Living in the Present

Rhett 0:12

Well , hello everyone . Welcome back to another episode of Armchair Authentic . It's a podcast with your friends Rhett and Justin . It truly is our hope to steward our conversations in a way that serve you . Now , justin and I , we had an interesting conversation today . We talk about a lot of different things things around stewardship , the good old days , recognizing the moment you're living in . We talked about the difference between God's timeline versus man's timeline and then kind of ended around the thought of gratitude and putting a pause on your aspirations . What does that mean ? Well , we're going to talk about all of that and more in this episode , but before we jump into it , I do want to take a moment and simply say , if you're joining us for the first time , welcome . It is so great to have you along for the journey .

Rhett 1:01

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Rhett 1:44

All right , guys , really looking forward to today's conversation .

Rhett 1:47

You guys ready , here we go . You know , justin , it's always great to get into conversations about real life , and you and I have this ongoing conversation about fulfillment , and it doesn't come from climbing a corporate ladder or having another platform or having whatever . The pinnacle of success is that this world tells you that you need to accomplish , but really , the greatest fulfillment is being present in the moment , with who's in front of you . Ultimately , that is your family , but it's also your friends , your community . There's so much joy , there's so much life , there's so much to be lived in our everyday moments , and I know that's a common theme , it's an ongoing conversation and I know some of the things that our listeners aren't privy to at this moment are some of the conversations we've had with some past guests and even upcoming guests that have me , just you know , reflecting on that thought , because the kind of the common theme I'm hearing is that success does not bring fulfillment . You know it's accomplishments and they're great and they have their place , but , like , the greatest joy is just being with family and friends .

Justin 2:54

Yeah , I think about our conversation with Matt Kaplan on the episode last week where he's talking about after experiencing all these highs . I mean , let's face it , he was on a very highly acclaimed Broadway musical , in theater that's the same thing If you're in the NBA , if you're in major league baseball , if you're , I mean you name it whatever it is , it's . Hollywood for theater . It is Hollywood for theater .

Justin 3:16

Yeah , if people go to Hollywood for motion pictures . They go to New York for theater because Broadway is that . They go to New York for theater because Broadway is that . And so for him to have experienced that his takeaway wasn't . I would love to get back to that . It was the idea of when we say what are you aspiring to ?

Rhett 4:05

no-transcript , and I'm sure you know the accolades that come along with that kind of success . It's like you know , really the aspirations we have right now are just enjoying what we've always enjoyed , but getting to enjoy that while giving back and giving back to the community . And I love what he said . If you missed the episode , you can go back and listen . But it's this idea of whether it's community theater or Broadway or we own a music , whatever it does , it doesn't matter . We just want to create , we want to do art , we want to , which is just who they are . It's living who they are and giving back to others and helping others . And I think you know we're trying to steward our stories , our conversations , in a way that serve people . And if we're doing that , I just I can't help but think of the 16 year old me , 17 year old me , who had these aspirations to be a professional singer and a touring artist for Christ and for his glory . But also , truth be told , just to kind of feel like , well , man , that just looks like it'd be a lot of fun to be known , and you know . So , truth be told , just to kind of feel like , well , man , that just looks like it'd be a lot of fun to be known , and you know , obviously I'm being real . Yeah , those were the underlying tones .

Rhett 5:08

It was all with good agenda but also with a little bit of selfishness to go . You know , I think it'd be fun to be known . You know , walk somewhere , go in a city and go to the next city . But what I'm hearing , kind of like reverberating from the people we're talking to that have done these type of things , it's like I'm not saying those moments weren't great . They were a lot of fun and it was pretty cool to put on a resume , but at the end of the day , when I lay my head on the pillow , really you know all I have is me and my friends and the people that I'm doing life with and the Risley . You can't put a price on friendship . You can't put a price on family . You can't put a price on being in the moment with those who are right in front of you instead of trying to live your life for the next man . I lived my life so long going . What's next ? What's next ? Moving on to the next ? Okay , new chapter , new chapter , new season . Go , go , go go .

Justin 6:00

And you can live that life and miss your life at the same time .

Rhett 6:03

Well , you .

Justin 6:03

And I thought that was really cool because we're in this room that really looks much like it did when we were there , you know , 23 , 24 years ago . But the sweet part about it was we're watching this transition happen and I'm seeing it's not this giant church by any stretch , but I'm seeing a lot of these same people who have been very faithful to this community for decades now the same people and we're getting to gather and just share some of the same stories , but they have this beautiful community that's just rooted in this . And I remember just thinking on that Sunday like , wow , that was fun for me Because , as we said when we interviewed him a couple of episodes back , that there's just nothing like . There's nothing like some of those old friends or some of those old experiences , and it's beautiful .

Justin 7:02

And I always also think about going to your deal . I was in a conversation in the back of that sanctuary and we were talking about . Probably one of the coolest things that we did back in the day was this uh , it was . It kind of had a Broadway feel to it . You know , for church it was like a , it was a play .

Justin 7:18

Yeah , it was the last big musical that our church did , and that's when musicals were a big thing , and I wasn't in that one , but I remember coming to watch it and you were the main character and you were so good . The way that you ended up doing your performance was so good , and so when you're talking about the , the attention or this notoriety part of that , I know what you're saying , cause we've grown up talking that with each other .

Rhett 7:42

I mean , we signed invisible autographs in our imaginary theme park that we created when we were like nine , 10 , 11 years old , yes , and so let's make sure we capture that in the right season .

Justin 7:53

It wasn't last week , childhood creativity , but you're also gifted in that way and I think that there's still memories that we can easily look back in and say those were fun times and the reason they stand out is we expressed in different ways then , because you might be under a current season of life or maybe a current setup , or there's a template of an organization you're a part of and it really doesn't offer something like that to express yourself .

Jason 8:22

Yeah .

Justin 8:22

But it doesn't take away the fact that you still have a heart to express yourself . Yeah , but it doesn't take away the fact that you still have a heart to express yourself , so we can go into these memories and see that and say , wow , that was , that was some fun times .

Rhett 8:34

It was , and I think we wouldn't be authentic if we don't take a moment and reflect on on the emotions , at least for me , on that . That visit back to Parkway for us , um , if , if you're new to this journey on this podcast , it's a huge rock in our life and you're right going back to walking in . Not much has changed . I know there have been some changes , but not much has changed . So in a way , it was like going back in time into a time capsule of just so many moments , so many memories of just spiritual family , which really rocked my world . But when we were there on that Sunday , with everybody in the building and people we haven't seen for years 20 something years , who are still apart yeah , I know you mentioned it's not giant by any stretch of the imagination , let's be specific . Maybe not giant in numbers , but giant in faith . That's good Because of all it really is , because giant in faith in that the lives that have been transformed , in the families that have been loved and served you know , under Pastor Renny's leadership for 32 years , I believe it was um , it's just , it was amazing and walking into those moments of going , these people have been doing life with each other for this amount of time , you know , and there's something beautiful about that , there's something special about that and uh , us walking in , knowing that we were the part of the history of the church with pastor Randy for a short amount of years , it just it felt like it felt like home .

Rhett 9:55

I literally I laid my head on the pillow at night and , uh , randy and Diana and the Williams if you guys are listening um , I was just so thankful . It was like I was just reminiscing on all the laughter and the fun and the catch up and the conversations not catch up like condiments , but like catching up over conversations with , with everybody in the room and it just it lit me up and it was like there's no amount of a really no amount of money , no amount of success or anything in this world that that has ever brought me any kind of fulfillment than that feeling of family .

Justin 10:27

Yeah , yeah , these memorials that you can have . I don't have a lot that I can go back to and look and say , oh , this is where I came from . I don't have the school I get to go back to , because it doesn't really exist yeah we talked about that Anymore , yeah , but I have . In my cabinet I'll have some old cologne bottles that it's like they're empty , but I've just kept them . I can still pick them up and just smell . Oh wow ,

Embracing the Present Moment

Justin 10:53

and it reminds me Like I mean the fragrance is still there .

Justin 10:56

That's what it was like for me at Parkway to get to go back there . It was like opening the old cologne bottle for me and you , just you can still smell and it takes you back to the memories of . These are memorials that were built and even things that I'm doing . Now I can look back and realize , oh , I got this characteristic or this trait from this experience and I could see this corner of the building and remember conversations I got into . I can remember juvenile type adolescent behaviors where I got into a selfish argument with someone over here down this hallway and it was just a continual reminder and it wasn't like a trigger of ooh , I don't like this . It was a sweet fragrance to me because I saw how certain things in my life have developed .

Rhett 11:49

Yeah , it's not that we live in the past , but we go back to the past to remind us of what God has done , what God was doing , but what God has done , reflecting on the past so that we can continue to move forward . And for us , you know , let's be real , it wasn't like it was perfect , but it was . I think for us , talking about it you mentioned it we don't have many , too many places we can go back , you know , cause we grew up in the apartment complex and it was very transitional and and , uh , our school , you know it's still there . It's a new school , Like the mascot's different , the name's different , so there's not that rock memorial . I went to that school and my picture's hanging up in it , but Parkway has always been that for us .

Rhett 12:28

And to get to go back to that memorial and to kind of , like you know , honor the past but honor the present , even with a new pastor coming in , and it's just exciting and it was like man , we honor pastor Randy , but we're also excited for the future . That is our foundational home , if you will . Yeah , you know , um , I this probably . I don't know why I'm going here , but I was reminded of you , whether you love the office , hate the office . Don't judge me , but Andy Bernard was a character and I think it was a 2013 office finale . He made this quote . He said I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them .

Rhett 13:02

I think that is so good because it's like man , I didn't realize that these moments were going to be as special as they were until they've passed , and now , looking back , I'm like God , it was just something special about that . And with that said , though , we should apply that to every moment in our life , because , even as we're doing this podcast and this is a hobby for us and we're trying to serve people with our conversations and just our world , it's like the . Even these moments , justin , should be moments that we look at Like these aren't the good old days , this is the great days now , and let's enjoy every moment of it . And I just think I don't know that's kind of my current encouragement to everybody I'm talking about . I just think I don't know that's kind of my current encouragement to everybody I'm talking about . I'm slowing down , looking people in the eye and going . Man , I see you , dude .

Rhett 13:41

I'm walking the neighborhood every day , almost except for two days , because I give myself two days off . Today was one of those days off , thank God , but I'm starting to as I'm walking , I'm not just walking past people , I'm going . Hey , man , good morning , it's good to see you , even if they're not acknowledging me at not , but as I've done that more times and people are driving by me , I'm waving . It's just my little way of going . Hey , I see you . Go man , go , go , crush your day . It's awesome . Enjoy the moment .

Justin 14:07

John Mayer has this song . It was going with what you said a while ago , but you remember this . He goes by the time . I recognize this moment , this moment , no , this moment will be gone . Oh , that's great and that's so true . By the time we recognize what we're in . It's gone so many times and if we can learn to see , as it's been echoed through our podcast episodes , that this ordinary moment you're in right now is something to behold , and these moments of our conversation , rhett , this is a moment we're going to look back on and say you remember when we used to go record our podcast .

Justin 14:43

I can be hanging out with my team that I work with . I truly love going into my office during the week because our team has some great people . There's this tight bond where we'll go out and get lunch . It's just laughter . We were having pizza last week and I'll just stop and remember that . You know transition's inevitable . It's going to happen . Don't blink , because the people I'm sitting around this table with , if there's something I need to say to encourage somebody , if there's something that I want to say that would not only lift them up , but just whatever it might be , this is the moment to do that , to appreciate what's in front of me now . Everything is transition . I'm in my house right now with four boys and we have a loud , loud house and I'll have these thoughts . I'll just sit in my kitchen when the kids literally I mean they might be arguing . We got some arguers , I mean in the Bradshaw house , you got some lawyers .

Rhett 15:50

We might Heavy hitting wonderful , great leaders that are going to step forward and change the world .

Justin 15:56

Go at it with each other and I don't really intervene all the time . Sometimes I'll just sit back against the oven and I'll watch them and I just like to see how it plays out . I'll stand in to ref that whoa , whoa , whoa , whoa . Hey , hold on , be a little fair with that comment . But for the most part I'll look at Summer and just say , just let's let it play out , because I like to see how they'll work things out in that environment . That is crazy . I can't go do some of that stillness that I like . I can't go write certain things in these heated moments or I need concentrated efforts , but I can't because you've got running around kicking whatever , throwing balls throughout the house .

Rhett 16:35

Don't knock over the lamp . I can only imagine it's those moments where you're thinking , oh , this is not the highlight reel right now . This is , it's not the good old days , but like it really is , take yourself there you can create it and have that realization to say this is the moment .

Justin 16:52

Yeah , Like right now , my boys are in this house and there's coming a day that they're not . That's going to be a transitional moment . That will be sad , but you'll also look towards what's next . But I need to recognize right now I've got something amazing that's happening and I don't want to rush through it .

Rhett 17:12

Yeah , see , the world's telling you , no , you need to move on to the next . You need to look to what you don't have , what you need to do in order to get there . And God's saying no , slow down and look at what you do have , look at what's around you . Even as hard as it may be to think , no matter how difficult your situation , there's always something to be thankful for . And I always have to bring myself back to going . Man , I'm just thankful for the breath that is in my lungs . I was not promised today , but I'm given today . It's a gift and and I just want to make the most of it .

Rhett 17:39

And I think when that's really when you begin to live . You really begin to live when you're not living for what's next , but you're living for what's now . Yeah , you're really living life when you're not constantly thinking about , oh , I've got to get this done and have this amount of money in the bank and be sure , I've got that in the other . Now I'm not saying all those things aren't important , but what is most important is that those moments aren't promised , but what has been promised is the moment you have in front of you . So what are you going to do with it . It's like you know , stop dreaming and start living Like . Have a dream , yes , have a plan to accomplish that dream and live , live within the moment of just making the most , stewarding that well , and if there's only one big rock that you get done in the day and that's ensuring that your health spiritually , your health physically , and you've said hello to somebody and that you love them , I mean , come on , that's a huge win .

Justin 18:28

I'm so glad you brought that up , because aspirations are huge with me . I'm naturally a dreamer . Matter of fact , I'll work on these projects that I will put hours into it sitting at my chair and I get really excited about it because I'm an all in kind of guy and I think the it's a blessing to overanalyze and you can do future projections . But the challenge with me is I can put everything into something , even thinking of the next 10 , 20 , 30 years , yeah , and so when I gift and yeah , it is , but the challenge of that , or something you have to watch out for .

Justin 19:03

for those of you listening and you may relate to me when I say that I've been working on this project for several months now and it's beautiful , and you see it , and it's , it is my heart . It's really something I've done for the past 17 , 18 years , and you just try to look , how do you broaden the scope of what that is and where you see favor , and you've been affirmed in certain giftings . And so I began to dream . But next thing , you know I'm putting more into something I kind of see three categories personal , professional , aspirational and they all need to interweave within each other . But you have to have prioritization to see which one gets the right priority in which particular season , because they're all important , they all need to happen .

Justin 19:43

Well , the aspirational side was really taking a lot of time . That was diving into some of the personal things . The example I drew a while ago I might be standing in my kitchen , right , and if I'm in the aspirational dream mode , I'm kind of getting annoyed with all the traffic because it's taking my mind off of something . That's this big goal that I'm working on and I have to slow down and I was talking to Summer about that that I've been convicted that it was fun to work on this .

Justin 20:13

But I feel like there's seasons where you begin to work on something and it needs to be worked on , but you shelf . Begin to work on something and it needs to be worked on , but you shelf it for a little while and it needs to be shelved and you kind of let it marinate a little bit . You let it maybe even gather a little dust if you're bookshelfing that so that you can have some time again for what is important in this moment . And so for me , that was setting some of this dream up . I don't know if that's for a month or for two years right , you and I talked about that , but it was allowing me to put it to the side for a moment and say I will never get this moment back with my family .

Rhett 20:47

Yeah .

Justin 20:48

And I started enjoying and what I noticed is anxiety can rise up in me when I'm working hard on something , whether it's work or even an aspiration . When I'm working hard on something , whether it's work or even an aspiration , and when I let it go and just gave myself permission to say , guess what ? There's no expectation , there's no timeline , there's nothing on this , I have to force Give yourself permission to put that back on the shelf for a minute . You did some good work that you just put into that .

Justin 21:15

But you're shifting into the danger zone of getting your priority out of line . Let's just place it there Now . Go back to what matters most . We're on the show Young Sheldon right now , which I know you love yeah , oh my gosh . And with my boys my two oldest in summer , we're sitting down and just going through these shows that if you would have said this about a month and a half ago , I wouldn't have had any time , because I was in such a dream state that I didn't have time to sit back with Netflix . And we have had the most . Um , we've had so much fun . We have busted out laughing they get to hear daddy's high pitch laugh when I'm just so amused . But I would be missing these moments if I didn't have the awareness to hey , right thought , yeah , wrong season .

Rhett 22:03

Yeah , I think you know I hope people hear that dreams are so important and they are major things , but a dream is not big . A dream should never be bigger than your family . A dream should never be bigger than really what's most important . And so it's prioritizing and creating boundaries even around your dream . Like when am I going to dream about my dream ? When am I going to plan about my dream ? When am I going to like it ? It it shouldn't take you away from really what is the main thing . In other words , I shouldn't be thinking so much about , oh my gosh , when this happens and I just is , I've got to work so hard and push so

Prioritizing Family Over Dreams

Rhett 22:36

hard and got to make this happen fast , cause in the world's way , it's like why , man , you just planted a seed yesterday .

Rhett 22:41

Why is it not a full Oak tree today ? Well , that's not how it works in agriculture . That's true . A little bit , by little bit , you know you'll little water , little sunlight . Little water , little sunlight , you know , and over time it grows and produces something that is rock , that will not move no matter what the storm is , and it will produce fruit . It will produce , you know , shade , and you know I was thinking the different we've been talking about this tree stuff and not to get off , but this is just kind of where my mind is going .

Rhett 23:08

You know I love palm trees . Palm trees are beautiful they're probably one of my favorite trees but they're not the kind of tree you want to hang out around in a storm . They grow really fast , right , but they're very shallow and they blow over with any type of little wind . Now , if a storm's coming , I want to be around an oak tree , something solid , something massive , you know , something that I can grip on and hold on to , that is not going to move . Palm trees are beautiful , they spring up really fast , they look nice and they're there , but under the surface is very shallow , and I think that way with our life though , like I said , I know that was kind of like an offshoot . I don't know if you want to go somewhere with that , but like the mindset , with our dreams and the things that we're wanting to produce , I don't want it to be a palm tree , I want it to be an oak tree that's going to be immovable , and I know that's going to take some time , and just because I spent another 15 , 20 minutes on it and I'm maybe taking that , 20 minutes away from my family , it's like , oh man , that can wait . Your family is the moment , your family is the dream , your friends , your community . There's no greater , higher level of living than to have these kind of you know , intimate , close friendships .

Rhett 24:17

I'm 47 years on the other side of this , and there's people who are younger and older , and Billy Graham , even when he talked about life and living , and he made one of the greatest impacts in the world , and you know , he says you know , at the end of his life , what would you wish you have done ? More ? More conferences win , more people to Jesus , like I wish . You know , if I could have done one thing differently , I would have spent more time with my family , my kids , my wife . I would have spent time in God's word more . I would have said no to more of these conferences , more of these traveling gigs where great fruit was produced , but at what cost , you know . And he missed moments that he'll never get back . That's right , you know . Now God can obviously redeem that in heaven , and so on . You know , but at the end of the day , man , it's like we got to learn from that and if you're young , we're just trying to say , hey , slow down .

Justin 25:03

If you're old , slow down . It's a great statement to make because I war with myself . What happens in my mindset is I can only base this on American culture because that's where I've grown up completely . But all my life I've timeline things and I've compared them to other people and I've looked at age appropriate when you can actually achieve something , or how long do you have , or when do you become irrelevant .

Justin 25:26

For example , when I was an aspiring musician , with the whole goal of getting signed and wanting to tour around full time , I would see artists that I emulated and we didn't have internet to be able to just look up Wikipedia and see exactly ages . But I would have to go research and there was this performer I was really into and I remember looking at his age and when he got signed . And let's say I'm 18 years old at the time , or 19 . And I saw that he got signed at age 25 . So I always gave myself this buffer when I was 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 . I would look at him and say , well , I'm still on track because he didn't get it until he's 25 . Well , when 25 hits and it hasn't broke through for me or looked the way I thought , I can look at that and be tempted to say , therefore , it can't happen . And so when I think about different aspirations or timelines , take that into maybe a business you're looking at launching or a dream that's in your heart or a stirring . You have to do something and you feel like you've hit this age of irrelevancy . Those are the battles . I have to give myself permission to say it's not reality . God's the one who orders our steps and therefore it allows me to take that little book of aspirations that I've been working on and I shelf it again by my choice , because I'm choosing something else that is of greater value , that is going to be timelined and it will end value . That is going to be timelined and it will end .

Justin 26:55

My kids will be out of this house at some point and they're not going to be young in this wide-eyed , wondered mindset where I'm dad and I only have a certain amount of time to instill into them . So I'm grateful , and I encourage you out there , that there's not a timeline that you have to get anxious over , to feel like if I don't do it now , I'll never get it done , because if you live on socials or if you live in magazines or TV , they are trying to sell you to react because you better do it now or you'll miss your opportunity , and it's not true . And you'll miss what actually is timelined right in front of you . And for me , that's my family . And there is going to be time and I'm going to become more relevant as I develop and as I age , and that's the mindset I've decided to shift and put on the goggles that I'm looking through . It's not going to be this age limiting mindset , but the fact that I will be someone who's going to prioritize what needs to be in front of me right now .

Justin 28:08

Tomorrow will take care of itself . Focus on today .

Rhett 28:11

It has enough worries on its own . Speaking of timelines , it just this , this thought . You know , god's timeline isn't man's timeline . Now , if you're a person of faith , you're like yes , amen , I agree with that , but do you Think about it ? God's timeline isn't man's timeline . So the world's timeline , for instance I like what you were saying that 25 mark , let's just use that . You know you're never . You're never old enough in the world's eyes . Then you get to that age and now you're too old , you're not young enough anymore .

Justin 28:46

Yeah .

Rhett 28:46

Oh , you've missed your mark . Oh , you're not married by 20 . Oh well , you know now . You're too old , you're never going to get married . Oh , okay , you're in your early thirties , you don't have kids yet . Yeah , you're too old to have kids . No , I'm sorry , that's not how it works . God's timeline is his timeline , it's not man's timeline .

Rhett 29:02

And if you're trusting in him and you're taking and making the most of the day that's in front of you and putting him first , I love the verse Matthew . You know Jesus saying seek first the kingdom of God . And if you'll seek him first , what's his kingdom ? I mean seek his love , seek his wisdom , seek his understanding , seek what he's asking us from his word , seek a relationship with him , seek his joy , seek his peace , seek his characteristics . When you do that , you know scripture says you know I'll take care of you , and he's talking about food , clothing and shelter . By the way , you know it's like food , clothing , shelter , basic needs and necessities of life , and that even includes family and friends and relationships . And so God knows what you need before you even know that you need it . But when you put things in priority , meaning even the boundaries of your dreams or your hopes , your aspirations or the things you're wanting to accomplish or experience . When you put that in the confounds of the boundaries of God's timeline and just say you know what , god , you've given me today . I'm not going to sit back on my laurels , I'm going to make the most of it . But I'm not going to let my dreams determine , you know , and pull me away from really what's most important . I'm going to focus on what's most important . That's my relationship with you , my relationship with my family , my friends , my local church , those who are near me . And out of that overflow , then I'll start accomplishing these things . And if it takes me 20 years , 30 years , 40 , who cares ? Because there's peace in that kind of way of life . You know bigger is not always better , bigger is more stress , bigger is more anxiety . You know faster . You know I think of I mean my heart goes out to guys like with Justin Bieber .

Rhett 30:33

He got this rise to fame really early on in his life and look at the hardships and the troubles and the challenges he went through , having to grow up in front of the whole world . You know he missed his childhood . You know Michael Jackson , I miss my childhood . You know all those kinds of things Right , and so they're having to then go back as they're older and they

Embracing Contentment and Stewardship

Rhett 30:50

may have to make all these different mistakes in the in the world's right there , in front of the world . They're growing up right Cause .

Rhett 30:55

Could it be that we were really never exposed to experience those kinds of things that young , that fast as the time of this recording ? This is where I stand . Okay , give me the grace to grow and to get better . But I'm not quite so sure that people that are young and haven't fully matured are really supposed to have the platforms we're giving them as early as we're giving them to right now , just because there's so much weight and responsibility and maturity that comes along with that kind of platform .

Rhett 31:20

I just think , man , if you're young and you're 17 and you're thinking , wow , I wasn't a professional at 12 . You know , here's a great example my son . He wants to be a professional race car driver and he's like well , I think I've missed the mark sometimes , you know , because I'm 16 . I didn't start when I was eight and I'm like dude , that means nothing . Yes , granted , there's some time loss , but you can make that up and you can become just as good as the person who started when they're eight . I just don't think you miss it . When you're in God's timing and you slow down and you just enjoy the moments , you make the most of it , but you can't let your dream sacrifice really what's most important .

Justin 31:53

Yeah , it's a faith step , because I've been surrendered for 31 years now and I still feel the angst that kicks in of surrendering some of these mindsets that I have . That's why they are faith steps . It really is . It's like when we get the great story of Peter stepping boat . You know God is so all-knowing . I believe that story is there to tell us that actually happened , but it's also allowing us to see it as symbolic of things that we're going to face in our life in the midst of storms .

Justin 32:25

And so for me it still is hard , if you will , to step out of the boat on some of these moments . It takes a surrendering of your mind to be okay , not to go attain , attain , attain and to just look at what's right in front of you and say I don't want to become anxious , don't grow weary in doing good for at the proper time . It says in the Word of God , you will reap a harvest if you do not give up . And I can read that through the lens of attaining and think , okay , so if I keep going , I'm going to get it . And I don't think that's what it's saying at all . I think , as we walk our journey , it's filled with victories and defeats . It's filled with the moments we get something , but it's also filled with failure . That leads us to humility , that almost gets us to the point where we're back on our knees to maybe see on the level , to realize why did I even want that anyway ? And so it doesn't mean you're going to get all this . It's like God refocuses your desires to view what the desires he has for your life . What the desires he has for your life , which allows a pastor to be in a congregation for 32 years , hovering between 100 to 150 people , when he might be having someone he's listening to saying if you're not 1300 , you are not doing what you're supposed to . Well , if he puts on the lens of anxiety and starts to try this approach , he's going to become very discouraged .

Justin 33:58

But if he can look through the lens of I want to do as good as I can do and I want to bring the best that I can bring , and I would love to have the amount that God has set that I had the capacity to have . Am I a five talent ? 10 talent , 15 talent ? You know I'm using parable in the Bible . If I'm that guy , that's great . But I don't aspire for numbers . I aspire for the capacity that God gave me to attain and that's what I want to attain . I want that crown of righteousness because my goal is to please God and for me , in this season , that attainment is be a good steward over my four children .

Justin 34:39

Be a good husband to Summer . Be a good pastor to the staff of the place that I'm a part of to help serve them and provide them resources as they take care of their congregations . Be a good steward of the relationships that I've developed over these years with leaders and pastors who will send me a text or give me a call . Slow down and have that call with them , not to try to fix something going on in their life , but to slow down and just enjoy the moment that they're sharing something with me . And how can I weigh this moment ? Without trying to help them go live their best life , but how can I steward the moment right there , just to be an encourager , to serve them in what their next moment's going to be , the moment we hang up on the phone ? We're talking about stewardship today . We're not talking about numbers . We're talking about being a good steward of what you've been given , whether it's five , whether it's 50,000 , be a good steward .

Rhett 35:43

You know , stewardship to me , great stewardship to me , comes from a place of contentment . It's being coming from a place of I am grateful for what I've been given today and I'm not going to be ungrateful for what I don't have . I'm going to be grateful for what I do have and because I'm grateful for what I do have , I'm going to manage it well , I'm going to steward it well , and what I do have is my family . What I do have is my friends . What I do have is my church , family , the gifts he's given me the ability to sing or to write , or to whatever creative outlet that is , or gift set that it might be . It's being content and going . You know what , god ? I am not enough . You are enough , you are my everything . It could be that everything we go through let me say the highs , the lows , the valleys , the deserts , the storms , like all of that , at the pinnacles of success , whatever quote , unquote , that is , according to the world , could it be that every experience we go through , could it be that it's the point us to the fact that nothing in this world will ever satisfy no amount of money , no amount of fame , no amount of fortune , no amount of notoriety , no matter of awards or prizes , nothing in this role ever satisfy . You get there , at least from the people that I've talked to , and even the things that I've obtained that I thought were like these big moments and these big dreams . You get there and you realize is that all there is to it . What's on the other end of this thing ? And could it be that everything that we experience , could it be that it's there to point us to God and to realize I made all this for your enjoyment , but none of this is going to satisfy like a deep , rooted , centralized relationship with me , and from that that's where fulfillment comes and that's where the contentment comes , and gratitude and and being able to take what I've given you and and maybe I gave you five talents . What are you gonna do with that five talents ? You're going to be content . Are you going to be jealous of the guy who I gave 15 ? Are you going to say you know what , god , I'm so grateful for these five talents ? I'm going to do them everything I can with it and that will make that . One talent is my relationship with my wife , the other is my son and the other is my job , you know , and ? And the other two is his gifting , and the other one , you know , like I'm just going to be thankful and I'm grateful , I'm going to take that and I'm going to make out of that five , another five , you know , and just that's it , man , and that's the goal .

Rhett 38:01

And I think , for anybody that's listening , my hope and my encouragement is that you just that you just rest in the peace and not being in such a hurry to fill every moment in your calendar with everything that might seem important on the outside , but really , if you strip everything away , it is not the most important Stewardship . I think it comes down to a deep-seated root of contentment and gratitude and that's why I think you know God's will for us is a life that is lived in gratitude and contentment . You know , humble yourself before the Lord , be content in what he's given you . Come to Him and humble yourself before the Lord . And what does he say In due time ? In Texas Rangers , the Cincinnati Reds , kansas City .

Justin 38:42

Royals .

Rhett 38:58

I'm curious when you're stepping out on that major league field for the first time under the lights , the crowd's going wild my heart is beating like crazy .

Jason 39:04

I mean I'm just like so jacked , I'm in the big leagues . I mean I'm about to pitch against the Yankees . I'm running out , I'm breaking down on my last sprint . I'm running out , I'm breaking down on my last sprint . My spike catches , it , catches the turf and I go rolling . I mean I tripped and fall and I go rolling and I tried to play it . I act like I was stretching when I was getting up .

Justin 39:28

And you went rolling on the other side .

Jason 39:30

These thought processes start to come , and then you start understanding how to deal with those thought processes , because they're going to be there and that's the thing I was like , oh , I'm not scared , I'm not scared . I would tell you , no way , I'm not scared . Yeah , but I was scared . And it's like , if you can identify , like the problem , you're like hey , I am scared , but what am I going to do about it ?

Justin 39:49

Thank you for listening to armchair authentic with Rhett and Justin . We're so grateful to have you along for the journey . We would love to hear from you , so reach out info at armchairauthenticcom . Well , until next time , we hope you have a fantastic week . See you soon .