S2 Ep. 3: Serving at Home - Loving Your Family Like Jesus

Why is it sometimes easier to be patient with strangers than with the people we love most? In this episode of Faithfully Invested, Allen and Stacy Jo Thorne dive deep into what it really means to love and serve your family like Jesus—with humility, grace, and intentionality.

Through personal stories (yes, even toilet paper emergencies!), biblical truth from Ephesians 5–6, and practical takeaways, they unpack how to break selfish cycles, heal generational wounds, and lead your home with a servant’s heart.

You’ll hear candid reflections on marriage, parenting, forgiveness, and the counter-cultural call to die to self—plus five practical ways to start living this out today. Whether your home is full of little ones, grown kids, or just you and your spouse, this conversation will challenge and encourage you to reflect Christ’s heart right where it matters most.

In this episode you’ll discover:
✅ Why mutual love and respect must start at home
✅ How to serve without expecting anything in return
✅ The role of humility, patience, and grace in family life
✅ How to flip the script on frustration and irritation
✅ The power of praying together and building surrendered hearts

If you’re ready to strengthen your marriage, deepen your family bonds, and leave a godly legacy, this is your roadmap.

📖 Key Scriptures: Ephesians 5:25, 5:33 • Ephesians 6:1–4 • Matthew 16:24 • John 13:14–15 • Philippians 2:3 • Galatians 6:9–10 • Proverbs 15:1 • Colossians 3:23

Transcript

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Are you ready to build a life, business and legacy that truly lasts? Welcome to Faithfully Invested with Allen and Stacy Jo Thorne, where Faith meets real talk. Biblical wisdom meets everyday life and leadership meets laughter. Together we will uncover God's blueprint for leadership, marriage, and mission, helping faith-driven leaders invest in what matters most. Each episode, we explore biblical wisdom, have real conversations, and of course, have some fun along the way because let's be real. Walking in faith is an adventure. It sure is. So pull up a seat, grab your coffee or your sweet tea, and join us as we steward our callings with intention, because when we invest in his kingdom, he brings the increase. Hey friends. Welcome to Faithfully Invested, the podcast where we explore God's blueprint for leadership, marriage, and mission, one Kingdom Principle at a time. I am Allen And I'm Stacy Jo, and we are glad you're here today as we jump into our topic of loving our family like Jesus. Yeah, loving him. Sounds a little cliche, but as Christ followers, that's. Who we're called to be, and it's who we need to be. Today we're gonna chat about how oddly funny it is, uh, that we can serve strangers or near strangers all day long, and that, that we get bent outta shape, uh, when the bathroom is void of any toilet paper whatsoever. Really? You're gonna bring that up. Well, you know, so, geez. It's kind of funny now, but it was not so funny at the time. So I got in there the other day. I, I mean, this is like. Five in the morning. I got in there in an emergency fashion, if you know what I mean. And there was nothing, nothing. I mean, I mean, seriously, am I the only one living here that can put toilet paper in the room? Let's just say that I was not singing the psalm. During my shuffle to the other bathroom, oh my Lord. Oh man. Oh babe, what an example. I hope when you put it on, you put it on the right way because you know when you put it on the other way, it's not the way it's supposed to be. There's a time and the place for debates here, I'm just saying this is neither the time nor the place be, but it goes to the point. So why is it so much easier to be polite to people at church or at work? Rather than Right to our spouse. I mean, you didn't like go off the handle about it at five o'clock in the morning. No. Didn't So that wasn't bad that you were annoyed wasn't I wasn't ha. I was a little annoyed because, you know, head emergency anyway. But you know, we have expectations. Yeah. Gotta watch out for those expectations of people. And it's easier sometimes. To when people we don't know drop the ball on expectations, then it is when our family members drop the ball. Right? Yeah. That's the point. So let, let's jump into what it should look like to serve our family like Jesus would. Yeah, I bet Jesus would've probably put toilet paper on the roll, but seriously, but seriously, there was no time for that. Moving on. Yeah. So bringing it back to Jesus Mutual love, respect, and submission should start at home. In fact, it must start at home, not just when we're otin ab boot amid the, uh, the public eye, you know, and, uh, that's otin abut is Canadian for the American out and about. Very good. Thank you for clarifying. But our, our character is truly defined by, by who we are when no one's looking right? So, so here we can refer to, um, husbands. Uh, listen up, man.'cause it really preaching to myself, talking to myself, teaching to myself. This is, you know, I didn't write it, but we, we are called to abide by it. Ephesians five, uh, 25 A. The first part of Ephesians 25 says, husbands love your wife, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her. Right. But 5 33 lady says the wife must see to it that she respects her husband, right? Love and respect. Love and respect. Love and respect. Mm-hmm. And then, uh. Uh, Ephesians six. Paul goes on in in the next chapter, and, uh, Ephesians six, the first three verses, uh, about the, the children. And I, I kind of find it funny. It's not documented that Paul had any children, so you know, it's, anyway, Paul writes, children, obey, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Honor your mother and father so that. It may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. So, so is is Paul saying that if you don't honor your mother and father, it's not gonna be well for you? Well, and you might not live well on this earth. Well, I used, well, I used to tell my kids, I brought you into this world. I take you out this world if I so choose. Yeah. Well, that's not, that's not what Jesus would say. Probably not what Jesus would've said. But anyway, uh, so finally. Uh, still in Ephesians six, uh, chapter four, back to the Fathers. Mm-hmm. You know, dad's, husbands, it, it lands on us. We're kings and priests of our home, and, and we're we're it man. We're our mm-hmm. We are. If it's not going right. It lands on us. You know, what could we be doing better? What should we have done better? Uh, so concerning their children, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in discipline and instruction of the Lord and the instruction. So the instruction of the Lord fairly simple. Love, discipline. Forgiveness. Yeah, babe, those gr uh, great scriptures. I know you didn't write'em great scriptures, but, and they're so on point because the Bible is so clear about our rules. I didn't write'em our rules and No, you didn't write'em. Paul wrote those. Paul, you know, Paul, it, those were just, but the live and by'em, right. But the Bible. But it's clear, he made it very clear about our roles in, in the family. And here's where I think the challenge comes into play. So we live in a world Yeah. That constantly tells us to do what makes us happy. Yeah. Protect your peace. Just do you boo. Just don't do that. Don't do that. Don't prioritize your dreams at all costs. Right. You know, step on whoever you need to, to step on to get there and, and. I'm not gonna say there's not wisdom, there's, there's definitely wisdom in self care and healthy boundaries, but culture has taken like that, like 10 steps further. I mean, redefining love culture, redefines love basically as a transaction and service as optional. Mm-hmm. And as Christ followers we're called to die self. Right. We're not called to. Service is not optional for us. Yeah. And so do you wanna be right or do you wanna have peace? Right. I mean that's newsflash as Christ followers we're counter-cultural. That's right. Counter-cultural. Yes. So that's, um, that's a great point. You make some great points there, babe. Thank you for that. Um, and I've, in marriage and parenting, you know, we often feel underappreciated. Often Sure. Feel underappreciated. But, uh, so we gotta ask ourselves, are we loving and respecting each other as God's word designates? Mm. Are, are, are we even, do we know what God's word designates? We, we just gave you a snapshot, uh, in Ephesians five and six, what it designates. So, so are we loving and respecting each other as, mm. Is designated per the, per the Lord's word. Um, just the same. Are, uh, are we following Jesus as well as we want to? Do we want to be following Jesus? Are we following as close as we need to be? Mm-hmm. Um, he tells us in Matthew 16 that if any of us, this is a big deal. If any of us desire to follow him, we must. It's not an option. If we're gonna follow Jesus, we must deny ourselves. Pick up our cross and follow him. Uh, that's a bold call to commit. Mm-hmm. Commit. There's, there's a, a challenge in American society today, commitment and consistency. But, uh, to deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow Christ is a bold call to commit, to put others before ourselves to, to, um, and sacrifice our wants, uh, for the sake of someone else's needs, uh, and consistently follow Christ through life. Loving and forgiving along the way. Yeah, and it's a process. We're, we're not born to this. This is something that we learn. And I love what Jesus says in Matthew 11. He says, uh, take my yoke upon you and learn from me. Right? That was, uh, that was the, he hit me with that over the head several times last year. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. So it's a, it's a process where we're learning. From Christ, uh, learning, uh, through the Holy Spirit to, to be like Christ. Uh. Mm-hmm. And I gotta admit, you know, I've gone around that mountain. The, uh, the whole deny yourself mountain, the whole, uh, you know, it's, it's more than just being a better person. It's denying ourselves the whole deny yourself thing. I've gone around that mountain. A lot, uh, before I began to learn to let it go and, and, and deny myself. And even then you still go with, around that mountain? I mean, I go through, I go around that mountain like weekly. Well, yeah. It's, it's not daily. It's, it's, it's when I, when I began to learn. Right? Yeah. It's a, the process. It's a, the process is learning, you know? Yeah. And we gotta start somewhere. So, uh, you know. Yeah, around and around we go round and around where we stop. Yeah. I mean, holy Jesus knows, right? I mean, sometimes it feels like we give everything and we still fall short. Mm-hmm. I mean, serving, you know, let's just face it. I mean, serving your spouse, your kids, your aging parents, it is not glamorous. There's no applause. There's no Instagram post going viral when you fold the laundry or stay up late with a sick child. But in God's kingdom, those unseen acts of love, that's what matters the most. Yeah. You know, we're not called to be fulfilled first. We're called to be faithful. And fulfillment comes every time. Every time after obedience. Yeah. Not before it. You know, marriage and mar, you know, I don't know. Marriage and parenting can, those things can really expose our selfishness. Our impatience quickly. Our pride. I mean our pride. Come on. Yeah. And I'll be the first to admit that I have been selfish. I've been impatient, I've been prideful both as a parent and in marriage. And I have regrettably Yeah. Said very hurtful things. Yeah. And put my selfish ways above everyone else in the family. And I had to go back and I had to apologize to you and I had to apologize to the kids. Right. And and apologize to the Lord for doing that. Yeah. That's, and ask for forgiveness from. All three of you repent and forgive. Repent. Right. You know? Yeah. But we have to, we have to put other people first in the family. It is, you know, and because we believe in the, the family, because we believe in the, the nuclear family. Yeah. You know, and, and we've, we checked out some statistics and, uh, and we got, you got some statistics here. Do you you wanna share that with our friends? I mean, sadly. Folks. I mean, marriage burnout is real. Selfishness. Going back to the selfishness. And patience. And pride. Yeah. I mean, the current stats on divorce rates, which aren't too different in the church as they are from outside the church. Hmm. But first marriages. Yeah. 41% of marriages fail. Second marriages, 60% of marriages fail. Yeah. And third marriages, 73%. And I will say that, you know, uh, I'm gonna be totally transparent. Alan is my third husband and we are, are so times a charm baby. Well anyway, we don't believe in charms, but we don't do believe in, in coming together as a spouse and as spouses and being in the word and, and, you know, trusting the Lord with our marriage. Yeah. That's it. And we refuse, we refuse to be a part of that. 73%. Yeah. That's not even an option. We refuse. It's not an option. It's not even an option. So, but so it, it is a crisis. So, I mean, go ahead. I mean, the why, why, why? There's the question, why are those statistics so high in the church? Just the same as it is in the world. Why? Yeah. Why is, is divorce, uh, so, um, rampant? Yeah. Uh, why do we just give up? Mm. Um, because most of us are more concerned with, I gotta get mine. Mm-hmm. We're pretty selfish. Lot. Uh, when we should be concerned with, with Jesus's call to die, to self dying, to self sacrificially. Mm-hmm. Um, I've been that selfish guy. Uh, say it isn't so. Um, it's, so, I, I've been that guy and I, and I these days as I'm just doing my best to, to follow him. Mm. Uh, more than just believing that he existed, but. Understanding that he exists and, and follow him now. Yeah. Not just in the, from read stories from the first century, but follow him in the 21st century and die to self sacrificially. Mm-hmm. Um, most people walking around breathing air are more interested in being right than having peace in their homes or having peace with the people all around them. And, and the word says, you know, if it be up to you. Live at peace with all men. Yeah. Um, so likewise, uh, I want to shout out to my brothers out there, men listen up. Uh, this, this is for you. This is a disturb. You thought the other stats were disturbing, disturbing stat about 19.5 million kids in the United States alone. Uh, live in a, live in a home without a father. Wow. No father in a 19.5 million kids just in the United States, and mind you, United States leads the, uh, the world and fatherlessness lousy stat. Guys. Um, over 80% of single parent homes in America today are led by women, and I hope that aggravates you as much as it aggravates me. Yeah. Um, there's a huge rabbit trail here. What, when we ask why, why is that statistic so disturbingly high, uh, that we can go down a rabbit trail, but we're gonna save that. That's an episode for another time. But in a nutshell, I mean, we could say that, oh, well, well, men are just irresponsible. Children and they, they, you know, they just, they just need to pick it up and they're just a bunch of sluggards. Well, well, yeah. Mm-hmm. But why? Right. You know? Yeah. And we don't wanna just place labels, you know, we wanna Why is that? Mm-hmm. Uh, and like I said, that's an episode for another time, but in a nutshell is it's because of unrecognized, untreated and ignored generational wounds. Yeah. Men have remained boys with beards and they shirk their responsibilities because, uh, they have responsibilities to their would be wives, uh, and their children. Uh. Because of, of the wounds that they've accumulated Yeah. Are most likely from their fathers who accumulated wounds from their fathers generational wounds that have gone unaddressed. Mm-hmm. Uh, and I, and I will tell you from experience that the, the only one, the only way that these wounds are healed are through belief that Jesus Christ, the savior of all mankind, no other name. Heaven and our earth by which we must be saved by Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Uh, we gotta believe that they can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. They can heal those wounds. Yeah. Uh, we'll come back to that in an episode later on down the line. Yeah, absolutely, babe. I mean, that, that hits so deep and it's not just a stat, I mean this, it's a soul level crisis. Yeah. And we're watching, like you started to say, we're watching a generation grow up. Longing for their fathers they never had and repeating the same cycle over and over. Yeah. And I think that it's a certain subject that we definitely should, you know, talk about more on another episode as it's crucial. But I just wanna, I wanna point out, you know, I sit on the Board of Hearts for Moms, which is an organization in Palm Beach County that Hearts for moms. Yeah. That, that serve. We should be wearing our jerseys right now. We should be that serve single moms. And in Palm Beach County alone, we have over a thousand single moms. A thousand single moms on the waiting list. On the waiting list. Yeah. I mean, we serve, I am not even sure how many we're serving right now, but over a thousand on the waiting list, you know, and it is a crisis. Right. And that's a thousand dads fathers really. Right. You got, you know, it takes a special person to be a dad. That's, that's a thousand men. Just walking around doing their own thing while, while, you know, yeah. Baby mama raising their kids. Right. You know? Yeah. I mean, I understand parenting. Can feel thankless. A lot of ti a lot of times. I mean it can, I've been a mother to four and you know, sometimes we do. And we do. And we do. Mm-hmm. But good solid parenting requires selflessness. Extreme patience. Yeah. And humility. And I'm gonna place a strong emphasis on humility. You know, Jesus is the perfect example. Large emphasis. Strong, large emphasis on melody. Huge melody. You know, John 13, 14 to 15 says, if I then the Lord and the teacher washed your feet, oh, you also ought to wash one another's feet for, I gave you an example that you also should do as I did for you. And Jesus showed us that no one is above serving, no one. He didn't say, oh, you know, just serve when it's convenient. Serve when it's comfortable for you. Right? No. He knelt with a towel. Yeah. With a basin. Yeah. And he washed the feet of people who were going to betray him. Yeah. He laid down his life, not just at the cross. Yeah. But day after day after day. Yeah. And moment by moment, you know, with compassion, with patience, with unshakeable, unshakeable love. Yeah. She's preaching. I'm preaching right now. My girl, my girl's preaching. But come on, I should wear my preach girl shirt. No, But, but seriously, I mean, it takes humility to be a parent. Yeah, yeah. To be a spouse. It's a sacrifice. It is. And it's a sacrifice. It worth, oh, it's so worth it. It's, it's worth, it's so worth it. So, yes. So I, I'll share a personal story here. There's a time, uh, early. In my walk with Jesus when I was very immature in my faith. You know, we gotta start somewhere, right? You know, uh, pretty immature in my faith. And I was all of the above. I was selfish, I was prideful, and I was very. Very quick to anger and, uh, I was an absolute mess. Um, I, I was gonna say, she, she was there. We've all been that mess though, right? If we're gonna be fair. Um, the ridiculous, my ridiculous expectations of others, uh, debilitating fatigue and unmet wants and needs. Uh, it just created, um, heinous, passive aggressive, yuck. It was, it was yuck. The yuck. Ugh. Uh, and that just poured into, uh, fueled the, the yuck, fueled the anger and the rage. Mm. And there's ridiculous amount of rage. Uh, it was not cool. It wasn't, it wasn't cool at all. Yeah. Not, uh, but it was, uh, it was a, uh, a, a time of learning, a time of, uh, yeah. Many teachable moments there. You know, so, but too, I mean, I can remember coming home from, from work back in the day and, and just being so worn thin and from this or that. Mm-hmm. You know, just, and just snapping at the kids or at you Yeah. Over something that was so insignificant because I was just tired and I was empty. Yeah. And you know, at home, when we're at home, they see the real us. Yeah. They see the tired us. They, they do, they see the frustrated us. Right. And sometimes the selfish us. Yeah. Um, but Jesus didn't serve because people deserved it. Right. He served because he loved them, period. Right. So I guess my point is don't let serving at home and, and elsewhere become a got to instead of a get to. Yeah. We get to be parents. We get to be a spouse. Yeah. We get to serve in our communities and in our churches. I mean, I know we're focused on the home today. Yeah. But if we, if we flip the, flip the script on, got to or get to, and we really focus on the get to aspect. Be grateful for the opportunity. I think we gotta live in the get to. Yes. We gotta we to stay on the get to. Yeah. But we, I mean we both had to relearn why we serve our family and others. Yeah. Serving others while can't, cannot be out of duty. It has to be from a loving and a caring heart. And, and we were both broken really badly back then. I mean, I was broke. We came into our marriage. Yeah. Both. Broken really badly. Right? It was rough. Yeah, it was rough. But man, look what the Lord has done. But look what the Lord has done. Some of that. Come on, babe. But it it, and it's not possible to serve or lead well from any kind of undealt with brokenness. Yeah. So we had to stop and we had to trust the Holy Spirit to lead us and teach us and to love and forgive ourselves. So that we can love and forgive others. And that's, you know, we, that's something we teach right in our unbound as well. Unbound reviving recovery. Unbound reviving, recovery unbound. Yeah, absolutely. Jump in, message us. If you wanna learn more about that, send us a message. We'd love to share that with you. Absolutely. Absolutely. But anyhow, anyhow, you, you mentioned, uh, Jesus in his. And his, uh, his foot washing mm-hmm. As John noted in chapter 13. Yeah. And I wanted to, I wanted to elaborate on that. Yeah, of course. Uh, is that, uh, you know, some people, people are difficult, you know? Mm-hmm. I've, I've, I'm difficult sometimes. Imagine that if you, if you will. Um, but, um. People are difficult and, uh, people don't always meet our expectations and, and betrayal is out there, but we gotta remember that as Christ followers remember this, that Jesus washed all of the disciples feet and, uh, and John 1311, uh, it's noted that, that he knew the one who was betraying him. Jesus knew. Hmm. That Judas was the one. He knew that Judas was the one when he chose Judas and he knew Ju. Wow. And even knowing that at the table when he knelt before Judas, he knew that Judas was gonna betray him and he washed his feet anyway. So serving isn't reciprocated in the moment. It's not always reciprocated in the moment, and we shouldn't serve to get something right. Uh, but it. When we're serving from a grateful heart, it always comes back around. Well, yeah, it always comes back around. Well, so, absolutely. So how do you want to be known? How do you want to be remembered? Do you want to be remembered as, as selfish or selfless? Do you want to be remembered as prideful or humble? Uh, do you want to be remembered as a rage? That rage, dude, do you wanna be rageful or patient? I've been all three. I've been that selfish guy. I've been prideful, I've been rageful, uh, and I'm so grateful that the Holy Spirit has guided me to a more mature mindset. Amen. Amen. Same right on. I mean, I'm grateful for that as well. I'm sure you are. But I, but I'm also grateful that he's done the same thing in me because I've also been there. I've also been those three things. Absolutely. And I'm grateful he will, he will move us to how he wants us. He will recenter us, and his word will recenter us, uh, so that we might find our truth, identity, uh, as long as we allow him. Right. As long as we enter in a relationship with our creator, with our savior, with the Holy Spirit, uh, with the pliable heart. Mm-hmm. Let them do what they do. Nobody repairs the creation like the creator. Amen. So, are you guys ready for practical, y'all? If you've been listening for a while or if, uh, you know that I love practical, we got some practical solutions here for you. Uh, we're gonna start with number one. We, we wanna start small and stay consistent. Yes. Stay consistent. Ask Daily. Ask him. What's, or ask yourself, what's one thing? Uh. One way that I could serve my spouse or my child today, uh, could, I could make their coffee. Oh, you did that for me today. I did You do that on an occasion? On several, several occasion. Yeah. On occasion. Occasion. I do. Uh, yeah, I do make your coffee. Yes. And you make it very well with love. Right on. And, uh. Speak their love language. Do you know your spouse's love language? Do you know your children's love language? So that's a good one. It's, it's important to know the love language, and it's important to know that love languages change over time. So if you've been in that marriage for a while, you know, love languages do change. Um, honey Bunny here. She has, she was once, uh, very, uh, stout with, with time and touch and she, and now I like gifts. She likes gifts, so I got that going for me anyway. But what about you? I mean, where, where are your love language languages right now? I, I, no, I used to be gifts. Yeah, you used, used to be gifts. And I've shifted more to to time. I, I appreciate time. Acts of service. Acts of service. I was gonna say that's, I, I really know acts of service is a big for if I get, if I go to do something and it's already been done. Yeah. Ho that's good. So, so know the love language. Yeah. And, and do that, you know. Right. Put the fa but here, here it is. In this day and age, put the phone down and be present. Yeah. Be present. Yeah. Right. Come on. So number two is we need to choose humility over hustle. Yeah. So service, you know, isn't about perfection, right? It is about our heart posture. Philippians two, three says, do nothing outta selfish ambition, but in humility, value others above yourselves. Right? So serve them like I, going back to what I said before, you know, serve them for the sake of serving them. Yeah. Serving them because you get to, not because you want something in return. Yeah. I mean, you said that earlier too. Not because we should never serve term motive from that place. And you know, choose humility over hustle. We don't have to be doing all the things. Mm-hmm. You know, we can take time to put the phone down. Mm-hmm. And to just. Not do it for our own self, but for them. That's it. Yeah, that's it. And number three is flip the script on frustration. If you're irritated it's, or when you're irritated, ask the Lord. Ask him, take time to stop and ask. What wound or skewed belief, uh, is behind my unfavorable behavior? If you're irritated, there's, there's something in you that's, that's caused that. Yeah. Uh, so what, what is that belief? What is that wound? Where is that irritation coming from? Lord, what is that Holy Spirit? What is that? Where's this coming from? Why am I so irritated by? This now? Yeah. And then take time to listen. I like, uh, what Paul writes in Colossians three, uh, 23. He says, uh, and all you do work at it from your heart working as unto the Lord. And it might ask yourself, you know, how does that, how does that play into this? What's that got to do with it? And if you're working, if you're working. Uh, if you're working as unto the Lord, then you're more likely to, um, ask him in that moment, in that irritation, uh, to, Hey, what, what's causing this? Well? And really, if you're doing it unto the Lord, are you even gonna be frustrated to begin with that? There you go. There's another good point. I mean, if you're doing it unto the Lord and not for selfish ambition, right. Then from a grateful heart. From a grateful heart, right? Then you're not gonna be frustrated about it. So flip the script. I think that deserves a Blammo. Blammo. Thank you there. It's, I love it when I get a Blammo Blammo. So, uh, so all you do, you know, serve of the grateful heart as unto the Lord? Uh, today? Yeah. Today and every day. I would say that we have to consider other people's position. Mm. Gotta, you know, I, I, yeah. We gotta consider, I see I was going down a rabbit trail there and we're gonna reel it back in there. Nice catch. Reeling it back in there. Alright. Uh, so it's important for us to consider what other people are going through mm-hmm. Because it's beneficial to consider, uh, what other people are going through and, and maybe ask yourself, Hey, you know. Maybe, maybe there's something that I don't know. Mm. And I was in California and I, and I was getting a little, a little judgy, uh, imagine that. Uh, and, and the spirit just kind of bludgeoned me as it was a nice bludgeon. It was a, it was like, it was that. That tap, like with a, like a tap with a, with a baguette pop. Uh, a crusty on the outside, you know? Yeah. Dough, are you hungry inside Baguette, he's like, he's like, Hey, smart guy. Maybe there's something you don't know here. And, uh, I was like, maybe there's something you don't know. Yeah, I pondered on that. I wrote that down and pondered on that for days. So, so we have to consider other people's positions. Yeah. So, um, and I think that goes really well into the fourth one, which is speak life and model grace. I mean, words create atmosphere and there is death and life in the tongue, right. And we don't know what other people are going through, right? So we have to model grace. We have to, um, if, if a question is asked, you know, Proverbs, sometimes questions will annoy me. Mm-hmm. I'm just gonna be honest. But Proverbs 15, one says that a gentle answer turns away wrath. Right. And so. I have to know that when someone is coming to me with a question, they genuinely need an answer. They wouldn't be coming. So I have to answer them with grace and I have to speak life. We have to speak life over our children, over our spouse. And that again, that's another over our coworkers. Yeah, over everyone. But we're talking about home today, so we are, we're talking about him. So, you know, speak life over your children. Yeah. You'll be amazed at what that can do. And I wish I would've known about that as a young mother. Right. I really wish I would have. Right. But speaking life is so imperative over your, over your family. Um, and understanding that, you know, I can remember when our kids were in middle school. Uh, you know, I go back to the whole middle school days because those were really the roughest days. Oh. And they would come home from school. Rough. Imagine what they were going through. Right. That's my point. Right. And they've had a rough day. Right. And maybe we wanted them to do something and they didn't do it. You know, have meet them with grace. Yeah. Because middle school's tough. Yeah. We found out things that we didn't even know, like years later. Sure. About what. Our kids went through in school. Right. You know, middle school and high school and, and, uh, so meeting them with grace, understanding that we may not know. Right. Everything, like it comes with maturity back down. Yeah. It comes with maturity and, and you know, just understanding where people Right, uh, come from and understanding what people are going through. Mm-hmm. You know, we have to ask ourselves. You know, hey, like I said earlier, maybe there's something we don't know. So, so how can we help instead of hinder right in the moment, right? We don't, we, we certainly don't wanna make it worse. We don't wanna be that person. Sure. Right. Right. So, uh, number five, practical application, practical pray together. Yes. Doesn't much more practical than that together. It doesn't get much more that that's square one. Right, right. Pray together. Uh, even if it feels awkward. And I would, and I would say gentlemen. You know, if, if it feels awkward to pray with your wife or your kids, or, or, or wives, if it feels awkward to pray with your husband and your and your children, then you should definitely. I wouldn't say, even if it feels awkward, I say especially if it feels awkward, you should pray. Yeah. Together. Remember, servant hearted homes are built on surrendered hearts. Oh, that's so good. Will you say it again? Servant hearted homes are built on surrendered hearts. Yeah. To Christ Jesus, our Lord. Yeah. Praying together is serving Christ in our homes. Yeah. Do we want peace? We all want peace. And I, I, I want, I want to say I want peace, and I hope that you want peace, not as the world gives it, but only as Christ Jesus gives it. So in prayer with each other, with our spouse, with our children, we should seek his peace. Yeah. The Proverbs, uh, 27, um, I think it's 18 through 19, says, he who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit. Mm. And he who cares for his master will be honored as, as in the water. As in water face reflects face. So the heart of a man reflects man. Mm-hmm. So how do you want to be thought of everything that we, and we're gonna, we'll talk about this and, and, um. Another episode. Uh, everything we have flows from our heart. Yeah. And we want to guard our heart. Um, because, you know, our heart ref is a reflection of us, you know? Right. And, and, and. Uh, the Lord will transform our heart when we allow him. Uh mm-hmm. So, so how do we want to be remembered? Do we, how do we want to be seen? How do we, how do we want to be thought of? Yeah. You know, how do you want your children to remember you? How do you want your children to, uh, yeah. Yeah. To remember to, yeah. Yeah. I mean,'cause they're gonna be, they're gonna be given our eulogy, so, you know. Anyway, moving on. Yes. Anyhow, as we reel it back in, as we reel in again, why don't you, why don't you give, let, let's, let's skip to the chase here and why don't you give us the, the call to action, right. We're gonna wrap it up here. Yeah. As we're wrapping up. Call to action. Action item for the week is. Ask yourselves, what's one way today that you could intentionally serve someone in your home? Serve your spouse, serve your children. Yeah. Uh, how can you serve at home this week? Uh, maybe leave a kind note. Maybe do the chore first. Mm-hmm. Uh, maybe say yes when you'd rather not, uh, when it's responsible to do so. Right. Um, expect. Nothing in return give without expecting anything in return. There's no need to mention the good deed. Just go ahead and do that. Yeah. And see. And see. And see the blessing that comes after that. Yeah. And if it doesn't come naturally, you know, don't worry. Just serve happy. Go ahead, Alan. I know you wanna sing it. Don't worry. Don't worry. Serve happy. Don't worry. Serve happy. There you go. There you've got it. You know, the disciples didn't get it at first either, so praying into it, I mean, it's always, they really didn't get it. Don't worry, serve happy. Right. But the Holy Spirit empowers us. I mean, our, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve joyfully. Yeah. So pray into that. I mean, that's the, the best thing I can tell you. Right. Um, and let's wash feet, right. Not just. In theory, but in the kitchen, in the marketplace. On the highway. On the highway, would you please merge kindly? Yes. Yield. Alan will be very happy if you're the person on the highway yielding and merging. Kindly right lane. Ending one mile ahead. Anyhow. Yes. So in the kitchen, in the marketplace, on the highway and in the quiet In the everyday moments. Yeah. In the everyday moments. In the everyday moments. Yeah. That's it, man. Yeah. And, uh, remember husbands, wives, children, uh, Jesus didn't call us to be the hero of our home because he is the hero of our lives. Yes. And he just asked us to reflect his heart. So take his yoke upon you and learn from him daily. Mm-hmm. Um, Paul writes in, we, we'll take it back. Take Galatians six, nine through 10. Uh, let us not lose heart in doing good for, in due time, we will reap if we do not grow weary. Yeah. Uh, so then when we have the opportunity, while we have the opportunity, let us do good for. Uh, for some people, for, for the people that we, for the people we really liked. Let's read that again. That's not what he said at all. That's not at all. Paul said, let us do good to all people. All people. All people. Especially those who are in the household of faith. Right, right. Well. We are to the end of our, of our episode, so you know, we have been glad that you've joined us. Yeah. And next week we're going to be talking about serving in business, uhoh Kingdom Leadership in the marketplace. In the marketplace. In the marketplace. And we're gonna dive into some scriptures that'll help us better see what the eyes of our heart, so that we may catch the spirit's vision for how to live faithfully in the marketplace. That's awesome. Awesome Jesus in the marketplace. That's right. Yeah. Yes. I cannot wait. And until then, remember, stay faithfully invested and believe that God will bring the increase. Yes, he will. God bless you, and we'll see you next time. Bye-bye. Thanks for joining us on Faithfully Invested with Allen and Stacy Jo, if today's conversation encouraged you, challenged you, or helped you see your calling more clearly, don't keep it to yourself. That's right. Share it with a friend. Leave a five star review and keep leaning into God's blueprint for your life, your leadership, and your legacy. So until next time, remember, when you invest in his kingdom, he brings the increase.