1 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:07,520 What's up guys? My name is Alexis, your host 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:10,400 with praises in the pod, and I'm so excited to have Megan Reagan 3 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:12,200 here today. We are going to be talking about 4 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:15,200 her testimony and her being a worship leader and what all that 5 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,080 entails. We're going to start off in 6 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,120 prayer and then we're going to jump Right here we go. 7 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:23,920 Lord, Heavenly Father, thank you for today. 8 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:25,440 Thank you for all your many blessings. 9 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:28,040 Dear God, thank you for these conversations that we get to 10 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,040 have, Lord God, that just glorify you and talk about your 11 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:34,000 goodness and your faithfulness and what all you've done in our 12 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:35,920 lives. We just pray that you speak to 13 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:38,520 us and through us and let this podcast glorify you. 14 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:40,800 In Jesus name I pray. Amen, Amen. 15 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,040 Amen girl. Let's jump right in all. 16 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:45,360 Right. Well, thank you so much for 17 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:46,960 having me. I'm excited to be here this. 18 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,040 Is going to be great. So tell me a little bit about 19 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,920 yourself and you know, what's your childhood look like? 20 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:57,880 So I grew up outside of Butler, which most people don't know 21 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:00,440 where that is. It's a little bitty small town, 22 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:03,160 just W if you're going towards Columbus. 23 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:09,560 But I have a younger brother, he is 27 and I grew up in church. 24 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:13,320 I started singing basically as soon as I came out. 25 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:15,880 My mom and dad said you didn't talk in front of the the 26 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:17,520 camcorder. I guess you know that that was 27 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,800 the thing back then. And I was saying, and they were 28 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:23,520 like, hey, can you do anything else but sing? 29 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:25,960 Which now they obviously see there's a reason. 30 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:29,160 But when I was six years old, I sang my first solo in church. 31 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:34,720 And pretty much, I guess as soon as I became like a teenager, I 32 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:36,280 knew that I had an interest in music. 33 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,680 But I really started understanding that, OK, I want 34 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,880 to pursue this as a career and don't know what that looks like, 35 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:44,400 but I want to pursue this as career. 36 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,840 So my parents put me in vocal lessons locally here in Georgia. 37 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:53,200 And then at 16, I started taking some guitar lessons here locally 38 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:55,840 as well. And then when I truly decided, 39 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:00,040 hey, I have this huge love for country music, I want to pursue 40 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,040 that as a career, my parents started putting me in different 41 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:08,080 organizations in Georgia that ultimately ultimately led me to 42 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:10,720 an organization in Nashville. It's an artist development 43 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:14,120 program that I went through for about three, 3 1/2 years, 44 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,000 basically grooming me, getting me ready for the music industry. 45 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:20,600 So I did that for about three, 3 1/2 years. 46 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:25,680 And then after that, I continued to pursue music in Nashville, 47 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:29,520 going back and forth about once about a week out of every month. 48 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:33,880 And I would spend time there writing, meeting people, and I 49 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:36,160 would play a few writers rounds. I don't know if you know, if 50 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:37,840 you've ever been to Nashville. They have writers rounds. 51 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:39,600 Is that where you like sit around and kind of like? 52 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,520 Yes, OK. Basically so like we, you kind 53 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,040 of Share your story, you know, behind each song and you'll 54 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,320 sing, you know, maybe 3 songs or something each. 55 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,280 So I would do some of that. And then about, I don't know, 56 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:56,280 two years after that, I decided to make them move up to 57 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:00,600 Nashville and I moved up there and with the intention of I'm 58 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:04,680 going to hit this head on, I am going to just, I'm going to make 59 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,800 this what I want it to be. And I moved up there. 60 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:11,680 I had to get a job to pay the bills and I was absolutely 61 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:14,760 miserable. I got up there and realized this 62 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:16,960 is a lot more expensive than I thought it was going to be. 63 00:03:17,640 --> 00:03:21,840 I should have known better. And I worked all the time, so I 64 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:25,240 never even had time to do what I love to do, which was writing 65 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:29,280 songs and performing them and. What you moved there for? 66 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:30,960 Right. What I moved there for and I'm 67 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,480 like, you know, as soon as I got off work it was like I got to go 68 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:34,600 to bed. I'm so tired. 69 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:36,480 Like I got to get up and do it again in the morning. 70 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:41,000 So when they say it's a rat race, it is truly a rat race in 71 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,560 Nashville because only very few make it to that top, you know, 72 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,000 considered top level. And that's what I was wanting to 73 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:49,680 chase. That's where I wanted to get. 74 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:53,520 So ultimately, I think I realized, hey, I'm six hours 75 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,720 away from my family. I am not getting to do what I 76 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,920 love to do, which is play shows and meet people where I get to 77 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:03,400 talk to them. And I don't know if I mean most 78 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,920 people as they get to know me. I like to talk a lot. 79 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:10,680 Certified yappers, if you will. Certified yappers, basically. 80 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:15,200 And I, that's what I love to do. And I wasn't getting to do that. 81 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:18,120 So I ultimately was like, you know, is this where I'm supposed 82 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:20,720 to be? And I think I just kind of made 83 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,360 that decision. Like, you know, what, if I'm 84 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:29,120 back home, I can play my shows and still pursue music. 85 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:32,120 It'll just be from, you know, at a distance from Nashville. 86 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,520 But I can still pursue music and be happy doing it. 87 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:39,120 I may not be getting rich doing it, but I'm happy. 88 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,280 I'm truly happy doing what I'm doing. 89 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:43,040 And that's the most important thing. 90 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:47,440 It's actually finding what God's calling you to do and living it 91 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,360 out because that is just, that's pure joy. 92 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:52,280 Doing it, it is. It truly is. 93 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:55,560 So your husband, where do y'all meet? 94 00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:00,000 How like how long were y'all together and what what what does 95 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,240 that look like? So my husband and I actually met 96 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:07,440 before I moved to Nashville, which is crazy because I feel 97 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,400 like a lot of people think when you meet your future spouse or 98 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:12,200 either person that you're going to marry and spend your life 99 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,440 with, they would hinder you from that. 100 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:16,400 Like, OK, well I'm not going to move to Nashville. 101 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:18,960 But he encouraged me and he encouraged me to move to 102 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:23,320 Nashville. So we met in 2015 and he's from 103 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,480 the small town of Unadilla, Georgia, and with two. 104 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:30,000 Small towners. Yes, two small towners, and we 105 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:33,280 actually met just South of there in Vienna, GA. 106 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:37,040 So I was actually playing a show at this place called the Western 107 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:40,800 Boutique, and it was literally what it says it is, women's 108 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:43,640 clothing, men's clothing that is a Western style. 109 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:46,160 They have like a customer appreciation day and I was 110 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:49,160 playing for it. Lo and behold, Brett comes in 111 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:52,600 and he's looking for a new pair of boots because he got a hold 112 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,600 of his with a chainsaw. And so he comes in. 113 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:59,000 My mom saw him kind of eyeballing me. 114 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,200 My mom said, you know, if I make myself scarce, he'll go over and 115 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:05,880 talk to her. Well, this is a little tidbit, 116 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:09,280 but I was trying on clothes for the owner. 117 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:11,720 She wanted to take a few pictures for the website for 118 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:14,520 Facebook. And I was like, sure, like if 119 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:17,240 I'm going to take some of these home girl, yes, let me do it. 120 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:21,560 So I remember and I don't know why this sticks out to me, but 121 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:23,920 it's so funny how life comes full circle. 122 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,520 But I had on this horridly ugly butterfly dress. 123 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:30,960 Like there was butterflies all over it. 124 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:34,400 And at the time, that was just not my thing. 125 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,200 Like, totally not my thing. He approaches me when I have 126 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,360 this ugly butterfly dress on. And I was like, well, you know, 127 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,200 what Must have looked good enough for, you know, for him to 128 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:44,520 want to come over and talk to me. 129 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:49,360 So anyways, we had some mutual friends, had been at some prior 130 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:51,600 engagements that I didn't know he was at. 131 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:54,720 I knew of his family. He knew of me because I sang. 132 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,040 But we didn't know each other. And he said, hey, so let me know 133 00:06:58,040 --> 00:06:59,880 the next time you're playing around Macon. 134 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:03,040 I will try to come. And I'm like, this guy's, you 135 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:05,640 know, most people just they say that and they don't show up. 136 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:11,840 So he did. So Fast forward to the next 137 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:14,160 Friday night, I said, hey, I'm playing and make it next Friday 138 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:15,720 night. Why don't you come? 139 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:17,280 He's like, OK, we'll try to make it. 140 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:19,440 Didn't think anything of it throughout the week. 141 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:23,720 Like, OK, Friday night he shows up and my parents are with me at 142 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:26,080 this gig. I've already played and we're 143 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:28,960 watching the next act on stage. And my mom's like, hey, isn't 144 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,520 that in that bread over there? Like, you know. 145 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:34,360 And something you'll learn about me is I'm very old fashioned. 146 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:37,800 I'm a very old soul. And I think a lot of things 147 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,000 should be done traditionally, especially in dating. 148 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,560 So I said, you know what, if it is, he had on a ball cap. 149 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,160 And I was like, if it is, he can come talk to me. 150 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:50,960 Lo and behold, he did. And he truly made a lasting 151 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:52,440 impression on me. I mean, I think first 152 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,160 impressions are everything. Even though I had already met 153 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:59,040 him, I didn't really know him. But what he did is he came over 154 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,760 and he introduced himself to my dad, shook his hand, oh wow. 155 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,120 Hugged my mom because he had met her the weekend prior with me. 156 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:10,000 And then he spoke to me and hugged me and I was like, OK, 157 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:11,320 now we're talking. I don't. 158 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:13,920 That's a green flag. Yes. 159 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:16,760 No red flags anywhere inside Yes. 160 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:20,080 That is great. So we, we ultimately started 161 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:23,000 dating pretty much, I mean, just right after that. 162 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:29,040 We got married in 2018. So prior to that, when I was 163 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:33,360 living in Nashville, we got engaged actually the first year 164 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,400 that I lived in Nashville. And you know, obviously that is 165 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:38,440 a reason for me to move home. But I didn't know if we were 166 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:42,280 going to live in Charlotte, NC, where he was currently working, 167 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:45,080 Nashville where I was currently working, or in Georgia where 168 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:48,800 we're both from. So ultimately I think that we 169 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,080 both wanted to be home because our families were here. 170 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:53,840 So we came to Georgia and lived here. 171 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:59,400 So prior to that, I'm kind of working backwards here. 172 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:04,960 But I'd had in 2014, I remember the year 2014, I remember dating 173 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:06,960 a guy. I never remember that I was 174 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:08,760 pursuing. I was really pursuing country 175 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:12,720 music at the time and I didn't want anything but that. 176 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:16,320 Yeah, I sang it the occasional revival or, you know, if they, 177 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:18,760 somebody asked me to sing at church on a Sunday morning, but 178 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:22,000 it was nothing that I was like full-fledged, you know, I'm, I'm 179 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,880 all in. And I remember distinctly riding 180 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:27,360 down the road. And I feel like this is like the 181 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,480 first time I actually heard God's voice, which I didn't know 182 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:34,040 was his voice at the time. I remember it felt like a tap on 183 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:35,800 the shoulder. And it was like, hey, don't 184 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:37,800 forget about me, Don't forget about me. 185 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:40,600 And I was like, yeah, you know, I mean, I'm not going to forget 186 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:42,440 about you. I still sing and still, you 187 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,600 know, leave others in worship, you know, but just, you know, in 188 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:50,000 my own time. And Fast forward a little bit 189 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:53,120 later, it took me about five years to really listen to that 190 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:54,560 voice. So it was right after Brett and 191 00:09:54,560 --> 00:09:58,240 I got married, and I was still pursuing country music. 192 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:01,200 I mean, I was playing shows here and there over the state of 193 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,160 Georgia, you know, in other states, going to Nashville 194 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:06,600 occasionally, but mostly staying just kind of locally. 195 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:09,320 I'm around here just because I was married and wanted to stay 196 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:14,960 close to home. But when COVID hit in 2020, I 197 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:17,240 think that's kind of when I had a lot of, I think everybody had 198 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:20,720 a little bit of silence and you had so much time to think about 199 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:22,080 things. I wasn't playing shows. 200 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:24,520 I was on the road. So I had a lot of time at home 201 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:27,080 alone with my thoughts along with God. 202 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:31,120 And I fully surrendered in 2019 and said, OK, God, where do you 203 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:32,200 want me? Where do you want me? 204 00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:36,040 2020 rolls around and I said I started pursuing different 205 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,920 avenues, started looking at churches and saying, OK, I want 206 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:40,960 to get involved. We want to get involved here. 207 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:47,640 And when I started pursuing a church, actually it was 208 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,240 Crosspoint and Perry, I started pursuing. 209 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:54,040 They had a job opening for music director and I said, oh, you 210 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,040 know, I would love it Wasn't that I just was looking for a 211 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:59,480 job. It was OK God, you can use me, 212 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:01,360 but I can also make a living doing this. 213 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,200 And that door closed in my face. Not in a horrible way. 214 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:08,640 It was just it needed to happen. It wasn't, it wasn't where God 215 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:13,320 wanted me. That same week my the new pastor 216 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,280 from my home church gave me a call and said, Hey, I think this 217 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:19,200 is the perfect opportunity for you to come in and let's have 218 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:22,320 two different services, a traditional and a more 219 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:24,600 contemporary service. Just that we can try to reach 220 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:27,560 the younger generation. I bet that would kind of be hard 221 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:31,840 because I mean, that's two different, that's two services, 222 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:35,120 you know, like right, a whole, like hymns for one and then 223 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:36,560 contemporary music for the second. 224 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:38,240 Yes, that's tough. Yeah. 225 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,840 And so we, we approached that for a little while and I'll just 226 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,520 speak to you this way. It was a very rocky ride while I 227 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,520 was there. We pursued a lot of different 228 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:50,160 avenues. But I mean, ultimately I was 229 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:53,560 going off of where I felt like God was leading me, but 230 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:57,280 ultimately where God was Shep leading our shepherd, the 231 00:11:57,280 --> 00:11:59,720 pastor, and what his vision was for the church. 232 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,720 And basically when we started implementing some of these 233 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:07,560 changes to kind of really reach the younger generation, we had 234 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:09,520 some pushback. And it wasn't from the majority, 235 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,360 it was just from a few people here and there and it just 236 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:17,720 didn't, it didn't go well. So at the end, I'm trying to 237 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:20,480 think of 2020, that I was there all 2020. 238 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:25,680 And then going into 2021, that was when it was really, really 239 00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:29,040 rocky. And I had someone reach out to 240 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:32,040 me from a church that I've been to prior. 241 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,840 And I'd LED some of their services and I'd done a lot with 242 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,000 North Point community churches around the state of Georgia. 243 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:42,120 And this was one of their community churches and partner 244 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:44,040 churches. And so they said, hey, we're 245 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,720 going through some changes, We'd like for you to come in. 246 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:48,120 And I was like, hey, great, let me know. 247 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:50,120 Never heard from them. So I was like, you know what? 248 00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:51,880 That's not where I'm supposed to be. 249 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:59,320 So Fast forward about six months and I got a call from them or an 250 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:01,440 e-mail from them that they needed someone to leave their 251 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,160 children's service that Sunday. And I said, hey, I'm there. 252 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,120 I have no, I'm not obligated to anything at my church. 253 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:10,840 I'm there. So I came and I did the service 254 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,000 and ultimately they needed worship leaders on Sunday 255 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,600 mornings in for their main services and their children's 256 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:19,720 services. So I started going and doing, 257 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:24,680 you know, some of those things and we and I will say this, I 258 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:27,760 love the people at this church. They are near and dear to my 259 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:29,280 heart. They are absolutely great 260 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:31,640 people. They have hearts for Jesus and 261 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:35,320 hearts for the community. Some of the things that Brett 262 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:39,680 and I started noticing and experiencing there was just kind 263 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:42,000 of the way that they started doing things. 264 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,080 We didn't feel like it was scripturally sound or 265 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:47,080 theologically sound. And I think that we just had our 266 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:49,560 own personal convictions and whether they were right or 267 00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:53,840 wrong, we just didn't feel like it was what God had for us. 268 00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:58,760 We didn't need to be in that. So we started pursuing other 269 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:02,040 avenues and you know, that's. Totally OK because not every 270 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,440 like you try church out and it doesn't fit you and you what 271 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:08,880 aligns with you and your spirit then go try out another one. 272 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,640 Don't just say, oh, I'm done. I'm done, yeah. 273 00:14:11,680 --> 00:14:13,400 I don't want to actually. I'm done with church. 274 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:17,360 Like, don't do that. Go and find where your place is 275 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:18,880 because everybody has a church home. 276 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,080 You just got to find. It yeah, you do have to find it. 277 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,840 And, you know, we stayed there for a while and you know, so we 278 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:29,320 actually, Brett and I had when we first got married and we got 279 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:33,440 married in 2018 and 2019, we had actually kind of started 280 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:35,960 attending. I won't say we got involved. 281 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:40,400 We attended Southside and we, when I mean attended, we came in 282 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,120 on a Sunday morning and slipped out where we didn't get to know 283 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:45,040 anybody. We didn't know anybody there. 284 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:48,320 Maybe the occasional person that we, you know, didn't know that 285 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:51,040 went to church there. But otherwise it was just let's 286 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:52,600 get in and out as quickly as possible. 287 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,960 We both had jobs at the time that were keeping us, keeping us 288 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:59,200 on the road, and so we were gone a lot of weekends anyway, so it 289 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:03,600 was easy for us to not get involved, which was basically, 290 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,480 I'm looking back now as an excuse. 291 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:12,280 So anyways, Fast forward back to 2021-2022 when we started having 292 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:15,880 those feelings of doubt in some of the scripturally sound things 293 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,160 that were happening and taking place at this other church we 294 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:23,320 were a part of. We started pursuing going back 295 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:28,080 to Southside because we truly loved what Southside stood for 296 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:31,600 and what they still stand for. And it's their community and 297 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:34,880 loving the community. And I think that's so important 298 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:38,200 that churches tend to forget, you know, they want to go and do 299 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,240 missions elsewhere and that's important too. 300 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,680 Don't get me where to go and tell the world, but I think it 301 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:46,280 starts at home. And you know, Jesus didn't he 302 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:49,600 could have gone anywhere, but he stayed within his community and 303 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:53,000 he made disciples. And then he said, Hey, you go 304 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,320 make fishers of men. And so he sent them out to 305 00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:58,120 different areas. And I think that's what drew us 306 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:00,800 to South side is just their approach to ministry. 307 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:03,720 We're going to start at home, our, you know, our home base 308 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:07,040 here in Warner Robins, but it within the 478. 309 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:09,120 They need us. There are people here that need 310 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:12,080 us and need to know Jesus and need to know the love of God. 311 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,160 Let's start here and then we can branch out. 312 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:16,600 There's so many times too, that I've had conversations with 313 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:20,320 people and they don't know where the 4/4, the 478 is, right? 314 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:22,560 You know, like they're like, what is the 4/4? 315 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:27,400 It's a tongue twister, but what is for the 478? 316 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:31,360 And it's like they don't even realize that it's actually part 317 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:34,800 of South Side. You know, like we don't promote 318 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:36,040 South side, South side, South side. 319 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:37,840 We're just promoting the love of Jesus. 320 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:41,200 And we want to push people to see that in our community. 321 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:44,160 Like we would love for you to come to South Side, of course, 322 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:46,120 but we're not just worried about the attendance. 323 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:50,600 We're worried about you seeing Jesus through what we're trying 324 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:52,280 to do on mission. Exactly. 325 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:55,080 Well, it's one of those things that I, I think that some people 326 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:56,960 get so caught up in. Well, it's such a big church. 327 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:00,040 It's such a big church and it's so easy to just slip in and out. 328 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:04,040 And I think that it's, I love that we get hands on in the 329 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:06,599 community and it's like, we're for you. 330 00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:11,079 We want you to see what we're doing for you through the love 331 00:17:11,079 --> 00:17:13,200 of God and showing you the love of God. 332 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:15,880 And we're not worried about if you come to our church and you 333 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,079 say, you know, it's not for us because I've had people, you 334 00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:20,760 know, tell me they're like, you know, it's just, it's just too 335 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:22,280 big of a church. And I'm like, well, we have two 336 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:24,280 smaller campuses. We do, you know, if you want to 337 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:27,079 go to a smaller campus, then you can totally do that too, because 338 00:17:27,079 --> 00:17:28,520 I get it. It's not for everybody. 339 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:31,160 So I've talked to several different people just recently 340 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:34,120 and they've told me, you know, whether it's a friend of mine or 341 00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:35,960 somebody that I've met at the church and they're like, it's 342 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,800 just not really forming. It's just too big and like 343 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:43,840 you're here for a reason. You came to this church for a 344 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:45,320 reason. I don't know whether it was to 345 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,480 find God, whether it was to find community, or whether it was to 346 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:50,480 find both. I'm not really sure what that 347 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:53,120 you know. I don't know you, but if you 348 00:17:53,120 --> 00:17:56,640 come to the church, you can't just come and slip in and slip 349 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:58,400 out, especially if you're a believer. 350 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:00,960 If you're coming in just to slip in and slip out, you're not 351 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:05,680 there for the right reasons. And in order to truly grow in 352 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:08,600 your faith, I feel like you have to get involved. 353 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:11,080 But we have especially these big churches. 354 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,920 And I wouldn't necessarily describe South Side as a mega 355 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:18,240 church, but we do have a very big church for our community. 356 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:21,960 And I was actually talking to my dad about this actually on the 357 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,240 way here. And we were talking about how 358 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,560 some people have issues with mega churches and the way they 359 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,400 do things. And you know that we shouldn't, 360 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:33,680 we shouldn't get together in a mega church to worship God. 361 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:38,280 But if you look in the Bible, the Bible clearly states that 362 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:40,480 the first church was a mega church. 363 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:44,360 There were thousands of people gathered to worship Jesus. 364 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:47,320 And it's like, if you think about those things, there's 365 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:49,400 nothing wrong. But I think it's it's all about 366 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:54,880 what you do during the week and then going into a corporate 367 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:56,320 worship setting what that looks like. 368 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:59,800 When you say the original church and it being, you know, 369 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:03,400 thousands of people, I think about when Jesus broke bread for 370 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:07,720 5005 thousand. And I don't picture just 5000 371 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,040 people just in rows, like just being there. 372 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:15,560 I see them in small groups, like being a part of this big church 373 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:18,320 because we're the church, not the four walls, we're the 374 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,400 church. So being a part of a church, a 375 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:24,200 small group, and once you get plugged in and then at 376 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,680 Southside, even though we are a big church, like you're going to 377 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,080 get plugged into a small group, you're going to find your niche 378 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:33,760 or niche or whatever, whatever the word is. 379 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:36,840 And you're just going to, you're going to find that small 380 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:40,080 community that you're a part of. Like I don't walk in and know 381 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,200 everybody that's in the room. I mean, I'm going to meet 382 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:45,960 different people every week. I talk to different people and 383 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:48,680 you become familiar and then eventually you'll talk more and 384 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:50,960 so be it. But you know, stay around, get 385 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,640 out of your comfort zone. Don't just run in and run out. 386 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:56,560 Well, and I think that's something that, you know, places 387 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:58,760 especially like South Side and some of these bigger churches, 388 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:02,520 they've implemented these strategies basically so that you 389 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:06,320 can easily get involved. And you have, I mean, especially 390 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,600 like the website small groups, that is like one of the biggest 391 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,000 things that you can do at South Side. 392 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,680 They're like we want to see here on Sunday mornings. 393 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:18,280 What we really want to see is you in a life group, small group 394 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:21,360 and getting involved because those are the people who you 395 00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:24,000 can, you know, lift you up and hold you, but they can also hold 396 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:27,120 you accountable. And I think that's something 397 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:29,840 that I didn't have a lot of, I mean, I did for my parents. 398 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:33,200 But what kid and what teenager wants to hear, you know, that 399 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,920 from their parents growing up and holding them accountable and 400 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:38,960 reading scripture and stuff. But finding, you know, a place 401 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:43,160 to volunteer that you feel God has called you to serve and you 402 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:45,680 know, serve in or finding a place that you're like, I really 403 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,000 like these people. You know, I like, I like doing 404 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,320 life with them, finding that group of people in that 405 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:55,960 community and having them hold you as well as you holding them 406 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:58,200 accountable in your walk with Jesus. 407 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:00,880 I mean, I think that's what that's what church is. 408 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:03,960 Absolutely. Speaking of, you know, serving 409 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:06,640 and finding all that, you're one of our worship leaders at the 410 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:08,960 church. I'd love to jump into This is 411 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:13,320 like there's a fine line between a show and because you have a 412 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:17,840 talent and being able to sing doing it to glorify you versus 413 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:23,080 I'm really here to worship and I want to usher in the Lord in 414 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,600 this. Like, how do you surrender to 415 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:27,440 that? Because I feel like that's like 416 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:31,040 a battle, a spiritual battle. That's probably all the time. 417 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:33,160 It truly is. And I'll kind of give you kind 418 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:35,960 of a rundown of kind of what it looks like on a Sunday morning. 419 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,280 But it's just, it's really cool to see how God works things out 420 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,080 because we are as a worship team and the direction that our 421 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,960 church is going in right now, I feel like we're discussing and 422 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,400 going to be discussing the posture of our hearts. 423 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:52,880 And so, but to give you a little bit of just kind of what a 424 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,120 Sunday morning looks like. So we obviously have a rehearsal 425 00:21:56,120 --> 00:21:58,520 because we want it to, we want it to sound good. 426 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:02,840 We don't want it to be horrible. But we also have a moment that 427 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:06,080 after the service, after service, one that we come in and 428 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,760 we break down and we say, hey, what's something that went 429 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,520 really well and what's something that we could work on? 430 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:15,480 And it's not for the simple fact that we want it to be the best 431 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,400 show in Warner Robins or the best show in the 478. 432 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:23,200 It's so that we can get to where you have the best experience 433 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:25,360 experiencing God and worshiping God. 434 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:29,440 And I think that's something that we've been focusing on in 435 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:33,960 our worship team is the posture of our hearts and how we posture 436 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:37,280 our hearts for worship. And we had a worship leader 437 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:39,600 meeting the other day and we were talking on the phone 438 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,200 talking about what the posture of our hearts looks like. 439 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:45,760 And I think about, okay, I'm terrible. 440 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,880 I, I slouch like, I am horrible. Like I'm probably going to look 441 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:52,160 back at this video and say, okay, Alexis, can you like edit 442 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:56,360 my shoulders up? But or maybe you have back 443 00:22:56,360 --> 00:22:57,640 issues. Maybe you have back problems, 444 00:22:57,640 --> 00:22:59,840 back surgery. What do you do to correct those 445 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:02,680 things or to help those things? You wear a back brace or 446 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:04,640 something to help correct your posture. 447 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:08,880 So I look at that as the same way as how do you correct the 448 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:11,840 posture of your heart? What are you doing throughout 449 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:15,040 the week to correct the posture of your heart so that when you 450 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:17,560 get up on stage on Sunday morning to lead people in 451 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:21,400 worship or you're coming to church to worship with other 452 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:25,400 believers or serve other believers, what does that look 453 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,360 like? What does your day-to-day time 454 00:23:28,360 --> 00:23:31,120 in and time out with God every single day? 455 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:34,440 What does that look like? And if you're not staying in 456 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:38,000 your word, and that's something we're trying, really trying to, 457 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:41,040 I guess hold each other accountable of in our worship 458 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:47,040 team is staying in God's Word. And I didn't, I didn't, I mean, 459 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:48,440 that's something that's new for me. 460 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:51,480 I, I've never read the Bible all the way through. 461 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,040 And I'm currently doing that. And let me tell you, there are 462 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:56,480 some really hard books. I mean, when you get into the 463 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,680 law and you get into all the genealogies of everything, it's 464 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:02,760 like, OK, God. And I mean, I have literally 465 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:05,840 cried out to God and said, God, why am I reading this? 466 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,760 Help me to understand. And I think that's OK because he 467 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:10,320 knows that we're not going to grasp it. 468 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:13,440 I know that he has a reason for me reading this and studying 469 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:15,880 this, but I'm not, you know, I'm not grasping it. 470 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:19,400 So I cry out to him. But we are encouraging everybody 471 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:22,960 to just stay in their word because you can't effectively 472 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:26,520 get up on stage on a Sunday morning and say, hey, you 473 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:28,000 should. You should worship with me 474 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,720 because I'm here faking worship to God. 475 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:32,760 That's not what we want it to come across as. 476 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:35,600 Because if you're not doing, spending that time, intimate 477 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:41,120 time with God in prayer, in reading and studying the Bible 478 00:24:41,120 --> 00:24:45,120 and learning more about who God is, then you can't get up there 479 00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:47,160 on a Sunday morning and effectively leave the other 480 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:48,720 people in worship. It just doesn't work. 481 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:53,080 Because I mean, that is preparing our hearts and 482 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,560 posturing our hearts to receive the message that, you know, our 483 00:24:56,560 --> 00:25:00,960 pastors worked on and, you know, got that, that word from God to 484 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:02,680 move forward with and stuff like that. 485 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:07,480 So that's such a intimate time and a really, I don't know if 486 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:09,760 this is correct, but it feels like it would be a very big 487 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:15,040 responsibility, you know, is leading that and you know, it's 488 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:17,400 honestly an accountability in itself. 489 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:20,360 Like, are you doing what you need to do outside of those 490 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:26,360 hours, you know, 2-3 hours a week that is preparing you for 491 00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:28,520 Sunday and to have that responsibility? 492 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:31,480 I actually thought about it as like when I first started 493 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:35,960 praises in the pod, I was like, well, God, this is going to help 494 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,800 hold me more accountable because I'm not going to get on here and 495 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:40,720 talk about your goodness and faithfulness and what you're 496 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:43,320 revealing to me, right? And I'm not doing what I need to 497 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:46,320 do every other week, every other day of the week, you know? 498 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:48,560 So I feel like it's the same thing. 499 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:51,640 If we're expecting you to lead, people like you need to be doing 500 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:55,480 what you're doing, which you're supposed to be doing outside of 501 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:57,320 the church on a Sunday. Exactly. 502 00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:00,280 And I think that some people get so caught up in, well, I don't 503 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:03,440 know how to start or I don't know, you know, what to do in 504 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:07,440 those moments. And they have so many studies 505 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:11,360 out there that you can just pick up 1 and choose whether you're 506 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:13,800 better at listening. So maybe you can listen to the 507 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,560 Bible being read to you. But I encourage people who do 508 00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:22,120 that to find a study to go with it that has almost a summary so 509 00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:25,720 that you can better understand what God was trying to say and 510 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:28,800 you can form your own convictions and opinions about 511 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:30,560 what God was trying to tell you in that moment. 512 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,280 But then also it has questions where you can answer those 513 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:35,240 questions cuz it really makes you think. 514 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:38,760 And like I said, it's not always easy to understand what God is 515 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:40,760 telling us when we read the Bible because there are some 516 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:43,920 really hard, hard moments. But I think it's important that 517 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:46,640 we find those studies and we stay in them and stay committed 518 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:48,680 to them. And I also think that it's so 519 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,440 important people get caught up. And I am one of those that I am 520 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:57,920 very, I have a hard time sitting still and being still in the 521 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:01,200 presence of God and praying. And I think that some people 522 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:04,360 look at praying as God. You know, thank you so much for 523 00:27:04,360 --> 00:27:06,640 this day. Pray for this person. 524 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:08,720 And to me, that's not what prayer looks like. 525 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:13,200 Prayer looks like this. And yes, he is our heavenly 526 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:15,360 Father. He is the King of kings, the 527 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:17,920 Lord of Lords. He is also our friend. 528 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,680 And we should be able to talk to him like I'm talking to you now. 529 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:25,960 And so there have been times and I'm like, I'm washing dishes and 530 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:29,840 I have something on my mind and I'm like, God, what is you know, 531 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,200 what's going on? Like I need to figure this out. 532 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:34,880 I need to help this person. How do I pray for this person? 533 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:37,320 What can I do? And then there are moments that 534 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:40,440 I lift my hands and just worship him and I just say, God, you are 535 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,960 amazing. And especially now I'm a mom and 536 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:46,560 seeing the little things. There are little details that 537 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:49,680 happen throughout the week, throughout the day that I see 538 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:51,800 through my son. And I'm like, God, thank you so 539 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:54,120 much for the reminder that you are good. 540 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:59,520 You gave me the Son to truly experience unconditional love. 541 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:02,280 I know that, you know, as humans, we're not able to, but I 542 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:05,280 feel like kids, they show you unconditional love when they're 543 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:08,160 at that age because they don't know any different. 544 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:10,600 They're like, you are all that I know. 545 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:13,080 And that's how we should view the father. 546 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:16,880 He should be all that we know. He should be first and foremost 547 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:18,640 in our lives. And I think that's how we need 548 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:20,920 to posture our hearts, you know, through the week we need. 549 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:23,280 To child, life, faith. Yes, exactly. 550 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:25,920 I love that. I love to sit in. 551 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:30,560 I think that people get caught up also in that worship just 552 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:32,280 looks like, you know, they're like, well, I don't know how to 553 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:34,400 worship Jesus except through music. 554 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:37,800 That's not the only way that God gave us to worship him. 555 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,840 There's so many ways in the Bible that God gives us to 556 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,600 worship him through prayer, through song. 557 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,520 But there's also something that I like to do. 558 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:49,640 And I'm a big nature girl. I love to be outside. 559 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,680 I would much rather be outside than I would be inside cleaning 560 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:55,600 the house. So I spent a lot of time 561 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:56,920 outside, especially having a son. 562 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:01,200 We spent a lot of time in the dirt, but if I get the chance to 563 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:07,120 see a sunset, I stand there and worship Jesus and say, I think 564 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:08,960 worship. Sometimes it's just as simple as 565 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:12,760 thank you, Jesus, thank you for giving me this just so I can 566 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:17,000 catch a glimpse of who you are and the goodness that you have 567 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:20,360 given and blessed my life with. And I think that that's so 568 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:23,640 important that people just don't get caught up in the, well, you 569 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:25,400 know, I only worship on Sunday mornings. 570 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,080 That's not what that looks like. Praise Him in the little 571 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:31,360 moments. Maybe you, you know, had a good 572 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:33,520 day at work. Praise him for that. 573 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:37,960 God, you are a good father. I looked at today as being, you 574 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,680 know, a Monday and you didn't. And you made it better for me. 575 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:44,480 Praise him in those moments. And I think that I think that's 576 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:45,960 where the posture of our heart changes. 577 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:48,880 Yeah, there's so many times that we do always just think of 578 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:51,760 worship as music. And I mean, it's all forms, 579 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:54,720 anything that's really glorifying God and just giving 580 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:57,440 him that praise. And so we just need to be, you 581 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:02,480 know, more open to realizing what is of him, right? 582 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:06,400 Because that's ultimately all that worship is, is us just 583 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:10,120 giving him the praise and just crying out to him and thanking 584 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:13,240 him for all that he's done. And so it's just so important to 585 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:17,120 not just get caught up in just the music aspect of worship, 586 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:20,400 right? But just everything in life that 587 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:23,360 resembles him. You know, it's really, really 588 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:24,560 big. I mean, we wouldn't. 589 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:27,640 I mean, ultimately we wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. 590 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:29,360 Exactly. And it's like, so we have 591 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:33,520 everything, everything that is good, even the bad times, even 592 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:36,280 the know that he is going to see you through that. 593 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:39,200 That is what faith is. You have to have faith that God 594 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:42,640 is going to see you through it. And just as I didn't want to 595 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:45,640 give up country music, I didn't want to give that up. 596 00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:50,720 He said you don't have to. I'm going to make this decision 597 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:54,440 really easy for you because I'm going to show you how good, how 598 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:58,680 much joy I'm going to bring to your life by you following me 599 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:01,640 laying down your life and saying, God, I surrender to your 600 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:03,960 will for my life. Where do you want me to go? 601 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:07,200 So I guess before we start to like wrap up a little bit, let's 602 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:10,160 talk about maybe something that God's revealed to you more 603 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:12,520 recently or maybe what you've been studying or what you've 604 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:15,680 been going through, or just something along those lines of 605 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:17,560 what God's been doing in your life. 606 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:22,360 So my husband and I, we're obviously expecting our second 607 00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:25,800 child which is a girl. Super excited for all the girly. 608 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:27,560 Things that's so exciting. I can't wait. 609 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:29,440 You got the best of both worlds, a boy and a girl. 610 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:34,800 Yes, I'm like, OK it we, we are probably done after this, but if 611 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,320 it's in God's plans for us to have more, we'll have more but 612 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:41,360 planning to stop. But I had a great first 613 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:44,960 pregnancy with my son. It was super easy, had no 614 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:48,040 issues, had some issues during labor, but nothing, nothing 615 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:52,480 crazy, nothing life threatening. So this is something common that 616 00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:55,600 a lot of women have, but I was diagnosed with something called 617 00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:59,160 placentapridia and basically it's where the placenta is 618 00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:01,720 covering the cervix or partially covering the cervix. 619 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:04,720 Basically, you're at risk for bleeding. 620 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:07,720 There's a lot of worst case scenarios that I'm not going to 621 00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:11,800 go into details, but the doctors had to tell me to just prepare 622 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:14,480 me just in case. You know, things did go in that 623 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:21,280 direction and I got into a season of I was working out, I 624 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:24,480 was in God's Word, I was just on fire for Jesus. 625 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:26,760 Like, you know, when you're working out, you get really 626 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:30,280 motivated anyways. But it motivated me to dive into 627 00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:32,240 God's Word. I was just motivated all around, 628 00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:35,320 spiritually, physically, mentally, just all the things. 629 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:39,280 And I got really sick the first three months of this pregnancy. 630 00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:44,320 But when I was diagnosed with the placenta previa, my daughter 631 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:47,080 said you can't do anything. Oh, wow. 632 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:51,080 So that means no working out, no jolting movement. 633 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:54,960 You can't stand on your feet for long periods of time, which that 634 00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:58,320 included me playing my shows. I, you know, I play guitar and 635 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:01,640 I'm toting my sound equipment up and down stairs and in and out 636 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:05,240 of venues. And so I was like, OK, I mean, 637 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:07,200 it couldn't have happened at a more perfect time. 638 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:10,320 God was truly looking out for me because usually January and 639 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:15,000 February are really quiet times. Just it's cold weather's nasty. 640 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:16,800 Nobody's really getting out and playing music. 641 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:21,560 So I really was like, you know, OK, I'm hearing you. 642 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:22,840 God, I'm going to take a step back. 643 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:27,880 I think that God has really shown me that it is truly better 644 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:32,960 for us to be still and not worry about what life is going to 645 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:37,440 throw away. I was concerned, but I wasn't, I 646 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:39,800 was hopeful that it would resolve because the doctors were 647 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:41,880 hopeful and we're hopeful that it would resolve. 648 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:46,280 And so I sat there and I remember this was actually this 649 00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:50,720 week, Monday, we had our ultrasound, which was eight 650 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:54,480 weeks after we found out that we had placenta previa and we had 651 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:56,800 the ultrasound and they said it's completely resolved. 652 00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:00,720 So there's no, you know, no risk for anything. 653 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:02,840 You can kind of get back into your normal routine. 654 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:08,320 And but what I've truly gained from having that, I guess kind 655 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:13,880 of a cautious, you know, a little scare is that take in 656 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:16,880 those quiet moments, take in those little moments that you 657 00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:19,600 get to spend with your family, you get to spend with God. 658 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:22,520 I mean, I've truly been able to spend more time with God now 659 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:28,600 than when I was before because I had nothing else to gravitate my 660 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:32,440 attention to. And I, I got to spend more time 661 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:37,280 with my family, my husband, my son and my husband is in racing, 662 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,800 so we spend a lot of time at the racetrack. 663 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:44,920 But getting to see my 2 year old son just have so much fun with 664 00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:47,000 his dad. And those are moments that I 665 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:48,600 probably would have missed because I would have been 666 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:51,920 playing shows or maybe would have been doing something else 667 00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:54,159 because I wouldn't have had to take it easy. 668 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:57,640 And I think it's so cool that God was like, Hey, I'm going to 669 00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:01,280 look out for you for a second because you're about to have a 670 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:04,800 toddler and a newborn. So just enjoy this moment, enjoy 671 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:07,960 this, enjoy this stillness. But it also drew me and has 672 00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:11,000 drawn me even closer to him, and I'm truly so grateful for that. 673 00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:14,960 That made me kind of think of, you know, what the enemy meant 674 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:16,840 for evil. God uses for good. 675 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:20,120 And he used this time for you to kind of go into a season of 676 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:25,760 being still and having to rely on him and try to get closer 677 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:29,040 with him because you don't know you know what the future holds. 678 00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:30,280 With the. Yes. 679 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:34,000 And so you're getting to soak up those moments that normally you 680 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,200 would be just out and about and doing things and just going 681 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:39,120 about life. But he brought you into a season 682 00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:43,840 of stillness. And sometimes, you know, we need 683 00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:49,400 to be aware of those seasons so that we can grow closer in our 684 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:52,480 spiritual walk. This past week, or maybe it was 685 00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:55,680 yesterday even, I made a TikTok video and I was talking about 686 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:58,520 how I've been doing my quiet time, very passive. 687 00:35:58,720 --> 00:36:00,120 OK, I'm going to be very transparent. 688 00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:02,280 It was very passive. I was checking the box. 689 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:05,520 I was reading, laying in bed. And I'm just like reading. 690 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:07,920 And then I'm like, OK, you know. I just feel about. 691 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:10,760 It I'm done. And so God has been temp like 692 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,280 not tempting, but God has been like pulling me back to come up 693 00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:17,240 here and have my quiet time and stuff like that and really get 694 00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:19,320 into the word. And yesterday I was reading 695 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,640 about Mary and Martha and I'm like, man, I'm being Martha. 696 00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:26,000 I'm running around doing all this stuff for Jesus and in his 697 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:29,600 name and for that. But he's calling us to sit at 698 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:33,720 his feet and listen to what he's saying and be able to be still 699 00:36:33,720 --> 00:36:37,000 in those moments and not just always be out and about and 700 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:38,760 running around. Oh yes. 701 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:41,760 Preaching I love. It and it's so hard because like 702 00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:44,640 I love being busy. I love it. 703 00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:47,640 I can't stand being still, but I know that God. 704 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:51,040 That's when God can speak and that's when he can use you is 705 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:53,720 when you are still. Yes, and I totally agree with 706 00:36:53,720 --> 00:36:57,520 that because it's so hard for me to not just jump back into my 707 00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:00,080 busy lifestyle because it's like, oh, I can do all these 708 00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:01,800 things now. I could do before. 709 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:06,200 And so I thankfully, I took a back seat in January and kind of 710 00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:10,040 came off social media and said, you know what, why, why does my 711 00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:13,400 thumb automatically just go to Facebook or Instagram in the 712 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:15,040 morning? Like it just knows. 713 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:16,240 It's like it's an automatic thing. 714 00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:18,680 I don't even think about. And I was like, you know what? 715 00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:22,160 Something else is going to take up more of my time. 716 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:26,440 And thankfully most of that time has been spent with Jesus. 717 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:30,200 And I want to continue that. And I encourage anybody that is 718 00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:35,280 listening, watching, to stay in your word, take those moments to 719 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:38,760 just be still and know that he is God. 720 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:42,400 And I feel like you truly will grow in those moments. 721 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:45,880 You really will in your faith. I mean, I feel like I've grown 722 00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:51,480 more in my faith in God, but also in my marriage as a mom. 723 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:54,800 I've learned, I've been studying Proverbs and how to, you know, 724 00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:58,720 being a wife and being a mom. And I feel like I've gained so 725 00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:01,200 much wisdom. Just as Solomon, you know, he 726 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:05,080 asked God for wisdom. He didn't ask for riches or 727 00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:06,680 glory. He asked for wisdom. 728 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:10,600 And I feel like I've gained so much wisdom in this time of just 729 00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:14,640 being still and listening to God and enjoying those small moments 730 00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:19,520 with my family. And I think if we spend those 731 00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:23,640 times being still, we will ultimately be better mothers, 732 00:38:23,720 --> 00:38:30,520 better fathers, better spouses, and ultimately draw closer to 733 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:33,600 our Heavenly Father, which is what we want to do. 734 00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:35,920 That's what our Spirit is yearning to do. 735 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,960 That's all we're here to do is to worship Him. 736 00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:41,440 Exactly. I think in order to for us to go 737 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:44,760 and make disciples as we're called to do as believers have 738 00:38:44,760 --> 00:38:47,160 to have those moments. We have to have those moments of 739 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:51,080 stillness and intimacy with God. Yes, that's good, girl. 740 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:53,040 I think that's good. I think we're going to end 741 00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:54,560 there. That was that's awesome. 742 00:38:55,680 --> 00:38:57,720 All right, guys. Well, we hope that you enjoyed 743 00:38:57,720 --> 00:39:00,400 this as much as we did. Stay tuned. 744 00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:02,320 Stay blessed and we'll see you guys next week. 745 00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:03,280 Bye.