He Stretched Out His Hand

Live on American Family Radio, this is Peter Rosenberger. This is the nation's show for you as a family caregiver. This is hope for the caregiver. Hope for the caregiver is that conviction, that unswerving belief that we as caregivers can live a calmer, healthier, and dare I say it, a more joyful life. I am Peter Rosenberger and I'm glad to have you with us.

888-589-8840, 888-589-8840. How are you doing? How are you feeling?

What's going on with you? That is the purpose of the show is to give family caregivers a place where they can speak in their own voice and speak from their own heart and understand how they, as a caregiver, no matter what they're doing, no matter who they're taking care of, no matter what's going on, you can still, as a family caregiver, live a healthier life. Not necessarily a happier life. Happiness is not the goal. That will come and go, but healthiness is what we're seeking. Joy, different than just the absence of pain.

Joy is being able to understand a greater truth in the midst of whatever. And I'm bringing 35 years of experience as a caregiver, still am a caregiver, to understand that concept. And I promise you, I'm going to get somebody at American Family Radio to do a disclaimer for me. You know, they always have a disclaimer at the end of the show that says, the views of this show are not necessarily the views of this network.

It's always a disclaimer. They do that on all the shows. I'm going to get someone to do one for my show that says, the views of this show are not necessarily things that the host owns, but he's learned the hard way and he's trying to keep learning them. So maybe I can get Pat to do that one for me after the show is over.

All right. I want to start off with a... I'm torn because I don't know if I should start off with the trivia question.

I'm in the trivia song or the scripture because they're both... I think I'm going to start off with the song. I'm going to do something a little different today. I'm going to start off with a song. I like to do things that you guys are going to know, but there is a caveat with this. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to go step over to the caregiver keyboard, the caregiver keyboard, and I'm going to play the song today.

And I want you to tell me what this song is. Before I do this any further, there was a man that called last week named Stan and I owe him a CD. And somehow his address, the producer wasn't able to get all of the stuff to me or something.

Something happened and I lost it. So Stan, if you called last week, please give us a call again, 888-589-8840. Now, if I get a hundred people calling in to say they're Stan, that's wrong. Okay. That's just wrong.

So Stan, you know who you are. And I would appreciate very much if you would give me a call back and we'll get all your information, get that to you. And I apologize for that. All right. I'm stepping over to the caregiver keyboard, the caregiver keyboard. Here I am now at the caregiver keyboard and I'm going to play this song. This is one of my all-time favorites. I think it'll be one of yours too, but you got to tell me what it is, but then I want you to, there's a caveat for it. All right. Do you know that song? 888-589-8840.

If you do know that song, I want you to tell me why that song is important to you. And that's going to tie in with what we have today for our scripture. And it's Matthew 8, one through three. When he, Jesus, came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him and behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him saying, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying, I will be clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. If you haven't seen that series, the chosen, this is beautifully portrayed in the chosen.

So if you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and get it. And so that's our musical and biblical reference this morning, Matthew 8, one, three. If you know that song, 888-589-8840.

888-589-8840. And I am going to take a quick call here before we get into that from Alexander in Texas. Alexander, good morning. How are you feeling?

Alexander? Yes, sir. Can you hear me? I can hear you now.

Go ahead. How are you feeling Alexander? I'm feeling pretty good, man. I'm actually like just moved from like Midland Odessa.

I was working in the oil field industry out there and I came back out after it fell out to Dallas, Texas. And my mother-in-law, you know, my wife, she was saying that she needed some help and, you know, we're living with her. I try to take care of her. She's 76.

And the biggest thing I was going to, I really appreciate your show. I listen to it all the time, but we were, you know, living with her and trying to take care of her. And it just seems like I've heard the term before, gaslighting. And I definitely have the, you know, the feeling, the weight of like what that meaning is, you know, because like, you know, she would ask us to do things and, you know, she would have all these different things. And whenever we would do them for her, she would come back and like, you know, question your sanity. Like, you know, like I never asked to do that.

Like, why did you do that? And then whenever she seems like she's like, you know, could take care of herself, I don't, I don't know why she was asking for help. And every time we get a chance to try to, you know, move or like try to, you know, live on our own, you know, like me, my wife, because we have a son and he's a year and a half and we're about to have a daughter. And every time we try to like move, she wants us to like stick with her, you know, like, um, I don't know, I don't know how to put it in words, but, uh, Well, you've done a pretty good job of that. Is she impaired in any way? Well, she, she has, uh, five, you know, um, you know, how do you say it? Five kids, right? Like, uh, my wife is one of them.

And then she has like two girls and two boys. That's not, that's not, Parenthood is not necessarily an impairment. I mean, is she, sometimes it feels like it. Is she impaired? Is she mentally or physically impaired? Is she, does she have dementia? Does she have physical disabilities? Is there something wrong with her? Well, uh, that, that's where I was coming from. Like all the, all the siblings, uh, you know, stay away from her because they, they, they think that she's like mentally unstable.

You know what I mean? Well, yeah, but, but has she been diagnosed as such? It's not a matter of people's opinion.

There's a lot of people in politics that I think are mentally unstable, but, but is there an official diagnosis that she has dementia, Alzheimer's, uh, mental illness of some kind, or is she just being a pain? Well, the, all the siblings wanted to go get diagnosed, but she doesn't want to go, uh, to see it there. Okay. All right.

You got, you have one child and one on the way, correct? That's correct. All right. I want to, I want to give you a, a phrase that a friend of mine gave me. No is a complete sentence.

Write it down. No is a complete sentence. You don't owe her any explanation for how you live your life. You're a grown man and you have children that need you to be a grown man.

If this woman is not diagnosed with some kind of impairment or something going on and she has other children, you are not required to be in any way enslaved to her will. Okay. No is a complete sentence and you can make your own grown man decisions.

You do it with respect and with honor, but you don't have to in any way, cowtail to her. We got to go to a break. I hope that helps a little bit, Alex.

Try that one though. No is a complete sentence. This is Peter Rosenberger. This is hope for the caregiver. We'll be right back. Hey, this is Peter Rosenberger and in my three and a half decades as a caregiver, I have spent my share of nights in a hospital, sleeping in waiting rooms, on foldout cots, chairs, even the floor, sometimes on sofas and a few times in the doghouse.

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That's mypillow.com promo code caregiver. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver. That's the perfect song to come back for.

I love our bumper music here. 888-589-8840, 888-589-8840. Before I go to the phone lines again, I want to circle back to Alexander who's listening.

And I do appreciate the call. When you're dealing with a mother-in-law who has not been diagnosed with something, but just being very difficult to live with, you're not the first guy that's had that experience or the first person to have that experience. And it's a matter of learning boundaries. And I would highly recommend you studying up on boundaries. There's a great book out there called Boundaries.

And I would recommend those things because this sounds like a woman who is used to manipulating and getting her way and doing things that she wants to do, which is pretty much the human condition. We're all this way, but somebody has to tell her no. Now, if she has an impairment, you approach it differently. You still have boundaries, but you approach it differently. But if she's just being meddlesome or a pain in the rear or any of those things, then you have to have boundaries.

You train people on how to treat you. And there'll be blowback. I mean, be prepared for it because she'll pitch a fit and hold her breath until she turns blue or whatever else.

There will be blowback. But that's what boundaries are for is to help you deal with that better. And you just have to let her deal with her own stuff and get out of the way and protect you, your wife, and your children. And you can still honor her. You don't have to dishonor her with that. You just simply say, no, not going to happen.

And that's the whole point of it. All right. Cora in North Carolina, how are you feeling, Cora?

I'm great this morning. Thank you, sir. Well, tell me about this song. He touched me.

I love that song. Matter of fact, I can go a little bit deeper with it. I knew that he had touched me because of the nature that had changed in me that I just had never experienced it before. And I used to sing in a choir when I was at church, and I would wake up and sing that song. He touched me.

I need him. And I knew he had touched me. Nothing or nobody else had touched me because I had gotten involved in the Word, and I remember that song.

You know, that's what I've been looking for, because I wanted somebody to identify the nature that changed. He took you from point A to point B, and he touched me. Yes, sir.

Do you know all the lyrics of that chorus? I don't know. It's been a long, long time. He touched me. I know that I would be... Oh, he touched me. He touched me, right? Oh, he touched me. And all the joy that floods my soul. And all the joy that fills my soul.

Something happened, and now I know that he touched me, and he made me whole. Yeah. Yeah. That is the journey.

That's right. That is our starting point as caregivers to understand that there is a touch for us as caregivers. I think sometimes we're so busy trying to get our loved ones to Jesus that we don't realize how much we need him.

Absolutely. I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it until I was touched myself. It was in vain, all the other little stuff I was trying to do until the time came when I knew I was touched. And then I just started demonstrating his love without a lot of words and doing it. I tried to do it. I tried to do it on my own.

I failed pretty miserably. But this is what happens is when we understand the transformation that goes on. This man was a leper in Matthew 8, and he couldn't touch him. Nobody could touch him.

It was against the law to touch him. That's right. And Jesus did this, and Jesus... This is the whole point of all of this. And something, Cora, I think we hear a lot of this word, they, in our society. Well, if they would just do this, or if they would just do that, or it's all about them over here, they're doing this. And I think that's the wrong word for us to use as believers. I don't think there is a they. The only person who could say they is Jesus, because the rest of us are all in the same predicament. But he became one of us, so there wouldn't be any more they. And there's no difference, there's no difference, any of us, we all are in desperate need of a Savior.

Every one of us. That's right. I love that part when he said, if you will. And he said, I will. You know, that just took it all away right then. You know, it's right there single on you.

It does. I will. And he did. And he did that for you, and he did that for me. And I'm very grateful to hear from you.

And this is our starting point as caregivers, because once we wrap our minds and our hearts around this truth, it's a game changer from here on out for us as a caregiver. And Cora, I want you to know, I appreciate you very much calling and listening. Thank you. Thank you for calling in.

And I'm going to go to Dina in Ohio. Dina, good morning. How are you feeling?

Good morning. Exhausted. Exhausted.

I loved it. I think it's the feeling of caregivers. Yeah. Okay. Not going to lie about it.

It's early in the morning to be exhausted, Dina. Oh, you know, it is just a way of life at my house. But I thank you for what you're doing. She touched me.

You know, I haven't thought of this song for years, and shame on me. You had mentioned something about the chosen, and I have binge-watched way too many times. But I'm so thankful I have. And the one part that has been so profound to me was when Nicodemus comes to Mary and says, what happened?

And she said, I don't know. I was one way, and now I'm another. And the only thing that happened in between was him. And that's how I feel, because he touched me. You know, that's the gospel right there.

I was one way, and now I'm another. That's what happened when Jesus healed the man who had been born blind, and the Pharisees called his parents in front of him. They said, well, what happened? And they said, well, he's a grown man. Ask him. And they said, well, what happened?

He said, I don't know this Jesus that you're talking about. I just know that I was once blind, but now I see. He touched me. Exactly. Yes. And I think that is the gospel is that something happened.

And now I know he touched me and made me whole. And that's, again, our starting point as caregivers, because once we enter into that place, it's going to change everything on no matter who we're dealing with or what we're dealing with, because we're so focused on the reality of what the gospel means. And so why are you exhausted this morning at 730 in the morning your time?

Was it 830 or what? I don't even know what time it is where you are, but why are you exhausted on a Saturday morning? Oh, you know, my husband had a stent put in on Monday and they gave him some new drugs and it's just making loopy. So he's kind of right back where he started from. They said the stent and the new drugs were going to make him not so loopy, but heart medicine just does weird things to a person.

It does weird things to everybody around you. So, yeah. But, you know, I got Jesus and he's keeping me going. And there are days when I'm like, OK, I've had enough. Can we please just have the rapture?

And Jesus was like, no, I'm not ready. More people need to hear. So when I get a spam call, I answer at Jesus hotline.

How can I help you? That's my way of witnessing to people. And I'm going to bring as many people with me as I can. And you are doing the same. And we just really appreciate you.

Well, thank you very much. I got to tell you, in fact, I got to ask, how many of you all listening right now are saying, Lord, just bring on the rapture? How many of you all, how many caregivers pray that on a daily basis? I think that's funny, Deedah.

Well, you know what? He is coming. But until then, we have strength for today, bright hope for tomorrow. And I'm glad that this song was able to touch a place in your heart to remind you of this song. You know, of all the people that have cut it, Elvis cut this song. Even in the midst of all the stuff that Elvis went through. In fact, I think, somebody correct me if I'm wrong, I think the only Grammy that Elvis got was for this record, He Touched Me, which is surprising with all the hits he had. But I think the only Grammy he got was for this one. And even through all the issues that Elvis dealt with, this song penetrated deep. I know people that used to sing with him. And this song penetrated deep into his soul.

And it's one of the most beautiful songs I think ever written. And it really is, for me, a very important part of my journey as a caregiver to understanding God's presence in it. Deedah, you have blessed me this morning. Thank you for the phone call. I really do appreciate you calling and listening. And get some rest today. Get some rest.

This is Peter Rosenberg, and this is Hope for the Caregiver. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. We've got more to go with your calls.

888-589-8840. We'll be right back. Have you ever left the stove on? I'll be honest, you know you have.

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F-I-R-E-A-V-E-R-T dot com. Promo code caregiver. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver. This is Peter Rosenberg and this is the show for you as a family caregiver. How are you doing?

How are you holding up? That's Gracie singing from her CD Resilient, my wife. I love that song and it's a fabulous song written by Martha Menezes and Gracie does a great job on this on her record. If you want to get that record, go out to our website hopeforthecaregiver.com. In fact, if you find this show meaningful to you and you are blessed by it and it strengthens you and encourages you, would you help us do it better? Help us do it more. And you can go out to hopeforthecaregiver.com. You can click on there's a donate button right there. Be a part of what we're doing and for donation any amount we're going to send you a copy of Gracie's CD and then we would ask for that. We have two program areas. One is the prosthetic limb outreach that Gracie started when she lost her legs and we've got to buy some resin.

That's part of the journey of making a prosthetic socket that fits onto the amputee and it's all through Standing with Hope, which is the parent ministry of all that we do here and so you can help us buy some of that resin or whatever that's on your heart to do, but we would ask for you to go out and be a part of it. If you find this show meaningful and if you find this show helpful to you and strengthening to you, please be a part of what we're doing. Go to hopeforthecaregiver.com today and be a part of this and we'll send you a copy of Gracie's CD.

It's a fabulous CD and it'll bless you because she does a great job. All right, we're talking about a song that I played this morning and why this is important to family caregivers. So I'm gonna go to James in Texas. James, good morning. How are you feeling?

Good morning. I'm tired, but I'm here. Tired? Now it's early in the morning, James. Why are you tired? Well, I'm on my way to work and I got off of a 12-hour shift yesterday. I've been working seven days a week for the last few days. Well, what do you do, James?

It's been so long, but it's okay. What do you do? As far as how I feel, I work for an auto auction.

Auto auction, okay. As far as how I feel, my uncle would say, I feel with my fingers. He would never say, you know, I feel great or I feel bad because he said we don't live by faith. We don't live by feelings.

We live by faith. So when somebody asks... Well, that's true, but I like to... I feel with my fingers.

Well, I appreciate his wit on that. One of the reasons I ask this question of everyone that calls because caregivers are notorious for not speaking in their own voice. And so I want to know how they're feeling.

I want to know what's going on. And I don't really care what comes after the word. They could say I'm angry, I'm tired, I'm upset, or I'm despairing or whatever, but now we can have an honest conversation because all too many caregivers blow off that question and say, well, we had a bad night or we're doing okay, or she's had a, you know, whatever.

And I want caregivers to learn to speak in their own voice. So this is why I ask. So, but you're tired this morning, but you're on the way to work. You've had a rough week.

12-hour shifts are pretty tough, but what's going on with you this morning? Well, I heard the bars of your song. The first couple of bars reminded me of so many times that God has touched me. I mean, I almost choke up and tear up just thinking of all the different ways He has been there when nobody else could be. And it just, that touches me to know that He loves us so much. That is the whole point of that song is to recognize that something happened. And now I know, and this is what equips us to be able to endure these things that we deal with as caregivers, as human beings, as when we look at the world in disarray around us and all these things, we know that we were once one way and now we're something different. And that's the whole point.

And so when you choke up on that, it's worthy of choking up on. I mean, it's an extraordinary thing that happened that He who knew no sin came down and became sin for us and touched us in our sin, knowing that there was no way we could do this, this leper that came out to Jesus, there was no way. Nobody could even touch him. He couldn't even get near people. And we've seen just a taste of that through this pandemic where we can't even hug each other anymore.

And we're just now starting to be able to hug each other or shake hands or whatever. And imagine not being able to do that and you had to stay more than six feet apart from everybody for the rest of your life until you die. That is the death sentence of a leper in that time. And if you do get a chance to see the chosen, do yourself a favor and do it because when that guy came to Jesus and his disciples pulled out a knife to get the guy to stand away and Jesus calmed him down and he went to him and he touched the man, which was unheard of.

That's like walking into a, a COVID ward at the hospital and without any kind of protective gear, it was just unheard of. And he touched him. But this is the reality of what he's done for each of us.

And you have, the fact that you choke up on that, James means that it means something to you. And, and that's, that's a beautiful thing. And that's our starting point as caregivers to know that he did touch us and he's willing to touch us. And, and as, as a pastor friend of mine says, all we need is need. All we need is need. And, and so many of us don't think we need anything, but we do.

And you have said it beautifully. Now, James, how much longer till you get to work? Well, I'm, I'm here now, but they're not here to open the gate. So I've got 15 minutes. Well, you've just, why don't you doze off for 15 minutes and catch your breath a little bit before you go to work?

How about that? I will. I will. Hey, just do me a favor. I'm going through a battle right now with my words.

I'm having a tremendous issue with this and just keep me in your prayers. Okay. With your words about what? Well, it's just, it's this, it's just this angry words and, and just a trash talk and, you know, all of this stuff is just, is it, you know, and I don't really know where it comes from. It's just, you know, I'll catch myself. Hey, that's not right. That's not, that's not, you know, the way I should speak.

So I'm having issues with this. And like I said, why don't you try, why don't you try singing this song throughout the day? Sure will. I sure will. And that's a good place to start.

How about that? Because we're all going to say things that we wish we could take back. But if we're filling our mouths with things such as that, that's why I love these hymns. That's why I do this on the show.

Every week I'm playing some kind of hymn or something because I want people to have something that is mulling around in their brain that'll help point them to it. And music is such a great way to do that. So try, he touched me. Oh, he touched me. And oh, the joy that floods my soul. Something happened.

And now I know he touched me and made me whole. So try that. Okay. Thank you, sir. Yes, sir.

All right. Let's go to Steve in Illinois. Steve, good morning. How are you feeling?

Good morning. I'm doing good. What's going on with you?

I just wanted to respond to your, your rest about that song. He touched me and how, how God touched me. And, um, I battled and have battled for many, many years, chronic depression and at a very, very low point in my life, many, many years ago, um, I was down the solo that I was wanting to take my life. And after, you know, searching for a lot of different ways out of that situation, I found myself reaching out to the Lord and, and, um, he got me through that night. And, uh, I've, I've still, you know, times battle with, with, with, with issues with it, but there's a song that I, I listen to a lot called He is Faithful. And, uh, when I look back on all the times I've struggled and have low points in my life, he's been faithful.

He's been there. And, um, and I, I, I just want to thank him for it. And I know that song. That is a wonderful song. Let me go back to the, uh, the verse of He Touched Me. Cause I see if this resonates with you and what you've dealt with. Shackled by a heavy burden, neath a load of guilt and shame, then the hand of Jesus touched me. And now I am no longer the same. Does that resonate with you? Amen. It does.

It does. You sound like you were shackled by a heavy burden. And, uh, and that is, um, I was also, I've also been a caregiver over the years that really didn't have much to do with that situation. And, uh, both, both of my parents and my wife, a number of years ago, back, uh, she had had a stroke, but, uh, it's a miracle of God. Uh, she's home and she's doing fine.

She's with me. Um, one of the things that kind of led me, I, uh, I have a kind of a ministry. I do hospital visitations and that came about one time as a result, when we were, we were praying around a table with some friends of ours, and I was having some problems with my wife. And, uh, you know how sometimes, you know, you don't really make deals with God, but I said, Lord, if you heal me of this, I will, I will, I will, I will pray for others.

And, uh, as a result of doing that, uh, it came about, he, he healed my, my physical condition that I had. And, uh, to this day, one of the things I do, I'm an elder at my church and I do hospital visitations. That's been curtailed quite a bit by the COVID situation. And I've been, I've been, I've been, I've been in a lot of situations.

That's been curtailed quite a bit by the COVID situation and I miss it dearly. But, uh, but I think sometimes when we have problems of our own, the best thing we can do is, is reach out to others who have problems. I think the Lord rewards us for our work. And I'm grateful for your ministry, for what you do. I said, you, you, uh, you receive, you need a lot of blessing for what you do. You encourage a lot of people. And I, I spread the message of your show to just about anybody who'll listen, who's in the situation.

I very much appreciate that. All I'm doing is passing on what was given to me. And Paul says, we comfort one another with the same comfort that we ourselves have received from the God of all comfort. And that is the, that is the driving force of this show is that I'm just simply passing on what people have given to me over my 35 years now as a caregiver.

And I've aggregated that way to hopefully that makes sense to fellow caregivers. And I'm convinced that the journey begins with the message of this song, because it's very difficult to do what we do as caregivers, unless we have an inexhaustible source of grace and mercy that comes from way outside of ourselves. And once we understand what the gospel truly means as much as we can understand it, this side of heaven, then it frees us up that we can love others without demanding something in return, without being caught up in all the craziness, but we can learn to walk calmly in this. And dare I say it even joyfully in it doesn't mean we won't have tears. Joy doesn't mean the absence of tears. Joy is something far greater than this. And is that anchoring of us that to get through these things. So then we, we can in turn then go and minister to others is what you've done.

But it starts with that encounter. And once you've had that encounter with God and you've recognized what exactly is transformed in your life. I was once this, and now I am this. It, it is, it is, you can't help but share this with other people. So Steve, I thank you for that great reminder and thank you for the work that you're doing and what's coming out of your life. And thanks for being a part of the show.

I really, really do appreciate it. This is Peter Rosenberger. This is Hope for the Caregiver. This is the show for you as a family caregiver. Healthy caregivers make better caregivers. It's just that simple. So how do we start being healthy?

Well, part of it is understanding where the author of healthiness comes from. And that is from Christ. He touched me. Oh, the joy that floods my soul. We'll be right back. 888-589-8840.

Hey, this is Peter Rosenberger. Have you ever helped somebody walk for the first time? I've had that privilege many times through our organization Standing with Hope. When my wife Gracie gave up both of her legs following this horrible wreck that she had as a teenager. And she tried to save them for years and it just wouldn't work out. And finally she relinquished them and thought, wow, this is it. I mean, I don't have any legs anymore.

What can God do with that? And then she had this vision for using prosthetic limbs as a means of sharing the gospel, to put legs on her fellow amputees. And that's what we've been doing now since 2005 with Standing with Hope. We work in the West African country of Ghana, and you can be a part of that through supplies, through supporting team members, through supporting the work that we're doing over there.

You could designate a limb. There's all kinds of ways that you could be a part of giving the gift that keeps on walking at standingwithhope.com. Would you take a moment to go out to standingwithhope.com and see how you can give.

They go walking and leaping and praising God. You could be a part of that at standingwithhope.com. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver. This is Peter Rosenberger. This is the show for you as a family caregiver.

888-589-8840 if you want to be a part of the show. We started off today with Matthew 8, 1 through 3. When he came down from the mountain, that's Jesus, great crowds followed him. Behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him saying, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. And Jesus stretched out his hand.

And that's really important that we understand that particular phrase. Jesus stretched out his hand. Jesus did not have to touch him to heal him.

You understand that, right? There's many cases in scripture where physical healing happened without touching. Naaman the leper had to wash in the Jordan seven times. The Roman centurion said, look, you just give the word.

The man whose son was at a high fever was about at death. Lots of times when Jesus did not touch people, God did not physically touch people for them to be healed. But Jesus stretched out his hand. And that is so important because the man was untouchable. By the law there of the land, he could not be touched.

He couldn't even be anywhere close. And we've gotten a taste of that during COVID, of what it's like to not be able to touch people. But this guy, there were strict laws. I mean, you would be cast out of your community if you touch this guy. And Jesus touched him, stretched out his hand and said, I will, I do want to be clean. And the guy was clean.

He was made well. That's the gospel. And that's where we come to us as caregivers today and said, okay, if we don't understand that principle, everything that we do as a caregiver is going to be exponentially harder. But once we understand that Jesus himself stretched out his hand and said, I will, I do want to heal you, to heal you, then we can from that moment on be completely transformed. We are completely transformed. And so we, our testimony becomes, I was once this, and now I'm this. You know, it's, it's could not be any more simple than that.

It's not necessarily easy, but it's, it's not complicated. And so this is what I wanted my fellow caregivers to understand this morning. This is why I played the song. He touched me back over the keyboard here, keyboard here, the caregiver keyboard. Just sing it with me as I play it.

That's the message for us. Shirley in Mississippi. Shirley's calling and she knows the song well, and Shirley, I want you to tell me, first off, how are you feeling this morning, Shirley? I'm feeling great.

Yes, you are. I love hearing your voice. And I love to, you know, listen every Saturday, I'm a, I'm a hospice volunteer, which is pretty limited now because we can't do a whole lot because we can't go. I have one person I'm waiting to see. I've had my shot.

I have to have the other shot. When, when all that gets done, I'm 85 years old. And I go by this little, this thing. I don't know where I heard it, but it's good. It says, if you aren't, if you ain't dead, you ain't through.

And that's exactly the way I feel. Why is this song important to you? Because years ago, when it was first came out, a friend of ours used to sing that song. And I don't, I've lost track.

I don't think he's probably still living, but it, because it talks, it says what, what it is. And it reminds me of Andre Crouch's song about, you know, cause he's got some good ones too. Yes. I love it. Which song of Andre's does it remind you of? Well, through it all, through it all, through it all because I love that song. Gracie has a recording of that on her CD resilient. And she sings it with Johnny Erickson, Tata with Johnny Erickson, the two of them do it as a duet. And when you hear Gracie and Johnny Erickson, Tata sing this, I mean, it'll, it'll tear your heart out.

Through it all, through it all. I'll tell you what, Shirley, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I love to hear your voice, Shirley. I always recognize your voice when you call in. I love to hear your voice. I'm going to put you on hold and I'm going to make sure I get your address and I'm going to send you Gracie's CD because I want you to hear Gracie and Johnny sing through it all. I would love to.

I would love to send that to you. Shirley, you are a delight. And I'm glad that you brought that up this morning because these, these songs mean something. It's like the fellow said a minute ago when he said, um, you know, that he's, he's, he's having a problem with words and trash talking and whatever. And if we're focusing on singing these kinds of songs, it's mighty hard to use our words destructively. And these songs mean something. And I love these hymns and these songs that have been around for a while. It's not that I just don't want to, um, it's not that I don't like other things that are coming out. It's just some of these things have just had a time to seize it. Shirley, I'm going to ask you a question.

You're in Mississippi. When you cook, you ever cook with an iron skillet? Yes, I have, but I'm not that good at it, but yes, I know about cooking with an iron skillet. Well, I cook with, I'm out here in Montana and I, for some reason I just decided I'm gonna cook everything with iron. They're heavy pots, so forth, but I love cooking with iron skillet. But you know, one of the things about an iron skillet is it has to be seasoned and it takes, you have to season it.

You can't just throw it in the dishwasher or anything else. There's a seasoning that goes with it. And I think that's what these songs have is they have a seasoning with them over time. And there's a way that you handle these songs and, uh, and they mean something to us. And the moment you hear the first couple of notes, it automatically just does something to your heart. And, and so that's what I love them. And so it's, it's, um, and I'm, I'm hopefully introducing them to this audience, uh, for those who don't know these songs and for those who do, I hope I'm, uh, playing them in a way and connecting you to them in a way that maybe you haven't been connected to them in a while. And so thank you for just the call, Shirley, and just the encouragement you are.

And I, I, I, you're going to love this, this version of Gracie singing this, uh, from her CD. So if, can you hang on just a second and we're going to get your information. All right.

All right. This is, um, Kathy in Texas. Kathy, good morning. How are you feeling? Kathy?

Well, we lost Kathy. Good morning. There you are. Good morning. Okay.

It's, I guess it's just the delay that I've always heard about. Well, there's sometimes there is one, but go ahead and turn your radio down. I, yeah, I don't have my radio on it right now. Okay. You are you in the car? Yes, I am. All right. Hands at 10 and two on the wheel. Okay. You got it.

Uh, in just a second. Oh, but I just had to call in because right away, I recognize the song. He touched me for a couple of different reasons. Uh, first of all, it's a song my mother would sing all the time in church, uh, a Baylor graduate here in Texas. And so she had a beautiful soprano voice that, um, always blessed my heart. Uh, we're a singing family and, um, but also when I was 12 years old, I go to second Baptist church here in Victoria, Texas. A man came to speak at our church.

His name was Reuben Machada. And he sang that song and with his Spanish accent, he sang, he touched me and, but he, he sang that song with more conviction than I've ever heard. And I can't think of that song without thinking of that man and what a great, um, message he had to share about how God touched his life. And again, you know, it's like other callers, that song brings tears to my life because I was fortunate enough to be touched by God. And, um, it's just a, it's a fabulous joy, uplifting song. And I just wanted to share that with you guys. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. It is, you know, and I could hear the emotion in your voice when you say this, because if you've had this encounter with Christ, when you realize that you were once this and now you're this, you can't help but be emotional about it.

You can't. It's because we, we understand, um, the, the enormity of that he stretched out his hand and touches. We were once this way and now we're not, and that is extraordinary. And, uh, and so when we, when we recount that and, and revelations, it says they overcame by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. That means our encounter with Christ, our testimony, that we're testifying to something. This is what we witnessed. This is what we experienced.

And so this is how we overcome, uh, all these things is because we, we are anchored in what happened. And you think about, uh, the apostle Paul and what he was and what he became, uh, the tremendous transformation. I heard a great quote the other day that, uh, that said this to the effect of the people that Paul persecuted before he came to Christ, the people that he persecuted and had put to death applauded when he arrived in heaven. That's the gospel.

You know, the very people that he tortured became that great cloud of witness that cheered him on as he was going through his journey as a believer, ministering to so many people and all the things that happened to him. And I think this is, this is what we, we don't understand very well. Um, as a society, we can't understand it until we've had that radical encounter where, where we realized that we were completely helpless, you know, and, and, and all we need is need. The only thing we need to bring to Christ is nothing, but how many of us have nothing?

And this leper recognized that he had nothing and, and, and that he had no hope unless he did this. And this is, this is our starting point as a family caregiver, because until we understand the inexhaustible love of God, how can we extend that to others over a period of time? We may be able to do it for a week, month, maybe even a year, maybe a couple of years.

And we're going to run out, but he never does. And, uh, I thank you very much, Kathy, for sharing your story with us. Very much appreciate that. This is Hope for the Caregiver. This is Peter Rosenberger. This is the show for you as a family caregiver. Healthy caregivers make better caregivers.

What better way to understand that than the gospel where he reached into our unhealthiness, made us healthy. Hopeforthecaregiver.com. This is John Butler and I produce Hope for the Caregiver with Peter Rosenberger. Some of you know the remarkable story of Peter Rosenberger, some of you know the remarkable story of Peter's wife, Gracie. And recently, Peter talked to Gracie about all the wonderful things that have emerged from her difficult journey. Take a listen. Gracie, when you envisioned doing a prosthetic limb outreach, did you ever think that inmates would help you do that?

Not in a million years. When you go to the facility run by CoreCivic and you see the faces of these inmates that are working on prosthetic limbs that you have helped collect from all over the country, that you put out the plea for, and they're disassembling. You see all these legs, like what you have, your own prosthetic legs. And arms.

And arms. When you see all this, what does that do to you? Makes me cry because I see the smiles on their faces and I know, I know what it is to be liked some place where you can't get out without somebody else allowing you to get out.

Of course, being in the hospital so much and so long. And so, these men are so glad that they get to be doing, as one band said, something good finally with my hands. Did you know before you became an amputee that parts of prosthetic limbs could be recycled? No, I had no idea. You know, I thought a peg leg, I thought of wooden legs. I never thought of titanium and carbon legs and flex feet and sea legs and all that.

I never thought about that. As you watch these inmates participate in something like this, knowing that they're helping other people now walk, they're providing the means for these supplies to get over there. What does that do to you?

Just on a heart level? I wish I could explain to the world what I see in there and I wish that I could be able to go and say, this guy right here, he needs to go to Africa with us. I never not feel that way.

Every time, you know, you always make me have to leave, I don't want to leave them. I feel like I'm at home with them and I feel like that we have a common bond that I would have never expected, that only God could put together. Now that you've had an experience with it, what do you think of the faith-based programs that CoreCivic offers? I think they're just absolutely awesome and I think every prison out there should have faith-based programs like this because the return rate of the men that are involved in this particular faith-based program and the other ones like it, but I know about this one, is just an amazingly low rate compared to those who don't have them. And I think that that says so much. That doesn't have anything to do with me. It just has something to do with God using somebody broken to help other broken people. If people want to donate a used prosthetic limbs, whether from a loved one who passed away or you know somebody who outgrew them, you've donated some of your own for them to do. How do they do that? Where do they find it? Oh, please go to standingwithhope.com slash recycle standingwithhope.com slash recycle. Thanks, Gracie.