Aug. 26, 2024

Transformative Journeys of Spiritual Growth

Transformative Journeys of Spiritual Growth

Send us a text here!

314: Pastor Plek welcomes Cody Sparks of the Cody Sparks Band and Liz Mitchell, the Deacon of Care at Wells Branch Community Church. Liz shares her unique responsibilities through the "five M's of ministry"—new moms, medical emergencies, meal trains, mass casualty events, and memorials, alongside the newly added moving ministry. They also break down the essential differences between the Deacon of Care and the Deacon of Compassion, focusing on the balance between project management and hands-on assistance in community support. The episode also explores the life-changing events that led a Texas country musician to reevaluate his life during the COVID-19 pandemic, including his wife's journey from a toxic relationship to new beginnings and a shared faith journey. Lastly, they dive deep into the transformative power of personal time with God and its impact on behavior and relationships. Cody and Liz reflect on their personal spiritual journeys, discussing how hope in Christ can help overcome fears and manage failure and anxiety. By examining the biblical story of Moses and sharing personal anecdotes, they uncover the profound changes brought about by faith during challenging times. Don’t miss this thoughtful exploration of ministry, social dynamics, and spiritual growth.

Got questions? Text us at 737-231-0605!

Like, share, and subscribe! We love seeing and responding to your reviews and comments.

Support the show: https://wbcc.churchcenter.com/giving

Support the Show.

Chapters

00:03 - Ministry, Faith, Transformation

10:02 - Social Butterfly and Musical Shift

15:29 - Life Changes and Spiritual Transformation

22:35 - Recognizing Spiritual Transformation in Daily Life

32:20 - Overcoming Fear Through Hope in Christ

36:23 - Managing Failure and Anxiety Through Faith

48:18 - Understanding Fear, Crisis Christianity, and Growth

52:49 - Closing Remarks and Contact Information

Transcript
WEBVTT

00:00:03.887 --> 00:00:06.131
And welcome back to Pastor Plec's podcast.

00:00:06.131 --> 00:00:13.330
I'm your host, pastor Plec, and joining me in studio is none other from the Cody Sparks band, senor Cody Sparks.

00:00:14.212 --> 00:00:14.694
One and only.

00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:22.253
And then also from Wells Branch Community Church, the deacon of care, liz Mitchell.

00:00:22.253 --> 00:00:26.032
Hello, liz, is this your first time on the show?

00:00:26.454 --> 00:00:26.635
No.

00:00:27.237 --> 00:00:28.280
How many times you've been on the show?

00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:29.885
Two, two, okay.

00:00:29.885 --> 00:00:30.565
Is this the second time?

00:00:30.565 --> 00:00:34.182
Yes, okay, all right, so we are very excited.

00:00:34.182 --> 00:00:37.640
Can you tell us what it is exactly you do around here at Wells Branch Community Church?

00:00:38.002 --> 00:00:44.621
All the things Well she does all of the things and that's something you should be excited about.

00:00:44.621 --> 00:00:46.969
If you don't know Liz Mitchell, you should know Liz Mitchell.

00:00:46.969 --> 00:00:49.868
So Liz the Deacon of Care I don't know if you guys know this.

00:00:49.868 --> 00:00:53.990
They have something called the five M's of ministry.

00:00:53.990 --> 00:01:04.081
You've got new moms, you've got medical emergencies, you've got meal trains, you've got mass casualty events, and then you've got memorials.

00:01:04.081 --> 00:01:05.563
You've got MASH casualty events and then you've got memorials.

00:01:05.563 --> 00:01:09.427
And then one other one we've just added recently to your title is moving.

00:01:10.147 --> 00:01:11.670
Getting men to move stuff.

00:01:12.209 --> 00:01:13.292
Men with trucks moving.

00:01:13.292 --> 00:01:17.316
So we kind of established your whole ministry with the letter M.

00:01:17.316 --> 00:01:28.483
It feels like a Sesame Street show, so talk to me about that aspect of being there when people are at a point of crisis.

00:01:28.504 --> 00:01:31.567
Well, as we were talking about earlier today, it's the first step in evangelism.

00:01:31.567 --> 00:01:55.408
It's bringing the love of God to people who are in need, meeting their needs in that moment of whatever it may be as far as like a life crisis or a life change, or something that they just need help with yeah, and so, um, how long you've been the deacon of care now many moons a long time.

00:01:55.487 --> 00:02:04.668
All right, somebody explain to me the difference between deacon of care and deacon of compassion you know that is a very, very question.

00:02:04.748 --> 00:02:17.736
You see, the deacon of care is really all about caring, whereas the compassion person so caring from the standpoint of project managing care.

00:02:17.736 --> 00:02:35.066
And then the compassion person is the boots on the ground taking said person from their house to a community group, from their house to church, from their house actually organizing the moving team to show up at the house.

00:02:35.260 --> 00:02:39.205
So the M in compassion is moving.

00:02:39.407 --> 00:02:40.210
Moving yeah.

00:02:41.263 --> 00:02:43.860
I just know A-Ron is moving everybody all the time.

00:02:44.782 --> 00:02:53.348
A-Ron is a big-time mover and he is a blessing, and so if you don't know Aaron, you need to know him.

00:02:53.348 --> 00:03:02.609
He is pretty amazing and so, yeah, I highly advocate for the care ministry, which has a deacon of care and the deacon of compassion.

00:03:02.609 --> 00:03:11.389
Okay, we're going to talk about what we got into with our sermon this past Sunday, and we talked about another M word method acting.

00:03:11.389 --> 00:03:13.888
Have you ever heard that term before, liz, before we talked about it?

00:03:13.888 --> 00:03:17.870
Yes, okay, who is the person that you knew that did method acting?

00:03:19.923 --> 00:03:22.439
I would say it was probably a teacher in high school.

00:03:23.562 --> 00:03:25.127
Okay, so you learned this in high school?

00:03:25.127 --> 00:03:27.072
Yes, were you a theater nerd.

00:03:27.580 --> 00:03:28.664
No, I was channel one.

00:03:28.664 --> 00:03:32.496
I was channel one, so that was like bring the news to the school.

00:03:32.496 --> 00:03:38.586
That was me, but I was more of like the video rendering and yeah, okay, fun, go behind the scenes, oh yeah.

00:03:39.187 --> 00:03:40.128
Oh, wow, that's awesome.

00:03:40.128 --> 00:03:41.971
Oh, y'all like film Channel One yeah.

00:03:41.971 --> 00:03:43.193
We just watched Channel One.

00:03:43.492 --> 00:03:43.993
We filmed it.

00:03:43.993 --> 00:03:44.775
We didn't have any of that.

00:03:44.775 --> 00:03:47.306
Yeah, we filmed it and then they showed it.

00:03:48.120 --> 00:03:49.201
Like at every school in Texas.

00:03:49.923 --> 00:03:50.745
No, just our school.

00:03:51.145 --> 00:03:52.929
That's pretty awesome, though, well.

00:03:54.050 --> 00:03:55.453
Yeah, okay, so Little Panther.

00:03:55.453 --> 00:04:07.106
So what we talked about with method acting was that you study the character and their history, you get to know them, the study of that person.

00:04:07.106 --> 00:04:30.011
Then you got to get into their feelings and so you have to have orthodoxy, orthopathy, you have to understand what the right feelings for that character are, because if you're going through your lines and you have like a happy line like they're dead, as opposed to they're dead like it does it, it seems like a weird thing, right, um?

00:04:30.011 --> 00:04:33.865
And so you have to have the right feelings and then finally, you have to orthopraxy, which is like the right action.

00:04:33.865 --> 00:04:36.615
So you've got to move like they move.

00:04:36.615 --> 00:04:38.321
If they had a lamp, you got to have a lamp.

00:04:38.321 --> 00:04:42.088
Okay, now, what I said was is that method acting?

00:04:42.108 --> 00:04:55.110
I actually learned that in seminary and, and one of the things that my professors said is that you need to take this type of mindset with Christ, that you learn right doctrine, you learn right feelings, and I think what's sort of shocking?

00:04:55.110 --> 00:04:56.500
We either do one or two things.

00:04:56.500 --> 00:05:17.233
We say we all our feelings are, we live in our feelings all the time and we're kind of like psychotic feelings, people, or feelings are stupid and don't listen to them at all, and there's actually a right way to feel as a Christian and that has to be trained, just like a method actor needs to train on what the feelings are.

00:05:17.233 --> 00:05:19.908
So, for example, love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.

00:05:19.908 --> 00:05:29.384
That is a feeling and it's also a practice and you could say also, at some degree it is orthodoxy, if you just that's the right thing to do, okay.

00:05:30.225 --> 00:05:46.572
So with that, we talked about how we sort of struggle with changing because we either don't know what Jesus calls us to do we don't it's hard for us to be trained in feelings and then maybe we don't know what to do.

00:05:46.572 --> 00:05:48.925
And so what happens for a lot of Christians?

00:05:48.925 --> 00:05:53.326
We stop with like, I have all the information but there's no life transformation.

00:05:53.326 --> 00:05:55.343
Have you seen that in Christians that you know?

00:05:56.286 --> 00:06:05.937
Of course I mean, you see it, especially with people who are culturally raised in a particular way Right.

00:06:05.937 --> 00:06:07.723
And then they are learning that.

00:06:07.723 --> 00:06:23.925
I see it in myself, actually, that it's not the case Right With God in your life, and learning to change that about yourself or about themselves is a difficult transition.

00:06:23.925 --> 00:06:25.026
How are you so I'm going to pause on that learning?

00:06:25.125 --> 00:06:27.627
to change that about yourself or about themselves is a difficult transition.

00:06:27.627 --> 00:06:28.168
How are you so?

00:06:28.168 --> 00:06:28.889
I'm going to pause on that.

00:06:28.889 --> 00:06:29.949
I want to ask Cody the same question.

00:06:29.949 --> 00:06:39.057
First, cody, growing up as a preacher's kid, did you see people who had a lot of information about the Bible but they didn't see any transformation to their feelings?

00:06:39.057 --> 00:06:47.237
They still maybe operated with wrong feelings or maybe operated with wrong action and it was obvious to you even as a kid.

00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:54.168
Yeah, but like we, talked about in the 90s, more things were kind of like hidden, so people didn't open up and share as much.

00:06:54.168 --> 00:07:05.012
So you would think probably that oh yeah, they're speaking the word and these things, but you're not really knowing what they're doing behind closed doors.

00:07:05.012 --> 00:07:06.237
Almost Right, you know.

00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:06.680
Yeah.

00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:09.088
So opening up wasn't a real deal.

00:07:09.088 --> 00:07:11.266
Yeah, okay so having community like that wasn't.

00:07:11.620 --> 00:07:14.432
So you didn't know what was going on behind the scenes, not really.

00:07:14.432 --> 00:07:14.855
Yeah.

00:07:15.721 --> 00:07:34.036
I think it was like different, because I was talking to my parents about this, about like was talking to my parents about this, about like church hurt and people being upset over the craziest, weirdest things, yeah, and them still loving those people.

00:07:34.036 --> 00:07:36.341
And then eventually they come back around.

00:07:36.341 --> 00:07:42.339
We're like, oh, I was so wrong, right, so, yes, innocent in a way okay, yeah, okay.

00:07:42.862 --> 00:07:45.230
So, liz, let's talk about pre-Christian life.

00:07:45.230 --> 00:07:47.023
When did you become a believer?

00:07:47.043 --> 00:07:49.228
2018.

00:07:49.247 --> 00:07:50.310
2018.

00:07:50.310 --> 00:07:51.552
So six years ago.

00:07:51.779 --> 00:07:52.824
But raised in the church.

00:07:52.985 --> 00:07:55.346
Raised in the church and when did you take a left turn?

00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:00.528
I would probably say it was around my senior year in high school.

00:08:00.910 --> 00:08:02.485
Okay, what was the thing?

00:08:11.339 --> 00:08:12.083
Was there something you're like?

00:08:12.083 --> 00:08:13.427
You know, screw this being a good Christian person?

00:08:13.427 --> 00:08:13.968
No, not in that sense.

00:08:13.968 --> 00:08:15.553
It was more of the church that I was going to at the time.

00:08:15.553 --> 00:08:18.742
It felt as though every sermon was how young people these days are destroying the world.

00:08:21.547 --> 00:08:26.514
Southern Baptist Church, the kids today, the kids today Get off my lawn.

00:08:28.521 --> 00:08:39.410
And I think part of it too was that my friends at the time were also kind of stepping away and life for me then was changing.

00:08:39.410 --> 00:08:53.907
I was 18, in my senior year, so that independence of I can move out, I can make my own decisions was also occurring at the same time, but I didn't feel encouraged by it.

00:08:53.907 --> 00:08:58.126
I didn't feel that there was God's love.

00:08:58.126 --> 00:09:15.232
But looking back now I also know that I didn't understand what the gospel was either, and so I stepped out of that into that independence role and moved out and had a job and was supporting myself before I graduated.

00:09:15.714 --> 00:09:18.369
Okay, oh, you were supporting yourself before you graduated, Mm-hmm.

00:09:18.369 --> 00:09:20.706
Okay, so you moved out before you graduated.

00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:22.567
Yeah, I moved out in the middle of my senior year.

00:09:22.980 --> 00:09:23.904
Like who'd you move in with?

00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:25.721
A boyfriend.

00:09:25.942 --> 00:09:26.984
Oh, nice, okay, yeah before you graduated?

00:09:26.984 --> 00:09:28.706
Yeah, I moved out middle of my senior year, like who'd you move in with a boyfriend?

00:09:28.726 --> 00:09:30.490
oh, nice okay yeah, so like so you're living with your boyfriend.

00:09:31.251 --> 00:09:32.494
Uh, tell me what.

00:09:32.494 --> 00:09:36.109
What we get to in the sermon is that you are what you behold.

00:09:36.109 --> 00:09:44.552
So, for example, heath ledger totally beheld batman back in 2008 or something whatever year it was that that movie came out.

00:09:44.552 --> 00:09:47.804
Uh, and then, like, wouldn't sleep.

00:09:47.804 --> 00:09:54.605
We almost got him to like a psychosis where he truly became the joker and uh, and then his life ended abruptly.

00:09:54.605 --> 00:09:57.431
Did you, would you say that?

00:09:57.431 --> 00:09:57.951
What?

00:09:57.951 --> 00:09:59.681
During that time, what did you behold?

00:09:59.681 --> 00:10:01.643
And would you say that you became that which you beheld?

00:10:02.303 --> 00:10:03.206
Yeah, social butterfly.

00:10:03.206 --> 00:10:25.567
I mean I did whatever I wanted to and was being independent and supporting myself, and so that led to I'm going to go to these parties, I'm going to go out to this place where I know nobody, and I'm going to meet all the people and I'm going to have a great time and we're going to drink and we're going to just do whatever we want to do.

00:10:26.562 --> 00:10:26.682
Okay.

00:10:26.682 --> 00:10:32.908
So that sounds to me like the worst idea ever going to a party that I don't know anybody and just meeting everybody.

00:10:32.908 --> 00:10:34.043
That is not my strength.

00:10:34.043 --> 00:10:38.948
I don't know if you may that would be, I would feel, cody Angst's level right there.

00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:40.826
Weirdly, I have social anxiety.

00:10:46.220 --> 00:10:46.821
You may social anxiety.

00:10:46.821 --> 00:10:47.282
You may not know this.

00:10:47.282 --> 00:10:48.063
Yeah, I definitely could not do that.

00:10:48.063 --> 00:10:48.684
So tell me how you did that.

00:10:48.684 --> 00:10:49.206
Like what was?

00:10:49.225 --> 00:10:56.743
how would you break the ice with people just show up, okay, hello I don't know you, but I'd like to get to know you.

00:10:57.264 --> 00:11:02.221
That's probably okay, but then don't you get stuck, like I mean at parties.

00:11:02.221 --> 00:11:05.852
There's generally a couple weirdos there that you're like you know you just you said, hey, how you doing?

00:11:05.852 --> 00:11:09.969
And then all of a sudden they're telling you their life story and you're like knee deep into it and you can't escape.

00:11:09.969 --> 00:11:10.510
How do you get?

00:11:10.510 --> 00:11:21.264
Out of that um do you just go, like I go to the bathroom or something, and then you just leave, or what yes and no, but I think part of it was was that never a fear?

00:11:21.446 --> 00:11:22.227
that you get stuck.

00:11:22.227 --> 00:11:23.592
Never a fear that you'd get stuck.

00:11:23.633 --> 00:11:25.599
Never a fear that I would get stuck.

00:11:25.599 --> 00:11:30.183
Yeah, and if I was tired of talking to someone, I would tell them I'm going to go talk to this person.

00:11:31.087 --> 00:11:33.535
Wow, what freedom there is in that.

00:11:33.697 --> 00:11:42.346
Okay, but I'm telling you, just, very independent, it didn't matter, I would just go and do With no fear of consequence, no, like.

00:11:43.691 --> 00:11:49.241
Well, that way to go, I don fear of consequence.

00:11:49.241 --> 00:11:56.741
No, like, well, that way to go, okay, yeah, I mean there's some real freedom there, okay, so, so, so did you so during the weekday, weekdays, did you just think about what you'd be doing on the weekend?

00:11:58.446 --> 00:12:13.020
well, once I moved out, it didn't matter what day of the week it was I would go and take my three classes that I had my senior year and would be out by noon, go work and then I would do whatever after oh, wow if people wanted to do something.

00:12:13.181 --> 00:12:24.607
I, yes, I never said no yeah huh, oh, this is fascinating so yeah, okay, so then?

00:12:24.607 --> 00:12:26.792
Uh, so tell me about the party like what?

00:12:26.792 --> 00:12:29.054
Because didn't the parties get old?

00:12:29.441 --> 00:12:35.825
no, not to me, like I just don't get that okay, talk to me a person that if there was no purpose for it, I would be like why am I doing this?

00:12:35.825 --> 00:12:40.101
Like I just had zero tolerance for things that had didn't have an ultimate.

00:12:40.101 --> 00:12:45.984
And maybe this is where adrian would say like I'm so achievement oriented, like that did not get me to a next thing.

00:12:45.984 --> 00:12:55.009
I'd be like I'm not doing that, but for you, that was an end in and of itself, as being at the party was the thing yeah okay.

00:12:55.110 --> 00:12:59.398
So then, um, I mean, how does it?

00:12:59.398 --> 00:13:01.022
Because I'm thinking about like what were you?

00:13:01.022 --> 00:13:05.250
Because I just think about like for me, what I thought about is like I want to be a ranger, and so I thought all the times about I'm gonna be an airborne ranger.

00:13:05.250 --> 00:13:05.659
I'm thinking about like what were you?

00:13:05.659 --> 00:13:08.615
Cause I just think about like for me, what I thought about is like I want to be a ranger and so I thought all the times about I'm going to be an airborne ranger, I'm going to be an airborne ranger.

00:13:08.615 --> 00:13:10.080
And I eventually became an airborne ranger.

00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:32.986
I would literally stare at guys' arms that had their shoulder, had a ranger tab, and I'd be like ranger there, anything like that for you, like where you wanted and maybe this is just achievement-minded person like me I'm like I must achieve, I must achieve competition, win, that kind of thing.

00:13:33.580 --> 00:13:53.679
Well, I think at that time it was finding a job and surviving and supporting myself, and going into the military was something I had thought about, but it was not an option for me and um, so the other part of that was okay.

00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:57.206
Well, how do I support myself but also enjoy what I'm doing?

00:13:57.206 --> 00:14:10.565
And so that partying kind of led to a life of hospitality, so working in hotels where I talk to people all day long, so I'm being social in my job as well as being social after.

00:14:13.043 --> 00:14:13.647
Okay, that's awesome.

00:14:13.647 --> 00:14:14.764
I love that perspective.

00:14:14.764 --> 00:14:18.903
Cody, to you for a second For you.

00:14:18.903 --> 00:14:22.585
What did you behold growing up?

00:14:22.585 --> 00:14:24.831
Athletics, athletics, okay.

00:14:24.831 --> 00:14:30.927
And then that's what you did, that you became right and then you got hurt at some point and then you became a coach.

00:14:30.927 --> 00:14:33.173
And then what shifted it for you?

00:14:33.740 --> 00:14:54.946
from coaching I wasn't sure that's what I really wanted to do, but I mean, I didn't pick up a guitar till I was in college, pretty much basically, basically, and I started doing that and I guess I just slowly, I don't know I guess probably music was always in me, I just never had tapped into it.

00:14:54.946 --> 00:15:08.035
It's in my family, my dad, all of those so I guess I just never really thought about it because I was so and just I knew what I wanted to do athletically and that was all I did.

00:15:08.035 --> 00:15:22.455
And so I guess, slowly but surely, I just kind of made this turn of oh, I can do music a little bit here, and then I started doing it and it just kind of fell into place weirdly, and then that was it like music.

00:15:22.825 --> 00:15:24.030
It was just like music, music, music.

00:15:24.030 --> 00:15:25.220
That's all I think about, all I care about.

00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:29.033
Okay, that's interesting, that's all I think about, all I care about.

00:15:29.033 --> 00:15:29.754
Okay, that's interesting.

00:15:29.754 --> 00:15:42.695
So when you got to Texas country and you're doing, you're on the top ten, you're touring all over, you got like your tour bus and you're traveling all over Texas, was there a point where you're like I finally made it?

00:15:43.644 --> 00:15:48.654
Or was it like Let me ask my wife.

00:15:48.654 --> 00:15:55.158
I don't know, I don't think that I always look back and I'm going, okay, well, we did something.

00:15:55.158 --> 00:15:57.730
Yeah, it was there.

00:15:57.730 --> 00:16:01.191
So it's not like it wasn't successful.

00:16:01.191 --> 00:16:03.677
But it depends how you define success.

00:16:03.677 --> 00:16:05.730
I guess if you would ask her.

00:16:05.730 --> 00:16:10.533
But I mean, obviously I feel like like it.

00:16:10.533 --> 00:16:14.791
This is kind of where I always say, like covet was a blessing in disguise, okay why is that?

00:16:14.791 --> 00:16:19.892
Because it it stopped everything and it made you evaluate.

00:16:19.912 --> 00:16:22.100
That's exactly right yeah, yeah, pretty much.

00:16:22.100 --> 00:16:23.846
And then it was like, oh okay, well, you can do things.

00:16:23.846 --> 00:16:25.291
Were you just sort of like just doing the next thing that was presented?

00:16:25.311 --> 00:16:26.134
responding to like, hey, another invitation.

00:16:26.134 --> 00:16:26.716
I guess I'll say yes to that.

00:16:26.716 --> 00:16:27.238
Another invitation, oh for.

00:16:27.238 --> 00:16:27.558
And do things?

00:16:27.558 --> 00:16:31.169
Were you just sort of like just doing the next thing that was presented, responding to like hey, another invitation.

00:16:31.169 --> 00:16:32.133
I guess I'll say yes to that.

00:16:32.173 --> 00:16:36.942
Another invitation, oh for sure and when, and waiting on like, oh, you're gonna play here, okay, we're going here.

00:16:36.942 --> 00:16:39.590
Oh, we're gonna play here, oh, we're going here, so yeah.

00:16:39.590 --> 00:16:43.667
And then when that shut down, we're like, okay, and on top of that, my wife was.

00:16:43.667 --> 00:16:46.190
We found out she's pregnant in january of 2020.

00:16:46.190 --> 00:16:48.472
Um, and I don't think I found out she was pregnant in January of 2020.

00:16:48.472 --> 00:16:57.393
And I don't think I found out until maybe January, february, like February, mid-february, that she was, and then March happened, and then it all shut down.

00:16:57.393 --> 00:17:15.534
So we had already talked about, okay, going into that, like September, I would like step back a little bit and stay home more, raise the baby more, be there, and then it didn't matter right because this obviously covet happened, so that was just me just saying.

00:17:15.615 --> 00:17:24.045
Oh okay, well, this decision was made for me, so here we go okay, so man, it's a wild thing and I'm getting crazy weird yeah, it is weird.

00:17:24.266 --> 00:17:38.118
I want to go the relational dynamic here because I because when you married jeff you were in still that lifestyle sort of yes so was jeff like you're settling down, or what was jeff?

00:17:39.846 --> 00:17:54.464
before jeff, there was the desire to have a family, and that same person that I had moved out of my home in high school is the same person at that point.

00:17:54.464 --> 00:18:08.076
So it was about 11 years of relationship there, of of no growth, but also the promise of future marriage and children, but then learning that that was actually not the case Wait wait, wait.

00:18:08.105 --> 00:18:10.894
So you were with a guy for 11 years.

00:18:10.894 --> 00:18:13.605
That's a lot of years.

00:18:13.644 --> 00:18:14.930
Well, I mean, there's a couple breaks in between.

00:18:14.930 --> 00:18:15.492
Okay, of course.

00:18:15.825 --> 00:18:23.696
But essentially 11 years, yeah, and he kind of was like, did he put like a carrot out there, like one day we'll get married, yep.

00:18:23.938 --> 00:18:24.097
Yeah.

00:18:24.097 --> 00:18:34.928
And so 30 was approaching and I was realizing that that carrot was just dangling, it was never going to happen.

00:18:34.928 --> 00:18:54.694
And so Jeff came at a time of the separation, a big change in life, of coming out of that toxic relationship that actually kind of broke down what I had been doing in partying.

00:18:54.694 --> 00:19:09.593
So I kind of came back into the partying a little bit when I first met Jeff and because of his personality and how cheerful he was and excitement then, it kind of brought that more to light and so he and I had a little bit more in common.

00:19:09.593 --> 00:19:16.414
And so when we did get married yes, there was that time frame there where we both were very social.

00:19:18.166 --> 00:19:22.496
So then did you, when he came to faith in Christ?

00:19:22.496 --> 00:19:27.252
Did that propel you, or were you both on separate but equal journeys, if that's a way to put?

00:19:27.292 --> 00:19:29.178
that he came after.

00:19:29.178 --> 00:19:38.894
So I had already we had been married for a few years already and I had had these feelings of what's my purpose?

00:19:38.894 --> 00:19:40.077
Like what am I doing?

00:19:40.077 --> 00:20:03.846
Here, and he wasn't ready for a family yet yet, and our lifestyle was very much just socially doing things, smoke a pot, watch movies, doing puzzles, like just things you would do, you know, and, and so I'm vulnerable, honesty hey, listen, I appreciate it.

00:20:03.885 --> 00:20:11.392
Like I can't think of anything worse than smoking pot and doing puzzles, I would just be like banging my head against the wall.

00:20:11.392 --> 00:20:11.814
Puzzles.

00:20:12.476 --> 00:20:14.403
Yes, massive puzzles.

00:20:14.403 --> 00:20:15.105
Yeah, that sounds weird.

00:20:15.425 --> 00:20:16.652
Like a thousand piece puzzles.

00:20:16.652 --> 00:20:21.397
You're just like oh, dude, I see it all coming together, Is that?

00:20:21.439 --> 00:20:22.561
kind of how that was no, no.

00:20:26.815 --> 00:20:27.917
It was just chill.

00:20:28.065 --> 00:20:36.352
We would make food, we would smoke a joint and then we would eat and put a movie on and and do a puzzle in a night or two.

00:20:36.352 --> 00:20:37.875
Like it was just very chill.

00:20:37.875 --> 00:20:43.003
We didn't like we never fought because there was literally nothing to fight about nothing to fight.

00:20:43.003 --> 00:20:43.384
Do you have a?

00:20:43.424 --> 00:20:44.106
corner piece that?

00:20:44.106 --> 00:20:44.887
That's what I'd be asking.

00:20:44.948 --> 00:20:57.653
You know, maybe there was an argument of who got to finish the puzzle, but yeah, so you know, in that I was questioning what's my purpose.

00:20:57.673 --> 00:20:58.476
How old were you at that time?

00:20:58.476 --> 00:21:01.619
Early 30s, early 30s, okay, yeah, 33.

00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:04.894
Okay, and then you're like, did you start going to church, or something?

00:21:06.105 --> 00:21:13.125
His parents actually invited us and I said, yes, absolutely.

00:21:13.125 --> 00:21:20.345
Um, because part of that was I wanted to get to know his parents more and spend more time with them.

00:21:20.345 --> 00:21:42.048
Um, and that was a good way for us to do that, because they were also offering lunch every sunday that we went afterward and, um, so we started going to church with them and, uh, bobby pruitt was doing a sermon on romans on what romans?

00:21:42.428 --> 00:22:10.559
and I think we had been going for about a month and, uh, I I knew jeff was very angry, but I knew, um that the god, that god was calling me, like he was like it's your time now, like you're mine, and so I would say it was probably a few months after that that he came to know god too.

00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:31.429
So oh, that's wild, that's exciting, and then so then, shortly after that, you guys got really involved in our church and here you are yes, yeah, we went to forge and it was right after Forge that we decided to transition, but we had come up a few times with Jenny.

00:22:31.429 --> 00:22:32.070
Yeah, yeah.

00:22:32.392 --> 00:22:33.555
Yeah, oh, that's wild.

00:22:33.555 --> 00:22:34.576
Yeah, okay, all right.

00:22:34.576 --> 00:22:40.944
So one of the things that I talked about on Sunday is that your personal time with God is going to be recognized in public.

00:22:40.944 --> 00:22:47.876
So for Cody, for you, when you think about quiet time, is there, does your?

00:22:47.876 --> 00:22:49.200
I'll just start with your wife.

00:22:49.200 --> 00:23:00.740
Does your wife notice, or maybe she doesn't know to notice, but does she notice a difference between you after you've spent time with the Lord or not spent time with the Lord?

00:23:00.740 --> 00:23:06.894
It's hard to know, because pretty much now all we do is hang out with church people and we pretty much see the same every day.

00:23:06.894 --> 00:23:14.088
But, uh, is there a difference that she might say between, like you when you spend time with the Lord and the versus you when you haven't spent time with the Lord?

00:23:14.250 --> 00:23:15.012
Probably not.

00:23:15.012 --> 00:23:21.977
So it's so yeah, yeah I would.

00:23:21.977 --> 00:23:32.609
I would think no, because whenever we get outside of not here, per se, but like that's what I'm trying to think about.

00:23:32.609 --> 00:23:34.776
Like with her, like it's just life.

00:23:34.776 --> 00:23:36.048
We're on the go, go, go.

00:23:36.811 --> 00:23:41.932
Probably you were telling me about some of your friends you hung out with and they brought up God to you.

00:23:41.932 --> 00:23:44.973
Sure, it felt like that came up a bunch Like what?

00:23:45.013 --> 00:23:56.651
happened, which I don't even think that well, I probably talked about jesus and god with friends before I was even here.

00:23:56.651 --> 00:23:57.515
That was just always a part of who I was.

00:23:57.515 --> 00:23:59.663
Yeah, and part of my story was I was a preacher's kid, that I grew up a preacher's kid.

00:23:59.663 --> 00:24:01.267
My grandpa was a preacher, so everyone knew that.

00:24:01.267 --> 00:24:05.673
So I don't think it was ever um like.

00:24:05.673 --> 00:24:18.612
It probably looks different now because of what I'm doing rather than what I was doing then, but I had always said, even when I would do radio interviews and things, it would just be who I am.

00:24:18.612 --> 00:24:22.342
What I do was play country music.

00:24:22.342 --> 00:24:24.546
Who I am, that's who I am in christ.

00:24:24.546 --> 00:24:26.871
Who I am in christ is that's me.

00:24:26.871 --> 00:24:37.891
Yeah, and what I do is is music, so that for me, I didn't have a problem ever saying that now was I not living right all the time, for sure, but I was also trying to figure out.

00:24:37.891 --> 00:24:42.321
You know, everything that I was doing just was good.

00:24:42.863 --> 00:24:48.290
The earthly things are good sometimes, but I think recently you told me about like, yeah, one of the recent trips.

00:24:48.330 --> 00:24:56.598
I can't remember exactly um, you had like what a friend that his dad's not doing very well and just kind of was, and I had talked to him again.

00:24:56.598 --> 00:25:07.932
We've talked about god in the past not really deep, but some and then later on not recently or recently he was talking about oh yeah, he's fully he.

00:25:07.932 --> 00:25:09.659
At one point I really thought he was atheist.

00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:09.960
Yeah.

00:25:10.441 --> 00:25:18.286
And now he's going oh, yeah, I'm, there's, god, 100%, I 100% believe that, and I'm just sitting there like what?

00:25:18.286 --> 00:25:25.163
And then we get to talk about a lot of times I just sit and listen, yeah, and then I'll say, oh, say, oh, how do you feel about this?

00:25:25.163 --> 00:25:27.989
Or how do you feel about this, and they're yeah, well, that this is why.

00:25:27.989 --> 00:25:30.854
So I mean, that part is all that part's good.

00:25:30.854 --> 00:25:38.919
Um, I just don't think now I'm outside of this bubble enough for people to really be.

00:25:38.919 --> 00:25:39.941
Yeah, you know what I mean.

00:25:39.941 --> 00:25:43.451
Right, I'm here with everybody in the church world and that and things like that.

00:25:43.451 --> 00:25:46.949
But there's, there are friends that would probably say, oh yeah, there's a difference.

00:25:47.190 --> 00:25:48.071
Yeah, what about you, liz?

00:25:48.071 --> 00:26:07.473
And this is probably the challenge that we have as Christians, especially that as highly involved in the church as you are and obviously we work here Is it difficult for you to have your personal time with God recognized by the public because you're not around the public enough.

00:26:07.473 --> 00:26:10.170
But I think you have a job right.

00:26:10.170 --> 00:26:15.067
I mean, or is it so remote that for someone to recognize they have to recognize through a computer screen?

00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:17.646
No, I'm three days in office.

00:26:17.646 --> 00:26:30.491
At my previous job I would say it was very in their face Bible on my desk, evangelizing all the time.

00:26:30.491 --> 00:26:34.006
But I was also very new.

00:26:34.747 --> 00:26:36.029
I was a new Christian at the time.

00:26:36.410 --> 00:26:37.873
But now it's different.

00:26:37.873 --> 00:26:41.244
Now I'm surrounded by Christians at my job.

00:26:41.365 --> 00:26:41.786
Oh really.

00:26:42.145 --> 00:26:46.114
Yeah, so it's hard to find someone to evangelize there.

00:26:46.213 --> 00:27:00.392
Okay, so maybe I'm asking the question not in a good way, because I keep making about the public being non-Christians and maybe I should say, like maybe this is the question Do people recognize when you've spent time with God versus when you haven't spent time with God?

00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:04.903
And I think when I have like, when I've spent time with the Lord in the morning.

00:27:05.443 --> 00:27:07.705
I definitely like if Adrian comes at me.

00:27:07.705 --> 00:27:12.250
Before I've had a quiet time, which for the most part I usually get that knock.

00:27:12.250 --> 00:27:15.251
My time with the Lord is first and then I have time with everybody else.

00:27:15.251 --> 00:27:29.593
But there are days where like hey, we slept in and then we got the kids off and I'm about to do a quiet time, and then she'll talk to me about something and I don't come off in the same way as I would, as if I had time with a lot.

00:27:29.613 --> 00:27:31.160
I would probably say that there's more peace, yeah, for sure yeah.

00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:38.184
I could tell you that about myself, that I have more patience Right, and I'm just there's just more peace about me.

00:27:38.184 --> 00:27:39.167
Yeah, for sure.

00:27:40.520 --> 00:27:44.248
And I think there's I think I recognize it about myself.

00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:44.621
Yeah.

00:27:44.800 --> 00:27:47.288
I think I recognize it about myself more so than anybody else.

00:27:47.348 --> 00:27:51.329
Oh really, Like you can feel yourself peaceful or you feel yourself angry.

00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:56.770
I feel myself when I'm lacking in one-on-one time with God.

00:27:57.593 --> 00:27:58.074
Yeah, okay.

00:27:58.074 --> 00:28:12.031
So one of the things we brought up was that whenever Moses' face shone and this I thought was wild, I don't know if you guys caught this on Sunday, but Moses would go and meet with God in his tent outside the camp.

00:28:12.031 --> 00:28:14.887
He'd behold the glory of God.

00:28:14.887 --> 00:28:17.909
His face would like, it would come out shining.

00:28:17.909 --> 00:28:18.830
He didn't know it was shining.

00:28:18.830 --> 00:28:20.306
He'd speak to the people.

00:28:20.306 --> 00:28:21.986
They were freaked out because his face was shining.

00:28:21.986 --> 00:28:22.888
He's like why is everyone freaked out?

00:28:22.888 --> 00:28:23.500
It's like your face.

00:28:23.500 --> 00:28:24.182
Look at your face with Sean.

00:28:24.202 --> 00:28:24.824
He's like why is everyone?

00:28:25.204 --> 00:28:25.444
freaked out.

00:28:25.444 --> 00:28:25.846
It's like your face.

00:28:25.846 --> 00:28:26.207
Look at your face.

00:28:26.207 --> 00:28:27.730
He's like oh man, I guess someone have a mirror.

00:28:27.730 --> 00:28:28.211
Oh, no one did.

00:28:28.230 --> 00:28:38.284
And then, apparently he's like he tells him what God said and then after that he put a veil on.

00:28:38.284 --> 00:28:49.547
And then we learn later in 2 Corinthians, chapter 3, the reason why he put the veil on was because he knew the glory was fading it wasn't quite as bright and he didn't want them to see that the glory was fading.

00:28:49.547 --> 00:28:51.614
It wasn't quite as bright and he didn't want them to see that the glory was fading.

00:28:51.614 --> 00:28:52.236
I thought that was fascinating.

00:28:52.236 --> 00:28:54.541
And then Paul makes the point that that's how the Old Testament was.

00:28:54.541 --> 00:29:02.926
It was a covenant that was fading and it finally faded completely out when Jesus stepped on the scene and fulfilled the ceremonial law.

00:29:02.926 --> 00:29:10.788
And then he forgave the moral law so that we could, holy Spirit empowered, to live under the whatever civil law.

00:29:10.788 --> 00:29:22.016
And I made the comment on Sunday that the NFL is to rugby what the New Testament is to the Old Testament.

00:29:22.016 --> 00:29:24.045
Are you familiar with rugby?

00:29:24.465 --> 00:29:24.867
A little bit.

00:29:25.087 --> 00:29:26.211
Are you familiar with the NFL?

00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:28.541
Stop, okay, so the NFL wears like NFL.

00:29:28.541 --> 00:29:31.605
Wears like pads and helmets and stuff.

00:29:31.806 --> 00:29:32.748
Rugby does not.

00:29:32.748 --> 00:29:36.011
They wear in rugby.

00:29:36.011 --> 00:29:41.926
They're always worried their ears are going to get ripped off.

00:29:41.926 --> 00:29:43.461
In fact, have you ever seen a wrestler?

00:29:43.701 --> 00:29:43.981
Yeah.

00:29:44.422 --> 00:29:49.050
So wrestlers have cauliflower ears, where their ears are, like you know, smashed all over the place.

00:29:49.050 --> 00:29:50.653
And what rugby players?

00:29:50.653 --> 00:30:00.640
Whenever football made the big shift, american football, gridiron football, made the shift from like you can do laterals and backward and you try to sprint it down to the forward pass being a thing.

00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:04.346
That's when they started putting pads in place.

00:30:04.346 --> 00:30:15.051
They started having helmets, they started shoulder pads, knee pads, thigh pads, all these different pads, and rugby players just look at like that is not legit football.

00:30:15.539 --> 00:30:17.207
They're like you guys are pathetic.

00:30:18.121 --> 00:30:20.548
And NFL players are like we're the hardest core thing ever.

00:30:20.548 --> 00:30:26.488
And they look at rugby players like your sport is lame, it doesn't have a forward pass, like that is not even fun at all.

00:30:26.488 --> 00:30:35.780
And so what happens is rugby players make fun of the nfl football players all the time for being so soft, which is funny, because nfl players don't even know they're being made fun of, because they don't care.

00:30:35.780 --> 00:30:36.843
Does that make sense?

00:30:36.843 --> 00:30:43.481
It's kind of like how ut feels about like texas a&m, like that texas a&m has a rivalry with ut.

00:30:43.481 --> 00:30:46.463
The ut is like oh, there's still a team over there in College Station.

00:30:46.483 --> 00:30:47.484
I think that's how they feel.

00:30:49.166 --> 00:30:55.852
And so it's sort of like that where the NFL goes to the rugby like what, why are you talking to me?

00:30:55.852 --> 00:31:01.356
And that's sort of what it's like with the New Testament or the New Covenant and the Old Covenant.

00:31:01.356 --> 00:31:03.663
It's like the Old Covenant wants New Covenant.

00:31:03.663 --> 00:31:04.204
People are like be like.

00:31:04.204 --> 00:31:07.471
No, no, you still have to do all the old testament things.

00:31:07.471 --> 00:31:11.460
And then the people in new comes like it's not even the same game anymore.

00:31:11.460 --> 00:31:11.779
What are we?

00:31:11.779 --> 00:31:12.701
What are you talking about?

00:31:13.423 --> 00:31:21.444
When jesus fulfilled the ceremonial law, the whole point of like, for example, the sabbath day was it was a mark.

00:31:21.444 --> 00:31:32.430
Worshiping uh, the lord on on Saturday was a mark of God's faithfulness that you could trust him to provide, and it was a mark of every Jewish believer.

00:31:32.430 --> 00:31:37.204
So when Jesus says the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

00:31:37.204 --> 00:31:45.084
And then when Paul writes you know, keep every day alike, or treat everyone a day alike, or keep one holy, it's up to you, you know whatever.

00:31:45.084 --> 00:31:47.685
Treat everyone a day like or keep one holy, it's up to you, you know whatever.

00:31:47.685 --> 00:31:48.567
That blew people's minds.

00:31:48.567 --> 00:31:50.449
And so, and to be fair, I don't.

00:31:50.888 --> 00:31:53.912
This is where, when people talk about keeping Old Testament law, I go.

00:31:53.912 --> 00:31:59.636
If you are going to keep it, you got to keep it, which means if anyone blasphemes, you better have like a rock on handy to stone them.

00:31:59.636 --> 00:32:03.602
If anyone takes the Lord's name in vain, stone them.

00:32:03.602 --> 00:32:08.571
If anybody creates a graven image, there's a lot of death that needs to be dealt out here, like if someone doesn't keep the sabbath, they need to die.

00:32:08.571 --> 00:32:10.761
If someone curses their mom or dad, they need to die.

00:32:11.202 --> 00:32:19.450
So you know, all teenagers in america would be dead if we were under, uh, the jewish law or we just have really respectful and polite children either way.

00:32:19.450 --> 00:32:30.547
Um, so like, I think that's the part of this that I don't think people understand, and why it was so powerful that we realized that we have a permanent hope in Christ.

00:32:30.547 --> 00:32:47.393
Moses' hope was in how well the Jewish people, israel people, were doing, which is why he was always afraid to make sure they only saw him with a glow and he would only talk to them when his face was glowing, because their hearts would be hardened otherwise.

00:32:47.393 --> 00:32:52.944
So anyway, any thoughts on that, as you heard that from Sunday or you want to pick up on any of that.

00:32:53.507 --> 00:32:57.371
Well, yeah, I mean, I think I look at it just personally.

00:32:57.371 --> 00:33:09.340
There are times where maybe I'm too spent of pouring out on others and though I may be having quiet time, it's not filling me up as much as I need.

00:33:09.560 --> 00:33:35.871
Okay, um, and so, yes, there are times where I think sometimes I want that glow to still show right and um, I just don't have the capacity for it and I think you know sometimes there's the put a smile on your face and do what you got to do, and yeah, yeah so I I noticed, um, I I've been sometimes in my quiet times.

00:33:35.931 --> 00:34:04.711
I do I know it sounds weird, but I do a lot of thinking that's sort of abstract and um, part of my abstract thinking is I always go back to um, all right, you, I showed the three circles of our identity in Christ, the compassion of God in our lives and the discipline of God in our lives, and I sort of realized that a lot of people's lives revolve around this fear of pain and that fear of pain could be the pain of injustice, like it's not fair, I hate you.

00:34:04.711 --> 00:34:06.772
It could be the fear of rejection, you hate me.

00:34:06.772 --> 00:34:06.842
Fair, I hate you.

00:34:06.842 --> 00:34:08.704
It could be the fear of rejection, you hate me.

00:34:08.704 --> 00:34:10.148
Oh, I'm worthless and that hurts.

00:34:11.302 --> 00:34:12.146
Or the fear of failure.

00:34:12.146 --> 00:34:18.367
I hate me when I don't succeed or achieve the thing and you just kind of look at my life and go, I stink.

00:34:18.367 --> 00:34:26.494
In fact I remember in my 20s trying to overcome lust and I put a sign by my bed that said everybody else is mediocre.

00:34:26.855 --> 00:34:29.197
Oh, my goodness gracious.

00:34:29.661 --> 00:34:36.309
And I'd look at that sign and then, if I, ever failed and like fell to lust or something, I'd go like I am the worst person ever.

00:34:36.309 --> 00:34:39.429
I went through the I hate me experience, you know.

00:34:39.429 --> 00:34:50.121
And then with people like when people you know leave the church, church, or like you know I did something wrong and I go, oh, you hate me.

00:34:50.121 --> 00:35:05.541
You know I have a hard time seeing that relationship beyond the hurt, right, like it's just, and I've had to really grow in that and I think being a pastor has forced that.

00:35:05.541 --> 00:35:09.391
I think prior to my being a pastor, I was like okay, that person's dead to me, I'm moving on.

00:35:09.900 --> 00:35:33.804
But now I've learned that, oh, that's actually not pastoral, that's not the right way to feel, which is sort of weird, to sort of like I had to learn the right way to feel about people, that people do things that are hurtful and I do things that are hurtful, and that doesn't mean that you cut them off.

00:35:33.804 --> 00:35:34.646
In fact it means you lean in.

00:35:34.646 --> 00:35:44.860
And then the other one of like the injustice uh, usually you see that with on social media, uh, and it's like, you know, liberals versus conservatives and it's like this war of words and worlds and those are the bad people over there, as opposed to.

00:35:44.860 --> 00:35:54.262
I was one of those people over there, and now I'm changing different well, talking out to be heard, yeah, yeah yeah so, and I was just like for which?

00:35:54.563 --> 00:35:55.405
which of these three?

00:35:55.405 --> 00:36:05.126
Fear of injustice, fear of rejection or fear of failure, or it could be a combination, but of those three which one sticks out to you the most?

00:36:05.126 --> 00:36:23.224
That would be the thing that you sort of have to um internally recognize that there is an emotional thing here that I have to overcome by my hope in christ fear of failure failure achievement not necessarily achievement okay, yeah, so that's the only thing I fear of failure, and what?

00:36:23.364 --> 00:36:29.014
Yeah, of following through, of finishing what I started.

00:36:29.340 --> 00:36:31.159
Not necessarily in an accomplishment.

00:36:31.159 --> 00:36:34.630
Not to achieve a goal, but to fulfill my word set.

00:36:34.940 --> 00:36:36.704
Yes, of my own expectations.

00:36:36.704 --> 00:36:38.170
Oh, that's impossible.

00:36:38.170 --> 00:36:43.340
Yeah, so looking at it, you know, here's the expectation I have for myself.

00:36:43.681 --> 00:36:47.771
Do you write this down or is it like something that's sort of vague and you always feel like you're failing?

00:36:51.701 --> 00:36:52.847
It's a combination.

00:36:52.847 --> 00:37:05.844
I mean, sometimes it is me missing something that I wanted to do, like reaching out to somebody or praying for somebody, and just completely forgetting about it and just recognizing.

00:37:05.844 --> 00:37:06.686
Oh man, I failed.

00:37:08.489 --> 00:37:09.532
How many times a day do you go?

00:37:09.532 --> 00:37:10.273
Oh man, I failed.

00:37:10.273 --> 00:37:18.947
I fail all the time, so is this like a perpetual like, do you need like a flat, a flagellation belt?

00:37:18.947 --> 00:37:21.143
You just kind of whack yourself, or I mean, how do you deal with that?

00:37:21.143 --> 00:37:31.610
Well, first recognizing it, Um cause I don't think a lot of people recognize that they're carrying that, and so just the fact that you say, oh, I failed, and then you can process.

00:37:32.119 --> 00:37:48.911
Well, also having like it's important to have grace and understanding for yourself like towards yourself, especially when you have expectations that you know you can't meet, but you still hold them there anyway, and that's not where your worth is at.

00:37:48.931 --> 00:37:53.000
Yeah, know or you can't meet, but you still hold them there anyway and that's not where your worth is at.

00:37:53.000 --> 00:38:01.193
And, in addition to that, having empathy, like understanding that you are broken and you're going to fail and we fall short every day.

00:38:01.193 --> 00:38:13.231
It could be little things, it could be big things, it could be little things, it could be big things, but really taking a step back and praying and taking those to the Lord.

00:38:13.251 --> 00:38:14.579
So do you process that failure in that quiet time?

00:38:14.579 --> 00:38:17.688
Do you have a specific time that you do time with the Lord?

00:38:19.222 --> 00:38:21.630
My quiet time is all over the place.

00:38:21.630 --> 00:38:27.161
It could be in the morning, it could be middle of the day, it could be in the evening, it just middle of the day, it can be in the evening.

00:38:27.161 --> 00:38:29.431
It just kind of depends on how the day is going.

00:38:29.431 --> 00:38:35.621
Um, usually it starts out with scripture, prayer and worship music in the morning.

00:38:35.621 --> 00:38:36.543
Yeah, every day.

00:38:37.244 --> 00:38:42.762
Um, but like being intentional but like processing the, the failure.

00:38:42.782 --> 00:38:51.985
I guess that's a more random as it happens yeah, more random um in like things that I've missed or oh, I dropped the ball on that, you know.

00:38:51.985 --> 00:38:53.989
Um I would.

00:38:53.989 --> 00:39:07.119
I would say quiet time, like my prayer time with myself, is more of the confession and asking for guidance and taking those things to the Lord.

00:39:07.280 --> 00:39:07.360
Yeah.

00:39:07.902 --> 00:39:14.003
But they happen throughout the day and I'm very like, if I feel it in the moment, I'm going to take a step aside.

00:39:14.003 --> 00:39:20.313
I'm going to pray and ask God to help me in that moment of not feeling that failure.

00:39:20.599 --> 00:39:25.525
Do you ever feel like you can't put, and maybe Cody can jump on this one too?

00:39:25.525 --> 00:39:27.027
Do you ever feel like I did something wrong, but I don't know what it is and you feel like you can't put, and maybe, cody, you can jump on this one too?

00:39:27.027 --> 00:39:28.664
Do you ever feel like I did something wrong, but I don't know what it is?

00:39:28.664 --> 00:39:29.869
And you feel like in your gut.

00:39:29.869 --> 00:39:30.952
Do you ever feel that?

00:39:31.519 --> 00:39:31.721
Yeah.

00:39:32.242 --> 00:39:35.114
Like yeah, cause I could totally relate to that and I have to go.

00:39:35.114 --> 00:39:38.344
That's where Psalm 139 really helps me search my heart.

00:39:38.364 --> 00:40:08.092
Oh God, see if there's any unclean way in within me and I go and I, I've got this physiological response of some sort of pain in my gut that I don't know where it's coming from and usually it's a I don't want to call it a misplaced emotion, but it's kind of like a misplaced emotion where I didn't react or emotionally process something and it got stuck somewhere and then my body is like reminding me that it's still there, which is sort of wild.

00:40:08.092 --> 00:40:10.224
Tell me about a time that you've experienced that.

00:40:13.813 --> 00:40:14.172
All right.

00:40:15.222 --> 00:40:16.909
Mine is anxiety, so what do you mean?

00:40:17.802 --> 00:40:20.490
I feel anxious about things sometimes.

00:40:21.442 --> 00:40:27.409
Tell me what and I know this sounds like duh, but for people who don't do anxiousness, what does that mean?

00:40:27.409 --> 00:40:31.429
Oh yeah, Can you describe it in terms of pain or feeling?

00:40:32.434 --> 00:40:32.936
Unsettled.

00:40:33.458 --> 00:40:33.780
Okay, yeah.

00:40:34.101 --> 00:40:35.887
So it's probably a little bit similar.

00:40:35.887 --> 00:40:40.648
Yeah yeah, mine's not necessarily about anxiety.

00:40:40.648 --> 00:40:46.630
I guess it would eat at me if I didn't do something right, right, maybe.

00:40:46.630 --> 00:40:49.179
That definitely probably would in the back of my mind.

00:40:49.179 --> 00:40:54.938
Or not getting something done, yeah, yeah, being unsettled about things.

00:40:54.938 --> 00:41:06.376
Or if something bothers you rather than talking about it or wanting to have communication about it, just bottling it up, right, and then that probably turns into more anxiety.

00:41:06.637 --> 00:41:06.958
Right.

00:41:07.880 --> 00:41:08.201
For sure.

00:41:08.400 --> 00:41:10.010
Okay, yeah, Can you?

00:41:10.010 --> 00:41:13.661
Is there either you think of a specific time where you felt that?

00:41:14.510 --> 00:41:15.052
Well, I could.

00:41:15.052 --> 00:41:31.398
I could say there's probably been many occasions where I've had conversations with my husband and it rose to a level that I am not comfortable with yeah um, because I'm I'm not a confrontational person and I don't raise my voice.

00:41:31.398 --> 00:41:50.980
I'm very calm and in approach and and sometimes my response is not normal and when I recognize that, I'm immediately feeling in my gut of like, oh that was not right I need to unpack that and figure out.

00:41:51.981 --> 00:41:52.503
What did I do?

00:41:52.503 --> 00:41:54.369
Is that my pride that came out?

00:41:54.369 --> 00:41:57.438
Is that my response?

00:41:57.438 --> 00:41:59.121
Because there's past hurt there.

00:41:59.121 --> 00:42:03.199
You know just what brought that out.

00:42:03.621 --> 00:42:03.981
That's good.

00:42:03.981 --> 00:42:05.096
Or what work is God doing in me in that out?

00:42:05.115 --> 00:42:05.900
That's good, yeah, I think that's.

00:42:05.900 --> 00:42:07.289
Or what work is God doing in me in that way?

00:42:07.871 --> 00:42:10.072
And sometimes it's To your point.

00:42:10.072 --> 00:42:12.695
Sometimes it's not Like on things that I've done wrong.

00:42:12.695 --> 00:42:13.697
It usually comes to me.

00:42:13.697 --> 00:42:25.998
I'm like oh man, but what I've learned recently and my wife's really good at pointing this out is I'm worried about something and I'm anxious about it and I didn't realize I was anxious about it.

00:42:26.119 --> 00:42:27.101
Yeah, does that make sense?

00:42:27.121 --> 00:42:36.304
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and that's like, and for a long time I didn't really see that as sinful, probably because I didn't recognize I had it Right.

00:42:36.304 --> 00:42:41.242
But I think that for me now to go, is there any unclean way within me?

00:42:46.369 --> 00:42:48.242
It's not necessarily like a something I've done, but rather a weight that I'm carrying.

00:42:48.242 --> 00:42:48.925
That's not mine to carry, yeah, or?

00:42:48.945 --> 00:42:49.449
like fear of the future.

00:42:49.449 --> 00:42:53.347
Fear of the future Like I'm about to have this conversation with this person.

00:42:53.347 --> 00:42:57.519
It's probably going to go bad and it's oh man, that's hard as opposed to oh.

00:42:57.519 --> 00:42:58.221
What an opportunity.

00:42:58.221 --> 00:43:00.833
The Lord's going to be there and he's going to be in the middle of that conversation.

00:43:00.873 --> 00:43:30.202
I'm sure other people are more like that and they're excited about the Lord growing them, and so I think that's where I've sort of learned over time that I need to lean into that and I think that's why it's so important that we have regularly scheduled time with the Lord, and I brought this stuff up and I know people have to be at this point, rolling their eyes every time I bring up the effects of being in God's word four times a week.

00:43:30.202 --> 00:43:31.849
Getting drunk goes down 57%.

00:43:31.849 --> 00:43:34.978
Sex outside of marriage goes down 68%.

00:43:34.978 --> 00:43:37.380
Pornography goes down 61%.

00:43:37.380 --> 00:43:38.936
Gambling goes down 75%.

00:43:38.936 --> 00:43:40.420
Loneliness goes down 30%.

00:43:40.420 --> 00:43:45.302
And then on the upside, sharing your faith with others goes up 228%.

00:43:45.302 --> 00:43:46.458
Discipling others goes up 231%.

00:43:46.458 --> 00:43:47.750
Discipling others goes up 231%.

00:43:47.750 --> 00:43:49.376
Memorizing scripture goes up 407%.

00:43:50.012 --> 00:43:53.010
I'd like to see what the anxiety number is on that yeah.

00:43:53.030 --> 00:43:55.429
I was going to say anger and bitterness and anxiety.

00:43:55.429 --> 00:43:56.894
I really am curious about that.

00:43:56.916 --> 00:43:57.438
That is.

00:43:57.438 --> 00:44:05.824
To me that's more of an issue than gambling or addicted to porn.

00:44:05.824 --> 00:44:19.860
That having anxiety and wanting to know the more that you're in the word yeah, what the percentage of where your anxiety drops and like fear of things, completely just fall off the charts.

00:44:19.860 --> 00:44:25.175
Yeah, I'm sure it does, but I mean you know the other numbers on there you had.

00:44:25.175 --> 00:44:25.797
I was just like man.

00:44:25.797 --> 00:44:27.101
I wonder what that looks like.

00:44:28.130 --> 00:44:29.094
Yeah, that is actually.

00:44:29.094 --> 00:44:30.719
I think I have that somewhere.

00:44:30.719 --> 00:44:48.681
But yeah, I think that that is one of the let's see, Because, I mean, one of the things that Jesus talks about over and over again is anxiety, Right, and you know, don't be anxious about anything, but with everything and with prayer, petition, Thanksgiving, present your request to God.

00:44:48.681 --> 00:44:56.391
I mean you would have to say like yeah that and the peace of God, which, yeah, yeah, you know that is a great.

00:44:56.391 --> 00:44:57.313
I don't know.

00:44:57.313 --> 00:44:57.976
I'll have to find that.

00:44:57.976 --> 00:44:58.737
I'm sure I have it.

00:44:59.199 --> 00:44:59.880
He took my thoughts.

00:44:59.880 --> 00:45:01.170
What's that he.

00:45:01.170 --> 00:45:01.871
He took my thoughts.

00:45:02.373 --> 00:45:03.014
Wow, he stole them.

00:45:03.034 --> 00:45:06.380
As you were talking about it, I was like man, I would really like to know what these other numbers are.

00:45:06.400 --> 00:45:07.181
Got them coach.

00:45:07.181 --> 00:45:11.672
Yeah, that's it, that's how you do it, yeah, anyway.

00:45:11.672 --> 00:45:14.460
So yeah, I'll definitely.

00:45:14.460 --> 00:45:14.920
You know I need to.

00:45:14.920 --> 00:45:15.422
I don't care.

00:45:15.422 --> 00:45:23.021
I mean, we don't have to have the.

00:45:23.021 --> 00:45:24.903
You study the scriptures.

00:45:24.903 --> 00:45:26.445
You'll be more anxious.

00:45:26.445 --> 00:45:27.431
I think we could all go.

00:45:27.431 --> 00:45:31.081
No, I will be less anxious.

00:45:31.081 --> 00:45:34.630
So in fact, but I think we're commanded not to be anxious.

00:45:34.630 --> 00:45:40.420
So being anxious is a sin, but it's a sin that, I think, is that passively happens to you.

00:45:40.420 --> 00:45:42.262
Does that make sense?

00:45:42.764 --> 00:45:46.699
Yes, or it happens and people don't realize that that is what is happening.

00:45:46.699 --> 00:45:47.630
Okay, good, and I?

00:45:47.731 --> 00:45:54.217
think anxiety happens because you behold the problem, you don't behold Jesus Correct.

00:45:54.217 --> 00:46:06.224
I think that's where a lot of people go, because when I think about Philippians 4, 6, and 7, I think about 1 Peter, 5, 6, and 7, john 14, 27, psalm 55, 22.

00:46:06.224 --> 00:46:15.081
Like, there's so many scriptures out there that talk about anxiety as something that God is calling us not to experience, and yet we still do.

00:46:15.081 --> 00:46:21.103
But if you, the way that you aggressively take this on, is you shift your focus from me.

00:46:21.103 --> 00:46:34.614
That's why, when people talk about themselves a lot, lot, I don't know if you've ever been around a person that just like, just goes on and on about themselves they're probably a high anxiety person, like a high anxiety person or prideful.

00:46:35.657 --> 00:46:36.719
I think they go hand in hand.

00:46:36.719 --> 00:46:39.210
Yeah, I really think they go hand in hand.

00:46:39.210 --> 00:46:45.239
A prideful person and a high anxiety person probably go hand in hand.

00:46:45.239 --> 00:46:51.612
Because you can't help about, because anxious, like what am I going to do?

00:46:51.612 --> 00:46:55.902
Well, the focus again is on you and a prideful person.

00:46:55.902 --> 00:46:56.530
The focus on you.

00:46:56.550 --> 00:47:02.130
I think it's just opposite ends of the spectrum of pride and anxiety might be two sides of the same coin.

00:47:02.130 --> 00:47:13.597
It's like this insecurity of who I am, and so I'm either prideful to make sure that everyone else knows how great they are, or flip side, I'm just going to just be defeated by it and just I can't do this.

00:47:13.597 --> 00:47:15.382
It's impossible, it's going to be awful, it's going to be worse.

00:47:15.382 --> 00:47:17.418
I need to prepare for a worst case scenario.

00:47:17.659 --> 00:47:29.255
Either one of those things say God clearly isn't involved, and I think that's where, as Christians, that's why Jesus is commanding us not to be anxious, not so you'd be prideful, because that's dumb.

00:47:29.255 --> 00:47:46.650
In fact, look at this 1 Peter 5, 6 says humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so at the proper time, he might exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you, and when he's doing that he's quoting from Psalm 55, 22.

00:47:46.650 --> 00:47:54.092
What I love about that is it's bringing the humility and anxiety casting off, as the I don't know.

00:47:54.092 --> 00:48:04.373
There's a correlation there between the two and I almost would say maybe even causation, but there's clearly a correlation between the two.

00:48:05.034 --> 00:48:07.657
Yeah, so I thought that was fascinating.

00:48:07.657 --> 00:48:17.407
So I think the emphasis here, then, is how do we get it so that we are beholding the Lord, especially when there's times of anxiety and here's why I love this Ready.

00:48:17.407 --> 00:48:20.132
Do you remember Job?

00:48:20.152 --> 00:48:25.780
Whenever Job is whining about how bad his life is to God, how come you don't see how unfair this is?

00:48:25.780 --> 00:48:30.125
God doesn't validate any of his pain, not an ounce of it.

00:48:30.125 --> 00:48:33.652
He just goes where were you?

00:48:33.652 --> 00:48:38.398
How dare you call me to be into question?

00:48:38.398 --> 00:48:44.083
And he reminds him of all his deeds and then somehow that fixes it.

00:48:44.083 --> 00:48:45.485
Why?

00:48:45.485 --> 00:48:50.226
Because he doesn't look at how awful his life is and how awful everything.

00:48:50.226 --> 00:48:56.400
He's able to look at the greatness and majesty and power of God, even in a confrontational, negative way.

00:48:56.400 --> 00:49:01.175
It still takes away the focus on himself and it's focused on him.

00:49:01.175 --> 00:49:03.677
Here's a way that maybe this looks at.

00:49:03.677 --> 00:49:13.898
When I used to jump out airplanes for a living, that was kind of cool thing to say I jumped out of airplanes too yeah, so when I but when I jump out, I would get really anxious every time.

00:49:14.398 --> 00:49:16.672
I would be like so worried about the whole experience.

00:49:16.672 --> 00:49:17.273
I hated it.

00:49:17.273 --> 00:49:20.300
It's like I I'm doing this because it's my job what made you anxious?

00:49:20.442 --> 00:49:21.492
is it the action?

00:49:21.771 --> 00:49:25.117
or it's the thought of something not working.

00:49:25.338 --> 00:49:35.000
Uh, it's the the anxiety was I'm going to be, uh, maimed for the rest of my life and, um, it's going to be a painful.

00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:36.893
My hips can be broken in the wrong spot.

00:49:36.893 --> 00:49:43.556
It's not that I'm gonna be dead, fine, no problem, it's, I'm gonna survive the fear of something bad happening.

00:49:43.637 --> 00:49:45.942
The fear, the pain, yeah, the fear of the pain.

00:49:46.161 --> 00:49:47.472
If his death, no problem.

00:49:47.472 --> 00:49:54.036
If it was instant death, if it was a guillotine that you're like, yeah, russian roulette, all right, cool, um, I would have no problem.

00:49:54.036 --> 00:50:03.655
But it was the fear of I'm probably gonna be maimed in a hospital somewhere and it's you know, no one's gonna be able to take care of me and then I'll be destitute and lying on the side of the road somewhere.

00:50:03.655 --> 00:50:08.471
All right, yeah, from my airborne jumps.

00:50:08.471 --> 00:50:18.016
But when I was what's called a safety which means I was on the aircraft to help the other jumpers something transformed and I had no fear.

00:50:18.016 --> 00:50:22.599
I had no fear of anything.

00:50:22.599 --> 00:50:23.443
It was wild.

00:50:23.443 --> 00:50:24.371
In fact I would.

00:50:24.371 --> 00:50:26.458
This is kind of the bad part.

00:50:26.458 --> 00:50:29.715
I would be sort of torturing everybody else.

00:50:29.856 --> 00:50:31.400
No, I see that in you.

00:50:31.400 --> 00:50:32.382
I mean, it was so weird.

00:50:32.402 --> 00:50:35.420
I'd be like you guys afraid and I'd start shaking the plane.

00:50:35.420 --> 00:50:44.181
And it was weird because I was now in a safety position, I was responsible for them and for some reason it took away the anxiety off of me.

00:50:44.181 --> 00:50:49.960
Now, in Christianity, you ever heard of a crisis Christian?

00:50:49.960 --> 00:50:51.847
Do you know what I'm talking about?

00:50:51.847 --> 00:51:05.284
It's a person who is only okay with themselves when there's some crisis they need to fix and that's because their attention is off of them and they go from crisis person to crisis person to crisis person until they're fully wore out with their life because they didn't know they actually need to have normal friendships.

00:51:05.233 --> 00:51:07.523
And I think that happens to a lot of people person to crisis person until they're fully wore out with their life because they don't know they actually need to have normal friendships.

00:51:07.523 --> 00:51:10.728
And I think that happens to a lot of people.

00:51:10.728 --> 00:51:20.041
They don't even recognize that they are just a crisis Christian who sort of live off the thrill and the high of taking care of other people and their own relationship with God is completely screwed up.

00:51:20.041 --> 00:51:23.775
So they're serving God, but they're not serving God from rest.

00:51:23.775 --> 00:51:27.260
They're serving God for rest and it's always fleeting.

00:51:27.521 --> 00:51:27.701
Yeah.

00:51:28.081 --> 00:51:28.682
So anyway.

00:51:28.682 --> 00:51:31.856
All right hey any other thoughts on that?

00:51:31.856 --> 00:51:33.195
That's a lot to take in.

00:51:33.195 --> 00:51:36.514
Any other thoughts on Sunday's sermon?

00:51:40.760 --> 00:51:47.891
It was a good sermon it was a good sermon was a good sermon.

00:51:47.891 --> 00:51:48.391
That's good, sir um.

00:51:48.391 --> 00:51:54.302
So you were talking about um how we're living our lives in christ and how it came to be, and like how does that?

00:51:54.302 --> 00:51:55.570
How what does that look like?

00:51:55.610 --> 00:52:08.043
with your quiet time yeah, being involved, and I I think what I have learned from for me is the observe, interpret, apply of just like, what does that look like?

00:52:08.043 --> 00:52:12.356
How is god or how is jesus doing things?

00:52:12.356 --> 00:52:16.543
And um, what does that look like in my life?

00:52:16.543 --> 00:52:19.793
How am I not doing those things in my life?

00:52:19.793 --> 00:52:30.686
Um, and I think that's where I take away the most in my quiet time, of being able to be self-aware and present with God and him.

00:52:30.686 --> 00:52:36.001
Show me through scripture where I'm failing, where I'm falling short.

00:52:36.409 --> 00:52:36.771
It's good.

00:52:36.771 --> 00:52:37.934
I love that.

00:52:37.934 --> 00:52:43.300
Yeah, observation, interpretation application that's straight up seminary right there.

00:52:43.300 --> 00:52:45.693
That's exegesis at its finest way to go.

00:52:45.693 --> 00:52:49.059
Um, that's really cool, cody.

00:52:49.059 --> 00:52:49.960
Any final thoughts?

00:52:49.960 --> 00:52:51.304
No, not really.

00:52:51.304 --> 00:52:53.172
Hey guys, thanks so much for watching.

00:52:53.172 --> 00:52:55.519
If you got any questions, just go to pastorplekcom.

00:52:55.519 --> 00:52:59.460
We'd love to hear from you, or text us at 737-231-0605.

00:52:59.460 --> 00:53:04.315
We want to answer anything from faith, culture, everything in between, from our house to yours.

00:53:04.315 --> 00:53:05.800
Have an awesome week.

00:53:05.800 --> 00:53:06.521
God bless you.