{"id":302480,"date":"2012-03-14T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-03-14T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/words-as-seeds\/"},"modified":"2012-03-14T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-03-14T15:00:00","slug":"words-as-seeds","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/words-as-seeds\/","title":{"rendered":"Words as Seeds"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Each word you speak takes root for good or bad in the hearts of those who hear it.<\/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\/fl2012-03-14.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"22.49M","filesize_raw":"23586458","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2850,2881],"tags":[4096],"podcast_series":[7863],"cwp_profile":[8978],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302480","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-character-development","category-young-children","tag-mentoring","podcast_series-just-a-minute","cwp_profile-wess-stafford","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\/302480\/words-as-seeds","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302480\/words-as-seeds","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=\"7KRJ5Ra7Oc\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/words-as-seeds\/\">Words as Seeds<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/words-as-seeds\/embed\/#?secret=7KRJ5Ra7Oc\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Words as Seeds&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"7KRJ5Ra7Oc\" 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":"Each word you speak takes root for good or bad in the hearts of those who hear it.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-03-14.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wess Stafford\u2019s mom and dad were missionaries.\u00a0 What he saw growing up as a child in Africa marked his life forever.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 The village that I grew up in was a poverty-stricken village.\u00a0 By the time I was 15 years old and came to America to live, half of my boyhood friends had died (of things that I later learned they didn\u2019t need to die from).\u00a0 I remember getting to America and following people, carrying grocery bags in New York City.\u00a0 I backtracked, being a pretty good hunter.\u00a0 I came upon my first grocery store.\u00a0 I saw all of this food; and I realized that nobody needed to starve, out there in Africa.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Wednesday, March 14th.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife\u00ae, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We\u2019ve all sung the song, <em>Jesus Loves the Little Children<\/em>.\u00a0 The question is, \u201cDo we love them?\u201d\u00a0 What are we doing about it?\u00a0 We\u2019ll talk about that today.\u00a0 Stay tuned.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 Thanks for joining us.\u00a0 You wrote a book, a number of years ago, in which you described words as seeds.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Your words are planting something every time you speak.\u00a0 It\u2019s either weeds that are going to grow up or it is good fruit that is going to grow up on the words that you plant; right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, and there was a song that our kids used to sing when we would travel in the summer to some mission projects that we would do, \u201cSo be careful what you sow; what you\u2019ve planted there will start to grow.\u201d\u00a0 You know, good seeds produce good fruit; bad seeds produce bad fruit.\u00a0 In fact, let me just read here, at the start of the broadcast, what the apostle James says about the tongue.\u00a0 Before I get to the passage, I\u2019m looking across the table at our friend Wess Stafford, who joins us again on <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em>\u00a0 Wes, welcome back.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s good to be here!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 President of Compassion International\u00ae.\u00a0 He\u2019s got a passion for parents and adults to all speak good words to kids (so just to put our conversation here into context).\u00a0 Here\u2019s what James says, though, Chapter 3, verse 5, \u201cSo also the tongue is a small member, yet boasts of great things.\u00a0 How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire.\u00a0 The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.\u00a0 The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body; setting on fire the entire course of life and set on fire by hell.\u00a0 For every kind of beast and bird and reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue.\u00a0 It is restless, evil, full of deadly poison.\u00a0 With it we bless our Lord and Father and with it we curse people who are made in the image of God.\u00a0 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.\u00a0 My brothers, these things ought not to be so.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s what you\u2019ve written about in your book, <em>Just a Minute<\/em>.\u00a0 You\u2019re talking about the power of words and their impact in the lives of children.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 I would argue a special impact in the lives of children as they are so easily impressed with things that either build them up or destroy them.\u00a0 Words are powerful.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 One of the stories that you tell about, in your book, is the story of a man who is, today, an 87-year-old retired professor from seminary.\u00a0 He was a mentor to Dennis Rainey.\u00a0 That\u2019s Dr. Howard Hendricks.\u00a0 He had words spoken to him by one of his teachers that marked his life.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 Exactly.\u00a0 That\u2019s one of the stories in the book.\u00a0 You\u2019re right, Bob.\u00a0 He grew up in not such a strong school district and he was not such a great student\u2014this brilliant man.\u00a0 They simply passed him from grade, to grade, to grade, to grade; you know?\u00a0 Finally, when he got to, I think, fourth grade, his teacher had read the reports from the third-grade teacher that said, \u201cYou know, he\u2019s not so smart.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t waste a whole lot of time on him.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tShe sat him down and said, \u201cDo you know what the teachers have said about you?\u201d\u00a0 She said, \u201cYou know what?\u00a0 I don\u2019t believe a word of that, Howie!\u201d\u00a0 She poured herself into him, and he prospered under that teacher\u2019s love and those moments of kind words.\u00a0 He went on to become this <em>great <\/em>seminary professor.\u00a0 I think he\u2019s written 56 books.\u00a0 I think you could argue that he was on a downward spiral until that minute when a teacher said, \u201cI don\u2019t believe anything they\u2019re saying about you.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 He taught more than 12,000 students.\u00a0 He taught for 60 years, until his retirement.\u00a0 I was just with him last fall during the World Series.\u00a0 Unfortunately, he was for the Rangers and I was for the Cardinals\u2014you know we had a bit of a run-in there;\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 but he\u2019s still my friend.\u00a0 Anyway, I was chatting with him.\u00a0 He said, \u201cBy the way, I\u2019m still coming to seminary once a week.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got 12 students I\u2019m teaching.\u201d\u00a0 Even though he has formally retired, he is a teacher of men, around the Word of God.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou had a moment in your life, with your father, that was a defining moment around your mission in life\u2014your career.\u00a0 Is that right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 It is true!\u00a0 I was 15 years old when I got to America.\u00a0 I had been through a great deal.\u00a0 We\u2019ve talked about abuse on one side, but the village I grew up in was a poverty-stricken village.\u00a0 By the time I was 15 years old and came to America to live, half of my boyhood friends had died (of things that I later learned they didn\u2019t need to die from).\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI remember going to America and following people, carrying grocery bags in New York City\u2014I back-tracked, being a pretty good hunter.\u00a0 I came upon my first grocery store.\u00a0 I saw all of this food; and I realized that nobody needed to starve, out there in Africa.\u00a0 Then, next door was medicine; it was a pharmacy.\u00a0 I realized there was plenty of medicine.\u00a0 I was absolutely broken-hearted at age 15.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt was almost that same day, riding along in a car\u2014there was an expression back in those days, \u201cSo, what do ya say?!\u201d (I don\u2019t know if we do that so much anymore.)\u00a0 I had never heard that.\u00a0 I was, you know, a kid out of Africa.\u00a0 We were riding along, and this man who was driving the car\u2014a pastor\u2014turned around to me, sitting in the back seat, and said, \u201cSo what do ya say, Wess?!\u201d\u00a0 I thought, \u201cI don\u2019t know what I say.\u00a0 Are children assigned things to say over here?\u201d\u00a0 (Laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe went on to say, \u201cSo, what do you want to be when you grow up?\u201d\u00a0 Well, I was so hurt and so damaged at that time, I didn\u2019t know there was any value in me at all.\u00a0 I sat there, you know, in the backseat, with my heart just pounding with, \u201cI don\u2019t know what to say.\u201d\u00a0 My father came to my rescue.\u00a0 He said, \u201cYou know, Wes has been through a lot.\u00a0 He\u2019s seen a lot of suffering.\u00a0 He has a big heart.\u00a0 What he loves to do is help hurting people.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI sat back there and I thought, \u201cYes.\u00a0 That is me.\u00a0 That is what I do.\u201d\u00a0 Now, here I am, 34 years in Compassion International.\u00a0 You could argue that\u2014that moment, when my father, sort of in his one sentence, clarified my feelings and my drive.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s seen a lot of hurting people.\u00a0 He loves to help.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You remember that story.\u00a0 You remember being in the back of the cab and hearing your dad say, \u201cHe likes to help hurting people.\u201d\u00a0 Did it hit you immediately?\u00a0 That day, were you walking out going, \u201cThat\u2019s the direction I want my life to go\u201d?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 It was a double-whammy that day.\u00a0 I can remember.\u00a0 I remember the heat; I remember the smell in the back of that cab; I remember everything about it.\u00a0 The thought that came through my head was, \u201cReally?\u00a0 Is that really me?\u201d\u00a0 Then, the same day, I stumbled onto my first grocery store and all of this came together.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI remember when I realized that the kids\u2014my friends\u2014didn\u2019t need to die.\u00a0 I went and sat on the curb; and I just wept on the streets, realizing all of the loss in my life didn\u2019t need to happen\u2014not in that village.\u00a0 When I ran\u2014it was in Manhattan\u2014so nobody stopped and said, \u201cAre you okay, kid?\u201d\u00a0 I ran out of tears, and I began watching people go by.\u00a0 I became more and more angry.\u00a0 I thought, \u201cHow can you have all of this and not care?\u201d\u00a0 I actually went for quite a while, with that rage in my heart.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 I mean, through high school, with that rage until I had lived in America long enough to realize, \u201cIt\u2019s not that they don\u2019t care.\u00a0 They don\u2019t even know!\u201d\u00a0 Here\u2019s where I really got my calling, with the words of my father, echoing in my ears.\u00a0 I realized, \u201cYou know what?\u00a0 I have lived now at both ends of this bridge.\u00a0 I know both worlds.\u00a0 I know the poverty, and I know these good-hearted people.\u00a0 Somehow, I\u2019m going to have to bridge these two worlds.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s when I stumbled onto Compassion.\u00a0 If it hadn\u2019t already been going, I probably would have had to be the founder of it!\u00a0 (Laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 But it was my father\u2019s words\u2014it all came together, really, in about a 12-hour span of time.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Some of our listeners may be familiar with Compassion child sponsorships, but give us the big picture.\u00a0 How many kids\u2019 lives are being touched by what Compassion is doing around the world every year?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s over a million children now.\u00a0 There are 1.3 million children that are each linked to some loving, caring person, around the world.\u00a0 Two million have graduated from Compassion in the last 60 years.\u00a0 They are pastors, doctors, nurses.\u00a0 They are the salt and light of some of these poverty-stricken countries, poised to change the world.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe thing that got me excited about this <em>Just a Minute <\/em>book on Compassion children is for Compassion sponsors\u2014these million people.\u00a0 Not all of them get a moment with their child, but they get a sentence with their child.\u00a0 In letters that they write back and forth, they can breathe life into a child, with just a sentence.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe have a little guy named Joshua out of Kenya.\u00a0 He grew up in one of the slums of Nairobi.\u00a0 He, now, is grown.\u00a0 He got a full-ride scholarship to university in Holland.\u00a0 He is studying (let me get this right)\u2014he\u2019s getting a Master\u2019s in Molecular Mechanisms of Disease.\u00a0 His heart\u2019s cry is to come up with a vaccine for malaria.\u00a0 He says\u2014and his story is actually in the book\u2014He says, \u201cThe first person who ever breathed into me that I might be able to do something with my life was my sponsor in the United States.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019re saying a letter that the sponsor wrote, that got sent to this little boy in Kenya, sparked in him the thought that he could do something?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 Exactly right!\u00a0 It\u2019s exactly the moment\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI know another one that I just love!\u00a0 This was one of our kids, who grew up through Compassion, and became a nurse.\u00a0 When her sponsor\u2014nursing was a very tough thing for a girl out of poverty\u2014but her sponsors had said to her, \u201cWe believe in you.\u00a0 Just don\u2019t give up.\u00a0 You can do this!\u201d\u00a0 Well, I got to visit this girl in Bolivia.\u00a0 Her name was Jenny.\u00a0 We went to the project that she had grown up in.\u00a0 It was this little adobe church.\u00a0 We walked in.\u00a0 She was in her pristine white nurse\u2019s outfit.\u00a0 There was me and then her two sponsors, who had been with her since she was a little girl.\u00a0 The pastor recognized her.\u00a0 We were unannounced.\u00a0 He asked her to come to the front because he knew that she could sing.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThis beautiful, Bolivian nurse goes to the front and tunes the guitar.\u00a0 There are about a hundred kids in this little adobe church.\u00a0 She starts singing.\u00a0 She sings, and I watch her eyes from where I am about 20 yards away.\u00a0 I can see that she\u2019s looking at all of the children.\u00a0 Then, all of a sudden, her eyes are looking at one spot.\u00a0 I see tears welling up in this nurse\u2019s eyes, and I see them spill down her cheek.\u00a0 Her voice cracks and she finally stops.\u00a0 She puts the guitar down, and I look where she\u2019s looking.\u00a0 It\u2019s a little girl\u2014a little girl, so small, in the third row\u2014so small that her feet are swinging in the air.\u00a0 They don\u2019t even touch the floor.\u00a0 This nurse says to this little girl, \u201cSweetheart, that\u2019s where I used to sit.\u00a0 That was my spot.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh, wow!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cDo you see what\u2019s happened to me?\u00a0 It can happen to you.\u00a0 Don\u2019t ever, ever give up.\u201d\u00a0 At that moment, I watched her eyes look up to her sponsors, standing in the back of the church, who had said those very words to her.\u00a0 That\u2019s all I saw.\u00a0 From that point on, it was just a blur.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, I\u2019m just reflecting back on how you started those last two stories, talking about letters\u2014the power of words on a piece of paper.\u00a0 We\u2019ve become such an email culture we\u2019ve missed the power of a personal letter that we send, especially to a child.\u00a0 It can be a grandparent writing a grandchild.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 Absolutely!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m just thinking of the opportunities that we ought to be seizing that could be kept.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s down to, for every 20 pieces of mail that we get, only one will be some kind of personalized letter, of any kind.\u00a0 What\u2019s your word to grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles seizing the power of words in a young person\u2019s life?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, you nailed it.\u00a0 One of the things I say, in this book, is to grandparents who think that their time has passed\u2014that they can\u2019t compete with all of the electronic entertainment that their grandchildren have.\u00a0 I say to them, \u201cYou know, your best hours may be right now and around the corner, if you will take the time.\u00a0 A little note from Grandma or Grandpa that simply says, \u2018I\u2019m so proud of you.\u00a0 I went to your Christmas program, and you were beautiful\u2019 or, \u2018you sang beautifully\u2019.\u00a0 These moments, to speak into the life of a child, are absolutely life-changing\u2014if we\u2019ll just seize them!\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to plead with people, too, in this book, \u201cDon\u2019t miss these moments!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 We think about parents, and grandparents, and teachers\u2014kind of those natural\u2014the coach who comes along and says something.\u00a0 I\u2019m reminded of a story, Dennis, that I\u2019ve heard you share.\u00a0 This was years ago, but you had run into somebody (maybe somebody who\u2019d been in your sixth-grade Sunday school class).\u00a0 You ran into him at a gas station one day, and he was now 18 or 19 years old.\u00a0 As I remember you telling the story, you saw him and maybe had heard some things about him that things weren\u2019t going in a good direction for him.\u00a0 You just went up and affirmed him.\u00a0 Do you remember what I\u2019m talking about?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, yes.\u00a0 I just put my arm around him, and looked him in the eyes, and told him, \u201cI believe in you.\u00a0 I want you to know that I\u2019m bullish on you.\u201d\u00a0 One of the other things that I recall doing, Bob, after my sixth-grade Sunday school class, was I would run into a parent of one of the kids that I taught.\u00a0 I would say, \u201cHey, how\u2019s Natalie doing?\u00a0 Tell me how she\u2019s doing.\u201d\u00a0 The parent would give a good report.\u00a0 I would say, \u201cWould you tell her that I asked about her\u2014asked how she was doing?\u201d\u2014especially, during the teenage years, because those are so perilous today\u2014and on into college, as well.\u00a0 \u201cJust let them know that I asked how they were doing and that it was really important to Mr. Rainey.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 This kind of person, who is, maybe, once removed from the family\u2014there\u2019s great power in that\u2014the affirmation of somebody who doesn\u2019t have to say nice things to you because they\u2019re related to you\u2014that can be very powerful.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I\u2019m going to tell you something.\u00a0 If you put your arm around one of my children, and you soak some words deep into their souls, and speak words of truth and build into their lives, you can\u2019t do anything more for me that\u2019s more valuable.\u00a0 I mean, if you want to encourage another person, minister to their children.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 In the book, another suggestion I have is that within arm\u2019s reach of most any little child, is a hero of some kind\u2014someone who is caring for that child.\u00a0 It\u2019s a hard, lonely job nowadays with so many families broken up.\u00a0 I remember a while back, I was at a carwash in Colorado Springs.\u00a0 Sitting next to me, waiting for the cars to come out, was a mother and her (probably three-year-old) son.\u00a0 They were talking and having this amazing, fascinating conversation, like best friends.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tTheir car was ready before my car.\u00a0 They got up to walk away; and I said, \u201cMa\u2019am, can I just say something to you?\u00a0 I\u2019ve been listening to your conversation, and you\u2019re a tremendous momma to this little boy.\u00a0 He is so lucky to have you as his mom.\u201d\u00a0 She said, \u201cWhy, thank you.\u201d\u00a0 She walked to her car, but she got to her car and she stood still for a second.\u00a0 She came around back to me and she said, \u201cCan I give you a hug?\u201d (Laughter)\u00a0 She said, \u201cNo one has ever said anything like that to me, and I\u2019m trying so hard to be a good mother.\u201d\u00a0 I thought, \u201cYes.\u00a0 You bless their child; you bless them.\u00a0 You bless them; you just might bless their child.\u201d\u00a0 We can all do this!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And we\u2019re walking by these people all of the time.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 We really are.\u00a0 We just need to be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit says to us.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit does nudge us.\u00a0 He does tell us, \u201cHey, why don\u2019t you say something to that person?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you encourage that person?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you speak those words into that child\u2019s life?\u201d\u00a0 Instead of questioning if it\u2019s really the Holy Spirit, just do it!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 Just do it!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Just do it!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 You notice I wear a Mickey Mouse watch.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I didn\u2019t notice that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 An executive of this massive, big thing; and I still wear a Mickey Mouse watch.\u00a0 You know why I do it?\u00a0 I use it to remind myself of my mission.\u00a0 Anytime I check the watch, I am reminded, \u201cIs there a child anywhere in the vicinity?\u201d\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 If there is, and I have even as little as a minute, I will do it.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s just a wave; sometimes it\u2019s a compliment at a grocery store, \u201cMy, you\u2019re a big help to your Momma!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 I mean, we <em>all <\/em>can do this.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 We\u2019ve all been children.\u00a0 We\u2019re all experts at this.\u00a0 We don\u2019t need one more day of education.\u00a0 We remember either how childhood should be or how it\u2019s shouldn\u2019t be\u2014but either way, we are all fully-equipped and, I believe, mandated, to bless the children around us, as we\u2019re trying to do.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Undoubtedly, there are listeners who have been listening to your story here; and they\u2019re thinking the same thing I\u2019m thinking, \u201cWhat a privileged life Wess lives\u2014to be able to bless the least of these and to get paid for it.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 Exactly.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I mean, for you to be able to go around the world\u2014you mentioned, before we were on microphone a few moments ago, you\u2019ve traveled more than 2 million miles, looking out for the needs of children.\u00a0 I just want you to know, I admire you for not being a victim and for allowing God\u2019s grace to sink deeply into your heart\u2014to forgive those who abused you when you were a little boy.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tInstead of caving in to bitterness and becoming a wretched, crotchety, old man, you\u2019re on a mission!\u00a0 You\u2019re now proclaiming Jesus Christ around the world and helping families, like Bob\u2019s family, who\u2019ve got two children with Compassion International.\u00a0 I\u2019m feeling guilty that Barbara and I need to adopt one of these children.\u00a0 I think we\u2019ll probably do that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 We can help you with that!\u00a0 (Laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m sure you probably can.\u00a0 The point is\u2014Man, you have made a turn-around with your life!\u00a0 I just appreciate you\u2019re going to end up giving almost four decades of your life to this, if not longer.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank you for doing what you do.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 I think I am the most blessed person I know.\u00a0 As you say, it hasn\u2019t been an easy path; but I can look at having gone through that path and seeing God\u2019s goodness, in spite of the pain, to being given, not only a role at Compassion, but the leadership of Compassion.\u00a0 I laugh more than most people I know.\u00a0 I cry more than most people I know.\u00a0 I am fully alive!\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 I think I\u2019m in the sweet spot of what I was created to do.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 What you just said there\u2014I just finished a book for men called <em>Stepping Up<\/em>.\u00a0 You just described what I wrote about in the last 25 percent of the book.\u00a0 Don\u2019t rust out; wear out.\u00a0 Wear out for something that is worthy of your life!\u00a0 Do you know what I mean?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Wess:<\/strong>\u00a0 I do.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Find your mission, roll up your sleeves, and go for it!\u00a0 Don\u2019t wear yourself out in the mall or in the woods.\u00a0 I love to hunt; you love to hunt; okay?\u00a0 But we need to be on task and on mission because Jesus Christ has given us the greatest commission ever given to man, \u201cGo to the world and make disciples.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou\u2019re doing that, Wess.\u00a0 I really appreciate you!\u00a0 I hope folks are going to get your book.\u00a0 This would make a great book, I think, to read aloud to your children and just share some great stories of how other children have been encouraged by words spoken to them.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Think about it.\u00a0 Everybody, today, will have a spare minute or two; right?\u00a0 Most likely, you\u2019re going to come across the path of a child.\u00a0 That\u2019s all you\u2019re talking about\u2014taking that minute and blessing that child.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that hard.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s the central message of the book that Wess Stafford has written called <em>Just a Minute.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>Go to FamilyLifeToday.com for more information on how to get a copy of the book.\u00a0 Again, it\u2019s FamilyLifeToday.com; or call toll-free 1-800-FL-TODAY; 1-800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY\u201d.\u00a0 Ask for a copy of Wess Stafford\u2019s book, <em>Just a Minute.<\/em>\u00a0 We\u2019ll make arrangements to get it sent out to you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you\u2019re interested in more information about the ministry that Wess gives leadership to, Compassion International, and if you\u2019d like to join with MaryAnn and me and sponsor a child or two, somewhere in the world, find out more by going to FamilyLifeToday.com and clicking the link for Compassion International.\u00a0 There\u2019s information available there about how, for a few dollars each month, you can have a profound impact in the life of a child, somewhere in the world.\u00a0 Again, find the information you need at FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, I want to say, \u201cThanks,\u201d to some of our listeners who\u2019ve heard us talking this month about our goal of trying to recruit one new Legacy Partner family in each of the cities where <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>is heard.\u00a0 Actually, it\u2019s a little more than that.\u00a0 We\u2019re trying to recruit 1,500 new Legacy Partners, and we\u2019re heard in about 1,100 cities.\u00a0 Some of you have already gone online at FamilyLifeToday.com or given us a call at 1-800-FL-TODAY and said, \u201cYou know what?\u00a0 We can help out.\u00a0 We\u2019ve thought about becoming a Legacy Partner, and we just needed a little nudge.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m glad we were able to give you that nudge.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen you become a Legacy Partner, we\u2019re going to send you a welcome kit that\u2019s got a couple of travel mugs; and it\u2019s got a special CD that Dennis and I recorded, for our Legacy Partners, on the key characteristics of effective marriages and families.\u00a0 Throughout the year, we\u2019ll make additional resources available to you, designed to strengthen your marriage and your family.\u00a0 We want to ask you just to prayerfully consider whether you would be the family in your city that would step up and become a new Legacy Partner.\u00a0 Find out more when you go to FamilyLifeToday.com and click on the link that says, \u201cBecome a Legacy Partner\u201d; or call 1-800-FL-TODAY and ask how you can become a Legacy Partner.\u00a0 I want to say, \u201cThanks,\u201d in advance for joining the team.\u00a0 It\u2019s good to have you aboard!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to encourage you to be back with us again tomorrow when we\u2019re going to meet the director and the star of a new film called <em>October Baby<\/em> that is opening in theaters, not this weekend, but next weekend.\u00a0 We\u2019ll tell you about the movie and about the powerful message this film has.\u00a0 I hope you can join us for that tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI 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 will see you back tomorrow for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\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 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\/donate\">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 2012 FamilyLife.\u00a0 All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 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