Spiritual Health | Faith For Real Life Podcast
We’re excited to kick off our brand-new podcast by diving into a conversation about spiritual health with longtime Hope City members, Gwen and Dan Bodie. They share how life’s highs and lows have shaped their faith, and offer practical tips for anyone looking to deepen their walk with God. It’s an honest, encouraging, and real look at what it means to grow spiritually day by day.
In the coming weeks, we’ll release five podcast episodes that line up with our current sermon series, “New Year, New You.” Each episode will explore a different area of health—physical, mental, professional, financial, and spiritual—to help you step into a healthier, stronger life the way God intends.
What You’ll Hear About:
• How tragedy and hard seasons can draw us closer to God
• Why prayer, scripture reading, and service are key to spiritual vitality
• Practical ways to find meaningful church community
• Overcoming spiritual “dry spells” and dealing with doubt
Whether you’re new to faith or have followed Jesus for decades, we hope this conversation inspires you to keep growing in every area of your life.
🙌 Connect with Us:
- New? - hopecity.ca/new
- Stay Connected - hopecity.ca/weekly
- Following Jesus - hopecity.ca/life
- Giving - hopecity.ca/give
- Follow us on Instagram: @HopeCityYEG
- Visit our Website: hopecity.ca
- Follow us on TikTok: @HopeCityYEG
🙏 Need Prayer?
Please leave a comment or reach out to us directly—we’re here for you!
Transcript
- Well, everybody, uh, welcome.
Speaker:We are starting a brand new
sermon series called New Year
Speaker:New You, where we're covering
five elements of health.
Speaker:And so we're talking about
physical health, mental health,
Speaker:professional health, financial
health, and physical health.
Speaker:Everybody wants to get healthier.
Speaker:Nobody wants to get less
healthy, that's for sure.
Speaker:And of course, God wants
you to be healthier.
Speaker:God cares about your spiritual health.
Speaker:He cares about your inner
world. He cares about your mind.
Speaker:He cares about your body.
Speaker:He cares about your finances
and how you steward that.
Speaker:And so this series is
gonna be really practical.
Speaker:And to come alongside the sermon series,
Speaker:we're gonna be recording five podcasts
Speaker:with experts in this
field from our church.
Speaker:Although anyone who's on the
podcast will probably not think
Speaker:they're experts, but we
think they're experts.
Speaker:We know that their stories are going
Speaker:to bless you and help you.
Speaker:And so today, uh, we have, uh, Gwen
Speaker:and Dan Bode with us
members of our church,
Speaker:and they're gonna be talking
about spiritual health.
Speaker:And so welcome. Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker:And so how do you feel about being called
Speaker:experts in spiritual health?
Speaker:- Uh, yeah. No, .
Speaker:- Well, your humility.
Speaker:See, look, they're already winning. There
Speaker:- You go.
Speaker:- Yeah.
- Yeah. And so, no,
Speaker:- We've been at it for a long time.
Speaker:For sure. Say that. Yeah.
Always learning, always growing.
Speaker:- I consider you living saints,
Speaker:and so I really look up to you.
Speaker:And I know my mom is very close with you,
Speaker:and I was on the car ride
with her this morning,
Speaker:and I said that I was
interviewing you guys,
Speaker:and she, this is what she said.
Speaker:She said, oh, they're living
saints. They'll do so well .
Speaker:So when your reputation precedes,
Speaker:and we know that's God
doing a work in you.
Speaker:Yeah. And that's not ourselves.
Speaker:And so I'd love to just know
maybe a little bit about you.
Speaker:How did you guys meet? How
long you guys been married?
Speaker:- We have been married 54 years. Good job.
Speaker:And I, uh, I, uh, checked that
Speaker:with my calculator before you came .
Speaker:- Good. But,
- Uh, uh,
Speaker:and we met, uh, in two places
at church and at school.
Speaker:Okay. And so here in
Speaker:- Edmonton?
Speaker:- Yes. Wonderful. McNally High School.
Speaker:And, uh, then a small church
close to the university campus.
Speaker:Okay. And we were about
that age when we met.
Speaker:- Yeah. So you guys were in church,
Speaker:the same church together
when you guys met?
Speaker:Yes. Mm-hmm . Okay. You
guys were singing a hymn
Speaker:and you caught Gwen's eye
from across the church. And
Speaker:- Actually it was shuffleboard. It was
Speaker:- Shuffleboard .
Speaker:That's awesome. I've
done shuffleboard once.
Speaker:It's a lot of fun. Yeah.
Yeah. Bring it back.
Speaker:Uh, it's pickle. Everything's
pickleball right now.
Speaker:That's right. We can bring back
shuffleboard. That's great.
Speaker:And how long have you guys
been serving the Lord?
Speaker:- Uh, let's see, late seventies, so
Speaker:45 years or so.
Speaker:- Okay. Like that.
- Yeah. Okay.
Speaker:- And looking back, um, I
think that probably I would say
Speaker:that, uh, significant watershed in my life
Speaker:was when I was 12.
Speaker:Okay. And, uh, in the church
that I was going to then, uh,
Speaker:they, um, practiced a
public profession of faith.
Speaker:So I went up to the front
Speaker:and said that, uh, I believed in Jesus
Speaker:as my Lord and Savior.
Speaker:Yeah. And not long after
that, I was baptized and at
Speaker:- 12, so, okay.
Speaker:It's good. I have a 12-year-old
Speaker:and she has really come
to her own and her faith.
Speaker:Um, you know, I have
younger kids as well, and,
Speaker:and sometimes I'm, I'm,
I'm just not too sure.
Speaker:Right. But my 12-year-old, I'm
sure I'm like, she gets it.
Speaker:And so that's wonderful at
12 that you can come to that.
Speaker:Okay. So you said you've
been serving the Lord
Speaker:for about 45 years.
Speaker:- Yeah, I would, I would
say that I didn't have
Speaker:that ex same experience that dad had.
Speaker:Yeah. Okay. I, I actually did
get baptized when I was about
Speaker:10, but I didn't know
what I was doing. Yeah.
Speaker:- And I know have, have you
been rebaptized since that? Yes.
Speaker:Okay. 'cause some people
ask that sometimes.
Speaker:I actually just had a, someone
ask me the other day said,
Speaker:Hey, I got baptized when
I was, you know, six
Speaker:or seven, but I didn't
know what I was doing.
Speaker:Yeah. You know, should I get
baptized again? Definitely.
Speaker:Okay. And you did? Yes, I did. Okay.
Speaker:So when were you Rebaptized?
Speaker:- Um, so
Speaker:that would've been in
about: Speaker:Okay. Early eighties. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:- Wow. Yeah. Were there any sort
Speaker:of key significant moments in
your life that you look back
Speaker:to, uh, as, um, a cause
for spiritual growth
Speaker:or that you'd say this
really was a, a key marker
Speaker:for my faith journey?
Speaker:Mm-hmm
- . Yeah. I, there's a, there's a few.
Speaker:Um, and I would say that I, by
the time I got to university,
Speaker:I didn't have any faith at all.
Speaker:I, I didn't really, I,
I stopped believing even
Speaker:that there was a god Hmm.
Speaker:And all through my
university life and really
Speaker:- Was there was, sorry to interrupt.
Speaker:Was there a reason for that?
Speaker:- I just never knew him.
Speaker:Like I, I, not to dump on
my church, but it was dead.
Speaker:Okay. And I, there was no,
I didn't have any spiritual
Speaker:grounding in my home.
Speaker:Um, my parents, my mom
went to church, dad,
Speaker:my dad never went to church.
Speaker:So she, we'd go Sunday morning
Speaker:and the rest of the week
had nothing to do with God.
Speaker:Okay. Yeah. The only time I
heard his name was in a swear.
Speaker:Okay. Right. Yeah.
Speaker:But then, um, early
twenties to mid twenties,
Speaker:uh, got involved in a pretty
rough lifestyle of drinking
Speaker:and, uh, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker:And then a good friend of
ours died. Okay. At 29.
Speaker:I was about 26. And that
was, that was number one.
Speaker:That was the first awakening.
Speaker:- Okay. I was like,
- What, where is he?
Speaker:- Where
- Did he go?
Speaker:- So a tragedy happened to you
Speaker:and that actually caused you
to draw closer as opposed
Speaker:to repel you from God.
Speaker:- That's right. Yeah. 'cause I was,
Speaker:because I was, I wanted to
know, are we just a bag of meat
Speaker:or is there something more Yeah.
Speaker:Honestly, yeah. Before that, I
Speaker:didn't, I never questioned that.
Speaker:I never thought about
that. I just eat, drink,
Speaker:and be merry for tomorrow.
Speaker:You may die. Yeah. But
then when somebody died,
Speaker:then it's a different story.
Speaker:Right. For sure. And
then having children, uh,
Speaker:and realizing that the
lifestyle that I had was just
Speaker:not appropriate for a mom.
Speaker:And just having some, a couple
of really dark times where
Speaker:I realized I, this has to
stop. I can't live like this.
Speaker:- That's a common story.
Speaker:That one, I think a lot of people Yeah.
Speaker:The idea of, you know, maybe I went
Speaker:to church when I was younger, I know
Speaker:that wasn't yours or Exactly.
Speaker:But this idea of, I, I
kind of fell out of faith
Speaker:during college years and early adulthood.
Speaker:But then I had kids and I
realized I don't have a foundation
Speaker:for my life, and I don't want my kids
Speaker:to do what, what I did.
Speaker:And, and in some ways,
these kids almost shock you
Speaker:back into faith or Yeah.
Speaker:Or there's some sort of accountability
Speaker:like I wanna do right.
Speaker:By these kids. For sure.
Speaker:And so it's a journey back
Speaker:to church journey we see
for young families'. Yeah.
Speaker:- And so then, uh, a
neighbor, Ruth Wonga, uh,
Speaker:invited me to a Bible study,
and I went Absolutely.
Speaker:Okay. And I went, uh,
and, uh, heard about Jesus
Speaker:and Fi finally got to know him.
Speaker:Yeah. And then she invited me to church,
Speaker:- This church Millwood.
How long ago was that?
Speaker:- Uh, late, that would be 79. Wow.
Speaker:It was when we were in the old building.
Speaker:- 79. Okay. So what's my math on that?
Speaker:Uh, is that 40, oh, that's
45 years. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:- You said, okay. Yeah,
because my Jenny was Yeah.
Speaker:Was about three when we,
when I first started coming
Speaker:to church, and I came by
myself for three years Yeah.
Speaker:Then didn't really wanna
have anything to do with it,
Speaker:but I just left him.
Speaker:I just thought, well, we were
all praying for him. Yeah.
Speaker:And he did have some
experiences that drew him
Speaker:to the Lord, but that's his story.
Speaker:Yeah. But I didn't know.
Speaker:But that it for me was a
lesson and say, if, if you pray
Speaker:and intercede for someone,
you may not see it,
Speaker:but God's working wonderful.
Speaker:And that's what was happening. Yeah.
Speaker:- Yeah. That's an encouragement
for, I know a lot of, a lot
Speaker:of families listening right now with kids
Speaker:or parents that are not serving the Lord.
Speaker:So, Dan, what about you? Were there
Speaker:any kind of key moments for you?
Speaker:- I think that, uh, in a,
Speaker:when you have a Christian
background, you are embraced in
Speaker:the family's activities,
which involve church.
Speaker:But there comes a time when, um,
Speaker:usually in youth where, uh,
Speaker:that embrace is no longer there,
Speaker:and you start to question
where you stand yourself.
Speaker:And, um, it seemed easier not
Speaker:to be keeping up the
discipline, keep keeping going.
Speaker:Okay. And, uh,
Speaker:and so that seemed really good,
except that, uh, I can say
Speaker:with complete honesty
that that was, uh, a time
Speaker:of the least peace in my life.
Speaker:Uh, the least happiness in
many respects, at a deep level,
Speaker:the least happiness.
Speaker:And, uh, and there was no significance.
Speaker:And so, um, that really then
Speaker:answered the question for
me, what, what are you going
Speaker:to pursue from the
point of spiritual life?
Speaker:Mm-hmm . Spiritual involvement.
Speaker:And, uh, and so that was, uh,
that was significant for me,
Speaker:just, uh, uh, getting
back into church and,
Speaker:and finding everything
so much more significant,
Speaker:so much more meaningful
than, uh, life without.
Speaker:Yeah. Uh, second thing for me was actually
Speaker:after we had been in church for a while,
Speaker:and we, uh, took part in a program called
Speaker:Evangelism Explosion.
Speaker:And, uh, that program was,
uh, designed to train people
Speaker:to go out and do street evangelism,
Speaker:evangelism door-to-door evangelism.
Speaker:And the, um, challenge was that you had
Speaker:to learn the key, um, the key basis
Speaker:of what Christian religion was all about,
Speaker:uh, God's love and mercy,
but also his justice,
Speaker:and how that was all, how
that was all clarified.
Speaker:And, and, uh, of course, that involved
Speaker:Jesus' sacrifice on our part
Speaker:and, uh, our freedom then
Speaker:to be in relationship with
God, which he desires.
Speaker:Yeah. And, uh, so really in terms
Speaker:of my spiritual journey,
Speaker:that became a really significant moment
Speaker:because we had to memorize all
this stuff, scriptures and,
Speaker:and, uh, principles and, uh,
Speaker:and see how they impacted our lives.
Speaker:And then to actually use that to,
Speaker:uh, bring that testimony to other people,
Speaker:which was really challenging,
going from door to door.
Speaker:- Sure. Yeah. , so that,
Speaker:- That also involved, uh,
depending on the Lord,
Speaker:which became really, really
important thing in, in life.
Speaker:That was a lesson to learn.
Speaker:- Sure. Yeah. Putting
yourself out there. Yeah.
Speaker:It's like, God, if you don't
come through mm-hmm . Yeah.
Speaker:I love that. You know, I
wouldn't have thought of that.
Speaker:But as I reflect my own
life, memorizing the,
Speaker:I would say the elements of the gospel,
Speaker:or at least the, the
story arc of the gospel
Speaker:has been really, um, important
for my, my life, you know?
Speaker:And so the way that I think
about it is, you know,
Speaker:God created us for a
relationship with him.
Speaker:Our sins separate us from him.
Speaker:Sins can't repay by good deeds,
Speaker:paying the price for our sin.
Speaker:God sends himself in Jesus,
you know, to take on our sin.
Speaker:Everyone who believes in Christ has
Speaker:life and life forevermore.
Speaker:And I can, I I just have embedded that.
Speaker:And there's something that
just happens in your heart
Speaker:where you just kinda get the gospel in it,
Speaker:and you keep sort of the
main thing, the main thing.
Speaker:Yeah. You're able to
share that with people.
Speaker:And so there's a lot of
beautiful other elements
Speaker:of, of church and faith.
Speaker:But, but that's the core. That's it.
Speaker:And so if you can internalize
that, I mean, yeah.
Speaker:God could do wonders
with your heart. Okay.
Speaker:So imagine I am brand new Christian. Okay.
Speaker:It's, I just, I was at church yesterday,
Speaker:pastor Phil preaches message.
Speaker:God got a little on my heart, you know, I,
Speaker:I scan the QR code, , let's say.
Speaker:And, and I, I, I decided to
make a decision for Jesus.
Speaker:And so now I'm paired with you as mentors.
Speaker:And I would say, how
do I grow spiritually?
Speaker:What would you tell me?
Speaker:- I mean, some of the
things are pretty obvious,
Speaker:like fellowshipping with believers
Speaker:and, um,
Speaker:The company you keep is really important.
Speaker:And so it might mean that you might,
Speaker:and that was my experience.
Speaker:There were some people I had to just,
Speaker:um, distance myself from.
Speaker:Okay. Because they
weren't a good influence,
Speaker:and they didn't, they weren't
gonna help me on this journey.
Speaker:So fellowshipping, um,
Speaker:reading the Bible,
listening to worship music
Speaker:and serving, I think
are things that are key.
Speaker:So the disciplines, so some of
those disciplines, as I said,
Speaker:I think are kind of obvious.
Speaker:And I think they're really important.
Speaker:But what I would say is
Speaker:be kind to yourself.
Speaker:It's a journey, and it's
gonna take some time.
Speaker:But he's not gonna, he who began this,
Speaker:he began the work in you,
Speaker:and he will bring it to completion.
Speaker:So be kind to yourself.
You're gonna make mistakes.
Speaker:You're gonna take two steps forward.
Speaker:You'll probably take one back.
Speaker:But you're, you're on a journey
Speaker:and you, you are moving,
you're spiraling up.
Speaker:And if you hear a voice
saying, uh, you failed,
Speaker:you messed up, um, know that
that's not the voice of God.
Speaker:So
Speaker:- I like that.
Speaker:Yeah. Little grace on yourself.
Speaker:- Grace, for
- Sure. Yeah.
Speaker:The idea, I mean,
obviously the theological
Speaker:word is sanctification, this
process becoming like Jesus.
Speaker:Yeah. And it would be nice if it was up
Speaker:and to the right all the time, .
Speaker:But, um, the new nature
Speaker:that we have in Christ sometimes takes
Speaker:some time to become second nature.
Speaker:Yeah, for sure. So we're kind
Speaker:of fumbling forward a little bit towards,
Speaker:towards grace, and Yeah, thank
Speaker:- You.
Speaker:He's so patient and he's so,
Speaker:so patient. That's my experience.
Speaker:- Yeah. So that's a good idea, right?
Speaker:Because I'm not that
patient of a person, ,
Speaker:I'm becoming more patient, thankfully.
Speaker:But God is infinitely better
than we are in every capacity.
Speaker:He's fully just, he is love.
Speaker:He doesn't just love, it's his nature.
Speaker:And, you know, he is slow to anger.
Speaker:That's how he describes
himself. That's right.
Speaker:You know, in, uh, Exodus 34, I believe.
Speaker:And to think of, I mean,
I'm patient towards my kids,
Speaker:and I'm a, I'm a faulty dad.
Speaker:Yeah, right. I'm not
perfect, but there's just
Speaker:nothing but patience for that.
Speaker:And yeah. To have a
little grace for yourself.
Speaker:'cause God has grace for
you. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Speaker:What about you, Dan? What,
what would you give, you know,
Speaker:what would the advice you give
Speaker:to new Christian? I would, I would
Speaker:- Say that all of us have a tendency.
Speaker:All of us have a tendency
Speaker:to compartmentalize
the things in our life.
Speaker:So we have a cupboard for religion.
Speaker:We have a cupboard for recreation.
Speaker:We have a cupboard for our work life.
Speaker:And, um, I think we need
to open that cupboard
Speaker:of religion or our spiritual life more
Speaker:correctly, our spiritual life.
Speaker:And to recognize that that
needs to permeate everything.
Speaker:That's, that's the
foundation for everything.
Speaker:And, um, so, you know, uh, long time ago,
Speaker:there was this, uh, guy, a monk beat up
Speaker:during a war that he was in.
Speaker:Uh, name was Brother Lawrence.
Speaker:He was injured and, uh,
couldn't work very much.
Speaker:He was illiterate, but he
practiced the presence of God.
Speaker:He communicated to his monastery
Speaker:that he practiced the presence of God.
Speaker:So everything he did
was permeated with God.
Speaker:And, uh, I think we need to
recognize that the foundation
Speaker:of our life is God's truth,
Speaker:God's presence in our
life, engagement with God,
Speaker:and everything we do can
be transformed by, um,
Speaker:the gratitude and the,
um, community with God.
Speaker:And that becomes just a very rich way
Speaker:of undergoing transformation,
Speaker:which never changes, by the way.
Speaker:I mean, that goes on throughout life.
Speaker:And, and for me, that's
still happening. Of course.
Speaker:- Yeah. So your, your advice
would be to young Ken,
Speaker:you know, never been to
church, uh, besides a funeral
Speaker:and maybe a Christmas Eve
service at Hope City, um,
Speaker:to practice the presence of God.
Speaker:Okay. Yeah. And, you
know, there's some ways
Speaker:that we can talk about how we do that.
Speaker:Yeah. Um, but I'm reminded
of Psalm: Speaker:in the presence of God
is the fullness of joy.
Speaker:Mm-hmm . A sense of out which
you could also say, outside
Speaker:of God's presence, there is no joy.
Speaker:And so, if you want to live
a joyful Christian life,
Speaker:make sure you're in God's presence.
Speaker:'cause that's where the gift
of joy is, is given to you.
Speaker:So, oh, yeah. That's great. Okay.
Speaker:So you have mentioned you've been
Speaker:following Jesus for decades.
Speaker:Okay. Uh, how do you
keep it fresh and alive?
Speaker:I, how does it not, because Come on,
Speaker:just reading the Bible,
doesn't that get boring?
Speaker:No. Or just pray doesn't
get boring. That's that one.
Speaker:That one Enough. Sure. Yeah.
Speaker:How do you keep it fresh and alive? I
Speaker:- Think there's a couple of things.
Speaker:I would say the first
one for me is service.
Speaker:And especially, uh, like,
personally, my service is with
Speaker:working with people who are brokenhearted
Speaker:or are, are struggling.
Speaker:And so I know that in myself,
Speaker:I don't really have anything to give them.
Speaker:And I'm completely and
utterly dependent on him.
Speaker:So when I go to Freedom Session,
Speaker:or if I go to an appointment
where I'm gonna listen
Speaker:to someone who's struggling, um, I
Speaker:need him with me.
Speaker:And so I think service for
me has been the one, one
Speaker:of the ways that I keep it fresh is
Speaker:'cause he, he, he just
keeps reminding me that, uh,
Speaker:without him I can do nothing.
Speaker:And with him, I can do everything. Yeah.
Speaker:And I think the other thing is
actually, these are kind of,
Speaker:sort of sad things, but is trouble.
Speaker:And I think for me, trouble and loss
Speaker:and struggling is
Speaker:how I stay connected to him.
Speaker:'cause I, once again, I need
him when things are great
Speaker:and fine, you're more likely
to find me on YouTube.
Speaker:But when I'm working through
something that's hard, you're,
Speaker:you're more likely gonna find
me in the word and praying
Speaker:and calling out to him and
telling him that I need him,
Speaker:and finding that he's, he's there.
Speaker:And he, yeah. Just over and over
Speaker:and over again when I've had
trouble and sorrow and loss
Speaker:and struggles, he's shown up. Yeah.
Speaker:- So, so not that you go looking
Speaker:for trouble. Oh, you know, ,
Speaker:- Somebody said that once.
Speaker:Oh, I just, yeah.
Speaker:I just gotta have, I don't
have any trouble right now.
Speaker:You gotta give me some
trouble. God. Yeah. It's going.
Speaker:No, thanks. No. Yeah. I'm not
looking for it. But it comes,
Speaker:- Well, if trouble is a way
to grow your spiritual life,
Speaker:then we're in luck.
Speaker:Oh, yeah. Because Jesus
promised us. Right.
Speaker:In this world, you will. Right.
Speaker:It's just gonna happen inevitably.
Speaker:- Yeah.
- A lot of people, it's interesting
Speaker:because you said tragedy is
what drew you to the Lord.
Speaker:'cause sometimes it's the
opposite. Right? Yeah.
Speaker:And you know, it's the, it's the grief
Speaker:or the trouble that keeps you
reliant on the Lord as well.
Speaker:Yeah. And I mean, we're, we're
in an age of comfort, right.
Speaker:Where our, you know,
the God of this age is,
Speaker:how comfortable can I make my life?
Speaker:And the evil of this age is any sort
Speaker:of suffering or discomfort.
Speaker:Yeah. So it's interesting to
say that, you know, if, I mean,
Speaker:if you want to be like
Jesus, well then part of
Speaker:that process is suffering.
Speaker:What did Jesus do? Right. God
himself. Right. He suffered.
Speaker:Um, and so suffering is
a way that God grows us.
Speaker:No one asks for it, but the
people that we respect the most,
Speaker:and the people whose
faith we want to emulate
Speaker:are always the people who
have gone through things
Speaker:that Exactly.
Speaker:That we wouldn't want to go
through. But they've come out on
Speaker:the other side, and God seems
to grace him for that. So
Speaker:- Yeah.
Speaker:There's a testimony there
that's real and true,
Speaker:because you've walked through it
Speaker:and he's shown up and he's been there.
Speaker:Yeah. He's taught you things.
Speaker:- Yeah. That's gonna be a
lot encouraging to a lot
Speaker:of listeners and watchers today
Speaker:because they're going through it.
Speaker:And, you know, my mom was,
Speaker:I was telling my mom today
something, what was I saying?
Speaker:Oh, yeah. I was telling her
Speaker:how difficult it would
be to leave Edmonton.
Speaker:Right. Because I love Edmonton,
Speaker:but my kids love this church.
Speaker:And how difficult it would
be to leave this church
Speaker:because my kids love it so much.
Speaker:And, um,
Speaker:she starts giving me all these
religious platitudes, like,
Speaker:uh, you know, God doesn't waste anything.
Speaker:You'd be okay. I'm like, I'm
not looking for a lesson,
Speaker:mom, , just listen to me then.
Speaker:You know? But this reality is people are
Speaker:just going through hard things.
Speaker:Yeah. And so they're gonna hear
Speaker:this, and it's gonna be really helpful.
Speaker:So, yeah. Cool.
Speaker:Dan, would, do you have
anything to add to that? Yeah,
Speaker:- I, I, I think, um, that,
Speaker:that the spiritual disciplines
really are important.
Speaker:Mm-hmm . So, so certainly prayer
Speaker:and regularly being in scripture,
Speaker:reading your Bible. And, um,
Speaker:- Is that something you do every day? Yes.
Speaker:- Yeah.
- Yeah. How, how did, do you have a plan?
Speaker:Or do you just go for it?
Speaker:- Um, I, uh, in the evening, well,
Speaker:I pray maybe four times a day,
Speaker:but in the evening is my main prayer time.
Speaker:And I, I do have a, I have
a piece of paper with the
Speaker:petitions in the intercessions that I want
Speaker:to cover about 45 minutes.
Speaker:Yeah. And, um,
Speaker:and, uh, so I work through that, um,
Speaker:usually on an alternation
basis, not every night.
Speaker:So the prayers are often, um,
Speaker:directed to worship and reverence to God.
Speaker:And, uh, and then these longer times
Speaker:of intercession
Speaker:and petitions, uh, which means
just praying for, praying
Speaker:for, for others, and
praying for personal needs.
Speaker:Um, one of the things that
was really wonderful about
Speaker:that was that, uh, as I
routinely went to prayer,
Speaker:uh, the realization came
to me that God wanted
Speaker:to be in relationship with me.
Speaker:He wanted to have that time. Mm-hmm .
Speaker:- Do you think he looked forward
Speaker:to those prayer times more than you do?
Speaker:I just, I'm just wondering . Yeah.
Speaker:- I think I, I, I'm
always pleased when, um,
Speaker:I'm really centered and engaged.
Speaker:I'm a little a DHD, so it's
Speaker:- Really nice when, uh,
Speaker:- When I can, I can be directly involved
Speaker:because I think it gives him joy.
Speaker:Yeah. I, I think he loves his creation
Speaker:and wants to, wants
Speaker:to be in real communion
with us. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:- So one of the images obviously
that we have of God is that
Speaker:of an everlasting father or a good father.
Speaker:Yeah. And again, as a, I often,
I often relate to my kids
Speaker:because there's few
Speaker:and far tween where I can think of
Speaker:where I'm more joyful
than when I'm driving
Speaker:with my 10-year-old in the
car, and she's just unloading.
Speaker:She's telling me how
great, whatever. Right.
Speaker:And she's, there's going on at school,
Speaker:there's just nothing like it.
Speaker:Right. So, yeah. Anyway, sorry.
Speaker:- And, and, uh, as far as
service goes, then prayer, uh,
Speaker:scripture, reading service,
um, I think that, uh, those
Speaker:practices lead to a feeling
of sign significance
Speaker:and meaning in our life.
Speaker:And, um, and so there's
a rich reward in that.
Speaker:And of course, in, in
service that, uh, inevitably
Speaker:involves people, it involves others.
Speaker:And then, um, we learn from other people.
Speaker:And, uh, and so, uh, our
Speaker:transformation is really,
uh, affected by the people
Speaker:that we encounter, as well as, as
Speaker:whatever we find in scripture and,
Speaker:and in our listening with God.
Speaker:And so, yeah.
Speaker:- Uh,
- All of those things, uh,
Speaker:really bring significance
and meaning to life.
Speaker:- So what about this idea?
Speaker:If you don't like it, that's okay.
Speaker:I'm just thinking, would, would it be okay
Speaker:to define spiritual health?
Speaker:Is, um, Christlikeness mm-hmm
. Would that be mm-hmm .
Speaker:Fair to say? So then,
would it be fair to say
Speaker:that you'd be more spiritually healthy if
Speaker:you were more like Christ ?
Speaker:And so, you know, if you pulled apart,
Speaker:let's say Jesus' life,
what we have recorded
Speaker:for us in the gospels,
Speaker:and we simply did what he did, then
Speaker:that would probably be a good
pathway to spiritual health.
Speaker:I think that's kind of,
I think that'd be true.
Speaker:And so I remember one time,
um, categorizing it was,
Speaker:it was a sort of an academic endeavor
Speaker:that turned into something
more meaningful for me.
Speaker:But at first it was
purely just, uh, data .
Speaker:So I wanted to see what Jesus
did. Right. What did he say?
Speaker:Because he says in Matthew 28 19,
Speaker:great commission go into
all the world baptism,
Speaker:um, and disciple them.
Speaker:Right. Um, teaching them
Speaker:to obey everything that
I've commanded you.
Speaker:So it's like, okay, if
that's what it means
Speaker:to be a disciple, to obey
Speaker:what Jesus command,
well, what did he say? ?
Speaker:Right. What did he do? How are
we, so, so I took the gospels
Speaker:and everything Jesus said or did,
Speaker:and I categorized it into
different categories,
Speaker:so maybe prayer or miracle
working, or whatever it might be.
Speaker:And then at the end, I hit the sort button
Speaker:to see quantity wise.
Speaker:I'm not saying it's totally the best
Speaker:way to do it, but that's what I did.
Speaker:And what came up to the
very top, the top two things
Speaker:that Jesus did most often
was prayer and service.
Speaker:And so you're most like Jesus when you're
Speaker:engaged in those things.
Speaker:And so I was like, oh, interesting.
Speaker:Maybe that's true, , at least
your experience has been,
Speaker:that's, that's our case.
Speaker:'cause you both said
service. And so, yeah.
Speaker:- I think the other thing that
I would add to the whole idea
Speaker:of discipline, um, and,
Speaker:and Bible reading is that over
the years, like I've done,
Speaker:where I've go through
the Bible in a year and
Speaker:or use a devotional
Speaker:and whatever the scripture is that day,
Speaker:then I would look up that scripture.
Speaker:And so I've done all kinds
of ways to read the Bible,
Speaker:but in the last few years,
um, I've learned this process
Speaker:of hearing the voice of
God, reading the Bible
Speaker:to hear the voice of God.
Speaker:And it's where you just take
a short bit of scripture
Speaker:and you read it several times,
Speaker:and you, you're looking for
what, what's it saying to you?
Speaker:What is God saying to you?
Speaker:And then you take that
Speaker:and pick out a couple of
things that really hit you
Speaker:that day, and you turn it into a prayer,
Speaker:and it's, first, it's God.
Speaker:So it's God saying, Gwen, my daughter.
Speaker:And then you write down
what you think he's saying,
Speaker:and then you respond to that.
Speaker:And I found that I did that
every day for a long time,
Speaker:and it just, uh, took
me to a deeper place of
Speaker:using God's word, not just
as something historical
Speaker:or as a good advice, or, but
it's actually the word of God.
Speaker:And he's actually talking to you,
Speaker:and he has something unique to say to you.
Speaker:- And, uh, how can you
ever get bored of God,
Speaker:of the universe talking
to you, ? How could
Speaker:- You No, because it's new every morning.
Speaker:And, and you could read the
same scripture Yeah. 15 times.
Speaker:And every time he would
tell you something different
Speaker:because he knows what you're working
Speaker:through at that time. Yeah,
Speaker:- Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. You could spend your
life plumbing the depths
Speaker:of God's word and never reach the bottom.
Speaker:Yeah. It's just, yeah.
Yeah. That's fascinating.
Speaker:So, so, um, I'd like
Speaker:to know about the church's
role in your spiritual life.
Speaker:Um, how has the church played,
uh, a role in your life
Speaker:or impacted you, uh, in regards to
Speaker:spiritual growth and spiritual maturity?
Speaker:- It's just foundational for
me. It really is. I don't know.
Speaker:I can't imagine how I would've survived
Speaker:as a believer without the church.
Speaker:Um, just, uh, it's hard to,
Speaker:I think just right from the
beginning, just like I said,
Speaker:the church that I went to
as a child was pretty dead.
Speaker:- And what do you mean by that?
Speaker:- I just mean that we never, the,
Speaker:the Holy Spirit was never mentioned.
Speaker:It was very ritualistic.
Speaker:Um, I never felt like the people
Speaker:around me knew him.
Speaker:It wasn't a relationship,
Speaker:it was just a place
that you went on Sunday.
Speaker:Mm-hmm . But I walked,
Speaker:and of course I was in a
different place when I, and I
Speaker:- Yeah.
Speaker:I think that's important to note, right?
Speaker:- It, it, it really is. So
I walk into this Pentecostal
Speaker:church and people are raising their hands
Speaker:and worshiping God,
and it, it was so real.
Speaker:Um, and yeah, just, it's
Speaker:- Like either they're totally crazy
Speaker:or something's going on here. That's
Speaker:right.
- .
Speaker:That's right. And I
didn't, I felt like they,
Speaker:that something was going on.
Speaker:Yeah. I felt like something was going on,
Speaker:and so I embraced it.
Speaker:And, uh, so fellowship
Speaker:and service, as we were talking about
Speaker:before, that's where I find
that the Christian service
Speaker:and the Christian fellowship,
Speaker:- That's where that's
lived out and exercised.
Speaker:- Yeah. Yeah. That's right.
And then just wonderful
Speaker:worship, times of worship that
still happen every Sunday.
Speaker:And good teaching.
Speaker:- Yeah. Yeah. What about you, Dan?
Speaker:How, how has the church played in,
Speaker:played a role in your life?
Speaker:- When we, when we, um, eat regularly,
Speaker:have good nutrition, uh, then
we're healthier, uh, that goes
Speaker:for our, uh, mental
Speaker:and emotional state as
well as our physical body.
Speaker:And, uh, we need spiritual
nourishment as well.
Speaker:And the church is my source of, of
Speaker:that on an ongoing basis,
um, in ways that, uh,
Speaker:myself personally, I
wouldn't be able to, uh,
Speaker:derive nourishment that I wouldn't be able
Speaker:to derive on my own in my Bible reading
Speaker:and prayer and so on.
Speaker:And so I get teaching, I
get worship that just kind
Speaker:of lifts me into, uh, into,
Speaker:uh, a holy place.
Speaker:Um, I meet people that
are examples for me.
Speaker:And, um, all of those things
are, are very sustaining of,
Speaker:of the spiritual nature.
Speaker:And I think that the
fact that it happens over
Speaker:and over again every
week is really important.
Speaker:You know, it's important
to keep on with, uh,
Speaker:with the routines and, uh,
Speaker:and, uh, not routine in, um, a kind of a
Speaker:applauding obligation sense,
Speaker:but a routine in just
being, being involved
Speaker:and, uh, committed and,
Speaker:and finding actually, um,
the delight of the thing too,
Speaker:which is, which is a big part, of course,
Speaker:what keeps us coming back. Yeah.
Speaker:- Well, to your point of, of,
you know, physical health,
Speaker:you talked about, you know,
we need good meals to kind
Speaker:of keep healthy, you know, the idea
Speaker:of physical health is
if you went to a gym,
Speaker:let's say two times a year
Speaker:or four times a year,
times, times a year, ,
Speaker:you're probably not gonna
notice a big difference.
Speaker:Yeah. No. It's better than nothing.
Speaker:But the impact of physical
health is the routine, right?
Speaker:Yeah. It's the day after where
you don't really see much
Speaker:happening, but then over the
course of a year or two years
Speaker:or five years, you're
like, yeah, I'm jacked.
Speaker:Right? , that's the idea. It's true.
Speaker:You know, similar with, with
kind of the church, right.
Speaker:In that sense. Yeah. Uh,
Speaker:and the reason why I wanted
to bring up the church is,
Speaker:I mean, most of the people
who are gonna be listening
Speaker:or talking, uh, come to our
church, that's what this is for.
Speaker:But they're gonna be people
who find it online, who, um,
Speaker:maybe don't go to church
Speaker:or don't see the priority of church.
Speaker:And in, in all love, uh,
Speaker:and in graciousness, this
has been my experience,
Speaker:and I really do stand on this.
Speaker:I have never met a
spiritually mature Christian
Speaker:who doesn't prioritize church.
Speaker:Right. Like, I just, I
just haven't met that.
Speaker:Um, and does it exist? I
mean, I, I just, I don't know.
Speaker:Right? Uh, I, so here at Hope City, um,
Speaker:there's so many things we can do in order
Speaker:to help bring people into greater,
Speaker:um, spiritual maturity, right?
Speaker:Which is the role of the church, right?
Speaker:It's to present people
right on that final day
Speaker:to Christ blameless and mature mm-hmm .
Speaker:And so there's so many
things that we can do, um,
Speaker:but we've chosen to
specifically do three things
Speaker:in order to bring about that health.
Speaker:So similar to, again, I guess we could
Speaker:use a physical example, right?
Speaker:If you wanna get physical
health, it's like, well, you need
Speaker:to prioritize sleep, right?
Speaker:If you don't sleep well,
Speaker:you're not gonna be physically healthy.
Speaker:You need to prioritize
your nutrition, right?
Speaker:You need to exercise. Right?
Speaker:If you do those three
things, you're gonna be okay.
Speaker:There's all these other
little things you can do,
Speaker:but those are the big three
that are gonna get you
Speaker:99% of the way there.
Speaker:So what are those things spiritually?
Speaker:And so we said, well, church,
Speaker:church is the premier discipleship
event of the week, right?
Speaker:And so church has to be that.
Speaker:Second is scripture reading
Speaker:and prayer, which you
guys have both known.
Speaker:So you can't be spiritually
mature if you don't speak
Speaker:to God or have him speak to you.
Speaker:And that's the primary
way that we do that.
Speaker:And then, as you know, you've
mentioned multiple times,
Speaker:Gwen is spiritual community, right?
Speaker:Or fellowship. That's,
so that's the tough one
Speaker:for most people, is, is who,
how do I find people to travel
Speaker:with me, who can hold me
accountable, who can cheer me on?
Speaker:And so maybe, um, could you
tell me how you found that?
Speaker:Yeah. Like where did you
find those people to,
Speaker:to sharpen you and keep you going?
Speaker:- It, it, it, in a lot, it was,
um, either through going to,
Speaker:going to bible studies, going
to, you know, midweek groups,
Speaker:but mostly where I found
the fellowship was in
Speaker:service for a long time.
Speaker:I did, um, I worked with preschool,
Speaker:the preschool program, right? So,
Speaker:- So buddies with three year olds. Oh,
Speaker:- I love it.
Speaker:I love my best friends . Uh, and yeah.
Speaker:So that, just working with
all these people who were of,
Speaker:were like-minded and loved the kids too.
Speaker:And, and then moving into this, this area
Speaker:that I'm in now with Freedom Session and,
Speaker:and some of those other programs,
just fellowshipping, just,
Speaker:those are my friends.
Speaker:That's how I met your mom.
Speaker:- Yeah. Grief, uh, that was
freedom, obsession, wasn't it?
Speaker:Yeah. Yeah. That's great. Yeah. I
Speaker:- Remember that best thing
that ever happened to me.
Speaker:- Best thing that ever happened to
Speaker:her.
- . .
Speaker:- Yeah. Yeah. That's
good. Dan, what about you?
Speaker:- Um, I think that, uh,
one of the things that, uh,
Speaker:as Gwen was, uh, talking,
I was thinking about, um,
Speaker:the Easter musical for so
Speaker:- So many years. We had that
Speaker:- Passion play at the church. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:- If you're not familiar
with it, it was a thing.
Speaker:It was a thing. It was
massive. It was crazy.
Speaker:- John was Jesus, you
were Jesus. Five years.
Speaker:- Oh my goodness. I lived
- With Jesus for five
Speaker:years.
- ,
Speaker:- Edit that out.
- Oh,
Speaker:that's why we're gonna start the podcast .
Speaker:That's gonna be a soundbite.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.
Speaker:- My name's Gwen Bode.
- It was wonderful
Speaker:because, um, what happened
was that it was on a scale
Speaker:that was large enough that
it brought a whole bunch
Speaker:of people from the church into that, um,
Speaker:very concentrated and,
Speaker:and, uh, purposeful, uh, exercise.
Speaker:And so I ended up encountering
people that normally I,
Speaker:I wouldn't encounter in.
Speaker:Um, so I was, uh, I was in
choir, was on the board,
Speaker:uh, was doing small groups,
Speaker:but there was people
who were in other areas
Speaker:of church ministry that, uh,
Speaker:that I just didn't get to encounter.
Speaker:And they showed up there, and it was such
Speaker:a beautiful thing Yeah.
Speaker:To all be working together to, uh,
Speaker:to shape this story mm-hmm.
Speaker:That, uh, that could have such
an impact in people's lives.
Speaker:Yeah. And that was just a
lovely thing. It was really
Speaker:- Neat.
Speaker:So, I mean, I guess not a lot
Speaker:of rocket science is to meet people.
Speaker:You gotta be where they are, right.
Speaker:Getting, getting involved in the life
Speaker:of the church, whatever that looks like.
Speaker:So serving our groups or
Yeah. Whatever that might be.
Speaker:Um, and you know, maybe for,
um, some of our, you know,
Speaker:congregants, people call Hope City Home.
Speaker:And that's something that,
Speaker:for you, that's just been a struggle.
Speaker:It's like, yeah, I come to church
Speaker:and, you know, I'm trying to read my
Speaker:Bible and, and trying to pray.
Speaker:But that spiritual community
Speaker:or fellowship part is just lacking.
Speaker:I just wanna encourage you, um,
Speaker:keep trying groups, keep
trying and serve teams.
Speaker:They're, they're wonderful just
to do in and of themselves.
Speaker:'cause you grow and spiritual knowledge
Speaker:and you also, you know,
grow through serving.
Speaker:But the connections
Speaker:and the opportunities to meet
people who you can travel
Speaker:with, who can help you follow Jesus
Speaker:and who you can help follow
Jesus kind of, that's
Speaker:where they're, there's no
really rocket science to that.
Speaker:That's right. Yeah. Okay.
Speaker:Let's get, let's get
maybe on the ugly side of
Speaker:spiritual health, which
is dis health, I guess,
Speaker:or, uh, maybe what you would call
Speaker:spiritual deserts or dryness.
Speaker:Right? You've been serving Jesus
Speaker:for a long time, as we talked about.
Speaker:It's not always up into the Right. Right.
Speaker:There's some people watching today who
Speaker:they just are wondering, it's like, I,
Speaker:this feels dead to me.
Speaker:Right? Yeah. My relationship
with Jesus feels so dry.
Speaker:Have you guys experienced those
moments before in your life?
Speaker:- Yeah, for sure. I mean,
it's, it, it's a journey.
Speaker:And sometimes you are in the
Speaker:desert and sometimes you're not.
Speaker:I think, I think back to a
time when, um, my sister-in-law
Speaker:passed away and we've been
praying for her that she would
Speaker:not die, that she would be healed.
Speaker:She had cancer. She had two
young boys, and she died.
Speaker:And that was a dark dry time for me
Speaker:where I just started questioning, uh, why
Speaker:did I do something wrong?
Speaker:Do I have, I don't have enough faith, or,
Speaker:or are you, are you there?
Speaker:You know, is, and just finding
myself just backing off a bit
Speaker:and being just kind of withdrawn and dark,
Speaker:and I, I can't really say
I, I think it was just to,
Speaker:that I just kept on, kept keeping on.
Speaker:And one time, um, we had a guest speaker,
Speaker:and it was a lady who experienced death,
Speaker:but she, they, they
were able to revive her
Speaker:and she talked about heaven.
Speaker:And there was something
about what she said
Speaker:that made me realize that it was okay
Speaker:that my sister-in-law had
passed away, that God was
Speaker:so much bigger than just what's here.
Speaker:And so, um, I came, I came out of it,
Speaker:and I've definitely have, have
had other times where, um,
Speaker:not many really, to be honest,
Speaker:but just times where it just a bit shallow
Speaker:and just, uh, I, I don't
have the passion for a while,
Speaker:but something always happens to
Speaker:stir me up again and
say, no, I, I just, yeah.
Speaker:He just keeps, um, reviving
me all the time. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker:- Yeah. What were you, Dan?
- I think that, um,
Speaker:we're needy people, you know, uh, Adam
Speaker:and Eve came out of the
garden burdened with a
Speaker:really heavy burden.
Speaker:And that was the knowledge
of good and evil.
Speaker:They had done what God said not to do,
Speaker:and now they were stuck
with, uh, a real big problem.
Speaker:And that was that, uh, Adam and Eve
Speaker:and all of us are broken and flawed.
Speaker:And, um, and so one of the things
Speaker:that I've learned along
the way is that those
Speaker:vulnerabilities that I
have, those weaknesses, uh,
Speaker:that's the time to turn to God.
Speaker:That's not when to draw away.
Speaker:That's, that's the time
when we really need him.
Speaker:We need to take those things
and put them on the altar.
Speaker:And that, and that goes for, uh,
Speaker:reflections on my past life.
Speaker:Like, sometimes I think of
things that I've said and done,
Speaker:and I just go, oh, did I really do that?
Speaker:I just feel so embarrassed
Speaker:or so awful that I was so insensitive.
Speaker:And, um, and I've learned to
just ask God for forgiveness
Speaker:for those things that, uh,
in my brokenness I have done.
Speaker:And, um, and I think
that, uh, that in those,
Speaker:um, times,
Speaker:and especially the times when
we're just spiritually kind
Speaker:of flat and they happen mm-hmm .
Speaker:I think that it's really
important just to simply say, God,
Speaker:I know you're still in your
heaven and you still love us.
Speaker:And that carries on despite
the fact that we're not
Speaker:as engaged as we would
normally be, or, or mm-hmm .
Speaker:That, uh, that in our mountaintop
times, in our high times,
Speaker:we've been able to, to be.
Speaker:And, um, and so those are
good times to turn to God.
Speaker:And, you know, I, I don't think that's a
Speaker:big insight for anybody.
Speaker:It just, it just happens to be true.
Speaker:- Yeah. Uh, I remember
one my favorite preachers,
Speaker:his name's Paul Frazier here in Edmonton,
Speaker:he preached a message one time
Speaker:and he said, God always
hides in the same places.
Speaker:Right. And it's always
kind of stuck with me
Speaker:where it's like, okay, well
he's, he's always going
Speaker:to be in prayer.
Speaker:You're always gonna find him there. Right.
Speaker:In worship, right. In his
word. And community. Yeah.
Speaker:He always hides in the same places.
Speaker:And so if you're going
through those dry times Yeah.
Speaker:You know, um, don't go looking
elsewhere, . Right. Yeah.
Speaker:He's always gonna be in
the same places. Yeah.
Speaker:And if you don't find him, you know,
Speaker:that day, go looking again tomorrow.
Speaker:'cause he always hides in
the same places. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker:I mean, I, I think another
point as you were talking, um,
Speaker:if, if you could say that faith
Speaker:or your amount of faith is a
Speaker:marker of spiritual health, right.
Speaker:You have no faith. Right.
That's obviously one thing.
Speaker:And if you have lots of faith,
that's, that's another thing.
Speaker:And it's important to know
Speaker:that faith is way more than a feeling.
Speaker:Right. Faith actually
is not a feeling at all.
Speaker:And if you just mark off of
your, your mood, let's say,
Speaker:or if you're having a bad day
Speaker:or not, then that's really troublesome.
Speaker:Right. And so God is way
bigger than your worst
Speaker:day and your best day.
Speaker:And so faith is anchored in
the reality of Jesus Christ,
Speaker:not in the reality of my mood.
Speaker:Right. And so, um, you
can be spiritually mature
Speaker:and spiritually healthy
Speaker:and be in a place that
feels like a desert.
Speaker:Yeah. Right. You, you can
actually go through that.
Speaker:And so you look at David's life, right?
Speaker:Or you think of Jesus in
the desert, right? Yeah.
Speaker:Is he, you know,
Speaker:or on the cross, you know,
why have you forsaken me?
Speaker:This sense of desert times
that doesn't necessarily equate
Speaker:to spiritual and health.
Speaker:Now, if there's hidden sin in your life,
Speaker:if there's something that's
just kind of blatantly,
Speaker:you know, disobedient
Speaker:to the Lord, I mean, what do you expect?
Speaker:Right? , I mean, obviously
that connection from the source
Speaker:of life is gonna, is
gonna be there, but yeah.
Speaker:Okay. So, uh, if you can go back, okay.
Speaker:45 years ago for you
Speaker:and how, when, how long
have you been serving
Speaker:the Lord again, Dan?
Speaker:- That's about 64,
Speaker:- Something like that.
Speaker:64 years. Okay. So you
can go back to Young Dan,
Speaker:young Gwen mm-hmm .
Speaker:And if you can give them one
piece of advice if regards
Speaker:to spiritual health, what would it be?
Speaker:Put you on the spot. I know. I stuff,
Speaker:but what, what would you say to Young Gwen
Speaker:and what would you say to young Dan?
Speaker:- I think I would tell her
Speaker:to just chillax a bit.
Speaker:- Chillax. I love it.
Speaker:- . Like, just like I,
I was so, um, I wanted
Speaker:to do it absolutely right.
Speaker:And I wanted to, I, so I was watching
Speaker:what everybody else was doing,
Speaker:and, um,
Speaker:if I didn't do it right then I
was in the depths of despair.
Speaker:Um, and I think I would tell young Gwen,
Speaker:he's not going anywhere
Speaker:and he loves you.
Speaker:Just, just where you're at right now,
Speaker:and sure, you gotta work on yourself.
Speaker:Sure. There's some things
you gotta get rid of
Speaker:and there's some things
you gotta take care of
Speaker:and some things you shouldn't do,
Speaker:and there's some things you
should do, but just relax
Speaker:and rest in him and know that, like I said
Speaker:before he started this,
Speaker:he's gonna complete it.
Speaker:Yeah. So just rest in him,
rest in his grace and his love,
Speaker:and his, um, his perseverance
and his patience.
Speaker:Um, you're gonna be okay.
Speaker:- Yeah. Reminds me of, uh,
first Thessalonians four
Speaker:when Paul, uh, is telling us
Speaker:that Jesus Christ himself will
Speaker:sanctify you through and through.
Speaker:Yeah. You know that he is
doing this work in you. Yeah.
Speaker:And you can resist it, right.
Sin, disobedience, apathy.
Speaker:But if you surrender
yourself to the Lord, yeah.
Speaker:That's just the natural
result is holiness.
Speaker:The natural result is spiritual
maturity. That's right.
Speaker:When you relinquish your
life. So I like that
Speaker:chillax
- .
Speaker:That, that, that's been
for me, the, the best.
Speaker:Um, and most comforting
thing is that it's,
Speaker:he's the one, he's the author
and perfecter of my faith.
Speaker:Mm-hmm . He's the one who gives me, um,
Speaker:what I need and he's the
one that's perfecting me.
Speaker:And, uh, my part is just to
keep my eyes fixed on him.
Speaker:Says, fix your eyes on Jesus, the author
Speaker:and perfecter of your faith.
Speaker:Uh,
Speaker:- Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah. Thanks. Yeah. Dan.
Speaker:- I think I would say to young Dan,
Speaker:this is a really good journey, .
Speaker:And, um, don't neglect the one
Speaker:that you're walking with.
Speaker:Enjoy it. Have gratitude for it.
Speaker:And, um, and the journey's important.
Speaker:Let let the journey, uh, shape your life.
Speaker:And, uh, that can happen
when that companion
Speaker:is, uh, is the one you're
listening to along the way.
Speaker:- Thank you. Thanks for being on here
Speaker:and sharing your lives and wisdom with us.
Speaker:And you know that God will
use it to be a blessing to
Speaker:so many.
