Surrender and Support: Crafting a Christ-Centered Marriage Amidst Military Moves with Beth Runkle. Beth's book is available for preorder. See the description for details.

Embarking on the ever-shifting journey of military life comes with its unique set of challenges, a truth Beth Runkle knows all too well. As she unfolds her story on our latest podcast, listeners are invited into the profound realities of being a military spouse – from the emotional toll of frequent relocations to the trials of infertility, and the bittersweet transitions from resistance to acceptance. Her candid revelations offer a raw glimpse into the resilience required to navigate these waters, alongside the joy that can be found in raising a family and embracing the military community. Beth's narrative is a salute to the unsung heroes at home, highlighting the strength drawn from faith and fellowship.

Through the lens of Beth's experience, we traverse the landscape of biblical marriage amidst the trials of military life, uncovering the moments of surrender that lead to a deeper union with Christ and each other. The episode traverses sensitive topics like submission and control within the marital framework, revealing how the act of letting go can cultivate a harmonious Christ-centered partnership. Listeners will find solace in personal anecdotes that underscore the importance of respecting each other's spiritual journey and the transformative impact of quiet submission, as encouraged in the Scriptures. Our discussion is not just a story of one couple but a blueprint for couples striving towards a balanced and spiritually anchored relationship.

Lastly, we delve into the resonance of biblical narratives with the contemporary challenges faced by military families. Beth shares her passion project – a Bible study book tailored to the hearts of military spouses, drawing parallels between their experiences and those of Sarah and Abraham. As we prepare to support military families in our communities, the episode concludes with actionable approaches to provide both spiritual and practical support. From extending a simple thank you to engaging in gospel outreach, we're reminded of the power of small gestures and the calling to be lights in the lives of those who serve.  Join us as we explore these themes, and keep an eye out for Beth's upcoming release.  
Preorders can be placed from Amazon:

Another Move, God?:  30 Encouragements to Embrace Your Life as a Military Wife .

https://a.co/d/fxZtqHR

Transcript

Tina: 0:01

Hello and welcome to Walk the Walk. Today we have a special guest, but before I introduce our guest, beth, I'd like to just remind us that as Christians, we all have a different walk. Our Christian walk looks different for everybody. It can go from one spectrum to another, and today's guest is going to talk to us about her walk as a military wife. So will you please help me in welcoming Beth Runkle. Beth, welcome.

Beth: 0:31

Thank you. It's such a pleasure to be here, Tina, thanks.

Tina: 0:33

Well, I'm so glad you're here and I'm so glad that you're going to come and share with us about being a military wife. But before I proceed, I want to say to you and your family, and especially your husband thank you so much for what you have done to serve this country and my family and our listeners as well. Thank you.

Beth: 0:53

Oh, thank you. Yeah, I mean he, you know, I really appreciate his service too. He was very loyal to his country and he loved doing it.

Tina: 1:01

Well, and I think we forget about military wives. I think we're so quick to thank, and that's absolutely fine to thank the person that served, but I think there's it takes a lot out of a family as well.

Beth: 1:16

Well, I'm not going to lie, it was challenging at times and we, we serve too. It's just we serve on the home front. But my husband was always really good about regularly thanking me and the kids and anytime he had any kind of promotion, change of command, you know, his first comments would be to thank his family. So he was really good about that and I always knew that he really did appreciate us and even though he worked a lot, we we were his first priority. They were just you know, times or we had to adjust, but he always made us feel really important and loved.

Tina: 1:55

So, Beth, tell us a little bit about you and your husband. How did you meet? And you know, just kind of go back to that.

Beth: 2:03

Sure. So I met my husband at a wedding. I had been out of school for a couple of years and he'd already been serving in the military. I was a bridesmaid, he was a groomsman, so very cliche. But it was his sister's wedding and I had met the whole family. So we started dating long distance and eventually we decided to get married.

Beth: 2:29

And before this, when we got married, my husband had started his military career as an electrical engineer. So he had a desk job and he didn't deploy and it wasn't very dangerous. So he had not prepared me for what it would be like to marry some in the military. And I'm actually very thankful because had I have known what I was getting myself into, I think I would have not married him and I'm very happily married. But it would.

Beth: 3:00

You know, being a pilot in the Air Force versus having had a desk job was very different. So we got married and we moved three times our first year of marriage and then when we showed up at that final operational assignment we unpacked and then he was off to deployment to the Middle East. So I found myself kind of thinking what have I gotten myself into? And career had been very important to me and obviously it was hard to keep a career when you move three times. So it was just a lot of adjustments.

Beth: 3:39

But I think what made it probably the hardest is that I was relying on my own strength and I wasn't relying on the Lord. I wasn't a believer. I had been raised in a solid church going home, but I did not understand the significance of what Jesus Christ had done for me personally and I definitely had not surrendered my life to him and wasn't walking with him. And then we continued to move. We moved 14 times during his 25 year career and my husband did retire a few years ago and now we work in full time ministry to the military Because basically God took me from. Honestly, after that first two years of marriage I pretty much hated the military and was not supportive, complained a lot about it till the end of our career where I had fully embraced it and loved the military people and was just so passionate about ministering to them. But when my husband said he wanted to retire I kind of was like what? These are our people, this is what we do.

Beth: 4:59

And God opened a door for us to serve in full time ministry, which is what we do now.

Tina: 5:05

When you sent me your bio, you described yourself with these words bitter, selfish and a reluctant military spouse. Wow, those are some pretty strong words to describe yourself, and you kind of talked a little bit about the moving. What else made you feel so bitter and reluctant?

Beth: 5:29

I just think it was a lack of control. And so I can remember the first two years of marriage. You know vacations having to be canceled, family trips having to be canceled, our life was just in constant flux and I was a personality type I desperately wanted to be in control of everything. And then, of course, I could be in control of nothing. And then, on top of that, you know, my career was really taking a hit. And then my career is taking a hit. You know I've had to have lots of career changes and dissatisfaction with work. And then you know we moved for his career and he's really not there. I mean, during that time, those two years, he was deployed three times and then away for training for seven weeks. And I was just a selfish person, you know it was my focus was me and my concerns and, honestly, a bit of a pity party.

Tina: 6:34

And so now do you have children, did you say.

Beth: 6:38

Yes, we have two children. We actually struggle with infertility, I see. So we have an adopted child and we have a biological child, and they're both in college now.

Tina: 6:49

Wow, okay, nobody has gone into the military, neither one of them.

Beth: 6:56

No, they haven't.

Tina: 6:58

Well, that's all fine and good. I just thought wonder if they, you know, followed in their, their dad's footsteps.

Beth: 7:04

I'm surprised that one of them didn't. Yeah, but they didn't.

Tina: 7:10

So we talked about the challenges of being a military wife. A little bit about here. Tell me what your spiritual life looked like at that time.

Beth: 7:21

Well, in the beginning of our marriage I didn't have a spiritual life. I had not really been going to church, I certainly had not been in the word Again, I'd not been raised. That that was important. But once we moved that third time we settled in a house, I said to my husband we should go to church. That's what good married people do, and that was truly my perspective. It wasn't about going to church to worship or, you know, study the scriptures or be edified or to even to serve right, it was all just. This is what we should do, we should check the box, we.

Beth: 8:02

So it began for us a spiritual journey and it took us a bit of time to actually find the Lord because we didn't start out going to an evangelical church at first. There was some lovely, wonderful people in that church who especially took me under their wing to care for me because my heaven was gone so much. But it wasn't a direct path to salvation at that point. It was a journey and, interestingly, my husband spent a lot of the time deployed in the Middle East during this time and we were both growing spiritually, but on separate paths because he was over living in a tent in Saudi Arabia, but he actually grew a bit faster than me because he didn't have the pride issues to get over that I did. Since I had grown up going to church and I had been in a Christian school, I kind of thought I had all the answers, whereas my husband was very eager to learn. But really what got my attention is when we were faced with infertility, and that was the first time, you know, I really had been able to control something major in my life, especially in terms of self-striving. So it humbled me and created a need for me to want to really find God and also in God's sovereignty. He moved us again.

Beth: 9:39

And where we moved, my husband went into some friends that he had had a college who had since become believers, and they invited us to get involved in their Bible study that they were doing. It was on the book of Genesis and it was a very in-depth Bible study. It was K Arthur's ministry, preset ministries, and in that Bible study we were doing it together and we both, on the same day, actually surrendered our lives to Christ and, you know, realized it wasn't about our works or about church attendance, you know, it was about the fact that we are a thinner in need of saving and then realized that we wanted to be in relationship with Jesus. And you know, had been finally walked through the scriptures, what it means to be in relationship and how you enter into relationship with the Lord through his son, jesus, and accepting his sacrifice. And I remember, on the way home from that study, just having a discussion, you know, my husband said, hey, if we really, if we really believe what we prayed, you know we're gonna, we're gonna be all in. Are you okay with that? And I was like yes, and you know we had a discussion about some things in our life that would need to change, since we were going to be all in with Jesus and that really began a journey for us and of walking with the Lord. And then I mentioned that I was better selfish and reluctant. I don't think I wanted to detail. That was making our marriage very difficult, especially when you consider how important respect is to men, and so my negativity with regards to the military, you know, was being communicated as negativity and disrespect towards him.

Beth: 11:33

So, a few months after giving our lives to Christ, we went to a marriage a Christian marriage conference that was a few hours away, hosted by ministry, called family life and they had this Christian marriage conference where it just transformed their marriage. They explained the biblical blueprint for marriage, the roles in marriage, and talked to us about how we need to move towards oneness with one another, center our marriage on Christ, and also understanding the drift to isolation and how we needed to fight that. And we just realized we had been doing it all wrong. And at this conference they told us from the platform on the last day you know you too can take these principles with you and go back home and host small groups and you can share this. And here we are, we're new believers and we've just to us, we've just heard some earth shattering information that you know, we are sure, is going to improve our marriage.

Beth: 12:41

And we knew we had a lot of military couples around us who were also struggling. Right, his marriage is hard and but I think military marriage might be a little bit harder because of all the separations and the moving and the transitions. So we bought some of those guides and we took them home and we started hosting marriage small groups in our home, primarily from military couples. Sometimes you would have some non-military people come and just investing in others marriages and not only we were investing in their marriage, though, but we were going over this biblical concepts for marriage and making deposits into our own marriage too, and so I think right away we began to see, and that if we would do things the Lord's way, you know that he could really do some great things by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Tina: 13:36

So I have a question about your control, because that seems to be a thread throughout many marriages and you know we're reading through our Bible from Genesis to Revelation in a year, and it talked about Eve wanting that control. And it seems to still be a strong factor in a lot of marriages today.

Tina: 14:03

So, when did you find yourself finally relinquishing, and for our audience, because there are some people who were like you know what we're equals here. You know we're equal and I don't like that submission type of thing, I don't want to hear about that. Can you address that a little bit?

Beth: 14:21

Yes, I would love to address that. It's something I'm really passionate about sharing with others. So I would say that at the marriage conference I saw you know for the first time that the man, the husband, was to be the spiritual leader and I realized, wow, I'd really been trying to do that and I think, yes, I definitely had listened to the world's perspective. Right, that wife doesn't submit. Right, there were equals. And I think prior to that conference I had thought of marriages 50-50. And I don't think that now. I think marriage is really 100-100. I think we have to try to out give one another in a Christ-centered marriage. But I would say I realized that the way I had been doing things was wrong and I made some changes. But, if I'm to be honest, it was a journey of learning to let go control and let my husband lead and let the Holy Spirit speak to him and not me. Once we had had children.

Beth: 15:36

I had a study I was working through. It was called Power of a Praying Woman or Praying Life. Yes, praying Life. Stormi O Martin's study. It's quite old now but in that study, in the very beginning of the study, she talks about that we need to not be so concerned with our husband's walk. We just need to focus on our own and even relate it to. I believe it's the first Peter scripture that talks about we are to be a quiet wife and pursue the Lord on our own, and that's the guidance that he gives if your husband's not a believer, but I think it also applies even if he is a believer.

Beth: 16:20

I realized when I was going through this study that I had been nagging my husband so much about wanting asking him to lead us in family devotions, which our children were very small at this time and the Lord very clearly told me in that study, you know, he said I need you to shut up and I don't know that God always says that word to people, but it was to me. It wasn't an audible voice, but that was the way it came through and I kind of said what do you mean, god? And he said you will not stop nagging and he can't hear me because you're so loud. And I said, oh, okay, and he said I just want you to pursue me, worry about you and your walk, and I want you to pray for your husband and I want you to see what I will do. And so I did because it had been very clear again not an audible voice, a strong impression.

Beth: 17:24

And about six months later, you know, my husband began leading us in family devotions and he faithfully walks with the Lord. But I had to learn to get out of the way and let the Lord do that work. And then, you know, there's even been some other things along the way, like I can remember one time when he had sent downtime in between assignments, when we were unpacking household goods that's what we call our household goods and I was trying to homeschool the kids and unpack and he kind of butted his head in. I was just trying to be helpful and that was another area that I had to give up control. He was their dad and is a really smart man, and so he had a conversation. He was very gracious about it. But he said you know, I've led a squadron and I've led a group and I've led, you know, my cadet corps. And he said but I have, you know, and he does get great feedback, that he's always an excellent leader. And he said you know, but I have a hard time leading you. Wow, and it was so true and I think for the most part that really sealed the deal with helping me to see. I just needed to let him lead Right. And I mean that he doesn't value my opinion or come to me and get my input. He certainly does and he really wants to listen to me. He doesn't make decisions without getting my input, but what it means is that you know you have to have some leader.

Beth: 19:23

Several years ago I heard someone speak saying you know, what do you call a creature with two heads? And you know a lot of people might say you would call that a monster. But if we try to have a family with two heads, that's what it is it's a monster. We're just going to be fighting against ourselves. And that that illustration, coupled with my husband saying you know, you're the only person I have trouble meeting really was powerful to constantly remind me you know, just let let go control.

Beth: 20:05

And another thing that God taught me about this, too, is that you know, if he'd divinely orchestrated that I would marry my husband, and I believe once you're married, that is your soulmate.

Beth: 20:15

Once you're married, you know that you're, you're committed, and once you are, if the words made your woman and his major husband, the man, then he is the leader and I there are times when I might not agree with my husband's decision, but I trust the Lord and if I trust the Lord then I will let my husband make the decision, because he is able to orchestrate even a poor decision for our good in his glory.

Beth: 20:56

And so, like I saw that in Sarah and Abraham's life and that was really huge for me to see, I think there were some decisions that Abraham made that if I would have been Sarah I would have been like, huh, that doesn't seem like a really good idea, abraham, and so that's kind of all that together has really helped me to just trust my husband, and I do trust my husband, but ultimately I trust the Lord to work through my husband. And so that means when we have difficult decisions, you know I always tease him and I say, hey, you get paid the big bucks, you get to make the decisions, but it's really a left of a burden, I think, on me. You know that means when there are those hard decisions, he gets my input, but ultimately, you know, I leave it up to him, right.

Tina: 21:45

Right, and I think a lot of women and I'll speak for myself that whole control thing is just, really, it's just can just overtake a marriage. And I and I've told people, if your husband's following the Lord, then that's, that's the connection that needs to happen, right Is, if he's following the Lord, then you, then we, should be following our husbands. And you know we see a lot of marriages where the woman is the, you know, she is the only person that's following the Lord. The husband may not be a believer at the time or a pre believer, and those that's the whole unequally yoke, even when trying to raise children.

Tina: 22:28

I talk into several women right now who, raising their adult children, still are having issues because mom and we know what happens when a mom favors one child yeah, mom favors this child and now is having a hard time disconnecting, mom's trying to appease everybody, and the only person that's really suffering is mom. And so the mom, you know, says I've, my husband said just let me take it over. And you know, and I have to agree, like you do have to let your husband take it over. It's going to be hard for you as a mother to watch what's going to happen, but at this point. It's a disaster, and that's the issues of unequally yoked and not allowing your husband to be the head of the household.

Beth: 23:20

Right. But I mean, I think, ultimately, absent abuse. You know, we stay in the marriage even if we are unequally yoke, but we continue to pray, and I've seen so many women over the years. But their husbands do come to faith. Yes, it just doesn't often happen in their timetable, but we have to be faithful to pray, and I think that's one of our most important roles. Yes, it's to pray for our children and our husband.

Beth: 23:48

I wanted to mention the scripture that I've referred to, because I think it speaks to what you're speaking about too. So it's it's 1 Peter, 3, 1 and 2. Likewise, wives be subject to your husbands, so that, even if some do not obey the word, they may be one without a word by the conduct of their wives when they see your respectful and pure conduct. And so that scripture, coupled with the account of Sarah and Abraham. And then there's another question where it mentions that Sarah oh, there it is, it's in verse 6. And it says and Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. Those put together is kind of what made me see that it was a lot more powerful for me to just pursue the Lord, pray for my husband, but to stop nagging him.

Tina: 24:45

I love it when you said that Jesus kind of just told you to shut up. And you know, sometimes I've really I've not kind of made me giggle a little bit because it's like, yes, absolutely God, we your husband couldn't hear God's voice because all he could hear was my nagging voice, and I really like that. And you know, sometimes that's even true for our own selves. My voice is louder than God's voice and I know what's best for me and I'll make the decisions God hold. I'll just make this easy for you. You move on to somebody else who really needs your help. I'll take care of me and make, and then, before you know what, I'm in a rabbit hole that I can't get myself out of. And I even talk about Sarah, the decisions that she even made not waiting on God to, you know, to be with child and then we see what happened to that and I think that decision that Sarah made has still repercussions today.

Beth: 25:43

Oh yes, and that's a war right now.

Tina: 25:46

Absolutely, and you know I've told people. I said you know a lot of what's going on in the Middle East was a decision that some woman made years ago and at first people were like no, and then we talked to her and it's like well, that might have had a little bit of something to do with it. But that's not what we're here for today, because I want to move on to your accomplishments. You are an accomplished author, podcaster and blogger and I will be sure that this audience will get all that information. But tell me, tell me about those things.

Beth: 26:15

Sure, so I didn't really like have a grand dream to write a book. I don't think I've mentioned to you that I also started leading women's Bible study in my home as we moved about. So we started hosting small group in our home for couples and then I started leading marriage I mean women's Bible studies in my home, and so I just became passionate about the Word of God and knew I just wanted to engage in scripture with other women and I also knew that there was just a lot of people around me that were hurting and I was like I just want to share with you what has helped me so much. And it also created instant community for me because I started to learn that I didn't want to have six months of being lonely before I made connections. So kind of a term that we use in the military is like boots on the ground. So boots on the ground. I'd be starting women's Bible study in a couple small group study and over the years I've done many, many Bible study works books with women and I have learned some incredible things. I think there's some amazingly well-get-did Bible teachers out there providing excellent content for women, but one of the things that I saw consistently is that we could take a lesson by a Bible teacher and make some really good applications to our lives as military spouses, but there was very little content, and especially very little good content specifically written for the military life, which is unique, I think. They're actually a people group. We have our own language, we have our own culture and we certainly don't do things like normal people. We are normal, but we just have to do it a little bit differently. And so once I started working in full-time ministry, we had to do some theological training, and I learned that I really enjoyed the theological training. I think I've always been a nerd. It's just now it's being used for something for the Lord's glory.

Beth: 28:39

So I started seminary and I love to dig into the scriptures, and one of the things I'm really passionate about studying is the cultural contextualization of the period and how much understanding their culture can add to little mentions of things in the scriptures that don't really mean that much to us, and it really just makes the scriptures come alive. And so I was actually asked to write a proposal for a project for a series of books. They went into release for military families and the proposal I wrote got lost and so it didn't work with that project. But then I had this proposal that I had spent a lot of time sweating here again and so I, coercily and a little bit reluctantly, decided to take it to a writer's conference, just because I didn't want to make it all about me. I really genuinely just want to glorify and magnify the Lord, but I really felt that the Lord telling me I need you to do this. So I did. I took it to your Writers' Conference and I was able to get agent, and then he was able to get me a contract with B&H Publishing Group, which is tradeways or, excuse me, lifeways Tradebook Division.

Beth: 30:13

So it's a Bible study written for military spouses, written in like a book form, like it's not like a workbook that you fill in blanks, but it is Looking at the Life of Sarah and Abraham, which is the scripture that I was in when I got saved Genesis 12 through 22, and it takes you through the life of Sarah and Abraham and explains all the parallels that I see in their life to a military life and then just gives you encouragement and wisdom from the word of God. So my focus each day is this is the word and this is what it says, with a little bit of contextualization to the military life and just briefly, some of the parallels. The first and most obvious one to me is when Sarah and Abraham were told by the Lord to go to a land that he would show them. That is what we in the military call a permanent change of station, pcs, and I did that 14 times with my husband.

Tina: 31:22

It doesn't sound so permanent, though did it. I'm sorry it didn't sound so permanent at 14 times.

Beth: 31:32

Well, I actually think that Sarah and Abraham probably moved a little bit more Cause, if you look at the scriptures, they were going to Egypt and to Bethlehem, back to Egypt and back over by the Oaks at Worm. So they were moving too. The only the difference is, I actually think it was harder for them, cause I at least had moving bands and movers, they had their camels and their donkeys and I mean they had some servants to help them, but it was pretty hard and I believe Sarah was also creating community as they moved around. These were the very first Yahweh followers and I believe they were making an impact as they moved around, you know, to draw people in, to be followers of, you know, the one and only true God.

Beth: 32:18

And another parallel I saw in their life was Abraham went off to fight in combat, I believe. You know he took his 318 trained men and went off to rescue his nephew Locke from the Four Kings and all their armies. That was combat deployment and what battle was like for them. It was hand to hand, like brutal combat, and you know, sarah was waiting back in the tent while he was off fighting.

Beth: 32:45

And there's other parallels that I saw, and these I saw, you know, actually when I was originally studying it, it struck me how similar Sarah's life was to mine and it made me feel very seen by the Lord because I was like Lord, how could you ordain the very first Bible study that I've ever done?

Beth: 33:11

You know, I never even read the Bible before and you know it's a woman that I see myself in, and so it just made me say, lord, you see me, you see my struggles and you care, and not only the parallels with the military life. But you know Sarah was going through impotility and so was I. So the book is really focused on Sarah and Abraham, but it does give every day a little bit of my story at times, or just other people that I've known in the military and their stories and how I can relate the scripture in the lesson that we have from the word of God to the military life, and it really just seeks to encourage them to trust in the Lord who is sovereign and in control of all of the chaos and uncertainty of their life, and he can be trusted.

Tina: 34:09

So what's the name of the book that you have?

Beth: 34:12

written. The name of the book is called Another Move God 30 Encouragements for Embracing your Life as a Military Life, and it is in process of being published. B&h will release it in October of this year.

Tina: 34:27

Oh, wow, okay.

Beth: 34:29

But if people are interested to get the book, I do have a waiting list on my website that people can go and just join and then I'll send them a notification when the pre-orders are available on Amoban and Lifeline Christian Book and all those things.

Tina: 34:45

So you do have a website that you're going to provide for us. Do you have a current podcast?

Beth: 34:52

No, I don't. I'm just guessing on people's podcasts. At this point I'm still in prayer over whether or not that is something that I should do in the future. Right now I'm just guessing, just trying to share with more people what the experiences that the military family are like.

Tina: 35:13

Okay, so what you'll do is I would like for you to send me that information, because to my listeners I'll make sure that we get that posted, because even if somebody is not in the military, I think this still can be applicable to people, not necessarily even in the military.

Beth: 35:30

Yeah, and I would say it has lessons for all lives, Because all the lessons that the Lord had to teach are relevant to any marriage and we certainly all have circumstances that are not in our control that this book can speak to. And I would say, if you love the Old Testament, especially cultural contextualization I did a lot of research so I think it would add, if you especially enjoy studying the Old Testament, it would add to your understanding of what happened with Siren Abraham, which you know they are the biggest father of the faith. You know it all goes back to them.

Tina: 36:10

And that's why it's so important to read the Old Testament. I know many people are like oh I, you know, I just read the New Testament. We cannot just read the Old New Testament without understanding the Old Testament and as well, and I believe Jesus is all over the scripture. Absolutely Well, he was right there.

Tina: 36:29

It was always all about her Absolutely, and so that's that's what I tell people. You will understand the New Testament better once you really get through the Old Testament as well, and so you know it's not two great big sections, it's one great big book.

Tina: 36:49

And that's right, with 66 chapters or books, however you want to refer to it, but it's so important, and I love reading the Old Testament. I at first I was like I don't get this, but now I don't read my Bible anymore. I study, and I think that's just a phase of my life, though, and I believe that would probably be true for you. There are people that read, and that's absolutely wonderful. There will become a point in your life. I believe that you'll want to study, and that's where I personally am now at studying, and I love it. You can't get enough of it. At least I can no.

Beth: 37:26

And I feel like the more you study, the more you realize Exactly, this is the living and active Word of God. Exactly, yes, no other documents like this. You know and you can, I don't it. It you cannot out study the Bible. There's always new treasure to be found. Exactly Always. No matter how many times you've read or studied a verse of scripture, there's always new treasure to be found.

Tina: 37:50

And as a retired professor, as a teacher, I always said to my students the teacher is always the best student and you probably have learned that when you're teaching others, you learn even more.

Beth: 38:06

Oh yeah, you learn so much more because you have to know it really well to turn around and teach it Exactly.

Tina: 38:12

So I think, Beth, you, you, you've been so interesting and I thank you for your time. Is there anything that you would like for the audience to hear that we did not get a chance to mention?

Beth: 38:26

I think, just for your listeners that maybe aren't military, I just want to encourage you, you know, think about those that you know that are military. You know, maybe you have a niece or a nephew or a cousin or a grandchild, you know, and think about the book for them. But also, you know, how can you better understand their life and the challenges they face. I really am passionate about ministering to the military because I believe it's a pathway to the gospel. You know they are living often on the spouse that is at home, you know, is juggling everything by themselves. They're lonely. You know, just thinking about just the holidays here, right when your husband's deployed. Who's going to put up and take down your Christmas life in your tree? You know, who's going to help watch the kids when you need to go Christmas shop for them, and they're also always away from their family. So I just wanted to ask your listeners, you know, to just to have eyes to see those around them. Maybe it's a neighbor. I mean something as simple as a little gift card, you know, for a cup of coffee and a note. Just hey, I was thinking of you. If you gave that to a military spouse that is alone and her husband's deployed.

Beth: 39:46

You have no idea how much that would mean, and I believe they desperately need to hear the gospel, and so, by showing them the love of Christ, I believe we can be evangelical, you know, and invite them to join us for church or have spiritual conversations with them, because they really need to believe it. And the ministry I work for our founder's motto about our ministry was that a man or woman serving in uniform and subject to enemy lines deserves the first priority to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ at this time, and that's something I'm really passionate about too. I mean, I think it's pretty likely that our nation will be at war, you know, in the next five to 10 years, and so they desperately need to hear this good news, and your listeners could be the person who could take that good news to them. I mean, it is dramatically changed my life for the good and I'm just so thankful that I found the Lord and that, you know, I had people to invite me to Bible study.

Tina: 40:56

You know, to our listening audience. I want to thank you so much for being here today. I find Beth to be a very special guest because it has opened my eyes as well, so that when I watch the news and when I see those who are fighting for this country, we also had to think about those who are. I don't like the word left behind. Words left behind, but you kind of are left behind at home and, you know, raising your family on your own.

Tina: 41:22

So I think that advice that you had just given us should resonate with my audience, that if you know of somebody, even if you don't know them personally, I don't think that matters. I think just a little gift of thank you will make a big difference in somebody's life. So, to my audience, thank you so much for being here today. I will make sure I will get all the information to you so that you can get on to her website, be able to get your name on that list for the book that will come out in October, and I thank you so much for being here today. Beth, thank you so much.

Beth: 41:59

Oh, thank you, Tina. It's been a pleasure to be with you and I just want to say my spelling in my last name. If you want to go to my website, bethrunkelcom, are you in KLE? Thanks so much for the opportunity, tina, and thanks to your listeners.