Reading our Bibles regularly can be a challenge, but we're all on this journey together.

We're praying that this podcast inspires you, helps you better understand God's Word, and builds your faith.

This is Join the Journey with your host, Emma Daughter.

Thanks for joining. Today, we are continuing with our Holy Week reading plan, and we are looking at

Mark 1228 through 1337. And I'm in the podcast studio with faithful Watermark staff member, Lauren McGee.

Hello.

Lauren, I'm so glad to have you here. This is really fun. For those who don't know you, would

you share just a little bit

about what God's done in your life? Yeah, totally. So I grew up just 30 minutes north of Dallas

in Coppell, Texas, and I grew up in a home where both my parents knew the Lord and shared the

gospel with me pretty early in life. And so I just think of my mom sharing the gospel with me all the time. And when I was

five years old, I came to her and said, I want to be a part of God's family. And so we sat and prayed and

talked about what that meant. And at that point, I truly believe that I was sealed by the spirit and saved.

And as much as I could understand what it meant to follow Christ, I think I did.

But in terms of abiding, I don't think that really started for me until about sixth grade.

So I had an awesome small group leader named Corey Robinson, and she was just incredible and taught me what it looks like to read my Bible and how to talk to God about

things, even just how to listen to the voice of the Lord, which is so sweet. And that's when I started

to realize that it wasn't just about going to church and doing the right thing, but got to see the

character of the Lord in my life and just grew a desire to know him and follow him and serve him.

And then throughout high school, just honestly struggled on and off a lot with people pleasing

and just finding my identity and my relationships and kind of went through a season of disobedience,

not really walking closely the way that the

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