BRAVE

Friendship Fridays : Insecurities, Spiders and "the" conversations

Amber

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0:00 | 27:09

In 26 minutes Amber and Gretchen cover topics from insecurities to spiders and the hard conversations we need to have. Of course laughter and some debate on why certain insects exist anchor the conversation.  Enjoy a light-hearted conversation with friends on your drive home today. 

Welcome to the BRAVE pod

Where we have conversations that matter to grow a task force that fights against the spiritual trafficking of our girls. We are Bold Redeemed Anointed Victorious and Eternal and it’s race against the enemy for her heart. The time is now to go on the Great Rescue, I am your host Amber Johns, let’s talk about it. 

SPEAKER_01

All right, guys, so it's Friendship Friday. Um, and as we're sitting here trying to be like, what should we talk about that will be vastly interesting to you? We decided that a fun question, Gretchen and I to start with, would do Did Gretchen and you decide this was a fun question? No. Amber decided this is a fun question, and it's not even funny. It's actually serious, but I'm sure it'll lead us to places we don't intend to go, which is always the point. So it is what insecurity is God trying to get rid of for you to follow him more? And I felt why not discuss insecurities, especially in regards to what God has for us right now, and you should go first. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, this feels like an easy, breezy conversation topic. Uh you're making me go first.

SPEAKER_01

Because mine's easy. I feel like my insecurity, I have why many. So pick one. But also, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00

You need to go first. You need to go first. Mine's so easy, but you need to go first. Yeah. Okay. Um so you just sprung this on me, so give me a second to like turn my wheels. Um, I think that I've got a couple that God's like actively working, like needing out right now. And the first being like I mean, this is a long-term one, but he's been doing a lot of work recently of like the my belief that I whether or not I deserve to be loved and accepted by other people. Yeah, I mean, you started this. You brought it again, easy, breezy, beautiful. Friendship Fridays.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. That's a for real one, though. I think a lot of people have that.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and I think I've done a lot of active work for a long, long time to make it a question that I don't even have to ask. Because, like, whether it's isolating myself or, you know, stuff with like my eating disorder, like I think it I made it easy for people to keep me at arm's length. And that was easier than like having to wrestle with this question. And so now God's been healing a lot of things about me and in me. And one of the side effects, the unfortunate side effects of that is that I'm now having to wrestle with the question of like whether I believe that I'm worth people's time and energy and care. And that, yeah, that's one of the things.

SPEAKER_01

I remember you saying like earlier when you were old, like you, I mean, you're here every Wednesday night, we all know that. But like, but you're like, well, I just don't want to be an inconvenience, and I'm like, I'm inviting you. Like that negates the inconvenience, but you said that so many times, and I'm like, oh, she really feels like she could be an inconvenience when I'm like, hey, come hang out with her. I deeply feel like I'm an inconvenience to the people around me. Yeah, that's an interesting. I think um, yeah, insecurities are wild and obviously not how God intended it, but like I I think mine would definitely at the top of the list is people pleasing all the time. Like from the time I was, and I do this could be taken the wrong way, but I do think girls probably are more prone to it than guys. Um I think socially we're like raised to to care more about it than gonna be. Well, and I think we're more I I think in in we can be more sensitive, empathetic, and compassionate. I just think that's how we're wired for good, for good. Um, but then there comes a thing, well, oh, you're disappointed in me. Oh, I mean, even in coaching, like like we I've coached guys, I've coached girls. Guys are way different than girls, and the number one reason is girls usually aim to please the coach. Like they they want you to be proud of them, and guys aim to like prove that they're better than one another. So it's like, and even in just that simple, like, you know, don't email me about all the psycho babble I just didn't do. But like, even in just that simplicity, like, so for me, trying to be cured of like people pleasing and doing what I know to be right in the moment is really hard. Even like when we're talking about stuff we talk about on Brave, I let I really go through it in my mind, like, oh, this is gonna offend or this is gonna be really hard for some people instead of just doing the thing because we're supposed to do the thing. Yeah. So that's yeah. How do you feel like that's coming? I think in waves, like I I think when I'm super focused on why and who I'm aiming to serve, it takes right because people pleasing, insecurities, it's really our pride. Like, we're we're inward focused on those things, and that's I think the enemy does a good job with like, hey, like making this about you, and you start to get in your own head when truly, like, if eyes are up and you're not looking at you, and you're only looking at like I can have this conversation, and it might offend, but I'm gonna serve somebody through this conversation that God's put on my heart. Uh that changes that outlook. But I that is like that is a daily struggle. I I I am not made. I in like my nature, I'm not made for conflict. Yeah. In my somewhat profession, there's conflict, like we're we're having hard conversations. So people management, right?

SPEAKER_00

Like you're you're in people management and there is always gonna be conflict.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so I think that I think I've been stretched more in the past few years over that and just learning that I cannot, I'm fine. Like people can be disappointed in me, and it's gonna be okay. Yeah. So here we are. Way to start off a great podcast. No, listen, friendship Friday.

SPEAKER_00

We never cover deep heavy things, we only laugh. Uh, let's talk about our insecurity.

SPEAKER_01

Let's talk about the deepest, darkest pits of our heart.

SPEAKER_00

Let's just tear ourselves open.

SPEAKER_01

I will say this though. Um, two things happened in the past two days that were awful. Ready? Okay. One, my greatest fear is spiders. Everybody knows this. I don't know. Cockroaches have a close second. They they could, I think they're depending on the day, because the other day you were like, that's worse than spiders. Yeah, I I think they might be scarier. Anyway, that's up for debate. Spider cockroaches, I would rather spiders or cockroaches. Go on go into threads next, guys. By the way, on threads.

SPEAKER_00

Talk about it. Talk about it.

SPEAKER_01

On threads. Okay, I just started three stories. On threads. I'll bring you back to the first. We everybody knows um Austin's doing like a grilled cheese um, not a food truck yet because he's saving for it. So grilled cheese tent. So I just put on there like what's something weird that you put out, or something that maybe other people don't put on their grilled cheese. Almost 400 comments later in a couple of days. Like, people are passionate about their grilled cheese. Passionate about their grilled cheese.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, people love food, but you talk about bread and cheese.

unknown

Come on.

SPEAKER_00

It's that's like people go crazy for bread and cheese, baby. Bread and cheese. And let me listen, I got to witness you helping your son out at this tent the other night. And I know he loves you, but based on where he put you in the tent, I don't think he loves you that much because he made you the money girl. He made you the math girl. And I walked up and saw that on my phone and second. Hates you. Oh, so this is a public humiliation ritual.

SPEAKER_01

Well, it's only in cash, right? Everything is cash. And so, I mean, it's like when you put pressure. A, I was never great at math. I survived math. Clearly, it was never part of my major in any situation. But when someone's staring at you, looking for their chain in the 50, break my 50, 50, $90 bill for an $8 sandwich, Janine.

SPEAKER_00

Are you kidding me?

SPEAKER_01

And I'm like, one, two, three, four, four, five, I'm not even kidding. When someone's staring at you like the flops, hey, idiot, give me your chain.

SPEAKER_00

But again, like what kind of idiot gives a $50 bill for an $8 sandwich at a street fair? It was very stressful. Oh my gosh, I felt for you.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00

But I did it, and I'm probably feeling for you enough to step in and help. No. But I felt for you as I watched you drop in a chair and wash, and you're like, hey, hey, listen, I was just observing. I was basically the security detail, so you're welcome.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. That is that the math was not mathing. And I'm like, guys, just come with exact change or very even. Give me a $10 bill. I can break a $10 bill any day. Yeah, it was that was a very stressful three hours for me. And and it's not because I can't count, so let's not start the rumor, but also with someone staring at you and being like, I got this, this, this, and this. And then you're like trying to add it all up in your head, and I'm like, this is not, this is this is not what I'm made to do. This is not what God has called me to do in life. So I might have lost him money. I might have been just like, here you go, I think it's close. There you go.

SPEAKER_00

French Friday Army, go to the comments. Amber cannot count. Start the rumor, it will spread like wildfire.

SPEAKER_01

So I mean, I think, I mean, he he grossed, so he made profit.

SPEAKER_00

And he's like a huge smile on his face the whole day. For the whole night. Like that was a happy boy.

SPEAKER_01

Servant's heart right there. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, I think my first story was this though.

SPEAKER_00

Is that two horrible things happened?

SPEAKER_01

Two horrible things happened. One, maybe it's too much information, but the first thing you do when I are in the bathroom, shower, bathroom, sink, I look for spiders everywhere because I always feel like they're gonna find me. And sure enough, there in the toilet bowl is this gigantic daddy long leg just crawling around in there. And I'm like, why me? If this could happen to anybody else in this house, but no no no. But it never does, it's only you. So that was, and I I had to take a picture of it because I didn't think anybody would believe me. She's a little dramatic about her spiders, and I wanted people to know. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_00

Photo proof. Photo proof they are, it's it is an international conspiracy. The spiders are coming for you. I hate them so much, guys.

SPEAKER_01

Um, and the other thing was I got really hurt doing laundry. What? Yes, so you can't see it because we're not on video, but I went to grab a whole bunch, I washed all these towels and I went to grab them and somehow, and I don't even have nails, you guys. Like I can't, I'm also not a girl that can keep her nails. And the smallest of my pinky nails somehow got bent back by the towels and flipped halfway down my no, Amber. I know. Thank you for your compassion. Oh my gosh, it's so much pain. That is the reaction I needed.

SPEAKER_00

Did you not get that reaction from anyone else in your home?

SPEAKER_01

I don't think so. I think I think that looked like again, Friendship Friday armies.

SPEAKER_00

Go to the comment. Pinky nail trauma.

SPEAKER_01

It is still so tender and it uh it bled so good. And all I was doing was moving towels from the washing machine for you to the dryer. I just feel like my week fiddled has been a lot.

SPEAKER_00

My entire leg off before you go for my pinky nail.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it was very painful.

SPEAKER_00

I just I would have cried so hard.

SPEAKER_01

And I'm like, this isn't even a good story. I wasn't saving anybody, I wasn't rescuing a puppy, I wasn't like grabbing a small child off the street in front of a running car. No, no, no, I was exchanging wet towels into the dryer to dry them. And three days later, I'm still in some pain. I just needed that's all I needed was a reaction.

SPEAKER_00

Well, you have you have my sympathies, my greatest sympathies. Thank you so much. Because the way I would be crumpled on the floor crying after that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. I got nothing else but that, but that was a pretty traumatic week because I think something has happened every single day where I've really questioned my existence and my also my emotional fortitude. No, I say I'm a big girl, I say I'm strong.

SPEAKER_00

I'm you put a cockroach and a bent nail in front of me, and pretty much I'm I'm sorry, but I don't subscribe to the Fergie theology of big girls don't cry. Big girls cry a lot.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, actually. I'm crying a lot then. That's okay. No, I didn't cry, but I did, I did not fully scream. I was like, oh my gosh. And then they like get anyway, it gets stuck and you have to bend your nail back. Slightly horrified. I'm horrified for you. It was truly horrified for you. So I don't know. No, anything happened in your week? It doesn't have to be as traumatic or as dramatic as mine.

SPEAKER_00

I'm not sure I have anything traumatic as or as dramatic as that. It's pretty um, I'm trying to even think. This week, so pulling back the curtain, we're recording on Wednesday of Memorial Day week. Yeah, so we have I had Monday off. A three-day weekend. We love that. We do. It is Wednesday, so it's basically only Tuesday. And it feels like it's been a forever week. It has. Like, let it be done. Yeah. Um I oh I did I golfed Monday. Because you're a golf girl. Because I'm a golf girl now. I am kind of disgusted at how much I enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01

I'm a little too, to be honest.

SPEAKER_00

Truly, like, who am I? And I hate her, maybe. My mom and I went golfing and we went to a course that we've been to a bunch, but we've only played the front nine of this course. We got to play the back nine, and the kind of conversations how excited I was to play the back nine of this course, and how excited I was by like how like scenic the back nine. I was disgust- I'm disgusted by myself. Who am I? I don't know what happened to the me who would have hated this. She's dead now, apparently. I know. I don't love golf. I've tried. I know, but I feel like if you just rode in a golf cart with me, well play. You just rode in the golf cart.

SPEAKER_01

I would just be there for entertainment at that point, which is fine. I I can I feel that's a needed space anyway. So yes, very needed. Yeah. Yeah, we had um our oldest flew up for Memorial Day. So we had a we had a busy couple days because when the extrovert comes home, we extrovert hard.

SPEAKER_00

There was a party for no reason. A party for no reason. It was just let's stuff as many people into your home as possible for no reason other than your child is here. The extrovert is home. Yes, that hear ye, hear ye, the extrovert has returned.

SPEAKER_01

And that is exactly how it is. But it's it's so fun, it's just so fast now with his job as a cop. If you guys don't know, in Virginia, so he's not close, but wild stories. My days are very boring compared to his. And I don't love that. I don't love that, but he's made for it. It also has made a reflection, and if he listens to this, he'll know because I've said this to his face on raising him, and I'm like, it all makes sense now. I'm like, it was definitely like he is made for this, he's very, very good at it.

SPEAKER_00

I'm very proud of him, but like on a molecular level, he was made to do it.

SPEAKER_01

100% mind, body, and soul no doubt. So it's cool to see him do the thing that I know he was made to do, but also not cool to see the thing he was made to do because it's scary. It's scary, but yeah, it is scary for a mom. But God's got him and he's he's doing a great job. He's rocking it, he's rocking it. So it's kind of cool. It's kind of cool to see, but all that to say, it keeps our weekends very busy.

SPEAKER_00

But it's great. This weekend was for sure. You guys are running out around like crazy people, yes.

SPEAKER_01

So, but other than that, now we're back to now we're back to real life. Um and shameless plug when this comes out. Like we do have a conference, small one, that is coming on June 13th. So if you're within driving distance, and by driving distance, we have people coming from Buffalo, guys. So uh at Fusion Community Church in Kobleskill.

SPEAKER_00

Yep. So just in case you're listening from Alaska, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

This is where you're still welcome to come, but that might be that might be a lot. But I'm excited for this because I think it's a needed space, and this is probably more serious than I meant to. I just wanted to talk about it a little bit because I really want people to be present, especially if you are you've got daughters, nieces, friends of all ages. Um, we're hitting on some topics regarding um just sex and assault and faith afterwards. And I love I love the context of it. I love the language we're speaking. Um, it's done with just some class and just some really wonderful faithfulness of the speakers, you of which are one. So that's fantastic. Um, so if you guys are around, it's on our website, it's on our Instagram, it's everywhere to go check it out. Um, I think it's gonna be a hard thing to get yourself to go to. I think with the topics it scares some people, that's the vibe I get. But then it's also the most requested topic I always get to talk about. So we're gonna answer the questions, um, and then being in the room is gonna be way different than anything online. So I would encourage you if you're five hours or less, I think it'll be worth the worth the drive to get there.

SPEAKER_00

So and I like I gotta say, like, even if like I'm just thinking as as we keep talking about it, I'm like, mom, if you're a mom of girls, you need to be, you need to be in that room. Yeah. Like because I I pray that no mom of girls has to ever have the conversation of something horrible happening. Yeah. But even if that conversation hopefully never comes, sex is still a conversation that moms of girls have to have. And I feel like I don't know what you've got planned and what the a couple of us who are speaking have planned. It's just like we are not putting on a show of trauma. It is uh we're we're building your toolkit as like a woman who interacts with girls. Yeah. Um, yeah, this is just like a yeah, it's a tool builder, I think.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I and I think this the stories complement so well the hope, right? Like I always say they're hard and hopeful conversations. Um, so if you if you can get there, my gosh, I think it'll be not just because we're hosting it, but because I do, I do know in the spaces that I have spoken and the workshop that we have done, and just you know, even with work with college students, I know this is the topic that comes up so, so, so much. So even if it's not reactive for you, like maybe this is not your experience, this is proactive. We're not just sitting in one, like I would say, space of hard. There's a lot of proactive things. Um, I do like everybody who knows me knows my heart is discipleship. And if we're discipling well as women in the church, there should be room for these conversations that necessarily can't be had from the pulpit. You know, these these are the things we're women discipling, women, especially, especially when there's maybe not mothers or grandmothers or a generational lineage of believers that can speak into the next generation of girls, like who's having these conversations with them. And it can be uncomfortable. So I hope through this we bridge that gap. We give the language and we give the words, we get the the excitement, the power, ignite people to do the thing. So um, yeah, I'm I'm excited about it. I'm excited about it, and I'm really proud of the of you guys that are sharing some hard things. Well, I think it's very, very cool.

SPEAKER_00

So yeah, I think it's gonna be a really powerful day. It's definitely like this is stretching me for sure. Um and and like in a way that I'm not sure as an adult I've ever had to be stretched, and so it's in it's interesting. Like, like I I think I've been leading worship for a long, long time. Playing music and worshiping is like such an easy thing for me. There's no stretch there. This is stretching me in a way that's uh it's uncomfortable, but I think that's gonna like glean a really good result. Yeah, if if I've learned anything from the last year and a half of my life, pain and stretching and uncomfortability leads to good things. It does, it does.

SPEAKER_01

And you're like, you're you're walking that physically, emotionally, and spiritually all at one time. Like it's truly true, but uh they always like right. What is the quote? Nothing grows in your comfort zone, it's always outside. I hate that. I know, I know. Why can't my comfort zone be a nice little garden? Why can't my nap in a burrito blanket qualify as you know growth? Right? Self-care?

unknown

Come on.

SPEAKER_01

Couch days, couch potato days. Right. Can we can we call that growth? Probably for some people it is. Rest is hard, but rest is hard. Rest is hard. I I wouldn't mind growth in the comfort zone, but clearly, according to Instagram and the memes I see.

SPEAKER_00

In my personal experience, it's not where growth happens.

SPEAKER_01

No, it's really annoying. Yeah. So I think that's also my my caveat. I think it's most people I don't like to be uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah. Well, and like these are uncomfortable things to even think about. Yeah. You know, it's I mean, it's uncomfortable if you've experienced something like that. But yeah, no, I don't know, it's it's just an uncomfortable space to be in. But that's not a bad thing.

SPEAKER_01

No, I don't think so at all. And I think if I'm kind of like, if we're if we're gonna be uncomfortable, come be uncomfortable with us. Right.

SPEAKER_00

And then let's be clear humans are obsessed about sex. It's true. We are obsessed, so let's talk about it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, our culture certainly isn't so the messaging is one way. I there's not a lot of voices pushing back in a way that is like real and authentic and giving it putting it back in its right context with the right conversations of what God intended in the first place, and that there's an enemy out there to warp all of this. So that's the conversation that's really where we're gonna land. Um, so but I think that's what I'm excited about is it I don't like confrontation, and I said that is an insecurity, but I also like the fight. So it's weird. I like this fight. I know.

SPEAKER_00

I was almost gonna interject when you were talking about the confrontation thing. I'm like, but you're really good on it when when it's an externalized thing. Like you're really good at fighting for other people or on behalf of causes you believe in. Yeah. It's the internal stuff, right? Like it's hard to advocate for ourselves, it's hard to like, yeah, it's hard to insist. Cite conflict on our own behalf. Yeah. You're really good at doing it for other people. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01

I think I think it just gives value to, I don't know. I mean, it does stretch you when you're doing it. And maybe that is the whole point. It's like we should, the less internally we're looking, the more externally we're looking, it becomes so much bigger than our own insecurity, our own fear of spiders, our own broken fingernail. I mean, so much bigger.

SPEAKER_00

We can overcome. I'm an overcomer. I'm an overcomer. In words of Mandisa that you're an overcomer.

SPEAKER_01

Cockroaches. I don't think I'll ever overcome that. And guys, I'm not, I I am literally it's it's a paralysis. I can't even explain it. It's very annoying.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's an odd um you're such a competent, strong woman, and then you see a spider and you become a whole different human being.

SPEAKER_01

I s that is how I'm going to die. We understand this. What here's what here's what I'm calling it. I'm calling it now. So if I'm if I have like if I've driven off the road on a really beautiful day for no reason, categorically assume a spider fell on me while I was driving, and out of sheer terror, I just ripped the car off the road. I am like not kidding. Like when I when it has happened, I'm like that. I don't think I could get my mind to be like, it's just a spider, sit there, steer in the car, don't do it. I think I would just knee-jerk reaction.

SPEAKER_00

I'm meeting my maker today. So are you saying that phobias or deep-seated fears are like prophetic? I don't think whatever you're most afraid of is gonna be the thing that causes.

SPEAKER_01

Maybe. Maybe I'm like, this is how I've gone into the store before. I won't rehash it, but that is I I did it, I photographed our wedding one time. There were spiders. Spiders everywhere on this boat that we were out on Lake George, and I swore like this is how it's gonna go down. They're gonna get in my bag. Yes, yes, tugboats on Lake George or wedding boats, whatever we were on, at dusk in the middle of summer. Guys, there are spiders everywhere, those brown things, and they just fall. They just fall, it's terrifying. So I literally like I'm like, I'm gonna, I'm going to be driving home from Lake George at 10 p.m. tonight, and one will crawl out of my bag or my shirt or my shoe. I'll know it. I'll tank the car. Never to see your wedding photos again. But I died via spider. I just, yeah, I'm mentally prepared for that moment.

SPEAKER_00

That's a crazy thing to be mentally prepared for.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I'd like for you to not be mentally prepared for that.

SPEAKER_01

I would like to know I would survive.

SPEAKER_00

I'd like to think that you would pull the car over.

SPEAKER_01

I don't think I would. I really think I'll jerk it in the railing. I'm like, what what what happened? She she was, you know, it's a beautiful day, no traffic, no ice, no wind, no rain. This spider.

SPEAKER_00

One lone spider hanging to the side. And it probably dropped, and I just lost my mind.

SPEAKER_01

And it'll probably be one of those brown ones. Those are scary. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Hate those guys.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Hate those guys. Hate those guys. Hate them so much. I'd like that's a question. People have very deep theological questions for God. I do not. I have some questions about ticks, cockroaches, and spiders.

SPEAKER_00

Ticks for sure. I have questions about. Like what's up with that? What was their purpose before the fall?

SPEAKER_01

There isn't. Or do they come after the fall? It's basically sin.

SPEAKER_00

It is sin incarnate. Ticks are sin incarnate.

SPEAKER_01

They're a representation of all that's wrong with humanity in tick format.

SPEAKER_00

Basically. See, it's so funny. I'm like not, I'm not scared of spiders. I do love killing spiders.

SPEAKER_01

I love it.

SPEAKER_00

I actually love it.

SPEAKER_01

That might be a whole nother podcast.

SPEAKER_00

Tune in for part two. There's some rage against the spiders. You know I have some rage. You know that's a part of me.

SPEAKER_01

Rage, Gretchen. You don't want any of that.

SPEAKER_00

Intellectual violence and spider violence.

SPEAKER_01

Intellectual violence was the best phrase I heard this week. Yeah, that is. Like, well, I don't remember what I sent you, but it was definitely like it was so good. I'm like, that is a great thing.

SPEAKER_00

It was like, don't come at me. Or if you if you're it was like, if you are gonna be in a debate, invite me because I will incite intellectual violence against your foes.

SPEAKER_01

So basically, if we're math, you're mathing, and if we're intellectually violent, it's you, and I'm just over here cheering you on.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. I feel like that's a good covered a lot. So un until next time. But hey, we'll see you guys June 13th. Sign up on the website, amberjons.com. See you there. Bye.