[0:00:29] Emily: Hi there Friends before we get into this week’s very special episode that I am just thrilled to share with you. Like it gave me chills going over it and editing it again. Just so special to have my granny with us. I wanted to give you a quick update on Lewis’s granddaughter, Marlowe who did make her grand appearance on, let’s see, saturday august 14th. So She came at 28 weeks and is was born just under £2 and it’s already a little miracle baby and passing milestones. So it is evident that everyone is praying over her. So many people are praying for her and uh just ask that you would continue to do so as they have a long stay in the nicu ahead of them as baby grows. But she is doing really well right now And Lois and Micah and Haley are so thankful for everyone’s prayers and care for them as they navigate this, this part of their journey and get to watch God’s hand and provisions go before them. Uh even more than it already has uh because he has been so so faithful. Next week, Lois and I will be back with another episode with just the two of us. Uh We will be recording a brand new episode that will drop on the friday of the RFP fam. Meet up in Missouri. We can’t wait to hug on your neck and get to know you record an episode live, all the things but don’t despair if you’re not there, we will have a fresh episode for you to listen to next week as well. So without further ado here’s this week’s episode uh interview with my granny talking about what it was like on the outside while we were in a toxic religious environment and really the testament of her faithfulness in prayer and God’s faithfulness to answer. I hope it blesses your heart isn’t much as much as it bless his mind. Thanks for being here friend. Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of the R. F. W. P. Where we are seeking truth and finding God’s heart. I’m your host, Emily Lewis and with me is my co host.
[0:03:22] Lois: Lois Mcnair.
[0:03:24] Emily: Hi Lois.
[0:03:25] Lois: Hi, how are you?
[0:03:27] Emily: I’m awesome.
[0:03:28] Lois: I’m so excited that we have a special guest with us today,
[0:03:32] Emily: I’m stoked. So today we have my granny Beverly loose with us.
[0:03:38] Lois: Hi babe.
[0:03:39] Granny Bev: Hi, I’m pleased to be here.
[0:03:43] Lois: We’re gonna we’re gonna call her granny bev right, everybody calls, everybody calls you granny bev.
[0:03:49] Granny Bev: They do
[0:03:50] Lois: awesome. I love that.
[0:03:52] Emily: Yeah. So good. Before we jump into the interview part. I want to know Lois if you have a fun story or a factoid for us.
[0:04:06] Lois: Okay, Since this is another episode of the sister seeker short stories. Um I’m going to just tell you guys something weird about me. There are so many things that are weird about me, but this is a fun factoid. Okay, so you know, I grew up with my parents not only doing revival meetings but also vacation bible schools like my mom and dad were like the guru of V. B. S. S. They traveled all over. They traveled um overseas to do vacation bible schools. And anyway, so I ended up of course doing vacation bible schools. You know when bobby and I went into ministry and all that jazz and something that I did for years if the kids reached a certain goal, whether they were raising money for fresh water, you know, in a foreign country or whatever, I tell them if they if they got their goal that I would say the books All 66 Books of the Bible as fast as I could.
[0:05:15] Granny Bev: Okay,
[0:05:18] Lois: but here’s the weird part. I would do it standing on my head. So I became the, I don’t know, standing on the head doing the 66 books of the Bible person.
[0:05:32] Emily: I don’t think I can stand on my head.
[0:05:35] Lois: Yeah. I’m not sure I can do it anymore.
[0:05:38] Granny Bev: I can barely stand up. Sometimes. I’m
[0:05:41] Lois: not sure I can stand on my head anymore. I mean I could try but I’ll be okay. Another short story in order when I was teaching in order for the kids to uh we did relay for life which raises money for cancer. And so we would sell the kids um basically a piece of duct tape. And while they were running that raised money they could buy a strip of duct tape for a dollar and take me to the wall.
[0:06:12] Granny Bev: Yeah.
[0:06:14] Lois: Which they did and I stayed there taped to the wall, Nothing underneath my feet. Once there got to be enough tape on the
[0:06:22] Granny Bev: so
[0:06:26] Lois: I stayed there. It was all fun and it was kind of weird but it was fun but I couldn’t get out of bed for the next two days
[0:06:35] Granny Bev: data
[0:06:37] Emily: wall. So you’re saying you with a really fun teacher?
[0:06:41] Lois: Yes I was
[0:06:45] Granny Bev: or weird or
[0:06:47] Lois: both.
[0:06:50] Emily: Okay so next my granny agreed to play or this or that game.
[0:06:56] Lois: Oh that’s awesome. I love this or that.
[0:07:00] Emily: Okay, so I’m gonna ask you the one I gave you an example for earlier. Peanut butter crunchy or
[0:07:07] Granny Bev: smooth. Oh absolutely crunchy a
[0:07:11] Emily: vacation or a staycation.
[0:07:16] Granny Bev: Staycation.
[0:07:17] Emily: Mhm uh Morning or night morning passenger or driver,
[0:07:24] Granny Bev: driver, art
[0:07:27] Emily: museum or history museum,
[0:07:29] Granny Bev: history museum
[0:07:31] Emily: train or airplane
[0:07:36] Granny Bev: train.
[0:07:38] Emily: Oh money or owe a favor.
[0:07:43] Granny Bev: Oh a favor.
[0:07:46] Emily: Be embarrassed or be afraid.
[0:07:51] Granny Bev: Mm Well be embarrassed I guess because
[0:07:59] Emily: yeah, humorist uh city or countryside,
[0:08:04] Granny Bev: countryside
[0:08:06] Emily: camping or glamping
[0:08:08] Granny Bev: glamping tools. Sleep on the ground
[0:08:13] Emily: and two more cooking or being cooked
[0:08:16] Granny Bev: for cooking
[0:08:18] Emily: and roommates or live alone,
[0:08:23] Granny Bev: live alone with my dog.
[0:08:28] Emily: Those were fun. That’s fine. I think I guessed him alright but he would say but so as we get into your story and kind of how you know our stories intersect with what you prayed for for us. I would love to start with just your testimony? Like what what brought you to jesus, what attracted you to faith and what was, what was that like for you?
[0:09:06] Granny Bev: I was raised in a Lutheran home. My father was catholic, my mother was Lutheran. So we went to the Lutheran church and for the most part it’s called Hatch match and dispatch. That’s why we went uh, when I got married we took the Children and then gradually he didn’t want, he could find a million things to do on sunday and going to church was kind of a waste of time. So we spent a lot of years not going and then we moved From Minnesota to Montana in 1973 and I would say there was six or 7 years policy. Thank you. About 1979. We joined the cowboys for christ there in wisdom Montana. And we had bible studies and church services with other friends who have become lifelong friends. And then we came down to Dylan for church on Sundays and we were very, very Faithful about it. That’s 95 miles one way and we stayed in town most times so we could do the night service anyway. Uh, then gradually as the kids got older and we moved around so much, we moved down towards lima and we start going to the congregational church there in lima and the kids were growing up and going to bibles uh bible camp which was just across from our house actually okay in Red rock. So I have a very good friend whose husband was pastor in lima and they had moved from Minnesota to hear de lima and Susie never left me. She was there all the time, never giving her opinions when I got out on the end of my string, she’d always welcome me and we could talk about the Lord and I never felt like there was one moment, it was a growing thing. I was Probably is 30 something. But I just felt like I was the slowest grower in the world. And I still sometimes feel that way. But I have a lot of friends last year. Just for a simple little example, I was going to three bible studies week, monday Tuesday and Wednesday. Someone said, well you really must be righteous, you must be holy. I said no, but I learned a little something in each one. Mhm. So I had the time. I just did. And I, I gleaned just a little bit right. And it was a lot of fun. Um, to see how others we’re blooming. Um some of these people are a whole lot older than I mm And so and some were very Already very strong in the Lord Zuko was and she’s passed away in January. She was 80. Okay. But she has been that way forever. But susie as my, my friend in lima. Just never, ever gave up on me and I did a lot of things after my divorce. That probably are not very good. I mean I, I joined the wild crowd, but in the interim, your mom and dad got married and introduced me to a particular church here in Dillon and I had some bad vibes about it. But I went, when I came to visit, I went with them if they asked me to and even my friend Susie said there’s something wrong. So I just decided that I should pray about that. Read about it all the while you were growing up and when you got married and when your sister got married there and I was always every day, just a little word Lord, I know you’re handling it, but you know, don’t you need my help. You know, I could wait right in there. I have a nice sort of the spirit. Yes, because I’m a fixer. So I decided not to fix, I decided to pray and I don’t know it was a while back, you and I were just chatting and I said to you, I said, you do realize that I have been praying for you to be relieved of a situation. Right? So um, prayer is important. And I’ve heard many people say prayer is um, uh, it works. Prayer works. I’ve heard that prayer works well in a sense. Yes, fireworks, but it sounds so cold. You know you say it that way. Um, but prayer is a communication between you and the Lord a personal thing and uh, I don’t know why I told you that, but I did. I just said, hey Emily, I’ve been praying for you for a long time because you needed released from that situation. You are, we are of strong women here right on down through my paternal grandfather, her grandmother, I’m sorry. My grandmother always called her the family walnut because she was wrinkled in hard to crack. But I know you haven’t ella, like all the family walnut probably not to her face. It was very wrinkled. And uh, so when when texting your mom and the sisters, her sisters Every morning and then I text my sister, my sister was born way late in life. She was 15 years younger than me. So I text all five of them, my sister and your mom and the rest of them. So I just always felt that we were strong. We’re strong women. And
[0:16:55] Lois: so granny beth can I ask you a question about them? So being a strong woman and you mentioned earlier that you just got some bad vibes which I’m tickled and I love the fact that you were used the word vibes, but you got some bad vibes when you came to visit with them and to attend their, their former church. So I would like to hear your point of view. Like when you went into a service, when you went into the church building, you know, just from your point of view, what, what did it feel like, what it looked like? What, what brought you to that point where like this just doesn’t feel right. Was there anything in particular?
[0:17:49] Granny Bev: Oh yes, his messages, we’re definitely, I almost felt like they were military and I always felt that I was yelled out enough before my divorce, I didn’t need to be yelled at anymore and I always felt like he was yelling at me and judging and ranting kind of, but I went out of respect for hiding and her family because they asked me to mm and it was just something that they wanted. So I went, but I did it a little on the grudging side. I can honestly say I could maneuver my visits away from sunday, wow, wow. And my other daughter in, in butte here in Montana, she, she attends a different church and so I could wiggling around so that I could visit with her that day.
[0:18:59] Lois: So when you saw the, when you saw Emily and you started praying, what did the lord put on your heart about? What brought you to that point of, of wanting to, to pray pray for her about this situation.
[0:19:17] Granny Bev: She was a little girl. She wasn’t even married, wow, I prayed for Heidi and rick and the family because I did not, I didn’t know if I was right in my disagreement with it with him as a pastor. I mean I had some really deep vibes that I I just mhm I just I don’t know how to explain that one, but I just was not comfortable there and you always there was a I don’t know if there was an evil spirit, but there was a spirit of discontent. Mm but anyway, that’s I just I knew I couldn’t talk to Heidi or rick, I couldn’t talk to them and talk him out of attending and so I kept my piece but I really felt that I would just pray for it for the situation to change and then you got married, had Children got involved. Well you were involved in the church before.
[0:20:36] Emily: Yeah,
[0:20:37] Granny Bev: absolutely, but you felt that you were doing right and then it was right for you to raise your Children there. So I just did what grannies do. Mhm I petitioned the Lord for freedom and for you guys to have your eyes open your and I started with your mom, I wanted her two, see what I thought I could see, you know, I don’t know if I was right, but I didn’t like the feelings that I got when I went and I did go with a grudging spirit, trust me almost had to drag me remember
[0:21:25] Emily: thinking like honestly, like what’s wrong, what’s wrong with granny, like she can’t come to church with us and feeling almost because we were taught such a separatist kind of elitist mentality like we were better than you and was granny even a christian because she couldn’t come to, you know church do it like right? Yeah, you didn’t have maybe even back to your testimony, you didn’t have that moment and if you didn’t have that, you know, and so not really thinking you were a christian even growing up in that and then it was just such an amazing moment when we were chatting about it, um when we did leave and we were talking about it and somehow it came up and you said those words to me and it made me made me tear up when you said that you had been praying that our eyes would be open because like, like you’ve read the article I wrote about it, but just uh because I’ve said so many times since we left, why did we get to get out, why can we see it? Why are some other people still stuff, why can’t they see it? And when you said I’ve been praying that your eyes will be open and just I kind of made me lose it emotionally, like, oh that’s why because granny has been praying that our eyes will be open,
[0:22:53] Granny Bev: which is amazing.
[0:22:54] Lois: Yeah, yeah. And you know those vibes, those vibes, I have absolutely no doubt that was the holy spirit prompting you to continue to pray for your granddaughter because Emily and I would have never met, you know, honestly we would have never met the three of us would not be sitting down together today. Um if if you had not followed the promptings of the holy spirit to pray for the freedom and for her eyes to be opened. And I remember the first time that Emily told me that, I can’t remember when you two talked, but you and I already knew each other when you shared that with me.
[0:23:34] Emily: I think we talked in december. You and I were, it was honey. It’s like sometime.
[0:23:39] Granny Bev: Yeah. Old memory. Yeah,
[0:23:42] Lois: but that’s just awesome because I remember um granny bev how emotional Emily was when she shared that with me. That I found out, you know that my, that my granny has been praying for us two see the light into come away from this situation and I just answered prayers right there. It’s just amazing.
[0:24:10] Granny Bev: Well, and you aren’t the only one. I’m sorry, I know you have sisters.
[0:24:14] Emily: And what’s incredible is we all got out.
[0:24:18] Granny Bev: Yes. Yes,
[0:24:19] Emily: it’s not. Sometimes families leave very, very fractured from hi control high, highly controlled religious environments. Like this family is very fractured sometimes.
[0:24:33] Granny Bev: It was for a while because your mom dad got out first and then I really stepped it up And specifically asked for you and bill and the Children, you know how many Children? You had 1? 3?
[0:24:50] Emily: Yeah, it was. We already had all four. We only physically left a year ago.
[0:24:55] Granny Bev: Is it a
[0:24:58] Lois: year ago? Next month?
[0:25:00] Granny Bev: Oh wow,
[0:25:01] Emily: isn’t that crazy. You know, we were kind of on our journey out for a few years because because it’s been three years since all of the ish started happening or it was exposed,
[0:25:13] Granny Bev: How long is, how old is johnson
[0:25:15] Emily: Justin’s to?
[0:25:16] Granny Bev: Okay. It’s been two years since he left? Three years. It is three mm hmm. Okay. But your mother and I gently discussed it on the way to the baby shower for Rebecca. So yeah, three years. Yeah, yeah. And then Rebecca went to the hospital and I had to rely, Yeah, he was due next month. But
[0:25:45] Emily: yeah, yeah. So
[0:25:49] Granny Bev: anyway, uh, I have some very strong friends in Wyoming, I’m there. Well, I went there to help out my other, my youngest daughter and I formed some really, really good friends in and out of churches. Um, and I go where I stand because my friend is catholic and she refuses to go, but she’ll go with me, which is a congregational church. Everybody says, well, why do you still go there? He’s, he’s not very happy. I said he’s 80 years old, who cares? And I said that’s where she will go and I’ll go there too, right? Because we give each other riots. Her health is very bad. So if she’ll go there, I’ll go there.
[0:26:55] Lois: So granny bev you mentioned earlier that you were attending three different bible studies a week and you would glean a little bit from each one of those. Yes, I would just love to hear a little bit about maybe what God has revealed of his own character to you with um everything that you’ve been through in your life. You know what is God revealed about himself to you as you’ve studied his word and spent time in prayer. What would you say stood out to you the most
[0:27:35] Granny Bev: that he’s loving and truly forgiving. But it um for giving can be, you can forgive someone and then you can say that you can feel that you know people are emotional but it takes a long time for it to show any fruit. Mhm. It does. And some people want instant forgiveness. The Lord is the only one I know they can do that. That’s a great point and I’m not. So I’m having some issues with people that well I’m saved and I’m forgiven so why can’t? So and so forgive me then. We did one of our bible studies on Tuesdays was on rejection. Very good little book. I mean it’s not very big and it was geared more towards young people but it was an eye opener. Even for some of us older ones. It was, yeah, rejection and things that happened. Two other ladies that attended. I mean there was seven or 8 and I live in a community of oh five, people maybe mm small town while I live in two towns marbles when they’re 100 miles there a mile apart and there’s 250 in each people in each town wow, roughly. I live in the oil fields and it’s a boomer bust and right now he’s busted so there is no employment so people have moved on. Yeah, I am not, it’s well I don’t know, I like small down but I just small groups, you know, um, I have one particular friend there that I bring her a lot of my questions, a lot of my, you know, issues like, hey what do you think about the book rejection? Uh, I know I’ve had issues with rejection. Yeah. But um, there’s so many other people out there there. I mean there’s you think you’ve got problems really? I think oh my goodness I’ve got problems and then you hear about someone else’s problems. You’re going, I have no problems, I’m just a complainer. How dare I complain? You know, just be grateful. I have a friend over and Sheridan Wyoming, she is my age, That lady has cancer again for the 6th child. My goodness. They told her two years ago she’s on her second year that you will die within two years. Mm. Text that woman every single day and we met at my son in law’s bedside after he got hit by a car mm wow judy lens is bobby’s other mother, his mother has passed away okay. And she had taken him under her wing. Uh, so to me that lady is an inspiration and she prays for me all the time. If I tell her I’m going anywhere. She goes I’ll cover you. Uh I’ll break through you for your safety. She said it’s dangerous out there to be driving. I said well I can’t get to and fro without driving. So you know. Yeah the horse and carts too slow. It wasn’t hard to feed the horse. Oh yeah
[0:31:44] Emily: I hadn’t heard that story.
[0:31:45] Granny Bev: I connected with her judy. Yes and I don’t have problems. I had a little bit of a health problem here in March. Yeah I’m good. And her blood count got wait. Oh poor woman. She went and she cut her hand from one of the radiation treatments. She can’t she can’t eat a lot. She doesn’t weigh 100 lb. But she She eats her salad at 3:00. She eats her main course probably a piece of meat and maybe a vegetable. But I mean it’s not a large portion but she has to keep so many hours between eating because of the radiation problems on their throat, wow I got to be tough. Oh yeah she’s had some really she had brain cancer. She had serious radiation, she lost sight in one eye in the hearing and I have no problems. I just like to think sometimes you know things are bad. Oh no they’re not. So she’s an inspiration to me and she’s she’s well we got together over bob. You know he was in the hospital and then her and I quilt and that was you know, something we had in common. So we talked a lot about building and then over time she said why, you know when you visit me, I’ve never told anybody those things. I said miss judy it’s okay. I listen if you, if you want to unburden yourself, she’s oh I’ve led the simple life. Yeah really have right? I was very fortunate but she has four Children, two of them speak to her and two of them don’t, that would be hard. That would be so hard. I keep them home and spend oh in Tennessee and she’s here, you know, it’s rob but she just goes on, she just depends on the large, he says I pray for them all. So why wouldn’t I want to pray for him? All mine, you know, very inspiring lady
[0:34:32] Lois: Emily while you’ve got your granny bev right next to you, I would like to know um when you found out that she had been praying for you and you’re the entire family this entire time, when you think back about all those thoughts that you had while you were growing up in that church and she would, you know, schedule her trips around believing um was that difficult for you to to reprocess all of that when you heard that literally all this time that you had one perspective she’d been praying for freedom,
[0:35:19] Emily: right for
[0:35:21] Lois: you
[0:35:21] Emily: mm I think there is a little bit of guilt that you know you don’t want to sit in but but that’s that comes up and you go oh I feel so guilty for having that perception towards towards my granny and um even towards other people who might be on the outside of that church you know it does bring up those oh man I was such a pharisee, I really didn’t think I was better than everybody and here I had people praying for me too, you know have my eyes open so yeah I think there’s a little bit of guilt there they can come up but um see what were some of the other feelings hm yeah I think that that’s the first thing that came to mind but then
[0:36:10] Lois: sorry go ahead
[0:36:12] Emily: yeah but then also just thankfulness to because uh God is so faithful and patient and he he is going before us and working in ways that we we don’t know and I think that has been an encouragement to me thinking about prayer and how she she prayed for us so faithfully without really any any promise she didn’t see the fruit of that for No for close to 30,
[0:36:43] Granny Bev: 20 some yeah um 20 you were 20 mhm and then when you had Olivia
[0:36:54] Emily: 24 20
[0:36:57] Granny Bev: four well yeah I was still praying for you until after you that definitely I guess yeah
[0:37:03] Lois: so it’s just amazing
[0:37:05] Granny Bev: 28 years, 29 so
[0:37:07] Emily: it’s super inspiring because God is doing God is working and answering her prayers in our lives. Uh huh. It’s just incredible,
[0:37:18] Lois: even though she did want to show up at your church with a sword in her
[0:37:22] Granny Bev: hand, a woman, God I help my nature, I thought that’s long, a little, That’s awesome.
[0:37:34] Lois: You know, I you and I have talked about this before Emily, uh and Maya Angelo said you know, we we do what we know until we know better and when we know better, we do better. So you know, I’m thankful for um a God who lets us for just a little bit sit in that um lamenting or that sorrow, which I think is healthy, but then he just comes right in with his grace and mercy and a reminder that he’s been faithful, he’s been working this entire time, so let’s not stay in that. But um you
[0:38:22] Emily: know, I have one question for you lois I’d love to know, is there someone in your life that you know that you can look back on and go, they were praying for me, maybe not specifically to get out of um oppressive legalism.
[0:38:39] Lois: Mhm. Actually for a while my dad was praying for us to leave the church body that we were in and come back to the oppressive legalistic oh no fundamentalist church that we were in but um that didn’t last a really long time but um I there are a few people, but over the years that I’ve known that bobby Orr I either one could go to or I could go to, I’ve had spiritual mentors in my, my life with some beautiful women and just be able to say, will you play, will you pray about this? And then they have, and then there have been times where I forgot that I even asked them to pray about it, you know, and then a year or so later, I, you know, hey, I’ve been praying for you every Tuesday morning, tell me how this is going, you know? And yeah, that’s always just a beautiful thing to hear that, that somebody is praying for you. I think we can get desensitized to it and maybe I’m projecting a little bit, but when you grow up in a preacher’s as a preacher’s kid, as a grand preacher’s kid, you know? Um, and all and would people say they’re praying for you? I think in the, in Christianity we can get a little bit of a bit desensitized to it, just like we can just say, well, I’ll be praying for you. But then the Lord comes along and reminds us that there are people who are, when they say I am praying for you, it’s intentional and you know that and your heart is softened and you’re reminded of God’s faithfulness. So yeah, yeah, so I have a question for you, granny bev
[0:40:36] Granny Bev: yes, um,
[0:40:39] Lois: we have, you know, a lot of young girls that are still in very legalistic situations. Very um, mm hmm. And I’m not talking about um bucking their parents mhm. But we have a lot of, a lot of young ladies that need to be encouraged by um the generations that have already walked some of those paths. So that’s it. What would you just briefly share to these younger girls, young moms, young, single women, single moms, those that don’t have Children that the whole gamut of young women
[0:41:38] Granny Bev: and there’s another point there that after praying, we also forget to thank God, mm hmm. You know, I mean we, we forget to be joyful in the Lord and and thank him for the things that he’s been accomplishing all the while. We’ve been out here thinking, yep, you’re not moving very fast, you know? Yes. So anyway, I don’t know. I hope that answered some of your question.
[0:42:13] Lois: That’s good, That’s good. Thank you.
[0:42:15] Granny Bev: I get off, you know, on rabbit trails we all do. But the girls that I was talking about our twins and one is about to be a Mama And the other one has 2 girls. Mhm And very strong minded. She is going to be a professor sooner or later she’s working on it and she’s had some religious church going in her life, but it, you know, well we can’t choose a church over here because oh, you know, it’s just so much And I said yeah, but what are you going to lean on when you need it? What do you lean on? You don’t just call me different little situations happen and sometimes she’s miffed at me but she’ll she’ll come around. Mhm. Yeah,
[0:43:28] Emily: well thank you for coming on and sharing your testimony and just encouraging us to pray because that’s what really stood out to me when you share that with me. Just um you know, my other grandma on my dad’s side, she she says I’ll pray for you every day and those things
[0:43:52] Granny Bev: Claudia, claudia
[0:43:54] Emily: Yeah, I talked to her, she doesn’t talk too
[0:43:57] Granny Bev: much of the rest of the family. It’s
[0:43:58] Emily: okay. I talked to her. Yeah. And she and just that is such a testimony and a blessing that I hope people see that the little prayers that they’re praying that they wonder it’s got when it’s gonna get to answer this, does this matter? You know, can I do anything else that they just stay faithful in prayer because God is going before them and answering and working things out when you can’t see it.
[0:44:28] Granny Bev: Yeah. And you know, it’s it’s may be strange to some, but I really believe that I get one word a year, every time I turned the calendar to january, there’s a word somewhere, Not on the page, but somewhere the Lord will give me one word a year, a long time. It was encouragement. one time it was um oh different things. So I cover my grandchildren with those? Amen. I don’t know why but maybe it’s just to make me feel good. I don’t know. I didn’t know you did a word of the year. Yeah, I didn’t know that. Yeah. You know what it is this year. Love. That’s
[0:45:26] Lois: A good one. We’ve talked about that a lot lately
[0:45:29] Granny Bev: on the podcast.
[0:45:30] Lois: Yeah
[0:45:32] Granny Bev: but or or patients know that that’s a very strong word. Yeah, I don’t really want to go there. But um that was one year and there’s been encouragement and there’s been mercy and there’s been great. I think Grace was a couple of years ago. We only a year ago that was really Grace Grace Grace. And I don’t know why it comes in january but it’s a fresh start for me. Yeah and I don’t know maybe maybe that’s strange to people I don’t know.
[0:46:14] Lois: No I think a lot of people just feel like the Lord has given them a word for that year and has impressed upon him and oppressed, impressed upon them to just really dig into that and what he has for them throughout the year. So I don’t think it’s odd at all. I think it’s a beautiful thing.
[0:46:35] Granny Bev: Well now I have people that come up to me and go and what’s the word? Mhm. You know there’s a couple of ladies that I’ve been doing bible studies with and they’re going well what’s your what’s your word this year like oh okay
[0:46:52] Emily: I’m gonna text you, maybe I’ll give you january but in february I’m gonna I’m gonna call you and ask you what’s your word?
[0:46:59] Granny Bev: Well okay like I said you have a better memory than I do. Uh huh but it’s I I often question how do people get through life without knowing the Lord? Mm
[0:47:22] Lois: I think for maybe to you to close us in prayer today. So we talked about prayer so Emily I think you should
[0:47:30] Emily: you know you want
[0:47:32] Lois: I’m
[0:47:33] Emily: looking at you Okay dear heavenly father, thank you for this really sweet time to just sit down with my granny and I’ll learn another nugget that Grace was her word within the last couple of years. God that is so incredible that she was praying that over us because Grace is so sweet to me now where I didn’t understand it before um thank you for going before me and thank you for going before all of us and our prayers. Can I ask the that the listeners here would be surrounded by you, your presence that they would know you and know your love, help them to know your voice and your leading as it can be. It can be conflicting to learn how to listen to your voice and your guiding as you’re coming out of a religion that maybe tells you what you should believe and how you should act, learning to follow your spirit is um sometimes feels like a big task. So I asked that your voice would be so clear in people’s lives and that you would continue to direct them. Yeah. And we ask these things in jesus name, Amen
[0:48:54] Lois: Amen Amen.
[0:48:59] Emily: Thanks for being here.
[0:49:00] Granny Bev: You’re welcome. It’s been great. Yeah. You know my, one of my mantra is of the day is the full armor of God. I didn’t know that. Yeah, that’s within the last year or so. The helmet of salvation, Salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the sort of the spirit, the shoes of peace,
[0:49:32] Emily: the shield of faith,
[0:49:33] Granny Bev: the shield of faith. Yes, but it’s been fun and it’s when I have nothing else to say, which isn’t very often I just read that There you go. I also believe in conversational prayer. Um yeah, go around all day. Are you neither thanking God because it helps me be focused. Sure, okay. Not to be, you know, I don’t want to be so righteous that I’m no good per se. I just, I just want to keep that communication going because I don’t feel like I want him to let me go and it’s really weird because he’s personal to all of his Children, but I don’t know. So what if I’m talking to God, not for myself, so rushed me off to the booby hatch. Hey, I don’t know, maybe I’d be good. There we go. No,
[0:50:49] Emily: well, thank you Lewis for letting me have this conversation. It’s been fun.
[0:50:55] Lois: Yeah. Yeah, I’m so glad that it worked out and um glad to spend this time with you guys and to to meet you granny bev.
[0:51:05] Granny Bev: Thank you.