaker 1: with those perspective shifts, so we can interrupt harmful thought patterns.

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Speaker 1: And we get into what I call a cycle of silence,

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Speaker 1: where we struggle and we hold it in and we

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Speaker 1: don't say anything because of many reasons. You know, we

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Speaker 1: live in an era unlike any other in history, and

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Speaker 1: most of the time we don't know what's real anymore.

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Speaker 1: We do not know what is real, and we're going

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Speaker 1: to have to really really navigate this new world in

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Speaker 1: such an intentional way moving forward, and it is getting

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Speaker 1: harder and more challenging and difficult for people to have

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Speaker 1: depth and meaning in their relationships. And I see this

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Speaker 1: all over the place. It could be a sixth grader,

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Speaker 1: it could be an educator, it could be a parent,

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Speaker 1: or a suit in a business room. People are struggling

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Speaker 1: with human connection. It's pretty obvious we're spending a lot

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Speaker 1: of time behind screens. We're going to have to get

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Speaker 1: a lot stronger in our ability to emotionally risk so

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Speaker 1: that we can deepen our relationships, not just with other people,

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Speaker 1: but in our faith and with ourselves. We're going to

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Speaker 1: have to get out of surface level screen situations and

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Speaker 1: we're going to have to take that risk. And there

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00:17:24,097 --> 00:17:26,496
Speaker 1: is always going to be a cost. But what I

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Speaker 1: say is the cost of going through life feeling disconnected

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00:17:32,097 --> 00:17:35,617
Speaker 1: will lead us to despair, and despair as that hopelessness

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Speaker 1: whole that is really hard to get out of. We

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Speaker 1: have to meet it with that risk taking to have

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Speaker 1: more meaning and connection than the Top three reasons people

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Speaker 1: struggle and don't say anything are I don't want to

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Speaker 1: be a burden. I don't want to worry anyone, and

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Speaker 1: I don't think anyone cares. And the other one is

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Speaker 1: I don't want to look weak. And when we think

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Speaker 1: about that, when those feelings of I don't want to

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Speaker 1: burden anyone, I don't want to look weak and being

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Speaker 1: judged and all of that. That is what's keeping us

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Speaker 1: silent about our struggles. What we have to do is

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Speaker 1: interrupt it with a perspective shift, and that has to

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Speaker 1: tie into what we value, our identity, what is true,

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Speaker 1: so it can go from I can't to I am

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Speaker 1: an overcomer or I have anxiety to I also am

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Speaker 1: creative and thoughtful, and reminding ourselves to the holistic part

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Speaker 1: of who we are, that we're not just one thing,

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Speaker 1: We're not just one part of ourselves. And it's continuing

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Speaker 1: to just reshape and encourage us to build and widen

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Speaker 1: our perspective on ourselves so that we can know that

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Speaker 1: our circumstance, our feelings, they're going to come and they're

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Speaker 1: going to go, but who we are we can keep

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Speaker 1: going back to that when we interrupt our thought patterns.

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Speaker 1: And the powerful crazy part of all of this is

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Speaker 1: there's a science to it, and we can actually reshape

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Speaker 1: the neuropathways in our mind. We can reshape our thought

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Speaker 1: patterns like constantly interrup them and building these little tiny

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Speaker 1: practices of hope, these emotional practices where we remind ourselves

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Speaker 1: not I can't I am an overcomer. I am not

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Speaker 1: good enough, I am loved enough, I am worthy enough.

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Speaker 1: I'm always enough, and that is enough. Enough is enough,

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00:19:21,457 --> 00:19:25,257
Speaker 1: That is enough. And our emotional thought patterns that continue

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Speaker 1: to help us reshape those neuropathways so that we can

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Speaker 1: navigate back to hope and not allow ourselves to feel

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Speaker 1: like when we feel hopeless, that's going to be the

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Speaker 1: hole we stay in forever. Because I'm not saying you're

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Speaker 1: not gonna feel hopeless. There are many times throughout the

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Speaker 1: week I still feel hopeless. And I wrote the book

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Speaker 1: Five Habits about it is not about always having hope.

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Speaker 1: It is about having a process to navigate back to it.

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Speaker 1: So if I do get in that dark space, I'm

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Speaker 1: not staying there for ten years. I'm not staying there

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Speaker 1: for ten months. Maybe it'll be ten minutes, but I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna navigate back out of it. I'm going to identify

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Speaker 1: what would support look like and feel like for me.

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Speaker 1: Right now, I'm gonna tell myself why am I staying silent?

352
00:20:04,097 --> 00:20:06,537
Speaker 1: Am I afraid of someone judging me? And I'm going

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00:20:06,617 --> 00:20:11,257
Speaker 1: to start practicing these habits and interrupting the temptation to

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Speaker 1: struggle in silence let's hear from some people in their

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00:20:20,977 --> 00:20:24,737
Speaker 1: own words and their own handwriting that have identified things

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Speaker 1: that will help them in what they're struggling with, because

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00:20:28,177 --> 00:20:31,617
Speaker 1: I think it's just a beautiful reminder that these people also,

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Speaker 1: at the beginning of what they share, things they struggled with,

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Speaker 1: and by the end of it, they shared things they

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Speaker 1: were hopeful for. So this person says, I am hopeful

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Speaker 1: for my kids that I will be their support. I

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00:20:44,337 --> 00:20:48,137
Speaker 1: am hopeful for healing, peace and joy, said another person.

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00:20:48,937 --> 00:20:53,017
Speaker 1: This person shares, I am hopeful because I'm still fighting.

364
00:20:53,497 --> 00:20:56,777
Speaker 1: This person shares, I hope that the person comes along

365
00:20:56,857 --> 00:21:00,337
Speaker 1: someday soon to let me know that it'll be okay, okay.

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Speaker 1: These sometimes make me emotional, even though I've read them

367
00:21:03,657 --> 00:21:06,617
Speaker 1: before and I received these on a regular basis. They're

368
00:21:06,697 --> 00:21:09,776
Speaker 1: just so powerful because I feel like I'm in it

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00:21:09,817 --> 00:21:12,097
Speaker 1: with them when they write this, and I feel so

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00:21:12,177 --> 00:21:14,737
Speaker 1: honored that they share it. Because why I have these

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00:21:14,737 --> 00:21:17,537
Speaker 1: in my hand, these handwritten things that people share all

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Speaker 1: over the world, from Wisconsin to New York to California,

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Speaker 1: all over the place, is because I give a prompt

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Speaker 1: that says, if you want to let go of what

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Speaker 1: you were struggling with and invite hope in and that's

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Speaker 1: why I have them in my hands now and can

377
00:21:31,497 --> 00:21:33,897
Speaker 1: share them with you. I'll read one more. It says,

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00:21:33,897 --> 00:21:37,577
Speaker 1: I am hopeful for change and new beginnings. This person

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00:21:37,617 --> 00:21:40,137
Speaker 1: said I needed someone to talk to and help me

380
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Speaker 1: make a plan. So they identified they needed someone else,

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00:21:45,017 --> 00:21:46,696
Speaker 1: that maybe they didn't want to do it on their

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00:21:46,697 --> 00:21:49,417
Speaker 1: own anymore even if they could, and that the action

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00:21:49,577 --> 00:21:54,377
Speaker 1: between them would be a plan. This person shared, I

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Speaker 1: need a guide to tell me I could do it

385
00:21:56,617 --> 00:21:59,737
Speaker 1: and show me the steps. So again it's a reminder

386
00:21:59,937 --> 00:22:03,217
Speaker 1: of how powerful our words are and having that support

387
00:22:03,297 --> 00:22:06,337
Speaker 1: system for some of you and for my I always

388
00:22:06,337 --> 00:22:09,577
Speaker 1: need that support system to verbally remind me of things

389
00:22:09,577 --> 00:22:12,457
Speaker 1: that I forget often. I'm going to share one more

390
00:22:12,457 --> 00:22:15,697
Speaker 1: with you. This person shared, I needed to know it

391
00:22:15,777 --> 00:22:19,497
Speaker 1: wasn't my fault, and that just really leads us to

392
00:22:19,577 --> 00:22:25,337
Speaker 1: forgiveness and accepting that forgiveness is the habit of receiving.

393
00:22:25,577 --> 00:22:30,977
Speaker 1: Being able to accept forgiveness is so powerful, and it

394
00:22:31,017 --> 00:22:34,817
Speaker 1: starts with us believing it and forgiving ourselves before we

395
00:22:34,857 --> 00:22:38,217
Speaker 1: can forgive anyone else. So the more we learn language

396
00:22:38,257 --> 00:22:42,456
Speaker 1: around identifying what support would look like or feel like

397
00:22:42,577 --> 00:22:44,976
Speaker 1: the more we can get in the emotional habit of

398
00:22:45,097 --> 00:22:49,057
Speaker 1: receiving that support, But it starts with us identifying what

399
00:22:49,177 --> 00:22:51,737
Speaker 1: it is, who it is, and what we need from

400
00:22:51,777 --> 00:22:55,736
Speaker 1: those people are support pillars so that we can receive hope.

401
00:23:02,937 --> 00:23:06,177
Speaker 1: It really helped me having my own process of habits

402
00:23:06,217 --> 00:23:09,736
Speaker 1: of things that make me stay grounded and connected. And

403
00:23:09,737 --> 00:23:12,777
Speaker 1: one of the biggest things is for me, it's writing.

404
00:23:13,497 --> 00:23:16,177
Speaker 1: I write my way through my feelings. I wrestle with

405
00:23:16,257 --> 00:23:20,057
Speaker 1: my faith. It is not always like a positive place

406
00:23:20,057 --> 00:23:23,137
Speaker 1: in my mind. When I'm talking to Jesus, I am wrestling.

407
00:23:23,377 --> 00:23:25,577
Speaker 1: I am like, what is happening? Why do I feel

408
00:23:25,617 --> 00:23:27,177
Speaker 1: like this? Why is this going on in the world?

409
00:23:27,217 --> 00:23:30,137
Speaker 1: Why did that person do this? Should I believe? Should

410
00:23:30,177 --> 00:23:33,257
Speaker 1: I follow? Should I? And there's just so many tensions

411
00:23:33,297 --> 00:23:36,537
Speaker 1: I face constantly. And one of my daily things that

412
00:23:36,617 --> 00:23:39,057
Speaker 1: ground me and connect me is writing. It is my

413
00:23:39,097 --> 00:23:42,737
Speaker 1: way of worship. I used to run to feel connected

414
00:23:42,777 --> 00:23:46,617
Speaker 1: to God, but after children and injuries, sports injuries, I

415
00:23:46,657 --> 00:23:49,216
Speaker 1: don't run like I used to. So writing for me

416
00:23:49,537 --> 00:23:51,857
Speaker 1: is my way back to my faith. It is my

417
00:23:51,937 --> 00:23:53,657
Speaker 1: way back to God, is my way I can lay

418
00:23:53,697 --> 00:23:55,657
Speaker 1: it all out, doesn't have to sound nice and pretty.

419
00:23:55,977 --> 00:23:59,297
Speaker 1: I don't have to pease anyone. I could just be honest,

420
00:23:59,457 --> 00:24:02,297
Speaker 1: and that has helped me heal. Being honest has helped

421
00:24:02,337 --> 00:24:06,377
Speaker 1: me heal because you can't have hope without honesty. I

422
00:24:06,457 --> 00:24:09,897
Speaker 1: just want to encourage anyone listening right now that you're

423
00:24:09,937 --> 00:24:12,936
Speaker 1: not a bad person. Because maybe you're not happy right now,

424
00:24:13,057 --> 00:24:16,017
Speaker 1: or you're hurting. It's okay to be in that place.

425
00:24:16,217 --> 00:24:20,257
Speaker 1: It's okay to feel hopeless even It's not about being

426
00:24:20,337 --> 00:24:22,417
Speaker 1: right or being wrong. It's about how can we keep

427
00:24:22,457 --> 00:24:25,497
Speaker 1: aligning who we are with what we believe. So if

428
00:24:25,537 --> 00:24:28,657
Speaker 1: we're struggling, keep aligning to the things that are true

429
00:24:29,057 --> 00:24:32,057
Speaker 1: and the things that are real. Keep coming back to

430
00:24:32,137 --> 00:24:35,936
Speaker 1: that place that aligns you with God's call on your life.

431
00:24:36,497 --> 00:24:39,417
Speaker 1: Even if the external things around you don't make sense

432
00:24:39,457 --> 00:24:42,537
Speaker 1: and it feels chaotic inside, just keep coming back, keep

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Speaker 1: aligning back to the voice that you know is real

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Speaker 1: and true. Keep aligning because we're not always going to

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Speaker 1: feel a certain way, but we can come back. You

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Speaker 1: can come back and you are not alone. If we

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Speaker 1: can just take a moment to receive the truth that

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Speaker 1: we are not alone, that we are enough, then that

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Speaker 1: is a building place for us to help navigate out

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Speaker 1: of that feeling of feeling stuck or overwhelmed. It's to

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Speaker 1: replace these feelings with truth, with identity statements reminding us

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Speaker 1: who we are. We are not alone, and we are

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Speaker 1: made perfect in His image. I would love to close

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Speaker 1: out with an excerpt of a prayer from Sarah Young's

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Speaker 1: prayer devotional Jesus Listens, Jesus Listens, March fourteenth. Glorious Lord,

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Speaker 1: you have been showing me that hope is like a

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Speaker 1: golden chord connecting me to Heaven. This cord helps me

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Speaker 1: hold my head up high even when multiple trials are

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Speaker 1: buffeting me. I know that you never leave my side

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Speaker 1: and you never let go of my hand. But without

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Speaker 1: the cord of hope, my head sometimes slumps and my

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Speaker 1: feet start to drag. As I journey uphill with you,

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Speaker 1: hope lifts my perspective from my weary feet to the

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Speaker 1: glory this view, which I can see from the high road.

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Speaker 1: Thank you, Lord, that you are always with me and

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Speaker 1: the road we're traveling together is ultimately the highway to Heaven.

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Speaker 1: When I contemplate this glorious destination, I stop worrying about

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Speaker 1: the roughness or smoothness of the road ahead. Please train

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Speaker 1: me to hold in my heart a dual focus, your

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Speaker 1: continual presence and the hope of heaven in your wonderful name,

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Speaker 1: Jesus Almen.

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Speaker 2: To learn more about doctor Julia Garcia, visit doctor Julia

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Speaker 2: Garcia dot com and be sure to check out her

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00:26:48,057 --> 00:26:51,417
Speaker 2: new book, The Five Habits of Hope. Stories and strategies

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00:26:51,457 --> 00:26:53,777
Speaker 2: to help you find your way at your favorite retailer.

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Speaker 2: If you'd like to hear more stories about using our

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00:26:56,777 --> 00:26:59,216
Speaker 2: gifts to share our faith, check out our interview with

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Speaker 2: Toran Wells. Next time on the Jesus Calling podcast, we'll

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Speaker 2: hear from actor, singer and songwriter Nathan Davis Junior, who

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Speaker 2: shares about how God met him in a dark season

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Speaker 2: of despair.

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Speaker 1: I was dealing with depression, suicide, I was able to

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Speaker 1: lose my.

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Speaker 4: House, dealing with greed.

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Speaker 1: My mom just came out of the hospital.

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Speaker 3: It was so much going on in my life, but

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Speaker 3: all I could think about was waking up in the

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Speaker 3: morning and praying to God and walk away him on

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Speaker 3: my walks, and just his presence just felt so calming.

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Speaker 1: I just felt so.

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Speaker 4: Loved, validated and just reassured, and I just felt like

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Speaker 4: there was a reason for me to be alive.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to the Jesus Calling Stories of Faith

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Speaker 2: podcast on the Life Audio Network. Every week, we'll bring

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00:27:52,457 --> 00:27:55,017
Speaker 2: you stories from people who share their journeys of faith

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00:27:55,377 --> 00:27:59,097
Speaker 2: and how prayer and a relationship with God transformed their lives.

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00:27:59,857 --> 00:28:03,217
Speaker 2: Be sure to follow us on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, or

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00:28:03,257 --> 00:28:06,537
Speaker 2: wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a review

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Speaker 2: so others can be inspired weekly by these stories of faith. Finally,

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Speaker 2: you can find encouragement resources and more on the Jesus

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Speaker 2: Calling website at Jesuscalling dot com