Episode 60: Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: The Veteran’s Hurricane

Jacob Paul: Welcome to the truth and love podcast with your host, Kimberly Faith. The truth and love podcast seeks to present God’s timeless truth through the lens of his remarkable love.

Kimberly Faith: Well, our very special guest today is Ashlee Olbricht. Am I saying your name correctly? Yes, ma’am. And it’s Leppert?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Yes, ma’am. That’s my maiden name.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. Struggled with phonics. Didn’t go to school till I was in third grade, so I never had the phonics. And I usually I usually ask before we start the show, how do you say your name?

But I neglected to do that because we were having so much fun.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Well, you did just fine, miss Kimberly.

Kimberly Faith: Well, Ashley, it is wow. It’s such a humbling privilege to have you on the podcast today, and I appreciate you arranging your schedule. Tell us a little bit about you.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Well, first of all, I thank you for the opportunity to just be here and to speak into your listeners. It’s really a great privilege of mine, so thank you. Yeah, my name is Ashlee Olbricht Leppert. I was born and raised in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, born in 1985. So I grew up with crimped hair and the jelly shoes and all that fun stuff in the early nineties and late eighties.

But, yeah, I I had a middle class home, amazing parents, one big sister, and I’m just Detroit Lions fan, which some days is hard to still get on board with. But I’m hopeful for their season this year.

Kimberly Faith: Nice. Well, and you ended up at some point in the US Coast Guard. Is that right? Yes, ma’am. How did that happen?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: So, you know, I grew up sort of a very athletic, very driven individual, and I was also on the swim team in high school. So I had this innate love for water. And there was a few things that built my ambitions to join military service. One of which was that I was on the swim team. And second of all, I had an unfortunate incident where one of my best friends just after high school passed away in a boating accident.

And he was airlifted in a helicopter to the hospital. And I just had such an admiration for these individuals who could be expediting my best friend to the hospital. Although he unfortunately passed away, it definitely sparked something internally for me to, kinda honor his life and and maybe go down a path where I could save people. And then the third reason is I had a really good friend who is a couple years older than me in high school, but he joined the Coast Guard. Every time I talked to him, he was flying around in helicopters down in Florida, saving lives, doing all these awesome missions.

And so collectively, with all those reasons, in 02/2005, I signed up and I joined the United States Coast Guard.

Kimberly Faith: Wow. That that’s a that it’s such a great privilege to hear people’s stories. Like, how even how God uses tragedies to to build somebody else’s foundation. You know? I it’s funny.

People ask me, why did you become a lawyer? I’m like, well, when I was in high school, the city sued our school trying to zone us out of the city because we were a school built from a church, and we weren’t zoned to have a school. And I watched the Supreme Court argument, and I said, that’s what I wanna do. I’m just a little guy. So it’s it’s so it’s so wonderful to to hear those just because we view if we can view hard times as an opportunity instead of something that, you know, keeps us disabled.

That’s, and you obviously went through a very hard time with your friend, being tragically tragically dying in a in a terrible accident. So tell us about your service. How long were you in the Coast Guard?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: So I joined in 02/2005, and I served fourteen years just before medically retiring in 02/2019. I served as a helicopter avionics electrical technician, which is a mouthful. But basically, that boils down to me being in charge of all of the communications and navigation system on our helicopter so that our flight crews can go out and successfully complete missions. And the coast guard is sort of unique because we’ve fixed the aircraft and we also fly on it. So I doubled as a flight mechanic, which means I was a part of a four person crew that went out on various missions, natural disaster response and law enforcement, quite a variety of things.

And I would be the person that would hang out of the helicopter and work the rescue hoist and bring our survivors into the cabin and keep our pilots in position. And just a really cool multi positional job. It was amazing.

Kimberly Faith: That sounds like an amazing job. You know, anything with flight, I’m very attracted to. Yes. Yeah. That’s so you did that for twelve years.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: 14. Yes, ma’am.

Kimberly Faith: Then I’m 14. That’s okay. I’m old. You have to just put up with my forgetfulness. So what what tell me tell me about you.

You obviously, we’ve talked and know that you’ve been born again. And when did that happen?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Well, so it’s kind of a a a multilevel story, but I’ll just start from the beginning because it’s a a pretty interesting one. So, as I mentioned, my best friend did pass away at when, we were 19 years old. And prior to that, I didn’t grow up really with religion in my household, like a structured religion. We knew of God and we knew of praying and things like that. But, when he passed away, it really sparked something in my faith journey of wanting to know more.

Right? Like, where did my friend go and what does death look like? And that combined with some other things that I had been watching in my household. Both of my parents, God rest their soul, they were amazing parents. But because they had unresolved trauma from their youth, they used maladaptive coping mechanisms like alcohol and substances.

So watching them sort of suffer throughout their adulthood and then seeing this trauma with, you know, my best friend passing away. And then all at the same time, I was dealing with an assault that took place. I was betrayed by somebody that I trusted one night. And so like all these negative things were happening, but I wanted so bad to believe in this God that I heard about. I wanted God to come into my life and heal me and all these great things that my questioning had led me to.

And funny enough, I was a waitress just before joining the military. And there was this one girl that I was a waitress with, and I loved her to pieces, but she was always the you know, at 19, we kind of looked at her like the goody two shoes, you know, if I’m being honest. She always was very proper, never cussed, nothing. And but I knew that she was a Christian because she boldly shared about her faith. And as all these traumas were happening and all this pain was evolving in my life, one day, I just got the courage to ask her.

And I just was talking to her and I was, you know, considering talking to a psychic and all these things that just you know, I just wanted answers. Right? Right. Yeah. And so one night after our shift, I just asked her if she would stay a little late and have a cup of coffee and sit in the booth with me.

And literally from that moment on, we just would meet almost every other day, and I would just ask her so many questions and she was patient with me and she would bring her bible and, you know, and she would give me scriptural backing to what she was saying. And I just was like, I was ready. God pricked my heart. And one night after her opening up, she just looked at me and said, you know, are you ready to accept Jesus into your life? And I was just like, yes.

Like, was no there was no, you know, question about it. And we went up and we went into the dirty employee bathroom and we knelt on that, you know, greasy, sticky floor. And I said that prayer, but it was the most beautiful, special day of my life.

Kimberly Faith: Wow. Wow. What a what a great story. I mean, I’m just, like, trying not to cry over here. I know.

It just, you know, it just reminds me of the the the truth in the Bible is so powerful. And, you know, Romans chapter one explains that we are created with the knowledge of God and are that thus, we understand our need for him. And here you were searching wherever you could. I mean, you were looking desperate to find God, and, you know, here we have God just arranges for you to have this job with goody two shoes. Right?

Right. Right. Who who has a a strong enough testimony, you know, of of God’s love that you were able to trust her to lead you to God. It’s so crazy. The reason we call this podcast truth and love is because you have to have both.

You have to have God’s word, but you also have to have the fruit of his spirit to combine those forces to bring people to Christ. And that’s exactly what your your friend did. Wow.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Absolutely. Her boldness to meet me where I’m at, right, in my brokenness, my questioning, which maybe a lot of your listeners are resonating with right now. But just to have somebody that isn’t forcing ideas on you or telling you you’re wrong or you’re a sinner or you’re evil, just to meet you where you’re at

Kimberly Faith: and

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: simply share truth and love. I have been inspired by my friend. Her name is Katie, by the way. Been inspired by Katie’s boldness, which is exactly why I’m on the current path that I’m on today.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. That is wow. And it just goes to show too, you know, I I we underestimate the power of discipleship. And Jesus in the great commission said, go ye therefore and make disciples. That was the first thing he said.

The first, it wasn’t evangelized. It was we’re to make disciples. Right? And that even includes, you know, taking the time to teach people who are searching because through this I have found that through discipleship, I have been able to lead more people to Christ, even people who thought they were already believers. And because you start learning the truth, and what is the truth?

The truth is light, and it lights your path, and you recognize, oh, wait a minute. I’m not even I’m not even a child of God yet. You know? And so, yeah, that’s wonderful. So after you were saved, did you what kinda what happened next in your faith?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: That’s a great question. And I I love to share this portion of it because again, I find it to be super relatable. A lot of times people think, oh, you find Christ and you begin this journey and it’s beautiful. And it was for me, but because I never unpacked a lot of that hurt and that pain, I sort of still lived in my flesh. You know, I still lived in the world and I I was running from that pain despite finding Christ.

And so in my twenties, you know, it was a journey peppered with a lot of mistake, a lot of, you know, trying to find gratitude and worth in the world and instead of what God’s word was. And I think part of my error was I didn’t surround myself with the people that would sharpen me in my faith, which I think is a very pivotal point post finding Christ is is surrounding yourself with people that will help you grow. And, you know, due to a little bit of my military lifestyle, you know, which is just kinda counter conducive to, you know, growing in faith, it was more like partying, drinking beers, you know, you go on deployment and you just find yourself somewhat living reckless. But my 20s, even though there was a lot of dark moments, you know, I did use all of that to grow. And so when I got out of the military for my diagnosis with an autoimmune condition that ended my flying career and then ultimately my military career, I found myself in a very dark place, you know, and I had realized in my prayer time that I had focused more on sorry

Kimberly Faith: for

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: the background noise. The motorcycle just flew by.

Kimberly Faith: I’ve got fire trucks going by over here. So

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: That’s funny. But, yeah, so I found myself just really not following God. Right? Like, following out what his beautiful word says that he has a purpose for us. And I wasn’t doing the second part, which was seeking him with all my far heart, and then I would find him.

And so I came to a point where it was started with surrender and obedience and saying, like, I have not been following you. I’ve been trying to find joy and acceptance and peace in a world that cannot give me that. Only he can. And that’s really where things pivoted, and that’s where I am today through this great journey of healing, and being able to be authentic with God who already knows how we’re feeling. Right?

He just wants our hearts. You know, I

Kimberly Faith: love that you’re so transparent about your journey because, it’s it’s when we’re born again, the bible says we’re newborn babes. You know, and gosh, I’ve had I’ve given birth to three children. They can’t do anything on their own. They’re so big. And you think about the spiritual implications of that, you know, a newborn a person who’s newly born in Christ is a spiritual baby, and they’ve unfortunately something different than the physical baby is they’ve got all these grooves cut in their carnal mind, and they’re used to defaulting to we’re used to defaulting to that carnal mind and how we’ve how we’ve, you know, grappled with trauma, how we’ve grappled with sin, how we’ve grappled with bad habits our entire life.

Not only do we need to learn how to have the mind of Christ, but we have to unlearn, you know, take those thoughts captive, and and discipline ourselves. Kinda like when you went through basic training. I mean, it it took a you wouldn’t just wake up one morning and so and all of a sudden you were qualified to serve in the coast guard. You went through basic training, and they transformed you from a civilian to a military person. Know?

Yes, ma’am. Think that a big part of our job as Christians is taking babies into our homes and into our you know, in our like my law office, we have the girls here. They said, we want a bible study once a week and we want to learn. And I’m like, girls, let’s do it. It’s epic.

Yeah. It’s the first time in my career that I’ve had that. But that’s the influence of seeing someone who is on fire and wanting what they want. And I I love that you can freely share without really even apology, just your ignorance that you were just you didn’t know how to grow. And that is that is okay.

You know? Babies don’t know how to become adults either. They have to be taught.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: That’s exactly right. That’s exactly right.

Kimberly Faith: So so I know that I mean, I was reading up reading up on you, and I heard that during hurricane Harvey that you were serving there, and some pretty remarkable things happened. And I don’t I don’t I want you to be okay telling everybody, you know, about what you did. I know that you’re very humble about some of the heroics that even president Trump had called you out on and and gave you given you honor on. So tell us a little bit about that.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Sure. So you’re right. I always try to remain humble because the the fact of the matter is I am just a vessel for God’s work. And and when we can look at the life around us and our accomplishments and our abilities and give him all the glory, you know, he blesses us for that. So I wanna start by saying that.

But but also I wanna encourage your listeners too that, my life testimony is truly, one that speaks to being imperfect, being, full of error and being a broken vessel that God can use. I always say God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things, and and that is truly, honestly what I always say.

Kimberly Faith: I can tell that the holy spirit is guiding you right now. Like, we say that almost every podcast.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: I love that. Well, then I’m just where I’m supposed to be then. My god. But yeah. So, you know, back to your question.

I I was stationed in New Orleans back in 02/2017, and hurricane Harvey hit the Coast Of Texas right outside of Houston. And I was the very first, helicopter on scene as this hurricane’s hitting. So, my crews and I collectively, we flew for three days straight on missions just saving people and saving people and seeing destruction. It was such a dichotomy of the most amazing heroic things I’ve ever been a part of. Tragically, the same time, being some of the most devastating and horrific things I’ve ever experienced and witnessed.

But because of that, president Trump did invite me to his very first state of the union where he spoke about me in 2018 in the first five minutes of his speech and standing ovation in the whole nine. But if I’m being truly honest with you, in that moment as he’s speaking and as the crowd is standing up and clapping at me, in that moment, I just kept thinking, Thank you, God. Thank you, God. Because I knew that I wasn’t going to use that moment to glorify Ashley. I was going to use that moment some way, somehow to bring glory to God and all that He was able to do in my life.

So, yes, I medically retired and it was pretty difficult, but God put it on my heart to write a book about my experiences to share my testimony to the world. And I did. It’s called The Hurricane Within, and my second one’s coming out in just a few weeks.

Kimberly Faith: So tell us about your book. How did that how did that come to pass, and where can people buy it? What’s it about?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Sure. So I did not intend on writing a book, but when I got out of the hurricane stuff, and I literally was a walking, talking billboard for PTSD, And I had this misconception that you had to be in a war zone dodging bullets to get post traumatic stress. But the ultimate reality that I learned through my healing is that any traumatic experience that we face living the human experience can induce post traumatic stress to include things that I dealt with such as watching my parents with addiction and the assault and losing loved ones. I mean, it’s the hurricane tragedy I witnessed. So I went through therapy and, some of the things I had experienced, I wasn’t really ready to speak out loud.

I sort of just kinda started typing one day on the computer. And, you know, there evolved my book And and I didn’t plan on really sharing it with the public, but I sent it to my best friend who read it. And she called me in, like, two hours, and she was like, oh my gosh, best friend. You have to share this with the world. Like, I’m so inspired.

Like, not only did I learn about you and things that you’ve gone through, but I I’m leaving this story feeling inspired. And I just thought, wow. I’ll pray about it. You know, I always pray and let God lead my decisions. And he asked me to publish it, so now it’s available on Amazon and through my website.

So just happy to be a light in a dark world.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. That’s a you mentioned that you didn’t set out to read to write a book. You didn’t set out that. I think that is a hallmark characteristic of somebody who has been freed by God to to glorify him. You know, I I I feel like that testimony.

You know, I’ve had people who were ordinary people just living their Christian life, and God called them to be a missionary in Panama. And then they start, you know, all these churches and thousands of people are saved. And all they they said they just gave their life to God and said, just glorify me. You know? I mean, everything that we do at Go Faith Strong is the same way.

Like, when God said you’re gonna write music, I was like, I don’t know how to read music. God, you know what? Yeah. Exactly. So it’s gonna be all all me, and don’t you forget it, young lady.

You know?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: That’s right. That’s right.

Kimberly Faith: So so it’s just so inspiring to me to hear you say that because it is God uses the weak to confound the mighty. And you don’t have to be you know, if you’re listening to this and you’re wondering, you know, well, I didn’t rescue people out of a helicopter in a hurricane, or I didn’t, you know, go serve in the in the military. Well, your story is important because God wrote it. And if you’re letting God write your story, then it’s a pretty important story. And no one has no one has a story like you do.

No one has your DNA. And and you’ve got your spiritual DNA now. And so you can write a supernatural story that is has eternal impact and consequences for for, you know, eternity, basically. And so I love that you just,

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: you know,

Kimberly Faith: are so humble about what God’s doing through you. Now what I know that, just from reading the information you sent me that you worked at the, Shield of Faith, organization. Right?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Yes. Yes. So I, this is, again, just another testament of how good God is. But, once I felt in a place that I was healed and I could, you know, share that knowledge and that love with others who have maybe been struggling as well, God opened the door for me to be a spiritual mentor through Shield of Faith Missions, which is a nonprofit dedicated to ending veteran suicide. So I did that for about a year and eight months.

Matter of fact, unfortunately, this was my last week with them. But, you know, God is moving me into a new season, and I’m very expecting big things from a big God. But I just love that we can we use beauty from ashes.

Kimberly Faith: Yes. Yes. So where are you headed now?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: So a lot of different things are taking place, and some of which are still in the works, so I won’t share just yet. But next month, I do have my second book coming out on November 23. It’s the hurricane volume two beyond the storm, and it is a bit more focused on my testimony and what it was like for me to get out of the military and deal with all of that trauma and finding my new purpose outside of my military uniform. And my husband just got a new position. He worked also twenty years in the Air Force.

And so now he’s starting a new position as a mobile maintainer for a lot of the jets down here in the Panhandle. And, you know, there there’s a lot of things God’s moving in my spirit, a lot of doors he is opening for me, and I am just a willing vessel. Like it says in Isaiah six eight, you know, here I am. Send me.

Kimberly Faith: Right. I really love what you said about the transition between doing something for fourteen years, like wearing a uniform, and then taking a completely radically different path. That is I think we underestimate how hard that is because it because it’s part of your identity.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Yes. You hit the nail on the head, miss Kimberly. It is it was one of the most difficult seasons trying to recalibrate who I thought I was. I thought I was a coast guard United States coast guard, you know, helicopter rescue flight crew member. And although that was my job for a while, when I really spent some time leaning into the Lord and realizing where my identity lied, which was and who he called me to be and who he says I am.

There’s just such a freedom that comes with that, that I don’t have to live up to that expectation of flying in helicopters and, you know, doing crazy missions. But, like, God has providence over it all, and it’s just such a beautiful thing when you could walk out in faith and trust him in your life.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. You know, I I think I think that is probably something that is very understated in among Christians because, well, I’ve practiced law for my whole my whole life. I practiced law longer than I’ve done anything else. And I often think, you know, there was a time a couple years ago where just some big shifts happened in my practice, and I was on my knees like, Lord, is it time to hang it up with a law practice? Are you calling me to a, you know, different ministry?

Because my law practice is genuinely my mission field. I mean, more people get saved in these chairs in my office than just Praise the lord. Yeah. I mean, people don’t go to a lawyer because you’re having a great day. And so but I was I I I just remember that that experience of being both fearful and excited, but probably more fearful if I’m honest, because the identity that I’ve had as an attorney has been so ingrained in everything I do and everything.

You know, people ask you on a plane, you know, what’s the first thing they ask you? What do you do? Do you say I’m a Christian first? Not typically. You typically say I’m a lawyer first or I’m a mother first or I’m a whatever.

Right? And that was a that was kind of an identity crisis for me that was good because I felt like it took me to from having my greatest identity in being a professional and having my greatest identity in being a professional Christian. Yes. And I don’t mean that in a in a, you know, clinical way. I mean that in very much a passionate way.

You know? And and is that is that kind of is that idea explored in your second book?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Most definitely. I I very much in my first book, focused a lot more on on my hurricane rescues, and I I gently wove my faith in there. But god really put it on my heart to just be fully transparent in my second book. So I’m I’m very much open about my struggles and and the trauma and just coming back to the cross again. And I think that’s so relatable for many people.

And and I do share about that identity crisis and, you know, just how good God is that he will meet us right there in our mess, our brokenness. And, you know, a lot of times and at one point in my life, and maybe your listeners would agree, but I thought that I have to get cleaned up and figure it out and then come back to God. But, know, He doesn’t want that. He wants us just as we are. And that is so comforting to know that He is just right there waiting with his arms open wide when you’re ready you’re ready to turn around and just chase after him.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. And and so what tell me you know, you were born again when you were, I think, ’19 is what you’d said earlier, and then you kind of did this I call it in my journey, I call it my plastic Christian life. Okay? I was pretty much in the world and maybe one foot in the church door, but you know, it was kind of a joke really, and and wasn’t it wasn’t honoring to God. But I I know that for me, had a very pivotal moment where I was like, I was like done.

And so what when was that and what was that for you? If you can share that.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: That is one of my favorite things to share about because it was so transformational. And so this is basically the climax of my second book where, again, I speak to just being obedient and fully surrendering, not as you mentioned, one foot in the world, one foot in, you know, in in Christ, but really just being fully surrendering to him. And, you know, right when I medically retired from the military, I bought a big truck and a big fifth wheel because I didn’t know what I was gonna do with my life. And I was like, well, I’ll just go on the road and figure it out. You know?

This was kinda as COVID was kicking off. So I was just like, you know, let me just, you know, spend some time out in nature and healing and traveling and exploring and figuring it out. And one night, after just feeling this constant tug where God was just trying to pull on my heart, come back to me, come back to me. One night, I had this moment of full unadulterated authentic just kind of cry out to the Lord. You know, I brought him the anger, the hurt, the sadness.

I laid it all right at the feet of Christ. And, you know, he met me right there in that moment. And I don’t want to give too much away because it’s an amazing part of the story. But let me just encourage the the listeners that, you know, he knows how you feel. He sees your hurt and pain, and he’s right there with you waiting for you to hand it over to him because he died for all of us not to bear the shame, the guilt, the sadness.

He says, give that to me and I will give you rest.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. That’s that’s so true, and it’s so beautiful. And I think I I don’t know about for you, but for me, when I I remember you you mentioned getting yourself cleaned up before you come back to the Lord. Right? I think that was my biggest impediment to being saved was because I had been in church long enough to know that there’s some behavior that I’m gonna have to change.

I’m gonna have to give up to in order to, you know, to have salvation. But the problem was I prayed, lord, save me, and I’ll be good. Instead of, lord, save me, and I’m going to you know, I’m I surrender all. Right? And it’s only you, Jesus, not me, that can save me.

And then when, you know, that so when I did that, I remember thinking, oh my goodness. I just gave my life to Christ. What did I do? Because on one part, you have a really great relief. You know, your burdens have just rolled off.

You have peace. But on other hand, you know, I belong to somebody else now. I don’t belong to myself. And, you know, and and I think we misjudge God. We judge him to be who we think he is instead of who he says he is.

And our our our way of viewing God is never is never as good as who he is for you know, who who he says he is. And we gotta shift that thinking. And that’s for me, that’s what took me back into the world was I was thinking God was gonna he wanted me to miss out on everything. And I don’t know that was your experience at all, but that was my experience.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Yes. Yes. Well, thank you for sharing that, and I relate to that a 100%. I think, I parallel my military experiences to my faith journey. It’s just like going to boot camp.

Right? You go in. You’re not gonna be perfect. You’re not gonna know the first thing about military life and how to be successful. And I feel like that’s kind of like how our faith journey is.

Like, sanctification be means coming becoming more Christ like every day. And so he is gonna help us with those sin natures, those issues, those struggles. But the beautiful thing is just allowing him in to do that. And Right. Yeah, I you know, he he’s our he’s our trainer, I like to say.

He’s with us. He’s gonna train us. He makes us more aware of, you know, things that we need to remove from our life. And I just love that the holy spirit, you know, will help us speak and guide us and help us act the right way and all the beautiful things.

Kimberly Faith: Exactly. You know, it’s it’s in following Christ, you know, it’s one thing to to receive salvation and believe in the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ to obtain the gift of salvation, because then your soul and spirit are born again. But you know, to then surrender that old flesh every day because our soul and spirit are already in. They’re in Christ. They’re in.

But to learn the discipline and the training and the heart surrender of giving over our own will and saying, you know what? I want the mind of Christ. I don’t want the carnal mind, because the carnal mind is at enmity with my peace. Know? It’s funny because today we have our bible study on Wednesdays, and one of the questions I was like, why do you think that we if the if the mind of Christ gives us peace, why don’t we choose it more often?

Wow. What what do you think about that?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: I love that. It’s a daily battle. That’s a great bible study question. You know? I love the passage in scripture that speaks about the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

And, man, do I ever relate to that because the the mind and the heart knows, but the flesh, you know, is constantly trying to lead us astray. And so I just think that it’s important to know why we don’t choose peace all the time is unfortunately, we live in a broken world and we’re human. And sometimes we get very ingrained with our feelings and what we see and the injustices and the evil. And, you know, our flesh, it’s hard not to react to that. Right?

Because we’re human. But I love how the word says that we can constantly be renewing our minds and choosing peace and declaring it and just having a heart full of gratitude. And when you can just implement these little, you know, changes ever so slightly in your life, the next thing you know, it’s easier to follow the spirit than the flesh. But it’s it’s a constant struggle, and I just think that that it’s gonna be that way until we’re on the other side of eternity. But we can band together as, you know, men and women of Christ and, you know, help one another.

Iron sharpens iron.

Kimberly Faith: That’s right. And, you know, I’m so grateful for the apostle Paul right in Romans chapter seven. You know? I mean, that was a man that god took him so far and took him to the wall, and he was still saying, but when I would do good, evil is present with me. I’m like, right.

I yes. That’s so true. And I I think that I I don’t know for myself anyway, one of the reasons I know that I choose the carnal mind often over the mind of crisis because it’s kinda like what CS Lewis said, and and I’m gonna paraphrase because I’m not I’m horrible at making quotes come out the right way. Is, you know, the chill children who have lived in the ghetto their entire life don’t go to the seashore not because it’s it’s great. It’s better than the ghetto.

It’s because they’ve never experienced it. Wow. And so they don’t even know that it’s better than the ghetto because they haven’t been there. And I think for me, the more I experience the presence of God by having, you know, surrendering to the mind of Christ, the more that I don’t wanna ever live in the flesh. Just like if you contrast the the fruit of the spirit with the works of the flesh in Galatians five.

Right? I mean, who wants to live that way? Right? So true. Versus in love, joy, and peace.

I mean, those that’s the top three right there. Right?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Yes. So I love that.

Kimberly Faith: Well, I’ll tell you, I’m very excited to read your book, both of them. I haven’t read either one of them just because we basically met, like, today or yesterday. Was it today? Yes. That’s so true.

Yeah. And usually, like to kinda you know, of course, the other book isn’t out yet, but so but I I think it’s very exciting that the the journey that God has got you on and, you know, not knowing some of the you know, what’s gonna happen is isn’t that the adventure?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: An exciting and sometimes terrifying one, but just giving it all to god, I mean, it’s it’s it’s freeing nonetheless.

Kimberly Faith: Freeing is a good word. I I I liken it to the my son taking me bungee jumping in New Zealand. And, you know, I remember just staying on the edge of that platform and saying, okay, Lord, I am so in. And it’s almost like it was like prove it. I love that.

So you stretch out your arms and you do that swan dive off the platform, you know, head first. But I feel like, you know, flying is is you know, we are flying and God is the the the power that is lifting us up and taking us on the journey. There’s nothing like it.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: There is nothing like it indeed. And I just am so grateful to have the god of the universe on my side, and he loves and cares about each one of his children. And so but, yeah, I just I thank you for that reminder. It’s it’s scary. It is like standing on the precipice of the unknown, but, you know, I look back at my life and I’m like, wow.

He has gotten me through so much. There’s no chance that he’s not gonna get me through everything in the future.

Kimberly Faith: That’s right. I mean, it’s so good. His mercies are from everlasting and everlasting. And you just think, why would I want to live any other way? You know?

Why would I want to live in my own knowledge, my own strength, my own love when God’s well is so deep and so vast and His knowledge is far beyond ours, higher than ours, and His strength is greater than ours. So one of the things I love about your story, Ashley, is that that’s what you’re doing. And it’s a great example of someone who, like you said, grew up kind of what we would consider ordinary, right? But has taken the, I guess, the step off that platform and say, God, I want to fly. And you spent some time flying in man made machines, now you’re flying on God’s machine.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Oh, I like that. That’s amazing.

Kimberly Faith: Oh, girl. One of these days, I’m gonna be a rapper.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Alright. I’ll be your background dancer.

Kimberly Faith: No. I I really do appreciate you coming on and sharing your story. That is it’s wonderful. And would you like to share your website with our listeners so they can know where to get your book or maybe give us some information?

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Absolutely. So I would love for your listeners to reach out to me through my website. It’s ashley, a s h l e e, leopard,leppert.com. And also my books on Amazon, The Hurricane Within. And I just want to encourage the listeners, if you feel that tug on your heart, if you feel that any bit of the story that was shared tonight is something that you can resonate with, I just encourage you.

God wants every bit of you, the broken, the ugly, all the things that we feel shame and guilty for. Please consider just reaching out to Him, praying to Him because He wants every bit of that and He wants to transform your life and give you a purpose and welfare in the future and all the beautiful things. And my life is a testimony of that.

Kimberly Faith: Amen. And I I I appreciate that encouragement. We you know, we do if if you’re listening to this and you have never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then, you know, God is if God is if you feel like you’re being called to Him, that’s called the gift of faith and the gift of repentance, which are gifts from God, and he’s drawing you. That’s his invitation. It’s there, and all you have to do is believe.

All you have to do is believe. And, you know, that belief isn’t something that you conjure up. It’s belief based on the supernatural gift of faith that God gives you that says, I am the savior. That’s how come Peter could tell Jesus when he asked him, how do you know? Who do you say that I am?

He says, you are the Christ. You know? And and and Jesus reminded him, yeah, flesh and blood didn’t reveal that to you, the spirit. And so if you’re in that position where you do not know 100% if you died today that you would go and meet the father, then Jesus is giving you an invitation to accept him. And, you know, when I prayed to receive Jesus as my savior, I didn’t say a special prayer.

I just said I give up. I I give up. You’re the only way. I need you to save me. And so, Ashley, thank you for giving that invitation, and, appreciate you so much, shining your light for Jesus.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Thank you, and thank you again for the platform to share my story. It has been a blessing to meet you, and, maybe we can have another show after both books have been read and we have lots more to talk about.

Kimberly Faith: I I would love that. I would love that. You take care.

Ashlee Olbricht Leppert: Thank you. You too. Hey,

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