243 Stories Series: Angel Encounter and Hearing from God with Mary Beth Zimmerman

243: Stories Series: Angel Encounter and Hearing from God with Mary Beth Zimmerman

**Transcription Below**

Hebrews 1:14 (NIV) "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Other episode Mentioned:

27 Life Lessons with My Dad

Topics we cover:

1. Unique Upbringing
2. Angel Encounter
3. God reveals Himself in a Personal Way

 

Mary Beth Zimmerman has been married to her high school sweetheart, Dennis, for 42 years. In all the excitement of establishing their home and later, their business, they were privileged to raise three fun and energetic boys. Mary Beth is blessed to have a warm, kind daughter in-law and two precious grandchildren. She is now back to keeping their home and office in check with just she and Dennis at home. Mary Beth loves to travel with her husband and two of her favorite trips (besides their ongoing trips to Table Rock Lake with family) have been a motorcycle trip to Canada and a 12-day stay in Israel, walking and seeing where Jesus lived and died and rose again. She loves Jesus and encourages others in their walk with Him!

Thank You to Our Sponsor: Sam Leman Eureka

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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**

[00:00:01] <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. 

[00:00:18] <music>

Laura Dugger: The principles of honesty and integrity that Sam Leman founded his business on continue today, over 55 years later, at Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka. Owned and operated by the Bertschi family, Sam Leman and Eureka appreciate the support they've received from their customers all over central Illinois and beyond. Visit them today at LemanGM.com. 

Mary Beth Zimmerman is my guest today, and she happens to also be my aunt, who we lovingly call MB. Her husband is Dennis, so I'm used to calling them DZ and MB, which may happen during our time together. 

But Mary Beth is a faithful woman, a prayer warrior, and she has a spiritual gift of encouraging others. So you can expect to feel uplifted and have your faith expanded, as she shares a few meaningful life stories with us now. [00:01:21] 

Here's our chat. 

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Mary Beth.

Mary Beth Zimmerman: Thank you, Laura. It is a joy to be here. I love spending time with you, no matter what we do or talk about.

Laura Dugger: Likewise. Will you just begin our time by sharing a bit of your upbringing, and give us some context for your life?

Mary Beth Zimmerman: Okay, well, the older I get, the more I appreciate my upbringing. It was unique. I'm the eighth child of 10 children, and both of my mom and dad were believer. They made it a top priority to tell us about Jesus and to teach us his word and to memorize scripture and live godly lives and attend church regularly.

So my dad was a businessman, and mom was at home with us kids. Our neighborhood was unique because we had families that were related to each other. My grandpa had bought a piece of ground, and his daughter lived next door, which was my mom, and all 10 of us kids lived there. [00:02:29] 

Then on the other side of my grandpa was his son and his wife and their five children. And then on the other side of our home was my mom's sister and her husband and their seven children. 

So if you walked across the street and went through the backyards, you'd be on another street where another family of siblings and their family lived. And it was two brothers and then their sister and their spouses and children. So there were quite a few children in the neighborhood. 

And then on the end of our street and up a block was the family of our pastor and his wife and their six children. I think I'm getting the numbers right here. But in the whole neighborhood, there were 43 kids. So you can imagine, there was a little rivalry. There was a little chaos in the summertime when we were all home. And there was some family rivalry, but there were a lot of good, fun times had. [00:03:40] 

Since we all attended the same church and we were all cousins and we all attended the same school, we knew each other very well. That was a blessing. 

Also, the parents would go to church on Wednesday nights. And a lot of times they had choir practice even after church. So we knew that we had a few hours to just do whatever we wanted. Those were unsupervised hours. And we just played kick the can, we played baseball, and sometimes we did things that were a little bit ornery and we got in trouble for it. But those are what memories are made of, right?

So that was my growing up. Then in my high school years, I worked for my dad as a secretary for his real estate business and got married when I was 19. I had dated Dennis all through high school and got married when we were 19 and almost 20 he was. [00:04:46] 

So that's the context of my growing up.

Laura Dugger: Well, and I love that I've gotten to hear some of these stories over the years that Dennis has shared that he still remembers your outfit and your halter top when he first met you. Because he was from the town over and you met at the pool. Is that right?

Mary Beth Zimmerman: Yes. That also comes under unsupervised because I'd sneak out of the house sometimes with Daisy Duke shorts and a tube top on and go to the pool and meet him while my mom was at work.

Laura Dugger: It really was a different time. Very different supervision compared to today. 

Mary Beth Zimmerman: Definitely. 

Laura Dugger: Well then, catch us up, how did your life change when you came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ?

Mary Beth Zimmerman: Well, as I said, my mom and dad were godly parents and I lived all of my life believing in Jesus, praying to Jesus. My prayer would always be, "Save me from going to hell. Keep me safe. [00:05:50] Keep my family safe." 

As I grew older into high school years, I kept him at a healthy distance because I knew my life wasn't honoring Him. I always knew that Jesus was the Savior and I prayed every night that he would save me and forgive my sins. I believe that he was the Savior, even my Savior, but He had not become the Lord of my life. 

For me, becoming a Christian meant surrendering my life to Christ and the best way I knew how to do that was to become a member of our church. Those were two separate things, but they were combined in my life. So when I knew that I needed to surrender my life, that was a non-negotiable. I knew that I had to make Jesus Lord of my life. I knew there was going to be a huge lifestyle change. I knew that I needed to make Him my Lord. [00:06:51] 

So becoming a member of the church would require a little more. That would require me dressing differently. My activities would be different. Who I hung out with would be different. That probably kept me from becoming a child of God for a couple of years because there was a big emphasis on when you become a child of God, you live a separate life from the world.

I had been dating Dennis all through high school, and we were planning to get married after we graduated. I wanted my dad to walk me down the aisle on my wedding day. I wanted a long white dress, and those were things at that time that the church considered worldly. So I always knew I was going to get married before I surrendered my life. 

About six months after we were married, we both had felt the call on our lives, and we had discussed it prior to marriage that the road that we would take would be to become members of the Apostolic Christian Church and be a part of that church family. [00:08:04] So on November 23, 1981, we surrendered our lives to the one who calls Himself the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin, which we definitely had in our lives at that time.

We were baptized in March of 1982, and then the next big event in our lives would be to welcome our three beautiful boys into our family. Our son, Jake, was born in November of '83, followed by Caleb, joining us in July of '85. And then we welcomed David in the month of December of 1988.

I had the privilege of raising the three beautiful, rambunctious kids with my husband while at the same time starting a business of our own. And then for the next 42 years, we'd be freeing ourselves into both of those endeavors. [00:09:04] 

Laura Dugger: It's so fun as an adult to hear all of that laid out because I grew up with your boys, but now as a parent, I'm realizing they really did come close together. 

Mary Beth Zimmerman: Yes. 

Laura Dugger: And now a brief message from our sponsor.

Sponsor: Sam Leman Chevrolet in Eureka has been owned and operated by the Bertschi Family for over 25 years. A lot has changed in the car business since Sam and Stephen's grandfather, Sam Leman, opened his first Chevrolet dealership over 55 years ago. If you visit their dealership today, though, you'll find that not everything has changed. They still operate their dealership like their grandfather did, with honesty and integrity. 

Sam and Stephen understand that you have many different choices in where you buy or service your vehicle. This is why they do everything they can to make the car-buying process as easy and hassle-free as possible. They are thankful for the many lasting friendships that began with a simple "Welcome to Sam Leman's". 

Their customers keep coming back because they experience something different. [00:10:03] I've known Sam and Stephen and their wives my entire life, and I can vouch for their character and integrity, which makes it easy to highly recommend you check them out today.

Your car buying process doesn't have to be something you dread, so come see for yourself at Sam Leman Chevrolet in Eureka. Sam and Stephen would love to see you, and they appreciate your business. Learn more at their website, LemanEureka.com, or visit them on Facebook by searching for "Sam Leman Eureka". You can also call them at (309) 467-2351. Thanks for your sponsorship. 

Laura Dugger: But there's a certain story that I remember hearing when I was really young, and it actually still comes to my mind often. So I'd love for you to take us back to that time when your boys were really young. Can you tell us more about a certain experience you had in Chicago?

Mary Beth Zimmerman: Yes. That is a story that has been told over and over. You never get tired of telling it. [00:11:04] We had Jake and Caleb. They were about 21 months apart, and then David was about three years later. At the time that our beautiful story took place, Dave and Dan, my brothers, lived in an apartment up in Chicago, and we would love to go downtown and spend time with them for a weekend.

We had been invited to a wedding, and it was March of 1990. So Jake was about six and Caleb was four, and David was 14 months. So we left David with Mom and Dad, my parents, and went up to the wedding of our friend in Barrington, Illinois.

We were planning on leaving the children with Dave and Dan to babysit. So we knew it would be a late night after the reception, so we packed their pajamas and figured that they would go to sleep before we got home, and we'd just go to Dave and Dan's downtown, pick them up, and drive home that night. [00:12:13] 

It was a chilly March night around midnight when we got to Dave and Dan's apartment, and there was no place to park close to the entrance. Dennis told me just to go on up, and he'd find a place to park and be there shortly. 

Dave and Dan lived on the second floor, and in order to enter the building, you had to push the correct button on a door pad, and it would alert them, and they'd ask who was there, and unlock the door from their place, and the door would open. 

So I did that. I got out of the car, walked up the sidewalk and the stairs, took my coat off, kicked off my shoes, told them that Dennis was parking the car and that he'd be in shortly. Dennis did the same thing. As I was talking, the doorbell rang again, they let Dennis in, and he started asking how the boys were doing. [00:13:14] All of a sudden, the doorbell rang again, and we all four looked at each other thinking, "What in the world? Who would be ringing your doorbell at this time of night?" 

Dave pressed the intercom and said, "Yes," and a kind lady's voice came across the intercom saying, "There's a little boy down here wanting to get in." All of us just looked at each other, and Dennis, being the guarding, protective dad that he was, took those steps two at a time. It couldn't have been more than five to ten seconds at the max that he was at that door and opened it up, and sure enough, he looked down, and there was Caleb in his bare feet and his little teddy bear pajamas looking up at Dennis.

Dennis looked at him and lifted him up, and he said, "How did you get out here? Where's the lady that helped you?" There was no one in sight. [00:14:24] No one all the way down both sides of the sidewalk. And it was a flat building like a brownstone, you know, so there was nowhere for anybody to go. 

So he and Caleb came upstairs looking bewildered, and we just started firing the questions to little Caleb. We were like, "How long were you out there? How did you get out of the apartment without us seeing you? Who was that lady? What did she look like? What did you say to her?" And he had zero answers.

He knew he was in trouble. He knew how frightened we were. So we just kind of took a minute and chilled. By the time we were all settled, you know, we finally just said, "Caleb, you know, what did she look like? Who was that lady?" [00:15:26] And he said, "She had long hair and she had a long coat." And so we were like, okay. I think he felt, at that little age, felt pressed to give us answers. But, you know, we said, "Well, what color was her hair?" And he said red. And we said, "What color was her coat?" And he said white. That is truly the only... he never could remember anything. He was just oblivious to anything bad, and we were just overwhelmingly thankful for whoever that was that she helped him. 

The only thing that made sense was that God had sent an angel to protect him, to protect our little boy that night. It was an event that we would share with many friends and acquaintances, always with a thankful heart and giving all glory to God.

You know, there's a verse in the Bible, Matthew 18:5, that says, "Whoever welcomes a child in my name welcomes me, for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven." [00:16:49] 

So that was our story for Caleb at that age, Laura. But there's more to that story. Caleb's profession of choice later in life would be to be a law enforcement agent and that was very hard for his mama to accept. Fast forward 32 years, the protests were going on, he was a police officer in one of the largest cities in the United States. He wouldn't call home very often unless something really tragic had happened in his line of work or if he felt like he was in danger and needed prayer.

When the riots or the protests were going on a year or two ago, he called home and said, "Hey, please have everybody pray for me because we're going to be downtown tonight and there are going to be protests and it could get ugly and I'm not sure where I'm going to be stationed." [00:18:02] 

Obviously, I called my dear friends and family and knew that they would be praying for him. It was just a really dark day one day and it was when things were at their heaviest. I was walking on my treadmill praying for my boy and I just heard the Lord say, "Remember when I protected him with angels when he was four? I can still protect him when he's 36." 

And I fell apart all over again knowing that God had Him in His hand and that I did not need to fear. So the mercies of the Lord never fail. They are new every morning and He is great in his faithfulness.

Laura Dugger: Wow, I had not heard that story come full circle. [00:19:04] Makes me emotional, but it also brings to life two scriptures that describe angels in both seasons. First, back to that story, when Caleb was four, that button was too high for him to reach. There was no way he could get in by himself. And it makes me think of Hebrews 1:14. And it says, "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?"

And I remember one time looking up maybe Blue Letter Bible, looking at each of those words, but ministering means to meet the needs of. So she came and she met that specific need that nobody else could meet at that time. 

Then fast forward to Caleb in his thirties and having another encounter with angels as God shared with you. And it makes me think of a prayer that we pray for our daughters, Psalm 34:7, that says, "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and he delivers them." [00:20:14] 

Mary Beth Zimmerman: Amen. Yes. When Caleb decided to move to a larger city and become a police officer there, it was again, heart-wrenching for me. I prayed and God just gave me no weapon formed against my child will prevail. God has just reassured me through songs, the God of angel armies is always by your side. 

The Lord just is so gracious, Laura, to His followers when we trust in Him. He comes through every time. That's why I love Jesus so very much because he's so very real in my life and He has been so faithful.

Laura Dugger: Absolutely. I love how you give glory where glory is due. You've already mentioned a few, but I just know His scripture is so meaningful to you. Are there any other certain passages that were impactful throughout your life? [00:21:22] 

Mary Beth Zimmerman: Well, for Caleb, there are several. I have a letter that I wrote to him. It's in my Bible. Also, Dennis and I made a plaque for him when he graduated the academy with a verse of Psalm 141. And one of the verses are, "But my eyes are fixed on you, sovereign Lord. In you I take refuge. Do not give me over to death. Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers, from the snares they have laid for me. Let the wicked fall into their own nets while I pass by in safety."

Laura Dugger: I love that. Thank you for sharing all of that scripture. It's always encouraging. You just clearly have a gift for encouraging people. There's just one creative example that happened recently in our lives. When one of our daughters broke her back, you delivered a huge goody bag full of gifts, which providentially arrived on this really difficult day where multiple of our family members were sick and we were feeling a bit discouraged. [00:22:32] Actually, a lot discouraged. Very discouraged. 

But my favorite part was the note you wrote. I'm actually going to read it because it was so powerful and continues to be powerful in our lives. So you wrote, "Hi, [Sayloh?]. We are so sorry you are dealing with a broken back. We pray for you, asking God to help you be patient and pleasant while He is healing you. No doubt, you've got lots of people who love you praying and helping make this time go by a little faster. We know it's hard to be inconvenienced and patient at the same time. And God says in His word that when one part suffers, the whole body suffers. Sometimes this means our physical body and sometimes it can mean our body or community of the people we love. I thought maybe you'd like to be able to share some of these things in this bag with your family since they're all suffering with you. I bet they'd love to be included in receiving something for their part in helping you deal with your back. So take a look at what's in the bag and pick out your favorite thing or things and then share the rest with your sisters and mom and dad. I'll bet it will make all the hearts in your home happy. We love you and thank God for the way He's healing you and hope you're back to normal soon. Lots of love, DZ and MB."  [00:24:00] 

That ministered to us so much, especially to my mama heart, just thinking of Shiloh and Isla and Kessler who had also really suffered and gone overlooked when Sayloh was getting a lot of the attention at that time. But you recognized them, you honored each of us, and honored them for being such supportive sisters. So it was an incredibly touching gift. 

Mary Beth Zimmerman: Oh, thank you. 

Laura Dugger: All of that to say, you have a spiritual gift for encouraging others. And even in that note, you continue to teach us. 

How did you find out about The Savvy Sauce? Did someone share this podcast with you? Hopefully, you've been blessed through the content. And now we would love to invite each of you to share these episodes with friends and help us spread the word about The Savvy Sauce. You can share today's episode or go back and choose any one of your other previous favorites to share. Thanks for helping us out. [00:25:00] 

Well, Mary Beth, a few years later, God was about to take you on a journey of spiritual growth. So will you set the stage and share that story with us now?

Mary Beth Zimmerman: Sure. After I had had our three children, we lived like seven blocks from my parents and my mom would work second shift. So we spent, the kids and I... Well, Dennis was working also late hours at the car dealership at that time. So we had a lot of evening hours to spend together with my dad.

We would go for walks with Grandpa or we'd go get ice cream with him or we'd just hang out at his house. My mom and I got along great, but my dad, I adored. I just loved my dad. He loved me unconditionally. He taught by example. He was transparent. He wasn't afraid to tell me the mistakes that he'd made in life so that I wouldn't make the same ones. [00:26:06] He was a man of honor and of prayer. I love the memory of going to bed at night when I still lived at home with them and I would look in their room and they would be on their knees praying by their bedside. 

He faithfully drove us to church every Sunday when I was a kid. He was a Sunday school teacher. He was esteemed in our community as a businessman and just loved by everybody. I was very proud to be called Bill Leman's daughter. I gained a lot of my identity from him being my dad.

Fast forward to 1992 on a beautiful day in May I was 30 years old and our boys were outside in our yard. I was with them playing baseball and we heard a siren coming and watched the police car fly by our house going towards the east. Then 20 minutes later the ambulance from Benson flew by our house going west. [00:27:12]  

Little did we know that it was Grandpa and my dad being transported to the hospital until I got a call about an hour later. He had been involved in a car accident and he was not going to live to hear us tell him goodbye.

Needless to say, I knew I would be forever changed. My dad was the only one who understood all my highs and lows in life. He celebrated my highs and he helped me heal on the lows. So even as a little girl I still remember getting dressed up for church or somewhere special and mom would say, "Now go ask daddy how you look?" And I'd go twirl in front of him. He was just always there and he was always engaged in what I was doing. [00:28:12] We just had a really special relationship. 

After the shock wore off that he was gone, I found much comfort in my siblings because he loved us all unconditionally and we had a very special bond in our family. We still do. We still get together regularly and there's nothing we wouldn't do for each other. I love my siblings so very much. 

Our church family was wonderful and we had a very supportive small-town community in which we lived that came through in a big way also. But month after month I waited for the ache to go away of losing him. I never knew that grief could actually cause physical pain. But I had my heart truly hurt physically and I would find myself sighing through the day and truly like six or eight months I was still grieving for him pretty heavily. [00:29:24] 

I was just thinking of all the things he was. He was my cheerleader. He was the one I could go get a bear hug from if I needed one. He was a sounding board and a confidant and he was my number one fan. You know, your husband is an awesome supportive companion like no other but your dad has a special place in your heart. Or he did in mine. I know yours does too.

Laura Dugger: He definitely does.

Mary Beth Zimmerman: So the emptiness that I felt continued for well over a year and I read books on grieving. I found tremendous comfort in music. I shared my thoughts with anyone who'd listen. I always prayed to God and I knew that my dad was with God and I knew that God was sovereign over His accident and I was never mad at God but I was just... I don't know. [00:30:26] I don't know why it took me so long to finally get one-on-one with God about my dad. 

But there were just a lot of other things. My mom was hurting at the time. Here she was a widow and DZ was grieving alongside of me. He loved my dad about as much as I did and I was just... I don't know. I was just at a loss for what to do.

One morning while I was doing my devotions, I just started sobbing. I don't really recommend this or think that it's a good idea but it's really looking back after it happened I thought I really had a showdown with God that morning because I said, "If you're the only one who can fill this void in my heart, where are you? How does it feel to have that void filled? You know, what...? Come on!" 

I found myself face down on our living room floor and I had just come to a wall and I was praying while I was doing my devotions and I got back up and I sat in my chair, my Bible was open and I just again heard God's voice not audibly but He controlled my thoughts. [00:31:59] And what I heard Him say was "I am your dad. I am your Father. I want you to view me like you viewed your dad. I want you to talk to me like you talked to your dad. I want you to trust me like you trusted your dad and most of all I want you to love me like you loved your dad." 

I knew at that moment that God was someone I had really never known like He wanted me to know Him. I had realized that my dad was somewhat of an idol to me over the next months and that I had always put God in second or third place next to my dad and to my husband because they were always there for me. They always supplied what I needed. 

So I had been converted for 10 years but I was freshly being introduced to who God was that day and my life would never be the same. I was very humbled and I knew that I was changed. And as I finished reading my Bible that morning the words were different. [00:33:09] I actually felt like God and I were having a conversation. 

I heard His voice. I knew He was with me. I knew He wanted me to put my full trust in Him. I became as adoring of Him as I was of my dad. I came to the full belief that He and His word were truly one because after that, when I read the Bible, it was just 100% meaningful. I don't know maybe before I was reading it more out of duty but He was communicating with me like He had never done before. I wanted to kiss my Bible because I wanted to kiss God. I would have kissed my dad had he been there.

But from that point on the word really would become my counselor and God would continue to teach me and heal me where my dad left off. He would bring purity and renewal to my heart like my dad never could. [00:34:18] 

I don't believe that God took my dad to show me Himself but I do believe that He knew that I would find Him then because that's when I truly searched for Him with my whole heart. So just as Jesus cried out in Hebrews 5:7-8, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save Him." Comfort in my case. He was heard because of His reverent submission. Although He was a son He learned obedience from what He suffered. And He also knew that after I had suffered a little while He Himself would restore me and make me strong, firm, and steadfast because He is the God of all grace.

A kind of funny thing happened later when I had a full understanding of that incident of why God allowed that for me. Because I did. I said, "Lord you're so good to me for sharing yourself like that. I mean that's supernatural." [00:35:25] It wasn't but a few days later I was reading I think it's in Exodus or Deuteronomy where He said, "I showed myself to Moses as a friend by the name of Jehovah. And that's what I did for you. I am your friend. You can call me Daddy."

I mean, there were just several things like that. My life really did change that day and my perspective changed and my understanding changed. 

But anyway, later when I sang the song The Solid Rock, I had sung that since I was a child. Knew all the words. But there's a part in that that says "my hope is built on nothing less nothing, less than Jesus blood and righteousness. And I dare not trust the sweetest frame." That sweetest frame was my dad that I was trusting in. So I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus' name. [00:36:35] 

And just a lot of songs and the word, the Bible, just took on deep authentic meaning after that. And it's never changed. I mean, I just keep growing and learning more and He keeps revealing more of Himself. It's just a beautiful walk that I want to share with everybody that I know. And I want them to experience that too.

Laura Dugger: Wow. I love all of that for so many reasons. You make me think of a special time when I got to interview my dad about also losing his dad. I'll put a link to that in the show notes as well because that was a special episode. But Grandpa Leman really was so special and yet what the Lord has taught you is available to all of us. He loves to talk to his children. 

It's hard to describe and articulate but the Holy Spirit really sounds like He made Himself known to you and real. [00:37:35] And He does live inside of us if we are believers. And so that is so helpful to hear how it's played out in your journey. So thank you for sharing.

Mary Beth Zimmerman: Yes. A lot of times people... if I would say, oh, God said this or God said that... you know, even one of my siblings she said, you know, when you say God said this it, just kind of sounds weird because like people say, When I talk to God that's praying. But when you say God talk to me that's just hard for me to understand. And so it's available. I don't know why He does things to some people and not others but He does speak to us through the Holy Spirit and we can hear Him if we listen.

Laura Dugger: Even that transparency that's so helpful because, like you said, what He's even taught you and it's from John, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. [00:38:41] And so when we read the Bible, those are His words and we get to hear from Him absolutely in that way. So I appreciate all the stories and scriptures you've shared so far. 

What other encouragement would you like to leave with us today?

Mary Beth Zimmerman: Well, an impactful scripture for me is Psalm 139. The whole Psalm. It's very affirming to who we are. My love language is words of affirmation. So I love it when God gets specific and says this is who you are and this is what you mean and this is what I do for you. 

So to know that He knit me together in my mother's womb and to know that He knit my children together in my womb, how more intimate can you get with your creator and your Father in heaven? That's the impactful verse. 

The best encouragement I think I can leave is to leave nothing left unsaid. [00:39:42] Life has so many highs and lows and I think it brings joy to our Father in heaven when we acknowledge our disappointments and celebrate our blessings and thank God for both of those. 

Ecclesiastes 5:19 says, When God gives any man wealth and possessions and enables him to enjoy them to accept his lot and be happy in his work this is the gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

In my Bible, in the margin I have "this is my life goal. This is my life theme" because He is with us in awe in the joys and the sorrows. It's easy not to reflect on the bad parts because He keeps us occupied with gladness of heart because of Himself in our lives. So that's my encouragement. [00:40:48] 

Laura Dugger: I love it. Kind of along those same lines you are a faithful supporter and listener of The Savvy Sauce so you already know that "savvy" is synonymous with practical knowledge. So, MB, is my final question for you today, what is your savvy sauce?

Mary Beth Zimmerman: My savvy sauce would be spending time in God's word every day. If it's hard for you to understand it like it was for me at age 19 when I became a believer, then ask God for understanding. He even says that in his word. He will give us wisdom and understanding if we ask. Read the word every day. Read the entire book and you will discover the meaning of your life.

Laura Dugger: Thank you so much for that. I just learned so much from your walk and relationship with Jesus and I love your sense of humor and your willingness just to impart this wisdom and encouragement to each of us. So thank you very much for being my guest. [00:41:59] 

Mary Beth Zimmerman: It has been a pleasure. I love you, Laura. 

Laura Dugger: I love you too, MB.

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.

Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. [00:43:02] 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. You get the opportunity to live your life for Him. [00:44:02] 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. 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." [00:45:07] 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.