Born To Lead

Welcome to *Red Flags & Redemption.*

In this deeply personal episode, *Called To Lead*, Chroatine shares the story behind the story—the journey from generational cycles and brokenness to healing, purpose, and redemption.

Raised in circumstances that could have defined her future, God used something as simple as a neighborhood bus ministry and a local church to begin separating her for something greater. Through heartbreak, trauma, restoration, and the supernatural hand of God woven through every season, this episode is a testimony that our past does not have the final say.

This is a conversation about surrender. About hearing the voice of God even in the middle of pain. About obedience when you don’t feel qualified. And about the moment God called her to begin this podcast—not for perfection, but for purpose.

We have been chosen. We have been set apart. And we all carry a story capable of helping someone else heal.

Together, we’ll talk about identifying the red flags that keep us bound, fully surrendering to the process of healing, and allowing God to redeem every broken piece into something beautiful.

Because your story isn’t over.
And redemption is always possible.

https://youtube.com/@redflagsandredemption?si=Owf7-cEkGQaB3yVW

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

And I remember getting on my knees, not knowing how I would make it. It's not love. We're calling it love, and it's really abuse. I had this longing inside of me to perform really well. Christine, the calling that I placed on you when you were 14 years old, I have never relented on that calling. And it's the same calling that you still have. Everything in my life had been leading up to hey, I need to do this thing. It's not man that appoints you, I have appointed you. I don't have to be what my family was. I don't have to live that legacy. I can write a new story.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

I want to know everything.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

Welcome to Red Flags and Redemption. I'm Christine Cooper. Throughout my life, I've been a pastor, teacher, mom of two, public speaker, and today your host. But more than titles, I'm someone who's walked through real life, real relationships, real trauma, real healing, and has seen firsthand how God redeems what once felt broken beyond repair. Joel 225 states he will restore the years the locusts have eaten. It is a powerful promise over our lives from the Bible, where God offers to make up for times of devastating loss, implying that what's restored will be even better than before, bringing healing and joy after despair. How many of you believe that our future is so much greater than our past, that the years to come will far exceed and be in excess of the years we may have lost? Our God is an abundant God. Our God is a faithful father. Our God is a restorative God. So today I'm actually in the studio with my good friend Franco Gonzalez. And you are the creative director of Parama Studios, which is actually where we are shooting this podcast from. And I've known you for quite a while. And I'm just so thankful for the vision that God's given you over your life, uh, the vision for this podcast, and just to be here with you today.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Thank you so much, Christine. Uh yeah, thank you. It's it's an honor to get to sit with you. Uh as you mentioned, yes, I am a creative director, and this is Joramo Studios. This is our this is our our venture that God put in our hearts. And for those of you that don't know, Joramos is a Greek word, um, part Greek, and it appears in the New Testament several times, and it means a divinely granted vision. Wow, and that's the vision that God put in our heart. And so in scripture in the New Testament, when uh Peter gets a vision where the Lord is like kill, rise, kill, and eat, that was the word vision was a harama. Whenever Cornelius received the vision at the same time, that was also the word harama. Whenever the transfiguration that happened, uh that was also the word harama. And so it's uh vision through sight, but uh the cool thing about it is it is a catalyst for something, and I feel like this is a this is a living testimony that you're actually here and that we get to do this together. And so I'm actually honored to be here with you, but also just honored for your listeners to be able to hear your story. And uh I'm really excited for them to dive deep and for you to dive deeper, also just for me to get to know you even even in a in a deeper way. Yeah, and so yeah, I'm stoked. Stoked. Thank you for asking me to do this that I that I get to do this and and just bring bring your listeners along.

SPEAKER_02 3:28

You're welcome. And just hearing that story, uh, which I know, but everybody out here maybe didn't know uh the word catalyst and vision. I know that I live my life from a place of really believing that God divinely intervenes and works and moves on our behalf. And that's actually how we both ended up here today. So I just love that. I love the word vision, and I do believe that everything that's happening in this space and even this story today is a catalyst for great things to say.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Amen. Amen. Yeah, quickly how we we connected, we've known each other for for several years through a uh church that we used to go to. And funny enough, I was when we were building this place uh in at the end of 2025, and God put it in our heart to pull the trigger. We had a date that we were gonna that we were aiming for. And uh I was really at the gym one time and I get a call from Christine. I'm like, wait, Christine, I haven't talked to her in at least two years. Yeah, and so I picked it up, and you were like, Hey, I was praying and fasting, and God put it on my heart uh to call you. I'm starting a podcast. Uh, can you help? And I was like, Okay, of course, Lord. Of course you would do this like this. I'm like, absolutely. Like, little did you know that we were actually building a studio and God had put a vision in our hearts as well. And so, and then so here we are. Here we are. This is uh this is uh a living testimony uh to your obedience and to to answering the call and for us to co-labor uh together, but also just co-labor with God and co-labor with the Holy Spirit and uh to bring forth what he's put in your heart and to bring the kingdom forward.

SPEAKER_02 5:07

And actually, as you share that, I I have goosebumps because it's just really cool how God connects our lives and how he brought that full circle. And it had been like two years, and I know God said, Hey, I I felt one day, and I'll share a little bit more about that, but later on, but that God just prompted me that maybe a podcast that everything in my life had been leading up to, hey, I need to do this thing. And God just dropped Franco in my heart. And then uh little did I know, exactly like you said, that you guys are launching this studio. So God is good, God is faithful. Um, so I know we're gonna talk a little bit about why we're here.

SPEAKER_00 5:52

Absolutely. We are here to get to know who Christine is. And so I want to know everything. So take us through from guide us through the beginning.

SPEAKER_02 6:04

So, so I don't know if anybody else is like me. You're driving down the road and you're just kind of having a conversation with God, and then he starts dropping stuff in your spirit. And I just have had this question for a couple of years, feeling like I have this call on my life, feeling like I should be doing ministry. And as I mentioned, really thinking I needed to be appointed by man. And as I'm driving down the road, God just says to me, Christine, the calling that I placed on you when you were 14 years old, I have never relented on that calling. And it's the same calling that you still have on your life. And it's not man that appoints you, I have appointed you. And I've given you a story. And that story, you know, when we fully heal and we heal in the way that God intended us to heal, we do it the right way and we submit ourselves to God, we begin to reframe life. We begin to see life with different eyes. And as I'm looking out around me, and now I've walked through this story, I feel that I'm on the other side and we're all on a journey. But I began to look around and I see so many people that I personally know, so many people that I've met, and they have trauma stories, and they're hurting and they're fragmented and they're broken and they're unaware. And some of them have allowed themselves to stay in toxic relationships, and it might be red flags that they didn't recognize or the red flags of generational cycles. So many ways that the red flags show up in our life. But, you know, their goal here is that if my story, and I believe all of our stories are meant to help someone else heal. And in fact, they are meant to help hundreds heal. And as big as our voice can be, that is how far our story can help other people heal. So I began to think of the idea of podcast. And wow, there's no better way that. And it had to have been God, because I'd never thought of an idea of having a podcast. And that's when God dropped you into my heart. Little did I know you guys are starting a podcast studio, but I really knew it was the Holy Spirit, and that was confirmed through that phone call. But the the goal here is that as my story, this story from seeing the red flags, becoming self-aware, walking through the process of healing, submitting myself to God, getting into healthy community, and now beginning to see God redeem the years and bring me to the other side. Our tagline is truth, healing, restoration. So I am highlighting stories uh around the world. And we want it to be a message to the world. We want it to be a message to our city, a message to the nation of you have a story, and I'm taking stories, I'm collecting them, and I'm holding them like gold because I really believe these stories are priceless. And as people come onto the podcast and they become vulnerable and they say, This is the hell that I walked through. This was the hurt that I endured, this was the pain that I allowed myself to live in, maybe for years because of the generational cycles or the trauma or the abuse. But then I had a God moment and God began to set things right. And what does that look like? It looks like freedom. It looks like breaking off the chains and understanding I don't have to be what my family was. I don't have to live that legacy. I can write a new story. And now God begins to redeem the years that the locust has eaten. So these are the stories we're collecting, and that's where red flags and redemption came from.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Oh, that's so good. Loving way to way to be, well, way to listen, way to dig in, lean in, and also just way to obey. Amen. And and yeah, we wouldn't be here if you would if you wouldn't have acted on your obedience. But also, it's so cool that you're being vulnerable in front of so many, and you're sharing your story and and you're sharing, you know, it reminds me of the passage where in in his in your weakness, you're he's made strong.

SPEAKER_02 10:25

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

And um and so yeah, it just it's reminiscent of that because in your vulnerability and your sharing in your just complete openness, you're you're you're allowing people to uh lean into their own healing and lean into their own uh redemption. That what what would God brings into our lives?

SPEAKER_02 10:43

You mentioned something just now that I feel like there's been so many times and I'm like, God, I can't. God, I I I don't know how, but God, you can. And that's I think the real redemption story there.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Absolutely. That's so good.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

I really believe that nothing good ever comes easy. And you see it all throughout the Bible, you know, through the story of Moses and the story of Daniel and the story of Esther and the story of Joseph, that all throughout history, that these people that have undergone trial and tribulation and suffering, it was all for this greater purpose and this greater plan. And we've heard that saying that everything falls apart to come together. And so I feel like from before I was born, there was some kind of like struggle on my life. And so uh I'm going back to the very beginning. I am in vitro, and I am um basically my mom is a teen mom, and I'm a twin, so she's having multiple births at uh 19, but she she smoked all the way through the pregnancy. And so we're born two months premature. So I'm actually three pounds, he's four pounds, and um we have to be actually lifelighted from one hospital to another through a helicopter because we're not going to make it. And so um we're in incubators just to begin our life. And I remember my dad saying that like our legs were like the size of a spinky, we were just so tiny. And um my kidneys were failing. Uh, they just didn't think it was it was a struggle from the very beginning. But with struggle, I can look back and know that actually, you know, God had his hand on my life. And I'm just so thankful that even though it began with a struggle, there's like this really great story that followed.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

Um tell me about your parents. I mean, that's that's pretty, pretty incredible that you survived that.

SPEAKER_02 12:53

Yeah, yeah. So I was really born into just generational cycles, and um, that's a huge part of my birth story, is that there were these generational cycles, and I can remember um they were just generational cycles of addiction and substance abuse and control substance control and um sexual cycles, sin. And so I remember that I had a family member that I loved dearly. And as a child, I remember them being in the room and smelling of alcohol so strongly that it marked me. It was like it was like a core memory to me. And they actually ended up having to get a tracheotomy because of substance abuse in their life. And it was just they hadn't dealt with their trauma in the right way. Nicest person that you would ever meet, but at 45 died bleeding out of their stomach. And that really marked me as a young kid, seeing that happen. My dad was an alcoholic. My mom, she had a lot of trauma growing up. And I am a firm believer that if we don't deal with our trauma in the right way, it will affect our physical body. And so throughout her life, she actually just had so many diseases and illnesses and sicknesses, and she died very young as well because I think of this um, you know, not dealing with things that had happened to her well. So, really, that's the beginning of my life where there's just like this struggle.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

How did that shape your identity?

SPEAKER_02 14:30

I think that I had this longing inside of me to perform really well. And I wanted, so this struggle is happening. And I see this in a lot, you know, I was a teacher for a long time, and I saw this in my students that oftentimes their parents were so caught up in their own lives and their own kind of bad circumstances that they couldn't give that attention to the child like they needed to. And they were babies raising babies. So I think for me, I wanted so badly to get praise and admiration from my parents. So I became an overachiever. I became a perfectionist. My room was immaculate. I think I knew that I could control that space that I had. So um I from an early age, I just really took on responsibility. I began to save aggressively. Uh, I wanted to be the model child, this perfect little. And so whether it was teachers or it was, you know, classmates or wherever I could receive praise, I was just always working to achieve and really striving for perfection from a young age because I wasn't really receiving that at home. And then I'm a twin. So my brother from day one was born with massive amounts of charm. And I think I really hid behind him. And I was extremely, extremely shy, which is so crazy that we're here today doing this because wow, what a God! And I think I found my identity in kind of like being his sister, and I just was just really, really shy. So early on, this is what's shaping my identity, and this is who who I am.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

Got it. And where was God throughout this?

SPEAKER_02 16:16

So when we were kids, we did go to church a little bit off and on, but my parents weren't living it. My dad's still drinking. But I remember seeing my mom in a really tender moment crying. And I remember saying, Mom, it's okay. We're at church, she's crying. And she's like, No, no, it's the Holy Spirit, it's God. So I think there was an openness in her soul, but she she ended up really falling away from that. So overall, we weren't raised in church. But at 12, as I mentioned, my brother always had massive amounts of charm from an early age, always had little girlfriends. And he's got this little girlfriend, we're 12. And one day I find out that this girlfriend, sure, her dad is actually a pastor at a church. And they have a church bus. And the church bus comes through our neighborhood and it picks my brother and I up. And it's funny because absolutely was not surrendered to God. And I remember even having my mom go to the door saying, tell them excuse why I can't go. But they kept knocking and they would show up Saturday after Saturday and invite us to church. And what I can say is this God always had his hand on me. God was always like, Christine, I have set you apart and I've called you by name. And so inevitably I ended up getting on that church bus, and it was the best decision of my life. I go to church. I'm sitting in children's church, and I remember they say, Do you want to be saved? I don't even know what that means. I don't know what saved means. I hadn't done anything at that age to really probably have messed up in a big way. But I just felt in my heart that I needed to say yes and surrender to God. And at that time, it completely changes where my life was headed. And I feel like I'm so grateful that it happened at 12 because, as we know, at that age, you're so impressionable and you could take the wrong turn very easily. And I really had nobody guiding me to do the right thing. But God changes my life. And through that, um, I I my youth pastor took me through this intense discipleship program. Thank God. I just want to shout out all the youth pastors out there, all the people who are working with, you know, kids, with middle schoolers, with high schoolers, because they're a unique population. And so God bless you if you're doing that. And um, he he just took me through the discipleship program. I had to pray like an hour every day. Um, through that, my dad ends up surrendering his life to Christ. And then I um I had to read these books and it just really was shaping me to be a better human. But we get invited, I go to youth camp. And at youth camp, I, you know, I mean, if you've not been to youth camp, that is a marking time. And we're we're uh we're praying and I seek and I'm filled with the Holy Spirit. But God specifically, I remember, called me and said, I've called you, Christine, into full-time ministry. Like this is so at the age of 14, I know God's called me into full-time ministry. I, I, you know, didn't know what that meant, but I really surrendered to the call. As time goes on a little bit, I decide I want to go to Bible college. So I go to Bible college and I remember another time that God just says to me, Christine, you need to go pray in your chapel. Well, remember, I'm still so shy and I don't know that I have a voice, and but I know that I can hear the Holy Spirit. And so I'd contact the chaplain and I'm like, hey, I really think God's telling me to pray. In my college, I think it was like 1200 people. So I stand up in obedience. He's like, Yeah, let's do it. And I remember that first sense of the Holy Spirit coming over me. And it was not me speaking, it was the fire of God and the power of God. And then it just overtook that place. And this is a real first sense of like, hey, if I hear the voice of God and I obey the voice of God, what can God accomplish through that surrender and that obedience? And I remember friends after that saying, like, we didn't even know you had that in you.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

Well, it wasn't me, it was God, you know.

SPEAKER_02 20:26

And I think that's just, I'm sure you've seen that in your life when you're like, yes, God, I say yes to you. Um, so I feel like through all of this, you know, God really was protecting me and just keeping me set apart. I really vowed to live a pure life and to save myself for my future husband. And yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:45

Wow, it really sounds like God had his hand on you, like throughout from the very beginning. Also, shout out to the persistent bus drivers to like, hey, keep knocking on that Saturday. Absolutely. And just uh, and then for them for their obedience, even just for their obedience that you even you were you were even here. Yeah. Just was just saying yes. And so talk to me about what happens, what happens after that, after your life is essentially interrupted. You give your life to Christ, you go to Bible college. What happens after that?

SPEAKER_02 21:14

So I go to Bible college. I trained to be a teacher, but I still know this entire time I have a call to ministry. And as college is coming to an end, I I feel that, you know, Franco, I'm sure you've been there where you feel that thing, like the way you started this podcast studio is you feel that thing tugging at your heart. And it's just the Holy Spirit speaking to you. And I know God's calling me out, and I knew I was not to stay in the state where I was going to, I wasn't to go back to my family. I wasn't to stay in the state, but I didn't know where to go. So I'm really seeking God. And I say, God, I will go anywhere you want me to go. I had considered Nepal to go be a teacher in Nepal. I had an open door there, but it just was not resonating with me. And I remember I'm at the uh this is we have Sunday night church, you know, back back then. And I'm at the altar one Sunday night. I just say, God, I have to know. I'm not going to leave this altar until I know what you have spoken to me to do and where to go. And I would encourage anybody that's in a desperate time, like, I need to hear the voice of God. Don't leave that altar. Get down on your knees until you know you've heard God speak to you. So I hear God say, Florida. And I'm like, did I hear God correctly? I've never been to Florida, never seen the beach. And so I contact these people and they are planning a church in South Beach. And they say, we'd love for you to come. And I remember getting here, I'm sitting across from their apartment on the ocean, and I just feel it. I know it deep in my spirit that I'm called. Well, they that's Miami. I come to Miami. And um, through that, as I surrender, I move across the, you know, nation to come and be a part of this work, God begins to put my life together. And I think that was the step of obedience where I get to go into full-time ministry. And through that, you know, I was able to work with teenagers and with young adults and with women. I started a women's conference, and the conference was growing and growing and helping just change so many lives to where it was just a God thing where we finally had 700 women attending. So that's really, you know, hearing that little voice and recognizing that it was the voice of God, I see my life completely change.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

Wow. And um, how old were you then? Were you dating?

SPEAKER_02 23:37

So I'm I'm like early 20s. Yeah, yeah. I'm I I really uh I, you know, I had dated a little bit here and there, but um what's wild is that, you know, kind of committing myself to um to purity, I I didn't even kiss anyone until I was 22. Like that is wild. Didn't have really serious boyfriends. It was almost like I felt like God hid me away.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

So no red flags at that point just yet.

SPEAKER_02 24:06

No, no, not not at that point because I'm not really dating. There's no red flags. They they can they they come out a little later.

SPEAKER_00 24:13

But redemption.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

Yeah, 1000%. God's redeemed. I feel like my family story, some generational things that I I feel there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

Yeah. Um you we've talked earlier about um having a bit of a uh Joseph story. And then some parallels of that. Can you share a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_02 24:31

So when I do finally get into the dating scene, which comes a little a little bit after that, I begin to recognize that there is a pattern in my life. And of course I was very unaware and very guarded that I am was dating someone who I really felt like I fell in love with. And um, I saw this trend happen through, you know, throughout a couple different people that I dated, that I think I would call it a codependent relationship. And in the name of love, in the name of what I thought was love, I allowed myself to be mistreated. And I allowed them to diminish me as a person. And really horrible things were happening in that dating relationship where I allowed myself to be devalued and to really, I think if we allow ourselves to stay in things that are not good for us, that are toxic, it begins to diminish our mind. And it's not love, but we're calling it love and it's really abuse. And I think I realized at that point that there might be, there were definite red flags, but I really couldn't recognize them in a healthy way because my mind and my body weren't healthy because I had allowed myself to stay too long in something that wasn't good for me. So I, as I come out of that, that relationship, I realize that I've lost myself and I realize I'm a shell of the person that God created me to be. So it I have to be rebuilt. And I remember getting on my knees, not knowing how I would make it, and really feeling like I had nothing, I had no one, I lost my identity, recognizing I have these codependent. Um I think what can happen, Franco, is that we can repeat and find people like maybe our parents, the bad pieces of our parents, and you know, maybe the good, but we tend to find, you know, and date people that have some of those bad characteristics of our parents. Maybe it feels familiar, maybe it feels safe, but in fact, we exhibit things that aren't healthy, like the codependency. I realize through some therapy and some counseling that one of the therapists tells me, Christine, one problem with you is that you always see the glass as half full. And so you wake up and you see the rainbow and you see the hearts and the unicorns and you see all the good things, but you can't actually frame someone for what they are. And what you do is because you always see the good, you actually overlook what someone might really be. And you need to be very aware of that as you date people. So um, I know this. The struggle that I think I've experienced throughout my life that I've seen when we begin to rewrite our story and we begin to draw that line in the sand of I'm gonna live for you, God. I'm going to live a better story. I'm going to rewrite my legacy. I'm going to break every generational curse. I rebuke and bind every stronghold and every chain that's been on my family. I rebuke and bind the sexual sin. I rebuke and bind the alcoholic uh tendencies. I rebuke and bind the substance addiction. When we began to take a stand, I believe all hell is loosed on our life because the enemy is so angry because now I'm not just contending for myself, but I'm contending for every future generation. I'm contending for my children. So that is the that's what I see myself walking into is that the struggle continues. And I had this thought that, you know, the real epitome of our life, the real testimony of our life is not what God accomplished at the peak. When I had this 700-person women's conference, the real testimony of our life is who did I become through the fire? Who did I become through the trial? How did I handle what did motherhood look like to me when I didn't know how I would be the person I needed to be for my kids? I think that's the real testimony and strength of who we become.

SPEAKER_00 29:04

Oh, that's that's amazing. It sounds like God was redeeming you throughout. Um, can you double click a little bit about that one relationship where it seems like everything fell apart? Yeah. And it just seems like you were left to pick up the pieces.

SPEAKER_02 29:19

So I so I I I think when we are stuck with this, this heartbreak and this deep longing and loss, and it can, you know, deep loss can feel like actual grief and death, you know, really losing someone that we loved. Then you have to find your strength somewhere. And at the beginning, I remember telling everybody, I'm just reaching out to everybody. I'm seeking counsel, I'm seeking advice, I'm I'm just talking to everybody about it. And then I think I remember one day as I began to, I realize I'm further in the journey and I'm starting to heal, that I have this revelation that really I can only go to God. Who I really have that I can depend on every single second and minute and day of my life is my father, God. And that really changes who I am as a Christ follower when I realize that it just all has to be run through. It's me and my father, and we're doing this life together. And it's not really me depending on a best friend or on my girlfriends or on a dating relationship to find my strength or my identity.

SPEAKER_00 30:29

What did you do with uh with that loss? What did you do with that pain?

SPEAKER_02 30:32

Like I said, I got on my knees one day and I just said, God, I I I can't make it without you. I need you. I need you to be the breath in my lungs. I need you to be my everything. And during that time, a good friend introduced me to my current church. And she she said to me one day, she said, I really think God has something for you. And I, at that church, although I'd been serving Christ for decades now, I remember they really loved the word of God. And I began to really open up. I'd always prayed, but I think I'd never really dive deep into the word of God. And I began to dive deep into the word of God. And a good friend of mine, he says that when we read the word of God, the word of God reads us. And I think I've had a real love and knowledge. And I just began to say, God, let me understand your word as it pertains to my life. And it became the word said the Bible says that the word of God is living and active. And it became alive for me. So that was one part of my story. That other part was I navigated my healing season that I remember going to church and I cried for those first, I think, six months. You know, when you're sitting in church and you're like, this message was written for me. And I knew just God had put me there on purpose. I also desperately needed community because I had felt such loss. And I remember walking in and I began to serve. And the first time I served, we're we're at like team rally. And the people I serve with, they come around me, I'm pouring tears, and they just hug me. And it just felt like the beginning of family. Well, since that time, I can't even tell you like so many things that have happened that have been this huge part of that Joseph story where God redeems everything. He redeems the years that the locust has eaten. Um, to I have lived in this beautiful apartment for five years. It's an apartment that when I walked into it, Franco, I'm like, there's no way I can afford this place. My best friend found it. And I'm like, I don't even deserve to live here. But supernaturally, God has provided. I was able to buy a new car. My other car is falling apart. It's a an absolute piece of junk, and God opens that door. I have seen, I remember so something that had happened was I had a, and you know, I will vulnerably share this because I'm sure I'm not the only one that's experienced this, but I had a credit card I couldn't pay. And as a result, I that ended up getting turned over to like collections or something, but they end up being able to take it out of my account. They, they literally, I go into my account one day and this payment that was owed was taken out of my account and I had nothing in my account. And I just went to one of my best friends that I was teaching with and I'm crying, pouring out this story to her. And she she just prayed with me as I'm crying, and I'm like, I'm trying so hard. I'm trying to do the right things, I'm trying to provide for my kids, but why does this keep happening? And um, she prays for me, but she goes on Facebook and makes a post. And within 24 hours, I think she raised $2,000 or $3,000. And it just was the need that I had to buy the groceries and to pay the bills. And, you know, it took care of me, which I know was the hand of God. I remember one specific prayer, Franco, that I had was, God, I need friends. I need good friends. And I have met the very best friends, women of God, women of faith, um, successful women since that time. I remember going to church and I was actually all alone. I'm I've never had to walk into church alone. And I remember praying and saying, God, I am praying that I won't feel alone when I walk. And every single time God would bring somebody to me, some new friend, some It seems like you were doing a lot of healing throughout the process.

SPEAKER_00 34:48

And you had community, you had a new church.

SPEAKER_02 34:50

I think that community is so key to healing, healthy community. And I love something that my church says, or like we didn't we didn't strive to build a big church. We were striving to build a healthy church. And to me, it just felt like health, finding that community. Now I'm a part of uh what we call a crew, and that crew has actually become my family. And I really prayed to be a part of a co-ed crew because I felt like it was very healthy to be doing life with both women and men. And although I love my girlfriends, I think it's very healthy to have a co-ed community that's healthy. So that that really encouraged, you know, my spirit. But as I grow in this relationship with God, one prayer that I've constantly prayed is God, I want to live a life that's pressed down, shaken together, and running over with your presence, your faithfulness, and your provision. And some wild things begin to happen. I get interviewed to actually be a part of the last Super Bowl that was in Miami. And because I had had this conference, they saw me as a good prospect. I end up through, you know, we're all appointed. Some people are like welcome teams, some people are like in the common area, but I get appointed to actually drive the 49ers around on golf carts. I'm in the suite of the 49ers. And I just I think, you know, I can't make that stuff up. How did I end up there? Right?

SPEAKER_00 36:26

Did they win that Super Bowl too?

SPEAKER_01 36:28

They did not win the Super Bowl. They took they took the walk of shame. So we even got like trained on like, hey, you know, whoever wins, whoever loses, this is how you handle it. So it was very interesting.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Were there any any moments where you're like, hey, you know what, let me offer prayer for for such and such?

SPEAKER_02 36:46

I I there I got assigned to a specific guy who um I do feel like God set it up. Um he had some specific things that he needed to have catered to him in regards to his needs. And I definitely felt God had placed me in that suite to minister to him and to be with him. So it was it was very cool. It was definitely, definitely on purpose.

SPEAKER_00 37:09

Yeah, it sounds like you were getting a lot of favor at at that time. You've mentioned the story that I've gotten bits and pieces throughout about El Salvador.

SPEAKER_02 37:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:18

Like during this time. Can you share a bit about that?

SPEAKER_02 37:21

So I think our life with Christ is all about obedience. And I feel that little voice prompt me to go on a trip to El Salvador with one of my best friends and the church and her church. And so we go for 10 days to El Salvador. And during that time, of course, I wish I did, but I don't speak any Spanish. And I was able to actually share with all the women and minister to the women, and it was translated, and that was a really cool opportunity. But I also at the very end of the week, we have this prayer service. It's like the final service of the week. I really didn't interact with the pastor of that church because I don't, you know, we didn't speak the same language, but he comes over to me and begins to pray, but he calls for a for someone to translate it. And so a good friend of mine has pulled over to translate it. And as she's translating it, this guy is actually reading my entire story, the story of my life. He knows every single thing. He knows about my past. He knows about my healing process, he knows about my pain. And he says to me, God is going to redeem everything and he is going to fight for you. He's going to take care of you. You're going to be back in ministry. He's going to take care of your children. And God is, I had prayed this prayer, God bring a kind man to my life. And he says, and God is going to bring a kind man to your life. And I'm like, how did this guy know? So only God can take you to some other part of the world where someone that doesn't even speak the same language as you will give a prophetic word over you. And then I began to see this theme repeated where I'm at church one day and my prayer leader, she says, Christine, I'm giving a word that you're going to be a pillar at your church. Shortly after that, I have a dream. And in my dream, I'm praying and prophesying over my pastors. Um, so it lines up with the word that she's given. Another friend of mine, she says, I in the oh, this is around the time I launched the podcast. She's like, I see you get Christine. I have a dream, and you're giving birth to something. And then I go to a women's prayer breakfast, and this pastor, she's kind of a famous pastor. I don't know her. Again, she doesn't speak the same language as me. So another friend of mine interprets this, and she gives a word and she says, God is going to restore your ministry. And this thing that's been in your heart, this thing that you've desired, God is going to make it happen. So for me, it was unmerited favor. It was the, the, the everlasting love and the grace of God that I saw the provision, his provisional hand. He's an abundant God. And I saw that in my life during that time.

SPEAKER_00 40:04

During that time, did you have any desire to get back into ministry at all?

SPEAKER_02 40:07

I've always had a desire to get back into ministry. It is, it is absolutely the cry of my heart. I feel like God never revokes his calling. That calling that he placed on me when I was 14 is still the calling that I have. And I want to mention this. I go to a conference and I think I'm going for me, for my calling. And God actually gives me a vision, downloads vision as I'm at that conference for both of my children and their callings. So I felt like, you know, God, God spoke to me and gave me vision for their life and reminder of the promise that was over them. But yeah, through all these years, I've been like, God, you don't revoke your calling and it burns in me. I have this burning passion in me to be in ministry. And I think it was pretty recently that I kept waiting for man to appoint me. And God really whispered to me and he said, Christine, it is not man that appoint you. I, the living God, I have called you, I've chosen you, and I have appointed you. And you have a story and you have a testimony and you walk through the fire. And so that at that time, that's where God really like downloads in me. You can help people that have walked through trauma and you can help them to navigate it and to heal well. And then God tells me to call you and speaks to me. And I really feel like that voice that I was, and I would encourage anybody, you are not appointed my man. You are appointed by the living God.

SPEAKER_00 41:45

Amen. Yeah, God doesn't is not a respecter of men.

SPEAKER_02 41:48

Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 41:49

Also, it sounds throughout those years there was an oil being produced like through the crushing. That was that was happened. So now you have an authority that you can speak to. Thank you, Jesus. And and and as you minister to the women that you talk to, or the people at your church, or or even just to your listeners, there's a there's uh uh an authority, but also just uh the gravity of the words that you've lived through. Yeah, and because you can't really speak about um in depth about something you haven't really lived through. Yeah, yeah, and uh and people understand that, people feel that, and there's the Holy Spirit uh definitely speaks through that as well. Yeah, and so that's really cool. Um that you're you're that's happening in your life from 12 to college to a uh broken relationship to like restoring back the back the years and you know back to the Joel the Joel scripture and back to the Joseph and story of redemption with for you and your family. Now you're getting words for your children. Amen. So what's happening now? And you've launched this thing.

SPEAKER_02 42:54

Something that you touched on, Franco, was you said, I know you, and I see that through the crushing, this oil is produced, but it's actually an additional anointing that God's poured out on you. And I I didn't realize this, but one day my boss calls me in and says, Hey, let's have some tea. He said, You know, Christine, the thing about you, when you enter the room, you own the room. Now, I've never thought that about myself. But uh, then one of my best friends, she said, the thing that I loved about you, Christine, is the confidence that you carry. And I think that that confidence, which is God, it's absolutely the authority of God, which you mentioned, it can be intimidating to people. And what at times in my life I've seen is that because people are intimidated by that when we're not secure in our full identity being in Christ, we can be threatened by what's on somebody else. No, it's the living God. Me and through me, and none of it's me. But at times I face rejection from man, um, specifically oftentimes with women, because I think that confidence that you walk in. And all I would say is that if you're somebody who finds yourself where you do own the room and you walk in that confidence, then you better own the room and you better walk in that confidence because God has poured out an anointing on you. And that anointing, it came at a cost, but it was meant for a reason. And it was meant that God would be honored and he would be glorified through your life as you are obedient and you work in that anointing and um allow God to pour his fire through you, you know. So don't ever be ashamed of that, that authority that you walk in. Um, but during this time, actually, God's still doing and I am teaching and I realize that teaching is not a retirement plan. And God again begins to stir in me and tell me that it's time to step out and to take a step of faith. And I didn't know what it looked like, but one day I go to church and I tell a friend of mine, I say, I think I need to go corporate. I need to climb the ladder. That's what I say. I don't even say corporate. I say I need to climb the ladder. I have no idea what that means. I've just heard that statement. But I want to go somewhere where I can grow and all my hard work will pay off. And I just said, and she says, My husband loves his job. Fill out your resume, send it in. Um, and let's see. And so, four interviews later, I tell God it's the only resume I put out. God, if you open this door, I'm gonna walk through it. And I just can tell you again, God did a miracle and he provided me. He definitely put me there on purpose.

SPEAKER_00 45:46

So we live in a city where people are out to get their glory, but you are out to give him the glory. Yeah. And so I just want to acknowledge that. And uh yeah, thank you for all the investing that you're doing in women, but also just in your ministry as well.

SPEAKER_02 46:01

Yeah, um, I just want all of my life to be for him. I think that's been my life anthem. And there's a scripture that I want to share, and it says, You, Lord, are all I want. You are my choice and you keep me safe. You make my life pleasant and my future is bright. I praise you, Lord, for being my guide. Even in the darkest night, your teachings fill my mind. I will always look to you as you stand beside me and protect me from fear. With all my heart, I will celebrate and I can safely rest. I am your chosen one. You won't leave me in the grave or let my body decay. You have shown me the path to life, and you make me glad by being near to me. Sitting at your right side, I will always be joyful. Psalms 16, 5, 11, C E V.

SPEAKER_00 46:52

So good. I am your chosen one. Come on. Amen. Here is my scripture. It is Isaiah 43, 1 and 2, the NLT. It says, Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up. The flames will not consume you, for I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. So good.

SPEAKER_02 47:24

Amen. Amen. He has ransomed us. And um Franco, thank you so much for sharing. Thank you for being here. Uh I am so thankful that God brought our past together supernaturally. And I'm thankful and excited to see where this work goes with the podcast studio.

SPEAKER_00 47:43

Absolutely. Thank you for being obedient and saying yes.

SPEAKER_02 47:46

Of course. And so I would love to end today's episode with a prayer. And so let's pray. Father God, Lord, we thank you that you have ransomed us. God, that you have called us by name. Jesus, you deserve all the honor, the glory, the praise because you are so good. God, you never left our side. In fact, God, through the trials, through the test, through the pressure, God, you are producing an oil of anointing that is flowing out of us. God, through the crushing, you're making us a better version than we could have ever become on our own. So, God, we say, take us, Lord, mold us, recreate us, transform us. God, by the renewing of our mind, let us no longer follow the patterns of the past or of this world. God, we surrender every heartache, every heartbreak, every loss to you. God, you will write a better story than we ever could. God, you will redeem the years. God, for those that are dealing with generational cycles and generational patterns, we rebuke and bind them in the name of Jesus. God, I pray that you would set the captives free. I pray that you would break every chain. You are so good and you are so faithful. And God, you will heal every heart. Thank you, God, for the story that you're writing. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen. If this conversation resonated with you, it would mean so much to us if you would subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts. This has been Red Flags in Redemption.