Jen Telles is a candidate for the Vista Unified School Board. A business owner with two children in Vista schools, she is working for change in our schools. Listen to her story as she explains why she is running and how the race is run.
[00:00:00] Welcome to Season 5 of The Basics of Life Conversations with Rob Salvato
[00:00:25] Today on our program we're continuing Season 6 of our conversation, Normal People Being Used to Make a Difference.
[00:00:33] And my guest today is Jen Tellus.
[00:00:36] Jen is a mother of two who is running for the Vista Unified School District.
[00:00:41] And I couldn't be more excited to talk to her because if we are really going to respond to the admonition that Jesus has given us to be salt and light and impact our culture,
[00:00:53] we as believers have got to step out of our comfort zones so that we can be seen and allow the Lord to use us to permeate our spheres of influence in our culture.
[00:01:06] Jen is a normal mother who is seeking to do just that, and I think that you'll be blessed and inspired today by her heart.
[00:01:14] So now here is my conversation with Jen Tellus.
[00:01:18] Well welcome to the conversation, Jen. It's great to have you here in studio.
[00:01:22] Awesome. It's great to be here. Thanks for having me.
[00:01:24] Yeah, so you are getting ready to run for school board in Vista?
[00:01:28] Yes I am. It's a big task.
[00:01:30] Yeah, that's great. It's a big step.
[00:01:33] So I'd love to just begin by having you tell us about yourself, maybe tell us your story.
[00:01:39] I think people would probably love to know your background and where you've come from and just kind of how God has shaped you at this moment in your life.
[00:01:47] So why don't you share a little bit with us?
[00:01:49] Yeah, I'd love to. So I actually grew up in Oregon in a small town there and my dad was a police officer and my mom was a homemaker.
[00:01:57] Later my dad went into ministry actually and so he had been a pastor for about 41 years actually.
[00:02:03] What church there?
[00:02:04] Quite a while. Harvest Baptist Temple in Medford, Oregon.
[00:02:06] All right.
[00:02:07] And it's still there today. He's retired but…
[00:02:09] My wife's from the Grants Pass area.
[00:02:11] Oh no way! Okay, yep. I don't know where that is.
[00:02:15] So I grew up there and obviously came down to California for school.
[00:02:20] And then when I graduated from high school, came down here for college and I never left.
[00:02:25] I love California. It's a completely different pace of life for sure.
[00:02:29] Yeah, big time.
[00:02:30] And I enjoy it but yeah, I've been here ever since and eventually after moving around a little bit,
[00:02:36] I settled into Oceanside, California.
[00:02:38] And I had a job here at one of our local churches and then that's actually where I met my husband.
[00:02:43] Oh good, all right.
[00:02:45] But yeah, I started out as a secretary working at the church that my husband currently works at.
[00:02:54] And then after we got married we had two kids and then I've been home with them also having my own side business
[00:03:01] for accounting and finance and I've been working in that for quite some time.
[00:03:06] And as my kids have gotten older and then of course started to get into school age,
[00:03:11] you know school is a very important choice for parents.
[00:03:14] We're always thinking about making sure we have the best for our kids.
[00:03:18] And we ended up going into the Vista Unified School District
[00:03:23] and my daughter's in fourth grade currently but she started there in first grade
[00:03:27] and then my son is in kindergarten and he just started this year.
[00:03:31] Oh wow, so you got some youngins.
[00:03:33] Yeah, they are very little and I feel like this is the perfect season of life
[00:03:38] to start getting involved in their education in this way
[00:03:40] because I feel like I can make a really big impact for them for the long term going forward.
[00:03:45] Okay, cool.
[00:03:46] Well hey let's talk about your faith in Christ.
[00:03:50] How did you become a Christian?
[00:03:52] Well like I mentioned my dad was in ministry and a pastor of a church for quite some time
[00:03:56] so I had the benefit of having a Christian childhood and upbringing
[00:04:00] and I am so thankful for that.
[00:04:03] Every day as I'm a parent myself now
[00:04:06] and I see the different struggles that kids go through
[00:04:08] I realize what a gift that was and so I'm thankful for that.
[00:04:11] I became a Christian at the age of 13 actually
[00:04:15] and I think it was something that I always knew
[00:04:19] that my parents of course would want me to follow Christ in that way
[00:04:22] and I think for me I always knew that I wanted to do that
[00:04:27] I wanted it to be personal to me.
[00:04:29] I didn't want it to be a decision that I was making simply
[00:04:31] because I grew up in a Christian home or had a dad that was a pastor
[00:04:35] and so I kind of struggled with that a little bit for a while
[00:04:38] but finally at the age of 13 I realized
[00:04:40] now this is something that I really want for myself
[00:04:43] and I want to choose to follow Christ with my life
[00:04:45] and so that's when I got saved and then shortly after baptized.
[00:04:49] Alright, and did you continue to walk strong with the Lord from that point on?
[00:04:54] I did. I had a slight bent towards country music when I was a teenager
[00:04:58] other than that though, pretty clean living.
[00:05:03] No, I went on to Bible college actually
[00:05:06] and in Southern California for your college there
[00:05:10] and got my degree and then after that
[00:05:12] it's kind of how I ended up in Oceanside
[00:05:15] is my grandparents actually lived over in the Palm Springs area
[00:05:21] and so after college I went that direction to kind of be closer to them
[00:05:25] but also took a job there working as a secretary
[00:05:28] and I was there for a couple years
[00:05:30] and then I just realized that I kind of wanted to be a little bit closer
[00:05:33] to maybe more friends and family
[00:05:36] my grandparents were bilocational
[00:05:38] so they would actually come to this area for half of the year as well
[00:05:41] so then I started to get to know the church that I ultimately worked at
[00:05:45] which was Coastline and decided to make the jump to move over here
[00:05:49] and then worked there like I said for several years.
[00:05:52] Alright, yeah.
[00:05:54] And now you're wanting to go into this realm of being on the school board
[00:06:00] of this unified school district. What was your motivation in that?
[00:06:03] Well, to be honest I'm just a surprise myself.
[00:06:07] I have never had any political aspirations
[00:06:10] and to my own chagrin
[00:06:13] I probably haven't even been that connected in politics as an adult
[00:06:16] as I should have been.
[00:06:18] But a lot of things started to happen during COVID
[00:06:21] and I know that there's a lot of different thoughts about
[00:06:24] all the things that were done and how they were handled
[00:06:27] but mostly my focus on that would be how it was handled through the school district
[00:06:31] and of course there was just a lot of learning loss that happened
[00:06:35] of course we know that all kinds of terrible statistics increased
[00:06:39] during that time like suicides and self-harm and domestic violence
[00:06:42] there was just a lot going on
[00:06:44] so as a parent I really became concerned that the schools just needed to get open
[00:06:49] and we needed to get the kids back learning
[00:06:51] and so I began to get involved in that way I guess
[00:06:53] that's one of the silver linings of COVID right?
[00:06:55] A lot of us parents began to wake up
[00:06:57] and so we were attending school board meetings
[00:07:00] we were emailing the superintendent and the trustees
[00:07:02] and I just started to understand the frustration that other parents
[00:07:05] and even taxpayers were having that you didn't really feel heard
[00:07:09] you know you go to the effort of being there
[00:07:11] emailing or trying to speak up
[00:07:13] and it just felt like everybody's just kind of being held at arm's length
[00:07:16] and you know fine you can make your public comment
[00:07:18] but beyond that it's not going to go anywhere
[00:07:20] and so parents began to really rally
[00:07:22] and I feel like we began to build a really good base of people
[00:07:25] who just felt the same way we did strongly about a lot of these things
[00:07:29] so what really began to pique my interest at that point was
[00:07:33] I'm thankful that a lot of the COVID stuff is behind us
[00:07:36] but what I learned from that experience was that
[00:07:38] as parents we should all be as involved as we can
[00:07:42] in our children's education
[00:07:44] and I say that specifically that way to say that
[00:07:47] I understand everyone has different circumstances
[00:07:49] everyone's in different seasons of life
[00:07:51] and so I would never impose on someone
[00:07:53] hey you should be involved in this way
[00:07:55] or you should be involved in that way
[00:07:56] we all have to kind of take our own personal inventory
[00:07:58] and just be sure that we're doing the most we can do
[00:08:00] but that being said when I took that personal inventory for myself
[00:08:04] I realized that if I was going to make a difference for my kids
[00:08:08] and the kids going through the district
[00:08:10] that one way that I could have my voice heard
[00:08:12] was to be on the school board
[00:08:14] and I realized that would have a much greater impact
[00:08:20] in the short term and the long term
[00:08:22] than just continuing to go to school board meetings
[00:08:24] continuing to email the administration
[00:08:26] and so for about a couple of months
[00:08:29] the thought would pop into my head
[00:08:31] and I'd say oh no I can't do that
[00:08:33] that's not me you know I don't have any political aspirations
[00:08:36] I never would have thought in a million years
[00:08:38] I'd run for any type of elected office
[00:08:40] but I really believe God just kept working in my heart
[00:08:43] and it would kind of keep coming up
[00:08:46] and then I'd shove it back down
[00:08:48] and then finally one day I just kind of said it out loud
[00:08:51] to my husband because I thought you know what
[00:08:53] I mean if we were going to do this
[00:08:55] if he was not on board of course there would be no way
[00:08:58] and I said you know the seat in our area
[00:09:01] for the school board is up for reelection
[00:09:03] and I said I think I want to run for it
[00:09:05] and he just I mean his jaw dropped
[00:09:08] and he said that would be amazing
[00:09:10] and I knew right there okay
[00:09:12] alright this is something we can consider
[00:09:14] and we were we are careful to really think through everything
[00:09:17] because it's not something you can enter into lightly
[00:09:19] I mean it's something we've never done before
[00:09:22] but it's also a full campaign
[00:09:24] and you really have to learn a lot
[00:09:26] we've been building the plane while we're flying it
[00:09:28] in a lot of ways but I feel like
[00:09:30] God has just step by step kind of confirmed over and over again
[00:09:33] that this is something he wants us to do
[00:09:35] and that he's going to continue to provide for us
[00:09:38] every step of the way the right people
[00:09:40] that we need at the right times always happen to be there
[00:09:43] you know and are there to kind of guide us
[00:09:45] and give us answers and so all that to say
[00:09:48] that's kind of how I got that's how I kind of got to where I am
[00:09:51] but I would if there was anything I could pass on
[00:09:54] you know to a parent or even a voter that's listening
[00:09:57] I would say you know please
[00:10:00] consider joining the effort
[00:10:02] because I realize that even you know this is something
[00:10:04] that I personally would like to do
[00:10:06] that the more parents or the more voters
[00:10:08] who feel the same way
[00:10:10] if they had the capacity to serve in that way
[00:10:12] would also step up I think we could just
[00:10:14] really get some good momentum going so
[00:10:16] yeah it's good
[00:10:17] you know I often say this that
[00:10:20] when we get a burden
[00:10:22] that is from the Lord
[00:10:24] one of the ways that we know it's from the Lord
[00:10:26] is that it doesn't go away
[00:10:28] yeah you know and we push it down
[00:10:30] or we set it aside
[00:10:32] and it just keeps coming back
[00:10:34] and it sounds like that's what you know happened with you
[00:10:37] and you know Jesus told us that we were
[00:10:40] that we as the church we as believers are to be salt
[00:10:43] and light in the world
[00:10:45] and you know light has to be seen
[00:10:47] yeah and salt what's interesting about salt
[00:10:50] is that in that culture it was used as a medicinal element
[00:10:54] it was used they put on open wounds
[00:10:57] it was used as a flavor enhancing
[00:11:00] like we use it today element
[00:11:02] it was used as a preserving element
[00:11:04] they actually packed their meat in it
[00:11:06] yeah and so when Jesus is saying
[00:11:09] you know you guys are to be the salt of the earth
[00:11:12] he's saying I want you to be the healing element
[00:11:14] the preserving element the flavor enhancing element
[00:11:17] yeah in your culture and in your society
[00:11:20] and the only way that salt can be effective
[00:11:23] is it's got to get out of the salt shaker
[00:11:26] yeah and that's what you're doing
[00:11:28] you know you're getting yourself out of the salt shaker
[00:11:31] by running for this position
[00:11:34] and I think we need a lot more Christians
[00:11:37] on school boards and in city councils
[00:11:40] and that type of thing because
[00:11:43] that's how we permeate our culture
[00:11:45] it's one of the ways that we permeate our culture
[00:11:48] yeah definitely
[00:11:50] and get our voice heard
[00:11:52] what would be some of the things that if you end up winning this seat
[00:11:54] that you would hope to accomplish
[00:11:56] well I think for starters I just really want
[00:11:58] voters and taxpayers and parents
[00:12:00] to feel like there is someone on the board
[00:12:02] who's representing them
[00:12:04] who's approachable
[00:12:06] who wants to hear their concerns
[00:12:08] and bring them to the board
[00:12:10] so that's a huge part of it
[00:12:12] I also feel like
[00:12:14] there are a lot of educators
[00:12:16] who are currently on the board
[00:12:18] but I think it's time to have some parents
[00:12:20] on the board to balance it out a little
[00:12:22] and also just someone
[00:12:24] who is really looking for
[00:12:26] the students' best interest first
[00:12:28] and putting them kind of in the center
[00:12:30] of every decision that is made
[00:12:32] regardless of the other opinions
[00:12:34] the other pressures, the other political agendas
[00:12:36] solely just thinking about the students
[00:12:38] and what's best for them
[00:12:40] that would be a huge part of it
[00:12:42] so secondly I mentioned
[00:12:44] the business owners so my husband and I have an accounting
[00:12:46] and finance business
[00:12:48] and I've been working in that field for over 15 years
[00:12:50] one of the items
[00:12:52] that touches every part of the district
[00:12:54] is the budget and it's also one of the items
[00:12:56] that has probably the most controversy
[00:12:58] all of the time
[00:13:00] of course there's a lot of talk about teachers
[00:13:02] and their pay
[00:13:04] and then there's talk about students not having the resources they need
[00:13:06] and transportation to games
[00:13:08] and school resource
[00:13:10] officers, there's all kinds of areas
[00:13:12] within the budget that
[00:13:14] people come on a regular basis to talk about
[00:13:16] at school board meetings
[00:13:18] I'd like to really get in there
[00:13:20] and re-examine the budget
[00:13:22] and kind of see where exactly
[00:13:24] is all of the money going
[00:13:26] it's almost a $300 million
[00:13:28] annual budget
[00:13:30] that's run like a business
[00:13:32] and yet sometimes it doesn't seem like
[00:13:34] it's really approached that way
[00:13:36] they educate
[00:13:38] almost 20,000 students every year
[00:13:40] and they employ over 2400
[00:13:42] teachers, staff, lunch workers
[00:13:44] I mean you're talking
[00:13:46] administrative staff, maintenance
[00:13:48] all of those people, the budget touches
[00:13:50] every parts of those areas
[00:13:52] and so I really think
[00:13:54] someone with a business mindset
[00:13:56] but a conservative mindset
[00:13:58] could get in there and not only look at that budget
[00:14:00] rework it a little but also
[00:14:02] kind of hold it accountable
[00:14:04] to make sure that the funds
[00:14:06] that are supposed to be spent
[00:14:08] that they're intended are actually being spent that way
[00:14:10] that's great
[00:14:12] I love that
[00:14:14] when you look at the school district
[00:14:16] and the various
[00:14:18] schools
[00:14:20] and ages
[00:14:22] of the students
[00:14:24] do you have a sense at all
[00:14:26] where the
[00:14:28] biggest needs are
[00:14:30] and the biggest challenges
[00:14:32] from elementary to middle school to high school
[00:14:34] what are your thoughts on that
[00:14:36] well I'd say the biggest
[00:14:38] challenge that most parents
[00:14:40] and even really I hear everybody talk about
[00:14:42] administrators too is student achievement
[00:14:44] there's just such
[00:14:46] a learning loss from COVID but even prior to
[00:14:48] COVID we have some of the lowest test scores
[00:14:50] in the nation
[00:14:52] so there's a huge
[00:14:54] there's a huge concern
[00:14:56] there with graduation rates
[00:14:58] and what are we doing for kids
[00:15:00] that need special ed and how are we helping them to progress
[00:15:02] and how are we making sure
[00:15:04] that our students feel safe on campuses
[00:15:06] so there's a lot of areas that need
[00:15:08] to change I believe in order to help that student
[00:15:10] achievement come up
[00:15:12] but I think that the first thing is safety
[00:15:14] because you can't learn if you don't feel safe
[00:15:16] and it is
[00:15:18] saddening to think this but there have been several
[00:15:20] incidents recently in VISTA schools
[00:15:22] where
[00:15:24] having a school resource officer on campus could have
[00:15:26] made the difference in making kids feel safe
[00:15:28] or in this
[00:15:30] case not feel safe and I
[00:15:32] was at a board meeting after
[00:15:34] RBV just had a scare probably a month
[00:15:36] ago and I listened to the testimonies of the students
[00:15:38] that were there and they were traumatized
[00:15:40] they'll never forget that and there was no school
[00:15:42] resource officer no any type of
[00:15:44] front line defense they were just
[00:15:46] sitting there waiting in their minds
[00:15:48] like you know sitting ducks and
[00:15:50] so that's sad to me so
[00:15:52] I know there's also situations in the high schools and middle schools where kids are afraid to use the bathrooms because
[00:15:56] the gangs have taken them over
[00:15:58] and so
[00:16:00] one thing for any child to get a good education is to feel safe so
[00:16:02] that would be something I would
[00:16:04] advocate for is to bring the school resource
[00:16:06] officers back
[00:16:08] they were cut several years ago
[00:16:10] in a three to two vote to save money
[00:16:12] so that's a huge thing
[00:16:14] getting them to feel safe but beyond
[00:16:16] that the actual education in the classroom
[00:16:18] right now there's not enough money being funneled
[00:16:20] directly to the classroom a lot of it gets cut
[00:16:22] up in other ways and
[00:16:24] that's one of the things I'd like to dive into
[00:16:26] with the budget to see how can we be funneling
[00:16:28] more directly to the classrooms
[00:16:30] but then also
[00:16:32] we really got to work hard
[00:16:34] to make sure that we're getting back to the basics
[00:16:36] we're getting
[00:16:38] very convoluted in our
[00:16:40] district and our curriculum in general
[00:16:42] we're spreading ourselves so thin with everything we're trying to
[00:16:44] accomplish that we're not really accomplishing anything
[00:16:46] and it's showing in our test course
[00:16:48] so getting our kids back to the basics
[00:16:50] of reading, writing, math
[00:16:52] basic civics, personal finance
[00:16:54] and really pushing those things
[00:16:56] and then even excelling in those areas
[00:16:58] in order to get those
[00:17:00] test scores up
[00:17:02] now let me ask you this question
[00:17:04] so you're a follower of Christ
[00:17:06] how is that going to
[00:17:08] your faith
[00:17:10] and your connection to God's word
[00:17:12] what part is that going to play
[00:17:14] if you get elected
[00:17:16] what part is that going to play
[00:17:18] being on the school board
[00:17:20] well obviously being a Christian that's going to affect my viewpoint
[00:17:22] and things and the way that I
[00:17:24] would approach my entire attitude with the district
[00:17:26] but
[00:17:28] at the end of the day our morals
[00:17:30] come from God
[00:17:32] our guiding principles come from God
[00:17:34] and so I wouldn't shy away about that
[00:17:36] but I would do my best to
[00:17:38] bring a professional mindset to the board
[00:17:40] but I also can't deny the fact that
[00:17:42] I'm a follower of Christ that's going to influence my thinking
[00:17:44] in those ways
[00:17:46] there's a lot to
[00:17:48] work on in the district it's almost like
[00:17:50] just dive in wherever you want and get started
[00:17:52] so
[00:17:54] I'm going to start in those ways with
[00:17:56] getting parents voices heard
[00:17:58] and I think a lot of the ways that they
[00:18:00] are speaking out right now is the curriculum
[00:18:02] sex ed is a huge
[00:18:04] issue in the district and so that would be
[00:18:06] one place where I believe my Christian values
[00:18:08] would really start to have an impact hopefully right away
[00:18:10] that's great that's awesome
[00:18:12] well Jen anything else you'd want us to know
[00:18:14] about you or
[00:18:16] kind of why you're doing this
[00:18:18] or what's on your heart anything you'd want our listeners
[00:18:20] to know
[00:18:22] man I guess I would probably just
[00:18:24] try to communicate a couple of things I would say
[00:18:26] number one just
[00:18:28] don't be like me you know don't
[00:18:30] don't think that it's not important
[00:18:32] it took COVID and everything happening
[00:18:34] within that for me to kind of wake up as a parent
[00:18:36] I wish that I would have been more proactive
[00:18:38] prior to that
[00:18:40] but realize that local politics
[00:18:42] matter because the way that our constitution
[00:18:44] is built it's meant to be
[00:18:46] from local politics up and if you care about
[00:18:48] what's happening locally in your community you're going to naturally
[00:18:50] care about the things happening at a state
[00:18:52] national level but being
[00:18:54] involved in as much as you can
[00:18:56] you know in local politics now not everybody can
[00:18:58] run right so that's that's not what
[00:19:00] I'm advocating for but if you can by all means
[00:19:02] please consider it come help me
[00:19:04] but also just
[00:19:06] to think about ways that you can be involved so you
[00:19:08] can advocate for you know conservative
[00:19:10] values you can advocate for conservative candidates
[00:19:12] help them walk neighborhoods you know
[00:19:14] be a support to them while they're in office
[00:19:16] and then of course you can donate as well
[00:19:18] even if you're not you know a lot of
[00:19:20] Christians I think sometimes shy away from politics
[00:19:22] and I understand that
[00:19:24] what I was going to say was that I kind of
[00:19:26] through this have come to realize
[00:19:28] that politics matter because they affect the policies
[00:19:30] and
[00:19:32] policies matter because they affect the people
[00:19:34] and then in this case these people are kids
[00:19:36] and so you know if you
[00:19:38] have your own students in the
[00:19:40] district of course you're going to be motivated to care about
[00:19:42] the policies that are being put in place
[00:19:44] that's going to impact not only their education
[00:19:46] they're getting now but long term if you think about it
[00:19:48] whether you have kids in the district
[00:19:50] or not the kids that are going
[00:19:52] through the school district are going to
[00:19:54] eventually become the society that your kids
[00:19:56] live in yeah they're going to be your kids bosses
[00:19:58] coworkers community members
[00:20:00] what kind of society do you want your kids
[00:20:02] to live in and also your
[00:20:04] grandkids I mean you really I mean when
[00:20:06] people say children are their future
[00:20:08] they're not you know it's not just a cliche it's very
[00:20:10] true and so
[00:20:12] a lot of the motivation for me in doing this is short
[00:20:14] term because I want to affect things in the
[00:20:16] district now but I'm also thinking about
[00:20:18] what kind of world are my kids to live in
[00:20:20] and you know I know the Bible
[00:20:22] says that times are going to get worse
[00:20:24] but I want to be able to look
[00:20:26] back as a parent and say that I did my best
[00:20:28] to pass on the best world possible
[00:20:30] for my children to live in
[00:20:32] and then of course in the meantime I'm going to be teaching
[00:20:34] them as individuals you know how
[00:20:36] to navigate this very complicated
[00:20:38] world that we do live in and hopefully
[00:20:40] as adults to be successful navigating that
[00:20:42] as well I love that and I think
[00:20:44] that's so key you hit on such a huge
[00:20:46] thing right there because
[00:20:48] we have to realize
[00:20:50] and see the bigger
[00:20:52] picture of the long game
[00:20:54] yeah you know in this and too often
[00:20:56] I think we have a tendency
[00:20:58] we want to jump in to
[00:21:00] something and you know changing
[00:21:02] policy and changing things like
[00:21:04] that it's
[00:21:06] it's not the type of thing that happens
[00:21:08] overnight no you know
[00:21:10] and so the fact that
[00:21:12] you're looking at it from that standpoint
[00:21:14] just really really blesses
[00:21:16] my heart because I think that's the way that we have
[00:21:18] to see this and
[00:21:20] you know I mean
[00:21:22] I believe that Jesus is
[00:21:24] you know coming back one day and
[00:21:26] I believe that with all my heart
[00:21:28] but
[00:21:30] we don't know when that's going to be
[00:21:32] and so we need to be
[00:21:34] doing our part you know my
[00:21:36] dad when I was in
[00:21:38] you know high school he said
[00:21:40] you won't graduate from high school
[00:21:42] Jesus is going to come back before that
[00:21:44] I remember that that was a long time
[00:21:46] ago let me just say that
[00:21:48] and so we don't
[00:21:50] know how long the Lord's going to tarry
[00:21:52] but he's got us here for
[00:21:54] a reason and I like to say this
[00:21:56] that you know if
[00:21:58] we are living
[00:22:00] in what the Bible calls
[00:22:02] the latter days and
[00:22:04] you know it sure seems that way
[00:22:06] you know the way things are being set up
[00:22:08] all around the world then
[00:22:10] that would mean that
[00:22:12] we are the last
[00:22:14] generation of people
[00:22:16] that the Lord has chosen
[00:22:18] to have here on planet earth
[00:22:20] for such a time as this
[00:22:22] and I think that
[00:22:24] if we grasp that
[00:22:26] and grab ahold of that that's
[00:22:28] such an exciting way
[00:22:30] to live to realize God
[00:22:32] has chosen us
[00:22:34] to be here for this
[00:22:36] particular time in season
[00:22:38] these particular challenges
[00:22:40] and obstacles
[00:22:42] and he wants us to
[00:22:44] you know be in the fight
[00:22:46] I told our church a while back
[00:22:48] where you know it just seemed
[00:22:50] like you know last year
[00:22:52] there was a lot of people
[00:22:54] wanting to vacate
[00:22:56] the state you know moving
[00:22:58] to Texas or Florida
[00:23:00] I know I've heard it
[00:23:02] I gotta get out of here you know type of thing
[00:23:04] and I know some people that did that
[00:23:06] and I know you know those people
[00:23:08] that I know really prayed about that
[00:23:10] decision and I don't fault them
[00:23:12] in that at all
[00:23:14] if that's you know truly how the Lord
[00:23:16] was leading them I'm all for that
[00:23:18] but I told our church I said you know
[00:23:20] I know some people are moving away
[00:23:22] but the rest of us
[00:23:24] God has called us to stay
[00:23:26] here and fight
[00:23:28] and that's why we're here you know so I
[00:23:30] totally applaud
[00:23:32] what you are seeking to do
[00:23:34] and I love what you said
[00:23:36] in that
[00:23:38] you know
[00:23:40] I'm trying to remember exactly the way that you said it
[00:23:42] but it was the idea that
[00:23:44] policies
[00:23:46] need changing
[00:23:48] because policies
[00:23:50] impact people
[00:23:52] and those people are our kids
[00:23:54] that is worth its weight
[00:23:56] in gold and I hope everybody
[00:23:58] that is listening
[00:24:00] that just sticks in their minds that
[00:24:02] you know policies need changing
[00:24:04] because they affect people and those people
[00:24:06] are our kids and then you took it once
[00:24:08] that further to say
[00:24:10] and you know those kids
[00:24:12] are going to become
[00:24:14] bosses and leaders
[00:24:16] so if we get a hold of them
[00:24:18] now
[00:24:20] that can make a huge difference
[00:24:22] should the Lord tarry
[00:24:24] so God bless you
[00:24:26] thank you well thank you I appreciate it
[00:24:28] and I appreciate your sentiments like you said
[00:24:30] what a time to be alive when God has
[00:24:32] strategically placed us where we can
[00:24:34] get actively involved in the fight
[00:24:36] and really hopefully make a difference for him
[00:24:38] so I appreciate that
[00:24:40] amen Jen great having this conversation with you
[00:24:42] thank you so much Pastor Rod
[00:24:44] we'll be praying that the Lord gets you
[00:24:46] in that seat
[00:24:48] thank you please do
[00:24:54] thank you
[00:24:56] thank you for listening to season
[00:24:58] 5 of the basics of live conversations
[00:25:00] with Rob Salvatto
[00:25:02] this season is all about
[00:25:04] revival and we have a lot more content
[00:25:06] coming your way
[00:25:08] if you'd like access to more Christ
[00:25:10] centered content you can go to
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