A WOW Moment with Vicki, Mecedes & Gwen (Date: October 22 2020)

Whitten Baptist Church

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You did? I did. No. Really? I tried to tell y 'all we should do this at the church.

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To your room, mister. Or wherever you're going. I don't have a project for you.

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She's got work for you to do. I know you're not. You did.

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You married that. I was young. You were not. No. So I already had a good birth.

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Last time we got married. Really? Yeah. Oh, wow. We got married when hairball was five months.

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Jeff, what took you so long? I said no. I was trying to find a better model. I don't think so.

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Oh, I said no. You said no? Yes. Good for you.

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I said, I'll wait, but you gotta straighten some stuff out first. I'm not saddling myself with that mess.

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You don't make a bunch of bad decisions to try to fix a bad decision. Yeah. Where are we going?

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Psalm 1. I can't see.

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Are you ever gonna only have one pair of glasses? I thought you got new glasses.

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I don't like... There's some glasses on your head. Those are my driving glasses. I'm not as old as you.

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I still only have to have one pair. I'm dead. You're dead or I'm dead.

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Oh, my God. I'll be dead before you because I'm older than you. I don't know how

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I'm married to you. That's right. Never mind. Scratch that. I think

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I'm good now. Let's take these off. Let's put these on. Good evening, everybody.

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What's on my head? Oh, pumpkins. It does look like it's driving on your head.

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Would you like me to move the pumpkins? No. I don't look at that that often. Good evening, everybody.

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I'm sorry. Bible study is starting a little late tonight. We have some things going on.

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But, hey, we're here. It's better late than never is what I always say. I'm Vicki, as you know.

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Everyone knows Mercedes. Everyone should know Miss Gwen Shipley. She's been with us before on Bible study.

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I want to reach for my glasses and then we're there. Tonight, we are at the

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Shipley's home. I will say thank you to Pastor and Gwen for dinner.

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It was lovely. It was very nice. I love it. You didn't eat that food, but it was good.

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It was good. I had the famous pork chop. Well, it wasn't my pork chop.

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I don't know how he did his pork chops. I don't feel like I need your pork chops. No, they're pretty good.

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Sounds like yours are better. I don't know. He learned how to make them from me.

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Oh, okay. Well, they were good. Whatever you taught him. I don't know what he did. Did he like the grill?

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He was on the grill when I got here. The onion rings are really good.

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Charlie's Meat Market. Really? Yes. They're already breaded? Yes. You don't have to put salt or anything on them.

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Jeff's picky about his onion rings. There's two kinds he likes. Kroger has one brand.

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It's like Alexia or something like that. And then Charlie's Meat Market. I didn't know they had them there.

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Yes. Alright. There you go. Charlie's Meat Market for onion rings because they're good. And that meat was from Charlie's too because I don't pick up my

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Kroger clipless until tomorrow. That didn't take care of Thursday dinner. Those pork chops were really good and they were nice sized pork chops.

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They weren't like those real thin. They were good cuts. Anyway, so tonight again, we're here at the

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Shipley's and thank you for having us. I can't see.

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It's bad. I'm a little off.

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Gwen stepped in tonight for us. I won't say last minute but close to last minute because we've had some issues with some scheduling, people having to back out for certain things.

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And so I want to thank you for stepping in for us because if not, then the lovely people would have just me and Mercedes.

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One of my favorites was y 'all's very first one though. Y 'all should do another one, just the two of y 'all because y 'all are a dynamic duo.

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We were nervous as all get out the first one. Oh, but y 'all's communication was fantastic.

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We communicate well. Y 'all should do another one sometime. It's just y 'all. We probably will have to soon because we're not having a lot of people wanting to do this much.

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I know. That's what I said. Who doesn't want to share the word of God? Right? Especially with me and Mercedes.

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Especially when you get to pick the passage. Right. You pick the verse that we're going to discuss.

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It's not like we're throwing you out on the left field and saying this is what we're going to talk about with you, okay?

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So, tonight Gwen has chosen Psalms chapter one in honor of Mama.

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I say in honor of Mama. Mama's still here. It's not in memory of Mama. It's in honor of Mama.

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I have growing up heard her teach on this passage many a times and I think that it has been part of the foundation of how

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I have for the most part kept myself on the right track, kept myself from poor decisions and focused on choosing godliness came from this passage.

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Because you know we all struggle with that. It never goes away. I mean it's something that's a daily like a tug of war sometimes.

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But the formula on how to do it right is right here in these few, what is it, six verses?

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Yeah, six verses. So it's that whole chapter. Well, yeah, the main part is just like is verse one and two but you know.

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The whole chapter is only six verses. The whole chapter, Mercedes. You think you can handle that? Yeah, I've read a longer chapter before.

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Yeah. I did. I laid one on one like Gwen. It was like thirty verses and I went no.

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So we're doing we're on Psalms 1 1 -6.

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How happy is a man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers.

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Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instructions and he meditates on it day and night.

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He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.

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Whatever he does prosper. What? Whatever he does prospers.

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Whatever he does prospers. Right. There should have been a comment. The wicked are not like this.

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Instead, they're like chaff. They're like chaff that the wind blows away.

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I think chaff. I'm not positive, but I think it's the wasted part of the top of wheat. Gotcha.

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After they've harvested, it just kind of blows away. I think that's what chaff is. That makes sense. Therefore, the wicked will not survive the judgment and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous.

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The Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin. Alright, Gwen.

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Now that we've learned what chaff was. For the definition.

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I've never noticed this before. See, this is how God's word is. You always get something new out of it. Yes, you do.

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The wicked are not like this. Instead, they're like the chaff. The harvest has already happened. God's already taken his people out.

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The leftover, the wind just blows them away. Chaff, the useless product of threshing, is a contrast to the fruit in the previous verse.

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Threshing is the threshing floor where you do wheat. You go and beat and get the good stuff out and chaff is what's left.

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Perfect. Now it's making sense, because I was really going, uh, what's

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Gwen going to bring out of this? Ha, ha, ha. So, go ahead.

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I can remember one of the things Mom emphasized, and of course, when I was brought up, everything was all

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King James. And in the King James, it says, well, it says blessed, but happy is fine, is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, or stands in the way of sinners, or sits in the seat of scornful.

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And that, for me, was always the progression that I always watched.

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That when I'm heading in the wrong direction, I'm heading towards poor decisions, sin, all that.

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It first just starts with walking along somebody that's ungodly. I'm not really, like, all up in them.

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I'm just near them. I'm just walking along with them. But then I start standing around them, and hanging with them.

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And before you know it, I'm sitting right in the midst of them, and I'm immersed in it. And that formula starts out this chapter of whenever my spirit isn't right, and I feel like me and God have gotten as far, this is always where I start, is who am

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I walking around? Who am I standing around? Who is influencing my life?

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And usually, I have allowed myself to start letting other people talk into my life.

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I may not be, very seldom, a few times, but very seldom have I gotten to the point where I'm just sitting right in the midst of them.

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I mean, I would definitely say, before I was married, and I was all swimming in poor decisions and sin, and people that were not encouraging me towards God's Word.

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But it doesn't ever start there. As Christians, we don't start out just, I'm ready to be ungodly and go plop ourself in the midst of the ungodly people.

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That's not how it happens. We just start walking alongside them, and they just start chattering with us.

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Kind of like the whisper in the ear. Yes. And then, so then we'll kind of slow down and stand around and, hmm, so what else you got to say?

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And then before you know it, and then it's contrasted, instead, His delight is in the

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Lord's instruction, or in the law of the Lord. So the contrast to that is, I don't need to be with these people.

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I need to be with people that are going to instruct me in the ways of the Lord. And it doesn't matter how long we've been walking with the

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Lord, we always need to follow this plan. Because, you know, when you get to that certain, you're kind of like, who have

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I been hanging around with that's making me, who, what is the, not object, but what is the wickedness that, and really, and truthfully, if you sit back, and you look at people, and you think about who it is and what it is, sometimes it will be really shocking to you.

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I mean, because, and I hate to say this, but it's even happened with me when it comes to people even in the church.

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Well, and that's what I was about to say. For me, in the place where I am now in my life, I mean,

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I'm not going to say, this isn't a prideful statement of me being above sin.

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We all are depraved in our nature, and forgiven, and have the

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Spirit that helps us to make godly decisions. But, I'm not going to go and sit amongst people, you know, snorting cocaine, or, you know, getting,

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I mean, I'm far enough in my life now, that's not a temptation for me. But, the sins that I'm watching out for now is dissatisfaction.

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When I hear myself complaining about every little thing, well, who am

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I hanging out with that is just complaining about every little thing instead of encouraging me to be grateful, to share the love of the

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Lord, to be an influence on others towards, I mean, there's so much to be grateful for, and sometimes, and I hear it mostly in my accountability group when

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I'm telling them the things I'm struggling with, I'm like, what the heck am I struggling with this for? I mean, and why am

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I, this struggle, why am I saying this to my coworkers and to, how are other people seeing me?

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Are they seeing the Lord, or are they seeing someone that is bitter, and yes, discontent, and just miserable?

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That's not going to attract anybody to say, let me see the

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Lord that's in your life today. I mean, just today I was talking with a coworker, she's facing some things coming up and facing fear, and I said to her, you really, we get complacent in life to where until there's turmoil, we don't really notice and feel and appreciate peace.

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Right. Well, until we are in a place where we can hear the things coming out of our mouth, we're not going to appreciate the gratitude until we hear all the negative that's coming out of us and we're like, why am

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I saying all the negative? I need to be focusing in on all the things that God, the ways

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He has answered prayer. You did that to me the other day when you talked about the man that broke into the church and being grateful that he did not vandalize our church, and that really,

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I mean, he could have. He could have spray -painted things. He could have knocked every single paint out of the glass and the doors, from the sanctuary to the...

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He used the restroom place. I mean, all kinds of horrible things that people would have had to clean up and we would have had to recover from, and he didn't.

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We walked in there Wednesday night and had church like normal without, I mean,

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I appreciated you because I was, yes, it still feels like a violation to our home, our church home, but there was a lot in that moment to be grateful for that we lost some things, but we didn't, our home was not destroyed.

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No, and nobody was there. Nobody was hurt. So, I consider it a blessing.

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I really do. And, you know, because that's why when it came out that what time he went into the building,

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I was like, we were just there. I mean, and think about it, honestly, with the ones that were in that room with us in that meeting, had the pastor walked out,

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Josiah walked out, Jeremiah walked out of that door, and there had been a man standing there, things might not have ended up very well.

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Especially for him. My point. That's my point. But think about if it had been you ladies that had walked out.

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Right. It could have been bad for us. So, you know, but it's just the fact of, because when it came out the time he was in the building,

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I was like, just think. So, I've been trying to reflect on, yes,

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I always try to reflect on are these people in my life and who of these people needs to not be in my life?

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But am I one of these people to somebody else? Are they reading this passage and saying,

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I mean, when really leads me to think negatively? When really leads me to be bitter and to feel resentful?

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You just dropped a bomb, Gwen. Because I hadn't even looked at it like that yet. Well, I didn't mean to drop a bomb.

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Isn't that a song? You dropped a bomb on me. There you go. Baby. Baby.

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I wasn't going to say that part. But now that you say that, it's very important for us to really pay attention to what we're what's the word called?

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What is it when you shed? Is it a word

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I shouldn't say? I don't know. Okay, never mind. I just know you don't want to say discreet because that's not the right word.

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Okay, well that's not the right word because we all know that I know the wrong word. Well, you know how your skin sloughs off.

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I don't know what you're trying to say. What kind of what kind of um vibe?

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I don't think she's that word either, Gwen. What is she trying to say? Example.

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There's one. There's one. Yeah, we'll use that one. That one's a good one too. Example, influence, are we leaving with people that we are around?

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Thanks, y 'all. Man, that was a tough one. That was like a toothful. I was about to break out the thesaurus.

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Oh, thanks. You know, I was trying to say discreet but isn't that the style of saying yes is what it is.

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Okay, back to songs. Sorry. I had bad timing on words.

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I came up with a good word and it's still the wrong word. Anyways, but you know, it's really are we sharing or are we showing the love of the

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Lord and not only just the love of the Lord but the mercy and the grace that He gives us and are we living the life that we are expecting the person sitting next to us to live?

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Is that where you're going? Yes. I don't know where I'm going with this.

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I didn't say any word. This is a three -person Bible study. Well, you're the one that just spattered all that and dropped the bomb on me.

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Baby. But you know, I just I didn't never,

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I mean, I was always looking at it like you were giving it to us the first time and then when you started going backwards with it on how we could actually be doing this to other people giving them the wrong sign or giving them the wrong attitude.

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For me, I have to be very careful about venting. That is not an unhealthy thing and with a trusted person sometimes you for me, when

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I vent and I have a couple people that depend on what the situation is and who's available that I might would call and vent to and it's people that know me they've known me long enough they know my heart and most of the time when

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I vent, I either get to the bottom of what's wrong by hashing it out and I'll get to that's what's really bothering me.

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I'll put my finger on it and then I can go and deal with it because that's the whole purpose if somebody's offended you or your feelings are hurt about something you need to get to the bottom of it to a resolution an action that you should have to take whether it's inside yourself or somebody else you need to take the action with but if I'm venting and there is no purpose of drawing a conclusion then

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I'm just stirring up bitterness and anger perhaps in that person drawing them onto my side and then at that point we're standing in the way of we're standing there together.

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We've skipped from step one and we're right in step two so I have to really be cautious about venting and what my motive is and I don't need to vent to two different people or three different people that one person that I choose is a godly person and is going to give me godly wisdom should help me receive a conclusion and then

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I need to move on and deal with that however that led me a lot of times just hearing myself say it, it corrects myself sometimes you're like man that sounds really stupid right now

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I'm like I sound no

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I'm wrong usually when I say it out loud I'm like is that really what

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I'm saying that is really horrible and then I don't need to go talk to somebody else,

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I myself need to confess and repent and move on that I had the wrong perspective so the venting is the one

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I think that we use that as a word that gives us a pass on being able to go yes because sometimes you do need to vent but that's my big thing one person

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I only need to vent to one person and then you look at Matthew and if I couldn't get my resolution there figure out what was wrong and go and deal with that person, then

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I might need to take it to somebody of leadership if it's that big of a deal but very seldom when we're venting is it that big of a deal it's usually us having a wrong perspective of something, you know,

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I know with Jeff a lot of times when I'm upset with him when

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I go through it in my head or to that one trusted person in the end my end result is

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I probably misunderstood because that is not really the character of my husband over 20 plus years, 25 plus years now of marriage so I need to give him the benefit of the doubt that I am misunderstanding what he said or what his intention was because it doesn't mesh with who he has proven to be over a lifetime so that's something that I've had to do in my marriage also but we're pushing 23 years

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I think this year I think Jeff and I are 28 maybe we were born in 92

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January of 92, whatever that means I mean married you're so young so young I was born in 92 there you go but you know isn't it just so easy isn't it just so easy when you've just been so fed up especially in the workforce yeah when you're dealing with people and things don't go the right way it's not it's easy to get frustrated it's easy to not act appropriately and not frustrate you yeah that's true because when and I'll tell myself today

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I went into work today supposed to be having this person come in from out of town and everything you know we had to get all this stuff done before they came in and we weren't told until like right before they were supposed to be there and I got really really frustrated because I went into work a little early to get a few things done because I wasn't there yesterday after it was all said and done the two people that I work with real close to they know that I'm a

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Christian they know that I don't fly off the handle

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I don't do that I walked over beside one of them's desk and they were like are you okay you're not acting like yourself well at that point now that all this has come up I looked at them and I said no

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I'm fine but now it makes sense they're not used to seeing me or hearing me which

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I didn't say anything bad but they just heard the displeasure in the tone that I had in my voice and they've not ever heard that before so well that's convicting

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I don't know if any of my co -workers would ever recognize a pleasure in a tone of displeasure because it's happened so often yes so that's very convicting

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I'm sorry I just went through a violent conviction through what you said anyways because I fall into being grumpy and complaining way too often

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I complain way too often well see that's one thing that I try to I do pretty good at not complaining a lot

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I was a huge complainer I complained in my marriage for 15 years tired of that you know and that's why

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I do complain but I try to minimize and I have to be really really perturbed about something really well that's why the venting to one person helps me because I'll hear me say it and then

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I'll be like is that really what I sound like like you have to say it out loud and then you hear yourself and you're like well

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I don't want anybody to hear me say something like that I think I vented to you one day did

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I vent to you one day? when you talk that she does the other day she sent me a walk up hello mic drop from Mercedes it took me so long to get through it and it wasn't necessarily because it was long it was long but I kept having

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I shouldn't say work kept interrupting I was at work but I kept having to hit pause to do my actual job because somebody would be needing a question

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I had like two hours later I got through her 25 minute

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Marco Polo and she's like I don't know if I can remember everything you said because it took me two hours and I was like I can't remember everything

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I'm supposed to respond there's plenty of times with her I'm like I get on there and I go yeah

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I don't remember anything that you just said I hate it when they start charging for Marco Polo I miss that two times fast forward

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I miss it I'm not paying for it I am not

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I will keep the free version and just hit pause a lot you're not the only person

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I want fast forward on this is hilarious well the thing is I talk a lot and I talk to several people on my way to work in the mornings so when

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I wake up it's like I gotta remember to tell so and so this and I gotta remember to tell so and so that and that's what

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I was talking actually the pastor and I sat out front for a while and chatted a lot and I told him I said you know ministry work is tough and he goes yeah why you think nobody's lined up outside the door to take your job it's so fulfilling like I have gotten to know so many people and gotten to know them you know but anyways so and I love it now that I'm in the midst of it at first it's kind of yay what has he done to me kind of thing but now it's like and you drink

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Kool -Aid and it's cherry yeah like her hair but anyways that's why we were late

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I got a haircut you can have one too Gwen said you could have one but anyways yes

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Gwen got her hair done I like the back of it I haven't even seen the back of it it looks great you got up and ran didn't you no

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I did not get up and ran I got up and paced are we done

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Josiah would have appreciated that one yes that one was for him and I did not speed on my drive home no

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I was kind of worried though when you called I was thinking she didn't give her phone time to connect with her car that's why

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I was like Gwen just get off the phone no no no my phone was sitting in the what do you call it not coffee holder the cup holder well you know as women we like to vent a lot now there is a huge difference and let's get this clear and let's clear the smoke and the air there's a huge difference between venting to one person correct me if I'm wrong venting to that one person venting to yourself or gossiping all has to do with the moment that's why

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I said when I vent to one person it is to draw a conclusion either of myself correcting my course, repenting whatever is necessary and moving on changing my mindset kind of to get yourself or to get to the bottom of the problem and then go deal with the real issue the real problem if you don't do one of those two things then you're venting was gossip that's my opinion if there is not an action it doesn't have to be there's not a verb at the end of your venting well it doesn't necessarily have to be an action

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I guess prayer is an action confessing is an action yes if there's an action you say a verb a doing an action an action forget verb action if you don't do an action at the end of your venting then you just gossiped so if you don't move forward one way or the other which is an action change something discuss it talk it out whatever it was with that person pray about it that's between you and God you can vent to God all day long he keeps your secrets let me tell you

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I know I have burnt his ear off several days he's probably going will you please stop child please stop

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I've got this he's a good one to vent to because he already knows it he knows the thoughts and the struggles you've got going on in your head

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I wonder if he puts you on two times no he doesn't did you just say does

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God put me on two times I bet he's got ten times why'd I give her so many words she's working on her vocabulary words

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I don't know how to use them right he needs to teach me how to use them right thanks

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Mercedes guess we're done I don't have any more words

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I ran out have you ever seen that movie ten thousand words or a thousand words no are you sure it's real we'll have to look it up when we get finished the choir last night was talking about some movie

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I'm like are you sure that's real something about an angel in your pocket or something I ain't never heard of that and I'm not a movie person that explains a lot

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I don't watch many movies I used to then my anxiety got really bad

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I can't sit still during a movie Scott was like how many lines of laundry are you going to do during this movie all of them especially if it's an action movie oh no no no wow

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I've learned a lot tonight I hope y 'all learned a lot tonight too because I sure have that is um and this is the

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Suzanne word huh something that she uses I think she taught it to every youth class she ever taught well

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I for one thank you for sharing it with me and with us because I did not know that I wasn't in her youth at any point in time in my life but um

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I have never honestly um I've heard the verse used but I've never looked at it like that before I've never picked it apart

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I guess you could say or gained knowledge of the meaning especially of the word chap so but anyways thank you so much you're most welcome thank you so much for having us tonight um we didn't mind waiting for you to get your hair done um it's my tradition

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I get it done every time before I go on vacation yeah at least Saturday good for you nobody out there in cyber world try to break into our homes we do still have people that live in our homes while we're gone oh yeah my house is never left not empty not empty my house is never left empty there you go there's always somebody

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Jeremiah's here that's enough said right right I mean

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Ashley and little Jeff are here too but yeah Jeremiah's here yeah he's the one that'll spring off the balcony and ah right there you go but anyways thanks a million for having us tonight um

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Mercedes thank you for the proper reading of the scripture I know it was a little rocky there for a minute there was some like whatever he does prospers huh it was the lack of proper what

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I feel should be proper grammar it's whatever he does prospers whatever he does prospers there should be a comma well you cannot pay attention to the what in the

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Bible I know but when you're reading out loud it's just proper grammar is important Karina and you are going to get along in the

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King James it says and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper do it so it has shall in there have it doeth thou that was a

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I memorized this as a kid in King James so I get thrown sometimes when

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I'm trying to read it out of this version cause my head wants to say what do you have hold me it's because you have study

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Bible oh sorry I have to have a study Bible this was like one of the very first years that Holman came out oh actually the very first year it came out

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I was at the Southern Brothers convention and they gave me one of the first copies I mean not just me every pastor's wife got one

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Gwen won the door prize in the pastor's wife conference every pastor's wife got one it's a small version it's not just a

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New Testament but it's small almost like a New Testament it's pretty worn out cause I carry it in a diaper bag and in my purse cause it was nice and small and compact and easy to carry to church or places cause you carried one for many years a lot of years alright y 'all we're gonna sit here and probably chat for a while longer but we're gonna let y 'all go bye so y 'all have a great evening thanks again