{"id":283794,"date":"2024-07-18T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/unwanted-to-unforgettable-ruths-story-nana-dolce\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T17:16:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T21:16:44","slug":"unwanted-to-unforgettable-ruths-story-nana-dolce","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/unwanted-to-unforgettable-ruths-story-nana-dolce\/","title":{"rendered":"Unwanted to Unforgettable (Ruth&#8217;s Story): Nana Dolce"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever felt unwelcomed or unwanted? That&#8217;s where Ruth&#8217;s story begins: as an outsider. But that&#8217;s not where God leaves her. Hear more with Nana Dolce.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever felt unwelcomed or unwanted? That&#8217;s where Ruth&#8217;s story begins: as an outsider. But that&#8217;s not where God leaves her. Hear more with Nana Dolce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47000,"featured_media":280865,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"https:\/\/traffic.omny.fm\/d\/clips\/cbd16f10-ac60-4f09-b4df-b15400ce35aa\/33aaac7e-3581-4e21-a3df-b154011ba58c\/6c6f0178-d75c-4783-8899-b1990117ca23\/audio.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:26:13","filesize":"24.05M","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"2024-07-18 09:00:00","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2822],"tags":[],"podcast_series":[8777],"cwp_profile":[9843],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-283794","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-in-your-faith","podcast_series-seed-of-the-woman-part-2-nana-dolce","cwp_profile-nana-dolce","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/06\/image-scaled.jpg?w=1024","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/283794\/unwanted-to-unforgettable-ruths-story-nana-dolce","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/283794\/unwanted-to-unforgettable-ruths-story-nana-dolce","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"MWEZ3SOwmU\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/unwanted-to-unforgettable-ruths-story-nana-dolce\/\">Unwanted to Unforgettable (Ruth&#8217;s Story): Nana Dolce<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/unwanted-to-unforgettable-ruths-story-nana-dolce\/embed\/#?secret=MWEZ3SOwmU\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Unwanted to Unforgettable (Ruth&#8217;s Story): Nana Dolce&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"MWEZ3SOwmU\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/06\/image-scaled.jpg",1024,1024,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Margaret","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/margaret-coylefamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Have you ever felt unwelcomed or unwanted? That's where Ruth's story begins: as an outsider. But that's not where God leaves her. Hear more with Nana Dolce.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"<ul>\n<li>Sign up to get the devotional series by Nana Dolce called <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/content_offer\/unseen\/?cru_source=2407ND&amp;cru_medium=emailseries&amp;cru_campaign=NanaDolceAcq&amp;utm_source=NanaDolceEmail&amp;utm_medium=emailseries&amp;utm_campaign=NanaDolceAcq&amp;CampaignCode=&amp;cid=em-familylife-helpandhope-dm971143-v-20240714&amp;grmpid=ebfe24ba-0ba9-11e9-9020-1228c4aab4b9&amp;utm_campaign=FL-US-Help-News-In-This-Home&amp;deliveryName=DM971143\">Where is God When Life Doesn't Make Sense?<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Listen to <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/the-seed-of-the-woman-nana-dolce\/\">The Seed of the Woman Part [Series?] 1<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Learn more about Nana Dolce on her website, <a href=\"https:\/\/nanadolce.org\/\">nanadolce.org<\/a>, or connect with her on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nanadolce1\/\">Insta<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>And grab her book, <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product\/the-seed-of-the-woman\/\">Seed of the Woman<\/a>: 30 Narratives that Point to Jesus\u2014or receive it <a href=\"https:\/\/donate.familylife.com\/july-2024\/the-seed-of-the-woman\/\">free with your donation<\/a> to FamilyLife!<\/li>\n<li>Find resources from this podcast at <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product-category\/radio-resources\/\">shop.familylife.com<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shop.familylife.com\/product-category\/past-radio-resources\/\">See resources from our past podcasts.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Find more content and resources on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/app\/\">FamilyLife's app<\/a>!<\/li>\n<li>Help others find FamilyLife. Leave a review on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303\">Apple Podcast<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm?si=d6dfa8d2415f4750\">Spotify<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Check out all the FamilyLife's podcasts on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/familylife-podcast-network\/\">FamilyLife Podcast Network<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylife.com\/fl2024-07-18.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>FamilyLife Today\u00ae National Radio Version (time edited) Transcript<\/p>\n<p>References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete.<\/p>\n<p>Unwanted to Unforgettable (Ruth\u2019s Story)<\/p>\n<p>Guest:Nana Dolce<\/p>\n<p>From the series:Seed of the Woman, Part Two (Day 4 of 4)<\/p>\n<p>Air date:July 18, 2024<\/p>\n<p>Nana: \u201cHow do I submit?\u201d \u201cHow do I parent?\u201d \u201cHow do I love the people at my church?\u201d [Laughter] They are wonderful people, but it\u2019s not always easy. There are always opportunities every day before us\u2014as wives, as singles, as parents, as church members\u2014to do right in God\u2019s eyes, in how we trust Him in loving people when it is hard.<\/p>\n<p>Shelby: Welcome to FamilyLife Today, where we want to help you pursue the relationships that matter most. I\u2019m Shelby Abbott, and your hosts are Dave and Ann Wilson. You can find us at FamilyLifeToday.com.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: This is FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: We\u2019ve had some really fun days with Nana Dolce as we\u2019ve been talking about her book, The Seed of the Woman. This is 30 narratives, that point to Jesus, of women in the Bible.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: We have gone deep.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: We have gone deep with Esther\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014and we\u2019re going to go deep again.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014with Naomi. We\u2019re so excited, Nana, because you bring the Bible to life. And you\u2019re bringing us these nuggets of gold that, maybe, we haven\u2019t caught before as we\u2019ve read the Scripture and these familiar stories. You\u2019re bringing not only these nuggets of gold, but application of what this can look like in our lives.<\/p>\n<p>Nana is a mom; she\u2019s a home-schooling mom with three children and one on the way. She\u2019s been married 15 years. She\u2019s a Bible teacher, and she\u2019s an author.<\/p>\n<p>But today, we\u2019re going to look at the story of Ruth. We\u2019ve already been taking about Naomi yesterday. Let\u2019s drop us back into this story of Ruth and Naomi.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Sure. We already know the setting: the time of the Judges, this famine; this family goes to Moab. One of the sons of Naomi marries this lady named Ruth.<\/p>\n<p>One are the things, in our earlier conversation, I mentioned this word, \u201ccontext.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Oh, that brings out so much richness. We all know that Ruth is a Moabite; we know she\u2019s not an Israelite; she\u2019s a foreign woman. But I wonder if we\u2019ve ever thought about who the Moabites were and how it plays out in this story? The Moabites came out of Lot and his daughters. It\u2019s a scandalous story in Genesis 19.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: It\u2019s a creepy story.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: It\u2019s a creepy story, where this man, Lot\u2014God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah\u2014he flees to the mountains. He has these two daughters, who decide, \u201cWe need to preserve seed for our faither.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: And his wife had died.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: His wife had died, so it was just he and his two daughters in a cave. The eldest decides, \u201cLet\u2019s make Daddy drink, and we will go in and lay with our father and conceive through our father.\u201d They do it. The first daughter gives birth to a son, and she names him Moab. Ruth\u2019s people come out of this history of incest. Not only do they have this scandalous incest in their history, but the women\u2014the Moabite women\u2014were known to be those who seduced Israelite men.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Oh, I didn\u2019t know that.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes, this happened in Numbers 25. After the Exodus, Moses and the Israelites are in the desert. The Moabite women come to seduce these men. The men fall for it! They go with these women; they are lying with them; they are worshiping Ba\u2019al. God strikes the men with a plague and thousands of them die. It\u2019s at that point that God says, \u201cNo Moabite will enter My assembly.\u201d This is who they are.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: This is who Ruth is.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: And this is who Mahlon marries.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes!<\/p>\n<p>Nana: So, Ruth was supposed to be a woman who led her husband away from God, right? What we see is that she\u2019s actually a woman who is attracted to God herself. She follows her mother-in-law back to Bethlehem. She will display God\u2019s loving kindness in caring for this mother-in-law. We talked a little bit about that yesterday; how she endangers herself and goes into the field, but even her footsteps are ordained, because they come to the field of Boaz.<\/p>\n<p>Boaz is such an incredible man. Sometimes, we focus on Ruth and Naomi, which is good, but we don\u2019t always focus on Boaz very much.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: What a good man.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: I want to do that a little bit.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes, take us there.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Most of Chapter 2 is Boaz filling Ruth. We talked about the emptiness in<\/p>\n<p>Chapter 1 yesterday. Chapter 2: all the filling going on is really Boaz. Ruth is in his field. She is gleaning, which is basically poor people in the community that would pick up the grain on the outskirts of the field. Whatever they took home, they took home.<\/p>\n<p>He allows Ruth to do that and, then, more. He says, \u201cHey, don\u2019t limit her to just the periphery. Let her come in where the sheaves of grain are and let her glean over there.\u201d When it\u2019s time for them to eat, he invites her over, and he feeds her some of the meal that he has for his workers. He says, \u201cHey, drink water.\u201d [He] makes her sit where the shade is. But then, he also fills her with words of encouragement. He says, \u201cI\u2019ve heard what you\u2019ve done, how you have come to take refuge under the wings of the God of Israel. God will bless you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He is filling her with words; he\u2019s filling her with food; he\u2019s filling her with protection. He tells his men not to touch her, which tells you they may have touched her; something could have happened, but he protects her. There is a passage in Ephesians that calls men\u2014specifically, husbands\u2014to love their wives like Christ loves His church. Boaz is not married to her at this point; and yet, I see him resembling what husbands are called to do. The Ephesians passage is Ephesians 5:29, that says that men are \u201cto nourish and cherish\u201d\u2014nourish and cherish\u2014\"just as Christ does His church\u201d\u2014your wives.<\/p>\n<p>Boaz is nourishing her with words of affirmation, with food, with protection; and he is cherishing her. To cherish someone is to care for them in a loving way, to protect them in a loving way. He is such an example of that.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: How old do you think he was? What do you think their age difference was?<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Oh! Thank you for asking that question, because he keeps calling her \u201cdaughter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Right.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: He had to have been older than her. When Naomi sends her\u2014we talked about Naomi sending her to him in the threshing floor, he blesses Ruth and says, \u201cYou didn\u2019t go after young men. You didn\u2019t go after the young men\u201d\u2014which tells me he was probably older. He was an older man. The Scripture doesn\u2019t say how old he was, but we have indications that he was probably older than her.<\/p>\n<p>Our culture often talks about men being patriarchal in the church. Of course, we know that there is definitely evidence of abuse that women have been abused in the church. I wonder what the culture would say if there were more men who looked like Boaz among us, who saw vulnerable young women, and without even any intention, Boaz doesn\u2019t go after Ruth\u2014it\u2019s Naomi who says, \u201cI want you to go and make it clear to him that we need redemption.\u201d He doesn\u2019t do that [going after Ruth]. All he\u2019s doing is nourishing and cherishing, protecting, providing; filling her with words of encouragement, with provision. She never goes back to her mother-in-law empty-handed because of Boaz.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: What do we know about Boaz in terms of why he was such a good man?<\/p>\n<p>Nana: The Scriptures call him \u201ca worthy man.\u201d We\u2019ll learn, later, that there was another redeemer, actually. There was a man who was ahead in the line, in front of Boaz, who really had the first responsibility to redeem and to care for Naomi and for Ruth. When this man is presented with the opportunity, he actually thinks of himself: \u201cMy own property might be endangered if I take this woman;\u201d and he doesn\u2019t do it, but Boaz does.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Take us to the point where Naomi has told Ruth how to approach Boaz and what that looks like\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Nana: \u2014yes, yes\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014because it seems like it is this weird, strange, kind of complicated situation that, in the [culture] in our day, it doesn\u2019t make sense. So, walk us through that as she lays at his feet.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Absolutely, as she lays at his feet.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Thank you for asking that question. It makes me excited to answer it! [Laughter] Because, again, I think it takes us back to that story of Lot and his daughters. Remember, he\u2019s been calling her \u201cdaughter\u201d all along. He has now eaten, and he is full of wine, and this is a Moabite woman. It looks a lot like that scene.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: You think, \u201cOh! Are they going to repeat that sin?\u201d\u2014the seduction of the Moabite women in the desert\u2014\u201cIs that what we\u2019re going to see? Will Boaz and Ruth prove to be a worthy man and a worthy woman, or will they look like their ancestors?\u201d What we find is that he doesn\u2019t touch her. He says, \u201cLay here.\u201d She says, \u201cI want\u2014you\u2019re a redeemer, so please redeem us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: But why did she go to his feet and lay at his feet? He\u2019s sleeping?<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes, he\u2019s sleeping, and she uncovers his feet.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: She uncovers his feet.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes, she uncovers his feet and says, \u201cCover me, and protect me and redeem me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a good question. I have to say, I\u2019m stumped by that one, Dave. My Bible expertise ends right there. [Laughter] I\u2019m not actually sure why she uncovers his feet.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Okay.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: But whatever it means, he understands it to be: \u201cWe need redemption. We need redemption.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: But nothing happens, sexually, on the threshing floor.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: It\u2019s very pure.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: It\u2019s not a repeat of Lot and his daughter; it\u2019s not a repeat of the Moabites and the Israelite men in the wilderness. We see a worthy man and a worthy woman. He chooses to do it the right way. He says, \u201cWait. In the morning, I will go before the elders. If I can redeem you, I will redeem you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I mean, in some ways, another example of your past mistakes\u2014or even your family\u2019s past mistakes and sins\u2014do not define you.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Absolutely.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Often, we think they do. It\u2019s like, \u201cWell, this is where I come from, and I\u2019m a victim. I\u2019m just going to continue that.\u201d No, the sins of the father can stop if you choose. And he chose\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Nana: \u2014yes, yes!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014to be a good man, and to say, \u201cThis sin ends here. I\u2019m not going to continue that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I\u2019m sure there was that temptation, as well, to follow into the pattern of sin.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Sure.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: But they didn\u2019t. I just love their hearts; I love his heart. And I\u2019m sure, too, for Ruth, she wanted to honor Naomi, her mother-in-law. She didn\u2019t want to bring shame upon their family.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Absolutely.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: So, she was trusting God, loving Naomi; it\u2019s such a beautiful picture of purity as we keep our eyes on Jesus and follow Him.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: It is, it is. In the days of the judges\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014yes!<\/p>\n<p>Nana: \u2014when everyone was \u201cdoing right in their own eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: That\u2019s good!<\/p>\n<p>Nana: This Moabite woman and this man chose to do what was right in God\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Alright, keep going.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes. Well, we\u2019re almost at the end of our story.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I know!<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Because he will marry Ruth. She had been married to Mahlon for ten years and had never had a child. But God opens her womb, and she gives birth to a little boy named Obed.<\/p>\n<p>I love the way the book of Ruth ends, because it ends with Obed\u2019s genealogy. It starts with Perez, actually. It says that the generations of Perez. You may ask, \u201cWell, who was Perez?\u201d Perez was the son of a lady named Tamar, all the way back in Genesis 38. She\u2019s one of the women in The Seed of the Woman book. She, too, was a foreign woman. She was a foreign woman who was looking for this redeemer. She wanted this Levirate marriage, because her husbands\u2014she had two husbands who died; her father-in-law was Judah. He refused to do what was right by her, so she dressed as a prostitute and became pregnant with twins, and one of them was Perez.<\/p>\n<p>Perez reminds us of this woman, Tamar, and, then, it mentions this man named Salmon, who is the son of Rahab.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes!<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Remember Rahab?<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014the prostitute\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Nana: \u2014the prostitute\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014at the walls of Jericho.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: \u2014at the walls of Jericho.<\/p>\n<p>And then, it comes all the way down to Ruth\u2019s son, Obed, and then, ends with David. The book of Ruth ends how the book of Matthew will begin.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Whew!<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Matthew begins with the genealogy of the seed of the woman, the King, Jesus. In His lineage, you find Tamar, who dressed as a prostitute, Rahab, who was formerly a prostitute; you have Ruth, this Moabite woman with this history of incest within her family line. Jesus was pleased to be born into such a family, because He is the ultimate Redeemer, better than Boaz. We\u2019ve said a lot about Boaz. Jesus is even better than Boaz! He was pleased to be born into a family that had all of the scandal.<\/p>\n<p>That encourages me, because I have some scandals. I could tell you about some people in my family. [Laughter] They would fit right in with this narrative! It encourages me that this Redeemer came for me, and that I [am not] disqualified because of my family history.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: That was my word, too. We feel so disqualified, whether our past\u2014what we\u2019ve done, or maybe what\u2019s been done to us; and we are never disqualified. There are so many things that we feel like could disqualify us. Nothing! Look at these women in the Bible! And yet, God used them in the line of Christ. That\u2019s so encouraging to me.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes!<\/p>\n<p>Ann: It doesn\u2019t matter what\u2019s been done or what happened in our past, because He renews all things.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: It\u2019s so good.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: It\u2019s such an inspiration, because you think, \u201cI am what I came from.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Or \u201cI am what I have done wrong in my past, and it sticks with me forever.\u201d This story, and even the lineage of Jesus, [says]: \u201cHow in the world does the holy Redeemer God come through filthy rags?\u201d I\u2019m not saying these people, but the story. You just don\u2019t expect that!<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: It is the gospel.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: It is. [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Dave: It needs to be shouted from the mountain tops: \u201cYou are worthy, regardless of your family\u2019s past or even your past. He can be your Redeemer.\u201d And He is. Is that what you get out of Ruth?<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes, it is. He came to redeem, as far as the curse is found. He came to redeem all of it. It\u2019s amazing! If I were sending my son, it would be\u2014you would choose the pristine, right?<\/p>\n<p>Dave: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: This is who God sent His son through, because this is who Jesus came to save.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: That makes me think of just some of our feelings of who our kids may be dating because of a past. I understand that, as a parent. We want our kids to marry women or men who walk with Jesus and love Jesus. For me, that\u2019s the prerequisite. More than anything else, that is it.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: When they follow Jesus, and they\u2019re pursuing somebody who is as well, God redeems all those things in our past.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes, He does.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I know that, when Ann and I got married 44 years ago, there was a part of me that wasn\u2019t sure I could break the curse of the Wilson alcohol, adultery, divorce.<\/p>\n<p>I knew God was bigger than all of that, but there was also a part of me that, as a young man, was afraid: \u201cWill I continue? Will I be able?\u201d You know what I mean?<\/p>\n<p>There were two things going on: one was the fear and almost the victim part; the other was: \u201cYes! I will!\u201d But there was that\u2014almost like: \u201cIs there a chain on my leg that I can\u2019t break?\u201d The only thing that broke that was not me; it was Jesus. He literally broke it. He\u2019s a chain breaker.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes!<\/p>\n<p>Ann: That\u2019s good; that\u2019s good.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I could write a song about it, but He\u2019s the\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014I think there is a chain-breaker song.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: He is the chain breaker, and you can be the one who\u2019s sort of the kinsman redeemer in your family legacy. If it\u2019s a bad one,\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Nana: \u2014yes, yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: \u2014that\u2019s good.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: \u2014you change it; if it\u2019s a good one, you continue it. It\u2019s on us to say, \u201cI will be used by God to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Nana, do you have any other application?<\/p>\n<p>Nana: I do.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Good.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: The last one for me is: \u201cHe comes to redeem, and then, He empowers you by His Spirit.\u201d In the days when everyone is doing right in their own eyes, God can help us, through His Son, by the empowerment of His Spirit, to do right in His eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: That\u2019s good.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes, these are days of the judges. Let\u2019s be worthy men and women who do right in God\u2019s eyes, because He gives us His Spirit and empowers us to do that.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Let\u2019s go into specifics.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: I was just going to say, \u201cAre there ways you think we are living in the days of the judges?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: It sure seems like it.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: In the time when it says, \u201cThere was no king,\u201d there\u2019s a King; but we\u2019re not summitted to the King, and so, we\u2019re living by our own wisdom and doing right in our own eyes. But by His grace, I want to be like Ruth. I want to be a worthy woman\u2014with all the history of my family stuff [Laughter], I want to be a worthy woman who is doing right in God\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Let\u2019s go super practical: \u201cHow do we do that?\u201d Let\u2019s say a listener is thinking, \u201cI want this. I want that. I have all these things in my past and my family\u2019s past. What does it look like to do right with God? How do you grow as a believer?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes, yes; you grow as a believer through His Word. Even in parenting, there\u2019s a lot of fear that I have for my children, based on the way that I was raised. I want them to do right in my eyes, right? In Nana\u2019s eyes [Laughter]\u2014making them little idols\u2014they are always at church; they are ministry kids. Especially, ministry kids\u2014oh, people will talk about them if they act in a certain way; so, I could use the fear of man to drive my children to be moralists.<\/p>\n<p>My prayer is that I would do right in God\u2019s eyes by helping them to see: \u201cYou are a sinner. You\u2019re not going to do it perfectly. There will be days when you will fall, but that\u2019s why we all need Jesus. Because guess what? Mommy\u2019s like that, too. [Laughter] We are all, in this house, depending on Him. Let\u2019s do it together as a family.\u201d I think that\u2019s one way we can do right in God\u2019s eyes, even in parenting.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: That\u2019s good.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: We can apply that to our marriage as well. I\u2019ve been bragging on this husband of mine.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes, I can\u2019t wait!<\/p>\n<p>Nana: He doesn\u2019t always do right, though, you guys! [Laughter] And there are days when it can be scary to submit to a man who, as wonderful as he is, I see the faults. But when I trust myself, ultimately, to God Himself, and say, \u201cI know that You are wiser than me.\u201d Of course, letting my thoughts be known to him, but if he really is certain how we\u2019ll move, I\u2019ll move; I\u2019ll move with him, because \u201cI want to do right in Your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow do I submit?\u201d \u201cHow do I parent?\u201d \u201cHow do I love the people at my church?\u201d [Laughter] They are wonderful people, but it\u2019s not always easy. There are always opportunities, every day, before us\u2014as wives, as singles, as parents, as church members\u2014to do right in God\u2019s eyes in how we trust Him in loving people when it is hard.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: I\u2019m really inspired by your church\u2014and your church family\u2014of the other women (the older women) who are surrounding you.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes!<\/p>\n<p>Ann: You\u2019ve already talked about how you\u2019re mentoring younger women than you are and discipling them in the Word.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: So, you have women in front of you, beside you, and behind you, who are continually growing you, challenging you, and causing you to keep your eyes on Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: I do.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Do you think that\u2019s marked you and made a difference?<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Oh, it has! It has. These are women who have suffered, too. We\u2019re not talking about little stories.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Nana: A good [example]\u2014she calls herself my godmother; she was there at the birth of my two biological children. She\u2019s going to be there at the birth of this baby as well. Her son was shot in front of her house.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Ugh!<\/p>\n<p>Nana: She\u2019s suffered in ways that I can\u2019t even imagine. She is full of encouragement; full of God\u2019s Word. She\u2019s such a servant. She has a grief ministry at our church, where anyone who loses someone, she will send a card. She has a ministry where they\u2019ll come alongside that person and walk them through the stages of grief. These are the women before me.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Whew!<\/p>\n<p>Dave: How old is she?<\/p>\n<p>Nana: These are the Naomi\u2019s before me. She\u2019s in her 70s.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: Talk to the women who are listening right now who think, \u201cI have nobody. I don\u2019t know\u2014I\u2019m all alone.\u201d How would you encourage them?<\/p>\n<p>Nana: Oh, I will encourage you to plug into a local church that sees itself as a family. The Lord has not left us as orphans. We are united, and He gives us each other. Is it always easy? No, it\u2019s not, [Laughter] because we\u2019re sinners. It can actually be very scary to make yourself available to other people.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been hinting at the kind of family that I came from, which was scary. It makes me, sometimes, want to hide in a cave a little bit. It takes me a while to really trust and open myself up to people, but it\u2019s worth it. It\u2019s worth taking the risk to say: \u201cI\u2019m willing for you to get to know me, and I\u2019m willing to be honest that I\u2019m lonely, and I\u2019m willing to be honest that I need a friend, and I need someone to call on.\u201d It can be scary to do it, but it\u2019s worth doing it. It\u2019s worth doing it.<\/p>\n<p>Dave: That\u2019s a good word.<\/p>\n<p>Ann: And we\u2019re excited for you, as listeners, that you can be a part of this email series that we\u2019re doing. I really love just this final thought from Nana\u2019s book, where you say, Nana: \u201cYou can trust and obey Jesus in a world where God\u2019s promises often feel distant and elusive.\u201d So, we can trust that great God, and we hope you\u2019ll join us on this email series.<\/p>\n<p>Shelby: I\u2019m Shelby Abbott, and you\u2019ve been listening to Dave and Ann Wilson with Nana Dolce on FamilyLife Today. That\u2019s right: you can sign up for that email series by heading over to FamilyLifeToday.com, or you can find it in our show notes section.<\/p>\n<p>Nana Dolce has written a book called The Seed of The Woman: 30 Narratives that Point to Jesus. This book talks about the profound role of women in shaping the redemptive history that we find in the Bible and finding, really, your place in the unfolding story of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<p>This book is going to be our gift to you when you give to FamilyLife Today. You can get your copy right now, with any donation that you make, by going online to FamilyLifeToday.com and clicking on the \u201cDonate Now\u201d button at the top of the page. Or you can just give us a call with your donation at 800-358-6329; again, that number is 800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY.\u201d And feel free to drop your donation in the mail if you\u2019d like. Our address is: FamilyLife, 100 Lake Hart Drive, Orlando, FL 32832.<\/p>\n<p>Now, coming up tomorrow, Nana Dolce is back for our fifth and final day with her husband, Eric. They\u2019re going to share their unique story of dealing with infertility, foster care, and adopting an embryo. That\u2019s coming up tomorrow. We hope you\u2019ll join us.<\/p>\n<p>On behalf of Dave and Ann Wilson, I\u2019m Shelby Abbott. We will see you back next time for another edition of FamilyLife Today.<\/p>\n<p>FamilyLife Today is a donor-supported production of FamilyLife\u00ae, a Cru\u00ae Ministry.<\/p>\n<p>Helping you pursue the relationships that matter most.<\/p>\n<p>We are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider donating today to help defray the costs?<\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2024 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<p>www.FamilyLife<\/p>\n","theme_header_position":"Sticky","post_header_is_sticky":"default","is_header_overlay":"0"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/283794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47000"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283794"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=283794"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=283794"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=283794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}