God in My Story: Kayla Bates

A testimony from Kayla Bates.

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:03

Welcome to the Life Church Podcast, a place where the Word of God comes alive through scripture teaching and real stories of faith. Each episode, we dive deep into the Bible and share what God is doing in and through Life Church Windsboro. And we're going to hear powerful testimonies from people walking daily with Jesus. Whether you're seeking spiritual growth, encouragement, or a closer relationship with Christ, you're in the right place. No matter where you are on your journey, our prayer is that this podcast feeds your soul, strengthens your walk with Christ, and draws you closer to the heart of God. Let's get started.

SPEAKER_02 0:43

Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Jamie Foster, and today I'm your host as we sit down with Kayla Bates for another episode in our series of God and my story. And I am really looking forward to today's conversation. Kayla and I met about 16 years ago, if you can imagine it, when our daughters were in the same preschool class. And since then, it has been such a gift for our families to do life together. Raising kids, church, ministry. And I know I'm not alone insane or thinking this, but Kayla, you bring so much joy wherever you go. And every time we get to sit down together and talk, there's always a lot of laughter. That's the one thing that, like, if I stop and think about being spending time with you, it's the laughter. So since ministry has been a part of your life from the very beginning, with your parents being pastors, you married a pastor, let's start here. What's a funny moment from ministry life that you can share, that you want to share, that stands out for you? Because I know ministry is serious, and there are lots of heavy, serious moments in ministry, but I also know that there are some moments of laughter.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

So not to put you on the spot, but if we uh that oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

Well, first of all, let me just say I'm so grateful to do this, and I have enjoyed this podcast so much, and um, so I was honored to be asked to be a part of it, and and you're right, we have done life together for a long time, and um so I love you and Jason so much, and I appreciate this in your heart for this as part of the ministry of life church, but um yeah, what a joy. Um oh gosh, okay, a funny moment in ministry. Oh my goodness. Well, ministry is full of lots of different moments. Sunny, emotional, happy, sad, joyful, all of the things. Um, one of the things that just first popped in my mind, you know, I help our praise team lead worship, and one of my biggest fears is tripping on stage during a worship service. And thankfully it hasn't happened fully yet, but there was one time where it almost happened, and I mean, almost, almost, to where like whatever spirit was felt in the church at that moment just went out the door. I'm talking about tripping over the monitor and the like the arms go swinging and then trying to catch myself. That happened one time, and uh, so yeah, that was a pretty funny ministry.

SPEAKER_02 3:21

Very much identified with that, and that's such a fun place to start, and it gives us a behind-the-scenes glance into the world that you grew up in. Um, you love the church from a very young age. Yes. What was it like growing up in ministry?

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Oh gosh, I am so very blessed and so fortunate to have had the upbringing that I've had. And and yes, I was um born in Tyler, Texas. I'm a Texas girl. Um I have two amazing godly parents who raised my sister and I. I have one sister, and um, they raised us in the of the love of the Lord, but not only the Lord, but his church. So I have developed a love for the local church from an early age. And um, you know, by no stretch of the imagination was our our my childhood perfect, but I feel very blessed and very fortunate to um to have had this type of life where my parents led from um a place of faith and foremost um and family, and they led our home just as much as they did behind the pulpit. They what you saw at the church is what you saw at home. So I'm very grateful for both of my parents. Um, like I said, I developed a love for the church at an early age, and that stems from things like I can just remember my dad. Um, every morning he would wake my sister and I up for school, and you know, I didn't really care what I looked like or anything going to school, so I would just throw some clothes on and and I would a lot of times sneak over. We lived behind the church, our parsonage was behind the church, and so I would sneak over, and I remember vividly watching and hearing my dad walk around our sanctuary, he kind of knew where people sat and he would pray, and he still does this to this day. And he would call their names in prayer and pray for a revival and pray for the Lord just to bless the families in our church. And I remember we had a a nursery window in the back of our sanctuary, and I would sneak in the nursery and pull up a chair because it was kind of high, and I would stand on the on the chair and just watch my dad pray and cry and just just I mean, like he did that every morning and still does. And so that things like that, like that's the foundation um that I had. Um, I would help my mom and my granny scrub toilets, you know, throughout the week, getting ready for Sunday. I would help make copies for the Sunday school teachers. I would, um, our vacations were a lot of times centered around revival meetings that my dad would schedule and we would, you know, go snow tubing during the day and then have revival church at night, you know, that kind of thing. Um, we always had people over for supper and just ministry was my life. It just was. And um, I'm grateful for that. I I remember um at the age of 11 just being aware of the presence of the Lord in my life, and that that one particular night, I was 11, like I said, and um the Lord just woke me up, I feel like, in the middle of the night, and you know, my 11 little wretched heart and all the things that I was having to go through, you know, in life. But no, I I would I recognize his presence and um I got my little notebook out and started writing a little song, and I woke my mom and dad up. I was like, the Lord just let me write a song and I need to sing it to you, you know, at like three o'clock in the morning or whatever it was. And I I remember my mom saying, Well, Kayla, I'm so you know, I'm so glad you, you know, and I love this, and remember how it goes. And in the morning you can sing it to us, you know. In other words, go back to bed. We're sleepy. But um, but yeah, this was my life. Um, the funny thing is, my mom tells me she led me to the Lord at the age of four, and I, you know, kind of repeated the prayer and asked Jesus to come into my heart. I actually don't remember doing that. So I joke and say, like, I don't even know if I'm saved or not, you know, like does it count if you don't remember? I just never remember not having a love for Jesus and a love for his church and a love for ministry from an early, early age.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

That's fantastic. Um so as much as ministry was familiar to you, there also came a point when your faith became deeply personal. Um there was a moment in high school that really deepened your faith.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

Yes, I will say that well, first of all, when I was 13, I had I had an encounter with the Lord um that moved me and kind of shaped my life. Um I was I was seeking and I sought a real um infilling of his spirit. And that happened when I was 13, and that kind of marked me and like put my put my it just catapulted my faith in a way that um I had seen in others, but hadn't yet experienced it for myself. And I was 13 when that happened, and again, all of this to say there were times where I definitely made mistakes. My life was not perfect. I said things I shouldn't have said, I did things I shouldn't have, you know, all the things, but at the end of the day, like that foundation of faith that I had, um when life did happen, I knew where to go. I knew that the hardships that I would ever face in life, I wasn't shaken. Um, I knew basically the rock on which I stand, you know? And so, yes, in high school, I was 17. Um, this was the summer before my senior year in high school. And I was very active, played sports, I cheered, I did all the things, um, getting ready for my senior year, so excited. And then all of a sudden I started experiencing some major pain in my leg and in my knee. And, you know, I'm a pretty tough cookie. I don't I have a high pain tolerance usually, but this pain would just make me cry. And I would just cry. I couldn't hardly at times put weight on my leg, it just hurt so bad. So, to make a long story short, my mom took me to the clinic and you know, what we thought was maybe like a pulled muscle or something, she um insisted that I get an x-ray, and the doctor was like, No, Miss Bachelor, um, I think you're right. It's just a pulled muscle, and basically take some medicine and it'll get better in a few days. Well, my mom, being Mama Bear, you know, she was like she should. Yes. And she was like, Well, just to make us feel better, you know, can you please just take an x-ray just for the heck of it? Let's just take an x-ray, and he reluctantly did. And so I will never forget. He came in his office and he said, Well, I am scheduling an MRI right now, and I need you to leave here and go straight to the hospital. There are some things on her x-ray that I'm concerned with, and so yeah, I'll never forget he put the the x-rays on the um the light, and I didn't know what I was looking at, but in my bone, in my femur bone, were three large holes in my bone. And so, again, we didn't know uh anything, and so I we had the um MRI with contrast, and my mom said she was in the room and she said it lit up like a Christmas tree. So basically they discovered three bone tumors in my right femur, and the largest one was up like in my hip. And he said, the doctor told me, like, sweetheart, if you were to walk another week or a few days on your leg, it would your hip would shatter, and then we'd be looking at a hip replacement at the age of 17. But thankfully that did not happen, thank God. But anyway, long story short, that oh, and the other thing, they did not know if this was benign or malignant, and they wouldn't know until they went in during surgery. And so um at that time we were told that three doctors in the whole United States, one in Denver, one in New York, and one in Dallas. And we lived two hours from Dallas, so thankfully that worked out great too. Um, so I had my surgery, like nine hours, all the rods, the plates, the screws, the donor bone that they had to pack. But in the middle of the surgery, they did the biopsies and all the prayer, all of the fasting, all of the um the calling out to God, like Lord, because we didn't know, we had been prepared for the worst. Like these tumors, as aggressive as they were, like I was on the oncology floor of the hospital, like it was all pointing into the like this is the road you're gonna have to navigate after this is over. And um, but thank God they were benign, and so I didn't have to go down that road. And so, but saying all that, I spent my senior year in a wheelchair, you know, and then graduated to a like it was humbling to say the least. It's a lot of work, it's a lot of work and therapies and all of that, and just um like why me, Lord, you know, and and I know that there are people who deal with a lot of hard things, but that was one of the hard things in my life that was very real to me. And it was the a portion of my life that was very um, I had to rely on the Lord for a lot of of my emotional feelings that I was feeling, like why me, you know, like pity party, that kind of thing. But um, but the Lord saw me through that, and I'm actually grateful that I had to go through that experience because, like I said, that that um experience that I had to go through was something that just helped me rely more on the Lord and lean on the faith that I had as my foundation. Um, so yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:27

So from there, your story continued to unfold in ways you probably never expected. After high school, life seemed to be taking a certain shape with work, college, family, and then at 20, something unexpected happened. Oh, yes. What was it like when God led you at that point in a very unexpected direction?

SPEAKER_00 13:47

Absolutely. So, yes, at 20 years old, I'm doing my thing. I'm working. Um, at that point, I was at an insurance office, I was in college, was taking education courses. I was hoping to be an elementary school teacher. Um, and our church at that time had an annual conference. And my dad had met Kevin a few months before our conference in Dallas at another conference. And I do remember him coming back home saying, I just met the most incredible young man. He spoke at our conference and blah, blah, blah, you know. And um, that meant nothing to me at the time. He was just talking about how how um he had met Kevin and uh he had invited Kevin to our annual conference. And I say conference very kind of loosely, it was camp meeting. Okay, we had full-blown it's not fancy talking. No, right. It was camp meeting. And if you know anything about camp meeting, it's like we had church, you know, and this is a big deal. This is a big deal. And so Kevin, I can't believe he actually came, but he's a man of his word, and he had told my dad, yeah, I'd like to come to that when my dad invited him. So anyway, uh, I'll never forget June of 04, June the 8th. I'm up leading worship, and Kevin is fashionably late, and he walks in, and I remember seeing him. He had lots of curly brown hair, if you can believe that or not. And I was like, Okay, like who is this handsome guy, you know? And uh, long story short, he invited me out to go eat after church. And if you would believe this or not, two weeks later I moved to Louisiana, and four months later, like four months to the day on October the 8th, we got married. And um, isn't that crazy? Like, if my if my child were to ever do that, say, hey, I'm getting married, just guy, just man, I'm like over my dead body.

SPEAKER_02 15:41

Everything sounds very different when you put it in context to your kids versus when you were that age.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Exactly. But yeah, I quit my school, I quit my job, I moved, um, and in four months we got married, and it was just it was just crazy. But looking back, I know that the Lord had orchestrated and planned all of that, and it had to happen that way. Um, so yeah, I became at 21, I became Kevin's wife. I became the pastor's wife of Life Church because he had planted our church two years prior before us meeting um as a single man. But we, you know, at that time we didn't have anything. We didn't have any money, we didn't have a house, we had nothing, but we were living on love. We're not living on love, honey. Um, and I had sworn that growing up in my, you know, the pastor's home, I'd sworn that I would never marry a preacher, did not want any part of it. I wanted to famous last words. Exactly. They say God has a sense of humor, and I believe he does, but yeah, I just wanted to go to church like normal people and and sing in the choir, maybe, and maybe teach a Sunday school class, but yeah, never wanted to marry the guy, you know. But um that time looking back was so very special. And our church at the time, I would say 30 people at the most. And looking back, I'm like, that was the most special time. I cherished those memories. I will never forget um Miss Connie Thomas, who is now with Jesus. She was there, and I remember the first Sunday that I came to Life Church. She came up to me and she introduced herself. Hey Kayla, I'm Connie. And she said, We've been praying for you. Like they had been praying for the Lord to send Kevin um a helpmate and and a wife that would fit in. And and so she was like, We've been praying for, and that just made me feel so that everybody just welcomed me with open arms and love, and nobody really put any pressure on me to be somebody that I wasn't or perform. Yeah, Kevin. I remember him telling me, look, you're the pastor's wife, but you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. You can sit there and and you don't have to do anything if you don't want to. So I I appreciate that aspect. Like they didn't pressure me. I I felt no, but I put it on myself. There was a little part of me who um the reality kind of set in after I had been here. I'm like, okay, I'm a wife now, I'm a pastor's wife. Like, oh my goodness. Um, I don't know anybody in our community. I don't have a job anymore. I just put a lot of pressure on myself because my life had just changed very quickly.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

Um and those were titles that those are big things you look at that have some major definitions to them.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

Absolutely. It just my life just turned upside down in a good way, but very quickly.

SPEAKER_02 18:40

And almost 100%.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I kind of lost to I was, so to speak. Um, but never feeling ungrateful or never feeling like I wasn't where I was supposed to be or where God didn't place me, but just different. I mean, I live in a I had no family, I miss my family, just things like that. And um, I just put a lot of pressure on myself to perform and and do like I wanted to be the best pastor's wife I could be. But you know, the the truth is I'm not a big speaker. I'm not one to, you know, uh there's just things that I admired in other pastors' wives that I wanted to do, wanted to be, that I just I just wasn't. It wasn't it wasn't me. Um, but I'm grateful that I felt always felt welcomed and loved with who I was, and um they saw that. So I eventually developed a love for this community, this town, and I, you know, I made friends and um yeah, the rest was history.

SPEAKER_02 19:42

And those honestly, those kind of transitions can bring about a lot of emotions, insecurities, and so comparison can be an easy trap to fall into. Um, how have you learned to walk through that, that lie of comparison in your own life?

SPEAKER_00 19:59

Oh yeah, so uh Jamie, this has been one of the biggest struggles, I would say, mentally, that I've had to kind of overcome and rely on the Lord to help me through because you know they say comparison is a thief of joy, and I really truly believe that because it's a lie, it's a lie from the enemy. And for me, it started at an early age. Like I said, I had I have one sister, and if you know my sister, you know, like she is absolutely the most loving and kind and giving. She's one of the best moms I know. And as a matter of fact, my sister and her husband are now pastoring the church that we grew up in when my mom and dad resigned um to be evangelist. My sister and her husband um took over as lead pastors, so she's an amazing pastor's wife. Like I, we are complete opposites in every way. I was the wild child, she was the angel, so to speak. She never got me.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

She might not agree with that comparison, but I can appreciate it. But from your perspective, that's we are complete opposite.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

I'm telling you, like, she never got stankins. I was like, that's a story. I got all the womans. Okay, let's just be real. But um, but early on, I started comparing myself to her. I I'm three years younger. I wanted to be like her. Uh she had all the friends, she had all the brains, she was smart, valedictorian, misses high school, misses, she was beautiful, everybody just loved like I wanted to be like my sister. Well, that toxic trait did not stop in at that time, it continued in adulthood. So now, after, especially after g getting married, I find myself um wanting to be like other wives and how they loved their husbands. And like I wasn't a good enough wife to Kevin because I didn't, you know, mop my floor every day. You know what I mean? Or I didn't um or I wanted to be. Like I said a while ago, the best pastor's wife I could be. I compared myself to other pastors' wives. I compared myself to other wives. And then I didn't mention this, but we have two children. Bliss um is 19, was born in 07, and then six years later, become uh here comes my my Boston, and he is just turned 13, actually, our son Boston. It's so hard to imagine. No. He's 13. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:27

I remember him being born. It doesn't seem like it should be a teenager.

SPEAKER_00 22:30

Yes. I remember, Jamie, a little side note. I remember because Boston is on the autism spectrum. And that was my point. Um I still struggle to this day just comparing myself to other moms' special needs, like how they're handling situations. And sometimes I just think I'm hanging on by a thread and barely keeping it together, you know. But I remember you and I sitting at my kitchen table years ago when we got Boston's diagnosis, and you were such a great friend to me at that time because you know, we felt like our world was crashing in, just learning of this diagnosis. And I was clueless. Like I didn't know, I didn't know anybody with autism at the time. I didn't, um, I just I wondered how am I how are we going to navigate this road? We have we know nothing about it, like nothing. And so it just shook me to my core. So yes, the live comparison, comparing myself to other to other women who I admired, but like coveting and wanting to be like them. And it does, it steals your joy. It steals your joy. But um, but yeah, this road of autism, that could be a whole nother podcast all on its own, all on its own. But I just I did want to mention that how great of a friend you were at that time. I do remember that conversation. I remember, yes, I remember, and you were just so sweet and so kind to me. And anyway, we were just clueless and scared to death. To be honest.

SPEAKER_02 23:55

That defines most of parenthood, though. Yeah. Whatever the challenges bring, not to diminish the challenges that y'all have taken on.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

But yes, it's true. But at the end of the day, looking back, the Lord has so graciously given us every ounce of energy, every ounce of patience, every ounce of um resources. The the pe sends people in our lives who have walked this road and just in everyday conversation. There have been people that I've met just um, I have a story to tell, if that's okay.

SPEAKER_02 24:28

No, please, if I yes.

SPEAKER_00 24:30

So this is a this is a testament of how God sees us where we are, he cares about what we care about. Um several years ago, we were in the middle of a lot of therapy with Boston, and we lived like an hour away from Monroe. So I would have, I was having to take him to Monroe like three or four days a week for his therapies. And so I would drop him off, and then we there was an hour or an hour and a half, and I would just go find somewhere to be, like either in my car or at this particular day. Well, this week was just a hard week. Boston had, I think he had broken two of our televisions. Oh, he had just had meltdown after meltdown after meltdown, and it was just one of those hard weeks, you know. Some weeks are better than others, but this one was a hard one. And um, so I dropped him off at therapy that particular day, and I went to the Books A Million bookstore. I wanted to get a coffee and just sit there and clear my mind for a minute. But while I was in there, I was um praying and I was like, Lord, honestly, just pour my heart out. You got the wrong girl. You just I can't do this. I just wallowing in my pity party, you know, like you've got I need help. I need your wisdom, I need your guidance, I need, I need your strength. I just need you, God. It was one of those desperation prayers, you know, and sometimes we get there in life where we're just desperate for God to move and show up. And so um it was time for me to get him. I go to the restroom, and then I'm walking out of Book Semeleon on this random Tuesday or whatever it is. Well, as I'm walking out of Book Semeleon, this elderly uh black gentleman is walking in the same door, and so I wait and I let him come in. So now the two of us are standing kind of by the door in the little lobby area. And um, he looks at me as soon as he sees me, so kind, his eyes were just so kind, and he says, Excuse me, ma'am. He says, Um, can I ask you a question? I said, sure. And he says, Are you a teacher? And I said, No, sir. I said, I'm not a teacher. And he says, Well, can I ask you another question? I said, Well, sure. He says, Do you work with special needs kids? And I said, Well, as a matter of fact, every day. And I told him, I said, our son has autism, and and yes, I work with him every day. And this man, this elderly old, gray-headed black gentleman, looks at me and he says, You're why I came in here today. He said, I was going into Walmart next door, and he said, The Lord, he's and then he was like kind of apologetic. Like, I don't know if you believe this kind of stuff or not. But he said, I was going into Walmart. He said, But the Lord made me turn around and come here to book some million. He said, And I think I'm in here for you today.

SPEAKER_02 27:37

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 27:38

And I said, Okay, he said, I just want to let you know that you have everything that you need to be your son's mom. And for the next what, five, ten minutes, I don't know, this old black man let me cry on his shoulder. Oh, wow. And he hugged me and he prayed with me. Like it was the it, I still today I'm like, Lord, you sent an angel to me because I had just prayed this prayer. Like, God, I need help. Like I need, I need you. I need, I need you, period. And this man just hugged me and was so kind and manifestation of everything that I'm telling you. I'm telling you, and if you can't believe that God does not see you and hear you and knows where you are and can meet you where you are exactly, and especially after something like that, then your your feelers broken. That's all I got to say. But yes, that instance alone, I think about it all of the time. That man was sent by God to me to minister and just to let me know. I see you. God, he sees me, and he sees you too, whoever's listening.

SPEAKER_02 28:53

No, uh, yeah, that's that that's a profound. And I think sometimes it's when we we forget to ask because we want to be so self-sufficient.

SPEAKER_00 29:02

Uh yeah, that's so true.

SPEAKER_02 29:03

And and it's a moments that we do actually get to the point where we do hit that moment of just desperation and actually ask, and I think he's more than happy.

SPEAKER_00 29:12

Oh, uh yes, that's what he's there for. Yeah, his shoulders are so big, like he can handle it, whatever our issues and problems are. Like the love that he has for us, and the older I get, the more I recognize um the love that our father has for us. And um, it's just it's amazing. It is, it's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 29:35

Um so not to pivot too far from that, but um, I know worship has played a special role in your life. Um, so let's talk about that for a minute. You are passionate about worship. Where did that passion come from?

SPEAKER_00 29:49

Oh gosh, so this is a whole nother podcast, too. No, long story short, when I was 13, our assistant pastor's wife, Alicia Henson, who I adore to this day, she's one of my mentors in life. Um, she invited me to go with her to Beaumont, Texas, to a conference that she um was going to. And so we went and it was called Fresh Fire Conference. And so growing up, we sang worship out of the hymn book, like I'll fly away and glory, glory, hallelujah, and we shall see the king and all those amazing hymns. And I love hymns, don't get me wrong, I love them. But a lot of those songs that we sang were about in the sweet by-and-bye, like one of these days, everybody will be happy over there, you know. Well, this conference, it was in this arena type place, and I noticed two things. I noticed that number one, the way these people were worshiping, like just expressing themselves, like they were worshiping and going after God with all they had, you know. And I'm like, oh, because in our church, I mean, we worshiped and we shouted and we did all the things that we just, you know, just I'll fly away and clapping, you know. But these people were like going after. And I was like, oh wow. But the second thing I noticed was the songs that they were singing were more um, I think the word is vertical. It's like it was from our heart straight to the Lord's ears. Like, like, God, I magnify you, I love you. There's no one like you, Lord. You are my everything, all of that. And and that impacted me. And I recognized that. Like, so I kind of made a vow to the Lord and to myself, like, I want to worship like these people are worshiping. I want to give God all that he deserves, and this is the way I'm gonna worship. And so again, I'm not perfect by any means, but I just developed a passion for I watch the lyrics that we're singing. Um, I don't ever want to sing a song that doesn't obviously align with the truth and his word, but I watch the lyrics and and they mean something to me. If I'm singing a song like you're worthy of my highest praise, I'm gonna show him, I'm gonna tell him, Lord, Lord, you're worthy, and I'm gonna show you that you're worthy. Um, and all throughout the book of Psalms, I've learned and I've studied, like we're as believers and as worshipers, as we're supposed to, there are things in worship that he likes. He loves it when we bow our knee, he loves it when we lift our hands in adoration, he loves it when we sing and clap and and have joy in his presence. And you know, there are moments of reverence, absolutely, but yes, I love I love worship. I love um to let the Lord know how much I love him. I'm sorry, I'm not good with words, Jamie, but now you are I'm passionate about worship and always have been. I love that.

SPEAKER_02 32:48

Yeah, I love that, and that is something that definitely stood out to me from the very beginning of us coming here and the the the difference of being able to come and um all the parts of church are important. Oh but the refreshing of coming and doing doing and having a corporate worship that has that type of energy and focus, and that is spirit-led was it is it's transformational and it's recharging.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

It's it is and it and we can see that the presence of the Lord changes things, and yeah, what our worship, it can create an atmosphere. I mean, I don't put anything past the Lord. He can speak whether you're at home in your pajamas, or he can speak in the car and he can meet you there, but as a whole, like our corporate worship, you know, where two or three are gathered in his name, you know, he meet it's like it changes the atmosphere and you can feel it. Like you can feel it.

SPEAKER_02 33:44

Yeah, the yes, the makes it's one of those things that uh as a group we all come together and actively participate in. For sure. So as um, as we look at all the ways that God has been faithful in your life, um, it I think it also connects so beautifully to the way you've come to see your own story. Um, at one point you wrestled with whether you really had a testimony or testimony worth talking about. Um, what helped change your perspective on that?

SPEAKER_00 34:12

Well, well, actually, it was a conversation I had with my mom years ago because she was getting ready for a um a conference that she was speaking at and some talking about testimonies and things. And I just made the comment and I said to her, I don't I don't really have a testimony. And she was like, Kayla Faye, you absolutely have a testimony. Middle neck for real. Kayla Faye, like you absolutely have a testimony. And it through that conversation, it kind of opened my eyes. And you know, I love stories of what I call radical salvations, where the Lord in his long arm of grace and mercy just picks people out of a pit of anxiety and depression and drugs or whatever it is, a lifestyle that's not pleasing to him, and like literally picks them up and just turns their life around and sets their feet on a solid rock. I love stories like that. Well, that's not my story. I was born and raised in this thing. I don't remember, like I said, a time not being a person who loves the Lord and loves ministry. And so I felt like I didn't have anything worthy of offering. But honestly, I think the Lord, He maybe He knows my personality and knows like I couldn't have handled the last of hardships. Um, but like so my encouragement would be to anyone struggling with the idea of well, of anything really, the encouragement would be like you don't have to go astray. You don't have to make bad choices, your kids don't have to go astray from the Lord. If they do, they have a foundation. But you don't have to live a life of trouble and heartache. It's like I'm grateful that my parents, years ago, before I was born, just made up in their mind, as for me and my house, we're gonna serve the Lord. So I would just say, just keep living for the Lord. Live for God wholeheartedly, love him with all of your heart, get to know him, get to know his word, stay faithful, stay connected, find your people. In everything that you do, like go all in, keep your children in church. But Jesus says we're gonna have trouble, like we will. It's a part of life. Sometimes life just is hard and it slaps us in the face. And thank the Lord that he offers us his Holy Spirit and living in us. If you're a believer, you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you and rely on him. He is that's rely on him. He is our guide and he's our comforter, and he he gives us strength and everything that we need, we find in him. So just keep going. And a little, a little side road here. If you are listening to this, and if you have any part of children's ministry and Sunday school, you need to know that your work is not in vain. Like you are absolutely making a difference. You may not feel like it, but all of these little Daniel and the Lions Den and Noah and the Ark, all of these little Bible stories, like those are laying a foundation of faith that whenever kids get older, even as adults, I can remember Mr. Kevin Claikley teaching me in Sunday school. You know what I mean? Like you're making a difference. I just wanted to say that. Don't think that the work that you do is not noticed and appreciated, but you are making a difference. Such a good point. People will fail us, systems will fail us, but God never will fail us.

SPEAKER_02 38:03

That is so true. So, as we begin to wrap up, I want to end with the question posed by Psalm 116, 12. What shall I return to the Lord for all of his goodness to me? So, Kayla, how would you answer that today?

SPEAKER_00 38:17

And I am wrapping this up, and it's gonna be real quick, I promise.

SPEAKER_02 38:20

It doesn't speak, speak at all too much.

SPEAKER_00 38:23

Well, this is actually, I don't take credit for this because I heard my dad preach this several years ago and it was so good. Right, right. Um, I give all glory and honor to the Lord and to my dad. Um so he he preached this message, and I was jotting it down in my notes section, and it kind of sums up how I feel and how I desire to live my life. But yes, Psalms 116 and 12, and basically says, What shall I return? Or one version says, What shall I render to the Lord for all of his goodness to me? And throughout this chapter, there's four things that it talks about. Number one, it says, I'm going to accept the cup of salvation. In other words, I'm gonna say yes to Jesus. I'm gonna go all in. I am not gonna teeter-totter, I'm not gonna have one foot in and one foot out. It's the only way to live, in my opinion. It is. I'm gonna say yes to Jesus, I'm gonna drink the cup of salvation. Number two, it says, I'm gonna walk before the Lord daily. So, what shall I give back to the Lord because he's been so good? I'm just gonna make up in my mind that no matter what, I'm gonna keep going, I'm not gonna stop, I'm not gonna back up. Like when my feet hit the floor in the morning, my mind is going to be on him. I want to honor him and trust him and serve him. And I'm not gonna be persuaded that I can be moved. Like when life happens and it will, like we said a while ago, I'm gonna look up, I'm gonna know that help is coming, I'm gonna know that my redemption draws near. He's here. So I'm gonna accept his salvation, I'm gonna walk with him daily. The third thing it talks about is I'm gonna pay my vows and give thanks offerings. So I recognize his goodness. Like the song says, I've seen his faithfulness, I've witnessed his faithfulness in my life. So, because of that, I'm gonna pay my vows to the Lord and I'm gonna keep them. Like, Lord, you've kept me, you've saved me, you've reached down and rescued me. You know your story. Everybody knows what the Lord has done for you in your life, but I'm gonna above all else live with a heart of gratitude and pay my thanks offerings. I'm not gonna complain, I'm gonna be grateful each and every day in all things. And the last thing it says, I'm going to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving in the courts. So to me, that means worship. I'm going to worship. The Bible says, I was glad when they said to me, Let's go into the house of the Lord. And I said while ago, the Lord can meet us anywhere we are, in our living room, in our car, in our bed, wherever we are. When we call on him, he is there. But there's something about going into the house of the Lord. There's something about coming to church. We may not always feel like it over the last 20-something years of being at live church. Every Sunday, I've not actually felt like coming. Me and Kevin could have gotten an argument, my kids could have been whatever it is. Let's just keep it, it happens. Of course. But 100% of the time, I've never come and left the same way. Yes. That I came. Like never. He all when you get into the presence of the Lord, it he changes everything and he puts things into perspective. Um, anyway, I just feel joyful inside. And the Bible calls it zeal. I have a zeal for the Lord. Um, anyway, I can't wait to get in his presence. I'm gonna worship, I'm gonna be glad, I'm gonna rejoice, I'm gonna receive, and I'm gonna be with my church family. So, what shall I give back to the Lord for his goodness in my life? I'm gonna drink the cup of salvation, I'm gonna walk with him daily. I'm going to keep my vows and I'm going to worship him because I have seen his benefits over and over and over. And I'm just so grateful.

SPEAKER_02 42:40

Amen. That's awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you to your dad. I agree. That's that is a message we're taking. I'll tell him.

SPEAKER_00 42:46

I'll tell him.

SPEAKER_02 42:47

Um, thank you so much for this. This is exactly the gift and the blessing I thought it was going to be. And I know it's going to be a blessing to our listeners as well. I hope so. So, um, would you mind closing us in prayer?

SPEAKER_00 43:02

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Dear Lord, how grateful I am for you, Lord. I'm grateful for your presence even in this room as we record this. I have felt you, Jesus. I thank you, Lord, for each and every person that is listening here today. Lord, you know all things. You go beyond the sound waves. You go, you know every heart, you know every circumstance. And should there be one person who is dealing with a crisis or or something in their life that they don't know where to go to or they don't know where to turn, God, I ask that you would be with them. Give them strength, open their eyes to see that you have everything. In you is everything that they may need, Lord. Minister to their heart in a special way, like only you can do, Lord. Meet them where they are. Lord, we give you thanks, we give you praise for all of your many blessings. That you pour into our lives each and every day. And I thank you for this wonderful opportunity just to be able to share the good news and the gospel of you, Lord. I love you, I love you, I love you in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_04 44:16

Thank you for listening to the Life Church Podcast. We pray today's conversation encouraged you, challenged you, and brought you closer to Jesus. If you enjoyed the podcast, consider sharing it with someone so that they might be encouraged as well. To learn more about Life Church Windsboro, get connected, or find spiritual guidance, you can find us online at the LC.us or follow us on Facebook. But the best option is for you to join us in person each Sunday, 10 30 a.m. at 23 30 Highway 15, Windsboro, Louisiana. Jesus said, the one who remains in me and I in him bears much fruit. So until next time, continue walking with Jesus, allowing yourself to be fed from his word.