Sometimes we're low on energy and life has taken a toll. Sometimes we're not sure how to move forward and we're missing something simple but great.

Stop pouring from and empty cup! This is my encouragement to you. He is our rest, He is our hope and He is our everything. Fill your cup with Christ! I pray this blesses you. God bless you all.

All right, everyone, welcome

back to, I Can't, he Can.

2

My name is Saray.

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I'm your host, and we're here with

another episode, another Monday,

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and I am just so thrilled and so

full of joy to do this for you guys.

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Today's gonna be a little bit different.

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We are not going to continue with

Ecclesiastes chapter eight, so go ahead

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and wait for that for next Monday.

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We are going to talk about.

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Something that has been a recurring

theme in the lives of the people

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that I surround myself with.

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And I just, I was sitting here in

my room, I just finished working

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and I'm like, you know what?

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I just, I need to talk about this.

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I need to talk about this because I

feel like everyone needs to hear it

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and as much as I need to hear it.

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And you know, sometimes

it's take your own advice.

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Easier said than done, but.

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The reality is that we don't come to

these realizations until we're at the

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end of a trial or we're finally seeing

the light per se, in a certain situation.

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So that's why I'm recording this today.

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I thought it was really important

and I truly, truly felt in my heart

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like I just wanted to share this.

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So, without further ado,

today's episode is named The

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Encouragement, and I have honestly.

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Said that so much lately, whether

it's in the Bible study group or

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whether it's to my best friend or

just a random person that I have

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spoken to, that I've come across.

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Like while getting lunch, I have used that

phrase, this is my encouragement to you.

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And these words were said a

lot to me also in the past.

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And it's kind of stuck with me.

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and.

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Can't we just all use an

encouragement from time to time?

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I feel like we need that, especially

in this day and age that we're living.

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We need more and more encouragement

sometimes, as we go through

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things and as we grow and mature.

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but more than anything, I think we

need encouragement as we're walking

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with the Lord because the more we grow.

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With Christ, the more we truly start

planting seeds and really wanting

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to build that firm foundation in our

faith, we start getting attacked.

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And I know that I've talked briefly

about, you know, spiritual warfare

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here and there, and it's very real.

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It's very, very real.

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Once we truly start

getting closer to Christ.

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The enemy just wants us to stay away.

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He is that one being, I'm not even going

to put him on an altar of any kind.

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but he really is the best at deceiving,

at lying and, in deterring us from

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the good things and deterring our

minds from getting closer to Christ

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and from staying in the word.

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So again, that's why I wanted to

call this episode the encouragement.

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I know I'm rambling a lot, but I

promise you, I promise you guys that.

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This is literally like unscripted.

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This is literally unscripted and

just straight from the heart.

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And I really think that

some of you may need it.

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I think that some of you may need it.

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I know I needed it months ago.

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I am so grateful that I.

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Had David, or have David Rather, but

even at that time had David in my corner

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and we kind of just uplifted each other.

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of course, you know, also having my best

friend and, and other really, really

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good friends that are like now family.

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but sometimes the people that are closest

to us are the ones that turn away first.

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and that's because they don't understand.

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What we're aiming for.

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They don't understand what eternity means.

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They don't see eternity how we

see eternity, and that's because

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they don't know Christ yet.

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And that's okay.

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And the only thing that we can do,

which I have learned or really have

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learned and finally made peace with

in the past few months, is that

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all we can do is the same way that

Jesus turned his cheek many times.

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When he was being persecuted.

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not to say that I have been

persecuted in any way, shape or

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form like our Lord, absolutely not.

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But a lot of the things that have

happened to me, have hurt, significantly.

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So all we can do is just turn our cheek.

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If we stoop to the levels and negative

comments, then all we're doing is.

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We're making the enemy laugh.

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And that's exactly, that's

exactly what he wants.

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And we need to be more like Christ.

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We need to step away.

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We need to keep our distance.

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It's okay for us to keep our distance.

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Jesus fasted.

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And prayed away from crowds and away

from people, because that was the

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way the son of God, that was the

way that he could stay closer to the

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father here on this cursed earth.

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So just imagine.

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How about, how about us?

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how much more do we need to pray?

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And how much more do we need

to be in the word where we are?

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Just, we're human.

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There's nothing godly about us.

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Other than the Holy Spirit that is

within us, but there is literally

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nothing godly about our flesh.

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so all that to say when we are attacked,

when we are coming across these

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trials, it's important to have people

on your side, that can steer you.

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In the right direction, which is

always looking up, always looking at

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God, always staying focused, on him.

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Always bringing your problems, your sins,

your worries, your concerns, anything.

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Always bringing it and

putting it at his feet.

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And you may think like, oh, he

already went through so much.

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He doesn't want my sins, he

doesn't wanna hear from me.

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I'm, I'm so bad.

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But that is not true.

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That is not true.

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The only thing that God wants is for

us to trust in him and to believe

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and to believe that his son gave

his life for us, so that we can

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be reconciled back to the Father.

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That's all they want.

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and the reality is that God

already knows how our stories end.

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So.

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The point of this podcast today and the

encouragement is that when you are going

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through these trials, when you are going

through these tough moments, I challenge

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you guys to not say, oh, here we go again.

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And, you know, immediately

fall into that negativity.

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Immediately step away from the word,

immediately, step away from prayer.

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No.

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You guys have to be steadfast in prayer.

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Even more.

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You guys have to just dive in even

further, dive deeper into prayer and

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into the word, dive deeper and find those

people that you know are stronger in

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the word than you are, that are stronger

in their faith, that have been walking

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alongside Christ longer than you because.

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You don't know what that

person has been going through.

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You don't know what their life

behind closed doors is like.

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You don't.

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But aside the fact that we are all

sinners, if that person can help

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you maintain your relationship with

Christ and stay closer and stay in

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the word, then you need that because

it's so easy for us to just wanna look

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the other way and we can't do that.

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So please.

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Stay close to people that are going

to encourage you towards godly things.

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And

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sometimes we don't wanna be judged.

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and that's hard, you know, because

we judge ourselves so much more than

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sometimes people would judge us.

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Like we are our own worst critics.

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And that is, that is a fact, but.

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It doesn't matter.

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Sometimes you do need

that person to confide in.

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So I truly hope that you

have a person like that.

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And if you don't, then the most

important person that you can

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give everything to is to Jesus.

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If you don't have that person, if you're

not sure, if you think you have a best

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friend or a neighbor, but you still

have doubts, then fine then, so be it.

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But give your troubles and

your worries to the Lord.

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And they will always, always

help you and walk you through it.

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Now, from several conversations that

I have had recently, the end result

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of every conversation has been, I

don't know why I was so worried.

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I can't believe, looking back

now, months ago I cried so much.

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I can't believe I worried so much.

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I can't believe I was this stressed.

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Even for me, even for me in my own,

you know, marriage and all of that,

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that was going on episodes and episodes

ago that you guys may have heard.

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Looking at that point and comparing

now, I, I don't know why I ever doubted,

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actually, I do know why.

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That's the flesh, the flesh and the enemy.

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They make you doubt.

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Instead of planting seeds that

flourish and that are going to

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intertwine even closer to Christ, the

enemy tries to plant seeds of doubt.

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And I'm so grateful.

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I'm so grateful that I have

been able to continue my path.

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And it's been a struggle.

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It's been a struggle because I always

thought I was a super needy person.

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I always was a very controlling person.

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But you know what?

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No, these are.

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Things that the world makes you think.

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These are things that the enemy

continues to, to tell you and to put

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in your head, you are not controlling.

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If you give things to the

Lord, he is in control.

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You need to stop controlling everything

because at the end of the day, he already

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knows how things are going to end.

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God knows your beginning,

your middle, and your end.

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And if we truly embrace that.

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If we truly, truly take that to

heart and understand that my God,

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my Lord, and my savior, Jesus Christ

has my back, it will all be okay.

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Your level of anxiety and your level of

worry is going to plummet, and that is

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what's going to drive the enemy crazy.

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But that is what's going to rupture

as applause and just a like, pure

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joy in heaven because Jesus is

gonna be looking down and say, wow,

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my daughter, you finally got it.

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So I wanted to just with that

in mind, just share a few of

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the scriptures that I thought.

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Would be of encouragement to

you guys and truly just don't

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fall into that negativity.

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Don't fall into that mindset, fall

instead onto Jesus's feet instead

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of falling into that pit that then

you have to literally climb out of

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just rested his feet.

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It's a much easier fall.

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I think, and, the end of the day, you

look back at your worst and your darkest

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time in life, I am pretty sure that you

won't recognize yourself, that you won't

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recognize who you were in those moments.

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And if you truly analyze, even if your

life isn't great right now, but if you

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truly analyze your life now and that

darkest moment, you'll be like, dang.

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Things were not good,

but things are great.

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Now in retrospect, like in comparison

then and now, I'll take now over

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then any day, and I truly pray

that that's the case for you guys.

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could life always be better?

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Probably, but you know what?

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If it's not better, if it's not more.

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If it's not, you know, where we would

wanna be, that's okay, because guess what?

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It's all in God's time.

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And maybe you're not there

because you're not ready yet.

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Maybe you need to do a

little bit more growing.

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Maybe God still has to do a few

things in your heart and in your

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mind, or in the lives of the people

that you surround yourself with

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to get you to that next place.

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So don't see you not being

where you wanna be as.

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As a downer, as a a, as being a failure.

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No, in the eyes of God and

as and in the, and excuse me,

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in the eyes of Jesus Christ.

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You are perfect.

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You are perfect.

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As you are, as imperfect as you are,

you are still perfect in his eyes,

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and that goes with everything that

you are doing in your current life.

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Because where you are right now,

it's where he wants you to be.

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Some decisions may have led you to

where you are, but at the end of

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the day, like I said, he knows your

beginning, your middle, and your end.

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And to that, to that note, I wanted to

share one of the most, I think, popular

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scriptures that everyone really likes.

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And it's Jeremiah 29 11.

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but I'm going to read from

Jeremiah verse, excuse me,

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chapter 29, verse 10 through 14.

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I wanna get that whole.

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You know, verse there because I

feel like people only read specific

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portions of it, and it's just such

a beautiful portion of scripture.

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and in this section, God is talking to

the Israelites and he's foreshadowing,

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you know, what's going to happen after

they complete their time in Babylon.

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So, Jeremiah chapter 29, verse 10 through

14, verse 10, for thus says the Lord.

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After 70 years are completed at

Babylon, I will visit you and

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perform my good word toward you and

cause you to return to this place.

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This is the next one, the

one that everyone loves.

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Verse 11.

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For I know the thoughts that I

think toward you, says the Lord,

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thoughts of peace and not of evil.

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To give you a future and a hope,

verse 12, then you will call

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upon me and go and pray to me.

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And I will listen to you.

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Verse 13.

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And you'll seek me and find me when

you search for me with all your heart.

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Verse 14, I will be found by you,

says the Lord, and I will bring

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you back from your captivity.

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I will gather you from all the

nations and from all the places where

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I have driven you, says the Lord.

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And I will bring you to the

one place from which I cause

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you to be carried away captive.

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Now 29 11, obviously that's a.

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Beautiful verse.

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Just because God is, is saying that I

already know what I have in store for you.

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I have something beautiful

planned out for you.

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And man, we forget that.

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We forget that there's something so

much more, something far greater in

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our future than what we have now.

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The things of today will

not matter a month from now.

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A year from now, five years from now,

it sure won't matter once we pass away.

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And I truly pray that the day

that we pass away, that we are in

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heaven with our Lord and with God.

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but that's just one verse I wanted to

share because I, I really think that

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that is definitely an encouraging,

scripture for most people, that I

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at least have heard, but I also.

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wanted us to have rest.

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I wanted us to have rest and know

that God has it under control.

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Like I said, he knows our

beginning, our middle, and our end.

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that's why I wanted to share

Lamentations chapter three, verse

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24 through 26, and that says, the

Lord is my portion, says my soul.

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Therefore, I hope in him, the

Lord is good to those who wait

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for him to the soul who seeks him.

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It is good that one should hope and wait

quietly for the salvation of the Lord, and

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it's really hard for us to wait quietly.

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The other day I saw a video on

YouTube that David shared with

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me, um, and I even shared it in

the Bible study with the ladies.

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And one of the things that it said was

just try to be in prayer for 10 minutes.

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Silence.

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Total silence.

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No phone, no nothing in the dark.

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No sound, no music.

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I couldn't even go two minutes without

wanting to tap my phone and look at the,

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the clock to see what time it was, and I

just, I pray that we can be more quiet.

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We can be more quiet, and we can just

try to pray in silence and truly.

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Want to hear what he has to say to us.

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because a lot of the time we

say, oh God, you're so quiet.

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You're so quiet.

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You don't, the Lord doesn't talk to me.

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The Lord doesn't give me a sign.

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But the reality is, are we quiet

long enough to allow him to speak?

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Are we patient long enough to truly

allow him to do a work in our life?

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Are we truly un controlling?

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Do we truly release control?

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To allow him to move in our lives,

and we need to analyze those things.

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So I truly pray, I pray that

we can allow that myself.

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I'm really still working on some of

those things, but again, that's my

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encouragement to you guys as well.

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And, you know, all these things

are easier said than done, but my

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pastor gave me an amazing reminder.

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On Resurrection Sunday.

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you know, and it's silly because

obviously on Easter Resurrection Sunday,

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everyone always says, oh, he has risen.

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He has risen.

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And praise the Lord for that.

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Yes, Jesus Christ is risen.

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Thank you God for that, for that gift

that we are so undeserving of, but

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somehow you found it in, in your heart,

in your mind, and your soul to, to

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forgive the world of, of all of our sins.

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So thank you, Lord.

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But my pastor said he has risen.

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Nothing else matters because he rose.

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He kept his promise.

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God is a God of promises.

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And, and I say that to you as well

because now when I come across, moment

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of negativity, which still happens very

often, of course I'm flesh, I'm human.

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when I still have those

moments, I just think.

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He is risen.

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Nothing matters.

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He kept his promise.

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He defeated the cross, he took

away and he forgave our sins, and

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he rose from the dead and he's

sitting at the right hand of God.

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He is risen.

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He conquered death and nothing else should

matter because we have a God that keeps

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his promises and God knows us better.

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Then we know ourselves.

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So whether we don't like sometimes

the answer or the silence, which

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is also an answer, he knows us.

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He knows what we need and when we need it.

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So with that, the last scripture

that I want to share with you

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is John chapter 16, verse 33.

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And it says these things I have

spoken to you that in me, you may

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have peace in the world, you will have

tribulation, but be of good cheer.

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I have overcome the world and praise

the Lord for overcoming the world.

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So my friends, again, this

episode, the encouragement

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I pray and I, I pray and I pray and I

pray that even for myself, this is an

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encouragement that we can just keep our

eyes focused on the Lord that we can keep.

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Our head high and know that we serve a God

that loves us and gave his life for us.

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There is nothing that he would

not do to get us back to him.

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So may your problems of today, may your

problems of tomorrow be a small as the

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seed that the enemy wants to plant in your

brain, to make you Steer far from Jesus.

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I truly pray.

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That those problems are as minuscule

as the enemy is because the only thing

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that is greater, than all the things

that you can try to conjure up for

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yourself here on earth, the only thing

that is greater than all the riches

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and all the things that you have that

you can buy, that you can purchase.

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The only thing that's greater than that

is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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And there is again, nothing that he won't

do to get you back to Him, and I truly

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hope that you remember the next time that

you come across anything small or big

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that makes you wanna step back and look

away and say, God, why are you doing this?

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I pray that you say, God, thank

you for this, because I know this

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is going to teach me something.

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I know that you are gonna

get me through this.

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And He will because you are

still here and you are listening

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to this and somehow, some way

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you are gonna be with him one day.

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He knows our beginning, our

medal, and that's our end.

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We're going to be with him one day.

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So thank you, my friends, for tuning in.

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As always.

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I love you guys very much.

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I pray that this has blessed you and I

can't wait to be here again with you guys

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next week for another episode of I Can.

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He can take care.