The Dinner Prayer That Changed Everything - Jennifer Godwin

Join me on this episode of Living Testimonies as I sit down with Jennifer Godwin, a woman whose journey toward faith started with a simple moment most of us might overlook. What began in childhood would eventually unfold into a powerful walk with Jesus—one shaped by unexpected encounters and quiet ripples of grace.

Jennifer shares how small moments made a lasting impact on her life and how we, too, can be part of someone else’s journey without even realizing it. You’ll be encouraged, inspired, and reminded that God often moves in the most subtle, yet profound ways.

Tune in and discover how one small act can echo into eternity.

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Ways to connect with Jennifer:

Instagram: godwin_jen_
Facebook: Jennifer Godwin or RipplesforGod
Email - jenrgodwin@gmail.com

Go Make Ripples Book

Transcript

Israel Caminero: 0:04

Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode. I'm grateful for your support and for being part of this community. If you've been enjoying the podcast so far, I'd love it if you could take a minute to leave a review. Your feedback helps me reach more people and share these inspiring stories with others. Let's spread the word. Please share this podcast with your friends and family. And if you haven't already, be sure to like and subscribe for new episodes. To stay connected and up to date on all the latest news, updates, and exclusive content, head over to my Facebook page, Living Testimonies. While you're there, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter. The link is on the page. Thanks again for listening, and I'll catch you in the next episode. Welcome to Living Testimony, Stories of Faith and Redemption. I'm your host, Israel Caminero, and I hope that everyone that's listening is blessed and doing well. With me today, I have my sister in Christ, and her name is Jennifer Godwin. And she's here to share her testimony. So can you say a little bit about yourself, Jennifer?

Jennifer Godwin: 1:28

Well, my name is Jennifer Godwin, like you said. I get some people that think it's my pen name because I wrote a Christian book. But Godwin was my very first prayer request. But we'll get to that. Um, I am a mother and uh I'm a wife of 37 years and mother of three children and grandmother of three grandsons right now. Hoping more will be coming.

Israel Caminero: 1:55

Amen. It's always good to have grandkids and children around, right?

Jennifer Godwin: 2:00

It is. They're fun, especially when you can kind of send them back home.

Israel Caminero: 2:05

Yeah, that's probably the best part when you send them back home. Mm-hmm. But like I said, she's here to share her testimony. But before she does that, I'd like to pray over us and I'd like to say, Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day and for the opportunity to gather, wherever we are, to hear of your faithfulness. Lord, we invite your Holy Spirit into this conversation. Prepare our hearts and minds to receive what you want to speak through this time. We lift Jennifer to you right now. Thank you for her life, her journey, and her willingness to share her story for your glory. We ask that you would speak through her with clarity, boldness, and grace. Let her words be led by your spirit, and may her testimony touch hearts, encourage faith, and point others to the hope we have in Christ. May every moment of this episode bring honor to you, Lord. We give you all the glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, Jennifer, so the platform is all yours, and I'm interested to hear your story. So if you could tell us a day in the life of Jennifer when she was growing up, that would be great.

Jennifer Godwin: 3:12

Well, I grew up I grew up in a home that didn't know God. Now I love my parents and they were good parents. We just didn't have God. The only time we heard the word God was, oh my, or Jesus, and you know, and then furthered on. And it, you know, it they were his name was used as more like swear words than anything. But when I was about five years old, I was invited over to a little friend's house to eat dinner, and we watched the mother prepare the meal and we sat down to eat our dinner. We weren't a typical family either, where we ate dinner all around the table like this family did. So when the food was placed in front of me, I started to eat until the dad said, Oh, we haven't prayed yet. Now I didn't know what that meant, but I was smart enough to put my fork down. And then the father said, Now we're gonna close our eyes and bow our heads, which I was glad he gave me instructions. And he said, We're gonna pray to God. And so he did, and he started, and everybody's eyes were closed, and everybody's heads were down, and I was, I of course was peeking because at five years old this was a little strange. And then he started thanking somebody other than the mother for dinner, and I was like, What are we doing? It was just so strange to me, you know, being a five-year-old. And so when dinner was over and uh my friend and I went in the other room to play, I said, What were we doing and who were we talking to? Well, she tried to explain it, but being five years old, I couldn't understand it and she couldn't explain it clear enough. But that is what started my search for God. Then as time went on, uh, you know, there were bumper stickers that said, smile, God loves you, with a little the original emoji sign, the little yellow smiley face, and it let a little girl know that God loved her. You know, I I I went to the VBS with that same friend maybe once, but every time I went, it it was like the story they they would tell was always in the middle of a bigger story. So I didn't quite understand, you know, it'd be like fishermen and you know, the they had the flannel board, and it was I guess I was probably more impressed that these little people stuck on this board, and that's what I focused on instead of probably the story. But um, so just different people, you know, just kind of throwing God out there. And um, but when I was in middle school, the world was predicted to come to an end. And I don't know why it was as big a deal as it was, but it was a big deal. I mean, all the kids were talking about it, even the teachers were talking about it, and so was this the Y2K thing? No, this was even earlier in this. This was this was in the early 70s, and I don't, I don't this guy had predicted some uh other things that had come through, and so for some reason he predicted the world was coming to an end. Okay, well, by that point I'd I knew that there was a heaven and a hell because I asked enough friends about it and you heard different things, you know, on TV shows and and such. And I knew I didn't want to go to hell. And my little friend that I hung around with the most was a neighbor friend, but she went to a parochial school and she told me after school, she goes, if the world's gonna come to an end, you need to come up here and we need to pray over you. And so I went up to her house, her and her sister prayed over me, then they baptized me in the kitchen sink. Well, when the world didn't come to an end that night, I thought, I just don't think that's what's gonna get me into heaven. So, you know, if you ask people, if you ask friends when you're young enough uh about heaven and hell and about God, you get a lot of conflicting answers. And that's what I got. It's kind of like Google, you know, if you ask Google about heaven and hell, you get a lot of conflicting answers also.

Israel Caminero: 7:18

Right.

Jennifer Godwin: 7:19

This went on for a while, and then I moved on to something I thought I could figure out because by the time I was in high school, I just didn't figure out the God thing and I'd kind of given up. I moved on to boys because I thought I could figure out boys, and they were kind of cute, and I kind of wanted one of those. And so I had uh been invited over to a different friend's house, and she uh we were just spending the, I was spending the night, we were just talking, and unbeknownst to me, I didn't know she had an older sister, but her sister walked in and she was home on uh Thanksgiving break from Moody Bible Institute, and she came in the room and she said, Do you want to know how to get to heaven? There wasn't any chit-chat, it was just this bold question, and it was like, What? Somebody actually knows how to do that. It was just so random. But it made me sit and think about it because I was like, okay, nobody's ever asked me about uh God. And I thought, this gal acts like she actually knows what she's doing. And so I thought, yeah. And so I followed her and she took me to her room and she explained to me that I was a sinner. Well, when you're in high school, you pretty much know that you're a sinner. Right. At least I did. And uh so she explained the sin and how sin separated me from uh God, uh, from a perfect God. And so I understood that, and that she said, in order to spend your eternity in heaven, you need to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. And so I did that. The two things I remember her telling me the most that night was that I would want to share my faith and that I would want to confess my sins. Well, when I came back upstairs, my friend had already some time must have passed, and so my friend was like, Oh, let's just I said, Do you want to talk about this? And she says, No, we'll just go to bed. And so I thought, okay, fine, I had business to do. And so I laid there awake for hours and I confessed every sin that I could possibly think of. And then at the end of the of my confession time, I wasn't sure if I could do this because I'd never prayed to God before. But I said, God, I still think that Godwin boy is cute. Could you put him in my life? I just wanted a boyfriend, so be careful how you pray because he's still in my life. He uh, like I said, 37 years later, and he's still there. Oh wow. So yeah, but then I went home from uh my friend's house the next morning and I just casually walked in the door and told my mother, I said, I accepted Jesus as my savior. Do you want to know how to do that? She just looked at me like I was crazy, and I thought, well, okay, I'm moving on. And so I I just I left, but uh went into my room. But that was what started my relationship with Jesus.

Israel Caminero: 10:30

I was gonna say that's that's great. You know, you mentioned the bumper sticker, emergency baptism, and a bold question from your friend's sister that she just randomly came in and asked. It was so random. So you could see how Jesus was just trying to move in your life already at such an early age without you even knowing who Jesus was at first from your own. Oh, yeah.

Jennifer Godwin: 10:54

He pursued oh, he pursued me. I mean, you know, like there were shows like The Waltons, and there was the show um Little House on the Prairie, and you know, though those there was just different little things that pointed out God, and you know, I could see it, and you know, like the little drummer boy cartoon when you were a kid.

Israel Caminero: 11:14

Yeah.

Jennifer Godwin: 11:15

But again, I I didn't understand it. I couldn't put all the pieces together to understand. Matter of fact, I accepted Christ in in November. I knew that Christmas was a religious holiday. By the time Easter rolled around, I had no clue that Easter was a religious holiday. It was like, huh. I didn't I didn't know that. Well, yeah. So you just people don't know what they don't know.

Israel Caminero: 11:43

Right.

Jennifer Godwin: 11:43

And you know, I tell I I tell my children this all the time. My son likes to argue with me about this because he's like, There's a church on every corner, there's God everywhere. But the thing is, most people think that they have to be good, that they know that there's a God up there and He they know what God doesn't like, they don't know what God does like. And so I have a heart for people that don't know what they don't know.

Israel Caminero: 12:09

Right. So I want to backtrack just a little bit before you keep going. You know, you mentioned growing up in uh in your house where God wasn't part of that, and you just mentioned that you didn't know what Easter was. So your family didn't go to church at all, like for a Christmas, you know, nothing at all.

Jennifer Godwin: 12:26

Never, never.

Israel Caminero: 12:28

Okay. Can you share just a little bit about what the environment was like for you, you know, as a child growing up in the home like that?

Jennifer Godwin: 12:36

Oh, there were Easter bunnies and Santa Claus and you know, birthday parties. I it was it was a really nice home. There, you know, it's just an average home, average family, just there wasn't anything about God.

Israel Caminero: 12:52

Okay. So it was a it was a good house overall. It was good family, just no Christ in your life.

Jennifer Godwin: 13:01

R absolutely, yep.

Israel Caminero: 13:03

Okay. That's that's interesting to hear because you don't usually hear of things like that. But that's good that it was a normal house, even though Christ wasn't in it, and it doesn't matter because Christ was working in you, and then you came home and shared it with your mom, and you said her reaction was that you were crazy. Did they respond at all after your faith journey?

Jennifer Godwin: 13:30

Um, oh now, yes.

Israel Caminero: 13:33

No, I mean, like back then when you were younger, you know, when you came and told them, like, did they change at all back then or no?

Jennifer Godwin: 13:40

No, huh? No, it took it took several years. Matter of fact, my father is still not a believer.

Israel Caminero: 13:47

Okay.

Jennifer Godwin: 13:47

He he thinks when he dies, he's going to just be dirt. And I've explained to him several times. I'm like, Dad, yeah, I'm sure my body's gonna be dirt also. But I said, our souls go on and live forever. And I I told him, I said, if you're right and we both die and there isn't any God and there isn't anything else, then no big deal. But I said, if I'm right and you're wrong, there's that's a really big deal because eternity is a really long time to spend without God and and to be separated from him forever.

Israel Caminero: 14:24

Okay. All right, so let's go back to where you left off and looking back once you got went back home after you got baptized and gave your life to Christ. You know, did you encounter Jesus for yourself? And what were some of the challenges?

Jennifer Godwin: 14:43

Well the challenge was I didn't really have anybody to get direction from. This girl, she went back to college and I I never saw her again. But God answered that prayer with that Godwin boy. Well, unbeknownst to me, he actually went to church. And so eventually, you know, I I became his girlfriend, and then he finally started taking me to church. The only problem was it was a very theological church, and it it would everything went over my head.

Israel Caminero: 15:21

Okay.

Jennifer Godwin: 15:22

So, you know, I mean, I'd heard of Moses because you you seen it on TV, you know, the Ten Commandments and that kind of thing, but I didn't know what it meant, you know. I just I seen it and I sent, like I said, bits and pieces along the way, but nothing that tied the whole thing up into a ribbon. And so as we as we went on, you know, I grew in Christ going to that church, but finally we did switch churches, and then we ended up because I told my husband, I said it well, and then we eventually married in that church, but I just I wasn't growing spiritually. And so we switched churches and wow, it was like somebody put fertilizer on me because we ended up at a church and they just kept inviting me to help and helping awanas and helping children's programs. And actually that's how I learned about God. I mean, yes, I learned I I heard sermons and that kind of thing, but you know, to take it clear back to a foundational, I remember you know, memorizing Bible verses with my kids with awanas and uh learning the church stories, you know, in in their classrooms. That's how I first I always tell people if they if they know nothing about God, start with a children's Bible first, because it'll give you the basics without all the jargon. That's good and then go back and read an adult version Bible.

Israel Caminero: 16:58

Yeah, that's good.

Jennifer Godwin: 16:59

It helped me, it helped me.

Israel Caminero: 17:03

So my guess is this first church you went to was either Baptist or Pentecostal, am I right?

Jennifer Godwin: 17:10

Yeah.

Israel Caminero: 17:12

When you said theological church, that's what I that's what I thought of. What about this new church? Was it like non-denominational or something?

Jennifer Godwin: 17:21

Um it it was a Baptist church, but it wasn't the strictest Baptist church, you know what I'm saying? Okay, it it it it was a little more evangelical type of thing. It was more like an E-free church type of thing. Yeah, so it it spoke in it it was like King James Version versus everyday living conversation church. So when they when they spoke from the pulpit, it was like, oh, that's what that means. Oh, I get that. Yeah, I it it's like listening to Romeo and Juliet, you know, it it it's an easy story to understand as long as they take out all those where far art thou extra words that you don't need and don't understand.

Israel Caminero: 18:14

Yes. Right, yeah. Yeah, those are hard to comprehend sometimes, especially when you're new in your faith. And when you didn't have a background in your faith either.

Jennifer Godwin: 18:25

Right, exactly.

Israel Caminero: 18:27

So once you went to the new church, was there people there who played a key role in discipling you and helping you grow in your walk with Christ?

Jennifer Godwin: 18:37

No, that's that's the unfortunate thing. Um I started reading Christian books when I I was in a Sunday school classroom. I remember being in an adult Sunday uh school classroom and noticing a Christian book sitting on the shelf, and it was like, huh. I didn't know they had these. So I read that one, and then when I finished that one, I found out that yeah, you can get a lot of Christian books. And so I started reading Christian books different, you know, about different things, and and that was how I grew. Christian authors are what helped grow me spiritually.

Israel Caminero: 19:15

Okay.

Jennifer Godwin: 19:16

You know, a a one hour sermon a week doesn't do it. And then when I finally started reading the Bible, you know, that that helped too. And of course, I wasn't discipled on that either. I just started at the beginning, and by the time I I thought I thought the Old Testament was gonna be hard, which it was, but then by the time I got to the New Testament, I could I didn't understand it. I didn't understand how come I kept reading the same story more than more than once. You know, by the time by the time I got to Luke, it was like, I I know I've read that story before. And I start flipping back, yeah. I start flipping back on pages. I'm like, I did read this story, why? And you know, so I did ask our my children's uh Youth pastor, I said, How come I keep reading the same stories? And he, of course, kind of made fun of me a little bit. Love him dearly, he's a good man, but that that isn't probably the proper way to do things. But um he said, Hey, that's four different people's interpretations of the Bible, or not interpretations, but um their accounts of what happened at the time. And it was like, Oh, okay, now I understand. So, you know, no, I was not discipled, unfortunately.

Israel Caminero: 20:34

So, did you continue going to that church?

Jennifer Godwin: 20:37

We did, we did for the longest time.

Israel Caminero: 20:39

Okay. Yep. So you said you wrote a book, right?

Jennifer Godwin: 20:45

I did. Well, it let's put it this way. I was a professional photographer with film. So we're not talking, just take a whole bunch of pictures. You know, I went to a photo uh portrait uh college to take to learn how to photograph people and weddings and that kind of stuff. So I was a photographer for 24 years, and I had a dream one night, and God said, You're gonna write a book. And I never had a desire to write a book, it was never on my bucket list. It was nothing, I was not an academic type of person. I graduated at the top of my class, but it was because I took a lot of art classes. Art was important to me, and of course I used it in my career, so it worked out well. The next day when I when I had that dream, I went and told my friend who was very academic, and she I said, Told me I was gonna write a write a book. And she's like, Well, you don't know anything about writing a book, and I'm like, nope, I don't. I don't know why you told me I was gonna write a book. She goes, What do you think the book is gonna be about? And I said, I think I don't know, I'm not sure, but maybe it's just short stories. She goes, I don't think a book like that would work. Well, then it was it was probably a year later that the chicken soul, uh, chicken soup for the souls books came out, and all they are are just little short stories. So she didn't quite know what she was talking about there, but she knew that I had never gone to college and I never I don't speak proper English. I do do a lot of run-on sentences, I make up my own words sometimes. And she goes, I just I'm not sure if you'll be able to write a book. And I'm like, Well, I don't know. It's probably a crazy idea. And so I I went along with that because it would it was quite a while before he finally said, Okay, now it's time to write a book. I mean, probably 10, 15 years passed before from the time I had the dream to the time I started writing.

Israel Caminero: 22:51

Oh, okay.

Jennifer Godwin: 22:53

It it was just to the point where you know, different little things just kept coming up and it was like, it's time, it's time. And I'm like, well, what time is it? What what time are we talking about here? And finally it was like, it's time to write the book. And so I just sat down and started writing the book, but I didn't, like I said, I've never written a book. I can tell you a lot of ways. I'm I'm like Thomas Edison, I can tell you a lot of ways not to write a book. A lot of ways, maybe 10,000 ways. Uh but uh I thought when I started that I would be writing to unbelievers because that's where my heart is. My heart is for those that don't know Christ yet. And the the more my book got done, the more I, you know, the writing progressed, it was like, oh, this book is for believers on how to share the gospel with others. And it's it's not one of those ones where you say, Oh, if you die tonight, where would you go? It is, it isn't set speeches, it's not things like that, but it's it's how I grew as a Christian and how different people planted seeds of Jesus into my life, and how we can do the same for others, and how we can encourage others to grow in Christ. But I can tell you this, I mean, I put that book down so many times because Saint kept saying, Who's gonna read this book? Who do you who do you think you are that you're writing a Christian book?

Israel Caminero: 24:24

Well, of course he was.

Jennifer Godwin: 24:25

Oh yeah. Oh yes. And since nobody, you know, since I wasn't under a contract and I didn't think anybody was ever gonna really publish it, I just was being obedient to God and writing the booklet that he told me to write. So that's what I did. And then when it got done, it was right around the whole COVID thing. It was hard to finish because when it's a it's a book about your life, and your life is still going on. How do you end your book? And so I thought, okay, here it is. Here's COVID. I've done a c chapter on COVID. I'll finish it when COVID finishes, and then we'll call it quits. Well, the only problem was COVID kept going on and on and on, right? And I finally like, nope, we're gonna finish this book, it's done. And so I I finished the book and we we closed it on a different chapter.

Israel Caminero: 25:22

That's so interesting that God put it in your heart to write a book, first of all. You didn't obey him right away, and then you thought it was to people that didn't know Christ, but he said, No, it's for people who know Christ. So that's so interesting how God always takes you out of your comfort zone and makes you so uncomfortable.

Jennifer Godwin: 25:46

Oh, yeah, he kept disturbing my sleep. It finally got to the point where write the book or you'll you won't be sleeping anymore. Right. Because you'd wake me up and go, it's time. It's like, well, really, it's time to be sleeping right now. But I've really wanted to sleep, so I decided to start reading.

Israel Caminero: 26:04

And you're done with the book, you said. What's the name of the book?

Jennifer Godwin: 26:08

It's called Go Make Ripples.

Israel Caminero: 26:11

Go make Ripples by Jennifer Godwin. I'll have links to that book in the description of this podcast. So, what does it mean to ripple Jesus into someone's life if you wanted to share that with somebody? Is that a metaphor?

Jennifer Godwin: 26:26

No, it's just it's the same way people did it for me. You know, it was a meal prayer. It was saying a prayer in front of me at a meal. It was bumper sticker that let me know God loved me. It was the baptism in the kitchen sink, somebody that cared about me. And then it uh it was a bold question where somebody finally asked me, Do you want to know how uh do you want to know Jesus? Do you want to know about heaven? You know, so it it's I I now speak, God now has me out there speaking to different groups, and I always use the the phrase prayer, share, and care. So praying for people, we can we can all say a prayer for somebody, and I get very few people that tell me they don't want to pray. When uh when I'm out to dinner, we always ask our server how we say a prayer before the meal, and we would like to lift you up in prayer. How can we pray for you tonight? And so we always ask our servers how we can pray for them, or you know, if somebody's having a hard day, say a prayer for them. We had, I just had an experience with a gal at the post office here in town, and she got super white and started breathing in really hard. And I called her co-workers over, but I said, you know, can I say a prayer for you? And you know, as she's kind of because she was across the counter, I couldn't reach her.

Israel Caminero: 27:57

Right.

Jennifer Godwin: 27:57

I said, Can I say a prayer for you? And we had talked about it before because I was there shipping out some more books, and she knew that I'd written a Christian book and didn't really seem interested in it. But at the time that she wasn't doing well breathing, she was thrilled for me to say a prayer for her. And so she, you know, she's not gonna forget that. Saying prayers for people, acknowledging people, seeing people that are in front of you, like the cashiers at uh grocery stores or a cashier when they're handing you your fast food, you know, you could compliment somebody, you can pray for them, you can say, have a blessed day. There's lots of ways to acknowledge people. And that's huge in the world today.

Israel Caminero: 28:45

That's right.

Jennifer Godwin: 28:46

Sharing Christian podcasts like your Christian podcast or Christian shows, Christian movies, Christian books, sharing the things that you know with others, whether even with Christians or non-Christians, that can lead them to a Lord to the Lord. I use a lot of gospel tracts, little pamphlets that say uh it gives a little story, it gives you Bible verses, and it gives you how to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and it gives you a little prayer at the end. I hand out gospel tracts all the time, and I make little blessing bags up for people.

Israel Caminero: 29:26

Oh, that's good.

Jennifer Godwin: 29:28

In the blessing bags, I put a gospel tract, maybe a little booklet about heaven, or a little booklet about God, something, you know, just a little booklet, and then some candies, and I give those out to like again the cashiers or flight attendants or housekeepers and hotel rooms. I I do blessing bags all the time.

Israel Caminero: 29:49

That's so good. You're blessing people.

Jennifer Godwin: 29:52

Yeah, well, there's just planting a seed in their hearts.

Israel Caminero: 29:56

I love that. And like you said, prayer goes a long way. It just happened this week. I'm in a group with a bunch of brothers in Christ, and one of them actually said, Pray for my daughter. The enemy's a liar, and that's all he said. And I'm reading this, and then one of my other friends chimed in and said, What's going on? And I was like, What does it matter? Just pray for him, you know what I mean? Like, stop being nosy. And he messaged me or talked to me on the phone, and he was like, It was funny, because when you said that, I was thinking to myself, Why am I being nosy? I should have just prayed for him. But it's true, you know. Like, I was just being funny because I heard a sermon about it. Sometimes when people ask for prayer, people are like, What can I pray for you for? Why bother asking? Just pray for them. And that's good that you're you're asking your waitress and everybody else for prayer. I need to incorporate that more into my life.

Jennifer Godwin: 30:52

Oh, you'll be surprised what kind of prayer requests you get. I have had very I've been doing this now for probably four years, and you know, maybe a handful of people have said, No, I I I don't need you to pray for me, or no, I don't have anything. Very few people will say that to me. The the one that shocked us the most was a little gal, and she looked at us, and when I said, Can can we pray for you? She she grabbed her chest and she looked at us with tears started forming in her eyes, and I'm like, Are you okay? She goes, Will you seriously pray for me? I'm like, Absolutely, I'll pray for you. And she said, I have to give a victim statement. My fiance was murdered, and I have to give a victim statement next week, and I need to know what I should say and have the strength to be able to say it. Of course, you know, we were we were both kind of shocked. It's like, wow, you just never know what somebody's going through.

Israel Caminero: 31:52

Right.

Jennifer Godwin: 31:52

And uh, so you know, we chatted with her and and uh she went and got our waters, but you know, you she'll never forget that somebody cared enough to pray for her that night.

Israel Caminero: 32:06

That's true. She'll never forget that moment.

Jennifer Godwin: 32:09

No, we won't, and she won't either.

Israel Caminero: 32:12

That's right.

Jennifer Godwin: 32:12

Well, it makes us more sensitive because it and I've had plenty, you know, I've had plenty of servers that, you know, it's like, oh, you should not be a server, you know. And uh, but if you ask somebody how you can pray for them, it it causes you to have a lot of patience. Right. You know, you you don't you want to represent God well. True. And right. So it it's given me a lot of patience, it's helped me to grow, and it reminds me, you just don't know what the person in front of you is going through.

Israel Caminero: 32:46

That's absolutely correct. I tell everybody, you know, we we've had our share of problems in my family, and uh I used to hate when people would look sad and stuff, and I'd be like, Are you okay? you know, and they'd say, Yeah, not anything like you're going through. And that used to get me so upset. I used to tell them, like, don't say that. You know, everyone's got their own problems in their own ways. It doesn't matter what I'm going through, you're going through something too, so don't belittle that just because I'm going through something that might seem bigger. It used to irritate me so bad. That's just how people are. They're just afraid. Like you said, you know someone needs prayer, but sometimes they don't even say it. You know they're going through something, and you say, Hey, can I pray? or does anybody need prayer? And they won't even raise their hand or anything.

Jennifer Godwin: 33:33

Right. Right. I don't know.

Israel Caminero: 33:35

I don't know if it's a pride thing or uh they just don't want people to know their problems, even though we know specifics, some one that might be going through something still doesn't ask for prayer.

Jennifer Godwin: 33:46

Well, or maybe they're just too scared.

Israel Caminero: 33:49

Yeah.

Jennifer Godwin: 33:50

You know, they might just be too scared.

Israel Caminero: 33:52

True. So I I love your story though, as far as you didn't know Christ at all, and look at everything that you're doing now. Yeah. And your book, Go Make Ripples, is great because that's what you're doing. You're out there making ripples by praying for people and giving out these care package bags. It's great how God's moved in your life from not knowing him to what you're doing now.

Jennifer Godwin: 34:18

I I just go back to that night where she said that I'd want to confess all my sins and that I'd want to share the gospel with others.

Israel Caminero: 34:27

And that's what you're doing.

Jennifer Godwin: 34:29

That's what I'm doing. That's what I was that's what I was told I was gonna want to do, and that's what I'm doing. Somebody did it to me. I wanted to make sure I do it for others.

Israel Caminero: 34:39

Right. It's so great how God uses people, right? But who would have thought, right? You didn't you didn't know Christ at all, and now look what you're doing. Your family didn't know Christ at all, and and look what you're doing.

Jennifer Godwin: 34:51

Yep. Well, it's all through him.

Israel Caminero: 34:53

Amen.

Jennifer Godwin: 34:54

I I I giggle and laugh all the time when people say, Oh, I like your book. It's like, oh, you don't know who really wrote the book. It's really God. I he got just used me. I I'm just a photographer that wrote a book. It's kind of like I'm just a fisherman that became a disciple. I mean, it it's it's so beyond what I can even imagine.

Israel Caminero: 35:15

Amen. So if someone was listening right now who feels like their faith isn't big enough to make an impact, what would you say to them?

Jennifer Godwin: 35:25

Anybody can make a difference in someone's life. And you never know what the smallest ripple can do to lead someone to Christ. I mean, take the people that put the bumper sticker on their car, they never knew that a little girl thought about that when she saw it. You know, the people that prayed in front of me at that meal, that was just something that they always did. But they continued it even in front of me the night that I was there. You can do so much more than what you think you can. And the problem is, or the thing is it's just about caring about somebody. That's good. If if you care about somebody, Jesus is gonna show and shine through through your life.

Israel Caminero: 36:10

That's that's so true. It's all about caring. You hit it right on the nose. That's good. I like that, Jennifer. So, what advice would you give to a Christian who wants to share their faith but doesn't know where to start?

Jennifer Godwin: 36:27

Read my book.

Israel Caminero: 36:31

There you go.

Jennifer Godwin: 36:32

Well, it does give you a whole lot of ideas. There's a lot of ideas in there on on how to start spreading the gospel. Um I would just say the biggest thing is invite, invite, invite. You know, if somebody would have invited me to church clear back when I was younger, I would have gone. If somebody would have invited me to different women's ministry, I would have gone. You just have to invite. People might turn you down, but they can never say that you didn't invite them.

Israel Caminero: 37:02

True.

Jennifer Godwin: 37:04

I've heard I've heard several people's testimonies that said, nobody ever invited me to church. And I don't want that to be said on anybody that I come across. I want them to know that, you know, yes, you're invited to come to church. Yes, you're invited to this. You know, just inviting all the time. I've been turned down so many times in my life, but so be it. At least God credits me for even just inviting.

Israel Caminero: 37:31

That's true. That's true.

Jennifer Godwin: 37:33

Even if they don't accept it.

Israel Caminero: 37:35

Sometimes Christians, uh I don't know, I wouldn't say all of them, but some lukewarm ones, I would say. You know, they're they're just scared to share their faith with someone from for rejection or something. I don't know what it could be, because all they can say is no, right? And that that's not gonna kill us.

Jennifer Godwin: 37:56

Exactly. Exactly. And you know, I I use this analogy a lot. If you knew gas was only 99 cents down the road, if you knew you could go get gas, you would tell everybody. You after you got after you filled up your tank, you'd go tell everybody. I don't care if it was a stranger, you know, if you were standing in a line with at Walmart, you'd be going, Did you know that there's gas for 99 cents just down the road? You would tell everybody, you have something so much better than 99 cent gas. You have Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, could be in your life. And that's what I tell people when I when they're like, Well, you're really kind of pushing your religion. I'm like, I've got the best thing in the whole wide world. Why would I not tell them? And if that's what God tells me to do and I don't do it, and I think that Jesus is the most important decision, what kind of an evil person am I to keep that to myself?

Israel Caminero: 38:57

That's good. That's good. Definitely. You have to share it, whether you're scared or not. Just take that leap and just say anything, right? Right. That little ripple, like you say. Bumper sticker, shirt, anything.

Jennifer Godwin: 39:14

Exactly. Yeah, you don't have to say anything. You can yeah, you can put a bumper sticker on your car, you can share a Christian book, you can leave gospel tracks in places where somebody's gonna find it. You know, that's so true. There's plenty of things.

Israel Caminero: 39:29

Yeah. Well, I love your story, Jennifer. I love how God worked his way in your life when you didn't even know him and the things that you're doing now. And like I said, I'll have links to her book in the description of this podcast. And I would suggest going to get it and reading it just to support her, or even reading it, just to go out and just make a difference and share the gospel. You might get an idea from it in there. All right. I have a question about If you're having a bad day, or basically, do you have a life verse that you found out why you were going to church or when you met Christ, or when you're having a bad day, do you have a life verse that you can go back to and read that stuck with you and what that verse is and what it you know what it means to you?

Jennifer Godwin: 40:28

Well, we kind of talked about that earlier. The one that um I learned this first, and it was so weird. I didn't know why I I memor we talked about memorizing verses, and so this was just a verse that popped up and and started memorizing this verse years and years ago. It's become more prominent to me now. But uh John 15, 8, God says, I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing. And that right there, you know, if if you do it with God's help, God's gonna help you spread his word to other people. You know, as long as you're connected to the vine.

Israel Caminero: 41:15

Amen. That's true, very true. You have to stay connected to the vine, and God will do his work through you. That's a good one. Now we're going to my back to the past section of the podcast. And what my back to the past section is, if the Jennifer of today can go back in time and talk to the younger Jennifer, probably before she knew Christ, knowing what you know now, what would you say to her and why?

Jennifer Godwin: 41:48

Well, I don't think I could go back earlier than five years old. But I think if I if I if I was going to go back in time, I would go back to when I was running a photography studio. There are so many missed opportunities that I had that I wished. I mean, I brought up God a few times, but boy, I mean, I had young people in my company for you know two to three hours several times. Um, when I was photographing them, when I was placing their order, when they come back and pick up their order. On average, you know, each customer had had three hours of my time. I wish I would have spent more time sharing God with them, even if it would have been a Bible verse putting in their final order. I wish I would have been braver back then. That's my biggest regret.

Israel Caminero: 42:49

And you I'm sure you saw a lot of people too.

Jennifer Godwin: 42:52

I did. I wish but a lot of missed opportunities there. That's why I'm moving forward and trying to tell everybody now.

Israel Caminero: 43:01

Amen. That's good. But you know, that was your past, and now you're doing what you're supposed to do. But I get it. That was my back to the past section, and that's what you would do. But you're doing great, and God sees what you're doing. And I also want to thank you for taking the time for being here today and sharing your testimony with my audience. I'm sure there's someone out there that needs to hear it and hopefully it'll touch them in ways that no one else can touch them besides God. So before we come back, go ahead.

Jennifer Godwin: 43:43

Well, I just I just want to thank you for having me on your show. I appreciate the opportunity to just even encourage other believers to be spreading the gospel.

Israel Caminero: 43:54

Amen. That's what it's about. Just one person. If I lead one person to the Bible, to the cross, to God, that's that's what matters.

Jennifer Godwin: 44:04

Right. Even the smallest ripple may lead someone to Christ.

Israel Caminero: 44:07

Amen. Amen to that. And I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to be here. And I'm glad that you're feeling a little bit better. I know you said you were under the weather and we weren't sure about today, but I'm glad you're feeling better and you were able to be here. But before we close, do you think you could pray over us?

Jennifer Godwin: 44:29

Absolutely. Lord Jesus, thank you for this time together. I pray that anyone that's listening to this podcast, I pray that you would spark a fire in their heart. Lord, I pray that something that was said would reach down into their souls and want to continue to share the gospel with others, that they would be bold and step up and step out and make a difference to the kingdom of God and and to other people's eternity. And Lord, I just pray that Christians would see how much difference they can make in someone's life. Lord, work in people's lives, people's hearts, and open the eyes, hearts, and ears of unbelievers to hear, hear your message. I pray these things in your son's precious and holy name. Amen.

Israel Caminero: 45:36

Amen. Amen. Thank you for that prayer, Jennifer. Thank you for being here. And I'll have links to her book and everything else she wants me to share on the description of the podcast. But before we wrap up, I just want to take a moment to thank each and every one of the listeners and supporters that shares living testimonies. Whether you've been with me since the beginning or you're just tuning in for the first time, your presence means the world. Your encouragement, your prayers, and your willingness to be part of this journey are what keep this podcast going. This isn't just about stories, it's about what God is doing in the lives of real people every day. And it's a reminder that your story matters because it's his glory. So thank you for walking this out with me. Let's keep shining the light of Jesus together, one testimony at a time. Until next time, God bless you. And we were doing it.