Beauty in the Ordinary

Can God work through simple, ordinary things? Can boring stuff be considered beautiful? Why or why not? Sam and Blake talk about that and more in this week's episode!

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Hello, what's going on? My name is Sam. My name's Blake. And this is the Narrow Road Podcast. We welcome you, humble listener. Humble listener. So kind. My my friend, my friendly friend. We welcome you to another episode today, where today we're going to be talking about beauty in the ordinary, finding beauty in the ordinary, finding God in the boring nine to five or everyday chores. Something that I personally tend to struggle with. Blake is hearing what I'm preaching right now. That's my job this whole episode. That's right. That's all Blake will have to add today. Keep going. Per usual.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Per usual. Give me a break. This is my last episode. Oh, wait, what? Nothing. Did you say something? Nope. Okay. Didn't say anything. Just making sure. So speaking of ordinary things. Spring break. That was last week. Me and my family did absolutely nothing. Very nice. It was pretty nice. It really was. I think we ended last episode talking about what we were gonna do for spring break, and my family did nothing. Correct. It was great. It really was. We went to see a movie. We did see a movie one day. We went to see Hoppers. It's like a new animated movie where they have these robotic animals and they put their minds into these robot animals and they pretend to be animals and they try to keep these animal habitats from being taken over by humans. It's pretty good. Sounds intriguing. Yeah. It is intriguing. I'm glad you enjoyed the movie, Blake. Yeah, I enjoyed it. 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. Oh, so most people enjoyed it. Wow. That's from the people and the critics. And the critics? Yes. That's impressive. That is yeah, very impressive. Just saying. So yeah, spring break was pretty good. It snowed one day, which was not great, but it warmed up a little bit towards the end of the week. Anyway. Did you have a spring break?

SPEAKER_02 2:27

I did. I stayed home all week. It was very nice. Did you practice any Sabbath? Not a full 24 hours. Nope.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

But hey.

SPEAKER_02 2:40

Hey. But I intend to begin to incorporate that very soon. I intend to maybe do Sabbath at some point in the future, possibly. Listen, y'all, we're not perfect either, by any means. So take that into account. Yeah, well, I didn't Sabbath any either. Hashtag works in progress. It's true. Alright, we're gonna get started. Um today, like I said, we're gonna be talking about how we will find beauty in the ordinary, um, little boring, quote unquote, nine to five moments of everyday life. Um, we all want a meaningful life, but most of our life doesn't feel meaningful in the moment, or at least I do. You know, most of our life doesn't consist of those huge, earth-shattering, life-changing moments. Most of life feels repetitive. We wake up, we go to school, or go to work, we we do the same tasks, we do our chores, and then we go to bed. For me, that consists of 95% of my life. But I feel culture today, especially pushing this idea that the big moments, the big platforms, and the big achievements are all of what makes life matter. I I found myself uh believing this subtle lie in my mind that my life will matter more only when something big happens. But that I mean, it sounds ridiculous, but but in reality, I mean that's that's that's what I feel um myself, my me telling myself um very often. But the reality is that most of life is built in the small, ordinary rhythms of life instead of the big highlight moments. What do you think, Blake?

SPEAKER_01 4:25

Yeah, yeah, I think that's really true. Uh I mean, unfortunately, our culture, a lot of it is built around media, media consumption, social media, and social media is all about these like short, enticing clips that are designed to look good and grab our attention. And people put together these clips that are, I mean, they're highlights, that's what they are. They're like these best moments from the day, and we look at them and we say, Oh shoot, why can't my life look like that? Why can't I be on that vacation? Or why can't my body look that good? Or why aren't my kids that well behaved? Why don't I have that much money? And yeah, we start to think that that's what other people's lives look like, but that's not that's not anybody's reality. Um, that's what social media makes it out to be. And yeah, I mean, Sam, you're right. I mean, culture pushes this idea that that's what life should be. It should be this flashy, full of highlights type of life when really life is not that way. It's full of ordinary, quote-unquote boring moments. I mean, I have three young kids, five, three, and almost one. And, you know, you said 95%, Sam. That's probably pretty much right. You know, 95% of my life is waking up with the kids. We're doing the same routine every morning, we do the same routine every evening, and it's not flashy, it's not full of highlights. I mean, we enjoy it, we have good times together as a family, but I mean, it's definitely not highlight-worthy all the time. It's not something big. We're not going on vacation all the time, we're not doing all these big things. So, yeah, the way that most people live their lives is different than what culture pushes, for sure. So, yeah, I'm I'm with you on all that.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

Yeah, yeah, I I think you're absolutely right with that point about social media. I mean, expectations of what life should be and and what um, you know, even even standards for beauty ha has has become has just been so saturated by what we see on social media. Even with with myself, I mean, I'm gonna be honest, um, I could very well, but I don't post on Instagram myself going to work every day. And I don't post myself um making my bed in the morning, but I do tend to post if I go to the beach and me putting my hands in the air and me having a great time or or my graduation, but you know, and that's just that's just what social media has turned into. But it can give us a very unrealistic view of how things actually are if we don't take a step back and realize that, you know, this is not all normal. This is not of this is not all what life is supposed to be. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:25

All right, so we're gonna get started. Um we don't want you to take our word for it. We we try to bring everything back to Jesus, because ultimately our the name of our podcast, the Narrow Road Podcast, is taken from Matthew 7, Jesus' words. Um so let's look at the life of Jesus. So if if we look at how Jesus spent his time on earth, Jesus spent the majority of his life in what we would consider normal. Or around 30 years of his life was everyday, I want I don't want to say boring, but everyday normal human life, right before his three-year, nearly three-year ministry. He worked, he lived in a small town, and he did ordinary things. He was a carpenter. And if Jesus wasn't in a rush to escape the ordinary, uh basic uh steps of life, then maybe we shouldn't be either.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I totally agree. And I don't want to forget either to mention, because I don't think we did a few minutes ago when we started this episode. We've been in this series called Grounded, and we want to make sure that we're mentioning that every episode because we're trying to stay grounded in what Jesus tells us. And I think it's I think it rings true as we talk in this episode about the life of Jesus. And yeah, his first thirty years of life, he did kind of live a boring life doing ordinary things, making things out of wood so that he could live and, you know, buy the food that he needed and do stuff. But yeah, I mean, he wasn't doing anything that was really noteworthy that we know of. I mean, none of it was recorded or written down, I don't think. I mean, there were little moments here and there. I mean, when he was twelve, he was teaching in the temple. Um, there may have been a couple other moments when he was growing up, but yeah, I mean, his first 30 years pretty not noteworthy. And God seemed to be okay with that. Jesus seemed to be okay with that. So, yeah, like you just said, Sam, if Jesus is okay with that, why are we not okay with kind of those ordinary moments? Why are we not okay with being in those ordinary days and ordinary seasons? Because I think when we are in a rush and always looking for those next big moments, we I mean, we just miss what God is doing in those ordinary moments. When we're always looking for that next Instagram worthy thing, when we're always looking for that next big thing to do, or that next big event to go to, or the next pay raise, or the next whatever, the next high in our life. I mean, we totally miss all of the ordinary moments where God's working in our lives. Because that 30 years of ordinary stuff that Jesus was living through, that prepared him for his three years of ministry. So, yeah, it was ordinary, but at the same time, it was preparing him for his three years of pretty awesome ministry that changed the world. You know?

SPEAKER_02 10:47

Yeah, yeah, I mean, I absolutely agree. Um, I think that we we forget, and and you know, a lot like you said in the gospels, the only recorded things that we have. I mean, Jesus, he he led a pretty exciting ministry. That he was working signs and miracles, he would, he was healing people, he was spreading this extremely controversial new message, um, a message that was not taken lightly for for sure by a lot of people. Um, and it was exciting, but we forget that you know he he led a a 30-year-long ordinary life of carpentry while also quietly preparing himself for the um historical monumental calling that God um had on his life and and his mission that he had on this earth. So yeah, it just you know, we we cannot um say enough and and stress enough the importance of recognizing that just because you're living a seemingly prospectively quiet life does not at all mean that God isn't working in those moments. Right. But we forget that because, you know, the world today, or at least I've found myself uh the world values what is loud and visible and impressive. But like you said, Blake, God doesn't care about those things as much as He ca as much as you might think. And in my experience, God doesn't favor the loud, exciting moments over the everyday life ones. God values uh faithfulness and consistency and obedience, and he tends to work through the the everyday um uh consistent habits that we might find ourselves in um in everyday life.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

Yeah, yeah, I agree. I mean, yeah, at least in my life, I'm sure you all listening would agree with this. I mean, there there might be those moments in your life where you kind of have those big uh, you know, whether it's an emotional moment or kind of this life-changing, like, man, I've kind of realized something here, I've had a turning point, but I know for me it has really had to be a day-by-day, slow growth process of making these ordinary, sometimes boring choices every day, to do the right things, to love the people around me, to try to be more like Jesus every day, and slowly become more like him, and that that's not Instagram worthy. That doesn't happen overnight. That's not something that, even though we want it to, it doesn't happen over a weekend at a big conference. And I think we'll talk about that in a minute, kind of those big emotional things we can get wrapped up in, but you know, it just doesn't work like that a lot of the time. I mean, you you're right, Sam. It it happens through that consistency, that faithfulness, that obedience. I mean, that's what God values. Us getting up in the morning and deciding, hey, today I'm gonna follow Jesus. It's not gonna be perfect, it's not gonna be flashy, it's not gonna be noteworthy in a lot of ways, but it's gonna be honoring to God, and it's gonna make me more like Jesus. It may not be noticeable at all. But six months down the road, a year down the road, five years down the road, you'll definitely be able to say that you've become more like Jesus and become a more loving person, a more patient person, and a person who's drawing people into the kingdom of God for sure, I think.

SPEAKER_02 14:34

Yeah, yeah, I think you're absolutely right, and I think it it's um definitely worthwhile to take a step back and realize that Jesus never called us to be noticeable. That's that that that never once came out of his mouth. He called us to be faithful and obedient to him and to give our lives to him. He called us to point others towards him and the Father in instead of ourselves. I mean, that's that's like a basic, that's a pretty basic thing. And and the reality is that that growth in God's kingdom and growth in our own hearts, like Blake just said, is is often slow instead of rapid and it's unseen instead of this huge, big show. I like the analogy, it's kind of like planting seeds, right? You you don't plant a seed for a tree and it grows overnight, but you and you don't see the results immediately, but something is happening beneath the surface, just like our lives are being changed and we are being shaped and formed underneath the surface, whether we realize it or not, over time and over consistent and faithful obedience and seeking God throughout our lives. So faithfulness in the small things matters way more than constantly seeking these occasionable, occasional big moments in our lives. And that's sort of what uh Jesus is getting at here. In in Luke 16, uh, Luke chapter 16, verse 10, Jesus says this. He says, Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. What Jesus is saying here is is that integrity in small responsibilities in the little things that God bestows upon us each and every day proves trustworthiness for something greater and seemingly more significant responsibilities. So why do we try and accomplish the big things in life before even being faithful with the little everyday things that God has already given us? It it just seems like it's way out of order there, yet I have found myself doing that time and time again.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, you made some really good points there, Sam, and you made me think about you know just how Yeah, I mean, I think I think we've gotten it backwards a lot in our culture. I think when uh a lot of Christian leaders and people make it more about themselves and the way that they look. Like you mentioned, it's not about the way we look, you know, it's about us pointing things to God. But a lot of times people do make it about themselves and the way that they look, and that distracts people from God. That doesn't point people to God, that makes people look at that earthly leader and think, oh man, they're so charismatic, they're such a great leader, what a great speaker they are, they're doing all these great things, and that's not healthy, that just inflates the ego of that person that causes the people who are looking at that person to be focusing on the wrong thing. So I think that is unhealthy in that way. And then, you know, we see with all of these leaders when they are doing trying to do all of these great things and uh, you know, do uh look this certain way and take on all these responsibilities, you know, we've seen over and over again these leaders just completely crumble. And I think a lot of it is because of this verse that you just read, Sam, and what you just said, they haven't been faithful in the little things, but they're trying to take on the big things. They're trying to gather all these big crowds and look this certain way and say, hey, look what I can do. Look at all these big things that I can do for Jesus. I'm doing quotation marks. You can't see them, but I'm doing quotation marks and being sarcastic. Look at all these great things that I can do, but I don't think behind the scenes that these people are being faithful in the little things. So how are they going to be faithful in the big things? And you see that they can't be, they kind of crumble and they fall apart. I I don't know if that is exactly right, but I kind of thought of that. Like it's almost like they jump ahead, and you said they kind of get things out of order, and I think that's right. It's like they their priorities are out of whack. They don't want to be faithful in the little things, they want to jump straight to doing all these big things, getting all this credit, and then it just falls apart. You know? Yeah, it just doesn't work.

SPEAKER_02 19:14

Yeah, yeah, I think I think you're absolutely right. And um, you know, I I I've I've definitely felt convicted um preparing for this for this episode um because I'm even thinking back to my time in high school, um, I would subconsciously, of course, and I think that most everybody can can maybe relate to this in some shape or form, I was almost chasing and relying upon these big aha emotional, spiritual moments to keep me moving forward. And for me in Gray Students, my the youth group that I went to, that a lot of that was in retreats. I would I would wait for these emotional highs, these spiritual highs that I would get from these retreats and the big worship moments and and the big emotional the the final night bringing it all home and and and the moments were good. They they they they they felt good, they were energizing for me, but they aren't most of life. And if I'm being honest with myself, most of the time they they didn't keep me moving forward. I didn't I didn't keep that momentum that I got from the retreat for the entire year, and they weren't supposed to be. They were they were built to be restful retreats for for me as a student, but ultimately I was relying on a one big moment to keep me moving forward and refresh me for all year long, and that's not at all what we're supposed to be, and it's honestly a recipe for disaster. But I can I can see myself even now um in the back of my mind chasing the big moments in life, relying on them to give me what I need to, you know, almost almost, you know, change my life every single time. But um it's definitely not always the case.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

Yeah. Well, and this is getting off track a little bit, but you know youth leaders and church leaders, I mean. And I and I put myself in this boat. I mean, we uh uh have failed young people like you, Sam, because we uh design a lot of these weekends around those kind of emotional nights. And it's yeah, I mean, it is sort of emotional manipulation in a way. It's like we set up this longer worship service and do all these things to to set up these moments to get everybody crying, you know, set up this atmosphere where everybody is vulnerable, and then we do. the altar call and you know we want everybody to get saved or you know recommit themselves to Jesus and and I don't think I don't think that's I don't think that's right. I I don't think it's right to to do that. I don't think it's right to take a weekend like that and a night like that and use it for that kind of like emotional high that really is probably not gonna last. You know what I mean? I don't know. It's just kinda it doesn't quite sit right with me that a lot of youth retreats were built around that instead of being built around things that were gonna last um like teaching kids how to follow Jesus day by day how to be consistent when things are difficult. Because the reality was kids would go home like you said would go home and reality would slap them in the face and they'd be back to where they were after those emotional highs. So I don't know anyway that's getting off track but all that to say I mean you're right Sam those kinds of emotional highs don't they don't last.

SPEAKER_02 23:22

It's not what life is about yeah yeah I mean I completely agree and and even as you were saying that I'm you know if I've I've I'm going through I've almost completed in in a few months my first year in um vocational student ministry and one thing that I've learned is is that you know I've even caught myself when I'm my job is to is to sort of plan and and create and try to execute our events that we have and sometimes I find myself um without knowing it chasing this trying to induce this emotional feeling towards the students like that's why they're coming. But ultimately and and it is awesome if if the Holy and the Holy Spirit does time and time again bring out emotions in us. He he opens up our heart and he reveals to us that are that are deep and and and he makes us vulnerable but if we are starting with the emotions even when in our in our personal walk with Christ if we are always relying on how we feel instead of what the truth is and instead of relying on the Holy Spirit being the one that's going to open our hearts up instead of a instead of a a poetic line or or a or a powerful worship music set, um it's not going to work. You know I mean I mean and and and it's so much better when we do um try to seek the Lord through this and and when we're ultimately trying to when I'm when I myself lately I'm my goal is just to try to point the students towards Christ and and trying to say the words that I think God is leading me to say instead of trying to curate this you know almost artificial emotional environment which you can have both but it's all about where your heart is um in in the moment. So yeah I mean it's it's a really it's a really easy thing to slip into when you're not only when you're a youth worker or when you're coordinate coordinating any ministry or church event, but also just in our emotional, in our um in our personal lives, just chasing this artificial emotional high and relying on how we feel in the moment because you know what, you know, feelings are like like Solomon says in Ecclesiastes, they're heavy. They're like mist. You know the feelings come and go but the truth of God and and God's character and ultimately the the fact that he's working in our lives even when we can't see it that is always going to remain so like we said like with this this is a common theme that you know starting out of order you you it's not that one or the one or the other is bad but it's starting with the wrong thing can be pretty detrimental. So yeah so I think that what we're what we're coming at here, what we're getting at here is that the quote unquote, and I'm doing bunny ears now too you can't see it boring tasks of life can actually be pretty meaningful with the right perspective. It's less about what you're doing in the moment and more about how and who you're doing it for and what your mindset is in that. Colossians 323 Paul writes whatever you do work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord not for human masters. So he's saying whatever you do, work at it with all your heart he says something similar in 1 Corinthians he says whether you're eating or drinking or whatever you do do it all for the glory of God. We can do anything not not only these big monumental or I'm talking to myself right now, these big these big you know poetic sermons not not only not only a nice emotional worship set, not only a life changing retreat, but we can do anything we we can we can go to work, we can, you know, even drive our car we we can dress the way we dress on an everyday Tuesday we can do everything for the glory of God even when it's not this big glamorous sparkly and shiny thing. And that's a really really important um thing for me to remember even as I go throughout my life in ministry.

SPEAKER_01 27:29

Yeah yeah absolutely I mean it's yeah it's kind of presumptuous of us to think that you know certain things in life aren't it's yeah it's like we think some things in life aren't good enough to be glorifying to God and it's almost yeah it's almost like a slap in the face to God. It's like he he's given us these things and it's like we're like nah I don't really yeah I don't I don't really feel like doing that or I don't re yeah I don't really feel like that matters as much. I'm just gonna do these things that are gonna make me feel like like that are going to make me feel better or make me feel closer to God. I don't want to do this boring stuff. I mean you know how how I don't how insulting is that like to to God and I mean it's like no God has given us these things to help us every day draw closer to him whether we think they're boring or not there are opportunities to be more like him I don't know and and I do it too I mean it's it's a good reminder for me too just like you said it is for you Sam. I mean I yeah because I yeah I definitely do it too I I think I need to I don't know think I need to do these big things that are are gonna glorify God instead of just focusing on those little moments every day.

SPEAKER_02 29:04

But anyway Yeah yeah I mean you know I I think that most everybody can can fall victim to this at some point in time um and even to that point I mean I I often I I find myself asking God to give me opportunities in my day in my life to point people to him or to minister to somebody to share the gospel with somebody to shine his light into the world around me but I'm almost expecting him to like hand me this big obvious once again big moment in order to do that and then I just completely ignore the dozens of opportunities that he gives me to do that every single day. You know, just because it's not something that isn't glamorous just because it isn't something that isn't going to bring me a lot of praise or attention which is prideful and selfish for me to think that way doesn't mean that it isn't already on a silver platter for me to do. But it's it's just not like Blake said it's not something that that I feel like doing. But it's right there. You know it we we can go through life accomplishing the same tasks and doing the same things that we're doing right now, but if we completely change our mindset and and and our perspective and how we look at those things then it can ple be a complete game changer with what we can accomplish through them.

SPEAKER_01 30:26

Yeah. Yeah yeah I mean I've I've definitely thought about you know when I I mean there are things I want to do more because somebody might notice it like I'll do something kind for somebody else because somebody might see me do it you know like I'm more motivated to do it because maybe somebody'll see it but if nobody's gonna see it do I really want to do it don't know maybe not yeah and that's just that's just kind of sad. But yeah it's like how much do we really want to honor God and how much do we really want it to just be to stroke our own ego to make ourselves feel good. That's just where we need to examine our own hearts.

SPEAKER_02 31:18

Yeah do we want to honor God or do what do we want somebody to see us honoring God? Right. That's that's a that's a stab in the in the in the heart for me right there. I mean you know man I'm I do it so often yeah it's just all about taking a step back and asking asking yourself that uncomfortable question of where is my heart at right now? What am I what am I truly trying to accomplish with this? Yeah you know because God knows our motives He He knows our heart behind something even sometimes when we aren't aware of it. And it it deeply affects how how effective we are with with what we're doing is if we're trying to go at something but from the completely wrong angle then it's not going to be as good you know somebody this this might be a good one to put on our socials this week just to ask you all listening but in our small group this past week we've had this uh these cards that we pull out and there's questions on them that we ask every week and one of the questions that was on one of the cards was are you proud of the person that you are when nobody is looking are you proud of the person that you are when nobody's looking and that was a really interesting question because it's like yeah I mean I don't know for me it's like may sometimes but yeah I mean basically it kind of comes down to when nobody's there to see when nobody's there to say oh dude great job dude you're so you're such a great teacher you're so selfless or yeah you're yeah I mean you're so such and such.

SPEAKER_01 33:05

When nobody's there looking at you are you still honoring God or are you just looking out for yourself? Are you proud of the person you are when nobody's looking? I mean that's a really interesting question. And I think it kind of hits on some of what we've been talking about.

SPEAKER_02 33:24

So ultimately and we've gotten quite on quite off track here but that's okay um because you know I feel like the spirit is leading me in my own conviction at at the moment but um a common a common theme and what we're trying to get at here is is you don't need a different more exciting eventful life in order to experience God more. You need a different awareness of the life that you already have and God is he's already at work in in your ordinary everyday life even if it doesn't always feel like it. Romans 828 says and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who've been called according to his purpose. You know I I often hear this verse and I think of suffering of how God is at work even in even in our tough situations, even in the not fun, painful seasons of life but you know you can take this to mean as well that he's he's at work in all things for the good of those who love him. He's at work in your everyday chores, he's at work in in the boring everyday moments of life he he's at he's at work in in the times that you don't feel seen. He's at work in the times that you don't feel motivated. He's always at work but it's just all about um our perspective on it we can go through life and and look at what we're doing and say okay well nothing I'm doing is is meaningful or impactful or life isn't or God isn't at work in my life just because you know it seems man I never have anything to post on Instagram or Facebook. My life is so boring. And you can look at it that way or you can look at it with being man God has already blessed me with a bed to sleep in and a car to drive to a job um and he's blessed me with dozens of opportunities every single day that I can give him glory and and I can grow closer to him through and I can shine his light into a dark world through. I mean it's all about the perspective that you look at it and this is you know you know preaching to myself right now absolutely but um it's a challenge. I mean it it's it's it really is a challenge.

SPEAKER_01 35:33

So yeah yeah yeah like thinking about it thinking about your life from a different perspective not trying to change your life not trying to change the circumstances but yeah thinking about things from a different perspective like here's what my life looks like how can I look at it from a perspective of what's God trying to show me through these daily things.

SPEAKER_02 36:05

Yeah I think that's really good. So every week we um we try to give you all as well of ourselves some practical application a challenge for this week so I have a few of them right now first we can all pick one everyday routine that we do consistently and intentionally invite God into that moment. No matter how boring it seems no matter how trivial this this routine this everyday routine seems just invite God into that and and intention I like that word intentionality be intentional about asking yourself how can I bring God the glory through this or how is God already working in my life through this you know take some reflection about one everyday routine that you are consistently doing and invite God into that moment.

SPEAKER_01 36:58

The next thing is is to pray which one I'm gonna do already know what moment I'm gonna invite God into. You want to share? Yes. Share brushing my kids' teeth it gets so frustrating it's such a battle especially with my son who just acts like a little jerk when it's time to get his teeth brushed and it should not be such a battle and such a back and forth. And it it's a it's a regular boring everyday twice a day thing that has to happen and I need to invite God into it because it should not be this battleground of wills that happens.

SPEAKER_02 37:49

So God needs to be a part of it because he's not right now so God help me as I brush my son's teeth tonight please seems like such a silly prayer but also I mean it's such a real prayer too we don't have to we don't have to only pray you know God God help me give me strength tonight as I march into battle and defeat a nine foot Nephilim named Goliath. It can be God help me help help me brush my is that the name is that the right name they were Nephilim's right a giant but God help me brush my jerk son's teeth tonight and yeah that's I shouldn't call him a jerk. Sorry Rutledge sorry dude anyways um all right second application is we can pray and reflect or just acknowledge God's presence during it, right? So like that's sort of goes with the first one but just reflect upon what God has already given you as as far as everyday routines as far as the things that you take maybe take advantage of and don't give a second thought and reflect upon how God may already be in that moment, how how God is blessing you through that opportunity that you have to do that. Take some reflection and and just think think back at at your day think about the things that you don't usually think about that you might not like to think about and look for God's presence in that because I know if I do that then I will undoubtedly recognize God's hand on many things that I take advantage of in my everyday life.

SPEAKER_00 39:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

And lastly like we've said said before don't change the task but change your awareness of it don't don't don't seek to make your life this exciting everyday life changing party don't um shun or or brush off tasks that seem just too boring for you that that aren't like Blake has said a lot Instagram worthy but change your awareness of it. It's all I mean it truly is all about the perspective and it's it's extremely challenging to do. I can get really cynical really easily but once I do fully change that mindset, once I do sort of force myself into not conforming to the pattern of this world but transforming my mind by the being transformed by the renewing of my mind that it's really gratifying and it brings me a lot more joy um when I do do that. So that's doo-doo. But that's so that's just a challenge for you so that's just a challenge for you as well as for me to not change the task but change the awareness.

SPEAKER_01 40:28

Yeah and the reality is most of the tasks in our lives we can't change. Mm-hmm like the brushing the my kids' teeth I can't change it. Their teeth have to get brushed you showing up to work every day you can't change it you have to do it uh washing the dishes you have to do it I mean all of these things that you have to do every day I mean they have to happen so you can be mad about it or bored about it or upset about it or prideful about it or whatever about it or you can say God what are you trying to show me in these ordinary moments because the reality is for most of those things you can't change them.

SPEAKER_02 41:18

They're going to be there as as we close today um I'll just leave you with this if if you can walk away with anything today um as you go throughout your week whether you're going to school or work or brushing your kids' teeth I just want to encourage you with this that that we spend a lot of time I spend a lot of time waiting for something big to happen waiting for something monumental to change my life. Meanwhile God is doing something deep in the small and consistent and seemingly boring and ordinary moments. And your life isn't on hold until something exciting happens. Your life and your purpose is happening right now. It's happening right now and and I just encourage you as well as me and Blake to not just just not don't wait on something big to happen but um recognize God's calling for your life right now and how he's already blessing you beyond measure in the now. So I'll I'll leave us with a scripture verse here. This is Galatians 6 9 it says let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up boom that's a good place to end.

SPEAKER_01 42:35

It is Paul with the mic drop.

SPEAKER_02 42:38

Paul with the mic drop he's good at that he is all right guys oh bad did you say something? No okay all right uh we will uh we will catch you all later we will see you in a couple of weeks we appreciate you listening and we hope you have an awesome rest of your day yep have a great rest of your day enjoy what is hopefully good weather for you right now hope you had a great Easter will it be after Easter when they hear this episode no it'll be leading up to Easter it'll be on the Wednesday of the Holy Week we hope you have a good Easter in four days. Yes sir Alright bye we're gonna hang up now click click click