Welcome To The In-Between

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is Between the Prayer and the Promise, a faith-centered podcast for anyone who's ever found themselves waiting on God. You've prayed, you've believed, you've stood on his word, and yet you're still waiting, still trusting, still holding on to what he's promised, even when you can't see it yet. We gather here once a month to share real stories from real people, navigating that sacred and sometimes lonely space between what we've asked God for and what we're still believing him to do. This is a place for honest faith. The kind that admits doubt, that wrestles with that delay. But in spite of all that, we still choose to trust. Because here's the truth. The waiting is not wasted. God is faithful in every season, especially the ones that test us the most. So if you're listening and you're in that in-between season and you're holding on by a thread of faith, know this. You are not forgotten and you are not alone. Welcome. Let's trust him together right here between the prayer and the promise. Welcome to another episode of Between the Prayer and the Promise, the space where we learn and we lean and we trust God because we know that He is working on us while we are waiting on what He promised to us. Get ready for a powerful conversation.

Freedom That Costs Something

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Today we are talking about something real freedom. Not the kind that just looks good on paper or that we post on Instagram, but the kind of freedom that costs you something, the kind that asks you to surrender, the kind that puts you into a process, the kind that God leads you into when you finally say, Okay, God, I'm done pretending that I'm fine. Genesis 50 and 20 says, You intended to harm me, but God intended for good. That verse sounds victorious when you read it, right? But it feels like warfare when you're living through the harm part, when you're in the middle of what meant to destroy you, wondering if God, do you see me? Do you see what I'm going through? And that's why we're here today. And that's where this conversation begins. Our episode, Freedom Is Worth the Fight. It explores what it looks like when God reveals you right in the place that was meant to break you. I am joined today by our wonderful guest, Gina Fox, founder of Anchor by the Sword. She's an author, a speaker, a woman who knows what it means to wrestle for freedom and find her identity anchored in Christ. You guys help me welcome our guest today, Gina. Hi. Hi. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm so happy. And thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. You're welcome. Thanks for having me. I am looking forward to this conversation. And look, Gina, we waste no time. I dive right into the questions because look, we are ready for our freedom and we want to know how you got there. We need to know some steps, we need to know some action. So was there a moment, maybe even if it was small, dramatic, when you realized you were not free as you thought you were? If so, what I want you to do is kind of take us back to that moment. What was happening in your life when you real when you recognize that you needed freedom?

Gina’s Freedom Walk And Soul Ties

SPEAKER_03 4:23

So yeah, there's there's so many places I could go with that because you know, freedom is a process. And the moment you get free from one thing, something else comes up. But in general, like the whole reason this ministry started is at the end of 2019, I was really feeling like I didn't know where I wanted to go next. I had walked with a ministry and it wasn't didn't really end well. And I was like, I don't know what my next steps are. And I went to a workshopslash, you know, conference, mini conference locally. And one of my my friends invited me and this woman just started talking about freedom. And I was like, you know, I've gone through so many things when I was younger, and I thought I had worked through them. But as I'm sitting there listening to her talk, I'm like, no, I haven't. Like, I have not worked through that. I've done a great job of pushing and compressing, but I have not done a great job of releasing. So when uh 2020 came around, I started in January with this 13-week walkthrough freedom through things from my past that includes like sexual past, abusive past, relational issues, pornography, just a lot of different issues through 13 weeks. And of course, we're about three months, a couple months in and COVID. So it's like, well, we we still walk through it. I think there were five or six of us that started and two of us finished. That's how difficult of a journey this was. And so towards the end, we we had to do what they call soul tie breaking. And if you're not familiar with what that is, what that is is you take, you write things down that you've gone through and write the connections that you've made with people in the past, situations, that kind of stuff. You write it down and then you pray through each one and you break them off of you. And that was something that took me a while to do that day. But I'll tell you, when I when I was done, I literally bounced down the steps. And it isn't because I trip falled and bounced down the steps, and my husband's like, What is wrong with you? Like I said, nothing, isn't it great?

Anchored By The Sword Begins

SPEAKER_03 6:54

And so it was at that point, then within the next couple of days, after another conversation I had with somebody else, that I felt like God was impressing on me, anchored by the sword. And I was like, I don't know what this is, I don't know what you're trying to tell me. But what I we did, I'll go back to the very beginning of our sessions, of our 13-week sessions. We had this little block, I don't have it on me, but it was a block, and we had to write verses on it because she told us that we will need to rely on those verses as we go through this. And my verse was Hebrews 6:19, that that our hope is the anchor of our soul. Yeah, the hope of the Lord is the anchor of our soul. And so I went out and what I did is I started a Facebook page and I had 10 people, 10 to 20 people within five minutes start following me. And I started a web page, created a logo, did all those things, and then kind of floundered with it for about a year. I was like, okay, you know, I don't know really what I want to do with this. And then my best friend, who's been my friend for 30 plus years, said, Why don't you start a podcast? And I was like, girl, no, nobody wants to listen to me speak. I talk too much, anyways. Nobody's going to listen to that. Well, I ended up winning the podcast equipment that I'm presently using. And somebody came on while I was working on a on a Facebook Live that said, Are you ready to start your podcast? And I was like, Okay, God, we're gonna do this. He was like, start these podcasts. Exactly. Like, listen to Nikki. Has she ever deterred has she ever steered you wrong? And the answer to that is no, because she's the one who started taking me to church when I was 16. So no, she's never steered me wrong. And I was like, okay, God, we'll do this. And over five years later, here we are, over 300 plus episodes released, and I've gotten to talk to people all over the world. And my freedom journey continues because there's things that come up that I have to do another soul tie breaking. And the another way of healing for me has been listening to the stories of others and seeing what people have walked through and knowing that if they can get through that, so can I. If they can get through this, and they've been through some of the worst things that people can ever imagine, you know, human trafficking, abuse, drug abuse, all these things, abortions, if they can get through all of this and come out on the other side with hope and joy that God has healed them, delivered them, and given them freedom, then I can have the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

That is so powerful. And I love that you you do you call it walk walk through freedom because it's definitely something that we have to walk through. Sometimes we just want to erase it. Sometimes we want to run through it, sometimes we want to forget it. But literally, we have to walk through this. And the fact that you are doing this journey with people, that goes to show us that we don't have to walk alone, right? Right, and reminds us just how much, even that is just so spiritual, too. How much our heavenly father is there with us, and he's walking through this with us in that journey, and how he will give us nudges when he's telling us to do something like he did with that body. Like it is, yeah, and something else. You said so much, I'm gonna say that. And so thank you so much for your transparency, yeah, and just being real with us today about how other people sharing their stories, how that had helped you even through your own journey, and how this walk is continual for you, and that how you have to continue with the soul ties, breaking the soul ties, and that sometimes we feel like this, and I think this is encouraging too. Uh, oh, I did it now. I'm done. Right, I'm I'm straight now. I never have to do this again. I went through the walkthrough journey, y'all. And so we don't want that trick to get us stuck too that now we have arrived to this place and that we're we're now we're saved. Sometimes people think that too. Now that I'm saved, I'm never gonna go through anything again. No, these are tools that you will need as you continue to live life and as test comes against you.

Stories That Break Isolation

SPEAKER_00 11:33

But what you said that I really love is that when people share their story, how it helps you. And I believe that sometimes the enemy will use isolation, right? He will make us feel like we're the only ones, he will make us feel alone. And so if you keep quiet, if you don't say anything, because we live in this shame bottle, right? And we don't want to share because we are ashamed, but we don't know how you sharing your testimony, how what you have been through or what you are going through, how that will help somebody. And so I want to say that. Thank you for sharing that. And and I want to say that for the listeners today, that don't be ashamed, don't live in isolation because your testimony or what you're going through, because we believe and we know that God will bring us through, will help someone else as they are on this journey as well. Because you can be in a room full of people, right? And feel alone. Because being isolation has nothing to do with people being around you, it has to do with nobody understands me, nobody will get what I'm going through. But uh-uh, if I will speak, someone else will say me too. Yeah, I understand that. But do you know me too? Do you know God too? Do you know God can? Do you know God will? And see if the enemy will keep you quiet, then you will never hear the me to's, you will never hear the godkins, you will not know the God wills. So I just encourage you all. Like Gina is sharing her testimony, her road to freedom, some steps that she took, the freedom walk, the soul tie breaks. This can be your story too. This can be your journey as well. This God is not a guy of favorites, like, oh, I'm only gonna do it for for Miss Fox. No, he said, I got it for you too.

SPEAKER_03 13:32

Amen.

Mental Health Without Shame

SPEAKER_03 13:33

And I've learned that too with with there was there's a couple topics that are in my life that I never wanted to be hills that I died on, but they have become that. One of them is mental health. Mental health was a big thing with my with the women on my mom's side of the family, and it includes me too. Where, you know, my mom dealt with bipolar, she lived with bipolar, and she passed away at 53. And so me telling our story helps other people to understand and try to at least, you know, see that mental health is not necessarily something that can be prayed away. It's not necessarily something that God's gonna heal like this. He could. We're not gonna put anything past him or put him in a little box. But a lot of times he's walking through it with us. You know, he never he always promises he's gonna be with us, he's never gonna leave us, but it doesn't mean he's gonna take it all away. And so by talking with people through the podcast, we've talked about all facets of mental health on the podcast. And that has, we just went through May was mental health awareness month. And so being able to share those stories to let people, even people, you know, people in the church, let them know like if you're going through this, it is okay to not be okay, but let's talk. Let's have open dialogue. Do you have a place where you can go to come and talk to? You can talk to myself, you know, you can talk to your pastor, you can talk to a counselor. There's nothing, there's no shame in any of it. If you need medication, there's no shame in any of that. Because God gave us things and people that have certain skill sets to be able to help us walk through things.

Infertility And Worth As A Woman

SPEAKER_03 15:22

The other thing is infertility. That was not a story I wanted. That was not the story I wanted. But do you know the majority of the places I go and talk, that's where I'm talking about? Because especially, and I will say that the church in general, the big C church, does not always know how to handle women with no children. Yeah, they can handle married women with kids, they can handle single women, they can handle widows, which is awesome because we're supposed to, but they have a hard time with women who are married, who have no children, who can't have children. That's a hard, that's a hard conversation to have. And I've been told so many times, well, it's okay, you're still young, you still can still have kids. I say, well, unless God is going to mold a new uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, all of that stuff, it's not gonna happen. And it's a journey I've had to walk through for 12 years, plus the years prior to having my hysterectomy. And I have had to walk through a really hard thing with that because when I was first starting the journey, I was not back in church yet. I was angry, I was fuming. One girl was pregnant at the same time. I was trying to get pregnant, and all she did was complain and moan. And I went off on her. I will say that I went off on her to the point where my manager had to pull me aside and say, What is going on? What is wrong? And then going starting to go back to the church and then reading stories like Hannah's story and then hearing the words be fruitful and multiply. That's a really hard thing to take when you are facing infertility as a woman and a man. Because God puts those inherent desires in us to birth things to be fruitful and multiply. And when we when we can't, then we start feeling less than. We start feeling shame, we start feeling guilt, we start feeling all the things of like, why me? Why not me? Why can this person have 17,000 children and not take care of any of them? And I can't have one that I would love and you know, care for and totally be all about. And so that's something that we, me and my husband, both had to walk through. And we walked through it at different times. I had to face it head on right there because it was my body and it was happening to me at that moment. And then I've had to walk through it at different times in my life. And I've been able to share my story, which has helped people to understand that they are not alone. Because it is so easy to feel like you're alone when you're walking through that because you don't think anybody else has, because nobody's talking about it. Like you said, if you're not talking about it, people feel alone.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

And what was your resolve? I'm sorry, I wanted to this is so and and being very, very honest. I am I'm 47 and I don't have any biological children of my own. So I can honestly relate to that. So what was your resolve for that? What was your resolve even with with with God, with people, with coming to the understanding that that may not be your testimony that I have children?

SPEAKER_03 18:43

It took a lot, I'll tell you. It took a lot, but God has I would just say, number one, but God, I have been blessed. I have five nephews, and they're my brother's kids. And so I have had a hand in helping to raise five boys. And those five, you know, the one, the one unfortunately, I don't get a chance to talk to very much. But the other four are in town, and I see them on at least a weekly basis. In fact, over Easter, I had one of them call me and ask if they can bring their girlfriend over. And that was a huge blessing to me. So there's been so many other children placed in my life. My friends' kids, my friends have let me have a hand in helping with their kids, taking their kids to school, just all that fun stuff. So I've gotten to do those things. But it's not an easy resolve because you still have that desire that you want to birth your own child to be pregnant. You know, like I told somebody one time, I was like, I would have liked to have been pregnant one time, but that didn't happen. And so that was a really hard thing for me to grasp. And somebody one time told me exactly what it was like, and I was so grateful that she told me because it made me feel a little bit better. I was like, oh, okay, I felt that before, but okay, it wasn't because I was pregnant. Got it. Okay. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

Have you ever felt like that spoke to your worth as a woman? And if so, how did you kind of denounce that lie?

SPEAKER_03 20:22

Oh, it it's it's something that still creeps in once in a while. Comments will still get made. And so it it certainly does still creep in. And I have to say, you know what? It's fine. Back off, stop with those thoughts, stop hearing what you're what somebody else is meaning for you to hear. And you are a daughter of God, and you are you are loved, you are worthy. He has created you for a reason, a purpose, and it may not be that reason, but he birthed other things in you, including the book that's right up here.

Turning Trials Into Testimonies

SPEAKER_03 21:01

That was another thing that got birthed out of me. And what is that book? It's it's called Anchored in Freedom. Okay. And when you go on my website, you'll see everything associated with the book, including links where you can purchase it. And so in that book, I got to walk through my infertility journey. I've also talked about we had a mental health chapter. So there were 18 other voices coming in from the podcast and four of my own stories. And we talked about grief and loss, mental health, survival and healing. And so those were we were talking about the subtitle is turning turning trials into testimonies of trials. Oh and so yeah, it was it was a two and a half year project, but that is something else I got to birth that I I always wanted to write a book. I just never knew what it was gonna be about.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Eena, you are just dropping this information today. I did not even know the interview was gonna go this way. But thank you again. So, you know, people know you as a wife, as a ministry leader, as a writer, as a speaker. But if you just stripped all those titles away, who was Gina in the middle of her struggle? And what did what did you believe about yourself?

SPEAKER_03 22:28

Well, when I wasn't following God, and even the times when I was, I did not feel worth anything. There was times I felt like that I was useless, that there was no reason to have me on this earth. And that was a really hard place to be. And I was there multiple times. But God. Then when I still go through the struggle, when I still have the issues that I do, I always have to remember, and it's not easy. And sometimes it just takes me, you know, walking out, doing whatever I need to do, putting headphones on so I can shut the world out and just listen to praise music and listen to other music, God-focused music, to remember who I really am. And at first, before anything else, I am his daughter. And that's that's where I am at the core. And then it goes out from there that I'm also a physical daughter. And then that I'm a wife, I'm an aunt, I'm a fur mama, I am a friend. And then it goes from there.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

Wow. So the version of you, the one who felt lost, the one that's found, and you know, even unworthy. You said unworthy. She mattered, right? Yes, she did. Um, yeah, because she is the one, honestly, and and I want everybody to hear this. She is the one that had the courage to reach for something more. She is the one that had the courage to write that book, right? She is the one that had the courage to do that podcast, right? She is the one that carries something precious into the season, even if she couldn't see it, even if she didn't know the whole outcome.

SPEAKER_03 24:18

Yeah, because she kept making it then every day, every day, every moment she she made it through.

SPEAKER_00 24:24

You did. And so thank you. I congratulate you for that. And so I just want to ask you with that courage, what did you do with that? What was the very first step, even if it was tiny, that you took just to do something a little more? That might help people kind of know like the first step.

SPEAKER_03 24:48

Well, my first step going through going through everything in the beginning, my first step was going back to church. Because I have been away from the church for a long time due to some church hurt, church split, all that kind of stuff, you know, stuff most of us have walked through. Anybody who's been in the church long enough has been through something or not in the church now, and that's why they're not there. They've walked through some type of hurt. And so my first step was getting back and not going back to the person I was, like the when I first became a Christian, but learning how to have the relationship with God, which is still an ongoing process, and I still fail all the time, but learning how to have that relationship as an adult, as the person that I am now, not the person I was when I was 16, 17, 18. So yeah.

Taking Off The Mask

SPEAKER_00 25:45

So we're calling this episode Freedom is worth the fight. Freedom is worth the fight. So I'm wondering if there was a season, excuse me, where you were performing, like you were just performing that you were free, but you were still bound. And if so, what was the cost of just performing or or I like to say faking it?

SPEAKER_03 26:11

So faking it until we make it, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I think I think I've gone through multiple seasons of that where like I just you know, I think especially, and uh you can you can say this if you agree with me. I think once you hit 40, you just get tired of that. Like once I hit 40, I was like, I am so done trying to be who everybody wants me to be, and trying to just it just took so much energy and so much time that I don't have. And sometimes some people say faith in it until you make it instead of faking it until you make it.

SPEAKER_01 26:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:57

But yeah, it's it's really hard when you feel like you have to perform. And I mean, it's it's just something that I know we all struggle with because we all want to look good on the outside, we all want to have, you know, everything appear good. But then when things are going on and it's not good, then it's hard to talk about that. Yeah, and that can be in any facet of your life, and it's a process I'm go, I'm still going on, I'm still learning, especially now being more in the public area with the podcast and getting to do some of the other things I've gotten to do. We're on we're doing our second ministry workshop this year. So, you know, still just learning it and trying to be authentic and even even if I'm having a really crappy moment, a crappy day, and just being okay with that and just being like, Yeah, today's not a good day, but tomorrow it'll be better.

SPEAKER_00 27:55

Yeah, something you reminded me of, face it till you make it. I remember I forgot about that. I was at some conference and this speaker, and I wish I could give her credit because I cannot recall because it was years ago, but it stuck with me what she said. She said, people like to fake it till they make it, but you need to face it till you make it, face the trauma, face the disappointment, face whatever it is that you are trying to wear the mask of, because that's the issue. We don't want to face it. And how do you face it with faith? So you face it with faith. So that's how you can face it, make it with faith till you make it. And so I love that combination of like the facing it, and we face it with faith because it is a mask that we wear. Was there a mask that you were afraid of, like people seeing, which is why you might have did some, you know, performative freedom or what have you?

SPEAKER_03 29:02

Well, I think especially when I first became a Christian, this was in the late 90s. Okay. So when when we were in the late 90s, there was a lot of the like hellfire brimstone talk, which I know there's still some of that out, but it seemed like right then that's kind of what it was. And so, like, even though I was still going through a lot inside and I didn't have the freedom from the things that had happened to me and the things I had done when I was a teenager, I didn't have the freedom until 25 plus years later. I still tried to have a little bit like acting like I was free, even when I was a teenager. Like, yeah, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good. You know, I was kind of like outwardly saying all that, but inside I was still struggling.

SPEAKER_02 29:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:50

And I struggled for, like I said, I struggled for a long time before I finally became free of a lot of those things. And my friend Stephanie, the one who ran that group, she always says, You're healed and you're healing. And so, like with COVID, you know, we all wore the masks. Why, I don't know, but somebody told us to. And so we had those masks on, and then all of a sudden, when we stripped them off, it just became a new society. And I think too, though, during COVID, people were, I think it was the first time in a long time where mental health was really, really focused on because everybody was struggling, and people were more outwardly saying it that they were struggling.

SPEAKER_01 30:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:39

And I think that that that is one maybe good thing that has come out of it. Because I know for me too, with mental health, I never wanted to acknowledge it. I always wanted to hide it. Always wanted to say that's not a problem for me. That's not a problem. That was my mom's problem, that was my grandma's problem, my great grandma's problem. That was their problem, not mine. But yeah, I've learned that it is something I walk through and it's something I deal with, and it's something I've gotten counseling for, and it is something that I take medication for, and that's all okay. Right. I can stand here and say that and say that it's okay. And I don't feel shame about it, I don't feel remorse about it, I don't feel anything about it other than I know that this is what I need at this point. But the center is God, and that's what it needs to be, and everything else just falls into place, even if it takes a while. Just be patient.

SPEAKER_00 31:38

That's so good. I think too a lot like social influence, things we see, things that we hear, and so we wear the mask because of what we are afraid of, what people will think, what people will say, how people will feel about us, right? And so instead of saying it, we wear the mask, and then therefore, again, we are allowing ourselves to stay in bondage longer versus being free, versus saying, I'm dealing with this, this is going on, and getting the help or getting the deliverance that we need. And I love you said your friend said, and you're healed and you're healing, you're healed and you're healing. That was beautiful. And and if you're listening today, I invite you to repeat that. You're healed and you're healing, you know. And so there's a quote that that I say, I'm loving the woman I am as I'm working on the woman I'm yet to become. So as I'm right here healing, I'm not already healed, I'm feeling I'm going through the process. I still have to love me right now. Exactly. Because when I come to this next season, say plus size woman, I have to love me right now. But when I lose the weight, guess what? I have to love me then because if I don't, there's gonna be something else. There's always something else, always something else, right? You got to keep peeling that onion. But I just invite everyone to take the mask off. We worry so much about what other people will think, and that keeps us in bondage, keeps us in bondage. We're worrying about what they will think and they're going through their own struggle, they're in bondage, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:24

They're free, and people are not thinking about you as much as what you think they are. That is so they really are not, because they've got their own stuff. Like, I mean, seriously, they are not focusing on you as much as you think they are. So there's you need to just be real because there people, you know, the my pastor told me I was talking to him about a few things, and he was like, you know what? The church is full of messy people. We are all messy people, but we are all messy people working on our relationship with God and each other. And we we will arrive one day when we see Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 34:10

So true. I always am so hate how fast these interviews go. I have some more questions, some more things I want to dig into.

Fighting Lies With God’s Truth

SPEAKER_00 34:23

Just thinking about your season of fighting. What lie did the enemy try to convince you was true about yourself, about God, about your future? But what did God tell you to like say, you know what? Nope, I'm standing on God's truth. How did you get strong enough to like denounce that or just say no, that's not true anymore?

SPEAKER_03 34:48

Well, you read the verse at the beginning of the of the episode, Genesis 50, 20. You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. Now, whether I'm saving people or not, I mean, that's God will use whatever comes out, whatever testimony I give to whoever needs it at that moment. But everything that I've been through, the things that I still struggle with, God it does not keep you there. He uses what you've been through to help other people. The lie the enemy was telling me is that you're not you're not gonna get through this. Look at you, who do you think you are? Look at what you do, who do you think you are? And I have to stand on the fact that God knows exactly who I am, he knows the messy stuff, he knows my past, he knows my present, he knows my future. He knows it all. He knew it before I was born. He called me by name for this time, for this reason, for a purpose. And that's the things I have to stand on. Even when the fighting comes, even when I feel like I want to throw in towels in different areas of my life, I have to remember that God has me where he has me for a reason. And that if I can't do anything else, I'm at the end of myself. That's where he takes over.

SPEAKER_00 36:15

Yes.

Prayer And One Next Step

SPEAKER_00 36:19

I just want to pause for a moment here because I know that someone is listening and they may still feel bound. And Gina, your story, I believe it's just proof that bondage is not permanent, right? Um, we're gonna take a quick little break. I have a little song to encourage everyone. It's short, like 30 30 seconds. And Gina, when we get back, I want you to reflect on that. And I want you to give one piece of advice that you would give a listener who feels like their chains are just too heavy to break. Okay. We're gonna take a quick break.

SPEAKER_01 37:00

Between the prayer, trusting that who problem is faithful.

SPEAKER_02 37:42

Thank you, Father. Thank you, God, that you are faithful. Thank you, God, that the chains are broken.

SPEAKER_00 37:55

Thank you, God, that you are listening to the heart of your people, Father God Lord, and that they don't have to stay in bondage even now, Father God, Lord. As they listen with an open heart and an open mind, saying, God, do you see me? God, do you hear me? God, do you feel me? He says, Yes.

SPEAKER_02 38:16

Yes, my daughter, yes, my son. I thank you, Father.

SPEAKER_00 38:26

And I thank you, Gina, and I just I invite you to share whatever God has laid on your heart for the listener that feels like is just too heavy for them.

SPEAKER_03 38:46

So you're not alone, number one. You're not alone, you've never been alone. Even if you feel alone, you're not. Reach out to someone. Reach out, even if it's somebody that you have to call, if it's somebody that is outside your inner circle that you need to reach out to at this time, reach out to someone because you're not alone. Know that what you are going through right now is not going to last. It is not going to, it is not the permanent. So turn to where you need to go. Get through the next step. Get his word in your heart, in your mind, so that that way you can keep going. Because there are people that love you, people that need you. Start focusing on the areas that you need to work on, that you need to get the bondage free from, and just keep going. Because you've got this. And the reason you've got this is because he's got you.

SPEAKER_00 39:51

Hey man. That was beautiful. God has got you. God has got you. Now I just have a few more questions and we're gonna go ahead and wrap

When Freedom Became Necessary

SPEAKER_00 40:03

this up. I just want to know when was the turning point for you? When was that aha moment when you realized that freedom? It wasn't just like a distant possibility, but it was necessary for what got the calling, all the things that you're doing right now. It was necessary that you break the trains. It was necessary that you did that walk through freedom, those soul ties breaking. When did you have that aha moment?

SPEAKER_03 40:33

Well, it finally hit me, like I said, back in 2019 when I went to that workshop. My friend Renita invited me. And somebody else had invited me to do the class several years prior to, but I wasn't ready. And so when I went to that conference, it was like the light bulb went up, you know, the God's like, like this is what needs to happen, and this needs to happen now, and it's time. And so, yeah, that that conference in 2019, and then where I was at that time, like I said, I had been working with a ministry, I walked away, and I had the time and the space, and we really had the time and the space when COVID hit because everything stopped. So all you had was what you had, and so there was nothing but time, and so that was that ended up being the perfect time for me to do the things that needed to do, to get to where I am now, to have the tools to walk through the things that I have to walk through now. And knowing that I have experienced that freedom, that I don't have to, even though I still struggle with some things every now and again, like we all do, we're all gonna struggle until we see Jesus someday. But I know that God's with me in it, and that he's gonna help me through each part that I still have to walk through.

SPEAKER_00 42:05

Amen. Amen.

What Pain Changed In Her

SPEAKER_00 42:08

Looking back, is there anything from that season of bondage that you are actually grateful for? Like that you look like this was a gift that emerged from the pain that you would not, even though you went through all that, I wouldn't trade it because this is a gift that I got from that.

SPEAKER_03 42:29

You know, that's always so hard to say. Because you know what I mean? Because, you know, if you say to somebody, yeah, I'm so glad I went through two dumb relationships when I was a teenager. The thing about those is that as painful as they were, as hard as they were, they helped form me. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Like I would not be the person that I am. But also walking through like the situations with my mom. That was hard. And there I spent a lot of time away from her because I would not feed into what she was diluting, I didn't feed into it, and so we spent years apart, including three years prior to her death. I didn't see her. And so even though that was super hard, do I wish things were different? Yeah, I wish we could have had a better adult relationship than what we had. But at the same time, it made me who I am and it made me more compassionate towards other people who have gone through that. The same with the infertility. It's like each part of each thing that I've walked through, even though I hate it. I hated it as I went, and even sometimes looking back, I hate that I had to go through it. But I know that it was for a reason, and I know that there's somebody who needs to hear one part of my story and know that. That they're they're gonna be good, that they can keep going. And that even in the midst of it, God is still good. Even if we can't explain it, even if we can't explain, you know, like for instance, my step nephew passed away at two and a half. I can't sit here and legitimately say I am so glad, you know what I mean? Like there's a purpose, and there I believe there's a purpose to everything, but I can't explain why a two and a half year old got cancer and died. Yeah, yeah. I can't explain that. I can't sit here and try and rationalize that or anything. But what I can say is it sucked. I wouldn't be a nurse without it, because I'm a nurse during the day. I became a nurse because of that, but I also will never be a pediatric nurse because of that. But I know that certain things in my life had changed the trajectory of my life, and without them happening, I wouldn't be where I am.

SPEAKER_00 45:01

Powerful, powerful. Thank you, Gina. Thank you again. I told you all, and I know that God kept his word. I know he showed up and showed out. And I thank you, Gina, for just allowing God to use you, for being transparent, for allowing God to just use you in sharing your story and your journey.

Hold Tight To God’s Promise

SPEAKER_00 45:23

And is there in closing, is there anything that you want the listeners to know? What's one promise that you want them to hold on to today above everything else?

SPEAKER_03 45:36

Yeah, actually, let me flip it to that verse because it's actually really fun. Really, it's a God thing, okay? Because you have a verse that is on your graphic. And it's actually, I want to read it directly because it's actually one of our verses for our workshop that is coming up in November, a local workshop. And it talked about, let's see, let me get it. Hebrews 10, 23. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. And when I saw that on your graphic, I was like, I have to read that at some point during this, because we can trust that he will keep his promises, that he we can be anchored in all the promises. The Bible is full of his promises, and we can be anchored in those no matter what's going on. He's got us and he will not he will not leave us nor forsake us. Even if we walk away, he's still sitting there, he's waiting for us. He'll nudge us, he'll nudge us back. But yeah, he doesn't leave us.

SPEAKER_00 46:50

Amen.

How To Connect With Gina

SPEAKER_00 46:52

You you've taken your pain and you've turned it into purpose through Anchor by the Sword. So can you tell everyone about this ministry and how people can connect to you and anything else you want to share about anything that you have coming up or anything else about your ministry there?

SPEAKER_03 47:09

Absolutely. So you can find everything about Anchored by the Sword, me, my team, my book, all of the things. Even the podcast is on the on the website. So you just go to anchored by the sword.org and that way you can connect with me with everything. You can sign up for the email list, and I do not spam people. In fact, we are recording in April, and I haven't done one letter yet for the year. We'll just say that in frequent. And God's working with me on it. So I'm working on that. But, anyways, you can sign up there to join the email list so that that way you're the first to know about anything coming up. We are, like I said, we're doing our second annual ministry conference here in North Kenton, Ohio on November 14th. It's a Saturday and it's an all-day workshop. And we are planning an amazing day for everyone to come and learn how to be anchored in his promises. That is what the theme of the day is. And so just come on over, get yourself a copy of Anchored in in Freedom. Yeah, we are there to serve you. And also I also have a list of different references. If you're looking, if you're just starting out your journey, there's a reference page where you can look up different links to different products and just different things to help you along your journey.

SPEAKER_00 48:30

Wonderful. Thank you so much, Gina. I enjoyed meeting you, having this conversation. I gained so much, I feel encouraged, excuse me, from our conversation today. And I know everyone else does as well. And so we're just gonna close out in prayer.

Closing Prayer And Keep Trusting

SPEAKER_00 48:52

Father, we thank you. We thank you that freedom is possible. We thank you that what the enemy meant for evil does not get the final word. For every listener who feels stuck, bound, ashamed or unsure, remind them, Father, remind them that you are the God who redeems. Anchor them in your truth, anchor them in your identity, anchor them in you, Father God, Lord. Break the chains, restore the hope, and remind us that freedom is worth the fight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you all for listening to a Between a Prayer and a Promise. Thank you so much for listening to Between the Prayer and the Promise.

Like Subscribe And Share

SPEAKER_00 49:42

If this episode encouraged you, we love for you to like, subscribe, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your support helps us reach more people who are walking through their own season of waiting. But here's what matters most. Remember to trust God, not just when the answers come, not just when the blessings show up, but right here in the waiting, right here in the silence, right here in the in-between. He is faithful. He sees you and he's working, even when you can't see it yet. Until next time, keep believing, keep trusting, and keep holding on. I'm Lenny Sleeds, and I promise you, God is faithful.