"How Low Can You Go? I Can Go Solo."

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This is Jimmy Internet.

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Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

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Just a second.

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Not Annette today.

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Yep, that's right, folks.

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Annette has actually been sick at home and she is in bed.

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So I came up to the BCF studio just to do a podcast today.

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We actually did shoot a video for our church, a welcome video where me as a lead pastor

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did this video to welcome people to our church who click on this link type of thing.

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So I thought, you know what, I'm up here.

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In fact, Annette even said, you know, you should go ahead and do a podcast by yourself.

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I'm like, by myself?

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That's just weird because it's always Jimmy and Annette, not Jimmy or Annette.

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And it's also our guest, Mr. Chevy.

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So this is kind of a whole new vibe.

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I'm up here by myself today.

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But I did want to go ahead and come to you and first of all, wish you a very Merry Christmas.

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Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

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We had a fantastic Christmas.

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And by the way, my name is Jimmy Pruitt and my other half Annette is home in bed, hopefully

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taking a nap this afternoon.

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That was my orders when I left, but we'll see how that goes because she was up all night

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coughing.

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And so she said, hey, since you're going to be up the church shooting some film, go ahead

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and do the podcast because let people know we're still alive.

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And so, hey, we're still alive and kicking just barely.

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I've gotten a lot of reports from other people who listen to the podcast, who've been sick

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and even one family, friends of ours in another state all got COVID.

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I mean, over the holidays, you know, kind of a hyped up version of a cold.

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So they're doing okay and recovering.

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But my goodness, there's a lot of stuff going around right now.

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But I want to welcome you to our podcast.

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It's called Living Up in a Down World.

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My name is Jimmy Pruitt.

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I'm also a lead pastor of the Bridge Church in Fredericksburg, Texas.

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And so I'm here in our new studio.

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We just got it finished.

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Well, almost finished.

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We got some more soundproofing to do, which there's never enough of that unless you just

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build a foam fort around you.

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But anyway, I think it's sounding pretty good and we're getting there.

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We'll see how the video came out today as well.

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So anyway, it's just going to be me today.

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So I wanted to bring some things to you.

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This will be a shorter podcast than normal just because I wanted to make sure you knew

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that we're still alive and we're okay.

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So I'm calling this episode, How Low Can You Go?

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And my answer to that is I can go solo.

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That means I'm by myself.

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And so again, thanks for listening to the podcast and got some things I want to share

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with you.

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First of all, Annette, that's the big news.

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She's been sick and fighting off this cold and this infection that's going on.

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She's in the middle of a Z-Pak and hopefully we'll be on the backside of that soon and

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be with me the next time we record.

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One of the things I wanted to bring up and talk to you about is my one word for 2024.

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A number of years ago, like everybody else, we used to do resolution lists.

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I know I would try to come up with 10 each year and about honestly three weeks to a month

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into it, I misplaced it or I put it in my Bible and couldn't find it or it just didn't

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go well or I'd review it in a month or two or three and go, you know, that's really not.

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And sometimes I just felt forced to come up with something.

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And then a number of years ago, I heard about this thing called My One Word.

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There's actually a website to it.

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I don't know if it's still in existence or not, but it's been a few years ago.

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And what it is, you come up with a one word theme instead of trying to come up with 10

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resolutions.

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I think I've mentioned this on a prior podcast, but I wanted to review that with you because

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it's kind of where I'm going this Sunday for the message at Bridge Church where I pastor.

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And by the way, you can check out all of our sermons online and all of our resources online.

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It's at the email or the web address is bridgefbg.com.

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Check it out on that front landing page when you land there.

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If you'll scroll down, you'll see where all of our messages and sermons and everything's

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there for you.

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And you can pull those up and look through them.

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We even include the worship on the front end of it and then right into the message.

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So be glad to have you jump on with that and check it out.

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Also, you can find us, JimmyInnet, at livingupinadownworld.com.

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That is our website.

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One more time, livingupinadownworld.com.

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I do a daily blog on there, which is my Godshot or my Devo that I've been writing for years

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and years every morning, hot off the press, fresh in the morning.

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It's the download I get for the morning.

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And I've done this every day for 20 years.

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So I have several thousands of those.

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Now on the website, we just started the website this last year and it just dawned on us just

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a couple of days ago, isn't it?

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And I were talking about the podcast.

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We're coming up on one year, I think in January or February.

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I think January, we started with our first podcast.

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So it'd be interesting maybe to go back and review a little bit of the topics that we

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started with a year ago.

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We were doing them every other week and then we decided to do it every week for a while.

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Now, FYI, some of you have asked and even reached out to our friends, Adam and Tina

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Curry of Curry and the Keeper, hey, what's going on with Jimmy and Ned?

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They haven't had a podcast.

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It didn't show up this week.

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Well, part of the reason is because, A, and that was getting sick, but more so at that

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point, we were extremely busy.

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Just so you know, for pastors and teams and staffs of church, a lot of times if you're

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in a little bit medium to a larger size church, it really could be any size church, Christmas

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and Easter are kind of the Super Bowl Sundays for us.

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And so a lot of work goes into those.

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And so no different from us.

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We were doing two full services on Christmas Eve and there's just a lot that goes into

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that and a lot of intensity.

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And then December, we looked up one day and our schedule somehow just all of a sudden

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filled up.

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And going into December, we were hoping, okay, maybe a couple of parties, meet with some

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friends, have dinner.

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It just seemed like as the month progressed, just more and more things.

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Part of the reason for that is our church is growing, which is exciting.

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We're adding more staff and we're doing a lot of construction, build out things on our

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building and that takes a lot of energy and time as well.

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Onboarding new staff, stewarding our space and meeting with contractors.

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It's just a lot going on.

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So we were like, we've got to gain some margin because we looked up and almost every night,

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every day and night was taken up for us.

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And we don't typically roll like that.

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As we've gotten older, we're like, okay, let's get some margin.

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So we decided to just go every other week and that was the plan and then Annette got

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sick.

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So that's why it's been more of an extended period than we would like.

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And Annette said, please just do it today by yourself.

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That way people will know we're still alive.

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We haven't gone anywhere.

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We're coming back.

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We're going to come back in 2024 stronger than ever.

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So back to my one word.

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My one word for 2024 is the word engage.

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And that came, there's a lot of reasons why I chose that word.

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Now what I tend to do is about October, November, I start thinking about the new year a little

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bit.

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I'm starting to look out into the new year and I'm thinking about, you know, what would

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be a good word to capture where I want to go for the next year?

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And that's kind of how I do it as a theme.

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Like what I'm projecting, almost prophesying, like where do I want to go?

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I mean, what do I want to lean into?

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And I'll pray about it and think about it.

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Annette and I talk about it and kick it around.

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A lot of times I'll come up with mine.

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She'll come up with a word as well.

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And then over the last two or three years, she decided, you know, every time you come

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up with a word, it's really something I'm doing with you.

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And it's something we're doing together.

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Because like I always say, it's not Jimmy or Annette, it's always Jimmy and Annette,

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except for today.

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And so she tends to just adopt and will agree upon a word.

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So when I was talking to her about what I was sensing and feeling about 2024, and I

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came up with engage, and it's just this, for me, it's a mindset.

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It's action oriented, but it's also a mindset and a mentality of not hesitating, not holding

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back, not being silent, not being quiet, not being shy, but literally, whatever it is I'm

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moving toward, instead of being hesitant, or having trepidation, or even fear in some

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cases, my attitude is I'm going to go all in and I'm going to go straight for it, whatever

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that is, and whatever it happens to be.

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And so that's my word for the new year, engage.

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And what's interesting, as soon as I came up with that word, I wrote it in my journal,

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shared it with some friends, it's like immediately I started doing it.

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So there's something powerful about a word that's action oriented, that's compelling.

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And so I don't know if you've done a one word.

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In fact, a lot of people have already come to me and said, yeah, I've got my one word.

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In fact, Adam Curry wrote me, I think it was yesterday, we do a text back and forth every

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morning, I send my God shot over to him, my daily Devo in the morning while he's drinking

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his coffee and getting his day going.

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And he wrote back and said that his word is encourage.

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And so he is an encourager, this will be easy for him.

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He's already that on steroids.

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So it'll be cool to watch him be more intentional.

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And really, that's what a my one word is about.

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It's being intentional, and leaning in and leaning toward that theme that you choose.

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So if you're interested in doing that, it sure beats doing resolutions, which I forget

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are misplaced.

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But every since we started the my one word, it has been really helpful for me to have

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a one year theme.

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And look, there's no hard fast rules, you may get into it for several months and something

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else comes to you and you're like, wow, I really feel stronger about that than I did

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that.

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There's no rules.

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I mean, this isn't it isn't a contest.

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So you may come up on a word that you want to adopt and adapt right into your into your

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my one word for the set the back half of the year or whatever.

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Like I said, no hard rules, but it's just a way to kind of lean into something and be

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intentional.

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I like the idea of intentional living, living life on purpose.

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In fact, one of the things I say to people a lot is have a good day on purpose, have

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a great day on purpose.

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I'll say that to the cashier or to the barista or whatever.

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Have a great day on purpose.

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And I mean that be purposeful and be intentional.

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And so that's my one word engage.

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And I hope you've got one.

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And if you do share it with us, you can always go to our website, living up in a down world

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dot com and you can write in it.

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We have the contact box right there on the main page.

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Actually, it's on every page and you can contact us.

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And we love hearing from you, by the way, your feedback.

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You have no idea how much that means to us.

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I shared this a while back, but we went to a podcast conference this last year with Adam

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and Tina Curry.

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And Adam received a lifetime achievement award as a podcaster, podcaster of the year.

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I mean, it's really cool.

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And he was the keynote speaker.

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So it was really fun riding along with them and hanging out.

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But what was interesting is that every person that took the stage to talk about podcasting,

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whether they were they talked about different elements of it, you know, the technical side

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of it, the the why behind the what side of it, the motive, why we do what we do.

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It was really interesting.

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All the speakers were great.

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Every one of them said the same thing at one point in and maybe a little different way.

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But it was basically this is that they have periods of time that they go through as podcasters

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where they wonder, is anyone really listening?

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And boy, and that and I hit that wall a couple of times.

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Didn't know we would because I mean, it was our first year of podcasting.

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And you know, when I'm preaching, I get instant feedback.

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If you think about it, I'm standing up before, you know, on a given Sunday now around here,

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about 500 plus people.

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And so the 500 people give you feedback, good or bad.

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You're going to get feedback.

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You know, you're going to say, man, hey, stay on that.

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Bring out the book.

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I mean, it's just we have a vocal church and I liked it.

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I love the interplay and the interaction.

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I like the interactivity of a room where you're face to face with people.

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So speaking into a mic is a whole different ballgame, totally different ballgame.

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And so, yeah, and I hit that wall a few times this last year.

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We're like, gosh, is anyone really listening?

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Well, listen, you can help us out by that.

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And you are so good at it, by the way.

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I'm going to share some things here in just a few minutes of people that wrote in and

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things that have been sent in just giving us feedback.

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And it's so helpful because we want to help you.

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That's our heart, mine and Annette's heart and Mr. Chevy, by the way, our heart is to

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help.

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And so the reason we do this is because we want to help you.

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And that doesn't mean we know more than you or we've got anything more figured out.

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It's just sometimes we can bring a different perspective.

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We're always going to come from a faith based perspective because that's who we are.

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We're followers of Jesus.

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We're unapologetic.

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And speaking in terms of engage, we engage our faith full on.

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And so we're not quite about that.

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But we feel like if we come and give you a perspective that's from a biblical worldview

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and a biblical point of view, it may help you in your life as you navigate the problems,

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issues, difficulties and the complexities of this world and this life.

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And so we're here to help you.

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We're here to encourage you.

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But it helps us to have feedback and feel free to float topics our way.

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I mean, you can even just write us in and say, hey, have you thought about covering

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this topic or what about this or what does it mean in the Bible to do this?

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And many of you have written in and asked questions, which I always try to respond as

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quickly as possible because we want to keep you engaged.

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But give us feedback because it really helps us shape the show into something that will

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help you and encourage you and build you up.

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Well, here's another thing.

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We actually, I'm clicking these off as I go through them again solo, but we finished our

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office studio here at the church.

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We're calling it BCS Studio.

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Super excited about it.

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I'm sitting in it right now.

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It's Friday afternoon.

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There's nobody here in the building.

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And so it's just me and you.

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And I'm looking around this room and just so, so thankful and so grateful that our people

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gave.

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We did a lot of work and we actually gave up our offices during COVID.

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We couldn't be here.

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So our church was growing and we knew that we needed space for children's ministry.

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And so where our offices were located, that whole wing was really perfect for children's

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area and a big meeting room.

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And so we gave that up so that they could have more space and it worked out great.

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But ever since then, which now coming up on four years, right?

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Starting in January, that'll be four years since that thing broke out.

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We were officing with backpacks.

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I mean, every one of us had a bag or a backpack that we carried and we'd all sit in one big

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room during the day and without any privacy or phones or anything like that.

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So it, and at first it was okay for a long time because we're like, Hey, it's all right.

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It's just price you pay.

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But as we've been able to continue to build our building out, we found space and we were

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able to reconfigure things so that it gave us some space to build out what I'm calling

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a studio slash office or office slash studio.

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And so this is where we'll be doing our podcasts from, we'll be doing our YouTube channel,

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which is called Meet Pray Love.

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And it's about the carnivore lifestyle and about a total life wellness approach, mind,

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body, spirit.

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So that's going to be happening right here.

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In fact, I met with my tech engineer who is also my youngest daughter, Faith.

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She's 23 and brilliant with all things digital.

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And so when we shot the video today, we were talking about what that looks like and ideas

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of camera angles and various things like that.

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So getting all of our gear together for that and we'll be doing that soon, maybe next week

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is what I'm hoping to shoot our first real video with me and Annette.

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So that's coming up as well.

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But we're super excited that we're able to finish the office.

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I'm going to post pictures.

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Actually, I did in the last newsletter.

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And if you haven't subscribed to our newsletter, go to our website and you could subscribe

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on there.

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Subscribe button on livingupinadoworld.com.

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Click on that and I will add your name to the list.

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And so once I get that, I put it right on there immediately and you'll start getting

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that.

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And those go out about a day before we do the next podcast.

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And that's just a way to give you a heads up of what's coming.

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Always like to give you some behind the scenes pictures and what's going on in our life.

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And so anyway, that's before each podcast.

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So anyway, studio's done.

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I say done, almost done.

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I did detect a little bit of echo.

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So we're going to do some more soundproofing, but for the most part, it's done and we could

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not be happier with it.

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And this feels good to have space that's dedicated and kind of get it out of our house so we

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can kind of have our work life balance back a little bit anyway.

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It's hard though, because we love what we do so much that it doesn't always feel like

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work to us.

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But anyway, so big things happening.

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I was listening to Curry and the Keeper, their latest episode yesterday, Adam and Tina, and

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they were talking about the Tannenbaum Ball.

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That is a huge event here in Fredericksburg and it's an annual event.

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It's always a Christmas orientated theme.

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And it is actually to raise money for our museums here in town, the Pacific Museum of

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the Pacific War.

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Man, it is an amazing world class museum.

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I mean, world class.

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And I recently went through it.

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In fact, Adam and I went through it together.

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I'd never been.

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He said, hey, let's do it.

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So he and I took some few hours one day and we barely got through, we barely scratched

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the surface of what all they have because there's so much there.

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And so much, I was reminded of how bad my history classes were growing up in college

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and in high school and middle school because there were so many wars and fights and battles

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and issues and things that I was completely unaware of.

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So anyway, it's a brilliant thing.

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And so this is the annual fundraiser for that.

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It's kind of the who's who of our community, Fredericksburg, Gillespie County here in Texas,

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show up to that.

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And I was blown away because half the place was people from our church that I didn't even

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realize were a part of that or whatever.

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So anyway, that was our first time to go.

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We'll definitely go next year.

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It was a phenomenal event.

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Truly, truly, so many God conversations with people, not just people from my church.

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Although there were a lot of people coming up to me and me and Adam are hanging out a

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lot.

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And in David, he talks about David, the ER doc, surgeon general, he goes to our church

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as well.

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We all hung out and spent time together.

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And people kept coming up to me and saying, Hey, my name is so and so by the way, I go

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to the bridge, I go to your church.

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I'm like, Oh my gosh, I've never met you before.

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And so it's kind of the hazards of growth.

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Sometimes we're growing pretty fast.

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So there's a lot of new people coming in.

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So you don't always catch names or see faces.

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And so anyway, and then I've started at the end of every service going out in our four

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year and just meeting people.

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It's like a it's like a mosh pit party out there.

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That's really where the party is happening.

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But we're just meeting people right and left and just having a blast with that.

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But anyway, it was so cool being at this ball.

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And a lot of the people that were there go to our church.

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And it was like, this is our church outside the walls.

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And it was beautiful to watch our people laughing and connecting and hanging out with other

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people and enjoying good food and good music.

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They had a crazy good band there from Austin that was killing it with Motown and all kinds

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of full horn section.

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I mean, these guys were amazing, amazingly talented.

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And they did every kind of music from my past and growing up that you can imagine everything

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from rock to to pop and Motown and rhythm and blues and just so cool, so cool and so

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much fun.

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And again, always so good hanging out with Adam, Tina.

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And the weird part is we were not at the same table because they were a part of another

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table.

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We were invited by another table.

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And so we were like, this is like not right.

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We're not even at the same table.

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What's up with that?

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You know, so it felt kind of weird.

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But anyway, well, we all end up hanging out anyway, because that's just what we do.

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So that was an amazing event.

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And then we had a sweet, sweet dinner with Gary and Maggie Cleansing.

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And they own a restaurant here in town called Crossroads, which is an amazing steakhouse.

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And they know they know we do meat.

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And so we went out and had steak with them as the first time we got to hang out with

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them.

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And they're long term, long term Fredericksburg folks.

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And they do a lot of builds and a lot of projects around Fredericksburg and really just continue

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to bring the quality of life up here in Fredericksburg.

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And so hanging out with Gary, Maggie, and we went with one purpose and at night and

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that was to listen.

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So often we're doing all the talking.

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I'm doing it all the day, which just feels weird.

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But we're doing all the talking.

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And sometimes we don't get to hear other people's stories.

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So we sat down.

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The first thing we said to them is, hey, we want to hear your story.

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We want to hear about your life.

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And oh my gosh, what a wild, wild adventure that was.

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And we spent.

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Have you ever been with people and you look up and it's three and a half hours later and

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you're like, didn't even it felt like 15 minutes.

401
00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:24,080
We were there for three and a half hours at their restaurant.

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00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:29,560
And it was so wild because time flew because we were just listening and they were telling

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00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:31,160
us these stories about their life.

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00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,560
It was so life giving and so enriching.

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And so just a shout out to Gary and Maggie just for blessing us with a wonderful evening

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00:22:38,380 --> 00:22:42,920
at Crossroads and also just a sweet time together with them.

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And then also to a lot of our friends, the friends that provided the opportunity for

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00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:50,320
us to attend the Tanenbaum Ball.

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00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:54,720
Man, just we have such a great group of friends from the bridge.

410
00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:58,800
And I'm afraid to name names because I'll forget somebody and leave somebody out.

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00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:02,760
But they really it was a joint effort for them to bless us with that evening.

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00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:06,960
And I just want to give a great shout out to all of them because there's just so much

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00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:09,040
love in that group.

414
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:14,360
And the girls call themselves the bridge posse, which is hilarious.

415
00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:17,920
And they're just amazing, amazing group of ladies.

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00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:19,280
And they're the ones who put the ball on.

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00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:21,320
I mean, they're the one who put it all together.

418
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So big shout out to them.

419
00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,120
So I'm just going down the list here.

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00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:28,960
Christmas Eve services at the bridge.

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00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:32,480
Of course, like I said earlier is that, you know, it's the Super Bowl for us.

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00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:37,120
I mean, we always know we're going to have a lot of people that usually don't come to

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church, come to a Christmas Eve service.

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And we did our regular morning service times because Christmas Eve actually fell on Sunday

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00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:45,400
this year.

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00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:49,360
You know, every seven years it rotates and we'll get it in seven years again.

427
00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:52,440
And so this year, this was the year for Christmas Eve.

428
00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:57,720
So instead of doing Christmas Eve, Eve services, we kept our services at the same time in the

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00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,160
morning and it worked out great.

430
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,320
We had 600 people in attendance.

431
00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:04,440
Which is more than normal.

432
00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,220
We're typically about 500.

433
00:24:06,220 --> 00:24:10,080
So we saw a bunch of new people here and it was wonderful.

434
00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:14,960
Our worship team was killer, kept it all, is very Christmas oriented.

435
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:16,480
And we had such a sweet time.

436
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:20,760
And I told the story and I've told it on here on the podcast of my brother getting hit by

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00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,800
a car during the Christmas holidays.

438
00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:28,400
And just, we nearly lost him that year and it was a terrible tragedy because it was a

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00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:29,400
hit and run.

440
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And so I told that story at length.

441
00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:34,360
And so if you want to hear that story, if you're interested in that, because I mean,

442
00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:36,600
it was a game changer for my family.

443
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:40,640
And it was really one of the first times anyone had really introduced me to Jesus Christ as

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00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:42,640
a 10, 11 year old kid.

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00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:44,360
I think it was 11.

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00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:49,760
And anyway, I told that story in detail and you can find that on our website from last

447
00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:53,200
Sunday, either the 9 or the 10 45 a.m. service.

448
00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,880
I told the same story in both services.

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But we had a wonderful, wonderful time.

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And I was so reminded on Christmas Eve being with our spiritual family, our church family,

451
00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:09,120
how blessed we are to have community here in Fredericksburg, not just the community

452
00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:14,840
of Fredericksburg, the city itself, but community, a community of faith and a community of people

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00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:20,880
who love each other and are trying to walk out their faith life everywhere they live

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00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,020
and where they work and where they play.

455
00:25:23,020 --> 00:25:25,200
And it was such a beautiful, beautiful time.

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00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:28,440
I was just reminded of the love that we have here.

457
00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,680
And then on Christmas Day, talk about special.

458
00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:36,480
We actually hung out with the Currys and they invited us over.

459
00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:38,880
You know, we've been we've become family.

460
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:40,000
We're not just friends.

461
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:41,000
We're family.

462
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:42,800
And that's the good, the bad, the ugly.

463
00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:45,800
We've all seen the good, bad, ugly of each of us.

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And so and yet we're still best friends.

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00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:52,720
And that's what it's about is really learning to do life together, not just when it's great,

466
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:54,240
but when there's hard times, too.

467
00:25:54,240 --> 00:26:01,920
But we ended up having just a beautiful, beautiful afternoon and evening with Adam and Tina and

468
00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:09,920
their daughter, Ellen and her boyfriend, Jesse, were in from Chicago and just just stunning,

469
00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:10,920
beautiful young people.

470
00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:17,820
And man, just the next gen where when I see young people like this, I think, my gosh,

471
00:26:17,820 --> 00:26:20,920
this is the next generation that's going to change the world.

472
00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:24,800
They're going to make a difference and just both super sweet.

473
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:29,040
And Tina strategically placed me right in front of Ellen.

474
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:34,080
And so it was cool because I got to know her and she actually separated me and Adam because

475
00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:35,760
she knew what would happen.

476
00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:39,760
Me and Adam would get in a gab fest about God, the world and other things.

477
00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:42,960
So that was very strategic, well played, Tina.

478
00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:44,360
And so it was me and Ellen.

479
00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:50,520
And so I just engaged Ellen and started talking to her and asking questions about what motivates

480
00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:51,520
her.

481
00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:55,120
She's involved in government and city government there in Chicago.

482
00:26:55,120 --> 00:26:58,800
And man, you can imagine that's a battlefield in Chicago.

483
00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:03,640
And so I was just curious about how she landed the job and what motivates her to do what

484
00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:05,960
she does and what her future looks like.

485
00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:09,200
And we had the greatest conversation.

486
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:12,640
And of course, I asked the golden question, which I've been asking everybody and I'm continuing

487
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:16,880
to do this everywhere I go is what are you thankful for?

488
00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:18,400
What's the first thing comes to your head?

489
00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:19,720
What the first thing off top of your head?

490
00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:20,720
What are you thankful for?

491
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:25,720
And of course, that her and Jesse both had amazing things to say and beautiful things

492
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:32,440
to say and just just a lovely to use Tina's word, a lovely, lovely evening with people

493
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:34,720
that we love and care about.

494
00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:36,640
And Phoebe was in great form.

495
00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:37,920
She's doing fantastic.

496
00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:42,680
That's their dog that had to go to boot camp because she almost bit my wife and that.

497
00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:44,720
And so she's doing great.

498
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:50,920
So it was just one of those magical evenings to use a worldly term, but it was magical.

499
00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,920
It was a beautiful, beautiful evening.

500
00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,760
And we talked about God and we talked about the world and other things.

501
00:27:57,760 --> 00:27:59,440
And it was amazing.

502
00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:04,080
And so, so thankful for our friendship with this precious family.

503
00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:05,680
And there were some tears here and there.

504
00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:11,120
Just our conversations just went very deep and very real and very authentic.

505
00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:16,040
And that's what friends and family are for is that you can go there and just being able

506
00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:24,080
to hear about Jesse and about Ellen's life and what they're doing and how they're living

507
00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:27,800
and their young couple trying to make it, trying to figure it out.

508
00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:33,640
And so, gosh, it was such a, such a special, special time and just so loved that family

509
00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:35,680
and so thankful for them.

510
00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:42,280
Now, one of the things I wanted to share and talk about is just how, as you lean into this

511
00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:46,120
new year, what do you have a vision for the new year?

512
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:51,360
For years and being a pastor, people always expect pastors to have a vision, you know,

513
00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:56,520
like go up on the mountain, meet with God, get some new stone tablets, come back down,

514
00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:02,280
beard's white, hair's white, and you're carrying the stone tablets, you know, like Moses in

515
00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:05,800
the movie The Teen Commandments, you know, Charlton Heston.

516
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:07,400
It doesn't really work like that.

517
00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:13,000
Just so you know, we don't have a mountain to go up to and we've never received stone

518
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:14,000
tablets.

519
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:18,440
And so, we get our messages from God just like you do.

520
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:23,000
And that may be a trade secret right there is we don't have a red line to God.

521
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:28,160
We don't have a hot hot line or a red phone that you don't.

522
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:33,360
We get it the same way you do and it's getting up and giving your day to God and saying,

523
00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:34,880
good morning, Holy Spirit.

524
00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:36,360
Good morning, Lord Jesus.

525
00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,000
Good morning, Abba Father.

526
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:43,440
It's praying the Lord's model prayer, you know, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed

527
00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:44,440
be thy name.

528
00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:47,800
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

529
00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:50,240
I mean, it's we get it just like you do.

530
00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:54,800
We get it by reading our Bible and our Bibles in different translations.

531
00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:59,680
Now, because of our work and the nature of it, we spend more time because we have to

532
00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:05,760
study and prepare to share and to give teach lessons and teach studies and preach sermons

533
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:06,760
and all that.

534
00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:12,240
So, by nature of the job, it throws us deeper into it on an ongoing basis.

535
00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:15,200
But we still we hear it just like you hear it.

536
00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:16,520
We get impressions.

537
00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:17,800
We write in journals.

538
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,200
We read things that speak to us.

539
00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:22,520
We hear music that speaks to us.

540
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:25,320
We see nature that calls to us.

541
00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:33,440
And so, I just want to encourage you to think about what would 2024 look like if you lived

542
00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:34,440
life intentionally.

543
00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:39,320
I mentioned this earlier and I want to revisit it before we go today because I want to encourage

544
00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:42,040
you to live your life on purpose.

545
00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:46,880
And that's why my word engage is an on purpose kind of word.

546
00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,640
It is it's saying, I'm going to do something.

547
00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:52,840
I'm going to not be quiet.

548
00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:55,200
I'm going to not be silent.

549
00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:58,440
I'm going to not not say anything.

550
00:30:58,440 --> 00:30:59,440
I'm going to engage.

551
00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:01,120
I'm going to engage this world.

552
00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:02,440
I'm going to engage politics.

553
00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:06,640
I'm going to engage the ills of the world and social mores from the pulpit.

554
00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:11,920
I'm going to be fearless and brave and going to make a difference.

555
00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:14,920
And so, I'm excited about a year of engagement.

556
00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:21,200
So, my question for you is what is 2024 going to look like for you?

557
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:25,600
I read the headlines just like you do and most of the time I just look the other way

558
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:29,160
and you know you read stuff that's doom and gloom.

559
00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:33,640
You know, oh 2024 is going to be a hard year for everybody financially.

560
00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:38,360
It's going to be this and that or it's going to be dark or with all the political stuff

561
00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:39,360
that's going on.

562
00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:41,960
You know, it's going to be just constant battles.

563
00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:45,080
But I don't, I choose not to live that way.

564
00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:47,120
I choose to live up in a down world.

565
00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:53,320
I'm living an intentional life and I want to challenge you and encourage you and really

566
00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:57,120
call you out and say, you know what, you can live up in a down world too.

567
00:31:57,120 --> 00:31:59,680
The world can be down but you don't have to.

568
00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:02,520
The world can be lost but you don't have to be lost.

569
00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:06,920
The world can be confused but you don't have to live confused because you've got the true

570
00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:07,920
north.

571
00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:09,520
That's God's word.

572
00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:15,440
Bring out the book is what the people were telling Nehemiah and Ezra in the book of Nehemiah.

573
00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:16,440
Bring out the book.

574
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:17,680
Bring out, they were chanting it.

575
00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:18,680
Bring out the book.

576
00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:20,120
Bring out the book.

577
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:24,400
And I want to encourage you to bring out the book in 2024 and be intentional.

578
00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:29,400
I was just thinking about because a friend of mine has been doing a through the Bible

579
00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:30,400
in a year.

580
00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:31,400
I've got several people doing that.

581
00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:32,400
In fact, Tina just did that.

582
00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:34,120
She's gone through the Bible in a year.

583
00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:39,840
Annette and I did something two, three years ago, we did a two-year version of that because

584
00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:45,640
there's one in the U version Bible which is real handy and I want to encourage you to

585
00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:46,920
get in the Bible.

586
00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:48,440
Bring out the book.

587
00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:49,640
Get into God's word.

588
00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:51,280
Get into it every day.

589
00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:54,040
It will make a difference in your life.

590
00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:59,120
There's a Greek word that sounds like energy and it literally means that the word of God

591
00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:01,600
is living and energy.

592
00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:02,600
It's energy.

593
00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:03,600
It's alive.

594
00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:05,840
It's living and active and powerful.

595
00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:08,320
And then it says it's sharper than any two-edged sword.

596
00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:14,200
It literally pierces down into and reveals the intentions of the heart, the motives and

597
00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:16,020
intents of the heart.

598
00:33:16,020 --> 00:33:19,720
And so I want to encourage you to bring out the book this year.

599
00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:24,440
Lean in and say, Lord, I'm going to dive into your word and I'm going to trust that you

600
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:30,000
will speak to me from your word because your Bible even says in the book of Hebrews that

601
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:34,640
your word is active and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.

602
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:40,040
It literally reveals the intents and purposes of my heart, my motives, everything.

603
00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:45,900
And so I'm going to dive into that book and let it energize, rejuvenate, and enliven me.

604
00:33:45,900 --> 00:33:47,400
So I want to encourage you.

605
00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:53,000
Just commit to step into this new year to live life on purpose, to engage a new year

606
00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:57,640
with living up in a down world, not living down in a down world, living up in a down

607
00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:04,120
world, choosing life, choosing to be positive, choosing to see the good, choosing to reject

608
00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:09,000
all the news media mess that's coming your way and propaganda and saying, I'm going to

609
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:13,040
believe God's word over what this world's telling me.

610
00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:17,800
And you can dive in and start taking steps to live up in a down world.

611
00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:21,160
And that's going to be our challenge all year long.

612
00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:25,640
That's why we call this podcast, Living Up in a Down World, because we want to see you

613
00:34:25,640 --> 00:34:26,640
win.

614
00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:27,640
We want to see you go ahead above water.

615
00:34:27,640 --> 00:34:31,960
We want to see you living up when everything else seems to be falling down.

616
00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:33,400
So that's my heart for you.

617
00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:35,720
That's my encouragement to you.

618
00:34:35,720 --> 00:34:39,440
And that's our prayer for you as you listen to us.

619
00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:42,440
Well, I want to thank a few folks real quick before we go.

620
00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:46,520
Man, just got a great note from Ryan Tierney.

621
00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:51,960
He sent in 77,777 stats.

622
00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:54,000
That's a striper donation there.

623
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:55,000
And he writes this.

624
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:59,200
Jimmy and Annette, I started listening to your podcast when Tina and Adam first mentioned

625
00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:00,960
it on Curry and the Keeper.

626
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:06,800
And it has been a real blessing in my life as I have rekindled my somewhat stagnant faith,

627
00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:11,280
kickstarted by hearing the Currys discuss their own faith journey with such passion

628
00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:12,640
and excitement.

629
00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:16,040
Thank you both for shining his light so brightly.

630
00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:18,400
Merry Christmas, Ryan Tierney from Virginia.

631
00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:22,640
Ryan, first of all, thanks for the value for value and for the boost.

632
00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:24,360
So appreciate the stats.

633
00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:28,240
But more than that, we appreciate your encouragement and just thanks for saying thanks.

634
00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:30,240
Thank you for writing this great note.

635
00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:33,400
We want to encourage you to say Merry Christmas to you.

636
00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:35,320
And man, get ready for a great New Year's.

637
00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:36,600
You live up in a down world.

638
00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:39,360
No matter what's happening in the world, we can live up in it.

639
00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:40,880
And I want to encourage you in that, Ryan.

640
00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:42,000
Thank you again.

641
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:51,440
And then secondly, also with 77,777 stats, Adam, the Podfather, Curry sent those in.

642
00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:55,080
He said this and he's talking about our new studio, BCF Studio.

643
00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:58,080
He says, the room already sounds great.

644
00:35:58,080 --> 00:35:59,440
That's before we have the soundproofing in.

645
00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:01,720
So we're a step up now.

646
00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:03,400
He says, sounds great.

647
00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:08,720
I'm sure it'll be perfect once the leather couch and Damonette's filets are in.

648
00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:10,400
He knows our love.

649
00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:11,520
We're all things meat.

650
00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:13,680
We're carnivore, all to the core.

651
00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:16,840
And so he knows Annette's love for filets.

652
00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:18,400
But yes, the leather couch is in.

653
00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:21,320
And so it helps too with the sound actually.

654
00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:23,520
But Adam, appreciate you, man.

655
00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:24,520
Love you.

656
00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:25,520
You're my brother.

657
00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:26,520
You're my friend.

658
00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:27,920
You're my brother from another mother.

659
00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:31,300
And I just love our friendship and how it just keeps getting better and keeps growing.

660
00:36:31,300 --> 00:36:35,760
So looking forward to what 2024 is bringing for us and the adventures.

661
00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:40,480
I wrote that when I boosted you and Tina on the Courier and the Keeper earlier today.

662
00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:45,620
I'm looking forward to the God adventures that are going to happen in 2024 together.

663
00:36:45,620 --> 00:36:47,560
So God bless you, my brother.

664
00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:53,120
And then Robert Ludwig with 1100, well, 1111 sats.

665
00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:57,320
He wrote this, a boost of bones for Mr. Chevy for Christmas.

666
00:36:57,320 --> 00:36:59,960
Thank you for your uplifting podcast.

667
00:36:59,960 --> 00:37:02,520
Robert Ludwig from Nevada, Iowa.

668
00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:04,320
Robert, thank you so much.

669
00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:06,560
And thank you for the boost for Mr. Chevy.

670
00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:11,440
He doesn't get enough press time, but really appreciate that and appreciate the sats.

671
00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:15,040
But more than that, just thank you for taking the time to write in and to encourage.

672
00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:17,640
Man, we love and appreciate all you guys.

673
00:37:17,640 --> 00:37:21,080
We're so honored to be able to do this walk with you.

674
00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:25,840
Well, hey guys, say a prayer for Dame Annette as she continues to recover.

675
00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:30,480
I'll be reaching out to her as soon as I hit the stop button and head home and just to

676
00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:32,080
check on her and see how she's doing.

677
00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:33,080
But say a prayer for her.

678
00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:34,200
We really appreciate it.

679
00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:35,340
And do write.

680
00:37:35,340 --> 00:37:36,680
Do let us know you're listening.

681
00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:41,080
Do let us know if there's any particular topic you'd like for us to address, scripturally

682
00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:42,080
or otherwise.

683
00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:44,840
We're always glad to talk about what's going on in the world.

684
00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:46,680
So we'd love to hear from you.

685
00:37:46,680 --> 00:37:50,720
And our prayer for you is that you will have an amazing day on purpose.

686
00:37:50,720 --> 00:37:54,280
Well, that's it for episode number 48.

687
00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:55,280
Can you believe it?

688
00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:56,280
Coming up on a year.

689
00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:59,280
Listen, Merry Christmas to you and to you.

690
00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:04,000
A blessed and prosperous and amazing new year.

691
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:05,000
God bless you family.

692
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:19,000
We're out.