Justin: 0:00

You're always going to be in a condition where you're going to want to attain more. It's what do you do with those thoughts? And I noticed for me it's not a give up, and don't dream anymore. Right, dream away.

Rhett: 0:13

Because I'm going to get my boat one day and I don't care if I have to go down that route.

Justin: 0:17

Yeah, man you're living in paradise. One day, one day.

Rhett: 0:20

Yeah, and if you do jump, don't need it to be happy. I don't need to be happy, but to create some fun memories I mean that'd be fun, it'd be fun, it's all about what your heart like.

Justin: 0:29

What?

Rhett: 0:30

is your heart.

Justin: 0:30

What's your motivation? Yeah, because if you're doing it in that way, you have something you've purchased and it's something that is bringing memories and values. Or did you buy an edible way to self-medicate?

Rhett: 0:54

Welcome back to another episode of the podcast. With your friends Rhett and Justin here at Armchair Authentic, it's our hope to steward our stories in a way that serve you Now. Today, justin and I gave ourselves a challenge, and that was what would it look like to have an impromptu conversation and see where it goes Now? Believe it or not, it actually went somewhere pretty special and we can't wait to share this conversation with you. Now, before we get into the episode, we always want to take a minute to say thank you to every single one of you who have taken the time to follow us on social media. Man, it is so good to have you along for the ride on this journey. Now, if you're new here, we want to say welcome. We are so glad to have you with us today. We don't take it lightly that you've chosen to spend some time with us Now. We would love to have you follow us on Facebook or Instagram. You can follow us there at Armchair Authentic. That's at Armchair Authentic. Or, if you're over on X, you can follow us at Armchair Auth Pod. That's Armchair Auth A-U-T-H-P-O-D.

Rhett: 2:01

Now, before we jump into the conversation, could I encourage you to do us a huge favor If you enjoy this episode today. Could you go to your favorite podcast platform, copy the link and send it to a friend man? That would mean so much to us. Thank you, all right, friends, without further ado, our impromptu conversation. You ready to see where it goes? Well, ready or not, it begins right now.

Justin: 2:30

Blank stare, blank stare. How to come up with an impromptu podcast without saying anything at first, and let's just see where it goes.

Rhett: 2:38

This is what today's episode is all about. That's right. It's. How organic can our conversation be? We've talked about no subject matter we have zero subject matter today.

Rhett: 2:49

So, justin, first of all, I do want to say this to those who are listening Maybe this is your first episode we moved into a new area of the house. The studio has moved, yes, and we moved out of what was quickly becoming my weight room, it's true, which I now have a treadmill in there, a row machine and my weight bench and free weights, and so I'm very grateful for that and that little 12 by 12 space.

Rhett: 3:12

We were in there trying to record, I was like, all of a sudden, we're like getting surrounded by workout stuff. So we moved over into a room that was, I guess, officially kind of my son's playroom, if you will.

Justin: 3:25

But we kind of revamped it and he's gaming, not playing. Yeah, yeah, gaming, gaming room. Thanks, dad, for calling it my playroom his gaming room with professional racing equipment yeah, so yeah, professional racing equipment his, his, uh, elaborate set of legos, which the millenniumium Falcon.

Rhett: 3:42

That is ridiculously massive it's almost as big as I am Things I can't even describe, as far as all the equipment from the bad guys to the good guys. Yeah, the AT-AT, all the different.

Justin: 3:54

The smaller Millennium Falcon We've got F1, you know it's a Star Wars.

Rhett: 3:58

F1 room helmet, gloves, racing gear, boba Fett's spaceship Racing simulator, massive computer. I moved my new secret lab desk in here too, and he's loving that. And you know, very teenage slash studio. We've got the basketball goal behind you. I didn't even notice. I mean, look at this, we can do some old school nerf basketball I'm not, no, not with that, you know.

Justin: 4:23

No, it's true, I'll be too nervous. I'll be the guy who breaks that huge millennium falcon if that thing fell apart and I would leave.

Rhett: 4:30

It was so hard putting it on the stand. It's like on a display where it's kind of like this angle, as if it's flying at like 180 degrees or 90 degrees or whatever. It's pretty cool and get all the figurines, yeah, and then you know it's. It's very black and white and just different.

Justin: 4:45

You know, I don't know very manly and, um, you know, got the teenage smell out of here a little bit trying to work really hard. It doesn't smell like teen spirit, um monsters logo, monster drinks. So what energy?

Rhett: 4:57

drink. What people don't know is this podcast is now officially sponsored by a monster. Just kidding that would be nice we got them. So we went to one of the go-kart facilities and they were sponsored by coca-cola and they got bought out and they were getting rid of all their coca-cola stuff and massive signs and they were like, hey, do y'all want this because we can't keep it anymore? And my son's like, oh my gosh, yeah, massive, like I don't know, four foot by three foot monster energy.

Justin: 5:23

Someone's trash is another man's treasure. Absolutely. It reminds me of old youth group days with our youth pastor, pastor Scott. I mean he would go find junk.

Rhett: 5:33

Oh my gosh.

Justin: 5:34

And he thought it was treasure and he would bring that bad boy and set it up on the stage. Well, think about that.

Rhett: 5:42

In those days. That's where it was happening. I don't know if it was Chili's inspired or what were the restaurants where it was like Cracker Barrel and all the crap that was thrown up on the walls everywhere. That was what you did. It was kind of like yeah, here's an oar, here's an airplane wing, here's this and that None of it made sense.

Justin: 5:57

No, there was no flow to it. It was just like, here you go hey. I have a piece of junk over here Throw it on the stage.

Rhett: 6:07

That's where it goes, and so not saying that what I have going on in this room doesn't flow and it's just a bunch of crap, because it's not it has purpose.

Justin: 6:15

No, this is great. But it was a good memory back in the day it had to take us back to, because people listening who grew up in youth ministries probably remember those days got my bass guitar.

Rhett: 6:27

Over here in the corner I have my bass. It's my son's bass and his amp, and we were literally just saying this before we started talking how it's like you got to bring your acoustic. I need to and then we need to add that into this and get the element of acoustic and bass guitar, which I haven't played in years and that'd be great plug the keyboard into in too, if we need to, whatever, play a little worship song man.

Rhett: 6:45

So here we are, and now where I had a view, looking out the window, of how we sat in the other room, now you've got a view of my neighbor's house right through the window.

Justin: 6:53

Now I get to see it. It's beautiful. I can see when the UPS man pulls up, which he just did right before we hit record. No interruptions, though, so at least we saw them coming.

Rhett: 7:02

Yeah. So yeah, we said well at least hold up.

Justin: 7:07

Hold up that recording, let this break squeal, and then we'll see where it ends up going.

Rhett: 7:14

And then we literally sat down and said let's just hit record. Well, we're in a season right now of many of you, if you're followers of Christ and you're part of churches. There's a lot of churches across the country who do what we call 21 days of prayer and fasting. Some churches do different variations of that seven days, three days, one day. I mean the idea is just taking time at the beginning of the year and trying to eliminate distractions so that you can really focus.

Rhett: 7:37

And the way I like to say it is turn down the noise of the world Because, like we mentioned in a previous episode, god likes to speak in whispers and oftentimes he's speaking all the time. We just can't hear him because the world is so loud. And so we're, we're in this process of taking the beginning of this year and, just you know, separating ourself, if you will, denying our flesh, denying our natural want for all the candies and M&Ms and chocolates and bananas and I mean bananas are good, but I'm thinking of it in the context of a sundae with peanut butter and hot chocolate and ice cream on it.

Rhett: 8:13

But with that said man, it's interesting to me. I don't know how many years I've been doing this, but I'm just really enjoying this time in a new and a fresh way that I would say I haven't before yeah, how so I would say before I've. I would say I haven't before yeah, how so I would say before I. You know, I'd felt I don't want to use the word legalistic and thinking, well, I've got to do this because the church I'm serving is doing this and these are expectations, because my heart was always pure in it but it was always like I don't really want to do this. Yeah, it's like a do, but like oh, it's just kind of like a oh, here we go again. Am I doing this more for me or more for others, or more for what people's expectations are of me?

Rhett: 8:50

And I think now I'm and I've had different seasons of this, but with where I am entering into this season now it's kind of like just this new freshness of like an overwhelming sense of man. I just want to get close to Jesus and I'm willingly and lovingly I guess I don't even know if that's the right adjective to put on this description, but I'm just enjoying the fact of going. I'm just taking time to slow down and to be very mindful, and it's not so much about what I'm eating and what I'm not eating, and what I'm watching or not watching, or what I'm doing away with, but just this overwhelming sense of just awareness of God. I just, lord, I just want to put you first, I want to draw close to you and I want to see your blessing in my life and when I use the word blessing I don't want people to you know, in our Western society they'll think dollar signs, and that's not what I'm talking about but like just his overwhelming favor and protection and grace and joy and love and and just all of this goodness and his attributes of who he is, just to surely his goodness and mercy will follow me all of the days of my life, kind of walking with the Lord in this contentment.

Rhett: 9:57

I know we've been talking about contentment, we were talking about that earlier and so for me, I don't know, I just I'm, I just have this contented spirit, I'm thankful. And so for me, I don't know, I just have this contented spirit, I'm thankful, and it's just a privilege. I think, more than anything, I'm recognizing it as a privilege and honor to be able to draw closer to God in these moments, and I'm looking, I'm reframing it. Maybe is what I'm doing.

Rhett: 10:19

A different type of perspective.

Justin: 10:20

I don't know. It makes a lot of sense to me because I would say the past few years it's been the same with me. Because, number one, I don't like to slow down. I enjoy getting out and being a part of the, the big, like the enormity. And when January usually rolls around, I begin to dread it. In that first moment I mean I mean every year the first moment I'm wishing I was at the church that you talked about, that they just do one day.

Justin: 10:45

Because I'm about. That would be great. Take that one day, lord. Here we go now.

Rhett: 10:50

Turn up the volume. We can get 21 days down to one day over at our church.

Justin: 10:54

Yeah that's right.

Rhett: 10:55

We don't need to spend 21 days talking to Jesus.

Justin: 11:00

I mean like, hey, we got this direct line we're good to go. Man, one day is good. I'm like I feel you. I wish I went to your church on day one, but it's like over time I've begun to appreciate it, because there is something about just turning it down. So for me, being able to turn it down and not get everything that I want all the time let the season come to an end that we were just in which is pretty highly indulgent anyway, very, very indulgent, I know. At least for me it is. But I really enjoy getting to slow down now, and I don't know if it's with age Maybe there's a spiritual maturity component to this as well. I actually enjoy and I can embrace slowing this down and it's the framing that you're talking about. There's a new framing that I'm going through.

Rhett: 11:50

Yeah, and one of the thoughts that I had was when it comes to reading God's word. For me, it's like, if I don't read God's word every day, it's like going a day without hearing the voice of the Lord. Yeah, and I can't afford that. I can't, I don't want to pay that price. I don't. I'm living my life now, and the reason I even think this is for what you just said. Maybe it is our age. You look back in your 20s and you think, wow, what's time, man. I'm 40s, 50s, 60s is like generations away.

Justin: 12:14

That's where old people live.

Rhett: 12:15

Yeah, there's no way. You think one day you're going to get there, but no. But then you're here and you're doing a lot of reflecting and you're realizing, you know, lord willing, if I have a good another 50 years on this planet, you know, before Jesus comes back, you know how am I going to maximize that time. And rather than you know going, you know how can I set this up. You know, when I die, I want to know, like I want to know God as much as I can know him and build my relationship with Him in such a way that when I meet Him I'm not going to be so surprised. Now, there's going to be things I'm going to be surprised about, about the glory and things that are beyond this creation and the supernatural beauty of heaven and all the glimpse that we get in areas I get it. There's going to be those wonderful surprises.

Rhett: 13:01

But as far as like man, of course this is who you are. I've known you, I've experienced you. I like I've come. I've come to experience your attributes, heaven on earth, and now I'm in your presence, like in glory and, of course, like I've known you, it's not a surprise. You know what I mean. Like I don't know if this is making any sense, but, like so, I look at my life and go when I look at fasting or look at you know anything, any spiritual discipline at all.

Rhett: 13:25

I'm looking at it through the lens of I'm getting closer to God, because I can't afford to go another year without hearing his voice, without, you know, doing everything that I can to be, you know, to build my relationship with him. You know cause I, like I said earlier, like we're just passing through this life man, you know I don't need a lot of stuff, I just need him and we're used to. I, I, you know, in my younger years I thought I would like have to have all this stuff. I'm like I don't need a lot. I really don't. I just I'm living in a contented season as I'm moving to 21 days of prayer. I just look forward to going, man, I get to spend time with Jesus today.

Justin: 14:05

Well, and you can appreciate this reset that happens. It's such a great reset. It's like when you read in the Old Testament how they would rest the land and it's like do no work on it and it would end up yielding more than it would have had you tried to work that year.

Justin: 14:22

It would yield so much more in the years to come and I feel like every using January it feels like a moment of resting the land, so that February it's funny for me for years now February kicks off my year. You know, mentally, in certain spaces really, my year starts in like July or August, but it's like the this next part of the year, august, but it's like the this next part of the year, january is almost like this hold up season, slow down, listen, appreciate a lot of gratitude as I'm missing stuff when I withhold stuff from myself and I'm going to just talking in the sense of fasting, because people have thoughts on that I don't want to just talk about. I'm just sharing everything I do with fasting and keep a lot of that to yourself, even though we are in a publicly declared fast. But you have to decide what the fast is for you. But when I withhold something from myself, it's not just it's the fasting component but it's also this development of self-control. You're actually learning to put on yourself and you're doing it during this time so that when February relaunches, let's say, the second half of what I consider my year, we jump right into it and I feel like there is so much, not just energy, but there is an excitement, like when you've kind of withheld yourself from going out in public, you know, let's say, and eating or whatever it might be, because everybody listening has their own thing. But when you release yourself from that to now go enjoy, there's just such a gratitude and appreciation and I have this fresh vision.

Justin: 15:55

Sometimes my dreams are down in the dumps in January because I feel like, oh my gosh, where's all the purpose? And sometimes I think we need to go through that and God, in our discipleship journey, he allows us to go through that. Where we go through the valleys right, we talked about it last week we go through the valleys and we have to learn to exist in this and learn to not go by our feels but listen to the voice of the Lord and to embrace simplicity every day, which can get you to that point of, you know, of contentment. We joked earlier, we were, you know, if you guys could visualize this, we're in Rhett's living room and we just sit down and talk before we start recording, because we're just enjoying each other's company. And I will give a descriptor to you Rhett has a couple of these heated blankets.

Rhett: 16:46

Yeah, shout out to my cousin for a heated blanket. She sent me because I told her.

Justin: 16:50

I said Thank you, cuz.

Rhett: 16:51

I had. Yeah, candace, what's up? Thank you. Yeah, she sent me a heated blanket because I was talking about, like this heater. It wasn't a blanket, it was just like this like heating pad that I had. It was like all bunched up and it's horrible, but it's the only thing I could use because I was working out so much that my body was always so sore so I was using it for sore muscles. Yeah, so she gets me, she surprises me with it, and it's wonderful. It's only so big. It's not like a blanket blanket, it's just big enough maybe to put in your lap or on your back. Um, but the material is so soft and so I've been using it. So Linda stole it from me or let me say Linda you, because everything that I have is hers anyway, so it was really hers Good job.

Rhett: 17:29

So she started using it. It's like, oh, I like this and I've come back from Idaho and I'm like, where's my heating thing? I feel like an old man. And she's like, oh, I'm using it. Now I was like, well, you need to buy me one, you know. And so she bought me one. So in my living room, if you come in, it's I don't care it, I mean it, it's very modern-esque, but it's still kind of like what an old person would have in their house yeah, it's two heating pads on these two leather chairs.

Rhett: 17:53

So yeah, that's how we got the heater yeah, the ear seaters.

Justin: 17:56

Yeah, it's not something that looks very youthful, no, but it was fun that we appreciate that, because we were joking.

Rhett: 18:03

Well, I was like you got to use this, yeah, and I tried it. I'm like, wow, this is lovely. I was like, yeah, this is me and summer baby. I know you're not gonna turn it on, but let me show you how this thing works. I took it for a spin.

Justin: 18:15

It felt amazing. I thought oh me and summer need these we totally didn't look cool at all, we literally for about an hour and a half catching up and we got our little bitty warm blankets over us, yeah, and, and we were like I don't even care.

Rhett: 18:28

This is life. This is awesome. We are experiencing life on another, yeah, level. Welcome to your midlife 40s baby. That's right, but you know what?

Justin: 18:36

let's go the whole mindset, of reframing the whole mindset of being grateful, that state of contentment, that's what I'm talking about. We were sitting there on the chairs and we say it in a joking way, but it was just. In this moment in time there's just such a gratefulness.

Justin: 18:54

We were reminiscing on how great is it that for years we would have these talks separated and now we're getting to get ready to record a podcast, but before that let's have a little bit of hangout time and we're getting to have conversation in the same living room. And it took long enough that we moved to the stage of some heated blankets.

Rhett: 19:14

Yeah, before that, take it back to last night. After one of our services. You're like hey, man, what's up? I mean, we're just hanging out at church, it's true. And hey, we're just hanging out at church, it's true. And while that may be something like, where's the big deal in that? Well, the big deal is that this has not really happened for us in several years, and so we've learned how. This is something we're not going to take for granted.

Justin: 19:33

That's right, because the last time we could have done this, it was back in the days, too, of college. There was no money. Zero, you don't go out to eat.

Rhett: 19:42

There was no money Zero, you don't go out to eat. There was enough for us to purchase NCAA football and to have an Xbox and to play some video games Well in summer. It got me that for Christmas.

Justin: 19:48

Yeah, and so technically it was existence.

Rhett: 19:49

Of course yes For that.

Justin: 19:51

We might get a Burger King combo meal. Together A lot of value meals in those days. Yes, but we've joked before. God, I miss the a dinner and spend the money, and that's okay. Do value meals still exist like?

Rhett: 20:03

is that even a? Thing? I think wendy's has a good value, because I can't go through the drive-thru without spending 30 dollars. And we're just three.

Justin: 20:09

I couldn't imagine with you know, and what is the value meal, is it now three dollar item? I mean really where?

Rhett: 20:14

where does it start?

Justin: 20:15

yeah, taco bell yeah, they're gonna.

Rhett: 20:17

They're gonna give you a value. We've talked about this.

Justin: 20:19

They'll give you a value meal dude, they brought the 90s back.

Rhett: 20:21

They brought the 90s menu back, did the beef? Maxi melts are back, like all the stuff that they were selling in the 90s are back we've gone full circle.

Justin: 20:29

We've almost, we've almost hit a year and I believe on our first podcast we talked about taco.

Rhett: 20:35

And here's the thing, man like we were talking about a fast and fasting food as part of that. Not going to eat fast food, but but like fasting. You know different types of food and fast food is usually a part of that, and here we are talking about food.

Justin: 20:47

From fasting food to fast food Sounds like a good title.

Rhett: 20:51

So contentment. So here we are contented. Yeah, sitting as old men just hanging out. There's something about it, man, come on man, we are not old by any stretch, but we are not old by any stretch.

Justin: 21:01

But I do think that we're 31 years surrendered to Christ. We're growing in our faith and I think that's a testimony that people should talk more about, and with it there is something to be said for in a society that everything is just enormous, it's being able to appreciate the contentment of what you have.

Rhett: 21:24

And there is such a fullness in simplicity. When you say enormous, my imagination is going to just like this grandiose. So everything's over the top. Mountaintop experience in everything you got to do, epic moments.

Justin: 21:34

Mountaintop, what we talked about last week having the big house, achieving all this, all this junking up your house with a bunch of stuff you really don't need. But to find true simplicity, it's not in the volume of what you have, it's in the condition of where your mind and your soul and your spirit rest. And there have been Januaries. There's been Januaries. I've not been in this state Now. It's been great because it's been a growing season and those of you who are listening, maybe you're before us and you've discovered what we're talking about 10 years ago. Some of you are listening and you're not gonna be at this place for several years, and that's okay. It's the beauty of the journey that we're walking in and so we're here and that's such an encouragement to be where we are, knowing that there's even more growth. That's gonna happen. But I'm sure, appreciating yeah, there's a contentment and a gratefulness that I'm living in right now and there's like there's just it's very full, yeah.

Rhett: 22:33

Yeah, I would say the same for me, like every day, um is a I I, and I'm not patting myself on the back and I'm not trying to sound like I'm living this great life and I'm always get this right, but I, I, literally I can't go a day without saying thank you, like I every day. Cause I know I know where I came from. You know, I'm just this little boy from you know, roebuck, huffman, centerpoint, alabama, over in Tawful. You know, on this little twin gazies apartment, lived in East Lake and then moved over to the Tawful area. And you know, and I just um, really, if you were to look on the outside of just this kid in the situation we're in, you'd think, oh God, help these, help this kid. I mean, how is he going to make it in life? Yeah, and, and here I am, and I'm, I'm looking and I'm like I'm just so thankful, I'm so grateful, and I know that comes from a place of what happens on the inside of us always overflows outside of us. So this is a place that isn't just a superficial gratefulness. Well, I'm just thankful, I mean thank you, thank you, thank you. But I mean like my soul is thankful, I'm grateful for God, like I was praying this morning with my son before we went to school. God, I just thank you for another day. It wasn't promised, but this is a gift from you the breath that I breathe and the fact that my heart is beating and I'm able to sustain life and I'm with my son and my family, and I got a roof over my head not on the street. I'm just so grateful and like that type of contentment and that kind of Thanksgiving that happens inwardly.

Rhett: 24:06

First, when that's happening, it's like I don't need to fill my life up with a ton of stuff or things which the world will tell you that, oh well, you just need this. And then, once you get that, you're like, well, that didn't satisfy, yeah, because now you need to get this to go with that. Yeah, now you're in the rabbit hole of getting all this stuff, like you can't go and just buy a boat like, oh man, the boat's only 10 grand. No, it's really not, because now you got to buy life vests, now you got to buy a fire extinguisher. Now you got to buy boat insurance.

Rhett: 24:32

They're gonna get a trailer and you're gonna put tires on the trailer. You got to buy light bulbs for the lights, you got to have the stereo system on the inside. Now you got to buy the fun toys that go along with it. Now that 10 000 on the boat turned into 25 grand, yeah. And then on top of that, now you got to go buy a boat slip if you don't have the room in your you know, in your driveway, and now you're paying for rental to keep it at the lake. Or then now I gotta have a lake house for my boat. But now that now that patio dock is not enough, now I gotta have a boat lift that lifts my boat out of the water. You see where I'm going I'm getting depressed right now.

Rhett: 25:03

I'm like and once you get all that, then wow, then you can sit back and really enjoy. I'm like, no, I like, I. Not that that stuff's a bad thing, but sure I don't need that to be happier, to be grateful, to be thankful. I'm just great like I'm, I think, just moving into this new year. I'm just thankful for life and I'm thankful for I don't know I. I just think of the state of the world and the things that are happening around the world and Middle East and Europe and all you know. We're just, we're very blessed and we have I know, we have listeners on that side of the world and I think, despite what's happening outwardly, god can give you this peace inwardly of just his gratitude and thankfulness. And when you have that, I think that's when you're just truly successful. Yeah, that's right. Nothing this world could throw at you. Circumstantially, we'll be able to rock that.

Justin: 25:49

Yeah, and that would be great. If you have the biggest success, you're the CEO of whatever company, go for it. You might be a waiter at this restaurant and that's going to be what you're going to be the rest of your life. And if that's what truly your lot and God's best for your life is, go for it. It all rests on a heart of contentment. We're constantly around the urge or the desire to potentially grow into more, and that's where there has to be an awareness to what the Holy Spirit's saying. And it does start with having humility, gratitude, being able to be thankful for whatever it might be that you have in your life, but you're always going to be in a condition where you're going to want to grow or not grow, where you're going to want to attain more. It's what do you do with those thoughts? And so, constantly around it, and I notice for me it's not a give up. And don't dream anymore Right, dream away.

Rhett: 26:46

Cause I'm going to get my boat one day and I don't care if I have to go down that route.

Justin: 26:50

Yeah, man, you live in paradise.

Rhett: 26:51

One day. One day, yeah, and if you do, I don't need it to be happy, I don't need to be happy, but to create some fun memories I mean that'd be fun. It'd be fun, it's all about what your heart like.

Justin: 27:02

what is your heart? What's your motivation when you're doing what you're doing? Because if you're doing it in that way, you have something you've purchased and it's something that is bringing memories and values. Or did you buy it out of a way to self-medicate, because it's going to fix something? And that's not as grandiose as a boat. It could be anything, anything in your house. It could be going and getting that half gallon of ice cream one night because you just feel down in the dumps, yeah.

Rhett: 27:29

Or you go get the ice cream because it's like you and your spouse are going to celebrate, so we're all trying to fill our soul with something to ultimately bring contentment at all times, peace and that rest, and we're going to fill it with all kinds of stuff until we realize there's nothing that is really going to fill that other than Christ. And when you experience that it's like what else matters? Man, the fasting season.

Justin: 27:47

It is a representation of setting everything down, or setting very important things down to show that it's not master over you. And yet you can still find contentment and fulfillment.

Rhett: 28:01

And I think one of the good indicators to know whether or not you're content is when it comes to what we call spring cleaning. You know, that's one of those things. We're not in spring yet. Right now it's winter and, if I buy that, while we're recording this episode that's going to launch in a couple of weeks, like where we've got a snowstorm, wintry mix, and I know if you're from the north, you're making fun of us like, ah, you can't handle it.

Rhett: 28:21

I've lived in the North. I've done with inches of snow, inches pouring and pounding and having to get out there and like shovel snow out of a driveway every day and you've got, like you know, six foot snowmen out there on the edges of your you know driveway. I get snow. Ice is something different. You can't drive in ice. You can't and and and and with where I was living in Idaho. It was a valley, it was flat, and so you might have been able to drive on ice because it was flat, but here it says hills after hills, trees are covered up over that. You got ice on top of power lines and tree branches that are falling into the road.

Justin: 28:56

And you got all this black ice and no equipment to clean the stuff off the road we have one truck, I think, but even the trucks that are in the north.

Rhett: 29:02

They're there to push the snow out of the way, and the snow is so dry. It's not ice. You pick it up in your hand, it's just powder, Just like I don't know, like flour-ish powder. But here it's like it frees your hand off and you feel like you're stuck to it.

Justin: 29:16

The Hallmark movie scene wouldn't be as cute if the boyfriend throws the snowball at the girl and it hits her and powders everywhere.

Rhett: 29:25

Yeah, if you get hit with a southern snowball, oh you're knocked out, brother, you're going to knock her out and she's going to look rough after that and not only knocked out cold, but you're probably going to have a gash. You know the size of the snowball and blood everywhere. You know because you're throwing an ice cube the size of your fist at somebody's face.

Justin: 29:40

Don't do that in a Hallmark movie, please don't In the South.

Rhett: 29:43

Yeah, please don't Keep the movies made up North. Yeah, and so I don't know where, and keep creating your cupcake shop, that's all that's good.

Justin: 29:50

Cupcake shops.

Rhett: 29:51

Yeah, it's always about opening a cupcake shop the big city girl comes back home and opens up the cupcake shop in her hometown. Yeah or a and the boyfriend she loved had moved away and became a rock star country singer and he's in town for the holidays and he realizes his life is unfulfilled. Hers looks like anyway, I keep going.

Justin: 30:10

It's the same thing, and they give it all up for a content life.

Rhett: 30:13

They bump into each other and go oh look, oh wow, hadn't seen you in years.

Justin: 30:17

And they buy the McWane Farms for sale because it's going and they're going to tear it down and turn it into a parking lot, yeah.

Rhett: 30:29

So then they've got to raise money and funds with. All the family comes together and they bake their cookies and all that to get enough money. They barely have enough. But then the country singer has to come up and do an event and sing a song, and everybody comes out and then they get just enough and they buy the farm and it's happy and they enough.

Justin: 30:40

They buy the farm and it's happy. And they're still short three thousand dollars. And she pulls out the cupcakes oh man of her magical cupcake shop and she's, she puts it out there and people begin to bid on it. Oh, and they're like this cupcake's amazing. You really should have a store so they don't just get enough to save the macklewain farms or whatever. I said a while ago they now have a place to make a down payment on that cupcake shop.

Justin: 31:02

Exactly, and so they live on the farm and then they fade into the square every day to her cupcake shop.

Rhett: 31:09

Yeah. And they are a beautiful couple and they seem really happy and they're fade to black and it's happily ever after.

Justin: 31:14

It's that whole they're standing on their porch of McElwain farms holding hands. Except now it's got their new last name, Yep the Smiths.

Rhett: 31:22

They never show the reality of like okay, now you get married. Now you've got somebody who snores and makes other kind of noises at night, you've got all the fun noises that happen between human beings that nobody wants to talk about, what happens ever after Happily ever after.

Rhett: 31:38

Let's show some reality. I told my wife that the other day we were watching a Disney thing or something and it was like and they lived happily ever after. I was like this is baloney, man. Like let's talk about the real stuff. It's about to go down. They're like don't use my toothbrush, this is my toothbrush. No, just get your toothpaste stuff off my side of the. Your hair's in the sink. Why is there so much hair in the sink? I keep my closet this way. You keep your closet this way. We need separate bathrooms. I can't like a happily, you know. Yes.

Justin: 32:06

I'm tired of this theme song that kicks on every time we start holding hands. I want something different.

Rhett: 32:12

You know whatever. Anyways, yeah, no, that's true.

Justin: 32:14

What happens after?

Rhett: 32:16

Yeah, they never tell that. They never tell that.

Justin: 32:19

I don't know, maybe they're just happily ever after yeah.

Rhett: 32:22

Hey guys, red here Just wanted to take a moment and ask if you're enjoying this podcast. Could you do us a huge favor Would you take a moment to copy the link from your podcast platform and then text that to a friend man? That would mean so much to us. Thank you, okay, guys. Now back to the conversation.

Justin: 32:40

Yeah, they never tell that. They never tell those stories. I don't know, maybe they're just happily ever after. Yeah, you know, I would feel sorry if we all had lives like that, because the moment, a storm came through we would be some weak rooted people. Yeah, it's the happily ever after crap. Yeah.

Rhett: 32:56

It's crap. I mean like happy is circumstantial.

Justin: 33:05

And I kid, it's a movie.

Rhett: 33:06

That's why you want to watch a movie to escape the reality and enjoy your happily ever after. Yeah, but just know that is not real, that's not reality.

Justin: 33:09

But like you're right that happily ever after crap me and summer joke, we'll watch these hallmark movies now, or you know, even great american family we. We kind of shifted more to that the past couple of years, but it's like some of it's becoming less and less relatable as you get older and we're watching it. It's like you know this used to be cute, but they have no clue what's coming their way.

Rhett: 33:33

And their twenties are like just young and you know it's like young. I don't want to say young and dumb, but I was, I was there once. You know it's like, oh, young, dumb and broke yeah, really. And and that's great. Dumb and broke yeah, really, and that's great. We all need to be there. We all need to have the faith. It's part of the process. It is part of the process.

Justin: 33:46

It's a discipleship journey that we're all in and we don't judge back Not at all, but this is the true journey that we end up going through.

Rhett: 33:57

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Justin: 33:58

I used to make fun of the people who wore their heated blankets, and I would think I'm never going to do that, and I'm in this phase where that sounds kind of nice.

Rhett: 34:10

Can I have some hot chocolate with that please? Yeah, it's like.

Justin: 34:14

I remember Pastor Chris always has talked about he and Miss Tammy watching Jeopardy at night. There was a day I used to hear that and think, well, that's great for them, but I ain't sitting around watching Jeopardy. You know what sounds good to me right now Sitting around watching some Jeopardy? There's something sweet about that. I'm more of a Wheel of Fortune kind of guy. Yeah, me too.

Rhett: 34:31

Yeah, because that's Jeopardy. You got to be smart for that.

Justin: 34:41

I'm like God, if you want to feel like the smart people are the only ones that want to watch Jeopardy. Yeah, that's probably true. I mean, if you're listening to this and you listen to Jeopardy give me some Will of Fortune A. No, no A R Falling off a tree.

Rhett: 34:55

I'm sorry.

Justin: 34:59

There's some rough ones out there.

Rhett: 35:00

Oh man, I love some of the memes that are out there around the will of fortune stuff. People go in and they change that, they change the letters and like oh man, and he's like nope, no, crowd silent.

Justin: 35:14

Like did he just really say that? Oh, man.

Rhett: 35:17

I can't remember of any specifically right now, but there are some where they'll they'll say the word, like I don't know if it's Achilles or somebody's like.

Justin: 35:26

Achilles tendon and it's like nope, sorry.

Rhett: 35:32

And then it goes to the next person Achilles tendon, Moron.

Justin: 35:37

Oh man, I love the person who confidently solved the puzzle yeah and they'll say it like, uh, an apple tree has apples, and it's quiet because he didn't say I'd like to solve the puzzle, yeah, and he's like, nope, and it goes to the next person. I'd like to solve the puzzle, an apple tree has apples. Hey, you did it, that's right. And everybody claps and the guys or girls just sitting there like I, I'm an idiot.

Rhett: 36:06

So, like you know, the ones where they do, the combined word was like apple, tree fruit or something like it's combined. I know that's probably a bad example, but go with tree fruit, what else? Tree branch, so apple tree branch. So it's like two is like apple tree and tree branch, right. And so they're like read it as it is. And some people go apple tree, tree branch and like sorry, you've missed it. And then the next guy goes apple tree branch and it's like yes, you've got it, because you gotta read it as it is, you can't add so the saying apple tree, then tree branch. Yeah, you're adding a word like and anyway.

Justin: 36:42

So and that's and that's my will of fortune. Maybe it requires more intelligence than we realize.

Rhett: 36:46

I mean really, maybe it does, and the Jeopardy.

Justin: 36:48

People are over here thinking, you guys yeah, you'll stick with your will.

Rhett: 36:53

You can win more money on Jeopardy, for sure. But I'm just, I wouldn't know. I wouldn't even know how to study for that I don't think.

Justin: 36:58

I've really answered any of those right, no Other than the Saturday Night Live ones that Will Ferrell used to. Those are pretty great, probably don't want to repeat this.

Rhett: 37:07

What was the guy? It was Will.

Justin: 37:09

Ferrell.

Rhett: 37:10

Who was he pretending to be? Oh, he was the host of.

Justin: 37:13

Sean Connery, or Sean Connery, or Sean, or who's the other guy? He acts like Burt Reynolds. Oh man, he's passed away Norm MacDonald. Yeah, yeah, man, he's passed away Norm MacDonald.

Rhett: 37:24

Yeah yeah, yeah.

Justin: 37:26

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh man, there's so many. We brought up something and we can't go there because it's not appropriate. No, we can't go there, but it's so funny. Yeah, and then Will Ferrell's like no, that is not the answer at all.

Rhett: 37:38

Oh, I would like to for $200. I'm sorry that has already been spoken for or whatever. I don't know. Anyway it is, it's so good, so okay.

Justin: 37:48

So I have no idea how we went from contentment to that because you have to be content at night to be able to watch some of these game shows we're. We were talking about how it is you. You really do hit the pattern.

Rhett: 38:00

But how did I get into winter and winter storm and then and then move from that like well?

Justin: 38:04

red. If made sense, we wouldn't have 50 episodes.

Rhett: 38:08

That's so true 51 to be exact, but the goal, I think, more than anything, I think was the resonating theme was contentment. Yes, and it's amazing how much joy in life you can have when you're content. I don't need stuff to make me happy. Happiness is circumstantial. Joy and peace, man, that's something that goes so much deeper and that's what I'm loving right now in life.

Justin: 38:36

It's so funny trying to go from this laughter into some act of seriousness. As we're staring at each other's eyes. You can picture it.

Rhett: 38:44

We're literally just staring. We just sit across from, we're staring at each other's eyes. You can picture it. We're literally just staring. We just sit across from each other, staring at each other. Oh man.

Justin: 38:51

All right, how about this? Being grateful? Okay, I'll change subject.

Rhett: 38:53

Well, grateful and contentment go hand in hand.

Justin: 38:56

Yeah, they do so I ended up during Christmas jumping back into that not to stay in the past year. But I just Something that not to not to stay in the past year, but okay, I just something hit me viral, I don't know I was down for the count family had the flu. Mine came back not as the flu which sometimes.

Justin: 39:11

Well, it's like I don't know what I had, but it was something. I was down for the count so I missed. I mean, I tried to hang in there for christmas, but that last week of december I was out in the past few or the first few days of January. First night I could get out, it was actually last Saturday night. So for the time we're in, it's literally right before Let me say last Saturday, obviously, when we're recording but it was right before, as we talked about the prayer and fasting season that started on Sunday. So we have our triple date we talked about before that we always go out on on New Year's Eve and I had to cancel that. I was the guy like I'm too sick, I can't go. So I was craving Do you ever just get it where you're just craving a steak dinner?

Justin: 39:57

Like my gosh, I mean I told, Summer.

Rhett: 40:00

Why are we talking about food again?

Justin: 40:05

You're fasting Because we got to yeah, okay, we must, and if you're listening to it right now, you're almost Almost.

Justin: 40:08

You only got one, you just got a few days left if you're on this, 21 days, so we can talk steak now and go ahead and make plans for this upcoming weekend. Yes, there you go. Okay, but I was craving a steak. I kept telling Summer like I got, I got to have a steak and that doesn't hit me a lot. Yeah, we don't do a lot of steak, but I enjoy it when I eat it, and so got to give a shout out. We tried. I was like let's don't go cheap, but I don't want to break the bank. You know, you want to always be considerate of the couples you're going with, right? Yeah, of course, my goodness, cause you can mess that up fast.

Justin: 40:40

You don't want the friends episode where in together, and you know we we go in together and and all right, we'll just split the tab and it's like well, I got a side salad over here and I'm not splitting that tab you like loaded down over here?

Rhett: 40:51

yeah, but hey, so we didn't do any of that, that is. That's the other subject. If we're out to eat, we are not splitting tickets. Baby, let me just go ahead and tell you like I'll tell you straight up, like if I'm gonna take care of you we're not splitting to take care of you.

Justin: 41:02

We're not splitting tickets. We're not going to have the well, no, no, no, you're not putting it all on one.

Rhett: 41:05

No, we're not putting it all on one, thank you, yes, let me rephrase that Hold on.

Justin: 41:19

I have a pet peeve and the pet peeve is I don't want to go out to eat with you don't have to divvy up.

Rhett: 41:22

You Venmo me, you Venmo me, you Venmo me. Yeah, no, I'm not doing that.

Justin: 41:26

No, I've learned my lesson. The server can do that. They're very capable. They know their system.

Rhett: 41:31

If I'm eating a side salad now, I'm paying for my brother or somebody else's steak, yeah that's right, and whatever else is going with it, that's right humbly walk with him. What's mercy and justice.

Justin: 41:46

You know this is.

Rhett: 41:46

You know this is we're gonna do what's just and fair. Man, you're going deep now deep sorry, I like that.

Justin: 41:49

No, that's good.

Rhett: 41:50

So we made sure we're like yeah, red, I tell it like it is, I've not lived this anyways.

Justin: 41:57

Well, we went and ate the fatted calf. I'll continue my story. No, we, um, we went. We didn't do any of that. We were all on our own. Yeah, our three little couples, we, we got our own, our own food. But, man, we went and we didn't do any of that. We were all on our own, our three little couples, we got our own food. But, man, we went to a place called Char Bar 7 in Mountain Brook, alabama, and it's like— Is that in one of the villages?

Rhett: 42:15

It is.

Justin: 42:16

It's in the Mountain Brook Village, one of the newer constructions they've done. Most of our listener audience isn't in Birmingham. Lady Bird Taco area Right across the street from Lady Bird. Tacos, okay and it's, you know, the price is really really nice, but you're in like a, it feels sports bar-y.

Justin: 42:35

Okay, and we weren't really looking for that. But it's not just sports bar-y, it has some. There's some nice little seats where you can enjoy. You kind of got the ambiance, but you got the tvs you can look at too. Yeah, anyway, it was like us six on a booth, so obviously one couple has to split up.

Rhett: 42:53

That always stinks for that one couple but you know what they get to look at each other there you go, and that's a sweet thing, yeah, we got to sit by each other.

Justin: 42:58

It was another couple who did that, but glad you could make the sacrifice.

Rhett: 43:01

That's right. Well, they did it, they did it, they were like here, move on in here. I'm not going to. I don't know who that was, but I'm sure the couple that ended up showing up last got split.

Justin: 43:10

No no.

Rhett: 43:11

Oh, okay.

Justin: 43:11

It wasn't that they were kind. I'm going to give a shout out. It was Josh and Crystal.

Rhett: 43:19

Oh, Josh and Crystal. Josh and Crystal were so kind. How it rolls bro, I mean I mean like that, you know, it is what it is.

Justin: 43:23

Here's all I knew that we have two of our friends, jeremy and heather. They met us at our house because they dropped their son off so he could hang out with our boys, so we could head on out, that's great and they, they had their fun, so it was great.

Justin: 43:37

Somehow on where we live there is an interstate or a highway called highway 280. It can be crazy traffic, usually not going the direction we were going. They were literally at the light ahead of us and they made it. We got in some kind of crazy traffic. They got there 30 minutes earlier than we did. Okay, I don't know what happened, but there was a car on the side. Anyway, by the time we're finally texting everybody, we still made it according to our reservation time, but not the early time. We wanted to get there and hang out kind of pre-dinner.

Rhett: 44:06

Yeah.

Justin: 44:06

So we missed that. That was a bummer, but we finally ended up getting there. The pre-hang before the hang is important. That's right, and we didn't get that Gotcha. You know, josh Crystal, there's a pre-hang, there's a hang. Jeremy Heather, they got to and all that. We get to come in as the late people, and you know me, I hate being late, so I got to already have my excuse. Like well, there's a car on the side. I mean, by God, it's traffic Ain't what it used to be.

Justin: 44:31

And they're probably like well, all these people from California moving in, yeah, alabama, and they're probably letting me off like sure, justin, yeah, okay, great, we sit at the table and Josh and Crystal they stand up so we can slide on in the booth. Oh, that was kind and it was kind. They sat across from each other, yeah, but man, I got to tell you I got a ribeye, a baked potato, not sweet potato. Okay, we won't get into that. Yeah, we've had that conversation.

Rhett: 44:58

Go to our Thanksgiving episode. If you haven't heard that, you'll hear how we feel about potatoes and cranberry which y'all came up during that topic, that's yeah, that's funny they were bragging on linda's they.

Justin: 45:06

They did actually say somehow we got into that, yeah, because I was with the waitress like this is please baked potato, right? No, sweet potato. And then I'm like I can't stand it. You know, you know heather says you've not tried linda's yeah, sweet potatoes, so you end up coming up yeah. Yeah, and I'm like no, I don't really care who's sweet potatoes, I haven't tried. Yeah, for the first time ever. Jeremy and Heather almost convinced me that if I was at your house.

Justin: 45:34

The way Linda makes her sweet potatoes is as close to sweet potato pie as it comes. It's so good and I don't know if they I don't know if they just got me. I've been sick'm with my friends. I'm kind of in a mode of like oh lovey, I'm loving my friends, I'm happy to have this steak in front of me. I actually caught myself saying you know what I might try? Linda's? And that was a breakthrough for me.

Rhett: 45:57

You know what a breakthrough that is. That's a huge breakthrough and it wouldn't offend Linda at all if you tried it and didn't like it. No, but that was a breakthrough.

Justin: 46:03

So there's a big time, but I think it goes because your wife has a reputation that it's not just coming from you, but like Linda's got this name that people talk about, even like Josh and Crystal were talking about, like, yeah, her food's good. I don't even know how they know that.

Rhett: 46:19

I don't know how they know that. I don't know how they know that. When's the last time? I mean 2010, 11, 12, somewhere there.

Justin: 46:24

Well you know Crystal and your wife technically worked together at Highlands College. But there's a reputation out there.

Rhett: 46:30

Yeah, and Heather and Jeremy, we've made very friends givings, that's right. They moved to Idaho with us, helped us plant the church.

Justin: 46:40

That's skimmings together, yeah yeah, and they would even talk about you. Do not bring food. They're like you can if you won't, but linda's gonna cook it all. Yeah, she's going to have. Hey, here's what we're having. I always tell people everybody.

Rhett: 46:51

You can bring your food and I'm not gonna eat it. I'm gonna eat my wife's food. I don't care if it offends you. That's right, oh man but it. But anyway, just side talk y'all came up in that because sweet potatoes char bar're sitting there with your potato.

Justin: 47:04

You've clarified with the food so good you ever had. Something you've just wanted so bad. And you're finally getting it and it's just like this is what I've been waiting for. I've been talking about this.

Rhett: 47:14

Did you get a medium Rare?

Justin: 47:16

I always order a medium steak.

Rhett: 47:18

Okay, they nailed it.

Justin: 47:19

They nailed it, rib eye yeah rib eye like $35 for a rib eye. I'm a filet guy. And the only reason we were going to go to the more expensive place. It's like let's just party, but the wait was going to be too long. I tried to reserve it a couple of days early it was still, and so that was kind of our fallback, but I don't think it could have been better and we probably saved $100.

Rhett: 47:42

And we probably saved $100. I can't wait to try it.

Justin: 47:46

Char Bar 7.

Rhett: 47:51

So a lot of our listeners who are from around the country, if you come to Birmingham. I got to give my personal stamp on Char Bar, so it's not a bougie white tablecloth sit down steak restaurant but it's more of your, maybe upscale bar restaurant.

Justin: 47:58

It would be an upscale version of like that More of that sports bar slash.

Rhett: 48:05

There's a couple of nice tables you can sit at and have a good time.

Justin: 48:08

You can get a ribeye, you can get a sirloin for a little smaller, or you can get even like a filet mignon, okay, or you can get chicken.

Rhett: 48:16

Summer got this chicken, which was amazing.

Justin: 48:19

Their desserts. I know this is celebrating that you're only having one week away, guys.

Justin: 48:25

One week away, let's go the desserts that they called out. I mean I wasn't going to get any. We needed to go. We were going to make dessert back at our house but I was like, just tempt me, Tell me your desserts. They named every dessert that would be like, well, that's my favorite. Well, that's my favorite. Well, that's my favorite too. I mean from a lava cake. Oh, I'm there To like a chocolate cake. Yeah, To like a cheesecake with raspberry sauce on it yeah, come on.

Justin: 48:50

They to like a kind of praline-ish pecan type with a caramel drizzle. I don't know what a pecan is but okay. Pecan, whatever you say, right? I think you said pro, pro-con, oh, pro-con, oh sorry, pocon, okay, pocon, and you don't pee in a can and bro it was so good.

Rhett: 49:08

I got some people in the country that are like no, I pee in a can. I'm like I don't pee in cans.

Justin: 49:12

It was so good, like everything she named, and I thought the moment this season's over, I'm going back and I'm going to enjoy another steak and I'm going to get a dessert Like we're going to. We're making this another date night, so, anyway, I just need to go and put that on our listeners. This is a place to give some business to. You'll be kind to your wallet, but, man, you'll eat really, really good. I can't wait. Char, bar 7. Char.

Rhett: 49:37

Bar 7.

Justin: 49:39

I'll try to go see if they'll sponsor an episode or something after all this airtime we gave oh man, for real.

Rhett: 49:44

You set that one up nicely. Everybody's like, okay, why don't I not have a Charbar 7 in my town?

Justin: 49:49

I know. But seriously, what's great? There was just that sense and here I am now twisting it back to, or shifting it back to, seriousness.

Justin: 49:56

Yeah, I enjoyed the night because there was such a contentment of I'm looking at my friends and I'm just thinking Like I contentment of I'm looking at my friends and I'm just thinking like I'm sitting there as they're talking and I go back real far with these people, yeah, like when we first, at our church, launched campuses, before we knew we were going to launch campuses, like I met with our pastor and John who was leading the music at that time and a guy named Lane we've talked about him race car driver when we interviewed the sports agent and they taught me. They taught me about leading worship for this venue we're going to do and we're going to have people. They'll be watching the screen but we'll have live worship. And when we launched that we had a team but eventually I was going to have to build a team that would stay there as the others shifted back to our main location. And when I was given the green light to really take this on more and more to build my team, the first people I went to it was these couples that I'm eating dinner with.

Justin: 51:01

And so you're talking October of 2004,. Really, probably for them it was the end of 05 and we launched it in February 06 together. So I'm sitting at this table not just with friends and not just enjoying a good meal, but I just had that reminder of these people have been with me a long time and we're still doing these little dinners together and we don't talk every day of the week, but you know those friends you get back with. It's like you picked up where you left off and I went home that night just so grateful for friendship. And really, when it's all said and done, I mean what is of value? Obviously it's your relationship with God. It is as you were joking a while ago, but it's true too. Micah 6, 8,. What is this that the Lord requires of you To do justly? To love mercy, to walk humbly with God. That's my favorite verse in the Bible. I've lived by that one. Great Stephen.

Rhett: 52:02

Curtis Chapman song.

Justin: 52:03

I do justly. I love mercy.

Rhett: 52:08

I'll never forget that. That's what I think of every time I read that verse. That's exactly what I hear.

Justin: 52:10

You can't run with the big dog, but to also so that's in the Lord, but then to also find contentment in the people that he's placed in your life. Because, at the end of it all this enormity we've talked about, or the lack it doesn't matter. At the end of it, all that matters is how close have you drawn to God and how has he been able to observe you as you and other people have drawn close to each other? Because God's desire for us is all of us in this unified community, and it requires humility and contentment to be able to appreciate those spaces, to create longevity, the long obedience in the same direction where you are walking hand in hand with friends and people who are in your life Contentment.

Rhett: 53:00

Contentment, contentment, contentment, contentment, contentment, contentment.

Justin: 53:03

Contentment.

Rhett: 53:04

What was that last word? You said Contentment.

Justin: 53:05

We were contentment contentment, contentment, contentment, contentment, contentment. What was that last word? You said Contentment. We were talking about how we learned we didn't have equipment in churches growing up any kind of good effects, and Rhett became the master. Rhett became the master of creating his own delay.

Rhett: 53:19

Yeah, well, you know you had to be creative. We didn't have the equipment.

Justin: 53:23

But you were all in. You did that. I mean, give me give me a.

Rhett: 53:26

Give me a song that had some delay in it.

Justin: 53:28

Oh, gosh, gosh, gosh. Oh, we're on the spot. Now. Let's think of something. I just remember being on the stage with you and I'd look over. You'd be singing your solo and then you'd back out of the mic covering your mouth and you would have that and I would watch your lips. You'd be creating your own echo.

Rhett: 53:43

Wait, was it History Maker? Is that the one?

Justin: 53:47

That would have probably been one of them, yeah.

Rhett: 53:50

Is it true today, day day, that when people pray, pray, pray, you got to put the English accent? You can't. Cloudless skies are going to break, break, break, but it worked.

Justin: 54:06

Kings and queens are going to shake. I mean, it's so true, but we were talking about how you're the master of creating those moments.

Rhett: 54:15

Don't judge all this podcast of us doing that. I haven't done that in years. Oh my gosh. Yeah, you know you've got a great sound guy when you're in worship and you hear those delays being added and those effects being overlapped.

Justin: 54:25

What's best is when you sing it and you actually hear it and you're like, Ooh, that's cool yeah.

Rhett: 54:30

That's nice. That was nice, that made me sound really good, thank you, yeah, I kind of like the way I sound there.

Justin: 54:37

Yeah, can you do that?

Rhett: 54:38

again.

Justin: 54:39

That's awesome. It's like man. He keeps trying to do that again. He must have really liked how he sounded.

Rhett: 54:44

What's the verse? Is it godliness with contentment is great gain. Yes.

Justin: 54:47

Yeah, what verse is that?

Rhett: 54:52

It's in the Bible. Hey, siri, what verse is godliness with contentment is great gain in the Bible. Okay, I found this on the web, for what verse is godliness with contentment is great gain in the Bible?

Justin: 55:04

Check it out.

Rhett: 55:06

Thank you 1, timothy 6. Hold on, man, it just dropped off. Let me pull it up.

Justin: 55:13

She's like you are a devoted follower of Christ for 31 years.

Rhett: 55:16

I shouldn't have to tell you this I know, hold on 1 Timothy 6, verse 6. But godliness with contentment is great gain verse 7,. For we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it, and so I just love that. I love that and I think that's a great way to start the new year. Is thankfulness a heart of contentment and honestly I mean it is the common theme in our lives and it is the rock, it's the foundation. Contentment can only be found in Christ.

Justin: 55:50

We hope you've enjoyed this episode of how we literally just started talking and we wanted to see where it's going to go. I love where it landed.

Rhett: 55:58

I love where it landed, so yeah, we'll pick it up where we left off.

Justin: 56:02

See you next week. See you, bud. Thank you.