The Three Eras: Farmer Joe, Servant Amanda & The Refining Fire 🔥

Howdy! In this episode, we start with a little life update, marriage banter, and Joseph’s ranch adventure before diving into one of the most powerful reminders we’ve heard recently: God doesn’t leave us in the fire. We talk about trials, refinement, faith, and how the hardest seasons can be the very places where God sets us free.

⛪️ Dropping the church service we referred to here: 
  https://youtu.be/iI2coytxYk8?si=UkGQAjQwdWyvx__Z 

‼️ Don't forget to leave a comment to help us out and let us know what you'd like to see more of on this series! Sooo much more to get into!!

➡️ Subscribe to my YouTube channel or follow along on Spotify/Apple Podcasts as we will drop new episodes weekly. You also can't miss the everyday fun on my Instagram stories @movinwithmandy - https://www.instagram.com/movinwithmandy/

Thanks for letting us talk your ears off ! 😋

Transcript

SPEAKER_06 0:00

You guys, I don't know why, but every single time, right when we go to start this podcast, I get so nervous. And it's like it's not that I'm nervous talking to a camera. I think it's just the intro of this video. I'm like, what do I do? What do I say?

SPEAKER_07 0:14

Howdy, everyone, welcome to Us Unveiled. And then I feel like it's just me being awkward.

SPEAKER_06 0:19

And Joseph's staring at me, it's a whole thing.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

And I'm trying to make it not awkward. Like I'm trying to laugh at you and have fun.

SPEAKER_06 0:26

Yeah, you're staring at me. And then it's like once I get into it, I'm like, yep, we're back. Amanda's back.

SPEAKER_05 0:33

But it's like that intro. Anyways, welcome to Us Unveiled.

SPEAKER_06 0:36

I'm excited to be here with y'all today. Joseph, again, is always here, always around. He's my little sidekick.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

You're plus one.

SPEAKER_06 0:45

My plus one everywhere I go. Hallelujah. But I'm excited to be here for another episode with y'all. We are on episode seven.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Whoa. Yeah. God's number.

SPEAKER_06 0:56

Oh, that's a good one. This is a good one then. Okay. So, Joseph, update everyone on what you've been doing because you had a whole farmer Joe experience that you were living your best life at.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

Yeah. Went to the ranch for uh three, four days. The ranch, yeah. Yep, the ranch. We literally came to California to escape the heat, and I went right back to it.

SPEAKER_06 1:18

No, he went to like 110 degree weather.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Yeah, it was hot.

SPEAKER_06 1:21

But what did you do?

SPEAKER_01 1:22

And the whole time you're outside.

SPEAKER_06 1:23

What did you do? I think we're all like, okay, cool. You had a car extra.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

How does this work? Alright, so so first of all, it's a cattle calf operation. So we don't, it's it's not dairy. So you have cows, and then the cows have calves, and then you raise those calves until they're like, I don't know, nine, eight hundred pounds. And then you ship, you sell the calves.

SPEAKER_06 1:48

And you did this all in three days.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

No.

SPEAKER_06 1:50

I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_01 1:51

No, that's just I'm trying to paint the picture here. Alright, so that's like the overall operation. So at the ranch, there's like 6,000 acres, and it's all, you know, hills, you name it, whatever. Well, like all the cows and calves were already like down in the corrals in the main area. But so once they're down there, you have to separate the cows and the calves because you ship off just you know one or the other. And so that's like the first part is in the corrals, you separate them all, and it's really dusty. That's probably the biggest comment. Okay, so can you just imagine like all these cows and all the dust and everything freaking out? So that's that's the like main point. And then once you have them separated, you you put them in a uh like a semi-truck and you ship that out, which we did like I think six semi-trucks.

SPEAKER_03 2:48

Where do you ship them out to?

SPEAKER_01 2:49

Well, this time we were just shipping them down um to the area that's not as hot. Yeah, got it. So because they're in the hills in the winter, because there's more grass and stuff, and then during the summer, the grass doesn't grow, so you give them um you put them in irrigated land.

SPEAKER_06 3:06

Put them wherever the grass is greener.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Then you also separately go, um, like as you might imagine, out of I don't know, five, six hundred cow and calves, like some of them stay in the hills, like not all of them come back. Okay. So the other big part of the job is like going up into the hills and the mountains and finding them, hopefully, and bringing them back, which that is probably the most interesting part because herding one cow or calf is a lot harder than a herd. Like a herd, you just get a few of them going and they all go. A cow or a calf literally just goes the opposite direction the whole time. And you're like in the mountains in the hills, so like you can't just cut off a cow.

SPEAKER_06 3:54

That's where you need the roping.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Yeah, pretty much.

SPEAKER_06 3:57

Yeah, I should have been out there. I'm a good roper, y'all.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

So you s you start doing whatever you can to get that thing moving, which that's where things get interesting.

SPEAKER_06 4:06

So I think being a Dallas Cowboys trailer, I learned how to rope because we do a lot of lassos. So I like know how to whip the wrist just perfectly. Like, there's a little there's a technique behind it, obviously. And I get the hips moving with it. It's a whole thing, it's really fun.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

That's not roping. Let's be very clear.

SPEAKER_07 4:26

It is when you have a rope in your hand and you're able to whip it over here.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

But you never even had a rope.

SPEAKER_07 4:31

I I did it on a dummy one time, a couple times.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Yeah, okay, anyways, but yeah, and then and then also like that doesn't take all days, so then you do other like projects around like fixing water troughs or fences, or like just whatever it is, and then the coolest part is there's uh creeks that run through the property, and so like I don't know, once you're done with all your work at like three or four o'clock, um, because you start at five or five or six somewhere in the you get to jump in the creek, yeah. You go swimming in the creek.

SPEAKER_05 5:06

Wow, what a joy!

SPEAKER_01 5:08

It is fun.

SPEAKER_05 5:09

Oh, I'm glad you had your experience.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

And the water was like it had to have been like either 65 degrees or 70. Like it was warm and it was nice.

SPEAKER_06 5:20

That's where you got your poison oak, right? In the creek, in the creek, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

Unfortunately.

SPEAKER_06 5:26

Unfortunately, I'm married to a man who is deathly afraid of poison oak, and every single time we go on a walk, watch out!

SPEAKER_07 5:33

That's poison oak. Watch out, there's poison oak there. Don't walk over there, and I'm like, I've never had poison oak, nog on wood, but my goodness.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

I don't think you understand. You if you would only understand if you've had it, because the thing is with poison oak, if you're actually allergic to it, just looking at it will make you itch. Like, that's how intense it is. Like, I I mean you saw my I so I got it on my foot, which I must have gotten while I was swimming, because how else would you do that? Yeah, so I wore boots the whole time. Yep, yep. So if I got it on my foot, or when I got it on my foot, like you saw that blister thing that I had, right? Yeah, it's not like a bug bite, it's like a full-blown blister the size of my thumb. Yep, and you can't scratch it, and it like boils up. Ugh, and then the worst part is you know, like a bug bite, those things just go away in like I don't know, 24-48 hours. These, this thing stays around for a solid week.

SPEAKER_05 6:36

Oh, I'm so sorry. Yeah, I understand your pain. I don't think that my pain is lesser than yours.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Thank you.

SPEAKER_05 6:46

It's literally what he's been fighting me for.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

But I need you to get poison oak to feel my pain.

SPEAKER_03 6:51

Ugh, that's not happening. I don't go outside enough to get poison oak.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

It's so bad. And then the worst, that's like the one thing that I'm scared of. Like, out of anything in life, like poison oak is like the one that like snakes I don't like, but I'll deal with them. Poison oak though, it's like I will stay like as far away as possible. And if you if you run through poison oak, I'm sorry, but I will not be touching you.

SPEAKER_06 7:20

Okay, I asked him to vlog this entire experience, so I'm still waiting to see the videos.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

I'm my cousin and I and I vlogged it the whole thing.

SPEAKER_06 7:29

You vlogged it, yeah. Vlogged.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

Vlogged.

SPEAKER_06 7:32

Yeah, he always says Vlog. He vlogged it, and we're still waiting to see the content. So drop a comment and give him some like encouragement to actually make a video out of this because I think we all want to see what the heck you were doing out there. Because I don't understand, and I mean I don't think that these other people will. So, like, give him give him a hard time in the comments. Let's make him make a video and post it.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

Well, I need my editor to like hop on it.

SPEAKER_06 7:57

That's the problem, is I don't want to edit it.

SPEAKER_04 8:00

Just do it. You can do it. Okay, okay. Go, Joe, go, go, Joe, go.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

I know. I d we need to, we have my cousin and I were thinking, we need to show America what real ranch is like.

SPEAKER_06 8:14

I was telling his cousin, because his cousin is like a legit farmer, and I'm like, you need to film what you do, like vlog your days, because that is so interesting. Because I genuinely have no idea what you do. And like, if I saw a cow pop up on my feed and you're doing something with a cow or whatever you do, I don't, I don't, I literally don't even know how to like explain what video I'm about to see, but like I feel like he needs to vlog his daily life because that's what he does. Like, how cool would that be?

SPEAKER_01 8:44

But okay, so here's the thing though when you're running after a cow, so like just think of this in your head. Think of like you're on a four-wheeler, and you're like, you need all four, you know, limbs to operate this thing. You've got the clutch, you've got the brakes, you know, the the throttle, like you name it. In what world do you have like time or hands to whip out a phone and vlog this?

SPEAKER_00 9:13

This is a tripod.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

You're literally like flying through hills and mountains. I mean, four-wheelers, you flip those things like that.

SPEAKER_07 9:21

You flip them?

SPEAKER_01 9:22

A four-wheeler. Oh, yeah. No, I'm not saying you do, but like you can. If you're on a hill and you just like fly on the hill and you take a turn.

SPEAKER_06 9:33

Understood. But what if you had like that section cup thing that I have in my car that's super sturdy that's a good thing?

SPEAKER_01 9:38

Oh, it would have been gone in a heartbeat. You know how rough it is out there?

SPEAKER_06 9:43

I don't know because I've never seen a video.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Oh my gosh, yeah. I was at one point I was literally bucking four-wheeler. You know, like bucking a bronco, like bucking. What is bucking? I was going over hills like that.

unknown 9:56

Like that.

SPEAKER_05 9:57

I was so confused what bucking is.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

You know, like bucking, you know, like bull riding or bucking a bronco. B U C K.

SPEAKER_05 10:06

I understand what the term is, but I don't know what you're saying. Just bouncing?

SPEAKER_01 10:10

Yeah, just I'm not like going so fast, like you're going 50 miles an hour through the five.

SPEAKER_06 10:15

That your body is like airborne off.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

Yeah, you're going through a rough field, and you're just like, you know, just flying over.

SPEAKER_07 10:22

Chicken with your head cut off.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Yeah. No, you you're like composed, but it's just all I'm saying is like there's no way that your phone would last.

SPEAKER_06 10:32

Well, I think there's a way to get like a GoPro or something on your hand. Yeah, probably set up a tripod, like do the do the maybe calmer parts, but I would like to see it.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

I'm sorry, but what ranchers out there with a GoPro on their head?

SPEAKER_06 10:44

That's what I'm saying. This there is there is a need for this in this industry.

SPEAKER_02 10:50

Why?

SPEAKER_06 10:51

Because there's a lot of be people who do beauty and all the things like that. We need those ranchers out there filming what they do on a daily basis. I want to see it.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 11:02

Maybe I'll admire the life.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Yep.

SPEAKER_06 11:06

Anyways, Joseph's got me back on another training. So now I'm not training to adjust my words to validate his pain like you experienced a little bit earlier in this video. We've achieved that one, and he reversed that training because he ended up not liking it. So now I'm being trained because I apparently am reversing our gender roles in our marriage.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

Yeah, totally uncalled for. I okay, so here's the deal with Amanda. She's a super sweet girl and all, and has a lot of respect, but sometimes her acts of service go a little far.

SPEAKER_05 11:46

Okay, if How is that possible?

SPEAKER_01 11:49

It it you make it possible. I don't get it, but every time we walk into a building or something, I have to like race you to the door to open it. I don't get it.

SPEAKER_06 12:01

Because I love I love serving. So I love being like the door lady, and I could like hold like if I could work at a restaurant and just hold the door open for whoever walks in, which at Chick-fil-A, that was like a role sometimes that needed to be filled, and that was like my purest joy of a role. It was just holding the door open for people, closing the door, holding it open. So I do that. Whenever I go to a door, I want to hold the door open for people. I hold it open for my husband, and he flips out because he should be holding the door open. But you know, now that I think about it, I don't know if I've you don't really open my car door as often as you probably should. Or, like, you know how women like sit in their passenger seat at just being the passenger princess they are, and then the husband's supposed to walk all the way around the car to open the door for them to get out of the vehicle.

SPEAKER_01 12:51

Amanda, we just need to start from ground zero.

SPEAKER_05 12:55

I think you also need some training in in serving your wife.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

I I try, I that's a new one for me. I'm sorry. I I I'll admit the car door, I I want to do it and I'm starting to do it, but it is new. And I have, don't get me wrong, like I used to literally never do it. Yeah. So like I have gotten better.

SPEAKER_06 13:20

It's like the gift thing. He wants to get me peonies, but has he ever?

SPEAKER_01 13:25

I have once.

SPEAKER_06 13:26

You have not gotten me peonies.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

Time out, time out. Let's get back on track here.

SPEAKER_06 13:31

He gets gotten me other flowers. Apparently, every time he goes to get me peonies, they don't have them.

SPEAKER_02 13:37

They're not in season. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 13:40

I've talked to all your friends. I can't figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

So I buy myself peonies. I've talked to one of your friends that that's what they do, and that still doesn't work. Anyways, back to the door. You you gotta give me a chance. You can't race me to the door anymore. Yes. Anyways, that's the door. She also goes a step further. Whenever we're ordering at a restaurant, Amanda, every single I think it's just like a habit at this point. You just say, Oh, you go first. And then the person literally says, Oh, like, you're the lady, you go first. And then she says, No, you go first. And then I say, No, you're literally the lady here. That's not like you go first.

SPEAKER_06 14:25

That's not out of me being polite. I'm doing that because I panic last minute when I'm looking at a menu, because my food matters, which I think this should be a conversation for another day. But my food matters to me, and I want to order the right thing.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

The right hamburger?

SPEAKER_06 14:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 14:44

Because because I get in my head, because Joseph's like, you should try something other than a hamburger.

SPEAKER_06 14:49

And I'm like, oh, but I really want a hamburger and I know the burger is gonna come out good, right? So then it's like if every time I go with something different or something other than what I typically would have chosen, I end up disappointed. And if I'm spending money at a restaurant, I don't want to be disappointed. You get me? You get me? Yeah, and I'm so yeah, I panic last minute when I choose something, and then I'm like, shoot, do I want that or do I want the other thing? I don't know. And I put a lot of pressure on it being really good and perfect. So yeah, you go ahead, you go first.

SPEAKER_03 15:23

Gives me a 10 more seconds to just reconsider in my head what I'm gonna be choosing.

SPEAKER_01 15:29

Yeah, but we can tell them to come back. I'm fine waiting.

SPEAKER_03 15:33

Oh.

unknown 15:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

I don't know why we have to go right. We can literally say, oh, like come back in like a minute or two.

SPEAKER_03 15:43

I don't know. I put too much pressure on things.

SPEAKER_01 15:46

Because I'm convinced even after a minute or two, you would still do it.

SPEAKER_06 15:51

Probably. It's just me, it's me getting my last minute.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

Ah, you know. Those are the two things.

SPEAKER_06 15:59

No, there's another thing that's stressed me out about the sidewalk.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

Oh my gosh. You hug the curb.

SPEAKER_06 16:08

I do.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

You hug it, you love it.

SPEAKER_06 16:11

I do. I love the outside of the sidewalk, and Joseph gets mad, and he's always pulling me into the other side.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

I just started walking behind her. I'm I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna show you. You're just gonna walk alone.

SPEAKER_05 16:27

What? Yeah. I haven't even noticed.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

I'm just gonna walk walk behind you.

SPEAKER_05 16:32

This is your way.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

So you move over.

SPEAKER_05 16:34

This is the way to get me.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

I'm just waiting for you to scoot over.

SPEAKER_05 16:39

Well, he pulls me over so many times that I think now it's he's just over it.

SPEAKER_06 16:45

I because the man, if you don't know, the man is supposed to walk on the outside of the sidewalk to protect, like if a car comes, you know, all the things just are they out of protection.

SPEAKER_01 16:55

I don't know, because you seem to love the edge.

SPEAKER_06 16:59

I don't know why I do that. I think I'd like to look at like storefronts and look at the things on the inside, so I'm more prone to just going on the outside. But I'll I'll work on that. I can work on that one.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

Yeah, I'm not buying the whole storefront thing.

SPEAKER_06 17:13

I don't I don't know what else it is. I'll I'll keep working on that though for you. Is there anything else that I can do to serve you, my lovely husband?

SPEAKER_01 17:21

No, that's my point. I don't want you to serve me.

SPEAKER_06 17:25

Another thing he's been annoyed about is how I complain a lot and I don't, but I don't spend money. Like I complain.

SPEAKER_00 17:32

Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_06 17:33

Okay, another eye roll, here we go. Why don't you explain it since this is since this this is like my day to like for people for Joseph just get at me? So bring it. Buckle up what you got.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

So, where do I start here? Let's just start with something simple, like socks. So, Amanda, she'll run through her pair of socks, and then she'll say, Out of all the socks, oh my gosh, I need socks, they have holes in them, or like they're dirty, or they're all the same color, or I don't know, just something dumb. And I'll say, Hey Amanda, go on your phone, go on Amazon or whatever website it is, just click order, just buy the stupid things, but she doesn't do it. I don't do it, and then three weeks later, Amanda says, Oh, I hate these socks. I wish I could get new ones. And I say, Amanda, go get new ones, and she still doesn't do it. I don't get it, it's not it's not it's not even expensive things either.

SPEAKER_06 18:39

No, it's not. I just I don't like spending money on unnecessary things.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

That is the most nut you do this with food too. This is what I cannot like wrap my head around. You do the same thing with food. In my opinion, food is very uh good. I'm like fine spending more money on good food. Yep, and I think you're kind of on board with this. But the thing is though, is I'm convinced you think of food as like a complete waste of money.

SPEAKER_03 19:07

I do. I hate spending money on food every week when we grocery shop. I'm like, you don't need that, do you? Like, you don't need that. And he's like, just get it.

SPEAKER_05 19:17

I want it.

SPEAKER_06 19:18

And I'm like, you want to spend 50 more dollars on a grocery order because you're buying all organic everything?

SPEAKER_01 19:25

Yeah, I'm down.

SPEAKER_06 19:28

I mean, whenever float your boat, but like that stressed me out. So yeah, I like when we got to this trip, I didn't have a curling iron at all.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

And how long did it get take you to order a curling iron?

SPEAKER_06 19:41

Six weeks. Yeah, seven weeks?

SPEAKER_01 19:44

And how when did I say to get one?

SPEAKER_06 19:46

A week of one, but I okay, but to be fair, I really I I needed a curling iron and I was getting annoyed. And my Dyson just I love it, but it just hasn't been hitting the spot with my hair lately. It's a hit or miss sometimes, and it just has been a miss lately. And so I wanted a curling iron, and but the one that I want is obviously a little bit more expensive than like others, and I'm like, if I'm gonna spend the money, I want to spend it on one that I actually like and want. But the problem is, don't just nod your head at me.

SPEAKER_01 20:17

So I'm listening.

SPEAKER_06 20:19

But the problem is, is like I knew Amazon Prime Day was coming up, so it's gonna be on sale like end of June. So I was like, June 1st. I'm like, I'm I might as well just wait 25 days till it goes on sale. And he's like, just spend the extra money and get it.

SPEAKER_05 20:36

I don't care. You need it, just spend the money and get it.

SPEAKER_03 20:39

And I'm like, no, I can wait till Prime Day. I want it to be at least like this amount I'm spending.

SPEAKER_06 20:46

I don't even see the finances. Like, I'm not the one who does the money. This is the money man. I don't know why I care about spending maybe should I just start spending money?

SPEAKER_01 20:55

Yeah, on stuff like that, yes.

SPEAKER_06 20:57

Anyways, I waited until prime day and I got it on sale. Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_01 21:01

Which it was probably the same price.

SPEAKER_06 21:03

And now my hair is curled.

SPEAKER_01 21:04

Sales are a scam.

SPEAKER_06 21:05

Now my hair no, it wasn't. I can tell you that for sure. I saved at least $63. Wow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:11

But now my hair looks way better than it was looking before because I was just a wreck before.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

You should feel bad for me. I'm the one who had to put up with all that.

unknown 21:22

Excuse me?

SPEAKER_01 21:24

No, but I don't get it. Like you you're kind of backwards in your perspective on what you need. Like you all the things you need, you think they're a waste of money. But if we go out to dinner, that's not a waste of money.

SPEAKER_03 21:39

No.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

It's the same price as probably your hair thing. I know, but And it's a lot more expensive than socks.

SPEAKER_06 21:48

To go out to dinner?

SPEAKER_01 21:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 21:50

For sure. But that's what I would rather spend my money than on socks.

SPEAKER_01 21:55

Entertainment.

SPEAKER_06 21:56

Yeah, you know, don't right?

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Like But you don't need it. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_05 22:02

I'm just a girl and he just doesn't get it.

SPEAKER_01 22:08

I don't.

SPEAKER_05 22:09

You know what?

SPEAKER_01 22:10

I'm just dumb. Let me circle back on this later.

SPEAKER_05 22:15

Oh my god. She's been doing this thing lately where we're we'll be talking and like I'll ask a question or something and I'll be like, no.

SPEAKER_07 22:23

And he's like, stupid me. Why would I even say that? How dumb of me. How stupid could you be? And I'm like, why do you do like he's talking about himself?

SPEAKER_01 22:34

I'm like, why you make me feel it's just smart, I hope, because you're just so intelligent.

SPEAKER_05 22:42

It's a sarcasm that we constantly deal with in this marriage.

SPEAKER_01 22:47

I've had to scale it back a little lately. Yeah. Why? Because you asked me to.

SPEAKER_05 22:52

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:53

Yeah, there's been a few times.

SPEAKER_05 22:54

Lately, you've been going overboard, and I'm like, can you just like for one second like reel it in?

SPEAKER_00 23:01

Dial it back.

SPEAKER_05 23:02

Dial it back? Not be a little sarcastic about everything we talk about. Let's move on to faith. Because this week was actually so so good.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

It was on fire.

SPEAKER_05 23:16

And fuego.

SPEAKER_01 23:16

Yeah, literally. That was the name of the whole like series.

SPEAKER_06 23:20

Yeah, so we at our church um in Texas. We're still in California, but we've been watching the services online and we've been going to California Church too.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

Let me just say too, Lake Point is such a good church.

SPEAKER_06 23:33

It is. I think, yeah. I and I love I yeah, yeah. Like all I think. I like Arlington Church too.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Yeah, I like other churches and everything, but Lake Point has got it dialed in.

SPEAKER_06 23:46

I think they've they Lake Point is what made me go from a lukewarm Christian to not afraid to go all out and like I don't care what people think of me. This is this is who I am. This my identity is found in Christ. And like let's go.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

And the I think also, too, it's not just one person. Like their lead pastor is obviously great and all, but even like this in Fuego series was um taught by a different pastor, Mike. Yeah, Mike Bro. Incredible, yeah, phenomenal. Joseph loves like I love that guy. He seems like the most wise guy when it comes to like his faith in Jesus and stuff.

SPEAKER_06 24:29

Well, anyways, he has a different approach too. He's very calm, and you can tell he's like the his he is he's a dad of like adult children, and so it's like it's cool to see a different perspective from another pastor and like get a different approach to the way he preaches. Um, go on.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

No, I just I love that all the people there, it's a huge church.

SPEAKER_06 24:52

Yeah, if you're ever in the Dallas area and you want to go to an awesome church, go to Rockwall and go to Lake Point Church. Um, that campus, that church, it's incredible. It's a massive church, so get there early so you can find parking because there's like 7,000 people in the church service. Um, but they've got multiple church services, and it is it is just fire. Like you leave feeling convicted, you leave feeling like motivated to pick up your Bible every single day. You leave, and you're like, dang, like there is so much more to life than like what we're just living, you know? Yeah, and it's it's so good. I think it's changed me and you and made us better people.

SPEAKER_01 25:33

I mean, I gave my life to Christ there. Yeah, that was the church, and it was like week two. The second week I was there. What's crazy too is like sorry to like go on a rant about a church, but like all growing up and stuff, we would go to churches that were like decent size, but nothing crazy. And um, and then this was the first church we've been to that was like real large. And I'm out there raising my hands, like giving my life to Christ, like you name it. It's like the number of people, like you would think like the bigger the church, you'd be more intimidated. You name it. Yeah, but it was like it was such like the Holy Spirit lives in that building and in that church so much that you just feel his presence. Like it's just I don't know. I've never experienced it.

SPEAKER_06 26:23

Yeah, I think it's really it's a special, it's a special place for sure.

SPEAKER_01 26:26

Even when you're not there and it's online, like you still feel it.

SPEAKER_06 26:29

Yeah, God's moving. It's it's really, really cool. If you're in the area, I highly recommend going, even if you're not like a mega church person. It's it's just even listening to worship and just feeling the Holy Spirit. Like you, I think there was one point where we were going and I was crying like every single week we would go. It was just like that powerful that I was just like in tears every single week. Um, and then yeah, it's we come to California and I'm like, dang, like I need that conviction. And I I I love it. I love it so much. Anyways, so this series is called En Fuego, and I think it was like series number four or whatever, like that they're on right now. Um, and it is it's all about like walking through the fires and how Christ like guides you through the fires of life. And um I just found it so interesting, like as we've experienced different things in life. Like this the pastor talked a lot about like how gold, when gold gets refined, it goes or purified, it goes through like a refining machine or whatever, and it goes in fire. Fire separates all the impurities and rises those, makes those rise to the top, and then they clear the impurities from the gold, and then they re-put it back in the thing again and again and again until the entire the piece of gold is so pure that you can see the refiner can see his reflection in it. And that was like the coolest thing ever to me to like relate that to God. And when we walk through fires of life, how all these fires that he's bringing us through are just purifying us and refining us more and more and more, and all of those impurities are rising to the surface, and we're becoming free of those impurities. He's making us more pure and pure so that he can look down on us and see his reflection, the reflection of Christ in us.

SPEAKER_01 28:29

Like, boom.

SPEAKER_06 28:32

Like I literally, oh, I just touched my mic, sorry. I literally was watching the service from the couch, and my tears were just flooding my face because I was just like, yes. Yeah, well, that is yes.

SPEAKER_01 28:45

And it was like I don't know, it's just such a different perspective, too, on going through fire and tough times. And like, I think the the the basis of the whole story was um it was Daniel Daniel's three buddies, like I forget their names.

SPEAKER_06 29:02

Rakshack and Benny from the Veggie Tales.

SPEAKER_01 29:04

Yes, those guys and how they uh they were going up, they disobeyed King Nebuchadnezzar. Yes, Nebuchadnezzar. Maybe Nebuchadnezzar. Anyways, no, I don't know. Nebuchadnezzar.

SPEAKER_06 29:17

Nebuchadnezzar?

SPEAKER_01 29:19

Yeah, but anyways, they he he wanted them to worship an idol, and they refused because they were more they had more fear in God than this person. And so they the king said, Well, I'm gonna throw you in a burning pit of fire if you don't do this. And they said, Alright, like we have more faith in our God than yours, pretty much.

SPEAKER_06 29:41

And they said, Whether may his will be done, whether he saves us or not, like we know that we can make it through this fire.

SPEAKER_01 29:49

Like, like Yeah, sorry, I'm like confident that but the the I think one really good perspective there though was that they you know, like if someone said had a gun to your head and they said, like, hey, if you tell me that you believe in Jesus, sorry, I'm like pointing gun at you. Uh, if you believe in Jesus, like I'm gonna shoot you in the head, would you be scared? Because I would probably be scared.

SPEAKER_06 30:17

It makes me think though, like it makes me think, like, what would you do in that position? And do you remember there was this little girl at a school? I can't remember where it was, what time, what when it was? It was like Houston or there was this little girl at this school, yeah, maybe somewhere in Texas, and this shooter came into the school and was like angry at Christians or something. I don't even know the whole situation, but I just remember hearing that he went up to a little girl and he had a gun to her head and he said, Do you believe in Jesus or whatever? Like, if you believe in Jesus, I'm gonna kill you. And she said, Jesus is king or something, like I believe in Jesus, and he killed her. But like, imagine the place she's in now.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

Well, yeah, now she's in the I'm gonna cry right now. Like in his presence.

SPEAKER_06 31:02

Can you imagine that? Like, strong of faith. I'm literally getting like teared up over this because it's like, yeah, dang, that's such a crazy position to be in. Like, and to on the spot have a gun to your head and still have faith in God, full faith, and know that your life is about to be taken, yeah, but you have everlasting life just ahead of you.

SPEAKER_01 31:23

Like well, and that would that was the interesting thing apart about the message. It was like, you know, because fires like you can go through a fire that could kill you, like you could have a car wreck or something, and it's like, but if you don't make it out of it, like you're with the you're with Jesus. Yeah, you're in his presence. And I know that's really tough for like the family members or whoever I couldn't imagine if I don't even want to think about it if like you passed away, but like I there'd be so much peace knowing that I I would probably just be jealous, not gonna lie.

SPEAKER_07 32:00

That I got to have the stage feelings first.

SPEAKER_01 32:03

Jealous, like, oh wow, that nice for you.

SPEAKER_06 32:06

No, but he did say his wife, his wife had told him that sometimes God delivers us from the fire, sometimes through the fire, and sometimes by the fire, straight into his arms. So, like, sometimes he'll deliver us through a fire that we're going through. And these aren't real fires, these are like trials and challenges and big things that we face in life. Like, sometimes he'll deliver us from those and move for we get to move forward through those. Sometimes he'll deliver us, or sometimes through the fire, like we'll have to work through the fire to get there, and then sometimes by the fire straight into his arms, we'll be delivered, which is what happened to that little girl, unfortunately, but also fortunate for her because wow, God is probably so proud, you know. Like, I can only imagine.

SPEAKER_01 32:53

Yeah, and I think like back to this uh veggie tale story, yeah. It like the whole it's not Veggie Tales, uh it's a real biblical story, but Veggie Tales calls Veggies. But it's yeah, I think it's in Daniel. Makes it a little out of uh chapter three or something. But um the the so they threw the three guys that refused to obey the the king into this fire, and um they what is it? They were they were like the king then saw them just like walking around in the fire. They saw four men just but yeah, that was the crazy thing. I didn't I never knew this either. The king then saw four though, not three, and there's uh you know it I don't know if it says this in the Bible, but there's thought that um that that fourth was Jesus because it was in the Old Testament, so um like it's so Jesus hadn't come yet, yeah, or at least on earth, and so um, but maybe that was like the Holy Spirit or or the presence of Jesus there, and so that I was like, Whoa, that's crazy. But it's kind of cool though how you can see like little bits and pieces of Jesus. Um it's kind of hard to see, but like the is it foreshadowing or so in the old testament? But anyways, these people then uh these three guys then got out of the fire, and all these people were like, you know, stunned. But it it just goes to show, like, I mean, so many things, like God's so powerful. Um, like how if you obey him, like you'll be fine whether you're delivered or you know, delivered to him.

SPEAKER_06 34:33

I think it's cool that um he also mentioned that in the Bible it talks about how they were tied up and then thrown into the fire, and then nothing, like their clothes, nothing was burnt in the fire except the ropes that were chaining them down that had tied them up, and that was the only thing that was burned. So when they were out of the fire, they were set free from those chains. Didn't even smell of smoke, didn't smell of smoke, like that's crazy because I go to Texas barbecue and I leave and I'm like stanky that it's in my hair for four days.

SPEAKER_01 35:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 35:07

So, like, that's incredible. Like, that fire didn't even touch them.

SPEAKER_01 35:12

I don't know, that whole service was the service was absolutely incredible.

SPEAKER_06 35:16

I always link the church services that we talk about in the details or the caption for you guys because it's that good that it's like, man, I want y'all to experience this and see this. So watch that. There's also a podcast that our um pastor does that ties along with the service so that you can get a little bit more out of the sermon than just the like 40 minutes that you get there. He goes into more details, talks more into everything. Those are long, they're like two hours, I think. They're really long, but they're really good. Um, but yeah, this was a great service. I also thought it was just, I just thought the entire thing was incredible to see how God just refines us through all of these trials and challenges that we go through. Like it's not, it's not, they're not a source of punishment. It's not anything that we're doing that we deserve. It's God working on us to make us more like him. And if you think of Christ and when Jesus was here, he hello, sir. You're into it now, huh?

SPEAKER_01 36:22

Raises up from the city.

SPEAKER_06 36:23

Cooper, if you're listening, Cooper just sat up, my dog, he just sat up and is all into it. Yeah. So um, but it it reminds me of Jesus when Jesus came here and he died on the cross for our sins, he went through the ultimate sacrifice for all of us so that we could live everlasting life. And that's what we're having to do on a daily basis is he's we're going through challenges, not as much as what he went through as the perfect man, but we're going through these challenges and trials and stuff so that we can become more like Christ every day.

SPEAKER_01 36:56

Well, okay, sorry, what was the one note you had on the top right?

SPEAKER_06 37:00

You're not being punished, you're being purified.

SPEAKER_01 37:03

That I okay, this sorry, this this message had like multiple different things, and we're kind of like jumping around, which is why I think you should watch it. But like this was another thing that like stood out so much to me because I don't know how well I know you're like this too, but like whenever we have something that um you know might be bad that happens to us, I feel like as humans you try and like justify or understand why that happened, and then you know, you think, oh, I did this, so this is happening. And because of all that, you create guilt.

SPEAKER_06 37:41

You're like, oh my gosh, like if I wouldn't have sinned, or if I wouldn't have done this, if I wouldn't have talked back to this person or whatever it was, reacted this way, maybe this wouldn't be happening to you.

SPEAKER_01 37:52

And I feel like this message helped a understand a lot of um the guilt aspect of it and how not to have guilt. Like just because something bad happened in your life, like that's not like because it you did something, or not always, because you did something bad or something. Maybe it's just like God has a fire that He needs you to go through, and you know, it could be for any like you just have no idea. For somebody else to get saved, but it's it's like the this I don't know, like this helped me understand uh guilt and like releasing a lot of guilt when I thought it was like had you know something to do with the punishment or whatever it was, and I don't know that that actually probably is my biggest takeaway out of that entire message, yeah, was that little piece of it because that helped me a lot.

SPEAKER_06 38:48

Yeah, no, it helped me in so many different ways, just like grasp going through these challenges of life and how there's just so much more purpose to each of them, like God and how God is with us through everything. Like, I was literally like, who can I send this this message to right now? Because it was so good.

SPEAKER_01 39:06

I think both of us like reading.

SPEAKER_06 39:08

We immediately were like texting people that were in our head that would like love this because it's like, gosh, these fires that we go through, they suck, and it's it's not fun that we get to we have to go through these trials and these things in life, but these fires bring us closer to God, they make us more like Christ, they purify us, and like when you see somebody going through the fires of life and then you see all their impurities rising to the surface and being scraped off by the living God, like wow, that is so cool. It's like that wine glass. Have you ever seen that wine glass trend where it's like you have a glass of wine, and the more there there's water being like just constantly poured into this glass of wine that's cleansing the glass, right? Well, it just gets lighter and lighter red, lighter red, lighter red, and it takes a long time to like fully heal so that that glass of wine is pure water, right? So it's just like that, like it's like we have to go through that, and Christ has to be in it with us for us to be fully purified.

SPEAKER_01 40:14

Yeah, that's so good. But I mean, he get the thing is though, is if like we all have these fires, but if you have Christ, like he helps you through the fire, he helps you through the fire like that's the that's the biggest thing. Like, because there's a lot of like fires that could pull you down and keep you down, too. You might blame you. If you have nothing, yeah, if you've got nothing like God to help you back up, so it's I think that's also important is like you really gotta lean on him.

SPEAKER_06 40:45

Yeah, it's so good. Anyways, thank you so much for watching this episode. Please drop comments, like, subscribe, all of the things because that does help us out. And we are just so excited about this podcast. I feel like we love it and we just get a kick out of it every single week. So thank you for joining us and being a part of it with us. Let us know if there's if you have any questions. I think next week we'll do a QA on the faith portion. So if you have any questions about your faith, about um anything, please let us know because we want to help answer those as best we can. We're just impure humans too. So we'll try to help how we can. But anyways, like, subscribe. Thank you guys so much. Um, we're gonna pray us out and then say our goodbyes. Thank you. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this podcast and thank you for this service that you brought us last week, talking about in fuego, talking about all these trials and challenges and the fires that we have to walk through on this sinful earth, Lord. And I thank you for the constant reminder that you are in our lives and you walk through these fires with us, and we don't have to do all this alone. We don't have to walk through these burdens of life alone, and that you are present in it all, Lord. So I just pray that you allow the person behind the screen, no matter what fire they may be going through, if they're going through one, that you can open up their hearts and their minds to allowing you to walk through it with them, Lord. I pray that whatever it is that they're going through, that they can be delivered from it. And I pray that we can just go through this week with our hearts and our eyes set on you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 42:23

Amen.