Memories of Childhood Adventures and Freedom

Justin 0:00

I don't know if this is normal , because it's too good to be true . I know it's way too good to be true .

Rhett 0:06

We got somebody in trouble . If you had that on the street , I'll trade you my bike .

Justin 0:12

Sinbad called it kid crap . It was like a pixie stick but in a bottle that was shaped like whatever the flavor was .

Rhett 0:17

I'll take a lemon , two hits of a lemon . If my life is not producing those things , am I guarding my heart appropriately ? What am I allowing in ?

Justin 0:36

Even that flowing water will get old . Well , hello again everyone . Welcome back to another episode of Armchair Authentic , a podcast with your friends Rhett and Justin . Here's our hope . Our hope is to help come alongside you and help you fulfill some of the God assignments on your life . Now we do this through having real conversations about real life with real people .

Justin 1:02

Now , justin and I had some conversations today that we're looking forward to getting into man . We talk about bike rides to Sonic , from pool pumps to coffee to free refills and , ultimately , to the importance of having the right relationships in your life . Now we can't wait to jump into this conversation , but before we do , we always want to say thank you to the Armchair Authentic family who has taken the time to rate and review the podcast . It really is the best way we can serve those who aren't on this journey yet . Now , if you're here today and you're listening for the first time , justin and I want to say welcome to the family man , welcome home . We're so glad that you were along for the ride today . If you haven't already done this , follow us on Instagram or on Facebook . You can find us there at Armchair Authentic . That's at Armchair Authentic , in fact . If you're over on X , you can find us at Armchair Auth Pod . That's Armchair Auth Pod .

Justin 1:57

Now , as we've mentioned before in previous episodes , this whole conversation is more fun when you are a part of it , and so the best way that you can be a part of our conversations is to comment on social , but even send us an email . Man , we sure would love to hear from you . In fact , for those who have emailed us , thank you so much . We cannot wait to have some conversations about some of the things that you're thinking about . But until then , if you're on the ride to work , you're working out wherever you might be today and you're thinking , oh my goodness , I sure would love to have this question answered . Or thinking about , I wonder how they , would you know , approach this topic . Would you email us ? You can email us at info at armchairauthenticcom . That email is info at armchairauthenticcom . All right , now onto the conversation . You guys ready dot com All right Now onto the conversation .

Rhett 2:49

You guys ready , here we go . So one of my fondest memories was growing up and we had the flexibility to go really and do so many things because , as we've talked about before , our dads are both single , so we came from divorced homes and they were just working really hard . So we had a lot of parameters , not that it was necessarily permissive , but we just kind of found something to do during the day and the location that we lived we were in apartments , so that alone was just our own playground that we could do so much .

Justin 3:20

Well , it was a different day and age then too . I mean , we're talking the midlate 80s . We had freedom because our dads were at work and we were these latchkey kids at home , but there was also a lot of just . I don't know if it was the fact that the world we lived in just did not have the opportunity to see as much as we see now . I mean , maybe all those same things were happening then . Oh yeah , Child abductions and all the weird stuff that's out there , yeah .

Rhett 3:42

And all the weird stuff that's out there , yeah , oh yeah , so it probably was going on , it just there was no device .

Justin 3:47

Yeah . About every single breaking news story coming out from every city on the planet in a matter of 10 seconds . Right .

Rhett 3:55

It really gets your stress and your anxiety just boiling .

Justin 3:58

Yeah , so there's a lot of trust in allowing us to kind of like have a free for all in our you know pretty decent size apartment complex .

Rhett 4:07

And I think that's what gave us extra freedom . It was because most of our friends lived in neighborhoods and I feel like everybody had a house but us .

Justin 4:16

Yeah .

Rhett 4:17

But what we got out of it is we live close to the stores , we live close to all the shopping areas , yep , which made it fun , and I love getting to just go on our bike rides .

Justin 4:27

It was a big deal to cross that massive intersection . It was yeah . To pass a couple of gas stations At such a young age To go through the drainage ditch area .

Rhett 4:36

Uh-huh .

Justin 4:37

All the way over to the Walmart . That's what my dad calls it . Yeah , you're going down to the Walmart . I You're going down to the Walmart .

Rhett 4:43

I'm like Dad , it's Walmart . Yeah , it's the Walmart .

Justin 4:44

We did a lot at the Walmart In what used to be a food world . They don't exist anymore . Yeah , good times , but just riding our bikes everywhere .

Rhett 4:52

It was just so many great memories and so you know , as any dad and mom would probably want to do , you love seeing your kids experience the same thing growing up , and it was so fun that yesterday my two oldest really so they're 15 and 13 at the time of this recording and they have one of their buddies over who's visiting and we we just gave you know , we got the other parents permission to make sure it's good , but we just let them go on their bikes Cause we had a Sonic near our neighborhood that was built a couple of years ago , Okay , and so we've never let them go that far on somewhat of a busy street and so they went there and that was fun , just to kind of knowing that . You know , I'm tracking them on the phone and I'm seeing that they made it there .

Justin 5:32

What a huge difference , and I mean come on . I mean like I was like the find my thing that like . I'm so grateful for that . I love that feature .

Rhett 5:44

Oh man , it's so good .

Justin 5:45

It just brings so much , I don't know . I mean safety and comfort to you to go . Okay , I know right where they are .

Rhett 5:51

Oh yeah , oh yeah , it's good , it's like I knew they made it , so we're good . So what I did was I drove . I needed to get some actually information to the guest . That was at our house from his parents , so once I knew they were there , it was at our house from his parents . So once I knew they were there , I took my car . I ended up getting to Sonic . They were having the time of their life sitting at the outdoor table like placing their order ?

Justin 6:11

Did they know you were coming or was that kind of like your dad , like a little oversight ?

Rhett 6:14

where you're like .

Justin 6:15

I'm just going to show up and check on them .

Rhett 6:17

Well , the fact that my oldest response was like I knew it , I guess it may have kind of showed my hand that it was really me just finding a way to check up on him . Hey , here's some info I needed to get to you yeah uh , but yeah , I think he was on to me . But uh , they ordered their . They wanted some ice cream , so they ordered their blizzards the best stuff when they're just getting to do their own thing , feeling like grownups . That's so satisfying to me , so .

Rhett 6:46

I'm Without any of the responsibility , no other responsibility . You go back and think about that for a second .

Justin 6:51

When we would go we weren't thinking about . I mean , we didn't have school to go to , no , had nothing . Our dads were working , providing We'd never had to think about anything really it was summertime .

Justin 7:00

I I mean we didn't have everything , but like I think , like I I a kid like we didn't have a lot , but like we didn't know we didn't have a lot because we just felt like I don't know , at least I can speak for myself , yeah , but I don't know . There was so much about that freedom and dude , just the feeling and the nostalgia of being able to go and do like that being a mile away from your house felt like it might as well been another state .

Justin 7:25

It was adventurous and you've got a little bit of money and you're experiencing something and just the fun and the thrill and no responsibility to do a transaction , man To just .

Rhett 7:36

I mean when we were kids to go into Texaco gas station which was big in Alabama give me my honey bun and a Sprite .

Justin 7:43

baby , let's go .

Rhett 7:44

I'd get my hot tamales and Boston baked beans .

Justin 7:48

Is that a candy ?

Rhett 7:50

And the sugary powder stuff that was shaped as fruit . You would take the top off and pour the powder . Oh my gosh , powdered sugar . That's been a minute dude , I think Sinbad one time on a comic relief . He called it . They had lemon and they had a strawberry and it was nothing but sugar in it yeah it was like a pixie stick but in a bottle that was shaped like .

Justin 8:09

Whatever the flavor was , yes , sim bag called it uh , kid crack yeah kitty crack , kitty crack , dude . It really is like if you had that on the street , I'll trade you my bike I'll take a lemon .

Rhett 8:19

I'll give you my bike .

Justin 8:22

I'll take a lemon . I'll give you my bike . For the lemon man I need two hits of the lemon . I had banana . That's so awesome

Sonic Customer Service

Justin 8:28

.

Rhett 8:28

I remember we would ride our bikes to go get that and then there was like a little body shop that fixed boats next to us and I had this space on this boat that I would just go chill in . So there was this boat that would be worked on . I would go inside the boat , just like it's mine , okay , and I would sit in the boat and eat my candy . Wow , I never knew that . Yeah .

Justin 8:52

Where was this boat ?

Rhett 8:53

It was right by the Costa's barbecue . It was like a place that repaired and they had boats in the back . Are you kidding me ?

Justin 9:02

You would really go . Oh yeah , boats in the back , are you ?

Rhett 9:03

kidding me and they would go oh yeah , wow yeah . I guess I never took either with me , but I know , I didn't know that was wow .

Justin 9:07

Okay , it must have been somewhat in my mind remember , because I lived over by that side my apartment was right across from your apartment , wow , and so was it a storage facility and they just stored stuff ? I don't remember it could have been . Anyway , it could .

Rhett 9:21

It could have been , there were people on premises , but it could have been a storage . As a kid it didn't register . It could have been . There were people on premises , but it could have been a storage .

Justin 9:25

As a kid it didn't register .

Rhett 9:27

I just knew there was always this boat there .

Justin 9:29

Okay .

Rhett 9:30

And it was there for a couple of years and it just kind of became this place . I could go in , eat the candy and just enjoy .

Justin 9:37

Because it was literally like what 20 yards away from the Texaco , on the other side of the fence .

Rhett 9:49

And the texaco on the other side of the fence and I probably didn't take you there because we had all these other spots but when I would have friends come over for school . That's a space I'd be like , oh , check this space out . It's like it was like , since we didn't have a backyard , it was my version of a clubhouse that we built . There you go , I just go in a boat . So , anyway , the kids yesterday they're at , uh , sonic , so ice cream takes forever to come out is .

Justin 10:04

Is it like ? I don't think I've ever eaten ice cream at Sonic , or less . I can remember , but I know when you go to McDonald's , like half the time the machine's out .

Rhett 10:11

Have you seen those memes where , like you go to McDonald's and you're asking for an ice cream , like ah it's broken down . You're like God bless . They just say that they don't feel like making ice cream , so is that ?

Justin 10:21

is that a normal thing ?

Rhett 10:22

for sonic to be really slow . Sonic is built on having ice cream . Okay , like they're known for their desserts .

Justin 10:28

Okay , like a dairy queen see , when you say blizzard , I think a dairy queen , yeah . But you know what my bad ? I should have said sonic blast . Okay , there you go .

Rhett 10:35

So they got their sonic blast and they wait ret , probably 15 , 20 minutes in a space that should have taken five . Well , I , I notice it , but I don't really say anything . I'm trying to let them live their life . I'm just in the distance . Actually , I'm taking care of some stuff that came up after hours , just with the role that I'm in with pastoral care . So I'm getting some effective work done .

Justin 10:57

That's the difference between you and me . I would literally be like dude where's it at . I mean , the kids are having a good time , but I'm like , hey , knock , knock , knock , let's talk . Can we talk ? What's going ?

Rhett 11:06

on how you doing .

Justin 11:06

Remember me . Hey , I'm over here , Don't forget , you know .

Rhett 11:09

I guess yeah , I don't know you .

Justin 11:11

probably , if you didn't have what you had in front of you , probably would have done the same . Like I'm looking around , I'm already off the phone now I don't know .

Rhett 11:26

He said man , okay , let me go in . And he tried to find it . He came out and said man , I'm sorry , I was going to comp your ice cream but I can't do it without the receipt . And I said , first of all , I appreciate you actually acknowledging that we were waiting because I was thinking that . But I was thinking that , but I tell you what , I had literally just gotten a text from Summer and we were just going to do a quick dinner and do it at the house and I was going to drive some Sonic home to feed the boys and the guests . I told him I was like hey , I'm about to place this order . If you want to comp that amount and just give me that off our food , like the difference ?

Justin 11:59

Yeah , that'd be great .

Rhett 12:01

Awesome . He said all right , you just placed the order . I start placing the order and we're well over $18.75 . And I proceed to tell the guy who I'm giving the order to , which was a different person Chris was his name told me to make sure he knew what the total is . I figured he's just going to take the like . I said $18.75 . Well , I never hear from Chris again , but I'll wait for the food . It comes out . Another guy delivers it . It's all been taken care of and I'm I mean , I'm so impressed but I'm even trying to talk to him . But but Chris is back there working Cause there's a line and he don't want to have to feel like people are waiting 20 minutes . But what was cool to me and I even just thought it in the moment , like he had the freedom , he had the agency of just to take action . He didn't hold back . I was not going to ask for a refund of the ice cream .

Rhett 12:52

Was he the manager . He had to have been the manager . It was a young it was . I mean , I know people you don't know how young people are anymore . He could have been like late in his teens or early twenties . The guy was young and he took the initiative to step in and make sure I was a happy customer , which I mean . Now I can't help but seeing that Sonic different because he set a tone .

Justin 13:16

That's awesome and I just think that's cool . That's really cool , especially in the age of fast food right now , with how hard it is to find good people and to for them to even be empowered at that level . You know , I I have to say that I don't , I couldn't imagine if that , if that's not a manager and somebody is doing that great job , I mean , like you shouldn't even have to have permission to do that in my opinion .

Justin 13:35

Right , you should have the authority to be able to walk in that Right and I , you know , I don't mean to interrupt your story , but when you were telling that part in the maskings at the manager , I'm thinking about the coffee house we went to the other day , oh man , Do we want to call out the Santos coffee ?

Rhett 13:52

Oh , yeah , yeah .

Justin 13:53

So is it Santos or Santos ?

Rhett 13:55

I don't know . I'll say Santos . It sounds more fancy .

Justin 13:59

So it's my way of like . When I go into a Mexican restaurant , my wife always messes with me . She's like why do you try to talk different when you're in a mexican restaurant ? I'm like I don't talk any different . She says , yes , you do so . When they come up and like what would you like to have to eat ? I'm like I'd like to have the enchilada , the burrito , and I'm like I'm like what is happening to me ? I'm like I don't like enchilada Que esta dia . You know mas , por favor , let me order for y'all here at Carrabba's .

Rhett 14:28

Hold on one second I'll take the spaghetti and the lasagna and the pizza .

Justin 14:34

I don't know what it is , man , it's just like what is going on and I don't even know I'm doing it . She's like you're doing it . I'm like Emma . Yeah , I'm like Emma . Yeah , it's like gracias . I'm like you never say gracias , I know , but I'm like gracias . It's like a lady on the Food Network who used to always be on there .

Rhett 14:48

I forget her name , but she would just be talking like this and this is the food we make , but she makes this Italian dish . But when she said mozzarella , out of nowhere the Italian came out . She's like and I love to make the mozzarella , but I love to make the mozzarella . But then she'd get back to this talking the mozzarella , the mozzarella , but the Santos .

Justin 15:08

That's what got me on that , so we'll sound a little bit fancier Santos

Santos Coffee Refill Policy Clarified

Justin 15:14

when we go to Santos Coffee . It's just a coffee place in the Birmingham area and we were there the other day and there was a young man behind the counter .

Rhett 15:22

Great guy .

Justin 15:23

And you were taking me there . I think it was my first time .

Rhett 15:26

It's in the Mount Brook location . I was trying to introduce you to Stone Toast Company it was the Mount Brook location .

Justin 15:31

We're talking about giving authority to people , and so the young man behind the counter you were telling me like hey , they do free refills here or whatever right , Because they will do , and this is what's great They'll do free drip refills .

Rhett 15:43

And if you I don't know how , but you were talking about the free- refill thing , and did I ask the question or did you ask the question ?

Justin 16:10

I don't know how we got on it , but either way , somehow some way he said , oh yeah , we'll do free refills on the specialty drinks when he said that .

Rhett 16:19

that's when I jumped in and I'm like , hey , I know you do free refills on drip coffee , but I think when I was asking him that , I was leading him to probably say that . But I was like , so you're saying you will actually refill , like espresso drinks ? He's like , oh yeah , but we only give one refill of the the more boutique drinks , the espressos , the lattes , the caramel macchiatos , the mochas , and I said , whoa , okay , I'm going to change my drink order because I want a refill .

Rhett 16:53

And this is amazing . What a great service . Now I think we're talking it up so much . Now he's got to go with it ?

Justin 16:58

Yeah , because at the end of the day I was like , wow , that's great , awesome , I mean , forget Starbucks .

Rhett 17:03

I mean , this has now become my go-to you know place .

Justin 17:07

Now we're going somewhere . If you stop the episode here , please don't go to santa's coffee and think this is what they do , that's right , but at the end of the day , so I I'm like I can't really drink more than that anyway , but we got our drink . We walked around the mountain brook came back and I said , hey , I'd like my free refill . It's like , okay , no problem , and he gave it , you know what I remember in the distance when we walked in .

Rhett 17:29

I still remember him talking to this , this girl who I guess had taken over the shift , and I was reading his lips . Just , you know when you're observing somebody but you're not trying to act like you are , and it looked to me like he said . Hey , by the way , I told these guys that they get refills on specialty drinks . Let them go ahead and have the refills . That's how I read that moment . I just didn't say anything and I wanted to see how they were going to handle it .

Justin 17:55

Well , we walked away thinking that this was just a normal thing .

Rhett 17:59

Yeah , because we went back in , by the way , and she made our refills , didn't even ask questions , yeah , I was like , wow , this is great , all refills didn't even ask questions .

Justin 18:06

Yeah , I was like , wow , this is great , all right , awesome . So then I go and have a meeting at another santos coffee over in homewood , yeah , and I go up and I'm like hey , because you're a fan yeah I'm a fan , I'm like , dude , this is great .

Justin 18:15

And I walk up and I'm like you know , hey , I get my thing . I come back afterwards , said , hey , you know , um , I'm , and I broke , I , I lay it up , my dude , I don't know if this is a normal thing or not , I said , but it was brought to my attention the other day when I was in Mount Brook and I went through the whole thing and they said , oh OK , no worries .

Justin 18:32

They just went with you , they went with it and they gave me a free ride . And I was not trying to be manipulative , I was just simply stating I don't know if this is normal Because it's too good to be true . So , but they did it . I was like golly , this is great you know , and I even got a refill for the guy that I was meeting with and he was like wow really I was like yeah , I know we're like santos coffee everybody .

Rhett 18:57

This is it .

Justin 18:57

So we're about to give a huge everybody we have our small group , one of our last small groups over at the santo . Was it santo ?

Rhett 19:05

yeah , it was santa's coffee over in the colony , overton road area in birmingham .

Justin 19:10

That's one of our shopping different locations and , uh , we're there and we're talking about this .

Rhett 19:15

We're going in telling our people about it .

Justin 19:18

Yes , as we're talking to the guy as replacing our order like oh dude , you're gonna love this place , we're now . We don't get free refills . We don't even need to ask the manager , because clearly we know how it is homewood , now the colony .

Rhett 19:32

We're in the presence in heaven of the workers and they're hearing us shout the praise to our small group guys . Hey , listen , if you get the fancy drink what I love about santos they'll give you a refill oh yeah , and then we caught the eye .

Justin 19:45

I can just see that other guy over here making coffee , kind of look at us and walk over and go . I'm sorry . Can y'all talk to me about this , like what you know ?

Rhett 19:53

Yes , and then we clarify .

Justin 19:55

And I told a story , mountain Brook , and I told a story about Homewood Literally and I'm going oh God , I think we just got caught .

Rhett 20:04

We got somebody in trouble .

Justin 20:07

That's why the names of these baristas remain because they have more than one , but anyways , unless there's only one girl that works at Mountain Brook , then we'd really really live for her . Yeah , and he was like I am so Big smile on his face . We'll do this one time for y'all today , kind of thing . But I want you to know , as the manager of the managers this is the guy who trained all the santos people .

Justin 20:30

He said I'm so glad that you're telling me , because I actually oversee the managers of those stores and I'm going to ensure we clarify that we do not do this for specialty drinks that's right , and I was like , oh , and to save face a little bit , you know he probably did .

Rhett 20:44

He was nice , he was saying something like you know , there are times we can choose to do that for somebody . Yeah , but we don't make it like a rule that you just get refills . Now you do get it . And he took it back to what I thought in the first place . Yeah , you get free refills on drip coffee , right ? And so it went back to how it was for me the first day I took you there .

Justin 21:05

So it's kind of like starbucks , like if you're not happy with the drink , the way they made it , they'll replace it or give you , like you know . And I'm imagining that kind of authority has been given to the employees at Santos , which is , I'll tell you , man , I , I'm a fan . I'm still a fan , regardless of that not being the the case . But I just couldn't believe how we all of a sudden were here . We didn't know we're , you know I'd say we got caught . We weren't like knowingly thinking we were doing something wrong , but like it's just oh wow , we just brought to light to the manager of managers .

Rhett 21:35

But the cool thing is I will say this even after all that happened I had someone from Nashville who's a friend of mine , who works in the music industry . They're coming through town on the way to the beach and they wanted to spend some time together , which I was so glad to see them and you know where . I said let's meet Santos , santos and Hoover . Oh , so we have hit all

Starbucks vs Santos Coffee Refill Face-Off

Rhett 21:57

the locations .

Justin 21:57

Now , as we're talking at , least most of them , I didn't know . So , is there more than that one ? I didn't know if there's more . Oh yes , did you do the free refill ?

Rhett 22:04

thing , no . So if you're listening to this podcast , I take it back . I take it back Now when I go to Santos , I go back with drip coffee .

Justin 22:12

So I got a refill you get refills with that right , but the guy with me didn't See , I didn't even know Starbucks does that , but they do .

Rhett 22:18

They do Well , if you're with Starbucks , if you have the app , and this is good . Hey . If you're a listener , hey . This is the value we bring to you guys . We're happy to help you save money in this financial climate .

Rhett 22:30

But Starbucks app , if you have that and you sign up for it , like when I go , I'll basically have a few hours if I want to work out of a Starbucks so I can order my drip coffee . And here's what I order , by the way , a grande dark roast or whatever . If it's Pike , after 10 o'clock they start serving Pike roast , so I'll do basically a grande drip coffee and in mine I put vanilla syrup and whipped cream on top . It's always been my go-to drink . The whipped cream melts and becomes kind of a creamer . I love it . If you want to try it , give it a try to see what you think , but I do that . And at Starbucks , what you think , but I do that . And at starbucks , if I scan my app , I can go back and get a refill . And it used to be free . Now they'll charge for the caramel and the whipped cream .

Justin 23:15

it's honestly not accurate , but it's sometimes . It depends on the location when we're out . Sometimes they charge me a dollar fifty for vanilla whipped cream .

Rhett 23:23

Sometimes , mostly eighty percent of the time , it's free . Either way , it's much better than buying another coffee . Oh for sure , but Starbucks will do that for you . But they won't refill and they don't advertise it .

Justin 23:33

They do not advertise it Well their app will .

Rhett 23:35

if you read the fine print , oh okay . Or not even fine print . If you read about the app , they win you over by saying you get free refills as long as you stay in the shop and you don't like drive home and come back later that night .

Justin 23:47

Yeah , it's like like you got to be in the vicinity . You can't keep the cup , like at a theme park , to where you can walk around all day .

Rhett 23:54

Yeah , yeah , you got a nasty Starbucks with coffee all over it from three days ago .

Justin 23:59

Like I'll take my refill . I'm not proud to say it , but I know people who would keep their Chick-fil-A cup and go do that and they'll take their Chick-fil-A cup .

Rhett 24:06

Yeah , little life hacks . That's where your integrity's gone . Yeah , they'll hold onto that .

Justin 24:11

Chick-fil-A cup and I'll go use the restroom and they'll go get a free refill . I'm like , dude , that is so wrong .

Rhett 24:17

It is If you're that person please stop .

Rhett 24:19

This is the Holy Spirit speaking to you right now and bringing conviction , but for some of you , your world is being rocked right now because you're sitting here thinking , wow , I didn't know I could get free refills at Starbucks when it comes to the drip coffee . But see , that's what gave me . The wow factor with Santos is Starbucks you have to be bought in by downloading an app . Santos , they just give you a refill . Yeah , Unlimited refills . Starbucks , you get a refill . Now , not that a lot of people are sitting around thinking I want more than one refill of coffee , that's , but it's more of the opportunity .

Rhett 24:53

It's like I've never drank . I've never drank two cafe mochas , but that day at santos , when it was a free refill I found myself drinking too .

Justin 25:03

So yeah , I did it just because I could .

Rhett 25:05

But and I didn't think I finished it . No , it's just because I could .

Justin 25:07

So yeah , I didn't think I finished it , no , it's just because I could . So , yeah , I don't . So we took , took , we went down a road from Sonic all the way to Santos .

Rhett 25:14

So bring us back , because what we were talking about , that that not even the manager , the person at that store , did , even though he probably said something . I don't . Here's what I think , rhett . I think that he wanted to give us a wow factor and said he'll give us a refill , you get refills . I don't think he thought we were going to spread the gospel of santos giving free refills . Yeah , I think he thought this would be a one-time thing . He'll never hear from it again yeah we took that as wow , I know .

Justin 25:46

Santos coffee Well we were really close to bring it on this podcast . Going dude , I will talk this place up all day on this podcast and we'll send you business and we would have been taking it back . And , by the way , I mean , it's a great coffee . It's probably I don't know when I think of the best coffee so far that I've had as far as espresso .

Rhett 26:05

Yeah .

Justin 26:13

It's really good , really good , and they got good vibes , yeah good vibes better than bones coffee from last week's episode , which we did drink this morning , by the way .

Justin 26:16

It was really good . Yeah , it is good . I didn't mean to knock the brand . I , when I listened back to last week's episode , I was like it's so funny . My son listened to the episode and then he comes in immediately and he looks at the bags like god , this is the coolest thing ever . I was like he said I think this has got a great look and vibe and really cool . I was like awesome , it looks like it's pet worldy . And he was like I don't know what that means , but you know , even after listening to us . Try to explain it . But anyway .

Rhett 26:42

So it's interesting , the generation generational difference .

Justin 26:46

It is well it .

Rhett 26:47

Well , yeah , the styles .

Justin 26:48

So I'm like obviously I'm not their demographic .

Rhett 26:50

I guess it's so different , but it's great . It's good coffee , I will say this , which was fun . The boys got on their bikes once they were done . I waited for the food so that they could be by themselves . And I'll tell you , man , there's nothing like the summertime it's hot . They're on those bikes , they are getting sweaty , getting exercise . By the time I get home , they're in the pool . I mean they are .

Rhett 27:12

they're living their best summer life and you know what ? What ? That was probably the first swim that they could have done this , because

Replacing a Broken Pool Pump

Rhett 27:22

last week I go home and my pool pump went out .

Justin 27:26

Well , that's not good .

Rhett 27:28

No , it's terrible , bro , because I try to keep a nice clean pool , Like when we got a house . Like we found a house and it was like wow , it came with a pool . We weren't looking for a pool , we had to fix it up , but now it's like wow , it's so fun that the kids can go jump in the pool . So I've become a pro at taking care of a swimming pool . And so the pump went out . I couldn't do anything about it . I call my pool guy . He gets one on order . It takes a while to get some of this stuff and in three days I went from immaculate you can see clear to the bottom . It's beautiful . Within three days I have got a green , disgusting , algae-loaded pool . Because it's amazing when there's no flow , yeah , I was sitting there thinking that , yeah , when there's no flow , it just sits there and it's just . It's yuck .

Justin 28:22

It's called stagnant stank .

Rhett 28:24

And it hey brother .

Justin 28:27

It's called man . When things become stagnant , becomes stank and you know what I know that's not good grammar and all of that , but like that's the truth . Well , and how much spiritual significance is bro ? I mean that that's the lesson today .

Rhett 28:40

Think about it because when I put , I had to now put some more chemicals , if you will , in there so that when the pump was reinstalled , got a new pump put in , everything's up and running . I turn it on . First of there's some stuff I had to empty out Cause when you say stank , when I emptied it out of the pool and it's kind of you know , it's shooting it out of this little filter area , I mean it . It was rotten , smelling , it was terrible . It was like , oh my gosh , and then it gets normal again and then I turn on the pump , put some chemicals in it and basically it's letting it stir within a day . You wake up . The next day it's not ready to swim , but it went from dirty green to now it's a little bit of that greenish blue . By day two it's blue , and then every day that's proceeded literally . Yesterday when I woke up it was clear , beautiful , it had the flow going . So it is such a lesson .

Justin 29:35

The flow comes at a cost .

Rhett 29:36

Oh , it was a cost .

Justin 29:37

I could not only imagine how much a pool pump costs . I've had an above ground pool that was a 12 by 25 when I was living in Idaho and it was beautiful , we loved it and , um , we had so much fun with it and it was a sand pump and I'll you know that whole thing . None of it was cheap , you know , and that was just for you know . A pool that's about four feet deep and your pool is what like eight , ten something like that .

Justin 29:58

It's a big deep pool . Yeah , so you got a lot more water , and so I can only imagine the size of the pump and all of that . So the income , if you will , to provide for that , all the work that goes into that , in order to have the finances to be able to , to buy that , and that's what I'm saying .

Rhett 30:15

It comes at a cost , and so when ?

Justin 30:17

you think about your own personal life , you know um , spiritually speaking . You know , above all else , guard your heart , for why out of your heart everything flows the wellspring , yeah , the wellspring of life .

Justin 30:27

Everything is there . So if I take it into the contextual , spiritual side of when I stop reading my Bible which is like going a day without hearing God's voice speaking to me , when becomes , you know , broken or I just misused and I'm not allowing that to flow in my life you become stagnant and you become stank , you know you really do , spiritually speaking , you feel it .

Justin 31:01

You can feel the , you can just feel it . It just I don't know , man , it just filters through everything and you notice it too by the output , like when that , when that water was being shot out , like you were talking about . It's just gross , right , you know ? Because what , what happens ? You've got the block , you got the flow . Think of the jordan river for a minute , over in israel , where it's flowing , it's beautiful , but where it , where it becomes stank , is in the dead sea , yeah , because there's there's no way for it to flow out .

Rhett 31:27

There's an intake or outtake right there , right , there's just it just .

Justin 31:30

You know , it just gathers , and so it goes both ways .

Rhett 31:33

It's like with the flow of connection , so important , and you could put this whole deal in any area of creativity of connection .

Rhett 31:41

There is something to be said for having

Flowing Relationships and Positive Influence

Rhett 31:44

. You know I'll usually , when I'll do coaching with places , I'll talk about three flows going on constantly in your life . I need somebody who's pouring into me , and that's usually someone I'm seeking out right . That might be your pastor , that might be a counselor , that might be a coach that you are personally investing in , and a lot of you out there you are investing in a coach in your life or whatever it might be , but you're listening to albums , whatever it is . You're finding a way to have it invested into you .

Rhett 32:14

So there is that flow , but you also got to have that flow of contemporaries , like connection with people in your life that you're doing , life with their friends . We've talked about that in previous episodes and then you need to be pouring into somebody . So there's something powerful about having it poured into you , living with those cohorts , those like-minded people in life , and also having the mentees that you're pouring into and they're learning for you , and it's this cycle that goes on and to me , that's the flow that when the pump goes out and it's not working , when those three things aren't living in your life , that's what drives us up Cause if I'm just collecting over here from this person and I'm learning , and now I'm just gathering with it and I'm doing nothing . It might seem like I'm getting this great info , but eventually , if it does not flow , it's going to become stinky , yeah , and so in the same way with our relationships in our life , we can't just take it all in and hoard it and just keep it all to ourself .

Rhett 33:15

Right , it has to be um , it has to be discussed . And me and you , even when we're doing these , these podcasts we have as two contemporaries , we ideate together , we get things out and we talk about it . It's not like a negative rumination , it's just talking about it . You're getting it flowing . And then I find myself pouring into people that I feel like have just been placed in my life , whether they've pursued me or just somehow we're in each other's life and there's a bit of something that I can give to them that continues the flow .

Justin 33:51

Justin , when I think through this concept of flow in , flow out , I ask myself the question who am I allowing to pour into my life ? And maybe not even who am I allowing to pour into my life , but what am I allowing to be poured into my life from the things I watch , the things I see , the things I listen to ? Obviously the people in my life . But then who am I also pouring into ?

Justin 34:13

I think , as I reflect on that , I think it's so important . I know it's very cliche to say , but this whole idea of you reap what you sow , right , but you also reap what has been sown into you . So it's important for what we choose , like what we allow in our heart , and I think that Proverbs I believe it's Proverbs 4.16 . Actually , excuse me , it's actually Proverbs 4.23 , in which I just want to read this for a minute Above all else , guard your heart , for everything you do flows from it . So it's so important to guard or to have a filter in our own life of what we allow in , but also a filter on what we allow out . You know , if you think through the pool reference with a pump , I think it's interesting how the pump does clean , but the ingredients within the pool , as far as the chemicals that you place with the chlorine or , if you have a saltwater pool , the other things that all kind of plays into it .

Rhett 35:12

Oh yeah , if I'm not putting into that , even that flowing water will get old .

Justin 35:17

So if I look at the fruit that my life is producing , is it producing love , joy , peace , patience , goodness , kindness , self-control ? Um , you know , patience , all the wonderful things that are the fruit of somebody that's following Christ in that relationship . If my life is not producing those things , then I have to come back to the place of going all right , well , am I guarding my heart appropriately ? What am I allowing in , you know ? And then how is that flowing out ? Because if that stuff's coming in , it's coming out . And I would just say , you know , I love this . This is always good , no matter how long . I mean what 30 years serving the Lord , 39 years in our friendship . You know , I'm always think it's good to just take inventory on who am I doing life with and what voices am I allowing being spoken into me ?

Justin 36:02

Because that's going to impact every other area of my life and when I think through you know my past mistakes and you know other things that I've done that have maybe led to success it always comes back to relationships and the people that I'm doing life with and I'm allowed to speak into me , the way that I even respond to people . Yeah , I can even find myself , if I'm hanging out with a certain group of people , how , like , if I'm there with them for a certain amount of time , when I come out of that , my wife will go .

Rhett 36:34

You've been hanging out with so-and-so , haven't you ? I'm like how do ?

Justin 36:35

you know that . Oh , cause you're starting to talk like them . I'm like , really , am I ? Yeah , you're saying that phrase , that so-and-so says I'm like oh my gosh .

Rhett 36:40

But but she's a mirror for me so many takeaways yeah , there is . Because what you're surrounding yourself with affects your thought , life and your thoughts . Everything I mean it's out of the abundance of the heart . It's like what are you speaking ?

Justin 36:59

And that's why I think culture is everything Like go back to the Sonic . You know that manager or that individual that served you guys and took care of that . You know problem , if you will , that challenge that happened to you guys , like they were empowered by a culture that poured into them at some point , giving them the authority and giving them the insight of going . Hey , if this situation happens .

Justin 37:23

This is what you do . They had somebody flowing into them to teach them , to train them , to help them understand that when something happens , this is how you want to respond to it , right , and so that person's in going in and training others . So things are being flown into him with healthy culture , yeah , right , but then they're also pouring out . So they didn't only pour out to the fellow employees that were in the , you know kind of serving to make that a teaching moment , but also look at what it did to your boys and to you and your family . Like there's something that you guys even walked away on with that kind of healthy culture right .

Justin 37:54

Oh yeah , so there's blessing on all ends , I guess , is what I'm trying to say .

Rhett 37:58

You know when we were talking about your thought life . It's being able to keep your mind on things above you know , it talks about in Philippians four eight .

Rhett 38:06

It says finally , brothers and sisters , whatever is true , whatever is noble , whatever's right , whatever's pure , whatever's lovely , whatever is admirable , if anything is excellent or praiseworthy , think about such things and those are some of the ingredients in the pool of our life that has to be in there so that , when the pump is actually working , the ingredients what's really keeping that life in the flow , but in the right things , with the right people , the right thoughts , making sure you are really stewarding what God has placed on your heart .

Contact Us: Info@ArmchairAuthentic.com

Rhett 38:44

Thank you for listening to Armchair Authentic with Rhett and Justin . We had a great time , as usual , with you today . Hey , let's keep this conversation going and you can do that by emailing us at info at armchairauthenticcom . We want to hear comments and suggestions and just thoughts that's going on in your life as you continue to pursue your God assignment . So until next episode , we hope you have a fantastic week .