Catching Up with Christians: EP 7 - Chloe Sagum, Worship Leader at Central Church and Mom

Balancing faith, family, and the demands of leading a congregation is no small feat, but Chloe Sagum does it with grace and authenticity. This episode of Catching Up With Christians features Chloe, a worship leader and mother from Las Vegas, who opens up about her journey at Central Church and the unique challenges of raising her son, Duke, who has autism. Chloe’s story is a powerful reminder of the importance of relying on God’s strength, especially when life throws unexpected challenges your way. Through her candid reflections, Chloe underscores how faith and trust in God can help manage the complexities of parenting.

Chloe dives deep into her personal struggles with societal expectations and the pressure of maintaining a certain image while being true to herself. We discuss how seeking God's approval rather than societal validation can transform every aspect of life, from parenting to worship leading. She also talks about the significance of vulnerability, especially on social media, and how sharing both her triumphs and failures has helped others feel less alone. Chloe’s openness about her journey to be genuine in every facet of life offers listeners a powerful example of authenticity and courage.

From her early passion for singing to her role at Central Church, Chloe’s journey in worship leadership is both inspiring and instructive. She shares the joys and challenges of leading worship in a large congregation and the importance of maintaining the right heart posture. We explore how saying 'yes' to God's call, even when it pushes us out of our comfort zones, can have a transformative impact. Chloe also touches on her hobbies, heritage, and the significance of kindness in our daily lives, wrapping up with heartfelt reflections on faith and family. This episode promises to inspire, encourage, and remind you of the beauty of trusting God in every season of life.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's going on everybody?
It's Coach Dan McCarty, backwith the Catching Up With
Christians podcast.
Very special guest today, chloeSagan.
How are you doing today?

Speaker 2 (00:10):
I'm good, dan, how are you?

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Oh, incredible.
So thankful with your busyschedule that you took time out
of your day-to-day to be able tocreate this episode and pour it
into the listeners.
But you know, just kind ofgetting into.
You have so many titles rightbeing a mom, a wife so many
other things, but you kind oflet the listeners know who you
are and what you do.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yes, absolutely.
My name is Chloe.
This is my first time on apodcast, so give me some grace
as I jump around here.
Let's see, I'm from Las Vegasand I am 27.
It's going to be my birthdaynext month, I'll be 28.
And Dan actually reached out tome to jump on this podcast after

(00:54):
him and I met at a young adultsevening at the church that we
both attend, called Central, andit was my first time checking
out young adults and I was askedto speak about worship because
one of my titles is worshipleader.
So I've been blessed with thegifts and talents to glorify God
with my voice and songs.

(01:15):
So that's a huge part of who Iam, and getting to share that
part of my life and my faithwith young adults around me in
my community, some that I knewand some that I haven't known,
and some that I know now andhave learned to learn more about
.
That was awesome and that kindof started a friendship between

(01:35):
myself and Coach McCarty.
Here and now we see each otherat church and hang out at the
coffee shop a little bit, and hetold me about his podcast and I
was like, absolutely.
But one funny thing is that atour church, one of our pastors,
pastor Nick.
He also has a podcast and nowthat I'm thinking about this,
I'm supposed to have been on hispodcast for several months now

(01:57):
and we have not found a goodtime to do it.
So I hope that's a testament toDan's chutzpah and his ability
to just loop people in realquick.
He was like, hey, this is whatI'm doing, this is what I want
to do, let's do it.
And I was like, ok, so here Iam.
So, pastor Nick, if you'rewatching this, I'm sorry it's

(02:19):
going to happen very soon, butyeah, so I am a worship leader
at our church and another aspectof my life that got me and Dan
talking was about my story as amother.
So I'm a mom of two.
My son is six, his name is Duke, and my daughter is Lucy she's

(02:40):
three, and motherhood isabsolutely exhausting in every
way.
It's absolutely terrifying andit is the most authentic way
that I see God's love and God'shand in my life, above

(03:04):
everything else, becauseeverything that I do and
everything that I am has alwaysbeen my choice.
But being the mother to my kidthat God has created entirely to
be my children is the one rolethat I have no control over,

(03:24):
actually, and it's kind of thatlack of control that challenges
my faith and helps me lean onGod's strength and his patience.
Otherwise I wouldn't be able todo it.
And you know, one thing aboutmotherhood is that you think

(03:44):
it'll come so naturally to you,you think it'll be instinctive,
and in a lot of ways it is.
It's beautiful how we'recreated that way as parents, but
every single day you wake upand it's a and it's a brand new
set of challenges, it's a brandnew set of blessings, and you
never know what you're going toexpect.
So you are constantly learningand for me, as someone who likes

(04:09):
to be as confident as I am inany role I've been given, that's
a huge challenge for me,knowing that every day it could
be completely different than thelast.
Challenges like that every daythat always, always bring me
back to relying on God'sstrength and his understanding
and his purpose for my life.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
Wow, that's so great, but I wanted to touch up a
little bit on the motherhoodaspect because I think it's
relatable to in some sense.
So you're talking about how,probably instinctively, you want
to have control because you arethe mom, right, you want to,
you know, protect the kids fromdifferent things, but at the end
of the day, you stillultimately have limited control,

(04:50):
right, and that dependency onGod through that.
So maybe, if you wouldn't mind,just shared to maybe some
aspects where in motherhood,where you really are having to
rely on dependency of God versuson your own understanding of
what you're going to try to do.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yeah, that's good.
God knows what we need, farmore than we do.
And an aspect that God has shownme, that is, through my son's
set of special needs.
So Duke, when he was four, wasdiagnosed with autism and he's

(05:29):
too young to be diagnosed withADD and ARFID and different sets
of challenges that usually comewith being on the spectrum.
But as his parents, we have oursuspicions of what else might
be added on to his diagnosis inthe future, of what else might
be added onto his diagnosis inthe future.
Every aspect of who my son isis the complete opposite of how

(05:50):
I operate, how I communicate,how I like to represent myself
publicly.
I'm a very image consciousperson, which I've learned about
myself recently, and I used tobe embarrassed to say that out
loud, but it really is.
Probably the biggest challengethat I have for myself is how

(06:10):
much I care about what otherpeople think.
So if you are familiar withautism and how broad of a
spectrum it is, you would knowthat it can be.
It can be all sorts ofchallenges that come with that,
the way that they, the way thatthey are able to control or not
control their behavior, theiremotions and things like that,
and when Duke was younger, itwas the behavioral stuff that

(06:33):
was really challenging for me.
I was always that young adultwho saw other parents with
children that were giving them achallenge in public and I was
so judgmental towards them.
Dan, I would say, man, put aleash on that kid.
Or, oh boy, they must beterrible parents if their kid is

(06:53):
sitting with an iPad at thetable, if their kid is throwing
a tantrum in public and they'renot doing anything about it.
And I would have all thesejudgmental thoughts.
And then I got my own.
And to be in public with himwhen he is having a behavioral
meltdown and I know in thatmoment that the best thing I can

(07:17):
do is let him regulate thatemotion.
When I know to outsiders, itlooks like I have no idea what
I'm doing and I'll never be ableto fully explain myself to
strangers.
Autism is a hidden disability,so no one from the outside knows
that he has it.
I'm challenged constantly withthe.

(07:37):
Do I explain him to others, ordo I allow him to advocate for
himself and allow others toaccept him for who he is without
having to constantly put thetitle of autism on him?
His delay in communication wasa big one for me.
Not being able to communicatewith your child is a huge

(07:57):
struggle.
And then I remember one day afriend of mine who is a pastor
at Central and she has a childwith autism as well.
I was talking to her in theback hall and she said that if
it's hard for you not being ableto communicate with them,
imagine how much harder it isfor them to not being able to
communicate with you, and thatstarted a huge shift of

(08:22):
perspective for me of every setof challenges that I face with
him.
He's facing the same ones andI'm able to lean into pastors
and friends who have walked downthis path.
I'm able to have conversationswith family members about what's
going on and poor Duke can't.
All Duke can do is be himselfand make sure he is safe, make

(09:05):
sure he is healthy and make surehe is as happy as he can
possibly be.
Every day is a challenge.
It is so much easier said thandone, but I am thankful for
every moment that God gives methat refreshes that perspective,
and I'm sure that I'm sure youknow, dan, having your own set

(09:27):
of disabilities that you'vegrown up with that people tend
to be drawn to you in differentways.
Whether it's curiosity, whetherit's a light that you have from
within or whether it is just amagnetic pole that you have to
others.
People will always be drawn toyou, and that's the case with my
son as well.
People will constantly just sayI love him.

(09:48):
I remember thinking how can youlove him?
You don't even know him Likeyou don't.
You don't even deserve to lovehim.
I love him because I have takenthe time to learn him.
You know what I mean.
Yeah, but I, but anyone that isprogrammed, let's just say
differently right?
I believe that God has giventhem a light that will draw
others to them.

(10:09):
So I have.
I've now learned to appreciatethat and appreciate when people
come up to him and just want totalk to him for some reason.
And I'm still facing thechallenge of, like God, show me
how to use that opportunity, youknow, because he still can't
talk for himself.
He's six, but he talks andcommunicates at a lesser level

(10:30):
than even my three-year-olddaughter does, you know.
So, even as I share and as Italk, like I'm still learning
how to appreciate what I wouldtypically and in the past, be
frustrated with.

Speaker 1 (10:46):
You know there's so much there that is so amazing.
First off, I want to say thatyou're doing an incredible job.
You're awesome, a great mom,and I see the videos on social
media.
I see him when he's able tocome to church and all the
events.
You're doing great and you knowcontinue to feel good about

(11:07):
that that God is using you and Itruly believe that God places
the ones, even our parents,whether it's good, or even if
you didn't have a greatrelationship with your parents,
there is a reason that you knowthese people are in your lives,
right, and there's no betterparents for Duke than you and
Christian, and so I think it'sjust so beautiful to see.
And, and you know, one of thethings that drew me to you, you

(11:31):
said to me, was that one of mypassages and I think the
listeners know this a little bitis really seeing a parent or
parents or caregivers, guardiansof an individual with a
disability, and truly givingthem the best opportunity they
can, and you know, and notsetting limits on the child.
You know, and even if yourchild's different or has a

(11:53):
disability, they still haveabilities and they still are a
blessing, they still can havefun, they have joy and and what
draws me to you guys is is, yeah, duke might, you know, have
autism, but there's so manyother great qualities that you
guys are able to get out of him,that he's able to do with, with
the family, and I see all thevideos about barney and stuff
and like the biggest smileyou're wearing the shirt too is

(12:16):
I seriously look forward tothose tiktok sometimes because
the smile he has and I'm like,wow, that's so cool, you know,
and and um, so there's so muchto unpack there, but I think
it's so beautiful.
But I just wanted to say to youand your husband as well, like
you guys are doing a great joband you're right, no one will
understand the day to day, butjust remember that God does.

(12:42):
God knows us, our struggles,our heart, and that's enough.
You know, and you know to thelisteners.
You know I'll be honest.
I struggle with the imageaspect too in my own life, for
you know, other reasons, like Iwould want to, you know, break
through barriers, push throughbarriers, right, that people may

(13:04):
have put on my life because ofmy disability, right, and it
would motivate me and do theseother things.
But what God's kind of humbledme with is like look, man, like
you got to be where your feetare.
Love the people around you.
It doesn't matter.
The people that are supposed tobe in your life are going to be
in your life, right?
It doesn't matter what you'redoing, who you're with, what's

(13:31):
going on.
I have it all worked out andthat's enough, and it just
removes that stress off my ownlife, you know, and I'm still
working through that, right butI love your vulnerability on
that aspect.
That was really beautiful to bevulnerable about that.

Speaker 2 (13:41):
Oh, you absolutely have to, and I think something
that maybe our listeners need tohear is that, whether it's
parenthood or worship, leadingor sports, or whatever it is
that God has called you to.
If you are someone that doesstruggle with image and
struggles with caring about howothers perceive you, how you are

(14:04):
portrayed to others, whatthey're even thinking about you,
how they might be judging you,whatever it is God has called
you to do, as soon as you stopdoing it for the approval of
others and start doing it forthe approval of God, everything
shifts.
Your perspective shifts.
Everything shifts.

(14:26):
Your perspective shifts.
The way that God blesses you inreturn is so much more
impactful and obvious.
It's amazing the difference ofour heart when we do something
for man compared to when we doit for the glory of God.

Speaker 1 (14:39):
That part.

Speaker 2 (14:40):
And that is so evident on our worship team.
On parenting, when I take Dukeout and I'm thinking, man, I
hope people look at me and theythink, wow, she's an awesome
parent, which is an awful thingto say.
But I've thought it and itwould be a lie if other parents
said that they haven't thoughtthat.
You know what I mean.

(15:00):
I mean, why do we post thingson Instagram?
You know what I mean.
I mean, why do we post thingson Instagram?
Why do we do share highlights?
Because it highlights what wewant others to see, right.
So if we're only sharing thegood, how are people ever going?
And when people show their messups and their mistakes, I don't
feel so alone anymore, you know.

(15:22):
Yeah, I hope that whoever islistening to this even you and

(15:47):
me, dan that we can beencouraged to just ask for help
and to share the parts of ourstories that might be a little
messier, because at the end ofthe day it's it's about who we
can help and it's about justbeing exactly who God created us
to be, and if I do nothing elsebut set that example for my
kids, then I've done somethingright.

Speaker 1 (16:02):
There you go.
That's a clip right there.
That was awesome, and I lovethe aspect you're talking about
posting on social media and oneof the things the highs and the
lows and one of the things I'vebeen posting a lot recently,
just kind of sharing some thingsthat God has put on my heart.
And then one of the things, too, is I'm very honest, you know,

(16:25):
I don't I'm, it's what the Lordputs on my heart.
It's the way you know that I'vebeen able to be influenced by
God over the years through someof the trials and tribulations
I've experienced.
And what I've also realized isI'm also very vulnerable and raw
on there as well because, likeyou said, it allows people to

(16:47):
know I don't claim to be perfect, you don't claim to be perfect.
The only one that ever walkedthis earth to be perfect is
Jesus right.
And so I think when peopleunderstand that, like you, hit
the nail on the head, they'rerealizing that they're not alone
.
But also, for your own sake, italso can help you track your
progress and where God is takingyou from, and I think that's

(17:07):
one of the things that you knowon a personal spiritual growth
level as well tracking you knowfor yourself and seeing what
God's doing in your life Right,and sometimes in our walks, I
feel like sometimes I know in mylife where I feel like I might
be treading water in the sameplace, like sometimes I know in
my life where I feel like Imight be treading water in the

(17:29):
same place, or when I findmyself tracking where I've been
and where God's brought me toand through, I start to realize
that God's always around, he'salways moving, he's always doing
these different things in ourlives, and so I really think
intent's important and heartposture's important when we're
doing things in life and whowe're trying to serve in that
aspect.
But I love I want to touch uponyou're talking about your gifts,

(17:50):
right, you're talking aboutgifts that you know you have,
and I know music is a big partof your life and it's been
really cool.
You know I've been going toCentral for about eight years
now and I've kind of got to seeyou evolve, oh, wow wow have you
really, yeah and so, uh, Iremember back when Christian was
the worship leader and, and, uh, your husband and so um, dude,

(18:15):
and I miss him.
By the way, if you ever listento this, miss you dog.
Hey, drew, you're great, ally'all are great, but but man and
um.
I actually listened to thetotally adhd moment.
I did.
I did listen to it when he didben so good on, uh, his little
instagram.
I was fire man and um.

(18:36):
But anyways, my point is is thatI've gotten to see you evolve
in that aspect now, not justlocally I locally I mean, for me
it would have been the vocalaspect because you know I wasn't
around you as much in personbut would you talk about, maybe,
kind of the spiritual growththroughout, you know, being a
worship leader when you firststarted to kind of where you are
now, your perspective on it and, yeah, as a worship leader,

(19:00):
excuse me, I'm probably going tojump around.

Speaker 2 (19:03):
So much here.
You're good because there's somany different aspects to my
journey as a worship leader.
Um, I I first joined theessential worship team in 2015,
2016, and when I look back onthat now, it's like crazy,
because I was just a child, youknow, like in some ways I'm

(19:25):
still such a child, but I wasreally like fresh out of my
parents house.
I'm from Chicago, I moved out toVegas when I was 18 and I
quickly got called to theworship team and it was a very
fast pull and I was quicklygiven some wonderful and

(19:49):
probably undeserving definitelyundeserving responsibility in
that role and leadership in thatrole, and I think it taught me
really early on just how muchpeople look to you for guidance
when you're put in a place ofleadership.
They don't need to knowanything about you.

(20:09):
All they need to know is yourposition and instantly, people
especially if they're needingsomething like prayer or if
they're going through somethingthey will look up to you.
No one even knew I was 19 or 20.
No one knew the struggles I wasfacing.

(20:30):
No one knows the struggles Iface now.
Yet for some reason, theylooked at me for prayer, for
leadership, for guidance and fora posture of worship.
And I'm not going to lie, lie.
I'm sure other worship leaderswill relate to this that that
pressure and that responsibilitycan be um a bit heavy so much

(20:54):
so to the point where, if you'renot listening, it will spike
your ego and your pride like youwouldn't even believe.
Wouldn't even believe.
And there have been times anddifferent spurts of time where
I've stepped off the platformfor different reasons, whether
it's stepping into differentroles in ministry or just being

(21:15):
a bit burned out and needingsome time in life.
But I think there's somethingabout being on that platform
that just draws people to lookto you and towards you for
guidance, you know.
So if you're not careful withthat responsibility, um, I think
, I think the devil will use itas a tool to either give you, um

(21:38):
, just a false sense ofarrogance and uh, entitlement,
just a false sense of arroganceand entitlement.
Not that I've not that I've likeseen that really firsthand, but
I know how capable Satan is ofdrawing those things out of me
specifically and and probablyother people that that are on
the platform as well.
I'm extremely thankful for thefriendships that I have formed,

(22:07):
the relationships I've formedwith the people that I get to
share the worship stage with.
We don't even we don't evenlike I would even call a lot of
them friends like we're.
We're such family.
You know I was even swimming atmy sister's house with other
worship leaders today family.
You know, I was even swimmingat my sister's house with other

(22:27):
worship leaders today and, andsomething that I've always
appreciated about them is is howmuch that they believe in me.
I joke all the time.
I like the people that reallyknow me know that I just make
the most, the most bizarreout-of-pocket jokes.
But I'll, I'll fish forcompliments with my friends.
Sometimes, like when we comeoff of stage, I'll be like, oh
wow, I like no one.
No one told me, no one, uh,told me how good I did on that

(22:50):
song.
Just like dumb stuff like that,when really the reality is, when
I get a compliment, I startsweating and I don't know what
to do with it.
But it's kind of just how Ihave to, how I have to hide
behind that is, I do theopposite and I like to portray
the opposite, when the ones thatreally know me know how I
handle compliments.
Um, but like, the friendshipsand the and the people that God

(23:11):
has put there are justabsolutely incredible and I'm
smiling like laughing out CauseI just think of some of the
stuff that we've been through.
But, um, a beautiful thingabout relationships I think that
are made in ministry is is theones that go through maybe this
is outside of ministry too the,the relationships that form, the

(23:33):
ones that go through hardshipand then can make it through
that.
Those are special.
Those are the ones that willmake it past just that first
stage of friendship, you know.
So surrounding yourself withpeople like that is a huge way
to remain faith focused.
People assume that when youwork in ministry or when you

(23:56):
work at a church, faith is justsomething that you just wake up
with Nope.
People think that, like the moreinvolved you are in in ministry
, the easier you have it with.
Just like up with.
People think that like the moreinvolved you are in ministry,
the easier you have it with.
Exactly, it's like everythingthat's coming at you is trying
to drag you down and trying totell you that you're not enough,

(24:18):
trying to tell you you can't doit, you're not the right person
for you, for this position,when in reality it's like okay,
who am I listening to?
Who am I hearing these thingsfrom?
You know, am I listening to thepeople that know me deep down
to the core and have seen whatGod has pulled me out of, or am
I listening to the people thatare just trying to see me fail?

(24:41):
You know, and I think it's hardto have that discernment and
it's really hard to to sortthrough the voices, but God's
will always be the most clear,and sometimes I swear I'm like
plugging my ears to it, causeit's not what I want to hear.

Speaker 1 (24:57):
Yeah, yeah, you know absolutely.

Speaker 2 (25:01):
I don't even.
I don't even know where I'm atwith my story of being a worship
leader.
So let's see, I started when Iwas around 19.
I turned 28 next month, sothat's nine years now that I've
been worship leading, and if youtold me that, like even 12
years ago, I'd be like no, like,that's not what I'm going to do
at all.
I was working in retail atNordstrom and I loved it and I

(25:25):
was really, really good at all.

Speaker 1 (25:26):
I was working in retail at Nordstrom and I loved
it and I was really really goodat it.
Did you make music then, or wasit only until you started being
a worship leader now you know,that you made music and was
singing.

Speaker 2 (25:38):
Unfortunately, I've been making music since I was
about 13 or 14.
And if you look me up onYouTube, you can find some
really embarrassing proof ofthat, but I encourage you to
because it's actually hilarious.
Okay, so a quick background onme is that I was in the

(25:59):
entertainment industry when Iwas just a kid.
So, I was homeschooled andtotally immersed in acting and
singing, a little bit of dancing, but I never should have been
in that Cause.
That's just not where I'mgifted, um, but I've always
known how to speak to crowds.
I've always known how to be oncamera.

(26:19):
Um, it's just something I'vebeen good at since I was a child
and I'm thankful that now I'mable to use that to glorify god
and to lead others to him.
That's awesome, um, but butthat's just something I was, I
was just taught and formed intoas a kid, and I have my, my
parents to thank for that,because they, um, they put me in

(26:41):
acting per my request when Iwas rather young.
Okay, I couldn't model because Inever made it past five foot
four.
That's fine, I didn't need todo that.
Times have changed anyway.
Now anyone can model, yeah,which is awesome.
And then singing.
Singing was something that I'vealways loved.
So the first time I was in aplay was when I was five, wow,

(27:03):
and then I've kind've justalways been in plays since then.
But you know what's funny aboutthat is, um, some of the
vocalists that I've gotten toshare the stage with and have
gotten to just meet being onthis, this journey out here as a

(27:24):
worship leader are.
They are so talented, dan, likeI can't even tell you how
naturally gift either naturallygifted, or how hard they've
worked to be that gifted theyare.
Um so something I am trulyhumbled by is being given the

(27:45):
opportunity to sing alongsidethem, or sometimes being given
the opportunity to sing a solopart with them supporting Like a
collab.
Yes.

Speaker 1 (27:59):
Yeah, I've heard a couple, they're fire.

Speaker 2 (28:03):
I am like, oh my goodness, like I don't even know
how to put it to words, butit's that sense of someone
believing in you right someone.
Yeah, maybe that's what it is.
Maybe it's just someonebelieving in me, believing that
I can do it, or that that I havewhat it takes to to be
alongside some of these peopleyou know um, but they're just

(28:25):
absolutely incredible.
You know the worship leader,erin c-san.

Speaker 1 (28:28):
You know who she is I'm not too familiar, to be
honest she's um.

Speaker 2 (28:33):
She sings a couple songs with central live uh
called.
One of them is like open myeyes, paradise yep, he's the
singer on that one and then onthe.
You awaken me.
She's the girl that comes in onthe bridge and then she often,
she often leads at henderson.
So she'll be she'll be thehenderson worship leader in two
weeks, something like that.
Her and I met when we were 16and 12, and we were in a girl

(28:58):
band together.
I wonder if she'd be mad at mesaying this.
No, she wouldn't.
We were in a girl band togetherand that's kind of how I'm at
Central now, because we were 16and 12 then when we first met
and we were casted together intothe same girl group and then we

(29:22):
remained friends for a coupleyears.
Next thing, you know, I'm outin Vegas visiting her and she
takes me to her church Central.

Speaker 1 (29:30):
There you go.

Speaker 2 (29:33):
And I never left.
I became an intern when I wasuh 18 and it was supposed to be
a three-month internship.
My car got stolen so Iphysically couldn't leave like I
could not.
I could not leave and I've beenwow I know so you, you
literally never know uh's goingto be the reason that brings you

(29:56):
to the next several years ofyour life.

Speaker 1 (29:58):
But I'm very thankful for it.
That is amazing.
And I think one thing I wantedto point out.
This is just you mentioned thisearlier, talking about this
worship and and how the enemycan use something that was meant
you know good in your heart,posture and how you have to
constantly have to checkyourself when you go on stage
and those types of things.
Right, and I want to let thelisteners know, the ones that

(30:19):
aren't from vegas central's abigger church.
Okay, like when, when she, likeyou know and I'm not saying
this to shame anybody otherchurches but to understand the
listeners got guys and gals thatare listening to this is there
could be four to 10,000 peoplethat come on a weekend, you know
, through the three services.
So you know when the crowd, youknow it's a bigger crowd.

(30:42):
So just really remembering youknow you're worshiping God and
that the people aren'tnecessarily you know how amazing
your voice is and all thevoices, but kind of just
remembering to fix your eyes onGod right through that.
And I just want to kind of justremind the listeners, the ones
that aren't familiar with thechurch, that you know it
probably would be a littleeasier if there was, you know,

(31:04):
20 to 40 people in thecongregation or 200 people in
the congregation, not 2,000,3,000, because every night or
every time I go to a service Ifeel like it's a concert Totally
, and so and I tell people youknow I serve every weekend and I
tell everybody on my serviceyou know I'm like, look, I go in
for worship, I watch twoservices completely, but I'm
going to all three and I'mgetting that worship.

(31:24):
It is a free concert, y'all aregreat and I get to worship the
Lord and I just bring that outjust so people can understand
that you know the significance,right, and and the impact that
one you all are having on thekingdom and the people inside
the church, but also how thatcan be even more challenging

(31:46):
because it is that concertenvironment.
You know, and and and.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (31:52):
One thing that, um, that we're told, as as members
of the team and, uh, members ofcentral live, is that, whether
it's a hundred people that comeinto the room for a night of
worship or a church service, orif every seat is full, which I
think is like 4,000 something,you're right, it's a big room If

(32:16):
one person encounters Jesus,we've done what we're supposed
to do.
If one person hears the gospeland gives their life to Christ,
then we have done what we arecalled to do, you know yeah,
that's so powerful.

Speaker 1 (32:33):
And it reminded me of a story of um, bonnie maynard.
Um, you know it was a beautifullady and um, she really kind of
took me under the wing in the24-hour church uh, you know a
serving team and and, um, whenwe were at, uh, her, her service
, you know our funeral servicethere Pastor Judd told a

(32:53):
beautiful story.
I'm not sure if you were there,but he told this story about
how one time Pastor Judd wasdoing like the practice when you
guys do practices before theChristmas at Central or the
event and he did like basicallyhis whole sermon but at the end
he didn't invite people to knowhe didn't do the salvation

(33:14):
prayer.
And at the end she like pulledhim aside, was like Pastor Judd,
what are you doing, dog?
Like you know, like you know,why didn't you do that?
And she's like, well, all thevolunteers, everybody that was
in the crowd at the time were abunch of volunteers and people
at Central Live and all theseother things.
And she's like, but you don'ttruly know if they know Jesus,

(33:35):
they could be serving anyweekend, every weekend, be a
part on different teams, but younever know if they've done the
salvation prayer.
And basically Pastor Judge said,from that moment on, whether it
was a live sermon practice.
He always ends with thatsalvation prayer because he just
said, like you said, if it'sjust one person that you get to
introduce the gospel to, or thespirit can rest upon them when

(33:58):
you're doing worship or whateverthe case may be, I thought that
was such a significant storybecause what happens behind
closed doors, right?
What are you doing when you'renot at the church?
What are you doing when you'rein your house?
Right?
Are you truly glorifying Godand all that you're doing in
really spreading the gospel?
You know, and one of my favoriteverses is Romans 116,.

(34:19):
You know, and it's talkingabout being unashamed of the
gospel, right, and I thinkthat's such an important aspect
in our lives and I think it'srelatable in worship, to living
to anything.
Remember who you're doing itfor the audience of one, and
understand you don't know wherepeople are out in the walk, you
don't know where they're at inlife, and so being bold in your

(34:40):
faith could change a life, youknow, in any eternity, not even
just a life, Right?
So I love that aspect.

Speaker 2 (34:47):
I love Bonnie and I was at her celebration of life.
I got to do the worship portionwith.

Speaker 1 (34:52):
Drew and the team.
That's right, it was awesome.
Yeah, Love Can right the song.

Speaker 2 (34:57):
I think we had Love Can and everyone had to wear
bright florals and everyone hadleis.
It was very Aloha themed.

Speaker 1 (35:04):
Yes, I was in a way back.
I couldn't see who was singing.

Speaker 2 (35:06):
but I remember the song.
Of course you do.

Speaker 1 (35:10):
I know the song.
It was a great song.

Speaker 2 (35:12):
Yeah, that's awesome.
You know, I want to jump back alittle bit.

Speaker 1 (35:16):
Yeah, of course.

Speaker 2 (35:21):
Something that I recently started sharing, which
I think of this because we metat the Young Adults evening,
right, the Young Adults service.
For me, that night was sopowerful because when AJ passed
the pastor at a young adult,when he asked me to do a Q and A

(35:42):
at the end, I was a littlenervous because what if no one
had any questions?
You know, I let some of thoseinsecurities creep in a little
bit and when I tell you, I wassitting there answering
questions, whether they wereabout me or about faith or about
life in your 20s for an hour, Ilooked at the clock.

(36:03):
I'm like I've been sitting uphere talking for an hour, yeah,
and people actually want to wantto hear what I have to say, and
I've answered the first coupleand I didn't embarrass myself
enough to where people stoppedwanting to hear what I said.
Like that's absolutelyincredible.
I remember there was one girlthat raised her hand and she
told me it was her first timevisiting the church at all and

(36:27):
she wasn't even sure if she wasgoing to come back or if she was
going to go to a service.
She literally told me that itwas because of how just like
vulnerable and honest I was onstage that she would come back
and start attending church.
I love that.
Did I cry?
I don't know.
I bet I cried, I wanted to cryand I'm like, wow, I had
absolutely no idea what toexpect, walking into that and

(36:53):
for her to share that becauseshe could have counted to
herself, but for her to share itwith me, that that what I had
to say would somehow be a partof her story.
I don't know what.
Like you said, we never knowwhere someone's at in their walk
.
We never, we never know wheresomeone's at in their life.
Um, but if I, remotely, if Godspoke through me to her remotely
in that evening, in that night,in that hour, then I'm just so

(37:16):
thankful that I said yes.
So it's so much easier to sayno than to say yes when you're
given an opportunity that mightbe challenging or might be out
of your comfort zone.
And speaking to small groups ofpeople is completely out of my
comfort zone.
For me, it's like like give mean auditorium, I'm fine, yeah,
um, the more people there are,the less I can really focus in

(37:38):
on who they are.
You know what I mean, absolutelyyeah you just be like, oh, it
is one blob of people.
But when it's an intimate roomand I can, I can, I'm close
enough.
I have pretty bad eyesight, soI'm close enough to really see
these faces.
I even recognize people.
I'm like, oh, I know you, Iknow you, I know you.
I get absolutely mortified, Ihave stage fright, but in small

(38:00):
groups that's not saying itwould make sense.
It's a little backwards To beasked to speak in a smaller
group of people and then toanswer questions, which means I
won't be able to write down myanswers in advance.
I won't be able to practicewhat I'm going to say.
I have to just say what comesto mind.
It's terrifying for me becauseI don't always know what's going

(38:23):
to come out of my mouth.
I have, um.
I have no filter often and itgets me in trouble.

Speaker 1 (38:30):
And um, what if I?

Speaker 2 (38:31):
And what if I say the wrong thing?

Speaker 1 (38:33):
Yep, I feel those.
I feel those too, yep.

Speaker 2 (38:37):
So I'm so glad that I said yes to that, and it has
encouraged me to say yes toother things that might be hard
for me and out of my comfortzone, because sometimes saying
yes is all God needs from youand then he can do the rest.

Speaker 1 (38:52):
That's a beautiful way to put it, because I've
found in my life like some ofthe things that you don't
necessarily want to do or feel alittle out of your comfort are
exactly what God wants you to do, right?
And I hear sometimes in lifewhere people are like, man, I
want to be used by God, I wantto be used, I'm like okay, but
when he gives you theopportunity, are you going to be
obedient?
You know, I always tell peopleI did a workshop about a week

(39:13):
and a half ago and one of thebig things we talked about was
you have to one be available.
But once you're available, youhave to be obedient, right?
It's like if you want it to betruly a vessel and and that
story alone kind of shares thatfor you.
And I want to go on two littleparts here that hit me there.
When you said that One thing isone of my favorite parts about

(39:33):
serving and I'm sure you canresonate with this is that, even
if you can't necessarily feelGod in your day-to-day life in
that season, hypothetically, inthat season when you get to
serve people and you get to seethem come to know Jesus for the
first time.
Or for me, I'm on the prayerteam and I get to pray over
someone and I see that burdenjust be lifted and they cast it

(39:56):
onto God and it's like they walkout and like this childlike
faith feeling again and likeGod's going to move.
It's like it reminds me thatGod is moving and God is, you
know, even we can't see it orfeel it, he's always moving
Right and he's, and I thinkthat's such an amazing part
about serving and I'm sure youfeel that way, like you
mentioned earlier, when you'reworshiping, right, being a

(40:18):
worship leader, you really justget to feel his presence like
almost guaranteed, likeguaranteed.
You're going to see it, you'regoing to feed it off other
people.
His presence is in the room inthose situations and I think
that is one of my all-timefavorite parts about serving is
just being able to see what Goddoes firsthand and just reminds
you what you'll do in your life.

(40:40):
And then the second aspect youalso spoke into me very in that
that same night of when you'reanswering those questions.
You know, as, as the listenersknow, you know I've been
launching my business platform,coach Dan McCarty do public
speaking, workshops and contentcreation, this podcast, but in

(41:02):
addition to that, also mentoring, and it was one of those
aspects in my life where I heardit a lot.
I'm not very good at acceptingcompliments, that's just not my
thing.
I'm just like, thanks, you know, I'm very bad at it, you know,
like I just, you know, it's likeI'm so afraid to have an ego or

(41:23):
a pride that like I just kindof let it go one and you're out
the other, and so that's kind ofa weird thing for me.
And so there have been peoplein my life since I was a kid
that said, damn, like you couldspeak, you could really help
people and journey in life, andI was like, thanks, okay, you
know I'm going to get a kid andplay those people, but who I
respected spiritually, you know,not necessarily people of the

(41:47):
world, right, and I don't meanthat cynically, but also people
who are really deep in theirfaith and, as my faith was
getting more and more important,to me.
I was like OK, maybe this couldbe something I could do to
glorify God Right and to impacthis kingdom and the people

(42:10):
journeying that Right and and toimpact his kingdom and the
people journeying that.
And I had two people in thelast about six months before I
talked to you, and I was at thispoint in my job where I was
kind of struggling and I waskind of at this teeter point
because someone told me dude,you should really think about
this.
And then you came and did, yourdid your little sermon message

(42:31):
there and had the Q&A and wetalked afterwards and you're
like hey, I love yourperspective.
Have you ever thought aboutlike making content or like you
know, journeying with otherpeople?
And I'm like wow, Okay.
Like maybe, god, I went home.
I was like all right, god, likeI got punched in the gut enough
, I get it.
Yep, like I, I got punched inthe gut enough, I get it.
I get that and I reallyappreciate that.

(42:53):
I want to just kind of shoutyou out for that on this,
because that was a reallysignificant moment for me in
this journey and I reallyappreciate it.

Speaker 2 (43:02):
I love that.

Speaker 1 (43:02):
Yeah, but I love how God uses people Right
no-transcript to be like totallyand then move on.
But knowing your story, knowingyou're a mom of a child with a

(43:27):
disability, your journey andfaith and your roles, I'm like.
I know she's not like blowingsmoke, like this is not to make
me feel good in a way.
And so I went home and prayedthat night and literally the end
of that week I was like God,I'm moving on from this job, I'm
going full force and doing whatGod's put on my heart and you
know, and he made it clear, butappreciate that.

Speaker 2 (43:49):
I love that, Dan.
I love that, Dan.
Well, in that same conversation, God encouraged me through
something that you said as well,and it was the story of how
kind of how your parentssupported and encouraged your
dreams right and as theycontinue to now.
I've seen on your social mediahow you shout them out and they

(44:10):
seem incredible, but I rememberyou telling me that your dream
was to always be baseball, Likebaseball is your passion,
Baseball is something that youlove and you study and you're
good at and you're called to,and a lot of people would view
that as like impossible.
A lot of parents would.
You don't want your kids to failright, so why would you put

(44:34):
them in situations where theymay not flourish so for your
parents to know you well enoughand believe in you enough to say
something along the linescorrect me if I'm wrong of okay,
maybe he can't do it the sameway that everyone else can do it
, but how can we refocus andkind of create a path for him to

(45:00):
take that suits his gifts andtalents?
The best that for me, was soimportant to hear, because
obviously your set of challengesand my son's set of challenges
are going to be completelydifferent, like almost in every
way, because his is completelycognitive and mental, emotional.

(45:20):
Yours is physical and those aretotally different.
But as his mom, I'll be able tosee what his hopes and dreams
are and he'll be able to sharethat with me, probably in ways
that he won't be able to sharewith a lot of other people, and
for me to learn how to cultivatethose hopes and dreams into

(45:42):
ways that he can achieve them,maybe not in, you know, in the
normal, typical way that otherpeople might see or as the world
might see but, to be able toguide him in a in a path that
that only I would be able to,with the help of God, because I
know him that well you know whatI?
mean.
Your parents know you that well.
They were able to do that withyou because of how well they

(46:03):
know you, and thank God thatthey've paid attention to you.
Thank God that they have reallyhoned in on what your skills
are and what you're capable of.
Goodness, for me to sit backand dream and think about what
Duke's going to be capable ofsomeday could bring me to tears
like that.
One because I believe in him somuch and two because I've only

(46:27):
seen six years of what God hasin store for me.
I've only seen a sliver of whatGod's going to be able to do in
his life.
I pick him up from summer schoolyesterday.
Duke can hardly talk Like Dukeis not a communicative person.
And for him to leave the adminoffice with everyone cracking up
at something that he said andfor everyone to say bye, duke,

(46:48):
see you tomorrow, bud.
And they all know somethingabout him.
They're all telling me thingsthat they know about him.
I'm like praise Jesus, becausea huge part of me, when he was
three and going into school,wanted to keep him from public
situations so badly.
One because I was scared of howpeople were going to perceive
me as his mother, and twobecause my biggest fear in life

(47:10):
is him not being accepted forwho he is.
It's my number one fear.
But how can I give him thechance to be accepted by others
if I don't put him out into theworld?

(47:45):
Wow, I you're supposed to do.
Amen, but it takes some reallyhard steps to get there.
You have to just weigh out Arethe hardships and the challenges
going to be worth the reward,If the reward is aligned with
God's will for your life?
Absolutely, you just have toget through the hardship first

(48:07):
and, like I said and I've said acouple of times every day is a
new set of challenges anddifficulties.
But at the end of the day, whenI'm looking down at my son and
he's sleeping and I'm just soabsolutely proud of the joy that
just shines through him andflows through him Like that's
his gift.
His gift is bringing joy toothers.

Speaker 1 (48:29):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (48:30):
And that's absolutely incredible.

Speaker 1 (48:32):
Oh, that's amazing.
I think there's so much there.
That is awesome.
I'm excited to watch thejourney with Duke and I love to
see what he's going to achieve.
And we got to also remember inour lives the God we serve,
right, the God that anall-knowing God, an all-capable
God, an all-loving God right,and I think that's such a

(48:52):
significant part to rememberwhen we go through day-to-day
obstacles or whatever the casemay be, and that reminds me
every day to do the best withthe gifts that I've been given,
because I don't put limitationson what God can do.
Right, and that's such asignificant part.
And another thing I wanted topiggyback on, kind of what my

(49:13):
parents have been reallyembarked on me, which I
hopefully the listeners um couldresonate with here, is this is
such an important aspect too,and I believe I mentioned this
with you that night as well, butwas talking about okay, it's
one thing to say that, likeyou're going to support your
child and find another avenue,that they can be a part of

(49:35):
something, but you, as theparent or whoever the person
that's journeying with that,have to believe it's equally as
valuable as the other way,because if you don't, you're
diminishing what the individualis doing.
And one thing that I see allthe time and I'll just be be
honest when I journey with somepeople sometimes with people
that have children withdisabilities is be oh, we're

(49:57):
let's.
I'll give you an example of thelistener example.
I was at an amusement park onetime, came with my mom and
another family and they had achild with my disability and the
whole time we were therethey're like all right, buddy,
we're gonna go on the littlerides.
And then they're like all right, buddy, we're going to go on
the little rides.
And then they're like these aresuch an amazing ride.
And then would whisper to my momand be like isn't it so sad

(50:17):
that he can't go on the regularrides just like all the other
kids?
And to me it didn't bother mebecause I was a lot more
confident in who I am and myparents raised me to not view it
like that.
But the important aspect forthe listeners and to anybody
listening is you have to beconvicted and have the
conviction that it's equally asvaluable.
Even if it's different, it'snot less.
And so if your child or whoeveryou're journeying with is

(50:42):
connected to something, but itmay look different than somebody
else, it's equally as valuableand I think that's such an
important part of that, becauseyou can say that, but your child
or whoever you're journeyingwith can sense that.
They can sense the true way youfeel.
So, even if you tell them it'sthe opposite, but the way you
truly feel, they sense that.

(51:03):
And the one thing I appreciatefrom my parents so much is they
told me that, but they trulybelieved it much is they told me
that but they truly believed it.
They believed that.
Yeah, I can never play baseballphysically, but coaching was
equally as valuable as theplayer and I think that's such
an important part of that aswell.
Example.
But this has been incredible.

(51:26):
I don't want to take up all yourtime today, but the last part
I'd love for you to share withthe listeners would be up all
your time today, but the lastpart I'd love for you to share
with the listeners would be thisis a faith-based podcast.
You know you've been servingGod now for a long time, right
With the worship team andeverything like that.
And what are some things thatyou do?
You have so many titles.
You do some.
You know music with some otherartists.
You do music with the church.

(51:48):
You're a mom.
You know you're a wife, you'reall these things, but how do you
keep Jesus at the center ofyour life and all aspects of
your life?

Speaker 2 (51:57):
Oh, what a great question.
I think the honest answer isthat I often fail at doing that.
We all do and totally.

Speaker 1 (52:09):
And I think you're the first person.
I'm so glad you answered thatI've done.
I think this will be episodeseven or eight, depending on
when this gets uploaded.
You're the first one that, inmy opinion, honestly answered it
.

Speaker 2 (52:20):
I mean it was a friend and I think that is
awesome.
I just don't want anyone tolisten to our conversation today
and think that they are a badChristian because they're not
able to always keep Jesus in thecenter of their life.
If we were, if we were able tokeep Jesus in the center of our
life all the time, we wouldn'tneed him, we wouldn't need God's

(52:45):
constant presence in our life,because we have it all figured
out, because when we do haveJesus in the center, we're our
healthiest.
When we have Jesus in thecenter, we have it all figured
out, because when we do havejesus in the center, we're our
healthiest.
When we have jesus in thecenter, we're our strongest, um,
when we have jesus in in thecenter, we are.
Our desires are most alignedwith god's desires for us, right
, um?
So all I can say honestly isthat because okay, you might not

(53:08):
know this about me, and I'm I'mjust now starting to really
talk about it more publicly thanjust with my close friends is
that I struggle with a lot ofdepressive thoughts, and it's
often the people that have themost joyful spirits and the most
outgoing personalities thatstruggle with those things,
which is why I'm trying to be alot more open about it.

(53:29):
There are days when it's reallyhard for me to get out of bed I
don't even know why and thereare days when it's really hard
for me to do what I'm supposedto do as a mom or as any of my
other roles.
But if I, at the end of the day, can lay myself down at the

(53:51):
foot of Jesus, ask him one forforgiveness and ask him to to
just give me a little kick inthe butt that I need, cause we
all need it sometimes, and toremember that at some point in
my life I was praying for thethings that I have now, yeah,
your past season is a currentblessing Past season the current

(54:12):
blessing Exactly, and sometimesGod just does the rest.
I think surrounding yourselfwith people that aren't always
just going to tell you what youwant to hear, but sometimes
definitely tell you what youneed to hear, is a really big
one.
Praying for the hard things isa really big one.

(54:34):
There's been times when someonehas told me, hey, you should
pray for this, and I havestraight up said I do not want
to.
They're like, sometimes theprayers you don't want to pray,
the most important ones, thoseare just.
Those are just some ways that Ithat I do my best to keep Jesus
in the center of all thosethings.
It's so hard, it's so hard, it'sso hard.

(54:56):
This world we live in is likeso hard because we're we're
being thrown things at usconstantly Challenges,
distractions, just all sorts ofthings.
But it's amazing how, when youare chasing after what God wants

(55:17):
for your life and when you aredoing the things that he wants
you to do and he's called you todo, then His voice can be the
loudest and His voice can startdrowning out all those other
distractions.
So I think if you're strugglingwith your walk with Christ, or
if you're struggling withhearing God's voice in your life

(55:37):
and keeping Jesus in the centerof your life.
Pay attention to who you'relistening to, because God's
voice will never leave you.
It will always be the loudest.
It just depends on how muchyou're willing to listen and how
much you're willing to hear.
So, pay attention to what he'stelling you and what he's
sharing with you in this seasonof life, because, even if it's
the hardest season that you'veever faced and you feel the
furthest from God that you'veever been, he's never been far

(55:59):
from you.
In fact, he's right there andhe's so close to you.
It's like we said beforesometimes, if you're asking God
for these opportunities but youcan't say yes, then how is he
supposed to give them to you?
You know.
So if you are, if you'restruggling in your faith and and
you want to be close to Jesus,but you're not, you're not doing
things that pull you closer toJesus, you can't have both, you

(56:25):
know.

Speaker 1 (56:26):
I wish I.

Speaker 2 (56:27):
I wish I had a way to say it in more of a nutshell
way that will suit the grambetter, Cause I know that's what
it's about.
But that's just my honestanswer.
I know I love it.

Speaker 1 (56:35):
It's not about the gram, it's about you know,
whatever, whatever's on yourheart.
No, this is awesome, um, andjust you know to.
To give some people a littleperspective how long have you
been a follower of Jesus, likewhen?
How old were you when you gaveyour life?

Speaker 2 (56:48):
oh, that's a great question.
Um, I'm one of those people whoI don't have one of those
definitive moments that I gavemy love to Christ.
I was blessed in my upbringingto where my parents raised me in
the church and raised mefollowing Jesus.
At some point it became my ownand I would say it was my, if

(57:10):
not when I turned 20, in thatarea I got baptized when I was
19 at Central and that was thefirst time that I remember
making my own decision of faith.
I've always had faith.
I've always believed in Jesusand identified as a Christian.

(57:31):
You know.
But, sometimes it takes.

Speaker 1 (57:33):
that's why baptism school is because it does take a
public declaration and aninternal decision to choose to
dedicate your life to Jesus1,000%, and the reason I like to
ask that question is, you know,following Jesus is a journey
right and some of the thingsthat you may practice now, it
may have taken you the pasteight years right to grow in

(57:54):
that right and I know for me, Ifor me.
I was like 14 when I think Idid a salvation prayer and I got
baptized, actually in March ofthis year, by AJ.

Speaker 2 (58:04):
Yeah, I saw that.

Speaker 1 (58:05):
And so shout out AJ.
But the point of bringing thatup is to the listeners.
It's like, like Chloe said sowell was like don't take some of
these things as discouragement,take it as encouragement.
That you know for me you know Idon't have it all figured out,
but I've been journeying withJesus now seven, almost eight

(58:26):
years and you know Chloe's youknow eight years, even longer
grew up in a family, you knowthat, raised her in the church.
But the point is is these thingsdon't happen overnight, right?
These habits that we implementin our lives to help us get
closer to God, this isn't anovernight thing and throughout
our lives we will get convictedon different things.

(58:46):
God will say, hey, look like,yeah, you did great on this, you
helped transform this part ofyour life, or I helped you
transform this part of your life.
Now let's work on X or this Yand then Z, right?
Whatever the case may be, andthat's my encouragement to the
listeners there, based off Chloejust said, which was awesome.
So the last three questionswould be what's one thing maybe

(59:10):
it doesn't have to be anythingcrazy, but what's one thing some
people don't know about you andwhat your three favorite?
What are your three favoritehobbies, and then what are some
maybe projects or something thatyou've been working on that
people could look forward to inthe future that's fun.

Speaker 2 (59:26):
I feel like I've given a couple snippets of
things that people don't reallyknow about with, like, my past,
um, being in acting and stufflike that.
I'm such a random person thatI'm sure I have a million things
that people don't know about me.
I really really Okay no wait,that's kind of a weird one.

(59:48):
Christian, what's somethingpeople may not know about me?
See, he's laughing Like that'sa funny question for me.
Hold on.
Give me one second no, you'regood, I just have a little
shirtless child right here.
Let's see Something people maynot know about me.

(01:00:10):
Yeah, see, he's bringing up myacting and stuff like that.
Okay, that's a good one.
One thing, that one thingpeople may not know about me is
that I was on um an episode ofdisney with zendaya really uh
and bella thorne, but no oneknows who that is anymore.
Zendaya is the star now yeah umwhen I was 16 I was on an

(01:00:31):
episode of her show shake, shakeit Up, yep.
So that's a really funny one.

Speaker 1 (01:00:34):
That's wild.

Speaker 2 (01:00:39):
What was the next question?

Speaker 1 (01:00:39):
What's like three hobbies?
Like what are your three?

Speaker 2 (01:00:42):
Oh yeah yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:00:43):
What are your three favorite?

Speaker 2 (01:00:44):
Oh, that's fun, because hobbies can also be
things that people don't knowabout me.
Yeah, some of my main hobbiesare running and fitness.
Okay, it's a huge one that ISorry.
Dan, you're the best, you'reliterally the best Running and

(01:01:05):
fitness.

Speaker 1 (01:01:05):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (01:01:08):
It's actually a huge thing that helps me mentally as
well if I find myself in a rut.
Anything you can do to get thatdopamine in check and those
endorphins going, huge help.

Speaker 1 (01:01:21):
Yes, baby.

Speaker 2 (01:01:23):
I am talking to my friend, dan, coach Dan, she just
woke up from her nap.
Another thing, okay, anotherhobby and thing that people
don't know about me is myaffinity for bowling.
When I was a teenager, I was ona bowling team and I won a
tournament.
Hobby and something and thingthat people don't know about me
is my affinity for bowling.
When I was, when I was ateenager, I was on a bowling
team and I won um a tournamentin the midwest, a pepsi
tournament okay like I got somebowling trophies really up in my

(01:01:46):
uh in my attic.
For sure you'll bowl now and Imean just like that's just for
fun, where are going.
We are going to the gym afterthis.
Okay, and Target.
I'm almost done, guys.
I'm almost done with my podcast.
Yeah, you're going to be done,you're good, okay, oh, that's a
good one, I'm here.
Yes, baby, I'm the one too.
Okay, can you give me fiveminutes and then I'll be all

(01:02:08):
done?
No, can you get her a snackwhile she waits for me?
Five minutes, and then you cantake my phone.

Speaker 1 (01:02:19):
Yeah, go ahead, take it, have fun.
Love you.
Sorry about that.
No, you're great, this isawesome, awesome, um, and then
yeah, bowling, bowling, and thenanother one.

Speaker 2 (01:02:30):
Oh, my favorite thing in the world is to travel.
I have, like I have, thebiggest travel bug of anyone you
will ever meet.
As we are standing right now,before it even gets to the month
of August, I have five tripsplanned, so like I will just up
and go at any given time andit's I absolutely love it.
I always have like my suitcasethere like ready, and I get that

(01:02:54):
from my mom.
She is so spontaneous.
Oh, and then, sorry, one lastthing, because it's something I
didn't share, is that I'm halfVietnamese, and that's something
that I absolutely love aboutmyself.
My mom is from Vietnam.
She came here when she to thestates when she was 10 and, um,
that's a huge part of my culturethat I'm really proud of is my

(01:03:14):
Vietnamese heritage.
So my kids are a quarterFilipino, a quarter Vietnamese
and then 50% Caucasian.

Speaker 1 (01:03:21):
Wow, that's so cool.
Love that.
And then, last thing, is thereanything you want to share with
before I pray us out with, likethe?
Maybe a project, a song orsomething that maybe people you
know want to tune into?
Shout out your platformsInstagram, spotify.

Speaker 2 (01:03:38):
You know what?
Not really, dan.
Okay, I'm not really working onanything right now, which is
okay.
That's okay, and it's kind ofwhat I need to do right now.
You're good, but the thingabout being an artist and being
a creative person is that thatcan change, just like that.
So, yes, I am on spotify andall those things.

(01:03:59):
It's all under my name, chloesagum.
Um, listen, no fire.
Yeah, oh, it's so much fun,it's so much fun, but a big part
of my, my music journey is justbeing here to actually support
my brother-in-law's musicjourney.
Have I told you about him atall?
He's like, uh, he's an artist,a music artist.
Um, his name is connor priceyeah, and his brother-in-law

(01:04:23):
yeah, he's married to my sister,wow so a big part of my life.
Yeah, I didn't know therelationship okay yes, so he
lives down the street from meand a lot of what me and my
siblings do is all just to kindof support his music, which is
so fruitful, and he has anincredible platform.

(01:04:44):
He only does clean music becauseof his son and my kids, and
that's something that I reallyrespect and admire about him.
So a lot of what we do musicwise is to to support him, which
is really cool.
But there was also one thing Iwanted to say before, um, before
you pray us out, dan, and thatis that, um, something I wanted

(01:05:07):
to encourage because a part ofmy story and a part of my
testimony that I think I wouldhave shared had I not jumped
around so much mentally earlier.
A big part of my journey is,you know, when you accomplish
things from a young age or whenyou have walked in faith for

(01:05:28):
pretty much your whole life andyou don't really have a
quote-unquote testimony, thatcan be kind of challenging, um,
because it's kind of it justkind of looks and feels like you
have your life all together andyou don't really have your own
story of what people consider astory.

(01:05:48):
Um, that is the, the light atthe end of the tunnel, the, the
big shift of when you got downon your knees and you cried out
to God and he rescued you fromthe dark place.
And if that's you and you'relistening to this and you aren't
sure if you have a testimony oryou've kind of had one of those
lives that you've just alwaysdone, the next thing that you're

(01:06:09):
supposed to do, I want toencourage you that, whatever it
is that God could be testing youwith now or testing you with in
the future, there's a line inone of our Central Life songs
that's God turned this test intoa testimony because you never,
ever know what it is that youcould be going through now or

(01:06:32):
you're going to walk into thatGod's going to use for his glory
, and that could even just besomething like starting over in
an aspect of your life.
This day and age, we look ataccomplishments as winning a
Grammy, doing something crazy,buying a car, becoming a
homeowner.
Sometimes it's those smallvictories, sometimes as small or

(01:06:53):
as big as just starting over,that God can use either in your
life or in someone else's life.
So if you have ever facedanyone at all, that was just
something that just popped uponto my heart, my little heart
right now.

Speaker 1 (01:07:07):
No, that is awesome.
I'm so glad you mentioned thatand I'll just throw this bit in
there, because I say this allthe time to people, because
people are drawn to me and belike man, you must have it so
hard.
I never compare my testimony,my walk, my journey, to anybody
else, because whether you have,you know, battle with depression
, anxiety, you know, maybe othermental illness like mental

(01:07:29):
illness, you know, and notmental health necessarily, but
even mental illness, right,right, and I think just we got
to do a better job and worryabout our walks with Jesus and
not beat ourselves down bycomparing and realize this is a
journey with God and that you'reso significant, just like the

(01:07:50):
other individual, and your lifeis worth fighting for and it is.
You have a calling, you areworthy, you are chosen, you are
loved, right, and I think that'sso important.
And the second that we get tocompare, that's when we start to
then doubt, that's when theenemy will steal our joy and the
enemy will say, like you said,you don't have a testimony, you
don't have these things.

(01:08:10):
So, to all the listeners, whenyou hear me talk, this is just
based on hardships that I'veexperienced, but I'm not by any
means saying that I've beenthrough it all or that I've
experienced everything, becauseI promise we all have our own
testimony, our own battle, andit doesn't mine's just.
You can see it, and you talkedabout your son earlier, right,

(01:08:31):
and his, his disability, right,but that you can't see, but you
can see mine.
So people automatically go, wow, okay, you must have it hard,
but you have no clue because youcan't see other people's
stories.
And so we, as followers ofJesus, need to do a great job of
loving people where they're atand not judging them in their
stories.
And you know, don't compare,compare and do the best with

(01:08:54):
what God's?
giving, and I'm so glad youtouched up on that, because
that's something I'm reallypassionate about.
But, dude, me too.

Speaker 2 (01:09:01):
Absolutely the whole, you people don't?
People only know what's rightin front of them.

Speaker 1 (01:09:06):
They have no idea what's going on behind closed
doors, and that's actually ahuge way that I that, like my
son, has taught me how to kindof reframe how I view people
Cause everyone's a child of God,even the people that give us a
really hard time.

Speaker 2 (01:09:23):
Oh, they are.
They are a child of God.
And when someone flips you offor cuts you off in traffic, when
someone just gives you theabsolute worst customer service
you've ever believed and a Chloein a past life, life man would
go off on them and give themgive them a piece of my mind.
But you know what.
You just never know what burdenthey are bearing and you never

(01:09:48):
know.
So just like, okay, there'sthis really cool um pastor named
julie richard and I looked ather for a lot of parenting
little tidbits and she says thatsomething she's always taught
her children, but it's somethingthat you can as a follower of
Christ.
Practice every day is beforeyou react.

(01:10:08):
You know, wait, wait, waitbefore you can respond or react.
Hold on, give me a second, youthink first and then you respond
.
The human, the human instinctis just to respond and react.
But if you take a second, youstop and you think before you
respond.
Yeah, it's amazing how muchsmarter and more helpful that

(01:10:31):
response can be one thousandpercent, one thousand percent.
Just think about when you're outand about and a stranger gives
you a compliment or has a kindword or something to say to you.
God bless those strangers,because it makes a huge
difference in my life and itinspires me to do the same to
others.
I'm just trying to be a betterperson, dan, that's all I can

(01:10:52):
really do Amen, aren't we all?

Speaker 1 (01:10:53):
Are we good At the end of the?

Speaker 2 (01:10:54):
can really do.
At the end of the day, that istruly all I can offer is just to
try my best to be a good person.

Speaker 1 (01:11:03):
That's awesome.
Well, I just want to thank youagain for hopping on here
sharing some amazing your story.
You know what you do on aday-to-day basis and you're just
an amazing person and I can'twait to see what what duke and
your daughter and the family'sgot in store in the future and
and you got a following from usnow in this group of people to

(01:11:24):
excited to uh see what's instore for you all.
But, um, like I said, thanksagain.
I know you're busy and uh,we'll just pray us out here and
um, give god the glory, let's doit.

Speaker 2 (01:11:35):
Sounds good.

Speaker 1 (01:11:36):
Dear Heavenly Father.
God, we just want to thank youfor this opportunity today.
God, we just thank you forbeing able to you know, talk
about our stories, our journeys,and pray that we just was able
to resonate with maybe just onelistener today.
God, one thing that we said ifthey could maybe change your
heart and mind to ultimatelyfeel better about themselves and

(01:11:57):
who you have created them to be, god, we just thank you for the
things that we've had toexperience so we could learn the
wisdom that you have given usso then, ultimately, we can help
others journey through theircircumstances.
God, god, I pray for all theunspoken prayers and Chloe and
her family and even all thelisteners' lives.
God, god, we know you know ourhearts.

(01:12:18):
We know that, even the thingswe don't say, you know what we
need in this moment and I justpray for all our listeners and
Chloe's family and just liftwhatever burden may be going
upon them and just, lord, thatyou just remind me that they're
loved and you're with them andwe just thank you and praise you
for all the things you havedone, everything you will do and

(01:12:39):
everything you are doing.
In Jesus' name, I pray, amen.

Speaker 2 (01:12:42):
Amen.
Thanks, Coach McCarty.