Episode 522
How a Cigarette and a Shepherd Changed Everything
Bryon Easterling joins us today to dive into the rich tapestry of his journey and how it intersects with faith, family, and personal growth. We kick things off by exploring how Bryon's early acceptance of Christ at nine years old shaped his perspective on life, and trust me, it's not just your run-of-the-mill "I found Jesus" story. He shares some hilarious and eye-opening anecdotes about growing up in a loving Christian family, including the wild dynamics of church life that had him questioning everything during his "stupid 20s." Our convo takes a sharp turn as Bryon recounts his transformative experiences traveling abroad, particularly in Guatemala, where he learned that faith isn’t just about words—it’s about action, compassion, and community. So grab your headphones and get comfy, because this episode is packed with wisdom, laughter, and the kind of real talk that makes you rethink what it means to follow your faith in today’s world.
In a thought-provoking conversation, Bryon Easterling discusses the subtle ways God communicates with us, emphasizing that divine guidance often comes in soft whispers rather than thunderous proclamations. He reflects on how we can become attuned to this still, small voice amidst the chaos of life, drawing on personal experiences that reveal the importance of being present and receptive to God's nudges. Bryon shares his belief that faith is a journey of discovery, where one must actively listen and engage with both scripture and life itself to truly understand God's messages. He highlights the significance of community and personal relationships in this process, suggesting that the more we interact with diverse cultures and perspectives, the broader our understanding of God becomes. This episode resonates with anyone looking to deepen their spiritual practice and navigate the murky waters of belief, making it a refreshing take on the Christian experience.
Bryon Easterling dives deep into the nuances of faith and personal transformation in this episode of the Black Sheep Christian Podcast. He shares his journey from a loving Christian upbringing in a small Missouri town to a period of rebellion and exploration, which he humorously refers to as his 'stupid 20s.' With a blend of self-deprecation and insight, Bryon recounts how he veered off the straight and narrow into the wild side of life, touching on experiences that many can relate to, like questioning one's beliefs and grappling with the consequences of those choices. He discusses the pivotal moment that brought him back to faith during a trip to Guatemala, highlighting a transformative encounter with a local widow, Esperanza, who exemplified selfless love and community care. This encounter served as a wake-up call, revealing to Bryon that faith is not just about adherence to doctrine but about embodying the love of God through action and compassion. This episode is packed with relatable anecdotes, sharp humor, and a genuine quest for understanding the complexities of faith in a modern world, making it a must-listen for anyone on a similar journey.
Takeaways:
- Byron Easterling's journey from a loving Christian upbringing to a wandering phase showcases the complexities of faith growth.
- The podcast highlights that it's totally normal for folks to drift away from faith at some point in their lives.
- Traveling has a profound impact on faith, expanding perspectives of God and spirituality beyond American borders.
- Byron shares that genuine faith is often about action, not just words on a page, emphasizing the importance of compassion for others.
- The conversation dives deep into the idea of hearing God's voice, which often comes as a quiet, gentle whisper rather than a loud demand.
- Understanding the concept of 'bummer lambs' illustrates how close relationships with God lead to a deeper recognition of His voice.
Transcript
Welcome back.
Speaker A:My name is Ashley and this is the Black Sheep Christian Podcast.
Speaker A:Today I have a lovely conversation.
Speaker A:We kind of started talking, but I have Byron Easterling with us today.
Speaker A:Welcome.
Speaker B:Thank you, Ashley.
Speaker B:Great to be here.
Speaker B:Great to have just an initial chat and catch up.
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker A:You're welcome.
Speaker A:I just want to let people know that if I have a chat before we get started, it's going to be good.
Speaker A:So this conversation.
Speaker B:I hope so.
Speaker A:The chat before the chat.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker A:It's going to be a great chat.
Speaker B:We need to record the chats before the chat.
Speaker A:Before the chat.
Speaker A:So I just want to let people know that you are an author and you are a podcast host of the Pop Up Cafe.
Speaker A:And your story is very beautiful and I thank you for reaching out because your story is like most people's stories.
Speaker A:And so here I'll read a little bit of what you have written.
Speaker A:That you grew up in a loving Christian family and accepted Christ at the age of nine.
Speaker A:And you know, the majority of kids, I can't remember the number, but statistics show that the majority do accept Christ at an early age, before 10.
Speaker B:Oh, wow.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So for you to be able to accept it, it's like, oh, yeah, same.
Speaker A:Accept Christ at such a young age.
Speaker A:What, at that time, what spoke to you, if you remember that time?
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, Absolutely.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:To you.
Speaker B:My.
Speaker B:My story, really, it.
Speaker B:My.
Speaker B:So I was about 8 years old at that time.
Speaker B:We lived in a small town in Missouri, mid Missouri, farm country, a little town called Mexico, Missouri.
Speaker B:And we went to the Baptist church there.
Speaker B:And that's awesome.
Speaker B:No issues.
Speaker B:But it's.
Speaker B:It's almost like at 8 years old, if you hadn't come to Christ, the ladies in the back started kind of looking at you funny, like maybe you needed help.
Speaker B:And anyway, one day, one Sunday morning, you know, my.
Speaker B:A good friend, close friend went forward, you know, did the.
Speaker B:Did the walk and.
Speaker B:And I started to get up and my dad grabs my pant leg and sets me back down.
Speaker B:He leans over, he says, where are you going?
Speaker B:I said, well, I'm going up with.
Speaker B:With Wayne.
Speaker B:He said, no, I don't think so.
Speaker B:Not yet.
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Now I. I'm the youngest of three.
Speaker B:And so we would come home, we kind of, you know, back then, back in that day, that was kind of early to mid-60s, and you would come home, have a big meal together, and my dad would always kind of go to my brother and my sister being older, and he'd say, so what'd you get out of that?
Speaker B:You know?
Speaker B:What, What'd you get?
Speaker B:What'd you learn?
Speaker B:That kind of thing.
Speaker B:And I'd sort of parrot whatever they would say as a kid, 8 years old.
Speaker B:Well, that.
Speaker B:That year, my dad switched it up.
Speaker B:And instead of my brother and sister, he would ask me, and I had to have an answer.
Speaker B:So I started listening, and then he just started questioning me.
Speaker B:And really, what he.
Speaker B:I. I say that my dad walked me into the kingdom of God.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B: , February of: Speaker B:And I could.
Speaker B:I could go back to that place and sit in the exact spot.
Speaker B:You know, I think we all have.
Speaker B:Don't you think we all have that moment where we just.
Speaker B:And they were doing the altar call, what they, you know, the just as I am.
Speaker B:But this was actually an old hymn called the Old Rugged Cross.
Speaker B:And it was just.
Speaker B:It always struck me.
Speaker B:On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross.
Speaker B:And that song back in that day, was so powerful to me.
Speaker B:And I was just sitting there, and I could feel I had to go.
Speaker B:And my dad leans over, whispers in my ear and says, you should go forward now.
Speaker B:And I. I didn't walk.
Speaker B:I ran.
Speaker B:And I remember that that day very specifically.
Speaker B:So I give credit to my dad for really bringing me into the kingdom.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:That's amazing, isn't it?
Speaker A:That is amazing in many ways, as I'm digesting this story.
Speaker A:For one thing, you didn't follow the crowd.
Speaker A:It almost feels today being Christian in America.
Speaker A:Being Christian in America is kind of being used as a badge in a way, you know, so the fact that your father did what he did is very profound because, like.
Speaker A:Like what you said in the beginning, you know, the ladies in the back were worried about you.
Speaker A:Like, why.
Speaker A:Why is this?
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But your father, I'm sure he noticed, but he didn't.
Speaker A:That didn't deter him.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And another thing, too, which I find is very profound, is he trying to make sure you were ready.
Speaker A:Not, not, like ready, but ready.
Speaker A:Because what is interesting about being a Christian is some of us learn, oh, we got to pick up the cross, you know.
Speaker A:You know, the path is hard.
Speaker A:You know, these conversations are in sermons and everything, but we don't realize how hard it is until we come upon that path.
Speaker A:And so for your father to make sure that you knew what you were getting yourself into is really beautiful.
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:There are a couple of moments in our lives, I can guarantee you our relationship wasn't perfect.
Speaker B:And, and we both had our issues and, and having a home like that.
Speaker B:I'm so honored and blessed.
Speaker B:You'd think I'd be a.
Speaker B:A lot smarter and a lot, A lot, A lot wiser than I am.
Speaker A:Oh, come on.
Speaker A:I mean, somebody's a very pr.
Speaker B:But I, I have to say I am.
Speaker B:I am very honored to have been in.
Speaker B:And in the family.
Speaker B:I am.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it's interesting.
Speaker B:I was just talking with a friend today who's on our board for our ministry.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And he's been doing.
Speaker B:He and his wife have been doing a lot of traveling.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:Now, my wife and I have traveled for years and years.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:We've traveled.
Speaker B:I have over 3 million air miles just from travels around the world.
Speaker B:And the point he was really bringing up is he had just been in Egypt and somewhere else, and he said, the expansion of my faith has grown to understand a bigger God because I've gotten outside of America now.
Speaker B:I don't mean that in a bad way.
Speaker B:We have our peace to.
Speaker B:They need us as much as we need them.
Speaker B:That's what it comes down to.
Speaker B:And, and when you brought up that issue of our, Our mindsets get so closed in.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:And the more you travel, the more.
Speaker B:And you don't even have to travel anymore.
Speaker B:Just go across the street and meet your neighbor.
Speaker B:Be from anywhere.
Speaker B:And at least where we are.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:And I'm assuming it's just that way everywhere in America.
Speaker B:We have so many cultures in our world, and that brings fresh revelation and understanding of how big God is.
Speaker B:And, and that not everybody sees Christianity the same way.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:But they see Jesus the same way.
Speaker B:Otherwise they see Jesus.
Speaker B:It's the foundation for.
Speaker B:For me and I.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's not about.
Speaker B:Anyway, I, I don't know why I got off on that, but.
Speaker A:No, no, you're fine.
Speaker A:You are perfectly fine.
Speaker A:Let me add to it.
Speaker A:This is why I enjoy doing this podcast, because it allows me to be able to connect people.
Speaker A:My borders.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Just being outside of your borders allows you to see God and Jesus completely differently because it gives you the opportunity to see him through somebody else's eyes.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And as big as God and Jesus are.
Speaker A:It.
Speaker A:It's almost like as if you're seeing a completely different universe or you're seeing a star differently or on a different side you've never seen before.
Speaker A:And so to be able to.
Speaker A:As for you to be able to have that opportunity to travel and for your friend to have the opportunity to travel, it Allows.
Speaker A:It has allowed you to be able to pick yourself up from one place to another and to be able to immerse yourself in a completely different culture that allows you to be able to see him differently and beautifully.
Speaker B:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker B:I, my wife and I and our daughter at one point it, we.
Speaker B:I was traveling a little bit.
Speaker B:This is early on in my daughter's life.
Speaker B:And it started, interesting enough when we moved, three very white people moved into a, to the inner city, into a black culture.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I thought, I had never faced.
Speaker B:I thought, I'm not racist.
Speaker B:I don't have any racism in me.
Speaker B:I don't have any.
Speaker B:It's not racism.
Speaker B:It was more just again, it became.
Speaker B:I was, it was unknown.
Speaker A:Yes, yes.
Speaker B:And all of a sudden I, I got to know a little bit of the black culture from their perspective from where we lived.
Speaker B:Not every black culture, I'm just saying.
Speaker B:And it began to open my mind and go, it wasn't racism.
Speaker B:I was ignorant.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And that took me to other nations going, I'm ignorant of this culture.
Speaker B:And, and how, how they see things and how they walk out life and, and all of a sudden you come home from these trips and your, and your whole worldview expands.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And now God is all of a sudden that much bigger, that much better in a sense that much more kind and loving.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:You know, let's expand our universe in a sense of God.
Speaker B:Let's expand our understanding and cultures for me have really done that.
Speaker B:And it's just to say, and it started when God put us in that place of living as two white families in an all black neighborhood.
Speaker B:And it was so funny.
Speaker B:I remember people would come down and visit us and they'd go, white folks are over there because they know, you know, what are you going to do this to other white people that are coming into their neighborhood?
Speaker B:But, but it opened their minds because we be.
Speaker B:We all became friends.
Speaker B:Sorry, I.
Speaker A:No, it's okay.
Speaker A:No, you don't need to apologize.
Speaker A:I mean that is what the vision that God has for us.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Especially Jesus.
Speaker A:When I'm remembering the scene from Chosen when, when an earlier season when they're all sitting at a table.
Speaker A:It's not the last supper, but you know, they're sitting at a table, they're chit chatting and Jesus is like, yeah, this is one of them.
Speaker A:You know what I'm imagining is this group together and this group together.
Speaker A:We're all going to be on the same table.
Speaker A:And Peter's like, what are you talking about?
Speaker A:Like, sounds crazy.
Speaker B:Can't do that.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:I mean what, what you did was, is the very thing that Jesus invention.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Of everybody being together.
Speaker A:That's beautiful.
Speaker A:Thanks for sharing that.
Speaker A:Yeah, thanks for sharing those pieces.
Speaker A:Those are beautiful.
Speaker A:So, so you and your dad, your dad really brings you up in the faith and then for a moment you said you drifted away for a period of time and this happens to all of us.
Speaker B:Hopefully.
Speaker A:Hopeful.
Speaker B:Hopefully.
Speaker A:So what, what, what had you drifting away at sea or wandering around in the desert?
Speaker B:You know, I, yeah.
Speaker B:Ashley, I think it's, I think it's natural to discover your own faith.
Speaker B:And that's all it really comes down to.
Speaker B:So it's like, it's, you're, you've been living off of your parents faith as a child.
Speaker B:If you come to Christ earlier or live in a Christian home, you're living off of their faith and all of a sudden you come to a realization.
Speaker B:I call them the stupid 20s.
Speaker B:It's usually late teens, early 20s.
Speaker B:And you know, I, I, I just, I needed to discover what I believed.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And in order to do that, you try things and you do things that by the grace of God, you're still alive.
Speaker B:You know, I mean, I'm, I'm just glad I, I didn't, I'm not spending time in prison.
Speaker B:You know, I'm grateful, to be honest.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because that's a lot of us.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I became, I became a street pharmacist and.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:And did some pretty bad things in my life that later I really recognized.
Speaker B:Still today I, I, I, I've grown much older and I understand God's love for me, but the heart of what I did to people.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Is disturbing and how I allowed myself to enter that place and by the grace of God, he brought me out of that and you know, so I think, but I think it's, I think it's only natural.
Speaker B:And, and the struggle is if somebody is all of a sudden they're, they, they're 40 years old and they've never faced that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's, it's detrimental to their life because they've never, honestly.
Speaker B:And you see it, you see it in a lot of families where one of the family members and one of the parents or partners, whatever are, they're like, they're, they all of a sudden wake up.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I've been living off of my parents faith and I was living off of this person's faith and I don't even know what I believe.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And they lose it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I think I'm sorry.
Speaker B:Go ahead.
Speaker A:No, no, no, no, go ahead.
Speaker B:Well, I was just gonna say, I, I.
Speaker B:That's why I think that age, what is it?
Speaker B:The young, young springing.
Speaker B:I can't remember what it's called, but it's the Amish, and they.
Speaker B:It's a year break to go out into the world.
Speaker A:Oh, yes, yes.
Speaker B:Is it young, Young and spring.
Speaker A:But I know what you're referring to.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:And it's, It's.
Speaker B:I think they're going, hey, go.
Speaker B:Go figure it out.
Speaker B:Go figure out what it's like out there.
Speaker B:And, and we don't do that.
Speaker B:We keep pressing with our Christianity.
Speaker B:We don't catch it.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:We don't catch it with our family members very well, I don't think.
Speaker B:And, you know, our daughter went through it.
Speaker B:She came to me one day and she says, you know, Dad, I still love God.
Speaker B:I just need to find out what I believe about him.
Speaker B:I said, hey, yay.
Speaker B:Yeah, you're a solid person.
Speaker B:That's solidness to me.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:That is a beautiful way of putting it.
Speaker A:And I say that because.
Speaker A:Because I have drifted myself.
Speaker A:But when you drift and you come back, there's, like, shame in that.
Speaker A:You know, their shame and how the way you describe it just removes not only the shame and acceptance, but it's just part of the process, you know, it's just.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I always go through.
Speaker B:I always picture him kind of standing on the street corner, just kind of leaning up against the wall, and you're just kind of going down the road you shouldn't be traveling, and he's just there.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I had that imagery.
Speaker B:I was partaking of some vegetation.
Speaker A:You're wonderful with words.
Speaker A:No wonder you're an author.
Speaker A:You're wonderful with words.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:And I was probably college, you know, I was college age, and I was there, just pretty much had enjoyed the day.
Speaker B:Enjoyed the day.
Speaker B:Partaking of a variety of.
Speaker B:Anyway, and I just, all of a sudden, out of the blue, had this image of Christ, and he was sitting on this rock just with a look of total.
Speaker B:There was no shame.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:It was total patience.
Speaker B:And it was just this feeling of when you're ready.
Speaker B:And that's, to me, the nation.
Speaker B:And if you look back in the Old Testament, to me, that's Israel.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, it's like, come back, just.
Speaker B:I just love it when you come back, you know?
Speaker B:So, yeah, the.
Speaker B:No shame.
Speaker B:That's a tough one.
Speaker A:Yeah, that is.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Now, did I have shame then?
Speaker B:Probably.
Speaker B:I probably felt shame when I came back to him early on, and I.
Speaker B:The bigger your vision and bigger.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:The bigger your image of God gets.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:The bigger your understanding, the deeper understanding of his love.
Speaker B:And you realize he is.
Speaker B:He's never carried.
Speaker B:There's no shame in him.
Speaker B:Think about it.
Speaker B:There's literally no shame in him.
Speaker B:He cannot.
Speaker B:He cannot have shame.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:Anyway.
Speaker A:I just had to make a comment.
Speaker A:Your voice is so soothing.
Speaker A:I just.
Speaker A:I just feel like, oh, she's going.
Speaker B:To sleep on me.
Speaker A:No, it's not that.
Speaker A:Not that type of soothing.
Speaker A:It's kind of like when you, like, no shame.
Speaker A:It's just like.
Speaker A:Yeah, like, Like, Like.
Speaker A:Like I just need to breathe it out.
Speaker A:You know those breathing exercises that people do and just, like, let it go, Like.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:It's like that type of, like.
Speaker A:Like assurance of a father.
Speaker A:Like.
Speaker A:Yeah, I'm okay.
Speaker A:I just wanted to know.
Speaker A:I don't know if you've gotten that before, but that's just an observation.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker A:Oh.
Speaker A:So, moving on.
Speaker B:Well, I. I didn't.
Speaker B:You know, I just want to make sure you weren't falling asleep.
Speaker A:No, no, no, I am not.
Speaker A:I can't.
Speaker A:I can't fall asleep.
Speaker A:First of all, it's hot in here.
Speaker B:Oh, is it?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, is it, like, really, like.
Speaker B:It's gotten really hot on the East Coast?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:Yeah, it'll be all right.
Speaker A:We'll be cool.
Speaker A:But, I mean, I'm in an older building, so, like, after a certain time, to save money, they turn.
Speaker B:Oh, that's not even.
Speaker A:Right, right, right.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:That'S a whole.
Speaker A:That's a whole other thing.
Speaker A:That's why I was like, let me open up this window.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's.
Speaker A:It's open.
Speaker A:I had some bugs come in.
Speaker A:I don't know if you, like, saw me move, but, you know, I killed an ant.
Speaker A:Oh, this little guy is over here that I got with a sticky note.
Speaker B:He's been stuck.
Speaker A:He is stuck.
Speaker A:That's it.
Speaker A:That's all.
Speaker A:Oh, goodness.
Speaker A:So you go to Guatemala and you are transformed.
Speaker A:And I think we already talked about this.
Speaker A:You know, you traveling abroad and.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And being.
Speaker A:And that's how your faith was really renewed.
Speaker A:What, in Guatemala?
Speaker A:Really?
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:What in Guatemala just really was like.
Speaker A:I got it.
Speaker A:I get it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, first of all, I.
Speaker B:That was the trip that really turned me back around again.
Speaker B:That's the.
Speaker B:That's the moment I had actually left the town because my supplier was in one city and I was in the middle of the state, and so I went to the other side of the state, to a large city to get away from that.
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because I was concerned that I wanted out.
Speaker B:I. I wasn't really walking with the Lord, but at that moment.
Speaker B:But, you know, I knew God very much.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:You know, I.
Speaker B:Anyway, so I had to get away.
Speaker B:And so I don't know how much of the story you want, but.
Speaker B:So I was a music student, and I. I lived down by this.
Speaker B: alled Forest park, which is a: Speaker B:Was there.
Speaker B:It's a beautiful park, has all kinds of things.
Speaker B:Washington University is there.
Speaker B:And I lived by the park.
Speaker B:And so I finished my semester and still just not walking with God at all.
Speaker B:And whole another story within that.
Speaker B:But I won't go there.
Speaker B:But anyway, I wanted to do a music program during the summer to make some extra cash.
Speaker B:So I had students that I could work with, but I didn't have a place.
Speaker B:So I walked into this church building and.
Speaker B:And I was a bit of a jerk, by the way.
Speaker B:And I said, hey, you guys, there was like, two cars at this gigantic building.
Speaker B:And I was like, hey, you guys don't seem to be using this building much.
Speaker B:You know, I'd like to.
Speaker B:I'd like to rent one of your rooms.
Speaker B:And the lady behind the desk says, well, let's talk to the pastor.
Speaker B:He takes me into this elderly gentleman, and the man says, sees a pack of cigarettes in my pocket, and, you know, he says, tell me about what you're doing.
Speaker B:I told him what the course was and what I needed it, how long I needed it for, all that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:And then at one point, he says, you can have a cigarette if you want.
Speaker B:I said, what?
Speaker B:In the church?
Speaker B:And he goes, and.
Speaker B:And he says to me, he goes, yeah, you know, it never says anything in scriptures about smoking.
Speaker B:And I said, huh?
Speaker B:And he goes, no, it just says, your body is a temple unto the Lord.
Speaker B:And he left it at that.
Speaker B:And then he says, come back next Tuesday and I'll have talked to the people.
Speaker B:And let's see, that was like on a Thursday, four or five days.
Speaker B:I spent the entire time.
Speaker B:We didn't have Google.
Speaker B:We didn't have.
Speaker B:I. I didn't have Reese.
Speaker B:I. I had to blow the dust off my Bible.
Speaker B:I blew the dust off my Bible.
Speaker B:And I spent those five days looking for that verse.
Speaker B:Where's that first?
Speaker B:Well, in the process, I'm reading scripture again, just taking.
Speaker B:I'm going, wow, I never knew that.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:I never knew that.
Speaker B:So I come back.
Speaker B:I had.
Speaker B:I had all through college days, I painted houses.
Speaker B:I had a painting company, and it was a great way to make money.
Speaker B:And he says, this pastor, I go back, he said, you know, we can do that program.
Speaker B:But he said, I take a busload of high school and college students down to Guatemala every summer.
Speaker B:And he says, I need a crew director to paint a clinic.
Speaker B:Can you.
Speaker B:Would you be willing to go?
Speaker B:And I said, and I have an adventure.
Speaker B:So I was like, yeah.
Speaker B:He says, we'll pay your rent.
Speaker B:All you have to do is, you know, make sure that, you know, you're.
Speaker B:You're covered in your bills otherwise, but we'll pay your rent and all that.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:Cool.
Speaker B:So I get on a bus, having not walked with the Lord for four or five years.
Speaker B:Four years maybe with, what was it, 32 other solid.
Speaker B:Jesus loving.
Speaker B: This is: Speaker B:Jesus loving college and high school students.
Speaker B:And I get on the bus, and he sees my cigarette.
Speaker B:He says, oh, you can't smoke on this trip.
Speaker B:That was number one.
Speaker B:Yeah, I was like.
Speaker B:I was like, oh, okay.
Speaker B:You know, that's a little twitchy.
Speaker B:But I made it.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And they prayed for me and loved on me and got down there.
Speaker B:Now, the story is that.
Speaker B:I'm sorry it's so long, but it's.
Speaker B:We got down there and I, I.
Speaker B:The first two nights, we had the opportunity to go live with a family.
Speaker B:So I said, I want to go to the furthest place in the mountains you can send me.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:And so they said, all right.
Speaker B:So they sent this other kid with me who.
Speaker B:I don't know why.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:I don't think he liked it because we had to live on a dirt floor.
Speaker B:And, you know, these people were awesome.
Speaker B:They were beautiful.
Speaker B:And so I.
Speaker B:We go way up into the mountains, and so I get there and we have a little lunch, and I have to use the bathroom.
Speaker B:So I said, where could I go to use the bathroom?
Speaker B:And they said, the banyo is just over there.
Speaker B:Well, I'm six foot four at that time, and they're not.
Speaker B:And so they had half walls with a roof.
Speaker B:Okay, so you're getting a picture.
Speaker B:It faces the main road into town.
Speaker B:So this white, really Philly white face.
Speaker B:It's just over the top of the.
Speaker B:Just like.
Speaker B:And people are walking by, just, you know, hi.
Speaker B:And the next morning, I go into town and they're all laughing and inviting me in, and I just.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It was like God's way of saying, welcome.
Speaker B:Welcome to this town, this little village, just a little village.
Speaker B:Well, I went in, I got some bread and a cup of coffee, and I'm just sitting there, and I see this elderly woman with a backup on her, a satchel on her back with some sticks and twigs.
Speaker B:I thought, I call her Esperanza, which is hope.
Speaker B:That's not her name, but I call her Esperanza.
Speaker B:I finished my coffee and I watched her, and I followed her from a distance and I watched what she did.
Speaker B:And she would go house to house and she would sell these sticks.
Speaker B:She'd get a penny or two or three, four if she was.
Speaker B:She collected quite a bit.
Speaker B:And then she headed back down to the poorest part of that town where the kids mostly were not clothed, distended stomachs from malnutrition.
Speaker B:And she.
Speaker B:They ran up.
Speaker B:They ran up to her.
Speaker B:That was mom to them, and she would hand them a few cents and they would run off.
Speaker B:And I thought, who is this woman?
Speaker B:And I went back to the house where I was staying, and I said, who?
Speaker B:And they said, esperanza is a widow who lives further up into the hills, and she collects sticks every day, and she comes down and she sells them for whatever she can to get a meal.
Speaker B:And I said, do you know that she cares for the kids?
Speaker B:Everybody knows that.
Speaker B:It was the moment I realized the need that widows have, and something in me changed.
Speaker B:It wasn't about just knowing Jesus.
Speaker B:It was about the heart of the Father for.
Speaker B:For widows, for orphans, for.
Speaker B:And, you know.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And that changed something in me.
Speaker B:It made me.
Speaker B:It gave me a realization that he isn't just a bunch of words on a page.
Speaker B:He's.
Speaker B:He's action as well.
Speaker B:Some people say God is.
Speaker B:We're human beings, not human doings.
Speaker B:And I say, you know, I think we're both.
Speaker B:I don't think you can be a human being without being a human doing.
Speaker B:I don't think if you put your love into action somehow, some way, whether or not that's simply saying hello to somebody because that's so far out of your comfort zone that, you know, just that conversation, you know, anyway, that's.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That trip changed my life.
Speaker A:I'm writing something down.
Speaker A:Human beings.
Speaker B:We are human beings.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker A:I'm going to cherish.
Speaker A:That.
Speaker A:That's beautiful.
Speaker A:That's a be.
Speaker A:That.
Speaker A:That's a nugget.
Speaker A:That.
Speaker A:That's a nugget.
Speaker A:Thank you for that story.
Speaker A:I'm just sitting here and with the imagery and.
Speaker A:And all of that story, so.
Speaker A:That's beautiful.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:There's something I should add to it.
Speaker A:I mean, that.
Speaker A:Let me just.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I think that I have to say it's the first time I wrote my first worship song.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:Was on the trip back, we took a bus.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:From St. Louis, Missouri, to Guatemala.
Speaker A:That's a long trip.
Speaker B:Ask me if I've ever done that again.
Speaker B:No way.
Speaker B:But on the way back, we came along the east coast of Mexico, up along the Gulf of Mexico.
Speaker B:It was when the sun.
Speaker B:I was awake and the sun began to rise, and I grabbed this guy's guitar and I just wrote this first very simple little praise chorus.
Speaker B:Back then, we called them praise choruses.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And that sort of started my whole.
Speaker B:On that whole music side for me was that one little moment on the road coming north.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's very cool.
Speaker B:It's a powerful trip.
Speaker A:I'm sure.
Speaker A:I'm sure.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:That's beautiful.
Speaker A:Oh.
Speaker A:Anyways, as I.
Speaker A:As I digest that, like.
Speaker A:Like that.
Speaker A:Those are one of those stories.
Speaker A:I'm a dig.
Speaker A:And I say that because it's just how God made me, that when I.
Speaker A:Even when it comes to movies, I let the credits roll because I just want to be able to sit in what the characters were feeling.
Speaker A:Just sit.
Speaker A:You know, everybody reflect what they went through.
Speaker A:Because it is.
Speaker A:Every story is an insight to who we are as people and lessons at the same time.
Speaker A:And so your story, it was not long, but it was very insightful as who we are as people and what.
Speaker A:And the lesson of what we should be doing as God's children.
Speaker A:Disciples.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:That's very beautiful.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's a. Yeah.
Speaker A:So one of the.
Speaker A:This is.
Speaker A:For me, because this is something that I'm going through, but it is not some.
Speaker A:But it's not a minority.
Speaker A:We.
Speaker A:We all go through this and.
Speaker A:Which is a part of your story in which you wrote.
Speaker A:Throughout my life, my journey has been about listening intently to God's voice and following his guidance as best as I possibly can.
Speaker A:And for you and your journey, how God.
Speaker A:How does God talk to you, communicate to you?
Speaker A:I find the word intently a very powerful word in.
Speaker A:In that sentence.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Another word for that is purpose.
Speaker B:Purposefully.
Speaker B:You know, it's.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's making the choice to listen intently to mean also.
Speaker B:Couldn't it.
Speaker B:For me is I'm making a choice to listen.
Speaker B:I'm making a choice to learn.
Speaker B:And that's pro.
Speaker B:That's process.
Speaker B:That's Time, you know, but it's.
Speaker B:You get your first understanding of his voice is how he speaks to, to each individual.
Speaker B:I don't think he, you know, can say, well, he only speaks through the Bible.
Speaker B:Well, yeah, that's a big book.
Speaker B:So, yeah, he does speak through the Bible.
Speaker B:But are you trying to tell me that when you didn't know the Bible, so what.
Speaker B:What it always says to me is, how did you come to Christ if you didn't know the Bible and didn't read it every day?
Speaker B:How, how did you know?
Speaker B:You heard somebody talk about him, but it was always something internal.
Speaker B:There was always something you, you had to come to Christ because of something.
Speaker B:I mean, it's not a head knowledge, it's a heart.
Speaker B:It's a heart, right?
Speaker B:I mean, to me, to come to Christ is.
Speaker B:It's internal.
Speaker B:It's, it's, it's deep.
Speaker B:It's within you.
Speaker B:You know, that's Romans, that he's planted that in everyone.
Speaker B:Everyone knows that God exists.
Speaker B:Everyone, according to Paul, in Romans, everyone knows that God exists, but we choose not to believe.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And so he's made a way to himself.
Speaker B:And I think, for me, intently, is it's been an ongoing struggle at times battle, but also an ongoing desire to, to keep.
Speaker B:After hearing and knowing him.
Speaker B:And how do I hear him?
Speaker B:Well, Scriptures is one, you know, what's it called?
Speaker B:Lecto divino.
Speaker B:Is it called lecto divino where you sort of.
Speaker B:Do you know what I mean?
Speaker A:No, that's a new term for me.
Speaker B:Yeah, lecto divino.
Speaker B:It's basically a study or when it's when your heart, you know, in that moment, when you go, you're reading a passage of scripture and a phrase or a word just, you just, you might read right past it, you know what I'm saying?
Speaker B:But you go.
Speaker B:And then you keep reading.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Stop.
Speaker B:Don't go on.
Speaker B:Don't go on.
Speaker B:Because you have to go back to that phrase or that word and go, okay, Lord, there's something in this.
Speaker B:You have for me, in this moment that's a powerful way to hear God to me, is because he's taken his word, he's taken that scripture, and he's.
Speaker B:He's pinpointing something in that moment that I need to hear.
Speaker B:We need to hear.
Speaker B:And so I go back into that word, back into that phrase, and I could be on that for days.
Speaker B:You know, it's like, okay.
Speaker B:And that is obviously one way to hear God.
Speaker B:There's many ways.
Speaker B:But I think here's a classic way of hearing God to me.
Speaker B:My daughter came to me when she met her husband to be.
Speaker B:She had dated other guys, but this time she came to me and she said, dad, how do you know if it's the right thing?
Speaker B:How do you know?
Speaker B:And I said, you know that.
Speaker B:You know that.
Speaker B:You know, there's just something in there that you can't do a pros and cons list on it.
Speaker B:You can't go, well, he's good at this, and he's not so good at this.
Speaker B:He's good at this.
Speaker B:And the pros outweigh the cons.
Speaker B:That's a soulless mentality.
Speaker B:That's a mental.
Speaker B:That's a mental game you're going to run into problems with, I think.
Speaker B:But when you go and you talk to people afterwards and, and you go, how did you know?
Speaker B:And she would say, I just knew.
Speaker B:And that's.
Speaker B:To me.
Speaker B:There are things that God speaks into our life that we can't make up.
Speaker B:There's thoughts that we have, right.
Speaker B:That we can't make up.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker B:We weren't thinking about them.
Speaker B:We weren't trying to think about them.
Speaker B:They just come into our mind, our spirit, and we go, oh, what was that?
Speaker B:And spend time on that.
Speaker B:Dig, dig into the scripture on that.
Speaker B:Dig into whatever.
Speaker B:Get other people's input on it.
Speaker B:Because I think a lot of times we just know things because he's.
Speaker B:I, I don't think God is dead.
Speaker B:I, I don't think he stopped speaking.
Speaker B:I, I believe he still speaks to us.
Speaker B:I, I don't think his voice is, is, is.
Speaker B:I don't think he's muted.
Speaker B:He's not a mute.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:He has a voice.
Speaker B:And obviously a big way of knowing that is that you just know that, you know, and.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:You like that?
Speaker A:I Did.
Speaker B:You like the guy whistling in the background?
Speaker A:Oh, that, that.
Speaker A:No, that was sirens.
Speaker B:Oh.
Speaker B:From this side, it just sounds like somebody's whistling.
Speaker A:That's why I was like, oh, let me put this mic on because I'm so focused.
Speaker A:And then.
Speaker A:Because my window's open.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Sirens.
Speaker B:I love it.
Speaker B:That's real stuff right there.
Speaker A:It is.
Speaker B:Do you ever feel that way?
Speaker B:I mean, don't you.
Speaker B:I mean, don't you just, you know, things?
Speaker B:You just.
Speaker B:And you go, ah, where'd that come from?
Speaker A:Yes, yes.
Speaker B:And you start to doubt it almost.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:And I am in the beginning of the understanding of how God communicates.
Speaker A:And, and you're right.
Speaker A:God has communicated with me long before.
Speaker A:But I never.
Speaker A:Now that I am in this stage with my relationship with him, I am understanding how he communicated all those years ago without really knowing that he was communicating in.
Speaker A:In the beginning.
Speaker A:And we are in this leg of this relationship where I'm finally starting to get it.
Speaker A:Little slow.
Speaker B:I always say it takes me three times to finally figure it out, you know, And I don't.
Speaker B:I can't put years on that.
Speaker B:I can only put, say, don't have.
Speaker B:Don't have it yet.
Speaker A:Slow, get up.
Speaker A:And I. I still stumble, but I am understanding when he's speaking.
Speaker A:God is very interesting and in the sense where.
Speaker A:Because, you know, he.
Speaker A:He asked us to test spirits, you know, we.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker A:He allows us to do that.
Speaker A:And what I, for myself is God is very quiet.
Speaker A:He is not loud.
Speaker A:He is not overbearing, as Satan can be at times loud.
Speaker A:And he can be overbearing.
Speaker A:And he could try and.
Speaker B:Okay, hold on.
Speaker B:I apologize.
Speaker A:No, you're okay.
Speaker B:I realized I had not plugged my computer in and it's crying to me.
Speaker B:It's crying, help me.
Speaker A:Saying, listen to me.
Speaker A:Listen.
Speaker B:That was really good.
Speaker B:Keep going, please.
Speaker A:It's okay.
Speaker A:The computer was like, listen to me.
Speaker A:I need power now.
Speaker B:I need it now, not later.
Speaker B:Goodbye, Ashley.
Speaker A:That's one way God can talk to you.
Speaker A:But Satan can be loud.
Speaker A:He can be overbearing, and he can cause confusion.
Speaker A:But when God speaks, it's.
Speaker A:I wouldn't say it's a whisper, but it's.
Speaker A:He's very.
Speaker A:It's almost quiet.
Speaker A:Because sometimes you get a question like, is this my thoughts?
Speaker A:Is this the spirit?
Speaker A:Like, where is this coming from?
Speaker B:It's that maybe quiet.
Speaker B:It's more soft.
Speaker A:Yes, that's a better word.
Speaker B:Or maybe even still.
Speaker B:Yes, it's a still, small voice.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, you know, that's still small voice.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's not.
Speaker B:I think that that's such a.
Speaker B:That's an incredible lesson because we lived in Texas for a time and had some property, and I.
Speaker B:Because I travel so much, when I would come home, I love just working on this property.
Speaker B:It was my.
Speaker B:In fact, I had a good friend, he said, you know what's great about having your own property in a garden?
Speaker B:Carrots.
Speaker B:Don't talk back.
Speaker B:And, you know, you don't.
Speaker B:When.
Speaker B:If you deal with people, which you do, sometimes you just.
Speaker B:You need carrots.
Speaker B:And I was out and I was just working the property, and I had a lot.
Speaker B:A mower going and there was a lot of noise.
Speaker B:And in that moment, his.
Speaker B:That small still, gentle voice I could hear so clearly in my spirit, in my mind.
Speaker B:It was there.
Speaker B:And I thought, oh, even in the busiest of places.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:It penetrates the noise.
Speaker B:God's voice in the stillness penetrates the noise.
Speaker B:It pushes through that.
Speaker B:And that to me is such a huge way of knowing how he.
Speaker B:How he speaks.
Speaker B:I hope I'm doing fine here.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:That's how we often can know is because it brings.
Speaker B:It brings peace to us.
Speaker B:So when you hear something, right, you're hearing something you don't know.
Speaker B:Is that God?
Speaker B:Is that me?
Speaker B:If you back away from it and go, where's my peace?
Speaker B:And if it's disturbing the spirit in the sense of disruption, now, God can disrupt.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Look at Job.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, he can.
Speaker B:Yeah, he can disrupt.
Speaker B:But at the same time, there's peace within destruction.
Speaker B:There's a peace within that disruption that only you just know that.
Speaker B:You know.
Speaker A:Yes, right.
Speaker B:You know that, you know.
Speaker B:Oh, that's.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:There's.
Speaker B:Even within that, you know.
Speaker B:Ah, there's just.
Speaker B:It's not that.
Speaker B:That angst.
Speaker B:There's no angst in it.
Speaker B:It's just disruption.
Speaker B:And you go, but there's peace in this disruption.
Speaker B:Or there's just.
Speaker B:There's all this noise happening around me.
Speaker B:And I hear that peaceful voice, and I'm going, that's dad.
Speaker B:That's dad.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I think that's what makes God so great, because he doesn't need to be bolsterous, even though he can be.
Speaker A:You know, he doesn't need to be loud, even though he has every power to be.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I think.
Speaker A:And then also, too, if it almost.
Speaker A:And correct me if.
Speaker A:What if I'm wrong.
Speaker A:For.
Speaker A:For us to choose our free will.
Speaker A:Because he isn't loud and bolsterous.
Speaker A:Like, even though we're supposed to fear God, he allows us to choose that.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:That free will is.
Speaker B:Is my goodness.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker A:What did you.
Speaker A:Because he has every right.
Speaker A:You know, you're out there mowing, doing your thing.
Speaker A:He has every right.
Speaker A:Be like, look, I need you.
Speaker B:To wake up.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:And yes, he has every right.
Speaker B:Absolutely every right.
Speaker B:He's.
Speaker B:He's.
Speaker B:He's not.
Speaker B:He's not demanding it.
Speaker B:He's not dict.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:He's not dictating it to us.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:He's offering it to us.
Speaker B:And again, that's a dad.
Speaker B:That's what a dad should do.
Speaker B:I mean, we're weak as human dads.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:You know, we have our faults, but.
Speaker B:So if you look at a human father for what you expect a good dad to be, you're probably going to run into some issues.
Speaker B:But looking at our, Our Heavenly Father and going, there's absolutely all power, all authority.
Speaker B:And yet, and yet he's totally given me freedom to run with what, what I know to do at this moment.
Speaker B:And that's why I put that in there, to do it the best I can in this moment.
Speaker B:That's all we can do.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's not.
Speaker B:I. I've heard people say we're working towards perfection.
Speaker B:I don't know if we reach perfection.
Speaker B:I, I don't know that my life on earth is going to reach perfection.
Speaker B:I'm working towards his perfection.
Speaker B:Otherwise, for me, that's knowing and following after him, being grounded in him, knowing that he's there and that I get to see a bigger vision and a bigger, A bigger revelation of who God is.
Speaker B:And that draws me closer into that place of perfection that one day, however, whether it's, you know, through a veil that we go or it's into a heaven or however all that works.
Speaker B:There's many different theories.
Speaker B:In America, we have one theory, and that is everybody goes up to heaven.
Speaker B:And yet there's other, that you can argue that you go through a veil and it's just simply on the other side of a veil.
Speaker B:Okay, I don't.
Speaker B:It doesn't matter.
Speaker B:To me, it's moving towards that perfection.
Speaker B:And we take that word perfection as I must be perfect, and therefore that's my goal is to be perfect.
Speaker B:That weight.
Speaker B:I don't think the father ever asked me to carry that kind of weight because I don't think I can carry perfection.
Speaker B:I, I don't have it in me to carry perfection.
Speaker B:What I do have is the ability to keep hearing that voice and learning.
Speaker B:It's the sheep and the shepherd.
Speaker B:It's just, it's right.
Speaker B:I mean, it's.
Speaker B:The sheep know his voice, and so they come to that voice.
Speaker B:And have you heard this story?
Speaker B:I got a million of them that.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:They're called bummer lambs.
Speaker B:Have you ever heard of this?
Speaker B:I just heard about this recently, and it's so cool.
Speaker B:Bummer lambs are ones that have been separated from their mother, and so they have not nursed on the mother, and they've been nursed by a human, by the shepherd or shepherdess.
Speaker B:You know, they've been nursed by that person, and then they're let back into the flock.
Speaker B:And the first, when the shepherd calls, it's always the bummer lambs who come first because they're the ones that have been closest to that voice.
Speaker B:They've been held in the arm and fed by hand.
Speaker B:And that's the image.
Speaker B:We're all a bunch of bummer lambs that just want to get to know his voice better.
Speaker B:And that.
Speaker B:That's process.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:I get to know his voice better tomorrow than I do today.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:Isn't that awesome?
Speaker B:That means his voice is huge.
Speaker A:Your stories, your wisdom.
Speaker B:Oh, thank you.
Speaker A:The last year I was like, oh, Jesus, being fed today.
Speaker A:No point in me going to Bible study.
Speaker A:I'm good for the week.
Speaker A:Don't need to go next Sunday.
Speaker A:I'm good.
Speaker A:I'm good.
Speaker A:I have been fed immensely.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker A:So your podcast, you have one yourself.
Speaker A:Cafe Pop Up Cafe.
Speaker A:Beautiful.
Speaker A:Very intimate.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's actually I. I made a decision with the Lord to get off the road this year.
Speaker B:The first time in 40 years that I have not traveled outside of COVID Covid.
Speaker B:We couldn't travel, but I. I had a podcast back then, but I asked if we could do something different.
Speaker B:And that is.
Speaker B:It's live with an audience.
Speaker B:Audience.
Speaker B:So I do it at a.
Speaker B:At a place called the library at Journey Coffee in downtown Vacaville, where I live, where I'm from.
Speaker B:Vacaville, California.
Speaker B:And we do it once a month.
Speaker B:I record it once a month, and it's with an audience.
Speaker B:And so we talk about these kinds of different topics, different guests.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's.
Speaker B:It's just starting.
Speaker B:That one's a new.
Speaker B:A new Pop up cafe is a new one.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Because it's a new season for me.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:That's beautiful.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I'll put the.
Speaker A:My brain went flat.
Speaker A:The website.
Speaker A:Oh, thank you for those.
Speaker A:Because to be able to buy them a coffee, you know.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker A:Feeling it.
Speaker A:Buy something Coffee.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's what.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And buy you a coffee.
Speaker A:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker A:We have filled the time with this hour, and I just want to say before we.
Speaker A:Before we sign off that I am blessed and I am grateful to have this conversation with you today.
Speaker A:I have been filled with wisdom, and I feel like I'm not done.
Speaker A:I think when I go back, I, you know, it's like what you said, it's almost like scripture or like a sermon.
Speaker A:Sometimes you get something from the sermon as you should, but sometimes when you go back, it's.
Speaker A:It's almost like a garden, you know?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:In a tree.
Speaker A:That.
Speaker A:That you just didn't see before.
Speaker A:You know, let's just poke it out.
Speaker A:You'll be like, oh, that was there, and I see him.
Speaker A:That's cool.
Speaker B:That's cool.
Speaker A:So I am so grateful for you today and what.
Speaker A:What you gave.
Speaker A:Thank you so much.
Speaker B:Yeah, Ashley, it's been a real joy.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:Your.
Speaker B:Your spirit is very light and refreshing, and I love that.
Speaker B:It's very easy just to step in to my stories.
Speaker B:And at the same time, you were.
Speaker B:You were.
Speaker B:You are really good at leading me to that place as well and opening that door and that for.
Speaker B:For someone and, you know, to come on and do that.
Speaker B:That's a real gift, a real skill, and you can tell that you.
Speaker B:You have a real heart for people that.
Speaker B:Wow, those students must really be blessed by you, whether they show it or not.
Speaker B:It's not the point.
Speaker B:It's not the point.
Speaker B:Remember, they're in their 20s.
Speaker A:They definitely drifted away.
Speaker A:There's some that.
Speaker A:Definitely.
Speaker B:Back to.
Speaker B:Back to square one.
Speaker B:So thanks.
Speaker B:Thanks very much.
Speaker A:You're welcome.
Speaker B:I've had a blast.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:Thank you so much.
Speaker A:Black sheeps, Disciples of Christ, thank you so much.
Speaker A:And I hope and.
Speaker A:And I really want us to have this conversation again because I. Oh, cool.
Speaker A:I feel you have so many nuggets in there.
Speaker A:I just want to be.
Speaker A:I want to be digging for gold, and I want to come out spiritually wealthy.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:Hey, hey.
Speaker B:I'll give you what I got from there.
Speaker B:Maybe.
Speaker B:Maybe pan out the tin and take the gold.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Very cool.
Speaker B:Very cool.
Speaker A:Well, guys, see you next time.
Speaker B:Thanks.
