Mifflin Dove was a former Episcopal priest who felt his church had left him behind. His bride-to-be had gone through a tough divorce that left her nearly penniless. But with God at the center of their relationship they forged a new life of faith and joy. Join host Pastor Dave Schultz as the Doves express their thankfulness for God's gift of rejuvenation on this week's Engaging Truth broadcast.

The following program is sponsored by evangelical life ministries.

Welcome to engaging truth, the manifestation of God's word and the lives of people around us. Join us each week. As we explore the impact of his message of spiritual renewal from the lesson of forgiveness forged in the crucible of divorce, to the message of salvation learned by an executioner from a condemned killer to the gift of freedom found in the rescue of victims of human trafficking. This is God's truth in action.

Welcome to engaging truth. This is Dave Schultz, your host for this evenings program, we have some special guests who have one has been here before. The other one, the wife has not been here before, but we welcome to the microphone this evening, Mifflin and Tony. We hope that this is a good time because it's heading into Thanksgiving time. And that's the kind of the theme of the month. In other words, we're talking about what to be grateful for, even in, in times of trauma and different cult in times of anxiety and fear. So I was thinking about, you know, what the apostle Paul said. He said, be thankful in all things, you know, and that's kind of hard to do, um, because we're human beings, we're AFF afflicted by many different negative things. And so it was really hard to all is be thankful, but this is time of the year when we can try to be thankful knowing that everything we have belongs to the gracious God.

No, it's my oldest

Daughter. Yeah. Your oldest daughter, you still have one daughter left. Okay. And, uh, the beauty of the fact that she has given birth to a child to replace, uh, that daughter, which is really kind of a neat, blessed thing, isn't it? Yes. Um, how is it that, um, you can be thankful now, like even in times of difficulty, the

Lord has pulled me through, I'm just having faith in him. And I mean, he's, I did my daily devotion every morning and then just having my daughter and my husband and my friends. And,

And you got the promise of the word I will never leave you or for thank you. Okay. Give me a good message. Mifflin about Thanksgiving. You've been mulling this over in your mind for a while.

I think that when we are thankful we have a better life. I think that when we look at the circumstances in our daily life and we think and realize that God is the source of all good things that, um, that we're blessed and, and to be able to acknowledge that God is that provider. And even in times of, of chaos and times of, of bad things, that we can still be thankful to God for helping us through those times. Um, talking about the valley with, you know, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, um, I shall fear no evil for the Lord is with me. And, and to know that Lord is with us, even in those times is a great comfort life can

Cast some pretty ugly. Can it? Oh yeah, absolutely. , you've already experienced that in your life. And that, and probably before Jesus takes us home, we'll walk through those, another valley somewhere, you know, and all we know is that, um, I will never leave you or forsake you that's, that's kind of a promise and a guarantee. You've had a interesting life Mifflin. Uh, you began in ministry some years ago. Tell us about that a little bit.

Oh sure. I was an Episcopal priest, uh, for 17 years. And, um, that was, uh, served over several churches during my career. In that way. I was, I was, uh, school chaplain in that, that time, um, got a lot of different, um, roles to play when I was, was there. Um, it was a time, uh, it was a real blessing that I was able to do that and have that experience. Um, things did kind of go south though. The, the Episcopal church had a lot of tur oil and I was having difficulties with some of the theological trends, uh, and teachings that they were espousing. And, um, eventually the pressure was such that I just felt like I needed

To, you had to make a decision. I had to make a

When you walked away, did the weight go away?

Um, there was a relief in certain ways, but there was also a lot of fear and trepidation. Um, I had to figure out my identity. I, uh, when I was a priest, they kind of hammer it into you. You're a priest in the order of like in the order of Malak. I mean, they, they make this big deal about it. And, um, so my whole identity was kind of around being this priest and I was called father dove and, and, um, I had to really, uh, learn how to be Mifflin. How, who am I really? And, um, it took a, a while to find, what did you

Find within you that you could use, um, in the world in which you live that that's not like you were

Doing as a priest? Well, I'm, I mean, my faith in God was always there. I mean, even as I took the steps that I did, I felt like I was being faithful to God and what I was doing. I, um, I literally had to just say, I'm, I'm kind of taking a leap of faith and I'm trusting you Lord to catch me. And the Lord caught me. I mean, he kept me from destruction. I mean, he, um, I, I went through a very difficult journey, a difficult valley. I called it a season of my life, where I had to figure out what to do, how to, how to move on. I had to, uh, to decide, um, you know what I mean, just everything, you know, and, and I lost everything financially. I, I even wound up having to file bankruptcy. Yeah. Um, that was a very difficult thing for me to do. Um, house was Reposessed, um, truck was Reposessed. Um, I met this wonderful woman and, and she, uh, was a great source of, of strength, um, during that time. And well,

Her smile tells me that she's got a wonderful heart.

She does. And,

Um, and can make anyone sad, feel good.

Absolutely. And, and I really do believe God brought us together and she had her challenges and I had mine. And, uh, one thing, um, when it looked like I was gonna need to file bankruptcy. I mean, she was actually, let's get married sooner, you know, so that, so that I could move in with her and, you know, we begin our life and, and I'm thinking to myself, wow, how many women would marry a guy , who's in the middle of filing bankruptcy? You know, I mean, she didn't love me for my money that's for sure. And, uh, truly, truly, uh, you know, just supportive in being, what

Are the gifts did, did God is give you that you could, as you were in that valley, you would say, where, where do I go with this now? What, what, what gifts you had that kind of blossom forth that created where you are today?

Well, you know, I, I started out in accounting before I went to seminary and I felt a call to ministry and, and, uh, left that I was gonna be a C I, you know, before I went to seminary, I thought I was gonna be a CPA and be part of a practice or, or a partnership or something, and, and do that the rest of my life. And, and, um, I felt a strong call to ministry. And then when I left, you know, at times I'd question, well, Lord, what was all that about? I mean, you know, here I am going, looking to go back to accounting. I couldn't find a job because no one wanted to hire a guy who hadn't been doing accounting for 20 years, you know? And, and, uh, so eventually, and prayerfully, I realized that I needed to, instead of finding a job, I needed to create my own job. And so that's exactly what I did. I started my own business and my own practice, and God is blessed at a, and you

Are gifted with numbers

And that's, I am I, you know, I never thought I was very strong with math, but, um, I discovered if you put dollar signs in front of the numbers, they made better sense. And, uh, so the math got got there. And, and I really, when I was in college, it just seemed like I had a real natural, um, understanding of, of double entry counting and, and all the intricacies and such

Tanya were those difficult moments for you at the beginning too, when you saw that happening to him and, and, and then moving forward with him, uh, was there points of trepidation? And I wonder if I'm doing the right thing and is this, is this a positive thing?

It was a positive thing. Um, you know, when I filed divorce from my first husband, I had to file for bankruptcy. I had to go through those same steps, raising two girls.

So you knew what he was going, I exactly

What he was going because you were there. Yes. I had to let go of my car. I had to let go of my house. I had to move into a rental. Yes, I did all of that. And so then when the Lord brought us together, then it was like,

But how wonderfully God has blessed both of you in a, as a result of yes. Of the journey that you've had together. And, and, and I see Milin often I'm not there every day, but I see him often at, at, at the church and know that, that, uh, just from the conversation of the many blessings that you have received, not just singly, but together

Mm-hmm, absolutely.

I just really wanna say how wonderful it is that you have seen life through not rose cluttered glasses, but the reality of sin and grace in the world, in which we live mm-hmm and have seen how important it is to cling to the truth that you heard and knew as a, as a priest. Well, before you, this, this day happened. Tell me, tell me about the emotional, um, positive side of what has happened to you and where the Lord is leading you

Of one of the things that, um, I look back on my experience. I mean, literally losing everything, not having a job, not having a at a, at the time, feeling like a purpose. Um, I would, when we got married, I, I was still not employed for a while and, and I would go out, I'd ride my bike on a trail and go out to a park, spend time in prayer. Um, did that almost daily and, um, just praying Lord, what, what would you have me do? What, what do you have for me in it? And, and I, I got a good, uh, um, bit of grace out of that, because over time I just felt with my conversations with the Lord, I knew that he was gonna, he had something for me that, that it wasn't just, I was out in the wilderness, if you will. I was in a way, but that there was a path for me to follow. And, um, and I look back on that whole experience and to be thankful, I'm actually thankful that I went through it. Um,

And I, I, I think people need to hear that as there's someone that will be listening to this broadcast somewhere, and they're at the, they're kind of at the end of their rope, mm-hmm , they need to see the hope that, that blossom forth from your life, that a result of who Jesus was in your life.

Oh, absolutely. You know, when I lost everything, I, it was a gift now that look back on it, because so many people have anxiety about losing things, their possessions, losing their jobs, losing things in life that they, they, that they hold value and I've lost all that, but God provided. And I got to see that it's almost, you know, I think of the movie, it's a wonderful life. You know, where Clarence, the angel gives you, gives you an alternative, uh, existence and what the world was like, you know, without George Bailey. Well, I got to find out what the life was like, losing everything and being able to gain it back, um, through God's grace. And so that was a great gift. And I, I look back on that now, and I don't have the anxiety I used to have, because I know now I, and I trust the Lord. If I lost everything again, tomorrow we just pick up and start moving again, God will pick, you know, God will help. And you

Think of, you know, when you talk about that, I think of job. Mm-hmm , you know, it wasn't, it wasn't job's fault. Satan said, uh, you build the fence around this buddy of yours. If you take the fence away, let me add him. Uh, he'll curse. You and Lord said, no, he won't. And I, and I, and I think that that's kind of in a sense what you feel and what you sense and what you say as well.

Well, thank you. Yeah, it just God's grace just brings joy. And, um, you know, the, the fact that, that I could be thankful, and I was thankful, even in the midst of that period, I was thankful that I had Tonya, you know, before I met Tonya was praying. I knew I'd be married again someday. And I, I prayed Lord help me to find a woman who loves God, who will love God more than me. And Tanya loves God more than me. And that's great because I've learned that if you find somebody who loves God more than you, you're gonna get a lot of love out of that. And, um, it's a

Blessing. I'm a gonna pause for a second. And then I'm gonna ask you about your grandbaby. All right, this program is called engaging truth. And, um, we do this every Sunday night, we post two particular programs and these programs are podcasted on E L M houston.org. And the reason we can do is because we have generous people who are benefactors, who help us along the way and have every day and every week for 12 years helped us to get these programs. Not only here, but across the nation, as they are streamed everywhere. I would like to ask you in the listening audience, just to put down somewhere in writing the name E LM, houston.org, that's our website on the website. It gives you all kind of instructions as to what you can do, but number one, you can pray for all those people who help us, especially the volunteers of in this organization, no one receives who are employed with us, a paycheck for what they do. They do it voluntarily, especially we who are in the, in the gifted area of, of interviewing people. But anyway, in the listening audience, I thank you, but you can also respond with dollars and sense to E L M PO box 5 68, Cypress, Texas, 77, 7 0. And I thank you that you will be willing to assist us as we assist others. Okay. Tanya, we're gonna get back to you and the grandchild. How old is your new grand baby? Almost

18 months,

Uh, into everything

Pretty much. Yes. .

How do you, how do you know that that grand baby loves you?

Oh, he just lights up. When he sees me reaches out for me, if I have to leave or go downstairs, he's crying. He doesn't want me to leave

Saying a few words already. Yeah.

He says mama and Paul patrol and hot, hot, and I, but he hasn't created it a name for me yet.

So, well, what a blessing that the Lord, God, let that little tight come into the world. Yes, it was during the, the year of your most difficult yes. Time in losing your daughter. I just give thanks. Isn't it neat that God knows everything and he provides according to his gracious. Good will. Yes. I love that passage. You in Philippians four that says my God will provide for all of my needs. According to the richness of his grace. Yes. Hey, wonderful. Yes. Tell me about what life looks like around the corner. Now we can't predict the future, uh, but we're living in some tough economic times. We're living some tough spiritual times. What does it look like around the corner for you and for us,

That's a difficult question to answer. Um, not knowing the future. I mean, looking at what's going around the country, um, all the division, all the, I mean, that lots of hate,

Um, it's a, it's an unprecedented hate. Yes.

I'm, you know, I'm 55 years old and I don't think I've ever seen things like this, you know, and, um, you know, we're facing inflation now and, and they talk about maybe empty shelves at the grocery stores and, and, and all kinds of things like that. And, and, um, it's, it's caused us to kind of be pairing for that potential situation. You know, we, but, uh, we, to just trust that God will see us through whatever the future holds. I mean, he's

Created, and he has said he will provide mm-hmm and, um, he gave to Adam and E said, be fruitful and multiply and replen your, you take care of it. Um, I'll take care of the creation. You just take care of where you stand and where you, where you work. Mm-hmm . Um, is there anything that, that, that you see in the mathematical world that gives you kind of an angst, uh, about the future?

Um, certainly inflation seeing, seeing that people will inflation is a terrible, terrible tax on the people. It especially affects people of lower income. I mean, when your GRA gas and groceries go up, I mean, wealthier people, they can, they can deal with that. But, you know, when you have people who, um, they, they don't have a whole lot beyond that. I mean, they don't, they live paycheck to paycheck and then to see their paycheck, getting, getting them less, it it's, it's a great concern. I think we're gonna see a lot of need in the community coming up, um, in the next few months maybe. And, um, you know, so I'm, I've been praying, you know, for, you know, how to respond to that, how to, how to be a positive presence, how to trust in that. Uh, you know, I do believe God will, uh, see us through we've we've had inflation in our country before real bad. I remember as a kid, I mean, Jimmy Carter during those days, inflation was absolutely crazy. You know, my parents would tell me about that. And, um, but, um, the, uh, you know, the also too, just, just wanting to see the end of this COVID situation, you know, seeing that go away would be, uh, really nice. I mean, we, we see the lot of division over that. I mean, over vaccine nations, over having to follow government mandates and things like that, but

Isn't it wonderful that still packed in the back of our mind and heart is the promise that, uh, I'm in control. The Lord is still in his throne. He hasn't left anything. Uh, all this is not a surprise to him, right? It, uh, it's, it's because of our frailty and our weakness that a lot of this is being led to happen, but God is gracious to give us that opportunity to praise. And thanks him one final thought on Thanksgiving, uh, in the midst of all of this, why should we still continue to be

Thankful? We can continue to be thankful because we, we have God and we have his son, Jesus Christ. And I'll tell you if, if I mean, I, I, I sometimes think about the fact what if there was no, God, what if there was no Jesus, that would be the absolute, I mean, it'd be nothingness. I mean, it would be the end. I mean, God, the very fact that God loves us and he created us and gave us life and, and gave us his son and gives us grace. Um, we can't, we can't lose with that in the eternal perspective, even as difficult as life could get day

To day, we have been given grace upon grace. And so we're very thankful that God has given us, uh, the opportunity not only to exist and to live and to breathe and to walk and talk, but to share the message of Christ. Would you close this Mifflin with a prayer, a Thanksgiving prayer for

Today? Sure. And I'm gonna use it outta the book of common prayer. Yes. Outta the Anglican book of common prayer, except a Lord, our thanks and praises for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the slender of the whole creation for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life and for the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends and for the loving care, which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for setting us at tasks, which demand our best efforts and for leading us to accomplishments, which satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone, above all. We thank you for your son, Jesus Christ, for the truth of his word, in the example of his life, for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation for his dying, through which he overcame death and for his rising to life again, in which we raised to life to the life of your kingdom, grant us the gift of your spirit, that we may know him and make him known and through him at all times.

And in all places may give thanks to you and all things. Thank

You for being our guest this evening. Come back again next Sunday night. Good night. Thank you for listening to this broadcast of engaging truth. Be sure to join us each week at this time to help support our ministry, contact evangelical life ministries, post office box 5 6, 8 Cy Texas 77, 410, or visit our website@elmhouston.org, or find us on Facebook evangelical life ministries. Thank you.