Behind The Mike Podcast
Behind The Mike Podcast is a Christ-centered show where host Mike Stone dives deep into inspiring stories and profound insights from guests who view life through a biblical lens. Each episode offers hope, encouragement and wisdom to help you navigate life's challenges with faith and purpose.
Tune in for conversations that uplift your spirit and strengthen your walk with Christ.
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Behind The Mike Podcast
#021 - Trudy Cathy White | Chick-fil-A | “Never Give Up!”
This week’s episode is titled, “Never Give Up!”—a theme that was instilled in today’s guest by her mother. You may have heard about Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, through his books, interviews, and articles. But you probably didn’t know that Truett attributed much of the success of Chick-fil-A to his wife, Jeanette.
I recently had the privilege of having a conversation with Trudy Cathy White, the only daughter of Truett & Jeanette Cathy. Trudy and I will be talking her new book, “A Quiet Strength” a memoir of her mother.
Throughout our conversation together, you will hear stories from Trudy about how Chick-fil-A really got started, the leadership principles that propel the organization, and the “secret sauce” behind the success of Chick-fil-A (hint: it’s has nothing to do with chicken), and really the secret to being successful in life.
We discuss the influence that we all have in life, how to leave your legacy, and living each day with purpose!
Trudy released a new book this spring, “A Quiet Strength: The Life and Legacy of Jeanette M. Cathy”. We also talked about her book, which describes at not only a memoir of her mother, but also ‘shares Jeanette’s often unbelievable misadventures raising three children on the Cathy farm—from beekeeping fiascos to regularly chasing a pony, a parrot, and a monkey around her living room.’ Wow, and I thought I had a fun childhood!
Again, our conversation centers around Jeanette Cathy’s theme of “Never Give Up!”. If you struggling to find purpose and meaning in your life, my conversation with Trudy will encourage you to not only find your life’s purpose—because we all have one—but to live it out with passion!
So sit back, take a breather from your day and listen to my interview with Trudy Cathy White…you’ll be glad you did!
RESOURCES:
Trudy Cathy White website
Trudy's Book, "A Quiet Strength"
WinShape Foundation
Lifeshape
Impact 360 Institute
Chick-fil-A
Well hello and welcome to another episode of Behind the Mike: Conversations of Hope. This week's episode is titled, "Never Give Up." It's a theme that was instilled in today's guests by her mother. You may have heard about Truett Cathy the founder of Chick-fil-A through his books, interviews and articles but you probably didn't know that true it attributed much of his success in chick fil a to his wife, Jeanette, I recently had the privilege of having a conversation with Trudy Cathy White, the only daughter of true it and Jeanette Cathy. Throughout our conversation together you will hear stories from Trudy about how chick fil a really got started the leadership principles that propel the organization and the secret sauce behind the success of chick fil a and hint. It has nothing to do with chicken. Really she talks about the secret to being successful in life. We discussed the influence that we all have in Life how to leave your legacy and living each day with purpose. Now, Trudy released a new book this spring called a quiet strength, the life and legacy of Jeanette M. Cathy, which describes not only the memoir of her mother but also as she puts it, chairs genets often unbelievable misadventures, raising three children on the Cathy farm from beekeeping fiascos to regularly chasing a pony, a parrot, and a monkey around her living room. Wow. And I thought I had a fun childhood. Again, our conversation centers around Jeanette Cathy's theme of never give up. If you're struggling to find purpose and meaning in your life. My conversation with Trudy will encourage you not only to find your life's purpose, because we all have one, but also to live it out with passion. So sit back, take a breather from your day and listen to my interview with Trudy Cathy White. You'll Be glad you did. Well, Trudy Welcome to the podcast. And thank you so much for joining us today.
Trudy Cathy White :Thank you, Mike. It's a joy to be here with you. I'm honored to have this time to share together.
Mike Stone :Well, I'm excited to talk to you. We got several things that we want to touch on. So your dad is as truett. Cathy, most people are recognize that name from chick fil a. At 19 years old, you became an operator of a new chick fil a restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama. And you just graduated from Samford University at that time.
Trudy Cathy White :Yeah, I did. Actually. I tell people that was my first paid job that I got with chick fil a actually, when brothers and I were quite young, we got to go to my dad's restaurant and we would sing for the customers. We didn't get paid for the singing. I've been a part of the family business from the time we think quite young, but yeah, it was nice. 10 years old, I had just finished my freshman year at Samford in Birmingham, Alabama, and was just in a conversation with my dad and he was looking for an operator in that area for a new chick fil a store we were going to be opening and I told him you know, Dad, I could totally run that restaurant for you if you'd like for me to do that. I thought, you know, 19 years old, I could take on the whole world I could help my dad out and it was just a really quick conversation honestly that we have. And my that my dad allowed me to open it was a brand new restaurant, open it at Central Plaza mall, there in Birmingham. So I moved out of the dorm, found me an apartment right next to the shopping shopping mall, and began to open that restaurant. My dad told me that I had to turn it back into the company at the end of the year, because he wanted me to finish my college degree. He also told me I couldn't call him crying when I had problems, you know, kind of follow the chain of command and that had to go through training just like all of our operators. But a great thing about that years of experience. Working in the restaurant was the fact that a young fella came in, who was attending a local college and came in applied for a job. And while he was actually filling out his application, I knew right then that I was going to hire him. Because I didn't know anything about him. I didn't know his name, but I knew he was good looking. And you're all I figured, you know, why not? You know, so
Mike Stone :you pre qualified.
Unknown Speaker :Well, I hired him and he came on and worked in the in the restaurant. And the more he was in the store, the more attracted I was to him and realize that you're actually was kind of falling in love with this guy. And yet, I couldn't focus on that. And I was very dedicated to my work and working promoting the clothes and then I realized I was his boss. I was making out his work schedule, so he didn't have to be free on Friday nights, or Saturday nights to go out with other girls. And the strategy worked. John and I've been married now for 43 years. So that was one of my big takeaways from my year there at chick fil a in Birmingham was finding my lifelong gardener
Mike Stone :and adjusting the schedule and make that work. Yeah. Well, that's that's one of the perks. Right, operator. So now you and john 43 years of marriage, that's, that's quite amazing. And you and john are co-founders of two organizations that focus on young people LifeShape is one and Impact 360 Institute is another. Can you tell us a little bit about those?
Trudy Cathy White :Yeah, you know, it seems like God uses all experiences in our life to allow us to discover our passions that we have, and out of the experiences that john and I've had through the years, we rise we have a real passion for the next generation, and how we might influence and impact their lives. And so impact 360 Institute was founded about 14 years ago as an opportunity for us to invest in the lives of young people coming right out of high school before they go to college between the ages of 18 and 20. It's a nine month program. people refer to it as a gap year program to calm and under Stand, how we can cultivate them as followers of Christ, we want to help them to go deeper in their relationship with the Lord. We want to help them to be all that God has called them to be, and to be able to live out their faith, wherever they are in the marketplace. And we just really have a burden to help young people who are headed into college and oftentimes, you'll read all kinds of statistics that say that young people often even being raised in a Christian home that when they go to college, they walk away from from their faith or they have they don't have clarity about truth. And so this program is really designed to help them to really get focused on that and kind of get them grounded before they head to college. We'd love the opportunity to invest in the next generation.
Mike Stone :So important I mean, I've got two teens myself and you know, I, I pray all the time for him because it society has changed so much from when you and I were growing up, and it's a challenge really, really is a challenge for for high school kids. Moving on out into their in their own little worlds. And so that's a great organization and I'm so I'm so excited to hear you guys are doing that in life shape as the other.
Trudy Cathy White :Yeah and live shape as well as a nonprofit really is made available for chick fil a operators to have an opportunity to impact globally traveled to other parts of the country to be able to share mostly about your leadership program that we offer at chick fil a it's called servant leadership and just how you know that if you're going to learn to lead really well you're going to have to learn how to serve well. And so we enjoy the opportunity just to invest and partner with other organizations in other countries that are trying to build their leadership and really understand what it means to serve and serve. Well.
Mike Stone :Yeah. Yeah, Jesus taught us very well that being a leader is all about serving. And that's what I love about chick fil a. I'm a huge fan of chick fil a. Listen, the food's great. We all know that. But I'm always I'm always so impressed at the level of Customer Service that I received now I was just there last night I had a Bible study and I ran through after Bible study because it's on the way home and I went through there and so you know the COVID thing now it's it's we're still in Ohio we're still not dining in yet, even though some restaurants are. chick fil a is not. But they have a great system of you know, you order on your mobile app. And it's, it's pretty much ready when you get there and it's waiting on a rack. So you walk in and you grab it off your names on there, grab it off the rack, and there's a table that has a nice little floral arrangement and two baskets, one with a little thing of candy and one sugar free candy and it's like those extra little touches. It's like it really is all about the customer. You know, sealing the bag with the sticker. I don't want anybody messing with my food while it's there. If it's there before I am and and when we are dining in people coming around with a smile on their face. Can I can I get your refill? Can I take your trash i mean i I love customer service and I never am disappointed at chick fil a. And I have to give a shout out. September 2018 Findlay, Ohio where I live we got our chick fil a. And so huge shout out to Paul the operator there and everybody at chick fil a in Findlay, Ohio. Just so impressive and so so I'm excited to dig into the conversation
Unknown Speaker :well really appreciate those kind words that one of the things that we've realized over the years and growing the business that biblical principles work in every area of life, particularly in your business decisions that you have to make and so there are really no secrets to what we're doing. We're just trying to pull from truths of God's Word that help us to understand you know these principles and put them into practice like treating others the way they want to be treated. This idea of going the second mile when you find candy and a basket or stickers on your on your bag and stuff. It's just, you know, how are we able to go over beyond what people are expecting. versa and that is pulled right from from God's word. Even Jesus Himself challenged the people that, you know, when you're asked to do one thing, you know, can you go an extra mile on this? And so that's what we really are trying to do. And, you know, shout out to your local Chick-fil-A operator, because they are just unbelievable on how they're wanting to develop their team members that are working with them in the stores, how they're investing in their community, and just a wonderful, wonderful service that they're given. We're so appreciative to their hard work and their commitment.
Mike Stone :Yeah, yeah. Love it, and I'm never disappointed. So I want to talk though, about our focus our conversation today on a new project that you have on on March 10 2020. This year, you released a book called A Quiet Strength, the Life and Legacy of Jeanette M. Cathy, your mom. All the experiences you've had and everything that's happened in your life. Why do you write a book about your mother?
Unknown Speaker :Yeah, well, you know, Mike its weird. Just talking a lot of people know about my dad Truett Cathy, they know he's the founder of Chick-fil-A, you can read a lot about him online, you can get some of his books and know a lot about him. But very few people have ever had the privilege of knowing my mother. And there's this wonderful quote that says everything that is seen is the result of the unseen. And all of our family recognizes the fact that had it not been for our mother. We're not sure that chick fil a would be what it is today. And so it just seemed like the Lord took her home about five years ago at the age of 92. And it just seemed like it was time to tell her story and help people to know who she was because she was such a critical champions a critical role in our family. She was an influencer in my dad's life, and our family's life and of course, in our in our family business. She built her life around this kind of motto that says you can with God, and it was that positive attitude and relationship with Jesus that really gave her the st and the drive to do so many things and to encourage our families so we attribute so much of chick fil a today even we were just talking about southern hospitality. My mother was really really great at that and implemented it in our own home as we were growing up a lot of things you see in chick fil a are the result of a lot of things that she encouraged my dad in those areas.
Mike Stone :That's amazing. And you know, you've heard the expression behind every what successful man. It sounds to me like it's very true. I can't wait to get my hands on your book and read because the more research that I've done about you and your family, I mean it it just lends itself to you know, it wasn't just your dad in fact, it was your dad and and your uncle who started the chick fil a which was not called chick fil a.
Unknown Speaker :That's exactly right. Yeah, my dad was just 25 years old when he opened his first restaurant single and went into business partner with his brother bn and about Three years later, dad died tragically in a plane crash and so left my dad holding out a loan to the bank. And this little restaurant is just a small little diner restaurant still open today, here in Atlanta, Georgia. And so when my mom and dad got married three years later, after my dad opened this restaurant in 1948, mother's first role alongside of him was to serve as a waitress in that in that little restaurant, so actually, people forget this story, the fact that my dad really ran this restaurant for almost 20 years, learning how to take care of customers how to serve good food, and chick fil a didn't come along till much later. He didn't admit to play till 1964.
Mike Stone :Wow. Incredible. Lots of history there. If you know anything about chick fil a at all, you probably know one thing and that's that they're closed on Sunday. Now. I'm not a business guy, but common sense as if you're making money on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Why not stay open on Sunday, but that was very important to your family. Tell us about that.
Trudy Cathy White :You know, it really was when my dad opened his restaurant as a single fella at the age of 25. In 1946, it was a 24 hour operation because of where the restaurant was they were the Atlanta airport was about five minutes from there, the Ford plant was just down the road. And so the shift change was happening all throughout the night. So he decided to open it up as a 24 hour restaurant. So literally, at the end of that first week, when Sunday rolled around, my dad was physically exhausted, and decided that he just didn't want to have to be open. On Sunday later, he realized that was probably the best business decision that he ever made. And it wasn't so much spiritual at the beginning. But as time went on, my dad realized that my mom as well that this is a way to really honor God and we wanted to be consistent in that so we've never opened any of our restaurants on Sunday. We never plan to. We do encourage people like yourself to eat twice as much On Monday since we're closed on Sunday, but honestly, people can understand this better when I kind of tell them that, you know, we really aren't in the chicken business. The secret is we're in the people business. And we care for our people very deeply. And I think people appreciate the fact that they know they can have that day off and have time with their family. I know. We sure appreciate it as children growing up. We knew that Sunday was the day for sure. My dad was going to be home all day long with the family and we appreciated that.
Mike Stone :Yeah. Well, I can assure you that I do my share of making up for Sunday's although, although there are so many times we leave church and we go let's go to chick fil a and my kids will go Can't you know and you forget, but but we deal with it. And we love that you guys do that. So tell us what, how faith worked in your family, especially with your mom what your book has to say about that?
Trudy Cathy White :Yeah, in my book, a quiet street. I share the story of my mom's life when she was when she was quite young. She was an only child. She was raised by a single mom and her dad walked away on her when she was a baby in arms. So she never later eyes on her earthly father, she never had him around for anything in life. But when she was about five or six years old, someone introduced her to her Heavenly Father. In God's word, it says that if you believe and receive, you have the right to become a child of gods, and she was just amazed by the fact that she actually could have a father who would be your heavenly Father. And she would say, don't feel sorry for me because I had a perfect father, something not all of us can say about our own fathers. And that began a very personal, intimate walk with the Lord. She was a follower of Christ from the time she was a young girl and she lived out her faith. The thing that I learned most from my mom was watching her, how she really it was an act of trust. That's really the way I define faith is an active Trust in the Lord, day in and day out for the big things. And even the little things. You know, it wasn't unusual at all for me to be riding in the car with my mom. And she would look out the window and she would say, Oh, thank you, father for these beautiful clouds you put in the sky for us to enjoy today as we head downtown to Atlanta, and sometimes I hadn't even looked up to notice the clouds. She reminded me of the beauty that God has created around us or even maybe in her house, she would say out loud, she would say, Now, Father, I have no idea where I put my remote on the TV, but you know where it is, and you can help me find it. And so just watching her talk freely to her Heavenly Father, to watch her trust in Him. To go to Him in prayer was an amazing thing. And it really encouraged me as well.
Mike Stone :Your life as a believer in Jesus is about living that out very practically. And it sounds like that's exactly what she did. Like when we talk about God is always with us. She recognized that That in kind of the extension of, of responding back and knowing that I can have a conversation with him in the car or in the living room when I lost the remote. To some people that may seem silly, but when you have a relationship with anyone, that's the kind of thing you do is you have a conversation and I think of praying without ceasing. And sounds to me like that's how your mother lived her life. And certainly then as, as she's raising children, you guys are seeing that you're seeing it lived out 24/7, and that has to make a huge impact on you. And it's not just lip service, but it's actually being lived out.
Trudy Cathy White :Yeah, you know, we my mother demonstrated for us what it means to have a dependency on the Lord and it carried through sometimes my dad would come home he would be discouraged from work, we all have days that aren't such good days and, and he was very open to share those with us as His children to his wife and mother would often be the ones that say let's just stop and pray about this and just to take those problems to the Lord can bring a real sense of comfort and peace inwardly to us that that we need is what God wants to provide for us to know that he's always there for us. And he's always there, you know, to help us. So I'm very thankful for a mom that lived out her faith before us as children. In fact, I often tell parents that, you know, as parents, I've raised four children, I know that sometimes we feel like, Oh my goodness, I don't think they're listening to me, we tell them over and over and over, you know, we get a little frustrated, and we think, oh, they're not listening. And, you know, I like to remind parents, you probably need to be a little bit more concerned about the fact that they are watching you. And they will learn a lot more by the example that you put before them, probably more so than the words that you say to them. So having watched them a mother live out our faith before us growing up has been tremendously helpful. It's helped me in my own personal life. It's helped me in my mom to strengthen my marriage has helped me to be a better mother, to my own children and even now to help my grandchildren.
Mike Stone :Yeah. Wow, amazing. Uh, now you alluded to the fact that your mom was involved kind of behind the scenes in the whole chick fil a beginning thing and that she was a waitress. But I would love to hear in some other ways that your mother was a part of, of that behind the scenes you mentioned, like the little things that we see in chick fil a today. More than likely, your mother had a part in that. So I would love to hear some stories and some some things that some ways that your mother was involved behind the guy that was doing all the work. I have a feeling that there was more there than what we might might realize.
Trudy Cathy White :Yeah, well, you know, our whole family has often given my mother the title of the chief supporting officer in our company. And honestly, of all the roles that people play. It was the most critical role that my dad needed. And that was the fact that she gave him relentless support all these years, all these years from Making sure he had clean shirt to wear to work, to traveling with him to engagements and speaking engagements to praying for him when times were difficult, and when times were really, really challenging and trying to help balance this idea of using biblical principles to put them into our, our business practices. So, you know, I think sometimes in our culture today, we feel like that if we aren't on stage or in the spotlight or holding the microphone, that we don't have an opportunity of influence, but it's just not true. Anytime that we can come along somebody and support them and encourage them, it really makes all the difference in the world. So my dad attributes so much of the success of this business to a wife who supported him and encouraged him now my mother wasn't a perfect wife. My dad wasn't a perfect husband by any means that everybody get the wrong impression, but they were very committed to one another, and they were committed to helping and they were They were really a team. And they worked really well together. So it's just just amazing. We all more than once have said, had it not been for our Mother, I'm not sure chicken typically would be what it is today, but my mother's kind of life verse, If you could call it that really came from Philippians that says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And that and that philosophy or that idea that truth really permeated every part of my mom's life and spilled over into my dad and even into the business. Sure.
Mike Stone :Yeah. So along those same lines, I would imagine, especially as an operator at 19 years old running the restaurant in Birmingham, I would imagine your your father taught you a great deal about business. But I also I also believe that there were principles that you learn business principles from that you learn from your mother Is that correct?
Trudy Cathy White :Yeah, most definitely. You know, one of the things that my mother had a habit of doing. When we were growing up as we would walk out the back door of the house headed to school or to some kind of event, mother often would make the remarks she would say, remember who you are, and who you are. That was really important for us to hear, particularly in our teenage years to realize that life is not all about us. That we realized that our identity is really defined by who Christ says that we are that we were created in his image that he loves us that we can be his children. And it's not about who I'm related to. It's not about what I have. It's not about what I what I do, but it's about who God is. And so my mother realized that from an early age that it was important for us to know that and I think in a business, it's equally important that we understand who we are, and who's we are, you know, we would define that probably around this idea of our purpose, to kind of know your why. I know why you exist. And you know, at chick fil a we we are very purpose driven. We know why we're in business. And we're in business to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that's entrusted to us, and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with chick fil a. So that was our driving purpose. Every day and my mother was really adamant about the fact that we, we understood what that was all about, and that we were we were focused on the purpose that God had given us for on life. But I think another principle that's important in business that I learned from my mom, is this idea of to never quit, you know, to never give up. hard days are going to come challenges. Yeah, you're going to be faced with them. Everybody's not going to like everything you're doing, you know, but never give up. But mother would continue to say, but know when to quit, which almost seems contradictory. But actually, there are seasons in life where you have to realize that you know what, I need to set this aside, because right now I need to focus on the essence is a season right now that I've got to give extra focus to something so you've got to know when To quit or when to set some things aside, you need to understand your priorities and balance those really, really well. So never give up. But know when to quit.
Mike Stone :That's great advice. I think that especially in our society today, we talk a lot about not being a quitter. And so sometimes even as believers, sometimes we keep pushing when God's saying, you know, you're pushing up against a wall here, I don't want you to go any further. So I think that's great advice. And I honestly, I don't know that I've ever heard that before. But I think that, you know, Ecclesiastes is I'm, immediately think of Ecclesiastes, there's a time for everything. And, you know, that's, I think that's wisdom in if you're walking with the Lord, knowing when it's time to say this, it's time to stop, it's time to quit. I think that's great advice. I would love to know if there's anything about your mother that you can share with us that might surprise us, you know, some, some secret that nobody else knows about or something just be between us. We won't tell anybody.
Trudy Cathy White :By not even writing in the book, but my mother was a tremendous problem solver. She had her own set of tools. Maybe people think that of her. She certainly could have called to get repairman in. But we live way out in the country south of Atlanta. And it actually was kind of hard to get people in those early years to come and fix things. And so she decided if she had plumbing issues, she was going to figure out how to fix the plumbing, and electrical problems, appliances, if they broke down, she would try to fix them herself. So she created her own whole whole kit of tools. And she threatened any of us, you know, to touch those tools because she wanted to make sure she had them always readily available for her to fix the exam. She was really adamant about trying to make sure that when my dad would come home from work, she knew that he would be tired, and she didn't want to have to come home to a big long honey do list. And so she tried to just figure out how to fix things. Plus, she just she loved learning. She was really known as a life Long learner. Some of the things that I may or may not admitted in my book, I know that I mentioned that at 65. She decided she loved to be an artist. And so she bought some canvas and holes and she became a self taught artist. He never took any lessons but she did some beautiful, beautiful work. And then at 80 she decided she'd like to have her own computer and try to navigate the technical world with it with a computer and then I think it was about the age of 90 she decided that she noticed everybody using these iPhones and hers was a flip phone. And she told my brother I said you I want you to buy me one of those new phones everybody else has so she could learn how to use that. So she was a lifelong learner and the thing that we admire so much about my mom was the fact that she was just tackle just about anything. So she was a great problem solver.
Mike Stone :That's amazing at 90 and not not being my mom. I have to say my mom is in her 70s and when the iPad we're like mom, you really should and the iPhone. You know, Mom, you really And she was just she would push back. Now I think that's normal, 90 years of age to say, Hey, give me one of them. We want to try that out. That's pretty amazing. And that truly is an example of a lifelong learner. I love that. I'm a tech guy. So I especially love that. So I have to ask you, Trudy, when the refrigerator breaks down, do you pull out your toolkit and tear into it?
Trudy Cathy White :I am so not like that. I am. I like quick to call John. I didn't I didn't get that from a lot of other traits. But that was not one of them.
Mike Stone :That's all right. I love that. That's great. I have a couple more things that I want to check in with you about and so the one the one thing I want to touch on, if you remember back in 2012 I couldn't imagine anyone not liking chick fil a but there was a little bit of controversy over a couple of comments that your brother Dan made, who's the CEO of chick fil a and And I'm quite certain that this was not meant to create the stir that it did. But comments were made about same sex marriage and what we we all believe in the biblical definition of marriage between one man and one woman. Now, your father founded a charitable organization back in 1984, called winshape Foundation. Now, my thinking common sense says if he created the foundation, it seems like he should be able to pick who he donates to. But after those comments were made LGBTQ community activists called for protests and boycotts on chick fil a. I would love to know what your mother would have to say about all that whole commotion.
Trudy Cathy White :Well, a lot of that commotion did happen while my mother was was still around and my mother would not say anything. any different than than she would now about challenges that we face, you know, usually her first go to, you'll say, let's go Pray about this, that we take everything to the Lord and ask him to help us with our attitude and our spirit with how we treat other people. Also, my mother would would say that, you know, we are we are generous people at heart. And we want to continue to be able to be be generous, and we want to be careful how we treat everybody. We want to treat everybody with dignity and with respect because we believe that they deserve it. They were created by God and we want to, you know, honor that about their life. You know, my parents also taught me and they explicitly told me this reminded me of this when I became a Chick-fil-A operator. At 19, my dad reminded me now, Trudy, you're not going to be able to please everybody all the time, about everything. And we know that you know, to be true, just so. So it's important just to keep that right perspective and mother would encourage certainly encouraged us in that and you know, another thing that because mama Mother, she had lots of ups and downs in life, just like we all do. But she approached her challenges and adversity and and in a in a way that said, You know, I probably could learn something from this. And so we're always trying to learn from situations that are that are difficult for us and asking ourselves, you know, what could we have done differently? Sure, can we do better? You know, so we can learn from for those challenges. I think that's, that's really important. Thanks. That's what my mother would say about all that.
Mike Stone :Yeah, and you know, I tell my kids all the time, it's not so easy to live by, but I always tell my kids you know, it's okay to mess up. But try to learn from all of your mistakes, try to figure out what you could have done different or how could I have handled it different? So I think that's, I think that's great advice. Even just hearing about your mother doesn't surprise me that she was kind of the wise person behind all this and just going hey, let's just let's learn, not look at what we did. I might add though, for those listening who are also very Chick-fil-A fans, if you remember correctly, Governor Mike Huckabee was one that stood up and said we're going to have a counter boycott in support of chick fil a and the number that I read online. I don't know if it's correct or not, was that that controversy actually increased sales at chick fil a by 12%. Around that time. So
Trudy Cathy White :Well, we're grateful for our raving fans and the people that rally around us and eat with us regularly, we just so so grateful for them. They're, they're a blessing. They they keep us going Of course and the cows love to challenge them to eat more chicken every day.
Mike Stone :Everywhere I go, I travel a lot from my job and everywhere I go. I love seeing those chick fillet signs with the cows. Love it. Love it. You have four children and 15 grandchildren. Wow. Yeah. Was there any advice that your mother gave you? As you were growing up that you have instilled in your family and your grandkids?
Trudy Cathy White :Well, I think probably the biggest advice that are are example that I drew from my mother was the fact that, you know, God owns everything. And there's the reminder of that, that we are to steward what he's entrusted to us. So as we're raising our own four children, you know, we were trying to challenge them in that area all the time to help him realize that, you know, you've been given Tom that you have to steward you've been given talents, abilities and, and skills that you have to that you have to manage Well, you've been given resources that you've got to steward and we've all been given influence as well. And we have to steward that so we've tried really hard to help our children understand that everything comes to the Lord. You're responsible now to steward it really well. And even for our our grandchildren, such a joy 15 grandchildren, our oldest is 15. Our youngest is two. There's so much still to teach them but my husband, I love spending time with them. We make that a priority in our calendar each year to have some individual time with the One of them and have collective time with them. In fact, in about three or four weeks, we're going to have something called Camp me, Paul, me, me and John's Papa, and we're going to have all 15 of our grandchildren together in our home for about three days. And it'll be great, intentional, Tom, we're gonna have lots of fun, we'll have some good devotional time and singing together and, and, and just playing games and just investing in their lives because we feel like in our influences, it's really important that we're able to maximize their influence. So being able to steward Well, what God has given is probably one of the greatest things that my parents have passed on to us in terms of a principle that's powerful for the next generation.
Mike Stone :You know, as, as I think about what you were saying, I also remember out of scripture where, you know, if you want to be responsible for the big things, you have to be faithful in the small things and, and that's just that's a solid biblical principle that you can't overlook those little things if you want to be responsible for the bigger and you talked really about leaving a legacy for your, your children and your grandchildren I picked up on your website, you have a quote, very simple quote. But I love it. I'm going to print it out and put it in my office here. It says the legacy we'll leave then, is the life we're living now.
Trudy Cathy White :Yeah. You know how that came about? I remember. After my dad passed away, six years ago, two months later, my mom passed away. And so they've been gone for a while now. But shortly after they passed away, you know, we were left with their home that they lived in for 56 years. That's a long time to live in one place. And being the daughter of the family and the fact that I lived really close to their home I was responsible for going to go through and sorting through everything and how those were hard times I remember, and I would have sit and cry for a while and sometimes I'd laugh because of the things that I would find but at the end of the day Going through all of that, I realized that the thing that they left of most value to us was their legacy. And I realized that their legacy, were simply the decisions that they were making on a day to day basis. So the legacy that we leave is actually the legacy we're living right now that the decisions that we're making right now, or what impacts, you know, our legacy, so we have to be very, very careful about the decisions that we make. And, you know, it's important that we think about, you know, what does that look like right now for, for me in my life, for those who are listening, what does it look like for you what really matters to you, I think that's a great way to start this journey of understanding your own legacy, what really matters to you and you know, what drives the decisions that you make from those values and do other people see those same values in your own life. And this will be so important as you've tried to define your own legacy and realize that, you know, you you can own your legacy right now and you can Determine what it will be because of the way you're living.
Mike Stone :Yeah, we tend to think of our legacy as being some big thing that we've done in our lives, you know, and it that's why I love this quote is because it's the day today, we have a tendency as, as humans, we can see, you know, 50 great things. If somebody and one bad thing, that's the thing we remember. So we're up against that just as human nature goes. But it's the things like having your 15 grandchildren over, and hanging out and just pouring into them. Those are the things that they're going to remember and cherish all through their lives. And it's really about living each day. I like to think that you know, as, as believers, we know that God walks beside us and he leads us and he directs us and I like to, I like to remember the fact that he is with me at all times. And if I can focus on him, and follow him the way that he wants me to, I'm automatically living that life. legacy for my kids and for my grandkids.
Trudy Cathy White :Yeah. And you know, you know, it's not about a perfect life because we're not going to be able to live perfect lives that, that you know, when we when we make mistakes or we make not so good decisions, we learn from those and move forward and, you know, something even with my parents, I remember, you know, they were great to say, Hey, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have talked to you that way or I shouldn't have done this particular thing. So really teaching children the reality of, you know, making choices in life and, and learning from mistakes. You know, that happen is super, super important.
Mike Stone :Absolutely. Well, Trudy, I want to, I want to just remind, or tell our listeners where they can connect with you online. They definitely need to check out your website. You've got some great information there and love that. Where can they connect with you online?
Trudy Cathy White :Yeah, the website is TrudyCathyWhite.com. And you certainly can go if you're interested in the book, your local bookstores, Amazon, you can order of course and quiet street books.com is a great place to go to to find the books I would love to be able to get. Get a hold of the book. Let me just let me just say that we all have adversity in life. And if you're looking for a way to navigate that adversity and be able to live a flourishing life, you're going to find the answers. Right in this book because there's power, there really is power in a quiet street for sure.
Mike Stone :That's great. And that's really the kind of the purpose behind my podcast is just to encourage people meet people where they're at and just remind people that we're all in this together. We all deal with the same temptations we all deal with the same sins, but God has come to give us life and grace. Trudy, is there anything that you want to share? We have listeners that are I'm sure listening today who are not believers that they just ran across the fact that the chick fil a lady is on and and they wanted to hear from you. Is there anything that you want to share with those who are believers or unbelievers as we close here?
Trudy Cathy White :I would say for those who are followers of Christ, let me just encourage you to let your light shine bright, particularly this season that we're young bursar. And as I was writing this book, I came across a verse in Isaiah that says, In quietness and trust shall be your strength. And so I want to encourage those of us who are believers to realize that being quiet before the Lord, and trusting him is where your strength will come from. And if you have it yet, maybe we're just exploring that opportunity to understand who is Jesus and, and know about him. You know, let me just encourage you that he created you and He loves you deeply. He has a plan and a purpose for your life and the Bible makes it very clear that if you will believe and receive he has an offer to you that is unexplainable, and is the gift of eternal life and the opportunity to live life in an abundant way filled with peace and love and joy. That doesn't mean all your circumstances that are challenges, you know, are gonna go by The wayside Not at all. But he will be with you as you navigate those times and we all need the comfort of his presence. Particular now I feel like,
Mike Stone :Yeah, absolutely. Well, Trudy, I am excited to pick up a copy of a quiet strength and read through that can't wait to get my hands on, we'll probably get two of them. So my wife can read too. But I'm so grateful for you joining us today. And we will make sure that all of the links to your website into your book and all those things are in our show notes. So please stop by the show notes. And read through those click on those. So you don't even have to look anything up. It'll be right there. And Trudy, thanks again for joining us. We so appreciate your time. And we wish you and all of your family the very best.
Trudy Cathy White :Thank you so much. What an honor to be with you today. Thank you for your influence as well through their audience and the difference that you're making through this ministry. Thank you so very, very much.
Mike Stone :Thank you. That was such a fun interview with Trudy and I hope you were inspired. As I was to never give up since our interview, I've purchased Trudy's book A Quiet Strength the life and legacy of Jeanette M. Kathy and I have to tell you, I'm glad I did. It is both fun and inspiring. And I encourage you to order your copy today. Now, neither me or the show gets paid to endorse Trudy's book. I just genuinely think everyone should get a copy. It's that good. As I mentioned, all of the things we referenced in the show today are available in this episode's show notes, including links to Trudy's website, a link to order Trudy's book and of course a link to chick fil a where, listen, here's some secret. You can download the chick fil a one app and start earning points on your purchases to earn free chick fil a. I do that all the time. So make sure you download that. Well next week I'll be sharing my conversation with Pastor Joe West. He's probably most widely known as the Father. of contemporary Christian music artists Matthew West. If you have Matthew's new album brand new, Joe is the voice behind the prayer on the song looking up, which we'll talk about, from his dad jokes to his active involvement with Matthew's career. Joe will share some of the great insight information on next week's show. So be sure to subscribe right now to behind the mic conversations of hope and be the first to know when each episode is released. Thanks for joining us again this week. And remember, if your life is grounded in Jesus, even in the darkest times, there is hope.
