August 16, 2025 • 31 mins
This week was the Holy Day - Assumption of Mary. Jeff & Steph talk about Mary, Adoration and the
Importance of prayer. They discuss traveling through the seasons of life with God along side you. They give personal testimonies of how they know god is with them by the works he does, and the peace he brings to their lives.
If you have a personal testimony you would like to share - Go to - These Times with Jeff and Steph
then hit the mic button on the bottom right hand corner
You can watch and listen to Stephanie on her YouTube channel - In the Service of the Queen - where she talks about the blessed Mary https://www.youtube.com/@InTheServiceOfTheQueen
You can catch Jeff on numorous podcasts https://coolcasts.cooolmedia.com/
Please follow These Times on whoever you listen on, so that you don't miss an episode.
Importance of prayer. They discuss traveling through the seasons of life with God along side you. They give personal testimonies of how they know god is with them by the works he does, and the peace he brings to their lives.
If you have a personal testimony you would like to share - Go to - These Times with Jeff and Steph
then hit the mic button on the bottom right hand corner
You can watch and listen to Stephanie on her YouTube channel - In the Service of the Queen - where she talks about the blessed Mary https://www.youtube.com/@InTheServiceOfTheQueen
You can catch Jeff on numorous podcasts https://coolcasts.cooolmedia.com/
Please follow These Times on whoever you listen on, so that you don't miss an episode.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wait the day night sounds. I'm gotta get to the
star bugs, get some magic bees, love be on my way.
Magical plasmas an we don't know there's that today.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well, hi everyone, and welcome to these days with Jeff
and Steph. Of course I am Jeff, and we'll be
talking to Steph. We're gonna be coming to you from
the Catholic perspective, and we're gonna be talking about the Bible,
history and mysticism and all the fun stuff and the
not so fun stuff. But the Bible is Steph. Out
of things going out there in Tennessee hot as usual.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
I feel like that's just the standard answer these days.
Of course, it is August, so that's okay. How are
things with you in Colorado?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
It's going pretty good. I'm not quite as hot as tendency,
But now I think the last couple of shows we
have been telling everybody kind of whining the western half
western half of Colorado's on fire, not all these forest fires.
So then all of a sudden we'll be sitting there
up perfectly blue day and then all of a sudden
it's hazy from not smoke blown across the mountains. But
oh man, yeah, whit two minutes. At least we're not
(01:12):
suffering at the fires like those poor people.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Over there, right, And we do need to remember to
pray for everybody. That's true.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
And I was thinking our last show, we kind of
didn't do our Catholic friends justice. It wouldn't have been
so hard to actually mention they had a holy day
of obligation, just to remind them.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Right.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
We had a holiday yesterday which was so busy at
the church I went to that I had to park
in the garage I'm not used to, and then I
lost my car. Took me a while to get back home.
But that's okay, all for our blessed mother and honoring her,
so it's all good, right, right.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
It was kind of funny because when was it. See
my dad, he's eighty three, and his whole life, you know,
as a Catholic, for him, you don't even meet Fridays
and you go to church every Sunday morning. That's he
doesn't really do anything else, but that's you know, he
probably gets gold stars for his attendance for all these years.
I'm going to church on Sunday morning. Well after my
mom passed, Dad also won't go to church by himself either.
(02:09):
So he started going with me, well, I go Saturday night.
So he's like, you don't want to go, now, I'm
going Saturday night. Okay. So now when he meets people
from the church and they'll come up to him, We're
sorry to hear about Ruth and how are you doing
and all that, first thing he always does is I'm
going to church. I go Saturday with Jeff. So it's
going to make sure they go well. So last week
we came back and I guess it's Sunday. I'm kind
(02:31):
of looking at what his plans are for the week. Now.
It's not because I'm being a really thoughtful shun. You know,
I'm kind of selfish. I don't like to be blindsided,
you know. During the week, Hey, I thought you were
gonna help me. So we're talking to his schedule. What
do you got going on this week? And he goes, well,
I got a mow one day, and I got a
water one day. And he goes, that's it. I don't
have anything to put on the calendar. And I go, well,
(02:52):
you got church on Friday. And he goes for what
and I go, it's the Holy day of Obligation. He goes,
when'd you hear that? Will Father Jeff talk about it
at Mass? When did he do that? I go, well,
apparently when you were taking a nap. I wasn't and
I'm not taking a nap, so I just didn't realize
what he was talking about. He goes, what is it?
And I go, it's assumption to marry and all that,
and he goes, oh, you sure, And I'm sure it's
(03:15):
probably in the bulletin too. Oh right, And then I
didn't even think about it again. So Friday, I'm sitting there.
I did my last podcast for the sports show for
the week and he hits me up. He goes, so,
what are you doing. I go nope, I'm done. I
got all my shows done for the week and everything,
so we're good. He's okay, what time's church tonight? And
I go, okay, I know you're confused, but today's Friday
(03:36):
and we go to church. Tomorrow is Saturday, and it's
going to be at five o'clock, just like every Saturday.
And he goes, well, I thought we had to go
for some holy Mary thing or something. You know, right,
we do have to go for some holy marry thing tonight.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I love that some holy Mary thing. Yeah, that's awesome,
that's hilarious. And just to give our non Catholic friends
or even actually I just heard this, maybe some Catholics
don't know that our faith in the assumption of Mary
is very well founded. That the apostles from the earliest times,
there's writings, and even in the Eastern Orthodox Church they
(04:11):
have writings that say all the apostles were supernaturally called
back to her to her funeral, and Thomas showed up late,
just like just like he did for the resurrection. So
when they went the next day to roll the stone
away so that Thomas could pay his respects, the cave
was just filled with lilies and her body was gone,
(04:33):
and there's no way lilies could be growing in a
dark cave, and it was just filled with lilies and
the fragrance of lilies. And from the earliest times, you know,
we have believed and it's been a dogma that Mary.
You know, she was without sin, So Jesus wasn't going
to let his blessed mother without sin suffer death like
everybody else.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
That's pretty cool. And actually, and our mask yesterday, Deacon John,
he's really good about just like trying to kind of
like me when you actually talked miss and all that
kind of stuff where I kind of come in folksy.
That's how kind of Deacon John is. He was talking
about how when he was talking about Mary, he was
kind to say, he said, you know, people think that
(05:11):
we pray to Mary, but we asked for Mary's intercession
and all that kind of stuff. He goes, I always
tell him, I said, when you were a little kid
and you wanted something, did you ask Dad or did
you ask mom? He you asked mom, He goes, because
you know that mom would know right when to ask
and she would know how to do it. And then
when Mom asked that, well then of course you know
it got done. And he goes, and that's basically what
(05:31):
we do with Mary. Go to Mary and then she
knows how to say it, and then she goes on
for us. I thought that was a pretty good analogy.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
That is, Yeah, that's awesome. And there was a quote
from Podrey Po. I'm trying to find it. I can't.
I don't think I have it. But anyway, there was
a quote from pod ray Po, who is a great
saying obviously if you don't know him, get to know
him who said he said something like I posted on
all my Instagram a long time ago, something like how
could any of us be so insane to think that
(05:59):
we could ever get through life without the help of
our blessed mother Mary? You know something like that? Right,
She just swings it. She just makes everything. I don't know,
it's just like, you know, I think it's because God
gave her the role of mediatrix of grace, and all
the grace falls blows through her hands.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
No, she accepted it, and by accepting that role, she
accepted all of us too.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Right, exactly. And what mom doesn't love her little children
and want to protect them and help them as much as.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Possible, right, and only mom can actually look the other
way in a lot of stuff we do.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
That's true, and that is her role. You know, her
role is to go to the father and be like, well,
you know, little Johnny, he got in a fight today,
just like you know, what's coming to mind is a
Christmas story, you know, where he got in a fight
and had his glasses busted up because he just finally
lost it with that bully. And the dad was like,
what he got in a fight, And she's like, oh yeah,
but we talked about it and it's cool, and he's,
(06:50):
you know, he's not gonna do that anymore, and the
mom kind of just tried to. And that little boy said,
me and my mom had a different relationship from that
day forward.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
That's true. I mean, and I think after you call
on Mary and ask her you do, and you realize
that she did step before you do, you have a
different relationship with her.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Right because you do see she shows up. She shows
up for us every single time.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
That's right. Well, like I had told you that I
grew up Catholics, so that's all I ever knew. But
my parents, you know, they were good Catholics, but they
only they didn't do My mom would go to confession,
but it was pretty much the weekend Catholics where you
just pretty much just go every you don't eat meat
on that and you can give up something for land,
and then you just go every Sunday. There was nothing else.
(07:35):
And I didn't step away from the church. I just
stopped going for a long time. And then justify it
by well, I'm hungover, I don't want to go and
smell on LNG booze or been drinking. I can't go,
and all this kind of stuff, you know how you
can justify it basically anything, right, And so when I
started going back, it had been over twenty years since
i'd gone regularly or anything, and he realized, I'm in
(07:56):
the stuff you kind of forget or you weren't ever
exposed to. I guess, so I never did iteration or anything.
I so I had no idea what adoration was. So
I was sitting there and of course, okay, we got
adoration Thursday mornings, we got every Friday night and Sunday nights.
After adoration, they're going to have a pot luck, and
I thought, well that would be kind of fun. You know,
it's taking care of helping, hate care of my mom.
I'll get out of it. I had no idea really
(08:17):
what adoration was, and that pride thing instead of just
showing up and learning was kind of like, I don't
want to look stupid, so I don't even I'm not
going just for the simple fact I don't know what
to do with adoration.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
But I know you go quite a bit, right, I do,
And especially it seems like through transitional phases of my
life that might be harder than others, which it seems
like I go through a lot of transitional phases.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
But during those times I go a lot more and
I really do think it has has given me the
strength and it changes you. It just changes you. I
think Fulton Sheen said you can't sit in front of
the sun for an hour and not get sunburnt. We
can't sit in front of the sun of God for
an hour and not have it change you. It's going
to produce some kind of result.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Well, why wasn't here to help? And tel like people
like me or just non Catholics are thinking about it exactly.
What is atoration? What do you actually do when you
walk in?
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Well, well, it's a quiet you know, you you're in
silence and all the all the people there are instructed.
You know, you try to be as quiet as possible
so people and it's because of that, you know, it's reverence.
But it's also I think you hear God. God's always
you know, it's like that what's that word I'm looking
for where it's up anyway, it's it's the you hear
(09:30):
God the best in silence, right, So it's it's you
know that flip thing. But I don't know, like I've
had some really I know a lot of people have had.
So it's the blessed sacrament. It's it's the host that's
been consecrated, and it's in a monstrance we call monstrants,
so it's a gold, beautiful thing that we display the
sacrament in. And you just sit there in front of
(09:52):
the presence of God, and you know you're in the
presence of God. You do kneel because of the bibble
scripture that says all needs shall bend at My presence,
So you kneel when you walk in. And then you
sit down and sometimes people read scripture, some people's prayer, rosary,
some people sleep. I've seen that too, and you just
spend time with God. And I can't say that I've
(10:13):
ever left there without you know, something happening. It could
be miraculous. It could be a hero's voice. It could
be a journal and I really get clarity, or it
could be nothing. That could be that you just feel
when you walk out that I've definitely gone in in
times of tears and trauma, and at least when I've left,
I've felt some kind of shift where there's more peace.
(10:33):
At the very least, I think you have more peace,
and it tends to kind of increase as the day
goes on. I've noticed that too, Like when you leave,
you might feel like nothing happened, but when you leave somebody,
like you were saying, somebody calls you haven't talked to
in a long time, or do you just feel a
greater sense of peace as the day goes on. There's
definitely an effect. Like Felton, she said, there's an effect
(10:54):
when you when you visit God, he's going to bless
you obviously, right.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
You don't have to worry about looking stupid or doing
it wrong, right.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
You don't, because yeah, just come as you are. There's
a story. Actually I wasn't gonna I wasn't planning on telling,
but this is a pretty cool story I heard on EWTN.
There there was a well, I think it was in England,
and there was a drunk. Since you mentioned like halven
years of alcohol, So there was this guy that this
woman was a developed Catholic and she would go to
(11:23):
adoration every day and she would walk out and there
would be a drunk on the on the sidewalk, like
near the doors the steps of the church as they're
often are, and she would she was kind and she
would usually bring him food or something, and one day
she couldn't find him, and she was like, oh, I
just know that. Oh, and she would notice that he
(11:43):
would go in every afternoon and he would just sleep
on the pew, and then she couldn't find him one
day and she was like, oh, he's I'm sure he's died,
you know, She's like she started inquiring and someone was like, no,
he's in the hospital. So she actually went to visit
him in the hospital and she was like, well, I
was just worried about you. I was just checking on you.
She was such a kind woman, obviously from all her years,
probably an adoration. And he said, yeah, you won't even
(12:06):
he said, yeah, just you won't believe this. He said,
but he actually was getting out that day because he
said he was to the point of death and he
really thought he was going to take his last breath.
And then he said, Jesus walked through the door of
my hospital room, and he said, I can't believe that
you would come see me. After all these years, all
I ever did is sleep in front of you. And
(12:27):
he said, but you came, He said, you visited you
to you know you want it to come. You actually
showed up and you were there, and so I'm going
to I'm there for you, and and he was healed miraculously,
never drank again, his health was restored. He walked out
of the hospital with her that day. Yeah, so he
does appreciate. He takes notice when we come to see him,
and he really really appreciates it.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
So next time my dad takes a nap that you're taking,
te him that's okay.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
So yeah, I tell him, I'm probably God would prefer
he listen, but he's not what he's ninety something, so
I think he probably gets gets a little bit of
a pass.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
You got to love Those stories just do not strengthen
your faith, but kind of like, yeah, cool, that's why
I do this.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Right, God is so merciful, so merciful. Well, you know,
I mean, I know some people have some pretty profound
stories that the one cool story I have about adoration
from a mystical point of view, I do hear Him
speak to me sometimes audibly, and it is easier when
I think when you're in front of him or like
right after communion, sometimes I'll hear God's voice clearer. But
(13:32):
sometimes it's just in your spirit you hear it. Sometimes
it could be audible, But he speaks to all of
us all the time. You know. John says that I'm
the good shepherd, and my sheep here my voice. So
if you're not hearing his voice audibly, he's speaking to you,
for sure through different ways. It could be through nature,
it could be through a song like you said, a
friend calls, it could be anything. But one time though,
(13:53):
in adoration, and it was at the church. It wasn't
I like this little adoration chapel that I go to,
which is really cozy, and you know you're there alone
a lot. But this time happened to be at church,
and you know, the priest was doing adoration and confession
at the same time. And I kind of have a
childlike kind of attitude when I'm before God, and I
(14:15):
was just I was literally saying to him, I wish
I could sing you a song, but you wrote all
the songs, and being a songwriter, I guess I relate
to that kind of thinking. And I was like, well,
I don't know what song you would want me to
sing you. I was just saying this in my head,
and I started hearing the melody of a song that
I knew very well. But I couldn't think of the words,
and and I got home and I was asking my husband.
(14:36):
I was humming it. I was like, what's what's this song?
And I didn't tell him why. I was just like,
you know, no, no, no, no, no, no no no no
no no no, no no no. I like, that was
that song and he didn't know. So thank God for
Google search on song, right, So I hugged it well
enough apparently for Google to understand it, and lo and
behold it was Curie Laison by that mister mister uh yeah.
(15:01):
So it was like and I was like, of course,
Curie a la Zone means Lord have Mercy, and that
whole song is about I didn't even I've never really
paid attention to the lyrics of that song. But after
that I looked him up and it's like, will you
follow me through the dark night? Will you? You know,
saying Lord have mercy through the through the road that
I must travel, Will you follow me? I'm like wow.
So that was a pretty profound adoration moment.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
It's kind of funny because when the song came out,
I think it was in the eighties, but of course
we didn't have Google, and nobody knew what in the
world meant, so every DJ had to tell everybody what
curate it curiate.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Alas, Yeah, isn't that cool though, that they would even
write a song called that. I'm like, that's that's God.
I'm sure these I don't think they were probably even Catholic,
were they?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Yeah? I don't know, I probably not Catholic. Yeah, it
was definitely Christian.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Right, that's such a god thing.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
You get such cool things, you know, you talk to
guy and he puts songs in your head and all this.
I don't know if you remember a couple of shows ago,
I said, ever since I was a little kid, I've
always wanted to see angels, you know, And that's when
I looked at the priests and I'm looking and looking
for angels. And then then like the next time I
went to church after that, I was sitting there and
I kind of thought about telling you about it. I always
wanted to see an angel, and something popped in my
(16:13):
head said, you'd probably freak out.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Right, he doesn't want to freak us out, So sometimes
that may be why you're not seeing.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
God.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
She gets I get told them and to freak out,
and she gets to hear cool songs.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Right, Yeah, and God talks to us how we relate. Right.
I grew up with a mom who was a songwriter
and my mom's birthday was yesterday, ironic. I mean, I
think that's so cool. For years, and you know, I
wasn't Catholic, so I didn't realize that my mom's birthday
was on the feast of the Assumption. But now, how
cool is that? And she died on December twelfth, which
(16:49):
is our Lady of Guadaloupe, So my mom was born
and died on very big Mary days. Yeah, and you know,
I've always felt like there's a lot of grace that
comes to me on August fifteenth, and now I know
it's Mary. But before I was Catholic, and before I
understood all that, I always thought my mom was just
sending me graces from heaven, which she might be too,
She's I'm sure she's praying for me. But I would
(17:12):
always notice, get I get presents on your i'ld be like,
what you send me presents on your birthday? That's so cool?
Like I always tended to have. Really, you know, good
things happened to me on August fifteenth. So so I'll
tell you, like last night speaking of songs, and you know,
I won't go into all of it right now, but
you know, like personally, I've been through a hard two
and a half year's a lot of trauma and grief,
(17:35):
rejection and some deep wounds. And you know, God's been
speaking to me about like everything's a season and we're
not meant to stay in pain for forever. When joy
doesn't last forever, pain doesn't last forever. Everything's a season.
But he has been speaking a lot, and it's a
scripture in Isaiah. Can't you perceive it? I'm doing a
new thing, you know it will you know I put
(17:56):
springs in the wilderness and you know, rivers in the waste.
Like he's bringing things back to life for people that
have gone through a hard season and restoring us and
not just restoring us and healing us, but also setting
us free. And I see that, and I feel that
in the last couple of weeks, I have felt like
a deeper sense of happiness and joy return to me.
(18:17):
And that scripture also keeps coming up. I have turned
your morning into dancing, and you're sorrow into laughter. I
don't know where that is. I need to know, my
bibb all better, but that anyway, last night, speaking of songs,
So I'm walking my dog. A lot of things. God
seems to talk to me when I walk the dog.
So I'm walking the dog and I'm just like, really
feel even though I don't really know where my life's going.
(18:39):
There's still a lot of uncertainty, but I feel like
this sense of hopefulness and peace and trust in Jesus.
And so I'm walking him. His name's Fulton Sheen, by
the way. He doesn't really live up to it most
of the time. But I was just like overcome with joy,
and I start singing to him. And this isn't like normal,
I don't always do this. I start singing f U
(19:00):
L I'm like, who's the cutest dog in town? I'll
tell you who it is? F U L t O
n sag een. And I'm like that melody is familiar.
Where do I know that from? And you know what
that is, don't you? Yeah, Mickey Mouse. It took me
a minute to remember. I was like, I'm singing him
Mickey Mouse. But so I just kept on, you know, like,
who's the prettiest dog in town? I'll tell you who
(19:21):
it is? F U L t O n sage and
I was just like soul filled with joy, and God
really spoke to me like you are in a new season.
Don't look back, and that that's the prophetic word for
a lot of people right now, if you've just gone
through trauma and heartache. I just want to really encourage you.
He is really stressing, do not look back. The past
(19:42):
is the past. It's over. I have glorious new things
planned for you, and I just feel like we're entering
into a season of miracles and and really being able
to extol God's glory. That's what I'm getting in you too,
because you've just gone through a hard season as well.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
When we talk about I don't know why it always rings.
I've heard it like a long time ago. But you
know in the song where I walked through the Valley
of death right and I don't know who it was
as a preacher or what he said. Now, people, I
want you to pay attention to that he walked through
the valley, he didn't stay there, so keep going.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Right right, And that is actually that that got into
my head. I started saying it out loud when my
parents died and I didn't read the Bible. I was
a Catholic, like, literally, God was speaking that to me,
and I would say that whole song out loud as
I was going through the loss of my parents. And
recently I heard a prophet on TV. And you know
a lot of people are people. Some people, especially Catholics,
(20:40):
can be like, oh, these all these prophets on YouTube,
But there's I'm telling you, there was a lot of
very humble, very tested and true prophetic voices on TV.
And the Bible says in the latter days, I'm going
to all my sons and daughters will prophesy. So I
feel like he's poor and he has said I'm going
to pour out my spirit. I see it happening. And
this one girl that I listened to, who is a
(21:01):
prophetic voice, she broke down that prayer. She said, that
prayer is actually talking about the seasons of life that
we go through. She said, because if you think about it,
it's the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.
So that's when we're in a season of plenty and
we're not wanting for anything. He leaves me beside still waters.
He restores my soul. So that's when you're in a
(21:21):
season of restoration, right, he's restoring you. Everything is being
brought back to you that you've lost. And then you know,
you go through these seasons where he's making a table
in front of your enemies. He's bringing you vindication. He
always does that for his children. If you feel like
you've been wronged, he's going to bring vindication and set
a table before your enemies. And then, like you said,
the Shadow the valley of the Shadow of Death, Like
(21:44):
it's the shadow of death. That's what she pointed out.
You're not in death, it's the shadow of death, and
he's with you. So he's going to comfort you during
that season. And yeah, then you're going to go back
to the beginning. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall
not want. I think it's just this endless cycle of seasons.
I think that song has so much that you could
(22:05):
really meditate on.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah, and those those moments like singing your dog and
all like new. I think those silly seasons, that's kind
of that's the good thing about life because at that
moment everything was just right.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah. I was so happy last night, you don't even know.
I haven't been giddey and silly in a long time,
and it felt good to be silly.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
That is That is cool. Kind of odd that he
was singing a song that was out before you were
ever born. But okay, when did that.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Song come out? Maybe I was born earlier than you think.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Oh no, this was like in the fifties with Frankie was.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
A frank And yeah, yeah, you're right, I wasn't born.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
But this wasn't just in Timberlake and Britney Spears time. No,
this was black and white.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
I do have a love for Disney, though, and I
have been several times. There's just something magical. It's so true.
There is something magical about Disney, I think. But yeah,
it felt good to be silly and just have that faith.
And I think that was also a gift from the
blessed Mother on her assumption and from my mom for
her earthly birthday. I don't know, it's just like August
(23:09):
fifteenth's always been a really good day for me.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Well good, need to string a bunch more than besides
August fifteenth for you now now that you're now that
you're out of the season, right.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Now that I'm out of the sorrowful season. So how
often do you go to adoration?
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Do you do?
Speaker 1 (23:22):
You?
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Are you going now, no, that's why I have can't
you tell me how to do it?
Speaker 1 (23:27):
Oh? Okay, well yeah and so and no shame. I
mean for years, like I said, I was in the
New Age and didn't know anything, didn't do anything. But yeah,
I encourage you to go to adoration because that it
is really powerful. I will say this, I don't I
don't think time heals all wounds. I think it's what
you do with the time.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Right, that's a good point. See, I thought adoration was
really solemn and real serious. And then like you said that,
you see people sleeping and all that kind of stuff.
Or one day he goes in there on adoration and
he plays like religious trivia on his phone.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
Right. And if I'm in their loone, I mean, I'll
just talk to God. You can do I mean, got
to be quiet obviously if you're in there with other people.
But if I'm in there, loone, I just I mean,
I'll either pour out my heart, I'll yell yeah, I'll
just be real. I think God wants us to be
real with them, like why are you letting this happen
to me? Or you know, sometimes I'll just be silly.
There's times I actually have been silly, like, you know,
(24:20):
just like God, look at those those butterflies and those flowers.
There's just awesome, Like you just created some awesome things,
and sometimes I just feel like praising them. And you know,
sometimes you do get sleepy. I won't lie like you.
I think it's like the peace that you feel when
you're in front of God that maybe you let go.
I have a lot of stress you've been carrying, so
sometimes maybe you do need to take a nap.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Yeah, and if it's it works for that drunk guy,
right exactly. So what were you teasing me about? You
have a flower story?
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. So I just wanted to say
for anybody who's not a Catholic, because you know, one
time I wasn't Catholic and God, definitely we don't want
to come across as we're saying, you only get grace.
Of course, I think he wants everybody to be Catholic
because there are aqueducts of grace that he created in
the sacraments, and he wants everybody to receive all that.
But he's so merciful that I just wanted to share
(25:12):
this story because even before I was Catholic, I wasn't
even baptized, and I was going through a transitional period.
I had just lost my parents and I was in
a part time job. And I relate this back to
the Blessed Mother. So it's cool we're saying this. The
day after her assumption. I was having to I was
living by faith. I did have faith in God, and
(25:32):
I was in a part time job. I didn't know
what I was going to do as far as getting
a full time job where I was going to move.
I was kind of in a real transition period like
I am now. And in my bank account was like
a little bit negative by the time I got to
every payday, and I would let it get a little negative,
knowing that the next check was coming. I would only
buy what I needed. I would try to buy food
(25:52):
that was like cheap. You know, you're living on spaghetti
at that point, or beans and rice. And I never
minded that like I've always been. I don't know, just
like I don't mind just getting by and getting through
a hard season because I've always had faith. I know
it's this season and it's gonna change. So anyway, I
was at the grocery store there, and life had been
so desolate that all I really wanted was there was
(26:15):
this little bunch of pink flowers. They were three dollars,
and I really really wanted them, and I just thought,
I just need to buy these for myself. I've been
through a hard time. And then my logical mind was saying,
but you're negative in your bank account. You just need
to buy food. You don't need to be blowing your
money on these pink flowers, even though they were just
three dollars. So I walked around the store arguing with myself.
Finally my soul went out because my soul was saying,
(26:38):
you need those pink flowers. And I want to encourage
people to listen to your heart and your soul more
than your mind, because you know that's where God lives.
He lives in our heart, in our spirit, and not
in our logical mind. And so anyway, I want a head.
And I put the pink flowers in my cart, and
as I was walking off, the guy that was like
putting out the flowers, he was like, hey, hey, wait
(26:58):
a minute, and he was like, do you eat those?
Do you? I want to take these too, And he
had like two or three bunches of dozens of white
roses and he was like, these, you know, have broken stems.
I can't put these out, you can just have them.
And I immediately felt the presence. And like I said,
that was after the time I already had started buying
rosaries and writing songs about Mary. I felt connected to Mary,
and I had already had the experience with Mary. So
(27:20):
I just felt like it was her blessing me and saying,
don't limit God, you know, don't limit him. He wants
to bless you. And if you will receive, because you
chose to receive the pink flowers for yourself, I'm going
to give you more. And I think that was the message.
He wants to give us more. His dreams are bigger
for us than what we have planned for ourselves. And
so I was like, thank you so much. I took
(27:41):
the three bouquets and I'm like put them in my cart,
and as I'm getting to the checkout line, I kid
you not, he comes up with like six more does
He was like, all these have broken stems too. I
can't use any of these, you know, not one of them.
I could not find a broken stem on any of them.
And he gave me so many flowers I didn't even
have room in my car literally, and the cashier was like, wow,
(28:03):
you have Wow, what beautiful flowers. You have a lot
of beautiful flowers. And I was just like overwhelmed in
that moment. That was one of the biggest God moments
in my life. I was just overwhelmed with like him saying,
just just Stephanie, would you just open up your heart
to let me bless you.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Yeah. I walked out of the store with more flowers
than I could literally carry that day because of all
because yeah, I decided to. I decided I deserve some
little pink flowers.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Cook because obviously, see I'm giving you this now.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Stand back, Yes, exactly. And that's what God does. I
see it so often in other people. I see it everywhere,
like when we like, how can he give us anything
when our hearts are closed off to receive?
Speaker 2 (28:48):
And that's the key right there. You have to open
your heart to him.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Right right. You have to open up to receive and
to know that he loves you and he's a good
God and he's not here to hurt you or harm you,
and he wants to bless you.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
And you also have to just realize that he, like
you said, he does want to bless you on that.
And I think a lot of people they won't open
the heart because they just won't accept the fact that, oh, well,
he's not gonna forgive me for this, He's not going
to forget Yeah you.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
Will, right, Yeah, as long as you're not abusing the forgiveness, like, yeah,
that's that comes from the enemy. And so any kind
of guilt and shame. You know, the Holy Spirit will
convict us of our sins, but he never does it
in like an accusatory way.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Right, that's the whole whole thing. He's just got. You know,
God will forgive you. See, I forgive yourself. You have to.
If you don't forgive yourself, you're not gonna be able
to accept what He's going to give you.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Yeah, exactly exactly, And I mean it can like I
just relate it back to something as simple as breathing
in and breathing out, Like you can't breathe out all
the time. You have to breathe in and and let
God replenish you. Literally, you are replenishing yourself when you
breathe in.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
So so you're a football fan, not really, not so much.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
I mean I grew up watching Cowboys of course because
my dad did. But that's about it these days. How
about you?
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Yeah, I played it, you know when I was a
little kid and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
And of course you're following and do what position did
you play?
Speaker 2 (30:13):
I was like outside linebacker? Okay, but it's a getting
football seasons starting this year and for me, and mostly
I love football and all this kind of stuff, but
I always kind of like, uh, the simple fact that
I means summer's over.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
You know.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
It's like when football season starts in summers, when school starts, right, what.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Team do you follow?
Speaker 2 (30:33):
The Broncos?
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Okay, gotcha, But you have a cool didn't something happen
like with the fantasy football thing? Kind of a god
moment for you?
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Yeah? Because I was staying help and take care of
my mom for a couple of years, I kind of
lost track of all my friends, you know, and of
course everybody's married and everything, and you know, and I
hadn't even talked to him for a couple of years.
And obviously they caught in touch with their mom died.
But I, you know, and I can't really just say, hey,
I haven't talked to you years, I know, but hey,
what's up? You know, do you want to go do
something or anything? So I didn't know how to reach
(31:04):
back out to him. Then as they called me up
and asked if I want to play fanties football with
him this year, just out of the blue.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
That's awesome. And you hadn't talked to these guys and
how long?
Speaker 2 (31:13):
At least three years?
Speaker 1 (31:14):
That's awesome. Yeah, that's a God God moment, just to
his graciousness. Well, the next show, maybe we get into
maybe we there's a lot to say about Mary. Maybe
we go that way, but we'll just let the Holy
Spirit lead us like we always do.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Sound good. So well, all of you who are out
there listening, thank you for catching another episodes of These
Days with Jeff and Steph.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
I'm step and he is Jeff, and I just want
you all to remember we're all in it together in
these Days
Wait the day night sounds. I'm gotta get to the
star bugs, get some magic bees, love be on my way.
Magical plasmas an we don't know there's that today.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well, hi everyone, and welcome to these days with Jeff
and Steph. Of course I am Jeff, and we'll be
talking to Steph. We're gonna be coming to you from
the Catholic perspective, and we're gonna be talking about the Bible,
history and mysticism and all the fun stuff and the
not so fun stuff. But the Bible is Steph. Out
of things going out there in Tennessee hot as usual.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
I feel like that's just the standard answer these days.
Of course, it is August, so that's okay. How are
things with you in Colorado?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
It's going pretty good. I'm not quite as hot as tendency,
But now I think the last couple of shows we
have been telling everybody kind of whining the western half
western half of Colorado's on fire, not all these forest fires.
So then all of a sudden we'll be sitting there
up perfectly blue day and then all of a sudden
it's hazy from not smoke blown across the mountains. But
oh man, yeah, whit two minutes. At least we're not
(01:12):
suffering at the fires like those poor people.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Over there, right, And we do need to remember to
pray for everybody. That's true.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
And I was thinking our last show, we kind of
didn't do our Catholic friends justice. It wouldn't have been
so hard to actually mention they had a holy day
of obligation, just to remind them.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Right.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
We had a holiday yesterday which was so busy at
the church I went to that I had to park
in the garage I'm not used to, and then I
lost my car. Took me a while to get back home.
But that's okay, all for our blessed mother and honoring her,
so it's all good, right, right.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
It was kind of funny because when was it. See
my dad, he's eighty three, and his whole life, you know,
as a Catholic, for him, you don't even meet Fridays
and you go to church every Sunday morning. That's he
doesn't really do anything else, but that's you know, he
probably gets gold stars for his attendance for all these years.
I'm going to church on Sunday morning. Well after my
mom passed, Dad also won't go to church by himself either.
(02:09):
So he started going with me, well, I go Saturday night.
So he's like, you don't want to go, now, I'm
going Saturday night. Okay. So now when he meets people
from the church and they'll come up to him, We're
sorry to hear about Ruth and how are you doing
and all that, first thing he always does is I'm
going to church. I go Saturday with Jeff. So it's
going to make sure they go well. So last week
we came back and I guess it's Sunday. I'm kind
(02:31):
of looking at what his plans are for the week. Now.
It's not because I'm being a really thoughtful shun. You know,
I'm kind of selfish. I don't like to be blindsided,
you know. During the week, Hey, I thought you were
gonna help me. So we're talking to his schedule. What
do you got going on this week? And he goes, well,
I got a mow one day, and I got a
water one day. And he goes, that's it. I don't
have anything to put on the calendar. And I go, well,
(02:52):
you got church on Friday. And he goes for what
and I go, it's the Holy day of Obligation. He goes,
when'd you hear that? Will Father Jeff talk about it
at Mass? When did he do that? I go, well,
apparently when you were taking a nap. I wasn't and
I'm not taking a nap, so I just didn't realize
what he was talking about. He goes, what is it?
And I go, it's assumption to marry and all that,
and he goes, oh, you sure, And I'm sure it's
(03:15):
probably in the bulletin too. Oh right, And then I
didn't even think about it again. So Friday, I'm sitting there.
I did my last podcast for the sports show for
the week and he hits me up. He goes, so,
what are you doing. I go nope, I'm done. I
got all my shows done for the week and everything,
so we're good. He's okay, what time's church tonight? And
I go, okay, I know you're confused, but today's Friday
(03:36):
and we go to church. Tomorrow is Saturday, and it's
going to be at five o'clock, just like every Saturday.
And he goes, well, I thought we had to go
for some holy Mary thing or something. You know, right,
we do have to go for some holy marry thing tonight.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I love that some holy Mary thing. Yeah, that's awesome,
that's hilarious. And just to give our non Catholic friends
or even actually I just heard this, maybe some Catholics
don't know that our faith in the assumption of Mary
is very well founded. That the apostles from the earliest times,
there's writings, and even in the Eastern Orthodox Church they
(04:11):
have writings that say all the apostles were supernaturally called
back to her to her funeral, and Thomas showed up late,
just like just like he did for the resurrection. So
when they went the next day to roll the stone
away so that Thomas could pay his respects, the cave
was just filled with lilies and her body was gone,
(04:33):
and there's no way lilies could be growing in a
dark cave, and it was just filled with lilies and
the fragrance of lilies. And from the earliest times, you know,
we have believed and it's been a dogma that Mary.
You know, she was without sin, So Jesus wasn't going
to let his blessed mother without sin suffer death like
everybody else.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
That's pretty cool. And actually, and our mask yesterday, Deacon John,
he's really good about just like trying to kind of
like me when you actually talked miss and all that
kind of stuff where I kind of come in folksy.
That's how kind of Deacon John is. He was talking
about how when he was talking about Mary, he was
kind to say, he said, you know, people think that
(05:11):
we pray to Mary, but we asked for Mary's intercession
and all that kind of stuff. He goes, I always
tell him, I said, when you were a little kid
and you wanted something, did you ask Dad or did
you ask mom? He you asked mom, He goes, because
you know that mom would know right when to ask
and she would know how to do it. And then
when Mom asked that, well then of course you know
it got done. And he goes, and that's basically what
(05:31):
we do with Mary. Go to Mary and then she
knows how to say it, and then she goes on
for us. I thought that was a pretty good analogy.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
That is, Yeah, that's awesome. And there was a quote
from Podrey Po. I'm trying to find it. I can't.
I don't think I have it. But anyway, there was
a quote from pod ray Po, who is a great
saying obviously if you don't know him, get to know
him who said he said something like I posted on
all my Instagram a long time ago, something like how
could any of us be so insane to think that
(05:59):
we could ever get through life without the help of
our blessed mother Mary? You know something like that? Right,
She just swings it. She just makes everything. I don't know,
it's just like, you know, I think it's because God
gave her the role of mediatrix of grace, and all
the grace falls blows through her hands.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
No, she accepted it, and by accepting that role, she
accepted all of us too.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Right, exactly. And what mom doesn't love her little children
and want to protect them and help them as much as.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Possible, right, and only mom can actually look the other
way in a lot of stuff we do.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
That's true, and that is her role. You know, her
role is to go to the father and be like, well,
you know, little Johnny, he got in a fight today,
just like you know, what's coming to mind is a
Christmas story, you know, where he got in a fight
and had his glasses busted up because he just finally
lost it with that bully. And the dad was like,
what he got in a fight, And she's like, oh yeah,
but we talked about it and it's cool, and he's,
(06:50):
you know, he's not gonna do that anymore, and the
mom kind of just tried to. And that little boy said,
me and my mom had a different relationship from that
day forward.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
That's true. I mean, and I think after you call
on Mary and ask her you do, and you realize
that she did step before you do, you have a
different relationship with her.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Right because you do see she shows up. She shows
up for us every single time.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
That's right. Well, like I had told you that I
grew up Catholics, so that's all I ever knew. But
my parents, you know, they were good Catholics, but they
only they didn't do My mom would go to confession,
but it was pretty much the weekend Catholics where you
just pretty much just go every you don't eat meat
on that and you can give up something for land,
and then you just go every Sunday. There was nothing else.
(07:35):
And I didn't step away from the church. I just
stopped going for a long time. And then justify it
by well, I'm hungover, I don't want to go and
smell on LNG booze or been drinking. I can't go,
and all this kind of stuff, you know how you
can justify it basically anything, right, And so when I
started going back, it had been over twenty years since
i'd gone regularly or anything, and he realized, I'm in
(07:56):
the stuff you kind of forget or you weren't ever
exposed to. I guess, so I never did iteration or anything.
I so I had no idea what adoration was. So
I was sitting there and of course, okay, we got
adoration Thursday mornings, we got every Friday night and Sunday nights.
After adoration, they're going to have a pot luck, and
I thought, well that would be kind of fun. You know,
it's taking care of helping, hate care of my mom.
I'll get out of it. I had no idea really
(08:17):
what adoration was, and that pride thing instead of just
showing up and learning was kind of like, I don't
want to look stupid, so I don't even I'm not
going just for the simple fact I don't know what
to do with adoration.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
But I know you go quite a bit, right, I do,
And especially it seems like through transitional phases of my
life that might be harder than others, which it seems
like I go through a lot of transitional phases.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
But during those times I go a lot more and
I really do think it has has given me the
strength and it changes you. It just changes you. I
think Fulton Sheen said you can't sit in front of
the sun for an hour and not get sunburnt. We
can't sit in front of the sun of God for
an hour and not have it change you. It's going
to produce some kind of result.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Well, why wasn't here to help? And tel like people
like me or just non Catholics are thinking about it exactly.
What is atoration? What do you actually do when you
walk in?
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Well, well, it's a quiet you know, you you're in
silence and all the all the people there are instructed.
You know, you try to be as quiet as possible
so people and it's because of that, you know, it's reverence.
But it's also I think you hear God. God's always
you know, it's like that what's that word I'm looking
for where it's up anyway, it's it's the you hear
(09:30):
God the best in silence, right, So it's it's you
know that flip thing. But I don't know, like I've
had some really I know a lot of people have had.
So it's the blessed sacrament. It's it's the host that's
been consecrated, and it's in a monstrance we call monstrants,
so it's a gold, beautiful thing that we display the
sacrament in. And you just sit there in front of
(09:52):
the presence of God, and you know you're in the
presence of God. You do kneel because of the bibble
scripture that says all needs shall bend at My presence,
So you kneel when you walk in. And then you
sit down and sometimes people read scripture, some people's prayer, rosary,
some people sleep. I've seen that too, and you just
spend time with God. And I can't say that I've
(10:13):
ever left there without you know, something happening. It could
be miraculous. It could be a hero's voice. It could
be a journal and I really get clarity, or it
could be nothing. That could be that you just feel
when you walk out that I've definitely gone in in
times of tears and trauma, and at least when I've left,
I've felt some kind of shift where there's more peace.
(10:33):
At the very least, I think you have more peace,
and it tends to kind of increase as the day
goes on. I've noticed that too, Like when you leave,
you might feel like nothing happened, but when you leave somebody,
like you were saying, somebody calls you haven't talked to
in a long time, or do you just feel a
greater sense of peace as the day goes on. There's
definitely an effect. Like Felton, she said, there's an effect
(10:54):
when you when you visit God, he's going to bless
you obviously, right.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
You don't have to worry about looking stupid or doing
it wrong, right.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
You don't, because yeah, just come as you are. There's
a story. Actually I wasn't gonna I wasn't planning on telling,
but this is a pretty cool story I heard on EWTN.
There there was a well, I think it was in England,
and there was a drunk. Since you mentioned like halven
years of alcohol, So there was this guy that this
woman was a developed Catholic and she would go to
(11:23):
adoration every day and she would walk out and there
would be a drunk on the on the sidewalk, like
near the doors the steps of the church as they're
often are, and she would she was kind and she
would usually bring him food or something, and one day
she couldn't find him, and she was like, oh, I
just know that. Oh, and she would notice that he
(11:43):
would go in every afternoon and he would just sleep
on the pew, and then she couldn't find him one
day and she was like, oh, he's I'm sure he's died,
you know, She's like she started inquiring and someone was like, no,
he's in the hospital. So she actually went to visit
him in the hospital and she was like, well, I
was just worried about you. I was just checking on you.
She was such a kind woman, obviously from all her years,
probably an adoration. And he said, yeah, you won't even
(12:06):
he said, yeah, just you won't believe this. He said,
but he actually was getting out that day because he
said he was to the point of death and he
really thought he was going to take his last breath.
And then he said, Jesus walked through the door of
my hospital room, and he said, I can't believe that
you would come see me. After all these years, all
I ever did is sleep in front of you. And
(12:27):
he said, but you came, He said, you visited you
to you know you want it to come. You actually
showed up and you were there, and so I'm going
to I'm there for you, and and he was healed miraculously,
never drank again, his health was restored. He walked out
of the hospital with her that day. Yeah, so he
does appreciate. He takes notice when we come to see him,
and he really really appreciates it.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
So next time my dad takes a nap that you're taking,
te him that's okay.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
So yeah, I tell him, I'm probably God would prefer
he listen, but he's not what he's ninety something, so
I think he probably gets gets a little bit of
a pass.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
You got to love Those stories just do not strengthen
your faith, but kind of like, yeah, cool, that's why
I do this.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Right, God is so merciful, so merciful. Well, you know,
I mean, I know some people have some pretty profound
stories that the one cool story I have about adoration
from a mystical point of view, I do hear Him
speak to me sometimes audibly, and it is easier when
I think when you're in front of him or like
right after communion, sometimes I'll hear God's voice clearer. But
(13:32):
sometimes it's just in your spirit you hear it. Sometimes
it could be audible, But he speaks to all of
us all the time. You know. John says that I'm
the good shepherd, and my sheep here my voice. So
if you're not hearing his voice audibly, he's speaking to you,
for sure through different ways. It could be through nature,
it could be through a song like you said, a
friend calls, it could be anything. But one time though,
(13:53):
in adoration, and it was at the church. It wasn't
I like this little adoration chapel that I go to,
which is really cozy, and you know you're there alone
a lot. But this time happened to be at church,
and you know, the priest was doing adoration and confession
at the same time. And I kind of have a
childlike kind of attitude when I'm before God, and I
(14:15):
was just I was literally saying to him, I wish
I could sing you a song, but you wrote all
the songs, and being a songwriter, I guess I relate
to that kind of thinking. And I was like, well,
I don't know what song you would want me to
sing you. I was just saying this in my head,
and I started hearing the melody of a song that
I knew very well. But I couldn't think of the words,
and and I got home and I was asking my husband.
(14:36):
I was humming it. I was like, what's what's this song?
And I didn't tell him why. I was just like,
you know, no, no, no, no, no, no no no no
no no no, no no no. I like, that was
that song and he didn't know. So thank God for
Google search on song, right, So I hugged it well
enough apparently for Google to understand it, and lo and
behold it was Curie Laison by that mister mister uh yeah.
(15:01):
So it was like and I was like, of course,
Curie a la Zone means Lord have Mercy, and that
whole song is about I didn't even I've never really
paid attention to the lyrics of that song. But after
that I looked him up and it's like, will you
follow me through the dark night? Will you? You know,
saying Lord have mercy through the through the road that
I must travel, Will you follow me? I'm like wow.
So that was a pretty profound adoration moment.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
It's kind of funny because when the song came out,
I think it was in the eighties, but of course
we didn't have Google, and nobody knew what in the
world meant, so every DJ had to tell everybody what
curate it curiate.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Alas, Yeah, isn't that cool though, that they would even
write a song called that. I'm like, that's that's God.
I'm sure these I don't think they were probably even Catholic,
were they?
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Yeah? I don't know, I probably not Catholic. Yeah, it
was definitely Christian.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Right, that's such a god thing.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
You get such cool things, you know, you talk to
guy and he puts songs in your head and all this.
I don't know if you remember a couple of shows ago,
I said, ever since I was a little kid, I've
always wanted to see angels, you know, And that's when
I looked at the priests and I'm looking and looking
for angels. And then then like the next time I
went to church after that, I was sitting there and
I kind of thought about telling you about it. I always
wanted to see an angel, and something popped in my
(16:13):
head said, you'd probably freak out.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Right, he doesn't want to freak us out, So sometimes
that may be why you're not seeing.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
God.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
She gets I get told them and to freak out,
and she gets to hear cool songs.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Right, Yeah, and God talks to us how we relate. Right.
I grew up with a mom who was a songwriter
and my mom's birthday was yesterday, ironic. I mean, I
think that's so cool. For years, and you know, I
wasn't Catholic, so I didn't realize that my mom's birthday
was on the feast of the Assumption. But now, how
cool is that? And she died on December twelfth, which
(16:49):
is our Lady of Guadaloupe, So my mom was born
and died on very big Mary days. Yeah, and you know,
I've always felt like there's a lot of grace that
comes to me on August fifteenth, and now I know
it's Mary. But before I was Catholic, and before I
understood all that, I always thought my mom was just
sending me graces from heaven, which she might be too,
She's I'm sure she's praying for me. But I would
(17:12):
always notice, get I get presents on your i'ld be like,
what you send me presents on your birthday? That's so cool?
Like I always tended to have. Really, you know, good
things happened to me on August fifteenth. So so I'll
tell you, like last night speaking of songs, and you know,
I won't go into all of it right now, but
you know, like personally, I've been through a hard two
and a half year's a lot of trauma and grief,
(17:35):
rejection and some deep wounds. And you know, God's been
speaking to me about like everything's a season and we're
not meant to stay in pain for forever. When joy
doesn't last forever, pain doesn't last forever. Everything's a season.
But he has been speaking a lot, and it's a
scripture in Isaiah. Can't you perceive it? I'm doing a
new thing, you know it will you know I put
(17:56):
springs in the wilderness and you know, rivers in the waste.
Like he's bringing things back to life for people that
have gone through a hard season and restoring us and
not just restoring us and healing us, but also setting
us free. And I see that, and I feel that
in the last couple of weeks, I have felt like
a deeper sense of happiness and joy return to me.
(18:17):
And that scripture also keeps coming up. I have turned
your morning into dancing, and you're sorrow into laughter. I
don't know where that is. I need to know, my
bibb all better, but that anyway, last night, speaking of songs,
So I'm walking my dog. A lot of things. God
seems to talk to me when I walk the dog.
So I'm walking the dog and I'm just like, really
feel even though I don't really know where my life's going.
(18:39):
There's still a lot of uncertainty, but I feel like
this sense of hopefulness and peace and trust in Jesus.
And so I'm walking him. His name's Fulton Sheen, by
the way. He doesn't really live up to it most
of the time. But I was just like overcome with joy,
and I start singing to him. And this isn't like normal,
I don't always do this. I start singing f U
(19:00):
L I'm like, who's the cutest dog in town? I'll
tell you who it is? F U L t O
n sag een. And I'm like that melody is familiar.
Where do I know that from? And you know what
that is, don't you? Yeah, Mickey Mouse. It took me
a minute to remember. I was like, I'm singing him
Mickey Mouse. But so I just kept on, you know, like,
who's the prettiest dog in town? I'll tell you who
(19:21):
it is? F U L t O n sage and
I was just like soul filled with joy, and God
really spoke to me like you are in a new season.
Don't look back, and that that's the prophetic word for
a lot of people right now, if you've just gone
through trauma and heartache. I just want to really encourage you.
He is really stressing, do not look back. The past
(19:42):
is the past. It's over. I have glorious new things
planned for you, and I just feel like we're entering
into a season of miracles and and really being able
to extol God's glory. That's what I'm getting in you too,
because you've just gone through a hard season as well.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
When we talk about I don't know why it always rings.
I've heard it like a long time ago. But you
know in the song where I walked through the Valley
of death right and I don't know who it was
as a preacher or what he said. Now, people, I
want you to pay attention to that he walked through
the valley, he didn't stay there, so keep going.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Right right, And that is actually that that got into
my head. I started saying it out loud when my
parents died and I didn't read the Bible. I was
a Catholic, like, literally, God was speaking that to me,
and I would say that whole song out loud as
I was going through the loss of my parents. And
recently I heard a prophet on TV. And you know
a lot of people are people. Some people, especially Catholics,
(20:40):
can be like, oh, these all these prophets on YouTube,
But there's I'm telling you, there was a lot of
very humble, very tested and true prophetic voices on TV.
And the Bible says in the latter days, I'm going
to all my sons and daughters will prophesy. So I
feel like he's poor and he has said I'm going
to pour out my spirit. I see it happening. And
this one girl that I listened to, who is a
(21:01):
prophetic voice, she broke down that prayer. She said, that
prayer is actually talking about the seasons of life that
we go through. She said, because if you think about it,
it's the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.
So that's when we're in a season of plenty and
we're not wanting for anything. He leaves me beside still waters.
He restores my soul. So that's when you're in a
(21:21):
season of restoration, right, he's restoring you. Everything is being
brought back to you that you've lost. And then you know,
you go through these seasons where he's making a table
in front of your enemies. He's bringing you vindication. He
always does that for his children. If you feel like
you've been wronged, he's going to bring vindication and set
a table before your enemies. And then, like you said,
the Shadow the valley of the Shadow of Death, Like
(21:44):
it's the shadow of death. That's what she pointed out.
You're not in death, it's the shadow of death, and
he's with you. So he's going to comfort you during
that season. And yeah, then you're going to go back
to the beginning. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall
not want. I think it's just this endless cycle of seasons.
I think that song has so much that you could
(22:05):
really meditate on.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah, and those those moments like singing your dog and
all like new. I think those silly seasons, that's kind
of that's the good thing about life because at that
moment everything was just right.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah. I was so happy last night, you don't even know.
I haven't been giddey and silly in a long time,
and it felt good to be silly.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
That is That is cool. Kind of odd that he
was singing a song that was out before you were
ever born. But okay, when did that.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Song come out? Maybe I was born earlier than you think.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Oh no, this was like in the fifties with Frankie was.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
A frank And yeah, yeah, you're right, I wasn't born.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
But this wasn't just in Timberlake and Britney Spears time. No,
this was black and white.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
I do have a love for Disney, though, and I
have been several times. There's just something magical. It's so true.
There is something magical about Disney, I think. But yeah,
it felt good to be silly and just have that faith.
And I think that was also a gift from the
blessed Mother on her assumption and from my mom for
her earthly birthday. I don't know, it's just like August
(23:09):
fifteenth's always been a really good day for me.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Well good, need to string a bunch more than besides
August fifteenth for you now now that you're now that
you're out of the season, right.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Now that I'm out of the sorrowful season. So how
often do you go to adoration?
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Do you do?
Speaker 1 (23:22):
You?
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Are you going now, no, that's why I have can't
you tell me how to do it?
Speaker 1 (23:27):
Oh? Okay, well yeah and so and no shame. I
mean for years, like I said, I was in the
New Age and didn't know anything, didn't do anything. But yeah,
I encourage you to go to adoration because that it
is really powerful. I will say this, I don't I
don't think time heals all wounds. I think it's what
you do with the time.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Right, that's a good point. See, I thought adoration was
really solemn and real serious. And then like you said that,
you see people sleeping and all that kind of stuff.
Or one day he goes in there on adoration and
he plays like religious trivia on his phone.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
Right. And if I'm in their loone, I mean, I'll
just talk to God. You can do I mean, got
to be quiet obviously if you're in there with other people.
But if I'm in there, loone, I just I mean,
I'll either pour out my heart, I'll yell yeah, I'll
just be real. I think God wants us to be
real with them, like why are you letting this happen
to me? Or you know, sometimes I'll just be silly.
There's times I actually have been silly, like, you know,
(24:20):
just like God, look at those those butterflies and those flowers.
There's just awesome, Like you just created some awesome things,
and sometimes I just feel like praising them. And you know,
sometimes you do get sleepy. I won't lie like you.
I think it's like the peace that you feel when
you're in front of God that maybe you let go.
I have a lot of stress you've been carrying, so
sometimes maybe you do need to take a nap.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Yeah, and if it's it works for that drunk guy,
right exactly. So what were you teasing me about? You
have a flower story?
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. So I just wanted to say
for anybody who's not a Catholic, because you know, one
time I wasn't Catholic and God, definitely we don't want
to come across as we're saying, you only get grace.
Of course, I think he wants everybody to be Catholic
because there are aqueducts of grace that he created in
the sacraments, and he wants everybody to receive all that.
But he's so merciful that I just wanted to share
(25:12):
this story because even before I was Catholic, I wasn't
even baptized, and I was going through a transitional period.
I had just lost my parents and I was in
a part time job. And I relate this back to
the Blessed Mother. So it's cool we're saying this. The
day after her assumption. I was having to I was
living by faith. I did have faith in God, and
(25:32):
I was in a part time job. I didn't know
what I was going to do as far as getting
a full time job where I was going to move.
I was kind of in a real transition period like
I am now. And in my bank account was like
a little bit negative by the time I got to
every payday, and I would let it get a little negative,
knowing that the next check was coming. I would only
buy what I needed. I would try to buy food
(25:52):
that was like cheap. You know, you're living on spaghetti
at that point, or beans and rice. And I never
minded that like I've always been. I don't know, just
like I don't mind just getting by and getting through
a hard season because I've always had faith. I know
it's this season and it's gonna change. So anyway, I
was at the grocery store there, and life had been
so desolate that all I really wanted was there was
(26:15):
this little bunch of pink flowers. They were three dollars,
and I really really wanted them, and I just thought,
I just need to buy these for myself. I've been
through a hard time. And then my logical mind was saying,
but you're negative in your bank account. You just need
to buy food. You don't need to be blowing your
money on these pink flowers, even though they were just
three dollars. So I walked around the store arguing with myself.
Finally my soul went out because my soul was saying,
(26:38):
you need those pink flowers. And I want to encourage
people to listen to your heart and your soul more
than your mind, because you know that's where God lives.
He lives in our heart, in our spirit, and not
in our logical mind. And so anyway, I want a head.
And I put the pink flowers in my cart, and
as I was walking off, the guy that was like
putting out the flowers, he was like, hey, hey, wait
(26:58):
a minute, and he was like, do you eat those?
Do you? I want to take these too, And he
had like two or three bunches of dozens of white
roses and he was like, these, you know, have broken stems.
I can't put these out, you can just have them.
And I immediately felt the presence. And like I said,
that was after the time I already had started buying
rosaries and writing songs about Mary. I felt connected to Mary,
and I had already had the experience with Mary. So
(27:20):
I just felt like it was her blessing me and saying,
don't limit God, you know, don't limit him. He wants
to bless you. And if you will receive, because you
chose to receive the pink flowers for yourself, I'm going
to give you more. And I think that was the message.
He wants to give us more. His dreams are bigger
for us than what we have planned for ourselves. And
so I was like, thank you so much. I took
(27:41):
the three bouquets and I'm like put them in my cart,
and as I'm getting to the checkout line, I kid
you not, he comes up with like six more does
He was like, all these have broken stems too. I
can't use any of these, you know, not one of them.
I could not find a broken stem on any of them.
And he gave me so many flowers I didn't even
have room in my car literally, and the cashier was like, wow,
(28:03):
you have Wow, what beautiful flowers. You have a lot
of beautiful flowers. And I was just like overwhelmed in
that moment. That was one of the biggest God moments
in my life. I was just overwhelmed with like him saying,
just just Stephanie, would you just open up your heart
to let me bless you.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Yeah. I walked out of the store with more flowers
than I could literally carry that day because of all
because yeah, I decided to. I decided I deserve some
little pink flowers.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Cook because obviously, see I'm giving you this now.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Stand back, Yes, exactly. And that's what God does. I
see it so often in other people. I see it everywhere,
like when we like, how can he give us anything
when our hearts are closed off to receive?
Speaker 2 (28:48):
And that's the key right there. You have to open
your heart to him.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Right right. You have to open up to receive and
to know that he loves you and he's a good
God and he's not here to hurt you or harm you,
and he wants to bless you.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
And you also have to just realize that he, like
you said, he does want to bless you on that.
And I think a lot of people they won't open
the heart because they just won't accept the fact that, oh, well,
he's not gonna forgive me for this, He's not going
to forget Yeah you.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
Will, right, Yeah, as long as you're not abusing the forgiveness, like, yeah,
that's that comes from the enemy. And so any kind
of guilt and shame. You know, the Holy Spirit will
convict us of our sins, but he never does it
in like an accusatory way.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Right, that's the whole whole thing. He's just got. You know,
God will forgive you. See, I forgive yourself. You have to.
If you don't forgive yourself, you're not gonna be able
to accept what He's going to give you.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Yeah, exactly exactly, And I mean it can like I
just relate it back to something as simple as breathing
in and breathing out, Like you can't breathe out all
the time. You have to breathe in and and let
God replenish you. Literally, you are replenishing yourself when you
breathe in.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
So so you're a football fan, not really, not so much.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
I mean I grew up watching Cowboys of course because
my dad did. But that's about it these days. How
about you?
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Yeah, I played it, you know when I was a
little kid and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
And of course you're following and do what position did
you play?
Speaker 2 (30:13):
I was like outside linebacker? Okay, but it's a getting
football seasons starting this year and for me, and mostly
I love football and all this kind of stuff, but
I always kind of like, uh, the simple fact that
I means summer's over.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
You know.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
It's like when football season starts in summers, when school starts, right, what.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Team do you follow?
Speaker 2 (30:33):
The Broncos?
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Okay, gotcha, But you have a cool didn't something happen
like with the fantasy football thing? Kind of a god
moment for you?
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Yeah? Because I was staying help and take care of
my mom for a couple of years, I kind of
lost track of all my friends, you know, and of
course everybody's married and everything, and you know, and I
hadn't even talked to him for a couple of years.
And obviously they caught in touch with their mom died.
But I, you know, and I can't really just say, hey,
I haven't talked to you years, I know, but hey,
what's up? You know, do you want to go do
something or anything? So I didn't know how to reach
(31:04):
back out to him. Then as they called me up
and asked if I want to play fanties football with
him this year, just out of the blue.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
That's awesome. And you hadn't talked to these guys and
how long?
Speaker 2 (31:13):
At least three years?
Speaker 1 (31:14):
That's awesome. Yeah, that's a God God moment, just to
his graciousness. Well, the next show, maybe we get into
maybe we there's a lot to say about Mary. Maybe
we go that way, but we'll just let the Holy
Spirit lead us like we always do.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Sound good. So well, all of you who are out
there listening, thank you for catching another episodes of These
Days with Jeff and Steph.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
I'm step and he is Jeff, and I just want
you all to remember we're all in it together in
these Days
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