November 29, 2024 • 34 mins
Amid the chaotic noise of early holiday preparations and the relentless cycle of news, Mark and I uncover a path to clarity and peace. What would it feel like to step back from the barrage of media consumption and embrace a life more focused and serene? We share our journeys of disconnecting from traditional news sources and social media, finding solace and essential information within our personal networks and communities. Our conversation reveals the benefits of this intentional choice, as well as the challenges that come with maintaining focus amidst life's distractions.
As we discuss the impact of media on our language and thoughts, we recount a personal story of how a TV show unexpectedly influenced our vocabulary. This led us to explore the concept of "white noise" and how it can subtly shape our mental state, often normalizing behaviors and language without us even realizing it. We highlight the importance of carving out quiet spaces for spiritual discipline, emphasizing how retreating into solitude can help us experience God's peace amidst the clamor of daily life. Through self-reflection, we find that these efforts bring us closer to understanding and prioritizing time with God.
The transformative power of sound and music takes center stage as we reflect on how these elements can shape our spiritual and emotional well-being. From the uplifting rhythms of high-energy praise music to the soothing embrace of nature's melodies, we delve into the role of sound in fostering adoration and a healthy fear of God. Our discussion culminates in a call to make purposeful choices each day, seeking divine direction for hope and healing. Join us as we explore how the right sounds can bring joy and peace, and don't forget to engage with us on social media, share your thoughts, and suggest any topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to Foxhole Symphony, a podcast about the
transformational value of men inauthentic community In our
foxhole.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Men are equipped to build relationships that foster
belonging, accountability andgrowth.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Stop believing the lie that you can thrive in
isolation and instead join us onthe journey from broken to
whole.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Hello everyone.
They call me the Maestro and weare back in the foxhole where
we actively pursue belonging,accountability and growth
through authentic relationships.
No masks, no agendas, just ironsharpening iron.
Mark and Steve are back at itand they're talking about the
noise all around us.
No, don't get your earplugs.
(00:48):
You're going to want to hearthis one.
Grab a comfortable spot, openyour notes app and let's get
started.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Hey, welcome back to Foxhole Symphony Podcast.
I'm Sarge here with Mark.
It's good to see you, brother.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Hey, how are you bro?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Hey, how are you, bro ?
I'm good, I'm good, it's.
You know, we are throughelection season officially and
we're, you know, going right inthe holiday season, and so you
know I will say that in my house, typically the house gets
decorated for Christmas afterThanksgiving, Thanksgiving
(01:23):
weekend, right?
So that's been the tradition.
Thanksgiving Thanksgivingweekend, Right?
So that's, that's, that's beenthe tradition.
Uh, well, that's no more, it's.
It's now the day after, uh,elections, apparently in an
election year.
Uh, this is so, um, you know,our house is for Christmas, uh,
as of.
November 6th and, uh, so we gottwo full months.
I said, wow, what are we Macy's?
(01:44):
We're like, we're Macy's.
Now, this is a we're like adepartment store.
Um, but it's wonderful.
No, I'm loving it and, um, youknow, but it's, yeah, it's like
one of these things, man, justyou know the season's just
running into each other andclashing and the messages and
the.
You know we start hearing aboutChristmas now and, like you
(02:05):
know, the Christmas songs, right, like families and spouses
argue about you know when, whenit's too early to play Christmas
music, and the messaging andthe marketing, right.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Big box stores had Christmas stuff little bits,
little bits of Christmas stuff.
I won't remember.
I won't mention the name of thestore that begins with a big
red C, but they had Christmasstuff out at Labor Day.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
That's what I mean, right, and uh, so yeah, so much
messaging, so much messaging man, so much noise, and and you
know it's, it's, I know you,you've, you know I, I look at
you and I listened to you andyou're, you've been so good at,
like, reducing the level ofnoise in your life.
(02:49):
And you know, over these lastcouple of years, especially
since COVID, but even the lastcouple of years, and um, and I'm
like you know, like I'll saythings.
You're like, yeah, I don't know, haven't heard about it, and
you know it's in one of the oneof the.
I was reading a book recentlyand then a devotional about the
book and it's about redeemingyour time.
(03:10):
And one of the things that issaid in that is you know, if you
want to redeem your time, like,start getting your news from
your friends, from your friends.
And he and he says, like, ifyou actually stop getting your
news from wherever you get it,like the important stuff, you'll
(03:30):
actually get it through thoseclosest to you.
They will inform you what youneed to know.
And I'm like, and I thought ofyou, I thought of you, I'm like
man that's, that's Mark, he'sliving that and I'm so not.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
I am, I am, I admit it, I am, I am, I admit it, and
it was gosh.
So the first time I can recallstopping the noise was turning
off a conservative talking headback about 20 years ago, where I
just I was a devotee.
(04:02):
I was in it man, Neil, Weaver,Rush and Sean, and a lot of that
noise was coming at me and I'vespent a lot of time this is
pre-podcast where there weren'tpodcasts.
Maybe my taste in music hadchanged by that point.
Now I feel like I'm more intoclassical music, even though if
Eddie Van Halen comes on, I'llgo with Eddie.
But long story short, Iremember it then.
(04:26):
But you're right, it's aboutthe last six, seven, eight years
that I specifically said.
That's it.
I'm not reading or listening toany news.
So whatever is considered news,that is, TV news, newspaper
digital news, social media newsthe only reason I have no, you
know this and I've talked about,I think, in the three years
(04:47):
we've been doing this togetherby the way, we've almost been
doing this three years togetherUm, I, I.
The only reason I have aFacebook account is because of
the podcast.
When you help me, set up aFacebook account in 2021 for
this podcast, other than that 21for this podcast.
(05:07):
Other than that, I am socialmedia free and a lot of it has
to do with how loud the worldwas.
I felt like it was very hardfor me I'm easily distracted, as
it is, but that just took it toa level where it was unhealthy
for me.
I was doing some really healthythings in my life and it just
made sense to me.
I wasn't taking out any ads totell people I'm off the net, I'm
(05:29):
off the grid, but I just saidthat's it.
And I realized in about a yearand you, you pointed this out to
me just in some of ourconversations, cause I'd sound
like a ding dong talking to youabout some current event and I
didn't have a clue, and so Iactually admitted this at
lunchtime to a pastor friend ofours yesterday and we talked
(05:51):
about the noise and we'retalking about the podcast and so
on, and I just said the risk ofgetting quieting the noise is
you're not hip, I am not hip, Iam clearly not current, I'm not
hip.
I have no game, I don't and II'm.
I'm selling for a living right,Having kind of contemporary
news and being able to, but youknow what Sarge I've I've
(06:14):
navigated through it and I'mokay with my unhipness.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Yeah, yeah, that makes sense, yeah, it makes
total sense man, and it'samazing and I've also seen that
makes sense.
Yeah, it makes total sense, man,and it's amazing and I've also
seen.
You know the result of that, inpart, is I've seen your prayer
life and your scripture reading.
The time you spend in scriptureand prayer has exponentially
grown and therefore yourmaturity as a believer has
(06:45):
skyrocketed.
And so you know, that's justsome of the fruit of making
those hard decisions to cut outthe noise, yeah, and so I say
that to you know, just likealert our audience that they're.
You know, the benefits are real, the benefits are real and
they're emotional, psychological, they're spiritual.
(07:05):
You know, and so you know again, it's, it's, we all have the
same amount of time in the dayand how we use it, how we choose
to use it, is up to us.
You know, we, we, we tend tomake excuses I don't have enough
time, you know and we all havethe same amount of time in a day
, and so it's.
It's just we get to choose howwe use it.
So, but you know, even asidefrom making those decisions,
(07:28):
though, right, like there aresome conscious decisions we
could make to tune things out.
But, boy, I mean, unless you'reliving in, you know a hole,
right, like you know a barracks,a basement, it's, it's tough to
avoid the noise, right, whetherthat's from a media source,
(07:49):
whether it's from you know otherpeople, you know again, like I,
just anything right, anymessaging commercials, you know.
If you watch any TV, if you,you know, whatever you turn on,
you know there's there's noise,there's opinions, there's, you
know it's.
So, yeah, what is the noise?
Right, define, define the noise.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Well, that's just it.
I love the word cacophony,right, if you, if you look up
right, it's just a good word andthat's what it is.
It's messy, dark noise.
That's what I'm trying to do isescape the darkness.
I don't need any.
I don't need the world first ofall telling me what to think.
That's, that's a problem for me.
Now, maybe there's some pridein there, but I just don't want
(08:32):
people.
I'm tired of people shouting atme about what to think and
telling me to take sides andthings like that.
It's just, it's anuncomfortable place for me and
then everybody's pushingsomething at me.
I can remember the joy, bro.
How long ago was it that thelike the Amazon echo, came out,
the little disc and you put itdown and you say, hey, echo,
(08:52):
what's the weather?
And then I found out about twoweeks later that echo was
telling me things about me.
I'm like, how do you know that?
Right, what?
Who's listening?
Are you listening to me?
And I mean, I know my phonedoes it now.
I mean, I'm not conspiratorial,you know that.
But Maria and I are talkingabout buying a rug the other day
and I get more rug ads.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Everybody knows, it happens Right.
Everybody knows.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
So meta, whatever AI is making me nuts, people making
stuff up about think this way.
So there's this mixture ofnoises and, like anything else,
it's it's it's.
Here's a good analogy.
I think it's like going to asalad buffet you know and you
take, take some of this.
I take the beets Nah, I don'tlike that beets.
(09:37):
Who takes beets?
And for me?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
I'm teasing, but you go down the line, you take what
you desire right, these thingsmake up my salad bowl and there
(10:14):
are things you leave behind, andthat's the kind of discipline I
think we need to, whether it bethe news source we decide to
select and get our news from, Iknow you and I get our news
there.
There's there, there are lots ofneat options out there, but if
you're, if you, if you consumeyour news for mainstream media,
you know you, you gotta knowwhat you're getting and it's
it's, you know it's not truth,right, and so you know it does
(10:37):
come down to, um, you know truth, right, it does come down to
the noise I would almost defineas anything other than truth,
right, anything that gets in theway of truth and truth.
(10:58):
You know there's a lot of talk,culturally right, there's been
for years about your truth andmy truth and respecting each
other's truth, and it's nonsense, right, it's nonsense I mean
the scriptures are clear about.
You know what the truth is,more than that, who the truth is
, right.
Jesus is the truth, is thetruth the way and the life,
right, and and so, and there's,there's an enemy, right, who's
(11:20):
the father of lies?
The opposite.
So you know, listen, lots ofscriptural reference, lots of
biblical reference, so you know,if Jesus is truth right, it
would serve us well to spendmost of our time listening to
consuming truth right.
(11:40):
And so you know, anything otherthan that is likely spun in
some form or fashion.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
There's an agenda.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
There's an agenda of some sort.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Whether you're being sold to, whether you're being
marketed to, whether you're, youknow, you're just again,
depending on who's deliveringthe message.
It's not pure, it's impure,right, and so that's putting it
it lightly.
Then there's the you knoweverything else and so you know,
for, for starters, right, it'sjust wise, as a follower of
(12:15):
jesus, to think about, to beaware of, you know, the
information we are consuming,the entertainment we're
consuming.
So it's not just media, youknow news, right, sources, but
it's, it's just mediaentertainment.
You know, what are we?
What are we putting into us?
What are we consuming?
What are we taking in?
(12:35):
Right, and it matters, and itand it, it changes us, it
changes our thought patterns, itchanges our you know, our, our,
our, our, you know internalcompass, right, it, I mean it
changes who we are, how webehave.
I mean, you know, I mean all ofthat.
There are implications, and so,um, you know, our, our, our
(12:57):
thoughts and hearts shift due towhat it is we consume.
And so, you know, all of thiscan be in my mind, it falls
under the category of noise,right, there's distraction,
there's simple distraction.
Maybe it's not a media sourceor entertainment, but there's
just, there's the circumstantialdistractions of life, the
(13:18):
things maybe that we make biggerthan they really are right,
because, let me tell you, we'vegot an enemy that loves to
distract us, loves to keep usfrom being on mission.
Whatever that God-given missionmight be right, and it might
just be this little circumstanceor this little annoyance, or
whatever it is right, and all ofa sudden our entire focus is on
(13:39):
that, it's all we can see, andall of a sudden we're off
mission.
Right, noise.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
So not hard to turn right.
It's not that that little pivot, like all of a sudden you're
like wait a minute, how did Iget here?
Speaker 2 (13:53):
And you know, what the loudest noise is in my life,
what the notifications on myphone and and I'm like, well, I
don't, well, it's not.
No, you know, I turned the dingoff.
Ding, ding, ding, ding.
I turn it off.
Okay, so now it's, you know,it's like listen the end of the
(14:19):
day, or maybe I turn, I silenceit completely, but it's still
flashing up on the screen andevery time it does, there's like
a little dopamine hit, there'sa little like I have to see what
it said, I have to know whatthe message is.
I have to like, oh my goodness,to the extent it can't be.
What so like turn yournotifications off, turn them off
turn them off for the weekRight Right.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
That's why I got rid of my Apple watch in 30 days,
cause I couldn't stop looking atmy wrist.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Really, I'm in meetings.
It's just vibrating're.
You're talking to somebody.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
How?
You know how annoying is it ifyou're talking to somebody and
they're like you know, allthey're doing is looking at
their phone and they, you know,their attention's not on you.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
You know it right, everybody knows it.
It's like the eye contact thing, because part of my mission
statement is I'm present and Iswear that's aspirational, like
I really want to be present.
Let me tell you a quick storyabout the consumption and how it
changed.
That environment changes us.
I have a.
I'm a guinea pig, withoutknowing it, but I watched a
(15:41):
particular show on Apple TV twoyears ago.
Three seasons, eight episodesper season, 24 episodes and
there were only 40 minuteepisodes.
Not a lot when you add it up.
I'm saying all that to say itwasn't a ton of time.
It literally changed myvocabulary because on this
particular TV show, one man saidthe F word, every other word,
(16:06):
and at first I was like thisisn't for me, but it was so
funny and so and, and, and we,we decided we're going to watch
it.
For six months after the showwas over, I had to catch myself
from saying the F word and Idon't cuss, but I.
It took me six, seven, eightmonths to to like stop, bite my
(16:31):
tongue, really.
So I'm, I'm here to say toanybody listening, if you, if
you're wondering if what youconsume with your eyes and your
ears impacts how you think andwhat you say, yes, and there's
probably some smart scientistsout there that will tell us
about environmental science andhow this all works.
But all I'm telling you is, if astupid sitcom can do that to me
(16:56):
, wow, you know, holy cow, it'samazing to me what we let come
in, what gets through thefilters that we have.
Couldn't agree with you more.
I was thinking about what doeswhite noise mean?
That was a term we use, right,white noise to some people.
My son has tinnitus.
You know Jack suffers fromtinnitus and he has white noise
(17:19):
generators in his ear, so allday long he has the tinnitus
ringing.
But then the opposite frequencyhe has, right, that hissing
sound going the other way.
That's what we think whitenoise is.
But I'm guilty.
I like having some noise in thebackground at night when I'm
sleeping.
I'll often go to sleep with apodcast in my ear or music in my
(17:42):
ear or a video in my ear.
I'm not looking at anything,but that's how I'm crashing.
Not a good habit, I realizethat, but ultimately I let white
noise in and I'm learning that.
Not a good idea.
It's just more noise, it's asubstitute noise.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Most of the noise I'm trying to filter is dark, you
know?
Yeah, it's the shouters.
It's the doom.
You know they call it doomscrolling.
Well, I don't have to worryabout scrolling.
It's the doom that you'reyelling at me about, because for
me it comes down to a lack oftrust.
It's a trust issue.
Yeah, folks who are yelling atme, I have a problem trusting it
(18:25):
.
You talked about the politicalthing and I don't know that.
I don't trust these people.
Stop telling me how to vote andhow to think and what to what
to believe.
It comes back to the word.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Yeah, there's, there's a normalization factor.
Right, you talked about theprofanity and you know like how,
how, how you, you get suckedinto that Right, and then, like
things get normalized right,you're like, oh, okay, like I
just you know, oh yeah, the Fword, no, it's normal normal,
normal, normal, normal right.
And then even that, and thenthere's the, there's the, what
(18:57):
we see, right, what we see, whatwe hear, what we take in, but
then it's also just theconsistency of the noise.
Going back to your point, thenoise we get used to, we
normalize the noise so that weget to a point where we can no
longer be still and quiet enoughto actually hear from the Lord.
(19:18):
And that's the.
That's the part that is mostconcerning to me is that, you
know, for me, and it has to dowith pace, but it also has to do
with the again, it's the noise,it's the distraction, it's the
constant If, if the first thingthat happens in the morning, my
phone, you know, ding, ding, andthere's a thousand
notifications I'm going to gothrough, and all of a sudden
that's it, I'm off and runningright, and it keeps me from time
(19:41):
in the Lord.
So I have to be really, reallydisciplined about that.
And so you know, ultimately,this resistance to the noise
that we're talking about, youknow, really, what we're talking
about is embracing quiet,embracing solitude, and you know
, really, modeling, and you knowwhat Jesus showed us, right,
(20:06):
and to retreating, to be withhis father, like retreating, to
get away from the noise.
He did it all the time right Toget out of the crowds, to get
out of the noise, to escape thatand get alone with God.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Yes, right, and yeah, and so we gave you know we were
talking about a lot ofpractical things and we can get
even more practical because youand I love that.
We'll give you an action list,give you a to-do list, but it's,
you know, it is, you know thisheart condition and that has
(20:41):
dramatic implications on youknow the time we do, or don't,
spend listening, just listeningin quiet, to hear the soft,
still voice of God, and you knowit is for me I'll just speak
for myself really hard to hear.
(21:01):
I get it Really hard to hear.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
And I know how you feel, even seeing your note this
morning in our devotionaltogether and we didn't talk
about this beforehand, butthere's a look I think there's a
self-inventory required.
I don't mean to be toopractical about this, but if, if
you sat down at the end of aday and thought about the amount
(21:25):
of time you gave God a fairchance to get through to you
yeah, let me say thatdifferently If I looked in the
mirror and said Lord, you know,did I give you a fair chance?
Did I listen for you today?
So many days?
The answer would be no.
There would be time everymorning.
(21:46):
That hour is God's and mine andit's the best part of my day.
But that giddy up notification,here we come, check the list off
.
Baby Woo, I'm just trained.
It's Pavlovian, you know.
Yeah, but let's agree that theenemy is in the noise, because
anything that distracts you saidthis to your point anything
(22:10):
that distracts from listeningfor our God, our King, our
Savior, the Holy Spirit, that'sof the devil.
He wants us distracted,frustrated, befuddled.
Right, those are the things hewants.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and, and that, and
this is why I mean we were given, you know, the gift of the
Sabbath, right?
I mean, it was, it was, youknow, like, this was a, this was
something given to us as a gift, right, as a gift rather than
(22:45):
an obligation.
And so you know, obviously foryou know too much time this was
seen as an obligation, and youknow, when we start to discover,
you know what the, the richesin Sabbath rhythms, um, I can't
(23:06):
even believe I'm saying thesewords.
I can't believe I'm using thislanguage, right?
Because, like, I'm actuallysaying it, are you?
Speaker 1 (23:12):
writing your own prescription.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
No, because I've got listen.
I mean it's taken 50 years, butlike I, you know, as you know,
I mean the whole mantra ofembrace solitude, you know, uh,
like last year, you know, it wasjust, it was such a, such a
beautiful you did so good, Imean you really, you know like
for for the for 49 years it was.
(23:37):
It was not right, so like, but Ihave discovered the riches of
it.
I have discovered, like I know,I mean it keeps me rooted in my
faith and, you know, connectedto the vine and you know.
And so it took a lot ofdiscipline and a lot of time and
(23:57):
a lot of practice and Iremember saying, like gosh, like
it's so hard for me to be stillso.
It was all about it wasactivities and it was like, okay
, well, what activities right,what activities are acceptable
for the Sabbath and what aren'tright?
And so you know, am Ireplenished?
Is it?
Am I basking in God's goodness?
Am I rejoicing in him and hisgoodness in my life through
(24:20):
those activities?
Yeah that's that's good for,that's that's good for Sabbath,
right, um, but you know it's,it's, uh, there's some really
simple principles you know to toobserve and experience the
(24:41):
riches of Sabbath rhythms.
You know, um, you know whetherthat's a weekly Sabbath or
whether it's even daily.
You know a daily rhythm, um,quarterly rhythms, whatever, um,
but you know, obviously notworking right, like we've.
You know we're, we, god'sdesigned us for work and taking,
taking that rest from work.
You know, for a 24 hour periodonce a week, and you know, um,
(25:03):
you know, possibly even moreRight.
And then there's the physical,the physical aspects of the
Sabbath.
Just, you know, resting ourbrain, and this is where it goes
back to the noise and how muchwe need to process on a regular
basis is we're marketed to andwe're messaged to and all that
it's like turning that off togive rest to our brains, so that
(25:23):
you know God can, you know,literally restore our brains,
right, that information is we'renot on information overload and
our and our body needs it.
Our physical bodies need that,and you know.
And then just delighting andpraise, delighting in him and
praising him and contemplatingon his awesomeness and his
goodness and his holiness, likeyou know.
(25:46):
That's what the Sabbath is allabout, and it provides rest, it
provides health, it providesperspective and it provides
space to hear from God, to growin God and to um to be restored,
really to be restored in in whowe are, as we acknowledge who
(26:06):
he is.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
You're doing great.
I love listening to you talkabout this.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
This is awesome Cause I have to break it down, you
know, otherwise I'm like youknow, it's for me it's like
overly complicated and it's not.
It's not overly complicated, no, and let's, let's talk about
that.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Okay's not, it's not overly complicated, no, and
let's talk about that, Okay.
So so if you're thinking ifyou're listening to us, I hope
and you're thinking I can't,I've, I've got to move, there's
noise, it's a noisy place.
This is how I operate andthat's the way it goes, that may
be true.
I'm not saying any listenerthat you don't know your
situation.
I'm saying we are saying Ibelieve that you can stop, you
(26:45):
can make time, you can adjustyour schedule.
Don't stop lying about what youcan't do.
What you can do is make timefor God, Give him a chance in
certain noises that are fruitful, fulfilling Sarge.
What are some noises you like?
Give me name a noise.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Yeah, I mean I love music.
I love music.
What kind of music?
Be more specific?
I mean I love especially, likehigh energy praise music.
Okay, yep, depends on my mood,depends on my mood, depends on
my activity, what I'm doing.
But I mean I also love quiet,slow, you know, praise music.
So for me, like I just love toagain to get into that space of
(27:32):
praise and adoration and justagain acknowledging God and his
majesty and his awesomeness,which I think is so critical
because we can fall into thistrap of like Jesus is our buddy
and our best friend.
Critical because we can fallinto this trap of like Jesus is
our buddy and our best friend.
And yeah, he is.
But like having a, a, a, ahealthy fear of God is, is the
beginning of all wisdom.
Yeah, and so, and so you knowyou want more wisdom in your
(27:53):
life.
We have to establish a healthyfear, fear of God, and that's
not like fear scared, right, butit is.
It's more than just a reverence, it's the awesomeness, but
anyway, so-.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
Give me another sound that you like, some other noise
that you how about naturesounds?
Speaker 2 (28:12):
Yeah, love the waves, you know me man.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
That's the one right, the birds, the waves.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
We share that one right.
So these are practical Praisemusic waves.
You know what here in Northeastin the fall, you know this,
when everything is still on thetrees and the leaves get crispy
if you sit down and be quiet andlisten to the wind.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Blowing through the right that that God's in that.
God made that tree right Now.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
I got palm trees, I got the, I got the palm the
fronds yeah.
Perfect.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Semen.
You've got to breeze prettymuch all the time.
Another noise I like is um.
It doesn't happen very oftenanymore, but my youngest son,
jack, will be get on the pianoand I'll be someplace in the
house and all of a sudden youjust hear a couple of notes.
He'll he'll like.
When he's not studying, hehe'll sit down and play the
(29:08):
theme to a movie we like, or,and I'm just I'll stop and sit
there and I said, um, here'sanother one for me.
Believe it or not, this willsound awkward.
The Bible project, the set, thevoices of the two, tim and John,
the guys who for some reasonthat gets me there when they're
(29:29):
in a podcast or in a class andtalking about the Bible.
I am entranced, I am hooked onthose voices and you know you
have voices you like.
It's kind of how we adjust ourtelephones, like what voice do
you want on Siri?
What do you want your phonesaying to you?
Do you want the Australian, theEnglish, the American?
(29:49):
Everybody has theirs.
Those guys, that voice, and I'msaying these things to say
listeners, whatever those soundsare that you enjoy, those are
gifts.
Yeah, withoutbrace, those whenthe Bible is being read.
(30:10):
How many apps are there now,where you can hear a myriad of
voices, whatever you want tohear.
From the word I mean come on,let's be honest Psalms.
From the word I mean come on,let's be honest Psalms.
You've done it.
Where someone's just readingPsalms to you.
How wonderful is that, howfulfilling, how fruitful is that
noise in our lives?
And you can.
(30:31):
You can slow and stop thecacophony and make it beautiful.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
There are.
There are two.
Two other noises that came tomind that I really love to hear.
I'm not sure how godly orspiritual they are, but one is
the collective sort of cheer ofan entire stadium.
Right, like you know game sevenof the world series right, like
(30:57):
you know.
Or or the you know thecollective applause and
screaming you know, of fans likeI, just you know.
Or or the you know thecollective applause and
screaming you know of fans likeI, just you know, as a fan.
Right, um, you know.
Bottom of the ninth two outsfull count, right, like I mean,
that's, I love that, um.
And then, oh man, the sound ofsome nice loud pipes on a Harley
(31:18):
.
Just love it.
I can't take it Cracking somepipes.
I mean, listen, I'm sure God'sin that somewhere.
God's in it somewhere.
It's just a beautiful it's abeautiful noise.
When God said make a beautifulnoise, right Like you know, I
think that's what he meant withmotorcycles, I'm pretty sure.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
I knew I was in trouble, I went.
I don't know how.
I'm in my fifties, I'm a littlebit older than you are now.
I went to a parade and you knowwhen the fire engines turn them
on high and they do the sirensand it feels like your head's
going to explode.
I was like I'm out, that's it.
No more parades.
I see a fire truck.
I'm heading West.
(31:56):
I'm out of this so so let,closing, that we believe in our
hearts that the world will tryand fill your head with negative
noise, dark noise, things thataren't of God, that you can
adjust that noise.
You can adjust the volume, youcan adjust the tone.
You can adjust the tune andmelody of your life.
(32:16):
You absolutely can.
You can do it by breathing,embracing solitude, meditating.
You're in control and we blessyou and say, lord, thank you for
giving us the ability to choosewhat we consume.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Amen, amen, amen.
Brother, this was a goodconversation.
Oh, I love this.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
Thank you so much.
Good to see you.
As always, you're looking tanand fit and clean and crisp.
I know you said you're tired,but you look good bro.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Thanks, brother, All right, Good to see you, man.
Hey, thanks for listeningeverybody to another episode of
the Foxhole Symphony Podcast.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
Share it with a friend and we'll talk to you
soon.
Peace.
What are we feeding our heartsand minds?
How much time do we set asidefor God and the things that
honor him in that relationship?
What do we allow to slip in?
Because it's not anythingreally bad, it's not a big deal.
I know the difference betweenright and wrong, good and bad.
(33:25):
There are very purpose-filledchoices we have to make each day
.
There are very purpose-filledchoices I have to make each day.
We should all take inventoryand go before the Lord to hear
what he has to say about it.
Lord, please continue to usethis podcast to impact the lives
of all who listen.
(33:46):
I ask that you would bring hopeand healing to each and every
one of them.
Meet them right where they areand reveal yourself to them like
only you can do, in Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
If you enjoyed today's episode, please share it
and invite others to theFoxhole.
You can find us wherever youdownload your favorite podcast.
Be sure to subscribe so youknow when new episodes drop, and
please rate us and commentthere too, as it'll help us get
found by others who couldbenefit.
Find, follow and like us onyour go-to social media networks
by searching Foxhole Symphonyor visit foxholesymphonycom to
(34:20):
make it super easy to find us.
Drop us a line with feedback,questions, topic requests.
Who knows, Maybe you'll be aguest on a future episode.
In the meantime, prepare tomove, embrace discomfort and
just be you.
Welcome to Foxhole Symphony, a podcast about the
transformational value of men inauthentic community In our
foxhole.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Men are equipped to build relationships that foster
belonging, accountability andgrowth.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Stop believing the lie that you can thrive in
isolation and instead join us onthe journey from broken to
whole.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Hello everyone.
They call me the Maestro and weare back in the foxhole where
we actively pursue belonging,accountability and growth
through authentic relationships.
No masks, no agendas, just ironsharpening iron.
Mark and Steve are back at itand they're talking about the
noise all around us.
No, don't get your earplugs.
(00:48):
You're going to want to hearthis one.
Grab a comfortable spot, openyour notes app and let's get
started.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Hey, welcome back to Foxhole Symphony Podcast.
I'm Sarge here with Mark.
It's good to see you, brother.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Hey, how are you bro?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Hey, how are you, bro ?
I'm good, I'm good, it's.
You know, we are throughelection season officially and
we're, you know, going right inthe holiday season, and so you
know I will say that in my house, typically the house gets
decorated for Christmas afterThanksgiving, Thanksgiving
(01:23):
weekend, right?
So that's been the tradition.
Thanksgiving Thanksgivingweekend, Right?
So that's, that's, that's beenthe tradition.
Uh, well, that's no more, it's.
It's now the day after, uh,elections, apparently in an
election year.
Uh, this is so, um, you know,our house is for Christmas, uh,
as of.
November 6th and, uh, so we gottwo full months.
I said, wow, what are we Macy's?
(01:44):
We're like, we're Macy's.
Now, this is a we're like adepartment store.
Um, but it's wonderful.
No, I'm loving it and, um, youknow, but it's, yeah, it's like
one of these things, man, justyou know the season's just
running into each other andclashing and the messages and
the.
You know we start hearing aboutChristmas now and, like you
(02:05):
know, the Christmas songs, right, like families and spouses
argue about you know when, whenit's too early to play Christmas
music, and the messaging andthe marketing, right.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Big box stores had Christmas stuff little bits,
little bits of Christmas stuff.
I won't remember.
I won't mention the name of thestore that begins with a big
red C, but they had Christmasstuff out at Labor Day.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
That's what I mean, right, and uh, so yeah, so much
messaging, so much messaging man, so much noise, and and you
know it's, it's, I know you,you've, you know I, I look at
you and I listened to you andyou're, you've been so good at,
like, reducing the level ofnoise in your life.
(02:49):
And you know, over these lastcouple of years, especially
since COVID, but even the lastcouple of years, and um, and I'm
like you know, like I'll saythings.
You're like, yeah, I don't know, haven't heard about it, and
you know it's in one of the oneof the.
I was reading a book recentlyand then a devotional about the
book and it's about redeemingyour time.
(03:10):
And one of the things that issaid in that is you know, if you
want to redeem your time, like,start getting your news from
your friends, from your friends.
And he and he says, like, ifyou actually stop getting your
news from wherever you get it,like the important stuff, you'll
(03:30):
actually get it through thoseclosest to you.
They will inform you what youneed to know.
And I'm like, and I thought ofyou, I thought of you, I'm like
man that's, that's Mark, he'sliving that and I'm so not.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
I am, I am, I admit it, I am, I am, I admit it, and
it was gosh.
So the first time I can recallstopping the noise was turning
off a conservative talking headback about 20 years ago, where I
just I was a devotee.
(04:02):
I was in it man, Neil, Weaver,Rush and Sean, and a lot of that
noise was coming at me and I'vespent a lot of time this is
pre-podcast where there weren'tpodcasts.
Maybe my taste in music hadchanged by that point.
Now I feel like I'm more intoclassical music, even though if
Eddie Van Halen comes on, I'llgo with Eddie.
But long story short, Iremember it then.
(04:26):
But you're right, it's aboutthe last six, seven, eight years
that I specifically said.
That's it.
I'm not reading or listening toany news.
So whatever is considered news,that is, TV news, newspaper
digital news, social media newsthe only reason I have no, you
know this and I've talked about,I think, in the three years
(04:47):
we've been doing this togetherby the way, we've almost been
doing this three years togetherUm, I, I.
The only reason I have aFacebook account is because of
the podcast.
When you help me, set up aFacebook account in 2021 for
this podcast, other than that 21for this podcast.
(05:07):
Other than that, I am socialmedia free and a lot of it has
to do with how loud the worldwas.
I felt like it was very hardfor me I'm easily distracted, as
it is, but that just took it toa level where it was unhealthy
for me.
I was doing some really healthythings in my life and it just
made sense to me.
I wasn't taking out any ads totell people I'm off the net, I'm
(05:29):
off the grid, but I just saidthat's it.
And I realized in about a yearand you, you pointed this out to
me just in some of ourconversations, cause I'd sound
like a ding dong talking to youabout some current event and I
didn't have a clue, and so Iactually admitted this at
lunchtime to a pastor friend ofours yesterday and we talked
(05:51):
about the noise and we'retalking about the podcast and so
on, and I just said the risk ofgetting quieting the noise is
you're not hip, I am not hip, Iam clearly not current, I'm not
hip.
I have no game, I don't and II'm.
I'm selling for a living right,Having kind of contemporary
news and being able to, but youknow what Sarge I've I've
(06:14):
navigated through it and I'mokay with my unhipness.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Yeah, yeah, that makes sense, yeah, it makes
total sense man, and it'samazing and I've also seen that
makes sense.
Yeah, it makes total sense, man,and it's amazing and I've also
seen.
You know the result of that, inpart, is I've seen your prayer
life and your scripture reading.
The time you spend in scriptureand prayer has exponentially
grown and therefore yourmaturity as a believer has
(06:45):
skyrocketed.
And so you know, that's justsome of the fruit of making
those hard decisions to cut outthe noise, yeah, and so I say
that to you know, just likealert our audience that they're.
You know, the benefits are real, the benefits are real and
they're emotional, psychological, they're spiritual.
(07:05):
You know, and so you know again, it's, it's, we all have the
same amount of time in the dayand how we use it, how we choose
to use it, is up to us.
You know, we, we, we tend tomake excuses I don't have enough
time, you know and we all havethe same amount of time in a day
, and so it's.
It's just we get to choose howwe use it.
So, but you know, even asidefrom making those decisions,
(07:28):
though, right, like there aresome conscious decisions we
could make to tune things out.
But, boy, I mean, unless you'reliving in, you know a hole,
right, like you know a barracks,a basement, it's, it's tough to
avoid the noise, right, whetherthat's from a media source,
(07:49):
whether it's from you know otherpeople, you know again, like I,
just anything right, anymessaging commercials, you know.
If you watch any TV, if you,you know, whatever you turn on,
you know there's there's noise,there's opinions, there's, you
know it's.
So, yeah, what is the noise?
Right, define, define the noise.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Well, that's just it.
I love the word cacophony,right, if you, if you look up
right, it's just a good word andthat's what it is.
It's messy, dark noise.
That's what I'm trying to do isescape the darkness.
I don't need any.
I don't need the world first ofall telling me what to think.
That's, that's a problem for me.
Now, maybe there's some pridein there, but I just don't want
(08:32):
people.
I'm tired of people shouting atme about what to think and
telling me to take sides andthings like that.
It's just, it's anuncomfortable place for me and
then everybody's pushingsomething at me.
I can remember the joy, bro.
How long ago was it that thelike the Amazon echo, came out,
the little disc and you put itdown and you say, hey, echo,
(08:52):
what's the weather?
And then I found out about twoweeks later that echo was
telling me things about me.
I'm like, how do you know that?
Right, what?
Who's listening?
Are you listening to me?
And I mean, I know my phonedoes it now.
I mean, I'm not conspiratorial,you know that.
But Maria and I are talkingabout buying a rug the other day
and I get more rug ads.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Everybody knows, it happens Right.
Everybody knows.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
So meta, whatever AI is making me nuts, people making
stuff up about think this way.
So there's this mixture ofnoises and, like anything else,
it's it's it's.
Here's a good analogy.
I think it's like going to asalad buffet you know and you
take, take some of this.
I take the beets Nah, I don'tlike that beets.
(09:37):
Who takes beets?
And for me?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
I'm teasing, but you go down the line, you take what
you desire right, these thingsmake up my salad bowl and there
(10:14):
are things you leave behind, andthat's the kind of discipline I
think we need to, whether it bethe news source we decide to
select and get our news from, Iknow you and I get our news
there.
There's there, there are lots ofneat options out there, but if
you're, if you, if you consumeyour news for mainstream media,
you know you, you gotta knowwhat you're getting and it's
it's, you know it's not truth,right, and so you know it does
(10:37):
come down to, um, you know truth, right, it does come down to
the noise I would almost defineas anything other than truth,
right, anything that gets in theway of truth and truth.
(10:58):
You know there's a lot of talk,culturally right, there's been
for years about your truth andmy truth and respecting each
other's truth, and it's nonsense, right, it's nonsense I mean
the scriptures are clear about.
You know what the truth is,more than that, who the truth is
, right.
Jesus is the truth, is thetruth the way and the life,
right, and and so, and there's,there's an enemy, right, who's
(11:20):
the father of lies?
The opposite.
So you know, listen, lots ofscriptural reference, lots of
biblical reference, so you know,if Jesus is truth right, it
would serve us well to spendmost of our time listening to
consuming truth right.
(11:40):
And so you know, anything otherthan that is likely spun in
some form or fashion.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
There's an agenda.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
There's an agenda of some sort.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Whether you're being sold to, whether you're being
marketed to, whether you're, youknow, you're just again,
depending on who's deliveringthe message.
It's not pure, it's impure,right, and so that's putting it
it lightly.
Then there's the you knoweverything else and so you know,
for, for starters, right, it'sjust wise, as a follower of
(12:15):
jesus, to think about, to beaware of, you know, the
information we are consuming,the entertainment we're
consuming.
So it's not just media, youknow news, right, sources, but
it's, it's just mediaentertainment.
You know, what are we?
What are we putting into us?
What are we consuming?
What are we taking in?
(12:35):
Right, and it matters, and itand it, it changes us, it
changes our thought patterns, itchanges our you know, our, our,
our, our, you know internalcompass, right, it, I mean it
changes who we are, how webehave.
I mean, you know, I mean all ofthat.
There are implications, and so,um, you know, our, our, our
(12:57):
thoughts and hearts shift due towhat it is we consume.
And so, you know, all of thiscan be in my mind, it falls
under the category of noise,right, there's distraction,
there's simple distraction.
Maybe it's not a media sourceor entertainment, but there's
just, there's the circumstantialdistractions of life, the
(13:18):
things maybe that we make biggerthan they really are right,
because, let me tell you, we'vegot an enemy that loves to
distract us, loves to keep usfrom being on mission.
Whatever that God-given missionmight be right, and it might
just be this little circumstanceor this little annoyance, or
whatever it is right, and all ofa sudden our entire focus is on
(13:39):
that, it's all we can see, andall of a sudden we're off
mission.
Right, noise.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
So not hard to turn right.
It's not that that little pivot, like all of a sudden you're
like wait a minute, how did Iget here?
Speaker 2 (13:53):
And you know, what the loudest noise is in my life,
what the notifications on myphone and and I'm like, well, I
don't, well, it's not.
No, you know, I turned the dingoff.
Ding, ding, ding, ding.
I turn it off.
Okay, so now it's, you know,it's like listen the end of the
(14:19):
day, or maybe I turn, I silenceit completely, but it's still
flashing up on the screen andevery time it does, there's like
a little dopamine hit, there'sa little like I have to see what
it said, I have to know whatthe message is.
I have to like, oh my goodness,to the extent it can't be.
What so like turn yournotifications off, turn them off
turn them off for the weekRight Right.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
That's why I got rid of my Apple watch in 30 days,
cause I couldn't stop looking atmy wrist.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Really, I'm in meetings.
It's just vibrating're.
You're talking to somebody.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
How?
You know how annoying is it ifyou're talking to somebody and
they're like you know, allthey're doing is looking at
their phone and they, you know,their attention's not on you.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
You know it right, everybody knows it.
It's like the eye contact thing, because part of my mission
statement is I'm present and Iswear that's aspirational, like
I really want to be present.
Let me tell you a quick storyabout the consumption and how it
changed.
That environment changes us.
I have a.
I'm a guinea pig, withoutknowing it, but I watched a
(15:41):
particular show on Apple TV twoyears ago.
Three seasons, eight episodesper season, 24 episodes and
there were only 40 minuteepisodes.
Not a lot when you add it up.
I'm saying all that to say itwasn't a ton of time.
It literally changed myvocabulary because on this
particular TV show, one man saidthe F word, every other word,
(16:06):
and at first I was like thisisn't for me, but it was so
funny and so and, and, and we,we decided we're going to watch
it.
For six months after the showwas over, I had to catch myself
from saying the F word and Idon't cuss, but I.
It took me six, seven, eightmonths to to like stop, bite my
(16:31):
tongue, really.
So I'm, I'm here to say toanybody listening, if you, if
you're wondering if what youconsume with your eyes and your
ears impacts how you think andwhat you say, yes, and there's
probably some smart scientistsout there that will tell us
about environmental science andhow this all works.
But all I'm telling you is, if astupid sitcom can do that to me
(16:56):
, wow, you know, holy cow, it'samazing to me what we let come
in, what gets through thefilters that we have.
Couldn't agree with you more.
I was thinking about what doeswhite noise mean?
That was a term we use, right,white noise to some people.
My son has tinnitus.
You know Jack suffers fromtinnitus and he has white noise
(17:19):
generators in his ear, so allday long he has the tinnitus
ringing.
But then the opposite frequencyhe has, right, that hissing
sound going the other way.
That's what we think whitenoise is.
But I'm guilty.
I like having some noise in thebackground at night when I'm
sleeping.
I'll often go to sleep with apodcast in my ear or music in my
(17:42):
ear or a video in my ear.
I'm not looking at anything,but that's how I'm crashing.
Not a good habit, I realizethat, but ultimately I let white
noise in and I'm learning that.
Not a good idea.
It's just more noise, it's asubstitute noise.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Most of the noise I'm trying to filter is dark, you
know?
Yeah, it's the shouters.
It's the doom.
You know they call it doomscrolling.
Well, I don't have to worryabout scrolling.
It's the doom that you'reyelling at me about, because for
me it comes down to a lack oftrust.
It's a trust issue.
Yeah, folks who are yelling atme, I have a problem trusting it
(18:25):
.
You talked about the politicalthing and I don't know that.
I don't trust these people.
Stop telling me how to vote andhow to think and what to what
to believe.
It comes back to the word.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Yeah, there's, there's a normalization factor.
Right, you talked about theprofanity and you know like how,
how, how you, you get suckedinto that Right, and then, like
things get normalized right,you're like, oh, okay, like I
just you know, oh yeah, the Fword, no, it's normal normal,
normal, normal, normal right.
And then even that, and thenthere's the, there's the, what
(18:57):
we see, right, what we see, whatwe hear, what we take in, but
then it's also just theconsistency of the noise.
Going back to your point, thenoise we get used to, we
normalize the noise so that weget to a point where we can no
longer be still and quiet enoughto actually hear from the Lord.
(19:18):
And that's the.
That's the part that is mostconcerning to me is that, you
know, for me, and it has to dowith pace, but it also has to do
with the again, it's the noise,it's the distraction, it's the
constant If, if the first thingthat happens in the morning, my
phone, you know, ding, ding, andthere's a thousand
notifications I'm going to gothrough, and all of a sudden
that's it, I'm off and runningright, and it keeps me from time
(19:41):
in the Lord.
So I have to be really, reallydisciplined about that.
And so you know, ultimately,this resistance to the noise
that we're talking about, youknow, really, what we're talking
about is embracing quiet,embracing solitude, and you know
, really, modeling, and you knowwhat Jesus showed us, right,
(20:06):
and to retreating, to be withhis father, like retreating, to
get away from the noise.
He did it all the time right Toget out of the crowds, to get
out of the noise, to escape thatand get alone with God.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Yes, right, and yeah, and so we gave you know we were
talking about a lot ofpractical things and we can get
even more practical because youand I love that.
We'll give you an action list,give you a to-do list, but it's,
you know, it is, you know thisheart condition and that has
(20:41):
dramatic implications on youknow the time we do, or don't,
spend listening, just listeningin quiet, to hear the soft,
still voice of God, and you knowit is for me I'll just speak
for myself really hard to hear.
(21:01):
I get it Really hard to hear.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
And I know how you feel, even seeing your note this
morning in our devotionaltogether and we didn't talk
about this beforehand, butthere's a look I think there's a
self-inventory required.
I don't mean to be toopractical about this, but if, if
you sat down at the end of aday and thought about the amount
(21:25):
of time you gave God a fairchance to get through to you
yeah, let me say thatdifferently If I looked in the
mirror and said Lord, you know,did I give you a fair chance?
Did I listen for you today?
So many days?
The answer would be no.
There would be time everymorning.
(21:46):
That hour is God's and mine andit's the best part of my day.
But that giddy up notification,here we come, check the list off
.
Baby Woo, I'm just trained.
It's Pavlovian, you know.
Yeah, but let's agree that theenemy is in the noise, because
anything that distracts you saidthis to your point anything
(22:10):
that distracts from listeningfor our God, our King, our
Savior, the Holy Spirit, that'sof the devil.
He wants us distracted,frustrated, befuddled.
Right, those are the things hewants.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and, and that, and
this is why I mean we were given, you know, the gift of the
Sabbath, right?
I mean, it was, it was, youknow, like, this was a, this was
something given to us as a gift, right, as a gift rather than
(22:45):
an obligation.
And so you know, obviously foryou know too much time this was
seen as an obligation, and youknow, when we start to discover,
you know what the, the richesin Sabbath rhythms, um, I can't
(23:06):
even believe I'm saying thesewords.
I can't believe I'm using thislanguage, right?
Because, like, I'm actuallysaying it, are you?
Speaker 1 (23:12):
writing your own prescription.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
No, because I've got listen.
I mean it's taken 50 years, butlike I, you know, as you know,
I mean the whole mantra ofembrace solitude, you know, uh,
like last year, you know, it wasjust, it was such a, such a
beautiful you did so good, Imean you really, you know like
for for the for 49 years it was.
(23:37):
It was not right, so like, but Ihave discovered the riches of
it.
I have discovered, like I know,I mean it keeps me rooted in my
faith and, you know, connectedto the vine and you know.
And so it took a lot ofdiscipline and a lot of time and
(23:57):
a lot of practice and Iremember saying, like gosh, like
it's so hard for me to be stillso.
It was all about it wasactivities and it was like, okay
, well, what activities right,what activities are acceptable
for the Sabbath and what aren'tright?
And so you know, am Ireplenished?
Is it?
Am I basking in God's goodness?
Am I rejoicing in him and hisgoodness in my life through
(24:20):
those activities?
Yeah that's that's good for,that's that's good for Sabbath,
right, um, but you know it's,it's, uh, there's some really
simple principles you know to toobserve and experience the
(24:41):
riches of Sabbath rhythms.
You know, um, you know whetherthat's a weekly Sabbath or
whether it's even daily.
You know a daily rhythm, um,quarterly rhythms, whatever, um,
but you know, obviously notworking right, like we've.
You know we're, we, god'sdesigned us for work and taking,
taking that rest from work.
You know, for a 24 hour periodonce a week, and you know, um,
(25:03):
you know, possibly even moreRight.
And then there's the physical,the physical aspects of the
Sabbath.
Just, you know, resting ourbrain, and this is where it goes
back to the noise and how muchwe need to process on a regular
basis is we're marketed to andwe're messaged to and all that
it's like turning that off togive rest to our brains, so that
(25:23):
you know God can, you know,literally restore our brains,
right, that information is we'renot on information overload and
our and our body needs it.
Our physical bodies need that,and you know.
And then just delighting andpraise, delighting in him and
praising him and contemplatingon his awesomeness and his
goodness and his holiness, likeyou know.
(25:46):
That's what the Sabbath is allabout, and it provides rest, it
provides health, it providesperspective and it provides
space to hear from God, to growin God and to um to be restored,
really to be restored in in whowe are, as we acknowledge who
(26:06):
he is.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
You're doing great.
I love listening to you talkabout this.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
This is awesome Cause I have to break it down, you
know, otherwise I'm like youknow, it's for me it's like
overly complicated and it's not.
It's not overly complicated, no, and let's, let's talk about
that.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Okay's not, it's not overly complicated, no, and
let's talk about that, Okay.
So so if you're thinking ifyou're listening to us, I hope
and you're thinking I can't,I've, I've got to move, there's
noise, it's a noisy place.
This is how I operate andthat's the way it goes, that may
be true.
I'm not saying any listenerthat you don't know your
situation.
I'm saying we are saying Ibelieve that you can stop, you
(26:45):
can make time, you can adjustyour schedule.
Don't stop lying about what youcan't do.
What you can do is make timefor God, Give him a chance in
certain noises that are fruitful, fulfilling Sarge.
What are some noises you like?
Give me name a noise.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Yeah, I mean I love music.
I love music.
What kind of music?
Be more specific?
I mean I love especially, likehigh energy praise music.
Okay, yep, depends on my mood,depends on my mood, depends on
my activity, what I'm doing.
But I mean I also love quiet,slow, you know, praise music.
So for me, like I just love toagain to get into that space of
(27:32):
praise and adoration and justagain acknowledging God and his
majesty and his awesomeness,which I think is so critical
because we can fall into thistrap of like Jesus is our buddy
and our best friend.
Critical because we can fallinto this trap of like Jesus is
our buddy and our best friend.
And yeah, he is.
But like having a, a, a, ahealthy fear of God is, is the
beginning of all wisdom.
Yeah, and so, and so you knowyou want more wisdom in your
(27:53):
life.
We have to establish a healthyfear, fear of God, and that's
not like fear scared, right, butit is.
It's more than just a reverence, it's the awesomeness, but
anyway, so-.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
Give me another sound that you like, some other noise
that you how about naturesounds?
Speaker 2 (28:12):
Yeah, love the waves, you know me man.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
That's the one right, the birds, the waves.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
We share that one right.
So these are practical Praisemusic waves.
You know what here in Northeastin the fall, you know this,
when everything is still on thetrees and the leaves get crispy
if you sit down and be quiet andlisten to the wind.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Blowing through the right that that God's in that.
God made that tree right Now.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
I got palm trees, I got the, I got the palm the
fronds yeah.
Perfect.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Semen.
You've got to breeze prettymuch all the time.
Another noise I like is um.
It doesn't happen very oftenanymore, but my youngest son,
jack, will be get on the pianoand I'll be someplace in the
house and all of a sudden youjust hear a couple of notes.
He'll he'll like.
When he's not studying, hehe'll sit down and play the
(29:08):
theme to a movie we like, or,and I'm just I'll stop and sit
there and I said, um, here'sanother one for me.
Believe it or not, this willsound awkward.
The Bible project, the set, thevoices of the two, tim and John,
the guys who for some reasonthat gets me there when they're
(29:29):
in a podcast or in a class andtalking about the Bible.
I am entranced, I am hooked onthose voices and you know you
have voices you like.
It's kind of how we adjust ourtelephones, like what voice do
you want on Siri?
What do you want your phonesaying to you?
Do you want the Australian, theEnglish, the American?
(29:49):
Everybody has theirs.
Those guys, that voice, and I'msaying these things to say
listeners, whatever those soundsare that you enjoy, those are
gifts.
Yeah, withoutbrace, those whenthe Bible is being read.
(30:10):
How many apps are there now,where you can hear a myriad of
voices, whatever you want tohear.
From the word I mean come on,let's be honest Psalms.
From the word I mean come on,let's be honest Psalms.
You've done it.
Where someone's just readingPsalms to you.
How wonderful is that, howfulfilling, how fruitful is that
noise in our lives?
And you can.
(30:31):
You can slow and stop thecacophony and make it beautiful.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
There are.
There are two.
Two other noises that came tomind that I really love to hear.
I'm not sure how godly orspiritual they are, but one is
the collective sort of cheer ofan entire stadium.
Right, like you know game sevenof the world series right, like
(30:57):
you know.
Or or the you know thecollective applause and
screaming you know, of fans likeI, just you know.
Or or the you know thecollective applause and
screaming you know of fans likeI, just you know, as a fan.
Right, um, you know.
Bottom of the ninth two outsfull count, right, like I mean,
that's, I love that, um.
And then, oh man, the sound ofsome nice loud pipes on a Harley
(31:18):
.
Just love it.
I can't take it Cracking somepipes.
I mean, listen, I'm sure God'sin that somewhere.
God's in it somewhere.
It's just a beautiful it's abeautiful noise.
When God said make a beautifulnoise, right Like you know, I
think that's what he meant withmotorcycles, I'm pretty sure.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
I knew I was in trouble, I went.
I don't know how.
I'm in my fifties, I'm a littlebit older than you are now.
I went to a parade and you knowwhen the fire engines turn them
on high and they do the sirensand it feels like your head's
going to explode.
I was like I'm out, that's it.
No more parades.
I see a fire truck.
I'm heading West.
(31:56):
I'm out of this so so let,closing, that we believe in our
hearts that the world will tryand fill your head with negative
noise, dark noise, things thataren't of God, that you can
adjust that noise.
You can adjust the volume, youcan adjust the tone.
You can adjust the tune andmelody of your life.
(32:16):
You absolutely can.
You can do it by breathing,embracing solitude, meditating.
You're in control and we blessyou and say, lord, thank you for
giving us the ability to choosewhat we consume.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Amen, amen, amen.
Brother, this was a goodconversation.
Oh, I love this.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
Thank you so much.
Good to see you.
As always, you're looking tanand fit and clean and crisp.
I know you said you're tired,but you look good bro.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Thanks, brother, All right, Good to see you, man.
Hey, thanks for listeningeverybody to another episode of
the Foxhole Symphony Podcast.
Speaker 3 (33:03):
Share it with a friend and we'll talk to you
soon.
Peace.
What are we feeding our heartsand minds?
How much time do we set asidefor God and the things that
honor him in that relationship?
What do we allow to slip in?
Because it's not anythingreally bad, it's not a big deal.
I know the difference betweenright and wrong, good and bad.
(33:25):
There are very purpose-filledchoices we have to make each day
.
There are very purpose-filledchoices I have to make each day.
We should all take inventoryand go before the Lord to hear
what he has to say about it.
Lord, please continue to usethis podcast to impact the lives
of all who listen.
(33:46):
I ask that you would bring hopeand healing to each and every
one of them.
Meet them right where they areand reveal yourself to them like
only you can do, in Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
If you enjoyed today's episode, please share it
and invite others to theFoxhole.
You can find us wherever youdownload your favorite podcast.
Be sure to subscribe so youknow when new episodes drop, and
please rate us and commentthere too, as it'll help us get
found by others who couldbenefit.
Find, follow and like us onyour go-to social media networks
by searching Foxhole Symphonyor visit foxholesymphonycom to
(34:20):
make it super easy to find us.
Drop us a line with feedback,questions, topic requests.
Who knows, Maybe you'll be aguest on a future episode.
In the meantime, prepare tomove, embrace discomfort and
just be you.
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