His Handiwork: Finding Purpose and Belonging in God's Narrative

As I watched my corgi, Red, bravely navigate through a foot of snow, his determination mirrored our own quests for purpose and belonging. You're invited to join us in the latest Foxhole Symphony episode, where we intertwine humor with profound insights, exploring our place within God's grand narrative. Through candid reflection and the practicality of journaling, we uncover the transformative power of a life script authored by our Father. Our conversation leads us into the heart of authentic community, where presence trumps productivity, and where each step is an act of faith and discovery.

This session isn't just about stories; it's a deep dive into the masterpieces we are, as described in Ephesians 2:10, and the artistry of God's work within and through us. We're not alone on this artistic journey—our 'sages' and mentors guide us, echoing the wisdom found in Chris Bruno's book, "Sage." They remind us to listen closely and act on the heavenly guidance that shapes our path. Together, we navigate the challenges and seasons of redefinition, seeking clarity on the narrative God has written for our lives.

Finally, we shed light on the solidarity of brotherhood and the hope found in shared spiritual battles. In the spaces where we can be real and vulnerable, we discover strength.  We share tales of spiritual warfare, the importance of surrender, and how we find courage in the promise of victory. This episode is not just a conversation; it's an invitation to recognize ourselves as God's handiwork, to step into the good works He has prepared in advance for us, and to do so with the support of a community that believes in being 'victorious together'.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

Welcome to Foxhole Symphony, a podcast about the transformational value of men in authentic community.

Speaker 2: 0:14

And our Foxhole men are equipped to build relationships that foster belonging, accountability and growth.

Speaker 1: 0:20

Stop believing the lie that you can thrive in isolation and instead join us on the journey for broken to whole.

Speaker 3: 0:27

Hello everyone. They call me the maestro and we are back in the Foxhole where we actively pursue belonging, accountability and growth through authentic relationships. No masks, no agendas, just iron sharpening iron. Stephen Mark are behind closed doors and I hear the hammers and chisels hard at work. I don't know what's up with the grunts and the groans, but it's time to figure it out. You know what time it is. Crack open that favorite no tap and settle in, because here we go.

Speaker 1: 0:56

Hey, welcome back to the Foxhole Symphony podcast on a snowy Saturday morning.

Speaker 2: 1:02

Yeah, tons of it. A foot, well, for here it's tons. It is People. You know our buddy, brian Bird in Idaho and he's like, yeah, okay, right, okay, yeah, that's funny.

Speaker 1: 1:13

Kids get the table spoons out. We got a shovel.

Speaker 2: 1:17

My friend Karlin out there. He's like, oh, that's cute. He says that's cute, you got a foot. That's cute, sarge.

Speaker 1: 1:24

No, this was, this was a good. You know, have a corgi the redster, we call him Fjord and other things, but red with his three and a half inch long legs in a foot of snow is one of the most funny things you, if you can just imagine it for a minute. There's a dog going up, up, up, and the snow is so fluffy that it just it's just poofs, and then he comes up with his head.

Speaker 2: 1:46

I picture the Loch Ness monster like one of these.

Speaker 1: 1:48

Yes. Up and down, up and down and he gets tired after about, like he does it for 20 yards and then sits are like okay got to catch my breath and he takes off down the driveway again. Yeah, so a good, a good start to a good day. How you doing, bro.

Speaker 2: 2:03

So I'm good today. I'm really good. I feel free and excited and at peace, which is which is a great place to be.

Speaker 1: 2:15

Yeah. So something about living within the narrative that God has made for us, penned for us, right? We read that this morning. There's something to be said for that, right? Let's just say hallelujah. Yeah, about those moments of clarity that we get, yes, Because they aren't just moments, Right but, but yet yeah, are they not the like the best, Don't you? Don't you want to file them all?

Speaker 2: 2:42

in a little lock box 100%.

Speaker 1: 2:45

And open it and pour it over your head. Yes, Just sitting there You're allowed into my dream, because that's my dream is that I don't lose these and you are talking about maybe, maybe. A key message to this morning is journal All right. Let's well why don't you since I know you're engaged in it and starting something new tell our friends that are listening about the value of journaling.

Speaker 2: 3:07

You know, I just started a new journal, a 90 day journal that has a different theme for journaling each day of the week, and so it's it's literally different and and sort of creates these daily and weekly rhythms.

Speaker 1: 3:23

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 3:24

Um, you know, for example, one day is gratitude, you know another day, you know, monday is it's your journaling about just being intentional with your week ahead, right, so it's just it's. It's a little bit kind of different topic or theme or type of journaling each day of the week. And you know, again, I don't, I don't think there's right or wrong, but I think you know. You know gratitude is a big part of it. You know, writing out, journaling, your prayers, your hopes, your dreams, um, your plans, you know, being intentional, are all part of journaling, your experiences, reflections. You know there's a lot of different ways to approach it and so pick one, pick one, you know, for the week or for the day and and journal them so, um, but for me it is helpful to have that guide, Uh, to be more consistent.

Speaker 2: 4:14

So that's what I'm. You know I'm in right now.

Speaker 1: 4:18

It's a. It's a good discipline, and I know it Um the conversational nature of my prayer. Life has improved a thousand percent in the last five years.

Speaker 2: 4:29

I've noticed.

Speaker 1: 4:30

And yet I find journaling, the actual act of writing it down, to be um, I'm, I'm, I'm so busy in my head multitasking and moving on to the thing, bingo, bingo.

Speaker 2: 4:47

Oh, that's exactly where I wanted to go, because the, the act of journaling, keeps you right in that in that moment, keeps me right in that moment, as opposed to running off to the next thing to be productive, and so it's. It goes back to the presence, overproduction, it goes back to you know, all of the things that I, I, we don't need to control. Shout out Chris Bruno, yeah, and you know if, if, yeah, if you haven't read Sage by Chris Bruno, I'm going to, we're going to recommend it again, but it goes back. You know, you talk about chiseled, you talk about, um, you know, becoming God's handy work. Right, take that excerpt from from Sage about Poema Sure or the summary yeah Well, let's tie it to Ephesians 2 10.

Speaker 1: 5:45

Yeah, I want you to talk about that in a minute.

Speaker 3: 5:48

Yeah, so hold that Okay.

Speaker 1: 5:48

Just park that, um, a Poema poem is a masterpiece, god's handy work, his workmanship, and in the book we are God's Poema, his poem yeah, his masterpiece. It says we glorify the Father most when we live fully into the original narrative that he penned for us to live Right. We glorify our Father most when we live fully into the original narrative he penned for us to live.

Speaker 2: 6:19

Say that again because I think it's worth repeating that, that last section.

Speaker 2: 6:23

We glorify the Father most when we live fully into the original narrative he penned for us to live Right, and are you living in the original narrative that God penned for you? Bam Like, okay, you want me to answer? I'm just saying every one of us should be reflecting regularly on that very question. Are you living in the narrative that God penned for you? And you know, listen, in our world we've talked about it before we're FSIs, we're speed Italians needing to run produce. You know you refer to me as rocket sergeant. I mean all this right, check the box, check the box Type A, all this stuff right, and we rationalize it and we go. Well, that's just who we are. What were you going?

Speaker 1: 7:17

to say that's how God made me. That's how God made me, and you know what? That's my lie.

Speaker 2: 7:21

However, it is how he made us and so there's a blessing and a curse in that Right. But it's up to us to unpack that. It's up to us to identify that wiring and then look at so it's what? What unique passions has he given us, what unique gift things, and how are we going to activate it? And in there is the answer to what you just read how we live, right, right, and you know.

Speaker 2: 7:55

So I'm in this season. I'm in this season. It's really been thrust upon me because perhaps I haven't had the courage to break out of what I've needed, to break out of the, the, the, the hustle, right, that is just part of we call it the rat race, call it whatever you want right, sort of our how we do life here in this part of the world and especially in our neck of the woods in the northeast and US you know, greater New York metropolitan area, right? So I'm in this season. It's been thrust upon me. Now I'm going. Well, this is interesting. I've got an opportunity to really define and dream about what's next. You know I'm gonna be 50 in August, fifty.

Speaker 1: 8:56

Fifty, oh my gosh, I knew you when you were 32. Dude.

Speaker 2: 9:02

What the heck. What a journey. And here we go. With that I'm going. Lord, what do you want to do with these next 20 years? And how does that impact my career, how does it impact my family, how does it impact my ministry? What do you want to do? Let's strip away all of these definitions, all of these guardrails, all of these barriers, all of these boundaries, all of these roadblocks, all of these obstacles, all of the ways that it should look. What do you want to do, Lord? And let me tell you, that's really hard. That's really hard.

Speaker 1: 9:43

Oh, absolutely. So, as I'm asking these questions, they may sound rhetorical, but they're not.

Speaker 2: 9:49

They're not.

Speaker 1: 9:50

Right.

Speaker 2: 9:51

And at all. You know I'm talking to trusted advisors and dear friends and people that God has. Sages, who literal sages who are able to just sit in front of me and ask good questions, don't want anything from me, or, yeah, don't have a hammer and duct tape. They're not trying to fix me. They're literally just present Saying what's God, what are you hearing from God? And they're listening. They're asking God what do you have for Steve? And you know what I've been hearing. Tell me, I've been hearing scripture and I'm like whoa.

Speaker 2: 10:34

So one of them over the last two weeks is Ephesians 210. Boom Over the head, two by four, boom, hammer, boom Like over and over.

Speaker 2: 10:47

So I'm sitting in a coffee shop two weeks ago with one of my sages and he says to me I'm just hearing God say Ephesians 210. You've got to meditate on Ephesians 210. Ephesians 210. Ephesians 210.

Speaker 2: 10:58

I'm back in the same coffee shop, in the same spot, with a different sage who would have no idea what that conversation looked like. And we're having, and we're in the middle of a conversation, he says to me I'm hearing Ephesians 210. I don't even know what it is, but it's from God and it's for you, and he wants you to, he wants you to meditate on Ephesians. I'm like, oh, my gosh, now I know exactly what Ephesians 210 is. And I say to him you know? Like, let me, let me read it to you, for we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. He prepared them Right.

Speaker 2: 11:46

I don't need to control the future. I don't need, I can't anyway, I don't need to figure it all out, I don't need to produce whatever it is I think it should look like down the road but rather I can just be God's poema, his handiwork. I can just be present. I can just be the sage that he's called me to be and to enjoy the journey as an adventurer, as the adventurer that he created me to be.

Speaker 1: 12:22

Well, do that first of all, that awakening, that enlightening, and that two different people in the same coffee shop. Right, okay, so let's let's just do what I do is say hallelujah, praise God, cause I am absolutely positively convinced, without a zero doubt in my mind, that that is simply Holy Spirit doing what we beg Him to do every morning in our prayer lives.

Speaker 2: 12:49

And that's, mind you, in response to my prayer and prayers for some time now. Lord, show me like he's a fortune teller. Show me what it looks like, show me where you want me. I will be obedient. Call me, show me, draw me in. Where do you want me to go? Where do you want to go?

Speaker 2: 13:10

And he had given me this vision a while back that you know about. I told you all about it, I've told others about it. He had given me this vision on this kayak ride with Jesus on this lazy river. And I'm going, lord, where are we going, jesus? Where are you taking me? Oh, it's going to be great. Oh, I, I'm sure it will. But can you just show, tell me, like, where is it? Like what? What does it look like? Where are you taking me? Right Around this bend, and I hear, I hear, I hear rapids going Jesus, I don't think this kayak was made for rapids. I'm scared. Right, you were made for this. You're an adventurer. You're rocket Sarge. Your family says it's always an adventure with Steve. You love this. I made you for this.

Speaker 1: 13:53

Just enjoy the adventure that I'm taking you on and cinch up your life jacket.

Speaker 2: 13:58

Yeah, and then we're arms in the air right Me and Jesus, and we're whoo, whoo. He goes through him like that was great. Now where are you taking me next?

Speaker 1: 14:08

And he's like what's around this next bed? Man, you just won't surrender, will you, and you and you think, but I surrendered there for that 40 seconds. Exactly, that was a great surrender, lord, yeah, yeah, okay, two things I've got to clear up. One is Ephesians 2 10 in the message version.

Speaker 3: 14:27

Okay, I'll get to that.

Speaker 1: 14:28

But the first thing is I want to go back to what I said about that's how God made me, and I said that's a lie and it is for me. And you said it is how God made us. There's too much hubris and arrogance in that for me in my life. Yes, I'm okay with God giving me all kinds of gifts. Wired is how I am. It's what I've chosen to do with God's gifts for me. And I run. I often run. I'm running away.

Speaker 2: 15:00

Well, but here's the thing I think I think he did wire us right, he did he, he did, yeah, he knit us together right. And so the question becomes this how does that wiring show up when we're living in Christ Jesus, and how does that show up when we're living in God Mark?

Speaker 1: 15:21

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 15:23

The two very different things when we're living in the best version of ourselves, in his will, in obedience to him. Right, living out what you read from that sage book.

Speaker 1: 15:33

Right, the fulfillment of who he created us to be Fully in his narrative.

Speaker 2: 15:38

In his narrative versus in our narrative.

Speaker 1: 15:41

And I'll remind you of what our brother Richard said the other night at our V2G meeting. What he said, he was talking about a clash with his beautiful wife and he said I get into an argument with her and then I start doing things. And I was sitting there smiling because it's me when there's discord around me. Keep busy Right, I just do stuff, yeah, and it it makes you feel better, correct, it's just. I'm rubbing my own back and you're like there's nothing wrong with this.

Speaker 2: 16:09

I'm not running to booze or drugs or porn, or Right. I'm not shooting people up, I'm just getting stuff done, right.

Speaker 1: 16:18

I'm cleaning the baseboards.

Speaker 2: 16:19

I'm cleaning the baseboards.

Speaker 1: 16:19

This is good. What are you doing Right? So I you know one of my goals, one of the cleansings I seek, is cleanse pride, To just whittle chisel away some of the pride and judgment I have in my life. So I just have to be very careful assigning tasks to God or even thanking him for wiring me this way. I'm very comfortable with how I am and I do honor that. I just need to be careful labeling it with the Lord, I get it.

Speaker 2: 16:52

I do get it.

Speaker 1: 16:53

But let me read you Ephesians 2, 7 through 10 in the message.

Speaker 2: 16:58

Okay, yes, well, because it's a rocker. Yes, because, yes, we got to go back. We got to go back to what comes before 2, 10.

Speaker 1: 17:05

Correct.

Speaker 1: 17:06

Now God has us where he wants us with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all His idea and all His work. All we do is trust Him enough to let Him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish. We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we've done the whole thing ourselves. No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and the saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join Him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do and work we had better be doing. Wow. I'm going to read the end again. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join Him in the work. He does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, the work we had better be doing. Wow, that's 10. That last part I just reread. Wow, that's Eugene's Peterson's version of Ephesians 2.10.

Speaker 2: 18:15

We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Yeah, lord, show us, lead us, guide us into those good works which you prepared in advance for us to do.

Speaker 1: 18:38

We're in the master's class now. You and I don't do this very often. We don't often deep dive. We don't Because we are not theologians. I need to say what you and I said in our very first episode two and a half years ago, that is, we are not trained in this, but we are trained to notice when the Holy Spirit is wrapping us on the forehead with a two by four, as you mentioned earlier today.

Speaker 1: 19:00

That's what's happening here. Let's just take this at face value that God planned for you Sarge me, mark, you listener to do something.

Speaker 2: 19:11

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 19:14

That's not a stretch of the imagination. He planned for you to do it. That's how it ends, right, that he planned for us to do. Stay there for a minute, get comfortable, relax.

Speaker 2: 19:26

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 19:28

Knowing there is a plan. The question for Mark Vesper is can I peel away? Can I sit naked comfortably in front of my God? And I don't mean declothed, I mean your soul Right, emotionally my soul. Can I peel it back and just be comfortable with the master, author of everything, the creator of everything having a plan for me and believe?

Speaker 3: 19:59

it or not?

Speaker 1: 20:00

I can say that to you with my heart. But I am moving so damn fast Most days, and I'm just now realizing that some of it is just running away, exactly, and some of it's running towards.

Speaker 2: 20:16

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 20:17

But I'm sitting here in front of you, looking you in the eyes, thinking you know I might be afraid to sit still Exactly there it is, and we've talked about this, it's been a theme right this fear.

Speaker 2: 20:31

Because you know, as we talked, we've talked a lot about hope and you know I think in the last episode we talked about hope and you know, having this, you know faith and hope, this assurance of what we don't see but what we know to be true in God's promises, in his provision and in his plans for us. And the fear is the main obstacle that keeps us from really receiving that, from from receiving and and just sitting in, just being present, in being still in this confidence, not in ourselves, but in the hope that we have that he is true to his promises, that he is our provider and that his plan for us will come to fruition. And we can, we can, rest in that he's, he's, he's, he's a come along for the ride. Stop being your own provider, stop, stop, you know, avoiding running from my promises. You know, stop making all of your own plans and trying to control the outcomes. You don't need to your toiling. Stop toiling and just be Right.

Speaker 1: 22:05

Brother. Brother Michael did ceaseless driving ceaseless driving right.

Speaker 2: 22:10

I mean Exodus 1414 and what comes before it. I mean I just I just love you know. Again, just probably. I don't know about saying it's my favorite verse, but but definitely one of and you know, my brother the other day talked at the Exodus from the hustle, the Exodus from the hustle right 13, says Moses answered the people, do not be afraid, stand firm, not on the footing you're trying to create for yourself, but stand firm on the firm footing you have for him. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. And then 14. The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still Stop fighting. Right, paul talks about punching the air. I mean, there's just so many references and themes and oh, stop, caution, caution you know it's caution tape everywhere. Like, just stop, let God be God and find a rhythm. Create the space to meditate on what are those good works that he has prepared in advance for us to do.

Speaker 2: 23:36

We are his handiwork, we are his masterpiece, chiseled right. So what does that look like? What's it look like at home? What's it look like at work? What does that mean for your career? What does that mean in your day to day, in your foxhole, in your foxhole?

Speaker 1: 23:58

Yeah, Well, that comes to mind. Go ahead, yes.

Speaker 2: 24:02

So go back to those other notes from Sage, because let's touch on the foxhole, because there's another part of it. Right, Like being, the poema is handiwork. Yes, it's us and God. And then there's this need for a, you know, a excuse me a group right Of faithful brothers. No man can do this work alone.

Speaker 1: 24:28

You're quoting from the book Sage.

Speaker 2: 24:29

Quoting from the book Sage right now, right, do it again. So let me go back. A poema is a masterpiece. God's handiwork, his workmanship, yep. We glorify the Father most when we live fully into the original narrative that he penned for us to live Amen, right, doing the good works Ephesians 2 10 that he prepared in advance for us to do. No man can do this work alone. He needs a trusted guide and a band of faithful brothers to journey with him. He needs brothers to witness his stories of harm. We talked about this in iron deep. We did that's right. A lot, right, right, the stories.

Speaker 3: 25:13

With Brett.

Speaker 2: 25:13

Yeah, and with Brian.

Speaker 3: 25:15

Brian Right.

Speaker 2: 25:16

The, you know wild courage, the fires, the stories, stories of harm, and reflects his stories of good and victory. No other man can do this for you. Being a man doesn't mean you always know what to do, so stop. It means knowing who you are. It means knowing you are.

Speaker 1: 25:39

God's handiwork.

Speaker 2: 25:42

And so, yeah, a trusted guide and a band of faithful brothers to journey, to share stories. Right, you said it, you said it beautifully. You know we were talking about victorious together and this group of five and we're talking about the. You know we were talking about victorious together and this group of five and you know that. You know we each have to suffer separately, like there's this, there's this part of, you know, the journey. There's a part of the journey we have to do alone. I have to do it alone. What does it look like for me? Right, but the but, the brotherhood, the journey, I, I, I, I, that, I, I, I, I, I I'm doing it separately and also together. So we're changing the name of victorious together to victorious together separately. It's V2GS. Okay, it makes a ton of sense.

Speaker 1: 26:38

But it does that one's for you.

Speaker 2: 26:40

We got our stories and our journey and yet, you know, when I come and I'm under attack and I need to throw up or I need to do the hard work that God has for me to do, and even that he's prepared in advance for me to do, to suffer well, right to be refined, my brothers aren't there to fix me, they're not there to do it for me. They're there to catch me, to encourage me, to cheer me on. You know, to, to, to listen, to be sages, to be present, to say I'm so sorry you're going through this and we're going to lay hands on you right now and we're going to pray.

Speaker 2: 27:17

Amen and we're going to comfort you and we're going to pray that God would be your comforter, because he's going to guide you out of this and we're going to walk through it together. We're going to jump in the pit with you. We can't do it for you, but we're going to be with you. You're not alone.

Speaker 1: 27:33

How comforting is that I'm sitting here thinking about the other night and how badly we wanted to rally around you.

Speaker 2: 27:39

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 27:41

And how, how much you didn't want to hear it. I didn't know. You didn't want to feel it and we weren't going to let you off the hook.

Speaker 2: 27:47

I didn't want to talk about it Right, right, yeah.

Speaker 1: 27:51

I say all that to say, folks, if you can imagine what it might be like to be in a group where there's so much trust that you can weep without anybody touching you, without anybody offering you a tissue, you know what you're taught in guts and Mark.

Speaker 2: 28:11

Manning right.

Speaker 1: 28:12

About letting someone. That's the part of the journey. You're on by yourself. No rescuing Right.

Speaker 2: 28:18

Don't shut a man down. Don't take no hammer Right.

Speaker 1: 28:21

Let that play out in your life. I implore you listeners, find a place you feel that safe, that trusted, that comfortable, where you can live out your journey and let other people watch you.

Speaker 2: 28:34

And here's the thing you know, like we and we, you know, this whole podcast is about authenticity, right, and so you know, listen, we we're works in progress here and you know we have our, our gathering the other evening and I was just sharing with you before we got on, about the beautiful Holy Spirit filled morning that I had. Hearing from God, this incredible journey, hearing about Ephesians 210, like I mean, lightning bolt for our journey, and it's amazing and within hours the attack is real, it is like venom, it's the black, you know what do you call that?

Speaker 1: 29:19

This web that's going after your heart? Exactly what it is His version of the spider web.

Speaker 2: 29:23

Yeah, because, guess what? The attack is real. There's an enemy, and our battle is not against flesh and blood, but in the heavenly realms, it's in the spiritual realms, it's, it's, you know, there's a war waged for our hearts and our souls and our marriages and our like, our relationships. And so, yeah, guess what? We're going to take turns. We're going to take turns, and it was my turn. Thursday night there was an attack and it was serious, and I thank God for it, because all that does is confirm the power and the, the, the significance of what took place that morning, that this attack, this full fledged spiritual attack, came on, and, thank God, it's, it's. You know, I have a group of brothers to lay hands and pray and over the course of the night and into the next day, god continues to speak and is very clear about what he wants me to do, and I find the courage to be obedient and to surrender, to open my hands rather than have them.

Speaker 2: 30:31

Pride open and the freedom that came with that, and it was just giving giving giving, giving, blessing my enemies, blessing those who persecute me, blessing, just giving it all More and more. What little is left that I might be clinging to? And on the other side of that is utter beauty, forgiveness, peace, joy, freedom. It's the freedom, it's, this is. This is the freedom that he has for us.

Speaker 1: 31:06

This is sounding an awful lot like a surrendered life there, Mr Sergeant. It is. How does that feel? Picture Braveheart.

Speaker 2: 31:13

There you go, it is, it is exactly, and it's a painful journey.

Speaker 1: 31:19

And I want to grab that is is friends listening? You might have read in the Bible about the story that you know God's always there and the victory is one. The victory is one, but there's battles going on every single day, battle for our soul, right, right. The victory in Christ Jesus, in his death and resurrection and blood of the lamb. We believe that a hundred percent. We also know that. You just use a quick movie metaphor. I'm going to use one that just popped into mind. It must be God.

Speaker 1: 31:51

Do you remember it's a wonderful life with Jimmy Stewart? Sure, yeah, yes. Do you remember when he decides to commit suicide? And all of a sudden you see the stars in the sky and one of the bright stars is God and one is Joseph. And the little tiny star comes flying in his clearance, the one who comes down. And do you remember? The conversation goes something like this Up is his time and Clarence goes. Oh, yeah, I see that's what's happening in our lives when the enemy sees the radar goes off. I believe this in my heart that there are clearances all around you, my brother Sarge, and the enemy knows that moment, when you had that four hour breakfast and walk, that alarms went off in the darkness and a demonic spiritual attack was ready for you. Because you're, wait a minute. Sarge is about to have a breakthrough here. He's going to whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. He's getting a little close to this surrendered idea.

Speaker 2: 32:48

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 32:50

And you're going to get beat? Yeah, but they don't realize, the enemy doesn't realize how strong your foxhole is. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 32:57

Yeah, and our God, right. And so, um, yeah, I mean, yeah, there's a lot, there's, there's a lot to talk about. I mean, you know, first, peter, five, eight to 10, you know, be, be alert. You know, years, years ago, being discipled by a bunch of beautiful bikers, and I would sit at Tramp's house and his daughter would lie on the floor. He would read this verse, he would say be alert. And she would go the world needs more alerts. Be alert, the world needs more of them, be alert.

Speaker 2: 33:38

Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Right, I mean, we battle. We battle every day, we battle every day in our battle, right, and you know, the enemy's mission is to it's to defeat us, it's to discourage us, it's to he can't defeat us. All he can do is whisper lies, discourage us, right, um, you know. And so, yeah, what do we do? What's it mean? Oh, I mean, first of all, we pray, we pray, and that, and that's where the brotherhood comes in. I mean, um, you know, because, like you said, we have, we do have the victory, and we can, we can suffer temporary defeats, but we can always be restored. We've been restored. And so, um, yeah, stand firm, stand firm, be strong and courageous. Right, do not be afraid. You know it's interesting coming into this Year. With this word surrendered, I mean the war. The other word that was given to me over and over and over again was courage. You're gonna need courage, courage, courage, courage. I'm like really Huh.

Speaker 1: 34:57

Yeah, right, you take a vitamin C every day, right, and I don't mean orange juice, it's courage. Well, this has been an awesome conversation about God's handiwork, mm-hmm I.

Speaker 2: 35:10

Shout out skit guys. If you've not invested 11 minutes yet, I'm gonna do it for mark. If you've not 11 minutes yet, in in watching the skit. Guys, do the chiseled Skit. God's chisel, god's chisel. Google it invest 11 minutes. Stop Right now. Well, not right now. Finish the episode. Yeah, go, go.

Speaker 1: 35:32

God's chisel right, because we have an important message to finish this up with. We want to talk to you about our friends that restorey counseling and about an idea they have to help improve marriages which I know you and I, serge, feel really strongly about After hundreds of hours of marriage counseling. Our friends at restorey counseling know that couples who want to thrive Need consistent coaching where books, friends in church don't suffice. The thrive marriage lab is a high-touch community. You will see, connect with and get to know counselors and other couples. Thrive offers the framework and processes you would receive in counseling because counselors design and lead the lab, but without the weekly financial investment. Whether you're engaged, newlyweds or married for 40 plus years, thrive offers growth at all stages and invites you to keep going Deeper and deeper. They only open once a year for this unique 12 month journey. Go to restorey dot life slash thrive to learn more and join today. If you use the code foxhole, foxhole, f, o, x, h, o, le, you'll get $20 off each month as a friend of this podcast.

Speaker 2: 36:37

Which is a significant amount because it's not that expensive. And so shout out to our dear friend and brother, chris Bruno and the and restorey this is he's the author of sage. This is part of their ministry, and so this thrive marriage lab. I mean, I am so jacked up about this, and and our listeners should be too. So check this out. Where do they go again?

Speaker 1: 36:57

It's a it's a tough read. We'll put it in the show notes, okay, but I'll let me just tell you what it.

Speaker 2: 37:01

If you even just Google restorey thrive marriage lab.

Speaker 1: 37:05

R e s t o r y dot life Slash thrive. There you go, and it's restorey counseling. You can't miss it, yep.

Speaker 2: 37:11

So check, check out the thrive marriage lab. It is awesome, and they've got a. You know, I mean not only Chris and his team, but some some pretty powerhouse people Involved names that people would know, and not that it's about the names, but some very intentional Expert guides, and so that this whole episode is about needing a guide, right, I mean really in in our journeys and so For your marriage, you know, it's helpful to have one too, especially because that is one of the primary places that the enemy is prowling. He wants to tear marriages and families apart. It's one of, I believe, his biggest priorities, and so let's start there.

Speaker 1: 37:52

I couldn't agree more and I would leave you with this man. If you're hearing this and thinking, oh boy, I want to talk to my wife about you? Know this, this counseling series, and what this is? I haven't heard about it before? Take step one and get sage. Get the book. Read the book. I believe God will do a work in your heart to make talking to your wife about the thrive marriage lab a piece of cake. Yep, just like we're gonna do yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 38:16

And so again, use the code discount code Foxhole, to get $20 off. And you know what? If affordability is an issue, reach out to us, we'll figure it out. We believe so strongly in this. We want to make that happen. So, you know, mark's got deep pockets and he'll pay. Now listen, we don't. We, you know. So we make no money on this podcast. That's not what it's about, you know. We just we want to see people grow and thrive and and flourish, and so the thrive marriage lab is a is a great place to be and we want to help. Brother. This has been a great conversation, man, thank you, thank you for journeying with me, thank you for your love, and you know I'm excited. I'm excited about what God's doing and I'm excited to Lean deeper, lean more deeply, into what it looks like to be God's handy work and to take our hands off the wheel, just simply living in and through the good works that he has prepared in advance for us to do. God bless you.

Speaker 1: 39:17

Peace.

Speaker 3: 39:19

Well, that was a pretty straightforward message today.

Speaker 3: 39:21

And, yes, I am aware that, depending on where you are in your journey, to some this may seem very far away and to others this may sound like your current day to day. Well, in either case, I believe there are a few things we can spend some time doing and thinking through. Get in a quiet space and ask yourself this question Be honest with yourself and with God. Are you living in the narrative God penned for you? Remember, god speaks to us even today, not in our earbuds, but as we read His word and spend time in relationship with Him and we open our hearts and allow Holy Spirit to help us and correct us and guide us.

Speaker 3: 40:06

And after we have those moments with our Creator and Savior and Counselor, take some time to fully process it by journaling, which will also allow you to reflect upon the growth and what he has done in us and through us. Please lock in your foxhole, grab yourself a copy of Sage from Chris Bruno and let his inspired writing help you to look at your life through a new lens. And, lastly, be sure your baseboards are not too clean. Lord, please continue to use this podcast to impact the lives of all who listen. I ask that you would bring hope and healing to each and every one of them. Meet them right where they are and reveal yourself to them like only you can do, in Jesus' name amen.

Speaker 2: 41:22

Feedback questions. Topic requests. Who knows, maybe you'll be a guest on our future episode. In the meantime, prepare to move, embrace discomfort and just be you.