July 25, 2025 • 47 mins
Join me on this episode of Living Testimonies as I sit down with Jennifer Godwin, a woman whose journey toward faith started with a simple moment most of us might overlook. What began in childhood would eventually unfold into a powerful walk with Jesus—one shaped by unexpected encounters and quiet ripples of grace.
Jennifer shares how small moments made a lasting impact on her life and how we, too, can be part of someone else’s journey without even realizing it. You’ll be encouraged, inspired, and reminded that God often moves in the most subtle, yet profound ways.
Tune in and discover how one small act can echo into eternity.
___________________________________________________________
Ways to connect with Jennifer:
Instagram: godwin_jen_
Facebook: Jennifer Godwin or RipplesforGod
Email - jenrgodwin@gmail.com
Go Make Ripples Book
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Living Testimonies! If you were inspired by today's conversation, please share this episode with a friend or family member.
Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, behind-the-scenes insights, and more inspiring content.
Join us next time for another inspiring conversation!
Your Story, His Glory!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Israel Caminero (00:04):
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(00:46):
The link is on the page.
Thanks again for listening, andI'll catch you in the next
episode.
Welcome to Living Testimony,Stories of Faith and Redemption.
(01:13):
I'm your host, Israel Caminero,and I hope that everyone that's
listening is blessed and doingwell.
With me today, I have my sisterin Christ, and her name is
Jennifer Godwin.
And she's here to share hertestimony.
So can you say a little bitabout yourself, Jennifer?
Jennifer Godwin (01:28):
Well, my name is Jennifer Godwin, like you
said.
I get some people that thinkit's my pen name because I wrote
a Christian book.
But Godwin was my very firstprayer request.
But we'll get to that.
Um, I am a mother and uh I'm awife of 37 years and mother of
three children and grandmotherof three grandsons right now.
(01:51):
Hoping more will be coming.
Israel Caminero (01:55):
Amen.
It's always good to havegrandkids and children around,
right?
Jennifer Godwin (02:00):
It is.
They're fun, especially whenyou can kind of send them back
home.
Israel Caminero (02:05):
Yeah, that's probably the best part when you
send them back home.
Mm-hmm.
But like I said, she's here toshare her testimony.
But before she does that, I'dlike to pray over us and I'd
like to say, Heavenly Father, wethank you for this day and for
the opportunity to gather,wherever we are, to hear of your
faithfulness.
Lord, we invite your HolySpirit into this conversation.
(02:27):
Prepare our hearts and minds toreceive what you want to speak
through this time.
We lift Jennifer to you rightnow.
Thank you for her life, herjourney, and her willingness to
share her story for your glory.
We ask that you would speakthrough her with clarity,
boldness, and grace.
Let her words be led by yourspirit, and may her testimony
(02:47):
touch hearts, encourage faith,and point others to the hope we
have in Christ.
May every moment of thisepisode bring honor to you,
Lord.
We give you all the glory.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Amen.
Okay, Jennifer, so the platformis all yours, and I'm
interested to hear your story.
So if you could tell us a dayin the life of Jennifer when she
(03:09):
was growing up, that would begreat.
Jennifer Godwin (03:12):
Well, I grew up I grew up in a home that didn't
know God.
Now I love my parents and theywere good parents.
We just didn't have God.
The only time we heard the wordGod was, oh my, or Jesus, and
you know, and then furthered on.
And it, you know, it they werehis name was used as more like
(03:32):
swear words than anything.
But when I was about five yearsold, I was invited over to a
little friend's house to eatdinner, and we watched the
mother prepare the meal and wesat down to eat our dinner.
We weren't a typical familyeither, where we ate dinner all
around the table like thisfamily did.
So when the food was placed infront of me, I started to eat
(03:55):
until the dad said, Oh, wehaven't prayed yet.
Now I didn't know what thatmeant, but I was smart enough to
put my fork down.
And then the father said, Nowwe're gonna close our eyes and
bow our heads, which I was gladhe gave me instructions.
And he said, We're gonna prayto God.
And so he did, and he started,and everybody's eyes were
(04:17):
closed, and everybody's headswere down, and I was, I of
course was peeking because atfive years old this was a little
strange.
And then he started thankingsomebody other than the mother
for dinner, and I was like, Whatare we doing?
It was just so strange to me,you know, being a five-year-old.
And so when dinner was over anduh my friend and I went in the
(04:39):
other room to play, I said, Whatwere we doing and who were we
talking to?
Well, she tried to explain it,but being five years old, I
couldn't understand it and shecouldn't explain it clear
enough.
But that is what started mysearch for God.
Then as time went on, uh, youknow, there were bumper stickers
that said, smile, God lovesyou, with a little the original
(05:03):
emoji sign, the little yellowsmiley face, and it let a little
girl know that God loved her.
You know, I I I went to the VBSwith that same friend maybe
once, but every time I went, itit was like the story they they
would tell was always in themiddle of a bigger story.
(05:24):
So I didn't quite understand,you know, it'd be like fishermen
and you know, the they had theflannel board, and it was I
guess I was probably moreimpressed that these little
people stuck on this board, andthat's what I focused on instead
of probably the story.
But um, so just differentpeople, you know, just kind of
(05:46):
throwing God out there.
And um, but when I was inmiddle school, the world was
predicted to come to an end.
And I don't know why it was asbig a deal as it was, but it was
a big deal.
I mean, all the kids weretalking about it, even the
teachers were talking about it,and so was this the Y2K thing?
(06:08):
No, this was even earlier inthis.
This was this was in the early70s, and I don't, I don't this
guy had predicted some uh otherthings that had come through,
and so for some reason hepredicted the world was coming
to an end.
Okay, well, by that point I'd Iknew that there was a heaven
and a hell because I askedenough friends about it and you
heard different things, youknow, on TV shows and and such.
(06:32):
And I knew I didn't want to goto hell.
And my little friend that Ihung around with the most was a
neighbor friend, but she went toa parochial school and she told
me after school, she goes, ifthe world's gonna come to an
end, you need to come up hereand we need to pray over you.
And so I went up to her house,her and her sister prayed over
me, then they baptized me in thekitchen sink.
(06:54):
Well, when the world didn'tcome to an end that night, I
thought, I just don't thinkthat's what's gonna get me into
heaven.
So, you know, if you askpeople, if you ask friends when
you're young enough uh aboutheaven and hell and about God,
you get a lot of conflictinganswers.
And that's what I got.
It's kind of like Google, youknow, if you ask Google about
(07:16):
heaven and hell, you get a lotof conflicting answers also.
Israel Caminero (07:18):
Right.
Jennifer Godwin (07:19):
This went on for a while, and then I moved on
to something I thought I couldfigure out because by the time I
was in high school, I justdidn't figure out the God thing
and I'd kind of given up.
I moved on to boys because Ithought I could figure out boys,
and they were kind of cute, andI kind of wanted one of those.
And so I had uh been invitedover to a different friend's
(07:43):
house, and she uh we were justspending the, I was spending the
night, we were just talking,and unbeknownst to me, I didn't
know she had an older sister,but her sister walked in and she
was home on uh Thanksgivingbreak from Moody Bible
Institute, and she came in theroom and she said, Do you want
(08:03):
to know how to get to heaven?
There wasn't any chit-chat, itwas just this bold question, and
it was like, What?
Somebody actually knows how todo that.
It was just so random.
But it made me sit and thinkabout it because I was like,
okay, nobody's ever asked meabout uh God.
And I thought, this gal actslike she actually knows what
(08:26):
she's doing.
And so I thought, yeah.
And so I followed her and shetook me to her room and she
explained to me that I was asinner.
Well, when you're in highschool, you pretty much know
that you're a sinner.
Right.
At least I did.
And uh so she explained the sinand how sin separated me from
uh God, uh, from a perfect God.
(08:47):
And so I understood that, andthat she said, in order to spend
your eternity in heaven, youneed to accept Jesus as your
Lord and Savior.
And so I did that.
The two things I remember hertelling me the most that night
was that I would want to sharemy faith and that I would want
(09:09):
to confess my sins.
Well, when I came backupstairs, my friend had already
some time must have passed, andso my friend was like, Oh, let's
just I said, Do you want totalk about this?
And she says, No, we'll just goto bed.
And so I thought, okay, fine, Ihad business to do.
And so I laid there awake forhours and I confessed every sin
(09:30):
that I could possibly think of.
And then at the end of the ofmy confession time, I wasn't
sure if I could do this becauseI'd never prayed to God before.
But I said, God, I still thinkthat Godwin boy is cute.
Could you put him in my life?
I just wanted a boyfriend, sobe careful how you pray because
(09:53):
he's still in my life.
He uh, like I said, 37 yearslater, and he's still there.
Oh wow.
So yeah, but then I went homefrom uh my friend's house the
next morning and I just casuallywalked in the door and told my
mother, I said, I accepted Jesusas my savior.
Do you want to know how to dothat?
(10:14):
She just looked at me like Iwas crazy, and I thought, well,
okay, I'm moving on.
And so I I just I left, but uhwent into my room.
But that was what started myrelationship with Jesus.
Israel Caminero (10:30):
I was gonna say that's that's great.
You know, you mentioned thebumper sticker, emergency
baptism, and a bold questionfrom your friend's sister that
she just randomly came in andasked.
It was so random.
So you could see how Jesus wasjust trying to move in your life
already at such an early agewithout you even knowing who
(10:51):
Jesus was at first from yourown.
Oh, yeah.
Jennifer Godwin (10:54):
He pursued oh, he pursued me.
I mean, you know, like therewere shows like The Waltons, and
there was the show um LittleHouse on the Prairie, and you
know, though those there wasjust different little things
that pointed out God, and youknow, I could see it, and you
know, like the little drummerboy cartoon when you were a kid.
Israel Caminero (11:14):
Yeah.
Jennifer Godwin (11:15):
But again, I I didn't understand it.
I couldn't put all the piecestogether to understand.
Matter of fact, I acceptedChrist in in November.
I knew that Christmas was areligious holiday.
By the time Easter rolledaround, I had no clue that
Easter was a religious holiday.
It was like, huh.
I didn't I didn't know that.
(11:36):
Well, yeah.
So you just people don't knowwhat they don't know.
Israel Caminero (11:43):
Right.
Jennifer Godwin (11:43):
And you know, I tell I I tell my children this
all the time.
My son likes to argue with meabout this because he's like,
There's a church on everycorner, there's God everywhere.
But the thing is, most peoplethink that they have to be good,
that they know that there's aGod up there and He they know
what God doesn't like, theydon't know what God does like.
(12:03):
And so I have a heart forpeople that don't know what they
don't know.
Israel Caminero (12:09):
Right.
So I want to backtrack just alittle bit before you keep
going.
You know, you mentioned growingup in uh in your house where
God wasn't part of that, and youjust mentioned that you didn't
know what Easter was.
So your family didn't go tochurch at all, like for a
Christmas, you know, nothing atall.
Jennifer Godwin (12:26):
Never, never.
Israel Caminero (12:28):
Okay.
Can you share just a little bitabout what the environment was
like for you, you know, as achild growing up in the home
like that?
Jennifer Godwin (12:36):
Oh, there were Easter bunnies and Santa Claus
and you know, birthday parties.
I it was it was a really nicehome.
There, you know, it's just anaverage home, average family,
just there wasn't anything aboutGod.
Israel Caminero (12:52):
Okay.
So it was a it was a good houseoverall.
It was good family, just noChrist in your life.
Jennifer Godwin (13:01):
R absolutely, yep.
Israel Caminero (13:03):
Okay.
That's that's interesting tohear because you don't usually
hear of things like that.
But that's good that it was anormal house, even though Christ
wasn't in it, and it doesn'tmatter because Christ was
working in you, and then youcame home and shared it with
your mom, and you said herreaction was that you were
(13:24):
crazy.
Did they respond at all afteryour faith journey?
Jennifer Godwin (13:30):
Um, oh now, yes.
Israel Caminero (13:33):
No, I mean, like back then when you were
younger, you know, when you cameand told them, like, did they
change at all back then or no?
Jennifer Godwin (13:40):
No, huh?
No, it took it took severalyears.
Matter of fact, my father isstill not a believer.
Israel Caminero (13:47):
Okay.
Jennifer Godwin (13:47):
He he thinks when he dies, he's going to just
be dirt.
And I've explained to himseveral times.
I'm like, Dad, yeah, I'm suremy body's gonna be dirt also.
But I said, our souls go on andlive forever.
And I I told him, I said, ifyou're right and we both die and
there isn't any God and thereisn't anything else, then no big
(14:10):
deal.
But I said, if I'm right andyou're wrong, there's that's a
really big deal because eternityis a really long time to spend
without God and and to beseparated from him forever.
Israel Caminero (14:24):
Okay.
All right, so let's go back towhere you left off and looking
back once you got went back homeafter you got baptized and gave
your life to Christ.
You know, did you encounterJesus for yourself?
And what were some of thechallenges?
Jennifer Godwin (14:43):
Well the challenge was I didn't really
have anybody to get directionfrom.
This girl, she went back tocollege and I I never saw her
again.
But God answered that prayerwith that Godwin boy.
Well, unbeknownst to me, heactually went to church.
(15:04):
And so eventually, you know, II became his girlfriend, and
then he finally started takingme to church.
The only problem was it was avery theological church, and it
it would everything went over myhead.
Israel Caminero (15:21):
Okay.
Jennifer Godwin (15:22):
So, you know, I mean, I'd heard of Moses
because you you seen it on TV,you know, the Ten Commandments
and that kind of thing, but Ididn't know what it meant, you
know.
I just I seen it and I sent,like I said, bits and pieces
along the way, but nothing thattied the whole thing up into a
ribbon.
And so as we as we went on, youknow, I grew in Christ going to
(15:47):
that church, but finally we didswitch churches, and then we
ended up because I told myhusband, I said it well, and
then we eventually married inthat church, but I just I wasn't
growing spiritually.
And so we switched churches andwow, it was like somebody put
(16:08):
fertilizer on me because weended up at a church and they
just kept inviting me to helpand helping awanas and helping
children's programs.
And actually that's how Ilearned about God.
I mean, yes, I learned I Iheard sermons and that kind of
thing, but you know, to take itclear back to a foundational, I
(16:29):
remember you know, memorizingBible verses with my kids with
awanas and uh learning thechurch stories, you know, in in
their classrooms.
That's how I first I alwaystell people if they if they know
nothing about God, start with achildren's Bible first, because
(16:50):
it'll give you the basicswithout all the jargon.
That's good and then go backand read an adult version Bible.
Israel Caminero (16:58):
Yeah, that's good.
Jennifer Godwin (16:59):
It helped me, it helped me.
Israel Caminero (17:03):
So my guess is this first church you went to
was either Baptist orPentecostal, am I right?
Jennifer Godwin (17:10):
Yeah.
Israel Caminero (17:12):
When you said theological church, that's what
I that's what I thought of.
What about this new church?
Was it like non-denominationalor something?
Jennifer Godwin (17:21):
Um it it was a Baptist church, but it wasn't
the strictest Baptist church,you know what I'm saying?
Okay, it it it it was a littlemore evangelical type of thing.
It was more like an E-freechurch type of thing.
Yeah, so it it spoke in it itwas like King James Version
(17:44):
versus everyday livingconversation church.
So when they when they spokefrom the pulpit, it was like,
oh, that's what that means.
Oh, I get that.
Yeah, I it it's like listeningto Romeo and Juliet, you know,
it it it's an easy story tounderstand as long as they take
(18:06):
out all those where far art thouextra words that you don't need
and don't understand.
Israel Caminero (18:14):
Yes.
Right, yeah.
Yeah, those are hard tocomprehend sometimes, especially
when you're new in your faith.
And when you didn't have abackground in your faith either.
Jennifer Godwin (18:25):
Right, exactly.
Israel Caminero (18:27):
So once you went to the new church, was
there people there who played akey role in discipling you and
helping you grow in your walkwith Christ?
Jennifer Godwin (18:37):
No, that's that's the unfortunate thing.
Um I started reading Christianbooks when I I was in a Sunday
school classroom.
I remember being in an adultSunday uh school classroom and
noticing a Christian booksitting on the shelf, and it was
like, huh.
I didn't know they had these.
So I read that one, and thenwhen I finished that one, I
(18:59):
found out that yeah, you can geta lot of Christian books.
And so I started readingChristian books different, you
know, about different things,and and that was how I grew.
Christian authors are whathelped grow me spiritually.
Israel Caminero (19:15):
Okay.
Jennifer Godwin (19:16):
You know, a a one hour sermon a week doesn't
do it.
And then when I finally startedreading the Bible, you know,
that that helped too.
And of course, I wasn'tdiscipled on that either.
I just started at thebeginning, and by the time I I
thought I thought the OldTestament was gonna be hard,
which it was, but then by thetime I got to the New Testament,
(19:37):
I could I didn't understand it.
I didn't understand how come Ikept reading the same story more
than more than once.
You know, by the time by thetime I got to Luke, it was like,
I I know I've read that storybefore.
And I start flipping back,yeah.
I start flipping back on pages.
I'm like, I did read thisstory, why?
And you know, so I did ask ourmy children's uh Youth pastor, I
(20:01):
said, How come I keep readingthe same stories?
And he, of course, kind of madefun of me a little bit.
Love him dearly, he's a goodman, but that that isn't
probably the proper way to dothings.
But um he said, Hey, that'sfour different people's
interpretations of the Bible, ornot interpretations, but um
(20:22):
their accounts of what happenedat the time.
And it was like, Oh, okay, nowI understand.
So, you know, no, I was notdiscipled, unfortunately.
Israel Caminero (20:34):
So, did you continue going to that church?
Jennifer Godwin (20:37):
We did, we did for the longest time.
Israel Caminero (20:39):
Okay.
Yep.
So you said you wrote a book,right?
Jennifer Godwin (20:45):
I did.
Well, it let's put it this way.
I was a professionalphotographer with film.
So we're not talking, just takea whole bunch of pictures.
You know, I went to a photo uhportrait uh college to take to
learn how to photograph peopleand weddings and that kind of
stuff.
So I was a photographer for 24years, and I had a dream one
(21:08):
night, and God said, You'regonna write a book.
And I never had a desire towrite a book, it was never on my
bucket list.
It was nothing, I was not anacademic type of person.
I graduated at the top of myclass, but it was because I took
a lot of art classes.
Art was important to me, and ofcourse I used it in my career,
(21:30):
so it worked out well.
The next day when I when I hadthat dream, I went and told my
friend who was very academic,and she I said, Told me I was
gonna write a write a book.
And she's like, Well, you don'tknow anything about writing a
book, and I'm like, nope, Idon't.
I don't know why you told me Iwas gonna write a book.
(21:51):
She goes, What do you think thebook is gonna be about?
And I said, I think I don'tknow, I'm not sure, but maybe
it's just short stories.
She goes, I don't think a booklike that would work.
Well, then it was it wasprobably a year later that the
chicken soul, uh, chicken soupfor the souls books came out,
and all they are are just littleshort stories.
So she didn't quite know whatshe was talking about there, but
(22:14):
she knew that I had never goneto college and I never I don't
speak proper English.
I do do a lot of run-onsentences, I make up my own
words sometimes.
And she goes, I just I'm notsure if you'll be able to write
a book.
And I'm like, Well, I don'tknow.
It's probably a crazy idea.
(22:35):
And so I I went along with thatbecause it would it was quite a
while before he finally said,Okay, now it's time to write a
book.
I mean, probably 10, 15 yearspassed before from the time I
had the dream to the time Istarted writing.
Israel Caminero (22:51):
Oh, okay.
Jennifer Godwin (22:53):
It it was just to the point where you know,
different little things justkept coming up and it was like,
it's time, it's time.
And I'm like, well, what timeis it?
What what time are we talkingabout here?
And finally it was like, it'stime to write the book.
And so I just sat down andstarted writing the book, but I
didn't, like I said, I've neverwritten a book.
I can tell you a lot of ways.
(23:14):
I'm I'm like Thomas Edison, Ican tell you a lot of ways not
to write a book.
A lot of ways, maybe 10,000ways.
Uh but uh I thought when Istarted that I would be writing
to unbelievers because that'swhere my heart is.
My heart is for those thatdon't know Christ yet.
(23:35):
And the the more my book gotdone, the more I, you know, the
writing progressed, it was like,oh, this book is for believers
on how to share the gospel withothers.
And it's it's not one of thoseones where you say, Oh, if you
die tonight, where would you go?
(23:56):
It is, it isn't set speeches,it's not things like that, but
it's it's how I grew as aChristian and how different
people planted seeds of Jesusinto my life, and how we can do
the same for others, and how wecan encourage others to grow in
Christ.
But I can tell you this, Imean, I put that book down so
(24:16):
many times because Saint keptsaying, Who's gonna read this
book?
Who do you who do you think youare that you're writing a
Christian book?
Israel Caminero (24:24):
Well, of course he was.
Jennifer Godwin (24:25):
Oh yeah.
Oh yes.
And since nobody, you know,since I wasn't under a contract
and I didn't think anybody wasever gonna really publish it, I
just was being obedient to Godand writing the booklet that he
told me to write.
So that's what I did.
And then when it got done, itwas right around the whole COVID
thing.
It was hard to finish becausewhen it's a it's a book about
(24:49):
your life, and your life isstill going on.
How do you end your book?
And so I thought, okay, here itis.
Here's COVID.
I've done a c chapter on COVID.
I'll finish it when COVIDfinishes, and then we'll call it
quits.
Well, the only problem wasCOVID kept going on and on and
(25:11):
on, right?
And I finally like, nope, we'regonna finish this book, it's
done.
And so I I finished the bookand we we closed it on a
different chapter.
Israel Caminero (25:22):
That's so interesting that God put it in
your heart to write a book,first of all.
You didn't obey him right away,and then you thought it was to
people that didn't know Christ,but he said, No, it's for people
who know Christ.
So that's so interesting howGod always takes you out of your
(25:42):
comfort zone and makes you souncomfortable.
Jennifer Godwin (25:46):
Oh, yeah, he kept disturbing my sleep.
It finally got to the pointwhere write the book or you'll
you won't be sleeping anymore.
Right.
Because you'd wake me up andgo, it's time.
It's like, well, really, it'stime to be sleeping right now.
But I've really wanted tosleep, so I decided to start
reading.
Israel Caminero (26:04):
And you're done with the book, you said.
What's the name of the book?
Jennifer Godwin (26:08):
It's called Go Make Ripples.
Israel Caminero (26:11):
Go make Ripples by Jennifer Godwin.
I'll have links to that book inthe description of this
podcast.
So, what does it mean to rippleJesus into someone's life if
you wanted to share that withsomebody?
Is that a metaphor?
Jennifer Godwin (26:26):
No, it's just it's the same way people did it
for me.
You know, it was a meal prayer.
It was saying a prayer in frontof me at a meal.
It was bumper sticker that letme know God loved me.
It was the baptism in thekitchen sink, somebody that
cared about me.
And then it uh it was a boldquestion where somebody finally
(26:46):
asked me, Do you want to knowhow uh do you want to know
Jesus?
Do you want to know aboutheaven?
You know, so it it's I I nowspeak, God now has me out there
speaking to different groups,and I always use the the phrase
prayer, share, and care.
So praying for people, we canwe can all say a prayer for
(27:07):
somebody, and I get very fewpeople that tell me they don't
want to pray.
When uh when I'm out to dinner,we always ask our server how we
say a prayer before the meal,and we would like to lift you up
in prayer.
How can we pray for youtonight?
And so we always ask ourservers how we can pray for
them, or you know, if somebody'shaving a hard day, say a prayer
(27:31):
for them.
We had, I just had anexperience with a gal at the
post office here in town, andshe got super white and started
breathing in really hard.
And I called her co-workersover, but I said, you know, can
I say a prayer for you?
(27:52):
And you know, as she's kind ofbecause she was across the
counter, I couldn't reach her.
Israel Caminero (27:57):
Right.
Jennifer Godwin (27:57):
I said, Can I say a prayer for you?
And we had talked about itbefore because I was there
shipping out some more books,and she knew that I'd written a
Christian book and didn't reallyseem interested in it.
But at the time that she wasn'tdoing well breathing, she was
thrilled for me to say a prayerfor her.
And so she, you know, she's notgonna forget that.
Saying prayers for people,acknowledging people, seeing
(28:21):
people that are in front of you,like the cashiers at uh grocery
stores or a cashier whenthey're handing you your fast
food, you know, you couldcompliment somebody, you can
pray for them, you can say, havea blessed day.
There's lots of ways toacknowledge people.
(28:42):
And that's huge in the worldtoday.
Israel Caminero (28:45):
That's right.
Jennifer Godwin (28:46):
Sharing Christian podcasts like your
Christian podcast or Christianshows, Christian movies,
Christian books, sharing thethings that you know with
others, whether even withChristians or non-Christians,
that can lead them to a Lord tothe Lord.
I use a lot of gospel tracts,little pamphlets that say uh it
(29:10):
gives a little story, it givesyou Bible verses, and it gives
you how to accept Jesus as yourLord and Savior, and it gives
you a little prayer at the end.
I hand out gospel tracts allthe time, and I make little
blessing bags up for people.
Israel Caminero (29:26):
Oh, that's good.
Jennifer Godwin (29:28):
In the blessing bags, I put a gospel tract,
maybe a little booklet aboutheaven, or a little booklet
about God, something, you know,just a little booklet, and then
some candies, and I give thoseout to like again the cashiers
or flight attendants orhousekeepers and hotel rooms.
I I do blessing bags all thetime.
Israel Caminero (29:49):
That's so good.
You're blessing people.
Jennifer Godwin (29:52):
Yeah, well, there's just planting a seed in
their hearts.
Israel Caminero (29:56):
I love that.
And like you said, prayer goesa long way.
It just happened this week.
I'm in a group with a bunch ofbrothers in Christ, and one of
them actually said, Pray for mydaughter.
The enemy's a liar, and that'sall he said.
And I'm reading this, and thenone of my other friends chimed
in and said, What's going on?
(30:17):
And I was like, What does itmatter?
Just pray for him, you knowwhat I mean?
Like, stop being nosy.
And he messaged me or talked tome on the phone, and he was
like, It was funny, because whenyou said that, I was thinking
to myself, Why am I being nosy?
I should have just prayed forhim.
But it's true, you know.
Like, I was just being funnybecause I heard a sermon about
(30:38):
it.
Sometimes when people ask forprayer, people are like, What
can I pray for you for?
Why bother asking?
Just pray for them.
And that's good that you'reyou're asking your waitress and
everybody else for prayer.
I need to incorporate that moreinto my life.
Jennifer Godwin (30:52):
Oh, you'll be surprised what kind of prayer
requests you get.
I have had very I've been doingthis now for probably four
years, and you know, maybe ahandful of people have said, No,
I I I don't need you to prayfor me, or no, I don't have
anything.
Very few people will say thatto me.
The the one that shocked us themost was a little gal, and she
(31:17):
looked at us, and when I said,Can can we pray for you?
She she grabbed her chest andshe looked at us with tears
started forming in her eyes, andI'm like, Are you okay?
She goes, Will you seriouslypray for me?
I'm like, Absolutely, I'll prayfor you.
And she said, I have to give avictim statement.
My fiance was murdered, and Ihave to give a victim statement
(31:41):
next week, and I need to knowwhat I should say and have the
strength to be able to say it.
Of course, you know, we were wewere both kind of shocked.
It's like, wow, you just neverknow what somebody's going
through.
Israel Caminero (31:52):
Right.
Jennifer Godwin (31:52):
And uh, so you know, we chatted with her and
and uh she went and got ourwaters, but you know, you she'll
never forget that somebodycared enough to pray for her
that night.
Israel Caminero (32:06):
That's true.
She'll never forget thatmoment.
Jennifer Godwin (32:09):
No, we won't, and she won't either.
Israel Caminero (32:12):
That's right.
Jennifer Godwin (32:12):
Well, it makes us more sensitive because it and
I've had plenty, you know, I'vehad plenty of servers that, you
know, it's like, oh, you shouldnot be a server, you know.
And uh, but if you ask somebodyhow you can pray for them, it
it causes you to have a lot ofpatience.
Right.
You know, you you don't youwant to represent God well.
(32:34):
True.
And right.
So it it's given me a lot ofpatience, it's helped me to
grow, and it reminds me, youjust don't know what the person
in front of you is goingthrough.
Israel Caminero (32:46):
That's absolutely correct.
I tell everybody, you know, wewe've had our share of problems
in my family, and uh I used tohate when people would look sad
and stuff, and I'd be like, Areyou okay?
you know, and they'd say, Yeah,not anything like you're going
through.
And that used to get me soupset.
I used to tell them, like,don't say that.
You know, everyone's got theirown problems in their own ways.
(33:08):
It doesn't matter what I'mgoing through, you're going
through something too, so don'tbelittle that just because I'm
going through something thatmight seem bigger.
It used to irritate me so bad.
That's just how people are.
They're just afraid.
Like you said, you know someoneneeds prayer, but sometimes
they don't even say it.
You know they're going throughsomething, and you say, Hey, can
(33:28):
I pray?
or does anybody need prayer?
And they won't even raise theirhand or anything.
Jennifer Godwin (33:33):
Right.
Right.
I don't know.
Israel Caminero (33:35):
I don't know if it's a pride thing or uh they
just don't want people to knowtheir problems, even though we
know specifics, some one thatmight be going through something
still doesn't ask for prayer.
Jennifer Godwin (33:46):
Well, or maybe they're just too scared.
Israel Caminero (33:49):
Yeah.
Jennifer Godwin (33:50):
You know, they might just be too scared.
Israel Caminero (33:52):
True.
So I I love your story though,as far as you didn't know Christ
at all, and look at everythingthat you're doing now.
Yeah.
And your book, Go Make Ripples,is great because that's what
you're doing.
You're out there making ripplesby praying for people and
giving out these care packagebags.
(34:12):
It's great how God's moved inyour life from not knowing him
to what you're doing now.
Jennifer Godwin (34:18):
I I just go back to that night where she
said that I'd want to confessall my sins and that I'd want to
share the gospel with others.
Israel Caminero (34:27):
And that's what you're doing.
Jennifer Godwin (34:29):
That's what I'm doing.
That's what I was that's what Iwas told I was gonna want to
do, and that's what I'm doing.
Somebody did it to me.
I wanted to make sure I do itfor others.
Israel Caminero (34:39):
Right.
It's so great how God usespeople, right?
But who would have thought,right?
You didn't you didn't knowChrist at all, and now look what
you're doing.
Your family didn't know Christat all, and and look what you're
doing.
Jennifer Godwin (34:51):
Yep.
Well, it's all through him.
Israel Caminero (34:53):
Amen.
Jennifer Godwin (34:54):
I I I giggle and laugh all the time when
people say, Oh, I like yourbook.
It's like, oh, you don't knowwho really wrote the book.
It's really God.
I he got just used me.
I I'm just a photographer thatwrote a book.
It's kind of like I'm just afisherman that became a
disciple.
I mean, it it's it's so beyondwhat I can even imagine.
Israel Caminero (35:15):
Amen.
So if someone was listeningright now who feels like their
faith isn't big enough to makean impact, what would you say to
them?
Jennifer Godwin (35:25):
Anybody can make a difference in someone's
life.
And you never know what thesmallest ripple can do to lead
someone to Christ.
I mean, take the people thatput the bumper sticker on their
car, they never knew that alittle girl thought about that
when she saw it.
You know, the people thatprayed in front of me at that
(35:46):
meal, that was just somethingthat they always did.
But they continued it even infront of me the night that I was
there.
You can do so much more thanwhat you think you can.
And the problem is, or thething is it's just about caring
about somebody.
That's good.
If if you care about somebody,Jesus is gonna show and shine
(36:08):
through through your life.
Israel Caminero (36:10):
That's that's so true.
It's all about caring.
You hit it right on the nose.
That's good.
I like that, Jennifer.
So, what advice would you giveto a Christian who wants to
share their faith but doesn'tknow where to start?
Jennifer Godwin (36:27):
Read my book.
Israel Caminero (36:31):
There you go.
Jennifer Godwin (36:32):
Well, it does give you a whole lot of ideas.
There's a lot of ideas in thereon on how to start spreading
the gospel.
Um I would just say the biggestthing is invite, invite,
invite.
You know, if somebody wouldhave invited me to church clear
back when I was younger, I wouldhave gone.
If somebody would have invitedme to different women's
(36:54):
ministry, I would have gone.
You just have to invite.
People might turn you down, butthey can never say that you
didn't invite them.
Israel Caminero (37:02):
True.
Jennifer Godwin (37:04):
I've heard I've heard several people's
testimonies that said, nobodyever invited me to church.
And I don't want that to besaid on anybody that I come
across.
I want them to know that, youknow, yes, you're invited to
come to church.
Yes, you're invited to this.
You know, just inviting all thetime.
I've been turned down so manytimes in my life, but so be it.
(37:28):
At least God credits me foreven just inviting.
Israel Caminero (37:31):
That's true.
That's true.
Jennifer Godwin (37:33):
Even if they don't accept it.
Israel Caminero (37:35):
Sometimes Christians, uh I don't know, I
wouldn't say all of them, butsome lukewarm ones, I would say.
You know, they're they're justscared to share their faith with
someone from for rejection orsomething.
I don't know what it could be,because all they can say is no,
right?
And that that's not gonna killus.
Jennifer Godwin (37:56):
Exactly.
Exactly.
And you know, I I use thisanalogy a lot.
If you knew gas was only 99cents down the road, if you knew
you could go get gas, you wouldtell everybody.
You after you got after youfilled up your tank, you'd go
tell everybody.
I don't care if it was astranger, you know, if you were
(38:17):
standing in a line with atWalmart, you'd be going, Did you
know that there's gas for 99cents just down the road?
You would tell everybody, youhave something so much better
than 99 cent gas.
You have Jesus Christ, thesavior of the world, could be in
your life.
And that's what I tell peoplewhen I when they're like, Well,
(38:40):
you're really kind of pushingyour religion.
I'm like, I've got the bestthing in the whole wide world.
Why would I not tell them?
And if that's what God tells meto do and I don't do it, and I
think that Jesus is the mostimportant decision, what kind of
an evil person am I to keepthat to myself?
Israel Caminero (38:57):
That's good.
That's good.
Definitely.
You have to share it, whetheryou're scared or not.
Just take that leap and justsay anything, right?
Right.
That little ripple, like yousay.
Bumper sticker, shirt,anything.
Jennifer Godwin (39:14):
Exactly.
Yeah, you don't have to sayanything.
You can yeah, you can put abumper sticker on your car, you
can share a Christian book, youcan leave gospel tracks in
places where somebody's gonnafind it.
You know, that's so true.
There's plenty of things.
Israel Caminero (39:29):
Yeah.
Well, I love your story,Jennifer.
I love how God worked his wayin your life when you didn't
even know him and the thingsthat you're doing now.
And like I said, I'll havelinks to her book in the
description of this podcast.
And I would suggest going toget it and reading it just to
support her, or even reading it,just to go out and just make a
(39:51):
difference and share the gospel.
You might get an idea from itin there.
All right.
I have a question about Ifyou're having a bad day, or
basically, do you have a lifeverse that you found out why you
(40:12):
were going to church or whenyou met Christ, or when you're
having a bad day, do you have alife verse that you can go back
to and read that stuck with youand what that verse is and what
it you know what it means toyou?
Jennifer Godwin (40:28):
Well, we kind of talked about that earlier.
The one that um I learned thisfirst, and it was so weird.
I didn't know why I I memor wetalked about memorizing verses,
and so this was just a versethat popped up and and started
memorizing this verse years andyears ago.
It's become more prominent tome now.
But uh John 15, 8, God says, Iam the vine, you are the
(40:51):
branches.
If you remain in me and I inyou, you will bear much fruit.
Apart from me, you can donothing.
And that right there, you know,if if you do it with God's
help, God's gonna help youspread his word to other people.
You know, as long as you'reconnected to the vine.
Israel Caminero (41:15):
Amen.
That's true, very true.
You have to stay connected tothe vine, and God will do his
work through you.
That's a good one.
Now we're going to my back tothe past section of the podcast.
And what my back to the pastsection is, if the Jennifer of
(41:36):
today can go back in time andtalk to the younger Jennifer,
probably before she knew Christ,knowing what you know now, what
would you say to her and why?
Jennifer Godwin (41:48):
Well, I don't think I could go back earlier
than five years old.
But I think if I if I if I wasgoing to go back in time, I
would go back to when I wasrunning a photography studio.
There are so many missedopportunities that I had that I
wished.
I mean, I brought up God a fewtimes, but boy, I mean, I had
(42:13):
young people in my company foryou know two to three hours
several times.
Um, when I was photographingthem, when I was placing their
order, when they come back andpick up their order.
On average, you know, eachcustomer had had three hours of
my time.
I wish I would have spent moretime sharing God with them, even
(42:39):
if it would have been a Bibleverse putting in their final
order.
I wish I would have been braverback then.
That's my biggest regret.
Israel Caminero (42:49):
And you I'm sure you saw a lot of people
too.
Jennifer Godwin (42:52):
I did.
I wish but a lot of missedopportunities there.
That's why I'm moving forwardand trying to tell everybody
now.
Israel Caminero (43:01):
Amen.
That's good.
But you know, that was yourpast, and now you're doing what
you're supposed to do.
But I get it.
That was my back to the pastsection, and that's what you
would do.
But you're doing great, and Godsees what you're doing.
And I also want to thank youfor taking the time for being
(43:23):
here today and sharing yourtestimony with my audience.
I'm sure there's someone outthere that needs to hear it and
hopefully it'll touch them inways that no one else can touch
them besides God.
So before we come back, goahead.
Jennifer Godwin (43:43):
Well, I just I just want to thank you for
having me on your show.
I appreciate the opportunity tojust even encourage other
believers to be spreading thegospel.
Israel Caminero (43:54):
Amen.
That's what it's about.
Just one person.
If I lead one person to theBible, to the cross, to God,
that's that's what matters.
Jennifer Godwin (44:04):
Right.
Even the smallest ripple maylead someone to Christ.
Israel Caminero (44:07):
Amen.
Amen to that.
And I want to thank you fortaking the time out of your busy
schedule to be here.
And I'm glad that you'refeeling a little bit better.
I know you said you were underthe weather and we weren't sure
about today, but I'm glad you'refeeling better and you were
able to be here.
But before we close, do youthink you could pray over us?
Jennifer Godwin (44:29):
Absolutely.
Lord Jesus, thank you for thistime together.
I pray that anyone that'slistening to this podcast, I
pray that you would spark a firein their heart.
Lord, I pray that somethingthat was said would reach down
(44:52):
into their souls and want tocontinue to share the gospel
with others, that they would bebold and step up and step out
and make a difference to thekingdom of God and and to other
people's eternity.
(45:13):
And Lord, I just pray thatChristians would see how much
difference they can make insomeone's life.
Lord, work in people's lives,people's hearts, and open the
eyes, hearts, and ears ofunbelievers to hear, hear your
message.
I pray these things in yourson's precious and holy name.
(45:35):
Amen.
Israel Caminero (45:36):
Amen.
Amen.
Thank you for that prayer,Jennifer.
Thank you for being here.
And I'll have links to her bookand everything else she wants
me to share on the descriptionof the podcast.
But before we wrap up, I justwant to take a moment to thank
each and every one of thelisteners and supporters that
shares living testimonies.
Whether you've been with mesince the beginning or you're
(45:59):
just tuning in for the firsttime, your presence means the
world.
Your encouragement, yourprayers, and your willingness to
be part of this journey arewhat keep this podcast going.
This isn't just about stories,it's about what God is doing in
the lives of real people everyday.
And it's a reminder that yourstory matters because it's his
glory.
So thank you for walking thisout with me.
(46:21):
Let's keep shining the light ofJesus together, one testimony
at a time.
Until next time, God bless you.
And we were doing it.
Thank you so much for tuning in to today's
episode.
I'm grateful for your supportand for being part of this
community.
If you've been enjoying thepodcast so far, I'd love it if
you could take a minute to leavea review.
Your feedback helps me reachmore people and share these
inspiring stories with others.
Let's spread the word.
(00:24):
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And if you haven't already, besure to like and subscribe for
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While you're there, be sure tosubscribe to my newsletter.
(00:46):
The link is on the page.
Thanks again for listening, andI'll catch you in the next
episode.
Welcome to Living Testimony,Stories of Faith and Redemption.
(01:13):
I'm your host, Israel Caminero,and I hope that everyone that's
listening is blessed and doingwell.
With me today, I have my sisterin Christ, and her name is
Jennifer Godwin.
And she's here to share hertestimony.
So can you say a little bitabout yourself, Jennifer?
Jennifer Godwin (01:28):
Well, my name is Jennifer Godwin, like you
said.
I get some people that thinkit's my pen name because I wrote
a Christian book.
But Godwin was my very firstprayer request.
But we'll get to that.
Um, I am a mother and uh I'm awife of 37 years and mother of
three children and grandmotherof three grandsons right now.
(01:51):
Hoping more will be coming.
Israel Caminero (01:55):
Amen.
It's always good to havegrandkids and children around,
right?
Jennifer Godwin (02:00):
It is.
They're fun, especially whenyou can kind of send them back
home.
Israel Caminero (02:05):
Yeah, that's probably the best part when you
send them back home.
Mm-hmm.
But like I said, she's here toshare her testimony.
But before she does that, I'dlike to pray over us and I'd
like to say, Heavenly Father, wethank you for this day and for
the opportunity to gather,wherever we are, to hear of your
faithfulness.
Lord, we invite your HolySpirit into this conversation.
(02:27):
Prepare our hearts and minds toreceive what you want to speak
through this time.
We lift Jennifer to you rightnow.
Thank you for her life, herjourney, and her willingness to
share her story for your glory.
We ask that you would speakthrough her with clarity,
boldness, and grace.
Let her words be led by yourspirit, and may her testimony
(02:47):
touch hearts, encourage faith,and point others to the hope we
have in Christ.
May every moment of thisepisode bring honor to you,
Lord.
We give you all the glory.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Amen.
Okay, Jennifer, so the platformis all yours, and I'm
interested to hear your story.
So if you could tell us a dayin the life of Jennifer when she
(03:09):
was growing up, that would begreat.
Jennifer Godwin (03:12):
Well, I grew up I grew up in a home that didn't
know God.
Now I love my parents and theywere good parents.
We just didn't have God.
The only time we heard the wordGod was, oh my, or Jesus, and
you know, and then furthered on.
And it, you know, it they werehis name was used as more like
(03:32):
swear words than anything.
But when I was about five yearsold, I was invited over to a
little friend's house to eatdinner, and we watched the
mother prepare the meal and wesat down to eat our dinner.
We weren't a typical familyeither, where we ate dinner all
around the table like thisfamily did.
So when the food was placed infront of me, I started to eat
(03:55):
until the dad said, Oh, wehaven't prayed yet.
Now I didn't know what thatmeant, but I was smart enough to
put my fork down.
And then the father said, Nowwe're gonna close our eyes and
bow our heads, which I was gladhe gave me instructions.
And he said, We're gonna prayto God.
And so he did, and he started,and everybody's eyes were
(04:17):
closed, and everybody's headswere down, and I was, I of
course was peeking because atfive years old this was a little
strange.
And then he started thankingsomebody other than the mother
for dinner, and I was like, Whatare we doing?
It was just so strange to me,you know, being a five-year-old.
And so when dinner was over anduh my friend and I went in the
(04:39):
other room to play, I said, Whatwere we doing and who were we
talking to?
Well, she tried to explain it,but being five years old, I
couldn't understand it and shecouldn't explain it clear
enough.
But that is what started mysearch for God.
Then as time went on, uh, youknow, there were bumper stickers
that said, smile, God lovesyou, with a little the original
(05:03):
emoji sign, the little yellowsmiley face, and it let a little
girl know that God loved her.
You know, I I I went to the VBSwith that same friend maybe
once, but every time I went, itit was like the story they they
would tell was always in themiddle of a bigger story.
(05:24):
So I didn't quite understand,you know, it'd be like fishermen
and you know, the they had theflannel board, and it was I
guess I was probably moreimpressed that these little
people stuck on this board, andthat's what I focused on instead
of probably the story.
But um, so just differentpeople, you know, just kind of
(05:46):
throwing God out there.
And um, but when I was inmiddle school, the world was
predicted to come to an end.
And I don't know why it was asbig a deal as it was, but it was
a big deal.
I mean, all the kids weretalking about it, even the
teachers were talking about it,and so was this the Y2K thing?
(06:08):
No, this was even earlier inthis.
This was this was in the early70s, and I don't, I don't this
guy had predicted some uh otherthings that had come through,
and so for some reason hepredicted the world was coming
to an end.
Okay, well, by that point I'd Iknew that there was a heaven
and a hell because I askedenough friends about it and you
heard different things, youknow, on TV shows and and such.
(06:32):
And I knew I didn't want to goto hell.
And my little friend that Ihung around with the most was a
neighbor friend, but she went toa parochial school and she told
me after school, she goes, ifthe world's gonna come to an
end, you need to come up hereand we need to pray over you.
And so I went up to her house,her and her sister prayed over
me, then they baptized me in thekitchen sink.
(06:54):
Well, when the world didn'tcome to an end that night, I
thought, I just don't thinkthat's what's gonna get me into
heaven.
So, you know, if you askpeople, if you ask friends when
you're young enough uh aboutheaven and hell and about God,
you get a lot of conflictinganswers.
And that's what I got.
It's kind of like Google, youknow, if you ask Google about
(07:16):
heaven and hell, you get a lotof conflicting answers also.
Israel Caminero (07:18):
Right.
Jennifer Godwin (07:19):
This went on for a while, and then I moved on
to something I thought I couldfigure out because by the time I
was in high school, I justdidn't figure out the God thing
and I'd kind of given up.
I moved on to boys because Ithought I could figure out boys,
and they were kind of cute, andI kind of wanted one of those.
And so I had uh been invitedover to a different friend's
(07:43):
house, and she uh we were justspending the, I was spending the
night, we were just talking,and unbeknownst to me, I didn't
know she had an older sister,but her sister walked in and she
was home on uh Thanksgivingbreak from Moody Bible
Institute, and she came in theroom and she said, Do you want
(08:03):
to know how to get to heaven?
There wasn't any chit-chat, itwas just this bold question, and
it was like, What?
Somebody actually knows how todo that.
It was just so random.
But it made me sit and thinkabout it because I was like,
okay, nobody's ever asked meabout uh God.
And I thought, this gal actslike she actually knows what
(08:26):
she's doing.
And so I thought, yeah.
And so I followed her and shetook me to her room and she
explained to me that I was asinner.
Well, when you're in highschool, you pretty much know
that you're a sinner.
Right.
At least I did.
And uh so she explained the sinand how sin separated me from
uh God, uh, from a perfect God.
(08:47):
And so I understood that, andthat she said, in order to spend
your eternity in heaven, youneed to accept Jesus as your
Lord and Savior.
And so I did that.
The two things I remember hertelling me the most that night
was that I would want to sharemy faith and that I would want
(09:09):
to confess my sins.
Well, when I came backupstairs, my friend had already
some time must have passed, andso my friend was like, Oh, let's
just I said, Do you want totalk about this?
And she says, No, we'll just goto bed.
And so I thought, okay, fine, Ihad business to do.
And so I laid there awake forhours and I confessed every sin
(09:30):
that I could possibly think of.
And then at the end of the ofmy confession time, I wasn't
sure if I could do this becauseI'd never prayed to God before.
But I said, God, I still thinkthat Godwin boy is cute.
Could you put him in my life?
I just wanted a boyfriend, sobe careful how you pray because
(09:53):
he's still in my life.
He uh, like I said, 37 yearslater, and he's still there.
Oh wow.
So yeah, but then I went homefrom uh my friend's house the
next morning and I just casuallywalked in the door and told my
mother, I said, I accepted Jesusas my savior.
Do you want to know how to dothat?
(10:14):
She just looked at me like Iwas crazy, and I thought, well,
okay, I'm moving on.
And so I I just I left, but uhwent into my room.
But that was what started myrelationship with Jesus.
Israel Caminero (10:30):
I was gonna say that's that's great.
You know, you mentioned thebumper sticker, emergency
baptism, and a bold questionfrom your friend's sister that
she just randomly came in andasked.
It was so random.
So you could see how Jesus wasjust trying to move in your life
already at such an early agewithout you even knowing who
(10:51):
Jesus was at first from yourown.
Oh, yeah.
Jennifer Godwin (10:54):
He pursued oh, he pursued me.
I mean, you know, like therewere shows like The Waltons, and
there was the show um LittleHouse on the Prairie, and you
know, though those there wasjust different little things
that pointed out God, and youknow, I could see it, and you
know, like the little drummerboy cartoon when you were a kid.
Israel Caminero (11:14):
Yeah.
Jennifer Godwin (11:15):
But again, I I didn't understand it.
I couldn't put all the piecestogether to understand.
Matter of fact, I acceptedChrist in in November.
I knew that Christmas was areligious holiday.
By the time Easter rolledaround, I had no clue that
Easter was a religious holiday.
It was like, huh.
I didn't I didn't know that.
(11:36):
Well, yeah.
So you just people don't knowwhat they don't know.
Israel Caminero (11:43):
Right.
Jennifer Godwin (11:43):
And you know, I tell I I tell my children this
all the time.
My son likes to argue with meabout this because he's like,
There's a church on everycorner, there's God everywhere.
But the thing is, most peoplethink that they have to be good,
that they know that there's aGod up there and He they know
what God doesn't like, theydon't know what God does like.
(12:03):
And so I have a heart forpeople that don't know what they
don't know.
Israel Caminero (12:09):
Right.
So I want to backtrack just alittle bit before you keep
going.
You know, you mentioned growingup in uh in your house where
God wasn't part of that, and youjust mentioned that you didn't
know what Easter was.
So your family didn't go tochurch at all, like for a
Christmas, you know, nothing atall.
Jennifer Godwin (12:26):
Never, never.
Israel Caminero (12:28):
Okay.
Can you share just a little bitabout what the environment was
like for you, you know, as achild growing up in the home
like that?
Jennifer Godwin (12:36):
Oh, there were Easter bunnies and Santa Claus
and you know, birthday parties.
I it was it was a really nicehome.
There, you know, it's just anaverage home, average family,
just there wasn't anything aboutGod.
Israel Caminero (12:52):
Okay.
So it was a it was a good houseoverall.
It was good family, just noChrist in your life.
Jennifer Godwin (13:01):
R absolutely, yep.
Israel Caminero (13:03):
Okay.
That's that's interesting tohear because you don't usually
hear of things like that.
But that's good that it was anormal house, even though Christ
wasn't in it, and it doesn'tmatter because Christ was
working in you, and then youcame home and shared it with
your mom, and you said herreaction was that you were
(13:24):
crazy.
Did they respond at all afteryour faith journey?
Jennifer Godwin (13:30):
Um, oh now, yes.
Israel Caminero (13:33):
No, I mean, like back then when you were
younger, you know, when you cameand told them, like, did they
change at all back then or no?
Jennifer Godwin (13:40):
No, huh?
No, it took it took severalyears.
Matter of fact, my father isstill not a believer.
Israel Caminero (13:47):
Okay.
Jennifer Godwin (13:47):
He he thinks when he dies, he's going to just
be dirt.
And I've explained to himseveral times.
I'm like, Dad, yeah, I'm suremy body's gonna be dirt also.
But I said, our souls go on andlive forever.
And I I told him, I said, ifyou're right and we both die and
there isn't any God and thereisn't anything else, then no big
(14:10):
deal.
But I said, if I'm right andyou're wrong, there's that's a
really big deal because eternityis a really long time to spend
without God and and to beseparated from him forever.
Israel Caminero (14:24):
Okay.
All right, so let's go back towhere you left off and looking
back once you got went back homeafter you got baptized and gave
your life to Christ.
You know, did you encounterJesus for yourself?
And what were some of thechallenges?
Jennifer Godwin (14:43):
Well the challenge was I didn't really
have anybody to get directionfrom.
This girl, she went back tocollege and I I never saw her
again.
But God answered that prayerwith that Godwin boy.
Well, unbeknownst to me, heactually went to church.
(15:04):
And so eventually, you know, II became his girlfriend, and
then he finally started takingme to church.
The only problem was it was avery theological church, and it
it would everything went over myhead.
Israel Caminero (15:21):
Okay.
Jennifer Godwin (15:22):
So, you know, I mean, I'd heard of Moses
because you you seen it on TV,you know, the Ten Commandments
and that kind of thing, but Ididn't know what it meant, you
know.
I just I seen it and I sent,like I said, bits and pieces
along the way, but nothing thattied the whole thing up into a
ribbon.
And so as we as we went on, youknow, I grew in Christ going to
(15:47):
that church, but finally we didswitch churches, and then we
ended up because I told myhusband, I said it well, and
then we eventually married inthat church, but I just I wasn't
growing spiritually.
And so we switched churches andwow, it was like somebody put
(16:08):
fertilizer on me because weended up at a church and they
just kept inviting me to helpand helping awanas and helping
children's programs.
And actually that's how Ilearned about God.
I mean, yes, I learned I Iheard sermons and that kind of
thing, but you know, to take itclear back to a foundational, I
(16:29):
remember you know, memorizingBible verses with my kids with
awanas and uh learning thechurch stories, you know, in in
their classrooms.
That's how I first I alwaystell people if they if they know
nothing about God, start with achildren's Bible first, because
(16:50):
it'll give you the basicswithout all the jargon.
That's good and then go backand read an adult version Bible.
Israel Caminero (16:58):
Yeah, that's good.
Jennifer Godwin (16:59):
It helped me, it helped me.
Israel Caminero (17:03):
So my guess is this first church you went to
was either Baptist orPentecostal, am I right?
Jennifer Godwin (17:10):
Yeah.
Israel Caminero (17:12):
When you said theological church, that's what
I that's what I thought of.
What about this new church?
Was it like non-denominationalor something?
Jennifer Godwin (17:21):
Um it it was a Baptist church, but it wasn't
the strictest Baptist church,you know what I'm saying?
Okay, it it it it was a littlemore evangelical type of thing.
It was more like an E-freechurch type of thing.
Yeah, so it it spoke in it itwas like King James Version
(17:44):
versus everyday livingconversation church.
So when they when they spokefrom the pulpit, it was like,
oh, that's what that means.
Oh, I get that.
Yeah, I it it's like listeningto Romeo and Juliet, you know,
it it it's an easy story tounderstand as long as they take
(18:06):
out all those where far art thouextra words that you don't need
and don't understand.
Israel Caminero (18:14):
Yes.
Right, yeah.
Yeah, those are hard tocomprehend sometimes, especially
when you're new in your faith.
And when you didn't have abackground in your faith either.
Jennifer Godwin (18:25):
Right, exactly.
Israel Caminero (18:27):
So once you went to the new church, was
there people there who played akey role in discipling you and
helping you grow in your walkwith Christ?
Jennifer Godwin (18:37):
No, that's that's the unfortunate thing.
Um I started reading Christianbooks when I I was in a Sunday
school classroom.
I remember being in an adultSunday uh school classroom and
noticing a Christian booksitting on the shelf, and it was
like, huh.
I didn't know they had these.
So I read that one, and thenwhen I finished that one, I
(18:59):
found out that yeah, you can geta lot of Christian books.
And so I started readingChristian books different, you
know, about different things,and and that was how I grew.
Christian authors are whathelped grow me spiritually.
Israel Caminero (19:15):
Okay.
Jennifer Godwin (19:16):
You know, a a one hour sermon a week doesn't
do it.
And then when I finally startedreading the Bible, you know,
that that helped too.
And of course, I wasn'tdiscipled on that either.
I just started at thebeginning, and by the time I I
thought I thought the OldTestament was gonna be hard,
which it was, but then by thetime I got to the New Testament,
(19:37):
I could I didn't understand it.
I didn't understand how come Ikept reading the same story more
than more than once.
You know, by the time by thetime I got to Luke, it was like,
I I know I've read that storybefore.
And I start flipping back,yeah.
I start flipping back on pages.
I'm like, I did read thisstory, why?
And you know, so I did ask ourmy children's uh Youth pastor, I
(20:01):
said, How come I keep readingthe same stories?
And he, of course, kind of madefun of me a little bit.
Love him dearly, he's a goodman, but that that isn't
probably the proper way to dothings.
But um he said, Hey, that'sfour different people's
interpretations of the Bible, ornot interpretations, but um
(20:22):
their accounts of what happenedat the time.
And it was like, Oh, okay, nowI understand.
So, you know, no, I was notdiscipled, unfortunately.
Israel Caminero (20:34):
So, did you continue going to that church?
Jennifer Godwin (20:37):
We did, we did for the longest time.
Israel Caminero (20:39):
Okay.
Yep.
So you said you wrote a book,right?
Jennifer Godwin (20:45):
I did.
Well, it let's put it this way.
I was a professionalphotographer with film.
So we're not talking, just takea whole bunch of pictures.
You know, I went to a photo uhportrait uh college to take to
learn how to photograph peopleand weddings and that kind of
stuff.
So I was a photographer for 24years, and I had a dream one
(21:08):
night, and God said, You'regonna write a book.
And I never had a desire towrite a book, it was never on my
bucket list.
It was nothing, I was not anacademic type of person.
I graduated at the top of myclass, but it was because I took
a lot of art classes.
Art was important to me, and ofcourse I used it in my career,
(21:30):
so it worked out well.
The next day when I when I hadthat dream, I went and told my
friend who was very academic,and she I said, Told me I was
gonna write a write a book.
And she's like, Well, you don'tknow anything about writing a
book, and I'm like, nope, Idon't.
I don't know why you told me Iwas gonna write a book.
(21:51):
She goes, What do you think thebook is gonna be about?
And I said, I think I don'tknow, I'm not sure, but maybe
it's just short stories.
She goes, I don't think a booklike that would work.
Well, then it was it wasprobably a year later that the
chicken soul, uh, chicken soupfor the souls books came out,
and all they are are just littleshort stories.
So she didn't quite know whatshe was talking about there, but
(22:14):
she knew that I had never goneto college and I never I don't
speak proper English.
I do do a lot of run-onsentences, I make up my own
words sometimes.
And she goes, I just I'm notsure if you'll be able to write
a book.
And I'm like, Well, I don'tknow.
It's probably a crazy idea.
(22:35):
And so I I went along with thatbecause it would it was quite a
while before he finally said,Okay, now it's time to write a
book.
I mean, probably 10, 15 yearspassed before from the time I
had the dream to the time Istarted writing.
Israel Caminero (22:51):
Oh, okay.
Jennifer Godwin (22:53):
It it was just to the point where you know,
different little things justkept coming up and it was like,
it's time, it's time.
And I'm like, well, what timeis it?
What what time are we talkingabout here?
And finally it was like, it'stime to write the book.
And so I just sat down andstarted writing the book, but I
didn't, like I said, I've neverwritten a book.
I can tell you a lot of ways.
(23:14):
I'm I'm like Thomas Edison, Ican tell you a lot of ways not
to write a book.
A lot of ways, maybe 10,000ways.
Uh but uh I thought when Istarted that I would be writing
to unbelievers because that'swhere my heart is.
My heart is for those thatdon't know Christ yet.
(23:35):
And the the more my book gotdone, the more I, you know, the
writing progressed, it was like,oh, this book is for believers
on how to share the gospel withothers.
And it's it's not one of thoseones where you say, Oh, if you
die tonight, where would you go?
(23:56):
It is, it isn't set speeches,it's not things like that, but
it's it's how I grew as aChristian and how different
people planted seeds of Jesusinto my life, and how we can do
the same for others, and how wecan encourage others to grow in
Christ.
But I can tell you this, Imean, I put that book down so
(24:16):
many times because Saint keptsaying, Who's gonna read this
book?
Who do you who do you think youare that you're writing a
Christian book?
Israel Caminero (24:24):
Well, of course he was.
Jennifer Godwin (24:25):
Oh yeah.
Oh yes.
And since nobody, you know,since I wasn't under a contract
and I didn't think anybody wasever gonna really publish it, I
just was being obedient to Godand writing the booklet that he
told me to write.
So that's what I did.
And then when it got done, itwas right around the whole COVID
thing.
It was hard to finish becausewhen it's a it's a book about
(24:49):
your life, and your life isstill going on.
How do you end your book?
And so I thought, okay, here itis.
Here's COVID.
I've done a c chapter on COVID.
I'll finish it when COVIDfinishes, and then we'll call it
quits.
Well, the only problem wasCOVID kept going on and on and
(25:11):
on, right?
And I finally like, nope, we'regonna finish this book, it's
done.
And so I I finished the bookand we we closed it on a
different chapter.
Israel Caminero (25:22):
That's so interesting that God put it in
your heart to write a book,first of all.
You didn't obey him right away,and then you thought it was to
people that didn't know Christ,but he said, No, it's for people
who know Christ.
So that's so interesting howGod always takes you out of your
(25:42):
comfort zone and makes you souncomfortable.
Jennifer Godwin (25:46):
Oh, yeah, he kept disturbing my sleep.
It finally got to the pointwhere write the book or you'll
you won't be sleeping anymore.
Right.
Because you'd wake me up andgo, it's time.
It's like, well, really, it'stime to be sleeping right now.
But I've really wanted tosleep, so I decided to start
reading.
Israel Caminero (26:04):
And you're done with the book, you said.
What's the name of the book?
Jennifer Godwin (26:08):
It's called Go Make Ripples.
Israel Caminero (26:11):
Go make Ripples by Jennifer Godwin.
I'll have links to that book inthe description of this
podcast.
So, what does it mean to rippleJesus into someone's life if
you wanted to share that withsomebody?
Is that a metaphor?
Jennifer Godwin (26:26):
No, it's just it's the same way people did it
for me.
You know, it was a meal prayer.
It was saying a prayer in frontof me at a meal.
It was bumper sticker that letme know God loved me.
It was the baptism in thekitchen sink, somebody that
cared about me.
And then it uh it was a boldquestion where somebody finally
(26:46):
asked me, Do you want to knowhow uh do you want to know
Jesus?
Do you want to know aboutheaven?
You know, so it it's I I nowspeak, God now has me out there
speaking to different groups,and I always use the the phrase
prayer, share, and care.
So praying for people, we canwe can all say a prayer for
(27:07):
somebody, and I get very fewpeople that tell me they don't
want to pray.
When uh when I'm out to dinner,we always ask our server how we
say a prayer before the meal,and we would like to lift you up
in prayer.
How can we pray for youtonight?
And so we always ask ourservers how we can pray for
them, or you know, if somebody'shaving a hard day, say a prayer
(27:31):
for them.
We had, I just had anexperience with a gal at the
post office here in town, andshe got super white and started
breathing in really hard.
And I called her co-workersover, but I said, you know, can
I say a prayer for you?
(27:52):
And you know, as she's kind ofbecause she was across the
counter, I couldn't reach her.
Israel Caminero (27:57):
Right.
Jennifer Godwin (27:57):
I said, Can I say a prayer for you?
And we had talked about itbefore because I was there
shipping out some more books,and she knew that I'd written a
Christian book and didn't reallyseem interested in it.
But at the time that she wasn'tdoing well breathing, she was
thrilled for me to say a prayerfor her.
And so she, you know, she's notgonna forget that.
Saying prayers for people,acknowledging people, seeing
(28:21):
people that are in front of you,like the cashiers at uh grocery
stores or a cashier whenthey're handing you your fast
food, you know, you couldcompliment somebody, you can
pray for them, you can say, havea blessed day.
There's lots of ways toacknowledge people.
(28:42):
And that's huge in the worldtoday.
Israel Caminero (28:45):
That's right.
Jennifer Godwin (28:46):
Sharing Christian podcasts like your
Christian podcast or Christianshows, Christian movies,
Christian books, sharing thethings that you know with
others, whether even withChristians or non-Christians,
that can lead them to a Lord tothe Lord.
I use a lot of gospel tracts,little pamphlets that say uh it
(29:10):
gives a little story, it givesyou Bible verses, and it gives
you how to accept Jesus as yourLord and Savior, and it gives
you a little prayer at the end.
I hand out gospel tracts allthe time, and I make little
blessing bags up for people.
Israel Caminero (29:26):
Oh, that's good.
Jennifer Godwin (29:28):
In the blessing bags, I put a gospel tract,
maybe a little booklet aboutheaven, or a little booklet
about God, something, you know,just a little booklet, and then
some candies, and I give thoseout to like again the cashiers
or flight attendants orhousekeepers and hotel rooms.
I I do blessing bags all thetime.
Israel Caminero (29:49):
That's so good.
You're blessing people.
Jennifer Godwin (29:52):
Yeah, well, there's just planting a seed in
their hearts.
Israel Caminero (29:56):
I love that.
And like you said, prayer goesa long way.
It just happened this week.
I'm in a group with a bunch ofbrothers in Christ, and one of
them actually said, Pray for mydaughter.
The enemy's a liar, and that'sall he said.
And I'm reading this, and thenone of my other friends chimed
in and said, What's going on?
(30:17):
And I was like, What does itmatter?
Just pray for him, you knowwhat I mean?
Like, stop being nosy.
And he messaged me or talked tome on the phone, and he was
like, It was funny, because whenyou said that, I was thinking
to myself, Why am I being nosy?
I should have just prayed forhim.
But it's true, you know.
Like, I was just being funnybecause I heard a sermon about
(30:38):
it.
Sometimes when people ask forprayer, people are like, What
can I pray for you for?
Why bother asking?
Just pray for them.
And that's good that you'reyou're asking your waitress and
everybody else for prayer.
I need to incorporate that moreinto my life.
Jennifer Godwin (30:52):
Oh, you'll be surprised what kind of prayer
requests you get.
I have had very I've been doingthis now for probably four
years, and you know, maybe ahandful of people have said, No,
I I I don't need you to prayfor me, or no, I don't have
anything.
Very few people will say thatto me.
The the one that shocked us themost was a little gal, and she
(31:17):
looked at us, and when I said,Can can we pray for you?
She she grabbed her chest andshe looked at us with tears
started forming in her eyes, andI'm like, Are you okay?
She goes, Will you seriouslypray for me?
I'm like, Absolutely, I'll prayfor you.
And she said, I have to give avictim statement.
My fiance was murdered, and Ihave to give a victim statement
(31:41):
next week, and I need to knowwhat I should say and have the
strength to be able to say it.
Of course, you know, we were wewere both kind of shocked.
It's like, wow, you just neverknow what somebody's going
through.
Israel Caminero (31:52):
Right.
Jennifer Godwin (31:52):
And uh, so you know, we chatted with her and
and uh she went and got ourwaters, but you know, you she'll
never forget that somebodycared enough to pray for her
that night.
Israel Caminero (32:06):
That's true.
She'll never forget thatmoment.
Jennifer Godwin (32:09):
No, we won't, and she won't either.
Israel Caminero (32:12):
That's right.
Jennifer Godwin (32:12):
Well, it makes us more sensitive because it and
I've had plenty, you know, I'vehad plenty of servers that, you
know, it's like, oh, you shouldnot be a server, you know.
And uh, but if you ask somebodyhow you can pray for them, it
it causes you to have a lot ofpatience.
Right.
You know, you you don't youwant to represent God well.
(32:34):
True.
And right.
So it it's given me a lot ofpatience, it's helped me to
grow, and it reminds me, youjust don't know what the person
in front of you is goingthrough.
Israel Caminero (32:46):
That's absolutely correct.
I tell everybody, you know, wewe've had our share of problems
in my family, and uh I used tohate when people would look sad
and stuff, and I'd be like, Areyou okay?
you know, and they'd say, Yeah,not anything like you're going
through.
And that used to get me soupset.
I used to tell them, like,don't say that.
You know, everyone's got theirown problems in their own ways.
(33:08):
It doesn't matter what I'mgoing through, you're going
through something too, so don'tbelittle that just because I'm
going through something thatmight seem bigger.
It used to irritate me so bad.
That's just how people are.
They're just afraid.
Like you said, you know someoneneeds prayer, but sometimes
they don't even say it.
You know they're going throughsomething, and you say, Hey, can
(33:28):
I pray?
or does anybody need prayer?
And they won't even raise theirhand or anything.
Jennifer Godwin (33:33):
Right.
Right.
I don't know.
Israel Caminero (33:35):
I don't know if it's a pride thing or uh they
just don't want people to knowtheir problems, even though we
know specifics, some one thatmight be going through something
still doesn't ask for prayer.
Jennifer Godwin (33:46):
Well, or maybe they're just too scared.
Israel Caminero (33:49):
Yeah.
Jennifer Godwin (33:50):
You know, they might just be too scared.
Israel Caminero (33:52):
True.
So I I love your story though,as far as you didn't know Christ
at all, and look at everythingthat you're doing now.
Yeah.
And your book, Go Make Ripples,is great because that's what
you're doing.
You're out there making ripplesby praying for people and
giving out these care packagebags.
(34:12):
It's great how God's moved inyour life from not knowing him
to what you're doing now.
Jennifer Godwin (34:18):
I I just go back to that night where she
said that I'd want to confessall my sins and that I'd want to
share the gospel with others.
Israel Caminero (34:27):
And that's what you're doing.
Jennifer Godwin (34:29):
That's what I'm doing.
That's what I was that's what Iwas told I was gonna want to
do, and that's what I'm doing.
Somebody did it to me.
I wanted to make sure I do itfor others.
Israel Caminero (34:39):
Right.
It's so great how God usespeople, right?
But who would have thought,right?
You didn't you didn't knowChrist at all, and now look what
you're doing.
Your family didn't know Christat all, and and look what you're
doing.
Jennifer Godwin (34:51):
Yep.
Well, it's all through him.
Israel Caminero (34:53):
Amen.
Jennifer Godwin (34:54):
I I I giggle and laugh all the time when
people say, Oh, I like yourbook.
It's like, oh, you don't knowwho really wrote the book.
It's really God.
I he got just used me.
I I'm just a photographer thatwrote a book.
It's kind of like I'm just afisherman that became a
disciple.
I mean, it it's it's so beyondwhat I can even imagine.
Israel Caminero (35:15):
Amen.
So if someone was listeningright now who feels like their
faith isn't big enough to makean impact, what would you say to
them?
Jennifer Godwin (35:25):
Anybody can make a difference in someone's
life.
And you never know what thesmallest ripple can do to lead
someone to Christ.
I mean, take the people thatput the bumper sticker on their
car, they never knew that alittle girl thought about that
when she saw it.
You know, the people thatprayed in front of me at that
(35:46):
meal, that was just somethingthat they always did.
But they continued it even infront of me the night that I was
there.
You can do so much more thanwhat you think you can.
And the problem is, or thething is it's just about caring
about somebody.
That's good.
If if you care about somebody,Jesus is gonna show and shine
(36:08):
through through your life.
Israel Caminero (36:10):
That's that's so true.
It's all about caring.
You hit it right on the nose.
That's good.
I like that, Jennifer.
So, what advice would you giveto a Christian who wants to
share their faith but doesn'tknow where to start?
Jennifer Godwin (36:27):
Read my book.
Israel Caminero (36:31):
There you go.
Jennifer Godwin (36:32):
Well, it does give you a whole lot of ideas.
There's a lot of ideas in thereon on how to start spreading
the gospel.
Um I would just say the biggestthing is invite, invite,
invite.
You know, if somebody wouldhave invited me to church clear
back when I was younger, I wouldhave gone.
If somebody would have invitedme to different women's
(36:54):
ministry, I would have gone.
You just have to invite.
People might turn you down, butthey can never say that you
didn't invite them.
Israel Caminero (37:02):
True.
Jennifer Godwin (37:04):
I've heard I've heard several people's
testimonies that said, nobodyever invited me to church.
And I don't want that to besaid on anybody that I come
across.
I want them to know that, youknow, yes, you're invited to
come to church.
Yes, you're invited to this.
You know, just inviting all thetime.
I've been turned down so manytimes in my life, but so be it.
(37:28):
At least God credits me foreven just inviting.
Israel Caminero (37:31):
That's true.
That's true.
Jennifer Godwin (37:33):
Even if they don't accept it.
Israel Caminero (37:35):
Sometimes Christians, uh I don't know, I
wouldn't say all of them, butsome lukewarm ones, I would say.
You know, they're they're justscared to share their faith with
someone from for rejection orsomething.
I don't know what it could be,because all they can say is no,
right?
And that that's not gonna killus.
Jennifer Godwin (37:56):
Exactly.
Exactly.
And you know, I I use thisanalogy a lot.
If you knew gas was only 99cents down the road, if you knew
you could go get gas, you wouldtell everybody.
You after you got after youfilled up your tank, you'd go
tell everybody.
I don't care if it was astranger, you know, if you were
(38:17):
standing in a line with atWalmart, you'd be going, Did you
know that there's gas for 99cents just down the road?
You would tell everybody, youhave something so much better
than 99 cent gas.
You have Jesus Christ, thesavior of the world, could be in
your life.
And that's what I tell peoplewhen I when they're like, Well,
(38:40):
you're really kind of pushingyour religion.
I'm like, I've got the bestthing in the whole wide world.
Why would I not tell them?
And if that's what God tells meto do and I don't do it, and I
think that Jesus is the mostimportant decision, what kind of
an evil person am I to keepthat to myself?
Israel Caminero (38:57):
That's good.
That's good.
Definitely.
You have to share it, whetheryou're scared or not.
Just take that leap and justsay anything, right?
Right.
That little ripple, like yousay.
Bumper sticker, shirt,anything.
Jennifer Godwin (39:14):
Exactly.
Yeah, you don't have to sayanything.
You can yeah, you can put abumper sticker on your car, you
can share a Christian book, youcan leave gospel tracks in
places where somebody's gonnafind it.
You know, that's so true.
There's plenty of things.
Israel Caminero (39:29):
Yeah.
Well, I love your story,Jennifer.
I love how God worked his wayin your life when you didn't
even know him and the thingsthat you're doing now.
And like I said, I'll havelinks to her book in the
description of this podcast.
And I would suggest going toget it and reading it just to
support her, or even reading it,just to go out and just make a
(39:51):
difference and share the gospel.
You might get an idea from itin there.
All right.
I have a question about Ifyou're having a bad day, or
basically, do you have a lifeverse that you found out why you
(40:12):
were going to church or whenyou met Christ, or when you're
having a bad day, do you have alife verse that you can go back
to and read that stuck with youand what that verse is and what
it you know what it means toyou?
Jennifer Godwin (40:28):
Well, we kind of talked about that earlier.
The one that um I learned thisfirst, and it was so weird.
I didn't know why I I memor wetalked about memorizing verses,
and so this was just a versethat popped up and and started
memorizing this verse years andyears ago.
It's become more prominent tome now.
But uh John 15, 8, God says, Iam the vine, you are the
(40:51):
branches.
If you remain in me and I inyou, you will bear much fruit.
Apart from me, you can donothing.
And that right there, you know,if if you do it with God's
help, God's gonna help youspread his word to other people.
You know, as long as you'reconnected to the vine.
Israel Caminero (41:15):
Amen.
That's true, very true.
You have to stay connected tothe vine, and God will do his
work through you.
That's a good one.
Now we're going to my back tothe past section of the podcast.
And what my back to the pastsection is, if the Jennifer of
(41:36):
today can go back in time andtalk to the younger Jennifer,
probably before she knew Christ,knowing what you know now, what
would you say to her and why?
Jennifer Godwin (41:48):
Well, I don't think I could go back earlier
than five years old.
But I think if I if I if I wasgoing to go back in time, I
would go back to when I wasrunning a photography studio.
There are so many missedopportunities that I had that I
wished.
I mean, I brought up God a fewtimes, but boy, I mean, I had
(42:13):
young people in my company foryou know two to three hours
several times.
Um, when I was photographingthem, when I was placing their
order, when they come back andpick up their order.
On average, you know, eachcustomer had had three hours of
my time.
I wish I would have spent moretime sharing God with them, even
(42:39):
if it would have been a Bibleverse putting in their final
order.
I wish I would have been braverback then.
That's my biggest regret.
Israel Caminero (42:49):
And you I'm sure you saw a lot of people
too.
Jennifer Godwin (42:52):
I did.
I wish but a lot of missedopportunities there.
That's why I'm moving forwardand trying to tell everybody
now.
Israel Caminero (43:01):
Amen.
That's good.
But you know, that was yourpast, and now you're doing what
you're supposed to do.
But I get it.
That was my back to the pastsection, and that's what you
would do.
But you're doing great, and Godsees what you're doing.
And I also want to thank youfor taking the time for being
(43:23):
here today and sharing yourtestimony with my audience.
I'm sure there's someone outthere that needs to hear it and
hopefully it'll touch them inways that no one else can touch
them besides God.
So before we come back, goahead.
Jennifer Godwin (43:43):
Well, I just I just want to thank you for
having me on your show.
I appreciate the opportunity tojust even encourage other
believers to be spreading thegospel.
Israel Caminero (43:54):
Amen.
That's what it's about.
Just one person.
If I lead one person to theBible, to the cross, to God,
that's that's what matters.
Jennifer Godwin (44:04):
Right.
Even the smallest ripple maylead someone to Christ.
Israel Caminero (44:07):
Amen.
Amen to that.
And I want to thank you fortaking the time out of your busy
schedule to be here.
And I'm glad that you'refeeling a little bit better.
I know you said you were underthe weather and we weren't sure
about today, but I'm glad you'refeeling better and you were
able to be here.
But before we close, do youthink you could pray over us?
Jennifer Godwin (44:29):
Absolutely.
Lord Jesus, thank you for thistime together.
I pray that anyone that'slistening to this podcast, I
pray that you would spark a firein their heart.
Lord, I pray that somethingthat was said would reach down
(44:52):
into their souls and want tocontinue to share the gospel
with others, that they would bebold and step up and step out
and make a difference to thekingdom of God and and to other
people's eternity.
(45:13):
And Lord, I just pray thatChristians would see how much
difference they can make insomeone's life.
Lord, work in people's lives,people's hearts, and open the
eyes, hearts, and ears ofunbelievers to hear, hear your
message.
I pray these things in yourson's precious and holy name.
(45:35):
Amen.
Israel Caminero (45:36):
Amen.
Amen.
Thank you for that prayer,Jennifer.
Thank you for being here.
And I'll have links to her bookand everything else she wants
me to share on the descriptionof the podcast.
But before we wrap up, I justwant to take a moment to thank
each and every one of thelisteners and supporters that
shares living testimonies.
Whether you've been with mesince the beginning or you're
(45:59):
just tuning in for the firsttime, your presence means the
world.
Your encouragement, yourprayers, and your willingness to
be part of this journey arewhat keep this podcast going.
This isn't just about stories,it's about what God is doing in
the lives of real people everyday.
And it's a reminder that yourstory matters because it's his
glory.
So thank you for walking thisout with me.
(46:21):
Let's keep shining the light ofJesus together, one testimony
at a time.
Until next time, God bless you.
And we were doing it.
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