Running on Coffee and Christ
We are an energetic couple, focused on building a community that is able to impact their families, friends, and their world by; Growing their Faith, Improving their Fitness, and Pursuing their Future.
The topics we discuss, revolve around the hopes that YOU are inspired to better yourself and that you could dare to dream above and beyond all that you have ever imagined for yourself.
Running on Coffee and Christ
Episode 11 Percolating Purpose: When Grandma's Coffee Teaches Life Lessons
We explore the powerful concept of knowing your "why" and how it transforms your approach to life's challenges and opportunities.
• Understanding your why provides clarity and motivation in difficult situations
• Simple acts of service create lasting memories and meaningful impact
• Martin Luther King Jr's legacy demonstrates the power of living for something greater than yourself
• Reading the Bible as history gives deeper appreciation for the freedom we have in Christ
• Our ministry follows wherever our feet go, not just in church settings
• Creating community spaces can serve others in meaningful ways
• Jesus remains our ultimate "why," giving purpose to everything we do
"Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves." - Philippians 2:3
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Music from #InAudio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5NgiN3KLb4
Hey everybody and welcome to episode 11.
Speaker 2:Welcome, welcome, welcome Recording again in the coffee shop.
Speaker 1:Yes, this is probably going to be a shorter episode, I would say, because we've just had some time constraints, but I think God knows exactly what we're supposed to say today, what we're supposed to talk about, and it's going to be good.
Speaker 2:Yep, I'm excited about it. We got our cups of coffee today, even though it's a little warm outside for the first time.
Speaker 1:I'm always going to drink coffee, coffee, and we just got done running yeah, we got done running a little over five miles and it was so muggy outside. Oh my goodness like I just felt like as soon as I walked out there, I felt like moisture just pop up on my body I know I'm still sweating and I'm gonna sit and drink hot coffee, but I love it.
Speaker 1:It's like the ultimate comfort and treat after I've ran. Because I love coffee that much, I'm using my leopard cup. I believe my kids got me this cup, or my sister, I can't remember. Somebody gifted me this cup, though. Because I love leopard, anything leopard.
Speaker 1:When I was 16, I had a Mustang and I got like furry leopard seat covers steering wheel cover cover everything was leopard and I've always loved it yep, oh well, not just leopard, but animal prints, you know no, I know leopard, I do like animal prints, but leopard, a lot of, a lot of animal prints, but leopard mainly. Yep, so we're drinking some great coffee that our team made us. They're in there working like crazy. It's been really busy in the shop today and we're so thankful yep, it's been good.
Speaker 2:Yep, our customers have been in and out all day and um. Employees have been all happy and go lucky it's been fun, it's been a fun day. Uh, you are my sunshine is what it says thank you, yeah, oh well, you're welcome you set that one up, didn't you? May have okay, yeah, but I love a good cup of coffee any time of the day. When's your time to drink a cup of coffee that you like the most? In the morning or at night?
Speaker 1:Every time of day.
Speaker 2:Every time of day.
Speaker 1:Every time of day. So I'm going to say I'm just going to pick a rando number and I'm going to say at 9 o'clock am I love to drink?
Speaker 2:song five o'clock somewhere right, but we're going to make it about coffee?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's about coffee. Yes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, all right. Well, so today, our um, our thought, uh, for what we want to talk about is your, why? Um you know there's a lot of reasons why we do things in life and there's a lot of reasons why we go on different adventures. We we try to tackle, um, you know, business ventures and jobs and exploring different things that intrigue us, you know like coffee.
Speaker 2:originally it was what intrigued me and I got kind of geeked out on why coffee tastes so good to me, you know, and started exploring flavor profiles and stuff just on my own. And my why was just to satisfy some curiosity. But why did it continue to grow? Because I developed a passion for it, you know, and that ultimately kind of led through you know, your desire to start a business.
Speaker 2:It kind of combined it together and then here we are at Sharecroppers Coffee. So it really has been an interesting journey. How just exploring something because I was curious about it turned into a passion that turned into a venture that turned into a lifestyle and turned into an opportunity.
Speaker 2:You know, um, but what's your why? On a lot of things, you know, because we talk about running, we talk about coffee and we talk about christ. Why do we serve christ and why do we run? Uh, just kind of hitting on those things like what's your why? You know, just to think about it and kind of reaffirm it.
Speaker 1:I think I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I think when you know your why, it just gives you, uh, just a better drive and passion for whatever it is that you're doing. You know, because it's very easy to just get really complacent in life and, before you know it, you're kind of floating through. Yeah, because I know what that feels like when I don't really know why I am doing something. It's like when I was in high school, I struggled with math so much, like like so, so so much, and I didn't know why I was doing some of the things that I was doing. Like when I'm trying to figure out these problems, I'm like why, why is it this way? Why am I having to do this to try to figure out this? You know, and maybe because I didn't understand the why, it was a huge mental block for me.
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 1:Because later on, on, once I got to college, I excelled in math. I don't know, a light bulb went off. But um, I think when you know your why it just it makes everything clear for you. Yeah, because, and it makes it win, because it's going to be hard. Anything that you do in life, at some point it's going to be hard and it makes that so much easier when you know your why. It helps you to be able to push through.
Speaker 2:You're able to take the moments where there is a struggle. There's always a struggle between the I don't know, and I do know there's always a struggle, a learning struggle. A lot of times that's where you're going to get frustrated. It can be easy to drop off and be like I don't know If and be like, well, I don't know, I don't know, but if your, why is to accomplish a goal of learning something or doing something?
Speaker 2:the struggle is worth it if you keep your eye on that marker.
Speaker 2:I was talking about this, the concept, with our son the other day, with Jude, about the education system, with the way that they test. They train the kids to learn the way that they're going to test so that they can make sure they're able to monitor what those tests are. But we were talking about like non-traditional teaching methods where, like a student will say, for this quarter your project is to pick a business venture and you tell me what that is and the student will be like, okay, I want to build a commercial bridge. And then that student has to develop a business model and business plan building you know schematics for it and during that quarter they have to learn the skills that they would need to be able to do that. So their math would be oriented around geometry and then finance and things like that to be able to accomplish it based on economics. But then someone else's business venture might be around developing a cure for cancer and so that's going to be like more of your science type math.
Speaker 2:You know things with with chemicals and compounds and things like that, so you're going to have different math needed for different stations of life. So your why you learn that math that you need is based on what your. Why is your? Goal is yeah and they found that a lot of students learn better that way. Not every, every student, obviously Right, but I just thought that was intriguing.
Speaker 1:It is intriguing.
Speaker 2:To think about. But our why, like for a lot of things, why do we want to go to church? You know, a lot of people say like, well, I'll go to church when I have my heart right, when I feel like I can be comfortable walking through that door, you know. But your why is actually to build a relationship with God. That doesn't mean that he wants you to be perfect before you come into his presence.
Speaker 1:He wants you to be in his presence so that he can help you get closer to him and understand how much we do need him.
Speaker 2:It's a revelation of what he did for us, how much it matters to actually believe it.
Speaker 1:It's an obedience thing too. I believe that he wanted us to be for like-minded believers to be able to come together. We need that support system, but ultimately, it's about setting that time aside and saying God, I'm going to clear out everything that I'm doing. I'm not going to be thinking about my work, I'm not going to be thinking about this or that. I'm going to come into your house and just focus on you. And it's so valuable.
Speaker 2:It's putting our relationship with him above any awkwardness that we feel about ourselves.
Speaker 2:And maybe I was going to. We were going to talk about this scripture later on, but I think maybe now is a good time to talk about it. We had looked at Philippians 2, verse 3. It says Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. And the reason why I wanted to go ahead and maybe talk about it was because it says it's talking to the early church in Philippi and the verse before that says fulfill ye me my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind. You know, when you think about selflessness, when you think about doing something for others, you're not going to be aware of what others need, unless you're able to focus on someone else above yourself.
Speaker 1:So I have this coffee brewing method that is a percolator method.
Speaker 2:I don't know if y'all if you see the video or the image of it method. That, um is a percolator method. I don't know if y'all if you see the video or the the image of it, but it's a percolator and it's like a ceramic outside. It's got a big hollow core and it's got a basket with a tube going down to the bottom. So when you boil the water and the water gets hot enough, the water gets shoved up through the tube, through pressure yes um and it.
Speaker 2:It sprays out on top of the grinds and this is a brewing method that your grandmother um it's the only one.
Speaker 2:She's the only one that she did later on have like just your regular, like mr coffee yeah, just regular drip coffee yeah maker, but but this was the one that I remembered the most, because she would make the coffee in the morning and then, once it was made, the water wasn't sitting on those grounds the whole time. Um, it wasn't but her. Why, in my opinion, like why she used it, was because it was so easy to reheat the coffee. All you had to do was she had the old gas heater, you know gas fire stove, and you just hear that when you hear that igniter ticking, you knew that something good was about to happen. You know the flames would flame up and all she'd have to do is, as soon as she saw that thing perking, she knew it was boiling again and she'd turn it right back off.
Speaker 1:And having to grab the handle with a towel.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the towel, because it would be so stinking hot and the fire coming up from around the outside of it too. Just the whole thing would be hot. But if you ever went over to her house in the morning, while it was still kind of a breakfast time, even sometimes towards lunch, if you ever walked in there and you started talking to her or striking up a conversation, she would lean towards the stove, her body would naturally go towards the stove, because you were there and she had something that could be heated.
Speaker 2:She had something that could be cooked.
Speaker 1:She's always looking for a way to serve, to serve others.
Speaker 2:And you're going to get a hot cup of coffee. Um, even if it was five hours, four hours, you know however old it was, um, and it had been reheated three or four times, it doesn't matter, she was going to have you a hot cup of coffee that morning, on a chilly morning, and I remember so many times going over there and and working for her. She'd have little honey, do list things, and I'd go over there and I'd I had, with zero expectation obviously, but, um, it reached a point where she'd want to pay me or something like that I'd be like no, don't, don't pay me, just just feed me, you know, because, because I knew she was anyways she's gonna feed me anyways.
Speaker 1:Always gonna have bacon and eggs still left over from breakfast, sitting on the counter with biscuits yeah, oh my goodness, I would love a mom. All biscuit right now yeah it'd be so good. And then she would also just always have the have the cast iron skillet over there with the grease in it and she could always fire it up and start cooking something else. And when she would make those fried eggs and she would just like she would spoon the grease on top of it.
Speaker 2:And so she would never flip them she would just spoon it on top of them so that the top of it would cook and it would be a soft fried egg or a hard fried.
Speaker 1:however, you liked it you know.
Speaker 2:however, you liked it. You know, and she'd always ask you how do you want your? Egg yeah you know and she every time, no matter what it was like perfect, because she hovered over it while she's talking to you. And my goodness, that's such good memories you know, because it was all about building a relationship and serving others.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you know when you think about it. I know that my mama wasn't sitting there thinking what is my why? What is my why? What is my why I am doing this? But but she was intentional about what she was doing and you knew that if you went to her house, that you were going to be cared for. Yeah, like you just even if you didn't even know what you needed to be cared for it about.
Speaker 2:It's like she knew yeah what you needed, but it's well, she had a way of picking your brain while she was talking to you. True, you know she was talking to you and she was just picking up on things. I did.
Speaker 1:I did use this little book because we were talking about our why. Our why has always been we just want to help people, whatever it is like okay, with coffee, I want to help you with coffee, with running, I want to help you with running and I really have you know at church and things like that. So we have that, um, I guess, spirit inside of us that we want to serve, but um, we went to Memphis. It was actually been right at a year ago.
Speaker 2:You know what If you haven't ever been to Memphis, go to Memphis.
Speaker 1:I actually was sitting here thinking I was like, let's go back, galvin.
Speaker 2:Let's go back, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's go back, let's go ahead and plan it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was so good. It really was.
Speaker 1:It was just for a weekend like a couple of days.
Speaker 2:It was an unexpected, really good trip.
Speaker 1:No, we went there because we were taking our daughter to see a Broadway play up there, that's right.
Speaker 2:I think it's called the.
Speaker 1:Orpheum.
Speaker 2:Theater.
Speaker 1:It was a great experience, but so while we were there, we were like, hey, we definitely want to go to oh gosh. Um, oh gosh, it just left me sun records or whatever.
Speaker 2:Sun studio, yes where uh elvis recorded and julie lewis and all them um that was fantastic experience.
Speaker 1:Graceland right. I'm sorry if I'm like bursting your nose bubble, I'm not a fan. We actually stayed at the graceland hotel and it was okay, it was like on the crappy side of town.
Speaker 2:Yes, I didn't like't like it, but some studios like it's such a small studio but it's so rich in history, oh my gosh. I mean you were only in like just a couple of rooms, yeah, but it was just saturated and seeped in culture. I just feel like you can feel it.
Speaker 1:That and then also like, which was my favorite? Hands down, and when we go back, I would really like to take my parents, because I know that my dad would absolutely love this too, but we went to the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King Jr was murdered, and that's where the National Museum the Civil Rights Museum is. And I've been to the one in Birmingham. The Birmingham one is great guys, If you have not been. I highly encourage you to please go.
Speaker 1:It's so good and then uh I want to go to the one in this, this state, you know, uh, in montgomery I haven't been to that one yet, but uh, so I have a bucket list of wanting to go to all of those. But when we went there and our kids loved it too, and I know that may sound weird. That's like oh, you're going to this place where someone was killed or whatever.
Speaker 2:But you know I want my kids to understand well, the conversations that we were able to have with our kids after um, after we visited and went through there, like the, the converse, the conversations I had with l, were just so innocent, you know, like she's just sees these pictures of these people being abused, you know, or honestly seeing uh photographs of um the ku klux klan and stuff and she's like mom, what is that like?
Speaker 1:why are they wearing that and why are they being mean to these people? These are crucial conversations that you can have with your children yeah when they're young, you know, and and let them know that this was wrong you know, and just going back all the way to the roots you know of of slavery, um, but anyway, yeah, going on.
Speaker 1:I just appreciate so much what martin luther king jr, the sacrifice that he made, like I think he knew his why oh, the man certainly knew his why and uh, you can't go through there and not be moved, um, but we bought this little book when we were there and it just has different quotes by him in it, and I want to also segue with this with I do not lift any man up, he was just a man. I think, he did some important work and he was definitely special, you know, and God used him in a pivotal time, but he wasn't a perfect man. Nobody is, you know.
Speaker 1:So I don't lift anybody up higher than jesus or god that's right but, um, he did say some really amazing things I think about in the short amount of time that he lived his life how old was he again when he died?
Speaker 2:40 yeah, in his 40s 40 maybe.
Speaker 1:Wow, I shouldn't have this, but that's crazy because I'm older.
Speaker 2:I want to look it up. Okay, you?
Speaker 1:you read that okay, so yeah, look it up for me, so one of the uh quotes that stood out to me and it kind of just went with calvin kind of had a feeling of what we needed to talk about today, and then I saw this quote and I was like, hey, I just read this quote and I think this would be great, um, but it life's most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others? He was 39 years old, 39 years old.
Speaker 2:I'm older than him. I'm so too short. I always assumed he was older than that what he accomplished in his 39 years is absolutely amazing.
Speaker 1:Wow, I know and I think about how much we've missed out on him not being here too, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:But he really was about the cause and he was like what are you doing for others? And I would like to question you all with that what are you doing for others? And I think about even in the little things that we do, calvin, like for instance, when we just ran, and it's okay to do things for your health and you know that's a great why, you know, but being able to take something that you're already doing. One of the reasons I started doing fitness classes is because I did have people ask me hey, what are you doing? Because they saw that I was kind of getting in shape a little bit. You know, they're like what are you doing? I would tell them and I was like why don't I take what I'm already doing and share it?
Speaker 1:with others, invite them into that space. That I'm already doing. If I'm already working out in the mornings, then why not open it up where other people can.
Speaker 2:Well, we're already doing the Bible recap too, so why not share that? Yes, which is exactly the same concept.
Speaker 1:So it's not like I'm sitting here trying to reinvent the wheel and like come up with these things. It's like I'm doing this and it works. Number one I want to share things that I know that works with people, and so I definitely want to share the Bible recap and 100%. I want to share Jesus. He works, guys.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:He works 100%.
Speaker 2:The closer that we've gotten with God and His Word and understood how it all wraps around itself, around each other. It's mind-boggling that we've been Christians for as long as we have, and it's like constantly. His mercies are renewed every day. In His Word he's revealing stuff to us constantly. You never learn everything there is about God, because it's just so much.
Speaker 2:He's so complex, but yet he comes to us in simple ways you know, and it's like I was telling you, um, the message that I delivered Sunday, like God completely took the message that I had been studying and planning and preparing for that whole week, just thinking about it, you know and and he just took it from me right before I got up there to preach and, um, I was thankful that my father-in-law, your, your dad, uh, followed the Lord and prayed over me and I was like, yes, okay, I completely understand that that was for me, and God put an entirely different message on me and I'm just thankful that that he was. I was humble enough to actually hear that. You know, because we get so tied up and this is what I planned, this is what I planned.
Speaker 1:I'm prepared for this. This is what I planned. This is what I planned. I'm prepared for this.
Speaker 2:This is what I know, but but my why isn't to deliver a fantastic sermon? My why is to deliver what god has for me to deliver at that moment? Yes, you know, and um same thing with all the people in our history. Uh, martin luther king. You know um billy graham Graham, other leaders of the Christian movement in America throughout history. You know, all we can do is pray that every leader has the humbleness in their service to be doing it for more than just themselves. Right, if we do things for ourselves, it's all vanity.
Speaker 1:It sure is, and like well, you've received your reward at that point.
Speaker 2:Instantly. That's it. Instant gratification. Okay, you got your reward, blah, blah blah.
Speaker 1:But think about when you're thinking about other people and the reach that that has. And it's not that you're doing things to get rewarded. You're not. I don't but know your why your why you're doing something. Okay, even this. We were having this conversation like why do you read your Bible? If someone asked you, calvin, why do you read your Bible, what would you say?
Speaker 2:Right off the cuff to know the God that loves me.
Speaker 1:Right. So and that might seem like a broad answer, but truly Okay so recently it's just come to my attention that I feel like we as believers, or as the church, really don't know our Bibles.
Speaker 2:Like we might.
Speaker 1:it's easy to try to take the Bible when you're reading it and apply it to whatever is going on in your life and you're like God is speaking to me about this and it just happens to be what you're going through, and I'm not saying that he doesn't do that, because he is so merciful and so graceful and he knows what we need when we need it.
Speaker 2:But it becomes a habit.
Speaker 1:It does, and a lot of times we haven't ever just really gotten in there and studied the word like as a history book, you know, like if you were a student of the Bible and know his word. So many people haven't read the Old Testament and if you have not read the Old Testament and if you don't think that Jesus is in the Old Testament, then you truly haven't read your.
Speaker 1:Bible. He's throughout it. Oh yeah, god the Father, god the Son and God the Holy Spirit, then you truly haven't read your Bible. He's throughout it. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. If you believe in the Trinity, then you know that he is throughout the Word. And so you know, like, why do I need to know about the judges? Why do I need to know about the kings?
Speaker 2:You need to know where you came from.
Speaker 1:It's just like with American history we need to know where we came from. It's just like with American history we need to know where we came from. If we didn't know that we had, that there was the Boston Tea Party and we were declaring our independence from Britain, like what if we didn't know any of those things?
Speaker 1:And there would be no appreciation for the freedom that we do have right. So, like when you read the Old Testament, you have a 100% appreciation. When you read the Old Testament, you have a 100% appreciation for the freedom that we do have in Christ. That when he said, it is finished what that really meant.
Speaker 1:It wasn't that? Oh, I died, I'm done, it was. I fulfilled all the law that was in that Old Testament. Because, guys, we could not meet the standard. God has a standard that is so high that we cannot approach it, and Jesus approached it for us.
Speaker 2:That's right. There's been a lot of times in um in my life where I've often, like my relationship with Christ growing up uh, you know looked at it and reevaluated it and said is is, am I where I need to be? You know um. You question am I? Am I as close as I should have been by now? You know, and, uh, to an extent you kind of feel bad when you're like man. I should know this, or I should have the faith to be able to do this task.
Speaker 2:That's in front of me you know and not have fear, and not have doubt. You know, and uh, but those are the kinds of things that Satan wants to make you feel bad about.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:When you can't go back and change where you've been. But you can affect today. Yes, you can affect your tomorrow by your actions of today.
Speaker 1:And we've talked about that. We've talked about that recently.
Speaker 2:yeah, but when it comes to your walk with Christ, or the things that you are doing in your daily life, the actionable steps that you are doing in your daily life, the actionable steps that you are taking in your life today, you can actually say am I doing it for myself or am I doing it for others? Am I doing it for myself or am I doing it for God? You know, the greatest of all commandments was love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.
Speaker 2:And the second is, just like unto the first love your brother as yourself.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:You know, if you want what's best for yourself, then you should want what's best for your brother. Right and sometimes that means putting them first. If you want what's best for God, you know, then that means you're putting him above your desires. It's important that when we do reevaluate or we do look at what we're currently doing in our life, you have to compare it to, not the other things of this world, because there's a lot of gurus out there. Sure, they say do these five steps. We were just talking about this the other day.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. Yes, there's like a post on some running fitness. Especially with fitness. It'll be like talking about this the other day. There's like a post on on some running fitness, like if you want to lose all those, if you can't lose your belly fat, it's because you need to do these five things and it's just. It's bogus junk.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry it is have a six-pack do these movements and it's like no, it's so much more than that you know, it's more than just doing a few crunches it's consistency, yeah, um, but. But when it comes down to like the actionable steps that we take, you really got to have intention about it. And, um, if, if I was to sit here and say, okay, today I am going to only think of others, more than likely I'm gonna mess up but if I say but if I say today I want to just serve you, god, he's going to put actionable things in front of you for you to take action on.
Speaker 2:that could become second nature to you.
Speaker 1:Yes, and you need to have your eyeballs on to know when those opportunities are there.
Speaker 2:It's just part of your personality, the character that God is building up inside of you because you want to be close to him, that you will have the eyes and the mind of Christ. Yes, up inside of you, because you want to be close to him, that you will have the eyes and the mind of Christ. Yes, you know. Um, I mean obviously you know a cup of coffee and a percolator sitting on a stove is just a small thing, but to me right now, looking back on it, it's huge for my memory of her legacy of service, a memory of of the.
Speaker 2:I just see her personality when I look at this brewing, this percolator, right here. I see her character, I see her, I hear her voice. Yes, I smell her house. I feel her hands, yep, yep, and like when I would hug her and I would feel that little wrinkle in her neck in the back when I would hug and I would hug tight it would kind of curl up and she had that soft skin that would kind of curl up, like I feel that yes when I look at this.
Speaker 2:So the the things that you do to people nowadays that make them feel loved will be so much more longer lasting than anything you ever do for yourself right you always say that people are going to remember how they feel. Uh, what's that thing, that that phrase? People will always they that people are going to remember how they feel.
Speaker 1:What's that phrase? They're not always going to remember the things you've accomplished or what you've done, but they will always remember how you made them feel.
Speaker 2:How you made them feel when you were in their life.
Speaker 1:yeah, yes, you can really take everything and figure out your why on it I was thinking about. I mean, obviously we can look at why, ryan, you know, or whatever, but I'm not, I'm not gonna broach out on that one, but let's talk about, like, even at our church, like we have this thing called oasis and like we start a new quarter tonight actually. So we take it by every three months but we cover um, like we have a series of questions and it can always be like anywhere from 60 to 75 questions, and every class, even the kids learn the answers to these questions. Because it also and it's like why, why are you making everybody? Well, okay, it's something for a family to talk about at home, right?
Speaker 2:Because they're all learning the same thing.
Speaker 1:Because a lot of times, like you know, you might have your teen class and your adult class and your kids class and a grandma class and whatever, and they might all be learning all these different things, which is fine, but it's like this one thing everybody is learning and it's a talking point, it's something that they can study together, be on the same playing field with it, and at the end of that quarter, and everybody has their own lessons still in their classroom. But everybody is also doing this along with it. And the whole purpose of that was number one, that people would know their Bible.
Speaker 1:And we've had so many people come up to us and say I have learned so much about the Bible through Oasis, and at the end of that quarter we all come together and the classes compete against each other and it's just fun. We have buzzers, you know, and these kids are able to compete with these adults as well. And it's hiding that word in their heart and it may be they might be memorizing things at some point. But, guys, we've been doing this for probably maybe five years.
Speaker 2:I don't know, and so some things are repeating something you repeat it over and, over and over again.
Speaker 1:It gets in your head. And let me tell you something when you know and I just read about this this morning when jl uh stuck the the tent, uh, the stake in his in cicero's temple this was a woman that helped defeat an army because, um, she was sneaky and she took out an enemy, uh, and she drove a tent stake through his temple while he was asleep. She lured him to her tent with and warm milk and he went to sleep, you know, and drove it through and it's like, why do I need to know that?
Speaker 2:I was honestly not want to know I was, we hadn't talked about that at all. I was just about to bring up that subject, that story, because it like when you think about the conversations that were spurned because of the Martin Civil Rights Museum that we went to with Elle, like the conversations that could evolve around the mundane things that we learn. You know that seems like oh, why would everyone need to know about JL staking a guy's head to the ground? You know that this seems like oh, why would everyone need to know about jl staking a guy's?
Speaker 2:head to the ground you know, with a tent stake. You know, like, why would everyone need to know that? But the conversations that can come of that, oh my goodness, because the kids like you know, like that's, that's gruesome, like why would we talk about that? Well, because it's history.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because it's what god used to help defeat an army of people that were pagans who were sacrificing kids, you know, yes, it shows obedience, it shows what devotion to God does. It also shows you that God uses anybody. Especially during that time, women were lower than men. I mean, that's just all there is to it.
Speaker 1:He used a woman in that time and there also ends up being a woman judge, deborah, who was one of the best judges that Israel had, and the judges weren't like the judges that you see now in a courtroom with a gavel. These were like military leaders, basically. But fantastic stories in there that are not just like fairy tales. These things really happen and it shows you the heart of our God. It shows you who our God is. Constantly. I read about Gideon this morning as well, and Gideon was so apprehensive. Gideon did not. He was like I'm the lowest of lows, I'm from the crappiest tribe, I'm the crappiest person in the crappiest tribe.
Speaker 2:Why would you ever want to use?
Speaker 1:me and guys, if you read God's word, you will see he constantly is using the unlikely.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:The unlikely, and it just gives me so much hope and joy, because it means he's going to use me too.
Speaker 2:Well, what he's saying is that, no matter how you feel about yourself or what you think about yourself, god looks at you and says you're the image of me and you have value. Yes, you have value, you have purpose. I created you with intention, no matter where you came from. No, matter what your history looks like, your genealogy, mama, daddy, nothing, it don't matter. God created you for such a time as this with a tended purpose, and you can live knowing that, knowing that he has a reason for why you are here.
Speaker 1:God has a why Exactly, and he knows exactly why about everything, yes.
Speaker 1:But you know, that's why we do those questions. We want people to know their Bible, we want people to be able to lean on the stories, and it brings us all closer together. That's why we do those questions. We want people to know their Bible, we want people to be able to lean on the stories. It brings us all closer together, Goodness. Also, when we have these like okay, last week at the shop we had our spring break events it's like why do you do that? Oh, she's just trying to bring business in. That's something that's very secondary or third, that I even think about.
Speaker 2:Because most of the people that come we already know. I'm just going to tell you this is legitimately what I think about.
Speaker 1:I think about the people who may not have gotten to go anywhere. A lot of people go somewhere for spring break. They go to the beach or they might I don't know anywhere and I think about the people that might be home and it's like I just want to give them something that maybe they can do with their kids. That's free.
Speaker 2:One of the things we had was an old school kickball game. I don't know if kids play kickball in school anymore. You know like you had the big ball outside. We had so much fun. I don't think you were here that day, were you? I was not.
Speaker 1:We had so much fun. In fact, we had so much fun that we ended up playing two different games. They were like let's take a break and can we come back out here and play again. And then we had a whole other set of kids that come out there and play and it was so fun and I'm going to be completely honest with you, I was a little bit like oh, I've got to go out here and play kickball, you know, and JC, he helped me too, that way too.
Speaker 1:And then we were out there and we were like this is so much fun, you know, and um, but those are the things like that. Our number one of why we even want to do that is I do it for y'all. Yeah, we want to give you something to do. That's fun and maybe outside of the box and it brings us together Like we played with other people in our community.
Speaker 2:Oh, the very second that and and they're by themselves. And then you see someone else come in that and they're looking for. It's like they have this, this look on their face like where am I supposed to go? Yes, and then, all of a sudden, they lock eyes with the person that they planned on meeting here.
Speaker 1:I'm like mission accomplished yes, because we created a place for you to meet with someone that you wanted to meet with in an environment that was comfortable and or even when they come in and they've got maybe a backpack with them or a laptop and they just go over here and they sit in the corner. We have some that are here for hours.
Speaker 2:I've had them here like half a day or three-fourths of the day.
Speaker 1:And you know, because we have different times of the day, we have different levels of busyness, you know. But you can get tucked away and you can just zone in, put your headphones on, you know if you're having to study or listen to something, and then we have like nice couches and stuff that you can sit on, shoot. You could take a nap over there, I guess, if you wanted to.
Speaker 2:It might be a little weird.
Speaker 1:You might get freaked out when you hear the vacuum cleaner at the end of the day. But you know our why for this place was really to bring people together and while you're here, guess what? You can have some really good food and you can have a really good cup of coffee. We wanted the gift shop because I know, living in small-town, rural, a lot of times you have to drive off to go get a gift for somebody.
Speaker 2:And I was like.
Speaker 1:I want people to be able to come here and get a nice gift at different price levels. You can even come here and get some clothes if you need clothes. So you know. That's why, obviously, running a business, you have to make a profit. I mean, this is our income, you know. But that hasn't always been our number one focus. It's just been about wanting to offer something to our community and surrounding communities and bringing people together. And I know that might sound hokey, but it's just. It's the honest to God.
Speaker 2:It is what it is. That's our why yeah.
Speaker 1:So I want you to really think in your life what's your, why? Why do you work your job? And you might be like, well, I just work it because I got to make money, you know, and God wants us to provide for our families right. There's nothing wrong with that, but dig a little deeper, you know. Or why, um why are your kids involved in the things that they're involved in, and sometimes you that it might be. You know what my why is not a very good why.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I think that I think that in my situation with my previous jobs, um, I always looked at I was there to finance my family's future. That's why I was there, but my why as far as a Christian was always deeper. I always looked for opportunities to minister, no matter where I was or what I was doing. I recognized that my ministry was where my feet went. It wasn't just at church, it was my presence in this world, everywhere you never stopped ministering.
Speaker 1:Where my feet went, it wasn't just at church, it was my presence in this world, everywhere. You never stopped ministering.
Speaker 2:Where my feet were, that was my ministry. Not as a minister, as a Christian. Sure, you know, we all are ministers of Christ, ministers of reconciliation to spread the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:So you know when we're running. Obviously we're going to talk about Christ at times. You know when we're in business. We're going to talk about Christ when I'm running.
Speaker 1:Sometimes I feel so close to Him, just like in worship, when I feel close to. Him, because it's just me and Him, and usually I'm pushing myself so hard, you know, and I'm just crying out to Him because I need help, you know, or whatever. And a lot of times, if it's an easy run, it's just like man, we're just talking and he's just giving me peace and he's giving me ideas, and, uh, I really feel like my running time is is time with God just as much as my church time is with him.
Speaker 1:So, um, that's what it means for me. I know it might not mean that for everybody, but um, it is for me, and he's definitely used it in my life to bring me closer to him and show me what he can do, rather than what I can do, because what I found is that I can't do very much but him. Through me, I can accomplish more.
Speaker 2:I want to leave you all with this scripture before we go, continuing in Philippians 2, it says verse 5, it says Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation.
Speaker 2:He came in the most humble form as a baby and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man. He humbled himself and became obedient, even unto death, even the death of the cross so it's not only just death, it's a horrible horrible, excruciating death, wherefore god also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name.
Speaker 2:That, at the name of jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth. That every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. To the glory of God, the Father.
Speaker 1:I'm confessing right now that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father.
Speaker 2:He's not going to have to make me bow and ultimately, he is my why. That's right.
Speaker 1:And I don't want to do anything that brings shame to him and God, forgive me if I have or if I do, and please just keep drawing me closer to you to bring glory to your name and never shame.
Speaker 2:Amen, we will see you, guys next time.
Speaker 1:May the Lord bless you, keep you and make his face to shine upon you.
Speaker 2:Amen.