Attitude of Gratitude | Hope Carpenter (feat. Real Talk Kim)

Hello, everybody. Guess who is with me tonight. My friend, y'. All. I'm so grateful for friendships. Hello, everybody. Oh, goodness gracious. Hold on, hold on, hold on. There we go. All right. Don't be acting up. Computer. Don't be doing it.

Don't be acting up.

No. But my friend is with me. Real talk, Kim. You know who she is to me? She's Kimberly.

That's.

She's Kimberly to me. She is my friend. She is somebody that I can call at 12 o' clock at night and wake her tail up and she will pray with me. That's what I said tonight. I said, this is. She's doing this because she loves me. Because it's nine o' clock on the east coast coast and she's ready to get in her pajamas and go to bed.

I am an old lady.

No, you're not. You just understand what it takes for you and for you to keep going and doing what you're doing. And I'd rather go to bed early, too. But I have a husband who's like.

You got to be grateful for that. That man loves you so much, Hope Carpenter.

Yes, he does, and I love him.

Girl, when I tell you I'll be sitting there. Since we're talking about grateful tonight, man, I'll be sitting. I got some friends with some of the best husbands. He'll sit. Just be loving on you. Y' all been married forever and he's 31 years.

31 years. And I think if you can pass over the 25 year mark, I mean, you, you got it made. And then God just renews your strength and he renews your love, and it's good. But a lot of people, you know, can. You just can't get through the other side, so to speak. But tonight, yes, we're going to talk about attitude of gratitude. We are a week away from Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving. And yes, I have my house decorated for Christmas. And people say, do you just skip over Thanksgiving? No, I celebrate that. I'm thankful all the time, but I want to celebrate Thanksgiving with my Christmas decorations up. That makes me happy. So tonight, let's just talk about all those sour attitude people. Kim, don't you love being around them, man?

No, I do not love being around them. And you know what? I used to be like that, Hope.

Yeah, talk about it.

I used to be like that. I used to be. I would have a sour attitude. I had no friends. I remember one time I was walking through life just blaming the world for just being miserable. And. And I remember I went to a Funeral. And I'm sitting at this funeral, and this place is packed. There's, like thousands of people at this funeral. And I sit there and all of a sudden I had this epiphany. I wouldn't even have a Facebook memorial page.

Ooh.

I wouldn't even look. I wouldn't even. Nobody would come to my funeral. And I remember thinking it's because I'm. Mean, it, like, hit me like a ton of bricks. Instead of healing, I'm walking around bleeding on people that didn't cut me. I remember I would be hearing myself and be like, kim, shut up. And until I got to a place where I was sick and tired of being alone and scared of being hurt and miserable. Anxious, anxious girl.

Yeah.

Panic attacks, thinking I'm dying every other.

Day and mad at every. And mad at everybody else about it.

Gaining weight and mad everybody because I got back boobs. You know what I'm saying?

I love it. I know it's no fun to be around those people. No fun whatsoever. And, you know, it is truly an attitude. It's an attitude. Gratitude is an attitude. It's a choice.

Yeah.

It is a choice. And, you know, I'm the kind of person I've always been. Honestly, the cup half full, not the cup half empty. I'm always trying to be positive. And when the people around me start the. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the nagging and, I mean, it's just like, almost makes me itch. Like, I gotta get out of your present. Right. Like, you about to get. Put something on me. I'm about to get. Get your sickness. I can't stand it.

Oh, you are one of the funniest people on the planet when me and you are sitting in church together. It's dangerous.

We shouldn't do. Shouldn't be allowed.

It's because we love life.

We do.

You know, it's because we've made a choice that we ain't going to stay stuck in our mess.

We're not going to. We're not.

And we're what? We watch our space. Yeah. In our spirits. Yeah.

I used. I used to. Would be around people just to be nice to people, you know, and just like, okay, I'll go out with them or I'll go have lunch with them or whatever. But there's some people, I just can't because they drag me down. And you know what?

It's okay.

Yeah.

People say, what would Jesus do? He would let them go eat with somebody else.

Yeah. He would. Well, the Bible says what? Bad carrot, bad company. What Is corrupts good character.

Corrupts you. It makes you sick.

And we think because we so holy, we so good, you know, blah, blah, blah, we gonna go be with them and pull them up higher. No, the Bible says it actually will drag you down lower. It corrupts good character.

Girl, listen. And we gotta remember something. Y', all, everybody watching this tonight. If you don't like what's producing in your life, you gotta check what's happening inside of you. Because what's in your heart's gonna come outta your mouth, right? What's in your head's gonna come outta your mouth. And the Bible says that life and death are in the power of your words. And the enemy can't take you out. Cause he's a punishment punk. So he tries to wear you out. And he does it through your own unhealed areas.

Actions. Absolutely. We produce our life. Our words produce our life. First it's our thoughts, then it's our words. And then it shows up in our life, in our circumstances. And if you don't like the life you're living, change. The thoughts you're thinking, the people that you're around, what you're putting in your head and what you're saying, it's up to you.

Because listen, I always tell my boys this. When you dance with the devil, the devil ain't gonna change. He gonna change you.

Right?

That's the same thing with people. When people are, now, now we got somebody watching. I just know somebody's just now saying this. Well, what if it's my family? What if it's my family? I can't get away from my family. What would you tell them, Hope?

Well, you know what? I've had to draw some boundaries. Even with family.

Yeah.

I mean, I can love you from a distance, right? I mean. Yes. I mean, I've had to tell even family members, you know, you can't talk like that around me. Or you know what? I'm only going to come for X amount of time because I know in my mind if I stay longer than 30 minutes, it's going to go downhill. Right. People can be on their best behavior for about 30 minutes. And after about 30 minutes, then you got to. You got to bounce. Yeah, I draw boundaries.

That's really great right there. That even these people that are going to family members and stuff for Thanksgiving draw boundaries.

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, when we were going through healing years ago, when Ron and I were going through healing, I had to sit my whole family down and sat my mom and dad down and, you know, we talked about. These are things that will not be discussed anymore. These are things that cannot be said about Ron or about me or. And I won't say about you or. These are. These are things we don't bring up anymore, even if it's family, because these are boundaries that cannot be crossed.

That's powerful right there.

I mean, it's powerful.

Yeah, man. Sit down with your family and say, we're not going to cross this boundary again.

Yeah, we're going to agree to disagree. Yes, I still love you. I can still love you. But I don't have to agree with everything you do say, where you go, how you live your life. But I can still love you. I just don't have to accept everything.

You don't gotta accept everything.

No, you don't.

And that is so good.

You know what the Bible says? In First Thessalonians 5, 18, it says this. It says, give thanks in all. Somebody better type in all. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God concerning you. Come on. All circumstances.

Write that down for us.

Hope, listen, I didn't say it was easy, but. Because I know the nature of God, because I've walked with him a minute, because I know how faithful he is, I know that no matter what circumstance I'm walking through, if the worst one, if it's the one I can't even see God in, if it's. If it's a circumstance where I say, God, how could you allow this in my life? It's that I can trust him to know that he's going to use it all for my good, for his glory, and I'm going to be better because of it. That's how you. That's how you can. You can give thanks, Lord, I know you're using this, Lord. I know it's going to come out good. Yes. But I think most of the time we don't really believe the nature of God and that he's good and that he's for us. Yes.

And you know what? I always hold on to that scripture because I've been in some situations, Hope, and there's some people on here tonight. I've been in some of those situations where I'm looking saying, God, I don't know how Romans 8:28 says, you're gonna work things together for my good. And I can't see how in the heck. And he always does.

He always does.

Because sometimes we have to stop and see, sit down and say, if he's made it through, if I made it through this and start pinpointing the things. He made it. You made it through that. You made it through this. You gonna make it through this, too.

Yes.

Help you be able to praise your way out of it instead of complaining and remaining.

I love what you say when you say, as long as you've got a pulse, you got a purpose. And it's true. As long when. When our. When we meet Jesus, our assignment's over. Right. Our purpose is over. So as long as we're breathing, God still has a plan in place for our life. And it's a good plan. Jeremiah 29:11. To give you a hope and expect it in and a future. And I try to explain that even to my kids when I say, this is what a hope is. It's like Christmas. You remember when you were a kid and you're like, it's almost here. Oh, it's Christmas Eve. I'm going to get to see what's under that tree. That's the way we should feel about our future. Knowing that our life is in God's hands.

I live that way, girl.

I know, but people don't, Kim. People don't live like that because they really don't believe that God is that good and that he has a good plan for their life.

And they choose to live and want to look at all the bad going on in their life instead of all.

The good that it is.

It's just simply here.

It's a choice, right?

Yes.

Because there are bad things going on. But I'm not going to magnify it. I'm not going to glorify it. Scripture says, magnify the Lord with me. Mag. That's what you put the magnifying glass on. You magnify. You make him bigger than all the rest of this stuff. And that's how you can stay positive. That's how you can stay in an attitude of gratitude. Magnify the Lord. Not the problem. I'm gonna run around this island right here and let y' all see my pajamas.

Throw my phone at you and let.

Y' all see my pajamas, my bedroom shoes. I love it. Listen, gratitude. I studied something today. Gratitude actually is proven that it increases your dopamine in your brain, which is happy chemical.

Come on, Come on. Y' all be doing yalls own dance breaks and praise breaks.

Gratitude. If you want to make yourself happier, start being grateful.

Yes. Hey, Hope. I lay in my bed literally every morning when that alarm clock goes off. I sit there for five minutes and I thank God. I thank God for every bad thing I thank God if I'm walking through hell, I'm like, thank you, God, that you're trusting me with this. But I stay here. Thank you for my breath. Thank you, God, that I can make choices. Thank you, God, I'm in my right mind.

Yes. That I can brush my own teeth. Just simple things. We don't need a nurse in our house today to help us comb our hair and brush our teeth.

Thank you, Jesus.

We got a lot to be grateful for. And I'm so thankful for Thanksgiving. But, you know, Thanksgiving is. Is. Shouldn't be any different than any other day that we live when we're in Christ.

Yes.

When we know what he's done for us. Man, I'm so grateful for all he's done for me. Forget not his benefits. Psalm 103 says, don't do it. It says, don't forget his benefits. It says, bless the Lord, oh, my soul. And forgetting not all his benefits. What is your soul? It's your mind. It's your will. It's your emotions. I will bless the Lord with my mind. I will on purpose think on the good things. Bless the Lord on my soul. All my emotions. I will command them to line up with the word of God. I ain't gonna be sad. I ain't gonna be sour. I'm not gonna be grumpy. I'm not gonna be hard to get along with.

I ain't gonna do you like you did me. I ain't gonna clap back. I'm not gonna regurgitate all the anger inside of me. I'm gonna let it go.

Let it go.

Let it go. You ain't gotta take it anymore. Let it go.

Let it go. Slam the door on the devil.

Yes. Slam the door. The devil will keep quit knocking at your door every day if you will quit answering it.

Yes. Listen here. I want to finish reading that scripture. Forget not his benefits. Are y' all ready for this? Are y' all ready? Here's his benefits. He forgives all your iniquities. That's enough. He heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from the pit. He crowns you with steadfast love and mercy. He satisfies you with good things. And your youth is renewed like the eagles. Don't forget it.

Yes.

Forget it.

Don't forget it.

Listen, I believe all those old and cranky and sick people are people who have forgot. Yes. Who have.

Hey. And I think sickness. I think sickness in our bodies. Yes. I got this book called the More Excellent Way, and it talks about how we don't have a great heart. That things in our bodies like lupus, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, chemical imbalance, and inflammation. It comes from being bitter, angry, looking at the bad instead of the good.

Yes.

I remember one time I had this spot that came in my head, and it felt like a baby's butt. Just a hole, like a whole spot. And I was walking through. I mean, I was living with my mama. I was mad. I was miserable. And somebody said, you need to go get that bookmarks away. And I need you to go look up why you have a spot in the back of your head. They have everything in that book. It said, because I was bitter.

Wow.

And holding on. And all of a sudden, I heard the Lord say to me, you've got to find a grateful heart. Girl, we eat. We eaten one of those. Those. Those. Those things you get at Walmart for, like, 99 cent.

The noodles, Raymond. Noodles.

Me and my kids been eating romaine noodles forever because I couldn't afford nothing.

Yeah, buddy.

That night I started thinking, I ain't complaining about these romaine noodles. I went, got me some hot dogs and some Tony Sagary, and I pretended we were at Papa Doe's. Hear me now? I could buy all of us Papa Doe's, but it's because I got a grateful heart in the middle of hell, see? And that doubt went away.

It's an attitude. It's a choice. It's a choice. So here's some things you can do. Kim just told you she gets up every morning before her feet hit the floor, she starts thanking God. Well, scripture tells us, enter his gates with Thanksgiving. You don't just bust up on God saying, give me, give me, give me, give me, give me. I need, I need, I need, I need, I need. It says to enter his gates with Thanksgiving and then into his courts with praise.

Man.

Oh, Jesus. I don't have a husband. I ain't got no money. Blah, blah, blah. Yes, yes, Right? Enter his gates with Thanksgiving.

Man, that's good.

Enter his courts with praise. I call them godly affirmations. I just start saying what God says about me.

Yes, me, too, girl.

I don't say what I feel.

If y' all don't know how, if somebody's watching tonight and they're like, I don't know. I never went to church. I don't know how to do that. All you got to do is go google God's promises. Yes. What are God's promises? What does God say is mine? What is y' all thousands of things will come up for you. And just start there. Get you post it notes and put them around your house.

Absolutely.

To be negative. Start reciting God's word over your life.

Yeah, I remember years ago when I first started godly affirmations and saying what God says about me. I got little index cards and I put a little. Them little hole punchers on the edge of them and I got me one of those little loop de loop hoops.

You can go.

And I wrote God's promises, what he says about me, and I'd keep it in my pocketbook and every time I would feel sick or frustrated or anxious or whatever, I pull that out and I just begin to say them out loud over my life. And I promise you, you say, well, what is that? Is that. Just blab it and grab it, name it and claim it. No, I'm just saying what God says, call it whatever. Yeah. I'm prophesying to myself, you see, I'm talking to myself about myself.

Call a thing that is not as.

Though it were absolutely, man. So do that. Get. Get you some index cards like Kim said. Get some post it notes. Put it all over your house.

Girl, I got it. I got. I'll have in my little. You know how that war room. That movie. The war room, yes. Hey, there's seasons where I've had to put post it notes everywhere.

Absolutely.

Because you're going to go through some hard things in your life and your life might not be good right now, but it ain't staying that way. No, you're going to walk through the good, you're going to walk through the bad. But how you praise your way through is going to change the game for you.

You got to keep going. You got to pass through the fire. You got to walk through the river. It won't overtake you. But. But he promises to be with you. Am I. Are we saying tonight, if you start doing this and you have an attitude of gratitude, everything's going to be positive, everything's going to be great in your life. And no, it's not. Matter of fact, scripture promises that you will have tribulation. It promises that you gonna go through stuff, but this is the way you get through it sane. This is the way you get through it victorious. This is the way you get to the other side. You win. Yes.

Because we win.

Yes, we do.

Hey, y', all, there are times even when I've gone through things in my life and I will literally be like Siri, I play waymaker. And I will literally just have Songs that are speaking what God says. So there are things that you can do that when you're in the fight of your life, when you feel like you have failed, when you feel like shame is overtaking your life from something that you wish you wouldn't have done, when you feel like you put yourself in this situation, this is just your. Just do. Reward. No. Begin to prophesy. Ephesians 3. 20. He's going to do exceedingly, abundantly, more than I could ever ask or think, delight myself in the Lord. He's going to give me the desire.

Yes.

Amos 13 says, it won't be long now. God's decreased to happen so fast my head is about to spin. Blessing upon blessing. I won't be able to keep up. Start quoting these scriptures till you see it.

Listen, you cannot say what you see.

You cannot say what you see.

That is, you cannot say, say what you see. The Bible says this. Philippians 4. 8. Think on these things. Don't think. That's what we do, though. We start thinking about everybody that's hurt us. We start thinking about how broke we are. We start thinking about how this. All the negative things. And yes, it's. It's there. But Scripture says, don't you got to guard yourself. You got to think on these things. You got to think on what's true. And that's those godly affirmations. That's what God says about you. What is true, what is noble, what is right, what is pure, what is lovely, what's admirable. Anything excellent. Anything. Sometimes you got to scrounge around. Say, is there anything excellent in my life? You gonna find that one thing. You think about that one thing. You might have back boobs, like Kim says, but you got a good butt. So just think on. I got a good butt, right? I got back boobs, but I got a good butt. I got long legs, but I might have dimples on them, but I got long ones, right? Anything that is excellent.

Oh, my God, I love that.

Yes. Excellent or praiseworthy. Think on these things. You gotta find the good. Gosh.

Good. Hope it's like that. The thick thighs. They saved the cell phone from falling.

They sure do.

Thank you for the thick thighs.

Jesus, you are a whole mess.

You know what? Laughter is good for the soul.

Yes, it is. It's medicine. It's medicine. Y' all ought to try it sometime. Those of you who are listening.

I'm sorry.

Movie.

Put on a funny movie and just laugh. Get you a girlfriend that'll just make faces at you. Laugh at you. I mean, y', all.

I got so many pictures in my phone of me and Kim doing facetime. I've screenshotted them with our mouth this big. Laughing.

I don't even care. I am. Hey, I am gonna love my life. You hear me, girl, I spent so many years of my life. Hope Carpenter, just miserable. Yeah, I. I was so concerned with what people thought about me and just feel it. Wanting to feel like I was accepted, and I was. What? No, man. When God. When you finally figure out what God wants for your life and you find joy no matter what, and you just.

Put them blinders on, you put your boundaries up and you go for it, that's when you. True joy. That's when you just have you a good time in life.

And so all of y' all watching tonight, man, we're about a week away from Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving. And you got a few days to. To. To write you some affirmations and begin to say, I ain't gonna let my situation be permanent. I'm gonna praise my way out of this thing.

Yeah.

I'm gonna thank God for where I am, because he's building my testimony through it.

Come on, Kim. I want you to speak to these people who's listening. I want you to encourage them. I want you to shake them tonight. We got a few more minutes. About five more minutes. And I want you to make them get up and see a brighter future.

Than they see today, you know? You know, for all of you watching today, I want you tonight, some of y' all watching in the morning. We all over the world right now. Wherever you are, you are not on this accident. You are not on this with me and Hope Carpenter by accident. You're watching two ladies that have literally walked through hell and came out on fire. And if we can do it, God has us on your screen today.

Yes.

It's three years from now, and you're catching the replay. It was such a time as this.

Yes.

I want you to realize, as long as you ain't dead, God ain't done. It don't matter what you did yesterday. It don't matter if your husband walked in and handed you divorce papers two weeks ago after 30 years of marriage, it ain't over. Your best is not behind you. Your best is in front of you. And everything that is behind you was only God building your testimony when you were born on August 29, 1972, or when your birthday was when you came out of your mama. The doctors heard why, but hell heard purpose. Destiny, a game changer, a Nation shifter. A person that could take a licking and keep on speaking. And tonight, that's what you got to do. You got to make up in your mind. I'm tired of crying over this every night. I'm tired of being sad. So I'm going to turn on the glad switch. I'm going to stop hanging around with people that I've outgrown. I'm going to take some people I got in my VIP section of life that are telling me every day about my past. I'm gonna put you in the balcony. I love you, but I love you in the balcony because I'm moving forward. It is a choice that only you can make to realize that if you were the only person still in this earth, that God was still, still get off of that throne and onto that cross and stretch his arms out and say, for the divorce, I'm here for the bankruptcy, see, I'm here for the depression that runs in your family. I'm here. You're going to break the generational curses and see the generational blesser in your family. I speak over you tonight that tonight is your shift. Tonight is the night that you're going to see a miracle take place in your life. And it's starting right here in your mind. In your mind, in your mind. So tonight you got to get up, you got to, you got to pray a simple prayer. God, just let me see what you see in my life. Lord, let me break soul ties. Let me break generational curses. Let me take this victim mentality that I've sat in this misery and became best friends with my pain and let me heal it. Let me get free. Y' all listen to me. The pain that you're walking in, the sadness you're walking in, it might not be your fault. You might be standing here because of someone else's bad choices, but the pain isn't your fault. But the healing is your responsibility. The joy is your responsibility. It's not your husband's responsibility. It's not your kid's responsibility. It's yours to say, God, you created me on purpose. Every indention, the little butt in the end of my nose, you made it. The five finger forehead, you made it. Everything you made. And when you start looking at it that way, friend, you're going to see a shift take place in your life. I feel excited for them.

Hope I do, too.

I feel excited. I feel like tonight somebody was like, oh, my gosh, it's really not easy. Yeah.

And I dare you, I dare you to find something good I dare you tonight to find something good every day. Here is your assignment. Here's your homework. Find something good. Think on these things, and every single one of them are positive. You got to stop with that stinking thinking and that oh, poor is me and that victim mentality thinking. Like Kim said, yes, we all have trouble. We all have pain, but it is our sinful responses that keep us stuck.

Man.

You might not have asked for it, but it's your sinful response to it that keeps you stuck and living in that spiral down. Come on, y'. All. We gotta respond like the word says to we gotta bless those that curse us. We gotta do good to those who spitefully use us. I have sent so many flowers this past year to people who've been ugly to me. Listen. Sure have. Wrote checks, blessed people, kept pictures up in my hallway that I shouldn't. But I put my hand on it and I say, I bless them in the name of Jesus. Because I'm gonna do it God's way. Because I want God's results.

Yes. Yes.

God's results. Don't you want God's results tonight? I want God's results in my life.

That's the best way to live.

Yes. And it's so free, man. You get your sleep back, you get your joy back. You get your peace back. And you're happy. Yeah, you're happy. Listen, optimism leads to longevity. Scripture proves it. Yeah. You're gonna live a long time. You're gonna live happier and healthier when you do it this way.

Girl, we're gonna be chasing each other around with our wheelchairs.

Yes, we are. Look, we ain't even gonna be in a wheelchair. We might have a cane, but we gonna be beating off.

I ain't gonna be in a wheelchair. Heck, no.

I love it. I love you, Kimberly.

I love you, Hope Carpenter.

Listen, you are a life giver. You are a life giver to so, so, so many, so many. And aren't you thankful today? Can't you say, today I'm thankful for what all I've had to go through to get in position like this.

Because, honey, if I wouldn't have walked through every single trial, every single storm I even created, I would not be sitting on here right with y' all tonight, loving you back to life. I would be in the Bahamas on the beach, drinking a margarita.

Yes. In a bikini contest. But not tonight. We talking about Jesus, and we're talking about the promises of God that are yes and amen. And we're encouraging some people tonight. I love you, guys so much. Guess what? Next week, it's going to be me and Pastor Ron on here live doing some Thanksgiving love to you all. We're gonna do communion together, so you don't want to miss next week.

I love.

I love you.

I love you.

Thank you so much. Go get your pajamas on in the bed.

I love y'.

All. Go follow Kim. I know y' all are already following her, so I guess you need to come follow me, so.

Yes. Actually, all my friends that were very excited that I was gonna be on.

With you, listen, we are the Wonder Twins. We are.

We're good together.

Yes, we are. I love you, girl. Happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for you and your family and everything you do for Jesus. Me, too, guys. I'll see you next time. God bless.