{"id":301069,"date":"2006-03-02T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-03-02T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/ive-decided-to-follow-jesus\/"},"modified":"2024-10-07T22:42:17","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T02:42:17","slug":"ive-decided-to-follow-jesus","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/ive-decided-to-follow-jesus\/","title":{"rendered":"I&#8217;ve Decided to Follow Jesus."},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vicki Courtney talks about how her grandparents&#8217; persistence led her back to church.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","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_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2006-03-02.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"11.4M","filesize_raw":"11957501","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2906],"tags":[4722,4299],"podcast_series":[7438],"cwp_profile":[8996],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-301069","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-becoming-a-christian","tag-christianity","tag-faith","podcast_series-virtuous-reality","cwp_profile-vicki-courtney","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","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\/301069\/ive-decided-to-follow-jesus","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/301069\/ive-decided-to-follow-jesus","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=\"3QfbhWEu88\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/ive-decided-to-follow-jesus\/\">I&#8217;ve Decided to Follow Jesus.<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/ive-decided-to-follow-jesus\/embed\/#?secret=3QfbhWEu88\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;I&#8217;ve Decided to Follow Jesus.&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"3QfbhWEu88\" 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\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Vicki Courtney talks about how her grandparents' persistence led her back to church.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2006-03-02.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0I tell people across the country that God pursues us.\u00a0 I believe that.\u00a0 I've seen that first-hand, the way that he pursued me in those 21 years.\u00a0 There was, there was that moment of relief that finally I was where I needed to be, in his arms, and begin my new life, a whole new life.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0This is FamilyLife Today for Thursday, March 2.\u00a0 Our host is the President of Family Life, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We're going to hear today about the revolution that took place in Vicki Courtney's life when she was in college.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Welcome to FamilyLife Today.\u00a0 Thanks for joining us.\u00a0 I think about the only person more passionate than an ardent feminist is an ardent former feminist; you know what I mean?\u00a0 It seems like you see feminists on TV, and they seem very passionate for their cause, but when you run into somebody who says, \"I went down that road and I bought the lie,\" it seems like there's even more passion in the hearts of many of those women.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0And they've made a turnaround in that road and come back and found a different road.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0And we have a woman who has done that, Vicki Courtney, with us again.\u00a0 Vicki, welcome back to FamilyLife Today.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0Thank you so much for having me back.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0Vicki's the founder of Virtuous Reality Ministry.\u00a0 She and her husband, Keith, live in Austin, Texas, which we'll forgive them for.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0That's a great town.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0Down there where the orange resides.\u00a0 Although I did bring an orange tie here where we're interviewing Vicki, but I didn't wear it in her honor today for being a University of Texas grad.\u00a0 She has three children, just about three teenagers, ages 12 to 17.\u00a0 She is in the thick of it.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0This week, Vicki, you brought us into the interior of your life, and you shared, really, how you grew up in a home where you didn't go to church.\u00a0 You were a \"good girl,\" but ended up having sex, getting pregnant, had an abortion at age 17, didn't tell your parents, and fell in love with a young man in college and didn't tell him until after you were married.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I want to go back to as you were graduating from high school carrying the shame and the guilt of that abortion, and just talk about how you entered the University of Texas.\u00a0 Your first class that you went to, one of the very first, was a professor who had the Christians stand up so he could spot them?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0No, the first day of class, it was a philosophy class, he asked the Christians on the first day to identify themselves by raising their hand, and then just casually said, \"If you could do me a favor and sit in the same spot each class period, so that I can identify you, I'd love to remember who you are so I can pick on you.\"\u00a0 I don't remember it word-for-word, but that was essentially what he was saying.\u00a0 Of course, I laughed because I considered myself agnostic at the time, and was amazed that a few were brave enough in that class to identify themselves.\u00a0 I do remember talking about controversial topics, such as abortion and homosexuality, and on and on, and he would, he would just rip them apart.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0So, when would you say you became a feminist?\u00a0 Was it back in high school or was it as you went to the University of Texas?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0I would say that I entered those college years -- although in high school I remember on the varsity cheerleading squad having conversations with some of the other girls en route to a ballgame out of town, and we'd talk about where we were going to go college, our dreams and aspirations.\u00a0 There were a few girls that were on the squad that would say -- actually, the majority of them, for that matter, that would say, \"I want to meet someone in college,\"\u00a0 \"I hope I meet someone,\" \"I hope I get married, have kids, and I don't want to work,\" Oh, I would just rip them apart and, \"Oh, I don't want to get married until much later; I don't know if I want to have children.\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0My mother, she would very publicly say that she was a feminist and an admirer of Gloria Steinem and such.\u00a0 My mother had worked herself up the career ladder in the sense that had been a legal assistant and went back in her early forties to law school and got her law degree.\u00a0 She is a labor law attorney in the Dallas-Fort Worth area today and very successful, and interestingly has come back to the roots of her faith as well.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So, I had that influence early on of my mother really educating me, \"Well, you need to have a career,\" and \"Don't be dependent on a man.\"\u00a0 I guess at that point in the '80s, it was past the burning your bras in the streets, and it's what I call the revised feminist ideology had kicked in, where it's really a hypocritical movement.\u00a0 But you've now got the fallout going on of that message from the late '60s and early '70s of the sex revolution, women's movement, the more radical form of it at the hands of Steinem and Betty Friedan.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0Did you really believe that, as Gloria Steinem said, \"A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0You know, I wrote about that in my <em>Your Girl<\/em> book.\u00a0 Actually, in giving the background for moms of what our girls are being exposed to today, I wanted to draw for them that, you know, show them that the roots are in the sexual revolution, a lot of that teaching.\u00a0 No, I wasn't even aware until I started looking at her and researching my <em>Your Girl<\/em> book a few years back, that she had made a statement so radical.\u00a0 But I joked in my book and say apparently she didn't believe it, either, Dennis, because she got married not long ago.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0That's right.\u00a0 The fish began to pedal, huh?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0I said in the book, \"I think she found a fish in need of a bicycle.\"\u00a0 We laugh, but there's a sadness to that, too, that so many women jumped on that bandwagon.\u00a0 I'll say, too, my mother was not radial.\u00a0 I was not a radical feminist.\u00a0 I wasn't willing -- I liked going out with guys.\u00a0 I wasn't willing to -- in fact, kind of a funny story at UT.\u00a0 I thought I would be interested in the NOW meetings going on on campus.\u00a0 I remember seeing a sign stapled to a tree, back when you could staple things to trees.\u00a0 Now that's a big no-no on the UT campus.\u00a0 So, I went to one of those meetings.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0That's the National Organization for Women.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0Yes, yes.\u00a0 And I remember the girl that was up front talking that night.\u00a0 It was all let's blame the patriarchy for this and that, and never get married.\u00a0 And so I was the kind of feminist, I walked away from that and went, \"Ew, I thought I was a feminist, but I like guys, so --\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0\"I'm not one of them.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0Yeah, I'm not one of them.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0I was going to say, cheerleader and feminist don't typically go together in the same mold.\u00a0 But I think what you're saying is that the influence of the feminist culture was so pervasive that even if you weren't a part of the NOW group, your thinking had been molded by a cultural ethos that was saying that career and identity are found apart from marriage and family, apart from a relationship with Christ.\u00a0 You've got to be about yourself, right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0That's right, and that's really where we are today.\u00a0 In the '80s, that was the beginnings of revised feminist ideology, where take, for example, the fashion magazines coming out.\u00a0 This is what I try to tell moms and tell the girls.\u00a0 This is why they're not good for girls to be looking at.\u00a0 Most of the editors-in-chiefs of these fashion magazines are avowed feminists, yet you look at the pages and articles in the magazines and it's all about how to be pleasing to men.\u00a0 So on the one hand you've got the Gloria Steinem version of feminism saying you don't need a man, be independent, to some degree let's be a man-hater, and then you've got the magazine spinning out saying be independent, go for your career, but by the way, here's 50 tips on how you can get a guy magnet, swimsuit tops that tease and please.\u00a0 It's a hypocritical movement today.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So girls, when I was in the college age, in that generation, there was a real confusion as to what feminism looked like, and it was that sort of, you say, okay, cheerleader doesn't really fit that in the mold of a feminist, that's what we were told, go for the career.\u00a0 You don't need those little ankle biters around for a while, if at all.\u00a0 It's all about you.\u00a0 You're number one.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0And, you know, I want to get back to your spiritual journey, but I just have to say this, because with feminism failing, and whether it's the 8-lane highway of feminism or the militant narrow road of feminism, it's a dead-end street.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0Absolutely.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0They're all going in the same direction, but here it's failing.\u00a0 And as many of them are turning around, coming back in search of the truth and where they find real meaning and real identity, we find a good bit of the Christian community heading off down the highway in search of their own rights, wanting to find out how they can justify their position in doing this or that.\u00a0 It's a real tragedy, because feminism does not offer life.\u00a0 The scriptures offer life, and Jesus called us, if we're going to be a discipline to die to self, not seek our own rights.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0I've said this before, but I have to say it again here.\u00a0 I think a large part of the reason why feminism caught on is because women looked around and said, \"You know what?\u00a0 If men can be that selfish, we have the right to be that selfish, too.\"\u00a0 I mean, I really do think that feminism is rooted in fundamental selfishness, and it was women saying guys have cultural prerogative to be selfish, and we want the same thing.\u00a0 Now, rather than calling me to nobility and selflessness, which should have been the response, we kind of went off and wallowed in this let's have a selfish culture.\u00a0 But that's what's at the root of feminist ideology; it's all about you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0It really is, and, again, that's attractive even to Christians.\u00a0 If we are not bathing ourselves in God's Word, the truth of that, we can all lapse into that at any given time.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0We left you in your spiritual journey leaving that National Organization of Women meeting, rejecting what you were seeing there saying, \"Wait a second, I'm not sure I want to shoot all the patriarchs here.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0I might want to marry one.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0I may want to get my own bicycle someday.\u00a0 If I would have intercepted you, like six months later and could have interviewed you, in terms of your spiritual journey about what was going on in your heart, what was taking place at that time?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0Well, a lot of confusion and wrestling.\u00a0 I would say the first three years of my college journey were trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grow up, where I think that's what a college is for a lot of students.\u00a0 Learning the hard way, like stumbling into that NOW meeting and figuring out, \"Okay, this is not really what I want to be; I don't want to be this radical.\"\u00a0 Not really knowing what I wanted to do or be, and it was right around my junior year, and remember, I had the grandparents, we'll go back to that.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0They're still having you over every week for lunch.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0Yes, still faithfully inviting me to go to their church and slipping in --\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0Preaching the Gospel to you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0Yes, slipping in every week.\u00a0 It was almost humorous and cute.\u00a0 You know, \"By the way, there's over 500 students in our college department now,\" and I would just kind of laugh and say, \"It's just really not for me, it's not for me.\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0In my junior year, I was going out with a guy who really I dated off and on.\u00a0 He was a pretty good guy, one of those that your parents are going, \"You know, he's going to make a good living, he seems to really care about you,\" but chemistry-wise, there was just nothing there.\u00a0 I tried to talk myself into maybe this is the guy and we'd get back together.\u00a0 Then all of a sudden, about three years later into college, he called me one day and said, \"I want to talk to you about something.\"\u00a0 He had rededicated his life to Christ and wanted to share that with me.\u00a0 He told me that he had been a strong Christian in high school and had strayed from it.\u00a0 I was thinking, \"Well, that would probably happen from dating me.\u00a0 I wasn't real conducive to walking with Christ.\"\u00a0 And so then he's sharing this with me and I really gave him kind of a hard time, to be honest with you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0Do you remember what you said to him?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0Oh, I do.\u00a0 I said, \"What does that mean?\u00a0 Are you joining the Peace Corps?\u00a0 What's going on?\u00a0 I mean, what does -- \" I didn't know any of this lingo, for one thing.\u00a0 \"What is rededicate your life?\u00a0 What happens?\u00a0 Do you go off to become a priest?\u00a0 I mean, what happens?\"\u00a0 And so he shared with me that he had gotten into a Bible study on campus that met weekly with about eight guys.\u00a0 He would talk a lot about his Bible study leader and things his Bible study leader was saying in this group.\u00a0 He would tell me, you know, from time to time, \"I just want you to go to this church that I've been going to that sponsors the Bible study.\"\u00a0 Finally I asked him, \"Well, what church is it?\"\u00a0 And he mentioned that it was the big Baptist church where all the college students went.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0Grandma and Grandpa's church.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0Exactly.\u00a0 I went, \"Oh, my goodness!\u00a0 My grandparents go to this church.\u00a0 They've been begging me to go to this church.\"\u00a0 And so it's kind of funny because I really at that point even said I didn't care much about God, didn't know if there was a God.\u00a0 I remember thinking, \"There's something about this that doesn't ring coincidence.\"\u00a0 And so I told him I will go with you this Sunday to your church.\u00a0 This was in my junior year, I'm 21.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0That sounded like a real -- pretty excited, weren't you?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0I have to be honest, it was more, \"I'll go, I'll go.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0Grandmother's prayers have finally nailed me to the wall.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0Actually, after I told him I would go, and this is the beginning of a week and so I've got a few days to try to figure out a way to back out of it.\u00a0 But I called my grandparents and I told them, \"Guess what?\u00a0 I'm going to your church this Sunday.\"\u00a0 Well, the just could not believe it and said, \"Okay, okay.\"\u00a0 Well, long story short, he ended up having to go out of town and I could not rouse my roommate to go to church with me that Sunday.\u00a0 You know, girls don't go to the bathroom alone, much less -- I mean, brand-new to the church pretty much, had never been in a big church like that.\u00a0 So I picked up the phone that Sunday morning of my junior year and I called my grandparents and I said, \"You know, Ken that invited me, he had to go out of town Friday and I can't get my roommate to go with me; I'm just not going to go today.\"\u00a0 I was supposed to have lunch with them after church.\u00a0 Well, my grandfather -- I love sharing this story.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0I know exactly what they said.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0Yes, I mean, born and raised in Texas on a farm, he said, \"Sis, you get your church clothes on and you go stand out in front of your apartment and you be waiting for us.\u00a0 We'll be there in 15 minutes.\"\u00a0 I didn't have church clothes, guys.\u00a0 But I did as I was told, and I remember like a frightened child standing out in front of my apartment complex and that big Ford LTD pulled up.\u00a0 I got in the back seat and they took me to church, and walked me -- I'm 21 -- they walked me to the doors, the double doors of that college department.\u00a0 I guess it was that afternoon, this guy that had invited me and then left town, called and said, \"Did you go?\"\u00a0 I said, \"I did.\u00a0 I went to your church, my grandparents' church.\u00a0 They made me go.\"\u00a0 I shared that they had talked about a retreat for college students coming up in a few weeks.\u00a0 He said, \"Oh, my Bible study leader that I told you about, we're going to that.\u00a0 You need to go.\"\u00a0 And so I actually did enlist a friend to go with me, sign up, and that was three weeks later, Labor Day weekend 1985.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I went to the event.\u00a0 I did almost try to get out of it.\u00a0 I called at one point, told this fellow that I just wasn't feeling well and we thought we might go to Sixth Street instead.\u00a0 It just dawned on us, there wasn't going to be any liquor at this Baptist event, and how could there be any fun?\u00a0 I seriously said that, and so he said, \"No, you need to go, you need to go, you already told your grandparents you were going to this.\"\u00a0 So a lot of it was, oh, wow, I've committed to my grandparents and so I'll go.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I did.\u00a0 I went, and that night I heard the Gospel presented very clearly.\u00a0 I was wrestling in my heart.\u00a0 I knew that what the speaker had shared was exactly what I was searching for all those years.\u00a0 I wish I could tell you I walked forward.\u00a0 At the end we all sang, \"I've Decided to Follow Jesus.\"\u00a0 It was so funny, because I was standing there and I was just wrestling in my heart and talking back and forth with God and saying, \"Wait a minute, I didn't even -- I've said for years, I don't even think you exist, and here I am talking to you.\"\u00a0 I remember wrestling with that and yet this is what I want.\u00a0 The speaker talked about this void in your life and trying to fill it with everything.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0So then the worship leader said, \"I know there's just one more person in here,\" and my friend's Bible study leader that was there that I had taken note was very, very cute, by the way, and leaned over at that point and said, \"Well, I wish this one more person would get going because it's getting late.\"\u00a0 I remember thinking, \"Oh, no.\u00a0 Everyone knows it's me.\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I wish I could tell you I walked forward, but I didn't, and I share all over the country now in women's groups and such that it was about on the 11th chorus of \"I've Decided to Follow Jesus,\" that I said, \"I give up, Lord.\"\u00a0 To myself I said that.\u00a0 Then this guy's Bible study leader the next morning brought up in conversation, said, \"Are you a Christian?\"\u00a0 I shared with him, I said, \"You know, I think I am now.\u00a0 I said that prayer last night.\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Anyway, a long story short, that ended up being the man that I married, my husband.\u00a0 I stood in line at that Baptist encampment at a pay phone that Saturday morning.\u00a0 It was too late on Friday night, and I made my one phone call, and don't you know who I made that phone call to?\u00a0 I called my grandparents and my grandmother answered.\u00a0 I'll never forget that.\u00a0 I did, I told her, \"Grandmother, your prayers have been answered.\u00a0 I prayed and I said that prayer last night, and I asked Christ to come into my heart.\"\u00a0 There was just a silence on the phone.\u00a0 You could hear her choking back tears and said, \"I'm so, so proud of you.\"\u00a0 That same set of grandparents gave me my first Bible when I turned 10.\u00a0 It was a children's Bible with animated cartoonish pictures, and I carried it with me to that college event.\u00a0 That's all I had as a Bible.\u00a0 She said on the phone, she said, \"And when you get back, I'll get you a grown-up Bible.\"\u00a0 And she did.\u00a0 I got my first study Bible when I got back.\u00a0 And so they're such a part of my Christian heritage.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0And there was something about calling your grandparents the next day.\u00a0 I assume they're no longer alive.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0My grandfather is.\u00a0 My grandmother passed away several years ago, and I told the story at her funeral, where many of her friends were there and even staff of the Baptist church that played such a part in my salvation experience as well.\u00a0 It was so healing to be able to tell that story.\u00a0 My grandmother was such a dear woman and she would often joke and say in her church, and they were a part of this church for over 50 years.\u00a0 She said, \"I'm in the last class before you go to heaven.\"\u00a0 In the Baptist church, they promote you.\u00a0 You always have those promotions.\u00a0 Well, she was done promoting in the last 10 or so years, and she was so great about it.\u00a0 She would say, \"I'm in the last class before you -- the next promotion is heaven.\"\u00a0 And what a promotion that is.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0Well, you just described what Paul wrote about in II Corinthians 5.\u00a0 It says, \"Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature.\u00a0 The old things passed away, behold new things have come.\"\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I have to believe right now there is a woman who is listening to us -- perhaps a man -- and we haven't sung 11 stanzas of \"I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.\"\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0I'm willing, guys, are you all, if that's what it takes?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0We want to keep our listeners.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0Okay.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0But the reality is, the joy that we're talking about here, and the laughter that we can laugh about and enjoy as individuals is there because we're secure about our eternal destiny because of our relationship with Christ, and he does pursue you.\u00a0 Some of you who are listening right now know God has been pursuing you and it's time.\u00a0 It's just like Vicki on that 11th verse.\u00a0 It's time.\u00a0 Give up!\u00a0 Give up!\u00a0 Give your life to Christ and become a new creature, and then call your grandmother, because somebody's been praying for you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVicki: \u00a0That's right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: \u00a0Maybe it's your mom, maybe it's your dad.\u00a0 Perhaps it may be your pastor that you've been dabbling in church, but the point is, give your life to Christ and then get on with growing.\u00a0 Get on with the rest of that song.\u00a0 That song is a great song.\u00a0 \"I have decided to follow Jesus.\"\u00a0 Frankly, I don't know of another way to live life.\u00a0 He is the one who brings meaning.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: \u00a0And it may be, Dennis, that there are listeners who would say today, \"I think I am being pursued by God.\"\u00a0 We'd like to send you a book that's called <em>Pursuing God.<\/em>\u00a0 It's a book that invites you to respond to the God who is pursuing you, and we'll send it to you at no cost.\u00a0 You can call us or go online and request a copy of the book.\u00a0 We're happy to send it to you.\u00a0 All you have to do is call and say I think maybe it's time to do what Vicki did, and what you guys have been talking about.\u00a0 It's time to surrender, and I want to know more about what it means to be a Christian.\u00a0 We'll send you a copy of the book, <em>Pursuing God<\/em>, when you go online at <u>familylife.com<\/u> to request it, or when you call 1-800-F as in Family, L as in Life, and then the word TODAY, 1-800-FLTODAY, and just say I'd like a copy of that book, <em>Pursuing God,<\/em> because I'd like to get to know the God who is pursuing me.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0When you go to our website, you'll also find information about the resources Vicki has available for teenage girls and for their moms including this, well, it looks like a magazine.\u00a0 It's actually, I guess they call them bookzines, or something like that.\u00a0 The book is called <em>Teen Virtue,<\/em> and it's a full color magazine for girls on the issues, the real issues that teenage girls face.\u00a0 You've also got a journal that you've created for teenage girls, and a book for moms called <em>Your Girl: Raising a Godly Daughter in an Ungodly World,<\/em> a book that Beth Moore called a must read.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0We've got these resources in our FamilyLife Resource Center, and you can request copies when you got o the website, <u>familylife.com<\/u>, or call us at 1-800-FLTODAY for more information on how you can have these resources sent out to you.\u00a0 We can also send along a CD that has our conversation with Vicki Courtney, if you are interested in receiving that.\u00a0 Again, go to the website, <u>familylife.com<\/u>, or call 1-800-FLTODAY for more information.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Let me say a quick word of thanks, Dennis, to all the folks who support this ministry with your prayers, with your financial contributions, especially those of you who are Legacy Partners.\u00a0 Those are folks who on a monthly basis make a donation to the ministry of FamilyLife Today.\u00a0 It's your financial support that helps this ministry continue to grow and to reach more and more folks each year.\u00a0 We appreciate your partnership with us, and if you're a long-time listener and you have not yet made a donation to FamilyLife Today, we would love to hear from you.\u00a0 Again, you can donate online at <u>familylife.com<\/u>, or you can call 1-800-FLTODAY to make a donation, and we appreciate hearing from you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0Well, tomorrow, Vicki Courtney is going to be back with us and we're going to talk about what we can do as parents to help our daughters pursue virtuous lives.\u00a0 I hope you can be with us for that.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0I want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We'll see you back next time for another edition of FamilyLife Today.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0FamilyLife Today is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you.\u00a0 However, there is a cost to transcribe, create, and produce them for our website.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/site\/c.dnJHKLNnFoG\/b.3782043\/k.384D\/Support_Us.htm\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright \u00a9 FamilyLife.\u00a0 All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/www.FamilyLife.com\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/301069","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\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301069"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=301069"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=301069"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=301069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}