Episode Transcript
[00:00:11] Speaker A: What's worthwhile to consume, consider, believe, say
[00:00:16] Speaker B: and do towards peace of mind, vitality
[00:00:19] Speaker A: of body and joy of spirit.
[00:00:22] Speaker B: I'm Ramsey Zimmerman.
[00:00:24] Speaker A: Here's some more healthy living motivation and discussion.
[00:00:32] Speaker C: When you can be part of a group that just wants to change a little bit, it's not that little. It's huge. It's phenomenal what is happening. And I have chills just saying that because I am happier today than I was yesterday and I am happier today than I was in February. And when I made a 2026 prayer to God for this extravagant change in my life for the better of my family, who knew I was going to be with Michelle again right now, today? God knew. Not us.
[00:01:07] Speaker D: Lives are transformed. They're getting closer to God. People are realizing that getting healthy is worship in action.
And that is like a perception change for most people.
And when they get that, that that's the temple of the Holy Spirit they're housing. And this is how not only are they giving back to their communities, creating that ripple effect of blessings, but they're praising at the same time, I think churches, when they get that notion and that's what they're going to give their people, they're going to want to do this.
[00:01:40] Speaker C: I know for me, I, I don't want to miss the value that God has for my life.
And so by simply saying yes, it has completely changed my life.
And so why not, why would you not want to try something that, I mean, change your brain, change your life. The brain that you have right now is not the brain that you're stuck with. That's, that's amazing.
[00:02:08] Speaker A: Hey there, it's Ramsay here.
[00:02:10] Speaker B: That was Jessica Schenk and Michelle Chen.
[00:02:14] Speaker A: Michelle is the ambassador for Saddleback Church,
[00:02:17] Speaker B: Lake Forest for the Amen Whole4 pilot program they're hosting and Jessica is one of the participants. Jessica is a full time mom to a sweet 3 year old daughter who was amazingly well behaved during our interview. I've been in touch with Yuri Huntington, the national Faith Ambassador for Amen University about the Whole four pilot program ever since she was a guest on what's Worthwhile back in February.
In fact, I'm now looking at hosting a group here locally.
I reached out and asked if I could connect with some folks that are in the midst of the program today. And Yuri connected me with Michelle and Jessica. They both have terrific stories of how they and others are more happy and healthy through this group experience. If you are considering whether or not you want to jump into an Amen Whole four group, either as a participant or as an ambassador or host sponsor. This episode is a must listen because not only do they give an enthusiastic endorsement, but also share some of the challenges and commitments necessary to be successful.
[00:03:25] Speaker A: Let's do it.
Hello, Michelle and Jessica, how are you both doing today?
[00:03:32] Speaker D: Great. Thanks for having me, Ramsey.
[00:03:35] Speaker C: I'm doing great today. Today too. Today is a great day.
[00:03:39] Speaker A: Absolutely. I'm so glad to hear that. Well, thank you so much for both coming on. I'm excited to talk to you today.
I'm excited to hear about your experiences with Amen whole4 and but let's do a quick introduction first.
You're both members of Saddleback Church in at the Lake Forest campus in Orange County, California, right?
And Michelle, you are the ambassador for Saddleback for the Amen Whole 4 pilot program, which is going on right now.
And Jessica, you're participating in that group, right?
[00:04:20] Speaker C: Yes, I am. Thank God.
[00:04:24] Speaker A: That is great. So a couple of months back, I had Yuri Huntington on the what's Worthwhile podcast and she is the national faith Ambassador for through Amen University.
And she was telling me about the program and how it's a pilot that's being launched across the country, and it is a holistic program about brain health and looking at it from the four dimensions of mind, body, spirit, and relationships. And so as those pilot programs go forward, I just really wanted to follow up from that podcast and talk to some folks who are actually doing it.
So here you are.
And Michelle, let's hear from you for a bit first.
So I understand you have some experience at Saddleback with holistic health programs that are similar to this. Why don't you tell us about your experiences that you did prior to amen whole4?
[00:05:39] Speaker D: For about 12 years, I was involved with the Daniel Plan, which is co authored by Dr. Amen, the author of the Amen Home 4, as well as Pastor Rick and Dr. Hyman. And very similar in concept, very holistic, looking at all the different areas of health, spiritual relationship, mind and body as well. Though where they change is the format.
Where the other program really kind of broke it down into small interviews and they would tackle one at a time. They talk about spirituality for four weeks, then they would talk about the body for four weeks. And where I really think was an epiphany that I've had is where all four circles are totally related. And when you're thinking about brain health, when one area gets better, the other area gets better.
For example, like Dr. Amen has always said, one of the tiny habits is just ask yourself, is this Good for my brain or bad for my brain? And I remember when we started with the food principle, my first time I'm holding a cookie, and I'm asking myself, is this good for my brain or bad for my brain? I'm like, oh, that's bad for my brain. And I'm like, I'm eating the cookie. So what I realize now is that, you know, I can be praying and walking and socializing, and when I'm strengthening those other areas, walking in the morning, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, then my brain overall is getting better.
And what I've seen through testimonies of hundreds of people where they're doing things that they thought they could never do, and they've really come to understand that it's not about willpower. It's about God power. And they can just give it to God and trust and have faith in it.
It's been amazing.
The other big difference is the layout of the programs. I think most people, when they go to a study, they listen and. And they may have some discussion time where the aim and hole four again, is very holistic. They want you to take intentional action. So during our time together, we have set aside not only to take in the information and discuss it, but then we actually take action. During that time together, there's always an activity one, whether it's just be sitting down and we're doing one of the activities that's going to apply to our lives, or it's actually where we're engaging our physical bodies and we're actually breathing together and using some of these techniques. Because what we know is once you start to take some tiny intentional habits, if you even take that first step, getting out of your comfort zone, you're gonna probably more likely do it throughout the week as well. I see that Jess is nodding her head.
[00:08:22] Speaker C: I know that you can't see this smile. But as she's talking and thinking back to when we started, I can't think. Stop smiling, because it also really promotes your happiness.
I am happier today than when I started this program.
100% truth.
[00:08:44] Speaker B: That's wonderful.
[00:08:45] Speaker A: So why don't you take us back a little bit, and I'm curious how you found out about the program and what about it really appealed to you personally? Like, why did you want to join in and do it?
[00:08:58] Speaker C: That's a great question. I found out about the program through the Daniel plan. I'm in the group on Facebook, and Michelle had posted something, and it was a click of a yes, yes, I want to be involved in that and for me, I don't remember the exact wording of what it said, but my grandmother, who was my hero, passed of dementia and for eight years it was, it was really bad for my mom and whole family, you know, and I don't want my mom to have that. And so that's why I originally signed up for this course because it was like, if I can do something to help, to prevent something, just a couple things, maybe it'll be better.
Um, I have three brothers and sisters from my mom and so I just was really grateful for it. And then jumping into was so good for me. It was so good for my daughter Eleanor.
She's three.
I can hold this. Yes, baby. And just practicing these tiny habits and implementing my habits has changed so many things. I have a three year old little girl who I spend my entire life with all day. I'm a mommy in Orange County, California and I'm a stay at home mom. I am 100% mommy all of the time. And that's not something common where I live.
So being able to not only repeat just a few things to her, helping me, but I'm seeing the change in all of us. We say every single day as a family, today is going to be a great day. And we're all smiling by the time it's come out of our mouth. Maybe not even the whole sentence yet. And there's just been so many changes in so many different things. And hearing her say, oh, that's yucky, or that's kaka, it's like, go girl. Yes, we are not eating those red dyes. Yes.
So there's just, I mean, I could go on and on.
[00:11:16] Speaker B: Look, we all deal with stress. Stress is not the problem.
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[00:11:55] Speaker A: You've mentioned a couple, you've mentioned a couple of times about tiny habits. Like, what's that about? Like what, what do you mean by that? And maybe some. What are some examples that you've been learning about lately?
[00:12:07] Speaker C: Going to bed at the same time almost every day is what really got me into a good routine.
One of the tiny habits is aiming for seven to eight hours of sleep every night. Drinking water when you wake up is another tiny habit.
The gifts prayer is another tiny habit. Appreciating someone daily is another tiny habit.
I am doing just about 10,000 steps every day. I can't say that I was doing that before because even though I wanted to be on a healthier plan and I wanted to get rid of that stubborn ten pounds, there is no magic pill. There is no, this will fix all of this.
But God has a much bigger plan for all of us. And as Michelle had mentioned earlier about how we're putting it into action, we are. We have made friendships and we're meeting goals, and it feels really good to celebrate those goals with the other people on and in our groups and having these moments and be able to listen to what they're saying and hear, you know, how it's affecting them. Or maybe their husbands aren't doing what they're doing and they notice the difference. But because you've learned how to control those ants, you're acting differently and so you're responding differently. I know something for me, that's been something that I've heard but also experienced.
Sometimes it's really good to just be able to say, hey, Cindy, Wendy, calm down and go on with the next one. And by the way, Cindy, Wendy is the name of my brain. So there's just been, I mean, so many habits that have just really helped. Drinking water every day, walking, stretching before bed, flossing my teeth. It's so silly. You're supposed to floss your teeth all the time. I'm already a huge flosser. My friends all know I'm a flosser. I have floss in my car and my husband's car, in my purse and the diaper bag. And I never floss my teeth before bed. I do that now. And if I don't, I'm like, oh, my gosh, I didn't flush my, you know, floss my teeth tonight. Like, what was I thinking?
So little, teeny, tiny habits that are so common and very easy if you put them into action.
[00:14:30] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
Well, Michelle, how do you think that other folks that you have in your program, they're having similar experiences are different. And what are some other good stories about, you know, what people are doing or seeing or changing that come to mind for you?
[00:14:53] Speaker D: Well, she said so many things about the tiny habits, the little steps people are taking. And, you know, one was just showing up. I mean, I think that that just shows that they are committed to trying to get to that fulfilling the purpose, their God given purpose. And we have done community outreach. So it's not just a group of people that we're familiar with the Daniel plant. We have people from all walks of life, some with faith backgrounds, some without.
And we have seen testimonies in every single circle. We have people that are talking about how much weight they've lost and how much energy they've given that. And because of the one page miracle, which is really laying out your goals that very first week, they're tying their goals to these decisions. And so the weight loss is not just because they think they should, it's because they know this is going to help them. In the counseling that they're planning to do. For the girl that's taking Christian counseling course now, she's made friends through that. She started a new program. She's now wanting to give back and be the person, the mentor that she wants to be and model the behavior that she wants to see and hopefully that helping her clients have better brain health and better lives and live out their God given purpose. I also have a friend who was coming just because she was curious about the brain health and she wanted to just see what this was all about. I've known her for about 10 years and she's seen the change in me and, and she showed up and she's like, you know, I don't believe in God. I'm not committing to believing in God. But throughout the last season, or I think we're on our ninth week now, and throughout the program she's like, it's interesting. These women, I wouldn't normally hang out with them, but they're talking about scriptures. And now I'm curious, I'm finding myself looking up the scriptures. Her husband now reported that she's praying every day, every, every night. And when he got into her car to gas it up, she had the audio Bible going. So we're just, we're seeing so many things.
It's, it's, it's best, Ben. I mean, that's why I've been doing this for 10 years. I mean, I was involved for two years before I started leading and just to see the testimonies and the transformations because we know it's not just when one person gets it. Like when the mama gets it, you know her daughter's going to get it, the mama's mom was going to get it. But even the dad, who's not necessarily interested right away, like my own husband, I was doing the Daniel plan two years before he was diagnosed with Diabetes. I said, honey, please, before you start taking the medication, just try the plan for like eight weeks. And his doctor said, well, it's not going to make a difference. He's genetically inclined. Of course, we've learned about what that means. Epigenetics. We all now know these terms and language. So he tried it for eight weeks and he's now been diabetes free for 10 years just by doing the program.
So I don't know, it's pretty exciting.
[00:17:52] Speaker A: The.
So the program is in two pieces. There's like a six weeks foundation at the beginning, and then there's often a little break and then there's 12 weeks of the Mastery Program. Right.
And you know, when I look at that, at first glance, that seems like a pretty big commitment.
Do you find that the level of engagement for a program like this is a hurdle for people?
[00:18:22] Speaker B: And
[00:18:25] Speaker A: is it worth the effort? I mean, you really have to make a priority for it.
[00:18:30] Speaker D: Well, I was going to say when I started looking at the 18 weeks, I mean, because I've done smaller six week and four week programs, it was a little daunting to me. But just let me have you answer that. How have you felt about going on to. I think we'll be going on to week nine.
[00:18:46] Speaker C: Oh, my goodness. So I think I'm one of the ones that asks how many people are in the class?
Because I think we had 77. I was circling back to my notes to check when we first started, and that was February 13th, and two weeks ago we only had 22 people. And last week we had 30 people in our class. So there definitely was a major change in the crowd. But I feel like those who did commit are committed to it. I mean, I'm leaving for vacation Wednesday, and I'm already thinking, okay, my sister lives in Alabama. She's two hours ahead. So in order to make my class on Friday, I got to make sure I'm on the right time. And thank God I can do it on my phone because I'm not going to miss it, because I don't want to miss it. I am so engaged in Bright Minds.
I am obsessed with it. I'm talking about it to everyone, my friends.
I'm in the class and I'm, I'm, you know, sending a message on my laptop to my brother, like, guess what we're talking about today?
And guess if you eat this. Did you know this is better for you than this? And just, I mean, I know I'm annoying and I'm totally fine with that because I was annoying before. The class. But now I'm healthy annoying, and I love it. I.
[00:20:09] Speaker A: Which is clearly the best type of annoying.
[00:20:11] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:20:12] Speaker A: I mean, if you're gonna be annoying,
[00:20:13] Speaker B: you may as well be healthy annoying.
[00:20:16] Speaker C: Exactly. Exactly. I love you so much. I want to make sure that you have the opportunity to know that this might not be a good idea, but this is a better idea.
And she. Michelle mentioned something, too, about the husbands. And it's really interesting because I remember when we did the Daniel plan and we did the detox.
Oh, he wasn't my husband at the time. He was just my boyfriend. And he. When there was no bread in our house for 10 days, I don't think he was going to survive.
It was so funny. And now we have certain tortillas that we eat, and we only really eat sourdough bread with three ingredients. And he's just as transformed. By the time my daughter was 1 years old, I knew every single thing that she had physically eaten. And I could pronounce every single word that she had eaten.
That's not normal. But you know what? It's so good, and it's so healthy, and it's made all the difference in the world.
And I see it. I see it in her speech and her cognitive health. And now I'm noticing it even more because I have to protect her brain. It is my job to protect her brain. And before, I just had this.
I have to protect her. God, please protect her. God, please guide her. God, please bless her. And now I'm like, she also named her brain. Her brain's name is silly animal.
And I say, that's a good idea or a bad idea. And she says, that was a bad idea. And, you know, she. She gets it. Kids get it. And so to have a partner that I'm doing it with who I love so much, it makes it fun. We were. There's another tiny habit of special time where you spend intentional time with your child for 10 minutes.
One of my one page miracles was being more intentional with my child. And we just talked about the special time two weeks ago and not, you know, when I had made this commitment to be more intentional with her the very first day of class back in February. So another thing on my one page miracle that I thought was funny last week, we were learning about listening, and I wanted to have better communication with my husband, but I have to listen to him sometimes. I don't.
[00:22:47] Speaker A: What a concept.
[00:22:48] Speaker C: I have to do my part in it, too.
So.
Yeah, I mean, it's just.
I've had a really great experience with it.
The journaling is really hard for me.
I don't have the journal on my phone. I have the journal on my laptop and I don't use my phone after 8 o' clock at night when it's time for bed for her and the bedtime has started, I put my phone down and I don't have it. I don't use it. I don't even if someone's calling me, I try so hard not to peek at what it says, says. So at the end of the night, I'm definitely not pulling out my laptop to start typing about. Yes, I had enough water. Yes, I went. You know what went well today? Yes, we prayed before bed. So that part's challenging for me because then all of a sudden it's been two days and I haven't journaled, but I have drink in the water, I have gotten out, I did work out, I did do this. So the journaling is hard for me because it's not on my phone. But I also have a daily planner that I spend 30 minutes to an hour with every morning while I'm reading the word of God. And so I do have that. I'm not tracking my water on that, but I'm tracking my water in the kitchen. So there's a couple things that have been challenging for me with that. And also you can't write it down fast enough. I mean, Dr. Amen is talking and my wrist by the end of the class is sore and I missed 13 things and it's like I can't even remember which part I should ask about because it's like I already wrote something else down. You know, that, that's the. Those are some challenges for someone.
[00:24:33] Speaker A: Yeah, for sure.
It's good to talk about challenges because, you know, anything you do, you know, it's never perfect.
[00:24:43] Speaker C: And
[00:24:45] Speaker A: Michelle, are there some other sort of challenges that you and your folks have been running into as they've been going through the pilot and things that you've been sort of working through and finding, you know, variations or solutions as you go?
[00:25:00] Speaker D: Well, I was going to touch on the numbers that, that she shared. I think the original email went out to 75 people that had expressed interest. 60 of those had signed up, 45 of them showed up the first day. And now in master, we have 35. And I know on Good Friday we did have a lower number, like 29. That's the lowest that we've had so far. So I'm sorry, that's my interior Cingulate, I think is kidding. Yes, I got to make sure that people see that.
[00:25:31] Speaker A: Right. Data.
[00:25:32] Speaker D: Right. And the reasons why people had to leave were very understandable and that the people that are staying, I think. I mean, I feel like we are just starting to gel really, where people are just getting, like, it was gone from the concept, like, we're learning a lot, we're trying things, and now just openly sharing, you know, week after week, when we say, what did you win? What did you learn? Like, I love how she said, you know, this is. This is really hard for me because, yeah, it's. If it's either a winning, a learning, a winning experience, or it's a learning experience, we don't have failure with the Amen Hall 4. And it's like, well, what did I learn? I've learned that I'm not used to doing my phone at night, so how else can I manage through this? But that's been exciting. Some of the challenges. I mean, it's definitely a pilot program. When we started, I mean, this program is done by a shockingly small group of people that started, you know, just nine months ago, putting this program together, writing it, producing it, filming it. And then as we're coming on, the support and the tech issues that are coming up from having a website and an app, and it's like, it. It's. It was a lot kind of taking it in as an ambassador starting off. But this team, I. I always say that they are the most fast, fluid, and flexible team. They know how to pivot. They have worked out the technical bugs, and, you know, they're just. As soon as somebody says, michelle, this. I don't know how, I'm just like, here, talk to the person. And there's 1200 of us in this pilot program, and one person is handling all of this and efficiently and friendly as well.
They've also made some shifts. Jess, I don't know if you know this, but they've already started retaping and editing down. So the program, which she said, he. He's talked so much, you. You can't. Your wrist gets sore. So we're. We're taking what people have expressed as being the best, most impactful and kind of editing down those videos, so they're a little bit more manageable. But we wanted to do, and Dr. Amen did, is succeed at giving everyone all of his tools, whether it was in the video or in the session reviews, and letting people go through and then say, where am I seeing successes? What's been impactful? What am I actually trying? What am I taking action? On and so I'd say that yes, it's definitely a pilot program and because of it's the beginning. But I also see this as being an evergreen program. That's just the way the Amen University community, that's the way they work is they're always looking to how can they make something better and a better experience to create those testimonies and those smiles with all the participants.
[00:28:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:23] Speaker C: You mentioned the team. That's helping. It makes me think of the brain assessment because I did do the brain assessment in the beginning and my score increased over 400 points in six weeks. And I was like, oh my gosh.
But I also did as many of the blood tests as I could without financially having an effect. I'm a stay at home mom. My husband supports both of us previous to Ellen where I worked.
So things have changed. But I did take those and I can't wait to see my numbers at the end of this and what my brain assessment test is going to be. But how people helped with the brain assessment because that was another challenge, just being able to get through it. And then you had to kind of learn in the beginning, like if you don't pick something, which is an option, you know, not to pick something and it sometimes it wouldn't let you go through.
But then if you pick something and then went back and then unpicked it, you could carry on so learning through those little challenges. But I feel like we, we really worked as a team in our group because it was like if one person had a fix, then someone said something and so then someone else tried it. And so I love, I'm, I'm grateful for the team because I know they're working hard on it so that it's not hard for me. So I'm very grateful for that.
[00:29:55] Speaker D: Yeah. Every week in the journal that she's talking about, there's a survey. And in that area you can check off any area that you've had some troubles working with, whether it be something about the video. Some people were saying it was overwhelming, it was too much, they loved every bit of it. But it was just so much other people were saying. Yeah, I had a little issue about this question in the brain health assessment that didn't make sense to me or I wasn't sure what to click. And like they're going back and reading those and making changes every single week just to make the quality of the program that much more user friendly.
[00:30:31] Speaker A: Well, it sounds like a real opportunity to get in on something that is still being created right and so something that is sort of fluid and like that, you know, on one sense, you might think, oh, gosh, I would, you know, it's not perfect yet, it's not ready for prime time.
But on the other hand, I would feel like you have the opportunity to not only be impacted by the program and get a lot out of it yourself, but also be able to give back and, you know, improve the program for the people who are setting it up and for the people in the future who will do it. So, you know, we're just in the midst of the, the piloting of the program and I understand that, you know, there's a second group of, you know, as we record, there's a second batch of pilot programs that are currently looking for people to join in, you know, at their faith community and be a part of it.
So what, what advice do you have for those who are sort of on the fence and think, maybe I want to be a part of this pilot at my community and maybe I don't.
What sort of words of advice or encouragement do you have for them as they're sort of making that decision?
[00:32:06] Speaker C: Oh, that is a good question.
I know for me, I, I don't want to miss the value that God has for my life.
And so by simply saying, yes, it has completely changed my life.
And so why not, why would you not want to try something that, I mean, change your brain, change your life. The brain that you have right now is not the brain that you're stuck with. That's, that's amazing.
Like, I, I kind of wish I had a brain scan, you know, I, I would love to see it and then I would love to see it again because.
Where are you going, young lady? Because it is incredible how much, I mean, I truly am happier and I was already very happy. I, I'm a very happy person. I believe in God, I love Jesus. I have my name, my daughter Eleanor, shining light from God. I am grateful for everything that I have and I try to before this. I already tried to find the positive out of it. I already tried to get through those tribulations. We're going to have troubles. We're gonna have things that come up that aren't good. There is bad news, there are bad diagnosis, there is, there is so much hate and hurt and hang ups in this world. But when you can be part of a group that just wants to change a little bit, it's not that little. It's huge. It's phenomenal what is happening. And I have chills just saying that. Because I am happier today than I was yesterday, and I am happier today than I was in February. And when I made a 2026 prayer to God for this extravagant change in my life, for the better of my family, who knew I was going to be with Michelle again right now, today, God knew. Not us. So it's like, be careful what you pray for, because God is very funny, and I'm happy. I.
Why not just give it a go?
[00:34:15] Speaker A: And I think, too, a lot of times we think about our health, and sometimes we get a message from the doctor, oh, you're right on the bubble. You're heading towards pre diabetes, or you need to do something about it. And, you know, they might immediately come forward with, you know, here's the new medication that we want you to take or that you might need to take in the future.
And then we don't really know what to do with that. And, you know, a lot of times we also try to go on our own and try to, you know, work through things. But for those of us in faith communities, we're accustomed to, you know, hopefully sort of bringing issues like that to God and to our friends and, you know, to the groups that we meet in. And would you say that, you know, just the group aspect and the. The aspect of, you know, looking at health questions in an environment with people that, you know and that you trust and that, you know, does that make a significant difference?
[00:35:36] Speaker C: Absolutely. I mean, how could it not with the power of God? And, you know, us being a church on Fridays for just a couple hours is amazing. I mean, I look forward to it. Sometimes I don't even realize, you know, Thursday, I'm like, oh, I have class tomorrow, you know, and it's like, I've got my. I've got my water. You know, I'm ready. I've. I don't have any snacks because I knew it would be talking, and I had, you know, an apple before.
But just being prepared is. Is huge. And there are things that throughout the week that I think of that someone said in our group, and it. It just brings joy to my heart.
One of the girls had an experience with Saffron, and hearing her experience, you're laughing because, you know, one of the girls in her experience with Saffron is like, I will never not think of her. I will forever love her more for sharing that with me, because I do want to get on a Saffron supplement, and I haven't yet.
I've increased my supplements that I've been taking. And don't forget to take your daily vitamin every day, but just having people share things with you and then seeing them the next week. There are a family that I actually exchange phone numbers with and I talk to and they check in. And that. That has made all of. All of the difference. And it's so much better because you do want it. You want to cheer them on and you want to pray for them and you want them, their lives to be better. I remember there was one week where Michelle couldn't make it, and our group prayed for her for an hour. I mean, it might. It might have been a little bit less, but without God, that would have not happened. And whatever she was experiencing at that time, she had our support.
And that's amazing. I mean, it really is.
It is true love. It is the best kind of love. Because without this group, that wouldn't have happened.
[00:37:37] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's.
That's really, really special. And, you know, churches, faith communities, Michelle, you know, they have limited resources and focus. And, you know, any. Any group like that needs to be sort of careful about how many things that they take on. And as we, you know, as a whole, four rolls out next year, most likely on more of a national scale, I know there's going to be a lot more outreach. So a lot more faith communities are going to be taking a look at this and thinking about whether or not it ought to be a priority for them.
And so what do you think about that? Like, how do you think this fits into the larger mission that many faith communities have? And do you think that, you know, in what ways would it be consistent with what they're, you know, trying to really do in the world?
[00:38:39] Speaker D: Well, when I think about, you know, all the different aspects, one is outreach, that bringing the community in. People are interested in health, you know, whether or not they're doing anything about it, they're interested in it. And if you offer something for them to come and get together, they think they're coming for one thing. And as you've heard from Jess, you get so much more and you get filled in so many ways that you weren't even expecting.
And when people are starting to get healthier, they get healthier together.
And I have been so blessed by this group in more ways than anyone can ever imagine. I mean, when I was in the ER for 24 hours with my son, and I just wasn't able to jump on the call from the ER room, but to know that I had the support and love of all those people praying for me, I mean, they say as Iron Sharpens iron and, you know, you pity the person that falls down and doesn't have someone to help them back up with this group. Because we're sharing so many intimate details of what's going on in our lives.
We really become, you know, the church. I think that the Bible is talking about where we are all connected and all working together. And yeah, I know some people think they're just coming for the information and they're leaving with so much more. I, I can't even imagine once these people, you'll hear testimony after testimony once these pilot programs are done.
And I think the common thread is that lives are transformed, they're getting closer to God. People are realizing that getting healthy is worship in action.
And that is like a perception change for most people. And when they get that, that that's the temple of the Holy Spirit they're housing. And this is how not only are they giving back to their communities, creating that ripple effect of blessings, but they're praising at the same time, I think churches, when they get that notion and that's what they're going to give their people, they're going to want to do this.
[00:40:51] Speaker A: Yeah, that is so well said. And so if folks want to maybe get in touch with you or ask questions or, you know, continue with that experience, can they.
How can they kind of find you online or get in touch or maybe we should just give out the sort of national amen hole for information,
[00:41:20] Speaker D: I'm thinking that they would go to the Amenhole4 website.
[00:41:24] Speaker A: You can find out more about the program@ Amenhole4.com that's the number four.
So Amazon A M E N W H O L E4.com so, Jess and Michelle, thank you so much for coming out today and spending time with us. It's so nice to hear more about what you've been doing. And yeah, I think it's just really great work and I'm so, you know, happy to, to meet you both and hear how it's impacting what you're doing.
[00:42:05] Speaker D: Well, thank you so much for having us. So you can tell we're pretty excited to talk about it.
[00:42:10] Speaker C: Yes, this has been a lot of fun.
Yeah, thank you so much. It really has been a lot of fun and it's fun to share this great information. You know, it's like you have the cure for cancer. Would you hold it all to yourself? No way. So to have this information and to be able to share it and, you know, I know later I'm gonna be like, oh, I should have said that. Or I forgot to tell them how great this is.
[00:42:36] Speaker A: All right.
[00:42:37] Speaker D: All right, take care. Bye Bye.
[00:42:39] Speaker A: Thank you. Bye Bye.
[00:42:41] Speaker B: Ready for more? Visit whatsworthwhile.net to listen to podcast episodes. Master your response to stress by reading my book, Stress Response, available through Amazon, or to get better before burnout sets in by our requesting the free guide. Regardless of where you are in your journey, I'd love to hear from you and talk about how we might move forward together. Please contact me, Ramsey Zimmerman, through the website or on social media like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or X.
[00:43:11] Speaker D: Thanks, Ra.
