The Outdoorsman's Mandate
The Outdoorsman's Mandate
From Waterfowl to Worship: How Duck Hunting and Dogs Led to Divine Redemption
In this episode of the Outdoorsman’s Mandate, Josh welcomes his longtime friend Cody to share an incredible journey of faith, friendship, and the outdoors. Cody grew up in church but drifted away, searching for meaning and answers. It wasn’t until marriage, training his first retriever, and discovering a passion for duck hunting that his path began to shift. After listening to this very podcast, Cody felt a gentle tug to reconnect with God—and everything changed.
Together, Josh and Cody talk about the beauty of creation, how the outdoors often stirs deeper questions, and how a nonjudgmental conversation can open the door to a life of faith. Whether you’re a hunter, dog trainer, or simply searching for something more, this episode is a powerful reminder that God meets us right where we are.
Welcome to the Outdoorsman's Mandate podcast On this episode. I'm so honored to be having a great friend on this story is incredible. I'm really excited to let Cody be sharing his story. Cody has been really a friend for a long time now and it's been really amazing how we met through really just the passion of the outdoors, specifically waterfowl retrievers. But we'll get more into that story in a minute.
Speaker 1:But before I bring him on, I just want to honor him among all of you here as you're listening, because Cody is, in my opinion, a great man of faith. I've seen him take amazing steps on his faith. I've seen him get out of his comfort zone. I've seen him really just do some amazing things that I think the average person just wouldn't be willing to do or just would just chalk it up to. No, I don't have to do this, but Cody went out of his way to really give his life to Jesus and to really just model that throughout his life, and so we'll talk more about that here in a second. But, Cody, I'm so happy to have you on and welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2:Thanks, Josh. Thanks for inviting me on the podcast to kind of share my story a little bit.
Speaker 1:Man, I'm so excited for you to share your story here tonight For a lot of reasons. I think, with the way the world is right now, this is necessary. But also, when you think about the hunting, or when I think about the hunting world, I think about you know, there's, there's a lot of people out there that maybe had been in a similar position as you, so I'm really excited to share that. Before we kind of dive into the story about your faith, how you came to Jesus, let's, let's go back to where did life, where did your journey begin? And we'll find our way through this story there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin called Cedarburg it's your average small town country. Feel just on the bikes with buddies all day, every day, that we could be in the creek catching crawfish and, you know, enjoying the outdoors as much as we could. Um, as far as like faith goes, you know my parents went to church every Sunday. Um, you know I went to Bible study and you know the kids group and stuff like that. After Even did a couple small like youth ministry trips and stuff like that, Very like traditional church. You know wood pews, you know old classic hymnal music, stuff like that.
Speaker 2:You know, as a kid, looking back, I wasn't a huge fan. You know, as a kid, looking back, I wasn't a huge fan. You know, um, it wasn't something that um really captured me, I guess. Um, you know I knew that it was. It was uh important, uh, just for based off of what my parents told me, and you know it was a part of our lives every single week. But I guess I just had more questions than I had answers when going there. Wow, Interesting.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So, I mean, I just, I guess, after I kind of was out of my parents' house and stuff like that, I kind of fell off and just you know, I guess there is more questions that I had towards it than I felt like I could find there. And so, you know, it wasn't until literally in the last two years that I've really started to dig a little bit deeper, because I just had felt that there was this, I guess, missing part of me.
Speaker 1:Do you know, and I can ask this question do you know what those missing pieces were at the time Like? Is there anything that stands out to you about that?
Speaker 2:Not really. I mean honestly, it really wasn't until I, you know, listened to the podcast with you guys that something in my brain kind of clicked Like, hey, you know, this kind of seems like something that would be beneficial to me right now. I'm, you know, I'm struggling right now. I haven't had this in my life for a long time. It doesn't hurt to start asking questions, and I was lucky that I was comfortable enough with someone like you to ask those questions to and not feel judged or you know that, uh, or answer that should answer those questions for me in a in a manner that isn't preachy or judgy or any. You know any of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think a lot of people need that Um, because there's a lot of not that out there, unfortunately Um sadly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, out there, unfortunately, um, sadly, yeah, and that's, you know, kind of what I meant by like the more traditional style of of churches and stuff like that, where, um, it's a welcoming place but also kind of not a welcoming place, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1:You, yeah, um, you feel like you have to be a certain type of individual to be, allowed through the door, if that makes sense, um yeah, I feel like there's a lot of people in the outdoors that find themselves feeling that way and I've, and I've heard, and sometimes myself. Right, you know, it's easy to like, it's almost easier to connect with God outside in the outdoors, because that that feeling that you're getting when just entering that place and and that's definitely not of God. And you know, I talked about those things, like when, when you were saying that you know those types of things are definitely not of God, like those feelings, because our God is not a God of shame and condemnation. Our God is the God that has removed that. There's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. But just hearing that, I think, is eye-opening too. Just to make sure that's how imperative it is, because that feeling, I mean it sounds like that kept you out of church.
Speaker 1:So, going back to where you said there was the missing pieces, then we just talked about how you know, like really some of it, like you just didn't feel welcome, almost. Or you said you felt like you had to be a certain person and maybe didn't feel like you were that person, so you kind of went out on your own. Let's continue the journey from there Well before we dive into that branching out on your own. Where did the outdoors come in into your life? Was that something early on, or is that something that came later?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the outdoor stuff, you know I hunted a little bit when I was in, I guess, middle school, but my dad wasn't like super into it and I didn't really have anyone like around me I guess that was super into like hunting. We'd go fishing and stuff like that when we were up north. Yeah, but it wasn't until actually my wife and I moved to Houston. But it wasn't until actually my wife and I moved to Houston. I had always wanted a bird dog and so I just hopped on Facebook and we had literally just gotten married and found a litter of puppies. That was close and we both kind of fell in love and went and picked her up and I had never even been on a duck hunt at that point, that's so cool.
Speaker 2:That's so cool, yeah, so then it was kind of a journey of like, okay, I need to find, I want to train her myself because I want to build that bond with my dog, and so that's where Cornerstone came in, um, and you guys helped walk me along that journey, um, and it's crazy, pretty crazy now, cause I honestly I can't even imagine my life without the hunting, the dogs and hunting period, specifically duck hunting um, it's something that I'm super passionate about and pretty much consumes my mental on a on a day-to-day basis.
Speaker 2:That you know, if I'm, um, if I'm not doing it and I'm thinking about it, you know it's. You know it's something that, uh, I think ties in really well of you know it's something that, uh, I think ties in really well of you know, just appreciating what God put on this earth, um, and taking full advantage of it. Really, you know, like, where I feel that most peace that I've ever felt in my life is is out in the field, whether that's turkey hunting or in a duck blind. So it's something that's very important to me now and in my life.
Speaker 1:Wow, I feel like definitely having that relationship, that connection with God and being an outdoorsman. It makes it a deeper level, just like the dogs makes a duck hunting. You take it, it takes it up a notch. You're going to a deeper level, you're going to do things as you wouldn't normally. When you're out there, there's a greater appreciation than just the hunt or just fishing, like you're out there and realizing that our creator made all of this and it's some of the most beautiful sites that anybody will ever see. And sometimes we, as hunters and outdoorsmen, see things that no one sees and they never will see. It's like you see those glimpses, those moments, what's beholden out there in nature. It really just gives us an appreciation, like you said, and an understanding of magnitude, of wow, our God made all of that. But it also, I think, maybe for those that are not followers of Christ, maybe an issue is being out there, maybe, I think, also stirs curiosity in our hearts too.
Speaker 1:We start to wonder, you know, I mean, at a certain point, you know, if you've got a brain you start to think this is kind of incredible, all of these things that we get to do. We're duck hunting with dogs, everything's fine and there's beautiful sunrises, sunsets, this magnificent world we live in it. At a certain point the beauty of creation has to take, it has to make you question and wonder, like, oh yeah, where does this come from? You know, I mean, that's a thought, I mean, I think every outdoorsman at least has that moment when they're out there, and I've had many. But you're out, there's just beautiful, surreal moments. The sun is, the sun is shining, just right. Whatever it is, whether it's a cold, frosty morning, deer hunting or duck hunting, whatever it may be, or fishing, it's, it really is. It just makes you wonder.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it just makes you wonder. Yeah, it really does. I mean even just uh, one of my favorite things recently has been, uh, turkey hunting and I, I absolutely just get eaten up by, just you know, getting out there when it's pitch dark, you're sitting down and you hear those birds come off the trees and you know you hear them gobbling their heads off and just doing turkey things and it's like this is this is crazy, like this is so cool, and you know, just get those little shivers down your spine when that first gobble hits in the morning and then the chase is on and you know it's just watching the animals just be and do what they do, and then getting to interact with them is even more, you know, just adds that next layer. Um, just like you said, with the dogs, just duck hunting is really fun, but duck hunting with the dog is, you know, even better.
Speaker 2:Uh, especially when you got to work with that dog and bring it to the point of where, man, they just picked up that first bird. You know it's something that when they're a puppy, you envision in your mind what it's going to look like, and then it comes to fruition, all the pieces come together and it's just, you know, like you said, it's just, it's hard not to wonder, like man. You know, whoever put this here, there's all the praise in the world. So you know, that's what we're here to do 100%.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's, uh, it's incredible. I mean it really is. And so you, you embarked, you left your parents, you go down this path, you get involved with the dogs where know, newly married, um are engaged and then newly married. Talk us through that, let's. Let's continue this story. Let's continue hearing more about cody and and how god led you to this place of like. You know I need you yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So, um, my wife and I moved from new mexico to, uh, mexico, to Texas, right before we got married. We got married in 2020, right during all the craziness of the world, we had to cancel our first big wedding quote unquote and ended up just doing like a small ceremony. Like a small ceremony, um, and kind of during that time, you know it was everything was just weird. You know, during during that point, um, the world was just a weird place and uh, yeah, so I, you know, started training the dogs, started getting involved with that. I'm an electrician by trade, so I was finishing up my apprenticeship, going through all that, I would say about a year or so after that, so it would have been like 2021, it was just kind of a rough go. I was trying to figure out how to be a good husband, um, and leader of my own stuff, like that, and there just didn't seem to be a whole lot right going my way. Um, I just kept feeling like there was, there was something missing in my life, that I was missing. There's no reason that I needed to be feeling the way that I was feeling, um, feeling the hurt that I was missing. There's no reason that I needed to be feeling the way that I was feeling, um, feeling the hurt that I was feeling, um, you know, struggling relationally like all of the above Right, and um, uh, I literally happened to be listening to podcasts.
Speaker 2:I, I drive pretty far, usually every day for work, and so podcasts are kind of what I do when I drive. And I threw on this podcast and you had Barton on and you guys were, you know you're talking about faith and, um, you know, I knew you guys were, were big into that and I knew, you know, barton had done some ministry stuff in the past and, um, I just listened to you guys and something just kind of touched me during that point. Um, I, literally, I didn't even make it out of the truck when I parked it and I, I shot you a text right away and I was like, hey, you know, I'd like to learn more about this. You know, when, right before I guess I left home, I did have a mentor who he actually married, my wife and I and he, you know we did like Bible studies, just one on one. It, you know it was, it was very helpful in my life because of, just like you, he was very, um, you know, open to questions, wasn't trying to push anything on me, he wasn't, you know, he was just there for me and um, tied things back into God and, um, I have been missing something like that for a long time, um, and so, you know, I just happened to reach out to you and then, um, I'm very thankful that you know you, you took the time to reply and, um, you know, here we are. So it's, you know, there's a lot more in between there that has happened.
Speaker 2:But you know, to this day I'm like I tell you all the time, like it's crazy that all of those things led up to right now, like if I wouldn't have gotten a dog, if I wouldn't have gotten Cornerstone, if I wouldn't, you know, like I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you, Um, and I probably wouldn't be like where I'm at in my life without all of that as well. Um, it just it may have made such an impact on me, um, that you know it, it, it helped me tremendously and turned my life around. Um, and you know it helped me tremendously and turned my life around. And you know, I had a conversation the other day I don't always feel, you know, worthy right, like you know, we had a pretty long conversation about that I tend to have like a I don't know what the word for it is Like I.
Speaker 2:I just feel like I'm, I'm an imposter, like imposter syndrome. Um, I'm not, I'm never, you know, doing enough that you know I'm I'm not being as godly as I should be, I'm not diving as deep into scripture as I should be. You know, it's one of those things that, if I can tell anybody anything, it's like I just happened to listen to that podcast, I happened to get a dog, I happened to get Cornerstone, and all of those things were were planned for me. You know, like I was looking back at it now, I know all of those things were meant to drive me down this journey, back to finding just the Holy spirit. Um, yeah, you know, it's just it's incredible to think about what. What has led, led me and us to, to where I am today.
Speaker 1:Man.
Speaker 1:That's so cool Because that really that really resonated. I don't know where it's at, but I do know basically what it talks about. It says you know it's in, it's in Psalm somewhere. It talks about you. You knew basically my every day before I was ever even born. Essentially, god had all of our days planned before we were ever even born and his thoughts outnumber us greater than the sand on the seashore, and if you've ever been to the beach, you know there's a lot of sand on the seashore. So I think that's pretty cool.
Speaker 1:All of that is cool first of all because and man, we got a lot to talk about here, but I get excited about this. But the first thing I want, I think the first area we should talk about is you know there's really nothing special area we should talk about is, you know there's really nothing special that and in fact, there's 100% nothing special about me or Barton or what we're doing. We're out here just trying to grow a business. But the Holy Spirit has a purpose and he did lead me to do this podcast and when we were talking that drawing, you know, when you messaged me, you know I thought the episode was great, it was cool telling the story, but I was blown away because I didn't feel like we did anything special. You know, sometimes you feel like you got to do something, to like say something really good, to like help someone see, and we didn't do any of that, we just simply chatted yeah, that's the Holy Spirit, and that's the Holy Spirit and that's who you know. I would love to introduce some of the audience to that the Holy Spirit is. He is so beautiful and he is who drew you. That gentle tugging in your heart was Him knocking, and I think you know so often you know as Christians and really just a Christian society as a whole, even though there's a lot of darkness out there, but it's still Christian values as a whole. You know there's a lot of darkness out there, but it's still Christian values as a whole. You know, a lot of times we talk about God and you hear God talk about a lot and he's worthy of being talked about, and so is Jesus. But the Holy Spirit is absolutely amazing and that gentle knocking that's him. I just think it's so cool because I mean, it's him. It's he who did that, that drew you in, and you know some people.
Speaker 1:I had a thought as I was sharing that, talking about Psalms, how he knew our every day before we were ever even born, and I'm botching this a little bit, but we're getting the picture here. Someone will know what verse this is. But then the question well, why does my life look like it does now? If he knew my every day? That doesn't sound like this loving God. Because my life doesn't look like it Now. I've got all this pain I'm carrying, I've got all these problems. There is no way. Well, that's because the enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy, and the enemy really hates God and he hates us, and his goal is to dismantle and destroy what God loves, which is you and me and us. And so that's why so often our lives look like such a train wreck is because, unknowingly, when we just go about and we're not really pursuing God and not submitting to him and we walk out from under that authority which we're born into, sin that's what the word says Then you know. But then the enemy has his way and then our life gets out of whack. And so that's why you know, if you're listening to this and you're like well, that's my problem with God. I just don't see how God can be good. If there's all these problems and there's so many challenges and there's so much hurt in the world, well, god is the God of love and he's the God of. He is not causing that. He can do no wrong. The enemy sure can, though, and the enemy does come to kill, steal and destroy.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about that a little bit, because I remember we might've even had some conversations about that. I don't really remember, it's been a little. It's been a little while since we've had these conversations about that. I don't really remember. It's been a little while since we've had these conversations. Is there anything that comes to mind specifically that? Well, I guess one of them was not wanting to go into church or whatever, because the barrier that's there, just feeling unworthy. Was there anything else that stood out to you? And again, I'm just dumbfounded and amazed, and clearly it's only God that drew you in. I mean, that's just so cool that you heard just some talking about hunting and talking about God and how we love him, and here we are. That's just mind-blowing, yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, like I really like, what we kind of talked about was just more yeah, like you know, just not always feeling welcome and trying to put it into words, I'm drawing a blank.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean it is late. No, you're good, we both have kids and jobs and, yeah, I get where you're coming from. I was drawing a blank too. I opened the Bible and I was like, and I've been gelling in this verse in Psalms and it's like one of the most probably well-known. So I feel really bad that I wasn't able to find it right when I opened it. But I couldn't.
Speaker 1:But, I know it and I remember, so I feel it, but I couldn't. But I know and I remember, uh, so I feel you, bro, but yeah, so God um led you to that decision. What was kind of the final factor?
Speaker 2:Like you, just you describe the feeling that this drawing, that you were feeling let's talk about that for a minute yeah, um.
Speaker 2:So I, you know, after, after I listened to the podcast, you and Barton, um, you know, reached out to you right away. Um, the fact that you just kind of brought me in with open arms and no judgment and, um, you know, we're curious to hear my questions and hear kind of. You know why I was a little more standoffish, I guess, with it and, you know, really dug deep with me on testing that you know. But in like, a like I said a very, very warm and welcoming way. You weren't throwing anything at me, you weren't saying look, if you don't believe in this, then you're wrong. You did it in a very, very loving way that just kind of opened my heart up even more. Um to like, okay, you know, I think, I think that this is something that I need to pursue a little bit deeper. Um, and like, we were talking a little bit shortly after, um, you know, I even spoke with you and I started praying more on um.
Speaker 1:Hey, let's talk about that for a second. So I'm assuming did you pray much before you decide, like before your heart was opened up, or you were just living life, just doing your thing?
Speaker 2:Yeah, not really. No, it wasn't. It wasn't really a part of my daily routine. It wasn't really a part of my daily routine. It wasn't until after, you know, talking with you and digging deeper. You know, when we first started talking and we started talking about the Holy Spirit and letting the Holy Spirit into my life to guide me along, praying and just finding Jesus, and once I was able to do that and like feel that, then I, you know, it became a lot easier. I wasn't looking at it, I think, like growing up as a kid, I always looked at it as like a, a positive negative relationship right Like if I, if I was good, you know, then then God loved me.
Speaker 2:If I was bad, god didn't love me. Um, and you know, I'm sure that's just something in my myself of you know how I portrayed things as a kid.
Speaker 1:Um, I think that's a lot of people. Um, and I would say I'm confident that's a lot of people, because that's one of the tactics of the enemy to get people to stay away from God, right Cause? I mean, nobody wants to be in a relationship like that. That's abusive, right? Yes, I mean, if you, if you're in a relationship that is not who our God, who God is the God of the universe. So that's I'm confident. That wasn't just you, that is a lot of people experience that.
Speaker 2:Definitely. And I think you know, like I said, it took. It took someone, um, like you to kind of walk me through and say, hey look, that's not our God, that's not who he is. He loves you, no matter what. You just need to build a relationship with him. And so when I Was, that a foreign concept, this relationship with God.
Speaker 1:Had you ever heard of like having a relationship with god? Had you ever heard of like having a relationship with god? Or, you know, was it more of the relationship? Was this positive, negative concept?
Speaker 2:yeah, starting off, I definitely feel like it was. It was more just this like positive, negative thing. Um, I never, I never looked at it like uh, like hey, it's just a buddy that I'm talking to, you know I looked at it like, uh, like hey, it's just a buddy that I'm talking to, you know, I looked at it as like um, I guess more harsh. You know like, and I and I, I know both sides of it. I know, um, you know when it, when God needs to be, he will be. You know when it, when God needs to be, he will be.
Speaker 2:Um, but I never looked at it like uh, like, just this more of not even a friendship. You know like, like my father, you know like, you know someone that I can talk to, that I can come, come to, no matter what. I know he's got my back, um, it wasn't until talking with you that that I, that those things clicked in my head and that's when it started getting a lot easier for me to um, open my heart up a little bit more and pray a little bit more, but but pray like I'm, I'm, I'm talking to my dad, cause I, you know, I'm talking to our father, um, and it that helped me tremendously walk through praying and just learning how to talk and not feel like um I owe him anything, he owes me anything.
Speaker 1:You know like it's just more of a like a sense of just being that's hey, I belong here. Yeah, yeah, exactly what was it like? I would love for you to describe the, because I'm sure I would imagine after we talked we probably talked like, hey, maybe just go talk to God, like even we're not sure if we believe in him or not, but try talking to him and then seeing what he says. I would love for you to share what that first prayer felt like. And then you know, just talk, talk through that.
Speaker 2:You know how did all that go? It, uh, honestly was, uh was very awkward at first. Um, you know, uh, it's kind of like talking to somebody who's friendly but you don't really know. And so you know I was, I was very, like you know, unsure of of how to to go about it at first, but once I started realizing like hey, look, this is no pressure, you know, like I don't, I don't have to say the right things or the wrong things or any of that. You know, like I just I just need to, I just need to talk, um, and so that was. It was honestly very freeing to me to just, you know, not have it be. You know, like that positive, negative thing that I said is like I'm just talking, I'm just talking to a buddy, you know, um, I it doesn't need to be anything, anything more than that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's eye-opening man. When, when and a lot of people have never done that and like going and talking to god, like, like, because he really is there, just like a real person, that we're, as you and I, are talking now yeah that's the type of conversations you know we can have with god and people might be like well, how do you?
Speaker 1:you know it's hard to hear, right, or can you even hear God? Yes, 100%. The problem is in our society and in our busy day-to-day lives, the noise that we have. It's oftentimes hard to hear. There's this story in the scripture that talks about how God is heard in the whisper. Not in the storm, not in the loud stuff that's going on around, but he's heard in the whisper.
Speaker 1:I did find that verse and I and I looked at I just it just wasn't popping up as I kind of go, but here it is. Um, I finally got it. Um, this is Psalms 139. I just want to read this. I'm going to hit a couple of spots, but Psalms 139, 13,. You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous. How well I know it. You know this is David and he's a warrior. So, yeah, I find it interesting. He's talking about the inner parts of my body and as a hunter I think of, like well, I mean, I've skinned a deer.
Speaker 1:I know what the inner parts of a body look like, but also as a warrior, you know he was fighting, taking people out, so he probably saw that and so he realized he's basically like, wow, God made all of these things. Then it goes on to say you watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. That was what I was talking about earlier. I think that is just so cool that every moment of our lives have been laid out before they've ever passed. Do you feel that the hole that you were filling was a sense of almost like? Was it almost like a homesick feeling, Like you just were missing just a piece of you that you just couldn't figure out how to feel?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, uh, it was a lot of that. And I, I was just trying to figure out who I was. I mean, you know, even today I'm, I'm still trying to figure out who I am. And you know, as as life's changing and um, you know all the above, but there was just this very evident piece of me that seemed to be missing. And it wasn't until I started digging a little bit deeper and asking the questions that I had always been curious or on the fence about that I not like I'm, I'm perfect, or that I'm, you know I've got it all figured out now, or any of that it's.
Speaker 2:I know I have someone on my side now I face that I, I have somebody to turn to and say, hey, I'm struggling right now. You know I, I trust in you, I believe in you, I believe you have a plan for me. Just help me see it a little bit. You know, um, and it's not easy to do. You know I, you know it's not.
Speaker 2:We're always gonna have things that hurt us, or um, joys, or you know all of the above it's you have, that's that's walking with you through through all of those trials and triumphs, and you know, um, it's. It helps to know that you, you have somebody who's got your back, no matter what, um, and to know that you're loved and that, no matter what you do, at the end of the day he loves you and he will take care of you. If you've given your life for him, like he gave his son to do for us to take all of our sins, then at the end of the day, what else matters? You already know you're saved. You already know. You already know you're saved. You already know. You know. So, really, all the small things become a lot less, that you make them a lot, a lot smaller than they even are. And the big thing becomes smaller because you have somebody who's walking side by side with you through all of it.
Speaker 1:It doesn't always make it fun or easier or any of that, but at the end of the day knowing, just knowing, that it, it, it does tremendously help Um yeah, I mean, and that's when you, jesus tells us and that's the. That's the pretty cool thing, he, he doesn't sugarcoat it. Hey, at the end of the day, in this world you'll find trouble, but take heart, I've overcome the world. That's pretty interesting, you know. A lot of people may think that this is like. You know, christianity is this oh, it's going to make everything better, and yes, it does. But it doesn't necessarily like you're saying, these day-to-day things that we face and sometimes we go through real, absolute battles. I mean, y'all went through like so let's talk about this for a minute, um, if you don't mind talking about it. So, right after this, did you, did you find your faith, did you give your heart to God and invite Jesus to be Lord, before y'all went through the trial of losing, um, y'all's child, or was this?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah. So um, we, uh, we started talking, probably like three or four months before, um, my wife ended up having the miscarriage, and so, at that point, um, I had already, um accepted jesus in my life and um started know, at that point, I had already been praying every day and, honestly, when you and I first started talking, I was praying every single day that my wife would get pregnant, you know. And so when, um, when we found out that, um, we, uh, we lost the baby at at I think she was like nine or ten weeks at that point, it was insanely tough.
Speaker 2:She was going through this right when I actually turned out as a journeyman, and so this super exciting moment was incredibly heartbreaking at the same time, um, but through all of that, I knew, number one, that I would, I would get to meet he or she at some point in my life, um, and in the eternal life. You know that they'll be waiting for me at heaven's gates when I, when I arrive there, um, and you know I'm not gonna say it was easy, it was one of the hardest things that I've ever been through and you know I can't it that baby wasn't in my body. You know I can't that baby wasn't in my body. You know. So, trying to to be there for my wife, um, through all the things that she was feeling, and, um, also, you know, try and walk through that myself, um, was tough, it was, it was really hard and, uh, I wouldn't have been able to to get through it without that little glimmer of look.
Speaker 2:You know, I know, I know one day that I'll get to meet them and you know, I know that they're still. They're still a part of his family, regardless. That's right. I even got a tattoo Psalms 147.3. He heals the brokenhearted and binds their wounds. Wow, and that was the baby's birth flower.
Speaker 2:So, you know, it's something that's on me every day, on me every day, and, um, I think about it a lot still, um, but you know, I have a beautiful family now we have a 18 month old and another baby doing a little over a month. So, um, you know I can't, I can't, you know I can't, I can't, you know it was hard and it's still a part of our lives, for sure. But I'm very thankful for, like we literally like we just talked about all of those things leading up to that point, literally, like we just talked about all of those things leading up to that point. If, if, I wouldn't have taken that step to reach out to you and start going down this journey, then, man, I can't imagine how I would be feeling or where I would be at without, without it. Um, I would have been in a much darker place without having that faith background and, no, there's someone that that's got my back through this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah that's. I mean there's no words to walk through that. I mean only God. You know, only God. I remember when we were in the NICU with Joy and it was a very bad evening for another family. We saw them come in and that was the worst thing I've ever seen. They had to let their baby die and it was awful. And to see the weight of defeat and more, just the absolute, crushing defeat, you know there's just no words for it, it's just absolutely awful. But thankfully, having that, having Jesus to walk you through it, and to be able to be real with him instead of being this whole. Holy God, you know you're good.
Speaker 1:Probably the reality of your conversations were God, what is going on here? You know why is this happening. I mean we'll keep it. You know Christian on the podcast, but I mean there's been. I'm sure you know there's been.
Speaker 1:Your language sometimes isn't. It doesn't always. It reflects how you feel. Right, we've all been there and the kind of God we serve is we can be totally real with him. And he understands our pain too, and he understands Not only does he care, he actually understands our pain because he was rejected, he had to lose things here, because he came and lost things here.
Speaker 1:In fact, he had to basically lose everything, give everything up. He gave everything up and then came here and then he paid the ultimate price for us, which is so beautiful how, when? So, when you're walking through that and then, like you said, I mean that's still something that you still walk with, right, because it's this, this future hope that you have this, expectations, um, for the future, which is exciting, but it's also like one of those things was there a moment where you just the peace in the moment? Or was there? Was it more of a battle? Because you're a new believer and you maybe there's new believers out there that are going through some challenges outdoor people that, hey, I just became a believer, but now I'm experiencing all of this challenge. What, what's your advice for someone in that situation? What, how, yeah, what's your advice?
Speaker 2:You know I I guess I have before, I'm not, I'm not going to sugarcoat it Like it. It was not easy, you know. It was not a a fun, fun thing to to go through Um, but through all of it I was still able to find, you know, whether that was someone reaching out to me or talking with you, or there was always little nuggets that were like, hey, look, it's going to be okay. Have believe in, believe in this, believe knew to. I knew that I needed to fully, fully let go Um and just just trust Um, and I did that. And I did that and within three or four months after that, we found out that she was pregnant again.
Speaker 2:So you know, it happened very, you know, the first time it took us a while to conceive. And then, you know, losing that baby was really tough. And then, um it, it happened very quickly after that Um, and now we have, you know, just a beautiful baby boy. That that's just nothing but joy, um. And so you know, like I said, as hard as it was, um, as hard as it is, it's, uh, it's, it's a part of my life. It made me stronger, it made our, both my wife and my relationship, stronger, um, leaning on each other. And then, you know, leaning on God, through it and, like I said, just letting go, letting go of the wheel and saying, all right, you know, I know you got a plan for us, let's see what it is.
Speaker 2:And so, you know, after that was the moment, the moment that I, I decided, you know, uh, when we got a little bit further along in the pregnancy, that I said, you know, I, I need to get baptized before my son comes into this world. Um, I don't know, baptized as a child, you know, newborn type thing, um, but this was, this was my decision. But this was my decision. You know, this was me saying look, all cards are on the table. I give myself to you, like, I believe in you fully and I'm fully opening up my heart to you. And that was just super important to me to do before my son came into this world, so that I, I had that tighter background.
Speaker 1:Um, wow, yeah, yeah, and you drove from Texas to Alabama.
Speaker 2:Yup, yup, to get baptized. That's pretty cool. You know that would have made any more sense to do it than than with with you there cheering me on, and you know you were, you guys were like the start of, you know, building this backup for me. Um, even if you feel like you didn't, you didn't play, you know, a huge role like you did, like you mentored me, you helped me, you guided me through those tough times, um, you guided me through those tough times, um, and I do owe all that to you and I appreciate it. You know, like I can't tell you how much that does these, all these little things do, um, you know. So I, if, if anything comes out of this, I hope that there's one or one person listening that you know can get that little nugget out of here and start asking the questions that I asked to help them, push them along this journey.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think you know the questions. You know that's a good thing, and I love how God is okay with our questions and I love how God is okay with our questions and I think sometimes even those that are far off from God are scared to ask questions.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But God's not afraid of the questions and frankly, I mean, if you go and ask questions, you're going to I think sometimes we might be more afraid of the answers we're going to find yes, and we do know they're going to lead us to God. Deep down there's this thing, there's just part of you that just knows. If you keep asking, well, what if it is true, what if? What if he is who he says he is, if he is who he says he is? And there's some that's big. Number one it's big because, wow, you're loved. Number two it's big because now you're accountable, like now you have, like you've got to do something with this.
Speaker 1:If you find out a piece of information that's extremely valuable, that requires, I mean, when this information, you find this out and you do believe it does require a decision, and the decision becomes am I going to follow? Yeah, am I going to go my own way? And, um, man, I'm just. I think that's so cool how you kind of came to that and how God was leading you. You know, through your friend that married y'all, and then just through every facet of life, you could see how God was working to just draw you to him little by little and just so happened to do it through the love of the outdoors, and he met you where you were at, which is pretty cool yeah it, you know it was all these little nuggets dropped, dropped along the way, um, I just had to to look at them, you know, and I think it really wasn't.
Speaker 2:Until you know, I I wouldn't say like you know, rock bottom, but it was like wasn't until I hit that wall of okay, I clearly can't do this on my own. I need to figure out what's missing and what needs to change here. Then it happened to be the podcast with you and Barton. You guys were already two people that I looked up to, um tremendously in the dog training world and um duck hunting world, and you know that just made it even more like, oh, if these guys are, you know, you know this way, something must be cool about it. You know, like I, I look up to them and I appreciate all them. So, you know, let me, let me see what this is all about, um, and then, like I said, is you being willing enough to to take somebody's you know text and say, yeah, you know, let's talk, let's talk about this um, yeah, man, it's, it's the delight of my heart, man.
Speaker 1:I mean we can't not do that when someone asks about something I'm so passionate about. I mean, like you said, he's our father and you know, freely given, freely received, freely given. So we kind of have to. But it's also a joy. I mean, when I got the text I was like, oh, this is crazy, let's talk. It's also a joy. I mean, when I got the text I was like, oh, this is crazy, let's talk. I was so fired up. But again, like I said, I really don't feel like we did it. I mean it's clearly the Holy Spirit and he's the one that was drawing you, because when you look at the mirror of your story, or the shadow of your story, you could see how the Lord was drawing you little by little, and let's talk about that baptism moment. So you made the decision.
Speaker 2:How the decision, how did it feel?
Speaker 2:coming up out of that tank it was weird it it like it all happened so fast. But like you get up and you're like you, you do feel like a different part. It's weird. I got it's. It's pretty much it. I can't really explain it. You know like it's to me. The biggest thing I I guess is I felt like a big weight, I had been lifted off of my shoulders. I'm not in this alone. I'm not in this fight alone. I've been through tough times. I know that when I lean on him, he helps guide me through those tough times. Well, now I've me through those tough times. Well, now I've fully given myself to him. Now I know for sure, like he's already shown me, that we'll get through this, it'll be okay. He's given me, you know, those little lights that helped guide me to where I'm at right now. And now I fully gave myself to him. So now it's all of the burden. Everything was washed away right off of me at that moment.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's cool, yeah, that's awesome. So you got baptized before your son. Now you've got your son. Now you've got another baby on the way. Yep, how I mean. So let's talk about you. Know I, the outdoors looks a little bit different once the kids come along. You know they, uh, it's uh. Before I sat tell I say this to myself, really I didn't realize how much time I had.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 100%.
Speaker 1:You know, it's a lot different. It's a lot more fun now. Yes, I didn't know how much downtime I had. There's not a lot of downtime now. Yeah, yeah so.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you have to be more consistent. Consider, I guess, uh, you have to be more consistent with your times, I guess, and and uh, and block off little areas where you, where you can, for sure yeah, yeah, if you don't, you go crazy.
Speaker 1:You go crazy between work and everything. It just you got to do something. Well, you're um, so, so next steps just obviously you're. How does this feel? You know, faith-wise, now you've got your kids, your wife let's talk about that just for a minute because you know, as an outdoorsman that loves outdoors, but also a believer, you know one of the highest callings we can ever have is to love our wives and to love our kids.
Speaker 1:It's a how do you do you do you feel that your, your faith and the Lord has transformed you in your relationships? How do you feel like your relationship with God has impacted the rest of your family? Because there's, like, there's a lot of biblical precedence, for if the man of the household and I'm pretty passionate about this because I've seen that in my own life with my dad and my granddad, I've also seen what it looks like on another side, where there's been some turmoil Someone makes a decision other than God, you know, how have you found that this has impacted you? Because, like I said, that biblical presence of if you give your heart to God, then essentially the family, the whole family, is going to go. There's this statistic out there. I think it's like 95% of the family. If a man gives his heart to God and follows Jesus, like the whole family ends up following him, because there's a heavy mantle on us. And I think, as men, I want to address something right now for the men I know we've got men and women listening to this but specifically for the men that sometimes you feel that it's really hard and, like you were saying, you were hitting this Especially when you get married.
Speaker 1:Sometimes, when you're going to get married, you think, oh, this is going to solve a lot of problems. Well, sometimes it amplifies challenges. But also, just getting married it doesn't fix everything, it doesn't. And then we look to the next thing and the next thing, but what we realize? There's this heavy, there's this big call on a man's life, which is why sometimes the battle is so fierce.
Speaker 1:If you feel like it's just ridiculously hard, it's probably not because you're necessarily doing anything wrong. It's probably because the battle is like it's a big battle. It's important for us to be the ones that you know submit first. We've got to be the ones that forgives first. We've got to be the ones that we go first. We do it first because that's what God's called us to do. He's called us to be the leaders you know. He's called us to honor him. But I would love to know, like, how giving your life to God and how that's changed your family and even as an outdoorsman like, I would love to know how, just now that you're a full on believer, how has that changed everything in your life from specifically family wise and then hunting wise? I would love to know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, family wise. You know, I'd love to sit here and say that I get it right all the time. I don't, you know, like at the end of the day, like I screw up, I do things that she doesn't appreciate, you know. But at the end of the day, like you just said, I felt a very strong calling to get baptized and really give myself before my son came into this world, because I want to be the leader of my household. I want to be somebody that they can rely on, their protectors, their, you know, all of the above right. I want to treat my wife how she deserves to be treated and I want to raise my sons in the light of where they can look at their dad and say you know, maybe he didn't get it right all the time, but even if he didn't get it right, he still made things right.
Speaker 2:I want them to have a relationship with God that I have found more recently of you know more of the friendship and the. I know you love me, I know you have my back over the do good or do bad, you know um. I want them to to know that there is this thing out there that you know that will always be there for them and that God will always love them and protect them. Um, even if I'm not around. Um, and it is heavy, you know, like you said it, it's. This day and age as as, uh, as a husband and a father, um is not easy, you know. There's there's constant battles that we face every single day and I think, without that strength of following the Lord, that you wouldn't be able to get through it without it Not in one piece.
Speaker 2:We struggle the first couple years of our marriage just trying to figure out how to do marriage, how to be.
Speaker 2:I didn't know how to be a husband and, like I said, I'm still figuring it out as I go. But at the end of the day, there are things that I know I can follow. You know his, his word and it, it, it lays it out for you pretty, pretty clearly on who to be as a husband. Um, and, just like you, I take those. I take those very seriously. You know I I made a vow to my wife when I said I do that I'm gonna love her no matter what and that this is the relationship that I chose to stay in and fight for, um, and you know it's not always butterflies and rainbows on the other side, but you know, at the end of the day, you know, I know that if I since, because I gave myself to the Lord that he will guide me to becoming the best husband and father that I can be to my family- that's 100% man, and the battle is heavy and it's for good reason.
Speaker 1:Anything worthwhile is worth fighting for and it's just a daily battle, I think, when we wake up daily and the thing is, just keep it daily, that's what Jesus told us to do. Hey, don't worry about tomorrow. Today's got enough trouble. You don't have to have everything figured out, which is a beautiful thing. Thank the good Lord, we don't have to have it all figured out, you just figure it out today. He provides our daily bread, so we don't have to worry. He provides every need that we have. The battle is fierce but, man, I'm just proud of you. I'm proud of the man that you are. Um, I really am. I just uh, the fact that y'all were willing and you brought your wife, your pregnant wife, very pregnant wife 36 or 37 weeks at that point that we drove out there like you're like ready to pop it.
Speaker 1:We met it at the last window, the very last opportunity.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she was amazing that she was willing to sit in the car with me and she knew how important it was to me. She really did Like I.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, that's all. Yeah, we should honor her for that, I mean that's a great wife to be willing to do that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cause it's about it's like 11 hour drives um and when you're, you know, pregnant, you know everything is uncomfortable and so you know the fact that she was she pushed me to do it. She's like, no, that you, this is really important to you. We're gonna make this happen one way or another.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I owe all that to her, for her, to, you know, put, and then just to sit there and support me and cheer for me and you know all the above, when, when I did, you know, make that plunge in the pool, um, yeah, yeah. So that that whole that was super important to me and it, you know, it, meant the world to me, that she was, was willing to do that to me and it, you know it meant the world to me.
Speaker 1:That she was, was willing to do that. That's pretty big. Well, man, I'm like I said, let's honor her for that. I want to honor you too, for what you're doing and the man that you are right and you know I love. We've hit on some good things and right. Nobody gets it right every day, but the fact is, when we know who we are in Christ, we're a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come, and that he's absolutely madly in love with us. His thoughts outnumber the sand on the seashore when we start getting this picture of who God views us as it changes everything Outdoor wise. So we kind of talked about this earlier on. But for you, is there anything that just stands out post being a believer when you're in the outdoors? Is there a deeper connection that you're like we kind of talked about it, but for you, I just love to hear it from your words 100 what it looks like, 100 like every sunrise that I see.
Speaker 2:I, you know I can't like when we, when you and I were talking about it earlier, I was literally getting chills because I have literally all of those images in my head and to me that's what a church looks like to me. You know what I mean when I envision, or even when I envision the afterlife. That's what I envision, envision, um, you know, just sunrise. You know massive horizon, birds in the sky. You know our turkeys gobbling on the ground, like that's. That's what I envision, what I see, um, and I, I personally, I can't help feel drawn closer to him and the, the world that he created, just being outside and and like I don't even have to be doing anything, like there's plenty of mornings where I love just literally just sitting there and listening, you know, sipping some coffee and taking it all in, taking a nap, you know, midday nap in the field, like there's literally nothing, nothing in the world better than that to me, and it makes me feel, like I said that much closer to him, knowing that he created all this for me, for us. You know, like this was something that like otherwise, how did all this end up here. You know, like I, you can't, no, you can't explain it, you can't tie it into it, like how you know, um, so, yeah, I, it has made, it has made everything you know that much better, um, and as made me appreciate all of those things that much more as well.
Speaker 2:On top of it, um, and making sure that you know, especially now, like it's my duty now to also take care of these things. You know he created these things for us. Now it's my duty to take care of them so that all of these other people can also, like my sons, can enjoy all of these things that I love and feel that connection to him. I want 10, 20, 30 generations from now to be able to feel connected to God through the outdoors and the pursuits that we love, you know, and so that's our duty now to you know, I feel like his liaison to try and take care of those things the best that I can. And then, you know, pass those on to future generations as well, and all of the same ideals to them, those on to future generations as well, um, and all of the same ideals, uh, to them as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, couldn't have said it better myself, man. I mean, that's what we're, yeah, we're called to do. We're called to be stewards. Steward, well, what we're given, honor God and and love our families, you know. Love Lord to God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbors as yourself. And stewarding what we've been given is a form of worship. Right, when we take care of this. I think the perspective you shared is so beautiful Because we're going to do that. That's going to give them the opportunity to have those experiences. And you know, our generations to come are actually going to have their own encounters with God in the great outdoors and it's up to us. We've got to be good stewards of that. We've also got to be good stewards of the outdoors, but we've also got to be good stewards in leadership and good stewards in showing the way, which is honor God and man. That gets me fired up right there.
Speaker 2:It gets me fired up too. That's awesome. Even just talking about talking about it's just instant chills right away, like you can, because I can just I picture the. The images are super clear in my mind and um to where I feel you know most at home and that's where I I do feel closest to him. Um, you know, that's where you know you and I have talked about wanting to get something together in the future of you know, getting a group together where we're worshiping God but we're we're doing it outside, doing the you know the thing and the things that he's created. Um, you know just little things like that. Or you know, even if it's taking new hunters out or whatever, getting them closer to God but also getting them to see, like, his creation and what he's he's given us and fully taking advantage of it and loving it and taking care of it and giving back to those that that haven't enjoyed it or haven't seen those types of things. I guess you could say yeah, that's awesome, man.
Speaker 1:We got to do that. We got to pull that off, pull that together For sure man. Is there any? As we kind of wrap this up, I'm trying to. I just don't think we could. There's nothing else we can add to that, because that gets. I mean, that's just that's the outdoorsman's mandate we got to. We got to stir well what we're giving and pass it on and take care of our families and love God. Is there anything else you would want to share? Any final thoughts? Maybe to someone walking in your shoes where, where you were at, and then maybe after that, why don't you pray us out?
Speaker 2:Sure, um, yeah. So I would say it's okay, you know, it's okay to have questions, it's okay to if you're on the fence of not, you know, fully believing or believing, it's okay to question things. But what I would say is talk to somebody like, like I was lucky enough to find you as a mentor like, talk to somebody who is in, has been on their faith journey and is able to walk you through these things, because you can't do it on your own. You need, you need somebody to guide you, you need, you know, you need a liaison, and God used you as a liaison for me. Um, and you know it's, it's scary, it's not easy to do, but at the end of the day, like it will change your life and you'll be glad that you made that jump to asking somebody. Hey, you know what's this about.
Speaker 2:There's a huge shift in our world and I think, now more than ever, you know we need God, we need Jesus and we need the Holy Spirit, and the more people we get talking about it, thinking about it, believing in it, giving their lives to it, I think the better this whole world will be. So, you know, I would encourage anybody just to take that leap of faith and really just give themselves and have an open heart towards it. Don't push it off because of what you had seen or maybe something that you've been through. He will never turn his back on you, no matter what. He loves you and if you give yourself to him, he's already done the work of giving his son to forgive all of our sins. So the least you could do is literally just ask the question that you're curious about and try and learn. Have an open heart to learning more about it. I don't think it's something that anyone would regret doing. You know, I think that at the end of the day, it's a good thing to have somebody like God on your side.
Speaker 1:I agree with that. It's always good to have God on our side. Man that's powerful. Well, cody, would you like to do the honors of praying us out and praying for those that listened here?
Speaker 2:Sure, I got a little Bible verse that's been important to me. I guess. No discipline seems pleasant at the time but painful Later on. However, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. That's Hebrews 12, 11. We talked the other day. The enemy is always going to be trying to bring you down. It's really easy to get off of, off of the bandwagon, right? I'm not always amazing at this, you know, and I'm not going to act like I am. I'm, you know, I, I fail, I I don't pray sometimes, you know, like it's, it's all of the above, but that verse itself like speaks to me in the fact that, whether it's working out, training your dog, anything, in order to build on it, you need to have a little bit of discipline to to doing those things. Um and so that's something that's important to have when you're walking this journey.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, that's a great verse. Man Can't do it without discipline. Discipline's a godly principle, yeah.
Speaker 2:So, Lord, thank you for bringing us here today together to have conversation about you and your love for us. I really appreciate you putting Cornerstone and Josh and Barton everyone through Cornerstone in my life. Uh, without you doing that, I wouldn't be here today, Um, talking with you, with Josh, with Josh on this podcast. I really appreciate all of the works that you have done for me in my life. I appreciate all of the goods, the bads and all the above. I'm just very thankful that you've gotten me to this point and that you've continued to love me, even though I haven't always deserved it, and I know that you don't ever look at it like I don't deserve it. I appreciate your love every single day and I'm appreciative for all the relationships you've put in my life and all the little nuggets you've dropped along the way to get me to where I am today. Without you, I'm nothing. I appreciate everything. In God's name amen.
Speaker 1:Amen, in Jesus' name. I appreciate it, man Well. Thanks for being on and for all of you that are listening. Hey, thank you. Appreciate it and share this with everybody that you think could find it valuable.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir.