Misplaced Hope

Promise Of A Liberty Easter Story

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Last week, I promised a Liberty Family Easter story. So today we deliver and we put hope in the right place and we live life with the best of intentions. That and more on this week's episode of Share the Struggle Podcast. Let me tell you something. Everybody struggles. The difference is some people choose to go through it and some choose to grow through it. The choice is completely yours. Which one you choose will have a very profound effect on the way you live your life. If you find strength in the struggle, then this podcast is for you. Have a relationship that is comfortable with uncomfortable conversations. Uncomfortable conversations challenge you, humble you, and build you. Alright, where do you need to be what it do, what it do, what it h did do. That was good. Good love. Almighty. Am I so excited?

SPEAKER_02 1:34

To be back with you.

SPEAKER_03 1:36

Damn, we ought to start ourselves a little duetta. You know what I mean? I know where this is going.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

I am not singing that song.

SPEAKER_03 1:46

Which one? Oh, that's fun. She thinks all my jokes are funny. Humps like the Easter bunny, something like that.

SPEAKER_02 1:57

Yeah, I never learned my lingo.

SPEAKER_03 2:00

My eggs are all runny. So I don't know. Anyways. Threw me off. Threw me off, really. I had no intentions of going there.

Late-Night Banter And Life Updates

SPEAKER_02 2:08

Listen, if anyone in the last however long has listened to any of our episodes, they know that they are pretty sporadic.

SPEAKER_03 2:17

Squirrel. Seriously. They do make it entertaining.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

He's really horny.

SPEAKER_03 2:24

Yeah, something like that.

SPEAKER_02 2:25

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 2:26

We really shouldn't start this episode with the conversation that we're having to start.

SPEAKER_02 2:31

Yeah, we well, it is what it is.

SPEAKER_03 2:32

But here we are. We're just talking to our people. This is how this goes. Episode 301, and I hope y'all are ready to have a little fun as we await the rising sun because we are starting the old record button a little late on a Tuesday.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

Yeah, the sun's about to rise in about 30 minutes.

SPEAKER_03 2:51

That would be really aggressive. It's not quite that late, but uh, we're 30 minutes away from a new day. You know what I mean? We're starting the recording 30 minutes away from winning Wednesday, which is fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

But this is how not to be mistaken with the new day bootios.

SPEAKER_03 3:08

New day. Very true. WrestleMania Week, by the way. Right. That's why. Congratulations. Good job. Welcome everybody to WrestleMania Week. Next week will be draft week. Two of the greatest weeks of the year. Most people don't realize that. When you stack Easter right into WrestleMania and then right into the NFL draft, it's like the pinnacle of enjoyment. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 3:32

You're pushing it.

SPEAKER_03 3:34

Well, we did make a gender reveal announcement during the first round of the NFL draft.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

I actually was just looking at our video the other day. Um, and on TikTok, it is like sporadically like picking up views, and it's like the most random thing. Like I got a notification the other day that somebody liked it, and I was like, uh, what?

SPEAKER_03 3:56

Like people is like the draft's coming, you know.

SPEAKER_02 4:00

It's at um 1800 views.

SPEAKER_03 4:04

Nice.

Sick Toddler And The Puke Saga

SPEAKER_02 4:04

I know. I was like, what?

SPEAKER_03 4:07

Random. Yeah, we did our NFL draft. It's kind of crazy because whenever we celebrate Easter, I'm always gonna think about the fact that that's when we told the world basically that we were because Easter is my favorite. Yeah. So we had a little Easter basket announcement per se for um letting everybody know that we were expecting, and then we did our gender reveal. Um for you, for your favorite. Yeah, so um kind of funny we're in that that span now, and then now we have this little reckless, free-spirit savage running around ruling the roost in the world. And she just happens to be the reason why we're recording late because she's kind of had a tremendous but rough day.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Yeah, she's sick, sicky biggie.

SPEAKER_03 4:54

Yeah, she she um doesn't really act sick at most times, but when she's sick, she's super clinging. So today is impossible for any of us to not be holding her, basically. And um was it last was it last night that she yoked in bed? Mm-hmm. That was last night, right? I don't even know what day it is. Okay. So um she fell asleep. I was in the office working late night. You texted me, said she was asleep. Then I got another message that she had awoken from her slumber. It was probably 11:30 or something. She's been coughing for the last couple days, so she's been kind of so um come back, she has a bubble, we try to get her to bed. It must be what, 12:30-ish? Yeah, and uh she just throws up milk all over the bed, herself, everybody turned into a real extravaganza. So we take care of that tobacco situation, try to get her to fall asleep, and then anytime she would cough or make a noise, obviously we would wake up to see what was going on. And then um she woke me up again at four because she was starving. Yeah, so um because she threw everything else up, made her above it. She partied for 45 minutes or so with me. I got her to fall asleep and I walked out the door to bring Mima to work. And then um coming home today, well, I was supposed to come back and get to work, but that didn't really work because I was only on a couple hours' sleep. I catch a nap, you take the baby to the store, come back, everything's great.

SPEAKER_02 6:22

Yeah, she's in a great mood. I took her to the store to get coffee and until I sent a distress signal.

SPEAKER_03 6:28

Yeah. Because she fell asleep in my lap and then wakes up and hurls all over me and her. And I'm talking curdled cottage cheese like milk.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

Sorry if you're drinking your coffee this morning. Oh my god. Don't think about the creamer in your coffee.

SPEAKER_03 6:46

My shirt was covered, my my shorts are covered, right through my shorts, into my underwear.

SPEAKER_02 6:50

I just started stripping right there in the living room because we get the stressed text from my she-shed help. Oh my god. Immediately, I like I will go into my office and I always change my shoes. I didn't care what was on my feet, I like knees to chest, ran up the stairs, and I was like, I never think of like her like throwing up, like I think of like the worst. Like my anxiety goes straight down a rabbit hole.

SPEAKER_03 7:15

In a situation where I didn't have time to explain the scenario, she's freaking out.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

It's easier for me to kind of de-stress when I'm just running up the stairs versus like if I get that text and I'm at an office somewhere, kind of thing. So totally fine. I get it.

SPEAKER_03 7:31

I would have done the same thing during that tragedy. I'm standing at the sink in my red Wrangler undies, just washing my shirt and I'm on the floor. You're on the floor, wiping her up, and they're clean. I'm just trying to get the get the chunks off. You know what I mean? Somebody pounds at the door and opens up, my brother walks in, and there I am in my skivvy's doing my laundry on the sink, and he's like, uh I got puked out. He's like, Oh, I thought I walked in on something freaky. I didn't know it was what was going on. Okay, so that's that's been our day. Yeah. Um, which has pushed everything out.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

Um then she took a nap on the tractor.

SPEAKER_03 8:08

Yeah, it was a glorious day. It was about 70 degrees out. I smoked meat all day long. Yep. And um played outside all day. She played outside, we did some work outside. I worked. You worked. I had her on the tractor, she legitimately fell asleep in my arms driving the tractor.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

I have the picture to prove it. You can use it as your cover photo if you'd like.

SPEAKER_03 8:25

I probably should. Well, I look like hell in it, so well. Farm life. Incluration for people to eat veggies, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Everyone's looking at the baby anyway.

SPEAKER_03 8:36

Well, they gotta look through me and around me to find her. It's like an Easter egg hunt. You know what I mean? Where's Waldo? God, and then I got an aborigine haircut. Right now I'm conserving funds. I look like I ain't shaved my bush since COVID. You know what I mean? Like it's extravagant.

SPEAKER_02 8:51

Not that bad.

SPEAKER_03 8:51

Well, feels it.

SPEAKER_02 8:53

I slept next to you during COVID.

SPEAKER_03 8:55

Well, I did grow a glorious mullet during COVID because I refused to get my hair cut. But that's all besides the point. The point we're trying to make is it's uh she's finally sleeping in her little mini recliner.

SPEAKER_02 9:09

She put herself there while you were taking a shower, and I was like, well, you know what? She said she's sleeping upright. So Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_03 9:16

So uh now it's uh 20 minutes shy of Wednesday, and here we are getting started. But this is our dedication. We can't have an episode a week ago and just tout the fact that we've made it 300 consecutive shows, and then a week later, just let it all rip. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Well, I did think that I was having a heart attack, so it almost got a lot of things.

SPEAKER_03 9:34

This is true. We did prolong the recording because we didn't know if we need to go to the hospital for uh, you know, a heart attack. But but I said iPhone and uh um what is it? Chat GPT. Chat GPT and an Apple Watch. Next thing you know, you got an EKG and a clean bill of health.

SPEAKER_02 9:51

And Yeah. But in my defense, I literally said, Hey, are you gonna go get the recording stuff? Let's record this. And you said, Are you sure you're okay? And I said, Well, I did pass a kidney stone on this uh here podcast. True. So why not have a heart attack and go out? With a bang.

SPEAKER_03 10:06

You know what I mean? Just talk your way through.

SPEAKER_02 10:08

Yeah, it's fine.

SPEAKER_03 10:09

Well, if you hear a loud bang, we captured live recording gold, and we're just gonna pray that uh we make it to the hospital.

SPEAKER_02 10:16

I'm surprised that we didn't go into labor recording the podcast.

SPEAKER_03 10:19

We should have. I should have just turned my phone on.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

You were literally.

SPEAKER_03 10:24

I was there for six minutes. I was there long enough for you to talk shit when I was standing in the hallway.

SPEAKER_02 10:31

Next thing you know, it's I was getting an epidural alone. Yeah. Anyway.

SPEAKER_03 10:35

Anyways, I didn't think this needed to be um a hostile situation. I just thought that it would be a nice conversation, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 10:43

Entertainment for the people listening.

SPEAKER_03 10:46

True story. Welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

This is what it's like.

SPEAKER_03 10:48

This is it.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

Husband and wife.

SPEAKER_03 10:50

So what it's like to try to have a normal conversation, it doesn't really, really happen.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

My episodes are the funnest.

SPEAKER_03 10:56

I'll I'll take it. I'll take it.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

The people have spoken.

SPEAKER_03 11:00

Well, here's the thing. The people should have listened and realized that I dropped some clues last week in the episode that I said, hey, you know, and to my credit, I did say last week that I, you know, it was gonna be a late night for you, so I wasn't gonna pressure you into recording. But here we are on the verge of a heart attack a week later, and you know, you're just kind of returning the favor.

SPEAKER_02 11:23

But I mentioned You did say that you were gonna beg and plead to get me on the podcast. Yes, I listen. But you know what I don't listen to?

SPEAKER_03 11:30

What's that?

SPEAKER_02 11:30

My own episodes.

Why Church Became A Need

SPEAKER_03 11:32

Oh god. How do you know they're great then if you don't know they're if you don't because the people tell me well here's the thing. We talked about Cinderella that too, Easter weekend, and us doing something for the very first time. I've never done this. Me neither. You've never done this. Nope. Baby's never done this. Nope. We've never done this.

SPEAKER_02 11:56

Nope.

SPEAKER_03 11:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

I painted Easter eggs. You got it.

SPEAKER_03 11:59

That is not it. We've definitely done that. Um this whole spiritual journey that we're on, leading into our faith, um, looking for guidance, looking for hope, optimism, looking for meaning and a reason, right? We've been on this on this quest, and thanks to your um church research, your operation find the right church, we have, and um, that's been a great thing for the for for the uh for the family, and um it was important to both of us to be a part of these Easter services. We went to a Good Friday service on Friday, uh, and we went to Easter Sunday, and I gotta be honest, I didn't go into it thinking um about all the reasons that it was as important to you. I didn't realize that. I just thought, well, our faith and the most important holiday, and uh really the whole reason and meaning for the Bible here, the whole, you know what I mean? Everything about it's like I just I want to I want to learn this, you know what I mean? Like the most difficult and most triumphant part of the journey is this holy week between you know Good Friday and Easter and the whole thing. So it's like I you know, I thought it was important for us, like we should be, you know, being a part of this. It was a little bit different for you. Um so I don't know if at this point you kind of want to maybe set up a little bit as to why you were so motivated to um go on these.

SPEAKER_02 13:35

I didn't really get that. I know where you're where you're leading to, and I didn't get that um not even realize it until late. Not until after it happened.

SPEAKER_03 13:43

Oh, that makes even more sense. So maybe now I don't feel so bad because I totally went into it blind, just thinking that we're you know getting closer to our faith and trying to figure things out. That's exactly how it started.

SPEAKER_02 13:53

All right, so that's like I was like, you know what, it makes no sense for me to um be opening my Bible and leaning more towards my faith and you know, following Jesus and finding, you know, how did all of this get created without going to Easter service and and making sense of it all? Yeah, like I can only read so much of my Bible, but to be a part of a service that kind of breaks it down for me makes so much sense.

SPEAKER_03 14:19

It's very helpful because I can skim over things that I don't really find the greatest level of significance in. But then when somebody breaks it down, you're like, oh man, how how did you miss that? Idiot. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 14:30

So it was one of those things that I was like, you know what, like this makes so much sense. Um, so I started kind of like looking into um making our uh Easter baskets and east Easter celebrations kind of related to going to church and kind of being about that. Like the baby got her first Bible, um, and we had gotten like a study guide um Bible um kind of for Easter. Yeah. Um for our Easter basketball.

SPEAKER_03 14:58

Making more about the real reason for the yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 15:02

Yeah. Um like I enjoy Easter baskets and I've always loved Easter, but didn't know really why. And actually, it was it was funny because um Matt stopped by and he like made um a comment while we were chatting that um Americans Ledgeway Farm. Yes, yes, nice name drop. Um, the one and only goat soap that you need in your life. True story.

SPEAKER_03 15:23

Yes, just wash my nether regions with it right now. That's not appropriate for this message, but you know, I mean it's a good sponsorship opportunity.

SPEAKER_02 15:30

Matt's gonna be so disgusted.

SPEAKER_03 15:31

Yeah, he probably will be.

SPEAKER_02 15:33

Anyway, so we were just having like general, like, you know, heart-to-heart conversations, and he specifically said that your soul knows and feels when like when you're in church, like you're already connected to that church and and the spiritual um side before you actually know it.

SPEAKER_03 15:56

Yeah. Uh-oh. Apologies for the brief intermission. You might have heard a distressed child in the background. Uh we panicked that another incident was occurring, but it was just her rolling out of the recliner. Rolling out of the recliner, tragedy avoided. So you were mentioning um Matt stopped by, had a conversation about you said was it your spirit?

SPEAKER_02 16:20

Yeah, like he says, like when you are in church, like your soul knows the reasoning that you're there, and kind of like went into more detail about that. Um and I heard him say that, and it like resonated with me because every single time I go to church um and they start singing a song or like say something, like I cry. Like I cry every single time I go to church. Like I feel like a baby. Like I'm like looking around and I'm like, I'm the only one crying. What's wrong with you?

SPEAKER_03 16:51

Where are the onions?

SPEAKER_02 16:53

Get your life together.

SPEAKER_03 16:54

Who's cooking? Who's cooking onions at a time? Like this we're in church.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

But when Matt said that, I was like, oh my god, like he's right. He's he's genuinely right. Like, and for whatever reason, like I have been drawn more and more to leaning towards my faith like ever since my mom's um my mom's suicide. Like for what reason? So many reasons. But when I went to church for the first time at um the point, it felt so easy.

SPEAKER_03 17:30

Right.

SPEAKER_02 17:31

And that was the hardest thing for for me, like that first the first time going. Like, you don't know what to expect. You don't know, like, am I supposed to be here? What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to bring my Bible? Am I supposed to respectfully open my Bible while I'm there? Like, you don't know. But it felt so easy. Like I remember I was like walking in and we went up to the desk, and the lady was so nice, so informational, and you just felt like you were supposed to be there. Like it felt like home. Like that's what it felt like. And so it when Matt said that, I said to myself, like, he's not wrong. Like he's so right. Um, because in my whole heart, I feel like unfortunately, and and I'm taking full responsibility for this, it has taken me far too long to get where I'm at today to open my Bible, to, to lean into my faith. It should have never taken uh my mom's suicide for me to to do this. I should have done this a long time ago, and I probably would have been a better person.

SPEAKER_03 18:32

You weren't ready for it. Right. I mean, I'm not gonna disagree and say that you shouldn't have, you know what I mean? Right. Um, timing is everything, and that's what's important. And if you weren't ready to receive it, then you know.

SPEAKER_02 18:43

Yeah, I agree. I agree. And so I felt um, you know, we had talked about it uh when you got back um from your boys' trip that I was like, listen, I I personally want to go to um the Friday service, and I also want to go to Sunday service. Like I want to know what it's like, I want to know what it's about. Um, and we had um heard from our pastor, is that what they call him there? Yeah preacher. I don't know the difference. Um but uh Keenan was going to be putting on a service with multiple different uh churches in the area, and he was basically opening up there was three of them, right?

SPEAKER_03 19:26

Was it rock uh something? The rock. The rock and then lighthouse, I believe.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

Lighthouse, and then there was one other one.

SPEAKER_03 19:33

There was also the three.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

Oh, I thought there was a third one, and then in a and then including East Point.

SPEAKER_03 19:38

No, I think it was East Point, Lighthouse, and Rock, whatever it's called. The Rock or something.

SPEAKER_02 19:42

The Rock. Mm-hmm. Uh which is The Rock, is one of the ones that I was initially looking at as well. Um, but we just found um home at we never searched. Never went to another church. We just enjoyed this location. Um, so I had heard that they were gonna be doing kind of this um welcoming service, kind of go over um everything, and um I was like, I really want to be a part of that. Thought that was really an awesome opportunity. Um, and then I wanted to be a part of the the Sunday um Easter service, which just makes absolute sense.

Good Friday Service Without Childcare

SPEAKER_03 20:16

Yeah, of course. So um I like services that are not on the pre-prescribed Sunday, just by the putting it out there. Like, I don't know, maybe you feel like you're getting extra credit, you know what I'm saying? You're showing up on a different day. You're like, oh wow, study hall, you of all people, you know what I mean? I don't know, random fun fact.

SPEAKER_02 20:33

Yeah, you say that. But we didn't have childcare that day.

SPEAKER_03 20:36

Oh, it went awful. I'm not gonna lie, it was it probably would have been a tremendous service, but it was one of the greatest tests of my fatherly patience that I was not prepared for, not ready for, and not signed up for. I didn't sign up for that lesson on the Friday night. It was it didn't go good.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:59

Just putting that out of there.

SPEAKER_01 21:01

I thought it was a great service.

SPEAKER_03 21:03

Yeah, you had a great time. So um, I'll give the more um disappointing review, okay? Go ahead. Nothing to do with the service whatsoever. And when I'm done with my review and you give yours, at the end of that, you're gonna go. People that are listening are gonna go, wow, what a loser. You know what I mean? This isn't gonna go good. It's not gonna look good for me. But here's the thing. Apparently the Lord tests your patience. Uh He'll test uh your abilities and uh He'll find a good time to uh put you to the test. And apparently, while you were um getting closer to God and channeling your spirits and uh being being aligned and focused and looking for the right reasons in the right direction, I was holding on to every little ounce of patience that I possibly had, and I wasn't doing the greatest. I mean, I've where you going? Something happening? Not good. So here's a scenario, folks. Typically there's there's child care, and when we started going to church, children's ministry. Okay. When we started going to church, uh it didn't go so well. A little one would make it fifteen minutes, twenty minutes, whatever. She spent a lot of time finishing services with us, but she's gotten pretty good at staying through the whole service.

SPEAKER_02 22:13

And everyone there was so wonderful. They just kept saying, Yeah, they've been incredible.

SPEAKER_03 22:16

Keep on trying.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

Keep trying, keep trying, keep trying.

SPEAKER_03 22:19

So on Friday night, there was no uh ministry because there were just too many churches. There was just too many people. They encouraged you to bring your kids. Um and it started off great, and she always assembles her own little fan club, anyways, when she's at church, you know. And then you walk in and they yeah, she says hi to everybody that goes by. Uh when you walk in, they give her little crayons and a little Jesus color in book for Easter. And so she's she's living it, you know. Music starts, snaps. Hands go up, she's she's feeling it, things are good. Service starts. We start to get distracted and we start to dwindle. Okay. There's a lot of people, so she's interested in walking off, following people. We're on an exit row scenario. The first of uh like the bleacher seating portion, strategically planned. Right next to us is like a big exit hallway walk by scenario.

SPEAKER_01 23:08

Entrance.

SPEAKER_03 23:09

I'm just gonna give the shortened version. She took great satisfaction in running up the walkways, going to the door, waving to the people on the balcony. The folks on the balcony started to think that that was great. So then there was some there were some dads on the balcony, some granddads waving to my child. She's interacting, she's going back and forth. The downfall is when she realized she could open the door and then go out the door. When you go out the door, this AstroTurf soccer pickleball field scenario court, whatever you want to call it.

SPEAKER_02 23:38

Yes, in our church.

SPEAKER_03 23:39

Yes. She goes straight into running into the soccer net, playing with children. Great, okay. Here's the thing. I've embraced at this moment, this is going to be dad's task. Mom's dialed in. This is where we're going. Full confessional. I put my left hand on the Cabela's catalog, eye to the sky, give the truth from this guy. I don't do well in situations where my child is having a hard time staying focused. If I feel like my child is becoming a distraction for other people, I don't think it's fair to the other people. I'm the type of person that listen, if she's distracted, if she wants to do her own thing, if she's gonna get crazy, that happens. I'm not gonna get mad at her for it. But what I am gonna do is I'm gonna remove me and her from the situation. And the reason why I do this is for multiple reasons. Number one, I know what it's like to not be a parent and be in a room and trying to focus on something and listening to kids scream and run back and forth through the hallways and wave. And if you're at a one time of the year, Good Friday service with three churches, I can understand you didn't sign up for the distraction. I'm gonna be respectful to the people that are there. I think it's just part of being a good parent. Number two, I'm gonna remove her from the situation because it's only gonna escalate and then turn into um a not enjoyable situation for her. Because right now she's having fun. Right? Right. But I don't know at what point, you know, she wipes out, starts screaming, whatever, gets hit with a door. All these things run through my mind. Grandma trips over her, whatever. Next thing you know, Mike doesn't want to go to church again. All those scenarios. Number three, if my daughter's a distraction, if she's running around, if she's kind of chaotic and can't dial in, neither can dad. Because I'm worried about what she's doing. I'm focused on where she's going and who she's disturbing. And after the third Karen spun around and gave me the headphone, like shut your child look, and I was about to go freaking berserko, which is not the right place to do. No, I was like, you know what, we're just gonna we're gonna get out of here. And then we would leave the service. There's TVs everywhere. I thought maybe we can go into this little other room, and you and me can settle in, and I was talking about the little one, and we can take on the service together and everything. No, not happening, Dad. She did every ounce of testing me that I've ever incurred, like in being in public. I got slapped in the face five times. She ran to strangers, to children. It was complete chaos. And every time we would leave the room, and I would try to calm her down, get to a good place where we both felt okay, and we would re-enter the service thinking, like, hey, we can do this.

SPEAKER_04 26:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:21

Sometimes it was two minutes, sometimes it was five minutes, ten minutes, or twenty five seconds.

SPEAKER_04 26:27

Yeah.

Dad’s Respect Rule For Distractions

SPEAKER_03 26:28

So it was an ongoing battle. It was one of the most difficult parenting experiences of my life. It tested, oh, she's gonna let you know about it. She's she feels like I'm complaining about her. So that's the situation on hand. But it tested all my wherewithal, all my patience, all my composure. But what I'm gonna say about this is two things. The first thing is when the whole service was done and I was walking out, a stranger came up to me and said, Good job, Dad. And uh I was I was blown away. And he said, You earned it is what he said. Yeah. He said, You earned it. And uh he said, I saw you in there and you you earned it.

SPEAKER_02 27:15

He was one of the ones up in the bleachers that was waving to her.

SPEAKER_03 27:18

And uh I actually made eye contact with him one point and he was smiling and he was like, he said, It was totally fine with me, but I understand. Yeah, I understand what you were doing, you know.

SPEAKER_02 27:27

And he said he came downstairs and like waited outside that door for us. I saw him standing there when we came out, like, and I was like, um, and I had made eye contact one of the times that you and I had switched on like on and off because I wanted you to enjoy it too.

SPEAKER_03 27:43

So we're doing the best to navigate. Yeah. Then I got to a point where I said, Listen, I know how my mind works, yeah, and I am so focused on her right now that that I I can't connect. Yeah, I'm I'm too easily distracted by by squirrels and shiny objects. So when my kids something going on, so I knew you could plug in and and and I said, Well, I know that this just this isn't gonna be for me tonight, you know? And it wasn't for me tonight. Maybe that was part of the reason why I was removed from the situation. Maybe that was part of it. You know what I mean? I didn't mean to cut you off. What were you saying about this fella?

SPEAKER_02 28:14

Oh, I had just made eye contact with him a couple of times and I had waved to him. Um, and I just saw him leaning over the the railing, just kind of enjoying watching her running back and forth and just being a child. Like she, like he was watching her just yeah, embrace everything that was going on because they're they're like little sponges. So um for me, watching her, um, and I know we talked about this, like you look at looked at it at a completely different manner, and I just saw her like feeling comfortable.

unknown 28:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:49

I don't disagree with that. Yeah, I don't disagree at all.

SPEAKER_02 28:51

Which I think I think is wonderful because we feel like that's the church for us. Yeah. And to see her interact that way, because we've broughtten her to like, you know, uh play groups and this, that, and the third, and she hugs on to you and like doesn't feel comfortable enough to kind of, you know, laugh and giggle and you know, run around and do that kind of thing. So for me to see that was like so warm for me as a mom, like you're like, okay, we've made the right choice for the for the right church because she feels comfortable too. So that was and I don't disagree with any of that.

SPEAKER_03 29:23

I just was more concerned about everybody else's experience too. You know what I mean? And getting the getting the looks, but it felt good to me to have somebody say, Hey man, you earned it. Yeah, you know, good job.

SPEAKER_02 29:35

I specifically heard him say, like, you earned it. And uh I was like And he said it's not easy, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:41

People would be watching my kid run around, they should have been seeing a 300-pound man in cowboy boots and pearl snap shirt sweating his ass off, and then um, you know, running offensive left tackle on an astroturf field for a two-year-old. Um there's some people out there that probably said, I never thought I'd see a big man's feet shuffle in cowboy boots on some astroturf on a good Friday. I want to get that. But here we are. Man.

SPEAKER_01 30:09

I want the security footage.

SPEAKER_03 30:11

It was a it was uh it was a trip. With that said, the lady next to us, super sweet. You made a connection, uh, already followed up on that connection, had other interactions with her. Um, that was great. Um a surprising moment for me is on one of the times that I re-entered the service, my wife was missing. And I thought maybe at this point she was like, Well, I've had enough here. You know what I mean? Did you expect to find me in the car? You were I expected maybe to like see my watch go off that you were home. You know what I mean? That like the security alarm went off, and that you were like, you know what?

SPEAKER_01 30:48

You left me at a gas station.

SPEAKER_02 30:49

I wouldn't have to be a little bit more.

SPEAKER_03 30:50

I never left you at a gas station. I moved from the pump to a parking spot.

SPEAKER_02 30:53

I thought my life was over.

SPEAKER_03 30:55

Well, anyway. Unfortunately for me, the portion, the learning lesson for Good Friday for me was less on the spiritual side and more on the um I think parental side.

SPEAKER_01 31:13

I I think it was though.

SPEAKER_02 31:15

Like I think it was uh a testament to you being a good dad. And I think like you had to check in with your spiritual side to be like, you know what? I'm here for you, but I'm also more committed to my daughter. Like you you were checked in, you went to church with me. You you could have been like, you know what, nah, I'm gonna stay home with the baby, there's no child care. But like so, I think that it was a little bit of both.

A Stranger Says Good Job

SPEAKER_03 31:40

Like we took a shot at it. Yeah. I was hoping that there'd be enough stuff for her to kind of stay dialed in, but yeah. So that's my experience from uh from Good Friday service. Yours was um the opposite.

SPEAKER_02 31:56

It was definitely different, for sure. Um, so I'll dial it back um to when we first got there. Um I have been going to church while you are gone, and I had found some um seats that I really enjoyed, which was the ones that we miraculously had gotten on Good Friday, which were was your husband doesn't fit in. Sorry, they just work really quickly.

SPEAKER_03 32:26

Just gonna put that part out. Just gonna throw that out. I know. The only unfortunate thing is my wife finds seats when I'm on the road that she loves that her husband is too large.

SPEAKER_02 32:34

Okay, so let me just paint that.

SPEAKER_03 32:36

Did you see me fall out of my seat by the way, to get up to get something for the kid?

SPEAKER_02 32:39

No.

SPEAKER_03 32:40

Did you see that?

SPEAKER_02 32:40

No.

SPEAKER_03 32:41

I like once I get up and just about ate it and went up. I was it wasn't good. Anyways.

SPEAKER_02 32:45

So the seats that I have found are just like you had said, they're the first row of stadium seating.

SPEAKER_03 32:53

Stadium seating.

SPEAKER_02 32:53

Yeah. So like the the seat kind of folds up.

SPEAKER_03 32:56

I have to have a movie theater seat. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:58

Yeah. Um, but it's the front row. So I enjoy those seats for the simple fact that I don't know at any point during um Sunday service if I have to go get Paisley. You enjoyed the chairs on the floor because apparently you can fit in them. That's your number one goal.

SPEAKER_03 33:17

It's the arms.

SPEAKER_02 33:18

But number two situation for me is that I have to ask people to move for me to go and get my daughter if she doesn't make it through ministry. And to me, that's rude. To me, I don't want to interrupt their service if they're locked in, they're connected, this, that, and the third, and be like, oh, which is quite similar to your husband in the child situation now that you bring it up. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 33:37

Right?

SPEAKER_01 33:38

All right, yeah. I guess you're right.

SPEAKER_03 33:39

Yeah. Common ground has been established.

SPEAKER_02 33:42

Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyways, so I digress.

SPEAKER_03 33:46

No further questions, Your Honor. You're a witness.

Finding Our Seats And Our People

SPEAKER_02 33:48

All while you've been gone, I've been choosing those seats because I feel like I'm close enough to the stage to be locked in, but also close enough to the door if I need to go get my daughter, because priority's here. You know what I mean? Like I'm here for um my spiritual connection, but my daughter comes first. Um, so we get to Friday service, and somehow, somehow, by the grace of God, those seats are open. And I was like, You're like, where do you want to sit? And I was like, right here. And you just looked at me, like, I've been telling you about these seats, and you're like, I know I don't fit in these seats. And I was like, Well, this is where we're sitting. So I sit down and there's this lovely lady, uh, older lady sitting next to me, and I ask her if the seats are open. She said, Nope, they're all yours. And I said, Oh, wonderful. So I sat down. Um, Miss Paisley's in between us. Um, we take the three seats on the end, and uh, we set her up. We give her her crayons, we give her her snacks, she's enjoying um, you know, the music and watching people. And while we're settling in, because we got there probably what, like 30 minutes, 20 minutes early. Probably. Because we knew that it was gonna be packed.

SPEAKER_03 35:01

Yeah, that's they said, and it was.

Walking Forward For Prayer

SPEAKER_02 35:03

Yeah, it was packed. Um, and so I'm as we're settling in, uh, this lady is that's sitting next to us, is literally having anyone and everyone coming up to her, like, hi, hi, how are you? How's it going? Getting up, giving hugs, doing this, doing that. And I'm just, I said, I leaned over to you and I was like, gosh, I feel like I'm sitting rubbing elbows with royalty here. Like, I don't know who this is, but I feel like I need to know her. Like I need to be a part of whoever she is. And um so um they started singing and you know, getting the service going. And um, she leans over to me and she says, Hi, I'm Teresa. And I said, Hi, I'm Allie. And she says, Oh, your daughter is just so beautiful. And I said, Oh, thank you so much. Um, I said, You seem to be like royalty or something over here. I feel like I'm rubbing elbows with royalty. And she says, Oh, you're just as just as royal. Sitting, sitting next to you seems just as uh royalty. And I just chuckled. And uh she says, Oh, it's just my just my Bible study. And um, that was it. We just went about church. Um, and then like midway through, um, you know, they ask you to to stand up and say hello and you know, ask questions. So she started talking to me and um ended up talking to you about Paisley, like falling in your arms and just sitting there nice and tight and um how perfect the picture was, and and uh super, super, super sweet lady. Um and so at that time, um that's when kind of you and I started going back and forth, kind of checking in with her. Um, there was a couple of during this time, um, a few of the other churches uh pastors had gotten up and started like expressing um, you know, their gratitude for everybody getting together, um, and also, you know, what their mission was for gathering everybody kind of thing. Um so uh and and I mean this in no disrespect, I wasn't locked in because it wasn't it wasn't Keenan. Yeah. I've found really good connection with Keenan. Like I it it's something about the way that he presents himself, it's the way that he um puts a message across. I can really connect, I can understand, I can relate. Um, and so once those other um two pastors had gone up there and you know made their speech, Keenan had gotten up. And at that point, I was already back at my seat um and was kind of locked in. And um they were just kind of going over service and they had mentioned um, I wish I could remember the name of the prayer that he was going over. Um and basically what I can summarize and and please, you know, Matt, if you're listening to this and you know what I'm talking about, right? Send it in because I would love to find we can watch it back too. Yeah, yeah, because I I tried to find it um and I and I just couldn't. Um so basically the prayer that he mentioned was giving your life to God. Like you're you are releasing um, you're releasing toxins, you're releasing negativity, you're releasing anything and everything, and you're making God king. Um, and he went over this like beautiful prayer and he said, if you're ready, go ahead and do this. And this is the second time since this journey that I have done this. The first time was the Savior's prayer, and I did that with Michelle.

SPEAKER_04 38:37

Right.

SPEAKER_02 38:37

Um, and that was the first moment that I made the decision to move forward in my faith. And it was at that moment that they were going over this prayer and I went over it with them. It was like, it was like word vomit. I I was not prepared. I didn't have any um inkling that this was gonna happen or you know, that I was ready for any of this, just like when I went over the savior's prayer with with Michelle. Um I'm I'm copying him verbatim. Like, and and he said that. He said, if you're ready, go ahead and copy me. Go ahead and and recite this prayer. Um, and my team is up here uh and and we're ready to pray over you. And uh, and so when he was saying that, I happened to look up at the front of the stage and there's a line, a lineup of people standing up there, and they're not um people it's his team, they're all lined up in front of the stage.

SPEAKER_03 39:31

Multiple churches are all there represented up.

SPEAKER_02 39:33

Yes, all of the churches that are there, their prayer team is up there in front of the stage. So um he's you know, goes back to the prayer and he just keeps saying it, and I just keep saying it. And then he said, Um, if you've said this prayer and you're ready, please come up to the front and my team will pray over you and we'll start this journey together. Um and it was so I don't I don't even know. Like I want to use the word like majestic, but like I don't know if that's really like the right word. Like as soon as I had said that with him, I felt like a huge release, like a huge like breath of fresh air, just like come off my chest and lift up off my shoulders. And then when he said, like, please come up and meet with my prayer team, I don't know why, but I felt the need to empty my pockets. I don't know why. I had keys and I had a cell phone in my pocket.

SPEAKER_03 40:48

Like, I don't know, maybe they need to put their hands in my pocket.

SPEAKER_02 40:50

Well, I didn't really know because of the one of the services that we had attended, um, and they had their rugs out and all that kind of stuff. Like, there were people like kneeling down, and I didn't know what was he was calling people up to do. But I was called to go. Like it was like something came over my body and was like, we're going. Empty your pockets, we're going. Like I I didn't even have the time to stop and think about what was happening or anything of that nature. Like it was like so I started walking towards the front of the church. It was like so weird because the the seats that we chose, there was an alleyway or a walkway leading directly to the stage. It was like we were purposely meant to sit there. And the way that the lights were Yeah, there was like no real navigating around anybody. It was a pretty and the way that the lights were on because they were singing, they lit up that walkway like so perfectly. I emptied my pockets and I literally walked directly down that alleyway, and I started to walk up to the line of people, and there was a line of people there, and I made eye contact with one one lady. Like, I didn't know who I was going to, I didn't know what I was doing, I was just going. My body was taken over, and I was going. And I walked right over to this girl, and we made a little bit of small talk. Her name is Ashley, and she is the one and only wife of our pastor, Keenan.

SPEAKER_03 42:48

We never met her, so there was you had no clue when you were walking up there.

SPEAKER_02 42:52

Never. I just made a connection, we made eye contact, and I said, she's it. Walk right to her. And there was another lady, two like people down that made eye contact initially with me, and I kind of like glanced over at her and I looked right down the line and was zoned in on Ashley. I went right over to Ashley. Like I said, we made small talk. Hi, I'm Allie. I'm Ashley. Do you go to this church? Yes, I do. We're new here, we love it. And I it was like word foment. I was like, oh, do you go to this church? Like because I didn't know because of all the different speed dating. Well, no, I didn't know because of all the different churches that were up there. So I didn't know if I was if I had gone to someone from Lighthouse.

SPEAKER_03 43:37

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 43:37

I wasn't sure. So I wanted to ask. And she said, Yes. She said, I am actually Keenan's wife. And it it was like oh my God.

SPEAKER_04 43:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:49

How does this happen? An entire lineup of people. And when I say a lineup, there was probably 10 people up there.

SPEAKER_03 43:56

Yeah, there was a whole bunch of people leaning against a stage waiting. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:00

Waiting. And as I was walking up, there was a girl coming back. And I just saw all the emotion in her face. And I was like, oh. Oh, we're about to do this. Like everything, like I said, everything happened so fast and so like in one solid motion that I like didn't know what was happening. So I got up and I was, you know, with Ashley, telling her, you know, we're very new here. This is the reason. I kind of gave her like the short story on why we were there. And I explained to her, you know, my mom had committed suicide about a year ago. Um, and I found peace in your church. Um, my daughter comes here, she's one, she enjoys your ministry. Um, I find a real good connection um with the way that your husband puts on uh service, and we feel at home. And she just said, Thank you so much for being here. Um, and I'm sure I'm I'm forgetting stuff because like I said, I I couldn't even tell you what happened. Like the amount of time I felt that she prayed with me. I want to say she probably prayed with me for maybe two to five minutes. It felt like 20 30. Like it felt like time stopped.

SPEAKER_03 45:32

Like I would say it was certainly at least five minutes because um I walked in and you were not there. And then my first reaction was like she wouldn't have gone to the stage, and then I was looking, and then I was like, I think she went to the stage, and then I was like uh started scanning around, and then I was like looking above the crowd and was like, I think that's you right there. And um, I mean we stayed there for a while waiting for you to come back, and um and then I think we couldn't, and so I mean it was it was quite a bit of time actually. So I will tell you because I know that like the experience, you almost kind of black out as to what the time was.

SPEAKER_02 46:14

That's exactly what happened because like I couldn't hear, so she and I um leaned into one another. For whatever reason, I took my right hand, like I was doing the Pledge of Allegiance, and I put it over my heart. It was like an in-sync motion. Like my arm went on her arm, she put her arm on my arm, and my right hand went on my chest.

SPEAKER_03 46:37

And she thought you were gonna get dunked in the water. I had no idea.

SPEAKER_02 46:41

I had no idea what was happening. But all I know is that she just started praying over me, over my family, over the situation, um, thanking us for being there, thanking thanking me for being strong enough to go to church, to lean into my faith, to find God during such a hard time in life. Like just so much that she picked up on. And I literally just felt that like the world stopped. Like I could hear the music that they were singing faintly in the background, but I was like locked in to her and only her and what she was saying, like just like I got like chills, I got goosebumps, I got cold, I got warm, and I was just like, I was just lost in the moment. And then the moment that she said um in God's name, amen. I like came to I immediately looked up to her, tears falling down my face, gave her a big hug, looked up, and realized I'm at the front of this church in front of three brand new churches.

SPEAKER_03 48:10

Yeah, I don't know what that thing holds. Is it 1400 people, 1500 people, but it was chalk full.

SPEAKER_02 48:15

I'm not entirely sure. Yeah, but at that moment I realized the singers were directly behind her.

SPEAKER_03 48:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:22

And when I turned around, there was all 1400, 1500 people there.

SPEAKER_03 48:29

I'm sure you were probably on the big screen and I didn't even see it. You know what I mean? Because they have the Oh my god, I didn't even think of that. I'm sure you were. I wonder if if we go back and look, if maybe you would be in the YouTube video. Oh be a good way for me to catch up on the service.

SPEAKER_02 48:47

This is true. This is true. So I ended up um, you know, walking back and I felt like I was floating back. That's why I was like, like I felt so light, I felt so refreshed. I was where I was supposed to be. And immediately when I got back to my seat, there was Teresa.

SPEAKER_03 49:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:08

The little old lady that was sitting next to me, rubbing elbows, gave me the biggest hug, and she said, Abby, I'm gonna pray for you. Thank you so much, I appreciate it. And she said, I'm gonna pray for you, I'm gonna pray for your little family, and you just did an amazing thing because she just watched everything happen.

SPEAKER_04 49:29

Right.

SPEAKER_02 49:29

Because she was sitting directly next to us, she watched us tackle our child.

SPEAKER_03 49:35

Yeah, basically.

SPEAKER_02 49:36

And then she watched me give my life to God. Yeah, like she just watched it all happen.

SPEAKER_03 49:42

She was a lady to see you um this Sunday, too. Yeah, you could see how excited she was to see you.

SPEAKER_02 49:48

Yeah. So it was like truly amazing. Um, never an experience that I have ever had. And I know that people talk about, you know, God coming to you in different ways. And um I truly feel that me starting my journey with Michelle on her TikToks um and doing the savior's prayer uh only led me to where I was on Good Friday. And then when we went to Sunday service, I just felt even more certain that I was where I needed to be for church. Um and then to see Teresa uh again, just to give her a hug and say hi. Um she was so exact ecstatic to see all of us again. So it was it was truly awesome. Like it it goes to show that um we've only been with this church for a very small amount of time, but we are starting to make those connections, which is truly awesome to me.

SPEAKER_03 50:56

Yeah, I think we're about six months really off and on, you know what I mean, depending on the road or yeah, what the situation is.

Easter Baptisms And Atheist Testimony

SPEAKER_02 51:02

So yeah, and I just saw that they have a women's conference coming up uh May 2nd, and I'm like super pumped about joining. I want to be a part of it um to see if I can make those connections because I truly feel like I'm on this journey for a reason, and I've talked about it before, and I'm ready to be baptized, but I need to get more uh in-depth in my in my Bible to make it make sense.

SPEAKER_03 51:24

Yeah. Speaking of um baptized, if you roll it to Sunday, Easter Sunday, which was the most powerful church service that I think we've been a part of. Yeah, it was a tough angle that we were at for the service because it was so many people. So packed. Um we didn't have the best seats, it was kind of hard to see everything.

SPEAKER_02 51:48

But uh going to church on Easter is just like going to the gym on New Year's Eve. Like New Year's It's everybody's for New Year's resolution kind of thing.

SPEAKER_03 51:58

People that want to stay committed to their faith, but they're like, I'm not gonna go every weekend, but I'm gonna go on Christmas and Easter, I think, is what a lot of people do. So it was uh genuinely just packed to the rafters. So when we got in there, by the time we got the little one checked in to ministry service, it was uh it was a tar it was a tough angle. We were all the way to the wall under a big um, you know, massive projection screen type of scenario. But it was such a powerful um sermon. Like everything about it was everything about it was great.

SPEAKER_02 52:27

But Keenan did a great job.

SPEAKER_03 52:29

My favorite thing about the whole thing was um when at the end of his service they go into worship where there's music playing, and then um the first person that got baptized during um that was incredible because you heard 1,500 people, you know, screaming to the rafters for her. It was pretty incredible. But then it's always a situation where Keenan will do like the you know the communion, he'll wrap up his uh his service, and then they go on to worship, and then he'll do he does a lap around the church, and then he comes back on, and then he ends it with some some final words. And um, when he was coming back around, a video came up on the screen for this gentleman. I think his name was Dan. And um it was him telling his story and how um he had um you know was an atheist, he didn't believe, and how he lost his parents at a young age, and he's just going through all these struggles, and then how he uh turned to God, and it was just so incredible to hear his story and then see him in the water with his his wife or fiance or and um get baptized in front of everybody. It was uh it was incredible.

SPEAKER_02 53:45

Like it was nice to be able to hear the story because like Yeah, hearing people's story was so powerful. Yeah, because every Sunday we see.

SPEAKER_03 53:53

Oh man, I get I get emotional just seeing people do it when I don't know anything about them. When people don't go over to give them a hug, I get all fired up and I want to run down there. Um, and I always try to find them after the service and I never see them. But um hearing somebody's story and hearing like a you know, like this is a genuine just dude, right? To hear somebody that you know they're just sharing their their story, they're just you know, like us, right? We share share the struggle, they're just sharing their struggle and saying, Hey man, this is how I found God, this is why I didn't hear I am committing to it.

SPEAKER_01 54:25

I'm just a regular person.

SPEAKER_03 54:26

It was incredible. It was incredible.

SPEAKER_02 54:27

I was explaining his life that like he didn't spend his days growing up in the church or anything like that.

SPEAKER_03 54:37

Like it was crazy to hear when we went back this week, and the person that started the service off saying that he was leading a Bible study group and a friend he went to high school with, joined that group. He was an atheist, he was surprised to see him there, and then last week and he baptized him for Easter. And I was thinking, man, the whole connection here was unbelievable. But that baptism was um was incredible, and um yeah, I just it just it was such a moving moment to see, you know, and I I would like to encourage them to do more of it because it was just so it was just so powerful.

SPEAKER_02 55:08

But I got to watch that one that you were when you were gone of the dad getting baptized.

SPEAKER_03 55:14

That was incredible, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 55:15

And then just a few moments uh like after he was finished, his daughter was standing at the stairs waiting to be baptized with him, which was like I love the way that they do that.

Misplaced Hope And Modern Anxiety

SPEAKER_03 55:27

Um, the power of like the worship music in the background and everything is just so um so moving. But there was a couple things from that Easter service that really stuck with me, and one of them was Keenan's story about um you know hitting his knees and his final breaking point and then giving his life to God and and the prayer that he that he said and encouraging everybody to say that, and um that was really incredible. And there's something that I use to start today's show, and that's putting hope in the right direction. And he had this this um you know, this talking point in a service about misplaced hope. And he said that basically to summarize it, with everything in this world, all the things at our fingertips, right? The technology at our fingertips, everything at our disposal, all the things we take for granted, the advantages that we have. He was talking about like, you know, Artemis' circle in the moon and how we're only a three-second delay from people behind the backside of the moon and all this craziness and all the things we have going for us. Yet we live in a time that is we are the most depressed, we are the most anxious, we are the most suicidal. And he just talks about the most depressed generation of people, the most anxious time for a nation, the most suicidal time for our people. And he said it's all because of misplaced hope. We're all putting hope on the wrong things. Yeah, and um, there's only one place to place your hope, and that's that's with God. And it was uh it was pretty incredible because all those things hit home. You think about your own anxieties, your own depressions, your own fears and feelings and emotions, and the struggle that we're on. People that have been listening to this show for over five years, they know the struggle, they know that we've been what we've been through, we've grown through. And um, all the times you just place your hope in the wrong direction, you end up with the same result. So um it was an incredible experience.

Grief Dates And A Healing Circle

SPEAKER_02 57:23

The past um, you know, that Easter weekend, those past few days was was uh Yeah, and I think that it um hit home a little bit more um when I had gotten home and kind of did the math on um the death date of my mom. Like that was like the Monday after Easter.

SPEAKER_03 57:46

Yeah. Um she died right after Easter, basically.

SPEAKER_02 57:49

So she basically died on Easter.

SPEAKER_03 57:53

Yeah, so the according to the dates are different this year, but the holiday remains the same, right?

SPEAKER_02 57:58

Correct, correct. So she ended up dying on Easter um last year. Um, so for me, um, to do the math on that was so crazy to me because I feel like that is the reason why I had such a moving experience. Because when Ashley was praying over me, I was very, very open and honest with her that I I came to find um God and I and I joined your church because uh my mom committed suicide. I needed strength um and I needed support. That's what I needed, and uh she just embraced that. And so for me, um, I felt that I received that because I was open and honest. Um, and it was almost just my way of healing. Like I felt like it was uh a full rounded circle that um technically to the date it wasn't uh a year ago, but to the holiday it was like and that is something that will kind of sit with me.

SPEAKER_03 59:00

We'll always be there.

SPEAKER_02 59:01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:03

You know, it's weird to hear you say that everything back and for the experience that you had. I wonder if it was part of the plan for me to be distracted. I wonder if it was part of the plan for me to be out of the room, if it was part of the plan for you to be on your own, and like maybe me standing next to you in some way keeps you from your experience. I don't really know, you know what I mean? But maybe um it was all part of the the plan. It's all God's plan. Like it's all it was all part of it. So uh it went the way that it exactly was supposed to go. So absolutely. I really wanted to share um that message with everybody to give everybody a positive message because you know has it it's not positive every every single week, you know. But uh letting people know that there's there's hope out there. You just gotta put it in the right place and in the right person. And if you do so, then uh I want you to know that that things are gonna go get better. They will get better. There's a uh there's a plan for you, there's a reason for you, and the reason why you're here, and um just put your hope in the right place. What are you doing? What's that look for?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:04

I was um doing some doing some math, and I guess y'all can hear from me next week too.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:13

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:14

Next Tuesday is actually my mom's death date.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:19

On the actual recording date.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:22

And today is actually um my grandfather's death date. He died on this day twenty years ago.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:33

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:33

Yeah, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:35

As we're making random connections and getting off of the death conversation, you mentioned earlier that Matt said something when we were sitting here. Do you know what else he said? Have you ever been prayed over? Remember this conversation?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:50

Yeah, because he talked about his experience. Yeah, because he said she went into tongue.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:55

Yeah. I hope I didn't share too much on Matt's personal story right there. But for me, I just think when you think about it, him saying, like, and asking us, have you ever been prayed over? Like the like a day later, could say yes. You know what I mean? Yeah. Pretty crazy foreshadowing that that conversation led into that experience. Just thinking about that. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:15

Matt, this one's for you.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:18

I didn't swear.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:19

I made it through the whole episode without swearing, too.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:22

And I will not swear when we close this and I tell you to wash your hands.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:26

You're filthy.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:29

Animal.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:31

That too. Christmas vacation. Christmas, what is that? Home alone. Anyway. Thank you for supporting my American dream.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:44

Your hands.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:46

Do we go with friggin' hands, you filthy sandwich? That's a fine word, dude.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:51

Not today.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:52

We're talking about God.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:53

Politely wash your hands, sir.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:55

Wash your hands, please.

Where To Find Us

SPEAKER_03 1:01:57

Yeah, ladies and gents. So yeah. I come back to this recording to mention that it is it is shurly Wednesday. We are 12 30. 12 30. Yeah, yeah. Made it. You filled the animal. That's it, and that's all, Biggie Smalls. If you're a Loud Proud American and you find yourself just wanting more, find me on YouTube and Facebook at Loud Proud American Face page, as my mama calls it. If you're a fan of the Graham Kraken, you want to find me on Instagram or all the kids tickety talkin' on the TikTok. You can find me on both of those at loud underscore proud underscore American. Big old thank you to the boys from the Gun Truckers for the background beats and the theme song to your podcast. If you are enjoying what you're hearing, track down the gun truckers on Facebook just third gun truckers. Give that motherfucker a like. Now go wash your fucking hands, you filthy savage.