God Talks: How to Have a Friendship with God (Even if You've Made a Million Mistakes)

By Ed Rush

Here's the promise of this book in 28 words...

• You're going to learn how to ask God questions.
• You're going to get answers.
• And then you're going to use those answers to recode your life for success.

GOD TALKS is a simple process that will show you how to instantly break through

• Language: English
• Publisher: God Talks INC
• Release date: Mar 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9798987912720

Ed Rush

Ed Rush is a fighter pilot and a card-carrying member of the Million Mistake Club. Despite failing kindergarten, Ed graduated from Top Gun. Despite typing like a chicken on amphetamines, Ed wrote several best-selling books.Ed's hobbies include hiking, golf, fly fishing, and writing his own bio in the third person. He lives in San Diego with his wife, four offspring, and a bearded dragon named Smaug. Oh... and sometime in the future, there's bound to be a puppy because - as everyone knows - every great story has a puppy.Ed's superpower is showing entrepreneurs how to use their messages to change the world by creating more income and impact. His mission is to connect you with God and let Him do the rest because, frankly, He's got this.

Book preview

Your purchase of this book entitles you to a series of companion resources including Guided Audios, Worksheets, and other Bonus Material.

You can access everything by scanning the QR code below or by visiting…

www.GodTalksBonus.com

HOW TO HAVE A FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD

GOD

TALKS

EVEN IF YOU’VE MADE A MILLION MISTAKES

ED RUSH

TOP GUN FIGHTER PILOT

#1 BEST SELLING AUTHOR

God Talks™

Copyright © 2023 by God Talks, Inc.

P.O. Box 1290, Bonita, CA 91908, 619-292-2599

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written consent of the author, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law.

For permission to reprint portions of this content or for bulk purchases, [e-mail]

Limits of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty

The author and publisher shall not be liable for your misuse of this material. This book is for strictly informational/educational/entertainment purposes and does not constitute medical, counseling, marital, personal, or investment advice. Do your own research. Use your big beautiful brain. Be nice. Smile more. Also, who reads the copyright page? Really?

Disclaimer

The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense, the U.S. government, or the United States Marine Corps. Any images of Ed Rush in a flight suit were taken with a suit bought at the owner’s expense. They were also taken many years ago. Many, many years ago.

Publishing services by Niche Pressworks

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on File

DEDICATION

To You.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTIONTHE KEY TO A GOOD ENDING IS A GOOD BEGINNING

CHAPTER 1The Day I Discovered I Was a Duck

CHAPTER 2A Hero Named You

PART IWHERE YOU’LL FIND NEW LIFE IN HEARING HOW I ALMOST DIED

CHAPTER 3Life-Changing Lessons from Some Guy Whose Name I Can’t Remember

CHAPTER 4What Do You Do When You Have One Minute to Live?

CHAPTER 5The Day an Atheist Heard from God

PART IIGOD TALKS

CHAPTER 6God Talks

CHAPTER 7Answers to Some Common Questions

PART IIITHE SEVEN-DAY GOD TALKS JOURNEY: A DEEP DIVE

CHAPTER 8Day #1 – Asking God about You

The Dumbest Thing I Ever Said, and I Meant It, Too

CHAPTER 9Day #2 – Asking God About God

How Do You Solve a Problem (like Maria)?*

CHAPTER 10Day #3 – Asking God About Your Past

Welcome to the Million Mistake Club

CHAPTER 11Day #4 – Asking God About Your Future

How to Colonize a Planet

CHAPTER 12Day #5 – Asking God About Money

Maserati Drivers are Such Jerks

CHAPTER 13Day #6 – Asking God About Your Purpose

Dumb Things I Did in the Dark

CHAPTER 14Day #7 – Asking God About Your Business

The Absolute Worst Chapter in This Book

CHAPTER 15The End Is Just the Beginning

BONUS SECTION

BONUS INTROThe Greatest Pilot in the World

APPENDIX AUnlimited Freedom

APPENDIX B(More) Answers to Common Questions

APPENDIX CHow to Use God Talks to Change a Nation

APPENDIX DAdvanced God Talks Exercises

Bonus Exercise #1: Acres of Gold

Bonus Exercise #2: Sacred Texts

Bonus Exercise #3: Downloading Your Instructions for the Day

Bonus Exercise #4: Receiving a Blessing

APPENDIX EA Friend Closer Than a Brother

APPENDIX FGod Talks Worksheets

Hearing from God about You

Hearing from God about God

Hearing from God about Your Past

Hearing from God about Your Future

Hearing from God about Money

Hearing from God about Your Purpose

Hearing from God about Your Business

Acres of Gold

SPECIAL THANKS TO

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

INTRODUCTION

The Key to a Good Ending Is a Good Beginning

FEATURING…

Your Kindergarten Application

Useless Bay

Ducks vs. Eagles

and

Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

CHAPTER 1

The Day I Discovered I Was a Duck

HERE’S THE PROMISE of this book in 28 words:

You’re going to learn how to ask God questions.

You’re going to get answers.

And then you’re going to use those answers to recode your life for success.

God Talks is a simple process that will show you how to instantly break through any obstacle and create abundance in your life. By the time you are done, you’ll feel more energetic, more vibrant, and more alive. Your relationships will be better, stronger, and more meaningful. You will be more focused and fearless.

And you’re going to reconnect with an old Friend. You may have met him before.

His name is God.

I know that sounds like a bold promise, but stick with me, and you’ll discover that talking to God can be the most natural, most impactful thing you ever do. Plus, it’s absolutely essential for you to make this Divine Connection. That’s because God created you to do something extraordinary — to be something extraordinary. He gave you a mission, a vision, and a calling.

It’s ok if you’re nervous or even a little skeptical about God Talks. I was, too, at first.

Ten years ago, my life stopped making sense. Even though I had read all the right books and met all the right people and made a lot of money, I still felt… empty.

I felt like one of those cards you buy at Hallmark with happy covers but nothing inside. (I think they call those Blank Inside cards.)

The worst thing about being a Blank Inside card was that I felt like, at any moment, someone would point their finger in my face and say, You’re a fraud. (And what’s worse, I would have believed them.)

Here I was, inspiring the world as a motivational speaker, but for some reason, I couldn’t inspire myself. What made it harder was that I had every reason to be happy. I had a beautiful wife and three amazing kids. I had a great business with a big following, and I was up on stage all the time, boldly helping others. That seems strange now, knowing how Blank Inside I felt.

Finally, I dragged myself to a counselor’s office as a last resort. So there I was, sitting with my legs crossed on a folding chair, with a styrofoam cup of day-old coffee in my hand, wondering exactly how I ended up in this counseling session in the first place. There were three of us in a room the size of a closet: the counselor, his assistant, and me… all staring at each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. Then, after an eternity of silence, the counselor looked over his bifocals and asked me to do the strangest thing.

Ed, I want you to ask God what lies you believe about yourself.

Now, the first thing you should know is that if I had my way, I would have walked right out of that room and down the street to the nearest bar that featured both IPA and UFC (India Pale Ale and Ultimate Fighting Championship). Then I would swallow both of them long enough to kill the question.

Ask… God… what? You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ll ask this question, and God will say He’s disappointed with me. Or worse, He’ll say… nothing.

But I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I’d paid for an hour, so I decided I would do the next best thing — which was to pretend.

Let’s face it: I knew God wasn’t going to say anything. I was sure He was angry or on vacation. And maybe one of the reasons I felt so Blank Inside is because I was thinking, If God doesn’t want anything to do with me, why would anyone else?

So my plan was to make up some answers to convince this counselor that the session was successful, even though I’d be faking the whole thing. Little did I know that make-believe wasn’t on the agenda that afternoon because, as it turns out, God happened to be standing there, ready for a chat.

And so I asked the question, not because I wanted to and not because I thought it would work. I asked the question because I was supposed to.

God, what lies do I believe about myself?

And then, much to my shock and surprise… I Heard His voice.

God whispered out of the silence, You believe you are alone.

So naturally, I did what one does when they’re not expecting to hear God’s voice, but He speaks anyway, which is…

I cried in front of two grown men.

Now, the big problem with my crying is that I don’t cry like a normal person. Normal people just let the tears flow until they are good and done. Not me. First, I am a Marine, and second, I’m a fighter pilot. Which more than anything means, get your act together. So when I cry, I simultaneously cry and try not to cry, which has the same effect as having your right foot on the accelerator and your left foot on the brake. There are convulsions. There are rapid multi-directional upper body movements. There are staccato sniffs.

It’s not pretty.

While I was fighting back the tears, something even stranger happened: I was mentally transported to age six, right in the middle of my parent’s divorce.

I saw myself sitting in the backseat of the car with Mom at the wheel. Dad was on the curb. The driver’s side window was down because they were having a divorce-intensity argument about what school I would attend for kindergarten. In her frustration, my mom threw my school application out of the window and sped off. But she only drove for about twenty feet because, for some reason I still can’t explain, I yelled, Stoooopppp! and jumped out of the car to pick up the papers lying all over the road.

And it was right there on the street as I collected papers off the cement with cars whizzing by that I said to myself…

Well, I guess I am alone now.

(And those last seven words just took an afternoon for me to write because it hurts to even think about how seven little words can affect a six-year-old’s life trajectory.)

I can’t even explain why I came to that conclusion right then. But everything seemed to swirl into a single false idea that felt true. I’m sure you can imagine that those words became more than just words for me. They became my destiny. They became a self-fulfilling prophecy, a self-licking ice cream cone that kept spitting out the same result.

Not surprisingly, after I made the false assumption that I was alone, my relationships took a new turn. It shouldn’t be a surprise that I kept my friends at a distance. Or that I had a revolving door of employees. Or that it took me forever to get married, and even when I did, my emotions were so guarded, you’d need a Sherman Tank to get through.

And, finally, it shouldn’t surprise you that thirty-four years later, I was sitting in a counselor’s office feeling as empty as a Blank Inside card.

Well, I guess I’m alone now.

It took three seconds to say, but boy, did those three seconds last a lifetime.

Now at this point in the counseling session, it’s safe to say I wasn’t pretending anymore. So, when the counselor told me to ask God the next question, I went right after it.

I asked, What’s true about me?

And God quickly said: You’ve never been alone. I have always been with you, and I always will be. And I am proud of you.

Now I can’t adequately explain what happened next, so here is my best shot. At that exact moment, my mind snapped back to the memory of that six-year-old picking up papers on the road, only, in this version of the memory, God was right there on the street picking up the papers with me. I can’t believe I never noticed Him before. He’s there with that face that looks like gentle determination. It’s the face that says, I know this is hard, but we’re going to be ok, you and me. So why don’t we both get back in the car together?

And then off we drove — God and Mom and me.

Now, looking back, I can see I was never alone. In school, I had friends and teammates. In the military, I had fellow warriors. In my current life, I have a wonderful wife and four great kids.

How strange it is to believe you’re flying solo when you’re surrounded by wingmen. How strange it is to believe you’re all by yourself when God’s in the car right next to you (with your kindergarten application on His lap).

What happened in my life after that talk with God was nothing short of a miracle. I learned how to become closer in my relationships and have more compassion for my kids, and I even attracted the right employees. I learned how to connect authentically, and in the process, I found the real me. Then, finally, I discovered my purpose, found the drive to change the world, and created a plan to make it happen.

Of course, there were some bumps on the road and new things to learn. And the transformation was far more gradual than I probably remember it. But all in all, it’s easier driving on a full tire than a flat one. And getting right about who you are fills that tire up quickly.

But — even crazier — soon after that counseling session, I started teaching people how to ask God questions for themselves. At first, I was a bit tentative about sharing the message of how to have a one-on-one conversation with God. After all, I was a Marine fighter pilot, which means my message was about tough things like discipline and execution, not what I used to call fluffy God stuff. But the more I taught God Talks, the more I saw the results: lives revived, destinies reignited, and purposes restored — all because people brought their most important questions to God.

I’ve now taught this process to tens of thousands of people. Through it all, there’s one constant:

God always shows up.

Always.

It doesn’t matter who is doing the exercise. He’s there. It doesn’t matter what they’ve done, how sordid their past is, or even what they believe. He speaks. I’ve seen Him talk to atheists, skeptics, doubters, and people who don’t know what to believe (but pretend they do). I’ve seen him speak with people who have made so many mistakes that they can’t look at themselves in the mirror. I’ve seen Him talk to people the world has left behind.

He’s always there with His big, abundant love and a face filled with gentle determination.

And, of course, this brings me full circle back to you.

First, I hope my story somehow helps you in your story. But, more