NEW YEAR, NEW NAME

[00:00:10] Welcome back to our podcast. This is season three. 2025 is going to be such a great year. We are so excited to have you. I'm actually sitting here with Jess, of course, and Dan.

[00:00:23] Hello, hello.

[00:00:25] We have some super fun updates that we want to share with you all for season three. And to start us off today, I thought I'd introduce Dan since he's with us. How fun. Some of you know already that he's my husband.

[00:00:40] Together, we have three kids. And here at Ask About My Faith, he is a visionary powerhouse, I would say. Those are my words, not his.

[00:00:49] For sure.

[00:00:50] And Dan actually started Ask About My Faith back in 2018 with Randy. Again, a lot of you have heard little bits and pieces of the story. It's so much fun.

[00:01:01] But Dan, in general, loves to build, whether that's in business or, like we said, Ask About My Faith, and in our family, too, which is so fun.

[00:01:12] Dan, would you share a little bit more with our listeners about what they can expect in season three?

[00:01:17] Of course. Well, I'm so excited to be on this. Jess, thank you. I think you were a little too kind, but it's nice coming from my wife. So, thank you. I'm a very average person. Thankfully, God's using us.

[00:01:30] Well, I'm very excited for season three. We have kind of a shift that we're taking and where we're going with this podcast because we've seen such great things on what's been going on.

[00:01:44] Big announcement. We didn't announce the name of the podcast because...

[00:01:49] Drumroll, please.

[00:01:50] Drumroll, please.

[00:01:51] It's actually changing...

[00:01:53] Whoa!

[00:01:54] ...to the Everyday Faith Podcast.

[00:01:57] Yes.

[00:01:57] All right.

[00:01:58] It fits. It fits.

[00:01:59] It's what our vision is. We want to inspire everyday faith conversations. And that's why we're switching it to the Everyday Faith Podcast.

[00:02:07] But don't worry. It doesn't mean we're not going to still have great stories, great guests talking about our faith in everyday applications.

[00:02:15] So, we're just excited. We believe that God's called us to build a community that explores God's vision for everyday faith in family and in business.

[00:02:24] This podcast, we want to focus on inspiring everyday faith conversation.

[00:02:28] And we're going to do that by sharing stories, equipping our community with practical strategies, and creating engaging and shareable content.

[00:02:39] So, I am very excited for 2025 and season three of the Everyday Faith Podcast.

[00:02:47] Oh, my gosh. I love it.

[00:02:49] It's going to be crazy.

[00:02:50] Another transition is, unfortunately, you'll be hearing more of my voice, as Jess and I are going to be taking the lead on this podcast.

[00:03:01] So, thank you, Abby, for all that you've done for Ask for My Faith.

[00:03:05] It's been amazing. And don't worry, she's not going anywhere, right?

[00:03:08] She's going to be with us. She's going to be doing even more important things for Ask for My Faith.

[00:03:12] But we're excited for that.

[00:03:15] Now, let's talk about takeaways.

[00:03:17] This podcast has been going on for two years.

[00:03:19] I know. I can't believe it.

[00:03:21] That's wild to look back.

[00:03:22] That's wild. Two years.

[00:03:24] And so, I'm interested, what are some takeaways that you guys have from this last year or even two years with the Ask My Faith Podcast, now being the Everyday Faith Podcast?

[00:03:37] Yeah. Honestly, there has been so much.

[00:03:41] I think starting this podcast, we had the idea, the vision for it.

[00:03:47] But to hear other people come on and share stories of the way that God is moving in their lives has been incredible.

[00:03:56] Just to be a listener and an honor to ask the questions for them to dig a little deeper because, yeah, we've been so curious about, like, how did that feel?

[00:04:06] And what was that like?

[00:04:08] And when you failed, you survived.

[00:04:10] Great.

[00:04:10] So good to know.

[00:04:13] So, yeah, I think one of my biggest takeaways is actually what a lot of people have pointed out, that it starts in your quiet time and in, like, your space with the Lord, just cultivating your relationship and how sharing your faith really is the overflow of that.

[00:04:31] And so much of the last couple of years, I feel like going to the grocery store and on, like, vacations and special, like, I don't know, events around the cities, I've had more eyes for people.

[00:04:47] Wow.

[00:04:47] And feel like I'm on the lookout more for the opportunities.

[00:04:53] Sure.

[00:04:53] Just after hearing everyone's stories of doing just that.

[00:04:57] So that has been really fun in the last couple of years.

[00:04:59] That's really good.

[00:05:00] Having eyes for everybody.

[00:05:02] How about you, Jess?

[00:05:04] One of the, as I thought back, one of the phrases that I loved that, I don't even remember who our guest was.

[00:05:10] I should have looked back.

[00:05:11] But, you know, someone early, like maybe Lowe or Morgan, maybe you'll recall Abby, but they used the phrase, God put that in you.

[00:05:19] Wow.

[00:05:19] And I just think about how many times, you know, just what it could be something so little with a stranger or someone we know and already have a relationship or a building relationship with that we have the opportunity to use that as we get little glimpses into who they are.

[00:05:36] Things that, you know, what makes them tick or how they engage with the world around them.

[00:05:41] Like God put that in you.

[00:05:42] Yes.

[00:05:43] Speaking identity over that.

[00:05:44] Yeah.

[00:05:44] That's so good.

[00:05:45] Right?

[00:05:45] And like that, that you have that leaning for a reason.

[00:05:50] It's not just by chance.

[00:05:52] Yeah.

[00:05:53] And I think that's what that introduces is to say that maybe it's not just by chance that you like anime.

[00:05:59] I don't know.

[00:06:00] I wish you guys could see the face Jess was making while she said that.

[00:06:05] That's amazing.

[00:06:06] God put that in you.

[00:06:08] Yes.

[00:06:08] God put that in you.

[00:06:10] Yeah.

[00:06:11] And then, man, like you said, Abby, the idea of going into your day with a sense of purpose and intention, not just kind of wandering through.

[00:06:19] It's like, no, I have an expectation that God will put someone in my path and for a reason today.

[00:06:27] Yeah.

[00:06:27] That's just what a difference it makes to have that thought, that purpose going into your day rather than just wandering through doing your own thing.

[00:06:36] I mean, honestly, that's what's comfortable.

[00:06:39] That's what's easy is to do your own thing.

[00:06:42] But that's not what God's called us to do.

[00:06:44] Right.

[00:06:45] That's so good.

[00:06:46] So good.

[00:06:47] Tell us some more, Abby.

[00:06:49] Tell us some more.

[00:06:50] Yeah.

[00:06:50] I know there's a lot that you've been learning.

[00:06:52] Yes.

[00:06:53] A story of your own.

[00:06:54] Do you have a story?

[00:06:55] Do you have a thought?

[00:06:56] What else do you have?

[00:06:57] Let's see.

[00:06:59] I think I really enjoyed talking with all of our guests, but specifically Jen Becker.

[00:07:06] And one thing that she talked about was the collision of opposites and just like stepping into even uncomfortable situations and being curious and loving people past like the differences that you see.

[00:07:23] So she had some really cool stories.

[00:07:25] So she had some really cool stories there.

[00:07:53] Um, jackets and clothing.

[00:07:56] And it was exquisite, like some hand painted pieces and sewn and just really creative.

[00:08:03] Wow.

[00:08:04] And so, um, so my friends and I ended up spending some time in her booth and looking around and my friend was trying on all of the jackets and deciding if she wanted to buy one.

[00:08:11] And they were, they're pretty expensive cause it's like handmade.

[00:08:15] So a couple hundred bucks for a coat.

[00:08:17] And so we spent some time there like making sure it's the right decision.

[00:08:20] Yeah.

[00:08:20] And as my friend was like paying and taking off, just felt like such an urge to honor the quality of like the clothing and what she was doing and how beautiful it was.

[00:08:31] And ask if we can, um, pray for her cause my friends also love the Lord.

[00:08:36] And so, uh, I just kind of, uh, my heart was racing so fast cause I, as much as I wish I could say this isn't the case, but I, I don't do that very often and I'm trying to do that more, but my heart was racing and I was like, oh, just do it.

[00:08:52] So I kind of like said my spiel honored how beautiful her clothing was and asked if we could pray for her.

[00:08:58] And she popped off.

[00:09:00] She was so excited to share about, she said that her, uh, her business is actually a ministry helping people in Guatemala.

[00:09:10] And it's like handmade fabric in Guatemala that she uses to make these jackets.

[00:09:14] And then she goes around promoting.

[00:09:16] She's like the money all goes back to Guatemala and to these families.

[00:09:19] And she sees herself as a missionary through business that way.

[00:09:23] And so we spent some time praying for her and then she asked if she could pray for us.

[00:09:27] And it was, it ended up being a really sweet, um, interaction.

[00:09:31] And I felt like it was such a softball from the Lord to be like, take a step of faith.

[00:09:37] And it was almost just like his kindness to give us somebody who was so, uh, who is so excited and kind and also love the Lord.

[00:09:47] Um, so yeah, that was one of my favorite stories from this, from like last spring.

[00:09:51] Uh-huh.

[00:09:51] I agree with you.

[00:09:52] I've been super challenged to have like.

[00:09:54] So challenged.

[00:09:55] Yeah.

[00:09:55] Okay.

[00:09:55] So what does this actually look like for me?

[00:09:58] Even though it's kind of uncomfortable, right?

[00:10:00] Mm-hmm.

[00:10:01] To step out.

[00:10:02] It reminds me of one of the, uh, first podcasts from Justin Gasper.

[00:10:08] Yeah.

[00:10:08] The very first.

[00:10:09] The very first podcast.

[00:10:10] So you guys will have to go back and listen to it.

[00:10:12] Uh, and he was talking about how in your workplace, how do you fare your, have everyday faith conversations.

[00:10:21] And it was so encouraging because you're just giving some, some tactics and stories about how he was doing it.

[00:10:26] And it was like, oh my gosh, I have a sphere of influence.

[00:10:30] Right.

[00:10:30] And how do I share my faith with the sphere of influence God's given me?

[00:10:33] Yep.

[00:10:34] And how do I just be faithful in that?

[00:10:36] I think he had shared the idea of like, just asking about your weekend.

[00:10:39] Hey, what'd you do over the weekend?

[00:10:40] Right.

[00:10:40] And well, I, so spend time at church.

[00:10:43] Yeah.

[00:10:43] What about you?

[00:10:44] And cause people usually reciprocate the question and I was at church and we did this and we have a routine of how we go to church and then for our family to go to Shields after.

[00:10:53] Oh, we love Shields after church.

[00:10:54] Just introducing the idea that, Hey, I'm a church going person and I'm not going to shove it down your throat, but like, you know, this is, this is who I am.

[00:11:01] This is what I believe in.

[00:11:02] Right.

[00:11:02] And it's funny that people sometimes turn to those who they know have faith when they go through hard things, which is pretty cool.

[00:11:11] Amazing.

[00:11:12] Yeah.

[00:11:12] So what are some stories you have, Jess?

[00:11:14] Um, yeah.

[00:11:16] Yeah.

[00:11:16] So that idea of going into your day with intention, I think is still something that's hit or miss.

[00:11:22] There are definitely days where I'm just wrapped up in the chaos.

[00:11:25] Yeah.

[00:11:26] Just the chaos of the day in the morning.

[00:11:27] And, um, you know, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, sometimes I don't have the best attitude going into the day, but, um, there was one time, man, this was months ago, um, that there was a woman at work that I knew a little bit of her backstory or like a little bit of what had been going on in her life recently.

[00:11:46] And, um, she had lost a child and like, this is a grown child.

[00:11:50] Um, you know, I don't know, in his twenties maybe.

[00:11:54] Um, and I just, I knew that it had been the last week or so that, um, that information was shared with me.

[00:12:01] And, um, in the morning I was just kind of praying.

[00:12:05] And as I had turned on worship music, you know, it was like some days I like to listen to podcasts and other days it's just like, you know, whatever fun music.

[00:12:15] But it was like, no, I felt like I really needed to be in worship that morning.

[00:12:19] And so as I turned on the worship music, um, God really put this woman on my heart.

[00:12:27] And, um, as I was praying for her then, as, as, as I was worshiping, I felt like the Lord gave me this picture and it was, you know, it's like, as I was worshiping, um, that worship was literally lifting her up above the storms of life.

[00:12:42] And, and, you know, in that, in that picture, just, there was just a few moments that she was at complete peace and comfort, like being held by the Lord.

[00:12:51] And honestly, I don't know if she's a believer or not, but you know, it's, I don't know if I was receiving that word or that, you know, someone was telling me that they had this picture of me in the Lord's arms.

[00:13:04] Even if I didn't know the Lord, but I was going through a hard thing.

[00:13:07] I was like, man, that's, that's cool.

[00:13:09] Yeah.

[00:13:10] That's really cool.

[00:13:10] Um, so yeah, so I just shared this with her, um, and I let her know, you know, I'm praying for you literally right now.

[00:13:20] And I hope you can feel the father holding you in his arms and giving you complete peace.

[00:13:24] And it was just a cool opportunity again, no idea where she's at, but I was like, Oh, thanks God.

[00:13:30] Like, Hey, when I anchor my day on you, good things happen.

[00:13:35] You, you encourage other people when I do that.

[00:13:39] That's nice.

[00:13:40] Okay.

[00:13:40] This is, this is good.

[00:13:42] This is good.

[00:13:44] Good habit to get into.

[00:13:45] Yeah.

[00:13:46] That's so sweet.

[00:13:47] I work in sales in my like day-to-day job, which, uh, anybody listening knows that can be pretty competitive.

[00:13:55] Not a job for me.

[00:13:56] And you're a competitive person.

[00:13:58] And I am a competitive.

[00:13:59] That's not the point of the story.

[00:14:01] Um, but I also work from home.

[00:14:04] And so I spent a lot of time just with the dog and myself jumping on sales calls.

[00:14:09] Um, but my company hosts a couple of, um, like happy hours for once in a while, just to get everyone together, kind of build rapport.

[00:14:16] Um, and since I don't get to see my coworkers besides like maybe four times a year or something.

[00:14:23] Sure.

[00:14:23] Um, it was, gosh, what podcast have we just recorded?

[00:14:28] I don't remember, but I went in there with kind of the same thought of like, man, the people at my work are such an opportunity to just love on.

[00:14:39] And, uh, ended up going to this happy hour.

[00:14:42] Um, and had a moment with my coworker where they shared something really hard too.

[00:14:47] And I was like, okay, here we go.

[00:14:49] It took like a step of faith.

[00:14:50] And we ended up like taking a moment to step aside and just pray over what she was going through.

[00:14:57] Wow.

[00:14:58] Um, in the middle of like our big company happy hour.

[00:15:02] And it was just like such a, um, just such a juxtaposition is maybe the right word where it's like what was going on around us was probably not like godly.

[00:15:13] It wasn't not godly, but we're just at the bar.

[00:15:16] Whatever.

[00:15:17] Yeah.

[00:15:17] It was like everyone's letting loose.

[00:15:18] And then we got to step aside and like have a moment of connection and, and prayer.

[00:15:23] Yeah.

[00:15:23] Um, and I don't really know what is like totally going on in their personal life right now, but kind of the same thing where it's like, man, when God puts it on your heart, I just don't want to miss the opportunity to be his hands and feet.

[00:15:37] You know?

[00:15:37] So I think that little prayer I prayed, the text that you sent, man, seeds planted makes such a difference.

[00:15:44] I love that.

[00:15:45] And you know, one thing I learned this year was what is the most important thing to God?

[00:15:51] I got, I got asked that question.

[00:15:53] I was like, man, I don't have a solid answer.

[00:15:55] Yeah.

[00:15:55] I was like, I could come up with something.

[00:15:58] I was like, I think I could make, I probably know.

[00:16:01] You probably would have gotten kind of close.

[00:16:02] I would have gotten close, but I don't actually know what's the most important thing to God.

[00:16:06] And it's such a simple question.

[00:16:08] Right?

[00:16:09] Yeah.

[00:16:09] So I thought it was.

[00:16:11] Enlighten us.

[00:16:12] You like the anticipation?

[00:16:13] Yes.

[00:16:15] Tell us now.

[00:16:17] The most important thing to God is that he has a loving relationship with you.

[00:16:22] Isn't that cool?

[00:16:23] That's the most important thing to God, that he has a loving relationship with you.

[00:16:27] Yeah.

[00:16:28] And it's just so fun to be learning these things over the last year.

[00:16:31] So thank you guys for sharing.

[00:16:33] We are so excited as we go forward into season three.

[00:16:37] Oh my gosh.

[00:16:38] I believe season three.

[00:16:39] Wow.

[00:16:41] There's so much that we are excited to share about.

[00:16:44] Guests that we're going to be having on.

[00:16:45] Abby's going to be joining us.

[00:16:47] Jess and I will be on most of the time.

[00:16:49] There's a lot to come in this next year.

[00:16:52] We're excited about what God has done, but we believe the best is yet to come.

[00:16:57] Thank you, everybody.

[00:16:58] Cheers.

[00:16:58] See you next week.

[00:16:59] Cheers.

[00:17:00] Cheers.