She Left New Age for Jesus—and Everything Changed with Dr. Laurette Willis

Can childhood wounds lead us away from God—and can Jesus redeem every part of the journey? In this powerful episode, Dr. Laurette Willis shares how childhood trauma, emotional eating, yoga, and New Age spirituality left her searching until she experienced true freedom through Jesus Christ. We discuss overcoming addiction, renewing the mind with Scripture, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the difference between religion and a personal relationship with Christ. Dr. Willis also introduces PraiseMoves, a Christ-centered alternative to yoga, and shares a practical biblical tool for overcoming cravings while renewing your mind through God's Word.

Dr. Laurette's contact info:

Website - https://PraiseMoves.com

2 FREE gifts from Dr. Laurette:

Faith Fueled Weight Loss Blueprint

Christian Meditation Guide

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:00

Before we jump into today's episode, I want to tell you about ReLight. ReLight is a brand new web and mobile app, one without distractions of social scrolling and chat. If you're a content creator, coach, mentor, writer, author, teacher, or leader, Reelite gives you a dedicated space to capture what God is speaking, organize your content, and share it with those you lead. Ready to create and share God notes with your followers? As a special lunch welcome, sign up is free through September 1st, 2026. Visit Relight.com to get started today. That's spelled R-E-L-I-H-T no G. Welcome

Welcome And Meet Dr. Willis

SPEAKER_01 0:36

to the Hope Unliked podcast. I'm Kristen Kurtz, your host. I pray this episode is like a holy IV of hope for your soul. Please help me welcome Dr. Lorette Willis to the show. So excited to have her here today. We were able to chat just a little bit before we hit record and definitely kindred spirits here. So cannot wait for her to share her heart with the world. So before we do that, would you be open to just sharing a little bit before yourself about yourself?

SPEAKER_03 1:03

Yes, absolutely, Kristen. Thank you so much for inviting me to be on today. The Lord is great and greatly to be praised. That's what's just coming up in my heart right now. And I tell you that the only things that qualify me to do all the things that I'm blessed to do is everything I've done wrong. And I say that to encourage you who are listening, who feel that, oh, God can't use me. I've just messed up so many times. You know, maybe you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and maybe you're not, you know, either. But you're like, you know, I have a hunger for God. I have a hunger to do better. I know there's something better ahead, but man, I've just blown it so bad. Well, I want you to know you're going to learn today that God chooses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. And I'm pointing at myself. I'm one of those foolish things. I've said, Kristen, so many times to the Lord, Lord, if you can use a donkey, you can use me. Because I've decided that I don't care what one's past is. I have seen where the Lord has taken and redeemed, you could say, redeemed means to bring out of darkness, to buy back and to use, right? To set on a high place. He's redeemed all the negatives of my past and created a platform of health and healing for others as a former, you know, recovered alcoholic, also a compulsive overeater, emotional eater from the age of six, being involved in new age uh spirituality for 22 years from the ages of seven till I was 29. I mean, all the things, a yoga instructor, that's what led me into the new age when I was just seven with my mom. We thought it was just exercise, and what the enemy used just to bring us a whole different way away from the Lord. I tell you what, he has, the Lord has turned those things around and used them. So maybe you've had an abortion, a divorce, maybe you've been in prison, maybe you've done some things that that you feel really guilty about and you're ashamed of or your regret. I want to encourage you today that the Lord will use them. If you cast those things over onto the Lord, you know, scripture says that our God is a consuming fire. What happens when you throw something into a consuming fire? It burns it up. What's left? Ashes. There's a scripture in Isaiah that says he gives us beauty for ashes. So cast those things on the Lord and watch what he will do with your life.

Beauty For Ashes And Redemption

SPEAKER_01 3:45

Yes. Wow. I want to go back to seven. Can we go back to your seven, your seven years old? You said you mentioned you went to a yoga class with your mom. And I know there, there's so many people that have, you know, even in the Christian world where we have there's a lot of arguing happening over yoga. Would you be able to just bring us back to that moment you mentioned that it was kind of like a gateway into the new age? I do really feel like this is something that is even coming up with another guest I had on recently. I do feel like the Lord is is really wanting to get this message out in a way that eyes will be open. So take us back to that seven-year-old Lorette at that time. What was happening? What happened?

SPEAKER_03 4:35

Well,

Family Trauma And Yoga Gateway

SPEAKER_03 4:36

you know, it said that whenever there's a spiritual vacuum, the enemy rushes in. You know, he looks for a way to fill that void, that vacuum. And in our lives, that's where we were. Everything looked beautiful from the outside. I grew up on Long Island in New York. My parents were both very successful, both were attorneys. Um, my father was also a judge, had his own law practice. My mother was the first woman assistant district attorney on Long Island. She was also a professor at the local university. She was beautiful, Christian. So just under just touches my heart just even think. Um but she was just under five feet tall, had strawberry blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, and a voice like warm velvet. She was my best friend. She was my everything. I loved her so much. I was their only child. We were very close. And unfortunately, there was uh trauma in our home. Um, my mother was also a high-functioning alcoholic. She was diagnosed schizophrenic when I was little, had uh three nervous breakdowns when I was growing up. And uh my father was an emotional eater and also could fly into a rage, you know, at times, rage a holic, it's it's called. It was never physically abusive, but uh the yelling, you know, things like that. And when I was six years old, the way that I coped with that was through overeating, just stuffing myself with food. I remember running into the bedroom one one day when I was six, and my mother was taking a nap. I don't know if she'd been drinking or what was going on, but I I just ran in there and I touched her on her cheeks and I said, Mommy, mommy, I can't stop eating. Previous hour I'd just been stuffing food in my mouth just to deal with the emotions. And uh at the age of seven, my mother, my mother and I discovered yoga, and it was through a television program. We used to watch reruns of Jack Lelane on television, and then right after this was a yoga program, and so she and I began working out to that. Okay, and I tell you, it led us away from the Lord. Now we didn't uh we weren't going to necessarily a Bible-believing church or a spirit-filled church, it was an episcopal church in in town, wonderful people, you know, we love the people, but did not have and never heard that you could actually have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It's like, whoa, what? You know, there's more oh, so many times I wish someone would have told us that I didn't I didn't know that. So share that with someone that you can have a personal relationship with Father God through Jesus Christ. He's the door. So anyway, at seven, we were led away because that spiritual vacuum was there and that sadness that my mother had was there. And yoga seemed to fill the void. She was more relaxed, she was very interested in health, was known as a health food nut during those days. Now people who follow that are just called healthy, I think. But back in the day, they were called health food nuts, and so that was a and uh, and I'm grateful because my my mother was you know into that, I didn't eat much sugar, and you know, she really helped me. So a little counterculture in a way at that point, right? Yes, very much so. It's like, what's wrong with you? Right. But anyway, but you know, the door was opened, and in fact, yoga is called the missionary arm of Hinduism and also New Age, and I'm not the only one that says that. Back in 1991, Swami Siva Siva Palani said in an open letter to evangelicals in uh Hinduism today, this was in 1991, he said, for the last 10 years, an army of yoga missionaries has been set upon the Western world. And he's talking about yoga instructors. He said they may not call themselves missionaries, but Hindus know where yoga comes from and where it leads. So it is kind of like the gateway drug, you could say, into the new age. And mom and I started going to an ashram in upstate New York. We'd visit a few times a year, and it was affiliated with Swami Sachidananda. And one year he came there, and when I was very little, he quote unquote blessed me, you know, spoke a blessing over me. And I was very uncomfortable with that. But here's the good news of that. And and interestingly, Swami Sachadananda was known as the guru of Woodstock. He opened the famous Woodstock Festival. That was the Swami. But his right-hand man was Lawrence Zupan, who was former director of the International Yoga Society and also started Yogaville in Connecticut. He and I have since become friends. He is a messianic believer in Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah. And just wonderful. In fact, he uh debated Bernie Sanders in Vermont. He was running for the same office as he, and just an amazing, amazing man of God. So I want you to know that people can absolutely be set free from the new age.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

Yes, yes. So take us like on that journey. I think you said, if I'm remembering correctly, it was in your late 20s that you came out of the new age. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_03 10:31

Yes. Sadly,

Grief, NYC, And Seeking God

SPEAKER_03 10:32

my mother took her own life when I was 24 years old. And two, yeah, my parents were divorced. And two years after that, my father uh also died of diabetes and heart disease. And they were both in their 50s, you know, too much too young. Yeah, and I didn't have any brothers or sisters. I was in New York, New York City. I'd been, you know, a struggling actor, you can say. And I did a lot of off-Broadway at that time. I did some commercials, some television, but mostly theater. Okay. And just for those who wonder, said you said actor. Shouldn't you say actress? Well, when it's theater, actor is male and female. You know, it's kind of like author is male and female. Although they say authoress if you're a romance novelist, maybe. Yeah, otherwise it's an author and actor. Um, but in movies, they're called actors and actresses. That's where we make dysfunction. So just kind of FYI there. But I did, I was known as the woman of 101 Voices, and I actually uh continued that after I moved to northeastern Oklahoma uh years later, did many one-woman shows and ensemble productions, wrote many plays after accepting the Lord, also. And one of the things I did, which may sound interesting to be, and I mean sound, actually, because you're going to hear the sound in a moment. I did the Betty Boop show off Broadway.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

I certainly did. Boop-boop bee-doop. That's one of the voices.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

I was gonna ask, would you be open to sharing?

SPEAKER_00 12:14

I certainly would. It's so lovely being here today, Kristen.

SPEAKER_03 12:18

But that was one of the characters, and I portrayed like 40 different people in that in that one woman show. It was totally wacky. It was in my my beats days and days that's spelled D-A-Z-E. My beats I was in a daze, believe me. But took people around the world in the 1930s as Betty Boop and portrayed all the characters. And I did a lot of improvisational comedy also. I was one of the original members of the First Amendment Comedy and Improvisation Company uh off Broadway on 2nd Street.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 12:51

And at that time, like Robin Williams would come by, Whoopi Goldberg, you know, things like that. They'd you know, jump on stage with us and some of the craziness. And at that time, it was the only completely improvised show in the world at that time. This is long before Whose Line Is It Anyway, or uh I mean, even uh Second City or Chicago City Limits, they still had some scripted parts. So we were totally improvised, and it was just wild. But you know what? I learned how to trust other actors at that time, to trust other people because I was terrified of people. Are you really? The stage was the first place I ever felt comfortable. That was my comfort zone. And sometimes people would say, Oh, well, that's because you could be other people. It's like, no, I felt like I could be myself on stage because my heart is to serve. I wanted to see people happy, not make them happy, but see them happy, do funny things, do voices and and and things like that. And I couldn't bring that off stage. You know, the the applause wasn't enough. It was like, how do you just relate to people? So I was a high-functioning alcoholic, I smoked cigarettes, I was still an emotional eater. The alcohol kept some of the overeating down, but I was still so uncomfortable in my own skin. It was hard to look people in the eye. I used to walk on the other side of the street to avoid people that I knew, and just uh very self-conscious. You know, after I came to the Lord, I I mentioned that to God because He would, you know, encourage me to do different things, you know, trust in me, let me be your confidence, you know. Our confidence is great in the Lord, right? And I said, Lord, I I'm just so self-conscious, and I believe in my heart. He said, take a look at that word. Self-conscious? Um, well, self conscious.

SPEAKER_02 14:59

Whoa, that's the problem. I'm just looking at myself.

SPEAKER_03 15:07

Love your neighbor as you love yourself. So that you know was a process of of learning. So back back to your your question. I left New York City. I traveled around 20 countries in six and a half months around going all the sacred sites, right? So-called sacred sites, looking for God in all the wrong places. Went throughout Europe, went to uh Peru, went to Machu Picchu, and just felt empty, you know. And you went by yourself? Yeah, I went by myself. And half of the way there, well, let's see, halfway through the trip, I had my friend Alan, who was like a brother to me, uh join me to go through the southern countries in Europe. I went through the northern countries by myself, but I just felt, you know, and it's the mercy of God. I know people must have been praying for me, even though I didn't even know the Lord then.

SPEAKER_02 16:02

Because I think of all the crazy things I did. I can only imagine.

SPEAKER_03 16:07

I know, you know, Lord, you are so merciful. You know, when I was living in New York City, I I used to sometimes black out when I was an alcoholic, when I was practicing that, and and would wake up running through the streets of New York. And it was like, whoa, how did I just the grace and the mercy of God, His mercy endures forever. So keep praying for that loved ones, those low, those loved ones, the the ones that the Lord puts on your heart. Sometimes even famous people, you might be like, why am I thinking about Madonna all of a sudden? What when's it prayed?

SPEAKER_01 16:42

Let's pray for her. That's such a good reminder for people, especially like if I can just share for a second. Like, if you see in our day and age, like there's so much like backlash on everybody, like their choices. And it's like, what if we were to pray over these people rather than to like pray on them?

SPEAKER_03 17:02

Ooh, ooh, what a distinction there, right? P-R-A-Y versus P-R-E-Y.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

Right.

SPEAKER_03 17:12

That's so true.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

Thank you for that reminder. You guys listen in. Dr. Lorette has some keys here, so keep listening. So let's get back to your story.

SPEAKER_03 17:21

Yes, so so thank you. After going to Europe, I moved to a uh a new age community in northeastern Oklahoma, the Ozark Foothills, Green Country near Arkansas, Missouri. It's just beautiful, beautiful area. Bought a house there and was being groomed, you know, for leadership in that new age community. And it was, you know, still an emptiness, still practicing alcoholic, still, you know, just a mess. And after a year of being there, Kristen, I realized I'm just as messed up as when I left New York. You know, I went for the geographical cure. You know, I'll leave New York, suddenly I'll be our. You know, it doesn't work because wherever you go, there you are, right? I didn't say that again. Say that one again. Pardon? Say that one again. Oh, yes. The geographical cure. Here's the the problem with it, because wherever you go, there you are. That's that's so good. So it's not like you can leave a place and suddenly, you know, it's the same thing with weight loss. We have a sisterhood called the weight loss without willpower sisterhood. That's that's an example of the Lord redeeming the problems that I had with overeating and being overweight, you know, my first diet when I was 11 years old, you know, roller coaster. We say don't diet, live it, right? We want to be able to see the okay, what it why did I use food? Why is that? Why did I go? Why did I keep going to the comfort food instead of to the comforter? Yes. So it's similar with a geographical cure. Turn, you know, just changing where you live doesn't change you. Just dropping 20 pounds thinking that's the answer. And then we're just like, oh, I'm still I mean, we have to deal with those things that are on the on the inside. So, you know, I wasn't trying to find myself when I went to Europe or or Machu Picchu, and I'd also been to Asia as well, those places. I wasn't trying to find myself. I wanted to find God. I I hated myself. I didn't want to find myself, you know, I wanted to find God because you're running away from yourself in essence, right? I was. I was. And and I thought, you know, like the Lord would have a like a magic wand or something, and just like poof, you're different.

SPEAKER_04 19:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:49

Well, in a way, but not magic, that's another kingdom.

April Fool’s Day Surrender Moment

SPEAKER_03 19:53

Uh, but in a way, surrendering your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, just suddenly, how He changes you, and that's what happened to me one April Fool's Day when I was 29 years old. Really? Yeah. April Fool's Day. I went from being a fool for the world to a fool for Christ a great day. Never been the same. Yeah, it's a great day to remember that. So the day before, I was driving home to my little house on top of the mountain in northeastern Oklahoma in this new age community. And I was just so lonely, Kristen. I'd I'd had many relationships, but I'd never been been married, never really felt that love of my life sort of thing. Just had uh a lot of you know unhappy experiences. And I was 29 and I wanted someone to love me for myself. That was the feeling. I really wanted someone to love me for myself. And I turned onto the little dirt road going up to the mountain, and suddenly I heard this voice behind me, the uh what I believe was the audible voice of God. And this is the same voice that I had heard for about two and a half years from the ages of three and a half to six when I was a little girl. Whenever I would be upset or someone would hurt my feelings, I'd run into my bedroom, open the door to the closet, close the door, sit inside, and I would look on the back of the closet, and there was this light that would just appear, and I would see this vision, a physical vision. I could see with my own, an open vision, I could see with my own eyes. And what I called a a gr a Billy Graham full audience. I must have seen Billy Graham on television somewhere, because that's what I called it a Billy Graham full audience. It looked like it was maybe Africa, outdoors, and people had their hands raised. We didn't do that St. Thomas Episcopal Church. You're like, I've never seen this really before. Yeah, I've never seen that before. But they had their hands raised and I knew it had something to do with God. And then I saw myself on stage. I saw it as if I were backstage, this little, you know, three and a half, four-year-old child, looking through a portal of time, like looking past a curtain, and seeing myself, my 30s, 40s, 50s, whatever. I wasn't sure. I just saw myself from the back. Had a microphone in my left hand and my other hand raised up, and I knew it had something to do with God. And I was singing or speaking. And the other people, their arms were up. They weren't saying, Wow, you're really great, Lorette. It had nothing to do with me. Right. And I would be crying, but I I, you know, my tears would start going away as I saw that. And then over my right shoulder, I would hear what I believe was the voice of the Lord. And he would say to me, Everything's going to be all right. And I said, Yeah, I dry my little tears. Yes, everything's going to be all right. And I'd come out of the closet. And that happened to me, Kristen, many times over the years, in the age of three and a half till I was six. Well, that was the voice I heard that day before April Fool's Day. And here was the compelling question that he asked what if everything you thought about God was completely wrong. Would you be willing to give it up to know the truth? What if everything I thought about God was completely wrong? Would I be willing to give it up to know the truth? Yes. I would thinking maybe the truth was a new philosophy, a new way of doing something, maybe a conference I was to go to, whatever. Not realizing the truth as a person, Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life. I said, yes. And the next day, I felt this battle going on on the inside of me. I was walking around and around the uh the island in the kitchen near my little dog Tula, the border collie, looking at me, going around and around in a circle. And I felt this battle on the inside of me, the enemy pushing me, just saying, Okay, you know, go to that, go to that next conference, uh, open that book, uh, take out your tarot cards, get the get the pendulum, let's, you know, let's figure this out. You know, just go because the enemy pushes. Yeah, the Lord leads and guides. He says, come surrender. Love calls you, love compells you, love constrains you, love, you know, just draws you. And that was it. The love of God drawing me, and I to surrender. And I finally I just cried out that I surrender, I give up. You win. If you can do something with this life, you can have it. And then I fell on my knees and I said, Lord, if you want me to be alone, then give me peace. If you want me to be with someone, send him soon because I can't live like this anymore. And I fell on my face. And Chris and I felt his weight lift off me. It was like 30 pounds of weight that I thought was just my body walking on the earth. It was physical weight, it lifted off of me, and I felt peace descend upon me for the first time in my life. This wonderful peace. And from the center of that peace, joy, that joy unspeakable and full of glory. I just felt that. And it wasn't until a year later that I realized the Lord delivered me from alcoholism at that very moment. I never had another drink. It was totally washed from my brain. I drank every day from the ages of 13 until I was 29. But it was totally gone. And it was washed from my brain. I didn't even think about it. It wasn't until like a year later I was like, didn't I used to drink?

SPEAKER_01 25:57

Yeah, I wanted to ask about that. Like, so you didn't even recognize it. Like it was totally you were you were unrecognizable.

SPEAKER_03 26:05

Just totally changed. And here's, I think, part of the reason why. Because four days later, I met my husband call my husband Paul, who had three years clean and sober. So alcohol, drugs never came into our relationship.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

Four days after you had this like deliverance moment and you were saved.

SPEAKER_03 26:26

Yes. And we were married. We met at a church, and the thing was it was kind of a new age-y, you know, kind of a gathering. So it was still lost. And I I want you to know that someone can be saved in their heart, but still messed up in their head. So continue to pray for them because for me, I began noticing for the next few years it was like square peg round hole. I I, you know, I noticed things were different, the things were different about me, but the things that used to work for me in the new age weren't working anymore. You know, I was happy with Paul, things were going great, you know, all of that. But it was like there was something very substantial missing. And I tell you, it wasn't until I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in other tongues that, whoo, glory to God, that's what I've been looking for. And I was instantly changed then, getting the power of the Holy Spirit that worked in my life and a voracious appetite for the word of God. I was so ignorant before then, Kristen. The Bible, all I knew was about it was pretty much okay, the Bible, Jesus, Mary, and a bunch of other guys. You know, I had no idea. I didn't know. But then all of a sudden, the the word of God just opened up to me. And to discover that, wow, the word of God is a person. John 1, 1 says, in the beginning was the word, the word was with God, the word was God. Verse 14 says, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And Revelation 19, 13 says, when Jesus comes back, which is very, very soon, scripture says his name is the word of God. So opening up your Bible, you were opening up a world where Jesus can speak to you more clearly, too.

SPEAKER_01 28:20

Yes. I want to I want to go back for just a second. Baptism of the Holy Spirit. How much time span was there a break between you having that surrender moment to being baptized in the Holy Spirit?

Holy Spirit Baptism And Bold Faith

SPEAKER_01 28:33

How many years?

SPEAKER_03 28:34

Four years. Yeah, it was four years. And it was very frustrating. It was. I wasn't being discipled at a church. You know, I was still, you know, trying to make the new age stuff work, but it was like it was dust in my mouth.

SPEAKER_04 28:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 28:49

You know, it was it was death. And and my husband was finding, you know, the same, the same thing. But again, here we are, two people hungry for God. And I remember there's a scripture that says something along the lines of uh Jesus saying that the Father draws, you know, who's who the Father is drawing, he will draw them to Jesus. You know, he's called and he was drawing both of us to Jesus, but we did not know. We thought what you guys had was religion. We didn't want religion. I didn't know you could have a relationship. Paul and I have often spoken about that over the years. Why didn't anybody ever tell us we could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?

SPEAKER_01 29:33

Yeah. So how did you how did you learn that? Like, was there a specific time frame where you were led to a church that did start to disciple you? Was there like somebody who came into your life, a mentor? What did that look like for you to be awakened to that?

SPEAKER_03 29:48

Yes. Well, I was at an event in Muscogee, Oklahoma. And it was, it was actually, it was a Christian comedian. And I went to see him, and it was it was a huge like auditorium, kind of like a stadium sort of a place. And this guy was great. I thought he was, you know, really, really wonderful. And see, already my heart was being drawn more and more to Christian on television. Just it was like I wanted, but there was still, you know, this little battle going on the on the inside, deception in the mind, right? So we have to have our mind renewed, you know, Romans 12, 2. Do not be conformed to this world. Don't be poured into the world's mold, in other words, don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed. Your whole life can be transformed by the renewing of your mind. On what? On the word of the living God. For what purpose? So that you can prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So I needed that renewing of the mind, everyone does on God's word, what he says. And in the middle of the comedian's presentation, a woman all the way on the other side of this stadium, an indoor stadium, she stood up and began speaking a message in tongues. And I recognized her voice. It was Jean Ruth Brumbach, who owned twice as nice, you know, secondhand clothing store in Tallequa, Oklahoma. I was like, that's Jean Ruth. Oh my goodness, how amazing. So she gave a message in in tongues, and then someone gave it an interpretation. It was like, wow, that was the most amazing thing. Because new agers, I tell you what, they're not, they're not moved by a lot of you know, head religion stuff, you know, and you know, do this, do that. But the supernatural, God's super on your natural, wow, that's what I want to know about, you know, signs, wonders, miracles, what Jesus talks about in Mark 16, 18, when he says that, you know, that you believe in in my word, that signs and wonders will follow you, that you shall you shall speak with new tongues, you shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. You know, saying those supernatural things, signs, wonders, and miracles follow the preaching of the word, not to give yourself glory, but to give glory to God. And so I just thought, that's Gene Ruth. Wow, amazing. Well, like two days later, I was driving through town, and this is again the mercy of God. I drove by the twice as nice store that's no longer there, but it was on my left, and I again heard the audible voice of God, but it was a little softer. And I heard, go in there, talk to you. It was a strong compulsion. Prompting to go in. Yeah, this prompting. Yeah. And I even asked, I said, go in there, and it was like, go in there. Yes, please. And so I I I went in and I started talking to her. And I said, I was there when at the Christian community, and you know, and you gave that message. What was that? What was that thing? She said, That's uh speaking in tongues, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And I said, Whoa, that is so cool. I want that. How do you get that? And she she said, Well, tomorrow morning, every morning, or every such and so morning, whatever it was, 7:30 in the morning, we meet at the United Methodist Church in in Tallequa in the in the basement, and a group of ladies, we get together, about five or seven of us, and we pray. And if you come tomorrow morning, you can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in other tongues. Oh, gee, can I? Okay, yeah, that sounds great. And it was just walking distance from my house. And so I got up real early and I just told Paul, I said, Oh, yeah, Gene Ruth is giving this little prayer meeting thing. I'm gonna go over there. And so I went there. And it was so funny, Kristen, because she was so used to having explain things to people to show people all the scriptures that show that the baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in other tongues is for today, such as Acts 8, 14 through 17, that talks about the disciples had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, or Acts 19, 1 through 6, that disciples they had said they had not heard of the Holy Spirit, how Paul said, I speak in tongues more than you all. I mean, there's so many evidences that she, you know, started opening up her Bible and starting to, you know, run some references and show me. And it was like it didn't mean anything to me because I was hoping for it. You didn't know and I said, you know, it was kind of turning me off. I said, I said, hey, is it from God? And she said, Yes. I said, then I want it. Do it now. Do it now. And so they laid hands on me and prayed a prayer to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence speaking in other tongues. And Krista and I started singing in tongues for the next one and a half hours and just crying and weeping and laughing and walking all through the church, and they were rejoicing. There was a move of God, the presence of the Lord was so strong. And I developed, as I said, that voracious appetite for the word of God, and I was never the same. A boldness that came over me that I never had, the fear was gone. That fear that had plagued me most of my life, that even after becoming a believer, because you know, uh, even though I even after receiving, you know, I guess there's a difference, you know, you can be saved. I think that, you know, had I died, you know, just after I had that experience with the Lord, I would have gone to heaven. And I had a pastor that used to say about people who die like right after they receive salvation, but they haven't really done anything, no fruit yet. You know, you might just get a Pepsi and a peanut butter sandwich, but hey, at least you're there, you know, you made it. You know, so that was kind of my my experience. But even, you know, after coming to Christ, I still had that spirit of fear. But then after getting discipled, learning the word, just that that boldness came and seeing 2 Timothy 1:7, God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind. Gracious, good afternoon. I said, Wow, fear is a spirit. I thought it was an emotion, I thought it was just me. Right, right. It's a spirit you can rebuke and tell it to go in the name and authority of Jesus. And I've never been the same. And

Praise Moves As Yoga Alternative

SPEAKER_03 36:50

you know, he took that yoga and turned it around, gave us praise moves in 2001, which is the Christian alternative to yoga. I'm very careful to let people know it's not Christian yoga. That's an oxymoron, like a Christian Buddhist or exactly no such thing. Right. But it's a Christ-centered alternative where every posture in praise moves is assigned a scripture that we meditate upon or speak aloud while doing a stretching-strengthening posture. So, in this way, we like to say the exercise is the hook to get you more into the word of God and more of the word of God into you.

SPEAKER_01 37:28

That's so good. So, this is 2000. So we're in 2026, 25 years that you've been doing pray praise moves. What like what was the precursor to that? Like, were you working out and you just got this download to start this? Like, I would love to hear just kind of how this was birthed. Like, what was that process like for you?

SPEAKER_03 37:51

Yes, February 25th, 2001, at 10:35 in the morning. I remember it exactly. Um the word says watch and pray. So I looked at my watch and I prayed. No, I'm kidding. I paid attention to the to the time because it was stunning. It was just like you know, a crystal drop in a still pool and just the ripples going out. And I I knew Christian alternative to yoga, and I didn't want to have anything to do with that, Christian. You didn't? No. You said no. Did you say no at first? I was like, whoa. I was I was kind of wondering, is this me? Is this the Lord? Are we sure? I took two years to pray and fast over that because I really wanted to make sure. I was someone who really wanted to avoid controversy whenever possible. Uh-huh. But the Lord was just really clear with me that this was something we were called to do and just to trust him in it. And I've done so many things walking on the water of the word, you know, walking by faith and not by sight. I was like, okay, Lord, I'll I'll do it. You know, if you can use a donkey, you can use me. You know, that's what I said, and I totally mean that, you know, and I say that to encourage you who are listening also. Yeah, we think of Balaam's donkey in the Old Testament, right? The donkey that talked, but also the donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem. How would you like to be the donkey that Jesus rides upon to in into the store, into that next uh experience or into that relationship? We are to carry the Lord, we're the body of Christ. And so that is a wonderful way of seeing it. If you can use a donkey to carry you places, Lord, use me. If you can use that vessel of honor that you flow through. And now, you know, 25 years later, we have hundreds of certified praise moves instructors, fitness ministers, we call them, all over the world on six continents, women and men, ages 18 to 80s. You know, you could find out more at praisemoves.com. But that's that's the thing. It's about transforming our workouts into worship.

SPEAKER_01 40:05

Amen. That's so good. So I would love to hear. Did you, when you got this vision, you you said eventually, obviously, you said yes. Did you have the fullness of of seeing, you know, the the Christian missionary in movements, move movement missionaries, Christian ones going out, rather than the yoga missionaries? Did you see this coming through your yes, or was it more of, you know, I'm just kind of curious about the original vision. Did you see it being one that would spread continents? Did you see it being one that would spread like you you're passing a torch on to others to then pass on a torch to others? Did you did you see it being this explosive originally?

SPEAKER_03 40:57

When I I think about it after you know, after the you know, prayer and fasting and just really really making sure I I did. I did. I felt the expansiveness of it. Yeah, it just felt so much bigger than me. But you know, that's the beautiful thing. The Lord will always call you to do something that is bigger than anything you could do yourself. Because if you could do it yourself, how would God get any glory for it?

SPEAKER_01 41:30

Say that again, please.

SPEAKER_03 41:32

The Lord will always call you to do something that is so much greater than anything you could do yourself. Because if you could do it yourself, how would he get any glory for it? We often say in in praise moves, for those who feel called to be certified praise moves instructors, fitness ministers, we call them. We like to say God doesn't always call the equipped, but he does equip the called. If you are called by God to be in ministry and you're saying, you know, it's not necessarily pulpit ministry, and I don't know about if it's necessarily evangelism or something else, but I really like health and fitness. I really, you know, maybe I'm not at my perfect weight, or you know, maybe I'm I'm a bit older, or you know, am I too young, too well, whatever. If you feel the Lord calling you, he will equip you. And we feel, Kristen, that it's our responsibility at praise moves to make sure that they have everything. You have everything that you need to be fully equipped because he he he doesn't always call the qualified either, but he will qualify the called.

SPEAKER_01 42:37

I think he I don't think he rarely does actually.

SPEAKER_03 42:41

Right?

SPEAKER_01 42:41

Wouldn't you say?

SPEAKER_03 42:43

That's true. Yeah, that's true. And he'll often use the negatives in your life and turn them around. I mean, this was the new age and the yoga would draw what Lord turned it around, but I had to say yes to it. The same with weight loss without willpower. I mean, that was the overeating, that was my constant overweight, you know, since I was, you know, six years old, being called fatso at school and everything. What? And you have a fitness ministry? I mean, I'm I'm the least likely, but it's like, yeah, that's why ecology.

SPEAKER_02 43:12

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 43:13

Yes. So, what does it look like for like what would it look like for somebody to go through the training and be certified?

Instructor Training And Program Paths

SPEAKER_01 43:20

Could you share a little bit about that? And then kind of my secondary question is maybe if you could share a testimonial of somebody who's gone through your certification program and like how it's transformed their life as well.

SPEAKER_03 43:32

Yes, absolutely. Uh, we have three trainings a year, they're all online, so people all over the world can join. And uh, they're every February, June, and September. And uh June is during our annual conference, and so that's live, but it's all online, and everything is is done online, so it makes it uh very, very simple that way. And we give you everything that you You need you study, and then we have CPI, which is certified praise moves instructor. We have CPI trainers who also work with you online via Zoom and you you practice, you you know, you study. We have two manuals. We also have a starting your fitness ministry manual, and we yes, sending people out into the world. I really like how you said about uh fitness ministries, uh missionaries, rather Christian missionaries, as opposed to yoga missionaries.

SPEAKER_01 44:29

Yoga missionaries, it's like this is the flip the script.

SPEAKER_03 44:32

Yeah, that's it. And then we have other certifications from which you can choose after you become a certified praise moves instructor. We have 10 different ones that we've created, everything from praise moves gold, working with seniors and the elderly, to power praise moves, to we have praise kicks, we have praise bar, which is bar exercise, high intensity, low impact. We have praise lottis, which is praise moves, praise loddies, yeah. So it's like a like 22 of the core Pilates moves, but combined with healing scriptural affirmations. And so it's a healing experience while people are doing that as well. We also have mira, which is Spanish for look. Mira is our Christian alternative to Zumba, and then we have lift, which is laughter in fitness training. Lift, and uh, we have the physiological as well as emotional benefits of laughter, which is actually called gelatology. It's a study that I've that I've done, but finding that, but then it moves into rejoicing. So it's very powerful movement. Like I said, the exercise is the witty invention to get you more into the word of God and more of the word of God into you. So this way it's flipping the script, as you'd say, on yoga, because with yoga, the exercise is the hook to get people into Hinduism, New Age, Buddhism, all of that new new age thought, all of that stuff. But it's like, no, no, we're getting you into the word of God so that you can be transformed by renewing your mind.

SPEAKER_01 46:09

So beautiful. Oh my gosh. Well, I love the names. I I'm a wordsmith, so I'm like, yes, these are good. I love it. So, what is something that even just for this year? Well, let me back it up for a second. When is the next training specifically? If somebody would like, they're hearing they're still like, how do I get involved? It's coming up in June. When does that start?

SPEAKER_03 46:32

Well, actually, in in June, we have the our annual conference as well. And as of this date, it's the due date for applications has already passed, but we have for yeah, but we have for September, the September training and the February. So there's, and I always say to people, if you get your application in as soon as possible, because you can start doing the uh the videos, we redid all of our training materials last year, and I redid all the videos and the manuals and everything. It's just oh, it's so crisp, it's so up to it's by the grace of God, I tell you. And this way you're like fully equipped for the next training. It's like, yes, I can do the glory to God. And I also say that if you're someone, I feel called to do this, but I'm not perfect. It's like, wow, this doesn't even make sense. I've never done anything. I don't have a kinesiology degree. No, it doesn't matter. Like I said, God doesn't always call the equipped, but he equips the called. If you feel called, the Lord will equip you.

SPEAKER_01 47:35

So good. So do you and I'm just curious, do you have a way for people? Do you have like videos for people who are maybe wanting to do workouts at home as well?

SPEAKER_03 47:45

Yes, absolutely. If you go to praisemoves.com, and we've actually been online since 2002. Can you believe that? It's like Congratulations. Yeah, it was uh December 2002. Then and you know, using oh, just the the very I built the first website, you know, and doing it was just through Word, you know, it was funny to do that. But yeah, go to praisemoves.com and you can look under instructor training. Uh, but if you want to, you know, work out to some of the videos, we also have them in the store. You can also look under the about tab and you'll see taste of praise moves. And we have gracious, about 17 or so uh free classes that you can take on praise moves, praise moves goal, praise loddies, praise bar, power praise bar. We've got a lot of cool stuff. And this way you can experience it for yourself and say, you know, I just feel different. And wait till you see the testimonies. We have a testimonies tab as well with recommendations also from medical doctors, from chiropractors, you know, physiotherapists, people who say, like, wow, this has really made a difference. Even a chiropractor in Tulsa who had written to us and said, some of the greatest misalignments that we see are from our patients who have done yoga. And so we recommend praise moves, and it has made all the difference for them. And you asked about a testimony from one of our certified praise moves instructors. We started certifying instructors in 2005, so it's over uh 20 years. We started doing so online in 2012, and we have we have instructors who've been with us since 2005, 2006. It's very just wonderful the differences that they have that it's made. One that just comes up in my heart right now is Arlene Lombaugh in the Philippines, who's been with us since I think 2011. She's been featured on CBN Asia and she does women's conferences. She also works one-on-one, and she works, you know, in the corporate world. And she said she, you know, teaches at you know, churches and women's events, and she has regular classes. And a couple of the things that she said that through praise moves, she was able to instill a love of the word of God in her son. Her as she began like teaching her son some of the postures, getting the word of God. And she said, now he has so many scriptures memorized and they become a part of him. People have said to us, Kristen, that I was never able to memorize scripture before, but now it's a part of me. You see, memorization is primarily mental. But when you're speaking the word of God, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, Romans 10, 17, it becomes a part of you. And Arlene went on to say that she actually used praise moves as a bridging event, as she put it, to share the word of God at a corporate event, having people do praise moves there in a secular uh marketplace. So it's a way to reach out evangelically as well.

SPEAKER_01 50:59

That is incredible. Thank you for sharing that testimonial. It's you know, just I love that it's impacting her son. You know, your yes has generational implications. As you can see, there's a legacy movement that's happening here. So thank you for that. Can you share with us again your contact information? I'll have it in the show notes as well. But if you could just verbally, as we have learned, speak it out again for somebody to reach out.

SPEAKER_03 51:24

Certainly, absolutely. Thank you for asking. Praisemoves.com, and just like what it sounds like, praisemoves.com. Okay. And we love to say remember, praise moves God deeply. So keep praising the Lord. And I

Free Gifts And Craving Reset Tool

SPEAKER_03 51:39

do have two free gifts for for you. The first is Christian Meditation Kit.com. So if you wonder how do you meditate on the Word of God, and it's it's totally free, it's uh Christian Meditation Kit.com. And I show you in three simple steps how to meditate on the word of God in a moment. And the second, if you want to know about what's this weight loss without willpower thing, how does that work? Because it's not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts, Zechariah 4.6. Wait, yeah, Christianweight loss kit.com, and it's the faith-fueled weight loss blueprint. And in it, you will experience oh, different ways. And in fact, if we have a couple of minutes, I can share with you. Do you do you think our listeners would be interested in knowing how to cut cravings in 10 to 15 seconds?

SPEAKER_01 52:36

I would absolutely say so. I have a few people in mind that would love this.

SPEAKER_03 52:41

All right, wonderful. Well, this is something that's helped me so very much. And what I do in my coaching work is I also work one-on-one with people, and you can find out about that through praise moves and also drlaurette.net, uh D-R Lorette, yeah, L-A-U-R-E-T-T.net. So it rhymes, drlaurette.net. You can find out about that and have a free breakthrough session, whatever. It's it's all there. But anyway, what we do is renew the mind on the word of God and then retrain the brain using neuroscience principles and techniques based on scripture. I'm a cognitive behavioral therapist and I like to incorporate the word of the living God in that so it sticks and stays. So, what I want you to do right now, to do this exercise, and please do not do this if you're driving. If you're driving, come back to the podcast and listen to it later and do it with us. But if you're not driving right now, I invite you to get a pen or or a little stone or a key or just something small you can hold in your hand, because I'm going to invite you to bring that object from one hand to the next when I uh prompt you to do so. But before we do that, I want you to think of a food that you often crave. Now, this also works for other cravings as well. I've had clients who have used this, who've been addicted to to games uh on social media, you know, on their phones, little games, and it's worked for for them there. So it does work for other things as well. But let's say for food, and think of when you have that craving, you're not hungry, you don't have physical hunger. See, what we do in weight loss without willpower is we learn how to get back in touch with the signals that the Lord placed in our bodies, right? For hunger and satiety, or enough, that enough signal. So we want to follow those. But let's say you have this craving. For me, it's usually when I have a project to do, and it's like, let me get a snack. And it's like, Lorette, you're not even hungry. Stop it. So you feel that craving and you know exactly where that food is. It's in the cupboard, the pantry, the fridge, the freezer. I want you to see it using your sanctified imagination. You know where it is. And don't worry, we're going to cut that signal in just a moment. But you know where that food is. And I want to see yourself just like that. You're about to reach for that uh for that food. And uh there's even that dopamine rush at that time, that feeling of of uh excitement. Sometimes people will have even, you know, they'll salivate a little bit. And this is what food manufacturers count on. They put what are called excitotoxins in a lot of processed foods that help that chemical response. Back in the day, there used to be an expression for a certain processed food. Bet you can't eat just one, and that was the thing. You can't. It's just like I can't stop. Well, we're going to cut that craving right now. See yourself reaching for that thing now with that pen or whatever that object is in your hand. I want you to pass it from one hand to the next, one hand to the next, from the left to the right, back and forth, back and forth. Five, four, three, two, one, and now repeat this scripture after me, please. All things are lawful. All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. But not all things are helpful. All things are lawful to me. All things are lawful to me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. But I will not be brought under the power of any. First Corinthians 6 12. First Corinthians 6 12. Where did the craving go?

SPEAKER_01 56:26

It's not there anymore.

SPEAKER_03 56:28

That's right. It's gone. See, that's a bilateral brain stimulation technique, but we incorporate the word of God, and that's what makes a powerful difference. I dropped 25 pounds as a result of that scripture and the principles that we learn by incorporating the word of God, renewing the mind, and retraining the brain.

SPEAKER_01 56:49

So incredible. I've never I've never gone through any exercise like this before. And I am literally thinking of somebody right now that would be so blessed by this.

SPEAKER_03 56:59

Wonderful. It's the things of God are so simple, aren't they?

SPEAKER_01 57:03

Yeah, aren't they? Well, as you know, and as I mentioned, that you know, I'm thinking of the one who would be so blessed just even by that exercise. As

Final Hope And Anchoring Verse

SPEAKER_01 57:13

we close, I would love for you to just speak to that one who's listening in today. Do you have like a final word of encouragement, wisdom, or hope for them? Just who's been listening to this conversation? They've already gotten a lot of breakthrough. But do you have anything else that you'd like to speak over this person today?

SPEAKER_03 57:29

Yes, Kristen. Right now is coming up in my heart. Our God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, all that you ask or think, according to the power that works in you. The power that works in us. What is that power? The power of God, the power of the Lord, the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of love, the power of his word, all of these things working together in you so that you too can walk on the water of the word, walking by faith and not by sight, believing God for the impossible, because I promise you, with God all things are possible.

SPEAKER_01 58:14

Thank you so much. Oh my gosh. Thank you for being such a brave voice who's setting so many free. I am just so excited to have people reach out to you, get into the show notes, check out the website. I am going to close with our Hope Unlocked anchoring verse. It's may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. So thank you, Dr. Levitt, for being here today. I will be back with another episode next week. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 58:44

Glory to God. Thank you.