Point of View June 23, 2026 – Hour 1 : Restored

[00:00:04] Across America, live, this is Point of View, Kirby Anderson Thank you for joining me. It is our time today where we're going to spend some time talking about a book that we've discussed before. I'll hold it up for those of you watching online. It's called Restored.

[00:00:29] There really is no other book like it, which is one of the reasons that we certainly did the interview quite some time ago. Matter of fact, I think it was the first interview that we did on that book, and we wanted to come back and talk about it again. Restored, Reconnecting Life's Broken Pieces. It's written by Cindy Brinker Simmons, who's in studio with me today.

[00:00:48] As we've mentioned in the past, she is a graduate of University of Virginia, perhaps best known in the tennis world because her late mother was, of course, Maureen Connolly Brinker. And there is the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation. Matter of fact, you will, as we get into this book, talk a little bit about the issue of tennis and all the rest. But it really deals very significantly in the middle part of the book with restoring.

[00:01:15] Restoring momentum, restoring perseverance, restoring joy, community, relationships, compassion, purpose. And then even talks about God's restoration plan. And if nothing else, just a fascinating book. It was a great interview we did a couple of years ago. And Cindy, you've decided to come back here once again for Point of View. With great joy. Thank you, Kirby. It's wonderful being here. Thank you. First time we interviewed you, we were just interviewing you as the book was coming out.

[00:01:42] And I thought the natural first question is, now that you've had a chance to do interviews, and of course you are a speaker so many different venues, this is a great opportunity for you to maybe see the impact. But I think that it really has connected with the American people, don't you think? I do. I do. And as you said, you were my first interviewer. And what a grand way for God to launch my book signing and my speaking just through you, Kirby.

[00:02:10] I really enjoyed our first gathering and God has really used this book. It has resonated with people because the idea is, is that suffering is a universal experience. That we read in 1 Peter 4.12, it says, Dear brothers, why are you surprised at the fiery trials that are overtaking you as if something strange is happening to you? Suffering is part of life and life is hard.

[00:02:39] And none of us are immune from the bumps and bruises of daily living. And so that's what this book really does address. And people have resonated because we all have instances in our life where we have grief or disappointment. I mean, it could be, it doesn't have to be that you lose someone special in your life, but it could just be that you're just disappointed or you're not where you expected to be. Or there's so many things. Life is beautiful, but it can be chaotic and confusing. So we've had great response.

[00:03:08] We've had Bible studies that have started from this. I, I, people have been so kind to write back or text back, um, hundreds and hundreds of people. And one young lady said, uh, that her mother is just heartbroken because her father left after 33 years of marriage. They're going through a divorce. So I got this book and I'm going with it through my, with my mom through this. And another young lady said, my mom has been really struggling and she's reading it for the third time. So I think it's just because we're all broken people, Kirby.

[00:03:38] We've all had things sometimes life weighs so much. And so this book is just my way of helping people move forward when they're in fragile places to infuse hope and joy. When we were first together, I said, this may be as a Bible curriculum. Not that you have developed that yet, but I thought I'd mention for just a minute for many of our listeners, you may teach a small group or a Bible study at the end of every one of the chapters that deals with restoration.

[00:04:04] You have a chapter summary points, which are excellent takeaway question and then application. Usually in this case, six ways that you can move forward and those go on for some detail. So it's really almost plug and play. If you wanted to take someone through this, if you wanted to go through it yourself, it's really developed. And again, it's a book that has been out for a while. So if you have any difficulty finding it, we do have links to it on our website at pointofview.net. You can get it in hardback, which is one you have here. I got an extra copy on paperback.

[00:04:34] I figure if I'm going to dog ear it, I might as well do that. So it's both in paperback and hardback. And it's a book that you will want to read through. And I think it will be very helpful. And just for a few minutes before we get into the meat of that, your first section tells your story. And I think some people might think, well, Cindy, I don't know. You seem pretty successful. You've never had any heartbreak or difficulties. And in some respects, you tell that story. Can you kind of give us an overview of that? For sure.

[00:05:01] Because it gives you credibility to speak about the things we're going to be talking about. Sure. Well, we're all broken. That's just, that's the way that we all right now are people who in some way or another have a story that God can use of brokenness. And mine started at age 12. I was sitting on a very uncomfortable pew seat with my 10 year old sister to my left, my grieving dad to my right. We had just buried my mom.

[00:05:27] And while she was known as mom to me, she was, and to Brenda, my sister, she was known to her adoring public in the 1950s as the tennis champion. Yes. Little Mo. She was number one in the world in tennis. She won Wimbledon three years in a row. Yes. She was the first woman and still the only American woman, Kirby, to win the Grand Slam. Right now we're on the eve of Wimbledon. Next year in 2027 will be the 75th anniversary of mom's first Wimbledon championship. Wow.

[00:05:55] So there I was so heartbroken, so angry. Literally, I was confused. I just couldn't understand this God. I was shaking my fist at him, clenching my teeth. And I saw our families, a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle thrown haphazardly to the wind. And God had mandated that we would put it back together. And I was like, God, God, we can't even find the pieces. So I really thought God hated me.

[00:06:22] I thought I had done something so bad, so terrible to cause this loss of my mom. And, you know, Kirby, I wasn't too crazy about him either. So I thought he hated me. I wasn't too crazy about him. So I started to search for this God that I thought had vengefully, I had incurred his wrath. So I started to perform because I wanted to earn back the love of a vengeful God. And after all, I came from a family winners.

[00:06:52] You know, my mom was number one in tennis in the world. My dad was an Olympian. Did well in business. I mean, that's kind of what we knew in our family. We dialed up accomplishments. So I started my little performance. Performance. I was like my little pet hamster. I was running in place on that big wheel. And I had the feeling of forward momentum, but I wasn't going anywhere. That little guy must have been pooped. I sure was. It was exhausting trying to outperform for God.

[00:07:20] But then by God's outrageous grace, Kirby, I was introduced to a daughter of a pastor. And she told me that I couldn't earn God's love, that God loved me just the way I was. There was no target on my back. He wasn't mad at me. He loved me. As a matter of fact, he loved me so much that he sent his son to die for me. And I couldn't imagine that anybody would sacrifice for me. So that night we talked about a relationship with Jesus Christ.

[00:07:49] And I got on my knees and I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Now, what's so interesting about that story? Sadly, but in God's providence, 33 years later, my sweet husband was diagnosed with cancer. Very sad. And we had three months. The doctor gave us three months. My little boy, William, was six. But we had three more beautiful years. So at age nine, William was age nine when Bob was taken home to glory. But this time it was different.

[00:08:19] This time I knew that God. This time I knew that God loved me. And this time I knew no matter what, that God had a plan, a purpose. And so everything we did was to glorify him and to speak joy. And people came to the Lord through that, including my dad. Going to talk about this book, Restored, Reconnecting Life's Broken Pieces. Cindy Brinker Simmons in studio with us today. And we will come back right after these important messages.

[00:09:00] This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson. C.S. Lewis and the Great Divorce describes a bus trip that people in hell take to heaven. They're given the opportunity to live in paradise, but decide instead to get back on the bus and return to hell because they are convinced that the sins they have committed and the wrongs they have done are justified.

[00:09:22] Now, his novel is an allegory that illustrates a present reality that so many in our society today won't admit their failures and take some accountability. Jeff Minnick writes about lessons of accountability in an age of excuses. He describes the famous fable of four people. There was an important job to be done and everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but nobody did.

[00:09:46] Somebody got angry about the fact that because everybody's job, everybody thought anybody could do it, but nobody realized that everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that everybody blamed somebody that nobody did what anybody could have done. The current examples of no accountability are numerous. Politicians and educators still won't admit that the pandemic lockdowns damaged the education of millions of school children, ruined thousands of businesses and dramatically increased rates of anxiety and depression.

[00:10:15] Add to that the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the massive government expenditures by both Republicans and Democrats, and all the growing evidence of widespread fraud at the state and national level. There have been examples of men and women in history who made themselves accountable. President Harry Truman, for example, was known for a plaque on his desk in the Oval Office that simply stated, the buck stops here. We need to return to a culture of accountability. I'm Kirby Anderson, and that's my point of view.

[00:10:49] Go deeper on topics like you just heard by visiting pointofview.net. That's pointofview.net. You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth. Privilege to have you in studio with us today, Cindy Brinker Simmons. The book is entitled Restored, a book I certainly recommend to you. And I thought we would focus, Cindy, most of our time and attention in the next two segments on sort of the middle chapters, seven chapters.

[00:11:19] And one of those is, again, the idea of restoring the idea of momentum. Because it does seem to me that I run into a number of individuals that seem to be stuck, and they don't know what to do. We've just been talking about the issue of suffering. We've talked about the issue of people maybe trying to figure out, just even on a difficult day, where is God? And you have a very encouraging chapter here about restoring momentum. Yes, yes.

[00:11:48] Well, I do believe that life does have a stuck-on-hold button. We get stuck. We just don't know what to do. Again, life can just be so heavy. It can take our breath away. And we just don't know what to do. So what I try and encourage people to do in that chapter is trust God. Trust is a powerful word. It's an active word.

[00:12:13] And when we trust God, we know he has a plan and a purpose for us. Now, we can trust lots of things, but trust means a total surrender, a total surrender. And there are lots of voices, Kirby, that vie for our attention because life is beautiful. And there are many, many things, family, business, pleasures that are wonderful for us, that are part of life's greatest joy.

[00:12:43] But God does not take idolatry seriously. I mean, he does not take it that he takes it very seriously. He does not absolutely wants to be the one that is worshipped and he is worthy of worship. So trust means totally surrender to an audience of one. And there are many voices in idolatry that are loud. Our family, we can idolize our family, our profession, our pleasures.

[00:13:10] But we never want those voices to get, elevate above God because we must trust in God. And by trusting in God, we know that he has a plan and a purpose for us. And it is good. And that also that he gives us dreams and he gives us uniquenesses to move forward with the purposes. Even if we can't see it now, what's really important is not to forget to remember that God is in the background working on our behalf. We might not see it right now.

[00:13:39] But let us not forget to remember even our brief history, what God has done to renew us, to repair us, to bring us back to him. Just the fact that we're breathing and alive, even if we have some wounds, just shows the outrageous grace of God. So the idea of momentum is putting your trust in God. Because as Romans 15, 13 says, that God is a hope who produces joy and peace when we trust in him.

[00:14:06] And we just don't want to survive through our hardships. We want to thrive. And by trusting in God, we are able to put one step forward and move forward in victory. You talk about observing the day too, because that's another idea. Because once you are observing what God has been doing, and you talked about the word remember. Think of the number of times, even in the Old Testament, where they were said to remember. And they would actually pull stones upon stones to remember. That is another theme that runs through that chapter as well.

[00:14:35] But I want to keep the train moving down the road. So let's get to restoring perseverance. And that one is difficult, because all of us face trials, temptations, and difficulties, and things like that. And in some respects, you talk about something which I'm sure is going to sound almost counterintuitive, to celebrate discomfort. Can you explain that? Yes, absolutely. Well, trials test the consistency of your faith.

[00:15:03] And what the Bible says is, is that we must persevere. What does God say to do? To persevere. He calls us to persevere, because again, we trust in him. So perseverance, in James 1-2 it says that we must literally persevere. We must look forward. And what persevere does is it produces maturity, and it produces patience. And discomfort provides patience.

[00:15:33] And persevering, Kirby, is not just walking through and stopping. Persevering, what's so important about trials is that you don't quit. You keep moving forward. You don't let the trials control you. They define you or slow you down. Absolutely. And during the trials is what is so important. And as a matter of fact, there are many treasures in trials.

[00:15:58] And I'd like to read a few that I have identified that many times that blessings are treasures in disguise. And I just wanted to share that trials have an upside to them. And many times the greatest breakthroughs are through the torch lives of people. And sometimes the path to suffering is the only way to get there. For example, when you persevere through trials, strength and courage replace weakness and complacency.

[00:16:27] Recklessness becomes responsibility. Self-absorption dies to servant leadership. Perseverity gives way to discipline. Appreciation and gratitude are profoundly increased. Relationships are restored. Love and compassion breaks through the barriers of hate and intolerance. Hope is restored. God is glorified. And authentic intimacy with God happens.

[00:16:55] So the idea is, is that many times, even though we're going through trials, God is using that to help us discover things about ourselves, to help strengthen things about ourselves, and to become more mature people that are now ready to move forward and bless others. And when you're persevering and you're with trials, people are watching. There are eyeballs on your back.

[00:17:16] So persevering also allows you to be an encouragement and an inspiration to people because they're seeing how you withstand and trust in God and how you place your faith in God and how you move forward. Sometimes maybe a step backwards because sometimes you do step backwards before you move forward. But again, remembering that word that God has a plan and purpose for you and he is still working on your behalf.

[00:17:42] Don't forget to remember all that God has done for you in the past, and he will do it again and again and again. And that helps us persevere. Again, if people want to find that list, that's in, of course, the chapter dealing with restoring perseverance. And it does seem to me, Cindy, one of the values of the way this book is, is this is the kind of book that I could maybe give to someone who has lost a loved one, maybe faced a financial reversal, a major medical challenge. Yes.

[00:18:09] And they don't want to move forward and they are stuck. And I think all of us at one time or another get stuck. So your chapters on momentum and perseverance help them move forward. So a lot of times people want to know, well, this would be a book that would be helpful for me. But is this the book I could give to someone else? And that's exactly what you intended, right? Yes, absolutely. When Bob was sick, we had so many dear friends and sometimes they just evaporated because they didn't know how to respond to us. I mean, they were heartbroken, too.

[00:18:39] So one of the things I do talk about is compassion. Yes. Because God made us to be relational people. He made us to want to help others. As a matter of fact, in Second Corinthians one, three through five, it says that God is a God of comfort, that he is the father of compassion and he has comforted us so that we in turn may comfort others. And serving others is an act of worship.

[00:19:03] So so this book can be something that you give to someone that helps them move forward or just being a compassionate person, going to a person who's afflicted and just assigning yourself to help them or just showing up or being present, whether it's with a book or just with your own person, going and helping other people as they're walking through that and just sitting and sometimes just being quiet or just assigning yourself.

[00:19:31] Help help with groceries, help take children, pick them up from school, help help write thank you notes. So this book does talk about also about the importance of compassion and giving back, because, again, we are called to be champs hands and feet of Christ and the champions of God. I just mentioned that is one of the chapters we'll get to in the next segment. But let me just also say that another value of this is that this book will help you slow down.

[00:19:59] We were just talking to someone a minute ago that said, you know, I've just been so busy and everything. And I sat down with the book and it kind of began to slow us down because we all live and you live in this world and I live in this world. This fast paced, frenetic society. And you were even just talking where you're going to be next week and all the things that you're doing with the Tennis Foundation and all the rest. And there's never a time to kind of just set and focus, you know, be still and know that I am God. It's certainly one of those.

[00:20:29] So when we come back, we're going to talk about community, going to talk about relationships. Since you mentioned compassion, we'll obviously talk about that. And it's all part of this book, which is Entired Restored, Reconnecting Life's Broken Pieces. If you find yourself saying, well, we sure love to get Cindy to come speak at our group. We do have a link to her website and you can click on that. It's BrinkerSimmons.com. But you don't have to remember all that. Just click on her picture. We also have one on a Facebook page, one on X.

[00:20:57] You've gotten a lot into social media since this book has come out. And so they're just some great opportunities for you to connect up with her. And of course, if you've already read the book or would like to maybe get some advice, I'm sure she would be glad to correspond with you as well. Lots of ways in which she has been involved in this ministry. And let me encourage you to go to the website, pointofview.net, and find all of those links. We'll take a break. We'll be back right after this.

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[00:22:54] You are listening to Point of View. The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station. And now, here again, is Kirby Anderson. Back once again as we talk about the book Restored, Reconnecting Life's Broken Pieces. One of the individuals writing about this book said,

[00:23:23] How to find light in darkness and hope when all seems lost. If you look at some of the endorsements, there are individuals that we have had on the program over the years. And I think you will certainly appreciate the good material that is available in this book. And Cindy Brinker Simmons in with us. And one of the other chapters is the idea of restoring joy. But it brings us back to something you were talking about just a minute ago. Finding joy in the midst of grief.

[00:23:50] So much of the Christian life is sort of counterintuitive. He would be first as last. He would be last of all, would be the leader. There's a sense in which to find joy in the midst of grief. And you have, again, a chapter in that. And you've experienced it many times. I have. I have. So well said. Joy is an intentional decision. Because many times you can't control your circumstances. But you can control your responses to your circumstances. You can choose joy.

[00:24:19] It's an intentional decision. My mom passed away. I couldn't control that. But what you don't. What we don't want people to do is to let grief define them. To let their sorrow literally be holding them hostage. And what's so important is that we have an outlet for grief. And one of the things that I have found that's been very helpful is putting your grief into action. Yes.

[00:24:46] In other words, bitterness and anger is like a cancer. It seeks to destroy. And if you don't have an outlet for taking that sadness, that grief, that heartbrokenness, and putting it outwards, then it is going to destroy you. And so what we need to do, yes, when something happens, a tragedy happens, we need to pause. We need to just catch our breath.

[00:25:10] We need to mend a little bit what's broken in our heart and just take a moment to just breathe. But God beckons us forward. He doesn't want us to stay in neutral forever. He beckons us forward. And what I have found, that grief is not a new emotion, nor is activism a new phenomenon. But when you marry the two, great recovery begins to happen. Right.

[00:25:34] So when you are other focused, not self-focused, and you turn that grief to help other people, it is such a way of literally beginning the road to recovery. And also, grief is reality. We are all going to experience grief. But we have to also understand that God's in control. He does as he pleases, and he does right well.

[00:25:58] And he will, with time, he's working through that many times our grief is going to start something, champion something. We're better for it. And that I started, through my grief, an organization to honor my mom called Wipe Out Kids Cancer. And it was my way, when I came back from college, I was sitting on that uncomfortabused seat, and I said, someday I want to do something, somehow, some way to do something that honors my mom. So I started an organization.

[00:26:25] And who would have thought 45 years later it would still be active? But it was a way for me to park my grief in a very positive way. And it's amazing how many times a tragedy opens up a door. I'll just pick one example. Chuck Colson in prison, Prison Fellowship. Absolutely. And we've had various people with that organization there. And just a great illustration of the fact that sometimes you can be so inward-focused, the best solution is to be outward-focused. Absolutely. We've had counselors on this program say that oftentimes when somebody comes in, they say they're depressed.

[00:26:54] Well, then go out and minister. No, I've got my problem. No, no. So if you go out and start ministering to others, it will help you. And I think it leads to the other one in terms of community. Lots of times people say, I have no friends, and we're not supposed to be alone. But let's talk about this idea of restoring community because that's really important in the Christian life, is it not? It is. Oh, it is. God made us to be relational. He made us to be in relationships one to another.

[00:27:24] And when we get isolated and when we get separated, that's when the enemy begins to talk lies and accuses us because we don't have comrades, loyal comrades, who will literally undergird us with prayer and encourage us. Everybody needs to belong somewhere. Everybody. We need to have community. It's called community.

[00:27:46] And community is just a small group of trusted people who are engaged to encourage you, to pray for you, to walk with you, carry you, carry you through hardships. And community is essential, literally, for ushering in hope. You know, again, that is part of our problem because in North America we just have a lot of people that are kind of lone rangers. But if you think back, lone ranger even had Tonto.

[00:28:12] I mean, there's a sense in which we just don't seem to understand how important community is and body life and the rest, which relates to another one. And that is the issue of relationships because you spend a fair amount of time in the chapter on relationships talking about forgiveness. Oh, I do. And you've already alluded to that. But I wanted to, before we even take the next break, get into that because we've had Max Lucado on. And really, your book is so unique.

[00:28:36] The only one that sort of reminds me a little of your book is some of the things Max Lucado and a few others have written about. But forgiveness is so key. He's written a book on it. You have a chapter that just reminds us if we want to have relationships, we've just got to learn to forgive. Absolutely. Well, thank you. That's a compliment to be compared to wonderful Max Lucado. We have to remember that forgiveness is the absolute heartbeat of the gospel.

[00:29:04] Because the whole reason that Jesus came on earth was not to improve people. He wasn't on an improvement campaign. He came to earth to sacrifice his life to forgive, to love, to save. So Jesus Christ dying on the cross and the crucifixion is known as the most torturous man-made death.

[00:29:31] I mean, the word excruciating comes from crucifixion. And yet God, in his outrageous grace, loved us so much that he gave his only son to die for us. And that is because we need to be forgiven. Because the only way, again, this little girl who was trying to earn her way into heaven, that daughter of a pastor said, you can't earn your way into heaven because heaven is a holy sanctuary. You'd have to be perfect.

[00:29:58] But God, with his outrageous grace, loved you so much, Cindy, that he sent his son to die for you, to forgive you of your sins and take on those sins so that now you are righteous in the eyes of a holy God and you can spend eternity with him. So by not forgiving, we are literally contrary to the very death of why, of the whole mission of Jesus' death. So it's very important to forgive. And by forgiving also, it releases you.

[00:30:27] And reconciliation can happen. Because if you're carrying around unforgiveness, that just is a barrier that the enemy uses to literally break relationships and to harm them and to not have reconciliation. I might just mention, at the end of each chapter, of course, you have the chapter summaries, a takeaway question. But applications, I love the first question. Identify any person or persons with whom you need to ask forgiveness or reconcile a relationship.

[00:30:54] There are a couple times when you go from preaching to meddling in our lives. Yeah, I'm getting personal, aren't I, Kirby? And so, again, that, I think, illustrates that point. And just before we take a break, one other one I wanted to mention, which we've already had some discussion about, and that is restoring compassion. Because we should mourn with those who mourn and weep with those who weep. And certainly we should be involved in that biblically.

[00:31:19] But you really talk about the idea that, in Colossians 3, the idea that we are even to clothe ourselves in compassion. Can you speak to that? Absolutely. Absolutely. Compassion. God is called the Father, He's called the God of comfort and the Father of compassion. And we read in 2 Corinthians 1, 3 through 5, that He is compassionate with us so that we, in turn, that we can comfort others in their distress. It's a duty.

[00:31:48] We are called to be compassionate. And, again, that is a service that we provide, but it's an act of worship to God when we serve others. And it is so important just to assign yourself. When Bob was so sick, I didn't have time to call up and say, Kirby, do you mind going and buying some groceries? I mean, we were in the thick of it. We were a family in the battle. We were in a bloody battle, just doing everything we could, fighting for Bob's life.

[00:32:15] So sweet friends would leave food on our doorstep. They would leave Big Red. A friend of ours had a sister who died of cancer and breast cancer. And the only thing that she could tolerate instead of the nausea was Big Red. So she left six packs of Big Red on our bench thinking that that would help Bob. We had a very well-known musician who was an international musician in the United States but lived in Dallas, a dear friend of ours.

[00:32:45] So when he would finish his tour, he would come and play on our untuned piano because who has time to tune a piano when you're dealing with a husband who's so sick? And he would just play. And Bob said when Stephen came to play that he did not feel pain. It's those sorts of things, giving back and assigning yourself and just being present, just showing up to help those who are afflicted. Shout-out to Stephen Nielsen right there. That's a shout-out to our friend Stephen Nielsen. Exactly. Let's take a break.

[00:33:14] When we come back, I have a very special story you want to share with us. And we might also get into restoring purpose. But it, again, is part of the book, Restored, Reconnecting Life's Broken Pieces. Cindy Brinker Simmons with us. It is endorsed by a veritable who's who of individuals, many of whom have been on the program with us. The first section, of course, tells her story. This middle section we've been talking about talks about the different aspects of restoration. But we also want to talk about God's plan for restoration.

[00:33:44] All that coming up right after this. You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth. Back once again. Privileged to have with us for just a few more minutes, Cindy Brinker Simmons. And one of the things that we were talking about is this idea of restoring compassion. But there's another aspect of that.

[00:34:14] When you minister to others, you really minister to yourself. You are the one that is blessed. I mean, that's the way that God made it. When you're the hands and feet of Christ, you indeed are the one receiving the blessing. You bless others, but then you see how your blessing can change, be life-changing. And that's just such a blessing. It really is. And God, again, in His outrageous grace, He allows that to happen.

[00:34:38] I wanted you to certainly tell one story that is so powerful, and that occurred when your husband was dying. And when your son, and we've already mentioned his name, William, was asking a very important question. But I'll let you set that up because it, I think, just illustrates, again, this idea of renewal, of restoration. And it really is a good way to begin to come down to all the applications that you are talking about in the book. Yes.

[00:35:06] Well, we are God's workmanship, and that's what He says in Ephesians 2.10. We are His workmanship created by Christ Jesus for good works that He has planned for us to do. So He knows everything that's going to happen. So Bob was my hero, and we had William, our wonderful son, who was six. And Bob was diagnosed when William was six with a very rare cancer.

[00:35:32] We were given three months, but God was so gracious, and we had three years. But when we first started our cancer journey, Bob had a surgery that was very, very difficult. And so he was in the hospital for five days. I would go all day long and then would take William home at night. And the first night that I was home without Bob, because William always was bathed by Bob. That was his fun thing to do with William, is to bathe him.

[00:36:01] William looked at me again. His daddy was in the hospital and said, Mommy, is Dad going to die? Mommy, is Daddy going to die? And that took me so off guard, because we were just beginning our journey. And I fumbled the ball, and I said something like, well, honey, he doesn't intend to. I just hadn't gotten that far because we were on a road where we were going to beat this thing. And I had never thought, even though I knew it was terminal. So the next day I went to the hospital.

[00:36:30] I said, and Bob and I didn't call each other by our names. He called me Sweetie Pie, and I called him Beloved. So I said, Beloved, I said, William asked this question last night. Are you going to die? I was caught off guard. I didn't answer it the way I would like to. But I want you to think about what you're going to tell your son when he asked that question. And we're going to pray right now that he doesn't ask that again, because we had five days. And so we prayed, and five days passed.

[00:36:58] And every bath time, William never asked that question. And I just praise God for that. So Bob came home, day five, and I was bathing William. And Bob had all these staples. And William just thought he was the coolest dude. He thought that his daddy looked so cool with all these staples in his stomach. And so he looked at his daddy. And with all of the tenderness, but yet wanting to know answers at six, he said, Daddy, are you going to die?

[00:37:27] And Bob looked at William and said, the most precious voice, yes, William, daddy's going to die. And then he looked at me, and then he looked back at William. He said, and William, mommy's going to die too. And then I can just hear it in the most sweet, tender voice. He looked at William and said very softly. I had to really lean in to hear this.

[00:37:55] He said, and William, someday, and I hope it's decades and decades and decades from now, son, you're going to die. But, William, it's not important whether mommy or daddy or you are going to die. What matters is where do we go when we die? And William said, he was six, but he accepted Christ at four and a half.

[00:38:22] He said, with flailing in the water, oh, daddy, daddy, daddy, you're going to be in heaven. And you're not going to be in any pain. And you'll be with Jesus, and that will be good. You know, Kirby, William never asked his daddy again if he was going to die. And that's the question that this book poses. That's right. Are you focusing on self, or are you focusing on Savior?

[00:38:51] Are you focusing on Christ, or are you focusing on circumstances? What is your reason for not accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior? Because there is a destination at the end of our lives, and there's just two options. So the question is, what are you going to decide? And for William, now he's 30, he loves Jesus.

[00:39:18] There were some rough times where he had to really speak to God. And I encourage in my book that we talk to God. God wants our communication. He wants to have a relationship with us. And, you know, he can take it. He can take our angry fists at 12 saying, God, God, I hate you. I hate you. You took my mother away. That was me at age 12. But you know what? He was pursuing me.

[00:39:42] Even when I was angry and literally, not cursing because I didn't know how to curse at that age, but just spewing hatred at him. And so he's pursuing us. So the question is, are we going to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and live a life that we're mastering the skill of living? Because, again, God is the God of hope, as it says in Romans 15, 13.

[00:40:12] And he produces joy and peace when we trust in him. So are we placing our trust in God and in his son, Jesus Christ? And again, the last chapter is on restoring purpose, finding purpose, and then a whole section on God's restoration plan. And really, this is the question that you ask, in a sense, through the book. And I encourage people not only get the book, but read it to the end because that's where we're talking about this.

[00:40:38] Because, Cindy, really, in a sense, you want people to not only think about, am I going to die? Everyone dies. Yes, exactly. But where are you going? That's it. And where will you be? And Jesus is God's restoration plan. That's the whole point. The first section is about my story. The second section is about how do you restore momentum and purpose and joy and perseverance and community and relationships and compassion. But the third section is God's restoration plan.

[00:41:07] And God's restoration plan is Jesus. And, again, Jesus did not come to improve us. He was on a mission to rescue us, to redeem us, to restore us because of the love that his father had to make sure that we would spend eternity in heaven with him. Rescue, redeem, and restore. And, of course, restoration is a very important part of the gospel. And I don't know of another book like it. Thank you.

[00:41:37] When we did the interview a few years ago, it was great to set you out and to do some of the interviews. And I think I gave you a pretty good interview back then. And I hope we did a good one today. So, if nothing else, if you find yourself wanting to know more about Cindy Brinker Simmons, we have a link there on the website. If you want to know more about the book Restored, it's there as well. As you go to the website, you also notice that we are talking about restoring America's godly heritage because we are celebrating 250 years.

[00:42:03] And one of the things that we encourage you to do as we get closer to our fiscal year end, which is just a week away, if you haven't been counting, that is June 30th. We have a place where you can click on the button that says Give. And there's a place where you could give a one-time gift. And we would certainly appreciate that. But I'm hoping many of you might also consider what you might do as we go into the second half of this year to actually join with us on a monthly basis. Those of you that give monthly receive our Outlook magazine.

[00:42:33] If you give at the Truth Team level, which is at least $30 a month, $1 a day, $30 a month or more, you will also receive these booklets that we've been talking about. And, of course, you are helping us bring these kinds of programs to you. If you need restoration, and we all do, I think this is a book that will be a great resource for you. And that's one of the reasons why we're just thrilled, Cindy, to have you in studio. So thank you for being with us. To God be the glory. We're going to take a break. I'll get back into issues in the news.

[00:43:03] All that coming up right after these important messages. America's founders called this nation an experiment. 250 years later, the question for us is, did the experiment work? Well, let's look at the history.

[00:43:27] Though not perfect, America has continued moving toward the promise of the declaration that all men are created equal. Our nation has enjoyed amazing success and providential survival. So has the experiment succeeded? Well, yes. But will it succeed going forward? That depends on you.

[00:43:53] At Point of View, we know the American experiment owes its success to the biblical values upon which it was founded. Join Point of View this month as we work to restore a biblical worldview in American culture. Your gift will be doubled when you give by June 30th. Call or click today at pointofview.net and 1-800-347-5151.

[00:44:21] That's pointofview.net and 1-800-347-5151. Point of View will continue after this.