Ever found amusement in the strangest places? Like a stress test, for instance? Join us on this episode of the Pure Faith Podcast, where we share some of our most recent experiences, such as a trip to a Christmas lights show and a hilarious anecdote about the aftereffects of a stress test that Mitchell took. This episode is peppered with light-hearted banter and reflections on these adventures.
Do you believe God has a plan for you, even in the face of adversity? Our conversation takes a serious turn as we delve into our own experiences of surrendering to Christ during harsh times. Drawing strength from the story of Job, we discuss how trials often serve a larger purpose. As a brother-sister duo, we also open up about one of the most testing times in our lives - a family member's cancer diagnosis. The importance of prayer, trust in God's will, and the support of loved ones during such times takes center stage in our discussion.
Ever pondered on the nature of good and evil, sin and morality? We recommend you explore some insightful articles on our website. And while you're there, don't forget to hit subscribe and share this enlightening episode with others. As we navigate through life's ups and downs together, our faith remains the beacon that guides us. So come, be a part of our journey. Let's share, reflect, and grow in faith together.
Support our ministry
Check us out at purefaithliving.com
Contact us at purefaithliving.com/contact
Follow us on twitter @purefaithliving
Follow us on Facebook at Pure Faith Podcast
Ever found amusement in the strangest places? Like a stress test, for instance? Join us on this episode of the Pure Faith Podcast, where we share some of our most recent experiences, such as a trip to a Christmas lights show and a hilarious anecdote about the aftereffects of a stress test that Mitchell took. This episode is peppered with light-hearted banter and reflections on these adventures.
Do you believe God has a plan for you, even in the face of adversity? Our conversation takes a serious turn as we delve into our own experiences of surrendering to Christ during harsh times. Drawing strength from the story of Job, we discuss how trials often serve a larger purpose. As a brother-sister duo, we also open up about one of the most testing times in our lives - a family member's cancer diagnosis. The importance of prayer, trust in God's will, and the support of loved ones during such times takes center stage in our discussion.
Ever pondered on the nature of good and evil, sin and morality? We recommend you explore some insightful articles on our website. And while you're there, don't forget to hit subscribe and share this enlightening episode with others. As we navigate through life's ups and downs together, our faith remains the beacon that guides us. So come, be a part of our journey. Let's share, reflect, and grow in faith together.
Support our ministry
Check us out at purefaithliving.com
Contact us at purefaithliving.com/contact
Follow us on twitter @purefaithliving
Follow us on Facebook at Pure Faith Podcast
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Pure Faith Podcast, a podcast where we discuss all things Bible. I am your co-host, Michelle. This is our host, Mitchell, and tonight we're going to switch it up a little bit, so we're glad you're tuning in to us. We ask that you like this video, subscribe to our YouTube channel and don't forget to hit the notification icon to be notified when new episodes are released. Oh, something new this evening.
Speaker 2:Kind of I mean.
Speaker 1:Something different. I shouldn't say new Right, something different.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how you doing. You mean you, I'm kind of cold, obviously. I'm like are you going to cut firewood, or what are we doing tonight?
Speaker 2:This is my normal attire.
Speaker 1:Not when we do Bible study though.
Speaker 2:No, but I'm cold. I'm going to shop the shop that I work in. We don't keep it warm, warm. Towards the end of the day I was more or less standing on a machine programming things and I wasn't moving and I got cold.
Speaker 1:And then we walked in here and I was like boy, it's warm in here.
Speaker 2:I'm still cold, still cold, sorry to go that.
Speaker 1:Hey, how was your Christmas light adventure?
Speaker 2:It was good, was it? It was, there was a lot of lights. The lights are awesome, but I was kind of disappointed in the light show Did they have like a parade. No, they have music and they in the center of the clump of zoo is kind of like a pond yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And they have trees and had all kinds of stuff out there and had lights on them. Well then, they will have play music and the lights will go with music, Okay but the songs were slow Christmas songs. That wasn't like the what's that orchestra.
Speaker 1:Oh, the trans-Siberian orchestra. Yeah, it wasn't like those kind of music where boom, boom boom Like the light show at BMI is the trans-Siberian orchestra and it is a light show and it is fast and high-paced and it's go, go, go.
Speaker 2:This was just very, very slow, very just normal music. It's playing Christmas music and lights are just flashing a little bit. Yeah, yeah, after like midway through the second song, because as it started, like everybody was like oh, yeah, yeah, and then halfway through the second song you just see everybody's go boom. So it's like, yeah, I get it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, did you go early enough to see the animals first?
Speaker 2:We yes and no. We did go early enough. We got there like three, okay, so we were able to go see some of the animals and but we didn't get there early enough to see all the animals, so some of the exhibits were closed. They closed at five, so we didn't get to see everything but it was still.
Speaker 1:Did the boys like it? Yeah, they had fun. Okay, that's really awful, it matters.
Speaker 2:They liked the swimming pool at the hotel. They did. Okay, it was a nice pool. Was it yeah, so Sunday morning there's too many people there. Saturday morning was awesome.
Speaker 1:Oh really.
Speaker 2:It was like us and a few other people in the pool and Please tell me, you didn't bring your speedo. No, I didn't.
Speaker 1:Thank goodness no, he has one.
Speaker 2:No, I have two.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think he bought them for his mother-in-law's entertainment because she oh difference to worry. She did not. She did not think you'd wear one right, he told me no. Oh, she told you no.
Speaker 2:I said yes, bye.
Speaker 1:Andy did and we got a picture of it and I was like please don't ever send me a picture like that again. Goi don't give you all the time.
Speaker 2:I was expecting this podcast.
Speaker 1:Well, swimming pools, I mean. You just don't ever know what Mitchell's going to have on.
Speaker 2:So well, page didn't pack it, so wonder why.
Speaker 1:I guess you remember Whenever you said to like and page is all yours, then you can have it so funny Well then the other fun thing is I had to stress test. Oh yes.
Speaker 2:So they shave different parts of my chest and it's not fully grown in yet, so I look like patch atoms with my shirt off.
Speaker 1:So they had to do that, for Don Don had a stress test shortly before we went to Florida for a work thing I had and he didn't. We didn't even think about it.
Speaker 2:I didn't think about it he didn't even think about it.
Speaker 1:So he went for the stress test and he's like we're, we're going to Florida, like this was July. You see, you knew we're going to be outside the water and I was like yo. So what are you? What are you going to do about that? Because he's a hair man, what are you going to do about that? No lie, he shaved his chest and then it was just an itchy mask. So terrible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, why are we talking about?
Speaker 2:it. You don't know how to do that.
Speaker 1:OK, sorry, no, I well, we said that we were doing something different.
Speaker 2:This is really different.
Speaker 1:I just wanted to know how you're, how you're, how you're the light. Show your, your lights. Yes, or trip went good, good, our Tigers lost, which Mitchell announced that on the on the podcast last when he released it. So but they, they keep it, they're all in. So we were state runner up for the losing built character losing does build character.
Speaker 1:Yes, and I have to tell you that, after it was said and done I have. Our house is so much more peaceful. It's so nice, there's laughter, there's no arguing, there's good conversation. So we are officially done with football. Oh, don said he will only go to another game if there is a way, meyer or Schultz playing. I said OK, works for me.
Speaker 2:No, I can't.
Speaker 1:Why? So what? Ethan's next in line and he's, like the others to me, diva's on in that grade, yeah. So I said, ok, well, maybe when they get a little older, and if Zeke plays, we probably be there. I imagine Eli will play. I don't know. I don't know, we'll wait and see. So so what do you have in store for us tonight? Talking about what you don't have a cancer update, do you Not really?
Speaker 2:not really. I mean nothing's really happened. We got less than a week before my actual surgery, so by the time this is actually released, this will be released Tuesday evening or Tuesday night.
Speaker 1:You'll be getting up early the next morning to go.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, this will get released, and then that next morning to the morning of this release, which is Wednesday morning, which is usually whenever I'm watching it or I see it come through.
Speaker 1:I mean you will be at the hospital, probably already being operated on.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I don't know what time they're actually taking me back there's. They're going to call me on the 12th and get you a schedule, that stuff.
Speaker 1:Gotcha.
Speaker 2:So I don't know the details, I just have to be there like Like six or six thirty in the morning or something OK, but I don't know.
Speaker 1:OK, good deal.
Speaker 2:But yeah, the plan for this episode maybe the next few episodes is we're just going to discuss kind of my mindset with all of it and why I have the mindset that I do, and then we may get into why bad things happen to good people, and we're just going to go from there.
Speaker 1:Very relaxed, yeah, because I know that you say that it's you know, for you it's very mundane, like you're very relaxed with all of it. It's very you're at peace with whatever is going to happen. And you know, I get a message from Olivia this morning or this afternoon just out of the blue, and she said that she's very anxious about what's going on with Mitchell. And I'm like if Mitchell's at peace at it, then you should be at peace with it because you know God is in control. No matter how many times you tell a young person that God is in control, they cannot absorb that information.
Speaker 2:That's a hard thing to comprehend.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she has a very, but yes, she agrees with me every time. Every time I say she's like, yes, I know, I know, and I know God's in control, it's God's plan. But then I'll get a message the next day and she'll, like completely forget what we talked about the day before you know it, it's God's plan, it's not yours. So you know whether it be winding a winding path or a straight path. I mean, it is what it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I feel like that's one of the things that people really do have a hard time Understanding, and even if they do understand it you know we have Noah, who's moving next week and he's very concerned about his dogs, that he's moving into this place and what if they get kicked out because of their dogs? And I'm like if you weren't supposed to be at this place, it never would have came available and you wouldn't be moving there. It's God's plan. This didn't just happen out of the blue. I mean, this was a plan for you to be on base, because that's what you were, you were, you were wanting, that's what you were praying for. That's what you were needing was to be on base, and God provided for you.
Speaker 1:They know you have two dogs. You know you have two dogs. God knows you have two dogs. If it wasn't meant to be, he wasn't gonna put you in a situation that was gonna make you panic to try and find some other place, and he just said the same thing he has. He's like I know, he's like I. Just he's like there's just something. I'm like that's the devil. I Don't know what to tell you. So these are things that that happened every day to people, just not being able to Rely on God's plan.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:So when I told her I'm not anxious about what's happening with Mitchell, Neither am I. You're not anxious about what's gonna happen with Mitchell.
Speaker 2:Not really okay overall no.
Speaker 1:Their recovery is gonna be yeah, there's certain things. Yeah, it's a cancer.
Speaker 2:You're probably like you know yeah, I guess we can get into our topic of discussions, which I just have a few points that, like I told everybody else, I didn't start writing my notes till 20 minutes before I Walked into the church, but In my defense last night I still didn't know what I was gonna talk about right so the Lord showed me a few things today.
Speaker 2:I'm like, all right, I'm gonna run with it. So one of the things is you know, we kind of mentioned it last week. Whenever I say like I don't care.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You got cancer. Yeah, I don't care. Well, I'm not saying I don't care about my family. I'm not saying I don't care about my wife and my kids. I'm not saying I don't care about my siblings, but my mom, about all my extended family. I'm just simply saying I don't care about the cancer because this cancer has no effect on my life, because of, simply to say, because of my faith, because of God. So you were talking about Olivia.
Speaker 2:You know you tell her gods and control, gods and control, and you have to tell her every day, but it doesn't sink in right well, one thing that I did years ago Was I completely and totally gave my life to the Lord, like Everything right, and I think I remember that was it quite a few years ago, wasn't it?
Speaker 2:Well, I don't know about quite a few, but it was, it was several that came off yeah, starting to get warmed up. It was down several years ago. I don't know exactly when it was at which point in my faith walk that I finally made that move. But when you do that, when you Get to the point where you can fully give your life to Christ, then so many different things happen. So for one, you can live in the state of knowing that, no matter what happens, it's happening because it's God's will for you, for your life. And I even go step further with that because that is part of my Typical prayer daily prayer yeah.
Speaker 2:I may not say it every day, but like At least once a week. Multiple times a week I pray for God's will to be done in my life. So that means, no matter what happens and I even literally pray whether it's good, bad or indifferent. Whatever happens, I trust that it is from the Lord, because that's what I'm praying for, that's what I asked for.
Speaker 1:so then I know when I get something like cancer, then it's from the do you think that it's a test also, that he is testing you because you have Given everything to him, like you've given it all to Christ, to see if you're going to Bend to that like yeah well, we could look at Joe It'd be a test.
Speaker 2:We could look at Joe. Job was righteous. Yes, joe did nothing wrong, and yet God allowed the devil to come down and Just completely wreck Job's life. Yeah, I mean killing off his children and all of his life stock. I mean, joe was a very wealthy man. All of his, all of his possessions gone.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:Just leaving him and his wife and some friends that he could have better friends, but that's a different story right. But Job. Even through all that and Joe never sinned Job remained a righteous man, and that's biblical righteousness, not self-righteousness like the Pharisees that we talked about last week, and in the end he was restored.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So this goes along the line that, yes, cancer is is Evil, cancer is of the devil. But just because something evil or bad or or hard comes into your life, the Lord will allow that in order for you to either grow or develop in some way, shape or another Right. Like pastor said it's in his last series, though I think he did was sometimes the Lord will prune something out of your life, or give you hardships, and through that it is to build the fruits of the spirit, so that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.
Speaker 2:Did I get them all? I don't know.
Speaker 1:I didn't count.
Speaker 2:But it's to help build those, those good fruits in your life. So to cut out the bad, to help the good grow.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Well, it could go a different direction too. This may not be because of me at all.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:He just may be using me for somebody else, right, yeah? Or multiple people, right, he could be. He may have let me have cancer. So somebody who's watching this can watch this and get something out of it and it can help you in your life in some way shape or form, right? So it may not be about me at all, which it's not about me, right? It's all about God, right? So, yeah, I'm not saying I'm a good person, I'm not saying I'm a bad person, I'm just You're a faithful person.
Speaker 2:I like to think I'm faithful. Yeah, so he just may be using me for that, and a reference for that would be John 9.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So that is the story where Jesus and the disciples were. I don't remember the exact details, but they basically came across a man who was blind, and so the disciples asked Jesus, why is this man blind? Is it because of something he did or something his parents did? And Jesus is like well, it has nothing to do with him or his parents. He was born blind so that the glory of God could be revealed through him. So maybe that's what's going on here. Maybe he just chose me to work this out for him in some way, shape or form, but I mean and we've talked about this before because we used Missy as an example for this as well.
Speaker 1:You know, Missy was a good person. We feel like and I mean I think I say we, I mean I feel like, you know, her death to cancer was to help me grow in my faith, was to help dad grow in his faith, Because at that point I feel like both of us, dad and I, really took a turn. You know, we started coming to church more, we started talking more about faith and I can tell you, just from Missy's passing to now, how different my life has been and I feel like that was a work from her and a work from God. He. You know, yes, it was terrible the whole situation. It was the devil working all the way through.
Speaker 1:But, like you said, good comes out of that kind of stuff and who is it for? So that's kind of the way I, when I talk to people, I tell them that's kind of how I got back into my walk of faith was. You know, everybody has a story, Everybody has a testimony, Everybody has, you know, a turning point. You know, you know that you, when you gave it up, you gave everything to God. You know, you know when that turning point was. So you know, for me I feel like that was my step back into finding my faith, Because you have to find it. It's not like you, just it's just there and you can just pick it right back up again.
Speaker 2:But yeah, and actually you talk about that. Well, the Lord actually put me on that path before that, I think you know before Missy's passing, so that by the time it was getting to the point where Missy was passing which we've talked about this in the past that's when I started doing I don't know my letter ministry, I guess.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Where I was writing letters, general letters to the family, in order to help prepare the family for what could?
Speaker 1:potentially happen and what to expect and yeah, so Mitchell's overseas doing this and he's sending him back via I don't know email, I think it was email. Oh, my gosh and dad would call me hey, can you print this off for me? I need the, I need the big lettering. So, like, what font do you want? Like 37. Okay, yeah, let me 37.
Speaker 2:It's like one letter per page.
Speaker 1:He needed the big font so he could read it, but that's just it. You know, at that point just to hear anything from Mitchell was good. I mean it was. You know we were excited to see that. So when you sent letters back and then talking about you know, this journey that we were all on, not only were we excited that we were getting something back from Mitchell, but he also was guiding us to help us through this transition that we were all going to be going through and you were so far away.
Speaker 2:I wasn't that far away. I was in Texas at that time.
Speaker 1:Were you Not really.
Speaker 2:For the well it started in Texas, yeah, but.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I agree, I agree to agree.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, it's a good thing to agree to. Okay, I might have to look at my notes because I don't know what else. Oh, you know, your second bullet point was Nope, I only got three, but Are you actually keep track time?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I am. No, I don't wait, just didn't even Update it anyways, I wasn't going to laugh, because that's always the picture that shows up on this Facebook thing, and I was like you're not doing it tonight.
Speaker 2:You did I did.
Speaker 1:That's probably going to be the picture Um.
Speaker 2:So yeah, that's I don't want to, but yeah, I mean the reason I approach this whole idea of cancer, this situation that I'm in. I mean, to be completely honest, there are certain things that I'm worried about, that, I'm nervous about that, I'm concerned about, but a lot of that's because I don't know what God's will actually is.
Speaker 2:So I mean I trust the Lord. Whatever happens, I trust that is exactly what he wants to happen. So that's the mindset that I have going forward, but there's still some hesitation because you don't know what you're walking into. So I know what I pray for, and that is for the cancer to be completely removed during the surgery. No issues, nothing's left behind and I get a clean bill of health whenever I walk out of that place.
Speaker 1:And staying your prayer with our prayer like for me when I pray for you in the mornings while I'm drinking my coffee, because that's what I do is not only for you, but it's also for your doctors, it's for your nurses, it's for the people who God has put into your medical team, the people that he put together to do this procedure for you, who found it for you like, are my prayers are for them, because without them, you wouldn't be able to have this procedure.
Speaker 1:So they need to have clear eyes, they need to have steady hands, they need to have the mindset they're supposed to have. So we don't only pray for Mitchell, we pray for the doctors, we pray for those who are going to be waiting in the waiting room. We pray for the people that's praying for you as well. Everybody gets the answer that they're praying for.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do pray for that too. I ask the Lord to prepare them. I've asked from pretty much the time that I had the surgery scheduled. I asked if the Lord started preparing the doctors and the nurses and everybody involved Do you pray for the cafeteria people. I haven't, but I should have been, so I guess I've nobody to blame but myself.
Speaker 1:I don't pray for them yet either, but you know, and that's the other thing you know, are your boys going to be able to come to the hospital to visit you?
Speaker 2:I doubt if we even let them come.
Speaker 1:I mean it's going to be, it can be anywhere between three to seven days that they don't see you, three to ten days. I mean I don't know, and that's all, that's for your boys.
Speaker 2:The thing is, I often leave for three to seven days.
Speaker 1:That's true.
Speaker 2:So every month if I'm gone less than three days a month, that's a miracle in itself. Typically it's three to seven days.
Speaker 1:You're right, and it's over a weekend time, which is what we're doing now. I mean, it's going to be.
Speaker 2:So, like I asked Paige the other day, like, is there anything you're going to need while I'm in? The hospital and I don't think so Okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and when she does, then you know she's got plenty of people that she can lean on for that stuff too. So between her family, our family and the church, You're going to be gone.
Speaker 1:Well, I'll be gone for a couple of days. You're exactly right, you know, because Olivia will be getting married on Saturday. But you know, wednesday I plan to be at the hospital Thursday I'm not planning to see you on Wednesday because I figure I'd leave mom and Paige to that. So Thursday I was going to come back to visit and then we're going to head to our wedding and then we'll see what happens from there. But hopefully you'll be released by Sunday.
Speaker 2:I don't know if it'll be released Thursday. You better really start praying, because I don't think everyone will let you walk out there on Thursday but then when I show up, they might be like you know what we're tired of him.
Speaker 1:He's giving all kinds of grief to the nurses. I'm like, oh, he gets that honestly. He gets that from Grandpa Conk.
Speaker 2:I need a cane. Chase the nurses down the hall of the cane.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so, but no, you know, we'll just all you can do is, whatever day it is, then be there to take you home so you can heal and get ready for Christmas and your birthday.
Speaker 2:Joyful 40 is coming in hard. It's coming in like a lion.
Speaker 1:It is going to come in like a lion.
Speaker 2:It needs to go out like a lamb.
Speaker 1:That's right, that's right. Well, we got about two minutes, so we can just wrap it up. I set my timer a little bit longer because I didn't know what you were talking about tonight.
Speaker 2:That's the thing I didn't either.
Speaker 1:So we can end this thing.
Speaker 2:Okay, I will try to get a better train of thought I really struggled with what. I've seen that. You know I watch this too when I do, you do yeah. But now I will try to work on a better train of thought. Like I said, last night I didn't know which direction to go with it.
Speaker 2:I was praying about it and it was until this morning that I kind of got a better idea. But something I do want to mention is, if you go to purefaithlivingcom, I actually wrote like a five or six part series on sin, which the first one really wasn't that good, which where did sin come from? I think it was what it was called. Then the second one was like what is sin? And the rest of them I thought I was impressed and I remember I I know I wrote some of the later ones while we were in the hospital with Ephraim and Ephraim was born. So it's been a little less than a year and a half that I wrote some of those and I haven't read them since.
Speaker 1:They're not too bad, pretty good.
Speaker 2:And now reading them now through the lens of the fact that I have cancer, is like okay, I mean, this makes sense. So I do highly recommend that you go and read those. There is a lot of good information in there about sin, what sin is, the difference between good and evil, which I guess we didn't even talk about. That it was something else that I had on my mind, so there are more things we can talk about, but I do recommend reading those articles and it will give you a lot of good information.
Speaker 2:And you might get a little insight into how my mind works. That's a scary thing, it is amazing.
Speaker 1:Alright, that's my timer, so we thank you for joining us. Please leave a comment on this video or go to our contact page. As Mitchell said, it's purefaithlivingcom and that's where you can find those articles as well, and you can send us a message there. And, as always, if you like what you hear, then we ask that you share this show with others to help us to spread the good word of Jesus Christ. Don't forget to subscribe and we will see you again next time.
Speaker 2:Have a blessed day, everybody. Music Music.