EP. 21 - Flat Tires, Open Doors & Terminating Trisomy 21

A mortgage decision can feel like a test of your manhood when prices climb, bills stack up, and you’re trying to lead your family without fear. We get real about that pressure, starting with Colton’s story of listing his house, watching it sit, and realizing he’d moved too fast without prayer. The surprise twist is a refinance option that lands on the exact number they need to clear a vehicle loan and breathe again, and it turns into a bigger lesson on trusting God when the “smart” plan stalls.

From there we talk Christian finances and biblical stewardship in plain language: why debt keeps you stuck, how to take practical steps toward freedom, and how contentment protects your heart when you’re tempted to chase the next upgrade, the next acreage, or the next shiny thing. Craig adds a marriage reminder too: take your wife somewhere, get time together, and fight drift before it starts.

Then the conversation shifts to a tough current event: a public pregnancy termination after a Down syndrome diagnosis. We share a pro life Christian perspective while calling ourselves and other believers to hold the line without losing compassion. Every child has value, every parent facing fear needs support, and forgiveness is real for anyone carrying regret. We close by challenging men to stand firm in faith and do everything in love, then we pray for you. If this hits home, subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review, and tell us what topic you want next.

Transcript

Welcome And Life Update Plan

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Welcome to the Brotherhood Podcast.

Craig 0:23

Welcome back to another episode of the Brotherhood Podcast. It has been a little bit here, so what we're going to do today is we're going to do a little bit of a life update for uh myself. If you're listening audio-wise, this is Craig. And if you uh don't know who I am, and then uh we have Colton as well. But me over here. Oh, yeah, it's you. Um, yeah, we'll do a little bit of a life update. Uh, there's some kind of interesting things that God has done in both of our lives uh recently that we'd like to share with you guys. There's kind of cool um situations, and then uh yeah, and then we'll kind of go from there. We'll I think we'll talk about uh a little bit of a recent event too, and then um we'll tread lightly there, but we'll have a little bit of a discussion and um kind of go from there as we get back into things, and then hopefully we can stick to maybe uh a monthly episode for you guys over the summer months here. So I appreciate your patience with us and uh yeah, hopefully there's still people listening.

Colton 1:37

Yeah, absolutely. I think uh it's good to kind of get back get back after, and all the summertime gets pretty busy, it's hard to uh sometimes to set the time apart to be able to do this. So very thankful that uh that we could get together here and um put another episode out for you guys today.

Craig 1:57

Yeah. Are you saying this time is holy? It needs to be set apart. It can be, yeah, it can be, yeah. That's right. That is right. Uh, I don't know. Who do you want to go first? You want me to go first or you go first? Oh, I can go first. All right, lay it on us.

Selling The House Under Pressure

Colton 2:18

All right. Well, it's been an interesting couple months, guys. Like we said, it's been a while since we've been able to uh record. So thank you for listening in if you are. Um, I guess first of all, we want to start off by saying if you guys have things you need prayer for, if there's things that you want us to um, you know, maybe just have on our minds, if you guys have things going on in your life, definitely let us know. And we would be more than happy to pray for you. Um, so this summer we uh we had a couple things happen. We actually ended up putting our house up for sale here in the spring. Um with uh with the prices of insurance and food and you know everything else going up. Things were getting pretty expensive there for a bit. So we um probably prematurely put our house up for sale without without really um praying about it too much. We just kind of hit a point where I told my wife, I'm like, hey, you know what? I I think maybe we need to sell the house. Let's get rid of some debt um and try and just free ourselves up a little bit so we can enjoy this summer. And so that's what we did. We put it up for sale and uh we put it up pretty high. We figured, you know, it's pretty hot market, and we'll just sort of drop the house as we need to. Um, so we had it up for sale here for a few weeks and dropped the price a few times, had a lot of showings. Um, I think we had one or two offers, and it was pretty good. I mean, you know, we figured for sure it would sell, and um, you know, two weeks went by, three weeks, four weeks, and right now that seems like a lot of time. Houses are selling pretty quick, and so we were kind of wondering what was going on, and uh, and why why the house wasn't selling. You know, we thought this was the right decision and we figured we were we were doing the right thing, but anyways, turns out that was not the right thing. Um, we continued to pray about it and tried to figure out ways we could uh possibly not have to sell the house just to see if God maybe had another opening. And we had a friend of ours come talk to us, and uh and they figured that we should reconsider what we were doing, maybe reconsider selling the house just because rent is so expensive. Um, rent is actually more expensive than I think what our mortgage is right now and what it was, and so uh we kind of took that with us and we're like, you know what? We uh we haven't looked into refinancing. I think maybe that's something we should check into. And the reason we hadn't is for those of you that don't know, when you go to refinance your house, you're only allowed to refinance for 80 percent of the appraisal value of your home. And so our plan was, I'll get into that bit of the nitty-gritties here. Um, our plan was to get enough out of the house to pay off our vehicle loan to eliminate a couple payments and um just eliminate some debt. And so the amount that we needed the appraisal for was quite a bit, and I did not expect to get what we needed to get for it. So we had put it off and put it off, and um after this friend came and talked to us about that, we decided that uh, you know, maybe it wasn't maybe it shouldn't be our decision as to whether refinancing was the answer or not. And so we're like, you know what, we're just gonna look into it, and if it's an open door, you know, God will God will allow that door to open. And if it's not supposed to be that way, then we believe that God will shut that door. Um, and I guess just so you guys understand, my wife and I didn't want to sell our house. We we love where we live and love our home, but sometimes I thought maybe it was becoming a bit of an idol, too, which is part of the reason we had it up for sale. So, anyways, we uh we send the paperwork in and start talking to the mortgage broker and stuff about this. And

Refinancing Door Opens Unexpectedly

Colton 6:55

I think it was a couple days after we sent the paperwork in. Um normally they they send an appraiser to your house to appraise your home uh to give you a value, and then from there you can refinance for the 80% of what that value is given. And so, anyways, we got a a pre-appraisal for the exact amount that we needed to refinance our home, which um for those of you that uh don't believe, I'll tell you right now, I I don't believe in coincidences. Uh, I believe everything happens for a reason. And so in that moment, as soon as we saw that email, my wife and I both said we're like, you know what, God has opened a door. We believe this is um this is what he wants, and so we went that direction. And uh yeah, fortunately enough, um God has allowed us to keep our home, to refinance it, to pay our vehicle off, and to uh be somewhat in a better place financially to actually uh be able to afford to live here. So it's been a huge blessing and just uh just a crazy way um to experience God working in our life, you know, again. It's yeah, it's pretty cool.

Craig 8:14

Yeah, it's pretty cool for me to see that unfold too, like from outside, because I know, yeah, you guys were really hoping to sell it, and I know like I know Brianne too, she was kind of mixed feelings about it. She's like, I really love this place, I don't want to get rid of it, but like feel like we have to, and you're like, I think we have to, like, this is there's no other option here, yeah. Um, and then just to see, like, well, I was feeling discouraged for you guys there for a bit. It's like, oh, we had a bunch of showings uh this weekend and no offers, or like the low offers, and it's not enough, and it's like, man, what is going on here? And then you guys then say, Oh, we decided to do this, and see like the refinancing option, and then um hear that just right away God just opened that door. He's like, Yep, this is this is the direction I want you to go. And then like for you for you guys also to be connected to the Holy Spirit enough to see that like oh okay, yeah, the number that we need is what we got, and like okay, God is saying this is the this is the way you need to go right now. Yeah, it's kind of a cool cool to see me, or cool for me to see it on the whole um the way that it did.

Colton 9:38

So yeah, well, I mean, we were getting pretty serious about it, you know. We were looking at rentals, we were looking at holiday trailers, we were gonna plan to live in a trailer for the summer. Um, so we like it was probably three or four weeks. It was it was hard because we're like, we just we gotta get rid of this, we gotta get some money out of it and um pay off some debt and just try and get ahead, and it just wasn't happening and wasn't happening. And you watch the bank account kind of come down a little bit and down a little bit more, and it's like, man, how long do we hang on? Um the one thing I want to mention though is, and this is where I think I messed up um in this, is not not giving it to God, first of all. I don't think I fully gave in to God. I think I kind of took it into my own hands and uh, you know, put the house up for sale thinking that this was the best choice for our family. And then it just happened to work out that that was not. But when it comes to, like I said, the refinancing and not thinking we get enough money, you know, I think that's where I needed to trust God and be like, you know what, if this is God's plan, and I should have done this a lot sooner than I did, but if it's God's plan, you know, it'll work. And uh I believe God always opens a door, we just have to walk through it. Right? We need to trust that He can He can open those doors, He can close those doors, and you know, clear as day, He He guides our path, you know, just like Proverbs 3:5 to 6 says, uh, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, and all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. You know, and it is so cool when you get to see that unfold. Right.

Craig 11:40

Yeah, yeah, that's good. And I think, well, even for myself too, I I think I tend to lean on my own understanding more often than um just giving it up to God and asking him what he wants me to do. There's so many different decisions we have to make, um, especially as uh men and leaders of our households, financial decisions and job decisions and and things like that, that if you make the wrong decision, it can be kind of catastrophic for your family. Okay, yeah. So um for us to like be wise, um I guess worldly kind of as well. Um not just not just leave it up to just say, oh God's got it, I don't have to do anything. But yeah, just say to at least be humble enough to seek guidance from the Holy Spirit and and be like, hey, what do you this is what I'm thinking, what what do you want me to do? Yeah, um it's hard sometimes, but it's it's important, and it's cool to see that he'll still work out um work out what he wants done, even though, like you said, write it off the get-go, you weren't necessarily um giving it to him to to show you what what he wanted, or you weren't listening to him anyway. Yeah um you were like, I got this, I'm gonna make this decision. This is what's right. Um but he kind of he's like, okay, well, I'll let you try. Yeah, but he's like he's like swatting people away at the at the door. They're like, they're looking, they're like, ah, I don't like this, I don't like this, I don't like that. Yep, I'm gonna lowball you, I'm gonna do this, and nope, this isn't right for us. So you're like pulling your hair out. Oh man, what in the world? This is oh yeah, it's in good shape, it's worth like it's worth this much, and everything else is selling so fast, and but God's just like, nope, nope, nope, nope.

Colton 14:01

Oh, I know it's yeah, it was crazy the way it worked, and what's even crazier is you know, there's a couple houses, so our neighbor had their house up for sale, and they were really high, and they sold really high, and that's why we were shooting a bit high too. But there's a couple houses behind our house that's been up for sale now probably probably a month and a half, at least a couple months, haven't sold yet, like nice places, too. So I don't know, it's uh it's kind of a weird thing, you know. After after the fact, Brianna and I are like, you know what? I think that's better that we didn't sell and that we just were able to stay here.

Craig 14:45

Yeah, I think so too. Well, I mean, that's obviously what God wanted you to do. Why? I have no idea. I guess you'll see.

Colton 14:54

But yeah, I think well, I think he kind of answered that for us too. Okay, uh, I guess I never went into that part of it. Um, my wife and I want to really buy an acreage at some point, and so we were getting not serious, but I think we were um maybe I guess maybe struggling a little bit because my brother just bought an acreage here a few months ago, and uh I know we've been wanting to get an acreage for a long time, and so that was uh a lot of our focus was on that, and then after this whole house thing happened and we refinanced, it just kind of clicked. It's like

Contentment Versus Chasing The Next Thing

Colton 15:40

you know, I think God was trying to teach us contentment with what we have, not to always look at what we want, but to look at where we are, and that we are blessed with where we are, we're blessed, you know, to be able to have a home, we're blessed to be able to have a family. Um, we are pretty well off for the most part, you know. We're not rich by any means. Well, sorry, let me rephrase that. We're not financially rich by any means, right? Um, but through this all, God just reminded us it's like, you know what? This is just stuff, and one day this isn't gonna matter. One day we are going to be, um, if we believe in heaven with with Jesus, and the stuff here doesn't matter. So to just be happy with where we're at, and that in itself has been again just another huge blessing, just learning to be happy with what you have and not always um wanting what the next guy has, not always wanting, you know, a bigger house, more land, uh, nicer vehicles, or you know, whatever. Um, just realizing that everything that we do have has been given to us by God, and it's been, yeah, it's been just a blessing. I don't know how else to describe it.

Craig 17:08

Yeah, that's been uh part of our struggle too. It's like well yeah, you see people buying acreages and and stuff like that, and the same with us, we want to move out of town eventually. But it's like um sometimes we get like kind of serious about it, or like something will pop up and then we're like not even ready for it. Yep. Oh yeah, and it's like, well, there's no way that we can even do that right now, and then it gets sold. It's like, okay, well, obviously, or it's like something that we think it's like, oh, if that ever comes for sale, maybe we want to buy it, or something like that. But then it comes up for sale and then it sells somewhere else. I'm like, well, I wasn't ready. So okay, well, I guess we're not meant to have it, or at least not right now. Yeah, so it's kind of like um posi like uh house-wise or acreage-wise, it's like I think it's okay to um I think it's okay to want something different or want something a little better, like not not make it your idol, but yeah, to strive for something better. Um, I think that's okay. But um so yeah, like you said, be content with what you have and where you're at, still striving to do better.

Colton 18:37

Yep.

Craig 18:38

There is something else I was gonna say too. Um oh, and also like do the steps um that will get you ready as well, like financially. Saving, paying off debt, uh, those kind of things. Like if you just continue in the same cycle of of you know, say you're maxing out credit cards or maxing out lines of credit or whatever, and you're just not you're doing minimum payments and stuff like that, just barely eyes above water, then you're never gonna get to the next part anyway. And that's right, yeah. The the Bible says too the borrow borrow the borrower is a slave to the lender, too. So, I mean, having a bunch of debt is not biblical either. So to be wise

Debt Wisdom And Stewardship Mindset

Craig 19:30

stewards of what we have and um and work towards that is important too. So it is, yeah.

Colton 19:38

Um, the other part of that I was thinking about that maybe doesn't make sense. I was gonna touch on too is uh a lot of times in the past when things have gotten tight, we've um because I I've tried a lot of different things. I'm not very old yet, but I've tried a lot of different jobs, and um I'm not always I I guess I'm not always um happy about that. But then again, I I feel like in all the places I've been, uh God has been able to bring me to people who don't know him. Just about every workplace I've been, there's been you know, kind of that one or two people that I feel like God sort of points out to me, and I tried my best to make an impact on them, but um I I I guess where I'm going with this before I go down a rabbit trail. Here is I I'm in a place now where I have a job that I absolutely love. I work for a great company um with great people there. The owners are absolutely awesome, and you know, I I get to have a life. And before I know I've spoken about this a few times, but I used to run heavy equipment, and it's not that it wasn't a lifestyle, you still have a pretty good lifestyle depending where you work. Um for me, again, I tried a lot of different things, and a lot of what I did, you know, I had to work Sundays, I had to work however many days in a row, and I still got to be home every night, which was great. Uh, I did some camp work, and that was great too. But the thing that did it for me is coming home, and um my oldest kid. Oh, I don't think I was even home. He was asking my wife, well, where's dad? Why isn't he coming to church? And it just kind of you know, kind of hit me. It's like, oh man, I I teach our family, our kids about Christianity. I teach our kids about how important it is to be able to go to church and all these things. And here I am working through all these Sundays. I'm like, this is not a good example. So, anyways, I ended up in the office where. I work now, and for me, finding another job was not an option. I was not I was not willing to give this job up because I absolutely love it. This is honestly an opportunity uh of a lifetime for me, and so that was out of the question, and I don't feel like that was God's calling for us either. And so that's also kind of where it made it a little bit difficult, where it's like, okay, well, I could go run equipment and be okay, but I I didn't want to do that, I wanted to stay where we're at and um make an actual you know lifestyle for us um in that way. So hopefully that kind of makes sense the way I explain that. That's um yeah, big reason why we didn't why we didn't want to change jobs and

Work Choices And Being Home Sundays

Colton 22:55

stuff is I didn't want to give up that lifestyle and having time with my kids and stuff. Yeah.

Craig 23:03

I get like um before I go into my stuff, I want to ask you if there's any like there's any guys that are listening that are like kind of in maybe a similar situation, or they're um struggling with the not being home, or like um with the like you said with uh with your boy, you said that he was asking, well, where's dad? And you're teaching your kids the importance of going to church as a family, but you're not there. Like maybe there's some guys that are listening that are kind of struggling with that. What kind of encouragement would you have for them?

Colton 23:43

Yeah, I would say just trust where God has you right now. Um, before I got into this position, I was running skidder and it was a really good job, but I was I was struggling with it quite a bit, just um, you know, working longer hours and you know, same thing. I this job I got to have Sundays off. I I never had to work Sundays, which was a huge blessing. I loved that part of it. Um, but most times we were working quite a few hours during the week. Uh, I didn't I didn't really get to see the kids a lot in the morning or well, not at all in the morning, sometimes a little bit in the evening if the wife kept them up a little bit later. And so for me that was a bit difficult. But what I uh noticed in that time is and I think I've spoken about this in previous episodes. I I feel like God brought me to that place where it was just him and I. I I needed some quiet in my life, and um the work truck I got uh somehow didn't have a radio. The skitter I had, the radio didn't work overly well. So most of the day I had to to pray, to spend time with God, and uh I felt like he had brought me there to work on my heart. So my encouragement for you guys would be wherever God has you now, spend the time to even thank him for where you're at. You know, don't always just ask for the next thing. Um, but learn to be thankful for for where you are. I remember one specific time, you know, the skitter broke down and I was having a bit of a hard day, and you know, I just kind of opened the door and leaned outside, and I just kind of said to God, like, God, I I don't understand what what are you doing? Like, what is the purpose in this all? You know, and again, I just kind of felt like it's he was taking me to a place where I needed to be to work on my heart, and it might not be the same for you guys. Um maybe God's not going to take you to a job where you're out in the bush by yourself for 12 hours a day and your radio doesn't work or whatever. Uh, that was a situation for me, but my encouragement is just trust God with what he's doing, continue to pray, thank him, and take the time to spend with him and pour your heart out to him. He wants to know how you feel. I mean, obviously, he already does, but he wants to have that conversation with you. And uh I know for me, I had many conversations and prayers like that with God um going through that time. And yeah, I just told God, you know, eventually I'd like to do this. Please, please allow this to happen if it's your will. So I would say uh yeah, that's that's my encouragement for anybody who's maybe in the same spot I was. And if you need, you know what, feel free to reach out to me. I would love to talk to you about it. Right, but yeah, yeah, that's I would go with that, I think.

Craig 27:04

Okay, no, that's good. And yeah, on the reaching out note, I think um yeah, if you guys are struggling, if you need prayer with anything like this, if you're struggling, um like I for guys, it's like work and finances and providing, and like it's uh it can be or it can feel like a big burden, it is a big responsibility because you know, as family men, like again, the Bible says that um one that does not provide for his family is worse than an unbeliever. So it's it is a it is a burden that uh like uh I don't know if burden's the right word, but it's uh it's a command, basically. We're we're to provide for our loved ones, for especially our immediate family. And um so for those for guys that are kind of discouraged in that too, it's tough. But um if you look at it as it's it's our responsibility and it's given to us um by God, and He has blessed us with the family that that we have, and if we look at it that way, I think it's easier to try and steward that well, um not only financially but spiritually too. So um yeah. Um that's good. I think I'll uh I'll kind of talk about mine too now, my little situation that happened, um it's not as big and crazy as Colton's house situation, but um it's pretty cool.

Weekend Away And Marriage Time

Craig 28:50

So uh some of you may know that um my wife and I had uh I don't know, this was probably three weeks ago or so. I don't even remember, but uh we went on a trip to Tumblr. So there's another thing, guys. Take your wives' places to be just you, you and her as well, spend some time together because when you got little ones running around, that can be tough too. And it gets hectic and you start to kind of to keep from drifting apart and uh keep that connection going. It's good to spend time together, even if it's just a weekend away or whatever, you know. Send the kids to the grandparents like we did and go on a little trip. So yeah, we went to Tumblr Ridge and um that was good. We didn't go camping or anything like that, but got a hotel room and stuff and um hiked some trails, which was really cool. But uh the one day, uh I think it was the Saturday, we um we were going out to uh I forget what the trail's name

Encouragement For Busy Working Dads

Craig 30:05

was that we were going to, but the it was like down a mining road. So anyone that's been out Tumblr Way knows that there's like not very much surface over there, and um the for some reason they gravel the roads with knives, I don't know, anyway, like super sharp rocks. And so if you're putting two and two together, you know where I'm going with this. But anyway, we we get kind of down there, we get to like a fork in the road, and um there's actually this little we had kind of pulled over at the entrance to this to this mining road, and we're like trying to figure out where to go anyway. So this little car goes zooming past us, and like, oh man, they are ripping on her. Anyway, they they get up and then ends up we're kind of going the same direction, so we kind of follow them for a bit

Flat Tire In The Backroads

Craig 31:00

and get to a fork in the road, they kind of like stop, they're like not sure where they're going, and then they go up um the same direction we were gonna go. So, anyway, we're I kind of like stop and wait for them. I'm like, what are they doing? Anyway, they end up going, and I'm like, I'm surprised that little car is doing what it needs to do on this road, but anyway, I don't know if they made it out of there alive or not, but they they went on anyway. So, anyway, we start going and then my wife goes, Oh, there's a little waterfall here, like just on the side of the road. So, like, oh cool, we'll just jump out and have a look at it. So we um we jump out and have a look, and uh usually I would jump out and go around the front, but for whatever reason, I jump out, go around the back this time, and um I happen to glance down at the um passenger rear tire. I'm like, that looks like it might be a little low. So I asked my wife, and she's like, Oh, maybe. So, like it wasn't so far gone yet, so it's like, oh, that looks a little low. I'm like, oh fine, well, whenever we get back to town, we can fill it up. It's fine. So, anyway, um, I'm kind of I don't even go get to go really look at the waterfall. My wife goes like climbing through the ditch and up in there, and she's having a look at taking pictures, she's gone basically. Anyway, um, so I'm like kind of looking at the waterfall from the side of the road and kind of waiting for her and uh kind of glancing back at the tire. I'm like, that looks a little lower than it was a minute ago. So anyway, she's uh she's like, Are you coming? I'm like, Well, I don't know. Like, this looks low, and I think it's going lower. So, anyway, um kind of wait for her to do her thing, take pictures, and by the time we get back to the vehicle, then I'm like, Yeah, this is going down. So I'm like, I think we need a turnaround. So, anyway, uh we do turn around and then um a little bit of ways down the road, I I kind of stop again, and I'm like, oh, like it's like flat now. So anyway, but we're like probably 15 minutes down the road, so I'm like, oh man, I don't know. And there's no cell service, so I'm like, we got to at least get back out to the highway. So I'm like going carefully, and I'm like, I hope this tire doesn't fly apart or fall off or whatever. Um, and then anyone that knows anything, if you're running a flat tire, that's not good for the tire. Anyway, so we make it out and um kinda I wonder what I did first. Uh I think um I think I might have called Justin, our brother-in-law. Uh, because he's from BC area, and so I'm like, do you know anyone in Tumblr Ridge that might be able to help us with the flat tire? Uh no. So anyway, he's like, Well, I know somebody that might know somebody, so anyway, I let him go and he he tries to find something out for me. And then um, because our father-in-law, he uh he drives truck and he's kind of all over the place. So I'm like, Did you know anybody? He's like, Nope, I don't know anybody. I'm like, hmm, this is great. Yeah, like there's like no tire shops in Tumblr Ridge for whatever reason. I don't know. I think someone needs to start a tire shop over there because they would make a lot more. Um, but so then I'm like googling on like, is there like a tow truck or something that we can get? And closest one is uh um Prince George or something. I don't know. Anyway, it was like it was quite a ways away and in the wrong direction. So I'm like, if we are kind of screwed, then we need to go like Fort St. John way and go home, is what we need to do. Because anyway, we don't uh I guess another thing I should say is um we have like an older suburban, and I guess anyone who knows anything about the older vehicles where they had like the um they have like the spare tire underneath, like on that cable system. Anyway, so both of our vehicles, Chevy's, they have that, um, but both of them have been rusted out and like seized, so we've had to cut the spare tires off. And I should have known, like we should have just thrown the spare in the back. It's home, it's here, it's sitting by the shed. But anyway, so I get a hold of a tow truck driver, uh, but he's like I said, I think it's Prince George, I don't know. Anyway, he he's like, Well, we like I can come get you, but we don't do roadside repairs, so we'd have to bring you back to our shop and then repair you, and then send you out from there. I'm like, I do not want to do that drive a couple hours, get towed a couple hours in the wrong direction. So I'm like, I'm gonna see if I can figure something else out. So anyway, um, so actually, maybe like the sequence of events I think I have mixed up. I think I phoned the tow truck driver first, then I phoned uh Justin and then father-in-law after that. Um anyway, uh the tow truck driver phones me back and he says, I know a guy um that might be available. Let me see if I can get his uh get a hold of him, see if he can come help you. So we wait for a few minutes and then he calls me back again and he says, Yeah, I uh I know a guy with a shop down there, and I think he's just around the corner from where you're at. So I'm like, okay, perfect. He's like, give him like 15, 20 minutes. I'm like, okay, well, if that's all it is, then that's better than a couple hours. That's the thing, too. The tow truck driver, he's like, we can have someone out there in like four or five hours. I'm like, I'm gonna be stuck on the road forever. Oh yeah. Um, so anyway, but actually, this guy didn't take 15-20 minutes, he was there in like five. So I was like, Oh, he must be really close. So, anyway, he comes, assesses the situation. He's got like a big flat deck, like um probably five ton or something like that. Um so he hooks up to his air compressor and then he uh just airs up the tire, so it it holds enough air to get us um to the shop anyway. So we get in there and um he he has his guys fix it, like they take it off, take it off the rim, um, did some patching and um they got that all done. And uh it's funny because um a precursor to this event actually when we bought our pickup, we bought it from Edmonton, and we uh we got a flat on the way home as well. And uh this was a few years ago now, but uh we got a flat on the way home, and uh again, the this is when we found out the spare was seized on that vehicle, so I'm like oh crap. Yeah, not getting this thing down. So anyway, we couldn't get a hold of anybody then either. We had service, but couldn't find anything. I think that was on a weekend, it was like after hours. Anyway, the guy that he either owned or managed like a tire shop where we were at, I think Rycroft or something is where we were. Um and he uh he just happened to be driving by in his personal vehicle, like they were closed, right? So he's like, Oh, you guys need help? I'm like, well, yeah, like we don't have um like we don't we can't get our spare down, and like like I don't know who to call because they're everything's closed. He's like, Oh well, I I manage the um I don't remember what it was, okay tire or something, fountain tire, whatever it is over there. I'm like, oh okay. And he's like, well, I think I can take this off. He's like, I think I might even have like a takeoff tire that I can put on here for you. I'm like, oh, that'd be amazing. Anyway, so he takes our tire, and I'm like, Well, we're stuck here. Hopefully he comes back. Uh I don't need to be stranded for a few days, right? Half hour later, he comes back. He's got a new tire on the rim, and um he puts it on, and I was like, Oh, well, like, what do I owe you? He's like, Nothing, you're good. I'm like, Are you sure? He's like, Yeah, it's fine. He's like, We happen to be here, I'm glad I could help. I'm like, Oh, sweet, wow, God is good. Like, thank you, sir. So, anyway, that and then so all that to say when we were sitting in the office at this shop, um, which was not even like a service shop, it's like a mining, um, they have like their own fleet and stuff like that. So they really work on their own stuff, they don't really work on customer stuff. Oh, that's cool, yeah. And they just happen to be there Saturday doing like shop cleanup and yard cleanup and stuff like that. They're not usually there, so that's a God thing, first of all. And uh so when the guy was out of the office, I was kind of talking to Amanda. I'm like, like, there's no one here in the office. Like, I wonder if God'll do the same thing again if we're just not gonna have to pay anything. She's like, no, no way, like that's not gonna happen twice. That's not gonna happen to us twice. Anyway, so repair gets done, and uh um repair gets done, we're good to go. And the guy says, He's like, Well, it's your lucky day. I'm like, Oh, he's like, Well, it could be your lucky day. Like, oh, why is that? And he says, He's like, Well, we don't have anyone working in the office today, so he's like, um the repair is free, like you don't owe us anything, like, unless you have some cash to put in our coffee fund. I'm like, I am sorry, I would put a hundred dollars in your coffee fund if I added. He's like, Okay, well, here, take my card and uh tell the tow truck guy we took care of you, and um, and uh and if you ever need anything, give us a call. I'm like, okay, so God did it again. And like the whole time, like I was not, I never necessarily actually prayed, like I didn't stop in the situation and pray. Um my wife did, I didn't ask her that. But um, while I'm trying to get everything organized, I'm like prayerful, but I'm not praying per se, if that makes sense. So, but anyway, at the like during the whole situation, like I mean, I got kind of panicked a little bit, but mostly I was pretty calm, surprisingly. This, like, yeah, no service, and you don't know anybody, and you don't have a spare tire, and how are we gonna do this? So, my wife was doing all the worrying, and I'm like, you know what? I think God's just gonna take care of it. I just trusted through the whole thing, and I was like, I think God will just take care of it. I don't know how, but it'll work out, it's gonna be fine. So, anyway, and then like my whole I bet you guys gonna do the whole same thing, you know, we're gonna get a free tire repair. Sure enough, it's free. Sure enough, it's free, yeah.

Colton 43:31

So, um yeah, that's kind of my wild story, and then that tire's still holding air, so uh it's weird how like God gives you peace in those moments, hey. Like I was gonna ask you when it when it came down to it, was there any point where you're just kind of like I I know

Peace Under Pressure And Trust

Colton 43:50

you kind of said I was gonna ask you before, but it doesn't sound like you really were freaking out at all. You just kind of had yeah, just a peace about it, hey.

Craig 44:00

Yeah, for the most part, I just there was just a piece about the situation. I was like, God's gonna, God's got it covered. Yeah. And I think as I grow older, I am getting kind of more that way in most situations. So I'm like, this is totally out of my control. I have like and there's no reason for me to worry about it. That doesn't help. So like I just gotta trust that it's gonna work out. Like, we're not gonna die here. So like nothing.

Colton 44:34

Well, you hope not.

Craig 44:36

Yeah, that's right. And um we have uh like aunt and uncle in-law like on our wives' side that live in Dawson. So I'm like, worst case scenario, we call them up and they come save us or whatever, right? Like, I mean, if they could, I don't even know, but I'm like, there is that option if we need it. So other than that, I have no idea. I didn't know how it was gonna work out, but yeah, it was literally the guy's like, Oh yeah, our shop's just around the corner here. I'm like, okay, I was thinking like five-ten minutes down the road, maybe. Yeah, no, it's like it was like out onto the highway where like we were right at the highway. Um, go out on the highway, and then just like down, and then their shop was like right there, like literally around the corner. Isn't that something, eh? That's like couldn't have been any better.

Colton 45:37

So that is cool. That's neat to hear how God worked through that too, and just like again, just the peace he gives you in those moments, too, especially being you know back there with no cell service or nothing like that. Yeah, that's really cool how he allowed that to work.

Craig 45:56

Yeah, that's kind of amazing. Oh, and then so we went to the Baptist church in Tumblr there on Sunday. Yep, and um what the pastor preached on was like um trust in God, and like he was talking about the whole um like stepping out onto the water, like step out of the boat kind of thing, trust the Lord, yep, that kind of thing, and I'm like, Yeah, I agree. Yeah, if you do that, it's all you know, the stormy seas are calmed, and he takes care of you. So yeah, cool, kind of cool how he kind of talked about basically what we just went through, pretty much.

Colton 46:45

So yeah, isn't that interesting how that happens? That happens a lot, I find you go through something in the week and then you get to church on Sunday, and the either Sunday school lesson or the actual uh sermon is like feels like it's directed right at you. Right. Yeah, it's cool when God does that.

Craig 47:07

It is really cool when God does that. Yeah, yeah. There's uh well, this is a comedian. I don't know if he's a believer or not, but it's like the the Bible can uh it'll tell you something that is like totally true, you totally agree with it, and then the next and then it'll tell you right after that something you don't agree with. And then what he talked about, what he said was he's like it'll say something like wives submit to your husbands, and then it'll say something that I don't agree with.

Colton 47:46

Yes, but yeah, might want to be careful who you say that around, right? Uh yeah, uh that reminds me of uh our situation with our expedition. It's a little different because we weren't way out in the middle of nowhere, but on that good Friday, going to my parents' place, and the transmission decided to give out, yeah. And uh I mean it's a bigger city, so obviously they have you know guys that are on call and stuff. So we called one tow truck shop and tow truck came and grabbed the vehicle, but same thing, like I I don't know how or why. Usually I'd be kind of I guess stressed and anxious about that kind of stuff, and yeah, like you said, the older you get, the more you just kind of realize like you have experience um where God's you've been in a place like this before, and God is like, you know what, nope, I'm gonna take care of it. Uh just don't worry about it. And so same thing, it's like the stress just wasn't there, and it's like, no, I God's got this, you know, we're gonna get it. And sure enough, it got figured out, and everything was good. Got a tow truck, everything worked out just fine. Um, and yeah, it I think the older you get, the more you realize that the worrying is just it's not worth it, right? It doesn't help anything, like you said, and it doesn't really matter what happens, it's not a life or death situation, right? Um, and so I I think yeah, to be able to trust in God in those moments and just experience that peace is it's kind of weird sometimes, but it's cool.

Craig 49:35

Yeah, it is cool. Um there's something else I was gonna say. I forget. I don't know. Yeah, so that's kind of uh our little life update for you guys. Um yeah. There was something you go ahead if you have something else right away.

Colton 50:06

Well, I was just gonna say, um I think we'll kind of well, like you said earlier, we're planning to do an episode once a month here. I think we're gonna try and actually be strict with this and try to, you know, just kind of stick to somewhat of a plan. Um we might pick it up a little more once winter hits. I'm not sure. Craig and I haven't talked a whole lot about what our plan is there. Um, but we'll we'll discuss that a little bit. And I think we had a few ideas for some topics coming up, maybe um speaking about something like uh I think we were gonna talk about actually. I think contentment was one. I think that was gonna be our next episode because we did a poll here a while back, and I think that's the one the guys wanted, right?

Craig 51:06

Yep, I think that's right.

Colton 51:08

Okay, um, yeah, so I think we plan to do that one. I'm not sure if that'll be the next one or not. Craig and I will kind of discuss that, and then we have a few other ideas what we'd like to talk about. Um, and again, if you guys have topics you'd like to discuss, definitely you know let us know. We would be more than happy to research

Future Topics And Listener Requests

Colton 51:30

it and give you our opinions on it, anyways.

Craig 51:34

Yeah, absolutely. Um for

YouTuber Pregnancy Termination Discussed

Craig 51:40

today, like I don't want to get too far into this, but I do um I don't know if you guys listening have heard about this uh situation with uh um the YouTuber Jesse Ridgeway. Um and his I believe they're married, his wife or fiance um ended up terminating their pregnancy. Um I just I kind of wanna just chat about that a little bit. Um I think in grace, so I want to be very careful about what I say here. Um and then uh I want to be careful with uh the conversation uh around it that Colton and I have as well. I mean you can go watch their their video um if you want of their kind of they kind of did like a uh I guess yeah, the video I sent you, Colton, was the gender reveal that they did. And okay. I don't think yeah, I don't think you got to watch it, but that's okay.

Colton 53:07

No, I haven't had a chance. I don't know much about it. Um I haven't really looked into it a whole lot.

Craig 53:16

Okay, that's okay. Um, what I guess what I'll say, uh we won't watch the video or won't watch any of the video, I don't think, but I I do want to pull up uh a couple of his posts regarding it and then um maybe kind of read them to you guys, and then meet Colton and I can discuss them a little bit. But uh so the video what happened was they were they were gonna film a gender reveal. And uh so they had like those smoke bombs or whatever, right? And they're planning to do that. And uh the friend, um, I think it was like one of the cameramen or something that's working with them. I like I don't know this guy really. I don't know any of his YouTube content. I think he's one of the bigger, like he's a fairly large YouTuber. Yeah. Um but he so the friend uh kind of looks at the result on the wolf. I'm gonna call her the wife, the wife's phone, and sees so that so he can see the gender reveal before they do, so that he knows which uh smoke bomb or whatever to throw, right? Oh, yeah. I think is what the plan was. Anyway, but yeah, so um he looks at that, but then like he's being filmed while he looks at it, and you can kind of see his face kind of like his facial expression changes as he's reading the results or whatever, and you can kind of see okay, something something's up. Um anyway, so then what happens then is like he so he's kind of acting off because like this is supposed to be like a an exciting thing, and he's kind of not really excited about it now anymore. But so they're like, what is going on? Anyway, so Jesse he and he ends up telling Jesse, um, and then uh he he tells his wife um not the result, but he just said, Well, it's one of those like health things, but I think it'll be okay. Um, so we'll continue filming and then we'll talk about it after is kind of what he said. He's like, I don't want it to ruin the moment, which is kind of fair. You're you're doing this exciting thing, the gender reveal kind of thing. So anyway, do the gender reveal, it's a boy, and uh and they uh they're kind of talking about it, and then they're not really talking about the um the test result, which I guess I haven't even said yet, but anyone who knows the story knows. But they they're they're trying not to talk about the test result, then his wife kind of goes um like off to the side, then she grabs her phone and she's like like kind of like I gotta know what's going on. So then she looks and then um obviously she gets kind of upset, and then they go off and talk. Anyway, the result was the baby was uh diagnosed with Down syndrome for the with whatever kind of pre-testing they can do. So um anyway, so like in the video, it seemed like they were kind of maybe gonna try to work it out or like figure something out or whatever. They're like, well, it's like not a hundred percent. It's um then they kind of talk on the video, it's like, well, the testing they did, it's like 95% of um babies with this marker or whatever end up having Down syndrome. So it's like a super high chance. Anyway, but I don't know if you know many people um that have kind of had that some of those tests done, or like some of the things that um like I don't know this marker specifically, so I won't really say, but or this test specifically, but I know some people that have been pregnant and uh their doctors have said, like, oh, there's a pretty high chance that this baby may have Down syndrome. Do you want to abort? And I mean, obviously, in our circles, you know, Christian circles, people are like, No. Yeah. So anyway, so Jesse Ridgway and his wife, I think Ashley is her name, actually, and they end up terminating their pregnancy. So um uh what I want to do, let me see if I can share um share the page.

Colton 58:16

Uh share screen. I know when um when we were pregnant with our first child, um they had told us there was a possibility of Down syndrome, which okay, that was that was hard to hear. Um yeah, I mean, I kind of it's something that you don't expect, right? Um, right. I guess when you get pregnant, you kind of you expect everything to go smooth, you expect everything to be um just this joyful moment. And uh yeah, I mean, like I say, it wasn't easy to hear, but uh for us, we're like, you know what, there's there's a chance, and it was not a very big chance, like it was a pretty small chance, but for my wife and I both, like that kind of it kind of hit us pretty hard, you know, especially because we we weren't familiar with Down syndrome, we hadn't been around it a whole lot. I mean, um, there was a few kids in school when I was growing up that had it, and that was about all the um understanding I had of that, I guess. And so it's uh yeah, like I say, it was hard to hear, but for her and I we're like, you know what, we're going to continue, and again, we're we're gonna trust God in um in what happens here, and yeah, just pray that whatever happens, it would be a blessing, right?

Craig 1:00:12

And he's pretty different, but he doesn't have down syndrome. Not that it's not that it's a bad thing, I'm not saying that, but I just yeah, I was just trying to make a jab at Desmond. He's different, but yeah, and like I uh I went to school some with some people um that had Down syndrome too, and they like for me anyway, like it relating to them that like they're great people, they're people, you know, they're God created them, and um they're wonderful, and they have just as much value as everyone else, so yeah.

Down Syndrome Fear And Human Worth

Craig 1:00:55

I mean, it's hard, like like you said, as a parent, finding that out, it's like, oh man, now there's a bunch of unknowns. Like, how do we do this? Yeah, right. What are we gonna do? And then you start worrying about things, and um, for us as believers, it's like, okay, yeah, there's this thing, but um, we know they have inherent value from God, they are valuable. There's no chance that we are getting rid of them, and we're just gonna trust God with the situation. So um I don't want to downplay the um the challenges that yeah, uh people with um children that may have Down syndrome or for any other kind of disability. I know it is different and it is challenging. And uh I know someone who listens and their daughter has it as well. So I mean they love her to the end of the world. I know that, and she is so precious, but um I think it's challenging, like everything, every baby's challenging, but I mean there's a different level to it. I think I don't know that I'd have to talk to them, but I mean it's their first and they don't know any different, so it's kind of I don't know.

Colton 1:02:19

Um yeah, but I think in a way it's a um it can be a blessing too, though, right? Like we were talking about earlier, you know, for me, a lot of these things I like to take into my own hands, and then you know, like to do things my way, and then pretty soon it's like I I think I I don't know, and it's different for everybody, but for me, I would see it as being, you know, God has taken me to a place where where I need to trust him, I need to rely on him. Um, this isn't something that I can do on my own. I need I need God to help with this. And you just I guess you learn to lean on him a little more, maybe like when you I know for us when we hear that, um, it's like okay, God, you know, we we trust you, just please take the wheel, just show me what I gotta do.

Craig 1:03:18

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And yeah, like I say, we don't have any kind of firsthand experience with any of this, but I mean, as believers, we have that different sense of security, I think, and sense of peace, knowing that um that no matter what, like maybe not even Down syndrome, but any kind of diagnosis that um might be hard. Um it's you know, God's got it under control and he's gonna work it out for his good. So yeah, um, I'm going to share this here. Can you see that? Uh yep.

unknown 1:04:04

Okay.

Craig 1:04:07

A little small, but it's okay. Um, there we go. I'm just gonna move to that window. So now I don't see you, but I'm gonna see the this anyway. So um so this was eight days ago, I guess. This is after that video. So um, Jesse posts this week. My wife and I made the very difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy due to trisomy or trisomy, I don't know how to say that, 21, which is the Down syndrome um diagnosis. Uh the choice was not made lightly. We really appreciate all of the personal stories that you guys shared with us, especially the unconditional support we received from fans with uh no matter what we decided. Uh, I know some of you may be very disappointed to hear this news. We are devastated. This has been extremely traumatic for both of us, especially Ashley, which terminating her pregnancy, especially for the mom, I know is very hard. Um she underweighted underwent the procedure earlier this week and is on the mend. Thankfully, everything went smoothly, but emotionally we are drained. Um what I would say to that, and I'll be very careful, but um someone did get hurt. I'll just say that. Someone did get hurt. Um when you terminate a pregnancy, it's it's never good. Someone gets harmed. Uh, trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome, is caused by an extra chromosome. It is caused by an error in cell division, like a glitch. The odds of a baby having this is uh one in a thousand when I first confronted them.

Colton 1:05:58

Sorry, I was just gonna say I think. That's the odds that they gave us. One in a thousand. I th I think so, yeah.

Craig 1:06:07

Okay. Interesting. So um, not that I think this guy's lying or anything, but obviously there's the truth to that then, too. If the if that's what the doctors told you, too. Um, when I first confronted this news, I was shocked but optimistic, which I think um if you go watch the video, it seemed like he like I don't know these guys and I don't know their kind of content, and like some people say they're doing this for a show, and like it's all fake, but I I don't know. I think I don't know, I can't say, but um, from what it seemed like to me, it seemed like he was like with this diagnosis on camera anyway, he was still fairly optimistic at the recording of the video. So I I think he's truthful in that. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. But um if they're a little slow intellectually, then we'll make it work. I signed on to be a parent, come what may, which so for him to have that kind of mentality in the first place is great. Um, but I just didn't fully understand what Down syndrome entailed. Once we made it public, it became clear that most people don't know what Down syndrome entails, and no, it's not the same as autism, which I don't know who thinks that, but maybe some people do think that. Um, 50% of babies with Down syndrome have heart defects. Uh, again, this stuff, I don't know. Um you can double check these numbers on your own, but uh I have not. I this is kind of just this is recent in my feed, and I was talking to Colton about it, and um, I just think this is something that we should talk about uh as men as and as fathers and as believers. So um 50% of babies with Down syndrome have heart defects, 75% uh have will have hearing challenges, over 50% will have vision problems, impaired immune function, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, delayed physical development, poor muscle tone, structural issues with face, decreased lifespan span, etc. Sadly, the list is long. Feel free to look it up, like he said. Uh Down syndrome isn't a blessing, it is objectively um, I'll just say objectively shitty from a health perspective. Um I would say to that last statement, like yes, I understand there's um there's some there is uh health, you know, negative health connotations to having a diagnosis like that, but you don't know a hundred percent how that child will develop, and you don't know um what God can do with them through through developmental um things as well. And even so, even if all these are true, that does not make them less valuable as a human being. Um they are um God has knit them together in their mother's womb. Um God says, before I formed, like before I formed you, I knew you. And so God knows each of these little ones that um that are in the womb. God knows each of these little ones that get um terminated and taken from this world. And um I believe he's sad about that.

Colton 1:09:49

Um I was gonna say, um there's a song, there's a Christian song about um abortion, and I can't think of what the name of this song is or who sings it right now. Uh man, who is it? I'll have to look it up, but he sings about it, and I think like I just feel like you would always have that question in your mind. Like, what would it be like? What what would he have been like, you know, what right kind of a personality for me? I I would struggle I would struggle with that, just not knowing um what he or she could have been, um, never physically laying eyes on my child, you know. I I think I would have a hard time with that, right? Um, I'll see if I can see if I can find what song that was. Okay, it's a really good song.

Craig 1:11:02

I think I know what song. I can't remember the name or the artist either at this point, or even the words. I'm like, I think I know, but anyway, you can you can look for it and I'll continue. Okay. Um he goes on to say, I didn't realize just how rough it is for the child, let alone the family. More often than not, they would be fully dependent on others for the rest of their life. Again, that doesn't mean they're less valuable and that they should be thrown away. The miscarriage risk is also close to 50%, which made matters worse. Matters worse for who? Your mental state, maybe. They may never see the light of day, and it puts Ashley further at risk. I don't know that that's true. Um, I don't know about you guys if uh through you guys having kids if you'd ever ever had a miscarriage, but my wife had a miscarriage with our first pregnancy. It was early. Um, but again, that was hard much harder for her than it was for me. Even though for me, I was just starting to get to like, okay, yep, I guess like if this is God's plan, I think I think I'm ready. At least he's gonna make me ready. I'm like, I guess I'm gonna be a dad. Anyway, so um, I was just getting to that point where I'm like mentally like okay, yep, this is happening. Um, and we had told people, and um, and then we find out that uh she miscarried, and so that was hard, and seeing her go through that uh emotionally was hard uh for me as as her husband. So um yes, um yes, there's 50% chance risk of uh abortion or not abortion, miscarriage, sorry. Um, there's 50% chance that there's not gonna be either. So I mean to stay optimistic in that, and I know I don't think these people are believers, so it's it's a bit of a different story, but um if you guys, if you're listening to this and you're going through this kind of situation, just know that God is in control and to trust him with the process, he has given you this child as a gift, and um you don't know what that gift will end up doing for you in your life and what that child could do um for God's kingdom as well. Um I'll also say like I've seen some people with Down syndrome uh kind of react to some of this stuff, and they're like they're like my life doesn't suck, like I love my life, and um I'm happy that my parents, like this one girl said, I'm I'm grateful that my mom chose to give me life. She said that, and I'm like, wow, and so like just because they look different, and just because they talk different, and just because they think different does not mean they're less valuable as human beings, and it doesn't mean they're gonna have a worse life, it might be challenging, but um any kind of circumstance that we go through is challenging, life is challenging, and yeah, to um to allow the process to work itself out, maybe she would have miscarried. Um, and that would have that would have been different than choosing to end the pregnancy yourself. So there's a distinction there. Um he goes on to say we spoke with the doctors, friends, family, genetic counselors, and learned that up to 90% of women terminate their pregnancy after learning their baby has trisomy 21. That is awful. Maybe for them that gave them more peace of mind, like, oh, we can do this too because 90% terminate. That's awful. That's 90% of these babies that don't get to live because because of uh scared diagnosis. So I mean I I pray for the people that get um get that test result, it's not 100% that you're gonna um the baby's gonna develop those that um I don't want to call it a disability, but develop down syndrome necessarily. It's high chance, but you don't know, you don't know, and if you don't let it go, if you don't let the pregnancy go until that baby is born, you're never gonna know. And either way, whether it has um Down syndrome or any other defect, or if it's perfectly normal, um not normal, I don't want to say normal. Uh like I don't know, you know what I'm trying to say. I'm not trying to be offensive or anything, but um yeah, it it doesn't matter, you're gonna love that child no matter what, because it's yours, it's your really high number, too, right? And that's huge. Like that's so when I read that the first time, I was like, that is so sad. That makes me sad, yeah. So sad. Yeah, it's yeah, and yeah, he says this is way higher than I expected, which that's way higher than I expected, too. I did not expect to see that. Yeah, um, I thought it would be lower given that I hear so many say uh they kept or would keep the baby. Fair point. I believe that's because most terminations happen privately, probably true. It feels shameful, a lot of judgment being cast a hundred percent. Um, and not to shame you guys as people, but it's like I don't know. There's some judgment that needs to be cast, I think. Um that's I'm just gonna, it's murder, that's what it is. Um you never think you'd be in this type of situation until it happens to you, and then things change, which Colton, I'm sure you felt the same way when you when you guys heard that too. You were thinking you like you're not expecting anything, and then you hear that. It's like, oh boy, how here we go.

Colton 1:17:46

Um the first couple days are hard, but you know what? Like I said, as a Christian, you you really learn to lean on God in that situation. It's like, nope, we're we're doing this, we're gonna do it, we're gonna allow God to work through this, we're doing it, right? And it's different as a non-Christian because you don't have like I've always kind of wondered too, like, what what do you lean on? I don't know. Because I tell you right now, I wouldn't be able to do that by myself. So like, well, what do you lean on? Who do you lean on? You know, and and again, you know, not to not to be judgmental or nothing, that's definitely not what I want to do. It's just a question that I have. It's like if if you don't have God, like what do you go to? Well, what is your go-to if if you get news like that? If in a big decision like that, you know.

Craig 1:18:46

Maybe like maybe the doctors, I guess, or maybe family. Maybe, yeah. I guess he said he talked to family and friends and and doctors and stuff like that, but um, yeah, yeah.

Colton 1:19:00

I don't know. I'm just curious, yeah, how that how that would work. I've been a Christian basically my whole life, so I've never really known it any different.

Craig 1:19:11

Yeah, I think early on in my well, maybe I can't really remember too much before I became a believer, even though I was like 13. Yeah, I uh like I think before then, um, like I know people who have had abortions, and I know um it's not an easy decision. I know that. Um I don't want to cast judgment on people that have had them because that's not my place, first of all. Um and but it is God's place, and he sets a guideline for what is right and what is true and what is good, and that is not it. Um but I think our culture is so desensitized to it, and it's become such a um it's rebranded as healthcare, right? And that's the problem. All right, so yeah. Anyway, uh I'll get through this to all of my fans who have weighed in on the topics, on the topic, who have autism, Down syndrome, or any other conditions, we appreciate you. So this is good. Um you matter a lot, and we're glad you're here. I commend you and your families for having the strength and courage to push forward. As for us, we made a difficult decision that we believe in the long run will be beneficial for our family. Thankfully, we had a choice. Um, it will make a little time, it will take a little time for us to move on, but we are excited to try again in the future and hopefully have a better outcome. Love you guys and thank you for understanding. I want to break some of this down. Um, so I would say in the long run, it will be beneficial for our family. Your family's already broken. I hate to tell you, it's already broken. You've you've um you've terminated your son. He's gone. And thankfully we had a choice. I don't know. I mean, hopefully deep down you don't think that. I don't know that, but um maybe you do. Um, I am not thankful you had the choice to do that

Pro Life Convictions With Compassion

Craig 1:21:40

because that little boy will never um realize the full potential that God had for him outside the womb. Um it will take a little time to move on. Yeah, it's gonna take your whole life, especially the mom. She's gonna deal with that for the rest of her life, knowing that um she discarded her own baby that was living inside of her. Um and then a better outcome. I don't know what you want for a better outcome. What do you mean, better outcome? That a baby with Down syndrome is not a bad outcome, and uh a better outcome would have been to meet that baby, meet your son. So um I got like there's I don't know if we should get into comments or not, but um yeah, this this comment here, what's sad is a lot of times test results are inaccurate.

Colton 1:22:49

Um it's hard to like I say, you know, like he it it sounds like they had the same well I don't know. I I think all I'm gonna say is life is such a life is such a precious thing, yeah. And I don't believe that we as humans should be the ones that decide whether we get to give or take life, um right, you know. I think yeah, uh it's a tough one, you know, because as Christians, I mean I don't I don't agree with abortion and people like this. I can understand the struggle that you go through, I can understand the you know the hardship of getting that news. Um but at the end of the day, you know, my thoughts on that too is like what about adoption? Yeah, you know, that's always a choice. Um, and again, I want to say this in the most respectful way possible, too, right? It's uh it's a touchy subject, and a lot of people struggle with this, and it's it's hard to know that there's that many people going through abortions. Um I listened to well, I think I've seen not in person, but I think it was a video or something I had seen of this abortion, and like it just tears your heart out because yeah, this baby is doing everything it can to get away. Yeah, and it and it can't, and it's like, man, that just it breaks it breaks my heart, it really does.

Craig 1:25:09

Yeah, me too.

Colton 1:25:10

And if you want to see a grown man cry, you watch that.

Craig 1:25:14

If if you guys haven't seen anything like that, I like it's not a pretty sight. I but I suggest you look it up because that is part of kind of what changed my mind too. Because when I was when I was younger, uh, I guess I never ended up getting there with what I was saying, but um like I know people with abortions, like I said, or that have had abortions, and so I thought I was in the kind of pro-choice side, like I didn't agree with it, and if I happened to get someone pregnant when I was younger, I would not have wanted that. Personally, I just had that conviction. I'm like, that's I don't think that's right, but I was I was in the camp of like, well, it's up to the woman, it's their choice, right? Yeah, but it I mean, we can get into this in another episode, but um from the moment of conception, science says that it is a living human being, um, and it is separate DNA from the mother, it is a complete different person. Um so it's not my body, my choice, it's not your body, it's surviving off your body, but it also survives off your body once it's born. So yeah, it's not it's also not like in the womb, outside of the womb, kind of thing either, or like certain gestation, um, then oh now it now it feels, or now it's a now it's a human. No, it's a human right from the get-go. And the whole well, it can't survive on its own. My three-year-old can't survive on his own. So if I just if I don't want him, I should just be able to nix him. No. I I hope if you're consistent in your worldview, that's what you should think. But I hope you don't. I hope you don't, yeah. And I and I hope you can see the truth. And um for those of you that don't agree with us, um, yeah. I hope you can see the truth, and uh that God would open your eyes and open your heart and soften your heart to these situations. And what I will say to Jesse and Ashley um you can be forgiven. Um Jesus came and died on the cross so that you can be forgiven. You may not feel like you need it right now, you may think you made the right choice. My prayer is that you would um repent and that you would come to the Lord and that he would use this situation. In a story for you to uh to make an impact for the kingdom. And it's unfortunate that one of his children had to go home early. Um, but I think God can use this for good, God can use all circumstances for good. Um and so without pointing fingers, without being harsh, there's people tearing these people apart. Um I think as I think as Christians and as like Christian and conservative content creators, um, which I mean we kind of are. We're on Spotify, we're on YouTube. Um, I mean, hopefully this doesn't get taken down and hopefully we don't go to jail. But um this is a touchy subject, and I just want you guys, I want anyone to know if you've had an abortion, um, you can be forgiven. And uh that's kind of my message with this whole situation, I think. That's where I wanted to get to. I didn't want to I didn't want to attack, I didn't want to belittle. Um, like Colton said, uh, when you're not a believer, I think I can understand why you would make that decision. Um because it's hard, it's not easy.

Colton 1:29:20

But one thing I want to say too, and and I want to make this very clear, um, because I've had a lot of people in the past get this wrong. And we we as Christians still love all people the same, not not every Christian shows it the same, right? Um, that is something I think a lot of people struggle with is love. That is one thing Jesus did very, very well when he was on this earth was show love. And so, you know, for anybody who's maybe considering looking at this option, for anybody um who has, we still love you, we care for you. Um we just don't agree with uh abortion is something that we don't agree with as Christians. Like I said, um I don't think that's I don't think that is is our or should be our choice to take away. Um and you know again, like I said, we we love all people. Um it doesn't sometimes it doesn't seem to matter how many times you say that to somebody, though they still feel that uh that we're judging them, and so I guess first of all, I want to challenge all Christians to or any Christian men listening to this podcast, I want to challenge you to try and show love through some of these things, through these um, you know, people who are going through this, but stand firm on your faith too. Don't um don't falter on what we believe, but love these people, you know. When you when people feel like we're being judgmental, and I've heard these stories before, you know, where a non-Christian will go to church and they feel like they're judged, and it's like I think that's the place you should feel the least judged, you know, God says come as you are. Um and yeah, I guess that's my prayer for for everybody for for Christians is that we would love, that we would um serve, that we would desire to protect. And for non-Christians, my prayer for you guys is that you would find Jesus, that you would turn to him and and love him. And um yeah, just along those lines, like I say, we're we're not here to point fingers, we're not here to say anybody's better than the next person because we're not. Um in fact, oftentimes I feel like I'm a lot worse than everybody else, but it's yeah, life is hard, decisions are hard. Um, all I would say is just learn to lean on God and uh allow him to direct your path again, like Proverbs 3, 5 and 6 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, right? Follow him, he will make your path straight. And I promise, whether it's a hard path or it's a good path, as long as you're with God, everything turns out to be just fine.

Craig 1:33:01

Right. Um, I'm gonna go.

Stand Firm In Love And Close

Craig 1:33:06

You were talking about standing firm, and I think this might be a good way to wrap us up here. We're getting a little long, but um I wanted like I wanted to do the life update, and I wanted to talk about this uh current event with the um Jesse Ridgeway situation as well. I wanted to address that on here, and hopefully you guys appreciate that. But um if we go back to what our I need to memorize this, but first Corinthians chapter 16, verse um 13 and 14 says, be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong, let all that you do be done in love, like Colton said. Um, so we are to stand firm, and um we are to be watchful, we're to act like men and be strong, but we are to do these things in love, and I think oftentimes we miss that mark. So, like Holton said, uh want to challenge uh you guys, fellow Christian men, um, to live those verses out. And we can stand firm and we can address sin in the world, um, like we've done here today, um, with this um this situation that we talked about. Um but we can do it in love. So, I mean, like like Colton said, no matter how many times we say that we we're we're talking about things, these things because we love you, like Jesse and Ashley. Um, I don't know you, but I love you because God loves you, and um He would he would prefer that you come to him um rather than continuing in sin. And that goes for all of us. Yeah, we all need that. And if everyone did that, yeah, if everyone did that, the world would be a lot better place. But yeah, okay, to clarify.

Colton 1:35:20

Yep, sorry, just to clarify, uh, even when you do come to God, you still sin. Sin will not leave your body until we are reunited with Christ in heaven, until that day comes, whether that's the coming of Jesus Christ back to earth again, um, to gather his children, or whether that is in the time God has set apart for us, um, we will, doesn't matter what you do, you will sin up until that day. It will not change, it will never change until you get to heaven. That is the only place sin will not exist.

Craig 1:35:59

Yep. The difference is um once you come to the Lord and give your life over to Him, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, you will not want to do those things, and you'll strive to um live more like Christ, and um you won't call evil good and good evil anymore. You will your eyes will be open, you'll see evil for what it is, and you'll see good for what it is, and you'll strive to do good. Um that that'd be a true conversion. So yeah, not that we're perfect and we don't ever sin, but um we're trying every day to to live more like Christ, and it's it's the road to sanctification for a reason, it's a journey. That's right, right? So uh yeah, I think um unless you want to make it two hours, we can wrap it up.

Colton 1:36:56

Nope, I'm good with that. The only other thing I was gonna say, the song that I found Matthew West is the guy who sings it, and it is called Unplanned. Um, yes, I would highly recommend listening to that song. Uh, that song also breaks my heart. But listen to it if you have not already.

Craig 1:37:22

I'm cut putting in Google so I can remember it. Okay. All right. We won't play it because we'll get copyright striked. I don't want that. So, okay. Um, yeah, hope you guys appreciated uh the content of today's podcast. Um I I guess this isn't live. I was gonna say I'm gonna try and have it up as soon as possible, but it'll be up when it's up. Um yeah, so we're gonna try to be a little more consistent with you guys. Try to aim for one um one episode a month here, unless something comes up and we want to talk about it sooner. Um we'll be a little bit flexible with that and uh try to get you guys a little bit more consistent um episodes here. I know you guys enjoy it. Some of you, anyway, do enjoy it. And uh we're grateful for your guys' support and your listening. So um, with that, I uh I guess I can close this out in prayer, and then we will head to bed

Prayer And Final Blessing

Craig 1:38:30

because it is getting late. Father, we just thank you for today. Um, we thank you for the longer days of summer um in our neck of the woods, and um God, I just thank you for brotherhood, and I thank you for um what you're doing uh through us, through the podcast, um, through um these mediums, through uh YouTube and through Spotify and um Apple Podcast. And Lord, I just thank you for the people that are listening. I was gonna say men, but I know there's some ladies that listen as well. Appreciate every single one of them. Lord, I pray that you would bless them. Um moving forward. Uh pray that this would this episode would speak to them in the way that you need them to hear it. Pray that you open their ears and um and open their hearts to receive your truth. Thank you for your word. Um I thank you that even though we didn't necessarily prepare anything this time, we still uh were able to pull verses from memory, Lord, things that we have uh committed to our hearts. I pray that you would continue to work in us to do that. And uh I thank you for the Holy Spirit and for our longing to be better for you and our longing to better your kingdom and uh thank you for Colton and uh his dedication to you and to the podcast, and uh thank you for our relationship and pray that you would continue to bless it and I pray that as we uh move from this episode to the next, that you would work in our lives, work in our work on our hearts so that we could bring something back to to the listeners that is from you and not just from us and what we want to speak about, but that it would be uh words that you would have us say. Um thank you for no technical difficulties and uh I just uh pray that this would reach the ones that it needs to reach. And uh you would continue to work through us and through this uh podcast. I pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

Colton 1:41:13

Amen.