Cheer UP! Podcast
Cheer UP! Podcast
Journeying With Anna From The Bible
Ever wondered how a short biblical mention can carry profound wisdom? The story of Anna, a devoted prophetess, is a shining example. Her life of prayer and fasting after becoming a widow illustrates how even in the depths of loss, one can find purpose and fulfillment. We discuss how Anna's dedication serves as an inspiration to embrace each season with faith and commitment, offering a powerful testament to the blessings that follow a life committed to serving God. Discover how God calls us to serve and find joy in every circumstance, much like Anna, who dedicated nearly 60 years of her life to unwavering devotion.
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butt. Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up Podcast. I am your host, Kara R Hunt, and with me is the beautiful brown-haired Sherry Swalwell. How curly brown-haired I'm just saying Happy New Year, Kara.
Speaker 2:It is 2025. Can you believe it? And it's the first day of 2025. Can you believe it? And it's the first day of 2025. Can you believe it? Can you believe?
Speaker 1:it Doesn't that sound odd? It does, it sounds so odd. 2025. Wow, it sounds so odd. I remember when people were going crazy over Y2K.
Speaker 2:I know, I know Well. And the funny thing is is we got married in 1999. So now I'll have to tell my husband tonight when I see him again. I'll have to be like so maybe we should have waited and gotten married in 2000. And then we would. You know, our anniversary would be the same year that it is, except that our first, our oldest, is like that. Instead, we ended up so we got married in April of 99. And then we had our first baby in August of 2000. So it makes it easy to remember his birthday. So I guess that's probably more important than remembering how many birthdays we made.
Speaker 1:Oh right, because then, whatever year it is, you would have known what your anniversary was, how many years you've been married. Right, right, 2031. Hey, we've been married 31 years.
Speaker 2:I can't believe, though, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm going to have a son who's a quarter of a century old, but I'm not old.
Speaker 1:No, no of course not Age is a state of mind.
Speaker 2:You know, I still feel like I'm in my 20s sometimes. Isn't that terrible? I look in the mirror and I'm like, yeah, you're not 20. But I feel like I'm 20 sometimes. That's what's important.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:That's what I'm thinking, yeah.
Speaker 1:You know our body, our skin, the gravity pulls, Maybe like, yeah, we're not 20 anymore, but you know it's like. That's okay, I still feel it. I still feel youthful, yes, you know, because you know what that gives you more energy and liveliness and everything else. So you're so right. However, I can't say that I feel like I'm in my 20s, because I was one of those 20-year-olds who thought I knew everything. Boy, you couldn't tell me anything. And now, years later, I'm Boy, you couldn't tell me anything. And now, years later, I'm like you were, so you didn't know nothing.
Speaker 1:I know, you don't know nothing, you know and everything. So it's just like wow, age does come with wisdom, does come with age, right? You know, well, maybe I should just speak for myself, maybe.
Speaker 2:Oh, no, no, no, no, no, you can speak about me too, cause I thought I was so mature and I look back now and I'm like seriously, that's what you said. That's what you did. Yeah, like you need to go back and apologize to everybody that you even just opened your mouth Cause.
Speaker 1:Right can apologize to everybody that you even just opened your mouth because, right, and I'm sitting there going, yeah, but that energy we had staying up late, getting up early, doing all this stuff, you know, um, it's there. That's the beauty of youthfulness is the energy you have, you know, um, and the fearlessness there's a there's a sort of fearlessness that goes along when you're younger and everything else, but we could still have that with whatever age we are. So welcome to your nation. Thank you for tuning in to our first of the 2025 season podcast. This is our fifth season that we're coming up on now in 2025. So wait a minute, sherry, did we start this in 2025? So 2020?
Speaker 2:No, we actually this is our fourth season coming up, unfortunately we started in 2021. We came up with the idea. We molded around during when COVID started, and then we started it in 2021. We came up with the idea we molded around during when COVID started, and then we started it in March.
Speaker 1:Actually, I think before then, Actually I think it was 2018.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, that's true, we talked about it for years before we did it. And then we started it in January of 2021. So yep, yeah.
Speaker 1:So it's just amazing just what God brings through you. So it's like we had different energy for different things back then for that stage of our life, but now we have it. So if you're listening and you're a part of True Nation or you're new to the podcast, welcome. But I just want to say, no matter how young you are or how old you are, god has a purpose for your life. God is amazing. We are just. You know you could be full of vigor and energy and joy Most importantly, joy and peace at any age. It doesn't mean just because the older you get, the more sour you get. And growing up, you know, I kind of put the two together because there were so many older people I would come across. They were just their smiles were upside down, you know.
Speaker 2:Well, I think your description of sour is right on the nose.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:That's the best way to describe it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they were just so sour. And it's like man, when you get older, do you get older, do you just get sour and grumpy and mean and yelling at people. But no, it does not have to be like that. And why they were that way, I have no idea. Maybe it had to do with the times that they were living in, because the truth is we have it a lot easier today than they did back then, meaning we just have so many more conveniences, right? Well, in my lifetime and I've been on this earth a couple more decades in 20 years, so but in my whole entire lifetime I haven't had to go outside and use a washboard or wash tub to do my family's laundry. I can't even, I can't even imagine it. You know, I've always had access to some type of washing machine, right, I didn't have to go outside and churn my own butter and dig up all these things in a yard, you know, spending hours out in the sun or anything like that. So, just today, we have just different conveniences that I think that they did not have back then. That just made them work harder and look older that is so true and maybe even make them a little bit sour, you know, in a way, and because we look different nowadays and my sister and I was just talking about that the other day, we were talking about, like, some 60-year-olds that we know that look like, they just look great.
Speaker 1:They look absolutely great, they're just, there's no wrinkles, there's nothing, there's no quiver in their voice. You know what we used to have older people. You know their voice used to shake a little. They look great, they're in physical shape, not necessarily thin, you know what I'm saying, but they're just and they look good. And they look great and they still have their hair. Now it may be dyed, okay, it may be colored professionally, colored in style, but they still look great. And I'm like, remember our neighbor, like Mrs Roy, who was next to us, and I'm like I used to think she was so much older and I'm like, now that I think about it, she could have only been 50.
Speaker 2:Right, you know.
Speaker 1:Because they looked older back then, you know, and everything else. And so nowadays we have all these things and makeup and stuff like that that can make us, you know, look younger or something like that, but I just think our lives just aren't as hard as theirs were, meaning the things that they had to do. We have a lot more conveniences nowadays. But, speaking of women, and not necessarily older women, thank you for joining this episode of the podcast. Thank you for all of those who are continuing to listen, globally and nationwide, we want to thank you. We see you, we hear you and we're just so blessed by the new countries and cities and everyone else in states that are joining us. So, thank you, thank you, thank you so much and, if you can, if your platform allows it, please download and subscribe and hit the like button if possible on the download. You listen to the Chiril podcast. That really, really helps us in the algorithm and really helps us get out there, so we so appreciate it every time you do that.
Speaker 1:But speaking of women, today we are going to be talking about a woman from the New Testament and her name is Anna. I've always loved the name Anna, I don't know why not necessarily any, but I've always liked the name Anna and I know I've heard it pronounced different ways, because sometimes people say Anna, it's just. And I know I've heard it pronounced different ways because sometimes people say Anna, it's spelled the same way but they pronounce it Anna and things like that. But I've always said Anna and I just love that name. It's very simple, but yet it seems to me to say so much about that person's personality. What about you?
Speaker 2:Sherry, absolutely. And Anna. I've always said Anna too. If I want to get fancy, I'll say Anna, but then I always forget and go back to Anna. So that's just an unsancy person.
Speaker 2:But I think that today, talking about Anna on January 1st is like it couldn't get any better than that. So Anna was, she had a lifestyle of prayer and fasting, which is perfect for the beginning of the year, because God asks us to give him our first, and one of the ways that we can do that, one of our choices, is to pray and fast for 21 days, the first 21 days. So for those of you who are in that type of a lifestyle or like, do that kind of a lifestyle, well then, you're starting today and it'd be interesting if you want to. I don't think that this would be anything that God would be upset about, but feel free to share with us what it is that you're praying and fasting about for these 21 days. If you want to, and if you don't feel led to, if you'd rather keep it between you and God, well, absolutely do that, because the most important thing is to obey God. The other thing is for us to be in community with you. But Anna, I love her story because, well, I love it and I hate it all at the same time, because she only got to be married for seven years. She was a widow.
Speaker 2:In Luke 2 is when we hear about Anna. It's a very, very short. There's only one paragraph about Anna in the Bible that I'm aware of and that's in Luke 2, and I'm going to read it to you. And it's funny because when I was telling my family about who we were going to be talking about today, one of my kids said to me well, that's going to be a really short episode, because what are you going to be able to talk about Anna about? Because she's, you know, there's not much to her. And it's true, the Bible doesn't say much about her, or I should say it doesn't talk long about her, but there is so much meat in the paragraph that she is talked about.
Speaker 2:So in Luke 2, verses 36 through 38, it says there was also a prophetess, anna, the daughter of Samuel of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage and then was a widow until she was 84. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying, coming up to them at that very moment she gave thanks to god and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of jerusalem. So basically she had been praying and fasting her entire lifestyle, or her entire life. Once her husband died, once she became a widow, and she just lived at the temple. She didn't go anywhere else.
Speaker 2:And when I first heard the Bible say that she had a prayer and fasting lifestyle, or she prayed and fasted, I thought to myself she must have been really, really skinny, because I bet she never ate. But then I got to understanding what fasting is really all about and I'm like, no, I bet she wasn't super skinny, she was probably just really healthy because she ate when she was supposed to eat and didn't eat when she wasn't super skinny. She was probably just really healthy because she ate when she was supposed to eat and didn't eat when she wasn't. So there's all kinds of different fasting lifestyles that a person can have and that's not really the point, like the kind of fasting that she did isn't really the point.
Speaker 2:The point of the story is that she dedicated and consecrated her life to God and I believe that she prayed for to be able to see Jesus Christ before she died, and God honored that prayer. She committed her life to him. She chose to live a life that um served him all the days of her life. Once she became a widow and God blessed her by letting her hold and meet Jesus, the son of God. And if that's not a like royalty, if that's not like an amazing blessing, then I don't really know what is, and so I think that's one of the reasons, what is, and so I think that's one of the reasons.
Speaker 2:I think one of the things that we can really glean from from Anna's story is that just because life doesn't go the way that we think it should, just because life doesn't go the way we want it to, doesn't mean that God can't or won't. My heart hurts for widows that I know, women that I know love to be married, love being married, and then their husbands die and they're still alive. I have no idea what kind of a lifestyle or what God has in my life up ahead If my husband will die first, if I'll die first, I don't know, but I want to be one of those women who says, okay, this season in my life is over. I have a choice. I can either be the prickly, which I loved your your word for it instead.
Speaker 1:Karen, I, just I'm blanking.
Speaker 2:But I can either be a sour person or I can say okay, in this season, god, how do you want to use me? What do you want me to do to glorify you until I'm called home? So I think that Anna just has so much encouragement for us because her life was far from over, like she didn't set out to get married again. We don't know why. Maybe she wanted to, maybe she didn't. She didn't set out to do anything except get closer to God and serve him the rest of her days. And they said she was 84. So, and that she was only married for seven years. So even if she got married at 20, she would have been 27 as a widow, but she was 84 now. So that's almost 60 years of service to God.
Speaker 2:And it doesn't mean that we have to go live in a temple in order to serve God. But there are so many things that we can do, so many jobs that God has called us to. You could be a mentor to a teenager. You could work at your church. You could just if you're one of those people who has a hard time sleeping at night, you could just dedicate yourself to every time you would get woken up that you pray for somebody different, like there are so many ways that God can use us that we are never too old to serve him and we are never too old to have a purpose and a plan, and all we have to do is ask him and he'll show it to us. That's just who God is. He'll just show us. And when we dedicate ourselves to him, when we pray and fast, when we ask him what his purpose is for us, he's going to answer that and it's exciting, or it can be exciting. It doesn't have to be, you know, boring or sad or any of those things.
Speaker 2:I know that, even as I'm just transitioning into different seasons in my life, there are some seasons that I loved more than others. But I need to get to the point where I'm like okay, god, you gave me those seasons. I love those seasons. I'm so thankful for those seasons. What do you have for me now? Because I know you're not done with me and help me to find the joy, so that I'm not a sourpuss, but help me to find the joy in the next season, and he will. He'll grant those prayer requests, especially when we pray them from the heart. So that's kind of what I take from Anna because, um, because there's just, she just was so willing, there we go. I was going to say she's so amazing, but she was amazing, but she was so willing to dedicate herself and to do what God assigned her. She was willing to accept her assignment without being sour, and I want to be like Anna in that regard when I grow up.
Speaker 2:Do I want to necessarily become a widow sooner than I want to? Absolutely not. I would prefer not to be a widow. To be honest with you, I would prefer to die first if that's God's plan. But I do know that whatever plan that God has, that he will see me through it and it's my choice if I choose to be sour or if I choose to be sour or if I choose to embrace the joy of the Lord. So that's kind of my take on Anna in a nutshell.
Speaker 1:You know, anna is so amazing because, even in a short passage, it tells you a lot about her life, right, exactly, and that's, that's that I think, and don't, no one, don't quote me on this, anybody but I think that's what, oh, what is that? Is it?
Speaker 1:called an epitaph that they put on our tombstones. Oh yeah, when someone goes on a glory, I think that's basically probably what that was meant to be, you know. Just a short summary, or maybe a couple of sentences. That just summed up you know, your whole entire life, life.
Speaker 1:I was watching, I love Westerns and most of them, some of them, most of them are still in black and white, but I remember one time they had a shot of the cemetery and it was on their, on their tombstones. It was like a thief and hung. He was hung for being a thief, you know, and hung. He was hung for being a thief, you know. Or he murdered John. He's buried here because he murdered John Smith, right? So this was like the cemetery for bad people, right? Who? And back then, you know, there was no court, trial and everything else. It was pretty much they hung you if the little circuit judge or whatever found you guilty, and I'm like man, what a sad way to be, you know, memorialized by the worst thing you did in life. You know, and I think for Christians, though, it's the perfect way to just have a short saying that kind of sums up your life on your epitaph For family, for generations that will come later after you. You know, my husband and I were my grandmother unfortunately passed away early, almost a year ago now and a little over a year ago now. Year ago now and a little over a year ago now. But I remember when we were visiting the cemetery we visited loved ones that had passed on before us and it was just amazing to just see some of the epitaphs and stuff that was on her, some of those that was a blessing, some of those that were very military and things like that. So I say all that to say it's just amazing how this short paragraph says so much about Anna. It tells you about her personality.
Speaker 1:Two, it says she never left the temple. If that's not dedication, I don't know what is. She never left the temple? Because in my mind it's like did she go visit friends? You know? Because correct me if I'm wrong, sherry it wasn't like anybody could come into the temple, right. And it's like did she go visit friends? You know? Because correct me if I'm wrong, sherry it wasn't like anybody could come into the temple, right. So it wasn't like they could just say hey, we're bringing you a piece of cake. I baked a piece of cake. I thought you'd like a slice right, it wasn't like they could just come in and visit her.
Speaker 1:I don't think so. Right, you know. And so it's like now I know there are other people who probably live there but it's like talk about dedication and I'm like how does she get food, you know, does she ever get any fresh air? Because it says she never left, Not that she left every now and then just to take care of herself, but she never left for that entire time. That type of dedication is so admirable and it's like I'm not going anywhere, I am staying right here. God has given me assignment and I am going to see it through Three.
Speaker 1:Not only did she do that, but she did it in her grief. He had just passed away and, like you said, she could have turned into a pastor I used to know, I used to call him Sister Sandpaper, right and she could have turned into someone gruff and rough and, like you said, sour and just been rough around the edges, you know, and everything else, because she was just sad, she was heartbroken, she was grieving and everything else. But she didn't. And in her grief the Lord blessed her so many times over because she just surrendered her life to that, a prayer and fasting. And that is such a huge calling, it's such a heavy office, and she did it with so much grace that she's mentioned in a Bible. Maybe only be one paragraph, but it says a whole lot about her entire life, and that's what I wanted to add to that, sherry.
Speaker 2:I think that I love your observation and I completely agree. So in that regard, I want to be like Anna. I want to be somebody who, when I'm in a dark season or when life doesn't turn out the way that I think it should turn out, that I dedicate myself that much more to God, that I trust him that much more. Our family's gone through some rough waters in the last two, three years, and I'm not saying that they're any rougher than other people. It just seems to be that we've been in this cycle for a while. Two things one my word of the year last year was thankful for 2024, and I really, truly, am thankful like despite all the different things that we've been dealing with and that have been piling or that were piled on top of one, right after the other, after the other that there were so many blessings mixed in there, and I want to be somebody who sees the blessings more than sees the challenges.
Speaker 2:I want to be somebody who is thankful for the blessings that God gives, and even when I have a really rough day or a really rough season, I can be like, yeah, but you know what? Look at what God did. Look at this. It could have been so much worse. Look at how he blessed us in this area. Look at how he warned us in this area. Look at how he took care of the details in this area. And that's who I want.
Speaker 1:And look at how it could have turned out. On the negative yeah, but it didn't, by God's grace. Yes.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and yeah, but it didn't, by God's grace, yes. Or what can I do to be a blessing and an encouragement to those around me? I want to still be in the young stage where I have babies at home. Okay, I'm not. I am much older than that. I'm past my childhood or childbearing years. So what can I do? I can babysit other people's kids. I can encourage, I can mentor somebody who might need a little extra encouragement. I can do all kinds of things that are more in my this stage of my life, instead of giving up and becoming sour, um, making everybody miserable around me because, you know, I wanted to stay stuck in the 80s or 90s or whatever. So I, that's I. I want to be more like anna, and so I think that that's another reason why she's so, um, like so apropos that I wanted a better word than that, but um, why it's so apropos for us to be talking about her on the first day of the year, because what a better example for somebody to strive for.
Speaker 2:And if you're a male and you're listening to our story. Sorry, you're listening to our podcast. Don't think that you can get out of it because Anna's a woman. Because earlier in Luke two, in verse 25, it's talking about now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy spirit was upon him. There's israel and the holy spirit was upon him. There's another person that the holy spirit was upon before the holy spirit was introduced to the, to people in general.
Speaker 2:So john the baptist got the holy spirit and this man, simeon, got the holy spirit. It had been revealed to him by the holy spirit that he would not die. Before he had seen the lord's christ. Moved by the spirit, he went into the temple court and when the parents brought in the child so that was Mary and Joseph Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required, simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people. Light for revelation to the gentiles and for glory to your people, israel. That is just, oh my goodness, I read that and I just I feel the holy spirit through the whole thing.
Speaker 2:That is just a foreshadowing of the holy spirit that's going to be coming in just a few short years. Well, three, three decades, which is pretty darn short compared to hundreds and hundreds of years. So if you're a man, don't think you get off the hook. You could be sour too, but instead you could be like Simeon. So go to Luke 2 and read through just Luke 2, it's really, in fact. You don't even have to read the whole thing. If you don't want to, you could just read about Jesus being presented in the temple, starting in verse 21, going through verse 40. And it's an encouragement for men as well as women that God can use us however he wants to, and when we're old he's still using us. So don't think that your time has come just because you're not in your 20s anymore. That doesn't matter. Sometimes the best is yet to come when we're older, because we have that maturity and, like Tara said, we're not stuck in the 20s going. I really thought like that that is how I respond to people.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry. So, yeah, so that is our encouragement to you guys today, and it's an encouragement to me today too and another challenge for me as well that I want to be like Anna. I want to walk into the season that God has for me in 2025. And I want to say thank you, god for whatever it is that you want me to do, and I want to say thank you, god for whatever it is that you want me to do. I am ready and I don't want to turn sour, I don't want to be sandpaper, but I want to be a light for others, to encourage them to shine your love. In fact, kara, I'm going to end with this story.
Speaker 2:So I met a man. We were having car problems and we had to get a tow. I met a man um, we were having car problems and we had um to get a tow, and I had called at like noon, noon or 1230, thinking that they would come, you know, within an hour or so, seven, 30 at night, three different tow truck people, tow truck companies, and we finally had somebody come show up and pick up our car and take it where it needed to go, and the guy had said to me. His words were and we were just, you know, exchanging pleasantries. Here's the car. You know, this is the one you need. Do you need anything from me? Blah, blah, blah, and he says well, he says considering this, and he pointed to the broken car. He says how's your day been? And I looked at him and I, normally I'm not ashamed to talk about God, but I don't always talk about God Like I. I just wait to be prompted by the Holy Spirit. Because, you know, and like I said, I could care less if people ridicule me or roll their eyes at me. That doesn't bother me, but there's a time and a place. And so he said so you know, how are you today, despite all this? And I hesitated for a minute, not because I was ashamed, but I was just trying to figure out how to word it. And I said to him because God had done miracle after miracle after miracle all day long, and set up things to where he I could just feel his presence all day long, and I knew he was right there with us and he was in the situation. So I turned to the guy and I said God is so good. And that's all I said, and he looked at me and he got this smile on his face and he goes. He is, isn't he? And I said ah? I said you know. I said you're a believer.
Speaker 2:And he told me just a little bit about his story. He said I'm a, I'm a late bloomer. He says I didn't become a believer until I was 39 years old. He says and my dad didn't become a believer until he was 61. And he says and you know what my dad said to me? And I said no, what? And he said he said that because of the way that my life had changed so dramatically, he wanted what I had. And that is what I want to be. I want to be the type of person that people look at me and they don't see me. They see Jesus. The people look at me and they go. I want what she has. And then I can just say to them well, here's what it is that I have. Because, trust me, if you knew the real me, the no Jesus me.
Speaker 2:You wouldn't want to be anything about me. You wouldn't even want to be next to me, because the no Jesus me is not a very nice me, because the no Jesus me is not a very nice me. So, but I was like, I loved his testimony and I still keep remembering it and that's what I want to be. That's my prayer every morning is that people will see God through me and they won't see me. That I will be able to bless others, that God puts in my life and that he will shine through me so that people see him and not me. And that, I think, is a really good description of Anna. So if you have any, if you need encouragement, if you need prayer, email us at thecheeruppodcast at gmailcom. If you want to start a discussion, or if you just want to tell us your word for the year or tell us how God's been working in your life, and you want to do that on the Facebook page so that you can get others involved as well, go over to Facebook and Cheer Up Podcast is the name of our community and you don't need to have permission. You can just jump right in and just start a conversation. We are so, so glad you're here and I just I love the beginning of a new year, I love the beginning of a school year, I love the beginning of summer break. I love beginnings because to me, it's just like that Bible verse that talks about mercies are new every morning and God can just do so much. So it is a fresh start, a clean slate that we get to just start over in 2025. And we just get to move forward and get excited about what God has for us. And I'm just, I'm excited to share it all with you. Share it all with you. So, if you want to start your new year, if you, if someone were to ask you, do you know, are you confident that you, if you were to die tonight, if you would go to heaven? If you don't know the answer to that, if you aren't confident, if you have questions or you want to be sure, you want to know and you want to have that confidence.
Speaker 2:In Romans 10, 9, god says if we believe in our hearts, confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe in our hearts that he rose from the dead, it says we will be saved. So it's not the words that we say, but it's the heart behind our words and if that's something, if that's the way that you want to start 2025, if you want to know for sure that you're going to heaven when you die, then you can repeat this prayer after us. I'm going to pray it right now and God says you will be saved. So, oh, heavenly father, I come to you in Jesus name. I believe you died on the cross and that you rose again and you're seated on the throne. Jesus, forgive me for all that I've done wrong and I choose to forgive all others. Come into my life today and forever. I am yours In Jesus' name. Amen.
Speaker 2:If you just prayed that prayer, we say welcome to the family and we encourage you to join a Bible believing church. If you're not sure exactly what that means, email us and we'll have a conversation with you. We are just so, so grateful and so thankful and so happy when people make that decision to become a son or a daughter of the King, and we just were, so I don't know. We're just so grateful for all of that. If you want to learn more about Kara both the services that she offers for helping people, helping authors with their books and their book ideas, as well as the books that she offers, for helping people, helping authors, with their books and their book ideas, as well as the books that she has written. They have won many awards, I might say. Then head over to KaraRHuntcom and you will be able to see everything that's going on on her website Also. I was thinking, as we were. Well, I'm trying to think Eve. Was Eve divorced or was she a widow In your?
Speaker 1:book, Karen, because I can't remember Eve, or are you talking about Lydia?
Speaker 2:Sorry, I'm talking about Lydia, oh, okay.
Speaker 1:No, she was. She didn't marry until very late in life. Okay, yeah, so she was not. She didn't marry until very late in life. Okay, yeah so she was not widowed.
Speaker 2:Okay, so I was, as I was thinking about Anna though I was thinking about Holly in my book and she, if you like fiction and you want to read a fictional story about someone who had to figure out a new normal or a new place in her life she wasn't necessarily widowed, but it was an interesting circumstance redemption of green pine series, and that's the one that I wrote. So if you head over to Amazon, it's on Amazon and it's in a Kindle unlimited, or you can head over to the website Sherry Swalwellcom and you can check out the whole entire series. But I got to thinking about that and I wasn't even thinking about that beforehand. But as I was talking about Anna, I'm like Hmm, this just kind of reminds me a little bit about Holly. So, um, if you like fiction and you have some time before you jump back into work, um, after the holidays, feel free to go check it out and see what um see, if you like Holly too, uh, in adventures invitation. So, having said all of that, on that, that note, we are just so grateful that you're here. Happy New Year again.
Speaker 2:And next week we are going to talk about Paul, one of my favorite people in the Bible. He intimidates me a little bit, but I still love him and I used to say when I get to heaven, he's not somebody that I'm going to go hunt for. But I think I don't know, the older I get and the more mature I get, the when I get to heaven he's not somebody that I'm going to go hunt for, but I think I don't know, the older I get and the more mature I get, the more I'm like, yeah, I'd like to have a couple conversations with Paul.
Speaker 2:He might still intimidate me, but up in heaven he won't because there's no intimidation there. So it's all good.
Speaker 1:Probably better that I'm meeting him in heaven than if I had met him on earth. I actually think I would have gotten along really well with Paul. I can't wait to see him.
Speaker 2:That's what I'm saying. The redeemed me or the new me who is up in heaven, I think, will do great with Paul, the intimidated, or easily intimidated me here on earth. I probably would have been like oh. I can't do anything wrong in front of Paul, because he'll be like calling me out on it, sherry, sherry you know better.
Speaker 2:Sherry, okay, I do Darn it, excuse me, but on that note, happy new year, have a great rest of your day, hopefully a great rest of your semi vacation, before you jump back into work and then join us next week for another exciting episode when we talk about Paul you.
