Ron + Hope: Unfiltered - Thrive with Guest: Pastor Nicole Crank

Foreign. Hello everybody. This is Ron and Hope Unfiltered. Where is Ronald Wayne? I don't know where he went today, but you're about to find out. I have one of my favorite friends. Just. Just a. Just a good old girl. She. She is a go getter, a goal getter. We'll talk about that. She's an author, She's a pastor's wife. She's a speaker, she's a mentor, she's a friend. She's a businesswoman. She can cover the whole gamut. And I'm so honored to be able to do life and ministry with her. We don't get to see each other all the time, but when we do, it's like those long lost friends. And I'm so excited she's with us today. And that's Nicole Crank. Nicole Crank. Crank. There she is.

How are you doing, my friend? It is so good to see you.

Doing good, doing good. Just busy, you know, busy, busy, busy. What about you?

And I need. I need to see you in the person. Right, Right. We. I. I have missed you.

I gotta tell people what you gave me for Christmas. She sent us the coolest big old popcorn popper. It was the coolest gift and I took it to South Carolina so my grandb could enjoy it. And we love it. So thank you for my Christmas present. You're the best. You're awesome.

Somebody gave us one of those and we've had more fun just making popcorn like the kids. You would think that we've never had popcorn before in their life. They're like, oh my God, I have to share this joy.

Yes, it's wonderful. It's different than putting the bag in the microwave. It's just. It just feels different when you smell it. You see it, you hear it. It's just a whole experience. So thank you so much for that. I wanted to have you on here because, you know, our podcast is real, raw, relevant. And you know, we're not trying to preach to people. We are, but we are preachers. We're just trying to help people get through this thing called life. And I know that you have had some major hurdles to overcome in life, a lot like myself. And I think that's one reason I love you so much and can identify with you and your message and your ministry is because you're real and you share it all. You don't sugarcoat it. You. You just share the failures along with the victories, but you don't let people stay there. You are just a spur. You're like that spur on the side of a horse. You just want to kick them and say, no, no, no, no, no. You got to get up. You got to get up. You got to keep trucking. You. You got to wipe those tears off, and you got to pull up your big girl panties and. Or big boy bloomers, whatever they wear. And, you know, because God's called us to this amazing life, Nicole. But how many of us listening look at our surroundings? We look at our bank account, we look at our family, and we look at our level of joy, our level of faith, and we say, man, I read it here. I read it in the Bible. I see it, I hear it, but I don't have any of it. And I think we all have found ourself there a time or two in life. And I think people love to hear stories from people like you, who they see doing the thing, who they see overcoming, who they see with the victories, but they. They. You take them back to when it wasn't real good and show them the steps of how to get there. And I'm so thankful that you do that, because not everybody does that. Not everybody's willing to say, you know, I messed up here. I screwed up here. I was an unwed mother here. I. I did this. I was divorced. I was that. So you've written an amazing book that just kind of encapsules this whole story, and it's called I Will Thrive, not just survive.

That's right. Create us to live underneath things. He didn't create us to just, like, claw by, barely make it be. Think I'm just thankful to be here. God didn't. God didn't want his kids, just thankful. We don't want our kids just thankful to be here, you know, on the edge of pain and anxiety and freak out. No, we want our kids to have popcorn machines in the basement that thrill their little heart, that make movie night something special. And we want our kids happy and thrilled. We want our kids. We want our kids thriving. We want them thriving in their love relationships. P.S. anybody who's got littles out there, I just want to let you know, big kids are not any easier.

No, no. The bigger, the bigger the problems.

Get a thing.

Right?

And even whether they're little or whether they're grown, we want them to thrive. When they hurt, we hurt.

Yeah.

And so we're evil parents compared to God.

Yeah.

Then how much does he want us to. To thrive, to live above, to get beyond, to be. He didn't create us to be conquerors. He created us to be more Than.

Oh, that's good.

So that. That's the life that we're supposed to be living. So I don't. Is there a chat on here? Hope that they can. They can come.

Not on. Not on this.

Well, y', all, you need to get in the comment section of the podcast and be like, hello, I'm supposed to thrive. I need some prayer. I need somebody to. To connect with me, pray for me, raise my name up before God, because we get all concerned, Hope. About what people are thinking about us. And here's the thing. I was just telling somebody, I got to counsel a business owner the other night, and they came up to me and they said, hey, here's the deal. Here's what's going on, and it has to do with this reality TV show and went on with this whole thing. And I said, you know, I can't do anything, and I can't get this job because everybody's talking about me. And I said, okay, okay, here's your problem. This is my blind closer. This is what was handy. So I just picked it up real quick, and I said, here's your problem. Your problem. I don't even know. Your problem is right here.

Yeah. Yeah.

All you see, your focus is on the problem, and you think the problem is so big. I said, if you look around. Look around. Is anybody pointing at us right now? Nope. Anybody talking about us right now? Nope. That's because your problem should be way back here. The problem is we are not who we think we are. That's pride crime. We're not who we're not. People think we are. That's perception.

Yeah.

We're who God says we are. That's tr.

Yes.

And honestly, I don't care what has happened to you. I don't care what has happened about you. I don't care if you robbed a bank last week. Two years from now, people are not going to be talking about it, because, honestly, people don't care about you. People care about themselves. Everybody's got their own thing that's doing this right now in their life. Like, oh, my gosh. So they really don't care. So really what we got to do is we got to get us off of our minds and get our mind of Christ on Christ, so we can have the mind of Christ. And then when we renew our mind, we start thinking like he's thinking. And then suddenly our problems seem to get in perspective. When we fixed our eyes on Jesus.

Yes.

In the finisher of our faith, we get the right perspective. We can see. Okay. There is an issue. The issue is it's real. A second ago you heard a noise. That's because I started accidentally raising my blinds. I was like, oh my gosh. Okay, the problem is real, but it's back here with God. Can you do this? Probably not. You probably can't. Can God do it? Absolutely. That's what he does. So it's our opportunity to walk in faith, not fear. Because you can't walk in both.

No, you cannot. And fear will paralyze you. I mean, you can see this thing way out here. You can read this thing in the word that God says that you are, that you can do that, you can have, that you can be, but that fear will paralyze you from even accessing one portion of it. And that's the enemy's job. That's what he does. He keeps us so locked in fear that we never even move one step to our purpose.

Well, if like, fear and faith are like a straight line, like a north, south line on a map. Right. It's the same line, but one direction is north and the other direction is south. They're same line, completely different directions. That's like fear and faith. You operating in faith, you're going this way, you're operating fear, you're going that way. But you can't be operating in both because that, that's impossible.

Yeah.

So we get us off of our mind. That way we can have the mind of Christ, so our mind can be renewed. And once our mind is renewed, then we can start having an imagination again. And here's the thing about imagination. Imagination is the canvas of our mind where our future begins to get painted. And when our imagination, we don't take everything, every thought captive that the enemy keeps throwing at us. We can't paint the picture of our future that God has for us, because all we're thinking about is, oh my gosh, here's what's going on. I can't. It's black, it's dark.

Yeah.

God saying, gotta get out of that.

Yeah. When we're thinking about just right now. Right now. And you know, that is so, so good that you said the imagination. Because that, that's the future. That's. That's the life God's called us to. And you know, so many people get so stuck in, like, I don't know what God's called me to. I have no idea what I'm here for. And I get that to a certain degree. But on the other hand, I don't get it because, you know, if you if you're saved, the Holy Spirit lives on the inside of you. The Holy Spirit is the one who's already toured your life, Right? He's toured your life. And he is our what? He's our guide. And I think we get caught up in that. We need to know it all. I want to see what. I want to know the big picture. Who I'm marrying, how much money I'm going to have, and how much impact I'm going to make. No. It is a daily yes. With my life, I have found that it is a daily just. God, what are you saying to me today? Because today's the only day I really, truly have. It's the only day I'm not promised tomorrow. Yesterday's gone. So today what is. What do I have to do? What? How do I have to lean into the Holy Spirit today, this morning, to. To hear what he has to say to me, to lead me, to guide me, to direct me, to get in his word? Because it's a lamp to my feet. It's a light to my path. And a lamp never brightens the entire space. It only brightens a little portion. So it's that daily yes. Of following where he's saying, where he's leading, where he's guiding. And when we do that, I mean, goodness gracious, that's all he asks of us, is a daily. Yes.

Is a daily guess. He doesn't ask us to be perfect. And that's where a lot of us get messed up, is we think. But. But I screwed up. Like, my life is so. Has been so screwed up. I was adopted. I was born in Canada, adopted in the US When I was three by my dad. I was molested when I was in fourth grade. I was raped when I was 13 years old. I told the kids in my small town what happened to me. And they told everybody. And I was bullied. And we were poor anyway. I mean. And when I say poor, we weren't poor. We were po. We could afford the y' all eating garden po. Wearing each other's clothes.

Po. Right.

One outfit for day of the week is prosperity. Po. That's my Monday shirt. Right? That's po. And so we. We weren't cool anyway. And all this happened. And life had failed me to that point. But when I was 17 years old, we moved when I was in high school, and I didn't realize boys would like me. I didn't realize I would have friends. I got invited to a party. I was like, oh, my gosh. They're like, we're gonna. Okay. I'm like, sure. Like, yeah, you do. Everyone, like, we're gonna kiss, boys. Is that okay? I'm like, yes. And they wanted to. Oh, my gosh. Reporter wants to kiss me. Can I hold your hand? Yes. Can we make out? Yes. And I ended up a pregnant, unwed mother when I was 17 years old. So at that point, life had failed me, but I failed myself.

Yeah.

But if you're listening right now, I want you to write this down, because here's the thing. Everyone has failed. I don't care how perfect they look. I don't care how sainted they seem. I don't care what kind of story they tell. I'm here to let you know. Every single person has failed. Unless their name is Jesus. Every single person has failed. Every single person is plagued by. I don't think I can. Because every single person is plagued by doubt in who they think they can become because of who they've been. But I want to right now that your past does not define your future. Your past prepares you for your future.

So good. That's so good. And I can testify, you know, that some of the darkest days in my life, I thought, how on earth am I ever going to be used by God? How can he take this total mess and do anything with it? I'm going to. We're going to talk a little bit more about that, but right now, I got a little ad I just want to shout out to our wonderful sponsors, Fabric. Just love our sponsors. And one thing that's so important is getting our financial life organized. Everybody has to do it. We need to do it. It doesn't matter how much money you have. It's getting your financial future. Future. Organize it. So important. And if you don't have life insurance yet, that should be at the top of your list. Fabric by Gerber Life is the easy one stop shop that you need with Fabric Life and other family financial services all in one place. And I'm so thankful for them. Fabric by Gerber was designed by parents for parents to help you get a high quality, surprise, surprisingly affordable term life insurance policy in less than 10 minutes. Yes, it takes less than 10 minutes to apply, see your quote and then personalize your quote to fit your family's needs. You could be offered coverage instantly with no health exam required. Protect your family today with fabric by Gerber Life. Apply today in just 10 minutes at meetfabric.com RonHope that's meetfabric.com RonHope M-E-E-T fabric.com. ronHope policies issued by Western Southern Life Assurance Company. Not available in some certain states. Prices subject to underwriting and health questions. Thank you, Fabric, for all you do to support Ron and Hope. Unfiltered. We love you so much. Back to our story. Nicole, here you are. You're a pastor's wife, you're an author, you're a speaker, you have a TV show. You travel all over the world. How can God use somebody who was raped, who was an unwed mother who was abused? Listen, I have found that God delights in using broken things. God's ways are not our ways. We think he's got. It's got to be all shiny. It's got to be perfect. It's got to be. Not be tainted. But the most powerful stories and the most powerful testimonies I've ever heard come from people who have been through the fire, but come out on the other side. Keep telling us about your story. How did you get from that to where you are today?

Well, you can't ever look at what something looks like, right? Everybody presents their. The filters. I love filters on Instagram because. So cute. Filtered. And then I see an actual picture of myself and I'm like, this is tragic. What's wrong with me? Like, no, this is what you really look like. I'm like, well, this is a problem. That's how God sees us. He doesn't see us unfiltered. He sees us in Jesus. Every time God looks at us, there's this Jesus filter on us. And he doesn't see what we see because he sees us in the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. So I know I probably look kind of put together right now. And, yeah, my book is a bookseller number one at Barnes & Noble and nonfiction. I was a USA Today bestseller. And I'm also sitting here right now in a jacket. This is actually a tank top that I had on with, like, a romper that I have. These are overalls that I'm going to throw back on after this show. But it was a little too beachy because I'm in South Florida, a little too beachy to be on a podcast. So I had to throw on a jacket, make myself presentable. And yet here I am in my zoom pants right now, orange zoom pants that don't match the outfit. They're going to come right back on. And there's the thing. You can't look at somebody else's life and decide, yeah, oh, together they are. Look how happy their family is. We are never going to be that way, their happy marriage is just. You don't treat me like that, Bob. That's your problem. No, it's not Bob's problem. And the way Bob treats us, it's our problem. And our perception of what we think is reality. But it's just perception. Yeah, it's our.

It's just what people present.

Yeah. And it's. And it's who we think they are. They might not even be presenting. No, it might put. And we're like, but they're pretty. But they're rich. But they're pretty. Is. Forrest Gump says pretty is. Is pretty Does. Or as stupid is. Stupid. Does. Pretty to one person is not pretty to another. Rich to one person is not rich to another. A big house to one person is not big house to another. A small house to one person is not a small house to another. It's our perception.

Yeah.

So when God perceives us, when we're in Christ, when he's Lord of our life, he doesn't see all the stuff. Because you left out some really great parts of my resume. You left out that I was foreclosed on, that I claimed bankruptcy, that I didn't get married at 17. But when I finally got married five years later, I walked down the aisle to a guy who cried. He was a bodybuilder. He was just.

He looked great, didn't he?

He had abs of steel. I had buns of cinnamon, and he had abs of steel. It was phenomenal. And it was. And he had the right initials after his last name. I mean, he had. He was. I was. I thought, this is it. We were engaged for 13 months. We didn't rush it. And it was three weeks into that marriage.

Hope.

We got married on March 25th and my birthday, April 19th. We worked in the same office. I was a marketing director for a Fortune 500 company. He was in that company, in another position, in a medical position. And he didn't come home the night of my birthday for hours. I thought, he's gonna surprise me. There's something up, something up his sleeve. He didn't come home for four days. And what I found out later is he had gotten addicted to prescription medication that had turned into cocaine. And he was managing that. And it was to stay up for all the shifts and get all this stuff done, and everybody at the hospital does it, yada, yada. And that night, the night of my birthday, it turned into crack. And he was instantly addicted. His life went off the rails. My life went off the rails. He became abusive. He herniated my C7, he broke my rib. I had numerous restraining orders. He literally tore the house apart. And I ended up divorced, hunted, stalked, abused emotionally, physically, in every, in every way. I remember one time I had a restraining order. But he would come to the house and he would get a key made because his name was on the house. And so when I would hear like his mother in law lived, his mom lived down the street from me. And she'd call and she'd say, he's coming, he's coming. And so I could change, I can still change a deadbolt on a door in five minutes.

Wow.

I can do it. I can move quick. Because I didn't know if he had a key or not. So I had to keep him out. So I would change the locks real quick. But if he would get in, then the game that he would play is how loud can you scream? And yet nobody comes. I was literally trapped in my own house. And I remember one time when the police finally did come, it took two police officers, they maced his face, they maced his genital area, which I didn't even know they did. It was two of them and they still couldn't wrestle him to the ground.

Wow.

They had, behind his back, they had his feet and they, they carried him. He was face down and they carried him by his handcuffs on his hand and his handcuffs on his feet. As, as he was carried out of the house is how out of control it was. And so that's the proof that I have. It doesn't matter what has happened to you. It doesn't matter what has happened because of you. It just matters that we trust God. Isaiah 43:7, it says, Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It is I who created them. So God looks at us, at our pitiful little circumstance, and he still claims us.

Yes.

He says, that's my baby. I love her. I love him. He loves you if you're, if you're watching or listening right now. He loves you. He loves you. Just you are. But he loves you too much to leave you here.

Absolutely. No, no, here's. That's key. You didn't. To get where you are today, to come out of that, that bondage, that fear, that entrapment. And you saw a life that you wanted. Did you just sit around and wallow in your pain? Did you just sit around and say, yeah, but that never got you out. That never got you free. What did you have to do?

Oh, I almost had to die. So I wrote A whole chapter in the book where I had run away. I told everybody I went to Mexico, quit my job, took a job for cash because he was, he. He couldn't pay any bills. We had gone bankrupt, we had been foreclosed on. And yet he could hire a private investigator. So I couldn't use any credit cards. I couldn't work. I got paid cash at a diner. Fortune 500 marketing director getting paid cash at a diner. I lived in a hotel that was like a 0.5 star hotel. And the point was actually. And he was my roommate, was my roommate, he was my friend.

And you had a baby. And you had a baby, you had a kid.

And I have, yeah. And I had a five year old. So, yeah, finally the Lord got to me because I was so alone. It reminded me of how I felt in junior high when all the kids had found out what happened to me. And I was, I was not praying. I was complaining to God. And he put it in my heart that I had to go home. Well, he had put a gun in my mouth. He had fired a gun in my mouth. I'm still here. The bullet did not come out. I'm here to tell you we serve a working God. But I knew going home meant I might not, I might not live anymore. But I knew there was beck and I have to go home. So literally every time there was an exit from South Florida back to St. Louis, Missouri, every time I passed an exit, I thought, I can turn around, I can turn around, I can turn around. I don't have to go home. I don't have to face this. I can stay here. It's surviving. I was surviving in South Florida. And today I could be working at that diner, living in that hotel room for 25 bucks a night. It was nasty. And I'd be living, but it'd be surviving. But I had to face my biggest fears, think that I was giving up my life to actually save my life and come back. I meet a man, he's a worship leader at a church. We end up becoming pastors. God tricked me into pastoring. I never knew this was going to happen. We ended up becoming pastors. I had a corporate job when I, when I met him because it was a couple years before I met him. I wouldn't go out with that, my husband to save his life. I did not like dating anymore. And we're too much trouble. Who needs them? You know, just do my thing. And I was, I threw myself into work, ended up making a ton of money, but I kind of didn't tell him about it. And we got married, and things started going really great. And then we end up pastoring the church. And then I become an author, and then I get this television show, and then I get these speaking engagements, and people are like, how did you do it? And the answer to the question is, I don't know. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. And every time God said go, I wasn't like, okay, God, I'll go. You know, I'm not. I'm not here to be sanctimonious, because a lot of times, like I said, he tricked me into ministry because he knew I'd go picking and screaming because girl like me can't do ministry. God, have you seen me? Have you seen my past? Have you seen what's going on? He's like, yeah, I sure have. I used the foolish things of the world to confound the lies. And he says, I make the devil pay. And when I wrote the book, God showed me a picture of a slingshot. And he said, every time the enemy thumps on you, bothers you, gives you a sickness, yells at you, gives you doubt, all it does is pull the rubber band back. He said, if you. If you get a slingshot and you don't pull the rubber band back, nothing goes anywhere. Yeah, but my word says I will make the enemy pay seven times. So everything the enemy has ever meant to hurt you will actually propel you. And when you let go, you go so much further. Yeah, so much faster than you could have ever gone before. Because the Bible says that he's not going to let the enemy take advantage of us without making him pay.

Yes. So it was your continual obedient. Yes. God, I don't understand. But, God, I trust you, God, I'm going to do what you ask me, even if I don't understand God, I'm going to live in faith. I'm not going to be tied to this fear. I'm going to believe you for more. And sometimes, you know, that that sounds like, oh, there's this place you get where you just do it and you. And without reservation. I don't believe that's true. I mean, I sometimes do things shaking. What about you? I mean, sometimes I'm like, God, seriously, you're asking me to do this even now? And I'm like, there's times, Nicole, where I feel like I should be so much further. My birthday's January 22, so I'll be 54 years old. I should be so much further because I Look back. And then I start getting so critical. Hope you didn't do this. Hope you dropped the ball there. But. But like I said at the beginning, it's just that we're not where we're supposed to be. None of us are. None of us are where we're supposed to be. So those of you who are listening, please be encouraged. Yeah, you might have messed up even today. You might have threw your hands up and said, I can't do it anymore. I'm going to the bar today. You know, I'm just.

Yeah, right.

But it's getting yourself back up again, though. A righteous man fall, that's so encouraging to me that it wasn't just a sinner who falls and gets back up. A righteous man falls. He gets back up again. And I think that's the theme of mine and your life and so many people who are listening. Yeah, we're not where we should be. None of us are. But we're surely not what we used to be. And we are determined that we are going to get back up again. And that's what this book is all about. If you are listening and you have found. Found yourself in a place where you're saying, man, I know God's word. I heard this preacher. I heard this Nicole Crank this, Hope Carpenter this, TD Jakes this, whoever preaching that, that says that I can be this, I can do this, I can have this. But, man, looking at my life, it just stinks. It's not anything amazing at all. You can, you will if you get back up again. You gotta keep getting up and trusting God with your life. Pastor Nicole, I want you to speak to those people who are listening who say, you know, I just. I just need something. I need. I need a B12 in the arm today. And this podcast was it. So whoever sent me this podcast, whatever it was, if God can use those two girls, God can use me. And he can and he will. It's not going to be easy. It's not going to be quick. There's things that you're going to have to do. There's things you have to stop. There's things you have to start. You got to renew your mind. You can't keep putting the junk in and expect the good stuff to come out. It is a process. It's daily convictions, it's daily disciplines that we have to start. You know, I can say I want to have, you know, toned thighs all day long versus the hail damage ones that I have right now. You know, mine look like hell damage, but until I'm willing to push back the French fries and get up and go to the gym. I really don't want it.

Hey, quit calling me out.

No, I'm talking to me. Me. I see you at the gym. You don't see me at the gym. I see your post. You don't see mine at all. But it's true. Really. The proof of desire is pursuit. Do you. How bad do you want it? Are you willing to quit? Are you willing to start? Are you willing to stop? Tell the people listening, they're. They're sitting there saying, that's me. That's me. That's me. Where do they start? What can they do?

Well, you start by putting one foot in front of the other. You already see you. A lot of times people say, oh, I want clarity. My problem is I need clarity. I mean, I'm not clear on where God wants me to go. And we want, like, the Noah kind of clarity, right? Okay, Noah, here's what you got to do, bro. You gotta build boat. 430 cubits by 320 cubits by 28 cubits. But in any so specific or the Ark of the Tabernacle, right? So specific. We're like, they had clear direction. They knew what to do. I guess Noah had clear direction because it had never rained. So how clear is that? What am I building again? It'd be like somebody telling us to build a ufo. What? What am I building again? A time travel machine. What am I building again? Because it makes no sense. So Noah didn't really have clarity. And a lot of times, the clarity God gives is like a Polaroid, right? You pull out the Polaroid. What is this? This is a hot mess. Give it a minute to develop. That's what he gave to Abraham. To Abraham, he said, go. Go to a land that I'm going to show you. Okay? God, show me the land, right? I want to know where I'm going. Show me, God. Show me that I'm gonna be okay. Show me that my gifts are gonna be used. Show me that I'm gonna be happy again. Show me that I'm gonna live in the house of my dreams. Show me, God. God's like, I'm really gonna need you to just trust me. It's this whole thing called. So I'm gonna need you to walk in faith, kind of like Abraham. And you're gonna have to walk kind of like you said earlier. Walk in the light that you have. Like, the headlights are. It's gonna give you 50ft, but it's not Gonna give you to your destination. You got to keep moving the car. You got to keep walking by faith and not by sight. And then the next thing comes along and it looks scary. I was just coaching the president of a company, and something came up, and they said, hey, we have to talk to you. We made a mistake. We did this wrong. You know, we're afraid it's going to destroy us. And I saw this pretty powerful business guy, like, welling up in the eyes, and I knew he had that thing where it's. It's too close. It's too close. So I told him, I said, do you have insurance? Years and omission insurance? Yes, I do. Are they going to cover this? Yes, they are. Do you think your company did not do the right thing? No, we didn't. Did you do it on purpose? No, we didn't. Do you want to fix it? Yes, I do. I said, so you're telling me your heart's right and there is a way to fix this, but the reputation is going to destroy us. I said, great. Just do the right thing. Do what's right because it's right and do it right and trust God with the rest. He's like, that's really hard, Nicole, because he's a believer. Really hard, Nicole. And I said, yeah, so is walking on water. Here's the thing. You've said that all your business success was God providing for you. And if he's provided to you for you until now, were you really walking by faith, or were you walking in the gifts and talents that just resided on the inside of you? And now's your chance to walk by faith? And you're like, God, ditch it, because I don't have this.

Yeah.

If the first thing that is truly out of your hands, if you're in a situation right now and things are truly out of your hands, you're married to somebody who's using drugs, and you can't make them stop if you're married to somebody who's abusing you. And you can't make them stop if you're trying to be married to somebody and you can't find anybody to marry because you looked around and the prospects just aren't there. The ones you like. Like you. I mean, we all think we have problems, right? Some of us can't get married, Some of us can't get unmarried, and some of us can't stay married.

Right?

The whole spectrum. The enemy's gonna tell you all the time you are in a boat and you're gonna crash. Maybe we're not supposed to be in the boat at all. Maybe we're supposed to step out of water on this thing called faith and cry uncle, say, God, I don't got it. And he said he never called us to have it. He never called us to be self sufficient. No, he called us to call on him and say, okay, God, I give up. And now I get up because I'm giving it to you. And when we lift our hands to him, then he grabs them and he helps lift us up. But we have to get up by faith. It's like the, the man at the pool, right? Here he is. For 38 years he was standing by the pool and Jesus didn't say, oh, come on, I'm gonna pull you in the water, buddy. You're gonna be okay. Couldn't, couldn't you wiggle? Couldn't you move? Don't you want to be healed?

Yeah.

Why would God say something like that? Because he can't do it for us.

No.

It's healing power. But we have to latch onto it with our faith. And I'm encouraging you today. I know it seems impossible, I know it seems crazy. I know it seems too hard, but it's not in your strength, it's in his. And if you give up to him, if you surrender to him, he's going to say, okay, you gave up, now get up. And that's.

Oh, that's so good. That's so good. So good. Nicole, I know that you do. You have a circle of friends. I know you do. Mentoring. Tell the people how they can get in touch with you. They need, you know, closer contact. They need mentorship, how they can get your books. Tell, tell them where your church campuses are.

Well, we have four churches in St. Louis. We're building one in metro Illinois area and we have two churches in the West Palm Beach, South Florida area. So we spend a week in St. Louis, a week in Florida. Kind of like you and Ron with South Carolina and California. We go back and forth all the time. I do a high value partnership program with people where we do a zoom call once a month. Like February is Brad Lominick. He is a coach to CEOs. He sits down. I do a master, a year long mastermind group and he just sat down with a room full of us and we sorted out leadership goals, action plan, executions, visions, and those are the things that I really major in. And I did a five step method for actually not setting goals, but getting goals because there's a difference. A lot of people set goals and walk away. And then we wonder what happened, what went wrong. But we really are called to get our goals. And step four is kind of what we talked about about today. And a really fancy, sexy way of saying it is the immense value of simply not quitting. The real word is commitment, but nobody wants to say that word. And simply getting up every day. It's what hope you were talking about one step in front of the other. So if you want my goals book, if you want to check out my master class, check out my circle of friends, you can go to nicolecrank.com forward/goals. Forward slash, circle. Forward slash, thrive. Forward slash masterclass and just tear it all out.

And they. They have got to get this book anywhere books are sold. Correct?

You can get it anywhere books are sold. And we give away copies of the book on my website. If they pay shipping and handling, we do the book. We give them access to a masterclass absolutely free. And then we unlock a video vault that goes with it. And it's mostly because God put it on my heart that sometimes people need help. And that's what my circle of friends actually helps pay for, is people who say, okay, I need help. I need somebody to invest in me right now. And that's what we do. So we don't want money to get in the way of people getting help.

That's so good. And this book will help you. I mean, I believe in it. I told you that my book, the Most Beautiful Disaster, and Pastor Nicole's book, I Will Thrive, came out four weeks with each other with the same. Same publishing company. And so we just got behind each other and supported each other. And I'm so thankful for that. And I just pray that those of you who are listening today don't get stuck in the current content of your life, because we can do that. And that's what we talked about at the beginning. It's what you focus on. If I'm focused right here on my hand, I cannot see my cup. And that cup has something in it that's going to help me, that's going to shake me, that's going to change my life. And you cannot get so focused on your current situation that you're not willing to get up and believe what God said about you. Believe what he said that he wants you to do. You know, if you will become everything that he says you can be, you will have everything that he says you can have. It's not about pursuing the things that he wants you to have. It's becoming who he wants you to be. And that doesn't happen overnight and it doesn't happen in a month, and it doesn't happen in a six week class. It is a lifelong journey of running this race to become more like Jesus. It's not going to happen next week. It's not going to happen next year. It is a process of becoming like him. And you got to start somewhere. Why not start today? We love you so much. We just want to help you right here at Ron and Hope Unfiltered, real, raw, relevant. That's why we bring in people that we know and love that can pour into your life. And we don't have guests all the time, but I'm so thankful to have you, Pastor Nicole, today. Thank you for sharing your life and sharing your time. So until next time, it's Ron and Hope Unfiltered.