 the finish of our faith and even when we don't see it he is moving he is grooving he is doing all things working all things together for our good and we're so glad you're joining us on Hope Today. I'm here with Tom Hollis and here with Anna today dear Anna and we are super excited because today it is about you. I know I'm so excited to be able to to share my story in just a couple of minutes and we're going to be I'm going to be framing my story all around the war that I've had against fear for most of my life because I know that so many are struggling with fear and anxiety and so my prayer today is just that through my story through my experience and what God has taught me that it will inspire you to step out and be brave. I think that is so good. I can't wait to hear it. I know it's going to be a blessing. I'm glad that God is moving and grooving by the way that's I'm really happy about that but you know it's it's so true that we can let fear bind us let fear wrap us up and and say hey you don't want to do that you know it sounds like wisdom but and wisdom's good but a lot of times it's just playing fear. Yeah there's a lot of times that we're moving in fear we're walking in fear but today we want to break that off of you and know that you can walk in the power in the victory all that you are called to be and speaking of victory we just want to give a big shout out to Coco Goff the 19 or who won the U.S. Open I mean what an incredible story what a credible journey so many of us are watching over the weekend of her win and you know one thing that was so beautiful is that at the end she got on her knees and prayed how beautiful is that and so just even thinking you know I've heard some interviews that she was doing talking about you know people who doubted her or said you're not going to make it and look where she is now so maybe you're in a tennis match maybe you're in a match of your life and things are going back and forth stay in the game hold on to hope hold on to Jesus and know that he's right there with you in the match and within it. I love that because Tony Dungey who I follow on Twitter or whatever we call it now X and he posted that picture of her praying immediately after she won and and she has a practice of praying with her dad always has like ahead of their matches and praying together what a fantastic legacy to leave your daughter to leave somebody to know Christ that way right absolutely yeah and with prayer I mean that constantly positions us back to the proper place that we are underneath God like all the gifts and the talents and the purpose that he's given us we constantly owe him credit and so today that's really how I want to frame my story you are our CTVN family and if you've been with us since I started here yesterday was actually my 10 year anniversary of the first time being on air here with being a real life co-host but we'll get to that a little bit later so my story really is one of a war against fear because my mom said that I was a very timid little girl I mean I always had some fire in me she could tell you some fun stories about that but we have a picture of me with my mom with my family my dad and my brother and you could see we're hanging out at Disney World and I'm just like lean enough against my mom like always right with the world as long as I have my mom close by and I know that she's watching today and she has taught me also how to be brave and how to step out and truly she said that once I asked Jesus into my heart as a little girl to like through like middle school and high school I started to find more courage and that was really the beginning of where the the seeds of my purpose in life where it began to be planted by the Lord so I have to say like although I gave my heart to Jesus as a little girl my my faith was very shallow like as I was thinking about my goals after high school what I wanted to do whenever I grew up like that God was really like I didn't I didn't pray I didn't ask him like Lord what do you have for me I just was really following my heart and it's cool as you'll hear my story unfold how God brought me to into the purpose that he had for me even though I wasn't on that path necessarily right away and so when I was in high school I can just remember like watching shows like GMA in the morning and thinking like oh look at how they get to just greet people in their living rooms in the morning in their kitchens they could just get to bring like this joy and this smile to help somebody start their day right and I was like that would be so much fun to do and then I would get home from school and like at four o'clock Oprah would be on and I would watch her bring these guests on and she was like a master interviewer and what a cool opportunity Oprah had to be able to bring people and give them a platform to share their story to be able to help them shape the part that would be impactful to somebody who was listening to inspire somebody to give somebody hope to draw a person in and I was like that would be such a cool job to sit with people and help them tell their story Barbara Walters was another one that was just like top of her game she was a forerunner for women in journalism just to interview people and to tell stories and so I knew from high school that I wanted to go into television so I went to IUP and I majored in communications media and journalism and so I had these big dreams like whenever I graduated I was going to move to New York City I was going to get a job on GMA I was going to be a career woman just like crushing it in the media world well as life would have it I ended up getting married at 20 years old in the middle of my sophomore year we ended up after graduation settling down in nowhere Pennsylvania and I was like oh I had three kids in four years so I quickly became a stay at home mom there's me with my three littles on my little ducklings I call them and I was about 30 years old in that picture and I just thought well I mean I love I'm loving being a mom I knew that when I had kids I wanted to stay home but that just meant like all my dreams of television had gone out the window and you know I just kind of like got at peace with that so I continued on and in those years of my 20s like and into my very early 30s I look at that back at that now is like those were preparation years those were the years where Jesus where I got to encounter Jesus so I joined in assemblies of God church I started into Bible study and the for the first time like I did a Beth more for those of you who have done Beth more like she just brought she helped bring the Bible to life for me and I can just remember sitting at my kitchen table I would get up early in the morning before my three kiddos got up and I would just pour over the scriptures and Jesus just like jumped out of these pages at me and I encountered him for the first time like I met the Jesus who loved me and who was there for me I started learning about my identity in Christ and who who I was in him not my identity as a mom not my identity as a wife not my identity as anything else but a daughter of God and how he has made us his masterpiece the Bible says we are his masterpiece created in Christ Jesus for good works that he prepared in advance and he started stirring my spirit that there was so much more and in that time I just really I learned scripture I grew in my relationship with God and a powerful illustration that I remember hearing in my younger years as a young adult was somebody was speaking about fear and I was already like I was still having battles with fear and stepping out and being brave and they put in front like they put up on the screen a picture of a bonsai tree so like do you guys know what a bonsai tree okay yes I've seen karate kid for those of you who have like watched karate kid like Mr. Miyagi and he's like trimming the little branches and keeping it all cute and small and like a little container and then the other picture that this speaker showed was of the big tall mighty oak tree and the Bible says in Isaiah 61 that they will be called oaks of righteousness a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor and so I was thinking like God has maybe to be a tall mighty oak where my roots spread out where I can stand strong against any storm that I don't need to fear and yet the way that a bonsai tree is maintained is that the owner actually will like take the bonsai tree out keep trimming the roots so to keep it small and also will keep it in a shallow container and will keep trimming the branches and I just he was talking about how fear is like that like if we allow fear to own us to keep controlling us that it's constantly clipping away at those roots that God wants to grow down deep into the soil of his word where we are planted by streams of living water had just really started to resonate with me and so fast forward then about 2008 I there was a group of us women around the Murraysville area and one of the ladies said wouldn't it be awesome to start a mops group it stands for mothers of preschoolers and so there was a team of us that was excited to like launch this group that was for moms but they didn't have a coordinator and I was like that sounds like a fun job I would love to be the coordinator of this group and so our first year we had 30 women and let me tell you although I was so excited because I believe God put that desire in me to step out and lead to launch this group that would impact over the years hundreds of women like that first year we had 30 women and that was my first encounter with experiencing paralyzing fear and so here I am like day one of this mops meeting we're supposed to start at 9 a.m. 9 a.m. comes around and I am nowhere to be found do you know where I was I guess is I was in the bathroom head between my knees like hyperventilating because I could not get out in front of those 30 women to welcome them to the mops group and to start like you know facilitating this meeting and so I remember we had these mentor moms these older women and so she's like Anna you can do this like you can do this you can stand in front of those 30 women and welcome them so I was like all right here we go and so that was really like God's first place of where I said yes and I stepped into something that felt so much bigger than myself and I had to trust that God wouldn't meet me there and help to grow me through that and he did so through those years of ministering to women like that's where God brought my purpose back on track where I fell in love with the hearts of women like I knew during that time that God had called me to minister to women to care for the hearts of women and so I was part of that for 10 years and in those 10 years they encouraged me to go and speak at other mops groups and other women's groups and I was like okay I mean I don't okay so here we go and I had my second encounter with paralyzing fear like I just could not it was so hard to get myself up there on that stage and it was then that I was like all right fear I am so done with you I'm so done with you holding me back keeping me down like paralyzing me like what this is not okay I have a big mighty God that is for me and so I came up with this little like strategy to start overcoming fear and if you like to take notes like this is a great place to take notes that's simply this speak truth pray truth live truth because here's the thing the enemy wants to constantly whisper in your ears like who do you think you are you've got nothing to offer like remember where you came from like you can't do this and so we have to get the truth of God's word speaking louder in our ears about who God says we are so that that truth over comes the voice the lies the whisper of the enemy so I took Isaiah 41 10 this is a phenomenal scripture for those of you who struggle with fear and it says this do not fear for I am with you do not be dismayed for I am your God I will strengthen you and help you I will uphold you with my righteous right hand do not fear for I am your God and so I put that on a no card like on the dashboard of my car and like the whole drive to my speaking engagement I would just be like I will not fear because God you are with me I will not be dismayed he just holds me with his righteous right hand and I would just like speak it I would pray I would turn into prayer and then you know what whether that fear went away or not I just went out and I lived the truth that my God is with me that he is for me that he has gone ahead of me to prepare this place for me to step into to live into my purpose so I continued on with this bravery and one of the speaking engagements was a mother daughter banquet there were a few women in the audience that worked at cornerstone television and so after the speaking engagement that these women came up to me and Amanda Brocker was one of them and Linda Wilson was another and so I think it was Amanda actually that was like hey you have any interest in working at cornerstone television like we're going to be starting some new programs they're looking for some women to come audition it's a show called sister to sister it's like the view but from a christian perspective I was like are you kidding me I've always wanted to work in television and so it was like an instant yes I didn't even have to pray about it but let me tell you that was my next paralyzing encounter with fear because I showed up there were like 50 women in this room they were like pastors ministry leaders like high powered women in the Pittsburgh area and I must stay at home mom like what am I doing here how did I get into this place and so again this was just the time where God was like he had to push me out and so through the series of auditions and callbacks ultimately didn't get picked for sister to sister but then the president at the time came up and he's like how would you like to be one of my co-hosts on the morning show called real life and I was like my gosh I get to be like Katie Couric I get to like say good morning to people and welcome people and I get to talk about Jesus which by that time I was so passionate about Jesus and that's all I wanted to do was be able to talk to people about Jesus and what he could do in their lives and so that was an easy yes and like I said 10 years ago was my start here on Cornerstone and just to see how it has evolved and the the team here I just have to say and they're like sitting all around me right now and Dave Tucker who is the executive producer like he's all of them in their own way they've just been like mentors like they saw something in me that would be effective on television and I remember at the beginning wanting everything to be scripted out like the teleprompter was my safety place and Dave was like okay we'll let you use that there'll be like training wheels for a little while but then we're going to start taking those training wheels off and so time after time just being pushed out beyond my comfort zone so that I can step into the next level of what God has for me and friends that's my message to you today like whatever red sea whatever obstacle is in front of you with your purpose or maybe you have a medical diagnosis or a financial situation or a relationship issues or your kids are not where you want them to be fear comes in so many different ways or you're watching the news and you see where our world is fear can hold us back and keep us small but when we know who our God is when we know what he has infused into us through his Holy Spirit to help us step out and be brave like we are not on this earth for ourselves we are here to be a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor so my prayer again through sharing my story today is that you will be brave whatever is holding you back today set it at the feet of Jesus and embrace him he says do not fear for I am with you you are mine he has gone before you and he is all around you and he is making that path for you to go and be extraordinary wow great story good he's so good I love how God brought that brought your vision from way when you were young all the way back around from watching Good Morning America to being on in the morning in America and I get to be here at quarterstone television and this truly is a place where Jesus is the center yeah thank you so much for sharing Anna we're gonna take a quick break when we come back we're gonna talk a little bit about what happens when God pours out his spirit on us like he did on Anna like he wants to do on you and me we'll be right back every now and then life gets the best of us and we need a reminder to keep calm and trust God simple but striking the keep calm and trust God box of blessings provides messages of reassurance to help carry you through tough and challenging times these small cards fit into the palm of your hand and will turn your focus to the one who is in control of everything inside you'll find 51 colorful double-sided cards featuring a combination of inspiration scripture verses and faith-based quotes add it to a get well basket or use it to encourage a teacher family member or friend or save it for the time you need encouragement be sure to ask for the keep calm and trust God box of blessings when you give today it's our way of saying thanks as you encourage others by providing life-changing christian television through quarterstone tv call us at 888-665-4483 or give at ctvn.org slash donate we are on day 15 of our just praying together and believing for great things for ourselves for our families for God to pour out in our city that's what we're praying about today day 15 by the way next monday we're having at 8 p.m a prayer program that you will want to be part of on the 18th at 8 p.m all the hosts will be here and we'll be praying together so uh today's scripture we have a scripture for every day it says this it's joel 2 28 and 29 it says it will come about after this that i will pour out my spirit on all mankind and your sons and your daughters will prophesy your old men will dream dreams and your young men will see visions in even on the male and female servants i will pour out my spirit in those days so think about that and i love this that gods got something for everybody when the spirits poured out it's not just poured out on the leaders it's not just poured out on the pastor it's not just poured out on the elders it's poured out on everybody in fact our sons and daughters will prophesy what a what a what a promise i know for for me anna you know you have kids not yet but when you want the spirit of god to be poured out on your kids and you want the the uh i've got grandkids now and i pray for that and here's a promise that this is going to happen and and they're not only just going to receive they're going to minister out of that they're going to prophesy you know i tend to skip over the old men will have dreams part you know uh i'll just go straight to the young men will see visions all of that uh that god wants that and he wants that not just for our own personal benefit it does do that because we get to know who god is but it then we launch out from that into what he wants to say to our generation to our our time to our city to our region all those things sydney give me your thoughts on this you know as you're speaking to scott just really dropped in my spirit is that a lot of times i think we look at the holy spirit like he's not a theory he's tangible that we have access to the holy spirit and i know depending on you know i know there's different denominations and different things but the truth of the matter is that god calls us to walk in spirit and in truth and reminds me of a very powerful point in anna's story about when you said to speak truth to pray truth to live truth there is a spirit of truth there's a spirit of worship there's a spirit of freedom that's what the holy spirit is about and so when you begin i just encourage you something that you know when i was growing up like i heard of the holy spirit but didn't fully understand everything and i know this is a very common scripture but when is the last time that you've prayed to the holy spirit do you have a relationship with the holy spirit the moment i just started praying to holy spirit talking to holy spirit i was like you are my friend you are beside me you're my compass you are my comforter something transformed in my life that i started dreaming that i was able to have prophetic utterances i was able to see things in a different dimension in a different place and because it's he wants to manifest through us right and so that we can make changes in our communities like even anna when i think of your story is like that you know the change agent that you're in your family the change agent you were around among women the change agent that you are even here on this program is show in cornerstone this is what the holy spirit does inside of us it is an awesome awesome thing so i just want to encourage you today as we're on our 21 days of prayer pray to the holy spirit talk to holy spirit get to know holy spirit he knows you and you need to get to know him so you can walk in the fullness of your purpose and who you are called to be anna what are your thoughts i was so glad that you said about the holy spirit because that was another part i was thinking preparing today is that the holy spirit changes everything i grew up in a church that really gave me the foundations of god and jesus of the bible but they did not teach about the holy spirit and then when i started going to an assemblies of god church that was all about the holy spirit i was like my gosh i can't believe i've been missing this my whole life to know that he is the power of god in us like what an incredible thing as new testament believers that we get to have the holy spirit living in us like the same holy spirit that raised jesus from the dead is living on the inside of us to empower us like we don't have to do this life on our own and he wants to reveal god to us he wants to empower us and our purpose and our calling he wants to give us prophecies and visions and dreams and this is all through the power of the holy spirit and you know just speaking of our daughters and our sons like as parents as grandparents like let's be speaking life into our kids and telling them about the about god and what he has put in them and that they have the ability to go out and be filled with the holy spirit to be able to make change in this earth and it doesn't matter where you are who you are i say well hey i don't i'm not up on the pulpit on sunday i'm not on tv like you hey you are one of the ones that the spirit's being poured out it says even the male and female servants so anywhere any job anything any whether you're at a service job whatever you're doing god's pouring out his spirit on you to walk in that believe that trust in that and speak that and as you're talking it's just like there's a song that's in my spirit i'm just singing this is like holy spirit come rest on us you're all you want we want you're all we want holy spirit we are all we want let that be the cry of your heart today holy spirit wants to dwell with you he wants to be with you he wants to sit beside you he wants to nurture you he wants to speak to you and through you so invite the holy spirit into your home today