047 - Lukewarm Isn't Enough with Aaron Middleton

In this episode of My Valley, His Victory, Aaron Middleton shares his journey of faith, family, and the profound connection he feels with God through nature. Growing up in the Ozarks, Aaron reflects on his childhood experiences of traveling and exploring the outdoors with his family. He discusses how these experiences shaped his love for nature and how they play a significant role in his spiritual life. Aaron also opens up about a period of stagnation in his faith and the transformative moments that brought him closer to God, emphasizing the importance of faith in action and the impact of community in his spiritual journey. In this conversation, Aaron Middleton shares his journey of faith, emphasizing the importance of stepping out of comfort zones, building community, and being bold in sharing one's faith. He discusses his experiences leading a life group, participating in mentorship programs, and attending transformative events that have shaped his spiritual growth. Aaron highlights the significance of surrounding oneself with like-minded believers and the impact of family leadership in nurturing faith within the home.

Connect with Aaron:
https://www.instagram.com/amiddleton611/

The Balance of Gray
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Chapters

• 9:32 [Ad] The Balance of Gray
• 10:22 (Cont.) 047 - Lukewarm Isn't Enough with Aaron Middleton
• 41:03 [Ad] The Signpost Inn Podcast
• 41:49 (Cont.) 047 - Lukewarm Isn't Enough with Aaron Middleton

Transcript

McKenzie Smith (00:02)
On today's episode of My Valley, His Victory, we have Aaron Middleton. He says first and foremost, he is a follower of Jesus. He lives in the Ozark Mountains of Northern Arkansas with his wife, Melanie, who goes by Laney, their daughter, Meredith, and their son, Jake. He is a trooper with the Arkansas State Police, where he works as a criminal investigator, and his bride is a high school English teacher. They're very active in their church, serving the Lord through many different ways in ministries. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, fishing,
hunting, camping, and traveling the USA with his family. Thanks so much for being with us today, Aaron

Aaron Middleton (00:39)
Thanks, I'm excited. This is definitely a humbling experience for me. I never thought I'd be on a podcast or anything like that. So I'm excited. I'm looking forward to having a good conversation.

McKenzie Smith (00:50)
Yeah, absolutely. So why don't you go ahead and just share a little bit more about yourself and who you are with the listeners.

Aaron Middleton (00:57)
Yeah, so lived in Arkansas my entire life, pretty much in this area of North Central Arkansas. Grew up in a very small town where we live now is a rural area. The town I grew up in is Jasper has about 500 people and it's surrounded by the Buffalo National River. So growing up, that was always something that I did with my dad and my mom and my uncle. You know, we spent a lot of time.

Camping and hiking, what a lot of people call spelunking, which we call it caving. We used to do a lot of caving. And then, you know, my parents, they were big on traveling. So we traveled the US growing up. My parents were both teachers. My dad was a counselor. So we always had summers off. I was able, before I turned 18, I traveled to 48 out of 50 states.

So we went all over the place. that's something that I'm very appreciative of was that my parents were big on going places and seeing things. And I was able to get exposed to all kinds of different national parks and different states, different everything. And I grew up in a Christian home. I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home.

I accepted Jesus when I was eight years old. I was baptized in the Buffalo River. yeah, I'm fortunate. I definitely had a good childhood and had a good upbringing.

McKenzie Smith (02:34)
Yeah, so fun that your parents were teachers and so they both had every summer off and you guys just got to travel around and see some really cool places. I feel like that is a very unique experience. And to get to see so much at such a young age, that's that's really cool. And I'm grateful for you that they got you all of those experiences. And, man, that's just really special. I feel like, you know, I grew up in.

Kansas, but my mom lives in Arkansas and so grew up in a lot of the same kind of work. We actually grew up like 45 minutes apart from each other, which is a little crazy.

Aaron Middleton (03:09)
Yeah.

McKenzie Smith (03:12)
But I feel like a lot of people in Arkansas are kind of home bodies and they kind of don't really travel and leave the state. And that's just kind of kind of the mindset that I experienced. I'm not saying that's everybody, but that I experienced when I was there. I know that my stepdad doesn't love to travel. Nobody in his family really loves to travel. And there's just something about growing up in Arkansas where you just kind of stay put. So I think that that's really cool. What?

Aaron Middleton (03:29)
Repeat.

McKenzie Smith (03:40)
At that time when you were young and traveling around with your parents, where was your favorite place or like your favorite state? You said you got to see 48 out of the 50 by the time you're 18.

Aaron Middleton (03:52)
Well, that's a tough one. know, well, going back to what you were saying, know, everybody that we know that travels, that goes on vacation, they go to the beach. So you either go to Gulf Shores, Orange Beach or Panama City, Pensacola. So people go to the beach, as far as traveling everywhere else, don't see a whole lot of that. But favorite place?

I would say I always we spent a lot of time at the Grand Canyon. We went to the Grand Canyon several times as a kid. I always enjoyed going there when I was older, when I was in high school and I think maybe my freshman year of college, my dad, my uncle and I and a few other people, we hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, camped on the bottom and hiked back out from the South Rim side. We did that twice and that's still one of my

favorite experiences as far as traveling. We went to Yellowstone a couple of times. I really enjoyed Yellowstone. I really enjoyed the South Dakota, the Black Hills and that area. yeah, Grand Canyon was definitely one of my favorite places to go when I was a kid.

McKenzie Smith (05:09)
Yeah. So growing up in kind of a hiking, camping, exploring family, is this something that they did just with you guys as kids? Is this something that your parents are still actively doing or did actively, you know, into your adulthood or kind of talk to us a little bit about that?

Aaron Middleton (05:28)
My parents, they still travel a lot. They don't do a whole lot of the hiking and different things like that. They don't do that anymore, but they still travel quite a bit. My uncle, he's retired. I spent a lot of time with him growing up as well. And he's out literally every single day. He's out somewhere walking through the woods along the Buffalo River. So yeah.

You know, another thing I grew up doing, I did a lot of hunting when I became a teenager, know, got into fishing. And I still do that some, I don't do it as much. But you know, that was a big deal for me when I was, I would say in my late teens and in my twenties. I did that, I kind of ventured away from the hiking, camping thing and then did a lot more hunting and fishing. And then now I've kind of gone back to where I don't do as much of that.

and I'd do a lot more hiking.

McKenzie Smith (06:25)
Yeah, yeah, I know that you, we had originally connected and you had reached out and said, hey, I'm coming to Utah with my family, you know, what are some recommendations? And so I think that it is really cool too that you are implementing what you got to experience as a child and then now, you know, getting your kids out and taking them on all these super fun adventures as well. So what's kind of their, what have they caught the bug of at a young age? What excites them the most?

Aaron Middleton (06:50)
So they both love Colorado. We go to Colorado a lot. They both love going out there. They enjoy the hiking out there. They both love to camp. My bride's not as big on the camping. I'm still working on her a little bit. The kids love to go camping. You know, it's funny because I asked them last night, we're trying to figure out where we want to go next year.

McKenzie Smith (07:09)
you

Aaron Middleton (07:19)
and I asked both of them, you know, before bedtime, where do you want to go next year? And both of them, I asked them separately, and they both said they want to go to the Grand Canyon. So that sounds like that's probably where we're going to go next year. But they enjoyed, when we went to Utah on that trip, they really enjoyed arches. My son Jake was absolutely, because he's a big Avengers fan,

He was enthralled with the Thor's Hammer Hoodoo at Bryce Canyon. And so getting to see that was like the highlight of the trip for him. He thought that was the coolest thing.

McKenzie Smith (07:57)
Yeah, yeah, that's super fun. I love southern Utah so much. It's so unique and just all the unique rock formations and all the things. I think it's super beautiful and just unique. I don't know, that's the best way I can explain it. There's not a lot of places in the US that look like that. Yeah, so.

Aaron Middleton (08:03)
Yeah.

for sure.

McKenzie Smith (08:22)
We've talked a little bit about your outdoor hobbies and traveling and all that fun stuff. Talk to us about how being in the outdoors and traveling maybe plays a role in your relationship with Christ.

Aaron Middleton (08:35)
So I've always been the type of person that I've always been someone that's more comfortable outdoors. Whether it be hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, all of those things. But recently, when I'm outdoors, mean this morning I went on a hike and I went to fairly popular place but I got there early enough that there was nobody there and literally

I mean the whole time I was just praying while I was walking, just kind of having a conversation with God. That's just where I don't know if there's something that I relax or what it is. There's something about being in God's creation. I've had conversations with friends, with my pastor about this, that it can't be coincidental that

Jesus spent 40 years, or not 40 years, 40 days out in the wilderness. Jesus would go to the garden to pray in solitude by himself. Moses encountered God out in nature. King David, Elijah, all these different people. So I think there's just like an innate attraction that God has. He just draws us to Him, closer to Him through His creation.

Yeah, that's, it's just a special place to me. That's, I was telling somebody the other day, I said, you know, I can tell that when I haven't been able, when I've been too busy that I haven't been able to get out and go on a hike or get in the woods. Cause I get really cranky and irritable and I'm just not focused. So it's like, I know when I get to that point, I need to get outside for a few hours.

McKenzie Smith (10:25)
Yeah, definitely. I feel that. I was feeling a little like that the other day and I was like, I told my husband, I was like, we need to go on a walk. Like I need to, because I, I've been getting a little bit of the winter blues and it's been cold and rainy and snowing already here in Utah. And I was just like,

Aaron Middleton (10:33)
Yeah.

Wow.

McKenzie Smith (10:45)
is, you know, it's just not a time where you really want to go spend some time outside unless you're, you know, skiing and it's not there yet. You know, we're not, we're not in that season yet, but I'm like, we need to go on a walk. I need to get out. I need some fresh air. I need to, I need to move. So I totally, totally understand that. So I always like to ask this question. You said that you were, you know, became a believer at the age of eight. and you've always kind of done outdoorsy things.

Aaron Middleton (10:58)
.

McKenzie Smith (11:14)
At what point, if you can think of it, if you don't, it's okay to, I just always, I'm just always curious with people that have been believers their whole lives, at what point did nature become a special place in your relationship with God or has it always been?

Aaron Middleton (11:33)
I would definitely say it, I would say it always has been to a point. And we'll kind of get into it when I share kind of my valley and my testimony a little bit later on. But, you know, even though I've always loved to be outside, there was a time in my life that, you know, I just was kind of a lukewarm Christian. So I didn't really connect.

being out in the woods with spending time with our creator. But I remember, I think it was about three years ago, my family and I, we went on a vacation to Colorado with my sister and her husband, her family. And I got up early one morning, I was gonna go on a summit hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. I was gonna summit this mountain called Mount Ida. And this was kind of a new thing.

to me at the time. wasn't really, since then I've gotten, my wife and I have both gotten into going and summoning 14ers in Colorado, but at the time I hadn't done that. And I just remember, you know, I got up, started the hike before the sun came up or as the sun was coming up. And I just remember when I kind of broke out of the trees and got above tree line, you know, looked down in the valley and there's bull elk everywhere.

And you look on one side and you can see the Never Summer Mountain Range. And then on the other side, you're going up the Continental Divide and you can see, I think it's the Mummy Mountain Range on the other side. And I just remember almost getting knocked over just with the beauty that I was experiencing. I was totally by myself. And that was just kind of a new thing for me. And you know...

I say that I could hear God's voice, but I think probably I could just feel like just His presence, like I never felt before. ever since then, it's just been something that, you know, I'll never forget that moment. And I've just kind of been hooked to it ever since, just getting in the mountains and, you know, trying to get away from people if you can. It's hard sometimes, but just getting out in the mountains, you know, I like sunrises and I like sunsets. So like being out.

McKenzie Smith (13:39)
Yeah.

Aaron Middleton (13:46)
early in the morning or I like being out there a few hours before dark. It's a special time to me.

McKenzie Smith (13:53)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Thanks for sharing. And I kind of put you on the spot there. was just it's just always interesting to me, you know, to to learn, you know, is this something that has has always, you know, you've been drawn to and you've connected to the Lord or has it been, you know, revealed to you in some other way? So is that real quick? This is.

Aaron Middleton (14:13)
Yeah.

McKenzie Smith (14:17)
Cut cut screen Is that your story about the way God's revealed himself to you in the outdoors or do you want me to ask you that question?

Aaron Middleton (14:25)
Mmm.

I would say probably so, yeah. Yeah.

McKenzie Smith (14:31)
That's okay. I just you you kind of added that and I was like well that kind of answers the next question so I always want to like make sure I ask the question so

Aaron Middleton (14:39)
Yeah, that was the one that, you know, when I prepared that I kind of, definitely point to that one for sure.

McKenzie Smith (14:46)
Okay, okay, cool. We will just, that was the answer to that one. Great.

Okay, so.

Aaron Middleton (14:56)
No, real quick. There was another time that I guess now that we're thinking about it, that I'm thinking about it, really, I know, it just a special moment for me. So I could share that one if you want me to. Yeah.

McKenzie Smith (15:09)
Okay, I'll ask the question then. Okay, I know that answer to that question kind of answered the next question, but I know you have a different one. So if you could share a story with us about a way in which God has revealed himself to you in the outdoors or maybe spoken to you.

Aaron Middleton (15:28)
Yes, you know, so like last year, my wife and I were able to sneak away for a few days before Thanksgiving and we went to Yosemite and it was a place that I never went as a kid that I always wanted to go and we just never never made it out there. And my wife and I went out there for a few days, just her and I. And, you know, I would say we love Colorado, we love

Rocky Mountain National Park is one of our favorite places, but I would say that Yosemite may be our favorite national park that we've been to. And I know it's a special one for you. I've heard your story about it. But I just remember we got to the Tunnel View viewpoint. And I remember being there, we got there early, two different mornings, and we could kind of watch the sunrise come up over Tunnel View. And even though there's

lots of people there so you're not really having a moment of solitude but just seeing just the vastness of you know the Yosemite Valley and there was fog in the valley and it's just like to me I saw that and I thought how could anyone doubt that we have a creator that created all this and then you know that was our first morning we did some hikes and then that evening we went out to

The meadow that's right beside, I think they pronounce it Theawani Hotel. And we sat down on a chair and we watched the sunset over Half Dome. And just the same experience, you her and I, just sat there, it just the two of us, there weren't a lot of people, so we did have some solitude. And just seeing, being at the bottom of that valley and seeing those cliffs, it's just like, like I said, how could you doubt that we have a creator that created all these things? It's not, it didn't happen by happenstance.

McKenzie Smith (17:24)
Yeah, yeah, it's too beautiful. It's too intricate. It's too vast. It's too perfect and it's imperfectness to be a happenstance. So yeah, love Yosemite, such a beautiful place. And thank you for sharing that story.

So we talk a lot on this podcast about big trips. We talk about these super awesome places like Yosemite, but I would love for you to share just kind of how you maybe experience God or connect with God through creation on an everyday basis that could be applicable for someone who maybe doesn't get the opportunity to go and see these these really crazy, beautiful places or go on these massive trips.

Aaron Middleton (18:09)
Yeah, so for me, what works for me is it doesn't happen every day just because we get so busy, but I just try to get outside even if it's just for 10 or 15 minutes. I try to get outside every day if I can. You know, there's some days where, you know, it could just be 10 minutes to go out in the yard and play basketball with my kids. You know, in the summertime, it could be go jump in the pool with them or

you know, kind of what we enjoy doing is just going for a walk through the neighborhood or going to the park and just going for a walk. You know, I live in a more rural area, you know, still to me, it's a, our town has, I think 13,000 people, but in the grand scheme of things, it's a rural area. But I think if you live, you know, somewhere, you know, that's more urban, I think it's just important to get outside. No matter where you go,

You're probably not too far from a national forest or a lake or a river or something. Just get outside and maybe find a quiet spot for a little bit of time. And just try to get outside. And even if you can't get outside to do that, if you can work on something, go water the garden or your flowers. Just get outside and get some vitamin D. think one of the problems our society has is that so many people work their entire day inside and they just never

they never find, you when they get off work and you move on to the next thing and we just never find enough time to spend outside.

McKenzie Smith (19:47)
Yeah, yeah, I totally agree. Appreciate that. I know it's always helpful to hear the little things that we can incorporate in our everyday lives instead of, know, because those are honestly more important, the things that we do every single day. So thank you for sharing that.

So switching gears into the title of this podcast, my Valley, his victory would love for you to share either a Valley or a season of wilderness that you walked through and just what God maybe taught you or prepared you for in that season.

Aaron Middleton (20:17)
Yeah, you know, mine is more or less, it's probably just going to be a kind of a phase of life that I was in. Not a, you know, thankfully not a large event or, you know, it's a big something that happened to me. It was just more a phase of life where I was just a stagnant lukewarm Christian. you know,

I was just kind of checking the boxes. You know, so just to give a little backstory, you know, after I graduated high school, you know, I was very active in our church and our youth group and went off to college. And then about my junior, senior year of college, you know, kind of just started drifting off the path a little bit and, you know, little too much partying, know, drinking, stuff like that. Just, just getting a little wild.

which was outside of the norm for me because growing up I wasn't that type of person. I joined the Army National Guard when I was a senior in high school. I did several years in the National Guard. So I was off on trainings and different things like that. And that was just kind of the thing that you did when you're off at a school or you're off at a different location. There's not a whole lot else to do but drink. And I kind of fell into that trap.

And that just kind of continued. My wife and I got married, thankfully, her and I went to different colleges, but we started dating in high school and we were dating and engaged through college. And she has always been the person to steer me. She was the person that helped steer me in the right direction. She kept me accountable and...

I just, can't thank her enough for what she's done, the blessing that she's been in my life. But even after we got married, you know, I'd kind of drug her into some of it. And, you we just kind of partied. didn't go to church as much as we needed to. And, you know, I took the job that I have now and we had to move a little ways away from what we would consider home. And we just never found a church. So for a year, we just never went to church. And, you know, part of it was

my schedule because I worked a lot of weekends. But we never found a home church. So if you're not surrounded by believers, if you're not surrounded by like-minded people, it's easy to fall into that trap. We eventually moved closer to home and we started going to a different church that we had met a lot of friends at and we had a really good core group of friends. We went there for a couple of years and then

that church split, there were some issues with the pastor and that church split. So we went back to kind of the church where we had both grown up in. you know, through that time, you know, we were very close with a lot of the people in the church, but I was just living a stagnant lukewarm life, you know, on, you know, in one aspect, you know, I was a

To most people, I appeared to be a good person, but I just wasn't doing the right thing. I was living for the flesh and for myself. I didn't really think about my kids. I didn't think about my wife. I was just kind of doing things for myself. If I wanted to go do something, then that's what I was gonna go do. was big into, did a lot of hunting and fishing at the time, which there's nothing wrong with that. But I was away from home lot.

I was just a very selfish, fleshly person and I wasn't living out the life that Jesus called us to live. And that's kind of where I wanted to read a passage in scripture that kind of, you know, the book of James has always been one of my favorite books of the Bible. There's so much packed into five chapters. remember... Good one. Yeah.

McKenzie Smith (24:27)
Me too. It's one of my favorite books by far.

Aaron Middleton (24:32)
I remember, I even remember as a teenager doing a Bible study on the book of James, and I was like, man, everything is packed in here. But one of the verses that recently over the last year or so that really convicted me was James 2 chapter 14. It says, what good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but not works, can such faith save him?

If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, stay warm and be well fed, but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead by itself. But someone will say, you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works. You believe that God is good. If you believe that God is one good, even the demons believe and they shutter.

Later it says, chapter 26 says, for just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. And that's kind of, that's where I was for several years, I would say up until probably about two to three years ago, really. And like I said, you we were going to church and we had a lot of friends in our church, but we weren't really active. And several years ago,

We took on a new pastor and the pastor that we took on just kind of stepped in very much as a role of mentor. He's a big mentor for me. I remember not long after he came, my wife, Lani, came to me and she said, hey, we have a thing called life groups at our church where couples get together a couple times a month and we just discuss, we have a Bible study, we discuss the sermons.

From the Sunday before you know, whatever you still life together She came to me and she said what do you think about us being life group leaders? And I'm like, what are you talking about? Absolutely. Like are you serious like me and you and she's like, well, yeah, absolutely and of course she's a teacher so, you know, she she's used to talking in front of people and You know, thought about it prayed about it and I'm like, okay, you know, this is outside of my comfort zone, but let's do it

And that was such a huge blessing for me because it forced me to step out of my comfort zone. It forced me to start taking those steps of not being, you know, in a lukewarm bathtub as a believer. You know, so we started leading the life group. And then I think the following year, would have been last year, our pastor came to me and

11 other guys and he said, hey, I want to start this mentorship program with 12 of you guys. We're going to read a book a month. We're going to do some exercises. We're going to meet once a month. And he's like, it's going to be, it's going to be tough. You you can't miss any of the, any of the sessions and you need to stay focused with this. And I thought, man, that's a, that's a tall order, but I'll do it. And that was one of the biggest blessings in my life was to connect with 12 other men.

from all walks of life from age 20 to 50. And the second time we met, we shared our testimonies. And then from there, we just kind of grew into a brotherhood, really. And then this year we branched out and I chose six other men and we've been doing the same thing. And it's been just such a blessing on my life to be poured into and then also to pour out as best I can to other men.

you know, another significant thing that happened, last year was, a buddy of mine. He had been inviting me to this thing called men's encounter. He'd been inviting me for four or five years and always, you know, like, like you said in my introduction, I'm a police officer. And so I always use the excuse of, man, I got to work this weekend. can't, I can't go. I'm, I'm scheduled to work that weekend. You know,

So I would have had to take vacation. Of course, it was no problem for me to take vacation, you know, to go hunting or to go on a trip or something, but I didn't want to take vacation, you know, to go to this conference with, you know, with my friend and other men. So I put him off and put him off and put him off. And finally, last year, he mentioned it to me and I'm like, man, I don't, I don't know. And, know, I, I,

since then changed jobs within my department to where I have weekends off. So I didn't have that excuse anymore. And Lainey says, she says, I really think you ought to go. He's been on you to go for several years. And I've never heard anybody say that they wish they hadn't gone. And I'm like, okay, you I'll go, you know, and of course, you know, we're on our way up there and I'm like, I could be doing so many other things. And

McKenzie Smith (29:28)
I'm

Aaron Middleton (29:49)
I'll tell you that was one of the most life-changing moments, life-changing weekends of my life. It's just a, I don't even really know how to describe it. It's called Encounter Ministries. It's in Lebanon, Missouri. It's in Camdenton, Missouri. They do weekends for men. They do weekends for women called Ashes to Beauty. And it's just a 48-hour, best I could call it as a marathon.

There's 14 different sessions that go over just different topics of our beliefs. And it's all testimony based. So it's similar to what you're doing. You get people up and they talk about their valleys and then they talk about how God delivered them from what they've gone through. it just, there's a moment through there to where you, I don't want to give away too much for anybody that might listen that might go one day, but.

You kind of write down the sins that you've done or the issues that you're having in your life. And then you go nail it physically, you nail it to the cross. And the things that I was dealing with, the way I was acting outside of church, the language I was using, the gossip, just the negativity that I had in my life, I put those things down and I went nailed it on the cross.

I just prayed, said, Lord, I want this to stay here. I'm not gonna take this back home with me. I want these things to stay here. And since that time, I still mess up daily, mess up every day. But since that time, I've definitely been changed for sure. I went back again this past year. And it's funny, the things that the Lord convicted me of the first time, the second time I went,

Maybe they didn't necessarily hit me hard, but then there are these other things that the Lord brought us, like you need to be better about that. you know, recently my wife went and she came back and it definitely changed her as well. She went to the women's version and you know, something that the Lord had been convicting me of was being bold in my faith and sharing my faith. And that's just something that I've always, you know,

I didn't want to, you know, I guess fear of rejection, you know, talking to somebody about my faith and then having having rejection. And she came back and just the boldness that she had was an inspiration to me. And so that's been what God's laid on my heart lately is to be bold, you know, not to not to fear and just and just boldly share his faith.

And through that time that we were living in a stagnant life, we had so many, we had different things happen. My wife went through some postpartum depression and it really opened my eyes to that because I'd never dealt with depression and seeing her go through these things. It opened my eyes to the reality of it. And that's a story for her to tell. Maybe one day she'll come on here and she can tell her story because she's got an amazing story too.

You know, but I'm just so thankful to have her by my side through all this because she has helped. She's held me accountable throughout our marriage. We've been married for going on 14 years and got two awesome kids. And I guess, you know, what really hammered at home for me of, you know, these changes that I've made, which, you know, since

Over the last couple of years, we've had things happen. I was involved in a pretty bad car wreck or our family was that was very, it was kind of hard, really hard for my wife and my kids and me in some ways. But through that all, what am I trying to say? I kind of lost my train of thought.

I completely lost my train of thought. I'm sorry. I know where I was going with this. Something that just kind of hammered home how important it is to be bold and to live out a life, trying to model your life after Jesus. It really came around this year.

McKenzie Smith (34:08)
That's okay. The minute I start talking, it's gonna come back.

Go ahead.

Aaron Middleton (34:33)
Back in the spring, we were sitting on the couch. were watching, we started watching The Chosen, you know, all the seasons, and we watched it together as a family. And we were sitting there on the couch, and our son especially, he's one that he picks up on things really easily. And we were just sitting there watching it, and just kind of out of the blue, and I don't really know, it was something that he had to have been pondering. And he said, Dad, what do I need to do to get baptized?

And the episode hadn't really dealt with baptism or anything. And of course I'm like, what? Just out of the blue. so we paused it and we told him, hey, well, need to understand that you're a sinner, that you've done wrong. And you need to understand that without Jesus in your life, then you'll have no direction. And without Jesus in your life, you can never spend eternity in heaven with him.

And we sat there and we discussed that with him. And he said, well, I'm ready to accept Jesus and I'm ready to get baptized. So we sat there and prayed with him and we were able to baptize him in the Buffalo River this summer. And then later on this summer at Vacation Bible School at our church, our daughter accepted Jesus and she just got baptized this past weekend. And if anything,

to me has hammered home the importance of being bold and of being a leader to your family, being a Christ-like leader to your family. That just right there showed me how important it is because had I not shown a good example, they wouldn't have asked those questions. They wouldn't have pondered those thoughts. And so it just kind of made me...

It kind of makes me ashamed for how I was, but something that I've come to realize is that God's timing is perfect. And all of that happened for a reason. It's just creating my story and I hope someone else can relate to my failures and can take it away and the good can come from it.

McKenzie Smith (36:50)
Yeah. Well, one, thank you so much for sharing all of that. know we chatted chatted before and you had said, you know what you said at the beginning, you know, my story isn't one of, you know, something crazy happened to me or, you know, whatever. I said, you know, I think that topics like these, even though, you know, they're they're not, you know, some of the life altering stories that we've had on this podcast are so important because I think just so many people.

either have walked through a season of being lukewarm in their faith or know somebody that has or has been impacted by this in some way. And so I think that this this topic is so valuable because it is kind of a part of the world that we live in right now. You know, we have a lot of what I'll call cultural Christians or people that are not boldly sharing their faith or living out their faith and.

Aaron Middleton (37:38)
Now.

McKenzie Smith (37:49)
there is a level of that that has impacted, you know, I think the way that Christianity is viewed as well. And so I think that I think this topic is really important. So I just want to say thank you for for sharing all of that. I think that it's. Really cool that your wife came to you and was like, hey, let's lead a small group.

Aaron Middleton (38:07)
Literally.

McKenzie Smith (38:19)
Because, you know, even though you may not have felt equipped in that moment, there's no better way to equip yourself than to be, than to kind of have to do it. And I think, you know, I've been in a lot of places where it's like, I don't feel like I'm ready to do that.

Aaron Middleton (38:31)
Yeah.

McKenzie Smith (38:38)
But honestly, I don't know that I would say that I'm ever ready to do that. And so some in some things in life, there's a ripple effect that happens the opposite way that we want it to. It's like, I need to feel ready and then I can do this thing. And it's like, sometimes you got to do the thing and you got to figure it out along the way. And, know, you got to, you got to jump. and so I think that that's valuable that you shared, you know, like I don't.

Aaron Middleton (38:58)
You do. know, and what you said just kind of brought me back.

McKenzie Smith (39:08)
I don't think we were ready, but we did it. And you can look back at that moment and be like, that's something that changed my life.

Aaron Middleton (39:21)
And I've said it multiple times. I've heard it said so many times is, know, God is the, he's great at taking the underdog and turning them into the winner. You know, he did it with Moses. He did it with David. He did it with Jonah. All these people that, you know, Jonah ran away. said, no, I don't want to have anything to do with this. you know, and then God intervened. So he's great at taking people that

The world says how flawed and aren't equipped, like you said, and use them for his glory. It's just, that's what he does. And what better example of our God, if he used the best of the best, if he used the Michael Jordan to do all the stuff, it's like, well, that's Michael Jordan. Of course he's gonna be great at it. But if you use the boy, David,

just using the underdog constantly over and over again, so many examples. So just like what you said.

McKenzie Smith (40:25)
Yeah.

Yeah. And I think he puts opportunities in front of us that we know are, you know, God, God calling, like, you know, you leading a small group, that's, you know, that's, that's pretty, pretty significant to for God to be like, Hey, like you do this. But I think so often it's just, he's giving us opportunities to be obedient. And then it's like, I'll figure out the rest. I just need you to say yes.

Aaron Middleton (40:51)
Mm.

McKenzie Smith (40:57)
to my plan and to the opportunity that I'm presenting yourself and like, yeah, I think just so often he presents us with opportunities and we're like, God, can you fix this? Can you fix this? And it's like, he's giving you an invitation, but you do have to say yes. And so.

Aaron Middleton (41:13)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's so good, you know what you said, because that's, you know, I've got a friend that that's what he always says is somebody will ask him something. He just said, I'm just being obedient to the Lord, you know, and it's like that's just be obedient and be bold. And if you'll do that, then God will sort it out.

If you don't know what you're doing and he's calling you to do it, be obedient and do it. And if you're not sure, then jump in the Bible and read about it because there's so many examples. That's what, if someone says, just don't feel, don't feel like, I don't hear the Lord speaking to me about something. It's like, well, open up your Bible and start reading because I guarantee you he will lead you to a passage that's relatable to you.

and he will speak to you through that passage. I guarantee it'll happen.

McKenzie Smith (42:09)
Yeah, yeah. And I think too, like, you you going to that encounter men thing, it's like you kept getting the invitation, you know, you just had to say yes. And then, you know, at that at that event, you were able to really work through and and drop some things, you know, at the cross and and give.

and give them to God.

Aaron Middleton (42:40)
Yeah.

You cut out for just a second. Are you back? Sorry.

McKenzie Smith (42:50)
Yeah, I lost you for a second

Aaron Middleton (42:53)
Yeah, I think we're back. Okay.

McKenzie Smith (42:54)
Yeah, I just said you had the opportunity to go and leave some things at the cross. That was how I ended that sentence.

Aaron Middleton (43:00)
Yep, absolutely. Yep.

McKenzie Smith (43:08)
you

Sorry, give me one second. I lost my train of thought when you left.

Aaron Middleton (43:13)
No, you're good.

Hey, it's happened to me too, so that's alright.

McKenzie Smith (43:24)
So, Erin, for someone who may be in that season of being lukewarm, not really honoring what God has called them to do, you know, not really being obedient to the word, hasn't fully lost their faith, but definitely just like isn't living for Christ. What piece of advice or word of encouragement would you give to someone in that same season?

Aaron Middleton (43:51)
think a big, big important thing to me is surround yourself with believers. I was fortunate enough to, I'm married to a wonderful Christ follower and so she helped redirect me at different points in my life. But also with that, I surrounded myself with who I would consider to be men of God. And I think that's where the ball started rolling for me.

I'm a slow learner, it took a few years for me to really catch on. Hopefully, people learn faster than I do, but I think a big important thing is just to surround yourself with like-minded believers and believers that'll call you out if they see that you're doing something that you're not supposed to be doing, people that will call you out and kind of just redirect you and point you in the right direction.

That's a big one. And I say that in so many ways, you know, the people that you surround yourself with can either make you or break you. I read a book, one of the books that we were reading was by Craig Groeschel is called The Power to Change. And one of the quotes that he said in that book was that you are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with. And

That was the biggest thing that I took from that book. I'm like, wow, that is so true because if I look at the times when I was straying from, when I had strayed away from God, I just wasn't surrounding myself around believers that were calling me out, that were lifting me up, that were epitomizing a walk with Christ. So that's a big one.

Get in the Bible, read your Bible, even if it's only for a few minutes. Make some time, make five minutes to sit down and read your Bible. In the morning, it's preferred because it's a way to get your day started, but if that doesn't work, just read your Bible and then pray. My prayer time, often, obviously I pray in the morning, I pray in the evening. I pray with my wife, I think that's an important thing to do is pray with your spouse if you're married.

I pray with my kids when I put them to bed. when I'm, the job that I do, I'm constantly in a vehicle driving down the road all the time. But that's when I spend a lot of time in prayer. It's just when I'm just driving down the road because I'm just going from point A to point B. So that's when I pray. And then I just, when I'm out in creation and solitude, that's when I pray too.

Those three things, surround yourself with the right people, get in your Bible and spend time in prayer. That would be my encouragement if you are feeling in a stagnant, lukewarm spot in your walk with Christ.

McKenzie Smith (47:03)
Yeah, I think those things are so good and I know we've talked about it before but I always say if it comes up multiple, multiple times then it's probably something we need to pay attention to and who you surround yourself with matters and...

You know, I have a pastor I listen to often, Jonathan Pakaluta, and he, you know, talks about dating and he's like, go and find the godliest man or woman that you know, and, you know, try to date that person. And I think that's also the case with like friends. Like if you, you know, need godly friends, go and find godly friends and go, you know, I know it's bold, but go and ask to be part of community.

Aaron Middleton (47:43)
Yeah.

McKenzie Smith (47:46)
because I think that it does matter and your friends are going to drag you into your old habits and especially if those are friends that you used to do you know sinful things with and they're not changing they're going to continue on the same trajectory that they've always been on and so it's okay to cut people out of your life you know sometimes it

It can be for a season just so that you can get a grasp on what you need to handle and be able to, you know, set boundaries and say no to certain things. And sometimes there are people that, you know, just, just don't need to be in your life and that's okay. think we think that that's like really cutthroat, but it's just like, Hey, we don't have the same interests. We don't have the same values. don't, know, XYZ. It's okay.

Aaron Middleton (48:22)
I think to your point, you know, if you are, if you do, you know, kind of for bit like a better terms, cut ties with those people who were bringing you down.

McKenzie Smith (48:39)
So.

Aaron Middleton (48:51)
If you don't cut it completely, they're still going to see you in passing or they'll see you on social media, whatever. And they'll be like, what changed about you? We used to do X, Y, and Z, and now you don't do that anymore. What's changed? What's the difference? And that can open a door to where you can share Christ with them. So I think it's not wrong to...

McKenzie Smith (49:16)
Yeah.

Aaron Middleton (49:20)
cut ties in that manner. And even you look in the Bible, so many people, they had at least one other person or multiple people that they, Moses and Aaron, Joshua and Caleb, even Jesus had 12 other guys that he surrounded himself with. Community's important, it's very important.

McKenzie Smith (49:43)
Yeah, absolutely.

Well, again, I just want to say thank you so much for sharing and stepping out on a limb because I know you said that this was way out of your comfort zone. So I just want to honor you in that and, you know, just feeling that tug on your heart to to share and to break out of that comfort zone a little bit and do something a little bit different. So just want to say thanks again. And we'd love for you to share with the listeners where they can connect with you or find you on social media or wherever it is you live on the Internet.

Aaron Middleton (50:14)
Yeah, so probably the You know, I'm on Instagram It's a Middleton 611 a Middleton 611. That's my Instagram You know, you can follow me on there. I keep you know, you'll have to send me a request I keep it private just because of my job and you know, let's

If you're friends with me on there, you see I post a lot of pictures of my kids and my wife, and so I just, I do that. I'm also on Facebook, Aaron Middleton, I'm not on there as much, but Facebook or Instagram, you know, feel free to, to, you know, send me a follow request. I put lots of pictures of, you know, hiking and, you know, doing different things, and you're probably gonna see a lot of stuff of my wife and kids on there too. But, yeah, that's where you can find me on social media.

McKenzie Smith (51:04)
Cool. Well, thank you so much for being here and for sharing your story.

Aaron Middleton (51:07)
Thanks for having me. was, yeah, like I said, I was a little nervous about it, but I feel a lot better now. So thanks again.