1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,720 Welcome back to another episode of the Grace Church Members 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:08,280 Podcast. I'm Chris Rivers, and I'll be 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:11,560 your host in today's interview. I'm here with Scott Mazingo, 4 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:15,210 Julia Eldred and Joey Altom. Thanks for being here today 5 00:00:15,210 --> 00:00:16,129 guys. Hey, Chris. 6 00:00:16,410 --> 00:00:17,130 Hello. Yeah. 7 00:00:17,130 --> 00:00:17,930 Hey, Chris. Good to be with you. 8 00:00:18,130 --> 00:00:20,490 Yeah. So our focus for today is to 9 00:00:20,530 --> 00:00:24,010 unpack the significance of honoring the elderly by diving 10 00:00:24,010 --> 00:00:27,370 into the spiritual, ethical and social aspects of senior care. 11 00:00:27,570 --> 00:00:30,370 So through the lens of Grace Church's senior Honor ministry, 12 00:00:30,370 --> 00:00:32,930 this episode aims to highlight the challenges faced by the 13 00:00:32,930 --> 00:00:34,930 elderly. Julia, you've been deeply 14 00:00:34,930 --> 00:00:37,980 involved in leading this ministry and we're recording 15 00:00:37,980 --> 00:00:39,980 this during National Assisted Living Week. 16 00:00:40,020 --> 00:00:43,580 I know we're posting this weeks later, but can you share some of 17 00:00:43,580 --> 00:00:45,860 the core philosophy behind Senior Honor? 18 00:00:46,420 --> 00:00:48,900 Sure. I've been involved with Senior 19 00:00:48,900 --> 00:00:52,380 Honor for about 14 years as a volunteer, and so let me give 20 00:00:52,380 --> 00:00:54,780 you a little background on National Assisted Living Week 21 00:00:54,780 --> 00:00:56,860 for those who aren't familiar with this event. 22 00:00:57,460 --> 00:01:01,580 So it was established in 1995 and it provides a unique 23 00:01:01,580 --> 00:01:05,230 opportunity for residents. Their loved ones, the staff, the 24 00:01:05,230 --> 00:01:08,030 volunteers, and local communities to celebrate the 25 00:01:08,030 --> 00:01:11,350 individuals who live and work in assisted living communities. 26 00:01:11,670 --> 00:01:14,670 It also allows us to learn more about the sector of longterm 27 00:01:14,670 --> 00:01:17,670 care. As a church, we serve 10 28 00:01:17,670 --> 00:01:19,310 communities throughout the upstate. 29 00:01:19,550 --> 00:01:22,790 Each of our campuses has a dedicated assisted living 30 00:01:22,790 --> 00:01:24,470 community that they partner with. 31 00:01:25,110 --> 00:01:28,550 Through these partnerships, we serve approximately 650 32 00:01:28,550 --> 00:01:32,750 residents and around 700 staff each week this. 33 00:01:33,140 --> 00:01:36,460 Happens mainly through providing worship services, Bible studies, 34 00:01:36,900 --> 00:01:39,340 activity support at the community's birthday 35 00:01:39,340 --> 00:01:42,300 celebrations, and regular resident visits. 36 00:01:42,620 --> 00:01:44,380 Julie, can you just give those numbers again? 37 00:01:44,380 --> 00:01:46,540 That's a pretty big scope. Yeah. 38 00:01:46,540 --> 00:01:50,380 So in the 10 communities that we partner with, we serve 39 00:01:50,380 --> 00:01:55,700 approximately 650 residents and around 700 staff each week. 40 00:01:55,980 --> 00:01:58,980 That's great. Also through Grace's senior 41 00:01:58,980 --> 00:02:01,660 Honor ministry, we're seeking to minister to the needs of 42 00:02:01,660 --> 00:02:05,860 residents and staff in these communities because God values 43 00:02:05,980 --> 00:02:09,340 life from the cradle to the grave and has a divine purpose 44 00:02:09,340 --> 00:02:12,380 to work both in and through every person, regardless of 45 00:02:12,380 --> 00:02:15,140 their age. Our goals are to provide worship 46 00:02:15,220 --> 00:02:17,900 and biblical community for those living in the assisted living 47 00:02:17,900 --> 00:02:21,260 communities we partner with. In this environment, we're able 48 00:02:21,260 --> 00:02:24,500 to disciple those we are serving and also have the benefit of 49 00:02:24,500 --> 00:02:29,700 being discipled ourselves. So recently Matt was teaching 50 00:02:29,700 --> 00:02:32,060 and he highlighted senior honor from the stage. 51 00:02:32,060 --> 00:02:36,060 He mentioned this phrase. He said the highest love in the 52 00:02:36,060 --> 00:02:39,060 lowest act, the highest love in the lowest act. 53 00:02:39,340 --> 00:02:41,540 Could you just unpack that a little bit more for our 54 00:02:41,540 --> 00:02:42,700 listeners? Yeah. 55 00:02:42,700 --> 00:02:46,220 So the idea Matt challenged us with is that those of us in our 56 00:02:46,220 --> 00:02:50,660 prime, whatever age that is for us, are to be serving those who 57 00:02:50,660 --> 00:02:53,740 are no longer in what our culture considers prime or prime 58 00:02:53,740 --> 00:02:56,270 of life. It's our responsibility to be a 59 00:02:56,270 --> 00:02:59,190 blessing to those who are marginalized and in some cases 60 00:02:59,190 --> 00:03:02,950 hidden or just not seen. It reminds me of where God talks 61 00:03:02,950 --> 00:03:05,510 about due unto the least of these. 62 00:03:06,070 --> 00:03:10,430 So another scripture that comes to mind is Psalm 71 Nine. 63 00:03:10,510 --> 00:03:14,350 It says do not cast me away when I am old, do not forsake me when 64 00:03:14,350 --> 00:03:17,350 my strength is gone. And I think this is a common 65 00:03:17,350 --> 00:03:21,350 feeling of people that are in assisted living communities. 66 00:03:22,130 --> 00:03:24,650 And so for us living out this idea can be challenging and 67 00:03:24,650 --> 00:03:27,330 humbling. When we serve and deplete 68 00:03:27,330 --> 00:03:30,490 ourselves to serve someone else, something in us is going to 69 00:03:30,490 --> 00:03:32,930 change. We are able to see the image of 70 00:03:32,930 --> 00:03:36,690 our creator in those we serve and have the opportunity to bear 71 00:03:36,690 --> 00:03:41,010 our creators image to those who are vulnerable and marginalized. 72 00:03:41,890 --> 00:03:45,450 Statistics say over the next 7 to 10 years, the number of those 73 00:03:45,450 --> 00:03:48,050 that are living in these communities were will more than 74 00:03:48,050 --> 00:03:51,580 double so. For us, that means our 75 00:03:51,580 --> 00:03:54,500 opportunity to respond to this challenge from Matt and 76 00:03:54,500 --> 00:03:57,180 scripture is growing. It's growing fast. 77 00:03:57,820 --> 00:04:01,220 So as our baby boomers are aging, we're going to see twice 78 00:04:01,220 --> 00:04:03,220 the population in the next 7 to 10 years. 79 00:04:03,300 --> 00:04:06,060 Yeah. And so for is it true that for a 80 00:04:06,060 --> 00:04:09,780 lot of the residents in these communities, wouldn't they 81 00:04:09,780 --> 00:04:11,620 consider Grace Church to be their church? 82 00:04:12,020 --> 00:04:16,180 Yeah, definitely the ones in the communities that attend our 83 00:04:16,180 --> 00:04:20,260 weekly services at any of the communities do, we've had. 84 00:04:21,089 --> 00:04:24,050 Residents and communities switch their membership to Grace 85 00:04:24,050 --> 00:04:26,010 Church. They tied regularly. 86 00:04:26,450 --> 00:04:30,490 We've even had the privilege to do a funeral service for several 87 00:04:30,490 --> 00:04:34,610 residents over the 14 years that we've been involved with senior 88 00:04:34,610 --> 00:04:36,210 honor. Wow, that's really awesome. 89 00:04:36,810 --> 00:04:38,890 So Joey, we talked about these communities. 90 00:04:39,210 --> 00:04:41,690 Let's let's go inside these communities for for just a 91 00:04:41,690 --> 00:04:45,010 second and think about the staff. 92 00:04:45,090 --> 00:04:47,770 I know a big part of National Assisted Living Week is is 93 00:04:47,770 --> 00:04:49,970 focusing on the staff and drawing attention. 94 00:04:50,550 --> 00:04:53,710 To just the the people that make everything work. 95 00:04:54,150 --> 00:04:56,230 But one of the things that we learned is that a lot of these 96 00:04:56,230 --> 00:04:58,310 staff are living paycheck to paycheck. 97 00:04:58,790 --> 00:05:02,710 How does that and a few other facts about the staff, how does 98 00:05:02,710 --> 00:05:06,030 that interplay in your mind with the the value and the dignity 99 00:05:06,030 --> 00:05:08,790 that we as a culture are assigning the elderly? 100 00:05:09,750 --> 00:05:13,950 If you think about the folks that are in care, whether they 101 00:05:13,950 --> 00:05:17,030 ended up in care because families can't provide the care 102 00:05:17,030 --> 00:05:19,990 or families won't provide the care, they're in a position. 103 00:05:20,540 --> 00:05:24,180 Where the staff, the boots on the grounds are providing for 104 00:05:24,180 --> 00:05:26,020 them meeting every need they have almost. 105 00:05:26,660 --> 00:05:30,100 And if you look at the income stats, they are paycheck to 106 00:05:30,100 --> 00:05:32,020 paycheck right around the poverty level. 107 00:05:32,020 --> 00:05:35,100 A lot of these folks, it's where they live and they're trying to 108 00:05:35,100 --> 00:05:38,100 do the best to provide for themselves and so they will jump 109 00:05:38,100 --> 00:05:41,820 ship for minimal raises and creating gaps in one place to go 110 00:05:42,140 --> 00:05:44,180 take a job somewhere else. And so there's a measure of 111 00:05:44,180 --> 00:05:48,220 stability that's missing in the care when staff is turned over 112 00:05:48,220 --> 00:05:52,120 and quite often. And so if you take a, like my 113 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:56,200 dad was in an assisted living facility a few years ago and he 114 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:57,960 passed away. And the day we were leaving, one 115 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,320 of the one of the nurses stopped and said, hey, we just want to 116 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:02,080 thank your family for being so awesome. 117 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:04,360 And I'm like, you don't know my family. 118 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:07,800 We're we're, we're okay, we're okay, we're not awesome. 119 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:09,920 And I said, well, what makes us awesome? 120 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:13,360 And they're like, well, you showed up consistently and we're 121 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:15,320 just here with your dad. We don't have a lot of folks 122 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,900 doing that for their families. And then she said, and you, you 123 00:06:18,900 --> 00:06:22,180 gave us some Chickfila gift cards and a tray from Publix 124 00:06:22,180 --> 00:06:24,900 after he passed. Nobody really thinks of us and 125 00:06:24,900 --> 00:06:27,820 treats us that way. And so we were awesome for doing 126 00:06:27,820 --> 00:06:30,220 what we thought was the bare minimum, and it just speaks to 127 00:06:30,300 --> 00:06:33,900 the value that we assigned to the elderly and the care they 128 00:06:33,900 --> 00:06:36,220 received. That's really interesting. 129 00:06:36,580 --> 00:06:40,500 Yeah, and just to interject a personal story that's pretty 130 00:06:40,500 --> 00:06:44,180 recent, we had a family member, my wife Ashley, Her mom passed 131 00:06:44,180 --> 00:06:46,150 away. She's been in the care community 132 00:06:46,310 --> 00:06:50,870 for seven years and it's been a sensitive topic for Ashley 133 00:06:50,870 --> 00:06:53,590 because she's an only child. So she's bearing a lot of the 134 00:06:53,990 --> 00:06:58,230 the caregiving. And in those last three or four 135 00:06:58,230 --> 00:07:01,550 days, her mom was able to pass peacefully there in her care 136 00:07:01,550 --> 00:07:08,910 community and we saw so many people come in and love her. 137 00:07:09,540 --> 00:07:12,660 And this was not an unusual occurrence. 138 00:07:12,900 --> 00:07:16,060 This this was the folks that had been loving her for seven years. 139 00:07:16,780 --> 00:07:21,180 And we it just surprised us and and it and it it humbled us. 140 00:07:21,820 --> 00:07:25,780 And so here is Ashley thinking that we're her only family. 141 00:07:25,860 --> 00:07:28,540 We're her mom's only family and we're bearing the weight. 142 00:07:28,540 --> 00:07:31,860 And then in that moment we realized that it was we were not 143 00:07:31,860 --> 00:07:35,180 alone. That that this wonderful staff 144 00:07:35,180 --> 00:07:39,740 had been sharing in that. Privilege of caring for her mom 145 00:07:39,740 --> 00:07:42,420 for for all those years and specifically the last six months 146 00:07:42,420 --> 00:07:46,940 as their health had declined. And so it it really, it really 147 00:07:46,940 --> 00:07:50,940 brought home this point that the staff is an extension of the 148 00:07:50,940 --> 00:07:55,580 family members and I'm just glad that we have a chance to draw 149 00:07:55,580 --> 00:07:58,780 attention to that And we hope that this stirs some thoughts 150 00:07:58,780 --> 00:08:02,300 just as we have volunteers going in and out of these care 151 00:08:02,300 --> 00:08:04,180 communities, we have a lot of people who. 152 00:08:04,650 --> 00:08:08,170 I have family members, if not now in the near future are 153 00:08:08,170 --> 00:08:11,810 facing those decisions and we just hope that we'll look at the 154 00:08:11,810 --> 00:08:13,850 staff differently. Is that fair to say, Julia? 155 00:08:13,890 --> 00:08:14,890 Yeah. Absolutely. 156 00:08:15,490 --> 00:08:19,410 It's easy to look at the staff and what they're doing and their 157 00:08:19,810 --> 00:08:21,930 attitude and actions through your lens. 158 00:08:22,090 --> 00:08:24,050 But you've not been in a community all day. 159 00:08:24,530 --> 00:08:27,410 You've not had to walk the hard, you've not had to see loss. 160 00:08:27,410 --> 00:08:29,730 You've not had to see challenge. You've not been. 161 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,080 Rejected for how you're caring for someone unintentionally, 162 00:08:34,159 --> 00:08:36,840 right? But there's a lot of heavy that 163 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:39,000 staff and communities carry as well. 164 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:40,039 That's. So good. 165 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:45,760 Yeah, it's been my experience that it's easy for those not in 166 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,720 there every day, all day to make the staff a sum of the worst 167 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,480 things they experience inside a care facility, and that's simply 168 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:54,510 not the case. That's a good word. 169 00:08:55,030 --> 00:08:57,230 Yeah. Joey, the last time we talked we 170 00:08:57,510 --> 00:09:00,590 it was interesting how we talked about the ethical and spiritual 171 00:09:00,590 --> 00:09:03,270 concerns and you raised a few questions, you had some 172 00:09:03,270 --> 00:09:07,030 interesting stories, but can you just elaborate on just the 173 00:09:07,030 --> 00:09:09,630 pro-life culture concerning the elderly? 174 00:09:10,030 --> 00:09:12,670 Yeah. The question that came to me, 175 00:09:12,670 --> 00:09:14,950 and it's been in my mind for a number of years, is. 176 00:09:15,790 --> 00:09:19,070 It is our when I say our the church at large, not just Grace 177 00:09:19,070 --> 00:09:22,550 Church but the church at large, is our pro-life ethic around the 178 00:09:22,550 --> 00:09:24,550 elderly in line with the scriptures. 179 00:09:25,790 --> 00:09:28,590 Because we would say all life has value because all life is 180 00:09:28,590 --> 00:09:31,430 God-given and all life is good. And all life bears out his image 181 00:09:31,430 --> 00:09:33,710 in this broken and central war. But it still is good. 182 00:09:34,550 --> 00:09:38,110 And so if that's the case, then we are to care for folks 183 00:09:38,110 --> 00:09:41,450 wherever they are in life. And it's particularly as they 184 00:09:41,450 --> 00:09:45,090 age and they move into a season again where families either 185 00:09:45,090 --> 00:09:49,170 won't or can't provide care. And we have resource that we can 186 00:09:49,170 --> 00:09:52,090 bring to bear where we bring some relief in their life, where 187 00:09:52,090 --> 00:09:54,570 we make their life better because we see them as image 188 00:09:54,570 --> 00:09:57,450 bears And our brothers and sisters, I would say we're 189 00:09:57,450 --> 00:10:02,490 responsible for that because I mean, I am 51 and I've been 190 00:10:02,490 --> 00:10:04,650 through this with my dad and all my friends are going through it 191 00:10:04,650 --> 00:10:07,740 in some ways. I mean, the complicated, nuanced 192 00:10:07,740 --> 00:10:12,660 issues of end of life care is overwhelming not only for the 193 00:10:12,660 --> 00:10:15,220 families trying to figure out what to do, but for those in 194 00:10:15,220 --> 00:10:19,500 care because they went from being independent to fully 195 00:10:19,500 --> 00:10:21,300 dependent. I mean, whether it be 196 00:10:21,300 --> 00:10:23,540 economically, socially, relationally. 197 00:10:23,860 --> 00:10:26,820 I mean everything they once could do, they no longer can do. 198 00:10:26,820 --> 00:10:30,500 And it's incredibly disorienting and incredibly, I mean, sad. 199 00:10:30,500 --> 00:10:34,270 I can't imagine what it's like. And so for us as a church, as 200 00:10:34,270 --> 00:10:37,870 Christians, if we're going to provide honor and dignity to 201 00:10:37,870 --> 00:10:40,950 these image bearers, then we have to be present with them in 202 00:10:40,950 --> 00:10:43,870 their lives, and that is providing services, that's 203 00:10:43,870 --> 00:10:46,190 taking our kids around, that's doing all sorts of things. 204 00:10:46,190 --> 00:10:50,110 Because I mean the loss and disempowerment those people must 205 00:10:50,110 --> 00:10:53,950 feel that we will feel one day. Like, if we can't empathize and 206 00:10:53,950 --> 00:10:57,030 sympathize with that now and move into it, we are missing an 207 00:10:57,030 --> 00:10:59,590 incredible opportunity to disciple them in this season of 208 00:10:59,590 --> 00:11:01,390 life and growing our own discipleship. 209 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:04,160 I'm just letting that hit me like I want to say something, 210 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:04,960 but I don't. I don't. 211 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:08,760 I don't know what to say. I mean it's it's convicting. 212 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:11,080 Well. Uncomfortable and tricky. 213 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:14,480 Yeah, I mean, cuz there's there's we don't want to neglect 214 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:16,800 our opportunity. We don't want to neglect our 215 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:19,080 witness. But I like what you said there 216 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:21,080 at the end. It it's more than that. 217 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:24,400 It's more than a negative. Like we need those folks. 218 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,270 We need them in our lives. And the idea of being image 219 00:11:28,270 --> 00:11:32,230 bearers, I mean, it's just so in and so important to to think 220 00:11:32,230 --> 00:11:34,790 about what does that mean to to bear that image. 221 00:11:35,190 --> 00:11:38,190 And so Julia, you know, we can get image bearing language from 222 00:11:38,190 --> 00:11:41,230 Genesis. You mentioned Matthew 25, the 223 00:11:41,310 --> 00:11:43,670 statement of Jesus about caring for the least of these. 224 00:11:44,310 --> 00:11:46,950 Psalm 71 I think was referenced earlier. 225 00:11:46,950 --> 00:11:49,910 Don't cast me away when I'm old. Do not forsake me when my 226 00:11:49,910 --> 00:11:53,310 strength is gone. Can you just take these? 227 00:11:54,110 --> 00:11:57,670 These passages and a few others and just kind of tie them 228 00:11:57,670 --> 00:12:02,550 together and give us a charge on how we should take these 229 00:12:02,550 --> 00:12:06,990 passages and begin to really soak them in and apply them in 230 00:12:06,990 --> 00:12:09,550 our actions towards our elderly communities. 231 00:12:09,990 --> 00:12:14,910 Yeah, the Bible has a lot to say around the topic of caring for 232 00:12:14,910 --> 00:12:18,670 and honoring the elderly and what our responsibility towards 233 00:12:18,670 --> 00:12:20,630 them is. One of the statements that. 234 00:12:21,290 --> 00:12:25,050 Is in my head. Often about honoring the elderly 235 00:12:25,050 --> 00:12:29,010 is that God values life from the cradle to the grave, so there's 236 00:12:29,010 --> 00:12:32,490 not an expiration date on when we stop valuing life. 237 00:12:33,050 --> 00:12:36,690 And in the scripture we find that we're charged to live this 238 00:12:36,690 --> 00:12:41,890 out in many ways. If we look at Leviticus 1932, it 239 00:12:41,890 --> 00:12:45,770 says stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the 240 00:12:45,810 --> 00:12:49,210 elderly, and Revere your God. I am the Lord. 241 00:12:50,050 --> 00:12:52,530 This is one of the scriptures that makes our attitude towards 242 00:12:52,530 --> 00:12:55,570 the elderly very clear. We are to honor them. 243 00:12:56,250 --> 00:12:59,250 There are many other scriptural examples of what honor and 244 00:12:59,250 --> 00:13:02,890 dishonor are, and these give us a clear idea of what honor is 245 00:13:02,890 --> 00:13:06,650 considered. So for a definition based on 246 00:13:06,650 --> 00:13:10,810 what I see in Scripture, honor is to esteem, Revere, regard, 247 00:13:11,210 --> 00:13:16,210 respect, give recognition to, or recognize the value, importance, 248 00:13:16,210 --> 00:13:20,330 or significance of someone. And in contrast to that, the 249 00:13:20,330 --> 00:13:24,690 opposite of honoring would be to despise, reject, mock, show 250 00:13:24,690 --> 00:13:29,330 contempt for, be ashamed of or speak evil or poorly of someone. 251 00:13:29,970 --> 00:13:32,690 These are principles that apply to all elderly. 252 00:13:33,490 --> 00:13:37,570 A lot of times when you go into a assisted living community, 253 00:13:37,850 --> 00:13:40,330 you're not going to agree with the politics or religious 254 00:13:40,330 --> 00:13:44,490 beliefs or things that you run into there. 255 00:13:44,490 --> 00:13:47,290 And so this principle, these principles. 256 00:13:48,030 --> 00:13:51,150 Apply to those we agree with and those we don't, and so that can 257 00:13:51,150 --> 00:13:53,270 be challenging sometimes. So this is a that's a 258 00:13:53,270 --> 00:13:57,990 transcendent principle of respect and honor, regardless of 259 00:13:58,230 --> 00:14:01,350 our own likes or dislikes. Absolutely. 260 00:14:01,430 --> 00:14:04,350 And this goes back to the whole being formed and made in the 261 00:14:04,350 --> 00:14:06,950 image of God and the cradle to grave idea that you mentioned 262 00:14:06,950 --> 00:14:07,510 earlier. Yeah. 263 00:14:07,590 --> 00:14:11,030 That's great 100%. There's also a set of 10 264 00:14:11,030 --> 00:14:14,750 principles that are used in many assisted living or longterm care 265 00:14:14,750 --> 00:14:17,130 communities. They are from what is called the 266 00:14:17,130 --> 00:14:20,690 Eden Alternative, and they're actually foundational and 267 00:14:20,690 --> 00:14:24,290 deconstructing negative attitudes about aging and 268 00:14:24,290 --> 00:14:27,170 changing abilities. Although these aren't directly 269 00:14:27,170 --> 00:14:31,090 taken from scripture, many of them aligned with Biblical 270 00:14:31,090 --> 00:14:34,210 thinking around aging, so I wanted to just share two of 271 00:14:34,210 --> 00:14:38,090 them. So principle 8 states the wisdom 272 00:14:38,090 --> 00:14:41,370 of the elders. Grows in direct proportion to 273 00:14:41,370 --> 00:14:44,170 the honor and respect accorded to them. 274 00:14:44,370 --> 00:14:49,930 So in Job 1212 we find the statement Is wisdom not found 275 00:14:49,930 --> 00:14:53,490 among the age? Does not a long life bring 276 00:14:53,490 --> 00:14:56,530 understanding? We clearly see here the value 277 00:14:56,530 --> 00:14:58,770 and significance found in the elderly. 278 00:14:59,770 --> 00:15:02,370 Yeah, I remember the last time we were talking, you shared a 279 00:15:02,370 --> 00:15:04,250 story about Stella. Can you share that? 280 00:15:05,500 --> 00:15:08,540 Yes, absolutely. I met Mostella about 14 years 281 00:15:08,540 --> 00:15:11,740 ago while serving as a volunteer through Senior Honor. 282 00:15:12,380 --> 00:15:15,500 Stella's father was a circuit rider preacher, which we don't 283 00:15:15,500 --> 00:15:19,580 find anymore or not very often. One of his jobs was to ride on 284 00:15:19,580 --> 00:15:22,740 horseback from town to town and preach the gospel at different 285 00:15:22,740 --> 00:15:25,820 churches. It was one Father's Day and we 286 00:15:25,820 --> 00:15:29,060 were sharing stories and memories about our fathers. 287 00:15:29,540 --> 00:15:33,860 And so Stella shared. That whenever her father met 288 00:15:33,860 --> 00:15:36,940 someone before he would leave, he would say two things to them. 289 00:15:37,460 --> 00:15:41,020 He would tell them God loves you and eternity is a long time. 290 00:15:41,780 --> 00:15:45,700 The story was wisdom given to Stella from her elder or her 291 00:15:45,700 --> 00:15:50,340 father, and Stella passed that wisdom on to me in the role of 292 00:15:50,340 --> 00:15:53,020 being my elder. What this did for me is I 293 00:15:53,020 --> 00:15:55,300 learned the beauty and simplicity of what sharing the 294 00:15:55,300 --> 00:15:59,460 gospel could look like from this one moment of sitting with an 295 00:15:59,460 --> 00:16:02,520 elder. If I did not honor and respect 296 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,600 the value in my elders at that moment, I would have lost out on 297 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:09,680 the opportunity of finding some wisdom and understanding. 298 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:14,200 And So what you're reminding us is that there are hundreds in 299 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:15,520 the communities that we're serving. 300 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:20,880 There are 650 Stellas with countless Nuggets of wisdom that 301 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:26,320 have been passed down to them that are just just fruit for us 302 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:29,750 to enjoy. By simply engaging in the 303 00:16:29,750 --> 00:16:31,510 conversation, just like we're doing now. 304 00:16:31,750 --> 00:16:34,110 Yeah, absolutely. Or simply just sitting and 305 00:16:34,110 --> 00:16:35,310 listening. And listening. 306 00:16:36,110 --> 00:16:40,830 You can't put a price on sitting and learning from someone who 307 00:16:40,830 --> 00:16:45,110 has walked the path of living for Christ twice the amount that 308 00:16:45,110 --> 00:16:47,790 you have. For some people that serve in 309 00:16:47,790 --> 00:16:51,030 our senior honor communities, it's three times their age. 310 00:16:51,230 --> 00:16:54,990 Yeah, tell us about another principle from the Eden 311 00:16:54,990 --> 00:16:58,850 alternative. Yeah, so Principal 4 reminds me 312 00:16:58,850 --> 00:17:01,410 a little bit of Matt's statement we talked about earlier. 313 00:17:02,130 --> 00:17:04,770 When we serve and deplete ourselves to serve someone else, 314 00:17:04,770 --> 00:17:08,730 something changes in us and the principal states. 315 00:17:08,730 --> 00:17:11,050 To give care to another makes us stronger. 316 00:17:11,450 --> 00:17:14,970 To receive care gracefully is a pleasure and an art. 317 00:17:15,569 --> 00:17:18,810 A healthy human community promotes both of these virtues 318 00:17:18,810 --> 00:17:23,579 in its daily life. If I am thinking about Scripture 319 00:17:23,780 --> 00:17:29,300 again, it makes me think of Psalm 7118 and 19, which says 320 00:17:29,300 --> 00:17:31,380 now that I am old and my hair is Gray. 321 00:17:31,460 --> 00:17:35,220 Don't leave me God. I must tell the next generation 322 00:17:35,220 --> 00:17:38,820 about your power and greatness. God, your goodness, reaches far 323 00:17:38,820 --> 00:17:41,940 above the skies. You have done wonderful things, 324 00:17:42,340 --> 00:17:46,700 God, there is no one like you. So in this, David was most 325 00:17:46,700 --> 00:17:50,650 likely the writer here and this. Can be applied to the church at 326 00:17:50,650 --> 00:17:52,850 large or any believer in distress. 327 00:17:53,410 --> 00:17:57,370 So the scripture gives an example of giving and receiving 328 00:17:57,850 --> 00:18:00,250 through the simple act of serving and being present. 329 00:18:00,490 --> 00:18:04,890 We let our elders, or the elders we serve, feel valued and 330 00:18:04,890 --> 00:18:09,490 remembered, and we're open to the opportunity of being changed 331 00:18:09,490 --> 00:18:13,130 ourselves from what we can learn from their life, from their 332 00:18:13,130 --> 00:18:14,770 wisdom. Yeah, I love that verse because 333 00:18:14,770 --> 00:18:19,210 there's just such an imperative. I must tell the next generation. 334 00:18:19,570 --> 00:18:21,490 Of your power and greatness. Yeah. 335 00:18:21,490 --> 00:18:24,290 And like you mentioned earlier, when you have decades of 336 00:18:24,330 --> 00:18:29,090 following God and you see the stories, just the excitement 337 00:18:29,170 --> 00:18:32,250 that the Stellas of the world have to be able to just just 338 00:18:32,250 --> 00:18:33,850 share their story. And we talk about that a lot. 339 00:18:33,850 --> 00:18:36,930 When we talk about evangelism, the gospel, we're just like, 340 00:18:36,930 --> 00:18:39,890 just tell your story. And so that's a that's a really 341 00:18:39,890 --> 00:18:43,050 beautiful tie into Psalms 71. Yeah, absolutely. 342 00:18:43,050 --> 00:18:47,170 And I think also that if we are not there and present to hear 343 00:18:47,170 --> 00:18:50,400 the story or. Stealing a blessing from the 344 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:52,680 elderly. We're stealing a piece of what 345 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:55,720 they can still contribute. Even though they can't, you 346 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:59,400 know, work in a normal workforce or do the things they used to 347 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:06,000 do, they can still contribute. And that is a hugely impactful 348 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,320 and fundamental way that they can by sharing. 349 00:19:08,900 --> 00:19:11,140 Wisdom, and who God is, and who God spend to them. 350 00:19:11,380 --> 00:19:13,940 Yeah. Now, Joey, you walked us through 351 00:19:13,940 --> 00:19:16,340 some just personal experience with your dad earlier. 352 00:19:16,620 --> 00:19:19,860 You've also served as campus pastor, Powdersville, most 353 00:19:19,860 --> 00:19:23,340 recently in Travelers Rest. Share a little bit about your 354 00:19:23,340 --> 00:19:27,900 experience as a campus pastor, just leading the charge for 355 00:19:27,900 --> 00:19:29,780 senior honor in those congregations. 356 00:19:30,140 --> 00:19:32,100 Yeah. So it was just people lose 357 00:19:32,100 --> 00:19:34,540 independence and they grow independence. 358 00:19:34,540 --> 00:19:36,900 That's a easy path to losing their identity. 359 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:41,280 And so for us as a church, our responsibility to be present 360 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:45,200 with our brothers and sisters, being able to apply the truth of 361 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:48,920 the scriptures to remind them their identity is in Christ, is 362 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:50,920 something that we have to take very seriously. 363 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:53,520 And we we can do that in a number of ways by reading the 364 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:55,800 scriptures of them, by sharing our stories with them, by 365 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:59,080 listening to their story. The value of singing in these 366 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:02,520 facilities is fascinating. I've sat in rooms and watched 367 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,520 people not 8 be able to have. Not be able to maintain 368 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:09,720 conversations. But when somebody sits behind 369 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:12,920 the piano in that facility and plays a hymn that they have 370 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:15,440 grown up here in all their lives, something comes alive in 371 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,160 them and they're able to worship and able to connect. 372 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:22,320 And so for us as a church like that, that is who we want to be. 373 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:25,630 We want to be people who see our brothers and sisters been 374 00:20:25,630 --> 00:20:28,710 marginalized to some extent, to being cared for by people who 375 00:20:28,710 --> 00:20:30,310 aren't highly valued financially. 376 00:20:30,630 --> 00:20:33,670 That we have to be moving toward them in a way that we make the 377 00:20:33,670 --> 00:20:37,190 gospel real and tangible for them, trusting that that's what 378 00:20:37,190 --> 00:20:41,230 God had us do. Last weekend we at Powdersville 379 00:20:41,230 --> 00:20:45,270 campus, we did a outreach fair and so we had an opportunity 380 00:20:45,270 --> 00:20:48,310 after each service to go out and learn about different areas of 381 00:20:48,310 --> 00:20:50,070 ministry that we could get plugged into. 382 00:20:50,070 --> 00:20:53,580 And so it was really. Impactful to go check out the 383 00:20:53,580 --> 00:20:57,620 senior honor table. So maybe tell us a little bit 384 00:20:57,620 --> 00:21:01,900 about The Who, the what, the how and where of this Ministry 385 00:21:01,900 --> 00:21:03,420 senior honor. OK. 386 00:21:03,420 --> 00:21:05,500 Yeah, sure. There's a lot. 387 00:21:05,500 --> 00:21:06,340 So hold on. Yeah. 388 00:21:07,420 --> 00:21:11,460 So The Who are our focus of senior honor ministry are the 389 00:21:11,460 --> 00:21:14,140 residents and the staff that are in the assisted living 390 00:21:14,140 --> 00:21:16,700 communities that we partner with throughout the Upstate. 391 00:21:17,540 --> 00:21:21,020 The reason we do this is because God values again life from the 392 00:21:21,020 --> 00:21:24,860 cradle to the grave and has a divine purpose to work both in 393 00:21:24,860 --> 00:21:27,740 and through every person. Our what? 394 00:21:27,740 --> 00:21:31,260 Our goal for Senior Honor is to minister to this group of people 395 00:21:31,260 --> 00:21:34,580 through sound biblical teaching, transparent spiritual 396 00:21:34,580 --> 00:21:38,140 relationships, authentic friendships, and solid 397 00:21:38,140 --> 00:21:41,260 counseling. The way we achieve this goal is 398 00:21:41,260 --> 00:21:44,820 by intentionally engaging with residents, their families, the 399 00:21:44,820 --> 00:21:48,440 community staff and caregivers. And this can happen in a lot of 400 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:50,360 ways. Some of them are the weekly 401 00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:54,200 church service when we go and visit with residents, one-on-one 402 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:58,120 supporting ongoing activities in a community, and just so many 403 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:01,680 more ways. So if you're wondering where you 404 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:05,640 can serve or volunteer, every campus has a dedicated senior 405 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:08,360 honor partner community. You're not restricted to 406 00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:11,600 volunteering at the site your campus partners with, but this 407 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:13,760 would be the best place to start. 408 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:17,680 If you live right next door to one of our other communities, 409 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:21,960 start there. And the charge is universal. 410 00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:26,280 So even if it's not one of our partner communities, if you have 411 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:30,640 a connection at a senior living community, start there. 412 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:32,640 Go in and see what the needs are. 413 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:35,320 Ask what you can do. Ask if there's a resident who 414 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:38,400 could use visits. On our website you can find a 415 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:40,680 list of all of our partner communities. 416 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:45,360 Just by typing Senior Honor in the search bar and then a window 417 00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:48,400 will pop up and it's 2/3 of the way down the page. 418 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:51,440 That's awesome. When you were a campus pastor 419 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:54,400 leading the charge on some of this at your campus, like what 420 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:59,280 were some of the stories that came out of community groups or 421 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:01,800 different groups that actually participate in what you're 422 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:05,410 talking about? Yeah, without fail, people would 423 00:23:05,410 --> 00:23:09,730 be a little hesitant to go about what they would see about what 424 00:23:09,730 --> 00:23:11,770 they've experienced, what it was going to be like. 425 00:23:12,610 --> 00:23:15,130 But also without fail, once people went and they were around 426 00:23:15,130 --> 00:23:18,850 the folks and they were with other people being on mission, 427 00:23:19,250 --> 00:23:24,690 being able to take their kids. I mean, it was a legit reward to 428 00:23:24,690 --> 00:23:27,930 carve out time on Sunday afternoon to go over and be with 429 00:23:27,930 --> 00:23:30,530 them. It was rewarding in a number of 430 00:23:30,530 --> 00:23:33,360 ways. I had a story coming out where 431 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:37,560 one of our folks said, you know, I used to hate sitting around 432 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:40,440 listening to my grandmother tell all these stories, but what 433 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,160 would I do now to be able to go back and hear all these stories? 434 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,480 And now I can go here for folks with my grandmother's age. 435 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,680 I can go hear stories from them. And that's just a blessing for 436 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,280 me, being present with them and then being present with me. 437 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:54,320 Yeah. If you were sitting with. 438 00:23:55,570 --> 00:23:59,090 Some people and you're What are some questions that you would 439 00:23:59,290 --> 00:24:02,090 want us to ask if you were sitting in a room like that? 440 00:24:02,570 --> 00:24:05,290 Worships not started yet, but it's about to. 441 00:24:05,290 --> 00:24:07,410 And just like take us there right now, what would be some 442 00:24:07,410 --> 00:24:10,730 questions, some things that you would want to challenge us as 443 00:24:11,930 --> 00:24:14,850 far as asking the residents? Yeah, I mean, people that work 444 00:24:14,850 --> 00:24:16,850 there, people that are actually residents there. 445 00:24:16,850 --> 00:24:19,690 I mean, what would you love to capture our imagination? 446 00:24:19,690 --> 00:24:20,930 Yeah. So if you take, let's take the 447 00:24:21,050 --> 00:24:25,110 residents first, learning their story, hey, where are you from? 448 00:24:25,150 --> 00:24:28,030 What was your life like, especially if they're Christian? 449 00:24:28,030 --> 00:24:31,910 How did you come to faith? And you have to be ready because 450 00:24:31,910 --> 00:24:35,350 some stories are very sad because their family can't 451 00:24:35,350 --> 00:24:37,910 provide care for them. So this is the best they can do. 452 00:24:37,910 --> 00:24:40,510 And then the some families have chosen not to. 453 00:24:40,590 --> 00:24:42,310 Years ago when I was in a facility, we were having a 454 00:24:42,310 --> 00:24:44,950 service and everybody was gathered around and playing the 455 00:24:44,950 --> 00:24:47,470 piano and singing and worshipping and laughing and 456 00:24:47,550 --> 00:24:49,430 swapping stories about being young. 457 00:24:49,950 --> 00:24:52,590 And I noticed off to the left of the room there was a lady 458 00:24:52,590 --> 00:24:56,060 sitting by herself, and I couldn't have that. 459 00:24:56,060 --> 00:24:57,380 So I walked over and started talking to her. 460 00:24:57,380 --> 00:24:58,940 And she was fully in her right mind. 461 00:24:59,300 --> 00:25:02,220 Her body is good. Her husband died somewhat 462 00:25:02,220 --> 00:25:04,540 suddenly. They had a farm with some 463 00:25:04,540 --> 00:25:07,580 acreage that he tended to, and she had her roles and 464 00:25:07,580 --> 00:25:10,620 responsibilities there as well. And when he passed, her kids 465 00:25:10,620 --> 00:25:13,140 didn't think she could keep up with the family farm, and they 466 00:25:13,140 --> 00:25:14,460 had a chance to make some money on it. 467 00:25:14,460 --> 00:25:17,180 And so they made some money and they put her in there, and she 468 00:25:17,180 --> 00:25:21,300 sees them by once a month. And I asked her how that made 469 00:25:21,300 --> 00:25:24,480 her feel, and she said it made her feel terrible. 470 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:28,640 And the reason she can't go sit in the service that we were 471 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:31,160 providing there is it reminds her how much she misses her 472 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:34,080 service with her husband and her local church. 473 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:38,400 And so last I heard, she's still there, still sits on the 474 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:40,320 sidelines. But it's a blessing to her just 475 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:43,120 about any proximity with her. But even going to talk with her 476 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:45,400 and just learning that man, she's there against her will in 477 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:48,800 some ways open my eyes to like our real responsibility for 478 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:54,490 people and then for the staff. Like I asked one of the so my 479 00:25:54,490 --> 00:25:58,450 dad was in a memory wing and I asked one of the staff, I said, 480 00:25:58,450 --> 00:26:00,250 hey, tell me the hardest part of your job. 481 00:26:01,490 --> 00:26:03,530 I said just tell me. It's something that we don't 482 00:26:03,530 --> 00:26:04,730 see. That's the hardest part of your 483 00:26:04,730 --> 00:26:07,570 job. And she said, well, at night 484 00:26:07,690 --> 00:26:11,370 when there's no family here and the staff is minimal because 485 00:26:11,370 --> 00:26:15,660 we're short staffed and you hear all the sounds coming from the 486 00:26:15,660 --> 00:26:20,020 wing and you know that we have minimal resource that we can 487 00:26:20,020 --> 00:26:22,620 bring to provide relief for all these people in this memory 488 00:26:22,620 --> 00:26:25,900 wing. And she said, I just stand in 489 00:26:25,900 --> 00:26:28,700 the hall and pray because I know I can't do anything else. 490 00:26:29,020 --> 00:26:31,700 So all I can do is stand on this hall and pray that God would 491 00:26:31,700 --> 00:26:33,740 work and be in the hearts and minds of these people. 492 00:26:33,740 --> 00:26:36,340 And I pray for the day when they're not suffering anymore. 493 00:26:37,390 --> 00:26:39,630 And that was just a real compelling thing to me to hear 494 00:26:39,630 --> 00:26:42,870 from her, because I all I see is the the daytime when there's 495 00:26:42,870 --> 00:26:45,110 more staff and there's more people present, right? 496 00:26:45,390 --> 00:26:47,510 And so it isn't. It was really eye opening to me. 497 00:26:48,590 --> 00:26:50,150 Wow. Well, if I could just speak to 498 00:26:50,150 --> 00:26:53,310 the role of the family. You know, one of the byproducts 499 00:26:53,310 --> 00:26:58,110 of so many of these communities is they they do shield us from 500 00:26:58,110 --> 00:27:01,510 hundreds of people who are aging and hundreds of people that are 501 00:27:02,230 --> 00:27:05,510 dying. And, you know, we were a family. 502 00:27:06,030 --> 00:27:09,830 When young kids, all the grandparents, young and healthy, 503 00:27:10,390 --> 00:27:16,070 and our kids were never around any elderly people, which means 504 00:27:16,070 --> 00:27:17,830 they were never around death and dying. 505 00:27:19,150 --> 00:27:22,470 And that's not a healthy thing. And so I'm thinking about 506 00:27:22,470 --> 00:27:26,110 elementary age kids. And so just down the street 507 00:27:26,710 --> 00:27:29,910 there was a community. Ashley would take the kids, 508 00:27:29,950 --> 00:27:33,190 they'd go see Miss Gloria. She loved to see the kids. 509 00:27:33,190 --> 00:27:35,740 They would come in. It always be candy. 510 00:27:35,820 --> 00:27:39,940 They would tell stories. We would go there for trick or 511 00:27:39,940 --> 00:27:41,860 treating at Halloween. It was just great. 512 00:27:43,060 --> 00:27:47,540 But then one month Miss Gloria got sick and then Miss Gloria 513 00:27:47,540 --> 00:27:51,660 passed away. And that was just a sweet time 514 00:27:51,660 --> 00:27:54,700 to remember her life for our our kids. 515 00:27:55,060 --> 00:27:59,620 And also just come to grips with the reality that life doesn't 516 00:27:59,620 --> 00:28:03,660 last forever. And we could not have engineered 517 00:28:03,660 --> 00:28:07,060 that for them. And it was real and it was human 518 00:28:07,060 --> 00:28:08,900 and it was tangible and it was sweet. 519 00:28:09,300 --> 00:28:16,260 And there was just this sense of God, creator, image bears, 520 00:28:17,540 --> 00:28:20,500 temporary life on earth, future in heaven. 521 00:28:20,900 --> 00:28:24,860 That was a living illustration for our family. 522 00:28:24,980 --> 00:28:26,500 And I'm just really, really grateful. 523 00:28:26,540 --> 00:28:28,260 Grateful for that. And so just to. 524 00:28:28,780 --> 00:28:31,140 Any young families and you're thinking about this, you're 525 00:28:31,140 --> 00:28:33,540 listening to this and you're thinking about this, just just 526 00:28:33,540 --> 00:28:36,900 picture what that could look like as you incorporate those 527 00:28:36,900 --> 00:28:38,580 kinds of relationships into your family. 528 00:28:38,620 --> 00:28:41,180 Yeah. Well, I want to thank every 529 00:28:41,260 --> 00:28:46,300 volunteer that has been involved in senior honor, very grateful 530 00:28:46,300 --> 00:28:50,460 for y'all's energy and just appreciate you Julia, if you 531 00:28:50,460 --> 00:28:53,140 could just tell us a little bit about how can we? 532 00:28:53,580 --> 00:28:56,220 Get involved. What does that look like from a 533 00:28:56,220 --> 00:28:58,100 campus level? Share with us how we can get 534 00:28:58,100 --> 00:29:01,300 more involved in this. Yeah, so every campus has a 535 00:29:01,420 --> 00:29:05,140 champion for their relationship with their assisted living 536 00:29:05,140 --> 00:29:07,540 community. And so you can fill out a 537 00:29:07,540 --> 00:29:10,900 connect card, you can go on the website and filled out, fill out 538 00:29:10,900 --> 00:29:14,500 a digital connect card for serving opportunities and mark 539 00:29:14,500 --> 00:29:17,260 Senior Honor. If you can't find the little box 540 00:29:17,260 --> 00:29:20,420 to check, you know write it in the comments and that will go to 541 00:29:20,420 --> 00:29:22,930 your campus. Staff and they will put it in 542 00:29:22,930 --> 00:29:25,930 the hands of the correct person and somebody on a senior honor 543 00:29:25,930 --> 00:29:29,090 team will reach out to you and let you know what next steps are 544 00:29:29,090 --> 00:29:31,650 for that particular community. Yeah, that's great. 545 00:29:32,010 --> 00:29:33,770 Well, I want to thank you guys for being here. 546 00:29:33,770 --> 00:29:36,170 It's been a rewarding episode. And I think for for me 547 00:29:36,170 --> 00:29:39,890 personally, what I'm excited about is about our community 548 00:29:39,890 --> 00:29:42,810 group and just what is the next year look like for us? 549 00:29:42,810 --> 00:29:45,290 We have people in our community group that have kids. 550 00:29:45,780 --> 00:29:48,820 This is something doable I think for our group to go once a 551 00:29:48,820 --> 00:29:50,420 month. So we're trying to figure out 552 00:29:50,420 --> 00:29:52,380 how to do that. So if you want to learn about 553 00:29:52,380 --> 00:29:54,620 that more, do what Julia just mentioned. 554 00:29:54,620 --> 00:29:56,980 But I think this has been great and grateful for y'all today. 555 00:29:57,940 --> 00:29:58,860 Thanks, Chris. Yeah. 556 00:29:59,220 --> 00:30:00,780 Thanks. Well, as we wrap up today's 557 00:30:00,780 --> 00:30:02,340 episode, we want to thank you for joining us. 558 00:30:02,340 --> 00:30:05,300 If you have questions or want access to additional resources, 559 00:30:05,300 --> 00:30:08,140 be sure to check out the podcast page located in the show Notes. 560 00:30:08,500 --> 00:30:10,860 Thanks for joining us today and we look forward to joining you 561 00:30:10,860 --> 00:30:11,780 on the next episode.