Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper. You are live from the Pathway I didn't know if we were gonna go for funny sound Blame for the… As a as a as a way to end the Somebody somebody has to take care of Mike's. Yeah. That that does sound like a thing Mike would do. That's fair. Hey, man. We need a new intro. What? That thing is old. No. I look my best. I I Yeah. That's because it was ten years ago. Yeah. It's only… It's downhill from here. I… Dan, I think we keep it. What do think? Love it. I love it. It's great. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I don't care. I look like a baby. Yeah.

Your fallibilities don't cast on everyone else. We need to Alright. Fine. We need to cast you out of I look like Butterbean. Sitting and not remain in the camp. I look like Butterbean. Oh, and you don't… You're not for that? No. He had a successful life. Yeah. But I'm not following in the footsteps of Butterbean. I don't know. Nor uncle Fester, which is also a thing I looked like. Okay. Rough times. I was… Okay. Alright. You're listening live from the Path. Oh, wait. Hey. Okay. I'm gonna introduce the show. And then before we move on to important topics, I want you to think about, like, what is the most flattering and then unflattering comparison someone has said, hey. You look like this. Oh, no. Okay. Just something to put the thought on. Micah, you gotta think on it too. Okay. Okay. I got it. So here's what we got going on Life From The Path. We have, first of all, Micah or Empty Smith, also known as Micah Smith, is in the studio with us, and he's gonna talk about… He's got a new single out. Now hold on. You've met him before. Yes. He was here. Buba, do you remember? Years ago. Okay. Buba thinks about him all the time. You can take that however you want to. I… You do. Whatever way you wanna take that. I'm good. Okay. So, yeah, Mike has been here before when we had the August Guns In. Mhmm.

And I saw he had a new single out. I took I took a listen to the cut and said, holy cats. We gotta have him in here to talk about his tune and catch up and see how things are going. So we're gonna we're gonna learn. We're gonna hear the tune. We're gonna hear about what's been going on and and how you can kind of keep up with whatever Micah's doing, and so we're gonna do that. Nice. We also we also have… Bubba has run into a very fiery apostle John Yes. About Judas.

Yes. I I… So I… I've been reading my bible every day now for, like, eight months, and I'm almost through the whole thing. It's awesome, and I'm really excited about that. It's the first time I've went through the whole thing and, like, pumped about it. Yep. But I I read gospels like rapid fire. Like, I was doing five to six chapters a day plus a chapter of Psalms every single day. So, like, Matthew, Mark, Luke were, like, all within about two week period… Two and a half week period. Right? And they they are very similar and play off of each other very well. There's a lot of of of thematic things that are in there that that make sense. And Fonte crossover. Yes. Right. Exactly. Right? But then John just… I mean, it just throws a wrench in the whole thing. Like, just straight up. Now I'm not saying it's it's, like, counterintuitive towards each other, but, like, it's just a different type of book, and it threw me off. And there's a lot of stuff that I've just been… I've really had to take a step back and go, wait. What? Yeah. Did I know that at all? Did I believe that? Do I believe that? And what does that mean for me going forward? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And one of the things that I've been I've been wrestling with is in in John 17, there's a high priestly prayer that comes from Jesus, and he's talking to the father about the apostles around him, right? It's

a very interesting prayer that sometimes is kind of difficult to follow along with admittedly of like, I came from you and you gave them to me and now that I was given them by you to me and… Like, all this different stuff. I'm just like, okay. But then there's a moment where he says, like, and I I I essentially gave them you, all of them except for the one who is the son of destruction so that the scriptures will be fulfilled. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so I'm just like, wait a minute. Is that is that… That seems like a Judas. Like, I'm thinking of the list, it's Judas. Right? Yeah. And so if that's the situation, like, did Jesus specifically not cover Judas in, like, a a lordly protection

so that he could be tempted by the enemy Yeah. In a way that it fulfills the scripture? And if so, was, like, it… Was Judas, like, I mean, destined, if you wanna call it Uh-huh. To be the adversary in this situation so that god could fulfill his redemptive story? And if that's the situation, what does that mean for, like, my overarching understanding of, like, we all have the opportunity to to to find Christ and therefore find eternity. Okay. And so I… I've really been kinda slamming with that. Yeah. What do you do with Judas? That's the that's the key Yes. Question from from John's perspective. Okay. Good. We'll hit that up in the… Sounds like a bit like an ask the pastor. Kinda. Yeah. Okay. Yep. Also, is a a scoured. I tell you this. Christian media is not interesting. Oh, really. It's getting worse and worse. Many pastors Tell the same stories. Did a thing and then here's the Hamas and here's the something else. But there was a beliefnet.com

has come out with five five sins that aren't sins. I said, oh, boy. Oh, come on. Oh, boy. I've I've surely committed some of these. That means we get to have some fun. Yeah. So we're gonna we're gonna hit that one up, and we'll just see. Five ways to tell whether or not your husband loves Jesus based on the apps on his phone. What? I can't say. How many… How many whole grains are in his bread? Are you eating the Ezekiel seven nine bread? If not, you're not holy. That's right. He's not he's not even an Anglican. Okay. So we'll hit those, and then we're gonna do some advice on dear life in the path. Did you check if we got any previews? No previews yet because the one that I did read up, I was wrong on the title, and I thought some lady was ranking her children. But apparently, it just meant that she was ranking her children above her boyfriend. Oh, that sounds funner, the rank… Ranking of the children. I don't do that personally, kids. I mean, at least not out loud to you.

I feel like… Yeah. I… Everybody does. Like, there's no way… Maybe it's not, like, forever, but, like, is there not a situation where you go, you're my favorite today? Oh, yeah. Everybody's number one. It just depends on the scale. It depends what I'm evaluating at any given time. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Alright. Fair enough. I guess have never ever ever ever done that. Yeah. Dan says they're all… They're both both great. Just number ones. Yeah. It's just… Yeah. Everybody's the best. Everybody's the best. It's probably because Dan's the best. The fallibility is on a parent who would rank their kids. Me. I figured the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. They've gotta be alright. That's the same. That tree sure is great. Look at those apples. Good tree produces good fruit. It's the best. There is a is a self confidence to that that I don't know if I've ever felt, and I love that for you, Dave. Okay. What… Did you have any… Have you thought of any comparison? Somebody said, hey, man. You look like this. And you were, like, at one point flattered, and the other point, you're like, nah. I wish they wouldn't have said that. Okay. I'll do mine. Oh, yeah. Somebody said once that I look like a young Matthew Matthew Broderick

That's a lie. From the Ferris Bueller. No. I don't look like Matthew Broderick at all. I don't know why they said that. And this was not a person… I was working at a Casey's when I was, like, 19 years old, and it was said by a 50 year old woman. Oh, boy. Oh. And… So it was sincere. I thought… Like, she wasn't trying to sincere. Right. And so… Yeah. Right. Like, there's no there's no, like, upside for her to be comparing you to a Matthew Broderick. Yeah. Unless she was desperate. Unless she'd been watching write to it. I don't wanna know. Yes. Okay. So, anyway, that was probably that was probably the most complimentary Flattery. Comparison that I had. The other the other guy, they said… Someone mentioned I looked like Clint Howard.

Do have… Oh, yeah. Yeah. From the… Ron's brother. Yeah. Ron's brother, Clint. I mean, he's not a flattering The lesser known Howard. He's not a flattering man. He's in the horror stories usually. Yes. Usually, he's wearing some sort of teeth. Yeah. That's fantastic. That would… I love that. I don't think was a compliment but is closer to my actual visage. The noncomplimentary one was the most truthful one. Yeah. I said, well, you know, that's not far off, actually. And he does well. And so I said thank you anyway. Oh, that's fantastic. Alright. That's awesome. I wrote Dan. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. So when I was in college, the Rambo movies were coming out, like, original one. And Don't you say it. If you say it. They they did. They kept saying, you you you remind me of Rambo. I'm like, I I look nothing like Rambo. I mean, there's nothing… My hair is longer. You're a dead ringer for Slice Stallone. I know. I I was like that… Yeah. That that was hilarious. But on the other hand, in that same time period, there were some who said I looked like Bentley on The Jeffersons or Shaggy on Scooby Doo.

So those three Okay. Take that Oh, boy. That's a human being. Squish all that together to make a sense of character. Except for the Rambo. Oh, no. I wanna be supportive, Dan, but I just that Rambo seems… It seems a stretch. I I think I think the gal maybe had something for me. Okay. That… That's possible. I didn't admit it to myself. You remind me of first blood. You could… Could go like, glammered her for sure. I know. Like, for sure. I don't know where you're getting this, but I'll take it. I'll walk a little bit Exactly. It's like, no. I thank you. I mean I agree. Anyway, I think I'm more like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Dan Bo's here. Okay.

Oh, no. Okay. So the the worst thing I've been called, actually, it it it, like, it changes because it really is insert obese comedian here, and that's what I get. Like, for some reason, people… I don't know if they'd like… They're like, no. He's a big guy and he's funny. Call Chris Farley. Like, I look nothing like Chris Farley. You're just going, well, he's fat and funny. So maybe that makes sense. Right? So they're not really trying. They Exactly. Yeah. No. They're not even really doing any work for, like, actually trying to make this work for me. Chris Farley, I've gotten Andy Milenakis, which was a a fat guy on YouTube for a while, and, like, we're same. You know? And and so, like, it it really is the worst ones are like, hey. You remind me of ex fat and fuck. I got John Candy one time. Someone said I look like John Candy. I'm like, I look nothing like John Candy. You're really just equating obesity and funny and then going, that seems like a human being I can remember. Do you think that people…

Okay. I don't know how to ask this right. I'm I'm super excited to hear this question. I don't know how to ask it right. I just… I know it's gonna go great. Do you feel like people… Like, they just can't help mentioning, like, as… Oh, yeah. Like, they have to go, oh, elephant in the room. It has to be a large person. Yep. Absolutely…. Just like Fat Albert. Right. Right. Yeah. You look like Gabriel Iglesias, the Hispanic man. I I, a very Germanic looking fellow with a long red beard, look like Gabriel Iglesias? Okay. Got it. Like, they feel… I could could see someone going… Feel like they're trying too hard to avoid picking someone Right. Who's who's who's larger because that they don't want it. They feel like it might be sensitive, so they pick something that doesn't work at all. Right. Exactly. Or they go like for it. You look like John Candy. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Okay. The positive one I've gotten is I look like Luke Combs who is a country singer. I… I've been mistaken for Luke Combs before, like, in person, not just like people have said That one actually makes sense. Like, I've gotten to the point where, when working at a bar, on Halloween, I convinced a couple of people that I was Luke Combs in a security outfit Yeah. About to do a show. Oh, yeah. And, like, I went out on stage with a guitar, and they freaked out thinking that they were the only ones that knew that I was about to give a live performance as Luke Combs at a bar in Des Moines, and then I just laughed my butt off at them. Like, no. You're idiots. No. I'm not Luke Combs. And I set the guitar back down and walked off the stage. They were all very angry. But I get Luke Combs quite often. Okay. Okay. I could see that. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Alright. Which I find flattering. Alright. Micah? Alright. So mine is a bit of a strange one because they are both the same person. So when…

Alright, Danny. Are you Rocky Rambo? No. Yeah. I get You look like Eddie Cyrus. Yeah. So when I shave, I look exactly like Eddie Redmayne, the guy from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find It. Like, it's freaky. Yeah. I totally see that. So you agree with that one. So… Yeah. And I was like, alright. Yeah. That works. But if you you let your clothes on fire, no one would help. They'd think like, yeah. Yeah. He's a… You're a blizzard, Harry. That's fine. No. But he has a movie called The Danish Girl in which he is a transitioning Danish man to woman. Uh-huh. And so now I know what I would look like if I had a red wig and put on lipstick. So that's my That's fantastic. Yeah. But, like, no. It's Be still hard to find out. Scary. Yeah. So just go ahead and Google that and be be afraid. Not the second one, but the first one I can totally see. Like, that makes plenty of sense. It's true. Like, you… I… My friend Sam showed me, I was like,

wow. Wow. Okay. Yeah. That's that's me right there. I had people at my… A conference last week saying I I sound just like Tucker Carlson, which I don't think I sound like him either. Oh, like you're just your voice just by me. Carlson? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. Interesting. I wouldn't see that either. Definitely not. Years, and I don't know if I would say it. I've never… Yeah. I don't know. I'm like… Because he goes, really? No one tells you that? I'm like, you're the first one. And We… He's done a mobile phone. That's like, it's a dead ringer. You absolutely sound like it. I know. Interesting. Now… Okay. Now, interestingly, over the last two weeks, I've also come to the realization that I look like about 60% of any men that work in an office building that are over 40. There is a there is a percentage of similarity. Yeah. I keep, like, I keep getting You're not wrong. Phone calls, I'm like, okay. Well, that guy looks like me. Really? Bald head, black glasses. Yeah. Okay. That's us. White fella. I'm like… There's a demographic, Ben. You're a part of it. And it's funny because, like, you know, there's nuances when it's you know, humans on video, but people are… They'll do the avatars. Right. And, like, there's eight people on the call, they all look like the same avatars look the same. Because the AI looks at them goes, okay. Yeah. White guy, mostly bald, but with big black glasses. In a Sims world, you are a very stock character. That's right. I I am… I'm the guy I'm the guy on the guess who board. You know what I'm saying? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Think of the guess who board. Is he bald? Hold on. Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip. Okay. Now if you can see on the YouTube, look at me. I love that to die from the guess who board. Yes. Yep. I would say bald in glasses and then immediately guess you. Yep. Okay. Anyway, hey. Hit us up on the complaint line. First of all, want you to Google that Eddie Redmayne thing. Let's validate whether whether Micah fits the bill. And then let us know if you think Ben is an NPC.

Yes. I could be. I could be. I think so too. Yeah. What are your thoughts? Or… And and, actually, interesting. Few people who listen to the podcast has… I'm interested at voice, actually. Is there something about Buva's voice or whatever you like? He kinda sounds like a young Tom Brokaw who's had a couple Bacardi Breezers or something. A very specific sound, and I'm so glad you recognize that that's what I was gonna I'm just throw… I'm throwing up a couple options. Like, it's just… I had a I had a vocal coach that was like, this is you. This is what you're going. Is that you? With a couple Bacardi's. One sheet to the wind? Okay. Too many Bacardi's to party, Tom Tom Brokaw. Okay. Good. Well, then you're welcome for that reintroduction to hear it live from the Path. Thanks for hanging out with us so far. You can… Don't bail yet. Wait. Mike has got some stuff to perform, and then then I think you could call you could call it a day. So actually, let's… Before we get into some of the details of

of the new cut from Empty Smith, let's hear it. Okay? So we're going to listen to… The single is Are You There? And it is… It's this week. Right? Is it just released this week? It released on Friday. Okay. Okay. Fresh. It's out. Yeah. That's right. It is a pancake off the griddle. He said yes. You disagreed. He was on board. I don't know if I I think he was being polite. I I agree with you. That also seems fair. That's what Eddie Redmayne does. Okay. Let's let's let's dig on the tune, and then we'll we'll we'll learn more about him. This is Are You There by Empty Smith. You're listening to Live From The Path. I wonder would you hear my plea or prosecute me

forcefully, holding on certainty. That my just judge would set me free. Can I go to find you Are you there?

I'm trying my best to keep Are you there? Are you there? Are you there? Wow. Thanks, guys. Yeah. Sweet. That was great. That was awesome. Yeah. I… We said this on on,

think, the show last week when… Or last week or week before when when Arendelle was on, and I… It makes sense to me now even more that, like, a lot of the times when I hear a song like that, it is powerful because it's the words that I think but don't know what to say. And, like, that's that's super indicative of that one right there. Like, that's a that's a very familiar feeling and a familiar place to be in, but not one that I would ever articulate like that. And I think that that's super powerful in that to have words that I didn't realize I would want to say. And so So can I? I'd… Those words are are borrowed, I guess Okay. From the book of Job chapter 23. Mhmm. You go in there and read that, I just wanted to capture

that feeling. Yeah. And it's been awesome to hear people… Since the song has been released, I've had people reach out to me and be like, dude, like, I… This resonates with me so much because, like, that feeling of God, where are you at? Right. And whatever is going on is a very human thing to feel. Mhmm. Whether it's deep loss or whether someone told you that you look like, I don't John Candy. John Candy. Yeah. Sometimes trying to… Whatever

in existential crushing, I guess, you're going through. Gosh. Yeah. That makes that makes a lot of sense. I… Yeah. Okay. I love that. I love that a lot. Yeah. Yeah. I did too. Is there… Was was there anything that led you… Because that… That's… It's interesting, especially, actually, now that if you think about it, layer it back onto the book of Job. Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. Like, did you… Was there something, like, for you in that that took you there kinda looking

for that type of thing, or did you just happen to to see it in the book of Job and and it inspired you to write the song? Or, like, what are some kind of the backstory of the tune? You wanted stuff to talk about. You just opened up the can of worms. So how do I go about this here? The last couple years have been pretty tough for me. Yep. I experienced a lot of loss in a fairly short amount of time. Yeah. Man, I thought to get too deep into the weeds for it. Yeah. I just… I went through a divorce. Yeah. I

lost my church family. I lost my place that I lived. I actually had to change jobs because of the financial requirements of stuff. I lost my profession. Yep. I… The August guns disbanded. That was a big thing that kind of kept me afloat. I mean, it just kinda moved and life happened and everything like that. And that all happened in a very short amount of time. And so,

yeah, I I went through a bit of a Job esque season. I'm not gonna say it's on the same plateau because Right. Dude lost his family and his, like, just absolutely everything. Right. But, yeah, just enough. I mean, everybody, you know, if you haven't lost stuff, live live a little longer. Right? Right. You'll get there. You'll get there. Yep. But, yeah, I just… Especially in some of the hard stuff that you you know, you pray about, you pray about, and then God says no. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Gotcha. Wrecked. Right? Yep. So how do you put…

How do you find those words when that happens? And, gosh, the the the, you know, word of God is living and active sharper than any two edged sword, piercing as far as as to divide spirit, soul, joints, marrow as a judge of the thoughts and ideas of the heart. Yep. And so when I write, a lot of times, I go into that trying to find, like, a specific thing that is either speaking to me,

or I figure, man, if I wanna put words down, if I'm gonna ask for your three minutes and thirty two seconds or whatever it is, Right. I wanna make these words count and what better words to use than that. And like, Job, like the Bible, I love it because it's not just this hall of fame of like, here are these awesome people who made all the right choices except Judas. Screw. We'll get there. Yes. But it's, like, it's real people going through real suffering and making…

You know… Abraham, right? Patriarch of the faith gave away his wife twice. Oh, dude. She's my sister. Yeah. I love that because I'm not perfect and like, neither are the people in there except the Lord Jesus. Yep. Right. Anyway, sorry that was a long No. No. That's great. Yeah. It is great, and I I I think it is…

It does get to the heart of of of scripture that does work. Like, I… It's it's been a great caution of mine where we spend time focusing to understand the scriptures, which is a… It's a it's a blessed thing.

But if we come away with knowledge alone and not that God has put something to to to to what you quoted that that is living and active, that does… It does work. Like, the good news isn't just good information, it's good news. Like, the character of God isn't just something of which allows us to speak about God. It allows us to recognize who we are in light of who He is type of stuff, you know? And oftentimes, it takes the stripping away of some edifices

in our lives to feel it or to recognize it, right? Like, sometimes we are blissfully ignorant, not intentionally ignorant, but blissfully it feels like something can sit on the shelf and some of those are just privileged problems, things that maybe we have a blindness to that maybe people in other situations or other cultures would do. And there is… We miss out on, I think, of the tangibility

and it's actually one of the things there's been great progress made on the study of, you know, the translations in ancient Biblical languages, right? Like this is all really, really good things but if we know all that and then, like, our scriptures don't walk the world as they represented Jesus who walked the world who was in the midst of, like, what is legitimate human pain? Like, it's very difficult to look out at the world. It's especially situations like some of the things that you were talking about. You're like, but like of anything to rescue, can you rescue this? This thing that's in front of me. Like, totally. Totally. And like in a in a human world where humans, like, whatever situations or circumstances occur, sometimes it just… On this side of on this side of restoration, it just doesn't go the way that even God said, like, I created it to be types of stuff and, like, there's a real

reality to the hurt and then a reality to what God still steps into that I think you've captured in the song and even in the music that supports it, like, just just as the as the chorus fades out and you go back into the verse, like, it's just… There's a very…

It… There's an isolation to it, which I think feels right, and then there's a hope to it, but then there's then there's a questioning to it. And all that, I think, comes together very well in the two, and I think it gets to exactly what you're trying to to say. That was a long way to say that. But someone someone the other day called it haunting, and I was like, that is the sweetest thing that anybody has ever said. I was attempting to haunt you. Thank you. Yeah. Well, that song was spooky. Yeah. Sorry, Dan. Were you gonna say something about it? I think that one of the one of the things that I've recognized going through the Psalms is I… I'm terrible about being angry and, like, being upset and lamenting. Mhmm. And, like, there's

something about being willing to be real enough to question that. Yeah. Right? And, like, I think that that sometimes we get caught up thinking that, like, god doesn't understand human emotion, and that's so incorrect. Yeah. It's dumb. And it's… Right. Like, he created us exactly who we are, and he's not afraid of when we say things like, are you even there? Yeah. Like, David, you know, Psalm 22 style saying, like, all of my bones are broken and my joints are out of place. And, like, eventually, I think, like, 12 Psalms later, it turns into, you fix my bones. Yeah. But, like, there's there's a… There's an honesty to being willing to go to an omniscient god of this world that created you and go, are you even here? Like, are you even present in my life because I don't feel you? Well, in the Psalms… Oh, man. I'm gonna geek out here, but, like, they just… They give vent in the language to be, like, ugly. Yes. Right? Like, there's… What is it? Psalm one thirty nine where David's like, I am fearful or… No. It's not in that. It's somewhere where he's like… You wanna be like, David, dude, like, calm me down. Calm Yeah. He's like, blessed are those who smash your your kids' heads against the box. And I was like, David. Like, go your room. Going down, man. Yeah. David, go to your room. Like Oh, that's funny. God… Like, in prayer, he's not surprised by anything. He's

not off put. Like, I mean, maybe he's like, alright, dude. You need… But, like, he he he makes space for you to be as ugly and little and, like, whatever caught up in your tiny little human understanding of as it is, and he doesn't look away and turn away from that. Yeah. Right. And I love that the Psalms give voice to, like, just some intense stuff where, like… I don't know. I feel like the the emotion of anger Christians have this weird relationship with it where you're like, don't be angry. Just praise all the time. And that's crap because, like, you know, don't let the sun go down on your anger. You got beef, grill it up, and eat it. But, like, if you… Like, God made emotions. Yeah. Right. Right? Like, he made… God gets angry. God gets angry at the right things,

so, like, there's a place for it, but I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. Actually, I like that. I like the reminder that the presence of emotion is indicative of something that that says… It brings something to your attention. It was… It's similar to, like… Sometimes we react negatively to what… Something that feels like guilt. But, like, if if if… Sometimes what we describe guilt is, like, god is is is, like, tapping on me. Right. Yeah. Like, you're you're walking away from me on this thing. You're harming yourself. You're harming others. Here. Like, what… Wouldn't I want… Wouldn't a good dad go, hey. I'm I'm sorry. I'm not gonna let this go. And so, like, sometimes our reaction to anger is totally justified. You look at the world and, like, it doesn't have to be this way. Mhmm. And, like, boy, we're so bad or I'm so bad or, like, I I wish I wouldn't have, you know, acted in such a way and created a mess in front of me or whatever. And, like like, you can't stay in any of these places, but, like, it's alright for it to show up and for you… Because, like, it calls you to… Not only some… Oftentimes, it calls you to a repentance, but it calls you to an assessment. Yeah. What… And and and what am I angry about here?

And, like, what is my opportunity? Oftentimes, it's an opportunity to show to forgiveness in places that doesn't belong. Oftentimes, it's an opportunity to repent, to go ask for forgiveness. Oftentimes, it's just to to look out and and, like, you become angry because you saw something. You're like, my my elbows and eyebrows and hands and feet are supposed to go do something in this situation. And so, like, if we use them as kind of triggers to go, alright, like, how do I how do I step into this? How… What am I supposed to do with this emotion? As I… Like, where we become dangerous is where it controls us as opposed to you being able to use this thing. Okay. Not not even necessarily controlling it, but, like, recognizing, what do I do with this? Jesus, what do you do with this? Yeah. There's a there's a lot of healthiness in that. And I think I think, Micah, to your earlier point, sometimes as as as Christians,

we we suppress in… And then don't don't deal with things, which means, like, if if what we're just talking about is true, you miss out on the opportunity to actually have a healthy reaction, to make a change in the world, to repent, to ask for forgiveness, to forgive, especially with something like anger. But, like, we we just took Jesus' words too narrow. Like, don't be angry with your brother. I mean, okay. Like, don't hold anger against your brother. But, like, if you're angry with him, it's a mark to go reconcile. Like, that was actually Jesus' instruction. Like, go reconcile. Yep. That's triggered to do that. Don't bring your sacrifice here. Go reconcile with your people. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I think things that allow us and kind of call us or invite us into

dealing with the world around us. Like, it's actually the one of the things that comes up when we talk about when people are contending for the notion, like, for evolution. And, like, one of the things that I would… Like, I have trouble sorting out from that worldview is, like, what do you… Like, emotions seem like a frailty. This doesn't seem like something we evolved positively to. Like, I would look at it and go… I mean, we've become more frail Yeah. To a certain extent in the presence of an emotion, that, I don't know, the the the wolf pack or the turtle can just go, well, man, the guy's… He's he's gonna die, and so we're gonna leave. Like, it's fine.

But, like, it obviously isn't a frailty in recognizing what it looks like for human connection and connection with God. It's not that. But, like, if you eliminate those views, emotions feel like something that actually creates a weakness in us compared to, you know, if you're purely on a survival of the fittest. So the question is, but God obviously has put something in humanity that doesn't exist in the rest of creation. And so it cannot be that we are supposed to, like, be completely devoid of it. Like, that can't be right. And there are especially ones that are reflected in the character of God in places where, like, there has to be a justifiable way to do it. That's the right conversation.

Not do we suppress Because I… And that causes all kinds of problems. We misunderstand God when we oftentimes misunderstand our own… How we look at the world and feel about it and stuff. Right. That's a great song. That's a great song. Okay. So you can you can find it. So if you're looking for it, you're gonna be looking for Are You There? By M. T. Smith. And so if you if you go on the… I talked to the Amazon and I said, hey, Alexa. I talked to the Amazon. Yeah. I did. I spoke with it. I speak… Do you talk to it, Booth? I don't call it the Amazon. I call it, rightly, the Alexa. Oh, why… It responds to me. I don't… Wait. You say Amazon and then ask a question and it answers you? Amazon, wish to speak with you. But, anyway, if you give I'm always I'm always amazed at it too. Like, I get used to saying, you know, like, Alexa, play the the hits from the Gap Band. Right? But, like, people you the bump. People you've met, I say, hey. Will you play Are You There by Empty Smith? And doggone, it fires it right up. It knows what it is. So, like, one, give it a spin. Give it a spin, and and and tell us what you think about it. You can you can find Empty Smith on on the socials. So Facebook,

he's into the TikTok. You… I… Are you 1,100 years old? What's wrong with you tonight? I can't help who who I am. I'm on the TikTok business. The Facebook group. I too I too say the TikTok because I'm I'm a… I am internally a 106. Yeah. We got two Methuselahs in the room. This is great. Okay. For for those dumb people like myself out there, you're saying m, the letter m, the letter t Smith, or are you saying the word empty Empty Smith. The second option I wanted to ask because I wanted to make certain you weren't just weirdly fast saying two letters. Okay. But… So… But you've heard me call in Micah. So an explanation is in order. You've released tunes under the under the name Empty Smith. Tell me more about that. Alright. So… Okay. The moniker was chosen because…

For a couple different reasons. So when I was thinking about this project or if there was even going to be a project because when I went through my kind of Job season as I I mentioned, I didn't even know if I was gonna do music anymore. I just felt like existentially drained. Yeah. Like, I had no life left to give. Like, no creative spark. Yeah. Like, did you, like, did you find yourself picking up guitar or, like, or just left it? You said, I'm not gonna touch it. So

so I don't know. Maybe it's different for other people. Guess I always had this perception that hard times and everything like that would just boil up art to puke out of you as your negative emotions. For me, it really…

Don't know if it just got to a point that it was so bad or I just lost my I kind of felt just like a ghost. I was there in form but not in like, substance. Yeah. And so there was a long time where, man, I just didn't have any creative, like, spark or desire. My whole life just kinda felt like it was I just had nothing left. Yep. Yep. And so when I got to,

like, I don't know, the the the rubble kinda ceased to fall, and then the dust was falling and stuff, and I was like, okay. Well, what do I do now? I was thinking about a name for it and coming out of that place, I felt empty. Yeah. In this… So I've always kind of had a secret like, in the August Guns, it was a little bit more energetic,

a little bit more heavy, a little bit more like punk rock and roll, but I never… Rare were the days where I actually wrote anything on electric. I would always write on acoustic. Yeah. And so I've just always had, like, this penchant for softer music. I really like… At the time, I was listening to a lot of the steel drivers, which are, a bluegrass Yeah. Group that Chris Stapleton once upon a time fronted, but now they've got a different guy and it continues to be excellent. And then…

So, yeah, I always kinda, like, enjoyed that sort of music. And then when considering going in this direction, a lot of artists are… It's like a a two name or a three name thing. Like, one guy that I'm listening to right now a lot is Vincent Neil Emerson. Mhmm. One two three. Or Benjamin Todd is another one of my favorites. But a lot of just, like, people's names versus group names. Yeah. So I thought about that, and I was like, well, Micah Smith,

I personally know at least of one other Micah Smith in existence. So was like, crap. That guy stole my name, and there can definitely not only be one of us. And then looking around, was like, well, when you're when you're choosing a name, at least in my my thinking, you want something that is going to stand out Yeah. Possible that no one else has. And so Micah's… Micah Smith was not unique enough, and my middle initial is is t for Thomas, so m t Smith. Yeah. And so I thought, maybe the initial thing? And I was like, no. But, like,

empty sounds like MT. Right. Yes. As as just was demonstrated right there. And I thought, I think empty, the word, communicates just kind of the… I don't know. It it sets the expectations for what kind of stuff is is gonna be there. So Yeah.

I roll the dice. Maybe it's a little cheesy. I'm a little little cheesy, so I guess no apologies. But… Yeah. I I mean, I think if your music was cheesier, then I would say, oh, man. That's pretty rough. My my friend was like… He heard the name of the project, and he's like, that is chef's kiss chef's kiss level emo. And I was like, yes. South Southwest emo. Yes. Exactly. Ohio is for lovers. Farm farm emo, baby. Farm emo. I love that. Okay. Yeah. That wasn't… By the way, to the to the viewing public, that was not a setup. I legitimately didn't know if Ben was saying the word empty or the letters m t. I don't trust Ben. That was the situation there. That's But it it turned… It it came to fruition. Yeah. Yeah. That's what I was hearing. Yeah. That's that's what Dan I just thought you were weirdly saying m t Smith. Oh. Oh, no. Because that sounds like something you would do. Yeah. No. As as as my emulated man of same visage, Matthew Broderick, once said, it's definitely not m t Smith. And that's When was that quote? Do you know? 1987. Got it. Okay. Cool. Everything happened in '26. In fact, all my all my sports knowledge has ended in 1987.

That's… I knew everything when I was five, and then as fast as I've I've lost all the things. Thirty six years ago, everything stopped. So anyway, this… The tunes will continue. Mike is gonna keep kind of releasing tunes over time as he finishes up and loves them and wants to release them to the public. So the way to know that though is to follow him on the socials. So you wanna get on on Facebook and the… What do TikTok.

Is that how you say it? The TikTok. There we go. Yeah. TikTok. It's just TikTok. The TikTok. Yeah. Methuselah two. It's TikTok. And x. Instagram, x? Instagram, that's x. I don't… Yeah. It's x now. Yeah. I I too am a boomer. I'm out of touch. Yeah. No. I don't I don't mess with the Twitters. Yeah. That's fair. Yeah. Yeah. That's the right move. I was just checking. Yeah. So right now, I just… The the the Facebooks, the Instagrams, and the TikToks is where you can find it. But mostly,

I I want you to listen to the music. So if you like it, just share it with one person, add it to a playlist, whatever you wanna do. Yep. And I've been super… I was telling him earlier that I put out music in some form or fashion for a very long time. Yeah. And this is probably the most successful release weekend that I've ever had because I'm used to making music that's more kinda niche like. Yeah. And this seems to be a… Have a broader appeal. I'm making music that my mom liked for the first time ever.

This is Do have a YouTube channel? What's that? Do you have a YouTube channel? Yeah. Yeah. Same thing. Empty Smith. Yep. It's all it's all that stuff. So Cool. Yeah. Yeah. Give it a give it a listen. Give it a give it a spin. I I love that. Share it around. Put it on a on a playlist. Actually… And and, like, you know, put it in the… Put it in your back pocket to… There's there's something about, again, communally

digesting some of the the the well earned feelings that are in situations like this, like the Scripture's full of a righteous lament, of questions on like what does it mean to be a human interacting with a holy God and in a world that obviously desperately needs it that you're sitting in the middle of. And so,

you know, just put it in the playlist, things I need to go to when I need to go to them and dig on it there. Alright. I just did it. It's that easy. Okay. That's what I'm saying. K. It's not bad. I'm gonna get on the old TikTok. Please don't do that. Just just as a general rule of thumb, I don't think you should be on the TikTok. Think I should. I've seen what you've done with an AI, Mike. I've seen what you've done with YouTube shorts on a… On talking about a possum or raccoon. Yeah. I don't know if the TikTok's where you need to go. It's… They're not ready for me, but I'm ready for them. That's That's I'm saying. That is an interesting way to take the information that I just gave you because they ain't ready for me. I know you were trying to protect them, but, like, I mean, sometimes hurricanes gotta blow. You know? That's how it's Ben Foust. A man once described. Okay. Alright. Clint Howard 21. Let's look for me on the TikTok. At 21. At Clint Howard twenty one. Is is that right? I hope Clint Howard has that specific handle. It's like, why am I getting a weird resurgence of people talking about me? He's gonna be 22. He's gonna sign up after me. He's gonna finally get on. He's like, who's got the first 21 Clint Howards? Why are there so many of me?

This guy doesn't look any like me. Okay. Five five sins that aren't sins. Here we go. Christians frequently talk about grace, love, acceptance, and freedom. And indeed, these attributes are abundantly available to the person who follows Christ. Unfortunately, however, within Christian group settings, community is the latest buzzword. Is that a buzzword? Yeah. You find a buzzwordy, Dan? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. It… People do use it across all all manner of things. Yeah. I was just telling someone that this last week, someone was speaking at at this conference I was at, and and I I… And I said, man, I wish they'd stop saying community and… What else? Anyway, yeah, it's a few little keywords that they they just keep throwing around. Yeah. Space. The space. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know? I was like, I mean, I get it. It's not terrible. There's nothing wrong with it. It's just kinda like, okay. You're overusing the word space You know and community. That is unfortunate too because, like, there are times where I found where, like, some of these words really do… That, like, they do capture what you want. Yeah. But then people start using them wrongly and, like, they're taken away from me. Like, I like, I have heard… Community is a really good example where you're you're trying to give people a better sense for… What what we used to mean by church kinda carried that connotation,

and then communities start to to kinda get to some of the organic nature of some of those things and, like, outside building type of things, which is positive. But now we're like, everything's like, this is my community. I'm like, it can't… All these people are not… Like, you can't… It's not what we're talking about at the very least. Yeah. And so… Yeah. Yeah. I… Okay. I can see that. Alright. We're gonna go… Here we go. A believer just gets the… Don't know why they had to say that in this article, though. It's like a personal axe to grind. We're never gonna make it through half these articles because we just stop at every Community word and is a word that has definitely been cheapened recently, and let me tell you about why. A believer just gets this idea, sort of, that he doesn't measure up, that Jesus is displeased with her, and they're on God's disciplinary list. If you felt this way, relax, Buva. Rest and stop listening to the murmurs in the room. There really is grace, love, acceptance, and freedom in Christ. And if you wanna find it, start by crossing these five pseudo sins

off your list. Full colon. Unnecessary full colon. So full, it needs a doctor's appointment. Number one. I'm not gonna let that slip, like, slip by without making a face at you. Just the first thing I'm gonna say on the TikTok. Okay. So full, it needs a doctor's appointment. I hate how much you love that you just said that. That's the worst part. I enjoy myself, and I'm like, damn. I don't know why my children aren't equally. I'm like, maybe I This tree is good. Look at this good fruit. I had too many. That was the problem. I I overpressed. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Number one, skipping church.

There is no commandment that we must attend weekly or multiple times weekly. Although many people like to quote Hebrews ten twenty five, let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing. Arguably, the highly controlled regimented functions that many people endure on Sunday mornings bear little resemblance to the early Christians meeting in the Catacombs Of Rome. I'll… I'm just gonna cut to the quick. And increasingly, more and more people are wondering why they attend what they do. Even if you do enjoy your church experience and through the years, we have found quirky fun enclaves of people who give meaning to the word meet… Hey. He's trying so much to not use community. He said enclaves. Quirky enclaves of people. You are not. Sinning if you opt to sleep in, partake of a leisurely breakfast, swing in the hammock, close your eyes, and pray. The bonus is if there are other people in your home, you are you are meeting together with them, something you may not do if your day is filled with song service, practice, leadership meetings, small group encounters, and visitation. No period.

Okay. That was weird. Okay. I mean… Yeah. Okay. I would agree with this, I guess. But, like, I think we're talking about it in the wrong way. Right. Like, I want to be there. Like, I'm not trying to… And in such a way, like, I I… Even when we go on vacation, like, oftentimes, it just works out. Like, I… If I'm gonna work on Friday and we're gonna be gone for, like, a week, it makes to leave Saturday. I'm like, well, can we leave after church on Sunday? I mean, I… Like, yes, we might go somewhere else, like, while we're traveling, whatever, but I… I've just… I mean, I like to be there. I like to be with the… In the community… The enclave of people I'm in. Did we just turn community into a bad word? Which… Oh, boy. Don't think it's just been replaced by a… In my enclave. It's a herd of people. That'll make a t shirt. Yeah. I mean, I think of it a lot of things. Like…

I mean, if you're if it's… There is… If this is… Again, we're too focused on the building and the times and stuff, like… But if you're intentionally not engaging in groups of people who love and follow Jesus, like, that is to your detriment. And Jesus looks at these people and goes, I these people and I would describe them as my bride. So, like, if it's situational, that's fine. If it's an unhealthy place or relationship with folks, that's probably not fine. And I don't even know if it's sinful necessarily. You're missing out,

and so, like, that's probably how we should think about it. Like, you're kinda… Yeah. Proverbs talks about how he who isolates himself pursues selfish desires, and you look at David who's like, oh, I'm just gonna kick it. Y'all y'all boys go to work. Oh, look at that naked lady on top of the machina Bathsheba. Yeah. Right. So, I mean, yeah, like you said, don't be legalistic, but don't be an idiot who, like, just Gosh. Yeah. Put that on a shirt. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I… Yeah. And I the enclave. I do it. And I do think… Actually, I think that Hebrews verse is a powerful one, but, like, not because I arbitrarily want to make sure you cross the thresholds of this place. It's like… You know, like, yeah, be part of what God is doing, be encouraged,

be lifted up, but find places where you can say the things that you don't say to anybody else because like you need it. Find places where teaching like… Where God has gifted people to teach and sing and and just let… You can let yourself go and not carry the burden of whatever it is you walked in with. Like, those are all great things. Wherever your enclave meets and whenever they meet, you just do it. Yeah. You should do that. You just do it. Yeah. Whether it's 09:00, you know, Sunday morning, okay. That's good. But but but if it… Like, okay. We take attendance out here, and I'll do a first service and a second service. But then we'll have, like, something at night, big… We had a big chili cook off Yeah. This past week. I thought, hey. There were some people there that weren't earlier, so I still counted them. Yeah. Because they were still gathering with with with their peeps. Yeah. You know what I mean? With their enclave. And so… Oh, that's gonna stick. The broom. This… If you… If we show up here sometime and you've changed the name to the Enclave, I will be sad. Please join one of our Enclave groups.

We call them e groups. And and, you know, one of the things that they pointed out was like, oh, you know, I do… Does this even count? We're talking with the leadership meetings and the blah blah blah. I'm like, here's the thing. If if if you feel like your… Most of your focused time is about the workings of the gathering, then drop it. I mean, let… Maybe don't be part of those things. Like, if they feel like a distraction or whatever, then I just bail directly. Like, maybe you're not the right person for it. And, like… And I I don't know if you're leading a church and you're like, boy, we spend most of our time on the functions of the thing, then you should maybe consider dropping some of that stuff. Like, it may be a good indication to rethink. Are we spending our time doing the things that the people of Jesus spend their time doing? But, like, I mean, most of the time, it's, like, they're just things that keep the thing running. Like, it requires some level of organization, at a certain size. And so… Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I get it. It's not a sin, but, like, I don't know if I care for quite the attitude of which they're referring to. Right. Yeah. They're kinda like… They're not doing anything, it sounds like. They're like, okay. We don't have to do Sunday morning or anything else. We could sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast. Okay. I mean… And sometime… I mean, maybe you do. But, like, here's thing. I I don't… I generally don't want to. Right. You know, like, boy, wish I wish I could miss church today. I mean, may… I don't know. Maybe sometime, but mostly, I'm like, know. I like… Again, I wanna go. Dang it. I missed my e group. Yeah. Okay. Alright. Let's see. Number two. No. This seems like the same thing. Oh, great. Not participating in Sunday school.

Oh, wow. What? Sunday school. That is the same. That's something people hold on to? Here's thing. It's a very different thing, but it's It is. Along the same line. I mean, yeah. There was a guy, and I couldn't talk him out of it. He didn't care for me, this fella, but, like, I was I was help… I was helping… It was an executive pastor, and he was gonna meet and he said, well, we're gonna rename the thing and we're gonna call it adult Sunday school. I said, that acronym doesn't fly, man. Like, you gotta call it you gotta call sweet Moses, dude. Gotta call it something else. That acronym doesn't He goes, I don't understand why. I said, look. I don't want… I'm not trying to be childish here, like, I just… You… Can you call it anything else? You wanna call it something else? No. He wouldn't he wouldn't give it up. And so every time I hear Sunday school, that's… I'm like… And then I thought, how did I not think of that forever? Like Yeah. I was probably 30 by the time it came to me. I'm like, oh, wait a minute. And that's what this article is talking about. Yeah. Right. Exactly.

Skip that. Yeah. Run from it. It's no no reason. Sunday school, which in some circles is more compulsory than church attendance, began in the late eighteenth century as a literal school for working class children who during the industrial revolution worked twelve hour days Monday through Saturday and thereby had no opportunity to learn to read, write, and educate themselves beyond serfdom. I'm telling you, every time major institution, hospitals, colleges,

schools, places for the blind, places orphanages, like Christians. Christians started this. They saw a social need. They fired it up. The worthy endeavor morphed into what we experience today, a segregation of ages and demographics, young marrieds here, sixth graders there, retired persons in the front foyer, children in the basement. Why are they gonna put it like that? This guy's really got a band. That adds another hour of community obligation to the day of rest. I… Here's the deal. We don't do… Again, we house church, so, like, we we don't really have that structure, but, like, even when… Like, I would go, I liked it. Again, I… I'm not sure what the… If you don't… Don't get anything out of it, don't go. But, like, well, we seem to, like, be worried that it's encroaching on the hour and a half or hour that us Western folks have decided that we could show up for church when to Dan's Zimbabwe report, you can hardly get those people out of there after six or seven. And so I I just… Like, I get it, but I… It just feels like the tone here is fighting for the wrong types of things. This feels like an article that's that's pointed at the kind of holiday Christians that, like, what they really show up for is the major holidays, but then they feel bad about the fact that they're not showing up to Sunday school and to church and stuff like that. This has given them a pass. When it's it's just your heart that's the problem. Yeah. Like, it's your attitude and your heart and the concept of what's obligatory that's the issue here that that is causing your your thought process behind, oh, this is a sin, and I should feel guilty about it. It's like there's

a lot worse things going on in in your life if if you think that this is the biggest sin. Like, this is the one that really needs to get knocked out and I need to give myself grace for. Mhmm. Like, come on. You know what's happening. I… Yeah. I mean, if your Sunday school sucks, you should rethink that. Do something that doesn't suck. That seems good. Yeah. That acronym is rough. Yep. Like… Anyway. Okay. If you like it and you're learning from Sunday school, then participate with joy. If you're not interested, then don't feel like a pariah. Alright. Oh, interesting. Does that happen in churches? Like, do churches make people feel like a pariah when they're not showing up for the Sunday school? Yeah. Here's the thing. I just haven't experienced that. That's fine. Healthy people everywhere. Of course. Yeah. Right? And so, like, I mean, you… I'm sure you can find something that is relevant, that is a neutral thing that some unhealthy person is either leading or participating in that causes problems in it. It's not a problem with the thing. It's a problem with an unhealthy person doing something in the thing. Forgive yourself for not being in the choir. Yeah. We didn't we didn't see you in Sunday school, Chuck. Nope. We did the car wash this year, and you didn't show up. Yes. Have you gone off the rails? How are you and the Lord? Right. And maybe Chuck has. The car wash. Maybe you're used to seeing Chuck, but that's a relational problem. It's not a Sunday school problem. Yeah.

Okay. Number three, things you… That aren't sins, thinking or speaking a negative thought. Can we just kinda talk We covered that. Actually… But I think I would argue that I'm not sure it's… The stuff that we were discussing, it's not negative. It just is. Right. Exactly…. That's, you know, how it dwells. Mhmm. Where you let it to abide is a question of probably does it negative. Yeah. Real and honest are different than negative. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I think you also have to be discerning about, like, the kind of thing that comes out of your mouth in the situation too, right? Like, power of life and death are in the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. So, like, you don't have to give vent to every negative thought that you think. So, again, what what was it? Yeah. Don't be be discerning. Don't be an idiot. Yeah. Right. Right. I would be a terrible pastor because I'd just tell everybody, don't be an idiot. Mean, stop. I think there's an appetite

for that kind of pastor sometimes. On the TikToks. On the TikToks. TikTok pastor. That could be you. That could be you. Yeah. Like… And it says… Well… And I think to your point, like, one of the questions, if you think about negative thoughts is, like, is this is this true? Because sometimes, like, thoughts dwell and they're not they're not accurate. Like, those are the… Those are, like, some of the hardest things is, like, something pops into your mind, thoughts about yourself, thoughts about God, thoughts about other people, and they're not even… They're not true things. And sometimes, especially when personal stuff, like, tend to dwell on and hold on to things that if you were able to think objectively, would know this is not true. But in the moment, because of what's happening around you, because of how you felt when the thing popped in, it holds on for longer than it should. And that happens. And, like… And sometimes it's it's very difficult to get over, and you gotta talk people through it. You have people who have to remind you, amen, that thing that's sitting on you heavy, it's not even a true thing. So let's deal… Let's try to deal with it. So they're not always the easiest thing.

It's not a sin that it was there, but sometimes it does take effort to combat. Mhmm. Like, I mean, it doesn't just go, oh, I don't wanna think any negative thoughts or, like, something… You know, I don't know if you… Have you ever done something like, man, I'm an idiot. And the realization was, as a whole, I'm not an idiot, but in that moment Right. I was. Yeah. The truth is is, yeah. Right. It's more nuanced than that. The mind's a powerful thing. Yep. I mean, I I had a… Last night, I had a couple friends. I said, hey. I need to talk to you after our chili thing. Yep. And I need to sit down and talk. And so they both… Their minds started going like, oh, no. You know? Right. Oh, it happens to me all the time. Yeah. The guy the guy was like, I said something dumb, and and and he's gonna call me on the carpet again. Uh-huh. And and the gal was like, they're moving. They're leaving. And because that was… My wife and I were like, then we're like, oh, no. Actually, was much worse than that, but it had nothing to do. Right. Yeah. Not what you thought it was. Yeah. It had nothing to do with them or us. Much worse. Right? Was like, here's what something you need to know the PG version. Yeah. Yeah. But but they just were convinced, you know, and I've I've done that. I've been on the other side of that. I've convinced myself of whatever. Yeah. Nothing. They… That's the last thing that person was thinking or or whatever. They weren't even thinking about me. You know? Was like, We gotta talk about the the dog going to the bathroom outside. I'm thinking, oh, the… You know, they hate me or, you know, whatever. Yeah. Right. Yeah. So so the… Yeah. That mind's a powerful little beast. Yes. Yeah. Right. So not not a sin, but it is something to be

aware, obviously, is your mind, but, like, it is a battleground. It is a place where where fights can start and where deceit lives and sometimes in our human frailties because I'm… I I worry… This happens at work. Like, all the people go, hey. We gotta just drop something on my calendar and go, hey. We need to meet real quick, especially if it's, like, fifteen minutes. I'm like, oh, no. Yeah. Like, they're either firing me or firing someone else. Company's going under. Like, I get… My mind just goes nuts. Yeah. And if you don't guard that, it could then… It it alters you in a way that wouldn't happen if you gave it protection. And so it's act… It's an active it's an active thing. You get in an argument with your wife for three week… Three days that never happened. Oh, yeah. Right. Because in your mind, you're like, oh, I know which… You know? And and it's like… She's like, oh, no. No. I just… You know? Yeah. We brought a trip by that. We brought a raisin brand, and I just wasn't happy. I was like, uh-oh. Right. Oh. Not to sidebar this, but, like, it's powerful such thing when you look at the actual impact of truth,

like the actual truth. Right? Like, if I think of the most impactful changes that have happened in my mental and emotional journey, if if if you'll say, from trauma, has been just finding the truth of things. Like, two major shifts in my life came from when I recognized what was real about the situation. Yeah. And, like, one was was… We've talked about it before. It was with my with my, you know, lake of depression. I thought I had to pale out with a with a bucket. I found a way to just pull the plug at the bottom. Yeah. And, like, that was huge. Right? And it wasn't… It was no longer this… It's gonna take me sixty years to get through this. It's like, oh, it's not even there anymore. I pulled the bath plug. Like, it's gone. It's completely out of here. Yeah. The second was, like, I felt I felt so much, weight waiting for this light at the end of the tunnel situation through my sin and through whatever I was dealing with, And, like, god just showed up, and instead of, like, accelerating me towards the end of the tunnel, right, he just ripped the freaking mountain off the top. Yeah. And so it was just sun. It was just sunshine. And it's like, those both came from a rightsizing and a right understanding of the truth of the situation. Yeah. It had nothing to do with, like, all of this hard work that needed to happen. It was just a a paradigm shift of, like, let me rightsize this, and let me get you looking at it correctly. Yeah. Yep. Agreed. Okay. So it finishes off. Just because a statement or a thought is negative does not mean that it is bad, and negative or positive statements in and of themselves do not have an innate power of… To influence outcomes.

Oh, I don't know. I I think it was just more cautious than that. Believing that they do is a cornerstone of occult thought. What? I've ended up in a bucket I did not intend to be. I'm a warlock. You need to find a better enclave. A boy. I don't know if you're gonna be in a cult. I feel like being a warlock seems kind of fun. Alright. I believe that they do as a cornerstone of a cult. That's not true. Please take that quote, someone. I know what Put it on something. That's number two on coffee baby. Clint Howard 21 You're gonna be in a cult. You might as well be a warlock.

A bad foost. I'm gonna dominate the TikTok. So so I I I I get what they're trying to protect. Like, thoughts are not instant manifestations. Totally. I get it. And actually, people are often led astray by the thought that, like, I I thought, therefore, I created. However, I think dismissing the impact of the presence of thoughts and your ability and the need to manage them,

I I think that you're… Is being undersold by maybe what they're saying. Not that you're constantly under under attack, but I I know some people are. Some people, like, you get in a you get in a headspace and, like, legitimately, it just feels like you're constantly being attacked from all sides and then your own mind is going nuts on you. Right. Totally can happen. And so I maybe just don't talk about it so lightly as if there's not active work in there. Yeah. Okay. Number four, the sin. This is funny. The picture related to this one is like a hand with a ball of light coming out of it, which does not fit the thing at all. Number four, the sins that aren't sins, just saying no. Yeah. It's just weird. Yeah. That makes me think of David Bowie and the labyrinth. Yes.

There are a lot of great ministries out there, but that does not mean that you are obligated to participate them. Okay. I'm a tell you this. Stop call… We… I think we've had this conversation recently. Ministries. Stop calling the things the ministries. Let's just say there's a lot of good things to do. There's a lot of… You are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to go do good works. There's a lot of that to do. Hey, man. I was part of a generation that worked really hard to get us to stop saying committee, and and we moved it to ministry. So let it let it go. It's progressing. Let's let's go with ministry. No. I'm starting a crawfish boiled ministry. It's the mission of the Enclave. The mission is on board. The warlocks have spoken one. But that doesn't mean that you're obligated to participate in them. Saying no is especially difficult when a pastor or church leader asks you to say yes because there's the added invocation to obey your leaders and submit to their authority, a verse that is trotted out as regularly as the forsake not assembling command. Again, I… You know, I've never had this happen to me. You've never had to say obey your leaders to somebody? I've had people ask, but, like, how else do you… To recruit for things, but, like, would you be interested? And think and think about it this way. Most

often, part of the key minis… Like, the things that go on in the church, the key ministries in the church, right, are things the pastor is behind. If the pastor is behind serving the poor, people will get on board with that. Like, they will… This is what leadership does. Like, people will stand around and scratch their cheeks without someone who goes, hey. Maybe we should do this. They would be glad to do it. They were excited to do it. They just need someone to go, hey. Do you wanna go do it? And so, like, I got… Be real cautious about, like, as if the recruiting techniques of someone leading something. Like, it's what I have to do to lead people Right. Because they won't go do the thing on their own. I've had… I've… In fact, we've often… My my wife and I just happen to, like, lead a lot of things that we get involved with. And, like, I swear, there's all kinds of stuff where I'm like, boy, I wish someone would come up with an idea that I didn't have to come up with and go, hey. We need help. So we could go, yep. We'll be there. Excellent. I didn't have to think about that. I'd be glad to go in and join something that they're doing that they're excited about. Like a ministry. Like a ministry. And to give… To to be fair here, like, there… There's… On the opposite side of this is recruitment perspective, there's a wrong way to do that. Like, this perception comes from domineering

pastors that are like, you will do this because the lord has told me that you're going to. And if you don't line up to it, then you're in sin and not following along. And it's like, well, you just needed greeters. Like, I don't know. Yeah. I don't know if I don't know if the lord came down as an a… Like, and sent an angel of the lord to sit on your shoulder and go, hey. Jimmy over there, greeter or problems? Like, that's not a thing that's happening. Right. Yeah. Maybe. I don't know. I can't really put words in the It's like the Sunday school. I mean, like, you get a… You get an unhealthy or crappy person doing all kinds of things. They can also do… They'll spread it around. Do you wanna know a good way to figure out what's sin and what's not? You should read your bible. A good… That's what you should do. It's a story. You should you should stop looking to list like this to figure out if something is sin or not. You should go, I feel like there's a a collection of, like, 66 books by chance that maybe I could read a little bit about and study and ask questions of… For people around me, and maybe I'll be more likely that I wanna show up on Sunday because I've got those burning questions because I'm on I'm on fire for the Lord to use a very, you know, burnt out phrase. No pun intended. Yeah. Just be better. You know, a lot of those a lot of those were maybe were… They're treating him as a sin because we're trying to force things that have maybe gone past their time, like we've mentioned on some some of this stuff. Yeah. And it's not something that really even maybe that God's really caring about at the moment. I mean, it's… Doesn't care if he… Like you said, if you have a greeter or not. I mean, whatever. You know, it's like, if you went too great, if you don't, you'd like, the church will not fail. You know, we started to

topple that recently. We're doing our homeless team. We go in the homeless camps every other week, and we don't… We haven't begged anybody. We haven't asked anybody. We haven't even called it a homeless ministry. Yeah. We just say, hey. We're going to do homeless, and and then, like, all these people show up because they want to. Right. You know, no one's been guilted into it. They just, well, may show a picture or two and hear, like, hey. Here's what's going on so you'd know what to expect, and it's there. Yeah. Even a high level reading your bible, that's the kind of thing you should wanna get involved in. God very specifically talks about how you treat the poor. Yeah. That's something we should get involved with. Yeah. So it's kinda it's just kinda cool to see it organically happen and and we're we're… Like, the spirit of god is really kinda moving in that and and moving the hearts to people and they're and and they're going that direction. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Same with our senior thing. You know, like, Actually, I was gonna say that, Dan. I saw a picture on the Facebook, what was it, last week? There's all kinds all kinds of blue hairs in there. Like I know. Like like What a great service. I know. It's like like, then I'm… You know, it's like we're a fairly young church, but but… And so all these people come from around the neighborhood and they get a meal and and and they get some fellowship, they get some conversation, they get they out of their apartment, but they're stuck in this hole, you know, and they come out. And and it's just a growing and thriving, and we have all these people coming in to help, them, and we never have to beg. We don't have to, like, hey. Are you gonna be part of the senior ministry? You know, I mean, it's like

What have you done to service the 66 plus people recently? If you love Jesus, you'll help the widow. Yeah. And… I mean, which is, you know, biblical. But… It is. Yeah. Oh gosh. Yeah. It is true. You know… Yeah. It… Okay. We we can we can move past it. But bible verses are not meant are not meant to be slung about like arrows. Okay. That's true. Manipulating people into doing what they do not want to do. I mean, that's not always true. So here's the deal. I've… I mean, mean, Dan, you gotta be in the same boat. Plenty of times, you… This focus of the sermon is, here's this thing that Jesus is saying, and I think you're probably not doing it, and I wanted to draw your attention to that fact. Right. Right. Totally. There's a lot of stories that's like, I don't wanna do this, and god's like, that's not the question I asked. I don't I don't remember asking if you were down for this work. Yeah. He tried to guilt me. No. No. He just drew something to your attention to your creative to be drew to it in front of you going, this is what I have for you. You need to go. This is toxic. I often feel that when Sign an Innova. When there's something on the floor in the living room that needs to be swept up, I look at it and say, I will not be guilted by this. I will not be guilted in of doing something about this. Right. Alright. You have specific gifts and passions along with limitations on your time, energy, and financial resources.

Only God rather than men and how you… Obey God rather than men and how you will use them. Okay. Again, I'd be real cautious with this. Oftentimes, the lord will call you into stuff that has nothing to do with your talent. Right. And that… And along these lines, your level of of getting involved in things feels comfortable about here, but you really should be here. Yeah. Like Yeah. The amount of money you're giving up or the amount of time you're giving up or the amount of effort or pain you're putting yourself through as it pertains to the work of the kingdom. It's it's probably… You are probably not a good litmus litmus test for, like, this is what I feel is comfortable to be giving. You could probably give more. Take a look back at yourself. Yeah. Well, yeah. I I think it is… Here's the thing. There there are there are things that are subjective. And so, like, some of those things, like, the… God's gonna know. It's… You you don't have to be somebody's holy spirit. Mhmm. However,

it is totally good human behavior to ask to ask questions. Yeah. Hey, man. Like… Because we're prone to slipping. To be honest with you, like, we're we're we're prone to have our focus move around. And so, like, every every few months, someone goes, hey, man. How was… Are you being generous with what God has given you? It's a great question. Yeah. And they're not gonna say you need to sell your… I don't have a boat, but, like, you need to sell your catamaran, which I also don't have. Like, whatever it is. Like… What a weird correction you just did for no reason. Jeff tried to sell… Not a boat. A catamaran, which I also don't own. Every… Everything I came up with was dumb. Like, I… When I came up with… Sell your dune buggies. I'm trapped. Don't have that either. It was like a sled, but, like, the only sleds I have, like like, snow sled The Dollar General ones? I found on trash day. Even better. I cycle out sleds from the opportunity days. Like, this is all I have, but that's what kept popping in my mind. Like You don't just have pieces of sheet metal to Don't say sled. Don't say I told you. Say sled. I can't imagine. Commanded him to sell his sled and give to the poor. So catamaran is what happened. Anyway, like, it's totally it's totally a good question. And, like, that's okay. And, like, it's wrong to say, hey. You… It's it's between… In fact, the the phrase it's between me and god is is sing… Is always a significant issue. Like, it could be true. But, like, most of the time, it's just someone doesn't wanna hack to someone… Like, bring to them something they should be considering because the reality is is that, like, God intentionally creates a world and says, human act as my idol. Act on my behalf. Yeah. Genesis two three. Right? And so, like… And every time he sends he sends a prophet, speak on my behalf. Like, he uses humans as though this only me and God and no interaction with humans. It's not a biblical narrative.

And so can people screw this up? Can they manipulate people? Can they be totally wrong? Yes. Sinful people will do sinful things. But, like, don't close yourself off because I think you miss out on the very thing that God points to people to do, which is to go be part of the restoration of his good world in all kinds of different ways. Yeah. Focus. This whole list is just kind of obnoxious because it seems just centered around like the comfort zone of the individual. Yeah. Absolutely. And that's just dumb. Man, I'm just historically a really bad prerogative. The impression I'm gonna make tonight if anybody listens is that that empty Smith guy calls people idiots all the time. Yeah. Just don't be an idiot. I like so stupid. Yeah. Like,

if your willingness to serve God is just as far as your comfort zone goes, bro, it's a rough go. Yeah. Right. Just do it when you're convenient, when it's convenient. That's all that matters. Yeah. I challenge you to go read your Bible and find that. This is what I'm saying. It goes to the conversation we had last week about the the the… Some of the submission stuff. And we're like, dude, the people who are struggling with this where you're making… Like, these are not serious people. No. You don't read the scriptures and come away with whatever misogynistic things you're walking with. These are people who who read this thing and reckon with it and go, I'm… Boy, the responsibility of having people be… I… I'm supposed to lead people should put something on you where you're like, oh, crapola. Right. Like, lord, I need you to stir to me for whatever these responsibilities are. Same thing with pastors and teachers and blah blah blah. Not people who are going, the world is mine. Right. Yeah. The people that sandwiched directly. Right. The people that are just totally floored by these kind of articles are cartoons. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And and you and you might as well know that about yourself. Like, you're if you're Boris… Change your ways. Welcome. Alright. Finally,

the number five, things that aren't sins, disagreeing with your pastor or other leader, which it feels like the first two… Oh, that's a that's a total sin. Yeah. That didn't seem like a self serving answer. This this feels like a… Why why can't I think of the word? What's the Jewish way of speaking? One one prime, b prime Chiasic? It's… Yeah. It's a chiasm. The first two

the first two go together, and then the middle one just saying no and… Or no. That was… Those were the last two. Those also go together. Building and and falling back out of it. Yeah. Yeah. The middle one thinking a negative thought. That was the key key Hebrew point. It's a keyism. Anyway, the the Bereans of the apostle Paul's day were considered of more noble character than the Thessalonians for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Paul was self confident enough in himself and in Christ to be unoffended by this practice, and the leaders in your church should be as well. If a lesson or lecture seems specious or unsound, the semiannual good stewards should tithe thusly sermons come to mind. This is like a real axe to grind, fella here. Then get out of that bible and start reading. Oh, get out that bible. So Okay. Much different. We all rightfully looked at each other like Get out of that bible and start reading. What does that mean? Different. Find Josephus.

Better yet, make sure that you're reading scripture at home and on your own on a regular basis so that by holding to his teaching, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Very good. Yeah. Love, acceptance, and freedom are more than words or idle promises, unnecessary full colon. They are truths that can be experienced in our Christian walk. It could have been a comma. It's what it says. Needs a doctor's appointment. Could have been a comma. TikToks, here you come. Okay. Let's start taking them seriously. No, do not give Ben another outlet for people to agree with his ridiculousness. Okay. Yeah, I guess, again, I think this fell into a little bit of what we talked about in the other one, disagreeing with your pastor or leader. Like, there's a sense of authority

there, but what what scriptures are calling you to is is basically don't set up a situation of which you can't hear anything from anybody else. Yeah. That's the caution. It's the same, and it's the same conversation we've had around how you think about relationships with husbands and wives. You don't let the whole world have an opinion on you. That's risky. I don't trust the whole world. But, like, are you willing to listen to a man who God says, look, I'm putting responsibility on this guy. His job is to otherwise represent true things that are coming from scripture, are are you making sure that you don't walk in, like, so high and mighty that you're not willing to listen to somebody who God has given a responsibility to? And same thing, like, I I may be able to tell the the whole world to go away, but when my wife speaks, I'm listening. Yeah. And and and same thing with the wife… For the husband. And, like, it puts a situation where it builds in relationships that have self prescribed humility in them, in case you need reminding because sometimes you are on defense Mhmm. Against the things that the rest of the world is talking about or how they're speaking about you and stuff. And so it's okay to protect yourself but, like, you can't be the king of the hill, man. It's a risk to you. And so that's the caution on that piece. Agreed. Alright. Here's… I'm kind of curious, I guess. (515) 517-0085,

call or text. I don't know. Can you think of other ones? We're like… Sometimes that sound like sins but We talk about them as sins but they're not really. Or… We've talked about this before. It's not even as a sin but, like, I get cautious on people who have a weight

on things that otherwise are good, but like… So you're reading… In fact, was talking to someone recently and they had gone, like, forty some days reading the Bible daily and then they missed a day. He's like, Oh, I got… You know, should I think of it as, like, starting over? It's Nathaniel, like, who was there, like Yeah. Who was on the show every once while. Nathaniel was talking about it. I'm like, boy, I just think that's sort of, like… It's great to read the scriptures all, like, every day. Great. And we've we've talked about in the past. Like, it's a bit of a modern problem, Like, most people did not have personal copies of the scrolls. Right. That's a relatively, like, last few hundred years thing. And so the the weight of it can't be I do something that only Christians over the last few hundred years could even have possibly done and and then have some level of God is disappointed in me. I look at it the same way I looked at the church attendance. Like, I try to read the scriptures daily because I need to. I want to. It's good for me. Yep. Sometimes it's a vitamin. Sometimes I really… That I that I have to take and I know I should. Sometimes it's because it's a salve and I really desperately want it. Either way, it should be happening most of the time.

But, like, I get cautious that sometimes, like, Oh, God's really mad because I couldn't keep up my Bible reading. Like, I just look look at it for the right… In the right ways. It is a good habit and you should totally do it. But but don't don't over index on god's… The presumed god's reaction or irritation with you for something that he gave you as a gift. It's like if you gave your kid a super… Oh, I'm gonna date myself. You give him a Super Nintendo. You gave him an Atari. They didn't play Pong that one day. That's right. I was really upset about that. As a dad, would I be, like, really mad? I gave you this thing. Really? I can't believe you neglected it today. Uh-huh.

The scriptures are better than that. Sorry. I I had to portray you as that. That was really fun for me. I think that's fun. That's that's fun. Alright. You're listening to Live From The Path. Thanks for hanging out with us so far. Alright. So as an intro to things that we thought Yes. Things we thought that were in the bible but but didn't turn out to be, I'll give mine away. I, I mean, very clearly recall sitting

in an apartment complex when I was 16 years old in in a mattress on the floor that I was sleeping on reading the scriptures. As a 16 year old does. As a 16 year old does. And for some reason, what I remember is somebody prayed and then god dropped a rock on somebody. And as a 16 year old, I thought, that is righteous.

I love this. Somebody drop… Or lord dropped a rock on somebody. Now it turns out this did happen, but it wasn't the way that I remembered. It wasn't like a personal… It wasn't a personal, like, drop rock on Steve. He offended the world. Uh-huh. But there there is there is scripture that talks about, like, a rock being… As part of an otherwise contextual battle or something. Yes. And a rock is dropped on something. Yep. Groups of people. And and so I did not remember it correctly. And it is… It stands out to me because I remember thinking at the time, could I… Do I have the strength to pray for a rock to be dropped on someone, and who would it be? And so I'm, like, cycling through people. Do I have the strength to pray for a rock to be dropped on somebody? Listen. I'm not saying it's right…. Introspective question for a 16 year old to ask. To… I think to to

Micah's earlier reference, like, you you hear David pray. And, again, if we're not approaching scripture well, you're like, oh, yeah. I didn't realize this was on the table. Trample my enemies under your feet. Who shall be bashed upon a rock? That Leonard who harassed me earlier today. Like, I don't know. You're gonna get what's coming to you, Leonard. This is why we have to learn to read the scriptures well. But, like, again, I took the wrong thing, but it just stood out to me, and I thought, I don't ever remember reading this. This is fantastic. Yeah. Okay. And I I saw I missed it. I was… It was just wrong. Okay. Fair enough. Dan? Yeah. Yeah. I I had the impression that the the only true good biblical family was a, a father and a mother and children, and it was just stayed together forever and it was perfect. This perfect idea. Then I remember one year I was going through

just the whole patriarch, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the different… And and and trying to Breaks pretty quick. Yeah. It's like, though, they all are half sisters and brothers and here's my sister wife. And and, oh, and here, know, and and I looked at that and thought, wow. God did a lot of good stuff through some really messed up Wow. Uh-huh. Dysfunctional family. Yeah. Yeah. And and I was just kinda like, okay. Alright. So I divorced my wife. No. I didn't. But But you don't deal with this nuclear family any longer. Gives you grace like, okay. Life happens. You you know, life happens. Yep. And God can still use you even when when life happens and some real terrible things happen, and that is a story of all kinds of tragedy in there Yeah. And poor choices. Yep. Yep. Yeah. That's a big one. That was… Yeah. That that was revolutionary for me, though.

Nice. Great one to learn. Buva. I got two. Okay. First one happened today. Yes. I said this earlier, and I'm gonna say it again. If you would have asked me this morning at 8AM, hey, were you willing to bet your firstborn child that the lord electrocutes people? I would have been like, absolutely. Yes. I believe that wholeheartedly because in acts five, as we all remember, Ananias and… I I say Sapphira Sapphira. I'm not certain if it's right or not, but whatever. They essentially say, we're gonna sell a plot of land.

We're gonna hold back part of it. We're gonna give it to the church, and they're gonna tell the church we didn't hold anything back. Yeah. And then Ananias just says that… I think it's Peter calls him out, and he just kind of, like, slumps and is dead. They're coming to get your body. Right. Yeah. Right. Exactly. Like, he'd… Like, it… I I would have told you… I would have I would have got it tattooed on me that it was literally a lightning bolt that came down and smote him. Maybe Peter had I don't know. I don't know what he did, but, like, if he had a cattle prod, it wasn't talked about in John. But, like… Or… Excuse me. But, like, I swear on my life, they were electrocuted. And then Saffira walks in, and then Peter basically goes, yes. It was sold for this much, right, and says the lie, and she affirms it and goes, yes. That was exactly how much. And then he goes essentially, the ones who carried your husband, I will carry you now, and she just kinda slumps over and dice. Yep. Again, I could've sworn it was an electrocution. I thought the lord sent down lightning bolts through the house, and it just killed them both. I don't know why I specifically thought it was lightning, but I I would… I very specifically thought it was lightning. And not at all lightning. Not at all lightning. It's literally just like a… And then they fell over and died. First time you read that, you probably were reading, like, Iron Man. Yeah. Maybe. Yeah. Exactly. Like, oh, yeah. Storm's power showed up from the x men. Like… Yeah. Right. Exactly. This is what happens when you buy kids the action bible. It has that bible. Yeah. I won't deny it. That's what I'm saying. Bible. That's what I'm saying. The second thing is I was preparing for youth group a couple weeks ago, and I I was in Ephesians six with the armor of god. And I I would've I would've sold a kidney for… It was the it was the sword of truth. I was a 100% certain that it was the sword of truth, and and the… That was… I'm like, man, it's such a cool thing because, like, our weapon is truth. I, like, I planned a whole lesson around this, that it was the sword of truth. Because I was like, I know Ephesians six twenty. Like, I know about the armor of god. I understand this stuff. I read… I listen to podcasts, read… I know what I'm talking about. And then I was like, I'm just gonna go read it real quick to make sure that I'm on the right place. Nope. Belt the truth. Belt the truth. Belt the truth. Oops. And I was like, crap. This completely throws off all the anecdotes that I had, all the stories, and all the cool connections I was having were like, we don't even have a weapon to fight against the enemy if we don't have truth blah blah blah blah blah. Because, like, I swear, like, I've I've built this up, and then I went and read it. And I'm like, I have to scrap everything I wrote down because this is not true. It is the belt of truth. It is not the sword of truth. But I would've I would've fought you for that. Like, I would've put hands on you Uh-huh. Saying it was the sword of truth, and I was incorrect. That's wrong. Okay. No electrocutions, and it is the belt of truth. It's egregious. Not as cool to our new age kids, but still just as important because without the belt, you you don't carry a a sword. Yeah. Yeah. And your modesty is presented to the world. Yeah. Exactly. Although they might have been not talking about pants. It's more about keeping your your cloak together. Right. Yep. Right on. Okay. Alright. Micah, do you have any?

I was trying to think… We kinda touched on the bigger one, like, the more in-depth one that, you know, you're not… Christians aren't supposed to be angry like, you know, anger bad. No. No. You would argue that I'm angry. One is that… Actually, is a fun one. When the wise men come to see baby Jesus, the nativity pictures them coming to the manger. But if you read it, it's actually they roll up to the house, and it's, like, two. Yes. So… Yeah. Not a baby anymore. Everything is a lie. There's not even a drummer boy there. There's no drummer boy. No drummers. What even is Frankincense? Yeah. So that was shocking.

Yeah. And like the manger's in the house. The manger's in the house? Yeah. Right. There there are so many bible stories that as an adult, you read them and and, you know, what you learned in Sunday school was the, you know, Sunday school version with the Lantagraph and happiness and, you know, let's not talk about cutting babies in half and stuff. And the baby. Yeah. You grew up, you go, wait a minute. There's a lot more to this story. Right. Right. There's there's some Specifically Jonah. Yeah. There's a lot more after he gets spit out of the whale. Jonah's the The majority of his story is after he gets spit out of the whale, and it gets really rough for him. Tell me about this pile of I mean, what's that all about? Like, we didn't get that necklace out of him, David.

Or, like, the Noah's Ark, you know, like, all the kid… But my daughter's four, so we, you know, we get that kid bible and stuff and all the happy little pairs of animals, and we just minimize, like, all the let me in. Let me Put those leaves. Marks on the outside. Yeah. Please. Like, this is kind of a horrible story, isn't it? Yes. Sure is. Everyone is dying. Gosh. Oh, that's funny. Yeah. And the the, like, a good, you know, 85 donkeys who are, what about me, though? Yeah. Right. I was number three. We're full up. We don't need your genetic material any longer. Alright. Okay. So… Alright. So we got… We covered the things that were… So I'm interested if you wanna hit up the chat here on the YouTube or on the live from the Path Complaint line. The Bob Eisenhower live from the Path Complaint line, (515) 517-0085. Call or text. Also, I think we're out of voting season, but just do me a favor. Every time you see it come up and they're taking those who's the best realtor in the lands, I want you to vote for Bobby.

Bob Eisenhower. Yeah. 100%. Yeah. I bought 11 houses from him. Yes. You've not bought any houses. That's true. Did Solid point. I did lie there. I'm so sorry. We talked about the truth earlier. I did. I did legitimately buy a house from him, and so I feel good about that because, like, he sponsored the show for a number of years of which no one had actually used him as a realtor, but he was a really good dude. And so, anyway, I I He still is. He's… He remain… I don't know about that. I haven't seen him in a while. Bob, we need to connect. Your treat. (515) 517-0085. Call or text. Do you want me… Do we wanna talk about the John thing, or do you wanna go into Dear Life of the Past depending on our time? What are we doing on… Oh, shoot. Yeah. The the date… The Terry's. Okay. Let's hold let's hold John's representation to Judas for next week. Yeah. Okay. Sounds good. Okay. Alright. Dear, live from the path.

After my husband's younger brother recently passed away, the family gathered. When one group of nephews arrived in a city an hour away from us, we were invited to lunch. The restaurant was where the nephews had first been introduced to beer by their now deceased uncle. My husband didn't wanna go, saying it was silly to drive that far for one meal. I convinced him to go to celebrate family ties and spend time with these nephews we seldom see. When we arrived, one of the nephews had arranged for his friend, a realtor. Oh. Oh. Eisenhower, was this you? A realtor who works with an estate sale agent to attend the luncheon. This friend delivered a sales pitch to my husband who is the administrator of his late brother's estate. I was offended. I didn't think think the time or the place was appropriate. I felt the sales pitch was an intrusion. My husband is more forgiving. He sees nothing wrong with someone seizing an opportunity when it presents itself. If it were up to me, I'd exclude that realtor from consideration because of his insensitivity. However, my husband is considering using this agent because his youth and aggressiveness may be an advantage in selling. Of course, it's my husband's decision and I'll bow to whatever he decides, But now I'm wondering, am I wrong to be upset because these relatives invited this person into what was going to be our family time? Yeah. I I wouldn't blame the guy. I mean, that's his job. I wouldn't wanna want that job. It seems like a real rough thing to be closer. But, I mean, but people do legitimately need help in that situation. I would… The family members, however,

I would I would certainly have a stiff talking to. Do you think talk to the nephews but maybe still consider the realtor? I Yeah. Mean, I don't know. Maybe he's good at what he does. Do you want it done or don't you? Was that fair? I mean, you kinda assume that… You give them the benefit of a doubt that, hopefully, they were… Really had their best interest in mind of of of the family that that, like, this guy's really good. This is an opportunity for you to meet him. It is it is pretty tacky timing. I I would agree. I mean, it'd be like… I wouldn't I wouldn't have an ear for it. I'd be like, nope. I wouldn't either. Right? Yeah. So so, like, if you're the nephews, I I totally get going, hey. I know a guy over there. He can come and talk to you if you're interested. I… Like, I just didn't know if this was a good… Like, can… To be… Say whether it's a good time. That's where the nephew should have done. I'd say they call me in a month. Yeah. You know? Nothing's happening too quick here. It's kinda weird for this ambush luncheon. Yeah. With this real estate or realtor person. Again, like, I I I kinda feel bad for the guy. He probably… He's probably used to be in situations like this, but, like, if I got invited to go do some sort of presentation and the key guy who need to be influenced did not know I was coming it's and a potentially sensitive situation, I'd be pretty I'd be pretty irritated Right. At the dude invited me in there. Like, what are putting me in this position for, man? Right. Exactly. Yeah. I'm not talking to those nephews anymore. Schmucks. Yeah. Okay. So, yeah, is it… I think it's okay. Yeah. I I think,

I'd be generous with the realtor dude. If he's good at what he does, and you you need him to accomplish something, then I use the… I mean, bygones, man. You've already you've already passed the hard part. Right. And then it's probably just… I I wouldn't even be so mad about it, to Dan's point. I mean, they probably thought they were doing something helpful. They just hadn't considered necessarily what the other what the other dude… The husband might be feeling. And so maybe just reach out to him and say, hey. Just think about this next time or in similar situations, it's worth knowing that this was probably a little bit odd. Because they're cousins, right? So the further you are away from the person, the less you get the pain the closer ones. Yeah. Right. I mean, you're not feeling it. Right. And the more you actually try to help in what feels like practical ways Yeah. Even if people aren't ready… Yet ready for practical ways. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. You're you're just blind to the to the fact Yeah. Their world's upside down right now. Yeah. And, actually, that's a really good reminder too. Like, sometimes people… You… People wanna help. They don't know how to help, and they're not close enough to feel the same emotions that you're feeling. And so it's possible that their ways of offering to help may feel either shallow, crass.

I don't know. There's a bunch of ways in which it might not come off right, but, like, just… It's… And it's hard to be gracious with other people when you're going through something, but just, like, recognize that people oftentimes are trying their best. They just… Their best is not up to the task, and they don't know the difference. Right. That's why they say dumb things too. Right. Yeah. Yes. Think I'll say something helpful here. It's like, you know It's like, intention was to help another child. It's like, come on. Right? You know? It's like tragedy happens, but, like, there's some practical things that have to happen after that kind of tragedy. Like, you get in a car accident, somebody's gotta sweep up the street of part of your car that just, like, blew up and is all over the place. And, of course, there's, like, there's a sadness to somebody may have been hurt in that accident Yeah. But it's still Joe's job to, like, sweep up the glass that's on the highway. Yeah. Like, you don't have to… There's there's a perspective of, like, there's there's practicality in tragedy, but, like, there's a level of, like, maybe some distance between these things need to happen. Yeah. Okay. Secular says, I agree it may have been insensitive to turn an occasion when the tears were still wet into a business meeting. However, what's done is done, and I hope your upset has dissipated. The responsibility for settling his brother's estate now falls to your husband. If he feels that insensitive and aggressive…

Excuse me. If he feels that insensitive and aggressive is the way to go, leave the decision to him and stay out of the line of fire. Okay. That's a unfair characterization. Agreed. It's like a Your your husband who apparently has no concept of emotion. Yeah. It's like, that seems unfair here. Jesus. Just because he's like, well, it's practical. It makes sense. Let's just get it done. Yeah. I can appreciate an aggressive sales pitch, I don't care about my brother. You're right. That's ridiculous. Okay. Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna do one more advice, and then we're gonna finish the night. Are you still are you still feeling okay? Maybe save that. Maybe wait on it. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna… Do we have two more advices? I can I can make it happen? Okay. We're gonna do two more advices, and then we're gonna have a mystery tune of which… I see what he's done here.

M. T. Smith has put us in the position where we have to invite him back on. What he doesn't know is I was gonna do it anyway, because, you know, when you find good folk, you gotta rescue the show. Double down. Yeah. Yes. That's true. That's the smoothest thing that's happened. Has It's definitely not come from you. Yes. What… Oh my god. What do mean? That hurt me. Dear said. Hey. He likes the Enclave here. Dear Laugh in the Path. I feel like like I lost a few inches in my height by how you spoke with me. Oh, that's rough. Sorry about that. Dear Laugh in the Path, how do you deal with a jealous adult sibling? Wait. We're not brothers, but, like, I… This is about you.

Like, you didn't hide it very well, but he's really… He looks like a young Clint Howard. How do I deal with that? How do you deal with a jealous adult sibling? My sibling has never spoken of this to me. However, my sibling's partner made it clear they felt I was favored over my sibling by her parents. I discussed it with our mother. She told me they have helped dig my sibling out of the hole many times. My sibling has since passed away, but years later, my in law mentioned again to me how I'm the favorite with details. I didn't respond and just let the person talk about their feelings. I'm not sure what they want from me. Whether their statement is true or not, I don't think my in law should be speaking to me about it. Of course, they would never say anything to my parents. If this person brings this topic up again, how should I respond? Well, wait. The sibling's dead. Right? Right. Yes. The sibling's cares?

Take it. Enjoy it. Ted says… I'm number one. Take the win, brother. I'm a survivor. He not gonna give up. He not gonna stop. I… Don't you ever quote Destiny's Childhood hard. I hate this so much. Oh gosh. Wait. What a weird… This seems like a weird set of situations. Right? Like, I might be the favorite. I don't believe I'm the favorite. My parents have never

said that this is true, but my sibling is dead, and my in law keeps bringing up that you're obviously the favorite. What do I do? What do we… That's what I'm saying. Like, what… Why is this even coming up? Like I don't know. Your deceased sibling, like, you were the favorite over them. Why are we saying this right my sister-in-law saying this to me in thirty years and, like, how would I handle it? I just go, okay. Right. Thanks so much. I've always thought myself the favorite as well. I thought to myself, good tree, good fruit many times. Right. Have you seen my brother? Okay. Of course, I'm the favorite. So so we essentially say,

do nothing? Like, just take it? Let it go. Let it go. I mean, I wouldn't incur… I've… Like, I'd figure a way to maybe discourage the conversation. Like, there's no reason to indulge in it. I mean, you don't have to embarrass somebody. They're, like Lean into it. Dennis. Like, tell me tell me more about my eyes. You're absolutely right. Christopher was the details. You married the wrong sibling. Right. This… It's unnecessary disparagement of the dead. Like, I I guess I just don't even know why to what value we're even talking about it. Yeah. This is so far from a realm of anything anybody should care about. It's crazy. Yeah. Okay. You know you were always the favorite. Well, thank you. I'll… I miss my brother deeply. Just… I mean, just… You… Again, you don't have to embarrass him because they're probably not try… They're not trying to be embarrassing.

You should But, like, just say pivot it. Yeah. You should've cost them and say, say five nice things about my sibling. Yeah. That's what you should do. My brother was alright too. We both had our strengths and weaknesses. Yeah. Alright. I I just waited. Yeah. I don't know. Michael, do you… Any other thoughts here? You think just kinda divert? Just just soak it up, baby. Take… Well, you said take it in. Ask Don't be an idiot and soak it up. Don't be an idiot. Be that favorite living child. You know, I got a coat of many colors. We don't have I had dreams where I dominated all of you. For some reason in my dream, I was just the tallest cornstalk, and all of you were just snapped in half, and I don't know why.

Sheaves that were bending down. Sheaves don't normally bend down, but in present… My outskirts In my presence, they sure did. They sure did, everyone. What's that? You're selling me? Oh. Oh. Why did you put me in this pit, though? Didn't you… Don't touch my coat, man. That's from dad. Alright. Secular says, tell your late sibling's partner you are tired of hearing it. And if they have a complaint to air, it should be made with your parents. If your sibling was irresponsible with money, the fault is not your own. You have nothing to feel guilty about, though it appears this in law is trying to make you feel that. Did I miss the detail about the irresponsible with money? Maybe I think they said that the parents bailed him out a couple times. Yeah. Oh, okay. Why are they… Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That is a separate question of which maybe you're not… Wouldn't be in the position to address, but, like, are they struggling to deal with

the death of your sibling… Of their spouse, like, because their marriage wasn't healthy and this is their way of kind of, like Yeah. Yeah. Saying something else may be going on that they need to work through that they're they're not doing so. It's it's the spouse who's jealous. I I was interpreting that as the the dead brother was jealous when he was alive, and it's like, well, he's not alive. Yeah. It feels like the spouse So it should have shut down by now. Yeah. Right. Either… Yeah. Either the spouse was jealous because they thought the parents were showing favoritism or there's something unhealthy about their marriage and, like, they they they don't have an outlet to otherwise disparage this dead person because, like, it's rough because when someone dies, everyone says the glowing thing. But when you're in a relationship with them and something about that is not healthy,

there are very few outlets actually for you to be able to say, you know what? That person was not a great person to me. Right. Nobody goes to the funeral and goes, you're all liars. Yeah. That's just relation… Oh, I'm very sorry for your loss. I didn't lose much. This guy was terrible. Right? He was a schmuck. And so it's actually… It's it's a very… It's very difficult because now you're you are actively suppressing something because, like, it's a very harsh thing to speak ill of the dead but the… Like, the… A living person, like, hosed you or something. And so it very well could be that, like, there wasn't something healthy about the relationship and, like, there's no outlet for it. And so maybe they're just… They they get something out of mentioning Right. There's a gratification there. Like, you were… Yeah. You were the favorite. Yep. You really were, though. Okay. Alright. One more? Yeah. One more. Dear… Live from the Path. Yes. For years, we have given generous gifts to our six out of town grandchildren and received almost no thanks or acknowledgment. It hurts my feelings because I devote a lot of thought in addition to money to choosing something special for each of them. Obviously sorry. It's kicking me out. Obviously, they don't care, but when we have just sent checks not knowing what they read, wear, or want, our checks are always cashed.

It's the same with gift cards. This year, we will send gifts to their parents, our own children, period. The grandchildren receive your letters booklet, including the section on writing thank you notes. Please send me six before the end of November. What? That is a cold grandma right there. The grandchildren receive your letters booklet, including the section on writing thank you notes. How old are these kids? Me six before the end of November. Oh, gosh. I'd… It it seems out of town

adult grandchildren make… What makes me think of it, but I might be wrong on that. I mean, do they know you very well? I I think I think they're… Yeah. I think they're kids. Doesn't it sound like… Yeah. You think these are children? Like Oh, that's even worse. That's what I would For the grandparent. Yeah. That's that's… Calm down. They're kids. Assumed. Yeah. Yeah. Most kids don't say please and thank you at all. Yeah.

I mean, I I guess I would… I… A a couple of things. It'd be it'd be nice. I guess, are you interacting with these kids at all? I would never… I wouldn't… I actually don't even expect my kids as… My own kids to say thank you. Like, I'm with these people all the time. I don't… Yeah. I don't… Yeah. Out of town grandchildren may… Yeah. I don't care if I get a thank you note. I mean, I think it's weird when I do get a thank you Yeah. Card from someone. Was like, really? You waste all my… I thought it was weird when I got a present from my out of town grandparents. I never expected anything from that. So… Okay. Yeah. Thanks for the book. Yeah. Maybe maybe a couple of things. One, like, you really should rethink your attitude towards this. Are you giving gifts because you want to be a gift giver, or are you giving gifts and you're trading them for thank yous? Because if you're trading for thank yous, I can recognize why you're disappointed. But, like, what… That's probably not a bit… A good bargain. Your exchange sucks. If you wanna be a gift giver, you… Looks like you're succeeding. They're can't… They're cashing the checks. They're spending the gift cards. Like, you are bringing people joy by giving to them, and they obviously are using it. And so if that is not enough for you, I… You might need to rethink your attitude, especially with your grandkids.

I mean, if you're worried that the kids aren't being raised right, I would be cautious on using this as the indicator. It's a little bit tertiary. It's peripheral to write a… To to get thank you cards. I mean, I… Some people are really good at this. Like, it's built to them. Then they love it and they're and they're awesome at it. I'm not… I don't know that actually… I know very many people who are and I'm always… I am pleasantly surprised. Someone's like, oh, thank you, Bub. And for innocuous things, like, thanks for having us over for dinner. Oh, well, that was nice. It has never motivated me to do it personally. Like, I just I don't know. It's it's in people's personality. But, like, I think, yeah, I think you just need to change your attitude here. Just change your attitude. And and I… Part of me, when you were talking, I thought, I don't know. Maybe she talks to the parents. But, like, no. Don't do that either. You don't need to talk to anybody. Give gifts because you like to be a good gift gifterer. Okay. Alright.

This is a long one from Secular, so I got to figure out where to truncate. Secular says, The issue you have raised is one I hear about often from other ticked off readers each year. I'm sorry you didn't mention how old your grandchildren are because the fault may lie with their parents, who should have taught their children this social skill from the time they were old enough to hold a writing implement. Some people procrastinate because they don't know how to express their feelings via the written word and fear they will say the wrong thing. They mistakenly think a thank you note must be long and flowery, when in fact short and to the point is most effective. Then they go into giving all the reasons why you should order the how to write letters booklet and then give you all the information on how to do it, the postage that needs to be sent, and how much money you should send to buy said book of how to write letters. With the holiday season fast approaching, this is the perfect time to reply with a handwritten letter, note, or well written email. Although handwritten notes are the gold standard, many folks these days opt to take a shortcut by using technology that didn't exist before the quill and inkwell.

While texts may seem cold or terse, they are better than no acknowledgment at all. So here's why they should have written a letter. Here's how they can write a letter. Here's an instruction manual on how to write a letter. But in the event that you're only getting a text, deal with what you get. I don't… They went through way too fast. I I just… How was it that I write this letter again? Well, she just You would listen send a book. Yeah. Right? I think she could send a link, and then it's free. When was the last handwritten thank you note any of you've written? Oh, recently. My wedding. I actually did it recently. Don't try and seem cool. I know I did. That's fair. I did. Oh. Oh, if it's a long time, then it's righteous. Yeah. If it's recently… In any situation, you are incorrect here. This is… You wrote… You did a handwritten thank you note recently? Okay. Yes. I did. Really? I did. Yeah. What was the… It… Can… What was the situation? It was around… Was it just… I I… It was meaningful, apparently. One of the kids. I don't… Like, it was somebody close to me where, like… And it was… But it was innocuous. It was, like, one of the things… Like, a like, a note of encouragement Oh, cool. And a thank you for whatever just, like, normal things. Fair enough. Okay. Yeah. I… Oh. Go ahead. I I was saying I I remember hearing one of the presidents. I don't know if it was Reagan or Bush or one of the guy… Nixon, whatever, somebody. They were saying you used to write handwritten

notes to people all time. Oh, yeah. And they were talking about how powerful that was, I thought, I'm gonna do that. Yeah. So it was, like, maybe in the eighties. I bought a couple boxes of really cool blank note cards. I was gonna write everybody in the church just, like, once a month. I still have those two books. I was about to ask if you still have the boxes. I I think I can find him…. Goes, this is the year. This is it. This is it. I mean, they're all…… The year I get to feel the…… If I open the box up. Tricky Nixon. I had great intentions. I love that. I do… Now I do think, despite my own shortcomings and most people's, like, there is something very powerful Yeah. About taking time to write something and say thank you even if it's small. I get tied up because, like, I… I'm actually… I'm pretty good at, like, long form stuff, but, like, short, very relational things. I'm off… Like, I can't think of anything to say. I feel… But my, like, my wife is great at this. My kids are… Most of them are also great at this, but I stare at a piece of paper forever. Like, what do we… Well, thanks for… Oh, shoot. What do I say again? Like, it's very difficult for me to do, but there is something very powerful to do. So I would encourage it, actually. I think it's great to teach your kids that. I think it would be awesome if they responded to grandma and say, hey. Just… We love it that you send us this stuff. We really appreciate that you think it was. Here's what we did with your gift card. Yeah. Right. As a service to grandma, not because you have to, but because you know it would… She would enjoy it to be able to see what joy she brought to you. And so, like, that… That's a great thing to be able to do, but I just… Otherwise, you can let go of the hammer. My grandmother and I have a relatively tense, like, relationship, and I… We're not getting into that. But, like, I still make certain that if she ever sends me money or a card or anything, I'll call her or text her. Like, I know… Because I know it means the freaking world to her. Like, it just flat out does. Yeah. And I hate it. Like, I'm just, I don't I don't… I I struggle to have nice things to say, and it's really a thing between me and Jesus that I need to figure out. But, like, I I know it just… It makes her whole gear when she sees a text from me that says, hey, grandma. Thanks so much for that. Really appreciate it. Yeah. Yeah. Agreed. Yeah. Alright. Hey. You're listening to live from the path. Thanks for hanging out with us this evening. We really do appreciate it. A big thanks to Empty Smith for coming in, performing. Make sure you check out the single. It is are you there? And you can find it again on all the the socials. I'm a pro on my, TikTok channel, Bubba. Take that. Post number three. I'm not doing any of that, but I did put the song in in one of my queues. Okay. Awesome. Hey. You wanna throw that on the Life From The Path Facebook? If I can figure out to get on it. I'll do it. I'll do it. Never mind. I'll I'll take care of it. I forgot. Okay. I'll take… We'll get that out there so that you can… I want you to listen to it. I want you to share it. I want you to keep it for those moments that you really need it. God's

has used Micah's situation to otherwise produce something you can also draw you back to him in those moments when you need it. So that's a real blessing. And so, again, make sure you hook up with with m p Smith on all those channels, and we'll be back. I don't know. The the stuff gets dicey towards the end of the year with the show, but I think we're back next week. We'll see how it goes. In the meantime, be faithful in the means. God will handle the end. You've been listening to live.