Hi, this is Ashley T. Lee Podcast.
Join me to hear the Bible read line by line and explained. Listen weekly to Ashley T. Lee Podcast. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening to the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Truth Talk Live. All right, let's talk. A daily program by the Truth Network. This is kind of a great thing and I'll tell you why. Where pop culture, current events, and theology all come together.
And now, here's today's Truth Talk Live host. How is your mom doing? What a question. What if you got that question every time you went out in public?
What if you got that question in the corridors of the church lobby, the vestibule, which some of us more high church, more formal folks call it, the vestibule. That's the question I get all the time. How's mom doing, junior? Sometimes I get that question and they don't even ask me how I'm doing. Like, wait a second, I just got out of the hospital. I've got a whole body cast on and you're asking me how she's doing. Well, I'm right in front of you. No, I don't mind.
It's good. Especially if you know my mama and you're going to talk to my mom in a second. We're going to ask my mom, Nancy Epperson, we're going to ask her how she's doing. Now, why would someone ask me that question? It's a very thoughtful question. It's a very kind question.
Because dad died in July of 2023. It's a difficult time for all of us Eppersons. You, the vast, wonderful, generous, kind listeners of this program, this network, wherever you're listening, you've been so kind and supportive and gracious and loving toward our family. And you've asked me repeatedly, how's mom doing? It's got to be tough.
Married to Big Stu for 60 years. How is she doing? Well, let me answer that question by asking her that question because she's going to join us on the air right now. Grayson, we've got her before she goes on the air. I'm giving some shout outs right now because we have some new listeners like Calvin and his precious little girl, Esme, who I just met earlier in the pool.
I was doing my laps and dad's swimming with his daughter. Hello, Calvin. Welcome to the Truth Network.
Welcome to the Truth Revolution. Welcome, Rick and Renee. Rick, class of 76, Wake Forest University. Just saw these new friends at a restaurant called Culver's Custard in Winston Salem, where I saw Jeff Whitehart, who knows my mom and our family from going back way years. Jeff, hello. He's listening. Mr. Patel is listening.
And how about Tiff and her son, Jeff? Shout out to them listening right now. First time listeners to the Truth Network. I love giving shout outs to all my friends like my buddy, Darren, who I just had coffee with.
He's listening to the Truth Network right now. Hello, buddy. Thanks for the encouragement, man, over coffee. I'll shout you out, too, if I see you. And I'm going on the air that day. I will shout you out. We love our Truth Network listeners.
We love our new listeners. Stay tuned. A whole lot of truth is coming your way, including a question mom that everyone's been asking me. So I'm gonna ask you right now on national radio.
Mama, are you there? I am. Yes, I am. You know, I've hosted many shows. I've spoken at many events, graduations, commencements, whatever you call them. I've spoken at funerals.
And I've preached and I've written, and one person always loves every word of it, and she's on the line right now. She's my mom. Mama, thank you so much for being such a blessing in my life. Well, thank you for being a blessing. I couldn't ask for a better son, that's for sure. Well, is it okay to wish you happy Mother's Day like the day after Mother's Day?
Of course, any time. I mean, it's like, you know, it's like Christmas. It's like, you know, Christmas doesn't just, you know, end, you know, at eleven fifty-nine, you know, on Christmas Day.
You know, it's the gift that keeps on giving. You know, these high days remind us of what's really important all year round, and mom, you are so special. And we weren't able to spend it together, but I must have called you like three or four times. We had some good conversations. You certainly did. Now, are you quoting and floating today?
Have I caught you in the pool? No, yeah, I just got out a few minutes a few minutes ago, and yes, I was quoting and floating, working on my Scripture. What are you working on? Well, right now, interestingly enough, I'm in some of the Psalms, and I'm memorizing Psalm 127 and 128, and also Psalm 51, which is David's beautiful prayer of repentance, and Psalm 48, you know, the Lord is my in my refuge. So I'm working on some of the Psalms, but then I'm constantly, you know, reviewing, because what you don't use, you lose.
That's a good word. You want to continually review, and of course, the whole purpose of memorizing is to meditate. Meditate on the Scripture, think on the Word of God, and so I've been doing that today, and I just finished up.
Oh, my soul. Well, listen, Mom, I've been encouraging people all day, and they're so excited, because here's the thing, okay? We know we lost Dad last year, our first Mother's Day without him, here to celebrate, because he was in the front row. I mean, he was bringing the flowers and the Krispy Kremes and, you know, paying for the big lunch we had and whatnot, but everyone wants to know that everyone asked me this question, so I thought, rather than replay that over and over my mind and me answer, I thought I'd ask you directly, right first person, how are you doing? How is Mom doing?
Oh, I am doing well. I tell you what, God's grace is sufficient, and it truly is. You never know how you will respond when something like this happens to you, and I just, I never even thought I could live life without my wonderful husband, my soul mate, my best friend, the love of my life, and I really did think when he died that I would just be so despondent and down and just not even know if I could carry on, but God's Word is so true, and God is so faithful, and his grace is sufficient, and he was there every step of the way, and the most amazing thing happened to me, and it was really a phenomenon.
I didn't anticipate this. I was kind of really surprised by it, but I had this overwhelming feeling of gratitude and joy and thankfulness to the Lord for those 60 amazing years of marriage, how gracious God was to give me those years, and the last couple years of Steve's life, the doctor had said two different times that he definitely would not make it, and to call hospice in, but both times he did come back, an amazing recovery, which started with doctors, so I really did believe the last few years were an absolute gift from the Lord. Okay, it's a post-Mother's Day show, Mom. We're going to take a quick break, finish that sentence, tell us more about why memorizing Scripture is so important, and the portrait of a godly mom with none other than my mom for just a few more minutes on Truth Talk Live. She's going to hang on with us, and we'll even take your calls when we come back.
Stay tuned. What happened when the preacher came by the house just after Dad died? I want to tell you that firsthand with Mom after this.
Hang on. Happy Mother's Day, the day after Mother's Day, a greeting that we could extend to all of our moms every day of every year, because they truly are the heroes now. All heroes wear capes, but my mom is truly my hero, and she has been strong, and she has been full of grace, and she has taught me the Bible since I was just a wee little lad and my three sisters. And she is a mom, she's a grandmom, and she's a great-grandmother as well.
And we're so glad she's with us briefly today on Truth Talk Live. And Mom, of course, let's rehearse the day Dad had passed away. Pastor Will came by, and there we were, and you were quoting and floating.
I'm like, what's this lady doing in the pool, you know, working on her scripture verses and all that? First of all, that was a little bit different. Why weren't you, you know, in the house, just in the bed, just be moaning and sad and all that? And of course, we were all sad, and we were all crying, and all the sweet nieces and nephews and grandkids were all there. But Pastor Will asked how you were doing, and I was ready for just a torrent of tears, and just how awful it is now.
What am I going to do? I'm going to crawl in a hole, and just, it's over. And what did you say, Mom, when he asked you that?
He said, Nancy, how are you doing? Well, I just said I'm doing well. I'm just, I'm so full of gratitude and praise to God that I just, I don't have room for despair and discouragement.
Of course I grieve, of course I'm heartbroken, but I know I'll see my wonderful husband again, and I rejoice in that truth, and I'm just so grateful to the Lord for the amazing years I lived with this wonderful man as my husband. Well that sure encouraged me. I'm working on a book on Thanksgiving, and this is the, oh, it's dedicated to Dad, and this is kind of like the opening thought. Mom, you really inspired that.
And the problem is, I keep sending Mom the manuscript, and she keeps saying, get it published, move, and I keep saying, no, no, I don't want to go there. But Mom, you've been such an encouragement to me and so many. You know, 50 years ago, plus your husband Big Stu, who's in heaven, he and your brother Uncle Ed started Salem Media, one of the largest Christian media companies of all time, with Christian stations all over. 25 years ago, your son, yours truly, myself, led by the Lord, of course, and coached and encouraged by Big Stu, and by you, we started the Truth Network 25 years ago.
Separate from Salem, but of course we have great relationship, and of course my number one mentor was Dad, and you have been an amazing inspiration to me. And I just think of all the impact that you have had, and there's so many people that want to throw in the towel, Mom. Yesterday was a hard day for a lot of people. A lot of people had lost their moms to various things. You lost your mom to a battle with disease a couple decades ago and whatnot.
Tell us what the day was like for you, and tell us your word of encouragement to those out there who maybe struggled a little bit on Mother's Day. What would you say to everybody? Well, my word of advice is just in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you, 1 Thessalonians 5 18. We have so much for which to be thankful. God is so good to us. The Bible says He daily loads us with benefits.
I mean daily, He loads us. Think of it, that word loads us with benefits. And if we could just open our eyes, ask God to open our eyes and show us His blessings, His goodness, His kindness, His grace. So I say focus on what you had.
In my case, I had 60 glorious years, and I thank God for that. I'm so grateful for that. And when your heart is full of gratitude and praise, there just is no room for despondency, depression, discouragement.
There's no room for it. And also, you know, you must go to the scriptures and be reminded of God's goodness. We're told in Philippians 4, 8, Whatsoever thinks of true, honest, just, lovely, pure, of good report. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.
And actually, that's the next verse. That previous verse is, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. And so my advice is praise God, and just praise Him for the years and the time you did have with your loved one. And if your loved one did know the Lord, then just rejoice in the fact you will see that person again. That is the blessed hope of the believer. Yeah, Mom, thank you for, I mean, you literally, so many people struggle, and death and loss is a really tough thing. They know Christ is not lost at all, it's a transition to him for the better, transition to him for a better life. Big Stu would not want to be here for Mother's Day.
As much as he loves his wife, he is the bride of Christ, he's with Jesus, and he is just doing amazing. But you know, it's interesting, we were at a big lunch on Friday before Mother's Day. I was with Boss Lady and so many folks, the news was there, I sat next to the mayor, I introduced him, and I gave a little word. And Mom, I wore my Happy Thanksgiving tie, because I couldn't find a tie that said Mother's Day on it, so I have this Happy Thanksgiving tie, and I thought, wow, what better tie to wear? Of course, everyone saw my black and kind of orange Thanksgiving-colored tie with the bouquet, you know, with the fruit, the big fruit platter and everything on it. Happy Thanksgiving, like, what's that? Well, what better way to celebrate moms than to say, we're thankful! What better holiday to tie into Mother's Day?
And every holiday has Thanksgiving at its core, and you have Thanksgiving at your heart, and there's something about Thanksgiving when you look at what you do have, and you look at what he has done for us, the whole gospel is not about what I do for him, and me performing and performing, the gospel is what he has done for me, and the whole model of the Christian life is, then the Puritans really bless us with this reformers grace and gratitude. We got B-Man on the phone, an Ohio caller wants to weigh in and say hello to Mom. It's my mom, Nancy Epperson, on the phone with me on this post-Mother's Day edition of Truth Talk Live, talking about her big heart of Thanksgiving and gratitude, even on the first Mother's Day without Dad.
Jump in here, sir. What do you say? Wow, Stu, and I just have to say this, Epperson family, I'm listening to this whole program, Stu, and I am absolutely, my jaw is dropped inside of the busmobile, listening to your dear mother, and this is coming from a heart, Truth Talk Live, from a man who lost his mom in 2023, and all I can say is I want to adopt your mom, Stu, to be my mom until I go home.
I'm not kidding. Wow. Thank you, Dad. Go ahead, ma'am. No, thank you for your kind words.
Yeah, just very, yeah, what a blessing. Go ahead, Mom. Well, I was going to say, yeah, I was going to say, ladies first, Stu.
Pardon me? I'll say this, okay, let me just say this and I'll take your answer off the air there, Mom Epperson, is I can see where the fruit in Stu came from with you and your husband. God bless you, Epperson family.
Keep doing what you're doing. I love you both. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mom, for jumping in here on Truth Talk Live. You are such a blessing.
We love you. Oh, thank you so much. And happy Mother's Day, the day after. Thank you. What's your Mother's Day testimony? Call me with it next.
866-344-TRUTH. A big, fat, warm, happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, the day after Mother's Day, and who better to celebrate with than my mom. We weren't able to physically be together. I did call her a bunch of times, and the grands called her, and we wished her happy Mother's Day, and my sis took good care of her where they were. They loved on Mimi. You felt a lot of love, didn't you, Mom, on Mother's Day?
Oh, I did. A lot of love, yes. Now she, you know, she had, through her agent and all the waivers and all that, you know, had contracted for just a, you know, a half hour on the show, but she graciously agreed. We did some off-air negotiations through Grayson, our fine producer, and some other high-level folks, and she agreed to stay on a little bit longer, because the phone lines are jamming up at 866-344-TRUTH, because this is my mom, Nancy Everson, the First Lady of Big Stu, who went to heaven last year, her first Mother's Day without her husband, who was part of her becoming a mother, and of course, Father's Day is going to be tough, but Mom recounted that when preacher came by, Pastor Willow asked her how she was doing. She said, I'm full of gratitude for the 60 years God gave me with my husband, Stu. Those were her words. Be sure you listen to the earlier portion of this. All of these programs are made into podcasts, so you can listen and share this with someone out there that needs some encouragement.
That's why we're here, to encourage people, to point them closer to Jesus Christ. I'm Stu Everson, honored to be in the Truth Talk Live seat today with my mom on the line, and we got another caller, Ed from Roanoke, Virginia, on 101.5 FM, brand new Truth Network affiliate station there. Ed, you're on the air with my mom, Nancy Everson. Go ahead, sir. Oh, I'm so glad I was able to catch you today and catch your mom on Mrs. Everson, this is Ed Weber, Piedmont Baptist College years ago. Oh my goodness, hi, Ed.
How about that? You taught me speech, and it was just... One of my favorite students. Oh, well thank you.
Not one of the best, that's for sure. Now mom, you taught speech at Piedmont, you taught speech at Piedmont Baptist College, then it became Piedmont Bible College, then it became Carolina University, which it is now still going. How many years, mom? Four or five years you taught a biblical speech there, pastoral speech, how many years? 55.
55 years. So that means before I was born, so that tells you how old I am, and that tells you how young Ed was. Now Ed, did she make an impact on you as a young student there, a young Bible student? Yeah, walking into class every morning, and the first thing she would say is, class, this is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. And we would look at her and say, Ms. Epperson, it takes 30 in the morning.
But you know, yeah, and just, you know, like her... I told you, Stu, one time, I'm going to come in, I'm going to call in and just share with you the impact your family had on me. I mean, I have a test... When I would give my testimony in churches, when I'd go before I went to the mission field, your family was always mentioned. I kid you not. They were part of the testimony, and they've been such an influence in my life. And Ms. Epperson's just a great mom, great woman of God. And I still, I don't have it all, Ms. Epperson, but James chapter one, I've got a good portion of a memory.
All right. Well, praise the Lord. Well, mom, didn't you do that with a lot of your students? You had these young, you know, these young preacher boys that came to take, you know, speech classes at Pima Bible College, now Carolina University, you had them memorize and recite in front of the class to kind of have the Word of God in them, so they could, you know, what better way to work on speech than the Word of God, right, mom? Is that what you had them do? Exactly. Every single class I ever taught, there was scripture memory always, yeah, so important.
Yeah. Oh, and you were such a blessing, and continue to be. God bless you. I'm so glad you called in, thank you. Well, and somehow he ended up in Roanoke, Virginia, and he ended up finding this program on the new 101.5 FM, and Ed, you got to tell everyone about 101.5, you know, the word's getting out there in Roanoke.
People are finding out all about us in that area, Rocky Mountain, Smith Mountain Lake, Roanoke, Salem, that whole area, so hello to everyone there, and thank you, Ed, for being an ambassador of truth there, man. I want to share a little bit about my wife, who was a great mom on the mission field, who taught three boys, homeschooled three boys, and just an amazing woman of God. Wow. She was a precious, precious. I rejoice in her life, and you know, just thinking about her, I'm sad for the boys, I'm sad for the boys, they're still struggling. Yeah. But, you know, she was such an influence on the boys and on everyone around her, and the interesting thing was here in Roanoke, you know, we had the funeral at Oakie's, and it was COVID, and it was online, and it was outside, and Oakie's called me, they said, you know, Mr. Weber, they said, our online videos and our funerals, usually we get about 25 or 30 views.
We want you to know, your wife has 2,500 views. Oh my goodness. Well, she was a godly woman, and you know, I do want to say something, I want to make it clear to everyone listening, please understand, it's not that we don't grieve, it's scriptural to grieve, and it's perfectly proper to grieve, but the Bible says we grieve God as those who have no hope.
Right. And the blessing to us is, we do have that hope, we'll see our loved ones again, and we must constantly remember that. And you know, another thing, another thing I thought of that I realized, in trying to analyze my reaction, because as I said, I was kind of amazed myself at my reaction to my precious husband's death, but in trying to analyze it, I realized something, because I loved him so deeply and dearly, with an agape love, what I always wanted was what was best for him, and you know, when I realized he's out of pain, he's with the Lord, he has perfect, a perfect body, perfect health, you know, that brought me such comfort and joy, and so I think if we can just focus on those things, and it doesn't mean that you won't grieve, and you will, and I totally, totally sympathize with you Ed, and I knew your precious wife, and she was a godly dear woman, and I do, I do, I do understand how you miss her, and I certainly miss my beloved Stu, but we will. The morning she passed away, I had such peace, it was like, you know, her suffering is over, it's done. Yes, yes, exactly, exactly, that's exactly how I felt, just a piece of God flooded me. It's amazing, you know, you read about it, you hear about it, God's grace, and I tell you, when the time comes and you need it, his grace is there, and it's so precious, it's just so precious.
It was amazing that morning after they, you know, the nurse called me and told me she was gone, it was like the first thought, the first picture that came into my mind was her facing Jesus. Oh, amen. And raising her hands in praise. Amen. Amen. See, the thanksgiving. The Lord together adds you something with my precious husband, and we're going to be with him in the years to come, and we'll all be rejoicing together.
Praise God for that blessed vote. I had no idea, such a godly, selfless woman, before she died, she was praying that I would marry her best friend, and I had no clue, but I heard it from others, and our church secretary, I told them, you know, that I was talking to her best friend, and I felt guilty, and she said, you know, Ed, Darlene used to talk about this all the time. I said, what? She said, yeah, she said before she died, if she didn't think you'd feel uncomfortable, she would have told you who she had picked out for you. How about that?
How about that? Well, you know what, and it's not good for men to be alone, and I had heard that you had remarried, and I was so happy for you. What a blessing, and I know you're right. And she grew up with the boys. You know, she grew up with the boys. Yeah, the boys knew her and loved her.
Well, listen, you said enough when you said, Mission Field Wife Homeschool, the sacrifice your wife made for the glory of God, the kingdom of God, to advance in the souls that have come to Christ, even since she's passed into heaven and gone to be with the Lord is remarkable, Ed, and you can't even imagine the heavenly parade that welcomed her and that is celebrating her, and you know, we're so glad you called today. You made my day. Mom, did he make your day or what?
How about that? Oh, he did. He certainly did. What a blessing. Rono, Virginia. Ed, thank you so much, my friend. Thanks for calling in. Oh, thank you.
God bless you. Now, we've got to go to Dayton, Ohio. We have a second before the break. We'll get Mike in here real quick. 106.5 FM, listening in Dayton. Mike, you are on Truth Talk Live with Stu. Welcome to the program, sir, and thank you for calling in. Hi, Stu.
Thank you for taking my call. Me and you have a lot in common. My dad passed away and my mom's still alive, and she started Modern's Widow Club right after my dad passed away. She's a rock.
You need to look that up. It's not a Christian group, but then she made it into a Christian group because she used the word of God and got people together, and she's a rock. I mean, I took it harder than she did because she was so grateful for everything, and so anyways, that's why the person you are is the person you are. Well, we both have godly mamas. Praise the Lord for your mom and for my mom, and we'll take a couple more calls at 866-3-4-TRUTH. Maybe mama will stay on just a little bit longer because she's going to be listening anyway, so why not join the conversation? Your calls, your encouragement on this post-Mother's Day Mother's Day edition of Truth Talk Live. Coming up next. Hang on. Oh, I think we have a new thing here. It's Mother's Day Monday edition of Truth Talk Live.
I'm Stu Everson. We might need to do this every week, mama. Could you just join us every week?
Put it on the calendar. So what has happened so far if you've just joined us? It has been crazy in here. Mom's sharing her testimony. Rather than just crawl into a hole and just drown in a puddle of tears after dad passed away, mom has been sharing the Gospel. She's been memorizing the books of the Bible, the book of Ephesians. She's in Psalms now, memorizing chapters of Psalms. She's been a blessing, a ministry to me. You think, where did I come from, gang?
You think I just showed up here? There's a woman of God praying for me when I was a little tiny guy, you know, and this is who's on the air with me right now. If you have a Mother's Day praise, a shout out, her children rise up and call her blessed. So tells us, the author of Proverbs, chapter 31, give us a praise report from mom. It's a Happy Mother's Day Monday all hour long on Truth Talk Live.
I'm Stu Everson, and my mom, Nancy Everson, is my special guest today. She has inspired us all with grace and gratitude. In a tough year, dad transitioned to heaven.
He's doing absolutely amazing, but it's tough on us. We love him, we wish we could call him. We were without him on this Mother's Day, we'll be without him on Father's Day, but mom has been ever grateful, ever gracious, even more so since dad has gone to heaven and she's just been an inspiration to all of us. Now, if you want to phone in, the toll-free number nationwide is 866-34-TRUTH.
That's 866-348-7884. Mom is on the line with us just for a few more minutes. If you want to call in, give a shout out to your mom, give a praise report, a prayer request. It may have been a really tough day for you. It was tough for a lot of people yesterday.
This is a tough world that's mired by suffering and sin and pain and death and cancer. And as our last caller called, just struggled, you know, when mom passed away, but just shared some things. And you know, mom, it's interesting that, you know, Ed called in one of your former students.
How does this happen? He finds you listening to Roanoke to one of our great Truth Network stations, and he calls in and says that he was greeted every morning by This is the Day the Lord is Made by Mrs. Epperson, his speech teacher at Piedmont Bible College, now Carolina University. And I want to say, Ed, before 8 30 in the morning your class started, we were hearing that in our house. This is the Day the Lord is Made. Mom, you shared those secrets.
We were waking up to it, mom, and it was way too early, and we didn't want to get out of bed. But you were quoting Scripture. How important has the Word of God been, mom? What would you say to moms young and old out there about the importance of instilling the Word of God into your children, and how that's been a part of your life? Oh, it's so important. We're told in Colossians 3 16 that the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, and it's so important that we fill our hearts and minds with the Word, because the Bible says, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
Your heart is somewhat like a computer. What you put in is what comes out, and the Word of God says, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So if you don't like what's coming out of your mouth, you need to be putting the right things into your heart, and it's so important to fill your heart and mind with the Word of God. And we're told in Deuteronomy 6, permeate your home with the Word of God. It says when you're walking in the way, when you're sitting down, when you're reclining, throughout the day, the Word of God, always before your children. And I will say this, Stuart, God left me here for a purpose.
He took my beloved husband, but he didn't take me. And I've been praying, Lord, what is that you want me to do, because I certainly want to work for the night is coming when no man can work. And one thing that I believe strongly is, I have a tremendous ministry with my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and I think many grandparents do not realize the powerful impact they have on their grandchildren. And the Lord has really impressed us on my heart. So my focus, honestly, has been my family, since my husband went to be with the Lord. And I really believe that that's my major ministry right now.
Not to say I don't minister to other people and I speak occasionally and I do other things, but right now I am so blessed with such an amazing family and my wonderful grandkids. So I really believe that's an important, powerful ministry for grandparents, one that is underestimated. What a good word. And a word I take very seriously, because a couple of those youngsters she's mentioning are my kids.
And so we're so glad, Mom, you've poured into them. And when they hop in the pool with you, they're memorizing scripture. They're quoting and floating, and it's real.
It's in real time. And one of my friends has been texting me during the show today, who's a big listener and a big friend. He came to Christ in that swimming pool, because you made him memorize John 3.16.
He never memorized it. He came from a religious but not Christian background, and God brought him to Christ, and now he's leading people to Christ. And he's impacted Christian radio, and he's actually been mentoring me. Let's go to Bruce, another caller. You're on Truth Talk Live. Bruce was Stu Epperson, my mom, Nancy Epperson, in the special Mother's Day Monday edition of Truth Talk Live.
The day after Mother's Day, we're still singing the praises of our moms, our godly moms out there like my mom is on. Bruce, you're on Truth Talk Live. Go ahead. Hey, Bruce. Hey, Nancy.
Just a quick follow-up. I was at Myrtle Beach a few years ago and ran into a guy. We were talking. He asked where I was from. I told him, and he said, well, did you know the Eppersons?
I said, yes. He told us the same story. Your friend in Virginia, he said, when I was a young student at Piedmont, he said, your mom was my speech teacher. He said, that's why I became a pastor. This fellow was in his mid-70s, so again, I got past you, Nancy, and told you that one day, but the other other anecdote I'll mention, he said, we were all these young guys.
We thought Nancy was so pretty. How about that? Oh, thank you. Anyway, so it's very clear the things you're planning are all over the place, Nancy. Praise the Lord. What a good word. Thank you so much. That's so kind. Thank you. Thank you, Bruce. Happy Mother's Day. Bye-bye. Thank you.
Thank you so much. What a kind word. 866-34-TRUTH. If you want to grab a truth line, 866-348-7884.
Just a couple minutes left as we wish. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. If you have a tribute to your mom, or maybe a mom that prayed for you, everyone else gave up on you, but mom didn't. She prayed for you. She loved you. She encouraged you.
If you want to phone in, it's 866-34-TRUTH. My mom, Nancy Everson, is on the air with me right now. Now, mom, it's so interesting to hear these callers who either bumped into former students or were former students as a caller in the previous segment called in, named Ed. The wild thing is, hosting this show for years, and hosting... taking calls and all that, I've had people call me on the air and say, hey, Stu, your wife taught me at Piedmont Bible College back in the 1970s. And of course, I was like three years old then, so I graciously remind them it was my mom, not my wife, that taught them.
But it's just so encouraging. I can't go anywhere without someone saying to me, hey, I had your mom as a teacher, and she was such a good speech professor, and she really helped me unlock that speech, that speaking. That's the thing, you know, the formal word for that for sermon delivery is homiletics.
And a lot of, you know, think about this. Maybe you grew up in a very rural area, and you can't articulate very well, but you feel called to go to the ministry. And you walk in to Piedmont Baptist College, now Carolina University, where mom taught for over 50 years, 55 years she taught there. And you walk into Mrs. Epperson's class, and she teaches you speech, the fundamentals of speech, how to write a speech, how to speak, how to enunciate, how to pronounce things, how to speak without stuttering or slurring or butchering the king's English.
It's just a gift that she has been to so many, and to those of us in our family. Now, a little shout out to mom. One of those years, when I was in high school, I won the state speech meet for my grade. I think I was in the 10th grade. And my mom coached me, and she took me down to her mentor, Aunt Lib, I called her Mrs. Edwards, who taught her speech and taught my dad's speech and mentored her at Bob Jones University, and Mrs. Edwards helped me and coached me.
And believe me, it was rough and it was rigorous, but that training really made an impact on my life. So here I am talking on the mic. I have no problem talking, do I, Grayson? Grayson's like, we're waiting for him to, you know, what they say about your kids, you spend the first couple years teaching them how to talk, you spend the rest of their life trying to teach them how to shut up, you know? But you think about the mom that taught you how to create sentences, that taught you nouns, that taught you verbs, that taught you pronouns, that taught you to speak words of kindness, to speak words of grace.
Like the Proverbs says, life and death are in the power of the tongue. So I thank the Lord for a mom that taught me to speak words of life, that taught me how to to put sentences together, how to speak words of encouragement, that sowed the Word of God into my life at a young age. You know, why is this important? Why are we doing this Mother's Day Monday? We're gonna make this a podcast. Hello all of you, by the way, listening to this in a podcast or listening to this on the Best Of edition of Truth Talk on the weekends all over the country. Let me tell you something.
Share this with other people, because I'm going to say very, very profoundly and very distinctly and very firmly that I thank God for not just my godly mom, for all those godly moms out there. You'll never hear their name. You know what the names of these?
What was D.L. Moody's mom's name? What was her name? What were the Wesley brothers? What was their mom name? What was the mom's name? What's the name of the mom that taught these mighty missionaries, William Carey and others, to Livingston and others, that taught them? Someone had to teach them Latin. Someone had to teach them the Bible theology, that God is an amazing, loving Creator God, that we are sinners separated by our sin, bound toward a godless, Christless eternity. But God who's rich in mercy, Ephesians 2, poured out his love for us in Christ.
Many of those lessons were taught to young people, to you listening to my voice right now. You are following Jesus right now because a godly mom prayed for you. So I thank God for my mom. I thank God for all the moms out there. I say happy Mother's Day today, tomorrow, and every other day, and thank God for the moms. This is the Truth Network.
