S1: Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Well, if you are a parent or a grandparent, nothing
S2: delights you more than to see your kids try to
S2: be helpful. Oh, try to look out for someone else.
S2: Try to think of others first. I mean the kindness
S2: they show. Respect. Like, wow, thank you. Blesses you, right?
S3: Yeah. Uh, I've got an experience with this. I was five,
S3: but I remember it clearly. Uh, I was helping my
S3: dad in California wash his motorcycle. Uh, because he just
S3: needed some help. So we were hand washing the motorcycle,
S3: and I had the hose, and I was spraying stuff down,
S3: and I said, well, man, this is. I mean, it's dirty.
S3: The exhaust pipe is pretty dirty, too. It's dirty in there.
S3: So what I did thinking I was helping, was I
S3: stuck the hose, the running hose inside the exhaust pipe. Oh, no.
S3: And he didn't see me do it at first. So
S3: I'd done it for a little while, and he came
S3: around and he said, no, no, no, no, no. And
S3: so he had to tip his motorcycle backwards to drain
S3: all the, all the water out of the exhaust pipe,
S3: cause I was like, it's dirty in there. There's grime.
S3: I'm just helping. So I'm helping. I'm getting the water
S3: in there. We're cleaning it.
S2: Be helpful. You had the oh, you had the right spirit.
S3: Almost destroyed his motorcycle.
S4: Oh, Jonathan.
S2: Oh, you know, you assign chores, you try to instill
S2: this as a as a value so that they can.
S2: But lifelong hopefully, even when it's the best is when
S2: it's not required of them. And they're just trying to
S2: be helpful. Yes. I mean that that blesses you. I
S2: know your son is recently graduated from high school. Yes
S2: I know.
S4: Thank you. Ellie.
S2: Congratulations, by the way. Thank you. That is huge. I
S2: remember trying to be helpful when I was, when I
S2: was young, but I, I was extremely clumsy, so my
S2: help usually did not end up being helpful. I got
S2: really tall, really early. Sure. And so I am almost 511.
S2: I actually went to the doctor's office recently and they
S2: measured me at 511.
S3: Is were you not 511 before 510? Man, you're growing still.
S3: You're just about to hit your growth spurt.
S2: My growth spurt.
S4: I want to go to your doctor.
S2: So I was so. I've always been tall and. And
S2: for a while it took me some time to adjust
S2: to my height. So I was just very, very clumsy.
S3: Knocking things over because I didn't know how long your
S3: arms were.
S2: I think my parents were measured in the things that
S2: they asked of me, because help was kind of like, oh.
S4: Can she do it? We want to encourage her. Don't
S4: want to give her something that's gonna. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well,
S4: one day.
S2: We lived in this, uh, this this kind of a
S2: duplex where we were on the top floor. It was
S2: like a duplex up and down. Sure. And so we
S2: had to climb like a stairs inside stairs to get
S2: to the top floor. And then the landlord lived on
S2: the bottom floor. So we had a garage that we stored,
S2: you know, like, like a bigger freezer and refrigerator down there.
S3: Gotta have a.
S2: Garage, a garage fridge. Exactly. You know, big family, four kids.
S2: So we always had extra stuff to store. So one
S2: day I wanted to be helpful. And so I decided
S2: to bring up what was needed for dinner out of
S2: the downstairs fridge, up to the top floor for my mom.
S3: Very nice.
S2: To help. Yeah. So I carefully gather up what's needed.
S2: I start, I get two, three, four, five, six, seven
S2: all the way up to the very top step without issue.
S4: You were there.
S2: I was this close.
S4: No.
S2: This close. That top step was my undoing. My toe
S2: caught the top step. I was carrying a pot full
S2: to the top of spaghetti sauce for dinner.
S4: Spaghetti?
S2: My top toe. Hit the top step. Down goes the pot. Over.
S2: Turns onto the blue carpet. Pasta sauce and I. I
S2: had glasses at the time, so it's on my face.
S2: It's dripping off my glasses and my mom is staring
S2: in horror.
S3: Yeah.
S2: Thank you for helping.
S3: This wasn't like ragu. This was like, homemade, wasn't it?
S2: Was like a pot of spaghetti with sauce. It was
S2: such a mess.
S3: Oh, boy.
S2: And it was on me. And it was on the
S2: blue carpet. And my mom, she did not yell. She
S2: did not shame me because I was trying to be helpful.
S3: You were trying.
S2: But boy, did I make a mess. You were trying
S2: to be helpful cleaning the inside of that motorcycle.
S3: And it looked dirty to me.
S2: But boy, can you make a mess. You've got the
S2: best of intentions. Life's a little like that sometimes, right?
S2: You have good intentions. But boy, can you make a mess.
S1: You can take him out of Alaska, but you can't
S1: take Alaska out of him. Carl is in the crew.
S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Coming up, Ann Wilson, host of Family Life Today with
S2: her husband, Dave. She talks about a time when she
S2: was really trying to be helpful in her marriage, but
S2: instead she kind of made a mess of things. We'll explain.
S1: She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her.
S1: Super di is in the crew. It's Carl and crew
S1: on Moody Radio.
S2: Well, when you are an author and a speaker and
S2: you ask your husband to do a speaking engagement on
S2: your behalf to a group of moms and you'll be
S2: in the room with them, there's a direction you think
S2: that this will go. There will be encouragement. There will
S2: be a level of love that's expressed. There will be
S2: an honoring. There will be a cheering for one another,
S2: at least. And Wilson, that's what you thought was going
S2: to happen. You asked Dave to step in to speak
S2: to the moms of preschoolers, because surely offering up a
S2: man's opinion, a man's advice to this hungry group of
S2: moms was going to be a great decision. And yet
S2: you sat there. Tell me about how that talk went,
S2: because that's where we have to start here.
S5: Oh, Ali, it was quite a time. Dave and I
S5: were actually on the stage together, but I just thought, oh,
S5: the women are going to love him. He's their pastor.
S5: This is going to go so well. But he gets
S5: up there and he starts sharing stuff I had never
S5: heard him share before, which I'm like, okay, because he
S5: starts saying this. He goes, women. I don't know if
S5: you get what it's like for us to be guys,
S5: because usually most of us as little kids have somebody
S5: cheering for us, a mom or a dad, grandparent, whoever, teacher.
S5: But they're like, hey, you're great at that. And then
S5: he says, I got older. I found I love music,
S5: I was good in sports. And so I have teachers
S5: and coaches like Dave Wilson. You're the man, you're great
S5: at this. And then he says, and then I meet
S5: Ann and basically she says, of all the men in
S5: the world, I choose you, Dave Wilson. You're the man. Now.
S5: I'm sitting on this stool. We both started on the stool,
S5: and he gets up at that point and he's walking around,
S5: he's pacing, he's super energetic. And when he said, like,
S5: I met Ian, she chose me. I'm like, yeah, this
S5: is cool. Yes. I've never really thought about this. And
S5: then his whole demeanor changes and he says, but then
S5: we're married a while, and I walk through the door
S5: at the end of the day, and it feels like
S5: all I hear is boo boo boo.
S6: And I'm like, wait, what? What just happened?
S7: What in the world?
S6: What in the world? That's what I thought. What in
S6: the world?
S5: I don't even know how we ended. Honestly, I was
S5: so shocked because he had never, ever said anything like
S5: that to me in our lives. So I get in
S5: the car afterwards, and I close the door, and I'm like,
S5: you think I boo you? I am helping you.
S6: Yeah.
S5: And then he goes, well, let me ask you, is
S5: it helping? I'm like, no, I have to say it
S5: more often, and I have to say it louder because
S5: you obviously aren't getting it. And that was the start
S5: of this journey that I went on, because I thought
S5: my words were motivating to Dave, that if I thought,
S5: you know, told him what he was doing wrong, he'd
S5: he'd think, well, I'll show her. I'm going to be great. No,
S5: it made him run away from me. He hated it,
S5: but he had never.
S2: Never shared it. And Wilson, our guest right now. She
S2: co-hosts Family Life Today along with her husband, Dave. Married
S2: more than 40 years, have spent more than three decades
S2: teaching and mentoring couples and parents across the country. Now,
S2: the cool thing that we always love about having you
S2: or Dave or both of you on is you guys
S2: are just so vulnerable and so honest about your challenges,
S2: about your victories. Now, when you started to discover that
S2: what you thought was helpful encouragement, you wanted Dave to
S2: be a better husband. He was a great pastor. He
S2: was a dad, but he was a little absent. He
S2: was dropping some balls around the house and you wanted
S2: to motivate him. How did you process this as you
S2: started to realize the impact that your words were actually
S2: having on him?
S8: Well, it's funny, I went.
S5: Before God when we got home from that drive and
S5: I was like, and I think it's okay to vent
S5: to God and to tell him everything that we feel.
S5: It's called confession. David did it in the Psalms. And so,
S5: you know, I was like, Lord, can you believe that?
S5: Like I am trying to be great here and help him?
S5: And then at the end of the prayer, I prayed
S5: this God, do I boo Dave? Am I not cheering
S5: for him ever? And I felt the nudge of the
S5: Holy Spirit just say and start cheering for him. And
S5: I wasn't because I thought everybody else is cheering for him.
S5: He thinks, you know, he's probably fine, but I didn't
S5: realize the power of my words. And Proverbs 1821 says,
S5: the tongue has the power of life and death. And
S5: my words, which I thought would motivate him, it was
S5: doing the opposite. And we as women, we have so
S5: much power with our words over our family, over our
S5: husbands especially. And our husbands need it from us more
S5: than anyone else.
S2: There are many women listening right now who are in
S2: various stages of their marriage journey. Maybe some newly married,
S2: many years into marriage. And I know that people are
S2: feeling like you don't know my husband. And what do
S2: you mean? I'm supposed to cheer for him? What is
S2: there to cheer for? And that's what some women. Maybe
S2: they wouldn't utter it aloud, but many women are feeling
S2: that you're asking them to do something that feels sort
S2: of inconceivable.
S5: I felt the same thing, and I've had so many
S5: women come up to me and say, you don't get it.
S5: Like there's nothing to cheer for. I see nothing that
S5: I can say, good job or whatever. And here's what
S5: I would say. And this is what I said to myself.
S5: Our husbands like us are made in God's image. And
S5: when we married them, we saw something in them. And
S5: so I say to women, and this became my prayer.
S5: And this was the beginning of my journey. God, show
S5: me the greatness in Dave and Allie. Ali. He answers
S5: that prayer. And I say to women, remember why you
S5: married him so now. And we create these neurological pathways
S5: in our brains. Now brain science is catching up with
S5: Scripture that says we create these patterns of thinking, the negative.
S5: And that's where I would go every time I'd be
S5: folding the laundry thinking, he's never here. He's not leading.
S5: He's not praying. He's not. I go through my list
S5: every time. And one time I felt like God would
S5: said to me, like, what would happen if you prayed
S5: for him as much as you complained about him? And man, ooh,
S5: some of that stuff is convicting. And so that prayer
S5: of God show me the greatness in my husband. God
S5: will show you some really good things as you create
S5: these new neurological pathways.
S2: What is it about us women that this is challenging? Because,
S2: you know, it's easy for us to cheer for our kids.
S2: Sometimes it's easiest for us to cheer for our friends,
S2: our coworkers. But the marriage relationship, There's the stereotype of
S2: the nagging wife, and I don't like stereotypes, but many
S2: stereotypes are there because they're rooted a grain, at least
S2: of truth. What is it that makes us have the
S2: propensity to kind of nag our way into getting what
S2: we want? I mean, let's just keep it real.
S5: Well, here's where I started. I felt like I'm I'm
S5: not a person, that I can't fake it. But I
S5: also know in Scripture God calls us to be obedient.
S5: And so I was like, okay, Lord, here's where I'm
S5: going to start. And I felt like he was saying
S5: to me, just start by thanking him for the things
S5: he's doing. If you see him doing anything and here's what,
S5: here's what got to me. And this is where it
S5: was an ugly thing to see. I thought, why would
S5: I thank him? I do everything around here and nobody
S5: thinks me. Nobody notices me. You hear the pride in that?
S6: Yeah.
S5: And so, I mean, I had to practice it. So
S5: it started small, like, hey, thanks for bringing in the
S5: garbage cans. And when I said that, he looked and
S5: maybe they sat out there for two days, I don't know.
S6: But I thanked him.
S5: Thanks for doing.
S6: That.
S5: And he seemed like, oh, this is new. And then
S5: this one evening I'd been reading, studying about this, praying
S5: about it. We're sitting at the dinner table and I say,
S5: hey guys, before we eat and pray, I just want
S5: to say, Dave, thanks for working so hard. Like your
S5: work ethic is pretty amazing and you provide so much
S5: for our family. Thank you. And he had this look
S5: of utter shock.
S6: But.
S5: Then he had the biggest smile on his face and
S5: he told me later I could see the book you
S5: were reading on the counter, and I still didn't care because.
S6: It felt so, so good. And so I had to
S6: lay down.
S5: My pride part, you know.
S6: Like.
S5: Lay that down.
S2: You've got a new book out, How to speak Life
S2: to your husband when all you want to do is
S2: yell at him. The title alone is likely to get
S2: some people to pick it up who maybe otherwise wouldn't
S2: read a marriage book, but you're really going after it
S2: in this book. I mean, you really saw God begin
S2: to transform your marriage, which by your own words, you
S2: almost destroyed because of how you were using your words.
S2: What did you see God do that you want to
S2: help other women through this book?
S5: Well, I didn't do it to necessarily change, Dave. I
S5: felt like God was putting a mirror up to me
S5: and saying, let's look at yourself and let's see what
S5: you can do. But what happened was crazy because Dave
S5: became more motivated. Men usually go and women do this
S5: as well. We go where we're cheered, we go where
S5: we're affirmed. And the more I was affirming Dave and
S5: looking for the things he was doing right, the more
S5: energy he seemed to have at home. Like, for instance,
S5: one of my nagging. And this is awful. It's embarrassing.
S5: I would say things like, man, I wish you could be.
S5: And he's a pastor, like the spiritual leader. I had
S5: this image of what it would look like in my
S5: head for him with our kids. And so I would
S5: say things like, oh, you know, Steve's reading the Bible
S5: every night to his kids. That's like a boo, you know?
S5: I think he's going to motivate him. No, but instead,
S5: I watched him. I have new eyes. Show me the
S5: greatness in Dave. And I watched him pray with our
S5: boys one night, and he came out of the room
S5: and I said, man, I'm super jealous of just the
S5: power you have over our kids. And he goes, what
S5: are you talking about? I said, man, they cling to
S5: every word that you say. And I wish I had
S5: that because it's like bedlam when I'm in there. It's crazy.
S5: But when you do it, they're like, locked into you, like, man,
S5: it's like you have a superpower. And the next night
S5: he was in there again and again. Because I think
S5: a lot of our men have these insecurities that we're
S5: not even aware of, and they feel like if we're
S5: booing them or if we're saying nothing or if we're negative,
S5: they lose their energy and they think, yeah, I am
S5: bad at that and I'm not good at this. And
S5: so we have some incredible power as women and as wives.
S2: Ann Wilson phenomenal. You can hear her and Dave on
S2: their family life today on the Moody Radio Network. If
S2: you want more. Just text the word family to 800
S2: 555 7898. Text family to 800 555 7898.
S1: He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you
S1: can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's
S1: curl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Good morning, I'm Ali, this is Carl and crew, and
S2: we've mentioned a couple times that Carl is away on
S2: a ministry trip this week. He's actually traveling in Burundi,
S2: which is in East Africa, working with pastors. And I
S2: believe that we have him connected. We've been working on
S2: the connection this morning. Carl, can you hear me?
S9: I can, yes. What a what an amazing thing technology is.
S9: Have you got me, sister?
S2: I can hear you loud and clear. Tell us how
S2: you're doing. What are you up to there?
S9: This has already been an amazing couple of days. We're
S9: just praising God. A beautiful day here. It's a little
S9: bit past noon in Burundi. I have beside me here
S9: Passi Pacifico, and we call him Passi. He's our translator
S9: and we're right on the border. I was blown away. Passi.
S9: How far are we away from the Congo?
S10: So we are just like a few miles from the Congo.
S10: About two miles from the Congo. And then I'll say
S10: 15km to the border between Burundi and Rwanda. Rwanda. So
S10: we're in a place called Cibitoke, southwest of Burundi, bordering
S10: two countries, Rwanda and Congo.
S9: Yeah, Ali, where we're going today is awesome. I want
S9: to I want to let Passi speak to this. Do
S9: you have a minute to hear his heart here?
S2: Yes, please.
S9: Okay. Take it away, my man.
S10: So today we're heading to a community of wounded soldiers.
S10: And this is a community that was set up for
S10: the people who had been in the government and the
S10: people who were Uh, formerly called rebels because they were
S10: in the forest fighting against the government. So when the
S10: Civil War ended, uh, they put them together in the
S10: same community. This is a community of 42 families. Uh,
S10: each family has, on average, six children. We've been discipling
S10: and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, uh, with them
S10: for four years. And then we got to build for
S10: them a chapel opening, officially opening this chapel for them, uh,
S10: to start fellowshipping and, uh, having their weekly meetings, Bible
S10: studies in this place. It's amazing. God is good.
S9: It's amazing. Ally. It's, uh, you know, we we just
S9: had about an hour and a half drive from the
S9: capital city of Bujumbura. And, uh, driving up here, one
S9: of the things that's interesting here in this country is
S9: that there, it's a very, um, it's a very church culture. Uh,
S9: but it is very unreached. and this incredible ministry. We're
S9: partnered up with several actually. But the the, the passion
S9: of guys like Passi to get the real gospel into
S9: the hearts. How do you say it this morning? How
S9: did what's the words that you use about in the heart.
S10: In the heart of having fellowship with God in our hearts? Yeah,
S10: that's the word I used.
S9: And it's it's so the challenges that we face even
S9: stateside Ali of cultural Christianity, it's a bit here in
S9: Burundi as well. And, you know, we're driving past thousands
S9: of bicycles. In fact, Passi was telling me, you can't
S9: get married here in Burundi unless you have a bicycle,
S9: or the father in law is like, no, you're not
S9: taking my daughter. But on these, on these bicycles, they
S9: have to be on, they have to be transport. And
S9: the amount of the cost of fuel down here, Ali,
S9: you can get if you're getting it at a bargain,
S9: if you get it for $10 a gallon, but on
S9: the streets and they're constantly flagging us down. It's about
S9: $20 a gallon. In a country that a day's wage
S9: is a dollar. Ali, get your head around that one.
S2: Oh, my.
S4: Wow.
S9: Yeah. Yeah. But it's it's so awesome. Patsy, what's the
S9: spirit of God got on your heart this morning, my man?
S10: Uh, so this morning, uh, the Spirit of God, uh,
S10: has been on my heart telling me that we have
S10: to bring more people into this relationship, this amazing and
S10: gracious relationship that we have with Christ. Because it's true
S10: that the more the more people attend Rondy, they have
S10: not really experienced God for themselves. It's a a bandwagon religion, um,
S10: made up of, uh, people just, uh, religious gatherings. So
S10: it's a time for revival in this country. Whatever. A
S10: personal experience with a saving grace of Jesus Christ. So
S10: that's what we are doing all over these communities. We
S10: are not introducing any religion to the people we are meeting.
S10: We are just telling them about a God who loves them,
S10: a God who's willing to die for them, even if
S10: it was just one individual on this whole planet. A
S10: God who cares for them, who comforts them in their
S10: challenges and people are falling in love with Jesus. Uh,
S10: the really the Jesus who's not religious, the Jesus of love,
S10: the Jesus of salvation. And they are passionate. They are passionate.
S10: I was telling them last night, if we ever miss
S10: a day on our schedule where we don't come to
S10: share the message of Jesus Christ with these people, we
S10: have problems with them because they have come to understand
S10: how much God loves them. So we praise God for
S10: what he's going on. To me, this is what we've
S10: been praying for. The revival is happening now.
S9: And I just I know you're on a probably a
S9: time crunch, but sister, I got to tell you something.
S9: And young Thunder and I and everyone in the boom
S9: crew across the United States. It is an awesome thing
S9: to see this young movement of men and women. And
S9: we saw it last night with some of these, uh,
S9: in America, we call it Cassie's posse, your running buddies.
S9: But we it's an awesome thing because Cassie's with these guys.
S9: He's introducing him. We're having a dinner together, and these
S9: are young, hungry men of God, and they. It's just
S9: awesome because there's a movement here in the younger generation,
S9: isn't there?
S10: Like 60% of the people who are are doing ministry
S10: in Burundi? They are all they are all under 30
S10: years old, like 30 years and below. It's amazing. God
S10: is working in the hearts of young people. Young people
S10: are right now the backbone of the church. They are.
S10: The majority of preachers in Burundi now are also are
S10: below 30 years old. Those are the people standing up
S10: for Jesus. Those are people starting churches and discipling people
S10: and they are hungry for God. They want to experience
S10: more of God and we praise God for it.
S9: Oh, there's so much more coming this week. But oh,
S9: how thrilling is this?
S2: Incredible. Carl, just give us just about 30s. Of what?
S2: What are you what are your expectations for this this week?
S2: What are you going to be doing?
S9: You know, we're going to have a couple. We're going
S9: to have an open air evangelistic rally. But this is
S9: very different. It's not like a scheduled week of evangelism
S9: like you see at many times stateside. These are people
S9: that will travel ten, 15km, right. And they will walk
S9: on foot not to get fed food, but the word
S9: of God. And so there's a hunger here, especially in
S9: rural areas. And people are traveling, and it's incumbent on
S9: us that we share the unvarnished truth that blessed are
S9: the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.
S9: And it is an awesome privilege we'll will be working with.
S9: We don't know how many pastors. I don't know if
S9: it's going to be 100, 400. Um, you know, a
S9: lot of these things, you're flying by the seat of
S9: your pants and the power of the Holy Spirit. Uh,
S9: but we're going to have a great week here. Indeed.
S9: And and I hope it's an encouragement that we've got
S9: brothers and sisters around the globe who are all in
S9: with Jesus Christ.
S1: Making herself laugh no matter who joins her. It's time
S1: for Allie thinks it's funny.
S2: Well, this first joke. I'm not sure how I feel
S2: about it yet. I, I think it's funny.
S3: You think it's funny? Well, I mean, that's the important part.
S4: Yeah, but there's.
S2: A.
S4: There's.
S2: A segment of the population that's going to get it.
S2: And then there's the young Thunder and younger. That may not.
S3: Okay.
S2: So that's okay.
S3: I'm ready.
S2: I'm gonna I'm gonna give it a try.
S4: Okay.
S2: And you boom crew can can tell me if you
S2: think I should keep this one or pitch it. So here.
S2: Here it goes. I spent all day walking around at
S2: a ravioli convention. You know, they have conventions for everything, right?
S3: That's awesome.
S2: All of the niche, interest, interests, you can find a
S2: convention for everything. So today, walking around all day at
S2: a ravioli convention. Sure. I came back and I said,
S2: Chef Boyardee's legs tired.
S3: That's good. And yes, I get the joke. Ali.
S2: Do you get.
S3: It? Yeah. Chef Boyardee was a big thing when I
S3: was a kid.
S2: Still okay? Still is. I wasn't sure if Chef Boyardee
S2: was too niche. Sophisticated for your palate.
S3: Sophisticated?
S2: No.
S3: I bet you mean a canned ravioli. Is it too sophisticated?
S2: No. I didn't know if you. I felt like that
S2: was before your time.
S3: No. It was. It was still a big thing. They
S3: had Chef Boyardee contests when I was a kid.
S2: Oh, that's like a convention. Thank you. Okay, well, so
S2: you can you can yay or nay on that one.
S2: And I won't be offended if it's a nay for you.
S2: I was trying it out. It was the first time.
S2: Next one up is also a first timer. But this one.
S2: This one I like. Uh, what do you call emergency cheese?
S2: You got to keep cheese on hand in case of emergency.
S2: What do you call emergency cheese?
S3: I don't know.
S2: Just in case. Oh.
S3: Oh my goodness.
S7: Wow. Where's Carl when you need him? Where's Carl when
S7: you need him?
S3: You're not going to get a lot of help.
S7: Text the word jokes to 800.
S2: 555, 78, 98. Come on. I need more humor in
S2: the building. Text jokes to 800 555 7898. You are
S2: listening to Carl and crew.
S1: Your shot of hope to help you through the day.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: You know, I follow, uh, a lot of different accounts
S2: on Instagram that I that sometimes their fashion they have
S2: helpful things on putting together outfits. If you're a mom
S2: who is about my age with about my sense of fashion,
S2: see some cooking things, I follow a woman who gives
S2: safety tips and I find them them pretty helpful. She's
S2: a clinical or criminal psychologist, something like that. And so
S2: she has all these different tips daily, a daily tip
S2: to help you kind of stay safe. And one of
S2: the ones that caught my ear, she talked about, one
S2: of the things that criminals look for is someone who
S2: is distracted. And so she said, one of the best
S2: forms of protection is that when you are out walking,
S2: walk with purpose. It's not the time to be have
S2: your head buried in your phone. It's not the time
S2: to be fumbling around in your purse looking for something
S2: very true. When you when you are walking, particularly when
S2: you are walking by yourself. But really at any time.
S2: And this is something, let's be honest, living in a
S2: big city, there are safety concerns everywhere, but particularly when
S2: you are in a bigger city. And I think about this.
S2: You want to walk with purpose. I never have my
S2: phone in my hand when I'm walking. I've got my
S2: head up, I've got my shoulders back and I am
S2: not distracted. And I thought, that's a great principle to
S2: keep yourself physically safe. But then I thought, that's also
S2: a pretty good spiritual warning, too.
S3: For sure.
S2: That you are most vulnerable when you are distracted, when
S2: you are not focused, when when you are not alert.
S2: And I thought interesting. There's a verse and ah, Jonathan,
S2: you're going to have to find it for me. I'm
S2: going to put you on assignment okay. It talks about
S2: alertness because the enemy is prowling. And so this is
S2: just a short little nugget for you. My, my pastor,
S2: one of my former pastors, used to say, I've got
S2: a green stamp bonus. It didn't cost you a thing.
S2: This is not related to anything we're talking about today,
S2: but just a green stamp. Bonus. Distraction. Avoid distraction.
S3: First Peter five eight be alert and of sober mind.
S3: Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
S3: looking for someone to devour.
S2: And I'd say that I say that not to scare you.
S2: But that's a caution. That's a caution for. For me,
S2: for my kids, for you. That. Yeah. When you're out walking,
S2: don't have your head buried in your phone. Don't be
S2: fumbling around because you make yourself more vulnerable. But we
S2: are walking with Jesus. We are on mission and on purpose.
S2: So let's not have our head down. Let's not be
S2: fumbling around, distracted by other things. Shoulders back, head up.
S2: Eyes up on mission. Focused on what we're doing that
S2: offers its own form of protection against the enemy. I
S2: don't know that. Just maybe there was the reminder you
S2: needed today to put aside the things that have captured
S2: your interest and your focus, but aren't ultimately taking you
S2: closer to Jesus, which is what the aim is for
S2: every Christian to walk more closely with him, to become
S2: more like him each day, to be, uh, abide with
S2: him so that we can bear fruit sometimes to bear
S2: fruit and to abide. We can't be distracted. Put aside
S2: distractions today. Reminder for me, maybe a reminder for you, too.
S1: She was trying to earn her way to God, but
S1: God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in
S1: the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: You know, sometimes you have these memories tucked away that
S2: you don't even realize are there until something triggers it.
S2: If I see at the grocery store a can of
S2: fruit cocktail that is going to remind me of my dad.
S2: My dad is 70 years old. Praise God he's still
S2: with us. He's had two major health crises over the
S2: last year and a half, but is recovering and doing
S2: and doing well. But that can of fruit cocktail. My dad,
S2: when I was a little girl, knew that I loved
S2: fruit cocktail. You know, it's got the the little fruit
S2: that's drenched in the syrup. It doesn't even resemble the
S2: original fruit. But it was really sweet and it tasted good.
S2: And so every once in a while, as I got older,
S2: high school, even into college, I would come home and
S2: I would find on my pillow a can of fruit cocktail.
S2: And that was my dad's little nod wink to say, hey,
S2: I love you. I'm thinking of you, I miss you.
S2: And to this day, fruit cocktail represents special moments with
S2: me and my dad, Chris Fabry, who's all about stories.
S2: You get that right. Those things that represent something so
S2: much more than what they are. Fruit cocktail to me
S2: is me and my dad.
S11: I can't believe what exploded in my head when you
S11: said that, Ali. All these things because I was thinking of,
S11: you know, me as a dad and my kids. Nine kids.
S11: But when you said that, I picture I've got this
S11: picture of myself and my father. My father was a
S11: farmer at heart. And so he had cattle and we
S11: lived on a farm. But he worked at a chemical plant,
S11: Union Carbide, in South Charleston, West Virginia. And so he
S11: he worked shift work. And he wore these work clothes,
S11: these kind of like Dickies work clothes. And there's a
S11: picture of me and him standing at the end of
S11: the walk next to the lamppost. It's almost a Narnia
S11: like thing with the hickory nut tree in the back.
S11: I can still feel it with his hand on my shoulder.
S11: And I, you know, when I when I feel a
S11: little untethered to the world, I think about that hand
S11: on the shoulder and how he would. He's a very
S11: physical touch person. So you could not get away from
S11: him without him touching your shoulder or giving you a
S11: hug or something along those lines. So every time we
S11: think of him, the that image comes to me, the
S11: image of him taking me to the feed store, you know, and, uh,
S11: the fellow at the feed store saying, who you got
S11: with you today, Robert? And he'd say, I got my helper.
S11: This is my helper, and I, I felt I felt loved,
S11: I felt included, I felt like I was important to him.
S11: You know? I'm his helper.
S2: Yeah. Chris Fabry joining us this morning, award winning author,
S2: radio personality. You know him from Chris Fabry Live, which
S2: you hear weekday afternoons here on Moody Radio. You recently
S2: took a trip to Oklahoma with your son. Tell me
S2: why that has been a significant memory builder for you.
S11: Well, my youngest son, uh, is doing the CrossFit thing,
S11: and there was this competition uh, he went to last
S11: year and, uh, did really well, but I didn't get
S11: to go because we've got animals and things on the
S11: at the house. And I said to my wife, you go.
S11: And some of the other kids went as well. And
S11: this year my son said, dad, I got to go
S11: to Oklahoma. You want to go with me? And I said,
S11: let's go. You know, we'll drive. And it was 13.5
S11: hours straight through it. It was. Wow. It was it
S11: was just a wonderful thing because I liked to drive,
S11: I think, the best when I drive. And so we
S11: get over there and my mission is I'm just going
S11: to do whatever he needs to be done. You know,
S11: I'm just going to drive him to the the venue
S11: and drive him back. And, you know, he does all
S11: of his food and everything like that. But what happened
S11: to me was I was in the car we were
S11: driving to. He had to carb load, you know, he
S11: had to go and get some some protein and and
S11: some carbohydrates. And he was talking with his coach on the,
S11: on the phone. And the coach was saying, because you
S11: could see this on, on YouTube. The coach was saying,
S11: you know, I really I really loved what you did.
S11: He said, at the first of it, you I could
S11: see you were kind of struggling with this. And then
S11: you got to this place and, and then you just
S11: it just took over. You just became an athlete and
S11: you just did this thing. I'm very proud of you
S11: for not rushing at the front of this. And, you know,
S11: all of these words just came tumbling out of the
S11: of the coach. And I'm a bystander. I'm listening to
S11: this and I'm thinking, that's what I need in my life.
S11: I need somebody to tell me this kind of thing,
S11: the power of words to wash over you, to give
S11: you perspective. And that's the thing that I think that
S11: what God's Word does for me every day, it washes
S11: over me. It brings me back into connection with my
S11: father who does care for me, who says, this is
S11: my little helper. You know, this is the one I've
S11: I've showed my love to. I just when that happened
S11: and I was listening to the the phone call, it
S11: was like something sparked inside of me, uh, that that
S11: this is what I need every day.
S2: Yeah. And sometimes we can so easily get away from
S2: that and it can happen so quickly that drift or
S2: that slip back into, you know, a little bit of
S2: insecurity about your identity or whether or not you're actually
S2: loved or approved of. Man, it can happen quickly, even
S2: for the most seasoned believer.
S11: You know, what it happens to me is I get
S11: confident in my own self, or I feel like I
S11: got to do this on my own. And when you've
S11: lived with, you know, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps
S11: and you do it in your own energy and you
S11: give a nod to God, you know, it's like you're
S11: in control of things and you're sovereign over this. But
S11: I'll take care of this over here. It's very easy
S11: to get to the place where you're just doing your
S11: own strength. And you got. I come to those places
S11: pretty much every day where I say, you know what
S11: I'm submitting now? I'm surrendering here. I can't do this
S11: on my own. You've got to do it through me.
S11: And I want to. I want to live in your power.
S2: Such a great reminder, Chris. What's the latest thing you're
S2: you're working on? I know you're an accomplished author. You
S2: got the radio program in the afternoon. What's the fresh
S2: thing God's doing in you and through you.
S11: I have been ideating about a novel, about a story.
S11: But the hard thing is, last summer I took some
S11: time off. I didn't I wrote the the novel with Kendricks,
S11: you know, the last film, The Forge, that they did.
S11: And after that, I just said, I'm going to wait
S11: for what you want me to do and not just
S11: get on the treadmill and keep churning out, you know,
S11: another novel, because I need to. And that has been
S11: a really hard season for me because I'm, I'm at
S11: a I'm at a place where I'm not working on
S11: something right now. I'm just thinking about working on something,
S11: and I like to be working on something. And that
S11: gets back to, am I going to depend on him,
S11: or am I going to depend on what I can
S11: do in myself? Uh, so it's kind of a hard
S11: literary for me, you know, creative season as far as
S11: that goes. But it's I know something good is going
S11: to come out of it.
S2: Well, Chris Fabry, thank you so much for popping in.
S2: Always good to hear your voice here with us on
S2: the mornings you can hear Chris Fabry live weekday afternoons
S2: right here on Moody Radio.
S1: This is Curl and Crew on Moody Radio.
S2: This is Carl and crew. We are helping you take
S2: your next step in your walk with Jesus. That is
S2: our mission here on Moody Radio. And so everything that
S2: we do is toward that aim. I want to take
S2: you to the book of Mark. We've been looking at
S2: these different stories in Scripture where a dad is featured.
S2: This is a sweet story about a dad who has
S2: a request for his daughter. If you are a parent
S2: or a grandparent, an auntie and uncle. If you have
S2: kids in your life that you love, there may be
S2: nothing that troubles your heart more than when your kids
S2: are suffering, right?
S7: Oh, that.
S12: Is hands down.
S2: You feel whether it's physical suffering, whether it's emotional suffering,
S2: whatever it is, you feel it deeply. Young thunder, your
S2: little girl is one.
S3: One.
S2: When she has a cold or a fever. Yeah, you
S2: feel it right?
S3: There's nothing worse, nothing worse.
S2: Super di is on the. Moving towards the opposite end
S2: of the spectrum at a high school graduation. Just had a.
S12: High school graduate.
S2: You now have an 18 year old fresh graduate?
S12: Yes, I do. I do.
S2: And over the years, when he goes through it, you
S2: feel it, right?
S12: Deep, deeper than anything else in my life. Yeah, absolutely.
S2: And so there's a dad named Jairus who happens to
S2: be a ruler of the synagogue. And he has a
S2: little girl who is sick, very, very sick. And so
S2: he approaches Jesus with this desperate request. I want to
S2: read to you, Mark five, starting with verse. Uh, let
S2: me see. Let's go with verse 21 and when Jesus
S2: had crossed again in the boat to the other side,
S2: a great crowd gathered around him, and he was beside
S2: the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue,
S2: Jairus by name. And seeing him, he fell at his
S2: feet and implored him earnestly, saying, my little daughter is
S2: at the point of death. Come and lay your hands
S2: on her, so that she may be made well and live.
S2: And he went with him. Now a synagogue ruler at
S2: the time was responsible for some of the just basic
S2: oversight of what happened in the synagogue. It was a
S2: very well respected, a position highly regarded in many. Most
S2: of the synagogue rulers were Pharisees. That would be the
S2: category of most. Jairus, though, does something unexpected. He falling
S2: at the feet of Jesus would be a humbling thing
S2: to do for a synagogue ruler?
S3: Very much so.
S2: But he's desperate. And he believes that this man, Jesus,
S2: can save his daughter. So he has faith. And he
S2: makes a bold request. Interestingly, though, as he makes the request,
S2: there's someone else who has a need. So it goes
S2: on in this crowd. Let me start with verse 25.
S2: And there was a woman who had a discharge of
S2: blood for 12 years, and who had suffered much under
S2: many physicians and had spent all that she had and
S2: was not no better, but rather grew worse. She had
S2: heard the reports about Jesus, and came up behind him
S2: in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said,
S2: if I touch even his garments, I will be made well.
S2: And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she
S2: felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
S2: So Jesus performs a miracle right there as Jairus is
S2: waiting to hear if Jesus is going to do something
S2: for his little girl. They had already started toward his house.
S2: When this woman comes up and interrupts interrupts what Jesus
S2: was about to do. But he stops for her and
S2: he heals her and he looks at her. It's this
S2: whole scene that plays out where he asks who touched me?
S2: And his disciples are like, there's people all around you.
S2: Like there's a crowd here. What do you mean? Who
S2: touched me? But he singles out this woman in the crowd,
S2: and he says to her daughter, your faith has made
S2: you well. Go in peace and be healed of your disease.
S2: So I know you love, love, love this story.
S12: I get teary eyed that that is one of my
S12: most favorite phenomenal stories. Why? And I think just understanding
S12: a little bit, even of the years of pain and
S12: illness that she did go through. But the fact that
S12: even if I could just and that was my life,
S12: that's part of my testimony. If I could just touch
S12: the hem, you know. So tired and just reaching out
S12: all she just she had the faith that if I
S12: could just touch that hem and I just picture her
S12: hand reaching and the fact that he felt her, she
S12: was seen. She was known. She was loved. But then
S12: he turns to her and from his heart, his daughter.
S12: You have. I'm like, whoa, that just overwhelms me.
S2: So she received her physical healing. But also in that
S2: moment there was a spiritual healing because he says, your
S2: faith has made you well. And now he identifies her
S2: as daughter. Yes. Right. Yes. So you have this great,
S2: great news. He calls her daughter. But what about Jairus daughter?
S3: Yeah.
S2: So verse 35 goes back to talking about her while
S2: he was still speaking. There came from the ruler's house,
S2: some who said your daughter is dead. That's the news
S2: that Jairus got after witnessing the miracle of hearing your daughter. Daughter?
S2: Your faith has made you well. Jairus gets the news.
S2: Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?
S2: But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler
S2: of the synagogue, do not fear, only believe. And he
S2: allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James,
S2: and John the brother of James. So the report, the
S2: worst possible news Jairus could get pretty definitive, right? But
S2: Jesus immediately jumps in to intercept the impact of those
S2: words and tells Jairus, do not fear, only believe. Jairus
S2: has just witnessed this healing. Yeah, for the woman that
S2: was called daughter. So maybe Jesus could do something for
S2: his daughter too. Maybe it wasn't too late. Of course
S2: it wasn't too late. This is Jesus we're talking about.
S2: Finish the story coming up.
S1: You're listening to Curl and Crew on Moody Radio.
S2: This synagogue ruler, Jairus, had just gotten the worst possible news,
S2: as he had made his way to Jesus and desperately
S2: made a request. Please, please, please heal my daughter. It says,
S2: he implored him earnestly. At least that's in the English
S2: Standard Version. This was a desperate prayer being prayed. But
S2: while he was kind of waiting to see what Jesus
S2: was going to do, as they were even heading toward
S2: the house, he was interrupted. Jesus was interrupted by another,
S2: yet another desperate need. This time no words were spoken.
S2: It was just the the pull on the hem of
S2: a garment of a woman who'd for 12 years had
S2: an issue of blood. So you have a woman who'd
S2: been suffering physically for 12 years, and then there's a
S2: 12 year old girl who needs healing, too. So the
S2: report comes. Someone comes from the ruler's house to tell
S2: the ruler your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher
S2: any further? Jesus shuts it down immediately. He overhears the
S2: report and he says, do not fear, only believe. So
S2: then they resume their journey to the house. And he
S2: says he allowed no one to follow him except for
S2: Peter and James, and John, the brother of James. So
S2: you've got the dad, Jairus, and then Jesus's inner circle.
S2: Those are the only ones permitted to take this journey
S2: where Jesus is about to perform a miracle. He's about
S2: to raise a little girl from the dead. But he
S2: gets to the house and there are people weeping and
S2: wailing and making all of this commotion, and some of
S2: them probably friends and family who are genuinely sorrowful, sorrowful.
S2: Some of them kind of professional mourners. This is just
S2: what they did. And we know that not all of
S2: them were genuine in their grief. Because when Jesus says,
S2: why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child
S2: is not dead, but sleeping. They go from weeping and
S2: wailing to laughing. That's a that is a wide that's
S2: a really quick, quick turnaround.
S12: Disturbing, almost.
S2: It is. And I've always been sort of disturbed by
S2: that detail. Like, wait, they were weeping and wailing and
S2: all of a sudden Jesus tell them tells him the
S2: child's not dead, but only sleeping. And they laugh like.
S12: Ooh.
S3: Not the best of the best. I don't think were
S3: hired in this situation.
S12: Please leave my home. They laugh because.
S2: Clearly in their mind, Jesus doesn't get it. He's not
S2: in touch with reality. So no faith there. Jesus is
S2: telling them that she's not dead. She's only sleeping now,
S2: for in the physical sense, she was dead. Yeah, so
S2: no doubt about that. When Jesus goes and heals her,
S2: he raises her from the dead. So I'll go on
S2: in this story. So he goes and he puts them
S2: all out. He puts everybody out except the child's father
S2: and mother, and then his little inner circle. And he
S2: goes to the room where this little girl is. He
S2: takes her by the hand and he says to her,
S2: Talitha cumi, which means, little girl, I say to you, arise.
S2: Verse 42 out of Mark five. And immediately the girl
S2: got up and began walking, for she was 12 years
S2: of age, and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And
S2: he strictly, strictly charged them that no one should know this,
S2: and told them to give her something to eat. He
S2: does it so casually. Little girl, get up.
S12: And the thing is the power of the touch again.
S12: You have the woman touching the hem. But in this
S12: he didn't have to take her hand. But that's in scripture.
S12: He took her hand. He didn't have to. It's a.
S2: Beautiful detail.
S12: Very beautiful detail. I love that very beautiful detail. Again,
S12: the concept of touch and the faith.
S2: And you were not to touch dead bodies. I mean,
S2: that was so defiling.
S3: Yeah. Make you ceremonially unclean.
S2: But Jesus touches this little girl. Yeah. And then casually
S2: raises her from the dead, just as casually and easily
S2: as he healed the woman who'd been bleeding for 12 years.
S12: And she was defiled, and she was not to be touched.
S12: And she. You know what I'm saying? And again, the
S12: touch of the hem.
S2: And you, you look at the the father, the desperate
S2: prayer of the father who implored earnestly, Jesus, heal my daughter.
S2: You know, you think about the desperate prayers and anytime
S2: you read Scripture. And I've been learning this as of
S2: late with the Bible study plan that I'm that I'm doing.
S2: Always look for what it tells you about God. Maybe
S2: that seems obvious, but for me, it's been kind of
S2: revolutionary that sometimes you can get caught up in the
S2: details of a story. You can start doing a deep
S2: dive on Jairus in the synagogue ruler. And yeah, there
S2: are things to be taken from, I guess, his faith. And.
S2: But look for God. What does this tell you about him?
S2: And the couple of really big things won the victory
S2: over death. That death never gets the final word right. Ever, never,
S2: ever gets the final word. And obviously, we don't get
S2: to see a lot of people raised from the dead.
S12: No, no.
S2: But we know that death does not have the final
S2: word because we know that Jesus, when he went to
S2: the cross, he defeated death. We will spend eternity more
S2: alive than we've ever been. Yeah, right. A couple of
S2: other things Jesus responds to faith. He responded to the
S2: faith of the woman. He responded to the faith of Jairus.
S2: And do you know what? He put out? Unbelief. In
S2: both cases, when the people came and said, why trouble
S2: any further? Those people didn't get to take that trip
S2: to see the miracle. Yeah. The people who were weeping
S2: and wailing and then laughing when Jesus suggested, not just
S2: suggested when Jesus made a declaration, she's not dead, she's
S2: only asleep. Those people didn't get to see the miracle either. Why?
S2: No faith. The people who had faith to believe Jesus
S2: can heal. This situation is desperate. I have no answers.
S2: There's no place else to turn but Jesus. I believe
S2: you can do something here. That kind of faith. Those
S2: were the people who got to see the miracle.
S12: And I want to be that person.
S2: I want to.
S12: Be.
S2: The person who has the faith to see the miracle. Who,
S2: when everyone else is weeping and wailing and saying, there's
S2: no hope here. I want to be the one who
S2: says confidently, nope, there's always hope. Always because of the
S2: God we serve. There's always hope. The story in Mark five.
S2: Check it out. It'll strengthen your faith today and remind
S2: you don't lose hope. No. We serve the God of
S2: the impossible.