Thriving in Joy, with Susan Hunt

Dannah Gresh: Good morning Grounded friends, I sure hope your Christmas was merry and bright. The Grounded team is, as you might guess, taking some extended time off to savor this season. But we didn't want to miss the opportunity to give you your dose of Monday morning hope and perspective. 

So this morning, we're going to re-air one of our most popular episodes of all time. It's featuring one of my favorite guests, Susan Hunt. You probably love her too, if you know her. This episode is called “Thriving,” enjoy. So, if you have some post-Christmas, lack of joy, you're in the right place this morning. Because we think Susan is going to have you singing “Joy to the World” all year long. This was our 75th episode of Grounded. It's going to start with a montage of many of the episodes that have impacted us deeply. We hope you'll enjoy it.

Erin Davis: Well, welcome to Grounded—the first day, the maiden voyage, a brand-new daily videocast from Revive Our Hearts.

Susan Hunt: It is the greatest reality in my life right now. It is the gladness that Jesus is giving me in the midst of grief upon grief.

Dannah: The word “revival” is coming up a lot. Is that some of what we should be expecting for and hoping for right now?

Man 1: I can't help but be expectant for that. I think for twenty years that's all I prayed for. 

Kristyn Getty: So many things that we usually have has been stripped away. So suddenly, we're forced into the situation, I think more deeply to work out, where is our worth? Where is our identity? Where is our hope? 

Erin: You can just say out loud to your people, we need revival, because we cannot bear the thought of this pandemic coming to an end without seeing revival. 

I wanted to wake up today and stand at the base of a redwood tree. That was my dream because I wanted to start the second half of my life aware of my smallness. I feel like you guys have done that for me. I am with great pillars of the faith, women I respect and admire. You’re my redwood, you’re oaks of righteousness planted by streams of living water.

Woman 1: When I was this young person who was lost, lost, lost, I wanted to run away. I wanted to commit suicide because life was just too burdensome. Jesus stepped in and saved this young girl with the gospel truth. 

Man 2: What is God doing? He's doing what He's always been doing. He is unchanging. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is ruling and reigning supreme from the throne. He is judging the nation. Scripture says He's bringing down the idols of men. 

Man 3: Obviously, there's been a lot of loss this year, just with the whole being a senior and everything. We're losing our senior trip and prom and graduation. But God has really been teaching me the importance of being thankful.

Man 4: This isn't contrived. This isn't made up. This is actually real. And so, I see a lot of my brothers and sisters saying okay, what can we do?

Erin: On June 1, the GroundedHusband Encouragement Challenge began, and listen to this: this is a brand-new number just updated as of this morning, 580 Grounded viewers are making that challenge together.

Dannah: So Jojo, we have a surprise for you. Susan Hunt is with us this morning just for you, y-o-u. Welcome Susan.

Jojo: Hi Susan.

Susan: Hi, thank you. Thank you, Dannah. Jojo, I loved hearing your story. I'm sitting in my living room, you're in yours. I feel as if we're sitting together, and we can just talk. 

Jojo: I’m so honored.

Susan: I love getting to know you. As I listen to your story, it's as if I'm hearing in some ways my own story. But also, the stories of so many women who wonder, Why am I here? What is my purpose? 

Jojo: Well, I have to tell you that I feel as excited as when my partner and I made our first Olympic team. When Susan’s face came on and talked to all of us together live. It's just . . .

Erin: She’s an Olympian. Susan Hunt is an Olympic gold medalist.

Jojo: She is totally an Olympian.

Robyn McKelvy: I have to remember every second of the day, every minute of the day, every hour of the day, whose I am. And if I don't believe that and I start believing what the world says that I am just because of the color of my skin, then that makes this life in vain. But I have a purpose to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with everybody I come in contact with. That's one of the beautiful things. 

Man 5: Lord, this is a divinely appointed time. These things have not caught You by surprise. That's right. Yes. So we thank You for Your redemptive plan, even in the darkest hours of this disease, and of the pain of racism in our country, in Jesus’ wonderful, glorious name. Amen.

Dannah: Wow, I didn't expect to be that impacted by that video, because I've already seen it. I thought I was past it. 75—that's how many mornings we have spent together since this pandemic began. And you've been starting your morning here with us every day on Grounded, what a joy. But whether you've been with us for 75 mornings, or this is your first, I want to say welcome to Grounded a videocast brought to you by Revive Our Hearts. I'm Dannah Gresh.

Erin: And I'm Erin Davis. I've got an office full of balloons this morning. Because while we might be a little teary already here at the top of the broadcast, today is a party. 

Dannah: It is. Wow, get the party started Erin. I’m trying to keep it together.

Erin: Cry if you want to. 

Dannah: I know, I put flowers . . . I didn't have balloons, but I grabbed some flowers. Let's get our party on.

Erin: Let’s have a party. Today does mark the last episode of Grounded for a while. And you're already asking when you coming back? And frankly, we're already asking when are we coming back? But our team is going to take some time this summer to really pray, to strategize. We've said many times on Grounded that we kind of built this car while we were driving it. We saw a need; we jumped in. 

But now we're going to take some time and pray and strategize about what we want to do next, how we can most effectively offer hope and perspective moving forward. So, there's some sadness that this is the last day for a while. But this is a celebration. We are celebrating God's work in our lives. We're celebrating God's work in your lives. And we want to set aside the next 30 minutes or so. And we want to focus on this, “How do we thrive in joy?”

Dannah: You know, Erin, I think my tears are not tears of sadness, really, they are tears of joy. Because when I hear those words and those voices of those sweet friends that have joined us, the 75 days, I remember the moments God did give me hope and perspective through what they said. And we're going to have a lot of new moments like that this morning. In fact, some really special ones, I think. 

This is normally the time when we tell you who our guests are. But this is a party, and what's a party without some surprises? So, we're not going to tell you who the lineup is. I just can tell you that it's worth sticking around for. You are going to love today.

So, you might want to tell your friends. If they didn't know it was the last day, they're going to miss the party if they don't join us right now. So, share the link. Text your friends; tell them to jump online. The lineup today is really big. We are going to have a joy filled celebration. 

Erin: Speaking of parties, maybe you want to have a watch party some other time because this episode is going to be one not to be missed. So, consider gathering virtually with some friends afterwards and watching it together. 

And speaking of joy, oh how we like to start Grounded. We'd like to start it with some good news. And today's good news correspondents are very special. They are very near and dear to our hearts. Drumroll please. Our very own Grounded viewers here report on God's work in their lives. I already recognize these names. If you're active in the Grounded chat you probably already love them, and so do we. Please, from wherever you are, give a big Grounded Welcome to JoJo Starbuck. Come on in and JoJo and Deborah. You're both here, you both party. Welcome to the party. We can't wait to hear from you.

Dannah: Yeah, friends, we would love to hear your good news this morning. In our pre-show, Deborah said, I've never done this before. Deborah, 75 days ago, we'd never done this before. Here we are. Over the course of the sweet weeks, God has brought some good news to your heart for this program. Would you tell us what it is? Deborah, let's go ahead and start with you. 

Deborah: Well, Grounded helped me so much during this whole time of COVID. I am a nurse, and my son is a healthcare worker. And then my husband and two other sons, we all contracted COVID by my husband. On April 26, he came close to death on that day, and has been hospitalized a total of 4 times and a total of 30 days in the hospital. I guess through this time, it just helped me to be focused, to even just say thank you to the Coronavirus. Just to see how God was just ministering to our family, through friends at church, bringing food pantry items. Grounded just really helped me just like being in the Word of God. I just would stay in the Word of God. 

And it just made me want to even put things on Facebook to encourage my friends that this is a hard time, but we can get through it. It just seemed like even though it was 51 days it took me to become negative. Again. It's that my spirit is free. The whole thing of being in the Word of God. The one guest that I've just really enjoyed, and I put it on my furniture refrigerator, is the one who said “God never scrambles.” It just made me believe that it was no accident that we got the Coronavirus. 

I was a nurse; I was very fearful to get it. And when I got it, God just helped me get through it. I can thank Him for the work in my heart. And hopefully, I really realized that I needed to spread the Word of God to other people and let His light shine through me. I just can't say enough about how we use the present help in time of trouble. Really, I'm so thankful for your program to just keep encouraging me every day.

Dannah: Oh, Deborah, you are an encouragement today to my heart. I have to ask how's your husband doing now?

Deborah: He is home, but he's suffering the effects of the virus. He still has a cough, is still having intermittent fevers. It's going to be a while the doctors say for this all to get over. 

Dannah: Well, what is his name, Deborah?

Deborah: Earnest. 

Dannah: Earnest, sisters, we have a brother to pray for. Thousands of women right now have a charge to pray for Earnest. You are not alone. Deborah, we are with you and your story. You are on the frontlines, have been on the frontlines of this in more ways than one—as a medical professional and also as a victim of this virus. And yet, you're walking through it with joy and hope and perspective. I can hear that through your tears. You are a blessing. Thank you for joining us these 75 days. 

Jojo, what about you? How has the Lord used this program to fill you with joy? How has He used this circumstance, this pandemic to allow you to know what true joy is?

Jojo: When the pandemic first started, we were all consumed with the news to find out what our new lives were to be. You often talk about gardening. I felt like being consumed by the news. I was being consumed by weeds. It was so depressing. So many things in our life that we knew and loved and did and people that we wanted to be with were all taken away. I lost my mother-in-law. It left all of us so stressed and sad and depressed. 

But then as quickly as the Coronavirus came upon us, Grounded sprang up to infuse us every morning with this hope, reminding us of our faith reminding us of God's providence and His promises and grace and love and how we could have strength because of Him and who He is and what He gives us. 

So, I started each day as all of our Grounded viewers did. I feel like I'm speaking for all of them. I felt like I could radiate God's love and joy, and have more confidence and strength in dealing and navigating the new life that we were living. 

Because of Grounded, it reminded me, and I'm gonna hold it so close, remembering the lessons I've learned here—the prayers, your wisdom, your humor, your love, your humanity. You know, I feel like I'm sitting at a huge Bible study holding hands with all these women from around the world. They have encouraged me too, and they have prayed for me, and I've prayed for them. I know that during this time apart, we won't really be apart, because we'll be praying for one another the entire time and looking forward to the time we can be back together again. 

So, I thank you to the entire Grounded family. And to all the viewers who have written such beautiful comments. It's been such a huge blessing, and a great launch for our day each day. I pray that we will all continue to run this race with conviction and our focus on Jesus. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Erin: Thank you, JoJo. JoJo and Deborah. I'll give you a little inside scoop before every episode of Grounded. I look right into the lens of my camera. I tried to picture the woman on the other side. I asked the Lord to work, and you're those faces. I don't get to see the faces. We spend a lot time looking at our own faces as we're recording. But you're those faces, and what a joy to see your faces this morning. What a joy to hear about how grounded has impacted you. But we didn't just bring me here to talk about Grounded. We're glad you love Grounded. 

But we brought you here because God is good. And He does good. He has been good to us. He's been good to you. He's been good to us. He's been good to all of our grounded friends. I wanted to read one more little testimony. This comes from Terry. Terry put this in the chat. I think yesterday she said, “I feel like we've been on the Mount of Transfiguration,” which you know, she's referencing the Gospels where Jesus and some of His friends go up to this mountain. They see Him transfigured. 

She said, she wants to stay here. But she says, “I know that y'all have been equipping us to thrive and press on our own. Thank you for preparing us and investing in our Lord's work and us so we have grown to love you.” 

Jojo, you, Deborah, and all of our grounded viewers in these 75 days together. You're a joy to us and God's work in your lives is really good news. So, thank you for coming on this morning and giving God so much glory.

Jojo: Thank you for sending so much love too. I'm squeezing the hands of all the viewers who I've spent so many mornings here with. Thank you, God bless you all.

Dannah: I just want to find JoJo and hang out with her.

Erin: Oh man, she gives me an infusion of joy.

Dannah: I know, she’s just the right guest as we try to get prepared to thrive in joy. It's time now to get Grounded with God's people. When we sat down to decide who should be our very last guest on this initial run of Grounded, it was a no-brainer. 

This particular guest is beloved by so many. She's a mother and a grandmother but not just to her physical babies, because she has spiritual babies the world over through her books, her speaking, her teaching, her leadership. She has been called by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth the “grandmother of the True Woman movement” She is truly influential. Many of us have said she is our favorite guest who's appeared on Grounded. JoJo has told us that, in fact. Please welcome Susan Hunt. Hello Susan.

Susan: Hi Dannah, and thank you so much. Thank you for having me back again, Dannah and Erin. Thank you for the Grounded program, what it has meant to so many hearing. I'm just eating everything Jojo says. And oh my, listening to Deborah, how amazing that testimony, and just imagine how many times that is multiplied. My heart is just filled with joy thinking about all of those women. So, thank you for all that you have done.

Erin: Thank you, Susan. Well, Susan, all week we've been nudging our Grounded friends to move out of survival mode and into thriving. Today our focus is on walking through the rest of this year. The rest of our lives, really the crises are going to keep coming. But we want to walk through those things with joy. So, as we focus on joy this morning, I feel like we need a good definition of joy. Because there's lots of you could read about joy that doesn't line up with God's definition of joy. In fact, the Bible says that joy is a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. But that is not how the Bible defines joy. So how when you read God's Word, what is your understanding of biblical God-given joy?

Susan: I think it's an emotion. But any emotion that is grounded deeply in God's Word is really the overflow of being in God's Word. When we think about that joy that just permeates Scripture, all through Scripture . . . If you just go through your concordance and look, see how much is said about joy. But notice that when Jesus talked about joy, both in John 15 and John 17, He said, “I have told you this thing, my joy may be in you.” 

So, you see the connection between God's Word and joy. I think we have to remember that the more we are in the Word, then there will be this joy that grows out of that it is a fruit of Spirit. So, the Word and prayer are our access into this joy of especially been struck the last few days with a verse that's very familiar to us. “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Do we really know the context of that? 

The Israelites had returned from Babylon where they had been in exile, and they've returned to a city that is in rubble. And yet, what do Ezra and Nehemiah do? They read the book of the law to the people. And listen to this, these words. “This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Now remember that context. And, “We are standing soft in the light in the midst of rubble. Yet the joy of the Lord is your strength.” And then on down, we read, “Then all the people went away to eat and drink portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been making them.”

Consider that they understood the words, if you're lacking joy, go to the Word, but go to the word prayerfully. Ask the Holy Spirit. Take that Word they put into your heart to give you understanding, and to produce that joy in you that transcends our circumstances. Wasn't it amazing that Deborah talked about joy, even if she told us about the rubble of their situation, and then actually experienced the coronavirus? We can't get back from the Word; it is where we're grounded. It is where joy calms.

Dannah: Exactly. You know, you're mentioning how after the Babylonian exile, they expressed joy, they chose joy. So many times in the Scriptures, the writers bring up the topic of joy in their ruin, in the rubble of their lives. It is in contrast to the dictionary definition, this feeling of joy. That happens because everything is good, everything is well, it's not happiness. 

I've heard people say that joy is the “deeply held conviction that God is in control.” And we do experience that more clearly. When it looks like everything is out of control. You know what came to life in me? I got all excited, my face probably got crazy when you said they got to experience it. 

I feel like the Scriptures have come alive to me in the 75 days, that I'm getting to live in the power of that nothing will separate me from the love of Christ. I'm getting to live in the power of “all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” It's easy to believe in those verses when everything seems like it's going okay; it's harder when things aren't going so well.

I think it illuminated in me my desire to sometimes take a proverbial razor blade to my Bible and cut out all the things I don't love about it. I certainly don't do that intentionally or even consciously. But there are promises in the Bible I don't want. One of them is one that Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble” and 2020 has certainly proven that to be true. 

Susan, you say that we have to be in God's Word to really have joy. I love that connection that you made that it's the hearing of His Word that brings joy. Can you give us a specific challenge as we walk away from this program where we're encouraging one another daily? How do we do that? How do we stay in the Word? What would you say to me if I was having coffee with you right now and say, and I feel like I'm losing my community? How do I stay in the joy?

Susan: It is a spiritual discipline. We have to acknowledge that and understand that. We have to ask the Lord to help us develop that holy hand of going to His Word daily, but God has given us means of grace. We cannot underestimate the power of those means of grace that are so powerful. 

And so, we just need to come to Him, to ask Him to give me a hunger and a thirst for Your Word, cause me to long after it. But then even if I don't open up my Bible, read a verse, read it over and over and over and ask some questions. What do I learn about God in this verse or this passage? How do I see the hope of the gospel in this passage? And then pray the passage into your life. Don't necessarily try to read big chunks of Scripture, but just meditate on the Word. 

But then also take advantage of opportunities like this techy love the way we're really connected to sisters all over the world, through all of these Zoom meetings and Zoom opportunities. Take advantage of texting our friends, right in our own local church, stay connected, because the fellowship of God's people is a source of joy and encouragement to us. Listen to the sermons in this podcast. Set our hearts and our minds up with God's Word, and it will not return to Him void. It will accomplish His purpose, it will produce joy.

Erin: I love that the joy of the Lord is our strength. It's something we share as the people of God. Sometimes I can borrow some from people like Jojo or you or the women in my Bible study or my pastor or my pastor's wife. I love that encouragement to stay connected. 

Susan, you were recently widowed, we've heard you say that you were very happily married. How many years were you married?

Susan: 56 years.

Erin: 56 years and during a recent Revive Our Hearts leader webinar, you said something that I hope never gets dislodged from my heart. The moment you said it, it just stuck in me. You said, “I was not surprised that the Lord gave me peace in the midst of that trial. But I have been so surprised that He has given me so much joy.” I would love for you to tell us more about that—the joy you've experienced in the midst of losing your husband of 56 years.

Susan: Well, prior to that I had spent a lot of time meditating on Psalm 92 because my friend Sharon Betters and I have written a book on aging with grace, and much of it comes out of Psalm 92, about flourishing in old age. But in the beginning of that psalm, the psalmist says, “You oh LORD, make me glad.” I just tried to take that in. I had began praying, Lord, give me gladness. And so, when Gene got sick and was hospitalized, that just became my prayer every day as I drove to the hospital. Lord, give me gladness. And He did. He answers our prayers. And even in the midst of my sorrow and my grief, there was such gladness there—even as he moved closer to heaven, I began to be so glad of what he was going to experience, so thankful for what he was going to experience. Heaven became so real to me. 

I really can't explain it but can only tell you the gladness and the joy not left me; that every night as I go to bed, the Lord wakes me up with a glad soul. Gladden the soul of your servant as promised. And I wake up with a gladness. It stays with me. It's just a marvel of the gospel. It's too wonderful for me to even understand or to explain. But it is true. And it is real. 

Erin: Amazing. I have some intense trials in my own life and have been amazed by the joy that the Lord has provided. And just as though worrying about those things wasn't going to get me anywhere, I couldn't store up the joy beforehand. But in the middle of it, there is joy for the people of God.

Dannah: And you know, Erin, I just have to say this that the contrast of Susan as she walks through grief upon grief . . . She's a new widow. This isn't like years ago; this is months ago. But as she walks through grief upon grief, she is experiencing peace and joy. And in contrast, Erin, I don't know if this is the most sensitive thing I've ever said. But I have seen so many people not experience the grief upon grief that she has, but maybe disappointment upon grief.

I'm supposed to be packing for a vacation today. And I'm not. You know, there's a lot of disruption in our lives. I have seen people walk through disappointment on grief, or their lives even haven't changed that much. And instead, they're coming out with anger, disappointment, resentment, entitlement, anxiety. And Susan Hunt, your testimony is an inspiration to me. I want to be that to other women. You correct my heart today. And I hope, like if you're feeling that, to maybe just write a word of encouragement to Susan, because I think when we do that, it also encourages us to become like her. Why? Not because we want to be like Susan, but because she's like Jesus.

Erin: Love that. Well, Susan, stay with us for just a moment. But we want to ask an additional guest to join us, Pastor Ray McKelvy. Welcome back to Grounded; you are a favorite of ours. Your wife, Robyn, has faithfully been a part of the show. In fact, we got one of our viewers telling us how much Robyn has impacted us. I know you want to hear us brag on your wife. I've been mentored by our dear sister Robyn and her daughter and her husband. So, we're glad you're back with us Ray. But one thing you have done here on Grounded is you consistently call us to love the words and read the Word and we love that. 

As we were thinking about this last episode, we thought, what if we invited Ray back to pray for the women of Grounded and Susan, to pray for the women of Grounded. So, we want to move into a time of prayer. Susan, would you pray for the women who are watching and listening? And then Ray, just follow Susan up with a prayer of your own? 

Ray: Sure.

Susan: Father in heaven, we come before You with such gratitude. You're our Creator and our Redeemer, Father in heaven. You are the God of heaven and earth. You're our Father, we thank You for this. And oh Lord, as I think about the women who are watching right now and who will watch in days to come, Lord how I praise You that You know them, and then You know exactly where they are. You know the rubble that many of us are standing in here. And yet, You are the source of joy and peace and love. 

Father, I pray that by the powerful working of Your Holy Spirit in us, the very power that raised Jesus from the dead, that each of us in our places on this planet, among the people that You have entrusted to us, our family, our neighbors, our friends, our church, that we might show the radiance of your glory, the joy of your glory. I pray that we might show up with Your character, love, loving kindness, steadfast abounding love, forgiveness. Lord, may this be a time that again, even as we stand in the rubble and the ruins that we show to the world in our place in the world, the reality of the gospel. 

Oh, Lord, make us strong, make us wise, make us joyful, that we might proclaim the gospel. And Lord, may we be grounded in Your Word. I thank You for every woman who is watching. And Lord, for the people that she influenced at the power of her testimony, of joy, may we thrive in joy as we thrive in Your work, for the glory of and in the name of Jesus our Savior and our Lord and our King.

Ray: Lord, I thank You just for this opportunity to be together, to pray together. Lord, I thank You for giving the Grounded team creativity, to not just react to the pandemic, but to actually influence what's happening. I thank You that you inspire them through Your Holy Spirit to do this. 

And so, Father, I pray for all of the women who are listening that they would not waste their pandemic at all. And so, Father, as we join together this morning, I pray that the women listening would be like Esther, that they would be women of courage. I pray that in the time of chaos and the time of treachery that they would arm themselves with faith, that they would risk for You for such a time as this, that it would be a time of prayer and fasting. I pray that they would persist in their faith, that they wouldn't give up, that they would be women who would find themselves grounded in Your Word trusting in You in ways that they had never, ever imagined.

I pray that for those who are moms and wives, and those who are single, that they would not just see themselves as existing, but they would know that You've called them for such a time as this. I pray for those that you've called as moms and wives as single women as well, that You've called them in their world and of sphere of influence to be an Esther, to be courageous, to lead, to influence, to be all that You want them to be. 

So, I thank you for Grounded. I pray that all these women would thrive for the glory of God, and that You would be lifted high. I pray that You would be exalted, that You would be exalted over as a result of the lives of these women. I pray that the fruit of their lives would go from generation to generation, and we give You the praise and honor and glory and give You a joy from our hearts.You have called us all during these times to be your representatives, so I thank you and praise You in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Dannah: Thank you, Ray. Thank you, Susan, you’ve blessed us today. Well, Grounded viewers, are you ready for one of those surprises we promised you?

Erin: No, Dannah don't tell him; we're gonna save the surprise for the end. 

Dannah: What? 

Erin: It's that good. 

Dannah: Oh.

Erin: We're gonna surprise you at the end with some very special guests. So instead, we're going to do our thank you. Our thank you to the coronavirus. That’s kind of a become one of our hallmarks here at Grounded. We've said thank you to the coronavirus, but we really mean thank you to the Lord. 

And today's thank you is really special to us. We want to show you the faces of Grounded now. Dannah and Robyn and Alejandra and I are kind of the official faces of Grounded. But there are lots of faces faithfully working, faithfully serving, faithfully praying behind the scenes. We could not wrap up the 75th episode without thanking our Grounded production team. We could not do Grounded without this amazing team, and we wanted you to see their faces. So, here's a little video of the Grounded team.

Dannah: Wow, wow, wow. I love that team.

Erin: I do too. I'm gonna miss I'm seeing them every morning.

Dannah: I know. I'm going to miss hearing Hannah and Tom bantering when I get on. I'm going to miss Hugh giving us encouragement and corrective tips. I'm going to miss their sweet spirits and how they pray for us before every program, and they pray for you so faithfully. We also need to say a lot of big thank yous to some other people. 

First of all, the Revive Our Hearts leadership team for envisioning this program. It was not my idea. It was not Erin's idea. Rather, it was the collective idea. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, the fearless leader of Revive Our Hearts, called us all together, right when all of this started and said, “What do we need to do to respond to how God is moving?” And she and Martin Jones and Janine Nelson who really are the top leaders kind of spoke into this and helped us form this program. Also, fellow cohosts, Robyn who we've already mentioned, we love you so much, Robyn. Chizzy Anderson, Alejandra Slemin, Portia Collins, Betsy Gomez, and our good news correspondents, and of course, to all of our wonderful guests. We love you.

Erin: We do love you so much. And we got to take a second to say thanks to our families. I hear one outside my door, Judah you want to come in here, buddy. There's the secret heroes of Grounded, which are our husbands. They are doing things like adjusting our cameras, fixing our lighting, helping us not to panic. There's Dannah’s husband, Bob, my husband, Jason, who might still be in his jammies. I’m not sure. They've done all kinds of things to help us out. And we need to say a big thank you. So thanks, Bob. We appreciate you. And thanks, Jason, who's close by and this is my boy, Judah. Judah, what is today for you? Today, Judah turns seven. It's his 7th birthday, the 75th episode.

Dannah: Happy Birthday, Judah.

Erin: And they've been very gracious to mommy during all this, so big thank you to you. Alright, well have some birthday breakfast, can you close my door, Buddy?

Dannah: And finally, we want to thank the body of Christ, everybody that's participated and prayed and joined us. The body of Christ gives us so very much joy. And all of the brothers and sisters in Christ who have been a part of this have been a great source of joy to Erin and I. I'm sure to you during these weeks as we've been gathering together.

Erin: They have. So that's our thank you for this morning. Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of thank yous. So you know we got your back, we always want to point you to tools to help you stay grounded in God's Word, because you've heard it over and over and over here. That is not a one and done. It's not an every once in a while. It's a daily digging, a daily searching. And so we want to help you continue to stay grounded in God's Word. 

Today's recommendation is a no-brainer. It's the Revive Our Hearts podcast. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, who you know and love, is the primary teacher there. You'll also hear some other familiar Grounded voices from time to time. Dannah’s voices frequently on the podcast. Mary Kassian has been on Grounded a couple times. Carolyn McCulley, you'll hear those voices. And it's every weekday on many Christian radio stations, ReviveOurHearts.com, or subscribe on your favorite podcast app. And you know, we like to make it easy. So, we're gonna drop the link to make it easy to access that daily audio teaching. It’s another place you can find a guaranteed infusion of hope and perspective.

Dannah: I listen to it on my phone. I use the app. I think it’s the easiest way to do it. This month, the July programs are helping us understand how to seek and have wisdom on special issues. And we sure do need a lot of wisdom right now. So, make sure you tune in for that. 

I'm so thankful that the Lord has launched Grounded in response to a season of great need. And it's like none in any of our lifetimes. My grandmother may have lived through something like this as a part of the Great Depression, but I've never known anything like this and many of you are saying the same thing too. 

As the coronavirus hit the United States, the Revive Our Hearts team gathered in a Zoom Room. And I want to read to you what Nancy said in that room. We wrote it down. 

“The government is doing their jobs. The medical community is doing their job. It's time for us to do our job to care for the souls of people.” 

That's been our mandate. We wanted to care for your soul. And with a lot of prayer, the Lord has enabled us to do that. We've been depending on Him every step of the way. We've done our best to care for you through these past 75 episodes. I want to say this, that you get to do that same thing, to care for souls, to care for hearts. We send you out today to do that.

Erin: Normally we start with good news, but we're going to wrap up with the best news. You have Jesus, who has promised He will never leave you or forsake you. He never takes a summer hiatus. You have the Holy Spirit living inside of you as your Helper. And you have this. I hope you always keep it as close by as we do here on Grounded. You have this: the living active Word of God. It is a lamp unto your feet, a light unto your path. It is the deep well of joy. You've got this, and you don't need us Grounded friends, because God has given you what you need to love Him to serve Him and to thrive. 

So, in and out of crisis, whether the world is at peace or in chaos, you can open your Bibles and always, always, always find hope and perspective. Because of all of that, we can wake up together tomorrow morning even without Grounded, Monday without Grounded, still united as sisters in Christ. Still with hope, still with perspective, and still with joy.

Dannah: Amen. Erin, can I do this surprise now? 

Erin: Do the surprise, we’ve saved the best for last. 

Dannah: I never can wait for surprises. This is coming to us live from Nashville. Keith and Kristyn Getty are here to sing a benediction on this our final Grounded program. Grounded viewers, they're here for you. Take it away Keith and Kristyn.

Kristyn: Romans 15 is a beautiful prayer. May God show you with all joy and peace and believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ He says He is Christ precious. This has been said.

Erin: Thank you, Keith and Kristyn. Anytime I get to listen to you sing I feel like I'm in heaven rehearsals, and this whole morning has felt like that. We told you it was a party. And what a party! Keith and Kristyn Getty, Susan Hunt, Pastor Ray McKelvy, our Grounded viewers too. We would love it if you guys would all just unmute your microphones and videos one more time. We want to end this 75th episode with a big wave. Goodbye Grounded viewers. We love you.

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