What happens when a survivalist meets the Savior?
Zachary Fowler, winner of Alone Season 3 and creator of Fowler's Makery and Mischief, returns in Part 2 of this exclusive Covenant Eyes Podcast series to share how God’s Word, biblical journaling, and real accountability transformed his life.
Discover:
✅ Why journaling is more than just venting
✅ How to fall in love with the Bible—again
✅ The surprising power of Covenant Eyes and spiritual community
✅ How one 300-mile e-bike survival trip became a journey of radical faith
✅ Why sharing the Gospel on YouTube is worth the backlash
Hosted by Karen Potter, this episode will encourage you to take your walk with Jesus deeper, whether you're battling temptation, navigating accountability, or simply want to hear an authentic story of hope and victory.
🔔 Subscribe for more episodes that bring hope, healing, and freedom through Jesus: https://www.youtube.com/@CovenantEyes
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📱 Download the FREE Victory App by Covenant Eyes: https://cvnteyes.co/41YU8Od
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro: What’s in Part 2?
01:14 - How Fowler fell in love with God’s Word
03:40 - The power of journaling as a spiritual discipline
06:15 - Using Scripture to test teachings
08:30 - Fowler’s journaling tips for growth and legacy
11:12 - Why accountability matters (James 5:16)
13:45 - Covenant Eyes: Not just for recovery—it's for freedom
17:10 - Sharing the Gospel through YouTube content
21:25 - Facing criticism for your faith online
24:05 - The 300-mile e-bike survival challenge of faith
28:50 - God’s miraculous provision in the wild
32:40 - Final encouragement: Start where you are
35:12 - Outro: Where to find more from Zach and Covenant Eyes
#Faith #Survival #Testimony #ChristianAccountability
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Everybody, welcome back toThe Covenant Eyes Podcast.
(00:02):
It's Karen, and we have avery special guest
joining us today.
I know you're goingto recognize this fella.
He was seasonthree of the History
Channel's hit show “"Alone"”.
He was the winner.
It was anunbelievable experience.
I know if you watch this show,you're always thinking,
how do these people do that?
(00:22):
But he also runs a very popularYouTube channel called Fowler's
Makery and Mischief.
That's a mouthful.
But we are really excitedto have Zach Fowler
joining us today.
Zach, welcome to the podcast.
Hey, thanks for having me.
Yeah.
So I know everybody iswell familiar with,
(00:43):
your experience on "Alone".
And we'll divea little bit into that.
But you also havea really popular YouTube channel
where you share all sortsof fun adventures.
So I definitely want to sharewith our listeners a little bit
about that channel.
But for those who might notbe terribly familiar with you,
I don't know how that could be.
Would you mind sharingjust a little bit
about your backgroundand how you got started
(01:03):
with your YouTube channel,and maybe even
how you got connectedwith the show "Alone"?
Yeah, I, you know, just kind of.
I was moved toMaine, was building boats,
kind of living in the woods and,you know, I always liked,
inventing and creating things.
And, like, every good couchcritic is those shows
(01:24):
started popping up,like, naked and Afraid.
I was like,oh, that's that's cool.
I could, you know,they're idiots, you know,
like, like, I just I always hadmy opinion on how they could do
better, and, and then,when a loan came on
and I said thatone too many times,
and my wife said, I dare you,you know, and see
if you can do better,you know, put your money
(01:46):
where your mouth is.
So things like that.
And, so I, sent a loan,a message, and at that point,
I had no YouTube channel.
I just, you know, postedlittle pictures
of the creative thingswe would do in the yard.
I had been spending yearsafter purchasing the land
out in the woods,like eight years,
you know, goingand buying old books
about survival and thingsso that I could use
(02:08):
the survival tacticsto kind of homestead
and use the, like traps to catcha primitive trap,
to catch the woodchuckthat's getting into my garden,
things like that, where I goand forage for, wild mushrooms
or plantsthat I could bring back
and have kind of a wild gardenin my front yard and, and stuff.
So just having funliving in the woods and,
(02:29):
I applied to the showand, and said, hey, like, I'm,
you know, knowing thatthey're looking for, like,
the Village People,they're looking for the,
you know, the firemen,the schoolteacher.
And I said, what do I have?
And I, I just send thema one line message saying, I'm
a wooden boat builderthat lives in a
you're in the woodswith a ginger beard
and shoot slingshots.
And they're, they're like,we'll take you.
(02:51):
And and like,three months later,
I was on my way to Patagoniafor season three of "Alone".
It's amazing.
I made like one YouTube videobefore I left
because I thought, like,I'm so excited
about all this stuff.
I'm going to make my firstYouTube video about shooting
slingshots and practicingfor the show, and,
I won't be able to tell themabout the show yet
because it has to bea secret. Right?
And, I'll I'll put this out.
(03:12):
And when I get backfrom my adventure, I'll be
super famous alreadyfrom sharing a YouTube video,
I already had delusionsof grandeur and, And.
Yeah, and thenI thought for sure I'd be,
super famous, like, like thatin a drop of a hat, you know?
Yeah.
And, and I just. Yeah.
And then I headedout there on "Alone".
(03:33):
That's amazing.
So as you were on that show,how did your faith play a role
in your time out there?
Because obviously all of thatisolation and, you know,
you really had to useyour survival skills.
But, talk to us a lotabout how your faith
really played into thatbecause you are a man of faith.
Yeah.
Well, going before the show,you know, I was born,
(03:54):
raised in a Christian home,but I, you know,
kind of gone back and forthbetween behaving myself
and just being a plainold bonehead.
And when I went out on the showat that point,
I was just kind ofdoing my own thing, living day
to day, believing that, Jesusdied for my sins and,
that I was, you know,that was about as good
(04:14):
as it gets.
And, you know,probably could be doing
better if I was goingto church on Sunday, but, like,
I'm not doing too bad.
I'm just going to keep going andand and things and, out there,
I started cryingout to God again
because, I mean, I spent 87 daysbeing "Alone" out there
before the end, you know,and it's like,
so at first it was like,oh, Jesus, give me a fish.
(04:36):
I'm hungry.
I'm so hungry.
Give me something to shoot at.
Give me something to eat.
These berries there.
There's only two berriesout here in the woods.
It's winter.
Time is coming.
It was late fall, and.
And it was just, you know,it was like raining and cold,
and it was, you know,you could see the snow
coming down a little bit higherup the hillside
(04:56):
and the, mountains thereand the glaciers and everything
that was up there was likekind of starting to come down
and encroach on my territory,knowing that, like any day now,
it could end upbeing just frozen
and ice the whole time.
And so it was justall basically begging
in this dark with.
And then as time went on,like after the first 13 days,
(05:17):
like my body kind of cleansedfrom the, the old American diet
and and not that I didn't eatall that bad, but I was pretty
heavy going into it.
And, I, I was just,I ate a Danish and, and a coffee
every morning and,you know, pizza for lunch
at the gas stationand then a really,
really healthy dinnerthat my wife was always cook
(05:38):
and fancy, you know, we'd havea wild game or, you know,
chickens and stufffrom our own yard of really
delicious meals and stuff and,you know, out there,
like, your body just cleansesand you end up just just
flushed out and, and at at afterthat happened,
like my mind, just likeafter 13 days of cleansing,
(06:03):
I was just, like,just so focused.
So aware, so, like,just blown away, by it all, I,
I had been put in a, like,the dark side of the moon
because wherethey stuck me down there in the
southern hemisphere was on the,southern facing slope.
So down there,that meant the sun
was behind the mountainthat I was on the whole time,
(06:23):
instead of shiningon my location.
And because it wasso steep, too.
And on day 13, I turnedand I saw a ray of sunshine
for the first timecoming through the trees
way up on this hillside.
And I went up in there,and I stood in the sun,
and I just brokedown into tears.
And I juststarted really calling
on, on the Lord again.
(06:44):
I was just like, thank you God.
Praise you God.
Thank you Jesus, for the son,for your son.
And I just like I juststarted worshiping
for the first timein a long time
and I was just likecompletely broken
by the situation.
And and that hethey provided some sun and that
he was going to provide for meduring this adventure and,
and more and moreas clarity of mind came and
(07:06):
and just cleansing,not just from my body and toxins
and things that had built upover the years of, you know,
not the best of eatingall the time, but like,
you know, it's it was likealso I cleansed from,
you know, the worldand just kind of a fast
from being part of all of that.
(07:26):
You know, there was nono tablets, no
phones, no TVs, novideo games, no.
I mean, there was nothing,you know, to
to like, fog your mind,you know, no other people
to be in conflict with,you know, except for yourself.
You know,there was no situations.
And as I cleansedand just sought God for,
(07:46):
you know, where I was at,it was like, unreal.
And, I as I went throughthe whole experience,
I kept talking to Godmore and more like the
the old songs from, hymnsthat we would sing.
You know, as kids growing upin the church,
what came to mind?
And like, I could hear themclearly and they just
(08:08):
I just kind ofbe walking up and down
the trail, you know,to check on my fish and see if I
caught something that day.
And I and I just besinging stuff, you know, even
even the ones that I sangas a little kid.
Like, if the devildoesn't like it,
he can sit on attack,you know, like, just didn't
entertain myselfkind of worshiping God and just,
you know, recognizing himfor who he is and just like,
(08:31):
no distractions.
It was amazing.
And as the timewas drawing longer, you know,
I just kept kind of talkingto God about it, like, I'm
going home and I haven't goneto church on Sunday
in a long time.
I really love my Sundays.
Having a whole two dayweekend, like,
do what I want to do and dragmy heels on Sunday morning,
(08:52):
not do much of anything.
But Lord, if you're goingto do the work in my heart, I'm.
I don't wantto lose this intimacy
and relationship with you,that I've found out here. And,
so when I went home, you know,I immediately
forgot about all that,because I had won half
(09:13):
$1,000,000.87 daysover, the wife coach
shows up on day 87,and they have her
sneak up behind meand, surprise me.
And she says, you've outstubborn them all.
You can go home.
Oh my goodness.
And, And I was just like.
And then the first thingI said was like, I was like,
thank you, Lord, you know?
(09:33):
And they put that on there,and I really was
I was just so thankful.
But just like, you know,I don't know, like anything
else, you know, you getyou get distracted.
Right?
I go, I went home and I got busywith like, wow, what am I going
to do with half $1 millionthat I won?
And I, I, you know, Iand everything else.
(09:54):
And I got home and Iforgot for a little bit
and then God kind of brought itback to my mind and said, you,
you, you still want to,hang out, you know, it's like,
oh, jeez, you know.
Lord. Yeah.
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
And so I, it kind of, you know,that whole being out there
reset me.
And I just began in,just really, you know, as
(10:17):
much as I had the energy foris probably the best way
to say it.
Like just going after God,you know,
it's like trying to do,you know, Bible
time in the morning and things.
I didn't get it perfector anything like that,
and we never do.
But but I just it's just beensince then though,
it's been a steady progress of,you know, moving forward.
You know. Sure.
(10:37):
We trip on our laces at timesor fall and fall off the path
and have to climb back on to it,you know, but like, you know,
just continually seeking God.
And it's been so awesome.
That is incredible.
And I love the factthat, you know, we hear stories
all the time of peoplethat have these
kind of experiences.
They, you know, get some fameand fortune and their lives
(11:00):
completely fall apart.
But in your journey,you grew closer to the Lord.
And whileit is a journey and yes,
you're right, we do fall down.
And of course, we're sinners.
And so, you know, we do have to,constantly be,
you know, renewingand refreshing our mind
with the word of God.
I love how God drew you inin that moment, that deep,
(11:21):
transformational journeythat you were on out
in the wilderness.
You know, so many peoplethat listen to this podcast
are strugglingwith sexual addiction
or pornography.
And, you know,they have that feeling
of being "Alone"in their battles against those
temptations.
So how would youencourage those people who are
in that wilderness,you know, struggling
(11:42):
with their temptations,you know, to draw
closer to the Lordin those moments?
Yeah.
It's just it's really is easy.
Or I guess maybe it's not easy.
It's simple. Right?
It's not easy, but it'sdefinitely simple.
Like the Word of God saysto seek him first
(12:02):
and his kingdomand his righteousness.
There really isn'ta lot more to it than that.
You know, when they askedJesus like, what was the most
important thing?
It wasn't like Cohen in,you know, the barbarian
like to crush your enemiesunder your feet and hear
the lamentation of theirtheir women.
Jesus said to love the Lordyour God with all your heart,
(12:23):
with all your mind, and to loveyour neighbor as yourself.
And that wraps it all up.
And to love the Lord your God.
You got to know him.
It's a relationship.
Yes.
So we pursue that relationshipday in and day out.
It doesn't matter.
The burden of of sin.
He died for that.
So the the failureand the falling away,
(12:44):
you know, don't livein the guilt.
You seek God first.
That's the that's thethe simple side of it.
Right?
It's it's as simple as that.
Now it's hard to pull.
You're up by yourself, upby your bootstraps at times
and turn back to him.
But it's it's as, it's as simpleas just continually
saturating yourselfin what is right
(13:06):
and what is true, which is foundin the Bible
and in worship and in,in prayer.
Because if you're not doing thatand you're struggling,
then it's a duh, like,why isn't this working?
You know, I don't expect to,be able to paddle upstream
(13:26):
if I'm in a canoe and,and I don't have the paddle out,
like, oh, I'm not makingany headway.
I'm not.
I had this is so frustrating.
And I got my paws in the waterand I'm like, no, I'm
not going anywhere.
You know, you got to getthe word of God out.
And it does the work.
You know,it's like it's it's so,
refreshing every time,every morning I now I get up,
(13:50):
more often than not,like 430, you know,
5 (13:53):
00 every morning.
And it's beenlike an hour or two and it just
gets so built upand so encouraged.
I, I feel like, David, I'mready to go out
and slay Goliath.
You know, thethe lion, you know, is has got
nothing on me because, you know,God is in my corner and
and I'm just so stokedto be experiencing the day
(14:13):
with God and work.
You know, it's justwhat can happen today.
Lord, what are we going to do?
What are we goingto get up to? You know.
That's amazing.
I love that, and I love thatintimate relationship
you've developed with the Lord.
You know, so many of usare distracted in life.
And, you know, unfortunately,we all are probably not
brave enough to go outinto the wilderness for 87 days
(14:33):
and have that interactionand that time away from all of
our distractionslike our cell phones
and the busyness of life.
But what are some practical waysthat people can take a break
from all of those things,so that we can hear
from the Lord and spend timein His word, and with him
to develop that intimacy.
Do you have any, you know, ideasthat people can take and
(14:56):
put into their own lives?
I guess the first thingcomes to mind is wisdom.
You know, the the word of God.
And God is the foundation ofof like all of him is wisdom.
So if you're goingto put in a bunch of garbage
and foolishness from Netflixand choose that, like
(15:17):
you're going to put junk foodand McDonald's into your body,
remember that show?
That guy was goingto, like, survive
for like 30 days on McDonald's.
And they had to like,they told him
he had to actually stop.
Like, no wonder youfill yourself with junk food.
What's going to come out of you?
So it's the same thing,you know, you're going
to fill yourself with junk food.
You're going to sit downwhen you're bummed and depressed
(15:38):
and eat ice creamand watch Netflix.
You're going to endup, a potato, you know?
But if you willput the right stuff in, you put
the Word of Godin, you put the time in.
You know, the result is going tobe, a stronger, healthier and,
and wisdom.
Is that the biggest part of thatand the wisdom to choose God,
(16:00):
the wisdom to choosewhere you in what you take in
and, and, you know, for me,a lot of it, like,
like even leveling upthe last couple of years
has been, reading books by,other Christian authors.
So not just the wordof God, but, like,
you know, Jimmy Dobson and BillyGraham and, like,
(16:22):
listening to these guys,audio books of them
to, like, just always,you know, just seeking.
Where can I findmore of God's wisdom?
You know,first off, in the Bible,
always starting thereand then anything else
that you hear and comparingthat against the Word of God,
I will take thoseback to God's Word and see where
biblical principlesalign with that, to make sure
(16:43):
that I'm not takingin the wrong junk and
and trying to buildsome sort of foundation
on somethingoutside of Jesus Christ.
You don't have tobe making it up and like,
shut out the whole world andand have nothing else
because that wouldthen you'd be, missing out
on the greater goal of,being a witness for Jesus
and bringing other peopleinto freedom and salvation.
And for me, my Bible time isis a I get the word I used to do
(17:08):
the daily bread.
That's a great starting placefor anybody.
Yeah, but go further.
Like you read the Daily Bread,you read the verse of the day.
Now you read that,Proverbs 3538, trust in the Lord
with all your heart and leannot on your own understanding.
So that's the verse of the day.
Let's just pretend.
And then you take that verseand you look over in your Bible,
in your study notes,you see what that says about it.
And then you look in the chainand you see
(17:29):
what are the verses say,trust in the Lord
with all your heart.
And what are those verses say?
And what were they sayingto that person?
Was that, you know, to David,was that to the disciples
Jesus saying itto the disciples, what was he
confronting them about?
And just fall downthe rabbit hole
and just fall in lovewith God's Word?
It's amazing how deep and howthis even reading
(17:50):
the same one over and over.
Like I went backand I was reading Psalms 23.
You know,the Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want and and likeand like thinking about each
aspect of that,like he's the shepherd,
like I'm a sheep.
I don't have to worryabout the wolves coming after me
because he's my shepherdand I can trust him for that.
(18:11):
And I'm like, wow,that's amazing.
Like each timemy heart just like,
jumps for joy with thethe different words of life
as you, as you read themand they jump off
the page to you and you godeeper and deeper.
I love that, and that's greatwisdom for our listeners.
I think those are somereally practical steps.
Oh, and journaling.
Journaling, journaling.
Yeah. That's huge.
I think, a lot of peopleforget about your relationship
(18:34):
in prayer with Godand the Holy Spirit that it's a
it's an exchange.
So you take don'tjust take things to him
in prayer and say, oh God,this is going so badly.
And this is lookfor the exchange
because he has somethingfor you in return.
He wants to take those burdensoff your shoulder
and he wants to giveyou something better.
So if you're strugglingwith something, you look it up
in the Word of God.
(18:55):
You see what he tells youyou need to be doing,
and you exchange your junkthat you're holding on to
for the good thingsthat he has for you.
Let go of those thingsthat have those open
hands, receive it andand journal it out.
Like, right.
Like, oh man,I was reading the Bible there.
I was praying aboutlike how to get free, you know,
from pornography.
And, and God said thatmy body is a temple and my body
(19:19):
being a temple, I know thatmy body is a temple.
And like the Holy Spiritlives in me and I'm not bringing
junk into my temple,I'm sweeping this temple out
and I'm going to keep it clean,and I'm going to
be in there hanging outand talking to the Holy Spirit
and seeing whathe has in mind for me.
And then I'm goingto encourage my brother,
who's struggling to and I'mgoing to give him a hug.
I'm going to love on him,and I'm going to help him
(19:40):
see deliveranceand him and his marriage
and his wife be blessed by this.
And we're just going tojust keep that going.
Journey to eternity.
Good. Oh, I love that.
And the nice thingabout journaling, too,
is that it's a document that or,you know, it's a record
that can be passed onto the future generations
so they can see your walkwith the Lord.
You know, we think about,you know, our children
(20:02):
and our children's children.
Those things can be very sacredto the next generation.
To see the journeythat you were on
and how God has workedin your lives, over the years.
So I love that.
I love journaling, that's agreat recommendation.
Yeah.
You mentioned this,you know, kind of,
walking along,find your brother.
And of course, we care deeplyabout accountability
and the role that it playsin our lives.
(20:23):
And you're you're channelis really interesting
because you havea lot of people that are
maybe not Christians,that follow your work because of
your time on "Alone"and are just super into survival
and, you know, being outdoorsand all the wilderness
type activities.
So you have an opportunityto really share
the gospel with peoplethat maybe are unchurched.
(20:43):
So talk to us a little bitabout accountable
while the brotherhoodis so important and sisterhood,
and then also how you leverageyour channel to reach
the unchurched and unsaved.
Yeah.
Accountability.
I put the CovenantEyes on my phone
when we got together,and I found out about it,
and I did a sponsoredthing on it and recommended it
(21:05):
to people because I wantthem to see freedom, too.
And, the Bible talks about like,if you, if your hand sins,
you cut it off.
Well, maybe don't cut it off.
Right.
I think, that we know thatthat was kind of talking
about, like, you know,remove the option for yourself
so that you can havesome freedom to grow.
(21:25):
Right?
And, so removing, everythingfrom your phone
that might distract you,that could be dangerous
social media, things like that.
Great steps.
But you can just as easily,at night, open those up
or open up the internetand stuff like that.
But finding an accountabilitypartner because the Bible
also saysfor us to find somebody
to confess to and to,you know, build each other up,
(21:48):
that we're not separatestuff, forsake the gathering
of the saints.
There's a reasoning in therebecause, you know,
two are better than one.
Yeah.
And, so I, you know, foundan accountability partner,
you know, after hearingabout the app
and put it on my phonebecause I struggled as
a young man years ago.
And, I don't want I don't wantsome thing to ever.
(22:10):
You never knowwhat's going to hit you.
You know what?
What if something bad happensand you're like, oh, I'm in
possibly strongerthan that. That's pride.
And you're already on your waytowards being available
for a new attack of some sort.
So, you know, hey,by preemptively, you know, do
the smart thing and do somethingabout it.
I put it on my phone.
It doesn't hurt anything,and it leaves me accountable.
(22:31):
And, knowing that, I have anaccountability partner
and it just makes thingsso much simpler and,
and we don'twe don't get together
and talk about sad things.
We get together and talk aboutlife and beauty instead of,
you know, spending all our timepraying over like, oh, like,
forgive me again.
You know, like we'rewe get to build each other up
(22:53):
and encourageeach other, you know, and, it's
just so, so importantthat accountability and just in
just so that you can grow.
Absolutely. Yeah.
And then let's talka little bit too
about the, the channeland how you're able
to reach people who are.
Not yet.
Through the workthat you're doing.
I think it's amazing because,you know, the survival
(23:14):
and kind of the,you know, that's
kind of a big thing.
A lot of people are into that.
My husband is super into that.
We all have our get our bags,you know, ready to go.
And he's, you know, always outin the wilderness doing things.
And I love that.
But there are so many out therethat are into that
but don't know Christ.
So how are youleveraging your platform
and your reach to really sharethe message of the gospel
(23:37):
with others?
And when I got backfrom "Alone" initially,
my first thought, like I said,I was still a just.
My thoughts were for myself andand things and I,
I actually said like,I'm starting a YouTube channel
so I could do what I want to dowhen I want to do it.
Like, well, that sounds like,somebody we know in the Bible,
like King Solomon.
They're like, yeah, yeah.
Like, or Saul and like,you know, just like, like, wow,
(24:01):
I got the kingdom now.
And, you know, it's mine,I did it, I'm doing
everything and like.
But it's over the years,God has spoke to me about it
more and more.
And, at first it was just,you know, praying over my meals
that just as a testimonythat, you know,
I recognize, you know, whereand who has blessed me
with what I have, you know, and,and acknowledging that
(24:25):
before man, you know, andand now it's like, I'm
just so excitedabout Jesus and wanting
everybody to know himthat, like, it wasn't
even, like a change that I didintentionally.
I just like my goals were are tojust minister Christ life
to each and every personas I talk to them,
whether it's in a YouTube videoor it's here in the office.
(24:47):
And, you know, it just that'swhat keeps happening.
Like, I just like when I'msitting there, I'm journaling
or something like that,because every time
we do an overnight,things like that,
I'm just sharing my entire life,you know, and, some people
don't like it.
Then they, they leave comments.
And, otherpeople have speculated
that I get more views ofI kept my mouth shut.
(25:08):
They're like, you're supposedto leave the Bible and
and political.
It says who?
Like, right.
Like, you know, like,if you're bleeding, I'm
gonna put a Band-Aid on for you,you know?
And, you are, you know,hemorrhaging bad.
If you don't knowJesus and you're don't
know why, your life, you know,is the way it is.
So I'm going to do my best to,to point the direction
(25:30):
here for you.
I love that. So.
Well, that's great.
And I think that's that's theright attitude to have.
It's to, you know,insert your faith where you can
and just live the life,you know, on display
for everyone to see.
I love that.
So talk to us a little bitabout some of your favorite
outdoor adventuresyou recently did.
(25:50):
You bikes are crossed.
I, I'm not sure.
Oh, that was my idea.
Was that the best.
100 milebike survival challenge?
Because for me, I knew thatwhen I was on "Alone",
I was surviving.
I had a lot of thingsthat I needed, and God,
I was like, oh,I could trust him
because I've seen himsince a little kid.
When we didn't have any food,we put our prayers
in a box and peopleknock on the door and be like,
(26:12):
we brought food, you know?
And that's my parent'stestimony of how we trusted God.
And that's how I, you know, knewhe was real, right?
And now and nowand that was "Alone".
And I'm surviving.
And I knew that to survivelike I could trust God for it.
And he did.
And he provided.
But the e-bike survivalchallenge was like,
I chose to do somethingsilly, empty out
(26:33):
my all my pockets,and I'm going to take a
300 mile e-bike ridewith no money,
no food, no shelter.
Just the stuffthat I have on my back,
the skills that God hasblessed me with. And
and as I was going along,like God, just like
put things in the path,like I was like,
my eyes are getting dirtyand I didn't even pray
or ask for it.
(26:54):
And at that one thing and like,there's glasses
on the side of the roadand they're broken.
But all, all the pieceswere there and they stayed
on my eyes, you know.
And then I found a jacketand it just.
And like God brought to my mindthat verse of like,
hey, when you go.
And he sent the disciples outand he's trying to teach them
to be strongerand to rely on him.
He said, don'teven take an extra jacket.
And I had brought a jacketso I'd be warm at night.
(27:16):
And there's this like extra,extra warm, like jacket
that's like almost brand new.
The zipper was broke,but it was like, who cares?
It was so nice and warmand I was able
to be warm at night with that,you know, and, you know, just,
you know, I put outfunny signs that said,
you know, need moneyfor fishing.
And people donated.
And I was able to buymy first bit of, kit.
(27:37):
And it just everywhere I wentand bumped into people.
I was just like, there's, like,so overwhelmed
with how God providedand then just smiling
and just happy meeting people.
And they.
That's like the the outpouringof generosity.
It was like unreal.
Like I just every at every turnI'd go and try to pay
for a slice of pizzaand they'd give me
(27:58):
a slice of pizza.
Oh my god.
And so, yeah, it was Godthat provided the whole way.
And so it was.
I didn't even care how the videoturned out.
It was it was a blessing for meto just to spend
that time with the Lordand watch him provide.
It was awesome.
That's cool.
Now, how long was that journey?
But that took five days.
Five days. Okay.
Wow. That's incredible.
(28:19):
And you probably raninto all sorts of weather
and conditions and all weather.
It was actually that wasanother blessing.
It just the whole timeit was no.
Rain or anything.
No rain.
No, I don't thinkthere was a single
sprinkle or nothing.
Oh, that's so good.
Like everywhere I pulled over,outlets worked and I was able to
charge the bike.
I found upgrades, I, you know,did the silliest things
(28:40):
and and just like it was just,it was like the scripture
come to life in just living itand stuff.
So it was like, anyone go home.
That's amazing.
Oh my goodness.
Well, where can people connectwith you and learn more
about what you're doing,your YouTube channel
and all the rest?
Yeah.
So you can find meon Fowler's Maker
(29:01):
and Mischief on YouTube.
Our, website is the same.
And, if you need a Bibleand you're listening
to this, randomly,we got free Bibles
on the website, little,little teeny
traveler type Bibles.
Feel free, even if youalready have one to go grab on
to whatever.
They are greatfor a little backpacks,
and they have little,in the back.
(29:23):
We got these onesprinted that have the,
little extra things.
And if you need to look upverses on anxiety, depression,
how to meet Jesus if you haven'talready met him before,
stuff like that.
And, yeah,we keep trying to work
on our resources with thatand help people to get to know
Jesus and, sell funadventure equipment
from the website so that you canget out there
(29:43):
and have adventures as wellin the outdoors and, and show
you how to do iton the YouTube channel.
And, yeah.
Awesome.
Well, we'll definitelyput all the links in
the show notes.
More listenerscan take advantage
of all of those.
And in closing today, Zach,do you have any words of wisdom
or encouragementyou want to leave
our listeners with?
As we bring today'sepisode to a close?
(30:06):
I just never give up.
Never give up seeking God firstbecause you know it.
There's no greater reward.
You know, we wereliterally designed
for a relationship with him.
And if you don't have that,there's a hole in your life
and you're missing outand you just you're going
to be constantlytrying to wade upstream
(30:26):
against the current.
And it's just it'sgoing to be difficult.
It doesn't mean it'snot going to be difficult
if you have Jesus in your lifethere.
He says there where are goingto have trials.
But when we go to himwith those burdens
and the things that you'restruggling with,
he will exchange those for life.
Now, when you spendtime in His Word, you will know
more and more whatthat experiences all about,
(30:48):
and you'll be experiencingmore and more victory
that you can sharewith your loved ones,
your family, your wives,and your marriages
can be victorious and,you know, victorious,
and your childrencan be victorious in your
children's children.
And you can create somethingthat, just goes on and on
and ride up into eternity.
Oh, I love that.
Well, thank you so muchfor joining us today.
(31:09):
And listeners,be sure to check out
all the links in the show notes.
You're going tolove this channel.
If you are an outdoorsykind of person
or survival kind of guy or girl.
You're going to findlots of great stuff,
lots of great content ideas,how to videos, all the rest.
So definitely check it out.
Thank you so much for joining ustoday, Zach.
Thanks for having me.
And to all of our listeners.
(31:30):
Thanks for tuning into this episode
of The Covenant Eyes Podcast.
We'll see you next time.
God bless. Take care.
Everybody, welcome back toThe Covenant Eyes Podcast.
(00:02):
It's Karen, and we have avery special guest
joining us today.
I know you're goingto recognize this fella.
He was seasonthree of the History
Channel's hit show “"Alone"”.
He was the winner.
It was anunbelievable experience.
I know if you watch this show,you're always thinking,
how do these people do that?
(00:22):
But he also runs a very popularYouTube channel called Fowler's
Makery and Mischief.
That's a mouthful.
But we are really excitedto have Zach Fowler
joining us today.
Zach, welcome to the podcast.
Hey, thanks for having me.
Yeah.
So I know everybody iswell familiar with,
(00:43):
your experience on "Alone".
And we'll divea little bit into that.
But you also havea really popular YouTube channel
where you share all sortsof fun adventures.
So I definitely want to sharewith our listeners a little bit
about that channel.
But for those who might notbe terribly familiar with you,
I don't know how that could be.
Would you mind sharingjust a little bit
about your backgroundand how you got started
(01:03):
with your YouTube channel,and maybe even
how you got connectedwith the show "Alone"?
Yeah, I, you know, just kind of.
I was moved toMaine, was building boats,
kind of living in the woods and,you know, I always liked,
inventing and creating things.
And, like, every good couchcritic is those shows
(01:24):
started popping up,like, naked and Afraid.
I was like,oh, that's that's cool.
I could, you know,they're idiots, you know,
like, like, I just I always hadmy opinion on how they could do
better, and, and then,when a loan came on
and I said thatone too many times,
and my wife said, I dare you,you know, and see
if you can do better,you know, put your money
(01:46):
where your mouth is.
So things like that.
And, so I, sent a loan,a message, and at that point,
I had no YouTube channel.
I just, you know, postedlittle pictures
of the creative thingswe would do in the yard.
I had been spending yearsafter purchasing the land
out in the woods,like eight years,
you know, goingand buying old books
about survival and thingsso that I could use
(02:08):
the survival tacticsto kind of homestead
and use the, like traps to catcha primitive trap,
to catch the woodchuckthat's getting into my garden,
things like that, where I goand forage for, wild mushrooms
or plantsthat I could bring back
and have kind of a wild gardenin my front yard and, and stuff.
So just having funliving in the woods and,
(02:29):
I applied to the showand, and said, hey, like, I'm,
you know, knowing thatthey're looking for, like,
the Village People,they're looking for the,
you know, the firemen,the schoolteacher.
And I said, what do I have?
And I, I just send thema one line message saying, I'm
a wooden boat builderthat lives in a
you're in the woodswith a ginger beard
and shoot slingshots.
And they're, they're like,we'll take you.
(02:51):
And and like,three months later,
I was on my way to Patagoniafor season three of "Alone".
It's amazing.
I made like one YouTube videobefore I left
because I thought, like,I'm so excited
about all this stuff.
I'm going to make my firstYouTube video about shooting
slingshots and practicingfor the show, and,
I won't be able to tell themabout the show yet
because it has to bea secret. Right?
And, I'll I'll put this out.
(03:12):
And when I get backfrom my adventure, I'll be
super famous alreadyfrom sharing a YouTube video,
I already had delusionsof grandeur and, And.
Yeah, and thenI thought for sure I'd be,
super famous, like, like thatin a drop of a hat, you know?
Yeah.
And, and I just. Yeah.
And then I headedout there on "Alone".
(03:33):
That's amazing.
So as you were on that show,how did your faith play a role
in your time out there?
Because obviously all of thatisolation and, you know,
you really had to useyour survival skills.
But, talk to us a lotabout how your faith
really played into thatbecause you are a man of faith.
Yeah.
Well, going before the show,you know, I was born,
(03:54):
raised in a Christian home,but I, you know,
kind of gone back and forthbetween behaving myself
and just being a plainold bonehead.
And when I went out on the showat that point,
I was just kind ofdoing my own thing, living day
to day, believing that, Jesusdied for my sins and,
that I was, you know,that was about as good
(04:14):
as it gets.
And, you know,probably could be doing
better if I was goingto church on Sunday, but, like,
I'm not doing too bad.
I'm just going to keep going andand and things and, out there,
I started cryingout to God again
because, I mean, I spent 87 daysbeing "Alone" out there
before the end, you know,and it's like,
so at first it was like,oh, Jesus, give me a fish.
(04:36):
I'm hungry.
I'm so hungry.
Give me something to shoot at.
Give me something to eat.
These berries there.
There's only two berriesout here in the woods.
It's winter.
Time is coming.
It was late fall, and.
And it was just, you know,it was like raining and cold,
and it was, you know,you could see the snow
coming down a little bit higherup the hillside
(04:56):
and the, mountains thereand the glaciers and everything
that was up there was likekind of starting to come down
and encroach on my territory,knowing that, like any day now,
it could end upbeing just frozen
and ice the whole time.
And so it was justall basically begging
in this dark with.
And then as time went on,like after the first 13 days,
(05:17):
like my body kind of cleansedfrom the, the old American diet
and and not that I didn't eatall that bad, but I was pretty
heavy going into it.
And, I, I was just,I ate a Danish and, and a coffee
every morning and,you know, pizza for lunch
at the gas stationand then a really,
really healthy dinnerthat my wife was always cook
(05:38):
and fancy, you know, we'd havea wild game or, you know,
chickens and stufffrom our own yard of really
delicious meals and stuff and,you know, out there,
like, your body just cleansesand you end up just just
flushed out and, and at at afterthat happened,
like my mind, just likeafter 13 days of cleansing,
(06:03):
I was just, like,just so focused.
So aware, so, like,just blown away, by it all, I,
I had been put in a, like,the dark side of the moon
because wherethey stuck me down there in the
southern hemisphere was on the,southern facing slope.
So down there,that meant the sun
was behind the mountainthat I was on the whole time,
(06:23):
instead of shiningon my location.
And because it wasso steep, too.
And on day 13, I turnedand I saw a ray of sunshine
for the first timecoming through the trees
way up on this hillside.
And I went up in there,and I stood in the sun,
and I just brokedown into tears.
And I juststarted really calling
on, on the Lord again.
(06:44):
I was just like, thank you God.
Praise you God.
Thank you Jesus, for the son,for your son.
And I just like I juststarted worshiping
for the first timein a long time
and I was just likecompletely broken
by the situation.
And and that hethey provided some sun and that
he was going to provide for meduring this adventure and,
and more and moreas clarity of mind came and
(07:06):
and just cleansing,not just from my body and toxins
and things that had built upover the years of, you know,
not the best of eatingall the time, but like,
you know, it's it was likealso I cleansed from,
you know, the worldand just kind of a fast
from being part of all of that.
(07:26):
You know, there was nono tablets, no
phones, no TVs, novideo games, no.
I mean, there was nothing,you know, to
to like, fog your mind,you know, no other people
to be in conflict with,you know, except for yourself.
You know,there was no situations.
And as I cleansedand just sought God for,
(07:46):
you know, where I was at,it was like, unreal.
And, I as I went throughthe whole experience,
I kept talking to Godmore and more like the
the old songs from, hymnsthat we would sing.
You know, as kids growing upin the church,
what came to mind?
And like, I could hear themclearly and they just
(08:08):
I just kind ofbe walking up and down
the trail, you know,to check on my fish and see if I
caught something that day.
And I and I just besinging stuff, you know, even
even the ones that I sangas a little kid.
Like, if the devildoesn't like it,
he can sit on attack,you know, like, just didn't
entertain myselfkind of worshiping God and just,
you know, recognizing himfor who he is and just like,
(08:31):
no distractions.
It was amazing.
And as the timewas drawing longer, you know,
I just kept kind of talkingto God about it, like, I'm
going home and I haven't goneto church on Sunday
in a long time.
I really love my Sundays.
Having a whole two dayweekend, like,
do what I want to do and dragmy heels on Sunday morning,
(08:52):
not do much of anything.
But Lord, if you're goingto do the work in my heart, I'm.
I don't wantto lose this intimacy
and relationship with you,that I've found out here. And,
so when I went home, you know,I immediately
forgot about all that,because I had won half
(09:13):
$1,000,000.87 daysover, the wife coach
shows up on day 87,and they have her
sneak up behind meand, surprise me.
And she says, you've outstubborn them all.
You can go home.
Oh my goodness.
And, And I was just like.
And then the first thingI said was like, I was like,
thank you, Lord, you know?
(09:33):
And they put that on there,and I really was
I was just so thankful.
But just like, you know,I don't know, like anything
else, you know, you getyou get distracted.
Right?
I go, I went home and I got busywith like, wow, what am I going
to do with half $1 millionthat I won?
And I, I, you know, Iand everything else.
(09:54):
And I got home and Iforgot for a little bit
and then God kind of brought itback to my mind and said, you,
you, you still want to,hang out, you know, it's like,
oh, jeez, you know.
Lord. Yeah.
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
And so I, it kind of, you know,that whole being out there
reset me.
And I just began in,just really, you know, as
(10:17):
much as I had the energy foris probably the best way
to say it.
Like just going after God,you know,
it's like trying to do,you know, Bible
time in the morning and things.
I didn't get it perfector anything like that,
and we never do.
But but I just it's just beensince then though,
it's been a steady progress of,you know, moving forward.
You know. Sure.
(10:37):
We trip on our laces at timesor fall and fall off the path
and have to climb back on to it,you know, but like, you know,
just continually seeking God.
And it's been so awesome.
That is incredible.
And I love the factthat, you know, we hear stories
all the time of peoplethat have these
kind of experiences.
They, you know, get some fameand fortune and their lives
(11:00):
completely fall apart.
But in your journey,you grew closer to the Lord.
And whileit is a journey and yes,
you're right, we do fall down.
And of course, we're sinners.
And so, you know, we do have to,constantly be,
you know, renewingand refreshing our mind
with the word of God.
I love how God drew you inin that moment, that deep,
(11:21):
transformational journeythat you were on out
in the wilderness.
You know, so many peoplethat listen to this podcast
are strugglingwith sexual addiction
or pornography.
And, you know,they have that feeling
of being "Alone"in their battles against those
temptations.
So how would youencourage those people who are
in that wilderness,you know, struggling
(11:42):
with their temptations,you know, to draw
closer to the Lordin those moments?
Yeah.
It's just it's really is easy.
Or I guess maybe it's not easy.
It's simple. Right?
It's not easy, but it'sdefinitely simple.
Like the Word of God saysto seek him first
(12:02):
and his kingdomand his righteousness.
There really isn'ta lot more to it than that.
You know, when they askedJesus like, what was the most
important thing?
It wasn't like Cohen in,you know, the barbarian
like to crush your enemiesunder your feet and hear
the lamentation of theirtheir women.
Jesus said to love the Lordyour God with all your heart,
(12:23):
with all your mind, and to loveyour neighbor as yourself.
And that wraps it all up.
And to love the Lord your God.
You got to know him.
It's a relationship.
Yes.
So we pursue that relationshipday in and day out.
It doesn't matter.
The burden of of sin.
He died for that.
So the the failureand the falling away,
(12:44):
you know, don't livein the guilt.
You seek God first.
That's the that's thethe simple side of it.
Right?
It's it's as simple as that.
Now it's hard to pull.
You're up by yourself, upby your bootstraps at times
and turn back to him.
But it's it's as, it's as simpleas just continually
saturating yourselfin what is right
(13:06):
and what is true, which is foundin the Bible
and in worship and in,in prayer.
Because if you're not doing thatand you're struggling,
then it's a duh, like,why isn't this working?
You know, I don't expect to,be able to paddle upstream
(13:26):
if I'm in a canoe and,and I don't have the paddle out,
like, oh, I'm not makingany headway.
I'm not.
I had this is so frustrating.
And I got my paws in the waterand I'm like, no, I'm
not going anywhere.
You know, you got to getthe word of God out.
And it does the work.
You know,it's like it's it's so,
refreshing every time,every morning I now I get up,
(13:50):
more often than not,like 430, you know,
5 (13:53):
00 every morning.
And it's beenlike an hour or two and it just
gets so built upand so encouraged.
I, I feel like, David, I'mready to go out
and slay Goliath.
You know, thethe lion, you know, is has got
nothing on me because, you know,God is in my corner and
and I'm just so stokedto be experiencing the day
(14:13):
with God and work.
You know, it's justwhat can happen today.
Lord, what are we going to do?
What are we goingto get up to? You know.
That's amazing.
I love that, and I love thatintimate relationship
you've developed with the Lord.
You know, so many of usare distracted in life.
And, you know, unfortunately,we all are probably not
brave enough to go outinto the wilderness for 87 days
(14:33):
and have that interactionand that time away from all of
our distractionslike our cell phones
and the busyness of life.
But what are some practical waysthat people can take a break
from all of those things,so that we can hear
from the Lord and spend timein His word, and with him
to develop that intimacy.
Do you have any, you know, ideasthat people can take and
(14:56):
put into their own lives?
I guess the first thingcomes to mind is wisdom.
You know, the the word of God.
And God is the foundation ofof like all of him is wisdom.
So if you're goingto put in a bunch of garbage
and foolishness from Netflixand choose that, like
(15:17):
you're going to put junk foodand McDonald's into your body,
remember that show?
That guy was goingto, like, survive
for like 30 days on McDonald's.
And they had to like,they told him
he had to actually stop.
Like, no wonder youfill yourself with junk food.
What's going to come out of you?
So it's the same thing,you know, you're going
to fill yourself with junk food.
You're going to sit downwhen you're bummed and depressed
(15:38):
and eat ice creamand watch Netflix.
You're going to endup, a potato, you know?
But if you willput the right stuff in, you put
the Word of Godin, you put the time in.
You know, the result is going tobe, a stronger, healthier and,
and wisdom.
Is that the biggest part of thatand the wisdom to choose God,
(16:00):
the wisdom to choosewhere you in what you take in
and, and, you know, for me,a lot of it, like,
like even leveling upthe last couple of years
has been, reading books by,other Christian authors.
So not just the wordof God, but, like,
you know, Jimmy Dobson and BillyGraham and, like,
(16:22):
listening to these guys,audio books of them
to, like, just always,you know, just seeking.
Where can I findmore of God's wisdom?
You know,first off, in the Bible,
always starting thereand then anything else
that you hear and comparingthat against the Word of God,
I will take thoseback to God's Word and see where
biblical principlesalign with that, to make sure
(16:43):
that I'm not takingin the wrong junk and
and trying to buildsome sort of foundation
on somethingoutside of Jesus Christ.
You don't have tobe making it up and like,
shut out the whole world andand have nothing else
because that wouldthen you'd be, missing out
on the greater goal of,being a witness for Jesus
and bringing other peopleinto freedom and salvation.
And for me, my Bible time isis a I get the word I used to do
(17:08):
the daily bread.
That's a great starting placefor anybody.
Yeah, but go further.
Like you read the Daily Bread,you read the verse of the day.
Now you read that,Proverbs 3538, trust in the Lord
with all your heart and leannot on your own understanding.
So that's the verse of the day.
Let's just pretend.
And then you take that verseand you look over in your Bible,
in your study notes,you see what that says about it.
And then you look in the chainand you see
(17:29):
what are the verses say,trust in the Lord
with all your heart.
And what are those verses say?
And what were they sayingto that person?
Was that, you know, to David,was that to the disciples
Jesus saying itto the disciples, what was he
confronting them about?
And just fall downthe rabbit hole
and just fall in lovewith God's Word?
It's amazing how deep and howthis even reading
(17:50):
the same one over and over.
Like I went backand I was reading Psalms 23.
You know,the Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want and and likeand like thinking about each
aspect of that,like he's the shepherd,
like I'm a sheep.
I don't have to worryabout the wolves coming after me
because he's my shepherdand I can trust him for that.
(18:11):
And I'm like, wow,that's amazing.
Like each timemy heart just like,
jumps for joy with thethe different words of life
as you, as you read themand they jump off
the page to you and you godeeper and deeper.
I love that, and that's greatwisdom for our listeners.
I think those are somereally practical steps.
Oh, and journaling.
Journaling, journaling.
Yeah. That's huge.
I think, a lot of peopleforget about your relationship
(18:34):
in prayer with Godand the Holy Spirit that it's a
it's an exchange.
So you take don'tjust take things to him
in prayer and say, oh God,this is going so badly.
And this is lookfor the exchange
because he has somethingfor you in return.
He wants to take those burdensoff your shoulder
and he wants to giveyou something better.
So if you're strugglingwith something, you look it up
in the Word of God.
(18:55):
You see what he tells youyou need to be doing,
and you exchange your junkthat you're holding on to
for the good thingsthat he has for you.
Let go of those thingsthat have those open
hands, receive it andand journal it out.
Like, right.
Like, oh man,I was reading the Bible there.
I was praying aboutlike how to get free, you know,
from pornography.
And, and God said thatmy body is a temple and my body
(19:19):
being a temple, I know thatmy body is a temple.
And like the Holy Spiritlives in me and I'm not bringing
junk into my temple,I'm sweeping this temple out
and I'm going to keep it clean,and I'm going to
be in there hanging outand talking to the Holy Spirit
and seeing whathe has in mind for me.
And then I'm goingto encourage my brother,
who's struggling to and I'mgoing to give him a hug.
I'm going to love on him,and I'm going to help him
(19:40):
see deliveranceand him and his marriage
and his wife be blessed by this.
And we're just going tojust keep that going.
Journey to eternity.
Good. Oh, I love that.
And the nice thingabout journaling, too,
is that it's a document that or,you know, it's a record
that can be passed onto the future generations
so they can see your walkwith the Lord.
You know, we think about,you know, our children
(20:02):
and our children's children.
Those things can be very sacredto the next generation.
To see the journeythat you were on
and how God has workedin your lives, over the years.
So I love that.
I love journaling, that's agreat recommendation.
Yeah.
You mentioned this,you know, kind of,
walking along,find your brother.
And of course, we care deeplyabout accountability
and the role that it playsin our lives.
(20:23):
And you're you're channelis really interesting
because you havea lot of people that are
maybe not Christians,that follow your work because of
your time on "Alone"and are just super into survival
and, you know, being outdoorsand all the wilderness
type activities.
So you have an opportunityto really share
the gospel with peoplethat maybe are unchurched.
(20:43):
So talk to us a little bitabout accountable
while the brotherhoodis so important and sisterhood,
and then also how you leverageyour channel to reach
the unchurched and unsaved.
Yeah.
Accountability.
I put the CovenantEyes on my phone
when we got together,and I found out about it,
and I did a sponsoredthing on it and recommended it
(21:05):
to people because I wantthem to see freedom, too.
And, the Bible talks about like,if you, if your hand sins,
you cut it off.
Well, maybe don't cut it off.
Right.
I think, that we know thatthat was kind of talking
about, like, you know,remove the option for yourself
so that you can havesome freedom to grow.
(21:25):
Right?
And, so removing, everythingfrom your phone
that might distract you,that could be dangerous
social media, things like that.
Great steps.
But you can just as easily,at night, open those up
or open up the internetand stuff like that.
But finding an accountabilitypartner because the Bible
also saysfor us to find somebody
to confess to and to,you know, build each other up,
(21:48):
that we're not separatestuff, forsake the gathering
of the saints.
There's a reasoning in therebecause, you know,
two are better than one.
Yeah.
And, so I, you know, foundan accountability partner,
you know, after hearingabout the app
and put it on my phonebecause I struggled as
a young man years ago.
And, I don't want I don't wantsome thing to ever.
(22:10):
You never knowwhat's going to hit you.
You know what?
What if something bad happensand you're like, oh, I'm in
possibly strongerthan that. That's pride.
And you're already on your waytowards being available
for a new attack of some sort.
So, you know, hey,by preemptively, you know, do
the smart thing and do somethingabout it.
I put it on my phone.
It doesn't hurt anything,and it leaves me accountable.
(22:31):
And, knowing that, I have anaccountability partner
and it just makes thingsso much simpler and,
and we don'twe don't get together
and talk about sad things.
We get together and talk aboutlife and beauty instead of,
you know, spending all our timepraying over like, oh, like,
forgive me again.
You know, like we'rewe get to build each other up
(22:53):
and encourageeach other, you know, and, it's
just so, so importantthat accountability and just in
just so that you can grow.
Absolutely. Yeah.
And then let's talka little bit too
about the, the channeland how you're able
to reach people who are.
Not yet.
Through the workthat you're doing.
I think it's amazing because,you know, the survival
(23:14):
and kind of the,you know, that's
kind of a big thing.
A lot of people are into that.
My husband is super into that.
We all have our get our bags,you know, ready to go.
And he's, you know, always outin the wilderness doing things.
And I love that.
But there are so many out therethat are into that
but don't know Christ.
So how are youleveraging your platform
and your reach to really sharethe message of the gospel
(23:37):
with others?
And when I got backfrom "Alone" initially,
my first thought, like I said,I was still a just.
My thoughts were for myself andand things and I,
I actually said like,I'm starting a YouTube channel
so I could do what I want to dowhen I want to do it.
Like, well, that sounds like,somebody we know in the Bible,
like King Solomon.
They're like, yeah, yeah.
Like, or Saul and like,you know, just like, like, wow,
(24:01):
I got the kingdom now.
And, you know, it's mine,I did it, I'm doing
everything and like.
But it's over the years,God has spoke to me about it
more and more.
And, at first it was just,you know, praying over my meals
that just as a testimonythat, you know,
I recognize, you know, whereand who has blessed me
with what I have, you know, and,and acknowledging that
(24:25):
before man, you know, andand now it's like, I'm
just so excitedabout Jesus and wanting
everybody to know himthat, like, it wasn't
even, like a change that I didintentionally.
I just like my goals were are tojust minister Christ life
to each and every personas I talk to them,
whether it's in a YouTube videoor it's here in the office.
(24:47):
And, you know, it just that'swhat keeps happening.
Like, I just like when I'msitting there, I'm journaling
or something like that,because every time
we do an overnight,things like that,
I'm just sharing my entire life,you know, and, some people
don't like it.
Then they, they leave comments.
And, otherpeople have speculated
that I get more views ofI kept my mouth shut.
(25:08):
They're like, you're supposedto leave the Bible and
and political.
It says who?
Like, right.
Like, you know, like,if you're bleeding, I'm
gonna put a Band-Aid on for you,you know?
And, you are, you know,hemorrhaging bad.
If you don't knowJesus and you're don't
know why, your life, you know,is the way it is.
So I'm going to do my best to,to point the direction
(25:30):
here for you.
I love that. So.
Well, that's great.
And I think that's that's theright attitude to have.
It's to, you know,insert your faith where you can
and just live the life,you know, on display
for everyone to see.
I love that.
So talk to us a little bitabout some of your favorite
outdoor adventuresyou recently did.
(25:50):
You bikes are crossed.
I, I'm not sure.
Oh, that was my idea.
Was that the best.
100 milebike survival challenge?
Because for me, I knew thatwhen I was on "Alone",
I was surviving.
I had a lot of thingsthat I needed, and God,
I was like, oh,I could trust him
because I've seen himsince a little kid.
When we didn't have any food,we put our prayers
in a box and peopleknock on the door and be like,
(26:12):
we brought food, you know?
And that's my parent'stestimony of how we trusted God.
And that's how I, you know, knewhe was real, right?
And now and nowand that was "Alone".
And I'm surviving.
And I knew that to survivelike I could trust God for it.
And he did.
And he provided.
But the e-bike survivalchallenge was like,
I chose to do somethingsilly, empty out
(26:33):
my all my pockets,and I'm going to take a
300 mile e-bike ridewith no money,
no food, no shelter.
Just the stuffthat I have on my back,
the skills that God hasblessed me with. And
and as I was going along,like God, just like
put things in the path,like I was like,
my eyes are getting dirtyand I didn't even pray
or ask for it.
(26:54):
And at that one thing and like,there's glasses
on the side of the roadand they're broken.
But all, all the pieceswere there and they stayed
on my eyes, you know.
And then I found a jacketand it just.
And like God brought to my mindthat verse of like,
hey, when you go.
And he sent the disciples outand he's trying to teach them
to be strongerand to rely on him.
He said, don'teven take an extra jacket.
And I had brought a jacketso I'd be warm at night.
(27:16):
And there's this like extra,extra warm, like jacket
that's like almost brand new.
The zipper was broke,but it was like, who cares?
It was so nice and warmand I was able
to be warm at night with that,you know, and, you know, just,
you know, I put outfunny signs that said,
you know, need moneyfor fishing.
And people donated.
And I was able to buymy first bit of, kit.
(27:37):
And it just everywhere I wentand bumped into people.
I was just like, there's, like,so overwhelmed
with how God providedand then just smiling
and just happy meeting people.
And they.
That's like the the outpouringof generosity.
It was like unreal.
Like I just every at every turnI'd go and try to pay
for a slice of pizzaand they'd give me
(27:58):
a slice of pizza.
Oh my god.
And so, yeah, it was Godthat provided the whole way.
And so it was.
I didn't even care how the videoturned out.
It was it was a blessing for meto just to spend
that time with the Lordand watch him provide.
It was awesome.
That's cool.
Now, how long was that journey?
But that took five days.
Five days. Okay.
Wow. That's incredible.
(28:19):
And you probably raninto all sorts of weather
and conditions and all weather.
It was actually that wasanother blessing.
It just the whole timeit was no.
Rain or anything.
No rain.
No, I don't thinkthere was a single
sprinkle or nothing.
Oh, that's so good.
Like everywhere I pulled over,outlets worked and I was able to
charge the bike.
I found upgrades, I, you know,did the silliest things
(28:40):
and and just like it was just,it was like the scripture
come to life in just living itand stuff.
So it was like, anyone go home.
That's amazing.
Oh my goodness.
Well, where can people connectwith you and learn more
about what you're doing,your YouTube channel
and all the rest?
Yeah.
So you can find meon Fowler's Maker
(29:01):
and Mischief on YouTube.
Our, website is the same.
And, if you need a Bibleand you're listening
to this, randomly,we got free Bibles
on the website, little,little teeny
traveler type Bibles.
Feel free, even if youalready have one to go grab on
to whatever.
They are greatfor a little backpacks,
and they have little,in the back.
(29:23):
We got these onesprinted that have the,
little extra things.
And if you need to look upverses on anxiety, depression,
how to meet Jesus if you haven'talready met him before,
stuff like that.
And, yeah,we keep trying to work
on our resources with thatand help people to get to know
Jesus and, sell funadventure equipment
from the website so that you canget out there
(29:43):
and have adventures as wellin the outdoors and, and show
you how to do iton the YouTube channel.
And, yeah.
Awesome.
Well, we'll definitelyput all the links in
the show notes.
More listenerscan take advantage
of all of those.
And in closing today, Zach,do you have any words of wisdom
or encouragementyou want to leave
our listeners with?
As we bring today'sepisode to a close?
(30:06):
I just never give up.
Never give up seeking God firstbecause you know it.
There's no greater reward.
You know, we wereliterally designed
for a relationship with him.
And if you don't have that,there's a hole in your life
and you're missing outand you just you're going
to be constantlytrying to wade upstream
(30:26):
against the current.
And it's just it'sgoing to be difficult.
It doesn't mean it'snot going to be difficult
if you have Jesus in your lifethere.
He says there where are goingto have trials.
But when we go to himwith those burdens
and the things that you'restruggling with,
he will exchange those for life.
Now, when you spendtime in His Word, you will know
more and more whatthat experiences all about,
(30:48):
and you'll be experiencingmore and more victory
that you can sharewith your loved ones,
your family, your wives,and your marriages
can be victorious and,you know, victorious,
and your childrencan be victorious in your
children's children.
And you can create somethingthat, just goes on and on
and ride up into eternity.
Oh, I love that.
Well, thank you so muchfor joining us today.
(31:09):
And listeners,be sure to check out
all the links in the show notes.
You're going tolove this channel.
If you are an outdoorsykind of person
or survival kind of guy or girl.
You're going to findlots of great stuff,
lots of great content ideas,how to videos, all the rest.
So definitely check it out.
Thank you so much for joining ustoday, Zach.
Thanks for having me.
And to all of our listeners.
(31:30):
Thanks for tuning into this episode
of The Covenant Eyes Podcast.
We'll see you next time.
God bless. Take care.
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