Participants: Aaron Chancy (Host), Claire Madeus
Series Code: TNJ
Program Code: TNJ000071A
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00:01 The following program discusses sensitive issues.
00:04 Parents are cautioned that some material 00:05 may be too candid for younger children. 00:08 Welcome to the New Journey, 00:10 where you meet real life people with real life testimonies 00:12 and real life working ministries for Jesus. 00:15 I'm your host Aaron Chancy. 00:16 Come join us on The New Journey. 00:48 Welcome to The New Journey. 00:50 We have an exciting testimony by young woman 00:52 by the name of Claire Madeus. 00:54 Claire, we want to thank you for being on the program. 00:55 Well, thank you, Aaron. 00:57 Thank you. All right. 00:58 Let's get started. 00:59 Where were you born and where were you raised? 01:01 I was born in Haiti, Port-au-Prince, 01:04 was raised in Saint-Marc, 01:05 then moved to America 01:08 and was raised in Lake Worth, Florida. 01:10 Okay. Okay. 01:11 Describe your early childhood for me? 01:14 My childhood, it was... 01:17 I consider it was a bad childhood. 01:19 It was 13 of us in a family and I'm the youngest, 01:22 so I never really get much attention 01:24 as a child is supposed to get. 01:26 My dad was working 01:28 and I was home with my stepmother. 01:31 Okay. 01:32 And pretty much... 01:37 kind of, left abandoned, somewhat abandoned. 01:39 Okay. Okay. 01:40 I mean I was there but it was just like 01:42 I didn't get much attention as I should have got. 01:45 Yeah, and I can imagine 01:46 how hard it could be with 13 in a household 01:48 and you being the youngest. 01:50 I can understand how difficult it would be 01:53 to get the needed attention. 01:55 Now talk about the religious atmosphere of the house? 01:58 Were you guys Christian? Did you go to church? 02:00 What was that like? 02:02 Yes, we were Christian family, all of us was. 02:04 My dad did raised us up in a church 02:07 who was raised as Baptist. 02:09 Majority of my families are Baptist, 02:11 it's like three of us 02:13 who are the Seventh-day Adventist Christians now. 02:15 Okay. 02:17 All right, and we're actually going to get into later on 02:18 in the program, 02:20 how you got 02:21 into the Seventh-day Adventist church. 02:23 So don't answer that just yet, 02:24 but we will transition into that. 02:26 Growing up, 13 kids in a household, 02:30 stepmother and father, 02:31 what were some of your positive influences 02:34 in your life growing up? 02:36 I really didn't have any positive influences growing up. 02:40 Okay. Okay. 02:41 What were some of the negative influences that you had? 02:45 Not listening, 02:46 hanging with the wrong crowd of friends. 02:48 I don't have too many bad friends, 02:50 but I did find myself hanging with few friends 02:53 that were heading to a different path, 02:56 a wrong path in life. 02:57 Okay. Okay. 02:59 Now eventually, 03:00 you got involved in a homosexual lifestyle. 03:03 Talk about that, 03:05 how long were you involved in a homosexual lifestyle? 03:08 How did you get involved in it and eventually 03:10 how did you break free from that lifestyle? 03:12 Okay. 03:14 I don't remember, 03:15 recall how long I was in living that lifestyle 03:19 but I started as innocent, 03:21 you know, just going out to the gay club, 03:23 with me and my friends, 03:24 we would go there just to have fun, dance, and party. 03:29 We never actually paid no attention 03:31 then as I started going there more often 03:35 and I started to get involved with certain people 03:38 because they would approach me and I couldn't resist. 03:42 For me that temptation was strong, 03:44 so I decided to head down that path. 03:46 Okay. 03:47 And I believe I was homosexual for while. 03:53 Yes, so I came to a point where 03:56 that's all I wanted to be with and hang around so. 04:00 But how did I break free from it is when 2004, 04:06 I moved to Huntsville, Alabama. 04:08 You know, as I sit down and think about my lifestyles 04:12 and how I was raised in Christian home, 04:15 it made me realize that the path 04:17 that I was taking was not the right path. 04:20 And I know God didn't made Eve and Eve, 04:25 but I just know it was more of the flesh reacting 04:28 than the spiritual being. 04:30 Okay. 04:31 About how old were you when you got involved 04:33 in that type of lifestyle? 04:35 I believe I was 23. 04:39 Okay. Okay. So from 23 to about when? 04:44 About how long that it last approximately? 04:47 You can say about four or five 04:50 so that would make me how old. 04:53 Now the thing is 04:54 there's a lot of people that struggle 04:56 with the homosexual tendencies, 04:58 homosexual relationships 05:00 that realize maybe it's not the best. 05:04 And they want to break free from it, 05:06 but they don't know how. 05:09 For you, you were able to break free from it 05:11 when you kind of sat down and analyzed your life. 05:13 Do you think that that can work for many individuals 05:17 who deal with the same type of lifestyle? 05:20 It can and I can see it can fall. 05:23 Okay, true. You know, it's within the in. 05:26 I didn't start off homosexual. Okay. 05:29 It was just something that I pick along the way 05:31 so it depends on the person, 05:34 I can't really tell or explain it, 05:37 it depends on 05:39 who you really are in the inside. 05:42 Okay. Okay. 05:43 Now you eventually got involved in dancing at nightclubs, 05:47 how did this come about? 05:49 Well, that's a long story. There you go, take your time. 05:53 I started, I remember September 11, 05:57 before September 11 that we, 05:59 you know, I'm from Haiti so I have to carry green card 06:02 because I never applied for my citizenship. 06:04 So I had my green card in come to September 11 06:07 around in that area, 06:08 end up losing all my documents, 06:09 I left in a friend car and it was gone. 06:13 So it was too strict for me 06:15 like I didn't have no documentation back 06:19 I'm like someone get my license with. 06:21 So my best options were to go to the strip club 06:24 because they did not need no identification 06:27 from me or anything, 06:29 so that's how I began that lifestyle. 06:31 Okay. 06:32 Now talk about your experiences in working in a strip club 06:36 as a dancer? 06:39 At the time it felt right but then as time go by, 06:44 when you know the place is not for you, 06:46 you start thinking and it was bad. 06:49 You're on alcohol, drugs, and the money was good 06:54 but, hey, at the end of day that's not what I wanted to do. 06:58 Now you said it at the beginning it felt right. 07:02 What was it that was making it feel right? 07:04 I've never worked in a strip club. 07:06 Now when I was younger or before I changed my life, 07:09 I used to visit strip clubs. 07:11 But I don't know 07:13 the whole back ground scene about the dancers, 07:15 different things like that 07:16 but for you as a former dancer in the strip club, 07:19 what made it feel so right? 07:21 Because, of course, 07:22 you have a whole lot of people there coming 07:23 in from all different walks of life. 07:25 Yes. 07:27 Who will say certain things, who will do certain things 07:29 and, of course, I hear that the money is good. 07:32 But what makes it feel so right 07:35 and then when you compare 07:36 that to knowing that it's wrong? 07:39 The attention, the money, 07:43 I was a party girl that booze, 07:46 you know, the drugs. 07:49 It felt right at the time, 07:50 you know, getting the attention that you... 07:53 The attention that you actually want 07:55 and you're getting it just from basically anybody. 07:59 Or they come so poor, you find guys that this, 08:02 you know, worship you basically, 08:05 cares and just worship you. 08:08 Okay. 08:09 Do you think that, because you said something key, 08:11 you said something of the effect of the attention, 08:15 and you grew up in a household, 13 kids in a house? 08:19 Do you think not getting the attention 08:21 in the home per se played a big part 08:24 with how you felt so right with dancing 08:27 because you would get that attention? 08:30 I can say that but I was... 08:32 I'd admit I was a hardheaded child, 08:35 very disobedient, 08:37 but it did lead the lifestyle that I did chose 08:40 kind of had impact of how I was raised up in a home. 08:43 Okay. 08:44 As the youngest, 08:46 I want to be daddy's little girl. 08:47 Okay. 08:48 You know, where you do things together, 08:50 get hugs, say you love me, I love you daddy. 08:53 I've never got all the attention 08:55 so that has a bad impact on me. 08:58 That's far as so the guys that I would choose to date 09:00 because my dad was never really there. 09:03 So I had to really make a decision of the choices 09:08 that I chose of a man basically. 09:11 Now you said your father wasn't there. 09:13 I know in the beginning of the program 09:15 you said, you had your, 09:17 one of your stepparents were there. 09:19 Do you know your biological, your biological father, 09:22 your biological mother? 09:23 Do you know them? 09:24 Yeah, he was my biological father. 09:30 It's a long story. 09:31 My dad was married with 11 kids. 09:35 And then he had an affair with my mom had me 09:37 and one of my other sibling, my sister. 09:40 So basically, I knew my mother, 09:42 she just was not around and she was... 09:45 I loved my mother so much 09:47 and that was a big impact on my life too, 09:50 because I've never get to see her 09:51 and I was the mother's child so... 09:53 Okay. Okay. 09:54 Now you got involved in the homosexual lifestyle, 09:57 you got involved in the club scene, 09:59 and we're going to transition to another thing 10:00 that you got involved with, 10:02 but how did you... 10:03 How long were you involved 10:04 with the club scene working as a dancer? 10:07 And what brought you to that point 10:09 where you said, "You know what? 10:10 I need to leave the club scene alone." 10:15 I could say about five, six years. 10:17 Okay. Okay. 10:20 And you were how old when you got involved with it? 10:23 I think I was 19. Okay. 10:26 And what made me change my mind was just, 10:28 I was no longer happy, 10:30 I was not motivated to go to work, 10:33 like that whole lifestyle with the alcohol 10:36 and all that religious not motivating at all. 10:39 Okay. 10:40 So I had to sit down and think of how... 10:45 What else can I do besides going there? 10:47 But at the same time I didn't I have a choice, 10:50 I was going there. 10:52 And you say you didn't have a choice 10:53 because of the whole green card issue 10:54 and thin around 9/11 things like that. 10:57 Yes, it was, for if you weren't a citizen, 11:01 it was really hard 11:02 and then it could have been easier 11:04 if I would communicate with my dad 11:06 because I left home at 18 and never looked back. 11:09 Okay. 11:10 So what caused you to leave home at 18? 11:12 Just, you know, he was never there. 11:16 My step mom, 11:17 you know, he was, she was, she had 13 kids. 11:20 She was doing all that at home by herself, 11:22 so I kind of understand her situation now 11:25 that I'm grown up. 11:26 And he was never there, 11:29 I never got the attention I feel like 11:30 I would've been better off out there. 11:32 But at the end of the day it's like now 11:35 they're very loving and very supporting like, 11:38 it's nothing compared 11:40 to what I've pictured in the back. 11:41 So they're actually making up for the lost times 11:44 and for the lifestyle that I've actually lived 11:46 because my dad actually felt bad 11:48 that I had to go through all that. 11:49 But he also praises God 11:51 that I was able to come out of those lifestyles 11:53 and be better than what I was then. 11:56 Great. Great. 11:57 Now, you were involved in a homosexual lifestyle, 12:00 you were involved in the dancing in the clubs, 12:04 you got involved with selling and using drugs, 12:07 talk about that? 12:09 Well, I wasn't a big time drug dealer 12:11 or anything like that, 12:13 it was just the opportunity presents itself 12:16 and I just took it. 12:17 Okay. But I did sell it to get by. 12:22 And there wasn't because, 12:24 it wasn't something that I had to do. 12:25 It's something I wanted to do. Okay. 12:27 Now, why do you say it was something 12:29 that you wanted to doversus something that you had to do? 12:33 I mean, like I said it is something 12:35 that I wanted to do, like I felt like, "Okay, 12:38 I'm going to start selling weed or selling crack." 12:41 It's just the opportunity 12:43 and then when you have clients themselves coming in, 12:45 it makes it much easier to know, 12:48 "Hey, I can make some fast money that way." 12:50 Okay. Okay. 12:51 And to really go work out there. 12:54 Now working between a nightclub, 12:57 because I hear that you can make 12:59 good money from it. 13:00 Selling drugs, of course, 13:02 you know, depending on 13:03 what you're selling things like that, 13:04 you can make good money from it. 13:06 How was the money flow for you between the two things? 13:09 Because and I'm asking this 13:11 because you said, you really didn't need to do the drugs, 13:13 selling the drugs and then you said, eventually, 13:16 you know, you kind of lost the desire 13:18 or the happiness to dance in a strip club. 13:23 How was it, how was it money wise 13:25 working in those two fields for you? 13:28 Money wise for the strip club, 13:31 like I said I was making $200, $300 a night. 13:35 Okay. Okay. 13:36 So... 13:37 And I think for a lot of people that has a great appeal. 13:41 Two to three hundred dollars in one night 13:42 because you look at and say, well... 13:44 And even speaking of my own life, 13:47 I looked at people who could sell drugs 13:51 and make a $1000 in one day 13:53 like at one point when I was selling weed, 13:55 transporting it from state to state, 13:58 it was nothing to make a $1000 in two hours. 14:01 And when I parallel that with, "Okay, 14:04 I can sell drugs two hours, 14:06 make a $1000 or I can work a regular 9 to 5 14:10 and at the end of two weeks get a paycheck and it's $245." 14:15 You look at the two and you say, 14:17 well, this makes more sense. 14:19 And I think what happens for a lot of young people 14:22 is that they see that, 14:23 they see the fast money and they see the appeal to it. 14:28 But even though there is that appeal to it, 14:29 it gets old as it got old for you, 14:32 so talk about that? 14:34 Well, before I get into that, 14:36 me selling I was actually in a relationship with guys 14:40 that was exposed to that lifestyle 14:44 so thus I was really exposed it too 14:46 and also the environment I was in, 14:49 that played a big part 14:51 in my life for the time that I lived in. 14:53 In Florida? 14:54 No, in actually Huntsville, 14:56 all those thoughts take place in Huntsville. 14:58 Okay. 14:59 All right, so you moved from Florida to Huntsville, 15:03 you were selling drugs and the appeal towards it? 15:09 Why I got tired of? 15:10 Yeah, why you got tired of it with the making the money 15:13 from the dancing, from the strip clubs? 15:15 What is that underlying factor? 15:17 Like for me, the underlying factor was, 15:20 I hit rock bottom, I was fed up. 15:22 Like, "Okay. 15:23 Yeah, you're making this money, 15:24 you go into the club using these drugs, 15:26 you getting this high." 15:28 All these things, it's fun. 15:29 But eventually, you get tired of it 15:33 and so for me I hit that rock bottom, 15:35 it's kind of like the story of the prodigal son 15:38 in the Bible, Luke 15. 15:39 He goes out there, 15:40 he asked for a portion of his goods from his father. 15:44 He goes out there, he spends all of it in riotous living 15:47 and next thing you know, he's eating with the pigs, 15:50 and he hits the bottom of the barrel, 15:52 and all he can do is look up. 15:54 And so the thing is we look at music videos on TV, 15:59 we look at movies, 16:01 we look at how easy it is to make fast money 16:04 and like where I used the instance 16:05 of you comparing 16:07 selling drugs with working a regular 9 to 5. 16:10 You're looking at all these things 16:11 and there's great appeal 16:13 but to that you get fed up with it. 16:15 Why for you did you get fed up with it? 16:18 For me, I know why I got fed up, 16:20 but why do you get fed up with all of these things? 16:22 Well, I can say I did not hit rock bottom. 16:24 It did not lead to going to prison or jail. 16:28 Praise God for that but the relationship I was in. 16:33 He was constantly in and out of prison. 16:37 And like I said, 16:38 he was the supplier at some times 16:41 and I would stay at home and I do it so. 16:43 It was basically... 16:48 Just wanted to change I think on the whole like... 16:53 I did not hit the rock bottom but I just know it was wrong. 16:56 You know, I'll go through life and want to do this, 16:58 especially at a younger age and not at home, 17:02 you know, out there doing what I want to do. 17:04 But I do come to a sense sometimes 17:06 where I'm like, "Yo, this is not me." 17:08 And I was not even though my dad wasn't the greatest 17:11 but I know how to try to raise us 17:12 and this was not the way out 17:14 and I believe I had my older kids. 17:17 So it was not really healthy environment 17:19 for them neither. 17:21 So that's what really happened 17:23 but I didn't go to jail or anything like that, 17:24 so praise God for that. 17:26 Okay, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 17:27 Now from all of this, 17:29 from going to Florida to Huntsville, 17:31 you sold drugs, you made money from working in nightclubs. 17:37 How did you learn about 17:38 the Seventh-day Adventist church? 17:40 What brought you 17:41 into the Seventh-day Adventist church? 17:43 Okay, after all that transaction took places, 17:47 I met a loving, caring man, his name is Mike Tucker. 17:53 And I know he used to come over. 17:56 How he came about I can't recall 17:58 but I know one time he came over with Amazing Facts 18:02 and I used to take that read it. 18:04 And he'll do it to take the test, the quizzes, 18:08 and he'll come back and pick it up and test me 18:11 and I would pretty much score 100 on everything. 18:14 And as I began to read, 18:17 you know, and I was just inspired. 18:20 So, you know, by reading changing my lifestyle, so. 18:24 I know one main thing that really... 18:28 I don't recall the name of it 18:30 but it was a pour away was shown by the cigarette, 18:32 and the alcohol, 18:34 and one part was talking about the cleaning, the meats, 18:38 the clean meats which is in Leviticus. 18:40 Yeah, so after reading 18:42 that I used to eat pork and all that. 18:44 After reading that I just kind of like, 18:47 don't want so anymore so. 18:49 And then he introduced me to a church 18:51 that was not so far 18:53 from where I lived in Mason Court was my Calvary 18:55 and that's where I started going to church 18:58 and that was actually my first home. 19:00 Okay, okay. First Day Adventist church. 19:03 So, you learned about 19:04 the Seventh-day Adventist church 19:06 through a guy named Mike Tucker. 19:07 You're studying these Amazing Facts 19:09 Bible study lessons. 19:11 Now, was it hard to make that transition 19:14 into the Seventh-day Adventist church being that... 19:17 Of course, you grew up as a Christian, 19:18 but you have been away from that for so long. 19:21 Was it hard to get back into that? 19:24 And I say this because for myself, 19:27 I grew up Seventh-day Adventist, 19:28 I didn't have to come from a different faith 19:30 but I got involved in a lot of things. 19:32 And it's very hard sometimes to make that transition 19:35 because for so many years, 19:36 I was used to smoking every day. 19:38 I was used to snorting cocaine every day. 19:40 I was used to popping pills. I was used to drinking alcohol. 19:43 I was used to all of these things 19:45 as an every single day habit. 19:47 I wasn't like what you call a weekend drinker, 19:49 a social drinker. 19:51 This is like I wake up in the morning, 19:52 this is what I do, 19:53 you know, this is part of my life. 19:55 But then to make that transition to, now, 19:57 I don't do any of that, I go to church, 19:58 I read the Bible, 20:01 that's a bit of a change, a bit of a transition. 20:04 How is that for you? Well, I can say it's not easy. 20:07 Something were easy to grasp like, 20:09 you know, as far as the meat, the drinking, 20:13 and the smoking was not the easiest thing 20:16 at all for me. 20:18 What was the most challenging thing 20:19 for you to stop? 20:21 Because for me, I know... 20:23 The cigarette. 20:24 Yeah, you said the cigarettes 20:25 and that's what it was me as well. 20:27 The cigarettes, first it was with, 20:28 alcohol was not 'cause I was never a drunk 20:30 but I used to drink just to drink and have fun. 20:33 But the weed was at one time, but then when I used to smoke, 20:37 I've always pictured myself being a nonsmoker 20:40 or doing other things besides smoking. 20:43 But that was one of the challenges 20:45 but the biggest was the cigarettes. 20:48 I will quit, and I'll go back to it, 20:51 and I'll smoke one and feel guilty about it, 20:55 where I'm like, why did I do it, 20:56 but at the same time, 20:58 what really made me overcome these, 21:01 I really had, I was really passionate about 21:04 changing that lifestyle. 21:05 So I really got on my knees and I cried, 21:08 I prayed and cried and prayed, 21:10 that's what really delivered me. 21:11 And I just thank God nowadays it's been what, 21:13 two years I stopped smoking and everything else 21:17 and no cravings, not want to. 21:19 Praise the Lord. 21:21 Want to go to church every day, read the Bible, 21:23 so I praise God for that, 21:25 but I had a desire to change that within me. 21:27 Praise the Lord. 21:28 You know, and it's interesting that you said cigarettes. 21:30 I got excited when you said that because for me 21:32 that was the same thing. 21:33 Out of all the drugs that I had used, 21:35 there's about 21:36 five different types of narcotics I was on. 21:38 Cigarettes was by far the hardest one 21:40 for me to get off. 21:42 And I went through the same thing 21:43 of where I would buy a pack of cigarettes 21:45 smoke one out the pack, 21:46 throw the rest of the pack away, 21:48 then I go try to find that pack in the trash, 21:50 smoke another one. 21:52 And then what I would do is I would break the cigarettes, 21:55 I would try to crumble them, 21:56 and flush them down the toilet or something. 21:58 Then I would go to the store 22:00 and buy a single cigarette or something. 22:02 And so I went through that same process, 22:04 and it wasn't until I came to the point where I said, 22:06 "You know what? 22:07 I'm going to challenge myself." And I said, you know, what? 22:09 When people climb a mountain, I use this little terminology, 22:12 "When people climb a mountain like Mount Everest, 22:14 you don't climb that thing in one day. 22:16 It's basically one step at a time." 22:18 And so what I said to myself is, 22:20 I'm going to do one day at a time 22:23 with this thing so I said, 22:24 "Okay, I'll see if I can go one day without smoking." 22:27 One day, I didn't even challenge myself 22:28 to a whole week, just one day. 22:30 So the one day went by and it was kind of like, 22:33 "Okay, man, I made one day and in 10 years of smoking 22:35 I've never made one day. 22:37 Okay, now let me try two days, tried two, I tried three." 22:40 After the third day, 22:41 I said to myself, "You know what? 22:42 Let me try a week. 22:44 After that week had passed, I had come back, 22:47 I had got a cigarette, and I tried to smoke it. 22:50 I took maybe one or two puffs and I couldn't handle it, 22:52 and I ended up throwing away and I knew from that point on, 22:55 it was it. 22:57 No desire, the Lord had delivered me from it 22:59 and everything like that. 23:01 But it's amazing how out of all the drugs 23:03 that you have done that I have done 23:05 that the hardest one to get off of is cigarettes. 23:09 It's the one that's legal too. 23:11 Yeah, and it's the one that is legal. 23:12 Alcohol and cigarettes are the ones they're legal 23:14 and the most challenging ones to get out. 23:16 Now you're currently a member at Oakwood University Church 23:20 under the direction of Dr. Colton Byrd. 23:22 How did you end up at Oakwood University Church? 23:25 Well, I remember I came to a time 23:28 my car broke down 23:29 and I was attending First Church 23:31 and I stayed home, 23:33 it's off and on thing. 23:35 So I stayed home 'cause my car was broke down 23:39 and I was not motivated to go to church 23:41 because when I go to church I get the, 23:44 you know, the message, 23:46 I fell it but then when you're not communicating 23:49 with church members or the pastor, 23:51 don't know much you kind of feel empty 23:52 when you go back home. 23:54 So I stayed home for a while for about five months 23:57 and we end up moving from the apartment 24:00 which is on Baker Road to Oakwood Avenue. 24:03 And one of my daughter came from Monrovia had to go 24:06 to Mount View, and praise God, 24:08 she ended up and a teacher 24:10 who was Seventh-day Adventist Christian 24:12 which is Donna Walker. 24:16 We didn't communicate much 24:20 but I believe one of my child add some kin, 24:23 she picked them up to go to church. 24:25 Okay, okay. 24:26 So they were attending Oakwood University Church first 24:30 and I was staying at home. 24:31 And as they started going, 24:33 he start, and I was like, "Okay, maybe I should go." 24:36 And I just started going to Oakwood, 24:38 you know, just scoping it out, 24:40 not want to change my membership or any, 24:42 transfer my membership or anything. 24:44 Just getting to the habit of going to church again. 24:46 Okay. Praise the Lord. 24:48 And since then, you know, three months, 24:50 four months come by and I started to feel 24:52 more comfortable, more welcoming. 24:55 My kids were really enjoying their self, 24:58 they had more activities for my kids to get in... 25:01 Praise the Lord. 25:02 So I just kind of stuck there. Okay. 25:05 Now you have five children? Yes, I do. 25:07 I mean four of them are in school 25:09 and they are all currently at Oakwood Adventist Academy. 25:12 Talk about the blessing that you've been able to have 25:15 to get all of them, 25:16 the school age children in church school? 25:18 It was not successful at first. 25:21 I was able to just get one there at one time 25:25 and I can say it is a blessing, did some prayers. 25:28 Donna Walker she prayed and I prayed 25:30 knowing this school that I want my kids in, 25:33 and one day God answered our prayer. 25:36 They all end going there and it is a blessing. 25:38 Amen. 25:39 It's such a good environment for them to be in, 25:42 and I just thank God, 25:44 they have that opportunity to be attending a Christian 25:47 Seventh-day Adventist school. 25:48 Praise the Lord. 25:50 Real briefly, I want you to talk about the difference, 25:53 take about 30 seconds to do this. 25:55 And, you know, some people look at one lifestyle 25:58 of what you were in drugs, 25:59 dancing as a good lifestyle to get involved in, 26:03 while the Christian life being boring. 26:05 Talk about the peace of mind 26:07 that you have in living a Christian lifestyle 26:10 now versus the lifestyle that you used to live? 26:20 Well, I learned to put my trust in God, 26:25 so therefore, 26:27 that kind of gives me a peace of mind 26:28 'cause that's what he wants us to do. 26:29 Yeah, definitely. 26:31 You know, so by him and I'm like, "Okay, Lord, 26:33 I really got tired of bumping my head." 26:35 So I had to turn to him. 26:37 Okay, you want me to head a certain way, here I am. 26:40 You have my undivided attention. 26:41 So it gave me a peace 26:42 that I didn't really had to worry about anything. 26:44 The bills gonna been due, 26:46 hey, I weren't worrying about it 26:47 because I know he guides me, and he loves me, 26:50 and wants the best for me so. 26:53 Definitely. Definitely. 26:54 And now there are young females out there 26:57 who are aspiring to that lifestyle, 27:02 who want the fast money, 27:03 who want a boyfriend 27:05 that is out there selling drugs, 27:07 who wants to be in a strip club, 27:08 and be in there making thousands of dollars 27:10 in a week's time. 27:12 But I want you to look into the camera right now 27:13 and I want you to talk to that young individual 27:16 that has a desire for that life 27:18 or is in that lifestyle right now. 27:20 And I want you to speak to them 27:22 and give them some words of encouragement 27:23 of why they should make a change in their life? 27:26 Okay. 27:28 Well, I'm gonna say, 27:30 it's not gonna be easy for you young men, 27:34 young people out there to make the right choices. 27:37 The wrong choices is always gonna be feel 27:40 more right than the right choices, 27:41 but one thing I can say is that to trust in the Lord. 27:46 No matter what it is, there's nothing too big, 27:48 too small that He cannot handle, 27:50 that you need to just trust in Him. 27:52 Even if you just take a few days, 27:54 pray here and pray there, 27:55 just rely on the Lord and He will direct your path. 27:58 Amen. Amen. 28:00 Well, Claire, our time is up. 28:02 I want to thank you for being on the program, 28:04 amazing testimony. 28:05 Viewers, we thank you for tuning in. 28:07 Tune in next time for The New Journey. |
Revised 2017-09-18