The Power of Stewardship: How to Simplify Life and Strengthen Your Faith

Darrell
00:00:01
And welcome back to another episode of A Warrior Spirit, the show where the inner warrior shines in their light, presented by Praxis 33, the company that aligns your thoughts, goals and actions to create your best life.
Darrell
00:00:13
I'm your host, Earl Snow.
Darrell
00:00:15
Have you ever wanted to just simplify your life?
Darrell
00:00:18
Well, today we're going to be talking with Gwen Rutz.
Darrell
00:00:21
Gwen's an ordained minister.
Darrell
00:00:23
She's a content creator, archery instructor, and business owner at Native Arrow Archery.
Darrell
00:00:30
And Gwen, thank you for joining me today.
Darrell
00:00:33
Welcome to the show.
Gwen Rutz
00:00:35
Thank you for inviting me, Darrell.
Gwen Rutz
00:00:36
I appreciate it.
Darrell
00:00:39
In 2024.
Darrell
00:00:40
So last year, you actually started a YouTube channel that helped people simplify their life.
Darrell
00:00:48
It resonated well with audiences because in five months you gained over 6,000 subscribers.
Darrell
00:00:56
And I know you're passionate about teaching people how to maintain a simplified home, but you're also passionate about doing it kind of in a biblical way with Christ.
Darrell
00:01:07
How does that come together?
Gwen Rutz
00:01:11
Well, I take very seriously stewardship and to me, stewarding every part of my life, stewarding my home.
Gwen Rutz
00:01:21
You know, the scripture implores us to be a good steward.
Gwen Rutz
00:01:26
And so I take that into consideration.
Gwen Rutz
00:01:29
If I'm stewarding again, my personal life, but also my home, how do I take care of it?
Gwen Rutz
00:01:37
And the things that are in my home, you know, am I want to be a good steward of those.
Gwen Rutz
00:01:43
And so and I want to be a good steward of my calling the things that God has called me to and as well.
Gwen Rutz
00:01:50
And if there's chaos in my life, and for me, clutter equals chaos, I don't think as well in a cluttered environment.
Gwen Rutz
00:01:58
So I need things clutter free.
Gwen Rutz
00:02:01
So I, because I feel like I am the best steward of my time and my resources if things are just simple.
Darrell
00:02:09
Well, it's something I've said, you know, as a mindset, transformational coach and someone who helps people do that stuff too.
Darrell
00:02:21
I've often said your external world represents your internal world as well.
Darrell
00:02:28
And I don't really distinguish whether it's a cluttered closet or a cluttered car or a cluttered home.
Darrell
00:02:37
You know, that something in your life is also kind of cluttered.
Darrell
00:02:43
I don't believe you need to have it, you know, pristine and show model.
Darrell
00:02:47
You know, look, it needs to be lived in.
Darrell
00:02:51
But there's a difference between lived in and cluttered.
Darrell
00:02:53
And, you know, I, I mean, that's why people do spring cleaning, right?
Darrell
00:02:59
So that they feel better.
Darrell
00:03:00
The energy changes.
Darrell
00:03:01
And our personal energy changes when we declutter, you know, those parts as well as declutter ourselves.
Darrell
00:03:10
So were you expecting when you started your YouTube channel, the Instant hit that it would be.
Gwen Rutz
00:03:18
No, not at all.
Gwen Rutz
00:03:21
It surprised me as much as anybody, I guess.
Gwen Rutz
00:03:25
I don't know, just because I was going along and I was doing the videos, and then I had one video that really did fairly well and everything kind of spiked up, but then it just kind of settled back down again, you know, and thought, well, this is the way it goes, you know.
Gwen Rutz
00:03:43
But then I had another video, you know, a few weeks later that really took off, and I think part of it, it got.
Gwen Rutz
00:03:53
It got shown at the end of another YouTube channel that's really, really popular.
Gwen Rutz
00:04:01
And so a lot of the traffic came from that and then just continued and.
Gwen Rutz
00:04:09
And so it gained steam pretty quickly for a while.
Darrell
00:04:14
A lot of us who are.
Darrell
00:04:15
Who are out on YouTube, who aren't gamers, because gamers seem to always, you know, jump up in.
Darrell
00:04:21
In those spikes, you know, pretty quickly.
Darrell
00:04:24
But those of us who are just out there putting out a show or whatever, a video, um.
Darrell
00:04:31
Was it anything in particular that you were trying to do or.
Darrell
00:04:35
It was just organic and.
Darrell
00:04:37
And just happened to happen.
Gwen Rutz
00:04:39
Yeah, it.
Gwen Rutz
00:04:40
It just happened to happen.
Gwen Rutz
00:04:43
So I did put a lot.
Gwen Rutz
00:04:46
I.
Gwen Rutz
00:04:47
I learned, you know, I was studying and I studied a lot with Think Media and the Bra Academy.
Gwen Rutz
00:04:56
And so I took their advice and I thought, okay, well, I'll just put this into practice.
Gwen Rutz
00:05:02
And so I did those steps and just paid special attention to, you know, a lot of the things that they were talking about.
Gwen Rutz
00:05:10
Include this, don't do that kinds of things, you know.
Gwen Rutz
00:05:14
And then.
Gwen Rutz
00:05:16
So I was talking about 31 things to simplify your life and just went through those things, and I wasn't really sure if.
Gwen Rutz
00:05:25
I mean, 31 is an odd number, and I was afraid it was going to be too long.
Gwen Rutz
00:05:31
But, you know, I.
Gwen Rutz
00:05:32
I just did it and put it out there.
Gwen Rutz
00:05:34
And that was really the one that resonated with a lot of people because there were a lot of.
Gwen Rutz
00:05:40
I talked about different things because I talked about things in the kitchen, in the, you know, in your pantry or just in your cupboard, just different areas, you know, of life.
Gwen Rutz
00:05:53
And I.
Gwen Rutz
00:05:54
And then also in your.
Gwen Rutz
00:05:56
Just in your mind and in your.
Gwen Rutz
00:05:59
In your routines and things like that.
Gwen Rutz
00:06:01
So I think a lot of it just really resonated because.
Gwen Rutz
00:06:05
Especially the comment section, there were, oh, well over 700 comments on it and people just saying, yeah, that's me.
Gwen Rutz
00:06:16
I get it.
Gwen Rutz
00:06:17
I didn't.
Gwen Rutz
00:06:17
I identify with that.
Gwen Rutz
00:06:19
So it just really resonated with people.
Gwen Rutz
00:06:22
I Guess.
Darrell
00:06:23
Yeah.
Darrell
00:06:23
And what's also nice is that once you start getting the comments and the views, you know, YouTube will put you at the end of a popular show as a.
Darrell
00:06:32
As a, you know, so it can tag onto that.
Darrell
00:06:35
And the more engagement you get, the.
Darrell
00:06:37
The better.
Darrell
00:06:37
But it goes to show that we're all trying to declutter and simplify our life and trying to make.
Darrell
00:06:43
Make a difference.
Darrell
00:06:45
But your life is kind of interesting to me because first off, you married your high school sweetheart, which the day and age of 60% of marriages failing, let alone your high school sweetheart being success.
Darrell
00:07:01
That in and of itself is, you know, major kudos to you and your husband.
Darrell
00:07:06
And secondly, you're an ordained minister, but you also own, like, an archery store.
Gwen Rutz
00:07:15
Yeah.
Darrell
00:07:15
Now you're.
Darrell
00:07:16
To be fair, you're out in Oklahoma, and that does make sense for Oklahoma, but on the surface, none of those three really go together.
Darrell
00:07:25
So what do you attribute that journey to?
Darrell
00:07:29
How did.
Darrell
00:07:29
How did you start your beginnings?
Darrell
00:07:31
Where did you grow up in Oklahoma?
Gwen Rutz
00:07:34
Well, I.
Gwen Rutz
00:07:35
I grew up mostly, yes.
Gwen Rutz
00:07:38
I grew up until I was 14 in Texas, and then we got to Oklahoma.
Gwen Rutz
00:07:43
So I've been here obviously the majority of my life.
Gwen Rutz
00:07:46
Met my Texas light, so.
Gwen Rutz
00:07:49
That's right, Texas light.
Gwen Rutz
00:07:51
And my.
Gwen Rutz
00:07:53
My husband, we.
Gwen Rutz
00:07:55
In a few years ago, we moved to Texas for a little bit, you know, for his work.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:00
And I said, you're finally.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:02
You get to be a Texan.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:03
And he's like, I will never be a Texan.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:06
I.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:06
Oh, you know, okie all the way.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:07
I said, no, you get to be a Texan.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:10
Just feel the goodness of being a Texan, you know.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:13
But yeah, anyways, so when I got to Oklahoma, and of course, my.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:19
My husband, he's always hunted, always been into archery, and we have two boys.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:24
And so, you know, when deer season rolls around, like, if I wanted to see my husband and boys, I better learn to shoot archery.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:32
You know, I better learn to hunt.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:34
So, you know, kind of that's how that came into being.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:37
And we just always, always wanted to have an archery shop.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:43
And so we opened that about three years ago.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:48
And so we have an archery range here on our property.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:52
And my husband is.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:54
He's a very good bow tech, so he does all the.
Gwen Rutz
00:08:58
He does a lot of repairs, you know, and on people's equipment, but at the same time.
Gwen Rutz
00:09:05
So we have this archery shop, but at the.
Gwen Rutz
00:09:09
But we're also pastors.
Gwen Rutz
00:09:11
I was a lead pastor, you know, so, you know, ministry is just my passion and my heart, you know, just to share Jesus with people and.
Gwen Rutz
00:09:21
But I retired from pastoral ministry as far as being a lead pastor and we joined an organization called Center Shot.
Gwen Rutz
00:09:31
And so Center Shot is a Christian organization that shares the gospel through archery.
Gwen Rutz
00:09:37
So it's kind.
Gwen Rutz
00:09:38
Both of our passions come together and so that's how it.
Gwen Rutz
00:09:44
Because I know none of it, it seems like none of this goes together, but it really does.
Darrell
00:09:50
Well, I, I'm very.
Darrell
00:09:55
Anyone who knows me, I'm a reformed Catholic.
Darrell
00:09:58
And I say that because I grew up forcefully in, in the church.
Darrell
00:10:02
But then when my mom married my stepdad, who's the only dad I will ever call dad.
Darrell
00:10:08
But so Saturday was mass and Sunday was church.
Darrell
00:10:14
And I've come to find in my own faith and walk.
Darrell
00:10:19
You know, I went to a movie one time when I was 11.
Darrell
00:10:25
This is the day back in the days when your parents could actually drop you off at places and then come pick you up later.
Darrell
00:10:30
Right.
Darrell
00:10:31
So I'm aging myself, but she dropped me off at this movie.
Darrell
00:10:35
Didn't realize that it was a Christian based movie.
Darrell
00:10:41
Really, really great movie.
Darrell
00:10:43
And you know, small town, Iowa.
Darrell
00:10:47
At the end of the movie, Billy Graham came out from behind the, from the curtain and did his call.
Darrell
00:10:53
Altar call.
Darrell
00:10:54
And even though I had already been growing up in the church at 11 is when I decided to give my life to Christ through that altar call.
Darrell
00:11:04
And I've found more spirituality and more relation with God outside the pews than inside.
Darrell
00:11:12
So, you know, for you to combine the archery and the wilderness and the nature with your ministry.
Darrell
00:11:21
I mean, I don't.
Darrell
00:11:22
I met you what, 10 minutes ago, plus the other group we're a part of.
Darrell
00:11:27
But I would venture to guess if I had to put money on it, you've probably done more ministry through that archery range than you did in your pews.
Gwen Rutz
00:11:37
Well, there is a lot of opportunity for ministry on the archery range.
Gwen Rutz
00:11:42
And, and we also, so we take our, we've got a set of 3D targets which they're lifelike animals and, and life size animals.
Gwen Rutz
00:11:56
So we have a, we have, we take six of these animals and we put them on a platform in a church and then we get two, we get a boy and a girl about say upper elementary to middle school age.
Gwen Rutz
00:12:11
That's, that's a really good age.
Gwen Rutz
00:12:14
And so we bring them up on stage and we teach them how to shoot archery.
Gwen Rutz
00:12:22
And they don't even, they don't need any experience or anything.
Gwen Rutz
00:12:26
So we teach them.
Gwen Rutz
00:12:27
And as we teach them to shoot archery, we share the gospel.
Gwen Rutz
00:12:32
So we bring what we do outside the Church, even in the church, we take what we do inside the church, outside the church, but we also take what we do outside the church, inside the church.
Gwen Rutz
00:12:44
And so we have a bow, it's a Genesis bow and it's color coded to the plan of salvation.
Gwen Rutz
00:12:52
And so as we, and then we also have steps that we teach when we're teaching somebody how to shoot a bow as an instructor.
Gwen Rutz
00:13:01
So we'll teach them one step and then I'll go to the bow and I'll explain part of the gospel story and then we'll go back.
Gwen Rutz
00:13:10
And so we go back and forth so it's, it's interactive with the kids because we love teaching kids how to shoot archery.
Gwen Rutz
00:13:18
And then so at the end of it, they're shooting the targets and we're also sharing the gospel.
Darrell
00:13:27
But see, you're doing your ministry while you're meeting the people where they are.
Darrell
00:13:33
You're correlating real life situations with biblical teachings, which is vastly different than many preachers do.
Darrell
00:13:44
Many preachers just want to preach the word or in Catholicism preach their version of the word.
Darrell
00:13:51
So, you know, I applaud the fact that you're actually meeting people where they are and bringing, you know, the, the duality of life to the situation they're currently in.
Darrell
00:14:06
You know, so that's a, that's a vastly different approach and highly effective, I would think.
Gwen Rutz
00:14:16
Yeah, it is very effective.
Gwen Rutz
00:14:18
And you know, it's a lot of fun because life is meant to be fun and sharing the gospel is meant to be fun.
Gwen Rutz
00:14:25
Knowing Jesus is meant to be fun so that, you know, we put it all together and you know, I just believe that God can use anything and he can use any gift, any hobby, any talent, any resource if we give it to him and say, Lord, do with this ever what you want to do.
Gwen Rutz
00:14:44
And you know, whatever it is, I'm willing on my part, you just lead me, just guide me, open the doors, we'll walk through them and we'll share the love of Jesus because people need to know love and well, that's Jesus.
Darrell
00:15:00
Well, the, the one element that people forget is that, you know, religion is man made spirituality is your connection with God.
Darrell
00:15:13
You know, that's why you have so many different religions that all, you know, try to connect with God.
Darrell
00:15:20
But if you're walking in surrender, which is very hard for most humans to do because we always say, Jesus, take the wheel.
Darrell
00:15:31
But then we still have our left hand on it trying to, you know, and turn it right, and that always just runs us back into a wall.
Darrell
00:15:37
And then we blame God for the wall when we kept our hand on it, right?
Darrell
00:15:42
And this show is a prime example of all of that.
Darrell
00:15:48
And anyone who's listened has heard this a thousand times, or at least 108 by the time yours is out.
Darrell
00:15:55
You know, I was told in my God voice that I was supposed to do this podcast where I give a voice to the voiceless, make their mess their message, and turn it into a survival guide for others.
Darrell
00:16:09
And when I heard that, I didn't own a camera or a microphone, so I naturally said, sure.
Darrell
00:16:16
No, I didn't.
Darrell
00:16:17
I said, what?
Darrell
00:16:18
What are you talking about?
Darrell
00:16:20
And I fought it for six months, and until the spiritual 2x4 got loud enough that I relented and bought a camera and a microphone and finally turned it on and did an interview.
Darrell
00:16:31
Now, I see the impact that it's having because I've had 114amazing stories told so far over two years.
Darrell
00:16:42
And it isn't that they're coming to my show, but they're hearing your story, and it's reaching other people who are impacted by that story, and then it's helping them through.
Darrell
00:16:54
So it's doing exactly what God said it was going to do.
Darrell
00:16:58
And because I kept my hand on the wheel so long, I really robbed six months worth of effort to be out there already, you know, but when you surrender and you give, we don't have to always know the why or the how.
Darrell
00:17:16
We just have to know whose calling it is.
Darrell
00:17:20
And if we obey that calling, good things happen.
Gwen Rutz
00:17:26
Exactly.
Gwen Rutz
00:17:27
Yeah.
Darrell
00:17:28
So did you think you always wanted to be a minister?
Gwen Rutz
00:17:35
I always knew I wanted to be a preacher, but I never wanted to be a pastor.
Gwen Rutz
00:17:42
So when I was actually.
Gwen Rutz
00:17:45
My husband asked me that question last night.
Gwen Rutz
00:17:47
He said, when did you know you wanted to preach the gospel?
Gwen Rutz
00:17:51
And I said, when I was a little girl, I would.
Gwen Rutz
00:17:56
I got my first Bible for Christmas, red Bible that my parents bought me for Christmas.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:02
And I just read it all the time.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:04
And I.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:06
I would line up my stuffed animals and my dolls, and I would preach to them, and I just.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:12
And I would.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:13
I would tell people about Jesus on the school bus.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:15
I rode a bus, you know, into school.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:18
And so I was.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:19
I always wanted to share the gospel.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:22
I would open my Bible and I'd read it, and I would think, oh, I would make notes all over it, and little.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:28
I.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:28
You know, I was writing little sermons in my Bibles, you know, when I was a teenager, and I thought, well, somebody.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:34
Yeah, I got to tell people this.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:35
It as whatever I Read in the Bible.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:38
I'm, I'm a kind of person that if I know something good, I want to tell people about it.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:43
If it's a sale, you know, at the store, like I'm gonna tell somebody, hey, you gotta check this out, you know, so the gospel, when I would read the Bible, I would want to tell people what I read.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:54
And so I started preaching.
Gwen Rutz
00:18:56
I was probably, well, about 16, 15 to 16, and I was, I played bass guitar at our church also when I was a teenager and there was an evangelist family that they were coming, they were just passing through.
Gwen Rutz
00:19:16
Well, they called my pastor.
Gwen Rutz
00:19:17
This was in, would have been.
Gwen Rutz
00:19:20
Oh, goodness, what year was it?
Gwen Rutz
00:19:22
The mid, early 80s, I guess.
Gwen Rutz
00:19:26
You know, early to mid 80s.
Gwen Rutz
00:19:28
And so I was a teenager, they were passing through and they asked my pastor, can we stop and do a service at your church?
Gwen Rutz
00:19:40
We said, yeah.
Gwen Rutz
00:19:41
So it was a Sunday night.
Gwen Rutz
00:19:43
Well, their bass guitar player, he had just quit the group.
Gwen Rutz
00:19:49
It was a mom, dad and their 12 year old daughter.
Gwen Rutz
00:19:53
He was, they were evangelists.
Gwen Rutz
00:19:54
And so they said, well, can your bass guitar player play with this?
Gwen Rutz
00:19:58
And so when they asked me that, I thought, I don't know what they're playing.
Gwen Rutz
00:20:04
I've never, I don't know these people.
Gwen Rutz
00:20:06
I was afraid, you know, that I wouldn't be able to do it.
Gwen Rutz
00:20:09
So my daddy, who taught me, he played with them that night.
Gwen Rutz
00:20:12
And when it was, I kept thinking, well, I could have done that.
Gwen Rutz
00:20:16
Well, afterwards, we had a little jam session afterwards and they said, will you come to our next meeting?
Gwen Rutz
00:20:23
It was a town about 30 miles away.
Gwen Rutz
00:20:25
And they said, will you come play for us tomorrow night?
Gwen Rutz
00:20:28
And so I said, y'all do that.
Gwen Rutz
00:20:32
And then of all things, the evangelist, he asked my parents, can she go on the road with us again?
Gwen Rutz
00:20:39
You know, I'm not, I'm about 16 years old.
Gwen Rutz
00:20:43
And they said, well, we'll pray about it.
Gwen Rutz
00:20:46
And so I, I prayed about it.
Gwen Rutz
00:20:49
My parents prayed about it.
Gwen Rutz
00:20:50
I went and played for them in the service the next night.
Gwen Rutz
00:20:55
After that service, they asked my parents, can she go with us?
Gwen Rutz
00:21:00
And they said, yeah, she can go.
Gwen Rutz
00:21:03
This, this is, you know, the will of the Lord.
Gwen Rutz
00:21:06
And so we went back to the ranch where I lived, back to my house, and I packed a bag, excuse me, and I got on a Silver Eagle bus and rode off into the night with people I'd known 24 hours.
Gwen Rutz
00:21:21
And I, I mean, as a, When I lay, when I became a parent, I thought, I don't know how I could have let my boys, you know, much less A daughter just leave with complete strangers.
Gwen Rutz
00:21:37
But it.
Gwen Rutz
00:21:38
When you know the will of God, like when you know what God said, then you trust him and you can do anything if you know what God said.
Gwen Rutz
00:21:47
And it was just.
Gwen Rutz
00:21:48
It was just right.
Gwen Rutz
00:21:49
And I learned so much.
Gwen Rutz
00:21:51
So I got to preach, you know, also preached it at youth groups and so forth.
Gwen Rutz
00:21:55
And.
Gwen Rutz
00:21:56
And anytime during the service, you know, if I felt, you know, that the Lord wants me to speak, speak some encouragement to the people or share something.
Gwen Rutz
00:22:06
The evangelist Jerry.
Gwen Rutz
00:22:07
Jerry and Phyllis Watson were the evangelists, the Watson family.
Gwen Rutz
00:22:10
So, you know, they just.
Gwen Rutz
00:22:12
They just gave us the liberty to share what the Lord was speaking to us as well.
Gwen Rutz
00:22:19
Even as teenage girls, they didn't tell us, oh, you're too young, or when you get older, they just let us learn how to minister.
Gwen Rutz
00:22:29
And so that taught me so much about ministry.
Gwen Rutz
00:22:34
And then I love school, though, so whenever I.
Gwen Rutz
00:22:41
I wanted to come home and graduate with my class.
Gwen Rutz
00:22:44
And so I came home, I left my sophomore year, came back my senior year, and so I could graduate with all my friends.
Gwen Rutz
00:22:51
And it was during my senior year then that my husband and I started dating.
Gwen Rutz
00:22:56
We fell in love, got engaged, got married right after high school, and I never went back with.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:00
I'm still in contact, you know, with the family I traveled with, but I didn't go back on the road.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:05
So it was later then, later in life, whenever I was actually called to pastor and I say I never wanted to pastor because I thought, oh, that's so hard.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:15
Like, I could never do that.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:16
And I actually had said I would never pastor a church.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:22
Well, I said that because I didn't think I.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:24
Like, I didn't think I could do it.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:26
So God's obviously not going to ask me to because I couldn't do that.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:31
Well, when I was 42, I was praying for my church.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:36
Who was in between?
Gwen Rutz
00:23:37
We were in between pastors and the.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:41
I had my credentials then.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:43
Yeah.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:43
And I was ordained, so I was just filling in, you know, But I was praying.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:49
And when I was praying one day for my church, I love, love, love the church.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:54
I love the church.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:55
And I was praying for my church.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:57
And Lord, just send us.
Gwen Rutz
00:23:58
Send us the pastor that you have for us.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:01
And the.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:03
I heard the Lord's voice speak to me, and he said, gwen, you're going to pastor this church.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:07
I was walking around in my office at the time when I heard this, and I just stopped because it was so, like, that's not anything I would tell myself because I didn't want to.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:17
I was not in.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:18
You know, fill in.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:19
Okay, I could fill in, but I'm.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:21
But no, you know, I'm not going to be a lead pastor.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:23
And three times the Lord spoke to me and said, when you're going to pastor this church?
Gwen Rutz
00:24:28
And it was at that moment when Psalm 37.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:31
Four, the Lord dropped that scripture into my heart.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:34
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:38
And in that moment, I had the desire to pastor my church.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:44
It just switched, you know, and.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:46
Oh, I.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:46
So, yes, Lord.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:48
And then I said, okay, God, if this is what you want, then you gotta tell my husband.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:54
You gotta tell Troy, because I'm not telling him.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:56
I'm not gonna do it.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:57
That's.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:57
That's on you.
Gwen Rutz
00:24:58
It was two or three nights later, we were sitting out on the path patio in the backyard.
Gwen Rutz
00:25:03
Out of nowhere, just out of the blue, Troy turns to me and he says, gwen, you could pastor this church.
Gwen Rutz
00:25:11
And I went, oh, you have no idea what you just said.
Gwen Rutz
00:25:15
And he said, oh, really?
Gwen Rutz
00:25:17
When you could do this, you're perfect for this.
Gwen Rutz
00:25:21
And I.
Gwen Rutz
00:25:21
So then I told him what.
Gwen Rutz
00:25:23
The Lord spoke to me and I said, but I'm not saying anything to the ball, to the board.
Gwen Rutz
00:25:28
I'm not going to offer myself.
Gwen Rutz
00:25:30
This is a church that we grew up in, you know, since seventh, eighth grade, you know, and.
Gwen Rutz
00:25:39
And so.
Gwen Rutz
00:25:40
But the board came to me one day and they said, gwen, you know, this is really going so well.
Gwen Rutz
00:25:44
Why don't you just stay our pastor?
Gwen Rutz
00:25:46
I said, okay, so, you know, you can't say no to that when it happens like that.
Darrell
00:25:52
Yeah, the serendipity and the signs are too obvious at that point.
Darrell
00:25:58
And it's funny because when you said, you know, you were praying, God, show me the.
Darrell
00:26:02
Who's going to pastor our church.
Darrell
00:26:04
I just pictured you walking by a mirror at that very moment and seeing your own reflection.
Darrell
00:26:10
That would have been.
Darrell
00:26:12
That would have been so, like, there she is.
Gwen Rutz
00:26:14
Yeah.
Darrell
00:26:15
But it's.
Darrell
00:26:17
You've led an extraordinary life, connected fully with God, and it's evident in all that you do.
Darrell
00:26:24
But knowing how children are and how growing up is because you were so willing to share God's word and to preach to even your dolls.
Darrell
00:26:37
It must have been somewhat hard to make connections and friends in school.
Darrell
00:26:41
Or were you in.
Darrell
00:26:43
In an environment where that was fairly easy as well.
Gwen Rutz
00:26:48
Yeah, I had lots of friends.
Gwen Rutz
00:26:51
Like, I never had any problem making friends.
Gwen Rutz
00:26:54
I've always had friends and always had good friends.
Gwen Rutz
00:26:57
You know, I've always had a good environment and a Good.
Gwen Rutz
00:27:03
And I, I, I didn't want to put myself in an environment that I didn't think would be positive, you know, or didn't be.
Gwen Rutz
00:27:11
I was never drawn to that, you know, at all.
Gwen Rutz
00:27:15
And, and two, I was a very obedient child.
Gwen Rutz
00:27:20
And so, you know what my parents taught me.
Gwen Rutz
00:27:23
I'm not saying I never disobeyed or never anything like that, but if they told me something was good or something was bad, I just believe them because I thought my parents were the smartest people in the world.
Gwen Rutz
00:27:34
You know, they just know every, they know things.
Gwen Rutz
00:27:37
And so.
Gwen Rutz
00:27:39
But yeah, I, I've had, I've been so blessed with just the best of friends.
Darrell
00:27:47
It's awesome because it's rare and, you know, from seeing it in the, in the world, you know, it's, it's hard, especially when you're willing to take a stand for something as divisive as religion or God.
Darrell
00:28:02
It can be a thorn in the sides of a lot of people.
Darrell
00:28:06
So again, God's hand on you to put you in that right place, to fulfill the calling that he had for you, that he placed in your life as a young child.
Darrell
00:28:17
You just can't deny the thread that, that binds them all together.
Darrell
00:28:24
How has this played with your own sons?
Darrell
00:28:29
What, what is their passion in their heart?
Darrell
00:28:32
Because again, especially in the Catholic Church, you see a lot of rebellion from strict Catholicism parents, you know, the, the children have a tendency to rebel against that, you know, strictness and that, that.
Darrell
00:28:50
So I'm just only speaking from the life that I've seen around me.
Darrell
00:28:55
So how's it played in your house?
Gwen Rutz
00:28:59
So our son, we have two sons, and they are both believers in Jesus as well, and both serve the Lord.
Gwen Rutz
00:29:06
And, but all growing up, you know, I can remember even as a teenager myself, because I was raised in Christianity, but I came to the point, even I was in junior high school, and I remember thinking, do I believe this because I believe it, or do I believe it because my parents told me to believe it?
Gwen Rutz
00:29:29
Because, like I said, I was a very obedient child.
Gwen Rutz
00:29:31
And I thought my parents knew everything, you know, So I just believed what they said.
Gwen Rutz
00:29:35
But at some point, we have to believe things for ourselves.
Gwen Rutz
00:29:40
And I remember that moment asking, do I really believe this?
Gwen Rutz
00:29:48
And I came to the conclusion, yeah, I do.
Gwen Rutz
00:29:52
I really do.
Gwen Rutz
00:29:54
And our.
Gwen Rutz
00:29:55
So as we raised our own children to know the Lord, I can remember our younger son was sick one night, and I said, well, you want me to pray for you?
Gwen Rutz
00:30:09
And he said, God takes too long.
Gwen Rutz
00:30:13
I understand.
Gwen Rutz
00:30:14
I I understand that.
Gwen Rutz
00:30:18
You know, but our.
Gwen Rutz
00:30:19
Our boys also, they believed.
Gwen Rutz
00:30:22
But then they came to their.
Gwen Rutz
00:30:24
Had to come to their own understanding because it's their choice.
Gwen Rutz
00:30:29
It's everybody's own choice what we believe, who we serve or not serve.
Gwen Rutz
00:30:36
And so even in young adulthood, you know, they asked.
Gwen Rutz
00:30:39
Had to ask themselves, okay, do I believe this for me or do I believe this because mom and dad told me this was the right thing?
Gwen Rutz
00:30:49
And they came to their own conclusion, you know, and they asked their own questions, and they asked, you know, great questions, like, why does God take so long?
Darrell
00:31:00
Tell Moses that.
Gwen Rutz
00:31:03
Yeah, exactly.
Darrell
00:31:05
So, yeah, that's a good distinction, though, Gwen, you.
Darrell
00:31:08
I mean, not many people.
Darrell
00:31:11
And again, this is where I give you kudos, because not many people are willing to ask themselves that question, is this me or is this my parents?
Darrell
00:31:22
Especially when you are an obedient child who is, you know, doing the things that your parents say, to have the awareness, is this me or is this them is astoundingly profound for a child to do.
Darrell
00:31:39
And then to allow your own children to have that same experience.
Darrell
00:31:42
I know in our household, it played out the same way.
Darrell
00:31:45
My wife and I have a great connection with God, and our lives are filled with God, moments that would never happen without him.
Darrell
00:31:53
But our children had to decide, you know, is this what they believe or is this what they're being told to believe?
Darrell
00:32:02
And the hard part for the parents, at least in our household, was the waiting while they wander around making that decision for themselves.
Darrell
00:32:12
Because now there, you know, moments where you can see, okay, you're headed for a cliff.
Darrell
00:32:19
We don't want to have you fall off the cliff, but you need to jump in order to figure out if you can build your wings or not.
Darrell
00:32:25
You know, so again, great job parenting, to allow your children, especially with the background that you just said you were preaching to your dolls, you, you know, wanted to minister from.
Darrell
00:32:39
From the get go, you have this strong connection with God.
Darrell
00:32:44
To allow your children the freedom to still make their own choice is just an amazing embodiment of God, because that's what he does for us, right?
Gwen Rutz
00:32:57
Yeah, exactly.
Gwen Rutz
00:32:59
I couldn't.
Gwen Rutz
00:33:00
You can't make anybody believe anything, you know, I mean, so they.
Gwen Rutz
00:33:05
They had to make up their own mind.
Gwen Rutz
00:33:08
And.
Gwen Rutz
00:33:09
But I.
Gwen Rutz
00:33:09
I remember when they were young adults, and I remember praying for him.
Gwen Rutz
00:33:14
I was laying in bed while not praying for them.
Gwen Rutz
00:33:17
And, you know, I was worried, God, are they going to make good decisions?
Gwen Rutz
00:33:22
You know, are they going to do all right?
Gwen Rutz
00:33:25
And I just.
Gwen Rutz
00:33:27
I just, in my mind's Eye, I saw this vision of God's great big hand, and he said, your kids are in my hand.
Gwen Rutz
00:33:38
I've got them in my hand.
Gwen Rutz
00:33:40
And I love them more than you do.
Gwen Rutz
00:33:43
And I know how much I love my boys and what I would do for them.
Gwen Rutz
00:33:48
And if God loves them even more than I do, I knew my boys were okay.
Gwen Rutz
00:33:52
They were going to be fine.
Darrell
00:33:55
And how is the.
Darrell
00:33:58
You're the only female in this male household.
Darrell
00:34:03
How is their relationship different with you than their father?
Gwen Rutz
00:34:11
Well, that's a good question.
Gwen Rutz
00:34:14
I get one because, because we're close.
Gwen Rutz
00:34:19
You know, it's.
Gwen Rutz
00:34:20
It's that they.
Gwen Rutz
00:34:21
They go to each of us kind of for different things.
Gwen Rutz
00:34:24
Probably.
Gwen Rutz
00:34:25
I would say.
Gwen Rutz
00:34:26
Yeah, I would say that.
Gwen Rutz
00:34:30
That's probably.
Gwen Rutz
00:34:31
But we have.
Gwen Rutz
00:34:31
Yeah, we have great relationships with both of them.
Gwen Rutz
00:34:34
But yeah, that's.
Gwen Rutz
00:34:37
That's probably it is that they talk to us, depending on, you know, what the question is.
Darrell
00:34:43
May I ask.
Darrell
00:34:45
May I ask how old your boys are?
Gwen Rutz
00:34:47
Yes, they are 38 and 36.
Darrell
00:34:50
Okay.
Darrell
00:34:51
So again, I can only refer back to my household.
Darrell
00:34:55
One of the, our.
Darrell
00:34:57
My wife and I's biggest joys is having our adult children want to come back and hang out with us, want to spend time with us and randomly calling us for that unsolicited advice, you know.
Darrell
00:35:11
So I imagine that's the relationship you have with your.
Darrell
00:35:15
With your boys.
Gwen Rutz
00:35:17
Yeah, absolutely.
Gwen Rutz
00:35:18
Absolutely.
Gwen Rutz
00:35:19
Talk to them all the time.
Gwen Rutz
00:35:20
One of them lives near us, just about five, six miles away, and the other one lives still near us, you know, just about 45, 50 minutes away.
Gwen Rutz
00:35:29
So we're close enough, you know, to even visit in person.
Gwen Rutz
00:35:32
One can come over randomly, and then, you know, one's a little too far for that.
Gwen Rutz
00:35:37
But they do call, and we talk all the time and just have real great relationship with them, and they'll call for advice, you know, or, or just call to talk or just send us different things about their lives throughout the day.
Gwen Rutz
00:35:54
I.
Gwen Rutz
00:35:55
I picked up this today, or I did this today, you know, so I'm very, very grateful.
Gwen Rutz
00:36:01
I don't take it for granted that we have great relationships with our kids.
Gwen Rutz
00:36:06
I'm.
Gwen Rutz
00:36:07
I'm so grateful.
Darrell
00:36:09
Well, you've lived definitely a blessed life because you've been obedient to your calling, which is amazing.
Darrell
00:36:17
As you venture into 20, 25, what is your, what is your goals for these two?
Darrell
00:36:26
Your simplify your life and your.
Darrell
00:36:28
And your art.
Darrell
00:36:28
Archery.
Darrell
00:36:29
What do you.
Darrell
00:36:29
What do you see transpiring for.
Darrell
00:36:31
For these two entities that you're a part of?
Gwen Rutz
00:36:37
So in simplify your life.
Gwen Rutz
00:36:39
That is my, my YouTube channel.
Gwen Rutz
00:36:42
And that then I'm adding to that, then simplify your Bible study.
Gwen Rutz
00:36:49
And so I've just started a Bible study coaching group because I had, I would have women call me and you know, for advice or to pray for them and so forth.
Gwen Rutz
00:37:04
And I would say, why are you reading your Bible?
Gwen Rutz
00:37:08
Because like, the answers are in there, encouragement is in there, comfort is in there, guidance is in there.
Gwen Rutz
00:37:16
And so the Lord speaks to us through His Word.
Gwen Rutz
00:37:19
We speak to the Lord through prayer.
Gwen Rutz
00:37:21
God speaks to us through His Word.
Gwen Rutz
00:37:24
And so I would say, you know, are you reading your Bible?
Gwen Rutz
00:37:28
And often they would say, well, no, I know I need to, but I haven't been reading my Bible.
Gwen Rutz
00:37:34
And so as I, the more I got to thinking about that, I, I thought I.
Gwen Rutz
00:37:42
So I started asking people what hinders you or what stops you from reading your Bible, you know, if that's one of your goals to do.
Gwen Rutz
00:37:50
I don't have time or I don't understand.
Gwen Rutz
00:37:54
So those were just some of the responses.
Gwen Rutz
00:37:57
So I thought, you know, I, I just really felt led then to teach women how to read the Bible and guide them through that.
Gwen Rutz
00:38:07
So that is what.
Gwen Rutz
00:38:10
Simplify your life.
Gwen Rutz
00:38:11
Now I'm adding the simplify your Bible study for Bible study coaching to help women understand the Bible.
Gwen Rutz
00:38:18
There are some complex things in the Bible, but the Lord shows us and we don't have to, we don't even have to understand all of it, you know, but there's a, there's so much good in there that can guide our life.
Gwen Rutz
00:38:33
His Word says that His Word is that our lamp into our feet and a lot into our path.
Gwen Rutz
00:38:39
And he will guide us through His Word.
Gwen Rutz
00:38:42
So that is where I'm going with that.
Gwen Rutz
00:38:44
And then Native arrow archery, we are a part of Center Shot, the organization that I was talking about that blends the gospel with, with the Word.
Gwen Rutz
00:38:58
And so we're doing more of those events this year and just continuing to share the gospel.
Gwen Rutz
00:39:04
And when people come to our.
Gwen Rutz
00:39:05
What's so great about the, our bow shop is that when people come and they'll bring a bow to be repaired, but as we just have get to have conversations with them, you know, you know, we may ask them, well, is there anything that we can pray with you about?
Gwen Rutz
00:39:21
And we have had the best conversations and prayers just over that question, is there anything we can pray with you about?
Gwen Rutz
00:39:29
Because, you know, sometimes people are sick or they're going through things or they need some guidance.
Gwen Rutz
00:39:35
And so it's a wonderful opportunity for us to help others in that way and share the love of Jesus with them.
Darrell
00:39:45
Well, I, I again applaud everything you're doing because you're bringing a divisive, complex issue to clarity.
Darrell
00:39:54
And you're doing it with the passion and joy that that was placed in your heart long ago and you're still maintaining it.
Darrell
00:40:00
So that's a, that's a huge, huge plus.
Darrell
00:40:04
If, if someone were out there and they're listening to this or even as you, you know, meet, the first thing you ask is if you can pray for them.
Darrell
00:40:14
But not everyone's willing to open up.
Darrell
00:40:16
So.
Darrell
00:40:18
And you know, to be fair, not everyone's willing to pick up the Bible and start reading it to believe what you're telling them.
Darrell
00:40:25
So for those that are kind of either non believers or on the fence, but they're kind of still curious or they feel that pull but not sure how to proceed, what do you, what is your advice for those folks?
Gwen Rutz
00:40:40
I say keep asking because God hears us.
Gwen Rutz
00:40:45
And when we come to God with a curious and we really want to know, and if we ask him, ask God, are you real?
Gwen Rutz
00:40:56
Ask God if the, if the Bible is real.
Gwen Rutz
00:40:59
God is not afraid of our questions.
Gwen Rutz
00:41:02
There is no, there are no hard questions for God.
Gwen Rutz
00:41:05
And I would say ask him.
Gwen Rutz
00:41:07
And then because God can do amazing things, ask him to bring people around you that can help you answer these questions that you have as well.
Gwen Rutz
00:41:20
You know, I think, and if we open the word of God and read it, you may not understand some of the things you read.
Gwen Rutz
00:41:32
But if you say, this is what I say to people who don't understand the Bible, for instance, pray and ask God.
Gwen Rutz
00:41:42
God wants us to know him and he wants us to know His Word.
Gwen Rutz
00:41:46
And so I think if we stay open, just open to it and open to God putting people in our life and not just shut them out when we hear they're a Christian or shut them out, because I don't believe in that.
Gwen Rutz
00:42:02
Listen and then just ask like I did when I was a teenager.
Gwen Rutz
00:42:07
God is this, should I believe this for me?
Gwen Rutz
00:42:10
And I just believe that God will reveal Himself to you if you come to him with an open heart and an open mind, really wanting to know.
Gwen Rutz
00:42:22
Some people just have their mind made up already.
Gwen Rutz
00:42:25
But then some people are in that question like, I don't know.
Gwen Rutz
00:42:28
And I really want to know.
Gwen Rutz
00:42:30
You know, our, our sons went through that as young adults when they were trying to figure it out for themselves.
Gwen Rutz
00:42:37
And I said, I said, you ask God for yourself if he's real and he will show himself to you.
Gwen Rutz
00:42:46
And he did, because I genuinely wanted to know.
Gwen Rutz
00:42:50
And so that is my advice.
Gwen Rutz
00:42:52
Ask God with an open, genuine heart.
Gwen Rutz
00:42:55
And he may not, he may or may not just reveal it to you in that moment.
Gwen Rutz
00:43:01
It may take some time.
Gwen Rutz
00:43:02
But if we remain, pardon me, if you remain open, God will show himself to you.
Gwen Rutz
00:43:08
I, I just have faith in that and I believe it because I've seen it so many times.
Gwen Rutz
00:43:15
God did an amazing miracle for our son when he was three.
Gwen Rutz
00:43:21
He was at three months old, our younger son, he was born with a deformed ear.
Gwen Rutz
00:43:25
And we prayed for God to heal him, but he didn't heal him.
Gwen Rutz
00:43:31
And so we kept praying and he kept not healing him, but we kept praying.
Gwen Rutz
00:43:35
And I was in church one Sunday morning, which is a great place to be because you can learn, you know, you can learn from other people.
Gwen Rutz
00:43:44
And then, and then ask, is, is this real?
Gwen Rutz
00:43:47
Is this true?
Gwen Rutz
00:43:48
Always, always check it with the word of God.
Gwen Rutz
00:43:51
But we've gone through the whole service.
Gwen Rutz
00:43:53
Service was over.
Gwen Rutz
00:43:55
And I was holding my son in my arms.
Gwen Rutz
00:43:59
It was, it was the amen prayer, you know, it was a closing prayer.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:02
I closed my eyes.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:04
The pastor prays in Jesus name, Amen.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:07
I opened my eyes and I looked down at my son and his ear was perfect.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:13
Like before.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:13
I closed my eyes.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:14
He had a deformed ear.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:15
I close my eyes.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:16
It's the closing prayer, open, and he has a completely perfect ear.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:22
I was like, oh my goodness, look, look, look.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:25
You know, and everybody's so excited because everybody had seen this deformed ear for three, the three months of his life, you know, and so I'm asking, Lord, what does this mean?
Gwen Rutz
00:44:38
Because we prayed and he didn't answer.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:40
But then we kept praying and he just.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:44
And we weren't even praying for him to be healed in the moment that he was healed and experienced this miracle.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:51
And you know what?
Gwen Rutz
00:44:51
I believe the Lord spoke to me about that.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:54
The Lord, I.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:55
This is what I learned.
Gwen Rutz
00:44:57
God is sovereign and he will answer in his own timing.
Gwen Rutz
00:45:02
And he will do what he believes best, what he knows is best and what's best for us.
Gwen Rutz
00:45:08
He'll do it.
Gwen Rutz
00:45:09
If you go from the first of the Bible beginning to the end of the Bible, I did this all in the top of my Bible.
Gwen Rutz
00:45:17
I have written, every time I see the phrase at the right time, it'll say, at the right time, I will make it happen.
Gwen Rutz
00:45:24
Or at the right time, at the right time all through, from beginning to end.
Gwen Rutz
00:45:28
And that, that's it, at the right time.
Gwen Rutz
00:45:31
God will reveal himself.
Gwen Rutz
00:45:32
God will show the answer.
Gwen Rutz
00:45:34
God will do it, but his timing is perfect.
Gwen Rutz
00:45:38
I would like everything done right now.
Gwen Rutz
00:45:41
But that's, you know, that's not always for my good, but God always knows.
Darrell
00:45:48
I personally think that there are three answers that God will always give.
Darrell
00:45:56
One may be yes, one will possibly be no, which is the hardest one for believers to accept.
Darrell
00:46:09
And the other is, you know, yes, but not right now.
Darrell
00:46:14
Which again is also like why your son says, you know, God takes too long.
Darrell
00:46:19
But I also heard one time that prayer is us asking God.
Darrell
00:46:28
And when we're still in quiet, that's us listening to God.
Darrell
00:46:31
And I really believe that too many people are so busy asking and talking and chattering that they can't hear the answer that they're seeking because they won't sit quietly enough to actually hear that stillness in the voice of God.
Darrell
00:46:45
And God does things in his time, not our time, and they're not always equal, but they are always beneficial.
Darrell
00:46:54
And, you know, you can't.
Darrell
00:46:59
I use this analogy all the time.
Darrell
00:47:01
You can't ask for the cake and expect a wedding cake to show up.
Darrell
00:47:04
Sometimes you're going to get the eggs and the butter and the batter and have to some assembly required.
Darrell
00:47:08
Do it yourself as well.
Darrell
00:47:11
I heard a pastor say one time, and I use this often as well, everyone's asking for God to do stuff, and they're waiting on God.
Darrell
00:47:23
They're waiting on God.
Darrell
00:47:24
But what if God is waiting on you?
Darrell
00:47:28
Sometimes you have to step out in that faith to know that, that what you're asking for is being done for you.
Darrell
00:47:33
And you have to believe it as it already is.
Darrell
00:47:37
And sometimes the deformities of our life are used there to glorify God at God's moment, not to hinder us, because it's a hindrance to us.
Darrell
00:47:49
So patience and quietness and understanding, I think, are all a part of what has to go into your spiritual practice.
Darrell
00:47:59
And the other thing for new believers, and this is still something as a.
Darrell
00:48:02
I'll be 60 now.
Darrell
00:48:05
So, you know, for someone who's been raised in the church and accepted Christ on my own at age 11, this is something that I still struggle with, with the Bible, is that, let's say I go to that book that's on your shelf behind you, right?
Darrell
00:48:22
And I pick it up.
Darrell
00:48:24
Well, that story is written in a chronological order that has sense and meaning and lineation.
Darrell
00:48:30
The Bible is the word of God, but it's not a linear story.
Darrell
00:48:37
There are jumps in the story that are not making Sense, because you expect it to be a linear story and it's not.
Darrell
00:48:45
And once I understood that the Bible is not a linear story, I read it differently and I understood it differently.
Darrell
00:48:53
So as an ordained minister speaking to a layperson, am I off base?
Darrell
00:49:00
On base, you agree, disagree.
Gwen Rutz
00:49:03
No, I, no, I agree with that because it's not all in chronological order.
Gwen Rutz
00:49:10
If you read it from beginning to end and then say if you're reading in, in Kings and you're reading in Chronicles, you know, First, Second Kings, first and second Chronicles, you're reading the same stories, but it's from a different perspective.
Gwen Rutz
00:49:27
So, you know, there's that as well.
Gwen Rutz
00:49:30
But what is, what is really good people?
Gwen Rutz
00:49:33
There are a lot of one year Bible plans.
Gwen Rutz
00:49:35
And so, you know, people will read through the Bible if you're going Genesis to Revelation and it's not a chronological Bible, they'll read through it.
Gwen Rutz
00:49:46
And some of it's repetitive because you're reading the same story from a different perspective.
Gwen Rutz
00:49:51
But what's good about doing that though is you do get, you can put together timelines and you can, you can figure out the stories because enough of it is all there together where you go, okay, I know what's happening here.
Gwen Rutz
00:50:11
But often people don't attempt to read the whole Bible and they only may read a few books out of the New Testament or maybe a few Psalms.
Gwen Rutz
00:50:21
And so it doesn't really make sense or they don't know how to put it together.
Gwen Rutz
00:50:26
But so if you do just take an, even if you don't do it in one year, because it's, it's even a lot to do in a year, you know, it doesn't matter.
Gwen Rutz
00:50:35
I say read to understand, not to finish.
Darrell
00:50:38
Right?
Gwen Rutz
00:50:39
We're not reading just to check off some, you know, off the list that we did it, we're reading to understand it.
Gwen Rutz
00:50:46
So even when you go through, it does give you a really good perspective of what really did happen that we're reading.
Darrell
00:50:55
Well, I think we could talk about this for many hours because you're fascinating and we have a great connection in our own love for, for God.
Darrell
00:51:04
But I'm going to wrap this up and ask you the same final question that I ask all my guests.
Darrell
00:51:10
What does a warrior spirit or having a warrior spirit mean to Gwen.
Gwen Rutz
00:51:16
That brings to mind Zechariah 4, 6.
Gwen Rutz
00:51:20
It says it's not by my, it's not by power, but it's by my spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.
Gwen Rutz
00:51:26
And I don't want to do things in my own spirit, in my own self.
Gwen Rutz
00:51:31
I'm not enough.
Gwen Rutz
00:51:32
I am not enough.
Gwen Rutz
00:51:34
But if I lean into the spirit of God and I let him move and I let him guide me, it's by his spirit.
Gwen Rutz
00:51:42
Like that's how mountains move.
Gwen Rutz
00:51:44
That's how battles are won.
Gwen Rutz
00:51:45
That's how we overcome things.
Gwen Rutz
00:51:47
Is letting the spirit of God lead us and letting the spirit of God go before us and fight our battles.
Gwen Rutz
00:51:54
And then we do what is our part to do, but we take our hands off of what's not our part and we let God do his part.
Gwen Rutz
00:52:01
And a lot of times that has to do with other external circumstances and other things that maybe we'd like to control.
Gwen Rutz
00:52:07
But let's let God be in control about that.
Gwen Rutz
00:52:10
So it's by his spirit.
Gwen Rutz
00:52:12
That's what a warrior spirit is to me.
Gwen Rutz
00:52:14
If I can let his spirit live in me and live through me, that's.
Gwen Rutz
00:52:19
That's where it's at to me.
Darrell
00:52:21
Well, I will say a big amen to that because I believe that to be true as well.
Darrell
00:52:26
I appreciate you joining me today and thank you for all you're doing out there to, you know, know, embody the word of God and being just a shining light in this darkened world.
Darrell
00:52:35
And you know, Gwen, I appreciate you and you're welcome back anytime.
Gwen Rutz
00:52:40
Thank you, Darrell.
Gwen Rutz
00:52:41
I.
Gwen Rutz
00:52:41
I appreciate it.
Gwen Rutz
00:52:42
I enjoyed the conversation very much.
Gwen Rutz
00:52:45
Thank you for all you do to to share people's message and give people hope.
Darrell
00:52:51
Oh, well, thank you.
Darrell
00:52:53
And if you would like to connect with Gwen, you can do so on her website, native arrowarchery.com or on her YouTube channel.
Darrell
00:53:04
Simplify your life with Gwen and also on all of her social medias.
Darrell
00:53:09
So also I want to thank you all for joining us on this edition of A Warrior Spirit.
Darrell
00:53:17
And be sure to hit that like or subscribe button so you can catch all of the episodes.
Darrell
00:53:21
Have a wonderful day and a blessed 2025.