in case i forget | Theology and Testimony Reminders for Godly Wives and Mothers

CHAPTERS:
01:56 – Who wrote the Bible & why consistency matters
02:16 – What Scripture did Jesus use?
05:45 – Why do Protestants have 66 books?
07:12 – Tanakh: Torah, Prophets & Writings
07:50 – How the Old Testament was already established
10:59 – New Testament canon criteria explained
14:59 – Council of Nicaea myths
15:58 – Manuscripts & historical reliability
EPISODE OVERVIEW
"The Bible isn't reliable — it's just a translation of a translation of a translation, and what we have now is a watered-down version of the original."
Sound familiar? If you've spent any time around skeptics — or wrestled with this yourself — this episode is your answer. We're going rapid fire through some of the biggest questions people have about the Bible: where it came from, who decided what went in it, what the manuscripts actually tell us, and why we can trust what we have in our hands today. This is the stuff I wish someone had walked me through sooner.
🌸 SPONSOR: MILES OF ROSIES FLOWERS
Before we jump in — a quick shoutout to Miles of Rosies Flowers! If you have a wedding, event, gala, or family function coming up, you can rent your flowers at a fraction of the cost and still get your picture-perfect Pinterest moment. Centerpieces, arches, bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages — Miles of Rosies does it all with faux and silk florals that photograph beautifully and are completely sustainable. No wilting. No waste. Just beautiful.
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FIRST THINGS FIRST: WHAT EVEN IS THE BIBLE?
The word Bible comes from the Greek word biblio — which simply means books. Our Bible as we know it contains 66 books, written by 40 different authors over 1,500 years — and despite all of that, it tells one singular, cohesive story. That alone should make us stop and think.
WHAT DID JESUS USE AS SCRIPTURE?
A great starting point is asking what Jesus himself used as Scripture. When He was in the desert after 40 days of fasting and Satan came to tempt Him, He responded with "It is written" — referring to the book of Deuteronomy. He wasn't making things up. He was quoting from something already recognized as authoritative.
A few other examples of Jesus treating Old Testament writings as authoritative:
Matthew 5:17 — Jesus says He didn't come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them
Matthew 19 — Jesus quotes Genesis when answering the Pharisees about divorce, using Moses as an authoritative standard
Matthew 9:12-13 — Jesus quotes directly from Hosea — a book written hundreds of years before His birth — and applies it to Himself
Jesus consistently validated these written words as the authoritative Word of God. That matters.
HOW DID WE GET THE OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS?
The Old Testament wasn't chosen at random. The Jewish people had already been recognizing and acknowledging specific books as the written words of God for centuries before Jesus arrived. This is called the Tanakh — an acronym from:
Torah (the law)
Nevi'im (the prophets)
Ketuvim (the writings — psalms, poetry, lamentations, etc.)
God also gave Israel a very specific way to verify a true prophet: if what they said came to pass, God sent them. If it did not, they were to be stoned. That's how seriously God took His messengers — and how seriously Israel scrutinized what they accepted as Scripture. The scribes were responsible for studying, copying, and preserving those records with extreme care.
The Septuagint — completed in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC by 72 bilingual scholars before Jesus ever walked the earth — translated the Tanakh from Hebrew into Greek for Greek-speaking Jews. This gives us an incredibly early and reliable reference point for the Old Testament texts we have today.
WHAT ABOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT?
The question for the New Testament wasn't whether the Old Testament was canon — that was already established. The question was which books would be recognized as New Testament canon.
According to Answers in Genesis, five criteria were used — sometimes called the Five A's:
Apostolic — written by or directly connected to an apostle (this includes Paul, whose radical encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus established his apostleship)
Authentic — not someone else's ideas with a famous name slapped on top (think the Gospel of Thomas — written by someone other than the Apostle Thomas, and its content is immediately inconsistent with the rest of the New Testament)
Ancient — not something that showed up 10 years later claiming to be Scripture
Accepted — acknowledged by the early church as authoritative at the time it was written
Accurate — consistent with the manuscripts we can verify
WHAT ABOUT KING JAMES? DID HE PICK THE BOOKS?
No. Let's just clear this up once and for all.
King James did not choose which books went into the Bible. What he actually did was commission 50 scholars, divide them into six groups, and assign each group a section to translate — the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Apocrypha. He gave them 14-15 strict rules to follow to ensure accuracy, including sticking to the English predecessors (the Bishops' Bible, Tyndale, and Geneva) that came before. They could not change names. They had to stay true to what came before.
Is King James a perfect human? No. But Proverbs 21:1 says "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will." God uses broken people. He always has.
One more thing — the Council of Nicaea. That was not about choosing books of the Bible. That council was convened specifically to address Arianism — the heresy that Jesus was not fully God — and to affirm the deity of Christ. Different council. Different purpose.
THE MANUSCRIPT EVIDENCE — THIS IS THE GOOD STUFF
Manuscripts are handwritten texts that scholars use to verify the authenticity and accuracy of ancient literature. The more manuscripts we have, the more we can cross-reference and confirm consistency.
Here's some context:
Julius Caesar — fewer than 100 manuscripts
Genghis Khan — very few manuscripts; mostly a 15-book chronicle
Plato — a few hundred manuscripts
Aristotle — about 49 manuscripts, with the earliest copy written 1,400 years after Aristotle lived
And yet we accept all of these as reliable historical documents without question.
Now for the New Testament:
Over 24,000 manuscripts — and scholars are still finding more
99.5% accuracy across all of them
Written within 50 years of Jesus's ascension
Y'all. 24,000 manuscripts with 99.5% accuracy, written within living memory of the events. Compared to the 1,400-year gap on Aristotle. I'm just saying.
As new manuscripts are discovered and cross-referenced, scholars continue making refinements to ensure accuracy. This is actually a sign of integrity — not instability. For example, John 5:4 appears in the King James Version but not in some later translations, because earlier manuscripts don't contain it. This process is exactly what it should look like.
SO DO WE STILL NEED THE OLD TESTAMENT?
Absolutely. When Jesus says in Matthew 5:17 that He came to fulfill the law and the prophets — that Greek word (pleroo) means to complete. Not to eliminate. Think of it like the missing piece of a puzzle. If you throw out the rest of the puzzle just because you found the last piece, you've lost the whole picture.
As St. Augustine put it:
"The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed, and the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed."
You need both to understand either. And as Augustus Strong wrote in Systematic Theology — Jesus fulfilled the law by bringing out its inner spirit in His perfect life, not by making it obsolete.
WHY WE CAN TRUST THE BIBLE
It has been around for thousands of years — this is not something anyone just made up or assembled recently
The Old Testament canon was established and recognized by the Jewish people long before the church existed
The Septuagint gives us an early pre-Christ reference point for Old Testament reliability
The New Testament canon was determined by five rigorous criteria, not one person's opinion
Over 24,000 manuscripts with 99.5% accuracy — no other ancient document comes close
Jesus himself validated the Scriptures repeatedly throughout His ministry
40 authors. 1,500 years. One story. You can see Jesus on every single page — if you're reading to find Him
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."— 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV
SCRIPTURES REFERENCED
Matthew 5:17 — Jesus came not to abolish but to fulfill the law and the prophets
Matthew 9:12-13 — Jesus quotes Hosea; those who are well need no physician
Matthew 19 — Jesus quotes Genesis on the topic of divorce
Matthew 4 — Jesus tempted in the desert; quotes Deuteronomy
Proverbs 21:1 ESV — the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord
2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV — all Scripture is breathed out by God
Hosea 6:6 — "I desire mercy and not sacrifice"
RESOURCES & PEOPLE MENTIONED
Logos Bible Software — used for study and research
John Piper — reference to Matthew 19 and Jesus quoting Genesis
Wes Huff — scholar; example of pseudepigrapha and authenticity
Augustus Strong — Systematic Theology; quote on Jesus fulfilling the law
St. Augustine — "The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed..."
Answers in Genesis — the five criteria for New Testament canon
Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible — reference to the Septuagint
Miles of Rosies — milesofrosies.com | use code YOUTUBE10 for 10% off 🌸
LET'S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING
What's one thing from this episode you didn't know before? Drop it in the comments — I genuinely want to hear from you. And if this helped you or someone you love who's been wrestling with whether they can trust the Bible, please share it. That's exactly why I make these.
Have a testimony you'd love to share on the podcast? Reach out at mcgarrypodcasts@gmail.com and let's connect. 🤍
This is Miki with in case i forget — theology and testimony for busy wives and moms. I'll catch you at the next one.
🌐 theologyandtestimony.com
#BibleReliability #CanWeTrustTheBible #BiblicalCanon #BibleTranslations #ChristianApologetics #JesusAndScripture #FaithAndHistory #BibleManuscripts #ChristianYouTube

I was stressed, burnt out, and watching our savings account go down month by month. The night before this testimony happened, I was basically falling apart trying to figure out how to keep our family afloat while staying home with my kids and building a business from scratch. And then the next morning — two envelopes showed up in the mail that I almost threw away.
This episode is a real, unfiltered testimony about God showing up as Jehovah Jireh — the God who provides — in a way I absolutely did not see coming. Plus we're going to talk about what Jesus actually meant when He talked about faith the size of a mustard seed, because I don't think we've been reading that right.
🌸 SPONSOR: MILES OF ROSIES FLOWERS
This episode is sponsored by Miles of Rosies Flowers — a luxury rent-and-return flower business for your wedding, event, gala, or family function. You can save up to 70% on your flowers just by renting and returning them. No reselling. No waste. Just beautiful, picture-perfect florals at a fraction of the cost. We ship anywhere!
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THE TESTIMONY
About seven to eight months ago I stopped working after the birth of our third baby in February. We had been living off our rainy season fund — which, if you don't have one, let this be your sign to start one. Three to six months of savings set aside for exactly these moments is not optional, y'all. It is a gift to your future self.
But here's the thing about a rainy season fund — every month you watch it go down, your heart rate goes up a little. And with three kids, homeschooling, and a business that still needs time to grow, I was feeling it. We had also taken a 40% pay cut when we moved, so the math wasn't exactly encouraging.
On a Wednesday night I sat with my husband, frustrated and stressed, trying to figure out if I needed to go back to work. We prayed about it. And I went to sleep still a mess.
The next morning my husband brings in the mail before heading to work. Two envelopes — no return address, just my name and our address. Suspicious enough that I almost threw them away.
Inside? Two checks.
They were labeled as a student loan refund . . . which made zero sense to me because I hadn't taken out any student loans recently. So I started making calls. Liberty University. The Department of Education. FAFSA. And that's when I found it . . . an application I had completely forgotten about from 2023.
The backstory: Back in 2013, I enrolled at a school that offered me a scholarship. Two weeks before final exams, they came back and said it was given to me in error and they needed the money back . . . which meant I owed the school more than I could afford and couldn't finish the semester without paying it. I packed up and drove home. It was honestly devastating.
When the student loan borrower's defense program opened up for people who felt they had been misled by their institution, I quietly submitted an application, not expecting much, but figured it was worth trying. My husband and I had already paid our loans down to zero following Dave Ramsey's principles, so this wasn't about avoiding debt. It was about what had genuinely happened to me.
I had forgotten about that application entirely.
When FAFSA confirmed that it had been approved, and that the money in those two envelopes was mine to keep, including the interest we had already paid, I got off the phone trembling.
God. You actually provided. The night I was falling apart, you were already working.
It wasn't millions of dollars. But it was exactly enough to carry us through to next year, which means I can now build this business steadily, sustainably, and without panic. In peace.
That's Jehovah Jireh.
WHAT THIS TAUGHT ME ABOUT FAITH
Now I want to talk about something I've been sitting with because I think we've been misreading a really familiar verse.
In Matthew 17, Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy after the disciples couldn't. When they ask Him why they failed, He says:
"You didn't have enough faith. I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."— Matthew 17:20 NLT
Growing up I always heard this as: just have a tiny little bit of faith and God will move. Like the smallness of the seed was the point.
But here's what I learned recently . . . and it kind of wrecked me in the best way.
A mustard seed is incredibly small. But when it gets planted, it becomes invasive. It takes over the entire area. Farmers actually dislike mustard plants because they crowd out everything else around them.
So when Jesus said faith like a mustard seed to an agriculturally minded audience of disciples who knew exactly what mustard plants did . . . He wasn't talking about the size of the seed. He was talking about what it grows into.
Faith that starts small but grows so invasively that it takes over everything ----> including the way you see your circumstances. It crowds out the fear. It crowds out the panic. It crowds out the evidence stacked against you. Because you're no longer walking by what you see. You're walking by faith.
And that right there is what I was not doing the Wednesday night before those checks showed up. I was walking by sight. Watching the account balance. Counting the months. Calculating the risk.
I'm not hard on myself for it . . . but I'm challenged. I want to be a woman who walks by faith that grows so wide it covers what my eyes would otherwise fixate on.
A WORD IF YOU'RE IN A HARD SEASON
I want to be honest with you: God does not always show up the way He showed up for us with those two envelopes. Sometimes we pray and we wait. Sometimes we wait and the answer is no. Sometimes the provision looks nothing like what we expected.
But here's what I know AND what Scripture confirms:
He is faithful even when we don't understand what He's doing. He is still God even when the answer isn't the one we wanted. He still deserves our wholehearted loyalty even when things are hard. I've watched people I love walk through situations I wouldn't wish on anyone, and the ones who had God walked through differently than the ones who didn't.
So whether He shows up with two unexpected checks or He asks you to keep trusting in the silence . . . He is Jehovah Jireh. He knows what you need. And He provides according to His will and His perfect timing.
Trust Him anyway.
SCRIPTURES REFERENCED
Psalm 23:1 — "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want"
Proverbs 3:5 — "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding"
Proverbs 22:7 — the borrower is servant to the lender (referenced but not quoted directly)
Matthew 17:14-20 NLT — the demon-possessed boy; faith like a mustard seed
2 Corinthians 5:7 — walk by faith and not by sight (referenced)
PRACTICAL TAKEAWAY
If you don't have a rainy season fund ----> make that a priority. Three to six months of living expenses set aside so that when life happens, you have space to breathe, pray, and make clear-headed decisions instead of panic-driven ones. It is one of the most practical ways to steward what God has given you.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Dave Ramsey — debt payoff principles and emergency fund strategy
Miles of Rosies Flowers — milesofrosies.com | luxury rent-and-return wedding flowers 🌸
Liberty University — current school Miki is attending
FAFSA / Department of Education — student borrower's defense program
LET'S KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING
Has God ever provided for you in a way you didn't see coming? I would love to hear your testimony . . . drop it in the comments or send it to me at mcgarrypodcasts@gmail.com. Your story might be exactly what someone else needs to hear right now. 🤍
And if this episode encouraged you, please share it with someone who's in a hard season and needs the reminder that God is still Jehovah Jireh.
This is Miki with in case i forget — theology and testimony for busy wives and moms. I'll catch you at the next one.
🌐 theologyandtestimony.com

#smallbusinessjourney #Faithbasedbusiness #weddingflorist What does it really mean to steward your gifts well?In this episode, Miki reflects on responsibility, humility, and the weight that comes with being gifted, drawing inspiration from the Parable of the Talents. Through the lens of faith, business, and personal experience, she explores why burying your gifts isn’t humility, but avoidance, and how recognizing God’s role in our abilities actually frees us to use them boldly.As a self-described polymath, Miki also opens up about the tension of having many skills but struggling with follow-through, the dangers of pride and false humility, and why stewardship matters in every area of life . . .not just business.This conversation is for anyone who has ever felt torn between downplaying their abilities and stepping fully into what they were created to do.🤍 Sponsored by Miles of Rosies FlowersThis episode is brought to you and powered by Miles of Rosies Flowers—a faith-led floral rental studio offering elegant, affordable, and sustainable wedding and event flowers.Created for couples and organizations who value stewardship, intention, and beauty without excess, Miles of Rosies Flowers specializes in rental florals that honor both your celebration and your future.Explore floral collections or learn more about custom rentals at:👉 www.milesofrosies.comAffordable luxury. Thoughtful design. Flowers made for your love story.🧠 Key Takeaway:Your talents were never meant to be hidden. They were entrusted to you—for a purpose bigger than yourself.🎧 Chapters00:00 Navigating Business and Faith02:10 The Balance of Humility and Skill03:55 Understanding the Polymath Experience06:02 God’s Gifts and Our Responsibilities08:20 Stewardship of Talents and Gifts🔍 Keywords:talents, humility, stewardship, faith and business, christian entrepreneurship, parable of the talents, responsibility, polymath, gifts from God, purpose driven business, faith led life

Building a business doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your family, your faith, or your peace.
 
In this video, I’m sharing the story behind Miles of Rosies Flowers — how a background in nonprofit work, a deep desire to protect my family, and a conviction to honor God led me to start a flower rental business focused on affordable wedding flowers and intentional growth.
 
As I process flowers for upcoming weddings and events, I reflect on why I stepped away from social media, how faith continues to shape my business decisions, and what it looks like to build something meaningful without chasing algorithms or comparison.
 
If you’re:
 
- Planning a wedding and looking for affordable, elegant flower options
- An entrepreneur trying to balance business, family, and faith
- Curious whether a business can grow without relying on social media
- Feeling called to a slower, more intentional path
 
This video is for you.
 
Why Flower Rentals?
 
Wedding flowers are beautiful — but they can also be one of the most expensive parts of a wedding day. Flower rentals allow couples to enjoy thoughtfully designed arrangements at a fraction of the cost, without waste or financial stress. Every piece is reused, repurposed, and cared for with intention.
 
Choosing Faith and Family First
 
At one point, our family took a 40% pay cut to realign our lives around what mattered most. That decision included stepping back from social media and trusting God with a slower, quieter kind of growth.
 
This isn’t a “how-to” business video — it’s a real conversation about faith, stewardship, sustainability, and building something that serves instead of consumes.
 
About Miles of Rosies Flowers
 
Miles of Rosies Flowers is a floral rental studio created for couples and organizations who want:
✔ Elegant wedding flowers without excess
✔ Affordable floral solutions for weddings and events
✔ A faith-centered, family-first approach to business
 
Explore floral collections or learn more about custom rentals here:
👉 https://milesofrosies.com
 
🎙 Sponsored By
 
This video is brought to you and powered by Miles of Rosies Flowers — offering affordable luxury, thoughtful design, and flowers made for your love story.
 
#faithbasedbusiness
#smallbusinessjourney
#weddingflorist #weddingonabudget
 
00:00 Introduction to Miles of Rosies Flowers
02:48 Navigating Business Without Social Media
05:45 Family, Faith, and Entrepreneurship
08:52 Flower Processing & Business Operations
 
Explore floral collections or learn more about custom rentals here:
👉 https://milesofrosies.com
 

In this part, I talk about when we shouldn't judge, how to judge and how to receive judgement. Be challenged, and may God use this to show you a little more about who He is. 

Can only God Judge? What does scriptures have to say about judging? Tune in for part one where I break down the definition of judging its purest sense. Take a bite and let it inspire a hunger for more scripture and time with God!

More biblical evidence for what fasting is with three points on why we fast and how to fast. Sorry for the jingling .. I speak with my hands lol!

Maybe this is a podcast lol. Idk, we'll see. 
Let me know how your fast is going and what some of your challenges are with fasting! ❤️