{"id":302605,"date":"2012-10-02T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-02T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/signing-over-your-life\/"},"modified":"2012-10-02T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-10-02T15:00:00","slug":"signing-over-your-life","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/signing-over-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Signing Over Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;ll do anything. That&#8217;s the prayer that Jennie Allen and her husband, Zac, told God.<\/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\/fl2012-10-02.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"25.41M","filesize_raw":"26645215","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2822],"tags":[4134,5228,5227],"podcast_series":[7903],"cwp_profile":[3338],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302605","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-in-your-faith","tag-life-change","tag-surrender","tag-walk-in-faith","podcast_series-the-anything-prayer","cwp_profile-jennie-allen","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\/302605\/signing-over-your-life","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302605\/signing-over-your-life","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=\"h6SwNoL38a\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/signing-over-your-life\/\">Signing Over Your Life<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/signing-over-your-life\/embed\/#?secret=h6SwNoL38a\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Signing Over Your Life&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"h6SwNoL38a\" 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":"We'll do anything. That's the prayer that Jennie Allen and her husband, Zac, told God.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-10-02.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Have you ever avoided praying the prayer, \u201cLord, I\u2019ll do anything You ask,\u201d because things might get out of control if you do?\u00a0 Jennie Allen can relate.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Let me just give a few disclaimers because I am a woman who has fought this battle.\u00a0 I have been down this road.\u00a0 One, control is a complete illusion.\u00a0 It is not real.\u00a0 We do not have control.\u00a0 Even if we think we do, we do not.\u00a0 I think that has been the humor of God in my life as I prayed this prayer.\u00a0 I think He keeps going, to me, as I hand Him all these things that were His anyway\u2014and I hand them up\u2014He\u2019s saying, \u201cYes, you really can\u2019t control if I take your husband from you tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0 \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 Tuesday, October 2<sup>nd<\/sup>.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 Jennie Allen joins us today to talk about what it looks like to really give up control and to trust God.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to talk about that today.\u00a0 Stay tuned.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \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 The subject we\u2019re talking about this week takes me back to the stories I\u2019ve heard you tell over and over again about your first Christmas with your wife, Barbara\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014and what you guys did that Christmas.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Let me introduce our guest so our listeners know that she\u2019s with us.\u00a0 Jennie Allen joins us again on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 Jennie, welcome back.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank you.\u00a0 It\u2019s great to be here.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 She\u2019s an alumnus of my sixth-grade Sunday school class from about 180 years ago, back before the earth\u2019s crust hardened.\u00a0 Jennie, today, has four children of her own and about to have a seventh grader.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 I am.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 She has authored a number of Bible studies and books.\u00a0 The book we are talking about today is <em>Anything<\/em>.\u00a0 It\u2019s called <em>The Prayer That Unlocked My God and My Soul<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBack to Bob\u2019s question that he asked\u2014back in 1972, when we started out our marriage, we were married on the second day of September.\u00a0 That means we\u2019re now into our 40<sup>th<\/sup> year.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Congratulations.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 That sounds ancient; doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 That\u2019s fossilized.\u00a0 Anyway, we started our marriage.\u00a0 We decided we would do something that my mentor, Bill Bright\u2014also, my employer at the time\u2014that he did with his wife Vonette.\u00a0 He spoke of signing a title deed\u2014a title deed to their lives\u2014that they formalized and signed, as a couple, when they started out their marriage.\u00a0\u00a0 Barbara and I, there in Boulder, Colorado, with that little, tiny three-bedroom home that is way over-priced today\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Do you wish you still owned that house?\u00a0 <br><br><strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I do!\u00a0 I\u2019d be a wealthy man if I had that little place now.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t have any furniture.\u00a0 I think we were eating off of boxes at the time.\u00a0 We just didn\u2019t have hardly anything; but Barbara got alone in the living room in one of the chairs we did own, and I got alone in another part of the house.\u00a0 We signed over, on two sheets of paper, everything we had and everything we ever hoped to have.\u00a0 We listed it, Jennie.\u00a0 We listed all of those things down.\u00a0 Then, we folded those sheets of paper, and put them in an envelope, and sealed it, and didn\u2019t open it until 1990.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wow.\u00a0 <br>\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 In 1990, after God had given us six children, a growing ministry\u2014far more than we ever dreamed of\u2014we took a knife and slit open that envelope.\u00a0 We read what we gave God, and we laughed!\u00a0 It looked like Tinker<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> toys\u2014some of the things we thought were so important, and what we gave Him, and surrendered to Him\u2014but that envelope, even though it\u2019s been opened\u2014those two sheets of paper still remain as two of the most prized possessions of anything we have because it\u2019s more than symbolic.\u00a0 It was a legal contract to say to God, \u201cWe\u2019re Yours.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Jennie, you didn\u2019t formalize in a legal contract; but you and your husband Zac essentially did the same thing as you guys\u2014you were praying this every night?\u00a0 <br>\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 We were.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 What were you praying?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, we were praying, \u201cGod, we will do anything.\u201d\u00a0 We were surrendering everything, like Dennis and Barbara.\u00a0 Ironically, I had seen the Bill Bright interview after we prayed this.\u00a0 I so resonated with it.\u00a0 Actually, parts of it are in the book because it is what we are talking about.\u00a0 We actually did the same thing.\u00a0 We started handing up the little things that we had come to attach ourselves to in this life.\u00a0 Already, they feel like Tinker toys; but man, at the time, it feels like death!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh, yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 I mean, you are handing up parts of your life that you have built into and held onto most of your life.\u00a0 I mean, for me, it was people\u2019s approval.\u00a0 It was my gifts and how that may cost me people\u2019s approval.\u00a0 It was an empty bed in our house.\u00a0 It was our house that we had built and finally\u2014we rented, and rented, and rented\u2014and finally, we owned a home.\u00a0 We said, \u201cGod, this is our most valuable possession.\u00a0 Do you want us to sell this?\u00a0 Do you want us to go overseas?\u201d\u00a0 <br>\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe were just handing Him everything on earth that we maybe had said prior\u2014now, we may not have articulated it, but in our hearts, we had said, \u201cI will serve you!\u00a0 I will give you everything God but\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 I would have said that part really quietly to Him.\u00a0 I might not have even been brave enough to say it, but we had a lot of those.\u00a0 We had a lot of places where we didn\u2019t want Him to mess with our comfort, you know?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I would say, some 40 years after signing that document, it\u2019s been one long process of the onion getting peeled and showing me thing, after thing, after thing that I continue to give up.\u00a0 It\u2019s not like it gets done at one point\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 No. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014and the decision is over.\u00a0 In this materialistic culture, there are plenty of things that can take up the position of idolatry in our lives.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 We\u2019ve all got stuff in our lives that we hope isn\u2019t going to change.\u00a0 I mean\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014giving up the house, you\u2019re not saying, \u201cOkay, I would really love it if I have to move.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019d still be hard if God were to say, \u201cThis is where I want you to go.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m just curious what made you start praying this prayer every night for a week in the first place?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I think I just finally came to terms.\u00a0 It was one night, on our bathroom floor, where I read a girl\u2019s blog; and she was living this way.\u00a0 She was living completely, radically sold-out.\u00a0 It just exposed to me the places that I had let become more important to me than God.\u00a0 It broke me.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat night, I remember so clearly\u2014and I will never forget this\u2014picturing God the day we\u2019re going to meet.\u00a0 I wanted, more than anything, for our eyes to meet and it to be like we\u2019d already been on mission for a few decades\u2014we had been doing life together for a long time.\u00a0 I think I had done religion for a long time.\u00a0 I\u2019m not saying I wasn\u2019t saved.\u00a0 I believe I was saved, but I do believe that I was not experiencing the life and the story that God had for me because I was trying to control it so much.\u00a0 There was a lot that I was holding onto.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br>You\u2019re right, Dennis.\u00a0 There is still a lot that I fight to lay down.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s the fight of our lives.\u00a0 Every day, we wake up and our feet hit the ground\u2014in different places all over the world\u2014and this is a common struggle\u2014and we hit the ground, and it\u2019s, \u201cWho are we going to run after? Who are we going to chase?\u00a0 What are we going to love?\u00a0 What are we going to spend our lives doing?\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt\u2019s not that we do all of these spiritual things, necessarily.\u00a0 I think\u2014Jesus was a carpenter.\u00a0 He made, probably, chairs and all kinds of things that were very practical.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that we all move to Africa.\u00a0 It\u2019s that we put our feet on the ground, in the world, in the life, in the story that He has said to live.\u00a0 We somehow try to figure out how to love God most in it.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 How did you tell Zac about what was happening with this in your soul and the blog you\u2019d read?\u00a0 How did you have that conversation?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, I was scared.\u00a0 I was scared of \u201ckill joy\u201d.\u00a0 I think a lot of us feel that way sometimes with our spouses\u2014we\u2019ll have a moment with God, and we don\u2019t know if they\u2019re in the same place.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard that, actually, a lot since the book has come out\u2014is, \u201cI want to pray this, but my husband doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 He\u2019s not there.\u201d\u00a0 What do we do in those situations?\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe have been there.\u00a0 This moment was not one of those for us.\u00a0 He was ready, too.\u00a0 So, we did\u2014I shared it with him, and I sent him to the blog.\u00a0 It just wrecked him as much as it had wrecked me.\u00a0 We were on our knees a few weeks later, but we had been in the opposite\u2014sometimes, he\u2019s in the more spiritual place, and I\u2019m not ready.\u00a0 Sometimes, it\u2019s the opposite.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think what this book and the message of this book\u2014it really is obedience.\u00a0 It\u2019s not reckless, crazy, showy acts of martyrdom; you know?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right; right.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is obedience.\u00a0 Part of obedience, for me, many, many times was waiting on the Lord to move in my husband.\u00a0 Sometimes, that was a lot of conversations between us.\u00a0 Sometimes, that was me, backing off and praying.\u00a0 I wish there was a formula for that.\u00a0 You probably have one, Dennis, actually.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 No.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 You have a lot of books.\u00a0 You are much more qualified in that area than me.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I don\u2019t think you can ever reduce your relationship to God\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014to a formula!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014to a formula.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 I think it was this dance for us\u2014for years\u2014of God just maturing us and growing us\u2014but waiting on Him and not running ahead of my husband in this and not saying, \u201cWe\u2019ve got to adopt because God cares about the orphan.\u201d\u00a0 It was saying, \u201cZac, this is what God\u2019s showing me; and this is where I am.\u00a0 Where are you in this?\u201d\u2014and showing him respect and not needing him to be in some magically, spiritual place; you know?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 By this point, Zac should have known what to expect from you.\u00a0 I mean, you guys went out on your first date; and he asked you kind of what you wanted out of life.\u00a0 Your answer was?\u00a0 You want me to tell you what it was?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 I wish I could take it back.\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 What was it?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want to be normal.\u201d\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 We\u2019re not.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want to be normal.\u201d\u00a0 What did you mean by that?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 I think I just didn\u2019t\u2014you know, even back then, I didn\u2019t\u2014college is a time that we all taste that passion.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s when you don\u2019t have a mortgage, and you don\u2019t have three kids, and a job from eight to seven every day.\u00a0 Your passion for Jesus seems\u2014the potential for that seems to be greater.\u00a0 All of these college kids are just, \u201cLet\u2019s change the world!\u00a0 We love Jesus!\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat was me\u2014yes, when I met my husband\u2014so, we\u2019re sitting across from each other.\u00a0 I just didn\u2019t want to be safe.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to be comfortable.\u00a0 Something about that changed with kids and a mortgage.\u00a0 It got more attractive to be comfortable.\u00a0 It still is, honestly.\u00a0 There are still a lot of days that I wish I didn\u2019t have, in black-and-white print\u2014for $9.99\u2014my soul that said \u2014my contract, per se\u2014that I will do anything because that surrender is costly to my comfort a lot of days.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, to my soul, it is freeing.\u00a0 To my soul, it is the best thing that\u2019s ever happened to it because it was all in knots\u2014not that it still doesn\u2019t find plenty of things to stress about\u2014but my life got simpler.\u00a0 My mission got clearer.\u00a0 When I put my feet on the ground, I knew who I was going to serve that day.\u00a0 So, it does help to have it in writing I think.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh, no doubt about it.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, but we\u2019re not normal.\u00a0 I mean, he keeps joking and saying, \u201cDon\u2019t you want some normal?\u201d\u00a0 I say, \u201cYes, I want normal very much!\u201d\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Looking back now on that statement, \u201cI don\u2019t want normal,\u201d you\u2019re not really saying, \u201cI want to be abnormal.\u201d\u00a0 You want to be able to live life as God designed it, and experience Him to the utmost, and be about what He\u2019s about, and be on mission\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014sun up to sun down.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014which, sometimes, doesn\u2019t totally look normal to the world.\u00a0 I mean, I have a lot of things about my life that is very normal\u2014a lot of peanut butter, and floors I have to clean up, and there\u2019s not spectacular fireworks with God going off in my life every day; but there is a central theme and message, now to my life, that, \u201cThis is who I am here to please.\u00a0 This is who I want to be about.\u201d\u00a0 Yes, some days, that isn\u2019t normal.<strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Let me just say a word here about how powerful a wife can be in a man\u2019s life\u2014who makes this decision, whether he\u2019s singing off that song sheet or not.\u00a0 I am grateful that God gave me a wife who didn\u2019t want to be normal, either, and who passionately pursues Christ and God, and has so many different ways that I could tell you that she exhorts me to be a better Christ-follower and to keep on stripping away everything that wants to attach itself to my heart.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br>A wife, to a husband who is double-minded, lukewarm\u2014however you want to say it\u2014can be really powerful in her husband\u2019s life.\u00a0 Have you seen this happen with your husband, even though he\u2019s in the ministry?\u00a0 It can happen to those who are pastoring a church.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, we\u2019ve tasted\u2014we\u2019ve been in ministry for 15 years.\u00a0 We\u2019ve tasted all different seasons.\u00a0 There have been seasons where he needed me to be his biggest fan, and he needed me to not tear him down, and he needed me to build into him and not notice the things that he was doing wrong because nobody\u2019s ever doing everything right; but then, there are times where my husband needs me to speak truth to him, and to call him back to God, and to be bold.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt is only\u2014only by the grace and the Spirit of God\u2014that I could know the difference.\u00a0 I think, as wives, that is our role\u2014is to walk so closely to Jesus that He would lead us as to how to love these men well because we can be such a thorn in their side when we get really critical.\u00a0 What we can do, even more, is we can get spiritually-superior and think that we\u2019re in a better place with God because they\u2019re giving their lives to take care of us or to pay the bills.\u00a0 I think that humility to say, \u201cI respect you\u201d\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Jennie, I\u2019m just curious if you got home tonight and Zac said, \u201cYou know, Sweetheart, I\u2019m just starting to feel restless.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what that means, but there is a restlessness.\u00a0 I think God may be stirring here in my soul.\u201d\u00a0 What would that do?\u00a0 How would you respond to just that ambiguous restlessness on the part\u2014now, you\u2019re the author of the book, <em>Anything<\/em>\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\u00a0 You said, \u201cYou\u2019ll do anything.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019ve put it in black and white.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 So, he comes home and says, \u201cI don\u2019t know what it means, but I\u2019m feeling restless.\u201d\u00a0 What do you do?\u00a0 <br><br><strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I keep having to refresh\u2014push the refresh button on this prayer\u2014because, of course, life goes on.\u00a0 I mean, this was three years ago that we prayed this prayer.\u00a0 Not long ago, he came to me and said, \u201cJennie, the elders are talking about our church\u201d\u2014that we had planted and poured into for years, and years, and years\u2014\u201cmerging with a church in town\u2014a likeminded church in town\u2014and no longer will I be the senior pastor.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you know anything about being a pastor\u2019s wife or a senior pastor, there is a lot of identity that can get wrapped up in that role.\u00a0 There was a lot of fear for me of, \u201cWhat would that do to our relationships?\u00a0 What would that do to our kids?\u00a0 What would that do to our place in the community?\u201d\u00a0 There was a moment of, \u201cTake back!\u00a0 Let\u2019s not change anything!\u00a0 This is good!\u00a0 The church is getting to a point where it\u2019s prospering and growing.\u00a0 Let\u2019s not walk away from this.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br>It was beautiful, though, because when we say to God, \u201cYou have me,\u201d and you draw some line in the sand\u2014you can kind of keep going back to that point\u2014just like you all did with that contract.\u00a0 Other things would try to attach themselves to your heart; but you would always point back to the time when you said, \u201cNo.\u00a0 God, You have us.\u201d\u00a0 So, I won\u2019t be surprised if my husband comes home and says, \u201cJennie, maybe we need to go live in Rwanda for a little while.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s where our son is from.\u00a0\u00a0 It won\u2019t completely shock me.\u00a0 Will it be hard?\u00a0 Heck, yes!\u00a0 It will be so hard!\u00a0 We\u2019ll spare everyone cussing on this show; [Laughter] but I can say, \u201cHeck\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cHeck!\u00a0 Yes!\u00a0 It will be so hard.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Here\u2019s the thing\u2014I\u2019ve talked to a lot of wives, moms.\u00a0 The observation I\u2019ve made is that if men are prone to passivity\u2014and I think we are\u2014women, I think, are prone to control.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Amen.\u00a0 We are.\u00a0 Sorry, women.\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 They want safety\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank you\u2014\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014security.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank you for saying, \u201cAmen,\u201d to what Bob said.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 They think that the way to safety and security in life is to be in control of their environment.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennie:<\/strong>\u00a0 Let me just give a few disclaimers because I am a woman who has fought this battle.\u00a0 I have been down this road.\u00a0 One, control is a complete illusion.\u00a0 It is not real.\u00a0 We do not have control.\u00a0 So, even if we think we do, we do not.\u00a0 I think that has been the humor of God, in my life, as I prayed this prayer.\u00a0 I think He keeps going, to me, as I hand Him all these things that were His anyway\u2014and I hand them up.\u00a0 He\u2019s saying, \u201cYes, you really can\u2019t control if I take your husband from you tomorrow.\u00a0 That is not in your control, Jennie.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI would watch that happen around me, and I think we all see that.\u00a0 We see people that the worst happens to, and we all question God.\u00a0 \u201cGod, how could You do that?\u201d\u00a0 Rightfully so\u2014it\u2019s suffering in front of us, and it\u2019s suffering in us.\u00a0 Yet, I believe\u2014you know, just like in Job, when God says, \u201cWho are you?\u00a0 The sand\u2014I stop the water.\u00a0 I stop the ocean.\u00a0 I decide that the line is going to be here.\u00a0 It\u2019s not going to go any further.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 So, who are you to say, \u201cGod, do this.\u00a0 Don\u2019t do this,\u201d because we don\u2019t see the whole picture.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s where I\u2019m growing lately.\u00a0 So, number one, control is an illusion.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut number two, control does not bring happiness.\u00a0 If we do get control\u2014which would be impossible because God, I believe, is sovereign over all.\u00a0 But if we do take\u2014I\u2019m about to say, \u201cTake the wheel,\u201d \u2014which is hysterical.\u00a0 Okay, if we do take the wheel\u2014country song, cue music in the background.\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 If we take that control and try to maneuver our life, I can promise you it will not be close, even remotely close, to the glory of following, and chasing God, and living the lives and the stories He has written.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s where our trust and our faith grows\u2014is when we start to say, \u201cI want Your story, even if it has suffering in it.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s what this prayer is.\u00a0 It\u2019s saying, \u201cGod, I don\u2019t care what You bring.\u00a0 Dish it if it brings You more glory.\u00a0 Bring it.\u201d\u00a0 It is a scary prayer.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI keep getting emails from people that are saying, \u201cI want to pray this prayer, but I\u2019m too scared.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how to say, \u2018God do whatever You want with my life.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 But the shorter our life get to us and the bigger God gets, the easier it is to say, \u201cThese days that I am here, God, do what You want with them because I want to live forever with that peace and knowledge that while I was here, and You were invisible, You had me.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s fun.\u00a0 That\u2019s fun to live that way.\u00a0 <br>\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, it really is.\u00a0 What you\u2019re saying is, \u201cIt\u2019s better to suffer in the will of God than to be happy out of it.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 His story is a better story for you, even if it doesn\u2019t feel like it at the time; right?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Exactly; exactly.\u00a0 I have to read my sixth-grade Sunday school class verse here.\u00a0 I read it earlier, but I\u2019m going to read the context for it\u2014Colossians, Chapter 1.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to start in verse 15.\u00a0 Speaking of Jesus, the Scriptures remind us, \u201cHe is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.\u00a0 For by Him,\u201d\u2014Jesus\u2014\u201call things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities\u2014all were created through Him and for Him.\u00a0 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tVerse 18\u2014this is my sixth-grade Sunday school class verse, \u201cHe is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.\u201d\u00a0 He came to have first place, not second place, not second, third and fourth place.\u00a0 He came to have first place in how many things? \u2014everything.\u00a0\u00a0 I think it begins with a simple prayer like Jennie prayed, \u201cLord, I\u2019ll do anything.\u00a0 Speak.\u00a0 Your servant hears.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, I\u2019m tempted to play the song, <em>Preeminent<\/em>, again, that we played earlier\u2014the song that\u2019s featured in the <em>Passport2Purity<\/em><em><sup>\u00ae<\/sup><\/em> weekend because that is the theme verse, as you said, from that <em>Passport2Purity<\/em> weekend\u2014Colossians 1:18.\u00a0 I guess, if our listeners would like to hear the song, they can go to our website, FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got the song posted there.\u00a0 You can listen to it, online, if you\u2019d like.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou can also request a copy of Jennie Allen\u2019s book, <em>Anything: The Prayer That Unlocked My God and My Soul<\/em>.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got it in our <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> Resource Center.\u00a0 Go to FamilyLifeToday.com to request a copy of the book; or call us, toll-free, at 1-800-FL-TODAY, 1-800-358-6329.\u00a0 That\u2019s 1-800- \u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then, the word, \u201cTODAY\u201d.\u00a0 Ask about the book, <em>Anything<\/em>, when you get in touch with us.\u00a0 We\u2019ll get a copy sent to you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe also want to say a word of thanks to those of you who help support the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 You help keep us on the air by making donations from time to time to help defray the costs of producing and syndicating this program; and you help us with initiatives like the new initiative we\u2019re working to develop right now\u2014resources and tools to equip step-families, blended families.\u00a0 Ron Deal has joined our team, here, at FamilyLife.\u00a0 Ron is probably the leading expert in America on this subject of step- and blended families.\u00a0 He\u2019s worked with thousands of couples and helped them understand how to make a remarriage work and how to blend a family.\u00a0 <br><br>This week, for those of you who help support the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, we\u2019d like to say, \u201cThank you,\u201d by sending you your choice of resources.\u00a0 We can send you Ron\u2019s book called <em>The Remarriage Checkup<\/em>.\u00a0 It\u2019s a book that\u2019ll help you get a good idea of strengths and weaknesses in your remarriage and how you can get things headed in the right direction.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOr we have a couple of CD\u2019s, where we had conversations with Ron about being a smart stepdad and a smart stepmom.\u00a0 If being a stepdad or stepmom is more the issue that you\u2019d need some help with or you know somebody who could use the help, ask for those CD\u2019s when you make a donation this week, online, at FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 Click the button that says, \u201cI CARE\u201d.\u00a0 Then, you can select the resources you\u2019d like as your thank-you gift; or call 1-800-FL-TODAY.\u00a0 Make a donation over the phone, and just mention that you\u2019d like to receive one of the resources for step- or blended families.\u00a0 We\u2019ll figure out which one is the right one for you and get them sent out to you.\u00a0 We want to say, \u201cThanks,\u201d in advance, for your support of the ministry.\u00a0 We really do appreciate your being a part of what God is doing here through <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br>We want to encourage you to be back with us tomorrow when Jennie Allen is going to be here again.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to hear about one of the ways that God answered her prayer when she and her husband Zac said, \u201cWe\u2019ll do anything.\u201d\u00a0 We\u2019ll find out about that tomorrow.\u00a0 Hope you can be here.\u00a0 \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 <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 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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