Dec. 2, 2025

370: God Wants You Well: Leaders Can't Scale When Their Body Fails (Part 1)

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What if that quiet thought in the back of your mind is true: “Maybe I’m not doomed to feel this way for the rest of my life!”

In today’s episode, Jarrod and Anita sit down with Terry Edwards of Eat Plant Based, an amazing Christian who watched rheumatoid arthritis and chronic illness run through her family while her own joint pain, adult acne, exhaustion, and sleepless nights kept getting worse. She listened to the experts, did all the “right” diets, and still found herself wondering if she would even be mobile in ten years…

Then God began awakening her to His original, delicious design for optimal health. Through a simple documentary, wise mentors, and a growing understanding of biblical nutrition and plant based foods, Terry discovered that she was not destined to repeat her family’s story. Her joints, sleep, skin, and energy all began to improve significantly as she embraced a whole food plant based lifestyle, and that personal healing grew into a ministry and platform that now serves hundreds of thousands!

If you are a purpose driven leader or Kingdom entrepreneur who feels stuck in a body that will not fully cooperate with your calling, this conversation will remind you that God wants you well and that your genetics do not have to be the final word.

You will hear how to harness food as medicine, why some doctors never mention plant based options, and the steps Terry used to finally go from exhausted and unable to live her God-given dreams to teaching in cancer centers and reaching the world online.

Listen in to turn your body into your greatest advantage in business and life, without missing out on food you love, going on fad diets, or spending hours at the gym! Finally feel good so you can 10x your productivity and FULLY live your kingdom calling.

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00:00 - Welcome And Mission Of The Show

04:17 - Meet Terry Edwards And Her Credentials

06:01 - Early Symptoms And Family History Fears

09:36 - Sleep Struggles, Acne, And Daily Exhaustion

13:21 - Hope, Fear, And The “Aha” Moment

15:20 - Forks Over Knives And First Steps

19:06 - Bible, Science, And Plant-Based Alignment

23:04 - Lifestyle Change Versus Symptom Management

27:33 - Food As Medicine And Rapid Results

30:51 - Energy Returns And Life Possibilities

33:56 - Doctors, Missing Resources, And A New Calling

38:06 - Teaching Hospitals And Cancer Centers

41:56 - Pivot To Online And Growing Impact

44:31 - Leadership Lessons And Part Two Teaser

45:36 - Join Peak Performance Network CTA

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Maybe I'm not doomed to be like this for the rest of my life.

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Right.

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Yes.

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Yeah.

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And you know, that was the scary part before you realize you have options, especially if you have a medical condition that runs in your family, and then you begin having those symptoms and you don't know that there's any other way.

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Hey sister, welcome to the Power on Plants podcast.

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Are you tired of staring into the fridge wondering what to eat so you can just feel better?

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Do you want to avoid spending hours in the kitchen making complicated meals in the name of health?

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Would you love to leave fatigue behind and finally have the energy to do all the things you want to do?

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Hi, we're Jared and Eatery Sale Christfollowers, healthcare professionals, parents of four, and big fans of great tasting food.

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We too tried exercising more, eating natural and clean foods, but we still found ourselves struggling with what we thought were changes that come with age or bad genes.

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And we weren't finding answers to traditional route, so we dug into the research and created our secret nutritional weapon, sustainable plant-based living.

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The truth is you can eat more whole plant foods, and it's not hard.

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You just need the way that's realistic and delicious so you never feel deprived.

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If you're ready to enjoy your meals, no longer be held back by your health struggles and actively live your life, then you're in the right place.

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So grab your favorite plant-based cup of happy, pop in those earbuds, and let's get started.

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Hello and welcome to Power on Plants, where we help Christian leaders and kingdom entrepreneurs to fuel your body optimally with whole plant foods so you can fully live your God-given calling.

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If you've been praying to finally feel as strong as your calling, so you can completely live God's purpose for your life with maximum energy, focus, and productivity, take a deep breath.

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You're home now.

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Today's guest, Terry Edwards, is here to stir your faith and remind you of all that's possible with God's wisdom leading the way.

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Terry and I were introduced by our dear friend Sid Notter.

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And from the very first conversation, Terry felt like family.

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You know that kind of instant connection you get that only God can cause to happen.

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That's what happened here.

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Terry knows what it's like to face health challenges that make you wonder if living your full potential is even possible.

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But instead of giving up, she started seeking God's wisdom.

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And that search led her to discover simple, powerful truth of his original plan for nourishing our bodies.

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Her story is one of incredible transformation.

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Today she shares that message of hope through her platform, Eat Plant-Based, helping others experience lasting freedom and restoration of health.

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Terry's certified in plant-based nutrition through eCornell and the T.

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Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and is a licensed food for life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

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Get ready to be encouraged and equipped as Terry shares what's possible when faith actually meets action, when we align our lives with God's beautiful original design for help.

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Terry, we are so happy to have you here with us today.

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Thank you.

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I'm glad to be here.

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Thank you for asking me to participate.

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Yes, we have just loved this connection through Sid and getting to know you more.

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And we can't wait for everyone to hear your story.

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Now, many of our listeners are purpose-driven leaders and they keep showing up even when they're exhausted or hurting because they care deeply about serving others.

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Bring us into that season in your mid-40s when you had a lot on your plate and you were facing health struggles and looking for answers.

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What did a typical day feel like for you at that time?

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That was back in 2012.

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Actually, my problem started 10 years before that in my 30s.

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I started having some um joint pain, mostly in my hands.

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Um, that's it's so funny because you know, a lot of folks have joint pain and weight-bearing joints, but mine started in my hands and then progressively worsened over, you know, the next 10 years.

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35 years old is really young to start with joint problems.

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But a little backup for that is that my mom has rheumatoid arthritis, and so I knew about joint problems and uh how debilitating that can be because my mother has been, she's uh almost 80 now, but she has been disabled since she was 53.

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Oh wow.

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And yeah, and I have a sister that's only 16 months older than me, and she developed RA uh as well in her 50s.

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So mine started, I mean, and I had not been diagnosed with RA.

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I've been tested twice and came back negative, but both my mom and my sister had multiple tests that came back negative before it came back positive.

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So um I just had that fear, you know, that fear of I can see where I am headed and it's scary.

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So, but in addition to the joint problems, um I had other things going on.

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Um I had sleeping problems that required me to take, at first it was just melatonin.

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And then, you know, when you take something like that, you have to keep upping uh the milligrams on it for it to be effective.

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And then I switched to, or sometimes alternated between that and one of the um nighttime like Tylenol or ibuprofen nighttime things, and I had to have something to help me sleep every night.

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Um, as well as I had adult acne, I was prescribed and was taking doxycycline for years, guys.

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For years for adult acne.

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And I knew that that wasn't great long-term either.

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But, you know, um I had acne when I was younger and it just did not go away and it progressed.

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It's it's tough when you're in your 40s and you've got acne.

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Yes.

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But that's what you know, I was dealing with.

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And I was working um almost a full-time job.

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I was an office manager at that time for a local company in our area, and just day to day, you know, having to work and just the duties at home, you know, even house cleaning and things when your joints are hurting.

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I remember leaning over the bathtub, and you know how you you get on your knees and you scrub and just thinking, you know, um, at that point, maybe around 40 years old, that I wasn't going to be able to do it in 10 years or beyond.

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And, you know, 55 is not that old because I'm I am 58 now.

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So right.

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That was a huge part of my story as well.

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I mean, I can totally identify with that.

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And I think a lot of people can to where you're just hurting, and then you're told it's old age or it's your genes, you know, you're just getting older.

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That's just what happens.

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We're told so many things that I feel like just aren't true, and we live into and start believing those things, and then we get afraid because some things start happening and then fear takes over, you know, and it's just it's this vicious cycle.

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I mean, I was washing my hair in the shower.

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I tell the story about it and share this a lot where I was washing my hair and I was just crying, tears rolling down my face, thinking people are washing their hair right now and they're not even thinking about it.

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Like there's so many things we take for granted when we're not having the struggles.

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So I love what you're sharing because when you understand what Jared says a lot of times, is when you know better, that's when you can do better.

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And that's why we're so passionate, like you are, about sharing.

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Because we don't want people to even end up in that place.

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But if they do to realize there's hope.

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And we want them to know that there is a possibility of getting better, that you don't have to stay like this because that's their truth, but only because they don't know the full picture.

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Yes.

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And then when you have light shed on the entire picture, then it you can have that aha moment.

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Maybe I'm not doomed to be like this for the rest of my life.

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Right.

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Yes, yeah.

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And you know, that was the scary part before you realize you have options, especially if you have a medical condition that runs uh in your family, and then you begin having those symptoms and you don't know that there's any other way, it's scary.

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It really is scary because you're looking at your family members and going, oh no.

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And you know, we know 40s is young, guys, 50s is young.

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Yes.

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And if we live to be, you know, in our 90s, what you know, who knows?

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Or you don't even at that point for me, I was thinking I'm gonna be lucky to for the next 10 years to be still mobile.

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Yes, but my aha moment was uh the forks over knives um documentary.

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And I hear that from so many people, yes, because I think that thing was uh was created in, I might be wrong, but I think around 2011, something like that.

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And so it was fairly new because um for me, you know, it was uh 2012 and it just had not, it didn't take off.

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I mean, I didn't know anything about it.

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I would still, well, I probably hopefully would by now, but at that point it was my daughter who was vegan for ethical reasons, right?

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And um, she was young, but she had seen that documentary somehow at college and suggested that I watch it, but I didn't right away because I didn't know what it was about.

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I truly had no idea.

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I thought it was one of those videos where it was just about the animals and you know, sadness and that, you know, and I was like, I'm not watching that.

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And forever.

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And she kept saying, Mom, have you watched that video yet?

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Because I think I didn't like, I don't think I complained.

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I hope I didn't complain, but I would tell her, you know, oh, something hurt or whatever.

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And then she would say, Did you watch it?

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And you say, So I finally did.

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And that is when that was my first introduction ever to plant-based nutrition.

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Before that, I had been going to the doctor, um, trying to find ways to deal with the joint pain, you know, the medicines and everything.

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And um nothing was just working.

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And uh, so I I did try some other diet plans during that time.

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I did that Suzanne Summers, um, you know, where she was like high protein.

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It was like, and I did do Adkins too.

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I did.

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And at one point, you guys will laugh at this because you're medical uh trained, but I even read the book Um How to Eat Right for Your Blood Type.

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Yes, and we've heard many people ask about that.

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Yes, we've had many clients ask about that.

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When you're searching for answers, I mean that search will take you well, desperate, but it's gonna take you to a lot of different things.

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And if you don't know, you don't know.

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And so So you're willing to try whatever.

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Right.

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Yeah, it you know, now that I look back on it, I think, oh my goodness, you know, but you know, you truly are searching and uh willing to try about anything, and that's the great thing spaces.

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Yeah, you're at that place where you're willing to try whatever, but we don't want people to get in that place, right?

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Well, but we were, and so we can take that knowledge and then be able to share it with people so that when you're listening to this, realize and have hope.

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I don't have to end up in the place where Terry was or Anita and Jared were hurting all the time, struggling through the day, feeling like this is just how it's gonna be, because there are answers and there are things that we know that from the Bible, and just looking at Genesis 129, I mean, there's so much more.

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Look at Sid's book where she talks about all the different scriptures that point to a whole feed plant-based diet.

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But then we look at the science that backs it up.

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And we always say, where you find the place where the Bible lines up with science, you have the gold.

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Because you shouldn't need the science necessarily to prove it.

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But when it does, I mean, why wouldn't we try it?

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Why wouldn't we try it?

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And having read all those different diets, that's part of your story.

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And you can tell people, I read all these different diet plans, and I know that the one that I have settled on is the correct one, the one where it lines up with scripture, but you're you're getting the results, and then you're living proof of it.

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And then you share it with other people, like you share it with your sister, and you see it working in her life, and you share it and you start sharing with other people with clients now, and you see lives changing, and you think, you know, this is undeniable now.

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There's the proof you've seen it with your own eyes, and it just it makes a difference in everything.

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Yeah, it's our story now.

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It's our story, absolutely.

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Well, if you could go back to yourself when you were 45 years old and you could whisper one truth to yourself at that point when you were struggling with pain and the acne and extra pounds as well, you shared with me.

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I mean, you were exhausted, but still pushing through the days, just trying to get things done.

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What would be one truth that you would share with yourself back then?

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Um that there's hope and that God wants me well.

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Yes, really.

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Because, you know, I tell people that uh so often in the Christian community, where, you know, for me, I'm just now kind of breaking into the Christian community with the plant-based message.

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And um, I remember, I don't know, maybe three years ago, we had just started going to a new church.

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And there was a gentleman who is probably about my age, maybe a little bit older.

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And they called, he actually went up, I think, at the end because he needed prayer.

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He had had a stroke, uh, he had diabetes, he had all these things.

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And I was new there.

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I did not really know anybody, but I felt called after because he went up for everybody to pray over him, which they did.

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Um and shortly after as soon as church let out, I whispered to my husband, I will be right back, because I had some information in the car um from the physician's committee about diabetes.

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So I ran out there and I got it, and I went to him and he was sitting in the pew, and you know, people were kind of going around and everything.

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But I just knelt down and I said, God doesn't want you to be sick.

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So good.

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This this is some information that may be able to help you.

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And I am here, I don't know you, but uh, I am here if you have questions.

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So I, you know, I just feel like I don't, I'm so excited with the just this last year and meeting you guys and knowing Sid and others in the plant-based community who are believers.

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It feels like we are finally, at least for me personally, but I just see the whole movement really um coming out with our faith and how it is so important with the way that we eat, our health.

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Um I'm really excited for what is going on right now and to see where it ends up going.

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I feel like uh God is on the move.

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You know, I think about um the Chronicles of Narnia, and they say Aslan is on the move, um, and he represents Jesus in those stories.

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And I just feel like God is on the move uh in the plant-based community reaching out because I remember Sid telling me when I first met her how um I don't know, maybe a little disheartened that she was that Christians weren't, even in her church, uh in the Christian communities were not open uh to plant-based uh nutrition.

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And it's early in the game for me anyway, as far as to see where it's gonna go, but I'm seeing inklings of it where I think God's running after his people.

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Absolutely.

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Amen to that.

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And the revelation of that God wants us well is huge, huge.

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And I feel like the father has really opened our eyes about that the last couple of years.

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Not that we ever thought that God wanted us sick, but sometimes we have that idea and it's perpetuated in our culture that, well, this sickness is just to keep you humble or God's teaching you something.

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Yes.

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I mean, what father would not want his children to be alive and healthy and vibrant?

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And he even says that in the word.

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Yes.

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Like even you, as parents, you know, as a father, you want to give good gifts to your children.

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How much more do I want to do that for my children?

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So that's his heart as wellness.

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We look at Yeshua, Jesus, who's the pattern of everything that father stands for, just lived it out completely and beautifully for us, and he healed them all.

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It says it over and over and over again.

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He healed them all.

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And we're not denying that sickness happens, of course, because we live in a fallen world.

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Yes, we do.

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So sin is still in effect on this earth.

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Yes, but that's part of the message of salvation.

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God made a way to restore us back, and we want people to know God wants you well.

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He doesn't delight in you being sick.

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And I think if you can really take hold of that truth, then it gives you hope.

00:20:19.670 --> 00:20:21.750
And then you realize there is something I can do.

00:20:21.910 --> 00:20:23.750
It's not just bad luck or bad genes.

00:20:23.829 --> 00:20:26.789
It's not just I'm being smited or whatever.

00:20:27.269 --> 00:20:27.509
Right.

00:20:27.750 --> 00:20:31.350
Yeah, it's this is where I am, but that's not where I have to stay.

00:20:31.670 --> 00:20:32.870
And then just huge.

00:20:33.029 --> 00:20:33.750
It is huge.

00:20:33.910 --> 00:20:36.150
And spirit, soul, and body, he wants us well.

00:20:36.230 --> 00:20:55.990
So we teach plant-based to eat your body well, but we also teach about getting your thoughts and feelings and desires right and in alignment with the kingdom of God, because that's when you start to see real healing on top of feeding and stewarding your body with these beautiful foods he's given us that taste better than anything we ever ate before.

00:20:56.069 --> 00:20:58.710
You know, people are worried about, I mean, this is a real concern.

00:20:58.870 --> 00:21:00.470
How am I gonna just eat grass?

00:21:00.630 --> 00:21:09.350
But when you learn and your taste buds get cleansed and you no longer have those addictive chemicals drawing you back into these foods that really weren't meant to fuel our body.

00:21:09.589 --> 00:21:11.910
Food-like products, food-like products, right?

00:21:12.150 --> 00:21:12.630
Exactly.

00:21:12.870 --> 00:21:22.470
Then, and we were talking this morning about how you know you go out and you go for a bike ride or you go for a walk and you don't see Cheez-Its hanging off a tree or even oil.

00:21:22.630 --> 00:21:24.549
Like there are no bottles of oil hanging off a tree.

00:21:26.870 --> 00:21:27.190
Right.

00:21:27.350 --> 00:21:27.589
Yeah.

00:21:27.910 --> 00:21:29.509
Yeah, it's amazing.

00:21:29.750 --> 00:21:39.430
But like you were talking about though, I love how you're talking about how this person, you know, your heart went out to them because they were there in the church, really seeking for God to heal them.

00:21:39.670 --> 00:21:40.950
We all have that ability.

00:21:41.110 --> 00:21:44.390
He can powerfully step in and he wants to powerfully step in.

00:21:44.549 --> 00:21:53.670
But think about if he comes in, if he chooses and comes in right at that moment because you're ready, your faith is aligned, you understand that he wants you well, boom, you're healed.

00:21:53.829 --> 00:21:58.870
But then if you keep living and stewarding your body in the same way, I mean, he does say go and sin no more.

00:21:58.950 --> 00:22:01.190
And I'm not saying that how we're eating is a sin.

00:22:01.269 --> 00:22:07.110
I mean, I'm not gonna address all the different things that people are doing because I don't know, you know, what you've done up until this point.

00:22:07.190 --> 00:22:09.750
And we love people, and our heart is just for you to be well.

00:22:09.829 --> 00:22:13.029
But we have to look at what got us there.

00:22:13.190 --> 00:22:15.589
Like, how did we get to the place we were in our health?

00:22:15.750 --> 00:22:18.870
And I know for us, we thought we were clean eating, Terry.

00:22:18.950 --> 00:22:22.150
Like when we were the sickest, and I told Jared, I think I'm dying.

00:22:22.390 --> 00:22:35.509
We were eating, like we were going to the farms and buying, yeah, we were buying organic and fresh milk and pasture raised and cage-free and hormone for added, no added hormones, not knowing stuff was.

00:22:36.069 --> 00:22:38.309
I have an example to what I think you were explaining about.

00:22:38.390 --> 00:22:43.509
If if we get healed, if we continue those same habits, what's going to happen?

00:22:43.670 --> 00:22:45.029
Those things are gonna come back.

00:22:45.190 --> 00:22:52.789
So let's say you live in a house and you have questionable habits to where maybe you leave your gas stove on all the time.

00:22:52.950 --> 00:22:56.870
You know, something that's an obvious fire hazard, you burn your house down.

00:22:57.110 --> 00:23:01.509
Now you get put into a brand new home, it's completely restored.

00:23:01.670 --> 00:23:06.150
If you keep those same habits, you're going to potentially burn that house down again.

00:23:06.309 --> 00:23:09.190
Yeah, you're going to keep that cycle perpetuated.

00:23:09.430 --> 00:23:17.029
So there's a balance that where God has set up the world with specific principles in place, physical principles.

00:23:17.190 --> 00:23:28.789
And part of that is all the foods he's given us to enjoy to optimize our health and to optimize our lifespan so that we can bring his kingdom here and do what he's called us to do and do it effectively.

00:23:29.350 --> 00:23:30.549
Yeah, absolutely.

00:23:30.870 --> 00:23:33.430
I remember seeing an illustration a long time ago.

00:23:33.589 --> 00:23:34.870
You guys have probably seen it.

00:23:34.950 --> 00:23:35.990
I'm not sure.

00:23:36.230 --> 00:23:43.589
Seems like one of the plant-based physicians maybe put it on social media or something, but it's a picture of a kitchen.

00:23:43.750 --> 00:23:50.870
It's and you know, a drawing with um an older man and woman in there with a big farm sink.

00:23:51.029 --> 00:23:51.190
Okay.

00:23:51.750 --> 00:24:01.350
And the water is running in the sink and it's overflowing into the floor, and they have mops and they're mopping, but they don't turn the water off.

00:24:01.670 --> 00:24:04.630
That's a big one is that I guess along with what you were saying, Jared.

00:24:04.870 --> 00:24:08.789
Um, if you if you don't turn the water off, what's causing the problem, right?

00:24:09.029 --> 00:24:13.350
And you're just you're just cleaning constantly and not resolving the problem.

00:24:13.670 --> 00:24:14.789
That is yeah, that's powerful.

00:24:14.870 --> 00:24:17.990
Yeah, we're told that oh, that water in the sink, that didn't matter.

00:24:18.069 --> 00:24:19.670
That's normal, it's just part of aging.

00:24:19.910 --> 00:24:23.430
You know, the sink's going to eventually fill up and overflow.

00:24:23.670 --> 00:24:25.750
Like, no, turn the sink off.

00:24:26.069 --> 00:24:28.150
Yeah, it just seems so simple.

00:24:28.309 --> 00:24:32.390
You know, and I think about I think about creation.

00:24:33.269 --> 00:24:43.750
And we know in the beginning, God gave from everything that we know from the Bible, he gave the seeds and the plants to Adam and Eve as food.

00:24:43.990 --> 00:24:46.710
And for the animals, everything was plant-based.

00:24:46.870 --> 00:24:47.029
Yes.

00:24:47.350 --> 00:24:59.190
Um and as you know, as far as we know, the first death was of the animal or animals that had to die to clothe Adam and Eve.

00:24:59.589 --> 00:25:12.549
So we can assume and I believe that the you know, God had us plant-based in the beginning, and when heaven comes down in the end, we will go back to that perfection.

00:25:12.710 --> 00:25:19.430
So in the middle, I think of those as two bookends creation on one end and the end of times on the other.

00:25:20.950 --> 00:25:21.269
Yes.

00:25:21.350 --> 00:25:23.430
And in between, we can eat and do.

00:25:23.589 --> 00:25:28.069
We, you know, it's I'm not saying you know, people are sinful for what the way that they eat or anything.

00:25:28.150 --> 00:25:40.789
He gives us permission to eat whatever that we want to, but if we know perfection on either end and what he designed us for, um I don't know.

00:25:40.870 --> 00:25:49.990
I I I just feel like that, and we know just from our own experiences, going plant-based, that's where health was found.

00:25:50.230 --> 00:26:00.630
So um it just seems intuitive to me that that's what we would want to um aim for because God knows best.

00:26:00.789 --> 00:26:05.829
Yes, and he knows the ultimate creator, he knows what he created our bodies for.

00:26:05.990 --> 00:26:14.950
So um yes, we have freedom, but we also suffer the conf consequences of um some of that freedom sometimes.

00:26:15.350 --> 00:26:16.710
I don't think he ever meant.

00:26:16.789 --> 00:26:22.789
I mean, we can read the Bible and see he never really meant for or wanted animals to have to die to feed us.

00:26:22.870 --> 00:26:25.110
Like that was a part, beautiful part of his creation.

00:26:25.190 --> 00:26:32.470
He didn't mean for them to have to die to feed us, but like you were saying, because of how things happen, they had to die to clothe people.

00:26:32.549 --> 00:26:35.990
That was the first thing that happened as a result of sin, the death of the animals.

00:26:36.150 --> 00:26:43.670
And we don't do this for for the animals' sake, so to speak, but we do love and care for his creation and we want what's best for it.

00:26:43.750 --> 00:26:46.390
But he allows us, Jared and I have talked about this a lot.

00:26:46.710 --> 00:26:50.549
God allows us to do a lot of things that weren't his original design.

00:26:50.710 --> 00:26:56.309
Like he allowed his people to have kings, but he wants to be the king of our life, you know.

00:26:56.470 --> 00:26:58.230
So people asked for that and they wanted it.

00:26:58.309 --> 00:27:00.150
So that's what he allowed them to have.

00:27:00.390 --> 00:27:06.150
But we know that him being the king of our life is for our ultimate best and for our good.

00:27:06.549 --> 00:27:09.269
So yeah, I think that's so important to realize that.

00:27:09.350 --> 00:27:15.829
And Jared, what the thing that you and Jared were both talking about a minute ago, too, is the sink overflowing and all that.

00:27:16.069 --> 00:27:20.950
Jared had come home, he was at a uh conference for physician assistance.

00:27:21.910 --> 00:27:23.269
Continuing education conference.

00:27:23.509 --> 00:27:28.309
Yeah, and he came home and he looked at me and said, I cannot do this anymore.

00:27:28.470 --> 00:27:35.670
He said, Seriously, I just sat in a conference for hours where the doctor that was presenting, and he was very knowledgeable.

00:27:35.829 --> 00:27:43.110
I'm not saying he wasn't knowledgeable, but he talked about if your blood pressure is this, that if their blood pressure is this, talking about your patients.

00:27:43.269 --> 00:27:45.829
If it's this number, you're give them this medicine.

00:27:45.910 --> 00:27:47.910
And if it's this number, you get this medicine.

00:27:49.750 --> 00:27:54.630
Depending on how high the blood pressure was, the right type of medication, the right combinations.

00:27:55.029 --> 00:27:58.789
And it just hit me we're not really addressing the root issue.

00:27:59.350 --> 00:27:59.670
Yes.

00:27:59.910 --> 00:28:06.870
We keep talking about management, but never once did we talk about the pathology of what's going on underneath the surface that's causing that.

00:28:07.269 --> 00:28:08.470
Why don't we address that?

00:28:08.710 --> 00:28:21.029
And at the time we weren't plant-based, but I just knew that in my heart something was just off and then stumbled upon plant-based, and right around that same time, kind of stumbled upon lifestyle medicine.

00:28:21.110 --> 00:28:22.390
I thought, what is this?

00:28:22.470 --> 00:28:28.870
And this is what I had been looking for, and wanted even in my original education 25 years ago, but they don't teach that.

00:28:29.029 --> 00:28:33.589
I feel like maybe schools are starting to make a little bit of headway, but not nearly enough.

00:28:33.829 --> 00:28:41.829
And then now we realize what, at least for a large majority of people, the root cause is, and it's what we're doing, those lifestyle choices that we're making.

00:28:42.150 --> 00:28:47.269
And we didn't go into medicine and nursing to help people manage their diseases.

00:28:47.350 --> 00:28:48.789
We wouldn't help it.

00:28:49.190 --> 00:28:51.670
I mean, we know that some diseases require that.

00:28:51.829 --> 00:28:52.069
Right.

00:28:52.390 --> 00:28:55.829
We live in an imperfect world, fallen, you know, imperfect bodies and all that.

00:28:55.910 --> 00:28:58.789
So there is some of that, but not near as much as people think.

00:28:59.029 --> 00:29:05.589
Yeah, we want to help people get set free where they're off of their medications or at least on the lowest dose possible.

00:29:05.750 --> 00:29:07.589
And we see it happen time and again.

00:29:07.670 --> 00:29:11.110
Like that is what's normal when you get to the root cause of these things.

00:29:11.509 --> 00:29:13.990
Are you seeing the same thing with your clients?

00:29:14.710 --> 00:29:18.470
Yeah, I actually don't uh I actually don't have clients or anything.

00:29:18.710 --> 00:29:21.190
I uh don't coach or anything like that.

00:29:21.350 --> 00:29:27.589
But when I was teaching regularly at the hospitals, um the physicians committee's food for life program.

00:29:27.990 --> 00:29:28.150
Yes.

00:29:28.309 --> 00:29:34.630
Yeah, we saw it all the time because we taught the I taught those classes, all the instructors do, like four in a series.

00:29:34.710 --> 00:29:38.710
So you did once a week, and we would have the first session.

00:29:39.110 --> 00:29:56.150
I remember one time in Asheville, North Carolina, I was teaching at a uh doctor's office, and uh we had the first class, which involved, you know, preparing the food and they got to eat the dinner and everything, as well as the nutrition education.

00:29:56.549 --> 00:30:04.069
And uh I was new at teaching and so I just went by the curriculum, which was great, and everything.

00:30:04.230 --> 00:30:14.150
But when we came back to a week later to the class, one of the participants was a lady, probably at that time in her 60s, maybe late 60s.

00:30:14.470 --> 00:30:23.029
And she said that um she had had an episode because uh she had decided everybody in the class is gonna do something different.

00:30:23.110 --> 00:30:25.509
We don't require that you go 100%.

00:30:25.990 --> 00:30:30.870
We encourage it, um, at least for a trial period, because that's how you're gonna see the results.

00:30:31.029 --> 00:30:33.190
But you don't know what each person is gonna do.

00:30:33.269 --> 00:30:36.710
You know, you do the class and you send them home.

00:30:36.870 --> 00:30:53.509
Uh, but she came back and she had been so convinced by the first class that she was gonna do it 100%, which I was all for and encouraged, but she was on medication, she was on uh heart medication and diabetes medication.

00:30:53.670 --> 00:31:10.150
And when she went 100% for those seven days, it was so powerful that she had an episode with the hyp hypoglycemic episode because her medicine was too powerful at that point.

00:31:10.390 --> 00:31:17.750
The food was working as medicine, yes, and so it, you know, to in my mind it was like double double medicating herself.

00:31:17.990 --> 00:31:30.390
Yes, and so she had to go to her doctor and have her medication reduced because the food was working uh in her favor for her health, and uh she saw it immediately.

00:31:30.549 --> 00:31:50.150
So after that class, I was warned, uh, I knew at the first session, uh the first class of every session, tell people who were on medications you may need to have adjustments during this time while you're doing this, because this is you know, it's it works like medicine.

00:31:50.309 --> 00:32:05.910
So that was the first um, and that was early in my teaching career, the first time where I realized because when I was uh I wasn't when I when I did it myself, I wasn't on all the different uh medications like she was.

00:32:06.150 --> 00:32:14.309
So that was the most powerful lesson that I learned and uh was able to share with people about the power of food as working as medicine.

00:32:14.470 --> 00:32:17.670
Yes, and think about what a great problem that is to have.

00:32:17.990 --> 00:32:20.549
I mean, don't you love offering people that problem?

00:32:21.029 --> 00:32:33.350
So it's yeah, you know, when you start eating plants and you go all in, here's the thing you want to be followed by your personal health care fit provider in your local area.

00:32:33.509 --> 00:32:34.950
That's what Jared and I tell people.

00:32:35.029 --> 00:32:36.630
We're not gonna be drawing your blood.

00:32:36.789 --> 00:32:41.350
You need to have that happening because you can get results so quickly.

00:32:41.430 --> 00:32:45.269
That's how powerful these God given foods are, right?

00:32:45.509 --> 00:32:46.309
It's like you said.

00:32:46.789 --> 00:32:47.829
It's your medicine.

00:32:48.069 --> 00:32:49.269
See it like your medicine.

00:32:49.430 --> 00:32:55.190
So if you are adding a new medication, the other ones will probably need to be adjusted somewhat.

00:32:55.589 --> 00:32:59.670
And we see people come off of them high blood pressure medications, high cholesterol.

00:33:02.710 --> 00:33:05.110
IBS medications, rheumatoid medications.

00:33:05.190 --> 00:33:08.069
And Jared says, if I'm doing my job right, what do you tell him?

00:33:08.230 --> 00:33:09.350
If I'm doing my job right.

00:33:09.589 --> 00:33:14.309
Well, if I if I'm doing my job well, you're you're not going to need me anymore, at least for the majority.

00:33:14.549 --> 00:33:15.269
Again, not everybody.

00:33:16.630 --> 00:33:16.870
Exactly.

00:33:17.029 --> 00:33:17.589
And I tell them that.

00:33:17.670 --> 00:33:23.269
It's like, I realize I'm working myself out of a job, but nothing makes me more excited than taking somebody off a medication.

00:33:23.430 --> 00:33:25.430
And am I really working myself out of a job?

00:33:25.589 --> 00:33:32.870
No, because if they don't really need to see me other than you know, an occasional whatever, but not a regularly, hey, how are you doing this month?

00:33:33.029 --> 00:33:34.789
There's somebody else that needs this message.

00:33:34.870 --> 00:33:35.029
Yeah.

00:33:35.269 --> 00:33:38.870
So then I can spread this even farther, even wider.

00:33:39.190 --> 00:33:40.150
So I love it.

00:33:40.309 --> 00:33:41.269
I absolutely love it.

00:33:41.430 --> 00:33:41.589
Yeah.

00:33:41.829 --> 00:33:42.789
It is wonderful.

00:33:43.029 --> 00:33:43.350
Yeah.

00:33:43.509 --> 00:33:48.309
And I know Jared and I have experienced that we have gotten a lot of energy now.

00:33:48.390 --> 00:33:52.069
I mean, I have as much energy as I did in my 20s and not so in my 40s.

00:33:52.150 --> 00:34:00.230
I was pulling up the stool to cook my meals to the stove and just making a lot of um adjustments to my life.

00:34:00.390 --> 00:34:06.150
So basically sitting on the couch or homeschooling my children from bed, like that, that's how bad my energy got.

00:34:06.230 --> 00:34:09.269
It was hard for me to go up one flight of stairs to tuck my kids into bed at night.

00:34:09.429 --> 00:34:10.230
It was so bad.

00:34:10.309 --> 00:34:12.389
And no one could tell me what was going on.

00:34:12.549 --> 00:34:18.150
And I seem to recall you saying you had the same thing with your energy where you got a lot of your energy back.

00:34:18.389 --> 00:34:31.750
What so what became possible for you, Terry, in your life, um, just regarding your God-given calling that you never could have imagined when you were dealing with the pain and all the other health struggles that you were dealing with back then?

00:34:33.029 --> 00:34:40.789
Yeah, back then it was all that I could do to do my job and just get through the day.

00:34:40.949 --> 00:34:52.230
Because, you know, as women, we have, if you work outside the home, you have your regular job and then you come home, and then there's house cleaning and clothes washing and dinner and all of those things.

00:34:52.389 --> 00:34:56.389
I just remember being in a perpetual state of exhaustedness.

00:34:56.549 --> 00:34:56.710
Yes.

00:34:56.949 --> 00:35:03.349
Feeling like I needed a nap, you know, during the day, which I didn't get to do, but just being so tired.

00:35:03.750 --> 00:35:16.469
And um it's funny because once I I went plant-based, and for me, after watching that documentary, you know, I'd been through those other things that I had tried.

00:35:16.549 --> 00:35:18.309
So I was still a little skeptical.

00:35:18.469 --> 00:35:18.630
Right.

00:35:18.949 --> 00:35:25.909
Because when I did the other programs, Atkins and everything else, I would lose a little bit of weight, 10, 15 pounds, something like that.

00:35:26.230 --> 00:35:34.469
Um, which was great, but nothing ever addressed the acne or the joint problems or the sleeping problems or anything.

00:35:34.630 --> 00:35:37.429
A little bit of weight was all the results that I saw.

00:35:37.589 --> 00:35:42.630
So when I watched uh Fork Soften Knives, I was like, okay, you know, I'll give it a try.

00:35:42.869 --> 00:35:50.869
Skeptical, but willing to do it 100% because with the other things I did 100% as well, at least for a short period of time.

00:35:51.029 --> 00:35:53.829
Uh, I figure you can do anything for a short period of time.

00:35:53.989 --> 00:36:01.909
And that was the only way I was really gonna see what changing my diet to a plant-based diet would be capable of doing for me.

00:36:02.230 --> 00:36:03.670
So I said four weeks.

00:36:03.750 --> 00:36:08.230
I told my husband I was gonna do it for four weeks, and um, I started seeing results.

00:36:08.469 --> 00:36:12.150
Two and a half weeks in, I was feeling so much better.

00:36:12.389 --> 00:36:12.630
Yes.

00:36:12.869 --> 00:36:15.589
Uh, and just excitement is what it did.

00:36:15.750 --> 00:36:25.269
I was feeling better, had more energy, uh, was able to come off of the uh doxycyclean and the nighttime medicines and and everything.

00:36:25.429 --> 00:36:30.549
The one of the first things I saw was, well, joints for sure, but that uh I was sleeping better.

00:36:30.789 --> 00:36:38.389
So all of that got me so excited, it just made me want to spread the message.

00:36:38.469 --> 00:36:44.069
You know, it's like becoming a Christian, you want to spread the message so that others can know your joy.

00:36:44.549 --> 00:36:47.670
And so that is it sure is a great analogy.

00:36:48.949 --> 00:36:49.349
Yeah.

00:36:49.589 --> 00:36:53.190
Um, so yeah, I actually was gonna go educate my physicians.

00:36:53.349 --> 00:36:57.589
I, you know, I gave it some time, I can't remember now, a couple months or so.

00:36:57.750 --> 00:37:01.269
And I wanted to go back, let them do my blood work again and see.

00:37:01.349 --> 00:37:07.269
And I was just gonna say, you've got to tell your patients about this because I've found the holy grail.

00:37:07.509 --> 00:37:13.989
You wanted them to have the same revelation that you had had, but I remember that there was a surprise there when you shared that with them.

00:37:14.389 --> 00:37:15.029
For sure.

00:37:15.189 --> 00:37:20.789
Yeah, I thought that they were gonna be just so shocked and you know, everything.

00:37:21.029 --> 00:37:28.709
But it was it was a uh it was a practice that uh had a lot of physicians that were Seventh day Adventists.

00:37:29.189 --> 00:37:33.349
So when I when they saw the results and they said, What are you doing?

00:37:33.429 --> 00:38:01.509
And I said I went plant-based and I was so excited and I wanted them to know, and they were like, Oh yeah, you know, a number of the physicians here in this office are vegetarians, and instead of me trying to educate them, all of a sudden I actually got a little miffed because I was thinking, why did you, if that's the case and you saw me suffering, why did you not offer that as a suggestion?

00:38:01.750 --> 00:38:08.149
And um they said because at that time there weren't a lot of plant-based resources.

00:38:08.389 --> 00:38:12.069