My guest this week is Inés Franklin. She currently serves as a teaching pastor at Mariners Church, where she preaches sermons and writes and teaches theology and discipleship courses. Inés is the founder and president of Trochia Ministries, a Christian discipleship ministry, which seeks to provide resources designed to equip and encourage believers to develop genuine, mature, and resilient faith. Inés is also the author of the new book, Uncharted: Navigating Your Unique Journey of Faith. This book offers lessons learned from Inés’ own courageous journey of faith. We go deep in our conversation today, and her testimony is incredibly powerful. You will be blown away by her story. 2:42 – Inés 101 Inés is from Puerto Rico. She teaches on Sunday mornings in English and Spanish. She is the CFO for a real estate business she owns with her husband. Inés and her husband have a blended family and 9, soon-to-be 10, grandchildren. 10:55 – Her faith journey Inés and her six siblings were raised by a single mom in poverty with a lot of government assistance and help from family members. Inés’ mom had no interest in going to church, but her grandmother took them to church. Inés wanted to go to heaven as a child and thought about taking her life to get there. 19:16 – It’s never too late It’s never too late to come to Christ. When Inés’ life crashed, she was desperate for life again. She was hungry for a new way. You can’t jump a divide between you and God on your own effort. God is the one who bridges that divide through Jesus on the cross. 28:09 – Seminary on her heart When God puts something on your heart, it won’t go away. Inés decided to go to seminary school in her 40s. 39:19 – Extending forgiveness When you extend forgiveness to yourself, you let go of the pride you have. None of us like to walk into grief, but you need to remember that none of us are perfect. Sadness is the consequence of sin. Grow into a deeper relationship with God. 48:40 – Faith is mysterious Don’t be afraid to ask questions. They are essential. God isn’t offended by our questions. FEATURED QUOTES I wanted to go to heaven. I heard about heaven, and I wanted to go right away. You can’t jump a divide between you and God on your own effort. God is the one who bridges that divide through Jesus on the cross. When God puts something on your heart, it won’t go away. I was not kind to myself, but I was forgetting how human and vulnerable I am. Even today, after 20 years of walking with Jesus, I’m still capable of doing things that are wrong. Questions are essential. God is not offended by any questions we ask. https://www.inesfranklin.com/