In this reflective session, Barbara and Kimberly guide us through meaningful conversations about the deep, fulfilling relationship one can have with their Creator. While exploring themes of value, love, and purpose, the episode also touches on personal anecdotes and reminiscences that resonate with listeners. Whether seeking peace, purpose, or spiritual reassurance, this episode encourages the listener to deepen their connection with God and recognize their inherent worth as His beloved.
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 370367, Denver, Colorado, 80237, or by going to the website at www.freedomstreet.org. If you want to leave a message or order a word-powered 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.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
Welcome to Call to Freedom on this brr-freezing day. And we are live. Kimberly and I are on the air live. We might be frozen, but we are live. But we are alive. Alive. We are alive. Praise the Lord. On Tuesday. So if you’d like to call in, you can call in at 1-877-917-7256. Oh, I pray for you today that you may be active in sharing your faith. so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in christ jesus he is so wonderful we should not be bashful or hesitant in proclaiming jesus christ as savior and lord you are blessed to dispense for in him you live and move and have your being and i just have a wonderful scripture we’re going to be focusing on exodus 15 11 and kimberly’s going to give the teaching today because i’m just footloose and fancy freeze i’m just going to So Exodus 15, verse 11. Who is like you among the gods, O Lord? Who is like you? Majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders. And the Living Translation says, Who is like you among the gods, O Lord? You just put him up against any gods in the whole world. He comes out beautiful and greater than all of them, glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders. And that was the song that Moses and the whole congregation sang after God delivered them from Egypt and brought them over on dry land through the Dead Sea. Wow, what a wonderful miracle.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Yes.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Oh, so well, I love that we’re starting out with that memory verse today. Um, the, the message version says, who compares with you among the gods? Oh God, who compares with you in power, in holy majesty, in awesome praises, wonder working God.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
Oh yes. Wonder working God. Praise the Lord. And he supplies every need. After we delivered the express to your bindery this morning, Kimberly, he just followed. It’s like the angels are just following around. And we went to Panera and had that delicious, what do you call it? Steel cut oatmeal. Oh, steel cut oatmeal with all the fixings. I saw you pouring on honey and… On your oatmeal, my goodness, half and half. So they say it’s really good for you and it’s healthy, but after you get through adding all of the other… Well, honey and half and half are good.
Kimberly (Guest) :
You know, milk and honey are mentioned in the Bible over and over. And eat the fat, drink the sweet. Drink the sweet. I’m embracing that part of the scripture, that’s for sure. That’s right. And we do want to remember that God is the one who supplied all the wonderful food for us. And to have joy in eating it. Oatmeal is a little bland if you don’t add a little something to it.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
Yeah, it is. But they have those apple chips. And once you just mix it all in with the cinnamon and the pecans that they put on top. It is delicious. It’s very good. It is very good. And very filling.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Very filling. And speaking of filling, all of us have holes in our lives that need to be filled. Often it’s our stomach, and so we are filling our stomach all the time. But we have spiritual holes that need to be filled. We have emotional holes that need to be filled. There are insecurities in our lives when we feel like we’re not good enough. We feel we’re not strong enough. We feel unworthy. We feel shame and guilt. We feel all kinds of things. And it leaves us feeling less than.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Yes.
Kimberly (Guest) :
And then we’re looking for the more. And the more is in our creator. Our maker knows exactly. He left us with a hole so that he could fill it. He lets us go hungry at times so that he can feed us.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
You have been receiving messages from your father’s relatives. Oh, are we going that? Okay. No, well, I’m just amazed. God fills in all of those spaces that we have been questioning all these years. Well, I wonder how Grandma, not Carmack, I get those confused, Grandma Wells is doing and what her family is doing. This morning, just this morning, you hear from this wonderful cousin. It would be a cousin of yours from Grandma Wells. Grandma Wells family. Yes. And it was such a surprise. It’s like the Lord is bringing back many of the relatives of your father. Yes. Which I think is just really delightful. It is.
Kimberly (Guest) :
It is. When that text came through from someone that I’ve never met, and he admitted he’s never met me either, and he would be my dad’s age, so not my generation, but it would be your generation. And so when I think of that and I realize, okay, someone’s reaching out to me, it happened while we were sitting and having breakfast. And you might remember I was being distracted by a song. Yes, you were.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
And I was talking to you, and Kimberly says… I don’t hear a thing you’re saying, Mom. I’m listening to the song.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Well, I don’t know if there are any others out there. My mind is so musical that when I hear certain melodies and certain instruments and especially certain chord progressions, They can distract me so greatly that I can no longer continue in a conversation with someone because my mind starts trying to figure out the chord progressions and I want to learn to play it myself. So I’m sitting there just thinking about it and it’s hard for me to turn that off. And continue in a conversation. I just am one of those people. I’ve only met two others in my life that are like that.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
Yeah, you have such wonderful, sensitive ears, Kimberly. It’s like when we used to go to the mall in Greeley when you were in high school. You would have to stay outside because the silent alarm would… was just up in your head. So you either put your hands over your ears or you just went straight outside.
Kimberly (Guest) :
As a small child, I did it all the way through my childhood.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
Even today, you’re saying, Mom, there’s a fire engine. And I’m looking around, there’s no fire engine. Two blocks away, this thing is, the siren is going. I didn’t hear it until it was a block away. But you have the wonderful sense of… Hearing that, oh, those of you, I pray that you have ears to hear what the Lord has to say to you. Yes, may we all be good listeners.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Yes, amen. And I think that’s the beauty of having all those empty spaces filled in, is when we listen, when we really hear the messages of the Lord. Because value, if you’re not feeling valuable as a human being, if you’re not feeling worthy, and you’re feeling like you’re missing something, things or missing people, missing relationships in your life, I tell you what, that doesn’t come until you start seeking your maker, the one you were made for. The maker of a table needs the table and uses the table and is around the table after he makes the table. We are so much greater than a table. Our maker needs us just like the maker of a table needs a table. That’s why he makes it in the first place. Our maker needs us. And when we figure that out and we start searching for him because we need him, we were created with that need. And when we start searching that way, we realize our true value. Value in this world is actually really relative. It’s so relative. Napoleon. Napoleon. He was famous to some, but he was infamous to others. And his value just depends on what side, what perspective you have. And he was trying to do great things in this world, I think, and maybe some were great and some were not so great. And he’s known, but the value is going to be relative based on the perspective, right?
Kimberly (Guest) :
Yes.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Jesus… Jesus didn’t come trying to do great things. He came as a lover, and he wanted to love the people, his people. He just wanted to love on his people. He loved his people so much that he went to the cross for his people and was crucified. And he is greater than… Continuing to be greater with every passing day, with every passing year. Napoleon is sometimes forgotten. Some of you might not even know who I’m talking about. You know, in the younger generation, they might not know who Napoleon was. Or you might have a dog named Napoleon, and that’s all you know. And it’s a dessert, a Napoleon dessert, right? Yeah. But Jesus continues in his value to increase in value, but he didn’t come to be valuable. He didn’t come with the idea of being great. He came to love. And that is our goal. That is what we want to do in this life.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
That’s right.
Kimberly (Guest) :
I saw you flipping pages. Do you have something you wanted to share?
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
Well, you were talking about maker and in Isaiah 44, it says this, thus God, your redeemer says, I, the Lord and the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by myself, by myself and spreading out the earth all alone. And he’s causing the boasters to fail, the fools to be driven out and returning their knowledge into foolishness, but confirming his love for his people, Kimberly. So we’re seeing that. We’re seeing that.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Yes. I think it’s Isaiah 54, if you want to turn to that chapter. I didn’t bring my Old Testament with me, so I’ll let you flip the pages. And in Isaiah 54, it talks about your Maker. And I think it’s around verse 4 or 5. It talks about your Maker and who He really is. Oh, yes.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
Absolutely, yes. For your husband – oh, yes, this whole chapter – If those of you have not been married or if your spouse has died, God is now your husband. Praise the Lord. Verse 5 of Isaiah 54 says, For your husband is your maker, whose name is the Lord of hosts. And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, who is called the God of all the earth. Yes. And God has called you like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected. Yes. So if you’ve been rejected, if you’re listening today and you have had rejection in your life, just draw close to God. He’s right there for you. And even in this cold studio, Kimberly, I can feel the warmth of God’s love here. Yes. Yes. Even though we’re wearing gloves and hand warmers.
Kimberly (Guest) :
And that is what we were made for. The maker, our maker, made us for himself so he would be a husband. So he would have a beloved. We need to believe that. And when we go through hard times, instead of asking the question, which this question, this question is really important. null and void. When we ask the question, if there is a God, why does he allow, if there is a good God, why does he allow these bad things to happen in this life? That question is just not valid.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
That’s right, because they’re not recognizing an enemy that we have been fighting since the Garden of Eden. Right. Yes.
Kimberly (Guest) :
And this is a broken world and we are going to see brokenness. Look what happened to the son of our maker. Our maker loves us so much. He sent his only son and look what happened to him. Yes. That was brutal. And he allowed that because our maker is not just maker and creator. He is redeemer and restorer. And he does restore and he does redeem. So when the bad things do happen, and they do, when the broken things do happen, we run to him, not away from him. Yeah. And yes, we can express our grief and we can express our anger. But it’s oh, it’s vital that we recognize he’s the one who will redeem and restore. We need him and he needs us. That’s right. He needs us.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
Yes, he really does. He needs us to be his vessels of honor on this earth. And if we continue to say, well, I’m just unworthy. I’m just a worm. I’m just not useful. That’s not going to be a vessel of opportunity for God to use. Yeah. We’ve got to realize our sonship and our daughtership in God. Well, it’s not just being used.
Kimberly (Guest) :
I can get caught up in that. You know, here I am on the radio with you. Lord, please take over my mouth. Don’t let me speak anything out of my human flesh and let it be everything you want your people to hear. You know, I pray that all the time. I want him to be able to use me. But more than that, I really just want to learn to love him. Yes.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
Although there are moments, Kimberly, when we need some laughter. And so once in a while when we say things that, oh, I shouldn’t have said that, and people are laughing and God is saying, that’s okay. I ordered that.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Well, sure. And I get a lot of laughter. I’m just talking about our own personal relationship with him and staying in conversation. We laugh a lot. He and I laugh a lot. I gave you a little smidgen of an idea of that earlier when I was talking like a duck. Yes. I got to inherit that from my dad. You didn’t know that. I didn’t know you could speak so well. Yes. And I do that. It’s just between he and I in the van, all those hours between here and Oklahoma. I have the opportunity to just laugh and practice things like that that are just funny. I don’t know who ever decided to start speaking like a duck in the first place, but it does cause laughter. It really does. And when we realize the things that are lovely and pure and good and kind, let me turn to Philippians 4, verse 8. And I’ve got the Passion Translation here. It says, So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is real and lovely and honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always. Yes. Praising him always. Coming to him with gratitude. And we were talking about this scripture earlier this morning. And in our conversation, I realized that I can even get distracted by on the things that are lovely and pure and merciful and kind. When I’m trying to think of all the things that can distract me from my relationship and my love that I want to be pouring out on my maker, the one who made me so that I would be his beloved and believe that I’m his beloved. It can become religion again.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
We want to stay away from that.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Yes, fastening our thoughts on every glorious work of God and praising Him always. Being grateful that He wants me. Just be grateful today that He wants you. He wants you today. You’re listening, and He wanted you to hear that today. He wanted you to know He wants you. And He doesn’t just want you, He needs you today. He needs you to fill an empty space in his heart. And that is why you were created.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
That’s right. It’s like when he wrote this in Philippians 4, verse 8, Paul was in a dungeon. Paul had been beaten. He’d been scourged. He’d been beaten with rods. He’d been stoned. He’d been left for dead outside of the village. And he set his thoughts on God and the purity of God and the loveliness of God and the truth of God. All these wonderful nouns that he gives in Philippians 4, 8 are characteristics of our God. Yes. And we can’t separate them from God. God is everything. He’s all in all.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Yes. Although… I guess I would say humans have a capability of separating things out. We can get distracted. And we want to remember that they are all attached to him, to his character. We do want to remember that. And then staying grateful, because I’m glad you brought that up, that when Paul wrote this, he was. He was in chains. He was in prison. He had been beaten. And when we stay grateful… I think that is why I have such a high pain tolerance. I rarely ever feel pain in my body. And I had a horrible infection in the bones of my jaw for years. And I didn’t often feel the pain. Now, that’s interesting to me, but I also see people who are very fearful and get really excited. I’m around many who get real excited over wasp stings and other things, and it’s so painful and it’s so hard for them. And I might not hardly even feel it, even though I’m allergic to wasps and bees. When I get stung by them, if they sting me on my hand, my entire arm swells up just to right above my elbow. So I, there’s swelling and I can see the swelling, but I don’t really feel the pain. I know that when we are focused on our Lord and we’re grateful, we’re always grateful and we’re thinking of his character of being lovely and pure and kind, that his kindness will be so great. And it is so great. I’m so focused on that, that I don’t feel the pain of this world. And I have to believe that that’s true of Paul in prison, that he didn’t feel the pain of all the beatings, maybe as acutely as some who don’t have that rock to stand on, who do not have the rock and the love of the father to stand on. So staying grateful, remaining grateful is, What did we hear today? That gratitude, that happiness does not make you grateful. But when you are grateful, you are truly happy.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
Yes, that’s right. That was really beautiful. If you can say that again without, I confuse the words a little bit, but happiness does not result in gratefulness. It’s gratefulness that results in happiness. When you’re grateful, then you’re happy. Yes. It’s a wonderful thing to remember.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Yes. So gratitude is a choice. Happiness is just an emotion. It’s a feeling and it fades very quickly. But gratitude, when we choose gratitude, we get to feel that happiness. at any given moment and that is the beauty of staying in conversation with your maker. When you are in conversation with him all the time, then the gratitude for who he is, the gratitude for being wanted, for being loved as much as we are loved, the gratitude overflows and then we do have a joy. I would say happiness for me is fleeting. It’s not always something that I can hold on to. But true joy, that’s not fleeting. That’s a rock.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
Happiness has to do with happenstance. And it’s the circumstances around us that can make us happy. Oh, I’ve got a beautiful house. home, I’ve got a beautiful vehicle, I’ve got beautiful children. Well, not all the time. And so the things around you, if you’ve got them just perfect, just the way you want them, you can be happy. But what if they aren’t? And Kimberly, what if someone that we’re talking to today has so much pain? that it cannot be alleviated well i say there are doctors and there are pain relievers and there are those things that you can use to alleviate a lot of that physical pain and we’re not saying you know don’t take anything just rely on no you cannot do that all the time And God will, in the results, the ensuing results, God will see that you are taken care of, whether by a doctor’s hands or by anything else. He will make sure. He loves you so much that he is going to make sure that you are free from that pain. I’m glad you brought that up. In Jesus’ name. That’s good.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Oh, yes. That’s good. And I guess the reason that I brought that up is as you continue to search, as we continue to search for companionship with God from a sincere heart, because often when we are seeking him, we’re actually seeking something else. We’re seeking healing or we’re seeking a blessing. We’re seeking provision. We’re seeking peace. And we want to seek his peace, but sometimes we are distracted by the things that our Lord provides. And then we’re not really seeking him. And we have to have a sincere heart in our seeking him and him alone, wanting to find him. We are assured that when we seek him, we will find him. We’re assured of that. In the scriptures, he has promised that if we look for him, he will let us find him. So the soul that is seeking companionship with God will find that companionship and will be filled. It will.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
It will. Jesus is just our all in all, Kimberly. And as I look at Isaiah 53, I see a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. He was pierced through for our transgressions. He took care of our sins. Praise the Lord. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening of our well-being fell upon him. So he’s making sure now, since he’s risen from the dead, that your needs are taken care of. As you call upon him and pray to him, he will take care of those needs, my friend. And by his scourgings, we are healed.
Kimberly (Guest) :
That’s so true. And let’s not focus on the healing. Let’s not focus on that so much. Let’s know that there’s something so much greater than the healing to be had. The relationship, the companionship, the conversation, the intimacy, the tender words that he speaks, and the way that he satisfies our souls, he satisfies our hearts. I know this. We know this. You’ve experienced it as well. When we are so focused on that, on relationship with him, The rest of it will take care of itself. Doesn’t it say in Matthew that seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, not just his things.
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
Seek him and all these things. Yes. The things will be added. Yes. Oh, praise the Lord. Oh, we’re almost done. Kimberly, can we can get into the warm hallway? Here, we’ve been passing.
Kimberly (Guest) :
Did you hear it go crashing down earlier?
Barbara Carmack (Host) :
Matthew gave Kimberly a hand warmer. I’ve been holding on to it and I dropped it by accident. Absolutely adorable little oval thing that heats up with your hands. That is just amazing because I’ve got on these big bulky gloves and you’ve got this little hand warmer. Oh, God is so good. He provides for every need you have. I hope you’re listening to that. He provides every need that you have as you look on him and focus on him as your source. Yes, as your source. Yes, as your maker. Praise the Lord. Well, I hope you’re warm. Enjoy the afternoon or the evening, wherever you’re hearing us. God bless you and keep you and take joy in all that you do.
Jimmy Lakey (Host) :
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.
In this reflective session, Barbara and Kimberly guide us through meaningful conversations about the deep, fulfilling relationship one can have with their Creator. While exploring themes of value, love, and purpose, the episode also touches on personal anecdotes and reminiscences that resonate with listeners. Whether seeking peace, purpose, or spiritual reassurance, this episode encourages the listener to deepen their connection with God and recognize their inherent worth as His beloved.
