Allow Us to Reintroduce Ourselves—This is Jesus Fix It!

Join us for an engaging and heartfelt episode as we celebrate new beginnings and welcome Steph as a permanent co-host of the Jesus Fix It podcast! As we embrace the fresh start of a new year, we discuss our aspirations for 2025, focusing on personal goals and the universal longing for peace and harmony. We express our heartfelt gratitude to our listeners for their unwavering support through the podcast's changes and invite everyone to join us on this journey of faith, laughter, and genuine conversations.

Listen in as we explore the themes of personal growth and reflection, emphasizing the importance of setting authentic intentions for the new year. We share personal experiences of choosing guiding words like "peace" and "abundance" and discuss the influence of biblical teachings on self-improvement. Our conversation shifts to the power of prayer and divine timing, sharing a moving story about receiving a long-awaited answer to a prayer after 31 years. We encourage our listeners to remain steadfast in their faith, knowing that even in times of waiting, God is listening and working behind the scenes. This episode is a source of inspiration and encouragement, urging us all to embrace personal accountability and spiritual growth while trusting in God's perfect timing.

Transcript

0:00:01 - Jess

Hey, welcome back, or welcome to, the Jesus Fix it podcast, the show where we talk about life, the ups, the downs, a little pop culture and everything in between. I'm Jess. 

0:00:12 - Steph

And I'm Steph Every other week. We dive into the things we're asking Jesus to fix. And let's be real, there's a lot. You can always count on us to keep it real. 

0:00:22 - Jess

Share some laughs with us, and maybe a few tears, as we tackle the big and small stuff with faith and honesty. So grab your coffee and let's get into it. If you've listened to the podcast for a while, first, thank you for hanging in there and sticking with me. I appreciate you big, big time. Second, you are probably aware of so many changes that have happened over the last several years Well, year and a half to a couple years. Again, thank you. Thank you for your grace, thank you for hanging in there with me. So, as we start a brand new year and ready for new beginnings, I wanted to officially welcome Steph as a permanent new resident and co-host of the Jesus Fix it podcast. 

0:01:13 - Steph

That is the best intro and welcome that I think I've ever had. What that's great. Thank you, okay. 

0:01:20 - Jess

I was getting ready to tell you to make a speech now. 

0:01:23 - Steph

Oh, thanks, you love me you really speech now. 

0:01:26 - Jess

Oh thanks, you love me, you really love me. Oh well, we do love you. I thought you were going to thank the Academy or something. 

0:01:33 - Steph

You don't know, you don't get that reference, then you love me. That was doing Sally, I think it was Sally Field, sally Field, yes, after years and years and years. Yes, so it was. 

0:01:43 - Jess

Yes, we were on the same page. So we really did. Yes, I love Sally Field too. 

0:01:49 - Steph

Maybe she said like me, you like me, you really like me. Yes, we do really like you. Well, thank you, I'm excited to be here with you and y'all and just hang. 

0:02:02 - Jess

Okay. So you came to Virginia from Pennsylvania, and the fact that you said y'all means you're fitting in nicely. 

0:02:11 - Steph

Well, yes, that that is true, but y'all has been a part of my vocab forever. Oh, yeah, yeah. So like I mean, I lived in Texas, I lived in Tennessee, I lived in. Georgia. I've lived in West Virginia and North Carolina, so you brought the y'all to Pennsylvania. I did. They tried to yinz me and I said absolutely not. 

0:02:30 - Jess

What does that mean? What is yinz? 

0:02:33 - Steph

A yinzer is a Pittsburgher and yinz is their version of y'all. It's just, I couldn't Use it in a sentence Yinz coming to eat with us, Nuh-uh, Instead of y'all coming to eat yin's. That doesn't even make sense. No, it doesn't work. I could not do it. I can't. It doesn't taste right coming off the tongue Like I just can't. 

0:02:56 - Jess

If you are a Pennsylvanian. Is that how you, if you're a Pennsylvanian, you have to call us and let us know, or email us and let us know if that's something you said or say yeah. 

0:03:08 - Steph

It's more specifically Western PA and that's how you say Pennsylvania. You never say Pennsylvania is PA. It's the only state you spell the two letters of. But it's blowing your mind right now, but really it was when I moved out towards the Pittsburgh area, which is where my husband's from. That's where it was like, oh, the yinzers, and you're a yinzer and you use the word yins, and I'm like, uh-uh, it just doesn't work. But yeah, if you're from PA and no matter where you live, if you use the word yins, yeah, let us know. 

0:03:38 - Jess

So when I visit Pennsylvania, if I don't say PA, they're going to say tourist Yep, just like your Seattle trip. 

0:03:46 - Steph

You know what? 

0:03:48 - Jess

We're not going to talk about that. Okay, just so you know. Though, I went to Seattle for the very first time West Coast for the very first time, back in October, and I had my umbrella ready, because you know, it rains all the time out there. And I said, steph, I'm going to Seattle. I got my umbrella ready. She was like hold on, don't do that. Right, don't do that. They're going to know you're a tourist. Nobody out there carries umbrellas, gets you a raincoat, and I'm like like when I was a little girl, raincoat and galoshes, who wears that? And yeah, so I was like you know she's been to Seattle a lot, so I'm just going to take her advice. Y'all, when I got there, literally nobody had an umbrella. 

0:04:35 - Steph

The last thing you want to do when traveling is actually look like a tourist. No, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. So, first of all, happy New. 

0:04:40 - Jess

Year, happy New Year. Did we say Happy New Year? Oh, my goodness, yeah, yeah, okay. So first of all, happy new year. 

0:04:45 - Steph

Happy new year. Did we say happy new year? Oh, my goodness. 

0:04:48 - Jess

Yeah, oh, okay. What do you want Jesus to fix in 2025? That's a wide open, you know. 

0:04:56 - Steph

I can go from personal goals that I have. I don't use the word resolution. I can go with, you know, things for the the world, and when I think about the world, I'm a child of the 80s and and this was popular before my time I'd like to buy the world a coke. You know, I'd like to sing the world a song or something like that, perfect harmony. And so it's like, you know, I just think about that. With everything that's going on, no matter where you are, what walk of life you have, just harmony, just peace. It just helps the world go round Like gosh. 

I've had so many friends on social media. They're like I refuse to call you a friend, I refuse to even commune with you in any capacity because of X, y or Z. Yeah, it's like that doesn't do anybody any good. It's okay to disagree. It's okay to agree to disagree on stuff, be peaceful about it. So it's like that's what I think about. It's like this next year, the relationships that I have, that I've had people say that to me without maybe them even realizing that they said it to me because they were just blanket statementing you know something on social media. I want to make sure that I have that relationship still with them, right, because I think it's so important to do that and I might be that only light of Jesus that they have in their world. Yeah, I know that's true for some of these folks. Yeah, so I, you know that's something I want to do is continue pursuing relationships that aren't easy and keep some harmony there. Oh, you said it, that aren't easy Aren't easy. 

0:06:37 - Jess

How do you do that? Because pursuing those relationships that aren't easy. Because I'm the type of person like I will try, I will try. And once I try and you show me that you don't want to try, then that makes me back off, because I'm, you know, a person can only try and try so many times and so much, and then you can't be the one doing all the trying. You know what I mean. Yeah, so when, especially as a believer, is it okay to say I've tried all I can try? I'm just going to put it in Jesus's hands and walk away. 

0:07:14 - Steph

You know, I believe that that is something where you've got to have healthy relationships and healthy boundaries, and maybe that's part of you've got to have healthy relationships and healthy boundaries and maybe that's part of you've tried and you've tried and you've tried and that is you just okay, lord, now this is not me being peaceful anymore and you got to protect your peace, and so that for me, that's what I see is, after I've tried to pursue some of these hard relationships so long or so much, it's not that I'm going to completely ignore it, it's just not going to be a hard pursuit anymore, if that makes sense, and just give it to God and let Him bring that person back to you if they're supposed to continue being in your life in some way. I was just having a conversation with my husband the other day. I tend to have some social anxiety, and I think everybody does in some capacity. 

Sometimes for me, in certain situations, it really flares up and I have a situation that I was thinking about where I'm going to see somebody soon that I haven't seen in like 10 years and I had made a side comment to this person last time that I saw them and didn't even realize I made the comment had no idea, but it was so offensive to them and they never brought it up to me. It was just all of a sudden the relationship was over, and so throughout these years, I figured out what it was, I've apologized for it and, just in my own capacity, birthday text message hey, hope you're having a good day. So my anxiety for seeing this person soon is just like okay, what's this going to look like? But I can't overthink it. It's in Jesus's hands, because it's not going to do me any good, it's not going to do them any good, and I am very thankful my husband will be with me, yeah, and I feel like you've done your due diligence. 

0:09:01 - Jess

It would be one thing if you didn't acknowledge it and you just was very passive about it. 

0:09:06 - Steph

You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, but I mean it was hard because I literally had no idea. 

0:09:10 - Jess

But in those situations I think the onus is on the other person too, because there are a lot of times when we say things to offend people or hurt people and we don't even know, like sometimes I'm so flighty and oblivious. Yes, I can admit that about myself. Like the roots are black, okay, gray, whatever, same I know. However, I can be a little flighty. I'm sorry if you get offended about that joke, but anyway, but I don't always get the cues. I don't understand. But it only takes a candid moment for you to pull me aside and let's have some real talk. Hey, you know you really hurt my feelings, or this is what you said. Can we talk about it? It offended me, like, and there's a calm way. Don't come at me wrong. I won't come at you wrong, but we can talk about it, because a lot of times, if you just have a conversation, a whole lot of stuff can be cleared up in a matter of minutes and they don't have to drag out for weeks and years and eons. 

0:10:16 - Steph

And make it in a phone call. If you can't see the person in person, don't do it as a text. Yeah, like we're adults, Jesus, fix it. 

0:10:27 - Jess

All the syllables Jesus, yes, because some things you just can't handle and I know we live in a digital era now, but some things are not meant for text and misunderstandings are one yes, so okay Another question for you Are you one of these people who you do a word of the year every year? 

0:10:55 - Steph

I'm actually not Really. Yeah, I was going to say that's probably going to surprise you. I'm not Okay Because I think of it as like a resolution and I tend to fail real fast at that, and so I don't want to set myself up for failure. I got you, you know. I think it's good to think about it. Yeah, you know, but it's not something that I'm gonna write it on my mirror and so I see it in the morning and right, you know, that's yeah yeah, I used to do that, I used to be really into it. 

0:11:22 - Jess

But then this is so bad. Like, for example, I would say you know, my word of the year is going to be peace, and I would just be so set on it, I would write it down, I'd find all the verses I could about peace and I'm just like, yep, this is me. I need peace in my heart, peace in my life. And then I hear somebody else say, well, my word is going to be abundance. Why didn't I think of that? Yeah, I want abundance. Yeah, I want to live abundantly. Yeah, that's mine, exactly. And then somebody else more. What do you mean? Your word is more because I was made for more. Oh, that's good. 

0:12:03 - Steph

I want that word. Josh bullbrin singing all over it. Blessings, and I'm such a chef I have to say his name. Then you got. Then you got theme music, right, goodness, okay, cc. Yes, you are singing it over me. 

0:12:17 - Jess

So I just stopped because I was just like I'm picking up things from other people instead of it actually being from my heart. So I just stopped and I'm just like, okay, wherever the Lord leads, this year is where I'm going to go. Because, yeah, I was just like squirrel that could be the word. And that encompasses everything. They all sound good, all of the words Right, so yeah, and that encompasses everything. They all sound good, all of the words Right, so yeah. I stopped that. 

Yeah, but for me, the thing I want Jesus to fix in 2025 is me. Yeah, I mean I look around and I see so much wrong in the world. There are so many things. So many things need to change. I can give you a list, just like I mean you can name off tons of stuff. I mean we would be here for the next two days naming the things that Jesus needs to fix. 

But, like my mom used to tell my sister, and I worry about yourself, and so I think that's going to be my focus for right now anyway, and I don't mean that to sound like in a prideful or selfish way, but how can I tell other people to pray more if my prayer life is lacking? How can I tell people to love one another if I'm so judgmental? You know what I mean? How can I say be kind, if I have a petty spirit? So I am just really just praying that Jesus will fix me, fix my heart, so that I can work on things. I can work on my prayer life so I can work on my petty spirit, so I can work on my judgmental heart. Yeah, can work on my petty spirits, so I can work on my judgmental heart. Yeah, so I feel like it starts with me. Yeah, there are a lot of things that need fixing, but I think a lot of times we don't look within first, and that's what I want to do. 

0:14:16 - Steph

And so biblical. You know, okay, I'm terrible with scripture, I'm terrible with references, the address, any of that, but it's, you know, don't look at the plank in somebody else's eye when you still have a speck in yours, or maybe it's the other way around. 

0:14:28 - Jess

I know the verse. 

0:14:29 - Steph

But yeah, yeah and so yeah, exactly what you're saying. It is biblical. Yeah, so yes, amen, jesus fixed that. 

0:14:37 - Jess

Yep, and one thing I I'm also praying about is being able to share a big answered prayer. That happened in 2024. I'm not at a place where I can share it now, but let me tell you, god was so good that he answered a prayer that I prayed for 30, almost 31 years and it's a testimony. One day I wanna share it. One day I will share it. I don't know when that one day is gonna be, but God is faithful. And that prayer request, I'm still like in awe of what God has done. Let me tell you, and just even just thinking about it, I'm just amazed at God's faithfulness and His goodness and I just, I guess I just want you to be encouraged as you enter this new year, because I know there are a lot of times you feel like I'm praying, lord, I'm praying, where are you?

I've been praying forever, but God is. He's there, even if it feels like nothing is happening or he's not hearing you. Here's the thing God hears every single prayer and His timing is always perfect. I don't mean to like Christian ease you, but seriously, his timing is always perfect. Even if you've been praying for something for a long time, the God who has been faithful in the past will be faithful in your waiting. He's not just working in the waiting, he's also working through it. So, whether it's five years, a year, five days, god sees the big picture and he's with you in every moment and you're're worth it and he's worth the wait. He is working behind the scenes and if you're in that season of waiting, I want to encourage you. God is faithful and he will answer. So keep praying. The God who answers prayers is the same God who holds your new year. 

0:16:42 - Announcer

It's a blessing to have you with us today for a no-holds-barred conversation of life's craziness.