July 10, 2025 • 37 mins
In this episode of Yahweh’s Money, we’re keeping it real, keeping it holy—and keeping it hilarious. I sit down with comedian and radio personality Larry Lancaster for a soul-nourishing conversation about the power of laughter, faith, and financial resilience.
This isn’t your average “let’s talk money” episode.
We dive deep into how humor becomes a spiritual tool in hard times, why many of our financial issues are rooted in ego—not lack—and how a cheerful heart truly is good medicine (Proverbs 17:22). Larry doesn’t hold back as he shares his journey from growing up in the roughest part of Baltimore to building a thriving comedy career grounded in purpose and faith.
We talk about the emotional weight of trying to make ends meet, the shame that often comes with financial struggle, and why God might be giggling right along with us—because sometimes, laughter is all we have left. And sometimes, that’s exactly what gets us through.
This episode is part testimony, part stand-up set, and all heart.
Here’s what you’ll walk away with:
- A new appreciation for laughter as a holy act of survival.
- Real talk on how ego often keeps us in debt, not a lack of money.
- Stories from Larry’s upbringing that shaped his outlook on money, manhood, and mental health.
- How growing up with a parent with mental illness taught him grace, grit, and gratitude.
- Why financial literacy without spiritual alignment will leave you feeling empty.
- The role of joy, jokes, and Jesus in managing economic pressure.
- What Diddy, church, money, and designer jeans can teach us about humility.
And yes—there’s also a bit about a sleepy McDonald’s employee, $19 jeans, and a thousand bottles of baby oil that’ll have you laughing out loud and shaking your head.
Featured Scripture:
Proverbs 17:22 — “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
Action Step:
Find one financial frustration this week and laugh about it. Whether it’s a ridiculous fee, a busted budget, or a week of creative cooking with what’s left in your pantry—laugh, reflect, and give it to God. Then ask Him to renew your joy in the middle of your financial journey.
Because while God gave us wisdom, budgeting tools, and community support—He also gave us laughter.
Let this episode remind you that even when the money’s funny, the joy is still real.
💸⛪🕍📿💵
Our podcast is proudly sponsored by Crusaders for Change, LLC (C4C) and hosted by our CEO and Founder, Mrs. Shay Cook. At C4C, we provide customized corporate financial wellness programs for businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Our services are tailored to create happier, healthier, and more productive work environments. We also empower individuals and couples to overcome debt, improve their credit, boost savings, and more. Ready to learn more about how C4C can impact your life? Contact us today at https://www.crusaders4change.org/!
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Music by: Lamonte Silver - Owner of essentialmusicclub.com | Previously by ROA - roa-music.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Larry Lancaster (00:02):
Also used to tease me about my mom because
she was known as the crazy ladyin the neighborhood.
So whenever she had an episodeshe would do something, and so
then the whole neighborhood youknow back.
You know how people were nosy.
My grandma went ahead and calledthe police in the neighborhood
and they knew my mother by name.
So I grew up in that type ofenvironment.
So when the kids would saysomething about my mom, I had to
(00:24):
get good at clapping back, andso that's how I developed my
sense of humor and it developedinto a skill and then later a
profession.
Shay Cook (00:33):
Ever felt those awkward vibes when religion and
money come up?
You're not alone.
Welcome to Yahweh's Money, thepodcast where we tackle the
crossroads of faith and finance.
I'm Shay Cook, an AccreditedFinancial Counselor and the CEO
and founder of Crusaders forChange LLC.
Join us on our journey as wediscuss topics like tithing,
(00:54):
saving and conquering debtthrough religious perspectives.
Let's get started.
Hey everyone, welcome back toanother episode of Yahweh's
Money and we're in episode 81and talking about holy laughter,
how God giggles, and gettingthrough tough times is what we
need right now.
So what if laughter is the oneof God's most underrated
(01:19):
survival tools during hardfinancial times?
I mean, it really is.
Sometimes people forget youjust need to laugh.
In today's episodes we'retalking about how humor helps us
push forward, or throughpaycheck to paycheck living,
inflation, fatigue and just theemotional weight of trying to
make ends meet.
And yes, we're keeping it real,keeping it funny and keeping it
(01:39):
holy.
So our main scripture for todayis Proverbs 17, 22, and it
states A cheerful heart is goodmedicine, but a crushed spirit
dries up the bones.
God created joy not just as afeeling, but as medicine.
And financially tough seasonsis not just budgets and
spreadsheets.
That gets us through.
(01:59):
It's also the healing power oflaughter and hope.
So our main guest today is noneother than Larry Lancaster.
Hey, larry, how you doing today.
Larry Lancaster (02:09):
Hey Shay, how are you queen?
Shay Cook (02:11):
I'm good, I'm here, I'm living life.
God is good.
But let me introduce you.
I mean because you got a hellof a bio.
Larry Lancaster (02:18):
Yeah, I hate that bio man when people read it
.
Shay Cook (02:20):
I'm just standing there like Okay well, tell me
your background, your expertiseand contributions.
Outside of being open enoughfor major acts and so forth, how
about you introduce yourself?
Larry Lancaster (02:30):
Well, my name is Larry Lancaster.
I'm a professional comedian,radio show host, renaissance man
.
I enjoy fashion, long walks inthe park, and I'm just a
passionate and grateful person.
And I'm just a passionate andgrateful person and I'm just
starting to intentionally take awalk with the Lord.
Shay Cook (02:51):
Amen, I love that.
Yeah, god is good and I'm justthankful how he brought us
together.
And your intro and bio isamazing as well, but I love how
you introduce yourself, so thankyou and welcome.
Larry Lancaster (03:02):
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Shay Cook (03:04):
So how do we know each other?
We just met this year, but wefeel like we family.
Larry Lancaster (03:08):
Yeah, I know it's one of those connections
where it was like man, I'm gladit happened.
It was actually startedprofessionally.
I was booked to do your event,which was a wonderful event, by
the way.
The energy was great, thepeople were amazing and we just
had a great time performing foryou guys and it was a blessing.
Shay Cook (03:29):
It was a blessing and thank you.
He's mentioning, speaking ofour Tickle my Money Bone, our
fifth annual one we just had onMay 1st.
It was pretty amazing.
God again, I just can't say itenough.
God was great, is great andalways will be great.
And, like you coming in thereand doing the comedy, people are
still talking about it, larry.
Still people talking about it.
(03:49):
And we're putting together ourreel now and I get to see the
playback and all the videos andbehind the scenes and man, it
was just my daddy, who's veryone of the most important men in
my life my husband is the mostimportant man in my life, but my
dad was like you got to havehim back.
He's amazing.
My brother was like, oh, he'scool.
Like all the men just loved you.
The women loved you, you know.
So we just appreciate youcoming out and supporting us and
(04:12):
being part of a great event ofjust taking the taboo and the
shame of talking about money,because we all got money issues.
Larry Lancaster (04:18):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we do.
I've noticed that since I'vebeen more intentional about
being, you know, a Christian andalso doing a lot of personal
development, a lot of moneyproblems are really rooted in
ego and I don't think wenecessarily look at them that
way.
Shay Cook (04:35):
Yeah, I agree with you.
Larry Lancaster (04:36):
A lot of times we have exactly what we need,
but our ego tells us we needsomething else.
And that a lot of times is howwe get in trouble with money.
Shay Cook (04:45):
That is so true.
That's ultimately what it comesdown to.
Even being a trained,accredited, certified, licensed
all these things and the moneyfor over 25 years there's a
consistent behavior.
You're right that if you justlook at what you got, I think
probably about 99% of the timeyou got everything you need.
Now there are some people thatare struggling.
But even those people that arestruggling that are poor, that
(05:05):
are homeless I work with themtoo At one point in their life
they had it all, but theystarted going with their ego,
like you said, and trying tochase that, and then they lose
it.
Larry Lancaster (05:15):
Yeah, I heard a pastor say one time he said a
lot of times.
He said life is aboutrelationships.
He said when you see a homelessperson, sometimes it
relationships.
He said when you see a homelessperson, sometimes that's not
necessarily about not having ahome or not having money.
He said how exhausted are yourrelationships with someone won't
even let you sleep on the floorand so of course that's not
(05:35):
everybody's situation, so Idon't want to oversimplify that,
but in many times that's whatit is.
Shay Cook (05:40):
Yeah, exactly, I agree, I agree.
But we got a lot more to talkabout how laughter is spiritual.
The struggle is real andrelatable, and we're already
kind of getting into that.
But let's get into our quickfire questions let the wisdom
inherit.
Let's hit the rapid firequestions.
Uh, say what's on your spirit.
(06:01):
Take your seat.
Let the wisdom inherit.
Hit the rapid fire questions.
Say what's on your spirit.
So it's five minutes.
We just quickly throw at itWhatever comes to mind, don't
overthink.
Okay, I'm sure you've done thisbefore, but all right, let's go
(06:22):
.
What's something that alwaysmakes you laugh, even on your
worst day?
Larry Lancaster (06:28):
My wife.
Shay Cook (06:29):
Oh yeah.
Larry Lancaster (06:30):
She is hilarious, like even when I want
to be mad with her.
She has this humor and it'sjust so funny and only she can
do it, like if anybody elsetried to do and say the things
that she say, it wouldn't evenbe funny.
She has a unique sense of humorfor her and it's very funny.
Shay Cook (06:51):
I love that.
I love that about y'all'srelationship.
I would say my husband too.
But I'll go one step further.
God makes me laugh every day.
What they say if you plan forsomething, god is going to.
You know he's going to make Godlaugh even if you have the best
laid plans, because I'll havesomething really planned out or
want to do something God's likeall right, and he'll do
something in a day and a weekand a month and a year and I'd
be like man.
I just have to laugh becauseGod is like I'm in control here.
(07:13):
You're just supposed to obey,all right.
Next, have you ever had tolaugh just to keep from crying
over a money situation?
Larry Lancaster (07:22):
You know what, when I saw this question, I
thought about it and I stilldon't have an answer because
it's happened so many times.
I can't just pick one.
Like I remember being a kid andgrowing up in the projects and
like it's funny because peoplein low income housing are
spending the most money ontrying to look fresh.
(07:42):
Like the people who have theleast, this stuff means the most
Because, you know, I grew up inan era where the designer stuff
just started to happen, likeSergio Valente and Jordache
jeans and all that stuff, and Iwore Lees and Wranglers right,
and now you'll pay $100 for aWrangler shirt, but I remember
back then it was the least youcould buy and so the kids were
(08:06):
joking and we're all paying $28a month for rank but we're
cracking on each other abouteach other's shoes.
So that kind of stuff is kindof how I really started honing
my skills as a comedian because,people used to crack.
I was always clean and neat,that's one thing I'll say.
But I didn't have the flyestdesigner stuff.
(08:27):
So I had to become very funnyat my clapbacks because people
would crack on my jeans or myshoe, you know that kind of
stuff.
So I guess I tried in thatsense.
And now what I do is I go backand buy all the things I
couldn't afford when I wascoming out, like if you came to
my house you'd be like yo, yougot a problem.
Like my whole basement isclothing, shoes, suits, all this
(08:50):
kind of stuff.
And I think that's probably thelittle kid in me, trying to
overcompensate.
Shay Cook (08:55):
That's exactly what it is.
My husband suffers from thesame situation, grew up poor in
Baltimore.
I'm not going to tell his story, that's his story to tell.
But he also has all of theshoes and all that.
Now he's into the whiskey andthe bourbon, but he went through
his Jordan stage.
He got a thousand.
My daughter's always sayingDaddy got so many pairs of jeans
.
I'm like yeah, because I thinkI only had one or two growing up
.
Larry Lancaster (09:16):
So you know, so Right.
Shay Cook (09:17):
Yeah, that's true.
Larry Lancaster (09:29):
Be specific, and this comes from a great
friend of mine named Tyler Craig.
He was one of my big brothersand this guy was amazingly funny
and he used to tell these jokes, but they always had a story.
So he said he was sitting inthe barbershop one day and the
barber was cutting somebody'shair and he had a dog beside and
so the guy was like, does yourdog bite?
(09:52):
And the barber said no.
So the guy was like does yourdog bite?
And the guy said the barbersaid no.
So the guy pet the dog.
He said the dog chewed the furoff of the guy like ate him up.
So when the ambulance comesthey're taking the guy out.
The guy says to the barber man,I thought you said your dog
didn't bite.
He said I said my dog didn'tbite, that ain't my dog.
So then he said the moral ofthe story is be specific.
(10:15):
Being specific yes, even whenyou pray, you have to be
specific.
Shay Cook (10:19):
Or like my dad say, be Pacific.
I'd be like Dad, you mean, yeah, be.
Larry Lancaster (10:22):
Pacific.
You don't know how hard it wasfor me to say.
I know I was telling myself thewhole time Don't say Pacific on
this Zoom, it's okay, we familythat's what we do.
Shay Cook (10:33):
I mean, my daddy's always and my dad is well-spoken
, but there's no reason aboutthat specific, specific whatever
.
But no, that makes sense.
That makes sense, all right,cool.
Well, thank you for that.
Larry Lancaster (10:45):
That was our quick, fiery question Shout out
to my brother Tyler Craig yeah,shout out to Tyler that that's
awesome.
Shay Cook (10:50):
Yeah, we all need to be a little more specific in our
life period.
All right, so you know,laughter is spiritual.
I mean, god is the author ofjoy, so in Galatians, 5.22 calls
it the fruit of the spirit.
It's not just nice to have,it's essential.
Laughter is one way we remindourselves that tough times don't
last forever.
You know, and I wish for thatNow that I think back to I'm 46.
I'm just put it out there andI'm not ashamed of my age.
(11:12):
Never been.
Larry Lancaster (11:13):
Yeah, most women who look great for their
age are not ashamed.
Y'all try to make up excuses totell people how old you are, my
son is 25.
And you're like what?
Shay Cook (11:23):
You got a 25-year-old son.
How many people say that?
Larry Lancaster (11:24):
I can't believe you got a 24-year-old, really I
was six when I had man.
Shay Cook (11:31):
I just want to talk to the younger Shay and be like
it's going to be all right.
You hear that a lot from peoplebecause I cried a lot, I fret a
lot, I worried a lot, I wasanxious a lot, I have depression
, I suffer from all of that andsometimes it's just that good
laughter.
You know, just getting througheven growing up, traumas of
childhood and wisdom, wasn't alot.
My parents did a great job withthe best they could.
But even going through earlymarriage, young and mother, all
(11:57):
the things I went through inlife money issues, not having I
mean not having enough money toget through the month, really
have more months and money itwas very normal back in the day.
I would really just be sostressed out and sometimes you
just need to laugh because, likeyou said earlier, I had
everything I need.
I had food.
Even though it might've justonly been Eggo waffles and some
ramen, I still had food Right.
(12:17):
So you know, and I wasn'tgrateful.
So it's that gratitude and justlaughing through it.
I mean it's hard, thoughsometimes.
Larry Lancaster (12:27):
Yeah, that's definitely a testimony and I had
a very rough childhood but Idon't look at it as a bad
childhood, even though it wasrough.
Surprisingly, my mom had mentalillness.
She was a paranoidschizophrenic and as a result of
her illness you know mychildhood and of course, we were
very poor.
We grew up in the roughest partof Baltimore, in the Douglas
Projects.
A lot of crime, drugs, murder.
(12:49):
But I still remember happytimes in my childhood, as rough
as it was.
So we laughed a lot, we joked alot is how I developed my sense
of humor, because it startedout as a defense mechanism,
because the kids, like I said,used to tease me about not
having the cool clothes.
But they also used to tease meabout my mom because she was
known as the crazy lady in theneighborhood.
(13:10):
So whenever she had an episodeshe would do something and so
then the whole neighborhood.
You know how people were nosythe police, my grandma went
ahead and called the police inthe neighborhood and they knew
my mother by name.
So I grew up in that type ofenvironment.
So when the kids would saysomething about my mom, I had to
get good at clapping back, andso that's how I developed my
(13:32):
sense of humor and it developedinto a skill and then later a
profession.
Shay Cook (13:36):
You know, and I hear that a lot about men, I feel
like you guys, the males of itall, you guys were just brutal.
Larry Lancaster (13:43):
Yeah, because the other alternative is
fighting.
Then that's what's next.
So you can use your sense ofhumor to diffuse a lot of things
, but once people stop laughing,then it's, you know, okay, but
I can fight though.
You know you crack on a guyhard enough, he and his feelings
, and I even experienced that atshows.
People have tried to attack me,people ran up on the stage and
(14:05):
all this kind of stuff.
So I've had to learn how toeven diffuse my way around that.
Shay Cook (14:11):
Yeah, and then I mean a lot of what you're talking
about dealt with not only mentalillness but the economics of it
all, the money piece of it.
Right, you didn't have themoney to have all the clothes.
I mean honestly, I think if youdid have all the latest brands
they still would have foundsomething to make fun of.
Larry Lancaster (14:25):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, that's what we did and it
actually made me appreciatemoney.
Like, even though I have ahouse full of clothes, I'm very
frugal, like I don't spend a lotof money on stuff I don't buy.
Designer this and designer thatI don't believe in, that I only
believe in paying $200 forjeans.
I go and get a pair of $19jeans, $29 jeans, and because I
(14:46):
didn't have, I learned how tohook things up without spending
a lot of money.
So it also informed my fashionsense.
Shay Cook (14:54):
Oh, okay.
Larry Lancaster (14:54):
Okay, people think money gives you style and
it doesn't.
Shay Cook (14:58):
It really doesn't.
It honestly starts with yourwhole energy and vibe.
Right Because you could seesomebody, like you said, with
$10 jeans and $20 top and just Imean they looking fly.
Larry Lancaster (15:07):
And they hook it up Thrift store sheet, all of
that.
And then you see people spendall kinds of money and they look
homeless sometimes.
You see it right.
Shay Cook (15:17):
No, I don't know why I was thinking of certain people
in the hip-hop industry.
Larry Lancaster (15:21):
Like Kanye, like some of the stuff he went
Get out of my head, Larry.
Shay Cook (15:24):
I didn't want to say him, but Kanye his whole
clothing line was just like whatis going on here right now.
But yeah, even I mean, and he'sgoing through a lot of mental
illness and I pray that he staysand gets the help he needs.
Larry Lancaster (15:37):
Right, but this is the stuff he picked out when
he was okay.
Shay Cook (15:40):
Well, I don't think he was ever okay, that's another
.
Larry Lancaster (15:43):
Yeah, that's relative to me speaking, of
course, but yeah.
Shay Cook (15:46):
That man always has some mental health stuff going
on.
I mean, he just you know, and Ibelieve he's a genius.
Larry Lancaster (15:52):
It's just not with fashion, not in my opinion.
Shay Cook (15:54):
I think you should stick with music, yeah yeah,
exactly, we did love his musicgrowing up as well, so at our
show, let's go back to Tickle myMoney Bone.
You were talking about your bitwith Popeyes and Chick-fil-A.
It was hilarious.
Larry Lancaster (16:09):
I mean, tell us more about that, the
Chick-fil-A bit.
I think it was how nice theytreat you.
Shay Cook (16:13):
Maybe, or just the food.
No, I think it was about theguy that you was trying to help
you there and was based on theprices and the wait times.
Larry Lancaster (16:21):
No, that was McDonald's.
Shay Cook (16:22):
Oh, that was McDonald's.
Oh, okay.
Larry Lancaster (16:25):
And the guy was high as a mink coat.
This is when I used to work asa corrections officer, so so I'm
going to work.
I had to be to work at like 5o'clock in the morning and of
course I'm late every day, right, but I'm showing up late with
breakfast, so my supervisor waslike oh you late, you can't make
the work on time, but you hadtime to stop and get something
to eat.
I'm like, well, it was too latenot to be late, but I had enough
(16:48):
time not to be hungry.
So I go into the McDonald's,the guy's at the register and he
hides them in coke.
I'm like, should we even be inhere?
Like, none of the lights are on.
I'm like did we break in andI'm including me in it, because
now I'm in a car for this.
So he couldn't even finish hisgreeting.
So the guy falls asleep Likewhile he's talking to me.
He's like welcome to McDonald's.
(17:09):
And he always had his voiceright.
Welcome to McDonald's.
May I take your order please?
And then he nods off and thenwakes back up.
So I'm like, okay, I don't havenobody else to deal with.
So I say give me an Ed McMuffin, a hash brown and an orange
juice.
So the guy gets on the intercom.
He, the only one in the store,give me an Ed McMuffin, a hash
(17:29):
brown and an orange juice.
And then went in the back andstarted making a fool of himself
.
I was like yo, who was youtalking to on the intercom?
So that's just one experienceabout like going to like.
I call it the black McDonald's.
You know how sometimes when yougo to a black establishment and
I say you try to support blackpeople but sometimes they make
you racist.
You be like, see, this is why Idon't mess with Nick.
(17:50):
This is exactly why.
Shay Cook (17:53):
It is not even a money issue.
It's more of a cultural issue.
Larry Lancaster (17:56):
It's a cultural thing and I like to tell our
Black business owners like yo,we go to places where we're not
wanted or appreciated.
Your place of businessshouldn't be one of those places
.
I don't think you mean it thatway, but when you don't give the
best service possible, when youdon't have good customer
service, you're basically doingthe same thing that the people
(18:17):
who don't want us in theirestablishments do.
Very true.
Shay Cook (18:20):
Very true, man, I know, and I don't even know what
to say, because you're right.
I mean there's no other way tolook at it.
I mean you could put, eventhough I do say I've been to
some really nice blackestablishments and higher income
areas, they seem to have adifferent vibe than low income.
So I don't know if there's likea whole mindset shift.
Larry Lancaster (18:40):
But of course it's a mindset, because when you
go in these places, the peoplethey don't really try to elevate
above where they are and so,like, what happens is you got to
want more for yourself and towant more for yourself.
You can't wait till you have it.
Sometimes you have to act as ifyou already have.
Shay Cook (19:00):
Oh, you got to manifest that thing.
Larry Lancaster (19:02):
You have to manifest it and that goes into
your behavior, the way you treatyourself, the way you speak
about yourself, the way youspeak to other people.
You can't wait till you getrich and think it's going to be
a switch.
You're just going to be a rich,ignorant person.
And we see that all the timewith people who all of a sudden
get money or all of a sudden getfame and because they haven't
(19:22):
done any personal development.
I always say money is likealcohol it's going to intensify
who you really are.
So if you're a nice, generousperson, the money will intensify
that.
If you're an a-hole, themoney's going to intensify that
as well.
Shay Cook (19:36):
I love that You're right, because I've met a lot of
people like that thatintensified their a-holeness or
their godliness, or they keepone on the down low and then in
the front they got all thismoney and they're all godless,
fearing.
And then when you see them atthe club or wherever you God
this fearing.
And then when you see them atthe club or wherever, you're
like, wait a minute, but thisdon't match up.
Who is this?
Who are these people like?
(19:56):
Yeah, it's like that doublestandard, like what's going on
here and you know.
And then we add God and all ofthat.
God wants us to be better, hewants us to be prosperous.
Right, a lot of people, youknow, as I remember through the
years, people getting ondifferent creflo and all these
different pastors about you knowBishop, td, jakes and all that
they should have all this money.
Why not?
They doing their thing?
They should, you know, but theyshould also be, you know, given
(20:19):
and they help people as they do.
But you know God is here tosupport us.
Larry Lancaster (20:24):
Here's something to ponder, though,
shay Like do you think that kindof money should come from the
church?
And that's the thing that Ithink a lot of people have issue
with.
Shay Cook (20:33):
Yeah, and I don't because like TD James I mean I
don't know his whole portfolioand stuff, but I know he had
movies and books and all of that.
So a lot of his money wasn'tnecessarily coming from the
church.
But yeah, it should be goingback into the church.
It shouldn't be going into oneperson's pocket which is the
pastor, bishop or whoever I know.
It should go back into thechurch.
Larry Lancaster (20:51):
Because, biblically speaking, it says the
love.
People think that it says moneyis the root to all evil.
Shay Cook (20:57):
And that's not true.
Larry Lancaster (20:58):
It's the love of money, and so what happens is
, once you start adding thiskind of money dynamic and I'm
talking about insane amounts ofmoney when does your message and
your spiritual connection getcorrupted?
And I'm not saying that happensall the time.
Shay Cook (21:13):
It does happen though .
Larry Lancaster (21:14):
We know man is very foul.
That's why we need God, that'swhy we need Jesus, because we
can't, we're not going to do theright thing, just based on
ourselves.
Shay Cook (21:22):
And it happens to people that only make six
figures.
It doesn't have to be abillionaire.
So if it happens to somebodywho's only making $60,000,
$100,000.
I've seen it at all thoselevels.
I'm sure I know it happens atmillion and billionaire level.
Larry Lancaster (21:34):
And also money, gives you access to all your
temptations Some people toobroke to do certain things, but
once they get money and somepower and access, that's when
you can like you know.
Look at the Diddy situation,and I hate to use him as an
example, but and I hate to usehim as an example, but he's the
most relevant one, becausethere's so many other ones more
than him.
Shay Cook (21:54):
There's Whitney Houston.
I remember when Whitney wasgoing through her thing, I asked
my dad about it and he's likethat's why I never wanted that
amount of money.
I'm like why, dad?
He was like because if I did, Iwould have did what she did.
I would have been into the coke.
Larry Lancaster (22:13):
I would have been all of that time.
You don't know what you'll dowhen you have access to all your
temptations, especially if youdon't have an intentional walk
with God at the moment.
So you know, these people areyoung and you know 20s, 30s.
You think about the decisionsyou make with no money.
Add money to that and then youknow, like I say, it intensifies
(22:36):
an already messed up situationit does.
Shay Cook (22:37):
And going back to that Diddy thing, I have to
mention man.
That threw me because I knew itwas leading up to it with all
the scandals and stuff that'sbeen happening the last year or
two.
But I looked up to that manReally I did, I did because it
was his work ethic, right, mysister and I.
So it was like man, we watchedall the shows you know, making a
band and watching all that,like I was.
I'm a hip hop queen, I love hiphop, r&b.
(22:59):
We dressed like we were inGermany.
My dad was military and we were.
I mean, we looked up to Diddy.
Larry Lancaster (23:05):
I was in Germany too, by the way.
Shay Cook (23:07):
Oh really, yeah, in the military.
And so, man, we were inAugsburg at the time, early 90s.
We looked up to Diddy, snoop,all of them, biggie, all of that
.
We were huge fans over thereand you know.
So Diddy was one of those thatwe looked up to, diddy I'm after
Biggie when he rest in peacedied when I was in high school.
I remember Diddy just becomingthat guy.
And then I'm going to collegeand like, loving his career, and
(23:30):
I was like man.
This man is doing his thing, hedon't sleep.
And then I find out he, likeyou said, he got all this money,
his temptations and he juststarted going.
But he probably was alwaysdoing that too as well.
But I was just like dang, I waslike man.
I told him that Jay-Z if I findout Jay-Z was in on any of this
, I'm going to be done with himBecause fan too.
So I'm just like man.
(23:51):
It's just disappointing thatthese godly men that claim
they're godly men and Diddy didand all of them did and then I
mean but they're human first,right.
I mean we all done crazy-ish.
We really have.
Larry Lancaster (24:04):
Yeah, but when you start talking a thousand
bottles of baby, old, crazy ish,that's a difference.
I know they say a sin is thesame, but that's one of the
things that I like to disagreewith.
I'm like come on, you can't.
It's not the same as stealingcable.
Like you can't equate the samething.
You know that's true.
Shay Cook (24:21):
So this I equate to the Job moment.
So I studied religion incollege and we had for one
semester we studied the wholebook of Job and I mean Job had
everything and everything wastaken away from him and I feel
like Diddy's having his Jobmoment.
I don't know if he's going toget it back like Job did.
He might sit in jail and die.
Maybe in another lifetime hewill.
Larry Lancaster (24:38):
And also the other thing was was Job
instrumental in his own demise?
That's the other thing or wasit just a test from God?
Sometimes you create your owndemise.
Shay Cook (24:48):
I mean, it's all a perception.
It's all a perception.
Larry Lancaster (24:52):
I was at a show one day and a brother came up
to me.
He was a comedian and he triedto start the race conversation.
Like yo, they just trying tobring a black man down.
And I said, brother, I'm notgoing to have that conversation
with you because most of thepeople he victimized were black
as well.
And I think that wasintentional, because what
happened was, you know, a lot ofthose record companies,
(25:14):
especially rap, they're run byother people, people who don't
look like us, people who arefamiliar with the culture, the
Clive Davises and all thesepeople.
And then what they'll do isthey say, okay, I don't want to
deal with this element.
So what I'll do is I'll groomsomebody, train them to deal
with the element.
And that's, I believe, whereDiddy came in and people like it
.
Shay Cook (25:34):
Yeah, I agree, I agree with that wholeheartedly.
Larry Lancaster (25:37):
It's just no different than when we had Slary
and then they trained thetaskmaster.
You know someone who lookedlike us but had the same agenda
as the slave master.
Shay Cook (25:48):
You could looked like us but had the same agenda as
the slave master.
Larry Lancaster (25:50):
So you can say that about the NFL and many
other things, right, right.
I mean I'm just saying Exactly,exactly, exactly.
Shay Cook (25:56):
It's crazy, all right .
Well, let's bring it back downto our normal, everyday boring
lives.
We ain't up there, right?
I ain't trying to go do noditty thing.
Lord, I ain't got not athousand bottles of baby oil in
my life.
I mean I might got that many inLysol wipes you need a forklift
at that point.
Larry Lancaster (26:15):
You need machinery just for the baby oil,
Like you need a staff at thatpoint.
Shay Cook (26:20):
Why he didn't just get the gallons made for him
Like he could have afforded him.
He had to have his own ddy babyoil.
But anyways, enough of thatcrazy mess.
So going back to God andlaughter and money, I mean, you
know, laughter is a gift,especially in these seasons when
your bank account might nothave much to offer.
A lot of people that come intoCrusaders for Change, that are
(26:41):
needing help getting out of debtand proving their credit, and
say we're turning them to God interms of we're not going to
force God on you, right, but alot of people come to us they
already know God and if theydon't, we're saying you know,
sometimes you just need to turnto God because this situation
right here, with the government,with all the crap the economy
issues, the inflation issues,the list goes on who else can
(27:03):
you rely on Because you can'trely on the government?
I mean you might hopefully yourfamily, but especially in our
area of the DMV, a lot of peoplewere affected by this
government thing.
But you know God cares aboutour joy, even through a storm,
so he wants us to laugh throughthese times and just be grateful
and love on him.
What do you say to that?
Larry Lancaster (27:21):
Oh, of course, Most definitely.
This is definitely a time whereyou're going to need your
spirituality and if you study,you will see.
These things are really in theprophecy.
I listened to this brother.
His name is Stephen Darby.
I listened to a lot of hissermons.
He's passed away.
I think they might have killedhim to be honest with you,
because he was saying things in07, 09, 010 that are happening
(27:46):
today.
So look up Stephen Darby it'sspelled with a PH and a lot of
his sermons I mean they are verytimely and so what I like about
it he was talking about, hebrought up some of the
prosperity preachers and he saidyou're not just supposed to
preach about prosperity, that'snot the only thing in the Bible.
(28:07):
You're supposed to preparepeople for it.
You're supposed to read thebook of Revelations.
And he said these are hardthings to preach.
So a lot of preachers don'tpreach them because their
churches wouldn't be packed,they wouldn't be full, and when
your church is not full or yougive people a hard message,
they're less likely to give.
So that's also the disadvantageof relying on so much money.
(28:29):
Is it even impacts the way youpreach, because you're basically
just going to preach accordingto what people want to hear.
If people gave more this Sundaybecause you preach a nice,
everything's going to be allright message, then you're more
likely to do that.
But if you preach that, hey,this stuff is coming and you
better get yourself right, youknow Amen, amen and then people
(28:52):
didn't give that Sunday, then alot of pastors will shy away
from that it's time that weeducate ourselves and it's a
point where we're all going toreally need each other.
It might come a point where wemight have to share a home,
where we're going to have toshare resources, where we're
going to have to share food,because if you look at a lot of
things that are going on, howmany of us grow our own food,
(29:13):
how many of us manufacture ourown stuff, how many of us could
defend our home when thesupplies are short?
So we have to think about thesethings.
Shay Cook (29:22):
We really do that.
Preparedness is important.
I worked for the Department ofHuman Services for seven years
through Coast Guard, and we usedto talk about preparedness,
emergency preparedness, and Iwas getting my kit ready the
other day because making sure Igot enough water and stuff for
everything for my family,because I'm not going to go
overboard with the whole shelterand all that which we need to.
But you're right, we probablymy family might have to come
(29:42):
here.
I might go there.
Wherever we're going to have tosupport each other and I believe
, especially in the blackcommunity, we're going to have
to support each other and Ibelieve, especially in the Black
community, we're going to haveto band together like never
before because they're comingafter us.
I mean, you see what they'redoing, that's another episode.
But what they're doing with theimmigrants and stuff and I was
reading that yesterday whenHonduras and Venezuela sending
all these people away doingself-deportations, my husband's
(30:02):
like what is that?
I'm like man, it's crazy.
This is my country, I'm notgoing anywhere.
So I will defend me and myfamily as best as I can.
Unless there's apocalypse, myhusband and I talked about who's
going to die first If there'ssome zombies and mess going on.
Even though I'm like I'm goingto be like Michonne from Walking
Dead, I'm going to try tosurvive this, but my husband's
(30:23):
like no, you can take me out.
Larry Lancaster (30:26):
But anyways, we're going off topic.
We gotta be prepared.
It's all kind of interconnected, even though it seems like
we're getting off topic.
But getting back to the Bible,my wife, she reads the Bible and
she reads it to me.
Sometimes I'll be sitting onthe sofa and she'll just start
pick the Bible and start readingit and she said listen, the
Bible is better than any realityshow you could ever watch.
(30:48):
She was like people a lotListen, the Bible is better than
any reality show you could everwatch Any reality show.
Shay Cook (30:50):
Any reality show.
Larry Lancaster (30:51):
She was like people a lot had sex with his
daughters and you know you canjust go like one guy had to.
I think it was Saul, becauseI'm not a theologian, I get the
names mixed up.
He had the.
His wife was so beautiful.
He had the lion say it was hissister, sister, yeah, I mean,
there's so many different thingsin the Bible that really can
(31:12):
connect to today's purpose andif you live, it's all a repeat,
right, right, and if you live byit, it could definitely prepare
you for today.
Shay Cook (31:21):
Exactly From Genesis to Revelations and in between.
Everything you need to know isin there.
I really believe that and Ibelieve there are some missing
books and stuff, but whatever wehave right now, definitely take
advantage of that.
And then also, I think the wordis super important.
The Bible is number one, butabove that is God.
As long as you're connected,your spirit gives you access
(31:43):
through Jesus to God.
That's it.
He's going to download, he orshe, however you want to look at
your God, that's it he's goingto download, or he or she,
however you want to look at yourGod.
I believe that is thatconnection, that direct line to
God, for what Jesus did for us.
It's just amazing.
And that comes going back tomoney.
If you ever have an issue withmoney, you just need to turn to
God and your spirit, your HolySpirit, through Jesus to God.
(32:05):
I have a direct line.
Like I told my brother theother day, he just bought a
house and he was just like youknow, I just wanted to tell
everybody so they could pray forme.
And I was like but the thingyou need to learn, and what I've
learned, brother, is that Idon't need nobody to pray for me
.
I appreciate it, but I have adirect line to God.
I learned that the hard way.
(32:26):
I learned it through church andeverything else, but I believe
it because my spirit speaks tome daily, and so I don't need
nobody Again.
I appreciate all the prayersPlease pray for me and my family
but I know all I need is God.
I don't need none of y'all, butI appreciate y'all, but God is
what is here for me.
Larry Lancaster (32:47):
That's great advice.
And the other thing is the morespiritually in tune you become,
you see and hear thingsdifferent.
Shay Cook (32:56):
Oh my God, Do you, larry, you do.
Larry Lancaster (33:00):
And you really can hear him a lot of times.
But if you're busy doing awhole bunch of stuff, you create
a lot of noise in your life.
That is to say, you still can'thear him through the noise, but
it gets more difficult.
Got to be still and know I'mGod.
Shay Cook (33:13):
It's very clear in the word you got to be still.
I take moments throughout theday to be still, whether it's
out in the garden I don't haveno garden without the flowers or
out walking, or even on thetreadmill.
Whatever I'm doing, I'm tryingto just connect with God, and
definitely in meditation iswhere I find the best time with
God.
Larry Lancaster (33:31):
Yeah, One day my wife and I were in this house
.
We have a beautiful house.
At least it's beautiful to me.
Shay Cook (33:36):
It's our mini mansion in the hood because we live
right in the heart of the city.
Larry Lancaster (33:40):
We were like feeling ourselves, you know, and
I just stopped and I said wetalking too much about ourselves
and I made this.
I said we talking too muchabout ourselves and I made this
I don't know if you can see it,because I'm an artist.
Shay Cook (33:54):
Can you see that?
Oh yeah, what does that say?
God is God first.
It says God first.
Larry Lancaster (34:00):
And it made me stop what I was doing.
And the next day I painted thisand I put it right here where
we can see it every day.
I love that.
And so it's like, yeah, we'retalented, yeah, we're good
looking, yeah, people are drawnto us, yeah, we can walk in the
room and people are like, oh,who are they?
You know all of that stuff, butnone of this would be possible
(34:22):
without him, and a lot of timeswe forget that, and so I would
just challenge anybody that, ifyou're going through something
and I know this is difficult todo when you're going through
something but think about whatyou do have.
Think about what's going greatfor you, and I think, if you
took the time to do that,sometimes what you're going
through may not be that bad, andthe more you do it and
(34:45):
intentional about being grateful, the more he'll bless you,
trust me.
Shay Cook (34:50):
Amen, that gratitude is super important.
Larry Lancaster (34:53):
Wow, this is very underrated.
Shay Cook (34:55):
It's very underrated.
Yeah, we need to be gratefuland thankful and just because we
bless, we all bless in some way, shape or form.
We bless.
So any final thoughts?
Larry Lancaster (35:05):
I hope I wasn't too preachy, I know.
Shay Cook (35:07):
That's what this is for.
Y'all waste money.
Larry Lancaster (35:10):
God's money.
This is the thing when peoplehave me on podcasts and I think
they be expecting me to justclown it out and have them laugh
, and I'm not saying you didthat, but a lot of times people
do that and comments really dothat.
But I also feel that, asidefrom being funny, sometimes if
you have something important tosay, that shouldn't be your only
contribution, and because I'mnot just a funny person, it's
(35:31):
just one facet of who I am.
I can add other things to theconversation and so sometimes I
do that, but I still try to befunny when I can.
But that's just one aspect ofwho I am.
Shay Cook (35:43):
And I'm not a comic and I try to still add humor in
wherever I can.
Larry Lancaster (35:47):
No, I can tell you're funny, I can tell you're
funny.
Shay Cook (35:52):
My family told me all my life I wasn't funny.
So I kind of strive to just andhonestly I'm more shady than
anything.
Larry Lancaster (35:56):
But to me, shady people are hilarious.
To me that's one of my guiltypledges, because I'm really a
shady person as much as I try tobe so positive and I got a
little shadiness.
I'm getting better with it.
But shady, but like the personyou can look at and y'all need
to say nothing, y'all bust outlaughing because y'all both saw
the same thing.
I love those type of people.
(36:17):
Yeah, that's exactly who.
Shay Cook (36:19):
I am.
I'm full shade queen over here,but I'm proud of who I am.
I try to be better, you know.
But definitely the gratitude.
But I, you know I'll giveeverybody an action step.
Find one financial frustrationthis week and laugh about it,
whether it's ridiculous fee ofsomething, a budgeting fail or a
meal you threw together withjust $6 or $60.
(36:39):
Laugh, reflect and give it toGod.
Ask him to renew your joy inthe middle of your financial
journey.
Thank you for joining us againtoday.
Thanks, larry, you're amazing.
Larry Lancaster (36:49):
Thank you, quayna, I appreciate you.
Shay Cook (36:50):
Yes, all righty.
Have a great day everyone.
A big thank you for listeningto this episode.
We hope you found today's chatabout the intersection of
religion and money insightful.
We would love to hear yourfeedback.
Hit that subscribe button orfollow the podcast and please
feel free to leave us a review.
(37:11):
For the latest Yahweh's Moneycontent, visit us at
crusaders4changeorg or find usanywhere you listen to podcasts.
Until next time, stayfinancially fit and spiritually
inspired and remember it'salways better Yahweh's way.
Also used to tease me about my mom because
she was known as the crazy ladyin the neighborhood.
So whenever she had an episodeshe would do something, and so
then the whole neighborhood youknow back.
You know how people were nosy.
My grandma went ahead and calledthe police in the neighborhood
and they knew my mother by name.
So I grew up in that type ofenvironment.
So when the kids would saysomething about my mom, I had to
(00:24):
get good at clapping back, andso that's how I developed my
sense of humor and it developedinto a skill and then later a
profession.
Shay Cook (00:33):
Ever felt those awkward vibes when religion and
money come up?
You're not alone.
Welcome to Yahweh's Money, thepodcast where we tackle the
crossroads of faith and finance.
I'm Shay Cook, an AccreditedFinancial Counselor and the CEO
and founder of Crusaders forChange LLC.
Join us on our journey as wediscuss topics like tithing,
(00:54):
saving and conquering debtthrough religious perspectives.
Let's get started.
Hey everyone, welcome back toanother episode of Yahweh's
Money and we're in episode 81and talking about holy laughter,
how God giggles, and gettingthrough tough times is what we
need right now.
So what if laughter is the oneof God's most underrated
(01:19):
survival tools during hardfinancial times?
I mean, it really is.
Sometimes people forget youjust need to laugh.
In today's episodes we'retalking about how humor helps us
push forward, or throughpaycheck to paycheck living,
inflation, fatigue and just theemotional weight of trying to
make ends meet.
And yes, we're keeping it real,keeping it funny and keeping it
(01:39):
holy.
So our main scripture for todayis Proverbs 17, 22, and it
states A cheerful heart is goodmedicine, but a crushed spirit
dries up the bones.
God created joy not just as afeeling, but as medicine.
And financially tough seasonsis not just budgets and
spreadsheets.
That gets us through.
(01:59):
It's also the healing power oflaughter and hope.
So our main guest today is noneother than Larry Lancaster.
Hey, larry, how you doing today.
Larry Lancaster (02:09):
Hey Shay, how are you queen?
Shay Cook (02:11):
I'm good, I'm here, I'm living life.
God is good.
But let me introduce you.
I mean because you got a hellof a bio.
Larry Lancaster (02:18):
Yeah, I hate that bio man when people read it
.
Shay Cook (02:20):
I'm just standing there like Okay well, tell me
your background, your expertiseand contributions.
Outside of being open enoughfor major acts and so forth, how
about you introduce yourself?
Larry Lancaster (02:30):
Well, my name is Larry Lancaster.
I'm a professional comedian,radio show host, renaissance man
.
I enjoy fashion, long walks inthe park, and I'm just a
passionate and grateful person.
And I'm just a passionate andgrateful person and I'm just
starting to intentionally take awalk with the Lord.
Shay Cook (02:51):
Amen, I love that.
Yeah, god is good and I'm justthankful how he brought us
together.
And your intro and bio isamazing as well, but I love how
you introduce yourself, so thankyou and welcome.
Larry Lancaster (03:02):
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Shay Cook (03:04):
So how do we know each other?
We just met this year, but wefeel like we family.
Larry Lancaster (03:08):
Yeah, I know it's one of those connections
where it was like man, I'm gladit happened.
It was actually startedprofessionally.
I was booked to do your event,which was a wonderful event, by
the way.
The energy was great, thepeople were amazing and we just
had a great time performing foryou guys and it was a blessing.
Shay Cook (03:29):
It was a blessing and thank you.
He's mentioning, speaking ofour Tickle my Money Bone, our
fifth annual one we just had onMay 1st.
It was pretty amazing.
God again, I just can't say itenough.
God was great, is great andalways will be great.
And, like you coming in thereand doing the comedy, people are
still talking about it, larry.
Still people talking about it.
(03:49):
And we're putting together ourreel now and I get to see the
playback and all the videos andbehind the scenes and man, it
was just my daddy, who's veryone of the most important men in
my life my husband is the mostimportant man in my life, but my
dad was like you got to havehim back.
He's amazing.
My brother was like, oh, he'scool.
Like all the men just loved you.
The women loved you, you know.
So we just appreciate youcoming out and supporting us and
(04:12):
being part of a great event ofjust taking the taboo and the
shame of talking about money,because we all got money issues.
Larry Lancaster (04:18):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we do.
I've noticed that since I'vebeen more intentional about
being, you know, a Christian andalso doing a lot of personal
development, a lot of moneyproblems are really rooted in
ego and I don't think wenecessarily look at them that
way.
Shay Cook (04:35):
Yeah, I agree with you.
Larry Lancaster (04:36):
A lot of times we have exactly what we need,
but our ego tells us we needsomething else.
And that a lot of times is howwe get in trouble with money.
Shay Cook (04:45):
That is so true.
That's ultimately what it comesdown to.
Even being a trained,accredited, certified, licensed
all these things and the moneyfor over 25 years there's a
consistent behavior.
You're right that if you justlook at what you got, I think
probably about 99% of the timeyou got everything you need.
Now there are some people thatare struggling.
But even those people that arestruggling that are poor, that
(05:05):
are homeless I work with themtoo At one point in their life
they had it all, but theystarted going with their ego,
like you said, and trying tochase that, and then they lose
it.
Larry Lancaster (05:15):
Yeah, I heard a pastor say one time he said a
lot of times.
He said life is aboutrelationships.
He said when you see a homelessperson, sometimes it
relationships.
He said when you see a homelessperson, sometimes that's not
necessarily about not having ahome or not having money.
He said how exhausted are yourrelationships with someone won't
even let you sleep on the floorand so of course that's not
(05:35):
everybody's situation, so Idon't want to oversimplify that,
but in many times that's whatit is.
Shay Cook (05:40):
Yeah, exactly, I agree, I agree.
But we got a lot more to talkabout how laughter is spiritual.
The struggle is real andrelatable, and we're already
kind of getting into that.
But let's get into our quickfire questions let the wisdom
inherit.
Let's hit the rapid firequestions.
Uh, say what's on your spirit.
(06:01):
Take your seat.
Let the wisdom inherit.
Hit the rapid fire questions.
Say what's on your spirit.
So it's five minutes.
We just quickly throw at itWhatever comes to mind, don't
overthink.
Okay, I'm sure you've done thisbefore, but all right, let's go
(06:22):
.
What's something that alwaysmakes you laugh, even on your
worst day?
Larry Lancaster (06:28):
My wife.
Shay Cook (06:29):
Oh yeah.
Larry Lancaster (06:30):
She is hilarious, like even when I want
to be mad with her.
She has this humor and it'sjust so funny and only she can
do it, like if anybody elsetried to do and say the things
that she say, it wouldn't evenbe funny.
She has a unique sense of humorfor her and it's very funny.
Shay Cook (06:51):
I love that.
I love that about y'all'srelationship.
I would say my husband too.
But I'll go one step further.
God makes me laugh every day.
What they say if you plan forsomething, god is going to.
You know he's going to make Godlaugh even if you have the best
laid plans, because I'll havesomething really planned out or
want to do something God's likeall right, and he'll do
something in a day and a weekand a month and a year and I'd
be like man.
I just have to laugh becauseGod is like I'm in control here.
(07:13):
You're just supposed to obey,all right.
Next, have you ever had tolaugh just to keep from crying
over a money situation?
Larry Lancaster (07:22):
You know what, when I saw this question, I
thought about it and I stilldon't have an answer because
it's happened so many times.
I can't just pick one.
Like I remember being a kid andgrowing up in the projects and
like it's funny because peoplein low income housing are
spending the most money ontrying to look fresh.
(07:42):
Like the people who have theleast, this stuff means the most
Because, you know, I grew up inan era where the designer stuff
just started to happen, likeSergio Valente and Jordache
jeans and all that stuff, and Iwore Lees and Wranglers right,
and now you'll pay $100 for aWrangler shirt, but I remember
back then it was the least youcould buy and so the kids were
(08:06):
joking and we're all paying $28a month for rank but we're
cracking on each other abouteach other's shoes.
So that kind of stuff is kindof how I really started honing
my skills as a comedian because,people used to crack.
I was always clean and neat,that's one thing I'll say.
But I didn't have the flyestdesigner stuff.
(08:27):
So I had to become very funnyat my clapbacks because people
would crack on my jeans or myshoe, you know that kind of
stuff.
So I guess I tried in thatsense.
And now what I do is I go backand buy all the things I
couldn't afford when I wascoming out, like if you came to
my house you'd be like yo, yougot a problem.
Like my whole basement isclothing, shoes, suits, all this
(08:50):
kind of stuff.
And I think that's probably thelittle kid in me, trying to
overcompensate.
Shay Cook (08:55):
That's exactly what it is.
My husband suffers from thesame situation, grew up poor in
Baltimore.
I'm not going to tell his story, that's his story to tell.
But he also has all of theshoes and all that.
Now he's into the whiskey andthe bourbon, but he went through
his Jordan stage.
He got a thousand.
My daughter's always sayingDaddy got so many pairs of jeans
.
I'm like yeah, because I thinkI only had one or two growing up
.
Larry Lancaster (09:16):
So you know, so Right.
Shay Cook (09:17):
Yeah, that's true.
Larry Lancaster (09:29):
Be specific, and this comes from a great
friend of mine named Tyler Craig.
He was one of my big brothersand this guy was amazingly funny
and he used to tell these jokes, but they always had a story.
So he said he was sitting inthe barbershop one day and the
barber was cutting somebody'shair and he had a dog beside and
so the guy was like, does yourdog bite?
(09:52):
And the barber said no.
So the guy was like does yourdog bite?
And the guy said the barbersaid no.
So the guy pet the dog.
He said the dog chewed the furoff of the guy like ate him up.
So when the ambulance comesthey're taking the guy out.
The guy says to the barber man,I thought you said your dog
didn't bite.
He said I said my dog didn'tbite, that ain't my dog.
So then he said the moral ofthe story is be specific.
(10:15):
Being specific yes, even whenyou pray, you have to be
specific.
Shay Cook (10:19):
Or like my dad say, be Pacific.
I'd be like Dad, you mean, yeah, be.
Larry Lancaster (10:22):
Pacific.
You don't know how hard it wasfor me to say.
I know I was telling myself thewhole time Don't say Pacific on
this Zoom, it's okay, we familythat's what we do.
Shay Cook (10:33):
I mean, my daddy's always and my dad is well-spoken
, but there's no reason aboutthat specific, specific whatever
.
But no, that makes sense.
That makes sense, all right,cool.
Well, thank you for that.
Larry Lancaster (10:45):
That was our quick, fiery question Shout out
to my brother Tyler Craig yeah,shout out to Tyler that that's
awesome.
Shay Cook (10:50):
Yeah, we all need to be a little more specific in our
life period.
All right, so you know,laughter is spiritual.
I mean, god is the author ofjoy, so in Galatians, 5.22 calls
it the fruit of the spirit.
It's not just nice to have,it's essential.
Laughter is one way we remindourselves that tough times don't
last forever.
You know, and I wish for thatNow that I think back to I'm 46.
I'm just put it out there andI'm not ashamed of my age.
(11:12):
Never been.
Larry Lancaster (11:13):
Yeah, most women who look great for their
age are not ashamed.
Y'all try to make up excuses totell people how old you are, my
son is 25.
And you're like what?
Shay Cook (11:23):
You got a 25-year-old son.
How many people say that?
Larry Lancaster (11:24):
I can't believe you got a 24-year-old, really I
was six when I had man.
Shay Cook (11:31):
I just want to talk to the younger Shay and be like
it's going to be all right.
You hear that a lot from peoplebecause I cried a lot, I fret a
lot, I worried a lot, I wasanxious a lot, I have depression
, I suffer from all of that andsometimes it's just that good
laughter.
You know, just getting througheven growing up, traumas of
childhood and wisdom, wasn't alot.
My parents did a great job withthe best they could.
But even going through earlymarriage, young and mother, all
(11:57):
the things I went through inlife money issues, not having I
mean not having enough money toget through the month, really
have more months and money itwas very normal back in the day.
I would really just be sostressed out and sometimes you
just need to laugh because, likeyou said earlier, I had
everything I need.
I had food.
Even though it might've justonly been Eggo waffles and some
ramen, I still had food Right.
(12:17):
So you know, and I wasn'tgrateful.
So it's that gratitude and justlaughing through it.
I mean it's hard, thoughsometimes.
Larry Lancaster (12:27):
Yeah, that's definitely a testimony and I had
a very rough childhood but Idon't look at it as a bad
childhood, even though it wasrough.
Surprisingly, my mom had mentalillness.
She was a paranoidschizophrenic and as a result of
her illness you know mychildhood and of course, we were
very poor.
We grew up in the roughest partof Baltimore, in the Douglas
Projects.
A lot of crime, drugs, murder.
(12:49):
But I still remember happytimes in my childhood, as rough
as it was.
So we laughed a lot, we joked alot is how I developed my sense
of humor, because it startedout as a defense mechanism,
because the kids, like I said,used to tease me about not
having the cool clothes.
But they also used to tease meabout my mom because she was
known as the crazy lady in theneighborhood.
(13:10):
So whenever she had an episodeshe would do something and so
then the whole neighborhood.
You know how people were nosythe police, my grandma went
ahead and called the police inthe neighborhood and they knew
my mother by name.
So I grew up in that type ofenvironment.
So when the kids would saysomething about my mom, I had to
get good at clapping back, andso that's how I developed my
(13:32):
sense of humor and it developedinto a skill and then later a
profession.
Shay Cook (13:36):
You know, and I hear that a lot about men, I feel
like you guys, the males of itall, you guys were just brutal.
Larry Lancaster (13:43):
Yeah, because the other alternative is
fighting.
Then that's what's next.
So you can use your sense ofhumor to diffuse a lot of things
, but once people stop laughing,then it's, you know, okay, but
I can fight though.
You know you crack on a guyhard enough, he and his feelings
, and I even experienced that atshows.
People have tried to attack me,people ran up on the stage and
(14:05):
all this kind of stuff.
So I've had to learn how toeven diffuse my way around that.
Shay Cook (14:11):
Yeah, and then I mean a lot of what you're talking
about dealt with not only mentalillness but the economics of it
all, the money piece of it.
Right, you didn't have themoney to have all the clothes.
I mean honestly, I think if youdid have all the latest brands
they still would have foundsomething to make fun of.
Larry Lancaster (14:25):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, that's what we did and it
actually made me appreciatemoney.
Like, even though I have ahouse full of clothes, I'm very
frugal, like I don't spend a lotof money on stuff I don't buy.
Designer this and designer thatI don't believe in, that I only
believe in paying $200 forjeans.
I go and get a pair of $19jeans, $29 jeans, and because I
(14:46):
didn't have, I learned how tohook things up without spending
a lot of money.
So it also informed my fashionsense.
Shay Cook (14:54):
Oh, okay.
Larry Lancaster (14:54):
Okay, people think money gives you style and
it doesn't.
Shay Cook (14:58):
It really doesn't.
It honestly starts with yourwhole energy and vibe.
Right Because you could seesomebody, like you said, with
$10 jeans and $20 top and just Imean they looking fly.
Larry Lancaster (15:07):
And they hook it up Thrift store sheet, all of
that.
And then you see people spendall kinds of money and they look
homeless sometimes.
You see it right.
Shay Cook (15:17):
No, I don't know why I was thinking of certain people
in the hip-hop industry.
Larry Lancaster (15:21):
Like Kanye, like some of the stuff he went
Get out of my head, Larry.
Shay Cook (15:24):
I didn't want to say him, but Kanye his whole
clothing line was just like whatis going on here right now.
But yeah, even I mean, and he'sgoing through a lot of mental
illness and I pray that he staysand gets the help he needs.
Larry Lancaster (15:37):
Right, but this is the stuff he picked out when
he was okay.
Shay Cook (15:40):
Well, I don't think he was ever okay, that's another
.
Larry Lancaster (15:43):
Yeah, that's relative to me speaking, of
course, but yeah.
Shay Cook (15:46):
That man always has some mental health stuff going
on.
I mean, he just you know, and Ibelieve he's a genius.
Larry Lancaster (15:52):
It's just not with fashion, not in my opinion.
Shay Cook (15:54):
I think you should stick with music, yeah yeah,
exactly, we did love his musicgrowing up as well, so at our
show, let's go back to Tickle myMoney Bone.
You were talking about your bitwith Popeyes and Chick-fil-A.
It was hilarious.
Larry Lancaster (16:09):
I mean, tell us more about that, the
Chick-fil-A bit.
I think it was how nice theytreat you.
Shay Cook (16:13):
Maybe, or just the food.
No, I think it was about theguy that you was trying to help
you there and was based on theprices and the wait times.
Larry Lancaster (16:21):
No, that was McDonald's.
Shay Cook (16:22):
Oh, that was McDonald's.
Oh, okay.
Larry Lancaster (16:25):
And the guy was high as a mink coat.
This is when I used to work asa corrections officer, so so I'm
going to work.
I had to be to work at like 5o'clock in the morning and of
course I'm late every day, right, but I'm showing up late with
breakfast, so my supervisor waslike oh you late, you can't make
the work on time, but you hadtime to stop and get something
to eat.
I'm like, well, it was too latenot to be late, but I had enough
(16:48):
time not to be hungry.
So I go into the McDonald's,the guy's at the register and he
hides them in coke.
I'm like, should we even be inhere?
Like, none of the lights are on.
I'm like did we break in andI'm including me in it, because
now I'm in a car for this.
So he couldn't even finish hisgreeting.
So the guy falls asleep Likewhile he's talking to me.
He's like welcome to McDonald's.
(17:09):
And he always had his voiceright.
Welcome to McDonald's.
May I take your order please?
And then he nods off and thenwakes back up.
So I'm like, okay, I don't havenobody else to deal with.
So I say give me an Ed McMuffin, a hash brown and an orange
juice.
So the guy gets on the intercom.
He, the only one in the store,give me an Ed McMuffin, a hash
(17:29):
brown and an orange juice.
And then went in the back andstarted making a fool of himself
.
I was like yo, who was youtalking to on the intercom?
So that's just one experienceabout like going to like.
I call it the black McDonald's.
You know how sometimes when yougo to a black establishment and
I say you try to support blackpeople but sometimes they make
you racist.
You be like, see, this is why Idon't mess with Nick.
(17:50):
This is exactly why.
Shay Cook (17:53):
It is not even a money issue.
It's more of a cultural issue.
Larry Lancaster (17:56):
It's a cultural thing and I like to tell our
Black business owners like yo,we go to places where we're not
wanted or appreciated.
Your place of businessshouldn't be one of those places
.
I don't think you mean it thatway, but when you don't give the
best service possible, when youdon't have good customer
service, you're basically doingthe same thing that the people
(18:17):
who don't want us in theirestablishments do.
Very true.
Shay Cook (18:20):
Very true, man, I know, and I don't even know what
to say, because you're right.
I mean there's no other way tolook at it.
I mean you could put, eventhough I do say I've been to
some really nice blackestablishments and higher income
areas, they seem to have adifferent vibe than low income.
So I don't know if there's likea whole mindset shift.
Larry Lancaster (18:40):
But of course it's a mindset, because when you
go in these places, the peoplethey don't really try to elevate
above where they are and so,like, what happens is you got to
want more for yourself and towant more for yourself.
You can't wait till you have it.
Sometimes you have to act as ifyou already have.
Shay Cook (19:00):
Oh, you got to manifest that thing.
Larry Lancaster (19:02):
You have to manifest it and that goes into
your behavior, the way you treatyourself, the way you speak
about yourself, the way youspeak to other people.
You can't wait till you getrich and think it's going to be
a switch.
You're just going to be a rich,ignorant person.
And we see that all the timewith people who all of a sudden
get money or all of a sudden getfame and because they haven't
(19:22):
done any personal development.
I always say money is likealcohol it's going to intensify
who you really are.
So if you're a nice, generousperson, the money will intensify
that.
If you're an a-hole, themoney's going to intensify that
as well.
Shay Cook (19:36):
I love that You're right, because I've met a lot of
people like that thatintensified their a-holeness or
their godliness, or they keepone on the down low and then in
the front they got all thismoney and they're all godless,
fearing.
And then when you see them atthe club or wherever you God
this fearing.
And then when you see them atthe club or wherever, you're
like, wait a minute, but thisdon't match up.
Who is this?
Who are these people like?
(19:56):
Yeah, it's like that doublestandard, like what's going on
here and you know.
And then we add God and all ofthat.
God wants us to be better, hewants us to be prosperous.
Right, a lot of people, youknow, as I remember through the
years, people getting ondifferent creflo and all these
different pastors about you knowBishop, td, jakes and all that
they should have all this money.
Why not?
They doing their thing?
They should, you know, but theyshould also be, you know, given
(20:19):
and they help people as they do.
But you know God is here tosupport us.
Larry Lancaster (20:24):
Here's something to ponder, though,
shay Like do you think that kindof money should come from the
church?
And that's the thing that Ithink a lot of people have issue
with.
Shay Cook (20:33):
Yeah, and I don't because like TD James I mean I
don't know his whole portfolioand stuff, but I know he had
movies and books and all of that.
So a lot of his money wasn'tnecessarily coming from the
church.
But yeah, it should be goingback into the church.
It shouldn't be going into oneperson's pocket which is the
pastor, bishop or whoever I know.
It should go back into thechurch.
Larry Lancaster (20:51):
Because, biblically speaking, it says the
love.
People think that it says moneyis the root to all evil.
Shay Cook (20:57):
And that's not true.
Larry Lancaster (20:58):
It's the love of money, and so what happens is
, once you start adding thiskind of money dynamic and I'm
talking about insane amounts ofmoney when does your message and
your spiritual connection getcorrupted?
And I'm not saying that happensall the time.
Shay Cook (21:13):
It does happen though .
Larry Lancaster (21:14):
We know man is very foul.
That's why we need God, that'swhy we need Jesus, because we
can't, we're not going to do theright thing, just based on
ourselves.
Shay Cook (21:22):
And it happens to people that only make six
figures.
It doesn't have to be abillionaire.
So if it happens to somebodywho's only making $60,000,
$100,000.
I've seen it at all thoselevels.
I'm sure I know it happens atmillion and billionaire level.
Larry Lancaster (21:34):
And also money, gives you access to all your
temptations Some people toobroke to do certain things, but
once they get money and somepower and access, that's when
you can like you know.
Look at the Diddy situation,and I hate to use him as an
example, but and I hate to usehim as an example, but he's the
most relevant one, becausethere's so many other ones more
than him.
Shay Cook (21:54):
There's Whitney Houston.
I remember when Whitney wasgoing through her thing, I asked
my dad about it and he's likethat's why I never wanted that
amount of money.
I'm like why, dad?
He was like because if I did, Iwould have did what she did.
I would have been into the coke.
Larry Lancaster (22:13):
I would have been all of that time.
You don't know what you'll dowhen you have access to all your
temptations, especially if youdon't have an intentional walk
with God at the moment.
So you know, these people areyoung and you know 20s, 30s.
You think about the decisionsyou make with no money.
Add money to that and then youknow, like I say, it intensifies
(22:36):
an already messed up situationit does.
Shay Cook (22:37):
And going back to that Diddy thing, I have to
mention man.
That threw me because I knew itwas leading up to it with all
the scandals and stuff that'sbeen happening the last year or
two.
But I looked up to that manReally I did, I did because it
was his work ethic, right, mysister and I.
So it was like man, we watchedall the shows you know, making a
band and watching all that,like I was.
I'm a hip hop queen, I love hiphop, r&b.
(22:59):
We dressed like we were inGermany.
My dad was military and we were.
I mean, we looked up to Diddy.
Larry Lancaster (23:05):
I was in Germany too, by the way.
Shay Cook (23:07):
Oh really, yeah, in the military.
And so, man, we were inAugsburg at the time, early 90s.
We looked up to Diddy, snoop,all of them, biggie, all of that
.
We were huge fans over thereand you know.
So Diddy was one of those thatwe looked up to, diddy I'm after
Biggie when he rest in peacedied when I was in high school.
I remember Diddy just becomingthat guy.
And then I'm going to collegeand like, loving his career, and
(23:30):
I was like man.
This man is doing his thing, hedon't sleep.
And then I find out he, likeyou said, he got all this money,
his temptations and he juststarted going.
But he probably was alwaysdoing that too as well.
But I was just like dang, I waslike man.
I told him that Jay-Z if I findout Jay-Z was in on any of this
, I'm going to be done with himBecause fan too.
So I'm just like man.
(23:51):
It's just disappointing thatthese godly men that claim
they're godly men and Diddy didand all of them did and then I
mean but they're human first,right.
I mean we all done crazy-ish.
We really have.
Larry Lancaster (24:04):
Yeah, but when you start talking a thousand
bottles of baby, old, crazy ish,that's a difference.
I know they say a sin is thesame, but that's one of the
things that I like to disagreewith.
I'm like come on, you can't.
It's not the same as stealingcable.
Like you can't equate the samething.
You know that's true.
Shay Cook (24:21):
So this I equate to the Job moment.
So I studied religion incollege and we had for one
semester we studied the wholebook of Job and I mean Job had
everything and everything wastaken away from him and I feel
like Diddy's having his Jobmoment.
I don't know if he's going toget it back like Job did.
He might sit in jail and die.
Maybe in another lifetime hewill.
Larry Lancaster (24:38):
And also the other thing was was Job
instrumental in his own demise?
That's the other thing or wasit just a test from God?
Sometimes you create your owndemise.
Shay Cook (24:48):
I mean, it's all a perception.
It's all a perception.
Larry Lancaster (24:52):
I was at a show one day and a brother came up
to me.
He was a comedian and he triedto start the race conversation.
Like yo, they just trying tobring a black man down.
And I said, brother, I'm notgoing to have that conversation
with you because most of thepeople he victimized were black
as well.
And I think that wasintentional, because what
happened was, you know, a lot ofthose record companies,
(25:14):
especially rap, they're run byother people, people who don't
look like us, people who arefamiliar with the culture, the
Clive Davises and all thesepeople.
And then what they'll do isthey say, okay, I don't want to
deal with this element.
So what I'll do is I'll groomsomebody, train them to deal
with the element.
And that's, I believe, whereDiddy came in and people like it
.
Shay Cook (25:34):
Yeah, I agree, I agree with that wholeheartedly.
Larry Lancaster (25:37):
It's just no different than when we had Slary
and then they trained thetaskmaster.
You know someone who lookedlike us but had the same agenda
as the slave master.
Shay Cook (25:48):
You could looked like us but had the same agenda as
the slave master.
Larry Lancaster (25:50):
So you can say that about the NFL and many
other things, right, right.
I mean I'm just saying Exactly,exactly, exactly.
Shay Cook (25:56):
It's crazy, all right .
Well, let's bring it back downto our normal, everyday boring
lives.
We ain't up there, right?
I ain't trying to go do noditty thing.
Lord, I ain't got not athousand bottles of baby oil in
my life.
I mean I might got that many inLysol wipes you need a forklift
at that point.
Larry Lancaster (26:15):
You need machinery just for the baby oil,
Like you need a staff at thatpoint.
Shay Cook (26:20):
Why he didn't just get the gallons made for him
Like he could have afforded him.
He had to have his own ddy babyoil.
But anyways, enough of thatcrazy mess.
So going back to God andlaughter and money, I mean, you
know, laughter is a gift,especially in these seasons when
your bank account might nothave much to offer.
A lot of people that come intoCrusaders for Change, that are
(26:41):
needing help getting out of debtand proving their credit, and
say we're turning them to God interms of we're not going to
force God on you, right, but alot of people come to us they
already know God and if theydon't, we're saying you know,
sometimes you just need to turnto God because this situation
right here, with the government,with all the crap the economy
issues, the inflation issues,the list goes on who else can
(27:03):
you rely on Because you can'trely on the government?
I mean you might hopefully yourfamily, but especially in our
area of the DMV, a lot of peoplewere affected by this
government thing.
But you know God cares aboutour joy, even through a storm,
so he wants us to laugh throughthese times and just be grateful
and love on him.
What do you say to that?
Larry Lancaster (27:21):
Oh, of course, Most definitely.
This is definitely a time whereyou're going to need your
spirituality and if you study,you will see.
These things are really in theprophecy.
I listened to this brother.
His name is Stephen Darby.
I listened to a lot of hissermons.
He's passed away.
I think they might have killedhim to be honest with you,
because he was saying things in07, 09, 010 that are happening
(27:46):
today.
So look up Stephen Darby it'sspelled with a PH and a lot of
his sermons I mean they are verytimely and so what I like about
it he was talking about, hebrought up some of the
prosperity preachers and he saidyou're not just supposed to
preach about prosperity, that'snot the only thing in the Bible.
(28:07):
You're supposed to preparepeople for it.
You're supposed to read thebook of Revelations.
And he said these are hardthings to preach.
So a lot of preachers don'tpreach them because their
churches wouldn't be packed,they wouldn't be full, and when
your church is not full or yougive people a hard message,
they're less likely to give.
So that's also the disadvantageof relying on so much money.
(28:29):
Is it even impacts the way youpreach, because you're basically
just going to preach accordingto what people want to hear.
If people gave more this Sundaybecause you preach a nice,
everything's going to be allright message, then you're more
likely to do that.
But if you preach that, hey,this stuff is coming and you
better get yourself right, youknow Amen, amen and then people
(28:52):
didn't give that Sunday, then alot of pastors will shy away
from that it's time that weeducate ourselves and it's a
point where we're all going toreally need each other.
It might come a point where wemight have to share a home,
where we're going to have toshare resources, where we're
going to have to share food,because if you look at a lot of
things that are going on, howmany of us grow our own food,
(29:13):
how many of us manufacture ourown stuff, how many of us could
defend our home when thesupplies are short?
So we have to think about thesethings.
Shay Cook (29:22):
We really do that.
Preparedness is important.
I worked for the Department ofHuman Services for seven years
through Coast Guard, and we usedto talk about preparedness,
emergency preparedness, and Iwas getting my kit ready the
other day because making sure Igot enough water and stuff for
everything for my family,because I'm not going to go
overboard with the whole shelterand all that which we need to.
But you're right, we probablymy family might have to come
(29:42):
here.
I might go there.
Wherever we're going to have tosupport each other and I believe
, especially in the blackcommunity, we're going to have
to support each other and Ibelieve, especially in the Black
community, we're going to haveto band together like never
before because they're comingafter us.
I mean, you see what they'redoing, that's another episode.
But what they're doing with theimmigrants and stuff and I was
reading that yesterday whenHonduras and Venezuela sending
all these people away doingself-deportations, my husband's
(30:02):
like what is that?
I'm like man, it's crazy.
This is my country, I'm notgoing anywhere.
So I will defend me and myfamily as best as I can.
Unless there's apocalypse, myhusband and I talked about who's
going to die first If there'ssome zombies and mess going on.
Even though I'm like I'm goingto be like Michonne from Walking
Dead, I'm going to try tosurvive this, but my husband's
(30:23):
like no, you can take me out.
Larry Lancaster (30:26):
But anyways, we're going off topic.
We gotta be prepared.
It's all kind of interconnected, even though it seems like
we're getting off topic.
But getting back to the Bible,my wife, she reads the Bible and
she reads it to me.
Sometimes I'll be sitting onthe sofa and she'll just start
pick the Bible and start readingit and she said listen, the
Bible is better than any realityshow you could ever watch.
(30:48):
She was like people a lotListen, the Bible is better than
any reality show you could everwatch Any reality show.
Shay Cook (30:50):
Any reality show.
Larry Lancaster (30:51):
She was like people a lot had sex with his
daughters and you know you canjust go like one guy had to.
I think it was Saul, becauseI'm not a theologian, I get the
names mixed up.
He had the.
His wife was so beautiful.
He had the lion say it was hissister, sister, yeah, I mean,
there's so many different thingsin the Bible that really can
(31:12):
connect to today's purpose andif you live, it's all a repeat,
right, right, and if you live byit, it could definitely prepare
you for today.
Shay Cook (31:21):
Exactly From Genesis to Revelations and in between.
Everything you need to know isin there.
I really believe that and Ibelieve there are some missing
books and stuff, but whatever wehave right now, definitely take
advantage of that.
And then also, I think the wordis super important.
The Bible is number one, butabove that is God.
As long as you're connected,your spirit gives you access
(31:43):
through Jesus to God.
That's it.
He's going to download, he orshe, however you want to look at
your God, that's it he's goingto download, or he or she,
however you want to look at yourGod.
I believe that is thatconnection, that direct line to
God, for what Jesus did for us.
It's just amazing.
And that comes going back tomoney.
If you ever have an issue withmoney, you just need to turn to
God and your spirit, your HolySpirit, through Jesus to God.
(32:05):
I have a direct line.
Like I told my brother theother day, he just bought a
house and he was just like youknow, I just wanted to tell
everybody so they could pray forme.
And I was like but the thingyou need to learn, and what I've
learned, brother, is that Idon't need nobody to pray for me
.
I appreciate it, but I have adirect line to God.
I learned that the hard way.
(32:26):
I learned it through church andeverything else, but I believe
it because my spirit speaks tome daily, and so I don't need
nobody Again.
I appreciate all the prayersPlease pray for me and my family
but I know all I need is God.
I don't need none of y'all, butI appreciate y'all, but God is
what is here for me.
Larry Lancaster (32:47):
That's great advice.
And the other thing is the morespiritually in tune you become,
you see and hear thingsdifferent.
Shay Cook (32:56):
Oh my God, Do you, larry, you do.
Larry Lancaster (33:00):
And you really can hear him a lot of times.
But if you're busy doing awhole bunch of stuff, you create
a lot of noise in your life.
That is to say, you still can'thear him through the noise, but
it gets more difficult.
Got to be still and know I'mGod.
Shay Cook (33:13):
It's very clear in the word you got to be still.
I take moments throughout theday to be still, whether it's
out in the garden I don't haveno garden without the flowers or
out walking, or even on thetreadmill.
Whatever I'm doing, I'm tryingto just connect with God, and
definitely in meditation iswhere I find the best time with
God.
Larry Lancaster (33:31):
Yeah, One day my wife and I were in this house
.
We have a beautiful house.
At least it's beautiful to me.
Shay Cook (33:36):
It's our mini mansion in the hood because we live
right in the heart of the city.
Larry Lancaster (33:40):
We were like feeling ourselves, you know, and
I just stopped and I said wetalking too much about ourselves
and I made this.
I said we talking too muchabout ourselves and I made this
I don't know if you can see it,because I'm an artist.
Shay Cook (33:54):
Can you see that?
Oh yeah, what does that say?
God is God first.
It says God first.
Larry Lancaster (34:00):
And it made me stop what I was doing.
And the next day I painted thisand I put it right here where
we can see it every day.
I love that.
And so it's like, yeah, we'retalented, yeah, we're good
looking, yeah, people are drawnto us, yeah, we can walk in the
room and people are like, oh,who are they?
You know all of that stuff, butnone of this would be possible
(34:22):
without him, and a lot of timeswe forget that, and so I would
just challenge anybody that, ifyou're going through something
and I know this is difficult todo when you're going through
something but think about whatyou do have.
Think about what's going greatfor you, and I think, if you
took the time to do that,sometimes what you're going
through may not be that bad, andthe more you do it and
(34:45):
intentional about being grateful, the more he'll bless you,
trust me.
Shay Cook (34:50):
Amen, that gratitude is super important.
Larry Lancaster (34:53):
Wow, this is very underrated.
Shay Cook (34:55):
It's very underrated.
Yeah, we need to be gratefuland thankful and just because we
bless, we all bless in some way, shape or form.
We bless.
So any final thoughts?
Larry Lancaster (35:05):
I hope I wasn't too preachy, I know.
Shay Cook (35:07):
That's what this is for.
Y'all waste money.
Larry Lancaster (35:10):
God's money.
This is the thing when peoplehave me on podcasts and I think
they be expecting me to justclown it out and have them laugh
, and I'm not saying you didthat, but a lot of times people
do that and comments really dothat.
But I also feel that, asidefrom being funny, sometimes if
you have something important tosay, that shouldn't be your only
contribution, and because I'mnot just a funny person, it's
(35:31):
just one facet of who I am.
I can add other things to theconversation and so sometimes I
do that, but I still try to befunny when I can.
But that's just one aspect ofwho I am.
Shay Cook (35:43):
And I'm not a comic and I try to still add humor in
wherever I can.
Larry Lancaster (35:47):
No, I can tell you're funny, I can tell you're
funny.
Shay Cook (35:52):
My family told me all my life I wasn't funny.
So I kind of strive to just andhonestly I'm more shady than
anything.
Larry Lancaster (35:56):
But to me, shady people are hilarious.
To me that's one of my guiltypledges, because I'm really a
shady person as much as I try tobe so positive and I got a
little shadiness.
I'm getting better with it.
But shady, but like the personyou can look at and y'all need
to say nothing, y'all bust outlaughing because y'all both saw
the same thing.
I love those type of people.
(36:17):
Yeah, that's exactly who.
Shay Cook (36:19):
I am.
I'm full shade queen over here,but I'm proud of who I am.
I try to be better, you know.
But definitely the gratitude.
But I, you know I'll giveeverybody an action step.
Find one financial frustrationthis week and laugh about it,
whether it's ridiculous fee ofsomething, a budgeting fail or a
meal you threw together withjust $6 or $60.
(36:39):
Laugh, reflect and give it toGod.
Ask him to renew your joy inthe middle of your financial
journey.
Thank you for joining us againtoday.
Thanks, larry, you're amazing.
Larry Lancaster (36:49):
Thank you, quayna, I appreciate you.
Shay Cook (36:50):
Yes, all righty.
Have a great day everyone.
A big thank you for listeningto this episode.
We hope you found today's chatabout the intersection of
religion and money insightful.
We would love to hear yourfeedback.
Hit that subscribe button orfollow the podcast and please
feel free to leave us a review.
(37:11):
For the latest Yahweh's Moneycontent, visit us at
crusaders4changeorg or find usanywhere you listen to podcasts.
Until next time, stayfinancially fit and spiritually
inspired and remember it'salways better Yahweh's way.
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