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Speaker 1: Buckle up, hold on tight. We got it for you. Here.

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Speaker 1: It is the Strawberry letter, subject I just can't do church.

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Speaker 1: Dear Stephen Shirley, I am writing you because I need

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Speaker 1: your advice on how to talk to my mom. My

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Speaker 1: mother is a very religious churchgoing woman, and I don't

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Speaker 1: share her love for church. I lie to her every

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Speaker 1: Sunday when she asks if I have been to church.

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Speaker 1: I am a Christian and I believe in God, and

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Speaker 1: I thank Him daily for everything that I am blessed with.

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Speaker 1: But I despise church. I don't think church is necessary

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Speaker 1: to have a relationship with God because so many of

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Speaker 1: the churches today are full of pulpit pimps that manipulate

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Speaker 1: women for sex and money. My mom's church is no exception.

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Speaker 1: Her church is full of sheep that follow this pulpit

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Speaker 1: pimp blindly, and then after church they are the biggest

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Speaker 1: hypocrites and most hateful people. I prefer to save my

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Speaker 1: soul by praying in private instead of tithing to these

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Speaker 1: pastors so they can buy expensive suits and cars. Of course,

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Speaker 1: I can't get my mother to see it from my perspective,

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Speaker 1: so I stopped debating the issue with her it's easier

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Speaker 1: to lie and tell her that I'm visiting other churches

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Speaker 1: on Sunday when instead I'm watching a thirty minute service

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Speaker 1: on TV and then heading over to I Hop for pancakes.

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Speaker 1: I do have a conscience, though, and I don't want

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Speaker 1: to lie anymore. By the way, I am thirty seven

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Speaker 1: years old and single. Two pastors at my mom's church

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Speaker 1: have hit on me in the past, and I never

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Speaker 1: told my mom because she's so far gone. She blame

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Speaker 1: it on me some kind of way. How can I

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Speaker 1: start a real conversation with her about this without telling

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Speaker 1: without her telling me that I'm going straight to Hell

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Speaker 1: if I don't get my tale back in the church.

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Speaker 1: Please help. Yeah, this is a tough one. It sounds

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Speaker 1: like your mom, you know, is old school. She's brought

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Speaker 1: up in the church, and she doesn't want to hear

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Speaker 1: anything else but that I am glad that you go

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Speaker 1: to You go to the TV church, I should say,

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Speaker 1: and watch that for thirty minutes on Sunday. And you

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Speaker 1: have your own relationship with God, which is the most

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Speaker 1: important thing. You say you prefer to do your praying

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Speaker 1: in private and all of that. You do have a

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Speaker 1: relationship with God, you do know God, so that's important

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Speaker 1: that you have that. As far as advice on you

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Speaker 1: talking to your mom, can you talk to your mom

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Speaker 1: about other things? I mean, how is your relationship otherwise?

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Speaker 1: I mean sometimes you just have to sit them down

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Speaker 1: and just let them know you're thirty seven. You're thirty seven,

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Speaker 1: and at some point, you know you should be able

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Speaker 1: to have a grown up conversation with your mom respectfully.

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Speaker 1: Though I say, I always say do it respectfully because

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Speaker 1: you know she's still your mom and you're still her

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Speaker 1: child in her eyes. I know that because I am

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Speaker 1: a mom. But I mean, you do need to know

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Speaker 1: that we as Christians, we are the church. We are

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Speaker 1: the Church. So saying you despise the church the place

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Speaker 1: we go and worship God. And that's it's strong in

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Speaker 1: my opinion. The people who are in the church, they're humans,

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Speaker 1: they're sinners, you know, they fall short. We're all imperfect.

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Speaker 1: The church is like a hospital for sick Christians who

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Speaker 1: are trying to get their life together. They go, they confess,

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Speaker 1: they repent their sins, they do all of that. That's

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Speaker 1: what goes on in church, and that's why we're called

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Speaker 1: to not put our faith in man but to put

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Speaker 1: our faith in God. I'm sure your mom has told

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Speaker 1: you that. I'm sure she has, so I'm just asking

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Speaker 1: you please don't condemn all churches. None of them are perfect,

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Speaker 1: and no one's perfect. There are some good ones out there.

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Speaker 1: There's some good churches out there. Maybe just your mom's

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Speaker 1: church isn't for you. You do watch a church for

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Speaker 1: thirty minutes, you say on TV, maybe you could go there.

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Speaker 1: I mean, there are some good churches out there. They're

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Speaker 1: are gonna feed whatever you need, give you what you need.

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Speaker 1: And I just say, don't let your bad experiences completely

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Speaker 1: turn you off. Give God another chance, give your mom,

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Speaker 1: give the people of God another chance. And sit your

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Speaker 1: mom down and just have an honest, grown up conversation

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Speaker 1: with her about how you feel. Try to get through

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Speaker 1: to her. Steve, surely, I don't think you could have

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Speaker 1: given a more complete answer, just do you, though boo,

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Speaker 1: see Boo wants to do something else, See Boo, I ain't.

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Speaker 1: I ain't as good a Christian. I'm not in the

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Speaker 1: soul saving bist. If you tell me that you're looking

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Speaker 1: forward to going to Hell, I say congratulate what I

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Speaker 1: say congratulations and walk away. In case you try to

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Speaker 1: go to hell. Now. I don't like talking to people

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Speaker 1: like this who say stuff that they despised the church.

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Speaker 1: I got, you know what anybody people? Shirley said it

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Speaker 1: best of all. I can't top nothing. Shirley said it.

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Speaker 1: Shirley nailed it. Church is for sick people. Everybody's sick.

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Speaker 1: Ain't nobody perfect? You mad because you got hit on

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Speaker 1: by two of the passes down there. You don't wanna

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Speaker 1: tell your mama cause your mama crazy? Yeah, you know,

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Speaker 1: come on now, you know that dam's church people, Shirley said,

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Speaker 1: sit down and having a dark conversation. You know how

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Speaker 1: this conversation gonna go. It's gonna get all back to

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Speaker 1: the Bible. You ain't man, no record conversation, no old

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Speaker 1: committed Christian. Everything they say gonna get you right on

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Speaker 1: back to what she wants you to hear. And the

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Speaker 1: majority is gonna be true. But that ain't the conversation

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Speaker 1: she wanta have. So how can you talk two your mother?

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Speaker 1: Olgan Ogan? Since row sits around, please are in Oregon.

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Speaker 1: We we're here today and we're not supposed to be

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Speaker 1: here today cause today is Tuesday. We were here yesterday

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Speaker 1: doing complaints. But today we're doing strawberry letters. That's right.

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Speaker 1: The title of this letter is, and I repeat this

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Speaker 1: letter verbatim, I just can't do church. Uh. I don't

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Speaker 1: know who the hell she thought she was right into.

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Speaker 1: But we here, and when we come back, the title

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Speaker 1: of my cermony is I can't do church. Hold on,

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Speaker 1: let me change it. The time of my servant today

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Speaker 1: is gonna be you can't do church. I can't do you?

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Speaker 1: All right? Just do you? Br Let's recap today's strawberry

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Speaker 1: letters subject I just can't do church. I just I

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Speaker 1: just can't. This woman rode in today said dear Steve,

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Speaker 1: and shut. I need advice. My mother very religious church going.

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Speaker 1: I've been to church all my life. I despise church

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Speaker 1: because I don't think church is necessary have relationship with God.

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Speaker 1: Who is you to be making such an accusation of claims?

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Speaker 1: Are damn full of pool pit pimps that manipulate women

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Speaker 1: for sex and for money. Not all churches and like that.

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Speaker 1: You need to understand it. There are some good men

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Speaker 1: of God out there, some good women of God out

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Speaker 1: there that ain't in it for the money. It ain't

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Speaker 1: in it for the sex. That's where you're so wrong.

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Speaker 1: But now you think that they are the biggest hypocrites,

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Speaker 1: most hateful people. I preserve to save my soul by

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Speaker 1: praying in private instead of tied into the passing. You

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Speaker 1: don't let the devil trick you. Devil got you thinking

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Speaker 1: you ain't got to leave your house. You're watching the

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Speaker 1: sermon on TV. Well that's the same thing Steve do,

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Speaker 1: but that ain't got nothing to do. Steve ain't wrote

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Speaker 1: no letta in Steve already no eagle in the hell

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Speaker 1: of no damn trouble and latter tim where he just

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Speaker 1: buys the church devil and trick you and got you

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Speaker 1: into the room. Person. You ain't ne rep motown gonna

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Speaker 1: be the mot hear me? Now, let us begin with

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Speaker 1: the sermon today. All right, what's your samon? Now? You

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Speaker 1: can't do church. You can't and I can't do you

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Speaker 1: and I can't Yes, sir, all right, I can't do you.

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Speaker 1: If you ain't him, you can't hear me if you

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Speaker 1: ain't sitting out there. Uh, let's go on. You've been

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Speaker 1: watching TV thirty minutes on Sunday, watching TV, then heading

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Speaker 1: over the ice hop for pancakes. I show wouldn't like

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Speaker 1: to know what, I hoped you pancake and at so

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Speaker 1: I could bring the word to you over there. You

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Speaker 1: don't like going to church, but you like going to

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Speaker 1: the internet of the House of Pancakes. I had a

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Speaker 1: church name, the International House of Praying. It was called

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Speaker 1: I hop too well. I hop over there and your

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Speaker 1: prayer cakes should be praying. International House or Proud is

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Speaker 1: what I named the church. You thirty seven years old, single, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: ain't got no kid nobody, ain't got no family, right,

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Speaker 1: got nobody to look out for you. Now you're the

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Speaker 1: road in a letter talking about to church. Ain't did it.

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Speaker 1: I can't do church when you can't do church, and

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Speaker 1: I can't do you. Right, Maybe you need to come

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Speaker 1: to church. Yeah, get one of these fine chod boards.

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Speaker 1: That's right, I'm talking about wards. That's in the male quartet.

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Speaker 1: That's right. Brother Cliford's De solemn O the third is available.

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Speaker 1: Slom Mo the third is available. He only fifty eight

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Speaker 1: years old. He hain't been married. I didn't know he

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Speaker 1: was stilling. He ain't got no kids. They walked kind

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Speaker 1: of bad, but you ain't got no man at all.

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Speaker 1: That salom Brother Cleiford's he walked bad. He was coming

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Speaker 1: down the aisle and the church vent or pop failed

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Speaker 1: through the floor. He broke it. Knee off. He was

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Speaker 1: coming down the aisle at the church and he stepped

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Speaker 1: in the vent and it snapped his knee back. Now

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Speaker 1: that's while he walked back. That's but he's available. He's

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Speaker 1: a lot of goods means at our church. Brother Junior's

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Speaker 1: down here at the church. Man new members for the

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Speaker 1: re flying the days. Lovely young man that that he's

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Speaker 1: thirty nine years old. He's available hair, no children, you

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Speaker 1: know you can be dating brother Junior down here to

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Speaker 1: church on fine young man's nice. Everybody you know does

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Speaker 1: he's already done a clearance. He got it all out.

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Speaker 1: Come on, I say, come on, Brother Junior is a

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Speaker 1: fine young lad. Just be down there, Junie, and he

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Speaker 1: wants to go come and I had a private conversation.

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Speaker 1: He came him off and for consulting the over day.

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Speaker 1: Came in there for counseling and telling me that the pastor,

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Speaker 1: I'm ready to come on in. I'm tired or being

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Speaker 1: out here. How do I stop being the way I'm is?

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Speaker 1: I told him you got to stop being the way

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Speaker 1: you eat, you know. Hello, you know how the lower

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Speaker 1: you me. And I told brother Junior, I said, Brother Junior,

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Speaker 1: you can stop, but you got to stop to stop

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Speaker 1: what state I said? If you want to stop, you

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Speaker 1: gotta stop to stop. Preach, pass your preach. You can't

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Speaker 1: keep going on if you don't go on no more?

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Speaker 1: How you gonna go on? If you don't go ahead,

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Speaker 1: you better shut up? How you gonna go on? If

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Speaker 1: you don't go ahead, how you gonna lay back? If

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Speaker 1: you don't fall down? Donny mc clagon said, we fall down,

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Speaker 1: but we get up. I don't. Once I fall down,

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Speaker 1: I lay down, rolled over, waller in it, I get

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Speaker 1: it all under my arm, pitch, I like it down

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Speaker 1: here muddy Yeah. That that reminds me a song, this

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Speaker 1: little light of mind. I'm gonna let it shine. And

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Speaker 1: if he don't shine, just see what on apart you

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Speaker 1: can see? Wow, you can't do church. I can't do

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Speaker 1: it all right, guys, Look, thank you, pastor, we gotta

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Speaker 1: get out of here. Email us or Instagram? What's your

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Speaker 1: thoughts on today's Strawberry Letter? At Steve Harvey FM, you're

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Speaker 1: listening to the Steve Harvey Morning Show