Life Is A Lab Class

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This is Jimmy Internet.

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We are coming to you from the heart, the center of the dartboard of the Texas Hill country

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on a Sunday afternoon.

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We're doing something a little bit different this time and we want to welcome you to the

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show.

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This is our podcast, Living Up in a Down World and of course I have my beautiful wife, Annette,

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right across.

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By the way, this is a very special day for Miss Annette.

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I knew you were going to do that.

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For Dame Annette.

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We're not going to say how young you are.

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Please don't.

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But we are going to say happy birthday to you.

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We are so honored to have you with us.

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Give a round of applause.

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A little heartbeat to go with that.

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Just for me, that's my heart right now for you.

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Happy birthday, sweetie.

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Thank you.

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How do you feel?

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I mean, do you feel any older?

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You know how it is.

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Everybody always says, do you feel older on your birthday?

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You know, about two weeks ago I started to feel older.

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Well, I actually looked in the mirror and I thought, oh my gosh.

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Was that when I found you in a fetal position in your closet?

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Yes.

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No.

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Crying, sucking your thumb?

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No, not in the closet at all.

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It's not done.

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Well, let me ask you a question.

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Speaking of aging, don't you like the wisdom that comes?

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That's the best part of aging.

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I know.

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It is.

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It's the trade-off, isn't it?

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It is.

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So we get more bumps, bruises, and scratches and treadwear on our tires, so to speak.

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And yet the payoff is we get this bank of information, this bank of wisdom to draw from,

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these deposits that are made along the way, whether you wanted them or not.

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And hopefully learn from all the challenges and mistakes that we've made in the past.

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Mistakes.

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What mistakes have we made?

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Not that we've made, that others have made.

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Here you go.

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We're always the victim, aren't we?

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It's always somebody else's fault.

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Always.

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Actually, just for our awesome listeners, just so you know, Annette and I, we're owners.

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What an owner is, an owner is someone who owns what they do.

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They own their mistakes.

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They own their flaws.

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They own their missteps.

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And we're all about owning it, aren't we?

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Right.

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Why are we so much about owning it?

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What do you think?

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I don't know, because we understand that we're human.

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There you go.

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Challenges are going to come.

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We're not always going to make the right decisions.

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Pastor Robert Morris from Gateway Church, who is one of my favorite pastors, who I got

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to spend some time with this week.

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I'll talk a little bit more about that in a bit, maybe.

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It was a wonderful time.

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But he is doing a sermon series, or was up until Easter, I'm not sure if he's going to

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continue, called...

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Yes.

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No, it was Joyce Meyer spoke today at Gateway.

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I think next week he's going to finish it, though.

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It has been a great series called Divinely Human.

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I absolutely appreciate that and love that because it really talks about the fact that

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we are divine.

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We have the image of God, the Imago Dei in Latin, the image of God, but we also have

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our human side, which is not a bad side, it just is.

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Being human isn't wrong or bad, it just is.

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We were born that way, right?

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What can we do?

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He's doing the series where he's taking Bible characters and talking about the divine side

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of them, but also the human and flawed side.

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We're owners.

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We own our stuff, so to speak.

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To me, you can be a victim or a volunteer.

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How about a victor?

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Yes, or a victor.

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Rock the metaphor.

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Yes, there you go.

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Some people are volunteers for a long time before they become a victor.

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No doubt.

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We've done this.

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We've been in this game.

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I say this game.

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We've been in this career.

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I've been doing this 38 years, and Nett's been doing it with me 28, really 30, because

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we've been married for 30 years.

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We've seen a lot of different things in working in what some people call the people business,

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which is church life, being a pastor, shepherding people.

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Through the years, with the various churches we've been in, whether it was student ministry

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or doing... I was working for Dave Ramsey, or whether you were running an office.

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For all those other years we've been in church ministry, there's literally been thousands

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of people that have crossed our paths that we've been able to walk with.

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We've seen a lot of stuff, wouldn't you say?

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We've seen both the divine and the human, haven't we?

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Yes, that's for sure.

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Lots of it.

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Mostly human, but the divine is good too.

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If you're interested in looking for something to study or listen to, I would highly recommend

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going to gatewaypeople.com and listening to Robert Morse's messages, particularly on this

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series called Divinely Human.

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I think you would be encouraged and you'd get a lot out of it.

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I started this little convo and got sidetracked.

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Squirrel, squirrel, that's me.

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That's a story of my life living with you.

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No doubt.

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Do you remember the time you asked what was on my mind?

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I said, don't ever tell me again.

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Well, you're cutting to the point.

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What happened was I said, are you sure you really want to know what's on my mind?

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I mean, literally what's on my mind?

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You say, yeah, I want to know what you're thinking about.

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So I proceeded to rattle off what was pinging in my brain.

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About an hour later, I said, I was never going to ask you again.

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You're like, I will never ask that question again.

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This is probably a good idea.

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I said, but imagine if you were living in this brain.

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This is why I believe you're ADD.

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Totally.

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Not ADHD, because you're not hyperactive.

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Remember I said I'm an owner?

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Yes.

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I own that totally.

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Which is not always a bad thing.

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I was going to say, it actually bodes pretty well for me.

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It's a good thing, especially for someone in your lot of work.

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It's exhausting, but I can have a lot of different things going.

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It's more exhausting for me than it is for you.

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For sure.

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Wearing this girl out.

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Well, again, we want to say thank you for joining us today.

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We actually have Mr. Chevy with us.

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He's being restless.

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I know.

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What are you doing over there?

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I'm not doing anything.

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I didn't snap my fingers.

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The snap is like a signal.

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No, he's trying to get comfortable.

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He's just uncomfortable.

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He's a good boy.

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He's like, it's not the right day.

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He's like, what are we doing in here?

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He's throwing him off.

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We had a visit from our daughter, Faith.

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It was so good to have her over because it's your birthday, Miss Daymonette.

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I think only Adam Curry can say that.

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Adam uses Daymonette.

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I know, but I just think about that when we're doing podcasting because I think about Adam

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and Tina, of course.

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So anyway, she came over and you wanted a very special birthday lunch.

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So by the way, Sunday, so this is Palm Sunday, which I want to talk a little bit about that

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because I think that's very interesting.

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I've got a confession to make regarding Palm Sunday, but we'll talk about that in a minute.

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But you had a very special...

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You said, where do you want to go for lunch?

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Well, we've been doing keto for several weeks with our few cheat meals in and out.

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Me more than you.

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Yeah, right.

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As the doctor has prescribed.

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But I was so craving, this is crazy, Sonic.

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I wanted a cheeseburger and french fries.

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Go big or go home.

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I told my son, he texted me a little bit ago to say happy birthday and he was like, what

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did you do for your birthday?

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I said, well, I was hungry for Sonic.

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He just was like, what?

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Of all the places.

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He said, why not five guys?

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I said, we live in Fredericksburg.

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We don't have a five guys.

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The only five guys we have are down on the corner saying, we'll work for food.

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I wanted a, what do you call it?

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Mud pie?

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Oh, that chocolate mud something pie.

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Mud slide pie or something like that.

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Oh yeah, I think that's it.

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Mud slide pie from Clear River.

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Clear River, which is amazing.

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Ice cream and bakery in town that's been there for years.

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Anyone who visits Fredericksburg or tours, they know that we're going to Clear River

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for ice cream.

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So how was your hamburger?

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Your Sonic number one with mustard.

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It was a little bit as good as I knew, which is crazy.

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I never was a fan.

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Did you do french fries today?

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Yes, but I never was a fan of Sonic until recently.

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I rocked the tater tots today.

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I know you love, and the corn dog.

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You love the corn dogs.

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Corn dogs for Jimmy Pruitt, for Pastor Jimmy are basically a food group of their own.

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I grew up a latchkey kid, so guess what I cooked?

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Tony's pizzas and Gary's super dogs growing up.

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My mom would buy them in 24 packs, so we had them all the time.

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It's amazing I still have a heartbeat.

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How funny.

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My arteries aren't completely clogged.

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You had a cheeseburger, tater tots, then a corn dog.

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Well, only reason I had that, you see, don't make it sound like I'm such a glutton.

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No, you're not.

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And you had the corn dog for dinner.

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For dinner.

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Because we just ate dinner.

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That's right.

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I threw it in the air fryer and it was just as good as it went.

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It was better.

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So yeah, and you wanted a bite, and I was a little stingy.

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You were very stingy.

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You had only one corn dog.

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I know, but I just wanted, I mean, so I literally...

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You don't even know what corn dogs mean to me.

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I know, but honey, it's my birthday.

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I couldn't believe it.

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That's true.

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That's true.

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You mean run down to Sonic and get you another one?

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This is what I love about my birthday.

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It's early in the month, April 2nd, so I like to celebrate the whole month.

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Your birthday's January 30th.

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You only get two days, the 30th, 31st.

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That's it.

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So I have the better birthday.

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Sucks to be me.

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You're funny.

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You do have the better birthday because it's like one day after April Fool's.

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Which I'm so glad it's not April Fool's.

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What time of the day were you born?

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I'm curious.

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I think it was...

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I have no idea.

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Was it well into the day?

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No, I think it was early morning.

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It's like you weren't far off from April Fool's, baby.

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Wow.

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That would have been horrible.

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Right.

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Or great, depending on your perspective.

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So what I want to talk about today, we had Palm Sunday.

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So here's the confession.

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I said I had a confession to make.

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You did.

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The confession is this, that in 38 years of teaching and preaching, which I've done, I

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mean this has made my whole career, my whole life, my whole adult life.

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Well, technically I'm not really an adult, but anyway, my whole life, I have never preached

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specifically a Palm Sunday message.

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No, you never have.

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Not since I've known you.

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Before you start throwing sticks and stones at me through the internet there, the reason

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is because I wasn't raised in church at all, so I didn't become a Christian until I was

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18 years of age.

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And it didn't really take root until I was 19.

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And so I was really late to the game in terms of being in ministry and whatnot.

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Not as late as some.

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I met a guy that went into the ministry at 58 years of age recently, Arlie Lammers, one

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of our local pastors here.

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Now he's retired, but anyway, wonderful guy.

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I met a guy last week who's 38 years of age.

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He was an attorney and then he felt called ministry.

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So I wasn't as late as some, but I was late for most.

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So I had a lot of catching up to do because I had no Christian reference in my background,

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in my past.

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So I was like just learning everything brand new at 19 years of age.

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So not growing up with traditions.

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Our Easter tradition was Easter egg hunts over at Nanny and Pawpaw's house.

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That's it.

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I mean, all the cousins, the whole big family got together.

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We had a great time, but there was zero reference to Jesus Christ in the resurrection.

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There was nothing.

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So I never heard anything about that.

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You know, just here and there, maybe in my childhood at some one point or another.

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But for the most part, all it was, it was about dying Easter eggs.

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Remember the dye kits you would buy and it had the little wire egg holder and the dot

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little tablets you dropped.

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It was always exciting, right?

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We would dye the eggs and sometimes they'd have little stickers you could put on them.

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Those were cheesy, but I liked actually dying them, dropping them into the hot dye.

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But that was a big deal for us.

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And then we hunted them and we had a great time, but never anything about Jesus Christ.

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And so when I became a Christian, this was all new to me and it didn't have, I had no

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tradition.

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So there was nothing burned into my habits or my traditional rhythms or celebrations.

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So and you grew up, well, not you grew up, but you became a Baptist.

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You're right.

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I have never grown up.

295
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Exactly.

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You're really right about that.

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I'm sorry.

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But you became a Baptist and I don't, you know, I was Baptist for many years, but I don't

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recall a Palm Sunday.

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I'm sure they preached on Palm Sunday, but it's not as prevalent as it is in the...

301
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Yeah.

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It wasn't in the church's IT either.

303
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It's more like Catholic, Episcopalian, Presbyterian.

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Protestant and Catholic are quite, I mean, they have beautiful traditions.

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As I've grown older and have gotten to make so many friends who are pastors and priests

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and involved in other faith traditions, I'm the president of our local ministerial association.

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So I have great relationships with guys from Calvary Chapel to non-denominational to Baptist

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to Episcopalian and Catholic and lots of Lutherans in Fredericksburg because it's a German town,

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it's a German community.

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It's a lot of Lutherans.

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We've been here seven years and this is the first time you've preached it.

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First time in seven years, but the first time in 38 years of teaching and preaching that

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I've actually...

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And you really don't recall preaching on it before?

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I don't.

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And maybe I did.

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I literally don't remember and it's not in my mind that I've ever done it.

318
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So why do you think it was so special this...

319
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I mean, what made you say, okay, this is the time.

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I'm ready to preach this?

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Actually I cannot tell you that I've actually been racking my brain about why has this

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suddenly become so meaningful to me?

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I don't know other than I believe the Holy Spirit said, I want you to do this.

324
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And to our church, I mean, we're in a very...

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Okay, we're not in a multicultural community in terms of ethnicity, but we are in a very

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multicultural community theologically and we're in a multicultural generationally.

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So we have a wide range of ages in our church.

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I mean, we represent everybody from child to very old adults, but we also have a lot

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of theological perspectives.

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We have a lot of Catholics that come to our church and we love our Catholic friends, a

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lot of Episcopalians, a lot of Presbyterians and many, many, many Lutherans and some Baptists

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in there.

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And then we have some non-denominational and Charismatics.

334
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We're like 31 flavor...

335
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What?

336
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Baskin-Robbins 31 flavors.

337
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At least.

338
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Heinz 57.

339
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I think we're more on the 57 side of things.

340
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But it's a beautiful array and really I always joke and I'm not telling you in a joke, I

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say, this is what heaven looks like.

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All these different denominations, churches of Christ as well, coming together, celebrating

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our common values, our commonalities in Christ, and that's what unifies us.

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It's not always our second and third tier beliefs.

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It's our primary belief in Jesus as Lord.

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Jesus Christ is our Savior.

347
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He's our Messiah.

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So I think after these seven years of being here in Fredericksburg, getting to know many

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wonderful Protestants and hearing of all these beautiful, wonderful traditions, for some

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reason this year it was heavy on me.

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Well, I think too preaching on heaven and what that means to us, think about what Jesus

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did on the cross for us.

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And so I think all that and with all these funerals that we've been having, we also had

354
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someone that was very close to us pass away last week.

355
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So I think at our age, we began to really think about our mortality.

356
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And what's important?

357
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What matters at the end of the day?

358
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I'm more interested in church history now than I've ever been.

359
00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:31,040
So that kind of brings us to what we talked about before we just dive into Palm Sunday.

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This is a part of it.

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We were talking about this, how remember I asked you about purging.

362
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What are we learning from this?

363
00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:42,200
So we shared, I think it's two weeks ago we shared.

364
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We talked last week too.

365
00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:48,080
We've shared a little bit over the last few weeks about how when Annette came back from

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a conference, she sat me down and said, I really want you to help me with something.

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I want to stop.

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I want to purge.

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I want to get rid of things that are non-essential in a sense.

370
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I remember here in Richard Foster say eliminate and concentrate.

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So I want to eliminate the non-essentials.

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Let's focus on what's important.

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And so we've been doing that and what it's done, it's bought back, first of all, tons

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of hours in our evenings especially.

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But also it's created margin in us emotionally and spiritually.

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And so how's your purge going?

377
00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:31,800
Well, the thing is for me, I was sitting in church, I actually was standing up worshiping

378
00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:37,280
and the thought came to me how I feel so pure in heart.

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The Bible says the pure in heart will see God.

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I feel like I'm seeing God in a whole different lens than I did before because I feel more

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pure.

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Not that we're watching or doing anything that was wrong, but when you put your total

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focus on things that are so good like Jesus and you're learning about Him, you're watching

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things that are uplifting, nothing that's pulling you down, that's bringing fear in

385
00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:11,120
your life, that's causing you to mistrust people.

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00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:14,880
I just don't have any of that in my life, five weeks now.

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And so I feel so pure.

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I almost started to cry in church today because I felt, wow, I could have felt like this a

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long time ago.

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00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:36,000
And yet I'm feeling it now and I'm more drawn to Jesus and the Holy Spirit than I've ever

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been in my life.

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I'm more focused and I feel like I'm more confident as a Christian, as a Christ follower,

393
00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:48,760
a lot more confident than I've ever been.

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And that bodes well to do what we did, which is just get rid of the non-essentials in our

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life.

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00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:01,040
Which is interesting because there was a time probably six months, a year or two years ago,

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where that didn't even cross our mind.

398
00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:07,520
Because like everybody else, we would, somebody would say, hey, there's this great show on

399
00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:09,440
Netflix you can binge watch.

400
00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:10,440
And we would.

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00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:14,480
We'd spend a whole weekend watching shows back to back to back to back.

402
00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:17,760
And let me just, first of all, say not that there's a problem with that.

403
00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:22,640
I don't want to ever intimate that somehow that's a problem for you.

404
00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:25,440
And it was fun.

405
00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:31,480
But there comes a point in your life as you grow where you say, I want more.

406
00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:38,320
I know I already have all of God I'm going to get, but I want him to have more of me.

407
00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:39,320
Exactly.

408
00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:41,260
That's the simple way of saying it.

409
00:19:41,260 --> 00:19:44,360
And so how do I give him more of myself?

410
00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:46,760
Well, maybe just getting rid of some things.

411
00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:49,140
It's not like, this is not epic.

412
00:19:49,140 --> 00:19:50,400
This is not dramatic.

413
00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:54,600
We didn't like weep and wail and thrust our spear for our stomach.

414
00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:57,700
I didn't fall on a spear or anything for this.

415
00:19:57,700 --> 00:20:02,920
It was just literally saying, Hey, we don't have to watch all of that.

416
00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:13,000
And so we were totally hooked on the Chicago Wednesday night series, Chicago, Chicago fire.

417
00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:18,320
My dad was a firefighter so that I love that show and Chicago PD.

418
00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:23,480
So my dad being a first responder, obviously that's all kind of meaningful and nostalgic

419
00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:25,600
for me, but not essential.

420
00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:26,600
Exactly.

421
00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:31,200
And we found ourselves getting emotional over other people's drama.

422
00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:32,200
Yes.

423
00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:38,200
So anyway, so just as an update on this purge thing, I mean, it's an experiment for us and

424
00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:39,960
life is a lab class, right?

425
00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:40,960
Right.

426
00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:44,400
So in a real sense, this life is a staging area for the next life.

427
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:49,800
Well, the sad thing is I knew God had told me that I needed to get rid of things in my

428
00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:50,800
life.

429
00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:56,440
It just took me so long before I would acquiesce and just say, okay, I'm ready to do this.

430
00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:00,000
Which is interesting because you're the microwave and I'm the slow cooker.

431
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:01,000
I know.

432
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,600
So normally I'd be the one going, well, I really think about and process this.

433
00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:06,960
But for you, normally it's like you make a decision.

434
00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:17,160
I had to, it was almost like I had to, I had to hear it loud, louder and louder.

435
00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:19,840
It was, it was an addiction.

436
00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:20,840
Yeah.

437
00:21:20,840 --> 00:21:21,920
Yeah, exactly.

438
00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,960
But anyway, so just as an update guys.

439
00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:31,960
Well, I think that we need to be able, we, we all need to, if we're followers of Jesus,

440
00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:33,400
we need to be at the point.

441
00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:42,080
Or come to a point where we say, Jesus, what is it that you want me to put aside so that

442
00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:43,800
I can be more like you?

443
00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:44,800
Perfect.

444
00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:46,800
I love the way you put that.

445
00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:50,440
So it's not a matter of us telling you to do something like this because first of all,

446
00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:55,320
that's your own business and in your own walk with God, wherever you happen to be on the,

447
00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,840
on the timeline is your walk with God.

448
00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:00,880
It's personal to you.

449
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:04,720
We're just sharing with you something that's really helped us and it's, it's at a season

450
00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:10,040
and it seems very natural and right for us in the season, but it wouldn't have felt right

451
00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:12,600
or natural a year ago, you know?

452
00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:14,960
So yeah, it's the right thing now.

453
00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:17,160
So anyway, good update.

454
00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:22,360
All that say is, is wherever you add her in your season, sometimes you've got to come

455
00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:28,080
to the place where you say, I want more out of my walk with God and out of my faith and

456
00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:30,440
I'm experiencing right now.

457
00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:32,840
And so whatever that looks like, I want to go there.

458
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:35,640
So that's for you and hope that'll help you.

459
00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:41,560
So I, today I, I dove into Palm Sunday study.

460
00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:45,540
So for those of you who don't know, or if you're kind of new to the broadcast, I nerd

461
00:22:45,540 --> 00:22:47,120
out on Bible study.

462
00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:48,120
I'm not a nerdy guy.

463
00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:52,840
I mean, I played football, I would lift weights, I pump iron, I play lead guitar.

464
00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,080
I'm, I'm a, I'm a dude.

465
00:22:55,080 --> 00:23:02,840
But when it comes to scripture and the Bible, God, when I was a brand new young Christian

466
00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:08,880
at 18, 19 years of age, it was a, I fell in love with the word of God, the Bible.

467
00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:12,200
And so I get really excited studying.

468
00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:15,880
I nerd out, I always say I'm nerding out, but it's really not nerding out.

469
00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:19,000
It's just being diligent, but that's my term.

470
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:20,200
I nerd out studying.

471
00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:25,520
And so when I was diving into this study on Palm Sunday, so many amazing things.

472
00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:29,800
And of course the Holy spirit leads us to the right sources, listening to the right

473
00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:32,160
messages, reading the right things.

474
00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:37,840
Annette and I have really gotten more acquainted with the Logos Bible software.

475
00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:41,400
And so we dive in and study, but you know, for those of you that are looking to study

476
00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:44,320
the Bible, there are great programs online.

477
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:49,920
You can Google and get free resources to study the Bible online.

478
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:56,360
And then I also use another one called Olive Tree, which is a great Bible app that you

479
00:23:56,360 --> 00:24:01,900
can, over the years I've bought commentaries and different pieces, different translations.

480
00:24:01,900 --> 00:24:06,920
So there's a lot of great tools out there that used to, I'd have a desk full of books.

481
00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:09,120
I mean, massive books like Strong's.

482
00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:10,840
We got rid of most of them.

483
00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:11,840
Exhaustive concordance.

484
00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:13,320
It was very exhaustive.

485
00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:14,520
But all these big books.

486
00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:20,480
But now, you know, with computers and digital age, it's so easy to really do good Bible

487
00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:21,480
study.

488
00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:26,880
And so as I begin to dive into this Palm Sunday, and I discovered some things that I think

489
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:29,700
are interesting, and maybe that would be interesting to you.

490
00:24:29,700 --> 00:24:31,280
So what is Palm Sunday?

491
00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:40,120
Palm Sunday is the day that we celebrate that Jesus rode in to Jerusalem.

492
00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:45,440
And it's called traditionally in Christian history, the triumphal entry, the triumphal,

493
00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:47,340
the victorious entry.

494
00:24:47,340 --> 00:24:54,400
And it's really when Jesus was coming into the final five days of his earthly life, he

495
00:24:54,400 --> 00:25:00,680
knew that his destiny was to be crucified and be slain as an atonement for the sin of

496
00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:01,680
mankind.

497
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:06,160
I like the question that you posed at the very beginning of the message.

498
00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:11,240
What would you do if you knew you had five days before you died?

499
00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:12,240
Right.

500
00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:18,160
So we showed a little video to start off the service, and it just really kind of captured

501
00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:20,000
the last few days of Jesus.

502
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:21,680
And it was real subtle.

503
00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:22,680
It wasn't dramatic.

504
00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:27,000
It was just really, the idea was to get you to think.

505
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:33,840
And our, my associate pastor, Russ Hearn, he is, Pastor Russ is just a genius at finding

506
00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:37,680
these videos, we call them sermon bumpers.

507
00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:42,560
It's kind of the transitional time between coming out of a time of meeting, reading the

508
00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:45,600
service and then going into the message.

509
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:50,800
But he's so good at picking these videos that we've actually said, everybody sit down.

510
00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:52,600
I'm just stop the thing.

511
00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:53,600
It's not fancy.

512
00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:56,440
I say, stop, everybody quit fellowship and thank you for the buzz.

513
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:58,100
Now sit down.

514
00:25:58,100 --> 00:26:01,080
And so literally, it's just get everybody in their seats.

515
00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:03,200
And we do two services at the bridge.

516
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:06,360
We probably had 500 and something people there today that give or take.

517
00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:07,880
That's kind of the size we are.

518
00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:11,400
So it's a big group of people and I'm, it's like herding cats, but I'm like, sit down.

519
00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:13,640
I really want you to watch this.

520
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:20,880
So we watched the, we watched the video and the thought occurred to me, what, how would

521
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:22,000
you live your life?

522
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:26,840
If you knew you had five days to live, would you do anything different?

523
00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:27,960
Wow.

524
00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:31,860
When I was up on the platform, I was going to ask you, what did, how did you feel the

525
00:26:31,860 --> 00:26:32,860
response?

526
00:26:32,860 --> 00:26:33,860
Okay.

527
00:26:33,860 --> 00:26:38,320
It was literally like, not that I could see the, their cogs turning in their brains, but

528
00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:42,920
if their brains had mechanical clogs, you know, cogs, they were turning and churning

529
00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:45,320
because that question is very arresting.

530
00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:52,360
If you knew you only had five days on this earth to live on this earth, would you, would

531
00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:53,680
you do anything different?

532
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:58,440
So I could tell, I mean, you could feel the room and I have a real sense of feel for a

533
00:26:58,440 --> 00:26:59,440
room.

534
00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:00,440
So I could feel the room.

535
00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:02,560
People were thinking, processing.

536
00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:09,600
And I said, you know, Jesus rode into Jerusalem, by the way, on a donkey.

537
00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:10,600
It's just unbelievable.

538
00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:12,360
I know it's amazing.

539
00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:18,520
Rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday, they laid Palm branches and their cloaks down

540
00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:23,040
on the ground because what they would do when a king would come into a city, there was a

541
00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:25,400
lot of pomp and circumstance.

542
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,200
Remember when we were in Paris, that was a great story.

543
00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:31,760
Well, we were on the Louvre and we had no idea.

544
00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:33,400
We're just tourists, typical tourists.

545
00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:36,720
We're going in and out of the store, eating really good food.

546
00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:37,720
Remember that?

547
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:38,720
That was amazing.

548
00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:39,720
Enjoying the shops and stuff.

549
00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:43,960
It was just a great experience and the sights and the sounds.

550
00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:47,080
It was crowded, but it was just festive almost.

551
00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:52,840
And of course, people riding around on bicycles and electric scooters and just fun and beautiful

552
00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:54,680
weather at that time of year that we were there.

553
00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:56,760
And then all of a sudden sirens.

554
00:27:56,760 --> 00:28:04,360
I mean like a bunch of sirens and motorcycles, the police over there ride these stunning,

555
00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:07,040
beautiful BMW police motorcycles.

556
00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:08,040
They're like...

557
00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:09,040
You were salivating the whole time.

558
00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:10,040
I was.

559
00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:11,040
Those motorcycles are gorgeous.

560
00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:13,600
They're like, look futuristic almost.

561
00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:19,060
Anyway, so the Parisian police, they were like, the French police are up and down.

562
00:28:19,060 --> 00:28:23,280
They were clearing the roadway and that's a very busy street coming down.

563
00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:25,480
There's just nonstop traffic.

564
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:30,520
And all of a sudden within five minutes, that street was clear and vacated.

565
00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:32,520
And we're like, what is going on?

566
00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:34,440
And police were lining the sides.

567
00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:37,880
I mean, it was almost like, and I mentioned this, it's almost like I didn't even want

568
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:42,120
to breathe because I was afraid I'd get tackled by a secret service agent or something.

569
00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:47,120
I mean, you could tell something big was happening in Paris on the Louvre that day.

570
00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:54,000
And then at the very end, down at the end where that huge monument is, we saw lights.

571
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:59,520
And the lights were all of the police escorts that were escorting this entourage.

572
00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:04,640
And I remember later seeing on the news, it was the Korean president and a delegation

573
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:10,120
from Korea that was there visiting Paris for some kind of meeting with the government.

574
00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:16,880
And I just remember how you had this sense of awe and a sense of epic.

575
00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:18,560
It was a sense of majestic.

576
00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:20,320
Like, this is important.

577
00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:21,320
Whatever's happening.

578
00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:22,320
It was a triumphal entry.

579
00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:23,320
It was a triumphal entry.

580
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:24,320
It really was.

581
00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:26,600
I remember, and it was like, it was so quiet.

582
00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:27,600
We were taking pictures.

583
00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:28,600
Yeah, yeah.

584
00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:29,600
I took a ton of pictures.

585
00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:30,600
Yeah, like, is this okay?

586
00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:32,600
Am I going to get tackled?

587
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:33,600
But it was really...

588
00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:34,600
But we didn't know what we were taking pictures of.

589
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:36,080
No, we didn't even know at the time.

590
00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,600
It was fascinating.

591
00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:44,320
So then thinking about Jesus, in the first century when a king would enter a city, they

592
00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:46,240
would come in on a stallion.

593
00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:47,800
They would come in on the biggest horse.

594
00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:52,000
I mean, everything for a king was go big or go home.

595
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:53,000
The biggest everything.

596
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:59,600
The biggest, the best, the shiniest armor, the most ornate horse dressing, and then the

597
00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:01,440
largest horse in the kingdom.

598
00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:04,120
So everything was big, big, big.

599
00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:11,360
And Jesus comes in for his triumphal entry as a king, and they're shouting, Hosanna,

600
00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:15,840
Hosanna, which by the way, doesn't mean what you think it means.

601
00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:20,680
I discovered in my study that when they were crying out, Hosanna, what they were literally

602
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,800
saying is, save us now.

603
00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:24,800
That's what it means.

604
00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:25,800
Save us now.

605
00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:27,600
That's what it literally translated.

606
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,080
I always, I'd never looked it up.

607
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:36,200
I just had this assumption that Hosanna, because it's in Christian worship songs, means, oh

608
00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:37,560
Lord, we praise you.

609
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:38,560
Lord, we love you.

610
00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:39,560
Lord, you're amazing.

611
00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:42,760
You know, just praise God, you're amazing.

612
00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:44,960
Turns out that's not what it is at all.

613
00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:51,480
In fact, it's a completely different term and phrase, and it literally means, save us

614
00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:52,480
now.

615
00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:53,800
They were crying out.

616
00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:54,920
So it's a heart cry.

617
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:56,960
It's a cry of desperation.

618
00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:58,480
It's not a praise.

619
00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:03,480
It's a cry of desperation where they were saying to Jesus as he came in, and by the

620
00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:07,360
way, he didn't enter on a horse.

621
00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:08,360
He entered on what?

622
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:10,080
On a donkey.

623
00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:12,080
Not just a donkey.

624
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:13,080
No.

625
00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:15,520
On the donkey's colt, a foal.

626
00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:16,520
Shocking.

627
00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:18,640
Can you imagine?

628
00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:24,000
I picture Jesus tall because I'm so short anyway, and so I always picture him, a real

629
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:27,720
tall man, just majestic looking.

630
00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:32,160
The lion of the tribe of Judah.

631
00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:34,840
And he's on this small, small.

632
00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:37,360
He wasn't on the mama donkey.

633
00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:38,520
Now they brought them both.

634
00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:43,760
They brought both the mom, the mama donkey, and the colt.

635
00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:44,760
And they came together.

636
00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:48,440
They had them tied together because probably the mom was leading and the little colt was

637
00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:49,440
falling.

638
00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:51,040
But Jesus didn't even ride on the mama donkey.

639
00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:52,040
No.

640
00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:53,040
Can you imagine?

641
00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:54,040
His feet have to be dragging.

642
00:31:54,040 --> 00:32:02,160
But I want to know, the Bible doesn't talk about it, but I wish I knew what the people

643
00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:06,520
were thinking when they saw him because here they are shouting, our king, our king.

644
00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:07,520
Hosanna.

645
00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:12,440
Seeing him, I just can't even fathom that.

646
00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:15,760
You would think there would be some grumbling like, what?

647
00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:17,680
You think they're going to be like, wait a minute.

648
00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:19,480
I thought he was going to come in on a horse.

649
00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:23,240
So you have to understand there's a lot of history behind this.

650
00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:24,880
There's so much context.

651
00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:28,360
I won't go into it all, but here's the basic context.

652
00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:32,920
Rome had been in charge for over a hundred years, for over a century.

653
00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:39,360
So they had dominated the Jewish people, had dominated the nation of Israel in particular,

654
00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:42,240
the heart of Israel, which is Jerusalem.

655
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:46,200
And they had dropped the hammer hard many times.

656
00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:47,760
They were oppressive.

657
00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:50,600
They were brutal.

658
00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:52,640
They decimated the people.

659
00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:56,800
The people were just broken down, broken down generation after generation.

660
00:32:56,800 --> 00:33:03,800
But prophets, even hundreds and even thousands of years before, begin to say there is coming

661
00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:07,680
a day when a Messiah will arise.

662
00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:11,840
Messiah, meaning a leader, a deliverer, a rescuer.

663
00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:13,020
One to save you.

664
00:33:13,020 --> 00:33:16,160
One who will come to save and deliver will come.

665
00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:23,060
And there were over 400, or around 400 biblical prophecies out of the Old Testament that allude

666
00:33:23,060 --> 00:33:25,960
to and speak to this Messiah that's coming.

667
00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:31,040
Of course, now on this side of history, we understand that was Jesus.

668
00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:36,520
And so all these generations had told story after story, prophets had spoken.

669
00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:39,820
And so all these stories got passed down through the generations.

670
00:33:39,820 --> 00:33:49,000
So by the time you turn into the first century, you know, from BC to AD, there's this massive

671
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:52,980
expectation of there will come a deliverer.

672
00:33:52,980 --> 00:33:55,560
And we have been under the hand of Persia.

673
00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:57,640
We've been under the hand of Babylon.

674
00:33:57,640 --> 00:33:58,640
We've been under the hand.

675
00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:04,720
I mean, just one nation after another has ruled over the Jewish people.

676
00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:09,040
We were under the hand of Pharaoh in Egypt in the beginning.

677
00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:11,520
And now we're under the hammer of Rome.

678
00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:14,360
And Rome was as brutal as any of them.

679
00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:18,520
And they're expecting a Messiah.

680
00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:23,880
On the scene comes this carpenter or bricklayer, depending on who you read.

681
00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:26,840
Stone Mason, stone Mason from Nazareth.

682
00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:28,200
Nazareth.

683
00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:31,000
Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

684
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:35,600
Nazareth was a joke to the nation of Israel.

685
00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:38,860
And they saw it as like the low of the low.

686
00:34:38,860 --> 00:34:41,280
So Jesus comes out of Nazareth.

687
00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:46,180
He grows up in obscurity for most of his 30 years.

688
00:34:46,180 --> 00:34:52,560
And then suddenly he comes on the scene when he meets a Samaritan woman at a well, and

689
00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:54,040
he tells her who he is.

690
00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:58,760
And she runs to the city and announces, I've met him.

691
00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:02,360
Come and see a man who told me everything about myself.

692
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:06,920
And now through a woman of all things, she evangelizes Samaritan.

693
00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:07,920
Isn't it beautiful?

694
00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:09,880
She becomes the first evangelist.

695
00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:10,880
Was not a man.

696
00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:12,080
Sorry, bros.

697
00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:13,080
It was a woman.

698
00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:14,080
It was.

699
00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:15,120
And she runs and she tells.

700
00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:17,800
And that starts his public ministry.

701
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:21,160
By this time, he had already called some of his disciples to himself.

702
00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:23,000
Not all of them, but some of them.

703
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:29,280
So all the backdrop here is that something is building here with the birth of Jesus Christ.

704
00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:37,300
And Jesus actually fulfilled over 300, just under 400, depending on who you read, prophecies

705
00:35:37,300 --> 00:35:38,620
from the Old Testament.

706
00:35:38,620 --> 00:35:42,800
In fact, on the day he was crucified, how many do you remember?

707
00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:43,800
28.

708
00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:49,600
He fulfilled 28 messianic prophecies about himself just in one day.

709
00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:53,720
So this last five days of his life, that's why I ask, what would you do if you knew you

710
00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:54,720
had five days?

711
00:35:54,720 --> 00:36:00,800
Well, Jesus knew he had five days and he had a mission to fulfill.

712
00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:04,400
And so he fulfilled that mission, starting with his triumphal entry.

713
00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:09,280
He comes off of Mount Olivet, which looks over, it's called the Mount of Olives, which

714
00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:14,880
looks over the east side of Jerusalem.

715
00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:18,000
And he goes down this hill on a donkey.

716
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:23,300
On a baby donkey, which is completely the opposite.

717
00:36:23,300 --> 00:36:29,160
And so basically Jesus is the one who flips the script in our life.

718
00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:32,120
He never comes like we think he's going to come.

719
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:39,520
I don't know about you who are listening today, but maybe you've prayed, you've asked God

720
00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:44,520
for things, you've cried out to him and you felt like he didn't answer your prayer or

721
00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:46,840
he didn't answer it like you thought he was going to answer it.

722
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:50,360
Listen, just so you know, that's his MO.

723
00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:53,720
He never comes like you think he's going to come.

724
00:36:53,720 --> 00:36:56,040
He flips the script consistently.

725
00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:59,960
And that's exactly what Jesus did when he rode in on a donkey.

726
00:36:59,960 --> 00:37:05,400
Palm leaves waving, which is basically their symbol of our, it'd be like us waving an American

727
00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:09,120
flag for a dignitary coming through in a parade.

728
00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:11,280
It's basically the same thing.

729
00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:16,120
And Jesus came into the city and his triumphal entry was not on a stallion.

730
00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:20,040
It was on a donkey, not only a donkey, but a baby donkey.

731
00:37:20,040 --> 00:37:21,920
It was as low as he could go.

732
00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:27,360
And what he was saying in that moment was, I'm not coming like you think I'm coming.

733
00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:31,160
Because I thought he was going to come and obliterate all of the Romans and give them

734
00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:32,160
freedom.

735
00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:33,920
But he was giving them freedom in a different way.

736
00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:35,160
They just didn't know.

737
00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:36,160
Exactly.

738
00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:41,600
In fact, only Jesus is recorded in the scriptures as weeping three times.

739
00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:48,200
And in this instance, it says that as he came into the city, he wept over the city.

740
00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:53,720
And the reason he wept, Luke records this, is because they didn't know the time of their

741
00:37:53,720 --> 00:37:54,720
visitation.

742
00:37:54,720 --> 00:37:59,120
They didn't know that peace was among them.

743
00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:01,680
They could have had peace from the get go, but they didn't know.

744
00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:02,680
They didn't see it.

745
00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:04,320
Their eyes were blinded.

746
00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:05,760
So Jesus had to go to the cross.

747
00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:11,200
So this begins, this day begins what's known in the Christian tradition as passion week

748
00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:12,960
or holy week.

749
00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:14,840
And it's called Palm Sunday.

750
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:19,920
And so there's a litany of events that will happen throughout the week in terms of what

751
00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:26,320
Jesus did, what he experienced, which led up to his eventual crucifixion, which next

752
00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:28,000
week we'll talk a little bit about that.

753
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:31,080
Because it'll kind of be our Easter edition of the show.

754
00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:36,520
And so our encouragement to you is, is we kind of, I landed on some things that I want

755
00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:38,080
to encourage you with.

756
00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:43,440
And the first one is this, in terms of what this means for real life, making faith real

757
00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:46,080
for the rest of us is simply this.

758
00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:51,560
Jesus flips the script on every life he touches.

759
00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:59,560
I've often said this, that Jesus often brings us what we need in a package we didn't expect

760
00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:02,600
and in a package we didn't necessarily want.

761
00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:03,600
That's for sure.

762
00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:07,240
Can you imagine if he answered every prayer we prayed?

763
00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:10,280
Oh, there'd be carnage on highways.

764
00:39:10,280 --> 00:39:11,280
Yes.

765
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:18,680
Because I prayed some prayers that I'm thankful that they didn't get answered.

766
00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:21,740
Because I wouldn't be here today.

767
00:39:21,740 --> 00:39:23,640
We wouldn't be here today.

768
00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:28,880
We would be in a whole, you know, who knows what kind of profession we would be in.

769
00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:30,840
How's he flipped the script on your life?

770
00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:35,200
I mean, what happened to you that would be different?

771
00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:40,160
Well, the way I grew up, who knows what could have happened?

772
00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:49,240
I probably would have been a real man hater, which then would have lent itself to hate

773
00:39:49,240 --> 00:39:52,080
God as much as I cried out.

774
00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:53,080
Think about it.

775
00:39:53,080 --> 00:40:00,920
I cried out to God so much as a child, as an abused child from an abusive parent.

776
00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:06,840
I remember standing at my window and praying and praying that a cop would come by so I

777
00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:10,600
could wave at him and say, please help me.

778
00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:12,480
And I'm glad he didn't answer that.

779
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:13,480
Wow.

780
00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:14,480
I know.

781
00:40:14,480 --> 00:40:15,480
Isn't that crazy?

782
00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:19,400
Because a lot of things had to happen to get me to where I am today.

783
00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:24,240
And honestly, I could literally, I could have hated God for that.

784
00:40:24,240 --> 00:40:32,520
But there were so many, so many things that have taken place in my life that are just

785
00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:33,520
God winks.

786
00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:36,000
You know how you talk about God winks?

787
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:42,640
That I believe they've all culminated into who I am today.

788
00:40:42,640 --> 00:40:50,680
And so, yeah, I'm very thankful that some of the prayers I've prayed did not work out

789
00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:55,480
because God, and I was telling you this as we were driving home, God knows the end from

790
00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:56,480
the beginning.

791
00:40:56,480 --> 00:41:02,040
And so it's best for us to pray for His will, not ours.

792
00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:03,040
Wow.

793
00:41:03,040 --> 00:41:05,480
And let God do what He's going to do.

794
00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:06,480
Man.

795
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:10,720
You know, I was telling somebody at church today, I didn't tell you this, but how proud

796
00:41:10,720 --> 00:41:12,080
I am of you.

797
00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:13,080
Why?

798
00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:15,160
Because you're a champion.

799
00:41:15,160 --> 00:41:19,600
You're a rock star to me, Annette, because I know your past.

800
00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:24,240
Others don't know your whole story and some of the things you had to overcome and things

801
00:41:24,240 --> 00:41:26,400
you had to work through.

802
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:29,120
And a lot of people aren't willing to do the work.

803
00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:30,540
They're not willing to persevere.

804
00:41:30,540 --> 00:41:31,540
They're not resilient.

805
00:41:31,540 --> 00:41:34,960
You're one of the most resilient human beings I've ever met.

806
00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:35,960
I'm a fighter.

807
00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:36,960
I'm a warrior.

808
00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:37,960
You are.

809
00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:38,960
And I love that about you.

810
00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:42,240
I had a gentleman say, you're a Joan of Arc.

811
00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:43,240
Do you remember that?

812
00:41:43,240 --> 00:41:44,240
That was...

813
00:41:44,240 --> 00:41:45,240
That's powerful.

814
00:41:45,240 --> 00:41:46,240
Highsmith.

815
00:41:46,240 --> 00:41:47,240
Remember?

816
00:41:47,240 --> 00:41:48,240
Yes, I do remember that.

817
00:41:48,240 --> 00:41:49,240
Coach.

818
00:41:49,240 --> 00:41:50,920
You're a Joan of Arc.

819
00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:52,240
So you're a Joan of Arc.

820
00:41:52,240 --> 00:41:55,040
And I was told by Tommy Hayes that you're a David.

821
00:41:55,040 --> 00:42:00,000
And I'm like, boy, Joan of Arc and David getting together, that's a scary combo.

822
00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:03,600
We're going to slay the world.

823
00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:05,840
And I'm going to play a guitar in the meantime.

824
00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:06,840
A harp.

825
00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:07,840
All these years.

826
00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:08,840
No kidding.

827
00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:15,600
But I'm just so proud of you because I love being able to tell others your story, to give

828
00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:16,600
them hope.

829
00:42:16,600 --> 00:42:18,600
Look, you think it's bad.

830
00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:21,680
Let me tell you where Annette has been.

831
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:23,500
And she is...

832
00:42:23,500 --> 00:42:24,760
It's not just that you fought.

833
00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:27,360
It's that you surrendered to God.

834
00:42:27,360 --> 00:42:28,360
Exactly.

835
00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:31,200
Fighting takes effort.

836
00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:32,960
Surrendering is a release.

837
00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:37,920
And I've seen you both fight and I've seen you surrender.

838
00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:45,400
Well, when I was crying out for a police to come, God came instead.

839
00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:49,680
Because it was during that time that I was invited to church.

840
00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:53,880
And I went to church for the first time the week before Easter.

841
00:42:53,880 --> 00:43:02,200
And I remember feeling such love, overwhelming love in this church.

842
00:43:02,200 --> 00:43:04,440
And I had never felt anything like that.

843
00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:12,560
And I really do believe that that was God just enveloping me with His arms of other

844
00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:13,560
people.

845
00:43:13,560 --> 00:43:17,000
Do you think He was showing you what's possible?

846
00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:18,000
Yes, I do.

847
00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:20,640
That you could have a life like this?

848
00:43:20,640 --> 00:43:21,640
I needed God.

849
00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:23,720
That you could have a life like this.

850
00:43:23,720 --> 00:43:24,720
Yes.

851
00:43:24,720 --> 00:43:25,720
It's powerful.

852
00:43:25,720 --> 00:43:26,720
Yes.

853
00:43:26,720 --> 00:43:27,720
It's beautiful.

854
00:43:27,720 --> 00:43:29,360
Well, I'm proud of you and you really are a hero to me.

855
00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:30,360
I mean that.

856
00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:33,640
You're a model of someone who has said, I'll never quit.

857
00:43:33,640 --> 00:43:35,000
I'll never give up.

858
00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:36,320
It's the Holy Spirit.

859
00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:37,320
Period.

860
00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:38,320
It's beautiful.

861
00:43:38,320 --> 00:43:39,320
It's beautiful.

862
00:43:39,320 --> 00:43:43,120
And those of you that are listening right now, I mean, first of all, I want to thank

863
00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:46,920
you for those of you that have written in to us and have asked questions or you've shared

864
00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:48,420
your story.

865
00:43:48,420 --> 00:43:50,680
And we want to invite you to continue to do that.

866
00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:53,760
You can go to livingupinadownworld.com.

867
00:43:53,760 --> 00:43:54,920
How easy is that?

868
00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:57,240
Livingupinadownworld.com.

869
00:43:57,240 --> 00:43:58,240
And you can email us.

870
00:43:58,240 --> 00:44:05,340
I love, we love hearing your stories, hearing your testimonies, hearing pieces of your journey.

871
00:44:05,340 --> 00:44:09,080
And that has been absolutely so encouraging to us.

872
00:44:09,080 --> 00:44:10,200
To read your stories.

873
00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:12,440
I'll always get back with you via email.

874
00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:15,760
Maybe a day or two or three, depending, but I will write you back.

875
00:44:15,760 --> 00:44:17,840
And we want to hear from you.

876
00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:21,560
We want to hear about your story, about your journey, about where you are.

877
00:44:21,560 --> 00:44:24,240
Even if it's not in a good place, we can handle it.

878
00:44:24,240 --> 00:44:29,320
And better yet, God can handle it because we care about you and we want the best for

879
00:44:29,320 --> 00:44:30,320
you.

880
00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:35,880
And I've got our own stories and our own tales of woes, so to speak, that we've had to overcome.

881
00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:37,160
But here's what I know.

882
00:44:37,160 --> 00:44:41,480
Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.

883
00:44:41,480 --> 00:44:45,080
And that God has made you an overcomer.

884
00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:47,080
In Christ, you can.

885
00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:49,960
In Christ, you will overcome.

886
00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:53,360
That's the beauty of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.

887
00:44:53,360 --> 00:44:55,600
We invite you to the table.

888
00:44:55,600 --> 00:45:00,880
And we want you to know that with us, you have a seat at the table with us.

889
00:45:00,880 --> 00:45:03,960
So write in, let us know what's going on in your life.

890
00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:08,480
For one thing, we'll pray for you and pray with you to encourage you.

891
00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:09,480
That's our heart.

892
00:45:09,480 --> 00:45:14,320
If you just need somebody to reach out to who maybe is far enough away that you feel

893
00:45:14,320 --> 00:45:16,320
safe, then feel free to write in to us.

894
00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:17,800
We want to hear from you.

895
00:45:17,800 --> 00:45:18,800
LivingUpInADownWorld.com.

896
00:45:18,800 --> 00:45:24,280
We also want to always give a shout out to our dear friends, Adam and Tina Curry.

897
00:45:24,280 --> 00:45:27,600
Adam and Tina have really coached us through and helped us.

898
00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:30,320
This is episode number 13, by the way.

899
00:45:30,320 --> 00:45:31,320
Can you believe it?

900
00:45:31,320 --> 00:45:32,320
13 weeks.

901
00:45:32,320 --> 00:45:33,920
13 weeks in a row.

902
00:45:33,920 --> 00:45:41,440
And we're so thankful that God brought us into their life and them into ours.

903
00:45:41,440 --> 00:45:44,440
And we've become the absolute friends.

904
00:45:44,440 --> 00:45:46,960
And we're so thankful for that.

905
00:45:46,960 --> 00:45:50,320
We've been able to walk together and watch them on their own faith journey.

906
00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:51,660
It's been exciting.

907
00:45:51,660 --> 00:45:55,460
So we encourage you to check out their podcast.

908
00:45:55,460 --> 00:46:00,640
Adam has a great podcast with John Dvorak called No Agenda, where they do basically,

909
00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:03,240
in their own words, media assassination.

910
00:46:03,240 --> 00:46:04,240
It's hilarious.

911
00:46:04,240 --> 00:46:06,200
But it's also very informative.

912
00:46:06,200 --> 00:46:09,400
And then also, really, I think our favorite is this.

913
00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:11,340
Curry and the Keeper.

914
00:46:11,340 --> 00:46:13,280
With both Adam and Tina together.

915
00:46:13,280 --> 00:46:19,140
And they've really created a format for us in what we're doing here.

916
00:46:19,140 --> 00:46:23,200
And they invited us into the podcast world, even just based on theirs.

917
00:46:23,200 --> 00:46:25,640
So we'd encourage you to check them out.

918
00:46:25,640 --> 00:46:26,640
Curry and the Keeper.

919
00:46:26,640 --> 00:46:29,840
You can find them on Fountain or any of the other main things.

920
00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:31,400
But Fountain is one of the best.

921
00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:33,760
We encourage you to go to Fountain and check it out.

922
00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:35,520
Anything you have to say at the end here, Annette?

923
00:46:35,520 --> 00:46:37,000
This has been a sweet time.

924
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:38,000
Yes.

925
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:40,400
I'm just, I'm really at peace today.

926
00:46:40,400 --> 00:46:42,400
It's been a really, really good day.

927
00:46:42,400 --> 00:46:45,040
Thank you for making my birthday special.

928
00:46:45,040 --> 00:46:47,680
And I love you so much.

929
00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:48,680
I love you more.

930
00:46:48,680 --> 00:46:51,680
You're supposed to say I love you more than that.

931
00:46:51,680 --> 00:46:52,680
That's our family.

932
00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:53,680
It is.

933
00:46:53,680 --> 00:46:54,680
All right, family.

934
00:46:54,680 --> 00:46:56,760
We love you guys.

935
00:46:56,760 --> 00:47:00,040
Have an amazing week on purpose, living up in a down world.

936
00:47:00,040 --> 00:47:01,640
We will see you next week.

937
00:47:01,640 --> 00:47:03,720
Hey, Easter is on the way.

938
00:47:03,720 --> 00:47:09,160
And Jesus, even though He took the hit for us, we're going to declare that Jesus Christ

939
00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:10,160
is risen.

940
00:47:10,160 --> 00:47:11,160
Amen.

941
00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:12,160
God bless you.

942
00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:13,160
We love you.

943
00:47:13,160 --> 00:47:30,360
God bless you.