TRANSCRIPT:


00:00:00 - Johnny Sanders

Do you have a child that is gender confused? Are you the parent of somebody who is either identified as transgender, using different pronouns, or some other type of gender-confused, just propaganda being shoved down your kids’ throats? Well, I created the biblically parenting gender-confused children support group for parents just like you. The support group is completely free. We meet monthly, and you are able to connect with other like-minded Christian parents who are struggling with how to parent children who are gender confused. They're getting all sorts of nonsense brought to them by the world, and I want to help connect parents who are going through similar struggles and be able to tackle this issue through a biblical worldview. If you are interested in joining this group or know somebody who might be interested in this group, head on over to faithfullyengaged.com. and there's more information about the support group there. I have a link down in the description below. Well, welcome back, everyone, to another episode of Faithfully Engaged. So, those of you who have heard the podcast for a while know that I find it very important for us to share our stories and that anybody's testimony is important. If you've come to faith in Christ, if Christ has saved you, that is a miracle. That is a wonderful story, and I'm really excited to get into another believer's story here. Her name is Danielle Wingate, and yeah, really excited to have you on. Danielle, why don't you tell the audience just a little bit about yourself?

00:01:51 - Danielle Wingate

Well, thank you so much. It's such an honor to be with you today. And I'm very excited. I am. I've been walking with the lord on and off my, basically my whole life. I am married to, I guess, a newly retired army veteran. He did 20 years. And we just got out in March, and we live right outside of Washington, DC. We have four children, ages eight, six, four, and three. So we always make the joke that our house is always quiet and clean, but really it is always frontlines. Discipleship is how I like to think of it. We have, we homeschool some of them, and the others are in school. And when I am not discipling children, I offer portrait photography. But then I also have a ministry here in the DC, Virginia area called DMV. Pray fast, and where we unite, equip, and mobilize the body of Christ.

00:02:47 - Johnny Sanders

So fantastic. Well, I can relate a little bit with you with kiddos. I have a four, two, and a newborn. So, yeah, it's very clean around here, too. Very quiet.

00:02:59 - Danielle Wingate

Bless you. Bless you. Yeah, yeah. Well, I might be getting more sleep than you. But.

00:03:08 - Johnny Sanders

Anyways, Danielle, you mentioned that you were, you know, kind of been in. In the church on and off there. What can you go a little bit, uh, more in-depth into? Yeah. Your relationship with. With God and being in church maybe as a young child to now as an adult.

00:03:27 - Danielle Wingate

Yes. So I was raised in a Christian home. My mom grew up Catholic. My dad grew up Southern Baptist. And my dad really introduced my mom a little bit more to a personal relationship with Jesus. But even in that, I would observe my parents having a. The religious disciplines of reading the Bible, of tithing, of going to church. We often went to church on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights. We were involved in all of it. But one of the truly one of my earliest memories I can remember, my family was going through a little bit of a hard time. My dad was an entrepreneur, and there was a little bit of a business mishap. And I don't know all the details still to this day, but what I do know is his business partner had really. Had done some damage to my dad, to the business. And so I remember them going through a really hard time, and I have still this very vivid memory of walking through the hallways of church and feeling nothing but peace in the building, thinking, that we were in a great, safe place and people who knew and loved my family. And I remember it was like the worship pastor who was very good friends, I thought, at the time, with my dad, asked how everything was, how life was, and my parents just looked at each other like, things are great, never better. And it was this first piece that I realized that there was a lack of authenticity, transparency, and this first pause that I ever had of, huh? Why wouldn't you be honest? And why can't you be honest? And I think as I continued to grow, I became really good at the practice of the reading of maybe the Bible, doing Bible drills. And so I was really good at checking the boxes. But checking the boxes and following religion protocol with no relationship does not sustain you. Going to church does not give you a relationship with Jesus. And so really, through my own process, the challenges in life and not realizing how the application from what you are reading in God's word, which is true and living, to how does that apply to my life? And then even the opportunity to exercise it to, okay, let's make it personal, because there is no junior holy spirit, and so there are opportunities that you can give a child any day that we're like, all right, let's practice exercising. You know, what's the Lord speaking to you? Or what's maybe the Lord asking you an area to be brave in making that connection to where this is a real relationship, that it's not my parents, but it's mine. And so through even a series of kind of growing up, even going to a Christian school, I really began to start to fall away, I think, from the relationship that I did have with the Lord and the interest that I had in following the Lord or being a Christian in general. I was in a private Christian school, and my parents were starting to have a lot of marital difficulties. And my way of acting out was to pursue kind of these relationships with boys. And through a series of just really, I mean, really poor choices, I basically was removed from all the sports teams. I was asked to step down from our worship team at church. And those things did hurt. But what was interesting was I obviously still showed up at school every day. I still had to continue on with classes, and I still had to face the consequences of lying and being deceitful and making choices that I was, well, way too young to be making. And what shocked me the most was how the adult Christian women in the administration handled or responded to my sin. Right? Because of my choices. My choices were like, as I talk to my children all the time, I made some sad choices, but I messed up. I mean, all of us have sinned. But the. The gossip, the hurt, the isolation that they extended towards our family, it was. It was really damaging where I just remember thinking, if that's how Christian women respond, I want nothing to do with this. And so I began to say, okay, I've tried that. I'm going to do things my own way. And so really, from the point of age probably 15 to about 23, 22, 23, I really just lived as I wanted to live and lived for what felt good, what felt like a good truth to me at that time, whatever friends kind of fed, you know, the. The next high, what adventure, prayer, going to church. It was just not even part of a practice or an interest. And what was interesting to me, was that I really didn't pause to pay attention to it, because what I realized was I didn't take any time to heal from even the things that happened when I was 15, and I stuffed it. And then going into college, there were things that happened. And again, I would jump into another relationship. I would jump into another relationship and make these choices. I began to almost collect wounds and hurts, but I would stuff them and think, this person or this thing was the problem, kind of just chasing the next high, kind of following whatever my feelings were leading at that time and never really pausing to assess. Hmm, this feels like a familiar place. What is the root of this? Why am I here? And so, truly, the Lord was so gracious, and he got my attention. There was about a six-month process where I was involved in three car incident relations. And truly, two out of those three times, like, this is how the Lord is. Like, listen, if you're not going to pay attention to the gentle nudge, I'm going to intervene massively. But in two out of those three car incidents, I was going to look at engagement rings with an ex-boyfriend at the time. And so, truly, after my third incident, I was driving on the interstate home from a work trip. A grain truck made an illegal u-turn on the interstate, and I realized that I was going to collide with him, like, at a perpendicular hit. And my car. And I really, like, I knew I couldn't swerve. I was going about 60, 70. So all I could do was put on the brakes, and I let go of the wheel entirely, and I just turned, and I covered. I covered my face as best as I could, and I lost consciousness. And when I woke up and I remember, I kind of, like, looked around. What was left of my car was this little bubble that I was sitting in, and I had glass all in my face. They had to rush me to the ER. When the police officer showed up at the ER, they were like, we literally had to come to see for ourselves that you were not decapitated. Like, there. They were like, there's no. It makes no sense that you are still here. And I had so much glass caked in on my face, and I was wearing glasses. And so my eyes had no cuts. My throat was cut up because of my screaming. I had inhaled my windshield. Like, I had no broken bones. I needed no stitches. But literally, my car was smashed except for this tall. I mean, this tiny little bubble. And I lay there. It took them an hour and a half to get the glass shards out of my face with tweezers. And I remember laying there under these bright lights thinking, I almost wish I was dead. And I remember feeling at this point, of this low point, thinking, man, I really feel like there's got to be something more. And I'm tired of running and I'm tired of having these familiar places that I keep coming back to in my life, thinking, well, if I just get this next promotion or if I just can get in the right relationship, or if I can just make this much money, or if I just get, like, the right amount of rest on this next vacation, then it'll feel right. Then it'll feel good, then I'll feel. And I literally was, like, put on bed rest, basically after that wreck for, like, two weeks. And I remember going through the wreck was hard, but going through the recovery was harder. And my spirit was so, um. I was so uncomfortable with resting. I had the hardest time laying still and being still. And I went back to work way earlier than I should have. And I remember I was in tears just sitting up because my body was hurting so bad. And a girlfriend one night was like, hey, I know how you feel about church, but there's this guest speaker at this, like, college event tonight, and I really think you should come. And it was a 45-minute drive. And so amidst the pain, the time I was working all day, and I just thought, this is this is the last thing I want to do. And this girl was so sweet, and she was not a very persistent person at all. But this is the one time she has ever, to me, at least, been bold and persistent when she said, Danielle, I really feel like you're supposed to be here. And I thanked her and I probably declined three or four times throughout the course of the day. She was like, I really feel like you're supposed to be here. And I remember her. It was respectful, but it was persistent. And I remember, I'm not sure what is so pressing to her, but it really caught my attention. And I don't know what it was, but I decided to go. I was so late. I never ever found her. That night, actually, I show up and I am in the. They have set out the chairs in overflow. Now that I think through it, it was against fire code. Like, I'm literally sitting in front of the door and I'm like, in the last chair and the last available chair. And Priscilla Shire is speaking that night about the topic that certain places are sacred places. And it was this whole concept that God had brought Jacob back to this certain place and had spoken to him in this dream and that he said, I'm going to bring you back to this certain place. And the Lord wrecked me that night. I had this incredible revelation that the Lord showed me. Danielle, you've been coming back to these familiar places of brokenness and pain because you are not letting me lead you. You are still navigating them. And so you are going to come back to these places of pain until you surrender and let me lead. Because the places of pain are places I want to heal and redeem and are the places that I want to use you most. And I realized for this first time, that I was not the victim of my story. I was not the victim of my season. But God had spoken a new identity and he had given a promise to me in the process of my pain that he wanted to heal, redeem, and use to bring. At the time, I didn't know, but now I do healing and freedom for others. And so that really began this absolute catalyst in my life of change. And I truly, that night I just wept, I mean, ugly cried, and laid it all down for the Lord. And I basically said, okay, God, if you're real and if you want to do this, I don't want whatever those women at that at my school had. I don't want this. Like, I don't want to just check the boxes. I need to know that this is real. I need to know that I can trust you. I need to know that you are going to, you're going to faithfully lead me. And he has. I mean, that was 14, 15 years ago, and there has never been a day or a season that I have questioned. It's not always been, of course, easy. There have been questions, but it has never been a question of his love, his faithfulness, his goodness, and his provision. And so really, the Lord has taken me on quite the journey from growing up in church to never wanting to have anything to do with the church to then working in churches, to then working in church consulting, and to now working as a ministry connector for lots of churches to unite and equip believers to grow in discipleship, prayer strategy, and spiritual authority. And I wrote a book back in 2021 about my testimony and my journey even with the Lord and how the Lord truly has redeemed those pieces and he wastes nothing. And it's called Fighting For Freedom.

00:16:32 - Johnny Sanders

But like, like I said in the intro, all testimonies are beautiful. And I just love hearing how God has used different people in different ways and that just the persistence there in your story that wasn't about you, wasn't about all the great things that you did, but God has had a plan for you, still has a plan for you, and his plans don't fail. I just think that's so, so encouraging to hear a story like that because I, you know, talk about different guests and things like that on here and guests that have done incredible things, and you know that the show, we're focused on action, but if it was just up to Danielle, if it's up to me or anybody else, we can't do it like it's, it's God that works through us. And it's just so encouraging to hear. Hear other testimonies. And you. You bring up freedom. And I know that you. You work a lot with. With women and with women. I know I have my own kind of thoughts and things that the culture has maybe shared towards women that this was. This is what real freedom is. And it's really, it's really not. It's really enslavement and encapturing young women's hearts. For wrong things. What about you and the work that you've done with women? What are things that you've seen from the culture that have tried to push women in the wrong way? And how have you tried to help steer them towards Christ?

00:18:16 - Danielle Wingate

That's a really great question. So I think before that we can ask the question. We have to think, where did it all begin? And it all began in a garden, right? So God is the author of truth. And the whole reason that we are in a spiritual battle is because Satan wanted to be God, be like God. And so out of pride, I he fell. And so scripture tells us that he is the author of lies, he is the father of deception, and he disguises himself as an angel of light. And so his tactics don't change. And so when you begin to think that we are in a spiritual battle, it kind of paints a very clear picture that there is forces for good, right? And that there are forces for evil working against us. And so Satan would love nothing more than to prevent and distract us from who God has called us to be and how he has created us to be. In the most powerful organization, the union that God has set up is marriage between man and woman. And then obviously, the gift of life. So Satan doesn't want that. And so anything that he can do to squash the masculinity of men, anything he can do to add confusion, distraction, distortion to the powerful gifting of the identity that is even in the term of a help meet. That is Azer Kinogdo, which is basically, it is the term that is used for women or for help meet. But it is a military strategy name. And it is actually God who uses that name to describe himself. And so it is a battle terminology. And so when you really almost behold these scriptures and behold what God says about women and kind of look at all of the things women do, there is no comparison. There is no competition. We are complements to one another. And it's only in the complement of allowing and honoring the men to own and run in their God-given lane that we then can own and run respectfully in ours. Now I'm going to pause right here and say, if people make it messy, and if people are not sensitive to the Holy Spirit and they are not walking in righteousness and justice and inequality from a, we'll just say a pay perspective, because I know that's often an argument that is presented. There is always room for that. And I'm not. There should be equality across the board in that type of work. If a man and a woman are doing the same job and come to the table with the same experience or delivery, there are going to be those unique things. We are not talking about that. We are talking about your God-given identity and your role. And what is really sad to me is when we buy into what culture says, when we buy into this belief that we should be all the things you can do, all the things. The Lord doesn't call you to do all the things. And actually, all the things are quite exhausting. Actually, it's counterintuitive to scripture because he talks about how we are a body of many parts, and it's actually much more freeing when we just sit with the Lord and say, well, how have you designed me? God, what are you asking of me in this season? God, what are you equipping me for, God, who have you put in my circle? And we began to see ourselves as part, not in whole, because he is going to, like, Ecclesiastes talks about all of these different seasons. And so it's actually exhausting, foolish, and it sets us up for complete failure and a lot of distractions when we try to do and be all of the things and not get daily guidance, daily instruction, and just permission from the Lord just to say, God, what do you have for me? What do you want me to do? And that is really where we begin to, I wouldn't even say find freedom, but begin to discover this freedom, because I'll liken it to this. If you have dated the wrong people, like, people who are toxic, controlling, and they are manipulative. They're, like, constantly just either in your ear, vying for your attention. They are constantly distracting you from maybe having a great time just out with your friends or maybe having reset time. But when you find that person that God has designed you to be with and they are a compliment to you, that they trust you, they are a safe place where you're like, yeah, go out with your friends. Go grab a dinner. Go grab. Or like, you know, sometimes my husband's like, hey, I just wanted to bless you. I just booked you an afternoon, you know, massage. It's like, wow. Like, you are helping create healthy rhythms and spaces for me to reset, for me to rest, for me to be a better version even of myself as I, you know, just rest. So that way I come back to my. Our marriage is healthier, I come back to our family healthier. It's somewhat like that. I feel like sometimes as you begin to see, and spend time with the Lord, there is nothing but this peace that comes to realize I don't have to have the answers. I don't have to have it all together. I don't have to show myself as the strong person, the overcomer, or the, you know, like, that's Jesus. Like, so the Lord gives that. And so it really is this piece that I would encourage women to always pay attention. The enemy is always going to be a deceiver. His strategy, his tactic is deception. And if the culture is screaming it, then likely it is not in God's word. And if you're curious, then go. Go dig into God's word and read about it, go study it, and then begin to compare. And what most women realize is that somewhere along the way, they have bought into knowingly or unknowingly innocent little lies. And it kind of starts as these little. For example, there's a woman that I'm working with right now, and she's going through a lot of stuff in her marriage. And she. Her little lie started with, my husband's not very ambitious. He doesn't really have a lot of dreams, and I wish he was more like. And then she just when you could fill in the blank and this root of bitterness and frustration began to take root in her mind and her spirit, well, guess what? That grew. Because evil just doesn't give up. It's not like the enemy is like, I just wanted this teeny, tiny little part. No, it's like it's a disease. It's like a weed. If you leave it and allow it to remain, it spreads. And so God talks about one of the best things that we can do is offer forgiveness. Not necessarily because the person deserves it, but because Christ forgave us that we extend that forgiveness. And so that is often where I find the most common pieces with women, is they are living out of this belief that they have that ends up usually being sometimes in part, sometimes in whole, a lie that they have unknowingly or knowingly partnered with. And again, it could have just been an innocent little thing, but they're holding on to bitterness. They're holding on to frustration. They're holding on to a victim mentality. They're holding on to this belief that, I have to have it all together. I have to do all the things I have to achieve. I have to be, and it's one of the most beautiful and challenging things to present these pieces to the Lord. And I tell people often, ask the Lord, Lord, would you search my heart? Lord, would you search my mind? Scripture says, test me and know my anxious thoughts and see if there is anything that is not pleasing to you. And so really to just be willing to have the Lord search you and then to say, okay, if you really want freedom, it is going to take work, right? Because we are in a battle. If Satan already has access, he has to be removed. And that's not necessarily going to be pleasant for him. But guess what? It's always worth it. And for us to walk in true freedom and relationship identity and what he has called and designed us to do it first starts to say, I can't have things in my life that are going to continually separate me from the Lord. I can't have authority over the things that I am still captive and bound to. Does that make sense?

00:26:57 - Johnny Sanders

Absolutely. And I love that you brought it back to the garden because that's where that's where it all comes back. To use the example of the serpentine saying, did God really say, and that's, that's how sin works? Very rarely, if never, you talk about, you know, kind of partial or whole lie there. Very rarely is it going to be this big lie all at once that I believe we can get into cultural issues, whether it be, whether it be abortion or gender identity issues or whatever that it may be. Very rarely does some, somebody go straight from some type of, you know, biblical type of answer to, you know, straight to, you know, boys can be girls and girls can be boys or whatever. Like, it doesn't go straight there. There's, there's a lot of little things, a lot of little lies. And, eventually, like you said, evil doesn't stop. Eventually, it snows. The ball snowballs into this big thing. But we got to start with that, that little lie, that little bitterness in your marriage or things that you get upset about. Yeah, like you said that in your school, those ladies at the school, like, letting that stuff seep in there. I think of an example for, my wife, she's staying home with our kiddos right now. And yeah, she's gotten positive and negative, more positive than negative, mind you. But almost all of the negative of, oh, you're just a stay-at-home mom or you're not going back to work. Like all of those types of things, a majority have been women who have said that.

00:28:47 - Danielle Wingate

Yes.

00:28:47 - Johnny Sanders

Now, has there been a ton of women saying, that's fantastic? Absolutely. It's not a full sale on women. But I, I think that speaks into some of those lies that get in there. And it's almost as if my wife staying at home, with her babies is like attacking them for having a job, which she didn't say that. She didn't say any of that. But that's how that lie kind of seeps in. And I love that working with women tries to address the lie because you can just say, stop doing that. But I, that's not really getting to the root of it.

00:29:23 - Danielle Wingate

It's not. And even so, I stay home with our children as well. And I mean, even the thing, like, living outside in whatever Washington, DC region, people look at you like you're crazy. One, to have four children. Number two, that you would stay home with your children. Number three is that you would homeschool. And they're like, oh, my gosh, I could never. And so what I've really learned, especially in this season, is there is a retraining and a reframing that is needed. And so when people comment, I love it because it throws people off when people are like, these are all your children, or you stay home with them. And it's like this negative connotation as they realize, like, my world and my season. And so I began to speak and teach them a new truth. And so this is what it looks like when people say something like that, I immediately turn to them, look at them in the eye, and I say, I know how blessed am I that the Lord would entrust me with those that he calls the most precious. And I, and I tell them all the time, I am so humbled that God would choose me and entrust me with four children. I know, isn't it crazy how blessed I am? It blows my mind and I smile. If they have something else to say, then we engage that. But it never, it throws people off so much and it always comes. I would say 99% of the time, it causes people to pause and it's almost like a new thought has entered their mind and they go, oh. And they just have nothing to say. And I'm like, thank you so much for reminding me how blessed I am. Have a great day. And I walk off and it is just this piece that we're not going to partner, I'm not partnering with culture. I'm not going to partner with word curses. I'm not. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. So I am going to frame my season. I'm going to frame what the Lord has put in my hands, what the Lord has put to, that I have been entrusted with. I am going to frame it as a blessing because that is what the Lord has given. If I choose not to steward it as such, that's mine to learn from and grow in. But it is absolutely this piece that is a retraining and a reframing. And it really, I believe, sets up very perfectly. There has been a huge decree or call that has gone out from multiple believers across the nation, that we are in an Esther season, and that there is an Esther movement rising across the nation. And it was interesting, there's this call that we're doing, a million women and their families coming to the National Mall in Washington, DC, October 12, 2024, which is the day of atonement. A million women, like, that's wild. That is a wild thing to imagine. A million women in their families. In 1997, promise keepers put a million men on the mall. I think in 2019, 400,000 youth came to the National Mall, but there have never been a million women and their families on the Mall. And so earlier this year, I began to sit with the Lord, and I was like, okay, it sounds really neat. It sounds really cool, lord, but why? Why do a million women need to come to the mall? Like, what is it about women? And the Lord showed me that Esther, as the bride of the king, right? And we're the bride of Christ. Esther had to go to petition the king as a death decree had gone out against her people. And I believe that Jeremiah even teaches this, that he says specifically to women in chapter nine, that women are to teach younger women, other women, how to weep and lament because death has climbed through their windows. Well, in a lot of ways, death has climbed in our windows in America. You could probably. We could probably sit here and talk about, like, you're saying abortion. We could talk about interest rates. We could talk about, you know, the financial market. We could talk about the marriage. Marriage. We could talk about suicide. Like, there is a spirit of death that has come in and has been decreed over and against our nation. And so that there is a response that is needed specifically for the women to lead with weeping and travailing right now for our nation, for families, for sons, and for daughters. But it has to come in through us first before it can go out from us. So that revival, reformation, we have to just be willing to sit with this healing of, okay, God, what are you wanting to do in me? Because you're going to ask more of me. There's going to be a call for women to step up this year in a spiritual way. I believe that is a response to say, I can't just be a once a month go to church Christian. I can't just read my bible when the pastor tells me to open God's word. I can't just follow Instagram for my daily dose of scripture or whatnot and have things taken out of context. I can't pay attention to what culture says is right. I have to know God personally. I have to know the areas that he has called me for influence, the areas called me. He's called me to authority. And if we sit with this lie like Esther could have sat with this lie, that she believed she was safe in the kingdom, right? I was chosen like I am safe. It's really sad for all of my people, but the Lord is going to do mighty work, I'm safe, so I don't have to respond. And Mordecai, of course, reminds her, no, this is exactly, perhaps this is exactly why God has put you here. And I really, it is my greatest desire for women to realize that their positioning and their season is not by accident, but it is of divine positioning and placement. The Lord has entrusted you with the family that you have. The Lord has entrusted you with the community that you're in. The Lord has placed you in the region that you are in for such a time as this. And so there is a readiness, an alarm that is going out to say, you can no longer. I am calling you to freedom, to relationship, and to more with me. But I need you to be ready. And it does. It has to start with the lies. Where have I partnered? Where have I given my territory, my authority over to the enemy that you want to redeem and use God and this hunger to say, use me, here I am? And as I said earlier, the Lord is so faithful. The Lord is so good. To prune, to remove, to reorient, to recalibrate, to align, to clarify, and to simplify. But then, oh, my goodness, as he does the. The blessings that come from obedience, from relationship to submission. And it is. It is incredible to see that it truly is. At the end of the day, I could go through all of the things that God has done, has continued to do, and the things that he's doing now, but it really is none of it would be possible. And none of it is for me, for my name. It is truly for his glory. It is just such a joy to partner with him. But it really does begin to start with. We have to start with, okay, Lord, search me. What do you want to do? And taking those baby steps and knowing that it is a journey, it is not a destination. And God wants to redeem, heal, and he wastes nothing.

00:37:06 - Johnny Sanders

Absolutely. And again, it goes back into. To being into his word, earnestly seeking him out, and being active, even active in your thought process of not letting the. The thoughts that the cultural things going on. As I'm recording this with Danielle, this is in the middle of June, and people know that that's pride month. And there's all sorts of things that. That goes on that aren't from a biblical mindset. We can take that and be mad and just yell at our TV and all that stuff, or you can be active. You can reframe it. You can be grateful for the things God has given you. You can search for opportunities to pray for your community, to be active with people maybe who are in an lgbt lifestyle, and minister to that in all sorts of ways. And that's just one. One topic. But if you want to, like you said, if you want to be a victim, if you want to be mad, and that's it. I mean, you can do that, but it's not.

00:38:12 - Danielle Wingate

You're not going to have the. You're not going to have authority and influence because you're still bound by it. And God is not going to use you or want or partner with you while you are letting anger and frustration be. They're not fruits of the spirit. They're not. So it's not going to be. And. And when we get mad at people or we'll say organizations, institutions, or anything other than the enemy, we are assigning incorrect power. We are giving. We are giving power to the enemy. And it's kind of like, I'll go back to the analogy of the weeds. It does you no good if you have any type of yard, it does you no good to pick off the leaves of your weeds. You have to pick out the roots to really make a difference. You have to get to the root. The root is that we are in a spiritual battle. This is not a political battle. It's not a right or a left type of thing. It's not a business strategy. It's not a marketing tactic. We are in a spiritual battle. And if you really want to make a change, then you. We have got to sit with the Lord first and say, what are you calling me to, Lord? What do you want to do in my life? What do you need to heal in me first? And then get mad at the enemy if you, and then release it, say, all right, lord, you don't desire this. God, I believe that you are breaking my heart for abortion and that you want to see life like Pride Month, rededicated to be called Life Month. Okay. God, break my heart for it. God, give me strategy, give me connections, give me the grace. Because really, at the end of the day, it would be incredible if abortion was banned everywhere. But you know what would be really incredible? If in the process of banning that one, the church came alongside to develop solutions. And number two, if those who used to be pro-abortion were transformed by the gospel through their relationship with us as believers and that they came to know Jesus in the process, like, so, if the Lord is calling us to, to that place, Galatians 513 tells us that he is calling us to freedom. But freedom is not just for us, it is also for others. And so whatever that sphere of influence or authority that God is calling you to, whatever that place of pain and what we would probably say we have anger towards right now. Like, I used to be really angry towards the church for various things, but what I've realized is that anger, as I have sat with it, the Lord has broken my heart for it in such a way that I now have this deep desire to see revival and reformation in the church where the body of Christ wakes up and mobilizes to say, we're not going to partner with idiot tactics of the enemy. We're not going to partner with a spirit of fear. We're not going to just bow to whatever. And it's not in a disrespectful way, but it is in a hunger for righteousness, for justice. But it is, we can't respond and react the way that the world does, because what gospel is that at the end of the day? What is it for them to look at us and hear us and say, well, I don't like what you're saying and you don't like what I'm saying, but I'm choosing to throw a rock through this window, and you're choosing to turn around and bless me and offer to make a meal with me? This doesn't seem to add up. How could you possibly still love me and speak with, me with respect, with kindness? And we then get to say, because it is not me, but it is the one who lives in me. And I would love some time to share with you the story of hope, healing, and freedom. And then we have this opportunity. And so anger is not bad, but it's what we do with it. Are we going to bring it out to people or are we going to bring it to the throne room of God and lay it down and say, I want change, I desire? And guess what? God desires it too. And what's beautiful is God wants to partner with us and he wants to give us strategy. He wants to give us opportunities. He wants to give us open doors. But like a good, faithful, loving father, he is not going to continue to give us the keys, open all the doors. If we're not stewarding the ones. Well, if we're not ready to go and speak to the Supreme Court about X, Y, and Z, if we're not ready to go and have Facetime with some of these people that we so deeply desire. So it really is this piece that God is going to use. Whatever that anger is, whatever that passion is, he does want to use it. But when it remains and stays at the point of anger and blaming people and name calling and assigning power to the sides, we are pulling the leaves off the weeds and not pulling at the root, which is the enemy. So the enemy is the enemy. Nobody else gets to have that.

00:43:14 - Johnny Sanders

Absolutely. I think that's really important to keep in mind in this season, in any season that, that we're dealing with, with the culture. So, Danielle, fantastic hearing your testimony and some of the things that you're, you're doing in your life right now, working with, with, especially with, with women and being able to just walk alongside the Lord and not just trying to do our own things. So I'm positive that people listening to this episode will either want to know more about your book or stay in contact with you after the show. So how can people. Yeah. Be in contact with you and get a hold of your book?

00:43:53 - Danielle Wingate

Sure. You can go to danielewingate.com. it's dash, dash e. Dash e w I n g a t e. Or if you want to keep up to date with what's going on in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area, you can go to dmvprayfaststand.com. so we have monthly prayer walks where we go out to the National Mall, go out to the Capitol, and we pray, we take communion. We bring a Bluetooth speaker. We do worship music, and we just welcome the Holy Spirit and we just declare that there is no higher power than the blood of Jesus over our nation.

00:44:30 - Johnny Sanders

Fantastic. And I'll include that down in the show notes so you all can visit the website and the organization when you're getting a chance to listen to this. And Danielle, again, thank you so much for being on with us.

00:44:43 - Danielle Wingate

Thank you so much for having me.

00:44:45 - Johnny Sanders

Right. And thank you to everybody who tuned in today. We'll catch you on the next episode.