February 1, 2024 • 49 mins
As we raise a toast to the 25th episode of 'Finding Faith and Losing Sleep' and the dawn of a new year, we can't help but share a chuckle over the one that got away – that elusive extra episode we aimed to fit in last year. Life, with its endless demands, has a way of reshaping our best-laid plans, doesn't it? From the bottom of our hearts, we extend our gratitude to you, the listeners who have made this journey so rich and rewarding. Your engagement reminds us why we sit behind the mic – to foster conversations that not only resonate but also uplift.
This episode is less about resolutions and more about setting a course for continual growth, understanding that even if we fall short, the strides we make are what truly count. We grapple with the challenges of remote work and the isolation that comes with it, pondering how we can still foster meaningful connections in an increasingly digital world. It's a candid exploration of finding the right balance in our fast-paced lives, ensuring we don't just chase productivity but also embrace the restorative power of rest and spiritual prompts.
Diving further into the heart of our dialogue, we tackle the often tricky conversations around religion and the importance of open-mindedness. We recount instances of divine nudges leading to life-affirming interactions, and we navigate the nuances of faith from varied perspectives. Wrapping up, we stress the universal call to action – the simple yet profound joy of doing good in our communities. We're reminded that it's not just about the prayers we offer but the actions we take, echoing the sentiment that regardless of belief systems, we're united in the pursuit of making a positive impact. So here's to mutual prayer, support, and the ever-present promise of another episode just around the corner.
Email: findingfaith.losingsleep@gmail.com
Twitter: @FindingFaithPod
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
It's time to wake up the prey up here on the Finding
Faith and Losing Sleep podcast.
Hey, we are on episode numberone of the year 2024.
It feels like forever here,michelle.
I have.
I said before, at the end of2023, that we were going to
squeeze in another episode, andI guess I'm a lying hypocrite I
try not to be, but it just goesout of our control.
We really wanted to, I reallywanted to.
(00:29):
I guess my desires were farheavier than my actual being
able to do it.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah, I mean, it's tough.
You gotta think we're threeindividuals, we all got
different schedules, different,you know, work things that pop
up, personal things that pop up,and we were hoping to get
another one before the the newyear came in.
This is actually like amilestone for us.
Believe it or not, this will beour 25th episode, which is a
milestone with podcasts.
(00:56):
That's really cool.
So it's the first one of thenew year, so I think that's also
fitting.
So glad to be back in a thanksto all the listeners who have
been patient with us.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
We made it before February.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
That's true, but like by an hour, by an hour.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Yeah, when we post it , we're recording before
February.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
We are, we are and we do want to get out these
episodes.
We try to, but we at the sametime, there is life and stuff.
It's basketball season we gotour kids in basketball.
It's dance season we got kidsin dance.
It's just all kinds of thingsgoing on.
So we appreciate your patiencehere at the Finding Faith and
Losing See podcast with us.
We thank you so much, listeners, for listening to us.
(01:35):
Tuning it in, sharing thepodcast, which has been done
quite often, is what I, what Iunderstand, I, I, I really
appreciate it.
It's flattering, pierre.
It's coming up on Valentine'sDay and I'm flattered right now.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
It is, it's heartwarming.
I know we started this wereally wouldn't wasn't sure who
would all listen to anyone.
We've gotten some it's reallygood interaction.
We've gotten some good feedbackand it's not from like like
family members and stuff that Ikind of would expect, which it's
kind of shocking.
Like I'm kind of fending alittle bit now thinking about it
(02:09):
.
My family isn't leaving, youknow comments and reviews and
stuff along those lines, butwe're we're touching those that
like we don't know.
We got a recent comment came inthis month actually it was from
an MMDGP title was like beingout of informal Bible studies.
So I happened to find thispodcast a few weeks ago,
(02:30):
subscribed and I have been benchlistening to all the episodes.
I love listening to this groupand their layman level
discussions.
I do follow a lot of otherscholarly Bible podcasts by
ordained ministers and otherexperts, ie Robert Jeffress,
pathway to Victory West McAdamsBible Study podcast and Mark
Gunger's Celebration Church andthe Bible Reset podcast.
(02:51):
But this one is like beingaround a table at an informal
Bible study discussion with agroup of friends.
The discussions andspeculations provide a lot of
food for thought and ways oflooking at passages which are
unlikely to be expressed inquite the same way in a more
formal podcast setting.
Kudos to the host for providinginteresting and stimulating
discussions and perspectives.
(03:12):
So it's really cool.
That's a really cool.
I think.
While we all started thispodcast, what we were hoping to
do was hoping that would comeacross through the microphones
that we're speaking through.
So thank you, mmdgp, forleaving such an awesome feedback
.
We truly appreciate youlistening and appreciating
taking the time out of your dayto leave that feedback.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Yes, and, like Pierre and I were discussing, when we
got that, we were just sohumbled because, like he said,
that is the exact reason why westarted.
This is because he and I werehaving conversations and we're
like you know, we can't be theonly people that have these
questions and then, of course,wes, you give such great insight
and like it, just that's.
That's the whole point.
(03:54):
So we're incredibly thankfuland, you know, if we can make
God proud, that's the biggestgoal.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah Well, kind of is .
I'm the Nebuchadnezzar of thispodcast.
I did this to have fame andfortune.
That's the reason why I didthis, and that's fine.
If I lose my gas or no, I'mkidding, I'm kidding, I'm
kidding he did say host, nothosts.
Right, it was plural Okay Well,no, I'm just kidding, I'm giving
(04:23):
everybody a hard time.
It is.
We do appreciate that kind ofcomment and please, you know,
guys, leave a comment if youwant to.
We don't want to peer pressureanybody into doing so.
I don't like to do thatnecessarily.
It does feel a little strangeto be able to do that, but
unless you're my family.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
You're getting peer pressure because this is crazy.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Listen, you don't want my mother to leave a review
.
She swears like a Russiansailor.
Okay, that's what you want.
The honest truth, or not?
Here on the Finding Faith andlosing sleep podcast?
Listen, we do appreciate that,though.
Leave a review if you can.
Leave, like, hit the starsaround if you can.
You know just whatever kind ofreviews, ratings or anything you
could do, it always helps thepodcast.
(05:00):
Get the algorithms up and getit out there.
You notice that we don't putcommercials on this.
It hasn't reached that levelyet.
In peer I have talked about thatand I know he's talked with
Michelle about that.
We're not after it for money.
We're not after it for fame oranything.
We're here to encourage peopleand to be encouraged ourselves,
and let me tell you, those kindof comments, those kind of
reviews, really do encourage ustremendously.
(05:22):
Pierre shared that with me, Ithink, last year, sometime just
right before Christmas or rightafter Christmas, and I was like,
wow, that is something younever think, that you do
something.
We are not theologians here onthis podcast.
We are normal, average,everyday people.
I am far from having any kindof theological degree.
All I did was get a degree fromthe school of hard knocks that
(05:44):
I still pay for every once in awhile.
Right, I get a bill in the mail, because I do end up going
through life circumstances notonly with Pierre and Michelle,
but also just with you guys aswell.
So we do appreciate that and,michelle, pierre, I do
appreciate you opening theopportunity for us to be able to
talk about these things here onthis podcast.
Pierre, if they did want to getin touch with the show, how do
they do that?
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yeah, so you can email us at
findingfafelosingsleepgmailcom.
You can also find us over onTwitter slash X at
findingfafepot, so two platformsthere.
You can also find us in thecomments.
You can leave comments like ourother listener there and we can
read them off on the air andtouch base.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Or not, or not, they could be anonymous, right?
If you don't want it to be read, we don't have to read it, we
don't have to give you a shoutout.
But if you'd like to just saysomething nice, that's fine.
Address it to me specifically,if you don't mind that, one of
the things that I always do atthe beginning of the year.
I'm not a big resolution guy,but I just want to try harder.
(06:45):
But to me, that resolutioncould be done any time of the
year, all the time.
Today is Wednesday, we'rerecording on Wednesday, and so
you know what I want to doTomorrow.
I want to do better than I didtoday.
So I think that's whatresolutions are like, is that
you just want to do better thanwhat you're doing.
You want to set goals foryourself, no matter how high, no
(07:06):
matter how lofty.
You just want to get into lifeand do it a little better than
what you did it before.
I don't reckon that I ever seta resolution to do worse than
what I'm doing right now.
You know like I just I neverwanted to go backwards.
Did I get resolutions right onthat?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I think so.
I mean, you've identifiedusually an area in your life
that you feel like you're comingup short in.
Oftentimes, I know it's likewait, you know that's a big one.
To start the year.
Folks wanna lose weight or justsometimes, in general, just be
more healthy, get more healthy,live a healthier lifestyle.
And the whole point is toreally focus and lock in and
(07:51):
work on achieving whatever goalsyou set out for yourself.
And, as you mentioned, yeah, Idon't recall anyone saying you
know, I just kinda wanna beworse.
You know this year I wanna getworse at this, I wanna be bad at
this.
That's not the thought process.
You're not identifyingsomething good and trying to
tarnish it.
You're trying to improveyourself within your life in one
(08:13):
way or another.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Yeah, you definitely don't ever say, hey, I think I
need to lower the standard alittle bit.
For me, you know, I'm justtrying hey, which you know.
But that could be a realisticgoal really if you think about
it, that you don't need to betoo hard on yourself if you
don't get to reach all thosegoals that you set.
But for me, like, I have to setthe bar pretty high for myself
and then I go for it and it'skinda like you aim for the moon
(08:37):
and if you hit a star you dookay, michelle, that's kinda how
I always think of things.
Whenever I try to do that, Iusually try to bite off more
than I can handle, but it seemsto end up okay because I did a
lot better than I thought Icould.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Well, I think it's baby steps, right, like just
putting one foot in front of theother, and if you don't hit
your goal, then maybe you justreassess.
But, like you said, you don'twanna just necessarily go
backwards.
Like I think that's kind of thenature, our human nature and
sin, right, so we're all sinners, we're gonna make mistakes.
(09:14):
So you just have to reassess,refocus and repent and start
back again.
So same thing with goals, ourpersonal goals and those sorts
of things.
Like you just have to reassessand restart, repent if you need
to, for something along thoselines.
But yeah, I think you're right,wes.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Sure, I think you do, and one of the things I always
try to do and I'm very active atmy job.
My job is a very likephysically demanding job.
I deliver bread for a living,kind of similarly to Jesus.
You know that, maybe not on thesame plane, but I do it and I
also think about these things,maybe not Well, I don't think I
(09:56):
heard you.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
I'm gonna have to wait for after the podcast
whenever it gets releasedactually no, maybe not there's
no, maybe not going the sameplace, because you are not.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
I just mean I take.
I not only take bread to placesfor a living, but I also try to
be a minister in those places.
Do you know what I mean?
Like I don't want to leave theplace empty handed or not
thinking about maybe spiritualthings.
I don't want to leave themworse off than what I entered
the building in.
You know what I mean.
Like I try to enter thebuilding like I am being
(10:26):
somebody that is delivering morethan just physical bread.
I'm also trying to deliver thebread of life at the same time.
You're too bad.
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Yeah, for sure you have that ability because you're
like out and I'm guessingyou're interacting with people
and things on those lines whichwe used to be able to do.
But we currently both work fromhome now and it's a little
tougher because you don't getthe face to face interactions.
You're chatting, you'reemailing, You'll use some
(10:58):
platforms to have someconversations, like Skype, like
Teams, Zoom, things on thoselines to have conversations, but
at least for me conversationshaven't been the same Like
through a computer, through amicrophone.
Then they are being able toactually interact with people
face to face.
So it's gotten a little tougherto kind of deliver when it
(11:21):
comes to the spiritual side ofthings.
But it's a work in progress.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
That's for sure.
I can only imagine because insocial media world you lose the
tone of people's voices and I'msure if you're doing it remotely
, maybe via a computer or maybeon the phone, having to do those
things on a teleconference callor something like that I can
imagine that you just can't seethe facial expressions, you
(11:47):
can't hear everything properly.
That has to be tough, and thenyou don't get to build up those
relationships with people eitherlike you could if you did see
them face to face or in theworkplace.
Pierre, if you had to workremotely, you may never have
married Michelle.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
It's possible.
You're right.
We met at work face to face.
I know we talked about her alot, like him, so maybe I would
have had a leg up.
Honestly, to start, it wouldn'thave been as difficult.
But yeah, you're possibly rightthere.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Now without having a father like I did not have.
Whenever I was growing up, Ireally didn't have a dad or
anything.
So I never learned, like Iwon't say really strong work
ethic, because my mother did agreat job doing that.
But you know, I never went outthere and worked in the yard
with my dad.
I never went out there andworked on the house with my dad
and I never learned those kindof traits from somebody and I
(12:38):
never had anybody really showthat to me.
So I've had to learn thosethings on my own and the job
that I have is a physical job.
Delivering bread is a physicaljob and I have to think of ways
to be able to do things, maybe alittle bit differently than
other people, because it alljust clicks in my head a little
bit differently than maybe itclicks in other people's heads
on how to do things.
And so I go to my heavenlyfather and I look in the Bible
(12:59):
for different avenues of how tolearn what God is trying to tell
me, right, I try to do that.
For instance, it's a lot ofdoing physical labor with my
hands.
Okay, I'm always moving with myhands.
I'm always moving with my legs.
I'm always walking real fast,I'm always doing stuff at a high
rate of speed.
Okay, that's just me, and ifyou can't tell that, by the way,
(13:20):
I talk sometimes.
But one of the things that Iread one time and it just stuck
out to me that it was gonna helpme a lot on my bread route, and
it clicked one day that whatJesus says in Matthew, chapter
six, verse three and I'm totallytaking this verse out of
context, totally taking it outof context, but it helps me out
a lot okay, he says, let's see,let's see, I gotta pull my
(13:40):
glasses, but when you give alms,do not let your left hand or
what your right hand is doing.
So I spent a lot of time in thisbread truck driving around by
myself and I heard that maybeaudibly, and or I read it out
loud to myself and I wasliterally going over the Bible
verses and stuff and justthinking about things and it
just clicked hey, why does oneof your hands have to sit idle
(14:02):
while the other hand doessomething?
Can you not keep busy with bothhands next time you go into a
store and I tried to do stufflike that or while I'm walking,
I try to not allow my legs todictate what my hands are doing,
like while I'm walking out tothe truck and stuff I'm mashing
on my computer trying to get aticket done, or while I'm
working on my right hand side Imight be fiddling with something
(14:24):
on my left hand side.
I'm just applying these kind ofbiblical principles to my
workplace totally out of context.
I don't know that that's whatJesus necessarily meant, but
that's how I translated into mylife.
I don't know if that makes anysense to you guys.
I don't know if you guys haveBible verses like that either,
where you just like it clicksfor a different reason than what
it looks like it was actuallyintended to do in the Bible.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
But not that one for sure.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
It works for me.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
That's fine.
That's fine if that works.
I think I just maybe take it tothe literal sense of basically
not knowing or not caring aboutwhat you're supporting people
with.
So if you're like giving money,like basically not thinking
about what you're giving, kindof being just open and giving
(15:14):
freely, is kind of how I take it.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Sure, that's what it means.
Yes, but I mean, I got adifferent interpretation too
than that one.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I mean, I just say that, I just go to the literal
sense.
I know one that I struggle with, and I definitely struggle with
it probably most at work is theslow to speak.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
I thought you were gonna say love your neighbor.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Which is crazy, because I don't really like
talking honestly.
I believe it or not, I'm notone that likes to communicate
True story.
But the place of employment.
I'm very appreciative of them.
I've been there for 17 years Ithink now, but there's so many
decisions that take place that Idisagree with that.
(16:01):
It's hard to keep quiet and Ioften feel like I have to be
like an advocate for coworkers,for those that report up to me,
et cetera.
And the slow to speak is justreally difficult and I'm like is
that a literal be slow to speak?
Should I really have to listento some of the nonsense that
(16:25):
comes down or that'scommunicated?
And I think it's true.
I often get myself in a bit ofhot water when I'm really quick
to respond, and I don't do thatat home, Like Michelle would
tell you.
I like to walk away and kind ofget my thoughts and think before
(16:45):
I react, and I can't do that atwork for some reason, like it.
It just grinds my gears to thepoint where I just feel like I
have to respond.
I have to be the advocate forfolks that aren't even asking me
to be an advocate at times justto get my point across, and I
really struggle with that verse.
I wouldn't say I get angry, butI mean thinking about now it
(17:11):
could be anger that bleeds intothat as well, which is the other
.
You know, be slow to slow toanger is a part of that verse as
well, and, James, so it's.
It's really tough.
That's a, that's a difficultone for me in the workplace and
one that's hard to mean it rightnow.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
See, that's really funny about that is I am not
slow to speak, pierre will tellyou that but ironically, being
working from home now hasactually helped me with that and
I think some of that in someways is because I'm not in the
middle of all of the quoteunquote drama all of the time.
(17:47):
So I'm not feeling, you know,I'm not feeding off of other
people's feelings and emotionson those sorts of things.
So typically the things that docome to me are a big deal or,
you know, I'm hearing them forthe first time versus the 50th
time, and I'm not sitting inthat.
So it's helped me for that.
(18:08):
But the downside of it is whatwe talked about in the beginning
is being from working from home.
I'm not.
I don't have that downtime withpeople where you're hearing
about their personal lives andyou can help minister to them.
And I actually my my oldestsister helped me to recognize
this.
We were having dinner when shewas visiting and it really
(18:32):
helped me to realize that someof the struggles I'm dealing
with personally are because I'mnot on site anymore and feeling
very isolated and I feel lessthan so.
Not only do I not have thosepeople in my life like they're
(18:53):
still in my life, but I don'thave them daily like to to
bounce things off of and to justhave those conversations.
But also I don't feel like I'mreally helping people.
So, you know, being able tominister to others and so this
really helps, like for Pierreand I to be able to talk about
(19:14):
things and to talk with you know, get your perspectives on
things, why?
So you know it's it's reallyhelped me, so I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Well, Pierre, we started off the year with a
banger.
We got Michelle to cry already.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I was close, but I did not.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
I like it when you cry, michelle, I, I, I, I.
It's one of my goals at thebeginning of every episode.
No, but that, that that speaksto how your heart is.
And I love what you said aboutnot being able to be around
people and you really kind ofwonder to me.
I wonder is this isolation doneon purpose, not necessarily by
your bosses or by your companyor anything like that, where we
(19:53):
work remotely from home?
But you think about thepsychological warfare that
happened whenever all that wholeCOVID stuff ended up happening
and everybody was locked in andsecluded.
Not only did it happen like inmy neck of the woods, but it
happened all over the country,it happened all over the world.
And I just think about how, youknow, satan is our enemy and
what's one of the things that hewould love to be able to do?
(20:14):
He'd love to be able toseparate us.
He'd love to be able to takeour power that we have together
as a community, as a family ofChristians, as affecting the
world.
You don't get to affect theworld nearly as much whenever
you're isolated from people, andI have seen so many different
studies that come my way whereyou see the effects of having
that isolation, that lonelinessand, michelle, I heard it in
(20:36):
your voice whenever you weretalking about that, but it was
whatever.
I think everybody felt well,except for people that started
podcasts.
They felt, they felt one ofthem, but you know, it was one
of those things.
It's really hard, not only onadults, but just think of how
hard that is on children.
Now I remember during that timewe didn't know what to do right
(20:57):
, and I wasn't a big advocate offollowing every single policy
or anything like that.
I tried to follow policies aswell as common sense, probably
like a majority of people did,but it was a little iffy just to
even allow my kids to gooutside and play with other kids
.
All right, first, you know whatI mean.
It was just a little iffy andit's just really strange.
(21:17):
It was really hardpsychologically on everybody and
I think we're still seeing someof those side effects today.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Well, absolutely.
I mean, you saw it in the Bibleto open it up like Adam was
isolated.
Yeah, you know God left him,but you know God saw the
situation.
He's like OK, let's, let's gethim a mate, let's get him a
partner, you know, to pick himup when he falls down and vice
versa.
And that's that's the issue ofisolation is folks, do you start
(21:46):
to to feel alone.
And I think feeling ofloneliness really just takes
people to a dark place.
And even if they're not in adark place, they get so caught
up in that isolation that theydon't want to interact with
others.
They don't want to, you know,perhaps let their guard down and
open up.
And, like you say, I thinkthat's kind of where the devil
(22:10):
himself can find a stronghold ofall of us.
You look at what the Bible saysabout where you know two or
more gathered in my name, youknow God's there.
If you're in isolation, there'sno two or more with you in that
situation, it's just you byyourself.
And it's even gotten worse.
I feel like what the phones andsocial media like we talked
about.
The folks are just constantlyface down on their phones, not
(22:34):
interacting with those aroundthem and just just seeing the
impatience and things on thoselines and kind of having a
little insight myself into howpeople act when their phones
stop working.
It's chaos, man, and that'skind of what isolation has done.
Makes yourself worth tank.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
I can tell you that yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
If your phone doesn't work, or isolation oh, no
isolation.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
Happens to me.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
My phone doesn't work too, and my self-worth is just
like tanking.
I'm thinking.
It's kind of the opposite,though, of what biblical stuff
was in like second Thessalonians.
We're talking about isolationand not doing things, and I
guess that's what Paul waswriting about in second
Thessalonians as well.
But you had people going aroundbeing busy bodies at that time,
(23:23):
which you know.
You're not really doing much ofanything but being a busy body,
making yourself look likeyou're always busy but never
really accomplishing much, kindof like a car tire or a car
stuck in the mud, or somethingwhere your tire just goes around
in one place, looks like you'rebusy but you ain't going
nowhere, right?
And he says let's see.
I guess in verse 10 there,second Thessalonians, chapter 3,
(23:46):
for even when we were with you,we used to give you this order
If anyone will not work, neitherlet them eat, for we hear that
some among you are leading anundisciplined life, doing no
work at all but acting like busybodies.
Now, such persons, we commandand exhort, in the Lord Jesus
Christ, to work quiet.
Oh, hold on.
Let me read 12 again.
Now, such persons I wrote downall kinds of little notes around
(24:09):
verse 12, and it makes itreally hard to read no such
person.
We command and exhort, in theLord Jesus Christ, to work in
quiet fashion and eat their ownbread.
So he's encouraging people totake those busy bodies off to
the side by themselves and justencourage them to work, instead
of kind of leaning on otherpeople to get all the stuff done
(24:31):
and leaning on people to feedthem and stuff like that,
because maybe they were justbusy bodies right.
And I think that may takeeffect today too, where we might
find some people in our livesthat aren't busy bodies but are
just not doing much of anything,but being locked up in a house
or being cooped up.
Maybe they don't get out much.
(24:52):
Maybe it's up to us to do whatPaul says here and kind of put
it in the 20th century.
If we're in the 20th centuryI've always get confused on
what's going through we're in.
But maybe it's up to us to beable to reach out to them and
include them in our lives or inother things, just to get them
in a pattern of doing stuff, toworking, to finding some kind of
(25:13):
spiritual food out there tofill them up and sustain them.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Well, I think it's double-sided, and so the reason
I say that is, yes, you don'twant anyone to be in isolation,
you want them to be out, to beactive, to be engaging with
other, like human beings.
But on the flip side, we hadour last episode before this and
we discussed hurry and thefunnier, I guess, irony about
(25:41):
that that was one of ourshortest episodes because we
were in a hurry as we were goingover it, because we all had
things to do, and I think that'ssomething to be cautious of.
Yes, you have busy bodies, butis it production or are you just
in a hurry to do so much?
And sometimes being away fromthat hurry is exactly what you
(26:07):
need, and that doesn'tnecessarily mean isolation, but
sometimes just not being in ahurry and taking time out to be
in peace helps you to find moretime for God, to find more time
for yourself, which I think iswhat our culture really
struggles with these days.
(26:28):
Everyone's in a hurry.
We talked about it the phone'sjust a second ago, with how
everything's so instant.
And again, if you're inisolation, you're in a hurry.
It's great to involve someoneor ask them to be involved, but
you also don't want to drag theminto your hecticness, so it's a
worry, maybe causing them to bein, you know, stressful type of
(26:50):
situations that they wouldn'thave been in when they were
isolated by themselves.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
True, there's a definitely a balance, michelle,
that you got to meet in yourlife of being too busy or not
being too.
I know you talked last episodeabout feeling guilty if you're
not doing anything, and I don'tthink that we have to feel
guilty if we rest or anythinglike that.
But you know you ask yourselfthat I do enough, that I do
enough today, that I do enoughfor Somebody else today, and I
(27:18):
think that's where we can get alot of fulfillment is by doing
things for others, and willalways be fulfilled.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
I think you're right, because I mean the answer to Do
I still feel guilty when I'mnot doing something Absolutely.
Am I not getting enough rest?
No, I'm not.
But I think you said somethingreally Important right there,
west, like I think I'm focusingMaybe too much on what I'm not
(27:44):
doing or what I need to doversus what I need to do for
others.
So maybe instead of Thinking ofthe 50 things that have already
waited a month right, or a yearor whatever, that I can think
of at least one person that Ineed to reach out to to just say
, hey, how you doing today, youknow if they cross my mind and I
(28:06):
need to do better about thatand be more intentional, and
then maybe some of my self-worthcomes back and then I can
tackle those things that youknow I've been struggling with.
So I think that was reallyimportant and I thank you for
that, west.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
I'll have to listen back to what I said, because a
lot of times I speak withoutthinking yeah, we've talked a
lot before and past episodes andlisten.
Those episodes, I want to say,are a little organic, where you
can get a lot of value out of me, can binge, listen to them,
like that guy did BDM, d, pbrq,whatever his name was maybe it
was a woman West.
Oh, that's true.
(28:42):
That's true.
Blew my mind there, michelle,but the the I forgot the point
of what I was going to say.
It was going to be so muchbetter than anything I'd said
all show to binge.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
Listening is what you said.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Yeah, well, we talked about a lot.
Oh yeah, I got a guy.
We talked.
We talked a lot before abouthow, like that, the Holy Spirit
talks to you, how does the HolySpirit work in you.
And I know I've said, you know,in the story before about being
up in the room and I hearsomebody said I hear I hear a
Voice say don't go playbasketball.
You have to go back and findthat episode.
I don't know what episode itwas asked me or what episode it
was.
He could tell you.
But you know and I wanted tomake sure people did understood
(29:19):
that I wasn't like hearing thisvoice.
But I, I Heard a voice.
You know I didn't.
It wasn't an audible voice, itwas just something inside of my
spirit that was stirring, thattold me not to go play
basketball.
Then I had a conversation witha young lady about something and
she had to be baptized at night.
Just wonderful, I'm awesome,awesome.
You know I heard the spirit.
That's what I want to say.
I heard the spirit.
I listened to the little, stillsmall voice that was inside of
(29:40):
me.
Mm-hmm and you mentioned beingtalking or reaching out to
somebody whenever they crossyour mind.
Mm-hmm, right, you, you ever dothat?
You just have this randomthought about somebody that
maybe you haven't talked to inyears.
Just a random thought out ofthe blue, guess what.
Guess what.
(30:01):
My theory is that's the HolySpirit, yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
I'm telling you what my best friend and for years,
almost as many years as I'veknown her, that least that she
shared with me probably herwhole life God speaks to her in
special ways and Like it'salmost always through her dreams
.
So If she dreams about someone,she always reaches out to them
(30:27):
and I'm telling you like it Ican't even count how many times.
Nearly every time it'ssomething Significant has
happened.
So if she tells me she'sdreamed about me, I'm always
like, oh, but I mean it's, it'sreally incredible, like how he
speaks to her and uses her.
So I firmly believe that, youknow, the Holy Spirit does speak
(30:48):
to us like that and it's justup to us to recognize it and to
listen to how the Holy Spiritspeaks to us.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
And that goes back to what you were saying, pierre.
We've got to be quiet enough tobe able to hear something like
that.
You know, it doesn't alwayshappen and and you may want it
to happen, it just can't happen.
You can't force something likethat.
But I'll say this if, if athought crosses your mind, it
may be hey, I need to go toWalmart after work.
Go to Walmart after work andsee what happens, right and and
(31:18):
keep a log on those things.
See, see what happens.
If you go there, do you meetanybody?
There's something strangehappened, but for the full of
the furtherness of God's kingdom, that did, did somebody cross
your mind and and you felt likeyou needed to give them a call
or send them a text or something.
Keep a log of it and just seewhat happens.
And that's the exciting stuff.
(31:39):
Everybody, if you, if you don'tdo that stuff, christendom if I,
that's a word Christendom canget boring.
You can get lax, you can getlazy.
You can, you can not, you canfeel like I don't even know I'm
a Christian.
Well, it's because you're notlistening, you're not acting,
you're not being spurred on bythe spirit.
Maybe that's what's going on.
(32:00):
So, keep a diary, keep a keepsomething I keep.
I keep little notes in my myBible that people have written
me over the years, and wheneverI forget about some of these
things, I just go to the frontof my Bible.
I pick out one of these thingsand I read it and I look at it
and I'm like, oh, that's why youdo this.
Well, that's why, that's whyyou you look foolish to some
people, because some people needyou to look foolish.
(32:22):
Right, that's why you open upyour mouth and put yourself in
strange situations.
Because some people need you todo that, west, that's you.
You do that stuff because youdon't understand the severity of
the situation that's going onin that person's life.
So that's why you do it, west.
And yes, I talked to myself inthe third person quite often.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
And so we mentioned being still and listening for
the, the Holy Spirit.
I think Just listening toothers is also just very
impactful.
I know Michelle Bensonperspectives earlier and I think
that's key in the workplacealso.
I got folks in Canada.
(33:03):
I got folks in the US that Iinteract with.
A lot of those in Canada arehonestly not from Canada
themselves.
They're from, you know,elsewhere and they have
different.
You know beliefs and you stillgot to hear them out, especially
if you're wanting to, to have aconversation and open up some
(33:23):
dialogue on you know, your faithversus their faith.
Inserting situations and I thinkit was Matthew seven has that
that common that you usuallyhear.
You know, treat people the wayyou want to be treated.
That's how I've always heard it.
Matthew seven twelve says do toothers whatever you would like
them to do to you, which is kindof that same concept.
And with that, you know, Ithink being willing to listen to
(33:46):
others perspectives is what Iwould like folks to do with me.
I know we've had situations with, like the kneeling Colin
Kaepernick back in the day whenhe took a knee.
Like I had different opinionsand a lot of people because I've
I've dealt with differentthings you know in my life.
You know, I've I've watched,like atheists.
So I'm just curious, like whatit thought process is and some
(34:12):
of the things they think is isinteresting.
I think it was.
Ricky Gervais is a popularcelebrity and his, his thought
process was that you're born anatheist and you have to be
taught, you know, basically tobelieve in God, which I I could
sense that to some extent.
But I also have had situationswhere you're not, you're not
(34:36):
taught God like you found him onyour own.
What certain people like theydidn't go to church, you know,
and get taught God.
They weren't raised, you know,by Christian parents and they
still found God.
So I kind of feel like he's alittle off when it comes to that
.
But I still, I'm stillintrigued, I still want to hear
different sides of things.
(34:59):
When it comes to that, it's Idon't know, it's tough to think
about.
So I know, like with atheism,like they don't, they don't ever
explain like where they'recoming from.
I feel when listening likemorality, they don't have an
explanation.
They basically just want totell you why you're wrong, but
they can't really explain whythey're right.
And I think that's where theperspectives come from, as you
(35:21):
got to be willing to sit downand hear out both sides.
One of the good questions Iheard someone asked was are you
tolerable?
Before they open up aconversation on religion, before
they open up a conversation onsomething they're going to
disagree with, it's just to askthat person Are you a tolerable
person?
And if they answer yes, thenyou can continue with that
(35:43):
conversation and then point outthe fact you said you were a
tolerable person, so you shouldbe able to tolerate my opinion.
In return, I'll tolerate youropinion and I think that is a
good baseline to kind of open upon perspectives for things that
we don't agree with and help usto again be, be slow, be slow
(36:03):
to talk and you know, reallyjust listen and hone in on where
other people are coming fromand and being able to retort to
that.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Yeah, I remember a Bible study I was at one time
and I was teaching and it was Idon't it was, it was fine is
with a two, two differentcouples and I was teaching where
I think I was in firstCorinthians and and our second
Corinthians, and I was just, wejust work, walking our way
through the Bible, answered somequestions that they had and so
(36:32):
I was going through there andthe people who invited me man,
they were, they were listening.
They weren't intent on listening, this one, that the lady in the
other couple.
So there's two couples.
So the man, the one lady, gotup and she left and I watched
her leave.
I was like, well, she reallygot to go to the bathroom
because she left in a hurry,right, that's why I was like it
(36:54):
and the guy would check daughter, and like a couple of minutes,
and he went.
He just went back theresomewhere, I don't know where
they went, and he came back outand she came out a minute later
and they stopped me and theysaid listen, I hear you talking,
I hear you teaching, but youobviously have the gift of
(37:16):
teaching, but you're telling usthings that that aren't
necessarily what we've alwaysthought.
And my mother is a prophetessand she, she would hate this
right now and I can't keeplistening to this.
And I was listening to thisgirl telling me this and I and I
I went well, okay, so what,what again?
What, what's what?
What am I doing wrong?
She said, well, you, you havethe gift of teaching and I was
(37:39):
going well, if I have to get theteaching that, why aren't you
listening?
You know what, what?
Where's the gift thing comeinto play if you're saying that
I have this gift of this and andyour mother's a prophet it was.
It was just a really strangeoccurrence to me, but I had an
open mind and I listened to themand I appreciated them
listening to me and inviting meover to their house.
We left on, I guess, good terms.
(38:00):
I don't know.
I never got another phone callto come back over there, but it
was.
It was a strange thing to wherewe're just not always going to
be able to agree on everythingbut at the same time, here we do
have to keep an open mind likethat to be able to hear what
they're saying and hear what I'msaying, and it is one of those
things.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
If we can't talk about religion, if we can't talk
about politics, I don't know,maybe a couple of things that
are bigger than those things totalk about, you know yeah, I
mean, it's true, and you usuallyfind that situation where
someone's like a constantinterrupt and when you you have
(38:36):
some of the interrupts to me,that's just them not not being
tolerable of anything but theiropinion.
And so in workplaces, if I comeacross that situation where you
know I'm coaching someone or ortrying to train someone and
they're just constantlyinterrupting and they don't want
to learn, and so I kind of justI shut them off at that point
(39:01):
like I'll still be polite, I'llstill be professional, but you
basically just prove to me thatyou, you only care about your,
your own opinions.
And I feel like you, you gottabe willing to again listen and
take in the other perspective.
Again, you may not agree, theymay not agree with the, the way
you were teaching, even thoughthey felt like you had the gift
(39:21):
of teaching, but for them tostill sit through and let you
finish, I mean that's, that'simportant, that's respectful,
and I feel like we need to dothat really as a society,
whether we're talking faith,whether we're talking politics,
whether we're talking sports,which is something I can talk
all day but he's got to be ableto take in other accounts of
perspectives and be respectfulto those situation is he low key
(39:44):
saying that?
Speaker 1 (39:45):
I interrupt him all the time?
Michelle is that?
Speaker 3 (39:47):
what's saying hi key, that I do all the time.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
I hear your clucking, pier, I hear your clucking
chicken.
Speaker 3 (39:55):
Here's what happens when here and I have a
conversation.
He will say things.
He'll seem like he's stopping,so I'll start to talk and they
say I can't finish my sentence.
I'm like I thought you weredone, and then it starts to pull
a thing.
So no West, you do great look,look, look, look you guys.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
I am telling you I can play the same recording from
here at my house of what mywife tells me.
It is crazy how oppositesattract, you know.
I mean it is just crazy howthat happens.
I'll be sitting there listeningto my wife and I really think I
I do damage in our relationshipwith my wife.
I'm sure I do, but I mean I tryto figure out ways to be able
to do better.
I listen to podcasts on likeone point, one point six speed
(40:37):
or one point eight speed.
I don't ever listen to them onone speed.
You know what I mean?
Like I listen to them reallyfast and so if there's and it
sounds normal to me so thenwhenever I have to listen,
whenever I get a chance tolisten to my wife talk, it
sounds like it's going and I'mlike, oh, that's my fault, I
can't listen to podcast thatfast anymore.
(40:59):
She has to learn to talk faster.
Speaker 3 (41:01):
I don't know which one hey, but you can't listen to
ours on a faster speed West,because when we do, yours is
really fast.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
I think I sound normal.
Speaker 3 (41:12):
You probably sound like one of the chip months I
think we were playing at onetime here.
Had it turned up, I was likewhat is going on?
Why does this sound so funny?
I didn't know.
He added on a higher speed.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
I think I sound so much smarter at one point, eight
speed to do, because I thinkI'm like, hey, back to it, back
to make it an impact in thisworld for Christendom, making a
make.
Just, you know, trying tolisten to that spirit, trying to
be led by the spirit, trying todo things.
I'm going to take another verseout of context.
Beer, you don't have to tell mewhat this actually means.
(41:51):
Okay, I'm telling everybodyright now I'm taking this
completely out of context andI'm going to apply it to what I
want to apply it to, but I don'tthink I'm doing evil.
Okay, as long as I telleverybody that I'm taking out of
context.
And you know, you can applythese things in different ways a
little bit, but don't do it foryour own sordid game.
But this spurs me on to do agood work.
In Proverbs, chapter 6.
It talks about the ant.
Right, go to the ant, oh,slugger, to observe her ways and
(42:13):
be wise.
Which, having no chief officeror ruler, prepares her food in
the summer and gathers herprovisions in the harvest.
It, the ant, doesn't haveanybody telling it what to do,
it doesn't have anybody given itorders, doesn't have a boss
over it's.
You know, standing over it allthe time going come on, work,
work, work, work, work.
That's the same thing for, likeme, a small business owner who
(42:33):
works for myself, I have to tellmyself that I have to be
spurred on myself.
I have to dig in every once ina while and just tell myself you
got to get this done, man,stuff like that.
And ant does the same way.
You can learn those lessonsfrom the ant, but for a
Christian it's the same way.
Nobody's gonna be.
Pastors can encourage you, abuddy can encourage you.
You can listen to a podcast toencourage you to get out there
(42:56):
and make an impact in this world, but really that ultimately has
to become from you somewhere towant that excitement, to want
that zeal to, to, to want to goout there and just live that
exciting Christian life insteadof you know if that's what you
want to do now?
Look, there's people who maynot want to do that because they
just can't.
They don't feel like they'reled, they want to work behind
(43:16):
the scenes and that's absolutelycool, but it's still getting
behind the scenes, being led bythe spirit to do things and to
see that impact that you make insomebody else's life by doing
things that aren't out there inthe public eye, or doing things
like that.
I think of things one way,because I think that's where my
talent lies I'll get out thereand I'll take a ditch too.
It doesn't matter to me, it'sjust, it's a matter of going out
(43:39):
there and doing something right.
And the writer of Proverbs goeson.
He says how long will you liedown?
Oh, sluggered, when will youarise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little somber, a little folding of hands to
rest, and your poverty will comelike a vagabond and and your
your need, like an armed man.
We can get lazy, we can becomea sluggered and we can get in
(44:04):
those habits and those routinesthat make us ineffective in any
kind of walk of life.
I know I always talk about beinga Christian.
I always talk about doing thatout there and making an impact
in the world for God.
It impacted the world forChrist, but it's just making
people's lives better.
You know it doesn't.
You don't have to do it in thename of God if you don't believe
(44:25):
in that kind of thing, if youdon't believe in that, you don't
have to do that for that reason.
Do it for your neighbor'sreason, do it for that
struggling person that's outthere.
Do it for their reason.
Don't do it for you to belifted up.
Do it for the other person allthe time.
And if we don't get in thehabit of doing those things, we
get in the habit of maybe notdoing it and having idle hands,
(44:48):
becoming a sluggered, and Ithink the Bible always teaches
us to keep trying to work.
That doesn't mean not restingwhen it's time to rest, just
means being at work, you know.
Speaker 2 (45:01):
Yeah, I think it's a bit caution or just self
motivation, and it's sometimeslike that selfishness can be the
benefits of others.
So even take this like podcast.
So it would have been a loteasier to just talk about doing
this podcast one day than thenactually doing it.
And just, you know, instead ofwaiting for you know perfect
(45:25):
timing, waiting for us to havemore wisdom, more knowledge, now
just go out and do it and seeif it helps someone.
And that's the same in you know, everyday life.
You feel a tug, or you know,you're just feel like you can
help someone in some way.
Just go help and you're goingto feel better yourself, even if
they don't appreciate the help.
You still feel better fromserving or for assisting.
(45:48):
And so I just encourageeveryone to just kind of take
that jump.
That has to be big, like youcan dream, small, as one of the
songs you know don't buy a lie,you got to do it all.
Just let Jesus use you whereyou are.
And I think that's reallyimportant.
You know, in our own communities, our own neighborhoods,
sometimes under our own roof,there are ways that we can make
(46:09):
a difference by just actingversus thinking about it.
You know, sometimes thinkingabout it enough, you got to go
into action.
Same thing on Sundays.
Yeah, you can go to church, youknow, on Sundays.
But if you don't take anythingand put it into action, then
you're not really making adifference, regardless of how
often you go to church, you sendit.
All right, that's the episode.
Speaker 1 (46:31):
That's it.
Is this a new record for howlong we've gone, is it?
No, it's pretty short, it'spretty short, no.
Michelle, it's amazing how Godbrought us all together, Three
different kinds of personalities, and we all get together and
talk about things, and we dohope that it hits the listeners
(46:52):
ears in a very pleasant way.
We hope it does stir you up tolove and good works, just like
getting around other people.
And we do appreciate thecomments that were left.
We hope to have that kind ofatmosphere where we are sitting
around a table just talkingabout things and having that
kind of discussion and, pierre,I appreciate you being the chief
editor of this podcast, becauseI know that it's got to be hard
(47:13):
labor.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
Hey, I appreciate you not saying anything that I
needed to edit out.
Speaker 3 (47:18):
I can start.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
We have the last couple of minutes here Okay.
Speaker 2 (47:25):
Do unto others what you want to do.
Speaker 1 (47:30):
But leave over to you .
If you can, let us hear fromyou.
We'd like to include you intoour lives as well.
And, as I always say or try toalways say I don't always
remember to say it, but I domean it my wife corrected me
last time.
I said it y'all.
I don't know if I said it wrongor if this is how I say it, and
I just say it wrong all thetime.
The listeners can help us outtoo, like if you ever hear the
(47:51):
Holy Spirit talking to you.
I want to hear those kind ofstories.
That'd be encouraging for me.
I love to hear those kind ofcool stories like that.
But also, if I say stuff wrong,that's fine.
Tell me I say stuff wrong.
I'm always trying to grow.
I'm always trying to get betterat these things.
But I usually say you pray forus and we'll pray for you.
My wife's like you need to bepraying for them no matter what.
Don't pray for them only ifthey pray for you.
(48:11):
You pray for them all the timeand I was like you're right.
I know you're right, it's justyou got to think about podcast
terms.
You pray for us, I know youcan't bless, yeah, well, I mean
it comes off the tongue easy.
You pray for us and we'll prayfor you.
How am I supposed to say I'llpray for you?
Speaker 3 (48:28):
You're not saying it as an if you pray for us, then
we'll pray for you.
You're saying please pray forus and we will also pray for you
.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
Michelle, don't argue with my wife.
I'm telling you, it is afruitless effort.
She is a great debater, she isa great arguer, she will win
every single time, but she's notwrong, I'm just saying.
Speaker 2 (48:47):
I bet she didn't say it that fast.
Speaker 1 (48:52):
We appreciate you all listening.
You pray for us and we'll prayfor you.
It's time to wake up the prey up here on the Finding
Faith and Losing Sleep podcast.
Hey, we are on episode numberone of the year 2024.
It feels like forever here,michelle.
I have.
I said before, at the end of2023, that we were going to
squeeze in another episode, andI guess I'm a lying hypocrite I
try not to be, but it just goesout of our control.
We really wanted to, I reallywanted to.
(00:29):
I guess my desires were farheavier than my actual being
able to do it.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah, I mean, it's tough.
You gotta think we're threeindividuals, we all got
different schedules, different,you know, work things that pop
up, personal things that pop up,and we were hoping to get
another one before the the newyear came in.
This is actually like amilestone for us.
Believe it or not, this will beour 25th episode, which is a
milestone with podcasts.
(00:56):
That's really cool.
So it's the first one of thenew year, so I think that's also
fitting.
So glad to be back in a thanksto all the listeners who have
been patient with us.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
We made it before February.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
That's true, but like by an hour, by an hour.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Yeah, when we post it , we're recording before
February.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
We are, we are and we do want to get out these
episodes.
We try to, but we at the sametime, there is life and stuff.
It's basketball season we gotour kids in basketball.
It's dance season we got kidsin dance.
It's just all kinds of thingsgoing on.
So we appreciate your patiencehere at the Finding Faith and
Losing See podcast with us.
We thank you so much, listeners, for listening to us.
(01:35):
Tuning it in, sharing thepodcast, which has been done
quite often, is what I, what Iunderstand, I, I, I really
appreciate it.
It's flattering, pierre.
It's coming up on Valentine'sDay and I'm flattered right now.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
It is, it's heartwarming.
I know we started this wereally wouldn't wasn't sure who
would all listen to anyone.
We've gotten some it's reallygood interaction.
We've gotten some good feedbackand it's not from like like
family members and stuff that Ikind of would expect, which it's
kind of shocking.
Like I'm kind of fending alittle bit now thinking about it
(02:09):
.
My family isn't leaving, youknow comments and reviews and
stuff along those lines, butwe're we're touching those that
like we don't know.
We got a recent comment came inthis month actually it was from
an MMDGP title was like beingout of informal Bible studies.
So I happened to find thispodcast a few weeks ago,
(02:30):
subscribed and I have been benchlistening to all the episodes.
I love listening to this groupand their layman level
discussions.
I do follow a lot of otherscholarly Bible podcasts by
ordained ministers and otherexperts, ie Robert Jeffress,
pathway to Victory West McAdamsBible Study podcast and Mark
Gunger's Celebration Church andthe Bible Reset podcast.
(02:51):
But this one is like beingaround a table at an informal
Bible study discussion with agroup of friends.
The discussions andspeculations provide a lot of
food for thought and ways oflooking at passages which are
unlikely to be expressed inquite the same way in a more
formal podcast setting.
Kudos to the host for providinginteresting and stimulating
discussions and perspectives.
(03:12):
So it's really cool.
That's a really cool.
I think.
While we all started thispodcast, what we were hoping to
do was hoping that would comeacross through the microphones
that we're speaking through.
So thank you, mmdgp, forleaving such an awesome feedback
.
We truly appreciate youlistening and appreciating
taking the time out of your dayto leave that feedback.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Yes, and, like Pierre and I were discussing, when we
got that, we were just sohumbled because, like he said,
that is the exact reason why westarted.
This is because he and I werehaving conversations and we're
like you know, we can't be theonly people that have these
questions and then, of course,wes, you give such great insight
and like it, just that's.
That's the whole point.
(03:54):
So we're incredibly thankfuland, you know, if we can make
God proud, that's the biggestgoal.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah Well, kind of is .
I'm the Nebuchadnezzar of thispodcast.
I did this to have fame andfortune.
That's the reason why I didthis, and that's fine.
If I lose my gas or no, I'mkidding, I'm kidding, I'm
kidding he did say host, nothosts.
Right, it was plural Okay Well,no, I'm just kidding, I'm giving
(04:23):
everybody a hard time.
It is.
We do appreciate that kind ofcomment and please, you know,
guys, leave a comment if youwant to.
We don't want to peer pressureanybody into doing so.
I don't like to do thatnecessarily.
It does feel a little strangeto be able to do that, but
unless you're my family.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
You're getting peer pressure because this is crazy.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Listen, you don't want my mother to leave a review
.
She swears like a Russiansailor.
Okay, that's what you want.
The honest truth, or not?
Here on the Finding Faith andlosing sleep podcast?
Listen, we do appreciate that,though.
Leave a review if you can.
Leave, like, hit the starsaround if you can.
You know just whatever kind ofreviews, ratings or anything you
could do, it always helps thepodcast.
(05:00):
Get the algorithms up and getit out there.
You notice that we don't putcommercials on this.
It hasn't reached that levelyet.
In peer I have talked about thatand I know he's talked with
Michelle about that.
We're not after it for money.
We're not after it for fame oranything.
We're here to encourage peopleand to be encouraged ourselves,
and let me tell you, those kindof comments, those kind of
reviews, really do encourage ustremendously.
(05:22):
Pierre shared that with me, Ithink, last year, sometime just
right before Christmas or rightafter Christmas, and I was like,
wow, that is something younever think, that you do
something.
We are not theologians here onthis podcast.
We are normal, average,everyday people.
I am far from having any kindof theological degree.
All I did was get a degree fromthe school of hard knocks that
(05:44):
I still pay for every once in awhile.
Right, I get a bill in the mail, because I do end up going
through life circumstances notonly with Pierre and Michelle,
but also just with you guys aswell.
So we do appreciate that and,michelle, pierre, I do
appreciate you opening theopportunity for us to be able to
talk about these things here onthis podcast.
Pierre, if they did want to getin touch with the show, how do
they do that?
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yeah, so you can email us at
findingfafelosingsleepgmailcom.
You can also find us over onTwitter slash X at
findingfafepot, so two platformsthere.
You can also find us in thecomments.
You can leave comments like ourother listener there and we can
read them off on the air andtouch base.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Or not, or not, they could be anonymous, right?
If you don't want it to be read, we don't have to read it, we
don't have to give you a shoutout.
But if you'd like to just saysomething nice, that's fine.
Address it to me specifically,if you don't mind that, one of
the things that I always do atthe beginning of the year.
I'm not a big resolution guy,but I just want to try harder.
(06:45):
But to me, that resolutioncould be done any time of the
year, all the time.
Today is Wednesday, we'rerecording on Wednesday, and so
you know what I want to doTomorrow.
I want to do better than I didtoday.
So I think that's whatresolutions are like, is that
you just want to do better thanwhat you're doing.
You want to set goals foryourself, no matter how high, no
(07:06):
matter how lofty.
You just want to get into lifeand do it a little better than
what you did it before.
I don't reckon that I ever seta resolution to do worse than
what I'm doing right now.
You know like I just I neverwanted to go backwards.
Did I get resolutions right onthat?
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I think so.
I mean, you've identifiedusually an area in your life
that you feel like you're comingup short in.
Oftentimes, I know it's likewait, you know that's a big one.
To start the year.
Folks wanna lose weight or justsometimes, in general, just be
more healthy, get more healthy,live a healthier lifestyle.
And the whole point is toreally focus and lock in and
(07:51):
work on achieving whatever goalsyou set out for yourself.
And, as you mentioned, yeah, Idon't recall anyone saying you
know, I just kinda wanna beworse.
You know this year I wanna getworse at this, I wanna be bad at
this.
That's not the thought process.
You're not identifyingsomething good and trying to
tarnish it.
You're trying to improveyourself within your life in one
(08:13):
way or another.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Yeah, you definitely don't ever say, hey, I think I
need to lower the standard alittle bit.
For me, you know, I'm justtrying hey, which you know.
But that could be a realisticgoal really if you think about
it, that you don't need to betoo hard on yourself if you
don't get to reach all thosegoals that you set.
But for me, like, I have to setthe bar pretty high for myself
and then I go for it and it'skinda like you aim for the moon
(08:37):
and if you hit a star you dookay, michelle, that's kinda how
I always think of things.
Whenever I try to do that, Iusually try to bite off more
than I can handle, but it seemsto end up okay because I did a
lot better than I thought Icould.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Well, I think it's baby steps, right, like just
putting one foot in front of theother, and if you don't hit
your goal, then maybe you justreassess.
But, like you said, you don'twanna just necessarily go
backwards.
Like I think that's kind of thenature, our human nature and
sin, right, so we're all sinners, we're gonna make mistakes.
(09:14):
So you just have to reassess,refocus and repent and start
back again.
So same thing with goals, ourpersonal goals and those sorts
of things.
Like you just have to reassessand restart, repent if you need
to, for something along thoselines.
But yeah, I think you're right,wes.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Sure, I think you do, and one of the things I always
try to do and I'm very active atmy job.
My job is a very likephysically demanding job.
I deliver bread for a living,kind of similarly to Jesus.
You know that, maybe not on thesame plane, but I do it and I
also think about these things,maybe not Well, I don't think I
(09:56):
heard you.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
I'm gonna have to wait for after the podcast
whenever it gets releasedactually no, maybe not there's
no, maybe not going the sameplace, because you are not.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
I just mean I take.
I not only take bread to placesfor a living, but I also try to
be a minister in those places.
Do you know what I mean?
Like I don't want to leave theplace empty handed or not
thinking about maybe spiritualthings.
I don't want to leave themworse off than what I entered
the building in.
You know what I mean.
Like I try to enter thebuilding like I am being
(10:26):
somebody that is delivering morethan just physical bread.
I'm also trying to deliver thebread of life at the same time.
You're too bad.
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Yeah, for sure you have that ability because you're
like out and I'm guessingyou're interacting with people
and things on those lines whichwe used to be able to do.
But we currently both work fromhome now and it's a little
tougher because you don't getthe face to face interactions.
You're chatting, you'reemailing, You'll use some
(10:58):
platforms to have someconversations, like Skype, like
Teams, Zoom, things on thoselines to have conversations, but
at least for me conversationshaven't been the same Like
through a computer, through amicrophone.
Then they are being able toactually interact with people
face to face.
So it's gotten a little tougherto kind of deliver when it
(11:21):
comes to the spiritual side ofthings.
But it's a work in progress.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
That's for sure.
I can only imagine because insocial media world you lose the
tone of people's voices and I'msure if you're doing it remotely
, maybe via a computer or maybeon the phone, having to do those
things on a teleconference callor something like that I can
imagine that you just can't seethe facial expressions, you
(11:47):
can't hear everything properly.
That has to be tough, and thenyou don't get to build up those
relationships with people eitherlike you could if you did see
them face to face or in theworkplace.
Pierre, if you had to workremotely, you may never have
married Michelle.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
It's possible.
You're right.
We met at work face to face.
I know we talked about her alot, like him, so maybe I would
have had a leg up.
Honestly, to start, it wouldn'thave been as difficult.
But yeah, you're possibly rightthere.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Now without having a father like I did not have.
Whenever I was growing up, Ireally didn't have a dad or
anything.
So I never learned, like Iwon't say really strong work
ethic, because my mother did agreat job doing that.
But you know, I never went outthere and worked in the yard
with my dad.
I never went out there andworked on the house with my dad
and I never learned those kindof traits from somebody and I
(12:38):
never had anybody really showthat to me.
So I've had to learn thosethings on my own and the job
that I have is a physical job.
Delivering bread is a physicaljob and I have to think of ways
to be able to do things, maybe alittle bit differently than
other people, because it alljust clicks in my head a little
bit differently than maybe itclicks in other people's heads
on how to do things.
And so I go to my heavenlyfather and I look in the Bible
(12:59):
for different avenues of how tolearn what God is trying to tell
me, right, I try to do that.
For instance, it's a lot ofdoing physical labor with my
hands.
Okay, I'm always moving with myhands.
I'm always moving with my legs.
I'm always walking real fast,I'm always doing stuff at a high
rate of speed.
Okay, that's just me, and ifyou can't tell that, by the way,
(13:20):
I talk sometimes.
But one of the things that Iread one time and it just stuck
out to me that it was gonna helpme a lot on my bread route, and
it clicked one day that whatJesus says in Matthew, chapter
six, verse three and I'm totallytaking this verse out of
context, totally taking it outof context, but it helps me out
a lot okay, he says, let's see,let's see, I gotta pull my
(13:40):
glasses, but when you give alms,do not let your left hand or
what your right hand is doing.
So I spent a lot of time in thisbread truck driving around by
myself and I heard that maybeaudibly, and or I read it out
loud to myself and I wasliterally going over the Bible
verses and stuff and justthinking about things and it
just clicked hey, why does oneof your hands have to sit idle
(14:02):
while the other hand doessomething?
Can you not keep busy with bothhands next time you go into a
store and I tried to do stufflike that or while I'm walking,
I try to not allow my legs todictate what my hands are doing,
like while I'm walking out tothe truck and stuff I'm mashing
on my computer trying to get aticket done, or while I'm
working on my right hand side Imight be fiddling with something
(14:24):
on my left hand side.
I'm just applying these kind ofbiblical principles to my
workplace totally out of context.
I don't know that that's whatJesus necessarily meant, but
that's how I translated into mylife.
I don't know if that makes anysense to you guys.
I don't know if you guys haveBible verses like that either,
where you just like it clicksfor a different reason than what
it looks like it was actuallyintended to do in the Bible.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
But not that one for sure.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
It works for me.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
That's fine.
That's fine if that works.
I think I just maybe take it tothe literal sense of basically
not knowing or not caring aboutwhat you're supporting people
with.
So if you're like giving money,like basically not thinking
about what you're giving, kindof being just open and giving
(15:14):
freely, is kind of how I take it.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Sure, that's what it means.
Yes, but I mean, I got adifferent interpretation too
than that one.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I mean, I just say that, I just go to the literal
sense.
I know one that I struggle with, and I definitely struggle with
it probably most at work is theslow to speak.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
I thought you were gonna say love your neighbor.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Which is crazy, because I don't really like
talking honestly.
I believe it or not, I'm notone that likes to communicate
True story.
But the place of employment.
I'm very appreciative of them.
I've been there for 17 years Ithink now, but there's so many
decisions that take place that Idisagree with that.
(16:01):
It's hard to keep quiet and Ioften feel like I have to be
like an advocate for coworkers,for those that report up to me,
et cetera.
And the slow to speak is justreally difficult and I'm like is
that a literal be slow to speak?
Should I really have to listento some of the nonsense that
(16:25):
comes down or that'scommunicated?
And I think it's true.
I often get myself in a bit ofhot water when I'm really quick
to respond, and I don't do thatat home, Like Michelle would
tell you.
I like to walk away and kind ofget my thoughts and think before
(16:45):
I react, and I can't do that atwork for some reason, like it.
It just grinds my gears to thepoint where I just feel like I
have to respond.
I have to be the advocate forfolks that aren't even asking me
to be an advocate at times justto get my point across, and I
really struggle with that verse.
I wouldn't say I get angry, butI mean thinking about now it
(17:11):
could be anger that bleeds intothat as well, which is the other
.
You know, be slow to slow toanger is a part of that verse as
well, and, James, so it's.
It's really tough.
That's a, that's a difficultone for me in the workplace and
one that's hard to mean it rightnow.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
See, that's really funny about that is I am not
slow to speak, pierre will tellyou that but ironically, being
working from home now hasactually helped me with that and
I think some of that in someways is because I'm not in the
middle of all of the quoteunquote drama all of the time.
(17:47):
So I'm not feeling, you know,I'm not feeding off of other
people's feelings and emotionson those sorts of things.
So typically the things that docome to me are a big deal or,
you know, I'm hearing them forthe first time versus the 50th
time, and I'm not sitting inthat.
So it's helped me for that.
(18:08):
But the downside of it is whatwe talked about in the beginning
is being from working from home.
I'm not.
I don't have that downtime withpeople where you're hearing
about their personal lives andyou can help minister to them.
And I actually my my oldestsister helped me to recognize
this.
We were having dinner when shewas visiting and it really
(18:32):
helped me to realize that someof the struggles I'm dealing
with personally are because I'mnot on site anymore and feeling
very isolated and I feel lessthan so.
Not only do I not have thosepeople in my life like they're
(18:53):
still in my life, but I don'thave them daily like to to
bounce things off of and to justhave those conversations.
But also I don't feel like I'mreally helping people.
So, you know, being able tominister to others and so this
really helps, like for Pierreand I to be able to talk about
(19:14):
things and to talk with you know, get your perspectives on
things, why?
So you know it's it's reallyhelped me, so I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Well, Pierre, we started off the year with a
banger.
We got Michelle to cry already.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
I was close, but I did not.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
I like it when you cry, michelle, I, I, I, I.
It's one of my goals at thebeginning of every episode.
No, but that, that that speaksto how your heart is.
And I love what you said aboutnot being able to be around
people and you really kind ofwonder to me.
I wonder is this isolation doneon purpose, not necessarily by
your bosses or by your companyor anything like that, where we
(19:53):
work remotely from home?
But you think about thepsychological warfare that
happened whenever all that wholeCOVID stuff ended up happening
and everybody was locked in andsecluded.
Not only did it happen like inmy neck of the woods, but it
happened all over the country,it happened all over the world.
And I just think about how, youknow, satan is our enemy and
what's one of the things that hewould love to be able to do?
(20:14):
He'd love to be able toseparate us.
He'd love to be able to takeour power that we have together
as a community, as a family ofChristians, as affecting the
world.
You don't get to affect theworld nearly as much whenever
you're isolated from people, andI have seen so many different
studies that come my way whereyou see the effects of having
that isolation, that lonelinessand, michelle, I heard it in
(20:36):
your voice whenever you weretalking about that, but it was
whatever.
I think everybody felt well,except for people that started
podcasts.
They felt, they felt one ofthem, but you know, it was one
of those things.
It's really hard, not only onadults, but just think of how
hard that is on children.
Now I remember during that timewe didn't know what to do right
(20:57):
, and I wasn't a big advocate offollowing every single policy
or anything like that.
I tried to follow policies aswell as common sense, probably
like a majority of people did,but it was a little iffy just to
even allow my kids to gooutside and play with other kids
.
All right, first, you know whatI mean.
It was just a little iffy andit's just really strange.
(21:17):
It was really hardpsychologically on everybody and
I think we're still seeing someof those side effects today.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Well, absolutely.
I mean, you saw it in the Bibleto open it up like Adam was
isolated.
Yeah, you know God left him,but you know God saw the
situation.
He's like OK, let's, let's gethim a mate, let's get him a
partner, you know, to pick himup when he falls down and vice
versa.
And that's that's the issue ofisolation is folks, do you start
(21:46):
to to feel alone.
And I think feeling ofloneliness really just takes
people to a dark place.
And even if they're not in adark place, they get so caught
up in that isolation that theydon't want to interact with
others.
They don't want to, you know,perhaps let their guard down and
open up.
And, like you say, I thinkthat's kind of where the devil
(22:10):
himself can find a stronghold ofall of us.
You look at what the Bible saysabout where you know two or
more gathered in my name, youknow God's there.
If you're in isolation, there'sno two or more with you in that
situation, it's just you byyourself.
And it's even gotten worse.
I feel like what the phones andsocial media like we talked
about.
The folks are just constantlyface down on their phones, not
(22:34):
interacting with those aroundthem and just just seeing the
impatience and things on thoselines and kind of having a
little insight myself into howpeople act when their phones
stop working.
It's chaos, man, and that'skind of what isolation has done.
Makes yourself worth tank.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
I can tell you that yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
If your phone doesn't work, or isolation oh, no
isolation.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
Happens to me.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
My phone doesn't work too, and my self-worth is just
like tanking.
I'm thinking.
It's kind of the opposite,though, of what biblical stuff
was in like second Thessalonians.
We're talking about isolationand not doing things, and I
guess that's what Paul waswriting about in second
Thessalonians as well.
But you had people going aroundbeing busy bodies at that time,
(23:23):
which you know.
You're not really doing much ofanything but being a busy body,
making yourself look likeyou're always busy but never
really accomplishing much, kindof like a car tire or a car
stuck in the mud, or somethingwhere your tire just goes around
in one place, looks like you'rebusy but you ain't going
nowhere, right?
And he says let's see.
I guess in verse 10 there,second Thessalonians, chapter 3,
(23:46):
for even when we were with you,we used to give you this order
If anyone will not work, neitherlet them eat, for we hear that
some among you are leading anundisciplined life, doing no
work at all but acting like busybodies.
Now, such persons, we commandand exhort, in the Lord Jesus
Christ, to work quiet.
Oh, hold on.
Let me read 12 again.
Now, such persons I wrote downall kinds of little notes around
(24:09):
verse 12, and it makes itreally hard to read no such
person.
We command and exhort, in theLord Jesus Christ, to work in
quiet fashion and eat their ownbread.
So he's encouraging people totake those busy bodies off to
the side by themselves and justencourage them to work, instead
of kind of leaning on otherpeople to get all the stuff done
(24:31):
and leaning on people to feedthem and stuff like that,
because maybe they were justbusy bodies right.
And I think that may takeeffect today too, where we might
find some people in our livesthat aren't busy bodies but are
just not doing much of anything,but being locked up in a house
or being cooped up.
Maybe they don't get out much.
(24:52):
Maybe it's up to us to do whatPaul says here and kind of put
it in the 20th century.
If we're in the 20th centuryI've always get confused on
what's going through we're in.
But maybe it's up to us to beable to reach out to them and
include them in our lives or inother things, just to get them
in a pattern of doing stuff, toworking, to finding some kind of
(25:13):
spiritual food out there tofill them up and sustain them.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Well, I think it's double-sided, and so the reason
I say that is, yes, you don'twant anyone to be in isolation,
you want them to be out, to beactive, to be engaging with
other, like human beings.
But on the flip side, we hadour last episode before this and
we discussed hurry and thefunnier, I guess, irony about
(25:41):
that that was one of ourshortest episodes because we
were in a hurry as we were goingover it, because we all had
things to do, and I think that'ssomething to be cautious of.
Yes, you have busy bodies, butis it production or are you just
in a hurry to do so much?
And sometimes being away fromthat hurry is exactly what you
(26:07):
need, and that doesn'tnecessarily mean isolation, but
sometimes just not being in ahurry and taking time out to be
in peace helps you to find moretime for God, to find more time
for yourself, which I think iswhat our culture really
struggles with these days.
(26:28):
Everyone's in a hurry.
We talked about it the phone'sjust a second ago, with how
everything's so instant.
And again, if you're inisolation, you're in a hurry.
It's great to involve someoneor ask them to be involved, but
you also don't want to drag theminto your hecticness, so it's a
worry, maybe causing them to bein, you know, stressful type of
(26:50):
situations that they wouldn'thave been in when they were
isolated by themselves.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
True, there's a definitely a balance, michelle,
that you got to meet in yourlife of being too busy or not
being too.
I know you talked last episodeabout feeling guilty if you're
not doing anything, and I don'tthink that we have to feel
guilty if we rest or anythinglike that.
But you know you ask yourselfthat I do enough, that I do
enough today, that I do enoughfor Somebody else today, and I
(27:18):
think that's where we can get alot of fulfillment is by doing
things for others, and willalways be fulfilled.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
I think you're right, because I mean the answer to Do
I still feel guilty when I'mnot doing something Absolutely.
Am I not getting enough rest?
No, I'm not.
But I think you said somethingreally Important right there,
west, like I think I'm focusingMaybe too much on what I'm not
(27:44):
doing or what I need to doversus what I need to do for
others.
So maybe instead of Thinking ofthe 50 things that have already
waited a month right, or a yearor whatever, that I can think
of at least one person that Ineed to reach out to to just say
, hey, how you doing today, youknow if they cross my mind and I
(28:06):
need to do better about thatand be more intentional, and
then maybe some of my self-worthcomes back and then I can
tackle those things that youknow I've been struggling with.
So I think that was reallyimportant and I thank you for
that, west.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
I'll have to listen back to what I said, because a
lot of times I speak withoutthinking yeah, we've talked a
lot before and past episodes andlisten.
Those episodes, I want to say,are a little organic, where you
can get a lot of value out of me, can binge, listen to them,
like that guy did BDM, d, pbrq,whatever his name was maybe it
was a woman West.
Oh, that's true.
(28:42):
That's true.
Blew my mind there, michelle,but the the I forgot the point
of what I was going to say.
It was going to be so muchbetter than anything I'd said
all show to binge.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
Listening is what you said.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Yeah, well, we talked about a lot.
Oh yeah, I got a guy.
We talked.
We talked a lot before abouthow, like that, the Holy Spirit
talks to you, how does the HolySpirit work in you.
And I know I've said, you know,in the story before about being
up in the room and I hearsomebody said I hear I hear a
Voice say don't go playbasketball.
You have to go back and findthat episode.
I don't know what episode itwas asked me or what episode it
was.
He could tell you.
But you know and I wanted tomake sure people did understood
(29:19):
that I wasn't like hearing thisvoice.
But I, I Heard a voice.
You know I didn't.
It wasn't an audible voice, itwas just something inside of my
spirit that was stirring, thattold me not to go play
basketball.
Then I had a conversation witha young lady about something and
she had to be baptized at night.
Just wonderful, I'm awesome,awesome.
You know I heard the spirit.
That's what I want to say.
I heard the spirit.
I listened to the little, stillsmall voice that was inside of
(29:40):
me.
Mm-hmm and you mentioned beingtalking or reaching out to
somebody whenever they crossyour mind.
Mm-hmm, right, you, you ever dothat?
You just have this randomthought about somebody that
maybe you haven't talked to inyears.
Just a random thought out ofthe blue, guess what.
Guess what.
(30:01):
My theory is that's the HolySpirit, yeah.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
I'm telling you what my best friend and for years,
almost as many years as I'veknown her, that least that she
shared with me probably herwhole life God speaks to her in
special ways and Like it'salmost always through her dreams
.
So If she dreams about someone,she always reaches out to them
(30:27):
and I'm telling you like it Ican't even count how many times.
Nearly every time it'ssomething Significant has
happened.
So if she tells me she'sdreamed about me, I'm always
like, oh, but I mean it's, it'sreally incredible, like how he
speaks to her and uses her.
So I firmly believe that, youknow, the Holy Spirit does speak
(30:48):
to us like that and it's justup to us to recognize it and to
listen to how the Holy Spiritspeaks to us.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
And that goes back to what you were saying, pierre.
We've got to be quiet enough tobe able to hear something like
that.
You know, it doesn't alwayshappen and and you may want it
to happen, it just can't happen.
You can't force something likethat.
But I'll say this if, if athought crosses your mind, it
may be hey, I need to go toWalmart after work.
Go to Walmart after work andsee what happens, right and and
(31:18):
keep a log on those things.
See, see what happens.
If you go there, do you meetanybody?
There's something strangehappened, but for the full of
the furtherness of God's kingdom, that did, did somebody cross
your mind and and you felt likeyou needed to give them a call
or send them a text or something.
Keep a log of it and just seewhat happens.
And that's the exciting stuff.
(31:39):
Everybody, if you, if you don'tdo that stuff, christendom if I,
that's a word Christendom canget boring.
You can get lax, you can getlazy.
You can, you can not, you canfeel like I don't even know I'm
a Christian.
Well, it's because you're notlistening, you're not acting,
you're not being spurred on bythe spirit.
Maybe that's what's going on.
(32:00):
So, keep a diary, keep a keepsomething I keep.
I keep little notes in my myBible that people have written
me over the years, and wheneverI forget about some of these
things, I just go to the frontof my Bible.
I pick out one of these thingsand I read it and I look at it
and I'm like, oh, that's why youdo this.
Well, that's why, that's whyyou you look foolish to some
people, because some people needyou to look foolish.
(32:22):
Right, that's why you open upyour mouth and put yourself in
strange situations.
Because some people need you todo that, west, that's you.
You do that stuff because youdon't understand the severity of
the situation that's going onin that person's life.
So that's why you do it, west.
And yes, I talked to myself inthe third person quite often.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
And so we mentioned being still and listening for
the, the Holy Spirit.
I think Just listening toothers is also just very
impactful.
I know Michelle Bensonperspectives earlier and I think
that's key in the workplacealso.
I got folks in Canada.
(33:03):
I got folks in the US that Iinteract with.
A lot of those in Canada arehonestly not from Canada
themselves.
They're from, you know,elsewhere and they have
different.
You know beliefs and you stillgot to hear them out, especially
if you're wanting to, to have aconversation and open up some
(33:23):
dialogue on you know, your faithversus their faith.
Inserting situations and I thinkit was Matthew seven has that
that common that you usuallyhear.
You know, treat people the wayyou want to be treated.
That's how I've always heard it.
Matthew seven twelve says do toothers whatever you would like
them to do to you, which is kindof that same concept.
And with that, you know, Ithink being willing to listen to
(33:46):
others perspectives is what Iwould like folks to do with me.
I know we've had situations with, like the kneeling Colin
Kaepernick back in the day whenhe took a knee.
Like I had different opinionsand a lot of people because I've
I've dealt with differentthings you know in my life.
You know, I've I've watched,like atheists.
So I'm just curious, like whatit thought process is and some
(34:12):
of the things they think is isinteresting.
I think it was.
Ricky Gervais is a popularcelebrity and his, his thought
process was that you're born anatheist and you have to be
taught, you know, basically tobelieve in God, which I I could
sense that to some extent.
But I also have had situationswhere you're not, you're not
(34:36):
taught God like you found him onyour own.
What certain people like theydidn't go to church, you know,
and get taught God.
They weren't raised, you know,by Christian parents and they
still found God.
So I kind of feel like he's alittle off when it comes to that
.
But I still, I'm stillintrigued, I still want to hear
different sides of things.
(34:59):
When it comes to that, it's Idon't know, it's tough to think
about.
So I know, like with atheism,like they don't, they don't ever
explain like where they'recoming from.
I feel when listening likemorality, they don't have an
explanation.
They basically just want totell you why you're wrong, but
they can't really explain whythey're right.
And I think that's where theperspectives come from, as you
(35:21):
got to be willing to sit downand hear out both sides.
One of the good questions Iheard someone asked was are you
tolerable?
Before they open up aconversation on religion, before
they open up a conversation onsomething they're going to
disagree with, it's just to askthat person Are you a tolerable
person?
And if they answer yes, thenyou can continue with that
(35:43):
conversation and then point outthe fact you said you were a
tolerable person, so you shouldbe able to tolerate my opinion.
In return, I'll tolerate youropinion and I think that is a
good baseline to kind of open upon perspectives for things that
we don't agree with and help usto again be, be slow, be slow
(36:03):
to talk and you know, reallyjust listen and hone in on where
other people are coming fromand and being able to retort to
that.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
Yeah, I remember a Bible study I was at one time
and I was teaching and it was Idon't it was, it was fine is
with a two, two differentcouples and I was teaching where
I think I was in firstCorinthians and and our second
Corinthians, and I was just, wejust work, walking our way
through the Bible, answered somequestions that they had and so
(36:32):
I was going through there andthe people who invited me man,
they were, they were listening.
They weren't intent on listening, this one, that the lady in the
other couple.
So there's two couples.
So the man, the one lady, gotup and she left and I watched
her leave.
I was like, well, she reallygot to go to the bathroom
because she left in a hurry,right, that's why I was like it
(36:54):
and the guy would check daughter, and like a couple of minutes,
and he went.
He just went back theresomewhere, I don't know where
they went, and he came back outand she came out a minute later
and they stopped me and theysaid listen, I hear you talking,
I hear you teaching, but youobviously have the gift of
(37:16):
teaching, but you're telling usthings that that aren't
necessarily what we've alwaysthought.
And my mother is a prophetessand she, she would hate this
right now and I can't keeplistening to this.
And I was listening to thisgirl telling me this and I and I
I went well, okay, so what,what again?
What, what's what?
What am I doing wrong?
She said, well, you, you havethe gift of teaching and I was
(37:39):
going well, if I have to get theteaching that, why aren't you
listening?
You know what, what?
Where's the gift thing comeinto play if you're saying that
I have this gift of this and andyour mother's a prophet it was.
It was just a really strangeoccurrence to me, but I had an
open mind and I listened to themand I appreciated them
listening to me and inviting meover to their house.
We left on, I guess, good terms.
(38:00):
I don't know.
I never got another phone callto come back over there, but it
was.
It was a strange thing to wherewe're just not always going to
be able to agree on everythingbut at the same time, here we do
have to keep an open mind likethat to be able to hear what
they're saying and hear what I'msaying, and it is one of those
things.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
If we can't talk about religion, if we can't talk
about politics, I don't know,maybe a couple of things that
are bigger than those things totalk about, you know yeah, I
mean, it's true, and you usuallyfind that situation where
someone's like a constantinterrupt and when you you have
(38:36):
some of the interrupts to me,that's just them not not being
tolerable of anything but theiropinion.
And so in workplaces, if I comeacross that situation where you
know I'm coaching someone or ortrying to train someone and
they're just constantlyinterrupting and they don't want
to learn, and so I kind of justI shut them off at that point
(39:01):
like I'll still be polite, I'llstill be professional, but you
basically just prove to me thatyou, you only care about your,
your own opinions.
And I feel like you, you gottabe willing to again listen and
take in the other perspective.
Again, you may not agree, theymay not agree with the, the way
you were teaching, even thoughthey felt like you had the gift
(39:21):
of teaching, but for them tostill sit through and let you
finish, I mean that's, that'simportant, that's respectful,
and I feel like we need to dothat really as a society,
whether we're talking faith,whether we're talking politics,
whether we're talking sports,which is something I can talk
all day but he's got to be ableto take in other accounts of
perspectives and be respectfulto those situation is he low key
(39:44):
saying that?
Speaker 1 (39:45):
I interrupt him all the time?
Michelle is that?
Speaker 3 (39:47):
what's saying hi key, that I do all the time.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
I hear your clucking, pier, I hear your clucking
chicken.
Speaker 3 (39:55):
Here's what happens when here and I have a
conversation.
He will say things.
He'll seem like he's stopping,so I'll start to talk and they
say I can't finish my sentence.
I'm like I thought you weredone, and then it starts to pull
a thing.
So no West, you do great look,look, look, look you guys.
Speaker 1 (40:14):
I am telling you I can play the same recording from
here at my house of what mywife tells me.
It is crazy how oppositesattract, you know.
I mean it is just crazy howthat happens.
I'll be sitting there listeningto my wife and I really think I
I do damage in our relationshipwith my wife.
I'm sure I do, but I mean I tryto figure out ways to be able
to do better.
I listen to podcasts on likeone point, one point six speed
(40:37):
or one point eight speed.
I don't ever listen to them onone speed.
You know what I mean?
Like I listen to them reallyfast and so if there's and it
sounds normal to me so thenwhenever I have to listen,
whenever I get a chance tolisten to my wife talk, it
sounds like it's going and I'mlike, oh, that's my fault, I
can't listen to podcast thatfast anymore.
(40:59):
She has to learn to talk faster.
Speaker 3 (41:01):
I don't know which one hey, but you can't listen to
ours on a faster speed West,because when we do, yours is
really fast.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
I think I sound normal.
Speaker 3 (41:12):
You probably sound like one of the chip months I
think we were playing at onetime here.
Had it turned up, I was likewhat is going on?
Why does this sound so funny?
I didn't know.
He added on a higher speed.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
I think I sound so much smarter at one point, eight
speed to do, because I thinkI'm like, hey, back to it, back
to make it an impact in thisworld for Christendom, making a
make.
Just, you know, trying tolisten to that spirit, trying to
be led by the spirit, trying todo things.
I'm going to take another verseout of context.
Beer, you don't have to tell mewhat this actually means.
(41:51):
Okay, I'm telling everybodyright now I'm taking this
completely out of context andI'm going to apply it to what I
want to apply it to, but I don'tthink I'm doing evil.
Okay, as long as I telleverybody that I'm taking out of
context.
And you know, you can applythese things in different ways a
little bit, but don't do it foryour own sordid game.
But this spurs me on to do agood work.
In Proverbs, chapter 6.
It talks about the ant.
Right, go to the ant, oh,slugger, to observe her ways and
(42:13):
be wise.
Which, having no chief officeror ruler, prepares her food in
the summer and gathers herprovisions in the harvest.
It, the ant, doesn't haveanybody telling it what to do,
it doesn't have anybody given itorders, doesn't have a boss
over it's.
You know, standing over it allthe time going come on, work,
work, work, work, work.
That's the same thing for, likeme, a small business owner who
(42:33):
works for myself, I have to tellmyself that I have to be
spurred on myself.
I have to dig in every once ina while and just tell myself you
got to get this done, man,stuff like that.
And ant does the same way.
You can learn those lessonsfrom the ant, but for a
Christian it's the same way.
Nobody's gonna be.
Pastors can encourage you, abuddy can encourage you.
You can listen to a podcast toencourage you to get out there
(42:56):
and make an impact in this world, but really that ultimately has
to become from you somewhere towant that excitement, to want
that zeal to, to, to want to goout there and just live that
exciting Christian life insteadof you know if that's what you
want to do now?
Look, there's people who maynot want to do that because they
just can't.
They don't feel like they'reled, they want to work behind
(43:16):
the scenes and that's absolutelycool, but it's still getting
behind the scenes, being led bythe spirit to do things and to
see that impact that you make insomebody else's life by doing
things that aren't out there inthe public eye, or doing things
like that.
I think of things one way,because I think that's where my
talent lies I'll get out thereand I'll take a ditch too.
It doesn't matter to me, it'sjust, it's a matter of going out
(43:39):
there and doing something right.
And the writer of Proverbs goeson.
He says how long will you liedown?
Oh, sluggered, when will youarise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little somber, a little folding of hands to
rest, and your poverty will comelike a vagabond and and your
your need, like an armed man.
We can get lazy, we can becomea sluggered and we can get in
(44:04):
those habits and those routinesthat make us ineffective in any
kind of walk of life.
I know I always talk about beinga Christian.
I always talk about doing thatout there and making an impact
in the world for God.
It impacted the world forChrist, but it's just making
people's lives better.
You know it doesn't.
You don't have to do it in thename of God if you don't believe
(44:25):
in that kind of thing, if youdon't believe in that, you don't
have to do that for that reason.
Do it for your neighbor'sreason, do it for that
struggling person that's outthere.
Do it for their reason.
Don't do it for you to belifted up.
Do it for the other person allthe time.
And if we don't get in thehabit of doing those things, we
get in the habit of maybe notdoing it and having idle hands,
(44:48):
becoming a sluggered, and Ithink the Bible always teaches
us to keep trying to work.
That doesn't mean not restingwhen it's time to rest, just
means being at work, you know.
Speaker 2 (45:01):
Yeah, I think it's a bit caution or just self
motivation, and it's sometimeslike that selfishness can be the
benefits of others.
So even take this like podcast.
So it would have been a loteasier to just talk about doing
this podcast one day than thenactually doing it.
And just, you know, instead ofwaiting for you know perfect
(45:25):
timing, waiting for us to havemore wisdom, more knowledge, now
just go out and do it and seeif it helps someone.
And that's the same in you know, everyday life.
You feel a tug, or you know,you're just feel like you can
help someone in some way.
Just go help and you're goingto feel better yourself, even if
they don't appreciate the help.
You still feel better fromserving or for assisting.
(45:48):
And so I just encourageeveryone to just kind of take
that jump.
That has to be big, like youcan dream, small, as one of the
songs you know don't buy a lie,you got to do it all.
Just let Jesus use you whereyou are.
And I think that's reallyimportant.
You know, in our own communities, our own neighborhoods,
sometimes under our own roof,there are ways that we can make
(46:09):
a difference by just actingversus thinking about it.
You know, sometimes thinkingabout it enough, you got to go
into action.
Same thing on Sundays.
Yeah, you can go to church, youknow, on Sundays.
But if you don't take anythingand put it into action, then
you're not really making adifference, regardless of how
often you go to church, you sendit.
All right, that's the episode.
Speaker 1 (46:31):
That's it.
Is this a new record for howlong we've gone, is it?
No, it's pretty short, it'spretty short, no.
Michelle, it's amazing how Godbrought us all together, Three
different kinds of personalities, and we all get together and
talk about things, and we dohope that it hits the listeners
(46:52):
ears in a very pleasant way.
We hope it does stir you up tolove and good works, just like
getting around other people.
And we do appreciate thecomments that were left.
We hope to have that kind ofatmosphere where we are sitting
around a table just talkingabout things and having that
kind of discussion and, pierre,I appreciate you being the chief
editor of this podcast, becauseI know that it's got to be hard
(47:13):
labor.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
Hey, I appreciate you not saying anything that I
needed to edit out.
Speaker 3 (47:18):
I can start.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
We have the last couple of minutes here Okay.
Speaker 2 (47:25):
Do unto others what you want to do.
Speaker 1 (47:30):
But leave over to you .
If you can, let us hear fromyou.
We'd like to include you intoour lives as well.
And, as I always say or try toalways say I don't always
remember to say it, but I domean it my wife corrected me
last time.
I said it y'all.
I don't know if I said it wrongor if this is how I say it, and
I just say it wrong all thetime.
The listeners can help us outtoo, like if you ever hear the
(47:51):
Holy Spirit talking to you.
I want to hear those kind ofstories.
That'd be encouraging for me.
I love to hear those kind ofcool stories like that.
But also, if I say stuff wrong,that's fine.
Tell me I say stuff wrong.
I'm always trying to grow.
I'm always trying to get betterat these things.
But I usually say you pray forus and we'll pray for you.
My wife's like you need to bepraying for them no matter what.
Don't pray for them only ifthey pray for you.
(48:11):
You pray for them all the timeand I was like you're right.
I know you're right, it's justyou got to think about podcast
terms.
You pray for us, I know youcan't bless, yeah, well, I mean
it comes off the tongue easy.
You pray for us and we'll prayfor you.
How am I supposed to say I'llpray for you?
Speaker 3 (48:28):
You're not saying it as an if you pray for us, then
we'll pray for you.
You're saying please pray forus and we will also pray for you
.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
Michelle, don't argue with my wife.
I'm telling you, it is afruitless effort.
She is a great debater, she isa great arguer, she will win
every single time, but she's notwrong, I'm just saying.
Speaker 2 (48:47):
I bet she didn't say it that fast.
Speaker 1 (48:52):
We appreciate you all listening.
You pray for us and we'll prayfor you.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.