Ready to Walk Away from Faith? This Might Change Everything with Constance Hastings

Constance Hastings knows what it means to wrestle with doubt and still discover that Jesus never lets go. In this powerful conversation, longtime educator, counselor, and author Constance shares how God pursued her from childhood through years of questions, challenges, and spiritual growth. We explore the intersection of faith and mental health, the role of prayer and the Holy Spirit in counseling, and why being an honest presence often matters more than having the perfect answer. Constance also shares the heart behind her book, The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away, offering hope for skeptics, seekers, and anyone questioning their faith. If you've ever struggled with doubt, grief, disappointment, or wondering where God is in your story, this conversation will remind you that honest questions do not scare Him away.

Constance's contact info:

Website - www.constancehastings.com

Email - constance.hastings@constancehastings.com

The Trouble with Jesus blog - www.constancehastings.com

Constance's book:

The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away

🎙️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!

Transcript

Welcome And Springtime Hope

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Welcome to the Hope Unlocked podcast. I'm Kristen Kurtz, your host. I pray this episode is like a holy IV of hope for your soul. Please help me welcome Constance Hastings to the show. I'm very excited to have her here today. I know she's going to have just a powerful word and testimony to share with you guys. And just even as I say that, you know, I'm looking outside today and just seeing everything blooming. So wherever you guys are today, I just pray that your world is blooming. And I pray that today that you would hear just a word that would just continue to help your heart soar and continue on this journey.

Finding Faith Outside A Christian Home

SPEAKER_00 0:49

So, Constance, before we get into that, would you just share a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Oh, Kristen, sometimes I say that I shouldn't be here today. No. I was raised in a non-religious family, but they sent me to a small, independent, not very expensive Christian school, which was right down the street. And the reason for that was that at the time our city was beginning to desegregate and they didn't want me attending public schools, but they thought I would be safe there in this Christian school. As it was, I was safe, but that's also where God met me. And the teachers there loved me, taught me well. I excelled at Bible study. I received Jesus as my savior at the age of seven. And God just held on to me throughout my life. And as I as I was growing up, there were, let's just say, conflicts in and but not in strong ways, more like tension, between what I was being taught in school and the life that I lived at home. Now, that's to say that I was love, I was cared for, you know, I had a good family in that regard. But the values were not exactly honoring God. My father owned a bar, so there was alcohol in the home. There was gambling that my parents participated in, and other values that, you know, I knew just weren't right. But as I said, God held on to me through my growing up, through college. And on my first job, I began dating a man whose father, interestingly, was a pastor. And of course, he invited me to church. And when I walked into that church, because of where I went to school, I knew those scripture verses, I knew those hymns, and I was welcome there. And again, God brought and informed me in that. My career first began as an educator. I taught English for about 25 years. God then called me into a type of formal ministry. I was ordained as a deacon, but my position was to make connections between the church and the world. And I did that through a faith-based mental health practice. And you know, at that point, I was beginning to think, well, God should be happy with what I've done for him. My son and my husband asked that we move to be closer to where my son lived. And I said I would agree to do that if when I retired, they would give me time and space to write a book. And that was supposed to be just a simple thing. After all, I had taught English. I should know how to write. Well, I had a lot to learn there too. And so God is just keeps leading me through that. The book is the type, the trouble with Jesus considerations before you walk away. And that's part of what I bring as I come go out into the world today and make that bridge for Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

Wow. So much. I want to go deeper with you. So much goodness. You started out by saying, I shouldn't be here. Probably shouldn't be here. Tell us a little bit more about that because I don't want to pass that over. I say that too. Tell us a little bit more about that.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Like I said, I wasn't raised in a Christian home. And yeah, very much as I think of as I've thought about it, was that I could have, you know, just accepted a secular world as you know I met it. And, you know, the expectation in the family was that I would get an education and marry and have a family. And I fulfilled all that for them. But God had more for me. And because of this call upon my life, I have met people and I have been places that I never would have without God leading me. And certainly he led me to a man of faith as my husband and our son we raised also to be a believer. And he and his wife today are strong Christians. So those aspects of my life wouldn't have been there. And I could very well, knowing from my mental health background, that dysfunction could have arisen, but God protected me from that and kept me going. So in that way, I'm very blessed.

unknown 5:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Well, I would love to hear. So did you like go to college for a degree like as a therapist, or

From Teaching To Counseling Ministry

SPEAKER_00 5:40

what did that look like for you?

SPEAKER_01 5:41

Okay. Well, certainly to teach English, I had to have a degree in English, which I did. And I loved it. I loved literature and you know writing and that kind of thing. But at the same time, when called into a counseling ministry, I went back to school and got a master's degree in counseling. And at the same time, I entered into, I didn't get a full degree, but I did have a seminary courses, which were part of the formation and which I could bring to my clients both a professional and a spiritual perspective on what was happening in their lives.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

That's so important, wouldn't you say? Like in your walk of walking with people.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Oh yes. And to be honest, when I was teaching, I was very good. I knew exactly what I was doing. I I even from one time received an excellence in teaching award. But when I went into counseling, oh my goodness, so many times and people would be talking to me and I didn't know what to say, what to give them. I was, you know, I was, I won't say I was as lost as they were, but I just didn't seem to have it. And all I had, but probably the best that I had, was to give them prayer. And I I realized more than once as I was praying for them, it was the Holy Spirit that was speaking to them and giving them the hope and the courage to do what they needed to do in in order to help their lives. So that that was pretty powerful for me in that way. It wasn't it wasn't all me. It was being the presence, the presence of Christ for another. And that I certainly loved.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

Well, I love, you know, just the fact that you teacher, counselor, right? These are often gift things, right? And would you say, and I I I love talking to people who, you know, maybe the the quote that comes out a lot is like, I didn't know what I was doing. And that's really where the most powerful, whether it's ministries or businesses or whatever it is, you know, whatever God has you to step into, you naturally were gifted with the teaching, it sounds like. And I'm sure you were naturally gifted with counseling, but maybe that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 8:05

Interestingly, when when I was teaching, of course, and teaching literature, you know, I'm I'm talking about the great stories, you know, of the world. I taught American literature, for instance, and it was Huckleberry Finn, and it was The Scarlet Letter, and you know, the writings of Henry David Thoreau. And that was well and good from that. But then when I was counseling, you know, it was almost like I was reading another story.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

And there was an excitement that, you know, as I looked into people's lives, and I got to be part of that story as I walked with them through it. So, yes, whereas, you know, it looked like a real career change, it was more like just a different setting and perspective in which I worked, and God brought me through that.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

That's amazing. I would love to hear, like, I know you like confidentiality type, you know, with me, I'm very confidential with my clients as well. But would you be open to sharing maybe a testimonial of somebody that you walked alongside that you you saw like a huge

Walking With Grief Through Counseling

SPEAKER_00 9:15

difference in the work that you got to do with this individual?

SPEAKER_01 9:19

One woman whose story and situation remain with me for a long time was she was she was a mom, and at the time when she first came to me, she was married and they had two children. And the father was an alcoholic, and she was trying to, you know, navigate life with her with herself and her kids and this man. Well, as it was, you know, through just a sudden medical event, he passed away. And she was left with these two kids to raise. And yet I, you know, I kept expressing to her of certain things that I saw in her that I thought were important and she should pursue. One thing was she, as a younger person, had been involved in as being an artist, and she brought me one of her paintings, and I said to her, You need to continue to do this. And not that she would, you know, go off and become a famous artist and sell them, but I knew that there was within her a measure of creativity and artistry that she needed to pursue if she was going to find balance in her life and her own purpose. And she she did that for a little while, but there were other things that she had to deal with. And I I told her how resourceful she was. For instance, she and her two kids, they they lived in a trailer and they had a very small dishwasher, and she was able to pull the dishwasher out at one point, and it it wasn't an easy process, but she was able to fix it. I I you know, I said to her, I said, You do have this resourcefulness that you're able to put together. Unfortunately, time passed, and her oldest child, her son, committed suicide. Oh my god. And I mean, that that blew all of us out of the water, and especially her daughter, who was very fragile as well. And, you know, it it took months of talking her through that and bringing her to a place where she she understood what what had happened to her son, but she didn't have to necessarily accept blame for this. This wasn't of her thought. It's and she had really, really tried with both her children. And all of this was done as she was faithful in her life with God and in her church. And she would even tithe, even though she didn't have much money coming in. And I I I knew her salary, uh, you know, it wasn't very much. And any responsible financial counselor would have said, you shouldn't be tithing, you need this, etc. But she said, No, you know, this is this is what I'm called to do. At Kristen, I don't know how God does it, but I know he does. At the end of every month, she had a little bit left over, even though she had given her tithe. And and that's what that's what God does. And that's where I found my presence with another person and my talking them through the various things that they needed to do was was such, you know, a way of you know, I would hope it'd be a gift to them, but it was also a gift to me, and and showing me how the how the world lives and works. Another thing that happened to her, uh, when her husband was alive, there had been an altercation, and she had been charged with some kind of an assault charge. And uh we knew it was going to hold her back if she went ahead and you know, trying to find a better employment, especially after he died. And so it was that she was able to go before the courts and asked that uh what's the term when basically the charge is forgiven, expunged.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

And she went she uh had this long form to fill out, and she wasn't very good on computers either. So we took the form and we worked on it, and I made strong suggestions and help her write it. And the day came when she had to go before the judge, and you know, I prayed with her over it, and the next day after that, she came back and she said it was granted. And she said, I know it was because that form was filled out so well, and you know what a what a relief that was. So, in as you work with other people like this, yeah, you know, you're you're there not just to hear their problems and make trite suggestions, but you're there to be an honest presence, is how I'll often refer to it as they move through this. And I, you know, I was grateful to be able to do that with her for actually was a few a couple of years, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

What a what a beautiful gosh, it's almost like a I don't know, being kind of a mother in a way to somebody who, right? Did did you feel almost like a mother? More like a sister.

unknown 14:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

I just think of like, you know what I mean? Like a just somebody who really kind of goes above and beyond. Like we as moms tend to go above and beyond people. Yeah. And you know, you did things that were maybe above and beyond what others would do in your position, right?

SPEAKER_01 15:10

Yes, but uh still having this call of ministry on my life. So I knew it would be more than just you know scheduling an hour with somebody once a week. Yeah, it's it's it

The Book Idea Arrives Suddenly

SPEAKER_01 15:20

truly is being part of their lives.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

Oh well, and then you you you said you have a book. So how did you get into writing? Like obviously, was that something that was kind of tucked away for you and you knew that you were gonna write? I never ever intended to write a book. Really?

SPEAKER_01 15:36

I had done shorter writings at one point. It was a little more than a year, I did some freelance writing for our local newspaper, and and and that was fun and was especially fun because as it was, President Bush, and this was in 1991, came to our area to be at the graduation of students who had gone to an adult high school, and I was able to cover that. And the next day he invited everybody and myself to the White House to cover one of his points of light speech. And uh yeah, that was that was very exciting. So I'd always played around with writing and had written, of course, for newsletters and things like that, but never intended to do anything, you know, like write a book. But as it was, there was a church that was actually down the street from the church with which I was connected, and the women in that church every year would have a Saturday morning Bible study, and it was more like a mini retreat. So they asked me if I would come this particular year and lead it, and I said, yes, I would. And they gave me several months to think about it, which was good because Kristen, I say this all the time, but it is true. There are 66 books in the Bible, and I could not come up with a single message, and I was getting so frustrated, and I wanted something that was going to truly serve these women. They were smart, they were leaders, they were professionals, you know, and I just didn't want anything that was just, you know, really trite. I wanted something that was deep and would have impact, but nothing was coming. And this one day, I you know, I was actually vacuuming at home and I looked up and said to God, the troubles with Jesus. Oh. And I almost immediately sat down at my desk and started an outline, and pages and scriptures just started coming to me. And I I went in and did the study, and it was very well received. Well, then I went back to my home church and I did it again, and again, it was very well received. And that's when I knew I had the outline and the beginnings of a book. As I said, I I tried to work on it, but I was so busy with ministry and counseling and all of that. I just didn't have the the time for focus on it until I was able to retire. So, you know, again, this this wasn't some people sometimes say the trouble with Jesus. Do you have a do you have problems with God? And I say, I don't have problems with God, at least know more than most people do.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

Yeah. Can I just ask a quick question? So, how long ago was this Bible study? Like, when did you do this? The first round? Uh 2013. 2013. So 13 years ago. Yeah, it was a while ago. Now, did somebody like call out in you, like take this and write a book, or did you just know like this this is a book? So you internally, like Holy Spirit showed you like this is a book, or did somebody say, Oh my gosh, Constance, this would be an amazing book?

SPEAKER_01 19:20

No one said that, but I did have a lot of affirmation about it. And you know, basically was told, when you did this, uh, we could tell in the message that God was showing up. And and that that stayed with me. But then of course, you know, given my background in teaching and writing, that sort of converged. And I, you know, I had at least the courage to start it and had to wait for God to take it. Yeah. Well, when did you start writing the book then? Like when did you start kind of I I was became serious about it after we moved closer to where our son lived. And again, I had asked them to give me time and space to do it. So three weeks after we moved, sitting at my desk in front of my computer with boxes literally up to my shoulders, you know, I I sat down to write and I worked on it consistently in that way. I did, after a few months of that, I went to a writer's group and someone said to me, Are you going to the writers conference next month? And I said, I didn't know anything about it. And come to find out it was a Christian writer's conference. And I went there and that's when I learned about the how to write a book, what I needed. What I needed, I needed three more chapters, I needed a website, I needed a blog, I need social media, I needed followers, and all of that.

Editors Doubt And The Skeptic Voice

SPEAKER_01 21:00

It was just one more step and where God was taking me. And none of which I I had anticipated, even when I was just writing the book.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

Right. So you go to this conference and they're telling you you need to have all these things. Was there anything that I don't know, I always think like anything in you that was like, well, I don't, I don't really want to do that.

SPEAKER_01 21:24

No, actually, yeah, I was I was excited. It was a it was another, let's say, learning opportunity for me. You know, like way back when, when I realized I needed a counseling degree and seminary classes, I I was excited. And I knew that that you know, God, God would lead me in this. But again, I I didn't anticipate where it was going, which is as you and probably a lot of your listeners know, is usually the case. Yeah. If we if maybe if we knew where we were going, you know. We we resist it and but it was it was good all together though.

SPEAKER_00 22:04

Yeah so did you have somebody who like came alongside you to help you with this journey?

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Oh yes I did connect with an agency who assigned me a mentor and she was the one who helped me build the website and start the blog and learn about book promotion and she she was really, really helpful in doing that. And then there were other writers that I met who, you know, we all were maybe in different places, but we could learn from one another and critique one another. And then I had two excellent editors. Now, let me explain a little bit about the book, The Trouble with Jesus considerations before you walk away. It is edgy. And I say that because the book has within it the voice of a doubter or a skeptic. And this voice, I compare it to say a Greek chorus and that you might find in Greek drama, it interrupts and it challenges and it's sarcastic and it's angry at times about the narration, which deals with the trouble with Jesus. And there's this interplay between the two. And so so it okay, where was I going with this? So so it was that that that voice was one that just kept bubbling up. When I finished the book and was looking to choose a professional editor, I came across a woman who was a confirmed skeptic herself. And we talked and I said, Okay, I want you to read the manuscript, but I want you to read it and pay particular attention to this voice of the doubter. And I want you to tell me if it rings true. And she did. And when she was finished, she said to me, Yes, it does ring true. But you also need to know, particularly in the latter chapters of the book, I find the same doubts rising up in the narration. And I went, Oh my goodness. Yeah, those are my doubts and my questions. And I had to go back and do some revision because of that. But that was very valuable in what she revealed to me. My second editor was an editor who had a deep biblical background as well as he he knew editing and he knew the type of editing that I needed. And for months, he, you know, I would send him chapters and we went back and forth over what I'd written and what he suggested and how I needed to revise it. And so I I give all gratitude and God to him for helping me with that. So those were other people who came alongside me in developing the book.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

What was what was the most exciting part about writing this book?

SPEAKER_01 25:20

About writing it when it was finally published, and the publisher mailed me my copies. Actually, we were traveling and I didn't know the exact timing of it. So I had the box sent to our church and I informed the administrative assistant. And I said, you know, I if this is okay, just hold the box till I get back. And when we did, went right over to the church and I opened the box,

Publishing Joy And Honoring Mentors

SPEAKER_01 25:55

and there it was. And I literally had chills. It was like God did this. You know what I did right after that? What's that? I took one of the books and I drove to that Christian school that I had attended as a child. Oh, and I gave them one of the books. And I said, This started here in this place. And you know, I'm talking decades later, none of the teachers or administration were the same. But I said, You need to know the power of what you do. And this is what your predecessors did for me.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

Oh my gosh. What was their response?

SPEAKER_01 26:34

They they they didn't know what to say. Yeah, people don't usually walk in there with that kind of story, but yeah, it was it was received well, and I was able to leave leave them the book and leave it with God.

SPEAKER_00 26:47

Wow, that's incredible. I I don't know if you've seen the movie. It reminds me of this movie A Million Miles Away, where there's a child who has a dream. It's a huge dream. And the teacher actually was the one that really helped bolster his dream. It looked crazy to everybody else. And I it was probably like first grade, maybe kindergarten first grade. And I won't give the movie away if you guys haven't seen it, but just the impact of this one teacher. Wow. Yeah. Right. And just the impact, you know, the impacts that you've made. I feel like I'm I just want to like encapsulate like there's impacts that you make that you don't even know that you're making. And the fact that you can go back and just tell somebody the impact that they've made. Right. What if we were able to do that more? I I get really, I don't know, and I I want to be able to do this more than I do, of course. But you know, you go to funerals and it's like that's where everybody hears about the impact. That's where everybody tells the stories. Why don't we do that more now when we're alive?

SPEAKER_01 27:49

Yes, we should celebrate each other and again, you know, give give honor to those who have helped to form us. And you know, whether that be within a school setting, a church setting, you know, a friendship of some sort, or even within marriage relationships, because my my marriage is one that has also been important in who I am. And I think in the book when I did the acknowledgments, I said, you know, we were we were two people who were good, but together we can be great. And that's that's what a marriage relationship has the potential.

SPEAKER_00 28:32

Good plus good is great. Yeah. I love that. How long have you been married? 49 years. Wow. Okay, so if you're open to it, when did your book launch? It launched in July of 2024. Okay, so your book launched in 2024. At that time, what was your age? Well, let me see. I've been forgetting how old I am.

SPEAKER_01 29:02

I think I was I 70 by then. Yeah, I was probably seven. Almost 70. My birthday was a polymonth. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:10

I mean like listeners, I want you to just just see here and hear how it's never too

Purpose At Any Age

SPEAKER_00 29:20

late to do something amazing. And it's never too late to do maybe the thing that you were called to do. What would you say to that? Amen.

SPEAKER_01 29:34

Of course. And my my verse that I lean on is Psalm 138.8. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for you. Your love, O Lord, endures forever. And regardless of the stage of life, there is always purpose. And you know, in in our church, we have people who are you know quite elderly, and yet they show up, they talk to you, they pray for you, and they are part of a community that you would never have known otherwise, except that God brought them to you.

SPEAKER_00 30:14

Yeah, it's so beautiful. You know, it's it's wild because you know, one of the things that, you know, the world says, Oh, you're 65, just go retire, right? And I like to say, no, you don't retire, you re-fire. I like that, yes. Isn't that good? So, do you have more book babies? I like to call them book babies. Do you have more book babies that are coming soon?

SPEAKER_01 30:37

I you know, a lot of people have asked me that, and the the short answer is no. But I have a, as I said, a website with a blog, and the blog is actually a companion to the book.

SPEAKER_00 30:51

Wow, I love that.

SPEAKER_01 30:52

So it's also called The Trouble with Jesus, but but that edgy skeptical voice is also included in the blog post, and it deals it deals with a gospel passage, but it's more narrow, of course, in focus than the blog and then the book, which has bigger themes to it. And yeah, so that's that's the concentration that I have now. And I try, especially now, to write it in such a way that's not you know over the edge, but you know, it it does include some vocabulary or vernacular that you might not expect to hear from a middle class uh woman of my age and status. Well, give us an example.

SPEAKER_00 31:46

Now I need to know.

SPEAKER_01 31:48

Well, for instance, you know, you may have heard the phrase among younger people, you know, that's the way they roll.

SPEAKER_00 31:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:56

Well, you know, the roll thing, you know, and sometimes Jesus and his disciples roll up upon the Pharisees or somebody, you know. So I I I try and keep it where it's it sounds authentic to me, but it's maybe it speaks into let's say just another generation that would, you know, relate to it. And I was I was telling my grandson about it, and I said, I had never heard of the phrase, uh, how do you put oh, throwing shade. Oh, yeah. And and he said, You hadn't heard of that. And I said, No. But I came across it when I was doing a blog on the Samaritan woman that Jesus met at the well, and how the villagers were throwing shade on the Samaritan woman because of her many marriages and lifestyle. And you know, we laughed about it. And and you know, he said, Well, why don't you do it all the time? I said, No, no, no, no, I can't do that. I can't, you know, it's gotta sound like me. But it's been fun and a good amount of creativity that goes into it now. So that's you know, it's not a book baby, but it it definitely is, you know, a baby I still care for. It's a blog baby.

unknown 33:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

I love that though. Like, I'm how many I was gonna say how many episodes, like you're a podcast, maybe you have a podcast too, who knows? But uh how many like blog posts do you release? Like let's just say a month.

SPEAKER_01 33:27

Is it uh schedule, or are you just kind of released as I release it once once a week? Oh, you do? Wow. Yeah, I it's once a week, and they're short, you know, you can read them probably in less than 10 minutes. It's okay, it's not that lengthy and so forth. Certainly, they all took a lot of research, which again, I you know, deals into my my background in education. And certainly, like all of us, uh, you know, all the time I'm learning new tech practices, which you know, again, it it keeps it keeps you on that path that Jesus would have us go. Uh, podcasting. Now I don't have a podcast, I interview on other people's podcasts. Yes, but you know, Kristen, I have to say that to me, podcasting is almost a miracle, especially for people like yourself who are Christian podcasters. Because as Jesus said, you know, take his message and go out into the world. Yeah. And podcasting does that. Sometimes I say, you know, this is almost subversive. But these episodes are going out there. And, you know, it's not just a one and done thing. Your episodes will last. People might not see them at first, but you know, they may be scrolling through the episodes and say, hey, that looks interesting, and you know, listen to that. And you know, it's it's like God's word is out there, and I don't mean this in a way of pride, but between the book, the blog, my social media, which also carries the blog, and my email subscribers, every week I bring a message to more people than some pastors do in their pews. Wow. And again, you know, that is only by the work of God and the Holy Spirit because of following Jesus. And I never see these people. Right. Isn't that interesting? I never see them, and that's good because I must decrease, of course, as he will increase. And that means it's not about me, it's all about the message. And I praise God for that.

SPEAKER_00 35:58

Oh, I love that. You know, it's it's it it can be sometimes I'm like, oh, it'd be really nice to maybe meet some of the people, and you just really don't know. Like when I started this three years ago, he showed me to do this for the one and said that you know, had this. There's in the world, math is one times one is one, right? That's what we learned. But he showed me in the kingdom, one times one is exponential because you reach the one, and then that one it multiplies, right? That's kingdom math. Um, so doing it for the one, I'm sure you show up for the one as well. And I love, I just love your heart. You are amazing.

SPEAKER_01 36:36

Well, thank you. But speaking of the one, yeah, those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ, and I I say this with all confidence, we all have that person in our life, that one who is not a believer. Yeah. And my prayer is that, you know, if people were to obtain the book, that again, from their knees in prayer for their person, that they would ask for the Holy Spirit to lead them

Reaching The One With A Book

SPEAKER_01 37:10

and maybe present that person with a copy of the book and just say, you know, if if you'll read this, could we have a conversation? And again, it's it's written on the surface for that person who is not a believer, but it does present the choice of following Jesus, of accepting him as Lord and Savior. And it between the message and the relationship, I truly believe that the Holy Spirit can move and activate in that person a belief and a knowing of God.

SPEAKER_00 37:51

Yeah. Have you heard any testimonials from I call them pre-believers?

SPEAKER_01 37:58

Well, the way this happens is that people who are believers will have the book or say to me, I gave this to so and so, you know, and that kind of thing. And and I don't, I don't need to know everything beyond that. Yeah, but I'm just happy that the book does present a challenge in knowing Jesus. And some of the book is edgy even for believers. People have said to me, I never thought of it that way. And and yet, you know, they they see the truth of Christ in there, and and that to me is is so rewarding. And I just let it go at that.

SPEAKER_00 38:44

Oh well, thank you for just being obedient to write this. I'm sure that, you know, again, like we don't always, we're not always going to see the impact in person, but when you get to heaven, there's gonna be a lot to say, I'm sure. Yeah. So right well, thank you so much for coming on today. I would love for you to share again, say the name of the book, and then what are the best ways for people to contact you?

SPEAKER_01 39:08

The name of the book is The Trouble with Jesus Considerations Before You Walk Away. And the best way actually to reach me is through my website, ConstanceHastings.com. You know, you'll you'll find an email there that you can contact me directly through that. There also will be a pop-up when you come on where you're invited to subscribe to the blog. It's

Where To Find Constance And Prayer

SPEAKER_01 39:35

free, but you'll also be given a link and a promo code. If you choose to buy the book, you'll get 20% off.

SPEAKER_00 39:43

Oh, well, that's very nice. Thank you. Thank you for sharing. And I'll put all this information in the show notes as well, if you guys didn't catch that. And then as I wrap up the show today, I always have, you know, people who come on, just get in mind the the one, the one that's listening in today. Is there any other like words of encouragement or like wisdom that you'd like to speak over them? And then would you pray us out today?

SPEAKER_01 40:09

Oh, I certainly would love to pray you out. But I love the name of your podcast, Hope Unlocked. Yeah. And yeah, as we are in this life, this life that is truly not our own, but we have that measure of hope. And whether you know, we are going through times of trial, times of, you know, where we just don't know what God is doing, we always have that hope in Jesus Christ because he lived our lives, he knew our trouble. The trouble in his life converged actually to bring about his crucifixion, but he overcame that trouble in his resurrection. And that hope that we have is based in the power of his resurrection, and he will bring us through until that time when we can see the trouble is overcome. So let us pray.

SPEAKER_00 41:08

Yes, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 41:10

Oh gracious God, we sit before you and are ever grateful for those who have led us into the faith. And whether it was in a Christian home or outside the church, somewhere in the world, someone introduced you to us. We thank you and praise you for that and ask indeed all blessing upon them. And Lord, may we also be the one who can take your message to others and may it be done in your love, with your care, with indeed a sensitivity of where people are in their lives and where and how they need you. I thank you for Kristen and the work that she does in this podcast. There's a lot of work that goes into these kinds of things that people don't see. But Lord, you have put together a venue whereby anyone can become to this place, can be found, can hear, and raise up in you. And for this, I thank you and I praise you, giving you all glory in Jesus' holy and blessed name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 42:21

Amen. Constance, you're amazing. Thank you so much for coming on today. We might have to have you on again at some point if you're open to that. You're a well of wisdom. So thank you. I am going to close with the Hope Unlocked Anchoring Verse. 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 thank you, Constance, for being a brave voice who's setting so many free. I will be back with another episode next week. Thanks, listeners.