Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper. You are live from the Path. And you're listening to the live… What is going on over there? You're listening to live from the past. Thanks for hanging out with us here on this itchy Monday night. My buddy Mike's on this show. I don't know if you knew that. Right? Yeah. And one of my favorite things to do is is Mike's a Mike's a bit of a snacker. Yep. He likes he likes the gas station snacks. He likes the Twin Bings.

He likes I do like Twin Bings. He likes raspberry flips. But the old raspberry flips in case they don't have it anymore. Later. Right? He's he's a man of means when it comes snacks. Yep. So what I like to do is I like to expand his horizons. Yep. I like to get him snacks that I think he really would enjoy. At one point in time, I think I brought him a nougat that was, like, from Aldi, and it was very floral. It wasn't quite sweet, but it was like a… It was a floral nougat. Uh-huh. He didn't enjoy it at all. Yeah. Because he was like, no. I'm not about this fancy life. Tonight, because I love him and care about him, I I brought him these chamoy and tahin peach rings and watermelon rings. What is the chamoy flavor? The chamoy flavor… That's a great question. I don't know if I could explain chamoy flavor. I would just tell you was chamoy. Did you say like a butt? A bug in cold. A bug? No. I… It's not just a flavor of bugs. It's You have to change ethnicity to go tahin.

Tahin. It's what's called man's tahin. I'm not a cultured man. I don't… I'm I'm a cultured man, and I'm trying to just expand Mike's horizon. And it's not working. I laughed because I threw the bag on the ground and made a gesture at it because he's very obviously not going to accept my peace offering of these Chamoyed peach rings. Yeah. And then he just goes, And it was funny, and I started laughing. And so that's what just happened. Welcome

to Live or Facts. That's predictable. Alright. Here… Here's what we got going on the show tonight. When? When? Think I think it's tonight. Okay. So I I there's a question that occurred to me a few weeks ago that I've been sitting sitting with,

and I'm curious to see what your guys' thoughts are. The question is, is modern Christianity, like meaning the things that we teach and focus on and the songs that we sing, is it biased in any way to a certain personality type? Mhmm. And if it is, like, to what extent is it something you should be aware of? Like…

Yeah. We'll come back to it, and I'll expand a little bit more on the thought. But I'm just kinda curious, like, are we all driving… Is there a sense for like, hey, this is the personality that God is looking for in his worshipers based upon the types of things that we talk about? And is is it right? Is it well balanced? Some people say it it is geared toward women, but that kinda expands it a little bit Yeah. To to… No. It's more of a personality. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting. Yeah. Alright. We'll talk about that. I'm gonna have some follow-up questions to that question. Continue. Okay. Secondly, should should following Jesus feel more comfortable as time goes on? I don't mean I don't mean that, like, you don't do hard things, like… But there's always tension around, like, hey. Am I am I doing enough? Am I hearing from God? Am I hearing his voice? Am I prioritizing like this thing or that thing? But like those are inexhaustible

wells. Like you'll never run out of like God is having you do things. But like there's a negative connotation I think around the thought of Christian contentment. Like, oh, I'm feeling content in my relationship with Jesus as if that's the same thing as being lazy. But like, to a certain extent in any other relationship, the closer you get with people, the longer that you are with your spouse or whatever, it's not so hard to do the everyday things even if the everyday things themselves are hard. Yeah. And so I wonder if

some… Is it possible that like we have an expectation of what it feels like… This is more like a feeling thing, what it feels like to follow Jesus. And that, like, if you don't wake up every day with some sort of tension in there, like you're not serving him. But I actually might expect that it should feel the opposite. Yeah. Right. But I don't know that we always… Maybe it's me, but I don't know if I always feel that way, and maybe I'm chasing a wrong expectation. And so anyway, I'm curious to get your guys' thoughts on that. Sure. Also,

Abouva's got an Ask the Pastor, and it's less like Bible question. It's more like pastorally, how do I think about encouraging someone in perseverance? I think it's maybe the right way to say it. Ask the pastor to to counsel the the class right there. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.

Alright. So let's maybe, maybe, actually, let's start with that one. Okay. Let's start and move on with yours. Yeah, sure. So this week's Ask the Pastor kind of comes from a conversation I had with a guy that's been coming to our church, and gosh, he's he's in a… He's he's been in a long term rough situation with a spouse that he is separated from. It's been separation for about two and a half years now,

and no divorce finalization or anything like that. So they're kind of just in the the situation where they're together legally and figuring out life, but not together as a couple. And, like, even kind of, you know, dating off in the in the different directions and all this different stuff. It's just it's a it's an interesting situation. There's kids involved and he's in a place where we've been kind of having the same conversation

for about two and a half years now of what it looks like as, like, he has gotten more and more into a deeper relationship with Christ and is, like, safer than he's ever been. Like, he's in a situation where, like, he's sober for years now, and that was never something we thought was gonna happen. And, like steady job and, you know, has a place of his own and all this different stuff. Like all the things you would expect, like somebody that's kind of going from some turmoil into a little bit kind of like peaceful waters for the first time in a very long time. But the other side of that coin is not the same. It does not look that way. There's not sobriety. There's not,

you know, walking towards being a safer parent and all this different stuff. It's just kind of rough. So you're trying to co parent with that person? Yeah, trying to co parent with somebody that like absolutely will not be on the same page as you and like, it's just, it's all kinds of hypocrisy and all this. It's just messy, man. And like, we've been having this conversation for years now of like, what is he supposed to do? Like, what does it look like for him to continue his relationship with Christ? What does it look like for him to love his children? What does it look like for him to learn to love himself? And what does it like build from that? What does it look like to love the Lord? And what does that change about your identity and what does it change about your day to day? And then now we're kind of running into the same question we've had over and over again of like what does it look like to love a spouse that just flat out is running like full tilt in the opposite direction. And like rock bottom doesn't seem to be a concept that exists because things keep happening and nothing changes. And so like we've had the conversation about what it looks like to stand on a more firm foundation of being in a relationship with Christ. We've had the conversation and like things have changed in that way. And like

walking along those paths and allowing God to lead him. And like it's certainly not perfect as I'm not either, but like, I mean leaps and bounds towards being what we would expect to look like a good man.

And we keep coming to the same question of like, and the most recent round was, I'm essentially tired of being the bigger person. Like I'm just, I'm beat up and I'm worn out and I'm heartbroken and I feel like I keep, you know, putting my heart out there and going, I love you and I'm gonna do what I can for you and I'm gonna love my children even you treat me like dirt, you treat yourself like dirt, you treat our kids like dirt, and like it just is gross.

And so I'm worried that I'm gonna keep giving the same answer. And like here's the deal, here's the honesty of I'm I'm a pastor, and I love Christ. The answer doesn't change. Right? Like, the core principles don't change. We're gonna continue walking towards Christ. We're gonna continue walking towards a deeper relationship with God, and then he's gonna reveal things and show us things about ourselves, about the people around us, about our families, all those things. Those are all constants that are going to continue that way. But I'm worried that I'm going to keep giving the answer of like, well, are we still praying? Like, are we still praying about this? Are we giving this to God? Are we expecting an answer? Are we doing this kind of thing? Are we walking towards Christ? What's your Bible reading look like? How are you loving? How are you showing Christ? How are you the light in dark places in those spaces when it just feels like getting battered over and over and over And so my question, my ask the pastor today is along those lines of like,

is there any, whether it's encouragement or whether it's advice for somebody that's only been doing this in this way for a couple of years on like how I can make certain that I'm still continuing to show love while also being consistent with the fact that like I'm still going to show Jesus and I'm still going to preach the gospel and that's my calling. That's what I'm going to continue to do. I just don't want to be in a situation where I keep doing that and it just feels like it loses, not its sharpness, but it loses its impact as time goes on and nothing changes on the other side of that formula or that equation. How many times does a coach tell a football player to move their feet in the right Sure. You're You know? Football player a lot. They get into the pros, and they're like, still saying the same thing. Shuffle your freaking feet. Dude, dude, this… You know? Yeah. That's what you're doing. Mhmm. Okay. I mean, that is in my… That that what crossed my mind. Sure. Yeah. See, you never stop. You never stop going Oh, totally. Yeah. Right. You know, this is a football. You know? This this is Jesus. Yep. Right. And and and so I I don't think you can get tired with that. But honestly, what what came to my mind, the first thing is, like, are those kids safe?

Yeah. It's a great question. I mean, because everything else is kinda selfish. Like, oh, I feel I feel I feel… It's like, are your kids safe? Mhmm. You know? Yeah. No. And that's totally fair. And I think that's part of the conversation on his side of, like, he can he can have a little level of control over the safety of his kids when he's got them. Yeah. But, like, the other side of that is, like, I I don't think it's a situation where DHS would step in and go, they're not safe, but like emotionally safe, probably not psychologically safe, most likely not. Like they're not being cared for in a consistent way that builds up confidence and psyche. Like, that's the truth of it. But no, that's a fair question. And we've been asking that as well. And he knows at any point in time, if it gets to the point where we believe that there's anything unsafe

happening, we're going to move. We're going to move on it. It's I've not talked be too many things now. And that's also what we've said is from from the the perspective of like the legal stuff, I'm like, dude, all conversations go through text message. Everything is on paper like we don't do. We don't do random phone calls of craziness like you text schedules like you'd everything has a paper trail and stuff like that too. So, yeah. Yeah. Unfortunately we've had to go through that already and figure those pieces out, so. So maybe, Mike, what do you think, like how do, maybe the question is how do you encourage people in perseverance when when it's… They don't get to see the payoff? Yeah. Right? Like there's… Like the… You can reach for 10 very key things in scripture Sure. That would, you know, point you in a direction that's just

gonna say, well, you kinda keep doing the good things. Yeah, right. Right. Timing. And to a certain extent, I hope that they would be encouraging. Mhmm. But like, if you have this expect… Like, they're only encouraging… Well, they're only discouraging if there's belief that goes, okay, okay, I'll do this because I can see on the horizon that it's gonna pay out. Yeah. Sure. But what if it never pays out? Mhmm. So so, Mike Mike, what's your thoughts there? Like, how do you think about perseverance in light sacrifice and trying to handle things the right way when you you may not be able to see the outcome you want?

So it reminds me of this conversation I had with my wife a week week or so ago, and it has to do with… Like, when you first meet Jesus, he goes… He puts a lot of work in into revealing who he is to you. Right? It's when you meet people who are just on fire. You know, they're like… They they have this presence of god about them. They got a glow about them. Right? And then at some point, and it seems to happen just about everybody, like, he stops showing you who he is and he starts letting you see who you are because he has to refine that part in you too. And so, like, you're like, man, I just don't hear from God like I used to. I'm not full of all this. I just… It's just crazy. Like, I was so on fire. Now I feel like this, this, this, and this, and that, whatever. Right? And the the reason it reminds me of that is because when when Christ saved you, it wasn't

it wasn't like an exchange where you give him $20 and then he gives you everything you ever wanted or everything that you thought would happen. You spent twenty years, thirty years of your life getting to this point. You gave him 2 and then went, you owe me. Yeah. And and, like, this is to be said in the most generous possible way Sure. Is that he… It's like, god has to remind you of… He he showed you who he was as a savior and as a rescuer and as a god and as a father. And then he's gotta help you remind yourself who you are because eventually,

as you pursue after him, then you stop putting your own demands in there that go, I want, I want, I demand, this should've, blah blah blah. And, like, hear me. This is not easy. These are hard things. Right? But, like, the reason that matters is because at the end of the day, if I trust him with my life and I trust him with my salvation, then I have to trust that he sees everything I see. He understands more of the of the the wrongs that are happening and the things that need protected than I do. And he knows that my heart, as his son, is for these things. And, like, the more my heart's like his, the more we're thinking about it the exact same way. And so, like,

mostly, it it it ends up being like a a figuring out how to trust God in the spaces where you go, look. If I was God, I would have fixed this by now. I would have already done this. Well, if you were God, well, let's look at the first twenty years of life. You were God. That's what you did. Yeah. And then here's what you did with it. And so, like, we have to… Like, mostly, like like, taking the the story you told with what we're talking about, a lot of it's a perspective issue. Mhmm. Right? Like, God knows very well when to open eyes and when to open ears, and he also knows that calling people to himself when they have no ears to hear or eyes to see Yeah. Right. Will bring him no glory and will bring them no joy, and and it might even actually cause the opposite of what you intended to have happen. And we don't know those answers most of the time unless he has some mechanism to tell us. You know what I'm saying? And so, like, there's probably 10 situations, probably two major ones in my life that I want fixed like yesterday. Like, I want them restored, repaired, and back to where all good and joy has had, and that's not that's not what's happening. Right? Mhmm. And at the end of the day, like,

I either… This is where he's revealing me. He knew… I always had an impression on where my faith was. He always knew where it was. Mhmm. And so if he has to if he has to allow me to see that actually my faith is pretty dependent on him doing what I want him to do. You know what I'm saying? Like, I need to know that because he needs to refine that out of me. And so not saying that, like, I'd like to… Like, all the world's ills are to point to, like, Mike learning a lesson. That's not the truth. But he will certainly leave Israel in the desert for a minute. Forty years seems like a really long time. Maybe they could have figured it out after two or seven or maybe even twenty three. You know? But, like, god knows. And, like, these are answers that I do not have nor does any human have. And so, like, it is a call to perseverance, but it is actually a call to dig in deeper. Because if you're looking at it as… From a correct perspective, you have filtered out any of the great things God has done, and then we're putting him to task for the one thing that he has not in our own minds. Yeah. And, like, that's not a fair trial, and it's also not gonna do your heart any justice. Right. Because then you will you will you will sideload this one situation with with anger and disappointment,

and god's like, I'm I'm actually working on that. What are you so upset about? Yeah. Right. Yeah. It's got so much weight that's sitting on that. You're not looking at the rest of what he's already done. Yeah. And it's it's interesting. Like, integrity and faithfulness is not the thing that wears people out. The thing that wears people out is worrying about what someone else is doing. Oh, totally. Because, like, let… Let's just say, if I take this situation, you say, look. I'm trying my best. I'm trying to handle things the the… In a right way, in a kind way, in a peaceful way. And then there's another person who's not doing that. Yeah. If, like, you're going to act that way regardless. Like, let's say they were even… The person who's not handling themselves the right way now started handling themselves the right way. You're actually still on the path to to doing righteousness and integrity. Yeah. Right. Right? Right. And so your effort is going… Now there may be more like events that go on, but, like, in general, this is not something you ever put down. Mhmm. It's the path of peace, man. So, like, you're always gonna have to walk the path of integrity righteousness. Right. The thing that the thing that causes us to be discontent

and worn out isn't the path that we're always gonna be on anyway. It's when we see someone else who's not trotting that path. Yep. That actually doesn't have much to do with your own effort. Yeah. Right. And so which means that the real barrier is your perception about how someone else is behaving, not actually the effort that you're having to put into it. Right. And so this is probably what feels like a weight of balance of action and balance of time and, like, people, like, carrying their weight and load is probably a forgiveness issue. Yeah. It's probably being able to say, I

I look at someone and and say, as opposed to this person being aggrieved because of what I am having to do because of their shortcomings, it's to look at them in in mercy

and in forgiveness with an eye to, like, not how those shortcomings impact you or even the kids, but it's how it's destroying that person. Because, like I said, going… If my wife could go plum crazy tomorrow and I still have the same responsibilities

and… For my kids forever, like, hey. When does it end? Never. Yeah. Never. Yeah. Because the question the question is it like, well, how long are the… Is it worth it? Yeah. Of course, it's forever. Right? Am I… Is it… Would would it be easier if my wife did not go buck wild on the church? Of course. Of course it would be. But, like, what… To to prove a… To prove what point would you go then, Oh, well, that I'm not going to allow either myself to go off the wheels or my kids to suffer? You wouldn't do that. Yeah. Right. You're not making that choice. Right. And so what I'm… The point is to say, like, your path and your effort is going to be the same regardless. Paths of integrity and righteousness are still the paths of peace. Because you know what? You know what's not gonna happen? It's like you let any of that stuff down. Now you just became the third variable who also sucks. Kids are in a rough spot. Ladies in a rough spot. Dudes in a rough spot, can't do it. And that's actually, that's one of the things that I've kind of have have spent time focusing in on over the last couple of years. It's like, dude, if you want to see… If you need to see things that are moving, just freaking turn your eyes back on yourself, man. Yeah. Like, look at the fact that, like, your kids can trust you. At one point in time, that was not the situation. As a matter of fact, it is a role reversal 100%. Like, he used to be the variable. He was the one who was buck wild and crazy. He was the one that nobody could trust. And now that he's doing that, it's like, dude, you are you have a solid foundation relationship with your kids. Like, they trust you and they know dad's going to be there the days that dad's supposed to be there. They know that when they've got an event, dad's there. They know that when they've got something going wrong, dad's there. They know when it's a rough day at school, they can call dad. Like, you are a dependable

parent of theirs, and that is what they need so much right now. And if you need to stop focusing on what's not happening and turn your eyes towards what is, just freaking look at your kids and look at how they look at you now because that's that's the validation that you may be needing to look at right now. Hebrews 12 came to my mind as you guys were talking. Therefore, since we have such a large crowd of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance. Seeing this endurance. Right? Yeah. Totally. Lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus Yep. The pioneer, perfecter of our faith for the joy that lay before him. He endured the cross, despising his shame, sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Yeah. That that that's that's where he needs to look. Yeah. Yeah. That's fair. And so practice, like, if if if those are conceptual, and they're true, they're realities. I think from a practicality perspective, sometimes you gotta say something out loud to kind of reorient your thinking, and so what's a real… What's difficult is that, like, dang, that person messed up, and now I gotta go get the kids. Yeah. Right? And you're like, I'm put out for that.

It's it's not… I'm not asking you to, like, look at the situation falsely. I'm asking you to fill out the narrative. Part of the narrative is to say, like, praise Jesus that I'm in a place. Yeah. Right. I got a working car. Yep. I got gas in it. Yep. The kids are gonna willingly get in it. They're gonna enjoy time with dad. Right. And I'm in a spot where when someone else is not at their best, I get to be at my best. Oh, 100%. Praise god for that. That comparative thing has been so powerful. Like the conversations that go like… Because what it's turned into is there's like this this worry of the power dynamic. Right? That is anytime that it's his days, he's there. Anytime that it's her days, it's iffy. Right? And so, like, there have been plenty of times where he's had to come to the rescue, whether it's because the kids didn't want to be there or whether it was the kids needed something that the other parent couldn't offer or whether the other parent was just flat out gone. Right? Like all this different stuff. And for a while he started to dip into this perspective of like, gosh, I just I have the kids for a week and then she takes the kids and I get a call within six hours and she needs something like I need to go over and help and stuff like that. I was like, dude, awesome. Yeah. Like what an what an amazing opportunity you get to where your kids go. He is not obligated technically right now to be in this space, but he shows up. Like he shows up every single time we need him. Like they get to see that story changing itself, right? Because at one point in time the narrative was you were

the wild card. Yeah. And nowadays you get to be a little bit more of the foundation for them. And so they get to watch that and learn from that. Like, they get to see a redemption for you, man. Like, they get to… And I'm like, the most important thing, like, love that they get to see you as a dad, but they get to see Jesus as a father. Like, they get to see the God of this universe that is moving things in you, and that builds faith for them, that changes this generations down the line. I was like, the kind of work that you're putting in right now is the kind of thing that their grandkids are going to be bettered for. Yeah. Because you are solid foundation and great, great grandpa blank was one that like they saw it change. Your kids get to see that story and then tell that story and be a part of that story bettered and watch generations get blessed through this. Yeah. And he's just like, yeah, I know. And like on the best days, of course. Oh, yeah. Of course. Right? It's easy. Right. It's not like… I'd imagine, you know, it's it's not like you don't believe that Right.

On paper. Yeah. Right. It's hard to It's hard to feel. Yeah. Whole idea of endurance is like you're ready to percent. Yes. Everything is painful, you're… It hurts, and it's terrible. You just wanna stop. You're like Yeah. I'm just gonna keep going. Yeah. The question of how long do I need to be a bigger person, I laughed today, and I was like, that never stops. Yeah. I was like, going. Yeah. Always. It goes how long? I'm like, forever. Well, and the reminder that, like like, sometimes it's it's really helpful just to clear the decks out. Like, what do you really wanna do? Yeah. Like, what's actually important to you? Because, like Yeah. What you're gonna find out is, like, you wanted to spend time with your kids. You wanted to follow Jesus. You wanted to be considered dependable. So then… So… And then something Check. Check. Check. Something in you clicks and goes, actually, I don't care about all this other stuff I'm getting all gassed up about. Right? Exactly. It just felt like regular to be mad about it. Now if if, your like, neighbor is inconveniencing you because he wants you to mow his lawn or something, you're like, I don't care about his lawn. Now I'm angry. You keep inconveniencing me. But if someone gives you the inconvenience to goes, hey. I need you to spend more time with your kids. Yes. Right. Oh. Yeah, actually, that's what I want. Admittedly, half the conversations we have are just right sizing. Like, just gets, you know, if there's a if there's a, you know, a rough day or whatever and a phone call after a long day or a phone call after a rough altercation or whatever it is,

I get to be a sounding board and I think it's a blessing. It is an absolute blessing to just be like, hey, I'm going to listen. Because here's the deal, like our relationship used to not be this. And so now I get to be the one that like I no longer have to worry about that phone call. Like I used to not want to answer that because I get a pit in my stomach that I'm like, Oh, something awful is happening. Nowadays, I get to be like, Dude, what a joy. What a joy to talk to this person, and I'm super excited about that. And so, like, today, it was a sounding board. It was like, part of it was empathy that goes, Man, that's frustrating. That sucks. That is awful. I would be so mad. All this different stuff. The other part of it is like, yeah, forever. You never not get to do that. It's never a situation where you're not the bigger person. You're a Jesus person. That's what it looks like. Yeah. And non Jesus people, it's going to suck. It's just flat out going to suck. We're not on the same page and like, things that Jesus calls us to do from a worldly perspective don't make any sense, it is… Looks like we're being doormats, but that's not what you're doing. And if you right size it, guess what you got? Four more days with your kids. Yeah. And I I… It's it's interesting too, especially when you get some of those separation types of situations, it's like, oh oh, I just dropped him off.

If if you were if you were married in the same house There's no drop off. There's never a separation. That's funny. I brought that up today too. Was like Always on the hook. Dude, he was like, why is why is it so hard and all this different stuff? I was like, dude, you broke… Y'all broke promises. Yeah. Like, that's what happened. Like, you broke promises. This is this is the consequences of that crap. Yeah. Like, you guys went and did the thing that you're all not supposed to do unless you've made a promise in front of the lord that goes, this doesn't break. Yeah. And you guys went, well, it sure does if it's a piece of paper. This is all right. Freaking easy. Yeah. Right? Because, right, like, casually forget, once again, the twenty years we spent breaking the bridge. Yes. Right. You know what I'm saying? Like, all the times we Lighten the fire system. Has said. And, like, this is not God going, see, I told you so. But, like, it's just fact. Right? We lived life… When we live life in a way that does not follow the way that God said, this is where joy is, and then we end up without joy. Yeah. You know? Like, and then he rescues us out of us, and we're like, this is so great. And then we act like that first twenty five, thirty years didn't even happen. Right. Exactly. Yeah. That's not accurate. No. No. Exactly. I'm I'm preaching through Proverbs right now in Proverbs anyway. And last week, I was talking about work ethic, and and the Proverbs is so great. It's so practical. It's like, if it's time to plant, and you're like, yeah, not really feeling it. And then the harvest comes, and guess what? You're gonna be hungry. Yeah. Yeah. And you're like, why will god not bless me to eat the harvest? It's like, we didn't put it in. Literal cause and effect, friends. It's like… Because

you were a fool. Yeah. You remember when you were a slaveholder? Planting season? Yeah. You ain't eating during harvest. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's Yeah. So… Yeah. So I mean, maybe one of the broad takeaways here is that like, you know, you can go you can go to Romans and go, look, yeah, I'm gonna persevere and it's gonna produce character and hope. And you're like, oh, I want all those things. And in your right mind and not feeling particularly aggrieved today, you believe them. Oh, totally. You believe the Hebrew stuff. Yeah. And Yeah. Then you're gonna hit a rough patch. And so like there… It's the same thing like like setting practical reminders to pull you back in to help right size your thing. I actually like this idea of like, hey, what do I want out of life? Dude, I want to spend as much time with my kids as possible. I wanna be a key influence for them. I wanna build for generations. I wanna teach them to follow Jesus. Every phone call that comes at a time you didn't expect, you would look at your wall and go, does this do those? Yeah. Right. Exactly. Does this give me an opportunity to do these? Yeah. 100%. That's a super fair way to put it, I think that makes sense. Because the

thing that hits this, like the thing that makes sense on these kind of days is just flat out truths. And like, if we can get to a point where we have even just a small inventory of, like, exactly right. What do I want? Yeah. Yeah. You would say yes, yes, yes to all these things. Right. If it was just presented to you in this way, so do everything you friggin' can to present yourself every time in this inconvenience with that truth. That Is it happening that way? Great. And this is super fair, right? Because this happens to everybody. Right? For the five minutes I'm in, I want to sit and do nothing, but my kid wants to talk to me. And you're like, oh, I'm so irritated. And then you're like, oh, but, actually, I love these kids. Maybe these potato chips and video games could wait. Maybe I'm gonna see what Totally. I wanna see what they're up to. Right? So, like, it doesn't have to be this big blown up, very difficult life situation. Everybody does this. Right? Yeah. But then you go through a reckoning and go, actually, yeah, I just… I'm… I can't believe my kid actually wants to talk to me. Hey. What's up? You know I'm saying? And so, like, what a… It's… Everybody gets to go through that struggle, and it's not a shame and it's not an embarrassment. It just takes a minute to write the boat and go, actually, I I do want all this. Okay. Yeah. Let's play barbasket. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's funny. Like, as a as an aside that you said that it's funny that you measure that because this… It's something that kind of hit me this last week. It has nothing to do with what we were talking about just previously, but there's something that, like, it's an oh duh, but there's something so wonderfully, like, destroying of a selfish nature as it is having a kid. Like, there are so many situations in which my nature is to be lazy,

and my nature is just to be like, oh, man. I'll do that tomorrow. Like, I'm a procrastinator, like a master… Like a monster. It's bad. And, like, I'm a body at rest that wants to stay at rest and never get to motion most of the time, as you can imagine. But, like, there's something about going, man, my freaking kid needs that. My my kid needs that to happen, or I need to do that for my kid. I need to freaking do that and get up. There there's nothing more motivating, and I apologize to my wife. She should have been just as motivating in the situation the benefit of that, unfortunately, is the dogs. And it really makes me mess. Right? True. Right? Because, like, I… Now I've been conditioned after having kids in my house for so long. The dog used to go out. I'm like, I guess I got it. I'm like, you know what? I should tell you no. Hey. I'm not gonna get up at all. Dude, I'll tell you this. This afternoon, was in my… Sitting in my office, which is like a small building outside my house. And, like, I'm sitting in there working, and this dog is barking. And I thought people were home. Usually the dog barks when we got the we got the screen door open so that he can't hit the bell. And so he just barks at the door because he wants to go out. And this dude's barking for like five minutes. I'm like, what the heck is going on up there? And so I get… I walk out of the office, and I… It turns out everybody left. And so I'm like, oh, the dog wants out. I let the dog out. He follows me. He goes right over to my shed. I let him in. He he walks in and plops down and immediately goes to sleep. He just wants to be near you. This fat turd barked for five minutes because he wanted to sleep not in the house. He wanted to sleep in the shed by his buddy. Yeah. Oh, that's He don't care. And soon as the… He heard the kids and my wife and kids came home five minutes later, as soon as he hears the corridors open, he's out. I'm like I'm like number six on his list of favorite people. He was like, well, I guess if I have to choose you, it's fine. Yeah. But but it's totally right. I'm like, oh, I'll go do it. And then sometimes, like, the kids will ask a thing. Like, ah, you can wait because I know that kids have a capacity to wait, and I treat the dog as much simple as like, oh, he just has needs. He doesn't know any different. He knows different. Yeah. And I'd probably need to be more patient with the children. I I think I think the biggest thing biggest thing that's changed for me has been like,

I should say, like, little slothful thoughts. Mhmm. And I mean that from the perspective of like, oh, the the trash is always taken out. Like, the dishes are always done. It's not piling up to where my place is gross anymore because I remember when I was 19 years old, my place was gross. I don't ever wanna be that way anymore. But, like, now a days, I think we had people at our house on Sunday, and I think one of the kids knocked into like a plant and one of the leaves fell on the ground. Yeah. And I stepped over at once, and then I turned back around and went, there's no reason for that leaf to stay on the ground. And so I like, picked it up and threw it away. And I had this fun little… I'm just so pathetic. I had this fun little celebratory moment of I'm like, nice job, Buva. I remember a day when that leaf would've sat there until it was a tree. Nowadays, I'm like, that doesn't need to stay there. There's no reason not to pick that up. Get your fat butt off the ground and get it. It's so dumb. Alright. You're listening to Live From The Path. Hey. If you got any questions for ask the Internet pastors, you can do five one five five… What what? 517-0085. There we go. (515) 517-0085.

Call or text the Bob Eisenlauer Life From The Path complaint line, and that's where you can send your your inquiries. Haven't I been here, like, six months, and I remember it, man. Come on. You got back to the boy. Was just getting old. I never remembered it once. If we go for more than two or three weeks, I forget it. I have it written down. 170085. Yeah. Okay.

Real quick. Well, okay. Let's do the let's do the question of is is there a… I mean, when I say bias, I'm not implying… It's not necessarily bad. I did… Just the question is is, like, if we think about the types of things in our current day that this… With how the sermons are oriented towards and what the worship music is oriented towards, does it seem biased to a particularly personality type? And I know what… That's a… There's something wrong with the question already because it's like, are there personality types? Yeah. Right. And what do I mean by methodology.

Yeah. But but like, maybe I'll… Maybe the the reason I was thinking about it is I was listening to some… There was some song on, and the lyrics were perfectly great, like pointing me to Jesus, but they were they were emotive. And I'm like… And I remember, like, kinda singing along to him. I'm like, I don't feel this though. Like, there's things… It's kinda like the… What's the what's the the crowder? The sloppy wet kiss. Oh, yeah. I'm not drawn to this. This does not this does not draw me in.

And and so, like, there's there's some of it where, like, I think about, you know, are there… Maybe it feels like fellas more often than not where you're like, does a guy feel like I don't belong here? Because the songs are oriented in a particular way or the things like a lot of our…

Is… I gonna grant that this is fallible, but like I had the AI do an analysis of like the top five most listened to sermons Woah. Surprising. Churches or whatever, and and like analyze the key themes and stuff. And like there's actually websites that had already done this type of And

like kind of what are the what are the themes and trends? And like one of the questions was like, you know, what's the balance of like… They were very… A lot of them were emotionally driven. Like how do I feel about a thing or not a thing? Mhmm. And the question is like, does that connect or does a guy actually feel like a relationship with Jesus matches him if he's a… I'm I'm gonna stereotype

a 60 year old construction worker. Sure. Yeah. Right. And he's like, Sloppy, what kiss doesn't doesn't ring doesn't ring with me. My dad never kissed me. Yeah. So He's not sloppy. And, like, again, I I don't actually have a problem with any of those things. Like, obviously, the Psalms are highly emotive. Yeah. But the Psalms are also, like… The question is, like, are those even normative? It's… There's three… There's like three guys or three groups of people roughly that are doing psalms. And like poems are intentionally, you know, whatever, amped up. Right? Art tends to be that way. And so, anyway, I I was just thinking about that, and I I don't know. Does that strike you as, like, is there a bias in our stuff? I mean, I don't know. Yeah. I'm thinking of, like, the different eras. You go back to the couple hundred years ago, and everything was very analytical. Yep. The church is one foundation as Jesus Christ our lord. I mean, you know, it's very doctrinal. It's statements of fact. It's like, this is what we believe. You go go back to the Psalms.

There's some emotion in there, but it's not sloppy wet kiss. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, god, you are so wonderful. I love you. You're awesome. Smite my enemy once in a while. That was actually one of the outcomes is like… Is that if you analyze the sermons against the the Psalm narratives, the one thing of which there are zero, like in the top 100 worship tunes on the board. Kill my enemies. Yeah. Lament. Yeah. It's just… And not like resolved lament because like you… Like, what you have is is is songs that are like, oh, I feel this way. I feel empty. I feel lost or whatever. Jesus is with me. Yeah. Right. There's No, like repentant

Yes. There's songs right heart. There's songs that are just like… There is no resolution. Right. It ends on how long, oh lord. Yeah. How long, oh lord, will you leave us in this way? Will we not be able to sing in your temples? Will we not be able to sing because our enemies have carried us away? Yeah. And that it doesn't end in, but you're good. Which… Now here's the thing. It just goes There is not very many orbids repent worshiping tunes that are, like, calling god to account. Yeah. Yeah. Like the Psalms do. Do something in the… In your name. For your name's sake, like you said you would. Go do the thing. Yeah. And, like, I… It's not like you're not holy if we're not doing worship songs in the same proportion of emotion as Psalms. Yeah. Right. But it's an interesting question of, like… Because there's some people who can read the Psalms and it stirs them. Yeah. Right. And there's some people who can read the Psalms and go, I

don't connect with this. And I I… Like, I think we're supposed to… I'm cautious about, like, David, a guy after God's own heart, does not actually mean David's personality. Like, Jesus is the only guy we can look to and go, yes, that. Yeah. Right. Right? Not not David necessarily. Jesus doesn't write these psalms, interestingly enough. And so, anyway, I don't know. Like, it feels like we sing them, though. I have a Oh, that's true. I have a quick sidebar. Okay. Can you…

What are the top three books of the bible that you don't connect with? Oh. That you just have trouble… You have trouble connecting with. Connecting with? I'd I'd take mine right off the crack. Okay, Mike. You give yours. No. I I actually… The Leviticus is really straightforward. The Psalms for sure. Uh-huh. I struggle with the Psalms. Book of Hebrews and the book of Romans.

These three books, I I I… If if I could skip them and feel like I still love Jesus, I would. Interesting. I I would agree. I always find Hebrews a slog, actually. Like,

I will read it and go, I I love Romans. But, like Yeah. Because it's like a sustained Everybody loves Romans. Yeah. I'm the lone holdout. I'm like Yeah. Okay. I don't… Actually, the the Psalms depends… Like, sometimes I'll read the Psalms, and they're like… And I I must be in a mood for it. I'm like, panteth. I'm a still waters. Yeah. I love this. And then there's some times I'm like, alright. Like,

blah blah. I'd rather listen to Really? I'd rather listen to Isaiah pontificate on on, like, super flowery language than than go through the Psalms. I just… I… And, like, I'm a worship guy, and I just can't Yeah. Right. I can't take a minute. That's wild. I'm like, get to the point. I also lamentations. I

mean, it's just depressing. Yeah. Dude, I love… I Here. Okay. I I love Lamentations primarily because there's, like, a flip.

Yeah. It's bummer bummer bummer bummer. And then there's just a spot where, like, the sun shines. Yeah. Right. And then it bums out again. It's all hell up to this point, and it's like… It's just sad. It's a a baby. Yeah. It's it's like Yeah. Not good. Yeah. I would have to… Okay. I I gave my answer. Yeah. I feel like my answer's fake because I I can't think of one. I You're all stirred by everything? I… Like, I don't… I can't think… What I'm saying is out of the 66, I can't think of a single book that I'm not… Like, that I don't love the structure of it or I don't know… Love why I've I've connected with it before or I don't love why I've been able to use it to teach before or, like, it's connected to a certain song of Solomon? Yeah. It's beautiful. Dude, it's not when you have a thousand words. Jewish.

Yeah. Who are you talking to? Jewish betrothal is super cool. Like Nope. Nope. The author's not waiting to hear your butt kissing. No. Think I'm I'm great. Yeah. What I'm saying, like, in the in the space that I have, I can't think of any. Like, I can't think… And I I feel

super… Like, I'm trying to sound holier than now because I'm not. I just… I suck. Like, I'm not very good at studying my bible. I should do much better, but, like, I can't think of a single book that I'm like, I feel… I love reading through Hebrews. That's one of my favorite books. I love Hebrews. Okay. I I I did the Psalms the most. I mean, on that. Yeah. Yeah. I love reading through the Psalms, all of them. Like, every single one of them. There's… I I've yet to read one of the 150 that I wasn't like, I can understand. I either understand Yeah. Why this is a worship tune, or I can totally, like, connect to this in the ways that I felt. Yeah. And so I feel super validated in that. Yeah. And so… But here's… And here's the total honesty of it. I'm a super emotional dude. Like, I just flat out am. I'm absolutely, like, 100% emotional guy. I have no problems with, like, connecting with poetry, language, all the different stuff. I'm not particularly, like, creative.

Yeah. But, like, I… I'll read the Psalms and be in tears. Like, legitimately. I'm just… I'm a I'm a pansy man. I got an emotional job, right? I'm not the 68 year old construction worker. But yeah, no, I can't think of a single book that I'm not like, I either love reading through that, I love the structure of it, I love the story that it's telling, and I'm not saying you guys are saying you don't, but I don't there's any of them that I don't, like, super connect with. Okay. I'm gonna tell you, this one… Maybe this one You'll challenge me with that, by the way. You've got, ah, try this, and I'll be like, oh, Think of Obadiah. I'm not gonna talk you out of being connected to all the books. Well, fair. Just don't wanna sound like I'm kind of sound pious than you. Maybe this will surprise you, but maybe it won't. It's like, I actually don't connect with the proverbs interestingly enough because

there's not a there's not a Not enough to dig in? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's pithy. And when you're like, yeah. Okay. Got it. Got it. Got it. Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the slogan to the room besides him. It's kinda like that's cute. It's the old… Here's the thing is that, like, you try to talk people out of a desk calendar interaction with scripture. You could actually desk calendar the Proverbs and you're probably fine. Oh, sure. There's not a deep one on that. It's like, hey, don't be a friggin' sluggard. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, interesting. So I guess… And maybe maybe it's fine. I was just… So if I think about it, maybe we're more emotional. We're calling people… I guess maybe the the thing that struck me is the caution might be is that like, is there a sense for, like, am I not as close to Jesus

if I don't emotively connect with some of the things that either we're teaching or singing about? Because it represents that like, things that you might that you might not feel.

And then do you feel like, well, Jesus expects me to feel this and I don't. And so then I have a reaction to my faith about it. And I'm not saying that like you have to cater to like a million things. Just wonder if just just like we think it like an over… It's a correction maybe to what felt like, look, we treated the scriptures and even our our our hymns as look, you suck and here's the rules on how you should get better. And we did it for a long time. And then we go, ah, dude, we're missing relationship. We're missing connection. Like, what it what it looks like to walk with Jesus. And then did you leave behind someone who, like, just naturally, like, God built them to not actually feel that kind of thing. Yeah. And do they feel separated separated from the gospel in some way because of it? Yeah.

Anyway, that was the that was the thought. That's an interesting… Yeah. Yeah. I think that's that's interesting because I think that, like, the the the way that that worship that I kind of, like, connect with, right, there's a level of like, I don't even know how to talk about this. There's a level of like the joy that I feel because of how much of a piece of crap I felt like and worship hits that really well. It does a really good job of being like, man, we suck and God's awesome and I'm so glad that we get to be awesome. And, like, I've met people that their testimony is just flat out like, yeah, I just walked with the Lord and have for a long time. Yeah. Like, I wasn't I wasn't addicted to meth. I was never homeless. I was never in that situation. And, like, I just… I grew up in a church and then I stayed in the church. And then I married someone from the church, and then I kept walking with the church, and now I serve in the church. And then I And, like, worship… The the kind of stuff that's, like, crying out to the lord in your desperation and all the different stuff. Mhmm. It just doesn't feel like that connects to that kind of person because it it seems to be like such a transformative

conversation where they're like Yeah. Or just being persevering and doing alright. Yeah. Well, and then like Like, I'm alright and have always been alright. There's no worship song for great job, just staying with Lord. Yeah. Just staying with Lord. As a guy who's been the bible nerd my whole life. Right. Is there an Enoch worship song that's just like, we just freaking walked with Sometimes there's an emotional response to saying, thank you, god, that I can react Absolutely

right. Yeah. I mean, I've never had to worry about STDs. I've never never ever had to worry about And that's totally fair. Drug. Right. I just don't know of any worship songs that are just like, hey, man. Guess what? It's not ation. It's not stagnation. It's just like I'm a good, good father. It's the same conversation of, like, people sometimes feel like if they don't have the testimony that's like, was a drug user or I was a prostitute or whatever, and then God got me out of the muck. Right? Yeah. But there's not power in it. That's absolutely incorrect. Yeah. Yeah. Like, there's something beautiful about the… No. I knew Jesus for as he… At a young age Stayed I from stayed with him. Yeah. I've been with people who had Exactly. It's a preventative Jesus that goes, you're just gonna walk with me? And I'm like, I've never followed you. Known that pain. Right. It's like, wow. That's a And don't know many worship songs that hit that. You've you've been alright. Like, you sinned. Don't get me wrong. But, like, it's not catastrophic, and you've never, like, been in the dirt… Like, the gutters. Right. Right. Always for the prodigal son, not the dude that just stayed. So now that you now that you say that, actually, I think that, like, I struggle a lot with the Psalms because it's a lot about,

like, David's emotion or the emotion of the thing. Sure. And, like, I don't connect with that very well. Like, I… I'm not saying that I've never been, like, emotionally involved with, like, singing a worship song or even reading something in the bible, like, even just to maybe admit this, but, like, I I got… I finished up the book of John a couple weeks ago, and, like, I I almost got teary eyed. And I'm like, god, thank you that you that you had John write this down. Like like, what a… Just what a cool thing to to even be a part of. But it always has to do with what God is capable of, like God's attributes.

It's never how he makes me feel. Mhmm. Right? That's not how I connect with who God is. Yeah. And so, like… And I'm I'm I'm obviously friends with quite a few people who, like… They're like, God is my this. And, like, I would never describe him that way. Yeah. Right? Like, I can… I I will say he's my father, but, like, I'd like the… All the attributes that they're like, he's my protector. He's my restorer. He's my redeemer. He's my comfort. And, like, that would never… That doesn't come to me. Like, I would never go… My experience with Jesus is that he's my comforter. Yeah. Not that I don't believe that he is, but, like, my my personality just doesn't lend to that. Yeah. Right. I don't go to him looking for comfort. Go to him looking to sort something out. Like, tell me what's right. I… And and, like, I will I will force my feelings to get in line with whatever you say. And so, like, it's more of a, like, clear it out. Make make it make sense to me. Help me to see it correctly.

And then I'll say, look. Tuck it up, Mike's feelings. You need to get in line with whatever god said. And, like, that… And so, like, I don't spend a whole lot of time in the… Even laments. You know, most of the time, if I'm lamenting to him, I'm like, my heart doesn't understand it, and it's making me it's making me sad. You gotta help me trust you more because I would not be sad if I had this trust in you that you were going to redeem or you're gonna restore. Like, it always goes back to an attribute of his Yeah. That I think that I can rely on. But, like, the Psalms, like, frankly, it wears me out. Like, I feel emotionally burdened for having read it. I'm like, you spent all this time thinking about this and and, like, even the great stuff, even the joy. Like, what is… Is it the is it the song of

not Moses. Who's the gal? Miriam. Jabez. Miriam. Yeah. Like, it's this big celebration. Right? It's just on Miriam. And I'm like, this has gone on for, like, eight stanzas. Oh, yeah. You know what I'm saying? Or even five verses of amazing grace, I'm like, first in it… First and last ought to do us. You know what I'm saying? Like, what's with all this? Like, we're just swimming in it forever. And I just, like, I don't have the patience for long laments or joys or whatever. Maybe you should spend some time in sleep. What? Actually, you know what's interesting? I

Get freaking me a minute. When people are writing, talking about worship and stuff, they are largely oriented around David and not specifically oriented around Jesus. And what's interesting is, like, in some ways Jesus cheats. Right? Because his relationship with the father is obviously different than ours in some ways or another. But, like, even… Like, the the key place where you see Jesus when he's praying in the garden, even that thing ends with, what?

Your will be done. Yeah. Right. That's right. Right? It it doesn't hang. And so, like, actually, David is far more emotive than Jesus. And Jesus is not like… It's not like he's a hyper bully or anything. Like, Jesus is obviously the ideal figure. So it's in… It would be interesting to think about what is what is the worship of Jesus look like?

And in some ways, maybe that's the right way to say it. It's not wrong because it's all scripture. But do we have a bias towards worship looking like it came from David? Yeah. Right. Distinct from worship like it came from Jesus and neither is wrong. But if your bias is to David, it may be because, like, frankly, we're in a bit of an emotionalism type of… Like, our… We're we're biasing towards emotional feeling as a culture. Right. Yes. Which I I think you gotta be cautious because the whole culture is that way is that, like, I think it's wrong to just ignore that. And and Jesus is obviously well rounded. Heck, David's well rounded. So, like, none of these guys are, like, you know, too far right or to the left of how you might think about people's, you know, reactions to stuff. But, like, I I I do just wonder, like, if you focused on how does Jesus worship,

would our… Would what we teach about and, like, what we focus on look a little bit different than maybe what it does in our current state? Yeah. Right. Well, I have… Someone asked me a handful of people to pray about something really big, and so we've been fasting and and praying about this whole thing, like, pretty intently, intensely. And then yesterday,

they came up and said, hey, this… Here's the answer. Like, this is exactly what we've been praying for. And my reaction was like, well, of course. And I sat there for few minutes, I thought, I better react better than that. This is what it's like to fast expectantly. I mean, yeah. Isn't that what we prayed for? But at the same time, well, we better celebrate god here. You know, say, okay. Hugs, you know, and everything. But Yeah. But it was a pause. Yeah. And and I thought, okay. I'm a either a dork or faithful. I don't know what I am. I'm either a dork or faithful. Will that be the name of your memoir? Like, I'm either a dork So or

maybe that goes to that to that second question that I had, which is like… Maybe it's the same caution, which is like, do we have, if you were to walk faith, you're walking faithfully with Jesus, think like as we draw people in and we're talking about what it looks like, it's like I'm constantly expecting God to speak, It almost puts this like low level tension

of like, oh, we might say something and I gotta get in on it and I wanna do all the things. Right? And all for the right reasons. But like to a certain extent, if you were like, isn't it… Wouldn't it be right though that like as the more you walk with Jesus, the more it doesn't surprise you when he speaks? It's like, well, of course. Yeah. And actually the more that you don't fret when he doesn't. Yeah. Like, not worried that he didn't say something to me today. Yeah. Right. Because he's good, and I've got orders, and I and I still got the stuff to do. And then when he does say some a thing, it doesn't actually… Like, it's not a surprise. It's like, yes, lord. Kinda like Eli, know, or Samuel running in. Like, here I am. Yeah. And so

I wonder is… Do do we… We're protect… What we're trying to make sure is that people just don't… You don't get, like, slothful. Like, you don't well, I go about my business, and I'm not even listening or paying attention for what the thing that God will do. Sure. And I'm constantly expecting that he's going to do something, and then I'm worried if he… If I didn't hear God say something to me, like, clearly over the next six months, does it mean I suck? Does it mean God's left me go? Yeah. Right. Does it mean God's not real? Like, it it does create an expectation that might not be beneficial. But on the other hand, it could also be because you're a sloth and you're refusing to listen and you need to repent to some things and pay attention. I

know both of those things that can be true, but I do wonder if, like, because we're worried… We're hedging against the… We're so blinded by our own selfishness and consumerism that you actually create unnecessary tension in people's lives being worried about something that… It just looks like walking faithfully with Jesus looks mostly like your normal life. Yeah. I feel like

the the tension always comes from from neglect. That… Like, that is generally where it comes from. I can't remember who said this quote. It was in a C. S. Lewis book I was reading. He was quoting somebody But, basically, it was like an… It's a real old English sounding quote, and he goes he goes, blah blah blah blah blah. You're you're… You know, you you look at your life and and and you wonder why you're having a hard time following Jesus. And the truth is you simply didn't want to. That's why you didn't. Mhmm. Right? And, like, it's it's that easy to determine. And so, like, like, the… I I think… Like, I've been getting big conversations about

trying to break sin habits or whatever or, like, people going, how do I hear from God? How do I know what he's doing? How do I know what his will is for my life? And, like, the the answer for, like, 95% of the bigger questions is if you spend your time next to the father, you will constantly find yourself in this… Like, in the center of his of his will. Right? Whether that's him talking to you, whether that's him having a thing for you to do, whether it's having you just being in relationship with him. The more you pursue him, the less your heart wants to pursue sin. You know, if you spend your time trying to battle sin,

that was Jesus' gig. He he fought the sin. Right? So, like, you follow Jesus, and you spend, like like, your time pursuing a relationship with Jesus. And when you do that, one, your heart starts to want sin less. And so, like, when you have sin start creeping back into your life, it's a great time for you to go, oh, well, my heart is starting to want things that it it it kinda put down. Yeah. That's weird. You know? And you're like, maybe this is a fresh visiting of Satan to try to tear me away from the Lord. Stop it. You… Like, you know how you got here. You stopped spending time with Jesus. Yeah. Right. Exactly what happened. Right? Right. And the same thing goes to… Is true for the bigger… For those bigger questions where it's like, like, how do I know what God has has me doing? Maybe he wants me to do this, has me do that. Like, this is why we have prayer. Right? That's our language to speak with God. But, like, the truth of the matter is if you spend time in his will and spend time in his word and spend time, like, praying and talking to him in the mechanism that he gave us, you will always find yourself in the center of his will. That's where it is. You do what you see the father doing. You know what I'm saying? Right. That's how it works. And so, like, the bigger questions and and and, like, the… It's always the, what do I… What does god have me doing? Or I'm struggling with sin. And, like, it's the same answer both ways. And the funny part is is, like, nine out of 10, I go, how are you spending time with god? Well,

it's always the same freaking answer. No. Same thing… And the same thing's true with me. I'm like, man, I feel me and God are so disconnected. I'm like, well, turns out, like, I've… I'm like, we'd like to put a chapter limit on it or a time limit on it or be like, I haven't been praying about this. And, like, the truth is you're flat out just not spending time with him. That's where all those things get hashed out, and, like, almost no one does it. And so then we have books and seminars and podcasts and thousands of studies on the thing that goes, are you spending time with Jesus? Right? That's where it's figured out. Yeah. Yeah. That's a good… Yeah. That's a good point. And I think I think what's hard about that is… And we we were talking about this recently, think just going through the book of John, is that like, the reason the books exist and the programs and the podcasts and stuff is that like, what we often

do is manufacture external evidence because we can be confident in it. Like, oh, if I set up a Bible study plan that I check off every day, then I can look at it and go, see, I'm spending I'm spending time with Yeah. Right. Yeah. Like, these are orientations of of your heart, and it's one, sometimes you feel like you need it personally to show external evidence, and then frankly, sometimes other people are expecting it. Like, oh, I don't see you serving at the soup kitchen, and I don't see this and this and this. The orientation of your heart may be God's not… You're not doing any of those things, or you're like, you're focused on… There are some people whose like, only gig in the world seems to be they just pray. They're just praying people, and, like, that will never show up outside of their house. Yeah. And, like, it's not a matter of, like, how many hours or, like, whether they did it somewhere else or whatever. And, like, that's… It's it's the orientation of their heart and god's… What god calls them to do, But, like, sometimes it's easier just to be able to show, like, look, Buva, I know you were thinking about whether I was doing a good job. Look. See? Well, here's here's the stuff I did. Proof. But the thing is is that the orientation of the heart is also so squidgy because someone could go, oh, yeah. Yeah. Me and Jesus are doing it fine. But if you're willing to about that, your relationship between you and Jesus, it ain't gonna matter what Buva thinks of me. The truth is some people are just aren't creative either. Like, let's say you've read the bible through a couple three times, and you're like, well, I could just start in Genesis again. You know? Or or we could do a bible study. Right? Like, I find, like, there's a bible study called experiencing god. I find it effective because I'm in my bible every day. Yeah. That's why. Because someone put together a system for me, and I'm like, I will do anything just to have a system. I don't care what it is. Just tell me what to read and tell me what to do. Thank you, doctor Blackaby. Yeah. This playing bible roulette of just going, well, maybe I'll read Hezekiah today. Yep. And then I spent half my time going, what if the lord didn't will? I read Hezekiah.

What if I just cut a trail and did it on my own? Now he won't talk to me. I feel like I'm being called out for this. I think I'm in Hezekiah today thing, and that's totally how I do things. I'm just like, what's Nahum up to? I… But that's the thing. What you do with Naamist, Lord? I don't I don't connect with Hosea. I love Hosea. The… Like, ultimately, like,

I I I used to get real hard down on these on these bible studies. I'm like, just get in your regular bible. But the truth is… And this includes me, is like, I… I've just I I don't know what to do. Right? And I'm like, I mean, I could read a new… Then I gotta try to mix it up, and then I'm, like, trying to put this meal of Bible readings together with a little dessert reading and a main reading, and I'm like, I should really give Romans another shot. Then I get three chapters in, and I'm like, I freaking hate this. Like, it's just so lofty, and I just… My brain doesn't do it. You know? But, like, you give me a Bible study and something to do and tell me, like, do this, read this, understand this about God, and then go spend time with them. Like, I am happy to do it. Yeah. And so, like, sometimes people just… They just need a little help figuring out what to do. Romans is Mike's green beans. I actually think… So that's the interesting part. Right? Like… Because I think the the the the clear point that you made is that, like, it's it's walking with Jesus. It's getting in his word that's going to make the difference. The mechanism of which you… How you got there isn't actually all that big of a deal. Mhmm. Like, whatever gets you in it. And, like, is it fine to organize? Sure. Is it fine to do something off the shelf? Great. Yeah. You wanna read randomly? I… Sure. This is where I get lit. I get far less tied up of, like, is God…

Like, am I… What I notice… I I think what feels like is that we are sometimes battling in inches when your problems are in yards. Right? I'm not likely to miss what, like, what Jesus is doing in my life or miss him speaking or, like, whatever because I chose… You know what? I really felt like reading Romans today. I don't think my dad's gonna go, you chose Romans. I meant Hosea off the plantation. That seems extremely unlikely. Be gone, son. Right. What's… Now what does seem likely to your earlier point is that, like, if I don't wanna walk next to Jesus, well, then I'm not gonna hear… Like, I'm not gonna be paying attention and listening for him, and then then I'm gonna miss entirely. Yeah. But, like, I… I'm I'm cautious that we end up squeezing the inches of, like, well, did you… You know, did God want you reading Hosea Tate? Did you pray on that? I I just… I I could be wrong. I just think it does not matter So actually. Like, the… So so this goes to answer your question then. Your answer… The question was is, like, as you get into a relationship with Jesus for the long haul, like, should it start to feel more comfortable? Should it start to feel like less of a what? And, like, here's

here's what I think is true. I think God the father built you. And if you thrive on the excitement of him getting you involved in crazy stuff, I think he loves you. And I think you will be involved in crazy things. I think there's time when you need to step back and, like, just be soaked up in the father's love and get some rest and Sabbath, I think he would give you that. Mhmm. Right? Very much like he did with Elijah in the cave when he was ready to just give up on the whole thing thinking he had failed. He's like, take a couple naps. Let me get you some food. Let's calm down. Yeah. Right? Yeah. And so, like, ultimately, I think I think God built you as a very specific daughter and a specific son. And I'm not, like, falling that down to the inch where he's got, like, a, like, a back to the future timeline that only you can suffice through. But, like, at the end of the day, he loves you like you love your kids. Right? And so at the end of the day, I think when you look at it and go, if I stay close in my relationship with Jesus, and that does mean being reminded of who he is and what he's done in his word, and that means spending time, like, putting your your joys and your frustrations and your… Though you're asking him what what he has for you. Like, these are… This is how we spend time with him because that's how you would spend time with anyone you're in relationship with, is you'd like to know them, and you'd like to know about them, then you conversate with them. So, like, it's how you would do any other relationship. So, like, if you do that, then… Yeah. Maybe you… I don't know that I've never been, like,

shocked. I've I've stopped being shocked, but I am pleasantly surprised. Yeah. Like, because if you if you pray into things with hope and you're like, but God's pretty smart and he has all the wisdom. And so if he doesn't do it, I'm actually okay with that. But I really wish he would because then it means that, like, I get to see him do something. Then, like, a big smile will come over my face, but I'm like, I don't believe it. This has to be a coincidence. God had no hand in it. It's just a turn of events. I don't think that anymore. Right? Yeah. That part goes… When you first meet him, you're like, no. No. That's… He doesn't work that fast or that quickly or make it that obvious. How have I missed this my whole life? Do know what I'm saying? Yeah. So I think some of that stuff, like, the shock goes away,

but the surprise doesn't. Like, the pleasant surprise. Sure. And, like, what feels almost like a like Jesus hug every once in a while that goes, I still got you I still got you, buddy. Your dad gave you a gift. You're excited? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Your dad went here, son. Look. Yeah. I just I just That's think awesome, Dan. Maybe this couples with the, like, the the 10… Trend to emotionalism, which again, I'm not advocating that… Like, I think this this is good. There's a goodness to it. We're not just ignoring the way God created us to be. You're to be a motive.

But like, what it does then start to do is the same thing that I think we've had a cultural issue with with, which is that like, the emotion trumps or becomes our reality. Yeah. Right. And it's not otherwise guarded by it. Yeah. And then if like The emotion is the truth. Right. And so it becomes like, I feel distant from God means that I am. You know what I'm saying? And and then you're chasing, like, what is a theological reality. Like, that's not true, but because you felt that way and because we've got… We've kind of pushed you to, like, not keep the emotions in some semblance of a balance with the world around you, I I do actually feel like we run the risk of chasing an emotion that is different from the reality.

And then, like, ultimately, you're on the sidelines. People are not out there doing confident work for Jesus, confident in their own rescue and feeling good that they can share it with others because they're being emotively moved around on some of those types of things. And so it's

the the it's the warning, I guess, or the thing to be cautious about. Alright. You're listening to live from the path. Okay. I think let's do… I've got one question for you guys, and then we'll do some advice. So

I I think I shared this earlier in the week in our chat is like, I've seen multiple people who were like, hey, I'm gonna try. I'm gonna I'm gonna… I don't believe in God, but I'm gonna fake it. I'm gonna try what it looks like to fake it. And so there's there's two specific dudes that came across my Facebook feed.

And that now I'm like just checking up on this dude every day to see, like, get his thoughts, like, what's day 27 look like? And like part of the faking it is like, basically, I'm going to read scripture. I'm going to pray. I'm going to apply his teachings, and there was, like, something else into that. And, like, there's there's a dude who's… He looks like a younger guy, and he's been doing it for, I don't know, twenty five days.

And I think it was like day 23 or whatever. He's like, I don't know if I'm really faking it anymore. I'm not sure that I fully believe it, but like, this is having… Basically, all these things is having a very positive impact on my life. And so, I was thinking that like, there's part of that that I really like because you're like Sure. Well, yeah. I mean, like, try it. Test drive it. Yeah. Just like… It's like if you start looking at the world this way, and like one of the things where he… I think the the last place the guy's at, he's like,

am I… Because I don't have certainty here, I can't remember the thing that he was worried about, but it was like, am I willing to give up this particular way of thinking on something that I'm just not sure? Like, because I… And he goes, I understand what we're talking about. I won't ever know for sure. Like, like, I won't ever… It's not like God's gonna come down and just show himself to me or something. You know, it was funny also. He's been doing this thing for like three weeks, and I think on the in the beginning of the third week, the Jehovah's Witness came to his came to his house. And, like, he's a curious… He's like, I talked to him. I'm curious. And he's like… He goes, I don't I don't know if I if I fully believe in all this yet, but, like, something's amuck with that. I'm like, well, Good. He's got the radar on.

He's like Discernment. He's like, they were… You know, he goes… But he goes, if I if I were to believe this, I don't I don't think I believe in that thing that I'm talking about. That flavor. And it was fun do I. It was funny just that there were some things that he was bringing up where he's like, I actually don't understand why some Christians are reacting this way and that way. He goes like, what I'm reading seems like this, and you're like, yes, that's correct. Anyway, what was curious though is if you were to look at these things, disconnected from Jesus though.

Right? So like they're not quite Jesus as just a good moral teacher because that's not the guy's proposition. He's like, I'm trying to… Like, I'm acting like I believe. I'm gonna apply the things that God says to my physical reality, which is not implicitly wrong. Where… How else are you gonna apply it? Sure. You only have a physical reality. But… And actually, I think this is one of the reasons you're seeing… We talked about this before why some of these liturgical churches continue to grow, is because like it actually gives you in

a belief structure over the last twenty years where it just felt like, like believe what you believe. People are going… To Mike's, like, basic questions, like, how's that working out for you? Crappy. Yeah. Right. My own… Me as my own god is not working, but I actually don't know how to put together a program to follow this other god, and they're like, oh, well, look at this. I mean, the church seems to go, look. Step one, step two. Yeah. Right. Exactly. Say the thing. Yeah. Seeing the thing seems great. There's 15 tasks. Yeah. And that's what… That's effectively… So, like, there's something really good about this, and there's something where you're like, well, yes. These are all fine. But if they're actually not connected with Jesus, you may actually enjoy your life, but you will still miss out on forever with with Jesus. You just enjoyed your life a little better because the… This is why America's fine. Like, the principles of Christianity were kind of influential here. And so generally speaking, the country moves okay. To be fair though, in that Bible is give all praise to the Lord, the most high. Yep. You know what I'm saying? So like, you can't fake that. Like, you can say it and it ain't praise. You know what I'm saying? So like, there's instruction in there how to how to be in relationship with God too. Yeah. And so I I actually think that here's the… One of the one of the things I almost didn't bring it up because I thought like,

will draw people to himself in a million different ways. Totally. Yeah. And like, it's fine to go to… Like, no one walks in with great theology. And as you start to, like, just try some of these things, like, you're going to be put to a place to, like, I said I was thinking, like, when I was praying, I thank God for this thing and this thing. And at some point, you're gonna, like, well, either he's or he's not. Am I actually thanking him? Right. Or am I just talking in my head? Yeah. And like, I think you'll get there.

But it also goes to the same thing. I actually think people will… Like, you'll meet God even if you started reading the Bible as literature. I think you'll meet God in there. Yeah. Right. And so These dudes are set up pretty sweet because, like, they're getting it right from the source and without corruption. Mhmm. Right? And without other human fallibility in it. Right? If, like, if they're literally… Like, this is how we've been drawing people to know Jesus ever since Jesus Or… You know what I'm saying? Like like, we wrote down what he said, and then we told other people about it. Yep. That's right. Basically it. Yeah. Muslim countries are having dreams. Yeah. You know? And they're like, hey. I better figure out who this guy is. Yeah. You know? And Yeah. Yeah. So he he he does use multiple ways. Absolutely. Yeah. I think it's… It's kind of funny. It's… What it's similar to is all the foreigners who came over to The United States and were like enjoying all The United States things during the the FIFA, during the the soccer thing. Yeah. And you're listening to these people, like, start… Oh, yeah. FIFA the World Cup. FIFA's a thing. Right? FIFA's the league. A Tahit. World Cup is the the event. Okay. Okay. That's like saying we showed up to the NFL. Oh, yeah. Yeah. We do that. I love it. I love what I said. I love what I said. But but anyway, it's like seeing a person, like, start to interact with Christianity,

and they're like, all this stuff, like, they're discovering, and they're going, oh, and I read this, and I actually think this is really good. I'm like, I think it's really great, actually. Anyway, I I I do think I do think that we are in an interesting… I should go back to the one of the… A show. I I remember, like, middle of COVID, we were talking about something like, hey. Is the culture going to turn?

And I think the cycles are getting shorter. Now, whatever. I don't think, like, there's a massive revolution, but what I think your… People are getting burned out with what it looks like to play their own game for a few years and feel like this is not producing anything. Yeah. Running in circles. And the opportunity, this is this is the clear opportunity, I think, for for the people of Jesus, is that, like, I don't care where they reach for structure. It's fine if it's a liturgical church. I I don't I don't care that there's… Like, again, it's not holy to be unorganized. But the the… Where where it hits the road, this is why I think that I think there there are…

I've I've really strong issues with the structure of the Catholic church, but I think there are tons of Christians in the Catholic church. Oh, totally. Because you will find him when you look for him, and as you walk with him, that is irrelevant to whether I think the upper echelons of your situation are honoring Christ. Right? And so just go about your daily business following Jesus, and there's no reason that the wrong reaction would be to go, dude, you're just gonna find this behavior modification. I do think that's a risk. But the way that you solve that isn't to go stop doing those particular things. It's like Right. Hey, let me invite you to the deeper well. Mhmm. And then you're gonna go, It's even better than I thought. And so… But you have to engage with people. You can't be a turd, and don't don't don't fight the inertia. Join it and help people see Jesus in it, and I think it's awesome. Yeah. Alright. You're listening to Live From The Path. Alright, Mike. What do we got? Dear, life from the path.

My grandson is two and has started to call me Mimi. The problem is that his other grandmother chose Mimi for herself. Oh, no. My daughter-in-law is annoyed and doesn't want him to call me Mimi. She also doesn't want doesn't want me to be called mom mom because he calls her mama. Am I wrong to be upset? I've been an active caregiver in this child's life since his birth. His other Mimi doesn't live nearby and makes no effort to be in her grandchild's life, not even by phone. She just uses the term Mimi to sound good to her Facebook friends. I know this is silly, but is it wrong for me to be upset? He needs something simple to call me when we go to playgrounds and can't find me. I feel that he can have him.

I feel like he can have two Mimis. I grew up with two moms. I don't know. Wow. Wow. Okay. I really love how you brought it in. Like, well, it's obviously a safety concern of mine that he has to call me mimi. Everybody's wrong here. Everybody Okay. No one… None of you are right. Ignore Except the kid. Ignore the ignore the nickname. Like, if I… The way that I would explain

my grandparents, I would say, this is grandma Lee. This is grandma Kearns. Okay? Yeah. If you said, this is Mimi Lee. This is Mimi Kearns or something like that, Is there a prob… There's no problem here. Why would we have a problem here? Now do you go, hey. Look. I think it would be cute if they called me hoopy. Right? Could you? I'm sorry. Was the first thing you came up with hoopy?

Yes. That's what I thought of. Yeah. Yeah. It's a Hoopy. You don't you don't you don't get to dictate your own name. An incredibly intelligent person, and the first grandmother nickname you came up with was Hoopy. It's it's because I wanted Hoopy as the name of the grandpa. It's Hoopi and Hoopa. This is like some weird Danish. You don't you don't get to stop. Listen to me. Listen to me. These cute names came from… You used to tell the kid the actual name, and he couldn't pull it off. Yeah. Right. Exactly. Up saying something silly, and you're like, pa. Your name is now Mimi. You're Pee Paw. Yeah. And now people are like, you will call me Mimi. Yeah. Right. You will call me… My… I'm grandma.

And then when the kid screws it up, everyone can have a hearty laugh and go, in what variety has he screwed it up? Then that's how we will refer to you. Yeah. Yeah. Billy calls me gammama. I love it. It's my favorite. He calls me hoopy. Yeah. Our… Let's see. My my wife's mom was remarried to a guy named Jack. Super nice guy, but not by blood. So we're like, we're just gonna call him Jack and let the children decide Sure. What they call him. So my oldest, after calling him Jack so often, heard Doc.

And so he just became Doc. Oh, yeah. You know? Was like, that's cute. Tim was just kinda cute. You know? He's like, oh, I love Doc. It's okay. So he said, we're not pushing anything. And now that I'm a grandparent, I don't care. I don't care. Yeah. You just call me what they wanna call me. If your grandson called you pastor Dan, that would be weird. I'd be a little weird. I'd be a little weird. Gosh. That was my grandma. It was just Bill. We just had Bill for a while, and then he died, and then we had Art. Oh, I thought you were saying that's what you called your grandmother. My grandmother's… No. My grandmother's… I… We had Nana. Yeah. And Nana was my dad's mom, and then my mom's mom was grandma Jay.

But after grandpa Dallas passed away and Nana had passed away, like, everybody's gone, my grandma grandma Jay started saying, I wanna be called Nana Jay because it makes me feel younger. I think I'm the one who does it because I'm like, this woman was, like, 89 years old, and she's asked for one thing from me in the last fifteen years. I'm a call her Nana Jay. Okay. I mean, it's probably okay. You know? But, like, you've taken it to about it. Here's the thing. Is the road you're on does not lead to peace. No. Especially your whole… The enemy on the other side doesn't even try. Doesn't even spend it… Like, not even on a phone call. Yes. You are being childish because you're being hurt by something that doesn't need to hurt you. Yeah. You're giving it power that it shouldn't have. Yeah. I get why you're upset. Like, it's not, like, something that's unfathomable to me, but, like, I think you're gonna put way too much into this, and you're gonna miss something, which is just have a good time with your grandkid. Yeah. Lazy Mimi has taken the title Mimi. And she's like, I wanna be Mimi. I'm like, well, why don't you just tell the kid your real name and then let him screw it up? Yeah. Right. Oh, that's a… Yeah. That's fair. This is who this is who I am. Do know what I'm saying? Yeah. He couldn't say Helen, so he said, Helen.

Hernanen. Yeah. He couldn't say Helen, so said hoopy. It's my hoopy. K. Secular says, more than one Mimi could be confusing.

The most important thing is your relationship with your grandchildren, not who has dibs on a certain name. It's not cute if you have to dictate it. I would I would just say, yeah. Yeah. Just let the kids screw it up and codify that. Yeah. You're really digging it at whatever kind of argument you can make when you go like, oh, it's a safety issue. It's a safe… They need to they need to know what to call me at the park when they're they're scared. Yeah. Watch me. Watching them. Yeah. Get off your phone, Mimi Mimi. He wasn't talking to me. I prefer to be spoken to as Mimi. He was talking to his Mimi, and she wasn't there. You might as well just go with that man in the cloak and van. Unless you call me Hoopy. I'm not listening. Okay. This is the last one. It's a question. Hey. Hoopy. That's a great name, Dan.

Alright. Ready? Dear life from the path. The manager of the dining room in my senior living center has a habit of shaking hands with residents at their tables. Yep. To avoid his hand, I often say my hand is wet or greasy. How can I best decline his unsanitary effort? The blue hair rebellion.

Don't touch my greasy hands. Dude, who goes around shaking hands with people during mealtime? I know a little bit. Is it… Like, this… His whole job is to run the dining hall. Right? He's a manager of a senior living center. Agrees. So what else does he have going on? Every day. That's that's the level of fun he gets to have. Is he like I mean Hey, Mamey. How you been? He's not a dignitary. You're saying? He's just a manager. You like your picture taken with me? Della walking through. Hello. Yeah. Yeah. How's Salisbury's Dignity? Good to you. To see you. Teacher Green. I just don't think it's that big of a deal that this dude's shaking hands. Okay. I I have never Wash your hands afterwards. I've never shook hands with somebody during a meal. What's wrong? That's weird. I mean, she's doing it already. She's already getting out of it. Yeah. Just keep doing what you're How many times can I have greasy hands? Okay. Then this guy won't come back and be like, you know we have napkins.

Band Aid. Like, you can get ten years of your life back by going, I prefer not to shake hands. Right? That's actually what I was surprised about. If you were old enough to be in a senior living center and living there full time at this dining hall every day, I'm surprised that you give half a care that, like, Manny wants to shake your hand, and you have to come up with some name. Hold on. You just look at it and be like, no. Hold on. And I'm sure that wouldn't be the worst part of his day. Give me the top three situations on which a handshake is given. An interview. An interview? Okay. Nice. Let's put that in category for the first time, man. When you first meet somebody, you shake their hand. Right? Hold on. Hold on. You know what? You… The camera didn't catch it right. I don't wanna hear it. Moova's handshake looks super, I go in for the real, like It was I do the roller coaster. I'm like That was wild. To meet you. Okay. When you first meet somebody, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Okay? Sometimes when you're when you're wrapping up a a business a business deal or something Yeah. That's probably a pretty good reason. I actually can't think of any other reason to shake something with family feud I've ever been a part of. Here's the point.

I've never shaken hands with someone that I see every day. You know what I'm saying? Never I wish we shook hands, Mark. The first time you meet them, you shake their hands. After that, never again. Never again. We went different ways with that. I thought you were saying you hug after that. No. No. I saw I saw… I I was talking to someone, like, last week that I've gone to church with with problem… For probably forty years. Yeah. I don't know that I've ever shook his hand. And I said, dude, I don't think I've ever shaken your hand. So I went over there and shook his hand. We were both like, well, that was awkward. Yeah. Yeah. But fun. Because they're all so weird. Serial. Shake. It's such a big deal about handshake. Dude. It's just a freaking handshake. Nobody does it. Nobody shakes hands. Same. Hands Not all the time. Not the same person you see every day. I'd see my… Every time I see my brother, I shake his hand. Oh.

That's Every time. That's weird. Yeah. Without fail, we shake hands, and then we shake hands on the way out. What? I'm not kidding. Like, good to see you. And then when he's leaving, thanks for coming. That's not a hug situation for you? We might hug too, man. Wow. Yeah. That's not… I'd… Here's the deal. Dad's freak out. Wow. My dad would take this. Weird. Booby yes hands it. He he does a handshake and a hug. No. No. Yeah. Dude, I I was… I'm thinking this is an insane thing to think about. It's an insane thing to do. She's a germaphobe, though. She doesn't wanna have Yeah. Him touching her. So, like, that's okay. Yeah. Tell her. Fair. Go. I don't wanna shake your hand. You're 85 years old. You're probably on the way out sometime soon. It's… Social niceties died away when your last friend died fifteen years This… The manager's being weird. He's there every day. They know each other. They've met a thousand times. Little sign you put up on your plate. I would love my hands. I think… Here's what I think you should do. I think you should get a petition together with all the rest of the blue hares that you sell with at meals, and you sign a petition, and you leave it underneath his desk. And it just goes, we all think this. We all think your handshakes are weird. Stop it. I guess what's not gonna happen, that. But maybe because you're the only freaking person that's weirded out about these handshakes. On a minute. I I think it's probable that this group of people, like, whatever. They're not in the same social situations they used to be. Their family's not coming by. Maybe they really like a human touch every once in while. Maybe Manny's doing the good work of the people. Yeah. Mike. Yeah. He he ain't. He's getting weird. But listen. It's fine if Glenda doesn't wanna do it. Yes. On. Quick story. I went… My family and I went to this home show over the weekend where, like, you go look at the fancy houses, and you go, oh, people are ridiculous, but I paid to look.

So we went to it. Of course you did. And there was… Like, you gotta park one spot, and then they take this bus. The… And the bus driver… I'm getting on this bus, and he's… He he goes, welcome to the bus. And then he goes out for a fist bump. K? Now I was in the front, and I made this the most awkward situation in the world for two reasons. One, to Mike's point, I don't know why this man is trying to fist bump me. He's… The guy looked like he was, like, 68 years old. I don't know why we're celebrating to get it on this school bus. Second of all, I mean, I have a raging case of poison ivy. I should not be touching people. And so I'm sitting there, like, very… I don't even know… There's people behind me. I don't even know what to say. And so I've got the rash.

I have it on my right hand predominantly. And so then I I cross over and give him a fist bump with the left. It was really, really awkward. Can we head bump? But here's what I'm a tell you. He put me in that position. If he could keep his hand on the steering wheel, I would not have been put into that. There's sometimes that I wonder that, like, why is my experience oftentimes so much different than you guys'? I think there's a level of, like, I feel like I can just navigate these situations without any problems. What if you had the ivy? I would just be like, oh, sorry, man, and go for an elbow. Oh. And it would be the end of it. Sumacas on your elbow even. Fan… I'll headbutt. Don't touch me. I'm littered. All I do is… Or I would go, oh, you don't want a handshake, man. I got some rough stuff going on. I want the gear shifter. Sure. I'd be like, I'm from the dairy association. I just… I would… I don't even under… I didn't know I had a superpower until I hung out with you guys for an extended period of time. Wow. Because, like, none of these things are considerations to me. I would shake the hand, and I would go wash my hands if I felt worried about it. I would fist bump the dude, or I would just be like, boo. Trust me, man. You don't wanna do that. Poison ivy. And that's the end of it. I can't imagine. Goes, that dude was kinda cool. And here's the deal. It's a freaking superpower. I'm realizing it now. I'm eating, sitting, eating canned pears, and this manager that I see every day comes up and like, hey, Mike. How's it going? I'm like, don't know. I'm eating pears, man. Manny and I would be besties. Manny would be like, toys, toys. Awesome. It's dinner time. Tendalon refills. Yeah. Tendalon refills. Yeah. Okay. One day closer to dying, greaseball.

Okay. Why does this have to be about the old people dying? It's more about Manny and his weird everyday handshakes. That's what… That's the weird part. That's how you take it. I say that Ethel should just invest in some some antibacterial like… No. She shouldn't have to shake his hand. Just tell him you don't like it. He'll he'll stop doing it. He… He's a good weird for two seconds. Manny's the best. No. That's fair. Maybe she has arthritis. Think Manny's the best guy in this situation. Stop got arthritis. No. He's purposely making it weird. I don't think Manny's going, you know what I'm gonna do today? Everybody wants shake hands. Elderly.

They're busy eating. What kind of a pop Every old person I've ever met has been excited about physical contact in the form of a head shape. They're not like a group of people you could all look together. They're all demographically act the same. Mike, they're all hurting. No. Stop it. They're all hurting, and so you need to Apparently, none of them wanna shake hands with man. You need to read the Psalms to them, and you need to shake their hand, Mike. They need more emotive servants. They do. Okay. I will… I I I'm gonna try to dye at my own house. But if I end up at a senior living center, I'll tell that Manny what fur. You know what I'm saying? I'll be like, look, Manny. No. As a as a lifetime friend of yours, when you're in a nursing home someday, you bet you I will be there daily, and I will be talking to that kitchen manager and being like, that's the guy. Oh, hey. Go shake his hand. Okay. You want… You see that guy right there? He's got the 20 ounces of Mountain Dew he's not supposed to have, and he still wears his hat backwards. You should go shake his hand. He'll be like, probably He seems like a super personable guy. I'll go shake his hand right now. Here's here's what you do. Turn turn a minus to a plus, man. So just start wearing, like, more and more outrageous things on your hands. You can start with those big yellow dishwashing gloves one day and then get a foam finger. Stop. And just I just wanna eat. No. I just wanna eat. You know what would be funny? This guy's a kitchen manager. Just dip your hands in whatever you're eating. Like, it's mashed potatoes and gravy, just… Yeah. Just… Not even a lot. Just a little, and then shake his hand No. Every day. I guarantee you, it will take less than a week. Manny will stop shaking your hand. Because he'll be like, of always has mashed potatoes in his hand. It's terrible. Yeah. Or every time he comes by, just randomly go, I wish I didn't have hep b or something. Lick your fingers. Lick your fingers before you shake his hand. Be like, hey, buddy. Secular says, the manager wants to appear friendly and welcoming.

Because you prefer not to shake hands while dining, simply tell him as much. If you say it with a polite smile and a good natured tone, it shouldn't cause embarrassment. I don't like to shake hands when I'm eating. No one likes to shake hands with me. I love it. It's my favorite. I go out of my way to shake the hands of people I'm eating with and people that come up to me when I'm You're trying to paint me as some kind of gargoyle, and the truth is nobody likes this. No. Because gargoyle's a weird one. Gargoyles have a point. You're a grotesque. You're just there. Yeah. The problem with chlamydia is it never goes away. I was supposed to take my medicine, but I didn't. Yeah. Manny, hello. Yeah. You two guys are the common man, not me, for sure. Actually, Manny, out of here when I… Manny, come here. Shake hands once with the man. Come here. That's it. And then maybe if he leaves, gets fired, retires, moves out of town, you shake his hand again. That's it. Once when you meet him, once when they're gone. It's… There's… We have spent disproportionate amounts of times on construction crews, and I think that's what's happening here. You've learned you've learned the world one drill at a time. I've had a lot of people's hands, but just once when I meet them and once when they leave. That's all. You're the kind of guy that's like, that's my that's my best friend. I met him thirty six years ago. We shook hands one time, and we only talk every year. Yes. 100 that's my best friend. Here's what I'm gonna tell you. Let's

say we were at a funeral that Mike has presided over, and there's, like, a line of people walking by the casket or whatever, I would not shake this man's hand. 100%. Why would I do that? I'd do it. Why? It wouldn't make any sense. You did great. Now stop it. No. I've done that a lot of handshakes. I've sent a text message to you. I've done funerals before. A lot of a lot of handshakes happen, Mike. Yeah. Because you just meet them there. They're a bunch of random. No. I shake the hand of your own mom. I I would… If my mom were still around, I'd shake her hand every day, Mike. Stop it. You shake your wife's hand? Yes. When I hold when I hold it, we wake up in the morning next to each other, and I go, good morning. The secret No. Sorry. Let me do it. I go, good morning.

Secret to Put it there, babe. Secret to intimacy is the old handshake. You don't even leave the lies for Stewart. Songs of Solomon told to shake the hand of the woman that I love. Delight in the young hands Your of your teeth are like lambs prancing upon a hill, and I want to shake your hand. You're

listening away from the These are lies. No one acts like this. We're there, baby. Thanks for hanging out with us tonight. Really do appreciate it. Thank you. If you wanna find out about… See clips and stuff from the show, go to lifefromthepath.org or visit our YouTube channel. Sign up for that podcast. And if you have any thoughts for us on the show, go (515) 517-0085,

call or text. I would be interested in a simple text message, then you could just do shake or no shake. I'm I'm curious on your reaction to this particular problem that's been presented to us. Everyday shake. If you're a shake, you put your name with it because I wanna know who you know. Or shake… I mean, it's really one x. One time shake or, like, everyday shake? Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna put on an event, and for $1, you get to shake Mike's hand. Like a kissing booth? Okay. Here's the egg. It's a shaking booth. That would be fine because it's the first time I meet him. It's one big deal. It's $1 if you've never met Mike, and it's $25 to shake his hand if you've known each other for a while. Some guy comes back through the line, Mike. And then and, yeah, and then all the money I wouldn't know. All the money goes to charity, and Mike has to shake the hands of someone. I'm gonna… I'll I'll test this tomorrow. I'm gonna go to work, and I'm gonna try to shake hands with people I work with every day. See what happens. It's just a field of you. That's all it is. Of me. There's a world of me out there. No. That's are the oddball out. No. I'm walking around around, like, a a cultured place like Los Angeles, and we're shaking hands. We're shaking hands. With all the homeless on the street. You're in Topeka, Kansas, and you shake hands at birthday. I think they feel sorry for you. Anybody needs to shake your hand every day. You hug your child when they're born, and then you hug your dad, it is deathbed. That's all you do in Mike Futh's world. I've never shaked my dad's hand. I want Okay.

You're listening to Live From We're gonna cut you loose. Thanks for hanging out. Yeah. Whatever. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. You're listening to Live From The The Path. It's outrageous.