Finding Light in Life's Darkest Moments

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Hey, welcome to Renewed Mindsets, the totally awesome podcast for Gen Xers who are ready to bust a move with the hand we were dealt.

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I'm Rick, and if you're feeling discontent with the way life has turned out, well, we're the goonies you're looking for.

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We're here to guide you in purging what you think you know, breaking free from conforming to this world and transforming your mind into the Christ-centered powerhouse.

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It was destined to be.

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Calm that mullet and grab a can of new Coke.

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It's time to get radical, dude.

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I'm so glad you're here.

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Do you remember episode 34 right before summer?

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It was called Rick's Pruning Season.

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It was about well, it was about 30 minutes.

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Seriously, it was about my losing a job and can losing your job be a path to personal and spiritual growth?

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In it, I share my 13-year journey with a company, pruning phases and how these challenges can lead to greater fruitfulness.

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I also talked about the shifting landscape of job security and the importance of seeking identity beyond professional titles and material possessions and material possessions Now.

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That episode was a heartfelt reflection on vulnerability and faith and the resilience that's required to find new pathways in life.

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I also, in it, highlight the practical aspects of my journey.

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You know this podcast of mine isn't just a ministry.

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It's a form of therapy that keeps me grounded and, with gratitude for my listeners and supporters, right now, I'm telling you, I'm reaffirming my commitment to this work on this podcast, trusting that God has a plan for the future.

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Well, today I want to share a deeply personal story about the goodness and the faithfulness of God.

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You know that's been five months since I lost my job.

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That was one of the most challenging moments of my life.

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Losing your job in your 50s, it's horrible.

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It was a time for me that was filled with uncertainty and questions.

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But today I stand, or sit behind this desk before you with a testimony of God's unwavering faithfulness.

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Did he see me through that difficult season?

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But he blessed me with so much more.

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It's overwhelming and I've got so much gratitude.

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I just want to share it with you.

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You know, back then, when I lost my job, I was reminded of the verse from Psalm 23, 1, the Lord is my shepherd.

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I shall not want.

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You know, even in moments of lack, god is our provider, he guides us and he protects us and he supplies all our needs according to his riches in glory.

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And I'm really, really am thankful for the unwavering support of my church family and the comfort that I found in scriptures like 2 Corinthians 4 and Psalm 25 3, which reminded me of God's protection and sovereignty.

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You know, finding strength and solace in a community of believers and Scripture was vital to me during that period of joblessness, and during those five months I clung to the promise found in Romans 8.28, and we know that in all things, god works for the good of those who love him and who have been called according to his purpose.

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It was hard to see the bigger picture at the time.

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It really was, but I had to trust that God was at work.

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He was at work orchestrating something even better than I could imagine.

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And even the not so good parts that I went through, like the financial struggle, man, that was bad, but it forced me to depend on God like I never had before, and it made me look at how my past decisions decisions that I was starting to question, like selling my house and buying an RV to live in for a little while, man, it helped ease those burdens when I looked at it and thought, well, what a great decision.

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Because what if I had had a mortgage right now?

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I'd have been in trouble.

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So God was looking out for me two years ago.

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You know, in Lamentations, chapter 3, verses 22 and 23,.

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It says because of the Lord's great love, we're not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

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They're new every morning.

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Great is your faithfulness, you know, every day I experienced his new mercies.

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Friends and family supported me, opportunities for growth, opportunities for learning appeared, and my faith was strengthened in ways that I couldn't have anticipated.

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Now let me tell you I had no job and barely a home to live in, and God saw fit to match me up with the godliest woman I've ever known, and somehow this woman fell in love with me.

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In the midst of all that, jeremiah 29, 11 provided a source of hope.

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For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.

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Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

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Now, today, as I step into this new job, I can see how God has been faithful to his word.

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Job.

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I can see how God has been faithful to his word.

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I now have what I believe is the best employment situation that I've ever had.

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Yes, I got a job.

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Now, this position is more aligned with my passions and my skills, and it offers opportunities that I never dreamed of, with a company that has faith and family as the first two lines of their company values.

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God, oh my gosh.

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God is good and faithful Friends.

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Let me tell you this I am engaged to that woman I spoke of earlier.

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You know her as associate producer and spiritual advisor, kimmy Shirley.

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Praise God, I'm getting married.

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Yay.

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Through this whole journey, I've learned that God's timing is perfect.

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Now, while we might not always understand the why behind our trials, we can trust that he is good and his plans are for our ultimate good.

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Losing my job was not the end.

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It was just a transition to something greater, and I'm here right now to encourage you.

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Whatever you're facing, know that God is faithful.

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He sees you, he knows your needs and he's working behind the scenes for your good.

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You know this is kind of short today and I really want to thank you for listening to me on this episode of Renewed Mindsets.

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If you have a testimony of God's faithfulness, I'd love to hear it.

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You could share your story with us on the Facebook page or you can send me a message.

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You've heard it a million times let's continue to encourage one another and build our faith together.

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Until next time, remember that God's goodness and faithfulness are unchanging, no matter what life throws your way.

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Let's stay strong in this second year of renewed mindsets, stay positive, stay focused and remember don't conform, transform, transform.

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Hey, you don't know how much I appreciate you listening to this podcast and if you're listening and you're regular, do you know that I have a second podcast?

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It's called Wisdom for the Day.

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You can find it at wisdomforthedayorg or right here, wherever you're listening to this podcast, just do a search for Wisdom for the Day.

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It's basically a daily podcast from the book of Proverbs.

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I read about two verses a day and do a deep dive on those two verses.

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Now, when you say deep dive on two verses, it's only going to be about five or six minutes, so you don't have to devote your whole life to another podcast.

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As much as I appreciate you listening to this one, I really want you to listen to the next one and I don't want to take up all your time.

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So give me five minutes.

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You can listen to that while you're shaving.

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You can listen to it when you first get in the car and waiting for it to warm up or cool off.

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I guess now, since it's going to be summer.

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I'd appreciate it, if you like it, let somebody else know about it too.

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That's wisdomforthedayorg.

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I love you See.

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Ya, you know, one of the biggest things that I had to learn during that time that I didn't have a job was patience.

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I wanted to be doing something, but it wasn't God's time, it wasn't in God's timing, and I realized that a lot of us need to work on patience.

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There's a lost art that people used to have In this time that we live in now.

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It's go, go, go, gimme, gimme, gimme.

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We've lost the ability.

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There's a lost praises waiting.

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Like many people, I've often viewed waiting as a waste of time, but we need to look at it differently.

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Wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage.

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Yes, wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage.

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Yes, wait for the Lord.

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That's Psalm 27, 14.

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Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him.

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Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way.

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That's Psalm 37, 7.

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My soul wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from him Psalm 62, 5.

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And then in James, chapter 5, 7 and 8.

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Therefore, be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.

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The farmer waits patiently for the precious produce of the soil.

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You too be patient.

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You know, when Paul said that he'd learned to be content in all circumstances in which he found himself, from Philippians 4.11,.

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I believe we can say the same thing would be true for us in just about any other virtue, whether it's contentment or patience or kindness.

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They all need to be learned.

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So no one can offer the excuse I was not born a naturally patient person.

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The truth is that no one was born naturally patient.

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In all my life, I've never seen a patient baby or a patient toddler.

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In addition to that, I believe we've all seen people who either have or might be working on the lost art of waiting.

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A lot of times, these people are the ones who have a book to read while they're waiting at the airport or at the doctor's office.

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Those people have learned to make good use of the waiting time.

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Now, I don't like waiting in line, but a lot of times we need to view those times as opportunities instead of just bad luck.

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When I'm stuck in traffic or sitting in the emergency room waiting on somebody, no one's asking me to do anything.

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It's free time.

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I can pray with my eyes open.

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If I'm driving.

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I can organize the rest of the day or the week, I can make a list of goals, I can put together a sermon or a Bible study.

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The truth is that I can always do something very productive while I'm waiting.

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It's that we live in a time that we barely have to wait any time at all.

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That's the problem.

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Now.

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We might complain about a delayed flight at the airport, but that's nothing compared to traveling for months to cross the Atlantic on the Mayflower right, or taking months to cross the plains in a covered wagon on the Oregon Trail just to get dysentery.

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We might complain about being stuck in traffic, but even on bad traffic days we're making a lot more progress just getting across town in a nice, warm car than people did 100 years ago with no traffic.

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Even with all our delays, we still don't have to wait too much compared to past generations.

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Noah had to wait 120 years to see his preaching vindicated.

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Abraham and Sarah and Zacharias and Elizabeth.

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They waited a long time just to have a son.

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Moses waited for 40 years in the wilderness until God called him and then spent another 40 years leading a group of murmuring and complaining people.

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All the faithful in the Old Testament times were waiting for the Messiah to come.

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Patience is a muscle that needs exercise.

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We need a new perspective.

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Instead of resenting times in which we got to wait, we need to realize that that soil can be fertile ground in which to develop patience.

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Don't get angry with inconveniences or interruptions in your schedule.

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The world most of the time underestimates things like patience and kindness and gentleness, and to some people those virtues seem weak.

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But the reality is that they're just proof of a person's strength.

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People who are not patient, people who are not kind or gentle, those are the weak people.

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Proverbs 16.32 says he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who captures a city.

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And Proverbs 19.2 says he who hurries his footsteps errors.

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One translation says impatience will get you into trouble.

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That's flat out telling you right there.

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And Solomon was so smart, proverbs 14, 29.

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He who is slow to anger has great understanding or great wisdom, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly.

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Great wisdom, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly.

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You know, one difference between a man who is slow to anger and the quick-tempered counterpart is that one has learned patience and to see things differently.

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And you know which one.

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You see, patience is not pretending that something doesn't bother you.

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It's not pretending that the traffic isn't bad or that the line isn't slow.

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It's seeing the situation in a different light or seeing the situation in the bigger scheme of things.

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When I'm impatient, all I see is myself.

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I only see my needs, my desires, my goals, my wants, my schedule, my inconvenience.

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The root of impatience is selfishness.

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It's easy to forget that what might have delayed us actually helped someone else or me in the long run.

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That interruption might have resulted in putting together a better presentation because it gave me more time to think about it.

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That unexpected delay might have prevented me from getting into the traffic accident that I just crept around in my undamaged car.

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That delay enabled me to meet someone and share the gospel with them.

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That delay put me and someone else in a situation in which they were more receptive to a conversation.

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God's decision to not intervene and give the world another day resulted in my salvation.

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2 Peter 3.15.

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In other words, nothing being done about it or the same old, same old resulted in me having the time to hear the gospel and become a Christian.

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We need to respect God's timing.

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There are times in the Bible that God purposely delays to bring about the bigger result, to make a more dramatic point.

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Delays to bring about the bigger result, to make a more dramatic point.

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God is willing to look or appear to be slow or insensitive or inactive, or even non-existent in order to bring about something far greater.

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When God doesn't seem to be moving as fast as I desire, I need to avoid the temptation of complaining and second guessing him.

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He is wise.

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He's wise and I'm not.

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And if I opt for a sinful path because I'm frustrated, who does that hurt?

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That hurts me.

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Patience is all about trusting God's wisdom and God's timing.

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Psalm 37, 7 through 11.

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Hey, hey, hey, my beautiful listeners.

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Oh, I'm sorry, I'm stupid.

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I just want to take a moment to do something that I don't do nearly enough, and that's tell you all just how much I appreciate you Seriously.

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You yes, you Sitting there, driving in your car, walking your dog, maybe even just kicking back with your coffee.

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You're the heartbeat of this show.

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You know, every week we come here together and we have these deep conversations, and sometimes we laugh and we hear stories, and the truth is, none of it would mean a thing if you weren't out there listening, supporting and showing up for us.

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Your feedback, your messages, your financial support.

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The time you take to tune in.

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It's everything.

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I can't tell you how many times I've read a comment or listened to a voicemail and felt completely blown away by how much love you show me.

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Or listened to a voicemail and felt completely blown away by how much love you show me.

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You bring all the energy and the motivation and the reason that we're striving to make this podcast better and better all the time.

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I am just so grateful.

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I'm not just talking into the void here.

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No way.

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We're connecting.

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I'm connecting with real people, and that's something that I don't take lightly.

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Every download, every share, every single one of you who's part of this journey.

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You have no idea how much it means.

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I feel your support, I feel your excitement, and that's what fuels me.

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I can't tell you how often I've thought how did I get so lucky to have listeners like this?

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I mean this community that we've built.

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There's nothing like it.

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It's something that's really, really special, and I hope you feel the same way.

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We're all on this journey of renewing our minds.

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It's just becoming the best versions of ourselves is what we're doing, and I couldn't do it without each and every one of you.

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You're not just listeners, you're family.

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If you've ever taken the time to leave a review, let me tell you you're an MVP.

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Every single review helps others find this show.

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It helps the community grow, and that's because of you.

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So, from the bottom of my heart and from the whole team here at Renewed Mindsets, yelena and Kimmy, thank you Seriously.

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Thank you for showing up every week and for listening and for sharing, for being here week after week.

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You're the reason that I'm here and I just want you to know you're appreciated and you're valued, and I'm thankful for your support.

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So let's just keep this going.

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Okay, I got so much more to talk about.

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God's got so many messages stuck in my head.

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I can't wait to share it with you.

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All, right, well, I love.

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That's all for this week's show.

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You know the name of this show speaks my hope for you.

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It's taken from the words of Romans, chapter 12, verse 2.

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Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

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If you enjoyed what you heard, do me a favor, please and tell someone you know about it.

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Send them a link and a text you know you may even need to download it to their phone and show them what a podcast is.

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If it was valuable to you, it will be to them.

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Visit renewedmindsetscom to hear past episodes, read the blog and check out the new merch.

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And, as always while you're there, send me a voicemail by clicking the button at the bottom right corner of the main page.

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Tell me what you think about this show.

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I just might play it on a future episode.

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Until next week, I'm Rick.

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I love you, See ya.

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The intro and outro music for the Renewed Mindsets podcast is Are you Ready by Floodgate?

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See ya.