Faith Over Fear in Tough Times

In this episode, Angeline and Resa discuss their takeaways from two sermons, one from First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens and another from Mission La Cosecha Church. They explore themes of faith, community, and the importance of music in transitioning to a Christian lifestyle. The conversation also touches on the significance of rest and restoration in a stressful world, highlighted by the Dove of the Day segment featuring Netflix's acquisition of Sesame Street. Additionally, they review the film 'Ordinary Angels' and a Bema Seat spotlight on NBA player Tyrese Haliburton's faith journey.

Transcript

WTQ Intro (00:08)
Yeah, you, you always make me

You're

You're

Just

Trying to boost my subscribers, I'm trying to maintain the vision People that know me closely slip different than what they show me It's to feel like they know me when I'm scrolling through images Truth be told I feel pain but I'm on the pinnacle Chasing this music thing for a minute though Know some good people that never see success And here I am sitting worried about show appearances

Angeline Bishop Thomas (00:54)
Hello everyone, I'm Angeline and she's Resa and we welcome you to season four, episode 158 of With the Quickness.

Resa Crippen (01:02)
Happy Tuesday, everyone.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (01:04)
Happy Tuesday indeed. Today we're gonna share our takeaways from the May 25th, 2024 sermon given at First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, New Jersey, and a past sermon given at Mission La Cosecha or MLC Harvest Church in Kissimmee, Florida. So Resa, what was your big takeaway from First Baptist this week?

Resa Crippen (01:28)
Faith is the space between a loss and losing.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (01:33)
Okay, my takeaway was faith is a space between knowledge and knowing. What was your takeaway from Mission La Cosecha Harvest Church in Kissimmee, Florida?

Resa Crippen (01:44)
While the world provides distractions and promises of temporary fixes, only his presence brings restoration.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (01:52)
Okay, my takeaway was stress doesn't have to be your badge of honor or your normal. God offers rest and restoration. So we're to get into both sermons at both of those churches a little later in the show. But right now it's time for the song of the week. Resa, what's on your playlist?

Song of the Week Intro (02:10)
Are we ready? It's time! We narrowed it down to one song. This is Song of the Week, currently featured on With the Quickness Spotify playlist.

Resa Crippen (02:30)
So Song of the Week this week is actually by the group Fire and is called About Last Night. This song originally came out in the fall of 2024 and the vibe of this song is like quiet storm mixed with profession of faith.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (02:53)
Quiet Storm. I remember when I listened to the song, I noticed they did a lot of choreography again and it seemed to go pretty much with it. How'd you feel about the video when you saw it and listening to the music?

Resa Crippen (03:06)
Like the video, it was heavy with the choreography, but it did go with the song. So I was just like, okay, like it definitely, like the vibe matched. Cause sometimes when you have visuals, the visual doesn't match like what they're saying about. But in this case, they did match and the harmonies were like, were really good. So I liked it.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (03:27)
It had like a temptation feel to it, like back in the day, like even the clothes were back in that time where you would see the temptations, you know? And like a talent show kind of set up they had for the video, right?

Resa Crippen (03:32)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Right, it was given with a talent show. it was paying homage to earlier videos like Temptations, even like Anita Baker when she came out with her video, what was it? It was called No One In The World. yeah, so like, and that gave this whole talent show type of vibe. So, and it kinda also.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (03:52)
Yep.

Or it could

be Apollo. Could it be the Apollo stage, feel? Now that I think about it?

Resa Crippen (04:02)
Yeah, I was gonna say that too. It could be more so like the Apollo, is like, know, which is, it is still around. It is prevalent today.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (04:07)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

I really like the song. I think it's a really good throwback and it shows their harmonies really well. One thing I like about the group Fire, which is a New Jersey based group, is that they have no problems with doing choreography and harmonizing at the same time.

Resa Crippen (04:29)
Right, and I feel like that used to be a standard when it came to boy bands, at least for me. Whether it was Boyz II Men, New Edition, Jodeci, N'Sync, Backstreet Boys, that's the standard. So the fact that they're doing that, I do like that. Because there isn't a lot of groups out today. there's more solo artists, so I do like the fact that for the group,

they're sticking to like group standards of harmony and choreography and things of that sort.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (05:01)
Yeah, me too. So this song is going to be on your playlist and on the Megamix for season four and for the podcast. And we're going to try to, we're going to make sure I think right now, if you go to our website, you'll see the video is currently featured there this week. So thank you so much, Resa, for adding the Group Fire. Is there any news on the group other than that this is the new release? Is this going to be part of an album or anything?

Resa Crippen (05:25)
As of right now, this is the only song that I found from them. I haven't heard about any up-and-coming albums or a possible concert or things that sort, but if I do hear anything, I'll let you guys know.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (05:37)
Thank you so much, Resa. We greatly appreciate you. I love the fact that you're always adding to the musical selections. People forget when you first become a believer of Jesus Christ or if you rededicate yourself, you got to out a lot of music you're used to listening to because of the images that music makes in your head and stuff like that. And to have a good alternative to the things you normally like to listen to is really great. It's kind of refreshing that your playlist has so many different things that a person can go.

Resa Crippen (05:41)
Thank

Angeline Bishop Thomas (06:04)
I like that group sound. Let me go make my own playlist and check out more of their stuff.

Resa Crippen (06:10)
Yeah, it definitely helps when you are deciding to change your playlist and to be more mindful. This playlist will definitely help you with that transition.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (06:21)
Yeah. Even if you decide to mix things into the playlist too, you don't have to like totally change. Let's say you're doing a semi purge. Let's say you have some songs that are so good, you don't want to get rid of them yet because you like them for whatever the reasons are. You can slowly start adding, you know, some contemporary gospel, contemporary country, contemporary rock, whatever you rap, whatever you're listening to into your playlist to slowly get you used to getting your ear tuned to a different kind of music.

Resa Crippen (06:50)
Yeah, like that's what I have done. Like I haven't, like there's still songs that I listen to that are considered contemporary, but I do like mix them in with, you know, things from this playlist.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (07:02)
Yeah, one thing that's a lot of people that when they're new to church, they end up hearing a lot is like, that's secular music. You hear secular and you hear spiritual or secular or gospel or secular or contemporary Christian. And all it means is that it's just music that, you know, isn't edifying and uplifting the Lord in any way. So it's just more just a regular song, you know. Sometimes they say secular because it might have some things that might not be good in it, but most of the time it's just songs that you wouldn't normally play at a church event.

or a youth gathering or anything like that. That's how I did to find it as, mean, maybe we should look it up. Maybe we should look up what secular means because that's what I took it to me.

Resa Crippen (07:36)
I feel like the first time.

Yeah, because

I feel like when I've heard the word secular music, it was always used in like a negative connotation Like, for example, when I watched the movie, Fighting Temptations, not to spoil the movie, but obviously there's someone in there that like, one of the church mothers was like, we don't accept this person because this person, they sing secular music. And like she said it in a way that was like, it's bad. And I'm just like, ⁓ okay.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (07:49)
Mmm.

Yeah, even the movie centers

kind of implies bad music and good music. So why don't you ask Siri for us? What's secular music?

Resa Crippen (08:17)
Hey Siri.

What is secular music? Secular music is music that is not affiliated with a religious practice or tradition. This answer is from musicalexburg.org. Thank you. There you go.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (08:36)
There you go. And that's basically what we thought. I think it's good when people are trying to make the transition to... Some people can go cold turkey. They throw out everything and they start over again and looking for new music and new things to read and new stuff. Other people, it's a gradual change. Do what feels right for you. Everybody's walk in Christ is different. And so we definitely wanna make sure that no one feels like, know,

You might go to church every day, but you're still listening to that rock and roll or whatever, or you're still listening to that rap that that degregates women or whatever it is. We all are on our own journey and we all are making changes according to how we're convicted. And as the spirit convicts you to change certain things, that's when you change things. And not a moment sooner. You do it when it's right for you. Because if you do it for other people or do it when other people's timeframes, that's when you can backslide.

Resa Crippen (09:10)
Mm-hmm.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (09:29)
Right, Resa?

Resa Crippen (09:31)
Yeah, and I honestly feel like just having Christian music integrated into your usual music is already a plus. And like you just said, if further down within your journey you decide on your own accord that there might be some songs that you just listen to that you don't want to anymore, that's OK too, because that's the joy of music. One day you could like something and then down the line you're like, you know what? I'm not really feeling that anymore because I'm on a different path.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (10:01)
Didn't we see that in the movie The Forge? The young man started off playing video games and being a slacker, they're not working and sleeping late. And the minute he got mentored by men of faith, he slowly started changing, but it was changed that he wanted. His mother had been wanting him to make those changes, right? After graduation, get a job, know, don't play games all day long, you know, be a help around the house. When he became mentored and found God.

He started reading his scriptures, he started helping out, he got a job, he started doing the things naturally that comes from becoming a disciple of Christ.

Resa Crippen (10:36)
Right, because he was like, it's almost like the best way that I can describe it is like when you decide to, like you just said, like you just, like your habits just become better. You're just like, okay, I'm not gonna just, and it's honestly, it's not just music, it's also like what you watch, like maybe you're like watching TV that is not the greatest.

and maybe it doesn't showcase who exactly you are trying to be. So you would rather watch things that are more fulfilling. They could still be educational, but it's not degrading. It's not making you feel like, you're stuck in this box, and that's all you're ever going to be.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (11:17)
Yeah.

Well, and we're going to get into some of the things you can possibly watch later on the show because just like we care about what you listen to, we also care about what you watch, especially if you're struggling with anything that is taking you off your path because of the kind of things you consume with your eye gates. So we're definitely going to talk about that a little later. But thanks so much for song of the week, Resa. Now let's go on to the main content of our show. And that really deals with two sermons that kind of

Resa Crippen (11:39)
You're welcome.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (11:47)
touched our heart this week that we wanted to share with you. And the first one, of course, comes from our home church at First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, New Jersey. Now their Sunday service this Sunday had the men's choir, right? They were performing and they actually honored Mother Mary or 'Mitzy' Soaries. Now she turns 94, Resa, on May the 30th. So they gave her a little birthday shout out. Did you notice that?

Resa Crippen (12:12)
Yeah, I noticed that when they said 94. I'm always surprised when people, when it is announced that, oh, someone's turning 94 or 100. I'm always like, whoa, they lived a life.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (12:22)
Yeah,

yeah. You see she was wearing all white and had that gold corsage like the rest of the senior choir members, those mothers that have been in our church for a while and they were all sitting up there proud this Sunday.

Resa Crippen (12:29)
Yeah.

Yeah, she definitely had on her Sunday's best for sure.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (12:40)
And Deacon Calvin got a shout out because his birthday is coming up too. So it was a good way to lead into the sermon, was given this Sunday by our pastor. It was called, You Can't Make Me Doubt Him. Speaker was Reverend Dr. Danté R. Quick.

The scripture is Acts chapter 27 verses 13 through 26 of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. This is a passage of the Bible that describes a severe storm that befalls a ship carrying the apostle Paul and others on their journey to Rome. The storm intensifies, leading to the loss of hope and the sailors taking extreme measures to lighten the ship and to slow its progress. During this time, Paul encourages the crew and prisoners.

ultimately receiving a vision from God that assures him and the others that no one will die in the storm, but the ship will be wrecked. Now, in the beginning of the sermon, it was very clear that Pastor Quick wanted us to know that life can feel overwhelming. The weight of politics, finances, health challenges, and even personal relationships can leave us feeling weary. But he reminded us through it all, storms

are inevitable. They will come for our health, there'll be storms there, there'll be storms in our family, there'll be storms in our finances, and yes, storms in our relationships, and sometimes all at once. Yet in the midst of all of it, it's gonna be our faith that will anchor us. Faith, however, is more than just a simple belief. It's about release, resilience, and trust. Pastor Quick used three powerful points to talk to his congregation about...

as they walk through life's storms with faith as their foundation. Did you have any idea, Resa, that this Sunday would be the Sunday we'd be talking about faith?

Resa Crippen (14:27)
Honestly, no. I didn't think that we were going to talk about faith this week. Honestly, like, I kind of never know what we're going to talk about, but I didn't think that faith was going to be a topic this week.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (14:37)
Well, I know we talked about stress and struggles so much before and, you know, dealing with this kind of stuff. It's because of the times we're in. I kind of knew that we're going to come back to again, a little more faith being the foundation because when everybody's worried and fearful, you can't have faith and be fearful, right? You can't have faith and be so worried. I mean, so I guess he keeps reminding us in different ways in his sermons, you know, we need to get back to basics.

you know, as Christians. And when things get tough, go to the basics of prayer and church and reading your scriptures and things of that sort. And faith is one of the foundations of the Christian faith.

Resa Crippen (15:20)
It is.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (15:22)
All right, so the three points he pointed out was one, faith is a space between giving up and giving, right? And Pastor Quick shared a story about planning to wash his car on a sunny day despite his son's warning about the afternoon rain, because the sun was shining and it felt like him, was enough to proceed, right? And sometimes we need to release control and stop focusing on what's beyond us.

We focus so tightly on the things we want to control. It's like fighting water, he said, instead of like letting it flow.

Faith calls us to give up the fight and to give in to God's plans, trusting that His way will bring peace. Now giving in doesn't mean apathy. It means surrendering to His peace for the sake of your soul and your health. Now, another thing he mentioned was number two, faith is the space between loss and losing. Losing something doesn't always mean you're lost. God often uses pain to help us release what we're not meant to carry.

And Pastor Quick reflected on the grief of losing loved ones, sharing how he had to trust that God's care extended to those who had gone before him. When he realized that his mother and his grandmother were not going to be able to be with him when he graduated from Princeton University, he had to stop and not be upset and realize just the fact that he's there already denotes their sacrifice and their love as he walked across that stage.

See, faith caused us to release our grip of pain and uncertainty, knowing that God's grace is sufficient for every circumstance. I think that's important for us to remember, don't you, Resa? Like, sometimes it's not what we know and having control over everything. Sometimes it's just believing and something grating on ourself and that is going to all be okay.

Resa Crippen (17:13)
Yeah, I do think that's important, like, you know, to definitely have belief in something that's greater than yourself and to also to err on the side of, you know, even though right now things are crazy, but you know that somehow, someway things are going to be okay.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (17:30)
And I like how he mentioned graduation. It's so true. Everybody wants everything to be perfect at certain life events. And when they're not, you can get caught up in your head. Well, everything was perfect, but so-and-so wasn't there. If it's a sister-in-law that's scared to get on an airplane and she doesn't make it, but she's there in spirit, she sends a gift, you still don't feel right. but she didn't make it to my wedding. Sometimes you gotta let those things go. The fact that the person is loving you and their new family member should be enough sometimes.

Pastor Quick wished to this day his mother and grandmother could make it, but she was ill. Grandmother wasn't feeling well, so she was where she needed to be. And like he said, he walked across the stage knowing full well if she could have been there, she would have been there.

Resa Crippen (18:12)
I feel like that goes back to focusing on the intention versus what you just said. Of course she wanted to be there, but due to unforeseen circumstances, she couldn't be there. So I think that's more important to me than to be like, so-and-so didn't show up. It's like, they wanted to, they just couldn't.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (18:16)
Mm-hmm.

It's hard to give up that control. I mean, when someone tells you when you first get into the faith that, you you got to rely more on God's grace and, you know, and let go that white knuckle grip you might have over some parts of your life and let God have more say in those things. That's hard at first because so many people are used to driving the car and being told now that

You're in the driver's seat. But you got to trust the GPS. When the GPS says you have to turn, even though you're used to going another way, you got to listen to this GPS now.

Resa Crippen (18:59)
Yeah, and sometimes that's hard because like I know for myself even though the GPS may say, oh take this street. I know if I take this other street I can get there sooner. So it's like.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (19:13)
Or so you think but you don't know there could be an accident on that other street. See, that's the beautiful thing about God. He's telling you to go a certain way because He knows something you might not know.

Resa Crippen (19:16)
race.

Right, so that's why in those instances, because I've, I have had my fair share of, you know, GPS stories. Anyone that knows me knows. So I had, like, I've used to other GPS's and I've gotten lost quite a few times to simple places that I should not have gotten lost to, but I did. And I laugh about it because there was this one time I was trying to go to my friend's house and she literally, she doesn't, she doesn't live that far.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (19:35)
Mm-hmm.

Resa Crippen (19:48)
from me, but the GPS had me go basically to Newark and come back down and like the drive should have only taken about 15 minutes, took me 45 minutes to get there house and she was really concerned like, like are you like, where are you? And I was like, oh, I'm like, you know, I was, it had took me to some, what do you call it? It wasn't that outlet, but it was like one of those pit stops where you have like the different like gas stations and different restaurants and what have you.

And then I realized in that moment, I was like, okay, we're not going to use this GPS anymore because it's not qualified to guide me to these places. So I had to upgrade my GPS and use one that I can actually trust to get me from point A to point B. Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (20:26)
Yeah.

and rely on.

Yeah, and that's how the Bible is and that's how, you know, our prayer life should be. A real God Protection System. That's what the GPS would be for us, you know, leaning on him. But, okay, the third point that Pastor Quick brought up was faith is a space between knowledge and knowing. Now, knowledge is information, but knowing comes from experiencing God's faithfulness firsthand.

Pastor Quick shared how God has been his guide through every storm. Through the Holy Spirit, what we learn transforms into a deeper understanding of who God is in our lives. He also spoke about the importance of surrounding yourself with people that align with your vision. Faith helps us discern who is meant to walk with us and who may hinder us on our journeys. So when life feels impossible, God makes a way out of no way.

I like that point, Resa. Sometimes we forget how when we walk in community, just because you might share similar backgrounds of a person, or you grew up with them, or they're a family member or a neighbor, doesn't mean they might be the person that you're meant to walk through life with. I everybody comes in seasons, reasons, or for a lifetime, right? And so it's important just to remember that if you are starting out

becoming, you you decided to give your life over to Christ and be a new thing in Christ. Or you're rededicating your life back to the Christian faith. Some things might change. Some people used to spend time with might, you you might not spend as much time as you start making that transition. Just like we talked about music, right? It's like a transition phase that kind of happens as you start pruning away some old things.

Resa Crippen (22:12)
Yeah, it's almost like the equivalent of like if you think back to your educational journey, like when you start, like the friends that you had when you were in kindergarten are not always the same friends that you have by the time you graduate high school. And that's not to say that like, oh, like it's not to say like that's wrong. It's just that, you know, things happen, life happens, people change. you know, depending on, you know, depending on what path you decide to choose.

sometimes you could be, you know, that can also make you be around different people. But that doesn't mean that at some point you can't circle back and find those people, but it's just like, you know, different paths.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (22:53)
One thing you should be very wary of though is even though he did tell us to be cautious of who we walk through life with, it's not about just quickly dismissing people because you're now in a new phase. Sometimes you can be the Christ that someone else sees and tries to change their life for better. They can see a transformation taking place in you and they want that for themselves. So sometimes it's not just divorcing yourself from a person. Sometimes it's, you know, maybe

Not going to the bar you guys used to go to and drink until two in the morning. Maybe you do that anymore, but this person will still be a friend of yours. It might be saying no to a lot of things sometimes, just to let a person know that your boundaries have changed and you're on a different walk. But it doesn't mean you have to no longer have certain friendships unless those friendships are detrimental to you.

Resa Crippen (23:41)
Right, like there was like a video on social media where someone was talking about friendships and basically what they were saying was like you just said, like you don't have to cut off people if they really are your friends but you're just in different paths of life. Like I know for example, I'm that friend that like I don't care to go to the bars anymore. Like I did it for like a brief period of time in college but I'm not that girl. Like I'm the friend that you call if you wanna like.

go bowling and like simple mundane things. Yeah. Right, right. So it's like, I'm that friend, but I also have friends that are like, if I did wanna go to a bar, I have a friend for that. I have another friend that she likes to go to different restaurants. So if I wanna try something that's different, I can call her.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (24:09)
Let's go have fun and I want to be home by 9 30 10 so I can go to sleep. gotta go work tomorrow.

Resa Crippen (24:31)
If you look at your friendships that way and realize, okay, like, you know, each friendship has a different purpose, then, you know, then you're not, you're not like, you're not making your community smaller. You're just realizing, okay, certain people are for certain things, just like how I am for certain things, for certain people.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (24:49)
That's true. Now, Pastor quit close to sermon by testifying to the goodness of God. And he reminded everyone that faith demands us to release control, walk in purpose, and trust God's plan. Challenges will come, but with faith, we are not victims. We are victors. And if you are holding on to resentment, pain, or control, or feel like you can't release it to God, you need to remember that God's grace is enough to weather any storm you could be facing.

So take it one step at a time and don't doubt for a moment that God will carry you through this. All right. So Reverend Dr. Danté, our quick sermon, you can't make me doubt him. Well, it was live streamed on May 25th, 2025 on the FBC Somerset YouTube channel. So please, when you get a moment, check it out.

let's move on to the second church we're going to feature on this podcast.

The Mission La Cosecha (MLC) Harvest Church in Kissimmee, Florida posted an April 29th, 2025 sermon as part of the MLC Harvest's Journey to Resemption preaching series that we know you're going to enjoy. Man, it was a mouthful, Resa. All right. The title of the sermon was overwhelmed. The speaker was Pastor Robert Colón. The scriptures he referred to was Matthew chapter 11, verses 28 through 30 of the New

international version of the Bible. This biblical passage is known as 'the great promise'. It offers an invitation to us to rest and to answer the call to follow Jesus. It promises that those who are weary and burdened with the weight of sin and life struggles will find rest by coming to Jesus and learning from him. Jesus's yoke, the way to follow him, is described as easy.

and his burden, the responsibility of discipleship is light. This implies that Jesus will carry his followers and help them to carry the weight of their burdens. So the sermon started out, you know, kind of reminding us, you know, what's going on in the world today right now with all the politics and financial issues, et cetera. And it made us all ask ourselves as you're listening or watching, why are you feeling stressed and overwhelmed? And like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.

Pastor Colón said, well, we're not alone. His sermon explored Matthew 11, 28 to 30, where Jesus calls to the weary and the burden and offers rest that goes deeper than a nap or a vacation. He said, stress isn't just physical. It's a weight that settles in your bones and your soul. It's an invisible backpack that you carry every day filled with unspoken battles, uncertainties, and endless responsibilities. But there's a truth we often forget.

is that God didn't design us to carry that kind of a burden alone. What did you think about that, Resa? The way he started to remind us that all this stuff is going on, but if you can imagine it as being on us, like physically weighing us down, you know, like weights, then you could actually remember that we're not supposed to carry it all through this life by ourselves.

Resa Crippen (28:02)
I think like when you like when you see what's happening every day and when you also, when, when these new changes are impacting you personally, it can feel like, my gosh, things are getting worse. Like, it basically, it can make you feel like, you know, like the walls are just like coming down on you. And, that's why I think it's important.

going back to your earlier point about having communities with other people can also tell you like, you know, I'm sorry if you're going through this, but I'm also going through stuff too. you know, like this new thing that just happened, not only is it impacting you, but it's also impacting me. So that way like you have, like, I don't want to say it's like, it's not a trauma bond, but it's more so just like, okay, I'm not going through this alone. Other people are also going through this. We're going to just band together.

and just take it like one day at a time.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (28:59)
It's more like a support system than a trauma bond. Yeah. Pastor Colón explained that Jesus's invitation to come to me is more than a suggestion. It's an answer to the exhaustion that no power nap could possibly fix. He shared three life-changing steps based on Christ's message. One, Come to Jesus. When you're at your breaking point, you need to seek him first. Not just look for temporary fixes. Two, take his yoke.

meaning trust him to carry the burden that you were never meant to handle by yourself. And thirdly, learn from him, follow his example of greatness and of humility, letting his peace renew your spirit. I think a lot of times when we're going through a lot of things, we really forget those three steps. We always think like, you know, a God to help us on some things, but not other things. Sometimes we think if we work harder,

we'll be able to get it all accomplished ourselves. But if we add Christ to every bit of the decisions that we make and all parts of the pain and anguish we're going through, He'll definitely help give us some relief.

Resa Crippen (30:08)
He'll definitely come through like he may not come through at that exact moment that you want him to but he will you know come through

Angeline Bishop Thomas (30:16)
Exactly. Now, if you are in search of true rest, Pastor Colón's message invites us to stop chasing the distractions of the world, has to offer and instead find deep peace that only Christ can provide. So when life feels overwhelming and when we naturally want to turn to work or our relationships or our achievements to fill that void, he said, they're nothing more than substitutes. They're never going to fully satisfy you. So just like a fish needs water to thrive and plants need soil,

We're designed to need the presence of God. Jesus doesn't offer another to-do list or temporary relief. He just offers himself as your source of rest for any weary soul, right? So if we look at it the same way, the animals need certain things and plants need certain things. I mean, you take a fish out of water, what you expect the fish to do, it's gonna die. You take a plant out of the ground, what are you expected to do? It's going to die.

You take us away from our source, God the Father, the Son, Jesus Christ. We're not gonna do too good people, we're really not. We really need that connection. What do you think about that metaphor that he used recently?

Resa Crippen (31:25)
It's definitely, it is like a real thing. Like if you take a fish out of water, that's supposed to be in water, it is gonna die. So like there are certain things that are needed in order to survive.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (31:37)
So he also spoke about when things were when God created the heaven and the earth, God spoke to the earth when it came to creating the vegetation. God spoke to the water when it came to creating the creatures in the water. When it came to creating man, he spoke to himself. We created man in our image. God the Father talked to God the Son. And so I like the fact that,

We come from a heavenly source and nothing makes his heart more joyful or our own than to keep him connected to us and lean on our faith and our understanding of him.

Now, during the sermon, Pastor Colón draw upon Jeremiah 2 and Matthew 11 to remind us that God is the ultimate answer to our restlessness. Like broken wells that cannot hold water, seeking solutions outside of God will only leave us empty. Christ is calling us to return to him, to come to him, to align our lives with his, to surrender control. True freedom, peace, and clarity come not from living for ourselves, but from

yoking ourselves to Christ. While the world provides temporary distractions and promises of temporary fixes, only his presence will bring restoration, healing, and unwavering rest. I like how he kept trying to drill that home a lot. is, the world is always going to tell us to find it somewhere. You know, what the problem is that you need a power nap. what the problem is is you need, you know, to have this glass of wine after work to feel better.

Or you need to watch this comedy show to make you feel better, laugh your problems away and stuff like that. There's always the world telling you another way to do it, but those things are temporary and fleeting.

Resa Crippen (33:29)
Which is true, there are a lot of things that can distract you from having a connection. And these things may seem fun, but they are ultimately a distraction.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (33:40)
Yeah. And sometimes they're not fun. Sometimes they're just something that's trying to take your mind off of your situation, your problems. Somebody can think of going out and having, you know, a bunch of drinks with their friends and coming home, you know, very drunk might be a good temporary fix. At least I felt okay for the night, but they had to deal with the hangover in the morning, you know? And things are that sort. Now Pastor Colón reminded us that coming to Christ doesn't mean living.

a life free from problems. He doesn't want anyone to think that. It just means finding rest and the strength through Christ. Many of us have a misconception that faith guarantees a perfect life. It really doesn't. God works through our brokenness, life's challenges, all of us. And during these challenges where we show God, where God shows us his presence is when we're going through things. So true peace only really comes when we just give up control and trust God's plan more, you know? So

He's talking more about just leaning on Christ's presence in our lives, know, learning to follow him and focus on his example instead of chasing like material success, you know, or things that can help us avoid life's pressures. So I like the fact that he made it very clear that you're not, we're not trying to strive for perfection. Like you follow Christ, everything in your life should be fine. You should never have any problems. God never promised us that, not at all.

If we were going to have no problems, we'd all still be in the garden of Eden. And that's not where we are. So the life's going to be life and out here. What he said instead is like we need to embrace humility and just seek God in prayer and stay rooted to God, the Father and Son, Jesus Christ. Stay connected. Like we're following their lead. We're not under our own understanding and things. And I like that. No matter how much we're feeling overwhelmed, remember his sermon is called Overwhelmed.

So if you're overwhelmed, he said, ask yourself this question pretty much. Are you seeking rest in Christ?

And are, or are you seeking things outside of your faith that may not truly satisfy you? That's what he's wanting you to look at. Like what, what are you turning to? Like, do you turn to, you know, your prayer life when you have a problem or do you turn to, I don't know, sleeping in, being slothful and lazy and not doing anything and letting, hoping the problems just go away, you know?

Like, what are you turning to is what he wants you to look at. It was a really powerful message that just challenging us to trust and surrender the control we have on our lives to Christ. And I thought it was very poignant because he's talking to a lot of people that actually believe, and he said it too, that they think stress is like a badge of honor. It's like our normal. Or there's always work to do. Or people go, I'm always hustling. Or I'm always working two or three jobs. You know, this is my life. But...

God actually wants us to have some release and some peace in our lives too. He doesn't just want us to hustle and hustle and hustle like that.

Resa Crippen (36:44)
Yeah, it's definitely important to have a balance so you don't end up being burnt out.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (36:52)
Yeah, I mean, we don't think about it. He's right. You think it's your normal if you've always done it, if you've always worked, you know, excess hours. Like if you're a person that always did overtime, or you always worked two jobs, or you always worked on holidays or on the Sabbath, maybe you're a person that always put in to work on the Sabbath. And maybe that's not what he wants you to do. Maybe he wants you to say, carve out that time for rest. And you're saying, but I got finances and I have this, take those things in prayer.

and let God help you with trying to find a way. Let's say you want to keep, like for me, I wanted to keep the Sabbath day holy, but I noticed a lot of work that I used to do, you know, to get things done for the week. I used to do a lot of work on Sunday. And I was like, no, I said, I really want to keep it holy. That means push, had to push things off into other days. The laundry was going to be on Saturday instead of on Sunday, you know, the meal prepping and all the stuff, the grocery shopping and you know.

grading papers, know, whatever it is, pushed all that stuff to other days and other nights. So that when my Sunday came, it was a Sabbath day. It was a true Sabbath day.

Resa Crippen (38:02)
Yeah, that's what I do too. I feel like it's like I had to divorce this whole American mindset of, you have to work hard. And yes, you do have to work hard, but it's to a certain degree. You don't have to do overtime every single time. You should be able to have a work-life balance.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (38:21)
Yeah.

Resa Crippen (38:24)
and not have it be so uneven to the point where you're not spending time with your family. You don't have me time. Because I know other countries, they are very big. They like to make jokes and say, Americans, all they want to do is just work hard. And they're more so about living life and also working, but in a way that is smarter and not harder. And it's true, because they don't have as

as much health problems as we do in America due to stress because we are overworking and just, you know, enjoying the most.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (38:56)
Yeah, a lot of people in the US have started to move to other countries too. Have you noticed that? Talking about how better they feel just being in another place instead of the United States.

Resa Crippen (39:00)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I have noticed that there's been like a lot of people moving to like Europe or like, yeah, yeah, because they realized that like, you know, and like, from the from the videos that I've seen of people documenting why they're moving overseas, most of them were saying like, they just wanted a better quality of life. And they felt like they, they worked a lot. And they felt like, you know, by going to a different country, like not only are they literally starting over, they were

Angeline Bishop Thomas (39:11)
or United Kingdom, stuff like that,

Mm-hmm.

Resa Crippen (39:34)
It would just help them in their quest of making sure that they are living life more than they are spending time in the office.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (39:43)
That's true. Now, if you're looking for encouragement in your spiritual walk while you're in your season of feeling a little stressed and tired, you can view Pastor Robert Colón's sermon, Overwhelmed, which is part of the MLC Harvest Church's Journey to Redemption series. And it's on the Mission La Cosecha's YouTube channel. So please, when you get a moment, check it out. Now, now to one of our favorite parts of the show, Resa, who's the Dove of the day today?

Dove of the Day (40:12)
It's time to celebrate an amazing person doing amazing things in this world. This is Dove of the Day.

you

you

Resa Crippen (40:35)
So Dove of the Day is brought to you by Prayer Bowls. The Dove of the Day recipient is actually going to be Netflix.

so the streaming giant Netflix has partnered with Sesame Workshop to bring new episodes of the beloved children's show to viewers. This comes after Warner Brothers Discovery decided not to review its deal for the program as part of a strategic change for its HBO streaming service. Netflix.

continues to prioritize family-friendly programming with exciting additions coming this year. Sesame Street will debut its reimagined 56th season, backed with lovable characters like Elmo and Cookie Monster, along with 90 hours of previous episodes. Kids can enjoy new adventures like Cookie Monster's cookie cart, Abby's fairy garden, and beloved segments like Elmo's World. Peppa Pig fans can also engage with this cherished

character through new episodes and an all-in-one mobile game. Faith and Family Values me education fun as Netflix reaffirms its commitment to wholesome entertainment that brings families together. Whether it's a cozy movie night or a quick break from daily routines, Netflix offers the perfect solution for quality family time.

And with new content regularly added, there's always something to look forward to and share with loved ones. But it's not just about entertainment and education. Netflix also recognizes the importance of representation and diversity in children's programming. That's why they have expanded their offerings to include diverse characters and stories that reflect the world we live in. From shows like Carmen Sandiego,

featuring a strong female lead character to Motown Magic, which celebrates African-American culture and music. Netflix is committed to creating inclusive content for all children.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (42:33)
Yeah, Dove of the Day goes to Netflix. I like the fact that they Sesame Street to their roster.

Resa Crippen (42:40)
Yes, I am too.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (42:40)
Yeah, I had

no idea that Carmen Sandiego too. Wow, that's kind of cool. You used to be in the Carmen man back in the day.

Resa Crippen (42:45)
Yeah, had a...

Right, like the Carmen Sandiego cartoon version did come out during like 2020 during the pandemic. So I did watch like the first two seasons. I'm not sure, like I don't think they made any more, but the show was still on there. So I do watch from time to time.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (43:03)
I like that Sesame Street has a home. I mean, it's still gonna be on PBS, like you said to me before. ⁓ But I like the fact that if something happens with the public broadcasting system, that they will still have a home. Because I grew up on Sesame Street, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, I grew up on them.

Resa Crippen (43:09)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I

feel like Sesame Street is like the precursor for children before they go to preschool because they teach you like your ABCs, colors and all these things. So I do think it is very fundamental to continue to have that for children. So by the time that they do go to preschool, like they have an idea of, you know, of what they are about to learn.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (43:28)
Mm-hmm.

Resa Crippen (43:45)
and are not just completely going into school, like I have no idea what we're doing. They have some type of idea because they saw all these characters on TV that taught them about, I don't know, like different states and different colors and different vegetables and whatever else. Just things that kids should know or have an idea of before they start their education officially.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (44:11)
Yeah, I like how it also makes young people and young children more emotionally aware and ready to interact with people like, you know, their other classmates and the different situations that can come up between friends and, you know, learning from teachers and how the adults that will be in their lives and as teachers and educators, it kind of gets them all ready for that, to get used to what this is what it feels like to be learning something new. And this is what it's like when you have a disagreement with a with a classmate and how you resolve it.

It really makes them grow up before they get to kindergarten. Like they start looking at the world a little differently because Sesame Street says, wow, if that's how it operates on Sesame Street, you know, next thing you know, you're trying to do the same thing in your house. Well, mom, you got to say please when somebody gives you something. Why? Because you learned it on Sesame Street. You know, you got to say thank you when somebody gives you something because you learned on Sesame Street. You end up saying a lot of little things you've learned just from the educational programs you watch. So I think it's great that Netflix is being honored today of picking up that mantle, making sure.

that that beloved childhood show, which is at the 50 what season? What season is it?

Resa Crippen (45:15)
This is the, I think it's the 56th.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (45:19)
wow, wow. This is the 56th season. It's been around for a long, long time. And I hope it's around for many more years too.

Resa Crippen (45:20)
Yeah, 56 season. Yeah.

Right.

Yeah, I hope so too. I hope, you know, PBS is able to stay around because I was a PBS kid and they had not only Sesame Street, but they had like Molly's comfy couch, you know, you know, they had Arthur. So it's like, and now that you said that, I just thought about this too. Like, technically I did use those shows to like navigate my like social life as a child because

Angeline Bishop Thomas (45:35)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Resa Crippen (45:53)
they give you different scenarios and then you see like, okay, like if you have two friends that don't get along, like what do you do if you're the friend in the middle? Like they give you those things to like work through.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (46:03)
Yeah.

Or if you have a big brother or big sister that ignores you when their friends come around. You know, like, your friends are here and now you're ignoring me. You know, but then they want to be nice to you when no one is listening to you around. They teach you how to deal with all of that when people are going through transitions or your parents get a divorce or your best friend moves away or grandma or grandma. You know, they're sick now and getting put, you know, they need care and can't stay in their house. They walk you through so many different scenarios that a kid could be scared by.

Resa Crippen (46:08)
right.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (46:32)
And so many things a kid can learn by. Like somebody comes into your class and they speak a different language from you. You know, what that means and what's it feel like for them. Or somebody has special needs. Maybe they're blind or maybe they're deaf or maybe they have problems. They're in a wheelchair. They're, you know, they're not as able-bodied as you. So it exposes you to so much so that you don't even become afraid of some of the different types of people that are out there in the world because they kind of slowly introduce you to them.

Resa Crippen (47:00)
Because you're like, you know, the like the kids are being educated on like what the world is Which is like very important. So the fact that we're even at this point where hair is like this station and this type of Education was potentially almost gone for good is quite frightening because I'm always concerned

Angeline Bishop Thomas (47:07)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Resa Crippen (47:23)
about any type of educational outlet that is being taken away or terminated, because I'm not sure why. I feel like we should, because to me, education is power and we should continue to educate, whether it's for children, adults, what have you, like anything that is deemed educational should still be around.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (47:44)
You're absolutely right. And I think that's the important thing about your Dove of the Day is people that are actually people in corporations that are actually picking up the mantle to do something that's kind and good and right and trying their best to be a service to their fellow human beings here on this planet. Netflix doesn't have to have another childhood show, but they did take it on and God bless them for it. God bless them for it.

Resa Crippen (48:08)
And I do want to say too, because I know there were, when this story came out, of course, it was all over social media. And some people wanted to be negative about it. And I understand there are frustrations. at same time, it's like, at this point in time, unless you have another solution that is productive, complaining about a company willing to save this type of

this type of program, it doesn't make sense to me to complain about it. So if you're going to offer another alternative, then by all means you should gladly voice that. But if you're not, then you're just making noise.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (48:49)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely right. Thank you so much for your Dove of the Day, Resa. We look forward to learning more and watching to see what happens with Sesame Street in the future.

Resa Crippen (48:59)
You're welcome.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (49:01)
Now let's go on to the screening room.

The Screening Room (49:07)
It's time for that weekly movie review in the screening room.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (49:26)
Today on The Screening Room, our film comes to you from Lionsgate and I watched it on Amazon Prime. Now, neither of those entities are sponsors of this podcast, but we have a love for them. So we're gonna share something that they got together and made available to us. It came out in 2024 though. It's called Ordinary Angels. It was written by Meg Tilley, Kelly Fremon Craig, and Jeffrey Knight. It's directed by John Gunn. It stars Hilary Swank.

Alan Ritchson Emily Mitchell, Nancy Travis, Tamala Jones, and others. Now, here's a brief synopsis of the movie. Sharon Stevens has spent years drowning her pain in alcohol, haunted by childhood trauma and the regret of an estranged relationship with her son. Now, despite co-owning a successful hair salon, her life felt hollow and directionless. That is until a powerful story in the local newspaper,

gave her the reason to hope. Now, Michelle Smith is a young girl that battled a rare life-threatening disease and is fighting against all odds for survival. With mounting medical bills and an urgent need for a liver transplant, Michelle and her father, Ed, are grappling with grief, financial burden, and a deep sense of hopelessness. Now, when Sharon steps into Michelle's story,

Her determination to make a difference leads her down a remarkable path of selflessness and transformation. But what happens when your broken past collides with an opportunity for redemption? Well, could God use someone like Sharon to bring light into the darkness? Well, this film, it's a gripping tale that will answer those questions. A tale of hope and healing that will leave you questioning how God might be working on your own messes.

We really loved it. We really loved it, right, Resa?

Resa Crippen (51:21)
Yeah, I actually enjoyed it. I cried when I watched the movie because it was very heart touching. I like the fact that, because I feel like more times than not, you'll hear about people that have their stuff together that are like the saviors of whatever the problem is. So to see someone that's like, listen,

Angeline Bishop Thomas (51:23)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Resa Crippen (51:42)
I have my issues, but this has been placed on my heart and I at least want to try to do what I can to fix it. this goes back to the teaching that God can use anyone at any time, at any point. You could be at your lowest and he may give you a certain impression that he needs you to do something and you might feel like I'm not qualified to do this, but.

According to him, you are qualified. So even though again, we have to lean not on our own, on our own understanding and just like, you know, go along with it and wish for the best.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (52:18)
That's right.

Yeah, it was a great movie. I like the fact that when the Holy Spirit was kind of prompting her, she kept saying, this is stupid, this is stupid, this is stupid, because she didn't know the family, you know, that, you know, she was being prompted to help. And sometimes it can be like that. I know for me, when I hear a constant repetition of the same thing that I need to do, and I know it wasn't my original thought, it came out of like nowhere.

Resa Crippen (52:31)
Right.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (52:49)
and I can't push it away, just keeps repeating, like it keeps gnawing at me to do it, to do it. Most likely if it's a good thing, it's most likely the Holy Spirit. And sometimes it's not a good or bad thing, it's more like, did you consider this option, this option here, you know? And that's what happened when I was doing the pastor for the second church. I had picked another, a nice Christian couple, a husband and wife, pastoral team.

Resa Crippen (53:14)
Mm-hmm.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (53:14)
and I had found a great message that spoke to the singles. And I was in my prayer closet about it. And the first thing the Holy Spirit prompted was like, you need to look them up. I was like, what? I was like, okay, yeah, yeah, I need to look them up. I said, I'll look them up. So it's right, like they were a new couple, but I didn't know very much about them, but then I loved the message that I read, I watched and something said, you need to look them up. I was like, okay, I'll look them up. Then it says, and you got to find somebody Hispanic.

Resa Crippen (53:32)
Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (53:44)
And I was like, I gotta find somebody Hispanic. What, what they gotta do? And I was like, okay. You know, so I looked them up and then sure enough, some stuff came up. was like, Ooh, I didn't know that about this, this reverend. Ooh, I shouldn't, I don't think I should be doing this one. You know, cause he said some things that aren't based in, you know, the faith and the Christian faith, you know, that you can't find in scripture that he stood ten toes down on and said from the pulpit I was like, Ooh.

Okay, said, okay, Holy Ghost, I can see why you said not that one. Okay, let's try to look for somebody. So I started looking for another, you know, Church of God to highlight that if you're in that area, you might want to give them a try. And I don't know how many different people. I went to white people, I went to black people. Then I said something the Holy Spirit said, said, Hispanic. I was like, Hispanic. I said, I don't know any, my Spanish is not that good and I don't know who would be good to put that.

know, Hispanic, you know, descent in this spot. Looking and looking, and then finally, when I let go and stopped like trying to look and trying to make, it just fell together. One person was, you know, very well, you know, very well respected in the Spanish community, has led a lot of souls to Christ, but he had passed, right? And I was reading his obituary. And then it went to...

his successor, but then his successor's best friend at this college. And then it went right to, it went to this gentleman. I was like, my goodness. It was like breadcrumbs. And then when I saw him, was like, okay, well, most of this church is all, all their services are in Spanish. I guess that's a dead end, you know? But since sure enough, before I clicked off, what did I see? I saw a bunch of their service too, also in English. And I was like, okay. I guess I got to take one the English ones. So I'm scrolling through.

And I was like, this is so overwhelming. And it all came up overwhelmed. And I said, okay, you got jokes. Let's see what this is. And when I was, started listening to the sermon as I was, you know, getting ready today, listening to this sermon and he started saying things about stress and about, you know, being connected. And I was like, whoa, and everything up right there. And I was like, yep. He said so many things that made me go, yep.

Yep, okay, now I see. Now I see what is important. Okay, I got it, I got it. And I felt good about the difference. I felt good that I listened to the Holy Spirit just then. But it works something like that. When she was in the film wanting that, she sees this story about this little girl in the newspaper and it made her stop. Next thing you know, she's pulling up to the church, watching people go in for this lady's funeral, her mother's funeral.

And she's like, then she's like, well, I need to go in. And then as she's sitting there, she's not even dressed for the funeral. She's not dressed in black. She's like, she just finished having a hangover the night from the night before. And she goes, this is stupid, this is stupid. But she did the whole time. The whole time she walked in, she sat down, she was led.

Resa Crippen (56:30)
No, no, no.

Yeah, look.

Yeah, like I think she still had on like her party outfit that she had made before.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (56:48)
Yeah, Hillary Swank was so good in this role. And I know some people are to watch it and say, she reminds me of Erin Brockovich but she really doesn't. Because Erin, when Julia Roberts played that character, sometimes she led with her sexuality to get her way with the big corporations. This lady didn't have to leave her sexuality whatsoever. She led with her tenacity, with her work ethic, and her go-gettiness. mean, wasn't, when she had, she didn't take no for an answer.

Very determined woman. I like this film a lot.

Resa Crippen (57:17)
Yeah,

she definitely gave me like businesswoman because she she knew like because not to spoil and I'm not gonna spoil it but like when she was in certain rooms with certain people that like you may be you may be Intimidated by like she knew exactly what to say in Order to in order to make the other party understand what she is asking for and why she's asking for certain things Which is you know again a business move

And yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (57:46)
And she told, she believed when

she, when, when they said, we need X, Y, Z as a possible. She's like, I can do it. It's like, she had enough faith in her talents that, God gave her that she's like, I can, I know what God made me capable of doing. And I know I'm not a person that takes no easily. So as long as he's with me, I can get this done, you know? And it never made it clear if she's a woman of faith or not, but she's definitely a determined woman. And there was, you know,

pastors and churches mentioned and Christians mentioned all through this film. So a whole town came together to help out. So this is a really good story. It's a feel good story. It definitely tells you the importance of, you know, letting control go and realizing you're not alone. I love the fact that church community that's in this story too, that reminds people that yeah, you're connected in more ways than you really think when you're part of a church community.

Resa Crippen (58:41)
Yeah, that's the part that got me was the theme of community and how important it is because even there was like a point in the movie when the main character was almost like refusing help. And I think because this movie is based on like a real story, like I wonder if he would have went down the path of not accepting help and he would have did things the way that he wanted to do it.

would the outcome would not have been what he would have wanted it to be.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (59:13)
Yeah, I think too what was kind of scary when you're a person that has lost so much or your situation is so dire. When someone comes in and they say, you fix it, part of you wonder, are you just trying to be in this so you can see how bad my mess is or are you really here to help me? There's a lot of that that a lot of us experience every day when we're in the world. Are you really here to help me or you're here to see how bad my stuff is so you can go and feel better about yourself because your life is better than mine?

Resa Crippen (59:18)
Mm-hmm.

Right.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (59:43)
Or you want to tell my story to people and make me like, you know, an outcast or, you know, make me feel bad about myself because you just want a story to tell over coffee or at the water cooler. Like you never know what somebody's methods and motives are. I'm sorry, you never know what someone's motives are. So it makes you kind of leery when someone says, I'm here to help. So I can understand him feeling like you're here to help. Why? What's your angle? You know?

Resa Crippen (1:00:10)
Right, because I, so I've been on this like rabbit hole of like watching documentaries about like, about like the 90s, the 2000s, what have you, right? So this one episode was about reality shows. And basically to your point, like they would have these producers that would find people that would have these stories that are just like insane.

And the people that were in some of these shows, they did say, like, I felt like they just wanted to be nosy and they wanted to just air out my story, but they weren't trying to help me. They weren't trying to, like, fix the problem. They just wanted to exploit what I was going through at that time. But then what they didn't realize was this person now has to live with the backlash of them telling their story. And then they're

but then like they're still not getting help. So I can understand why. Cause even honestly, I was, if I, if that, if that would have happened to me and someone was like, I can help you. I'd be like, hold up. I don't, I don't even know you and you're trying to like come in here and run things. So I would probably, I know for a fact, I'd probably be like, I don't know what your intentions are. And I'm a little, I'm a little worried.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:01:10)
Yeah.

Resa Crippen (1:01:22)
and concern because I don't know if you're just here to be nosy or if you're genuinely trying to be here to actually help me. And not only help me, but I don't want people, because I've had this done to me in the past, I don't want people to help me and then down the line want to throw it in my face. Because I'm just like, if you're going to do that, you can just go somewhere else.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:01:45)
And that

goes back to what Pastor Quick and Pastor Colón, and even the theme of this movie, you're basically saying you've got to let go of some of the control and have faith if you want the healing to come in, if you want the grace to flow. You got to let some stuff go. And some of it is the fear. Some of it's the fear. And you don't have to just have faith in people blindly. You can put your detective hat on.

and make sure they're worthy of you letting that guard down. Everyone's entitled to have boundaries and entitled to let them down when they feel safe to do so. But when everything has been vetted and tested, it's time to lean onto God's understanding and the Holy Spirit's promptings.

Now the themes of this movie Ordinary Angel is faith, grace, redemption, sacrifice, hope, forgiveness, and healing. Now you can watch this movie on Amazon Prime Video like we did, or YouTube. Apple TV has it, Fandango at home, and even Google Play movie. You can watch the trailer for Ordinary Angels at www.withthequickness.com. So please, when you get a moment, check it out.

Now let's move on to the last segment of the show, Before the Bema Seat

The Bema Seat (1:03:03)
Come before the Bema Seat Come before the Bema Seat where life's journeys and stories meet

Every week a testimony of one who brings hope and victory with joy and reverence. We'll sing our praises to the King of Kings. The Bema Seat. Come before the Bema Seat.

Come before the Bema seat.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:03:53)
Okay, today's story has Indiana Pacer point guard, Tyrese Haliburton . He isn't just relying on his skills during the Eastern Conference Finals, he's also relying on his faith in Christ. Now this is gonna be kind of hard for me and Resa a little bit because we're here in Jersey. We've been rooting for the Knicks, but this is now game three is over. That's where we are right now in the finals recording this.

So the Pacers are up too. The Knicks only won one. So we don't know where this is gonna go. So I think it's good to know between the two teams who has, you know, kind of unwavering faith and has no problem letting whoever wants to know know. Time to put that person on spotlight. And that person on spotlight happens to be Tyrese Haliburton the Pacers rising star.

Now, he isn't solely relying on his impressive skills as the team battles in the Eastern Conference Final. Instead, he's leaning deeply on his unwavering faith, a compass that helps him anchor his identity beyond the hardwood court. Now, in this story, the turning point for Tyrese came when he transitioned from college to the NBA. Until then, he didn't grow up attending church every Sunday or flipping through the pages of a Bible.

But that all changed in his rookie year when a veteran teammate encouraged him to join chapel services before every game. That's 15 to 20 minutes I get every day to set aside and talk about what really matters, which is my Lord and Savior. It's such a big part of my game day routine, he shared once with GQ Sports. What started as a nudge has now become one of Tyrese's most cherished rituals.

It helps give me sanity and peace in a season full of ups and downs," he said. See, faith for Tyrese goes beyond attending chapel. His discovery of purpose through Christ redefines the narrative of success. Now, social media criticisms, a bad game, they're not quite as daunting as they used to be because he's living for something greater. I'm made in the image of God. He's the only one who can judge me.

Tyrese explained, reflecting on how his spiritual growth shields him amidst the pressures of public scrutiny. Tyrese admits that he never truly read the Bible until recent years, knowing only a couple of isolated verses that you've heard many athletes reference on the field or on the court. However, as the 25-year-old Wisconsin native, once he established himself in the NBA,

God began working on him, began working on his heart and drawing him closer to him. Growing up, he said, we didn't go to church a lot, but we understood God's place in our lives. He said that to NBA.com last year. He said, now that I'm an adult, I mean, I guess I own my own house. I live on my own. I go to church on Sunday every chance I can. And I go to chapel before games.

God has even used Tyrese's life to be a witness to his own parents, John and Brenda. John said in December, 2023, Tyrese is humble and very blessed. We give God the praise and the glory. Tyrese is nothing without the mercy of God and he knows how to handle it. He knows where he comes from. From writing "To him be the glory forever" in his

X bio to listing the Bible as one of his 10 essentials in interviews. Tyrese's faith emanates boldly both on and off the court. It's not just a safety harness for tumultuous moments. It's a thread that he weaves into his team's locker room. So for us here With the Quickness Tyrese's story is a celebration of unwavering faith, amidst immense pressure. It should remind everyone

what really matters in this world, where the world is shouting endless opinions of who you are. And as the Pacers face the New York Knicks, Tyrese Haliburton’s faith remains a calm harbor to return to with every jump shot and every challenge.

because no matter how fierce the court battle may be, His favor is the ultimate victory. It was hard to put him as the Bema Seat but his belief in God is so unwavering and he's so unapologetic in that he's a disciple of Christ. So I just had to highlight it. just had to. Holy Spirit made me do it again.

Resa Crippen (1:08:43)
Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. Like at this point, the best team will win. I hope for the sake of New York that the Knicks win. Cause if not, I'm concerned. But you know, we're only on game three at this point. We'll see if they could turn it around for the other four games at this point.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:08:48)
Yeah.

I don't

know, Resa game one and two looked like somebody had favor. Them threes were running, was pouring down the right places, those threes. was like, yo.

Resa Crippen (1:09:03)
Hahaha!

Yeah, from the highlights

that I saw of game one and two, was like, I don't know.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:09:12)
Yeah. And

this one was barely by the skin of the Knicks teeth, know, barely. ⁓ It wasn't a big blowout lead. And what makes me wonder whose time it is is when you see when it gets to fourth quarter or a possibility of being overtime, who looks the most winded and who looks like they go ahead and keep going. The Pacers look like they can keep going. mean, Haliburton looks like he's having fun.

Resa Crippen (1:09:19)
That's the thing.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:09:39)
He looks like he's having fun. He's enjoying the battle. And not too many warriors could say they enjoy the battle.

Resa Crippen (1:09:45)
Yeah, and it's funny too because when you had told me that he was gonna be in the Bema Seat this week, didn't like, I looked him up because I was like, why does this name sound familiar? And I didn't realize that apparently he had made a appearance on WWE, I think two weeks ago. And I was like, yeah. And I was like, ⁓ yeah. So I was just like, and it didn't dawn on me that I'm like, yeah, he plays for the Pacers and he's like, you know, obviously facing the Knicks. And I was just like.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:10:02)
Really? He's having fun!

Resa Crippen (1:10:13)
and then when I saw that they basically won game one and game two, was like, yeah, I don't want to jinx anything, so I ain't gonna say it, but if you can catch my drift, I think I know how it's gonna go, unfortunately. We can try again next year, because apparently I also looked up to, the Pacers team, they consist of a lot of young athletes. So.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:10:20)
Yeah.

No.

Yeah, that's why I fourth quarter.

You know, I hate to say it, you can see on the tape yourself, there's a lot of mistakes that get made in the third and the fourth quarter on the Knicks side. You can tell that they're getting tired. These young men are not kids. These young men are definitely up for the challenge of playing long games. yeah, it's kind of beating. We have an older team. We have an older team. Yeah.

Resa Crippen (1:11:05)
Yeah,

and like, you know, because I am a sports fan, I also watch football and what I have learned is, whoever loses, just know draft season is around the corner. You can make some great draft picks for your team. And this is not the end. You can just take this as a setback or a set up for the next season.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:11:18)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, and if all else fails, if you feel like you had the same energy and the same vigor and it just wasn't your good game, look at your faith life. Look and see maybe, know, got to crack open some Bibles, know, say some prayers, know, believe in your God that's higher than yourself. Maybe, you know, you have to recenter like, you know, Pastor Colón and Pastor Quick says, you know, hey, when you go through difficult things and the battle of the finals.

Resa Crippen (1:11:34)
Right.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:11:53)
or the conference, the Eastern Conference finals, that's a bit of a stressful situation. So you got to lean on something other than your own understanding. I your coach is good, but your coach is not God. Who do you lean on when you're away from the court or as you're preparing to get on the court?

Resa Crippen (1:12:06)
Right, and then too, like plus, because again, the Knicks are a New York team, technically, right? Their female counterpart in the WNBA, the Liberty team, they just won last season. So if the Knicks, not gonna finish that sentence, if the outcome is not the way that they won, at least they can say, you know, the women came through and, know, they did the thing. So.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:12:16)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. As much

as we wanted, the Knicks have only had two NBA championship rings. It's been a very long time. I think the 70s was the last time, and they were both against the Lakers when they won. And it was such a long time ago. So you would think, yes, about time these other teams have gotten their final rings in the past couple of decades. But Knicks has been a while since the 70s. We would love that for them.

Resa Crippen (1:12:38)
Yeah, I...

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:12:54)
But you can't just give someone the ring. You have to earn it. And that means you got to play good ball. You know, you got to, mean, I know when they're raining threes seems very nice to go down to court and do a three, too But if you're, if you don't have the skill like that, going up for the twos, this is my advice to the next goal for the twos. Keep them twos raining in. It's okay. If Tyrese is doing all them threes down there, you know, because when y'all missing,

The twos That's when I got a problem. know, set it up right and whether you're doing a three, just put it in the basket, put it in the basket,

Resa Crippen (1:13:28)
See.

Like, this actually reminds me of a couple years ago when it was the Knicks facing the Golden State Warriors. And as we know, they have Stephen Curry or Steph Curry. And he does a lot of threes. And I remember this very vividly because my best friend, her husband is like a diehard Knick fan. And we were having conversations, she and I, about it. And I told her, said, listen, not to be mean, but I was like, the Knicks are not getting this because Steph Curry was doing a lot of threes. And surely enough, they won.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:13:44)
Yeah

Resa Crippen (1:14:02)
So I feel like this is just like another instance. That's why I'm saying if you are listening to me, when it's draft season, you gotta find someone that can get you threes, that is young.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:14:10)
Yeah.

You kind of notice that there's a definite age difference and energy difference when by the third quarter, you can see which team is leaning on their legs the most at the three throw line and which ones are standing back, you know, just watching the shot go in. The ones that are leaning over with their hands on their thighs, you know, watching the shot go in, you kind of can tell there's a difference in energy. There's a difference in energy.

Resa Crippen (1:14:26)
Yeah.

Yeah,

that stamina that is needed to play basketball. I've never played, well, okay, I've played like basketball, like, you know, on the streets, suburban streets. I played it in gym class, but like to be on a team, you have to have stamina. And of course, if you played it for a while, there comes a point where you're like, you know what? Maybe I might need to like be a coach.

because I'm not playing at my full potential anymore because it's like, know, things happen, life be life and my knees are hurting, you know, it's okay.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:15:04)
Yeah. I just know

you can't keep playing the same seven guys. Like out of everybody in the roster, some people are on that bench so long. like, can we have a rotation where everybody gets, can play and play well. And if there's some people that can't get in the game and add, contribute in a way that can help you play well, it's time to think about trading people. I mean, you can't keep playing the same seven people. They're going to get, that's why they're getting so tired. They are on the court way too long.

Resa Crippen (1:15:24)
Well, right, that's what I'm saying.

Agreed.

Agreed. That's why I feel like when it comes to picking players for a team, you're right. You cannot play the same seven people year after year after year. It's like you want to make sure everyone that you pick, can switch them out whenever, however, because this is how you lead to situations. Not to say for the Knicks, that could be the case. We're just speaking general.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:15:51)
I saw this, that's the case. I'm saying there were some people that were playing game one, game two, game three. And it's like other people have been on the bench the whole time. It's like, whoa, when so-and-so going, I guess they never get to play. yeah, yeah. But if you would like to share a story from your Christian experience, one that will inspire new and rededicated Christians, please visit www.withthequickness.com and select the Bama Seat tab.

Resa Crippen (1:15:53)
I'm just...

Ha!

but they'll still get a ring if they win. it's like, you know.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:16:19)
There you'll find, you'll fill out the interview form so we can schedule a virtual interview. You can also email BemaSeat at withquickness.com to begin the guest process. So, Resa, another episode down. We're getting closer and closer to the season finale of season four.

Resa Crippen (1:16:38)
we are so that means we're gonna be on like a know a mini vacation small small yeah

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:16:46)
That's how she sees me. Yeah, we have to

discuss how long we're to be gone for. I guess we'll discuss that next time to figure out how long our break is because we just finished coming back. We actually had to finish out season four because it was a big long break in the middle of it. So yeah, we're going to have a break, but we got to discuss how long it's going to be.

Resa Crippen (1:17:03)
Yeah, like let's also like preface this, it's not gonna be for a year again. It's gonna be like a small situation people. So, you know, don't worry. Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:17:09)
It's going to be a small break. Yeah. Yeah. Because we definitely want season five. We

definitely want some great things going to happen to season five. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it in my bones. Season five is the season, girl. High five season five. But until then, are grateful that you tuned in today. And our prayer for you is that God reveals to you that he is real and able to meet all of your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Have a great rest of the week, everybody. Bye now.

Resa Crippen (1:17:17)
you ⁓

Have a great week, everyone.

WTQ Outro (1:17:40)
I've been trying to forget But you won't let me Something in my brain wants you I've been hanging by myself Asking for help But nothing seems to work on you With everything crazy You still my source of peace You filter out the lows You give me what I need me feel like oh yeah You You never leave

You're the reason I'm going out with mind I just can't stop thinking about you You got me feeling some type of way You make me wanna stay in all the you You're the reason I can't get out of my head I just can't stop thinking about you