Re-Fired, Not Retired: Liz Doyle’s 56-Year Journey of Faith, Risk, and Revival

In this powerful episode of Hope Unlocked, host Kristin Kurtz welcomes global ministry leader Liz Doyle, founder of She Leads America. Liz shares her incredible 56-year journey of boldly preaching the Gospel across war zones, mobilizing women in 60 nations, and launching She Leads chapters in the U.S., U.K., and beyond. Liz’s story is one of fearless obedience, supernatural protection, and raising up Christian women leaders. Be inspired by her unwavering faith, bold risk-taking, and call to live fully for Jesus.

Liz's Contact Info:

Website - sheleadsamerica.com

Email - sheleadsamerica@gmail.com

🎙️Hope Unlocked Listener Exclusive! Feeling stirred but not sure what to do next? Book a 45-minute Holy Spirit-led 1:1 coaching session w/ Hope Unlocked host Kristin Kurtz, founder of New Wings Coaching. This powerful conversation will help you move from stirred to activated—with peace, clarity, & a Spirit-led next step. Book your call HERE now–special pricing to listeners!

Chapters

• 0:16 Welcome to Hope Unlocked
• 1:24 From High School to Belfast
• 9:56 Meeting Sid in a War Zone
• 19:26 Empowering Women Globally
• 29:13 Creating She Leads Movement
• 35:42 Miracles at Windsor Castle
• 49:27 Occupying Kingdom Ground
• 1:00:26 A Call to All Listeners
• 1:08:34 Prayer and Final Thoughts

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:16

Welcome to the Hope Unlocked podcast. I'm your host, kristen Kurtz, and I'm also the founder of New Wings Coaching. I help and empower wildhearted and adventurous women of faith feeling caged and stuck, unlock their true purpose and potential, break free from limitations and thrive with confidence, courage and hope. If you're curious to learn more about coaching with me, head to newwingscoachingnet and be sure to explore the show notes for ways to connect with me further. Get ready to dive in as we uncover empowering keys and insights in this episode. So tune in and let's unlock hope together.

Speaker 1: 0:48

Welcome to the Hope Unlocked podcast. I'm Kristen Kurtz, your host. I pray this episode is like a holy ivy of hope for your soul. Please help me welcome Liz Doyle to the show. I am so thrilled to hear her voice and her story today and so thankful to our mutual friend, julie Novotsky, which I hope I'm saying right. She connected us very recently, so I'm just new to Liz and her story and I just pray that you know this episode really impacts the listeners today. So, liz, would you be open to telling us a little bit about yourself before we get into your story?

Speaker 2: 1:24

Sure, I love Jesus with my whole heart and I came to know him when I was 14 years old in 1968. So if you are trying to do the math, I'm 71 years old and I've been really been actively serving the Lord since I came to Christ, but in the ministry, for 56 years now. And I'm married to Sid and he and I met in Belfast, northern Ireland, during the troubles in 1972. And I had just graduated from high school. And I had just graduated from high school and I, you know, I was four years old in the Lord and I was seeking his face and he said to me that he wanted me to go into that war zone and preach the gospel and worship and bring the Prince of Peace into that nation. So I got on an airplane Never been on one in my life my parents hugged me and said goodbye to me and that was a huge sacrifice to them.

Speaker 2: 2:35

We all came to Christ in 1968. And we were new believers and we were on fire for Jesus. And we were on fire for Jesus and they released me and I got on the plane with my guitar and flew right into the war zone and I was met by an evangelist there. So I worked for his organization singing in his meetings, but then from time to time, when there wasn't anything else on, I would just get on a bus and go into the middle of the city and preach and sing. And that's where one day, when I was doing that, I looked out into the audience and there was this good-looking red-haired Irishman. And the Lord spoke to me and said you're going to marry him?

Speaker 1: 3:23

and I just kept preaching, he walked away.

Speaker 2: 3:24

I thought it was my imagination, as I said to the Lord spoke to me and said you're going to marry him. And I just kept preaching. He walked away. I thought it was my imagination. As I said to the Lord, I'm only 18 years old, I'm not, I'm not, you know, going to get married. And then he came back later as I had packed up and he found me and, because the Lord had said to me that I would marry him, he invited me to go to have a cup of coffee. We talked, I interrogated him to make sure that he was a follower of Jesus.

Speaker 2: 3:56

And not only was he a follower of Jesus, but he also was in Bible college studying for the ministry, was in Bible college, studying for the ministry. So I knew, yeah, this is the man for me. So I came back to America and went to Bible college for a year and he was already in Bible college in Scotland. And then we got married in 1973, and I went back with him to Bible college there in Glasgow, scotland, before we began church planting in the south of England for 25 years. So then during that time we had two children and they grew up in England and they have English accents.

Speaker 2: 4:37

And I'm always saying I don't think they ever listened to me a day in their life. They have no kind of American accent and they don't have an Irish accent. They are both English, and so we lived there until 1998 when we moved to America, where we started what we call Nations Light Ministries, and I also had started a movement called Releasing Daughters of the Last Days and that the Lord had asked me to do in 1996. He said I want you to go around the world and empower women, train women to reach their nations for Christ, women to reach their nations for Christ. And so that has a whole backstory in its own right, but without any name recognition or funding. The Lord has sent me through that to 60 nations on six continents, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of women to reach their nations with the gospel. Hundreds of thousands of women to reach their nations with the gospel.

Speaker 1: 5:59

So that's what I've been doing, bringing me up to 2019, when the Lord began to speak to me about my latest adventure. Well, tell us more about your latest adventure. I'm going to go back a little bit. Actually, let's go back a little bit. Okay, how incredible. Like you, I want to go back. Your parents released you at 18 to send you in. You know, like the was it Isaiah 6, 8,? Like send me. Yeah, Like you were sent here I am. How many parents? How many parents would do that? How many parents do you know that would do that beside your parents?

Speaker 2: 6:39

I don't know, because I would have trouble doing it myself, right. I would have trouble doing it myself Right. But what happened was when I became a Christian when I was 14, I was just going into my freshman year of high school and I was so impacted by the cross and what Jesus did for me. I immediately went to see my friends. I talked to them, I witnessed to them. They came to Christ. In my high school I would have Jesus marches through the halls. I put posters up everywhere, and it helped that my father was the superintendent of schools. I said to him, and he also became a Christian around the same time. And I said to my dad you know, can I do this? You know, I want to preach the gospel, I want to pray in school. And he said, well, it's your first amendment rights, you can do whatever you want. And so, with that in my mind, I did exactly that. And so by the time I was 16, and I think that we need to be more. So, by the time I was 16, and I think that we need to be more, one thing we need to be more in the church is aware of the maturity of our young people and of the fact that God wants to raise them up and use them.

Speaker 2: 7:58

So at 16, I was at the early morning prayer meetings. I wasn't at pizza parties, I wasn't running around wasting my time. I mean, we obviously had a great youth group. We had a music group. We used to sing, we used to minister and we had fun together. Yeah, we took our faith seriously and, um, I was at the prayer meeting and the Lord spoke to me that he wanted me to to go into missions, so that when I was a senior and I was seeking the Lord about my future, um, the big on the front of all the newspapers was this terrible war that was taking place in Ireland. And, yeah, so I asked my dad. He said ask your mom, thinking that my mother would say absolutely not. My mom was open and I'll tell you what happened. It was a miracle. What happened? I was sitting next to her in church. We had a week of meetings, because back in the seventies, you know, we would have weeks of meetings where you just go to church every single night and worship the Lord and bring your friends and they came to Christ.

Speaker 2: 9:06

And it was at one of those times. I was standing there and my mother, who was standing next to me, all of a sudden collapsed on the floor and I thought, oh, what is this? But you know, she seemed okay. She was just on the floor. I didn't know what happened. She got up at the end of the service and she didn't say anything.

Speaker 2: 9:24

The next night, the same thing happened. The third night, the same thing happened and I thought, oh dear, it's going to be a pattern. You know, I'm a teenager. It's like what is my mother doing, belfast? And I looked at her. She said because, as I was laying on the floor, the Lord said to me move your little finger. And she said I could not move. And he said that is the power that I am going to have. I'm releasing on your daughter to protect her. You let her go and I will look after her. I will protect her. And so my mom said you can go. You know that began the whole thing Like I really was going. You know, when you're a teenager, you sort of got these big ideas and all of a sudden the Lord really did tell me to go.

Speaker 2: 10:16

And then I found myself there on the streets of Belfast preaching the gospel. I mean one day, one day, our very first date, if you want to call it that. Sid and I were walking through the city to go visit his sister, who was a nurse in a hospital there, and when we got to the hospital, which overlooked the city, all of a sudden we heard boom, boom. All of a sudden we heard boom, boom and about 24 bombs went off around the city where we had just been walking. We could have been caught in those bombs and several people were killed. Many people were injured.

Speaker 2: 10:58

In that day it was called Bloody Friday, but the Lord has always protected us and that was the beginning of adventure for us, because we have subsequently been in many war zones in Sri Lanka, in Pakistan, um, in other countries, you know able to just there to, you know the Fiji during a coup. All kinds of places where the Lord has taken us and we've been able to bring the peace of Jesus and the ministry of reconciliation. So you know, that's how my parents let us go. It was a miracle, really, a move of God on my mother's part, and she released me and it wasn't easy for her.

Speaker 2: 11:45

I mean, at the airport she's crying. She thought, oh dear. And then, when I got on the plane, I thought well, you know I'm going to be killed, I, you know. It was sort of like those are your thoughts. But then I said, lord, you know, if I die I die, and but if I do die I don't want to die in obscurity, I want it to make a difference. So that was my pact with him. So obviously he's decided I'm going to make more of a difference alive than dead.

Speaker 1: 12:14

So I'm glad to say that.

Speaker 1: 12:15

That's why we're here yes, you're still here so that your parents were obviously a huge catalyst and you taking that big step because, you know, I think back to that time in my life I was saved when I was 25. So I don't like there's it's just a completely different paradigm to think of stepping into that realm like you did when you made it over to Ireland. Who, like, did you have? I think you mentioned there was somebody that you were going to meet up with there Did you have a group that really helped, you know, help you take these steps into this new adventure?

Speaker 2: 12:53

Yeah, there was an evangelist there who he was very bold and brave and he would have tent meetings in all these cities, so he had been to our church and was sharing about what he was doing. And so, while he was there, I asked him, you know, is there a way that I could come over there and, you know, encourage the young people? And so he made that. He met me at the airport and he put me up in. He actually had old people's homes, so I stayed in a room in one of the old people's homes but I was, you know, often by myself preaching, and often by myself. There weren't any other young people. It wasn't like the day of mission teams or anything like that.

Speaker 1: 13:44

Right, yeah. So you literally kind of got thrown in and the Lord showed you each step of the way, like what it looked like and how to cause. I just imagine you, just this fearless, wild one over there.

Speaker 2: 13:59

Well, they, they actually. Um, one day I was in the city center and I had been invited by a group of young people, interestingly enough, to come, and they had a little group there that assembled to, you know, lift up Jesus. And so they asked me to come, and so there's a little microphone there and I'm preaching down this microphone, and the BBC showed up, abc TV showed up and they were filming me because it was so unusual to see an American there for a start, but an 18 year old girl even more. And I remember the ABC guy saying well, what brings you here? And I said I am here to bring the Prince of Peace to stop the war. You know, he just looked at me like you're crazy.

Speaker 2: 14:47

But the BBC guys did quite a bit of filming me preaching and all that. So what happened was on New Year's Day, 1973, they put out a documentary in which I was a part of that documentary about what had happened in 1972. So I knew about it. But years and years later my relative of ours was working for the BBC and he found that footage. So I have a little clip of me preaching, because I used to say to people I did that and it's sort of like oh yeah, sure, but that was actually photographic evidence of me preaching there um and singing right there in the center of Belfast during the trouble. So yeah, that's what happened.

Speaker 1: 15:41

so do you actually have a video of yourself? Yeah, something you can share with us? Yeah, I could share that with you. We could put that in the show notes.

Speaker 2: 15:58

I think it would encourage somebody, especially maybe the younger generation, that I feel like many are being sent, but there's hesitation. Yeah no, I can, I'll send those to you later. It's just a short clip, but it's. It's very inspirational for me when I see my passion and boldness in those days. But I've been told that I haven't changed.

Speaker 1: 16:52

Yeah Well, I was going to say it doesn't sound like you've changed Um and in each place that you've um, you know, stepped your foot in like I would love to hear you know. Place that you've um, you know, stepped your foot in like I would love to hear you know. As time went on, obviously you you started different ministries and and did you know new things. What would you say would be like the most um bold step that you've taken that you know, maybe to others was like what are you thinking, I mean you know, maybe to others was like what are you thinking? I mean, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2: 17:22

Yeah, I would say probably the most. There's two countries that were the most bold. One was in Sri Lanka. I was one of the first Western women to go into the eastern part of Sri Lanka that was controlled by the Tamil Tiger group and that was very dangerous and you know they had girls that had been abducted as children and trained to be suicide bombers. And at one of the meetings there was about 1,000 women who came. These women were formerly Hindu women who gave their hearts to Jesus, very, very traumatized because of all that had happened to their families, their sons, their husbands. But in this meeting one day there were a group of about six of these Tamil tiger girls sitting in the meeting and I didn't know why they were there. I didn't know if they were there to blow us up, because they have done that. I didn't know if they were there to spy on us. I didn't know why they were there.

Speaker 2: 18:42

But the Lord said to me at the end of the message. He said I want you to invite every single woman to come forward and I want you to hug them. And that was a thousand women, and I'm telling you, 1,000 women. I had my friend with me from Kenya, because I take cross-country teams, friend with me from Kenya because I take cross-country teams. She and I embraced every single woman and you know they just were hungry for the love of God and as we hugged them, you know they were just pulling from us. But these six Tamil tiger girls, I doubt if they had ever had an embrace in their life. And to be able to be, to throw my arms around them and just let them know that Jesus loved them was a huge blessing and breakthrough. And to just feel them melt in my arms was incredible, so that that those trips, that was a huge, those were huge trips.

Speaker 2: 19:49

And then Pakistan, um, preaching in front of tens of thousands of people and having armed guards surrounding uh, me as I preached, uh, and my team, you know, standing guard with threats from Al Qaeda and all that. Those are both big things. But we saw, you know, we saw thousands of people come to Christ, give their lives to Jesus, and so it was well worth it. And I always feel, I always feel this protective covering over me. I've been confronted with people trying to kill me. I've had things happen, you know, fights going on around me, people threatening to kill me, but I've never felt worried or alarmed. I've just felt protected. I thought you touch me and God will slay you dead. That's how I feel. Say that again, but that's really true.

Speaker 1: 20:47

Somebody needs to hear that again and embrace that.

Speaker 2: 20:51

Yeah, if they touch me they will die. God will take them out, period. And I know it.

Speaker 2: 20:57

And we even had a story of one of our meetings was disrupted by a group of Buddhists, buddhist young men, and so they were there and they, you know, I was preaching, and they came, a whole group of them, like 15 or so, jumped up and they surrounded me and my, my, interpreter, and then they were, you know, terrorizing the crowd and they were freaking out and everything's going crazy. But they were around me and they wanted to hurt me but they could not move. They were like stationary, they couldn't move and finally they just all ran away, no-transcript. And it actually ended up being two things that happened the policeman, the police chief, was persecuting the Christians and my husband and I had prayed Lord, please remove him from this village, because it was a police Land Rover and they had nobody confessed. That police chief was moved out of that village and the guy that was behind it, he died. And the church grew exponentially because they knew that this god was a living god so that's happened.

Speaker 1: 22:29

You know things like that oh man, so you said you just always felt protected. I'm just curious because I know people in general. They would potentially walk into some of these scenarios with a lot of fear. So what would you say to people who are being called into? You know, I just keep hearing and seeing even license plates that say risk, because I feel like this walk is not, we're not called to do safe things. But I feel that, you know, maybe the and I'm not bashing the church, but it's not like we're being encouraged to do unsafe things. At least that's what I'm seeing.

Speaker 2: 23:17

Oh, and you know, god has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. So you know, if, as the Lord opens up opportunities, which many have come to me, I don't, I don't feel, I don't feel foolish, I don't think the apostle Paul was foolish walking into the circumstances he walked into. He was led by God.

Speaker 2: 23:43

And when you are led by the Holy Spirit and you know that you're being led by the Holy Spirit and you walk into those circumstances, then you know that you are being protected. Some people are foolish and what happens is they, you know. They come on out of the covering and that's when things happen. That and other people. Things happen to them, but all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purposes, because we are called to lay down our lives for him. But I would say to people that we need to listen to the Holy Spirit and we obey God rather than men. So that requires risk and without faith it's impossible to please God.

Speaker 2: 24:31

And after 56 years of serving him, of serving him, you know, I just feel every single thing we do is by faith. But I think, you know, there's too much fear. People are afraid, they're afraid of all kinds of things, but you have to put fear behind you and believe. If he's called you, then you believe, you're walking in by faith into the situation. But I do say to people you know, don't put yourself at risk, because one way that you put yourself at risk is when you come under, out of the covering of God. You know you're doing things that are foolish, you are in sin, you are doing things through pride or whatever it is that happens. You can't, it's, it's all back to you. So you know we need to always place ourselves in the hands of God, walking with him where he wants us to go and doing what he wants us to do. And, frankly, more people probably get injured and hurt by not obeying God, by staying at home and doing nothing, then going out into the field and serving him and trusting him.

Speaker 1: 25:39

Amen. Well, and being a woman, you know one of the things that you mentioned when you stepped in young woman, right, very different than the norm, right? What would you say? You know, just even in our time now, of you know there's a band. You know a band, you know, like a band of people that would say, oh well, you know, women shouldn't be preaching. What do you, what would you say to that Like? I feel like we should go there because yeah, then they're wrong. We go there.

Speaker 2: 26:12

Yeah, we can go there, Says in Acts, chapter two, verse 17,. In the last days and most people would agree with me we're in the last days, because the last days began on the day of Pentecost In the last days, I will pour my spirit out on all people. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, even on your servants and your maidservants. I will pour out my spirit and they will prophesy. So that is found in the prophet Joel and also Peter preaching that on the day of Pentecost, so at the birth and the inception of the church, men and women were supposed to be partnering together, bringing the good news to the world, the world.

Speaker 2: 26:53

And what has happened is that, through a couple of verses that Paul brings out, probably to do with individual people that were in the congregation, they've decided to make a big, huge, whole, big. You know? Apology about it, right, yeah, and it's not true. And, frankly, they're not going to stop me because I'm not going to lose my crown. Let no man take your crown. I'm not going to lose my crown because you're telling me I cannot preach the gospel, and uh, so therefore, I mean I actually became a Christian in a church that didn't believe women could the gospel.

Speaker 2: 27:36

But too bad, I did it anyway, saw that people got saved because all these young people started coming into church because of my witness. So you know, what are they going to say? Well, we don't want you to say anything? Of course not, and so I think they were glad to lay hands on me and send me out, because that you know that helped them. But the truth of the matter is that's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous, definitely in this day and age, that women should be to remain silent, and what has happened is that they've had to take their giftings into the world because their giftings are not welcome in some churches. That's very sad, but God is using these women where he is placing them and using them powerfully, which brings me to what I'm doing now, in 2025.

Speaker 1: 28:34

Well, tell us a little bit about what you launched several years ago.

Speaker 2: 28:40

Yes, I was still traveling a lot, working a lot, too, in this country with immigrant people, particularly Muslim women. You know wanting to help them meet Jesus and you know getting to know them better, because you need to know who you're talking to when you're sharing your faith. So I spent a lot of time here in this country with the immigrant population because I believe that God has brought them here to meet Jesus. But if we are reluctant to talk to them, then what happens is that the whole purpose for them being there is lost. So I encourage people to really befriend those that come from other lands, particularly those who are Christians, because we can be their advocates, we can give them a platform and they can work with us side by side to reach those that God has brought here from other countries, and they can work with us side by side to reach those that God has brought here from other countries. But in 2019, january of 2019, it was my 65th birthday was coming up, and I always seek the Lord because you know he gives me a birthday present. And I thought well, lord, you know what is it this year? And I turned on the television and, to my horror, a couple of the elected officials here in Michigan who are female were the coarsest, nastiest, meanest, ugliest, and they're in through what they were portraying women that I'd ever seen I thought, oh my goodness, they don't reflect my values, they don't reflect the values of my Muslim friends, they don't reflect Christian values at all. I don't think they reflect most of the values of the women that I know. What are we going to do about this? And I got on my knees and he said to me it's time for Christian women to rise up and have a voice here in Michigan it's where I'm at. It then became it's now become global. But at that point in Michigan and he began to give me a strategy that he wanted Christian women to be honored, because honor brings validation, which brings courage, and he wanted us to honor one another. But not only that, but he wanted to honor them and not only that, he wanted the government to honor them. So these same sort of coarse kind of women would be forced in a way to honor Christian women. And the way that would happen and how that transpired was I went to see my state representative who was a Christian woman and we only had, to my knowledge, one Christian woman who was serving in the Michigan House of Representatives, one Christian woman who was serving in the Michigan House of Representatives, and I went to her and I shared with her my idea and she said she would support us and we would call it she Leads Michigan. So we had.

Speaker 2: 31:56

I had no idea who we would honor because I wasn't working in Michigan, I was traveling all the time, but the Lord began to show me, one by one, the women he wanted to honor, and we call it the Holy Spirit whispering in our ear. You know, like that person, that person and somebody would give me a name. I would talk to them and I'd say you know, the Michigan, the state of Michigan, wants to honor you for your accomplishments as a Christian woman in this state. And we were having an afternoon tea and it happened to be in Lansing, our capital, and we'd love you to come to that and they would say, oh, thank you. Oh, that, what an honor. Yes, I would say, is there anybody else that you would like you feel should be honored for their accomplishments?

Speaker 2: 32:39

Christian women in leadership, across all sectors of society. And they would say, immediately a name would come into their mind and then I would contact them and the next and the next. So we had, you know, women in government, women in business, women in education, you know women in social action, community service, in Christian ministry, and we were honoring, media entertainment, honoring these women. Our first gathering, 100 women came and they were honored and so blessed to meet other women who were in the same field as they and they didn't know each other. Well, that began a sisterhood and it became so powerful and such a blessing to each one of us that I assembled an advisory team and it's multi-ethnic, it's all different spiritual backgrounds. All of us love Jesus and follow him.

Speaker 2: 33:43

And we started having this advisory team praying together every week and the Lord began to tell us that he wanted to take this to the whole of the United States. So his strategy, in his strategy, we started in Washington DC and he indicated that he wanted to honor 10 Christian women. We call them Christian women of distinction in the United States of America and he began to name them off to me. You know women like Johnny Erickson Tada, who is well known for her advocacy for the disabled. Bodie Taney, a very famous author. She has 75 historical novels. And the most awarded Christian author in America, shirley Dobson, and other women like that the head of the National Day of Prayer, kathy Branzell, the head of Concerned Women for America, penny Nance, the head of Faith and Liberty, peggy Knee-Neighbor these are women. I did not know at all. But the.

Speaker 2: 34:45

Lord introduced me to each one and, as a result, congresswoman Lisa McClain. She was just a freshman at that time in Congress. She became our legislative partner in Washington DC, and she then would honor them and enter their names into the congressional record.

Speaker 2: 35:06

And this is a high honor. And so we had our first gala at the Museum of the Bible, and now we are into our I believe, fifth year in the Museum of the Bible for our annual gala. And then these women who have absolute faith they keep saying to me we've got to go to other countries now, not just America, because we've now launched about. By the end of this year we'll have about 20 states that have she Leads chapters. And then they started saying we need to go globally. And then so we just launched she Leads United Kingdom and she Leads Pakistan last year, and that's been another amazing journey.

Speaker 1: 35:53

Yes, oh my gosh. So he gave you this birthday present when you were 65.

Speaker 2: 36:00

Yes, he refired me, not retired me.

Speaker 1: 36:02

I was literally just going to say that that's what I tell. You know, a lot of times you know people, especially in this country I'm not sure how it is in other countries but people are like, oh, I can't wait till I'm 65 and I'm just going to retire. And I'm, you know, you know I'm ready for that day. And I just really feel like we're not called to retire, we're called to refire. And especially at that time, like I've met and been so blessed to come along, so many women in their sixties, seventies and even eighties who are like, refiring they're not done, we're not, they're not done yet.

Speaker 2: 36:53

They're not done, we're not. They enthusiasm and their faith, and that's the whole thing. You know it's the Lord is saying until the breath is gone from your body. You have a responsibility. We've been using this verse this year 1 Peter 2.9.

Speaker 2: 37:16

You are a chosen generation and I say to these women you are leaders of a chosen generation. We are a royal priesthood. We are privileged, regardless of our age. We are privileged to be able to stand in the presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in his throne room and worship him and petition him and ask him for things, and he hears us, and that to be a holy nation. We are in a kingdom that is not constrained by the constraints of our nations. We obey God rather than men. Our king is King Jesus. He's the one that opens and shuts doors for us. We're not reliant, not reliant on the things of this world.

Speaker 2: 38:14

My husband and I, most of our life we've been living as we've called, by faith, praying, and people are led to send us gifts and help us, or the Lord just opens up doors of opportunity that would not be opened by any amount of money or influence, because we've chosen to trust him on this journey and we've been married now 53 years. Congratulations on this journey. And we've been married now 53 years. Congratulations. Yeah, thank you, but it's, it's so, that's how we should live. Yeah, some people say that to us. Oh, you're just, you know, extreme, or you're? No, this is normal. Yeah, christian life we're walking is normal him obeying him in whatever role he has us, whatever field that he has us in, and um, so we're just blessed and honored to be able to walk with him through difficulties, through danger and through prosperity and blessing. You know it's just wonderful to be with Jesus. Yes, I love you know it's just wonderful to be with Jesus.

Speaker 1: 39:18

Yes, I love you know just even the name. She Leads you definitely. Somebody prophesied over me years ago that I am like a Mordecai, helping to raise up women. I'm like, oh, that's interesting, but I definitely speak that over you. You just your example to you know step out and I like to say, like, release your sound, release your roar. Has there ever been like, could you share an example maybe of a woman that's been, you know, called in to, you know called in to step out, that you're able to come alongside and just see a radical transformation in her as she stepped out? Because obviously you are a catalyst to help people do that thing right.

Speaker 2: 40:04

Yeah, yeah, there's a lot. I mean. I would say there are a lot. I mean there are many politicians that we've been able to come to, come alongside and I've seen them just blossom in the Lord and um. We have other friends, like Riley Gaines. She's a part of she Leads. It's been a blessing to see her blossom and bloom and and carry herself with such dignity amongst attacks, and you know you name it, so she would be a young person. We have other people that we've just been able to encourage them in their journey, because it's been a hard journey, and we have one group of women we started she Leads, native America.

Speaker 2: 41:00

Those women in all of my journeys, the women that pulled the most on my heartstrings, have been the indigenous women of the United States or of the Americas. And you know they've faced so much hardship and have not had a voice and I have been so blessed to see, as we have come alongside them and encouraged them and loved them and been able to walk alongside them to see them emerge to be a powerful voice and a powerful advocate for the marginalized. And I would say that that group of women, I've seen them absolutely emerge and be transformed to be full of dignity, grace and having a voice of wisdom and encouragement, and I'm believing God is going to use them even in a greater way with the days to come, with the days to come, and that you know. So there's been individuals and then there's been groups, but everyone I would say everyone that the Lord has brought into the she Leads movement, has been deeply impacted by the Holy Spirit through the other women. I have grown so much in my prayer life with the women that the Lord has partnered me with.

Speaker 2: 42:45

These are women that are grounded. They're women that are working in the marketplace, who are upfront with what's really happening in society and are facing real issues, who know how to get a hold of God. And this isn't just sitting in your Bible study and having a few little prayers and getting your head full of information. This is people that are living it out. And those women have been such a blessing to me and such strength to me personally, and I've just been loving being able to bring them together, to have the opportunity to raise other women up, to help lead them them. I can't even believe I've never been in a group like this. There's no competition. There's no about that. We're just advocate. It's an advocacy group. We just love each other and and we're rooting for each other and and thrilled when something great happens to somebody else. There's not this any, any of this. Well, why didn't it happen to me? We feel that when somebody is blessed, we're being blessed because we're so close in the Lord.

Speaker 1: 44:11

Wow, it's incredible. Look at, look at what happens. You know, just through a yes.

Speaker 2: 44:16

Look at what happens you know, just through a yes, correct. It's amazing and I just keep saying yes because I don't even think about what it means. I just say yes because I trust him. If he says, do it, I'm going to do it.

Speaker 2: 44:31

But you know, john 15, 16, the Lord has really been laying on my heart recently as well, and it's something that I think all of us, as believers, need to take to heart. You know, we want our prayers answered and he says you know, in John chapter 15 and verse 16, you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, and so that whatever you ask in my name, the Father will give you. This is my command Love each other. So he's chosen us, he's appointed us, he sent us out and he said to bear good fruit, eternal fruit, and I believe that's winning people to Christ. It also is encouraging one another to keep going and then he says if you love one another, basically I'll give you whatever you ask. And recently we just got back from Windsor Castle where we launched she Leads UK. We launched it last year. Through a series of miracles truly miracles the Lord placed us in Windsor Castle.

Speaker 1: 45:44

Okay, Well, tell us about these miracles. This is I want to hear.

Speaker 2: 45:48

Okay. Well, what happened is my husband took me to Windsor for our 50th wedding anniversary, just to relive our time. You know, in England we hadn't really been there before. So we thought, well, let's go there, it's a beautiful place. And it was the time for their morning prayers in St George's Chapel. So he and I went in there and as I was sitting there, there was only the canon and his assistant and then four of us and we were there to worship the Lord and we were sitting up in the choir area where the royal family would sit, and it's just beautiful.

Speaker 2: 46:29

I'm looking at this beautiful cathedral-type edifice and I certainly wasn't expecting the Lord to speak to me. I just, you know, here we are, the vicar's going to read, and then, you know, we're going to read the prayers. You know that's how it works. Well, I'm sitting there and as I'm sitting there, looking around me, the Lord said I'm going to bring revival here. I thought here, that's what I thought here, and then the Bible reading for the day. The canon began to read it and it was Genesis, chapter 28, and it was the story of Jacob's ladder. And next to me, just across from where we were sitting, across the way, the Queen of England, queen Elizabeth, is buried. Okay, that's where she's buried, that's her, she's there and she's buried there. And everybody comes there to see. You know her gravestone. Well, she's sitting there.

Speaker 2: 47:31

And he starts reading this, and he said that Jacob had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it, and there above it stood the Lord and he said I'm the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac, and I will give you your descendants. The land on which you are lying, descendants will be like the dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west, to the east, to the north and the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. When he read that, I heard him speaking to Queen Elizabeth. She was a believer and I'm sure she prayed day and night for her family that they would know Jesus, that they would embrace the Lord.

Speaker 2: 48:21

And as I heard it, I just heard him say that her children, her offspring, whoever that may be, would be a blessing to the earth. So I thought, oh my goodness me. And then he said he said then to me the next verse and I am with you, will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. And Jacob awoke and he thought us do. And Jacob awoke and he thought surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it. I mean, that's exactly me. Okay, I'm like wow. So then I thought the Lord brought to mind that he wanted me to begin to pray for her Royal Highness Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, who is the Queen's youngest son, prince Edward's wife.

Speaker 1: 49:22

Okay.

Speaker 2: 49:24

Just to start praying for her. And I started praying for King Charles because he has cancer. I started praying for Princess Kate because of her cancer diagnosis. You know, we just, and then I brought that to the ladies and we just started really praying for the royal family. Well, meanwhile we go to the next room for communion. And then there was another.

Speaker 2: 49:48

The passage of that day was a passage. It was Isaiah 49, 6, which I will make you a light to the nations, which is actually the verse that the Lord gave my husband and I for our life mission, verse that we would be a light to the nation. So I mean, he and I are like, the Lord is in this place, he is speaking to us. So then the canon was there and I had heard about St George's house, which is a place in Windsor Castle where they hold consultations you know, it's by invitation about issues of the day. So I went to this canon and I said, excuse me, sir, but could bring a delegation from the United States here to me with our, a delegation from the UK of women of like-mindedness. And he said I think that's a wonderful idea, right away, right away, right away. Oh, wow. So he said. I said well, what do I do? He said, well, just send an email to this address. And he gave me a card and I did and within an hour the gentleman called me. Oh my gosh. Well, he is the manager of it and he's also from Northern Ireland, where my husband is from. So immediately we just got on with him and through another series of miracles well, I'll tell you what happened is that we had to have tickets to get into the castle to go and see this fellow, and the day before we had gone to the castle. So we actually had tickets that were still we could still use, but we were with friends who did not have tickets that we could still use, but we were with friends who did not have tickets. So it was a bit awkward.

Speaker 2: 51:40

And as I was talking to this gentleman on the phone, I looked over and I saw my husband talking to a soldier and the soldier was from my husband's regiment. My husband was in the Army for nine years the British army before he met me, and I saw that. And then I saw my two friends were talking to another female soldier and they were getting something from her. So I walked over and it was tickets for the castle that they had and for the time, because they're time tickets and we needed tickets for noon and they were tickets for noon that this lady had given to my friends and they were going to give them away.

Speaker 2: 52:26

I said, don't give them away. We need to go into the castle and turn to that lady and I said to her are you, do you know the lord jesus as your Lord and Savior? And she threw her arms up and she said Amen, hallelujah, yes, I do. And she was a British Army in the British Army, from the West Indies. Oh, wow, she knew Jesus and she was led by the Lord to give my friends those tickets. So we went and we had the meeting we scheduled our first she Leads UK Windsor consultation, which we had last year, and then this year they allowed us to come back for our second. And we had an afternoon tea where we honored 15 Christian women of distinction and another group of Christian leaders there in the country. And who was our special guest? But Her Royal Highness Duchessess.

Speaker 2: 53:21

Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh oh my goodness that's a miracle. I just want to know. So many miracles, one after another. The Lord's hand is in this, because he, because he loves people, and if we get into his it's like we're in a river of his love.

Speaker 1: 53:44

That's what I was saying. It was like getting in the flow, like literally, like laying on your back and not striving Right yeah.

Speaker 2: 53:50

It's a lot of work because you got to plan things and this and that, but the door, you have people right. You have people who help you, right? Yeah, well, a few. Yes, well, now we, she leads uk and they have a great group, the lord to me, to the exact right person to lead that, and that's what's happened. I mean, it's this is literally a work of the lord period. Nobody knows me, nobody remembers me, nobody has a clue. It's not about a person at all. It is about jesus and him and um, because it's called, she leads, but we're leading you because we're following jesus.

Speaker 2: 54:31

That's the way it works, yes, so now the next thing is yeah, we're going to be going into DC for our fifth gala and we're so excited because this year we believe that we've come into a position where the church, if they decide to step into their role, we're occupying the land. Occupying the land, occupying the land. You know, we were outside fighting these battles and skirmishes, but now the Lord has said you know, you have been sufficiently trained to now come together to bring the love of God into our land. Okay, we're not trying to take over, takeover. We're trying to introduce Jesus, who brings freedom and love and harmony and, you know, for the best for our families, the best for our kids, the best for everybody. So he's opening these doors of opportunity.

Speaker 2: 55:36

And in Washington DC we're having, when we go in, we're going to be having a meeting for all of our state leaders in the actual US Capitol building and then we're going to be having a meeting we call it the Women on the Hill Appreciation Breakfast, where we invite Congresswomen and senators, female senators, to come because we want to thank them for their service to our nation, because they have a very hard job, and so we bring them in and we honor them. And then our 10 Christian Women of Distinction. They are then honored at that event by Congresswoman Lisa McClain. And then we have we're going to have in the, and that's in the Rayburn building, and then in the Cannon building we're having a reception for all the Christian women of distinction and then and we believe that we'll be having a White House briefing as well while we're there. So it's interesting because the lord is, each year he's added another geographical place that we're welcomed into um in washington dc it's so incredible.

Speaker 1: 56:51

So I mean, if you kind of look at this, did you ever think that over the years would you say it's kind of like more of like a governmental? You know, like the seven mountains of influence it's?

Speaker 2: 57:06

actually impacting all of them. It's the governmental mountain God is using to honor and validate all of the other sectors of society where these women are located, so which I love, because it all happened during an administration that would not necessarily be that welcoming of women that we are bringing in. We are unashamedly pro-life, from the womb to the tomb and beyond. We believe in the dignity of women, that God created women and that God created men. We believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. We believe in biblical values, and there are people that don't stand by that. So therefore they would. But you know, it's interesting because he's even made our so-called and I put it in parentheses our enemies our friends, because we love our enemies and we want them to know Jesus. Yes, and I believe that the way that you love your enemies is you tell them how they can receive eternal life. You love them and and that's that's the main thing is we want our lights to shine and and I'll just finish on this, which I really love, this past year, as I've already mentioned, when Peter 2.9, the Lord was, he just made that. So you know how things just jump off the page and we have a retreat. We have a yearly retreat for the whole of the movement, and we had it this year in Camp Hoblitzel, where they film the Chosen. And that's through the Salvation Army, because the commissioner, who was the commissioner at the time she's a part of the commissioner for the time, she's a part of the. The commissioner for the United States was a part of she leads America, and we love the salvation army and so they, they. They opened their doors to us, and so it's like we are a chosen generation.

Speaker 2: 59:31

And then here we found ourselves in Windsor castle, the most beloved castle in the United Kingdom. We are, you know, a royal priesthood, and then the Lord has now placed us right there in Washington DC, in all of these spaces, because he wants us to be a holy nation and our kingdom is above any other kingdom. It's his kingdom, but he wants all of the blessings to trickle down into our environment here, and he's, he's giving us the opportunity to bring his love, these women. We bring compassion, we bring love, we bring understanding, we bring the ministry of reconciliation, we bring common sense. And I'll tell you what the devil and I call this revenge of Eve or the avenging of Eve you know that he says soon I will crush Satan under your feet.

Speaker 2: 1:00:44

And right there at the beginning, we see in Genesis 15, he says you know the whole thing about you will, um uh, crush his head. He will bruise your heel, crush your head. Well, now, what the lord has done is he's turning it around and he's using women to help lead the way. And I'm believing that we're not. You know, we. We want to link, lock shields, together with our brothers in the Lord, also encouraging and strengthening those who have been previously marginalized to come up for their voices to be heard for Jesus. And that's what we're seeing. And as we move in that direction, he continues to bless us, open doors, strengthen us, help us and love us along the way. Wow, liz.

Speaker 1: 1:01:23

I just could keep listening to your stories. I just love everything you've shared today. I can only imagine how many people are being so encouraged, inspired and just emboldened in this time as we close. I do this for the one. But he showed me that one times one in the world is one, but in the kingdom it's one times one is exponential. So if you could just get kind of a picture of somebody who's listening in today, is there anything else that you'd want to just encourage over them? Any words of wisdom? And then would you pray us out today.

Speaker 2: 1:01:59

Yes, I would love that. I want to talk to those that are listening who don't yet know the Lord. You're listening today because the Lord loves you. He has you have tuned in. You're hearing this not by chance. You are hearing this because he is calling you. He's calling you and he's calling you home. And you've been struggling. You've been doing your own thing, and some of you that are listening have been very successful, but it has not brought peace. It has not filled your soul. Other people that are listening are struggling. Life is hard and I just want you to know that the Lord is standing by, waiting to help you. Others are mad at God because things happen. They didn't happen like you wanted them to. Well, you know what? If you take things into your own hands, you're going to make a mess of it, and the Lord is waiting. He's waiting. He loves you. He's there waiting.

Speaker 2: 1:03:02

The Bible says behold, I stand at the door and knock, and that's how I came to know Christ. Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and he's if you open the door to me, I will come in and I will live with you. I will live in you. I will have fellowship with you. This is not religion. Religion will take you straight to hell. It is not religion. This is having a relationship with Christ, and when he comes into your life, then you want to be with others who are like-minded, who've had that relationship with him, because it's family. You don't have to be alone anymore. And then I say to those that do know Christ is that you have been called, you're saved by grace, but you're called to work, and he has works and a destiny for you. And you might have been sitting there doing absolutely nothing up to today. Well, you have no excuse. Now the Lord is saying you need to step out and, with all of the gifts that he has given you if you might have one and you might have a lot is take those and give them to him. Give them to Jesus, give it all to Jesus, him, give them to Jesus, give it all to Jesus, and you will find that you are finally, finally in the flow.

Speaker 2: 1:04:24

And I say that especially to American Christian women. They are scattered and lost and so many women are in the workplace. You feel like you're alone. You don't know what to do Today. I just ask you dedicate everything to Jesus, surrender it all to him, and you will be amazed at what he does. And when he speaks to you, say yes. And when he speaks to you in that still small voice, people say to me how do you know it's him? Well, if he's telling you to do something that is in accordance to his word, to love that person, talk to that person, witness to that person, do good to that person, give money to that person, that is not the devil talking to you and it's not your flesh, it's the Lord. And every time you obey that yes, then what you'll find is you have a stronger understanding and you hear his voice even more clearly, until you're walking in the spirit. So, lord, I thank you for these women and men that are listening, boys and girls, whoever it may be that are listening to this podcast today. And, lord, I would ask, in the name of Jesus, for those who don't yet know you, that today would be their day of salvation. I pray right now, in the name of Jesus, that the power of the Holy Spirit would come upon them, even as you promised that in the last days, you would pour your spirit out on all people, those that know you and those that don't, and then, when your spirit comes upon us. He gives us revelation of who you are. You died on the cross. You died on the cross, taking our sins. That if we will repent and turn away and admit that we have done wrong, that we have turned our backs on you, and we ask for forgiveness, you have promised that you would forgive us Because if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So I pray now that those that don't yet know you would come to the cross, that, lord, they would receive your forgiveness. And I thank you, lord, that you rose again and that you live today and that you give us that free gift of eternal life. And I pray, lord, that they would know and receive that. Even now, I pray for those that know you but, lord, they have not been walking in your ways or they have just been strolling down the path. I pray now, lord, that, by the power of the Holy, spirit would come on them, that, lord, you would show them that there is Spirit would come on them. That, lord, you would show them that there is more to it than what they are right now experiencing. That, lord, you have something powerful for them, that there is a destiny into which they are called. They have been chosen. They have been chosen to bring forth everlasting fruit, and I pray in the name of Jesus that they would press in Lord, surrender to you and begin to give you their yes. I ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, amen, amen.

Speaker 1: 1:07:29

You guys feeling that fire. Praise the Lord. I'm like, yes, you are refired. Yeah, praise the Lord, girl. I'm like, yes, you are re-fired. Oh, man, it's hard to close up. I'm like, oh, it's impacting me too. I'm going to close with our anchoring verse over Hope, unlocked it's. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope, and that's Romans 15, 13. So, liz, what's the best way for listeners to reach out to you?

Speaker 2: 1:08:03

They can reach. They can see what we're doing on sheleadsamericacom Okay, and they can reach out on sheleadsamerica at gmailcom Okay, awesome, those are the best ways and we'd love to hear from you. I'd love to hear from you and and hear.

Speaker 1: 1:08:32

Okay, awesome that, and I'll be sure to add the website and email in the show notes. So head to the show notes if you need that information. Again, and Liz, thank you so much for being a brave voice who's setting so many free. So thank you again for being on today and I will be back with another episode next week. Bye, liz, bye.

Speaker 2: 1:08:50

Thanks for having me. Thank you.