Episode 157. Finding Your Identity In A Culture of Loneliness with Bonnie Gray
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Unedited Transcript
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[rebecca_george]: Bonnie, welcome to the show. I am so excited to have you today.
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[bonnie_gray]: Rebecca, this is wonderful to have a cup of virtual tea or coffee with you,
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[bonnie_gray]: depending what you love, our coffee, friend,
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[rebecca_george]: I know both. I love both depending on the day, so I, sometimes I can be a a
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[rebecca_george]: te girl and sometimes I. It's not the best for my body, but I do love some
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[rebecca_george]: good coffee. so I, I love that we get to meet. Virtually. We just got to
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[rebecca_george]: talk a few minutes before we hit record. About, um, a, a little bit about
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[rebecca_george]: your story and my story, and what we're kind of working on, And it's so fun
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[rebecca_george]: to get to connect with a fellow author who has a heart for fellow authors.
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[rebecca_george]: And I'm just excited to get to know you more and hear more about your
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[rebecca_george]: message. You have a book that just released about a month ago. It is on it.
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[rebecca_george]: Say that, say it again. say the Amazon stat, I'm so proud of you.
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[bonnie_gray]: sweet like Jasmine, finding identity in a culture of loneliness has hit
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[bonnie_gray]: Amazon's number one new release in Christian biographies. Rebecca,
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[rebecca_george]: That's so amazing. That's so amazing in preorder, which doesn't happen like
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[rebecca_george]: that's. That's the coolest thing and what people. I. I don't share this
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[rebecca_george]: often, but I'm going to say it this time the reason why preorers matter. I'm
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[rebecca_george]: going to let you you can chime in here, but we talk about a lot of books on
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[rebecca_george]: the show. That matter that matter, I believe to to me into the body of
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[rebecca_george]: Christton, will matter to my listeners. And so when people preorer a book,
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[rebecca_george]: it tells major retailers like Amazon, like Barnes and Noble, Like, Hey,
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[rebecca_george]: people care about this book and you need to carry like a lot of copies of
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[rebecca_george]: it. So when we talk about a book and I say, Hey, guys, this comes out next
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[rebecca_george]: Tuesday. Hey, this comes out. You know when whenever it does, we love
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[rebecca_george]: supporting our friends and who have books coming out for that very reason,
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[rebecca_george]: because it really at the end of the day carries the Gospel forward, right
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[rebecca_george]: like when more people know about a book when more people preorder a book
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[rebecca_george]: that allows the opportunity for major retailers to carry more copies of it,
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[rebecca_george]: which in turn, like, perpetuates that message and carries the Gospel
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[rebecca_george]: forward, So that's like a roundabout, roundabout word about preorers, even
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[rebecca_george]: though this one is going to be coming out a little bit after preorer, So
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[rebecca_george]: what do you want to add? Yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: Well, I, I just want to say that this is a surprise to me Sometimes when we
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[bonnie_gray]: look at Scs through our social media and we see some authors like saying, Hey,
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[bonnie_gray]: Celebrate, You know,
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: it's number one or ▁x y, ▁z, I want to share it you. A little story behind the
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[bonnie_gray]: scenes, because ten years ago I wanted to write this book, Rebecca.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: It's about my journey as a daughter. I'm Chinese American. I was born in San
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[bonnie_gray]: Francisco, Chinatown, and my mother is a male order bride from Hong Kong. She
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[bonnie_gray]: was seventeen when she came here pregnant with me and I was She was eighteen
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[bonnie_gray]: years old. I had a teenage mom and my father works as a bus boy in a noodle
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[bonnie_gray]: shop. And so that was kind of the beginning of my faith story,
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: And I wanted to share this story because God's love appears in every
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[bonnie_gray]: broken story, and my story started out broken. I
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: didn't choose it. I was born into it, Rebecca. And you know what publishers and
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[bonnie_gray]: agents at that time had said, There is no commercial market for Asian American
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[bonnie_gray]: stories of faith,
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[bonnie_gray]: And you know I was crushed because
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: you know I come from a ministry background, Meaning I was a misschionary in my
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[bonnie_gray]: twenties when I was single and I was like Wow, I really get it. I really want
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[bonnie_gray]: to share how God brought me from brokenness to beauty.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: And when I heard that I was like Okay, Well, maybe it's like Apostle Paul, You
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[bonnie_gray]: know doors were closing, he, he. He just kept right on preaching the stories of
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[bonnie_gray]: faith and the gossel, I said, Okay, God, I trust you. What else do you want me
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[bonnie_gray]: to write about So you know, in this ten year period, Rebecca, I wrote about
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[bonnie_gray]: finding spiritual White Space was about my journey towards healing toward panic
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[bonnie_gray]: attacks and anxiety from childhood trauma. And then I wrote about Whispers of
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[bonnie_gray]: rest, which is forty different ways to draw closeloure to God and restore calm
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[bonnie_gray]: and rest to our bodies, And so by God's grace, the readers, who I call are my
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[bonnie_gray]: sisters in Christ.
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[rebecca_george]: hm.
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[bonnie_gray]: They've been supporting me and coming alongside, and I finally, now, by God's
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[bonnie_gray]: grace, ten years later,
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[bonnie_gray]: God's Grace, said Bonnie, It's time for you to share this story
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: of you know all these different areas where you were looking for your true
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[bonnie_gray]: worth, Bonnie, but I am sharing with you and women everywhere.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: Your story matters, so thank you for having me here to day. This is really a
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[bonnie_gray]: testimony of the power of community of
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[rebecca_george]: mm. yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: sisters coming together. To say your stories matter. our stories matter, and a
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[bonnie_gray]: lot times we like to talk about our mountain top experiences right. That's
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[bonnie_gray]: really celebrated. but most of us live in the journey to the mountain top
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah, yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: Right when we go hiking right to get to that mountain Ta, we have to go through
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[bonnie_gray]: the valleys. We have to go through a lot of twists and turns, and that's part
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[bonnie_gray]: of our loneliness as women of faith.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: You know, It seems like we don't have the
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[bonnie_gray]: kinship that support when we go through hard times. It feels
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[rebecca_george]: Mhm.
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[bonnie_gray]: like we have the kind of hold our breath and then wait until we haveve
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[bonnie_gray]: something great to share. But the truth is we, We all long to be known. We all
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[bonnie_gray]: long to
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: be encourageed, So this book is about that.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: Let's talk about the stories where God's with us in the valleys, and
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: let's let's find out that God God is with us, So
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[bonnie_gray]: that's why I'm really thankful for this opportunity.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah. I'm
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[rebecca_george]: yeah. no. I'm so glad to have you here and I just want to say thank you so
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[rebecca_george]: much for not ▁quitting. I think some of the best books out there don't come
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[rebecca_george]: to fruition because people just ▁quit too soon. Right And so I have a
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[rebecca_george]: similar story.
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[rebecca_george]: We have completely different life stories. However, I spent about seven
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[rebecca_george]: years going down this path before I signed my book deal and so it sounds
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[rebecca_george]: like it was ten years for you and so I just um, I just want to honor your
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[rebecca_george]: faithfulness and that, and I'm so proud that you have allowed Godye in that
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[rebecca_george]: way and I'm so excited for it to come out into the world, so sweet like
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[rebecca_george]: Jasmine, finding identity and a culture of loneliness. I'm so excited to dig
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[rebecca_george]: into this. You share that there were times when you kind of felt like an
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[rebecca_george]: outsider. you've You've kind of alluded to this a little bit. I. I know that
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[rebecca_george]: there are many listeners who, maybe in a totally different life circumstance
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[rebecca_george]: might feel the same way. And so how would you want to encourage listeners?
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[rebecca_george]: Maybe who are really struggling with this in particular, maybe feeling like
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[rebecca_george]: an outsider right now,
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[bonnie_gray]: Well, here's interesting about loneliness. Um studies show that one out of
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[bonnie_gray]: three people are lonely.
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[rebecca_george]: Mhm,
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[bonnie_gray]: Loneliness Is is is the pandemic that's happening. We know
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[rebecca_george]: Yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: we're going through a difficult time. Eighteen months of you know coveed as a
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[bonnie_gray]: pandemic, but in our hearts there's a pandemic happening, which is called
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[bonnie_gray]: loneliness and loneliness is an internal experience where we just feel like
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[bonnie_gray]: we're hiding our hearts.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: There's so many things that we're going through that we have gone through and
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[bonnie_gray]: we feel like you know what. I don't think that's worthy to share,
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[bonnie_gray]: And so that that is a kind of loneliness. When you ask me well, how do we not
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[bonnie_gray]: fit in, and I think for each of us we have something that happens inside our
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[bonnie_gray]: home. For me, you know how I was talking about my. My experience of being born
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[bonnie_gray]: in is a Chinese American, and having my father left when I was seven and I
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[bonnie_gray]: never knew why my mom wasn't the kind of person that would talk to me about
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[bonnie_gray]: hard things, Or
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: you know, she wasn't a comforting presence in my life, And that is something
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[bonnie_gray]: that I couldn't share with anybody. It's kind of a taboo subject like maybe
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[bonnie_gray]: with fathers. it's a little easier like Oh, my missing father or my difficult
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[bonnie_gray]: father, But when it comes to moms for me, that was hard for me to talk about. I
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[bonnie_gray]: didn't want people to judge me to think that I didn't love my mother. That I
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[bonnie_gray]: didn't forgive my mother, Because forgiveness takes one right. All it is is us
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, sure,
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[bonnie_gray]: allowing with God to say we release this person from the
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[bonnie_gray]: wrong that was done to me, But reconciliation takes two.
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[bonnie_gray]: It takes the other person willing to say you know what. I'm sorry this
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[bonnie_gray]: happened. I want to
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[bonnie_gray]: take care of you. I want to respect our relationship, but it doesn't always
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[bonnie_gray]: happen. So in my relationship with my mother,
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[bonnie_gray]: there was that silence that you're not allowed to talk about this bonny. And so
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[bonnie_gray]: each of us has something like that. There's some kind of a family code either
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah, h.
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[bonnie_gray]: we grew up with, or
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[bonnie_gray]: maybe we adopt it, because you know as the oldest in my family, I was the
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[bonnie_gray]: bright cheerful one, Rebecca,
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[bonnie_gray]: you know, I was the one. I'll take care of everybody, you know, I'm a smart
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[bonnie_gray]: girl. I, I'm the problem solver. I just did. I didn't want to have people worry
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[bonnie_gray]: or feel troubled. I was kind of like the one that I used my faith early in my
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[bonnie_gray]: life
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: to
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[bonnie_gray]: kind of
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[bonnie_gray]: be strong. Does that make sense?
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah, it does. it does.
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[bonnie_gray]: But yeah, so kind of being strong was the way I expressed my faith early on in
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[bonnie_gray]: my life, and by God's grace, I needed it. so for those of our listeners who are
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[bonnie_gray]: in times of survival are getting through hard time.
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[bonnie_gray]: Um, God gives us the strength at the moment to get through it. But here's the
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[bonnie_gray]: thing. we are not to carry those burdens indefinitely, and our bodies are not
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[bonnie_gray]: made to
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: carry those burdens indefinitely
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[rebecca_george]: no,
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[bonnie_gray]: alone. So there's the loneliness. The loneliness is sometimes, and actually,
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[bonnie_gray]: that's most of the heart problems. They. they can't be solved in a day.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: You know whether it's marriage parenting,
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[bonnie_gray]: Uh, work, singleness, health problems. All these
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[bonnie_gray]: true H. human experiences take a long season to resolve and walk through. And
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[bonnie_gray]: so that's where loneliness comes in cause we kind of hide those stories, and
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[bonnie_gray]: you know whatever culture it is that we grew up with, And I'm not talking about
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[bonnie_gray]: ethnicity. I'm talking about family code, or maybe
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[bonnie_gray]: uh rules that we adopted for ourselves,
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, sure, yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: The bright and cheerful one or the one who takes care of everybody. That was
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[bonnie_gray]: kind of mine And
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[rebecca_george]: Mhm.
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[bonnie_gray]: it it works for a long while. You know,
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[rebecca_george]: Yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: you get rewarded in school and a ministry for
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[rebecca_george]: yeah.
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[bonnie_gray]: being the one that, like
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[rebecca_george]: absolutely
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[bonnie_gray]: you know, kind of the right. So, but you know,
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[rebecca_george]: the duer helper. Yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: yeah, but eventually that that that didn't work anymore, my body was telling me
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[bonnie_gray]: bonny. Um, you know, loneliness comes out as anxiety.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: Loneliness comes out as insomnia. Loneliness comes out as I don't know why. I
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[bonnie_gray]: feel like I'm kind of just walking around in a fog. And these
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah, yeah.
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[bonnie_gray]: are things that we don't even understand as that's happening. So I want to give
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[bonnie_gray]: words. I want
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[rebecca_george]: yeah.
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[bonnie_gray]: to help women to to share their stories in different aspects, so um, I,
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[rebecca_george]: I love that.
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[rebecca_george]: Yeah. it's so good and I'm I'm even thinking so somebody is listening today.
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[rebecca_george]: if a third of us are lonely. right
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[bonnie_gray]: yes,
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[rebecca_george]: if that statistic is true, which I believe it is if somebody's listening
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[rebecca_george]: today and they' like, Yeah, Rebecca Bonny, I'm there and I want to move
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[rebecca_george]: forward in faith like I want to take steps towards community. I want to take
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[rebecca_george]: steps towards reconciliation.
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[rebecca_george]: What might? it's going to be different for every story? But what are some
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[rebecca_george]: things that you would encourage that listener to do today in the days to
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[rebecca_george]: come that would begin taking those steps towards heeing.
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[bonnie_gray]: Well, you know, I think that the things we're talking about God is already
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[bonnie_gray]: doing so.
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[rebecca_george]: Yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: Uh, as listeners are listening to me, I know there's something that God is
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[bonnie_gray]: already tapping you on the shoulder, or he's touching your heart right now. Um,
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[bonnie_gray]: it's very easy for us as women to just kind of keep going. We don't want to
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[bonnie_gray]: trouble the waters.
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[rebecca_george]: Mhm,
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[bonnie_gray]: We don't want to say. You know what. I'm not feeling all there because that
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[bonnie_gray]: might mean if we're mom's.
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[bonnie_gray]: I, I need a break.
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[bonnie_gray]: I, I can't do lunches every day. I. I make these lunches that they're They're
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[bonnie_gray]: kind of killing me and it seems so small, but I, I need to do something
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[bonnie_gray]: different or Um, I'm exhausted. I actually am having trouble sleeping at night,
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[bonnie_gray]: and Um,
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[bonnie_gray]: you know, memorizing Bible versus singing praises to God. Those are good things
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[bonnie_gray]: that feed our mind. So when God says love the Lord God with all your mind,
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[bonnie_gray]: heart and soul, we focus a lot on the mind, which is
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, h.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah.
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[bonnie_gray]: knowing the truth and studying the scriptures, and that is important and
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[bonnie_gray]: needed, we need to tell each other to truth and tell ourselves the truth. But
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[bonnie_gray]: there's an aspect which is the heart that is making decisions in scriptures.
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[bonnie_gray]: The heart is where we make decisions and align the truth with our heart.
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[bonnie_gray]: Devotion. that's where we're committed. That's a seed of making decisions in
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[rebecca_george]: Mhm,
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[bonnie_gray]: the scriptures.
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[bonnie_gray]: The soul. You know, When Jesus has come to me, all those who are weary and
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[bonnie_gray]: heavy laden, he says, I'll give you rest for your soul.
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[bonnie_gray]: And to me, I didn't grow up with that kind of language like. it's almost like
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[bonnie_gray]: that part of the verse was invisible to me,
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[bonnie_gray]: Rebecca, you know soul care. What's that like? It doesn't matter how I feel,
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah,
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: you know like, just get get with it. Just get done, Bonnie. That's kind of how
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[bonnie_gray]: I kind of grew up, and
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: like I said it's It's nothing wrong with that. We. we need those times in our
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[bonnie_gray]: lives where we just kind of have to push through. but we now need to encourage
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[bonnie_gray]: each other to look at sole care. So the first thing that I would say and I talk
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[bonnie_gray]: about this in sweet like Jasmine, is kind of the difficulty of that. The soul
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[bonnie_gray]: kind of looking at. How am I really feeling
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[bonnie_gray]: We? And so we kind of keep ourselves busy because it's actually we don't want
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[bonnie_gray]: to know how we're feeling like
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: nobody. I, I don't need to figure that out, but got Jesus says. I see you. I
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[bonnie_gray]: feel your weariness and I care about you. Notice. Jesus doesn't say. come to
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[bonnie_gray]: me, happy, come to me
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[rebecca_george]: Mhm,
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[bonnie_gray]: cheerful. come to me, You know, no doubts, no worries. No, it's the opposite.
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[bonnie_gray]: Come to me, weary and heavy burden. So there's a study. I love to talk about
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[bonnie_gray]: Rebecca. It's by U. C, ▁l A. They have a brain imaging study research where
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[bonnie_gray]: they had people hooked up to biometrics
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[bonnie_gray]: and they had the people the participants look at different videos or images of
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[bonnie_gray]: other people feeling negative emotions,
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[rebecca_george]: yeah. yeah.
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[bonnie_gray]: So they saw videos and photos of people being angry, worried,
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[bonnie_gray]: sad,
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[bonnie_gray]: you know, troubled,
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[bonnie_gray]: panicked, and what happened when they saw these images, they
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[bonnie_gray]: started having reactions. their body responded to what they were seeing, high
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[bonnie_gray]: blood pressure, heart popating, eyesb, eyeppless being dilated, Okay, they're
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[bonnie_gray]: like freaking out right,
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[rebecca_george]: yeah. yeah. yeah. I believe it.
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[bonnie_gray]: But then they had them watch. They had them watch it again, except the only
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[bonnie_gray]: difference is a second time. they had them to name and label the emotions they
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[bonnie_gray]: were seeing. That's it. Just call it out and guess what their body restored to
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[bonnie_gray]: pace. place of peace,
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[bonnie_gray]: blood pressures, you know, Return to normal.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah. yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: Their heart started evening to restful, Um, heart. beeats and everything in
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[bonnie_gray]: their body started relaxing, So that says a lot.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: Okay. We need to name the feelings and the experiences that we are going
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[bonnie_gray]: through, and so that there's two ways to do that. Because God made our bodies
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[bonnie_gray]: to be connected with our experiences. God is in us with it In those daily
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[bonnie_gray]: moments
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[rebecca_george]: Mhm,
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[bonnie_gray]: where nobody knows what God says. I, I see what's happening. I am feeling we
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[bonnie_gray]: are the temple of the Living God. God says. I, I, feeling it all with you. So
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[bonnie_gray]: one journaling, I don't know how many listeners want to journal. May
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[rebecca_george]: we're big fans of journals around here. Yes,
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[bonnie_gray]: okay, that's great. studies show that ten minutes of journaling, not not not a
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[bonnie_gray]: to do list.
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[rebecca_george]: right,
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[bonnie_gray]: This is
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[bonnie_gray]: expressing something that's happened to you and how you feel about it. Just ten
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[bonnie_gray]: minutes study have shown it lowers depression and it eliminates and releases
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[bonnie_gray]: anxiety. And some people ha, like me. Like all of us, you know, we start them
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[bonnie_gray]: and stop them. we buy new journals and they're all over the place right like
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[bonnie_gray]: little Cookie grumbs our
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah, yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: journals. It's okay, because once every three months of journaling,
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[bonnie_gray]: that's all it takes just doesn't have to be everyda. It already helps express
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[bonnie_gray]: our emotions and so doesn't okay. You said your big on journal. Do you ever get
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[bonnie_gray]: aha moments as you journal?
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[rebecca_george]: I do. I get aha moments. I sometimes it's my way of forcing myself to slow
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[rebecca_george]: down long enough to process.
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[rebecca_george]: I run on all cylinders, twenty four seven.
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[rebecca_george]: so sometimes it actually feels
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[rebecca_george]: counterproductive to me to stop and actually like process what I'm feeling
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[rebecca_george]: or or even name it. Sometimes that feels hard for me and so journaling
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[rebecca_george]: forces me to do that And so that's helpful. I also think and I did this just
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[rebecca_george]: earlier today. Bony when I is my ▁quiet time. Usually it's after I, after
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[rebecca_george]: I've read for a while, a journal before I kind of move on and I flied back
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[rebecca_george]: through my journal and just read some of the things that I was talking to
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[rebecca_george]: about and I was praying for and was
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[rebecca_george]: just facing even three or four months ago. And it's so cool to look back and
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[rebecca_george]: see what God has done. That's another thing that in my own life, I know has
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[rebecca_george]: been really powerful over the last couple of years.
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[bonnie_gray]: Yes, that I love that. Um, the beginning scripture. That's the basis of sweet
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[bonnie_gray]: like Jasmine. I want to readach you. Just as you talked about that. that
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[bonnie_gray]: inspired me to share this verse with you and our listeners.
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[bonnie_gray]: And it's from. I'm turning to it,
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[bonnie_gray]: Lala. Okay, it's Secondcritheus Three chapter, Chapter three, Verse two and
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[bonnie_gray]: three, You yourself are our letter inscribed on our hearts. You're a letter of
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[bonnie_gray]: Christ written not with ink, but with the spirit of the Living God, not on
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[bonnie_gray]: tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts, and Rebecca. I love how you
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[bonnie_gray]: said once you uh wrote those notes and you went back and you saw God's goodness
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[bonnie_gray]: and seeing how he led you through it. You know that's what's empowering. that
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[bonnie_gray]: that
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[rebecca_george]: Yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: dissipates in fades loneliness, because we realize W. God is writing his story
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[bonnie_gray]: in our hearts, not on tablets of stone, Not a. That's kind of like the Old
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[bonnie_gray]: Testament law.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: You know the things that we do, but it says no. it's your heart. It's our heart
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[bonnie_gray]: how we feel, and God with us thought's living letters. And so those are the
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[bonnie_gray]: kind of letters that we want to share with each other when
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: I talk about our stories, Matter what you're going through now, not later. When
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[bonnie_gray]: you feel like you've overcome it, it's now and that's what's different from the
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[bonnie_gray]: rest of the world, the
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: rest of the world. You know, we like to talk about the perfect moments or like
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[bonnie_gray]: how things get resolved. But the life of faith is not like that. Faith is being
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[bonnie_gray]: sure things that we can't see.
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[rebecca_george]: Mhm,
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[bonnie_gray]: So it's when we share those moments when the letters are being written on our
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[bonnie_gray]: hearts as we're going through it, that shows the power of God's love To say,
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[bonnie_gray]: you know what God's loving me. In this moment God is carrying me through. I'm
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[bonnie_gray]: totally stumbling through this problem with my health or my
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: children are our marriage. I. I. I don't. I can't even see what's next,
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[bonnie_gray]: but as we share each other, we're like. Oh my gosh. I. I. I totally understand.
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[bonnie_gray]: I'm going through this other thing myself, and through sharing that moment is
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[bonnie_gray]: being present.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: That moment is
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[bonnie_gray]: Christ with us.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
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[bonnie_gray]: That that is the power of the Holy Spirit. So this, this uh book that I've
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[bonnie_gray]: written has a different journaling question in each chapter.
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[rebecca_george]: I love that.
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[bonnie_gray]: Um, that God guided me through. Yeaha, and so my desire. The reason why I wrote
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[bonnie_gray]: this is that, when I love how you said, you take that moment to just stop. it
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[bonnie_gray]: helps us slow down. And so that's exactly what it is. And you know God speaks
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[bonnie_gray]: in the ▁quiet. when Elijah was so exhausted, You know he did his best when
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[bonnie_gray]: Elijah. he sent down fire, even from
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[rebecca_george]: Yeah. yeah, yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: heaven. And you think yea. That's it, you know, and many of us are like that
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[bonnie_gray]: during covet or whatever, working through our issues right. we're like. Yes,
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[bonnie_gray]: this is the answer. Okay this. I've got it figured out and it's like, just like
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[bonnie_gray]: Elijah's like, Oh, no, I did this or I, You know, I thought this was gonna be.
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[bonnie_gray]: You know, the beginning of all things good, And then Oh no, Elijah had Jezebel
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[bonnie_gray]: put a hit on him. It, like things got worse, so even if
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[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: we do the right things,
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[bonnie_gray]: life situations can get worse.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: And so what did Elijah do? It says that he ran and he got exhausted and he just
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[bonnie_gray]: like you know, he went to a river and he's like God. You know, I know better
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[bonnie_gray]: than my ancestors. It's another way of saying God. nothing's changed this. Why
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[bonnie_gray]: is my life always on this replay? you know, just ended for me, But what did God
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[bonnie_gray]: do? He didn't lecture him. He didn't say, Hey man, get up and go back
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: and fight more battles. No God said here, Just he sent a angel to touch him. He
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[bonnie_gray]: touched him and said, Here's some water. It was in Ajr
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[bonnie_gray]: here, some warm bread,
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[bonnie_gray]: and he said, Just sleep. Just rest. So many of us need that permission
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[rebecca_george]: Mhm,
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[bonnie_gray]: and say you know what life is hard. right now. we need to make space with
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[rebecca_george]: Mhm,
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00:22:29,527 --> 00:22:35,687
[bonnie_gray]: something beautiful, Something restful that we can do, And you know loneliness
399
00:22:36,167 --> 00:22:41,367
[bonnie_gray]: is really neglecting ourselves. Loneliness is not just about whether we have
400
00:22:41,607 --> 00:22:45,367
[bonnie_gray]: people in our lives. It's this feeling that we've forgotten
401
00:22:46,407 --> 00:22:51,367
[bonnie_gray]: we've forgotten ourselves. We've left ourselves behind and that's a very lonely
402
00:22:51,527 --> 00:22:53,687
[bonnie_gray]: way to live where we're like robots.
403
00:22:53,700 --> 00:22:54,700
[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah,
404
00:22:54,087 --> 00:22:58,647
[bonnie_gray]: You know functioning. and yet we're like. I don't know how to stop. And so we
405
00:22:58,727 --> 00:23:04,087
[bonnie_gray]: feel lonely and we're not taking care of ourselves And I know that that's
406
00:23:01,820 --> 00:23:02,820
[rebecca_george]: yeah, Mhm.
407
00:23:04,247 --> 00:23:06,247
[bonnie_gray]: something I didn't even know I needed to do
408
00:23:05,860 --> 00:23:06,860
[rebecca_george]: yeah,
409
00:23:06,567 --> 00:23:12,327
[bonnie_gray]: until I was a mom. Like taking care of myself like man, That's not. that's. I
410
00:23:12,187 --> 00:23:13,187
[bonnie_gray]: mean, maybe
411
00:23:12,660 --> 00:23:13,660
[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah, yeah,
412
00:23:13,127 --> 00:23:18,487
[bonnie_gray]: for other women, but that's that's on me. I, you know, I just me to keep
413
00:23:18,647 --> 00:23:19,767
[bonnie_gray]: pressing forward. but
414
00:23:19,620 --> 00:23:20,620
[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah,
415
00:23:20,247 --> 00:23:25,127
[bonnie_gray]: you know, as as life goes on, it's It's just not the way God really wants us to
416
00:23:24,820 --> 00:23:25,820
[rebecca_george]: yeah,
417
00:23:25,367 --> 00:23:27,927
[bonnie_gray]: experience life. We are his beloved daughters.
418
00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:32,080
[rebecca_george]: yeah. I think that's such a good reminder and I love that you are pointing
419
00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:36,800
[rebecca_george]: people too, journaling in the book just as a as a practice to kind of unpack
420
00:23:37,120 --> 00:23:42,080
[rebecca_george]: what God's doing in you as as you read. And so before we go over to our
421
00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:45,840
[rebecca_george]: Patrion community, I'm excited to do our quick little bonus round with
422
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,760
[rebecca_george]: Bonnie over there. That's going to be really fun, but before we head over
423
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:53,520
[rebecca_george]: there, I just want to hear from you bonny, as you are walking into book
424
00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:58,000
[rebecca_george]: lanchch season, and you' just kind of praying for your listeners. Like what
425
00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:03,040
[rebecca_george]: you're praying for your read. What are you praying for as they walk away
426
00:24:03,100 --> 00:24:04,100
[rebecca_george]: from this message?
427
00:24:05,847 --> 00:24:08,887
[bonnie_gray]: Well, you know, I think that the main message I want to share where I wrote
428
00:24:09,047 --> 00:24:13,287
[bonnie_gray]: this book is I want every woman to know your story matters. what is happening
429
00:24:13,447 --> 00:24:17,847
[bonnie_gray]: to you matters the fire you've walked through that you've gods carried you
430
00:24:18,007 --> 00:24:22,247
[bonnie_gray]: through. Those are beautiful moments in your life that God is speaking to all
431
00:24:22,407 --> 00:24:26,727
[bonnie_gray]: of us, and Um, you let me know Rebecca if we have time for this, but I wanted
432
00:24:26,807 --> 00:24:27,847
[bonnie_gray]: to read an excerpt.
433
00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:29,680
[rebecca_george]: Yeah, yeah, yeah, go for it. Go for it.
434
00:24:29,127 --> 00:24:34,007
[bonnie_gray]: just a few paragraphs. Yeah, because I wrote this book during a time which is
435
00:24:34,167 --> 00:24:37,927
[bonnie_gray]: like the most awful time, which is the pandemic. I just finished writing this
436
00:24:38,007 --> 00:24:39,767
[bonnie_gray]: manuscript in April of this year,
437
00:24:40,807 --> 00:24:45,207
[bonnie_gray]: and Um, it was very hard because my kids, their thirteen and fifteen, Josh and
438
00:24:45,287 --> 00:24:48,327
[bonnie_gray]: Kle of their teenagers and their home distance learning.
439
00:24:48,500 --> 00:24:49,500
[rebecca_george]: Yeah. yeah, yeah,
440
00:24:48,967 --> 00:24:52,007
[bonnie_gray]: You know I usually write when there's nobody at home, And yet you know we're
441
00:24:52,167 --> 00:24:55,607
[bonnie_gray]: just still going to get through the pandemic, and God said, and this applies to
442
00:24:55,847 --> 00:25:00,407
[bonnie_gray]: all of us listening. God said. I think I need you to be more honest than you're
443
00:25:00,487 --> 00:25:03,527
[bonnie_gray]: willing to be. Because I felt like it's so hard for me to write. I was trying
444
00:25:03,607 --> 00:25:05,927
[bonnie_gray]: to make all my words right and perfect, and
445
00:25:05,580 --> 00:25:06,580
[rebecca_george]: uhhuh,
446
00:25:06,327 --> 00:25:10,087
[bonnie_gray]: Gosh, I don't want people to misunderstand me. How can I tell this story the
447
00:25:10,087 --> 00:25:13,847
[bonnie_gray]: right way and then that's kind of like a metaphor for our lives? like
448
00:25:13,540 --> 00:25:14,540
[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah,
449
00:25:14,007 --> 00:25:17,527
[bonnie_gray]: sometimes we feel stuck right like I don't know a decision to make. God.
450
00:25:17,220 --> 00:25:18,220
[rebecca_george]: Mhm,
451
00:25:17,687 --> 00:25:22,727
[bonnie_gray]: I don't want to do it wrong. And so God said Bonnie. What if you were to be
452
00:25:22,967 --> 00:25:27,047
[bonnie_gray]: more honest than you are willing to be comfortable with?
453
00:25:28,407 --> 00:25:32,887
[bonnie_gray]: So I, S want our listeners to ask you that. What is God calling you to be more
454
00:25:33,127 --> 00:25:34,247
[bonnie_gray]: honest about?
455
00:25:33,940 --> 00:25:34,940
[rebecca_george]: yeah,
456
00:25:35,287 --> 00:25:37,047
[bonnie_gray]: Then you are comfortable with?
457
00:25:38,167 --> 00:25:42,487
[bonnie_gray]: I want you to keep that in mind, listeners. because that is the beautiful
458
00:25:42,647 --> 00:25:44,487
[bonnie_gray]: beautiful place of faith. There's something
459
00:25:44,100 --> 00:25:45,100
[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah,
460
00:25:44,647 --> 00:25:49,127
[bonnie_gray]: new going to happen in our lives when we're there, So I decided to write about
461
00:25:49,287 --> 00:25:52,567
[bonnie_gray]: this story. I said. Okay, Well, if I was to be more honest and I was
462
00:25:52,647 --> 00:25:55,607
[bonnie_gray]: comfortable with Here' is a story I would tell about the most. One of most
463
00:25:55,847 --> 00:25:58,967
[bonnie_gray]: difficult moments I had to get through and I didn't know what I would do
464
00:26:00,087 --> 00:26:04,167
[bonnie_gray]: and I wanted to read Exer. It's super short, said Don't worry, Rebecca.
465
00:26:05,060 --> 00:26:06,060
[rebecca_george]: go for a girl.
466
00:26:05,607 --> 00:26:09,127
[bonnie_gray]: as the hos. I know you're like, Oh, no. What is you going to do with the type?
467
00:26:09,607 --> 00:26:14,887
[bonnie_gray]: Okay here it is. this is. Um. I got married later in my thirties. I was single.
468
00:26:15,047 --> 00:26:18,647
[bonnie_gray]: I was um. I didn't meet my husband till I was in my thirties and I didn't fall
469
00:26:18,727 --> 00:26:22,807
[bonnie_gray]: in love, you know, and I didn't know why. I mean I'm a very friendly person. I
470
00:26:22,887 --> 00:26:26,487
[bonnie_gray]: was veryacive in ministry, but I just wasn't falling in love until thirties.
471
00:26:26,807 --> 00:26:31,527
[bonnie_gray]: The secret that I kept hidden was that my mother. I had to spend every holiday
472
00:26:31,767 --> 00:26:36,247
[bonnie_gray]: with my mother because she said that she don't want anybody to be put above
473
00:26:36,347 --> 00:26:37,347
[bonnie_gray]: her. It was very
474
00:26:37,060 --> 00:26:38,060
[rebecca_george]: Yeah,
475
00:26:37,447 --> 00:26:40,727
[bonnie_gray]: important that I spent holidays with her, but our church group was going down
476
00:26:40,807 --> 00:26:44,487
[bonnie_gray]: to Southern California to ride roller coasters, and so I wanted to go with
477
00:26:44,567 --> 00:26:46,087
[bonnie_gray]: Eric. So here's the scene.
478
00:26:47,367 --> 00:26:52,487
[bonnie_gray]: Amma. This is just a simple fun weekend to go ride roller coasters. I haven't
479
00:26:52,647 --> 00:26:57,607
[bonnie_gray]: dated any onee since college. I'm thirty one years old, Alma. That's Chinese
480
00:26:57,767 --> 00:27:02,887
[bonnie_gray]: for Mam, Mama. Maybe you're right. it won't last, but I like Eric and I don't
481
00:27:03,047 --> 00:27:07,927
[bonnie_gray]: know if I don't try. I've taken care of you my whole life. Why can't you be
482
00:27:08,087 --> 00:27:13,047
[bonnie_gray]: happy for me? I started crying because I was more scared than anything scared
483
00:27:13,207 --> 00:27:17,847
[bonnie_gray]: that I said it so bluntly scared because I'd never spoken to my mom like this.
484
00:27:18,567 --> 00:27:23,047
[bonnie_gray]: How stupid can you be? Amma said a man comes along and pays you a little
485
00:27:23,207 --> 00:27:27,687
[bonnie_gray]: attention, And you think that makes you special? Amas, scoffed, you've
486
00:27:27,847 --> 00:27:33,607
[bonnie_gray]: forgotten who you are, Bonnie Lee, You're my daughter. You belong to me. Alma
487
00:27:34,007 --> 00:27:38,167
[bonnie_gray]: screamed it at the top of her lungs, wild with rage, wailing with all her
488
00:27:38,327 --> 00:27:42,727
[bonnie_gray]: might, like she was blowing air out of her lungs, her face turning purple. her
489
00:27:42,807 --> 00:27:48,007
[bonnie_gray]: hands bawled up in a fist. If I thought I was scared before I was terrified.
490
00:27:48,027 --> 00:27:49,027
[bonnie_gray]: Now
491
00:27:48,700 --> 00:27:49,700
[rebecca_george]: Hm,
492
00:27:49,207 --> 00:27:52,727
[bonnie_gray]: I felt I was teleported into some horror movie.
493
00:27:54,327 --> 00:27:58,087
[bonnie_gray]: I thought my mom would storm out and I would hear her grabber carkeys and slam
494
00:27:58,327 --> 00:28:02,007
[bonnie_gray]: the front door, as she often did. I was a little girl, leaving me behind.
495
00:28:02,807 --> 00:28:07,127
[bonnie_gray]: Instead, Amah tore out, thundering into the kitchen. I heard George's opening
496
00:28:07,287 --> 00:28:10,887
[bonnie_gray]: and slamming shut. The next thing I knew, she flew back into the room with a
497
00:28:10,887 --> 00:28:16,967
[bonnie_gray]: glint of steel, brandishing a large pair of scissors in her hand. She shoved my
498
00:28:16,967 --> 00:28:21,287
[bonnie_gray]: sliding closet doors open, violently yanking my clothes off the hangars. She
499
00:28:21,367 --> 00:28:25,367
[bonnie_gray]: was shaking as she pulled apart my clothes from the neck openings to tear them
500
00:28:25,527 --> 00:28:31,607
[bonnie_gray]: up, simultaneously wildly cutting up my clothes, running the blade of the
501
00:28:31,687 --> 00:28:36,247
[bonnie_gray]: shears against my clothes with one hand tugging them like she was strangling
502
00:28:36,487 --> 00:28:40,967
[bonnie_gray]: the life out of them. Everything you have, Bonnie, Everything you are is
503
00:28:41,207 --> 00:28:47,367
[bonnie_gray]: because of me, she screamed, and if weren't for me, there would be no you. She
504
00:28:47,527 --> 00:28:51,287
[bonnie_gray]: clawed at my desk, clutching whatever she could get her hands on, ejecting my
505
00:28:51,367 --> 00:28:55,367
[bonnie_gray]: books, my note books, swiping things off and throwing them all over my room,
506
00:28:55,847 --> 00:29:03,127
[bonnie_gray]: like a confetti of fury. I stood there choking in my tears, afraid to move or
507
00:29:03,367 --> 00:29:09,527
[bonnie_gray]: breathe. Frozen and paralyzed confusion engulfed me. I just wanted to ride the
508
00:29:09,607 --> 00:29:11,607
[bonnie_gray]: roller coasters with a boy i liked
509
00:29:12,727 --> 00:29:18,167
[bonnie_gray]: who liked me, too. How can something so simple become so wrong? And the thought
510
00:29:18,407 --> 00:29:23,127
[bonnie_gray]: hit me like a sirenen? Something is really really wrong.
511
00:29:26,740 --> 00:29:27,740
[rebecca_george]: wow,
512
00:29:30,967 --> 00:29:34,487
[bonnie_gray]: You knowt. all of us have those moments in life where we suddenly realized
513
00:29:35,127 --> 00:29:37,447
[bonnie_gray]: something is really really wrong.
514
00:29:37,540 --> 00:29:38,540
[rebecca_george]: yeah,
515
00:29:41,367 --> 00:29:46,087
[bonnie_gray]: You know. And and it's in those moments those honest moments. God enters
516
00:29:46,580 --> 00:29:47,580
[rebecca_george]: yeah, yeah,
517
00:29:46,967 --> 00:29:50,487
[bonnie_gray]: and I don't want to leave us open. Obviously it's a cliff hanger. I want to
518
00:29:50,567 --> 00:29:52,167
[bonnie_gray]: invite readers to purchase my book,
519
00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:53,280
[rebecca_george]: Yes, that's what we want.
520
00:29:52,327 --> 00:29:56,247
[bonnie_gray]: but I don't want us live as yes. but I don't want to leave us on a cliff hanger
521
00:29:56,327 --> 00:29:58,727
[bonnie_gray]: in terms of our hearts that are open. '. Ti. You're standing there right now as
522
00:29:58,807 --> 00:30:02,967
[bonnie_gray]: you're listening. that moment when you realized your frozen imp, paralys, so I
523
00:30:03,127 --> 00:30:06,807
[bonnie_gray]: wrote. Remember I was telling you, Rebecca I, I was having trouble writing
524
00:30:06,907 --> 00:30:07,907
[bonnie_gray]: during this pandemic,
525
00:30:07,460 --> 00:30:08,460
[rebecca_george]: Yeah,
526
00:30:08,087 --> 00:30:12,407
[bonnie_gray]: I decided to write the letter. I decided to write letters to my younger self to
527
00:30:12,587 --> 00:30:13,587
[bonnie_gray]: include them in the book,
528
00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:14,160
[rebecca_george]: I love that. Yeah,
529
00:30:14,647 --> 00:30:19,367
[bonnie_gray]: and so let me read this letter. It is for all of us because it's the whisper of
530
00:30:19,447 --> 00:30:23,207
[bonnie_gray]: God's love. Beloved. You are worthy of peace.
531
00:30:24,487 --> 00:30:29,447
[bonnie_gray]: You will have to make a very hard decision one day to choose peace over fear.
532
00:30:30,167 --> 00:30:34,967
[bonnie_gray]: you have to keep choosing to believe that you are worthy of that peace. You
533
00:30:35,047 --> 00:30:39,927
[bonnie_gray]: will have to leave, even though you've given your all to stay. Peace isn't
534
00:30:40,167 --> 00:30:45,687
[bonnie_gray]: freedom from conflict. Peace is trusting God enough to make the right choice in
535
00:30:45,847 --> 00:30:51,127
[bonnie_gray]: the midst of conflict. Choosing peace will mean you need to let go of some one
536
00:30:51,687 --> 00:30:58,327
[bonnie_gray]: or something that you held on in order to take the hand of God who promises to
537
00:30:58,487 --> 00:31:00,567
[bonnie_gray]: lead you beside ▁quiet waters.
538
00:31:01,607 --> 00:31:05,527
[bonnie_gray]: You will need to count the cause and set your face like flint to leave. What
539
00:31:05,687 --> 00:31:09,847
[bonnie_gray]: isn't healthy, Because staying with someone one or something that is
540
00:31:10,087 --> 00:31:14,967
[bonnie_gray]: emotionally hurting you, toxic to your well being, hurting your heart. Your
541
00:31:15,047 --> 00:31:20,567
[bonnie_gray]: body and soul is breaking the heart of God. To choose peace, you will need to
542
00:31:20,567 --> 00:31:25,927
[bonnie_gray]: be honest with yourself. There will come a time for this honesty and that time
543
00:31:26,307 --> 00:31:27,307
[bonnie_gray]: is now.
544
00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:33,520
[rebecca_george]: that's beautiful. that's beautiful. I am so so excited for everybody to go
545
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:38,080
[rebecca_george]: grab the book and get to know your story more as well as just
546
00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:43,040
[rebecca_george]: allow you to speak into their lives on on these topics. I'm so excited
547
00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:47,440
[rebecca_george]: before we go real quick, Bonnie. I want you to share about the resource that
548
00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:52,080
[rebecca_george]: you're sharing and kind of as a part of how you wrote the journal, prompts
549
00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:55,040
[rebecca_george]: for the book Right, Sure about that, and where people can go access that,
550
00:31:56,807 --> 00:32:02,087
[bonnie_gray]: Yes, I want to give you this gift of stories of faith, Guided journal. It comes
551
00:32:02,327 --> 00:32:05,447
[bonnie_gray]: as a gift for those of you who order sweet like Jasmine.
552
00:32:05,220 --> 00:32:06,220
[rebecca_george]: Mhm,
553
00:32:05,607 --> 00:32:10,247
[bonnie_gray]: Go to sweet like Jasmine Dot com. I use this personally to write these stories
554
00:32:10,407 --> 00:32:15,047
[bonnie_gray]: to pass on to my children. I wanted to start a new story, A new legacy of
555
00:32:15,207 --> 00:32:19,207
[bonnie_gray]: faith. It wonn't pass on to me, but I'm going to pass it to my children, so if
556
00:32:19,287 --> 00:32:22,807
[bonnie_gray]: you're single, you can pass it to your friends. but most importantly it's for
557
00:32:22,887 --> 00:32:28,647
[bonnie_gray]: you to draw closer to God to his love and his pee. So please, it's from my
558
00:32:28,887 --> 00:32:33,207
[bonnie_gray]: heart to you. This is what help restored peace and joy in my own life.
559
00:32:32,940 --> 00:32:33,940
[rebecca_george]: Mm,
560
00:32:33,527 --> 00:32:38,087
[bonnie_gray]: So this is honestly from my heart to you. Go to swee, like Jasmine dot com, and
561
00:32:38,087 --> 00:32:43,287
[bonnie_gray]: I want every woman listening. You are as beautiful and beloved as God says, and
562
00:32:43,367 --> 00:32:47,447
[bonnie_gray]: I want you to feel it and experience it. and as Rebecca shared, when you are
563
00:32:47,607 --> 00:32:52,167
[bonnie_gray]: able to reflect on it, you will feel God's presence in your life. inspire and
564
00:32:52,147 --> 00:32:53,147
[bonnie_gray]: restore you.
565
00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:57,760
[rebecca_george]: Yeah, yeah'. so good, Bonnie. I am so excited to meet you. I'm so excited
566
00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:00,720
[rebecca_george]: about this message and for how it's going to impact women's lives.
567
00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:02,720
[rebecca_george]: Especially right now. this book was.
568
00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:07,280
[rebecca_george]: God had plans for this book to release during this time, and I think that's
569
00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:10,800
[rebecca_george]: really special and it matters so much. and it's going to impact so many
570
00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:13,680
[rebecca_george]: women's lives. So thank you for writing it. Thank you for your faithfulness
571
00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:16,240
[rebecca_george]: and thank you for being with me today. This was so fun.
572
00:33:17,287 --> 00:33:19,047
[bonnie_gray]: It was wonderful. thank you, Rebecca.
573
00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:24,640
[rebecca_george]: Okay, um, let's I've got like five minutes, So
574
00:33:24,967 --> 00:33:26,647
[bonnie_gray]: I know bonus. thank you.
575
00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:28,720
[rebecca_george]: we'll do. I know, I know I wish we had more time, but I do. I do have to go
576
00:33:28,780 --> 00:33:29,780
[rebecca_george]: once, so let's do the
577
00:33:29,347 --> 00:33:30,347
[bonnie_gray]: Go for.
578
00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:31,600
[rebecca_george]: the quick little bonus thing. Uh, we'll
579
00:33:31,507 --> 00:33:32,507
[bonnie_gray]: Go for it.
580
00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:33,840
[rebecca_george]: try to get through as many of them as we can, So'll do a quick
581
00:33:33,787 --> 00:33:34,787
[bonnie_gray]: Go for it.
582
00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:35,120
[rebecca_george]: pause and we'll go for. okay,
583
00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:39,280
[rebecca_george]: Bonnie. thank you so much for being with me today. I have loved our
584
00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:43,120
[rebecca_george]: conversation about your new message, sweet like Jasmine, finding identity
585
00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:47,440
[rebecca_george]: and a culture of loneliness, so I want listeners to go grab that and also
586
00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:50,560
[rebecca_george]: listen to our our other conversation on the podcast platforms, But I'm
587
00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:53,520
[rebecca_george]: excited to do a little bonus round with you. So, are you ready?
588
00:33:54,260 --> 00:33:55,260
[rebecca_george]: Okay?
589
00:33:54,587 --> 00:33:55,587
[bonnie_gray]: Yes, I am.
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00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:58,240
[rebecca_george]: let's do it. Okay. So the first question is what do you think is one of the
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[rebecca_george]: best pieces of advice that you've ever been
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[rebecca_george]: givenm? that's so good. Yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: I think the best advice for me is to stop trying so hard, Bonnie.
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[bonnie_gray]: These are from people that know me best. They're like. Stop trying so hard.
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[bonnie_gray]: Just be you
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: and not everyone. One is going to like it, but it doesn't matter because
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[rebecca_george]: yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: God loves you.
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[rebecca_george]: yeah. that's good. That's really good advice for many of us. Okay. what is
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[rebecca_george]: one of the best books that you've read lately that you want people to know
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[rebecca_george]: about?
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[bonnie_gray]: Oh wow, gosh, well, the best book that I've read lately is an older book. It's
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[bonnie_gray]: by Henry Nowen It's called Following Jesus, So I love soul career, And so Henry
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[bonnie_gray]: Nowwen, Following Jesus is a wonderful book That reminds us. there's so much
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[bonnie_gray]: noise in the internet right now
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[rebecca_george]: Yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: with the social media and we need to go back to Jesus, So that's the book I'm
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00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:51,600
[rebecca_george]: Yeah, I love that that's so good. Okay, what is something? This could be
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00:34:47,147 --> 00:34:48,147
[bonnie_gray]: reading.
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[rebecca_george]: anything at all that you are really loving in this season that you want
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[rebecca_george]: people to know about.
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00:34:58,007 --> 00:35:04,087
[bonnie_gray]: Oh, pray as you go, is a very good podcast. It's just um ten minutes and it's
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[bonnie_gray]: reading scripture. So for those who you, who are new to it, or maybe you're
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00:35:07,847 --> 00:35:11,767
[bonnie_gray]: familiar, it's called lecu, Devina. It's just reading scripture and it, It
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[bonnie_gray]: combines a ten minute walk. St. Uh, study show, scientifically that if you take
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00:35:16,487 --> 00:35:21,287
[bonnie_gray]: a ten minute walk, your body is going to be able to expel those hormones that
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00:35:21,447 --> 00:35:25,127
[bonnie_gray]: allow you to freak out and stress out because we're overwhelmed with too much
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00:35:25,287 --> 00:35:26,407
[bonnie_gray]: information too much to do. But
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[rebecca_george]: Yeah, Yeah,
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[bonnie_gray]: if you take a ten minute walk, listen to pray as you go, Podcast. you're going
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00:35:30,087 --> 00:35:33,687
[bonnie_gray]: to be able to get refilled and all those good hormones like dopeamine
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00:35:34,007 --> 00:35:37,847
[bonnie_gray]: Saratonian, You are going to feel better. Put on your shoes. Okay like you
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00:35:37,927 --> 00:35:40,647
[bonnie_gray]: don't have to feel like it. You can just be complaining about it. You're like,
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00:35:40,647 --> 00:35:43,767
[bonnie_gray]: Oh, my gosh, I don't want to go on a walk. This is just wasting my time. I'm so
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00:35:43,847 --> 00:35:47,687
[bonnie_gray]: busy. Put on the shoes. Take a walk outside. put on your earbs. Listen to pray
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00:35:47,467 --> 00:35:48,467
[bonnie_gray]: as you go,
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00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:49,360
[rebecca_george]: praise you go. Okay,
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[bonnie_gray]: and Rebecca's podcast.
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[rebecca_george]: you're so sweet. Yeah, I love that I have. I have heard of that method and I
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00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:57,520
[rebecca_george]: think that's really cool. So glad you mention that one. Okay, last question
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00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:01,760
[rebecca_george]: that. I love asking our guest right now to do with where God was leading me,
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00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:05,280
[rebecca_george]: as far as the vision for the podcas kept bringing me back to this verse and
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00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:09,600
[rebecca_george]: sawm thirty fors first five. it says, Those who look to him are radiant and
635
00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:14,080
[rebecca_george]: their faces are never covered in shame. So the question I love asking right
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00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:17,360
[rebecca_george]: now is what about Jesus makes you radiant?
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[bonnie_gray]: Oh, you're going to make me cry.
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00:36:21,527 --> 00:36:22,887
[bonnie_gray]: You're going to make me cry, Because
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00:36:23,927 --> 00:36:28,727
[bonnie_gray]: I just I to think of Jesus cooking breakfast. It's my favorite passage,
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00:36:29,707 --> 00:36:30,707
[bonnie_gray]: But the bech.
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[rebecca_george]: Yeah,
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00:36:32,247 --> 00:36:36,727
[bonnie_gray]: When you know he resurrected, he could have gone back to all the important
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[bonnie_gray]: people and told them he's real. He's resurreced Look at me, but he didn't. He
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00:36:42,647 --> 00:36:48,407
[bonnie_gray]: went to just the ▁quiet few, his best friends, and he cooked breakfast for
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[rebecca_george]: Yeahm,
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00:36:48,487 --> 00:36:52,727
[bonnie_gray]: them. He didn't even teach them by speaking or lecturing them or anything. He
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00:36:52,887 --> 00:36:57,127
[bonnie_gray]: just cooked breakfast for them on the beach, and I love before I go to sleep at
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00:36:57,207 --> 00:37:02,727
[bonnie_gray]: night, Rebecca. I just think about being on the beach. I imagine Je'sus tending
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00:37:02,547 --> 00:37:03,547
[bonnie_gray]: a fire,
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[bonnie_gray]: and he's turning fish over fire, And then he has a warm bread for me and then
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00:37:12,087 --> 00:37:16,967
[bonnie_gray]: he puts it on my hand, and because I'm a writer, I imagine what's the word?
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00:37:17,447 --> 00:37:22,327
[bonnie_gray]: Because God says he gives us Mannna and that it's his word. Man will not live
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00:37:22,487 --> 00:37:25,927
[bonnie_gray]: by bread alone, but by the word of God, so I imagine every night before I go to
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[bonnie_gray]: sleep, I'm on the beach with Jesus. What is that beautiful word he's given to
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00:37:30,567 --> 00:37:34,807
[bonnie_gray]: me that warm bread. And that's how I go to sleep each night, Rebecca, and
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00:37:34,820 --> 00:37:35,820
[rebecca_george]: I love that.
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00:37:34,887 --> 00:37:37,287
[bonnie_gray]: that's how my face is radiant. That's how
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00:37:37,060 --> 00:37:38,060
[rebecca_george]: Yeah,
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00:37:37,527 --> 00:37:42,807
[bonnie_gray]: my face is radiant, and I I'm crying tears of joy, because Jesus loves each of
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00:37:42,887 --> 00:37:47,607
[bonnie_gray]: us so much, And that's what I pray. When people read my book, I hope they will
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00:37:47,767 --> 00:37:52,647
[bonnie_gray]: feel God's nearness, God's pres, and they'll hear a word from God put on their
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00:37:52,807 --> 00:37:56,887
[bonnie_gray]: hearts, and that is what I practise every evening every morning. That's what I
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[bonnie_gray]: do. I say, Lord, give me your word, one word to day and so
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00:38:02,567 --> 00:38:06,087
[bonnie_gray]: thanks for asking these questions. I know is going to be so emotional. But when
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00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:11,120
[rebecca_george]: this question it gets me. It gets me all the time too, because there's and
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00:38:06,167 --> 00:38:07,687
[bonnie_gray]: you said the radiance of got,
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[rebecca_george]: what's so cool is when you ask hundreds of people the same question
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00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:19,760
[rebecca_george]: and I could probably ask you this tomorrow and you would have a different
669
00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:23,760
[rebecca_george]: answer. Right. Like everybody sees a part of his character
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00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:29,120
[rebecca_george]: or or something from Scripture that they can point back to and go. Yeah and
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00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:33,120
[rebecca_george]: I abide in him, and I see this about him. It makes me radiant and it's just
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00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:37,840
[rebecca_george]: so beautiful to see how he's at work in so many people's lives, And so I
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[rebecca_george]: love. I love hearing that. thank you for sharing. I love that so much. Well,
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[rebecca_george]: Bonniy. I have loved being with you. I'm so excited about the message of
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00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:47,920
[rebecca_george]: your new books. Sweet like Jasmine, finding identity and a culture of
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00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:51,200
[rebecca_george]: loneliness. I can't wait for our listeners to go grab it and I just want to
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00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:53,920
[rebecca_george]: say Well more time. Thank you so much for being with me.
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[bonnie_gray]: Oh Rebecca, it's wonderful to have this virtual cup of tea with you, Just a
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00:38:59,047 --> 00:39:03,047
[bonnie_gray]: soothing break in our busy day. You're wonderful, and may God bless your voice.
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00:39:03,287 --> 00:39:09,047
[bonnie_gray]: Continue reaffirm you, as you call women, to feel God's radiance upon their
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00:39:09,147 --> 00:39:10,147
[bonnie_gray]: heart and his love.
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00:39:10,500 --> 00:39:11,500
[rebecca_george]: Hm, thanks, friend.
