Just Keep Showing Up

Life gets busy. Between work, marriage, kids, church, and everything else on the calendar, sometimes even the best plans don’t work out. This episode may be a day late, but it’s a reminder that consistency matters more than perfection.

Take a step back and think about what it means to keep showing up, even when you’re tired, overwhelmed, or feel like life is pulling you in every direction. Hear encouragement to finish what you start, trust God through every season, and remember that your family is watching how you respond when life gets hard.

If you’ve been feeling stretched thin or like you’re barely keeping your head above water, this conversation is for you.

You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to keep showing up.

We appreciate y’all listening. If you got something out of this, share it with someone who’s still figuring it out too. We’ll catch y’all next time.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome back to this week's episode of Still Figuring It Out. I'm Josh without my co-host Britt. So this episode is going to be a little different today. It's just me literally at 1245, I guess Sunday night, Monday morning. Britt and I couldn't make our usual scheduled lineup this week, so this episode is going to come out a day late. And honestly, it's kind of life. If you're a husband, a dad, or just an adult trying to just juggle everything, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's kind of weird just sitting here talking to myself and being on the podcast by myself, but you know, work gets busy, my kids have games, the wife needs help, church needs volunteers, the house needs repairs, but you know, sometimes this bills have to get paid, right? Sometimes doesn't really happen how we plan it, or life doesn't care about your plans, really. But you know, that's kind of what I've been thinking about doing this tonight. I've been kind of nervous, you know, because like I said, I'm I'm by myself. But even when life gets kind of crazy, um, we still have to keep showing up. So, you know, like I said, I'm by myself, and I kind of got to thinking and what I was gonna talk about tonight, and that's kind of what I'm talking about, you know, because I am by myself doing this, and again, it's it's different, you know, because you're just kind of talking about your thoughts out loud without somebody either backing you up or or having a kind of a game plan going into it. You know, it's funny because Facebook's kind of like that, you know. We always see the good stuff and and the stuff that we people want to be seen, you know, but not everybody sees, you know, the overworked dad or stressed out mom, you know, the kids who constantly get hurt at the house, but they see the good stuff, the trips, the fun stuff, you know, the parties that we had this weekend. You know, we had a Jersey's fourth birthday party yesterday, and that was kind of one of the reasons why Britt and I couldn't really do our podcast. We used to do our podcast on Saturdays, but you know, Britt wasn't able to make it Friday because we talked about Friday and really couldn't make it Saturday because the birthday party. So, like I said, we're supposed to be out at 7 o'clock this morning, but here we are at midnight that night and still not have a podcast out. So uh if you usually listen to it on Sundays, I'm really sorry. Britt and I tried to do everything we kind of could to uh make it happen, but you know, we just really couldn't get it to work, you know. So so here we are. But yeah, like I said, man, you know, life doesn't always go as planned, and and that's okay, because we are human. We all, you know, have struggles and difficulties and things like that that kind of uh put a kink in things. And and Britt and I kind of knew at some point this was gonna happen. You know, I mean, we wasn't sure when it was gonna happen or what we were gonna do when it was happening, because we didn't really plan about that, you know, because again, we're still figuring it out. And I think that's kind of what makes this podcast what it is, is honestly Britt and I are two guys that really wing it. And we don't just wing the podcast, we wing life, man. I mean, I don't think neither one of us are great planners or organizers. We kind of live by the edge of our seat and it works, you know. So, so it is what it is. But but yeah, so this week was uh kind of crazy, you know. I work quite a bit, I've got this this officiating class coming up, so I've been, you know, working really hard on it, trying to get the officials, you know, scheduled and and to teach the class and trying to get the class put together and trying to get people in the class, and you know, there's a lot of things that go into it, so that's kind of where I've been, you know, physically and and mentally all week long. So it was it was a long week, but it was a busy week, but it was good, you know. I mean, I had some had some wins, you know. We was able to get our officials to teach the class. We've got people signing up left and right. We've got a location, you know, to do our class, which obviously is at Southern Tech, but we also have a location to do our outdoor stuff. So I'm super excited about that, you know, and this coming up week, I'm I'm gonna be working all week long. But Friday afternoon, I'm I'm heading out to Germany for baseball camp for for a few days, and I'm super excited about that. I'm I'm ready to get over there and, you know, see God work, you know. So I'm pretty excited about it. But but yeah, so like I said, you know, life gets really busy at times, and and sometimes no matter how hard we try or no matter how hard we work to make things happen like it's supposed to, it just doesn't happen. And, you know, that that that's okay. Like it's okay to I don't want to say fail, but it's okay to have things not go as planned, you know, because we are human. You know, so like some of the stuff that uh I ask myself sometimes is am I giving the best I can for my family? Or am I making enough time for God? Or am I chasing things that actually matters? You know, and that's that's something that I ask myself at times whenever whenever things aren't going as planned, or if things are overwhelming, I mean I knew it was coming, but I kept putting it off and kept putting it off. You know, Britt, Britt talked about problems, you know, about a month or so ago about how he's got this big board of the whack-a-mole game, you know, and and you've got all these whack-a-moles popping up, and those are your problems, he said, but this board's so big that you start getting focused on this one section, trying to keep this one section of of the whack-a-moles down whenever you look to your right and your left, and there's all these other whack-amoles popping up, but you just keep hitting that that one, that one whack-a-mole, you know, and and that's kind of sometimes how it is. And like I said, you know, I was so busy this week. Um, the podcast was kind of on the back of my brain, and and you know, Monday turned into Tuesday, Tuesday to Wednesday, Wednesday to Thursday, the next thing you know, here we are, Saturday, and I still not recording a podcast. And like I said, that's when we usually do it. So at times we we record two at a time. So, so to to get kind of caught off guard per se was was gonna happen at some point, but we just didn't want it to happen this early. You know, we we talked about calling on a speakerphone and hooking the phone up and and trying to do it that way, but I couldn't figure it out. I'm not I'm not the smartest guy when it comes to this this rod this Rodcaster 2, roadcast, whatever it's called. I don't really don't know what it even called, but but but yeah, so like I said, it was just it was just one of those weeks that was just kind of all over the place, and and Saturday got here before we knew it, and like I said, next thing you know, here I am Sunday night, you know, got to work in the morning and it's 1232. So it is what it is. But yeah, so like I said, I don't know really where to go or how to go about this, but you know, I mean try to think of what to say or how to say it, because you know, like I said, Britt and I has kind of gotten really comfortable talking between one another, but here by myself, you know. And it's hard to be consistent, and that's something that Britt and I has have tried to do. We wanted to really make sure we're consistent by getting this podcast out, and it just didn't happen, you know. I mean, I even almost skipped this week's episode. But then I realized sometimes people don't need perfection, they need consistency. So here I am, even though it's midnight a day late, I'm still gonna do it, you know. So showing up one day late is better than you know, disappearing for a week or what that week might turn into a month, you know, and that's that's kind of true in marriage too. It's true in parenting, it's true in faith. I mean, it's even true at work, you know. I mean, we just gotta keep showing up and just keep trying to stay consistent. You know, with marriage, it's it could be hard sometimes. You know, your wife is needing a lot from you, or you you know, it usually you're needing more from her. I mean, let's be real. But but sometimes we just have to we just have to keep showing up and we just have to keep trying to get better as we go, you know. I mean, we all need consistency, you know. Our wives need consistency from us, our kids need consistency. It's just kind of how it is. I mean, can I think consistency beats perfection, you know, because if if we keep showing up day in and day out, I think at some point we might reach perfection, you know. I mean, there's only one perfect man, right? And that was Jesus. We all know that. We're not ever ever going to be perfect, but you know, we could be as perfect as we could possibly be, which obviously is still gonna be a flaw, but you know, I mean, at least at least we're still showing up. You know, kind of like seasons, they just come and go. Some seasons feel pretty manageable, you know. Um spring and the fall, I mean, it's pretty pretty nice seasons to me. I mean, the weather's nice, it's the spring is nice and sunny. We got some spring showers, we got, you know, baseball, which is always nice. I mean, so in the fall, everybody loves the fall, right? I mean, I think I like the spring more than I like the fall. I think my wife would disagree. I think my wife's favorite time of year is the fall, but I also think my wife's favorite time of the year is the fall because her birthday is in October. So, but I I could be wrong, you know, but but I mean those when those are when the nice weathers happen the most, you know. We we get consistent 60, 70 degree weather, maybe low 80s, which is still manageable, but you know, the cold, the winters, winter sucks, you know. I mean, because we don't get snow here in Oklahoma, we get we get the ice, you know, we'd it'll sleet and it'll it'll get really icy, and then during the day it'll start melting, then overnight again it just turns into more to more ice. And and so our winters aren't any fun. They're cold, the wind blows hard. And then we have summer, you know, summer's awful. Summer's hot, summer days are long. You know, it don't get dark until like 8 30, 9 o'clock at night right now, and it's just it's terrible, you know. You can't keep your house cool, you don't want to go outside to do anything. I mean. And then there's you know, there's seasons in life where everything's going good. You know, everything's going all right, you can't can't have a better life, and then next thing you know, that you're in a season where you're barely keeping your head above water. And and that's okay. You know, you just don't quit. Sometimes you just have to slow down, you know, and that's I mean, that's okay, you know. Like I said, you just slow down and and take a breath. Ask for help if you have to. I mean, especially us guys, we we get nervous sometimes and don't want to ask for help, you know. I mean, I literally could have asked my wife for help with this podcast and asked her to come on with me, and I would have been more comfortable and she would have been super nervous, so that would have put the attention on her, you know, but but now here I am in the in the in the hot seat because I'm by myself. I'm literally looking at myself in the mirror, talking. It's kind of weird, you know. But like I said, ask for help if you have to. Move the timeline if you have to, just like we did today. I mean, usually we do it yesterday, and here we are doing it today, and we're gonna release it as soon as I'm done. I mean, hopefully Monday morning when everybody goes to work, they can they can turn on still figure it out and have this week's episode. But just don't stop moving. And that's that's the biggest key is just keep going, keep pushing. You know, I mean, when I th when I think of things like that, I think of think of my kids, you know, they're watching. You know, they they're they might not say they're watching you, but they're watching you. It's it's funny because, you know, my wife and I, we are we are Christians, we we listen, we listen to Christian music, you know, we we talk scripture, we we talk things about the Bible, we we had those conversations between her and I. But you know, it it's funny because we were eating at jalapenos today, and something got brought up, and Indy said, Hey, there's 12 disciples, right? Like, I I was kind of shocked that she knew there were 12 disciples. You know, I mean, yeah, she knows who Jesus is, and and she knows what Easter is, she knows what Christmas is, but but just knowing that she knows there are 12 disciples, my wife and I just looked at each other and smiled because because it made us happy because we know she is paying attention, we know she is learning. You know, Jersey, he turned four or four years old today, and and the girls are five, but but to to know that they are understanding and they're learning at uh that age about about God, it's pretty awesome, you know. I mean, my kids aren't gonna remember if if this podcast was released on a Monday or a Sunday or or whenever it is, but what they're gonna remember is seeing mom and dad finish what they started, you know. Like I said, they're they don't listen to this podcast. They they have no idea that I do a podcast. I mean, they see the podcast and they they ask if they can do a podcast, but it's just uh talk on the microphone and and listen to the sound, you know, the little sound buys like I have this one. You know, I don't know if y'all can hear that or not, but I just pushed the button and it might it might not work. It might it might work. I couldn't tell you if it works or not. But when you put headphones on, you can hear different sounds. Like I said, they're gonna remember, they're gonna remember dad finishing what he started, or or mom finishing what he started, or what she started. They'll remember watching someone who didn't make an excuse every time something got hard or life got hard. We just we just gotta keep pushing and and they're gonna remember those things, you know. They're gonna they're gonna constantly look back at, well, dad finished it, or dad did it, you know, or mom did it, or or mom finished. You know, they're not gonna they're not ever gonna see us, well, dad started that, but he never did finish it. I I I won't allow that to happen. Even if I had to come and get help, you know. I mean, just like the building that we have building right now, it's it's a work in progress, you know. Um I've got an electrician coming out to to put elect electrical work in, but it's not finished, but but it will be, you know. So that's kind of kind of how life sometimes is, is you start something, finish it. Don't, don't quit. Don't don't stop doing it because it gets hard. Don't stop doing it because your head's barely afloat, you know. Just keep your head afloat because God's got you. You know, and and that's a big thing, is that that's something we talked about in Sunday school today. Was, you know, sometimes you you try to do it yourself and you try to handle things on your own, and and you can't do that. You know, you've you've got to you've got to give it to God. You've got to trust God. You know, it's okay to let things go and and, you know, let God do it. You know, it kind of reminds me of Galatians 6 9. Let us not get tired of doing good, but we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up. You know, that verse doesn't say you won't get tired. It actually just assumes you will, you know. The encouragement isn't to never get tired, it's to not give up. And and I I that's what I like about Galatians 6.9 is, you know, it's kind of like a never quit, you know, like the energizer bunny. But, you know, this this podcast wasn't gonna be long today, because like I said, I just wanted to get on here and and just kind of let y'all know that that we we're trying, you know. Like I said, I'm leaving Friday for Germany. So so Britt and I will, we will, we will get together this week and we're gonna we're gonna do a couple podcasts. That'll way we have one come out Sunday, and then we'll have one come out the following Sunday. So that'll way you will have two weeks. But yeah, we'll we'll be back to it, you know, like I said, next week. It was just one of those things that that just freakishly happened. And you know, it's funny, I'm looking at a a book, I'm sitting here where we do our quiet time, we have a little desk in our closet, and I'm just sitting here in the closet, you know, and and I look over and I sit here thinking, you know, it's 1245 at this point, and how tired I am, you know, and Finity's in the bathroom, taking a shower, getting ready for bed, you know, because it it's been a long day, you know. It's just had a lot going on. Again, Jerry's party was yesterday and and his birthday was today. So, you know, we went and did some stuff. We had family pictures. You know, Riley, I think she's in the shower as well, in her bathroom and getting ready for False Creek, you know, because she's going to False Creek again. So like life's busy, you know, it's just it's it's a lot. And and like I said, I'm looking over at this book and I just see this uh book's called Dad Tired. You know, it's the book about faith and about being a dad and just the uh the weight and the sh the struggle that you know men sometimes go through. But if you're listening today and you're exhausted, I get it. You know, just keep showing up for your wife, keep showing up for your kids, keep showing up at work, showing up in your faith, uh, keep showing up for your dreams, you know. You don't have to be perfect, you just have to refuse to quit. And one day your family won't just remember every accomplishment, you know, they're not gonna remember everything you've ever done, they're not gonna remember all the money you made or all the trips you took them on or anything like that. But what they will remember is when life got hard, dad kept showing up. You know, and I I think I think that fits um the theme for still figuring it out, you know, perfectly. Sometimes we get vulnerable, you know. I think we're relatable, authentic, and the fact I'm recording solo a day late kind of actually becomes part of the story instead of just something to apologize for, you know. So again, I'm sorry it's short, little 20 minute, you know, podcast today, but you know, I'm Josh, my partner Britt, we'll be back next week. And we're just two guys trying to figure it out. Good night, guys.