September 1, 2025 • 53 mins
Right Thinking with Steve Coplon | Guest: Donna Coplon
This week's show is called "Do Not Become Weary" with guest Donna Coplon. Tune in and hear Donna and Steve talk about the journey they have shared together, offering words of encouragement on how to persevere and keep believing when life isn't always easy.
https://www.talknetworkradio.com/hosts/right-thinking
This week's show is called "Do Not Become Weary" with guest Donna Coplon. Tune in and hear Donna and Steve talk about the journey they have shared together, offering words of encouragement on how to persevere and keep believing when life isn't always easy.
https://www.talknetworkradio.com/hosts/right-thinking
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:14):
There must be lies burning brighter somewhere.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Got to be birds him.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
In the sky. Good morning, welcome to Right Thinking with
Steve Copeland. I'm your host, Steve Copeland, and thank you
for tuning in. Let's have a great day. Good morning, everybody.
Glad to be with you. I am just incredibly excited.
We're in the countdown series right now to episode two hundred,
(00:49):
which will be next week, and today is episode Right
Thinking with Steve. Copeland is very pleased to announce that
this week's show was called Do Not Become Weary with
Guessana Copeland. Tune in and here Donna and Steve talk
about the journey that they have shared together as they
offer words of encouragement on how to persevere and keep
(01:10):
believing when life is not always easy. Donna, I am
so glad to have you do this show with me.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Well, I'm really happy to be here, Steve. Been a
lot of shows that you have posted, and I just
can't believe that we're coming up on the two hundred show,
So I'm very happy to be here today.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Well, Donna, a lot of people have been instrumental in
helping me get this far along. But of all the
people that have been there to help support me to
get these shows moving forward.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
You're the number one donna. It's like you've been on.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
The air seven other times now, but probably every single show.
I can't think of a single show that you didn't
participate with me and helping me get my announcement finished
or listen to some of the thoughts that I was
going to share on the show that I was getting
ready to put on. And so, hey, you know you've
done seven other shows. They go all the way back
(02:02):
to December of twenty seventeen, so you've been doing this
with me for almost to the day, exactly three years.
Your first show, episode number forty four, it was just
titled words of Encouragement. Here Don and Steve offer words
that will uplift your spirit. And then then we got
into the next show that you did, and that was
the one that we're going to highlight a lot about
today because of every show I've done one hundred and
(02:25):
ninety nine shows. Whenever people ask me what is my
favorite show that I ever have done, it's episode number
fifty three with you. It's the most important show that
speaks to everything that I'm trying to do with my
life and it's called the Functional Family, and it's the
positive model, and it all starts at home, respecting one
(02:46):
another as a key to a beautiful family. That show
is just the one that that's our signature show, Donna.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
I've told that to everybody.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
I've actually aired it three times through all these shows.
And then you went in in June of twenty eighteen
on it EPISOD number seventy and that was called making
a Difference. And then we came back on to discuss
more about how to create a positive home environment for
our children as we talk more about the functional family,
the positive model and repeat it which starts with respect.
(03:14):
And then in November of that year of eighteen, episode
ninety he didn't even make the call was the name
of the show, but the theme of that show was
we talked about how many people are out there that
need to change, but they won't accept the resources that
are available. And that's the show where you introduced the
Voice of Truth, the lyrics from casting Crown Song the
Voice of Truth, and that was amazing because that's what
(03:37):
that's what your message is all about. And then in
January of twenty nineteen, episode one oh two. This one
is probably one of the other most important shows. Why
listening skills are so important, you know, you said that
that was the key to a healthy family is good communication,
and good communication starts with good listening skills. And then
(04:00):
in October of nineteen, episode one thirty eight, Raising Godly Children,
and that episode we came out right after we had
written the chapter in the book. That's the first time
that we collaborated in a book that you can get
it on Amazon. It's called God Raising Godly Children. And
the book God in the Workplace, God in Business is
(04:22):
the name of the book. Faith is a deciding factor.
Don I think everybody's sort of picking up a little
theme here of what our shows are about with what
we do. And then the last time you were on
was really incredible. It was when I was doing the
thirteen shows in a row for from the Lift of
the Hip was a pretty far distance, which the book
is coming out in just another couple of weeks, and
(04:46):
you were asked by Richard Kay that wrote another chapter
in the book. You were asked to do a show
with him, and it's called We Are So Blessed by
Godly Women. And Richard talked about obedience and what this show,
what is important about though, Donna is as I go
into prisons all over the country, and I've been into
Brunderick Woman's Work Center in Virginia and Lawrenceville, Virginia like
(05:10):
seventy or eighty ninety times. I've been there for numbers
of years. A lot of times I went every other week.
I can see you going into prisons and given a
positive message of to the women on what it is
that they can do to have a beautiful life if
they if they want to make that choice. And so
that's what that episode is all about. And so then
today I've just read what we're doing. It's it's called
(05:33):
Do Not Become Weary, and we're going to explain where
that title comes.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
From and what it's all about in a few minutes.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Well, so, Donna, I've got to I've got to tell
you that the reason that The Functional Family is the
number one show ever is because that seems to be
your character, signature, personality, your message.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Can you talk about for a moment.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
What it is that Well, what I'm saying is you're
you're you are so consistent. You know like you're you're steady.
You know, you're always the same. Everyone can always count
on you because they know what you're all about. And
so that's really what your message is all built around.
It's it's about respect and it's about serving the Lord.
(06:19):
So what am I trying to say? You want to
you want to talk about that for a second.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Well, first of all, thank you so much for all
that wonderful encouragement and the importance of what I've been
trying to say. I do remember doing that show on
The Functional Family. Mostly what gave me the idea to
put the thoughts together was some of the things that
I was just seeing in the community and other people's
(06:45):
families and just the way a family was running, and
not saying that I did everything perfect, but I just
would notice some things that I felt like maybe some
encouraging words from my experience could help someone along the way.
So that show was very important to me. And there's
a lot of truth in raising children that at the
(07:08):
time I was raising my children, I didn't even realize
it until later. But you know, Christ lives in me,
and I want to live for him, and because he
lives in me, I just want to live my life
in a way that shows how much I love him.
And I just feel like I can do all things
through him because he's the one that gives me the strength.
(07:30):
He's the one that gives me the strength to be
the role model in our family, if that's what I'm portraying,
the mother or the grandmother, the wife. He gives me
the strength to do that. And you know, when you're
feeling overwhelmed, you go to him. When you're feeling lonely,
(07:52):
you go to him. When you're feeling sad, I'm confused,
you go to him. And when we can hear from
Him through our thoughts, it just brings everything to a
place where we know we're loved by God. And I
remember saying a while back that I wanted to know
(08:13):
Jesus at a level where it was like breathing in
a way that it felt natural, in a way that
when I got up each morning, Jesus is on my mind.
Not worries and not everything going on in the world,
but Jesus is on my mind. And I've that's like
been a goal for me in my life, because you know,
not every day you feel like going into that maybe
(08:38):
you don't go into that spiritual place even though you
want to. But in my goal of life, that's where
I want to be and you know it's a journey,
it's it's a place that you really probably never achieve
until the day we go to heaven in Gloryland.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Well, let me let me interrupt you just for a second,
because you're saying so many beautiful things, and you can
pick back up on whatever your fault was. But I
can tell that I know you know that you've grown
a great deal since you you started. You know, this
is my one or nine ninth show, it's your eighth
time on the air with me, And do you feel
like you've grown?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Absolutely? You know, what you go through, you you grow through.
And you know I saw that little plaque at a
store not too long ago, and I actually gave it
to my son. It says what you go through, you
grow through. And he said, I don't really understand that, mom,
And I said, well, you know what, once you understand that,
(09:40):
let me know what you think it might mean. And
so he's still searching, he's still trying to figure things out.
But it's so true. You know, when when you're going
through hard times, when life is dark and lonely and
you just can't seem to make ends meet in your
(10:02):
own mind, you know, you have to go sometimes through
a dark place to get to the light. And I
wanted to just read a portion from Joel Ostein's book.
He had a book that came out called Blessed in
the Darkness, How All Things Are Working for Good? And
(10:24):
as I was reading this, and it was a while ago,
it just made so much sense to me, because a
lot of times when you're going through a really, really
hard time, you just cannot figure out why. You know why,
and you can be a believer and you would still
sometimes question why, Lord, why am I going through such
(10:45):
hard dark things in my life? I just don't know
the answers here. And what he says in his book
is he starts out, how, at some point, you know,
we're all going to go through dark places, whether it's
a sickness, or divorce or a loss. It could be
(11:07):
a child that breaks our heart, and financial difficulties. It's
really easy to get discouraged and we may want to
give up, but the dark places is where we grow.
And then he gave an example. It's like a seed.
When a seed is planted in the dark ground, it
germinates and it begins to take root. It can't get
(11:29):
to the light until it pushes out of the darkness,
and then once it comes through to the light, it
begins to grow into a plant of some sort, whether
it's a fruit, tree or flower or whatever. So my
point is the dark places in life could be where
you grow, where you develop your character. You trust more,
(11:49):
you pray more, you draw closer to God. You may
even get quieter, and you may listen more. And that's
what I think why God's with the purposes In times
of troubles and storms, you can only get through by
trusting that things will get better. But during those times
(12:10):
you can't always see anything good. But those are the
times when we have to hang on for life. That's
what I call it. Just hang on for life, keep
moving forward. And that could mean something simple like just
getting out of bed if you were so depressed. You know,
just getting yourself up could be a start to starting
(12:30):
a new way of thinking, or just believing one thing,
one thing to get you moving. It's like having blind
faith and believing there's a blessing coming. Another thing that
was brought out in the book is as we go
through the dark times, picture a seed under the ground
(12:52):
and is being walked on, buried where no one else
can see it a lonely time. And that brings me
to just this verse in the Bible that Jesus said,
it's John twelve twenty four. Unless a kernel of wheat
is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone.
(13:17):
But if it dies, it will produce much fruit. And
Joel I was just going to read a page from
his book that explains that you can have a seed
on your desk for a lifetime, but it will never
become what it was created to be until you put
it in the ground. Its potential will never be released
until it's been planted. As long as it's on the
(13:39):
desk where it's comfortable and it doesn't have to stretch
or deal with any adversity, the seed's potential will stay
locked up on the inside only after it's planted and
goes through the process of germination. When the outer shell
breaks off and the new growth begins, will it blossom
and bring forth much fruit. The problem with men people
(14:00):
is that they want the fruit, but they don't want
to go through the process. They don't want to be uncomfortable.
They don't want to have to stretch or deal with adversity, opposition,
or betrayal. But without the dark place, your potential will
stay locked on the inside. The seed cannot germinate in
the light. If you were asked to, if you ask
(14:23):
the seed, I'm sure it would say, I don't want
to go into the dirt. It's dark, it's lonely, and
it's uncomfortable when people walk on me. It's uncomfortable. The
sea feels as though it's been buried, and though it's
the end. But the seed doesn't realize that it's not buried.
It's planted. It has the life of Almighty God on
(14:44):
the inside. That dark place, even though it's uncomfortable, is
a critical part of the process over a period of time.
Once it germinates and grows, instead of being one little
buried seed, it ends up being a beautiful flower, pilossoping
and bearing much fruit. If you were asked, if you
were to ask the flower, when is it fully in blossom,
(15:08):
it would say I didn't like the dark place, but
I realized now it was a blessing. Look what it
brought me out of, Look what I've become. So it's
just such a great example of going through the hard stuff,
the hard times, the times when you really can't see
(15:28):
an answer, but you just keep hanging on. You just
know God's right there with you, but the blessing hasn't.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Come Yetna, Donna, you you gave a beautiful answer to
my question that started with do you feel like you've grown?
But everything that you just brought to share you already
you've always been that way.
Speaker 4 (15:53):
That's the Donna that I met.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
And then you know, we got engaged in three weeks
and we started talking from the very beginning, and we
we had so many conversations about what we wanted to
do to serve the Lord. And one of the things
that we said that we could really do someday we
prayed on this. We actually did pray on this in
the very beginning, I mean our first first couple of
(16:15):
days that we knew each other. Maybe someday that we
could get involved in and helping other couples try to
try to find their way forward and just people. Well, well, Donald,
you're one of my guests. You know this show is
kind of like a walk down I called it a
waltz down memory lane. You know that this is one
(16:36):
hundred and ninety nine shows that's coming on close to
four years. But the whole right thinking with Steve Copeland show.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
And I want to.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Thank every one of you that are listening for just
tuning in every now and then and hearing whatever messages
and that we have to offer. But all the messages
are pretty much in the same category. Here. We're just
trying to help people and try to help lead people
closer to the Lord and have a better life. But
the show only started because my foundation that I started
(17:05):
being going on nine years this coming in January in
a couple of weeks, you know. It started with that,
and the show became another way to keep the message
out there, and then I started bringing on more and
more guests. But of all the guests that I have,
You're you're a person that you know, you're a quiet spirit,
your general spirit. And but I just want to I
(17:25):
want to play a clip back to that Functional Family.
I mean, we really don't need to go back too
much of that show because what you've already brought up
today is just sort of taking forward.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
People are understanding about you. But but you know.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
You were reading from the Joelo steam piece, which is
just perfect for what we're talking about. But let let
me let me pull up just one clip, right now
I've got a couple of clips on our share today
of what your message is all about, because your message
has just always been there.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
And I love it. I just love it that have
you grown? Yeah? Have we grown? Yes?
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Is our mission that the Lord is God is doing
moving forward? I know that it is. So Here here
is this little clip here, people will understand right away.
This is this is who Donna is. That's who you are.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Donna would go on in a family, but I often
felt like, how how could I How can I help
this person?
Speaker 3 (18:20):
I mean, I.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Leave here and get in my car and go home
and live in a nice house with everything I need.
And some of these people don't have a car, and
their houses are in bad condition, and some don't have
a house. But it was very overwhelming just to understand
where someone is. So, you know, I decided at least
(18:46):
I could do a couple things, and God shared he
told me this, he said, you know, or I felt
like God.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Was saying, do what you can.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
And what I felt like I could do was at
least make them feel feel valued and help them to
feel like people instead of just needing people people that
have always got a need or just has to find
food I just wanted them to feel like they.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
Were a person, So I really I got to know them.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
I got to know their names and their personalities, and
whenever I would see them, I would call them by name,
and I always got a smile every time because they
felt like, Wow, you took the time to remember me.
I would greet them with a smile and welcome them
and help them just feel good.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
I spoke to them with an interest and a care.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
And there were some people I did help by taking
them to the store or to pay a bill or
whatever I needed to do. There was a lot of
people that I felt like I could help in that way,
but most people just being there and taking the time
to talk to them, praying with them, and just letting
(20:02):
them know that you know, you're not just a number.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
You're not just in a line just to get food.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
You're a person with a real life and a real story.
And I never felt, you know, I just felt like
I would grab their hands and some of them had
dirty hands, some.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Of them smell like alcohol.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
That you do you just do it anyway, and you
just believe that the Lord just gives you this love
that's deep inside you to care for these people. And
so we had a wonderful prayer team and I was
part of that.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Team, Dona.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
That came from you spent five years in a church
down an Ocean View, working in the storehouse. That's a
huge part of who you are going out into the community,
just trying to help people. Why don't you share for
a moment, anything that you might remember from from where
you were when you were working with people at the storehouse.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Well, exactly what I pointed out, Mostly just caring for
the people, not just these people, but people in general
that really just want somebody to notice them. Just it's
so easy to do just to bring up conversation with
someone in Walmart or wherever you are, just to make
them feel valued and cared about, and you know, a
(21:18):
smile and just a kind word or and if you
can help someone, which many many people help other people.
I mean, I'm not just you know, it's not just
what I've done, but I've seen so many people helping
other people. But I also see so many lonely people
that get overlooked so easily. So I mean that was
(21:41):
just a small part of my time down in Ocean View,
but it really was a big part of what I
remember of you know, in helping people and just noticing
their lives.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Well, Donna, you know I said earlier in the show
that you're so consistent, you know, you're who you are,
and their wisdom that you bring, the share the love
that you do. It's just wonderful. The functional family that
I was trying to highlight for a minute here. You know,
it's all about raising kids, raising godly children. And there's
another little clip here from that show that is one
(22:15):
of the key ingredients of good parenting, because that's another
one of the messages that you have is to just
help people become better parents.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
Here, let me play this really quick.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
Here, help them that way.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
But you know, to share Jesus's love is a way
that I would start, just so that they understand that,
you know, even if you really messed up here and
the kids are, you know, way disrespectful and the hand
the family is broken, God is there. He's never going
(22:50):
to leave you, he's never going to forsake you, and
he's forgiving and if you want to, you can start
all over.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
That's what I.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Love about Jesus' forgiveness is you can mess up and
mess up and mess up again, but God's always there
to forgive you and start over. So in parenting especially,
we're so lucky. Our children are so forgiving themselves, and
it's all they want is for you to love them
and respect them, just as we children respect their parents.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
You know, it kind of goes both ways. And for
them to feel.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
That it's not over if they've messed up. That's the
biggest message I think I could give is just starting
over and starting a fresh sleep.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
What I like to say, starting a fresh sleep.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
Yeah, what do you think of that when you said
that three years ago?
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Yeah, it's what I believe. It's deep inside me. Starting
over is huge because all of us make mistakes every day.
So just believing that God's forgiveness can keep us on
track for each and every day and a new day,
a new way of thinking about something, maybe something you've learned.
It's just always there that we can move forward.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
When I listened to the show The Functional Family, I
listened to it just this morning and preparing for the show,
and and it was just so wonderful to listen to
that show and know that, Yeah, that's why that's my
number one show that I've ever ever done with anybody.
But but all the shows that you do, Donna, they
made me think, They made me look, you know, want
(24:26):
to you know, you talk a lot about reflection and
and I might actually left that show out and the
titles of the shows that I get you did a
whole show and reflection and but everybody has a story is.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
One of the points that you always say.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
And in forgiving yourself, moving away from the past, being
being being positive about what's to come in the future,
all those are part of your theme. But when I
listened to that show, you made a comment about when
you're talking about raising show ldren and being respectful and
making children feel loved, it was just it was just
(25:05):
so beautiful and it made me go off and a thought.
Right this morning, you said you don't want the children
to feel that they're at the bottom of the list,
that they're not, you know, loved, that they're just the leftovers,
and that parents shouldn't just sort of end up doing
something with their children by default because they, you know,
(25:26):
they've just done everything else that they feel like doing
and now maybe I'll spend some time with my child.
And you talked a whole lot about what happens to
children that grow up in that kind of atmosphere, and
I just wanted to share this because for all you listening,
every one of the shows that I've tried to do,
for all one hundred and ninety nine shows are there
to get you thinking and be positive and to be
(25:48):
closer to the Lord's the main thing. But when I
was listening to The Functional Family this morning, when I
was a kid now, my parents were divorced when I
was seven. My mother was the same mom. I was
a latch key kid, out on the streets a whole lot.
I had tons of freedom. I mean, I did anything,
but I wanted to because my mother was working all
the time and had an older sister, but she was
(26:10):
four years older, so we didn't We were close brother
and sister, but she didn't you know, I didn't listen
to her.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
I used to say, why you tell me that you're
not my mother. I was kind of a bad kid
like that.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
But my father lived out of state when my parents
got divorced. In this line that Donna said about you
don't want to feel like you're at the bottom of
the list, I felt like that for years and years,
and the reason was was that it took me years
to forgive my dad and to get close to him.
And you can listen to a lot of my shows,
I talk a lot about my dad. Were very very close.
(26:42):
He was ninety five years old, but until he was
about eighty, we weren't close. I was like I always
described my father as being more like an uncle, but
not really my father. But the thing that Donna trigger
in my memory today, and again, I had to work
through this. It took me a year. I'm sharing this
so because I know that a lot of people go
(27:03):
through stuff just like I'm talking about, and Donnie can
help you get through it. I'm blessed because she's my wife,
so I'm with her every day. But my father, when
he was out of state, he would come into town
for Jewish holidays and I would always have an aunt.
His sisters would call me up and invite me over
for dinner because my father was coming in town in
(27:26):
two weeks and he had asked them to call me
and get me to be there when he came into town.
And I grew up just thinking that I was like
the leftover, you know, I was like not his priority
at all, and that was that was really hard to
get through. And so you know, I developed a great
deal of independence and freedom because I was left alone
(27:49):
by my father. I wasn't I didn't feel like I
was important to him. I didn't feel like I was loved.
And that's another reason why I'm so close to my mother,
my mother. My mother was just so low it and
taught me about life and and so I won't go
any further, but what I'm trying to say to you
is listen to Donna's shows that she's done. Every one
of them will get you reflecting and knowing what the
(28:11):
godly way is to work through something. Donna, I want
to thank you for all the shows that you've done.
They've they've been just wonderful for me.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Well, you're welcome. You're giving me so much credit here.
I feel like all the guests, I feel kind of
like just one of the what did I do? Seven
seven two hundred, So you know, thank you. I appreciate
all the encouragement.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
Oh, Donna, It's it's wonderful for me.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
So so now I've got one last clip, and this
one's kind of it's not I won't call it humorous,
but it's beautiful because I really like this. You're gonna
You're gonna this is the last clip. As we summed up.
It was the very in before we went into some
you know, offering some scripture that day of the functional Family.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
This is Donna one last time.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
It's only thirty seconds, but you have something else one
we thought.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Okay, I just want to say being a parent is
a very hard and tiresome job. But God knows our intentions,
and when we make mistakes, he already knows, and he's
already pleased with our efforts in trying to do the
best job we can do.
Speaker 5 (29:24):
So go mothers. Thank you, Donna. Donna absolutely wonderful. So everybody, yeah, okay,
remember that, go mothers. So well, there you have it.
That's kind of our summary of the functional family. I'll
add this one piece of scripture now because this is
old Testament, beautiful.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
I grew up with learning the scripture. It's Deuteronomy six
four seven. Hero Israel, the Lord, our God, the Lord
is one. Love the Lord your God. With all your
heart and all your soul and with all your strength.
These commandments that I give you today are to be
on your heart, impress them on your children. Well yeah, now,
(30:04):
I just I just want to want to say thanks.
Right now, I want to say thanks to the Lord,
because look at the life that I have, Look at
the life that I have. I've got a voice, I've
got a microphone, so to speak to put a message
out that Donna shares with me.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
And I'm married to Donna.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
She's my she's my wife, she's my friend, and here
we are, she's my partner. And so that's just my
thanks for right now, because that's what my life is
all about, is just being thankful. Well, Donna, what I'd
like to say now is we've gone through a lot
of stuff since we've been married. We've we've gone through
an awful lot of stuff, a lot of difficulties, a
(30:43):
lot of hardships, and I just I just want to
tell you, in the early years of doing Right Thinking Foundation,
about the fourth year or so, I was having a
very hard time. I've got a couple a couple of
donors out there that have been with me since pretty
much the beginning that are loyal to the work of
the Foundation, and I want to thank them. And there's
one person that I don't think I've ever thanked publicly,
(31:06):
but his name's Bill Wright, and Bill is probably about
eighty two or three years old. He's been my state
farm insurance agent for close to forty years now.
Speaker 4 (31:16):
And I think that he had a very hard life.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
I think that he was an orphan and he did
a lot of financial literacy work as he got older.
He is a very very successful man. He and his
wife are a beautiful couple, and he committed to Right
Thinking Foundation a number of years ago, and he said, Steve,
I love what you're doing, and as long as I live,
I'm always going to support you.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
And I just I just say thank you, Bill, I
love you. Well.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
With that said, Chuck Christy is produced the show since
episode number thirty eight or nine. He's the producer of
Talk Network Radio that the show airs on, and he's
a godly man and he's supported the work of Right
Thinking Foundation, and we'll talk more about it in a
week or two. But he's also a book publisher and
the book that's getting ready to come out from the
(32:03):
Lip to the Hip is a pretty far distant. He's
the publisher for the book and he's doing a phenomenal job.
And I just can't thank Chuck enough for being the
person that he is and believe in me to carry
it this far with me, well, well, Donna. I remember
about four years in. I mean, we went through a
lot of times, a lot of tough times, and I
came to you and I said, I said, Donna, I'm
(32:27):
not going to use the affectionate word that I use
when I dressed it, because you know you asked me
not to publicly right now. But the point is this,
I said, I'm willing to give it up if you
want me to to quit putting you through all this
stuff that I put you through, to just be doing
a nonprofit foundation that's so hard and so difficult financially.
(32:47):
If you want me to get a regular job and
just do the foundation kind of as a as a
side thing, more of a hobby type involvement, I'm willing
to accept that because I'm so sorry that I've had
to put you through as much hardship and difficulty and
struggles as I had. Do you remember when I came
to you and said that to you?
Speaker 3 (33:08):
Yes, I do remember that, And you're right, we've had
a lot of hard times, and I think it's been
mostly because, first of all, you're an entrepreneur, and I
had to get used to that kind of lifestyle because
you're you're risk taker. You try new things, and I
(33:28):
wasn't used to that, but I tell you, I've grown
through it so much just doing the different things that
we have done. But when you came to me with
your ideas, we knew, or I knew with your idea
that you had with right thinking that it was definitely
(33:49):
a calling that I had seen in you for so
many years. I mean, we had. Let me just go
back a little bit through our years. That's the different
businesses and all we were involved in when I met you.
You owned a marina. When we got married, we built
(34:10):
a dry storage for boats, and we went to homer
Ramas and sold boat slips for people that owned boats
to put in the dry storage, and it was really fun.
We enjoyed doing that so much. After that, we sold
the business and we bought some real estate in Elizabeth City,
(34:32):
and we had huge dreams and high hopes for that community.
And it was a fifty five and over community, which
went really well at first, but the economy just wasn't
the right time in the economy for it to be
completely successful. But we did have some success there, and
(34:54):
then there was a time we were going to do a
little bistro. What was it like in an office building
for selling snacks and sandwiches and city hall.
Speaker 4 (35:06):
City hall building.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
That's right, that's right.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
We had everything approved.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
And we had everything approved, but that just kind of
didn't come about. But we kept hanging on. We knew
there was something. We knew that God wanted us to
do something in the business world out there, and so
then we did like a little delivery and catering for
a breakfast and lunch little cafe, and that worked. We
(35:34):
did that for a little while and that went well.
But when God gave you the idea of writing that curriculum,
you know, for the prisons, the financial literacy, that was
I mean, I just felt like, this is it, this
is this is the direction that we're supposed to go,
and you wrote it. I just was there behind you
(35:58):
when you did this, and you started going into prisons
and visiting the prisons, and it was these inmates were
just really really in tune with what you had to say.
You weren't just a typical business guy coming in and
teaching teaching people how to budget their money and you know,
(36:19):
the typical way of learning how to use your money.
You had a different message. You had a message of
changing their thinking changing the way they think to deal
with money, which really is what we all have to do.
I mean everybody always says, you know, the way a
person thinks by their checkbook used to be a checkbook
(36:44):
because it's how they spend their money. But when God
blessed this right thinking ministry, or actually it's a foundation,
but we kind of look at it as a ministry,
we knew without a doubt. And when you said to me,
you know, do you think because things got has gotten hard,
it's still not that easy. But we are still hanging
(37:06):
in there.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
We listed the house for sale and thought we had
to live three times since we've been married.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
That's true, that's true. But still here, I said to you,
you know, when it's God's calling, actually it's not even
our calling. It was God's calling. So if God determines it,
we can't give up on it. We can't because it's
already in the plan. We never know when our breakthrough
(37:33):
is going to be. I mean, we could be three
feet from gold, that great book we've read in the past.
I mean, you just don't know what's coming. So of
course we're not going to give up. We're going to
keep on going. And we have we have kept on going,
and I mean just this last project along with the
right thinking putting this book together. That God is already
(37:54):
blessing us with keeping your word. It's all about keeping
you word from the lip to the hip, and that's
going to be coming out really soon. And then he
blessed us, blessed you with a very stable job along
with it to actually make money. And it's a financial company.
(38:17):
We won't name the company, but it has really put
everything in a perfect place of order in what God
wants us to do because he we can work on
all the projects and plus we have a good steady income.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
Also, can I say something about that, Yeah, what Donna's
talking about right now? And as she goes back to
when I came to her and said, you want me
to get a real job, I did not want to
get a real job when I was diagnosed with prostate
cancer in twenty sixteen twenty wow, Yeah, twenty sixteen May
(38:52):
of twenty sixteen, four and a half years ago. And
I made a decision then that you know, I don't
know how much time I have left to live with
my other illness in this, but I don't want to
spend the rest of my life as a businessman at
a corporate type environment where I'm where I'm just working
for the profits for the company and so on and
so forth. And I decided then that I wanted to
(39:14):
be involved in nonprofit because that's really what nonprofits are
all about. Nonprofits are given their special tax status so
that they can have a break from having to make
the same kind of income tax payments from there from
anything that they do to fill a need in the
community that's not being filled elsewhere. That's why nonprofits get
us a good tax status. And so I spent three
(39:39):
years and this is another part of your journey that
our journey that you left out.
Speaker 4 (39:44):
I tried to get a job in in management.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
I was almost hired twice to be the executive director
of one very large nonprofit that feeds homeless that's got
like eighty thousand meals a year they serve. I got
very close to that, and then there was another one
where I was going to be the director of development
to grow another non nonprofit. But I saw that if
(40:09):
I really want to do what the Lord wants me
to do, that I had to do my own nonprofit.
And so then I embarked on setting up my own
nonprofit Right Thinking, and you blessed that, donnae you And
that was.
Speaker 4 (40:21):
Another time I came to you. I mean it was hard.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
You know, We've done a lot of things, but I've
always kept some consulting in some business stuff, you know,
because I have that ability. But I didn't want to
do that anymore. I just wanted to give it myself
if I only have a short time left on this earth,
I want.
Speaker 4 (40:36):
I don't want to do it in the for profit world.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
And so when I started doing all that to form
the nonprofit, I had a stated goal right there in
the very beginning when the Lord gave it to me.
I've done my testimony many times on shows, but you know,
I got into the prison world and I knew that's
what the Lord called me to do. And and so
as I got into that though, I told Donna, I
(40:59):
remember telling you this, that I want to become a
national expert in fighting and reducing recidivism. And I want
to go all around this country as the Johnny Appleseed
that's spread in the word throughout prisons. And I set
a goal that I want to go into prisons throughout
I want to go to I've been to every single
state in the country. I've been to all fifty states,
(41:20):
but I said, I want to do that again by
going to at least one prison in each state. And
let me just tell you really really quick, because what
we're trying to tell you here is that if you
stick with the Lord like Donna told me to do,
he is going to she said. This is the words
that she said. She described it, but I want to
tell you how she said it to me. She said, well, Stuve,
I think he should keep doing it because the Lord
(41:41):
never would have given you this calling if it wasn't
going to succeed. So we just got to hang in there,
no matter how difficult it seems, and just keep doing
it because we know that the Lord gave it you
to do and there's no question that we know that
the Lord called.
Speaker 4 (41:54):
You to do that.
Speaker 1 (41:55):
And so that's the kind of love, in support, in
goud in wisdom that Donna gives me. Look, you know,
we're a Christian married couple, head of household, nurture and
all those other things that you can describe all day long.
But I'm telling you right now that don and I
are You know, we've got unity, we're partners and we're
(42:16):
doing everything that when we first met we wanted to
do with honoring the Lord as our life. That's all
we really wanted to do. And so where the Lord
has taken it right now, it's just beautiful. Things are
happening and we have no fear, we have no worry
about the future. And I want to thank the company
that I work with, and it's in the financial services industry.
(42:38):
But I didn't want to go to work in a
corporate environment, but I went to work for this company
and it is such a godly company and the people
there are just so wonderful that they accept me. They
know that right thinking is my main thing, that's where
my heart is. But they've allowed me to help grow
their company vice president of Finance and director of and
(43:00):
so I just want to say this to all of
you that i'm speaking to at that the reason I'm
not saying the name is is because you know it's
in the financial services industry and and it's there's there's
like what we call compliance issues where I don't want
to say too much, but I'm going to tell you
right now, Mark, thank you for bringing me into the company,
thanks for believing in me, and uh I love what
(43:22):
we're doing there, and uh, you're such a godly person
and I love working in your company. And so with
that said, Donna, h I just want to give u
some of the thanks and the joy for for for
where we are now, where God is leading us right.
Speaker 3 (43:36):
And you know, I've often said to you. You know,
when you're reading a book or you're reading somebody's testimony,
you hear, you know, the beginning, and then you hear
the success at the end. But when I think about
our life and life, I think about the part where
you don't hear as much about. And that's the middle part,
(43:59):
the middle part of your life where you're going through
all the ups and downs and turns and upside downs,
and you know, the middle part of your life where
you really can't see the end. You know where the
beginning is, but you can't see the end, but you
trust and you know that God's going to get you there.
But you know, as I have lived my life through
(44:23):
these years, I realized the middle part is really the
most important part of your life. And I'm not saying
middle age. I'm talking about middle part of whatever you're
going through, because that's the real journey's that's the part
where you lean on God the most. That's the part
where you pray more than ever. That's the time when
(44:45):
you just know you're probably kind of in the valley
and you can't really see the mountaintop yet because you
haven't really gotten to that victory yet. And I was
telling this to my daughter just the other day about
being in the middle, because she's raising children's I said,
you know, it's kind of like when you first had
your children, was all this excitement and joy, and of
(45:08):
course you have a brand new child, and then when
you bring them home and it gets harder, you don't
have sleep, you get confused and how to what you're
supposed to do with this brand new baby, and you know,
then life starts to happen. So as you're raising your children,
you're kind of in the middle of that because the
goal is to get them to a place where you've
(45:31):
done the best job you can. You've been advise them
the best way you can, You've gotten them ready for
adult life, and that's when the victory comes in those situations.
So that's kind of how I feel with our life.
We're still in the middle in some parts of our life,
and there's been some victories also, but you know that's
(45:54):
where you learn, That's where you really grow and you
learn is in the part that's not the exciting part,
but the part that you're hanging on each day and
leaning on the Lord through. So I mean, I just
wanted to bring that up because it's not something that
many people talk about, is the hard stuff in the middle.
Speaker 4 (46:13):
What's really interesting about what you're talking about is.
Speaker 1 (46:16):
You it was a whole new experience for you when
we got married, to be married to an entrepreneur that
is a risk taker, and you know, I'm a developer,
and sometimes you've got to put a whole lot of
money that you might lose and you might not ever
get it back, and if it fails, it's going to
be hard times. You've experienced some of those for sure,
but being married to an entrepreneur is not always easy.
Speaker 4 (46:40):
As you said earlier in the show.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
But there's always been this expression about projects that I've
worked on that some of my family members, I'll never
forget this. My sister Aby, she would say, oh, that's great.
You know, I'd give her a piece of good news
to somebody that agreed to something. Because I needed to
get a contract in place to be able to do
the Marina deal or whatever, to be on working on
and and she goes, oh, congratulations, that means take place,
(47:05):
And I said, no, it means that of the eighty
eight steps and hurdles that I have to go through,
I've achieved the twenty seventh one, got I still got
sixty one more hoops to jump through.
Speaker 4 (47:18):
And that's very hard for people to understand.
Speaker 3 (47:20):
I don't ask any more.
Speaker 1 (47:23):
Yeah, yeah, that's kind of funny that the way you've
learned to accept it. But you know, but I stay up,
I stay excited, I stay enthused. And it's because I believe,
and you know, I pass on what I can. You know,
the MATO for right thinking foundation is don't quit, plan
a hit.
Speaker 4 (47:41):
It will get better.
Speaker 1 (47:42):
And so you know, my life is a life of
a servant to the Lord that will never quit because
I know that, no matter what, He's in complete control.
Speaker 4 (47:51):
And so to come back to.
Speaker 1 (47:52):
You and I being on this show today, what I
wanted to do.
Speaker 4 (47:57):
Was ask you, is is there any you know?
Speaker 1 (48:01):
You're the most consistent person that I know, and that's
that's what I love so much about you. And I
mean I saw it the first time I ever was
with you, and again, you know, I asked you to
marry me. In three weeks, we got engaged, we got
married two months later. We've been married seventeen and a
half years now. And you know, every day is an adventure.
It's not just a journey. It's an adventure. But do
(48:23):
you have any particular verse that you live by as
we bring this show to a close in a few minutes.
Speaker 3 (48:30):
Absolutely, my go to verse, my verse I live by,
it's Galatians six'. Nine it's let us not become weary
and doing good for at the proper, time we will
reap a harvest if we do not give. Up and
that's ALL i try to live my. LIFE i did
my dad's you will be a month or so. AGO
(48:51):
i ended it with that verse because he was such
a good. Man he was so kind and generous and
just such a good a, dad a wonderful. Husband AND
i ended the eulogi with that because he never became.
Weary he was such a perfect. Example he never, complained
he never was, negative he wasn't, negative and he kept
(49:15):
just doing good and helped people and was a good.
Neighbor and now he has the. Glory he's in heaven,
now and you, know sometimes that's what it. Means sometimes
it means just eternal. Life sometimes it means a huge
blessing at the end of a hard. Road so, yeah
(49:36):
that's just Something i've always tried to hang on to
because of all the hard stuff in. Life just keep
being good and the best way you.
Speaker 1 (49:44):
Can, donna today's message that we've been doing that's coming
to a clothes in a. Second it's about bringing you
onto the show and sharing your love for The lord
and praying that other people people just want to want
to give it a chance if they if they're not there,
(50:06):
yet if they already, are they're going to.
Speaker 4 (50:08):
Go you, know, amen, sister of. Course BUT.
Speaker 1 (50:12):
I don't THINK i even need to ask you if
you've got any closing words of advice or. Wisdom and
you help yourself if you want. To but the reason
is your life is the example of what you're trying
to show people that they can do to have the
life that The lord wants them to. HAVE i, mean
(50:32):
we've been talking about it for almost an hour, now
and so SO i just want to say this about your.
Dad you made me so proud when you spoke at
your dad's, funeral and that you did the eulogy because
when it was asked of you by your, sisters, well, Well,
donna are you going to want to? Speak you answer
that for me right, now because you do it better
THAN i. Do when you were asked by your, sisters
(50:53):
do you want to? Speak what did you?
Speaker 4 (50:55):
Say?
Speaker 3 (50:55):
WELL i said it would be an honor to speak
about my. Father and it was something THAT i knew
That god told me a long time ago that this
is something THAT i KNEW i had THAT i wanted to,
do AND i knew that he wanted me to do,
it and it was just my last words to my,
dad just to honor him and all that he had
done in his.
Speaker 4 (51:16):
Life there wasn't.
Speaker 1 (51:17):
A time in the seventeen years that we've been together
WHEN i was around around your.
Speaker 4 (51:22):
PARENTS i love your mom AND i love your, dad
but there.
Speaker 1 (51:25):
Wasn't one time in the friendship THAT i had with
your dad THAT i didn't thank him for letting me marry.
Speaker 4 (51:32):
You AND i want to end the show with.
Speaker 1 (51:34):
That with one last thing, Here i'm going to give
a piece of scripture right. Now that's kind of you,
know for, You, donna because this is who you are
it's First corinthians. Thirteen love is, Patient love is. Kind
it does not, Envy it does not. Boost it is not.
Proud it does not dishonor. Others it is not self.
(51:56):
Seeking it is not easily. Angered it keeps no records.
Wrongs love does not delight and, evil but rejoices with the.
Truth it always, protects always, trusts always, hopes always Perseveres.
DONA i think that's who you, are and this is
the life that we, share and it's who you are.
(52:17):
Too thank you, well thanks for being a guest today
and sharing your love with.
Speaker 4 (52:23):
Everyone.
Speaker 1 (52:24):
Everyone this was episode one and next week is episode
two hundred Of Major, milestone And i've Asked Jim stovalda
to be the guest and we're going to be doing
a show where we talk about a book that he
wrote Called Ultimate hindsight and it's wisdom from one hundred
(52:45):
great super.
Speaker 4 (52:46):
Achievers AND i can absolutely guarantee.
Speaker 1 (52:50):
You that you're going to get a great deal out
of listening to that. Show and thanks for being with
us today and everyone have a great, week And god bless.
Speaker 4 (52:57):
You thanks for listening to thinking With Steve.
Speaker 1 (53:01):
Copeland i'll look forward to being with you again next
week and remember, it don't, quit plan, ahead it will get.
Speaker 4 (53:07):
Better god bless, you and have a great.
Speaker 2 (53:10):
Week
There must be lies burning brighter somewhere.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Got to be birds him.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
In the sky. Good morning, welcome to Right Thinking with
Steve Copeland. I'm your host, Steve Copeland, and thank you
for tuning in. Let's have a great day. Good morning, everybody.
Glad to be with you. I am just incredibly excited.
We're in the countdown series right now to episode two hundred,
(00:49):
which will be next week, and today is episode Right
Thinking with Steve. Copeland is very pleased to announce that
this week's show was called Do Not Become Weary with
Guessana Copeland. Tune in and here Donna and Steve talk
about the journey that they have shared together as they
offer words of encouragement on how to persevere and keep
(01:10):
believing when life is not always easy. Donna, I am
so glad to have you do this show with me.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Well, I'm really happy to be here, Steve. Been a
lot of shows that you have posted, and I just
can't believe that we're coming up on the two hundred show,
So I'm very happy to be here today.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Well, Donna, a lot of people have been instrumental in
helping me get this far along. But of all the
people that have been there to help support me to
get these shows moving forward.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
You're the number one donna. It's like you've been on.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
The air seven other times now, but probably every single show.
I can't think of a single show that you didn't
participate with me and helping me get my announcement finished
or listen to some of the thoughts that I was
going to share on the show that I was getting
ready to put on. And so, hey, you know you've
done seven other shows. They go all the way back
(02:02):
to December of twenty seventeen, so you've been doing this
with me for almost to the day, exactly three years.
Your first show, episode number forty four, it was just
titled words of Encouragement. Here Don and Steve offer words
that will uplift your spirit. And then then we got
into the next show that you did, and that was
the one that we're going to highlight a lot about
today because of every show I've done one hundred and
(02:25):
ninety nine shows. Whenever people ask me what is my
favorite show that I ever have done, it's episode number
fifty three with you. It's the most important show that
speaks to everything that I'm trying to do with my
life and it's called the Functional Family, and it's the
positive model, and it all starts at home, respecting one
(02:46):
another as a key to a beautiful family. That show
is just the one that that's our signature show, Donna.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
I've told that to everybody.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
I've actually aired it three times through all these shows.
And then you went in in June of twenty eighteen
on it EPISOD number seventy and that was called making
a Difference. And then we came back on to discuss
more about how to create a positive home environment for
our children as we talk more about the functional family,
the positive model and repeat it which starts with respect.
(03:14):
And then in November of that year of eighteen, episode
ninety he didn't even make the call was the name
of the show, but the theme of that show was
we talked about how many people are out there that
need to change, but they won't accept the resources that
are available. And that's the show where you introduced the
Voice of Truth, the lyrics from casting Crown Song the
Voice of Truth, and that was amazing because that's what
(03:37):
that's what your message is all about. And then in
January of twenty nineteen, episode one oh two. This one
is probably one of the other most important shows. Why
listening skills are so important, you know, you said that
that was the key to a healthy family is good communication,
and good communication starts with good listening skills. And then
(04:00):
in October of nineteen, episode one thirty eight, Raising Godly Children,
and that episode we came out right after we had
written the chapter in the book. That's the first time
that we collaborated in a book that you can get
it on Amazon. It's called God Raising Godly Children. And
the book God in the Workplace, God in Business is
(04:22):
the name of the book. Faith is a deciding factor.
Don I think everybody's sort of picking up a little
theme here of what our shows are about with what
we do. And then the last time you were on
was really incredible. It was when I was doing the
thirteen shows in a row for from the Lift of
the Hip was a pretty far distance, which the book
is coming out in just another couple of weeks, and
(04:46):
you were asked by Richard Kay that wrote another chapter
in the book. You were asked to do a show
with him, and it's called We Are So Blessed by
Godly Women. And Richard talked about obedience and what this show,
what is important about though, Donna is as I go
into prisons all over the country, and I've been into
Brunderick Woman's Work Center in Virginia and Lawrenceville, Virginia like
(05:10):
seventy or eighty ninety times. I've been there for numbers
of years. A lot of times I went every other week.
I can see you going into prisons and given a
positive message of to the women on what it is
that they can do to have a beautiful life if
they if they want to make that choice. And so
that's what that episode is all about. And so then
today I've just read what we're doing. It's it's called
(05:33):
Do Not Become Weary, and we're going to explain where
that title comes.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
From and what it's all about in a few minutes.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Well, so, Donna, I've got to I've got to tell
you that the reason that The Functional Family is the
number one show ever is because that seems to be
your character, signature, personality, your message.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Can you talk about for a moment.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
What it is that Well, what I'm saying is you're
you're you are so consistent. You know like you're you're steady.
You know, you're always the same. Everyone can always count
on you because they know what you're all about. And
so that's really what your message is all built around.
It's it's about respect and it's about serving the Lord.
(06:19):
So what am I trying to say? You want to
you want to talk about that for a second.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Well, first of all, thank you so much for all
that wonderful encouragement and the importance of what I've been
trying to say. I do remember doing that show on
The Functional Family. Mostly what gave me the idea to
put the thoughts together was some of the things that
I was just seeing in the community and other people's
(06:45):
families and just the way a family was running, and
not saying that I did everything perfect, but I just
would notice some things that I felt like maybe some
encouraging words from my experience could help someone along the way.
So that show was very important to me. And there's
a lot of truth in raising children that at the
(07:08):
time I was raising my children, I didn't even realize
it until later. But you know, Christ lives in me,
and I want to live for him, and because he
lives in me, I just want to live my life
in a way that shows how much I love him.
And I just feel like I can do all things
through him because he's the one that gives me the strength.
(07:30):
He's the one that gives me the strength to be
the role model in our family, if that's what I'm portraying,
the mother or the grandmother, the wife. He gives me
the strength to do that. And you know, when you're
feeling overwhelmed, you go to him. When you're feeling lonely,
(07:52):
you go to him. When you're feeling sad, I'm confused,
you go to him. And when we can hear from
Him through our thoughts, it just brings everything to a
place where we know we're loved by God. And I
remember saying a while back that I wanted to know
(08:13):
Jesus at a level where it was like breathing in
a way that it felt natural, in a way that
when I got up each morning, Jesus is on my mind.
Not worries and not everything going on in the world,
but Jesus is on my mind. And I've that's like
been a goal for me in my life, because you know,
not every day you feel like going into that maybe
(08:38):
you don't go into that spiritual place even though you
want to. But in my goal of life, that's where
I want to be and you know it's a journey,
it's it's a place that you really probably never achieve
until the day we go to heaven in Gloryland.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Well, let me let me interrupt you just for a second,
because you're saying so many beautiful things, and you can
pick back up on whatever your fault was. But I
can tell that I know you know that you've grown
a great deal since you you started. You know, this
is my one or nine ninth show, it's your eighth
time on the air with me, And do you feel
like you've grown?
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Absolutely? You know, what you go through, you you grow through.
And you know I saw that little plaque at a
store not too long ago, and I actually gave it
to my son. It says what you go through, you
grow through. And he said, I don't really understand that, mom,
And I said, well, you know what, once you understand that,
(09:40):
let me know what you think it might mean. And
so he's still searching, he's still trying to figure things out.
But it's so true. You know, when when you're going
through hard times, when life is dark and lonely and
you just can't seem to make ends meet in your
(10:02):
own mind, you know, you have to go sometimes through
a dark place to get to the light. And I
wanted to just read a portion from Joel Ostein's book.
He had a book that came out called Blessed in
the Darkness, How All Things Are Working for Good? And
(10:24):
as I was reading this, and it was a while ago,
it just made so much sense to me, because a
lot of times when you're going through a really, really
hard time, you just cannot figure out why. You know why,
and you can be a believer and you would still
sometimes question why, Lord, why am I going through such
(10:45):
hard dark things in my life? I just don't know
the answers here. And what he says in his book
is he starts out, how, at some point, you know,
we're all going to go through dark places, whether it's
a sickness, or divorce or a loss. It could be
(11:07):
a child that breaks our heart, and financial difficulties. It's
really easy to get discouraged and we may want to
give up, but the dark places is where we grow.
And then he gave an example. It's like a seed.
When a seed is planted in the dark ground, it
germinates and it begins to take root. It can't get
(11:29):
to the light until it pushes out of the darkness,
and then once it comes through to the light, it
begins to grow into a plant of some sort, whether
it's a fruit, tree or flower or whatever. So my
point is the dark places in life could be where
you grow, where you develop your character. You trust more,
(11:49):
you pray more, you draw closer to God. You may
even get quieter, and you may listen more. And that's
what I think why God's with the purposes In times
of troubles and storms, you can only get through by
trusting that things will get better. But during those times
(12:10):
you can't always see anything good. But those are the
times when we have to hang on for life. That's
what I call it. Just hang on for life, keep
moving forward. And that could mean something simple like just
getting out of bed if you were so depressed. You know,
just getting yourself up could be a start to starting
(12:30):
a new way of thinking, or just believing one thing,
one thing to get you moving. It's like having blind
faith and believing there's a blessing coming. Another thing that
was brought out in the book is as we go
through the dark times, picture a seed under the ground
(12:52):
and is being walked on, buried where no one else
can see it a lonely time. And that brings me
to just this verse in the Bible that Jesus said,
it's John twelve twenty four. Unless a kernel of wheat
is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone.
(13:17):
But if it dies, it will produce much fruit. And
Joel I was just going to read a page from
his book that explains that you can have a seed
on your desk for a lifetime, but it will never
become what it was created to be until you put
it in the ground. Its potential will never be released
until it's been planted. As long as it's on the
(13:39):
desk where it's comfortable and it doesn't have to stretch
or deal with any adversity, the seed's potential will stay
locked up on the inside only after it's planted and
goes through the process of germination. When the outer shell
breaks off and the new growth begins, will it blossom
and bring forth much fruit. The problem with men people
(14:00):
is that they want the fruit, but they don't want
to go through the process. They don't want to be uncomfortable.
They don't want to have to stretch or deal with adversity, opposition,
or betrayal. But without the dark place, your potential will
stay locked on the inside. The seed cannot germinate in
the light. If you were asked to, if you ask
(14:23):
the seed, I'm sure it would say, I don't want
to go into the dirt. It's dark, it's lonely, and
it's uncomfortable when people walk on me. It's uncomfortable. The
sea feels as though it's been buried, and though it's
the end. But the seed doesn't realize that it's not buried.
It's planted. It has the life of Almighty God on
(14:44):
the inside. That dark place, even though it's uncomfortable, is
a critical part of the process over a period of time.
Once it germinates and grows, instead of being one little
buried seed, it ends up being a beautiful flower, pilossoping
and bearing much fruit. If you were asked, if you
were to ask the flower, when is it fully in blossom,
(15:08):
it would say I didn't like the dark place, but
I realized now it was a blessing. Look what it
brought me out of, Look what I've become. So it's
just such a great example of going through the hard stuff,
the hard times, the times when you really can't see
(15:28):
an answer, but you just keep hanging on. You just
know God's right there with you, but the blessing hasn't.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Come Yetna, Donna, you you gave a beautiful answer to
my question that started with do you feel like you've grown?
But everything that you just brought to share you already
you've always been that way.
Speaker 4 (15:53):
That's the Donna that I met.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
And then you know, we got engaged in three weeks
and we started talking from the very beginning, and we
we had so many conversations about what we wanted to
do to serve the Lord. And one of the things
that we said that we could really do someday we
prayed on this. We actually did pray on this in
the very beginning, I mean our first first couple of
(16:15):
days that we knew each other. Maybe someday that we
could get involved in and helping other couples try to
try to find their way forward and just people. Well, well, Donald,
you're one of my guests. You know this show is
kind of like a walk down I called it a
waltz down memory lane. You know that this is one
(16:36):
hundred and ninety nine shows that's coming on close to
four years. But the whole right thinking with Steve Copeland show.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
And I want to.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Thank every one of you that are listening for just
tuning in every now and then and hearing whatever messages
and that we have to offer. But all the messages
are pretty much in the same category. Here. We're just
trying to help people and try to help lead people
closer to the Lord and have a better life. But
the show only started because my foundation that I started
(17:05):
being going on nine years this coming in January in
a couple of weeks, you know. It started with that,
and the show became another way to keep the message
out there, and then I started bringing on more and
more guests. But of all the guests that I have,
You're you're a person that you know, you're a quiet spirit,
your general spirit. And but I just want to I
(17:25):
want to play a clip back to that Functional Family.
I mean, we really don't need to go back too
much of that show because what you've already brought up
today is just sort of taking forward.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
People are understanding about you. But but you know.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
You were reading from the Joelo steam piece, which is
just perfect for what we're talking about. But let let
me let me pull up just one clip, right now
I've got a couple of clips on our share today
of what your message is all about, because your message
has just always been there.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
And I love it. I just love it that have
you grown? Yeah? Have we grown? Yes?
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Is our mission that the Lord is God is doing
moving forward? I know that it is. So Here here
is this little clip here, people will understand right away.
This is this is who Donna is. That's who you are.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Donna would go on in a family, but I often
felt like, how how could I How can I help
this person?
Speaker 3 (18:20):
I mean, I.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Leave here and get in my car and go home
and live in a nice house with everything I need.
And some of these people don't have a car, and
their houses are in bad condition, and some don't have
a house. But it was very overwhelming just to understand
where someone is. So, you know, I decided at least
(18:46):
I could do a couple things, and God shared he
told me this, he said, you know, or I felt
like God.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Was saying, do what you can.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
And what I felt like I could do was at
least make them feel feel valued and help them to
feel like people instead of just needing people people that
have always got a need or just has to find
food I just wanted them to feel like they.
Speaker 3 (19:14):
Were a person, So I really I got to know them.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
I got to know their names and their personalities, and
whenever I would see them, I would call them by name,
and I always got a smile every time because they
felt like, Wow, you took the time to remember me.
I would greet them with a smile and welcome them
and help them just feel good.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
I spoke to them with an interest and a care.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
And there were some people I did help by taking
them to the store or to pay a bill or
whatever I needed to do. There was a lot of
people that I felt like I could help in that way,
but most people just being there and taking the time
to talk to them, praying with them, and just letting
(20:02):
them know that you know, you're not just a number.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
You're not just in a line just to get food.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
You're a person with a real life and a real story.
And I never felt, you know, I just felt like
I would grab their hands and some of them had
dirty hands, some.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Of them smell like alcohol.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
That you do you just do it anyway, and you
just believe that the Lord just gives you this love
that's deep inside you to care for these people. And
so we had a wonderful prayer team and I was
part of that.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Team, Dona.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
That came from you spent five years in a church
down an Ocean View, working in the storehouse. That's a
huge part of who you are going out into the community,
just trying to help people. Why don't you share for
a moment, anything that you might remember from from where
you were when you were working with people at the storehouse.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Well, exactly what I pointed out, Mostly just caring for
the people, not just these people, but people in general
that really just want somebody to notice them. Just it's
so easy to do just to bring up conversation with
someone in Walmart or wherever you are, just to make
them feel valued and cared about, and you know, a
(21:18):
smile and just a kind word or and if you
can help someone, which many many people help other people.
I mean, I'm not just you know, it's not just
what I've done, but I've seen so many people helping
other people. But I also see so many lonely people
that get overlooked so easily. So I mean that was
(21:41):
just a small part of my time down in Ocean View,
but it really was a big part of what I
remember of you know, in helping people and just noticing
their lives.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Well, Donna, you know I said earlier in the show
that you're so consistent, you know, you're who you are,
and their wisdom that you bring, the share the love
that you do. It's just wonderful. The functional family that
I was trying to highlight for a minute here. You know,
it's all about raising kids, raising godly children. And there's
another little clip here from that show that is one
(22:15):
of the key ingredients of good parenting, because that's another
one of the messages that you have is to just
help people become better parents.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
Here, let me play this really quick.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
Here, help them that way.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
But you know, to share Jesus's love is a way
that I would start, just so that they understand that,
you know, even if you really messed up here and
the kids are, you know, way disrespectful and the hand
the family is broken, God is there. He's never going
(22:50):
to leave you, he's never going to forsake you, and
he's forgiving and if you want to, you can start
all over.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
That's what I.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Love about Jesus' forgiveness is you can mess up and
mess up and mess up again, but God's always there
to forgive you and start over. So in parenting especially,
we're so lucky. Our children are so forgiving themselves, and
it's all they want is for you to love them
and respect them, just as we children respect their parents.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
You know, it kind of goes both ways. And for
them to feel.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
That it's not over if they've messed up. That's the
biggest message I think I could give is just starting
over and starting a fresh sleep.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
What I like to say, starting a fresh sleep.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
Yeah, what do you think of that when you said
that three years ago?
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Yeah, it's what I believe. It's deep inside me. Starting
over is huge because all of us make mistakes every day.
So just believing that God's forgiveness can keep us on
track for each and every day and a new day,
a new way of thinking about something, maybe something you've learned.
It's just always there that we can move forward.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
When I listened to the show The Functional Family, I
listened to it just this morning and preparing for the show,
and and it was just so wonderful to listen to
that show and know that, Yeah, that's why that's my
number one show that I've ever ever done with anybody.
But but all the shows that you do, Donna, they
made me think, They made me look, you know, want
(24:26):
to you know, you talk a lot about reflection and
and I might actually left that show out and the
titles of the shows that I get you did a
whole show and reflection and but everybody has a story is.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
One of the points that you always say.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
And in forgiving yourself, moving away from the past, being
being being positive about what's to come in the future,
all those are part of your theme. But when I
listened to that show, you made a comment about when
you're talking about raising show ldren and being respectful and
making children feel loved, it was just it was just
(25:05):
so beautiful and it made me go off and a thought.
Right this morning, you said you don't want the children
to feel that they're at the bottom of the list,
that they're not, you know, loved, that they're just the leftovers,
and that parents shouldn't just sort of end up doing
something with their children by default because they, you know,
(25:26):
they've just done everything else that they feel like doing
and now maybe I'll spend some time with my child.
And you talked a whole lot about what happens to
children that grow up in that kind of atmosphere, and
I just wanted to share this because for all you listening,
every one of the shows that I've tried to do,
for all one hundred and ninety nine shows are there
to get you thinking and be positive and to be
(25:48):
closer to the Lord's the main thing. But when I
was listening to The Functional Family this morning, when I
was a kid now, my parents were divorced when I
was seven. My mother was the same mom. I was
a latch key kid, out on the streets a whole lot.
I had tons of freedom. I mean, I did anything,
but I wanted to because my mother was working all
the time and had an older sister, but she was
(26:10):
four years older, so we didn't We were close brother
and sister, but she didn't you know, I didn't listen
to her.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
I used to say, why you tell me that you're
not my mother. I was kind of a bad kid
like that.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
But my father lived out of state when my parents
got divorced. In this line that Donna said about you
don't want to feel like you're at the bottom of
the list, I felt like that for years and years,
and the reason was was that it took me years
to forgive my dad and to get close to him.
And you can listen to a lot of my shows,
I talk a lot about my dad. Were very very close.
(26:42):
He was ninety five years old, but until he was
about eighty, we weren't close. I was like I always
described my father as being more like an uncle, but
not really my father. But the thing that Donna trigger
in my memory today, and again, I had to work
through this. It took me a year. I'm sharing this
so because I know that a lot of people go
(27:03):
through stuff just like I'm talking about, and Donnie can
help you get through it. I'm blessed because she's my wife,
so I'm with her every day. But my father, when
he was out of state, he would come into town
for Jewish holidays and I would always have an aunt.
His sisters would call me up and invite me over
for dinner because my father was coming in town in
(27:26):
two weeks and he had asked them to call me
and get me to be there when he came into town.
And I grew up just thinking that I was like
the leftover, you know, I was like not his priority
at all, and that was that was really hard to
get through. And so you know, I developed a great
deal of independence and freedom because I was left alone
(27:49):
by my father. I wasn't I didn't feel like I
was important to him. I didn't feel like I was loved.
And that's another reason why I'm so close to my mother,
my mother. My mother was just so low it and
taught me about life and and so I won't go
any further, but what I'm trying to say to you
is listen to Donna's shows that she's done. Every one
of them will get you reflecting and knowing what the
(28:11):
godly way is to work through something. Donna, I want
to thank you for all the shows that you've done.
They've they've been just wonderful for me.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
Well, you're welcome. You're giving me so much credit here.
I feel like all the guests, I feel kind of
like just one of the what did I do? Seven
seven two hundred, So you know, thank you. I appreciate
all the encouragement.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
Oh, Donna, It's it's wonderful for me.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
So so now I've got one last clip, and this
one's kind of it's not I won't call it humorous,
but it's beautiful because I really like this. You're gonna
You're gonna this is the last clip. As we summed up.
It was the very in before we went into some
you know, offering some scripture that day of the functional Family.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
This is Donna one last time.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
It's only thirty seconds, but you have something else one
we thought.
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Okay, I just want to say being a parent is
a very hard and tiresome job. But God knows our intentions,
and when we make mistakes, he already knows, and he's
already pleased with our efforts in trying to do the
best job we can do.
Speaker 5 (29:24):
So go mothers. Thank you, Donna. Donna absolutely wonderful. So everybody, yeah, okay,
remember that, go mothers. So well, there you have it.
That's kind of our summary of the functional family. I'll
add this one piece of scripture now because this is
old Testament, beautiful.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
I grew up with learning the scripture. It's Deuteronomy six
four seven. Hero Israel, the Lord, our God, the Lord
is one. Love the Lord your God. With all your
heart and all your soul and with all your strength.
These commandments that I give you today are to be
on your heart, impress them on your children. Well yeah, now,
(30:04):
I just I just want to want to say thanks.
Right now, I want to say thanks to the Lord,
because look at the life that I have, Look at
the life that I have. I've got a voice, I've
got a microphone, so to speak to put a message
out that Donna shares with me.
Speaker 4 (30:20):
And I'm married to Donna.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
She's my she's my wife, she's my friend, and here
we are, she's my partner. And so that's just my
thanks for right now, because that's what my life is
all about, is just being thankful. Well, Donna, what I'd
like to say now is we've gone through a lot
of stuff since we've been married. We've we've gone through
an awful lot of stuff, a lot of difficulties, a
(30:43):
lot of hardships, and I just I just want to
tell you, in the early years of doing Right Thinking Foundation,
about the fourth year or so, I was having a
very hard time. I've got a couple a couple of
donors out there that have been with me since pretty
much the beginning that are loyal to the work of
the Foundation, and I want to thank them. And there's
one person that I don't think I've ever thanked publicly,
(31:06):
but his name's Bill Wright, and Bill is probably about
eighty two or three years old. He's been my state
farm insurance agent for close to forty years now.
Speaker 4 (31:16):
And I think that he had a very hard life.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
I think that he was an orphan and he did
a lot of financial literacy work as he got older.
He is a very very successful man. He and his
wife are a beautiful couple, and he committed to Right
Thinking Foundation a number of years ago, and he said, Steve,
I love what you're doing, and as long as I live,
I'm always going to support you.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
And I just I just say thank you, Bill, I
love you. Well.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
With that said, Chuck Christy is produced the show since
episode number thirty eight or nine. He's the producer of
Talk Network Radio that the show airs on, and he's
a godly man and he's supported the work of Right
Thinking Foundation, and we'll talk more about it in a
week or two. But he's also a book publisher and
the book that's getting ready to come out from the
(32:03):
Lip to the Hip is a pretty far distant. He's
the publisher for the book and he's doing a phenomenal job.
And I just can't thank Chuck enough for being the
person that he is and believe in me to carry
it this far with me, well, well, Donna. I remember
about four years in. I mean, we went through a
lot of times, a lot of tough times, and I
came to you and I said, I said, Donna, I'm
(32:27):
not going to use the affectionate word that I use
when I dressed it, because you know you asked me
not to publicly right now. But the point is this,
I said, I'm willing to give it up if you
want me to to quit putting you through all this
stuff that I put you through, to just be doing
a nonprofit foundation that's so hard and so difficult financially.
(32:47):
If you want me to get a regular job and
just do the foundation kind of as a as a
side thing, more of a hobby type involvement, I'm willing
to accept that because I'm so sorry that I've had
to put you through as much hardship and difficulty and
struggles as I had. Do you remember when I came
to you and said that to you?
Speaker 3 (33:08):
Yes, I do remember that, And you're right, we've had
a lot of hard times, and I think it's been
mostly because, first of all, you're an entrepreneur, and I
had to get used to that kind of lifestyle because
you're you're risk taker. You try new things, and I
(33:28):
wasn't used to that, but I tell you, I've grown
through it so much just doing the different things that
we have done. But when you came to me with
your ideas, we knew, or I knew with your idea
that you had with right thinking that it was definitely
(33:49):
a calling that I had seen in you for so
many years. I mean, we had. Let me just go
back a little bit through our years. That's the different
businesses and all we were involved in when I met you.
You owned a marina. When we got married, we built
(34:10):
a dry storage for boats, and we went to homer
Ramas and sold boat slips for people that owned boats
to put in the dry storage, and it was really fun.
We enjoyed doing that so much. After that, we sold
the business and we bought some real estate in Elizabeth City,
(34:32):
and we had huge dreams and high hopes for that community.
And it was a fifty five and over community, which
went really well at first, but the economy just wasn't
the right time in the economy for it to be
completely successful. But we did have some success there, and
(34:54):
then there was a time we were going to do a
little bistro. What was it like in an office building
for selling snacks and sandwiches and city hall.
Speaker 4 (35:06):
City hall building.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
That's right, that's right.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
We had everything approved.
Speaker 3 (35:09):
And we had everything approved, but that just kind of
didn't come about. But we kept hanging on. We knew
there was something. We knew that God wanted us to
do something in the business world out there, and so
then we did like a little delivery and catering for
a breakfast and lunch little cafe, and that worked. We
(35:34):
did that for a little while and that went well.
But when God gave you the idea of writing that curriculum,
you know, for the prisons, the financial literacy, that was
I mean, I just felt like, this is it, this
is this is the direction that we're supposed to go,
and you wrote it. I just was there behind you
(35:58):
when you did this, and you started going into prisons
and visiting the prisons, and it was these inmates were
just really really in tune with what you had to say.
You weren't just a typical business guy coming in and
teaching teaching people how to budget their money and you know,
(36:19):
the typical way of learning how to use your money.
You had a different message. You had a message of
changing their thinking changing the way they think to deal
with money, which really is what we all have to do.
I mean everybody always says, you know, the way a
person thinks by their checkbook used to be a checkbook
(36:44):
because it's how they spend their money. But when God
blessed this right thinking ministry, or actually it's a foundation,
but we kind of look at it as a ministry,
we knew without a doubt. And when you said to me,
you know, do you think because things got has gotten hard,
it's still not that easy. But we are still hanging
(37:06):
in there.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
We listed the house for sale and thought we had
to live three times since we've been married.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
That's true, that's true. But still here, I said to you,
you know, when it's God's calling, actually it's not even
our calling. It was God's calling. So if God determines it,
we can't give up on it. We can't because it's
already in the plan. We never know when our breakthrough
(37:33):
is going to be. I mean, we could be three
feet from gold, that great book we've read in the past.
I mean, you just don't know what's coming. So of
course we're not going to give up. We're going to
keep on going. And we have we have kept on going,
and I mean just this last project along with the
right thinking putting this book together. That God is already
(37:54):
blessing us with keeping your word. It's all about keeping
you word from the lip to the hip, and that's
going to be coming out really soon. And then he
blessed us, blessed you with a very stable job along
with it to actually make money. And it's a financial company.
(38:17):
We won't name the company, but it has really put
everything in a perfect place of order in what God
wants us to do because he we can work on
all the projects and plus we have a good steady income.
Speaker 1 (38:32):
Also, can I say something about that, Yeah, what Donna's
talking about right now? And as she goes back to
when I came to her and said, you want me
to get a real job, I did not want to
get a real job when I was diagnosed with prostate
cancer in twenty sixteen twenty wow, Yeah, twenty sixteen May
(38:52):
of twenty sixteen, four and a half years ago. And
I made a decision then that you know, I don't
know how much time I have left to live with
my other illness in this, but I don't want to
spend the rest of my life as a businessman at
a corporate type environment where I'm where I'm just working
for the profits for the company and so on and
so forth. And I decided then that I wanted to
(39:14):
be involved in nonprofit because that's really what nonprofits are
all about. Nonprofits are given their special tax status so
that they can have a break from having to make
the same kind of income tax payments from there from
anything that they do to fill a need in the
community that's not being filled elsewhere. That's why nonprofits get
us a good tax status. And so I spent three
(39:39):
years and this is another part of your journey that
our journey that you left out.
Speaker 4 (39:44):
I tried to get a job in in management.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
I was almost hired twice to be the executive director
of one very large nonprofit that feeds homeless that's got
like eighty thousand meals a year they serve. I got
very close to that, and then there was another one
where I was going to be the director of development
to grow another non nonprofit. But I saw that if
(40:09):
I really want to do what the Lord wants me
to do, that I had to do my own nonprofit.
And so then I embarked on setting up my own
nonprofit Right Thinking, and you blessed that, donnae you And
that was.
Speaker 4 (40:21):
Another time I came to you. I mean it was hard.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
You know, We've done a lot of things, but I've
always kept some consulting in some business stuff, you know,
because I have that ability. But I didn't want to
do that anymore. I just wanted to give it myself
if I only have a short time left on this earth,
I want.
Speaker 4 (40:36):
I don't want to do it in the for profit world.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
And so when I started doing all that to form
the nonprofit, I had a stated goal right there in
the very beginning when the Lord gave it to me.
I've done my testimony many times on shows, but you know,
I got into the prison world and I knew that's
what the Lord called me to do. And and so
as I got into that though, I told Donna, I
(40:59):
remember telling you this, that I want to become a
national expert in fighting and reducing recidivism. And I want
to go all around this country as the Johnny Appleseed
that's spread in the word throughout prisons. And I set
a goal that I want to go into prisons throughout
I want to go to I've been to every single
state in the country. I've been to all fifty states,
(41:20):
but I said, I want to do that again by
going to at least one prison in each state. And
let me just tell you really really quick, because what
we're trying to tell you here is that if you
stick with the Lord like Donna told me to do,
he is going to she said. This is the words
that she said. She described it, but I want to
tell you how she said it to me. She said, well, Stuve,
I think he should keep doing it because the Lord
(41:41):
never would have given you this calling if it wasn't
going to succeed. So we just got to hang in there,
no matter how difficult it seems, and just keep doing
it because we know that the Lord gave it you
to do and there's no question that we know that
the Lord called.
Speaker 4 (41:54):
You to do that.
Speaker 1 (41:55):
And so that's the kind of love, in support, in
goud in wisdom that Donna gives me. Look, you know,
we're a Christian married couple, head of household, nurture and
all those other things that you can describe all day long.
But I'm telling you right now that don and I
are You know, we've got unity, we're partners and we're
(42:16):
doing everything that when we first met we wanted to
do with honoring the Lord as our life. That's all
we really wanted to do. And so where the Lord
has taken it right now, it's just beautiful. Things are
happening and we have no fear, we have no worry
about the future. And I want to thank the company
that I work with, and it's in the financial services industry.
(42:38):
But I didn't want to go to work in a
corporate environment, but I went to work for this company
and it is such a godly company and the people
there are just so wonderful that they accept me. They
know that right thinking is my main thing, that's where
my heart is. But they've allowed me to help grow
their company vice president of Finance and director of and
(43:00):
so I just want to say this to all of
you that i'm speaking to at that the reason I'm
not saying the name is is because you know it's
in the financial services industry and and it's there's there's
like what we call compliance issues where I don't want
to say too much, but I'm going to tell you
right now, Mark, thank you for bringing me into the company,
thanks for believing in me, and uh I love what
(43:22):
we're doing there, and uh, you're such a godly person
and I love working in your company. And so with
that said, Donna, h I just want to give u
some of the thanks and the joy for for for
where we are now, where God is leading us right.
Speaker 3 (43:36):
And you know, I've often said to you. You know,
when you're reading a book or you're reading somebody's testimony,
you hear, you know, the beginning, and then you hear
the success at the end. But when I think about
our life and life, I think about the part where
you don't hear as much about. And that's the middle part,
(43:59):
the middle part of your life where you're going through
all the ups and downs and turns and upside downs,
and you know, the middle part of your life where
you really can't see the end. You know where the
beginning is, but you can't see the end, but you
trust and you know that God's going to get you there.
But you know, as I have lived my life through
(44:23):
these years, I realized the middle part is really the
most important part of your life. And I'm not saying
middle age. I'm talking about middle part of whatever you're
going through, because that's the real journey's that's the part
where you lean on God the most. That's the part
where you pray more than ever. That's the time when
(44:45):
you just know you're probably kind of in the valley
and you can't really see the mountaintop yet because you
haven't really gotten to that victory yet. And I was
telling this to my daughter just the other day about
being in the middle, because she's raising children's I said,
you know, it's kind of like when you first had
your children, was all this excitement and joy, and of
(45:08):
course you have a brand new child, and then when
you bring them home and it gets harder, you don't
have sleep, you get confused and how to what you're
supposed to do with this brand new baby, and you know,
then life starts to happen. So as you're raising your children,
you're kind of in the middle of that because the
goal is to get them to a place where you've
(45:31):
done the best job you can. You've been advise them
the best way you can, You've gotten them ready for
adult life, and that's when the victory comes in those situations.
So that's kind of how I feel with our life.
We're still in the middle in some parts of our life,
and there's been some victories also, but you know that's
(45:54):
where you learn, That's where you really grow and you
learn is in the part that's not the exciting part,
but the part that you're hanging on each day and
leaning on the Lord through. So I mean, I just
wanted to bring that up because it's not something that
many people talk about, is the hard stuff in the middle.
Speaker 4 (46:13):
What's really interesting about what you're talking about is.
Speaker 1 (46:16):
You it was a whole new experience for you when
we got married, to be married to an entrepreneur that
is a risk taker, and you know, I'm a developer,
and sometimes you've got to put a whole lot of
money that you might lose and you might not ever
get it back, and if it fails, it's going to
be hard times. You've experienced some of those for sure,
but being married to an entrepreneur is not always easy.
Speaker 4 (46:40):
As you said earlier in the show.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
But there's always been this expression about projects that I've
worked on that some of my family members, I'll never
forget this. My sister Aby, she would say, oh, that's great.
You know, I'd give her a piece of good news
to somebody that agreed to something. Because I needed to
get a contract in place to be able to do
the Marina deal or whatever, to be on working on
and and she goes, oh, congratulations, that means take place,
(47:05):
And I said, no, it means that of the eighty
eight steps and hurdles that I have to go through,
I've achieved the twenty seventh one, got I still got
sixty one more hoops to jump through.
Speaker 4 (47:18):
And that's very hard for people to understand.
Speaker 3 (47:20):
I don't ask any more.
Speaker 1 (47:23):
Yeah, yeah, that's kind of funny that the way you've
learned to accept it. But you know, but I stay up,
I stay excited, I stay enthused. And it's because I believe,
and you know, I pass on what I can. You know,
the MATO for right thinking foundation is don't quit, plan
a hit.
Speaker 4 (47:41):
It will get better.
Speaker 1 (47:42):
And so you know, my life is a life of
a servant to the Lord that will never quit because
I know that, no matter what, He's in complete control.
Speaker 4 (47:51):
And so to come back to.
Speaker 1 (47:52):
You and I being on this show today, what I
wanted to do.
Speaker 4 (47:57):
Was ask you, is is there any you know?
Speaker 1 (48:01):
You're the most consistent person that I know, and that's
that's what I love so much about you. And I
mean I saw it the first time I ever was
with you, and again, you know, I asked you to
marry me. In three weeks, we got engaged, we got
married two months later. We've been married seventeen and a
half years now. And you know, every day is an adventure.
It's not just a journey. It's an adventure. But do
(48:23):
you have any particular verse that you live by as
we bring this show to a close in a few minutes.
Speaker 3 (48:30):
Absolutely, my go to verse, my verse I live by,
it's Galatians six'. Nine it's let us not become weary
and doing good for at the proper, time we will
reap a harvest if we do not give. Up and
that's ALL i try to live my. LIFE i did
my dad's you will be a month or so. AGO
(48:51):
i ended it with that verse because he was such
a good. Man he was so kind and generous and
just such a good a, dad a wonderful. Husband AND
i ended the eulogi with that because he never became.
Weary he was such a perfect. Example he never, complained
he never was, negative he wasn't, negative and he kept
(49:15):
just doing good and helped people and was a good.
Neighbor and now he has the. Glory he's in heaven,
now and you, know sometimes that's what it. Means sometimes
it means just eternal. Life sometimes it means a huge
blessing at the end of a hard. Road so, yeah
(49:36):
that's just Something i've always tried to hang on to
because of all the hard stuff in. Life just keep
being good and the best way you.
Speaker 1 (49:44):
Can, donna today's message that we've been doing that's coming
to a clothes in a. Second it's about bringing you
onto the show and sharing your love for The lord
and praying that other people people just want to want
to give it a chance if they if they're not there,
(50:06):
yet if they already, are they're going to.
Speaker 4 (50:08):
Go you, know, amen, sister of. Course BUT.
Speaker 1 (50:12):
I don't THINK i even need to ask you if
you've got any closing words of advice or. Wisdom and
you help yourself if you want. To but the reason
is your life is the example of what you're trying
to show people that they can do to have the
life that The lord wants them to. HAVE i, mean
(50:32):
we've been talking about it for almost an hour, now
and so SO i just want to say this about your.
Dad you made me so proud when you spoke at
your dad's, funeral and that you did the eulogy because
when it was asked of you by your, sisters, well, Well,
donna are you going to want to? Speak you answer
that for me right, now because you do it better
THAN i. Do when you were asked by your, sisters
(50:53):
do you want to? Speak what did you?
Speaker 4 (50:55):
Say?
Speaker 3 (50:55):
WELL i said it would be an honor to speak
about my. Father and it was something THAT i knew
That god told me a long time ago that this
is something THAT i KNEW i had THAT i wanted to,
do AND i knew that he wanted me to do,
it and it was just my last words to my,
dad just to honor him and all that he had
done in his.
Speaker 4 (51:16):
Life there wasn't.
Speaker 1 (51:17):
A time in the seventeen years that we've been together
WHEN i was around around your.
Speaker 4 (51:22):
PARENTS i love your mom AND i love your, dad
but there.
Speaker 1 (51:25):
Wasn't one time in the friendship THAT i had with
your dad THAT i didn't thank him for letting me marry.
Speaker 4 (51:32):
You AND i want to end the show with.
Speaker 1 (51:34):
That with one last thing, Here i'm going to give
a piece of scripture right. Now that's kind of you,
know for, You, donna because this is who you are
it's First corinthians. Thirteen love is, Patient love is. Kind
it does not, Envy it does not. Boost it is not.
Proud it does not dishonor. Others it is not self.
(51:56):
Seeking it is not easily. Angered it keeps no records.
Wrongs love does not delight and, evil but rejoices with the.
Truth it always, protects always, trusts always, hopes always Perseveres.
DONA i think that's who you, are and this is
the life that we, share and it's who you are.
(52:17):
Too thank you, well thanks for being a guest today
and sharing your love with.
Speaker 4 (52:23):
Everyone.
Speaker 1 (52:24):
Everyone this was episode one and next week is episode
two hundred Of Major, milestone And i've Asked Jim stovalda
to be the guest and we're going to be doing
a show where we talk about a book that he
wrote Called Ultimate hindsight and it's wisdom from one hundred
(52:45):
great super.
Speaker 4 (52:46):
Achievers AND i can absolutely guarantee.
Speaker 1 (52:50):
You that you're going to get a great deal out
of listening to that. Show and thanks for being with
us today and everyone have a great, week And god bless.
Speaker 4 (52:57):
You thanks for listening to thinking With Steve.
Speaker 1 (53:01):
Copeland i'll look forward to being with you again next
week and remember, it don't, quit plan, ahead it will get.
Speaker 4 (53:07):
Better god bless, you and have a great.
Speaker 2 (53:10):
Week
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