Joyce Meyer - The Value Of A Woman
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Ginger Stache: Hi, friends. This is Joyce Meyer's Talk It Out podcast, where Joyce teaches the Word of God in her practical, no-nonsense way, and my friends and I talk about the real stuff of living it. And believe me, we hold nothing back. I'm Ginger Stache with my friends Erin Cluley and Jai, three women who are all in very different stages of life, but we understand the importance of having honest, loving friends around you. And sometimes, when we need a little extra help, we call up ms Joyce and she tackles the toughest questions because sometimes, you just need to talk about life with your girlfriends. So, consider yourselves one of us now, and let's Talk It Out together.
Jai Williams: Let's Talk It Out.
Ladies: Hi, hello!
Ginger Stache: You're both looking lovely today.
Jai Williams: Yeah, can we talk about like, our new doos?
Erin Cluley: Yeah, Jai and I have some swoopy hairs going on.
Ginger Stache: You're both looking wonderful with your new doos.
Jai Williams: And you look wonderful, too.
Ginger Stache: Well, I don't have anything new.
Jai Williams: You don't have a new doo, but you got a new you!
Ginger Stache: Sometimes, I have a don't.
Erin Cluley: I had that yesterday. When you get your haircut, you gotta figure out how to do it. And sometimes, it doesn't work so great. So, in meetings I saw myself on zoom and I had like, a light bulb. It was really rounded here and then straight down.
Jai Williams: Uh-oh. So that's a don't. But it looks really good today.
Ginger Stache: I think it's looking great. And the bangs, the swoop.
Jai Williams: My bang. My ba-ang.
Ginger Stache: Very nice.
Jai Williams: Yes, I've added some hair to my head, and we'll see how long it lasts.
Erin Cluley: I love it when you add hair.
Jai Williams: I add and take away, you know, blessed be the name of the Lord.
Ginger Stache: Well, I was just talking about how I'm going to do this entire episode like I'm wearing mittens. Because my nails look really bad. So, pay no attention.
Jai Williams: Rawrr.
Ginger Stache: Pay no attention to the puppy paws.
Erin Cluley: This is totally normal, everything is fine.
Ginger Stache: Yes, this is how everybody does it. Ooh, well, today we're talking about something that is so near to all of our hearts, and I'm so glad that you're here to share with this too because it is, I think, one of the most important things we can talk about. And that is where we find our value in Christ, and do we really understand it? You know, do we understand how valuable we are? And what it does for us when we really get that. So, let me just start by asking both of you, have there been times, what have been some of the struggles that you guys have had in understanding your own value?
Erin Cluley: Just a funny story. Actually, it wasn't funny in the moment, I was really mad about it. But it happened to you too. I went car shopping. This was years ago, and I still remember it vividly. Mike and I went to go look for cars and the salesman would not look at me. And so, it was like a personal goal of mine to get him to talk to me. I'm kinda like that in general, like if someone doesn't like me, it's like a goal. But anyways, he wouldn't look at me, he wouldn't talk to me, and I was the one who'd tell Mike, "Nah, I don't like this one. Let's go". So, he wasn't making smart choices, but he would tell everything to my husband.
Ginger Stache: Oh, that's so annoying.
Erin Cluley: And he was rude to me. And he called me, "Stupid," at one point, like jokingly.
Jai Williams: Wait a minute! What car dealership is this. We don't play that. Take my earrings off, where's he at?
Erin Cluley: Fight about it. But I felt so devalued. And like it's a silly example, like it was no big deal. But still, like I know that's a small thing to me, and the stories you've told about what you've seen around the world: it just was a glimpse of that, so.
Ginger Stache: I know what you mean. I've had that, too. I would guess that you handled it much better than I did. You probably were sharing the love of Christ for him to, you know, see the error of his ways. And I just wanted to tell him that he was an idiot.
Erin Cluley: Did you?
Ginger Stache: I did not say those words. I did not say those words. But anyway, yeah, it's just kind of soul-crushing...
Erin Cluley: Yeah!
Ginger Stache: When it's like you're not even in a room just because you're a woman. And I've had it happen, of course, at car dealerships. You know, I remember one insurance person, in particular, and after a while he's talking and I'm just like "Hello"?
Erin Cluley: "Do you see me"? Yes!
Ginger Stache: Ooh, but, anyway, I think we've all probably experienced things like that.
Jai Williams: Yeah, well, I mean, for me, I've talked about this several times before of how like, how I was raised and you know, just the importance of the foundation in the word. My dad was a pastor, and my mom was a teacher, but they instilled in us the value of biblical foundation but also education, because they weren't afforded a lot of those luxuries growing up. Like, they still, in st. Louis, when they were growing up, there was still seGregation, like they still had like, they had a lot of challenges that they had to face. And so, for my father to get us out of the inner city and into the county was a big deal. And then he worked super hard as a maintenance man to put us in private school. So, I valued, I valued education to a higher stand, I didn't realize that, that was a part of my identity, you know? But I valued education. And so, even when I went further to get my college degrees and things like that, I remember having one, some of my first experiences in the workplace, you know, being overlooked or being, you know, like, you know all about the racial stuff that's going on, but like, I remember feeling that a lot. And so, my value, I didn't real,like I said, I didn't realize it was in my education and in my knowledge. But that feeling of always having to fight, or always having to prove myself, and that could be self-inflicted. That could have been self-inflicted, but I remember feeling that multiple times. Like when we,when I was thinking about this and studying this, it was like, I can't just pinpoint just one instance because it happened, and happens to me, it feels like, a lot, whether it be in the workplace, or in ministry, or whatever, like, and so, it tackles my self-esteem, my value, my worth, and I really have to do some soul-searching with that because it definitely, to feel like I wasn't worthy of a position or you know, just because of certain things.
Ginger Stache: I love that you're bringing this up because this is something that impacts everybody on different levels. In other words, you face so many things as a person of color. You face so many things as a woman. We have some men who love to tag along and Talk It Out with us on the podcast, too, and I'm sure that, that they have felt devalued, in different ways, as well. And so, what you're talking about Jai with finding: was it education, was it the right job, you know, we've all been there, where we try to find that thing that gives us value. And so, what we need to really figure out today is what is it? What is the one thing that really works and does it for us. Because like you were saying, like I've tried, nothing else gets it. The other things, they're good for us, they help us, but they're not going to make a foundation of real worth and value. And our friend Nancy Alcorn is going to be with us today. Nancy is the founder and the president of mercy multiplied. And it is a ministry that has been helping young women deal with these issues in major ways for decades. And I'm so grateful for what they do, and I just love Nancy. And she sees, firsthand, the impact that not understanding your value in Christ really has and helps many people overcome that. So, she'll be joining us here, in a little bit. So, we're really looking forward to that.
Erin Cluley: I'm so excited, love her.
Ginger Stache: Well, I would love to just start out with talking about the fact that if you've ever felt undervalued as a woman, you're not alone. And I think that's one thing that we often think. Is that, "It's just me," you know, "Why am I dealing with this? I see those other people and they seem to be fine," and it isn't true. It's not that way at all. So, we're gonna start with what the Word of God says, and what Joyce is teaching about where our value comes from. Let's take a listen, and then we'll talk about it.
Joyce Meyer: You are valuable, not because you look a certain way or don't look a certain way, not because you have some kind of a title that goes along with your job or because you do whatever you would think would be the lowliest job on earth. Your value is not tied up in any of that stuff. The apostle Paul talks very openly in Philippians chapter 3 and he said, "Look, if anybody had a reason to rely on the flesh, I had one greater than all of you". He said, "I was highly educated, not just a pharisee, but a pharisee of the pharisees. I was in the right group. I had money. I had influence. I knew all the right people". And yet Paul said, "I would get rid of all of it and I consider it all trash and rubbish compared to the priceless privilege of knowing him and being found and known as in him". I'm gonna tell you why you're worth something and worth just as much as anybody else on the planet because God loves you and because he sent his only son to die for you. And if, if you would have been the only person on the earth, he would have still done the same thing. I said if you would have been the only person on the earth,and that just makes my mind go tilt, tilt, tilt, tilt. No, well, yeah, I mean God loves everybody, we can accept that. But God loves you on your worst day just as much as on your best day. You know why? Because love is not something that God is even able to turn on and off like we do. You see, love is not even really something God does. It's who he is. God is love. And I believe it's the love of God that rescues us. It's the love of God that heals the brokenhearted.
Ginger Stache: So, what she was saying about, love is not something that God can take away from us because it's who he is, and that is what gives us our value: I think that's something really interesting to talk about. 'cause when she was sharing that scripture where Paul was talking about, "If anyone should boast it's me," you know," I'm all of these things. I'm,i follow all the law," you know, all these different things that Paul was saying really mattered but then he learned through experience that they really did not matter so much, that we are all loved by God, and that's what makes a difference. And Jai, it just makes me kinda think about what you were talking about.
Jai Williams: Yeah.
Ginger Stache: That striving through education, whatever it may be, to lift ourselves up. Of course, we want to better our lives, but it's not where our intrinsic value comes from.
Jai Williams: Yeah, it was definitely unhealthy the way I was striving for it. And then it trickled over into the workplace because when you have those difficulties and you finally make it into, "The door," or you know, "A window," or a ceiling was cracked, you know, then you just wanna be like, "Okay, I can keep goin'"! And so, then I was striving, and striving, and striving for more and I still wasn't the getting the respect that like, that i, and I would find out,which is probably like, against like, hr rules and things like that, that certain positions I would have, I wasn't getting paid the same amount as the people that had it before me. And so, that then, was like, "Wait a minute". Like, that even, made me wanna fight more, you know? So, that really stuck out to me in what,the clip that Joyce had was just like, I then, had to say, what would, like again, what is that balance of speaking up for myself and knowing my value, knowing my worth, and saying, "Hey, like, we need to talk about this pay value". And then, but also then saying, "But my worth, at the end of the day, is found in Christ alone. Like,and I am known by him. I am loved by him". And that's what brought up this scripture. I said,Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you were born, I consecrated you. I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations". So like, then that, that's one of those scriptures that stuck with me, like, "God knows me, he approves of me, and he has a plan for me". So, at the end of the day, before I go to bed, I just rest in that, you know?
Ginger Stache: Well, let's ask Nancy Alcorn to join us now because I think not only are our friends going to love Nancy, but you're gonna learn a lot from her. So, Nancy Alcorn is with us. Nancy is not only such a capable woman who has been helping women and girls for so many years, but she's also just a sweetheart, and I love her to pieces. So, Nancy, thank you very much for talking it out with us.
Nancy Alcorn: Thank you for having me. I love being with you guys. And I love Ginger because we're both a little bit mischievous and like to have a lot of fun.
Erin Cluley: This is trouble.
Jai Williams: This is good. Sounds like some stories.
Ginger Stache: Ooh, I love Nancy so much, so much. Well, Nancy as we're talking about this, you're in the position through mercy multiplied, where young women are coming to you with devastating needs, whether it's eating disorders, or self-harm, or substance abuse, or even human trafficking: where a lot of things have come from a seed of not understanding their value. What do you see in young women who can't believe how valuable they are?
Nancy Alcorn: Well, you know when you've been in situations where you have been abused a lot, like you know, we all know Joyce's story, how she's helped people all around the world with her personal story, when you've been in situations where you have been so devalued even by people that should have loved you and been there for you, and yet, the abuse, the devaluation, all those things: it makes you feel awful about yourself. It makes you feel like, "Why was I even born? Does God even love me? Does anybody love me? Is there any reason," you know? And Joyce, I think, mentioned in her teaching about a very familiar scripture. We all probably memorized it if we did go to church when we were little kids. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. So that whosoever believes in him would not perish, but have everlasting life". And it's hard for us to understand that kind of love, especially when we've been mistreated and devalued like a lot of girls we work with. So now, I've never shared John 3:16 without sharing John 3:17 because the girls that walk through the doors of mercy do feel condemned. They even condemn them self because of the bad choices they've made. So, the John 3:17 says, "For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved". So, we teach these girls to put their name, instead of "The world" put your name in that spot, and know that God is not condemning you, he does not want you to condemn yourself. And to help them understand John 10:10: "The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus said, 'i have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly'". So, if you're out there and you've been mistreated, used, abused, trafficked, you know, whatever may have happened to you in your past, it's very important for all of us to understand that if it's on the side of kill, steal, and destroy that it did not come from God. It came from the enemy who wanted to destroy you. But Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. So, he shed his blood on the cross and bore the penalty of our pain. As Joyce said, his heart was broken so that ours could be healed. So, getting a personal revelation that God is not the author of our pain, that Satan is the one that came to kill, steal, and destroy, and Jesus paid the ultimate price so that we could be forgiven, and we could I have full revelation of our value and his love for us.
Jai Williams: So good.
Erin Cluley: Gosh! Nancy, I've heard you speak a few times and every time I've heard you like, and a few times have been for mercy events, and you're sharing about these amazing stories of these girls, and every time God speaks through you to me, and I leave feeling like, "He loves me too". And I haven't experienced half of what some of these girls go through, but he loves them so much, and he loves me so much, and I just,i love hearing you talk about that 'cuz God wants to change them and love them so much.
Nancy Alcorn: That's right, Erin. That's so true. And you know, for a girl who believes that, you know, a lot of people say, "Well, if God loved me, then why did he let this happen to me"? And that's a valid question. But how is anyone of us ever going to be able to surrender our lives to Christ and fully trust him, if we questioned his character, if we believed that he is the one that caused the pain. So, getting that lie replaced with the truth of God's word, and the fact that Jesus came and paid the price to redeem us from all the destruction of the enemy, and to be able to replace lies with God's truth: it's just so powerful, and life-changing, and transformative.
Ginger Stache: I wanna just jump in and ask you to say that again because it's so huge that, those things that we often have believed as truth if we can start to see those things as lies and replace them with the truth that God loved us so much that he gave us a way, that he sacrificed, you know? It's a big word, but he essentially, sent his own son to pay for us. And so, all those things are very Christian words, but they're so real and applicable to our lives. So, tell me that again because there are so many of our friends watching, right now, who need to trade out some of those lies that are just stuck in their soul, for the truth of how much God loves them and what he did for them.
Nancy Alcorn: I would say to everyone watching, you will never walk in the full freedom that Christ died for us to have,he shed his own blood so that we could be free, fully free to receive his unconditional love, unconditional love. Doesn't matter what we did yesterday, today, or even tomorrow, we are fully forgiven. And it is important for us to know and understand that if we believe that the things that were awful that happened to us, such as abuse, or like what Joyce went through, things like that: if we believe that, that was God doing that to us then we will never surrender our lives to him because there's no reason to trust him. We will continually question his character. But what I would say to you is in Psalm 119, it's the longest chapter in the Bible but it's full of some great, great truths, and it may be one of the shortest verses in the Bible, I think, besides, "Jesus wept". But it says, in Psalm 119, one of the verses says, "God is good. And God does good". And also, in James chapter 1, it says that, "Every good and perfect gift comes from God". Well, is getting abused, getting trafficked, getting stuck in addiction, or any generational patterns that may have negative in your family that have been passed down, are any of those things good and perfect gifts? Absolutely not. So, give yourself a break. Know that God loves you, Christ died so that you could walk in full freedom. And I put it like this, if let's say, Ginger, you have a house payment, or let's say, I have a house payment. And Ginger decides to be all generous like she is, and she goes to the,finds out where my bank account is, where my house note is, she goes to the bank, she pays the full price for my house note so that,and she lets me know, "Hey, here's the title deed. You are free. You will never have to pay for your house note again". How silly would it be if I keep going to the bank every month trying to pay for something that has already been paid for?
Ginger Stache: Yeah, that's good.
Jai Williams: That's so awesome.
Nancy Alcorn: And that's what we do to God and we need to stop it.
Jai Williams: Isn't it cool just to, like you just set me on fire over here! "We need to stop it". But you know, I think it's really amazing how, you'd said it a little bit earlier, how simple it is to click the switch in your brain to choose that, it's not, "Why did God let this happen"? Like, that is hard. Like, that's big because I get that question a lot.
Ginger Stache: I've asked that question.
Jai Williams: Literally, this past season of my life with certain things that have happened, I've literally like, "Well, God, why did you let,i felt like you let this". But it is literally, a choice to say, "You know what? I'm choosing to believe that God loves me. God is good. And God does good". Like that is who he is, that is his character, and it's a choice that, so, anybody watching, like you have the authority, through Jesus Christ, to know that you can just make that choice and say, "I choose not to let the enemy keep telling me," you know, "That God let this. That God let this. I can choose today and say, 'no, God is good. God loves me, and he bought me with the greatest price'". I think of that commercial that was like, "How much is this? This price. How much is this? This price. How much is this"? And then you get to this certain part and it says, "Priceless". Like, I like to think of myself having, like a price tag on me, like at a store and says like, "Priceless," you know? Or like, he sent his only son to pay for me. So, we do have a lot of value. I'm just encouraged by hearing how you share about it, Nancy.
Ginger Stache: And we're not getting anywhere by holding on to that, you know? If we can at least do a little experiment, you know? Give God the opportunity to show his love to us, he will pour it out. He will pour it out and he will change our hearts. And Nancy, you see that. What is the difference that you see in these young women when they begin to understand the value that they have.
Nancy Alcorn: Oh, man, it's unbelievable because they come in the door feeling worthless. They have spent,some of 'em have spent tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars with the quote "Experts" of the world, who tell them, "You're damaged goods, you will never be able to be anybody or do anything," you know? "Once an addict, always an addict". And yet, the scripture says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is a new creation in Christ, old things have passed away, and all things have become new". So, we teach the girls quit identifying with whatever addiction, or behavior, or whatever happened in the past, and identify with the fact that you are a child of God, a daughter of the king. So, we're talking about replacing lies with truth, say, "I'm a new creation in Christ. Old things have passed away. All things are new. I'm a daughter of the king. I have value. God has a plan and purpose for my life". Jeremiah 29:11, "These are the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you, but to give you hope and a future". And all of a sudden, when they realize, "Hey, God is not against me. He's for me. And this wasn't his will, these things that happened to me". And we use a lot of Joyce's materials to help them replace lies with truth. "Battlefield of the Mind," I think, is probably still, maybe Ginger, you would know, is that still Joyce's top-selling book?
Ginger Stache: It sure is.
Nancy Alcorn: We use the heck out of that book, man.
Jai Williams: Me too.
Nancy Alcorn: Replace the lies with truth.
Ginger Stache: Yeah, no, we have been honored to be able to work with you guys to support you and to be just a little part of the huge difference you're making in women and girls lives for many years now. And it's one of the things that we do through our "ProjectGRL" initiative and we're just thrilled to be able to see the impact that you're making, and that God is making in people's lives. And we're just so grateful. Nancy, thank you.
Nancy Alcorn: Well, thank you. And Ginger, I want to correct one thing you just said. She said, "We play a small part". No, all of you viewers out there, you need to know that Joyce Meyer Ministries plays a huge part in their monthly donations to us, in allowing me to speak at conferences, or do programs such as this, and help get the word out. And also, provided the, what we needed to put a facility in st. Louis, right there, where,close to where Joyce Meyer Ministries is headquartered. So, it's,there's nothing small about it. It's huge and we love you guys, and our heart of love is huge for you. Thank you for what you do for us.
Ginger Stache: We feel the same. Nancy, thanks so much. Love you. Thanks for being with us.
Nancy Alcorn: Love all of you.
Ladies: Love you too, bye!
Ginger Stache: I love that woman!
Erin Cluley: I cry every time she talks. She hit's me right here. I just,Jesus pours out of her, and I want to know that I'm that loved. That I want my daughter to know that, that's how much God loves her that she wells up with it.
Jai Williams: Yeah, it's,
Erin Cluley: Sorry, you should talk, 'cuz it's too much.
Jai Williams: No, you're so right. It's such a blessing. The years that I was able to be the worship pastor at the dream center, it was,we used to have, you know, a partnership that, you know, through Joyce Meyer Ministries where a lot of the girls would come from mercy and be able to serve. And I just got to witness firsthand, the impact like, the horrific stories that they would share of how, what they came from.
Ginger Stache: The pain that they experienced.
Jai Williams: The pain that they experienced. But what mercy ministries and Joyce Meyer Ministries has done for them. I still have relationships with a bunch of the girls that went through the program that came to the dream center and served. Like, to see the transition from them coming from feeling so devalued, so unworthy, to then feeling like they were in a position to actually pour back into a community, man, it was so encouraging.
Ginger Stache: That does it all, doesn't it?
Jai Williams: It does it all! It does it all, and I mean, it always filled my heart, and the girls that I know, they're still thriving, doing ministry, right now. Like, I'm ser,it's just amazing to be a part of it and to watch the journey.
Erin Cluley: There's nothing cooler to see someone in their pain and then to see the transformation that God does in their life. And it's like, two different people. Their countenance will change.
Jai Williams: It's just night and day. It's amazing, it's amazing.
Ginger Stache: And it's why we're so passionate about "ProjectGRL" helping women to be restored, whatever it is that they've been through, making sure they understand how loved they are. And of course, mercy multiplied being a part of that. And then, the other outreaches around the world, whether it's providing clean water, rescue from human trafficking. But also, and this is what's really important as well, it's not just about providing the physical needs, although, those are vastly important, but it's about providing the spiritual needs, for our friends, right now, who are talking it out with us, who feel that void in their life, who haven't felt value, it's through Joyce's teaching, sharing the Word of God, and making sure that all women and girls, wherever they are, have access to that truth that Nancy was talking about. So, she said that Joyce really understands this personally. And that's, of course, how "ProjectGRL" was birthed. So, if you'd like to find out more about "ProjectGRL," you can go online at joycemeyer.Org/ProjectGRL, G-R-L. Please find out more about it. We would love to have you join us in that. But we also, want you to know what Erin was talking about. We want you to understand the love that is so strong for you, right now. So, we're gonna go back and listen to a little bit more of Joyce, because she gets it. She has been in a dark place where it didn't feel like there was any love and she discovered the true love. So, let's hear what she has to say.
Joyce Meyer: What was my condition after being abused by my father and abandoned into the situation by my mother who knew what he was doing but didn't have the courage to stand up to him? What was I like? I felt worthless. I felt guilty and condemned. I felt used. I felt damaged. My personality was all messed up. And I tried so hard to find some kind of worth and value in all the wrong things. Getting in the right group. Even at church, getting in the right church group. You think there's not cliques inside churches? Let me tell you something. There's always the group to be part of. And I worked so hard to be part of that group. And I finally, got what I wanted, and they were the first ones to reject me when God called me to teach the word, because after all, "Women" didn't do that. Problem was, I didn't know that when God called me. So, I just started doing it, and I was already doing it after people were telling me I couldn't do it. I thought, "Well, I am". You say, "Well, what about what Paul said"? You know, let's just get beyond that for a little bit. Let me tell you what Jesus said. "There's no more male nor female, Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, but we are all one in Christ". Amen? We are all one in Christ. Paul was talking about cultural things, not things that apply to every woman for the whole rest of our life. And if you don't believe it, just think about the fact that Mary was the first one to carry the gospel message. Not Peter, not John, not Matthew: Mary, all the guys were sleeping, and she showed up at the tomb early on Sunday morning. So, let's hear it for the ladies. Amen? Let me tell you something. You don't want a world without women. Because we get it done, honey. Amen?
Ginger Stache: I love that! We get it done.
Erin Cluley: She's right though.
Jai Williams: She said, "Honey," at the end, too.
Ginger Stache: Can you even imagine what this world would be like without women?
Erin Cluley: I sometimes, like to remind my husband of what his life would be like if I wasn't there. He wouldn't have anything.
Jai Williams: Sad and smelly.
Ginger Stache: Oh, it would not be pretty at all. No, just think of the disorganization, the underwear on the floor, everywhere. I think of all those things.
Erin Cluley: The little things like that, yeah.
Ginger Stache: I wanna ask you about some of the scriptures that she shared because I think they're so great and just to see what they make you think and how important they are. The one that she was talking about, there is no more male or female, no more slave or free, for that to be in God's word, for that to be the foundation of everything the world was built on: we've all missed it so many times along the way. So, what does that mean to you, when you guys hear that scripture?
Erin Cluley: I love that verse. I think it's,and I think it's really timely for where we all are in life, in general, right now. That God doesn't see us because you do this, and you do this, or because you are,regardless of how we categorize our lives as humans. We are one in him and the rest doesn't matter. So, I think we take too much stock in a lot of things that just,he could probably care less about. In fact, he tells us that. So, I think if we can get that inside of us, that it doesn't actually matter what I do, it's not my "Who", no, it's not my "Do" it's my "Who," like Joyce tells us, I would, drastically change our lives. So, I love that scripture.
Jai Williams: Yeah, I love it as well. It actually, as I was studying it, it gave me two different emotions. One was extreme excitement and hope, you know? But the other one was kind of sad, because...
Erin Cluley: Why?
Jai Williams: Our world doesn't look like that.
Erin Cluley: Oh, yeah, I agree.
Jai Williams: It just doesn't.
Ginger Stache: Yeah.
Jai Williams: And so, you think of like, no more male and fema, it mean, our nation...
Ginger Stache: And much of the world.
Jai Williams: And much of the world. It's like, it gives me hope to know that, that is really what,how God sees everything and desires for us. But it also, is sad for me because it's like, "When are we going to get it"? No more slave, and it's just hard for me because that was thousands of years ago, like, that this was in the Bible.
Erin Cluley: We still haven't gotten it.
Jai Williams: No. So, it's like,so, I had, of course, my Christianese side of me was like, "Yeah, that's right".
Erin Cluley: Look, what I just did. "Yeah"!
Jai Williams: No, but you're my hope. Your so like, you know like, I think half of me things like that and the other half is just like, "When are we gonna get it? Like, when are we gonna come together, as believers, and not be so divided, and not,? When are men going to respect," clearly women have voices. We have Joyce. Thankfully she didn't know. Thankfully, she wasn't raised like I was, where I was a little intimidated by all of it, but still pushed through it. Because thankfully, she's able to be, you know, where she is right now, and we're able to do what we're doing, you know? Thankfully, there other, you know, women that do it, too. But we need,it just needs to, we need to work better at working at it. And really looking, so, that scripture gives me hope, but it made me sad of the reality of where we are because we're divided as a church.
Ginger Stache: No, I get it completely, because there are things that God laid down his truth, but man takes and perverts.
Jai Williams: Yes, a hundred percent.
Ginger Stache: And it changes the reality of what we're dealing with, but it doesn't change the reality of who God is, or what he thinks about us, or his love for us. There's this scripture that you've probably heard so many times, but it's huge for me, in this, it's 1 Peter 2:9, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession". And that just means so much to me. And I've never, I hate to say this, just so it's not misunderstood. I've never questioned my value because from the very beginning, my family laid a foundation of where my value came from in Christ, and they exemplified it, they showed it to me. I was in the word, and I believed it, and I don't know why. And so, that tells me how much grace there is 'cuz if anybody does not deserve what I have, it's me, you know? If anybody does not deserve the love that has been showered upon them, it's me. And yet, I've never questioned my value, because I'm God's possession. And so, I think of all those things that we put between us and the love of God: the way we do things, the mistakes that we've made, the way we look, even things like where our value comes from. Our value does not come from society, it does not come from man, it does not come from our job. It doesn't come from our family. I think of beautiful special needs children where in some countries, they have no value at all. No value at all, because people don't see productivity or something like that. God doesn't look at them like that. He sees such value in the love that can pour out of people. And so, I don't know, it all just pulls me back around, as someone who has never questioned her value, it makes me so much more passionate to make sure that other people do know their value because I know what it feels to be valued, and I want other people to feel that, too. And when there are so many hurts in the world, I understand that, that value gets shoved down and pushed aside, and maybe it was never even there to begin with. So, my desire, my passion, I guess, and I know yours too, and Nancy's, and the entire ministry's, is for everyone out there watching, right now, to know that they are God's possession. Not in the wrong way, in such a loving, like, a mama and a baby, like a dad and his child: to protect us, to love us, to nurture us, and to give us everything that he has. When we have that in our lives, we're really loved. So, I don't know. I wanna know what you guys think, because I think so much about the fact that some people will not even see God's love as value. Why does love equal value? But that's all there is, right? There's nothing else without the love of God.
Erin Cluley: That was a lot.
Ginger Stache: I'm sorry.
Erin Cluley: One thing, when you were saying that, that stands out to me, is that verse, Psalm 46:5, and it's our, "ProjectGRL," verse but, man, I love it. "God is with her and she will not be moved". And to hear you say, to talk about the reality of where we are, right now, it's so horrible. But if we, as women, can rise behind the fact that God is with us, then we should unite and say, "No, we know who we are. We know we're valued. We don't have to question our worth".
Ginger Stache: And we won't be moved.
Erin Cluley: No, and we will stand firm in what we know is truth because God is with us. We don't have to waiver. I don't have to waiver because I look at myself in the mirror and think, "Ugh, had a baby or two, things look a little different". I don't have to waiver because I don't have the title I want, or because my husband said this about me, or whatever the circumstances are, I don't have to waiver because I know who I am in Christ, and I will not be moved. So, that gives me hope. But I think we have to encourage each other with that. I think it doesn't come natural to all of us, like it did for you, which I think is wonderful.
Jai Williams: I think it's beautiful.
Erin Cluley: It is.
Jai Williams: It's really beautiful and I just automatically, thought of some people that, you know, are probably watching that maybe, have been like me, like maybe, you've been hurt by people, and maybe you've been abandoned, or maybe you've been, I didn't suffer, or struggle with this, but I think of all the people that suffer major depression, cutting, just like, anorexia. Like you just think about all those things that make you feel like you're not worth it, and like, no one loves you. But if you never experienced love it's hard to understand, "Why does love make that"...
Ginger Stache: It's like a foreign thing.
Jai Williams: Yeah, it's like, "What does that even look like? What does that even feel like? How do I even conceptualize that love gives me value, when I don't even know what love is," you know? And so, I just challenge you to try it. Just ask God, give him—like, this is something that was, I just did a water fast. Hah, wow!
Jai Williams: For six days, I only drank water. And I really wanted it to show me discipline, but also, show me how his living water could be enough. That was why I did it. Like, I wanted his living water to be enough for me, his love, his living water. Like just to be enough for me. And I'm not saying do that. Like, no. But I'm saying, in that time, I just had a revelation from God, how his love was enough for me. And that he's just sitting up there waiting on me to give him permission to love me the way that he wants to. Because he's a gentleman. So, a lot of us haven't experienced that gentleman side. And so, because he's a gentleman, he's waiting on us to say, "Daughter, like, when are you gonna ask me"? And I just challenge you, like if you're out there, just ask him, like ask him and he'll do it. He'll show you. And ever since, like that day, I was like, "Okay. I need you to show me your love in a new way, a way that I've never experienced," and he's been doing it. Once you give him permission, he will do it.
Erin Cluley: Peyton has been asking, so, she's four now, and when she gets dressed up, she likes to wear her cute, little outfits, probably like elsie.
Ginger Stache: Quite the fashion...
Erin Cluley: Oh, very much so, very much so. So, every time she feels confident, or you can tell she feels good, she'll go up to Mike, especially Mike, and she will say, "Daddy, am I beautiful"? And,I'm a mess today, this is too much. I love this topic so much! I have such a heart for it. So, anyways, Mike is always like, "Oh, my gosh. You're the most beautiful girl in the whole world," and she just, like, lights up. It is everything she needed in that moment. And that is the picture of what God is doing for us. We are his daughters and we're saying, "Am I enough? Am i, am I worth it"? And God is saying, "Oh, my gosh. I made you. There is nothing I love more in this world than you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Let me just love on you".
Jai Williams: But yeah, isn't it beautiful how Peyton went to him, though?
Erin Cluley: Yeah. Yes, she, yes, exactly.
Jai Williams: She went to him. First, she got dressed. And we've talked about the armor of God. We've talked about all that stuff. She got dressed, and she went to him. And that's what we have to do as daughters of the Most High, we have to get dressed, say, "God, what do you think of me"?
Erin Cluley: And he's waiting, right there.
Jai Williams: He's waiting, right there, ready.
Ginger Stache: It's so funny too, because you talk about that desire, right, to be loved, to be fully accepted. And for a woman, you're talking about Peyton, and what she wears, and our granddaughter, Elsie, and what she wears. She will dress up in this outfit that she thinks is the most beautiful thing. And it's a tutu that lights up and a Daniel tiger hat, and no shirt.
Jai Williams: She's so free.
Ginger Stache: She is just the most beautiful thing ever. But God would see that and say, "Absolutely, I have never seen anything more beautiful than that". And that's how God sees us in all of our flaws, in all of our quirkiness, in all those things that we don't like about our self, and he says, "Yes! That is exactly what I wanted to see in you. That's the creativity that I used when I created you, and I made you perfect". And all those things that you look in the mirror and don't like yourself, God is saying, "Yes! I want to use those things for my glory, and for your good". That's what that kind of love is like. It's not looking down and saying, "Oh, you know, I could love you a little bit more, if you'd do this". God never does that to us.
Jai Williams: No, he loves us. He loves us just as we are.
Erin Cluley: I'm gonna get a light-up tutu, though.
Jai Williams: And a Daniel tiger hat.
Ginger Stache: I think we all should.
Erin Cluley: I could work that.
Ginger Stache: We'll do shirts, but other than that,
Erin Cluley: I appreciate you letting me know the rules.
Ginger Stache: Well, our prayer for you is that there has been something that has been said today whether it's something that Nancy shared, whether it's a scripture that someone shared, that you can hold on to one, little, glimmer of love that God has for you: because if you can just grab on that one, little bit, he will do the rest. He will water it, and he will nurture it, and it will grow into something that will change your life from the inside out. So, we want you to know today, how loved you are, how valuable you are. Wherever you are, whatever you've done, whatever is keeping you from that realization right now, God can break down those walls. So, we invite you that if there's anything at all that we can do for you, you can go to joycemeyer.org put in a prayer request. We would love to pray for you. Check out, "ProjectGRL," at projectGRL.org. And find out how you can reach out to other women to share that love of Christ, because I'll tell you, there's nothing to really grow that love in us, than to share it with other people. So, we hope that you'll do that. And thank you for talking it out, with us, today. Thank you, ladies, so much.
Jai Williams: No, thank you.
Ginger Stache: It's been so good. We hope you all subscribe. We hope you'll write some fun reviews. We hope you'll tell your friends.
Jai Williams: Tell your friends!
Ginger Stache: And we'll see you in a couple more weeks. Alright, love you all. Bye!