Connection Podcast

Welcome to this week of Prayer Clout - in this episode, we dive into some of the prayers of Jeremiah and find out how we can pray bold prayers - those that challenge us and help us grow bold in our faith. We are anchoring in what we call a "dangerous" prayer: Psalm 139:23-24. We encourage each of you to pray this with us through this series:  23 Search me, God, and know my heart;    test me and know my anxious thoughts.24 See if there is any offensive way in me,    and lead me in the way everlasting. Join us each week to discover different prayers as we go through our series, Prayer Clout.  Be sure to head over to our YouTube page and check out the latest videos!  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRkeu3_qH4qod5piH-Pe7EQ?view_as=subscriber

Welcome to this week of Prayer Clout - in this episode, we dive into some of the prayers of David and find out how we can begin to pray honest prayers, even when those honest prayers hurt.  We are anchoring in what we call a "dangerous" prayer: Psalm 139:23-24. We encourage each of you to pray this with us through this series:  23 Search me, God, and know my heart;    test me and know my anxious thoughts.24 See if there is any offensive way in me,    and lead me in the way everlasting. Join us each week to discover different prayers as we go through our series, Prayer Clout.  Be sure to head over to our YouTube page and check out the latest videos!  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRkeu3_qH4qod5piH-Pe7EQ?view_as=subscriber

Welcome to our new series called Prayer Clout! In this series, we are looking at different prayers through the Bible, learning about the circumstances, attitudes, and postures of not only the prayers but the people who prayed them. We are anchoring in what we call a "dangerous" prayer: Psalm 139:23-24. We encourage each of you to pray this with us through this series:  23 Search me, God, and know my heart;    test me and know my anxious thoughts.24 See if there is any offensive way in me,    and lead me in the way everlasting. Join us each week to discover different prayers as we go through our series, Prayer Clout.  Be sure to head over to our YouTube page and check out the latest videos!  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRkeu3_qH4qod5piH-Pe7EQ?view_as=subscriber

Join us as we dive into our last installment of The 6th Man. This week we discuss the lives of John the Baptist and Jesus and learn about each of their preparations, responsibilities, and the legacies that they leave.  Be sure to head over to our YouTube page and check out our episodes there! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRkeu3_qH4qod5piH-Pe7EQ?view_as=subscriber

Join us as we dive into part 4 of The 6th Man. This week we discuss the lives of Elijah and Elisha and learn about each of their preparations, responsibilities, and the legacies that they leave. 

Join us as we dive into part 3 of The 6th Man. This week we discuss the lives of Saul, David, and Solomon and learn about each of their preparation, responsibilities, and the legacies that they leave. 

Join us as we dive into our first week of The 6th Man. This week we discuss the lives of Moses and Joshua and learn about each of their preparation, responsibilities, and the legacies that they leave. 

Welcome to a new series that we are diving into called The 6th Man! In the next few episodes we will be looking at what it means to be a 6th man: one who is not the first of their kind, but follows a line of great men and women, often fulfilling and doing greater works than the 1st.  Each episode we will be diving into these 3 key themes: preparation, responsibility, and legacy, to learn from each person and see how we can apply the same principles to our lives. Be sure to tune in each week as we discover different lessons from different stories across the Bible. 

When God answers, we should too.  2 Chronicles 7 gives an example of what it's like when God responds - 1 of the many times we see it happen in scripture. Almost always, as God responds and answers us, He expects us to have a proper response as well. So what does the Bible mean here when it's talking about shutting up the rain, the locusts, plagues and then humility, praying, seeking God, and repenting?  In a one-on-one with Noah, we dive in and learn more about 2 Chronicles 7. 

Everywhere we turn, something catches our attention: the news, social media, the latest trend, our phones. And the more we turn, the more anxious we become. The world is competing for our attention.  Some of the most-watched sermons are on the subject of anxiety, depression, and worry; we want to know how to get out of it, or how to overcome it. So what can we do? What does the Bible tell us about these things and how can we apply them to our lives? The Bible says that we can overcome sin by the blood of the Lamb (Jesus) and the words of our (believers) testimony. As we share what we've been through with anxiety and depression, knowing that Jesus can and will help us along the way, we can begin to help one another. 

Things have certainly been crazy around the world. In light of the COVID-19, or Coronavirus going around, we decided to make an episode addressing what is going on, and what our response should be as Christians. Is there even a right response to all of this? How should the church address these kinds of issues? Luckily, this isn't the Church's first rodeo.  We want to say this: choose faith over fear. Jesus is the Name above all names, and COVID-19 is a name. Now is the time for the Church to be the light and lead the way. 

We've all been here. Most likely more than once. And this is not a great place to be.  When we experience things that are different than what we expected, we get frustrated. We planned for one thing to go a certain way, at a certain time, and when it doesn't work out, we don't know what to do. We have everything planned out, timed perfectly, and when we're ready, but let's be real - it hardly ever goes that way. And what does the Bible say about expectations? Aren't we supposed to expect God to do great things and to be the God who He says He is?  Tune in to learn more about what we do with our frustrated expectations, and why there's a happy birthday song at the end. 

You are a simple coffee cup. And that's a beautiful thing. The process of making a beautiful piece of pottery seems like a fun thing - we have Groupons for classes, it looks like fun spinning a bunch of clay on a wheel, and our ancestors did it centuries ago. But when we begin to ask God to make us into what He wants us to be, things start to feel uncomfortable. We want the end result but don't want the difficult process of getting there.  As we discuss a topic that was briefly mentioned in 20/20 Vision, we learn about how God is a potter and He uses His breath to make us into living beings - specifically and for a purpose. A dinner table isn't complete with just forks on it. Join the conversation and become what God has made you to be. 

What the heck is predestination and who the heck is John Calvin and why did he cause so much trouble? If you begin thinking about our free will (the ability to choose what we do) and then compare it with God's sovereignty and power, the question might come up, "Do I really even have free will? Or is my life just predetermined by God?" This is a very challenging question that we attempted to discuss, so lean in and prepare for some serious thinking!

Sometimes you have to walk, sometimes you have to run. Other times you have to stay still.  Going at God's pace is not easy all the time, nor is it easy to figure out in which direction and how fast God is moving. In fact, pace is defined as both a direction and speed - so how do we manage both and get in God's path and pace? If you've been feeling tired, worn out, weary, burdened, and just unsure of how to walk at God's pace, listen in as we discuss what the Bible says about the pace of grace. 

That's a pretty harsh title, don't you think guys? Yes, we do, but we also think it's something all of us need to do.  As we discuss what it means to get over yourself - otherwise known as humbling yourself - we open up some deep and powerful stories with each other to create an episode like we haven't had on this podcast yet. This is a very raw and real one, and by the end of it, 2 of us were crying. This is one you don't want to miss. 

Take our recommendation: don't drink the Kool-Aid. Or in this case, don't drink the gold water.  We dive into a very interesting story in the Bible in this episode that a lot of people may be familiar with - it features the stars of a Chick-Fil-A commercial and a common material for jewelry: the golden calf that Aaron made for the Israelites. But there's a part in the story where the people are forced to drink water with gold in it, God commands the Levites to kill a bunch of people, then God proceeds to give them all a disease. Warning: this is not your average Sunday school lesson.  Learn what all of this means and how it all relates to leadership - as we asked in this episode, what type of leader are you? One who pleases people, or one who serves them?

Make sure you tune in to hear why we are so obsessed with Big Macs, Chick-Fil-A, Canes, and the secret sauce that goes on everything! If you have ever been around a church at the beginning of the year or listened to some of the latest fads on dieting, then you might have heard of prayer and fasting - or at least fasting. But what does it mean for a Christian in a Biblical sense? Why do we set aside 21 days at the beginning of every year - and sometimes in between - and focus on God and pray and abstain from eating certain foods?  Prayer and fasting is one of the ways that we honor God, by giving Him the first part of our year; it's our secret sauce, the connection point, a way to hear from God and get vision. 

Welcome back to Season 2 of the Connection Podcast! We're jumping in full force this year, joined by our 2 newest members, Oscar Madrid and Matt Ocheita! We thought what better way to start off the year 2020 than to talk about vision, how we get it, and what vision even is. More likely than not, you've heard people talking about having perfect vision for this year and that it's going to be the best year yet - but how exactly? Moreso, what does the Bible say about vision? In this episode you'll learn about our vision for the podcast, our individual lives, and what all we have in store for this year. And y'all, you don't want to miss what God is about to do this year. 

We are wrapping up this first season of the Connection Podcast, and it has been such a fun journey with you all! As we are beginning to close out 2019, we decided it was best to take some time, refresh, and start planning out what 2020 is going to look like. And let us be the first to tell you - it's going to be insane.  We are overwhelmed at what God has done through us on this podcast, and we can't thank you all enough for the support, love and blessings you have all been to us. To all of our guests who made an appearance, thank you and we can't wait to have you back. Thank you all for tuning in every week with us, we hope the rest of 2019 is a blessing to you, and we love you all. See you in 2020.  Peace out!

We have a very special episode for you all, where the ladies once again take over and discuss a powerful and important topic for any Christian - prayer. In fact, this topic is so important and loaded that we've already decided we have to do another episode on this topic (and maybe 7 more...). Prayer is our connection to God - our way of communicating with Him and knowing what He wants to do in, through, and for us. So why is it so hard to do it? And how do we even begin to start praying?  A BIG thank you to all the ladies who took over for us: Lillian, Melissa, Kenia, Tara, Ariel, and Makayla. And if you need prayer or want to pray with us, let us know! We will get you connected with someone who can help you and guide you in it!

You've probably imagined yourself standing on a road and you come up to a fork - a split path. And you begin to think, "Which way should I take? Which path is the right way or best way for me?" Often in the Bible, people are faced with these decisions multiple times throughout their lives - do I listen to myself or do I listen to God?  Psalms 1 makes it clear to us that we have an appropriate path to choose, but we have to choose it; it's a choice. When we walk with God and choose the path He sets before us, we live an abundant and blessed life, but that doesn't mean it's always sunshine and flowers. So how do we choose the right path when we're faced with the decision almost daily? Special shoutout to Raul Lopez for joining us in this episode!

Ready for a challenging question? Here you go: why does God allow evil things to happen? Did God create evil? Does God use evil as a tool to fulfill His purpose? We know what Romans 8:28 says - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." But why do we go through difficult times - breakups, death, divorce, heartache, sickness, etc.? We discover that Joseph had an idea about all of this - he was sold into slavery by his brothers, but realized later on in his life that it was God who sent him. It was this revelation that freed Joseph and allowed him to reconcile everything that had happened to him. Like the song "See a Victory" by Elevation Worship says, "You take what the enemy meant for evil and You turn it for good."

SPECIAL EPISODE ALERT: Steven Furtick of Elevation Church and Elevation Worship are featured here in this episode! We are coming to you from Charlotte, North Carolina where we are attending Inside Elevation hosted by none other than Elevation Church. This conference is for church leaders to learn, develop, and gain insight and wisdom to take back to their respective churches to continue growing the Kingdom of God.  We have had the time of our life here (and it's only after the 1st night that we're posting this), and what we have been experiencing is quite amazing. We hope you enjoy this very experiential episode as much as we did!

If you are a human being, you're either going to or have already faced rejection of some kind. It's just part of who we are and what we go through in this life, whether it's for a relationship, a job, your family, or even in a church setting (which we hope is not the case!). But what should our response to rejection be and what does it mean in a Biblical sense? How do we not get stuck in a state of fear after multiple rejections? Good news: if you're feeling rejected, you might be more like Jesus than you think! We were joined in this episode by Josh Luna who is one of our closest and dearest friends, as well as a special surprise guest at the end! 

Sometimes we can get into places where we just aren't feeling it anymore. When we feel so depleted that we may not want to keep going to church, serving, or doing anything at all even. And since we're open and transparent on this podcast, we have felt the same way recently. But the question remains - what do we do about it? So we decided that we needed to have a new kind of episode - one where we simply talk about what we've been going through, how it is with our souls, and what we can do when we feel this way. We were joined by an amazing group of people and some of our closest friends: Lillian Martin, Matt Ocheita, and Melissa Garzon. We hope you can all take something from this episode, whether you serve in church, just attend, or don't go at all but feel burnt out in an area of your life!

Let's hit it right from the start: are you willing to let your dreams die to say "Yes" to God? Does it really even require that much to say "Yes" to God? We were honored to be joined by two very special guests - Matt Ocheita and Paul Gomez - as we discuss what it means to say yes to God, even when He might be saying no to us. In scripture, there are many times where people say yes to God - Jesus, the disciples, Abraham and Isaac, David, Samuel, the list goes on. And we all want to give God our biggest yes, but it usually requires sacrifice and taking up your cross to follow Him. So what does it mean when we say yes to God? What does it look like and how can we keep saying yes even when we don't want to?  A special thanks to Matt and Paul for joining us on this episode and discussing with us what it has looked like in their lives in saying "Yes" to following God. 

You've most likely heard this phrase, "When it rains, it pours." Well...does it? Surely it must say that in the Bible somewhere right? Maybe one of the disciples said that? Try again. While it might be a common phrase for us in the time we live, it would actually be a phrase that people in the Bible would consider to be something of a blessing. But it is also true, that as we go through life there are times when it seems like the weight of the world is on us and everything is happening all at once. So what do we do in those moments when the storm is raging and our peace is ripped from our hands and we feel like we're not going to make it? We've got a phrase for you: strength to endure.

While the title may seem a bit funny or odd, it's also very true. Jesus Christ walked this earth and experienced everything we did - honestly even more than us, including being tempted by Satan himself - yet He did not sin. We all struggle and deal with temptations through life, whatever that might look like for you. Luckily, the Bible gives us insight into what those temptations are (there's not as many as you think), and how we can overcome them. And if Jesus was even led into the desert to be tempted, then we know that we are definitely not exempt from going through it as well. But we now have a High Priest who is able to walk with us through those times, and allows us to overcome because He is greater.  A big shoutout to Martin Mayo, Oscar Madrid and Matt Ocheita for being with us on this one! Put your thinking caps on for this episode as we discuss what it looked like for Jesus to be fully God and fully man. 

If you have ever felt like you were unqualified to accomplish something in your life, you are in good company with us on this episode! The truth is, all of us are unqualified until God steps into the picture and gives us what we need to accomplish His purpose. But luckily for all of us, God uses whoever He wants to use - even if we're sometimes reluctant to go the first time. God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called. We have to give a BIG shoutout to our boys Oscar and Martin for joining us on this episode and from dropping some wisdom on us! Be sure to catch our revelation in the episode about the Jewish culture and Jesus and what makes people so qualified to be used for greater purposes. 

Who runs the world? Girls... We have a special episode for everyone today, where we get kicked out of our podcast and a few of our lady friends take over to discuss women, faith, their own struggles, and the Proverbs 31 woman (she's amazing, by the way, and she's you!). This is a topic that the church at large struggles with sometimes - roles, identities, and security for women in the church. Luckily we had the honor of hosting 3 of some of the most genuine and loving women to talk about these things and to empower and equip everyone listening.  If you are listening or listened to this episode and you want to reach out directly to Lillian, Tara, or Kenia, their Instagram handles are listed below. Please feel free to contact them and open up a conversation with them! As always, thanks for listening in and being part of the podcast! Lillian Martin - @lillianm13 Tara Thiele - @thieletara Kenia Salas - @keniaesalas

It's funny how in the ordinary things we can find God. The seemingly common, mundane, or regular activities are sometimes where God shows up in the greatest ways. Cue this episode.  We're surrounded by devices, information and smart technology that is constantly listening to us. In fact, there are certain names you can't say sometimes (Alexa, for example), without them perking up and asking you what you said. In the same way, God is always listening to us and waiting for us to call out to Him. But how often are we listening for His voice when He calls us? Whether it's to our purpose, an assignment, or just to be obedient for a situation, God is waiting for our response. So what shall we say then in response to these things?

Have you ever laid down one Sunday afternoon to just close your eyes for a second, only to wake up 3 hours later and not know what year you're living in? Yeah, we've been there too.  We live in a world that is full of, "Be on your grind," "Hustle," and "Gotta work to live." But Biblically speaking, we MUST take time to rest - even God took time to rest when He was finished creating the world. And there's a good reason for it; rest is necessary for us to recharge and keep moving forward in a productive way, both physically and spiritually. Many of us get caught up in the daily grind and struggles of life - so how do we find time to rest and what can we do to actually rest? Hint: it's not a what, it's a Who. 

We are still reeling and recovering from what was perhaps one of the craziest months we've had - both individually and as part of a larger community within our church and friend group. It's in these moments that we have realized that community is such a vital part of the church - in fact it's what makes the church a church to begin with. There are moments where we need to be in community around other believers and around those who will encourage, inspire, challenge, and push us. But there are other times when we need to be more like Jesus and go up to the mountain to spend time with God. Even if you don't have a large community or group to be part of right now, we would encourage everyone to get connected - to God first, and then that community. 

We were joined by some very special guests this week as we decided to do a follow up episode to one of the most popular ones we recorded - Single...Now What? Please help us give a warm welcome to Lillian Martin, Kenia Salas, Matt Ocheita, Oscar Madrid, and Tara Thiele! Since the last episode was just two guys talking about being single, we thought why not bring in some different perspectives from a few of the ladies! This was a truly special episode as we got to encounter different testimonies about singleness, what to do during that time, how to honor God, and some of the issues that can even occur during our time of singleness. Let's be honest...it's not always easy being single, especially when you've been dating or you've been hurt or all your friends are getting married. Finally, a HUGE thank you to our guests for being on this episode - we know you will all be blessed by joining in on this conversation!

In this 2nd installment of our character studies, we discuss one of the greatest disciples that Jesus had...well he was pretty good...or he was alright...he was fine, we guess. Many of you know stories about this man named Simon Peter - you might remember him from our 3rd episode where we discussed his adventure walking on water. But Peter was more than just a water-walker: he was a rock on which Christ would build His church (maybe that's why he sunk...).  Peter is a doer - he just does and asks questions later. But most importantly, Peter said "Yes" to Jesus and allowed Him to use his life to transform the world. When God calls you, He wants your "Yes." Will you have the faith to follow even when or if ___?

We sure bit off quite a lot to chew on in this episode! We're diving into some characters in the Bible over the next few episodes and we thought, what better way to start off a character series than with the main character Himself, the One and only, the Alpha and Omega, He who was and is and is to come, God! Understand now - you can't understand.  God is so much bigger than anything we could ever imagine - imagine the universe in its full capacity, now go bigger, and you're still not even close to knowing how big God truly is. Think about God's unlimited nature and infinite capabilities for too long and you'll burst your brain. Thanks as always for joining us in this episode!

What do you believe about the power of your words? Do you believe that they carry little to no meaning with them, that they don't really mean anything? Or do you believe that they do carry a heavy weight with them and what we say matters? In one of the first times that we've sat through an episode and mostly disagreed, this topic is difficult - which is why we used a lot of scripture in this episode, so make sure you have something to take some notes with! So what does the Bible have to say about the power of our words and about the things we say sometimes (a lot of times for some of us!)? Surely the very Word of God would know about and have something to say about our words - after all, the very thing God used to create everything in existence was done through His words. Join us as we welcome in a few friends who also weigh in on this topic!

Think for a second about the last decision you made - was it to turn the TV on, brush your teeth, make dinner, open the Bible, lay on the couch, etc.? Now ask yourself, was that a mature decision that I just made? Well how are we even supposed to know when we make mature decisions? We make decisions every single day, some without even thinking. But when it comes to our faith and spiritual lives, how in the world are we supposed to know what to do? We'll give you a hint: it's not about you.  As Christians, we are called to continually grow and develop our faith and relationship with Christ and ultimately become more and more like Him each day. This requires a lot of focus and involves making the right decisions, but that's not always the easiest thing to do. As we learn in this episode, true maturity comes from a change in your focus: it's not what can God do for me, it's what God can do through me.

Only God can judge me! Well...technically this is true, but how true is it? Are we even supposed to be judging others because Jesus said to "Love our neighbors as ourselves." Is there a right time to judge or a specific kind of person we should be judging? This is a very challenging and difficult subject to talk about, especially in the context of faith and church. And it's definitely not comfortable to talk about, let alone call people out for doing it! But as we dive into quite a bit of scripture on this episode, we discover that there might actually be times that call for us - as believers - to judge others. But how do we know when we are supposed to do that? Join in with us in the conversation as we discuss and open up about what it means to judge and not judge others!

"Yo I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want. So tell me what you want, what you really really want." So what do you really want? What do you REALLY REALLY want? Chances are, you don't really really need it.  There's a big difference between wants and needs. We can easily confuse the two - we want to be married but the time isn't quite right; we want a new car but our budget just doesn't allow for it right now; we want to be famous but don't want the process that comes with it. But there is one absolute want and one absolute need that we should be focusing on in our journey of faith - Jesus Christ. When we seek Him first, it starts as a want; as we continue moving in that direction, it becomes a need. Jesus is the only want you'll ever need, and is at the same time all you need. 

What do you do when you don't feel God's presence, when you don't feel like praying, when you don't feel like going outside today, interacting with people, going to church, or anything else? Have you ever been in a funk before and you're not really sure how or why you got there and you're not really sure what to do about it? Luckily, we're not the first ones to go through this - some of the greatest people in the Bible went through a season or two of being in a funk. And this is good news for us! If people like David, Moses, and Abraham and Sarah all went through this type of season in their life, we can be sure that not only will we go through it, but we will come out on the other side. 

VERY SPECIAL EPISODE ALERT! We had none other than Kasey and Sheena West with us on this amazing, in-depth, and inspirational episode on stewardship. We were so honored to have them join us and discuss what it means to be a faithful steward - both in church settings and in our own personal lives.  Being a faithful steward is sometimes hard, exhausting, and frustrating, especially in church, but it is one of the most crucial skills that leaders must develop. Kasey and Sheena have been faithfully serving in the church for over 20 years combined, so be sure to listen to this wisdom-filled and inspirational message on stewardship!

What do you do when you don't know what you should do next? Do the last thing God told you. Sometimes when we get called by God to become something great - a leader, pastor, CEO, influencer, etc. - we don't immediately see the results of what God has said over us. This is hard, especially as Christians when we know that God is working behind the scenes and preparing us for what He has prepared for us (say that 5 times fast). But in moments where we feel called by God, marked for His purposes, usually we have to go back out into the fields like David, and continue serving where we started. 

Let's face it - at some point we've all doubted something in our lives: will I ever get that promotion, do they really like me, what if I don't...what if they don't...is God really there? Part of the journey of the Christian faith is experiencing doubt - a vast majority of characters in the Bible, if not all of them (with the exception of Jesus Christ), faced a time of doubt in their lives before God did the biggest miracle through them. But where does doubt begin?  As we discuss what doubt is, dive into Scripture to see where it all began, and understand how to overcome doubt, we hope that everyone listening knows that it's ok to doubt - just don't stay there. 

So, you just got out of a relationship and now you're single...again. What do you do now? Do you automatically go back to the same person of comfort you had before? Do you go back to the same app that allows you to hook up with someone just for a night? Do you sulk and become bitter and say, "I'll never get married. I'll be forever alone,"? Do you cringe every time you fill out some application that asks you about your marital status?  Everyone has been single at some point in their life - the question is, what does the Bible say about being single and married and having relationships? Join the conversation as we discuss where we have been, both in relationships and in being single. Truth is, being single is one of the most important times in your life. What are you going to do with it?

Many people claim to hear God's voice, but what does the Bible say about it? Have you ever wondered if you've heard God's voice? Does God still speak to us today? How do we know it's His voice? Maybe you're thinking you don't even know where to begin in all of this. You're in good company, and you'll definitely want to listen and tune in to this episode! As we discuss multiple stories in this fluid and open discussion with our good friend Matt Ocheita, we dive into the Word to really think about how we can hear God's voice today, and then taking that next step and trusting what He said. And if Jesus said, "Knock and the door will be opened," how do we know which door to knock on versus which ones God has shut? We encourage you to really think and become part of this episode with us as we dive deeper into hearing God's voice.

If you grew up watching WWE or WWF wrestling, you might have learned by now that - SPOILER ALERT - it's fake. Yes, you read that right, it is indeed fake. But in the Bible there was one wrestling match that was not fake, and that changed the course of Jacob's life forever, leading him to greater things and blessings.  You might be in a season right now of wrestling with God: unsure if He's listening to you, unsure if what He said will actually happen, you might be struggling with a relationship with Him, or even unsure if He's there at all. We're here to tell you, good! It's good to wrestle with God. If this surprises you, be sure to take a listen to this episode, in which we discuss this wrestling event and Ezekiel shares an incredibly moving and powerful testimony. 

The fruit of the Spirit is love when I feel like it, joy when I have everything I need, peace when everything is going right, patience when my kids are acting right, kindness when people do something for me, goodness when I agree with something, faithfulness when God has been doing everything I asked Him to, gentleness unless someone makes me angry, and self-control unless it's cheat day. Survey says?  If you thought something was wrong with that, you would be correct. This is often how we want to see the fruit of the Spirit produced in us and we want to do the producing ourselves. But as we find out in this episode, that's completely upside-down. So how do we inherit these qualities and live like Jesus Christ, who perfected these qualities in His time here on earth? What does it really mean to bear fruit in every season? Shoutout to Greg Scalia for the title of this episode! We hope you guys enjoy this one! Leave us a like, comment and subscribe!

We all have gifts - many different kinds of gifts and sometimes multiple gifts. But gifts aren't always just speaking in tongues, prophesying, or laying hands on people: sometimes being a leader is a gift, being a great parent is a gift, leading youth is a gift. So what are we to do with the gifts God gave us?  We were joined by another special guest in this episode of the Connection Podcast - a longtime friend and sister of ours in Christ - and it happened last minute! We had no notes planned for this, no specific scriptures, but as the Holy Spirit always does, He led us to some great conversations and Bible stories for us to discuss. From tithing to the Parable of the Loaned Money, we hope you enjoy this special episode of the Connection Podcast. 

Have you ever felt like you had everything going for you - the right job, the car, the family, the money, the opportunities - but still felt like something was missing? Have you ever been going through a trial in life or a difficult season but thought, "I'm still good,"? And what's the difference between "joy" and "happiness" anyways?  In this episode of the Connection Podcast, we were joined by 2 very special guests who brought some incredibly powerful and moving testimonies with them, as well as some real good preaching! Perhaps one of our favorite episodes we've recorded yet, we hope you enjoy this episode as we discuss joy and where we find pure joy in our lives.