May 23, 2025 • 27 mins
In this episode of Hidden Chapters, I'm chatting with Justin, who takes us through his journey from a pretty touch start to a life filled with faith, music, and a love for mentoring others.
Growing up in a poor family, Justin always believed in God, but it wasn’t until his wife, Michelle, and a few key people in his life really helped him dig deeper into his faith that it all started to make sense. Along the way, he found a creative outlet in writing music — and it ended up winning awards, which gave him even more belief in following your passions.
But the transformation didn't stop there. Justin also found his calling in mentoring others, guided by a simple question: “What’s the one thing I can do right now to make the biggest impact in this relationship?”
This episode is all about finding your purpose, following your heart, and the power of mentorship to make a real difference in both your life and the lives of others.
What you'll learn:
- Justin's journey highlights the importance of faith and community.
- Music played a significant role in Justin's life and growth.
- Transformative experiences can shape our paths in unexpected ways.
- Living in the moment is crucial for personal fulfillment.
- Mentorship is essential for personal and professional development.
- Finding purpose often comes from overcoming challenges.
- It's important to encourage others and share your story.
- Self-forgiveness is key to moving forward in life.
- The impact of our actions can resonate with others.
- Building meaningful relationships can guide us on our journey.
What we talked about:
00:00 Introduction to Justin's Journey
03:26 From Humble Beginnings to a Blessed Life
04:46 Career Highlights and Achievements
06:33 Life Lessons from a Challenging Childhood
08:59 Transformation and Finding Faith
09:58 The Impact of Life Experiences on Personal Growth
12:25 Navigating Relationships and Spiritual Awakening
33:53 Navigating Relationships and Spiritual Awakening
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller
Contact Justin
LinkedIn:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Today's guest is someone I've had the privilege
(00:02):
of knowing since day one,literally.
We started working at the sameplace on the exact same day.
In this episode, Justin sharesthe path that brought him from a
tough childhood to a life rootedin faith, service, and growth.
He opens up about how his faithgrew over time, how important
mentors and his wife, Michelle,have been in shaping his
(00:23):
journey, and how writing musicwith friends led to some
unexpected and meaningfulmoments.
Now he spends some time pouringinto others, guided by a
powerful question from the OneThing book.
What's the one thing I can doright now that would make the
most difference in thisrelationship?
His story is a reminder thateven when our beginnings are
(00:46):
hard, our next chapters can befull of purpose.
When we worked together, Justinhad a list of dad jokes ready to
go every single day.
There's so much more to hisstory than just his sense of
humor.
Today, we're diving into themoments that shape him, the
hidden chapters we don't alwaysget to hear.
(01:07):
So Justin, it's great to haveyou here.
Before we dive in, I have toask.
Do you have a dad joke ready forus?
SPEAKER_02 (01:14):
Yeah, I guess I always have a dad joke ready.
So I don't know if you know it,but I've been on that 45-day
diet.
No.
Yeah, and so far I've lost 15days.
So that's my dad joke for today.
And you can tell, by the way,the shape I'm in, 15 days.
SPEAKER_00 (01:28):
I know there's more to your story, and I'm really
excited to be able to explorethat with you today.
I'd love for you to introduceyourself to our listeners and
express who Justin is in yourown words.
SPEAKER_02 (01:37):
So who is Justin?
That's a great question.
I think that a lot of people askthemselves that.
I think if I were to I say it ina short synopsis.
Justin is a country kid thatgrew up poor that had one of the
most incredible, amazing,blessed lives that anybody could
live in terms of live your bestlife or enjoy your passion.
So I'd say that's probably asummary of who Justin is.
SPEAKER_00 (02:00):
Okay.
Thank you for that.
So we worked together for abouta year and I got to know
workplace Justin.
But today I get to go back abit.
And I want to talk about beforewe cross paths.
Yeah.
So let's rewind and go back.
And if you don't mind, let'sstart with what was life like
for you growing up?
SPEAKER_02 (02:18):
Okay.
Well, let me, kind of likeStephen Covey says, begin with
the end in mind.
Let me start with the end andthen I'll go to the beginning.
But I had an incredible careerwith the Department of Defense
and got to travel around and asa civilian, not in the military,
got to live the militarylifestyle in a lot of ways.
And so in 1993, I moved toKamsama, Japan with Michelle, my
(02:39):
wife, and we had both of ourchildren in Japan, went to
Germany.
And I had a one-year tour toGermany.
We thought, cool, you get paidto have a German vacation.
And 11-year Years later, Ifinished my German tour.
And so I'm a little bit of aslow learner, maybe.
I don't know it.
But we had just the mostfantastic time.
And then I got to the Army WarCollege and got my second
master's degree in strategicstudies.
(03:01):
And my first one's fromUniversity of Oklahoma in public
administration.
Was a deputy to the garrisoncommander at three different
installations for 17 years of a31-year career, which is kind of
the second in charge, kind oflike the city manager.
If you're out in a citysomewhere, it's the city manager
that is responsible for thestaff and the budget and making
sure that all the quality oflife and then the post runs so
(03:22):
the soldiers and families can dowhat they need to do to do our
nation's bidding.
And I ended up here at RedstoneArsenal as the chief of staff
for installation managementcommand and the sustainment
directorate where I wasresponsible for 32 installations
at the end of the day.
We didn't have that many tobegin with, but at the end of
the day, we had 32 of thesustainment where anything the
soldier would need, wear, shoot,or ride in was kind of the
(03:45):
sustainment garrisons.
And so It was just a fantasticcareer and ending up as a GS-15
Step 10, which if anybody knowsthe government federal system,
that's as high as you can go inthe general schedule system and
as many years as you can have.
And so it was an amazing,blessed life.
And so you asked where Istarted.
So it's really kind of almostdichotomy where I started.
(04:09):
So I grew up in Montana with aconstruction family that...
was on free and reduced schoollunches, free government cheese.
And because Montana is so cold,my dad and his brothers always
were seasonably unemployedduring the wintertime on
unemployment and things likethat.
We were that welfare family.
basically that was never popularbecause never had money.
(04:31):
But I was just good enough atsports to get along with
everybody when we were playingany sport and just smart enough
to be able to get decent gradeswithout studying or trying very
hard.
Fast forward a little bit tohigh school.
My parents got divorced when Iwas in sixth grade and my
stepdad and mom were having sometroubles.
And when I was a junior in highschool, my brother Kevin and my
brother Kelly.
(04:52):
Kelly was a senior.
Kevin and I were juniors.
Kevin got held back.
That's a did not live with ourparents for our last year of
high school.
And so you can imagine a17-year-old and an 18-year-old
living by themselves, finishinghigh school.
And we did a lot of stuff.
And everybody would come to ourhouse.
And there was a lot of fun atour house.
What we thought was good wasnot.
(05:14):
And a lot of bad things.
But as you and I talked about, Idon't have any jail stories.
Never been arrested.
So that's a God thing.
But, you know, the people backin Glendive, Montana, that know
me, knew me as kind of a welfarekid that partied and didn't
really have a lot ofsupervision, a little bit wild.
And so then went to college anddidn't know what I wanted to do,
(05:35):
but knew I didn't want to doconstruction and ended up in
psychology and sociology.
And it came very easy to mebecause I found the subject
intriguing about how the brainworks, how people behave and
things like that.
Went to Billings, Montana to thebig four-year school and met my
wife, Michelle, playing co-edsoftball.
And then we played tennis andbasketball together and snow
skied and water skied together.
(05:55):
And she was into horses.
And so we went and rode horses.
I tell you what, I married myplaymate.
We had so much fun playingtogether.
I said, you know, who is thisgirl?
I want to marry her.
And so that was probably thebiggest turning point in my life
was marrying Michelle.
And the second biggest is whenwe moved to Kamsama, Japan, and
I gave my life to Christ.
And that I think probably wasthe second most amazing change
(06:18):
in my life.
And again, the person that I amtoday is certainly not the a
person that the people inGlendive, Montana would
recognize.
So what experiences
SPEAKER_00 (06:25):
or aspects of your life do you feel are not often
shared or talked about?
SPEAKER_02 (06:29):
I think that as humans, we all try to do our
best.
And I think that what most oftenpeople don't talk about is the
transformation.
And I think that going from aperson that knew 110,000 jokes
that are inappropriate to tryand make people laugh without
cussing and saying inappropriatethings because you're trying to
(06:52):
follow God and trying to followa Christian life and get better.
which is a process, not anevent.
I think that most people wouldnot know things that go on in
people's heads and the thingsthat they think of compared to
the things that they actually doand act out.
I think it's probably somethingmost people wouldn't know that
about me because it was atransformation.
It was an incredibletransformation that the people
(07:14):
that knew me, and particularlyMichelle, who helped make me
better, would be able to talkabout.
But most people don't know that.
Again, the people in Glendive,Montana would not know the
Justin that you know.
SPEAKER_00 (07:25):
How did that transformation for you come
about finding God and all thethings you said, your
experiences that you had hadbefore where you felt you needed
to change or needed that shiftin your life?
SPEAKER_02 (07:37):
When Michelle and I got married, we were in Arizona
and I was a child abuseinvestigator.
And I think that that is a verydifficult job.
You really see people in theworst situations scenarios of
their life.
And I watched oftentimes thebest interests of children being
plea bargained away betweenlawyers to keep it out of court
and just not the right thing,but the easy thing.
(07:59):
And I realized that, you know,doing the right thing isn't
always easy.
And the easy thing is now isright.
And so I think that that led meto wanting to do something
different.
And I also found out that I havea talent for writing songs.
And Michelle and I, we were downthere and we had a Christmas
party.
And so I took a bunch ofChristmas songs and I rewrote
(08:21):
the words to match some of thecases that we had in child
abuse.
And the detectives were thereand I was there and some of my
coworkers were there and we sangand we laughed and we joked.
And when we walked out of there,Michelle said, You guys aren't
normal.
And she said, you know, really,you might want to think about
doing something else.
And I think that that was reallyprobably a huge turning point
and epiphany.
(08:42):
I was becoming very jaded, veryhearted, talking about really
awful, horrible humanexperiences and laughing and
joking about them because it'slaugh or cry, right?
When you're in that kind of ascenario.
And so then we started lookingto work for the Department of
Defense.
And again, I told you where Iended up.
And so that trajectory wasamazing.
And there's so many people totalk about along the way that
(09:02):
kind of help shape you andinfluence you and guide you and
mold you into being the humanyou become.
And so I think that thatprobably is one of the biggest
turning points and one of thebiggest influences that happened
to me that put me on the paththat I ended up walking.
So I went to church.
I grew up going to church, goingto Sunday school and things like
that.
But I wouldn't say that I was inwhat most people would think of
(09:24):
as a Christian household,because after church, everybody
would run to my grandma's house,because if you weren't there,
you were the one they gossipedabout.
And so there was a lot ofcussing and fussing, working in
a construction company.
And I believe my family believesin God.
That's between them and God.
I believe they do, though.
But it wasn't the shining lightthat you would think a Christian
is in terms of I want to be likethat.
(09:44):
And so I thought I didn't needto go to church.
I could just be a good personand that would be good enough.
And I do the right thing andtreat people like I want to be
treated.
And Michelle, it brokeMichelle's heart.
She she would go to church andthen she'd feel bad because
people would ask her, well,where's your husband?
And, you know, she'd makeexcuses and then she wouldn't
make excuses.
Then it was like, I can't dothis.
And so it was not good in termsof that rub between us.
(10:09):
And that was kind of our biggestrub if we ever had one.
So then we moved to Camp Zama,Japan.
And Danny, our daughter, wasborn.
And two years later, Trent wasborn.
But when Danny was born, I gotto thinking, you know, where
else in this world can...
influence my daughter to havegood morals and values and do
the right thing and be a goodhuman being, you know, most of
all, be a good human being.
(10:31):
And at the same time, I met aquirky chaplain named Steve
Girt.
And Steve Girt, you know, I wasan investigator and I was used
to keeping people kind of offtheir toes and being in charge
of talking with somebody.
And he came in my office, satdown and said, what's your
personal relationship with JesusChrist?
First thing out of his mouth.
And I was like, well, you know,I believe in God.
He said, no, that's not myquestion.
And he had me off balance thewhole conversation.
(10:52):
And he really challenged me toexplore what do I no kidding
believe.
And long story short, I gave mylife to Christ at Kamsama,
Japan, about 1994.
And then tried really hard tolive that walk and go to church.
And I think I freaked Michelleout one day.
I came home.
I said, come on, let's go tochurch.
(11:14):
And she was like, what?
So then we got involved and I'veread the Bible a couple of times
and started teaching Sundayschool and things like that.
Just really tried to change whatI was, what I represented
besides my professional life.
And so that was an addition tothat.
So I think that looking back,that was probably...
One of the most importantexperiences of my life, one
(11:35):
marrying Michelle.
I said at my retirement ceremonythat God led me to Michelle and
Michelle led me to God.
And she liked that.
She hadn't thought of it thatway, but that's kind of the way
I think about it.
And it's been quite a journeyand just an amazing life since
then of living your best life.
SPEAKER_00 (11:51):
That's great.
So I know, because you've toldme about this before, but you
started writing music.
Was it around this time that youreally got into writing
Christian music?
music?
SPEAKER_02 (12:02):
No, I worked and worked my way up.
And like a lot of people, I wasprobably a workaholic to a
degree that was not healthy.
And being a deputy to garrisoncommander is not an eight to
five job because you're runninga city with soldiers and family
members and you're workingwhenever they call you.
And I'll get to the answer.
It's going to take me a second.
(12:22):
But we were we were in Germanyand there was some things
happening.
And Michelle and I started doingrodeo, which is a whole
different story in itself.
And we were at a roping eventand I got a call and I unhooked
the trailer from the pickup.
I looked at Michelle and thekids and I said, I have to go.
I'm not sure when I'll be back,but I'll come get you as soon as
(12:43):
I can.
And I left and I had to go backto work.
And that night I went back andgot them and hooked up the
trailer and they were about theonly ones left with, I guess,
our barn manager came and stayedwith them.
But it was one of those thingswhere I realized that, you know,
I have to do this in order toget promoted, in order to show
that I can do this job.
(13:03):
I have to be all in.
And so that, I think, happenswith a lot of military families.
And I wasn't in the military,and I certainly wouldn't compare
myself to those heroes.
But I got to support themilitary, and I got to live a
military life moving all aroundand getting a chance to see some
really cool things and do somereally cool things.
And one of the cool things I'mleading up to is after going to
the War College and getting thatsecond master's degree and
(13:23):
then...
coming to Fort Rucker, Alabamato be the deputy to the garrison
commander at the Aviation Centerof Excellence and play around
with helicopters, which was fun.
I got moved to Fort Bragg, NorthCarolina.
And Fort Bragg, North Carolinais the most populated U.S.
Army base in the world.
And being the deputy to thegarrison commander there for six
and a half years was both anhonor and difficult.
I don't know the word, but boy,it about it about destroyed me
(13:44):
because it was so hard and sobig and so monstrous to get your
arms around the special forcesand the joint special forces and
everybody that's there.
It's just it's just a beast.
But we went to a Christiancowboy church and we fell in
with some friends that playedmusic and we started having jam
nights.
at their house, at our house,and just having so much fun
(14:04):
playing secular music andplaying some Christian music.
But just having fun playingguitar.
And there was a couple of peoplethat could really sing.
I can't sing very well.
But we kind of looked at eachother after a couple months and
said, you know, we should dothis.
And so we joined a grouptogether called Shekinah Music
was the name of the group.
And we became a travelingChristian band.
And we played churches and weplayed a Lumberton Fair concert.
(14:30):
We were on stage B on like aSunday night and we played to
one guy.
And we just had fun.
We made it a practice session,but we played a lot of
Christian, contemporaryChristian mostly, but some
gospel songs.
And we also played to severalthousand at the Fayetteville
State Fair and a couple othervenues that were a lot of fun.
(14:50):
Going to Virginia Beach andplaying in coffee houses was
actually pretty fun.
But then we started thinking,We're playing a lot of covers.
Maybe we should kind of writeour own music.
And then I kind of went back towhen I started, you know, with
the child abuse where words cameto me.
And I got one day sitting aroundtalking about my story.
And I wrote a song in about 20minutes.
(15:12):
And so I know it was aGod-inspired kind of thing.
But it was my Christian walk.
And it basically talks about howyou're walking and trying to
find your way.
And you're searching for thingsto fill the hole.
And the line goes, and somethings worked for a little
while.
But then I met you, gave my lifeto you.
Now I know.
And it was I was made is whatthe name of the song is.
(15:33):
I was made to worship you iskind of the whole title because
that's what we're here for.
And that's what we were madefor.
And we had just a fantastic timewriting songs.
And I've written a lot of songssince then.
A couple of other people wroteand sang songs.
We really had a fun time.
And then we decided to go intothe recording studio.
And we recorded a couple CDs,Christmas CD, and then the CD
with some of our originals andthen some covers.
(15:55):
And I think that the affirmationthat this was really what God
wanted me to do was in 2017, 18timeframe, the song...
got to a radio owner ofpersonality named Sweet Tea in
Carolina.
(16:16):
We were in North Carolina at thetime and traveling up and down
the East Coast.
And it was nominated for theCarolina Country Music Awards as
a Christian single.
And we were amazed and just soexcited.
And so we got invited to go tothis award ceremony in January
at the House of Blues in MyrtleBeach.
And so we walked the red carpetand we're all dressed to the
nines and there's people there.
And just it was really a funtime.
(16:37):
We were just like little kids ata circus.
You know, we were just happy tobe there.
And the song actually wonchristian single of the year for
the carolina country musicawards and so that really to me
was like okay god wants me to dothis and so i've written a lot
of songs since then and as youmature and as you think through
different things and how theyaffect your life the song that
really gets requested nowadayswhen i go play is called plant a
(16:57):
seed the the chorus is basicallytell your story plant a seed
it's not your job to make thembelieve Let the Holy Spirit meet
their needs.
Just tell your story and plantthe seed because some people
have a hard time talking aboutGod.
So it was kind of encouragingpeople to tell their story, kind
of like your whole podcast, whatit's all about.
Yeah, the whole
SPEAKER_01 (17:16):
reason it is.
SPEAKER_02 (17:17):
And so this is planting seeds and talking about
God.
So that's kind of where theChristian music came in and kind
of how it evolved and someamazing people and some amazing
singers, Angie and Laurie andDarren could really, really
sing.
And they took a song and made itcome alive.
And I really appreciate them forthat.
SPEAKER_00 (17:37):
That's great.
So how has that experienceshaped the way you approach life
today?
SPEAKER_02 (17:45):
Yeah, really, even though it sounds kind of
disjointed, it's very connected.
And I think that what at the endof the day, the path that I've
been on is to try and helppeople.
Even the social work part, itwas trying to help people.
And then as a supervisor myentire career, I always kind of
fell in love with coaching,mentoring, and teaching.
And I think that having aChristian background and a care
(18:06):
and a love for another person,particularly when they can't do
anything for you, is really animportant aspect of being a good
human being as I try to teach mychildren.
And I think that over the years,I've honed my ability to listen
to people where they're at andmeet them wherever they're at
and try and make them just alittle bit better and I had a
(18:26):
boss that I always tried to makeit a little bit better and so I
always was inspired by him butalso tried to take that and I've
had different opportunities atFort Bragg I had what I called
the fast horse program becausewe always have horses but
basically it was people that youcould tell wanted to get
promoted get the triathlon,bigger, stronger, faster.
And so I would haveconversations with them.
(18:48):
And then we developed acurriculum on leadership, on
speaking in public, on dress forsuccess, on just how to write a
good resume.
And then I talked abouteverybody should have a
Barnabas, a Paul, and a Timothy.
And if you know the story, it'seasy to understand.
But let me just share with youthat Barnabas was an old
seasoned Christian and thatpeople would come for advice and
(19:08):
mentorship and coaching andthings like that.
And everybody should havesomebody in their life that does
that.
Now, that's hard.
particularly if you don't knowwhat your passion is.
And then everybody should have aPaul, which is kind of a peer
where you can come to, like youand I, when we work together, we
could always talk and just kindof bounce things off each other
and share.
And that's always good to havethat comfort thing, you know,
where you can talk withsomebody.
And then having a Timothy, andmost people don't understand
that when you've been blessed,you need to bless others.
(19:30):
And so having somebody that youcan coach, mentor, and teach,
just life skills, but thoselittle things add up to make a
big difference.
And it's not the big things,it's the little things.
And it's little things daily asyou do your daily walk and as
you interact with people and youcan smile with them.
And I never meant to be a stupiddad joke teller and I never
meant to be, you know, happyTuesday, happy Wednesday guy
that I became.
(19:50):
But you know what?
There's a lot of worse things tobe known for.
And so being known for being apositive mental attitude or
being a positive influencer,just making somebody smile, I
think really truly makes adifference in the pond that
you're in and those wavesripple, you know, on a pond like
the Pebble and you've heard thatkind of thing before.
And I think I also mentioned toyou that I love a saying that a
lot of people hate and that isno matter where you are, there
(20:12):
you are.
UNKNOWN (20:12):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (20:12):
And a lot of people say, well, that's stupid.
But here's the deeper meaning tothat to me.
And that is that you can't doanything about the past.
There's a lot of things that Idid when I was in high school
when my brother and I livedalone.
And I probably wouldn't changeit because it made me who I am,
but it certainly wasn't good.
So I can't do anything aboutthat.
And if I get too future mindedwhere I think about, OK, after
(20:34):
this job, I'm going to do thator after this amount of money, I
need to make that amount ofmoney.
And the more you think about thefuture, you're kind of wasting
the opportunity of what's rightin front of you.
So living in the moment, livingwith the person that you're
with, the relationship thatyou're with, the job that you're
in.
There's a book called The NextThing or The Next Big Thing.
The bottom line is thinkingdiligently and intentionally
(20:57):
about what is the one thing Icould do right now.
The one thing.
That's the name of the book.
The one thing.
What's the one thing I could doright now that would make the
most difference in thisrelationship?
What's the one thing I could doright now to make this job
better, more effective or mebetter at it?
OK, which to me is a lot aboutmind, body, spirit.
I look at the triad of thehuman.
I go, what are you doing to getbigger, stronger, faster when I
(21:19):
mentor somebody?
mind, body, and spirit.
So what are you reading?
What are you studying?
What are you trying to do foryour mind?
Are you eating well?
Are you exercising?
Are you staying in shape foryour body?
And spiritually, I'm not goingto tell you what to believe, but
whatever you should believe,believe it with your whole
heart.
And if your belief doesn't causeyou emotion and your emotions go
to your belief, then you're notconnected in your spirit.
(21:39):
And so what are you doing to getbigger, stronger, faster in
mind, body, spirit?
And you try to apply that to themoment.
And those moments become yourhabit.
what you do every single day.
And then your habit becomes yourcharacter, and your character
becomes your legacy, right?
And so if you think about in thefuture, what are they going to
write on Justin Mitchell'sheadstone?
(22:00):
It might be Happy Tuesday orsomething.
It might be a stupid dad joke.
But I think that given theopportunity...
positively influence peoplecoaching mentoring and teaching
people and and helping to makethem just a little bit better
wherever they are becausethey're not you they've not been
on the same path that you arethey have different history and
if you can make somebody alittle bit better i think that's
a noble cause and you do that inthe moments you do that a moment
(22:24):
at a time that then becomes amemory and a history and so i
think that no matter where youare there you are be there be
all there be a hundred percentbe all in and if you're not all
in be a hundred percent out andit's okay to to say okay Peace
out and be okay with that andnot worry about it and not think
about it and not think of it asa failure.
Think of it as a lesson for thenext big thing.
(22:45):
So I guess that's kind of howthat Christian walk developed
through my profession, throughmy person and through what I try
to bring to my Sunday schoolkids, to my church, to the
people, my neighbors and all myneighbors and to the people that
I work with like you.
SPEAKER_00 (23:00):
I appreciate that.
You have me thinking a lot aboutthe different things that you
were saying being that moment.
I'm right now in the season ofteenage.
And I want to make sure thatthese are the moments now I'm
losing time with my girls.
They're getting older.
And when I talk with a lot offriends, they've got a couple of
younger kids and they look at meand go, you miss those stages?
Well, of course I do.
(23:20):
I miss the Mickey and Milkstages.
And I miss those times when theywere toddlers and they would
cuddle up to me on the lap.
But they're getting older.
And now I'm looking at myoldest.
She's got three years left inhigh school.
And then I've got another oneright behind her, about six
years.
And I'm going, this is the timethat they don't necessarily need
me, but they still need thatguidance from me.
And so I'm doing that with themright now.
SPEAKER_02 (23:41):
Perfect analogy.
And I get that question a lot.
We had a great time in therodeo.
And long story short, my wife'sactually in the European Rodeo
Hall of Fame.
She's that good.
And she did fantastic in rodeo.
And people say to you, miss therodeo.
I do miss it.
I miss the people.
I miss the competition.
I I'm a type A.
I like to go at it.
But you can't go back.
(24:02):
And then when we left FortBragg, we stopped playing in a
Christian band.
I still play music and writemusic.
But we stopped playing andtraveling around in a Christian
band.
And people say, do you missthat?
Well, of course I miss that.
I miss the people.
There's 13 of us.
And we got along so well forfour years traveling around and
playing God music.
And of course I miss it.
But you can't go back.
You can never go back.
And now being retired, do youmiss the job?
(24:24):
I miss elements of the job.
And I certainly miss the people.
But I can't go back.
And so you have to live todayand try and figure out how to
make sure that it's impactfulfor the future.
I love what you're talking aboutwith the kids because right now
they're going to remember that.
Good or bad, they're going toremember it.
And this
SPEAKER_00 (24:40):
is the most important time.
SPEAKER_02 (24:41):
Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (24:42):
So how do you hope sharing your story will help
others?
SPEAKER_02 (24:46):
Yeah.
Keep it going.
Don't quit.
Don't be hard on yourself.
I think people run laps in theirhead and let other people rent
space in their head, rent free.
And I think that working throughanxiety and things like that has
a lot to do with being at peacewith yourself.
People will read Psalm 23 and,you know, anxiety doesn't like
Psalm 23.
And so people will get upsetwith it.
(25:08):
People that don't believe inGod, you have to be okay with
yourself and you have to be ableto forgive yourself and move on
and just try to do better.
But don't quit.
Don't ever quit.
SPEAKER_00 (25:17):
Yeah, that's great advice.
So, Justin, I really appreciateyou sharing this part of your
story.
And so before we wrap, is thereanything else you'd like to
share or something that's beenon your heart?
SPEAKER_02 (25:28):
I think that I've enjoyed the conversation.
There's some trails I went downI didn't think I would go down.
But, you know, you are aconglomerate of your
experiences.
I guess the underlying messageis live your best life and try
hard to find your passion.
And if you can't, then findsomebody that can help you with
(25:48):
that, you know, a Barnabas, aPaul, or a Timothy.
And so I guess I'd like to endwith make sure you have a good
Barnabas, some great Paulsaround, and find a Timothy to
help bring along with you.
SPEAKER_00 (26:00):
I love that analogy.
I'm going to keep that one.
Find my Barnabas, Paul, andTimothy.
That's good.
Well, Justin, thank you so muchfor sharing such a personal and
powerful part of your journey.
I'm so grateful for youropenness and honesty.
I believe it will make adifference for someone who needs
to hear it.
SPEAKER_02 (26:16):
Thanks for letting me do this.
SPEAKER_00 (26:18):
Thank you.
Justin's story is a greatreminder that not all hidden
chapters are marked by bigdramatic moments.
Sometimes they unfold in steady,quiet ways through personal
growth, everyday choices, andthe people who help guide us
along the way.
Thank you.
Thank you.
(26:39):
Thank you.
Bye.
Bye.
(27:01):
Bye.
Today's guest is someone I've had the privilege
(00:02):
of knowing since day one,literally.
We started working at the sameplace on the exact same day.
In this episode, Justin sharesthe path that brought him from a
tough childhood to a life rootedin faith, service, and growth.
He opens up about how his faithgrew over time, how important
mentors and his wife, Michelle,have been in shaping his
(00:23):
journey, and how writing musicwith friends led to some
unexpected and meaningfulmoments.
Now he spends some time pouringinto others, guided by a
powerful question from the OneThing book.
What's the one thing I can doright now that would make the
most difference in thisrelationship?
His story is a reminder thateven when our beginnings are
(00:46):
hard, our next chapters can befull of purpose.
When we worked together, Justinhad a list of dad jokes ready to
go every single day.
There's so much more to hisstory than just his sense of
humor.
Today, we're diving into themoments that shape him, the
hidden chapters we don't alwaysget to hear.
(01:07):
So Justin, it's great to haveyou here.
Before we dive in, I have toask.
Do you have a dad joke ready forus?
SPEAKER_02 (01:14):
Yeah, I guess I always have a dad joke ready.
So I don't know if you know it,but I've been on that 45-day
diet.
No.
Yeah, and so far I've lost 15days.
So that's my dad joke for today.
And you can tell, by the way,the shape I'm in, 15 days.
SPEAKER_00 (01:28):
I know there's more to your story, and I'm really
excited to be able to explorethat with you today.
I'd love for you to introduceyourself to our listeners and
express who Justin is in yourown words.
SPEAKER_02 (01:37):
So who is Justin?
That's a great question.
I think that a lot of people askthemselves that.
I think if I were to I say it ina short synopsis.
Justin is a country kid thatgrew up poor that had one of the
most incredible, amazing,blessed lives that anybody could
live in terms of live your bestlife or enjoy your passion.
So I'd say that's probably asummary of who Justin is.
SPEAKER_00 (02:00):
Okay.
Thank you for that.
So we worked together for abouta year and I got to know
workplace Justin.
But today I get to go back abit.
And I want to talk about beforewe cross paths.
Yeah.
So let's rewind and go back.
And if you don't mind, let'sstart with what was life like
for you growing up?
SPEAKER_02 (02:18):
Okay.
Well, let me, kind of likeStephen Covey says, begin with
the end in mind.
Let me start with the end andthen I'll go to the beginning.
But I had an incredible careerwith the Department of Defense
and got to travel around and asa civilian, not in the military,
got to live the militarylifestyle in a lot of ways.
And so in 1993, I moved toKamsama, Japan with Michelle, my
(02:39):
wife, and we had both of ourchildren in Japan, went to
Germany.
And I had a one-year tour toGermany.
We thought, cool, you get paidto have a German vacation.
And 11-year Years later, Ifinished my German tour.
And so I'm a little bit of aslow learner, maybe.
I don't know it.
But we had just the mostfantastic time.
And then I got to the Army WarCollege and got my second
master's degree in strategicstudies.
(03:01):
And my first one's fromUniversity of Oklahoma in public
administration.
Was a deputy to the garrisoncommander at three different
installations for 17 years of a31-year career, which is kind of
the second in charge, kind oflike the city manager.
If you're out in a citysomewhere, it's the city manager
that is responsible for thestaff and the budget and making
sure that all the quality oflife and then the post runs so
(03:22):
the soldiers and families can dowhat they need to do to do our
nation's bidding.
And I ended up here at RedstoneArsenal as the chief of staff
for installation managementcommand and the sustainment
directorate where I wasresponsible for 32 installations
at the end of the day.
We didn't have that many tobegin with, but at the end of
the day, we had 32 of thesustainment where anything the
soldier would need, wear, shoot,or ride in was kind of the
(03:45):
sustainment garrisons.
And so It was just a fantasticcareer and ending up as a GS-15
Step 10, which if anybody knowsthe government federal system,
that's as high as you can go inthe general schedule system and
as many years as you can have.
And so it was an amazing,blessed life.
And so you asked where Istarted.
So it's really kind of almostdichotomy where I started.
(04:09):
So I grew up in Montana with aconstruction family that...
was on free and reduced schoollunches, free government cheese.
And because Montana is so cold,my dad and his brothers always
were seasonably unemployedduring the wintertime on
unemployment and things likethat.
We were that welfare family.
basically that was never popularbecause never had money.
(04:31):
But I was just good enough atsports to get along with
everybody when we were playingany sport and just smart enough
to be able to get decent gradeswithout studying or trying very
hard.
Fast forward a little bit tohigh school.
My parents got divorced when Iwas in sixth grade and my
stepdad and mom were having sometroubles.
And when I was a junior in highschool, my brother Kevin and my
brother Kelly.
(04:52):
Kelly was a senior.
Kevin and I were juniors.
Kevin got held back.
That's a did not live with ourparents for our last year of
high school.
And so you can imagine a17-year-old and an 18-year-old
living by themselves, finishinghigh school.
And we did a lot of stuff.
And everybody would come to ourhouse.
And there was a lot of fun atour house.
What we thought was good wasnot.
(05:14):
And a lot of bad things.
But as you and I talked about, Idon't have any jail stories.
Never been arrested.
So that's a God thing.
But, you know, the people backin Glendive, Montana, that know
me, knew me as kind of a welfarekid that partied and didn't
really have a lot ofsupervision, a little bit wild.
And so then went to college anddidn't know what I wanted to do,
(05:35):
but knew I didn't want to doconstruction and ended up in
psychology and sociology.
And it came very easy to mebecause I found the subject
intriguing about how the brainworks, how people behave and
things like that.
Went to Billings, Montana to thebig four-year school and met my
wife, Michelle, playing co-edsoftball.
And then we played tennis andbasketball together and snow
skied and water skied together.
(05:55):
And she was into horses.
And so we went and rode horses.
I tell you what, I married myplaymate.
We had so much fun playingtogether.
I said, you know, who is thisgirl?
I want to marry her.
And so that was probably thebiggest turning point in my life
was marrying Michelle.
And the second biggest is whenwe moved to Kamsama, Japan, and
I gave my life to Christ.
And that I think probably wasthe second most amazing change
(06:18):
in my life.
And again, the person that I amtoday is certainly not the a
person that the people inGlendive, Montana would
recognize.
So what experiences
SPEAKER_00 (06:25):
or aspects of your life do you feel are not often
shared or talked about?
SPEAKER_02 (06:29):
I think that as humans, we all try to do our
best.
And I think that what most oftenpeople don't talk about is the
transformation.
And I think that going from aperson that knew 110,000 jokes
that are inappropriate to tryand make people laugh without
cussing and saying inappropriatethings because you're trying to
(06:52):
follow God and trying to followa Christian life and get better.
which is a process, not anevent.
I think that most people wouldnot know things that go on in
people's heads and the thingsthat they think of compared to
the things that they actually doand act out.
I think it's probably somethingmost people wouldn't know that
about me because it was atransformation.
It was an incredibletransformation that the people
(07:14):
that knew me, and particularlyMichelle, who helped make me
better, would be able to talkabout.
But most people don't know that.
Again, the people in Glendive,Montana would not know the
Justin that you know.
SPEAKER_00 (07:25):
How did that transformation for you come
about finding God and all thethings you said, your
experiences that you had hadbefore where you felt you needed
to change or needed that shiftin your life?
SPEAKER_02 (07:37):
When Michelle and I got married, we were in Arizona
and I was a child abuseinvestigator.
And I think that that is a verydifficult job.
You really see people in theworst situations scenarios of
their life.
And I watched oftentimes thebest interests of children being
plea bargained away betweenlawyers to keep it out of court
and just not the right thing,but the easy thing.
(07:59):
And I realized that, you know,doing the right thing isn't
always easy.
And the easy thing is now isright.
And so I think that that led meto wanting to do something
different.
And I also found out that I havea talent for writing songs.
And Michelle and I, we were downthere and we had a Christmas
party.
And so I took a bunch ofChristmas songs and I rewrote
(08:21):
the words to match some of thecases that we had in child
abuse.
And the detectives were thereand I was there and some of my
coworkers were there and we sangand we laughed and we joked.
And when we walked out of there,Michelle said, You guys aren't
normal.
And she said, you know, really,you might want to think about
doing something else.
And I think that that was reallyprobably a huge turning point
and epiphany.
(08:42):
I was becoming very jaded, veryhearted, talking about really
awful, horrible humanexperiences and laughing and
joking about them because it'slaugh or cry, right?
When you're in that kind of ascenario.
And so then we started lookingto work for the Department of
Defense.
And again, I told you where Iended up.
And so that trajectory wasamazing.
And there's so many people totalk about along the way that
(09:02):
kind of help shape you andinfluence you and guide you and
mold you into being the humanyou become.
And so I think that thatprobably is one of the biggest
turning points and one of thebiggest influences that happened
to me that put me on the paththat I ended up walking.
So I went to church.
I grew up going to church, goingto Sunday school and things like
that.
But I wouldn't say that I was inwhat most people would think of
(09:24):
as a Christian household,because after church, everybody
would run to my grandma's house,because if you weren't there,
you were the one they gossipedabout.
And so there was a lot ofcussing and fussing, working in
a construction company.
And I believe my family believesin God.
That's between them and God.
I believe they do, though.
But it wasn't the shining lightthat you would think a Christian
is in terms of I want to be likethat.
(09:44):
And so I thought I didn't needto go to church.
I could just be a good personand that would be good enough.
And I do the right thing andtreat people like I want to be
treated.
And Michelle, it brokeMichelle's heart.
She she would go to church andthen she'd feel bad because
people would ask her, well,where's your husband?
And, you know, she'd makeexcuses and then she wouldn't
make excuses.
Then it was like, I can't dothis.
And so it was not good in termsof that rub between us.
(10:09):
And that was kind of our biggestrub if we ever had one.
So then we moved to Camp Zama,Japan.
And Danny, our daughter, wasborn.
And two years later, Trent wasborn.
But when Danny was born, I gotto thinking, you know, where
else in this world can...
influence my daughter to havegood morals and values and do
the right thing and be a goodhuman being, you know, most of
all, be a good human being.
(10:31):
And at the same time, I met aquirky chaplain named Steve
Girt.
And Steve Girt, you know, I wasan investigator and I was used
to keeping people kind of offtheir toes and being in charge
of talking with somebody.
And he came in my office, satdown and said, what's your
personal relationship with JesusChrist?
First thing out of his mouth.
And I was like, well, you know,I believe in God.
He said, no, that's not myquestion.
And he had me off balance thewhole conversation.
(10:52):
And he really challenged me toexplore what do I no kidding
believe.
And long story short, I gave mylife to Christ at Kamsama,
Japan, about 1994.
And then tried really hard tolive that walk and go to church.
And I think I freaked Michelleout one day.
I came home.
I said, come on, let's go tochurch.
(11:14):
And she was like, what?
So then we got involved and I'veread the Bible a couple of times
and started teaching Sundayschool and things like that.
Just really tried to change whatI was, what I represented
besides my professional life.
And so that was an addition tothat.
So I think that looking back,that was probably...
One of the most importantexperiences of my life, one
(11:35):
marrying Michelle.
I said at my retirement ceremonythat God led me to Michelle and
Michelle led me to God.
And she liked that.
She hadn't thought of it thatway, but that's kind of the way
I think about it.
And it's been quite a journeyand just an amazing life since
then of living your best life.
SPEAKER_00 (11:51):
That's great.
So I know, because you've toldme about this before, but you
started writing music.
Was it around this time that youreally got into writing
Christian music?
music?
SPEAKER_02 (12:02):
No, I worked and worked my way up.
And like a lot of people, I wasprobably a workaholic to a
degree that was not healthy.
And being a deputy to garrisoncommander is not an eight to
five job because you're runninga city with soldiers and family
members and you're workingwhenever they call you.
And I'll get to the answer.
It's going to take me a second.
(12:22):
But we were we were in Germanyand there was some things
happening.
And Michelle and I started doingrodeo, which is a whole
different story in itself.
And we were at a roping eventand I got a call and I unhooked
the trailer from the pickup.
I looked at Michelle and thekids and I said, I have to go.
I'm not sure when I'll be back,but I'll come get you as soon as
(12:43):
I can.
And I left and I had to go backto work.
And that night I went back andgot them and hooked up the
trailer and they were about theonly ones left with, I guess,
our barn manager came and stayedwith them.
But it was one of those thingswhere I realized that, you know,
I have to do this in order toget promoted, in order to show
that I can do this job.
(13:03):
I have to be all in.
And so that, I think, happenswith a lot of military families.
And I wasn't in the military,and I certainly wouldn't compare
myself to those heroes.
But I got to support themilitary, and I got to live a
military life moving all aroundand getting a chance to see some
really cool things and do somereally cool things.
And one of the cool things I'mleading up to is after going to
the War College and getting thatsecond master's degree and
(13:23):
then...
coming to Fort Rucker, Alabamato be the deputy to the garrison
commander at the Aviation Centerof Excellence and play around
with helicopters, which was fun.
I got moved to Fort Bragg, NorthCarolina.
And Fort Bragg, North Carolinais the most populated U.S.
Army base in the world.
And being the deputy to thegarrison commander there for six
and a half years was both anhonor and difficult.
I don't know the word, but boy,it about it about destroyed me
(13:44):
because it was so hard and sobig and so monstrous to get your
arms around the special forcesand the joint special forces and
everybody that's there.
It's just it's just a beast.
But we went to a Christiancowboy church and we fell in
with some friends that playedmusic and we started having jam
nights.
at their house, at our house,and just having so much fun
(14:04):
playing secular music andplaying some Christian music.
But just having fun playingguitar.
And there was a couple of peoplethat could really sing.
I can't sing very well.
But we kind of looked at eachother after a couple months and
said, you know, we should dothis.
And so we joined a grouptogether called Shekinah Music
was the name of the group.
And we became a travelingChristian band.
And we played churches and weplayed a Lumberton Fair concert.
(14:30):
We were on stage B on like aSunday night and we played to
one guy.
And we just had fun.
We made it a practice session,but we played a lot of
Christian, contemporaryChristian mostly, but some
gospel songs.
And we also played to severalthousand at the Fayetteville
State Fair and a couple othervenues that were a lot of fun.
(14:50):
Going to Virginia Beach andplaying in coffee houses was
actually pretty fun.
But then we started thinking,We're playing a lot of covers.
Maybe we should kind of writeour own music.
And then I kind of went back towhen I started, you know, with
the child abuse where words cameto me.
And I got one day sitting aroundtalking about my story.
And I wrote a song in about 20minutes.
(15:12):
And so I know it was aGod-inspired kind of thing.
But it was my Christian walk.
And it basically talks about howyou're walking and trying to
find your way.
And you're searching for thingsto fill the hole.
And the line goes, and somethings worked for a little
while.
But then I met you, gave my lifeto you.
Now I know.
And it was I was made is whatthe name of the song is.
(15:33):
I was made to worship you iskind of the whole title because
that's what we're here for.
And that's what we were madefor.
And we had just a fantastic timewriting songs.
And I've written a lot of songssince then.
A couple of other people wroteand sang songs.
We really had a fun time.
And then we decided to go intothe recording studio.
And we recorded a couple CDs,Christmas CD, and then the CD
with some of our originals andthen some covers.
(15:55):
And I think that the affirmationthat this was really what God
wanted me to do was in 2017, 18timeframe, the song...
got to a radio owner ofpersonality named Sweet Tea in
Carolina.
(16:16):
We were in North Carolina at thetime and traveling up and down
the East Coast.
And it was nominated for theCarolina Country Music Awards as
a Christian single.
And we were amazed and just soexcited.
And so we got invited to go tothis award ceremony in January
at the House of Blues in MyrtleBeach.
And so we walked the red carpetand we're all dressed to the
nines and there's people there.
And just it was really a funtime.
(16:37):
We were just like little kids ata circus.
You know, we were just happy tobe there.
And the song actually wonchristian single of the year for
the carolina country musicawards and so that really to me
was like okay god wants me to dothis and so i've written a lot
of songs since then and as youmature and as you think through
different things and how theyaffect your life the song that
really gets requested nowadayswhen i go play is called plant a
(16:57):
seed the the chorus is basicallytell your story plant a seed
it's not your job to make thembelieve Let the Holy Spirit meet
their needs.
Just tell your story and plantthe seed because some people
have a hard time talking aboutGod.
So it was kind of encouragingpeople to tell their story, kind
of like your whole podcast, whatit's all about.
Yeah, the whole
SPEAKER_01 (17:16):
reason it is.
SPEAKER_02 (17:17):
And so this is planting seeds and talking about
God.
So that's kind of where theChristian music came in and kind
of how it evolved and someamazing people and some amazing
singers, Angie and Laurie andDarren could really, really
sing.
And they took a song and made itcome alive.
And I really appreciate them forthat.
SPEAKER_00 (17:37):
That's great.
So how has that experienceshaped the way you approach life
today?
SPEAKER_02 (17:45):
Yeah, really, even though it sounds kind of
disjointed, it's very connected.
And I think that what at the endof the day, the path that I've
been on is to try and helppeople.
Even the social work part, itwas trying to help people.
And then as a supervisor myentire career, I always kind of
fell in love with coaching,mentoring, and teaching.
And I think that having aChristian background and a care
(18:06):
and a love for another person,particularly when they can't do
anything for you, is really animportant aspect of being a good
human being as I try to teach mychildren.
And I think that over the years,I've honed my ability to listen
to people where they're at andmeet them wherever they're at
and try and make them just alittle bit better and I had a
(18:26):
boss that I always tried to makeit a little bit better and so I
always was inspired by him butalso tried to take that and I've
had different opportunities atFort Bragg I had what I called
the fast horse program becausewe always have horses but
basically it was people that youcould tell wanted to get
promoted get the triathlon,bigger, stronger, faster.
And so I would haveconversations with them.
(18:48):
And then we developed acurriculum on leadership, on
speaking in public, on dress forsuccess, on just how to write a
good resume.
And then I talked abouteverybody should have a
Barnabas, a Paul, and a Timothy.
And if you know the story, it'seasy to understand.
But let me just share with youthat Barnabas was an old
seasoned Christian and thatpeople would come for advice and
(19:08):
mentorship and coaching andthings like that.
And everybody should havesomebody in their life that does
that.
Now, that's hard.
particularly if you don't knowwhat your passion is.
And then everybody should have aPaul, which is kind of a peer
where you can come to, like youand I, when we work together, we
could always talk and just kindof bounce things off each other
and share.
And that's always good to havethat comfort thing, you know,
where you can talk withsomebody.
And then having a Timothy, andmost people don't understand
that when you've been blessed,you need to bless others.
(19:30):
And so having somebody that youcan coach, mentor, and teach,
just life skills, but thoselittle things add up to make a
big difference.
And it's not the big things,it's the little things.
And it's little things daily asyou do your daily walk and as
you interact with people and youcan smile with them.
And I never meant to be a stupiddad joke teller and I never
meant to be, you know, happyTuesday, happy Wednesday guy
that I became.
(19:50):
But you know what?
There's a lot of worse things tobe known for.
And so being known for being apositive mental attitude or
being a positive influencer,just making somebody smile, I
think really truly makes adifference in the pond that
you're in and those wavesripple, you know, on a pond like
the Pebble and you've heard thatkind of thing before.
And I think I also mentioned toyou that I love a saying that a
lot of people hate and that isno matter where you are, there
(20:12):
you are.
UNKNOWN (20:12):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (20:12):
And a lot of people say, well, that's stupid.
But here's the deeper meaning tothat to me.
And that is that you can't doanything about the past.
There's a lot of things that Idid when I was in high school
when my brother and I livedalone.
And I probably wouldn't changeit because it made me who I am,
but it certainly wasn't good.
So I can't do anything aboutthat.
And if I get too future mindedwhere I think about, OK, after
(20:34):
this job, I'm going to do thator after this amount of money, I
need to make that amount ofmoney.
And the more you think about thefuture, you're kind of wasting
the opportunity of what's rightin front of you.
So living in the moment, livingwith the person that you're
with, the relationship thatyou're with, the job that you're
in.
There's a book called The NextThing or The Next Big Thing.
The bottom line is thinkingdiligently and intentionally
(20:57):
about what is the one thing Icould do right now.
The one thing.
That's the name of the book.
The one thing.
What's the one thing I could doright now that would make the
most difference in thisrelationship?
What's the one thing I could doright now to make this job
better, more effective or mebetter at it?
OK, which to me is a lot aboutmind, body, spirit.
I look at the triad of thehuman.
I go, what are you doing to getbigger, stronger, faster when I
(21:19):
mentor somebody?
mind, body, and spirit.
So what are you reading?
What are you studying?
What are you trying to do foryour mind?
Are you eating well?
Are you exercising?
Are you staying in shape foryour body?
And spiritually, I'm not goingto tell you what to believe, but
whatever you should believe,believe it with your whole
heart.
And if your belief doesn't causeyou emotion and your emotions go
to your belief, then you're notconnected in your spirit.
(21:39):
And so what are you doing to getbigger, stronger, faster in
mind, body, spirit?
And you try to apply that to themoment.
And those moments become yourhabit.
what you do every single day.
And then your habit becomes yourcharacter, and your character
becomes your legacy, right?
And so if you think about in thefuture, what are they going to
write on Justin Mitchell'sheadstone?
(22:00):
It might be Happy Tuesday orsomething.
It might be a stupid dad joke.
But I think that given theopportunity...
positively influence peoplecoaching mentoring and teaching
people and and helping to makethem just a little bit better
wherever they are becausethey're not you they've not been
on the same path that you arethey have different history and
if you can make somebody alittle bit better i think that's
a noble cause and you do that inthe moments you do that a moment
(22:24):
at a time that then becomes amemory and a history and so i
think that no matter where youare there you are be there be
all there be a hundred percentbe all in and if you're not all
in be a hundred percent out andit's okay to to say okay Peace
out and be okay with that andnot worry about it and not think
about it and not think of it asa failure.
Think of it as a lesson for thenext big thing.
(22:45):
So I guess that's kind of howthat Christian walk developed
through my profession, throughmy person and through what I try
to bring to my Sunday schoolkids, to my church, to the
people, my neighbors and all myneighbors and to the people that
I work with like you.
SPEAKER_00 (23:00):
I appreciate that.
You have me thinking a lot aboutthe different things that you
were saying being that moment.
I'm right now in the season ofteenage.
And I want to make sure thatthese are the moments now I'm
losing time with my girls.
They're getting older.
And when I talk with a lot offriends, they've got a couple of
younger kids and they look at meand go, you miss those stages?
Well, of course I do.
(23:20):
I miss the Mickey and Milkstages.
And I miss those times when theywere toddlers and they would
cuddle up to me on the lap.
But they're getting older.
And now I'm looking at myoldest.
She's got three years left inhigh school.
And then I've got another oneright behind her, about six
years.
And I'm going, this is the timethat they don't necessarily need
me, but they still need thatguidance from me.
And so I'm doing that with themright now.
SPEAKER_02 (23:41):
Perfect analogy.
And I get that question a lot.
We had a great time in therodeo.
And long story short, my wife'sactually in the European Rodeo
Hall of Fame.
She's that good.
And she did fantastic in rodeo.
And people say to you, miss therodeo.
I do miss it.
I miss the people.
I miss the competition.
I I'm a type A.
I like to go at it.
But you can't go back.
(24:02):
And then when we left FortBragg, we stopped playing in a
Christian band.
I still play music and writemusic.
But we stopped playing andtraveling around in a Christian
band.
And people say, do you missthat?
Well, of course I miss that.
I miss the people.
There's 13 of us.
And we got along so well forfour years traveling around and
playing God music.
And of course I miss it.
But you can't go back.
You can never go back.
And now being retired, do youmiss the job?
(24:24):
I miss elements of the job.
And I certainly miss the people.
But I can't go back.
And so you have to live todayand try and figure out how to
make sure that it's impactfulfor the future.
I love what you're talking aboutwith the kids because right now
they're going to remember that.
Good or bad, they're going toremember it.
And this
SPEAKER_00 (24:40):
is the most important time.
SPEAKER_02 (24:41):
Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (24:42):
So how do you hope sharing your story will help
others?
SPEAKER_02 (24:46):
Yeah.
Keep it going.
Don't quit.
Don't be hard on yourself.
I think people run laps in theirhead and let other people rent
space in their head, rent free.
And I think that working throughanxiety and things like that has
a lot to do with being at peacewith yourself.
People will read Psalm 23 and,you know, anxiety doesn't like
Psalm 23.
And so people will get upsetwith it.
(25:08):
People that don't believe inGod, you have to be okay with
yourself and you have to be ableto forgive yourself and move on
and just try to do better.
But don't quit.
Don't ever quit.
SPEAKER_00 (25:17):
Yeah, that's great advice.
So, Justin, I really appreciateyou sharing this part of your
story.
And so before we wrap, is thereanything else you'd like to
share or something that's beenon your heart?
SPEAKER_02 (25:28):
I think that I've enjoyed the conversation.
There's some trails I went downI didn't think I would go down.
But, you know, you are aconglomerate of your
experiences.
I guess the underlying messageis live your best life and try
hard to find your passion.
And if you can't, then findsomebody that can help you with
(25:48):
that, you know, a Barnabas, aPaul, or a Timothy.
And so I guess I'd like to endwith make sure you have a good
Barnabas, some great Paulsaround, and find a Timothy to
help bring along with you.
SPEAKER_00 (26:00):
I love that analogy.
I'm going to keep that one.
Find my Barnabas, Paul, andTimothy.
That's good.
Well, Justin, thank you so muchfor sharing such a personal and
powerful part of your journey.
I'm so grateful for youropenness and honesty.
I believe it will make adifference for someone who needs
to hear it.
SPEAKER_02 (26:16):
Thanks for letting me do this.
SPEAKER_00 (26:18):
Thank you.
Justin's story is a greatreminder that not all hidden
chapters are marked by bigdramatic moments.
Sometimes they unfold in steady,quiet ways through personal
growth, everyday choices, andthe people who help guide us
along the way.
Thank you.
Thank you.
(26:39):
Thank you.
Bye.
Bye.
(27:01):
Bye.
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