Do You See What I See?

Do you see what I see is all about perspective and how sometimes you need to take time and see things from a different angle just so you can understand the situation.  


Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/asher-lee/dance-with-me

License code: PXMNYLZKYUUIZJXB

Transcript

Episdoe 6 Perspective

Kelly: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Blessings on Hope Road podcast, where we talk about life, family, and what it all looks like through the lens of our walk with God as we step into our calling as his children.

Welcome to episode six. Do you see what I see? We're gonna be talking about perspective. You see what 

Joe: I see? She literally cannot help herself. 

Ashlyn: She can't. Ben Crosby is making his debut. 

Joe: Bing is dead. I know. Bing is dead. He can't debut. He's dead. He's making his debut on this podcast through me. Okay. That was weird.

Anyway. All right. All right. He's not, you're weird. Uh, yes. Where do you think you get it from? Perspective. Perspective? 

Kelly: So the way that we view things mm-hmm. Um, 

Joe: takes up a, it, it makes a, a pretty, it determines 

Kelly: a large part of how [00:01:00] we live. 

Ashlyn: And I would say the majority of how we live. Yeah. It's determined by our perspective on life.

Absolutely. 

Kelly: So it's really important that, and we have to stop and think sometimes about our perspective. Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. Because if you're, you know, we've talked about communication. If you're not listening, you may not see how the other person. Yeah, like where they're coming from. You can totally take a situation and blow it out of proportion if you don't stop.

Absolutely. And think about how you can switch that perspective. And if you look at it a different way, it changes the whole conversation completely. 

Joe: Not well. That that goes back into what you, what we talked about last episode. Yeah. You know, communication, listening is a huge part of communication. Well, you have to listen to get to.

Totality of what somebody's trying to explain to you. Right. In a lot of times if, if that, that's why conflict is avoided, right? Because if you take time to listen, it [00:02:00] changes your perspective. It does. You exactly like you just said, if you only know part of it, right? Or take something for what you see on the surface, you're gonna blow stuff out of proportion very quickly.

Yeah. But if you could just stop, just 

Kelly: stop and listen and really. Listen and think about, you know, where that person's actually coming from when they're talking to you, because they don't live the same life that you have. No, try to see it from their perspective. They don't have Exactly, they don't have the same background that you have.

You don't know what is affecting them. If they've had a really bad day and now they're coming to you mm-hmm. Well, you don't, what you say doesn't need to make it worse, that's 

Ashlyn: for sure. Well, and I think now, I'm not gonna say lot or majority, but for a good amount of people, it's. Stepping out of the mindset that, hey, it's not my world and everybody else is just living in it.

Right? Like, I am a person in other people's lives. They have a perspective of me Sure. Just as I have of them. And I think especially again, in today's [00:03:00] society with social media, it's me, me, me, me, me, me, me. Right. Everybody else is living in my world. And then word that's being thrown around a lot, especially with a lot mm-hmm.

Young people is. Being delusional in the aspect of thinking that everything is about you and oh, it's fun to live that way. It's almost like people are like living in their own version of the Truman Show, right? If I know you've never seen that movie, but basically I have. Oh, you have? I have. I feel like I remember you telling me you hadn't seen it either way.

I have seen the Truman Show. For the people that don't know what the Truman Show is, Jim Carrey basically gets. He's in his own little world and he's being watched and everybody else knows what's going on, but he's kind of out of the loop. Yeah. His, his life is like a movie. So yeah. I think a lot of people, especially people my age, live that way.

Joe: But that's partly because that's what social media, that's what being on the phone does. It creates this, your life [00:04:00] is sort of lens alternate reality. It's, it's not, it's almost in, in a, in a way, it's kind of like a photographer. To a degree. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Like a photographer has a hard time living in the moment because they're always looking at life and they're experiencing everything through.

Literally a camera lens. Their lens. Mm-hmm. And that's their perspective, their perspec, everything that goes on when they have that camera in front of their face Right. Is based on, I need to do what I need to do to get the best shot. Right. Yeah. Well, when your perspective is locked in on making sure you get the best shot mm-hmm.

You're missing so much. You're missing 

Kelly: so much more that's around you. If you take the time to stop and turn around and just be in the moment and be in the moment, it's like, oh. You didn't see that. You know, like people always look at the sunset. Mm-hmm. And they're always like, oh, the sunset's so pretty.

Stop for a moment and turn around. Mm-hmm. See what's happening To the clouds [00:05:00] behind you. Yeah. Reflections. They're freaking awesome. Amazing. Yeah. And you're missing it because you're focused on the one thing. Yep. That you think is the most beautiful or like a photographer, like, I've gotta get that shot because 

Ashlyn: that's, think about the whole photography thing.

A camera gets what, like a six by six frame or something? Yeah, something like that. You've got all this world that's happening, all the peripheral that's around you, it that's not even in frame. Yeah. But you're not paying a lick of attention to, cuz you're worried about, you're worried about that this day.

Kelly: Mm-hmm. So it's really 

Joe: important. So how does that translate as far as perspective is concerned? Because 

Kelly: you have to stop and you have to, where's, where's your focus at? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Where is your focus? You have to stop and think. Okay, hold on, let me take a few minutes. Mm-hmm. To look around. So it's just like when you're talking to someone, hold on, let me take a few minutes.

Let me see From the other side of this. Yeah. What's it like to walk a day in someone else's shoes? Shift my focus. Exactly. If I shift my focus. And I don't think this way, if I take a [00:06:00] step back and I say, what if Right? It's this, and then you're like, oh. 

Joe: Now let, let's take all that Beautiful Yeah. Insight that you both just gave and I'm gonna stick a piece of C4 in there.

Okay. And I'm gonna blow it up. 

Kelly: Okay. 

Joe: You 

Ashlyn: know there's an energy 

Joe: drink called C4 because you, it's creatine. Sorry,

what you just said is exactly right. But that takes being able to look at things from that perspective and through that lens there is a level of maturity. There is a level of healing that is most likely taking place, um, experiences. Yeah. Because there's a lot that goes into what determines your perspective.

Yeah. Oh, absolutely. So if you are somebody who has, let's say you grew up with an abusive parent. Mm-hmm. And I'm [00:07:00] not talking about physical, I'm gonna, I'm just gonna say, let's just say emotionally and verbally. Let's just say, um, yeah, yeah, yeah. They were abusive. Sure. So everything that came out of your mouth, most likely was crushed.

Yeah. By that parent. You're stupid, you're an idiot. Right. You'll never amount to anything. God, could you be any more stupid? 

Kelly: At that point and point are things that you start saying about yourself. 

Joe: Mm-hmm. Well, you start saying about yourself, but not only that, but your interaction with people. You're not going No, because your perspective is so skewed.

You're gonna withdraw. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Because of exactly what you just said. You've started to say that stuff and repeat it to yourself. Mm-hmm. And now you don't want to avoid being hurt. Right. You just keep your mouth shut. Yeah. Yeah. You don't share what's inside of you. You don't allow anyone in, you don't allow anybody closer than arm's length.

Right. Because you don't wanna be hurt again. Mm-hmm. Why Bill? Because you have that perspective of this is somebody who was supposed to [00:08:00] care for me and, and love me the most, and they hurt me the deepest. Yeah. So how is. Someone that I don't know how is somebody that I, I, I've never met before or just barely know, how can I expect them to treat me better?

Uh, the answer is I can't, and I don't, and I will not allow myself to be even close to that position. Right. Because I don't wanna be hurt anymore. Yeah. And I'm done. And. What the heck with this? Yeah, it's hard. A lot of people, so it's, it's hard. Well, and a lot 

Ashlyn: of times I think, especially in Christianity, people refer to hurt as like walls that you put up right around yourself and around your heart.

Not letting people in and see the truest version of yourself. And I'm going somewhere with this, I promise. I have no doubt. It's almost like when you have those brick walls up, you've got like two little holes drilled for you to see out of. And you can only see a little tiny baby bit of what's actually going on because it's filtered [00:09:00] through that wall.

You've got no idea what's happening all around you because you see about yay much of what's in front of you and what's happening. So once you start to take that down Yeah, and say, yeah, okay, that's in the past, I can move on and take it apart Brick by brick, by brick. You get a fuller, better picture of, Hey, maybe not everybody's out to get me, right?

Maybe this isn't what it looked like. Maybe it's not as terrible out there as it seems. Yeah, 

Joe: right. You can even, you can take and spin it. It doesn't have to be somebody that hurt you. You could have grown up in a super sheltered, super close-knit, super encouraging life. And then you and I don't, man, I really don't want this to come off because I think it's awesome when you have parents who are supportive.

Absolutely. Who love you, who encourage you. Yeah. [00:10:00] Um, who build you up. And I don't mean in that false way, I don't mean in the way that's completely unrealistic and illogical, and you're like, wow, you can do anything you want. If you wanna be an astronaut, Jimmy, you could be an astronaut if Jimmy cannot do basic things.

I'm sorry, Jimmy's not gonna be an astronaut. Yeah, it's not going to happen. Sorry. No, it's like yours. But, but, and again, myself, I'm, I'm going somewhere. If you have that. Yeah. And then you go out into the real world. Yeah. You go, if that's all you grow up around. Yeah. And then you get out in the workplace. I have news for you.

There is no more ruthless place on earth. No, there's not than work and I mean for everyday people. Mm-hmm. In the workplace. Mm-hmm. Because everybody, for some reason, especially in our culture, The workplace is one [00:11:00] big competition. It is, yeah. So it can, you can go into this thing kind of naive and Hey, hi everybody.

And they're like, screw you, shut up. You shut up. Yeah. Why are you so happy? Why are you so, and all of a sudden you're like, Uh, okay. Mm-hmm. Right. So almost the same thing starts to happen. Yeah. Now you start to withdraw cuz you're like, man, I thought everything was gonna be good and these people are mean and they're not very nice.

Mm-hmm. And I just had a boss that came in and ripped me a new one because of what? I made a mistake, man. When I made a mistake. Yeah. I made or something. Yeah. When I made a mistake and, and I was a kid, it was always like, okay, no big deal. Just try again. Right. It's not like that anymore. No, because that mistake just cost your company money.

Yeah. Yeah. So now you are double out. You are not, you the hero. You're not gonna get employee of the month. No. That's out. So it, that perspective, it can, [00:12:00] oh man. A balanced perspective. Mm-hmm. Is so crucial, but, and at the same time, that can, a lot of times that can only come from time and experience. Mm-hmm.

That can only come from different situations. Um. 

Ashlyn: Well and some something you said when you were playing that whole scenario. Why are you so happy? I get that question all the time. 

Joe: I mean by who? It's not me. I'm just playing 

Ashlyn: all the time of, I don't understand how you can be like that. Or people just looking at you funny when you say things that are like, I know when you're not like at not depressing 

Joe: when First thing in the morning.

Yeah. No, 

Ashlyn: no. Shut up. Like I literally, I've made it known to my family cuz I realize I'm learning how to communicate. Yes. I don't come out of my room when I first wake up. No. I probably sit in there for an hour, hour and a half. Like, I mean, it's just like [00:13:00] Grammy looked at me today, or not today, but the other yesterday and was like, Oh, you finally got up and it was like almost 10 o'clock.

I was like, I've been up since eight 30, which I slept in cuz I had a long week of skating. Yeah. And she was like, oh. Like, I don't come downstairs when I first get up because I know I'm gonna rip somebody's head off if I do. Yes, you are. Like, I need time to fully wake up and process. Yeah. Then I'll come get my coffee, then you can talk to me.

But until then, I'm probably not a nice person. But for a 

Kelly: majority sometimes you wanna wait until after she's actually drank 

Ashlyn: the coffee. Yes. Wait until I'm at least halfway through. Um, but for the most part, I tend to. Be very overly optimistic to the point where it annoys people and I'm definitely the type of person to where, I always use this analogy when I explain it, but your car breaks down.

You're stuck the side of the road. It's hot. At least you made it to the side of [00:14:00] the road safely. Everybody's okay, yeah, we're gonna be home in like two hours. We can call aaa. It'll all be fine. 

Kelly: You always see the 

Ashlyn: silver lining to things. Exactly. And I take that as something that you taught me when I was very little that you can always, it was Care Bear's book.

Yeah. You can always find a silver lining in whenever you storm cloud. Yes, absolutely. And I think a lot of people struggle with that because yeah, while there's overly optimistic and that can tend to shelter you a little bit, make you a little naive. Um, there's overly pessimistic where well is me and I've been both people in my life.

I struggled with depression, almost the entirety of my middle school. Yeah. And either of these people sitting next to me can tell you I was a hateful person. 

Joe: Yeah. Like every, you weren't No, you weren't hateful. You were not hateful. There were times where you got short tempered. You were, you were. Uh, don't take this the wrong way, way.

It almost like, Ew, you were unstable. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Like you would go from smiling, joking, and laughing to just [00:15:00] absolute like, distraught, crying. Yeah. And I mean, in a matter of a couple minutes, knocked down, drag out seconds, 

Kelly: the times. And it was for us, I know it was hard because you had no idea. We had no idea.

Like we were, we were like, okay, is this because you're, You're our first born. So it was, okay, is this normal? This, this like teenage years? 

Ashlyn: Like no, it's not. There are a lot of teenagers aren't like that. 

Kelly: And you and I would have conversations. Yeah. Because I'm not only mom, I'm coach. Yeah. Like I'm your coach too.

Absolutely. So we would have like multiple conversations about this kind of stuff. Yeah. And you seemed fine. So it was very difficult for me as a coach to find out everything that you went through. You know, and, 

Ashlyn: um, and I think that's a perspective thing too. That is a perspective thing. Thing because I, my outlook when I was stuck in that place mm-hmm.

Was I don't wanna burden anybody. Right. I don't want to tell mom and dad and have them feel like it is their fault because they had nothing to do with it. Right. It's, and [00:16:00] even when you're in that place, it's not just telling people about it, it turns into. Yeah. Okay. Um, everything becomes a big deal. Yeah.

It turns into an overly pessimistic outlook. Like somebody could look at you the wrong way and you're like, oh my God, they hate me. Right. When in reality they're just having a bad day. It's nothing to do with you, honey. Exactly. 

Kelly: And that's why it's all about perspective. It's how we perceive other people, what they see, and how they're actually coming to talk to us.

Like you don't know what they're coming from. Yeah. Like I said, they could have had a bad day. They could be on top of the world, they could be the lowest point of their life. Mm-hmm. So you have to be prepared that you may have to look at things just a little bit differently when somebody's talking to you.

Joe: I probably had the hardest time with that out of anything else. Yeah. Because of be that flip side of, and I know that's, I, I guess I did give my kids some good things. I know that, that since I've come to Christ, like I don't, I am. [00:17:00] I, I refuse to be pessimistic. Yeah. Right. Like I will not No, you won't anymore.

Will not. I will, you will have to literally put a bullet between my eyes before you get me to say that God can't do It's a bad day. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, sorry, God can do it. Um, but in that place, I had a hard time. As I started to grow in the Lord in my immaturity, and it's taken until here, I keep saying a lot of, you know, uh, a lot of references I say in the last couple years, but it's cuz so much has, has transpired in the last couple years.

Right. But up until then, it, it, I didn't, I could not wrap my head around why somebody can't get something. Right. Yeah. Like why, like this is in, for instance, right here. Matthew 1633. These things I have spoken to you. Mm-hmm That in me. You may have peace in the world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer.

I have overcome the world. That was Jesus Christ himself. Yeah. Speaking to his disciples, telling him You're gonna have a hard time. Yeah, but listen to me, [00:18:00] you be of good cheer cuz all this stuff I have overcome, the world care means taken care. That he literally, that's his Jesus way of saying, the things of this world do not affect me.

Right? Mm-hmm. I am above them, not because I'm better than them, but because I don't operate in the way that this world operates. I operate in the kingdom of heaven, right? And that economy, and in that class, that's where I'm at. And that's. That's where we operate. Yes. Yeah. That's why he's saying be of good cheer.

Right. Because he goes on later to tell his, or he just got done telling them earlier in chapter 15, abiding me and I'll abide in you for without me. You can do nothing. Right. So if we're abiding in him and he's abiding in us and he's overcome the world mm-hmm. And that means by default I've overcome the world.

Yeah. So that means when people are trying to tell me your bank account doesn't look like it's gonna sustain you, sorry. That's not what my God says. My God says that he will supply all of my needs according to his riches and glory. Come [00:19:00] on, I I don't there. What up there is no steering me off of that.

Right. But that being said, that doesn't mean everybody sees it the way I see it. No. And that doesn't mean everybody has a grasp on it. And I'm not saying that my grasp and my perspective is right and anybody else's is wrong. But what I am saying is that I know that what I go by is the word of God. Just because somebody else doesn't see it the way I see it doesn't mean they don't know the word of God.

Right. It doesn't mean they don't believe the word of God. It means they're walking their walk with the Lord. And 

Kelly: that's really important to understand because everybody's walk is different. Yes. And we're all in different spots in our walk, so we're, we're very similar in our walk It. We're in different spots.

Joe: There are people who, who have been walking with the Lord, quote unquote [00:20:00] for decades. Yeah. Who don't, they don't fully believe. Right. Yeah. And I'm not saying that to be judgmental. I'm not saying it to be crucial. You can just tell by the way they talk. Yeah, yeah. Like you know the scriptures, right? But you don't believe it.

Kelly: Well, and it's just like people that go to church on Sunday. But Monday morning mm-hmm. They're right back to, oh heck yeah. All the worldly things instead of continuing 

Joe: to follow Christ. But, and that's where it's important for us. To maintain a pure perspective. Yes. And look, uh, look on them with mercy Yes.

And compassion. Mm-hmm. And say, man, when I come into that spot because, and none of this, and please let me clear this up. If anything that just came out of my mouth sounded harsh or crucial or judgmental, I am the last person. I am the, I promise you, I am the last person who's gonna judge you for how you're acting or judge anybody because yeah, that's not your job.

Much, much like Paul [00:21:00] said when he talked about, you know, he's the worst of sinners. Like, I literally, I feel that, like that statement I resonate that that statement resonates with me because I know the things I've done in my PA in my past. I know the things I've said. I know the things I've done. I know the damage I inflicted.

So I, it, I'm not judging at all, but that's where it's important that we take and we maintain that pure perspective and say, you know what, what can I do to be an encouragement to that person? Lord, please show me, lead me, use me. To be a light right for them to help them see the goodness of God, to help draw them.

Because at the end of the day, we're not trying to tell people, you have to act like I'm acting. You have to talk how I'm talking. You need to do what I'm doing. Our job as Christians is to [00:22:00] point people to Christ. Yeah, look at him. Ephesians one, five says, be imitators of God. It doesn't say be imitators of.

Your boss. It doesn't say be imitators of your favorite athlete. It doesn't say be imitators of your parents. It says, be imitators of God. Paul did say imitate me, but he put it in improper context. He said, imitate me as I imitate Christ. Right? So what he was saying is, do you see me doing what I have to do to try to be like Christ, that's what you need to do.

You need to do whatever it takes. To be more like Christ. Yeah. Whatever it takes. But you have to have that perspective of we're all, like you said, in different places. Yeah. In our walk. We're all Absolutely. And we have to understand that [00:23:00] there's a lot that goes into other people's perspectives. We can't get upset.

Mm-hmm. When somebody doesn't see things. No, we don't know their experiences. We've touched on that. There's a lot of other stuff that goes into it. There's the people that you hang around. Absolutely. Mm-hmm. If I hang around, I am somebody who was a, I was an alcoholic. I was trying to, yeah, trying to, to come up, but it just spit it for what it is.

I, I was an alcoholic. I drank like a fishy. If the Lord delivered me from that. Yeah. And I still hung around the same people in the same crowds and with the same places. You were determined to go back to I am setting myself up for failure. Yeah, absolutely. So we have to take, and I, I, I bring that into attention to point out that we don't know the people that they're around.

Yeah. You know, when they go home, you don't know who somebody deals with when they go home. Especially when you're dealing with a young person, you don't know what their parents are [00:24:00] like. You don't know what their parents beliefs are. Yeah. We don't know any of that. Yeah, and just, and there again, it could be an adult, you don't know the beliefs that they were raised with.

Yeah. If they had a parent that was hurt by somebody in a church and that parent said all kinds of mean things about the church, then guess what? That kid is not gonna have a lot of nice things to say about the church. Right. It's nothing personal. Yeah, it's nothing personal at all. I mean, 

Kelly: you get into like who they're hanging around, you get into what they're listening to, you know?

Cuz there's a lot of stuff in this world that. You can listen to the wrong voices. Oh, absolutely. And that's a whole thing. That's why you have to understand where somebody's coming 

Joe: from. Well, and that, that, that, that's a combination of perspective and communication. Yes. When you talk about voices, take for instance, and I'm just gonna go off on this tangent for a Memento music.

Yes. Yep. And I'm not even, I'm gonna go mainstream and talk about it. When you see some of [00:25:00] the stuff and hear some of the things you have to understand like we're being desensitized. Yep. Actually, we've been desensitized. We've de to a lot, we desensitized to it, but it's escalating to a whole different level.

Yeah. When you have people doing the things on stages of musical award shows that they've been doing, when you see them putting on concerts, Yeah. And playing out the things that they play out that is meant to do one thing and that is to jack your head up. Yes. Mm-hmm. And if you can jack your head up, he can jack up your perspective.

That's right. Now you don't see anything about how, how can I, if everything I turn on is raun and foul and wicked? Mm-hmm. Well, I don't see God in any of that. No. Don't see God in any of it. It's easy. It's easier for us to see it because we know, [00:26:00] right? We know. Now we've had that encounter with God to where when we see the, the, the, like the stuff that we're watching is right outta scripture.

Yeah. You see it and you're like, dear your Lord. Yeah, my gosh. But you get, I, I can you imagine? Can you imagine like a 12 or 13 year old. Turning on the television, you've got a mom and a dad who are, you know, they're working, they're doing the best they can. Yeah. Mom and dad are doing the best they can.

They are trying to put food on the table, keep the roof over the head, make sure the kid has everything they need. So by default they end up, let's just say, whom by their self. And I'm, I'm taking everything, all the other scenarios I'm taking out, I'm not saying they need to do a better job of parenting, just stop the kids home by their self.

And they turn on the Grammys. That aired a few months ago. Oh my gosh. Yeah. That's not, and saw that performances by that wicked lost not man. 

Kelly: Yep. Not okay at 

Joe: all. Well, what does that do to that 13 year [00:27:00] old? It sends him down a wrong path. It sends him down a wrong path, 

Kelly: A path that no 13 year 

Joe: old should be down.

And that's come along. That's, that's what I'm getting at. It's that there is so much. There's so much that plays into a person's perspective and how they see things. Right? And I heard Jackie Hill Perry say something, um, I think it's Jackie Hill Perry. Make sure it's not Jackie Perry Hill, but she is. If you don't, if you're listening to this right now and you do not, not, and you do not know who she is, um, I will encourage you to please.

Look her up on some social media. Um, yeah, Jackie Hill Perry. Her testimony is incredible. She is a phenomenal teacher. She is in, I don't wanna say rude in your face. She is just straightforward. This is what the word of God says, right? This is [00:28:00] her. But I'm telling you, just check her out. Her testimony is amazing, but what she talked about is Jesus giving.

So if you see somebody in that place that's down that wrong road, Our instinct usually is to be like, Hmm, they're down the wrong, and you just, you don't really do anything. You just kind of, you almost silently judge them. Yeah. And move on about your business. Well, you're withholding yourself from that person.

Yeah. That's not what Jesus said. That is not said. 

Kelly: He said, go out into all the world and spread the gospel. So if you can help that 

Joe: person, he said, and it's not your responsibility and I don't want people to miss it. I'm not saying it's your responsibility to save that person. No, no, no, no, no. But if there is an encounter, if there, if an opportunity presents itself, we are not to withhold ourselves.

Yeah. Jesus did not withhold himself from Judas. No. And he knew full well what Judas was going to do. Yep. And [00:29:00] he loved Judas and he washed his feet. He did not treat him any differently. Yeah, he treated him just the same.

So it's important. It's very important to understand that other people's perspectives are influenced much like ours by many, many, many. Yeah, different things. And if you can sit back and ask yourself, why do I view things the way I do? Why am I seeing things the way I'm seeing things? It will help you slow down for a minute and ask yourself that same question when somebody's acting the way they're acting.

Yeah. Yeah. What is it that they've got going on? And you can add, you can run right down because when you put yourself, it's, it's doing, you ought not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to scripture. Just so you [00:30:00] know. When you go back and you look at Proverbs three when it says, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own, on your, on your own understanding, in all your ways, acknowledging, acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.

Mm-hmm. Well, Matt tells you right there, I'm not supposed to trust in myself. Right. I'm supposed to trust in him. Yeah. So I should be looking at it and going, okay, is what I'm doing is how I'm seeing this and how I'm approaching things? Is this of God or is it of something that's influencing my perspective?

Mm-hmm. Something apart from him. Yeah. We have to be able to do that and be honest. You're not, when we refuse to do that, when we put our, anything that negative, that, that impacts our perspective. Anything that we give way to, to allow that perspective to be influenced in that manner and refuse to change it, we are limiting what God wants to do in our life.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. We [00:31:00] definitely are in a huge way, in a far bigger way than we understand. Yeah. Because what we're saying is, God, I know what you said, but you don't understand my hurt. Right. God, I know you have good things for me, but you don't understand what's going on here. This is, and you're in, in a sense with, again, without telling him, you're saying, what I went through is bigger than what you can do.

Yeah. And that couldn't be further from the truth. No. He is the God of the, the God of the impossible. He's the God of all flesh. Nothing is too hard for him. Nothing. Yeah. We can do all things and we can go scripture after scripture, after scripture after scripture, but we have to be able to ask ourselves that, and that's how we approach people when they don't, when their perspectives don't line up.

You don't judge, you don't bash. Look for that common ground. I mean like everything that we do right now. And, and as you're listening to this, if you don't know Christ, I, I, I [00:32:00] want you to understand that the reason we are speaking the way we are and have the perspective that we do is this is a biblical worldview.

Yeah. That we hold. This is not a. Uh, semi, somewhat Christian. Good, upstanding, moral, patriotic. Hope for, it's not The way we see things is through scripture. We view everything through the lens of God. Yeah. Not through the lens of the world, not through what? Right. Fox News says not through what Donald Trump says.

Not through what Joe Biden says. Not I don't, no. All those people, in the big scheme of things, they don't affect my perspective. Mm. They do not. God gives me my perspective. [00:33:00] Yeah. And that really, that is that, that is my prayer every day. Every single day, God help me to see people the way you see people.

Help me to walk into situations. Everything, every situation that I walk into today, help me to handle it. How you would handle it, not how I handle it, based on how it makes me feel, right, or how much pressure I'm under, or how much is going on in my life. All of that is irrelevant, all of it. Yeah,

I could talk about this for hours. I know you could. 

Kelly: I could, 

Joe: but, and my daughter is no more. Not only is she not comedic relief, she's on her phone. Sorry. A lot a latte. 

Ashlyn: There is a person here, not here that is [00:34:00] asking for my attention right now. I'm sorry. 

Joe: Geez.

Perspective. I remember, I remember what it was like. 

He 

Ashlyn: basically lives here 90% of the time, and the one time that he's not here and I'm busy, he's like, I need you to answer. I'm trying to figure something out. 

Joe: Okay, fine.

We'll have him on here before long maybe. Yeah, maybe just maybe. Hopefully, but. Well, you're so glad that you joined us. Um, if you are listening to this, um, if you're listening to this, and this is something that I wanna do regularly, I don't, I'm gonna do it as the Lord leads me to do it. But if you don't know Christ and you want to know him, you want to know this God that you have heard us talking about.

Um, it is. Super hard. You have to answer a 100 question survey. I'll go through. No, it's with a [00:35:00] 95% or higher. Yeah. You can only miss three questions. No, no. It is super easy. It is super easy. All you have to do is humble yourself. Yeah. And say that's it. Jesus. I am a sinner and I believe that you died to pay for my sins and I repent of those sins right now, and I turn to you and I Ag.

I acknowledge you as Lord and Savior of everything, and I am putting you in your rightful place as Lord and Savior of my life. Thank you for cleansing me. Thank you. That you gave your life for me. Thank you. That you call me your own. Thank you for saving me, Lord. Thank you. I get to go to heaven now.

Praise God. Amen. Amen. It's beautiful. It is. So if you happened too, Say that prayer [00:36:00] at the end of this podcast. Please let us know 

Ashlyn: and praise God all heavens rejoicing for you. Everybody, all, every of heaven rejoices, 

Joe: every, everybody one sin repenting. So just know right now that there is a party going on up there.

Party in heaven, you now for you. And now you have all of heaven cheering you on in every single step you take Every single day they are cheering you on, and when God sees you, he is well pleased. Yeah, that is a beautiful thing, but just reach out 

Kelly: and let us know. If you did, reach out us. 

Joe: Let us, I love to pray for you.

Yes. Do not be afraid to reach out. Um, and if you are listening to this, I pray you're encouraged, I pray. That the Lord spoke to you through all this, please, like, share, subscribe, do all these things. Um, check us out. I think we're in the process of having a webpage. I don't know if it's live yet or not.

Hopefully it'll be 

Kelly: up in a few days. We're there 

Joe: hopefully in a few days. We're getting there for sure. But yeah, just like, and share, subscribe, um, and let us know that you're listening. You [00:37:00] can find us on Instagram. You can find us on Facebook. 

Kelly: Facebook. Yeah. And then pretty soon the website will be up.

It's, it's been a, we should get a Twitter. 

Joe: Hmm. Maybe Twitter soon to come. We'll see. But thank you for tuning in to episode six. We will, yeah. Catch up with you guys on the next one.

Kelly: Thanks for listening to the Blessings on Hope Road podcast. If you'd like to support the show, click on the link in the description and don't forget to follow the show to get notifications whenever there is new content.