Podcasts about Lifesong

265. Servant Leadership, Mentoring, and Actionable Steps with Kathryn Spitznagle   2 Timothy 2:2 (NIV) "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others."   **Transcription Below**   Questions and Topics We Cover: What are some servant leadership principles you've learned over the years? How did you learn forgiveness is part of leadership? Will you elaborate on a leadership tool mentioned in your book, which is called the "Hero Page?"   Thank You to Our Sponsor: WinShape Marriage   Kathryn Spitznagle is the author of "Rock Star Millennials--Developing the Next Generation of Leaders," and the companion workbook, "Rock Star Millennials Toolkit." She is a professional coach and the founder of Mentoring Women Millennials, LLC. She has 30+ years of mentoring, coaching and leadership development in corporate, small business and not-for-profit environments as well as 10+ years of mentoring cancer survivors and their families throughout their journey. Her mission is to foster the personal and professional development of leaders... for the life they lead today...and the one they want tomorrow.   Savvy Sauce Episodes Mentioned in Episode: Being Intentional with Marriage, Parenting, Rest, Personal development, and Leadership with Pastor, Podcaster, and Author, Jeff Henderson Biblical Principles as Wise Business Practices with Steve Robinson   Additional Previous Episodes on Business and Leadership on The Savvy Sauce: The Inside Scoop on Chick-fil-A with Mark Dugger How to Apply Successful Business Principles to Your Life with Dee Ann Turner Leadership Principles and Practices with Former NFL Player, J Leman How to Lead When You're Not in Charge with Author and Pastor of North Point Community Church, Clay Scroggins Understanding the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator to Improve Your Marriage, Family, and Work Relationships  Thriving at Work, Home, and Life with Author, Blogger, Podcaster, and Business Owner, Crystal Paine Energy to Spark Success in Your Business with Best-Selling Author, Speaker, and Podcaster, Christy Wright How 2 questions can grow your business and change your life with author, pastor, and podcaster, Jeff Henderson Radical Business and Radical Parenting with Gary & Marla Ringger, Founders of Lifesong for Orphans Stewardship as the Daughter of Chick-fil-A Founders with Trudy Cathy White Living Intentionally with Shunta Grant Generational Differences in the Workplace with Haydn Shaw Pursuing Your God-Given Dream with Francie Hinrichsen Leadership Training: Five Key Elements for Creating Customer Loyalty in Your Business with Elizabeth Dixon  Uncover Your Purpose with Clarity with Isimemen Aladejobi Unlocking Meaning and Purpose in Your Life and Overcoming Burnout with Dale Wilsher Leading Your Family, Marriage, and Self with Justin Maust Divine Productivity with Matt Perman 223 Journey and Learnings as Former Second Lady of the United States with Karen Pence Patreon 27 Re-Release: Purposeful and Practical with Emily Thomas Special Patreon Re-Release: Creativity and Career While Raising a Family with Jean Stoffer   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website   Please help us out by sharing this episode with a friend, leaving a 5-star rating and review, and subscribing to this podcast!   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)   Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   **Transcription**   Music: (0:00 – 0:09)   Laura Dugger:  (0:12 - 1:20) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.    I'm thrilled to introduce you to our sponsor, WinShape Marriage.    Their weekend marriage retreats will strengthen your marriage while you enjoy the gorgeous setting, delicious food, and quality time with your spouse. To find out more, visit them online at winshapemarriage.org/savvy.    Kathryn Spitznagle is my enchanting guest for today, and her resume is quite impressive, but what actually is even more of a standout is her humble heart.   So, if you are one who learns from stories and encouragement, and you also appreciate actionable, practical tools, this conversation is definitely for you. Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Kathryn.   Kathryn Spitznagle: (1:21 - 1:24) Oh, thank you, Laura. Appreciate you having me.   Laura Dugger:  (1:24 - 1:32) Well, I'd love for you just to start us off by giving us a snapshot of your background and also your current phase of life.   Kathryn Spitznagle: (1:33 - 6:47) Okay, lots of seasons. Yeah, learned, you know, you learn something from all of them. So, I started out in journalism.   I've kind of come back to my roots interviewing folks. I was a sports writer, so I grew up in a family with four brothers, so when I went to college, I knew sports, and at the time, that was unusual to have a female sports So I did that, and then went into publishing after I got my journalism degree, and since I'd been a sports writer, they put me in the men's division of this magazine publishing company. So, I started out learning, I started out working for a helicopter magazine, and I was an editor, and the only one that did know how to fly, and so they sent me to flight school in order to be a better editor and, you know, learn how to communicate with our readers.   And again, then because I'd done that and was in the men's division, they moved me then to shooting times, which was hunting and sports shooting. So, then I learned how to shoot guns and reload in that whole industry. From there, I went to fashion.   So, I went to the women's division, and at first they said, you know, are you sure you want to do this? And I said, well, this will be the first job you've put me on that won't kill me. You know, I've learned how to fly planes and shoot guns.   You know, let me have a shot at that Singer sewing machine. And I was a terrible seamstress. And they said, really, what we want you to do in fashion is to create a presence in New York, in Manhattan.   And so, the publisher was in Peoria, Illinois, but they wanted a presence in Manhattan. And so that's what I did for three years, worked remotely back and forth, and created that presence, joined the Fashion Group International. They hired three consultants to fix me up.   And so, I laugh if you've ever seen the movie Miss Congeniality, that was me. So, you know, learned all about the fashion industry and built those relationships with our advertisers. And also, then we went into television and did a lifetime, the TV show, weekly TV show on Lifetime called Make It Fashion.   And we're trying to blend that the home sewing industry with the fashion industry. So, if you saw this on the runway, in Milan, or in New York, or in Paris, this is how you can make it yourself, be your own designer kind of thing. So that was my journalism start, then moved to St. Louis, got married, had babies, and went into corporate communications, worked for Purina in St. Louis, where I learned so much about leadership, moved back to Peoria, and I went to work for Caterpillar. And when I retired from Caterpillar, then I started this business, Mentoring Women Millennials. And I have such a heart for this generation. I think they're so bright and smart and creative and entrepreneurial, and they get a bad rap.   And so, I wanted to have a platform to lift them up, and also to give them tools. So, the first year I wrote a book, Rockstar Millennials, Developing the Next Generation of Leaders. And what I found, there were so many really sharp, bright millennials that had never had good leaders.   They never had a mentor. They didn't have the tools. Many of them were entrepreneurs.   They didn't intend to lead people. They had a craft. They started a business, and it grew.   And they're like, now I got people. What do I do with people? And as I was out speaking about my business, I found the audience very consistently had two types of attendees.   One was what I would call a seasoned leader, who said, for helping the millennials, thank you. Something along that line. And then I would have a young person stand up and say, “Do you have a book”?   And after that happened several times, okay, Lord, I got this. Yeah, write a book. And I remember saying, “That's a good idea, God, but I don't have time.”   And so if you want to know why COVID happened, it was me. Because the good Lord said, hey, it's February of 2020. It looks like you have time right now.   And so I hired an editor. We wrote a book in four months and published it at the end of the year. And in 2021, then started the podcast.   Laura Dugger:  (6:48 - 7:04) Well, that's an incredible resume and such a whirlwind to getting here today. But you mentioned some leadership principles, especially at Purina. So, Kathryn, what are some of those servant leadership principles that you've learned and acquired over the years?   Kathryn Spitznagle: (7:04 - 9:34) Over the years, yeah. Just some amazing leaders at Purina. Their culture was very much a servant leadership culture.   Purina as a company was created in the 1950s by an independently wealthy gentleman, William H. Danforth. And he created the Youth Foundation in St. Louis. And he found once he got kids out of gangs and out of jail and off drugs, nobody would hire them. So, he created a company to hire those kids, Purina. And so, they, yes, told us that, you know, the first day he said, you know, this is never confused what we make with why we're here.   We were here, we were created to develop people for life. What we make will change. But the reason we're here will not.   And Danforth also wrote a book called I Dare You. I Dare You to be the best you can be and help someone else do the same. And so that very first day we were told the story of the genesis of Purina, we were given that book, I Dare You.   And when we left orientation, we met, they had 360-degree mentoring. And they said, “This is how we create this culture. And we continue this for generations through mentoring.”   So, when you leave orientation, you're going to meet your leader mentor, your peer mentor, and in 90 days, you'll be mentoring. Everyone at Purina mentors, and we all learn from each other constantly. So that was the platform.   And that was the culture. And when you think about feeling cherished, and valued, that's how they did it. Because if you're going to mentor someone, and someone's going to mentor you, you have value.   And the people you're working with have value. And so that creating a cherished culture was their legacy. And then it's something that I took on to Caterpillar.   And I continue now, in my keynote speaking, that's one of the most popular is how to create a cherished culture in the boardroom, in the living room, and in the classroom. Hmm.   Laura Dugger:  (9:35 - 9:47) And so, I won't ask for the entire keynote speech then, but is there an overview that you can give us of those things that we could implement that you've learned to implement over time as well?   Kathryn Spitznagle: (9:47 - 11:29) Yes, some of the tools. And, and that was another wonderful thing about Purina that I saw then, and haven't seen it since. You know, it seemed unique to me at the time.   Fast forward a few years, and it was like, yeah, that was very unusual leadership. And one of the things that they valued was, know your people, understand them, know their needs, know their wants. Even at this point, so, you know, I'm talking 30 years ago, I went to work there in 1990.   They were talking about purpose. What's your purpose? Purina had a very specific purpose.   We are a purposeful company. We're here to develop people for life. And, and they even said, I thought this was unique to it at orientation.   They said, and we hire bright, smart people, and we don't expect you to stay here very long. Our job is to send you off better than we found you. And with a positive impression of Purina.   And here's why. When you leave here, you may go to another Fortune 50 company, which I did. You may be in a position to impact a merger or acquisition.   You can buy and sell our stock. And at the very least, when you go to the grocery store, you can buy dog food. And we want it to be Purina.   Laura Dugger:  (11:31 - 11:36) That's incredible. That actually happened then with you taking that forward.   Kathryn Spitznagle: (11:37 - 16:07) And all of those lessons learned. So, when I talk about creating a cherished culture, Purina, one of the things they did very well was to introduce a concept, illustrate it with a story, and then activate it with a tool. So mentoring, they talked about here is the platform on which our company is built, developing people for life.   And they told us that story then about Purina. Then they gave us the book. And then they gave us a mentor that we were meeting with each week.   And they gave us a, what do I want to say, an outline. So, when you meet with your mentor or mentee, here are questions to ask. Here's a way to go about this.   And the number one reason people do mentor is because they don't know how. What's a process? And so how smart?   Purina's like, here. Here's an outline. Here are things to ask.   Here are discussion topics. And here are different tools we're going to give you as you progress in leadership. And they're designed for you then to pass on.   And so those are some of the tools when I talk about creating a cherished culture. One of the tools is here are questions to ask. Here's how to have that dialogue.   Here are discussion topics. When you're developing a relationship with this person, ask about their life outside of work. Ask about their family and friends and whatever, as much as they'd like to share.   Not everyone does. That's okay too. Ask about their best day at work.   What's a bad day at work? What's their best boss like? How do they like to be recognized?   What's their purpose? One of the most insightful questions they asked at Purina was, why do you want to succeed? And why do you want this company to succeed?   And those two questions give insight to someone's purpose. And so, then if you frame discussions around their purpose and their values, it is exponentially more meaningful to them. So, when I talk about how do you lead millennials and how is it different?   Those are a couple of the things. Understand their purpose. Understand their life. Their values outside of work, and frame things within their purpose.   Here's an example and or their values. If someone says, my values are hard work and transparency. I want people to be honest. Those are a couple of my values.    Okay. So, if I were leading that person and I saw them being transparent with someone else, being open and honest, I would recognize them for that.   Not just recognize them for the work, but recognize them for their value, demonstrating their value. I saw you be open and honest with that person. Thank you for that.   If kindness is a value, I saw you. I saw what you did there today to help someone out without being asked. Thank you for that kindness.   That resonates on a whole different level. And if you have to have a tough discussion with that person to say, frame it in those words. I know you value honesty, and I do too.   And so, we need to have an honest conversation. And here's some things that I'm seeing in your behavior, in your leadership, or in your work style that can hold you back. So, let's fix this whole different way to lead.   Laura Dugger:  (16:09 - 16:39) Absolutely. And I love how some of these even one-page practical tools you've included in the back of your book. So, it's a plug and play, but I'm even thinking back to your mentoring relationships where you had this circle of mentors and you were mentoring.   I think it's also helpful to get to hear one another's mistakes. So, are you comfortable sharing any mistakes that you've made along the way that actually even turned out to be beneficial learning opportunities?   Kathryn Spitznagle: (16:40 - 20:32) Absolutely. Loads of them. I've got loads of them.   And one of the women I mentor has said, I think I've advanced my career 10 years by learning from your mistakes. And I love that. And she's like, now I'm going to make plenty of my own, but I'm not going to make yours.   And I said, “Good. That's the point of all this.” One of the big ones I made at Purina.   I think a lot of places I would have been fired, probably should have been. I was working in the marketing group, and we were like an internal marketing. So, we did the new product introduction, point of purchase, point of sale materials, the legal documents that went out, the whole packet that would go out to a distributor, a grocery store.   And EverReady Battery was one of our product lines. So, we had internal clients. And as they had new product introductions, we'd get the materials together.   We had in-house printing, all of the things, graphic design, and that was all under my purview. The letter, there's a letter that went out to distributors that was a legal document and had a number. And I pulled the wrong letter, the wrong number.   And it wasn't discovered until last minute. And we sat down with the client and they're like, oh my gosh, this is the wrong legal letter. And I, you know, I'm the account rep, that was on me.   So, I had to go back, I had to go to Neil Lewis, my boss and say, “Okay, we've got to pull this back before it all goes out, reprint, which is going to be all our expense. We're going to have to have people working off shifts and all that sort of thing to do it quickly. And then reassemble all these Eveready Battery packets and, you know, do as close as we can to meeting their deadline.”   And so basically it's going to eat up our margin and we're going to have more printing expense. We're going to have more labor and we're going to have some unhappy people. And our client's not real happy either.   And that was all me. And Neil said to me, “You know, I learned something today. And he said, until today, I thought you walked on water.”   And he said, “Now I know you're human, just like the rest of us.” And I thought, oh, my word. And he's like, okay, so what happened?   That was a mistake. How are we going to fix it? And I said, “I've already pulled the right letter, getting it reprinted. Here's the, additional time and money. Here's how it's going to impact our margin.” And he said, “You know, can we do it? And can we satisfy the customer and get, if not meet their deadline very close?”   And I said, “We can meet their deadline if we have people work third shift.” And, you know, and he said, “Okay, let's do it. That's the right thing to do.” And, and he said, Kathryn, “I told you what I learned today. What did you learn?”   And I said, “I learned how to be the kind of leader I want to be when someone makes a mistake.”   Laura Dugger:  (20:36 - 21:05) Wow. The humility in that is incredible. And thank you for sharing.   Stories are so memorable. It makes me instantly reminded of two previous episodes. I'll make sure I link in the show notes, both with Jeff Henderson and Steve Robinson, accomplished businessmen, but who were also willing to share stories and how just like you, it actually made them a better, more relatable leader.   And so that's encouraging.   Kathryn Spitznagle: (21:06 - 21:34) And I knew when I got to Caterpillar and, uh, particularly when I was running the Caterpillar visitor center, because that was so new and never been done in Caterpillar. And so, we're going to make some mistakes and we're going to learn, you know, along the way. And there was more than one occasion where I was reminded of Neil Lewis.   And I said, okay, I learned something today. You are human. Just like the rest of us.   Now, how are we going to fix this?   Laura Dugger:  (21:35 - 23:48) And then what did you learn?    Let's take a quick break to hear a message from our sponsor.    Friends, I'm excited to share with you today's sponsor, WinShape Marriage. Do you feel like you need a weekend away with your spouse and a chance to grow in your relationship together at the same time? WinShape Marriage is a fantastic ministry that provides weekend marriage retreats to help couples grow closer together in every season and stage of life from premarital to parenting to the emptiness phase.   There is an opportunity for you. WinShape Marriage is grounded on the belief that the strongest marriages are the ones that are nurtured. Even when it seems things are going smoothly so that they're stronger.   If they do hit a bump along their marital journey, these weekend retreats are hosted within the beautiful refuge of WinShape retreat perched in the mountains of Rome, Georgia, which is a short drive from Atlanta, Birmingham, and Chattanooga. While you're there, you will be well fed, well nurtured, and well cared for. During your time away in this beautiful place, you and your spouse will learn from expert speakers and explore topics related to intimacy, overcoming challenges, improving communication, and more.   I've stayed on site at WinShape before and I can attest to their generosity, food, and content. You will be so grateful you went. To find an experience that's right for you and your spouse, head to their website, to find out more, visit them online at winshapemarriage.org/savvy. That's W-I-N-S-H-A-P-E marriage.org slash S-A-V-V-Y. Thanks for your sponsorship.   You've had so much experience in different areas and as a corporate leader. So what is it that drew you specifically to have a heart for millennials, which we can define as those approximately born between the 1980s and early 2000s?   Kathryn Spitznagle: (23:50 - 28:18) I really started working with them. My last role at Caterpillar, I was a director of global sustainability and it was within public affairs. So, we were leading, Caterpillar was leading a natural infrastructure coalition.   I was working with a lot of different entities, public, private, governmental. We're trying to get language passed into law. That was a big portion of my job.   Another portion of my job was to be out speaking about what Caterpillar was doing in the world of sustainability. And I loved that. What I found was the sustainability groups of Caterpillar employees all around the world, we do a global call quarterly, learning what everybody was doing.   They were all this age group. And when we would do the river cleanup on Saturday, these are the people that showed up with their kids. And when we do tree plantings, these are the people that showed up with their kids.   It's like, okay. And I remember saying to my peers, you know what, this group of employees, these young people are not going to retire with a pension like we are with health care like we do. There's so many things that we have garnered through our career appropriately.   They don't have that. What drives loyalty for them and what engages them with Caterpillar are these things. These things we're doing through the foundation where we're giving back and improving the world and the things we're doing in sustainability, giving back, improving the world.   They are so much more engaged in our company through these things. And so, I kind of knew, I thought, okay, I'm not sure exactly where the Lord is leading, but it's going to be with those people. And that was the thing I knew when I retired that, okay, this is what I want to do.   And then the more I worked, you know, I started the business mentoring women millennials. The more I worked with these young women, the more I saw, yes, there's a need. There's a need here.   And I always, you know, again, people would ask, why? Why are you so connected? And I said, first of all, I saw the value in them.   But secondly, I think I was one. My husband and I laughed that we never really fit in with our generation. And here's why.   We both were out of school and working on our careers when we met. And in our generation, you got married right out of high school, or at the very least right out of college. And so, you know, our families had given up.   They're like, they're never going to get married. They're working. They got this whole career thing going.   And so, when we got married, well, then we didn't have children until we were in our 30s. You know, highly irregular for our generation. We were entrepreneurial.   So, we were looking at franchises in our 20s. And our families were like, just get a job. What is this?   You got to buy something and then you buy something else. And my husband owned a business, his first business in his 30s. We both had side hustles.   Again, friends and family were like, just do one job. What is with you guys? Always got all these things, you know, going.   And then when I took the job in fashion, and I was working in Manhattan and living in Peoria, like, what do you even call that kind of work to call it remote? Working remotely? Yeah.   And so, I think part of my heart for them is I was one. And so, when they talk about some of the struggles and the things that are endearing to them, like, I got you. I felt like that, too.   Laura Dugger:  (28:20 - 28:57) That is incredible. And I think it really does make you the perfect person for that mentor mentee relationship. And I kind of want to camp out on that further, because we've alluded to it.   And some of these tips are in your book, where you highlight those discussion topics that give people the tools. But then if we take it a step further or personalize it, how can all of us as listeners begin a mentoring relationship like the one you've described? And I'm even thinking of the beginning point.   Do you think it's up to the mentor or the mentee to initially reach out?   Kathryn Spitznagle: (28:58 - 33:07) Either one. Yeah, either one can work. When I left Purina, having had this wonderful leadership experience and mentoring environment, I thought, well, this must be what all corporations are like.   No. Doesn't make them bad. They're just different.   So, when I got to Caterpillar that was male, very male dominated, I remember calling my mentor at Purina, who is still my mentor today. She mentored me for 22 years at Caterpillar after I left Purina. And then was one of the biggest proponents of me writing my book and starting my business.   And we still get together today. So, when they talk about developing people for life, they're very serious about that. And so, when I got to Caterpillar, I thought, well, they don't seem to have this.   I think I'll start a mentoring program. Well, I was, you know, some little gal in marketing. You're not going to start a mentoring program for a Fortune 50 company out of that spot.   It comes up through HR and Office of Business Practices and Legal and all of that. Anyway, I called my mentor at Purina, very frustrated, and I said, “Lynn, you and Neil make a place for me. I'm coming back.   They don't have a mentoring program here.” I don't, you know, and she said, “Okay, first of all, we didn't train you up to come back. Your job is to take this forward.”   And she said, “Are there young women there?” Yes. And she said, “Mentor them.”   And she said, “Are there leaders that need support?” And I said, “Yes.” And she said, “Okay, support them.”   She said, “Are there teams that need to be built?” And I said, “Yes.” And she said, “Then you have good work to do there.”   Go. And she hung up. I thought, OK.   And so, from that moment on, when I would see an announcement that would come through email where a woman was being hired into Caterpillar, I would reach out to her and just say, do you have a mentor or would you like one? And for 22 years, they all said yes. And so that's what I did.   I worked with those women. And, you know, here's another God wink when my announcement went out, then that I was retiring. These women all started coming back to me wherever they were in the nation and even in the world.   Many of them had gone on to do other things, bigger, better things. And they all started reaching out to me. Someone had forwarded the announcement to them and said, “We want you to start a business, a mentoring business and help others just like you helped us, and we will help you.”   And one said, “You need to write a book, and I'll write the forward.” Another one said, “Yes, and you need to do podcasts and I'll be on one.” Another one said, “I know what's going to stop you at your website, so I'm going to help you with your website.”   Another one said, “You're going to need testimonials.” So, she posted on social media that anyone that's ever been mentored by Kathryn Spitznagel, leave a message here. Very humbling.   And another one said, “I'm now VP of a big company in Chicago and I will hire you.” And so, I retired one day and started a business the next.   Laura Dugger:  (33:09 - 33:30) Incredible how that all came back around. And I gleaned so much from your stories in your book, and then even getting to connect with you before today. But there's another story about servant leadership that you shared from the man who you've named your previous boss, Neil Lewis.   Will you share? Do you know which one I'm thinking of?   Kathryn Spitznagle: (33:31 - 36:35) Yeah. You need to know three personal things about everyone who works for you. Okay.   So, Neil Lewis had leadership meetings. There were 12 of us were his leadership team every Monday morning. He was also a minister outside of work.   So, a lot of times we would laugh that we were getting the rehash of the sermon from yesterday as part of his leadership. But he often gave us assignments. And one Monday morning, he said, okay, here's your assignment.   I want you to know three personal things about everyone who works for you. And they need to be things that aren't in their personnel file. And he said, I'm going to ask you sometime this week about one of those people, but you won't know which one.   So, you need to know all of them. And I, you know, lousy leader, I was just learning. And I said, Neil, I have 10 people, three things, 10 people, that's 30 things I got to know.   And he said, Kathryn, good math. You have some work to do. So, I went back, and I interviewed each one of my 10 people, three things, found him out, followed the assignment.   And I was ready. And I saw him in the hall later in the week. He said, “Kathryn, walk with me. I'm going to the next meeting.” I said, “Okay.” Tell me three personal things about Kathy, who works for you. I said, “Okay.”   Kathy has recently divorced. Uh, she has an 18-month-old baby, and she is moving to a new apartment. And he said, “What have you done to help her?”   And honest to God, I said, “That wasn't part of the assignment.” And he looked at me and I said, “No, wait a minute. I did help her.   I changed her hours. She has a longer commute now into St. Louis. So, she's going to come in at 8:30 am and work till 5:00 pm.”   And I was feeling pretty proud of myself, like bonus question. And he said, “Did she come to you, or did you go to her?” And I said, “Well, she came to me, but I said, it was okay.”   So, Kathryn know your people. If you don't know your people, you don't know what they need. And if you don't know what they need, you can't help them.   And if you can't help them, what in the world are you doing here? It says leaders were here to serve. And if you're not here to serve, you need to step out.   I became a different leader that day. One who chose to lead by serving.   Laura Dugger:  (36:38 - 37:17) I just wanted to let you know there are now multiple ways to give when you visit thesavvysauce.com. We now have a donation button on our website and you can find it under the donate page, which is under the tab entitled support. Our mailing address is also provided.   If you would prefer to save us the processing fee and send a check that is tax deductible. Either way, you'll be supporting the work of Savvy Sauce Charities and helping us continue to reach the nations with the good news of Jesus Christ. Make sure you visit thesavvysauce.com today. Thanks for your support.   Kathryn Spitznagle: (37:18 - 38:19) You know, the other piece, uh, the other thing that he taught me there, uh, Laura, as we continued to walk, uh, because he always wanted to bring things back around to, to a positive. He was going to make his point, but he was not going to leave me there, you know? He said, Kathryn, “Do you understand what you missed there?”   It was such a missed opportunity with Kathy, um, to engage her and to help her feel cherished. He said, “That's the difference when you anticipate someone's needs and you go to them before they ask. That's the opportunity.”   That's the gold. That's what engages people and, uh, garners their loyalty. And that's when they feel cherished.   That was the real missed opportunity.   Laura Dugger:  (38:23 - 38:35) And that never left you. And that's probably blessed so many people hearing that. What about lessons of forgiveness in leadership as well?   Do you have any stories to illustrate that?   Kathryn Spitznagle: (38:35 - 42:28) Yes. And that's another lesson from, from Neil Lewis that was a profound lesson for me that I've never heard anywhere else. Forgiveness is part of leadership. So, I learned this, um, again, lousy leader just starting out.   And, um, when he put me into leadership, I was like, how hard could it be? Tell people what to do. They do it.   And then came my first employee opinion survey results and they were bad. The numbers were bad. The comments were bad.   The people were unhappy. Um, and the comments to me were, were hurtful. They were justified, but they were hurtful.   And so, when I got, uh, you know, got all the information, I left, I was upset. The next day when I came into the office, I just went into my office and closed the door. I thought they don't want to talk to me.   I don't want to talk to them. That's fine. I was working here.   So, Neil gave me a little time to cool off. And then he came in and, um, on my desk, uh, one of the things that they, um, Purina does in terms of creating that cherished culture is, um, to have things around you that revitalize you. And so, they ask you one of the first days about what, what are things that revitalize you?   And I said, okay, uh, fresh flowers revitalize me. They remind me of my grandmother, nanny, and being in the garden. Um, notes are cards from handwritten, you know, from friends and family and a walk outside.   Those are three things that revitalize me. Okay. So again, I registered with Neil Lewis.   He knew that was a way to frame things for me. So, when he came in that morning, he picked up one of the cards from my desk and he handed it to me and he said, to read that card. And I said, you can read it.   He said, “No. No, I'm asking you to read it out loud to me.” So, it was a card from someone on my team, very complimentary about my leadership style and what it, how it impacted them. And he said, “Is that the leader you are today?”   And I said, “No, but in fairness, they were mean to me. They said some very hurtful things and yeah, I'm not happy.” He said, “Okay.”   And he said, “Kathryn, as leaders, our job is to give first and give again”. And he said, “Do you know what the bridge is between giving first and giving again?” And I said, “No.”   I said, “Neil, I'm not tracking with you.” And he said, “Forgive.” And I said, “Oh, forgiveness.”   And he said, “Nope. Forgiveness is something someone else does. That's a noun. Forgive is a verb. And that's what I need to see you do. Forgive.”   He said, “Kathryn, forgiveness is a big part of leadership and it's something that will hold you back for the rest of your life. So, I am asking you today to be the leader I know you to be and forgive them.”   Laura Dugger:  (42:32 - 42:52) Well, in even the way he modeled that in the way you shared that story, it also reminds me of another leadership tool that you mentioned in your book, which I think if somebody is experiencing this, that could be a really practical next step. So, it's called the hero page. Will you elaborate on that for us?   Kathryn Spitznagle: (42:52 - 52:07) Yes. And so, at Purina, when they talked about having these one-on-ones with your team, with your mentees, with your mentors, kind of framing the dialogue in three buckets, called it three bucket exercise. And I still, this is how I still mentor today.   Uh, so the first thing we ask people to come prepared with is bucket one. What are we celebrating? What have you learned? What have you accomplished? What has gone so well?   Um, since the last time we spoke, because we, as people, but particularly as women pass through things very quickly and go, yep, done good onto the next. Yeah. We don't take that time to celebrate.   And Purina was very focused on what they called reveling. Take just a minute to revel. That was good work, did good work, but whatever was accomplished personal and professional, it was, there were things at home, baby slept four hours straight.   Okay. So, bucket one, what are we celebrating?    Um, so bucket one, they called aha.    Bucket two, they called, hmm, what is, uh, what's out there that you need to, um, do, you know, what's on your to-do list. Is there something you need to get a plan for?   Um, is there something that you want to talk through that's kind of on your assignment board, something like that. And we'll talk through some tactics.    Bucket three is what in the world.   So, anything that seems overwhelming, uh, caught you by surprise. You didn't know it was part of the job. You didn't know it was part of life.   Those are the things we want to talk about in bucket three, every time. So, you want me to tell you the things that are overwhelming me and that I don't know where to start. Yes.   Yes. Every week, because here's what we'll do. We will take the power out of that.   Once you, that's it. We're going to fix it and say, okay, this is what's overwhelming me. This is what I'm anxious about.   This is what caught me by surprise. And we're going to figure out how to break it down into something actionable. And then we're going to move it to bucket two.   And next week, we're going to be talking about those action steps and pretty soon it's going to move to bucket one. There you go. We're celebrating that process that I learned at Purina still did at Caterpillar and doing today.   Um, that just warms my heart. Uh, when I see, um, the folks that I've worked with who've now gone on to do other things. And, uh, one of the guys on my team at Caterpillar, um, now works for McDonald's in Chicago.   And he said that Kathryn, that's our onboarding process. And so, anybody that comes through his team in McDonald's, that's what they learn how to do. And he said that it was just gold.   And you can talk about creating a safe space, but again, the difference with Purina was they gave you a tool, not ours, we are a cherished culture. We create a safe space. And you know what, here's how, by asking this question and by setting aside time to answer it and wrestle with it and work through it.   Now, having said all that, where do you put this information as you're learning this about this person? Uh, you're learning what they're celebrating. You're learning, um, what their values are.   You're learning what they like to do outside of work. What's important to them learning about their purpose. That's a hero page.   And so, they gave us a tool and they said, you know, it's very simple, a hero page. You, you just record things that you have learned about this person that you respect and admire about them. And you can do one for yourself.   They ask you to do the first one for you. Um, but then also to do them for, you can do them for a peer or a leader. Um, you can also do them for someone you're struggling with because oftentimes we aren't really looking for the positives in that person.   So, the, uh, the logic behind the hero page is once you've created it, uh, you're going to look for things to put on it. Positives, all positives, negatives we remember. Positives we're looking for and that's the first reason.    The second reason for a hero page is you may have a tough day with that person sometime. And if you do, you go back and look at your hero page and it puts things in perspective.   Yeah, this isn't going well today, but here are the things I respect and admire about this person. And yes, um, perspective.    The third reason is they may have a tough day sometime and what an incredible gift you can be to them.   Here's an example. When I worked at Caterpillar, um, had wonderful leaders, some remarkable women leaders at Caterpillar, I think because there were so few of them, they were rock stars. And one that I worked for, uh, was sent to Beijing, China on a short term, like a, I don't know, six month or one year assignment as it at the same time, I was also mentoring someone in that Beijing office and it was very remote.   They were, in a remote area, creating an office, creating an HR office, you know, where they, where there's a factory and the person I was mentoring said, you know, let me give you an idea of what we're struggling with here. What kind of, what our situation is. And I'm at corporate and I said, well, whatever it is, I think I could send you some of our signage, some of our value signs.   Those are, those are, that's what you need. I'll send you some value signs. You can put them up on your walls.   And she said, Kathryn, we don't have walls. We're working out of a tent. And she said, each morning we send a bus out to the rural areas here in China and it stops to pick up workers.   And if dad can't go, he sends mom. And if mom can't go, she puts a couple of kids on the bus. And we never know from day to day who's coming to work.   What we do know is that the bus will be full. They will get two meals while they're at work, breakfast and lunch. And then when it returns them home, they will have gotten paid.   She said, we are all but paying people and chickens. Do you understand the situation, the gravity of what we're trying to do to come in here and create an office and HR processes? And she said, first, we're trying to determine who our employees are.   I said, “Oh, our leader is struggling”. And she said, “Will you get on a call with her today?” I said, “Give me a minute.”   And she said, “You're going to get her hero page.” So, we got on the call. Lois, “Kathryn, is this the woman that led one of the first NPI projects for Caterpillar as a woman with our flagship tractor?”   And she said, “Yes.” I said, “Is this the woman who was handed a belt buckle and a t-shirt and created global merchandising stores all around the world?” And she said, “Yes.”   I said, “Is this the woman who has been married 30 plus years happily, raised two remarkable children and showed us all it was possible?” Yes. I said, “I don't know what you're struggling with today, but I do know the woman who did these things can tackle this.”   What a gift you would be to another leader on the day that they needed it in that moment, just to remind them of their value.   Laura Dugger:  (52:10 - 52:40) That encouragement is so powerful. And you're such an engaging storyteller. And like you had mentioned previously, you've gone on from corporate America to now beginning your own business, including your podcast that will link to Rockstar Millennials.   So, I'm curious, Kathryn, are there any stories from those podcast episodes that really come to mind as you think of any standout lessons or your favorites?   Kathryn Spitznagle: (52:41 - 55:51) Oh my gosh. There are so many. It just seems like when I think I can't meet someone any more incredible, I do.   And again, good Lord's hand, they come from all different paths. We're international now. A couple of them that really stand out to me, Michael Kuzma,: he invented the self-playing guitar.   He knew people in his life who had either never been able to play the guitar and wanted to, or they had experienced some sort of an injury or illness that then prevented them from doing what they loved. And so, he created this and just said, “I want this to bring joy and be fun for people.” And I guess the part of the platform that I have for the podcast is purpose.   How are you living your purpose? Khushi Shah is 19 years old. So, she's a little bit younger than a millennial even.   Created a company called Drizzl and it is an informed, what I want to say, it's an irrigation company. And she created this as a science project in grade school. She's now in college at MIT and Harvard and Northeastern.   So, she's attending classes at all. She went to a science and math school in Chicago for high school, finished early and took a gap year at 17. And I said, “So you traveled?”   And she said, “Nope, I decided I'd just run that business full-time, Drizzl.” And so, her families of Indian descent. They'd gone to India and seen the need for water, clean water.   And she said, coming back to the States, I saw sprinklers, lawn sprinklers running and it was raining. And I thought, I need to fix that. There are products on the market that will turn a sprinkler off if it's raining.   Her product is predictive. She's 19. Yeah.   So, folks from St. Jude, folks from Midwest Food Bank, just incredible. Obviously, I can't name one.   There are so many. And those who are living their purpose in all walks of life, in all places around the world, I want to talk to.   Laura Dugger:  (55:52 - 56:07) Wow. And Kathryn, you've invested in so many people and highlighted so many people through your podcast. As you look back, what are you happiest that you invested your life in?   Kathryn Spitznagle: (56:09 - 57:07) Well, I'm a mom, boy mom. So that would have to be my first, my boys. Again, one of the women that I mentor said to me early on, Kathryn, one of the things I love the most is you're from the other side.   I said, Kelsey, what does that mean? I'm from the other side. And she said, you've already done all of this.   You've done the corporate life. You understand small business. You have a decades long, happy marriage.   You've raised your boys. They're happy. They're successful.   If you did this, we can do this and you can help us. And so that investment on so many levels, yeah, is coming back.   Laura Dugger:  (57:08 - 57:19) I love that. And would you be willing just to share anything else about your business or what all you have to offer so that we can continue learning from you after this conversation?   Kathryn Spitznagle: (57:20 - 1:00:49) Oh, absolutely. So, the book that you mentioned, Rockstar Millennials, Developing the Next Generation of Leaders. That's the book.   And it recounts so many of these leadership stories. And then in the back, as you said, are the different tools. And I have to credit the Caterpillar engineers because when I went to Caterpillar and I would tell these stories about Purina or I would live something that they had taught me.   Very early on, in the meeting, or after the meeting, some of these gentlemen came up to me and said, “That thing you just did in that meeting, can you write that down? Like what?” And they said, “Like the words and or the process.”   And so, it began. So, I'd start writing down the words and they might put a graphic with it or somehow improve it. And so, through the years, this same group kept coming back to me.   And when they saw the announcement that I was retiring, they showed up again and said, “Okay, we need one more thing, a spreadsheet.” What do you mean a spreadsheet? They said, “You know, all through the years, we have all of these tools now that we've created out of your head on this paper that we can use and we're using.”   If you can give us a spreadsheet that says, “If you're having this leadership issue, use this tool.” So, God bless the engineers.   So, I credit them, and the tools are in the back of the hard book.   What I found when I started doing workshops was people didn't want to write in the book and they also wanted something bigger and they wanted a place to make notes and doodle and that sort of thing. So that's why we have the book and then the toolkit. So, my business is Mentoring Women Millennials and I do one on one mentoring with individuals, small business primarily.   They'll bring me in to work with their women leaders, but also just individuals who are in some sort of a transition in life or that have never had a mentor and would like one. And so, I do the one-on-one mentoring also with nonprofits. And I'm now an 18-year breast cancer survivor, still in treatment.   And I also mentor breast cancer survivors. And keynote speaking. I work with the Capital City Speakers Bureau.   And so, I do speaking there and I'm prepping for a TED Talk. So those are the next things.   Laura Dugger:  (1:00:50 - 1:01:16) I love it. Always something up your sleeve. We will link to your website so that people can follow up and get in touch if that would be a good partnership.   And you may already be familiar that we're called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge or insight. And so as my final question for you today, Kathryn, what is your Savvy Sauce?   Kathryn Spitznagle: (1:01:18 - 1:01:49) Um, when I left Purina, um, I asked Neil, “You know, how do I ever repay this company that has given so much to me?” And he said, “Take what you've learned and help someone else.” And so, if you learn from me, that would be my ask, help someone else.   Laura Dugger:  (1:01:50 - 1:02:05) I love that. Amen. Great Savvy Sauce.   And Kathryn, you're just so poised and classy and full of insight. And it was an absolute pleasure to get to host you as my guest today. So, thank you for being my guest.   Kathryn Spitznagle: (1:02:05 - 1:02:07) Thank you. Thank you for having me.   Laura Dugger:  (1:02:09 - 1:05:52) One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term gospel before?   It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there is absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.   We need a savior. But God loved us so much, he made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.   That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.   We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So, would you pray with me now?   Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you. Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life?   We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.   If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me, so me for him. You get the opportunity to live your life for him. And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason.   We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you ready to get started? First, tell someone.   Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes & Noble and let me choose my own Bible.   I selected the Quest NIV Bible, and I love it. You can start by reading the book of John. Also, get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ.   I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps, such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. We want to celebrate with you too, so feel free to leave a comment for us here if you did make a decision to follow Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process.   And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “In the same way I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.   And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

Christ the Greatest Portion of a Christian's Life : Song of Solomon Part 1 : Pastor Raef Chenery : 07-27-25 by Park Community Church

Are you using prayer to build your relationship with God and surrender to Him in business and life? In this episode, Jeff and Gary discuss: Using prayer as personal time with your Father in Heaven.Surrendering your all to God.Seeking the mysteries of God's will.Using business as a movement and a mission.  Key Takeaways: When you don't know what's going to happen, pray.God is in control. He knows the hairs on your head, He knows the circumstances of your life. He shows up in unusual ways.Adoption is a reasonable small investment up front to change a life.If you want to experience God, see where He's moving and join in that movement.  "Begin with the end in mind, think what you want to do, write it down, and have some people hold you accountable to that." —  Gary Ringger About Gary Ringger: Gary is the founder of Lifesong for Orphans, but his preferred title is Orphan Advocate. His passion is developing radical businesses to create “perpetual giving engines” and employment opportunities for orphans and vulnerable children. He has the blessing of being an entrepreneur (which sometimes, when running unchecked, becomes a curse) and has been involved (at last count) in 11 start-ups. Gary has been married to Marla for 41 years, and they have been blessed with 3 children and 15 grandchildren. Connect with Gary Ringger:Website: http://lifesong.org/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-ringger-53a1619Book: Radical Business: From Ownership to Stewardship - https://store.lifesong.org/product/radical-business/  Connect with Jeff Thomas: Website: https://www.arkosglobal.com/Podcast: https://www.generousbusinessowner.com/Book: https://www.arkosglobal.com/trading-upEmail: jeff.thomas@arkosglobal.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArkosGlobalAdvFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/arkosglobal/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkosglobaladvisorsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/arkosglobaladvisors/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLUYpPwkHH7JrP6PrbHeBxw

And now my life song sings 6-8-25 by New Beginnings Church

2 Samuel 221. God is our ROCK     -The Rock of our Salvation     -The Rock that gives us Peace2. God is our LIGHT3. God is our STRENGTH

Life Song

Special Patreon Re-Release: Love and Loss with James Jetton   James 1:2-4 (NIV) "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."   **Transcription Below**   James Jetton's Bio: My name is James Jetton. I have and still do live a crazy beautiful, challenging, and blessed life. I am blessed to get to raise 4 beautiful children, and I have spent time getting to serve a fantastic community as a Recreation Minister, where I got to combine my love of Jesus, sports, and people. I served in this role for 13 years before my bride Kaetlin was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2020. Unfortunately, after an awe-inspiring journey with cancer, Kaetlin went to meet her Savior in January of 2022.   Clearly, this changed so much of my life trajectory. Currently, I'm working towards obtaining a Masters in Social Work to take the pain and experiences I have had to help others through their pain. Kaet and I were married in 2009 and built a beautiful life; we taught each other so much. So, I deeply desire to take everything we learned together and the lessons the Lord has taught me to help others.   I mentioned earlier that I have 4 exceptional children, Laken, 9, Isla Kaet, 7, Hattie, 6, and Ryder, 4. Laken is my go-getter; she is fearless, strong, and tough. Sweet Isla Kaet is a quiet thinker and planner and is often referred to as little Kaet. She cares deeply and is always looking for ways where she can help and take care of her family. Hattie is our child with special needs and has been diagnosed with GNB-1 Syndrome (a rare genetic disorder). Hattie will light up any room she is in; it's incredible that a child who only has a few words, uses a wheelchair, and is “limited” by our world's standards, can bring joy to people in a way that I never knew was possible. Ryder the caboose is a maniac, and his sisters affectionately call him “Wreck it Ryder” he has no fear and is a super extrovert; he keeps us all on our toes. He is what some would say, “all boy.”   This is a brief bio of me and our circus; through everything, we have found joy in all circumstances. Although there are exceptionally hard days as we have endured much grief, God has always provided, and I am thankful for the life God has given us.   Questions we discuss: Life took an unexpected twist in 2016. Will you catch us up on your discoveries that year? While many of us were in the midst of changing schedules and suddenly homeschooling children in May of 2020, your family was receiving even more news. Will you share that with us now? What is life like for your family these days, as grief likely comes at unexpected times?   Thank You to Our Sponsors: Chick-fil-A East Peoria and The Savvy Sauce Charities (and donate online here)   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website   Please help us out by sharing this episode with a friend, leaving a 5-star rating and review, and subscribing to this podcast!   Other Episodes from The Savvy Sauce of God's Faithfulness: 17 Being on Both Sides of Forgiveness with Adelle Dickie 18 Clinging to Jesus as I lived Through My Worst Nightmare with Angela Braker 19 Grief and Triumph and God's Pursuit Though it All with Julie Locke Moore 20 Joy in the Lord Even Through Tremendous Loss…Twice with Rachel Faulkner Brown 62 Unexpected Grief and What Helped Me Through It Can Help You Too with Singer and Blogger, Brittany Price Brooker 78 Parenting the Prodigal Child And God's Desire For Redemption With Mother-Daughter Duo, Claire Stanfill and Tindell Baldwin 79 Radical Business and Radical Parenting with Gary & Marla Ringger, Founders of Lifesong for Orphans 83 Miracles of God with Founder of Midwest Food Bank, David Kieser 120 Our Story for His Glory with Mercedes Cotchery 134 Fashion Meets Faith with Shari Braendel 141 Rescued from Poverty with Norah Birungi 143 Prodigal Story: Sexuality, Drugs, and Scripture with Dr. Christopher Yuan 160 Unleash This Generation with the Power of the Gospel with Greg Stier 161 God Redeems with Hettie Brittz 162 Healing from Spouse's Sexual Addiction with Jennifer Roush 174 Stories of God's Upside Down Economy with Kristen Welch 208 Tremendous Testimony and Adding Spark into Your Marriage with David & Teri Sumlin 223 Journey and Learnings as Former Second Lady of the United States with Karen Pence 229 Escape from Modern Day Sex Slavery with Rachel Timothy Special Patreon 28 Re-Release: What to Do When You Don't Like Your Story with Sharon Jaynes 231 Stories Series: Faith Building Miracles with Dave Pridemore 232 Stories Series: Testify to Glorify with Richard Gamble 233 Stories Series: Surprises from God with Tiffany Noel Special Patreon Re-Release: Patreon 30 Story of Perseverance with Jenny Boyett 234 Stories Series: Redemption From Sexual Sin in Marriage with Garrett and Brenna Naufel 235 Stories Series: Ever-Present Help in Trouble with Kent Heimer 236 Stories Series: God's Power and Light with Jaime Farrell 237 Stories Series: Prodigal and Redemption with Renee Endress Special Patreon Re-Release: Patreon 31 Unexpected Story of Trauma, Anxiety, Adoption, and Hope with Bettina Stevens 238 Stories Series: God Delights in His Children with Brad Habegger 239 Stories Series: Experiencing the Supernatural with Jackie Coleman 240 Stories Series: God's Rescue and Covering in Parenting with Brenda Dugger 241 Stories Series: From the Mission Field, Experiencing God in the Little and the Big with Patty Sommer 242 Stories Series: He Gives and Takes Away with Joyce Hodel 243 Stories Series: Angel Encounter and Hearing from God with Mary Beth Zimmerman 244 Stories Series: Medical Marvels with Carolyn Henricks 245 Stories Series: Miracles Big and Small with Dr. Rob Rienow 246 Stories Series: Experiencing God's Tangible Love with Jen Moore 247 Stories Series: Exciting Adventures Follow Radical Obedience with Susan Zobrist 248 Stories Series: Discipline of Celebration in the Midst of Unexpected Loss and Grief with Jonathan Pitts Special Patreon Re-Release: Patreon 49: Story of Healing from Sexual Betrayal in Marriage: An Interview with Bonny Burns 249 Stories Series Conclusion: Now What? Living as Global Christians with Todd Ahrend of The Traveling Team   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)   Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   **Transcription**   Music: (0:00 – 0:09)   Laura Dugger: (0:09 - 2:07) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here. I'm grateful for today's sponsor, Chick-fil-A East Peoria.   Check them out online to place your order for dining or catering, or to fill out an application to join their friendly team. Visit cfaeastpeoria.com. If you've been with us long, you know this podcast is only one piece of our nonprofit, which is The Savvy Sauce Charities.   Don't miss out on our other resources. We have questions and content to inspire you to have your own practical chats for intentional living. And I also hope you don't miss out on the opportunity to financially support us through your tax-deductible donations.   All this information can be found on our recently updated website, thesavvysauce.com. And now, I'm pleased to share this episode with you that used to only be available to paying patrons.    My guest for today is James Jetton.   Mark and I attended the same family camp as James in 2022. I observed a father who was very devoted to his children, and one of his precious daughters was in a wheelchair, which was always by his side. He was so tender with his children, and I just assumed his wife was resting while he was attending to the family.   I did not learn of his full story until after camp, and it was through a mutual friend, April Siervo. But then, after she shared a bit more of their story, I immediately reached out to James to request that he share his faith and testimony with us today. Here's our chat.   Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, James.   James Jetton: (2:07 - 2:15) I'm happy to be here. I'm looking forward to talking to you and just kind of sharing how God has moved in our lives the past few years.   Laura Dugger: (2:15 - 2:24) You have already lived through so much, but let's just start here. When did Jesus initially draw you to himself?   James Jetton: (2:26 - 3:25) Yeah, I think that's like, you know, it's a big question, right? But also, it shouldn't be. I think the first time I really just kind of came to know the Lord, I was in the eighth grade.   I had a retreat, and in that moment, for me, it was a situation of— it wasn't necessarily for me, but also just trying to do the right thing. I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, so I was in the Bible Belt. I was like, this is what we're supposed to do.   We're supposed to give our lives to Jesus. But I would say probably going into my senior year of high school, I had some moments just kind of alone at a beach, actually. I was like, what am I doing with my life?   And I believe that that was kind of the first one real moment in my life where I decided, I think I'm going to actually follow the Lord now and not just do this, just to say I'm doing it. And so that was really the first time I really felt the Lord draw me to him. And then, of course, as time goes on, there's all these other little moments throughout where he's continually staying close and bringing me back to him when I feel like I'm drifting away and that sort of thing.   Laura Dugger: (3:27 - 3:39) Thank you for sharing that. And you've written before on your blog that, I'll quote, one of the best decisions I have ever made was when I persuaded Kaetlin to marry me, end quote.   James Jetton: (3:39 - 3:40) Yeah.   Laura Dugger: (3:40 - 3:43) James, how did the two of you meet and fall in love?   James Jetton: (3:44 - 5:30) Yeah, so we went to college together. We went to Troy University. I vividly remember a time where she was getting out of her car, and she didn't know me at this time.   But I remember seeing her. I think I met her maybe once or twice through some mutual friends. I remember seeing her get out of the car and literally, I'll never forget this moment.   I was like, man, if I could just have a girl like that. And it stuck with me. And I think the first time we met, I think I made some comments that she wasn't happy about, about some fraternity guys that were in a different fraternity than me that I didn't think too highly of.   But I didn't realize in that moment that she was actually the sweetheart of that fraternity. And so, we kind of got off to a little bad step there. But I remember she broke up with another boyfriend.   That was part of the reason I saw her. And I was like, I could never have a girl like that. All the girls like that are taken.   And so, she broke up with her boyfriend. I remember her best friend called me and was like, “Hey, can I bring her over to y'all's house? Because she just needs to laugh”.   I was like, “Well, we can do that. We can make sure she laughs”. And so, I think from there, we just kind of, I don't know, just we continued to talk.   And for some reason, she liked me a little bit and I liked her a whole lot. And we dated for about three years in college. And when we got out of college, we got married in May of 2009.   And so that was kind of where life began to speed up a lot at that point. But that was the first time I'll never forget those moments. And then there's other things throughout.   But I remember seeing her in the parking lot like that girl.   Laura Dugger: (5:31 - 5:43) So, I love that. And OK, so married in 2009 and then children came a little while later. So how many children did you add to your family?   James Jetton: (5:44 - 6:28) Yeah, we have four kids. Our first child was born in 2013. So, after we got married, we lived back here in Niceville for a little bit but then ended up moving.   She wanted to go to PA school, and I was working a job I didn't care too much for. So, I was like, how quickly can we go to school? And so, we moved to West Tennessee where she went to PA school.   And I ended up going to school there, too, because she studied all the time, and I was bored. And I was like, I guess I should do something productive as well. So that was 2009 and we had a lot of fun.   We love to travel, did a lot of fun things. And then in 2013, we had our first child, Laken.   Laura Dugger: (6:28 - 6:39) And then if you fast forward, life took an unexpected twist in 2016. So, will you catch us up on your discoveries that year?   James Jetton: (6:40 - 13:07) Yeah. So, we, you know, so we had Laken in 2013. Then, we had another part of our - we did have a miscarriage between Laken and Isla who was born in 2015. But then we had Hattie who was born in 2016.   And Hattie's our child with special needs. And she was born in - all of our pregnancies where we used to joke with people that could have babies and just bounce right back and have these beautiful, wonderful pregnancies. And they loved it.   That was not us. Every single one of our pregnancies brought some challenge within it. And so with Hattie, my wife started swelling a lot and kind of found out she had some clotting in her legs.   And so, we ended up having to induce labor for her with that happening. And, you know, when she my wife was also a PA in the ER. So, she understood medical things way better than I did.   I was kind of oblivious to a lot of things. So, she would probably say it was a little bit more scary than I realized it was when she was giving birth. But when Hattie came, like in some accounts, it just kind of seemed normal.   But she was having some trouble breathing. And so, she was in our hospital. In order to go to the NICU, you have to kind of get transferred out to a smaller hospital.   And so, they were keeping her under observation that night. And her breathing wasn't really getting a whole lot better. And they did x-rays and stuff like that, but couldn't really find much.   And then there was a morning where we were about ready to load up and send her to the NICU. And Kaetlin went and held her. And when she went and held her, she started breathing better.   And she calmed down. And it was kind of crazy. It was genuinely like the love of a mother.   Just like this connection seemed to just calm Hattie down. But we ended up finding out later, one of the nurses was amazing. And was like, I think that she has a broken collarbone.   They didn't see it on the x-ray at first because of the way her chin was turned. And so, when they went back and looked, they did another one. And sure enough, she did have a broken collarbone.   So, at the time, we kind of thought that was kind of the reason for her distressed breathing and that sort of thing. And she had trouble latching and sucking. And what we kind of came to find out later is she had what would be called hypotonia.   Which is basically where the best way to describe it in layman's terms is like a floppy baby. Like you hold her up and everything just kind of flops. And I remember Kaitlyn going to her four-month appointment.   And her being very concerned like, “Hey, Hattie's not meeting milestones. And I think that this isn't going to be a good appointment”. And sure enough, the doctor agreed.   We've always had amazing doctors around us. And so, he agreed. And so, we got referred to neurology.   And another just cool story about how God just provides. One of my best friends growing up, his dad was a neurologist in Birmingham. And so, I called him.   And he's like, all right, I got it. You're going to be here next Thursday. I'm like, oh, okay.   When we were kind of told like it's going to be like three or four months before we can even get you into a neurologist. And so, like God just kind of provided that. And we started that journey of trying to figure out what's going on.   And anyone who's ever had a special needs child, especially when you don't know what it is. Because there was nothing we could have done to foresee this happening. What Hattie had was called DeNovo, like just completely her.   Didn't come from me. Didn't come from Kaylin. And there's no other kids with special needs in our family.   It was just something we couldn't have expected or planned or could have even seen or anything like that. And so just kind of going through a lot of different doctors and tests and eventually getting referred to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Because at the time they thought it might be a neuromuscular thing.   And so, from there, they're like, oh, we don't think that's what it is. But then we ran a whole bunch of genetic panels. And like you're just going through all of that.   It definitely there's waves, right? Like it's like you want an answer, but at some level you're afraid of the answer. So, like each time we would do testing stuff before nothing would ever come back.   And so, it was like a relief. Okay, well, good. It's not that one.   Okay. Not that one. But then you're still like, well, what is it?   And so, after we went to Baltimore, they did much more extensive genetic testing. We found out she had this genetic disorder, or syndrome is what they're calling it now called GNV1. And it's crazy rare.   Like at the time, there were only 64 known cases. It was discovered in 2016. So, there's chances that there's other kids out there with it.   I think now there's a little over 100 that they know of. We're part of like a Facebook group where there's some of them in there. And so that's what we got the diagnosis for Hattie.   And so, what that means, I guess, probably no one knows what GNV1 is. Not even doctors. We go to doctors like, oh, can you tell us what this is?   We'll do our best. But it just starts out as hypotonia and global delay, which means every aspect of her is delayed from speech to gross and fine motor movements and all that kind of stuff. And also like with kids with special needs, it doesn't seem to affect any one of them the exact same way.   And so, but the thing about Hattie is like she has an infectious smile. She has this joy that is unreal. Like anybody that meets her just can't get enough of her.   And that is true in so many ways. Hattie uses a wheelchair to get around and Hattie's expressive language. So, her ways to communicate is behind.   But she understands everything. I mean, everything, which is pretty amazing, is my understanding. Not all the kids have that ability to receive and understand things as well as she does.   But she is an absolute joy. We used to always say and still do that Hattie's going to change the world. And we know the fact she's changed my world for sure.   And we know she's changed many others. But yeah, I could keep going on and on. But where we are today, like genuinely that she is a purpose and a reason why I've got to get up every single day.   Yeah. So, she's pretty amazing. Like I'm just yeah, I could go on and on about her.   Laura Dugger: (13:08 - 18:15) I think you described her so well with an infectious smile and joy is the word that comes to mind when you see her. Yeah. And now a brief message from our sponsors.   I want to say thank you to our longtime sponsor Chick-fil-A East Peoria. I hope that you've already downloaded the Chick-fil-A app. Because did you know that with the app you can skip the line and have food ready for you when you arrive?   This is one of my favorite options when I'm taking my four daughters to Chick-fil-A East Peoria. Download the Chick-fil-A app today and start earning points toward free rewards that are fully customized to your preferences and tastes. Chick-fil-A was named as one of Glassdoor's best places to work in the nation.   That's a huge honor. And one team member even wrote, no comparison. This is a great job for a first job, extra money or for career advancement.   Such a loving environment, great management and fair pay. Chick-fil-A believes that the local and involved ownership ensures fostering an environment where you are known, challenged and cared for. So, if you're looking for a wonderful place to work, visit Chick-fil-A East Peoria or fill out an application online today at cfaeastpeoria.com.   Are you utilizing Savvy Sauce Charities to full capacity? Other than our special Patreon re-release episodes, our content is now available in video form in addition to our audio only. And we have written transcriptions for every episode.   Visit our website today, thesavvysauce.com, to access all these forms of interviews. And while you're there, make sure you sign up for our email list to receive encouragement, questions and recommended resources about once a month to promote your own practical chats for intentional living. 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Your financial support furthermore will help us continue to expand our reach and secure future projects we have planned for this ministry.   If your ears are hearing this message right now, I am specifically asking you to give. We are so grateful for any amount and our team will continue to seek to be good stewards of the gifts offered to us. So, if you want to write a check or set up an ongoing payment with your bank that delivers a check to us each month, this is the most beneficial way to give because no percentages are taken out for processing fees.   You can make your checkout to: Savvy Sauce Charities, P.O. Box 101, Roanoke, Illinois, 61561. Additionally, with our new website, we now have a donate button. There are processing fees that we cover for these donations, but we wanted to offer listeners a seamless way to share their finances with us when we share our content with them.   So just visit thesavvysauce.com and find the donate page under the tab support. Another way to find it is simply type in donate to the search bar on our website and just click the first picture shown. We are all about sharing around here, sharing resources, sharing joy, and sharing the good news about Jesus Christ.   We ask that you also will share by sharing financially, sharing The Savvy Sauce podcast episodes, and sharing a five-star rating and review. You can also share any of our social media posts on Instagram or Facebook. We are grateful for all of it, and we just love partnering together with you. Now, back to the show.    In a different season, when many of us were in the midst of changing schedules and suddenly homeschooling our children in May of 2020, your family was receiving even more news. So, will you share that with us now as well?   James Jetton: (18:16 - 22:36) Yeah. We did have our fourth kid, Ryder. He was born in 2018, and he is a wild man.   My wife and I used to always say, or people would tell us, you'll know when you're done. But we had him, and we were like, okay, we're broke. We're done.   No more. But he's awesome. But yeah, the move forward to then, you know, that COVID stuff was really hard.   It was really hard. I was working for a church, and I do sports and rec ministry, and also I was doing student ministry at the time. And so, for me personally, like, things just kind of got shut down.   No one was doing sports leagues, and student ministry looked weirder than ever. And then my wife, she was working in the emergency room as a PA, and so she was facing everything head on. And so, I guess that kind of started in March.   It's funny, just to kind of back up a little bit. We felt prior to that, probably February or March of that 2020, when things were kind of like exploding, we just felt the Lord doing something in our lives. We felt like He was preparing us for something.   We felt like it was going to be something just amazing. But then as we moved forward to try to understand what God is doing, what He was telling us, in May, my 4-year-old, she had her preschool graduation. And I'll never forget this day.   My wife was a go-getter. She's tough. She's strong.   And we had a super weird COVID graduation for Isla, my 4-year-old. And it was weird because it was a drive-through graduation, so we had to get up there early and go do it. So, my wife also, she would do work night shifts so that she could be home with the kids when I couldn't be there.   And so, it wasn't uncommon for her to have to sleep in some. But this was like she hadn't worked the night before, and she hadn't worked. And so, we'd been off for two days, but she was just so exhausted.   She had this terrible headache that morning. And for her to say, like, I can't go to the graduation, that was like, there's something significant here. And I told her, like, she had gone to the doctor about a week before and got on some antibiotics, but it wasn't doing anything.   And I was just like, hey, I think it's time to go back to the doctor because you're not any better. And I've got to take these kids to this graduation. So, I loaded up all the kids.   We went to the drive-through graduation. While I was there, she called and said that her sister was going to take her to the emergency room. So that was a long day.   At that time, COVID was full on, so she couldn't have visitors. No one could come in with her. She had to be dropped off and go inside.   One huge plus in that for our specific situation is that she was taken to her own emergency room. So, she still had her friends and what she would call family there as well. And so, she dropped her off.   My sister-in-law dropped her off and just kind of waited in the parking lot until we figured out what was going on. So, it kind of went throughout that whole day. And I remember that night, the school was doing another virtual graduation where they showed pictures and that sort of thing.   And she texted me and said, I need to talk to you now. I was like, okay, like right now? Because I'm home alone with all four of the kids.   She's like, yeah, and I need you to get away from the kids. I was like, this doesn't sound good. What could this be?   And so, we FaceTimed, and that's where she told me they think I have leukemia. And so then as things started speeding up, we sent out a message to our church asking for prayers. From there, I put the kids to bed.   I drove to Pensacola. She got transferred to Pensacola, and we started treatment there for leukemia. So that was what happened.   That was the big moment in May. And then from there, there's a whole lot more. And so, I'll share as you wish.   Laura Dugger: (22:37 - 22:54) Wow. Thank you for catching us up to that point, James. I can't even imagine the initial devastation that comes.   And as your journey unfolds, I remember seeing a post about leaving your light on.   James Jetton: (22:54 - 24:24) Yeah. Like I said earlier, my wife always did the night shift. And so, I always left the light on for her when she was at work and then turned it off when she came home.   And so, yeah, so early on, I said that I'm not turning the light off until you come home. And so, during that time, the first treatment, it doesn't seem like a lot now because she was in the hospital so much. We didn't know how long she'd be in there.   But the first initial treatment, they're like, you're going to be in for three weeks. And so, I knew that she wouldn't be home for three weeks. And I guess this is me just kind of realizing that was a long time for the kids.   I remember talking to a friend of mine who was leading a small group of high school boys. And I remember him telling them, like, how hard do you think it would be if your mom was gone for three weeks? I was like, yeah, it's not easy.   But so. So, yeah, so that was that was the reason. Just like my wife, one, she was a light in the midst of all the darkness that she was having to face.   And I just wanted to make a point that like, hey, we're leaving this light on for you until you come home. And in a lot of respects, you know, she did go home. Long, long story.   But, yeah, that that was the reason for the light.   Laura Dugger: (24:25 - 24:34) So, well, and the way that you describe her, it sounds like our mutual friend April said her joy was just out of this world.   James Jetton: (24:34 - 24:36) Yeah, that's true.   Laura Dugger: (24:36 - 24:49) It sounds like maybe the both of you share that, but you were not entering into a joyful season. So, what did the next few months and year even look like?   James Jetton: (24:49 - 30:47) Yeah. So initially, when things went down, my wife and I agreed that we would not let our kids lose both their parents. And so, I tried to make it a point to be home at night.   So, when we were in Pensacola, like I would stay with her some nights, but I would also be home at night to put the kids to bed or I would put the kids to bed and I'd drive over that night and come back in the morning or be with her during the day. Like, you know, it was just crazy stuff. One, you know, it happened at the end of the school year.   So, we have all the kids at home. We didn't get to send them off to school. We were blessed to have an amazing college student.   It was one of Kaetlin's girls that she got to mentor when she was in high school. She was an amazing girl. She decided she would be like our nanny that summer.   And so, she was with our kids all day, every day. So, I could go and be with Kaetlin during the day and come home at night. And so, we went through that.   We were here and we did the treatment in Pensacola. It didn't work. And so, the next step at that point was like, well, what are we doing now?   And on a Thursday, the doctor was like, I think we need to go to MD Anderson. We'll see if there's a spot. And then on a Friday, they had a spot.   And then on Monday, we were in Houston at MD Anderson. I went to MD Anderson with her. You know, COVID protocol there still.   I could only be with her for 14 days and inpatient. And then I had to leave as an inpatient. So, I can only go with her for 14 days in that initial time.   And so, we went there. She started a treatment plan. We found an apartment.   And then I left. And then her dad came. And her dad was huge in a lot of this stuff and was able to allow us to do things like me and be with the kids.   And so, I think I stayed there for 10 days. And then he came over to stay with Kaetlin to take her back and forth to the hospital, just receiving treatment. And then I came home, and I came back to Niceville.   And that was during the summer. July, we were at home. We stayed in Niceville just kind of waiting to see, like, is Kaet going to be there longer?   Or is she going to be coming back here? And that was a wild summer. And this is what I think I would tell a lot of people that are going through hard things.   Like just because you're going through hard things doesn't mean there's other hard things. They're just a part of life. And, you know, when you have four kids, stuff happens.   You know, like we had one of my daughters, Isla, she had to have eye surgery that summer. While Kaet was in Houston. So that was an interesting thing.   My four-year-old son, he busted his head open on the back of a step going outside. So, he had to have some stitches in his head. He's the second that has had stitches in our family.   And he was the youngest. So, then the treatment, the goal was to get her to a place where she could do a bone marrow transplant. And so, we got, they got her to that point.   Her leukemia cell counts were low enough that we're ready to do a bone marrow transplant. And at that point, you know, we decided we're going to move to Houston. Everything was virtual at that time.   And I just couldn't see any reason why we couldn't all be together in Houston. And so, we found an apartment, we hunkered down. It's a two-bedroom apartment.   We built some makeshift bunk beds. And so, we moved there in August. And the community we have here was unreal.   The support that we have. Like I didn't, we didn't have to make a meal for, I felt like six months, I think. Like it was just crazy.   And people were allowing it and giving us money. So, we didn't have to worry about these kinds of things and what we're doing. And from moving packing boxes, like, I mean, I can't, it's just unfathomable.   All the different things that were put in place for us to do, to do what we did. And I don't think it would have happened without the community that came around us and our church here was great, but I've got to see The Big-C Church. And, and, and it was, it was amazing.   And so, we ended up, we all moved to Houston, and we lived in a two-bedroom apartment. Part of that story is like, you know, it's like, all right, we're doing this. And then talk about kids.   My four-year-old, the one that had also had the eye surgery, she had broken her ankle on a scooter. Like a week before we're going, it was like, are you kidding me? How is this happening right now?   But we had some great friends like, you know, when your wife is involved in the middle of the medical world, it makes access to doctors and stuff a lot easier when you're in a small town, like we are. So, they got it taken care of, got her in a cast. I was like, yeah, but we can't return with this hard cast.   We're going to Houston. He's like, all right, we'll get her in a hard cast. And we'll put her in a boot for the rest of the time.   So, we moved there. And you know, the dreams of like riding scooters around downtown Houston and doing all this kind of stuff kind of went away a little bit with the kid. And so, he, but there was a pool there.   So, we went swimming, she could swim. And so, we, we just made the best of what we had. Like we, we had a lot of good memories in that little apartment, even though it was, it was tough.   I remember, we, Halloween wasn't too long ago. We had our own little Halloween party in that apartment where we all dressed up, even Kaet. Cause she ended up getting her bone marrow transplant that time.   And another aspect of where dad was so important is when you get in the bone marrow transplant, you cannot leave, and you can have one guest. And so, her dad came and he stayed with her. It was about 30 days of bone marrow transplant.   And so, he was there with her so I could be with the kids, doing the best I can with that virtual school and, and managing Ryder and Hattie in the midst of trying to do school work with the kids. It's nothing I ever want to go back to.   Laura Dugger: (30:48 - 31:03) Well, and not to mention you appreciate The Big-C Church, but Houston was not your long-term community. So, being here in this new place and all of these transitions, what were the results of her bone marrow transplant?   James Jetton: (31:04 - 40:17) Yeah. So, the bone marrow transplant, it ended up working. She went into remission and so we get to come home Thanksgiving of 2020.   We came home and that was awesome. It was like a huge homecoming. Finally got back home.   She's, she's in remission. We felt like we'd beaten this. We, you know, we got that Christmas here and we were back home.   We even, our family always loves to go, has always gone to North Carolina for vacation every year. And we didn't get to do that. But so, it was like, now we're going.   And so, in January we're like, all right, we're going kids. It was just me and the kids and Kaet and we wanted to go see snow. So, we went up there and we found a place to stay.   It was an awesome trip. Loved it so much. We, when we had to check out of our place, we found another house so we could stay in for a few more days.   And so, you know, at that time though, when we were doing that, she was kind of having these red bumps kind of popping up over her. We didn't really know what it was. It could have been a reaction.   We couldn't figure it out. Saw some doctors here locally. No one could really figure out what it was.   And I think fast forward, what we found out probably, I think it was February. She came out of remission and that was kind of the beginning signs of her coming out of remission. And so that's where, life sped up.   Like, I mean, if it wasn't already fast, it was, it was just unreal. It was like a whirlwind like it was because she had to fly to Houston to go and see her doctors. And so, she was in Houston by herself when she found out that she had come out of remission, and they were going to start immediately.   So, she stays, and she flies over on Friday and on Monday they got her back doing her treatment. And so, and I was like, well, it looks like we're moving to Houston. And I was like, but this time we're not staying in a two-bedroom apartment.   It's like we're going to make this a little bit more manageable for us. So, we had some great family. Kaetlin actually had a cousin who lived in Houston.   We found a house inside their neighborhood that we could rent. And this was, you know, more, more provision that he just continued to show. We found this house in like a week and we had people from our community boxing up everything in our house.   He's gotten a truck, and we thought that we'd all get everything in one truck. But we didn't get everything in one truck. We'd even hired the movers to load up the truck.   They couldn't get it all in there. So, I was like, y'all told me that it would all fit on this truck, but now it's not. And it's Friday at like 5 p.m. when we were supposed to leave tonight. So, we're not leaving. But my brother came down. I had another one of my best friends come down and they were like, we got to go, we're going to make this happen.   So that next morning, I'm not kidding. When there was like 20 to 30 guys in my house, a brother had gotten the truck. I hadn't even, they left early to go with the truck.   I'd come. And I was at the house with the kids at a friend's house. And when me and the kids showed up, these 30 guys had already loaded up the truck and we were ready to go.   Guy came and dropped off a big spread of McDonald's for everybody. We prayed over us and we headed out that morning. And so, it was just, I mean, just crazy that, you know, in one week we packed up a four-bedroom house, loaded up two trucks and drove to Houston and we're now unloading at a new house in Houston.   And, and that's where we were for a while. That was where Kaetlin, then we went back into the treatment more aggressively trying to get her back to remission. And so that was, when we moved there in March of 2021.   And that was kind of our place for a while. We actually thought we'd be there for a real long time. Kids had started school there, trying our best to get connected community there, but it's difficult, especially when you've come from a place where you feel so connected and then you're moving somewhere new where you don't really know anybody.   And then you're moving there in a time where the whole town shut down. It was tough, but we got the kids back in school. We tried to start getting them back into normalcy of life.   And there's all these new trials when you're going through this stuff every day, it seems like there's a new trial. MD Anderson is amazing. They treat each patient. It's like an individual.   So, every plan they have is just specifically for that patient. And so, they were going to try to do this CAR T-cell treatment. So, we'd kind of gone through the whole summer, and then we get to the point where she's going to do her CAR T-cell treatment.   Now, you know, we, we were hunkered down with this COVID stuff. Like we didn't, we didn't do much. We got really good at DoorDash and grocery delivery.   And we, you know, we masked up everywhere we could because Kaetlin's system was so immuno-compromised and we had done what we had thought was a very good job of keeping her safe, keeping everyone safe. Well, and then she got to the point where she was ready to start this new trial with CAR T-cell treatment. And she gets admitted that night and every time they go in and they give her a COVID test, well, that night she had COVID.   And it was, it was like, what? And she didn't feel bad. Her dad had gotten it too.   Like we, and I, so I remember getting that, it was like one o'clock in the morning. I was asleep. I remember it like blowing up my phone.   And I was like, I didn't realize it until later. And I talked to her. And that was definitely a tough conversation because she had to like get moved, packed up and moved out and moved to a different place and then treatment for the COVID stuff.   But the crazy part was, and it was kind of, you know, I wanted to get frustrated about things I could, but like, she had zero symptoms and she had just tested positive. And so, the next morning we all had to go get tested. And it was just the weirdest thing.   I know that COVID has been so devastating to so many people. But in that moment for us, it was like, we don't like, I was like, I ran nine miles yesterday and now I'm positive for COVID. I don't.   And so, but what it did was it kicked her out of the trial that she was on. And so, then she had to come home. The next process was just kind of getting her ready for that same thing.   Basically, what her doctor did was like, I'm not taking out, you're going to get kicked off the trial, but I'm just going to make you my own individual patient. We're going to do it that way. And so, we had some, we had some pretty high hopes for this.   Doctor seemed pretty optimistic about this plan. And so, we had been renting our house in, in Niceville. And with this new plan, I would have had Kaetlin there for like three years.   And so, we were like, you know, do we really want to rent our house anymore? It's like, no, we don't. All right, well let's sell our house.   So, we sold our house, and it sold in like less than 24 hours. And it's like $25,000 over asking price. It was like, well, okay, God, I feel like that's what we're supposed to do.   And so, she went in to get that treatment. And, and, uh, unfortunately, uh, we found out that didn't work. Uh, it was like, well, she can't remember coming home and saying like, well, I'm ready.   I want to go back home. I was like, what? We just sold our house.   We don't have a home right now. But God always makes a way and you always provide always. Um, and so we, you know, I was like, all right, we want to go home.   We're going to go home. And at first I was being very logical. I was like, well, let's let the kids finish out the semester.   Cause this was like around Halloween is when she realized it didn't work and we're going to come home. So, we were able to come home. We had some amazingly generous friends who they got us a private flight to come home for that Halloween.   And I guess when we were there, um, that's where we really just decided we need to be back. And, and so she, when we went back to talk to her doctors about managing her leukemia remotely. And so that was what the plan was.   So we, we moved back that Thanksgiving, uh, with all of our stuff and we were looking for a place to stay. It was actually kind of a fun month. We were living on the beach for a couple months or really from Thanksgiving to right before Christmas.   We had some pretty awesome things come available. We were able to live in a house on the beach. And so that was, that was mine and my wife's always kind of like a special place.   And so, we love the water, and we love the beach. And so that was an awesome place for us to be. And so, uh, coming back, it was tough.   She was getting out of the hospital a lot just with fevers and stuff like that. And then we got to have Christmas here that December. And then January 9th of this past year, she, she, uh, eventually passed away.   We weren't expecting, I mean, we knew that there would be an end, but I don't think we could have expected it to, um, happen then. And I think we kind of thought we'd have a little bit more time, but we didn't, but we were thankful. I'm thankful for my wife.   It was like we got to get back now because we knew that when an issue did pass that we needed to be in our hometown and not in Houston, where our community was much smaller.   Laura Dugger: (40:18 - 40:27) So, yeah. And so, you're together, you're celebrating Christmas. And then things suddenly turned unexpectedly.   James Jetton: (40:28 - 40:28) Yeah.   Laura Dugger: (40:28 - 40:31) And that led to losing her on January 9th.   James Jetton: (40:32 - 44:59) Yeah. You know, nothing really happened like, you know, in that leukemia world. And you know, a lot of cancers that give you like, you know, a prognosis like, you have three months, you have four months full, but blood cancer is very different.   And it kind of exacts you and, and there's no way to really know for sure, like, is this going to work or how long do we have and that sort of thing. And she was just in and out of the hospital so much. When we came back home, when you have leukemia, anytime you have a fever above a hundred point four, it's like you're immediately going to the doctor.   And so that's kind of how, you know, when she went in, like, there's still kind of an expectation that she would come home. But then those last few days, like, I just, I vividly remember as we're trying to figure out what to do, we're going to, are we going to go to a new treatment plan or we're going to try something else? Or, or is this kind of the end?   And her doctor here, he said, there was a plan that we possibly could have done, but he was like, they're saying this got a success rate of like, whatever, nine of 10 people went into remission with it. He's like, but when you look closer, they were only in remission for four weeks. And he was like, is this what we want to do?   Cause chemo just, it wipes you out. And it's like, there's no way to continue to live like this. But she, Kaetlin, she was, she just had a way of bringing a peace over everybody.   She had a way of like knowing exactly what everyone needed, I guess, in some respects. Cause I remember leaving the day we decided we would not do the treatment plan. And I came home, like I said, I always try to be home to put my kids to bed.   She said that the night before it kind of, she went downhill fast. She got up and walked around the hospital with her dad and told her dad like, “Hey, I think I'm going to do, I think I'm going to do it. I'm going to do the treatment plan.”   You know, I've talked to him about this, but I feel like that was almost like the piece he needed to go home. You know, when she passed, it was like, it was beautiful. Like it was, it was such a blessing that she was in her home hospital and that the doors, it was like a revolving door.   I remember Kaetlin told me once, she said, “when I pass or when I'm in the last days, don't tell anyone that they can't come see me.” And so, we were trying to figure out how we're going to do this. And I was like, well, she said that anybody who wants to come see me, let them come see me.   And so, we put a word out and there was like a revolving door of people just coming in and out of the room all day. Like the doctors, the ER told the front desk people, like, you know, technically, I guess you're only supposed to have like two visitors or something because of the COVID things. And she was like, anybody that comes in and says they want to see Kaetlin Jetton, you say, “Go on up”.   So it was, it was pretty awesome seeing all these people come in and see her. And we had already gotten to see the impact that she had made on so many people's lives for the past couple of years, but it was cool to see them all there doing that. And I remember the night she passed, I leaned over, I was heading home and two of my best friends since the ninth grade had come down and they were at the house with the kids and I was coming home to put the kids to bed.   And I leaned over and gave her a kiss and I said, don't wait on me. It's like, it's okay. It's time to go home.   And sure enough, that's, I left that night and I got a phone call about 11 from her dad and she had passed and that, and I think that, you know, in some respects, it's like, should I have been there? I was like, but I think that also was like, no, Kaet wanted you to be with your two guys. And Kayla knew that her family would be there with her.   And she did exactly what she wanted to do. You know, she always had a plan even from her like celebration service. She had everything written out.   Who's going to speak, what songs are playing, when are we doing this? And so it was, it was, you know, it was pretty cool seeing how many people just came in and out and how she just kind of felt like she knew what she was doing, even up in the last days. So.   Laura Dugger: (45:00 - 45:55) Do you love The Savvy Sauce? Do you gain anything when you listen? Did you know that the two ways we earn money to keep this podcast live is through generous contributions from listeners and from our paying sponsors.   That means we can promote your business and you're still supporting The Savvy Sauce. It's a win-win. Please email us today at info@thesavvysauce.com to inquire about pricing for sponsoring each episode. Thank you for your consideration.    Well, James, your perspective is incredible. And yet I'm so sorry, such a deep loss for your whole family.   And what is life like now for all of your family these days? Cause it's still very recent. And I'm wondering if grief still comes up at unexpected times.   James Jetton: (45:56 - 50:49) Yeah. You know, it's, you know, it's a day-to-day thing, I believe. I don't, and grief is certainly something that sometimes you don't see it coming.   And I'll say, I love bragging on this community. I love bragging on this town so much. So, my kids, they're all in school, you know, and I'm bragging on my kids too.   After she passed, the kids got to stay home for a couple of weeks, but then it was time to go back to school. My two girls go to one school where actually Kaetlin went to school from kindergarten all through. So, I felt like that was a very special thing for her and the kids could go to the same school that their mom went to.   But then Hattie goes to a different school because of her special needs. And then Ryder goes to a different school. He's in preschool.   And so, after she passed, like, so it was complicated in the sense of, I've got to get Hattie to school at 7:30. I've got to get Lincoln out of school by like 8:45 and then Ryder can go in before 9:00 a.m. So, I would usually drop him off on the way. But I say, I'd say like, what does life look like?   Well, after she passed, I knew like, how am I going to make this work? And that semester, there was somebody in my house every morning at 7:00 a.m. to sit with the kids, help with breakfast, and help finish getting them ready while I could take Hattie to school at 7:30. And then I would come back home and after they finished getting ready, then I would take them to school. So, I had someone in my house every morning at 7:00 a.m. after she passed, which was, you know, they were doing it for the kids, but they were doing it for me too. I knew that I couldn't just lay in my bed and let people just come on in and take care of my kids. Like I had to get up, take a shower, look like I'm somewhat presentable and go on. And that's kind of how that last semester was, just community and people with meals and then through all that, trying to get them engaged, get them back into doing some things that they love to do.   And yeah, I like to brag on my kids in a lot of ways, this perspective kind of dawned on me in the past couple of weeks of like, I sent them back into a new school where they know very many people. Everybody knows them. Not everyone.   I don't know everybody. And they had to go and do that a few weeks after their mom passed. Here I am trying to stay away from people and not have a whole bunch of conversations, but yet the kids are stepping up and doing their thing.   And man, it's just, it's pretty inspiring when I think of it in that respect as well. Nowadays we are blessed that we get to have a nanny and it's, that's a whole cool story in itself. And that she worked with me in student ministry, and I'd actually left to go be a nanny for some other people in Nashville.   And I was texting her trying to figure out, “Hey, I need some help. You got any friends down here that want to be a nanny? Cause it's hard to find.”   And she's like, “Actually, I would love to come back and do it.” And that was just a huge blessing. Cause it was like, at the time of us having all these new things, I was able to be able to have somebody that the kids already knew come in and be there.   And so, she helps in so many ways and allows the kids to do their tennis and their soccer and gymnastics or whatever it may be. And it allows me to get to, coach them and be a part of that, those aspects of life, which I love doing so much. And so, she's really helped.   So, in our day to day now, like it, it's a lot of moving pieces. I mean, just last week, we got to go to a widower's retreat and there was never a worry, never worry about who's taking care of the kids, that they're getting to where they need to be. So, it's a genuine, like I get to see how a village truly takes care of the kids.   And yes, there are days and it's hard. And some days it just kind of sucks and it sucks for them. It sucks for me.   But I have gotten to see how God still shows out through the difficult moments and how he still provides no matter how far away I am or how close I am. He still continually provides. And I know that, and I know that he will not let us down.   It's one day at a time. And as we approach these new seasons, there's always new seasons. You talk about grief and things pop up.   I think that holidays will bring up stuff they already have in some respects and my wife, you know, she was a medical professional. So, when kids get sick, it's different now. We go to the doctor more often because mom's not here to take care of them and call in medicine.   But I think that we do sense a void in that when kids are sick and that sort of thing. But, today, like things are okay. We're doing all right.   Laura Dugger: (50:50 - 51:07) Well, and James, you were a journalism major and you're a very gifted writer. So where would you direct us to get to read more about your family and stay current and hopefully find ways that we can further support you?   James Jetton: (51:08 - 52:18) Well, my wife and I, we started a blog called Our Hands Go Up, and it's OurHandsGoUp.com. And that's formed out of, started with Hattie. That's where the blog started because Hattie, we talked about that joy that she has, but our hands will always go up.   Like her hands go up all the time and it just seems so appropriate. And the picture of hands going up, there's so many things that go to that with our praise to God, our vulnerability and our sides. And there's just a lot that comes through that anyway.   But yeah, Kaetlin started writing on that and I wrote some in that. She spearheaded it because she's way more organized and detailed than I am. So, it looks a lot prettier than what I would have done, but here recently, like I've felt a calling to bring it back and revitalize it.   So as of right now, like there's, my wife wrote a lot, and she still has writings that she never shared with anybody. So, I've started revitalizing it by sharing some of her writings, but I will be writing in there as well. So that would probably be a good place or even, and then my, just my social media, James Jetton, you can always see some crazy stories of my kids.   Laura Dugger: (52:21 - 52:34) Oh, wonderful. We will link to both of those in our show notes. And are there any practical needs that you do have at this time or any specific prayer requests you would like to share with us?   James Jetton: (52:35 - 53:26) You know, I think the specific prayer requests are just for me and for my kids. So, things are going to look different for them for sure. And I know there's going to be some hard moments.   So, I guess the prayer would just be, you know, provision as God's always provided. And, you know, when I say that, I don't just talk about it in like a material way, but like He seems to provide us with feelings, emotions, people, support, all of that. And so just provision for my kids and just encouragement and support for them as we've kind of walked through these, these new firsts for the kids and, and that it will just, they will still have, find the joy that we always talk about choosing and, and that my wife did so well that we will continue to find that joy through these more difficult days ahead for sure.   Laura Dugger: (53:26 - 53:58) Yes, Lord may it be so. Well, James, you clearly just have so much wisdom to share and I appreciate you walking through so much of your personal journey. And I know that you also do have a lighthearted personality and we're going to end on a lighter note because you may know that we're called The Savvy Sauce because Savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge.   And so, as my final question for you today, what is your Savvy Sauce?   James Jetton: (54:01 - 54:51) You know, my Savvy Sauce, it's just, it's one day at a time. I think that we get overwhelmed with, you know, I joke with people, like it's a stupid joke. But hey, if God wanted to give us more than one day at a time, He would. So, we only get one day, and He doesn't give us two days at one time.   You know, just taking things as they come one day at a time. We all have our goals. We all have our plans, our dreams and aspirations, but leaving space for the Holy Spirit and how God moves is critical.   And when you're walking through grief and you're walking through hard stuff, like thinking about too much out there in front of you can be debilitating. And so just focus on what your next step, just take one more step. We can always take one more step.   And so just kind of day at a time and just take one more step.   Laura Dugger: (54:52 - 55:08) James, thank you for your faithfulness to Kaet, your faithfulness to our Lord, your faithfulness to your children. And we will all be praying for each of you in this coming season and beyond. And just really grateful for you being my guest today.   James Jetton: (55:09 - 55:26) Well, I'm really grateful to be here. This is great. I'm thankful for the chance to just share her story and share our story.   I feel God has just moved and worked through us in so many amazing ways. And anytime I can get a chance to share how God has moved and worked, I'm thankful. So, thank you for having me.   Laura Dugger: (55:26 - 58:42) It's been an honor. One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term gospel before?   It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there is absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.   We need a savior. But God loved us so much, he made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.   That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.   We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So, would you pray with me now?   Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you. Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life?   We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.   If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me, so me for him. You get the opportunity to live your life for him. And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason.   We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you ready to get started? First, tell someone.   Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes & Noble and let me choose my own Bible.   I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. You can start by reading the book of John. Also, get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ.   I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps, such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. We wa

Special Patreon Re-Release: Stories about Faith, Family, and Leading a Generous Business with John Wieland   **Transcription Below**   Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV) "“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”   Questions and Topics We Discuss: Are there any  personal stories that set your life on a different trajectory? Most business people do not have an experience like yours where they go from losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to becoming hugely profitable. Will you share your business journey with us? How has God taught you to grow in generosity and how can we learn to do the same? Uncommon Threads   John Wieland purchased a small, virtually bankrupt company in 1994. Under his leadership, MH Equipment has gone from having three branches and 50 employees to having over 900 employees and over 30 branches. Wieland is also the president of the His First Foundation, a non-profit that receives 10 percent of MH's profits. He teaches college graduates how to handle money responsibly, is a speaker and will guest preach from time to time. He and his wife Julie have four children: Jessica, Jennifer, Jamie and Josiah. They also have one granddaughter: Saylor.   Thank You to Our Sponsors: Chick-fil-A East Peoria and The Savvy Sauce Charities (and donate online here)   Other Recommended Business Leadership Episodes on The Savvy Sauce: 12 How to Apply Successful Business Principles to Your Life with Dee Ann Turner 67 Thriving at Work, Home, and Life with Author, Blogger, Podcaster, and Business Owner, Crystal Paine 70 Energy to Spark Success in Your Business with Best-Selling Author, Speaker, and Podcaster, Christy Wright 77 How 2 Questions Can Grow Your Business and Change Your Life with Author, Pastor, and Podcaster, Jeff Henderson 79 Radical Business and Radical Parenting with Gary & Marla Ringger, Founders of Lifesong for Orphans 127 Generational Differences in the Workplace with Haydn Shaw 132 Pursuing Your God-Given Dream with Francie Hinrichsen 152 Leadership Training: Five Key Elements for Creating Customer Loyalty in Your Business with Elizabeth Dixon 193 Biblical Principles as Wise Business Practices with Steve Robinson 198 Divine Productivity with Matt Perman   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website   Please help us out by sharing this episode with a friend, leaving a 5-star rating and review, and subscribing to this podcast!   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)   Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   **Transcription**   Music: (0:00 – 0:08)   Laura Dugger: (0:09 - 1:46) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Duggar, and I'm so glad you're here.    I'm grateful for today's sponsor, Chick-fil-A East Peoria.   Check them out online to place your order for dining or catering, or to fill out an application to join their friendly team. Visit Chick-fil-A East Peoria.   If you've been with us long, you know this podcast is only one piece of our nonprofit, which is the Savvy Sauce Charities.   Don't miss out on our other resources. We have questions and content to inspire you to have your own practical chats for intentional living. And I also hope you don't miss out on the opportunity to financially support us through your tax-deductible donations.   All this information can be found on our recently updated website, TheSavvySauce.com. And now I'm pleased to share this episode with you that used to only be available to paying patrons. I am on site at MH Equipment to interview their CEO, John Wieland.   John is an inspiringly generous leader, and he recently published his first book, entitled Uncommon Thread, Weaving a Life Through Family, Business, and Faith. And we're going to cover each one of those topics now. Here's our chat.   Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, John.   John Wieland: (1:47 - 1:49) Thank you very much, Laura. I look forward to this.   Laura Dugger: (1:50 - 2:02) I'm very excited about this chat as well. And we're going to go back a little bit as we begin. So, will you just first start us off with sharing how you came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ?   John Wieland: (2:03 - 3:49) Yeah. Growing up, I was a decent guy, very narcissistic. When I got to college, I started to realize I was missing something.   And a guy told me to start reading the Bible, and he suggested reading the book of Matthew. And so, I was feeling pretty good until I got to the Sermon on the Mount, which is Matthew 5 through 7. And in Matthew 7, it says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”   I was like, hold it. Many and few. Well, we still went to church, so I thought I was still in the club. A few verses later, they throw another bomb.   And Jesus says, “Hey, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy your name? Cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you evil doers.” In about a span of eight verses, I realized I was on the outside looking in.   And as I got further into the gospel, I realized that my sin has to be dealt with. And that Jesus is one that dealt it for me. And so that became a follower of Jesus when I was a sophomore in college.   Laura Dugger: (3:49 - 4:01) Wow. Thank you for sharing that testimony. And are there any other personal stories that you want to share that kind of illustrate how it set your life on a different trajectory?   John Wieland: (4:02 - 7:17) Yeah. Growing up, I really had a blessed environment. Mom and dad was great.   But I will share with you a moment in time when I was a senior in high school. And like I said, I was pretty narcissistic. I was dating a lady in my class and it wasn't long before she got pregnant.   I didn't think either one of us were at this stage where we should get married, let alone have a child. The idea of having a baby and giving it to one of the millions of couples who are crying out everyday for a baby to love didn't even enter my mind at that time because life was just about me. What was the most convenient for me at that time?   So we decided to have the abortion. My memory of that was that I paid for the abortion. When I talked to the lady about this book and asked her if she was okay with it, she had different memories.   She was very nice about it. But this was her memory. She said, I remember you telling me you had plans for college and that we were too young.   I remember being at the abortion clinic, sitting on a beanbag chair, waiting for them to call my name. I remember the pain of the procedure. I remember sitting in the recliner after the procedure, feeling numb, feeling cold, feeling empty.   I remember looking around wondering what I had done and wondering if I would go to hell for taking this soul's life. I remember seeing you for the first time afterwards and feeling sad. I remember you going off to college that fall.   There's not a month that goes by that I don't wonder what my child would have looked like, what my child would have become. I count my child as one of my own, my oldest. I had a ceremony for my child's death.   I pray for my child's soul. Significantly different memories, wouldn't you say? It was 12 years later that I met with a doctor and he's telling me that it's going to be very hard for me and my wife to conceive.   The irony did not pass me by. The only biological child that I was ever going to have, I aborted. I kind of felt like I was getting what I deserved.   The thing I learned is this. God is rich in mercy. He gave us four three-day-old babies to adopt.   It has been just an incredible journey to experience his mercy and grace. That has probably defined me probably as much as anything.   Laura Dugger: (7:17 - 7:57) Thank you for being willing to share such a personal story. I'm wondering for the people listening where that lands, if someone has made a similar choice and they've never received the forgiveness from Jesus. They've never been able to forgive themselves, but like you say, He is rich in mercy.   I think it's interesting how you even bring that up because just yesterday in church during our Sunday school hour, that was what our pastor was highlighting. How God doesn't say he's rich in other things in the Bible, but he is rich in mercy.   John Wieland: (7:58 - 8:48) A side note, just a couple of weeks ago, my daughter had a friend about 30 years old. She was single. She was dating someone.   She got pregnant. She didn't want to get married. She really didn't know if she wanted to have the baby, and she was thinking about taking the easy way out.   In God's sovereignty, she started to read the book that my daughter gave her that I wrote. After she read the chapter of four adoptions and one abortion, she decided, I'm not taking the easy way out. I'm going to have this child.   That makes being vulnerable and transparent to a broken world worth everything.   Laura Dugger: (8:50 - 9:10) Yes, absolutely. You have no idea whose life and even a baby's life that may be saved or changed through hearing this. Also, in your book, you've written about your family.   What would you say was the most impactful lesson that you learned from your family growing up?   John Wieland: (9:10 - 11:03) I think the most important thing I learned was from my dad, you do the right thing because it is the right thing, not because of the outcome. It's never wrong to do the right thing. With my mom, she was rich in mercy and grace.   People were people, and everybody was invited into our home. We had a house right across the high school. We had an in-ground swimming pool.   There were hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that would come to our house for swimming parties. I thought that I was a real popular guy. I went off to college, and every time I would come home or talk to my mom or dad, they would say, “Hey, so-and-so came over for lunch today.”   I'm like, that's interesting. So-and-so came and had dinner with us. So-and-so came over just to talk to us.   I was like, this is really interesting. They haven't talked to me since I went to college, and I realized I was not the popular one. My parents were the popular one.   I was just window dressing. And so what I got from my home is God's currency is people, especially the brokenhearted, the hopeless, the hungry. And we need to lean into that community, that a society is judged on how we care for the least of us.   And I think I got that from my parents, as well as, obviously, the scripture.   Laura Dugger: (11:04 - 11:17) Absolutely. But it sounds like you had wonderful role models. And now as a father yourself, what are you most grateful you prioritized while you and your wife Julie were raising your own children?   John Wieland: (11:17 - 12:16) Even though we had resources, our children did not grow up entitled. We lived in a neighborhood, and our kids always had the fewest toys. I was engaged in their lives.   They liked that. I coached softball, basketball, soccer, etc., etc. Julie was a stay-at-home mom.   Obviously, she was more engaged in their lives. They knew that messing up wasn't a big deal. It was just a chance to grow.   With my background and the number of times I messed up, I'm sure I'm not going to be cast in many stones. But it's like an opportunity to learn and grow from there, and that my love was not dependent on their behavior. And then lastly, it was what my mom and dad taught, is to be kind to everyone, especially to those who are hurting and struggling.   So, I think those were the things that they came back with that said, you probably hit the ball there.   Laura Dugger: (12:16 - 12:20) What a neat opportunity to get to hear that from your growing children.   John Wieland: (12:21 - 12:57) I would encourage parents out there to ask your kids, even if they're in high school or grade school, where am I hitting the ball and I'm doing well, and where have I wounded you? Because sometimes when you've wounded them, you won't even remember when it happened. But it still is an impactful moment for them.   And so, I've had both of those conversations. Obviously, I like this conversation better as opposed to the times where I've wounded them. So, yeah.   Laura Dugger: (12:58 - 17:58) Well, thank you for sharing that. And now a brief message from our sponsors.  I want to say thank you to our longtime sponsor, Chick-fil-A East Peoria.   I hope that you've already downloaded the Chick-fil-A app. Because did you know that with the app, you can skip the line and have food ready for you when you arrive? This is one of my favorite options when I'm taking my four daughters to Chick-fil-A East Peoria.   Download the Chick-fil-A app today and start earning points toward free rewards that are fully customized to your preferences and tastes. Chick-fil-A was named as one of Glassdoor's best places to work in the nation. That's a huge honor.   And one team member even wrote, “No comparison. This is a great job for a first job, extra money, or for career advancement. Such a loving environment, great management, and fair pay.”   Chick-fil-A believes that the local and involved ownership ensures fostering an environment where you are known, challenged, and cared for. So, if you're looking for a wonderful place to work, visit Chick-fil-A East Peoria or fill out an application online today at Chick-fil-A East Peoria.    Are you utilizing Savvy Sauce Charities to full capacity?   Other than our special Patreon re-release episodes, our content is now available in video form, in addition to our audio only. And we have written transcriptions for every episode. Visit our website today, thesavvysauce.com, to access all these forms of interviews. And while you're there, make sure you sign up for our email list to receive encouragement, questions, and recommended resources about once a month to promote your own practical chats for intentional living. I also want to remind you about the financial side of Savvy Sauce Charities. As you know, we recently became a non-profit, which means all your financial support is now tax deductible.   There are multiple ways to give, and we would be so honored if you would share your financial support with us so that we can continue producing free content that is accessible to the general public. Your money will go to support creatively getting the gospel message of Jesus Christ to the nations as we continue to share the good news on every episode. And I say this is reaching the nations because The Savvy Sauce podcast is downloaded in all 50 United States, as well as over 100 countries around the world.   Your financial support also supports practical needs, such as aiding our team to continue producing helpful content that is practical and uplifting and always pointing to Jesus. Your financial support, furthermore, will help us continue to expand our reach and secure future projects we have planned for this ministry. If your ears are hearing this message right now, I am specifically asking you to give.   We are so grateful for any amount, and our team will continue to seek to be good stewards of the gifts offered to us. So, if you want to write a check or set up an ongoing payment with your bank that delivers a check to us each month, this is the most beneficial way to give because no percentages are taken out for processing fees. You can make your check out to: Savvy Sauce Charities, P.O. Box 101, Roanoke, Illinois, 61561.  Additionally, with our new website, we now have a donate button. There are processing fees that we cover for these donations, but we wanted to offer listeners a seamless way to share their finances with us when we share our content with them. So just visit thesavvysauce.com and find the donate page under the tab support.    Another way to find it is simply type in donate to the search bar on our website and just click the first picture shown. We are all about sharing around here, sharing resources, sharing joy, and sharing the good news about Jesus Christ. We ask that you also will share by sharing financially, sharing The Savvy Sauce podcast episodes, and sharing a five-star rating and review.   You can also share any of our social media posts on Instagram or Facebook. We are grateful for all of it and we just love partnering together with you. Now, back to the show.   As we transition from family to business, I think it's just worth noting that most business people do not have an experience like yours where they go from losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to becoming hugely profitable. So, John, will you share your business journey with us now?   John Wieland: (17:58 - 20:30) Yeah, I was an average student, a very average student going into high school. The only thing I had any ability in was math. I got along well with numbers, so I did not have much of a problem figuring out what I was going to do.   It was going to have to do with numbers, so I became an accountant. I was a public accountant for an accounting firm, and I was auditing this company, MH Equipment, for about seven years, and they were virtually bankrupt. And there's a couple of things I learned being in public accounting.   I thought that an entrepreneur was a special type of person, that he was or she was really smart and just insightful. And as I audited all these companies, I realized some of these people aren't that smart, to the point where I'm thinking, I'm not that smart, but I think I'm smarter than them. And so the luster of, you have to be somebody special to be an entrepreneur, was taken away.   And so, fast forward, they were virtually bankrupt. The people that they did business with, their primary supplier, Hyster, they were going to decide who took it over, because they were going to have to write off about a million dollars for someone to take it over. I decided it wasn't a complicated business, and I tell people I was in the right place at the right time.   God is sovereign, and for some reason, they said yes to some 35-year-old guy who had no entrepreneurial spirit and can't even change his own oil. So, I had no mechanical skills. That was in 94.   For the next five years, the economy was great. And a good economy will cover a multitude of sins. And so, all the mistakes I was making, I wasn't having to really pay for them, because the economy was good.   And so, we went from 50 employees to close to 1,000 now, and we had three branches, and now we got 30 branches. And it's been a fun ride, because you're able to create a company that you want to be a part of. So, it's been a short 28 years.   Laura Dugger: (20:31 - 20:42) And then even to go more micro, there was a certain decision that you made that doesn't make sense on paper when you look at the numbers.   John Wieland: (20:43 - 22:14) Yes, it was in 2001. We had just bought two other companies and tripled the size of MH Equipment. I thought, like, I had some type of silver spoon and that I was a genius.   I wasn't. The economy turned on us. And in the first six months of 2001, we lost over $700,000.   Julie and I, we always wanted to give back to our communities by setting aside funds to make a positive difference in our communities, but we just never pulled the trigger. But it was at this low point in July of 2001, after we had lost $700,000, that we decided to go for it. And the executive team decided to start the His First Foundation, where we would commit 10% of all future profits starting in July to His First to come alongside our employees' passions.   Since then, MH Equipment, we have invested over $20 million to not-for-profits and charitable organizations. But we started it when we had to take a step of faith. And God honored that.   Laura Dugger: (22:15 - 22:28) That is incredibly powerful. And even since that point, how would you say that God's taught you to grow in generosity? And how can all of us learn to do the same?   John Wieland: (22:28 - 24:20) That is a great question. Scripture is very clear. You got to be faithful in small things.   If you're faithful in small things, He'll probably entrust you to be faithful in greater things. That's just a biblical principle. It's not a promise, but it's a principle.   And so, Julie and I, we've always had a heart for giving, and so when we didn't have much, we still gave. And the beauty about God is this. He doesn't need our money.   He does not care how many zeros there are before the decimal point. He's interested in how much of the giver is in the gift. Why do you think the rock star of giving is the poor widow who gave two pennies?   Because she was all in. And God loved it. And so people who are listening to this podcast, if you don't have much resources, this is a great opportunity.   To honor God, because if you choose to give something to somebody else, and you can't do something, that's a sacrifice. It's hard for people that have resources to actually sacrifice. So, I think it starts out at the beginning, and if you have not been overly generous with your time and your talents and your treasure, start.   I tell you, when you have a passion outside yourself, it is a game changer. You're so much more balanced. I mean, it's got to be tough to wake up everyday thinking life is all about you.   So, it has been a good journey.   Laura Dugger: (24:20 - 24:48) There's a lot of wisdom packed in there. And as I think back on our conversation already, we've covered a few aspects of your life, including faith and family and business lessons. And you've woven all of these areas together in your book, Uncommon Threads.   And this book might be classified as a secular book, but the gospel is naturally shared throughout. So, was that intentional?   John Wieland: (24:48 - 26:14) That was extremely intentional. I did not want to write a Christian book for one reason. I want non-Christians to read it.   The illustrator, who is Jim Burkle, who's a great illustrator, he's a missionary to Iranian refugees up in Michigan. He has been giving the books out to people. And a few months ago, he called and said, John, I got to tell you, I met this guy.   His father is in the mafia. He doesn't want to talk about Christ. He didn't want to think about going to church.   But he said he would read this book. Two weeks later, this guy called Jim and said, I read that book. It impacted me.   I want to talk to you. I don't want to preach to the choir. I want to create a book where non-Christians would not feel like they're being proselytized to every page.   But throughout the book, between family, business, and faith, the beauty of the cross is just naturally shared. Yeah, so I was intentional. I did not want that to be a uniquely Christian book because I want non-Christians to read it and like it.   Laura Dugger: (26:15 - 26:35) And I think you've very much done that and woven so many helpful stories and nuggets of wisdom tucked in there. But also in your book, you share an interesting story about sitting by a woman that had a very different lifestyle from you. So, can you tell me about that and what you learned?   John Wieland: (26:36 - 30:33) Yes. So, I'm on the plane. We're boarding it.   It's very crowded. I'm on the phone. I'm talking to one of my co-owners.   We're talking about Jesus. I used to think I said King Jesus. And the lady in front of me, she just tensed up when I said King Jesus.   And to her horror, when she sat down, I sat next to her. And, you know, I kind of felt like she may have a different lifestyle. And the last thing she wanted to do was sit by a Christian.   And I realized we need to own that. We have treated people who have a gay or lesbian lifestyle with meanness, judgment, hatred. And I thought, man, I want her to feel the love of Jesus.   Jesus, he doesn't want people to have lifestyles not because he's just mad. He wants them to be fulfilled. And so, during that time, I started talking to her.   And finally, I asked her what she liked to do. And she said, well, me and my partner, we like to go camping. And I think she thought, uh-oh, he will quit talking to me because now I've disclosed that I am gay.   And so, I just went back into and said, I just read a book on how people survive, you know, like land crashes. And some of the things that are common to all the people that survive when we start talking about it. And she just had a great conversation.   I said, “I would love to send you that book.” She went from hating the fact that she was sitting next to me to giving me her name, her personal address. I don't know what ever happened to Sarah.   But I think maybe for the first time, she felt loved by a follower of Jesus. And that can open doors. I have a cousin who got married, had two kids.   And then he decided he was gay or whatever and was with a guy for 40 years who just recently died. And this last year, he sent me a mass Christmas card from him and his partner. And on the back of the card, he wrote a few words that made me cry.   He simply said, “Your book was wonderful.” And I kind of felt like he felt like he gets it. He gets it that so many times Christians, they hate the sinner, you know.   And Jesus, he was a friend. He broke bread with the tax collectors and sinners. People flocked to him.   And if we want to change the world, we have to change our reputation. That is okay. I mean, I have a relative whose husband is going through a transgender thing.   And when this first started happening, they were all at our house for Thanksgiving. And I got the two. They were in the corner someplace.   And I walked up to them, and I said, “Look, you guys need to know this. You will always be welcomed in this home.   Laura Dugger: (30:36 - 30:45) That's powerful to hear tangibly how love can change things rather than hate.   John Wieland: (30:45 - 30:52) Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And that's a lesson that sitting by that person, I learned that well.   Laura Dugger: (30:53 - 31:44) Did you know you could receive a free email with monthly encouragement, practical tips and plenty of questions to ask to take your conversation a level deeper? Whether that's in parenting or on date nights, make sure you access all of this at thesavvysauce.com by clicking the button that says join our email list so that you can follow the prompts and begin receiving these emails at the beginning of each month. Enjoy.   Well, and just to highlight something else from your book, there's one chapter that was especially practical and it was entitled Leading Leaders. So, will you elaborate on a couple of your key takeaways? And we can begin with this one that you say every voice in the room is important.   John Wieland: (31:46 - 33:09) Yeah, I mean, if you want to have a healthy culture, everybody needs to have a voice. And as the leader, and if I have another leader, they think we should do A. The first thing I think about is what is the worst thing that can happen if we do A?   And if the worst thing that can happen is manageable, then let's go A. Because you're creating an environment where everybody will be open to speaking their opinions, their ideas. I mean, the Bible talks about out of the mouth of babes comes incredible wisdom.   And so, I think it's just really important that everyone has a voice. I also talk about never lose people because you're greedy. I mean, if you've got good people in your organization, be thinking about how can I give them more money?   That's why I've got like 12 people in the company that are minority shareholders. They own part of the buildings. I'm trying to figure out how to get them more money, not how I can pay as little as possible for as long as possible.   Laura Dugger: (33:09 - 33:31) I love that, both of those takeaways. And to circle back, when you have that thought cross your mind of what is the worst thing that could happen, does that oftentimes play out that the worst thing does happen? Or have there been times that it surprised you and going with that A that was mentioned turned out to be beneficial for all?   John Wieland: (33:31 - 34:16) Oh, actually, two times I went with it because I didn't understand what they were thinking. I didn't see their vision, but I trusted them. And both times I said, okay, the worst is manageable.   Both of them turned out to be home runs, not only for the company, but also for our customers and also financially. And so, all wisdom does not reside with you. And so, you need to understand just because you're the CEO, that does not mean you're the smartest guy in the room.   And typically, if you are, you haven't done a good job hiring.   Laura Dugger: (34:18 - 34:33) That's good. There were so many good business takeaways. And we oftentimes hear that leaders are readers.   So what are a few of the books that have most impacted you as a leader?   John Wieland: (34:33 - 36:34) Well, I'm going to say this. I don't want to come across overly spiritual, but the Bible, I try to read through that at least once a year. And it's interesting.   I was with a friend a couple of years ago, and they're like, does anyone have a good devotional that I can use and read this year? I'm looking for a good devotional. And I said, “Yeah, it's called the Bible.”   He was like, ooh, that's a good push. And so, guess what his devotion is. He's reading the scripture.   I like Business by the Book. That was an old book by Larry Burkett. And it really talked about if you say it's God, then act like your business is God.   And you don't have the right just to do whatever you want with it. You're a steward. I like to read a variety of genres.   I like to read human behavior. I like to read history. I like to read spiritual books.   I like to read biographies. You don't want to be a one-trick pony when it comes to conversations. You want to be interested.   You want to be able to pivot and talk to people about a wide variety of topics because that develops relationships. If they think that every time you talk to them, you're going to turn it to a spiritual conversation, I think that's going to get tiring. So, I'm a believer in being well-read, a variety of topics.   But again, if there's a book that you want to read continuously, I believe that God's Word keeps you on a solid path.   Laura Dugger: (36:35 - 36:57) I would say yes and amen to that. And I love that advice too for always being a reader and sharpening because we're never too young or too old to implement that habit. But I would also encourage other people listening to pick up a copy of your book as well.   So where can listeners get a copy of that?   John Wieland: (36:57 - 38:58) Yeah, you can get it at Barnes & Nobles. You could get it on Amazon. You can buy it at Paperback.   I don't produce the paperback, but we have the hardbacks and the hardbacks are only like $10 on Amazon. And if you put your name to who you want to give it to in parentheses under your name, I would address it to that person and sign it. And that's for a hardback.   And like I said, it's only $10. We did this. I did this.   It was not a money play. I have shared with you before. I'm glad it wasn't a money play because I've lost a lot of money on it.   And that wasn't the reason. It was because of the message. And I want people to have movement in their lives.   Obviously, I would love people who are not believers to come to saving faith in Christ. But Christians, there's just so many points of interest and stories where you'll grab a hold of something and pivot. And that's what I was hoping for is that when you read it, it's an easy read.   I write like I talk. I don't use big words. I'm 64 now.   I still like to read books with pictures in it. So, there's a bunch of illustrations in it. I'm selfie-facing.   And so, I always felt like if you want, if I want you to look in your mirror, I don't think it's very good for me to say, Laura, you need to look in your mirror. It's more effective to, as an author, to look in my own mirror and share honestly where I've messed up. And that gives the reader freedom to say, hmm, if he can be honest about that and put it on paper, maybe I need to look into this.   Laura Dugger: (39:00 - 39:25) Well, and I think this book has already touched many lives. And you were gracious to share a few of those stories of where that landed with people. So, I can't wait to see what else God has in store for this message.   But John, you may know that we're called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge or insight. And so as my final question for you today, what is your savvy sauce?   John Wieland: (39:25 - 41:07) I'm going to give you two answers. One, from a business perspective, that is our culture. The importance of truly living out our mission and our vision and our values.   About four years ago, we had a lady who had been doing strategic planning for Fortune 500, the Army and the Navy. And she spent three days with MH Equipment. And at the end of three days, she made this declaration.   In all my years of over 40 years, I have never met a company whose value statements that were on their wall were so closely related to reality. And so, you have to live out your values. You can't have something on your wall and then live something else out.   From a personal standpoint, my savvy sauce is this. Everything's not okay. Quit saying that.   When someone asks me how things are going, I will always say, considering the ordinary struggles of life, things are going okay. You would not believe the responses I get from that simple statement. They're like, I know what you mean.   I'm having problems with my son. Be okay with your brokenness. Jesus is a perfect one.   We're not. And so, I think when a watching world sees Christians that are honest in their own brokenness and they're walking towards Jesus and saying, he's the one that loves us unconditionally. I think we make movement.   Laura Dugger: (41:08 - 41:47) Absolutely. John, it's a privilege to get to hear you share about your faith and your family and your business and really that it is built on faith.    It just brings to mind Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”    And I feel like your life experience really illustrates that scripture coming to life. And so, I appreciate your transparency, appreciate your humble leadership and really appreciate you being my guest today.   John Wieland: (41:47 - 41:51) Laura, I just loved our time together and I appreciate what you do for the kingdom.   Laura Dugger: (41:52 - 45:08) Thank you, John. One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term gospel before?   It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there is absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.   We need a savior. But God loved us so much, he made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.   That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.   We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So would you pray with me now?   Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you. Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life?   We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.   If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me, so me for him. You get the opportunity to live your life for him. And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason.   We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you ready to get started? First, tell someone.   Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes & Noble and let me choose my own Bible.   I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. You can start by reading the book of John. Also, get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ.   I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps, such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. We want to celebrate with you too, so feel free to leave a comment for us here if you did make a decision to follow Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process.   And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “In the same way I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.   And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

It's no wonder David closes the psalm of his life glorifying God's power in redemption, because there is nothing quite as amazing as God taking a life ruined by sin, like David's, and making it new. In this message, Pastor J.D. continues to look at David's life song and shares the three things God's salvation gives us.

It's no wonder David closes the psalm of his life glorifying God's power in redemption, because there is nothing quite as amazing as God taking a life ruined by sin, like David's, and making it new. In this message, Pastor J.D. continues to look at David's life song and shares the three things God's salvation gives us. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1518/29

A person's last words can often be very telling. In this week's message, Pastor J.D. gives us a glimpse into a song that David wrote during an earlier time in his life, which serves as a summary of both his life and his ministry.

A person's last words can often be very telling. In this week's message, Pastor J.D. gives us a glimpse into a song that David wrote during an earlier time in his life, which serves as a summary of both his life and his ministry. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1518/29

Are you saying ‘yes' to the right things or the wrong things? In this episode, Jeff, Jeff, and Nate discuss: Nate's transition from growing up in Indiana to building waterfront homes in Florida. Leading in business and leading in ministry. Diving roles and bringing in outsiders in a family business. Separating leadership from ownership.   Key Takeaways: Be open to all opportunities - you never know the connections God will put in your life when you are open to serving, especially in the intersection of business and ministry. Consider your company's mission as a statement that everyone can live by, such as Potter Home's tagline: A Potter Home is built by our family, for your family, for the good of families in need.You cannot do it all alone. The yeses you say outside of the home, are nos that you say inside the home. Keep it simple, focused, and relational.   "If you have a heart for the Lord and heart for Jesus, hopefully, it's oozing out and influencing that you do." —  Nate Johnson Episode References: Lifesong for Orphans: https://lifesong.org/Harbor Network: https://www.harbornetwork.com/ About Nate Johnson: Nate Johnson is the President & CEO of Potter Homes and has been deeply connected with Southwest Florida and its growth for over the last 15 years.  Potter Homes is a high-end waterfront real estate developer with a portfolio of work all through the coast of Southwest Florida.Although Nate officially started his professional career in real estate development and construction management while attending Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, his involvement in the industry began much earlier. Growing up with his father working in the construction industry, they'd frequently visit job sites together and Nate quickly learned that he thoroughly enjoyed the components of design and creation that go into real estate and development.Nate cares deeply about the local church and has been involved in ministry efforts with Lifesong for Orphans, Harbor Network, and his local church Summit Church for over 15 years.Nate's goal is to have an integrated life, seeing all of his relationships, work, and service bring Glory to God while leading his family and seeing his kids flourish. Connect with Nate Johnson:Website: https://potter-homes.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/potter.homes/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nate-johnson-1642628b/   Connect with Jeff Thomas: Website: https://www.arkosglobal.com/Podcast: https://www.generousbusinessowner.com/Book: https://www.arkosglobal.com/trading-upEmail: jeff.thomas@arkosglobal.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArkosGlobalAdv Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arkosglobal/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkosglobaladvisorsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/arkosglobaladvisors/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLUYpPwkHH7JrP6PrbHeBxw

Sunday, September 1st, 2024 Series: King & Kingdom Message: My Life Song By: Bryant May, Lead Pastor Learn more about The Exchange at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theexchange.cc

In this episode of God Sized Stories, we sit down with Kory Kaeb to discuss his inspiring journey with the ministry Lifesong for Orphans. Kory shares about his family, their adoption experiences, and how Lifesong's mission to support adoption and orphan care worldwide has impacted countless lives. Learn about Lifesong's roots, their projects in over 15 countries, and how you can get involved through prayer, donations, and advocacy to support orphans and adopting families. Join us for an uplifting conversation about faith, generosity, and making a difference in the lives of children in need. For more information please visit their website at https://lifesong.org/

Originally aired July 21st, 2019

This is a message given by Ted J. Hanson at Alife Church in Bellingham, Wa. on August 4, 2024.

Regardless of our place in the foster care community, understanding who we are, who we belong to, and where our sense of security comes from is vital to our confidence in where we belong. It is such an honor to have Trisha Priebe on the podcast. She's an adoptee and adoptive mom who serves as the Sr. Communications Coordinator for Lifesong for Orphans. Trisha is also a speaker and writer who has published 16 books. She lives in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where she is wife to her husband, Luke, and is mom to three. In this episode, we explore why every adoptee's experience is unique, how foster care and adoption teach us the complexity of love, why parenting any child is a leap of faith, and the importance of helping our children identify truth. Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/trisha-priebe-244/

Irma tries to convert Karen to writing program Scrivener. Then Irma chats to children's creators Anna Walker and Andrea Rowe about how authors and illustrators work together (or don't!), why illustrator notes are a no-no, the profound impact of picture books on both adults and children, the biggest mistakes that new writers and illustrators make, what to expect from the editing and publishing process, how to network and build connections in the industry, the effects of crippling self-doubt, why we should all be library lurkers, the failures of literary festivals in relation to children's authors, the devastating impact of a public complaint on Andrea's debut book, and why Anna jetted off to New York for a publishing lunch.About Anna and AndreaAnna Walker is an illustrator and author of picture books. Using traditional mediums, she creates stories inspired by the quiet and sometimes joyful details of life. Her books include Florette, (New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Book), Mr Huff, (shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards and winner of a CBCA Award), and, most recently, A Life Song with Jane Godwin, which has been shortlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards.Andrea Rowe is an award-winning children's author, ghost-writer and copywriter. She has published three children's books – Jetty Jumping, Sunday Skating and In the Rockpool – and has won or been shortlisted for several major awards, including the CBCAs. She has another six picture books currently in production and has been awarded the prestigious May Gibbs Fellowship for 2024. Andrea is also Founding President of the Peninsula Writers' Club.

Intro song: Out of My Head by FastballAlbum 16: Collective Soul by Collective SoulSong 1: Smashing Young ManSong 2: Where the River FlowsSong 3: Collection of GoodsAlbum 15: A Worm's Life by Crash Test DummiesSong 1: He Liked to Feel ItSong 2: A Worm's LifeSong 3: I'm a Dog

Lifesong Kenya was founded by James Ouma who deeply felt the need to mitigate the Sexual Gender-Based Violence inflicted on vulnerable youth from early in life. By the time they find themselves in the Juvenile Justice System, childhood trauma has done serious damage that cannot be repaired by a prison sentence.

The Yaron Brook Show is Sponsored by The Ayn Rand Institute https://www.aynrand.org/starthereandExpress VPN https://www.expressvpn.com/yaronJoin this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/@YaronBrook/joinLike what you hear? Like, share, and subscribe to stay updated on new videos and help promote the Yaron Brook Show: https://bit.ly/3ztPxTxSupport the Show and become a sponsor: https://yaronbrookshow.com/membershipOr make a one-time donation: https://bit.ly/2RZOyJJContinue the discussion by following Yaron on Twitter (https://bit.ly/3iMGl6z) and Facebook (https://bit.ly/3vvWDDC )Want to learn more about Ayn Rand and Objectivism? Visit the Ayn Rand Institute: https://bit.ly/35qoEC3 #Ethics #selfishness #philosophy #individualism #capitalism ​#Objectivism #AynRand #politics #economy #reason

“Our mission is bringing joy and purpose to orphans.”For over 20 years, Lifesong for Orphans has done just that. They've helped to facilitate over 10,000 adoptions and provide gospel-centered care in schools, homes, and businesses in 14 countries around the globe. Who would've thought a failing food business and months of sleepless nights could lead to this?In today's episode, we're excited to welcome Kory Kaeb, Lifesong's VP of Operations, into the studio. He shares Lifesong's history, how God grew the organization into an international ministry, and how they serve orphans, adoptive families, and churches. You'll also learn about Lifesong's 4-part pledge to “our children”: teaching the gospel, caring for physical needs, a quality education, and transitioning to adulthood. Check out the resources below to learn more about Lifesong and how you can join the mission! Some are called to adopt, some are called to care, and some are called to give.FROM TODAY'S PODCAST• Guest: Kory Kaeb, Vice-President of Operations at Lifesong for Orphans• Lifesong.org • Adoption Resources• Donate to Lifesong• Lifesong YouTube Channel: adoption testimonies & stories from around the world. LET'S CONNECT• Visit us online at terminalexchange.org.• Follow The Terminal Exchange on social media!o Facebooko Instagramo TwitterABOUT NUSSBAUMEmployee-Owned, Purpose Driven | Nussbaum is an industry leader in over-the-road freight transportation. For more information on our award-winning services and top-paying driver careers, visit nussbaum.com or nussbaumjobs.com.

Gary Ringger is the founder and President of Lifesong for Orphans. His journey from struggling business owner in the food industry to the steadfast shepherd of Lifesong for Orphans is a testament to the heart of generosity in action. Following a profound personal “contract with God,” Gary's life shifted from profit-driven enterprise to purpose-driven stewardship, shaping a legacy of impact. Amidst the crucible of business challenges, Gary's faith-inspired pivot directed millions in business proceeds to fuel an innovative approach to orphan care. Today, Lifesong thrives on sustainable and impact business strategies, all rooted in Gary's spiritual journey and entrepreneurial grit. Major topics include: What led to Gary's “contract with God”? How did Gary transition from business to ministry? How has careful, intentional listening prayer shaped many major decisions in Gary's life? How can givers align their time and energy with their financial giving? How does Lifesong for Orphans serve orphans and families around the world? What is a giving engine and how do they provide ongoing support for ministry? QUOTES TO REMEMBER “We're gonna get rich, retire at 40, and live the American Dream.” “God used that brokenness to change my paradigm.” “My prayer life went from a discipline to my favorite time of day.” “If we hadn't written it down, the entire journey wouldn't have happened.” “Don't just give it away, get involved with something.” “Once you're a steward, God opens and closes doors in ways you could never imagine.” “If you want to experience God, look for where He's working and join into that.” LINKS FROM THE SHOW Lifesong for Orphans Radical Business, by Gary Ringger The 6 Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lancione The 13 Attributes of God (PDF) by Bill Bright Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby Ronald Blue Trust, now Blue Trust (see our interview with founder, Ron Blue) National Christian Foundation (see our interview with President Emeritus, David Wills) Halftime by Bob Buford The Mystery of God's Will by Chuck Swindoll Impact Foundation The Finish Line Community Facebook Group The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW 2 Timothy 1:7 | Spirit of Fear For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. James 1:27 | Pure Religion Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Matthew 25:23 | Parable of the Talents ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.' WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! If you have a thought about something you heard, or a story to share, please reach out! You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can also contact us directly from our contact page. If you want to engage with the Finish Line Community, check out our groups on Facebook and LinkedIn.

What Is the Purpose and Meaning of Life? 6 Short Segments. ACU Sunday Series.   Living with Purpose The Parable of the Slope Spiritual Whirlwinds What Is the Purpose and Meaning of Life? Walking in Covenant Relationship with Christ Song- Oh My Soul   Living with Purpose Finding your purpose can give you direction toward a life happiness and meaning. Coming to understand who you are, serving others, and seeking personal revelation from the Lord can help you break out of unhelpful life patterns and embrace a higher calling. Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/aJfhoAzST3A?si=XYjqXYKhIJD2cZhj The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 132,650 views Dec 8, 2021 Subscribe to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the latest videos: http://bit.ly/1M0iPwY Facebook:   / churchofjesuschrist   Twitter:   / ch_jesuschrist   Instagram:   / churchofjesuschrist   Website: ChurchOfJesusChrist.org   The Parable of the Slope. Elder Clark G. Gilbert "Hand art imagery follows Elder Gilbert's Parable of the Slope, which teaches that our direction we are headed and our slope matter far more than our starting point or struggles. Read Elder Gilbert's talk at: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/s..." Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/yDLaWYtaG6g?si=2wUJKaMyM3VDSUiX   The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 2.29M subscribers 179,855 views May 25, 2023   Spiritual Whirlwinds Don't let the whirlwinds drag you down. These are your days—to stand strong as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Watch this short video at- https://youtu.be/DzWXSz9hlxw?si=4fUYz2cOTyIlsnZ8 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 2.29M subscribers 1,193,296 views Mar 7, 2017 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints https://youtu.be/yDLaWYtaG6g?si=-PhHZIX3x64yPaFa   What Is the Purpose and Meaning of Life? | Now You Know Where did we come from? Why are we here on earth? And where do we go after we die? We've all asked these questions hoping to discover the purpose of life. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—believe that God has a plan for us. It's called the plan of salvation, and it contains the answers to life's questions. Jesus Christ is the central figure in God's plan. Before we were born on earth, we lived as spirit children of our Heavenly Father. He sent us to earth to receive a physical body and to learn and grow through life's experiences. God wants us to learn to do good and follow His Son, Jesus Christ. One way we show our love for God is by obeying His commandments. Of course, God knew we would make mistakes. As part of the plan of salvation, Jesus Christ would be born on earth. He would teach us, establish His Church, and suffer and die for our sins. Because He suffered all things, He can provide us relief from our sorrows and sufferings. Jesus Christ's sacrifice enables us to repent and be forgiven of our sins and mistakes. Learn more: Plan of Salvation- https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/s... Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/t9iYqKk00Bc?si=wysjuug-vEmJJJWI The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 2.29M subscribers 231,580 views Sep 20, 2019   Walking in Covenant Relationship with Christ | Emily Belle Freeman | October 2023 General Conference General Conference 500K subscribers 23,103 views Oct 1, 2023 Emily Belle Freeman compares walking the covenant path with walking the Jesus Trail in Israel. The One who was bruised and broken for us will allow mortality to do its work in us, but He doesn't ask us to face those challenges alone. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/s...   Casting Crowns, Katy Nichole, David Leonard - Oh My Soul (Lyric Video) Casting Crowns 1.86M subscribers 74,624 views Premiered Aug 31, 2023 #CastingCrowns #ChristianMusic #OhMySoul Check out the lyric video for "Oh My Soul (with Katy Nichole and David Leonard)"! Listen to “Oh My Soul (with Katy Nichole and David Leonard)” here - https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/LifesongsID Check out our latest release: https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/NewestRe... Listen to #OhMySoul: Spotify: https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/Lifesong... Apple Music: https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/Lifesong... Amazon Music: https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/Lifesong... YouTube: https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/Lifesong... YouTube Music: https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/Lifesong... Pandora: https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/Lifesong... Listen to Casting Crowns on your smart speaker. Just say “Play Oh My Soul by Casting Crowns.” Connect with us: Sign up for our newsletter: https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/EmailSig... Facebook: https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/facebookID Instagram: https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/instagramID Website: https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/websiteID YouTube: https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/youtubeID TikTok: https://CastingCrowns.lnk.to/tiktokID Alexa: Ask Alexa to follow Casting Crowns on Amazon Music Lyrics: Oh, my soul Oh, how you worry Oh, how you're weary, From fearing you lost control This was the one thing, You didn't see coming And no one would blame you, though If you cried in private If you tried to hide it away, So no one knows No one will see, if you stop believing Oh, my soul You are not alone There's a place where fear has to face the God you know One more day, He will make a way Let Him show you how, you can lay this down 'Cause you're not alone No, you're not alone Here and now You can be honest I won't try to promise that someday it all works out 'Cause this is the valley And even now, He is breathing on your dry bones And there will be dancing There will be beauty where beauty was ash and stone This much I know Oh, my soul You are not alone There's a place where fear has to face the God you know Yeah yeah One more day, He will make a way Let Him show you how, you can lay this down I'm not strong enough, I can't take anymore You can lay it down, you can lay it down And my shipwrecked faith will never get me to shore You can lay it down, you can lay it down Can He find me here Can He keep me from going under And oh, my soul You are not alone There's a place where fear has to face the God you know Oh-oh One more day, He will make a way Let Him show you how, you can lay this down You're not alone (Oh, you're not alone) Oh, you're not alone (Oh oh) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    For Come Follow Me lesson manual and materials visit- Come, Follow Me For Individuals and Families: New Testament 2023 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/come-follow-me/2023?lang=eng     For a list of 100+ episodes of ACU Sunday Series visit- https://www.podbean.com/site/search/index?kdsowie31j4k1jlf913=85cb8104bdb182c048b714ad4385f9e82a3aeb49&v=ACU+Sunday+Series+ Note- Click on “100 Episodes Found” in upper right corner.   For many different Podcasts based on the ‘Come Follow Me' program visit- https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=come+follow+me+   Subscribe to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the latest videos: http://bit.ly/1M0iPwY Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/churchofjesu... Twitter: @Ch_JesusChrist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ChurchOfJes... Website: ChurchOfJesusChrist.org The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints   BYUEducationWeek   Get a Free Book of Mormon | ComeUntoChrist Church of Jesus Christ https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org › requests › free-...   The Book of Mormon brings you closer to Jesus. Click to download a free digital copy of the Book of Mormon and learn about it with online missionaries.   -------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the Strength of Youth To help you find the Way and to help you make Christ's doctrine the guiding influence in your life, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has prepared a new resource, a revised version of For the Strength of Youth.   For over 50 years, For the Strength of Youth has been a guide for generations of Latter-day Saint youth. I always keep a copy in my pocket, and I share it with people who are curious about our standards. It has been updated and refreshed to better cope with the challenges and temptations of our day. The new version of For the Strength of Youth is available online in 50 different languages and will also be available in print. It will be a significant help for making choices in your life. Please embrace it as your own and share it with your friends. This new version of For the Strength of Youth is subtitled A Guide for Making Choices. To be very clear, the best guide you can possibly have for making choices is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the strength of youth. So the purpose of For the Strength of Youth is to point you to Him. It teaches you eternal truths of His restored gospel—truths about who you are, who He is, and what you can accomplish with His strength. It teaches you how to make righteous choices based on those eternal truths.13 It's also important to know what For the Strength of Youth does not do. It doesn't make decisions for you. It doesn't give you a “yes” or “no” about every choice you might ever face. For the Strength of Youth focuses on the foundation for your choices. It focuses on values, principles, and doctrine instead of every specific behavior. The Lord, through His prophets, has always been guiding us in that direction. He is pleading with us to “increase [our] spiritual capacity to receive revelation.”14 He is inviting us to “hear Him.”15 He is calling us to follow Him in higher and holier ways.16 And we are learning in a similar way every week in Come, Follow Me.     ACU Endorsed Charities -------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Born! Saving babies and Souls. https://preborn.org/ OUR MISSION To glorify Jesus Christ by leading and equipping pregnancy clinics to save more babies and souls. WHAT WE DO Pre-Born! partners with life-affirming pregnancy clinics all across the nation. We are designed to strategically impact the abortion industry through the following initiatives:… -------------------------------------------------------- Help CSI Stamp Out Slavery In Sudan Join us in our effort to free over 350 slaves. Listeners to the Eric Metaxas Show will remember our annual effort to free Christians who have been enslaved for simply acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Savior. As we celebrate the birth of Christ this Christmas, join us in giving new life to brothers and sisters in Sudan who have enslaved as a result of their faith. https://csi-usa.org/metaxas   https://csi-usa.org/slavery/   Typical Aid for the Enslaved A ration of sorghum, a local nutrient-rich staple food A dairy goat A “Sack of Hope,” a survival kit containing essential items such as tarp for shelter, a cooking pan, a water canister, a mosquito net, a blanket, a handheld sickle, and fishing hooks. Release celebrations include prayer and gathering for a meal, and medical care for those in need. The CSI team provides comfort, encouragement, and a shoulder to lean on while they tell their stories and begin their new lives. Thank you for your compassion  Giving the Gift of Freedom and Hope to the Enslaved South Sudanese -------------------------------------------------------- Food For The Poor https://foodforthepoor.org/ Help us serve the poorest of the poor Food For The Poor began in 1982 in Jamaica. Today, our interdenominational Christian ministry serves the poor in primarily 17 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Thanks to our faithful donors, we are able to provide food, housing, healthcare, education, fresh water, emergency relief, micro-enterprise solutions and much more. We are proud to have fed millions of people and provided more than 15.7 billion dollars in aid. Our faith inspires us to be an organization built on compassion, and motivated by love. Our mission is to bring relief to the poorest of the poor in the countries where we serve. We strive to reflect God's unconditional love. It's a sacrificial love that embraces all people regardless of race or religion. We believe that we can show His love by serving the “least of these” on this earth as Christ challenged us to do in Matthew 25. We pray that by God's grace, and with your support, we can continue to bring relief to the suffering and hope to the hopeless. --------------------------------------------------------

The sermon in this review was preached by David Payne of Lifesong Church and was uploaded to their YouTube page on October 25, 2023 All rights belong to David Payne and Lifesong church. This video is for teaching and review purposes only and is protected under fair use. Fair use is a doctrine in the United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching, or scholarship. Original Sermon: https://youtu.be/N97IaA6ulfg?si=qLsu-i6ORY2xCpl6 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-yp/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-honest-yp/support

The Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb The post Let Your Life Song Sing appeared first on Emmaus Road Fellowship.

worship team: Bob Dilley-acoustic guitar/vocals Eric Benline-bass guitar Evan Franks-drums Dave Oxford-electric guitar/vocals Tom Armstrong-keyboards Bella Pickett-vocals Cindy Carroll-vocals

worship team: Bob Dilley-acoustic guitar/vocals Eric Benline-bass guitar Evan Franks-Drums Dave Oxford-electric guitar/vocals Tom Armstrong-keyboards Bella Pickett-vocals Cindy Carroll-vocals

This week Pastor Blake finishes up the Life of David series with a message on 2 Samuel 22.    Want to watch a version of this message? Check out our online service at www.declarationchurch.net/live. 

We can never go back to before but we can celebrate the memory of someone who continues to teach us about authenticity and bravery. Marin Mazzie was such a magical singer/actress and gift to musical theatre who, in battling the challenge of ovarian cancer, taught us about the power of healing therapy and that amid life's ups and down, the world goes round.

Traditional Worship | Bishop Bob Hayes | The great hymns of our faith are like diaries that chronicle the story of our lives. In essence, they are the “Life Songs” that have given us inspiration, comfort, hope and reassurance in our time of deepest need. Inspired by God, the great hymn writers have gifted us with songs that have stood the test of time and have been passed down to us from generation to generation. This sermon series will help us recall those special times on our spiritual journeys when words may have failed, but somehow the music spoke to us, reminding us of God's love for us as expressed through His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

Traditional Worship | Rev. Pieerce Drake |The great hymns of our faith are like diaries that chronicle the story of our lives. In essence, they are the “Life Songs” that have given us inspiration, comfort, hope and reassurance in our time of deepest need. Inspired by God, the great hymn writers have gifted us with songs that have stood the test of time and have been passed down to us from generation to generation. This sermon series will help us recall those special times on our spiritual journeys when words may have failed, but somehow the music spoke to us, reminding us of God's love for us as expressed through His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

Traditional Worship | Bishop Bob Hayes |The great hymns of our faith are like diaries that chronicle the story of our lives. In essence, they are the “Life Songs” that have given us inspiration, comfort, hope and reassurance in our time of deepest need. Inspired by God, the great hymn writers have gifted us with songs that have stood the test of time and have been passed down to us from generation to generation. This sermon series will help us recall those special times on our spiritual journeys when words may have failed, but somehow the music spoke to us, reminding us of God's love for us as expressed through His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

Traditional Worship | Dr. Jeff Olive |The great hymns of our faith are like diaries that chronicle the story of our lives. In essence, they are the “Life Songs” that have given us inspiration, comfort, hope and reassurance in our time of deepest need. Inspired by God, the great hymn writers have gifted us with songs that have stood the test of time and have been passed down to us from generation to generation. This sermon series will help us recall those special times on our spiritual journeys when words may have failed, but somehow the music spoke to us, reminding us of God's love for us as expressed through His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.

Kat, Moose and Producer Sara discuss the rhythm of relationship. Moose learns her bright star isn't as she believed and Sara shares her life song. Kat subscribes to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Moose dangles a bribe for our listeners, Producer Sara gives peopling advice and Moose wonders who she is.Support the showVisit us on the Interwebs! Follow us on Instagram and Facebook! Support the show!

A person's last words can often be very telling. In this week's message, Pastor J.D. gives us a glimpse into a song that David wrote during an earlier time in his life, which serves as a summary of both his life and his ministry. From these “last words” of David, we can learn important truths about God—truths that sustained David, and that can sustain us through even the darkest of times.

You are listening to audio transcript of the world university of prayer and fasting course for missionaries, church planters, pastors, house church leaders etc. This leaders meeting took place in CMFI headquarters, Koume - Bertoua, Cameroon from 26th to 4th of April 2023. God bless you as you listen, Amen!

Do you find yourself harboring past, negative emotions? If so, That's the OLD wine. It's time to sip on the new wine. Tune in and listen. What's in your bottle? New wine or old? God wants us to drink responsibly. Hmmm? Tell a friend and listen in.

Welcome to the SYNC Your Life podcast episode #95! On this podcast, we will be diving into all things women's hormones to help you learn how to live in alignment with your female physiology. Too many women are living with their check engine lights flashing. You know you feel “off” but no matter what you do, you can't seem to have the energy, or lose the weight, or feel your best. This podcast exists to shed light on the important topic of healthy hormones and cycle syncing, to help you gain maximum energy in your life.  In today's episode, I'm interviewing my friend Ahna Fulmer who is adopting her son from the country of Samoa within the next year. As a biological parent, she's excited to expand her family through adoption. We cover the differences between domestic and international adoption, fundraising for adoption, and what the journey has looked like for Ahna and her family.  You can find Ahna at https://hammersnhugs.com/.  Her YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@ahnafulmer.  Ahna's interview of me about transracial adoption can be found here. In this episode, Ahna references utilizing Lifesong for Orphans in their fundraising efforts. Their website can be found here. Another fundraising agency to look into is Abba Fund, found here. I reference my interview with Brad Bishop which covers fundraising in more detail. It can be found here. If you've ever considered adoption, take a listen to this podcast all month long for topics you'll want to hear.  Head over to jennyswisher.com/adoption to join my email list for more on this topic in the future.  If you feel like something is “off” with your hormones, check out the FREE hormone imbalance quiz at sync.jennyswisher.com.  To learn more about the SYNC Digital Course, check out jennyswisher.com.  Let's be friends outside of the podcast! Send me a message or schedule a call so I can get to know you better. You can reach out at https://jennyswisher.com/contact-2/. Enjoy the show! Episode Webpage: jennyswisher.com/podcast 

Join us today as we meet a new friend Isaiah Leard. Isaiah is a good friend of mine, and an amazing youth leader and musician who has his fair share of roles in his local church including passionately leading a junior-high boys group. Isaiah shares on  important topics such as having godly character and addressing deeper issues and roots that hinder our growth in Jesus and in our relationships. Such a transparent episode that helps us in life experience sharing and reminding us that in all of these things that we go through, we aren't alone! Come take a walk with us and join the conversation today... Follow along on instagram for more updates and shares @AWalkWithFriendsTo get plugged into LIFESONG YOUTH follow on instagram @LifesongYTH To find our church you can visit Lifesong.net To follow our church on instagram @LifesongSTKN

The Main Thing:So you're in the process of adopting, you're thinking about beginning the journey, or you've been matched and you're wondering how it's all going to happen, right?! And when we say how it's all going to happen, we don't mean the travel or even the parenting — we mean the mountain of financial responsibility that stands between you and bringing that precious child home. It's a real stressor and it's a legitimate hurdle! We have been there and done that, and so we're bringing you the very best of our experience and insight on how to balance the reality of the need and the trust we have in our Heavenly Father who will provide ALL we need. Join Liz and our special guest — her husband Dan, for Episode 064 of The Two Adoptive  Mamas podcast. We're hoping this leaves you encouraged, inspired, and a little more hopeful that it is possible to cross that financial finish line!Episode Resources:Here are some of our favorite links and sites that talk about funding an adoption, grants, and resources for fundraising: 5 Reasons Adoption Can Be ExpensiveFunding Your Adoption — Show Hope | How to AdoptHowToAdopt.org  How Much Does Adoption Cost? - Lifesong for OrphansIs the Cost of Adoption Worth It?  8 Adoption Grants You Should Know About - Lifesong for Orphans Why Is Adoption So Expensive?  Adoption Grants: Find the Funds for Your Adoption 2 A.M. Connect: If you enjoyed today's episode, or know someone who could benefit from our show, the best thing you can do is leave us a rating and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. We're grateful to host the Two Adoptive Mamas podcast for a third season!Learn more about how you can support our ongoing work through our Patreon at twoadoptivemamas.com. As always, it's been fun! Until we meet again, remember, you've got this mama.

Do you ever wake up feeling like you're already on the back foot? You have so much to do that you are only looking forward to crawling back under the covers at the end of the day. Or maybe you have a lot of things on that never ending to do list and it's a headache trying to prioritize it all?  In this episode Sasha shares 4 easy steps that can be done each morning to prioritize your day in a way that leaves you focusing on your top priorities, giving your first fruits to God, and leaving yourself available to divine appointments.  __________ Want to support our adoption journey by making a tax deductible contribution to our matching grant via Lifesong online at https://give.lifesong.org/lifesong/10121-ff or via mailing a check payable to “Lifesong for Orphans,” with “#10121 Robertson” on the memo line of the check. Please mail to: PO Box 9, Gridley, IL 61744. Bio: Sasha Star Robertson is an Intentional Living & Biblical Mindset Coach for busy Christian moms, wife of 13 years to her best friend, boy mom (blessed by adoption), travel addict, and Jesus freak. She is the founder of The Intentional Abundance Co., curator of the Life & Goals Planner, & host of the Intentional Abundant Life Podcast. Would you benefit from having a coach helping you live Productively Peaceful days digging into Faithful Foundations, Purposeful Priorities, Mindset Mastery, & Simple Selfcare? This question is rhetorical, everyone would! Schedule a consult with Sasha to learn more about the IAM Coaching Program and to see if you'd be a good it. https://calendly.com/intentionalabundanceco/iamconsult You're invited to join us in the Productively Peaceful Moms Club over on facebook! It's a safe space where we can show up vulnerably and encourage each other, where ere share the mission of being the best mommas we can be through the grace and strength of Jesus Christ, where we encourage consistency and are able to hold each other accountable. We share scripture and talk about podcast episodes and pray for each other and set goals and so much more! You're more than welcome here, you're wanted here! https://www.facebook.com/groups/IntentionalAbundance --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/intentional-abundance/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/intentional-abundance/support