Womanhood and Motherhood (Part 3) | Ep. 138

Drawing from personal experiences and the biblical story of the Garden of Eden, we bring to life the importance of making thoughtful decisions that foster unity, especially during pivotal transitions like heading off to college. Wisdom and insights from God play a crucial role in this journey, helping us navigate challenges and strengthening our familial bonds.
 
Embracing growth and change in relationships is no small feat. We share personal stories that highlight the necessity of flexibility and allowing ourselves and our loved ones to evolve without the weight of past perceptions. Listen as we discuss the complexities of parenting adult children, forgiving past mistakes, and the grace required to endure life's consequences. Through heartfelt anecdotes, we emphasize the importance of personal growth through repentance and seeking God's guidance, all while supporting one another in our spiritual journeys.
 
Lastly, we tackle the art of letting go and trusting in God's plan amidst personal struggles with anxiety. Reflecting on scriptures from Proverbs, we explore how surrendering control to God can bring comfort and wisdom during tough times. The balance between making plans and trusting God's direction is crucial, and we assure you that joy indeed comes after periods of weeping. Wrapping up, we reflect on the blessings and devotion inherent in motherhood. Tune in for heartfelt insights and uplifting encouragement that will resonate deeply with your own life experiences.

Chapters

• 0:03 Effects of Decisions on Family Dynamics
• 3:47 Embracing Growth and Change in Relationships
• 12:33 Wisdom and Trust in God
• 25:32 Devotion and Blessings in Motherhood
• 35:14 Blessings and Support for Podcast

Transcript

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 0:03

The vision received was that of blood cells traveling throughout the body, supplying the much needed oxygen and other nutrients to the differing members of the body to fulfill their purpose. Once the blood cells are spent, they must return back to the heart to be refilled before being sent out again and fulfill their purpose and fulfill their purpose. We've told our kids, when you know, just like you, when you made your decision to go into that relationship, and not tell your parents that one act, which is what sin did in the garden, that one act destroyed your well, in this case in the garden. It destroyed their relationship with God, but it also destroyed their relationship with each other. They no longer trusted each other. They were naked and not ashamed, it was no big deal. But after that their relationship suffered the effects of that your relationship with your, because you made that decision, suffered with your parents.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:05

[And my brothers] and your brothers, [yeah], and other people around you, and it took a long time for at least to be able to, you know, kind of settle. But we've told our kids that. We've told them that your decisions and your actions are not just affecting you only, [they affect your whole family.]

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 1:23

So when they went to school, there was the understanding that, listen, you're going to go out there. You're obviously Lydia, but or John or Deborah, and you're the son of, you know dad, who's there, or mom, who eventually got there. Whatever you do will not only shine on you, it's going to shine on us and you want to be protective of us as a family Because, when it's all said and done, no matter what decisions you make, you know who's still going to be there... your family. So you don't want to burn the bridges because you might need to come back, like. All of our kids went away for college, and if they would have burned their bridges, they might not have had a home to come back to, which is what they're all doing right now, taking advantage, and we don't mind it. We intentionally decided that for the sake of being a blessing to them and wanting to help them. You know, um be founded in in their, in their moving forward in their lives. So you know they're back with us and it's going to be temporary, I know that, um, but it's going to be a good time to give them another opportunity to restore relationships with one another, because when they went off to college, a lot of relationships, for a lot of different people's decisions became very, very strained, where you thought, wow, is it ever going to get back together again, who knows?

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 2:59

But that brings me back to something that I wanted to ask, because it's talking about our decisions and their effects. You know, I think you would agree with this our experiences and our responses to them shape us to who we are today, in the present. It's not just we experience something, no, it was also our responses to that, because some people will get the same experience and respond a different way and they had a different outcome. But parallel to that, that's true, but parallel to that, the Lord is always trying to teach us His wisdom, His insight, His perspective while we're going through the things that we're going through, whether they were really of Him or whether they were our decisions. What has the Lord taught you over the years in the terms of womanhood, in terms of motherhood, that you can kind of share or testify now.

Patricia Ruiz: 3:51

I mean, we've kind of been [have we?] talking, we've been talking about it, but you know, I I I said something we need to cherish the state that the Lord puts us in, the blessing, the season that we're in. We need to cherish it, because it may be a season, it may be a lifetime. It's going to change and we need to be malleable and flexible to whatever the Lord is doing, because he's working in us, but he's also working in our spouse.

Patricia Ruiz: 4:18

He's also working in our children. There's dynamics that change with our children, [that's right]. So we should never hold on to a season of how we treated them when they were little, but we don't treat them that way now because they're not. They're adults.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 4:34

[So we're trying to reconnect as parents to adult children, you know um] I mean the inherent part of growth and development and change and and maturity is change right, and so you don't change, you won't grow, you won't develop, you won't mature right so for me and something that I tell them I cannot.

Patricia Ruiz: 4:51

I cannot, uh, influence. I can influence, but I can't change. I can't do anything about decisions that they make or other people around me make, but I can always come before the Lord and let God change me. I read a book at the beginning of my faith walk. Lord, change me. You know it's like stop talking about everybody else, Lord. I can't do anything about all these people, but that has been a truth. You know like I forget and then I have to come back to it. So there may be situations that are unfair around us, there may be misunderstandings between us. Sometimes, I think, for us and our kids, we tend to hold each other frozen in where we were last year and we've changed and we haven't allowed each other to grow like in our perception of who we are, and so I think we're dealing with them, with them, with as our perception of who they were right, and so I think you know we need to be careful, we as parents, we as husband and wife with each other, as parents with our children.

Patricia Ruiz: 6:03

But also I ask this of our children don't hold me frozen to the way I was 10 years ago. I get that a lot from the kids. Um, give me room to grow. I don't want to be in the box that you put me in, because I'm not that person anymore right a lot of things.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 6:16

We tend to put people in boxes because it's easy to identify and relate with them, because, okay, that's the type of person we don't are, but we don't know that, and I mean you could change that's what we love about repentance.

Patricia Ruiz: 6:28

You have corrected me in so many instances that I might have made a snark, snarky, remark, remark, and then I get, I repent you?

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 6:36

yes, I snarky.

Patricia Ruiz: 6:37

Oh, sometimes I am in my thoughts and I I verbalize when I verbalize them to you. But I verbalize them to you?

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 6:44

Oh, because you let it out.

Patricia Ruiz: 6:45

But you know, I have to ask the Lord please help me not to judge a person based on the past, but take them at face value of who they are today. Now that doesn't mean that I don't need to be careful if somebody whacked me. You know, somebody like is holding a fly swatter and they whacked me with it already once and they're still holding a fly swatter. Yes, I need to be careful, but not to the point where I don't was talking to someone. You know, sometimes things that we do in the past affect us. I think somebody was talking about a pastor that he repented about adultery and confessed it, and then he was all of a sudden now they're like taking it all out and, just you know, stringing his dirty laundry all over the place. Well, the man repented. So my first question to her was like who's doing that? Is it the church or is it the world? And she said no, it's the world. And I said well.

Patricia Ruiz: 7:53

So I immediately thought of David. When David sinned, God told him there were certain things that were going to happen Besides the baby dying, there were things that were going to happen way in the future. And then they did, and they did within his family, and he suffered a lot of heartache. Did God forgive him in the moment he repented? Absolutely! Were there consequences that were set in motion because of what he did? Absolutely!

Patricia Ruiz: 8:23

And so the only thing you know to me is like okay, so then we have to have the grace to endure the things that we go through, because they're consequences of our decisions, and just pray for God's mercy to to get us through it and move us on. So I say all that to say. Sometimes things have happened. I may have done something in the past with my kids that I regret, you know, and then I I all I can do is repent, confess, ask for forgiveness and then move on, and but there may be repercussions of that that come up, and then I just have to keep crying out to the Lord and saying Lord to restore, restore, restore, Lord.

Patricia Ruiz: 9:00

I know that was wrong and I know I don't have a right to even, you know, be mad about the way the acting going on, but I just ask for your mercy and so, yeah, so, if I were going to say anything, we need to give each other, we need to get each other. Let each other grow, not hold each other frozen to something that we were before, but we're all growing together, so we all need to give each other room to continue maturing, continue being perfected in our faith and encouraging each other on.

Patricia Ruiz: 9:30

So if I see someone stumbling, and I'm walking, trying to encourage them to walk with, let's keep going, let's keep going. God's got this. I know sometimes I'm accused of being too much God coming out of my mouth, but that's all I know. He's faithful, He's good and He's the one who gets us through things. He's the one who makes things okay. He's the one who restores. So if, if you know, if we're going to walk this life and be a mother and be a wife and be all the different things that He calls us to be, we have to yield our whole, our whole self to him.

Patricia Ruiz: 10:04

We have to let him have everything so that he can mold us and move us along and trust him. Trust him.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 10:15

Yeah, I uh. Everything that you just shared was really focused on internal family dynamics, but all of that is applicable to our local fellowships. Putting people in boxes oh, he's too mature, oh, you know, he's too impulsive.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 10:42

He's too impulsive. He's too impulsive. He's too young. He's. You know he's mixing up this and that and he shouldn't mix that or she's. You know she's constantly doing this or she's constantly. You know, talking and rat-a-tatting and you know all of these things. We don't want to deal with everybody in a snapshot. I understand. It's a very easy way to deal with people in a snapshot.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 11:03

You take a snapshot of their life but we want to look at it like a movie reel. Okay, that was a snapshot, that was a bad moment for them, let's see how they respond. Let's keep watching. It's watch and wait, watch and wait.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 11:19

And as we watch the movie reel and we watch things that happen afterward, we see, you know, even if it's small changes, and all the while, all the while, there has to be this four letter word when we are dealing with one another, and that's hope. We want to hope for the best, we want to hope that they're going to repent, we want to hope that their hearts are really for the Lord and wanting to please Him rather than please ourselves. Because if we don't have hope, what's the point? Might as well treat each other like garbage that's what the world does and just get what you can out of this world. But if we hope that something is going to change, that something's going to be rearranged, then we've got to.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 12:04

It's just something we need to be aware of. We can easily tend to put people in boxes and they never get out of it, and any time they slip up in the slightest, it's like ah, you see, and then we reinforce our box mentality, our notion of who they are and what they are, as if we are God and we know what decisions they're going to make in the future. Right, we need to leave that in God's hands, which is one of the things that the Lord has taught us recently. The two words let go.

Patricia Ruiz: 12:36

Yeah, boy, that one has been a tough one let go means it.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 12:43

I mean, they say, if they say this cliche, it came out years ago, but the lord really taught it to the both of us.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 12:48

Let go and let god. We really had to do that. Just let go. It's not in our hand. We've done what we can. We've said what we've been, what we tried to do, and we did it in the flesh and we did it spiritually speaking. We did it with patience and we did it with not patience and we did it. We did it so many ways. Okay, that's it. I need to let go.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 13:12

And that's one you know over the last two years and I think you shared this, I know I've shared this with that sometimes I'll be in the middle of you know, prayer before service, and I'm so. My mind is so. My heart, really my heart, is so focused on the anxiety of what may happen if one of our loved ones does this or does that. And I had to, like we're telling everyone right now, you need to be aware that we could put people in boxes. Don't do that Sometimes we need to be aware that sometimes our anxieties and our concerns are causing us to be distracted.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 13:51

And so I had to catch myself and say, Lord, I have no control over this. I give it to you, help me to keep my eyes focused on you. And then I'm just getting ready to praise Him and just praise Him and just put my focus on Him, put my focus on on the task at hand, which was, you know, praise and worship the message, you know being a part of the body and all of these things. And I had to do that multiple, multiple times, because it became where I was getting what's that word? I was perseverating.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 14:23

I know you do that. You perseverate over something that is out of your hand, it's literally out of your hand, but you want to fight, like it is in your hands, and keep saying something and doing something. It's like, no, we've got to let it go. So are there any scriptures that, besides the ones that you gave, that kind of stand out to you, that have made an impact, or that God has used to form you as a mother or form you as a wife, anything that stands out that you kind of want to share?

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 14:54

I mean the whole Bible, Something specific, something people like maybe be able to hold on to as well, I mean honestly, I I've been.

Patricia Ruiz: 15:05

I've been in proverbs, I've been in the minor prophets because we're doing bible through a year with the church. I've been in in proverbs recently because we're I do a devotional and that's where it's been going. And I'm always amazed, you know, if I were going to tell you it's not so much a scripture, but hold on to God, hold on to God, seek Him in his word. I tell my kids that when you go to the word, expect Him to talk to you. One scripture, one book, whatever you read, expect Him to speak to you. Don't go at it like a novel, go at it like a love letter to you and then He will speak to you. He still always speaks to me and then different avenues, different venues of ministries are not connected and there's a common thread that He'll weave in my mind. Someone else may not see this common thread, but I'm seeing it.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 16:07

So that's God speaking to you, yes, yes, because the scriptures were not written to us, they were written for us, right, right. So there's a, there's a reality, there's a proper application for who it was written to at the time that it was written. But when God speaks to you and starts directing something about it and reflecting it for you, your benefit, that's when it becomes alive. That's when we use that word quicken, yeah, that's when it becomes important.

Patricia Ruiz: 16:36

Yeah, and so you know, we always talk about Proverbs 31. Everyone knows the Proverbs 31 woman, but there's so many things in Proverbs it's like that leads up to that. That is so amazing. The way the Lord takes nature and explain something and you know, I know, I don't know if it was today or two days ago that I read about the contentious woman is like a dripping faucet in a house of like.

Patricia Ruiz: 16:59

I do not want to be the contentious woman, I want to be a blessing Wisdom. A man makes his plans, but God directs your steps. So you can be. If you are truly seeking after God, you can be free to let him direct your steps. Don't don't in other words, don't overthink your life, because that's something I've been guilty of. You know, having the freedom to know that as you plan and you put your hand, your yourself, in God's hands, He's establishing you.

Patricia Ruiz: 17:32

This travail, one I also thought of. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning, and boy hasn't that been the theme of my life. So whenever I'm going through something where I'm weeping, I have to remember that. You know, I said in our previous podcast that I was accused of having a big bottle in the heavens because I cried so much in my early years. But also you know trust in the Lord with all your heart. In Proverbs 3, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy steps. Proverbs was written, I think, by David to Solomon [multiple authors] okay, but there's so much it's.

Patricia Ruiz: 18:11

It's really the the heart of a father giving wisdom to their children. That's how the take and sometimes the heart of a mother and I and I haven't.

Patricia Ruiz: 18:20

Nobody's told me that, but as I'm reading it, that's how I'm receiving it God just pouring out hey, do this, watch that, don't do this. Look at this, look at the ant. Be like the ant. You know and count, and and and discretion. Where do you get discretion? From wisdom and understanding?

Patricia Ruiz: 18:40

I've just read too, that if you're quiet you could be considered wise and you could be a fool.

Patricia Ruiz: 18:45

But because you're holding your tongue and you're not over talking, you know there's so much wisdom in that sometimes and not jumping to say this or that or give counsel, but listening, something that my husband, Jay, does very well, something that I've had to learn how to do.

Patricia Ruiz: 19:01

But there's so much richness in that you can learn so much about people when you just listen to them, talk, and then God's talking to you. I used to say how in the world do you do that when people would do that with me, because I talk a lot and they would have wise words for me at the end of all of it and it would just kind of clinch and summarize what I needed. But that's why, because God is having us hear their heart, so that then we can speak His heart, which He's already showing us as we listen to them. So there's something exciting. You know, Jesus said that His, His food, His meat was to do the will of the Father. And I mean it was like, and I understand what he's saying, cause when I get to talk to someone in the pool after a class, or when I can just encourage a person, when I can smile at a person and see their face light, up.

Patricia Ruiz: 19:51

I love that I do. It makes my day. It's like Ooh, okay, my day is done. Um, so we need to be more. Okay, my day is done, so we need to be more.

Patricia Ruiz: 20:01

You know, for me, as we grow in the Lord, we need to be about God. We need to let go of our stuff, trust him, Whatever stage you're in. If you have a little baby, if you have grown kids, if you have teenagers, if you have adults, if you have grandchildren, there's always going to be something going on. But at the end of the day, we fix our eyes on him, like we used to sing. I fix my eyes on you, the author of my faith, casting aside every sin and every weight. We're looking at Jesus. We're unhindered. Or like a brother said last night Brother Scott, we let, letting go of the things behind us. We look forward, pressing on towards the mark of the high calling. So those are all. There is no one scripture, it's just all the word. Go to the word and let the word be God's words to you. Go with that expectation, because he wants to reveal Himself. He wants you to know Him.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 20:58

Are there any women in the bible that have ministered to you or taught you about yourself, how to be a woman or how to be a wife?

Patricia Ruiz: 21:04

Every single one of them [ every single one of them] yeah [even Jezebel], no, oh well, she's telling me what not to do. Sarah um, because even though Sarah had her fault, she was serving her husband, she was faithful. She did a lot of stuff that I don't approve of and I hope I don't walk in that, but she was mentioned as a person, a notable person in the scriptures Rahab, because she had a bad reputation and she was at a bad station in her life, but she heard about God and she acted in faith and God rewarded her. And Ruth, because Ruth was such a loyal woman to Naomi um, and God blessed them. And um, what's the name of Samuel's mother? Rachel? No, is it Hannah?

Patricia Ruiz: 21:59

because Hannah cried like I did to start with her constantly crying before the Lord, and then, when God gave her the desire of her heart, she gave it right back to God. She gave her son back to the Lord, as she had promised, and then God blessed her even more. So you know, the old lady in the temple, Anna, that that got to see God, the women that follow Jesus that were faithful. So there's a lot of women in the Bible that have inspired me, the Proverbs 31 woman, obviously. You know, it's amazing to me, I think, when I was reading the Bible, all the patterns of sin, like you know, like, and Sarah did something, and then Rebecca did that, and then the other one did, Rachel, and I'm just like, oh my gosh, there's like this pattern, Leah, because Leah was unloved. She was unloved for so many years and she kept hoping that with every baby that was going to change. No, you mean.

Patricia Ruiz: 22:58

Rachel no, Leah was the unloved one. Rachel was the loved one. Rachel couldn't have children for a while.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 23:05

Oh, I thought that's what you were talking about. No, because Leah had children.

Patricia Ruiz: 23:08

Leah had children, but she wasn't loved.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 23:12

Right.

Patricia Ruiz: 23:12

And that's what she longed for and she, you know, God blessed her and I believe that there was a turnaround at some point, because you know she was buried with her. She's the one mentioned as being buried by her husband, or Jacob wanted to be buried by Leah, and so there's something to be said about that.

Patricia Ruiz: 23:35

So this constant long suffering that she went through and God and you know, just continued. I mean, she did go into a competition with her sister and they were having their concubines have babies and see who could have the most babies, and blah, blah. But all the longing behind that, for her was just wanting to be loved. And then in her lineage, Judah. I think Judah was where the turning point happened with her and he is the line that God chose for, you know, for Jesus to come through.

Patricia Ruiz: 24:07

So I there's a lot of people in the scriptures, men and women that I admire, a lot, that you know over time I, just I, I desire to be like Daniel, an excellent spirit. I desire to be like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, with that kind of faith. I desire to be like the men to inspire me, obviously, Jesus, who was long-suffering, compassionate but also very firm, and He did so. When I feel guilty about being mad about something, it's like, well, wait a minute. Jesus had righteous indignation Himself about the way the Pharisees were keeping the people from tasting of God, and so, yeah, there's a lot of people that inspire me.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 24:51

So we're going to be closing on pretty soon and we have a few families in our fellowship that either have had children recently or are about to have children. What message would you like to share with them, since they're going to embark and start on motherhood? Maybe you can think back on what was really important. Maybe not practical, but you could bring a practical but

Patricia Ruiz: 25:18

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--tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);">it's</span><span data-v-fa4078f2="" class="transcript-element" data-mindex="54" data-eindex="142" data-key="54142 1514. 519" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,. 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);"> </span><span data-v-fa4078f2="" class="transcript-element fadingHighlightedWord" data-mindex="54" data-eindex="143" data-key="54143never1514. 619" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,. 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);">never</span><span data-v-fa4078f2="" class="transcript-element" data-mindex="54" data-eindex="144" data-key="54144 1514. 9" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,. 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);"> </span><span data-v-fa4078f2="" class="transcript-element fadingHighlightedWord" data-mindex="54" data-eindex="145" data-key="54145too1514. 94" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,. 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);">too</span><span data-v-fa4078f2="" class="transcript-element" data-mindex="54" data-eindex="146" data-key="54146 1515. 12" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,. 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);"> </span><span data-v-fa4078f2="" class="transcript-element fadingHighlightedWord" data-mindex="54" data-eindex="147" data-key="54147young1515. 221" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,. 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);">young</span><span data-v-fa4078f2="" class="transcript-element" data-mindex="54" data-eindex="148" data-key="54148 1515. 581" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,. 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);"> </span><span data-v-fa4078f2="" class="transcript-element fadingHighlightedWord" data-mindex="54" data-eindex="149" data-key="54149to1515. 702" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,. 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);">to</span><span data-v-fa4078f2="" class="transcript-element" data-mindex="54" data-eindex="150" data-key="54150 1516. 082" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,. 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);"> </span><span data-v-fa4078f2="" class="transcript-element fadingHighlightedWord" data-mindex="54" data-eindex="151" data-key="54151sing1516. 283" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,. 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);">sing</span><span data-v-fa4078f2="" class="transcript-element" data-mindex="54" data-eindex="152" data-key="54152 1516. 664" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,. 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);"> </span><span data-v-fa4078f2="" class="transcript-element fadingHighlightedWord" data-mindex="54" data-eindex="153" data-key="54153to1518. 132" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-pan-x: ; --tw-pan-y: ; --tw-pinch-zoom: ; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-ordinal: ; --tw-slashed-zero: ; --tw-numeric-figure: ; --tw-numeric-spacing: ; --tw-numeric-fraction: ; --tw-ring-inset: ; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,. 5); --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-blur: ; --tw-brightness: ; --tw-contrast: ; --tw-grayscale: ; --tw-hue-rotate: ; --tw-invert: ; --tw-saturate: ; --tw-sepia: ; --tw-drop-shadow: ; --tw-backdrop-blur: ; --tw-backdrop-brightness: ; --tw-backdrop-contrast: ; --tw-backdrop-grayscale: ; --tw-backdrop-hue-rotate: ; --tw-backdrop-invert: ; --tw-backdrop-opacity: ; --tw-backdrop-saturate: ; --tw-backdrop-sepia: ; background-color: rgb(252, 252, 253);">to</span>o them, you, we sang to them when they were in our wombs to minister God in a way that's tangible for them. We used to do the little baby books and baby Bible study books and act out things. I heard Pastor Joe's daughter yell out amen the other day and it made me laugh because I remember our children were. You know they were malleable. That way you impress them with something, and sometimes it can be embarrassing like when we moved here from um, from Miami. Uh, Lydia was six and John was five and Deborah was three, and I know we went into Publix and there was we.

Patricia Ruiz: 26:01

We taught our kids about the well we didn't participate in holidays, and so my son depends on which one it was we walked into Publix and there was all this halloween decoration stuff and he was freaking out, you know, about how bad it was and oh, it's evil, it's a devil. So that was sort of embarrassing and how they would just just tell people stuff that's like, okay, we don't need to be sharing our life with these. You know, like they lost two brothers or siblings I had two miscarriages and just they just like, were very they but children? Yeah, but we got, but everything that we did with them, we we did life with them.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 26:38

They were not we didn't park them away, they were just it was, it was a fabric in our house well, one of the things that I think was so special, remarkable, gifted about you is that you, to an extreme way, completely embraced motherhood.

Patricia Ruiz: 27:03

I did.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 27:05

There was no, there was no reservation, retraction of any kind, and I I couldn't have, I didn't even know to ask for that. I may have asked a lot of things of the Lord and I did, I did specific things. That was not one of them. That was just like, wow, Lord, you love me that much. That's icing on the cake, because you devoted yourself fully to being a mother in a way that I would have never dreamt of asking for, and I think that was completely a blessing to the family, to our children, a blessing to me even though we were you know, with with one income for the majority of their life.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 28:03

Um, but it was worth it all, worth it all in a tremendous way. So, you know, when I, you know, and I say you were completely and totally devoted to being a mother, I think about how we never went on vacations.

Patricia Ruiz: 28:18

We didn't.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 28:19

We never went on dates. Well, we did.

Patricia Ruiz: 28:21

We went on our own little mini things that we did with the kids.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 28:23

What mini things. What are you talking about?

Patricia Ruiz: 28:25

Go to the lake or you know, like for a day trip.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 28:29

I'm talking about visiting family. I'm talking about how we never left our kids with any relatives?

Patricia Ruiz: 28:36

we didn't.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 28:37

And went on a vacation. We didn't we never did that, not that we had the money to, but honest, I I mean I'm thinking back did I ever honestly even consider wanting to do that? Because I don't think I did but we had a different mentality.

Patricia Ruiz: 28:51

To Jay, like I. Again, I was so thankful to the Lord for giving me the desire of my heart, and so I was gonna. I was gonna live it out to the fullest. So that was that. I give credit to the fact that's what I'm saying.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 29:07

You were so completely devoted that it's very foreign and alien to me. At least I can't say for you, but for me, uh, when I hear how parents want to, you know, leave their kids somewhere and go out on a date, and I leave their kids somewhere, go out on an extended vacation or something like that, and like I don't, it's not, it's not bad. I'm not saying it's bad.

Patricia Ruiz: 29:28

Yeah, I'm just saying for us it that that was like a foreign and alien concept. It was different, but when we we we worked around it like we did have, because I don't want the audience to think we didn't have our time. We had our time, we just we had three kids.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 29:41

Of course we had our time.

Patricia Ruiz: 29:45

We were intentional in our, you know, bedtime was enforced. So at 8 o'clock they were in bed and it was our time and we trained them. That was something that we both worked together in that they didn't get up in the middle of the night and get into our. Oh, do we need to stop? Oh, they we sorry they didn't get into our, they didn't get up and interrupt us and all that stuff that I see some kids do these days, but not all. But so I don't want to say that whatever way people figure out how to do, it is wrong. But, yes, motherhood, it is a gift to have children and we need to appreciate it.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 30:29

Yes, we definitely need to appreciate it, and giving yourself over to that role that God has given you is the way to do it. It's to fully embrace it, because I think the fruit of it far outweighs our own pleasure in the moment yeah you know, like the dinks yeah you know it.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 30:53

Just it's longer lasting um for us. Being that we're about to end this podcast, I want to uh make this um particular praise, uh praise report known. Um, you know my wife brought up um. You know everyone talks about the virtuous woman, um, and if you read it, there was uh one thing that the Lord showed me when I first met my, who became my wife because she wasn't my wife at the time. But he made it very, very clear to me, made it just crystal clear to me known, that my wife was a virtuous woman at the time.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 31:40

She fought that she argued against. That said. That's ridiculous kind of attitude. That's no way because of all the things that I've done. But if you look at the scriptures and you see how the Lord has declared an identity for his people, even when they were in the midst of their dung to put it in as blunt way as possible He still spoke highly about them because he knew that he was going to redeem them. He knew that he was going to cleanse them. I think it was Zechariah and the high priest Joshua, and how the enemy was coming against him.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 32:26

I think it's Zachariah three or Zachariah four and the enemy was just coming against them and railing about them. And the Lord stood up and said the Lord rebuke you. And He gave him a turban, He took off his old clothes, He gave him clean clothes. He did everything because he, in His mind, already knew what He was going to do with His people. So, since you didn't bring any up other scriptures, I would recommend everyone to, especially Godly women, especially Godly women, to look at the attributes and the characteristics and look at all of the different things that she did were always, always about building up her house, her family, and I can, as a praise report, say that the children in our home rise up and they call her blessed. Her husband also praises her, and that's what I'm doing now, because in verse 29, it says Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all. Charm is deceitful, beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates and even in this new fellowship. I think a lot of people see, even though they don't know what you went through. They see the works, and so we will end our podcast on that note Help, heal, restore and give hope to know that God is able to abundantly, above all that we could ask or think of, and in ways that we cannot fathom or imagine, in ways that we cannot fathom or imagine, so that He will glorify himself and we can be a blessing to one another, as we've done in this podcast.

j - Jesus M. Ruiz: 35:14

So we love you all. We hope that you will enjoy this series. I'm sure it will be a multiple part series and we will try to do this more often, but summer is the best time to do it, so, unless another topic comes up, we'll catch you at another time. Blessings, and God bless you all. If you were blessed and appreciate listening to this podcast and you would like to support us in our efforts, consider lifting us up in prayer first. Then remember these four social media. Thank you by leaving a positive rating or review with whomever you listen to our podcast, with Subscribe to support the show monetarily, with the link in our podcast description. Follow us on all our social media platforms. May God bless you and make you prosperous in Him as you listen and obey His voice.