Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper. You are live from the past. And you're listening to live from the Path. We're coming to you from the Pathway Studios here in Johnston Proper. It's delightful to be with you here on this lovely holiday evening.

What? It's not a holiday. You know, so think about the word perilous. Like, a perilous means it's full of peril. Right? Yeah. So if it was gonna be without peril, like the word thoughtless is without thought, it would also be perilous. Except for perilous is l o u s, not e s s. Yeah. But it's said the same. Why don't you say it perilous?

Because like because like trout. Because German. T r o u t, trout. Perilous, l o u s. Perilous. I'm a start saying it like that. That's ridiculous. I think that's fine. I think that's fine. Here's what we got going on the show this this evening. Actually, I forgot to check with everybody. I so I'll tell you I'll start it off with the thing that happened to me. I feel like and I'm open to being wrong or misreading the situation. This is ridiculous.

But I feel like Jesus was after me through a homeless man in the Minneapolis Skyway. And so I will I'll share that story with you. It's not flattering to me. I'll tell you that. Matter of fact, now that think about it, even before the show, I've told a series of unflattering stories about me and my personal character. Yeah. This is the room for it. And so, anyway, I'll tell you that, and I don't know. Maybe it'll be helpful to you. Maybe it won't.

I don't know, man. Did we have other things going on? I mean, we didn't really hit anything up before the show or plan. I think I had like, based on some of the stuff we were talking about before the show started, though Yeah. Like, it it always comes back down to patterns. Mhmm. For things. Like, we were just talking about, you know, like, people taking sabbaticals and, like, resting and, like,

out how to process stuff, and you can't you can't process stuff in your mind unless you give your mind some actual space to do it. You know? And, like, it really it continues to keep coming back down to patterns, like patterns of spending time with God, patterns of not being entertained in any amount, like, literally just driving with with no radio on and just you, your thoughts on a highway. And, like like, things or, like, mine was over the weekend was was cleaning my garage. I didn't turn any tunes on. I just went out there, and I was, like, three hours into it. Then the thing that I wanted to know or the thing that I was kind of half not thinking about all of a sudden shot right to the front of my mind. I'm like, crap. I owe, like, five apologies. I gotta go in the house now. I gotta find a bunch of people and be like, I need to repent. I'm a mess. So, like, I I don't know. Like, the the thing that came out of our pre show warm up was, man, patterns are important. Yeah. Yeah. Well, here, let's circle back to that one because I think I've got additional maybe another example and some and some thoughts in there that may I'd be curious on your guys' advice with it. Alright. So let me let me let's start with this homeless fella. So I I've it's just a it's a it's a rough travel season for me.

I I I find myself kinda back and forth to Minneapolis. And so much so that a week ago, I I needed to be up there, and it was for, like, just a four, five hour meeting in the afternoon. I whatever. It's the type of thing where you just need to be in a room for a thing. Like, you don't really wanna do it over video. It's important. People need to hear your voice, see it in your eyes, that kind of thing. And so,

usually, I would go up and, like, I just there's no reason to drive eight hours in a day. Nobody cares. They'll pay for a hotel. And so normally, I would do that. I just felt like I was out of my house too much. And some of it's good and righteous. I'm my only income at my place, and so, like, I need to do a good at my work. It provides for my family, but I'm like, I whatever. I'll just drive the thing. So I drive up there in the morning. It's like a four hour drive up to Minneapolis, and I have the meeting and stuff. It goes a little bit over, and so I just wanna go home. I wanna get out of there. It sucks to try to leave Minneapolis at, like, rush hour ish time, and so I'm probably gonna do a lot of hurry up and wait, but I just wanted to I wanted to get home, and it felt like a long drive. And so I start to walk back. My car's maybe two or three blocks from the building that I was at and from where the meeting was. I need to get to the parking garage, and there's this there's this older

homeless dude sitting on a bench in the Skyway. And so I I approach him, and he he stops me. And for some reason in my mind, I'm like, he's probably gonna stop you. And he does. He stops me and goes, hey, man. Can I get some can I get some dinner?

And I did the thing that I I don't know. I I never love, but was also a reality is that, like, I kinda pat my pockets, and I'm like, I don't know why I did that. I don't carry cash, generally speaking. And so, like, I don't have cash to give him. Now if you're in the Skyway at, like, 05:30 in Minneapolis, especially in the wintertime, like, there's not anything open. So, like, all the main the restaurants and stuff that are open over lunch, they're just not open anymore. The we were relatively close to a hotel

that had a very expensive, like, French restaurant or Italian restaurant in it. Like, it's a sit down. I don't think they would have let us sit, to be honest with you. The the man very much reeked of urine, was obviously homeless. And so I don't know if they would have even sat us, but like, I want to get home. It probably would have been $40 to order anything at this place.

And so I'm like, sorry, dude, I don't have any money. And so I hate that. And it's ironic because I was listening back using the Life From The Path app. It's easy to go back to back past seasons. And so I think I just like, I don't know. What were we talking about in 2017?

I've listened to this show, and it was me telling a story about, like, I just wanna be someone who says yes, who stops at the side of the road. Somebody who, like if somebody got goes even if it's inconvenient to you, someone asks for help, like, I just do that. And so I had just been listening to that show, like, a couple days before then, and I the reality was it's very practically that I just didn't have much of a way to help this guy, and so I just kept walking. But I felt crappy about it. And so, anyway, I'm walking. It probably takes another couple minutes, and I get to the building of where the parking garage is kind of in the basement, and there's, like, a convenience store

open in the Skyway. I've never been to this thing. I probably couldn't have told you that it was there, and it was almost closed. Like, I think it closed at six or something, and I was getting real close to it. But I saw this small convenience shop up on the Skyway Level, and I thought, alright then. Oh, I thought, yeah. I'm gonna have to go walk back to this guy, but what do I care? This is the yes. I'm gonna go do that. And so I got in there, and I got him, you know, I got him a sandwich out of the cooler. And I'm like, man, I'm not just gonna get a sandwich. I'm gonna get this guy a Sprite. And I got him some some extra protein for the road, a cheese stick, and a pepperoni package or whatever. I said, I don't know. This seems pretty this is putting it on. We're gonna do a yes. So I grabbed this stuff, and I walk it back to this guy, and I'm like, Okay, okay, good, good. I feel this is relieving

my conscious a little bit. This is a saying yes. And so I go to the guy, he's still on the bench, and I said, I walked over to him and I said, Hey man, there's a convenience store down the way, and I saw it. And so I got you that dinner you were talking about. Here you go, man. And he takes the bag and he doesn't even look inside the bag. And he goes,

well, that's a start. Oh. Yeah. Right? And I say in my mind, well, how would he do this? Like,

I I did not have the cash. I saw a thing. I went out of my way to spend a little extra money and take a little extra time to bring this thing back to you. You wouldn't have known the difference or whatever. I said yes to the thing, and I handed it to this dude, and he's like, well, like, what else was he looking for? Yeah. How how do you expect this? How do you, you know, think we should finish this? Right. Right. It was I and I was in the meeting. I'm like, I can't believe this guy. And so I said, well, okay. Well, you know, bless you, man. And then I turned around and walking away, and I'm walking back to the place where my car is parked. I'm like, I just can't believe this dude. I did the right thing. What the heck? Alright? And then I get back down to the car, and

I'm struck. This phrase is just not leaving me. It's a start. It's a start. I'm like, you turd. Like, it's just not leaving me. The ungratefulness of this man. And then I thought I'm thinking about it. I'm like, he didn't even look at the bag. He what is he expecting? Like, alcohol or, what? And then it occurs to me

that is it possible that God had something for me in this interchange, and it wasn't about my perceived ungratefulness of the homeless man? Because what did I do? I went and I filled the need. The guy asked for a need. I filled the need.

Did I take any additional steps in there to engage with him as a human? Uh-huh. No. I did not do that. Now I mean, I wasn't I didn't like dehumanize him or anything. Was rude. I and I I didn't think anything negative. I thought, oh, sure. Like, if I were homeless, I would ask, hey, Can you help me out? Just in case someone would. So like, I thought nothing negative at all of this man. But it occurs to me,

I did not ask his name. I didn't share mine. I didn't ask any questions about his life. And maybe he would have said no. I don't wanna talk about it. Like, maybe this wouldn't have meant anything. Maybe he was just trying to be an acerbic turd. That's it's possible. Right. But the thing that stuck with me was, well, like, what would make sense to me is a message to me is, like, it's this food that you provided is a start. What about the the other things Yeah. That are otherwise engaging and humanizing and, like, show care and concern? And then I'm like, well, dang it. That's right.

That's right. Oh, man. And it stuck. Now now now I got a four hour drive home going, it's a start. Why couldn't you just said, hey. My name's Ben. What's your name? Yeah. Right. Or something. And like, I I it's is is the way I behaved harsh? No. Was it human to go, I just wanna get home to my family. I got a long drive ahead. Blah blah blah. Does it all make sense practically? Sure. Did I go out of my way to go get him something when I didn't have to? Sure I did. I'm not satisfied with that because I'm guessing I don't think Jesus was particularly satisfied with that. Not because he's mad at me, but he's like, dude, you had an opportunity, but you were so focused on this thing that was far ahead of you that you missed the man right in front of your face. And so I share that partially to my own shame, partially to my own gratitude

to go, I could be totally just looking too far into this, but again, the fellows heard when I was sharing a story earlier where like in a places where I was not at my best, Jesus found like took ways to like speak and go, I'm still with you a bit on this thing. I'm not giving up on you yet. And I'm continuing to refine you and I'm going to have to insist on it in a few different ways. And so what it felt to me was, you know, maybe he uses this guy to bring to attention something of which I might have been satisfied

that I took the extra effort to take the food back and missed the thought that I could have there was a more there, not because it's earning righteousness, but there was actually a more maybe for him and maybe for me by taking a few extra minutes to do the other thing. And so, anyway Yeah. I share for this reason. We we take a team every two weeks into homeless camps and do food and supplies and, you know, different things. Yep. And and

we intentionally well, like, we'll set up tables and, like, bring out chairs so that we sit down next across from them. Because we're by the river. Right? We're not, like Yeah. You know, we're not at a in a park or whatever. And that that's really why is is is the the maybe there's more. You know? Right. And sometimes there is. Sometimes there isn't. But it's it's it's cool to sit down and say, hey, man. What's your story? You know? And and they'll tell they'll tell you

anything you wanna know. Yeah. And and now we do it long enough that we have some relationships with people. Like, last time, we we we brought out a grill. We did grilled cheese and and hot tomato soup, and we were making grilled cheeses. They were like, there that was great. You know? And I was having a good time. And, like, a big argument started between a couple of people. And you usually usually, there's an argument. You know? I'm like, I'm just gonna back off over here. I don't know what's gonna happen next. You know? You're gonna pull knives, whatever. For for whatever reason, I just walked in the middle of it. I'm like, guys, you know, one of you needs to just say the last word. You know? Just let the other say the last word. Yeah. And and the other people are like, calm down. They don't have to be I don't I don't know. It was just kinda it was a weird dynamic of, like, we're kinda becoming I don't wanna say one of them, but but but you you kinda earn a little more Yep. Yeah.

Place in in in their world. You're not you're not just filling the need or giving us thing or here's a water. Yep. You're kinda sitting down being with them, and I I think there's something to that. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah. Maybe Jesus was selling you something there. I I I don't know what, but It seems right. I mean, and it's it's like it's it's maybe maybe it's it's an encouragement to me, of course, but, like, if you think about even in very practical or basic terms, like, hey, you're gonna take a lasagna over to a family because they had a medical thing or they had a baby or whatever. The the lasagna is pretty awesome. Like, that extra card or note that you're like, I don't know. Does anybody care? I I don't know. Maybe it does. Yeah. You know, maybe the the phone calls, the text messages,

like I was telling them, sometimes there's been a couple places where I just felt really low about myself, mostly earned, and then someone just texted me. They then they were praying for me. In fact, I got a I got another text message earlier in the week from somebody who just who was praying for me. And I'm like, I was just so I'm so grateful.

It's not an uncommon thing for Christians to do for each other. And in some in some ways, it feels like a Jesus brags, like, praying for you, bro. I need you to know that I'm praying, and I want kudos because it was for you. Like, can feel like that, but, like, that's not what it is. Right. People who just care about you and are thankful for you and are, like, think just the thought of someone thinking about you and then to talking to Jesus. Like, hey. You I was thinking about Ben. Can you bless Ben over there? Like, just I'm just saying, like, it sometimes it feels like it's nothing, and I'm saying it's not nothing. And sometimes those are the things that make I don't know. The lasagna tastes a little better. I think it's actually an expectation that God's God is moving or showing up. You know what I'm saying? So, like, when people text me that they're praying about me, like, my eyes are peeled open for a couple days. I'm like, okay. Alright. You have something I don't know. Yeah. I mean, I mean, yeah. Some couple of them people, it is something I don't know. But, like, a couple of them, they're just like, hey. I you know, I they don't even explain it to me. They're just like, I'm I'm praying for you today, you know, and and, you know, be encouraged. And so you're like, you know, I'll just keep my eye out. And then, like, insignificant things all of a sudden feel a little bit more significant cause you're like, God's on the move. Someone called him in. You know? And so, like because it was now it was two people praying for me, at least me and somebody else. Yeah. And so you're like, hey, man. Two or more are gathered. It's Jesus time. So now you got your eyes peeled. Yeah. Man. But but I but I hate it's like the other day, was I talking to someone. They had a thing, and I was like, I should really be praying. I should really like, right now, just stop and pray for them, and I and I didn't. Mhmm. I I don't know how many times I've done that. And I even thought, like, I got some people down the hall here. Let's gather a group. Let's get let's pray for this person. And I know I should. Yeah. And I know they really want me to. And I have the I I've always had this weakness. I just, like, think, I don't know. I think I shouldn't because they want me to. I I don't I don't know what that is.

I always think I can't pray for everybody. Yeah. You know? Like, seems like such a daunting task where I mean, like, even if I took the people I know or half know Yeah. I'm like, I just don't have I mean, how much time are we talking here, you know, to say real specific things? And then, like, it turns out I'll pick, like, four or five people, and I'm all praying for the same thing for all four or five of them. So, like, it feels lazy to lump them all in a group. And then it feels like, God, will you just give them encouragement and bring them strength? And then Tim, will you bring Tim encouragement and bring him strength? And then for Joni, will you bring Joni encouragement strength? You would be like, do I have to make up a new adjective? Like, what I'm really praying for is your presence. That's basically it. Yeah. It's like, yeah. Because, like, I I want to pray for them. I do pray for them. They don't know I'm praying for them. But something about doing it, like, when they know it, I just feel weird. Yeah. That's my that's a me thing. That's a it's my problem.

I mean, kind of it goes back to that holy spirit conversation we were having about that guy a couple weeks ago. Because, like, even when I'm praying, I'm like, Lord, will you encourage him? And then all I hear is is like, I just get this thought in my mind where Jesus goes, no, man. It's hammer day. It ain't encouragement day. And I'm like, well, I was praying for the encouragement. He's like, nope. Ain't gonna do it. And I'm like, you know what? I don't even know what to ask you sometimes. Will you just show up? Yeah. That's all I'm really asking for. And I don't know what that looks like, but if you're coming, it's good. Yeah. And so, like, sometimes I listen to prayers. Like, even when I'm praying, I'm like, I'm filling in words. Yeah. Really, all I really want is for you to show up and for them to see it. This is all I really want. And so I'm gonna stop telling you what to do now and just go do whatever you do. You know? I I find actually that my prayers are getting shorter and shorter for the of the words that I'm speaking. Mhmm. And I'm and I'm getting, like, more and more averse. Mike like Mike can attest to this. Like, I often if I'm teaching, I won't I try not to be the guy who's praying lest I preach it. Lest I preach the prayer because that's me. That's just me trying to then use Jesus as the heavy to reinforce whatever point I thought the scripture was bringing I mean, it's okay to lead people and stuff, but like, I just

I'm so cautious about about Yeah. Like after the Taking the prayer over. After the preaching, it's all a sudden sermon two. And you know, Lord, how we're supposed to feed the hungry. It's like, yeah. The one who told you. Yes. Exactly. Yeah. And like and find that when I'm even when I'm praying on my own, to Mike's point, I'm just putting words in there. Like, I almost would rather just switch to, like, I'm just quiet. And like I'm thinking things, but I no longer have the burden to articulate something like that. And so like,

I appreciate, I think people like who can pray in that way. But like, just it just a lot of it starts to feel like noise to me. Like, what are we doing? Like, we're not talking to Jesus anymore. We're talking to hear our own voices. Yeah. I think that's part of my problem is like, I'm not an eloquent speaker. And and the more I say, the dumber I sound. Yeah. And so I pray much more eloquently when I'm just me and God. Mhmm. But when I bring, okay, Ben, come over here. We gotta pray. I'm gonna pray for you. You know? I'll be like, yeah. Help Ben with his stuff

and things, and I just sound like a dork. Yeah. Yeah. But you know what's fun? I I so I I have heard people pray, and it's almost poetic,

but it's not a performance. I'm turned off pretty hardcore about preachy prayers. I got a pretty high radar for that. But people who just feel like they're interacting with God in such a beautiful way and it feels like it just is natural. It's kind of like listening to people. There's some people who like really connect with

nature because they see, not that they're worshiping nature, but see God in it. And there's just something about that where like the the things just flow together so well for them. Like Rich Mullins had this. And that's why like some of his songwriting was poetic in a way that Christian music wasn't. Christian music was either a bat to the head or like so King James obscure, you didn't know what you were singing. And he was a guy who could do it. Like he could he could be poetic and earnest and stuff in in ways that just were unique. And so anyway, I just say that to like some of that stuff I I really enjoy. I think of the liturgy stuff too. Like some from the every moment holy. Like some of that stuff, like I'm like, okay, this is just very there's something about it that weaves a beauty and an artistry and an eloquence. And a depth. Yes. That's right. There's a thoughtfulness to it. It's not just like

a full like it's on an 11. And so there's something a thought it's almost wisdom. There's a wisdom in its earnestness and humility. And so it's not necessarily that like I don't like can listen to people pray when that's the case. I just think it's so rare and it just feels a lot of times feels a performance even to me and me doing it that I'm just I I just don't like I just don't love it. There's a there's a prayer in the it's in one of the every moment holy books, and it's

it's like it's called a prayer before performing in a play. Yeah. And like like, I read it. I I saw the title. I'm like, what is this? Like, love these Every Moment of Holy books because they look at the world in a way that god just not designed me to. Like, I can appreciate its depth and the thoughtfulness into it, but if I try to re recreate that type of thoughtfulness in anything, my depth is like level two. These dudes are running like level 50. Yeah. And I'm running up there like, well, that sun looks good. You know? Like, I just don't see the world that way. But, like, this one's like I mean, it's gotta be I bet it's probably a 100 lines worth of of, like, recreating

both in the in in the creative heart of you, father, but in in the way that we act out life in a way that lets people appreciate both your the, like, the innate abilities that you've given us and our ability to try to recreate at at the best of our abilities, you know, what your world could be or could look like. And, like, it's just this beautiful written,

you know, but it's a poem in liturgy form of, like, praying before play, and they have ones for, like, prayers for changing the twelfth diaper of the day. You know? And, like and just there's cool thoughts like this. And and, like, I I just my life won't do that on its own. Right? But then I find this guy or these people who, like, this is how their whole life works. And I thought, what a burden. To me, it would feel like to have to live life at that depth all the time. I'm like, I I don't know how you could function. Like, you had 45 thoughts. I had one. Mine was, alright. We're doing the play. We practice for this. Go on, man. You know what I'm saying? Like, the Lord will not be honored or shamed based on the output of this play. He's still as holy. Get to doing it. You know? And like this dude saw 17 layers of beauty in it. And like, part of me really, really appreciates folks that are like that, and, like, I like the opportunity to get out of my own head and read stuff like that. But then on the other hand, I'm like, man, I just could not walk through life this deep. It seems really hard. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, so and lessons from the Minneapolis Skyway

for me. So it means I for me, my takeaway was to say it's an affirmation that, yeah, yep, you should be saying yes to things, but then don't maybe this is a broader thing that I don't it feels like a lot to deal with, but, like, don't miss the moments that are in front of you while you are trying to hurry to a moment that you're not yet in. Yeah. Don't miss the start.

You know? Like, don't change don't don't mischange the start because you're not at a hundo yet. You know? Yeah. Like, we met like, we we miss the sanctification sometimes because it's not complete. And so, like, even in the little battles, which you don't count, you're like, it's either working or not working. And God's like, woah. Woah. Woah. There's a lot of sanctification in that area, bro. You know? Yeah. Actually okay. I'm I'm trying to see if I can tell the story in a way that's actually interesting because it runs a risk of being not interesting at all. But it's

I just think that, like, if to be to be people who otherwise point others to Jesus, you're going to need to be someone who's got some hope in you and some perseverance. Both of those things got to be true. You cannot people are gray and nuanced, and they do not change very easily. I started

the what I do at my job now did not exist four years ago at the company that I'm in. I created the thing. I said, I think we need this, and people agreed and supported me. But but no one said, like, we definitely want this. It was more of a, Ben says we kinda need it, and we, I don't know, let go ahead and let him do it kind of a situation. And there's all kinds of things of which, like, if I could remake the world, I would remake the world. And I would tell you that over the last three years, vast majority of that fell on deaf ears. People

like I'm like, hey, we should do this thing differently. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No. We're not gonna do that. And super discouraging because it's like, I think this thing super matters. And like this has if you think about your attempt to try to share Jesus with other people, and you're like, dude, this thing changes everything. And they looked at it and went, Yeah. I don't I'm gonna persist in this thing that is obviously not working very well, but it's where the winds are blowing. And so that's what I'm gonna do. And like it's hard not to be disheartened six months later and twelve months later, eighteen months later, people who can look you in the eyeballs and go, that is a great idea. I am definitely not gonna do that. I'm gonna continue to allow this thing to suffer. And no, I don't see a better option, but I'm not gonna change course. This is what now this it's not quite what's going on, say, in my in my job. People are less obstinate than that. But, like, I certainly, you see trying to help people beat Jesus. For sure. And it it can be super discouraging.

But I will tell you, like, no joke, over the last two to three weeks, the thing where I'm like, I don't think anybody cares about this at all, actually. I I could they would someone would notice that I was gone, but not any of the things that I've been trying to get them to think about differently. They wouldn't even notice. And all of sudden over the last three weeks, like the tide has significantly turned.

Like the thing that I've been saying, hey, we really gotta should rethink this and do this differently. We're talking about that very thing. And it's got a chance of becoming more of our reality. And then implicitly where that becomes true, all the other things that I also think are supportive of it and help with it, it starts to build out this whole universe throughout an organization of which I was the literally the only dude who gave a crap about that. Like people would tolerate hearing me talk about it, but didn't give a flying hoot. Right? And I didn't do anything different than what I've been doing for the last three years. Not a thing. It's just some level of hope and some level of persistence.

And the only reason you would persist is because you're holding on to some level of hope. And then I it didn't move on my own, like, real wizardry machinations. I just kept saying the same things over and over and over again, and the same people kept hearing them and hearing them until some moment or other, for some reason, the sunlight snuck under the shade. And I said, you know, maybe that maybe we are interested in that thing. There's a couple of people that, like, I was been consistently praying for, and I'm like, Lord, if you could just find me a way to be in relationship

with these people and have conversations about you, Lord, will you make that today? And, like, I mean, it's years I've been praying this. Mhmm. And, like like, it came to a realization a couple weeks ago to me that, like, I felt like God finally answered that prayer in a but his answer was, you will not be involved. Like, I will handle this. You will not be involved. And I'm like, but I wanna be involved. Mhmm. I said, I gave it to Isaiah.

You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm here, Lord. Send me these people. I'm praying with with attitude and intentionality for these two very specific people. Just make a way, Lord, and I will go in. And his aunt like, it was so weird. Like but, like, I just I was praying on it, and and, like, I was just I can't remember what I was doing. I was, like, just doing some menial task, and it's and and, like, God's basically like, I will show up and you will not be involved. I'm like, this sucks. You know? Like but, like, one, it was not I mean, it was kind of nice to feel an answer, you know, of some kind. You know? But I thought I thought, what? It's it's not a level of intentional arrogance. You know? But, like, it was a persistence, and God said, I will be faithful in the thing, but you're not doing it. And I'm like,

this is actually what I wanted, but I was so disappointed that he wasn't gonna let me be involved. And I'm like, why do I wanna be involved? You know? Well, because these people meant something to me, and I wanna keep praying for him. Yeah. And, like, he's just like, no. No. That's not what's gonna happen. And I thought, what a weird interaction. I've this is not what I expected. You're like, Lord, just help these people to have ears to hear, and then I will tell them all the things about you. And then your name gets to be glorified. I get to do the thing, and so I can be faithful to the thing you've asked me to do. And he's like, yeah. Here are all your ideas, Mike. No. No. That's not what's gonna happen at all. I'm like, yeah, man. Yeah. You're like, god. I worked it out. Everybody wins. Yeah. I in fact, I I only

I only propose plans to Jesus that I've completely worked out. You know I'm saying? Like, this is this is the thing with praying. Once again, you're like, Lord, I got a crack idea. Like, this hold on. So blow your socks off. You're so pretty bad. And and, like, I just I you just think of him as loving dad listening to a five year old tell a ridiculous story or come up with a solution. He's like, yeah, son. That sounds great. Let's go put our toys away. Come on.

Oh, that's good. Yeah. So so interestingly, so if you think about it then, if if your own designs aren't often necessary,

then like what do you have left except for hope and persistence of the things that are in your hands? You know I'm saying? Like like, it's even even your ability to assess, is this even working? You you're like, with my work example is one. I'm sure you guys can think of a actually, Dan was telling a story before the show started of, like, you know, somebody who,

you know, had a similar upbringing or whatever, and they just decided to, you know, go a different way. And, like, it's not following Jesus and went and did their own thing. And then all of a sudden, just like, I'm I need Jesus. I'm coming in. Yeah. Put me in the tank. And you're and like, what happened? It's not like you had to beat on the door every day for fifty years. Right. Like, it's it's and so I just although I'm super cautious about not doing anything, like sitting and going, if the Lord wanted me to do something, he'd tell me directly.

I think there's plenty of good work that he's prepared for us to go walk in and you should just, it should be your everyday life. I just think it's less and less of do I have to craft a thing? Like, I don't know. Who are the people? It feels like

people don't like this answer because it feels like it doesn't require the Holy Spirit. And that's not what I'm saying. But like, I don't know, look at the people around you. Are you like praying and walking and serving and being with them or whatever? And like, you don't necessarily have to come up with these, you know what I think will get them thinking about the right thing. Like, I think God will will provide it to you, and I do think you have to be intentional, and sometimes you've to say a thing. But I just think that God if God will find me through a urine soaked homeless man

in Minneapolis, and he will come after me and not let my body rest unless I repent of a thing that I need to turn from. And if he can come find someone who, you know, just kind of wandered away from Jesus and all of a sudden twenty years later or fifteen years later goes, I got to go back. Like if he can do that, maybe I just don't have to hold all the things so tightly because it's I'm not actually on the hook. I'm not gonna let God down if I loosen up a little bit because that's me going, God, I'm gonna have to trust you with this thing. Just help me to walk faithfully in whatever you got. Yeah. Because the people around you like, what what you want what would be encouraging

is if there's a little status bar above their head. Right? And when you looked at them and and, like, you just see this, like, this bar graph and then you're like 75%, And you're like, okay. It's almost time. God God's gonna open their ears at this time. And then you'll see a 10 percenter and you'll be like, yeah, that's too bad, mate. But, like, whatever. Like, it's but it's still in the works. That's the thing. If you can look at people around you and go, this sounds like a vacation bible school song. Like, he's still working on me to make me what I ought to be. But, like, it the the rabid assumption is is that God is not working in their life while they're still sinning. That's a lie, and you know that's a lie. And, like, God is not working in their life because of the output of their actions or the, like, the things that are coming out of their mouth or even the even the the thoughts or the prevailing choices they're making in their life. You're like, God is not present. God is not working.

There's not a status bar here. Right? But I think we'd be really surprised if God revealed where the status bar was, where, like, the most gross, vile, nasty thing is coming out of people's mouth and they they hate God and they're saying all the things, and you'd see their status bar and go 94. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mean, how? And you're like, God, that's how. The 6% is not a leap for him, and neither is the 98. Yeah. Right. You know I'm saying? But, like, we don't see it that way, and we think there's gonna be a bunch of work here. This is where that I'm jealous of the holy spirit guy who just convinces people to repent immediately and turn to Jesus. And we're like like, the way that the evangelical church is like, okay, we gotta get them in here. We gotta let them hear the the message. Then we gotta it's gonna take time to take root, and so there's a couple years. In the meantime, we'll get them working somewhere so they can be around community who can also influence them. And like, it's this big to do. You know? And I'm not saying it's wrong necessarily. Like like, getting it through osmosis and solid examples is God, you know,

redefines what their heart looks like and how it goes about looking at life. But at the end of the day, we have no freaking idea. We can write a thousand books on how to approach people, how to put them through church, how to disciple them, and at the end of the day, it is not any of your ability to know. And so like, you are left with exactly what Ben is saying. Like, I think we are looking to follow the pillar of fire and like your prayer, time spent in the word is you opening your eyes to where it's at. And the holy spirit that goes, hey. It's to the right.

Move. You know? But, like and you can say, well, if if if God's gonna do all this stuff anyway, why am I involved? Well, one, you know his heart is to involve you. That's the story of the whole scriptures. But also, you'll never see it happen without any of those intentional parts of your life. Right? Like the pillar of fire could be a mile to the right and you're sitting there with no monkey here, no monkey see, no monkey smell. And then you're like, God never moves. And you're like, that's a lie. You're blind to all of it because you weren't interested in seeing it. And so like all the intentionality parts of being in your scriptures and intentionally praying and spending alone time with God, and like, this is all so you can see the fire. So you could follow it around and witness when it happens, and maybe every once in a while, to be the person that goes, hey, Steve, the fire's to the right. And you get to see his eyes open when he sees it.

Have you been saying that wrong your whole life? What? Monkey see, monkey hear, monkey smell? What is it? Talk? Do. Is the was the do the talk guy? The do do. Is it three monkeys in a row? He's got his eyes open. No evil, speak no evil, see no evil. Smell is not anywhere in any of these equations. Yeah. Because I thought it was I thought about speak real quick, and I thought that's an outpouring, not an intake. And so I had to plug something. So and it got bad at me last time. So, like, I had to I had to pick an orifice that was friendly.

You've been it's not right. Do not smell is not in the equation. No monkey smell thing happens. Yeah. But once again, it's an intake of a sense, not an output of the speak. I had to pick for the metaphor to hold. It had to be an intake. Yeah. Yeah. In either case, everything else I said was pretty dang gold. And then you got caught on that smell thing. It's the it's it's like the reverse gospel. Smell thing's bad news. The non Gelion. It was just a lot for the path.

So so we were talking a little bit, and maybe we don't have to spend a ton of time on this one. But, like, one of the examples so, Mike, you're talking about your garage. Maybe you you can share more on that one if you want to. But, like, I was same trip same trip up to Minneapolis when I'm driving up there. I got in the car, and it's a four hour drive. And the first two hours, I don't I just didn't turn the radio on. And I don't know why. I'm all I always have the radio on or a podcast. I'm listening to something because it feels like four hours, you could do something productive here. And so I didn't turn it on. I'm just sitting there driving around.

And like two hours in, this car has been running like garbage. It's a I don't know. It's a late model Suburban, and it's supposed to get about seventeen, eighteen miles to the gallon. It's getting real slow off the line, and it's getting about 10 or 11 to the gallon. Alright? Replace the catalytic converters and the mass airflow sensor. Basic things that otherwise should have changed this thing. It's not getting any better. And frankly, I'm trying to sell it, but I'm driving it up to Minneapolis because I gotta leave some other cars for my family. And so I'm driving this thing up there, and I'm not my mind is not on anything in particular. I'm not thinking, how should I fix this car or whatever. It's just my mind is just wandering around, looking outside, passing stuff or whatever. And then all of a sudden, like bam, this thought comes to my mind and it goes, hey. Maybe the car thinks you've got e 85 gasoline in it. And so it's not

it's not the computer's not balancing the air fuel mixture and all the other things because it thinks it has a different alcohol level in the gas. Now, I said, nothing else was going on in my mind. This thing just popped in there. And what it made me think of was like, how often do I just give my mind time to like finish processing all this stuff and like unearth things that are probably important to me? You know, like I just there's so much input coming in, even the way that I often

or there's input and output. Even the way that I kind of get a sense for like how's my balance of my relationship with Jesus going. I look at the health of my habits. Like, I taking in? Am I listening to podcasts that are about Jesus? Am I reading scriptures? Am I Hearing, seeing, or sniffing? For sure. The smell thing did not happen. I no. That part's not right. And so anyway, I I just I have often I've often thought about doing like

it's not quite a sabbatical. It's more like a time out that goes, you just there's not a way for your mind not to think about or worry about what's going on the next day and just all the things that are on and the things that beep. And even the and all the people that I love around me, but, like, also have something they wanna talk about or think about or want me to think about or that I did do or didn't do. And like, I just like, what would happen if you just gave yourself the proper space to just let your mind finish processing some stuff without so much having to go in it or come out of it all the time? And then we think we were talking a little bit about, you know, Jesus Jesus seemed to do this consistently

better. Maybe we're but, like, have to do it in big chunks of of stuff. I just it just feels like sometimes you come to something simply because you allowed the space for your your mind to process and come to a conclusion, not that you sit in and, like, wrote something down or, like, tried to think of it. It just happened when it needed to happen because you gave your mind space to do it. Yeah. I I had similar thing. Like, I I had a a rough weekend, and I was just in the worst mood. I was mad. I wasn't just, like, irritated. I was mad at everything.

And I couldn't like, I I hadn't spent any time to think about why. I just looked back at my behavior, and I thought, I've been horrible to be around. I've been saying gossipy crap and, like, everything is just making me angry. And so I went home, like, last night, and I'm like I'm like, woman, I'm go out to the garage. I've they need it cleaned up anyway. I'm gonna do some cleaning out here, and I'm gonna have to let the Lord straighten this out in me. And I'll be dang. Like, two or three hours in, like, it just pops in my head, and I knew exactly where it started, and I knew exactly the outflow of why I was so angry. Like, I'd gotten some news, like, on Friday, and it was just a blatant, gross example of sin in this world. And I was not sad about it, I was angry. And then it colored the next two days, and I was still mad.

And God is like, You have stopped listening to me and the way that I look at humanity. You have you have taken the sin of people and made it their whole identity, and you're not willing to get past the anger of it. And so you are taking away any hope and redemption of all these folks around you.

And then I sat there mystified in the garage. I'm like, oh, man. Like, I I owe people apologies for my behavior this weekend. Like, I need to go. So, like, I text one person, and then I went in the house, and I found my wife probably got the brunt of it. She didn't probably. She did get the brunt of it. So I sat my wife down, and I said, I gotta repent of some stuff. I'm sorry. Like, I've I've been angry, and I've I've been doing all the all weekend, and you caught the worst of this. And, like, I'm really sorry. I need to repent of all that stuff. I'll I'll wait. The kid will be the kids will be home in a couple minutes. I gotta go tell the kids too because they caught my gossiping angry conversations that I was having that I shouldn't have been having. And so, like, funny enough, like, normally, I would do the same thing, turn on some tunes, keep my mind busy while I'm cleaning stuff. I'm like, cleaning is boring,

but tunes are fun. So tunes plus boring so this will be alright. You know? And instead, I was just out there twiddling around and, like, my mind got a chance to catch up and process, and and the holy spirit got a chance to clear some of the fog off the window that I was keeping there. He's like, this is the problem, and and you need to repent of this. Turn around, and let's move on. You know? And so it led to a conversation both between Ben's stuff and mine that, like, just how important patterns are and and of, like, intentionally allowing time for your mind to process things. And funny enough, like, God set up prayer in a way that, like, it's almost like a two for one. You're inviting God into that process while your mind your mind is this is the thing that sabotages you sometimes while you're trying to pray, and instead you keep thinking of random stuff to do or the worst thing you've seen in five days. And it's just like keeps getting coming into your mind. You're like, why is this happening to me? And so like your your brain that God designed, like, meets up with this time that you're inviting the holy spirit to, like, be part of your process, like open your eyes to the things that he's doing, and then also be able to to to ask and bring your stuff to the father. And so, like,

it's just it it's really important to set up this intentional time because your current life of our current society, it allows for none of this. Like, just absolutely zero. Most people can't even watch a movie anymore without also being distracted by their phone too. The movie on itself is not enough stimulation, and so you require two forms of entertainment

to keep your mind at the level it's used to. Right? Otherwise, it feels boring. And so, like, your ability to sit and process has almost been erased. Like, there's a book by John Mark Comer, and I'm gonna lose the name of it, but it has to do with time.

Oh, oh, it's a hurry. It's a The relentless pursuit of hurry. Yeah. Yeah. I got it's pretty good. Uh-huh. But but, like, I I can't remember the exact numbers, but, like, our time span our our our attention span over the last twenty years has dropped, like, 1500%. Like, it's not a small difference. Like they like they said, people's ability to, like, even concentrate on a thought used to be, like, like, five seconds, and now it's, like, under one.

It's really, really bad. Wow. And and so, like, there are outside forces that are contributing to this. And you have to fight a lot harder for the way of life that the Bible is laying out sometimes. Right? What was built into their day, like walking down to get water or you know, taking sheep out to a field or even walking to town to buy the things, we cover up with a drive that has

music or a podcast or news or someone to talk to in it. And the inherent being, like letting your mind process stuff, it's just not available in our society because the solution that we've created is no time to think, no time, just constant in, in, in, in. And so anyway, it just goes back to say without going trudging my normal Luddite path of like, those patterns are really important.

And when you start letting them slip, you are gonna notice, and you won't know how you got there because everyone you're surrounded by is not taking time for those patterns either. And so you're like, why do I have to live so different? And the truth is is because you want to be different. That's why you're living differently. Oftentimes, god speaks in that still quiet voice. You know?

And when we're not allowing ourselves quiet, we we miss him. Yeah. You know? So I I agree with what you guys are saying. We gotta plan some time in our life that it's whether

it's cleaning a garage or going on a drive or something. We were talking about this earlier too. Man, it's been a while since I've done this. I needed to just take a couple days and just go away. Just about an hour is what I usually do. Just go away and just be alone and close the door in a hotel room and read a bible and listen. You know? Yeah. Really appreciate those times. It's often very freeing. You think things come that you never, you know, you just wouldn't normally have, and

some of the most impactful things I've done have been through those quiet times. Yeah. Yeah. I think and and we're we're approaching, like, the first of the year, which tends to be the time that says, I'm gonna fix all this stuff. But, like, normally, all the fixes are additions. And and so, like, maybe the encouragement is to just, like, rethink what you're trying to fix and consider that the solution might be subtractions. Like, solution might be it'll be more free time. Right? It's an addition by subtraction or subtraction by addition or whatever. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, you're basically saying,

like, your brain was built to process and you are nonstop assaulting it with intake all the time. You will never process. And any idea, class, what that leads to? It leads to anxiety.

Yeah. It produces anxiety. And like you would have to be so foolish to look back over the way that life has been lived in this country, in other countries, whatever, over the last hundred years and go,

we didn't just magically get more anxiety. Like, we we slow stepped our way there. And now we're doing the same thing with with anxiety and depression that we are doing with obesity and unhealthy lifestyle choices, is we're just trying to medicate the effects. Right? And so, like, I'm not saying that's true for everybody, but, like, I would really encourage that because this happens to me too, that you take a swing at the root, you know, before we start painting the flowers a different color. Yeah. Actually and and I was thinking about that just a minute ago as we were talking through some of this, is that, like, maybe you're like, okay. Well, that sounds good. And then you try to be alone with your thoughts, and, like, your thoughts are bombarding you. True. They're intrusive.

They're, like, relentless. They get stuck on a thing. And, like, here's the thing is I put in forty years worth of practice to have that thing firing up all the time. It's probably gonna take a few rounds of practice to try to get it to, like, be able to, you know, settle into a piece. You know, I I didn't think of that I was wrong about that card. It wasn't even right, the solution, by the way. Like, I checked it when I got home. It's like, I don't know. It wasn't treating it like ethanol gas. So, like, it wasn't right. But, like, I I that happened two hours in.

I I you know, it wasn't like ten minutes later and the thing just occurred. It just it it was a couple hours. And so, like, I I think don't give up on trying to allow your mind to to process its stuff and create space. And like sometimes you're gonna go Mike what Mike said earlier was right. Like sometimes you go and like as soon as you try for quiet, you're just like all the crap just starts shoveling on in there. But here's the thing. That's your mind processing it. It's doing what you trained it to do. Yes. Yes. Like you you right. You use it with a moment. It's your you've trained it to like start shoving all this stuff back in there. Or frankly, if there's something that you thought of and that you shouldn't have been thinking about and then you tried to push back and it never got, like, landed anywhere, of course, it's gonna come up. Like, when you go to sit there and you give it a little bit of space and your guard is down a little bit and you're not actively shoving it out, sometimes you just gotta let the thing process through. And so like, I guess my encouragement is is if you're thinking, oh, okay. I guess that makes sense. Maybe I should give it some time. And then you take a little bit of time and it feels like it's a constant antagonism at you and your mind's not calming down. I'm just saying you trained it to be hyperactive. You're probably gonna have to give it a little bit of space to try to get used to calming down.

And it's gonna take a little bit of time. And so there's nothing wrong with you. Like, it's you're not your brain's not necessarily like broken or something like that. It just means that like, you know, it's the life that we've lived. We've lived an overstimulated life. I can't be surprised that with every other year of my life that I've lived overstimulated, and then I go, you know what? We're cutting it cold turkey. Yeah. And I'm trying to get the rest of the crowd to join me. If you wanna if you want a a time frame that that you

can shoot for, like, I would be surprised if you're able to do this in less than a month. Mhmm. I you're not just gonna start tomorrow and nail it. And I don't think at the end of the week or two weeks or three weeks, you're gonna be like, you're gonna feel it start to sanctify. You're gonna feel it start to gain a little bit of ground. But, like, if you are trying to be discouraged before a month when you've been forty years at it, that come on now. Don't be foolish. Yeah. Right. Alright. You're listening to life from the path. Hey. I don't know. If you guys have any stories about, I don't know, things of clarity in moments of peace would be interesting. I I guess I'd like to hear that. Life from the path complaint line. (515) 517-0085. Call

or text to the Bob Eisenhower Life in the Path complaint line. That's (515) 517-0085. Call or text. We'd love to we'd love to hear from you. Alright, Mike. I'm a just to round up that conversation. Yeah. We're having that conversation because I've been really, really bad about this lately. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right? So, like, I this ain't much preaching at you as it is preaching to the choir. So, like, I in fact, I was just I I put a couple funny enough, put some reminders in my phone because there's some things that I need to remember to do tomorrow, and one of them is to set apart, you know, some more intentional time. So, I mean, you can use some of this overarching technology to help you

because that will mirror a little bit how you schedule your day and stuff like that. Some of you live and die by the calendar on your phone. Put it in there. You know what I'm saying? You'll blindly obey it like you do everything else in that calendar. So don't feel bad about getting yourself set up with a little bit of help too. Yeah. For sure. Let's see. Okay. Here we go. K. Dear, lie from the path. My father and I have had a contentious

oh, con contentious. Trout. Contentious. My father and I have had a relationship since I was a teenager.

Despite being raised in his house, my values are different from his, and he takes it personally. I left home as soon as I was old enough and have lived the way I want since then. After a couple of years of not seeing each other, my father asked if we could be in more regular contact. We tried that, and it went badly. Every conversation ended in a fight. When I told him we needed a family counselor to help us find common ground, he absolutely refused. Now he's telling our relatives that I cut off contact with him, and I'm keeping him from my kids. This isn't true. I wanted us to work with a mediator to find a healthier way of talking with each other. I am no longer sure it is realistic. He is involving my siblings, aunts, and cousins, and making them choose sides.

How do I protect the relationships I have with the rest of my family if he keeps acting like a jerk? For what it's worth, my life is pretty boring. I am 30 and married, and I have a college degree and a solid job. We live in a house in a nice neighborhood and watch our kids play soccer on the weekends. The last part seemed kinda weird. Yeah. He's just saying, look. I'm a regular Joe. Yeah. It's not like I'm out there, like, killing people or, like, run a a theft ring. Yeah. I here's the so family stuff is tricky. I I think it's

I I don't use don't allow your dad to be a middleman. I think it's fine to, like, say, here. Here here's what's going on with dad, and here's the conversations we're having, you know, whatever. I I don't yeah. I think that's just the the caution is that, like, if if they're gonna choose and listen to him over the things that you're saying, fine. You're gonna have to deal with the consequences of that. But, like, you might as well just be open about it. I it's probably not crazy. Like, I presume your interactions with your dad were relatively public knowledge

when you, you know, stop meeting with him or or talking to him or whatever when you were younger. And so yeah. Mhmm. Yeah. I would protect the relationships that you know you know are good from the relationship that feels like it's poisonous, and then let the chips fall where they may. Yeah. I'm guessing both of them are

saying the same thing about each other. Yeah. Neither one are compromising. Neither one are communicating. They are both pretty strong headed in their opinions. You see that a lot out there as

children grow up with different values, and then they think parents are dumb, and the parents think their kids are rebellious, and and you're if if you truly are on opposite ends of issues, there's probably a chance you're never gonna see eye to eye on some things. You're gonna have to learn to love each other in spite of differences, and you're gonna have to both have discipline. Maybe that's a counselor to help point that out, but

I must it seems like this this this child, I don't know if it's son or daughter, is feeling like they're the righteous ones, and and, you know, dad's just an old fuddy duddy who who is unforgiving or something. Yeah. He's giving you what they're doing. They look in the mirror a little bit too. Do you think do you think, Dan because I I think the impression that they're trying to give is to say, look. If they're not willing

to even get help or use outside help, then obviously they're the stubborn one. Mhmm. But like, guess, do you see a scenario that goes, there's like, you could rightfully go, no, I'm not gonna entertain this counseling path, and that doesn't necessarily make him the obstinate jerk. Right. Right. I mean, mean, it'd be nice if he would, you know, jump on board the counseling thing, but he doesn't trust counselors, I'm guessing. Or or he assumes the counselor is gonna maybe side with the sibling, the child. Yeah. I guess I'm I'm speaking from

friends my age who have voiced their just sadness over their children having different values, and Yeah. Some of the things I hear from them, fortunately, our our family is really cloaks, and we we haven't had that issue, but I I I know many people who have had that issue. I mean, like absolute polar opposites Yeah. On things of faith and politics and, you know, the big stuff. And and they they just don't like each other anymore. That's really sad. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. Actually, think I think there's a lot of wisdom in what in Dan's point that

like this is it's almost never completely one-sided like that. And so like if and and I get you can't say everything all the time, but, like, I always like to see a little humility in someone that goes, I'm probably not handling it the best. I've probably got room to improve. Yeah. Yeah. Or something not like, I gotta get my dad to a counselor because he's an obstinate turd. Yeah. Or something like that. It's like the hog farmer who raised a vegan, and it's like, there's no middle ground there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know? I mean, except, like, I this is this is gonna be this is gonna be one-sided, and I I don't think it's prescriptive really, but, like,

like, you're the parent, and you're also the wiser, I'm hoping, of the two. So like, if you think if you keep in the back of your mind is like, I am willing to do

everything that I can possibly do to maintain a relationship with you. Which means, like, sometimes, like if you're meat farmer that raised a vegan and they want to go eat at the tofu castle, you're like, alright. I'll meet you at the tofu castle. Yeah.

Like, you can be snotty about it in the car on the way there to yourself, and then you can be really disappointed and stop at the steak and shake on the way home to make up for that gross tofu you had. But, like, you didn't change your core beliefs, but you did say, I can eat tofu with you. You know? Yeah. Like, and you're the adult, and you love your kids in a sacrificial way that goes, I will do

everything that I can to a point to be in relationship with you. If you require that I am also a vegan full time, I can't meet you there. But I can go to the place you picked for lunch, you know? And so I feel like as much as it feels unfair, especially as a kid, doesn't look like an adult anymore.

Like, I met 25 year old me. I would not respect that guy as 40 year old me. And so, like, you add fifteen years on to, you know, a little bit of experience and go, I I know what's going on here. Right? Like, I'll meet you at the stupid tofu restaurant. You know? Because you're the adult and you're the dad or you're the mom and, like, this is the way that you sacrifice for your kids. And, by the time everybody matures a little, like, things aren't running so hot. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Secular, the question was

oh, no. Yeah. The question was, how do I protect the relationships I have with the rest of my family if he keeps acting like a jerk? Segular says, how has that isolation plan of your father's been working? Do you have a good relationship with the rest of your family? If you haven't already, give your relatives chapter and verse about your father's controlling behavior. Make it clear to them that you would like to have a relationship with your dad, but unless he is willing to accept professional mediation,

you cannot have one. You have all the ingredients for a happy life. It will be yours if you can resist your father's coercion. Yeah. I mean, I am I I would be super cautious in that, like think about it. What do you actually have to agree on? Think about the people you work with and, like, just other places where you've cooperated with someone else to accomplish a thing. I mean, you just don't there's all kinds of things you don't know about people that would not stop you from interacting with them generously.

You know, you could you could chat someone up at the grocery store and not have to find out like whether you agree with them religiously or like something like that. And so like if you have to put someone in a like just categorize them and go, look man, it would be great if my dad or my closest family members agreed with me on these 10 things because it would mean we have interesting things to talk about and I would have implicit camaraderie.

Yeah. Maybe. But like, I don't know. There's all kinds of people who do like wildly disagree with me and I don't find myself ending up in shouting matches or like spending all my time criticizing their belief system. Like, you're you're doing your best to stay at peace with everyone

Mhmm. As you may have heard biblically. And so like, yeah, sure. There's there's totally a time to like, don't back down from a thing you think is important and true, but it also doesn't mean you gotta torch someone because they don't think that or either every opportunity is the time to grind it in. Like, it's not playing a game. It's just like you're not it's there there's a little bit of arrogance to go. My thing that I believe in regardless of what's one or 50 things should be front and center and should drive how I treat people and the nature of these conversations all the time. I mean, like, get a hobby if this is if you're tied up in that so much. Yeah. Mhmm. Alright. Last one. Ready? Yep. Friends there it goes. Dear life from the path.

My longtime friend, let's call her Cindy, is six months pregnant and has started sharing name ideas with me regarding her baby. It's a girl. For some reason, Sydney will hear a word she thinks sounds pretty and think it will make a great name for her daughter regardless of the meaning of the word. I had to beg her to stop considering chlamydia as a name. She finally agreed after I repeatedly emphasized the bullying her daughter could receive over that name. Now she has her heart set on the name cliche,

and it seems and it's I'm sorry. This is this is rough. And seems to think that as long as the name isn't an STD,

everything will be fine with that choice. She's now calling me hypercritical as this is the fourth name I've objected to, but Bidet and Chalet were the other selections. This can't This cannot be real. No. Oh. Sydney's family doesn't seem to care

and even agrees that chlamydia sounds lovely, and she should go with that name. I'm at my wit's end. I can't take this one at all. But Dave, I

I only want to help an innocent child avoid a lifetime of ridicule and stress. What should I do? Yeah. Keep on doing what you're doing. Hope hope and persistence. But Dan Clement, this cannot. It can't be. No way. It can't be, Mike. It's a it's it's legit printed. This

is my favorite. We've been we've been doing this for fifteen years. This is my favorite of all time. I love this one. Oh. Bidet. What was hold on. Hold on. It was chalet,

bidet, chlamydia? Yeah. Wait. What was the other one? Oh, cliche. Cliche. Oh, man. I have I have no advice. I'm Yeah. Yeah. You gotta stick with it. Just do what you're doing. I think here's the deal. Like, if this is legit,

you the kid already has a moron for a mother, and there's nothing you could do. Right? There's eighteen years of this coming up. And, like, if you if this is it's already too far gone. The kids even if they had a regular name, there's just no possible way that the line of thinking that would produce these type of names is not gonna burn her in some other capacity. So I think you just have to go, I'll just have to call her c or something.

I I think I think if this is real, the the friends the the the person who's trying to do the guidance is probably a super serious person who doesn't really understand humor, and their friends having fun with them. Oh, you think you just And they're all they're all fake names. Yeah. Just to see how their friend responds. Chlamydia. Jeez. Alright. We're gonna yeah. I don't I don't know what else to say about this. Secular says, there are none so blind as those who will not see and none so deaf as those who refuse to listen.

Suggest Cindy might like Greek names, Callista, Lydia, Olympia, or Andromeda. A constellation was named after Andromeda, a beautiful daughter of Greek myth. After that, avoid frustration by no longer offering Cindy more suggestions. It was a bold suggestion by secular.

Like, the woman is intent on picking something with some fancy French sounding name. She's like, maybe try and hit her with the Greeks. What I mean, what are the odds she keeps picking out names that are intentionally, like, I don't know, private part related?

Mean, I just I mean, chalet is not the worst. You know I'm saying? Like, between cliche is obviously stupid, but, like, between cliche and and chalet, these could be possible. Chalet. This is my daughter, Chalet, maybe? Yeah. Alright. Yeah. I mean, maybe you could, like, go to the best of bad options. Yeah.

I guess. You should reconsider Chalet. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Alright. You're listening to Live From The Path. Thanks for hanging out with us this evening. I very much appreciate it. And, like, I we're gonna be out next week, but we'll see you with the week after that brings. In the meantime, be faithful in the meetings. God will handle the ends. You've been listening to Live From The Path. Vineyards scream ash. The feast turns bitter bread turns to trash. The rich hoard wealth pour crushed to the dust walls built on lies, foundations of mistrust. You build your ivory towers, sit on gilded thrones, but the Lord sees all. Even hearts of stone, woe to those at ease who sting out of songs. Your palaces crumble, you've been wicked too long.