Free to Follow - Part 2

What happens when a divine calling leads you to sacrifice your financial security for a greater purpose? That's exactly what happened to Michael Blue and his wife when they journeyed to East Africa, only to be deeply moved by the circumstances they encountered. Michael's powerful story of obedience, disobedience, and redemption unfolds in a way that illustrates God's everlasting mercy. His journey didn't end in Africa. We'll share a surprising twist that took place a decade later, proving that God's work continues, even in our moments of rebellion.

We also tackle a radical concept with Gary Hoag - living on a three-month wage. How does this influence our generosity and trust in God? We peel back the layers of fear that often drive our financial decisions and delve into the profound legacy of faith we can leave for our children. This episode is not just about Michael's inspiring story or Gary's insightful thoughts, but it's a reflection on the unshakeable peace and joy that come from following God, even in our darkest hours. So, whether you're wrestling with fear over your finances or seeking to deepen your faith, this episode is a reservoir of wisdom and inspiration. Tune in now!

Chapters

• 0:07 Disobedience and God's Redemption
• 7:34 Ministry and Mission Work Path
• 20:33 Living Generously and Thriving in Faith

Transcript

Dan Schilling: 0:07

Hey, welcome to the Feed Sheep podcast, where we help you hear God's voice, follow His lead and thrive as a disciple. I'm Dan Schilling and I'll be one of your guides. Now let's get into today's topic. Hey, thanks for tuning in to Feed Sheep podcast. Today we're going to continue part two of the interview with Michael Blue. You're not going to want to miss this. Michael shares when he and his wife were in East Africa, when the spirit of God began to speak to his heart and began to ask him this question Michael, why are you storing up for a day that is uncertain when what's before you is certain? You saw the needs of the people. The spirit of God moved his heart in such a way that he and his wife, over time, with prayer, seeking the Lord's counsel, advice, felt like they were to liquidate their retirement to fund what was certain from them. You're going to hear this story. Tune in. You're going to be blessed by this time. Thanks for tuning in to the Feed Sheep podcast.

Michael Blue: 1:05

Here's Michael. We have no house or we're about to have no house. We decided to stay in Austin at that point by another house downsized, kind of condensed our lifestyle to ministry type of a lifestyle. I quit my job at the firm and started just a private firm where we started to pray and ask God what he had. Pretty quickly it became real clear to my wife and I that God had made a way for us to go to this Africa and he wanted us to go. We didn't trust him. We thought just disobeyed. I've had lots of people try to talk me out of that, but I'm okay with that. I think we disobey God. Yes, we do sometimes, sometimes, that's okay.

Dan Schilling: 1:59

Yeah, Well, and it's not. I just want to say this to folks that are listening too, because we want to relate it back. If you're listening to me, we want to relate it back to your story. You're going to continue to tell more of your story here, Michael, but it doesn't end there.

Dan Schilling: 2:18

That act of disobedience or that season of disobedience, whatever you want to call it. It's not the end of the journey, it was just a part of the journey. When we talk about a God who is the Alpha and the Omega, it's not like he's like oh man, you're so terrible. I'm not shocked. We're not the first ones who didn't obey Many many things.

Dan Schilling: 2:41

We can look at those big moments, but if today the Spirit of God tells me to go talk to some person out here for a few minutes, I don't do it. Is that level of disobedience or act of disobedience any more or worse than if I don't go to Nairobi when he calls me to, because sometimes I think we like oh, I was so terrible. Like no, it's. He's a father who knows us. He knows our nature, our sin nature and our heart, but he doesn't. I love the scripture when he says that his mercies are new every day for us.

Michael Blue: 3:11

Yeah, and that's good, because that's a kind of I'm going to tie all this together that I think you just you just brought in. So after that, not long after that, we were in church and we have, around Thanksgiving, a service at our church where it's like open mic Sunday morning. But the point is it's a service of thanks and so people come up and they say what they're thankful for what God has done during the year. And you know, so it's just a service of celebration where people get to say thank you.

Michael Blue: 3:44

And during this sermon, during this time, I began to kind of feel, halfway through it, you know, the impression of the Holy Spirit to say, hey, you know, get up and say something about the pastor. Just, you know, he's meant so much to your family and all. Because nobody had kind of drawn out anything like that. And I didn't want to get up, I didn't want to get in front of a microphone. I'm getting nervous. I know that makes you laugh at this moment probably, but it kind of made me nervous. I didn't want to, I didn't want to do it and so I didn't and I sat there.

Michael Blue: 4:19

If you see a pattern coming of disobedience, well, our pastor gets up to end this service and as he comes to the microphone he says you know, thanks everybody. And this old lady in the back of the church who was crippled, who was in a wheelchair, stands up and says you know, before we leave the service, I just want to say how grateful we are for you, pastor, your family, how much you mean. And you know, when you get convicted by the Holy Spirit, it's like when there's like train wreck experiences. That was one of those and that for a while I could not tell the story hardly, because it was fairly overwhelming, just the presence. But I felt very clearly the Holy Spirit saying to me Michael, I don't need you to accomplish the things I'm asking you to do, but I want you to join me on the journey. I can use a crippled lady who can't get up and walk and do what I'm asking you to do, but there's joy in joining me on the journey.

Michael Blue: 5:25

And so that was like oh, you know it's, it's for my joy. It's not like this obligation and weight that God is placing on me. It's actually an invitation to join him and what he's he's doing, yes, with or without me right, yes, yes.

Michael Blue: 5:42

And so, to pull this circle circle, last year I was at a conference with you, and international justice mission was one of the sponsors. Yes, this is about 10 years later, and they were announcing a new program that they had completed, which which was this kind of model law that they wanted to develop for developing countries. Well, this was the project they wanted to hire me to do when I was in Nairobi. Wow, right, and so it's this idea, and it was. It was. It was a good moment Like this, not quite so convicting, but this moment of the work was completed and continued, even though I was disobedient. Yes, right, and so I think that's what I think is the best thing that I've ever done which is which is encouraging and humbling?

Dan Schilling: 6:32

Yes, well, and I think again, what I want to just encourage folks as they're listening, because I'm sure there's for some of us there's some things in our own mind Like, yeah, you don't know what I didn't do, you don't want to know what I, how I missed it or how I. And yet I think the encouragement is is what you said, that God doesn't need us Thinking about what you know. You and I have talked about these passages many times, about Matthew 25, you know when that good and faith come and it entered into the joy of your master. I mean you, you get to celebrate. I want you to, I want you to see that you're part of the work. Yeah, but the good news is, michael, you know you're part of the work. The work didn't. That work went on, but God's work and you didn't stop.

Michael Blue: 7:15

Right.

Dan Schilling: 7:15

You know that work the good work. So, just because we miss an opportunity and I just want to encourage folks, if you listen just because you might have missed an opportunity doesn't mean you've missed out on God or missed out on the opportunity for redemption or ability to bring you back around. So let's, let's continue the story here of then. So what, what God do?

Michael Blue: 7:34

Yeah. So really the next thing, as I was had this firm with a friend, I just kept coming up this idea of seminary and it had been on my heart probably since I graduated college, so you know 10 or 12 years. And it was a time when I was like I am so tired of saying no that I'm going to say yes, yeah. And so I did. And you know I people would hear that I was going through seminary, like oh yeah, that's so good, what are you going to do? You want to be a pastor? I said I don't know, like what do you mean? You don't know. It's like, why are you going to school if you don't know what you're going to do? It was like I just felt like God told me to go to seminary and and so that's what I'm doing right now. So I was working and I was going through seminary and I really had no no idea of of where it would lead or what it would lead to or why I was doing it. But kind of through that I began to teach at our church. Some I was an elder and we we filled the pulpit as elders when our pastor's out, and so I had some opportunity. I had had some affirmation in that as as a possible gifting, and so I began to cultivate it a little bit more, have more opportunity to do so, and and so it really kind of moved to this place where it seemed like, yeah, I think God's actually calling me into ministry. And so now I'm three years into my law job and I'm making almost twice what I was making at a big firm, at my own firm the economics work pretty well in a small firm for for you attorneys out there but I felt like God was calling us into ministry and, gratefully, we had set our lifestyle at a ministry level and whatever we were making above it was being given away or being, you know, put towards kids, colleges or whatever kind of. We would pray through it at the end of every year and ask God what he wants us to do with it. But we were just taking a salary. That was, that was a ministry level salary.

Michael Blue: 9:42

And so opportunity came up. I I looked at some churches, but an opportunity came up for me to work at the Ron Blue Institute with with my dad, and it seemed like the right fit and so I left my law job, basically gave my practice away to a friend. He still owes me a dinner, I think. I think he bought me lunch the other day, so we'll probably even. And so I gave, gave it away and went into ministry and so that's. That was kind of you know, the all of those things that led me to that point.

Michael Blue: 10:23

But during that time too, I was praying a lot that God would give my wife and I an opportunity to go on a mission trip together to go see parts of the world. I hadn't had an opportunity to go on really any mission trips in my life and I wanted to do it. And there's one of these moments that God like dumped five in my lap at the same time. With this it's kind of like it's not hard to go on a mission trip, michael, there's opportunities everywhere Like asking you shall receive right, so here we go.

Michael Blue: 10:52

This isn't like you're asking me to part the red sea here, part the red sea here. This is like just call a place and go. So I was like okay. So I looked at a couple of them and I went with this group called Crisis Day. I actually put a note on their website and their president called me the next day to say, hey, you're interested in going, and they'd never taken anybody on a mission trip before. But he was like I don't know. We got your message and the Holy Spirit just seemed to say why don't you give this guy a call Nice? So he invited.

Michael Blue: 11:27

My wife and I and two other people came with us.

Michael Blue: 11:30

We went to East Africa with them and as we were there in this place, we were in the Red Light District in the main city of this country, and you see these women being trafficked and we go out to the rural areas and you see poverty like I've never seen before. Yes, people walking miles and literally days to get some flour so that they could feed their families. These people had literally nothing and really no access to income producing things, and I mean there's just a lot of problem. And so as we were there, I felt like God kept saying to me why are you holding onto so much for a day that is uncertain, meaning my future retirement, some need in the future, when the need before you is so certain? Yes, and I couldn't get that thought out of my head. It was like this just kept coming back around and around and around. Eventually I got the courage up to tell my wife that that's what God was putting on my heart and she's like I don't know, I'm still processing what we saw.

Michael Blue: 12:41

Let's put that one on the back runner.

Michael Blue: 12:43

Yes, and so we did. And so for the next nine months 12 months, I don't know we had this kind of recurring conversation of what do we do about this? Like, do we want to try to help in some way? We saw these needs, we saw their specific needs and things that they wanted to do, and so we prayed, we talked to our pastor, we talked to mentors. What do we do with this burden? Like, is this our burden to bear or is this just guilt? Is this, what is this? I sat down with my pastor during the time and he even said to me you know what? I had another person one time come and sit down and kind of express similar things the desire to kind of get rid of savings and retirement and things like that and I talked him out of it and he said I'd never do that again. He said that it ended up where just kind of the things ended up leading him to away from church, away from God, and that he had held on to.

Michael Blue: 13:50

Yes, and so we did. We decided through that that we would try to fund this hospital. Actually, this recovery center is what it was like a six or seven room recovery center for moms and their babies who were being treated from malnutrition in a hospital. They'd come out and they'd release them after two or three days and they weren't in any condition really to go back. They weren't dying at that point, but they were like three days away from being right back where they were. So we would set up this rehabilitation center for the women and their moms and the kids could stay for a month or two, really gain health and then go back to their houses.

Michael Blue: 14:32

And so we called up the organization, said hey, we wanna do this, we're gonna fund, we're gonna buy this building in East Africa and we're gonna go and do this. And he's like great, that's awesome, let's work on it. So a couple of weeks go by, in a month he calls us back and says I got good news and bad news. Said bad news is we can't buy that building. There's various reasons. We can't get a permit, it's not gonna work, but we have a piece of property that's not far away that we've wanted to put a hospital on for a while, but it's gonna cost about three times what I told you the other one, Told you the other one was gonna cost. And we didn't have three times that, like we had enough to build this other, buy this property and build this building. And so he said, well, all right, let's see what God's gonna do.

Michael Blue: 15:31

And within about a week, half of it had been raised by one donor. I hadn't even seen the property, heard about it one time, and you know, this is like I will fund half of that. Well, and then we gathered friends together and they gave very generously and we ended up funding this hospital in East Africa and it was gonna be a one story building and then it became a two story building and it became a three story building and then another group went out there and it became a second building with another three stories. And so now I have this two building, three story hospital serving this lone community in rural East Africa where there's no other hospital within probably a hundred miles. All you know, really, the small little as I call our loaves and fishes that, hey, we can help you build a six person, six room rehabilitation center. Yes, that's all we have, right this is what we have.

Michael Blue: 16:34

And you know the whole, god had much, much bigger plans. And he said you know, I can multiply this and so that's.

Michael Blue: 16:45

You know, that was kind of a pretty big moment for us as we were walking down this and we had saved a bit from the law and now it was gone. But we had this joy of helping and seeing God kind of overwhelm us with the generosity of people to build this thing that's sharing the gospel and providing life sustaining treatment to, you know, thousands of people regularly. Yes, so I'll stop there for a second or maybe stop.

Dan Schilling: 17:20

Well, I just, michael I think it's what's so cool several things, you know. First of all, you know we can look back sometimes in the review mirror and say, hey, I miss God here. I miss God here, and sometimes I think the devil wants us to get focused on that too. You know, trying to. You know, destroy us, tell us that God's, you know, upset with us, don't want to be around us. And yet, you know, when we look back and as you're sharing this story, all I can think of is that God, it wasn't a surprise to him.

Dan Schilling: 17:53

There was other points, but it was. They were impactful. Because when the next opportunity came, you're like I don't want to say no anymore, you know. And so then it's okay, that's seminary, and it's like that's another step. And then you, you know you're in the midst of Of a law practice and you know you and I come from.

Dan Schilling: 18:14

You know the world of money and financing and, christian, you know finance, sometimes we get so caught up in. You know I have all this money and then I'll be able to Do great things for the kingdom. You know, I'll be able to volunteer, I'll be able to do this and and yet, at that point in time. Just, you know, if you're willing to help us be clear on this. I mean, like you, you took what many would call a retirement and said I love the line.

Dan Schilling: 18:40

You know why am I storing up for a need that's uncertain? I, if Jesus comes back tomorrow, how much do I need? And obviously none of us know when Jesus come back or when we're gonna die or when those things, but those things are uncertain and I love what the Holy Spirit spoke to you and I mean to hear that voice. You know why are you storing for something that's uncertain when what you see right before you is certain, there's a need and there's a way you can share the kingdom of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ, right here, right now. It is certain there aren't any hospitals around or any care centers or anything else, and how God used your act, willingness to, uh, like maybe what you'd say in the the. You know the rich young ruler and zakias. You know which one are we gonna be. You know to say I'm in, I want to.

Dan Schilling: 19:28

I want to be in. I want to be in on this kingdom deal, and again you say well, salvation comes to this house. I mean you. You didn't let the wealth keep you from From taking that next step, and that's what I wanted to say. Praise God, you know, well done, good and faithful servant. Um, and I know, again, none of us are perfect, but I think it's such a powerful story of a willingness and and I want to just say this too, do you feel like you've, uh, financially, because there's some folks gonna listen to this and say are you saying you saying that we should all Give away our retirement? No, but but when the whole experience was tapping, and for you he did, and your willingness to say yes, and so has it hurt you financially to do that?

Michael Blue: 20:16

No, no, it has not. I mean, I, you can look at the future and say what, what's gonna happen, and I don't, I don't know what's gonna happen and I'd still hold open hand that if God says you know what, it's time to start saving again for that, then you know, okay, right, but it's a conversation. Um, you know, gary Hoag has been a mentor of mine and that kind of his idea and and we've kind of modified it in some way. But the idea that that, uh, in the parable of the minas, they're each given a minor which is three months wages and so he lives on on, uh, kind of that principle where they, they will accumulate up to a minor, uh, really, and then at the end of every year they give away anything that's excess and and over above a minor, so three months, yeah, living and gary, is intimidating to me because he keeps downsizing his house and lifestyle and you know Now lives in like a.

Dan Schilling: 21:11

Actually they just they bought a tiny little uh house.

Michael Blue: 21:13

They were in a one bedroom apartment for a while and I think my wife would say I want to have grandkids over someday. You got to be kidding me. Yeah, living in a one bedroom apartment, yeah, but to watch what, what God has. So here's one of those people that I always look to is with encouragement because of his Faithfulness and what he's done. It's.

Michael Blue: 21:35

It's pretty remarkable to watch the places that gary gets to go into freely, uh, and minister to people, and he spent the last couple weeks in ukraine, uh, ministering to the people who are there, ministering to, you know, people who are in war torn countries and just kind of all around the world, or Open doors, um, because it really has generosity and open handedness with, with everything, yeah, and so I think by holding back For ourselves, uh and I'm not going to put a restrain or limit on on what that is, I mean, we just have to kind of go before God on that but I think the tendency is, when we hold back, we miss those opportunities, um, because we become so concerned with Protecting it, uh, and so those, some of those things become fearful, fearful places to go, uh, fearful things to lean into, um, because they may result in loss of that protected that thing that I think is going to protect me in the future, yes, um, and so, yeah, I mean, I I do think that we as a society have a golden calf of retirement, yeah, um, and so you know what does that mean?

Michael Blue: 23:01

How much do we have? How much do we keep? Uh, and I think we have a long way that we can go without really being in a lot of danger of being that radical with with how much we pull back. Yeah, well, and we're gonna probably talk about this in future episode?

Dan Schilling: 23:16

Uh, I'm sure, because we've talked about this in inheritance and what. What about what the bible says, starting up on inheritance? But I would say, michael, you, you, you, your inheritance that you're passing on To your boys and I, you know my goal for my voice and you're you're passing on a heritage and a legacy of obedience, a willingness to put your trust in him. You know a willingness to say we're not just gonna store up and build bigger barns and things for here, for the temporal. We're 100% certain that what we've invested into God's kingdom because His word tells us right that you've given up your homes and that's what he says to the disciples you know there's 100x return on that investment. And I don't mean like in heaven I'm going to have stacks of gold, I mean it really is the people, the lives, the families. They're going to be impacted, you know, not only by that hospital but other acts of obedience in your life and in my life and what God's called us to.

Michael Blue: 24:18

Yeah, yeah, and there's, and I think every step that we take in faith is like a baby doe trying to learn to walk is what it feels like, and it's not easier today, I don't think, than it started, and we still wrestle with what exactly does it mean, like, how much are we keeping? What lifestyle? I mean? I think the place that we struggle with more at this point is lifestyle. Maybe, then, savings is having certainty on that, and it's because it's easy to let lifestyle kind of be dictated to you instead of dictating it yes, and so that's you know. Oh, the cash is there, great, but if you know, if we're more disciplined and we do, or a little bit more careful, we'll have more to give at the end. And so the decisions are I'm pulling away and spinning on myself instead of having more to respond to the needs of those around me, and there's so much joy when we get to listen and respond to the needs that are around us that we miss out on.

Dan Schilling: 25:31

So let's talk here just for a moment though. So you've shared some places where you were hearing God's voice. You know, again, it's not always, it's not a linear path. We've talked about this for your following. You know up and around, you know through seminary and going to Ethiopia and the opportunity with that. So how would you say if someone said so, michael, do you think you've been thriving? You know, is this, has it been a thriving journey for you? Just talk about that for a moment.

Michael Blue: 26:04

Yeah, I think so and I mean I'm more careful here that it's not that it's not like you, I've hit this plane of thriving that I am just smooth sailing on. You know, there's been times during this that I have reading a book on, you know, kind of the dark night of the soul. It's like you know, what do you do when you feel like God's not there in your prayer time, and so I those, those happen, right, but there's. You know, even that has been though a process of maturation and and growth and learning to draw near to God in those in a season of dryness. So I would say, yes, that there is.

Michael Blue: 26:51

I'm the, the, the peace, that kind of the, you know, the fruit of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control are more regularly evident in my life. Yes, right, I'm not perfect at any of those things, but the peace, I don't worry, frankly, that much about stock markets and wars and rumors of wars and things of that nature, because I don't have a whole lot that's tied up in them, yes, or currencies or you know things of that nature, and so there's a freedom there to be untethered from right. But the thriving really does. The financial aspect is a part of the journey of coming near to God.

Michael Blue: 27:40

But the most important thing in all of this is am I hungry to draw near to God? There's so many promises when we draw near to God and I think that's worth thriving. If I hear, follow and thrive, I hear by drawing near right, I work it out as I follow and I thrive just as a product of what I'm doing. Yes, yes, right. And so I think we want to call people to be people who draw near to God, who are hungry to hear the voice of God so that they can obey right, and it's, it's. It may be to give away everything, it may not be. It may be to go to Ethiopia, or or Kenya, or, you know, cambodia, but yes, probably not. I mean, probably, you're being called to thrive right there.

Dan Schilling: 28:24

Yeah, with the people you've got, you go over to your neighbor's house and offer them a cold drink of water sometime, right, and so to say so it's yeah.

Michael Blue: 28:33

If I'm in, if I'm in Kenya doing it, I'm doing the exact same thing I should be doing here. I'm going to love in my neighbor. Yes, that's what missionaries do, yeah, so there's. There's not really uniqueness when you go over there, it's just you know it's. I've left my culture, which is hard.

Dan Schilling: 28:52

Yes. Well, I just want to say I, I, I, you and I have known each other now for a number of years and I would say I, I see you thriving, and the thriving is because I see him in you, right, and I think it's part of what we were talking about a few weeks ago about the remaining me or abiding me, right, and the goal is for all of us, is that's what we were we're desiring, right, that we are in oneness with him, we're in unity with him in such a way that he increases and we decrease, right, right. His light shines through us, our desires to live for him and to to please him and to be a remaining or abiding in him, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak in us and through us. And I'd say I've, I've witnessed that in you. I've, you know, witnessed God's just need to watch.

Dan Schilling: 29:51

You know what, what we've been on this journey for a couple of years, as you were going through that process as well as and I've been, you know, making decisions this last year, and you did too, you know, okay, we're going to take the next step and follow it. It seems kind of foolish, you know, to the world, but you say it's, it's where I've got to go. I've got to be willing to follow him wherever it takes, and so I know you've also written a book called free to follow. So I want to at least mention that too, because you are an author and we got to tell folks about that. But it is a part of that process in a journey right no-transcript posturing our heart, and you've been in that journey of being free to follow wherever that leads, whatever that looks like, and to me that is thriving, yeah and it's a process I think of that's hard in the West to unwrap ourselves that.

Michael Blue: 30:38

Do I trust that God is my provider? Or is my government my provider? Or my my provider and my 401k, my pension, my annuity, my insurance policies? And so we have a lot of unwinding to do to learn to trust God. That is our Provider. Yes, yes and it's hard, but so sometimes we got to go to that edge.

Dan Schilling: 31:01

Yeah, To see it. Yeah well, any last things you'd like to kind of touch on or Of the Michael blue story here before we wrap up today, and just to encourage folks or things you want to share I.

Michael Blue: 31:19

Think what we talked about before, and even at the start of this, is that this is, this is and we've said it a lot on this podcast so far this is a journey and you know, when we fall down, I think that that's what's good about our stories is God picks us up. It's not like he's left us and we got to go run to catch up, right.

Michael Blue: 31:38

He's like alright, I get it, I'm gonna give you another chance, and you know, and so there there are, there are chances, and and again, the obedience isn't about us doing hard things or being uncomfortable or those. It is about Entering into the joy of the work of the father and there what it'll take us in the hard places, it'll take us in on the uncomfortable places. It'll take us in places that we may not want to step into, but that's actually if we we look at scripture. That's where we grow and learn to trust, and so it's more fun when I make those decisions, I'm more alive and Christ, and and that's where I want to Learn to reside more regularly. So let's, let's do this together. We want to be co-labors, you and I and and all the people, on this journey together. So you know, let's so good.

Dan Schilling: 32:28

I just reminded again what you shared a Few times ago. We were talking about Abraham, you know, and, and just his willingness. You know, even just going through Genesis again right now, and just you know, even in spite of his Thinking, you know that, oh yeah, you're gonna do a promise to me, and he goes the wrong direction and says, okay, well, I guess it was gonna happen and I'll try to figure this out, we'll do it through. You know the handmaiden. And then this happened I get an ishmael and and yet you know, I've said in my life many times I don't want any.

Dan Schilling: 33:01

I don't want any ishmaels, you know, but the reality is I have them. The reality is I have them, we all do, but it still is not. I keep God from the promise, and so my encouragement Today for you all who are listening or watching, is that the promises of God, the purposes that he has for you Are, are not being thwarted. So what God wants for you is to walk this journey, and so we want to invite you to join us, to hear God's voice, to follow his lead, to thrive as a disciple. So I, just I want to encourage you. It doesn't matter where you've been, where you're at in the journey that he is desiring that for you as a good, good father. And so, michael, why don't you pray for us close the same for today All?

Michael Blue: 33:52

right. God, you're good, and we are just grateful that you have sought fit to invite us on a journey that's you. You're already walking, and and so I got. I pray that for us here, dan and I, and for those listening, that we would Just seek clearly the, the way that you have set before us, and that we would see that as joy, even when it feels hard and seems difficult. So, god, give us the faith and courage to take a step Towards you, trusting that that the, what you invite us into, will be the, the times that we do thrive. And so I just pray for each person listening that they would begin to hear, follow and obey your voice in Jesus name, amen.

Dan Schilling: 34:35

Michael, awesome. Thank you so much for sharing today. Thank you all for listening the feed sheet podcast. We'll see you again next time. God bless you.