Standing Alone, Never Alone

The room is different, the roles have shifted, and the question hangs in the air: do we keep going when the team changes? We open up about that moment—how doubt crept in, how an honest conversation reset the course, and why we chose to carry the mission forward anyway. What starts as a behind-the-scenes reset grows into a deeper exploration of standing alone, anxiety in a loud world, and the kind of prayer that sounds like talking to a loving Father.

We look at solitude not as isolation but as a sacred practice. Jesus meets us here: alone in the wilderness, in Gethsemane, and on the cross. Peter steps onto water and holds for a breath before the waves steal his gaze. David faces a giant without armor. These scenes aren’t distant myths; they’re maps for modern courage. We talk about resisting slick distortions by knowing Scripture, how gratitude for small gifts—a warm bed, a found nail—recalibrates the heart, and why serving the Word beats merely observing it.

Anxiety threads through the conversation, not as a label but as a human reality. The counterweight is rhythm: step away, breathe, pray simply, and listen. We wrestle with moments when truth might strain relationships and how to speak gently without hiding what matters. From church hurt to boldness with friends, from everyday pressures to end-of-life peace, the through-line is steady: you may be called to stand alone, yet you’re never truly alone. God meets you in the hallway, on the job, at the bedside, and gives words, wisdom, and calm.

If this resonates, share it with someone who needs courage today. Subscribe for more thoughtful, faith-filled conversations, and leave a review to help others find the show. Your one share might be the nudge someone needs to stand firm.

Chapters

• 1:17 New Season, New Room, New Roles
• 3:50 Team Change And The Weight Of Being Last
• 5:42 Doubt, Honest Talk, And Choosing To Continue
• 7:57 Why The Show Still Matters
• 10:02 Real Faith, Real Life, Real Mess
• 12:47 Relatability, Traditions, And Intent
• 16:47 Jesus Relates To Our Emotions
• 19:41 Standing Alone: Gethsemane And The Cross
• 23:07 Solitude, Anxiety, And Hearing God
• 27:37 Prayer As Relationship, Not Routine
• 30:52 Gratitude For Small Things
• 34:35 Biblical And Historical Lone Stands
• 38:57 Temptation In The Wilderness And Knowing Scripture
• 42:57 Church Hurt, Hypocrisy, And Grace
• 46:42 Identity, Failure, And God’s Choice
• 50:37 Life And Death With Peace In Christ
• 54:47 Boldness With Friends And Gentle Truth
• 58:57 Everyday Courage And Trust In Outcomes
• 1:06:27 Closing Prayer And Commitment

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:39

Welcome back, everybody. This is Growing Together, Organic Church's regular podcast. We are back for season four. And once again this week, I've got my friend Dale Walker here. So he made it through his first episode, and he was gracious enough to do another one. So, again, before we get started, just in case uh we've got listeners that maybe missed the first episode of the new year, again, like I said, this is season four, and we've got quite the change up. I know you're used to hearing Roger's voice and Sid's voice and Beth's voice, and they have all moved on to different endeavors. And I just want to say that uh I wish every single one of them the best, and I guarantee you I am going to get them back in this room. Yeah, they left me holding the bag. They did, they did. Left me standing alone, which oh that's what we're going to talk about tonight. But but yeah, we're in this new room, so we've got a new room. Everything's new, everything's a big change for us. So again, hopefully the sound is pretty good. Hopefully the echo's not too much. So we'll uh definitely be able to tell here maybe in a few weeks if any changes need to be made. But but yeah, certainly has a different feel to it. But I kind of like the dynamic of the last episode, you know, it was definitely I think very conversational, just you know, direct. Sometimes, you know, we in here we all get talking, and you know, I guess you know, we feel bad maybe leaving somebody out, they don't get a much chance to they probably prepare all week long and have these things that they want to say, and then uh we just cut them right off, Dale. We don't even give them a chance. So so yeah, so this is kind of a dynamic that uh gives gives everybody a chance to really, you know, express their feelings about a certain topic or feel like they have some kind of contribution. Yeah, yeah. So uh but like I said, we'll we'll do our best to get those guys back in here because we'll see them in church on Sundays, and I'm not gonna let them forget that once a member, always a member. Right. And hopefully we'll uh we'll get we'll get maybe we'll get everybody back in here and for an anniversary episode or something, just have some fun. And uh you do have some nice ideas. Well, you know, that's where it starts. You gotta have an idea after that. I mean, it's it's you know, it's all up in the air, but uh so yeah, we'll uh we'll have faith that we'll uh it's gonna be a good and prosperous year, and we got a lot of great things to talk about. And I guess maybe the thing to point out on the last episode, like I'm running the board now. So this is my first time actually running the board. Sid was always at the helm. So last episode was my first time through that. We got to the very end, and I'm like, oh yeah, we got to play the music for the prayer, and I'm like, totally forgot. So fortunately, Michael was sitting in the corner observing, and he was able to come over and save the day. But uh, so I got a second chance here tonight to get it right, so we'll see. Uh so warts and all, people, warts and all. You know, there's no take twos, no take as we come. Yeah, so uh that's awesome. But uh yeah, so the topic tonight is called standing alone. And of course, I had this idea, and I just kind of want to share this a little bit. The circumstance of this whole change came quite suddenly to me. And so we were getting closer to you know, revving back up for podcast, and and Michael gave me a call and let me know that Roger, Sid, and Beth were all stepping down at the same time. And he asked me, he's like, Okay, so what do we do? It's like obviously you're the only one left. And I was like, Yeah, and my first gut reaction was, I want to keep this thing going. Like, you know, I I still see that it has value, I believe in it, it's something I really uh enjoy doing. I feel led to do it. So so obviously my first gut reaction was, well, no, I don't want to quit. We're not gonna quit, we're not just gonna because you know, because we don't have a team. And so we hung up the phone, and then over the course of the next day, I really started to have a lot of misgivings and doubts and kind of feeling bad. And of course, all the different questions start rolling in my head. It's like, well, why am I the only one left? Like, am I doing something wrong, or do they not want to be doing this with me anymore? And and then, of course, I'm thinking, does everybody else think this doesn't have value? You know, is it just run its course? And you know, there's just nothing we we've all we've all burned out and there's just nothing left. And and so I prayed about it and I prayed about it, and I went back and forth from being, that'll be okay, to no, this isn't okay, because I just I had I had bad feelings that like perhaps maybe it is me. Maybe, you know, am I the reason everybody else is stepping down? Or, you know, and I kind of just and I'll be honest, like I felt left out all of a sudden. So, so it kind of I I I wouldn't say that it it hurt, but it just like it got it got things rolling in my brain to as like I started questioning things. So by the end of that night, I'm like, I gotta call Michael back, we gotta have another conversation because I can't move forward if we don't have this open conversation about it. And I think that's always a good lesson to learn is that if you're ever, you know, if you're ever feeling down about something and you know you have to communicate with somebody and have a conversation, it is so much better to have that conversation than to keep just letting things roll around in your head and coming up with all these different scenarios of what you think has happened or what's going to happen. It's always better just to openly communicate and have an honest conversation. Because once Michael and I did that, you know, I expressed everything that I'm saying to you right now. You know, I said, you know, I just, you know, I kind of felt left out. And I and I and I don't, and I told him, I said, Michael, I said one thing, I don't want to do anything that doesn't have value. So if nobody else values it, then no, I don't want to do it. And he assured me that that wasn't the case. And that and that kind of boosted my personal belief that I do believe this has value. It's you know, we're not, we're not uh, we don't have record-breaking numbers on YouTube. We're not speaking to millions of people. But I but I've I've seen the numbers and it does continue to grow slowly. People are listening out there, and people are coming back. So I assume that there is something about what we do that they find valuable.

SPEAKER_01: 7:24

They've connected to it.

SPEAKER_00: 7:25

Yeah, and that they find inspiration to, and they feel like I hope that they feel as though the true word of the Lord is being spoken.

SPEAKER_01: 7:33

Well, I can tell you as a listener, because this is new to me. But I've listened to all of them. I've I've listened for I didn't think it was four seasons of it, but I've listened to it for four seasons. And counting. And you had tremendous value. All of you guys were such a unit of of information. We talked about the fact that there was varying age groups, there were, you know, variants of opinions, there were variants of upbringings, and I think that's what connected any of the listeners is that these people were talking about common things and relating them as Christians. You knew you knew coming in that all of you that were involved were Christian and that you were going through, you know, paying bills, and I went shopping at this place and that place and living regular lives because a lot of people think that Christians have this easy life, that you know, this naive situation going on with them that you know, oh, that'll be fine, God will take care of it. But the minute you confess and profess to be a Christian, the enemy is after you. And so unlike unlike the unchurched or anybody like that, we're attacked not just by people who don't necessarily agree with our opinion or whatever, but we're attacked by the enemy who knows what who we were at the beginning. How you know, he doesn't know what we can become because he's not like God, he's not omniscient, so he doesn't know what we can become, but he knows wow, they've grown from here to here. I gotta nip that in the bud.

SPEAKER_00: 9:35

Yeah, he knows he knows what makes us vulnerable.

SPEAKER_01: 9:38

Yeah, and so we have that input, and people people can relate to that because people know, well, I go through this every day, and no one understands. And to find this this podcast and find out, oh, they do relate, they've gone through this too, and they've had this go on, and it it becomes it has its own value. And you're you were you are and continue to be a big part of that. So that's why I was excited to like just even put my voice anywhere near it. I was like, oh, I hope I don't screw this stuff for them. They're like, oh, who's that guy? Yeah, I'm done listening to him now.

SPEAKER_00: 10:25

No, you you you're doing great. And and the thing for me is I want it to be the type of podcast that I would listen to because the last thing I want it to be is stiff, which I don't think anybody can accuse us of that. You know, we because you know, we don't just sit here and and and read the word and be dry and just, you know, forgive me for saying this, but behave ourselves. And you know, we're open to being who we are. We're real human beings with real problems, and we make mistakes, with yeah, with great things happening in our lives, bad things happening in our lives, and we're willing to share those things to where people don't feel as though, oh, I I have to be a I have to come into my relationship with God, you know, uh having all these checks in the box before you know I can start having that relationship. They they can hear, you know, the things we go through and realize, oh yeah, they they go through the same struggles that I do. And I think that's what makes the biggest connection is if you have you know that relativity with other people that you know well and it's like we talked about with you and uh the Christmas decorations.

SPEAKER_01: 11:41

I can I can believe that there are people that think, you know, I put up decorations too, but I've always wondered, you know, is that something God would want me to do or whatever? And to find out that that you do that, and not only do you do it, you do it, you know, to the extreme some would say, you know, yeah, you do it way bigger than what I do it. So so to find out that you do that and they're like if I have the right mindset and the right approach to it, it's okay. Yeah. I mean, a lot of people say things like, you know, God knows my heart and everything, but truly, if you are doing it and it's bringing like for the reasons you always state, you know, bringing families together, creating tr traditions, all of those things, they're those are beautiful reasons. And so if somebody can be listening to you and say, you know, my my cousins have been telling me I shouldn't be putting up decorations or whatever. But I heard this guy on the Yeah, why do you waste your time? Yeah, you know, that's doesn't have a lot of work. That's a lot of money, isn't it? Yeah, it's a lot of money here, you know. Or waste of money. Yeah, or whatever you know, the situations are, and to find out, well, this guy does it, he didn't have a problem with it, and nobody's ragging on him for it or any of those things. I can I can go forward and I know the reasons I do it. I think they're pleasing to the Lord, I can continue with it. So without this station doing what doing what they do and saying what they say, he may not hear that. He may go through his life saying, I'm taking them down this year.

SPEAKER_00: 13:24

Yeah, yeah. It's not worth it. No, exactly. It's not worth it.

SPEAKER_01: 13:30

So there's there's value, even if it's and it's like it's the typical Christian journey. If I help one person realize they need to come to Christ, if I help one person realize it's okay to throw up your decorations long as you're doing it in the spirit, then then it's okay. That's why. I've reached yeah, I've reached someone. So it's never not going to have value. And it's always had value for me from the very first, very first podcast. So I'm as I continue to feel blessed to be anywhere near a microphone, because you you guys, you and whoever else you have no idea what this is.

SPEAKER_00: 14:18

And I'm not saying this with any ego, but I've tried to find similar podcasts for myself to listen to, and I can't. Like I I don't know if you have if Dale, if you have any suggestions of any ones that are good, but but I haven't been able to find any that kind of carry the same kind of that keep me engaged. No, as it were.

SPEAKER_01: 14:41

But I I will put it this way I know a podcast I love to listen to. It's called Compelled. I didn't plug it or anything, not gonna get any residuals or whatever from them. But content-wise it's beautiful. You know, I love to hear these stories of people that were, you know, downtrodden, didn't had low faith in God or whatever. But they're not told like this. It's not it's not this kind of format. And I think the uniqueness of us coming together, and we're we already consider ourselves family and to come together to talk to people about our family and say, you know, you can you can be a Christian, you can have fun, you can you can doubt, you can cry, you can have all those emotions and doesn't make you not Christian. If anything, it makes you more Christian because you are you are experiencing all those emotions that Christ went uh experienced at the on the cross. He was heartbroken, he was he was joyous, he was he was all those things in his life that we you know we are now that's people sometimes can't say he can't relate to me. He can do nothing but relate to you. Right. He he knows he knows more about pain than you know about pain. He knows more about joy than you know about joy. How much joy would you have? Like take Lazarus, for example. How much joy would you have calling someone you love back? I mean, a lot of people a lot of people say things like he had to, you know, he had to call Lazarus by name or else everybody gets up. But just to single it out to say, Come here, I still need you and to have that joy when they burst forth. But we you know, we lack that faith. Right. And so he knows more about uh our emotions because he wept. So when you get when you get tears from the God, the God's son and you think he can't reach you, he doesn't understand you, he can do nothing but and it I just he's I don't know. I I love talking about him sometimes.

SPEAKER_00: 17:20

It's just it catches me and he just kind of yeah, I think that's what people miss is you know when they feel as though they're being pushed to follow the Lord. Absolutely, you know, and and they they tend to think of all these reasons not to. And you're right, they don't stop to consider the beautiful the beautiful nature of his being that is like, yeah, everything is relatable. Like this is yes, it is about following the commandments, it is about choosing to lay it at the foot of the cross and putting those things behind you and and and leaving living as though he would want you to. But the biggest part of it is you're gaining a relationship, you're not losing all of these things that you think are so important.

SPEAKER_01: 18:11

You get so much out of him.

SPEAKER_00: 18:13

You do, and and it, and it like you said, if if you see it the way that you see it, Dale, then it never gets old. It's not just another, you know, it's just it's not another story. Absolutely. It's not, it's not a you know, this isn't a set of just a set of rules to hold you back from enjoying life. This is having a relationship with somebody that will fulfill you in the joy, in the sadness, in the doubt, all of those things that every single day you get to walk with him, and it just you you you realize very quickly that all these other things you think are so important that you need on a daily basis are not fulfilling at all compared to his greatness and to what he brings to your life.

SPEAKER_01: 19:04

It's just it's just uh amazing because with our topic standing alone, he stood alone for us. Because when I didn't even think about that, yeah, he stood alone at the cross. Yeah, I mean, yeah, he had his family, but they couldn't, they couldn't.

SPEAKER_00: 19:23

Yeah, the disciples didn't go with him. Yeah, and they scattered as you remember.

SPEAKER_01: 19:27

Yeah, yeah. And he was he was there alone. Yeah. And if I were alone in that situation, there's I I might let a few of the few of those unkind words fly, like, what nobody's got my back. You know, but his grace, his beauty, his joy, it it all shone through at the very end. I mean, because he could have very easily said, I'm not doing this, God. It's too hard. You ask, you ask too much for me. And so he was he was beautifully crucified for us. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 20:05

And it's just And as you said, those real raw emotions show through, you know, in in the garden when he's you know, he he's going to do the will of his father, but you hear the anguish when he says, Yes, if there is another will, another way, you know, let this cup pass from me. But but not if it's you know, but only your will is gonna do here. Like I'm I'm gonna do what I've been called to do. But that anguish, I mean, he's sweating, he's sweating blood at this point, and of course. In that moment, he's alone because his disciples have gone off. They're napping. They're not doing what they're supposed to be doing. So, of course, in that moment, he in that moment, yes, he he that he feels that weakness because he's not getting the support, you know, of the people who love him or that are supposed to be there to support him. He gives them one job to do. And he goes back twice to find out that they're they can't even they can't even do that knowing what he's got to do. And they they can't even just keep watch and stay awake. Absolutely. So so yes, you know that he he feels that that that pain and that anguish and that isolation that sometimes we can all feel.

SPEAKER_01: 21:19

And when we talk about relating, who can't relate to that? You know, yeah. Your friends, you friends you thought would be close to you, and you're like, you guys couldn't even stick that and have my back for a minute. He knows that. He's he's experienced it. He knew it before, but he brought himself to the earth to be close to it. Yeah. And so, yeah, I don't I don't know where you want to go from here, but I know that Christ spent a lot of his ministry alone. Sometimes by choice because he wanted to, because I need to get away, I get to go. And other times because if I don't get away, these people are gonna kill me. And he he spent a a lot of his time alone. And we can all relate to that, I think, that like we were talking about small towns and stuff, and I used to go to the creek behind my house. I used to live on Logan Street, and I would go to this creek behind my house, pool to Roger there, and and there was a tire. Nobody ever swung on it or anything, and I would just sit there and just relax. I wouldn't really be talking to God, because at that time I'll be honest, I wasn't really talking to God like I do now, of course, because I'm a kid. I had other things on my mind. Yeah, thinking about Betty Lou or whatever. But uh I would sit there and I would be by myself and it would be so relaxing and so so peaceful. And he had to do that for himself because he had throngs following him everywhere. He's like, he couldn't get a moment to himself, and when he did, that had to be refreshing to him, just like this moment. So he knows every situation we've ever known. Yeah, it's like you don't know. I just need to get away from those people, God. I know you've never had billions just follow you for everything and need something from you. Right. Try that. You like you or I walk out this door right now, and there's like six, seven hundred thousand people standing outside saying, Dale, can you give me this?

SPEAKER_00: 23:45

Watching every yeah, watching your every move. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 23:49

Not a moment like you're trying to go to sleep. There they are. You wake up, there they are. And so he's acquainted with all our suffering, all of our joy, all of our suffering. He's a he's acquainted with it.

SPEAKER_00: 24:04

Do we got a call-in, Dale? Do we got call-in guest? Calling him in already.

SPEAKER_01: 24:10

Caller number one.

SPEAKER_00: 24:13

But yeah, I don't want to monopolize, which I'm clearly doing, but well, I just feel a lot of times when you know we live, I think we live in a day and an age where I'm starting to recognize that the word anxiety, the idea of anxiety, has taken on this proportion of pressure upon young people that anxiety is this thing that so it's hard for me to put this into words, but we focus so much on people having anxiety now. Like it's almost an epidemic that people have anxiety. You know, we grew up in an age where you know you tough things out, you you figure things out, you but now if like if a child has anxiety, we think, well, we need to take him to a doctor, we need to figure out why this person has so much anxiety. It's like you're treated special if you proclaim that you have this anxiety. And of course, I'm always I'm of the opinion that we all have anxiety. Anxiety is doesn't make you special, it's something that we all go through. Yep. And I often find that people with anxiety, it they're so caught up in the pressure, and they don't want to get away from it. They don't want to find any form of like walking away, having meditation. So they live with this pressure 24-7, and they don't give themselves the opportunity to, like you said, go someplace, sit down, be alone, and not not ice, not isolate yourself from your loved ones or anything like that, but get away from everything, start to reflect upon what's going on in your life and give it to the Lord.

SPEAKER_01: 26:17

Yep, so you can hear that still small voice.

SPEAKER_00: 26:19

Yeah. Like I said, and it's just, you know, anxiety is just it's taken over our society to a point that, like I said, it's almost like a small epidemic. And I just think if I I always felt very blessed that I could do that, that I I'm good at being alone. You know, that that I can go somewhere and I can have a conversation. A lot of times, I mean, I've gotten to the point now where I can have a conversation with the Lord if I'm up on the truck unloading steel. Oh, yes. That's how I've gotten to. But I but I still appreciate the fact that even as a young person, 13, 14, I had it just instilled in me that yes, number one, I felt comfortable being alone. Number two, that I knew there was something special about that, about having time to meditate, reflect upon the things that were bothering me, and talking to the Lord about, okay, you know, what do I need to do? How, you know, pray about it and and trust in the Lord that whatever's happening right now is is is going to be his will. And I know that's tough for a lot of young people to do. That's that's not that doesn't happen all the time. But I treasure that. I treasure that that aloneness sometimes because it gives me that opportunity to kind of just flush everything out and just and just give it all to the Lord and just let him let him have it as opposed to just keep hammering away, hammering away, don't give yourself to break away from it. And that's just what I see a lot of people do. It's like they can't figure they can't figure out why they're so stressed and have so much anxiety. It's like, well, is it because you never let go of it, you never give it to the Lord.

SPEAKER_01: 28:05

Not even not even when you're sleeping. Yeah, it's like people like, yeah, oh, I just I toss and I turn and you know, you you at some point you gotta let it go.

SPEAKER_00: 28:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 28:15

And there's nobody better to let it go to than than God.

SPEAKER_00: 28:19

Yep.

SPEAKER_01: 28:20

Because He He can give you such a peace over certain things and over everything. But whenever you have some kind of problem, some kind of issue that you feel like this is just overwhelming, the first place you should go. You just find find your your prayer closet. I know that sounds kind of you know cliches. I got my prayer closet, but you just find yourself a spot and and turn it over to him. And I mean, turn it over to him. Because like some people there there is, oh I I I have a problem and I prayed over for a minute or two, and no. Pray to him to like he's your dad.

SPEAKER_00: 29:06

I mean, that goes back to what we're talking about, a relationship, not not a yeah, and that's that's very important.

SPEAKER_01: 29:12

It's more important than people realize because everybody has reduced God to a book. He's he's a book of standards. Yeah, he's in these pages, he's telling me what to do. I it's it's old, it's outdated. No, the Bible, if you get into it and you read it and you uh ask for fresh uh revelation from it, he lives in those pages. He is in he's instruction for your life. And so if you're you know, you're doubting yourself, there are passages of what to do if you're doubting yourself. You know, there's there's something for everything. If you're joyous about a wedding, if you're joyous about situations, he has verses in there and how to deal with your joy and how to deal with your grief. He's he's acquainted with everything we've gone through, everything we ever will go through. There's nothing new for him. There's nothing too big, nothing too small. I will this is weird. Well, I don't know how weird it is, but for me anytime something happens to me like the tiniest thing, I will say thank you, God. Like I I dropped uh a nail, let's we'll say, and couldn't find it. I'm trying to hang a picture and I can't find it. And it's rolled behind this little cart and I'm looking all over and I finally see it. And no idea, because it's not through my own not through my own intellect that I well it's probably behind that the that wheel of that cart. I look and it's there. I say, thank you, God, I never would have looked there. Because I know all things come from him. I know that. And I have never questioned it. When I was when I was younger, I didn't know how to pray. And so when I went to Dayton, I felt very much alone. From a small town, as I keep telling people, Dayton, a little bit bigger, and people everywhere that I didn't know. And I was like I said, I was very much alone, but I knew God and I wanted to go to church. And so I went to this Pentecostal church, and they were the Pentecostal Pentecostal, rolling on the floor and running around and things like that. But they had a lot of faith, and so that's where I got baptized there and I learned a lot about myself. I came home and I came back to the job core I was at in Dayton and the younger kids, kids my age didn't understand what had happened to me because I wasn't I wasn't acting shy, I wasn't doing any of the things I was doing before I went to this church. It's always it's always something like that. They don't understand when God contacts you. And so you have to sometimes stand alone because that's the only time you're gonna hear from him. When you are alone, when you are in the pit, when you are in the lion's den, when you are in the fire, that's the o that may be the only time you hear from him, when you are going through that situation with your husband or whatever, you're going through that situation with your wife, and things look impossible. That's gonna be the only time you hear from him, you're like, I just had it, and he's gonna say, Hang in there. And it just gets it gets better from there. I don't know how to explain it, it just gets better from there. If you truly listen to him and don't just say, No, no, no, no, no, I'm not gonna listen. I'm gonna do what I want to do. If you heed that still small voice, things just get better.

SPEAKER_00: 33:42

And I think for me, sometimes it if you start thanking him for the small things, like don't just to go to God when there's problems, you know, because I think that for a lot of people that can be like, yeah, you know, I pray when I got a problem. But how many people pray when when they are joyous, when good things do happen in their lives? Like one of those silly things that maybe that I thank the Lord for is sometimes I'll get in the bed and I'll put the covers over me and I'll be like, Thank you, Lord, for my bed. And and and that may seem silly, but think about that. Think about how prized your bed actually is to be blessed that at the end of the day you can crawl into bed, put the covers over you, and be comfortable and get a good night's rest. It's something that we all just take for granted. But if you think about it, how many people right now are sleeping outside, sleeping in the weather? You know, they might be in a situation where their parents don't provide you a bed and they're making you sleep on the floor somewhere else. You know, a bed is a very prized thing, but it's something we all take for granted. So I feel like when I pray about something like that, that it tends to fill my heart more than you know, either praying about something I want or only praying when, yep, I got a problem today, Lord, you know, get me out of this, take care of this. I seem to get more fulfilled when I just think about, yeah, what are the most important things? Like you could, you could personally, yeah, it's like you could do a lot of things to me in a course of a day, but if you take my bed away, that's just like then there's like there's no recovery, like there's no next day if you if you don't have your bed to lay in at night and get a good night's rest. So I mean, think about how blessed we are to have that, and because there's just a lot of people on this earth that don't have that. See, I don't get that a lot.

SPEAKER_01: 35:38

Elsa takes my bed. No, she's thanking Jesus for your bed. She's like, Thank you, Lord, for my daddy's bed because he's not getting it tonight. She knows. Yeah, she knows.

SPEAKER_00: 35:51

She knows a good bed when she sees it. Yep. Yeah, she's gonna take advantage of it. Yeah, she does.

SPEAKER_01: 35:57

Yeah. But it's when we were talking about standing alone, I start thinking about people both biblically and historically who have had to stand alone. And I thought about when I wrote a couple of them down, I didn't write the historical ones down, but the biblical ones. I wrote Samson had to stand alone. Peter, when he was on the water, he stood alone because they didn't all rush out there to the water to meet Jesus. It was just him. He stood alone with the waves crashing and everything, and and it it impresses me because we always talk about the miracles that Jesus performed. He didn't perform this miracle. Peter walked on the water because he believed, and he was alone in that. Those guys could have all ran out there and been jogging across the water all day. But they saw the waves, and then Peter was fine until he saw and even when he saw the waves, he was fine. But when he took his sight off the Lord, that's when he had the issues, and that's when the problems came. And and then also, obviously, David stood alone against a giant. We all stand against giants. Mine mostly are financial, but we all we all well, everything is a giant to me. I'm only 5'5. But just, you know, historically, then you get people like Jackie Robinson always pops to mind. Yeah, that's a great one. Then you get JFK. You have different people through history who have stood for something, and because either it wasn't popular or there was they didn't they didn't want to suffer the consequences that come along with that. Nobody backed.

SPEAKER_00: 38:00

Yeah, and and I don't know the full history, but perhaps there could have been somebody before Jackie Robinson, but they weren't willing to go through that abuse.

SPEAKER_01: 38:09

Well, I know they say Larry Doby was before him. Yeah, with the Cleveland Indians, yeah. Yeah, he was he was uh the first in the American League, but I don't have like facts right in front of me, so I can't remember which one of them was first. But I've I've heard it both sides that Jackie Robinson was the first black, and then it but that neither here nor there.

SPEAKER_00: 38:33

Yeah, they kind of share that now, but of course Jackie Robinson kind of gets more of the Yeah, he's got the movie, yeah, yeah, he does. But as I said, maybe there could have been two other people before then, but maybe they just didn't have the character, uh, you know, and and the the faith to follow through with that. Because yeah, I'm sure that that was, you know, as you said, that was definitely yes, they had some people supporting them, but at the end of the day, they still had to be the ones to go out on that field, perform and even and I can guarantee you they didn't always hit a home run.

SPEAKER_01: 39:11

Oh, right. So on days that they struggled, I can imagine those are the tough days that are like he's went O for three or something. We told you so. Yeah, yeah, he's he's trash. We we knew that. Why would you put somebody like that on the team, you know, and and just dealing with that, and then you get people like JFK or people who just invented things throughout history that you know they find something and they're like, oh, that'll never work, you know, and just the the doubts that come with people not seeing your vision. And I've heard it I've heard it before that if people can't uh believe your vision because it it wasn't given to them, it was given to you. So purpose, yeah. Yeah. So if they can't see it because it's not theirs. And so it becomes difficult to understand when you see somebody like some great inventor going, if I put this wire and this wire together, we'll get light, you know what I mean? Or i any of those things like, oh, you're talking crazy, or the first vaccine, or whatever the whatever it is, that's somebody stood alone on it. Yeah. So there but there's been nobody greater. That stood alone than Jesus.

SPEAKER_00: 40:40

And I know we had a book to reference, but I think we told them I know how they most most well-learned Christians know that you know that you know when after Jesus is baptized and he starts his ministry, the first thing that happens is he's led into the desert, you know, to fast for 40 days, 40 nights. And of course, is it at this point that Satan is going to make his first encounter with Jesus and basically use scripture to try to fool Jesus into just proclaiming himself as king and or accepting the devil's offer to have control of you know every kingdom. He's showing he's taking him up on the mountain, showing him everything, and saying it could be all yours if you just, you know, and of course, at every step, you know, Jesus, you know, shoots right back with real scripture, you know, that and that's an important, I think that's such an important thing, is that, you know, it's you can't, you can't just you can't just be say you you can't just become a Christian and pronounce it and then go out into the world and think that, okay, I'm protected because I've proclaimed that I'm now a Christian. Let's you can even go, you can even go to a church on a regular basis, and yes, and this is kind of another idea that I've been kind of working on for an episode, is yes, you can observe the Lord and his word, but do you serve the Lord and His Word? So that's treatment. Yeah, you so you can observe it, but does that mean that you're actually you know taking it in and taking it with you on the way out the door and and going home and reading your Bible, knowing the word, because if it's anybody else in that desert and Satan starts spouting off scripture, most people are like, oh well, scripture says so, then I guess and and I think a lot of people can be fooled by that. You know, a lot of people can preach and it's not it's not really the word, it's it's not what you should be hearing. And and if you don't know the word, I I sometimes I feel like that should be your first step in your walk, even before I think you become a member of a church, is to start reading the Bible, get into the word and start to know it. That way, if you do encounter somebody that's giving you false prophecy, false words, that you know the difference. Because I think a lot of people can fall into that, you know. Absolutely. Yeah. And so that's when standing alone is, you know, is not is not going to work out in your favor.

SPEAKER_01: 43:35

And that's the kind of thing that I don't necessarily ascribe to church hurt. A lot of people say, Yeah, I I've I've been hurt by the church. And it's like, if you really think about it, I don't know everybody's situation, but if you really think about it, you weren't hurt by the church. You were hurt by a person, possibly. You know, and your situation, I'm I'm not talking to anybody in in particular, but it's just it's the same I to be sound use an old term, it's the same cop out that people use when they say they don't want to go to church. It's full of hypocrites. It is. It is. Maybe so. It is. They're all trying to get better. They're all they're all trying to to find the answer, just like you.

SPEAKER_00: 44:32

And they're not getting it all right. They don't have it all figured out.

SPEAKER_01: 44:34

Yeah, they're not good, they're not going to. You know, we're we're gonna stumble, we're gonna trip. Just because you profess to be a Christian doesn't mean you're not gonna stumble, doesn't mean you're not gonna hurt people's feelings, doesn't mean if anything, you're going to hurt someone's feelings. And in this day and age, it's dangerous to be a Christian and hurt somebody's feelings. We know that all too well now. And it's just that for me, God is the only answer. God is the only answer. I almost want to cry because I know what he's done for me. Because I I told you about um my platoon being split and going half to Grenada and half to the Lebanese embassy. Nobody left but yours truly, because I didn't make it. I didn't make it as a Marine. And so I deal with that kind of hurt all the time. And so the only person that gives me relief from that is God. God tells me all the time, I picked you, I picked you, I chose you, I love you. And he says the same thing to each and every one of us, whether you believe in him, you don't believe in him, you never heard of him. He tells us all that very same thing. I love you, I miss you, come home. You're not alone. We may be thinking that we're standing alone, but we're not. We are in great company. We are in the greatest company, we are in the presence of the most high. And we we just don't value it. We just we, you know, we value that. Well, old, I was gonna say DeLorean. Back to the future. Like we value that, you know, we value that high-end car, we value that beautiful, that beautiful model you see on TV, we value all those things that really have no value because none of those things can you take with you. No. But when you are when you're at the end of your days and you are alone, because your last days are alone. I mean when you're there and you and you're staring at God and you're staring at hell, and he says, he says, come home, or I'd never really get away from me, I never knew you. It it's it's then when you realize I lived my life and did all the right things, or I lived my life and I should have been, I should have been closer to the one who's closest to me.

SPEAKER_00: 47:34

Or at least you can say, no, I didn't get it all right. Yeah. I certainly stumbled, I certainly had my doubts, I certainly missed out on some things. Yeah, but I know one thing's for certain is that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. If everything else goes, that's the one thing I know for sure. And everything else in this world, you know, the only thing that's for sure is nothing's for sure. Exactly. But that's the one thing that is guaranteed. And yeah, you want to get to the end of your life, as you said, when it's because you're born alone, you die alone. Nobody's, you know, most of the time it's even if even if you're going into a situation where you know, yes, I may die and these other people might die. Still, you when that time comes, it don't even matter if you're surrounded by a hundred other people, you're still going into that moment alone. Alone. Yeah. You know, if if you if you know in your heart that he's your Lord and Savior, I think all those doubts, all those anxieties about death, about the unknown, it doesn't it doesn't bother you. It does it doesn't fill your life with dread and uncertainty and tell some uh regret.

SPEAKER_01: 48:45

My uh my one sister passed away, and it's how I knew that she was a Christian. She said she was ready to go home. And we thought that she meant she was ready to, she was in a nursing home. We thought she meant she was ready to come back to the house, obviously, or whatever. No, she meant she was ready to go home, and she was very very a very strong Christian woman, and it's just so gratifying to know that God puts his hand on all our shoulders, yeah, all at once. He eats, and that's that's the thing people just don't understand.

SPEAKER_00: 49:33

Yeah. I mean, you know, my my mom battled cancer for 15 years, and uh I know that she struggled all those times alone. Like she was the only because yes, we could all be there for her, yes, we could all love her and and try to understand what she's going through, but that was her to struggle alone. Like she's the only one that could truly understand that. But I never seen a woman who when you thought she was down and out, like she's she's gave up. Like she would go to her bedroom and just like you wouldn't see her for maybe three days, and you would think this is it, like she's not coming back out of that bedroom, and then she'd come out of that bedroom like a brand new person. Yep, yeah, like she wasn't sick, and you'd be like, How does this woman do this? And and she always say, I'm not ready to go yet. Like, I want to see my grandkid, I want to spend more time with you. She's like, I I know it's not my time, I'm not ready to go yet. So, yeah, she would have the illness, it would give her all these doubts, all this pain, all this suffering. But her relationship with Jesus Christ would be like, But over you're not ready yet. This ain't your time. So again, she'd come out of that room, and time and again, we'd just be amazed. Here she comes again. Yep. But just as easily as she did that, when it was time, when she knew it was time, when she knew, like, I am ready to rest and go with the Lord, she died just as easy as she walked through that room, yeah, smiling and saying, I'm not ready to leave yet. And so that gives you a perspective of not only in life but in death, you have that ease of facing obstacles and challenges and illnesses and all the things that life gives us. But then when you know it's your time in death, that you go to it with such ease.

SPEAKER_01: 51:26

You can be comfortable in almost. I mean, because I don't imagine I don't imagine that I'll be uncomfortable when it's my time. And I'm not talking about my bed. But I don't imagine I'll be uncomfortable because I have tried to do what what God would have me do, and I I feel like I've stored up enough of a relationship with him. And that's really what it's about. Is like, do you know me? Do you know who I am? Do you know I'm the father of all? Do you do you revere me, respect me, you know?

SPEAKER_00: 52:15

And have you and have you led him into all the dark corners of your heart? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 52:20

And have and have you led others to him? Because that's what we're to do. We are to let other people know that he's he's the king of kings and lord of lords. And that's a tall order. It is because we don't all and especially this day and age, we don't want to do that because it's too easy to lose a friend. It's like, hey, I talked to a friend of mine today, and we had a really nice conversation. We didn't get in depth because of our backgrounds, but we had a really nice conversation. He's he's a pagan and really beautiful spirit, really beautiful person. His wife's his wife's a Christian, or his kids are Christians, his wife's a Catholic, and he's a pagan. And I'm like, not sure how that dynamic works in your house, but two each is all. But we worry about, and I I count myself in this group, what are they gonna think of me? You know, if I flat out go, well, you shouldn't be living that way, you should this or you should that what what is our relationship gonna be when God supersedes all of that? God is like I am the reason you two can even talk to each other. I am the reason that you two are drawing breath, I am the reason that you two have jobs, I am the reason that you two can even communicate with each other and honor me before honoring him. You know, I d because in a way I did. I was like, I honored I honored him first. I was like I said all the things that would uh protect our relationship. You know, I didn't get into his I didn't get into his culture, he didn't get into my we just talked about other stuff around that but we never actually got into the meat of anything and it was for protection of our friendship. And at some point as a Christian, you have to say God is first.

SPEAKER_03: 54:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 54:49

I understand that you're you're pagan, I love you, never stop loving you, but you gotta seek God. Yeah, you gotta seek him first. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all other things will be added unto you. So whatever it is, because he believes in like energy and vibes, and and I'm like, God's the greatest vibe there is. I'm like, he created vibes. It was like the breath in your the you are the breath in in in your lungs. That is you. That's every every because they're like he made man into in his own image. None of us looks the same. But our breath, when we breathe out, looks the same as the same as the other guy's breath, yeah, because that is the breath of God. And so you just gotta marvel. You just gotta marvel at what God can do with us if we let him. Because we're never alone as far as as far as the Lord goes.

SPEAKER_00: 55:55

We are never alone. Yeah. Yeah. So it's kind of, you know, topic is standing alone, but the great irony is if you're with the Lord, you're never alone. You're never truly alone. But yeah, you Christianity does bring the dynamic of yes, you are going to be put in situations where you may be the only person that has to stand up, speak up, pronounce his name, as you said. Like, you know, yes, we this friendship, it will always be a friendship. But I always wonder sometimes, you know, when we talk about, you know, Peter denies Jesus three times, and often think about, okay, so how many times when somebody is is a pagan or speaking to you a certain way, and you know in your head that you're supposed to say, yes, but is that true, uh Jesus is Lord, and you don't for fear of hurting the relationship, for fear of shaking the boat or being improper at work, whatever it may be, you think, Did I just deny him by not saying it? Because in my mind that's what I wanted to say, but I didn't say it. You know, and maybe no good would have come from saying it, but but you never know. But you never know. Yeah, it may be that may have been that may have been the time.

SPEAKER_01: 57:12

That may have been the exact time.

SPEAKER_00: 57:14

Yeah, and and you you you chose you know to still the waters, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 57:20

Yep. Yeah. Yep, steered for steered for open open open shores instead of going over the rocky waves, but yeah, you know. If I were to to say anything about that, I probably after doing this, will probably go back in that same conversation and say something to him given the right time. Because every every interaction isn't fruitful all the time. If like now we met and we had our had our conversation and I didn't say anything. So now I go back to let's say the day after, and I go back, he's like, Oh, now he's trying to preach to me. You know what I mean? It may be taken differently, but the opportunity was then. So strike while the iron's hot. If you got somebody, yeah, so if you got if you got a friend and you guys bring up the subject of God, and you know he's we'll say on the fence. I keep doing the Roger thing, but you know he's on the fence. Say something to him. Say, hey, you want to come to church with me? I invited a friend of mine that I know is kind of on the fence to dodgeball. February 20th.

SPEAKER_00: 58:55

I didn't remember the date, thank goodness you didn't. I'll be on a cruise then. Yeah, we'll be on our cruise during the week, I think.

SPEAKER_01: 59:02

Where are you guys going?

SPEAKER_00: 59:04

But sad to say, Dale, I don't even know. They're just putting me on the boat. Caribbean, I I don't know. It does like I used to say this is like the first vacation that I'm not planning. I'm usually the vacation planner. I map it all out, I plan the stops and plan the stays. I get everything in order. I'm usually the guy that does it all. This time, my wife pretty much took care of everything. All I gotta do is show up, get on the boat. So it's like I haven't really done any research. I haven't asked too many questions. Yeah, she's told me, but all them like islands and stuff is all the same to me. Like, so I can't remember. It's it's it's not inland America and it has nothing to do with history, so I can't remember. Yeah, so it's just like, yep, as long as it's beautiful, as long as it's warm, get me on the boat, I'm sure I'll have a good time.

SPEAKER_01: 59:53

It's the Caribbean, it will be. But my wife does all our uh planning for trips and stuff. So we've gone on two cruises together. She's gone on eight. Yeah, this will be my first one. Yeah, so it's it's fun, all inclusive. Yeah. But uh yeah, it's gotta be. But yeah, we went to the Bahamas twice. If we go anywhere, I don't want to go to the Bahamas again. Because I've been I've been twice. She's been to the Bahamas, Honduras, Cancun, Cozumel. I'm like, I got some catching up to do. So I I don't want to go to Bahamas again. I'm like You've seen the Bahamas. I've seen the Bahamas. You've seen Honduras and all these other places. I ain't seen those yet. So how about we uh start evening the scorecard after a little bit? But that's that's gonna be awesome. You guys will have a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00: 1:00:52

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_01: 1:00:54

You won't be alone on that. They come up to you every five seconds. Would you like a drink mon? It's awesome. They're just great people on the on the cruise ships. Are you going? Do you know which Carnival? Oh, okay. Yeah, that's what we went on. We went on Carnival Fantasy. This is brought to you by Carnival.

SPEAKER_00: 1:01:17

I keep looking for a sponsor here. You know, we'll keep scratching. One has yet to turn up, but yeah. But yeah, and people were just like, well, if you if anything else, you you'll enjoy the food. You know, just the the amount of food and drink that you know, whatever you can consume, you know, it's and I'm like, I'm not, I'm not much of a foodie. Yeah. Like I don't, there's not a whole lot of things that I like look forward to eating. So I don't know how much of a draw that is for me. Actually, I told him, I said, I would just be very happy if somebody would put me on top of the ship on you know, a little patio chair, layout chair. I said, give me a book and just let me lay there.

SPEAKER_01: 1:01:53

You are so boring. I said, That's all I want.

SPEAKER_00: 1:01:56

I said, I'd just leave me alone for see, I want to be alone.

SPEAKER_01: 1:01:58

See me. I I found molten lava cakes when I was there. Oh my gosh. They made great molten lava cakes. So every time we went to dinner, I would get a molten lava cake. Oh my gosh, those things are fantastic. Tried frog legs for the first time there. Gross. Good for me. Yeah, they they got a swampy taste on. They're like, oh, they taste like chicken. No, they don't taste like chicken. Because they have like this little slight swampy taste. Wasn't slight to me, but they were they were groaty. But but I had a I had a great time. We get off the ship and we go to different places. We went to Blue Island, we went to Grand Cayman's, Grand Bahamas, I'm seeing we even get travel tips here growing together. Yep. But it was it was it was a good time. Great, good.

SPEAKER_00: 1:02:59

Well, any final thoughts? Smart smart remarks? Anyone?

SPEAKER_01: 1:03:04

I have a ton of smart remarks, but I'll save those. Comments, I would, I would say just don't forget that we're not alone. Because even though that was the topic was standing alone, sometimes you may be called to stand alone on something. And just remember that even when you are standing alone, you're not really, because he's he's there and he can he can fight your battle for you. He'll give you the words. And Moses is like I don't want to speak to the people, I haven't the words for it. He's like, I got you. He spoke for Moses. So whatever your situation, I don't I don't care if you like you're in school, kids if you're in school and you, you know, there's the bully and you see him picking on somebody, step up. You know, it's it's not gonna hurt you. And who knows, that bully sees that that little kid's got backing, they back up, you make a new friend. But you are never alone. Go in, go in with a little prayer. God, reveal yourself in this situation. Let you let your will be done. And then go for it. Whatever it is, whether it's taking a test or the bully or uh going to a job interview, whatever it is, put God first when you go in there and believe in the results. Believe that you're not alone, believe that he's there because that's what that's where we st we have the difficulty is we say the prayer, but then we don't believe that he's actually going to do what he says he'll do. Say the prayer, talk to him just like he's your dad. You're scared. I'm scared. I d I if I get this F, my dad's not gonna be real happy with me. I need to do well, God. I studied, help me, you know, help me bring these things to my mind, whatever it is, and then believe that what you've done, what he's going to do is gonna be enough so that no matter what, what even if you fail that test, your dad's not gonna be upset. He'll come, you'll come home and he'll say, I know you did your best, I know you tried your hardest. But just the fact that we're in when we think we're alone, we're not alone. He's there.

SPEAKER_00: 1:05:46

Absolutely. All right, well, that's gonna be it for tonight. Thanks again for being here, Dale. Oh, and we'll definitely have you back. You you might be I think you've earned your your regular badge.

SPEAKER_01: 1:06:00

Oh, I'm a starter.

SPEAKER_00: 1:06:02

Yeah, so you know, just yeah, stay on deck. Don't stray too far. So I am going to uh give the old prayer a second try here. I'll hit the button, I'll fade her in, and uh I'll say the prayer, see if I can get it right this time. All right. Lord, thank you for bringing Dale and I together. Um I certainly know uh that the this was a uh trial for me personally, um deciding to carry on when seemingly I thought that you know I might be doing this on my own. And of course, I had my reservations and my doubts, um, all of those things that I've already prayed to you about and that you know. Um and so I just uh I'm very thankful uh that you've brought Dale here, that you've been able that we can include him on our mission. Um and I just uh I feel so blessed that uh we are moving into another season of just uh bringing forth your word and just uh trying to reach as many people as we can in that just a special way that we do things um that uh that I know deep in my heart that has value because I know that I'm I'm I'm speaking your word and that uh you know I'm doing it uh just with a full heart. Um so I just I love you and I just I just appreciate uh for you continuing to bless me and give me this opportunity to do it. And I just pray that uh with each each week, each episode, uh that we at least reach one person out there uh that needs that word, that needs that uh reassurance, that faith, that healing. Um I pray that uh we all have travel mercies tonight, and I certainly pray all these things in your precious name. Amen.

SPEAKER_01: 1:08:05

Amen.