Latest / The Wholehearted Enneagram Podcast / Strength to Thrive | a conversation with Kori Yates of Planting Roots

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Strength to Thrive | a conversation with Kori Yates of Planting Roots · The Wholehearted Enneagram Podcast

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_02: Hi friends, welcome back to the Simply Whole Hearted Podcast.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_02: It means so much to have you choose to take this conversation along with you today.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Amy Wixerhost, and here at Simply Whole Hearted, we provide perspective, purpose, and plans to help you love God, love others, and live your best life.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we are traveling through the Aneagram this summer, but this week we are pressing pause to take a minute and celebrate America's Day of Independence, and to talk with an incredible leader of an organization created for military women by military women.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: Corey Yates with Planning Roots knows firsthand what it looks like to be the new neighbor every two years or so, as well as knowing all about the opportunity those serving our country also have in sharing Christ all across the globe.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: This is a great lesson any time of year, but I thought that as we gather in the local swimming holes, at the barbecues, and to set off our fireworks, we could take a few minutes to be reminded of those making these celebrations possible.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, look at her.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: She's so great.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: I I just appreciate her so much.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: I really haven't had a second.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: It's kind of a joke.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, so she wanted me, she wanted me to make sure that I asked you for your figure, the number for military women as the largest global missionary force.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I'm already intrigued.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: You got to tell me more.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there are altogether worldwide, there are about 1.3 million military women.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: That's women in uniform, whether they're guard, reserve, or active duty, um, and military wives.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: So it's all of them together.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so women married to guys who wear uniform, basically.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so there are about 1.3 million of them.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Statistically, you know, like they have demographics and they say about half of them claim to be Christian.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, you sign up at MEPS or whatever, and you check a box somewhere.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you satisfy the the knee, the answer.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, you just pick one.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, um, so just looking at our guesstimate is that there are about 250,000 Bible-believing, Christ-following military women worldwide.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, that's staggering.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: But yes, and the the heart of playing roots, it's we're on every continent, we're in every ocean around the world.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: And if we all did what we were supposed to do, if we were all all obedient to Christ in the place where we are, and then allowed the Lord to pick us up from there and move us someplace else, we become one of the greatest missionary movements of our time.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, yeah.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's 250,000.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: Do you know how many denominations would they pay millions of dollars to get their missionaries to places and to move them and to train them and to do all of these things?
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_02: So true.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: It this we're our salaries are paid by the US government.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, don't tell them they're sponsoring a missionary movement.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: We won't we won't share this with them.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: They don't know.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: But I mean, they put us in all these places.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: The Lord plants us in those places and he moves us around.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, oh my gosh, if you could connect them all, um, and they could encourage each other and equip each other to do what God's called them to do where they are, then we become that missionary movement that would be unparalleled in our time.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, oh my gosh, can you all not see that?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, this is a drop the mic moment.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I'm like thinking about this.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, well, man, God can use anything.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_02: God can use anything.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: And what a powerful tool this would be.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: I know, and that's only the women.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that doesn't include Bible believing Christ following men, you know, worldwide.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I mean, you know, women are so much more relational, yes, uh, and so much more engaging.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: So you those women, if they are obedient, they impact both their families and their local community, and then woven together, they impact this entire globe.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it becomes this crazy revival of Christ around the world simply because we were doing what we were called to do in the place where we are.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I don't have to be Billy Graham, I don't have to be anything crazy big, I just have to be obedient here and let you do what God's called you to do where you are, and somebody else to do that, and then share with you what I learned, you share with me what you learned, and and we grow in our walk with the Lord.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: And that's all it takes.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, oh my gosh, it doesn't take seminary educations, it doesn't take cultural training because the military provides that.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: And then we go overseas and things, it doesn't, I mean, it doesn't require all of those things that denominations really have to put money into in order to prepare people for you know service in all kinds of places from Seattle to you know Asia.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_02: So but I would imagine the biggest obstacle is this mentality.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_02: Probably a Western mentality is put your head down and just do your thing, stay, you know, even like stay in your lane in an unhealthy way.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_02: So what does it take to help and support those who are uh not only sacrificing by living in the military life and giving what they're giving, uh a sacrifice, but part of that sacrifice is the constant relocation and the constant uprooting after you've just barely gotten planted.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, because I imagine that that is the biggest piece for people who are like, I just am gonna do my thing.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: I'm here a year or two, maybe three, and then I'm just gonna move on.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we call it survival mode, you know, just to kind of work through.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: But at Planting Roots, we have a saying that we plant our roots in our savior instead of the dirt where we are.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because our our stability and our strength doesn't come from the location where we happen to be.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: Because some places truly are better than others.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_02: I mean Sure.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: They're all different.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_02: And so we talk about North Dakota compared to Hawaii.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and you know, and relationships are different.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: The communities we build there are different.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Some places are super hard to build community for whatever reason.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: It may be a season, you know, that God just gives us so that we learn to trust Him a little bit more.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: But for whatever reason, some places are hard to build community and some places are super easy.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: But learning that that's not where our stability lies, it's not where our strength lies, it's not where, you know, our our hope lies.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: Our hope lies in in Christ.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: And if we can plant our roots in that, then it doesn't matter necessarily.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it does because it affects us, but it doesn't necessarily matter where what kind of what our community looks like or what you know what activities we're involved in or what we aren't, because our obedience is is the key.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: If I'm doing what he called me to do in this place, he will bring the community that I need in this place.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: He will bring the resources that I need in this place, he will bring the time that I need in this place, he'll provide the things that he has that I need in order to do what he's called me to do here.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think we get into seasons of survival, and um being in Germany was a big piece of that because you are so separated, and and some of my friends really struggled with different culture, being so far away from family.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, not a quick flight at all.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and then the the weather um in places like North Dakota, Alaska, Germany, you know, the overcastness, the raininess, the the long winters that are just dark, they become very hard.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so in your heart, it's really hard to kind of push past that.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and so there are seasons where it's more difficult, but if we start to look at the Lord and say, you have purposefully put me in this place for this season for this time.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: And my objective as a Christian is to find what that is, to seek you out here and do that, then hard season or easy season, we leave with a contentment that we have done what God has called us to do in that place, regardless of what the next place looks like or where we're headed.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: And because it we've struggled.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: But the other thing that we do as a as a family, and we notice it our our first move as a family, because I was I was a Marine, um, and then I married my sweet army husband and Marine Corps life, and we do army life now.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: But our first move as a family, um, we had some friends, a friend of ours that needed um a piece of furniture, you know, a couple of pieces of furniture.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, that that story of her husband came back from Iraq, but he didn't actually go home.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he had found somebody and so he was off somewhere else.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: So we could help her move off post, and you know, she needed some things that we had, and so we're like, you know what, we'll we'll grab something new on the other end if we really need it that bad, you know, and so she can have our computer desk and you know, our I don't remember what else we gave her.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: We gave her a few things and said, you know, here you go.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: And we went to Georgia, and as we looked, we looked at like five million houses.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, oh my gosh.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, things that are hanging off that you're like, this is just exhausting.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um and finally we weren't even getting out of the car anymore.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: We weren't, you know, yeah, just drive by, like, forget it.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, you could just drive by and think that's not it.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: So um we actually came across one house that Kyle was like, you know, it might be this might be it.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so he actually got out and looked in the window because I stayed in the car because you were down, you know, baby in the back, and I'm like, really?
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: And um he turned around and he's like, Cory, come here, come here.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, what?
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so we peeked in the window and we called the realtor immediately.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: And the crazy thing is, is we were gonna need that computer desk again, and we were going to need a twin-size bed for my daughter uh because she was going up to the big girl bed, and you know, baby number two was coming in, you know, all of these kinds of things.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: We walked through that house and there were two things built into it, and one was a computer desk in the study, and one was a a twin-size bed with the trundle underneath, so her little friend could come over.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: And then we went back to the master bedroom, and they had painted the master bedroom, the exact color of the house that we had painted, our master bedroom in the place that we left.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: And um, it was our first realization of oh my gosh, that's beautiful.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: God has come here before us, He has He has done all the things, the churches, the homes, the neighbors, the friends, He has set it all up beforehand, and we just have to go looking for those things.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: And so now when we move, we call it our treasure hunt.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: We go looking for the treasures that God already has in that place.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it actually becomes a lot more fun to move.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: It sure does that way, and it's a lot easier to say goodbye because there's something to anticipate.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: There's an excitement on the other end of oh my gosh, what's it gonna look like the next time?
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_02: That is a good word for all of us, right?
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_02: It's not just the military that faces undesirable changes or unwanted changes.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: That's beautiful.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_02: What in the picture of God's sovereignty and his kindness?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: Those are those little kisses from heaven that you're like, only, only God.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: And he is so good to us.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, the more you step out into those things, the more you realize how faithful he truly is.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, one of the things that I have really learned to do over the years is to remember, to to have those seasons like that time in Georgia, or like, you know, the the move to Texas and the church that prayed us out of there like we were missionaries leaving.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: And that was my first light bulb moment of oh my gosh, that's what we are.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so those moments and and reliving those moments, remembering those moments, give you the courage to do the next thing because you remember his faithfulness and his his love for you and his provision and his grace in all of those places.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, they can really help us pivot in the right direction.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_02: Which it's obvious what informs your mission for planting roots.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_02: And this is what we definitely wanted you to share about today.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: Not only, I mean, your personal life is fascinating.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_02: I think we could have a series of conversations um that you know would be really worthwhile sharing.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_02: But today in particular, we wanted to talk about and just highlight obviously the military women and men, um, but the power that they have in advancing the kingdom and why it's so important for us to celebrate them along with these moments of remembrance for our country and our patriotism.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_02: And as we celebrate, you know, we we have several times a year where we can be reminded um to say thank you, to remember, and and to do maybe some practical things to express our thanks.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_02: For you, this is this mission and realizing the impact people um serving our country can have around the world has informed how you approach planting roots and your ministry and your desire there.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_02: So tell us a little bit the practicals of what planting roots is and what they are doing in hor in order to just in order to support this global impact.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: Planting roots is basically has a mission just to encourage military women to grow in their faith because our heart is that if they do that, then they are obedient to Christ in the place where they are.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: So our our hope is that God will use us as that kind of conduit or resource that weaves those lives of military women together worldwide to build that community that is consistent regardless of where you are or where you're headed.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: And we he has led us to do those things in in three ways mostly.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um one is an online community.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, whether it's our social media stuff or our website and building that community there across the city.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it doesn't matter where you live and where you're gonna move, you can always go to the same place.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: So it gives some consistency in that place.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: So that's the first piece.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that is that is a part that I would really like to grow.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um but that's the first piece.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: The second piece is actually our publishing piece, and we have begun to write Bible studies and devotionals in hard copy format.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: We've partnered with the American Bible Society.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um they have a Bible study that they've published for us that we wrote, um, but they all are focused, they're all written by military women, and they are written for military women.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um and what we've learned at Planning Rights is um there's resources for military women out there, but so many of them focus on marriage, deployment, or PCSing, moving.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and there's much more to military life than those three things.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: Because most of it is simply being obedient and following the Lord.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: And and how do we do that?
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: How does that play out in real life?
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so the studies and the devotionals that Planting Roots has produced are for that purpose.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: The first one focusing on Ephesians 5, and this next one that's coming out in a few weeks, focusing on Psalm 92.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, just learning to do life, and so those those are coming through.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: So the publishing piece is the second piece, and the third piece is our live events, um, which we do um at least once a year in a a region that has a high concentration of military folks.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh this last year we were in the DC area um in October of 2019.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: We'll be at Fort Bragg or Fayetteville, North Carolina.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: So Fort Bragg, that area of eastern North Carolina.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: So we have found that that face-to-face time where we actually get to Yeah, that one-on-one, that small group opportunity, that chance to worship and to learn and to connect with each other is just it's everybody's favorite piece.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_02: Especially when the one-on-one, you know, connection is so infrequent and unpredictable for especially the military life.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_02: I bet that's really a critical piece.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: It is.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: It also provides that connection piece.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes folks are at an installation somewhere, a military installation, and they just have not connected with the church, uh, Bible support people, you know, they haven't made those friendships, and it gives them a place to do that.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because uh parachurch ministries come in, officers Christian fellowship or crew military, they'll come in and set up tables.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they have local Bible studies that go on and um places, other churches that have military ministries, so it gives them places to plug in if they haven't found those places, and then that that friendship, you know, if they have missed that in this place.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: Some of them bring their friends with them, which is also fabulous.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um but some of them have just haven't made friends.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: They're new to the military, they're new to the area, they're, you know, it's just a hard season for whatever reason.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really nice to just, oh, you live, you know, a few blocks from where I live.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know, oh, you go to that church.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we haven't found a church yet.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe I could, you know, our family could join yours.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's it's opportunities like that.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but very unique ones.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: I love the face-to-face.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I imagine.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I and even like just because I'm an Anne Graham coach and I'm thinking through this already, I'm you know, based on your personality, this is even a you know, more difficult impact.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_02: The moving, the transition, trying to connect.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_02: You may, you may be naturally a person who that is just incredibly painful for you and very difficult and way out of your comfort zone.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_02: So you need, you know, an anchor like Planning Roots to help you form that and kind of make ease, ease the transition and ease the connection and and all of that for those people.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: So that's that's amazing.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_02: I know Planning Roots is doing a great work, and it's been fun to hear Katie share along the way and the journey there and the writing piece and just what the Lord is really doing with it.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's fun to watch, and it's it's such a unique place because so many military ministries out there they do wonderful, really great things.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so we partner with them or join with them in efforts.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: But we are the only military women's organization that as a ministry that that is our focus.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: And we are such a unique fact in that a lot of the military ministries are folks that have um gotten out of the military, whether retired or they've come out and now they're they're doing ministry, which is wonderful and great.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: But over half of our staff at Planning Roots are still in the game, are still, you know, in the reserve guard world, and they we still live it on a regular basis.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: It is so much different.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: We can show up in an event and somebody says, you know, my husband's deployed.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I can say, you know what?
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: I get it.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: Mine just came back.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: It is it is a whole different interaction and a whole different relationship when we can do life with each other instead of I'm going to minister to you, we're going to do this work together.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_02: The whole, you know, for military women, by military women.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_02: That that's a big it just as as I think about the ministry that I have with moms, it's because I'm not 10 years past it, I'm still in the thick of it.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: I might be a few steps ahead, but for the most part, I'm like, oh yeah, I remember those sleepless nights, and they still happen sometimes.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, well, what I would really love to know, just again, as we're celebrating the 4th of July and we're traveling and doing amazing things with friends and family and celebrating with fireworks and good food, I also want to not only remember, but to practically have some ways that we living our wholehearted lives, you don't have to identify with a political party to do this.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but that is to support our military men and women.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_02: So, what are maybe three ways that even in the next few weeks, as we think about the rest of us the summer that we have, that we could support those that we know who are serving our country?
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the best ways that we have found is um to be welcomed to a community.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes that's just chatting on your sidewalk.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's sometimes knocking on the new neighbor's door and saying, Hey, you know, are you new to the neighborhood?
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: Where did you come from?
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: Just being welcome to an area.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: I think so many military folks are just looking for a place to call home.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, that community, that welcome to a place is a huge part of that, whether you see them new at church or whether you see them new in your neighborhood, or you run into them at the at the grocery store and you know, they say, Oh, we're new to the area.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: And that whole, we are so glad you're here.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, if you need, you know, is there anything we can help you with?
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: Do you need to know?
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, because every time you move, it's well, where's the hairdresser and you know, the best grocery store in town?
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_02: And are there any good babysitters?
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's all of those kinds of things.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we need a doctor, we need a dentist, we need, you know, all of this kind of stuff.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: And um, so just being welcome to a community.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: The second part is the second thing we love is is to be loved, uh, to make to be welcomed as part of a community.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: We've been part of different churches, um, civilian churches, I guess that's a good term.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, that aren't on a military installation.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: We've been part of different churches over the years, and sometimes, you know, I feel like I have things to give and things to offer a church.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but some churches are not, sometimes you need to be there two years in order to teach a Bible study or to, you know, and yeah, that's true.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: I really desire many of our our military folks have some serious skill and some serious gifts to offer in those places.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: And two years, we're ready to go.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's time to leave.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I understand the vetting part of it, but giving them a place to serve in in a church more than just, hey, can you bring brownies every week?
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_02: But you've got more to give.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: I do, and and many of us desire it because.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: it's it's part of that community.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: I in order for me to be part of it, I need to invest in it.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: And then and it's a two-way thing.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to just take, I want to be part of.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: So just loving and including them into, you know, whatever you're doing, whether it's the PTA, whether it's your local church, whether it's you know youth sports and inviting them to coach, however that looks, yeah, just making them part of the community.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: And then the third thing that we love is is the stories.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: Because we love to hear stories of people our our neighbors across the street were very new to our new house and our neighbors across the street have told us stories about, well, we grew up in Kentucky and then we moved to Ohio and then now we're here and my daughter lives over there and you know it to hear stories and know where they came from and then for them to listen to ours.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: They want to know where we came from and and how we got here and you know how long have you been in the military.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: But as we develop those relationships and listen to those stories and so many people say well I want to help them I want to do something for them but if you go up to them and you say hey how do you need help?
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_02: I don't want to how do you answer that question?
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: But if you listen to their stories, if you you know if you hear where they're coming from or you know and you develop those relationships you start to hear that oh you know she could use some childcare you know one afternoon a week just to be able to do this or um they get really crazy about this time of year or during this season, you know, maybe I could just bring them dinner or something or you know maybe they can't make it home for the holidays and they can just join our family across the street kind of thing.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: And just hearing their stories and developing those relationships are just such a key part to finding where those needs are.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: And so those are our biggest things when we go to a new place is is we just we just want to be part.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yep and I think we have in a society as a whole have lost the art of asking really good questions.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: We tend to get so self-focused and understandably we are all dealing with our own crises and stresses and struggles and we want to be asked really good questions.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_02: But I have learned that the way to you know pave that way for some relationship is to begin to begin the conversation and to ask you know thoughtful questions that open the door to you know finding out what the real need is uh underlying which you know really could happen pretty quickly if we're just willing to listen.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: It can and a lot of it's just taking that time to say to look at you in the face and say hey so how's your day going you know what's going on it's you know it's not a huge investment but at the same time it is does that make sense yeah it goes a long way that little we have lost the the ability to have that that relationship and I think it's such an important part of of building community because without it it's just like you know kind of a fist bump and and we call it good and yeah there's more enough exactly there's so much more and that's why you know that's just part of a wholehearted life again where it's not more to do's it's just being intentional where you're at and with the people that the Lord puts in front of you.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_02: That's a great way to could be the people right across the street who just moved in.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: That's right I know all about them.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_02: I sure hope today's conversation helps remind you to take a minute and thank the military men and women in your community so they feel seen, valued and appreciated.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_02: Words accompanied by action can go far in making a difference in the lives of others.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_02: You can find out more how to support Planning Roots by learning more at the links in our show notes.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_02: And if you are an active duty personnel or married to someone serving, I personally want to thank you and hope you know how grateful I am for the incredible sacrifice you all give year in and year out.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_02: I hope if you haven't already gotten connected to Planning Roots, I hope you will take advantage of all the incredible resources available to you.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_02: And just like Corey shared, these transitions and ongoing struggles need a community of comrades to help you navigate your years of service.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_02: And I think Planning Roots will do exactly that.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_02: I'll be back in AirBuds again next Thursday to continue our travels through all nine types of the Enneagram.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_02: Next week we are talking about the fives.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_02: Angel Elo is a dear friend and a true five.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_02: I know her conversation will give a really great peek inside the complex minds of a five and realize what a gift they are to have around.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_02: And don't forget to check us out on Instagram and Facebook as we're posting Enneagram tips and so much more.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_02: Let's invite others to join us as we continue to pursue perspective, purpose and plans for a simplehearted life