Built to Last: How Christian Men Build an Unshakable Faith

What does it mean to build a life that lasts?

In this episode, Mark Osborne welcomes author Maury Wood to discuss his new book, Built to Last. Their conversation explores the Armor of God, the importance of protecting your mind, servant leadership, biblical masculinity, and how God often uses disappointment to redirect us toward His greater purpose.

Maury also shares moving stories about his family's faith journey, his stepfather's transformation, and why no Christian man is meant to fight life's battles alone.

If you're looking to grow in your walk with Christ and become the man God created you to be, this episode is for you.

Grit & Wit by Maury Wood | Substack

https://substack.com/@themaurywood

Get the book here:

https://linkly.link/2lCjZ

Join the brotherhood:

https://www.skool.com/the-cave-of-adullum-1668/about

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

You gotta protect your mind because your mind your mind's connected to your heart. And I I said, you you've got and I and I I was transparent and I said, I completely understand how you feel. I completely understand the temptations, but I said, you have to be intentional and not and don't put yourself in those kind of uh situations. There was a job I really, really wanted um at the school I was teaching at. And it was one of those things where like I had prayed about it, and I knew I felt like me and God were like this, and um didn't I didn't get the job. I truly, I to this day I say I would not have written two books and the Substack and written and done all the stuff I've done since April, if not for if I didn't have gotten, if I hadn't have gotten that job. My favorite verse is Psalms 91.1, and it talks about uh being in the shadow of the Almighty. And that's big to me because that verse kind of came to life for me. We were taking one of our family walks around the neighborhood, and the sun was behind us, and one of my little kids at the time stood in front of me and said, Look, daddy, my shadow's gone. And I was like, what? And I looked down, and they were. Their shadow was completely engulfed by mine. And I was like, that is what that hurts me. The closer you are to God, you disappear.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Welcome to the fact that force podcast. Well, we have to overcome life. So what's better in the world and become a value force for God? It's a place where we have practical credits that will be put in a life journey to help become a man of God's calling. Are you ready to overcome your doubt and fulfill your purpose just like idiots? If so, let's go.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Welcome to the volume forward where Christian men come to forge strength and purpose in Christ. I'm Mark Osborne. I'm the host of the podcast. Today I'm joined by Maury Wood. He's an author, teacher, and Substack writer. I actually met him on Substack. While following him on Substack, I saw that he recently wrote a book called Built to Last, and it was for men, so I was like, I gotta have you on the podcast. Well, I don't know if it's specifically for men, but it's a study through the book of Ephesians, and he does talk a lot to men and towards men, so seemed like a good guy to have on the podcast. We talk about faith, fatherhood, marriage, the armor of God, and protecting your mind in a distracted culture, and what it really means to become the kind of man your family can follow. Maury also has some powerful personal stories about God's redirection in his life, the transformation of an agnostic stepfather, and why it's never too late to become the man God has created you to be. Here is my conversation with Maury Wood. Maury, welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_02 3:05

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Nice to meet you. I I've been following you on Substack for a little bit. I really like what you write. I don't know much about you though. So why don't why don't you tell me about yourself? How did how did you come into faith? I guess would be the first question.

SPEAKER_02 3:22

Uh I was blessed enough to grow up in a home where uh Sundays, Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights, uh, we were at church. That was there was no uh, I don't want to say there was no discussion, but we just knew we and it wasn't a bad thing. We just we grew up knowing that uh we're we church was a big deal and church was important and we needed to be there. So uh I I was raised in a church, like I said, um Sunday school, uh I was raised a Southern Baptist, so the little felt boards with the stuff with the stories, and I I I learned a lot about the old testament and in the classes. Um I obviously I grew up in the youth. Um I was in choir, uh, continued to go to church. Uh even after I moved out, uh, church was still important uh to me. Um met my wife in uh 2000. We uh dated and we ended we got married in 2006. Uh we had our first child in 2008. Uh we've had um we've got four kids aging in range from eight to 17. Uh we live in southern middle Tennessee. And currently, as far as my faith goes, I lead a couple of life groups at my church. And uh occasionally I'll write uh devotionals to match up with sermon series at our church.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

So have you have you always just been a writer?

SPEAKER_02 5:02

Um, no, actually, uh when I was, I'm trying to think, when in the late 90s, which is hilarious to say now, but in the late 90s, um, I was a I needed a job, and my mom suggested I applied at our local uh newspaper, and they hired me on the spot with no uh no experience whatsoever. So I started writing then and I really enjoyed it. And then since we were a local paper, I asked for the opportunity to write a devotional column. So I wrote one devotional column, it it went off really, really well. So then that became a weekly column, which led to me writing for a few Christian publications. Then I got into education, and I I've I'm still in education, but I'm no longer a teacher. But I taught uh sixth grade English for about eight years, so that kind of helped me with I kind of got out of the order. I like I learned to write before I learned the grammar rules, and that that helped with that. So I I've been writing, I guess, off and on since the late 90s, but with Substack, I started that in April of 2025, and I've written at least one weekly column uh since then, and that's led to a ton of opportunities as far as writing for other publications and organizations and whatnot.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

Awesome. Is is this book the first book you've put out?

SPEAKER_02 6:44

Uh no. Uh the the current book that's releasing uh Sunday um for Father's Day is called Built to Last. It's a six-week study through the book of Ephesians. Back in January, I released a book called Faith with Work Boots on, which is a seven-week study through the book of James.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

So I I've noticed just in the two titles that you mentioned, you seem to write books for men. Am I correct in saying that?

SPEAKER_02 7:15

Uh not on purpose, I guess. I mean, I guess because I mean, it yes and no. I mean, it it it is very uh I don't want to say heavy-handed. I mean, obviously, I have a I feel like I feel a pull in leading men and helping men. And even with my even when teaching, um, I felt like God put me in a position of teaching where I was kind of a father figure to the kids, where a lot of the students I had did not have fathers in the home and whatnot. So I was trying to be that for them. Um, Faith with Work Boots on was a book I wrote from um, we did a I wrote a devotional series for our church to match up a sermon. And I tried to keep myself out of the devotionals for the church. Well, then I kind of prayed about it and I was like, well, I kind of always wrote it, I thought it would be neat to write a book, and then God laid it on my heart. Like, you've got a whole devotional series for the entire book of James. Just put it into a book form. And when I did that, I started adding a little bit more of experiences I've had and then built to last, was also not really written for men, but after talking with some people on Substack, uh more than one person was like, This would be really good if you geared this towards men. And there is a lot of building metaphors and construction things and repairs. I think men probably will relate more to built to last, probably than faith with work boots on. But I always joke, my mama liked both of the books, and she's a woman, so hey.

SPEAKER_01 9:04

So yeah. So seeing that you you've you were a youth minister as well, right? I think I read that on substrates. So you you were a youth minister, you write devos, you were a news, uh news journalist. Did you go out and interview people when you were a journalist?

SPEAKER_02 9:21

Uh yeah, every now and then. Um, they being in a local town, uh, they sometimes call me the Grim Reaper. Because if I was if I was walking into a meeting, it was usually like, okay, what do you know? Why are you here? Um, the cool thing about the interview, like I interviewed, um, I was never afraid to ask anything. Uh, when I was, like I said, with the local newspaper, it was very, very, it was a small newspaper, but I was not like I interviewed I um some of the people I've interviewed, uh, I interviewed uh Dog the Bounty Hunter's daughter, came came for a book signing in our town at Walmart, and they were like, Does anybody want to go interview her? And nobody else wanted to do it. And I was like, Yeah, I'll do it. And I it was funny because I don't I don't know why, but I never got like uh starstruck by meeting anybody. Like I I interviewed Ted DiBiassi, the million dollar man from wrestling. Oh, yeah, like yeah, and uh it I was very now I freaked out after I spoke to him, but uh when um because he called me at the newspaper to set up the interview, and I remember I was very calm and I was very professional, but when I hung up the phone, everybody in the office was like hearing me because I was freaking out, going, the million-dollar man just called me. So yeah, I got to interview a a few people um with the newspaper and whatnot.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

So, and all the things that you've done, do you feel like because for me, I've done quite a few things throughout my 40 years as a Christian. And I'm seeing, if I go back and look, it's it's interesting. I just had a a guy on who wrote a book called The Gold Thread. And I went back and looked how God was lining things up in my life to lead me where I to where I am right now. Do you see that same thing that happened in your life, how God led you to where you are right now?

SPEAKER_02 11:18

Definitely. I mean, I uh that's a whole nother episode. Um, it just to put it in a nutshell right now, uh, I there was a job when I was teaching, and I think I wrote about this in the first book. Um I uh there was a job I really, really wanted um at the school I was teaching at. And it was one of those things where like I had prayed about it, and I knew I felt like me and God were like this, and I was like everything was going, and I was like, I was already like picking paint for the walls of my new office. I was going into ministration, I'd got my master's, I was like, this is I'm and like people in the in the school were already like, Oh, I can't wait till you're the assistant principal and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And um, then I didn't get the job, and I was uh very angry, uh, not so much, and I always tell people I wasn't angry with God. Uh, pastor's wife, who is also a writer, we talked about it and she said, God can handle us even when we come in hot. And I was like, I came in hot. I mean, like on the way the drive home, uh, I was very upset, but I felt like God told me, um, you didn't really like you told me what you wanted, you didn't ask me if this was what I felt like you needed. You were telling me this is it was like a genie. This is my wish. And after after uh I didn't get the job, um, I applied for another job, and I got now I get to work from home. It will it makes more money than I was making at the potential job. Um and I since I had that job, I was able to uh start writing. And that's what started, that's what got my I truly I to this day I say I would not have written two books and the Substack and written and done all the stuff I've done since April, if not for if I didn't have gotten if I hadn't have gotten that job.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

Yeah, yeah, I love how God leads us to where we are when we have uh the the verse that I use all the time is a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

Like literally. I it's it's interesting that I've had two authors on so far that talk about this this common thread. So uh in the book Built to Last, you go through the book of Ephesians. What is the the main theme? What is what is built to last mean? And how do you why do you think men specifically struggle with uh building something of meaning?

SPEAKER_02 14:14

I I think the the theme of the book is uh when you when you build something to last, I think of the the parable of the wise man who built his house on the rock and the foolish man who built his house on the sand. Like you can make the most and and and a lot of the a lot of the stories that I use in uh the built to last book, my stepdad, who he's in construction, and my stepdad has taught me more than anybody I know as far as what construction means and doing it right the first time and measure measure twice, cut once, and all these other metaphors that I was like, oh my gosh, this is the you've got to build. You can talk a good game, you can say, Well, I've memorized this many Bible verses, but if your if your foundation is not strong, then when those storms come in in your life and whatnot, it's not gonna hold. I mean, it I think with the Ephesians, I know there's uh I we picked that because once again, we we did a study um through at church and I wrote devotionals for that, and that's where a lot of these stories came from. I think a lot of times men, at least from my my point of view, I know I my wife constantly tells me she apprecies appreciates the fact that I'm consistent. And I think when you build that foundation of God at the at the at your bedrock is okay, no matter what happens, God is good. Um before I came before I came on this podcast, I told a friend of mine, uh, we're doing something uh tomorrow. And I told him, I said, Hey, I'll I'll holler at you after this podcast. And he wrote me and said, Remember, God is good. And I said all the time. And I think men, I know I I know a lot of men sometimes feel like, at least I I know I have felt in the past like I don't have anybody, or I know as a Christian man, sometimes I feel like I have to be I have I help everyone else, but there have been times that I've sat here and said, okay, who who's gonna who who's supposed to help me? And that's something I've struggled with because uh just being transparent, um, my father, our relationship is okay. Uh he was not a uh he got us to church, which which I greatly appreciate it, but like he wasn't um I don't want to say loving either. It's a hard convers. That's a hard conversation, but I've tried to be the father pointing my kids to Jesus. I'm I want them to say, Daddy's chasing Jesus, so we need to chase daddy.

SPEAKER_01 17:19

Yeah, that's that's exactly why. So I a little bit of my story, I'm not gonna go too far into it, but I spent 40 years as the go-to church Christian, but not really have a relationship with Jesus Christ Christian because I knew my kids needed to see what a godly man does and looks like. And that was really my my purpose. I I see a lot of men, even people that I'm I'm somewhat close to, that I try to prod and bring up. But you know, I'm sure you know from your own relationships in life, you can't just drag somebody. You can encourage them and say, hey, take my hand, it's here, but you can't you can't just pull them along. And I I really think this generation, this culture, you know, we got we got so many distractions, video games and cell phones and social media things to keep us from really leveling up. Why do you do you have any insights on how to help? Or do you have have an experience where you've helped you've seen a man change, go from being distracted and not present to being present and and you know becoming a better man?

SPEAKER_02 18:37

Uh I will say my stepdad, when him and my mom, my mom and dad got divorced uh around, I think it was 98, and my mom started dating my stepdad, and he was he was agnostic at the time. And I could me and my brothers could kind of see the writing on the wall, and we I don't want to say we warned my mom, but we were like, uh he tom's not a Christian, like that is gonna probably cause an issue. And I don't think Tom would care me saying this. I remember we were eating supper one night and I was talking about God, and Tom called me brainwashed, and I was like, okay, and I I said, uh, I told my mom, I just looked at my mama like, really? And um, so they they kind of had a rough patch because my mama started getting stronger in her faith. And Tom, you it's kind of, and I'm sure you've done it, you can tell when God is working on somebody and they're fighting it, and they're fighting it with every everything he had. And I remember the day he called my mama and told my mom that uh he had accepted Jesus and he was gonna, he was gonna be different. And I remember telling my mama, if he's lying, I wouldn't want to be around him because just uh of using that. But oh my gosh, it it was night and day. He he apologized to me. Uh he he told me that uh me and my brothers were kind of the reason why uh he thought something was different. He had a lot of church hurt, was where a lot of the issues were. And now my stepdad, who was agnostic when my mom and dad, when my mom and when they started dating, now he will pray before meals. When we have Christmas and Thanksgiving, he will stand up and pray, and he doesn't pray like somebody who's faking it. So I mean, it seeing the change in him and I I dedicated the built to last. I dedicated, uh, he's one of the ones I dedicated the book to simply because of, and I don't know if this is true or not, and maybe your listeners will understand. I think I think a lot of men have this like checklist of stuff that they're supposed to be able to do. And I grew up on I grew up on a farm, and my grandma would let us do almost anything except rake hay, not rake hay, I'm sorry, she wouldn't let us cut hay because she was just scared something was gonna happen. But my stepdad was the first man who was like, go cut that up and give me a chainsaw. And I was like, I've never used a chainsaw before. And he would show me. Uh he taught me all this construction stuff. Like, if something goes wrong in our house, I have the confidence now because of Tom, that I can I can probably fix it. And for me to be able to say that and also call him a Christian brother is that's a that's a God thing in and of itself.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

That's awesome. I'm glad I asked you that, Story, because stories highlight two men, you know, who are struggling, who are trying to figure out how to come up and be better. They just have this this mindset, I just can't do it. And you know, honestly, I was that guy when I started this podcast, like, I can't start a podcast. How are we gonna have a conversation with people that I don't know? Yeah. Like I started following you maybe three weeks ago on Substack. I don't really know you, but we're having a great conversation. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Two two two years ago, I I would have just been asking you just surface level questions and then moving on, but we're having a conversation. Yes. Which makes makes for a great podcast. I want to get back to your book for a second because I want to ask if I could be wrong about this. I'm not really great with references in scripture. Ephesians, is that's where the armor of God is?

SPEAKER_02 22:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:44

Yeah, and that's also where it says wives loves your love your husbands. I knew you were gonna say husbands love your wives, yeah. Yes, but why did you pick Ephesians or built to last? I know your your church was doing a series on it, but something led you to this.

SPEAKER_02 23:03

I I I am very coming from and my mama hates it, and she's gonna watch this or listen to this podcast, and she's gonna say, I hate it when you talk about the divorce. Um but uh I my wife and I have been together now for 26 years, which I just that blows my mind, but uh in a good way. Um we we have led marriage studies. Uh we have let she Karen is my Karen is her name.

SPEAKER_01 23:34

Um she does not like my wife has the same name. Yeah. Oh, and that tells you that I'm Substack. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:41

Yes, and she hate she hates her name right now. Um I say she's the least Karen I know. Um, but we we feel called not only to show our kids what a good marriage looks like, but when we're showing other people and as and I even said it in the book, yes, wives submit to your husbands. Yes, that's that's when I hear the word submit, I think of wrestling. Just that's the you're twisting someone's arm until they say, until they tap, or they say I give up. And if my wife was sitting here right next to me, she would say, I submit to him because he loves me like Jesus loved the church. There's never there, she she knows when it comes to her, there is not a selfish bone in my body. She's first. I tell my kids all the time, I'm sixth. Uh, I I hate to say this. I grew up in a house where daddy would hide the potato chips from us because us kids would just eat them, we'd eat and eat and eat. And great example. We we went on a we went to a day trip on Monday. And my daughter, my 13-year-old daughter, we ordered our breakfast at McDonald's. Uh, we thought my daughter said she didn't want anything. So we ordered ours. And when we got through the drive-thru, we were handing them the food out, and she said, Where's my chicken and biscuit? And we were like, We thought you said you didn't want it. And I said, Give her mine. And and Chloe went, No, I don't want to take yours. And I said, No, I said, I'll be fine. I'd rather you have it. You just take it. And then that led us to a conversation with me telling my boys, sometimes as the man, you've got to be last. And that's hard. And as a guy, you want it to be, hey, look at me. And you have to be lax. I tell my seventh junior all the time, in this family of sixth, I'm usually sixth, or my wife is sixth. We kind of fight over who's fifth or sixth, but the the kids come first. And I think I picked Ephesians because one, it's about marriage, and two, like you've already said, in this day and age, that armor, yeah, it it you've got to have it all. Like people who didn't, people in the in the military back in that age, they would not have just said, Well, I got my helmet on, let's go fight. They would have been sitting putting everything on. They wouldn't walk into battle and go, oh dang, I forgot my sword. I mean, they would have everything. And I think there's like I made it two parts in the book because I didn't want to rush through it. And I wanted to take half of the armor one day and half of the armor the next day because it's so important with the distractions and everything else that you've already talked about.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

Yeah. So what do men need to know about the armor of God?

SPEAKER_02 26:46

Uh for starters, it there it's it's a hole. Uh, you you've got to have uh you've got to have everything. Uh and I I go into detail because in the book, every everything, every piece of the armor means it helps the other piece of armor out. Like I felt it neat that when it talked about the the sandals, and when I was doing my research and stuff, I found out that they would put rocks or stones in the bottom of their sandals to give them better traction, kind of like football cleats. So that gives you a good base of foundation. Uh, you need your helmet to protect your head, you've got to have your chest, your chest piece to protect your heart, you've got to have the belt to hold everything. Uh, you need your sword, which I talk about that's like the only offensive weapon in the whole arsenal. Everything else is to protect you, but the sword, it can deflect and everything, but the armor itself is all defense, like the shield. I think that's what men a lot of times will say, well, if, and I'm guilty of it too. They pick and choose. Well, like if I'm if I'm if I just have my if I just take care of my mind, then everything else will be okay. And I'm proof positive. Me and my 17-year-old son has talked about it constantly, about how, and I'm sound I sound like an old man now, but I always I used to joke and say, uh, sometimes I if an EMP went off, I think we'd be a little bit better off uh without cell phones or um social media. Uh we were because we I I I have struggled with temptations and stuff uh on my phone. And my son, we were at a restaurant and I saw I was he he needed me to, and he's he's said he has does not mind me sharing this story when I talk to people. But uh he he saw something, I saw something on his phone and he saw that I saw it, and we kind of just looked at each other and I didn't make a scene. We I didn't tell his mom. We I just kind of looked at him and he went, okay. And when we got home, we talked about it. And I said, You got to protect your mind because your mind your mind's connected to your heart. And I I said, You've you've got and I and I I was transparent and I said, I completely understand how you feel, I completely understand the temptations, but I said you have to be intentional and not and don't put yourself in those kind of uh situations. I a lot of times when I feel tempted, I will quote my favorite Bible verse, or I will pray for someone who I feel could be a huge impact in the kingdom. I I have certain go-to things that I do when I feel like okay, my mind's being uh attacked, or my my found my foundation's getting a little rocky right now, or things like that.

SPEAKER_01 30:03

Yeah, I love that you went to the mind. I do the same thing because you know I learned that from Jesus when he was fasting in the wilderness. Every time that Satan tried to tempt him, he went back to the word. And that was his his response. I talk a lot about Romans 12, too. Be renewed by the transforming of your mind. So I don't I don't want you to go too far into your book because I want people to go out and get the book, but I'm gonna I'm gonna ask you to go through one of the pieces of armor because you mentioned the mind. That would be the helmet of salvation, because that's how we protect our mind, right? So can you talk about that a little bit and what what you break down in the book, maybe, or just whatever's on your mind right now?

SPEAKER_02 30:48

Um, let me I know exactly here. I can I can do a plug. Here's the book. Um, no, I can I can flip to it real quick and I can tell you exactly. Um, I know while I'm finding it, I know for me, uh, I am a very uh I'm a thinker, and I can get uh I can get lost in. I I joke, we went to a marriage conference one time and it opened my wife's eyes because the guy leading the conference said men will go to their nothing box. And they were like, What does that mean? And he said, A man can go outside and think of nothing. And like my wife has asked me, like, what are you thinking about? And I'll be like, nothing. And she'll say, Are you okay? And I'll go, Yeah, they don't understand that. I'm like, I'm just I'm just brain. I mean, and the and the guy went on to say that uh they actually like um hooked up electrodes and stuff, and like the guy was basically a s like his brain activity was like nil because uh there was nothing going on. And I mean, and that's and it's fine, but uh it's just I'm almost here. I'm sorry. I got my patriot. Uh okay, so the helmet of salvation. Uh I said, I'll just read from it. I said, uh the head controls the body, whatever the mind believes, the body follows. That's why Satan doesn't just attack the heart, he attacks our thoughts. Doubt, shame, fear, and distraction often begin in the mind. Our salvation must be the driving force behind our lives. When the enemy tries to convince us we are defeated, unworthy, or alone, the helmet of salvation reminds us who we belong to. The next time Satan attacks your thoughts, remind him of this truth. You are protected by God Himself. And I think my favorite verse is Psalms 91.1, and it talks about uh being in the shadow of the Almighty. And that's big to me because that verse kind of came to life for me. We were taking one of our family walks around the neighborhood, and the sun was behind us, and one of my little kids at the time stood in front of me and said, Look, daddy, my shadow's gone. And I was like, What? And I looked down and they were. I mean, that's where as a writer, that is where all my material is stored, and I don't want that to get mixed up.

SPEAKER_01 34:25

Yeah, I love that. That was such a great lesson right there. What's the uh the main message you want people to take away from the book?

SPEAKER_02 34:35

At the end of the book, I added well, two things. Uh, one, um, it's a five-day devotional. Uh instead of like I like having like when I do Bible plans on the UVersion app, I like the five-day plans because it gives you five days in a week. So if something comes up on Tuesday and you didn't get to do the Bible study that day, fine, you can do it tomorrow. Uh in those daily things, I've got dinner table devotionals, which I kind of took the questions that I asked the reader and gave them questions to ask their families. So at din at dinner time, if you want to ask some, I don't want to say simpler questions, but my eight-year-old can answer the questions. Or you can you can adjust, but I I'm really proud of that. Uh secondly, I in the back of the book, I continued with the built to last. And at the end of the book, it says, okay, here are your keys. Because I remember when I was a first-time home buyer and I got those keys and I walked into that empty house and I was like, Oh my gosh, this is mine. Like, so I I put give I gave the keys at the end of the book and I put three sections. Um, I put one section if someone wants to become a Christian. Uh, because like you said, there's a lot of people. Um, my brother is one, and he would tell you if he was sitting beside me. He went up um at church because his friend went up when he was like 10 years old. And then later he went up again and said, Okay, I'm doing this for real this time. So I've I've got a section at the end of the book for if you want to become a Christian. I've got another section that is for if you want to rededicate uh your life and get back on the straight and narrow, I guess. And then the third section I've got is essentially um, I don't want to say suggestions, uh, like ideas. Okay, now that you're a Christian, here's what you need to do: go find a local church, go find a men's group, go find a life group, um, find people that you can do life with because you going back to the armor reference and the army of God and whatnot, it's an army. We we can't fight by ourselves. I mean, David, David, yeah, David killed Goliath all by him, but he didn't kill him by himself. God, God helped David kill Goliath. But we you have once you become a Christian, you can't not, you you can't live life by yourself, especially as a man in this day and age. You've got to have other men around you to help you get better. And sometimes I think if you are doing it by yourself, you might be doing other people a disservice because you've got something that you can give other people. But if you're not, if you're not in a circle, because great example, like me and my parenting, a lot of the stuff I write about, as far as I'm concerned, some of the stuff is like no-brainer things. But I've had several people write reach out to me on Substack and say, Oh my gosh, I did this, that, or the other, and that was so good. So I'm to the point now where if anything pops in, if I feel like God has led me to share something, I share it. Even if I think, well, this is an easy thing, I'm gonna still share it because it might be new to somebody.

SPEAKER_01 38:09

Yeah, absolutely. I love that, and I love that you brought up David because we're we're getting ready to wrap it up.

SPEAKER_02 38:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 38:16

So, my question that I ask every guy that comes on the podcast is around David and the cave of a doulum. So, right after he slew Goliath, Saul, you know, who had some issues, yeah, he he became jealous of David, and David ran to the cave of Adulum, which actually that cave means the cave of refuge. While he was in that cave, it says in 1 Samuel 22, the men of the kingdom were disgruntled, disheartened, and discontented. They came to David in that cave, and while David was in that cave, he was in that cave for a while, and he led those men. They ended up becoming David's mighty men, and you can read some of the amazing things that these guys did in the book of Chronicles. Modern day, you got a group of men in front of you, and you got the opportunity to speak into their lives, they're disgruntled, discontented, disheartened, don't know what to do next with their life. What would you say to them?

SPEAKER_02 39:17

That's a good question. Um I think first of all, I would say kind of what David said. David knew that the position he always found himself in was because God put him there. So I think as men, we are put into positions to lead and to lead godly. We always have to point our, we always have to. I like the uh I like the analogy. We are called to be signposts pointing to God. A pastor, uh, my one of my pastors in the past wrote a sermon about John the Baptist, and it said, and he talked about John the Baptist was a signpost saying, not me, this way to God. And and I think I would tell men, yes, you you you have a huge burden, uh provide for your family, to be the kind of dad that you think you need to be, uh, regardless of the father you had. Uh, I grew up in a house where my daddy did some things because his father did them. And then I asked my grandfather, well, why did you do these things? Well, that's how my daddy did it. And my brothers and I went to a uh a Promise Keepers thing, I think it was Promise Keepers, and they talked about being chainbreakers. And we all decided, okay, we're gonna be chainbreakers, like we're we're we're done. Um, so I think I would tell men that, but I would also say it's not too late. I think a lot of men will say, it's too late. My kid's already 15 years old, it's done. Or my my daughter is is 19, she's out of the house, blah, blah, blah. It that's a defeatist, that's a defeatist mentality. I've got four kids. Every single one of them are very have very distinct personalities. I have to handle each one of them different. I I I've had arguments with my kids, but I always go back in afterwards and I don't want to say try to fix it, but I always go into that room and go, look, I love you. We're we're gonna we're gonna get better. But I think if I were to tell a group of men, the main thing is two things. One, it's not too late. Don't ever think, well, I can't do blah, blah, blah. You can always you can start today. And for the men who have been doing it right, great job. Because I think a lot of times men who have been doing a great job don't get to hear great job enough because I know in my past, my wife and I have had conversations. I need people to check on me. And I might put forth this facade that I've got everything together because that's what a man is supposed to do. But my wife, every now and then, has she she's learned, she'll say, Are you okay? And I'll say, Yeah, I'm good. And she'll go, No, are you okay? And I'll go, no, I'm I'm fine, I'm fine. So I think that's the two things is uh it's never too, it's not too late. And if you are doing it, great job.

SPEAKER_01 42:42

Awesome. Is is Substack the only place that you're active on?

SPEAKER_02 42:49

Uh yeah. I mean, I I'm I'm active on Facebook a little bit, uh, but um it the main the main place is Substack. I I've got a domain now, so like if you go to grit and wit uh.net, that takes you to my Substack. Okay, and that's where everything is. Um I like I said, I I went into this as I don't want it to become, it is we joke and say this is my second unpaid job. Um, but uh I don't want it to become something where uh it's taking away time from my family. You you asked earlier about somebody who's like made a change, and one of one of the people I know is me. I would I would tell my kids all the time, in a minute, in a minute, I'll be there in a minute. And my eight year old one day said, You always say that. And then he walked out. And I was like, Okay, I've got to stop doing that. So now if I'm doing something that I can walk away from, if he goes, Hey, do you want to go throw football? I'll say, Yep. And like you said about video games, uh, I still play just as a No, uh, a no a no-box, but if if I am able to do anything with my kids, if they ask, I go do it. Because you don't it, I mean, you only have a certain amount of time with them.

SPEAKER_01 44:13

That's awesome. Laurie, I I really enjoyed our conversation. Thank you. Just just I didn't know you had a sec another book. Just briefly describe the second book. That way people can go and find both of the books. Because I I think I'm I'm gonna go get the built to last book myself for sure. Is that out now?

SPEAKER_02 44:33

Uh, built to last it's built to last the Kindle version is available for pre-order, but the paperback will release on Sunday. Uh, so that that can be found on Amazon. Uh, the other book, uh, Faith with Work Boots on, is uh that's a journey through the book of James. And just a quick summary is it gets back into the faith, your faith is a work. That's a lot of, and it's not faith with works. It's I'm we're not getting into that, but uh, I saw I saw a graphic yesterday that said uh the branch with the branch bearing the most fruit bows the lowest. And I think with faith with work boots on, growing up on a farm, the boots were always by the back door. We we never knew when we had to go get a calf, we never knew when we had to go get go to the barn, but the boots were always sitting there ready for us. And I wanted to write about how your faith is super, super important, but you've got to work for the kingdom, like you said, to bring like I feel like I'm called to be an example to fathers and husbands and whatnot. But if I just sit home and write about it, but then I go out and don't really show what I'm writing about, then everything I'm writing should, I mean, it's there's nothing.

SPEAKER_01 46:05

Yeah, awesome. I love I love what you're doing. I love that you're encouraging men, not even intentionally, it's just happening. Yeah, which is amazing. Don't don't stop doing what you're doing. And the next time you write a book, reach out to me. I'm sure we'll still be connected on Substack. Yes. I'll be happy to have you on again. Thank you very much. Do you have any final words before we end?

SPEAKER_02 46:29

Uh just just like I said, I I I I really want to reiterate to the men out there, you're you're you're doing good. I think we don't, I think a lot of times in this society, uh toxic masculinity and all that. And I'm I'm trained, I am teaching my boys to be future husbands and fathers. The eight-year-old, uh, he opened the door for a woman at the store yesterday, and the woman went, thank you. And he looked at me and smiled, and I went, because that there's nothing that's that's just that's what a gentleman does. But they do that because they see me do it for their mom. And when I leave, I tell my 17-year-old, okay, you're you're you're the protector, watch out for your siblings. And he goes, Okay. And he he has accepted that and he's stepped into it. So don't for the men, don't feel lesser. Do what God tells you. And if God is leading you to do it and it's scriptural, then keep on keeping on.

SPEAKER_01 47:38

Amen. Awesome, Maury. Thank you very much for coming on. Thank you for having me, Mark. God bless you. One of my key takeaways from this conversation was Maury's reminder that sometimes God's greatest blessings come disguised as disappointments. The job he wanted was the job he didn't get. The door he was praying would open stayed shut, and looking back, that closed door created space for him to become the writer that he's become. The writing, the ministry, and the opportunities that God had planned all along. I think a lot of us men sometimes feel frustrated by what's not happening in our lives. We look at the promotion we didn't get, the opportunity we missed, the prayer that hasn't been answered, and we assume that God isn't moving in our lives. But maybe he's redirecting you. Maybe he's building something we can't see yet. That's the takeaway I'm carrying from this conversation. What's your takeaway? What did you get from the conversation? If something in this podcast today encouraged you, helped you, help you see your faith journey a little differently, share it with another brother. Mori's book, Built to Last, is available now, and I'll make sure the links to both of his books and his substack is in the show notes. Please go give him a follow. And something that he shared with me pre-interview, I believe it was pre interview, that he's actually considering starting his own podcast. So I would definitely go give him a follow. Let him know you came from the Valiant Forge and you enjoyed his conversation. And um, thank you very much for listening. Stay strong, stay valiant, keep forging your path, and be blessed.