242 Stories Series: He Gives and Takes Away with Joyce Hodel

242. Stories Series: He Gives and Takes Away with Joyce Hodel

**Transcription Below**

Philippians 1:21 (NIV) "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Questions and Topics We Discuss:

1. What are some of your highlights of raising children and parenting?
2. Will you share how life unexpectedly and drastically changed on July 3rd, 2009?
3. How has God sustained you through this loss?

 

Other Episode Mentioned  on The Savvy Sauce:

82 Traveling with Your Family with Katie Mueller

Thank You to Our Sponsor: Leman Property Management Company

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Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” 

Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” 

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” 

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” 

Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

**Transcription**

[00:00:00] <music>

Laura Dugger: Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here. 

[00:00:17] <music>

Laura Dugger: Leman Property Management Company has the apartment you will be able to call home, with over 1,700 apartment units available in Central Illinois. Visit them today at Lemanproperties.com or connect with them on Facebook. 

Joyce Hodel is my guest today. We are originally from the same small town in Central Illinois, a farming community of 2,000 people, and our families have known each other all my life.

Joyce is an exceptional woman with a zest for life, and she's going to share her story now of loss and hope. 

Here's our chat. 

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Joyce.

Joyce Hodel: Thank you for having me, and I hope we can just talk friend to friend. [00:01:17] 

Laura Dugger: Well, let's just begin by going back a bit. When did you surrender your life to Jesus?

Joyce Hodel: I have always known Jesus, and that credit goes to my parents, grandparents. I feel like I've had a legacy of faithful people in my life that just gave me stability. They were believers, and so right from the beginning, church and parents have been credit to them that they believed. 

When I was 17, it's always a struggle to surrender yourself, and I was very busy in high school and probably was distracted and didn't want to focus so much on my spiritual life. But one night, I had a dream. And I remember in the dream, the newspaper came out, and it said, "Three days to the end of the world." [00:02:17] I was frightened. I woke up, and I was sweating, literally sweating, physically sweating, and I thought, "Oh, this is what hell is going to feel like. I've got to do something."

But I just tried to forget it, and I laid back down again. The next day, I went to work. I worked at the nursing home. It was the summer out of my senior year. That day when I got home, I did tell my mom that I had that dream, and she guided me, instructed me. She said, "Well, I just remember a pastor saying one time that sometimes we just need a knock on our head to make us move, to take a position." 

And so that day at work, this little old lady came into my kitchen where I worked, and she said, "Could I have a glass of apple juice?" And I said, "Sure." I have done this hundreds of times, but I walked over to the big cooler, and instead of turning the corner, I ran straight into the wall, and I backed up, and I thought, "Mom, that's my knock on the head." [00:03:31] So from that point on, I felt that God was definitely calling me to walk with Him, and I have never turned back.

Laura Dugger: Wow. I had never heard that before. That is so incredible. He's so personal and unique in the way that He calls each of us.

Joyce Hodel: He is. 

Laura Dugger: There's also a very important man that came into your life named Steve. Do you remember the first time that you met Steve?

Joyce Hodel: I don't remember the exact first time I met him. I was working in the summer. I was a teacher, so in the summer, I would be a waitress at a little restaurant in town called Raleigh's. And him and his brothers would come in for coffee or breakfast, and they were the kind that teased, and so I always enjoyed them, especially Steve. I loved his humor, his dry sense of humor. [00:04:29] 

He then was converted at about age 29, and so he attended my church, and I met him. You know, he would travel with all the kids, all the young group, and so we just kind of got to know each other that way. I think we both were attracted, and we just had a fun, easygoing relationship.

But I started to think about him more. I remember him asking me things, kind of just... this is just Steve. He came to school once while I was teaching in the morning, and I said, "What are you doing here?" I don't know if he was checking me out or what. 

But I remember when he finally asked me to be his wife, he came over for the first time. I had said yes, and he came over to my house, and I said, "What? Why me?" [00:05:29] He gave me an interesting answer. He said, "You seem happy most of the time. You are a good conversationist, and he was more of a quiet, stand-by-the-wall person. And he said, "I watched your mother, and I liked what I saw." And I thought that was so deep that he watched my mother. 

Now, the joke on him was, I am more like my dad. So I'm glad my mother had a rich personality, but I kind of had the personality of my dad. But I guess that's what he based. And he knew I was a Christian, you know, that was part of it. But those are the three answers he gave me. And I thought, "How interesting!"  Then we had an engagement, and yeah, got married. [00:06:29] 

Laura Dugger: And then progressing in your story, next step, you were blessed with children. What was your experience like becoming a mother?

Joyce Hodel: Okay, when I was teaching when I was single, I really enjoyed the ornery little guys. And so I thought, "Oh, I think I'm always going to have boys." Didn't know anything. You know, I grew up with two other sisters and a brother. But when I was growing up, I played football out in the yard with the guys and stuff. So I just was kind of, yeah, into little guys, active little boys. And I ended up having three girls. 

We lived on a farm. And I am so thankful for my girls now. I think because I had two sisters, and we are very close, we were all in high school together, senior, junior, freshman. They are my best friends. We shared a bedroom. And so because of that, I wanted my kids close in age. I feel like I have the same thing in my girls. [00:07:32] They have the same thing that I had as I was growing up. And it was very special.

Laura Dugger: Well, and some people may even remember your firstborn daughter. She's been a guest before on The Savvy Sauce. I just told you before we recorded, I was actually re-listening to her fabulous episode on traveling with family. So I can add a link of that in today's show notes. 

But Joyce, when you reflect back on raising them, what are some of the highlights of raising your daughters?

Joyce Hodel: I have always believed it was vitally important to be there for my kids. So when Katie was born, I was done teaching for a while. I thought I'm going to concentrate on them. I don't want anyone else to raise my children. You have a window of time. It was very important to me, vitally important to be the first voice in the lives of my kids.

Highlights of raising children and parenting. [00:08:33] I can tell you I have enjoyed every single stage. Having fun with them, being a teacher, I guess. Maybe I have ideas. You can call them creative. But we would have Tipsy Tuesday. And I told them at the supper table they could sit wherever they wanted. Usually, people have regular spots, dad and mom too. That was such a simple thing that they just enjoyed. So they would always take Dad's seat or something. That was one thing we did. 

We had Family Game Night often where they each got to choose a game. And they were little. Sometimes it was just button, button, who's got the button. Old, old game. I encouraged them. 

We would have rainy-day picnics, wintertime picnics, just on the floor of our kitchen or in the living room. Anything you can do out of the ordinary seems to work for kids. [00:09:33] 

Think outside the box. Always encourage them, help them with their homework. Encourage them to do the hard thing. Don't always take the easy way. Push yourself. 

I wanted to train them to work as my mother had trained me. We had job sticks. Every Saturday they pulled sticks out of the jar, and they were hoping for one that was easy. But it didn't always work that way. I had like 15 of them. Just things like sweep off the porch or clean the bathroom, whatever. So we did that.

We have done a lot of traveling over the U.S. and Europe and Africa. If I asked my kids, my girls, what was the most important thing or what kept our family together and close, I think it would be traveling together, camping together. Always planned a big trip.[00:10:34] And so that's where Katie got her love of traveling because I loved it too. 

I loved each phase and stage, and I love it now when I can talk to them as adults. Sometimes they're your mentors. It's not always me mentoring them. They teach me now that they're older.

Laura Dugger: Let's take a quick break to hear a message from our sponsor. 

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Laura Dugger: Joyce, even talking with you now, your smile and your joy is just so natural. It seems to just bubble out of you. But you're also not untouched by tragedy. So will you share how life unexpectedly and drastically changed on July 3rd, 2009?

Joyce Hodel: Yes, it's been over 14 years, so it's easier to talk about it now. But just to give you a little background of how God prepares you. The night before Steve was killed, I was out in my yard and a neighbor walked by. [00:13:39] We got talking about some happenings that had come out in the newspaper, or, I don't know, we just took rabbit trails down that there are times children are born that are kind of born late or maybe handicapped or challenged and you wonder how you're going to navigate through that. 

And we were talking about certain women in our church or in our community that had children that, late in life, that, you know, my neighbor said that lost their husband. So there's a reason for those children. And I said to her... now on a side note, I have never said this to anyone in my life. The thought came from heaven, I think. But I said, "I will probably have a daughter that is on the autistic spectrum and I think she will always live with us." [00:14:40] And I said at the end of that conversation, "I wonder if I'm going to lose my husband early." And the next day he was killed.

And I have never forgotten that I said that. In fact, this neighbor said, "I can't believe you said that." And I said, "That's just how it was." So that's a little background. 

We had been invited to a friend's house for supper that night and then we went up to the fireworks. It was on July 3rd. It was the tradition of Roanoke to have it the day before, a big city one. It is customary for people just to put their chairs anywhere. We were in the street. The men went to the car show but then came back. 

At the finale, I remember we were holding hands and the finale shot up. And that is exactly when we heard a huge roar of an engine. [00:15:42] It just happened real quick. Didn't know what happened. But an older lady, she was about 89, first time she had been at the fireworks. She wanted to beat the traffic and so she was going to head out right at the finale and she stepped on the gas instead of the brake. And so she plowed all of us down. And Steve just happened to be caught under her car. So she ran over his chest and his abdomen.

And then she was just frozen in place in the car. 15 guys came around the car and lifted the car off of his body and then they pulled him out. From that point on, I just can say what I've heard. We all were hit. But he is the one that was caught under the car. I had a big wound on my foot. My head had to be stapled. I felt the car's wheels go over my leg. I remember that. [00:16:45] But I think his larger body just lifted it up and it didn't break my leg or anything.

So my sister and myself, we were all in the emergency room but we weren't as severe as him. We were transported by ambulance and he was taken by Life Flight. My prayer in the ambulance going, I wasn't sure where everybody was, but I heard the helicopter go overhead and I said to the medic, "Is that my husband?" And he said, "Yes." And I said, "Oh, he must be bad if he's in the helicopter." And he said, "Yes, he is." 

And I remember praying, which was real odd for me, too. I said, "Oh, Lord, if he... excuse me. If he can't be what he wants to be, you take him." Because it would have been very hard for Steve to stop farming, and he would have felt like he was a burden to me. [00:17:46] So that was my prayer. And so then when we got to the hospital, the doctor came in and said they tried to save him, but they couldn't.

There were so many things that happened that I know God's hand was. They had practiced with the helicopter in the Roanoke field two weeks prior to that. Never had that been done before. They worked on him. My sister knew this because she was watching the fireworks from way back. And she said the helicopter turned off for 20 minutes. And it never turns off unless they're not going to transport them. They're gone already. 

And she said after 20 minutes, she said, "All of a sudden it started again and they took him." They worked for 20 minutes and got a pulse." And I have been thankful for that small detail ever since because the girls and I got to see him again and touch him. [00:18:48] 

And if he would have died on the field, we would have seen him in the casket, and that's it. So it was a real closure for us at the hospital. We got to be in a room with him. He was gone, but you could still ruffle his hair and touch him, and talk to him. So that was a real blessing in our life.

Laura Dugger: The helicopter stopped, but then they were able to get a pulse and you were at the same hospital, and your girls came and met you there.

Joyce Hodel: My entire family came. I remember them wheeling me out of the emergency room to go over and see him, and it was just kind of like a circle of angels or people that loved you, both sides of the family. We're just all there, nieces and nephews, and with sad faces. I mean, I think they knew something was severe. It was something I'll never forget. [00:19:48] 

And then I stayed the night, and they patched me up, and my daughter stayed with me. Katie had just had a new baby, a two-week-old baby. And that's another detail that, to me, God took care of. She was due the time of the accident, and she said, "Mom, look at that. God made that baby come early, so I would be... you know, the worst part would be over, I guess, the birth and everything."

So, yeah, he just takes care of details that we have no idea. He's working in the shadows and the background all the time. There is never a detail that is overlooked.

I remember telling my daughter after the fact, days later, we talked a lot on the phone, and I said, "Oh...." It was something in me. I never wanted a loved one to die on a holiday or near a holiday, because I thought every time that holiday comes around, you're just going to be sad again. [00:20:54] So that was a thing for me. 

And I was telling my daughter that on the phone once, and she said, "Mom, it was the 4th of July. Dad is free." And I have never forgotten that, that one holiday that Dad is free from all his... He was due to have open-heart surgery, Laura. But the doctor that spring... he had told the doctor that he couldn't do that because it was farming season, planting season. And he just couldn't have open-heart surgery.

Laura Dugger: What a true farmer. 

Joyce Hodel: A true farmer that just didn't want his life interrupted. But I thought God knew the future and thought, "Nope, you don't have to go through that." He had a pin and 13 screws in his ankle. He had broken it a couple years before that. He had diabetes. So those things have just made me understand and realize that he was free from his worn-out body, and it was his time. [00:22:03] 

Laura Dugger: Well, he was free on Independence Day.

Joyce Hodel: Yes.

Laura Dugger: And we all yearn for that day to be with Jesus in glory. And yet, being left back here at that point, was there anything meaningful that as you reflect back, it really stands out about what loved ones did to surround you through all these seasons of grief?

Joyce Hodel: Definitely. I just had family and friends, and it was good therapy to go back to school again. In August, you know, that was a place that Steve... he wasn't there. And so I wasn't always reminded. It was just good therapy. 

I always prayed for healthy grieving. I would talk to the social worker, psychologist at school. You know, we talked a lot. And so I feel that I took one day at a time. I didn't look too far ahead, and then I thought, then I'll do tomorrow. [00:23:04] 

God gave me little hugs along the way, if you want to call them. I do want to tell you something that happened to me. It was about six days after he died, and I was sleeping. I had a tough time sleeping, but this night I woke up, and it was more of a not really a dream. I would call it a vision. No one can take it away from me. It was so real.

I woke up, and I heard wings in my room, angels' wings. It was the flutter of wings. They were right to the right of me. Katie had told me once on the phone... I was holding his hand at the 4th of July, and I said, "Oh, I wish I would have kissed him.  I wish I would have had one last kiss." 

So the flutter of wings, Steve was right above me, his face, and I remember reaching up and him reaching down, and we had a light kiss. [00:24:11] And there was a bright light in my room, and he was gone. I got up right away, and I called my daughter, I said, "You wouldn't believe what happened to me." I've never had anything so impactful happen, I thought, that the God of the universe that has so many troubles to take care of, He gave me a final kiss, and then He was gone.

That's something that was very personal to me. I didn't know whether to say it, but if it can, God is such a personal God. He gives you what you need when you need it.

Laura Dugger: I am a wreck hearing this. That is beautiful. I am so grateful you shared that. Even the scripture I was in this morning was just talking about telling God's marvelous deeds to the next generation. And Joyce, you were telling that is a marvelous deed of our loving Father. [00:25:15] So thank you for sharing that. 

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Was there any other special way? When you talk about God hugs, is there anything along the way that stands out as something that He showed you, "I haven't forgotten you. I'm still with you"?

Joyce Hodel: Right. I think you have to saturate yourself with the word. The word speaks to you. You know, there is an answer and a comfort for everything that you're feeling. Is there a specific verse or something? I always found that what I needed at the time, He gave to me freely, whether it's in the Psalms or... [00:26:20] 

I remember the sermon the first time I went to church. It was a visiting pastor. And he said something I wrote down in my journal. "Everything is on schedule." And I just remembered when you think that it's not what you expected, it's a mistake. Why in the world did that lady... was she up there? Why was I there on sitting on the street? 

You know, everything's on schedule. There isn't anything that happens that is coincidence or that God isn't aware of. And so, yeah, my family and my friends just surrounded me. 

When you believe in the sovereignty of God, it lessens your suffering. It lessens anything you are going through if you believe. He is such a complete God. He is over everything. Even though when we think we control or we do something, it's not you. He put it all together. [00:27:21] He set it up. 

I found that gratitude, look at what you have and not what you've lost, is very healing. You have to self-talk sometimes. You know, it says to take every thought captive. I found myself doing that. Just take a thought when the evil one tries to lie to you and discourage you. You just don't listen to that evil voice. You take it captive and you go to the word and it turns you around.

Laura Dugger: That even makes me wonder what was that process of forgiveness like for that older woman?

Joyce Hodel: You know, Laura, I never was real angry with her. She came to our house a couple days later. My girls maybe didn't understand. But I feel like grace is given when you need it. [00:28:22] People would say to me, "How can you be not angry? How can you be...? And I just thought, "Well, you don't need the grace." He doesn't give it to you. But I've got a whole load of it." And I do give all credit to God. I never was really angry with her.

25 News came out, 31 News. They came into our house and the reporter wanted to know what I felt about this woman. Well, at the time, I had a 90-year-old mother. They wanted a shock treatment. They wanted you to blame someone. And so I hope that God gave me the grace to say it wasn't intentional. It was an accident. She didn't mean to do that. She just got flustered and stepped on the gas. And I said it could happen to anyone. So that was a process that I really didn't have to deal too hard with. So I'm thankful.

Laura Dugger: That's incredible. And yes, it does point to His grace. Joy is a part of your name in Joyce, and that does exude out of you. And yet, going through something like this, was joy able to return into your life again?  [00:29:41] 

Joyce Hodel: It was. My sister asked me once, what was the hardest time of the week? What was the loneliest time? And I said, "Friday night." We always used to go out because after the school was over, it was kind of like date night. We'd always go out. Megan would go with us or we'd meet somebody. I said, "That's probably the hardest time I look at and I think, Oh, I'm not going to have that again." 

So to this day, I go out with my sisters on Friday night. I mean, they just started that. My brother made me 11 CDs of music. He had lost his daughter years earlier, and I think he knew that music filled my house. Music about heaven. Music about tough things that people go through. Hope.

I think music is the voice of hope. So I just filled my home with music and it strengthened me. And so family and friends, you know, whether you went for lunch or coffee or prayers. [00:30:47] 

I had a teacher tell me at school, and it wasn't one that I was real close to, but she told me she prayed for me every single day for two years. And I was humbled by that. So you don't know where all the strength is coming from, but it's coming. I am part of a wonderful church family and my own extended family and intermediate family.

Laura Dugger: Well, and it's a good reminder. Even hearing this today, we can still be praying for one another, building each other up. You're such a role model. You're so inspiring with the way you walked through this. Is there any other encouragement that you would want to offer, whether someone is going through their own heartache and loss or a loved one of somebody who is? What would you like to say to them?

Joyce Hodel: I think everybody has a different journey of the way they carry on. I would tell anybody to, like you say, always go to the word and pray. [00:31:49] But sometimes... there were times I couldn't pray. No words came. And then I just said, Okay, Lord, you're going to have to pray for me. You say the words. You give me the strength that I don't even know what to ask for. I feel like He always gives more than He takes away. He is a giver, not a taker.

Keep busy. School helped a lot, just being busy. That was something that I needed to do. If you sit around in the darkness and emptiness, you're only perpetuating that. So go out, even if you don't feel like asking someone... It's real difficult. When you are a widow, you don't have a partner, it's difficult to call people, to initiate things, to be the aggressive one because you think, Oh, they're just going to do it because they feel sorry for me. I don't want to obligate them. [00:32:49] So you wait for somebody to call you. But that is probably not the way to be. 

You have to kind of push yourself and get yourself out there and try to not be a miserable person that nobody wants to be around. I do feel like his self-talk regulates your out-of-control emotions. It just kind of gets you focused and thinking ahead. Or just today, not even ahead. Just, I can do today. I can do this hour. Don't know what's coming tomorrow, and nobody else does either. 

I feel that He has put me in a place where I had a lot of love and friends and family that carried me. Or it's kind of like Jesus carrying you through them, and they do. And so I hope to do that for others. I think everything that happens, happens so we can pass it on, so we can do what has been done for us to comfort someone else. [00:34:04] 

Laura Dugger: Well, and you do that so well. When you talk about making sure you're not a miserable person to be around, you are so far at the opposite of that and always have been. I've known you my whole life, and you're cheerful and exuberant.  That is such a good challenge for each of us, regardless of why it's difficult to reach out and initiate.

I love that push to do that because that is love in action. And people would miss out so much if they didn't get to hang out with you because you're so enjoyable. 

Joyce Hodel: Oh, Lord. I also think that the forgiveness, you always need to forgive something, whether it's something somebody says or does to you, or even in your mind, if you've conjured up something that they didn't even mean, whether it's on your screen or whatever. That forgiving and forgetting is a major step in a healthy outlook. [00:35:08] It only makes you miserable. We think it's going to hurt the other guy, but it doesn't. You've heard that. It only makes you miserable. So just try to think that they didn't do that on purpose, they don't dislike me, and just show them love. Shower them with love.

Laura Dugger: Well, I think that's even modeling what you're talking about with the self-talk. Rather than listening to ourselves or really listening to the enemy, you're being proactive to fight against that, to talk against that, even in forgiveness. I know I've told you that I've always thought I love that joy is in your name because it just comes out of you.

We've covered some weighty topics, and I'd love to end with a more lighthearted note. You know that we're called The Savvy Sauce because "savvy" is synonymous with practical knowledge. So as my final question for you today, Joyce, what's your savvy sauce? [00:36:08] 

Joyce Hodel: I think you always need to remember. I journal so I can remember. You know, to write this down. You think you're going to remember, but you don't. All the details... I have a diary that's just a line a day, and so you can look back. It's a five-year one that if you don't want to get bogged down with writing a whole bunch, just write something significant, something important, something you want to remember.

So I think God always wants His people to remember, and so if you do that, whether it's by journaling or just somebody jogging your memory, I feel that His faithfulness will come through. And that is what you want to remember. That no matter what happens, He's always with you. He's faithful. He's there.

Laura Dugger: He's there. You have shared that so well in such a personal way, and I'm so grateful for your relationship with the Lord, that you get to see Steve again in heaven someday, and that you were so generous to be transparent with each of us, to offer each of us hope, and to pass along the comfort that you've been comforted with. [00:37:29] So Joyce, it has been a sincere pleasure to host you. Thank you for being my guest.

Joyce Hodel: Thank you for being a good hostess. 

Laura Dugger: One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term "gospel" before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves.

This means there is absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a Savior.

But God loved us so much, He made a way for His only Son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with Him. That is good news. [00:38:28] 

Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us.

Romans 10.9 says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 

So would you pray with me now? Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to You. Will You clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare You as Lord of their life? We trust You to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 

If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring Him for me, so me for Him. [00:39:32] You get the opportunity to live your life for Him. And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you ready to get started? 

First, tell someone. Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes & Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible, and I love it. You can start by reading the Book of John. 

Also, get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps, such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. 

We want to celebrate with you too, so feel free to leave a comment for us here if you did make a decision to follow Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process. 

Finally, be encouraged. [00:40:30] Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." The heavens are praising with you for your decision today. 

If you've already received this good news, I pray that you have someone else to share it with today. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.