Ever been late to a church service and had to play the drums without practicing? If so, you'll relate to Matt's story in the latest episode of the Plugged In podcast. Join us, your hosts Matt, Nate, and Loreita, as we share personal anecdotes of faith, frustration, and the unexpected joy found in our day-to-day challenges. We explore how life’s stumbles and fumbles can be transformed into something positive when placed in God's hands.
We promise laughter and riveting conversation as we put a fun spin on the traditional Thanksgiving picks in our holiday draft. You'll be curious to know why mashed potatoes, football time with family, and Thanksgiving leftovers made it to our top picks. And you'll be inspired by the heartwarming stories of extraordinary individuals like Jayson DeLong, a full-time college student and Youth Ministry Coordinator at Lowell Citadel, who has been pivotal in reviving youth music programs.
In a unique twist, we also delve into the concept of leftovers. Drawing from the biblical story of Jesus feeding 5000 people, we discuss the power of repurposing and transforming our day-to-day 'leftovers' into blessings. This episode is designed to inspire gratitude, a sense of abundance, and the recognition that even our disappointments have a purpose when given to God. So, prep your favorite Thanksgiving dish, pull up a chair, and get ready to join us in this uplifting conversation.
Ever been late to a church service and had to play the drums without practicing? If so, you'll relate to Matt's story in the latest episode of the Plugged In podcast. Join us, your hosts Matt, Nate, and Loreita, as we share personal anecdotes of faith, frustration, and the unexpected joy found in our day-to-day challenges. We explore how life’s stumbles and fumbles can be transformed into something positive when placed in God's hands.
We promise laughter and riveting conversation as we put a fun spin on the traditional Thanksgiving picks in our holiday draft. You'll be curious to know why mashed potatoes, football time with family, and Thanksgiving leftovers made it to our top picks. And you'll be inspired by the heartwarming stories of extraordinary individuals like Jayson DeLong, a full-time college student and Youth Ministry Coordinator at Lowell Citadel, who has been pivotal in reviving youth music programs.
In a unique twist, we also delve into the concept of leftovers. Drawing from the biblical story of Jesus feeding 5000 people, we discuss the power of repurposing and transforming our day-to-day 'leftovers' into blessings. This episode is designed to inspire gratitude, a sense of abundance, and the recognition that even our disappointments have a purpose when given to God. So, prep your favorite Thanksgiving dish, pull up a chair, and get ready to join us in this uplifting conversation.
Hey everyone, welcome to the Plugged In podcast.
Speaker 2:Hello, happy, almost Thanksgiving.
Speaker 3:Yummy, yummy.
Speaker 1:You know we haven't done this in a while, but let's introduce ourselves.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's a good idea.
Speaker 1:Here in the Massachusetts division, I'm the music director. My name is Matt, happy to be one of the hosts here in the Plugged In podcast. What about you guys?
Speaker 3:My name is Captain Nate, but you can call me Nate Nathaniel. Yeah, my wife Larita and I, we are the divisional youth and candidate secretaries here for the Massachusetts division, which just means that we love young people. We love to see them grow in their experience of Christ and live out their calling as who God created them to be.
Speaker 2:Yeah sounds rehearsed but true, it is true. We were in a meeting today and someone said, captain, and I was like, oh no, no, no, it's Larita.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm gonna call my name Larita and Nate, in that order.
Speaker 3:Yes, for sure, for sure.
Speaker 2:Alphabetical and, yes, superiority and spirit.
Speaker 1:All right, I've got an opening rant. You ready, I'm ready for it.
Speaker 3:I look forward to these.
Speaker 1:Well, first of all, before we get into the rant, maybe I'll be the first person to say happy Thanksgiving, happy Thanksgiving.
Speaker 2:Happy Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving.
Speaker 1:We're like one week away from Thanksgiving, I know.
Speaker 2:How? How is that possible? How are we in November?
Speaker 1:So you ever sat in church before and you just get like hit with a thunderbolt of guilt or a conviction.
Speaker 3:Yeah, holy conviction. Does that happen to you ever? Oh yeah, no, your officers, oh please.
Speaker 1:And all right. So I'm sitting in church a couple of weeks ago and we're just like rolling to the service and I mean like everything that could annoy me annoyed me. So me and my family arrived like later than I wanted to be there and so I play in the band and I more or less have to abandon my wife and be like good luck.
Speaker 2:I'm going up on stage I think I've heard you say that before too. Thoughts and prayers, yeah, yeah, have a good time.
Speaker 1:So my wife sits there and my kids are, like you know, being more unruly than I want them to be I get up on stage the pieces that we're playing I'm playing percussion in the Quincy band and two of the pieces that we're playing that tonight, two of the four are not in my folder, are not in my binder. So I'm like, but because we got there too late, there's no time to find them.
Speaker 3:So it's just like.
Speaker 1:Well, I guess I'm making up my part this week. How'd it go? Oh, I mean, it was fine. Oh, I'm a pro.
Speaker 3:It was fine. It was fine.
Speaker 1:Not advisable, but it was fine. What else happened? The band, for whatever reason, struggled on the opening hymn tune, like it was just. It was kind of a calamity and I was like getting. I was finding myself annoyed throughout every part of the whole service and it was like combining on top of itself yeah. And here comes the sermon. The sermon is about complainers, and the core officer was like replace your attitude with gratitude. That's a good line.
Speaker 3:And that's where I I just kind of found myself.
Speaker 1:I was just like oh man I am like a serial complainer today, and here we are staring Thanksgiving in the face, and so that's what I'll say to the listeners today Place your attitude with gratitude.
Speaker 2:I feel like you can snap at the end of that. Oh yeah, the neck movement. Oh yeah, that's happening.
Speaker 1:When I do my warm-ups with a singing company, just to get them moving into laugh like we'll be doing our warm-ups. But I'd be like, okay, put your hands on your hips. Yeah, okay, now wag that finger. And they're like they just to see me try to do those movements. It's, it's entertaining.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:To say the least, yeah.
Speaker 2:They love it.
Speaker 1:But then then usually the adults in the room who are sitting like in the back rows. I see the phones come out and press record and that's when the warm-ups end.
Speaker 2:Yes, no more of that. Yes. Note to the adults in the back row just sneak here, please Be sneakier. Yeah, but capture the yeah.
Speaker 1:It'll end up online soon enough the toad.
Speaker 3:All right.
Speaker 1:So we have a great show lined up for everyone today. Things coming up, we have a devotional about Nate, oh, okay, yes, our devotional today is about leftovers using our leftovers for God's glory. Nice. And before we get to that, obviously we have some fun segments, as usual. The one that I'm maybe most excited about is we are doing a Thanksgiving draft.
Speaker 2:This is like one of my first drafts.
Speaker 3:I've been up scouting my list all night long. Oh wait for it. It's going to be awesome. There we go.
Speaker 2:Now I feel as official now, Now.
Speaker 1:I'm really ready.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Now I feel the pressure. Oh man, this is where I think I said this before. So I can't say that our production budget is low. It's not because we have some cool lights.
Speaker 1:We have some nice cameras, some microphones, Like our production budget is not low, but we don't have like a producer who's sitting here. So if we want that in the show, I gotta be like okay, I'm pulling up my okay With the first draft or the first pick, it was so that will be, that will be drafting or picking whatever and running the uh. I will try it. I should actually audio probably turn off my notifications, right, so that? Uh, should I do and get some ding dongs in here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we got mine.
Speaker 1:Okay, we got that all worked out. Well, I shouldn't even say that. But uh, before we get to the draft, we're gonna uh a little throwback. We're gonna bring back a segment from last season, uh, that we haven't done yet this season, but cue the music Bam so stinking proud of.
Speaker 2:Do you want to start or me to start? I can start. Yeah, start us off, and then I'll I have one after you.
Speaker 1:All right. So last segment, we uh talked about people around the Massachusetts division that we are so stinking proud of, and we want to shout out all over the airwaves for everyone to hear my choice today drum roll.
Speaker 3:You're welcome.
Speaker 1:Shout out to Jason DeLong and the Lowell.
Speaker 2:Citadel core. Yeah, good pick, good pick.
Speaker 1:So Jason DeLong, uh, I don't, he's not new to this division anymore, but he's been around a couple of years. Yeah, relatively new, uh, but last year, uh, he was in Framingham, is that correct? Yeah, yeah, he was working for me in the spring as a part time music instructor. I forgot that he was working at Lowell and he's working in Fall River and, uh, really helped those cores get ready for star search. Uh, jason was also able to work for me over the summer at camp wonderland helping out with music conservatory and music camp. He did a great job as a counselor, a music instructor, uh, doing all this sort of stuff. So this year he's a full time college student at UMass, lowell. Yeah, yeah, in addition, right and this is crazy, I don't know how he does this he is doing a full time job as the youth ministry's coordinator. Is that the correct? I don't think that's correct.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right, that's it.
Speaker 1:The youth ministry's coordinator at the Lowell core.
Speaker 3:Amazing.
Speaker 1:So, uh, jason is taking, uh, some music skills and stuff that he does well and he's applying it to the ministry at the Lowell core and, uh, just observing from afar, uh it, it looks really great, cause their uh, youth music programs are having a bit of a resurgence. Yeah, and he's also found out some of the, the kids that are participating that we are always proud of. Yep, uh, we've talked before about Cadence and Naomi.
Speaker 3:Yep, uh, Teague is coming around the.
Speaker 2:Lowell core yeah, he's also good to see Teague Teague had an excellent summer.
Speaker 1:We sent him to Chicago as part of an exchange program, yeah, and then he came back to our conservatory, our music camp, then he went to Star Lake yeah, uh, teague is doing a phenomenal job. Yeah, I kept coming across some of the programs that we're making, so we'd like to have the best students in the world right now at Star Lake. And there's also Debra and Lewis Lily from Worcester is now coming and playing second cornet. I don't want to forget anyone. I know Nate, you were just there. You run through that list.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you got a pretty good, you're pretty comprehensive in that approach.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I just want to say, from the stuff that we're seeing online and the conversations we're having with people on the ground, jason's doing a really nice job with the youth there. So it's a two pronged approach. I'm really proud of Jason for the work that he is doing, but we're also really, really proud of those young people, because I believe, as recent as just a Sunday or two ago, that youth band, which as of a couple of years ago did not exist, was playing a selection on Sunday morning.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we were there that Sunday and it was awesome to see them playing and to see them involved and there was, like you said, it felt like there was new life breathed into the core. It was lovely.
Speaker 3:Earlier in the week I got the opportunity to go up on a Tuesday and kind of see their junior band as well, their beginner band, the beginner band, the youth band. They also have a youth chorus happening and so, coming up December 17th, I believe, they're having a Youth Music and Arts Sunday. So they're going to be continuing to just minister to us through the gifts that God has given to them and so, yeah, amazing.
Speaker 1:I think, when maybe this is for another ministry tip the month or whatever, but you always think about when you're starting a brand new program, whether it's music or youth, it's probably easiest to get that beginner level going and then, if you have adults around, you could pop up a band or a songster choir. That can happen relatively quickly. It's that middle level. How do you get people past the beginner?
Speaker 1:They're not quite an adult. But that youth band, they're not really that intermediate level. That's so, so important in the chain, but achieving it is a different thing.
Speaker 2:So who you got, larita I've got and she's going to get mad at me for calling her out but one of our young adults who in the past probably in the past year, six to eight months she has really taken on some leadership roles and plugged herself into different areas of core life, and that's Angelina. Probably in the past year we became pretty close with her and we've seen her get more involved in the worship band at her core and she is the one that she will live in the shadows for forever and never want to be shouted out.
Speaker 1:Out front. Yeah, yeah, up front.
Speaker 2:But we were at Quincy a couple of weeks ago and saw her playing in the band. She's helping teach at Yam. Yeah, she's been coming to Young Adult Small Group Bible Studies and so just I've been so proud of her, especially with some of the things that she's got going on in her personal life and she's working hard and she's out on her own and things have been stacked up against her but she just keeps pushing forward and I've just been super proud of her for the ways that she's prioritizing and really striving to prioritize the right things in her life. Sure, and so I'm so proud of her and she probably will not, she'll probably get so mad at me for calling her out on the show, but I'm very proud of Angelina.
Speaker 1:She, angelina, has been part of our divisional worship teams for quite a few years now, whether it's family camp or youth councils or back, and I really have a tickle in my throat today, so I'm trying to work through it. Back when we more regularly had youth praises, angelina was playing guitar for a long time but so proud of Angelina. She's come a long ways in her musical ability and musical capability but to see her teaching now and helping teach at Yam is just. It does my heart good. That's great.
Speaker 2:We're just talking about that kind of not full circle, but that coming from student to yeah, yeah, the progression, yeah, the progression.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry, the progression.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm so sink and proud of.
Speaker 1:Angelina yeah, all right, nate, what about you?
Speaker 3:All right, we want to recognize our newest hired youth ministry coordinator in the division, mahayla Nelson, down in Plymouth. Yeah, yeah, if you know Mahayla, she is such a sweet, kind hearted individual. We are really excited that she's gonna be teaming up with the ministry team there in Plymouth pouring into those young people. She's also very musical as well.
Speaker 1:Definitely.
Speaker 3:Wonderful voice and she's also going to be representing the division alongside our very own Kristen Castillo, at the upcoming Orange Conference in Atlanta in April. So we're just really excited about her opportunities to pour into young people there in Plymouth.
Speaker 1:Just really quickly, can you tell our listeners what Orange is, in case they're unfamiliar? Sure.
Speaker 3:Now Orange is our territorial partner when it comes to curriculum for children and youth, so Sunday School materials, they also develop VBS materials and a whole bunch of cool remote learning type things. Orange is an amazing partner and every year they have a conference down in Atlanta, georgia, where they bring in phenomenal speakers and presenters and teachers from all around the youth ministry sphere, and so we have the opportunity to send some individuals down to that so that they can be resourced, so that they can sit under the training and teaching of some fantastic workshops and come back inspired with some fresh vision, creativity and just ways that they can pour into the kids in their own local ministry context.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that segment, so Stinking Proud. I know that's good, I do too. We needed, you know, we needed a little break, yeah, and we went away from it, but it's good to bring it back.
Speaker 2:I love it All right.
Speaker 1:So in just a second we're going to take a break on the Plugged In podcast, but I'm just going to tease you with what is coming up, ok, so I just pulled out this piece of paper in front of me, this elaborate piece of paper.
Speaker 2:Wow, if you're watching on YouTube, this is comprehensive.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just printed it off like an hour ago.
Speaker 3:So Fresh off the press.
Speaker 1:So I think this is a popular thing that happens on other podcasts, so we're going to roll with this, but we're calling this the 2023 Plugged In podcast Thanksgiving Draft. Now there's a list here of about maybe 26 items. Yeah, 26.
Speaker 2:That's very specific, I know.
Speaker 1:Maybe 26. Maybe I counted them earlier. I had that number in my brain, but we're going to take turns drafting the items and then that item is no longer available to the other two of us. Yeah, so we'll do a snake draft. So how this will happen is Loretta is going to have the first overall pick. Yes, nate will have the second pick and then I will have the third pick, but I will also have the fourth pick. It snakes back that way.
Speaker 2:Oh, I did not understand what that meant.
Speaker 1:Ok, so then and then, once we make selections, we're going to scratch them off our draft board. They cannot be drafted again. Ok, does that make sense? Makes sense? Ok, so just to tease the listeners, so that you can start to think of your own Thanksgiving drafts. Here are the things on today's list that are draftable. I'm just going to fire them off here Turkey stuffing, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, apple pie or apple crisp you know same thing. Pumpkin pie, gravy, ham, chicken or wings we're going to say that's the same thing. Football time spent with family, the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, the community dinner at the core had to make it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cornbread, pecan pie taking a nap, chocolate chip cookies, cheesecake, carrot cake, toe Ferkey, yeah, Toe food. Turkey man, ok, toe Ferkey, all right. Black Friday shopping and Christmas decorations putting up the tree? Ok, so, and I will. Here's one little caveat, if you guys think that we missed something on the list and you want to draft that.
Speaker 3:More wildfire.
Speaker 1:We'll go with that. I like that. All right, so we're going to take a quick break on the Plugged In podcast and then, when we come back, we'll have our 2023 Thanksgiving draft. All right, welcome back to the Plugged In podcast. Our Thanksgiving special the Thanksgiving episode.
Speaker 3:This is great.
Speaker 1:I love it. Thanksgiving is next week, so we are doing a Thanksgiving draft. We just told you about it, so Just told you about it In our huge long commercial break. All right? Well, it is that time, larita, you have the first pick in the draft. So no pressure, the pick is in.
Speaker 2:I feel so much pressure.
Speaker 1:What do you got? What do you got Larita?
Speaker 2:I'm starting off with mashed potatoes.
Speaker 3:Wow, sleeper right there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like that the number one overall pick mashed potatoes, I don't know.
Speaker 3:What's your rationale behind that pick?
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's hear it.
Speaker 2:Oh, I thought we were doing that later. I just love. I'm not like a turkey person. Give me all the sides, but I love mashed potatoes.
Speaker 1:My abbreviation that I just wrote down says mashed pot.
Speaker 3:So might need to edit that oh OK.
Speaker 1:All right, mashed potatoes goes number one overall. I'm a little bit surprised at that. Now I feel like I did it wrong.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, there's no wrong, there is no wrong drafting.
Speaker 3:It's subjective.
Speaker 1:All right, with the second pick. This is going to happen all the time. Oh yeah, every pick I'm ready. So here's my strategy. I was going to go. Here we go, Just tell us no, no, go ahead.
Speaker 3:I was going to go strictly food.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Right. Then I was like there's a lot of good food options here, so I'm going to branch out of the food category and go with one of the greatest things about Thanksgiving which is football football hours and hours of football.
Speaker 2:I thought about taking it from him.
Speaker 3:I mean, unfortunately, it's always the cowboys and the lions, but it's football nonetheless.
Speaker 1:That should be better this year. By the way, it should be. Yeah, you know the lions have a better team, so it's not going to be just a demolition of the Detroit Lions, like Thanksgiving normally is. You basically could not watch that first game and just know that lions lost by three touchdowns.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, it's true. Um, it was always a family event in our house where we would have to stop everything the moment that it was the uh, national kettle kickoff at half time of the cowboys game, and we would all have to stop, just gather around and watch Yep. And so this year, Dolly Parton, we're looking at you.
Speaker 1:Dolly Parton Salvation Army, here we go, get that plug in there.
Speaker 2:I always think about it together. All right, matt's turn Okay.
Speaker 1:Oh wait, oh there we go With the third pick in the first round. Okay, so here's the strategy. With the snake draft, should I get two picks in a row? So here's the advantage. Here's what I'm looking at the board, because this pairs so well. I think I'm either going turkey and gravy or stuffing and gravy and I think that's really tough, but man that's great.
Speaker 1:I'm going with Turkey for my pick. Okay, so that is my first round pick is Turkey. How can you possibly have Thanksgiving without Turkey? I know that some people do, some people do not say you're wrong.
Speaker 3:No judgment. No judgment here. So are you. Is your preference white meat or dark meat?
Speaker 1:Oh, that's tough. Depends on what time of the day it is.
Speaker 2:No, I've never heard anyone respond with that. I don't know if I have a dark meat.
Speaker 1:I love the dark meat Me too. Yeah, it feels juicier, right, it does A little more flavor.
Speaker 3:I'm not, I do not like dry, like dry turkey. Yeah, and though I feel like light meat is dry, all right.
Speaker 1:So I can either. So on the snake trap. Oh wait, hold on, here we go, can't forget it's not official.
Speaker 3:to the music.
Speaker 1:The pick is in. All right, I'm throwing a curve ball to my own strategy. I'm not going with gravy.
Speaker 2:Whoa, I already wrote it in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, I didn't I, it's not official. So the music time is the official thing. Larita, come on, I'm going with stuffing. Oh, I think that my list like rules. Here. I got turkey and stuffing in the top two picks. I'm just going straight carb, that's my.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, that's my.
Speaker 1:So the holidays are about right, stuffing, all right. So first round recap Larita takes mashed potatoes, number one overall. Nate is taking football, I take turkey, and then, to kick off round two, I am selecting stuffing. Let me take that off my draft board. And so we roll back to Nate. I'm not going to get over this.
Speaker 2:If anyone, if only everyone, knew how much time was put into finding this music, to get it already. Okay, okay.
Speaker 3:Since the two heavy hitters of the food categories are now on the board, I feel like I need to again branch out to another category. Okay, and so I'm just going to go with the all-encompassing pick here of family Time with family.
Speaker 1:Oh, so Nate's got family and football. That's, that's pretty strong. I'm not going to lie.
Speaker 3:That is solid.
Speaker 1:I keep panicking that. So I'm writing like over my laptop and I keep panicking that I'm going to press the stop record button. I'm going to try to make that happen.
Speaker 2:The icing on the cake, if it did happen.
Speaker 1:No one listening would ever know. No, anyways, all right. So family football off. Off the list. Larita, with the third pick in round two, what do you got?
Speaker 2:Um, I'm going with, I was gonna. My strategy was just straight carp, just go, all carps. But I? Our family tradition is always to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade.
Speaker 1:So I'm throwing that in there, because that is a staple for our family.
Speaker 2:I love that that went over mashed potatoes for me. But whatever, I'm finding a strategy now, so we'll go with that.
Speaker 1:All right. So and we're talking universally the Macy's Thanksgiving parade in. Oh, stop See, when I said our production budget is low.
Speaker 3:That's. That's what I mean. We timed out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, um, all right, but let's uh, but you've been in New York, you ever, you ever, gone to it.
Speaker 2:No, I've never gone to it. It is. It is on the bucket list, but it's also one of those like if I don't get to it I'll be fine, because I'm also not about being like crammed in with a million other people a million like four million other people but I would like to eventually go one day.
Speaker 1:Every time I watch it on TV, I it's like it seems like it's one or the other. It's either like 30 degrees and raining and everyone there is like looking miserable and all the dancers have fake smiles on, but they're like freezing inside.
Speaker 2:Like the floats are being weighed down by the rain. That's like hitting the top of them. Or it's vice versa, where people are like it's 75 degrees today because it's global warming.
Speaker 3:Like the, the whole planet is heated up for this parade For this one parade but think of how early you need to get there and get your seat on Like the night before it's like it's too much of a nordeal All right.
Speaker 1:So after two rounds, loretta has mashed potatoes and the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, nate has football and family and I have turkey and stuffing. So we're snaking back Loretta, your third pick.
Speaker 2:Oh wow, so I had to wait for it to finish. Um, I'm going back to my original plan. Um, and we're going, sweet potato Ooh. Caster wool Sweet potato my mom makes a, and it doesn't say casserole on our glass, but my mom makes a ball or sweet potato casserole, marshmallows, right.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The rest no, I think it's like a crisp on top.
Speaker 1:but so I'm my. I have mashed pot, and sweet pot is what you're looking at here. All right, sweet potato casserole made by um, I almost said mama Heinzman, but that's not right, that's not your mother's name, Mothers.
Speaker 2:my mother's name Mama.
Speaker 1:Vaughn, mama, vaughn, okay.
Speaker 3:Very good, All right, Nate. What do you got? All right, as true to form as I can be. Oh wait, shh Talk right over the channel.
Speaker 1:I was late on that one, I'm sorry, it's okay, it's okay, okay.
Speaker 3:Uh, continuing this comprehensive approach, right? So now that I've done football, I've done family, I'm going to go for, in my opinion, the best dessert on the list pumpkin pie. Nice, I don't really eat pumpkin pie any other time of the year besides Thanksgiving day, but it's two people. I don't know. I I don't know. I think, because it's so exclusive and uniquely Thanksgiving, it's always good when I do eat it.
Speaker 1:I wouldn't crave it any other time, though you know all right, Nate's got football, family and pumpkin pie. I like that selection. Yeah, Thank you?
Speaker 2:You didn't say that about mine. You got all the potatoes, man.
Speaker 1:You have a strong list. You do, you do.
Speaker 2:I need affirmation.
Speaker 1:Okay, mash potatoes. You have two kinds of potatoes and a parade. It's a strong list. I'm sure lots of people will vote for your draft.
Speaker 3:That's what we're doing, by the way.
Speaker 1:So, Larita is going to put. Larita is like the brilliant genius she is at creating graphics and social media posts, so she will put each of our drafts on social media and then you can chime in with who won. Who won the draft? Just vote for Larita. If you like potatoes, vote for Larita.
Speaker 2:If you go the carb approach, vote for Larita.
Speaker 3:Yes, okay, go ahead.
Speaker 1:Okay, I've got Right on the money, thank you. I'm going with my absolute favorite side dish on this list, so mac and cheese.
Speaker 2:Oh, that was awesome. That's good. And I'm assuming that this is like, not just like Kraft, but this is like someone's made like a baked mac and cheese, like casserole In, like the big, like aluminum, you know pan thing I'll say about my wife's family.
Speaker 1:First of all, they're all fantastic cooks and they're all like almost annoyingly humble. I'll be like, oh I, you know, I just found this recipe. No, no, this passed down like four generations. Right, Like this is a good cook, you just own it. This recipe. It's important to all of us. And it's, it's necessary, but the thing is like you could have like eight people coming over for Thanksgiving and they have cooked for 800.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah. Like you cook for the leftovers?
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, we don't have leftovers on this list, Bro. That was my sleeper.
Speaker 3:Oh, come on, Come on Okay.
Speaker 1:So I have the snake here. It's turning around. Um, I just made the chime like the pick is in, but I haven't really decided on the pick, so I could see the panic in your face? I didn't. My strategy was not to go all food but right now have turkey stuffing and mac and cheese.
Speaker 3:You have a solid plate, man, I know.
Speaker 1:I have to go gravy. Okay, because now my list is turkey stuffing, mac and cheese and gravy Like this is. I'm really feeling good about Thanksgiving now.
Speaker 3:You are assembling the infinity gauntlet of Thanksgiving food. I love it, geez.
Speaker 2:For the what, the infinity gauntlet.
Speaker 1:All right, so now we're back to Nate.
Speaker 3:Yes, it was alluded to.
Speaker 2:The way you wait. Okay, go ahead. Sorry, and my my sleeper.
Speaker 1:I can't. I'm really not good at this.
Speaker 3:I love this it's okay, my sleeper as I wrote down here boom, boom, boom by hand leftovers.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:Because I have not yet picked a real dish besides pumpkin pie.
Speaker 2:So you have no leftovers.
Speaker 3:Leftovers encompasses everything Interesting.
Speaker 1:Although according to your pick although if you have nothing on your plate, you have nothing on the plate to be left over. No, I just don't eat when it's served.
Speaker 3:I just wait till it's done All right.
Speaker 1:So Nate right now has, he gets the scraps. He's like the hungry dog after the meal.
Speaker 2:He just waits for it to burn down Nate has football, family, pumpkin pie and Thanksgiving leftovers.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, all right, that's good. All right, larita.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'll actually press pause this time, so okay, oh well, could have worked.
Speaker 2:Shut up, I'm going with. I don't know if I should go with like completing my plate, or if I should go with like a sweet oh my goodness, I know you're thinking community dinner at the core, that's on the list. That was what I was contemplating.
Speaker 1:It was like my whole life since I was born. Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, go ahead. So that should be wrapping it up for Matt. I'm going to go with all right, I'm going to go with green bean casserole.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's a good choice. I do like that.
Speaker 2:I'm trying to write.
Speaker 3:Those crispy onions on top, though, like they are the best.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's solid, yeah Is this another Mama Vaughn specialty. Yes, yeah, she's one of the ones that's like oh, I just follow the instructions on the back. I'm like mom, just own it. You rock at food and you're so skinny.
Speaker 1:How do you do it? You're not following instructions You've memorized it Right it's in your soul.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:All right, and then Larita, this is going to be your last pick.
Speaker 2:I'm ready. I have a wild card. Oh, wow, that wild.
Speaker 1:I'm resigning from Dumbbell Pick. I'm resigning as the production person.
Speaker 2:Effective immediately. My last pick is appetizers In our fam. Listen.
Speaker 1:A little shrimp, a little shrimp cocktail we do like.
Speaker 2:The problem is, you have to yeah, like a charcuterie board or like the pre the thing. You don't eat all day, right, you just snack and you graze on cheese and crackers and like little snack foods. I live for that. I'm like a, I'm a grazer I'm a professional grazer, but I love a good appetizer cheese board. Listen, that's the only one I'm actually confident about in this whole lineup.
Speaker 1:All right, so, larita, you're draft board right now, so you have lots of potatoes. I wasn't going to laugh.
Speaker 2:You started the laugh. I'm laughing as you laugh.
Speaker 1:I was going to read them professionally. Oh you have mashed potatoes. Why are you laughing?
Speaker 2:Sorry, I'm just keep going, keep going.
Speaker 1:Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Sweet potato casserole Yep. Green bean casserole what's casserole? And then appetizers Yep. Oh man, I like it.
Speaker 3:Confident, I like it and you have mashed potatoes without the gravy. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Just load it up with butter, it's good. All right, nate.
Speaker 3:All right, so I think I've done a great job diversifying my portfolio. That's nuts. Football, family, pumpkin pie and leftovers, and so again leftovers. That's my catch. All for food, so I'm not going food anywhere else. Okay, all right, taking a nap. Wow, it's closing it out, and not even it doesn't strictly have to be taking a nap, but just knowing that you can just veg out on the couch when you're done eating Can you, you have a child.
Speaker 1:Can you do that? No, can you do that with Jackson?
Speaker 3:If he's entertained, if he's with his cousins and they're running around the house just being wild.
Speaker 2:You have zero care about the condition of the house, the kitchen you do have family on your list.
Speaker 1:So yeah, you know Jackson's taken care of. Nate just falls asleep on the couch. The jets are losing big Wow, wow, wow.
Speaker 2:You hate my draft list and your mess of my jets.
Speaker 1:No, nobody said that. Nobody said that. You heard it here you don't hate it, wait, all right Taking a nap.
Speaker 2:No hate, just love I'm going to write that down.
Speaker 1:Did you actually write it down yeah. Okay, I'm writing it at a weird angle because I'm trying not to play this chime anymore than it has to be played.
Speaker 2:Or the theme music.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I'll recap for our listeners with the. So for the last pick, here's what I'm looking over. That's that's left on the list. Dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, apple pie, apple crisp, ham, chicken or chicken wings the community dinner at the core, don't sleep on that. One Cornbread, pecan pie, chocolate chip cookies, cheese and the other Now, chocolate chip cookies, cheesecake, carrot cake, toe, furky Take it, take it, take it. Black Friday shopping and Christmas decorations or putting up the tree. So I have all food so far. So do I stay with food?
Speaker 1:I think, what I think, what I don't have on. So I'm really leaning towards either dinner rolls or chocolate chip cookies, because I don't have a dessert.
Speaker 2:No, that was my. I've got a main course.
Speaker 1:I've got side dishes. I've got flavor with the gravy Guys. I'm feeling really strong about my Thanksgiving list. I'm going to go. This is for my dad. Okay, Shout out to my dad. My dad claims that he makes the best chocolate chip cookies in all of humankind. It is like the recipe on the Nestle's like chocolate chip the toe house. Yeah, the back of the bag.
Speaker 2:But they they had a good.
Speaker 1:They are made with love, yeah, and they're always delicious. My mom makes these incredible. She calls them no bakes, is that?
Speaker 3:a real thing. They're so good. They're like. You know you're going to get me a chocolate.
Speaker 1:When I was a kid growing up we called them poop balls, but then I learned they're called no bakes. I didn't know if that was just something my mom said, or if that's a real name. So I've heard no bakes over poop balls, so yeah, so I'm going to take with my final pick. Hold on, there it is. I am taking to finish out the draft. Chocolate chip cookies.
Speaker 3:Nice, nice. Now are you guys like crunchy or crispy chocolate chip cookie guys, or are you more chewy?
Speaker 1:We're talking, like you hear the oven beep Dad says the cookies are done, go get them. He doesn't take them by himself, it's like go get them and you take them out. You're waiting like the appropriate, like 90 seconds to not like scald your mouth and fold it on itself. That's right but then it's soft, warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie. Yeah, exactly Love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I should have added like a glass of milk here.
Speaker 1:But okay, so here's my list. All right, so, listeners, you can debate who won the Thanksgiving draft here on the Plugged In podcast and maybe you can make up your own draft. My list I have turkey stuffing, mac and cheese gravy and chocolate chip cookies. Nate's list you want to say your's, nate Sure.
Speaker 3:I have football family, pumpkin pie leftovers and taking a nap Well done.
Speaker 2:And I have mashed potatoes. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade sweet potato casserole green make casserole.
Speaker 1:Don't laugh. You don't have to laugh. No, I can hear him laughing.
Speaker 2:No, I can feel the like. Oh, this newbie I mean, I like it.
Speaker 3:I also sounds good to me, I like it too.
Speaker 2:I mean I want to stick with the fact that Nate has leftovers but no food on his plate, so I'm just going to.
Speaker 1:It seems like a technicality. If you had to pick one appetizer, which one is it?
Speaker 2:I don't know Like seriously I could eat cheese and crackers all day long, just like good. What's that? What's that cheese that we got for friends giving? I don't know? Just give me cheese and crackers with like pepperoni and salami.
Speaker 1:I feel like I've for a couple years here at the divisional headquarters when they have Thanksgiving people like make different dishes. There is like a cheese and sausage dip that my wife's mom makes.
Speaker 2:Again, it's like a family recipe and it's just like that's so good, Just cheese on cheese.
Speaker 1:That would be my app of choice. That's good, all right. So that concludes our Thanksgiving Day draft here on the Plugged In podcast. Look for those graphics on social media. They'll probably pop up first on Mass Youth and then they'll hit SA Mass Music. If you have your own list, send it in, but also vote on who won the draft, because we certainly want to win, and then I'm sure Loretta will make a graphic of the winner. I will. All right, we're going to take one more break on the Plugged In podcast and then, when we come back, we're going to talk about replacing that attitude with gratitude.
Speaker 2:All right, we'll be right back. Welcome back.
Speaker 3:We're here, guys, people are going to be like?
Speaker 2:what are they on this episode?
Speaker 1:No, that's what we're doing. We're in, okay, we're live.
Speaker 3:Okay, cool, throwing it to you, nate, all right. So it was kind of alluded to in the beginning.
Speaker 1:Kind of.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're going to be talking a little bit about leftovers. Matt, I don't know if your family is anything like ours, but one of the things that I look forward to the most, as evidenced by my draft board after a huge Thanksgiving feast is the leftovers that last for an entire week maybe even beyond, and they also shape shift.
Speaker 1:You have straight leftovers, but all of a sudden leftover, turkey becomes turkey soup.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then it's like turkey stew, but then it's turkey sandwiches. Sandwiches oh yeah, and then turkey cass. I mean they like shape shift, totally repurposed, right, absolutely.
Speaker 3:So every meal becomes a reheat of those leftovers in the week to follow, at least in our house. And some of those things like green bean casserole and mashed potatoes and gravy. I think it actually gets better.
Speaker 2:Some things get better Second time in a row.
Speaker 3:It's crazy right, like it just gets better. I don't know. It's science, I guess we're going to science this up, and I just have these fond memories of just once the food had been served everyone's eaten. We're sitting on the couch watching football. I just remember, like my aunts and uncles and my parents, just grabbing those gallon ziploc bags and just shoveling food into them, knowing that we were going to take this precious cargo home with us to avoid the rest of the week.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3:Because you know, nothing is wasted.
Speaker 1:If you go to a guest house for Thanksgiving and don't come home with a little bit of food, are you disappointed?
Speaker 3:Yes, I feel like you didn't give your best effort. That's inexcusable.
Speaker 2:They're for sure been times where, like my mom is giving my sister more of one thing and I'm like, oh no, no, no, yeah.
Speaker 1:You can be like absolutely stuffed, but the hosts are like, oh my gosh, like if you don't take something, oh, I'm just going to throw it away, Like and it's true, and it's like, okay, all right, if you insist. I'll take one little plate Next. Thing, you know you have four trips to the car.
Speaker 3:Exactly yeah, and those images in my mind that are etched in my brain forever, those fond memories, really is what became the catalyst for my thought today about nothing being wasted.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Right. So chapter six, beginning in verse four it's a familiar story it talks about. It was near the Passover time. Jesus saw a huge crowd of people coming to him and he turned to Philip, his disciple, and he asked him where can we buy bread to feed all these people? And then scripture goes on to provide a kind of little sub note. It says he was testing Philip, for Jesus already knew what he was going to do. I love when the Bible does that right, where it gives you a little context into what Jesus is thinking, following a question or an action that he performs. And Philip replies even if we worked for months, we would not have enough money to feed all these people.
Speaker 3:Then Andrew, simon, peter's brother, spoke up and he said this there's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd? Tell everyone to sit down. Jesus said so. They all sat down on the grassy slopes, and it says that the men numbered about 5,000 just in themselves. Then Jesus took the loaves, he gave thanks to God and he distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same thing with the fish and they all ate as much as they wanted. And then it says this in verse 12, after everyone was full, jesus told his disciples now gather the leftovers so that nothing is wasted. So they picked up the pieces filled 12 baskets with scraps left behind by the people who had eaten from those five barley loaves.
Speaker 1:Isn't that crazy. So I feel like sometimes you skip over that. I know I do, because you focus on the miracle Like, oh my goodness, they fed 5,000 plus leftovers. There was more food than 5,000. Let's put 5,000 into context a little bit. So you're talking about, if you've been to Massachusetts family camp, think of, like that, times 10. Man, that's wild 500 people at family camp. Think of 10 family camps in a row, or times 10. Maybe you ever been to a Boston Celtics game. I bet, like the lower bowl might be 5,000 people because I think TD Gardens capacity 17,000, something like that.
Speaker 2:And what's even crazy beyond that is, this isn't even taking into consideration if there were any women or children there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's just 5,000 men, right.
Speaker 2:And so if there were wives associated with even half those, you know what I mean, that's 2,500 extra people. Everyone appreciate that fast math. That's great.
Speaker 3:But thank you very much. I'm just shaking my head like yeah.
Speaker 2:But seriously, if there were, beyond the men, the women and the children there this is a massive, massive group of people that I can't even fathom.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm trying to think of the largest scenario I've ever eaten with people.
Speaker 2:My wedding maybe.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or maybe like Weddings can be expensive.
Speaker 2:Oh man.
Speaker 1:I mean, that's maybe the most expensive part.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because if you do catering at the reception hall just feeding your guests, that can be the priciest.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, and it's like I mean not to be this guy, but sometimes you get the responses back and it's like no, and it's like you have 70 bucks here, or you get the responses back and they say yes, and then they don't show up and you're like aggravated in a different way.
Speaker 1:For everyone out there that thinks it's no big deal to RSVP yes to a wedding and then you just don't go. Yeah, I mean, come on.
Speaker 3:Don't be that guy.
Speaker 1:I'm only saying that because I've been that guy, because I thought it was not a big deal, because I was invited like. I mean, we started this about convictions when I was like a college or high school person, I was like oh yeah, don't be that, I just can't make it today. What a terrible human I am, yeah.
Speaker 2:Anyways, sorry anyways, continuing.
Speaker 1:No, no, no Real side-tracks there. I do like the sidebars, they allow me to refocus. But tune us out and refocus.
Speaker 3:I really just wanted to zero in on that part where Jesus commands them to go gather so that nothing is wasted. And we see all the leftovers that are there and I was thinking about this concept of leftovers, not just because Thanksgiving is upon us and Thanksgiving leftovers are incredible, but I was thinking of leftovers in a spiritual sense, the leftovers of our everyday life, the reminders, those simple reminders, those scraps, as it says in scripture, those simple, maybe insignificant reminders of God's provision and abundance.
Speaker 3:On an everyday basis, Whether it be our resources, whether it be our time whether it be our experiences.
Speaker 3:All of these things are a reminder of God's goodness, of his abundance, of his blessings, and so when I read a story like this in Mark, chapter 8, I'm encouraged to remember that, even as we stand in awe of God's goodness and his miracles, like this miraculous feeding, they're only a small glimpse of what God is capable of. God doesn't always show up in the miraculous, the incredible, the amazing, incredible, huge displays of his glory and power, but God often shows up in the seemingly insignificant, or maybe even just in the after effects of the miracles. He's consistent and he's sustaining, and his presence and his power are real and available to us. And so, for me, the leftovers in this story is kind of like being on the receiving end of an amazing gift or surprise, and just as you're trying to wrap your mind around that gift, a voice calls out wait, there's more, it's not over yet. And so what remains in this story actually ends up becoming a blessing as the disciples gather it up. It becomes a blessing as they're able to go and continue to feed others with it, but it's also a blessing, a spiritual blessing to them, because they're reminded, they have a visual, tangible reminder of God's blessing and his abundance and his provision.
Speaker 3:And so what remains? The leftovers in our lives from the situations that God allows us to experience? They are a blessing, but how often do we fail to see the blessing? Have you ever caught yourself thinking if only I had time for that, or if only I was good at that, if only I could sing like that person or play my instrument like that person or man, if only I had enough money to do that, then I could support that, or I could pursue this, or I could do all these amazing things. And that's kind of what Philip does in verse seven when he says even if we worked for months, we would not have the money to feed these people. Right, we are good at making excuses, we're good at justifying, we are good at giving reasons why what we have to offer is impossible, not good enough or not even worth pursuing.
Speaker 1:Let's give a little bit of credit to him though. Like put yourself in that scenario. Someone walks into a room and says like Matt, here's a couple of fish and bread. Like go do this.
Speaker 2:I would at least be like are you sure Is?
Speaker 3:this a joke yeah are you?
Speaker 1:what's going on, lord?
Speaker 2:No, can't happen. I was a family camp 2023, when we ran out of chicken sandwiches and I was like panicked and we had.
Speaker 1:thankfully, we made it work. Don't panic, the Lord provides.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you. Thank you, Matt.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, but I mean so I don't want to totally dismiss his question.
Speaker 2:No, it's true.
Speaker 1:You know let's not call him like an idiot for being like you know, because if we put this in the modern day, I'd be like, mm. I don't. Okay, I'll try, yeah.
Speaker 3:No, there's definitely two sides to this story, right Cause there's the initial doubt of is this miraculous thing even possible? And then God shows up and does it. And then there's what do we do with the leftovers?
Speaker 1:Do we?
Speaker 3:just discard them, Do we throw them away, or do we recognize them as another opportunity to be a blessing to somebody else? Right, and so, as I was thinking about this and I was thinking about what remains, like God can use whatever remains, or whatever leftovers are in our lives to do something amazing and incredible. And do we seize those moments? Do we take them for granted? Do we even see that God is capable of using it? Do we cherish those opportunities? And so which led me to another thought that nothing is ever wasted when we place it in God's hands. That's a powerful thought. Nothing is ever wasted when we place it in God's hands.
Speaker 3:I love this story because it's a reminder to me that those leftovers the Gospel writer didn't have to include that, but I think there's a reason why he did, and I think that the reason is this the presence of leftovers is a promise that God is not done with us yet, that God still has more to do. The miracle already happened, right, and so they could have been like, okay, cool, all these people are gone, they're fed, time's up, let's move on. But it's a visual reminder and it's a powerful imprint on their lives that hey, wait, there's more to come.
Speaker 1:All I can think of is your list and how the next thing would be taking a nap and I'm like no Nate. There's more to do.
Speaker 3:There's more leftovers to hoard in my ziplocks.
Speaker 1:Sorry, Nate's asleep. Sorry, the house is gone to chaos.
Speaker 2:But I also love and this can be so easily glossed over, but I love that there were 12 baskets Like that's. So there's purpose, even that, like 12 disciples 12 baskets right. It's like even in the leftovers there was purpose, like there was a purpose to all of it and it was all the plan, like all the way through to the amount of leftovers right.
Speaker 3:And so what Jesus is communicating to his disciples there is that God is not done with you.
Speaker 3:It's a testament to my ongoing care and provision in your lives. And in Mark's gospel, as I read, it was also an assurance that there's something left for another day. Simply knowing that there's something left for another day, that should inspire confidence. It should build anticipation of what God is ready and available to do in our lives and ready and available to equip us to do in the lives of others. And I think another powerful side of nothing being wasted is the truth that even our failures and our setbacks and our disappointments can be used for good when we place it in God's hands, Just as leftovers can be repurposed, as you talked about, changing shape, changing flavors, changing textures. And it just hits all the right places when you heat that up and eat it again right, yes yes, I'm smiling.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you affirm that right. See, just as those leftovers can be repurposed and used again, so can the various aspects of our lives be transformed by God's abundance Can.
Speaker 1:I jump in real quick. Yes, of course. So while you're talking, I just this song is coming to my mind. It's one that I love and I think it's relatable here. But the second verse of this song you may know this song as the he Giveth More Grace, but just in the idea of God supplying in abundance, this song came to my heart. The second verse is when we have exhausted our store of endurance, when our strength has failed, ere the day is half done, when we reach the end of our hoarded resources, our father's full giving is only begun.
Speaker 1:So I just like as you were speaking, I was just thinking the abundance of his giving is not just the exact amount or even the leftovers, but his full giving Once we're done. His full giving has only begun, but sorry to interrupt.
Speaker 3:I just that was like just popping in my brain. Yeah, no, that's great, and I think it really helps connect everything that we're talking about here, because maybe you're sitting here today and you feel like, hey, I don't really have much to offer, but you're like that little boy who faithfully just hand over his lunch and God took something meager and turned it into something miraculous. So cool.
Speaker 3:it's such a cool story, yeah and maybe you find yourself in a different place, a different season of life, where you're giving and giving and giving and you're tired, and that's fine, that's okay, you're humans.
Speaker 3:But maybe the call is making sure that you aren't attempting to feed others without first being fed yourself.
Speaker 3:And that's a powerful lesson to learn, right that it's not out of the storehouses of who we are, in our flesh that we give, but it's out of the abundance of what God has given us that we have the opportunity to give and to feed and to restore and build.
Speaker 3:And or maybe maybe you're in this place where you've given and maybe you've held back a little bit for yourself. There's something left over and God wants to use it again your time, your talents, your resources, whatever that is that you might be holding back. Maybe God wants to use that again or repurpose it in a completely different way for a completely different person that he's appointing you to speak to, or a situation that he wants you to step into, or leadership opportunity that he wants you to use your gifts and talents and abilities in. And so I don't know where you are, but I think that this story, wherever you are, can communicate and meet you in that place, and so the prayer I think for us during this season is God, make me thankful for how you've supplied in such abundance.
Speaker 3:and, god, make me willing. Make me willing, don't just make me thankful, but make me willing to act on that thankfulness and just an affirmation of how good you are and how good you have been in my life.
Speaker 1:I think another thing we can pray for too. As you were listening off those things, you were going through different scenarios of where people can be at and I just kept thinking that takes a certain amount of self-awareness too. Like sometimes you gotta take the temperature of your own. Like where are you at? Are you holding something back? Are you overspent? Are you like, is what you're needing is rest or some sort of peace? But I think that's something we can pray for too. God help me realize what I need, what I can give, kind of where I'm at in that process. Right, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:And I think there's also that truth, that all encompassing truth, that God cares for the entire dimension of who we are. And so when we say nothing is wasted in the context of the bread, like nothing is wasted in our lives as well, if we're willing to place it in God's hands. Like he will use your past, he will use your present opportunities and experiences, he will use your future and he'll use everything if you allow him to, if you invite him to, and so nothing is wasted, nothing is too insignificant that can be used by God if we're willing to place it in his hands.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Nate.
Speaker 1:I appreciate your thoughts today. You know I'll let our listeners in on a little secret. You know we start most of these episodes and sometimes Nate says, oh I just the devotional is not gonna be a home run today, like Yep, I'll just say it on air what I say privately. But Nate is such an incredible communicator of the word of God and it not just speaks to my heart, live in the moment, but I know that so many people can connect with what you're saying in the relatable way that you deliver it. Okay, so stopped outing yourself, because every time you open the Bible, I'm ready to listen and, honestly, I'm ready to learn. That's where I like find myself. And he attend, you speak, I'm learning. So I appreciate what you had to say today.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thank you. I am a walking testament to the fact that God works often in spite of ourselves. So, keeping that in mind, just grateful for this opportunity.
Speaker 1:Yeah, loretta, would you close us in prayer today? Would love to.
Speaker 2:Let's pray. Let's pray, father. We just thank you for who you are in our lives. Father, we thank you for the season of abundance that we celebrate, just the abundance of blessing, thanksgiving, this idea of leftovers. We just thank you, god, for the season that we're in, also recognizing that this could be a difficult season for many as well.
Speaker 2:God, we just thank you because your hand of blessing is upon us and there's nothing that you cannot use, that is a part of our story. There's nothing that is outside the realm of healing and your grace to move us into a better place, to be used for you, for your kingdom, for your glory. So I just pray for each individual listening in this moment, lord, that you would just remind them of the hand of blessing that is upon them, that your blessings are new, your grace, your mercies are new Every day and you are for us, god, you are for us. Help us to be able to look inwardly and figure out where we are on that spectrum. Help us to find that place where we are and, lord, just help us from that place moving forward.
Speaker 2:We thank you for the ways that you continue to show up in our lives, the ways you continue to point the way forward, the ways you continue to forgive and redeem the situation. Even the worst things that we can think of, you put your redeeming hand upon it. So, father, we just thank you for who you are. We thank you for the many blessings that we celebrate this season and we pray, lord, that you would just continue to bless us. You'd continue to speak over us. You continue to remind us that there is nothing, there's nothing wasted in your hand. In your name, we pray amen.
Speaker 1:Amen, amen. Well, for everyone out there listening, thank you for joining us. The Plugged In podcast this has been our we're calling it. I don't think we came up with this until the end of the episode, but this is our Thanksgiving special and we hope everyone out there listening has an amazing Thanksgiving holiday. We got a lot of stuff coming up in the division.
Speaker 1:I think just off the top of my head in the month of December. We had the Sounds of Christmas on December 3rd, pretty soon after that, we'll have a lot of people are involved in the annual luncheon fundraiser in Boston the Patriots Party. Yeah, always a great time. It's a good time, so that's coming up as well as, obviously, kettles are kicking off across the division and so just lots of stuff going on. We're gonna take a little break with the podcast and then we will have I believe it's three episodes in December.
Speaker 1:We're gonna have two episodes leading up to Christmas and then we'll have an episode for you to turn over the new year. And this may be just us getting old, but I literally cannot believe that. I just said, like we're at the, an episode for the end of the year. That's insane. We're talking about Thanksgiving, Christmas and happy new year.
Speaker 2:And like happy birthday to the Plugs and Podcast, because it was last January, wasn't it?
Speaker 1:Last.
Speaker 2:January oh, that's wild. They're coming on a year.
Speaker 3:This is when we started man, we need some first anniversary merch.
Speaker 1:First anniversary merch. Okay, well, if you can find the budget for that, you go ahead.
Speaker 3:Nate, I'm sure Larita will design it Out of the abundance of God Once we fire our production crew.
Speaker 1:Love abundance Come on now, I'm kidding, I kid, hold on. Let me put this up one more time. How about a first?
Speaker 3:anniversary sticker. Okay, that's a good way to start and have some stickers.
Speaker 1:I thought you were playing something. I tried, but then I realized my volume was off so I should be fired, resign whatever it is. But hey, sometimes like I feel like, oh, that was a mediocre episode. This was fun, this was fun. This was fun. Today felt like a really good episode. So maybe our listeners would be like no, no, this one sucked. Yeah, I have to hold back a little bit, get rid of this one. Anyways, thanksgiving special here on the Plugged In podcast. We will see you all next time.