Latest / How to Faith a Life Podcast with Faith Womack / Talking Marriage, Ministry Online & being a Pastor's Wife with Ashley from Coffee & Bible Time

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Talking Marriage, Ministry Online & being a Pastor's Wife with Ashley from Coffee & Bible Time · How to Faith a Life Podcast with Faith Womack

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: If you're listening to the How to Faith a Life Podcast, where we wrestle with questions on how to live a life of faith, from everything from books to Bible studies, even Bible study tips.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: This is your place to wrestle with the hard questions and dive deep into what scripture really says for the Christian walk.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure you subscribe to this podcast and your favorite podcast trip sources.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: Review this podcast so other people can find it and share with other believers who want to ask the hard questions.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: Now, with all that said, let's begin.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Hi friends, welcome back to the How to Faith a Life podcast.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: Today we have a very special guest that you probably will recognize because she's had such an amazing impact on the YouTube Bible study community and just really encourage, I know myself and so many others.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: Ashley Armijo graduated from Moody Bible Institute with a degree in biblical studies.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: She has a passion for studying and teaching God's word.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's Ashley's desire to see many people come to know Jesus personally and learn how to delight in God's word.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: In her free time, Ashley loves making lattes, painting, and working in her garden.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: She enjoys small town living in Iowa with her husband Johnny, who is also a pastor.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: And you can follow along with Ashley's life on YouTube at Coffee Girls and at Coffee and Bible Time and join her Bible study academy at www.coffeandbible time.com.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Ashley, thank you so much for being here today.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yay! I'm so thankful to be here.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so thankful to be on your podcast.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_02: And Faith, I love your YouTube videos too.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_02: They're so encouraging and informative for Bible study.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you are somebody that I mean, quickly the algorithms was like, you will like these people.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I gotta say, like every time y'all's videos are suggested on like my home feed or whatever, I'm just like immediately clicking.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like I can't help but be interested in what you guys are learning.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Moody was a college that I looked at when I was prepping to go off to college, and the like literally the only reason why I didn't go to Moody or Wheaton was because Chicago was too far from Texas.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's just too far away.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know how you guys do it with the windy coldness.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah, I was gonna say, and it's too cold.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: I grew up in in the suburbs of Chicago, so I'm used to it.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but incredible Bible education, like man, I that is one thing that I don't think I could thank God enough for is the Bible education that I received.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_02: So, and yeah, I just I'm so grateful.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: And then I may feel more confident to teach other people the Bible as well.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Totally, totally.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: And you kind of ish just f finished in the last like two-ish years, right?
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yep, I finished last summer, so it's pretty fresh in my mind still.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_02: And man, I don't know if you felt like this, but there was so much to learn and glean from, but there's still so much more to learn and glean from.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I'm always learning, I'm always like it's never ending.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_02: And that's the great part about the Bible is that it's so deep that I'm never gonna stop learning.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_02: So I mean, I'm gonna learn till the day I die.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: I think a lot of people have misconceptions of what you study when you do a Bible degree, and obviously it differs between like accredited and non-accredited colleges, and then like if it's bib and the biblical and theological studies, or if it's just Bible or whatever it is, but I definitely would say the thing I learned the most was not so much just like Bible facts, but how much I don't know about the Bible.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I felt like that every day.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not kidding.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, there is so much to learn, and like that can be discouraging, but it I think for me I saw as something encouraging because in a sense you can never make it, like you're just gonna continue slowly chipping away and learning and learning and learning.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_02: For me, that's kind of fun to think about because I love learning.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: And what a great God.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: We can't master his word or reach the ends of it.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: Well, tell me, do you ever struggle with being vulnerable and honest online?
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: Like even talking about Bible degree stuff?
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_02: So I do.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, yeah, being honest online can be very hard.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_02: And sometimes I'm I tell I ask myself, why am I putting this out on the internet?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_02: And then I'm like, you know what?
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: I feel a nudge from the Holy Spirit that this is something I should share.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe it's a struggle I have or something hard I'm going through.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I share it, and then I realize, okay, either A, it's usually both, a bunch of people are going through that same thing right now from reading the comments, or B and B.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, people have been through that and they're encouraging me and saying you will get through it.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_02: So I always feel so encouraged by being vulnerable and sharing the hard parts of my life.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, I still have boundaries and I do not share everything.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_02: I think the internet is not a place to share every little detail of your life, but there are things that we can or I can share that might encourage somebody else to not feel as alone in their struggle.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_02: And so I thank God that even though it's hard, he can use that, and that it even teaches me in that that okay, I'm not alone in this, you know.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_02: So it's hard, but it's worth it, in my opinion.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: You do it so well, and I should I like I just like threw that question out there and realized it was probably like off-putting, but genuinely like watching your content, you just do it so well being honest and real, and it's like as somebody that does it as well, and the camera's pointing at you, sometimes they can feel you you hear those negative voices before you even say what you're about to say.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: At least I do feel that way.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I love how I don't get the vibe that you're putting on a show or anything like that.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because you can get that from other creators, um, but you're just genuine and real, and that's priceless.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I think the goal that we've had since the very beginning is that we really want people to see that we're normal.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_02: Like I grew up in the Midwest.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: I I'm probably the most normal, average, kind of weird person you'll ever meet.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_02: So there's nothing like crazy, like special or I don't know what about us.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: On social media, you can just view other people and think, oh my gosh, they have this, or they look like this, or they have all these great things that I can never achieve.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: It's never my goal to like come across as like here's this standard that you have to meet, but this is just my life, and so obviously I can't control what other people feel when they're watching us, but like it's always my goal to just be genuinely me, even when it's not maybe like the typical average social media person, um, and just show people like it's okay to be you, who God made you to be.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: I don't wake up in the morning out of bed with a full face and makeup on.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: So, like, it's just wanting to show who I am and who God made us to be.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: I really think y'all's presence online has helped me feel more comfortable, especially as a female.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, people, you know, you'll get comments like, oh, you are too much this, you're you're too much that, whatever it is.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, well, I don't have to be what other people want me to be.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna be who I am, who the Lord created me to be.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I look at uh sisters in the faith like you guys um and can see okay, it's okay.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I don't have to have you know a perfect anything, you know, I'm the Lord is my everything.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think that's one of the most valuable things about like I mean, you, your sister, your mom, but then also just like you and your presence online is your honesty and relatability because I just instantly feel like I'm at home with you guys and talking like to a sister or a friend.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, how is newlywed life and what are some of the biggest lessons that you've learned so far?
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so me and Johnny have almost been married for a year now, and it was a bumpy start for me, but I feel like now that I'm like kind of more settled into being married, I I just I cherish so many moments, and it's so it's an adventure, and I'm just so like every day I love Johnny more and more, and I'm so just like filled with joy that he's my husband.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_02: It was a bumpy start because I moved away from my hometown, moved away from my family, and just for me, it was kind of like plucking me out of my comfort zone and putting me somewhere new, and you know, pastor's wife, never had been that before.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_02: New community, new church, new um town, everything.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_02: So it was a hard, bumpy start.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_02: But I think the biggest thing that I've learned, and obviously I'm learning new things every day, but the biggest thing is having to do with emotions.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_02: So before I got married, I in growing up as a kid, I somehow taught myself and learned that I need to run away from my emotions and just shove them down and never face them.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_02: And quickly figured out after I got married that you can't do that in a marriage unless you want things to go south.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: So um I realized that I was struggling to be honest with God, with myself and with my husband.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_02: And not only was me not being honest about my emotions affecting me, but now is affecting another person who I loved so dearly.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_02: And so I've had to learn like the last year, how do I not run away from my emotions, but acknowledge them, feel them, and be honest with God, myself, and my husband.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_02: So I know like when I get that feeling of like I do not want to face this emotion right now, it's like okay, this is the moment I have to do the hard work and be honest.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_02: So I've had an incredible Christian counselor who's helped me, you know, work through this.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm, you know, seeking help in this area, and I I'm just like, I feel so much more freedom to be able to face my emotions without fearing them and running from them.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_02: So that's the biggest thing I've learned so far.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_02: I really like that.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: I um it made me think of I've um do you ever think about something for like multiple months before you mention it to somebody because you're kind of scared and testing it in your brain?
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so I had this like game or challenge idea that I wanted to do with Joe, where every night we would share something that makes us feel vulnerable.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: And finally, a couple nights ago, I spun it on him and I was like, hey, let's do this.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: Share with me one thing that makes you feel vulnerable, and I'll share with you one thing.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I made first of all, I made the mistake of like putting him on the spot unprepared first.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like, why did I make him do it first?
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: But second of all, I realized really quickly when it came to me, my vulnerability was based on his vulnerability.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: And like while this was a good idea and we still need to unpack it more and try it more and stuff like that, I think it really highlighted me to me the challenge around vulnerability and honesty with yourself and with your partner is so it's taken for granted.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like we talk about, like, you know, you're being your real self, and like, you know, by definition, marriage and nakedness is a vulnerability.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: But it sometimes it can be easier to be vulnerable in certain ways and then hide other things that we don't want to acknowledge.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so I just love how that's what you jump to because here we are, like, no matter where you are in your marriage, I think most people can relate to the fact of like that's the hardest thing is being fully honest with yourselves first so you can be honest with the other person.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes, it's hard.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's something that that I pray that I mean I always want to grow in that, though it's hard because I can't be honest even with the Lord if I'm not honest with myself.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, yes.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what is God teaching you lately?
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: Or do you have like a verse to define the season of life?
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: You're at like in a really exciting season of life.
• 12:15
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• 12:16
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• 14:09
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• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what is God teaching you lately?
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: Or do you have like a verse to define the season of life?
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: You're at like in a really exciting season of life.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_02: Well, okay, it's interesting because like as I was reflecting on this question, I there are so many verses that come to mind and things that God is teaching me right now.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_02: But one big thing that I feel like I've been learning is to not neglect community.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_02: And so I'll read the verse that kind of has stuck out to me recently.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: It's Hebrews 10, 25, and let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I have the personality type that I'm a homebody and I work from home, and I can tend to be a socially anxious person, and especially after COVID, I noticed that I've had to work really hard to kind of push myself to be in community because it was for me, COVID was a time of like enjoying my little comfort bubble at home, and so I've been challenged by the Lord, by people, and by my husband recently to really fight the urge of like isolating and to not neglect community.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_02: And I've noticed in the past, you know, few weeks and few months that God has really been encouraging me through community and how that is such a huge aspect to the Christian life that if we neglect it, we're not only neglecting ourselves the opportunity to be encouraged by people, but we're neglecting to use our gifts to help build the church.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I I know I would never neglect community, but I'm asking myself, where is my heart in this?
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_02: And Lord, what do I need to change in my heart?
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_02: What do you need to change in my heart?
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_02: Honestly, that's what I need to work on because only he can work on my heart.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_02: But what needs to change so that I can get over this hump of you know struggling to even desire community?
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_02: So I've been learning a lot about that.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: That kind of blew my mind because that's something I struggle with as well.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: But I view you as like somebody that creates community online, so surely you have that going on in real life, you know?
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's just crazy because maybe it's like me that I get burnt out maybe pouring myself out online, so then in real life, it's like, hey, let's hunker down.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: I've got two boys, that keeps me busy enough at home, so let's just like hide in our house and not go anywhere do anything.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes, yeah, and I think like even being content creators like us, like there's a sense where we have to push ourselves even more to get out into community because it would be just so easy to do our ministry online, our family at home, like everything, it's like, no, Ashley, you need to go to church, like you have to get into community, like I have to talk pep talk myself.
• 17:34
  unknown: Yeah, yeah.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Would it be safe to say that also like the pastor's wife um pressures can also impact that as well?
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, yeah.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_02: Sometimes I I and this is why I said I need to check my heart, but sometimes I can find myself going to church or going to certain events just because I have to, as the pastor's wife role, and that's why I'm saying I need to check my heart because it's like that's not really the reason I deep down want should want to go to church.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_02: I should desire this because this is God's body and it's our family, right?
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_02: It's like I said, where we're gonna be built up and where we can use our gifts, and so yeah, it's definitely like a heart check I have to do.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_02: But I think I think what we don't realize is that there's probably a lot of people at church who kind of go through that same struggle before going to church, you know?
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_02: And so, yeah, I think it's just good to be open and honest about this because I I have a feeling people are gonna be listening to this thinking, oh okay, good, I'm not the only one.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_02: Because you can go to church and be like, oh my gosh, everyone else is so confident here, they're so good at socializing, they love being here.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_02: What am I missing?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's easy to treat church like a gym membership, you know, like, oh, I I ought to go because I'm paying for this, you know, or it's for my fitness, it's for my wellness, you know.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: I ought to go to feel good about myself, I ought to do this, I ought to do that.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, uh, when will we choose to go because we can't live without it, you know, because we want it.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: You can't really make that choice until you experience that and have that conviction for it.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: And so I I that's one of those prayer requests that I pray boldly because I'm like, there's no way God doesn't want to give me that, is like the fire and the enjoyment of church and like the role that it takes in my life.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I went through a season where I had a big wake-up call that I was like basically doing everything as a pastor's wife just because I felt like I ought to.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: And it was affecting home life.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like I always felt like I would just come home and Joe would ask me to do something else for the church or something like that, you know, or host another event, or clean just because an event's coming, or cook just because an event's coming over to the house.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I sat Joe down and I was like, what would happen if I didn't do anything for just a little bit and got back to I want to do it?
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: And he was so gracious with me of like, faith, don't let it get to this point, you know.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but no one can see it in your heart because we're all just showing up barely doggy paddling through life anyway.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so I would encourage anybody listening that's struggling with church attendance or even just like wanting to go to church to pray and ask the Lord to give you that fire and that enjoyment and that excitement because I can genuinely share now as a testimony of like I actually happy squeal when I write my tithe check.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: And that is something that I never thought was gonna be possible, like genuinely.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not saying that like as a pat on my back, I'm saying that because it's not from me as a human.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: That's like the Lord that's happening.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, same with church.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I like I literally told my boys this.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry, I'm talking too much.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: I told my boys this though on the way to church on Sunday.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: I said, Boys, mommy's gonna lose her temper on you.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: We have to get to church.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: Mommy needs this.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and they were like, let's go, let's put on our shoes, let's go.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: Mommy needs this, you know, because mommy doesn't need much, but mommy needs her time with the Lord in worship.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: But I didn't realize that earlier on in life, and I wish I had gotten there um sooner.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: I I totally hear you.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: Do you feel like the pressure of being a pastor's wife is put on you by other people or by you?
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_02: That's a great question.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think it's mainly put on by myself, and I think maybe I can I have a certain standard in my own head, and then I can maybe even sometimes think, oh, what is this person thinking of me, or what if this person has this standard for me?
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_02: And then I can think, oh, other people have this standard for me.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_02: When in reality I haven't come across many situations where it has been someone at the church saying I haven't met the mark, you know?
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_02: So I definitely think.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: comes from my own ideas of what okay what a pastor's wife should be but I've been learning so much about this as well but I think one thing I love about my church is that so I go to a I would say it's a bigger church and there's there's quite a few pastors on staff and one thing I've noticed is that each of the pastor's wife wives are like the different wives are each unique and they each do their own their own thing at church and they each have their own level of introvert or extrovert right some are like super extroverted some are way more introverted and they you know are two different types of people but what I've seen is that each of them has a special place in the church and a special way to give to the church and a special way to encourage the church.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_02: So I think I've been encouraged by that just knowing okay there isn't one mold to a pastor's wife each person is going to be different and I what I've been on a journey on is figuring out who am I as a pastor's wife and I think it just takes time to figure out but what I don't want is to force myself to be somebody else just because I want to meet a certain standard.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: So definitely I think there's something to be said on like how much we come like comparison plays a role into it.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: My husband's first like pastorate position we were coming in as like the literally straight out of Bible college newlyweds um underneath a pastor and his wife who had been in ministry for 60 plus years.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: They were in their 80s at this point.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: And everyone kept comparing me to this other pastor's wife and she was like so old and so wise and like actually did wear a bun every single day with a long skirt and like actually genuinely cooked a huge potluck meal.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like she did the potluck herself Sunday afternoons after church and oh you know her name was Miriam and she genuinely did hang the moon but there was no feasible way I could.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: We couldn't even afford our own groceries never mind a big potluck for the whole church kind of thing.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: Then after I had babies I was like well now I'll kind of have a little bit of wisdom underneath my belt because I have made a baby you know and it was like well now I can't do anything because I literally have dirty diapers up to my elbows you know and then it was like well now we have crazy toddlers and we can't have people over because they need to go to bed at like six you know and I found through like each season of church ministry I mean it's not like we've been in it that long it's been like seven years but through each season it's been like wow I've got new ways to learn about my finitude my limits as a human and how I need to cling to the cross as my everything because I'll never be enough in it through myself and if I look to myself to be enough I'm not looking to Jesus to be enough you know so I can so relate to exactly what you just said.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: I mean I don't I'm not in big church circles but I do it even in a small church where there's just like maybe one previous pastor's wife.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: Comparison man.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_02: It'll get you seriously in any area of life right I mean we can all struggle with that it's hard.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_02: Totally it just kind of sucks the joy out of living you know because you're not grateful for what God has given you and who you are in Christ.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_02: You're not grateful for that.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: So you're looking to the right and to the left to be satisfied and fulfilled or and then you're let down because you're not like the right or the left so it's just it's a thief of joy.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: I know everybody listening was screaming that at their phones.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: It really is the thief of joy we can all relate.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: No um so tell us about your courses I mean I talk way too much about my courses on here.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: I want to promote y'all's courses because I recently saw like an ad for one and I was like that looks so good.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_02: Oh thank you um so we have an in-depth Bible study academy we noticed that people kept requesting for in-depth Bible study videos and so we saw a bunch of women craving for this and after getting my biblical studies undergrad degree I I was like you know what I want to start a you know full-fledged where we can start from the very beginning like let's say you don't know anything at all you don't know like where where Revelation is in the Bible right or you don't know where Isaiah is let's say you're at that point you can start in course one of the the academy and there's 12 courses altogether and each one kind of it goes starts from like very beginning to growing deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper into Bible study.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: So it's essentially a tool that can teach you how to in-depth study your Bible and learn how to delight in God's word through deeper study.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah it's been so we we're doing one course per month this year.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_02: So by the end of the this year all 12 will be done and you can buy one of the courses or hopefully by the end of the year you can buy them all as a package.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna kind of package them all together.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah it's kind of my journey of Bible school in a small course that you can purchase and buy and learn without having to go to Bible school yourself.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_02: So I think it's a great tool.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_02: I also know that your courses are incredible and actually one thing that I think I loved about being in Bible school was that each teacher had a different perspective and like every teacher I would learn something new and unique.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think that's what's so cool about even like let's say people who watch Coffee and Bible time and then people who watch your channel there's gonna be different things that you learn from both because we're both unique different teachers and although a lot of our stuff will overlap because we're Bible believing Christians like I just love and value learning from multiple teachers.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah it's definitely a great tool that people can get and learn more about how to study their Bible.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: Totally I love that I actually I should have said this I saw like again it was like an ad or something on Instagram and I was like I hope my people are taking y'all's classes too you know because I'll get emails like hey when are you coming out with the next course I'm like I'm like so like I I'm trying but like I'm just a human you know like I can't just come out with a course every month like y'all are doing it but I can't come out with a course every month and so I'm so glad that like so happy because it looks like y'all are doing such amazing work and filling in gaps like I you know I'm not a team like you guys have the benefit of having the three of y'all to feed off of and y'all are so gifted.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think it it looks awesome.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't taken it or anything but oh man it looks like y'all are doing like fitting a huge need online and I agree with you that there's so many people that want the impact a Bible degree would have on their Bible studies and they don't need to take on like I don't know for you but like I graduated with like$30,000 in debt or something crazy.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: It was a lot and I was like just to Bible study better like I'm not trying to be a pastor like I'm not trying to you know now I see the usefulness in it after now that I'm doing all this but there's so many people that just want to take their Bible study to a deeper level and they shouldn't have to go nine to five to classes and write all these papers if they just want to know the Bible better.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_02: Well and I think a lot of people who take our courses too are either moms or they're working a full-time job or maybe they're in college for a different career and a different degree yet they still have that passion and desire to know the Bible and it's something that they can do on the side maybe two hours a week and they can learn how to study their Bible.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah I think it's a great tool for people who just either don't have the money to go to Bible college or don't have the time.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like those are the two probably biggest things that keep people from going to Bible college is the money and the time.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_01: You are you guys also do a good job of making things simple you know well I don't know about you but like I had to read hundreds of pages of literature every day in Bible college.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like you don't have to do that with our courses we won't make you read those people you know we'll just simplify it.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yes the reading was the hardest part of Bible school I mean each course had like four five books assigned and then what you had to take five six courses in one semester it's like that's about 50 books during one semester ridiculous yeah people have asked me before like about certain books on my bookshelves I'm like I literally only bought that and read that because a professor made me don't suggest you read this one.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: There's some that I suggest but others are like that was rough.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah anyway no I love it I'm really excited y'all fill the comments if you're watching this on YouTube with your feedback if you've taken coffee and battle time courses so that we can really hype them up.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_01: I wish I've taken them they look so good but um I just really enjoy what I saw in the ad looked really good and really enjoy y'all's ministry online the free stuff so I can't imagine this being anything short of amazing and really helpful.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you tell us about your favorite commentaries your favorite Bible study resources when you sit down to read the Bible what are your go-to grabs like to answer questions or to help take you to a deeper level so recently and I'm sure you know about this so I've always had logos Bible software you probably know all about it um and I never really used it because it's too overwhelming there's so much to do in there but recently I've actually taken the time to like explore it and I so usually I'm a physical commentary person and I actually brought some here that I'll I'll tell you that I like but I've been really liking Logos Bible software because I can pull up the passage right there look at all the commentaries right there go to the fact book go to all the Bible dictionaries and I don't necessarily have to open a million different commentaries um but when I so I've just been getting into that recently and if people don't know what Logos Bible software is it's a Bible I would say it's a Bible it's an incredible Bible study platform that has tons of tools to learn how to study the Bible has tons of commentaries Bible dictionaries word study tools just a long list it's probably in there you name it um but if I'm not doing that if I don't want to use you know go online and use that software I really like the NIV application commentaries when I want something that's gonna be a little bit more like I guess a little more simple and like kind of more digest easy digestible I don't have to do as much intense study.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_02: And I also I'm being biased probably because I went to Moody but I love the Moody Bible commentary um because I personally know some of the professors that wrote in here but I like that each book has a different scholar that kind of writes about it and writes into it.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_02: And you know you know what's interesting about this commentary though I actually bought this before going to Bible school and I was like I hate this comment not hate but I was like I do not like this commentary.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_02: I don't understand anything I'm never gonna use this four years later after Bible school I'm like I love this commentary because it's definitely a little more scholarly so I would say like if I want something that's kind of easier to digest the NIV application but if I want something a little more scholarly and then of course I love Bible dictionaries like those are my best friend.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_01: So totally yeah totally oh I love that Ashley I am so grateful that you've been here and I know you've so blessed our community y'all please just spam the comments with thank yous because your presence has been so encouraging and it's just feels so good to connect with another creator and be able to promote their stuff because I really do personally enjoy y'all's stuff.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you again for being here.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you Faye thank you so much