Barbara Carmack and her daughter Kimberly share a beautiful and tender reflection on life, faith, and the joy of trusting in God’s eternal plan. From heartfelt memories of family recipes to deep biblical truths, this episode of Call to Freedom reminds listeners that we are created in God’s image, destined for a heavenly future, and called to live fully—even when life doesn’t unfold as we hoped. Whether it’s butterballs at Thanksgiving or dreams deferred, Barbara and Kimberly explore how to yield our desires to God, rest in His presence, and trust in the plans He has for us. Anchored
welcome to call to freedom with barbara carmack this is jimmy lakey and i’m delighted that you are joining us for this half hour you can reach call to freedom at box 370-367 denver colorado 80237 or by going to the website at www.freedomstreet.org If you want to leave a message or order a Word Power Daily Reading Bible Guide or a Freedom Street Express newsletter, you can call us toll free at 1-877-917-7256 and leave your name and address, including your zip code. If you want to talk to Barbara right now, she is expecting your call. You may call that same toll-free number, 1-877-917-7256 to speak to her. And now, let’s join Barbara in the studio.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thank you, Jimmy. And Jimmy has been announcing that for 16 years. I’m so grateful. I’m so grateful for this friend. Welcome to Call to Freedom. You were created in God’s image. May your actions be a reflection of his love today. You know that God is spirit. John 4, 24 says that God is spirit and we must worship him in spirit and in truth. But he also has a form. Yes, he has a form because the first part of what I just told you is you were created in God’s image. You aren’t just a woofing ghost or a spirit. No, you have a form. You have a spirit, which is God’s spirit. And then you have a soul, which is your intellect, your mind, your emotions. your will, and then you have a body. And that body was made in the image and likeness of God. So we know that God has a form. Now, Jesus has a physical form in heaven, but it’s a supernatural physical form. He can go through doors. We’re going to have that kind of form. Wow, I can’t wait. But he is a spirit and he’s going to give you a form that you need. Oh, and a beautiful, supernatural, heavenly body that you’re going to enjoy forever and ever because we are made in his likeness and in his image and and he wants us to enjoy every part of who we are in Christ Jesus. Oh, you are blessed to dispense, for in him you live and move and have your being. And you can go to the website, freedomstreet.org. It’s been our website since 1994, freedomstreet.org. I know we had several organizations ask to buy Freedom Street, and we said, nope, it’s not for sale. It’s God-given. So we still have that website, and it’s a new format on this website. And I had a friend in Florida say, when I went to that, it’s clean and it looks really great. So I hope that you will go there. You can go to freedomstreet.org on your phone or on your computer or other devices. Tablet, that’s right. Yes. You’re welcome, Kimberly.
SPEAKER 03 :
Laptops.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s been so good. You have been here through the month of July.
SPEAKER 03 :
I have. I know, and you sat down in the studio here and said, here we are at the last day of July. Yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
It is, yeah. Yes. You can also give online donations there. Hit that Donate button. For hearing the radio shows, you can go to Resources and hit that radio show, and we have that up, and it’s beautiful, and it has an MP3 format. And you said, Kimberly… that the CDs are now being converted to MP3. So all the CD teachings that Darren and I did over the years, anointed teachings. Very soon to be available.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, they will be available.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right there on the website. Yes. And then Kimberly has been doing some blogs, and they are on Voice of Freedom. So if you go there, what?
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, there’s tabs at the top of your website and it’ll say, uh, resources and about and teachings. And when, when you click on those tabs, just, just investigate, just, just be curious and click on the different tabs and go to the different areas of the website and just see what you find. Yeah. That’s what we’re inviting you to do. That’s right. You don’t have to read my blog. Well, they do, though. No, I mean, it’s so good.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s so good. Our memory verse for this week, and this is the last day of this, but I hope it’s not the last day for this verse in your heart, is Hebrews 11, verse 6. Without faith, it’s impossible to please God. You find God. You are saved with faith, the faith that God gives you. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. For he who comes to the Father must believe that he is and he’s a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Kimberly, I love the message translation in Hebrews 11, 5 and 6. As an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. I think that’s beautiful. They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him. You know, on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken, he pleased God. It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists, that he is the I am that I am, and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. You were talking about a verse, not while you were doing the butter balls this morning, but just here in the studio. How are those butter balls doing?
SPEAKER 03 :
They’re wonderful. We have to make our chicken soup and just plop them in there and let them cook.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. I thought about that.
SPEAKER 03 :
That was a process that took days because you’re supposed to leave the bread out so that it becomes kind of stale and then maybe even toast it so that it becomes even more dry. And then you grind it in a food processor. It just took days.
SPEAKER 04 :
It does. How did grandma? Now, I remember that they didn’t have food processors. No, they did not. And here she was in her late 70s, probably. had her family there, so there were probably 12 around the table. It was for Thanksgiving, so she was not only doing the turkey and the dressing and the potatoes, sweet potatoes. She was doing the meatball noodle soup, chicken and meatball, I mean, not meatball, chicken and butterball noodle soup before the Thanksgiving dinner. And she made the noodles from scratch, too. Yes, she kept them under the bed to dry them out. Oh, my goodness. How did you get interested in the butter balls this week? Oh, you don’t remember? We were clearing the shelves of old recipe books. I’ve got about 200 of them. We came upon this recipe book for the German.
SPEAKER 03 :
It was all German. Yes. And I recognized some recipes and some people from my childhood that had contributed these recipes to the community cookbook. And it just made me hungry. Oh, see, now my stomach is growling. I was fine until then. But, you know, you were talking at the top of the hour about the form that we live in and that there is a new form that we look forward to. And what we live in now, you know, if I had never tasted butter balls, and after you’ve ground these pieces of bread into really fine crumbs again, then you’re adding eggs and heavy whipping cream and butter… And a little bit of salt and some seasoning. So you’re adding all that to the butter balls, right? And then you get them to come together. You roll them. Now they’re ready to plop into the chicken broth.
SPEAKER 04 :
You may form them each into a little ball.
SPEAKER 03 :
About the size of a walnut is what the recipe book said. So if you’ve never tasted them… And you think what I’ve just described sounds worthy of tasting. You could not. This is a ridiculous example, but I, but I had to go here because we’re talking about the form of life. You could decide that you just are not ready to die. You’re not ready to leave this world until you’ve tasted butter balls. See, it can happen with anything, though. It can happen with the idea of having a career or having a degree. You’re just not ready to leave this life until you’ve reached that status, that place with that degree or maybe a relationship. You want a certain relationship. You want to experience marriage or you want to experience having kids. It’s on your bucket list.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
So it’s this thing that you get your eyes set on, your heart set on, that you really want in this life before you leave this life. And that’s not bad. Those are not bad things. They’re wonderful things. They’re beautiful things. Anytime we have our eyes and our heart set on a thing, we may become discouraged because it might not work out exactly the way that we were hoping. That’s right. Whatever the relationship is, whatever the degree, whatever the career, whatever the house, everything has the potential and possibility. It’s actually a fairly large possibility in this life, in this world. to fall apart and to break. Yes. And people change over time. You might start out in a great relationship and a great marriage and over time people change and they can grow apart. That’s very discouraging.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes.
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And it’s hard when you’ve walked through these things that you thought you wanted and now you find them breaking down.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, there were many prophets that came to the children of Israel through many books. If you’re reading through the Old Testament, you’ll find many books where they’re warning the people to obey God, to listen to his voice, obey him. And finally it comes, and I’m sure people were right in the middle of raising their children, having their jobs, having all of the things that they wanted in life, and boom, they are sent in. into Babylon, into captivity. But God didn’t stop there, Kimberly. In the midst of bondage, in Jeremiah 29, and most of us know Jeremiah 29, 11. I know the plans I have for you. But before that, the four verses before that, Kimberly, they’re bad. Well, they’re bad compared to our human experiences. These are bad. But God says, when you go as exiles into Babylon, build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their produce, take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands. This is going to be 70 years. Some people say 70 years is a generation. But then he says, and seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you. That means have a peaceful and contented heart, even in those cities, in the blue cities that we live in, that you are content and satisfied where you are. Or even in your job or at your school or in your relationships at home. Yes. He says then as a warning, do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you. Now, these… Ugly people are going to go with you into captivity. But use a discerning spirit when you listen to these people and you listen to their dreams, which they dream for. They prophesy falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them, declares the Lord. When 70 years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill my good word to you and bring you back to this place, Jerusalem, Israel. Then he goes on with verse 11 of chapter 29.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. Before we get there, I just want to say this is a really good picture of how our Lord is saying, live life. Do the things that you want to do that’s on your heart to do. Yes. If you want to get married, if you want to have kids, if you want an education and you want a certain degree, if you want a certain job and career, go for it. Go for it and live life. Keep living life. And then when he says this, this here, I will visit you and fulfill my good word to you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, that’s so good.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, to bring you back to this place of peace when you’ve gotten it out of your system and you have gone for it and you’ve just done everything that you want to do. You’re going to find out that’s not your fulfillment in this life. I know the plans I have for you. The plans that I have for you are eternal plans. This is what our Lord is saying to us. Everything that we experience here in this world is temporary, and it’s truly just a shadow, a type and a shadow of what he has in store for us. So the butter balls in heaven are better butter balls. No wonder they call them butter balls. Lots of cream, lots of butter, right? But they’re better butter balls than what we could have here. We do not have to have our eyes set on something here that we’ve got to taste before we make it to heaven. We do not have to be afraid of losing this form that we have right now. It’s a temporary form. And we don’t have to be afraid of moving out of our temporary form into our permanent, eternal form. It’s so much more than what we imagine.
SPEAKER 04 :
I’ll tell you, Kimberly, when your father decided that he was going to open his own business after struggling working for other men, he says, I’m just so tired of working for other people. I want to get my own business. Now, we had for 10 years been on the road traveling, singing at churches. How do we know how to have a business? And then when we went into that 10,000-foot store with 75 pianos and organs that we had to sell, oh, my goodness. It was God’s doing, but it was not right. Our desire, not my desire. Maybe your father’s, but not my desire.
SPEAKER 03 :
So you’re talking about another form, another method, another formula of this world to find your way in this world and live. Live your life here. Try a new business. Go ahead and try that. In the Lord. He was practicing the ways of the Lord because his true heart’s desire… I’ve been reading his diaries, you know. And his true heart’s desire was to stay on the road. That was his true heart’s desire. He did not want to settle down and be in one spot. That is not what he wanted. Not the kind of thing. So then when he started that, he was practicing laying down his own agendas. Yes. And then you to come alongside him and do it with him. You were also practicing it when, when you were traveling on the road, that is not what you wanted. And so you were practicing laying down your agendas as well. This is how we practice seeking God. We lay down our own agendas to say, Lord, what is your agenda in the middle of this life?
SPEAKER 04 :
He put you and Dana. before himself then because he knew you needed some stability in your education and especially in music and because music and involves coming together socially you have more than just you it’s being in a band and in an orchestra or choir and working with other people and so he laid down his life there for you also his children and i admire that so much kimberly and he talks
SPEAKER 03 :
about that so much in his journals of just laying down his ideas and his desires so that he can be supportive of those around him. He was truly thinking of others more than himself. That is the heart of Jesus. Jesus did not come to this earth thinking of himself. He came thinking of you. He came thinking of this world and not just one you, the whole world. He wanted everyone to have a chance to live the kind of life he lives in heaven. And he took on the clothing of humanity, the flesh of humanity, not just for a one-time gig. Let me put on humanity and go to earth and give my life and then go back to heaven and be in my original form. No, he took on humanity for the rest of eternity.
SPEAKER 04 :
He will have scars in his hand and feet forever and ever and reminders of his love for us. And in Jeremiah 29, 11, Kimberly, it’s God is looking for our wealth, looking forward to our welfare, our future, our hope. He had a plan all laid out. I love what he says then. And you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. I love this concept here because this week we’ve been talking about seeking, seeking him. And then yesterday you were talking about God in his purpose for you. This is his purpose.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is his purpose. purpose, to give us relationship with him. That’s the plans that he has for our future and for our hope. And you will seek him.
SPEAKER 04 :
See that? Seek. You will seek him. It’s just not a nonchalant, well, I’ll go to church on Sunday and I’m going to sit in my pew and get through and have a good lunch. No, that’s not seeking him.
SPEAKER 03 :
Seek him with all your heart. Well, it’s also not seeking… comfort. It’s not seeking victory. It’s not seeking health. It’s not seeking freedom. Freedom. I know the name of your ministry is Cult of Freedom, but we don’t seek freedom. No, we don’t. We seek Him. That’s right.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s different. I had to talk to a precious lady today that’s in the hospital and they’re wanting her to go to hospice. And she’s got all these plans and all these things to sell her condo and all of this going on. And she says, I just can’t do I can’t go right now. And I said, the best thing you can do right now is to think of the hope of the future. in God’s hands and yield to him.
SPEAKER 03 :
I love how you brought in the mind of Jesus and how Jesus said, not my will. Not my will. Yes, I told her that. Right.
SPEAKER 04 :
I interrupted you because I think it’s important to mention that part. Thank you. And by the end of that half hour conversation, Kimberly, because i was praying joy and peace and righteousness on her right there in the hospital witnessing to those nurses and if she had to reading out loud from she has a passion reading out loud from that passion bible letting them not know that she i’ve got to go home i got to go home but okay lord i’m going to do what you call me to do i’m going to yield myself yes
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. I keep remembering this. I know I’ve mentioned it on the air before, but it’s worth mentioning again. This young pastor, I was listening to him talking about how he comes home every day and at the end of the evening, you know, he has chores that he does around the house. At the end of the evening, he He ends every day with his children laying on him, his young children. They’re young and he loves for them to just come lay on his chest and he just tells them how much he loves them and tells them stories. And he loves to hear their stories of what happened during the day. And he encourages them and prays over them. And he just spends time with them. And he has other chores that he could be doing. And he would like to finish what he wants to do. But he takes that time to be still with his kids. We did that every night in devotions. What I love is what he said about that time. He said, I haven’t told my kids yet, but I’m teaching them how to pray. I think we don’t know how to pray. As human beings, we ask for things, ask for things, ask for things. And it’s not a relationship of just resting on Abba Father’s chest and hearing how much he loves us and is proud of us and how much he thinks about us. And then just letting him know, hey, this is what I did today. This is what’s happening in my life. And hearing how he is just proud of us for walking through it. and developing relationships, seeking him. That is what Jeremiah 29 is talking about. He has really good plans. And he says, then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. But what kind of a prayer is it? Is it constantly asking for more, more, more, more, more? No, it’s Abba, I love you. Yes. Resting on his chest and just learning to be at peace, being still and knowing how good God is in that stillness. He says, you will seek me and find me, me, me. You will seek me, not the things that you want, not all these things you’re asking for, not the health. of your body or the wealth of your home or the success of your career. Those are all wonderful things. And he, he does not withhold any of them from us. He is so generous, but when we seek him, you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. And I will be found by you declares the Lord. And I will restore. I will restore you. I’ll restore you to who I created you to be. Not this robot that’s running around in this life trying to find everything they can to fulfill them, whether it’s butterballs or a degree or whatever it is. And I know that might have been a silly example, but we just get our focus off onto things in this life and we forget who we were made for.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes. Now, these people had gone through 70 years of bondage in humanity. in Babylon. And I think of maybe some of you listening. Maybe you’ve gone, maybe you’re in your 70s and you’ve never known a wonderful, happy time in your life. You’ve gone through 70 years of bondage. And you’re saying, is there anything better in this life? Well, there is. There is. And Holy Spirit is right there, ready to love you, ready to teach you, ready to guide you, ready to comfort you from those years of being in bondage and in the pit. David said in Psalm 40, I was in a pit and God lifted me out of that mud and put my feet on a solid rock, Christ Jesus. So I know that he can do that for you today.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. Yes. Acts 17, um, has this wonderful passage versus 24. Well, to the end, I don’t know that I’ll read all of it, but it says the true God is the creator of all things. He is the owner and Lord of the heavenly realm and the earthly realm, you and me. He doesn’t live in manmade temples. He lives in you. He supplies life and breath and all things to every living being. He doesn’t lack a thing that we mortals could supply for him, for he has all things and everything he needs. From one man, Adam, he made every man and woman and every race of humanity, and he spread us over all the earth. He sets the boundaries of people and nations, determining their appointed times in history. He has done this so that every person would long for God. That is the whole plan, that we would long for him and feel our way to him and find him, for he is the God who is easy to discover. Yes, he is.
SPEAKER 04 :
This whole passage, Kimberly, that you just read, your father had it memorized, and he spoke it many times at our service. I hate to use the word concerts because they weren’t concerts. Meetings. Meetings, yes. And he always ended with that. In him we live and move and have our being. That’s how it ends.
SPEAKER 03 :
We long for him. We find him. We feel our way to him. And he is the God who’s easy to discover. It is in him that we live and move and have our being. We have our identity in him. We have our full satisfaction and fulfillment in him. in him. So there’s nothing in this life. There is nothing in this world that can compare to who he is and what we were truly made for. And that is relationship with him to rest. to take a deep breath and say, there’s nothing here that I long for that will truly satisfy me. Only you, Lord.
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s right. Nothing on earth I desire anymore. It’s you I desire more than anything else that this world can give us. Oh, praise the Lord. Including butterballs. We’re going to have great food in heaven, Kimberly. And I want to tell all of you, we’re aging. We are. And tomorrow may be your last day. Look at it with great expectation and excitement. Oh, because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. You’re going to have a wonderful future forever and ever with Jesus.
SPEAKER 03 :
This is our desire for you to seek him and find him. You will not be disappointed. No, you won’t.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, God bless you. It’s been so good being with you this week. Oh, I wish you were across the table from us and we could just go to lunch and have a wonderful time of fellowship. But with this, I’ve got to say, take joy.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to Call to Freedom with Barbara Carmack. You may get in touch with Barbara at Call to Freedom, Box 370-367, Denver, Colorado, 80237. Or you may leave your message at 1-877-917-7256. Call to Freedom is a listener-supported radio ministry. Barbara and her power partners invite you to come on board with us and become a network of hands holding up Call to Freedom ministry. Our partners support Call to Freedom with prayer and monthly financial support. You will be blessed supernaturally. We invite you to visit Call to Freedom’s website, www.freedomstreet.org, where you can hear Barbara’s daily radio broadcast 24 hours a day or order materials. You may share your praise reports and heart cries by mailing them to Call to Freedom, Box 370-367, Denver, Colorado, 80237. Or you may email us at barbracarmack at freedomstreet.org. Until next time, remember, Jesus loves you, Barbara loves you, and take joy.
