November 23, 2022 • 31 mins
With Thanksgiving coming this week, lets reflect on our testimonies and all that Jesus has brought us through, lets have gratitude in Him for all He has done in our lives, this will help give us hope for our future because the Lord is always Faithful.
Scripture: Luke 19:40
Challenge: Reflect on your testimony, what can you be grateful for this week? What has God brought you through?
Announcement: WE ARE SWITCHING TO WEEKLY PODCASTS!!!!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey, and welcome back to Laughing Without Fear.
(00:11):
My name is Jay Woo.
And I'm Iz.
And we are just so excited to have you back.
We have been so encouraged by the love and support that everyone has showed so far for
our first podcast.
So thank you for joining us.
Yes.
Thank you so much for joining us every week because we love having that extra seat at
the table, knowing our friends are joining, knowing our new friends are joining, and really
(00:36):
our fam is joining.
So thank you fam.
You guys are awesome.
We love you so, so much.
And wait a second.
I'm sorry.
Did I just really reveal something?
Yeah, Iz.
I was going to say, what do you mean, Iz, every week?
That's right.
I did say weekly.
So you know it.
We missed you guys.
We just did.
(00:56):
We did.
Do we?
I mean, why would we not see each other every week?
And yeah, that's the reason.
It was like an easy, no hesitation.
We're like, let's do it.
Let's just get together.
Let's be fam.
Let's be real.
Let's be 100.
And here we are.
Here we are, baby.
Yeah, we are.
(01:18):
So, speaking of being so excited and thankful about all our wonderful things in our lives
as we do every week, we just want to share a little bit about what we're thankful for.
Jamie, do you want to start us off?
What are you thankful for this week, girl?
I would love to.
I am thankful for my community and my family.
(01:40):
I mean, especially with the holidays coming up, I've just been reflecting a lot on where
I've come from and how I got here.
And I just know I wouldn't be here without my community, especially my church community
and my family.
They have always just been so supportive.
And so, I just want to, yeah, so I'm so thankful for my community and family.
(02:01):
And I want to give my little sister a shout out.
She's our number one fan.
So this is for you, Lauren.
Number one, baby.
Oh, Lauren, I love you very much.
Side notes.
Yes.
I, oh, this week, okay, I just want to start by saying this.
I know people are like having different feelings about this, but I'm feeling great.
(02:25):
And I'm really thankful that November here in Scattle has been so warm and so shiny.
And I'm like, just what is this weather, Jesus?
And it might be climate change.
It has been incredible and I am thankful for that.
(02:45):
I'm like, yes, Lord, let's have these.
How about just keeping it on to December?
That might be too far, but all I'm saying is it's just great.
So that's what I'm just enjoying it while it lasted.
Yes.
I was in Montana last week and let me tell you, it was nine degrees.
Also shout out to my people in Montana.
I love you all so much, you know, Miss Zula, they got my heart.
(03:10):
But may I say, may I say, literally, I walked one block and I was talking like this because
I was frozen and I almost got a nose.
Like I'm straight up.
I almost was like, I need to cover my nose like a nose cover.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No frostbite.
No, not about that life.
But anyway.
(03:31):
So we just want to continue this, getting to know each other, you getting to know us.
And so we thought, what better way than sharing our testimonies?
So that's what we're going to do today in our podcast and is why don't you kick us off?
I'd love to.
I love talking about Jesus and most of my friends are like, can we talk about Jesus
(03:52):
and we're going to start in our lives?
So I love just really, you know, thinking about honestly, like what, how he's just
brought me through so many things.
Just thinking about the first time I really met the Lord and then, you know, just like
the journey that I'm on.
So yeah, I'm happy to share tonight.
Yes, it is tonight here in Seattle.
(04:16):
And so all I just can think of is the first thing in the first encounter that I had is
was actually back in high school, which is kind of while back in the early 2000s, 2005,
2006, so it's been a few years, but it's been a minute, been a hot minute.
I was probably 15 years old.
(04:37):
Yeah, 14, 15.
So at that time, I was actually going to Catholic school.
I grew up Catholic and one of our, I think yearly retreats as a, as a, as a, I think
that school, we would basically have like a weekend situation where we would go up to
the mountains and we would have this time together.
(05:00):
We would read these wonderful letters from our friends and family.
And that for a year though, however, I think they really just bumped it up and actually
hired somebody externally from the Catholic church.
So it was like from a local church to come in and do worship for us.
And it was actually youth pastor from Christian Life Center in Walla Walla.
(05:22):
And he came in and did the worship.
And that was the very first time that I had ever experienced worship music where I could
sing back and we just meet me there, which it was like not something I grew up with.
I just in at the Catholic church that I attended to.
So that very first time I still like remember, I think it was the song of like open the eyes
(05:48):
of my heart, Lord.
Yes, one of those like old school songs, first time where I remember the Lord really meeting
me and I just like was so impacted, overwhelmed in a good way with his love and what he's
doing in life.
And when he was speaking to me about like, is he trust me, surrender everything that
(06:11):
you have this moment and see what it can happen.
And I lost it.
Like I straight up lost it, you know, like weeping the whole thing.
So life changing that I just continued to seek more of that after that weekend.
And the pastor from Christian Life Center ended up, I think I want to say being actually
(06:34):
my youth pastor later on, because I was continuing to see where this came from.
And my friends actually invited me, Hey, we should go to this church.
If you want to come over and hang out and spend the night and like we should go to church
on Sunday and I was like, awesome, let's do it.
And little did I know it's going to be the same church I was going to, you know, end
up at Christian Life Center then.
(06:56):
So I from then on just connected with some wonderful young ladies there.
I, man, they were actually part of the discipleship program we were part of.
They were already part of the program then.
And I just kind of kicked it off for me and then spend the Lord and even just like the
last three years, the Lord has continued to press that on to me of like Izzy want to
(07:22):
continue to surrender your finances now challenge me.
He challenges me on so many levels.
Do you want to surrender your relationships?
You're alone with me.
Like what does that look like?
Because a lot of the time to be honest, I just want to be on YouTube.
And he's like, would you surrender that?
I'm like, but YouTube knows my algorithm and they know me so well.
(07:43):
Like I don't, I don't want to be not off YouTube, you know?
Yeah.
So it's been hard, but it's like God cares about this little things and he continues
to refine me and that's just the beauty of it.
So I'm just really grateful for the things he's refined from the beginning to like continue
to do so now.
And that's just a little bit about me and what he's doing and part of my testimony.
(08:06):
Um, yeah, just so grateful for that.
Honestly.
Talking about being amazed.
I'm like, he could have some things in my life that I didn't want to do it at the time
that now I'm like, whoa, wow, I am so glad I don't have to care of these things or that
(08:26):
I've said some of those things and it's, you know, might sound really light and happy right
now, but it's tough.
It's definitely tough.
Yeah.
No, that's so good is thank you so much for sharing.
It's so good to reflect.
Yeah, definitely.
It really is.
Yeah.
So a little bit about my testimony.
(08:47):
Um, I am extremely blessed that I grew up in a church.
Both my parents love the Lord.
I mean, I'm like a sixth generation Christian or something on my grand, on my dad's side
of the family, which is crazy.
Um, and so I've just been like super blessed with the, with the heritage that, um, a little
(09:09):
of the legacy that my, you know, family has made for me.
And so when I was, I think of about four years old, I got saved and baptized and filled with
the Holy spirit.
So, you know, I was a really young age when I came to know the Lord.
When I was five, my family decided to become missionaries.
(09:29):
My grandma had been a missionary for, she was a missionary at that time.
And then my dad and my mom decided also to join the mission field.
So we moved to India for about two and a half, almost three years, um, which was amazing.
I have so many fond, fond memories and amazing stories of that time.
But unfortunately my parents then ended up getting a divorce, which brought us back to
(09:52):
America.
And there's a lot of stuff, a lot of traumatic stuff that happened during my, after that
in the child, in my childhood, that caused me to be a lot of brokenness in me and a lot
of hurt.
Um, when I got to be about a teen, I got to be a teenager, um, you know, peer pressure
and high school and you know how things are.
(10:14):
And I ended up turning to the wrong things, um, to me, you know, numb the pain that I
had.
So I turned to a, you know, partying and drugs and alcohol and boys and all of that too.
And I really walked away from the church and from God fully, fully knowing what I was doing
because I knew the Lord.
(10:35):
Yeah.
And, um, it was a really, really rough time.
And I know that if I had stayed on that path, I don't even know if I'd be alive now, to
be honest.
Wow.
Um, I mean, I can think of men, I have many friends from that time that are not, that
are not alive now that have died.
Yeah.
And there's a lot in prison too.
(10:55):
So it's just, it's yeah.
It was not a good time in my life, but I'm just so thankful and by the grace of God, um,
something got me back in church and I went to a youth conference and spoke, Cam Washington
was all about, um, it was, um, awakening cry and it was all about alarm clocks and waking
up and I, I woke up and I was like, okay, what am I doing?
(11:16):
And I re-dedicated my life to the Lord and it was beautiful and wonderful.
And then I got in an amazing community at Christian Life Center with all those women,
um, that we did discipleship, the discipleship house with who were just surrounded me and
poured into me, mentored me and, um, helped me, uh, go through all that healing I needed
(11:37):
to go through, which was, um, amazing.
And it saved my life.
Honestly, I think so.
Wow.
And so that's part of why I think community is so important to me because I know I wouldn't
be here without it.
And, um, I mean, I'm not going to say that everything has been perfect since then.
It definitely hasn't, but, um, I've been so, um, grateful that now I have been able to
(12:00):
step in and be a missionary and really redeem that legacy that I've had for my family, um,
and get to pour out the things that have been poured into me.
So yeah, that's a little bit of my testimony.
That's amazing.
Like, okay, first of all, the first thing I had in my mind when you said you moved to
India was like, shout out to all our Indian friends that are listening because I have
(12:24):
a few years in Seattle, so like pretty close friends.
So shout out to them.
And then second, when you said, Oh, I could have been in prison.
I just remembered like ACON with like that song, like I got locked up and I can't imagine
you being locked up like legit, you know, and yet like all the things that you have
(12:45):
shared with me as a roommate, all the things that you did come through and overcame like
honestly though, honestly, I know that there is, I mean, again, we've lived together.
So you share some deep stuff and I just kind of be like more proud of you because it is
a, it is a choice to say I want to, you know, continue to trust the Lord, follow the Lord,
(13:09):
listen to what he's saying and say yes to him.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's so true.
It's crazy too because I think about like the fact that there were people that I was
around at that time that were somewhat a product of their environment.
You know, they didn't grow up in the best environment.
You know, they got into the things they did because their parents were into those things.
(13:30):
I did not have that.
I had a wonderful family.
I mean, we had problems and like I said, there was brokenness from, you know, from family
stuff, but I didn't have, you know, parents that didn't love me and I didn't have a, you
know, a bad home environment.
I made those choices on my own.
And so I just think about that sometimes too.
(13:52):
Like if I had made, you know, I made those choices to get into that and it's honestly
the grace of God that got me out of it.
And I just think about people who are the lost people who had don't, you know, don't
even know how to get out of those kinds of environments.
And that's partly why I do what I do with missions is because sometimes you are a victim
(14:14):
of your circumstance, you know, and so I think that's something that is such so ways on my
heart that to free those people who are, you know, stuck in, in those kind of places.
Yeah, for sure.
And the fact that like God continued to chase after you, you know, and I thought you were
saying even at this awakening cry, yeah, mom friends and saying like, Hey, like this
(14:39):
is, this is the wake up call.
Like this is me saying wake up because I have something awesome for you.
So that's, that's so true.
Well, and I think also like that's not the only time he's ever had a chase after me.
I mean, like I said, I'm not perfect.
And I'm just, he's been so faithful to never give up on me.
And that's, you know, the beautiful thing about the Lord is that he doesn't ever give
(15:00):
up on us.
And so no matter what, whenever we veer off the path, he's so graceful and loving to show
us there, you know, our own folly to bring us back on the narrow way.
So he's just so good like that.
Yeah.
And the fact that he's putting you back into the things that are in your heart and almost
like reading those things like, you know, like, hey, my family were missionaries and
(15:24):
now I get to step into this and you loving it.
I know I'm sure we'll get to know a little bit more about you, but as you know, we continue
to do this more and more.
But part of it is like, I know for sure that's been on your heart for so long.
I remember when you went to India and we were living together.
I mean, it was so cool to see that God has, and is continuing to be faithful.
(15:48):
And he just hasn't ever stopped not just for J-Woo, but like for me, for anyone, right?
It's so cool to see that God is just so in awe of us too.
Like it's such a mutual thing.
Like he just loves us so much.
And he's like, no, no, I'm not going to let my children run away.
You know, he just continues to chase after us.
(16:10):
What a beautiful picture of you painting about the Lord tonight.
Just love that.
I am just, I'm so thankful for where I've come from and where he's taking me.
And I know it's going to be somewhere good.
Yes, it is.
Yes, it is.
So we also want to continue with getting to know each other and you getting to know us.
(16:36):
We just want to ask each other like we did last time, one question to kind of get to
know, you know, a little bit more.
So the question I have for you is, what is one thing you have learned either from a mentor
or from the Lord that has helped you with overcoming fear?
I love this question mainly because what's again, I think we talked about it last time,
(17:03):
a little bit in the sense of why we named our podcast, laughing without fear.
And the Lord has been actually speaking to me a little bit about this and in a way, a
lot of bit about this.
And I want to say that recently, when my mentors talked to me about how fear, she kind of put
(17:25):
a twist on it and I was really grateful because it is not what we typically hear on our Sunday
time together or any other time like that I've ever heard of it.
And it's almost of like, yes, I totally agree with what most people say about making sure
(17:46):
that if we have fear, you know, we shouldn't let our faith be overcome by it and let fear
control us.
And I am 100% about that.
Yes.
However, my mentor, one of my mentors recently said to me, what's cool about fear though
is that God gave us fear, like God gave us that sensitivity to be aware of what we're
(18:11):
not supposed to be a part of.
And another thing is how when we sense those things, we get the choice of will we allow
fear to be in front of what God has for us or will we let him be in the front and center
and let him lead in those times of fear.
(18:31):
And it just like blew my mind because obviously I could have never come up with that myself.
And that's something that the Lord's been really teaching me about of like, no, like
not necessarily being comfortable with fear, taking over the being comfortable in the sense
(18:53):
of like, kind of like that warning sign of like, oh, why are you feeling like this?
Why do you allow me to be there instead of hiding instead of wanting to not expose yourself
or wanting to avoid it?
Like, why are you avoiding these things?
Like I'm part of those things.
And I was like, all right, Lord, like, where are you talking to me about this and like
(19:17):
what areas and that's been pretty enlightening, enlightening for me, honestly.
That's so good.
Yeah.
It's been life changing actually.
So that's that's a light lesson there.
And I have one for you too, J-Roo.
You know, it's not just all about all about me getting deep over here.
(19:45):
My question is kind of fun, a little silly, but it does have like a sub question, you
know, okay.
So in the spirit of being the world cup right now and today, the US playing the Netherlands.
May I say today?
I believe so.
(20:06):
Yes, they played the Netherlands played Senegal today.
Okay.
Okay.
So side note, I watched this in Spanish.
So in my mind, I don't know who they played, but in Spanish, they played Los Palos de
Los, or actually, no, they played Wales.
What am I thinking?
(20:28):
They played Wales, right?
I was watching the US.
Yes.
The US played Wales.
Got it.
Yeah.
You were correct.
You were correct.
Okay.
Here's the funny thing.
I was watching the one before as well.
So they have come up blended.
I know nothing about the US team.
The only reason I know that the Netherlands played Senegal is because my boyfriend was
(20:48):
telling me he watched the game.
Hey, Boob.
And he was telling me all about the game and now they won and it was a really big deal.
Yes.
Yes.
And so I was working.
Sorry, boss.
If you're hearing this or co-workers, I'm crying.
I was so distracted most of the day because I was watching soccer and like getting into
(21:16):
it and like, oh, like, you know, getting so into it over here.
And I mixed the both and I was watching in Spanish too.
So in my mind, I can't get them all right.
You know, the translation is not the same.
Okay.
There's grace.
So going, thank you.
Going back to the question to the original question.
(21:40):
What is your favorite sport and why is that your favorite sport?
They're just like to watch, to like play.
I mean, we have all kinds of sports.
We got golf.
We got chess.
I don't know.
I'm making that up.
I think cool.
So I mean, there's all kinds of stuff.
I'm just, that's all I'm saying.
(22:02):
Yes.
So my favorite sport to watch is American football.
I grew up on it.
I love it.
I even tried actually in no joke, no joke.
When I was an eighth grader, I tried to let my mom let me play on the school football
team.
She would not let me.
(22:23):
And I broke my arm in second grade playing football with eighth graders.
So like, I do love me some American football and I used to be a devoted Seahawks fan.
I feel like I've gotten lax over the years because I've been traveling a lot internationally.
It's really hard to keep up when you're like gone.
But I do love me some American football.
We have it all the time on at my grandparents house, especially during the holidays.
(22:48):
And I grew up in Pullman.
So shout out go Cougs.
Go Ducks.
Although we should talk about the time that you tricked me into going to a U Dub game when
I came to visit you.
I come to visit you and I'm like, what are we doing tonight?
And I'm like, oh nothing, nothing.
(23:10):
We're just going to drive around for a bit.
And then I'm like, why are we at the football stadium?
She's like, oh no reason.
No reason.
And then you're like, we're going to a game.
By the way, you have to be excited about it.
It's so true.
I didn't trick you, trick you.
(23:30):
You did.
I was just trying to plan things out together.
Also, just as an FYI friends, may I say that J-woo really loves the Cougs and I really love
U Dub.
And so the University of Washington Huskies and I went to school at the University of
Washington.
I'm a double dog.
(23:51):
I graduated there twice from that school.
So I got all the love for it.
And yes, we are, it's kind of like miniature.
I call it miniature rivalry.
Like a friendly rivalry.
You mean between the schools or between you and me?
The schools.
It's a miniature.
(24:12):
It's not a miniature, especially not to the Cougs.
Listen, we're a bunch of farmers in that area.
We have nothing better to do.
So we put all of our energy into this rivalry.
We really feel like our true rivals are the Oregon Ducks.
(24:34):
No, but we can get, we can both get on board with that though.
I don't like the Ducks either.
Okay.
All right.
So we got a common denominator, but you know, all I gotta say is I didn't quite trick you.
I just want to clarify things on here.
I didn't.
I'm going to have to disagree with that, but that's okay.
I disagree and love.
(24:55):
There we go.
I didn't know about it until I arrived.
That's to me as a bit of trickery.
Well, well, I just have to ask a question though.
Okay.
Will you forgive me though?
Yes.
Listen, I had a wonderful time.
(25:16):
The dogs lost.
It was a great game.
I didn't remember them losing in my heart.
They won.
So no, they were like second at the time and you told me like, you have to get on board
with them.
You have to cheer for them.
And I was like, they weren't playing the Cougs.
So I was like, okay, fine.
I'll cheer for the dogs.
And they ended up losing anyway.
You know, we didn't lose last weekend.
(25:37):
So I'm finding that now.
That's in the past.
Okay.
It sounds like you've forgiven me now.
So I have, I have forgiven you.
I love you too.
We should probably move on.
Why don't we, why don't we move on to the Bible?
That's a great idea.
May I say I was actually really praying about us this last week and J-Wood was true.
(26:00):
And I had this specific verse.
I was really, really like, I really want to share this because I could not be more than
excited to share our, one of our testimonies, but really just share how God has, it's just
so, so awesome.
And just that the verse that I'm going to share is just so cool.
(26:23):
And it's a reminder, it's really the story of when Jesus is coming into Jerusalem and
he's going to make that entry for Palm Sunday and it's coming out of Luke, Luke 19.
And I'm looking for it here in the Bible because somehow my little thing just disappeared.
So thank you, Jesus.
I found it real quick.
(26:45):
So it's coming out of Luke 19 and it's verse 40, but I'm going to actually back up to number
38 because verse 38 because it kind of gets a little tiny bit more context.
So he's coming in and about to go into again Jerusalem and he's saying, blessed is the
King who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven.
(27:09):
Yet some of the Pharisees of the crowd said to him, teacher, order your disciples to stop.
He answered, I tell you this, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.
And that to me this last week was really speaking to me about if we sometimes, you know, we
(27:36):
have a mouth and how privileged are we to just praise our God, praise our Jesus for
the wonderful things he's done and he continues to do.
And just knowing that if we weren't, like the stones themselves would cry out, would
actually get to praise the Lord.
And just knowing that we can gather here on a weekday and say, God, we just want to say,
(28:00):
you're amazing.
You are King of kings, Lord of lords, and we just want to worship you and really just
set our eyes on you is really why we gather and really get together to really just share
about all the wonderful things he's doing.
So that was kind of the reason why that was on my heart this week and it just again stood
(28:21):
out.
Yeah, J-Woo.
Yeah.
I mean, I think also like in talking about our testimonies, we're saying like looking
back and reflecting on what God has done, we have so much to be thankful for.
Like we, I mean, I'm just, I just think about where I was back then and where I am now and
I have no response but to praise God for everything because he's the only reason, right?
(28:45):
So we just, yeah, just especially with thing reflecting on where we have, where we have
been and where we are now just have so much gratitude and just all we want to do is praise
God because of it, you know?
Absolutely, absolutely.
And with that, we always love to end our time together with a little challenge for the week,
(29:05):
with a little challenge of like, hey, how do we, how do we continue to put our faith
into action?
So J-Woo, I know that you, you know what we're doing this week.
Yes.
I know.
I'm kidding.
Yes.
So the challenge we have for you this week is just to reflect on your own testimony,
(29:26):
your own, you know, what God has done in your lives and what gratitude can you pull out
of it?
How can you say, God, I'm so thankful for where you've taken me, what you've brought me
through no matter if you're in a good season or if you're in a bad season, we all have
things that we can, we can say, you know what, God, I am grateful.
I'm grateful for salvation.
I'm grateful for my life.
You know, even if we're in a really bad and tough time, it actually helps give us hope
(29:50):
for the future.
When we reflect on what God has done, we are able to have hope that he's going to continue
to be faithful in our lives.
So just reflect on what the Lord has brought you through and what gratitude can you pull
out of it this week?
And we would actually really love to hear your responses too.
So please put it, you know, either in the chat in the YouTube or you can email us at
(30:14):
laughingwithoutfear3125 at gmail.com and we'll even, we'll even talk about it next time next
week.
You know, what, what is your guys, what are you guys grateful for?
Absolutely.
It's such a wonderful time that we just get to reflect throughout the week.
And I mean, I say last week, I was just like, Oh, like, what are places in my heart that
(30:37):
I'm, you know, looking without, you know, focusing on fear and yet what I'm bringing
me laughter.
And then this week, I'm really excited to be pondering that as well because what I also
love about his word is that it says that if we put our mind and our, you know, on our
thoughts on what he has for us, peace will come with it as well.
(30:59):
And it's so cool.
And I just, I'm just excited to be thinking about what I'm grateful for through our testimonies.
I actually want to just hear also like what you said from our fam, you know, from our
friends, our fans that are joining because, you know, again, it is, it encourages us and
that's power in our testimony, power and sharing.
So looking forward to hearing from you guys.
(31:21):
I hope you have a wonderful week and we'll see you next week.
Yeah.
Yes.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Have a wonderful time.
We love you and we will see you next week.
Love you.
Love you.
Love you.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
Hey, and welcome back to Laughing Without Fear.
(00:11):
My name is Jay Woo.
And I'm Iz.
And we are just so excited to have you back.
We have been so encouraged by the love and support that everyone has showed so far for
our first podcast.
So thank you for joining us.
Yes.
Thank you so much for joining us every week because we love having that extra seat at
the table, knowing our friends are joining, knowing our new friends are joining, and really
(00:36):
our fam is joining.
So thank you fam.
You guys are awesome.
We love you so, so much.
And wait a second.
I'm sorry.
Did I just really reveal something?
Yeah, Iz.
I was going to say, what do you mean, Iz, every week?
That's right.
I did say weekly.
So you know it.
We missed you guys.
We just did.
(00:56):
We did.
Do we?
I mean, why would we not see each other every week?
And yeah, that's the reason.
It was like an easy, no hesitation.
We're like, let's do it.
Let's just get together.
Let's be fam.
Let's be real.
Let's be 100.
And here we are.
Here we are, baby.
Yeah, we are.
(01:18):
So, speaking of being so excited and thankful about all our wonderful things in our lives
as we do every week, we just want to share a little bit about what we're thankful for.
Jamie, do you want to start us off?
What are you thankful for this week, girl?
I would love to.
I am thankful for my community and my family.
(01:40):
I mean, especially with the holidays coming up, I've just been reflecting a lot on where
I've come from and how I got here.
And I just know I wouldn't be here without my community, especially my church community
and my family.
They have always just been so supportive.
And so, I just want to, yeah, so I'm so thankful for my community and family.
(02:01):
And I want to give my little sister a shout out.
She's our number one fan.
So this is for you, Lauren.
Number one, baby.
Oh, Lauren, I love you very much.
Side notes.
Yes.
I, oh, this week, okay, I just want to start by saying this.
I know people are like having different feelings about this, but I'm feeling great.
(02:25):
And I'm really thankful that November here in Scattle has been so warm and so shiny.
And I'm like, just what is this weather, Jesus?
And it might be climate change.
It has been incredible and I am thankful for that.
(02:45):
I'm like, yes, Lord, let's have these.
How about just keeping it on to December?
That might be too far, but all I'm saying is it's just great.
So that's what I'm just enjoying it while it lasted.
Yes.
I was in Montana last week and let me tell you, it was nine degrees.
Also shout out to my people in Montana.
I love you all so much, you know, Miss Zula, they got my heart.
(03:10):
But may I say, may I say, literally, I walked one block and I was talking like this because
I was frozen and I almost got a nose.
Like I'm straight up.
I almost was like, I need to cover my nose like a nose cover.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No frostbite.
No, not about that life.
But anyway.
(03:31):
So we just want to continue this, getting to know each other, you getting to know us.
And so we thought, what better way than sharing our testimonies?
So that's what we're going to do today in our podcast and is why don't you kick us off?
I'd love to.
I love talking about Jesus and most of my friends are like, can we talk about Jesus
(03:52):
and we're going to start in our lives?
So I love just really, you know, thinking about honestly, like what, how he's just
brought me through so many things.
Just thinking about the first time I really met the Lord and then, you know, just like
the journey that I'm on.
So yeah, I'm happy to share tonight.
Yes, it is tonight here in Seattle.
(04:16):
And so all I just can think of is the first thing in the first encounter that I had is
was actually back in high school, which is kind of while back in the early 2000s, 2005,
2006, so it's been a few years, but it's been a minute, been a hot minute.
I was probably 15 years old.
(04:37):
Yeah, 14, 15.
So at that time, I was actually going to Catholic school.
I grew up Catholic and one of our, I think yearly retreats as a, as a, as a, I think
that school, we would basically have like a weekend situation where we would go up to
the mountains and we would have this time together.
(05:00):
We would read these wonderful letters from our friends and family.
And that for a year though, however, I think they really just bumped it up and actually
hired somebody externally from the Catholic church.
So it was like from a local church to come in and do worship for us.
And it was actually youth pastor from Christian Life Center in Walla Walla.
(05:22):
And he came in and did the worship.
And that was the very first time that I had ever experienced worship music where I could
sing back and we just meet me there, which it was like not something I grew up with.
I just in at the Catholic church that I attended to.
So that very first time I still like remember, I think it was the song of like open the eyes
(05:48):
of my heart, Lord.
Yes, one of those like old school songs, first time where I remember the Lord really meeting
me and I just like was so impacted, overwhelmed in a good way with his love and what he's
doing in life.
And when he was speaking to me about like, is he trust me, surrender everything that
(06:11):
you have this moment and see what it can happen.
And I lost it.
Like I straight up lost it, you know, like weeping the whole thing.
So life changing that I just continued to seek more of that after that weekend.
And the pastor from Christian Life Center ended up, I think I want to say being actually
(06:34):
my youth pastor later on, because I was continuing to see where this came from.
And my friends actually invited me, Hey, we should go to this church.
If you want to come over and hang out and spend the night and like we should go to church
on Sunday and I was like, awesome, let's do it.
And little did I know it's going to be the same church I was going to, you know, end
up at Christian Life Center then.
(06:56):
So I from then on just connected with some wonderful young ladies there.
I, man, they were actually part of the discipleship program we were part of.
They were already part of the program then.
And I just kind of kicked it off for me and then spend the Lord and even just like the
last three years, the Lord has continued to press that on to me of like Izzy want to
(07:22):
continue to surrender your finances now challenge me.
He challenges me on so many levels.
Do you want to surrender your relationships?
You're alone with me.
Like what does that look like?
Because a lot of the time to be honest, I just want to be on YouTube.
And he's like, would you surrender that?
I'm like, but YouTube knows my algorithm and they know me so well.
(07:43):
Like I don't, I don't want to be not off YouTube, you know?
Yeah.
So it's been hard, but it's like God cares about this little things and he continues
to refine me and that's just the beauty of it.
So I'm just really grateful for the things he's refined from the beginning to like continue
to do so now.
And that's just a little bit about me and what he's doing and part of my testimony.
(08:06):
Um, yeah, just so grateful for that.
Honestly.
Talking about being amazed.
I'm like, he could have some things in my life that I didn't want to do it at the time
that now I'm like, whoa, wow, I am so glad I don't have to care of these things or that
(08:26):
I've said some of those things and it's, you know, might sound really light and happy right
now, but it's tough.
It's definitely tough.
Yeah.
No, that's so good is thank you so much for sharing.
It's so good to reflect.
Yeah, definitely.
It really is.
Yeah.
So a little bit about my testimony.
(08:47):
Um, I am extremely blessed that I grew up in a church.
Both my parents love the Lord.
I mean, I'm like a sixth generation Christian or something on my grand, on my dad's side
of the family, which is crazy.
Um, and so I've just been like super blessed with the, with the heritage that, um, a little
(09:09):
of the legacy that my, you know, family has made for me.
And so when I was, I think of about four years old, I got saved and baptized and filled with
the Holy spirit.
So, you know, I was a really young age when I came to know the Lord.
When I was five, my family decided to become missionaries.
(09:29):
My grandma had been a missionary for, she was a missionary at that time.
And then my dad and my mom decided also to join the mission field.
So we moved to India for about two and a half, almost three years, um, which was amazing.
I have so many fond, fond memories and amazing stories of that time.
But unfortunately my parents then ended up getting a divorce, which brought us back to
(09:52):
America.
And there's a lot of stuff, a lot of traumatic stuff that happened during my, after that
in the child, in my childhood, that caused me to be a lot of brokenness in me and a lot
of hurt.
Um, when I got to be about a teen, I got to be a teenager, um, you know, peer pressure
and high school and you know how things are.
(10:14):
And I ended up turning to the wrong things, um, to me, you know, numb the pain that I
had.
So I turned to a, you know, partying and drugs and alcohol and boys and all of that too.
And I really walked away from the church and from God fully, fully knowing what I was doing
because I knew the Lord.
(10:35):
Yeah.
And, um, it was a really, really rough time.
And I know that if I had stayed on that path, I don't even know if I'd be alive now, to
be honest.
Wow.
Um, I mean, I can think of men, I have many friends from that time that are not, that
are not alive now that have died.
Yeah.
And there's a lot in prison too.
(10:55):
So it's just, it's yeah.
It was not a good time in my life, but I'm just so thankful and by the grace of God, um,
something got me back in church and I went to a youth conference and spoke, Cam Washington
was all about, um, it was, um, awakening cry and it was all about alarm clocks and waking
up and I, I woke up and I was like, okay, what am I doing?
(11:16):
And I re-dedicated my life to the Lord and it was beautiful and wonderful.
And then I got in an amazing community at Christian Life Center with all those women,
um, that we did discipleship, the discipleship house with who were just surrounded me and
poured into me, mentored me and, um, helped me, uh, go through all that healing I needed
(11:37):
to go through, which was, um, amazing.
And it saved my life.
Honestly, I think so.
Wow.
And so that's part of why I think community is so important to me because I know I wouldn't
be here without it.
And, um, I mean, I'm not going to say that everything has been perfect since then.
It definitely hasn't, but, um, I've been so, um, grateful that now I have been able to
(12:00):
step in and be a missionary and really redeem that legacy that I've had for my family, um,
and get to pour out the things that have been poured into me.
So yeah, that's a little bit of my testimony.
That's amazing.
Like, okay, first of all, the first thing I had in my mind when you said you moved to
India was like, shout out to all our Indian friends that are listening because I have
(12:24):
a few years in Seattle, so like pretty close friends.
So shout out to them.
And then second, when you said, Oh, I could have been in prison.
I just remembered like ACON with like that song, like I got locked up and I can't imagine
you being locked up like legit, you know, and yet like all the things that you have
(12:45):
shared with me as a roommate, all the things that you did come through and overcame like
honestly though, honestly, I know that there is, I mean, again, we've lived together.
So you share some deep stuff and I just kind of be like more proud of you because it is
a, it is a choice to say I want to, you know, continue to trust the Lord, follow the Lord,
(13:09):
listen to what he's saying and say yes to him.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's so true.
It's crazy too because I think about like the fact that there were people that I was
around at that time that were somewhat a product of their environment.
You know, they didn't grow up in the best environment.
You know, they got into the things they did because their parents were into those things.
(13:30):
I did not have that.
I had a wonderful family.
I mean, we had problems and like I said, there was brokenness from, you know, from family
stuff, but I didn't have, you know, parents that didn't love me and I didn't have a, you
know, a bad home environment.
I made those choices on my own.
And so I just think about that sometimes too.
(13:52):
Like if I had made, you know, I made those choices to get into that and it's honestly
the grace of God that got me out of it.
And I just think about people who are the lost people who had don't, you know, don't
even know how to get out of those kinds of environments.
And that's partly why I do what I do with missions is because sometimes you are a victim
(14:14):
of your circumstance, you know, and so I think that's something that is such so ways on my
heart that to free those people who are, you know, stuck in, in those kind of places.
Yeah, for sure.
And the fact that like God continued to chase after you, you know, and I thought you were
saying even at this awakening cry, yeah, mom friends and saying like, Hey, like this
(14:39):
is, this is the wake up call.
Like this is me saying wake up because I have something awesome for you.
So that's, that's so true.
Well, and I think also like that's not the only time he's ever had a chase after me.
I mean, like I said, I'm not perfect.
And I'm just, he's been so faithful to never give up on me.
And that's, you know, the beautiful thing about the Lord is that he doesn't ever give
(15:00):
up on us.
And so no matter what, whenever we veer off the path, he's so graceful and loving to show
us there, you know, our own folly to bring us back on the narrow way.
So he's just so good like that.
Yeah.
And the fact that he's putting you back into the things that are in your heart and almost
like reading those things like, you know, like, hey, my family were missionaries and
(15:24):
now I get to step into this and you loving it.
I know I'm sure we'll get to know a little bit more about you, but as you know, we continue
to do this more and more.
But part of it is like, I know for sure that's been on your heart for so long.
I remember when you went to India and we were living together.
I mean, it was so cool to see that God has, and is continuing to be faithful.
(15:48):
And he just hasn't ever stopped not just for J-Woo, but like for me, for anyone, right?
It's so cool to see that God is just so in awe of us too.
Like it's such a mutual thing.
Like he just loves us so much.
And he's like, no, no, I'm not going to let my children run away.
You know, he just continues to chase after us.
(16:10):
What a beautiful picture of you painting about the Lord tonight.
Just love that.
I am just, I'm so thankful for where I've come from and where he's taking me.
And I know it's going to be somewhere good.
Yes, it is.
Yes, it is.
So we also want to continue with getting to know each other and you getting to know us.
(16:36):
We just want to ask each other like we did last time, one question to kind of get to
know, you know, a little bit more.
So the question I have for you is, what is one thing you have learned either from a mentor
or from the Lord that has helped you with overcoming fear?
I love this question mainly because what's again, I think we talked about it last time,
(17:03):
a little bit in the sense of why we named our podcast, laughing without fear.
And the Lord has been actually speaking to me a little bit about this and in a way, a
lot of bit about this.
And I want to say that recently, when my mentors talked to me about how fear, she kind of put
(17:25):
a twist on it and I was really grateful because it is not what we typically hear on our Sunday
time together or any other time like that I've ever heard of it.
And it's almost of like, yes, I totally agree with what most people say about making sure
(17:46):
that if we have fear, you know, we shouldn't let our faith be overcome by it and let fear
control us.
And I am 100% about that.
Yes.
However, my mentor, one of my mentors recently said to me, what's cool about fear though
is that God gave us fear, like God gave us that sensitivity to be aware of what we're
(18:11):
not supposed to be a part of.
And another thing is how when we sense those things, we get the choice of will we allow
fear to be in front of what God has for us or will we let him be in the front and center
and let him lead in those times of fear.
(18:31):
And it just like blew my mind because obviously I could have never come up with that myself.
And that's something that the Lord's been really teaching me about of like, no, like
not necessarily being comfortable with fear, taking over the being comfortable in the sense
(18:53):
of like, kind of like that warning sign of like, oh, why are you feeling like this?
Why do you allow me to be there instead of hiding instead of wanting to not expose yourself
or wanting to avoid it?
Like, why are you avoiding these things?
Like I'm part of those things.
And I was like, all right, Lord, like, where are you talking to me about this and like
(19:17):
what areas and that's been pretty enlightening, enlightening for me, honestly.
That's so good.
Yeah.
It's been life changing actually.
So that's that's a light lesson there.
And I have one for you too, J-Roo.
You know, it's not just all about all about me getting deep over here.
(19:45):
My question is kind of fun, a little silly, but it does have like a sub question, you
know, okay.
So in the spirit of being the world cup right now and today, the US playing the Netherlands.
May I say today?
I believe so.
(20:06):
Yes, they played the Netherlands played Senegal today.
Okay.
Okay.
So side note, I watched this in Spanish.
So in my mind, I don't know who they played, but in Spanish, they played Los Palos de
Los, or actually, no, they played Wales.
What am I thinking?
(20:28):
They played Wales, right?
I was watching the US.
Yes.
The US played Wales.
Got it.
Yeah.
You were correct.
You were correct.
Okay.
Here's the funny thing.
I was watching the one before as well.
So they have come up blended.
I know nothing about the US team.
The only reason I know that the Netherlands played Senegal is because my boyfriend was
(20:48):
telling me he watched the game.
Hey, Boob.
And he was telling me all about the game and now they won and it was a really big deal.
Yes.
Yes.
And so I was working.
Sorry, boss.
If you're hearing this or co-workers, I'm crying.
I was so distracted most of the day because I was watching soccer and like getting into
(21:16):
it and like, oh, like, you know, getting so into it over here.
And I mixed the both and I was watching in Spanish too.
So in my mind, I can't get them all right.
You know, the translation is not the same.
Okay.
There's grace.
So going, thank you.
Going back to the question to the original question.
(21:40):
What is your favorite sport and why is that your favorite sport?
They're just like to watch, to like play.
I mean, we have all kinds of sports.
We got golf.
We got chess.
I don't know.
I'm making that up.
I think cool.
So I mean, there's all kinds of stuff.
I'm just, that's all I'm saying.
(22:02):
Yes.
So my favorite sport to watch is American football.
I grew up on it.
I love it.
I even tried actually in no joke, no joke.
When I was an eighth grader, I tried to let my mom let me play on the school football
team.
She would not let me.
(22:23):
And I broke my arm in second grade playing football with eighth graders.
So like, I do love me some American football and I used to be a devoted Seahawks fan.
I feel like I've gotten lax over the years because I've been traveling a lot internationally.
It's really hard to keep up when you're like gone.
But I do love me some American football.
We have it all the time on at my grandparents house, especially during the holidays.
(22:48):
And I grew up in Pullman.
So shout out go Cougs.
Go Ducks.
Although we should talk about the time that you tricked me into going to a U Dub game when
I came to visit you.
I come to visit you and I'm like, what are we doing tonight?
And I'm like, oh nothing, nothing.
(23:10):
We're just going to drive around for a bit.
And then I'm like, why are we at the football stadium?
She's like, oh no reason.
No reason.
And then you're like, we're going to a game.
By the way, you have to be excited about it.
It's so true.
I didn't trick you, trick you.
(23:30):
You did.
I was just trying to plan things out together.
Also, just as an FYI friends, may I say that J-woo really loves the Cougs and I really love
U Dub.
And so the University of Washington Huskies and I went to school at the University of
Washington.
I'm a double dog.
(23:51):
I graduated there twice from that school.
So I got all the love for it.
And yes, we are, it's kind of like miniature.
I call it miniature rivalry.
Like a friendly rivalry.
You mean between the schools or between you and me?
The schools.
It's a miniature.
(24:12):
It's not a miniature, especially not to the Cougs.
Listen, we're a bunch of farmers in that area.
We have nothing better to do.
So we put all of our energy into this rivalry.
We really feel like our true rivals are the Oregon Ducks.
(24:34):
No, but we can get, we can both get on board with that though.
I don't like the Ducks either.
Okay.
All right.
So we got a common denominator, but you know, all I gotta say is I didn't quite trick you.
I just want to clarify things on here.
I didn't.
I'm going to have to disagree with that, but that's okay.
I disagree and love.
(24:55):
There we go.
I didn't know about it until I arrived.
That's to me as a bit of trickery.
Well, well, I just have to ask a question though.
Okay.
Will you forgive me though?
Yes.
Listen, I had a wonderful time.
(25:16):
The dogs lost.
It was a great game.
I didn't remember them losing in my heart.
They won.
So no, they were like second at the time and you told me like, you have to get on board
with them.
You have to cheer for them.
And I was like, they weren't playing the Cougs.
So I was like, okay, fine.
I'll cheer for the dogs.
And they ended up losing anyway.
You know, we didn't lose last weekend.
(25:37):
So I'm finding that now.
That's in the past.
Okay.
It sounds like you've forgiven me now.
So I have, I have forgiven you.
I love you too.
We should probably move on.
Why don't we, why don't we move on to the Bible?
That's a great idea.
May I say I was actually really praying about us this last week and J-Wood was true.
(26:00):
And I had this specific verse.
I was really, really like, I really want to share this because I could not be more than
excited to share our, one of our testimonies, but really just share how God has, it's just
so, so awesome.
And just that the verse that I'm going to share is just so cool.
(26:23):
And it's a reminder, it's really the story of when Jesus is coming into Jerusalem and
he's going to make that entry for Palm Sunday and it's coming out of Luke, Luke 19.
And I'm looking for it here in the Bible because somehow my little thing just disappeared.
So thank you, Jesus.
I found it real quick.
(26:45):
So it's coming out of Luke 19 and it's verse 40, but I'm going to actually back up to number
38 because verse 38 because it kind of gets a little tiny bit more context.
So he's coming in and about to go into again Jerusalem and he's saying, blessed is the
King who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven.
(27:09):
Yet some of the Pharisees of the crowd said to him, teacher, order your disciples to stop.
He answered, I tell you this, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.
And that to me this last week was really speaking to me about if we sometimes, you know, we
(27:36):
have a mouth and how privileged are we to just praise our God, praise our Jesus for
the wonderful things he's done and he continues to do.
And just knowing that if we weren't, like the stones themselves would cry out, would
actually get to praise the Lord.
And just knowing that we can gather here on a weekday and say, God, we just want to say,
(28:00):
you're amazing.
You are King of kings, Lord of lords, and we just want to worship you and really just
set our eyes on you is really why we gather and really get together to really just share
about all the wonderful things he's doing.
So that was kind of the reason why that was on my heart this week and it just again stood
(28:21):
out.
Yeah, J-Woo.
Yeah.
I mean, I think also like in talking about our testimonies, we're saying like looking
back and reflecting on what God has done, we have so much to be thankful for.
Like we, I mean, I'm just, I just think about where I was back then and where I am now and
I have no response but to praise God for everything because he's the only reason, right?
(28:45):
So we just, yeah, just especially with thing reflecting on where we have, where we have
been and where we are now just have so much gratitude and just all we want to do is praise
God because of it, you know?
Absolutely, absolutely.
And with that, we always love to end our time together with a little challenge for the week,
(29:05):
with a little challenge of like, hey, how do we, how do we continue to put our faith
into action?
So J-Woo, I know that you, you know what we're doing this week.
Yes.
I know.
I'm kidding.
Yes.
So the challenge we have for you this week is just to reflect on your own testimony,
(29:26):
your own, you know, what God has done in your lives and what gratitude can you pull out
of it?
How can you say, God, I'm so thankful for where you've taken me, what you've brought me
through no matter if you're in a good season or if you're in a bad season, we all have
things that we can, we can say, you know what, God, I am grateful.
I'm grateful for salvation.
I'm grateful for my life.
You know, even if we're in a really bad and tough time, it actually helps give us hope
(29:50):
for the future.
When we reflect on what God has done, we are able to have hope that he's going to continue
to be faithful in our lives.
So just reflect on what the Lord has brought you through and what gratitude can you pull
out of it this week?
And we would actually really love to hear your responses too.
So please put it, you know, either in the chat in the YouTube or you can email us at
(30:14):
laughingwithoutfear3125 at gmail.com and we'll even, we'll even talk about it next time next
week.
You know, what, what is your guys, what are you guys grateful for?
Absolutely.
It's such a wonderful time that we just get to reflect throughout the week.
And I mean, I say last week, I was just like, Oh, like, what are places in my heart that
(30:37):
I'm, you know, looking without, you know, focusing on fear and yet what I'm bringing
me laughter.
And then this week, I'm really excited to be pondering that as well because what I also
love about his word is that it says that if we put our mind and our, you know, on our
thoughts on what he has for us, peace will come with it as well.
(30:59):
And it's so cool.
And I just, I'm just excited to be thinking about what I'm grateful for through our testimonies.
I actually want to just hear also like what you said from our fam, you know, from our
friends, our fans that are joining because, you know, again, it is, it encourages us and
that's power in our testimony, power and sharing.
So looking forward to hearing from you guys.
(31:21):
I hope you have a wonderful week and we'll see you next week.
Yeah.
Yes.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Have a wonderful time.
We love you and we will see you next week.
Love you.
Love you.
Love you.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
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