Faith & Fatherhood: Lessons From A Transformed Life (Part 1)

If you're struggling as a father or a parent in general and life has you questioning if you'll ever get things together, this 3 part episode of the iAMthepossible podcast will provide real life, real talk to both enlighten and empower you to keep believing and work towards the life, love and relationships you desire!

I had the pleasure of having a very heartfelt conversation with my special guest and long time mentee "CJ" to explore some truly profound life lessons, the importance of faith, and the transformative power of fatherhood. 

We discuss the significance of trust in a higher power, the impact of being a present father, and the essential values of love, good, and evil in shaping one's life. 

The conversation highlights the importance of creating meaningful connections and the role of prayer in our personal growth.

Listen and Lean in, CJ is a humble, yet powerful and wise young man!

Takeaways

• Creating meaningful connections is essential for growth.
• Love is the point of life and the foundation of relationships.
• Understanding good and evil is crucial for personal development.
• God is available to those who seek to engagement with Him.
• Prayer is necessary for divine intervention in our lives.

✨ Are you tired of where you are?

✨Are you tired of trying your best to do better in life but feeling like there’s something you can’t quite figure out what that thing is thets holding you back? 

You’re one conversation away from clarity!

Schedule your 🆓 Clarity Call today!
👇
https://bit.ly/claritycallwithtreveal

Transcript

Treveal C.W. Lynch (00:01)
All right, guys, welcome to another episode of the I Am The Possible podcast experience. I am Travail CW Lynch, Mr. What What. And this is still the place where possibilities become perspective. Guys, super excited. This week, I'm doing something a little different. Last week, we did something a little different out the box. And so I'll continue to do things a little different and out the box because it's time.

time not only for me, but for you, for all of us to do things as we've been designed and created to do them as I shared, I believe it was last week on the podcast, I shared one of my favorite quotes, I think possibly my favorite of all time now, I think it's taken first place, ⁓ but don't ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive and go and do it.

Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. And so I've got with me here on location of someone who I believe has come alive. And I want to do an interview with someone that I've mentored, that I've fellowshiped with, that I've done life with for many, many years. ⁓ Brother, definitely from another. ⁓ But I wanted to ask him some questions. And I just wanted to hear his heart.

in this season, because he's going through a season of life where there's a lot of lessons that can be learned. And I believe that you guys will benefit greatly from hearing these lessons and from hearing the things that he's going through and the decisions that he's starting to make in his own personal life. So CJ, welcome to the I Am The Possible podcast, man. Appreciate you having me again. Yeah, man. Yeah. Always a good time here. You know what? I think

And I don't think I ever told you this. ⁓ And maybe you can look it up on YouTube, but no, you know what? It's in my downloads statistics. So you wouldn't see it on a YouTube, but your episodes are the highest ranking. Really? Yeah, yeah. Because I think it was maybe a year ago where they started showing us statistics. Because back in the day, podcasting was very weird. It was just put out content.

But we're not going to tell you how many subscribers you have. We're not going tell you how many downloads you get. We're not going to tell you what they're doing. Just put it out there. ⁓ But now we see a lot of the statistics that are coming through. ⁓ And I was going through it like last week. And I was like, yeah, every time we got together and we did one, the downloads went through the roof. Wow. So yeah, so now you got to keep it up. Now the pressure's on you. But yeah, man. ⁓

I just had a couple of questions, man. We're gonna take this in segments, call this part one. And just let it flow, man. Just be natural, just be yourself. The first thing I wanted to ask you, man, just when you look at your life ⁓ and where you are today, ⁓ what has been...

What's been the greatest lesson that you've ever learned, if you take it from the time you've been born to today, what's something that has stuck with you that has had the greatest impact? The greatest impact, hmm. I would have to probably say that... ⁓

Keep in trust.

that there is a higher power, that there is a God that looks out for you, that has good intentions for you. I would have to say that. I doubt it, second guess. Man, thank you for being honest, bro. Thank you being honest. I've lost track when I got off track many, many of times.

to the point where I probably shouldn't be here. ⁓ You know, either in this life or in this setting. I could be in jail, be dead. You know, those are the possibilities that I put myself in. So for me to still have a praying mother, praying father, you know, a great community around me and you know,

God never losing faith in me to change. ⁓ I think that's been the greatest thing and I'm blessings ⁓ because of my small changes in my life. I'm seeing his hand on me so I can only be forever grateful for that.

Yeah, I thank you for being that honest man, because, and maybe that'd be another question that I'll have at some point, ⁓ being honest enough to say that there's been times that you doubt it, ⁓ but then also acknowledging that there's something greater. What do you think?

Being that you've doubted and you've kept the faith as we say, what do you think has been the biggest payoff, the benefit, the return on investment? Because it's an investment for you to believe in a God. And then let alone make changes in your life because you believe that there is a God. That's a whole different thing. A lot of people believe, yeah, God's out there somewhere. There's this thing called God.

But then to literally make lifestyle changes because you believe in God takes a different level of trust. What's been the biggest payoff? I would probably have to say my kids and myself teaching myself and through the grace of God of how to be more loving to people and to my children. You know, they've

I, when I was off track, ⁓ you know, I had very little care. ⁓ I knew that they were in my life. knew I had kids. ⁓ You know, I knew that I can come to them. They can make me laugh, you know, whatever the case may be, but I was never involved like I should have been. I kind of discredit myself a lot, which is, I mean, that's a process that I'm going through at this time, but.

⁓ You know, just to see the love that I'm giving now ⁓ to them, ⁓ to see me change and to see them accept the change ⁓ has been amazing. ⁓ know, kids have the smallest memories. I can yell at them one minute, the next minute, we playing. You know, so.

for me to actually be able to ⁓ control myself in front of them and be able to talk to them, be able to just fellowship with them when mistakes are made in front of me, you know, I'm able to just have a conversation with them. It's been amazing to see the growth that they've done and the growth that it's made me become. ⁓ I've become more of a subtle man.

⁓ I'm not so much as trying to be a drill sergeant telling them every single thing, what to do, how to do it. And yeah, it's just more of like, just let them make the mistakes ⁓ and just have their backs. So to see them to still love me the way that they do, that's just, that's the greatest investment ever. ⁓

Why does that matter to you? Like if someone's listening and they're like, yeah, I got kids, I got kids too. you know, I'm kind of, I'm there, but maybe I'm not there as much as I should be. ⁓ And I know I could be doing better. You know, that's the story that they're telling themselves. That's what they're feeling, right?

What makes that matter? Because in life, what I find is, and I just ⁓ came across this the other day, ⁓ think it was Damon John, the guy from FUBU, he says, you don't need a plan, you just need a reason. I said, man, that makes sense. Like how we say, what's your why? Basically, something has to mean something.

And through that meaning, you have this level of motivation that gets you through the storms and the challenges. So for you, what would you say, the fact that you went to your kids and that was the first thing that came up for you? Because normally the first thing that comes up is the thing that matters most. Why does that matter? Why does your kids, ⁓ you being a better father, you being a present father, you being a father,

that they are able to access and be able to forgive or to be normal with, to have the privilege of you having their back. Like why does your interaction with your children or whatever you're creating with your children, why does that matter? I think what you just said, creating. Okay, okay. The creating part. You're mini you.

In a way, in a way, ⁓ because you're giving them your thoughts. You're giving them your experiences. ⁓ So for them to, they either gonna listen to them or it's gonna go in one ear or the other, which most of the times that is the case. Until they get older and then they're like, ⁓ yeah, that's what dad was saying. yeah, now I get it, know, type thing. ⁓

But it's just those conversations, man. Those conversations that I'm having with my daughter now, because she's 14, about to be 15, in a week. Wow, So just having normal conversations with her is, man, it's one of the greatest feelings ever. I don't know why. I can't explain it. It's just to have an adult.

type conversation with her about her friends, about what she's going through and just giving her advice. And just saying, but also putting it as in like, hey, this is still up to you. This is, I'm not telling you what to do. I'm not telling you when to do it, but this is, I'm just giving you advice to see, and you figure out what's best for you. So her being able to maneuver her way around the situations and...

things like that in school and you know, it's about that time where you know, boys get involved and you know, so I gotta worry about that. So it's just, you know, I gotta pray a little bit more. But I think it's, you know, and I feel it like, just like God, you know, God wants to conversate with us. He wants to have a relationship with us. He wants us to...

to call upon his name, you know, and to get him involved in our things, in our situations. You know, I heard like, you you need to pray in order for God to intervene. Right. Without you praying, how you expect things to change, you know? So having those conversations, you know, with God and knowing that he hears you, it's a different magnitude of how to go about life.

And he loves that interaction. And just like a father with his child loves that interaction, loves to be called upon. Hey dad, can you help me? Hey dad, I need advice. Hey dad, can you come over? Hey dad, can you pick me up? Things like that, the small things, it means so much. It makes you feel wanted.

I never looked at through that lens. yeah, it's like, I think I once heard, I'm not sure where I heard it. I hear so much because I'm always looking for more. Same here. I know what you mean. Yeah, right? Put too much information. So I heard once that...

that God is, yeah, because it was a conversation where people are doubting just God's existence. And it was... ⁓

in so many words, because I'm like paraphrasing it, God is as accessible as you access him. Because it was like, no, God ain't here because... And then they'll go down their little laundry list of why God's not here, or why God's not whatever. But then this person, and I don't even remember, they certainly weren't religious, they certainly weren't all like that, they were just like a normal...

easy going, whatever. But they were like, yeah, man, God's real, God is there. But like, you're only going to, because their point was, you're only going to experience God to the degree that you're like involved or engaged. That was the word that they used. So he can, or it, or her, however you want to frame it, because today there's so many perspectives on the entity of God.

We only want to go down that path right now. But the idea is whatever you call God, ⁓ God is present, but will only respond to the level in which you engage. ⁓ Otherwise, it's like the opportunities are there, but they're just not taken. Somebody might say, man, well, God just dropped us in the earth and left us on our own, and now we don't know what to do.

And the person was like, yeah, well, you you could pray and believe that God is giving you wisdom. The only difference is either you either you don't pray or you don't believe that he's giving you wisdom. But to the same person or to another person that could be in the same position as you, they pray, they believe that they're receiving wisdom from God and they go on about their business and they execute on the wisdom.

Another person says, there is no God. I'm going to look for wisdom within myself or from somebody else. And they choose to go about getting that information and then they make their way. The only difference was that person who believed in God prayed for God's wisdom and believed that they received God's wisdom. So it's not like God isn't there. They were just basically saying anything can exist if you don't engage with it.

What do you expect? Like we're sitting here in front of this TV. It's there, but if I don't cut the remote, like if I don't engage with the TV, it just sits there. So what do you expect? know, so. I don't even know why I went on that tangent. But yeah, man, so. Okay, one more question as it concerns kind of the lesson that you learned.

What would you say if, trying to frame it in a way, as an example, let's say you've got, let's say you have a newborn baby, let's just say, I guess that's best way to put it. Newborn baby, and you've been told by, and we're totally making this up. Somehow, someway, the US government comes up with this way of taking control of this baby's brain and,

they're gonna do this ⁓ experiment. And the baby gets to know three things for the rest of his life. Doesn't get to know anything else. And they come to you for whatever reason. They come near this. CJ, we will implant the knowledge of three things.

into this baby's brain. And that baby will have to do life out of those three things. Everything else they will never know about. Now, as a physical functioning body, they will live and breathe and taste and eat. Like all of the senses will be there. But in terms of knowledge, what they are able to grow in their knowledge of, three things.

What were those three things?

question. only get three? ⁓

Like for example, if you don't say mathematics, if you don't say science, then for example, they'll never know two plus two equals four. They'll never know that because you didn't say math. Or science, they'll never know that there's a galaxy out there. They'll never be able to consciously understand that there's this thing called gravity. So whatever three things you choose,

You eliminate the possibilities of them knowing anything else. Okay. And? I would have to say... Love. Okay. And...

I would probably have to say.

The good and evil. Okay. Now is that two and three or is that its own one thing? Two two and three. Yep. So love one. Good two. Two. Evil three. Yep. Okay. All right. So now let's start with love. Why love? That's the point of life. It's to love. It's to love one another. ⁓ That's one of the two commandments.

⁓ If not both of the commandments that God gives us is to love your God with all your heart, mind and soul. And then love your neighbor. ⁓ Those are the two that he presented the main focus as to why he came is to love. ⁓ And then for the good, know, obviously like joy and experience, you know, the...

the excitements throughout our lives and stuff like that. And then evil, pain. You can't go through life without pain. ⁓ So the evil, the things that people do, think, say, ⁓ you need to know about that in order for you to be able to adapt, in order for you to be able to steal, to love, to do good.

⁓ which the good and the love outweighs the evil. So the more of those first two things that you have, at least you know what it is. You know what it is and you're able to control it in a way, I would say.

Well, listen, man, yeah, you know how we prayed before we started this.

Yeah, I'm learning in my season of life to allow God to flow and allow whatever needs to happen to happen and to honor that. ⁓ How profound it is that you would say those three things which are

knowledge of emotions ⁓ or emotional based. They're not necessarily emotions in and of themselves. Maybe love is. Good and evil, I guess, can be interpreted as different things. my point is, is that you named three intangibles, which is really, which is really profound. So I'm gonna stop on this episode and then we're gonna pick up with part two.

And I have another question for you specifically around that very thing. It's funny how you didn't know what I was gonna ask you, but how it directly connects to the other thing that I was gonna ask you. So we're gonna wrap up this one, man, and then we'll come back for part two.