Ruth Schleppi-Verboom: Learning Yielded Faith with Joni

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Hey friends, welcome to the Her God Story podcast

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where every episode brings a powerful story to

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encourage and strengthen your walk with Jesus.

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I'm your host, Jodie Chiricosta, ministry leader

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at Somebody Cares America and International,

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author and traveler on this incredible journey

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of faith. Today, we're leaning into the theme

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that shapes every part of the Christian life,

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yielding to God. Jeremiah 17, seven and eight

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in the NIV give us this beautiful promise. Blessed

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is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence

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is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by

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the water that sends out its root by the stream.

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It does not fear when heat comes. Its leaves

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are always green. It has no worries in the year

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of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Yielding

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is rooted in trusting God's graciousness and

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kindness. It's knowing that when we release our

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grip, He holds us securely and nourishes us with

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His presence. God holds all of us dear. But he

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expresses special concern through scripture for

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widows and orphans, which is why we began the

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Widow and Orphan Fund. You know, together we

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can do so much to care for widows and orphans

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around the world, meeting real needs and bringing

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comfort in difficult seasons. If you'd like to

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be part of this life -changing work, visit HerGodStory

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.org and click on the donate here button on the

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lower left side. And that really brings us back

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to today's theme of yielding to God. When we

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surrender our resources, our plans, our time,

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and even our expectations to him, he uses what

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we offer to reveal his kindness to others in

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powerful ways. You know, few people express this

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kind of yielded, surrendered life more compellingly

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than Joni Erickson -Tatta. She's a beloved author,

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speaker, and founder of Joni and Friends, who

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was paralyzed as a teenager. She spent her life

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demonstrating that surrendered, joyful faith,

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looks like in real life and says, surrender is

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not a one -time act, but a daily choice to trust

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that God's plan is better than your own. That

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could be hard to do, don't you think? Our guest

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today has had the privilege of not only learning

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from Joni's example, but of experiencing that

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kind of faith up close and then living it out

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in her own journey. I first encountered Ruth

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Schleppi -Verboom through her book about her

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unforgettable time with Joni Eriksson Tada. And

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after reading it, I knew she would have much

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to share with us. Ruth is a mother of four adult

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children, a nurse, an author, and a jewelry designer.

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She's warm, creative, thoughtful, and relatable.

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The kind of person whose life reminds us that

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God meets us where we are and uses our ordinary

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days in extraordinary ways. Her journey is full

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of moments where God invited her to yield trust,

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and follow his gentle leading. Ruth and her husband,

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filmmaker Helmut Schleppie, alternate time between

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the U .S. and the Netherlands. Welcome, Ruth.

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Thank you, Jodie. Thank you for having me. You'll

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always have such inspirational women. on your

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show and I'm just honored to be here with you

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this morning. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you, Ruth.

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And let's start at the beginning. Would you share

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about your early years growing up in the Netherlands

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and how really you first encountered faith in

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a personal way? I grew up in the Netherlands.

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I was, I am the youngest of seven children. My

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parents had seven children in nine years. So

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it's a short time to have seven children at them.

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So it was a busy household and my mother ran

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a tight ship. My parents were both Christians

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and they, speaking of yielding, they really yielded

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their life and their trust and their faith to

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God, towards God in everything they did. They

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started the Bible study when I was still very

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young and that turned out to be a home church.

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So for many years we had a home church at home

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and I remember as young as I was we had to empty

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out our living room and kitchen. and we put as

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many folded chairs as we could in there, and

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we had our Sunday morning church at home. It

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was always very warm and very nurturing too.

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Just doing life together with that group of people

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was very... I have good memories about them.

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Well, you know, you grew up in that, but then

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in our adult years, things really take a turn

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because... Life changes for us. We have new freedoms.

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We have new responsibilities. We have new opportunities

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So what direction did you go and how did that

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impact your walk with the Lord? Yeah, definitely

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it was I Jodie as I said, it was almost as if

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I always have believed in God There was not a

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choice for me or it wasn't even a difficult decision

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for me to not believe in God But I still had

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to make it my own and I think it was more out

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of obedience or just the natural cause of things

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that I believed in God, but not yet that personal

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relationship or understanding. And I think that

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came later. After high school I went to nursing

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school and I was busy with that and I was busy

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with the boyfriend that I had at that time. I

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remember that I got baptized when I was 18 by

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choice, by my own choice, but nothing really

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changed after that. And also the conversion story

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that you hear sometimes of other people where

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it was just so beautiful and different for them

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when they met Jesus. And for me, it was a little

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bit more of the same as it always was. And I

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think it was privileged like that because it

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was uncomplicated. My decision to choose for

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God, but it was, I missed that difference in

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life or the difference that it would make. And

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I later understand that that just had to grow.

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Yeah. So let's fast forward. You got married

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when you were 24. You were working as a nurse

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and you got a degree in social work. And your

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husband was working as a director for movies

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and documentaries, which is a lot. Share about

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that busy time. Yeah, that was a very busy time.

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We were just married and my husband was working

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all the time. He had several businesses, made

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documentaries and television shows. I had the

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two young boys and then I remember one morning

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he said, what do you think if we move to Los

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Angeles to make a movie? And I just had my younger

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son, the baby, and it was like, whoa, what are

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we doing? Because I'm such a family person and

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I love the house that we lived in. But I also

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recognized his adventure that he He loves living

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like that, lots of changes. And also I knew that

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he wanted to make a movie. So we decided to go.

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So we packed our things, sold the businesses

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and moved to California. And to be honest, I

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thought we were so cool, but then we arrived

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in California and it turned out that everybody

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wanted to make a movie there. So there was nothing

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special about it, but we did it. So he did make

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a movie, but also very shortly after, in the

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three years since we had moved there, we had

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two more children. So now we were a family of

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four young children. So it was very busy. He

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was working. I was being a mom. And in the midst

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of it all, we didn't really learn to communicate

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or we missed the connection together. And I remember

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that time as very lonely, too, for both of us.

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Yeah, those big life changes can really throw

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our life off balance, really. And you mentioned

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how you were lonely and your communication wasn't

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great. So share a little more about that. For

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me, our intention for both of us was very good.

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We wanted to work and create that family that

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we had or encourage and build on the family that

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we had. But it was... We were both on our own

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island and disconnected from each other. And

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he thought, I'm such a good husband. Don't you

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see I love you because I provide and I create

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these opportunities for you. And I felt like,

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but don't you see that I'm taking care of our

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children and I'm building the nest at home. Don't

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you see that I love you? And it didn't connect

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well. So it was a difficult time. And I remember

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that my mother always said, don't expect anything

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from anybody, but expect everything from God

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and more. So every time he showed me to turn

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my hope and my expectation to God and not to

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my circumstances or anything else. And I remember

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that really helped me. Yeah, in the middle of

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that. uh, crazy life and loneliness. Um, you

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had a providential encounter with Joni Eriksson

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-Tadege that blossomed and led to a long -term

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friendship and really a mentorship for you. Share

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about that. Cause it was very unusual that you

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had this opportunity. I had known Joni, not personally,

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but since I was a teenager, because I read her

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book and I saw the movie and I also, um, attended

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one of the conferences that she was a speaker.

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when she came to the Netherlands and I remember

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I think I was 17 and she broke her neck when

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she was 17 but years later when I was 17 I heard

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her speak and I was mesmerized I thought she

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was so beautiful not just she is a very beautiful

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woman but not just that but there was more to

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her it was so attractive how she lived her life

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with God, how she was radiant in that. And I

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remember thinking that I wanted what she had.

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And then years later, when Helm with my husband

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and I lived in California, it turned out we lived

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very close to Johnny. And he started making documentaries

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for Johnny and friends, a few documentaries.

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So he started working with her. she invited us

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to her church. So we went to the church and I

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was so excited to meet her in person and get

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to know her. And I remember asking her, can I

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help you? Is there anything I could do? Because

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I wanted to be closer to her. I really wanted

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to become her friend. And I think she knew very

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well that I wasn't able to commit at that time

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with my four small children. But a few years

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later, invited me or she asked me if I could

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help her, she knew that I was a nurse too, and

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she asked me if I could help her in the morning.

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She has a small group of women who help her besides

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Ken, her husband, and who help her in the morning

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or in the evening. And I became one of them and

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after a couple of years it turned into the evening.

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and then in the Sunday evenings. In your book

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you describe a really a pivotal conversation

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with Joni about creating a personal mission statement

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and how that insight really helped save your

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marriage. Share about what she told you and what

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changed in you that and how that transformation

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played out. So the time with Joni there was always

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because when you live at Prado Plitia you need

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a lot of help. So the morning it took about two

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hours and in the evening two, one and a half

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or two hours to get ready and to get into the

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wheelchair. So we had a lot of time of being

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together and also having conversations. And I

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remember one time Johnny said that she had a

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mission statement and the concept of a mission

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statement was so new for me. So I asked her about

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it and she explained that her mission statement

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was to be the best audiovisual representative

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of God in difficult situations or in suffering

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and of God and God's grace. And I thought, wow,

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that is quite a mission statement. That is intense.

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And then you also know from close by about suffering,

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because otherwise you couldn't be the representative.

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So I saw the impact it had on her life to live

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by a mission statement like that, and I decided

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to make a mission statement for myself. And at

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that time, my children were still young. My mission

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statement was to introduce my children to God

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and to, with whatever I did, show them that God

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is to be trusted and that everything is in God's

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hands. And that played out nice because they

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were young, we had a lot of time together. I

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remember, for example, the pickups from and to

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the different schools. They were all in different

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schools and lots of time in the car. And we would

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always memorize scripture. So that was easy,

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and that was according to my mission statement.

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And we had lots of fairy tales, or Bible stories,

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all according to my mission statement. I thought,

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wow, I got this. This mission statement was easy.

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But then a few years later, our relationship

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got really difficult for my husband and I, and

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we were at a fallout, and it was... we just didn't

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see a way to connect or to come back together

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and that summer I was in the Netherlands visiting

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our families and I remember that he said we had

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a lot of fights and arguments and hurtful things

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and I remember that he said I don't think you

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should come home anymore I will take care of

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you and the children don't worry about that but

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I just don't see a way that we can be together.

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And it almost felt, Jodie, it almost felt like

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a relief. I felt, wow, that it felt like freedom

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because it was a heavy blanket that we had put

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over ourselves with our miscommunications and

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misunderstandings. And I was dreaming a little

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bit about how it would be if we would be separated.

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And then I realized my mission statement and

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I realized that what that I wouldn't be able

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to answer my children in a few years if they

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would say, but mama you said that everything

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is in God's hands and that God can be trusted.

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Why didn't you trust God in your marriage with

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Papa? And I knew that I wouldn't be able to answer

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that and that for that time and for us divorce

00:15:41.110 --> 00:15:43.909
was not the answer. And I'm not saying this about

00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:46.940
all the divorces, because every situation is

00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:51.159
different, but I knew that for me, it wasn't

00:15:51.159 --> 00:15:57.240
the answer. So what did you do? So I cried. I

00:15:57.240 --> 00:16:02.960
don't want to do this. Exactly. And then I said

00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:06.159
that, and then I wrestled with God. But I also,

00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:12.840
I knew, I knew that I could trust God. had not

00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:15.960
experienced it yet on that level, so I knew in

00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:18.340
my mind, in my head, that I could trust God,

00:16:19.100 --> 00:16:25.679
but I also was fearful to yield to trusting Him

00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:30.139
in this, because this was, it had been painful,

00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:34.360
but I did have that conversation with God and

00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:38.720
I remember saying to God, okay Lord, I trust

00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:42.210
that you will take care of my heart then. if

00:16:42.210 --> 00:16:46.590
I do that and that you will find us, for me and

00:16:46.590 --> 00:16:49.370
for my husband, a way out so that we will be

00:16:49.370 --> 00:16:53.610
able to connect and find each other again. Yeah,

00:16:53.610 --> 00:16:55.450
so you didn't stay in the Netherlands, you moved

00:16:55.450 --> 00:16:59.049
back home and was it immediately better? No,

00:16:59.110 --> 00:17:01.830
no, I didn't move to the Netherlands. I was just

00:17:01.830 --> 00:17:04.710
there for summer vacation for like three weeks

00:17:04.710 --> 00:17:07.970
or so. So I went back with the children. I remember

00:17:07.970 --> 00:17:12.259
the long flight of 11 hours and not showing the

00:17:12.259 --> 00:17:16.759
children my trepidations, but in my mind it was

00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:20.619
going on. And I came home and I told my husband

00:17:20.619 --> 00:17:24.539
what I saw about us divorcing and that we couldn't

00:17:24.539 --> 00:17:27.920
do that and that I wanted to trust God and that

00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:30.380
I wanted to give our marriage back to God. And

00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:35.660
he was like, okay, yeah, whatever. Because he

00:17:35.660 --> 00:17:38.900
was also so tired of it. And it didn't get better

00:17:38.900 --> 00:17:42.000
right away. It was very difficult. It took a

00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:46.279
while. But I did see small glimpses. I was able...

00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:50.000
I did see small glimpses of God's faithfulness

00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:53.619
and God's presence in the midst of it. And I

00:17:53.619 --> 00:17:59.259
was able also to trust God more and not to be

00:17:59.259 --> 00:18:02.660
fixated on my own problems and my own circumstances

00:18:02.660 --> 00:18:05.700
and my own... the righteousness of things and

00:18:05.700 --> 00:18:09.059
that it was unfair for me I could linger on those

00:18:09.059 --> 00:18:13.319
thoughts and I was able to to focus on God and

00:18:13.319 --> 00:18:16.799
trust him and see how I needed to change because

00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:20.180
I didn't really realize that too that I needed

00:18:20.180 --> 00:18:22.980
to change first for myself that that was my own

00:18:22.980 --> 00:18:26.420
responsibility to change and that God would deal

00:18:26.420 --> 00:18:31.220
with my husband And so, how many years have you

00:18:31.220 --> 00:18:34.519
been married now? We just celebrated our 33rd

00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:39.059
anniversary. 33 years. Yes. Congratulations.

00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:41.859
That's wonderful. God was faithful. I mean, we

00:18:41.859 --> 00:18:43.920
walk through difficult seasons, right? Psalm

00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:46.440
23 says, Even though I walk through the valley

00:18:46.440 --> 00:18:48.220
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,

00:18:48.380 --> 00:18:51.000
for God is with me. His rod and His staff, they

00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:53.900
comfort me. And may have felt like a death of

00:18:53.900 --> 00:18:57.839
a marriage, but God guided you through it to...

00:18:58.009 --> 00:19:01.190
a much better place. He really did, he really

00:19:01.190 --> 00:19:05.890
did. And this was about 15, 18 years ago. And

00:19:05.890 --> 00:19:09.750
it's still sometimes that we fall back into those

00:19:09.750 --> 00:19:14.269
difficult times, but God is so faithful. If we

00:19:14.269 --> 00:19:17.990
turn back to him, he really is. And so present.

00:19:19.700 --> 00:19:22.799
Well, I know that there were so many other things

00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:25.460
that you learned from Joni. I mean, there's a

00:19:25.460 --> 00:19:26.819
whole bunch of them you list in your book. We

00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:28.720
can't go through them all, but our listeners

00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:32.039
can go get that book if they want to know more.

00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:36.019
But share about another lesson that Joni imparted

00:19:36.019 --> 00:19:38.660
and the impact it made on your life. One of the

00:19:38.660 --> 00:19:41.740
other things that come to my mind is when she

00:19:41.740 --> 00:19:45.640
told me how she would pray or how she learned

00:19:45.640 --> 00:19:51.930
how to pray because By now, I really understood

00:19:51.930 --> 00:19:58.430
that Johnny trusts God so directly in everything.

00:19:58.750 --> 00:20:01.750
And for me, it takes more time, but she does

00:20:01.750 --> 00:20:04.589
in everything. But at one time, I remembered

00:20:04.589 --> 00:20:09.029
that she had COVID. And so Johnny lives in a

00:20:09.029 --> 00:20:11.190
wheelchair and is paralyzed from her neck down.

00:20:11.190 --> 00:20:16.150
And then she went through several bouts of cancer.

00:20:16.920 --> 00:20:20.619
and she had surgery and radiation and everything

00:20:20.619 --> 00:20:28.339
and then she had several hospital stays and pneumonias

00:20:28.339 --> 00:20:31.740
and now she had COVID and I could tell that her

00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:36.380
body was just tired and she was fighting so hard

00:20:36.380 --> 00:20:40.200
against it and her body was just tired and we

00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:43.339
were all afraid and see too that this would be

00:20:43.339 --> 00:20:48.109
it. So I asked her after she was healed from

00:20:48.109 --> 00:20:51.329
COVID, I asked her, Johnny, aren't you tired?

00:20:51.450 --> 00:20:56.509
Aren't you angry at least? Are you done now with

00:20:56.509 --> 00:20:59.369
this? Because it's, are you questioning God?

00:20:59.829 --> 00:21:02.230
And she just looked at me because I had a lot

00:21:02.230 --> 00:21:05.269
of questions. I thought it was so unfair for

00:21:05.269 --> 00:21:08.529
her to go through COVID too, on top of everything

00:21:08.529 --> 00:21:11.509
else. And she just looked at me and she said,

00:21:11.650 --> 00:21:15.279
you know, Ruth, Very early on I learned to pray

00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:21.579
according to 80 -20. And then 20 % of my prayer

00:21:21.579 --> 00:21:26.220
life I use for the problem. And the whole other

00:21:26.220 --> 00:21:31.220
80 % is to be away from the problem, to focus

00:21:31.220 --> 00:21:34.480
on God and to look at God and see what he wants

00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:39.420
to teach me or see how I can grow or maybe how

00:21:39.420 --> 00:21:44.000
I can help others even in this. And I remember

00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:47.720
when she told me this, I thought, wow, this is

00:21:47.720 --> 00:21:52.059
the world upside down. Because I liked, at that

00:21:52.059 --> 00:21:55.859
time, I liked to pray 200 % about my problem.

00:21:57.380 --> 00:22:02.019
And then we go again and again. And then for

00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:06.579
her to say that, I thought, wow, that's quite

00:22:06.579 --> 00:22:09.480
something. And I started to pray like that, and

00:22:09.480 --> 00:22:13.279
it changed me. It changed my perspective. on

00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:16.759
things. Well, clearly, because I wasn't so focused

00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:19.980
on my circumstances or on my problems or how

00:22:19.980 --> 00:22:23.480
asking God how he's going to change them and

00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:26.200
please change them quickly. It wasn't about that

00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:29.779
anymore, but I gave him my problems 20 % of my

00:22:29.779 --> 00:22:34.079
prayer time, so one sentence out of five, and

00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:36.960
the rest of the time I was focused on him, away

00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:41.599
from my problem. it changed my relationship with

00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:46.200
God, it changed my prayer life, it changed it

00:22:46.200 --> 00:22:50.720
changed my heart and I yeah it was it was really

00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:54.799
beautiful and it still is beautiful I love to

00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:57.880
pray like that and I wanted to remind myself

00:22:57.880 --> 00:23:04.920
of it so I decided to make a necklace with 8020

00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:09.000
on it just to you know how we play with our jewelry

00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:12.579
and just to remind myself of like oh 80 -20 that's

00:23:12.579 --> 00:23:15.619
it I should remember that yeah so I made a necklace

00:23:15.619 --> 00:23:19.220
yeah yeah well you uh you mentioned COVID that

00:23:19.220 --> 00:23:21.059
Joni went through COVID and really that brought

00:23:21.059 --> 00:23:25.259
a lot of changes in Joni's care um your weekly

00:23:25.259 --> 00:23:28.140
time with her paused soon after because all of

00:23:28.140 --> 00:23:31.799
your children had lived with you at that time

00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:36.819
um but then how did those sudden shifts you know

00:23:36.859 --> 00:23:40.339
of COVID and coming out of COVID reshape your

00:23:40.339 --> 00:23:42.519
rhythms and your identity and your sense of calling

00:23:42.519 --> 00:23:45.440
in that time. Our children all moved back during

00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:48.539
COVID and all the lockdowns and so they all moved

00:23:48.539 --> 00:23:51.920
back home. So it was almost like an encore that

00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:55.440
we had with them. A year that we had them all

00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:59.140
at home away from college or their work or their

00:23:59.140 --> 00:24:01.869
other places that they lived. and we had a very

00:24:01.869 --> 00:24:05.230
good year together and then they all moved out

00:24:05.230 --> 00:24:08.509
and my husband said what if we were still living

00:24:08.509 --> 00:24:10.589
in California in the house that we had lived

00:24:10.589 --> 00:24:14.829
for more than 20 years and he said what if we

00:24:14.829 --> 00:24:18.569
move back part -time to the Netherlands to be

00:24:18.569 --> 00:24:21.650
closer to our parents who were getting older

00:24:21.650 --> 00:24:27.329
both of our parents and he also knew that I longed

00:24:27.329 --> 00:24:31.970
to be there and be there and be available for

00:24:31.970 --> 00:24:35.650
our parents and that I missed the traditions

00:24:35.650 --> 00:24:38.309
and the life of the Netherlands. So we decided

00:24:38.309 --> 00:24:41.869
to move back part -time in the Netherlands and

00:24:41.869 --> 00:24:45.970
live part -time in the US. And that's what we

00:24:45.970 --> 00:24:47.789
did. Coming out, that wasn't that many years

00:24:47.789 --> 00:24:50.710
ago, but since then you've written a book and

00:24:50.710 --> 00:24:52.829
you have a jewelry company. I mean, how did those

00:24:52.829 --> 00:24:55.970
things get started? Those are huge accomplishments.

00:24:56.710 --> 00:24:59.450
Before, I was so busy with the children. and

00:24:59.450 --> 00:25:05.069
just with our nest and it felt like there was

00:25:05.069 --> 00:25:08.750
more time for me to pursue other dreams that

00:25:08.750 --> 00:25:11.930
I had and the book was one of them and I started

00:25:11.930 --> 00:25:15.230
writing things down not to forget the things

00:25:15.230 --> 00:25:18.369
the conversations that I had with Johnny and

00:25:18.369 --> 00:25:23.410
Johnny introduced me to her agent and that got

00:25:23.410 --> 00:25:29.680
us a book deal at Moody Publishers. And I just

00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:33.019
heard that the book, My Sunday Evenings with

00:25:33.019 --> 00:25:37.180
Johnny, that sold 5 ,000 copies. Wow. Congratulations.

00:25:37.579 --> 00:25:41.079
Yeah. Thank you. So the book was published and

00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:44.779
then the necklace that I talked about, the 8020,

00:25:45.099 --> 00:25:48.539
inspired me to make more necklaces or to make

00:25:48.539 --> 00:25:53.019
more jewelry because I saw something that I wanted

00:25:53.019 --> 00:25:56.220
to wear. that reminded me of the goodness of

00:25:56.220 --> 00:25:59.559
God that we would just wear and something pretty

00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:02.299
and something beautiful. Yeah I meant when we

00:26:02.299 --> 00:26:04.759
were talking initially you talked about how you're

00:26:04.759 --> 00:26:07.900
just drawn to beauty and you love to create that

00:26:07.900 --> 00:26:13.480
beautiful spaces and just talk about how that

00:26:13.480 --> 00:26:16.319
really is a gateway to God for you. Yes it is

00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:20.660
and I also think it doesn't have to be pretentious

00:26:20.660 --> 00:26:27.650
or for decoration that more to experience God's

00:26:27.650 --> 00:26:30.789
goodness through beauty and there are so many

00:26:30.789 --> 00:26:33.230
beautiful things like a teapot can be so beautiful

00:26:33.230 --> 00:26:36.890
or the use of green or the sunlight how it comes

00:26:36.890 --> 00:26:39.890
in or maybe just a conversation with somebody

00:26:39.890 --> 00:26:44.710
or a smile when you're standing in line at the

00:26:44.710 --> 00:26:50.410
DMV all those things of beauty are creating places

00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:54.460
I believe where you can see God's goodness and

00:26:54.460 --> 00:26:58.619
God's grace. And jewellery is one of them, or

00:26:58.619 --> 00:27:03.140
writing for me is one of them too. And before

00:27:03.140 --> 00:27:07.680
I thought, oh, I'm not a real evangelist. I don't

00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:10.799
know how to explain it to people, how do I explain

00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:14.259
the gospel? But then I realized when I was working

00:27:14.259 --> 00:27:17.000
with those things, like the jewellery and words

00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:20.589
and writing a book, or just connecting with women,

00:27:21.390 --> 00:27:26.589
I thought this is my way of sharing the gospel

00:27:26.589 --> 00:27:32.670
with other people. And it made me realize that

00:27:32.670 --> 00:27:38.009
God is so interested in each one of us and he

00:27:38.009 --> 00:27:42.490
has made us so precisely according to his plan

00:27:42.490 --> 00:27:46.269
with our talents and our gifts and he wants to

00:27:46.269 --> 00:27:49.670
use those. And for me, being drawn to beautiful

00:27:49.670 --> 00:27:53.170
things, beautiful plates or setting a table and

00:27:53.170 --> 00:27:58.670
cooking a meal, he can use that for his glory

00:27:58.670 --> 00:28:02.230
and to show others and myself the goodness of

00:28:02.230 --> 00:28:05.269
God. Yeah, you mentioned that, you know, living

00:28:05.269 --> 00:28:08.049
in California, being in the film industry, Helmut

00:28:08.049 --> 00:28:10.569
being in the film industry, you you encountered

00:28:10.569 --> 00:28:12.450
and we're friends with many people who didn't

00:28:12.450 --> 00:28:16.309
know Christ and Your jewelry in particular and

00:28:16.309 --> 00:28:19.970
your book also really opened up conversations

00:28:19.970 --> 00:28:23.869
for you to share a little bit more. Yes, absolutely.

00:28:24.190 --> 00:28:30.250
And that's also what I love, that God uses that.

00:28:30.869 --> 00:28:33.809
Like, I'm not a big evangelist, I'm not a Billy

00:28:33.809 --> 00:28:37.670
Graham, but I can connect with people over those

00:28:37.670 --> 00:28:40.150
things, over things that I love, that are close

00:28:40.150 --> 00:28:44.039
to my heart. and talk about those things and

00:28:44.039 --> 00:28:47.220
point them to Jesus. Yeah, that's beautiful.

00:28:47.720 --> 00:28:50.799
I love it that God knows us. He created each

00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:53.880
one of us uniquely, and He knows what will speak

00:28:53.880 --> 00:28:56.920
to us. We're not all the same, you know? God

00:28:56.920 --> 00:28:59.279
speaks to each of us differently. Our relationship

00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:02.960
with the Lord is different. They're unique. And

00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:06.500
He uses each one of us to speak to other people

00:29:06.500 --> 00:29:10.480
who He's created uniquely. for us to minister

00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:13.940
to them. So it's beautiful that the book and

00:29:13.940 --> 00:29:17.420
the jewelry have really opened doors of conversation

00:29:17.420 --> 00:29:20.920
about the Lord. Yes, I recently found the Bible

00:29:20.920 --> 00:29:26.079
first that just emphasizes it, what we are talking

00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:29.779
about. when I saw it for the first time because

00:29:29.779 --> 00:29:32.400
I was reading it in a different translation.

00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:36.180
I read it in the Amplified and it is John 15

00:29:36.180 --> 00:29:39.920
verse 16 and 17. So very easy to remember. John

00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:44.019
15, 16, 17. And then in the Amplified it says,

00:29:44.599 --> 00:29:47.259
you have not chosen me. These are Jesus' words.

00:29:47.840 --> 00:29:51.539
You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,

00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:55.259
and I have appointed and placed and purposefully

00:29:55.259 --> 00:29:58.539
planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit

00:29:58.539 --> 00:30:01.420
and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will

00:30:01.420 --> 00:30:06.220
remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask

00:30:06.220 --> 00:30:09.720
of the Father in my name, he may give to you.

00:30:10.440 --> 00:30:13.160
And this is what I commend you, that you love

00:30:13.160 --> 00:30:16.079
and unselfishly seek the best for one another.

00:30:18.190 --> 00:30:21.789
And I just love that verse so much because I

00:30:21.789 --> 00:30:26.650
feel like when things are very difficult that

00:30:26.650 --> 00:30:31.250
we can yield to that and lean on that, that we

00:30:31.250 --> 00:30:35.369
can trust that God has appointed and placed and

00:30:35.369 --> 00:30:39.470
purposefully planted us. So in my merit he had

00:30:39.470 --> 00:30:41.670
appointed and placed and purposefully planted

00:30:41.670 --> 00:30:46.279
me there and that it also says at the end in

00:30:46.279 --> 00:30:49.259
verse 17 it says I commend you that you love

00:30:49.259 --> 00:30:52.039
and unselfishly seek the best for one another

00:30:52.039 --> 00:30:56.059
so it is in difficult situations our marriage

00:30:56.059 --> 00:30:59.440
or maybe at work or difficult situations maybe

00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:02.299
with our children or just our lives or our health

00:31:02.299 --> 00:31:06.880
or finance situations he has appointed place

00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:09.940
that perfectly planted you so that you would

00:31:09.940 --> 00:31:13.440
go and bear fruit and keep on bearing but also

00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:16.190
with fun things like with For example, for me,

00:31:16.490 --> 00:31:19.349
the jewelry or with writing a book. Yeah, I love

00:31:19.349 --> 00:31:21.349
that. I love the expanded, the amplified version

00:31:21.349 --> 00:31:24.170
of that. It adds a little more depth to the meaning

00:31:24.170 --> 00:31:26.309
of it, gives us a little more understanding.

00:31:27.329 --> 00:31:30.329
It is intentional. I mean, you know, we can't

00:31:30.329 --> 00:31:32.890
just float along in life, although our salvation

00:31:32.890 --> 00:31:35.670
is not by works, but we have to be intentional

00:31:35.670 --> 00:31:39.309
in yielding to God and walking with him. As we

00:31:39.309 --> 00:31:41.390
get ready to close here, is there a woman in

00:31:41.390 --> 00:31:44.369
the Bible whose story has encouraged you in your

00:31:44.369 --> 00:31:47.690
journey with the Lord? Yes, there is. I'm thinking

00:31:47.690 --> 00:31:52.349
what comes to mind is the Marys of the New Testament.

00:31:52.809 --> 00:31:55.029
Each of the Marys, Mary the mother of Jesus,

00:31:56.450 --> 00:32:04.039
Mary of Magdala, Mary of Bethesda, Lazarus. Sister,

00:32:04.180 --> 00:32:07.180
they all came from such different circumstances,

00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:11.119
and their circumstances were so raw and difficult.

00:32:12.619 --> 00:32:16.279
Wow, and instead of looking at their circumstances,

00:32:17.079 --> 00:32:21.240
like young Mary, who was told that she was pregnant.

00:32:21.980 --> 00:32:24.940
Well, I would have so many questions, but the

00:32:24.940 --> 00:32:28.180
Bible doesn't tell us that she had too many questions.

00:32:28.279 --> 00:32:31.599
It looks like she's yielding and trusting right

00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:34.029
away. I love that, that she's not looking at

00:32:34.029 --> 00:32:36.069
the circumstances, but right away is looking

00:32:36.069 --> 00:32:42.109
at you, at God. And Mary of Magdala, she was

00:32:42.109 --> 00:32:46.769
healed from seven demons, and she just knew that

00:32:46.769 --> 00:32:52.049
she was loved by Jesus, and not her circumstances,

00:32:52.170 --> 00:32:56.390
but the love of Jesus. That was it for her, and

00:32:56.390 --> 00:33:00.150
Lazarus' sister too. difficult circumstances,

00:33:00.769 --> 00:33:04.750
lots of questions, lots of turmoil and lots of

00:33:04.750 --> 00:33:08.269
insecurities. And she was just looking at Jesus

00:33:08.269 --> 00:33:11.390
in those. I love that, about all three of them.

00:33:12.029 --> 00:33:14.710
And I want them as my examples. And Johnny too,

00:33:14.890 --> 00:33:19.690
Johnny's the same. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you

00:33:19.690 --> 00:33:24.049
so much. You know, dear friends, Ruth's story

00:33:24.049 --> 00:33:26.569
reminds us. that yielding to God and trusting

00:33:26.569 --> 00:33:29.690
Him is not about losing control, but it's about

00:33:29.690 --> 00:33:32.130
placing our lives in the hands of God who is

00:33:32.130 --> 00:33:37.490
endlessly kind, deeply gracious, fully trustworthy.

00:33:37.950 --> 00:33:40.549
And Jeremiah 17 that I read at the beginning

00:33:40.549 --> 00:33:43.309
assures us that when we trust in the Lord, our

00:33:43.309 --> 00:33:47.109
roots grow deep, our hearts remain steady, our

00:33:47.109 --> 00:33:49.730
lives bear fruit, even in difficult seasons like

00:33:49.730 --> 00:33:52.109
Ruth mentioned, because God's faithful through

00:33:52.109 --> 00:33:54.990
it all. Things don't always change instantly,

00:33:55.130 --> 00:33:59.009
but He works in us and through us in those difficult

00:33:59.009 --> 00:34:02.170
situations. And I'm reminded of some other pearls

00:34:02.170 --> 00:34:06.410
of wisdom that came from Joni. She said, contentment

00:34:06.410 --> 00:34:10.329
comes when we stop trying to be in control and

00:34:10.329 --> 00:34:14.889
place our lives completely in God's hands. That

00:34:14.889 --> 00:34:17.710
is the heart of yielding. That is where peace

00:34:17.710 --> 00:34:22.280
comes. And that is where God grows fruit in us

00:34:22.280 --> 00:34:26.239
that endures. Ruth, before we close, would you

00:34:26.239 --> 00:34:28.340
take a moment to pray for our listening friends,

00:34:28.500 --> 00:34:31.239
especially those who might be struggling to surrender

00:34:31.239 --> 00:34:33.420
something to God right now? Heavenly Father,

00:34:33.460 --> 00:34:36.800
thank you so much for your goodness and your

00:34:36.800 --> 00:34:40.460
guidance. Thank you for your Son. Your love for

00:34:40.460 --> 00:34:44.699
us is amazing. It's too much often for me to

00:34:44.699 --> 00:34:48.309
understand. But every time I see it or see glimpses

00:34:48.309 --> 00:34:50.909
of it, I'm so grateful. Thank you for your love.

00:34:51.650 --> 00:34:54.389
And Lord, I ask that for each one of us in whatever

00:34:54.389 --> 00:34:58.289
situation we might be, that we may see you more

00:34:58.289 --> 00:35:02.630
and more of your love. Lord, help us to trust

00:35:02.630 --> 00:35:08.570
and to yield to you. And what Johnny said, that

00:35:08.570 --> 00:35:11.230
the contentment comes when we stop trying to

00:35:11.230 --> 00:35:15.800
be in control. Lord, we pray that we are able

00:35:15.800 --> 00:35:18.920
to give our control over to you because we love

00:35:18.920 --> 00:35:24.420
you and we trust you. In Jesus name, Amen. And

00:35:24.420 --> 00:35:26.719
now dear friends, I want to speak a blessing

00:35:26.719 --> 00:35:30.000
over you that's adapted from Jeremiah 17. May

00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:32.760
you be blessed as you trust in the Lord and place

00:35:32.760 --> 00:35:35.679
your confidence fully in him. May your roots

00:35:35.679 --> 00:35:39.300
grow deep into his faithfulness and love. When

00:35:39.300 --> 00:35:42.079
heat or hardship come, may you stand unafraid.

00:35:42.670 --> 00:35:46.269
sustained by His grace. When life feels dry,

00:35:46.750 --> 00:35:50.409
may your spirit remain green with hope. And may

00:35:50.409 --> 00:35:53.329
your life bear fruit, abundant, enduring fruit,

00:35:53.690 --> 00:35:56.030
as you yield to the kindness and wisdom of your

00:35:56.030 --> 00:35:59.150
God. Remember, you can find today's notes and

00:35:59.150 --> 00:36:03.550
scriptures and links at hergodstory .org. If

00:36:03.550 --> 00:36:06.070
you need prayer, please call or text us at our

00:36:06.070 --> 00:36:11.079
24 -7 prayer line at 855 -459 -CARE. or email

00:36:11.079 --> 00:36:13.800
us at prayer at somebodycares .org. We are here

00:36:13.800 --> 00:36:17.980
for you. Until next time, keep yielding to God's

00:36:17.980 --> 00:36:20.619
loving relationship and leadership because He

00:36:20.619 --> 00:36:23.559
is still writing your story. Her God Story is

00:36:23.559 --> 00:36:26.219
a ministry of Somebody Cares America and International.

00:36:26.679 --> 00:36:28.860
To find out more about or support the ministry,

00:36:29.099 --> 00:36:30.739
go to somebodycares .org.