On Purpose Christian Dating
Episode 4 - Why "On Purpose" Christian Dating?
Embark on a heartwarming expedition with us, your hosts, as we recount the enchanting tale of how faith intertwined with fate to write our love story on a Christian dating app. Our opening dialogue is an invitation to witness the power of a union rooted in shared values and the pursuit of a life led with conviction, an experience we've been blessed to live with our little joy, Lydia Marie. This episode is a testament to the belief that the search for love can transcend beyond mere attraction, delving into the depths of purpose and spirituality.
Our journey through these profound discussions takes a turn into the challenging terrain of post-divorce dating, where I openly share the pitfalls of losing myself in the mirage of hyper-masculinity and the subsequent return to my spiritual essence. We lay bare our struggles, our growth, and the solace we found in embracing imperfection. Our candid conversation is an embrace for those standing at the crossroads of healing and dating, as we draw from sermons, personal revelations, and the unwavering conviction that in the chaos of life's 'hot mess', purpose and a deep connection with faith can guide you home to authentic and meaningful relationships.
Embark on a heartwarming expedition with us, your hosts, as we recount the enchanting tale of how faith intertwined with fate to write our love story on a Christian dating app. Our opening dialogue is an invitation to witness the power of a union rooted in shared values and the pursuit of a life led with conviction, an experience we've been blessed to live with our little joy, Lydia Marie. This episode is a testament to the belief that the search for love can transcend beyond mere attraction, delving into the depths of purpose and spirituality.
Our journey through these profound discussions takes a turn into the challenging terrain of post-divorce dating, where I openly share the pitfalls of losing myself in the mirage of hyper-masculinity and the subsequent return to my spiritual essence. We lay bare our struggles, our growth, and the solace we found in embracing imperfection. Our candid conversation is an embrace for those standing at the crossroads of healing and dating, as we draw from sermons, personal revelations, and the unwavering conviction that in the chaos of life's 'hot mess', purpose and a deep connection with faith can guide you home to authentic and meaningful relationships.
Welcome back to the On Purpose Christian Dating Podcast. We are so excited that you're here. We're really glad to have you here today as a listener. So today in the studio quote unquote studio we have me, maya Sanchez, and my husband.
Speaker 2:Michael Sanchez.
Speaker 1:And we also have Lydia Marie here with us. She's sitting here just kind of staring at Mommy and daddy. She's just glad to be in the room. And I'd love to open up this podcast with a word of prayer for you, the listener. So if you'll join me, you don't have to close your eyes, especially if you're driving. But I would love to just start off with a word of prayer for you. Start off with a word of prayer for you.
Speaker 1:Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the listener. Pray that whoever is listening has eyes to see what you are showing them and ears to hear what you're saying. I pray the same thing for Michael, myself and Lydia, and I'm asking that you'll just be able to move and have your way with us, us praying that the words that come out will be your words, not just our own. And I pray also, lord, that we're able to have some fun with whoever's listening. Father, we pray that we're able to live on purpose and that we're able to inspire other people to also live on purpose. Live on purpose, and we just thank you so much for the opportunity to be able to have a moment with the person on the other side of the podcast right now, and so we thank you so much and we praise you. It's in Jesus name that I pray. Amen, all right, baby. So what are we going to talk about on today's podcast?
Speaker 2:All right. So we have a list of talking points and we actually, mai and I, spoke right before this and we were like, well, how cool would it be if we just like ask each other questions. You know, we felt like just to mix it up and just have, you know, a really good dialogue, a conversation. So, yeah, our first point that I'd like to ask you, maya, is what did Purpose Driven mean to you at the moment we were on those dating apps?
Speaker 1:So the title of today's podcast is why On Purpose, and we basically just wanted to have an opportunity to tell you why we decided to name the podcast On Purpose. Christian Dating Purpose Driven is just such a huge part of our story. That was something that we shared in the last episode and we were able to just basically I don't know, it was kind of like the launch pad or the diving board of our relationship. So, for those of you who don't know, we may have said it in the last few podcasts, but Michael and I met online. We, you know, when you're dating online some of you have experience with that, some of you probably don't, but when you're dating online, you have a little profile and on your profile you can have prompts, you can have all different kinds of things. We we met each other on hinge and my profile essentially said um, the green flags that I look for are. So that was the prompt that I, that was one of the six prompts that I chose to respond to, and I'm trying to remember everything in vivid detail.
Speaker 2:All I know is I remember saying amen. Exclamation mark.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I noticed that I received a like from Michael, and the way that Hinge works is you have six pictures and then you have six prompts and a person can respond or react to any of those things. A lot of the times on the app like somebody is usually just making a comment about your pictures, so it kind of goes based off of appearance. But in the case of Michael, he actually reacted to one of my prompts, and one of my six prompts was what are the five green flags that I'm looking for are? So my response to that prompt was faith, purpose-driven, family-oriented, good sense of humor and cares about community. I think that's what it was.
Speaker 2:I have a picture of it. I took screenshots of my profile, so I'll share that at some point. This is an example how women remember way more than men do. I cannot even believe that she remembers all that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I remember that Well. The reason why I remember it so much is because, I mean, we we talked about this babe, but I was listening to a bunch of dating coaches. You were listening to a bunch of dating coaches. I was reading books about dating. I had a lot of anxiety about dating. That's another reason why we really wanted to start this podcast is because I remember how it felt trying to date and it was not a good feeling, even though I felt like I had, you know, worked on myself and everything.
Speaker 1:The actual logistics of it all was nerve wracking for me. So one of the tips that the dating coach had said was you have to have like five things not 20 things, not 30 things, but like five non-negotiables, and you kind of have to spend some time figuring out what those non-negotiables are. And so I knew that faith was a huge deal breaker for me. But purpose-driven was just like equally as important to me. It's just one of those things where it's like you're at an impasse if you don't have those. Lydia just punched the mic, so she feels exactly the same way as I do about this. She wants to emphasize how important it is. So faith was a. You know it's a non-starter for me. Purpose-driven is a non-starter for me. That's essentially what I was saying. So my green flags were, you know, if you are a person of faith and you're purpose-driven, those were basically, you know, like the top, top, top, my top things. So, but the interesting thing is that purpose-driven for me meant something. Now I'm finally getting around to answering your question. Sorry, babe, but the purpose-driven for me meant something totally different. For you it was like different but the same.
Speaker 1:So I grew up, my mom has always been a huge fan of the book written by Rick Warren, the Purpose Driven Life, and so much so that this was a book that was always inside. You know, there's different kinds of books. There's books you leave at your bedside, there's books that you leave on the coffee table, and there's books that you leave in your bathroom. The books that get read are the books that are in the bathroom. I'm just going to say that it's the truth. It's the truth, I don't care what anyone says. So my mom always had the purpose-driven life in her bathroom, always because this was a book she liked to read and reread and just so you guys know, I've never heard this before.
Speaker 2:This is the first time I've heard any of this. It's amazing how you learn things later on in marriage. Okay, go ahead Continue.
Speaker 1:By the way, yeah, so we're kind of all over the place right now, but Michael and I are celebrating a year of marriage. I forgot to open up with that. We're celebrating a year of marriage on Monday, april 8th, so we're really excited about that. So if you can't tell, yeah, we're still newlyweds, we're still learning things about one another. Anyway, squirrel back to the topic.
Speaker 1:So my mom always had the book Purpose Driven Life and when she read it it had impacted her so profoundly that she would tell anybody who would listen about that book. She'd be like she would buy that person a book, you know, because that's how powerful she just felt like that book was. So I remember being a kid when all this went down. So I was not reading Purpose Driven Life, but I remember seeing it and I remember it having this huge impact on her.
Speaker 1:Now, for me, the way that God had worked on me was he gave me a calling. He gave me a calling when I was 18 years old. It's been such a huge part of my testimony understanding how God was going to instill a sense of purpose into my life that I just felt like man. I want to be able to be with someone whom I can run in the same direction with and chase after the same thing that I know that God has called me to do and I also need to be. I knew that for me, purpose meant I need to be with someone who isn't going to try to deter me from my purpose either. It kind of goes. It's both of those things. It's someone who is going to encourage you and inspire you and run alongside you as you chase after God and chase after the assignment that God has instilled in you to complete. And it's also being with somebody who is not going to try to suck up all the energy in the room as you pursue that specific task that God has assigned you with. So in my case, I knew exactly what it was that God had called me to do since I was 18, because God spoke to me in a very specific way and I wanted to be with somebody who was able to understand that.
Speaker 1:And Michael, it was like as soon as he saw the words purpose-driven on my profile, it was like a lightning bolt went through him. He was just kind of like wow, like I've seen a lot of dating profiles but I've never seen one where somebody would have the words. It was one thing to have purpose, but it's another thing to have purpose driven, because purpose driven like my purpose isn't just something that I put on the shelf and I don't really. It's like I know my calling but I'm not really going after it every day. It's I know my calling and I'm pursuing it with the full strength that I have, knowing that I have this one life and so I think that that's what it was for Michael was.
Speaker 1:To be able to see those words side by side was just a huge motivator for him to pursue me. So I'll talk a little bit more about my purpose in a minute. But now, babe, I want to pose that question to you what did purpose driven mean to you at the time? When I saw your profile and you saw my profile, this was what? November of 22?. So, yeah, what did purpose driven mean to you then?
Speaker 2:Thank you, thank you, yeah, so yeah, that was excellent. Yeah, as you're talking, honey, I was thinking just about you know, my journey, you know, and right after I got divorced and you know, you guys have heard some of my story probably, if you've, you know, heard any of the previous podcasts, um, or checked out our website but basically I went through a really bad divorce and I was really at a point where I was trying to find like, okay, what happened, like what happened to make that happen to me? And you know, what can I do better to have, you know, success potentially in the next marriage or the next relationship? So I started, really I followed a lot of dating coaches I won't mention names, but they were very, you know, stuck on the concept of masculinity versus femininity, right, so that was like a main focus and that's like a lot of coaches, like all of them, like really emphasize, like you got to be the strong man, you got a divorce. Well, it's because the woman thought you were this, you know this kind of feminine personality and all this stuff.
Speaker 2:And so I really started to think, like I wasn't listening at that time, like right after the divorce, I wasn't listening to Rick Warren at all. Like I was just kind of like in that mode of, okay, I'm going to follow some dating coaches, I'm going to learn some stuff, I'm going to try to like get as much information as I can, and it kind of led me in the wrong direction. It really did, because it kind of wanted me to change my personality and had nothing to do with faith, right. So it was just like become this strong man and lead everything and like some of it has some good knowledge and good tips, but a lot of it just isn't strong, faithful.
Speaker 1:It's toxic.
Speaker 2:It's toxic, yeah, I mean it's toxic. So my journey was okay. I started like applying some of that knowledge and starting to, like you know, the way I was setting up my profile, the way I was talking to women, like I was kind of like this different guy that wasn't really me, you know, like I was, I was lost, I was confused and I think, like women really saw through that they saw that this isn't the real Michael, like Michael's, this different guy. Like you know, and to the core, like you know, we're at our most natural selves and we're following Christ, like when we have God in our hearts, like we are the way we are supposed to be if we truly follow the Bible. And I at the time I wasn't doing that. So I was just kind of this, this weird guy, you know, like I'm sorry, babe, I sorry to cut you off.
Speaker 1:Do you have an example of?
Speaker 2:do you have an example of like yeah, so I mean, it starts like with how you set up your profile, like what you're saying like nothing's about faith, Right, and it was like. It was like just the strong masculine guy, you know, and it's funny to you because you know me now, so I know that's why you're laughing.
Speaker 1:It's funny. It's not funny because you're it's like you're a masculine man, you're you're manly. But it's funny to me because I remember it's just so fresh. I remember being there and everything you're talking about masculinity and feminine energy. I remember that so vividly, like that is something that I feel like people guys would always bring up and it would be such a turnoff, like, as a woman of God, it was just such a turnoff for somebody to be like I'm the guy and you're the girl.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's everywhere. I mean for the guys watching right now, like I'm sure you've heard of coaches that are like emphasizing that and pushing that and it's all manipulation. It's all manipulation. So you have to really understand that. You know a lot of people can lead you astray. You know they can try to give you advice. That just is. It's more about like manipulation than it is about true core values in finding who you are as a man in Christ Right. So so at that time I was kind of like doing things the wrong way. Like right after divorce I mean really after any divorce you're, you're going through shambles Like you're you're mentally, not, you know, technically you didn't go through divorce. I personally like I don't believe anybody can go through that pain and like be just normal and ready to date. Like I highly recommend anybody out there that's gone through a divorce. Take some time to work on yourself. Go ahead, ani.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think it's so spot on that you're saying that. The only thing I wanted to say not to cut you off, just to interject a little bit is that also, you don't have to go through a divorce or be going through a divorce to be a hot mess, like I'm kind of an example of someone who, like I, was a hot mess and I have not experienced divorce, but I was definitely a hot mess so at one point in my dating journey.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, yeah, there's definitely a lot of ways to be hot messes. I mean, there's people that maybe have never been married, that are older, that just haven't gone through you know anything biblical and you know you can be a child mentally at you know age 60. I mean, really, I know people like that just are, are, are still boys in a sense, but um, but yeah, you know, bringing all that up, you know it's, it's all pointing towards the question which is like, what do I see as sort of you know the vision and the reason for on purpose dating and okay. So I started doing some of these things and they weren't working right, like seeing like bad results, like women would kind of like you know what's this guy like, what are you like? Like you know, like ghosting, you know I'd get ghosted, you know. Like you know I was like what's going on, you know.
Speaker 2:So, like I got to a point where I was like, okay, I'm a Christian, I need to just really decide that, okay, I'm going to allow myself to just start listening to some sermons or do something like go to church, start trying to connect with God and trying to figure this out. So I started traveling and I started going across the country doing Airbnbs, doing my thing, and I would stay at different places. And I was just, it was just like me and God, like just me and God were just, you know, in the room and I stumbled upon Rick Warren and I just started listening to his sermons and I was like, wow, like this guy is like really practical and really easy to understand, you know.
Speaker 1:Do you remember how you stumbled across him? Was it just like a like a YouTube search, or?
Speaker 2:how did that? Yeah, I've done a lot of my training and sort of knowledge base on YouTube, so, like a lot of the dating coaches I found were on YouTube, so, yeah, I stumbled upon Rick Warren. I probably put a search in like you know how to get healed spiritually or you know something like that, and then he came up. So. So then I started listening to him and I remember the first sermon I listened to was Rick Warren's self-destruction, and I listened to that and I was like wow, like this totally applies to me, like I have shame, I have bitterness, I have all these things probably because of the divorce, probably because of the divorce, and I was like, okay, this makes total sense, like I'm actually dealing with these things. And I listened to that sermon over and over again and I remember I didn't even listen to another sermon until I watched that one like 10 times. Like I was so like just engulfed in that knowledge.
Speaker 2:But then I started going into other things. Like you know, how does God see the mind? And one of the big breakthroughs for me was that I actually have the choice to decide if I don't want to think a thought like actually decide and act on a thought and that was huge for me because there's all these things constantly going through our minds. We have the choice to say no, that we're not going to act on that thought, had all these thoughts of craziness, you know, because you know we still do, we never, it never ends. But like we have a choice, so like I started to understand that I can manage my mind. So I highly recommend Rick Warren Mind and that kind of goes into the concept of temptation, and temptation is huge. You know, if you struggle with sexual sin, you're going to have a hard time connecting with God unless you're managing that aspect of your life. So for the guys out there, and even women struggle with pornography. If you're constantly looking at pornography you're going to have a hard time connecting with God. It's a block. So to me, I had to manage that part of my life. I had to get rid of that. I had to throw that garbage out before I started being successful in the dating scene. Because if you're not connecting with your creator and you're looking at pornography like you're, you're in a totally different mindset where you're going to have a hard time. So so to me, like managing the garbage in my life and getting all of rid of all of that junk was huge.
Speaker 2:And then sort of, the next step was Rick Warren started talking to me about purpose and that, okay, even though you've been through a divorce, you can actually use that pain and suffering to help other people. I was like what? Like why would anybody want to know about my divorce? Why would anybody want to know, like, what I've been through or struggles I've been through? But then it started making sense. I was like, yeah, it makes sense that you can relate to other people that have gone through struggles more than anybody else, somebody that's been through a divorce. You're going to be able to relate to them more than somebody that hasn't been through a divorce, people that have been through any sort of struggle.
Speaker 2:So I was like this suffering and pain differently to where that really was, the core of the purpose is okay, if I'm going to start going this direction of being a Christian and really following God and wanting to date a Christian, what's more attractive than having a core purpose, having a reason why I'm here and being able to communicate that? So that was like for me and Maya like I I actually sent her a video like kind of explaining like what I've really felt that was and, and you, you, you tell the audience on you, like, how did that make you feel? Like that I was able to really communicate and alliterate that, you know, in a five minute video, like to where? Yeah, like, how did that make you feel?
Speaker 1:Yeah, at that point we were, we had been talking, you know how, in the apps. I love to say it goes down in the DMS, but it, once you're in the apps and you, you establish that you like one another. And yeah, michael sent me a message that said amen to my, to my green flags, um, prompt. So we started talking, we're, we're in the DMs with each other, and then it was basically time to get out of the DMs. But we hadn't got to that point yet. We hadn't got to the point where we exchanged phone numbers and wanted to talk, speak to one another on our own terms outside of the app. Yet and Michael created this video for me and it made him stand out, so he sent me a video. You were sitting in your car, you were wearing your this jacket, your black leather jacket.
Speaker 2:You don't even remember what I was wearing. Are you serious, honey?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I have a vivid memory and it was really cold. That's why I remember that, because I'm a Florida girl, michael's a Michigan man, and you were wearing this jacket right here recording this podcast.
Speaker 2:And, and some of you guys might not know, but we, we actually were doing all of this in Michigan and we moved to Florida. We did kind of everything at one. Tell them, honey, like everything we did in like a year. It's kind of crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I'm going to tell you everything we did in a year. I have to stay on. I have to stay on topic. I'm all over the place. I'm all over the place right now. Yeah, so we, we did we. We got married, we got engaged, married, bought an RV, moved across the country pregnant and had a baby all in one year. It's just a lot, um so.
Speaker 1:So, just, you know, rewind back to being um, you sending me the video. You were sitting in the front of your car and it was my first time being able to really, like, see you in motion because it was a video, not a picture and see, you know, put a voice, put your voice with the, with your face and everything. And you were explaining to me where, what you were about to do, and it was such a simple like. It was like, hey, it's just a saturday and this is what I'm up to, but I could purpose was dripping off of every word that you were saying in the. It was just so clear that you were who you said. You were in everything that you were saying that you were going to do, from the family members you were spending time with, from your explanation of like why you were spending time with them, what you were going to do. It was also, um, it was the holidays. It was about to be Christmas time. That was when we met and, um, when we actually like met in person. So we met on the app in November, um, on Thanksgiving day, and then a few weeks later we're putting up the tree and it's Christmas time and we were so excited about seeing your niece and just so many different things that were just kind of like, oh man, like this man is really living out his purpose, he's living, he's living on purpose and I'm doing the same thing.
Speaker 1:So what your video did for me was it inspired me to react the same way I wanted to me to react the same way I wanted to. I was like you know what Nobody else on this app has taken the time and the intention to do this to share with me what's on their heart, what's what they feel like God has called them to do, and how that applies to their day-to-day life. So it inspired me to want to do the same thing. So I got on YouTube and I sent you a private link to a video and, um, well, you had asked me that, you had asked me a question of like this is my purpose. What's yours, you know? And that was when I told you about my calling to Haiti and my the, the journey that God has put me on to be able to bless me with a job that allows me to be able to serve the people of Haiti every single day, and so it was like I was sharing my heart with you.
Speaker 1:That's the other thing about purpose I think I'm just realizing, as we're talking about it, is that purpose is very intimate. It's a very intimate thing for me to say to you this is the thing that matters most to me, because it's what God has assigned me to and to say to you um, here, yeah, here it is Um. And for us to be able to say to one another God bless you. For us to be able to say to one another, like knowing what God has entrusted me with and knowing what God has entrusted you with, would you like to continue to move forward? It's a very vulnerable moment and it's definitely a very intimate moment, but it was just the launching pad for everything that happened next, because I feel like it was just such a giveaway. It was such a giveaway of our character, our values, our intentions. There was just so much that we were able to gather and know about one another because we were sharing our purposes with one another.
Speaker 2:Yeah, one thing I want to share that was amazing, honey. Just one thing that Rick Warren said a lot that I I didn't even consider until I heard him say it. But I heard him say it over and over again and I really believe it. And now I really believe it because we're doing it. But it's basically that there is nothing else in the world that is more exciting than doing purpose with your husband or your wife. There's nothing more impactful, because that's what God wants us to do. He calls us to help people. To help people in whatever state of life they're in, being able to relate to them in whatever way.
Speaker 2:So I really believe Rick Warren when he says that there's no better feeling than when him and his wife are doing purpose together and making a difference.
Speaker 2:You know, in the state that we're in like we're just starting this, so it hasn't grown or we haven't even seen a lot of feedback yet but I'm really feeling that presence of God, that he's leading us towards a goal which is it's not doing something for our financial gain, it's doing something that we can put our hats down and say we've helped other people, you know.
Speaker 2:And then when we get to heaven someday, you know we're going to have to answer that question, like, what did we do with what we were given? And it's such an amazing feeling to know that you're going to have a great answer to that, that you're going to be able to say I know that God, you put me on earth to satisfy this purpose and I accomplished it with my wife. I feel that I'm starting to feel that and I, you know, I I really encourage you guys out there, you know, if you haven't found that yet, you know, just listening to this and thinking about it, I think is a good first step. But then seeing the vision that, okay, if you find the right person and, by the way, it's one of the most important decisions of your life, finding the right person right but if you find that right person, it's an amazing thing to live life on purpose.
Speaker 1:Yeah, michael and I, you know we've gone on quite a few tangents in this episode. It's just, you know, it's our conversation with one another and that's just kind of how we are as people, as individuals, and I hope that, I really hope that you know, you, as the listener, are able to to, you know, just stay with us and track with us as we go on these different tangents. But that's really just the really the heart and soul of this podcast, and the reason why we started it is because, you know, before getting, before attaching yourself to another human being, before attaching yourself to another soul, it's so important for you to really get clear with God, with being able to have a relationship with him, being able to put your trust and your faith and to be able to rely on him completely, and for you to be able to be like okay, god, I'm trusting you with my life. What do you want me to do with it? What do you want me to do with my life? What have you knit me together for? When you knit me together, what did you have in mind for me to achieve in this earth? What do you want me to accomplish for you?
Speaker 1:Because, because you again, you only get one life, you, only you. You only get one shot, not to not to go all Hamilton Hamilton on you guys, but you, you only get one shot. That's Eminem slash Hamilton. Actually, eminem did it first, but but yeah, you, you only get one shot, essentially. And it's not. Life is not a dress rehearsal. And you will, we will, we will be able to stand before God and and he, you know he will say, like, what did you do with those talents that I gave you? So being able to get clear on that first is going to be a springboard for, uh, the relationship that you're going to find yourself in. And you know if, if marriage is the desire of your and let's say you're already married and you want your marriage to really thrive purpose is going to need to be one of the centerpieces of your marriage. So that's the whole reason why we chose On Purpose as the name of the podcast, and you know, if you have more questions about that, we would love to just be in really engaged with you.
Speaker 1:I know it's really it's kind of challenging to engage in the podcast format, because podcasts maybe Spotify or Apple Music or wherever you're listening they don't necessarily have a comment section, apple Music or wherever you're listening. They don't necessarily have a comment section, but if you want to engage with us, if you want to be able to write us a letter, feel free to send us an email. We would love to be able to react to what you have to say. We have TikTok videos. We have also an ebook. We have Facebook groups and we would love to actually extend this conversation with you and be able to. We want to make sure that we're adding value to your life. So if there's a specific question that you have that you want us to address on this podcast, feel free to pose it to us. There's a lot of different ways that you can share your reactions with us.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. We would love to connect with you guys. We encourage you to visit violingospelcom. As Maya mentioned, we have some Facebook groups, actually four different groups. Each one has a specific purpose. One is just for single guys. I'm basically managing that group and trying to encourage guys out there that are single going through that stage of their life.
Speaker 2:Maya has a group that's for single ladies Obviously same thing, but her managing the ladies portion. We also have a group for couples, so it's basically people that are not married yet but are at a point where they're trying to prepare themselves, sort of the premarital stage. We would love for you guys to join that group. And then, finally, we have a group for marrieds, so people that are already married.
Speaker 2:Maybe even if you're struggling with marriage, like you're going through a hard time and you really need some advice or some ways to connect with us, you know, I think nothing's better than community and if you're seeing other people in a group and you're getting to know other people, that is a positive thing to healing. And you know, so it's not necessarily just for people that are in this happy stage, it's also for people that are struggling, that are needing advice or just to give us maybe their testimony and where we can reach out to them. So the way to find these groups violengospelcom, and you'll see a navigation bar and you'll see resources. You'll be able to find groups, click on that and then you'll be able to see these four groups.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. We want to see you there, we want to interact with you. Just so you know, michael and I I think I've said this many times and I probably will continue to say it we are just one of many resources, and we want to be able to put in front of you a diversity of resources. We want to share books with you that have helped us. It's not like On Purpose Christian Dating is the only podcast and the only resource that is going to help you in your life. We want to be able to share with you all the people who have blessed us, all the different books that have blessed us, and we want you to be able to, within the context of a group or a community, to be able to say hey, this is what's worked for me, this is a book that I've read, and those groups can basically become a life of their own. So, please, please. We want to see you there and we want to connect with you.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and the most important thing that you guys can be doing is immersing yourself in the Bible. You know the Bible is healing. It has healing power. It has healing power. So you know our podcast, a lot of our resources. I just want you to know our hearts that we love hearing that you're just more in the word of God. You know, because the word of God is healing in so many ways, no matter what you're going through, that ultimately is going to prepare you for dating, for relationships, for life, for everything. So that's the ultimate resource, wouldn't you agree, honey? The Bible, so okay. Well, we really appreciate you guys listening to this podcast. We're really enjoying this and just you know, with Lydia here, she's been on every episode and it's just a really it's a joy to just look at my daughter and my wife as we're doing this and knowing that someday she'll be listening maybe to this, and knowing she was here too. So I think that's pretty cool. Lady, do you have anything to say?
Speaker 1:All right, great Goo goo ga ga.
Speaker 2:She's almost four months old.
Speaker 2:So this weekend, right, she'll be our one year anniversary and she'll be four months old, so we're excited, all right.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm going to close in a word of prayer Dear God, just thank you for this day, lord, where we can just do this podcast and just connect with anybody out there, whoever's listening, whatever they might be going through, that you know they're thinking of you, that they're connecting in some way with you, lord, and that they'll continue trying to heal and work on themselves.
Speaker 2:Just that we'll continue to lead it in such a way that we can say that we're helping others, that we're trying to just connect with other people, lord, and we just ask that you help others out there that are struggling to find their purposes, that are just not sure of it yet they're starting to consider it, Lord, just help, speak to them in their daily life and just help them to just get those little nuggets of influence in their minds of things that they could be doing to help other people, you know, and not limiting it to things that maybe they've done wrong or have gone wrong in their lives, but to see it as actually a way to connect to other people, and then they have the ability to have impact and also helping others. And, lord, we just thank you for sending your son to die on the cross, for giving us life, giving us the ability just to live this amazing life that we can connect and get to know you better and get to know others. We ask this in your name. We pray Amen.
Speaker 1:Amen.