May 2, 2025 • 36 mins
The relentless rhythm of modern life has many of us caught in an exhausting cycle—moving from task to task, commitment to commitment, all while feeling like we're running on empty. What happens when we realize our worth isn't tied to our productivity?
Steve and Mark open up about their personal struggles with pace and productivity in this vulnerable conversation. They discuss how easy it is to artificially inflate noise and busyness in our lives, finding ourselves explaining away downtime, prayer time, and moments of stillness as if they're somehow less valuable than constant activity. "I want to be seen as productive every day," one confesses, highlighting the core struggle many men face.
The conversation shifts to a powerful visual metaphor—a wall covered with Post-it notes representing all the opportunities, commitments, and decisions demanding attention. This overwhelming array of options leaves little space for discernment and hearing God's voice. When faced with time-sensitive opportunities that require immediate decisions, the wisest response might simply be "no," not because the opportunity lacks value, but because proper discernment requires time with God.
A particularly moving moment occurs when Mark shares discovering an 18-year-old "Experiencing God" workbook with his self-admonition: "I am ill-equipped to lead this study, so sit down and shut up." Now, years later, he finds himself leading that very study—a powerful testament to how God works in the areas where we feel least capable.
Who are you doing it for? This question emerges as the central filter for evaluating commitments. Understanding whether our actions serve ourselves, others, or God's kingdom provides clarity in a chaotic world. Remember: "You can take your foot off the gas and still be valuable to God, your family, and your friends." In fact, slowing down may be exactly what allows you to show up as the man God created you to be.
Ready to examine your own pace? Join us in the Foxhole, where men actively pursue belonging, accountability and growth through authentic relationships.
We have BIG plans at Foxhole Symphony and sure could use your financial support. Would you prayerfully consider a small monthly contribution to support us in our mission to catalyze transformation in the hearts of men? Support Our Mission
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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.
Steve and Mark are in thefoxhole today and they are
talking about the pace of ourlives.
You know what time it is?
(00:49):
Get comfortable, open yournotes app and let's get this
symphony started.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Hey, welcome back to Foxhole Symphony Podcast.
I'm Sarge here with my goodfriend Mark.
Good morning, hey brother,what's shaking?
Good morning, hey brother,what's shaking?
Well, you know, I feel like Isay this at the beginning of
almost every podcast in the lastcouple of months.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
But boy, I've just been running, I've been running
and I thought you were going totell the weather again, OK no,
no, no, no.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
We're not going to talk about the weather, ok, but
the pace, the pace of life.
And so, you know, rather thanjust talk about it at the
beginning, let's dive right inand talk about, you know, the
pace.
And, man, I don't know aboutyou.
I mean, we're obviously indifferent stages of life, we've
got different things going onfor me, um boy, when things are
(01:45):
moving, I am so much less awareof the things that I need to be
aware of, and I'm just focusedon the next thing, the next
thing, the next thing, the nextthing, but at a pace that is not
great because it's usually onmy own strength.
So how does this resonate withyou this morning?
Speaker 1 (02:07):
It does, it does I'm.
I am one of the guilty few whowill artificially inflate pace
and noise sometimes to keep tokeep that.
I want to call it edge.
I've been going so fast for solong that when you just were
(02:27):
talking about it, I'm thinkingthere are days, you're right, we
are coming at the world alittle differently these days
just difference in age,difference in careers, things
like that age of kids.
But I know that as much as Icomplain about how noisy and
(02:48):
messy the world is, there aredays where I keep it pretty darn
noisy and messy because I seemyself when I look in the mirror
as a great manager of thatstress and I can multitask my
way through it.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
I can multitask my way through it, and so so what?
Speaker 1 (03:09):
so is it to feel productive, go ahead.
Was there an or no?
No, I don't get another choice,of course.
Yes, it's so I.
I see myself as fulfilled.
It's it's.
What's option B, please?
Well, I'm looking at you,thinking is he going to give me
(03:29):
a way out of this or do I haveto admit this?
No, it certainly is.
There's people who love me,have come to expect a certain
level of production out of me,have come to expect a certain
level of production out of me,and I, wow, this is like
(03:51):
confession early, but I findmyself confessing or trying to
explain away.
Downtime, naps, prayer time,thoughtful moments, meditation.
Does that make any sense?
I do.
I find myself telling mysweetheart like what are you
doing Reading?
(04:12):
I'm doing my experience in Godstudy, unit three, day one, but
I might fall asleep while I'mdoing it, at 4.30 in the
afternoon, I don't know.
And on the other hand, I, um,what's the word I?
I, um, I pat myself on the backand take ease in that, because
(04:32):
I know.
For the seven and a half hoursprior to that I was running and
gunning between my workresponsibilities, home
responsibilities, fatherresponsibilities, husband
responsibilities, et cetera, etcetera.
Yeah, yeah.
So, the end.
The short answer to yourquestion is absolutely yes.
I want to be seen as productiveevery day, yeah, yeah, and
(04:52):
unfortunately, bro, while thereis some balance in my life in
productivity for God andproductivity for Mark, as you
stated earlier, often in my ownstrength I tip the scales toward
Mark.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yeah, yeah.
So yeah, I don't know anythingabout that, but sounds
interesting.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
You can't, you can't do that.
When I have a mouthful of tea,I'm going to snort it out my
nose.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Okay, I mean, listen, we're cut from the same cloth.
So, you know, feelingproductive and being active, you
know, being able to check a boxRight, we've to be most
effective.
But I've just got it coming atme from all ends the demands,
(05:56):
the opportunities, the options,the asks, the requests, asks,
the, the, the request.
I mean it's just and I'm, andI'll be honest, it makes me feel
good to feel needed or wantedin all of those environments,
and that's a slippery slope.
And so I'm.
I for me, right now, um, wetalked about this last week.
(06:19):
You're, like, you know, timefor time for post-it notes all
over the wall.
Right, I did that.
I was like I can't even processthe number of options, all of
the options, right now.
People, I need to respond tothings I need to commit to or
say no to.
Man, I got to say no to somereally awesome things.
(06:41):
It weighs on me because I don'twant to disappoint, I don't
want to, you know, miss out onsomething God might have for me.
And so I sit there staring atthe wall of post-it notes and
feel utterly convicted andembarrassed that I haven't
(07:05):
brought these before the Lord,right To to, to say, like God,
okay, here are all the thingsyou know.
Here are all these many youknow great options Like where
are you in this?
You know, and?
And what are the things?
Just looking at each one,praying over each one one, you
(07:26):
know, meditating on each one,saying okay, like what is this?
Where's it from?
Why am I drawn to it?
And you know what is the what?
What, what's it for right?
You know what test does?
Speaker 1 (07:39):
each one have to pass right.
What are the five questions Ihave to ask of every one of
these initiatives?
Yeah, every one of these asksyou start adjusting, and you and
I do.
I'm going to speak for you.
But you know, when you get thatand you're like well, I could
(07:59):
do this and this is good for me,wait a minute, I still got kids
in college.
This is really good for thekingdom.
It takes a lot of time.
Yeah, no, no, I feel you, I do,I do Wow.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
So I think you know, I mean sometimes, you know, for
me the pace is so rapid, like Isaid, I've had to like I mean
yesterday, like had to shut itdown for four or five hours and
just to catch up and processwhat all the, what all the
(08:37):
opportunities are like, justjust to just to even identify,
you know, like what are thethings that I need to even bring
before the Lord, you know, andthen needing to be intentional,
to carve out the time to to prayand ask God.
And you know, it's so funny Igot, I got two requests last
(08:59):
week to to like really bigthings, like enormous, not just
opportunities butresponsibilities asked.
These are not little things,big commitments.
Both of them were like oh, yeah, we need an answer by March
31st, we need an answer by nextweek.
(09:22):
I'm like, okay, oh, and, by theway, it's been plenty of time
in prayer.
You know it's really importantyou pray about this.
I'm like, okay, I don't havetime in the next week to like
bathe this in prayer.
I don't have like are youkidding me, lord?
And so I don't know.
(09:45):
Like one of them I've alreadysaid no to.
I've said like incredibleopportunity to be a part of
writing this book and I'm just,I'm like I can't, I can't do it,
not, not in this season.
And so, you know, maybe anothertime.
And the other one I've got to,I've got to pray through today
and just say, ok, you know.
And the other one I've got to,I've got to pray through today
(10:06):
and just say, okay, you know,try to really just have the time
to hear from the Lord as to youknow, whether or not it's, it's
, it's for now, but Well, youjust did pardon me.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
You just did something really important and
maybe unwittingly but probablynot knowing you, but remember
Jack Welch, neutron Jack from GE.
Yeah, jack said, when you getthat big wall of stuff to do,
there's the 10-80-10 rule andthe bottom 10 are the ones you
throw out.
And he also said this aboutpeople, by the way.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
When people management there were 10% of the
people you just fired.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
And 10% you promoted and it's the 80.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
There's always, he said, there's always, 10%
Correct.
Yeah, always, he said there'salways 10% Correct.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Yeah, but the 80 you're working on and you just
did it.
You took that one.
It was in the box.
I was like I can't do it Right.
And then there's some otherthings.
When you look at the wall, yougot to get a couple of different
colors sticky notes, becausethere's a couple of.
You just know you're going todo you feel it.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
It's kind of Well, that's it, that's exactly right.
That, right there, right Likethe knot in the chest, the knot
in the throat, going likesomething's got to give, in fact
, not just something, but somethings.
And um, you know, if yeah, soagain.
And then, looking at all ofthat through the lens of, you
know, am I called to it Right,do you know?
(11:28):
Does it need to be me?
You know what's, what's thefruit is, you know, is God is
again, is God in this?
Is God calling me to this?
But then also like, on theother end, what is the pace look
like?
Pace, look like, because exactlywhat you said earlier about,
you know, not feeling great,maybe about having the, you know
(11:49):
the downtime, the rest, theretreat, the, and that's just so
critical, it's so critical forall of us and it's, it's it's
needed, it's when we are able tohear the Lord the most and the
clearest.
And so what does the pace needto look like in order to
prioritize that?
You know, and you know for me,more and more it's.
(12:14):
You know that quiet time isbeing replaced with group
devotional time, and I'm likeman, okay, like that sense, like
group devotional, groupdevotional, group devotional
group devotional time and I'mlike man, okay, like that sense,
like group devotional, groupdevotional, group devotional,
group devotional, and all of asudden there's no time left for
just me, just me and the LordCause.
(12:36):
Every I'm just, it's all, it'sthrough the lens of.
You know, community, how manygroup devotionals do you do you
know community?
How many group devotionals doyou do?
Well, that's, I'm on theprecipice of.
You know a lot more.
So you know, again, being in anew this is again I've got some
(13:00):
decisions to make.
I've got to figure that.
Those are, those are the restof the sticky notes, you know.
And and being in a place whereyou know I'm building new
community, you know that'simportant to me and takes great
intentionality and great timeand has tremendous value right
relationally.
And you know, yet, with themove I've got you know
(13:23):
communities like Victoria'sTogether and others, where you
know I've got these commitmentsand there's only so much time
and I'm going.
Man, this is not sustainable.
This is not sustainable.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
And even within our group we've got multiple groups
yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Well, the Experiencing God group is the
same as v2g, right, it's well itis.
But there's the daily devote,there's the daily devotional
right, then there's theexperiencing god.
So we're doing multiple studies.
That's true.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
That is true, yeah yeah, well, let's, let's, let's
go there for a second.
Let me wow, my brain isexploding.
I'm so glad you did this.
Now, the pace.
I have to admit something moreconfession, I love it.
I love it.
I love it, I love it.
Man, I dig the multitaskingmonster.
People going, look at him, go,how old is he?
(14:18):
Oh my God, how does he keepthis up?
And I'm like how old is he?
Oh my God, how does he keepthis up?
And I'm like I want to nap, youknow?
Okay, so so I'm.
I'm admitting that, secondarily,I am struggling with my value
as a human being versus a humandoing.
Yeah, how many times have Isaid that on the podcast and in
(14:40):
my life to you that thattransition to a human being has
been one of the more challengingones of my adult life and it's
spiritual right, it's not I'mnot just talking about the doing
, it's.
It's doing for God, it's thatkingdom orientation, it's, it's
my human being.
(15:00):
Those devotionals fall underthat category.
I mean, I'm doing something,but I'm seated, I'm thoughtful,
I'm meditating, I'm thinkingabout.
I've got the Bible on one thigh, the experiencing God book on
the other, a highlighter in myright hand and a pen in my left.
That's, that's how I do that,and I've got a chair to do it in
(15:24):
, and you know, and so I want tospeak to anyone listening.
That is also there.
That we're like as a humanbeing.
How, maria, do you accept methat way?
My boys, my, my co-workers, my,my friends, you, how am I doing
?
Yeah, I, we talk about gsd, llc.
(15:45):
Right, getting stuff done, thatwould be the right, the name of
my business, the, the websitethat I crave, and and, yeah, I
still feel that way.
But I can tell you that thereis a louder and louder voice in
my life that is pulling metowards being so.
(16:06):
Hallelujah for that.
It certainly.
It's not the.
The seesaw is still to doing,because I need.
There's stuff to do.
I'm in spring here in our homeand there's so much to do.
Yeah, you know, taking care ofthe four and a half acres is a
spec compared to some people,but there's a lot to do and I
(16:29):
know I'm expected to do it andvery often I get up going.
I don't want to hump 10 yardsof mulch, you know Right.
So, that aside, I want to talkabout the group devotionals
though, because, since youmentioned it and I loved how you
used that, like you pointed tolike four or five possibilities
there.
I just want a shout out for theBlackabees and Experiencing God
(16:51):
and saying that our Victorioustogether, men's authentic
community, is now just startingunit three of that and it is
rich, it is powerful, it is sucha great opportunity.
I mean, if you're going to dosomething and keep the pace with
God Sarge, I think doing thisover a month you know a monthly
(17:14):
basis, instead of 12 weeks in arow, is genius.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Because I am doing one of these every six, seven
days and I feel like it's avitamin.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Yeah.
What's your experience with it?
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Oh, it's so good and I agree with you.
Like you know, we kind of didthat by default because of the
pace Correct.
Like you know, I was like Ican't do this on a weekly basis,
let's take a year, let's do oneunit a month and, um, man, it's
, it's, it's just so rich.
I mean, yeah, if you, if youhaven't done it, it's, it's, um,
(17:51):
absolutely worth doing and it'sa game changer.
I mean, it's a game changer.
It's God has used, experiencingGod, the, the, the, the studies.
They also have a devotional andthere's all kinds of things.
But the workbook and the studyis, um, you know, in the
scriptures that you know comewith, that are, um, you know,
life-giving and very challenging, very challenging but really
(18:15):
helpful in understanding God atwork and the pace.
I mean it's everything aboutpace.
Exactly, it is Everything aboutpace, right, our pace, god's
pace, you know, and how this allworks and how we stay, how we
remain in, you know, sync withthe spirit of God and hear from
(18:39):
him and are aware of where he'sat work and then what's required
of us, right, so you know, um,it's good.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
I have to tell you a story, very, it's a short one,
uh, and it's experiencing God,specific.
So, um, you recall that one ofthe reasons we're doing
experiencing God is I wascleaning out a closet that had
some books in it and theworkbook a experience of God,
older edition workbook, fellinto my lap literally and I
(19:08):
thought, wow, how long ago wasthat?
And I sit there being nostalgic, thinking.
Sarge and I did this togetherand I looked at I'm like holy
crap, it's like 18 years ago.
And I looked at some of thenotes that were in it, but it
was sparsely.
Not like me.
I get a workbook.
I'm like, yes, you know, fillin the blanks, check the boxes.
But it catalyzed this movementwhere we're doing it now as a
(19:32):
group and I invited folks.
It's so great and I'm in it,I'm loving it.
Well, we're getting a couple ofrooms painted in the house and
one of the rooms has a giganticblack cabinet in it and there
are just a lot of old books inthis with pictures in front of
them, and the truth is I haven'topened this cabinet in my
living room in many years.
(19:52):
Let's just leave it at that.
And so we're taking books outand we're doing a purge, which
is easy for me, hard for therest of my family.
Jack loves history books ofmine from the past.
Dad keep these, put these inthe attic.
And Maria's like oh, my doulabooks and nutrition and this and
that, and I'm like throw it out, throw it out, throw it.
You haven't opened it in 10years, throw it out.
And we're going through thebook Sarge.
(20:13):
There's a pile of books in thefar left corner in the back and
they've been water soaked.
They're crinkled and stucktogether and we're thinking and
we look up and there's agigantic you know the lion's
mane fern that we have in theliving room.
I have a gigantic green fern.
I'm in charge of watering thefern Well, I must have over
watered it over the years andone corner of the cabinet got
(20:42):
wet.
Books got wet Short.
We take out the stack.
No one wants to touch it.
It's kind of icky, moldy stucktogether and I pull them out and
on the bottom of the stack isan experiencing God workbook and
I can barely get the pagesapart.
It's so damaged.
It's been dried out after beingwet.
I'm like what the heck is this?
I'm looking at it sitting on mychair in front of me.
(21:05):
I got goose flesh all over mybody.
I opened the front cover andit's my actual workbook.
It's the one I filled in Mark'sstyle in the class and I can't
read a lot of it.
But I open the front cover andI peel it apart and in a little
bubble cloud like the Farsidecomic in the bottom right, it
(21:27):
says it says I am ill-equippedto lead this study, so sit down
and shut up, wow.
(21:48):
Yeah, I have not opened.
I just put the book down andleft it there and I don't know
what God is doing with that, buthe's doing something.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Then you raised your hand and said I'm going to lead
this study 18 years later.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
18 years later, yeah, and if you asked me if I'm
ready to lead an experiencingGod study, I'd say no, but I'd
love to Sure.
And here we are.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
So sure, Well, that that's a listen, that's a great,
that's a great note to just agreat exclamation point, right,
Like, like, yeah, I'm no, uh,I'm ill equipped, but yes, but
yes, God, right, Like, if, if,if, if that's where you're at
work, you know I'm in and listen, that's he, that's exactly
(22:37):
where he calls us is to theareas where you know we feel
ill-equipped.
Right, Otherwise we would justdo it on our own strength there
it is.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
That's it for me, that's all that was.
That was a two by four, rightin the forehead of what you said
a few minutes ago about God'sstrength, my strength, 18 years
ago.
I'm listening to whoever Idon't remember who taught that
class to us, but whoever it was,I'm watching them being a
prideful jerk going.
Oh they're terrible at this.
Let me show you how to lead aclass.
(23:05):
And remember 18 years ago.
I'm a new Christian, so prettyhysterical dingling that I was
coming to realize that this paceyou can pick up fast pace.
You can probably maintain itfor a while and kid yourself
about it, but ultimately you'regoing to need to slow down and
put the sticky notes on the walland start making some choices.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Yeah, and I, you know you said something earlier
about.
You know, look at me, right,like doing this and doing that
and doing this and doing that,and then you'll, you'll crash
where nobody can see you, right,oh, face facing the pillow, out
going.
Oh my gosh, like what did Ijust do?
Why did I do this?
Again, right, and you know, thetruth is that, like there's sort
(23:55):
of the, the silent weight ofpressure that no one sees when
we're doing everything on ourown strength, right, and it it
not only drains our energy butsteals our joy, can steal our
peace, and like the reality isthat our own strength will only
(24:17):
take us so far.
I mean that that's, you know,at the root of experiencing God.
Like we can, we can do allthese things.
We can do all these things.
We can, you know, carry it all,you know, supposedly, and, uh,
(24:38):
build an empire, hit everyrevenue goal, you know, be the
best leader in the room, yeah,yeah, and but like, without God
at the center of all that we do,stress adds up, you know,
exhaustion sets in and no matterhow successful we are, there's
always going to be this feelingthat something's missing or
someone's missing.
(24:59):
And you know, and you say thatfrom experience right.
A hundred percent Right.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
I just want to make that clear to folks.
This is not philosophy.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Absolutely.
I mean listen, you know,operating a full capacity,
trying to be everything foreverybody, trying to control the
outcomes, pushing throughexhaustion with sheer willpower
alone, until you hit a wall andgo what am I doing Right?
This isn't the way it'ssupposed to be.
And so, man, just the constantchecks and balances, and and
(25:33):
goes back to exactly why it's soimportant to stop regularly.
And exactly what you wrote inthe front cover shut up, sit
down, pray, listen and wait.
Like what is it, god, you know,where are you calling me and
where are you not for thisseason, and what are the really
(25:55):
cool things or important thingsor things that make me feel good
or make others feel good that Ineed to say no to?
And where should I be?
So that you know.
There was a quote.
I can't remember the full quote, but it started with it's
better to be a fool with focus,you know, than you know
something other.
Like you know, reallysuccessful, really successful
(26:17):
person that's distracted, right.
Like you know, help me be afool, for you know, a fool with
focus.
Like I love that yeah and soyeah, but requires us to uh and
and.
Again, it's not a cop out, youknow, to to not leave it all out
(26:38):
on the field Like we can and weshould.
Very manly of you, yes, yeah,like, really, like you know,
leave it all out on the field.
But we were not created tocarry the weight of the world.
You know, alone and you know be, find our, our identity in the
activity or the outcomes.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
And you and I know some very successful, passionate
guys we love that decided theywere going to keep going and
wait to get to the bottom ofthemselves to realize they had
to pivot and slow down.
Right.
So I'm not, you can do it.
And I'm thinking of of, ofbrother Pete.
You know his, his testimonywill tell you he decided he was
(27:22):
going to wait until his face wasin the gutter.
You know, right Through hisaddictions and problems.
So, or, I think we are bothsupportive of the concept of
slow down.
Give yourself the advantage ofletting God do what God wants to
do for you.
Right, that journey is hisjourney.
(27:44):
It's not mine.
And I was saying that soundseasy.
It's not.
It's not because it's, it'swork I've got to.
I've got to adjust daily,hourly, to reorient, reorient,
pivot to God, pivot to God.
I wish I could tell you it waseasier.
You know, I just like once Idecided to pivot and make my
(28:06):
life, you know, totally focusedon the Lord.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Everything was perfect decided to pivot and
make my life, you know totallyfocused on the Lord, everything
was perfect.
Yeah Well, that's a story foranother day.
That's the latter.
That's the latter part ofexperiencing God.
What's required of us?
Right, it requires us to makemajor adjustments in our life.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
So let's be, we have, let's talk for another few
minutes.
But tell me, you're in it, man.
You're your pace the world is.
If you were one of those movies, you'd be the guy standing
there with stuff flying by youat a thousand miles an hour.
How are you doing?
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Well, the reality is that it is a unique season,
right, it's a transitionalseason, and so with that comes
uncertainty.
With that comes uncertainty, itcomes with a lack of real, full
knowledge and experience of whatthe new normal is going to look
like.
You know, in my work on moreactivity, until I have an
(29:08):
understanding and an awarenessand a routine that comes with
that, I don't know yet I'mlacking the knowledge that's
needed in order to make aninformed decision of how much
other stuff I can put in theselong-term commitments.
I have to be very careful aboutmaking additional commitments
(29:31):
until I get to that place whereI've got a new routine, I've got
a new normal, I understand whatmy calendar looks like and my
commitments are, and so you knowneeding to prioritize that and
so, um, yeah, so that it's a.
It's a really uh.
Um, yeah, so that it's a.
(29:52):
It's a really, uh, you know, uhchallenging place to be,
because the ground is shiftingand will continue to shift here,
probably for the remainder ofthis calendar year until you
know I I really have, I'veexperienced the new normal
enough to be able to makeinformed decisions Like, yep,
that's not going to work,because, you know, this is how
my calendar now works and it's avery different, unique
(30:12):
situation.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
And that that is a part I wanted to stress for our
listeners is apparently andbased on I'm actually discerning
this from a few tidbits you'vetold me there really isn't a
another model from from your jobtoday, where someone else has
run into this like you aresetting some, you know you're
(30:36):
blazing some new trails andhitting some new territory and
how fast you're ramping up andit isn't as if you can turn to
the guy you know doing c12 nextto you going.
How did this work for you?
I?
I think there were somedifferent experiences.
So who are you leaning on interms of you know, like, when
you feel like you've got allthese things bags that you're
(30:56):
carrying around and all thesebackpacks you're wearing, how
are you sourcing?
What resources are you using?
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Well, yeah, I mean, besides your common sense, yeah,
there are.
There is a community.
I mean there's 240 or 230 otherchairs like myself that have
had all varying experiences thatI get to lean into that and you
know, understand what othersexperiences were, and so you
know I do have that, thatcommunity, and that's really
helpful.
(31:22):
But it's it's.
It is, um, it's unique in youknow who I am, am the territory
itself where I am here in SouthFlorida, the fact that it's a
brand new territory, kind ofblazing new ground.
So there's a lot of factors inall of that, and so there's a
(31:44):
model.
But this is your life Exactly,it's not going to follow the
model, and it know.
But this is your life Exactly,it's not going to follow the
model and it's not following themodel at all.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
So yeah, that's my point.
You have a somewhat uniqueexperience.
How exciting for you really.
I mean, I just want to praiseGod for it and say hallelujah
that you are where you are.
What a good problem to have.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
It's a great one.
Speaker 1 (32:09):
Can you imagine if you and I were on this recording
right now and you had twopeople?
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Yeah, very different conversation.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Correct, correct.
So so hallelujah for that.
Well, um, in, in, in talkingabout the pace I would just uh
for, in closing, for me, I am,um, I'm just learning to be
comfortable, believe it or not,in my sixties, of how God made
me and I think he did make me tomove, and I believe faith
(32:40):
without works is dead.
Uh, but at the same time, itbegins with a foundation of
faith and I and I try every dayto do our devotions, to stay in
the word, to stay close.
I'm staying closest to thepeople I love the most and are
closest to God, and that's how Ido it.
How do you do it?
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Well, I in in the, uh , the wise words of of Scotty,
remember Scotty many years ago.
If you remember Scotty fromMarkman many years ago, he used
to say who are you doing it for,who are you doing it for?
And it rings, it rings in myhead, it's like who, who am I
doing this for?
And through that lens, right,is this?
You know to what end?
(33:21):
You know is is, is this for?
Is it for me, you know?
Is it for the Lord?
Is it for someone?
So, um, you know it's stoppingalong the way, right, pit stops,
taking the pit stops.
You know, racing hard aroundthe track, being ensuring I'm
taking the pit stops along theway, uh, before the engine blows
(33:44):
right, um, is is the key rightand not pushing it so hard to
the limits that you know thatthat's a risk.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
But you can take your foot off the gas and still be
valuable.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
God and your family, and your coworkers and your
friends.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Yeah, not only can have to, have to, need to, must.
So, um, yeah, really, reallyimportant, especially during
these, these seasons.
And then you know, hittingpause, hitting pause and waiting
and saying don't know aboutthat.
And if a decision needs to bemade now, then the decisions
know, because I'm not preparedto give it a yes Right For this
season.
And so, um, you know, that's,that's, that's where I'm at
(34:26):
today.
Oh, you put some real wisdom inthat last sentence, you know
that's.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
That's that's where I'm at today.
Oh, you put some real wisdom inthat last sentence.
You know, if a decision has tobe made now, no, yeah, no,
sometimes it's those two lettershave a lot of weight.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
Yeah, a lot of weight .
So I don't, I don't want todive back in.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Let's close with a birthday wishes for the young
Raymond Sargent.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
right, yeah, baby 88 when Tomorrow 88.
He was 88 on March 27.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Okay, and my brother Dan's birthday.
Today he's 61.
Daniel James Vesper III.
Brother, I love you, dan, happybirthday.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
That's awesome.
Hey, this was good man.
Go slow you too.
Peace, Peace.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
How fast are you running?
How long have you beenparalyzed?
What have you missed along theway?
What have you wasted way toomuch time on?
Who have you blown by?
Who have you sat with andlistened to?
When will it be the right timeto change the pace?
(35:33):
Why can't you make that changetoday?
Mark and Steve shared a littlebit of their struggle with pace
today.
Now, I think it's time for usto take inventory and ask
ourselves some of thesedifficult questions, then answer
them and, most importantly, acton them.
(35:54):
Lord, please continue to usethis podcast to impact the lives
of all who listen.
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 (36:14):
If you enjoyed today's episode, please share it
and invite others to theFoxhole.
You can find us wherever youdownload your favorite podcasts.
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
(36:36):
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.
Steve and Mark are in thefoxhole today and they are
talking about the pace of ourlives.
You know what time it is?
(00:49):
Get comfortable, open yournotes app and let's get this
symphony started.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Hey, welcome back to Foxhole Symphony Podcast.
I'm Sarge here with my goodfriend Mark.
Good morning, hey brother,what's shaking?
Good morning, hey brother,what's shaking?
Well, you know, I feel like Isay this at the beginning of
almost every podcast in the lastcouple of months.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
But boy, I've just been running, I've been running
and I thought you were going totell the weather again, OK no,
no, no, no.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
We're not going to talk about the weather, ok, but
the pace, the pace of life.
And so, you know, rather thanjust talk about it at the
beginning, let's dive right inand talk about, you know, the
pace.
And, man, I don't know aboutyou.
I mean, we're obviously indifferent stages of life, we've
got different things going onfor me, um boy, when things are
(01:45):
moving, I am so much less awareof the things that I need to be
aware of, and I'm just focusedon the next thing, the next
thing, the next thing, the nextthing, but at a pace that is not
great because it's usually onmy own strength.
So how does this resonate withyou this morning?
Speaker 1 (02:07):
It does, it does I'm.
I am one of the guilty few whowill artificially inflate pace
and noise sometimes to keep tokeep that.
I want to call it edge.
I've been going so fast for solong that when you just were
(02:27):
talking about it, I'm thinkingthere are days, you're right, we
are coming at the world alittle differently these days
just difference in age,difference in careers, things
like that age of kids.
But I know that as much as Icomplain about how noisy and
(02:48):
messy the world is, there aredays where I keep it pretty darn
noisy and messy because I seemyself when I look in the mirror
as a great manager of thatstress and I can multitask my
way through it.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
I can multitask my way through it, and so so what?
Speaker 1 (03:09):
so is it to feel productive, go ahead.
Was there an or no?
No, I don't get another choice,of course.
Yes, it's so I.
I see myself as fulfilled.
It's it's.
What's option B, please?
Well, I'm looking at you,thinking is he going to give me
(03:29):
a way out of this or do I haveto admit this?
No, it certainly is.
There's people who love me,have come to expect a certain
level of production out of me,have come to expect a certain
level of production out of me,and I, wow, this is like
(03:51):
confession early, but I findmyself confessing or trying to
explain away.
Downtime, naps, prayer time,thoughtful moments, meditation.
Does that make any sense?
I do.
I find myself telling mysweetheart like what are you
doing Reading?
(04:12):
I'm doing my experience in Godstudy, unit three, day one, but
I might fall asleep while I'mdoing it, at 4.30 in the
afternoon, I don't know.
And on the other hand, I, um,what's the word I?
I, um, I pat myself on the backand take ease in that, because
(04:32):
I know.
For the seven and a half hoursprior to that I was running and
gunning between my workresponsibilities, home
responsibilities, fatherresponsibilities, husband
responsibilities, et cetera, etcetera.
Yeah, yeah.
So, the end.
The short answer to yourquestion is absolutely yes.
I want to be seen as productiveevery day, yeah, yeah, and
(04:52):
unfortunately, bro, while thereis some balance in my life in
productivity for God andproductivity for Mark, as you
stated earlier, often in my ownstrength I tip the scales toward
Mark.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yeah, yeah.
So yeah, I don't know anythingabout that, but sounds
interesting.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
You can't, you can't do that.
When I have a mouthful of tea,I'm going to snort it out my
nose.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Okay, I mean, listen, we're cut from the same cloth.
So, you know, feelingproductive and being active, you
know, being able to check a boxRight, we've to be most
effective.
But I've just got it coming atme from all ends the demands,
(05:56):
the opportunities, the options,the asks, the requests, asks,
the, the, the request.
I mean it's just and I'm, andI'll be honest, it makes me feel
good to feel needed or wantedin all of those environments,
and that's a slippery slope.
And so I'm.
I for me, right now, um, wetalked about this last week.
(06:19):
You're, like, you know, timefor time for post-it notes all
over the wall.
Right, I did that.
I was like I can't even processthe number of options, all of
the options, right now.
People, I need to respond tothings I need to commit to or
say no to.
Man, I got to say no to somereally awesome things.
(06:41):
It weighs on me because I don'twant to disappoint, I don't
want to, you know, miss out onsomething God might have for me.
And so I sit there staring atthe wall of post-it notes and
feel utterly convicted andembarrassed that I haven't
(07:05):
brought these before the Lord,right To to, to say, like God,
okay, here are all the thingsyou know.
Here are all these many youknow great options Like where
are you in this?
You know, and?
And what are the things?
Just looking at each one,praying over each one one, you
(07:26):
know, meditating on each one,saying okay, like what is this?
Where's it from?
Why am I drawn to it?
And you know what is the what?
What, what's it for right?
You know what test does?
Speaker 1 (07:39):
each one have to pass right.
What are the five questions Ihave to ask of every one of
these initiatives?
Yeah, every one of these asksyou start adjusting, and you and
I do.
I'm going to speak for you.
But you know, when you get thatand you're like well, I could
(07:59):
do this and this is good for me,wait a minute, I still got kids
in college.
This is really good for thekingdom.
It takes a lot of time.
Yeah, no, no, I feel you, I do,I do Wow.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
So I think you know, I mean sometimes, you know, for
me the pace is so rapid, like Isaid, I've had to like I mean
yesterday, like had to shut itdown for four or five hours and
just to catch up and processwhat all the, what all the
(08:37):
opportunities are like, justjust to just to even identify,
you know, like what are thethings that I need to even bring
before the Lord, you know, andthen needing to be intentional,
to carve out the time to to prayand ask God.
And you know, it's so funny Igot, I got two requests last
(08:59):
week to to like really bigthings, like enormous, not just
opportunities butresponsibilities asked.
These are not little things,big commitments.
Both of them were like oh, yeah, we need an answer by March
31st, we need an answer by nextweek.
(09:22):
I'm like, okay, oh, and, by theway, it's been plenty of time
in prayer.
You know it's really importantyou pray about this.
I'm like, okay, I don't havetime in the next week to like
bathe this in prayer.
I don't have like are youkidding me, lord?
And so I don't know.
(09:45):
Like one of them I've alreadysaid no to.
I've said like incredibleopportunity to be a part of
writing this book and I'm just,I'm like I can't, I can't do it,
not, not in this season.
And so, you know, maybe anothertime.
And the other one I've got to,I've got to pray through today
and just say, ok, you know.
And the other one I've got to,I've got to pray through today
(10:06):
and just say, okay, you know,try to really just have the time
to hear from the Lord as to youknow, whether or not it's, it's
, it's for now, but Well, youjust did pardon me.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
You just did something really important and
maybe unwittingly but probablynot knowing you, but remember
Jack Welch, neutron Jack from GE.
Yeah, jack said, when you getthat big wall of stuff to do,
there's the 10-80-10 rule andthe bottom 10 are the ones you
throw out.
And he also said this aboutpeople, by the way.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
When people management there were 10% of the
people you just fired.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
And 10% you promoted and it's the 80.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
There's always, he said, there's always, 10%
Correct.
Yeah, always, he said there'salways 10% Correct.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Yeah, but the 80 you're working on and you just
did it.
You took that one.
It was in the box.
I was like I can't do it Right.
And then there's some otherthings.
When you look at the wall, yougot to get a couple of different
colors sticky notes, becausethere's a couple of.
You just know you're going todo you feel it.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
It's kind of Well, that's it, that's exactly right.
That, right there, right Likethe knot in the chest, the knot
in the throat, going likesomething's got to give, in fact
, not just something, but somethings.
And um, you know, if yeah, soagain.
And then, looking at all ofthat through the lens of, you
know, am I called to it Right,do you know?
(11:28):
Does it need to be me?
You know what's, what's thefruit is, you know, is God is
again, is God in this?
Is God calling me to this?
But then also like, on theother end, what is the pace look
like?
Pace, look like, because exactlywhat you said earlier about,
you know, not feeling great,maybe about having the, you know
(11:49):
the downtime, the rest, theretreat, the, and that's just so
critical, it's so critical forall of us and it's, it's it's
needed, it's when we are able tohear the Lord the most and the
clearest.
And so what does the pace needto look like in order to
prioritize that?
You know, and you know for me,more and more it's.
(12:14):
You know that quiet time isbeing replaced with group
devotional time, and I'm likeman, okay, like that sense, like
group devotional, groupdevotional, group devotional
group devotional time and I'mlike man, okay, like that sense,
like group devotional, groupdevotional, group devotional,
group devotional, and all of asudden there's no time left for
just me, just me and the LordCause.
(12:36):
Every I'm just, it's all, it'sthrough the lens of.
You know, community, how manygroup devotionals do you do you
know community?
How many group devotionals doyou do?
Well, that's, I'm on theprecipice of.
You know a lot more.
So you know, again, being in anew this is again I've got some
(13:00):
decisions to make.
I've got to figure that.
Those are, those are the restof the sticky notes, you know.
And and being in a place whereyou know I'm building new
community, you know that'simportant to me and takes great
intentionality and great timeand has tremendous value right
relationally.
And you know, yet, with themove I've got you know
(13:23):
communities like Victoria'sTogether and others, where you
know I've got these commitmentsand there's only so much time
and I'm going.
Man, this is not sustainable.
This is not sustainable.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
And even within our group we've got multiple groups
yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Well, the Experiencing God group is the
same as v2g, right, it's well itis.
But there's the daily devote,there's the daily devotional
right, then there's theexperiencing god.
So we're doing multiple studies.
That's true.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
That is true, yeah yeah, well, let's, let's, let's
go there for a second.
Let me wow, my brain isexploding.
I'm so glad you did this.
Now, the pace.
I have to admit something moreconfession, I love it.
I love it.
I love it, I love it.
Man, I dig the multitaskingmonster.
People going, look at him, go,how old is he?
(14:18):
Oh my God, how does he keepthis up?
And I'm like how old is he?
Oh my God, how does he keepthis up?
And I'm like I want to nap, youknow?
Okay, so so I'm.
I'm admitting that, secondarily,I am struggling with my value
as a human being versus a humandoing.
Yeah, how many times have Isaid that on the podcast and in
(14:40):
my life to you that thattransition to a human being has
been one of the more challengingones of my adult life and it's
spiritual right, it's not I'mnot just talking about the doing
, it's.
It's doing for God, it's thatkingdom orientation, it's, it's
my human being.
(15:00):
Those devotionals fall underthat category.
I mean, I'm doing something,but I'm seated, I'm thoughtful,
I'm meditating, I'm thinkingabout.
I've got the Bible on one thigh, the experiencing God book on
the other, a highlighter in myright hand and a pen in my left.
That's, that's how I do that,and I've got a chair to do it in
(15:24):
, and you know, and so I want tospeak to anyone listening.
That is also there.
That we're like as a humanbeing.
How, maria, do you accept methat way?
My boys, my, my co-workers, my,my friends, you, how am I doing
?
Yeah, I, we talk about gsd, llc.
(15:45):
Right, getting stuff done, thatwould be the right, the name of
my business, the, the websitethat I crave, and and, yeah, I
still feel that way.
But I can tell you that thereis a louder and louder voice in
my life that is pulling metowards being so.
(16:06):
Hallelujah for that.
It certainly.
It's not the.
The seesaw is still to doing,because I need.
There's stuff to do.
I'm in spring here in our homeand there's so much to do.
Yeah, you know, taking care ofthe four and a half acres is a
spec compared to some people,but there's a lot to do and I
(16:29):
know I'm expected to do it andvery often I get up going.
I don't want to hump 10 yardsof mulch, you know Right.
So, that aside, I want to talkabout the group devotionals
though, because, since youmentioned it and I loved how you
used that, like you pointed tolike four or five possibilities
there.
I just want a shout out for theBlackabees and Experiencing God
(16:51):
and saying that our Victorioustogether, men's authentic
community, is now just startingunit three of that and it is
rich, it is powerful, it is sucha great opportunity.
I mean, if you're going to dosomething and keep the pace with
God Sarge, I think doing thisover a month you know a monthly
(17:14):
basis, instead of 12 weeks in arow, is genius.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Because I am doing one of these every six, seven
days and I feel like it's avitamin.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Yeah.
What's your experience with it?
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Oh, it's so good and I agree with you.
Like you know, we kind of didthat by default because of the
pace Correct.
Like you know, I was like Ican't do this on a weekly basis,
let's take a year, let's do oneunit a month and, um, man, it's
, it's, it's just so rich.
I mean, yeah, if you, if youhaven't done it, it's, it's, um,
(17:51):
absolutely worth doing and it'sa game changer.
I mean, it's a game changer.
It's God has used, experiencingGod, the, the, the, the studies.
They also have a devotional andthere's all kinds of things.
But the workbook and the studyis, um, you know, in the
scriptures that you know comewith, that are, um, you know,
life-giving and very challenging, very challenging but really
(18:15):
helpful in understanding God atwork and the pace.
I mean it's everything aboutpace.
Exactly, it is Everything aboutpace, right, our pace, god's
pace, you know, and how this allworks and how we stay, how we
remain in, you know, sync withthe spirit of God and hear from
(18:39):
him and are aware of where he'sat work and then what's required
of us, right, so you know, um,it's good.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
I have to tell you a story, very, it's a short one,
uh, and it's experiencing God,specific.
So, um, you recall that one ofthe reasons we're doing
experiencing God is I wascleaning out a closet that had
some books in it and theworkbook a experience of God,
older edition workbook, fellinto my lap literally and I
(19:08):
thought, wow, how long ago wasthat?
And I sit there being nostalgic, thinking.
Sarge and I did this togetherand I looked at I'm like holy
crap, it's like 18 years ago.
And I looked at some of thenotes that were in it, but it
was sparsely.
Not like me.
I get a workbook.
I'm like, yes, you know, fillin the blanks, check the boxes.
But it catalyzed this movementwhere we're doing it now as a
(19:32):
group and I invited folks.
It's so great and I'm in it,I'm loving it.
Well, we're getting a couple ofrooms painted in the house and
one of the rooms has a giganticblack cabinet in it and there
are just a lot of old books inthis with pictures in front of
them, and the truth is I haven'topened this cabinet in my
living room in many years.
(19:52):
Let's just leave it at that.
And so we're taking books outand we're doing a purge, which
is easy for me, hard for therest of my family.
Jack loves history books ofmine from the past.
Dad keep these, put these inthe attic.
And Maria's like oh, my doulabooks and nutrition and this and
that, and I'm like throw it out, throw it out, throw it.
You haven't opened it in 10years, throw it out.
And we're going through thebook Sarge.
(20:13):
There's a pile of books in thefar left corner in the back and
they've been water soaked.
They're crinkled and stucktogether and we're thinking and
we look up and there's agigantic you know the lion's
mane fern that we have in theliving room.
I have a gigantic green fern.
I'm in charge of watering thefern Well, I must have over
watered it over the years andone corner of the cabinet got
(20:42):
wet.
Books got wet Short.
We take out the stack.
No one wants to touch it.
It's kind of icky, moldy stucktogether and I pull them out and
on the bottom of the stack isan experiencing God workbook and
I can barely get the pagesapart.
It's so damaged.
It's been dried out after beingwet.
I'm like what the heck is this?
I'm looking at it sitting on mychair in front of me.
(21:05):
I got goose flesh all over mybody.
I opened the front cover andit's my actual workbook.
It's the one I filled in Mark'sstyle in the class and I can't
read a lot of it.
But I open the front cover andI peel it apart and in a little
bubble cloud like the Farsidecomic in the bottom right, it
(21:27):
says it says I am ill-equippedto lead this study, so sit down
and shut up, wow.
(21:48):
Yeah, I have not opened.
I just put the book down andleft it there and I don't know
what God is doing with that, buthe's doing something.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Then you raised your hand and said I'm going to lead
this study 18 years later.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
18 years later, yeah, and if you asked me if I'm
ready to lead an experiencingGod study, I'd say no, but I'd
love to Sure.
And here we are.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
So sure, Well, that that's a listen, that's a great,
that's a great note to just agreat exclamation point, right,
Like, like, yeah, I'm no, uh,I'm ill equipped, but yes, but
yes, God, right, Like, if, if,if, if that's where you're at
work, you know I'm in and listen, that's he, that's exactly
(22:37):
where he calls us is to theareas where you know we feel
ill-equipped.
Right, Otherwise we would justdo it on our own strength there
it is.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
That's it for me, that's all that was.
That was a two by four, rightin the forehead of what you said
a few minutes ago about God'sstrength, my strength, 18 years
ago.
I'm listening to whoever Idon't remember who taught that
class to us, but whoever it was,I'm watching them being a
prideful jerk going.
Oh they're terrible at this.
Let me show you how to lead aclass.
(23:05):
And remember 18 years ago.
I'm a new Christian, so prettyhysterical dingling that I was
coming to realize that this paceyou can pick up fast pace.
You can probably maintain itfor a while and kid yourself
about it, but ultimately you'regoing to need to slow down and
put the sticky notes on the walland start making some choices.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Yeah, and I, you know you said something earlier
about.
You know, look at me, right,like doing this and doing that
and doing this and doing that,and then you'll, you'll crash
where nobody can see you, right,oh, face facing the pillow, out
going.
Oh my gosh, like what did Ijust do?
Why did I do this?
Again, right, and you know, thetruth is that, like there's sort
(23:55):
of the, the silent weight ofpressure that no one sees when
we're doing everything on ourown strength, right, and it it
not only drains our energy butsteals our joy, can steal our
peace, and like the reality isthat our own strength will only
(24:17):
take us so far.
I mean that that's, you know,at the root of experiencing God.
Like we can, we can do allthese things.
We can do all these things.
We can, you know, carry it all,you know, supposedly, and, uh,
(24:38):
build an empire, hit everyrevenue goal, you know, be the
best leader in the room, yeah,yeah, and but like, without God
at the center of all that we do,stress adds up, you know,
exhaustion sets in and no matterhow successful we are, there's
always going to be this feelingthat something's missing or
someone's missing.
(24:59):
And you know, and you say thatfrom experience right.
A hundred percent Right.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
I just want to make that clear to folks.
This is not philosophy.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Absolutely.
I mean listen, you know,operating a full capacity,
trying to be everything foreverybody, trying to control the
outcomes, pushing throughexhaustion with sheer willpower
alone, until you hit a wall andgo what am I doing Right?
This isn't the way it'ssupposed to be.
And so, man, just the constantchecks and balances, and and
(25:33):
goes back to exactly why it's soimportant to stop regularly.
And exactly what you wrote inthe front cover shut up, sit
down, pray, listen and wait.
Like what is it, god, you know,where are you calling me and
where are you not for thisseason, and what are the really
(25:55):
cool things or important thingsor things that make me feel good
or make others feel good that Ineed to say no to?
And where should I be?
So that you know.
There was a quote.
I can't remember the full quote, but it started with it's
better to be a fool with focus,you know, than you know
something other.
Like you know, reallysuccessful, really successful
(26:17):
person that's distracted, right.
Like you know, help me be afool, for you know, a fool with
focus.
Like I love that yeah and soyeah, but requires us to uh and
and.
Again, it's not a cop out, youknow, to to not leave it all out
(26:38):
on the field Like we can and weshould.
Very manly of you, yes, yeah,like, really, like you know,
leave it all out on the field.
But we were not created tocarry the weight of the world.
You know, alone and you know be, find our, our identity in the
activity or the outcomes.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
And you and I know some very successful, passionate
guys we love that decided theywere going to keep going and
wait to get to the bottom ofthemselves to realize they had
to pivot and slow down.
Right.
So I'm not, you can do it.
And I'm thinking of of, ofbrother Pete.
You know his, his testimonywill tell you he decided he was
(27:22):
going to wait until his face wasin the gutter.
You know, right Through hisaddictions and problems.
So, or, I think we are bothsupportive of the concept of
slow down.
Give yourself the advantage ofletting God do what God wants to
do for you.
Right, that journey is hisjourney.
(27:44):
It's not mine.
And I was saying that soundseasy.
It's not.
It's not because it's, it'swork I've got to.
I've got to adjust daily,hourly, to reorient, reorient,
pivot to God, pivot to God.
I wish I could tell you it waseasier.
You know, I just like once Idecided to pivot and make my
(28:06):
life, you know, totally focusedon the Lord.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Everything was perfect decided to pivot and
make my life, you know totallyfocused on the Lord, everything
was perfect.
Yeah Well, that's a story foranother day.
That's the latter.
That's the latter part ofexperiencing God.
What's required of us?
Right, it requires us to makemajor adjustments in our life.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
So let's be, we have, let's talk for another few
minutes.
But tell me, you're in it, man.
You're your pace the world is.
If you were one of those movies, you'd be the guy standing
there with stuff flying by youat a thousand miles an hour.
How are you doing?
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Well, the reality is that it is a unique season,
right, it's a transitionalseason, and so with that comes
uncertainty.
With that comes uncertainty, itcomes with a lack of real, full
knowledge and experience of whatthe new normal is going to look
like.
You know, in my work on moreactivity, until I have an
(29:08):
understanding and an awarenessand a routine that comes with
that, I don't know yet I'mlacking the knowledge that's
needed in order to make aninformed decision of how much
other stuff I can put in theselong-term commitments.
I have to be very careful aboutmaking additional commitments
(29:31):
until I get to that place whereI've got a new routine, I've got
a new normal, I understand whatmy calendar looks like and my
commitments are, and so you knowneeding to prioritize that and
so, um, yeah, so that it's a.
It's a really uh.
Um, yeah, so that it's a.
(29:52):
It's a really, uh, you know, uhchallenging place to be,
because the ground is shiftingand will continue to shift here,
probably for the remainder ofthis calendar year until you
know I I really have, I'veexperienced the new normal
enough to be able to makeinformed decisions Like, yep,
that's not going to work,because, you know, this is how
my calendar now works and it's avery different, unique
(30:12):
situation.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
And that that is a part I wanted to stress for our
listeners is apparently andbased on I'm actually discerning
this from a few tidbits you'vetold me there really isn't a
another model from from your jobtoday, where someone else has
run into this like you aresetting some, you know you're
(30:36):
blazing some new trails andhitting some new territory and
how fast you're ramping up andit isn't as if you can turn to
the guy you know doing c12 nextto you going.
How did this work for you?
I?
I think there were somedifferent experiences.
So who are you leaning on interms of you know, like, when
you feel like you've got allthese things bags that you're
(30:56):
carrying around and all thesebackpacks you're wearing, how
are you sourcing?
What resources are you using?
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Well, yeah, I mean, besides your common sense, yeah,
there are.
There is a community.
I mean there's 240 or 230 otherchairs like myself that have
had all varying experiences thatI get to lean into that and you
know, understand what othersexperiences were, and so you
know I do have that, thatcommunity, and that's really
helpful.
(31:22):
But it's it's.
It is, um, it's unique in youknow who I am, am the territory
itself where I am here in SouthFlorida, the fact that it's a
brand new territory, kind ofblazing new ground.
So there's a lot of factors inall of that, and so there's a
(31:44):
model.
But this is your life Exactly,it's not going to follow the
model, and it know.
But this is your life Exactly,it's not going to follow the
model and it's not following themodel at all.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
So yeah, that's my point.
You have a somewhat uniqueexperience.
How exciting for you really.
I mean, I just want to praiseGod for it and say hallelujah
that you are where you are.
What a good problem to have.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
It's a great one.
Speaker 1 (32:09):
Can you imagine if you and I were on this recording
right now and you had twopeople?
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Yeah, very different conversation.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Correct, correct.
So so hallelujah for that.
Well, um, in, in, in talkingabout the pace I would just uh
for, in closing, for me, I am,um, I'm just learning to be
comfortable, believe it or not,in my sixties, of how God made
me and I think he did make me tomove, and I believe faith
(32:40):
without works is dead.
Uh, but at the same time, itbegins with a foundation of
faith and I and I try every dayto do our devotions, to stay in
the word, to stay close.
I'm staying closest to thepeople I love the most and are
closest to God, and that's how Ido it.
How do you do it?
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Well, I in in the, uh , the wise words of of Scotty,
remember Scotty many years ago.
If you remember Scotty fromMarkman many years ago, he used
to say who are you doing it for,who are you doing it for?
And it rings, it rings in myhead, it's like who, who am I
doing this for?
And through that lens, right,is this?
You know to what end?
(33:21):
You know is is, is this for?
Is it for me, you know?
Is it for the Lord?
Is it for someone?
So, um, you know it's stoppingalong the way, right, pit stops,
taking the pit stops.
You know, racing hard aroundthe track, being ensuring I'm
taking the pit stops along theway, uh, before the engine blows
(33:44):
right, um, is is the key rightand not pushing it so hard to
the limits that you know thatthat's a risk.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
But you can take your foot off the gas and still be
valuable.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
God and your family, and your coworkers and your
friends.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Yeah, not only can have to, have to, need to, must.
So, um, yeah, really, reallyimportant, especially during
these, these seasons.
And then you know, hittingpause, hitting pause and waiting
and saying don't know aboutthat.
And if a decision needs to bemade now, then the decisions
know, because I'm not preparedto give it a yes Right For this
season.
And so, um, you know, that's,that's, that's where I'm at
(34:26):
today.
Oh, you put some real wisdom inthat last sentence, you know
that's.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
That's that's where I'm at today.
Oh, you put some real wisdom inthat last sentence.
You know, if a decision has tobe made now, no, yeah, no,
sometimes it's those two lettershave a lot of weight.
Speaker 2 (34:40):
Yeah, a lot of weight .
So I don't, I don't want todive back in.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Let's close with a birthday wishes for the young
Raymond Sargent.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
right, yeah, baby 88 when Tomorrow 88.
He was 88 on March 27.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Okay, and my brother Dan's birthday.
Today he's 61.
Daniel James Vesper III.
Brother, I love you, dan, happybirthday.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
That's awesome.
Hey, this was good man.
Go slow you too.
Peace, Peace.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
How fast are you running?
How long have you beenparalyzed?
What have you missed along theway?
What have you wasted way toomuch time on?
Who have you blown by?
Who have you sat with andlistened to?
When will it be the right timeto change the pace?
(35:33):
Why can't you make that changetoday?
Mark and Steve shared a littlebit of their struggle with pace
today.
Now, I think it's time for usto take inventory and ask
ourselves some of thesedifficult questions, then answer
them and, most importantly, acton them.
(35:54):
Lord, please continue to usethis podcast to impact the lives
of all who listen.
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 (36:14):
If you enjoyed today's episode, please share it
and invite others to theFoxhole.
You can find us wherever youdownload your favorite podcasts.
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
(36:36):
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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