← Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey
Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey
Ep 1352 | Is God Sending Bluebirds to Christian Influencers?
01:11:39
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Several Christian influencers claim that God is sending them bluebirds as a sign of how he feels about them or what he is going to do for them. How should we as Christians think about this? Should we be asking for signs from God? Also? The Southern Baptist Convention is meeting in just a few weeks, and Dr. Al Mohler is presenting an amendment to the Constitution to clarify that a pastor's role and function is. Is only for a man. We've got all of this and much more on today's episode of Relatable. Hey, y'.
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All.
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Welcome to Relatable. Happy Wednesday. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far. If you are watching this on YouTube, which, by the way, if you're not, you should sometimes. I know a lot of you are listening in the carpool line or on a walk. That's what I do, too. But you should see what we have going on on YouTube. Lots of times we have all different kinds of things that we want you to see. Right now, I'm on a different set than you've ever seen me on before, and I'm going to be on this set, at least for the next few weeks. We are actually building another set for you guys that I'm super excited about. As always, we will get your feedback, but right now we've got the homie vibe going on. This is real. This is real. Some of you are always like, is that a green screen? It's not a green screen. I. I could turn around and I could wash some dishes behind me. And so this is a. A real setting that we have for you all here today. I hope you like it for the next couple months. All right, let's talk about what is going on in the Southern Baptist Convention. It is that time of year. We've got Al Mohler. He is the host of the podcast the Briefing. We've had had him on the show several times. Big fan of Al Mohler myself. He is also the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he announced that he is going to propose a motion to amend the SBC constitution, the Southern Baptist Convention constitution, at their annual meeting next month in Orlando. Now, if you're wondering why this matters, why are you talking about this? Ali, not everyone is a Southern Baptist like you. You might be thinking, well, the SBC is the largest Christian denomination in the country. It's home to the vast majority of evangelicals. We are key in driving the theology and the politics of America. Of course, lots and lots of people don't agree with us, but you might not realize how much evangelical and just Protestant in general. Theology is infused into every part of America, but this particularly drives the views, political views, cultural views, and even theological views on the right. So while you may think that where the SBC goes doesn't really apply to you if you're Catholic or you're Lutheran or even agnostic, the truth is, it really does because. Because there are so many Southern Baptists, and because Southern Baptists like me, like Al Mohler, like many influential pastors and even politicians, because there are so many of us in this realm, where the SBC stands, what it tolerates, what it condemns within its ranks, has an effect, really, on what the nation thinks about consequential issues like abortion, feminism, transgenderism, race, salvation, sexual sin, the gospel. Not that we've convinced everyone to come over to our side on all of these things, but at the very least, our views on these are driving a lot of the conversation on these topics. Now, the debate over female pastors specifically has existed for a very long time within the sbc. The SBC actually used to be more tolerant and lenient on the issue. We went through kind of a liberal phase in the 60s and 70s and even part of the 80s. Um, and then there was a big conservative push, 80s and 90s onward. But in recent years, leadership at the SBC has really reinforced this principle that, no, according to First Timothy 2 and other passages, women cannot be pastors. Women cannot exercise any kind of teaching authority over men. You might remember, we talked about it at the time. In 2023, Rick Warren's mega church in California, Saddleback, was removed from the SBC over its refusal to comply with with this rule. They had a female pastors. They said, we're going to continue to have female pastors. Sorry. So SBC Saddleback cut ties. Now, the Baptist Faith and Message defines the standard of what a church within the SBC must believe and teach to be considered Southern Baptist. And it states very clearly that, quote, the office of pastor and elder, slash overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. That's from Baptist Faith and Message 2000. Mohler says his amendment that he is proposing would be added to the SBC Constitution, which was originally written in 1845 to make clear that the office and function of a pastor or elder or overseer must be a qualified man. So the amendment is titled the Truth and Unity Amendment. And here Al Mohler is talking about it. Celt1.
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This new language would make clear that a cooperating Southern Baptist church does not act to affirm, appoint, or endorse a woman serving in the office or function of a pastor elder overseer, such as preaching to the assembled congregation.
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Mueller compared this motion to the Southern Baptist past statements on LGBTQ lifestyles. He said then, quote, a generation ago. Or he said now, a generation ago. The SBC took this kind of action in the Constitution by making very clear that our cooperation is not extended to those who would endorse or affirm LGBTQ lifestyles and activities. Podcasters like John Harris claim that there are at least 11 churches that are violating the Baptist faith and message definition of what a pastor is by employing women pastors. So it wasn't just Saddleback. It was several other churches back in 2023. Uh, but now there are people saying this is not just a handful of churches. This is maybe more than a dozen churches who are violating this. And that's why this amendment is so important. Like I said, this is not the first time we've had this debate within the sbc. Especially over the past few years, this debate has gotten a lot more intense. And we'll get into that brief history. But I gotta remind you, ladies, whether you are sbc, whether you are Lutheran, maybe you're the good flavor of Methodists and Presbyterians, maybe you're my dear Catholic friends, you gotta come to Share the Arrows, okay? Or maybe you're just questioning. You don't even know if you want to be a Christian or not. You're trying to figure out what all of this is about. We want you if you are a woman, at Share the Arrows. It is our gospel centered, no fluff Christian Women's Conference. Now, when I say no fluff, let me tell you what I mean by that. I mean Rosaria Butterfield. I mean Elisa Childers and Natasha Crane and Costi Hen. I mean Shane and Shane Leading worship. I mean, Audrey Brogy and her daughter Grace. Anna Castleberry talking about motherhood and being a godly wife and all of those lovely things. It is going to be amazing. I cannot wait. October 10th, Dallas, Texas. This year, Share the Arrows is brought to you by our good, good friends. We Heart Nutrition, y'. All. It is coming up, so go ahead, get your tickets, make your plans. Share the arrows.com all right, before we get back into it, let me tell you about our first sponsor. It's seven weeks. Coffee, y'.
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All.
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All. 7 weeks coffee.com use code ALI at checkout that 7 weeks coffee.com code ALI. The SBC has spent several years debating not only this topic, but the constitutional amendments regarding women serving in pastoral roles. If you have kind of just like a foggy memory about what went on, you're like, I'm feeling deja vu. Didn't we talk about having some kind of constitutional amendment just a few years ago? Yes, we did. In 2022, Virginia pastor Mike Law, you might remember the law amendment introduced the original proposal to amend Article 3 of the SPC of the Constitution or the SPC Constitution stating that a cooperating church does not affirm, appoint or employ a pastor, or employ a woman as a pastor of any kind. Rather than bringing it to an immediate vote, Messengers referred the motion to the Executive Committee for further consideration. Appreciate Denny Burke and his work on reporting all of this and laying out the timeline. In 2023, the executive committee presented a revised version of the amendment at the SBC annual meeting. During the debate, there was a Texas pastor named Juan Sanchez who offered a friendly amendment changing the wording to say cooperating churches must quote, affirm, appoint or employ only men as any kind of pastor or elder. Messengers approved the measure with roughly 80% support, giving it the first of the two required 2/3 votes needed for constitutional ratification. Now here's what happened. In 2024, the amendment returned for its required second vote. So it takes a lot to change to the constit. That's why Mueller wants to do this, because he wants to make sure that this is locked in forever, that the SPC churches have to abide by this rule of having no female pastors. So in 2024, the amendment return had to get voted on again. Although it received 61.45% support. It failed to meet the necessary 2/3 threshold and was defeated. So a lot of people were very sad about this. There was just a lot of debate at the time over whether this is necessary. I think some people thought that it was too broad. And so that's. It just didn't get the support that it needed because of, I guess, some confusion and probably some people wanting to sow confusion because there are people within the SBC who think having female pastors is totally fine. However, at that time, the SBC leadership still did remove five churches that had female pastors. So the amendment didn't pass, but the leadership did stand strong and say, okay, well, still, according to our current Constitution, according to our current Baptist faith and message, you are not complying and we're still going to take action. Then the issue resurfaced again just last year when Sanchez introduced another version of the amendment, this time specifying only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by scripture, can serve in these, in these offices. The proposal again earned more than 60% sponsored, but fell short of the 2/3 majority required for passage. And again, there's a lot of debate and discussion about why that was. Like, why did it go from 80% to 60%? So here's some criticism of the Truth and Unity amendment that Al Mohler is putting forth. Some have argued, from what I would call really the more liberal perspective, that it is fundamentally anti woman. Baptist News described the amendment with the headline Mueller will propose to new amendment against women as if he is saying women cannot participate in the church in any way or women can't even attend church. Of course, it's supposed to be this click bait headline which completely mischaracterizes what he believes and what the amendment is set out to accomplish. Dr. Meredith Stone, the head of Baptist Women in Ministry, has announced her opposition to the Truth and Unity amendment, suggesting that it berates women. Okay, well, if you go and you watch the full two and a half minute video that Al Mohler put out, we'll link it in the description of this episode to make sure that you can go watch it. I didn't see anything about him berating women. He didn't look like he was berating women, though. The wording didn't seem to be berating women at all. Others have expressed concern that the amendment's language regarding the function of a pastor could be interpreted too broadly. That, I think, is actually a very important qualification here. However, I do think that clarity is kindness and so churches The SBC has to work together to properly define it. Maybe people would say, well, this is already properly defined and this isn't really an issue, but properly define what the pastoral function is. What is everything that it entails. These concerns came after a recent podcast in which Mueller responded to a listener's question about a church using a woman to answer follow up questions to a sermon. And before I even read the quote, let me tell you, I got a message about this. And the message asked, hey, what do you think about Al Mohler saying female past or female podcasters are acting like pastors? I was like, oh, really? That's interesting. And so I went to go listen to the episode and the question and answer, and I was like, really? That's what people are talking about? Because that's not exactly what he said. Now, this person who messaged me wasn't trying to condemn Al Mohler. She was sincerely asking for clarification. But that seems to be what has kind of circulated, that he was saying that women shouldn't have podcasts at all. Um, here's the listener question. She said, my church started a podcast where the church and the staff answer follow up questions about the Sunday sermon. The purpose of the podcast is to expound upon the sermon, exposit the word of God to the whole church, and offer practical application advice. The problem is one of the staff members on the podcast is a woman. She's not a pastor by role or title, but I believe she's acting as a pastor in this context because she's given advice to the whole church body. And here is what Al Mohler said.
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Two, if she is functioning as a pastor, then she is assuming the role of a pastor. And I think that's what's implied here. And yes, I do see that as a problem. I don't think the church should ever lean into offering confusion on this issue, but should lean into clarity. And so I don't know the church. I don't need to know the name of the church. I can just tell you I think this is something that needs to be thought through on a far more substantial biblical basis. And if this person is functioning with other pastors as a pastor who the title really doesn't matter all that much. That's because the biblical conception of pastor is both the title and the function, the title and the role. And so avoiding the title doesn't mean you've avoided the problem.
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Okay, now maybe you disagree with him. Maybe that is where your concern is, that you feel like he is expanding too much. What the function of a pastor is maybe your perspective is okay. So is he saying that women can't talk about the Bible on podcasts or. Or women can't talk about the area, the interpretation of Scripture, or offer biblical encouragement on podcasts? I am just looking at the specificity of this question and the specificity of his answer, and I don't see him making that argument now. I don't think he would be afraid to make any argument that he really believes, but that's not what I see going on here. Um, it says the purpose. So she says the purpose of the podcast is to explain, expound on the sermon, exposit the word of God to the whole church, and offer practical application advice. So there are some problems here. This person, this woman is expositing the word of God and then preaching on a podcast meant for the local body of believers. And so this isn't. It doesn't sound like a podcast that is for women offering biblical encouragement. She is in this particular, particular space offering some kind of pastoral advice and wisdom. And that, to me, seems to be where Al Mohler is coming from. However, I'm not sure that that is what he is trying to cover in his amendment here. I don't think that he is trying to ban a church from having a woman on the podcast at all. He is simply saying that in this context, she is taking on this pastoral function, and that's a problem. Now, we have some pastors, like Pastor Dwight McKissick, writing that the amendment would constitute a gag order for women. This is lunacy on steroids. He says the SBC appears to be poised to follow Al Mohler off of a cliff, believing in applying his proposed gag a woman amendment. So dramatic and not at all what I read in this amendment. The idea that the amendment would be some sort of blanket gag order is a misunderstanding. The issue is not whether women can ever teach, speak, or write in any context. The question is whether a woman is functioning in the office of pastor within the church. The amendment is intended to clarify pastoral authority and church governance. Like, I will just say, if I'm looking on a church website and there is a woman serving in any sort of pastoral role, if she is called a pastor of any kind, pastor of discipleship, Like, I'm just not going to go to that church. It's just. I mean, that's just the case for me. If I go to a church where a woman is preaching on Sundays to a mixed congregation, I'm not gonna go to that church. Because I do think that if you compromise on this, you tend to end up compromising in other areas as well. And I'm just not interested in that. I think there are lots of ways that women can serve the church, lots of beautiful, wonderful ways. And I am absolutely sure that Al Mohler absolutely agrees with that, that women are gifted with all kinds of talents and spiritual gifts that are meant to contribute to the body of Christ and to contribute to the local body of Christ. Preaching, teaching, pastor. That's not among the roles that women are supposed to be teaching. The Bible is very clear about that. And we'll get into that in just one second. Let me pause, tell you about our next sponsor. It's Alliance Defending Freedom. I love Alliance Defending Freedom. They're great people. They're dedicated to advancing free speech, religious freedom, the sanctity of life, parental rights, and God's design for marriage and family. They have scored huge legal victories like helping topple Roe Va. They were a part of the Dobbs decision securing a landmark free speech win at the Supreme Court just a few weeks ago on behalf of Christian counselor Kaylee Chiles. I believe that was in the state of Colorado. What's going on in the state of Colorado? After y' all are done skiing, you're like, let's defeat religious liberty and free speech. That's that. It has got to end. And the ADF is a part of fighting back against that in the state of Colorado and so many other places. You if you donate to ADF right now, every dollar will be matched. That means $25 becomes 50, 50 becomes 100 only while they're matching funds last. So do it right now. I really encourage you to I love ADF. Go to join ADF.com Ali or text Ali to 83848 that's joined.com Alli or text Ally to 83848. So most important, what does the Bible have to say about this? Well, in Paul's letters to Titus and Timothy, he gives the requirements for elders and for overseers, both times describing them as men who are husband of one wife. First Timothy 3:2:3. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach. The husband of one wife sober minded, self controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach. Not a drunkard, but violent. Not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. And so it's not just those descriptors that are important there. It's the first one, the husband of one wife. Well, only a man can be a husband of one wife. Titus 1:5 through 6 appoint elders in every town. As I Directed you if anyone is above reproach. The husband of one wife and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. Now, I also think that it is equally important that churches abide by every single one of those qualifications. Okay? So it's not only that they can't be a woman, although that's the most like, objective thing that we see there, but they also need to meet all of these other qualifications, as I am quite sure Al Mohler would agree with. But I do think that there are some churches out there that are less stringent on these things. And so if we're going to be, which we should be strict on, whether it's a man or a woman serving in these roles, then we also need to be really strict about, hey, how are their children doing? Are they the husband of just one wife? Are they hospitable? Are they self controlled? Are they respectable? Are they not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money? Those are equally important qualifications. Now, in his second letter to Timothy, Paul also writes, I do not permit a woman to teach her to exercise authority over a man. Rather she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. And so this is a controversial verse to some people, and I understand that. But if we're offended by Scripture, which we all have been at some point because it convicts us, and sometimes truth is hard to hear, but the problem is not with the word of God because we can't out love or out compassion or out justice or out wisdom him. The problem is with us. And you know, when I hear the argument from some people, well, you know, you know, when Paul was talking about that, he was just talking about that time in the culture because women were screaming in church and things like that, it had to do with a particular time. Look, there are some things in the Bible that did have to do with a particular time that can't be exactly applied today. But he goes all the way back to creation. And whenever scripture goes all the way back to creation, whenever Jesus goes all the way back to creation, that is a signal for me that, okay, we're talking about something that is a lasting truth. It's the same argument that I make for the death penalty in Genesis 9, when he says, okay, you gotta execute the person who murdered someone else because you were made in God's image. Well, that never changes. And this, since it goes all the Way back to the Garden of Eden. It never changes. It wasn't cultural. He would have said it was cultural. For all of these women at this particular time are yelling, he says, for Adam was formed first, then Eve. Adam was not deceived. So there is something there in the nature of. Of men and women that make men qualified for these particular roles in the local church. That's what the context of this passage is. It doesn't mean that women cannot be teachers anywhere to anyone at any time in any context. It doesn't mean that women cannot teach other women or women cannot teach children. This specifically in the local body, cannot teach or exercise authority over men. It's not a blanket prohibition on women teaching in any context, as we read also in Titus 2. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanders or slaves to much wine. They're to teach what is good and so train the young women to love their husbands and children. It's not a blanket prohibition on women teaching in any context, as we read in Titus 2, but it is specifically true to the local body. That, to me, is what Al Mohler is talking about. We'll see. Can we get more than that? Two thirds vote. That's what we got to get. And then you need a second vote on it. So they have to do that again next year. A lot of different factions in any denomination. But this might even add some clarity to those of you who are my Catholic followers and friends out there who kind of believe that in Protestantism, it's just the individual authority. While we do have authority structures, it's not different than Catholicism, for sure. Um, but the point is, the hope is in every authority structure, whether it's the local church itself or whether it's a denominational authority to abide by the word of God as closely as we possibly can. So we will see more of what goes on with this in the coming weeks, and we will do another episode on it. Maybe we'll be able to have Dr. Mohler on before or after the convention to see what actually goes on. All right, I want to talk about this subject. Someone else messaged me about these viral videos that they've been seeing on TikTok about God sharing signs with people, specifically signs that have to do with a blue bird. So I'm going to play you some of these examples, and then I want to get into, like, what does the Bible say about asking for signs? I think all of us at one point have felt like, okay, God, like, I really don't know what to do. It's easy to decide easy. Or when you've been in Christian for any amount of time, to decide between good and evil or right and wrong. But sometimes it's really hard to decide between good and best. And when you can't decide between good and best, it is so tempting to be like, okay, God. Like, neither of these options are sin. And I just feel so paralyzed knowing what to do. Can you please just show me? We've all done that. And it's so tempting to say, can you please just give me this sign? Give me this indication that this is the way that you want me to go? Because I'm so scared of making a mistake. And I think that the intention behind that and the anxiety behind that is natural and understandable. And the desire to glorify God by making the very best choice is a good one. Um, however, I think when we get into this mode of asking for God for some particular natural sign or natural side sign from the world, then we can actually foster more anxiety and more confusion, not only within ourselves, but also with the people that we influence. And I see this with this particular video. It was published by an Instagram influencer. I think she's on Tick Tock, too. Her name is Lindsay Gerk, and she shared about how she prayed for a sign about whether to write a book. Before I play this video, I just want to say I am not attacking Lindsay at all. I don't want it to come across that way. I don't follow her, but I've seen some of her videos, and she seems like a super encouraging, positive person. I love how she talks about Jesus. I love a lot of the things that she says about faith. And I love when people use their platforms to encourage people to pray more and rely on God and read God's word. And I see so much good in the things that she says. Um, I just want to play this video as an example of kind of what I'm talking about and the kind of theology that is very popular, I would say, right now, and is very influential, especially among young women. Here's out three. Listen.
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If you need a sign from God, all you have to do is ask. He delights in it. He delights in sending his children signs. And I am not. I am. I'm gonna share this story, and I have alluded to it in the past, but I didn't think it was the right time. But now is the right time.
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She's like, shake it right now.
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I'm so excited. I wrote down Bluebird on the Windowsill. I've been thinking to myself, like, that's not really a sign that I would have chosen, but, okay, so I obsessively, was looking out the window, was taking meetings by windows, walking around the house, looking at windows, and bluebirds kept showing up everywhere, but not on the window point. I actually got upset because Google Home was just slightly off of our windowsill. There was a blue, beautiful blue, like rainforest burnt. I said, it's blue, but it's not on the windowsill. I know. I'm saying I haven't forgotten. Then one day, my family and I sit down and we are watching the live animation version of Snow White, and a bluebird flies across the screen and lands on a windowsill of a carriage. And I paused it. I was just like, oh, my goodness. My God, you've done it. You've done it. Even the story of Snow White is. Is about a daughter of a king who had. Who had forgotten her identity, who forgotten her voice.
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Okay, So I wish I could play that whole thing, but I think it's over three minutes long. It's not our desire to take her out of context at all, and we haven't. That is a proper representation of what she said. You get the idea that she asked God for a bluebird sign landing on the windowsill to indicate whether or not she should write a book. She referenced a video by an Instagrammer named Craft of Christ. Again, not attacking this person at all. I'm sure there's a lot of things this person says that I really appreciate and agree with. And the text on the soundless video on Instagram says, two days ago, I crashed out at God and asked him to send me a bird to let me know he was with me. And then it goes on, and I'll read it for you. For those of you who are just listening to this, he didn't. She said, I sat down today and I heard tapping. And I guess it's bluebird. Looks like a. A blue jay on her window. It wasn't just once. This little guy has been tapping on my window for 25 minutes. And then not just tapping, but actually flying into my window over and over again to get my attention. All right, so you get the idea. Um, you know, she's saying that this was a sign from God after. After she prayed. This particular sign of a bluebird seems to be very popular on social media right now. Here's one of the man talking about seeing a flock of bluebirds and saying God told him he would bless him. Here's top Five.
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I just got home and I saw a bluebird land the tree by my window. And then another one came. And then another one came. Okay? I've never seen this many bluebirds at once, let alone in the same tree. And then a fourth bluebird came. And God said, that's how you're going to be blessed. I'm going to do things so quickly for you that you are not even going to have time to focus on the first thing. Because after the first, I'm going to bless you again, and then I'm going to bless you again, and then I'm going to bless you again. Now you have to hear me for this part, okay? Because God is blessing you in rapid succession, not just for any reason, because there was a blitz warfare launched on your life. The enemy tried to take you out in a strong, intense, one field type of swoop, and he failed. Okay?
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I do think it's interesting that in a span of just a couple of months, all of these Christian creators happen to see bluebirds, um, they claim as a sign from as a sign from God. And they are encouraging others, some of them, to ask God for similar signs. Now, most Christians do believe that it's okay to ask for a sign. This is from a poll from Back to the Bible. That's the website in 2025. The question is, is asking God for a sign a matter of faith or foolishness? 76.6% said no, it's not foolish. 10.3% said yes, it shows testing or doubt. 13.1% said it depends. Motives and spiritual maturity matter. So here's the question. Should Christians ask for signs or why do Christians ask for signs? We'll answer that question first. Christians often seek signs during seasons of doubt or major decisions, or when they want confirmation of God's will. If we look at Genesis 24, Abraham's servant prayed for a clear sign while searching for a wife for Isaac. He asked that the right woman would not only give him a drink, but also offer to water his camels. And Rebecca did exactly that. And then Moses in Exodus 3:4 expressed doubt when God called him at the burning bush to lead Israel. In response, God gave him three confirmatory signs to show the people. His staff turning into a snake and back, his hand becoming leprous when healed and then healed. And the Nile turning to blood when poured on dry, dry, dry ground. And then we have Gideon in Judges 6:36 through 40. This is probably the most recognizable or memorable example of someone asking God for a sign. Ask God for confirmation that he was truly called. To lead Israel against the Midianites, he performed two fleece tests. First, dew on the fleece, only the ground was dry. Second, the fleece dry, while dew covered the ground. And then God granted both signs and gave Gideon victory with just 300 men. So you might read something like this and say, well, clearly we should be asking God for signs, because God gave signs in the Bible, therefore He's gonna give signs today. And if these men of God ask God for a sign and he did it, then why shouldn't we? Well, even though God sometimes gives these kinds of signs to confirm something to his people, he gives these signs out of mercy. But Scripture also warns against demanding them or asking God for them in order for him to confirm his character or to confirm his will for you, especially when it stems from unbelief or a hardened heart. Matthew 12:38,39 says this. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, teacher, we wish to see a sign from you. But he answered them, an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 1 Corinthians 1:22 through 23. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to gentiles. I love First Corinthians 1, by the way. It's so powerful. I would read through the whole thing. If you. You're experiencing any kind of doubt or any kind of drought in your faith, it's so good. And then we go back to the old Testament, Deuteronomy 13, 1:3. If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass. And if he says, let us go after other gods which you have not known, and let us serve them, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. So one of the reasons why asking for signs is warned against in Scripture, it seems, is its proximity to divination. New Agers ask the universe for signs and have a different interpretation associated with different species of birds. For example, this. There's this New Age author and podcast host, Gabby Bernstein. She had a medium on her show to explain explain the significance of a cardinal as a sign. Top six.
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We saw a cardinal this morning. We did. What does a Cardinal mean?
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A
Well, a cardinal is a beautiful sign of a loved one. Cardinals, feathers, coins, if you see those signs, whoever comes to you first in your mind's eye, whatever feeling you get, just go with that. Go with it. And so cardinals, for me, are a beautiful sign of your loved ones that they are around, that they are with you, and that you can call upon them whenever you need to. Something we talk about a lot is ensuring that we are not allowing our theology, our Christianity, to be influenced by the New Age unknowingly. And I think sometimes social media can do that. Just like when we talked about, hey, is your theology actually being influenced by therapy, culture? Like, is that from secular psychology or is it from the word of God? It's something that we have to examine. I think it's got to be something we examine here, too. We know that in Deuteronomy 18, the Lord takes divination and takes fortune telling or sorcery or charming or being a medium or necromancy extremely seriously, so much so that he punished it with the death penalty. And so you might think that someone like me, oh, you take the New Age too seriously. You talk about it too much. You talk about witchcraft or parallels between what some people like. That whole episode that I did on how some people use anointing oil as some kind of name it and claim it kind of thing, I got a lot of criticism for that. But I stand by what I said, because I think when our theology is being influenced by New Age culture, we are in as much trouble as ancient Israel was when they were being influenced by outside pagan nations. And I'm not saying God is calling for the death penalty here today. We're not ancient Israel. We don't abide by all of the same laws. But his character and concerns are the same. That it is possible for this to really hurt our mind and our heart and our soul, if that is what we're doing. So what can Christians do? Instead of asking for signs, we can cling to God's promises. Romans 8:28. We know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. And Hebrews 13:5, keep your life free from the love of money. Be content with what you have. For he has said, I will never leave you or forsake you. So the point of that passage right now is that God's faithfulness is sure and his love for us is sure because he tells us so. Second Peter 1:3 is the comfort in all of this is that God's Divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. We have everything we need from God through the knowledge of him, of God who called us to his own glory and and excellence. 2 Timothy 3:16 through 17. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for approved, for correction, and for training and righteousness that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. All right, let me give you my my summary, my summary of all of this. Number one. Can God give science? Yes, God can do anything. Can God give signs? Yes, God can do anything. 2. Does God give signs? It seems, according to Scripture, that He has done so. Then should we ask God for a sign? This is maybe the most important question here. Should we ask God for a sign? I would say no. I don't see any evidence in Scripture that God desires that we ask for specific signs in the world as evidence of his love for us or his will for us. I heard the first Creator say that God delights in giving signs to us. I don't see any biblical evidence for that. Here's why I think doing so. Relying on signs in any way has much more potential to harm us than to help us. Number one. First reason we are fallible. We make mistakes. We are influenced by social media, by our moods, by the people around us. We think we saw something or heard something that we didn't really see or hear. I wouldn't want to be in the business of assigning divine significance, especially when it comes to making decisions for our lives, to something that I could have mistakenly assigned significance to. Like, if I'm going to say something is of the Lord, I'm going to need more than my own feeling about it in order to confidently state that I think of Jeremiah 17:9. The heart is sick. It's desperately wicked. Who can understand it? I don't want to follow my heart. It could lead me astray. And that's number two. Following signs could lead us the wrong way. It could lead us in the wrong direction. It is possible and even plausible that if we are searching for a specific sign from God to tell us what to do and we happen to see a bluebird outside because we were thinking about a bluebird, and that we make a choice based not on biblical wisdom, but on mysticism and emotion. There is lots and lots in the Bible about decision making. The entire book of Proverbs is dedicated to this. And not a single verse in Proverbs recommends asking God for a sign to tell us which way to go. There is so much in the Bible about God's love for us, which was expressed in its fullness on the cross. Like, if we need a reminder of God's love for us, we need to go to Scripture. We go to the gospel. If we need wisdom on which way to go, we go to His Word. We pray for wisdom, which in James God promises to give us. If we ask, we ask wise, godly mentors, a pastor, your mom or dad. We ask people for wisdom and for guidance who have been there because Proverbs shows us the benefit of age and experience in illuminating the path ahead of us. Costi Hen has this great book. It came out, I think, a couple years ago now. Walking in God's walk will he came on my show to discuss it. And it was such a freeing conversation, such a freeing book, because it's liberating to know that we don't have to be looking for signs and wonders to figure out what we're supposed to do. We share the gospel. We glorify God, we love our neighbors. We do the next right thing in faith with excellence and for the glory of God. And we can do that at lots of different kinds of jobs, with lots of different people in lots of different places. Lots of now there's so much more to say about Christian decision making, but I really do encourage you to go watch the episode with Costi that came out, I think, last year, and you'll get a lot of clarity on how Christians should be making these choices. And it is not based on signs. Number three. Basing your decisions or basing your knowledge of God's love for you or his presence with you on signs can make you question God's faithfulness. If you ask for a butterfly to land on your shoulder for God to show his love for you, which another creator had a video talking about that, and that doesn't happen. If you ask for a bird to land on your windowsill to show you which way to go and it doesn't show up, you might begin to doubt that God hears you, that he cares, that he even has a will for your life, when all along he has given you forgiveness by sending His Son to die for you. He's given you salvation through the cross and through the resurrection. He has given you access to Himself, a perfect holy God, through His Son Jesus. He graciously has given you the Holy Spirit, who lives inside you and is designated as your helper. He has given you Jesus, who not only died for you and conquered death for you, but who right now daily lives to intercede for you. To pray for you to the Father. He has given you breath in your lungs, sun in the sky, clothes to wear, food to eat, a brain to think, a mouth to speak. And maybe a lot more than those things. God is faithful because he says he is and because he has proven it time and again as we see not only in our own lives, but as we read in scripture. God will place you where he wants you and he will use you to glorify Himself and make disciples, because that's what he does. Honestly, I think searching for signs puts a lot more pressure on ourselves than should be there. I think it gives us a lot of anxiety and it makes us think of God not as this faithful, steady Father who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, who is with us because he says, I am Emmanuel. God with you because he sent His Son and gave His Holy Spirit to dwell in us, but because of all of these very arbitrary, subjective things that we may or may not see see in the world. That's not the character of God to make you wonder and guess and to play games. He's much more steady, much more steadfast, much more reliable in that. Can God give signs? Yes. Has God given signs? Yes. Should we ask God for signs? My position, and I believe the Bible's position is no. I think you will be much more peaceful and much more and much wiser if you look to His Word and His mechanisms for making decisions than looking for signs. All right, now we're going to get into a conversation with Ainsley Earhart about her new book. And it has to do with America's 250th birthday, which is happening this year, and why it's important to foster patriotism among our kids and the younger generations. Let me pause tell you about our next sponsor first, and that is everylife. Every Life not only sells awesome diapers and wipes, we have a lot of Every Life diapers and wipes in our home. We've relied on them for a while and they work really well. I love that. If they're all clean material too, they're great. But they also have this really cute belt bag, which I also have. It's got a minimalist silhouette, waterproof nylon, versatile styling options. Made in the usa. It's spacious, it's reinforced stitching, it's just really well made. I love it. It's for moms on the go. You can pack your wallet in there, all different kinds of things. And it comes in a lot of cute colors, too. So everylife really has it all. They even have Shampoo and body wash and lotion that's really good for your baby skin. Go to everylife.com they are the Pro Life Diaper Company. Use code ALI10. You'll get 10% off your first order today. Everylife.com code ALI10. Ainsley, I love the title of your book. America, I'm so glad you were born. You wrote a children's book because you think it's important how we portray America to kids. Tell me why that's something that we need to care about as moms and just as Americans.
- [45:02]
B
Well, we're so fortunate to grow up in this amazing country, the greatest country that God ever created. And we were based, we were founded on Christian principles and how we have these rights not because of our founding fathers and the Constitution. We have them because they were God given. So I think the book comes at the perfect time as we're celebrating 250 years in America. And we wrote the book. I wrote the book called I'm so glad you'd were born, which was a birthday book. And it was right before my mom had passed away. And she used to say that to us on our birthdays. And so the public came to me and they said, America's about to turn 250. Do you want to talk about America? You're celebrating a birthday. So, America, we're so glad you were born. And I was like, that's the greatest idea. So we sat down and we were writing this book talking about how we have the right to vote. We have the right to free speech. We have the right to choose where we worship. We have so many rights that were given to us because God wanted America to be special and to have these rights. And so I just want parents to know that it's so important to teach our children this. We grew up where my grandfather's fault in World War II. So my mother and my father talked about the war and how great our country is. And Tom Brokaw wrote the book the Greatest Generation. And I remember my grandmother with all of her best friends sitting in her living room and I was playing on the floor and they were talking about the book and just thinking, gosh, I'm sorry, I'm just so grateful that these are my grandparents because they teach us about Jesus. We go to church every Sunday. They are proud of this country. They're so patriotic. They never said anything negatively, you know, about our country and our rights. And they knew how special our freedoms were. So I think it's important for us to teach our children that because Our, our country, we haven't had a major war lately. We had 9 11, and that unified our country. But we need to teach the younger generation. My daughter wasn't even born in 9 11, so I think it's important for us to teach them how fortunate we are to live here and have these freedoms.
- [47:00]
A
Yeah. Do you feel that it's getting less prevalent for not just parents, but for teachers, for politicians, for adults to talk positively and unapologetically proudly about America? Because I certainly feel that way. I was young after 9 11, but I certainly remember those moments and even moments since then that I've just been so proud to be an American. I love the fourth of July, but sometimes it feels a little lonely. It feels like a lot of people just don't care.
- [47:27]
B
I think it's a great opportunity for Americans to reflect and for us to sit at the kitchen table with our children and talk to them about this or with your spouse and talk about this and talk about the values and the principles that we were founded on. And I think that plenty of people, I think there are plenty of people who, who adhere to the principles of our founding fathers and love this country, but there are others that, that think completely differently than, than conservatives do. And I mean, look at aoc. She's just said that she, her ambitions are greater than becoming president. Her ambitions are to change the course of America with, you know, redistributing district, with redistributing wealth. Right. She wants wealthy people to give their money back to the country so that everybody is equal, even though this country was founded on capitalism and being able to work really hard and get where you want to go and that anything is possible in this country. And we do have the freedom to choose our path. If you work hard and if you have a positive attitude, you can work your way up and you can make money and you can provide for your family. And she wants everyone to be. To make the same amount of money, no matter how hard you work or how few hours you work. And so that's, in my opinion, is it's a very scary place to be in our country. Because how do you reconcile with that? Ali Beth, how do you. Some people want open borders. Some people want closed borders, Some people want more police, some people want to defund police, some people want taxes to be high, some people want a wealth tax. So how do we reconcile with this? It's fundamental differences. But I do take heart knowing that God created this country. I just don't want to lose our principles and what we were Founded on. And I want parents to step up and teach their children and really educate themselves about what our country, what our founding fathers wanted for this country. Because if we're so vastly different, where do we go?
- [49:22]
A
Yeah, right. You know, I say that it's really the division that we feel today that is different than the division that our parents generation and grandparents generation felt. There's always been a level of that. But the disagreements that we have today are not really more complex, in my opinion. They're more fundamental. We're asking questions, where did truth come from? Where do rights come from? Is America special? Is God the creator of all people that made us in his image and therefore gave us our innate equality? It's those big questions, those, like, theological, fundamental questions that I think we disagree on in America that is making it really hard to unite. Because if we at least agreed on those things, I think we could figure out justice, I think we could figure out immigration, and I think we could figure out taxes. Those, to me, are like secondary, tertiary. It's the big things that you're talking about that we seem to not agree on. So, like, I would love to hear your perspective. Like, how. What does it look like? Like, how do we kind of come together and at least say, okay, even if we can't agree on these other things, can we at least agree that we have been given this incredible country that has given us these amazing rights and this amazing freedom that we should steward in the best way we know how?
- [50:39]
B
Yeah. You know, the left is so radical, so radical in their beliefs. And our younger generation, they're getting a lot of this news from social media, from the podcast they're choosing. And some of these very famous podcasts that are getting millions and millions of views think completely differently than most of America. But they have a lot of followers, and they're very, very radical right now. And so far, Middle America, the moderates, those that are independent, those that might not necessarily eat, breathe, and sleep this, like you and I do, they are not ready for that much radicalization. But what I fear is that with social media and with the younger generation, what happens for our children will. We have so many people that have heard it and bought into it on social media that they believe it. And they don't educate themselves or they're not watching the channels or listening to the podcast of that are teaching what our Constitution, what our founding fathers, what they really believed, and we just need a course correction in our country. And so that's what fear. That's the fear I have when I Was, I mean, what, 10 years ago, Ali Beth, when you and I were on Fox and Friends together talking about Bernie Sanders, like 15 years ago, we're like socialism. What? That will never resonate. This guy is a quack. Like, never. This will never work in our country. And now we have a lot of politicians that say, I'm not a communist, but I am a socialist. Even though they're affiliated with the Communist Party of the United States of America, they don't want to admit it yet. We're not quite there. But what happens when they do get there? It's just becoming more and more and more extreme. And I am terrified for that because I'm thankful for conservative voices like yours that are speaking out. But I just don't want this country to go down that path.
- [52:35]
A
Quick pause to tell you about our next sponsor for the day and that is Patriot Mobile. Everyday Americans make choices that shape our country's future. That doesn't just happen at the midterms or in a big election year. It also happens when we spend our money. When we spend our dollars, we actually vote with our dollar. So if you want to make sure that you're voting in a way that actually aligns with your values and then you need to switch to Patriot Mobile. Patriot Mobile is not just a wireless provider. They're an activist organization funded by selling top tier cell phone service. They've been on the front lines defending our freedoms long before it was cool, standing in the gap when others wouldn't. They've got a 100 US based customer service support team. They deliver prioritized premium service on all three US major networks. Go to patriotmobile.com ally you'll get a free month of service when you use my code ally patriotmobile.com ally code alli. One of the things that you talk about that you've already touched on in this conversation but in your book is a value that we have to hold on to that this country was founded upon is hard work. And you mentioned earlier hard work with a positive attitude. And there are so many people out there, some of the people that you're describing, that say, oh, it's a myth that if you just work harder that you can be successful, that you can accomplish your dreams. Obviously, I don't believe that both of us have seen that in our families, in our lives, that actually hard work and having a positive attitude, trusting on the Lord, it, I mean, it can accomplish a lot. That's not to say that everyone's going to be a billionaire because of those things, but gosh you can accomplish a lot and provide for your family with those three things. Why do you think so many people are denying that reality when it could make their life so much better if they just applied those principles?
- [54:24]
B
Yeah, I mean, people ask the younger people, they come into Fox News, and the interns will ask me. Can, can you give us any advice? My advice is always work hard. Say yes to every opportunity. Don't always wish the best for everybody. If you're in competition with other people at work, wish them the best. Help them, talk to them, encourage them. Be a good Christian. I mean, those are all just Christian principles. Be confident. Be positive. Be happy. Know your worth. I think it's important to be confident in that area. Know that if you're a good person that you deserve to be with a partner that's equally. That's. That has the same agenda in a marriage or in a relationship. Be happy. Work really, really hard. I'll tell you that I was a, you know, a good student because I worked hard. I wasn't necessarily the smartest in my class. I definitely was not the smartest in my class. I was not like, you know, the top 10 in our class. I would have loved to have gone to an Ivy League school. God didn't give me an Ivy League brain. But I really worked hard and I studied and I studied for all my tests and I study now every morning for Fox and Friends and study for a long time. I study the night before. I study for an hour by myself in my office the morning of. And I know the issues and I'm prepared when I get, when I walk onto the set. And it's not because I know a lot about all of these issues all the time. It's because I'm well read and I talk to people that are involved in these stories and in these situations and I get firsthand accounts and I have my sources. So it's just, it's a matter of working hard. God could put a lot of women in my seat, and I am not. You know, there were a lot of people that would be more successful than I am and would do the job a lot better than I do. I know God puts me there because I'm putting him first. I'm not afraid to talk about him. I'm bold about my faith. I'm bold about God saving my life, changing my life when I was 21 years old. And I know that if I stop talking about that, then God will take it all away from me. So I love him. I love my job. I love My life. I'm positive. I'm so happy that I have a child. And that wasn't easy. You know, I had ups and downs with trying to get pregnant and having a miscarriage. And then three months after my miscarriage, I have my child. So whatever you're going through, try, if you can, to look at it from a positive perspective. If I hadn't gone through that really sad period of my life, I wouldn't have my daughter now because I got pregnant with her three months after my dnc. So it all works out. I've had, you know, a failed marriage, and now I am going to marry the most wonderful man that for me. For me, that God I know created. And that was such a hard time. Such a hard time, especially as a strong Christian to go through that. It was very embarrassing. But look what God did. He redeemed me and he has blessed our broken road. And so if you can, try to go through life with a positive attitude and if you're having a hard time. We did a story this past week about a lady that was trying to commit suicide. And these police officers swept in. She was trying to jump from a building, and they were up on a really high floor. You could see all the skyscrapers in the background. And they pulled her back, and I thought, oh, my gosh, that's so scary. I don't really like heights. And she was crying and saying, can you please get me help? And I thought, my gosh, so sad for her, and said a prayer for her. Because to be that low to where you feel like you need to take your life, just know. Just pray to God, give your life to Christ. And around the corner, God has so many good things for you. So in order to get to the mountain, you have to go through the valley. I think just having a positive attitude, that is the secret to success. At least I only know my story. I know I'm not trying to be a therapist because I know that a lot of people have had struggles that are different than mine, but that has worked for me. And life is hard, but we have Jesus and we have the. We have eternal life where there are no tears and no stress and no hardships. And I know when I take my last breath, I'll be with him. So, yeah, willing to go through this and tell other people about Christ. And it is a joy I love every day.
- [58:23]
A
Yeah.
- [58:23]
B
But I am looking forward to heaven, too.
- [58:25]
A
Yeah. Amen. What do you think about this surge that we're seeing of young people, especially young men, it seems, turning to Faith, specifically the Christian faith to Christianity, to taking those things more seriously. I have. So I'm so excited about that. I have so many questions in that, like, how can we see this trend among young women? I want to make that happen, or the Lord has to make it happen, but I want to see that happen. And then also, what effect do you think this is going to have on patriotism? Do you think that we are also going to see, as people are turning to God, seeing the source of where liberty comes from, that people will also say, wow, okay, I am so grateful. I see now what a unique blessing America is.
- [59:07]
B
Definitely. I think that's inevitable. I think God will, because I believe that God gave us the rights to be Americans. I think that he will definitely when. When you do turn to Christ and you give your life to Christ, I think he will also open your eyes not only to him, but open your eyes to. To what a great country we are. I mean, if you. If you open your eyes to God, then you're probably going to go to church. And most churches talk about the blessings because we can go to whatever church we want to go to in America. That is such a gift. That is a freedom that God gave us. In other countries, they don't have that gift. In other countries, if you're caught with a Bible or you're sneaking around, you have a Bible study, you know, behind a secret wall in your house, and you're caught by the government, you're killed or you're arrested. So that's not going to happen in America. And I think that when you turn to God, that you will also inevitably become more patriotic. I am very much excited for the younger men because I think in order to turn the women, the men first need to change. It's so attractive. It was so attractive to me even before I was saved. To date a guy that was a Christian that wanted to go to church on Sundays because I wanted. First of all, I loved it, and I wanted to share that experience with him. But I also looked up to him and I respected him more when he put something else above himself, and that was Christ. And men want respect. And that is the. That's the easiest way for a man to earn the respect of a woman, I think, is to tell him. Tell her that something else is more important than himself, and that is his faith and his love in Jesus Christ. And we will be a Christian family, and we will. I will not take advantage of you. And I want to. I want to. Your. Your body is a temple. And I want to Honor God. And I don't ever want to look at other women. I want to live Christian principles and Christian values. I mean, what woman would say, I don't like that. I don't want that. I want you to look at other women. I want you to go out and do whatever you're doing. You know, that is frowned upon in the eyes of God. On your computer. No. Or I want you to watch certain movies that I know would not. God wouldn't want me to watch. Like, that's not attractive. Women are attracted to a man who loves the Lord and is living a Christian life. It's so attractive. And so I think when the men turn, the women will follow. But more women, I would argue. I don't know the statistics, but I would say many more women go to church than at a young age than men do college age. But when I was at the University of South Carolina, 50% of my sorority, they were really strong Christians. And so I was going out all the time and, you know, drinking all the time and having a lot of fun. Still would go to church on Sundays, but then I would hang out with these. These Christian ladies, and I'd go to their Bible studies. And I started to realize I want what they have. I want what Michelle has and what Sarah has and what Lindsay has, and I want to act like them. And they seem so happy and they're so fun, and they have great Christian men, and my dad's a strong Christian man, and I want to marry someone like that. And so I started hanging out with them and going to Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and. Which was awesome because we had all the football players would speak and tell their testimonies. We had the chaplain of our football team. He was so great. He was an evangelist, and he would get on stage and speak, and anytime he spoke fca, you couldn't even get a seat. You had to go, like an hour early. Because Adrian depray was his name, and he was such a good speaker. And it was so fun to watch him so fired up for Jesus. And he had children, and he was a big leader in our church. And everyone in my college or in FCA went to the Baptist church. I started going to the Baptist church. My life changed. God really got a hold of me, and. And so it was so much fun. And I remember just feeling so free and rescued and God had redeemed me. And I started dating a guy that's a really strong Christian. And we would memorize scripture together, go to church. He played the guitar. We would go to the beach with all of our friends and sit in a circle and, you know, sing praise and worship music. It was just a different, totally different life than I'd ever lived before. And it was wonderful. God really showed me. This is wholesome, this is good. This is what I want for you.
- [63:30]
A
Last sponsor for the day is Good Ranchers. This is how we want to celebrate America's birthday, y'.
- [63:35]
D
All.
- [63:36]
A
This is how we want to do it by making sure we are supporting American farms and ranches. If you go to goodranchers.com and you use code Ally, you get a hundred dollars off your first three orders. Take it from me, we rely on good ranchers almost every night. We just had hamburgers and hot dogs and it's all from. Well, the hot dogs aren't from good ranchers yet. They should get on that. They should start making hot dogs. But their ground beef is amazing. They're better than organic. Chicken is amazing. Their seed oil free chicken nuggets amazing. Their seafood is amazing. It's all so good. We rely on it almost every night in this ducky home. All from American farms and ranches. Celebrate America's 250th by switching to Good Ranchers. Good ranchers.com/ally that's Good Ranchers.com code ally Blaze TV. Make sure that you are a subscriber so you can get access to all kinds of content that you cannot see on YouTube or any of the big tech platforms. This is how we protect you, protect your access to all of us. You get subscriber exclusive content, so be a part of the Blaze TV family. Subscribe blazv.com ally that's blaz tv.com al you get $20 off your subscriber subscription. Blazetv.com ally. Yeah, I've seen that a lot, you know, with friends of mine is that their faith changes and their politics change. Their entire worldview changes really, because of their husband, because of the person that they date and then the person that they eventually married. That's not to say that women can't have a positive or negative impact on a man. But I do think it's true, as much as feminists don't want to hear it, that we are naturally attracted to someone who leads, who knows who he is, who knows where he's going, know why, knows why he's going where he's going. Like I women like that. And I know that there are men out there who are like, oh, you know, they're having a hard time finding a Christian woman who is attracted to that. But I just pray that more and more of those couples are able to come together. It's not only good for the church, good for them, it's good for our country too. Like, we want more Christian families, we want more Christian couples, we want more babies. We, we need that. Like, we're facing a, we're facing a crisis in all of those arenas. I think all of that contributes to morale. I think all of that contributes to patriotism. What we think about our country, the kind of country that you want to pass down when you have children, you've got a stake in an, an investment in the future, all of those things. How we order our lives really affects what we think about the country that God gave us, don't you think?
- [66:10]
B
No, I definitely agree with that. I definitely agree with that. You know, we all have our, we all have different paths, but. And I'm not here to preach and to proselytize and act like I'm better than anybody else, because I am not. I am a sinner. And the only reason that, that I go to church and read the Bible and need Christ so much is because of the sins I've, you know, committed. I not perfect. Even raising my daughter, I'm. I will say God has given me a wonderful child. She is pretty easy to raise. But you know, when it's late at night and she hasn't finished her homework and she's distracted and she wants to play, and then I'm like, oh my gosh, child, you've got to go to sleep. I wake up at 3 o' clock in the morning, we've got to go to sleep. And then I start to get frustrated and even, like, parenting is difficult because I'll say, you know, I'll get a darker voice. She calls it my dark voice. I'll get a deeper voice and I'll just say, we sit down and do your homework. But. And then she just like bursts into tears and she's very sensitive and I'll have to apologize to her later, like, I'm sorry, honey, that I had to, you know, use a stronger voice. But this is why you really need your sleep. And the reason that you were crying today is because you didn't get a lot of sleep last night. You know, the whole thing. So there, I mean, there are challenges raising children, but my advice for, for those situations is just love and be honest by being a parent. And your children see that you are willing to apologize. They're willing to apologize. She had a little incident with a friend at school. She'd heard a friend said something mean about her. So she said something to the messenger, mean about that child. That child found out and approached my daughter. And my daughter said, I am sorry. I shouldn't have said that. That wasn't true. Do you forgive me? Because I said to her, when she came home, she goes, mom, I need to talk to you. I had a really bad day. So what happened? And she said, you know, she told me the whole story. And I said, did you ask for forgiveness? And she said, I did. I asked her if she would forgive me. I thought, okay. She's learned that from me because I've had to ask for forgiveness.
- [68:09]
A
Yeah. Wow. That's really sweet. Yeah. There's so many blessings, so many hardships to. You know, all commitments require sacrifice, and that is commitment to God, commitment to your spouse, commitment to your family, commitment to your country. But that's kind of what you're talking about, is that. That is like a miss, unfortunately, that a lot of people don't want to sacrifice. It's all about them, and it's all about convenience. I think that's contributing to the decline in a lot of things we're seeing. But I am very hopeful that the reinvigoration of faith in young people could change the trajectory for the better. What else do you want people to know about this book? It's out June 2nd. It's a kid's book. It's so cute. Is there anything else that you want people to know that they'll get out of it?
- [68:56]
B
This was. This is.
- [68:57]
A
Yeah. Adorable.
- [68:58]
B
The other day. And Sean Hannity, he opened it the other day and he was going through it, and he was like, Ainsley. Sean helped me with it.
- [69:06]
A
So.
- [69:06]
B
Sean's my fiance, and Sean, I read the book to him and he kind of tweaked it a little bit and changed some things. He wanted me to talk about the unalien, unalienable rights that our creators given. I said, that's. That's a word that's hard for us to say.
- [69:22]
A
Yeah.
- [69:22]
B
I don't. Children. But, yeah, that message is in here about these rights were given to us from God. It talks about our right to vote. How many. Many women in other countries or many people in other countries don't have the right to vote? It's just a dictator, and you have to do whatever they say. And if you don't, then, you know, the worst things could happen to you. I don't get into that, obviously, with the children, but we talk about. There's no longer a king that we have our freedoms. We have freedom to go to church, freedom of speech. We talk about soldiers and how they're fighting for our country and the sacrifices they make for our freedoms. And we talk about police officers. It's just an American book. And in the original book that I'm so glad you were born we had the stanza about we blow the brass, we bang the drums loudly, we blow the brass horns. And about how I'm so glad you were born. And this one does the same. So similar themes. If you have the first book, your children will be able to see those similar themes. And at the end of the book, America, we're so glad you were born. Yeah I love that for the younger ones.
- [70:25]
A
That is so sweet. Well, thank you so much. I'm looking forward to reading it to my girls. So many good lessons in it. So I appreciate you. Ainsley. Thank you so much for taking the time to come on.
- [70:34]
B
Great to see you. Thank you.
- [70:46]
A
Sat.