The Ripple Effect of Kindness

In this conversation, Angeline and Resa explore various themes surrounding faith, music, and community. They discuss takeaways from recent sermons, the significance of praise music, and the importance of being present in experiences like concerts. The conversation also touches on personal stories of faith, the dynamics of family in business, and the impact of sharing testimonies across generations. Through their discussion, they emphasize the power of community and the role of integrity in the music industry. In this engaging conversation, Angeline Bishop Thomas and Resa Crippen explore themes of faith, resilience, and the power of kindness. They discuss the significance of new beginnings, the living nature of the earth, and the importance of trusting in God's plan. Through personal anecdotes and reflections on sermons, they highlight the transformative power of trials and the ripple effect of acts of kindness in communities. The conversation also touches on the importance of reconnecting with family and the impact of sharing stories of hope and healing.

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 (00:53)
Hello, everyone. I'm Angeline and she's Resa And we welcome you to season four, episode 159 of With the Quickness.

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

Angeline Bishop Thomas (01:03)
Happy Tuesday indeed. Today we're gonna share our takeaways from the June 1st, 2025 sermon given at First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, New Jersey, and a past sermon given at the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit, Michigan. So Resa, what was your big takeaway from First Baptist today?

Resa Crippen (01:24)
My takeaway was God's plans often take us beyond our comfort zones, but his spirit will always guide us.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (01:33)
Okay, mine is God plans often take us beyond our comfort zones, but his spirit will always guide us. What's your big takeaway from Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit, Michigan?

Resa Crippen (01:47)
God's plans unfold in his perfect timing, even when it feels like he is silent.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (01:53)
Okay, my takeaway was all things work together for the good of those who love God. So we're gonna get into both of those sermons a little later in the show, but right now it's time for Resa's playlist. Hey Resa, what's the song of the week this week?

Song of the Week Intro (02:09)
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 (02:28)
So the song of the week this week is actually by Israel Houghton and the new breed featuring his wife, Adrienne and Erin Moses. The song is called Nadie Cómo Tu which translates to Nobody Like You. And it's from his latest album called Coritos, volume one. ⁓ It just came out recently, it was like a month ago it came out.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (02:49)
Mm-hmm.

Resa Crippen (02:54)
And I wanted to pick this song because it's a praise song, but there's Spanish in it. So you get like that Latin flair. like, so it's a mixture of English and Spanish. So for those of you that speak Spanish, you can definitely appreciate the song. And for ones that don't and are learning, you can learn new Spanish words like I am.

And I really like the vibe. like the fact that it was upbeat and it's a praise song that I've never heard before. So I definitely wanted to add it to our playlist to give it some more flavor

Angeline Bishop Thomas (03:24)
I'm glad you added it. listened to it and it makes you feel like you're in the middle of the greatest praise celebration of, you know, English and Spanish speaking people. It just really does. The percussion is excellent. It just has a great vibe that makes you want to get up and dance for the Lord with them.

Resa Crippen (03:42)
Yeah, the song is really, really good. And I remembered Adrienne had put a post on her Instagram page because she was talking about how her being a part of this album is actually like a full circle moment for her. Because prior to her being in the R &B group, 3LW, if you know, you she used to be a church singer. She used to sing in church for her. She used to be a part of a praise group, I believe it's called.

And when she got the offer to be in 3LW, her mom, who was also a God-fearing woman, prayed about it. And she wasn't concerned because she got the impression that Adrienne would be OK. So the fact that Adrienne has gone from the R &B girl group 3LW, then the Cheetah Girls, then back to singing about

God, to her, she's considering this like a full circle moment. She's actually happy to be doing this because she's, you know, she loved being a praise singer and she loves the fact that she can do that again in her older adult life. it's almost like she's coming back to herself, somewhere to how we had spoke about Fantasia when she was like, I had this calling and I needed to come back. Like same thing with Adrienne. Like she's always like Adrienne, but notice to me, I didn't know this until like I started watching the reel. Like she's always kept God first in her life.

So the fact that she married someone who is a gospel singer and now we're seeing, especially now at this point in her life, she's a wife, she's a mom, how much of influence her faith is on her life is a really refreshing thing to see. Because when I always saw her, I was like, man, she's so cool. I just never knew.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (05:23)
Wow. Does she like wrestle when she was going up to be into a girl group after, you know, being a praise singer? Does she wrestle with what you have to do in order to like morph and change yourself into a pop star?

Resa Crippen (05:39)
I don't think, from the video that I saw, I don't think she did. think... ⁓

Angeline Bishop Thomas (05:46)
So she

was able to keep her boundaries where she wanted them to be while she was still trying to sing a new genre of music. She wouldn't have any feel like she was compromising herself in any way, shape or form for the sake of the music.

Resa Crippen (05:49)
Yeah.

Right, yeah,

don't think she did because that's why her mom was like, she was okay with her doing it because her mom prayed about it beforehand. So she was like, my daughter is okay. She's not gonna do anything so far left that goes against how she was raised.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (06:10)
That's good. That's good. So I'm glad they prayed over the decision and she was at peace with it when she made the move because there's so many people that want to go into music after they've sang in church for so long. And sometimes the best way to make it in some record labels or some parts of the industry is to compromise your standards.

Resa Crippen (06:29)
Right, and even from the things that I have seen from her throughout her career, she always gave me this vibe of that, she's always been cool to me, but she's never been that person to be like, I'm gonna do something that's like, I don't know, something that is not true to her. She's always done things, at least from my point of view, she's always done things that have been true to her.

And some people might think that that might be corny and whack, but to her she's like, that's who I really am. She's like, I like going to church all the time. I like praise and worship. That's who she is at the core of her.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (07:03)
One thing I like a lot about her is she's so pro family. Like when you listen to the song, Resa, you feel like you're in the middle of a great like birthday celebration or a graduation. Like everyone there is happy and excited about the Lord. Like it's a church community that's so tight. When they say church family, you can actually feel it on the video for this song.

Resa Crippen (07:26)
Yeah, that's like, that is like the exact vibe that I got from it when I watched it. Like I literally, when I first watched it, I got, I had it playing on my TV. So I like turned up the volume cause I was like, this is really good. Cause like, honestly, I kind of forgot for a little bit that it was like a gospel praise song. Cause like, you know, the way that the instrumentation was like integrated and you get like the Latin.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (07:44)
home.

Resa Crippen (07:53)
Vibe which to me is like also party, but it's like, know, but in this instance, it's a party for Jesus So we got to like keep it, you Respectful. So I was just like, I like this song

Angeline Bishop Thomas (08:03)
So her husband, does it look like he's speaking more Spanish now because he's married to Adrienne? Or, cause I noticed he's kind of singing some of the lyrics in Spanish along with his wife and with Aaron on the song.

Resa Crippen (08:15)
That's a good question. I'll be honest, prior to, because I'm just now getting into his work, so I don't know if he's always done this or if he's just doing this now because his wife is a proud Puerto Rican and she does speak Spanish. I have to do some more research before I can really speak on that, but I'll get back to you.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (08:23)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, but he

seems like he's embracing it. I mean, I kind of missed the fact that we're Puerto Rican adjacent. it's like we still have a great love for the culture and the people. So even though there's not a bit of Puerto Rican blood that runs through our veins, but it doesn't matter. can enjoy and embrace a culture and love it as your own, you know, and have that rapport. And so for you to be drawn to this song and want to put it on the playlist.

Resa Crippen (08:43)
Yeah.

Yeah, there's

Angeline Bishop Thomas (09:05)
I think it's great. I think it's absolutely great. I hope we have more Latin songs on here in the future. So is there anything else we should know about Israel or Adrienne or Aaron before we wrap up your spot?

Resa Crippen (09:20)
Not that I know of besides the fact to go listen to the new album that he just put out, Chord Coritos I'm sorry if I say it wrong. Volume 1.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (09:27)
Volume

1 makes me think there's going be another volume after this one.

Resa Crippen (09:30)
Yeah, think, you know what? It kind of reminds me of like this whole like vibe reminds me of like the Latin version of Maverick City because when they put out their album, they also titled it volume one and then they have volume two. So I'm ready for volume two, but I'm still digesting volume one, but I'm ready when they do drop volume two.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (09:49)
thought when I first

listened to it, said Maverick City Musica or something like that connected to this song.

Resa Crippen (09:56)
Yeah, I saw that. So when I was trying to translate some of the words that are spoken in Spanish, I did, that did come up. So I don't really know what that means. I have to look, I really have to look into that to figure out like, okay, wait, do we have like a sector of like, of Maverick City that is like bilingual? And if so, that's great, because I didn't know. Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (10:16)
Yeah, it's like the Marvel, know,

this superhero and this superhero, they put together, they make up this, that's what it feels like to me, because it's just an offshoot of a really bigger, better thing.

Resa Crippen (10:29)
Yeah,

Angeline Bishop Thomas (10:30)
yeah,

I was reading Black Panther back when I was a kid. and my cousins, know, with Khalid and Mike, yeah, we were just all up into it. So when they came out Black Panther, I was like, I hope they do this, that and the other. So this kind of feels like that Adrienne and her husband with Maverick City Musica doing this over here, you know, in the Latin space, then maybe there might be, know, Maverick City, you know, hip hop or rap on another side that we don't even know about yet that's gonna be launched in the future.

Resa Crippen (10:32)
Right.

Right.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I wouldn't be mad at it. if this is the beginning of like other genres being like pulled into the Maverick City, you know, universe, I'm all for it. I'm all for it.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (11:06)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, man. Yeah, man.

I'm saying, Resa I can see it. I can see it like we watching Marvel, how they laid out there. Maybe they're slowly laying out the groundwork. And we're going to look at it and they'll all be interconnected. And then some people are going be on each other's albums. The next thing you know, it's going to be big, giant tour.

Resa Crippen (11:13)
Yeah.

That would honestly be a really good tour with Israel, Maverick City, Adrienne, Kirk Franklin. I'd go, listen, let me just say this, right? Because, yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (11:37)
And it adds some rap in there too. I'm telling you, when the rap line runs,

they don't have it up there yet, but I'm telling you, Maverick City, you gotta have a rap hip hop line. Have all three together, it'll be fire.

Resa Crippen (11:48)
Listen, I'm just gonna say, right, if this possible idea, if this possible idea comes to fruition and you guys do go on tour, my only ask is that you come to Jersey. And if you do come to Jersey, at least when the announcement is made, let it be enough time so can get my ticket because the last time Maverick City came through.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (11:51)
Get Lecrae, talk to Lecrae. He'll help you guys do it. Talk to Lecrae.

Yeah.

Resa Crippen (12:15)
It wasn't enough time for me to get my ticket. And then I know Israel and the new breed, they had like a small tour. I couldn't even see it. Cause I don't think they came to Jersey. I could be wrong, but I'm just like, just let your girl know. Cause I'm trying to see you guys in concert. Okay.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (12:28)
You can her

at Resa at withquickness.com. Just email her directly so she won't miss so we can report on it.

Resa Crippen (12:31)
Yeah.

Right. I want to go. I've never gone to like a because I've gone to concerts clearly, but I've never gone to like a gospel concert. I've gone to church and had like, you know, praise at church. I never go to a gospel concert. So don't know.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (12:46)
So speaking of concerts, since you do go, you just finished coming back from one. How was it?

Resa Crippen (12:50)
Mm-hmm.

Yes. So I went to go see Beyonce, Cowboy Carter. So this is like, and I just realized this the other day, because I was like, because I like to make notes of how many concerts I've been to. This is my 11th concert that I've been to. And I honestly, enjoyed myself. I had a great time. And what I noticed, right, because, and I used to think it was just me. So I am a person when I go to concerts, right? I'm not.

good at taking pictures or capturing stuff on video because I feel like I want to get the right angle. want to make sure that the artist looks good, what have you, right? So this go around, I did meet some fans of the Beehive and we were talking about concerts and so forth. And even they were saying, listen, like, of course there are certain moments that they wanted to capture of the tour. But for the most part, they're like, I'm trying to be in the moment. I'm trying to

have that connection with, with Beyonce, the dancers, production, what have you, right? Cool. So I'm in the stadium, right? I told myself I was only gonna get on my phone maybe like once or twice, which is fine. And I noticed, right, as I'm sitting here, you know, watching this beautiful production, watching the lighting, watching the dancers, watching the singers and even Beyonce,

I realized, right, a lot of people, and this is no shade to anyone at all, but a lot of people had their phones out. Some people were like, had their phone and they were like singing to their phone. And you know, some people were also like, you know, FaceTiming people, because some people couldn't make it, which is, get it. You know, FaceTiming their friends and be like, hey, you're here with me, whatever. And I realized, right, like for me, I would have missed, I would have missed that connection.

if I would have been on my phone. Cause it kind of reminded me in that moment, right? Because Beyonce to me is such a great entertainer, right? Like she is to me what Michael Jackson is to like your generation, even though I love him too. But at the height when he was on tour and people were like freaking out, like losing their mind, like I don't think they would have had that same feeling if they were on their phone. You know what saying? Like while he was in front of them. So.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (14:52)
Yeah. Yeah.

Resa Crippen (15:06)
when I was sitting there, when I was standing there in the stadium and I was like fascinated by what she was doing and everything, it took me a minute, cause I was just like, man, if I would have been on my phone, I would have missed all this stuff, like all this work that her team and even, and also sidebar, shout out to the MetLife Stadium workers, because there was not one glitch whatsoever. Everything worked properly. So shout out to you guys. You guys did great.

especially because I went on night one. sometimes, not for this tour, but sometimes whenever an artist comes into town, there could be some glitches, but not at MetLife Stadium. We love them. yeah. So we had some rain on the first night, but that didn't, you know, that did not stop Beyonce or her dancers or her daughters, Blue and Rumi they did a great job.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (15:40)
And especially when it's raining.

Resa Crippen (15:53)
But I really enjoyed myself and I definitely would recommend more people. Like I get it, you wanna capture a moment, you wanna be able to say, I went to this concert. But I do think it goes without saying, especially for an artist like Beyonce, because her team is literally, there's cameras, they're recording stuff. I get it, you wanna have something on your phone to say, I did this. But there comes a point where I feel like, okay, we need to disconnect from the phone a little bit just so we can.

fully grasp what has been presented in front of us, especially when there was a point in her show when she got in a car and the car was hovering over the stadium. So I made it a point, right? Because I said, listen, because I knew, I already know. I said, I know when she comes to this side of the stadium that obviously people are going to pick up their phones and be like, phone was in the face. I said, no, no, no.

I'm going to be that one person that doesn't do that. hopefully in my mind, this is my logic. I was, I was like saying, well, hopefully if I do that, then maybe she and I can make eye contact for five seconds and whatever. So she comes over, the car comes over, right? Everyone pops out their phones. Like, Beyonce, Beyonce. So I look up and I wave. Did she and I make eye contact? No, but in my mind we did. But anyway, but

Angeline Bishop Thomas (17:11)
Yeah

Resa Crippen (17:14)
It was just like, it was fascinating because like I was close, I wasn't that close, I was close enough to be like, I could see her face like clearly. And I feel like I would have missed that moment if I would have been focused on trying to get my phone out, take a picture and get the right angle. So I was happy to have that. And I'm also thankful that I was able to

to not be on my phone that much, because I really am trying, like outside of concerts, I'm really trying to stay off my phone because I feel like I spend too much time on the phone. Whether it's like social media apps, what have you, but I feel like being in the present to me is like more important and like really, really being in the moment, because I feel like you miss out on something. And plus when it comes to concerts, I like being able to be honest because everyone,

or a lot of people do record content and they put it online. If I'm really feeling like, man, I missed this concert, I can always go online and look it up. Look up, you know what I missed, so.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (18:16)
Bye. ⁓

I think you said something very important. See, back in my day when Michael Jackson performed in his concerts and he was the biggest recording artist at the time, you're right. There was none of this smartphone cameras in his face trying to capture a moment of you singing along with him at the concert. It was being 100 % present. And the beautiful thing about being present with everybody in a stadium listening to a performer or watching a performer,

is when they do certain things, if all of you are watching, it is almost like you can be part of show. There's times when Janet Jackson would stand a certain way and look over the crowd back in the 80s and 90s, and the whole crowd would go from being quiet to this roar. Or Michael Jackson could do something where he, I don't know, he had his glove or put his glove on or put his hat on a certain way on his head and the music would start.

You miss so much just trying to have a camera capturing the moment and being the camera guy. If you would just be the fan and consider the fact of one, you paid a lot of money to get in that seat and you did a lot of things and moved a lot of things around to be there on that day, right? You got dressed, you took the drive, you took the train, whatever you did to get there and now you're in your seat. You didn't sign up to be the cameraman. The cameraman got paid and is getting paid a lot of money.

to record everything. Beyonce got dressed up for you. The dancers got dressed up. They all learned choreography. The choreography did not take into account somebody's hand and might be in front of you holding a phone to capture something where you have to see around the person. That's another thing about when you try to capture something with your smartphone, you can be obstructing the view of the people around you. So if you just take a nice

enough time to have enough etiquette to say, I'm gonna be in this moment, I'm gonna watch this. I'm not gonna hold my camera up trying to get a certain spot where I can obstruct somebody's view beside me, behind me, whatever. And I'm gonna sing along and enjoy. Even the dancers get something from the audience when they see you and you guys know their name. A lot of the Beehive knows a lot of the names of the dancers. I was surprised. You guys know a lot about the production, everything.

And there's a lot of work that goes into it. Like you said, mean, the lighting guy did a lot of work, the rigging guy, mean, all the guys on the cameras, the music, the sound, even the people that are cleaning up the puddles of water so nobody slips. Everybody's doing a lot of work. So to be on your phone the whole time, it's like, come on people, do you not see what we're trying to give you? We're trying to give you a real moment that can, back in the day would make my generation, some people would be moved to tears at a Michael Jackson concert on certain songs.

you know, my gosh, I think he's looking at me and they just be passing out and crap, you know, cause they just in the moment.

Resa Crippen (21:09)
Yeah, like I've seen clips online like on YouTube because you YouTube's like my go-to for all like historical concerts and This man will be literally just standing there hasn't done a thing Just looking people are passing out screaming the one time he had on like his aviator shades Took him off this one lady. I kid you not you'll find it on YouTube Freaking out like you would have thought she was gonna pass out of this man like spoke to her But all she did was take off his shades and just look

Angeline Bishop Thomas (21:26)
and he took them off real slow, yep.

Resa Crippen (21:38)
and she lost her mind.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (21:38)
Yeah, because back in

the day, the video was so much storytelling that took place in videos. some people still do. Beyonce still does a lot of storytelling in hers. And so when you get a chance to see them weave that story in front of you in person and kind of transport you into their world and how they see and view their music, it can stop time. Prince has stopped time in his concerts. Michael has stopped time in his concerts. Believe it or not, even Madonna, she takes it a little racy.

and goes a little further than mother would like, but she even does storytelling on that stage that does not require people to take snapshots all the way throughout it. You're gonna miss some of the nuances. Even the dance moves as intricate as Beyonce does with her team, those dance moves can tell a story. what got me the most when we were talking about before, we were talking about JLo, right? When she did that video.

documentary kind of, you know, for Ben thing. And the amount of work her and her dancers did in every way they were dancing and doing stuff was telling part of the story, was part of the narrative. You don't see a bigger picture. You can't see it that way if you're busy looking through your phone. You gotta put yourself into her mindset and she has a heart of a dancer. So you know every single move of the dancers that JLo is doing is expressing a story.

Resa Crippen (23:00)
Yeah, and then like on top of that too, it's like, it's almost like, cause from my perspective, right? It's like, you're watching someone through your phone. So it's like, how present can you be if the person is right in front of you, but you're looking at your phone? It's just like, it kinda like to your point, it does take away from that magic and all that hard work that they did. Cause I know when I was just standing there and I was just, and I got quiet at some point cause I was just like, my gosh, like I am watching this.

I am watching Beyonce and her team and I'm watching these beautiful video vignettes, the fashion and everything. You can't, that's right. Right. And that's why there is this trend going on about having Beyonce withdraw from the concert. And before I start this, because a lot of ignorant people...

Angeline Bishop Thomas (23:39)
It's an experience. It's an experience.

Resa Crippen (23:52)
every time she goes on tour, like to bring up the fact that she has a Beehive and all that stuff, right? What I experienced on that day that I went to the concert and even concerts previous, right? The Beehive is a community of people who happen to like Beyonce and her music and what she does. They're not a cult, they are free thinking. No, cause like people keep saying that and I'm just like.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (24:17)
can't believe

people are still saying that.

Resa Crippen (24:19)
People

still say that and it's like, it annoys me because I'm like, for anyone, okay. So I have been a fan of not even just Beyonce of Destiny's Child, right? And for the ones that know, no, they got their name because their mother, well, excuse me, Beyonce's mother, Tina, who's also a God-fearing woman was reading her Bible, okay? And that's how she came across the...

There was like a certain Bible verse that she was reading and that's how she came up with Destiny's Child. But all this nonsense about, the Beehive's a cult, she worships Satan, that's not true. She comes from a God-fearing family and it needs to stop. So I say that all to say, the Beehive consists of people, her fans that like her and like what she does. And honestly,

Angeline Bishop Thomas (25:05)
her fans.

Resa Crippen (25:10)
I've never met her, but from all of the fan encounters that I have read online and some of the fans that I have met in person who have gotten a chance to either briefly meet her at a meet and greet, they have all said the same thing. She's a very, very nice person. So I wish people would just stop with the nonsense because it's not necessary.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (25:24)
Yeah.

Well, they have to put the Beehive right up there with other fans. You have fans of different sports teams. You have fans of like, know, WWE. You have fans of different opera. companies, have fans of different Broadway shows. I mean, it doesn't mean that each of those is a cult because you've got a group of people that like the same thing. I think what it is Resa is that there are so many of them that, and because there's so many of them that has such a strong influence on,

Resa Crippen (25:46)
That's what I'm saying, like no one-

Angeline Bishop Thomas (25:55)
you know, getting her stuff played and, you know, attacking. It seems like people get attacked when they say something wrong about her or say something that is criticizing her in any kind of way. They get stung as they say. I think that's the reason why people are saying it's a cult, because it's like there's a lot of power that she wields by having followers. Just like Mariah has Lambily. She has a lot of people that adore her. But every singer, every star, every, I mean, they have their fans.

I mean, when I was younger, Angelina Jolie could do no wrong because she was my Tomb Raider. You know what saying? So.

Resa Crippen (26:27)
Yeah,

like, because I was going to say to your point, there's a lot of people that are like die hard sport fans for certain, you know, certain sports, whether it be wrestling, you know, baseball, football. God forbid you say one thing wrong about somebody's team or a certain player. they're losing it. But no one's calling them like, you know, they're not saying that, you know, so and so is in a cult because I can't say anything bad about this team or about this player. But because it's because it's Beyonce now all of sudden up.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (26:36)
Yep, I just said that,

Resa Crippen (26:55)
We have this cult and they attack people. go ahead, go ahead.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (26:59)
But you know what, Resa, I think

you have to take it back to why is it getting you that upset? And why does it get the Beehive that upset? Because if you guys know it's not true, I wouldn't worry about it, honestly. I think you're giving those critics too much power when you guys get upset about it, when you start stinging people and stuff on the internet and saying how they're, I mean, I'm not saying that you guys shouldn't have righteous indignation, but you also gotta be understanding that

They just don't know what you guys are about. That's one thing I like about the Lambily with Mariah. They get called all kinds of stuff too, but they're so laid back. They're like, Mariah has already told them, darlings don't even worry about them. And most of her Lamerly doesn't. That people can say whatever they want to say about Mariah or about her fans. And they basically have learned because their diva has said, pay it no mind. And I think Beyonce has said it without saying it. She says, don't pay him any mind. Cause she doesn't pay him

And I don't think she really wants all you guys to be that stirred up about what they are trying to label. She knows who she is and she knows what she will answer to and what she won't.

Resa Crippen (28:04)
This is true. I just get annoyed. My thing is I get annoyed when people just say nonsense and they think it's right. And I'm just like, that's not true though. You've never been a part of... First of all, if you've never been to a Beyonce concert and actually talked to Beyonce fans that have followed her career, you don't understand. So you're just talking nonsense. I'm just like, that's it.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (28:09)
Mm-hmm.

And the Bible talks about trying to deal with someone that's talking nonsense. Don't argue for fool. Just let it go. I mean, cause sometimes it's not gonna make your life, you're not gonna change their opinion and you're only gonna frustrate yourself. So if you know you're not gonna change their opinion, they just wanna get under your skin. They're gonna keep saying it to those that are Beehive members. And you guys are all getting every year, you guys are getting older as a Beehive. know, there's new young ones coming on, but most of y'all came around the same time she was on the scene. So what are y'all gonna be?

Resa Crippen (28:25)
Yeah, this is true.

You

Angeline Bishop Thomas (28:52)
50 years old still wanting to sting people on the internet, y'all gonna have to get over it eventually.

Resa Crippen (28:57)
First of all, I don't even bother getting into, like, when it comes to the internet shenanigans, as I call them, I don't even bother getting, I just block people. I don't have time for this, so I'm just like.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (29:07)
I know

you don't, I know you don't, but it is exciting in the music arena how people get so passionate about the work, just like how Adrienne and Israel are passionate about their project. Beyonce's passionate about the things she's working on. And the fans of all of them are like making sure they're being supported. So God bless the Beehive. They'll continue to support, you know, Queen Bee. And Beyonce will continue to put out good work and she'll be continuing to break boundaries. And, you know, I'm looking forward to the next genre she's hoping to kick down the door on.

Resa Crippen (29:36)
Yeah, I'm hoping that it's like, so there's rumors that the third part of this, like, I don't know what you call it when it's like, when something is broken up in different parts, but at least like the third part of this adventure, as we'll call it, they're saying the rumor is that it could be a rock album. And if so, I already planned my outfit, that's what I'm gonna wear. I promise it won't be Gothic. It'll still be, you know, Christ-like and true to me, but it'll have some rocker influences.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (30:01)
wow. If she

does rock, that'd be great. Tina Turner has been the strongest black woman in rock. And to have someone pass the torch to Beyonce, Beyonce was up there with her, singing Proud Mary and stuff. if she can give rock a try and knock it out the park like she did country, hey, more power to her. Thank you so much for sharing your playlist, I really appreciate you.

Resa Crippen (30:05)
Mm-hmm.

Right.

you're very welcome. And speaking of music, I know you were telling me a story about a little boy who had a praise song that saved somebody's life. You want to tell me about that?

Angeline Bishop Thomas (30:34)
yeah,

that's right. This morning I was, you know, getting ready for work today and I came across this story about this little boy named Willie and he was being kidnapped and the kidnapper took him and he's told the little boy not to say a word. The boy started singing a praise song. the one we hear in church all the time,

Every praise, every praise is to our God. He kept singing that. I he sang it for three hours.

And every time he got to the point where he go, you know, towards the end before he repeats it again, the guy would say, shut up And he would sing it again. He sang it for three hours till the man pulled over, him out the car and went on his way.

and the little Willie went and knocked on some lady's door and got to his family. And I said to myself right then, every time I tell people how to praise and worship ministry, be uplifting people, them little babies are listening. And he said, this might be the worst day I've ever experienced in my life. Somebody done kidnapped me, me away from my family He was in his worst moment. He praised his God in it. Can we learn a lesson from that little boy or what?

Resa Crippen (31:50)
Yeah, I was gonna say, I believe I heard that story before, because it had made the headlines, and they were like, yeah, because the fact that, like you said, he was saying it for three hours straight, and the man was like, you know what, I can't do this no more, and just dropped the kid off, he's like, can't, this is too much.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (31:55)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, yeah, I know I got the song wrong somehow. The lyrics somewhere recent to that song.

Resa Crippen (32:11)
probably on Google if I look it up.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (32:13)
Every praise

is to our God. What's the next line?

Resa Crippen (32:16)
I say, hold on.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (32:20)
because I just totally butchered it. And I hear it all the time.

Resa Crippen (32:25)
so the lyrics say, every praise is to our God, every word of worship with one accord, every praise, every praise. That song? Yes.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (32:33)
Yeah, we hear that

all the time in our church. Our praise singers sing it. And for that little boy to be singing for three hours straight, yeah, God was with him. Holy Spirit was with him. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Resa Crippen (32:45)
Well,

yeah, the fact that, you know, not only do you get kidnapped, but the first thing that comes to your mind is to sing a praise song.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (32:54)
Yeah, it makes you wonder exactly who his parents are and what got poured into him because if that's what he tapped into, someone needs to hug that mom and that dad, you know? Because that little one, saved his life just by tapping into his faith. He was scared, but he knew he sang that song when he felt scared. And if all of us can do that, I said to myself when I heard...

Resa Crippen (33:06)
Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (33:19)
And like you said, it's something that you've heard before. I don't know what year this happened in. I have no idea. It just popped up on my YouTube feed. I think it was a short or something. And they were doing the news thing about it. And I said, my first thought was, I hear this praise song all the time. And my second thought was, I hope the little boy, because as they're telling the boy's story, I'm praying. Like, please don't let something happen to this little boy after singing that praise song and trying to calm himself in such a difficult situation of being kidnapped.

But then they said after three hours, I three hours, he goes, he was let go. I was like, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.

Resa Crippen (33:55)
Yeah, apparently this happened. I looked it on Google just now. So the boy Willie. So this happened in 2014 when he was 10. And it happened in Atlanta. And he was kidnapped right from his own driveway. So yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (33:58)
Okay, please read it if you found something. What did you find?

my gosh.

my gosh. Right from his own driveway, from the safety of his own home.

Resa Crippen (34:17)
Yeah, because 2014 I was about to graduate college. So I was like, I knew I heard this story before. Because I really want to know why, I probably heard it on the radio on my way to class. And I was like, what? And it's just like.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (34:27)
Yeah, well, that means that he's a lot older now. He's out there, you know, living his life and hopefully living his best life and God spared him for a reason. So I hope he was able to find his purpose in this world and be able to, you know, add to, you know, use his talents for what God sees fit for him to be doing right now. I really hope he is doing good and great things. And if he's out there, if you guys know who he is, tell him, hey, we are just so proud. And, you know, people are still telling people are still talking about.

Resa Crippen (34:31)
Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (34:55)
what the Holy Spirit helped him do in his life.

Resa Crippen (34:59)
Yeah,

if anybody knows Willie, tell them to hit us up. Because his name was Willie. So if you know him, tell him you said hey.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (35:02)
Yeah, yeah,

yeah. I can't remember what his last name was. Is it an article?

Resa Crippen (35:09)
Yeah, it's the Willie Myrick, M-Y-R-I-C-K.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (35:11)
Okay.

Okay. The other thing that hit me this week is, you know, the Duck Dynasty people came back. Duck Dynasty revival premiered on Sunday and I didn't get a chance to watch it. It dealt with, you know, Phil Robertson, the patriarch has died, you know? So I wanted to see how they address that issue a little bit. Believe it or not, I watched Duck Dynasty because Uncle Si, he's hilarious. I'm sorry.

Uncle Si is hilarious. He reminds me so much, like people that know me know that my grandfather was born in Georgia, but lived in Florida, right? And so when you're down in Florida, you see people like Uncle Si all the time, know, especially in South Florida, right? Where things are nice and lot slower and people like, you know, they live off the land in some places and it...

I miss Uncle Si. And the way Phil was with his brother, it was quite hilarious. So for them to come back now with the new generation, I was kind of interested to see how they would deal with the patriarch being gone now from Alzheimer's disease and how Miss Kate is getting along and how the new generation of the Robinsons are actually doing in their lives right now.

And how they're making the shift for one brother being a little more center of the story instead of Phil being the center. And it's hard because he has, know, brother, he has a brother and an uncle that you would think they would, you know, are they kind of jockeying too for the position of being the patriarch of the family? Because I can kind of see how that could happen. You can like have two brothers and one of them saying, no, I'm the patriarch. No, I'm the patriarch. You don't feel that in the marketing of the show yet.

So I'm hoping there is none of that turmoil behind the scenes. It's interesting to see how these two brothers will carry their father's mantle now that he's no longer around. And they seem to be working well up and, you know, as his father was, you know, getting ill and, you know, pulling away from their podcast and they were doing more stuff on their own. They seem to be working very much in tandem with each other. But I wanted to see a little more insight to the family. But it was Sunday night, Resa.

My husband is not into duck dynasty. If I turn them on, he'll be like, what are you watching them for? I want to watch the game or the this or the that. Was there a game on Sunday night? Maybe there was. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there was a game on Sunday. That's why I wasn't watching it too. There was a game on Sunday. And like we predicted, the Knicks.

Resa Crippen (37:35)
Yeah, there was a game on Sunday. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. That's like not to be that person. I'm gonna be that person. I'm just like, I kinda knew. And again, I live on the East Coast. I have no beef with New York. I love New York and I love New Yorkers. However, comma, this right here, the way, if you followed the trend throughout this series with the Pacers and the Knicks, you kinda figured like, this ain't gonna be your season. Next year, next year.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (37:45)
Yeah, yeah. But to be that person.

Yeah, them young boys,

them young boys were ready. So now it's Oklahoma, right? And the Pacers. They're gonna be the final two teams. that's what you think? That's your prediction? I haven't watched it matched up yet. I had to watch the match up to actually look at it, you know, because I was like, you know, getting ready for the podcast Sunday night and I wasn't really paying attention.

Resa Crippen (38:12)
Yeah, like just do next year.

But I think the paces are probably going to take it. I think. That's my prediction.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (38:37)
the ball game of Yarder because I was up doing, just thinking about being up working on the broadcast stuff. But yeah, I'm gonna see if I can catch the final, a couple games of it, you know, and I am gonna sneak in Duck Dynasty somewhere this week when my husband's not around because when he's downstairs cooking something, you know, in the kitchen, let me watch this one Duck Dynasty on A &E real quick, this episode.

Resa Crippen (38:52)
Right.

Right.

Hahaha

Angeline Bishop Thomas (39:02)
I'm sorry I kind of miss Uncle Si a little bit. He's kind of hilarious to me.

Resa Crippen (39:06)
But you know what too, since we're on the topic of country shows, right? So there is a show coming back, right? And if you've never seen this show, I'm gonna break it down to you. So the show is called the, excuse me, it's called the McBee Dynasty, Real American Cowboys, right? Okay, so if you have Peacock, right? I would strongly advise that you watch this show, season one, right?

Angeline Bishop Thomas (39:09)
Mm-hmm.

⁓ yeah, I like that show.

Resa Crippen (39:33)
So apparently Bravo has picked up this show and now season two was gonna premiere at the end of June. Yes, I'm so excited.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (39:38)
No, Bravo

might corrupt it a little bit because it's like it had a certain feel to it recently. I hope it kind of stays true to itself.

Resa Crippen (39:44)
It did. It

did. It did. But if you don't know what this show is about, so it follows this family. So there's a dad. I believe there's three sons, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, I can look it up. this is the overview from Google. So it says, the McBee farm and cattle is on the brink of becoming a billion dollar business, but it all depends on a decision

Angeline Bishop Thomas (39:57)
Look it up, can you look it up real quick and tell them?

Resa Crippen (40:13)
from a venture capital investment firm of over $100 million. Steve Mcbee, the family patriarch and recent divorcee, started this farming and ranching company in rural Missouri, but his philandering may be its undoing. His affair with, I believe it's Gail Gailna, the CFO causes tension with his eldest son, Steven Jr., the CEO.

With the farm on the lines, Steve's three sons, who are Steven Jr., Jesse, and Cole, all vie to take over when their father retires, causing conflict within the family. So this is like.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (40:50)
You know what?

You know what, Resa? I hate the fact that you have three sons that are arguing when a father can decide, and with a stroke of a pen, put in who his predecessor is.

Resa Crippen (41:02)
But listen, right? This is like the reality version of Yellowstone, another show that I love, but you know, it does to me, like don't get me wrong, I love Yellowstone and I love Kevin Costner since the bodyguard, we love him. Well, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, he's not, let me get that, make that clear. He's not Kevin Costner. However, comma, the vibe of like a family trying to save their ranch is similar to the premise of Yellowstone.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (41:08)
I don't know, I don't know. It feels like that to you, it didn't feel that way to me.

There's only one Kevin Costner and this guy is nothing and he is no Kevin Costner.

Resa Crippen (41:31)
which is why I love this so much. Yeah, right. Yeah, no, no, no, no. No shade to Mr. McBee, but you're not. Yeah, he's a different, yeah. Yeah, that's all. Right.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (41:32)
Okay that's a similar premise, right, cause this guy is no Kevin Costner. No way.

And he's a different man. He's a different man, for sure. That's all I'm trying to say. He's a different man. Kevin's one man and he's another man. ⁓

That's a lot of money to raise. That's a lot of money to raise. And I know I had my financial challenges and I couldn't even think about trying to raise that kind of money. ⁓ But hopefully him being on Bravo now will shine some light and maybe some investors and cattle company.

Resa Crippen (41:48)
Mm-hmm.

Right.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (42:05)
Maybe they're doing some good work down there that the investors will come around in, but it's still some heavy lifting, sounds like to me.

Resa Crippen (42:11)
Yeah, and you know what? I get what you mean by the father can just write whoever he wants, but because I've watched the seasons that are on Peacock, definitely watch it, I am invested. I want to know who exactly is going to get it. Could it be the oldest son, the middle son, or the youngest son? I don't know. It could be either one.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (42:29)
I had my preferences, I watched it too, but this is what I know. This is what I know when it comes to family businesses, no matter what it is, whether it's a restaurant, could be, you know, a bar, it could be a cattle company, whatever it is, you know, it could be a church. Because some people have churches that they pass on within the family. This is what I know. Those that are in the trenches doing the work and paying their dues and learning the business inside and out.

Resa Crippen (42:31)
Well,

Angeline Bishop Thomas (42:56)
have an upper leg or upper hand in getting the reins of the business because they took the time without anybody expecting them to, without all the accolades, without even the title of deciding to work along mom or dad and learn the business.

Resa Crippen (43:12)
Well, yeah, this is true. But I just feel like shows like this, people love shows like this, whether it's scripted or it's reality, because I've seen scripted shows where there's like, I forgot the name of the show, I apologize, it was on TNT, but it was this family that was like this oil tycoon family and they were trying to save, like they were trying to save their land because obviously somebody wanted to buy it because there was oil on it. Then you have

like shows like Dynasty, which is another like, you know, it's just, I say that all to say, like, I just want to know what's gonna happen. Even though yes, dad can just say, you know, based off of what we already have on Peacock, you know, he could, he could just say, I want this person, but he's like, no, no, we're gonna keep it going. Like you said.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (43:58)
I

think he should, I mean, before we go on to the rest of the show, I think he should take his sons out of their misery and let it be known during this time period is going to be a time where I'm giving an evaluation of who should take over the company. And let it be like a year, over a year, whoever, you guys are all working hard in the company, I'm going to be evaluating this year who should take it over. And let them, and let the best man work his tail off, you know, and do what he has to do. I mean, cause my thing is like to make it,

that everybody's getting money based on the fact that they're angst. In the end, all of them end up hating the father. When the father dies, they're going to sell the company. Why? Because it was a sore spot for all of them.

Resa Crippen (44:35)
But see, I thought the last time, I thought like the last season that obviously if... ⁓

Angeline Bishop Thomas (44:39)
No, no, no, I'm not talking about the seasons.

I'm talking about when you use something like a business or dad's car or the life insurance policy, whatever it is, and you dang it over your kid's head instead of designating, this is how it's going to unfold. This is what's going to take place. It could make them be so upset with each other and the angst and the drama you may develop between siblings.

Resa Crippen (44:45)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (45:05)
that when you pass, it doesn't go to who you thought it was gonna go to. That one, that child that ends up getting it, ends up saying, I'd rather have my brothers and I'd rather just sell this place and just be brothers again. Stuff like that happens. And people wonder why, why is there no legacy? Because the dad made it a sport. Their mother made it a sport, you know?

Resa Crippen (45:25)
Yeah, you have a point that it can divide families and we don't want that.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (45:30)
Yeah,

yeah. So when you get a chance guys, please check out some of the shows we talked about a little bit. We took a little bit of a tangent, a little bit over there after Resa's playlist, only because there's so much going on right now in the music world and in the television world, you know, you know, we thought you guys should also check out good things that are going on in other places. Thanks again for the playlist, Resa.

Resa Crippen (45:52)
You're welcome.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (45:53)
Now let's move on to the bulk of our show. Let's go over to the Sunday service at the Sunday sacrament service at First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, New Jersey. They began with the praise and worship ministries mass choir. They welcomed everyone to sacrament Sunday service and Pastor Quick actually announced that we're gonna be dealing with family, rekindle family. We're gonna learn how to grow as family units in the month of June.

He also announced that First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens will continue to work to transform the community. The Health Equality Ministry has been launched, and that means that the church is committed to advocating for health equity within our community. FBCLG wishes to facilitate the means to provide everyone with the same resources and opportunities related to healthcare, regardless of their background or circumstances.

It's about treating everyone the same way in terms of access to care, health resources, and education. Aim to equal qualities for positive health outcomes. Right now on the FBCsummerset.com page, you will find a survey in which you can take to give the church.

a good indication of what will make a lasting effect on the community. Now, FBCLG also is blessed with a new financial analyst to assist the church with their goals, Brother Rashid Williams. I like that we said how he came up and he was able to be introduced to the crowd. It's like the Pastor was just reading off his resume, right? Yeah, I think it's great that we have someone that's going to actually help with some of the heavy lifting because there's so many things, all these initiatives have to be paid for.

Resa Crippen (47:24)
He was.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (47:34)
and meet someone that's gonna cross the t's and dot the i's. I mean, we already have some people in place, but it's time for more people to get involved and actually hire someone that's like, you know, gonna come on in and roll up your sleeves. And that's a good thing, don't you?

Resa Crippen (47:46)
Yeah, I definitely think it's a good thing to have more than one person, especially when you're trying to carry out a vision. You need a great team of people that are also, they also have the same vision as you so you're able to make everything come to fruition. ⁓

Angeline Bishop Thomas (48:01)
That's right. Now let's go on to the sermon. This week, it was called Mind Your Business. The speaker was Reverend Dr. Danté R. Quick The scripture he referred to was Acts chapter one, verses six through 12 of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. This is a passage of the Bible where it recounts the period after Jesus' ascension, where his apostles in Jerusalem inquire about the timing of God's kingdom restoration. Jesus reassures them.

emphasizing that they will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses, beginning in Jerusalem and expanding to the ends of the earth. He then ascends to heaven before their eyes and two angels remind them of his return. Now, Pastor Quick's sermon is kind of a powerful reminder of the deeper truths that anchor our faith and challenges that we faced in understanding God's plan.

Pastor Quick opened with a striking statement about boundaries, and he urged all of us to focus on minding our own spiritual business before we can see the fullness of God's work. Now, that intro kind of laid the foundation for a stirring message about where our powers originate and how we're called to live in alignment with God's will, even in the face of uncertainty. Now, Resa, I know you've heard...

the whole mind your business phrase before we've seen it in shows, we've seen a reality shows, we've seen in the movies and we definitely heard it in real life.

Resa Crippen (49:26)
Yeah, the mind your business phrase has been used time and time again. I've heard it throughout my life a couple of times, but I feel like the times that I have heard it, depending on who is saying it, it could be rude. It could lead to a fight. Not saying that I've gotten into a physical fight, but some people have.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (49:43)
Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think I was kind of shocked that that was the title. It seems like too rude to be used as a title, but at the same time, it's like there's a little tongue in cheek with it he's kind of doing, you know, a way to wake us up and go, what's he going to say about mind your business? He telling us to mind our business kind of makes you like pay more attention to the service to see why is it titled that, right?

Resa Crippen (50:04)
Right, like I was like, that was my initial thought. Cause like, like you said, like when you say that term, it could be tongue in cheek, depending on if it's two friends saying it being playful or it could be a little rude if, if you know, you talk to the wrong person. So I was trying to see like how exactly he was going to go about this.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (50:16)
Yeah. Right.

Well, speaking during Ascension Tide, Pastor Quick encouraged us to reflect on the waiting and the prayer that defines the sacred season. He reminded us that while society often wields power to manipulate and control, true power comes from the Holy Trinity, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

He's skillfully wove in insights from a French philosopher showing how earthly power structures pale in comparison to divine justice and guidance offered by God. Now the heart of the sermon called for the congregation to move closer to God by understanding three life-changing principles. One, receive to believe. See too often we try to manage God's work instead of trusting him.

And Pastor Quick emphasized that walking in God's will requires us to step aside from what we cannot handle and to recognize that sometimes doors must close before new blessings can emerge. God's plans often take us beyond our comfort zones, but his Spirit will always guide us. And I like that he started us off there, Resa, because it's so true when you're on a certain path.

A door can close sometimes, like you're like praying for a certain promotion, a certain promotion and someone else gets it and you're like, that's not going to be for me then.

Resa Crippen (51:34)
Well, yeah, and even in those moments when the door closes, even though, you can feel a little devastated, it could actually be a redirection as to where God actually wants you to be.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (51:46)
Yeah, and it's hard to see it as a redirection. It just feels like rejection at the time. It's almost like when you're a little kid and you want something so bad and I want that doll, I want that doll, and then you leave the store without the doll and you're in this car crying about it. It's like you're three years old going, oh, I want to stay where we couldn't get the doll. Not knowing that Christmas is just a month away where you're to have all kinds of dolls. You're thinking about in the now and God is thinking so much further beyond the now.

Resa Crippen (52:01)
Yeah.

Right. Right.

Exactly. So you have to trust him.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (52:15)
because he knows our beginning and our end.

Yeah, you gotta trust him. So number two in Pastor Quick's sermon is believe to retrieve. Here Pastor Quick explores the concept of faith as fuel needed to overcome trials. Every scar signifies healing. Every tear marks a recovery and God's faithfulness is constant. Quick emphasized the importance of remembering God's past works and sharing our testimonies with younger generations so they too can trust him.

I think that was really important. That reminds me of how Nana would always talk about things that happened in the past. And you guys being her grandchildren hadn't heard those stories. Like when you hear her talking about being in the women's army corps and you're like, wow, you did that? Or she's like, oh yeah, was six. Remember how she said on her, on Mother's Day? She said, I was 16 and my brother had to sign for me. And we're like, what?

Resa Crippen (53:05)
Yeah, I was like, I didn't know that she was just like, you know, telling her story about her time in like the women's army or army corps. Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (53:10)
Army Corps. Army Corps.

Yeah. She was like, she was like, there's nothing to do in Arcadia where she was living. And, you know, she was 16 and she wanted out of there, but she couldn't just go sign up for the army. She was too young. But her brother was in the army. And if he, if he signed off that he would watch out for her, were going to be on the same base, you know, and she was going to learn her job and she was going to be a good soldier. And, you know, she ended up being February soldier of the month.

Resa Crippen (53:36)
Yeah, like I was, I was honestly shocked. I couldn't imagine myself at 16 being like, cause again, we all know my story, but at 16 being like, uh, nothing to do here. I'm gonna go join the army. Like, I don't know. Like that's a different type of mindset to be like, want to join the army.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (53:53)
Yeah, but you did think a

couple of times down in South Jersey, like, it's nothing to do down here.

Resa Crippen (53:58)
No, it got to the

point where all of my closest friends knew the minute that we graduate, she's gone. And I was gone, so was like, got nothing to do here. I gots to go. I can't be here.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (54:07)
Yeah,

I think a lot of people are like that when they hear from older generations about the lives they live and then they look at where they are in high school. Sometimes they're thinking too. I can't wait to get out of this place. I mean, mom is talking about what she did in the army. Uncles are talking about what they did in the Air Force. Grandpa's talking about what he did, you know, in his jobs or his careers. Grandpa was on the trains, you know, so you're thinking if everybody was somewhere but home, I want to be somewhere but home.

Resa Crippen (54:17)
You ⁓

Right, you wanna be

a part of this adventure that everyone's having, you're just like, I need to go and be out in the world. in, what's the phrase? To be in the world, but not of the world. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (54:44)
That's right. That's right. I tell

my husband all the time, his family has this, especially the Thomas men, they have this whole adventure spirit. I told Gary, I said, your grandfather, if you look at your ancestral lines, your grandfather didn't die where he was originally born, born in PA, but he ends up living in Ohio. Gary moved from Ohio to New Jersey. His daughters moved from Ohio to Atlanta. It's like there's this whole spirit about.

Yeah, we might be born in one place, but let's go find somewhere else. I want to see for myself. Let's go. Let's go discover new things. And the beautiful thing about what Pastor Quick was saying is that in the older generations, we can't be shy about telling the younger generation about some of our walk. Like how, how was it getting up and leaving one state and living in another state? What was like being away from family? What sacrifices did you make? What things were you not a part of that kind of, you know,

Resa Crippen (55:14)
You

Angeline Bishop Thomas (55:39)
hurt your heart that you wish you were a part of. Cause if you were back home, you would have been part of those birthday parties and part of those gatherings, but you're so far away over here now. So I think it's really good that he says we have to remember the things we did in the past and not only remember, but share it. Share it.

Resa Crippen (55:56)
Well,

yeah, because like I love old people, but some of y'all like to just be like, know, past is the past. We ain't talking about it. I'm just like, but and it's like people like me are coming to y'all for advice. OK, we have hit like a fork in the road and we're just like, I'm going to go to my grandfather. I'm going to go to my grandmother to see if they have gone through something similar that could help me. And we're not coming from a place of judgment. So it's like, hey, if you had a past.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (56:04)
Yeah, yeah.

Resa Crippen (56:22)
tell me about this past so I cannot mess up my future. That's how I look at it.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (56:25)
You know what though,

I think all of us feel that way when we want to know. But when you're the person that has to tell of your past, that revisionist history gene pops up where you're like, well, I'm going to give them the sanitized version because I don't want them to think poorly of me, right? Because part of telling someone and being transparent about the past is you have to sit in it 10 toes down. And it takes a lot to say.

Resa Crippen (56:30)
Mm-hmm.

Ha ha ha.

Yeah.

hahahaha

Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (56:54)
The church lady you see wearing white with the nice flower on her lapel. That she went through some stuff and did some stuff before she got to being the church mother. That might make your head turn.

Resa Crippen (57:07)
Yeah, I

was gonna say that kind of reminds me when I used to watch the show Greenleaf about this family in the church and you would in like that that show they would like show certain people in a church but well so well you know what it was during lockdown okay I needed something to do so and the show it was a good show.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (57:12)
Uh-huh.

You watch that debauchery, my goodness.

Okay, alright.

Hopefully you

fast forward through the debauchery.

Resa Crippen (57:28)
There wasn't really a lot of debauchery though that I can't recall. But then again, that was before I got baptized. And so I can't remember. It is a blur. Listen, a of things are a blur before baptism. I don't remember. like, cause it was during that, it was, cause that whole period of being on lockdown, I'm like, I don't remember some of the stuff. Cause I'm just like, yeah, it's like the past is the past. Yeah. It's like, I don't remember.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (57:34)
It's all a blur. It's before baptismal waters. Before black baptismal waters.

So like God doesn't remember anymore, neither does you. Yeah, God doesn't remember, I don't remember either, I got you.

Resa Crippen (57:57)
Okay.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (57:57)
Okay, all right, that's not reviewing this history, it's just that that's the marker of baptism in a race and stuff. So now you can be a grandmother and be like, hey, everything before 31, I don't remember. Yeah, well, point number three that Pastor Quick made was retrieve to conceive.

Resa Crippen (58:01)
Yeah, it does. A clean slate. I was told that.

Yeah, don't remember. It's like, ⁓ can't remember.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (58:19)
He warned against getting lost in the past or refusing to act on the vision God has given us. He passionately spoke about the purpose and conviction of the Holy Spirit and necessity of walking in a path that God has uniquely prepared for us. God's program is tailored for all of us, but it takes courage to follow through. This sermon was kind of like a call of action to

Christians who feel kind of stuck and uncertain or weighed down by life's burden. So we really want you guys to check it out if you get an opportunity. Because Pastor Quick reminds us that God's power is not limited by our circumstances or our understanding. Through trust, obedience, and faith, we unlock the power to overcome and fulfill God's plan in our lives. I really liked the sermon this Sunday, didn't you, Resa? I feel like it really hit home with like helping us get encouragement, clarity.

and just learning to speak from our hearts more often.

Resa Crippen (59:14)
Yeah, I definitely enjoyed this week's sermon. was a very encouraging and uplifting sermon that was most definitely needed.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (59:22)
Yeah, I think it was like more than a teaching. It was more like an invitation to step into the fullness of God's promise. So if you wish to watch this sermon, Reverend Dr. Danté R. Quick's sermon was called Mind Your Business, and it was live streamed on June 1st, 2025 on the FBC Somerset YouTube channel. So please, when you get a moment, check it out. Now, after I watched this sermon, Resa, I came across something that really

boggled my mind. wanted to share it with you before we get to the next sermon. And it goes back to my personal scripture study, right? I'm in the book of Ezekiel right now. I know other people in other books and I get that, but that's where I am, right? So a couple of days ago, I was reading in chapter 14. Let me get my Bible real quick. I was reading, yeah, chapter 14 of Ezekiel.

And the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, some people have their version, the version I prefer is the New Revised Standard Version, updated edition is what I have. And so I was right around chapter 14, verse 12. And I came across this passage here. And let me tell you what happened to me. You're gonna be shocked at what happened after I finished reading this. Okay, chapter 14 of Ezekiel, verse 12. The word of the Lord came to me, mortal.

when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, I stretch out my hand against it and cut off its supply of bread and send famine upon it and cut it off from humans and animals. Even if Noah, Daniel and Job, these three were in it, they would save only their own lives by their righteousness says the Lord God. So I wrote,

in my scriptures and it's okay to tat it up, which means highlight for those that are new to your faith. It's okay to tat up, which means highlight and to write in your margins. It's your Bible, okay? You do what you wanna do with it to remember things. But what I wrote was, is the earth alive? And if so, can it offend God? That's what I wrote because he made it very clear when he was speaking, God said, mortal or human,

when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly and I stretch out my hand against it and cut off its supply of bread and send famine upon it and cut it off from human and animals. So I said, okay, a land can sin. Don't you gotta be alive to sin, right? You can't be an inanimate object. So I put in my parentheses right there. said, is the earth alive and can it offend God? And I prayed and I asked God, said, is the earth alive?

I mean, because Indians believe in Mother Earth and other people believe in Mother Earth and stuff like that. And can it send to the point where God can actually cause a famine on parts of it or things to stop growing because it's not doing something right? Guess what I found out this week.

Resa Crippen (1:02:16)
What?

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:02:18)
The Earth has a heartbeat.

Did you know that the earth has what some scientists call a heartbeat? Now it's not like ours which races when we get excited or slows when we're resting. Instead this pulse occurs every 26 seconds and the reason behind it remains a mystery.

Resa Crippen (1:02:23)
I believe it.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:02:41)
This phenomenon was first recorded in the 1960s by a geologist named Jack Oliver. He noticed these rhythmic pulses, but didn't have any advanced tools that we have today to dig deeper into their source. Now, decades later, scientists picked up where Jack left off, trying to trace this heartbeat. Now, some think it's caused by the waves crashing on the ocean floor, and others believe it might be linked to the volcanic activity near

the Gulf of Guinea. and yet despite many years of study, there's been no clear answer at all. Now why? Because it's not considered a priority of science. One seismologist explained it best saying, researchers focus more on things like understanding the earth's deep structure, not a faint rhythmic pulse that doesn't seem to impact us directly. But isn't that fascinating, Resa?

Resa Crippen (1:03:38)
It is fascinating.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:03:39)
The earth pulses with a rhythm that we can't fully understand like a divine fingerprint left on creation. It reminds us how sometimes in our lives we can sense a heartbeat of something larger than ourselves, something we can't explain, but we know it's there. my goodness, God's hand is all in this gentle earth. It's on our DNA all the way to underneath our feet, the ground we stand on, just gently nudging us to see his beauty and his mystery.

And when I read this scripture and I had just read and said, wow, is the earth alive? Can the earth sin? Can the earth, you know, cause the scripture was like, you know, when the land sins against me, I'm like, how could the land sin? The land is not alive. I said, but is it alive?

Resa Crippen (1:04:26)
See, I think the land's alive though because it's like we have, what do call it? you have sinkholes, you have like, you you could drown because of the waves and all that stuff. So I just think it could be.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:04:38)
And then when Cain killed Abel, the blood cried out from the ground.

I think this scripture here in Ezekiel, when he made it very clear, when God is telling the prophet what to say. And he says, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, I stretch out my hand against it and cut off its supply of bread and send famine upon it and cut off from it animals and humans. Yeah, I think the earth's alive.

Yeah, I think I got my answer to my prayer on that one right there. Is that like what that that was like mind blown like whoa

Resa Crippen (1:05:19)
Right, and I think because the earth is alive, I think that's why there's so many people trying to save it, because it's not in the best condition. And I salute those people, because there's a lot of things happening, like pollution and all that stuff that is like, you can see from the ice caps that are melting, you can see polar bears that are not really in ice anymore, because they're actually dropping weight, so those big, fluffy,

polar bears are now like thinning out. You know, there's droughts where there weren't droughts before, like case in point in California. Like I saw a video of like the history of California and how it came to be and how they used to have like a, you know, a really nice water supply. And now it's like not there anymore. So there's a lot of things that are happening that should not be happening and could be prevented if we took better care of this living earth.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:06:18)
I know one thing, when they say the pulse occurs every 26 seconds and they don't know if it's the crashing of the water waves against the earth or could be from volcano activity. But my thing is they didn't put enough effort into trying to figure it out. Why? Because like, hey, it doesn't really affect us. We're not gonna make something a priority that, you know.

It's not a really priority in science because there is no real clear answer around it. It's okay, it's not hurting us. It is what it is. But my thing is to have a faint rhythmic pulse. And it might be faint to us on one level, but maybe if you went to the core, this earth is not faint, I don't know. But every 26 seconds something is occurring, like a heartbeat, like a pulsing is going on with the earth. yeah.

I think it's alive. People say, you can't call it a heart because it's not a heart, but who created our hearts? God created our hearts, right? So the heart of the earth might be different than what's the heart of a human. Hey, I've never been to the center of the earth. I couldn't tell you what's really down there, how it's formed.

Resa Crippen (1:07:18)
Yeah, it's true. ⁓

No,

like I want to say there's probably an episode on the med school bus about that and there's probably an episode of um building out a science guy by the center of the earth but I've never been there myself.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:07:35)
Yeah, we all talk about what it'd be like and all the layers and all that kind of stuff, but has anybody really dug all the way down to the very center and come out the other side? No.

Resa Crippen (1:07:44)
They can't, because there's heat in the middle. The further you go, it gets hot.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:07:46)
Exactly. So my thing is like,

so my thing is if it's that hot, we don't really know what's at the very, very center. In that heat could be the heartbeat within that heat for all we know.

Resa Crippen (1:07:56)
I was gonna say that too, I'm like, could the heat be the heartbeat? Because I don't wanna go that far and all of a it's like, ah, no.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:08:00)
It could be.

Hey,

hey, so now you know what I'm reading in my scripts, I'm looking for any more indications of if God can say to the parts of the earth, famine is gonna be here or plenty is gonna be here. And the earth obeys, it's more alive than I thought. I do know plants live, I do know there's minerals and great things in the soil to help plants live.

to think of the earth itself, you know, I don't know. It's like, wow, it kind of, wow, my mind is like blown just thinking about the earth has a heartbeat. The native Americans were right, mother earth.

Resa Crippen (1:08:42)
Yeah. Listen,

that's one thing I knew from a child watching Pocahontas, they knew, okay? Y'all can say what y'all want, but I was like, they knew. Because think about it, right? The whole premise of the movie was the Europeans coming over, because they were like, we heard they have gold. And the Indians were like, the gold is the corn. And I was like, but then you think about it, because you could, could, you could.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:08:50)
They were here in the United States first, right?

Right.

Resa Crippen (1:09:08)
the number of things that can come from corn. I understand why they were saying that was their gold Makes sense, logic.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:09:10)
They were right.

You're right, you're

right, exactly. So my thing is like, hey, they haven't really traced where the heartbeat's coming from, but it's there, and it's been there. And despite years of study, they've actually started studying it, they still have no clear answer of why it's taking place. So I say, give God his credit, know, look it up yourself, see what you guys believe about it. But I believe now, Earth has a heartbeat.

So that's why when you stand among nature and you take your cell phone, you keep it on the charger and you go out for a walk and you're in nature and you feel a certain kind of way about the mystery and beauty of the world, and God wants you to feel that way about his creation. He just does.

Resa Crippen (1:09:57)
Yeah, we gotta keep some of these historic, because mind you, there are places in the world that you can't even go into. I can't remember the name of it, there's this one, I wanna say it's like a rainforest that is guarded by natives, because you cannot step foot in here because they wanna keep the integrity of the rainforest. even though I would never step foot in that, because I wanna be respectful, I salute those people that do that, because they're trying to keep the heartbeat going.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:10:27)
Well, let's go on to the next sermon in our podcast. We went to Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God and Christ, a COGIC church in Detroit, Michigan. They posted a March 10th, a 2024 sermon that we know you'll enjoy. It's called, He Hears and He Remembers. The speaker was Bishop J. Drew Sheard. The scripture was Exodus chapter two, verse 24 of the New International Version of the Bible. This biblical passage recounts how God

hearing the groaning of the Israelites due to their enslavement in Egypt, remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This remembrance is interpreted as God taking action to fulfill his promises and bringing about the Israelites deliverance. Bishop Sheard's sermon focused on faith, perseverance and trust in God's providing during challenging times. I mean, it was needed for what's going on right now. I know he gave this back in last March.

of 2024, but we kind of need this message right now too. He began by addressing feelings of abandonment and doubt and reassuring believers through the story of the Israelites in Egypt. Using their experiences as an example, he highlighted some key themes. One, God's providence. Bishop Sheard explained that God's plans unfold in his perfect time, even when it feels like he's being silent.

I think it's important for us to remember that because sometimes you pray on your knees the same thing, sometimes with repetition. And when you feel like you're not being answered, you feel like that is your answer, that he doesn't care or he doesn't, you know, he can't do anything. But silence is an answer in itself. You know, he is telling you he has, it's going to happen in his time, not your time.

Resa Crippen (1:12:10)
But see, okay, as someone that has done therapy, still in therapy, and you're told by your therapist, hey, silence is an answer. It may not be what you want to hear, but silence is an answer. If you call them, they don't call you back. That silence is an answer.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:12:26)
When did that whole tit for tat thing happen with the phones of young people? mean, my generation, when someone didn't call you, it wasn't all this major offense. We would say the person is busy or you would pop by their house, hey, try to reach you, what's going on? It wouldn't be this whole telephone game that your generation does.

Resa Crippen (1:12:43)
Because there's this assumption, right, that because we are always with our phone, there should be no reason why when I call you, you don't answer. Or even taking it a step further, right, for myself, right, it's for me and my people. If I call you and you don't answer, that's fine. If it's a couple days have gone by and I call you again and you don't answer, now I'm getting concerned. If some more days go by and I call you again, then at that point I'm like, silent is an answer.

So unless you say to me, hey, my phone, like, you know, I somehow broke my phone or I could have gained contact with you, that's when I will feel some type of way. But some people really feel like, you know, if your phone is always on you and I reach out to you, yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:13:30)
Gotcha. But that's an assumption because

like your Nana would say, if I don't pick up, leave me a message. And then some people, will call and call and call, but they never leave a message. And then, and the first thing her generation and my generation says is it wasn't important because they didn't leave a message. They were just probably just wanting to talk, know, shoot the breeze, kill some time. It wasn't nothing important they needed from me. So to give somebody the stink eye when you see them a day later, because when you call them, they didn't pick up.

It's like, but you didn't leave a message like something important or urgent. I just figured you're just doing the regular, you know, let's gab up a little bit you know, cause you just felt like gabbing. just wasn't capable. Nana be like, my phone was over there and I was in another room and that was good enough for me.

Resa Crippen (1:14:16)
See, my only, okay, I would only give somebody like the stink eye, quote unquote. It's like, if they reach out to me and say, hey, it's urgent, call me. And then I call you and then we talk and the issue was not urgent, now I'm gonna be annoyed. Cause I'm just like, you could have told me what this was before I got on the phone, all frantic. And it's like, ⁓ well, you I wanted to shoot the breeze. I'm like, just say that, just say I'm bored. Can you call me? Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:14:40)
Yeah, can I say urgent and then

if I said it was urgent to my mother, but I did not leave a voicemail message when she didn't pick up. Like if I'm calling her because something urgent and it goes to her voicemail, there better be a voicemail saying how urgent it was because what she's going to do is when she gets to that room and maybe I'm like that too, you get to the room, you realize your phone was ringing like, let me, and you look at it and you don't see a voicemail. You go back to what you're doing because it's not that important.

Resa Crippen (1:14:55)
Right.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:15:08)
And people go, well, a text message can be urgent. Why? Because we have an exclamation mark in it? No, that's not important. If it's that important, you can pick up the phone.

Resa Crippen (1:15:16)
Yeah, I'm just so used to being like, okay, if it's really urgent, I call and I leave a detailed voice message because obviously I know the number that I'm calling. Now it's different if you call someone and you're not sure if that's their number. So you're like, well, can't, I'm not sure if I can say it on this voicemail. So I'm gonna just say.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:15:32)
There's

reason why the show 9-1-1 has people picking up the phone instead of answering text messages. Because they know that you can say everything you need to say verbally a lot faster than you can typing it. And the person picking up the phone, they can ask you questions to get to the heart of what the situation is. So it's like, it's really, don't, if it's urgent, call. If it goes to voicemail because I'm in the doctor's office, I'm away from the phone.

Resa Crippen (1:15:35)
Yeah.

yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:16:01)
my battery died, whatever it is, leave the message. Because then when you leave the message and a person charges up their phone, you'll hear what it is though. Now, if you're being secretive, well, I don't want her playing this message for other people and all that kind of stuff. Man, don't be saying nothing's urgent. Just wait till you see him then, you know?

Resa Crippen (1:16:19)
Yeah, and plus like I've seen on like too many cop shows like whether it was like fiction or real life like they do say like if you're if you really are in trouble and you call someone and they don't answer to leave a voicemail because nine times out of ten that voicemail could save your life. So that's our PSA for calling people and leaving voicemails.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:16:34)
Yeah.

And another thing too, now we're talking in the legal system, there's so many things that could be thrown in the courts now. They're looking at text messages. They want to know your mindset behind the text message. You can say more with your voice and how you're feeling about something that you could ever write. When you write stuff down, people can read it all kinds of ways. You know what saying?

Resa Crippen (1:16:57)
Yeah, like now I think about it, you don't know how many like innocent fights that I've gotten into in like middle school, yeah, middle school, high school and college where it was like the way it was worded was worded wrong via text. And then all of a sudden it's like, it's not what I meant. And I'm just like, oh, if we would have just gotten the phone to talk, you could have squashed this whole situation. Cause of miscommunication. Oh my gosh. Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:17:17)
and don't put the wrong emoji. You put the wrong emoji, you're start a whole World War III between your

friends. Well, your emoji said this, this, and this. It's like, well, that's not what I meant. Well, why'd you use that emoji? I would never use that emoji for that. It's like, come on, just pick up the phone, people. Trying to find the right character, the little emoji character to put up there to make the right expression. And you're thinking you're being tongue in cheek and being cute and being funny, and someone took offense to it because they think you're making fun of them.

Resa Crippen (1:17:27)
Right.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:17:47)
Come on, y'all made it all so complicated.

Resa Crippen (1:17:50)
No, you know what? Gen Z makes it complicated, because they have different slang now that I don't even know. I'm just like, what does this mean?

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:17:58)
but they know what they would say. It ain't complicated for them.

Resa Crippen (1:18:00)
Right.

it happened to me, I want to say a couple years back, my younger cousin was saying something to me and I was like, what does that mean? And it was in that moment when I said that, was like, now I'm the old person, so I don't even know what that means. And I was like...

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:18:12)
don't say

oh you're just removed from the from the um the high school culture. look at it that way you're not that's something that's going on in the high schools look at it that way.

Resa Crippen (1:18:18)
Yeah,

normally I can decipher slang. I could not decipher this for life. I was like, what are you saying? I don't even know what this means.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:18:27)
I hear you, I hear you. Well, Bishop Sheard went on to give us three examples. He said one of God's providence. He explained that God's plans unfolded in their perfect timing even when he's silent. Two, divine favor. He emphasized how God's blessings not only impact individuals, but they also extend to their families and communities. Three, the purpose of trials. Challenges are seen as preparation and growth opportunities.

Refining individuals for their destiny and Four, trusting God's timing even when circumstances feel overwhelming Bishops Sheard urge patience and faith Reminding the congregation that God is always at work behind the scenes I like the fact that he took the time to remind us that About the refiners fire that we go through as we go through life the trials make us stronger I don't think I'd be the kind of person I am right now if I didn't have the kind of bosses I've

Not everybody has great boss. The first thing they do when they get a really hard boss, like, I want to get another boss. You know, I got to get another job. Job stressing me out, da, da, da. Sometimes God puts you in a certain place because there's certain attributes that you receive working under certain people. You know, he knows what he put in you and your talents and your skill set and you know, what your morals are. And sometimes a certain amount of pressure in a certain way will develop you in a certain type of character trait.

Right? I have a great deal of empathy and patience for a lot of things and a lot of people. You know, I wouldn't have that if I wouldn't have some of the bosses I have. You know, if I didn't have certain professors that I had in college wouldn't teach me certain things, certain skill sets I have. The inquisitiveness I have, you know, right now I had that when I was a kid. I was always getting in trouble for being on the tables and up trees and listening and overhearing grown folks' conversations. You know, that's how I was.

But those things, I'm telling the truth, those things, that inquisitive person actually helped me be a really good, I'm a really good researcher because of that inquisitive nature. It got channeled in a certain way. So when I get told on the family tree, oh we can't find the father of so-and-so's cousin half removed, I'm like tearing apart newspapers and everything else trying to find that answer. That's my inquisitive nature speaking. So you go through certain things.

as trial and preparation and some of it is just a refiner's fire like a pressing that happens, you know, when he's trying to make something new out of something old.

Resa Crippen (1:21:00)
really sitting here trying to think like the type of teachers and bosses that I've had throughout the years and I'm like, I don't know, like, I go ahead.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:21:09)
No, think I can go back and look for you. I remember when

you were working at Sears once and they had this thing about they want to always have people when they made their purchases that you try to push the credit card. Remember that? And you were like, you came home. I do not feel comfortable making people that are already trying to make ends meet get a credit card. Just the person every day they're asking me how many credit cards have I sold? I'm just sick of them, I'm just tired of them. And I remember saying to you, it's like,

Resa Crippen (1:21:14)
Okay.

yeah, yeah.

hahahaha

Hahahaha

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:21:38)
Yeah, I understand. Everybody has parts of their jobs they can't stand, you know? And then you found a way to do it in a way that you could satisfy your boss, but not make the person feel like they had, they were under the pressure to do this. You found the language to say, to get it done, that you are giving them the opportunity, but you let them know unequivocally, you are still a valuable customer of Sears, whether you do this or not.

And it's quite OK. You get my easy out. Something like, would you like to open a credit card with us today? It can give you x, y, z percentage off your purchase. And it would be like, yes or no. You'd left it as a yes or no kind of question. And they would be like, yeah. Or they'd be like, no, no, thank you. It's like, OK. Well, let's just go ahead and ring you up. And because you did not have a face like, my gosh, they're making me do this anymore, you had one of those, if I got to do this, I'm going to do it in a way where

They can give me a quick no or a quick yes.

Resa Crippen (1:22:38)
Well, yeah. And now that you bring up that memory, feel like if you fast forward to my next job, which was basically in medical, and I just realized this too, like obviously in my position at the time when I was like a registrar, we have to like go over demographics and also, you know, make the patient aware of what they financially could possibly owe. And in those instances, you know, we have to, you know, attempt to see if the patient wants to put down a payment, what have you. Sometimes.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:22:46)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Resa Crippen (1:23:07)
It works, sometimes they don't. And even from that, getting a promotion within the medical field and being in leadership and being the go-to person to deescalate angry patients. And for the longest time, I could never understood why that kept happening to me. was like, why is it every time a patient gets upset, everyone's looking for me to talk to them? Because I was like, because...

Honestly, those conversations for me are a little bit draining because the patient's on 10 and I'm coming into a situation. And what would happen is, right, because at the time when we were in the office, right, it would just so happen that every time we had a patient that was upset nine times out of 10, nobody could be found. But I was always found. So I had to. And I would always look around. I'm like, you sure? And they're like, listen. They're like, I went around the whole office. I can't.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:23:36)
you

You

And you're

Resa Crippen (1:23:59)
You're

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:23:59)
it

Resa Crippen (1:23:59)
it. I can't find anybody. And I'd be like, OK. And I sit there, let the patient rip me a new one. And I'm just like, all right. I'm sorry. And then I do what I do. And then they calm down. And then once everything has calmed down, everybody comes back out. And all of sudden, they're found again. I'm like, oh, where were y'all at? Like, oh, we had a meeting conveniently. I'm just like, whatever.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:24:21)
Yeah, I mean, it does teach you how to stand in the middle of a storm, someone yelling like that. When someone's so unregulated, and I've been there myself, when someone's very unregulated and it goes from zero to 10 over something so small, you get to a point when you've done it so many times in a profession, like if you're a customer service or you're on the front lines of a business, there's something that happens to your psyche where it's like you put armor on.

that doesn't affect you the same way it is. Your first couple of days doing a job like that, you're like, you're all stressed out. You're sweating underneath your arms. You're going home saying, I don't want to do this job anymore. I don't even, I know I got bills to pay, but this is ridiculous the way they treated me. And then something happens after being there a year where you kind of get into the groove of, okay, you can feel when it's going to escalate. You can feel the temperature change on the phone call or when they're dealing with them in person or whatever it is.

Resa Crippen (1:25:04)
Right.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:25:19)
And you can hear the verbal clues or you can see the visual clues. You're like, it's about to go. This person is about to make that turn. Because it's very rare it goes from zero to 10 without any warning. It's always a couple notches different that you can see or hear, right? You get so in tune to it that when it starts happening, you take a beat before they take a beat. When you can see, when you hear that certain sigh it goes.

And they're to go there. You're like, before you finish that, let me say to you this. And you go ahead and you just kind of break it down to them in a certain way. Because you already know. God has trained your ear to hear that their volume has changed. Or you could hear the frustration in the kind of words they're using. Or if you're looking at them, you can see how their eyes start darting a different way. Or they're like, you know.

looking around the room as if they're like, who else can I talk to besides you? You you can kind of tell. And so over time, get so God kind of, he gives you the grace and the talent of dealing with people. So that's why it's kind of good that when, and the thing is when someone gets really good at dealing with people on the front lines, they elevate you to leadership because the new one's coming on, they need someone they can hand somebody off to because when things get really hard and really bad,

Resa Crippen (1:26:28)
They do.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:26:36)
at any business, you need to know someone that you can call is gonna come out and they'll be calm. Because this person is making your stress level go so high that you are, some people come close to matching the energy. You got some people on the front lines that be like, you wanna go? We can go, you know? You gotta have that one person behind that's sitting at that desk that gets paid a little bit extra more than you that goes, this.

Resa Crippen (1:26:50)
Mm-hmm.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:27:02)
This above my pay grade. Let me get this to someone so they can handle this.

Resa Crippen (1:27:05)
Yeah, and I've had people like that. like, it's funny that you say that too, because like I have done and I still currently do where I have to play like historical calls and basically see, okay, what exactly did we do right? What did we do wrong? And every single time without a shadow of a doubt, the minute that the, the minute that the caller feels like you're not listening to them.

That is what sets them off every time. Because they're just like, you're not listening to me. You're over talking me. You're not hearing me. So by the time someone from leadership does speak to the patient in person or via the phone, they're just like, if you're not calm, they're going to go off. But if you're calm, you can bring them down. And then they're like, OK. And then the person normally apologizes for why they're upset.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:27:45)
Yeah. You

normally, understand when it comes to dealing with people that are unregulated. And I say unregulated, not meaning that they have a mental illness, just meaning that they, things can tick them off quick is what I'm referring to. It doesn't mean that they have a mental illness. So please don't write me any letters. Don't jump in the comments. I'm talking about people that go from zero to 10 in their perception of being slighted or something.

you smirked at me. No, that wasn't a smirk. Their perception is off, you know, or they're feeling like they have this righteous indignation for reasons that only they know. You know, and so they're acting on their perception of being disrespected. Some people have a perception, like if you don't speak to them a certain way or handle their case or business in a timely manner, you're disrespecting me. So they already get on ten. And it's like, no, it's not disrespecting. It's just that there's

one person at a time at the DMV. So this person was first, you know? ⁓

Resa Crippen (1:28:40)
No,

like that actually reminds me when I worked at the dining hall and I guess I was talking to one of the workers and I was using my hands and the woman was like, don't use your hands in front of me. to her, because of how she grew up, her thing was if you use your hands, we're about to fight. And I was like, well, I'm from suburbia. I wasn't like, we're not about to fight. I'm just like.

I'm just animated when I talk, but I had to learn that I didn't know. She was telling me that she was like, when you do that, it puts me on alert. So I'm thinking that we're about to fight. And I'm like, no, there's a big space between us. We're not going to fight. I'm not a fighter. Yeah. Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:29:16)
You're not even using fighting words. My thing is like, you gotta go and talk to the lady

because you took something that is not, and know, and it's funny that you say that because, and I know we're taking a segue off of the sermon, but it's funny that you say that because in a lot of relationships, a lot of people put it on the other person to modify themselves, then to go figure out why they react the way they react. And that is so unfair. Do your work, people, do your work.

Resa Crippen (1:29:28)
Mm-hmm.

Yes. It is unfair. Yes.

Go talk to the lady, please.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:29:44)
Yeah,

I mean, it's still unfair to say, OK, because of these childhood traumas of mine, you must modify what's normal. What's a normal response in this situation in order for me to feel better, which makes it an abnormal response for you now as the other person. Like you say, you talk with your hands, you're not saying anything threatening, you're just gesturing with your hands, you know. So now she's like, you got to keep your hands still because that means you're going to It's like a video game fight.

Resa Crippen (1:30:05)
Right.

Yeah, and I'm, yeah,

because then it's like, you know, the first time you modify, then they keep adding on more things. You're just like, okay, we cannot coexist because like, can't do anything without you having some type of reaction because you don't want to address your trauma. Even though you know you have trauma, you don't want to address it. So I'm just like, how's that gonna work?

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:30:33)
Yeah, I think that's why etiquette went away in a lot of parts of America. We used to be really good about etiquette, no elbows off the table, no cell phones, know, looking people in the eye when you talk to them and things like that. We've kind of got away from it because we didn't want somewhere in our DNA as a nation, we have this thing. I don't want nobody telling me what to do. And because you don't want anybody telling you what to do, etiquette is another bunch of rules.

Like who made up these rules and why is it so important and why I gotta do this? Like seriously? ⁓

Resa Crippen (1:31:08)
Ooh,

yeah, because there's like this, I don't know. I want to say it probably started with your generation, Miss, like we don't, well, this whole, you know, who cares to the rules thing, like, you are, you know, generation X, so.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:31:16)
No, it's way before my generation.

Mm-hmm.

No, before me with the baby boomers. And then it was the silent generation. The silent generation, you your grandma and them, they did this first. They liked etiquette. They're like, children are not supposed to be seen. No, children are supposed to be seen and not heard, you know? That's her generation. The silent generation was very much like a kid could come into the room, but they would not interrupt adults because that is not proper etiquette. That shows you have no cooth, they used to say back in the day.

Resa Crippen (1:31:32)
world.

Oh yeah, I've heard that before and I'm just like...

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:31:53)
So you could be a child, but you only spoke when you were spoken to. And you pretty much are in the home. But once you get to a certain age, it's like, you got to keep your volume down. You can't run around in the house. There's so many rules you had to follow so that people would think you had proper home training or proper etiquette.

Resa Crippen (1:32:14)
And that's why

everybody left at 18, because they were tired of the rules.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:32:17)
Oh yeah, they, I mean, you could not have this whole generation where people want to live with their mom and dad to their 35, 40. That didn't happen

in Nana's generation. They were like, she like, she said she was 16 and ready to go.

Resa Crippen (1:32:31)
Well,

yeah, because I feel like that generation, like they made it on, listen, I'm not saying they did it on purpose, but they also like, I don't know how to properly explain it, but it's like, okay, this is your childhood home. However, comma, when you are legal, you need to go out into the world. So I'm not gonna make it comfortable for you.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:32:48)
It wasn't even that. I said,

Nana wasn't even legal. She was ready to go. She was 16. She's like, I'm ready to go. She's like, I'm learning all I can learn. I've done past high school. It's time to get out of here. She doubled down on her studies and got finished high school quick. She said, I'm out.

Resa Crippen (1:32:54)
Yeah, she went part of rules.

Yeah, she's

ready to go. She's like, I want to make my own rules. Like, I'm 16. I'm grown.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:33:05)
Now

what number did I stop at? Did I read all of them by Pastor Sheard?

Resa Crippen (1:33:10)
think you stopped at number two.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:33:12)
Okay, Bishop Sheard went on to say in number three, the purpose of trials. Challenges are seen as preparation and growth opportunities, refining individuals for their destiny. And four, trust in God's timing. Even when circumstances feel overwhelming, Pastor Sheard urged us to have patience and faith, reminding the congregation that God is always working behind the scenes. I might've said that one before, but I'm not 100 % sure.

Now, Pastor Sheard offered practical encouragement by reminding everybody of Romans 8.28, that these things work together for the good of those who love God. He stresses the importance of resilience, loyalty, and protecting the dreams that God placed within us. I think that's important. mean, the dreams we have, sometimes the wrong people telling the wrong people what you think God has put into you to do, they can try to crush them, Resa.

They can tell you, no, you don't need to do that, you need to do this instead. Or that will never work, you know?

Resa Crippen (1:34:09)
Yeah, I'm very big on not telling everyone everything because like you just said, some people, hear it and they might feel threatened by what you just said. Or they might be a little envious and try to sabotage you and tell you white lies like, you can't do that. No one's ever done that. Why do think you could do it? I'm just like, you know what? No. I like the-

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:34:20)
Yeah.

Yeah, and sometimes it's

not even in me. Sometimes it's like they can't imagine a life where you are actually succeeding at doing that because you're both at the same level right now. They want you to stay where they're at.

Resa Crippen (1:34:42)
Right, right. So it's like when those things happen, because I have gone through that myself personally, I just, that's why when I have things like that, I don't tell everybody. I tell a very small, select few people and even then everybody ain't getting it. then they can like, they'll just see it when it happens. Cause everybody doesn't have the vision, doesn't have the knowledge as I say. So we just don't tell everybody.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:35:07)
And that's a shame. mean, you want to actually get to a place with friends and with family members that you could be so transparent that you can actually see that they are genuinely happy for you. And I think all of us have to work on that because back somewhere, this whole jealousy thing has gotten out of hand, but it used to be back somewhere. It used to be okay to root for your family members to do okay, to be genuinely happy for them.

And when did that become no longer a cool thing to be? Like now it's like people are pitting their siblings against each other and pitting the grandparent has to be the better grandparent after the other grandparent or the best in-law. Why is everything a competition all of a sudden?

Resa Crippen (1:35:48)
I learned from the temptations, they smile in your face, but all the time they want to take your place. Backstabbers. ⁓ the backstabbers.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:35:57)
I know, but we have to, I think the spirit of division is a real, it's a real demon, man. I think it really comes in and whispers how it's great that there's division and that there's angst and then there's drama between people that are supposed to love each other. know, yeah, go ahead and be mad for, you know, 40 days and 40 nights. You know, it's okay. You know, it will teach her, it will teach her how to treat you rather than.

Resa Crippen (1:36:18)
Like

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:36:21)
Rather than back in the day, it's OK to like, don't let the sunset on your anger. Work it out. And that's your sister. Used to be your whole community would tell you, not just your church, your whole community would tell you, don't be mad at your brother. You know how your brother can be. Work it out.

Resa Crippen (1:36:29)
Right, like-

Right, and I think it's perfectly healthy to be a tiny bit jealous of like, man, I wish that was me. But to take it to a level where you're just like, I can't root for you because you just got a new car. I can't root for you because you left this job and got a better paying job. That's crazy. Like, that's a choice.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:36:54)
Yeah, yeah, that is definitely a choice. So ultimately, this sermon is a heartfelt call to hold onto your faith, praise God through every season and trust that deliverance is coming. Through very powerful examples, Bishop Sheard inspires hope and remind the congregation that no obstacle is greater than God and that the breakthroughs are on the horizon. So if you're looking for encouragement in your spiritual walk,

While you're in a season of feeling a little bit overwhelmed by fear, doubt, or hardship, you can view Bishop J. Drew Sheard's sermon, He Hears and He Remembers, on the GEICOGIC’s YouTube channel. When you get a moment, please check it out. So, Resa, we're onto a part of the show that I kind of adore, one of your segments, Who's the Dove of the Day, today?

Dove of the Day (1:37:46)
It's time to celebrate an amazing person doing amazing things in this world. This is Dove of the Day.

you

you

Resa Crippen (1:38:11)
So Dove of the Day today is brought to you by PrayerBulls. So Dove of the Day is going to Jenny, and I apologize if I your last name wrong, but I'm trying. Jenny Ahlstrom So Jenny Ahlstrom is 57. She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, in 2010 and fought the disease for 15 years. To support others facing similar battles, she created a nonprofit organization aimed at providing resources and strategies for cancer patients.

Patients, Jenny expressed the challenges of navigating treatment options, emphasizing her desire to find efficient treatment that wouldn't require prolonged care. So I made her a Dove of the day because she took her tragedy. And after she came through it, she wanted to help other people not go through the same hurdle she did.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:38:54)
All right. I like that.

Yeah, she took a mess and made it to her message. Man, that's what I'm telling you. She just took part of her life and said, I'm going through this, but I'm going to make sure the next person walking this path is going to be easier for them.

Resa Crippen (1:39:17)
Right, like I wish more people had that mindset, because I feel like right now, getting back to your earlier point that you made in the show about like some people are like, well, you know, I had the struggles, so do you. And I'm just like, really? Like, dang.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:39:30)
Cool. I know a lot of people are

like, a lot of people are like, no one helped me.

Resa Crippen (1:39:35)
Yeah,

that's like this whole thing with the whole student loan thing, even though it's like an ongoing conversation. Like, listen, I think it's great you were able to pay off your student loans during your time. But in this day and age with the way that the interest is racking up, I need some assistance. But don't knock me because I couldn't pay it off. It's just like.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:39:54)
All I know is those Morehouse graduates in 2024 that had that certain speaker, they're sitting back like God is good all the time that that man decided to pay that 32 or $33 million for that graduation class to all be debt free. Woo wee, them Morehouse men are happy right now because if they knew if they even had an inkling that 2025 would be like this, they need to go ahead all of them and write a

Resa Crippen (1:40:00)
Yeah.

You

Right. I wish.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:40:23)
personal thank you card again, once again, to that gentleman that paid their student loans off that graduation day and say, we had no idea what was coming down the pipe for this nation, but we thank you once again for paying off these student loans.

Resa Crippen (1:40:38)
Yeah, that's

the thing. I feel like if the student loan was just the loan and not the interest, then that's a different type of story. But the interest is what's killing a lot of people because it's just like, you're not even paying the principal, you're paying the interest first. And that takes forever to pay that down. I'm just like, so to be able to graduate and to not have any of that on you, oh my gosh, that's such a blessing. Like, lucky.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:40:53)
Yeah.

Any interest even start because he just wiped it out. my goodness, Resa.

Yeah, yeah. But God will be, everybody's gotta stay in prayer. God got us. He'll help us work it out. She's a good dove of the day. She's taking something that was, mean, something that goes on with your health. It can make a lot of people get very private. And even I was going through some dental stuff this week and...

Resa Crippen (1:41:09)
Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:41:23)
I was like, my gosh, how am gonna deal with this? And the podcast is gonna be taking a break pretty soon because it's just the normal flow of being the end of the season. And I was like, wow, it's like, my gosh, this is going on. I felt some kind of way to explain it to you, because you're my daughter. And that I was changing dentists and all this stuff too. And you were like sitting there as they're asking about my dental history. And you're like, I had no idea so much is going on with mom.

Resa Crippen (1:41:46)
Yeah,

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:41:46)
She's like,

Resa Crippen (1:41:46)
I didn't.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:41:47)
I had no clue, because she's walking around these perfectly straight teeth and breezing in and out of her dental appointments for all these years. mean, of course, after the braces and stuff like that. But she's like, going to the dentist is a breeze. She had no idea her mother has been going through stuff, times when we didn't have insurance, times when the insurance was inadequate, times when we had dentists that were racist and that were thinking that the best way to deal with

Resa Crippen (1:42:05)
Right.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:42:13)
problem for a person of color is just to take out teeth instead of really doing care. And so she was like, my gosh, mama, I had no idea you have a molar missing. my gosh, you know, all this kind of stuff. I said, yeah, I got two on this side missing. ⁓ And to go to a dentist and having like, not a problem. We can fix this. We can get this done. We can fix this. We can fix this. And there's an answer for everything. But of course, it takes money, right? And it takes time and it takes effort.

Resa Crippen (1:42:27)
Yeah

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:42:39)
It's a little scary to be at a dentist because you're having a medical issue with your teeth and with your gums. You're like, my gosh, but I'm getting older. And as you get older, teeth that used to get through everything like nothing, sometimes one of them might crack or one of them might give you issues or pain or whatever. And that's when dentists, you remember that they are doctors. Once you have to go to one for pain, you're like, yeah, they're a doctor.

Resa Crippen (1:43:05)
Right.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:43:06)
You remember real quick, dentists are doctors too. ⁓ And you get it handled.

Resa Crippen (1:43:09)
Right.

it's like the fact that, know, Jenny was battling this form of cancer for 15 years and she decided after that, like once she beat her battle with that to like come back and help people. To me, that's remarkable. Cause a lot of people, and this is like no shade to anybody, but a lot of people that have been through stuff for like a long period of time, they're like, once I'm done, they're like, I'm done. I don't want to be a part of none of that. Yeah. Right.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:43:34)
Yeah, she's a wife and a mother too. So you would

think like, I don't want anyone to know. I just want to go back to my life and get my life back together. And she's like, no, I can extend myself and help someone else. And I feel the same way when I go through stuff. It's like, I'm going through what I went through, but did I write a review for that dentist so other people will know, hey, come over here. He's a good one.

Resa Crippen (1:43:38)
Mm-hmm. Right.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:43:55)
Because when you find someone that's doing their work as well as they can do it, they should be rewarded. I think we still have to write that review for that nice Mexican restaurant we went to. We've gone to it like two or three times already.

Resa Crippen (1:44:04)
Yeah, we haven't done that yet. I

know we've gone, yeah, about three times now. We've gone three times.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:44:10)
went during Cinco de Mayo. We just had a great time. We're like, we got to write a review for this place because it's a really good Mexican food over here. And we've yet, we've got to do that. We've got to do that. Yeah. Because I honestly believe if you, something going on in your life that has been helpful or good, and I believe in helping local businesses, people should all help their local businesses, keep the money in their towns.

Resa Crippen (1:44:16)
It really is.

Yeah, because it

goes back to that whole, to what you guys said earlier in the podcast about like one small thing can make like a bigger impact, like that movie that we watched last week where... Oh yeah, sorry.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:44:40)
Oh, oh yeah, let's get there. Let's get there. Let's go over to I forgot where the next segment. You're absolutely right, Resa.

No, no, you're right. Let's go on to the screening room.

Resa Crippen (1:44:50)
Yes.

The Screening Room (1:44:53)
It's time for that weekly movie review in the screening room.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:45:12)
Okay, in this week's screening room, the movie, Good Sam, it came out in 2019, but we watched it. We saw it on Amazon Prime, right, Resa? No, we saw it on Netflix. Yeah, it was a Netflix original. So sorry, Netflix, don't hurt me. It was written by Tina Booth and Dete Meserve It's directed by Kate Melville. It stars Tiya Sircar Chad Conner.

Resa Crippen (1:45:24)
No, Netflix, yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:45:41)
Marco, Ghazzini, and others. Now here's a brief synopsis and then we're gonna get into this film because me and Resa watched it and we loved it, okay? If you're looking for a faith inspired movie that leaves you thinking about the power of generosity, then Good Sam is the movie for you, okay? Good Sam is a thought provoking film about an anonymous giver who starts leaving $100,000 in cash on the doorsteps of people in need.

from a struggling man relying on food banks to a successful doctor fundraising for a pancreatic cancer research, the impact of this mystery person ripples out in beautiful and unexpected ways. Now at the heart of the story is Kate Bradley, a television reporter initially reluctant to cover a tale of a Sam, but she uncovers the layers of this extraordinary mystery and she discovers something even bigger, that one

the way one act of kindness can inspire a chain reaction of goodness among her community. The acting is excellent, the story moves at a pace that keeps you engaged, and the film message reminds us of the calling that we all share as believers to show Christ-like kindness to others. Now, I loved this movie.

I know Resa did too. It kind of had the feel of like a Lifetime the way they shot it because the camera shakes in some places, you know? So don't think Lionsgate think more like Lifetime as far as the production a little bit, something you would see on TV. But we rate it for 12 and up. Parents should find it, you know, appropriate, you know. I do...

believe that the film is perfect for family nights and for like a small group discussion on selflessness or faith in action. So you guys should add it to your watchlist. Resa, what did you think about this film?

Resa Crippen (1:47:31)
I actually like this movie. It is one of those like family movie nights movies. It does have a good message. And again, it goes back to how like one small act can like impact a community of people. So I love that. So it was good.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:47:44)
Yeah, me too.

The themes of this movie explores the themes of kindness, has mystery, generosity, inspiration, community, selflessness, and human connection. And like we said, you can watch it on Netflix right now, because it's a Netflix original. You can watch the trailer for it if you wish to see what it's about at www.withthequickness.com. So when you get a moment, please check it out. I like the fact that it had a very inquisitive

TV reporter. I she was really good, that young lady that played it. And I like the fact that the story is one that makes you think about, like we were talking about before, the whole pay it forward. A lot of people used to do that. They would like pay for your drink or something at the drive-through and you get up there to the window to pay and they would go, oh, the person in front of you already paid for you. Do you want to pay for the person behind you? I used to like stuff like that. We don't do that as much anymore, but.

Resa Crippen (1:48:34)
You

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:48:39)
It does remind us people out there that are still doing good, that want to do good.

Resa Crippen (1:48:44)
Yeah, I feel like once the economy someday gets back on its feet, could hopefully do that again. Because right now, everyone's just trying to survive.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:48:52)
Yeah. And I think in times like this, don't think it's about for me. I don't think it's about waiting to the economies, right? There's other ways you can do nice things for people. It could be as simple as you see that older lady, you know, going around the parking lot, looking for a space and one opened up. Let her have it. You see, she's almost there. Let her have it. Don't just scoop it and take it from her or somebody on the, the airport, trying to put their luggage in the overhead compartment and they can't quite lift it. It's rather than waiting for the flight attendant to come and help them to say, do you need help with that?

Only takes a minute, only takes a second, you know?

Resa Crippen (1:49:25)
Well, yeah, if you're able to do it, then I say do it. Now, if you're not able to do it and you have a hard time lifting, then you should try to do it.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:49:31)
Of course, of course, of course. I'm just saying the things

that you can do under your esteem. Like I've seen many kids in church getting a little restless and the single mother has three of them.

It's nothing to say, oh, I'll watch these two while you take that one to the restroom. Hey. You know, now I know in this day and age, are like, what if she steals my child? Like, come on now, come on now. Okay. Yeah, it is, but you can, you can also make sure that, you know, your kids are okay. Like you don't, there's usually some people, I mean, if you're a new believer in Christ, I know it might be kind of hard to be in church and just like, let your children be with anybody, but.

Resa Crippen (1:49:53)
Right. That's what I'm saying. Kidnapping is a real thing.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:50:11)
You can, if you see it's a new mother, you can say, I can go with you if you want and help you with your kids. You know, and when you're older sister, it's easier to help a younger sister. The likelihood of trying to like take her out and take her kids is going to be minimal. Cause you're like, I can take that old woman. You know what saying? But we have to stop always being on the side of, New Jersey and New Yorkans do it all the time. We're always like, what's in it for you? Kind of feel we do that a lot to each other.

Resa Crippen (1:50:37)
Well, yeah, because like, I'm sorry, but the stories that are okay. For example, right? Obviously we know that I have my double the day segment. You know how hard it is for me to find a good story compared to all the stories that are out here like, so and so was snatched. So and so was kidnapped. Like there's like a lot of that. So when you hear that, when, that type of, I don't want to say noise, but that type of news is constantly being played and reiterated, you're just like,

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:50:54)
And no, that's true. ⁓

Resa Crippen (1:51:06)
I don't want to be that person on Channel 12 News.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:51:09)
Yeah, but

you got to also remember this too. The good things are happening in our world didn't go away and they're not less. It's just that we have such an appetite for the things that are going wrong, that that's what they put out first. You know, when we decided to make the Dove of the Day segment, it was because people were always talking about, so-and-so did this wrong. Let's highlight who did this wrong this week and why they're terrible people for doing this wrong.

Resa Crippen (1:51:19)
I don't.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:51:35)
And there was nothing that said, where's the highlight of just highlighting those that are good? And yes, they get acknowledged at certain times of year. People want to give out certain awards and certain scholarships and certain grants, but there's everyday average people that are doing good things.

Resa Crippen (1:51:51)
Right. But I also feel like too, to your point, and I just thought about this just now, that's like the old saying about how bad behavior is always rewarded. And I feel like we need to shift from that paradigm to be like, you know what, we're not going to reward bad behavior. Let's amplify the actual good behavior that's out here so that we can get more of that versus all of this debauchery.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:52:17)
Well, yeah, my thing is this too. think it's Christians will always and should always uplift and highlight the good that's happening. You have to have someone somewhere doing that clarion call saying there's good still going on in the world. And you have picked up the mantle to say, well, on the podcast, I want to do this type of story to show new and rededicated Christians that there's good going on in the world, whether you believe it or not. Hey, I found a story today. You it's going to help show you.

The reason why we have the Bema seat, people bearing their testimony or extraordinary stories are taking place of people that, their lives are being touched by, the Holy Spirit or, know, and or, you know, just believing in Christ, their life is being touched by Christ or they're getting moved by the Holy Spirit to do certain things. That's why we have the Bema seat. So, you know, all we can do is keep moving forward the best we can. And, you know, God's put on our heart what our, you know, charges and what our purpose is.

hopefully to resonate. Cause I know when I first got into the faith, it was like, I got to give up so many things to be a devout Christian. It's one thing to be a lukewarm Christian, but a devout one, you got to give up a lot of stuff. And then it became, well, okay, if I can't listen to this music, then what can I listen to? If I can't watch this, then what can I watch? You know, and, and we're just filling in some of those blanks. It's like, Hey, you're wondering what you can watch instead of, you know, the debauchery that's, you know,

Resa Crippen (1:53:24)
Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:53:39)
playing late at night, two in the morning, on some of them channels you shouldn't be watching. Hey, here's a great movie for you. Or you're wondering instead of these songs that's degrading women or rapping about women and degrading them in this way, what can I listen to? Well, how about this? We're giving those things because someone somewhere has to kind of tell you where the breadcrumbs are and how you can navigate this. Because the transition from being

Resa Crippen (1:53:42)
You

my gosh.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:54:08)
more in the world instead of, you know, of the world instead of in just in the world has to start somewhere. So you're kind of, we're kind of like leading a little bit saying, this is what's worked for us. These are the things we listen to. These are the things that, you know, we watch and that we talk about. These are the other sermons that, you know, we kind of, and men and women of God that are out there giving good messages that you might want to tune into.

Resa Crippen (1:54:30)
Yeah, because I know before I dedicated my life back to Christ, I really thought, and this is so ignorant to say, but I really thought I was like, oh man, I can't do nothing. Because I honestly thought, I was like, you know what, I'm going to live my life. And then when I'm towards the last leg of my life, I'm going go ahead and get baptized. That's what I thought. Because that's how it was presented to me, not by you, but by the culture of like, when you get old, you'll have time to settle down.

find God again, get re-baptized, and then you can go to glory, to the upper room, not realizing that you could do that at your younger age. Yeah.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:55:05)
Yeah, because you saw so many men and women that have done it in the past. That's

like, they have the stories to tell. Like, yeah, before I was with Christ, and you would hear them tell their stories. Like, man, you did a whole bunch of debauchery before you became, yeah, I did. So you're like thinking, what good is it to be a person that grew up in the faith? But you'd be surprised. Sometimes I listened. I listened to people that grown up in the faith and haven't varied from it. And they have such a strong faith wall.

Resa Crippen (1:55:12)
Right. ⁓

Hahaha!

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:55:35)
Now some people have grown up in the faith and they found a way to for their reasons and had to come back around. But the ones that kind of stayed steady, we don't talk about them enough, but the ones that stay steady, they have some strong roots, you know, and it makes a difference in a family line. It really does. Someone that has been kind of close to God the whole walk, you know, they become real pillars of the community and pillars in their family.

I can see that alone when I do the ancestry, the ones that have been really stout, not saying they didn't stumble and didn't have problems, but they never wavered on their belief in God. They built different. You can see them the minute they pop up in the family tree, their stories are different. They just really are. And it is a beautiful thing to see. It's a beautiful thing to see.

Resa Crippen (1:56:18)
Right.

It is.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (1:56:24)
Now, like I said, you can see the trailer for Good Sam at www.withquickness.com. So when you get a chance, check it out. And if you're on Netflix, please, it's a Netflix original. Now let's go on to Before the Bema Seat.

The Bema Seat (1:56:38)
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 (1:57:30)
Today, Katherine Haueisen's extraordinary story reminds us that even in life's most unraveling moments, God can guide us towards an unexpected connection that heals and inspires. Her story is one of heartbreak, healing and hope woven through an unexpected threads of family and faith. Now, after Katherine was subjected to her husband's devastating betrayal and their subquential divorce, she found herself struggling with grief and searching for purpose

in the shambles of her once stable life. But then came the dreams, vivid visions of her cousin Lynn, someone she hadn't been close to in decades. These dreams stirred something deep within her and awakened a curiosity she couldn't ignore. Was God calling her to reconnect? Katherine began to search across time and memory. She unearthed an old school directory and reached out to Lynn's brother and sent an email with a little hope of a reply.

But what she didn't expect was to discover an unbelievable resilience of her cousin. The once carefree teen, Lynn's life had veered off course following a car accident that left her paralyzed and a brutal divorce that separated her from her children. Yet her faith, determination, and her remarkable positivity inspired everyone she encountered.

Heartfelt emails and phone calls, Katherine and Lynn filled the gaps of their lives stories. They rekindled a bond neither had anticipated. Katherine found herself profoundly moved by Lynn's triumphant narrative of earning a master's degree, rebuilding her life and finding community despite her physical limitations. Lynn radiated grace and strength in the face of profound adversity, becoming a beacon of what's possible through faith and perseverance. Now when

Kathryn finally traveled to Michigan to meet Lynn in person. What she expected was more than rekindled family ties. It was a reconnection to her roots, her sense of belonging and a renewed hope for the next chapter of her life. Lynn's life lesson was clear. Even after a storm of loss and hardship, there's still room for new beginnings. Lynn's courage left an endurable impact on Kathryn.

And through Lynn's passing away a few years later, her legacy of hope became a guidepost for Kathryn So now Kathryn carries her cousin's memory as a reminder that even in life's darkest moments, God plants seeds of healing and transformation. I love this story, Resa. I feel like, you know, reconnecting to someone you once knew, even in the family line, a cousin, an aunt, an uncle, someone you haven't, you know, really talked to very often.

I think it's important to pick up where you left off and try to figure out what happened to certain people in the family.

Resa Crippen (2:00:23)
Yeah, I definitely think it is important to, you know, reconnect and figure out what exactly happens that way. Because like, listen, life is short. So you never know when they are going to go to the upper room, as I call it. So, you know, it's important when you're given those opportunities and they arise that you take it.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (2:00:32)
Yeah.

Yeah, and to find out you're calling and finding out about somebody and they just had a bad car accident, you know, and they're on the road of recovery and you pop back in their lives and they're not that fun teenager you once remember, but they're a grown woman struggling, you know, and to actually help each other in different ways. One's going through a divorce, another one's going through, you know, trying to get healing of herself.

Resa Crippen (2:01:04)
Yeah, like those stories sound like a Lifetime story because it just sounds like, my gosh, like that really happened. But yeah, those type of stories do happen.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (2:01:13)
They do, they do. The story is a heartfelt testament of the resilience of the human spirit. I feel like a lot of ways, if we can just remember that all of us are just spirits having a human experience here, we'd be get through this life a lot easier, honestly. I mean, we have more in common than we have separating us.

Resa Crippen (2:01:33)
Yeah, I've also even heard the saying that like, I don't know how true this is, so this could just be like a fluke, but I heard that the people that like have the most like tension with each other, like they don't like each other, those are the ones that like have like the most in common. I don't know how true that is. I don't know how true that is, because I can't speak to that, I'm sorry. Like if we button heads, it's because we just don't mesh.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (2:01:53)
I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know.

Resa Crippen (2:02:00)
I don't hate you, I just know we just don't get along. So I just stay on my side of the sidewalk, that's all I got say.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (2:02:05)
Yeah.

So if you'd like to share your story from your Christian experience, one that would inspire new and rededicated Christians, please visit www.withthequickness.com and select the Bayma Seed tab. There you can fill out the interview form so we can schedule a virtual interview. You can also email baymaseed at withquickness.com to begin the guest process. So, Resa

another episode down. We went a little long today, but I think no one minds. they do, they'll let us know, right?

Resa Crippen (2:02:34)
Yeah, they'll

definitely let us know in the comments, but I think they'll be okay. But we had a lot to say and because we are about to gear up for our vacation, it's okay, it's okay.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (2:02:43)
Yeah,

but how was I supposed to know I was gonna find out the earth has a heartbeat? That was big, that was big news for me. I was just praying to God like I'm asking God is the earth alive? And then the next day articles come out. I see the article about it says the earth has a heartbeat. I was like, Lord, my goodness. You know how to answer things the way you want to answer, don't you?

Resa Crippen (2:02:51)
That's it.

It's true though, it does have a heartbeat.

Angeline Bishop Thomas (2:03:07)
Well, we are so thankful that you tuned in today. Our prayer for you is that God reveals to you that he is real and able to meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Have a great week, everybody. Bye now.

Resa Crippen (2:03:21)
Have a great week, everyone.

WTQ Outro (2:03:22)
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