Latest / The Wholehearted Enneagram Podcast / Leaning on Him | a conversation with songwriter and worship artist Jon Thurlow

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Leaning on Him | a conversation with songwriter and worship artist Jon Thurlow · The Wholehearted Enneagram Podcast

0:24
SPEAKER_06: Hi friends, welcome back to the Simply Wholehearted Podcast.
0:28
SPEAKER_06: And for those who are new here, we are so glad that you've joined us.
0:32
SPEAKER_06: Ashley Pittman and I are your hosts for the Simply Wholehearted Podcast, and our mission is to encourage and inspire you to live more unplugged, purposeful, and intentional in every season of life.
0:44
SPEAKER_06: We are back again with another holiday episode.
0:48
SPEAKER_06: We have been loving sharing all these fantastic Christmas ideas and inspiration.
0:52
SPEAKER_06: If you missed last week's podcast, it was with Holly Pacquiao, who has been helping to launch Storyform to share the message of reading really rich and great literature with your family.
1:04
SPEAKER_06: She shared some tips and tricks, some practical ways to read and create that time with your family as well as her favorite booklet.
1:11
SPEAKER_06: And in our show notes, Ashley and I shared some of our favorites as well that you can still get on Amazon or at your local library.
1:18
SPEAKER_06: So that episode with Holly Packy was episode 30.
1:22
SPEAKER_06: And then we'd also recommend our episode number 29 with Shelly Miller.
1:28
SPEAKER_06: I keep talking about Shelly Miller on the show because her invitation to observe the Sabbath is just so beautiful and one that is really beginning to transform my life.
1:39
SPEAKER_06: And I'm I'm just loving the fact that I'm looking at it as an invitation instead of legalism.
1:45
SPEAKER_06: So those are the podcasts that we've kind of been getting some of the holiday inspiration and conversations that might bless you this season.
1:54
SPEAKER_06: So and while you're in the show notes of finding those easy links to listen to those podcasts, be sure and just scroll on down and take a minute to read us.
2:02
SPEAKER_06: Give us a five-star rating if you've loved us, and then maybe write it in there in the comments if you don't have to, but maybe what your favorite show is or what you've learned, or maybe the new book that you've begun to read because of our recommendations here on the podcast.
2:18
SPEAKER_06: So today our conversation was with John Thurlow.
2:21
SPEAKER_06: He wrote this beautiful music that you're listening to in the background.
2:25
SPEAKER_06: It is from his album and a song that he wrote back in 2009.
2:31
SPEAKER_06: He um he talks about it in this podcast because we kind of asked him the story behind it, so I won't give any spoilers, but I think you'll find uh the story entertaining.
2:41
SPEAKER_06: And um, and also John is married to Kinsey Thurlow, and you may have remembered that she was in episode 12 and she talks about the American Orphan.
2:51
SPEAKER_06: They are such a sweet family, and they have a new little girl who's gonna be one here in next month, actually.
2:59
SPEAKER_06: And um, they have just become good friends, and even though I knew John long ago, um we weren't great friends, and I've been more watching him from afar.
3:07
SPEAKER_06: So it was really um great to just see what the Lord has done in him and through him, and I think you'll really find his story inspiring and encouraging.
3:17
SPEAKER_06: So without further ado, here's our conversation with John Thurlow.
3:22
SPEAKER_06: Oh, and be sure to check out our Christmas season sponsor, statefaced.org.
3:27
SPEAKER_06: If you haven't already checked out their website, it is beautiful and informational.
3:31
SPEAKER_06: They are committed to bringing economic empowerment and Jesus to the world's most unstable communities.
3:37
SPEAKER_06: They help the financial core to provide for themselves and their families with dignity.
3:43
SPEAKER_06: This is a great organization ministry, and I'm excited to bring the podcast conversation we had with Melissa in just a couple weeks.
3:52
SPEAKER_06: And next week I'm excited to share a little bit more about Advent, and after the show, I'll be sharing a couple tips that we do with our families in celebrating this Advent season.
4:03
SPEAKER_06: So without further ado, this is our conversation with John Thurlow.
4:11
SPEAKER_06: You're at the prayer room in the side room.
4:14
SPEAKER_06: So we got a little bit of ambient music.
4:17
SPEAKER_04: It's not loud.
4:18
SPEAKER_04: It isn't low.
4:19
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
4:22
SPEAKER_04: I think it's fine.
4:23
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I'm not really hearing it a lot, just every now and then.
4:25
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I think it's good.
4:27
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
4:27
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, that's awesome.
4:29
SPEAKER_06: So you had um you have a prayer set every morning, right?
4:33
SPEAKER_01: Um five five days a week.
4:37
SPEAKER_01: Five days a week.
4:38
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
4:39
SPEAKER_06: Wow, that's like and it's pretty early, isn't it?
4:43
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
4:44
SPEAKER_01: Um Mondays and well, Mondays and Fridays we do a 6 a.m.
4:49
SPEAKER_01: set.
4:49
SPEAKER_04: Okay, yeah, that's early.
4:52
SPEAKER_01: But then Tuesdays and Thursdays we do an 8 a.m.
4:55
SPEAKER_06: Okay, all right.
4:56
SPEAKER_04: A little more manage manageable, but well, how how early do you get there to prep your team and to have like a meeting, pow wow, whatever you do, and then you go out there?
5:07
SPEAKER_01: Uh 30 minutes before the set starts.
5:10
SPEAKER_01: So for a 6 a.m.
5:11
SPEAKER_01: we we have to be in the briefing room like at 5 30.
5:13
SPEAKER_04: Mm-hmm.
5:14
SPEAKER_04: That's not bad.
5:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
5:17
SPEAKER_01: Um and we'll just take like maybe 20 minutes and just kind of talk about whatever prayer focus we're about to to do or like a scripture theme or that kind of thing.
5:29
SPEAKER_06: Okay, that's awesome.
5:30
SPEAKER_06: And now we say not that bad because we meet at 5 a.m.
5:33
SPEAKER_06: for a Bible study, so but only once a week.
5:36
SPEAKER_05: But only once a week.
5:38
unknown: Okay.
5:38
SPEAKER_04: And we don't have to look good because we're not being broadcast worldwide either.
5:43
SPEAKER_01: So Well, I I probably from time to time I I probably should care a little more about how I walk in.
5:52
SPEAKER_01: Like, whatever, they've you know, they've seen me before, it's fine.
5:57
SPEAKER_06: Kinsey's always saying it's so not fair.
5:59
SPEAKER_06: All he has to do is brush his teeth and throw out a shirt and he goes out the door.
6:04
SPEAKER_01: I kind of teed if it yeah, if I if I was if I was a lady, it would be a different story.
6:09
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it would be a little different.
6:11
SPEAKER_06: Now, okay, I've never been on a you know, I hop worship team.
6:16
SPEAKER_06: And for those of the that are listening that are not sure what I mean by IHOP, I'm not talking about international house of pancakes.
6:22
SPEAKER_06: Arno pancakes, sadly.
6:24
SPEAKER_06: That might be another international house of prayer.
6:28
SPEAKER_06: But you guys do this like change of the pop music so like stealthfully?
6:35
SPEAKER_06: Is that a word stealthfully?
6:37
SPEAKER_04: Stealthfully.
6:37
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, so like one of you guys like slip off and then the other person comes on.
6:41
SPEAKER_06: Is that like am I right?
6:43
SPEAKER_06: Am I like, yeah, okay, is that kind of that's purposeful, obviously.
6:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, it no, it it it it is it is very purposeful.
6:52
SPEAKER_01: Like we actually so well I mentioned a minute ago, like we, you know, we we brief 30 minutes before the set starts, but um at 10 minutes before the set starts, we begin what we call transition, and transition is just it's just the process of the worst way to go on stage, and then the rest of the musicians, we just kind of trickle on and trickle off.
7:12
SPEAKER_01: Um but it is strategic as far as kind of the order of who goes on stage first and who leaves the stage first if you're the you know the team that was on before.
7:21
SPEAKER_01: So it it is it is per it's purposeful.
7:24
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
7:24
SPEAKER_06: Well it I mean it does make sense.
7:26
SPEAKER_06: I've never I would have never thought about that, but experiencing time in the prayer room and the change of hour and the change of you know worship leaders, like it it does work pretty well, so you can stay engaged and it's not distracting.
7:40
SPEAKER_04: There's not that abrupt stop and start, so it really keeps the flow.
7:43
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's good.
7:44
SPEAKER_04: Pretty cool.
7:44
SPEAKER_04: I'm impressed, I've always been impressed with that.
7:46
SPEAKER_01: That's encouraging to hear, because that's the goal.
7:48
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't always feel that way to us, I think, when we're on stage, but sure.
7:51
SPEAKER_01: I imagine that's how it feels when you're watching that or listening.
7:55
SPEAKER_01: That's that is the goal.
7:57
SPEAKER_06: Definitely.
7:57
SPEAKER_06: No, I even like I actually can write in the prayer room.
8:01
SPEAKER_06: Um someone was like, really?
8:04
SPEAKER_06: Wow, and I don't know if that's just my personality.
8:07
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I can't because I get distracted with all the things, but Yeah, I don't know.
8:11
SPEAKER_06: I think the spirit moves.
8:12
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, well of course, naturally it does.
8:16
SPEAKER_04: But some of us have problems focusing in general, so I love it.
8:21
SPEAKER_06: No, I think it's like it's to me, I mean, not every like not every set is conducive, you know, if there's like you know, prayer happening on the mic and and that sort of thing.
8:32
SPEAKER_06: But anyway, I just think it's great.
8:34
SPEAKER_06: The Holy Spirit's there, his presence here's worshipful, good stuff happens for sure.
8:39
SPEAKER_01: I I do a lot of my own just study.
8:42
SPEAKER_01: Like I'll just do like about my own Bible study stuff, I'll do right there in the program.
8:46
SPEAKER_01: So sometimes I'm tracking with what's happening on stage, but other times like what you're talking about, Amy, I'm just able to kind of um to to do something else, but in like a really anointed atmosphere.
8:56
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
8:57
SPEAKER_06: That's really awesome.
8:58
SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
8:59
SPEAKER_06: I don't get to go there enough.
9:01
SPEAKER_06: And it's down the road, which not too far.
9:04
SPEAKER_06: It's really not too far from us, but um it's awesome.
9:07
SPEAKER_06: Now, okay, we kind of jumped right in talking about International House of Prayer.
9:12
SPEAKER_06: Uh I know you've been here for many years.
9:14
SPEAKER_06: We had a conversation with your wife a while back last season about the orphans and that ministry and um your guys' heartbeat and passion for that.
9:23
SPEAKER_06: But um how did you end up in Kansas City at the prayer room?
9:27
SPEAKER_06: Because we actually I actually knew you way back like a long time ago when you were probably in your last year or two of high school.
9:35
SPEAKER_06: Correct.
9:36
SPEAKER_06: In Colorado Springs.
9:38
SPEAKER_06: So talk about your journey out here to Kansas City.
9:41
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
9:42
SPEAKER_01: Um so after I graduated high school, I I got a four-year degree at a small Christian school uh outside of New York City.
9:51
SPEAKER_01: It's a little it's called Mayak College.
9:53
SPEAKER_06: Oh, okay.
9:54
SPEAKER_01: Um and after college, uh I had a friend from from college that when she graduated, she just moved to this place in Kansas City to to join the International House of Prayer.
10:10
SPEAKER_01: And so that was when I um started thinking, huh, they do yeah, they do a lot of you know worship, and I and I love worship.
10:19
SPEAKER_01: Um my degree was in like sacred music, and and so I wanted I knew I wanted to I mean I wanted to be a worship leader, worship pastor, whatever.
10:28
SPEAKER_01: Um so so the the idea, I mean I I was considering, you know, just jumping on staff at a church, um, and I did initially for the first you know 10 months out of college.
10:44
SPEAKER_01: I was a music director at a small church in Pennsylvania, but um but I was thinking about this ministry in Kansas City that did nonstop, you know, 24-7 worship and prayer.
10:55
SPEAKER_01: And so I uh I visited um spring of 2003.
11:05
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
11:06
SPEAKER_01: And um and just kind of got a little bit of a taste, and then spring of 2004, um visited again, and that time I picked up a brochure for one of their night watch internships.
11:22
SPEAKER_01: They have like a because it's 24-7, they have an entire crew, so to speak, of you know, singers, musicians, intercessors that go from midnight to six a.m.
11:32
SPEAKER_06: Right.
11:33
SPEAKER_06: That's that I mean that's dedication right there.
11:35
SPEAKER_06: I've had a couple friends do that.
11:36
SPEAKER_06: That's intense.
11:38
SPEAKER_01: Really intense, but um they so they have a three-month, well, a three-month and a six-month internship for the night watch.
11:49
SPEAKER_01: And so that actually got my attention.
11:50
SPEAKER_01: I was like, I think because it was so kind of crazy, I was like, wow, this sounds really nuts.
11:56
SPEAKER_01: But you know, honestly, at that point in my life, um I was a little bit backslidden if I was really honest, and I knew it.
12:05
SPEAKER_01: Like I knew my heart wasn't in a really good place with the Lord, I wasn't really um walking with the Lord.
12:12
SPEAKER_01: Wow, but but I but I was aware.
12:15
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't like I was just kind of oblivious doing my own thing.
12:17
SPEAKER_01: I was like, no, I know I'm not in a good place with the Lord.
12:19
SPEAKER_01: I feel kind of stuck, I feel like I need something radical.
12:24
SPEAKER_01: And so um, so I joined that internship in my mind thinking, okay, I just need to do something crazy like this.
12:33
SPEAKER_01: And so for that stick in the pants, so to speak.
12:37
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I really did.
12:38
SPEAKER_01: And and you know, the the the first three months I did the internship kind of it was good, but uh my heart was still really kind of hard.
12:50
SPEAKER_01: And and um the whole idea of day and night prayer didn't make sense.
12:55
SPEAKER_01: The worship part was what caught my attention.
12:57
SPEAKER_01: Like there were some really gifted musicians that had jumped on staff, and so I thought, you know, if there are people that are this gifted musically that are giving this prayer thing a shot, maybe maybe I'll stick around.
13:10
SPEAKER_01: And so for the first year, I mean I jumped on staff after my internship, and for the first year, it was like spiritual rehab, and rehab on a couple different.
13:21
SPEAKER_01: And and it was just like reconnecting with the Lord, um, just spending time praying and reading.
13:31
SPEAKER_01: I mean, when you join staff at at iHop, that's I mean, that's part of what you're signing up for.
13:37
SPEAKER_01: It's like 24 hours a week of service, which can be anything from driving a shuttle bus to doing music on stage to helping out with internship.
13:47
SPEAKER_01: What there's there's a lot of different things, but um, the other 24 hours a week, like you're required to sit in that room and pray and read and worship.
13:57
SPEAKER_01: And so I was like, okay, I'm either gonna be bored out of my mind, or I have to engage.
14:04
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I have to connect with the Lord.
14:05
SPEAKER_01: And so in the Lord's kindness, like he was really gracious and gentle in terms of how he kind of helped me get back on track.
14:14
SPEAKER_01: But um, you know, after about a year, I was like, okay, there's something to this prayer thing, and I'm in.
14:22
SPEAKER_01: Like, I I want to do it.
14:23
SPEAKER_01: I want to do this full-time as a vocation.
14:26
SPEAKER_01: Um and and and musically as well.
14:29
SPEAKER_01: It was like, okay, I could I could jump on staff and and lead worship, you know, 30 minutes on a Sunday morning, which is awesome.
14:35
SPEAKER_01: And I and that's actually an awesome, glorious calling.
14:39
SPEAKER_01: Um But what was what was really appealing to me was the fact that I could do I could do live worship with other singers and musicians like 12 hours a week, like two hours a day.
14:52
SPEAKER_01: And so that was like, yeah, let's go for it, let's give it a shot.
14:55
SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, it was a process.
14:58
SPEAKER_01: It was really a process of the Lord kind of chiseling away at my heart and helping helping me kind of get back on track in terms of my own life and him, and then um and then just buying into the the vision and the value of day and night prayer.
15:12
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, that's amazing.
15:14
SPEAKER_06: And you had been at a college with the intent of being a worship pastor.
15:19
SPEAKER_06: Do you think that maybe some of the studying and maybe you know, was it the atmosphere itself that you felt like maybe led your heart to grow a little bit cold before you know you suddenly realize, oh man, maybe my faith isn't as vibrant as it I want it to be or as it used to be.
15:35
SPEAKER_06: That was kind of that do you think ended up happening in that space?
15:39
SPEAKER_01: Right.
15:40
SPEAKER_01: So yeah, the first two years of college for me, I was very fiery for the Lord and just really in a good place.
15:48
SPEAKER_01: Um and then um the second really at a I mean at about the midway point, um there were a few different events that happened where I just I felt like I let the Lord down.
16:02
SPEAKER_01: I felt like I let lots of lots of my friends down.
16:05
SPEAKER_01: And I just it was weird.
16:06
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't like I was just like, okay, I'm just walking away from the Lord.
16:09
SPEAKER_01: It was the kind of thing where I'm like, no, no, really, guys, I really messed up in these different areas, and so in my head, I was like, surely the Lord has written me off.
16:19
SPEAKER_01: That was really what was going on in my mind.
16:22
SPEAKER_01: So that the enemy was really just feeding me a lot of lies that I believed.
16:26
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: Um, so I was just like, no, guys, you don't get it.
16:30
SPEAKER_01: Like I really can't do this, you know, heart, heart after God thing.
16:34
SPEAKER_01: Like the Lord doesn't really want me.
16:37
SPEAKER_01: Like it was so it sounds so funny to say out loud because like that's just well, that's crazy, that's stupid.
16:43
SPEAKER_01: But um when you're in a really vulnerable place like that, and you're young in the Lord, um, when when that happens, it's like, okay, Lord, I you know, you can you can just get really messy.
16:57
SPEAKER_01: Um I think one of the lessons that I I take away from that was just that like you know, when we when we stumble, when we mess up, we we have to run into the Lord.
17:10
SPEAKER_01: One of the things that I love that Mike Bickle says, like, he's like, when, you know, uh to whatever degree, if it's something small, if it's something big, no matter what it is, you choose in that moment to run into the Lord's heart, knowing that he will respond and receive you.
17:26
SPEAKER_01: Um and he said, if you don't, you will run the other way, and that's that's exactly what happened to me.
17:32
SPEAKER_01: Um so it was it was kind of a sobering thing.
17:36
SPEAKER_01: But um, but you know, it wasn't like I I so so there was a few years where it was just kind of, you know, I was really distant, but um the Lord never forgot.
17:46
SPEAKER_01: Like I I had written myself off, but the Lord never wrote me off.
17:49
SPEAKER_05: Right, right.
17:51
SPEAKER_01: So he it was like he reached out again and again.
17:55
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, well it's amazing because now, I mean, obviously you can look back all those years ago and put even that fruit of that time away, and then the process of you running back to him and and like pursuing him back or pursuing the things that would kind of um bring back the passion.
18:15
SPEAKER_06: I mean, that translates then into your gifting and your writing and your ability to lead others in worship because you come from a place of it's not just something you've always done.
18:24
SPEAKER_06: You've you've fought for it, like you really know you know what it's like to go after the Lord in that way.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, it's it's true.
18:34
SPEAKER_01: Um and it at the end of the day, it just puts so much so much gratitude in my heart that like towards the Lord.
18:41
SPEAKER_01: It's like wow, you really like you are a good father.
18:45
SPEAKER_01: You it's not just a song, like you really do know how to take care of us and how to um and how to draw our hearts back even when we won when we wandered off.
18:54
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, that's awesome.
18:56
SPEAKER_06: Okay, so you um you know, obviously went to school to be a worship pastor.
19:02
SPEAKER_06: That was kind of your vision, you lost some of your passion, you get, you know, you step into this crazy night watch internship, and then you jump onto staff, which requires a lot of sacrifice as well.
19:14
SPEAKER_06: The raising money and you know, just a a unique commitment there.
19:19
SPEAKER_06: Um and now you have at least eight or nine albums.
19:24
SPEAKER_06: Um, I think your ninth or eighth is about to release soon.
19:27
SPEAKER_06: So you've since that time written a lot of music, recorded a lot of albums, and tell me how that all that process began and and what that's been like for you.
19:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
19:39
SPEAKER_01: Um I it's been a it's been a very interesting journey.
19:43
SPEAKER_01: Um I for many years I I was trying to write songs.
19:50
SPEAKER_01: Um but I mean it seemed like every time I would sit down at the piano uh to try to to write, I would always hit a wall.
19:59
SPEAKER_01: Like I would, I would kind of get a cool musical idea, but I could never actually flesh it out.
20:05
SPEAKER_01: And so I mean, after years of of that kind of thing, I I kind of got to the point where it was like, okay, you know what, maybe this just isn't my gift.
20:16
SPEAKER_01: Maybe I'm just not a songwriter, and that's okay.
20:18
SPEAKER_01: You know, I can I can sing and I can play piano and that's fine, I'll just do that.
20:22
SPEAKER_01: So um about a year into joining staff at IHOP, uh I I had kind of a unique experience with the Lord where um well I I I guess I I explain it like this.
20:41
SPEAKER_01: You know, there's there's those times when when the Lord meets you and it's like, oh my gosh, it's the father's heart, it's the father's love, um, and it's it's really overwhelming.
20:52
SPEAKER_01: Um and this was not one of those.
20:55
SPEAKER_01: This was more like he was coming to me as a father, but it was almost more like almost like a coach.
21:01
SPEAKER_01: Um and sober.
21:04
SPEAKER_01: And it was, and um, the Lord basically highlighted um a few different areas of my life that were really I I think even in back in hindsight, now it's like they were areas of compromise.
21:15
SPEAKER_01: Um, stuff that I was watching, stuff that I was listening to that was not um pushing my heart towards the Lord at all.
21:23
SPEAKER_01: Um and and he was really putting his finger on these these areas.
21:28
SPEAKER_01: Um and it wasn't like, oh, really, Lord?
21:32
SPEAKER_01: It was like, yeah, I kind of knew.
21:35
SPEAKER_01: It was like, yeah.
21:36
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
21:37
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I know, but I just wanted to ignore it.
21:40
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
21:42
SPEAKER_01: And um, and and I I I really did kind of feel trapped because that you know, that season where I'd kind of been away from the Lord, um, music, movies, the arts, which are in and of themselves are actually awesome things, uh, but that It's some like coping mechanisms for me.
22:02
SPEAKER_01: In other words, like I always uh had a movie on, or I always had a CD on.
22:06
SPEAKER_01: Like I I couldn't I couldn't have silence.
22:10
SPEAKER_01: I couldn't function silence.
22:11
SPEAKER_04: That's a big thing.
22:14
SPEAKER_04: You could do a whole podcast on that.
22:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
22:16
SPEAKER_04: Carry on.
22:18
SPEAKER_01: And I was watching and listening to good, bad, ugly.
22:21
SPEAKER_01: Didn't matter.
22:22
SPEAKER_01: Any it was anything.
22:23
SPEAKER_01: Right.
22:24
SPEAKER_01: And so the so the Lord, you know, gently but but soberly, like just put his hand on those those areas and said, Hey, this basically the the phrase that the Holy Spirit gave me in that moment was thin ice.
22:35
SPEAKER_01: He's like, John, if you stay on this trajectory, it's thin ice.
22:39
SPEAKER_01: Um and you know, in that moment, I did not feel condemnation.
22:45
SPEAKER_01: I didn't feel like the Lord was mad at me.
22:48
SPEAKER_01: I just felt like like the Lord, like almost like a coach was just saying, Hey, let's this needs to change.
22:55
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
22:55
SPEAKER_01: Um and I actually, if anything, I felt a grace from the Lord, like a almost like an invitation to be like, hey, you can you can actually break out of this.
23:05
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
23:06
SPEAKER_01: Um, and so I just said yes.
23:08
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, okay.
23:11
SPEAKER_06: That's so good.
23:12
SPEAKER_06: It's like it's like the coach telling their star football player, hey, you gotta stop eating milkshakes and cheeseburgers.
23:19
SPEAKER_06: You gotta eat vegetables and potatoes and meat and steak and like good stuff to like fuel you so you can be the star player that you could be, that I see in you.
23:29
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
23:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
23:31
SPEAKER_01: No, it's totally like I like I'm not gonna I'm not gonna be able to grow and really soar spiritually if I'm if I'm feeding myself with stuff that's actually pushing me the other direction.
23:44
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's so good.
23:46
SPEAKER_01: Um, so anyway, so so this and this all actually ties to songwriting.
23:52
SPEAKER_01: Um so probably three weeks after that experience, um, I I get this song idea.
24:01
SPEAKER_01: I get like a melody, first, I get a chorus.
24:05
SPEAKER_01: In about 10 minutes time, I have like this completed song.
24:09
SPEAKER_01: It was like a almost like a download.
24:11
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
24:11
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
24:12
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I'd never had something like that happen.
24:14
SPEAKER_05: That's awesome.
24:15
SPEAKER_01: Um and ended up on one of iHop's compilations.
24:21
SPEAKER_01: Um so after after a six-month period of writing probably five or six songs, um, it just dawned on me like, hey, wait a minute, I don't write songs.
24:34
SPEAKER_01: And you know, here I am six months later, and I've got I got enough songs for like an EP album.
24:40
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
24:40
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I remember having a conversation with the Lord one day, like, Lord, what's going on?
24:47
SPEAKER_01: And I felt like the Lord reminded me and said, Well, what what happened six months ago?
24:51
SPEAKER_01: And I went back and I'm like, oh wow.
24:57
SPEAKER_01: And he really, you know, he just spoke to my heart and just said, Hey, you know, I I'd been trying to pour songs into you for a long time, but um, when you made the choice to let go of the stuff that was actually, you know, that was pushing your heart a different direction, yeah.
25:14
SPEAKER_01: Um, you gave me space.
25:17
SPEAKER_01: You get you made room inside of your heart for me to put songs in.
25:21
SPEAKER_01: Um, and so, and I was like, that totally makes sense.
25:25
SPEAKER_01: And um, yeah, so it's it it really is it's a testimony.
25:29
SPEAKER_01: The fact that I'm writing songs, the fact that I have you know eight or nine albums, like that's that's the kindness of the Lord in my own way, and just um just his grace and helping me actually um you know, not just work through personal issues, but then actually see some real fruit musically through it.
25:50
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's just it's it's awesome.
25:52
SPEAKER_06: That is awesome.
25:53
SPEAKER_01: So thankfully.
25:54
SPEAKER_06: Well, so you kind of like accidentally fell into a lifestyle that you know produced this great fruit.
26:02
SPEAKER_06: So now, I mean, you have all these years of writing songs and producing music.
26:07
SPEAKER_06: What is it that you do now to intentionally like fight for that and to keep um just I don't know, keep that anointing, keep that flow from the spirit happening, whatever you think.
26:22
SPEAKER_00: I mean you're you're cutting out a little bit.
26:23
SPEAKER_00: Can you just say those last couple of sentences again?
26:26
SPEAKER_06: Oh yeah, yeah.
26:27
SPEAKER_06: Um so you sort of like accidentally fell into the music writing in a way and a lifestyle and behaviors that opened up the door to you know the spirit of you know producing music and you know lyrics and all of that.
26:45
SPEAKER_06: But now what is it that you do after all these years of writing music and producing it that continually cultivates um that gifting in a way and where you're like you know, this is like some of the habits that I put in my life and put in place in my life that in the end results as a space where I can hear the Lord and um have a creative space in a way to write music.
27:09
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, that's a great question.
27:11
SPEAKER_01: Um I think that well, if I could sum it up in a phrase, um it is it has to do with maintaining or keeping a tender heart, like meaning tender to the Lord, tender to the word, tender to the things of God.
27:30
SPEAKER_01: Um and for me, like I I have to um I have to give him my time, which feels crazy to ever now like a little baby.
27:42
SPEAKER_01: I mean, life is so crazy.
27:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but um, but I feel like it's not even so much the amount of time, it's the choice in my heart.
27:50
SPEAKER_01: Like, Lord, I have 30 minutes right now, I'm going to give you this 30 minutes, I'm going to sit at your feet, like Mary Bethany, I'm gonna hear your words and I'm gonna receive.
28:02
SPEAKER_01: Or I'm gonna, you know, I'm just gonna, I'm gonna go for a walk and I'm just gonna pray.
28:06
SPEAKER_01: Whatever it is, I'm I'm I'm being intentional with my time, um, as far as just stewarding my life in God in that way.
28:15
SPEAKER_01: And so when that's happening with consistency, my heart is is is really so much more tender to the Lord, to his spirit, to his voice, to um to his word.
28:27
SPEAKER_01: And that it's when my heart is in that place, the song ideas, the melodies, the um lyrics, that's when it it you know it it really begins to flow.
28:37
SPEAKER_06: That's awesome.
28:38
SPEAKER_06: So you did mention briefly that you have a new little baby.
28:42
SPEAKER_06: So we have a nine-month-old Autumn.
28:45
SPEAKER_06: Um she is precious.
28:47
SPEAKER_06: Uh speak to me, and I want to ask you about the new album, which you wrote a while back, and um it's kind of been a long time in being birthed really for you.
28:56
SPEAKER_06: But um, how about, you know, just in this new season of being a daddy and parenting, have you found any like kind of new and different inspiration and perspective um in this new season of life?
29:11
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I for sure.
29:16
SPEAKER_01: I think I'm just I'm realizing um well, so one, like we just we love our little baby girl, Autumn.
29:25
SPEAKER_01: So she's nine months old, and she just she just makes us smile.
29:30
SPEAKER_03: She's sweet.
29:31
SPEAKER_01: Um she's got tons of spunk, tons of life, tons of personality.
29:36
SPEAKER_06: Lots of energy.
29:38
SPEAKER_06: Lots of energy.
29:40
SPEAKER_01: She likes to have fun.
29:41
SPEAKER_06: Yes, she does.
29:42
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, for sure.
29:44
SPEAKER_01: Um and so so we're we're having a blast, and at the same time, we're exhausted.
29:51
SPEAKER_02: We're just you know, we're just we're just totally like, okay, Lord, help us.
29:56
SPEAKER_06: She's not the best sleeper in the world.
29:58
SPEAKER_06: We'll just, you know, like she will be someday soon.
30:02
SPEAKER_02: In the name of Jesus, she will be.
30:07
SPEAKER_01: Um, but it you know, it makes me think, it's like, wow, the Lord, He He invests so much in us.
30:18
SPEAKER_01: So, and and like we're unaware.
30:20
SPEAKER_01: Like, in other words, like we see like there's some stuff where we can see, oh wow, the Lord's doing this, he's working on our behalf.
30:26
SPEAKER_01: But I'm just thinking, like, there have to be like countless things that the Lord is doing that we we're not even aware of, just like a little baby, like they don't know that mom and dad are like totally fried and just giving all their energy.
30:41
SPEAKER_01: You know, and it's so it just gives me this, I feel like this increased measure of gratitude towards the Lord of like, Lord, you have invested and have done so much.
30:51
SPEAKER_01: And I'm I'm realizing like, yeah, I see some of it and and I'm thankful, but I know there's so much that I don't see that I'm not aware of that you're doing on my behalf.
31:02
SPEAKER_01: And thank you.
31:04
SPEAKER_01: My god, thank you.
31:05
SPEAKER_01: For real, thank you.
31:06
SPEAKER_06: Yes.
31:07
SPEAKER_06: Uh yeah, all the stuff that we do to maintain life, the existence of life.
31:12
SPEAKER_04: Right.
31:12
SPEAKER_06: And they're completely unaware, just as the Lord does, I know.
31:16
SPEAKER_06: I mean, we we try to think about it, and then we can't wrap my our minds around it, so then we're just like, blah, you know, can't even go there.
31:24
SPEAKER_06: So I'm gonna jump right to um wanting to know the details about this new album that's coming out soon, you know, release date, the name.
31:32
SPEAKER_06: I don't really know much about it, except for I know you guys over it was probably about a year ago you traveled and actually recorded, I think in Nashville, at least some of the parts to it.
31:41
SPEAKER_06: So give us a little information about the newest one and what we can expect.
31:45
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
31:46
SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, this album has been, I call it a Grace of God album.
31:53
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
31:53
SPEAKER_01: Um we we started the process in the fall of 2014.
31:59
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
32:00
SPEAKER_06: Um so Wow, that was yeah, that was a while ago.
32:03
SPEAKER_06: Three years ago.
32:04
SPEAKER_06: Oh yeah.
32:05
SPEAKER_01: September, October.
32:06
SPEAKER_01: We began having conversations about the album, and the whole idea was like, okay, we'll record uh winter 2015, um, and we'll release it summer 2015.
32:16
SPEAKER_01: That's the that's the goal.
32:17
SPEAKER_05: Wow.
32:19
SPEAKER_01: Um and obviously it didn't work out that way.
32:23
SPEAKER_01: Um we had um lots of setbacks on um on the producer's end, on on the artist on my end.
32:32
SPEAKER_01: Um and so in the midst of it, there were many, many moments where I was like, Lord, is this thing gonna happen?
32:41
SPEAKER_02: Like what's going on?
32:43
SPEAKER_01: Um why all these extra challenges right now?
32:48
SPEAKER_01: Um and so now, you know, it's gonna release a month from, well, a month from yesterday or two days ago.
32:56
SPEAKER_01: It released November 6th.
32:59
SPEAKER_01: So um, but now it's like okay, it's been a three-year journey, but I can truly look back and be like, nope, it was the Lord, the whole thing, the timing.
33:08
SPEAKER_01: Um, because uh um well, for a few different reasons.
33:14
SPEAKER_01: One, if we had recorded in 2015 several songs that are on the album now were not written by that point.
33:22
SPEAKER_03: Oh, okay.
33:23
SPEAKER_01: In other words, like the delay, I kept I continued to write even during the delay, even and we had enough songs, but I was like, I I just keep writing anyways, regardless.
33:31
SPEAKER_03: Right.
33:32
SPEAKER_01: And um so in in the spring of 2016, I got some song ideas.
33:38
SPEAKER_01: I showed them to the producers, and they're like, oh, we have to put these in the album.
33:42
SPEAKER_01: We we're gonna cut a couple other songs in order to make room for these songs.
33:46
SPEAKER_01: Um, so several of the, I feel like the strongest, some of the strongest songs on the album were not written in 2015.
33:52
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
33:53
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
33:53
SPEAKER_01: So I was like, oh Lord, okay, you really were waiting and wanting to see some of these songs that weren't written on this album.
34:04
SPEAKER_01: The other thing was we actually over that three-year period, we had uh a big leadership transition over Forerunner Music, Forerunner Music's iHops record label.
34:13
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
34:14
SPEAKER_01: Um and so um the director, the new director, just jumped in like a few months ago.
34:22
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
34:23
SPEAKER_01: Um his background is visual arts, video, audio, like he's and he's he's a really successful business guy, actually, from from the Chicago.
34:33
SPEAKER_01: Um so his his power alley is uh marketing, media, visuals.
34:40
SPEAKER_01: So all that to say, like the website for this album, the landing page, the lyric video, music videos, like they look incredible because all because of this guy.
34:53
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely who wasn't he wasn't even in the picture, you know, four months ago, five months ago.
34:59
SPEAKER_05: Right.
34:59
SPEAKER_01: Um it's like, okay, Lord, the the timing was you.
35:03
SPEAKER_01: Even the you know, it was a three-year journey, lots of delays, but if things had gone according to plan, so many important pieces for this album would not have fallen into place.
35:14
SPEAKER_01: And so again, it's just another, it's another testimony of of the Lord's leadership in our lives.
35:19
SPEAKER_01: It's like he he knows what he's doing, even in the moments when we're like, are you sure?
35:25
SPEAKER_01: Because we're wondering, we're dealt with you know, we're like we're just we're we feel like we're out of the loop.
35:31
SPEAKER_01: We're like, we don't understand, but it's like the Lord is still working behind the scenes um to make stuff happen.
35:37
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, even even when we're feeling like he's saying no, it's oftentimes just a not yet, and that I've got some better things are protecting us from I mean, I can think of you know, like five different stories where it can go, oh yeah, I'm so glad that didn't happen when it did.
35:52
SPEAKER_06: Otherwise wouldn't have been as good or it wouldn't have been the right thing.
35:56
SPEAKER_04: And you're praying the enemy will get out of your space, and God's like saying, No, I'm trying to do something here.
36:01
SPEAKER_04: This is really good, but it's not going your way, and you're so confused.
36:05
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, totally.
36:06
SPEAKER_04: That's really good.
36:07
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, that's speaking to me right now.
36:09
SPEAKER_06: I'm in the midst of something right now, too.
36:11
SPEAKER_06: Where I'm like, oh yeah, maybe this is just God's plan.
36:14
SPEAKER_04: Maybe I should just be patient.
36:17
SPEAKER_06: It's so good.
36:18
SPEAKER_06: Okay, so it will release November um 18th, then is that right?
36:25
SPEAKER_02: Uh November 17th.
36:27
SPEAKER_06: November 17th.
36:28
SPEAKER_06: Okay, so I think when we air this podcast, it's gonna be just after release.
36:33
SPEAKER_06: So that's exciting.
36:33
SPEAKER_06: So people will be able to buy what's the what's the album name?
36:38
SPEAKER_01: The title is A Different Story.
36:40
SPEAKER_06: A different story.
36:41
SPEAKER_06: Oh, I like that.
36:42
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, very fitting.
36:44
SPEAKER_06: Oh, that's awesome.
36:45
SPEAKER_06: Well, I can't wait for I can't wait to listen to it.
36:48
SPEAKER_06: Um, and I can't wait for others to get their hands on that.
36:51
SPEAKER_06: Um now we're in the midst of uh jump this like jumping into the holiday Christmas season, and so that is one of the reasons why.
37:01
SPEAKER_06: Um, well, I'm really grateful because you've let basically lent one of the songs that you've written on your Christmas album that came that actually came out like in 2010.
37:11
SPEAKER_06: Is that right?
37:14
SPEAKER_01: That was that was actually 2009.
37:18
SPEAKER_06: Okay, 2009.
37:19
SPEAKER_06: So it's been a while, it's been out there for a while.
37:22
SPEAKER_06: I am already listening to it and thoroughly enjoying it.
37:26
SPEAKER_06: It's it's like it's worshipful, it's beautiful, it has some traditional, you know, music that you're familiar with, but you actually put a lot of um you put some time into writing some original Christmas music, and I'd love to know a little bit more about it.
37:43
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
37:44
SPEAKER_01: Oh man, that um you're it's this is so funny.
37:49
SPEAKER_01: You're just you're the question, the thing that you're selecting, they're they're just they're so um there's a testimony once like the sound was another Chris sound was another line.
37:59
SPEAKER_01: Um I I had uh a singer and a drummer on my team that said uh, you know, this was probably like September, October 2009, hey you should do a Christmas album.
38:10
SPEAKER_01: And uh I was like, uh I don't know.
38:14
SPEAKER_01: But but I thought, well, if I didn't have to do most, you know, if I if I did like already written, already known Christmas songs, that might be easier.
38:22
SPEAKER_01: So um a friend of mine who's a like a music engineer, uh he and I just jumped into a studio in Kansas City uh in like in pride of November, like late October, November 2009.
38:35
SPEAKER_01: Um we only had studio time for like a day.
38:38
SPEAKER_01: Well really like an evening.
38:39
SPEAKER_01: So wow.
38:40
SPEAKER_01: We jumped in like at 5 p.m.
38:42
SPEAKER_01: and basically hit record, you know, and just kind of got what we got.
38:47
SPEAKER_01: I mean that album it wasn't it wasn't edited a lot.
38:51
SPEAKER_01: Um the original song called Unto Us, I think it's called Unto, I should know that.
38:57
SPEAKER_06: We'll look it up and I'll mention in the show notes.
39:01
SPEAKER_01: That song, um, that song was written spontaneously in the studio.
39:06
SPEAKER_06: Like I just No, we're kidding.
39:07
SPEAKER_06: Wow.
39:08
SPEAKER_06: Okay, so tell me about some of the like the songs that you wrote, and um we actually like okay, if this ends up in the the actual podcast, the truth is we totally lost John.
39:20
SPEAKER_06: His laptop died.
39:23
SPEAKER_06: He didn't have enough.
39:24
SPEAKER_06: My fault! It was me.
39:25
SPEAKER_06: It wasn't just the Wi-Fi this time.
39:27
SPEAKER_06: So now we're like on to the third method of communication and recording.
39:32
SPEAKER_06: So we're gonna pick up where John was so eloquently sharing about the spontaneous worship or Christmas music that just happened in as you were recording this album in one night, which is really great.
39:44
SPEAKER_06: So tell us about it.
39:46
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um we we had we booked to go time from like five to uh 10 p.m.
39:55
SPEAKER_01: something like that.
39:55
SPEAKER_01: It's like a five about a five hour window.
39:58
SPEAKER_01: Um and I I basically had in my head like I had a roadmap as far as like here are the scripture passages that I want to hit.
40:08
SPEAKER_01: Um and I'll just you know have like the descriptors in front of me that's kind of makeup some instrumental thing, but I feel like fits the mood of that a lot of the instrumental stuff.
40:18
SPEAKER_01: It's just it's it's funny it's like I'm just kind of the key to have my Bible in front of me, and I'm just looking at um looking at uh the scripture text and um yeah, it was it was one of those I I've I've never done anything else like that since then I don't think it was just kind of a unique thing, but um and then I knew I wanted to do some sort of a song where I would where it wouldn't just be instrumental, but I would be interesting as well.
40:45
SPEAKER_01: And so I had um uh I had idea nine in front of me, and uh uh I just sat down to the keys and um just kind of looked a little bit idea 19, a little bit idea 53, just some of the key passages about Jesus and incarnation.
41:05
SPEAKER_01: Um just kind of you know, just like again, kind of on the fly, threw together a melody and a chorus in a verse, and it worked.
41:15
SPEAKER_01: Um it it hasn't hasn't always happened that way.
41:18
SPEAKER_05: And it's not always I mean that's sort of an extraordinary uh experience altogether.
41:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was just one of those special god moments.
41:27
SPEAKER_01: And um uh I love getting to look back and just um like I'll listen to it, you know, with we'll listen to it as a family like during the holidays, and it's just cool to have the memories of like man, the Lord was so within that in in terms of the whole process of the the album coming together.
41:45
SPEAKER_01: It's very simple, you know, it's not flashing.
41:48
SPEAKER_01: Honestly, the sound recording isn't amazing, the quality, but um but it worked.
41:53
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it totally does.
41:54
SPEAKER_06: And it I mean the worship element comes through because for me, even I was um I was kind of in the middle of something and I was you know thinking about communicating to you guys because we kind of communicated via text.
42:06
SPEAKER_06: Hey, you know, would John like to be on the podcast?
42:08
SPEAKER_06: And so I was just listening to it because I knew you had one, but I hadn't listened to it on my own.
42:13
SPEAKER_06: I hadn't per actually purchased it.
42:14
SPEAKER_06: I'd heard it at like the Hickertys and a couple other places like that.
42:18
SPEAKER_06: But um so I kind of I just bought my earbuds in and I listened to the sample on iTunes and the Lord ministered to me through the sample of it.
42:28
SPEAKER_06: It was so like I am not making that up.
42:30
SPEAKER_06: And it was awesome, it actually like shifted my heart just as it needed to be um for kind of for the rest of the day and it set the tone.
42:37
SPEAKER_06: And I was like, all right, well, I'm definitely sold on the album.
42:40
SPEAKER_06: I'm buying it, and I cannot wait to hear more about it because there was just it wasn't your traditional Christmas album.
42:46
SPEAKER_06: It had some traditional songs, but it was it was way more.
42:50
SPEAKER_06: You could feel um just kind of the spirit behind it, which was really, really neat.
42:55
SPEAKER_01: So I appreciate that.
42:56
SPEAKER_01: That's really encouraging.
42:57
SPEAKER_01: That's really cool.
42:58
SPEAKER_06: So I can't wait for others to experience it.
43:00
SPEAKER_06: Well, all right, so we're not going to chance fate any longer in the round electronics to hold us up, but I really wanted to hear, especially as you get to celebrate Christmas with a new baby.
43:13
SPEAKER_06: And well, she'll be almost a year, not quite a year at this Christmas.
43:16
SPEAKER_06: Um, so maybe what's your favorite tradition even of long ago as a child, and then what you're looking forward to this Christmas to doing with your family.
43:26
SPEAKER_01: When I was growing up, I think one of my favorite things that we did as a family was the the advent read.
43:33
SPEAKER_01: Um because we we'd like we'd either, I mean, I don't even know where to well, we were in Colorado, so we could always find some fine branches to find out, you know.
43:45
SPEAKER_06: Right.
43:46
SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
43:47
SPEAKER_01: So we would we would make it ourselves, and and of course that was always fun.
43:50
SPEAKER_01: But then uh, you know, it was I think it was also like the like unlike a gift, like when you know you open up a gift, it's it's you know it's It's the moment's there and gone in 30 seconds.
44:03
SPEAKER_01: Um, with Advent, it's like we're taking, you know, maybe 15, 20, 30 minutes this week, and then the following week, and then the following week.
44:10
SPEAKER_01: It's sort of like we're perpetually coming back together.
44:12
SPEAKER_01: And we're talking about whatever aspect of the Christmas story, whatever aspect of um the story of the birth of Jesus.
44:19
SPEAKER_01: So that that was just always that was just special.
44:22
SPEAKER_01: And so, I mean, obviously, Autumn's a year old, she'll be a year old, she won't, you know, she won't be trapped with any of that.
44:28
SPEAKER_01: And so I don't even know if we'll do it this year, but what I'm looking forward to is in the future, it's like getting to do that together with her and just um, you know, at the beginning for her of experiencing Christmas.
44:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're gonna do gifts, we're gonna do music, we're gonna do decorations, we're gonna do all the Christmas stuff.
44:46
SPEAKER_01: But at the core of it, at the center of it, I want to have that like this is about the the birth and the story of the Lord's first coming.
44:54
SPEAKER_01: And we're gonna we're gonna go for it.
44:55
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna celebrate, we're gonna make it a big deal because it is.
44:59
SPEAKER_06: Um, we should go ahead and do it because she needs to practice blowing out the candles for her first birthday.
45:05
SPEAKER_06: So that's right.
45:06
SPEAKER_06: That's practicing.
45:09
SPEAKER_01: That's a good idea.
45:09
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
45:10
SPEAKER_01: We should be just go for it.
45:12
SPEAKER_06: Just don't let her grab the candle.
45:15
SPEAKER_06: I may or may not have had like all of my kids do that for their first birthday, so she'll practice.
45:20
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, little kids are even babies, they're so fast.
45:24
SPEAKER_06: They are.
45:26
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, yeah.
45:27
SPEAKER_06: It's a perfect opportunity for autumn to practice.
45:32
SPEAKER_06: I love it.
45:33
SPEAKER_06: Thank you, John.
45:34
SPEAKER_06: Thank you so much for your time.
45:36
SPEAKER_06: And I I really loved hearing all of this because a lot of it I didn't know.
45:40
SPEAKER_06: So I know that our listeners will be blessed, and um, and so will people who followed you a long time to hear some of those stories behind the music.
45:48
SPEAKER_06: So thank you so much.
45:50
SPEAKER_01: Oh, very cool.
45:51
SPEAKER_01: No, thank you.
45:52
SPEAKER_01: That was really enjoyable.
45:53
SPEAKER_01: I apologize again for the techno technological challenges of my energy.
45:57
SPEAKER_06: No, no problem at all.
45:58
SPEAKER_06: We so appreciate you.
45:59
SPEAKER_06: You have an awesome day.
46:01
SPEAKER_01: All right, you guys go.
46:02
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
46:04
SPEAKER_01: Bye-bye.
46:12
SPEAKER_06: I have to admit, this was not the conversation that I expected to have with John.
46:17
SPEAKER_06: I really had no idea, even though I've known him very loosely as an acquaintance, um, his little sister was actually a dear, sweet friend of mine.
46:26
SPEAKER_06: And um, so I knew of him and about him, and I hadn't really followed along very well in his journey, and I was so blown away just um by his testimony of how he um came to really friendship with the Lord, and then what flew, you know, kind of flowed from that was this beautiful music that he's written and shared with us.
46:47
SPEAKER_06: So I hope that you will definitely hop on his website, uh, forerunnermusic.com forward slash John Thurlow.
46:55
SPEAKER_06: That is the best way to find out about his new album, different story.
46:59
SPEAKER_06: And then iTunes has all of the different um albums that he's written available for purchase and immediate download.
47:07
SPEAKER_06: So we I hope that I hear from you guys how much you're enjoying adding uh his music to your playlist day in and day out.
47:14
SPEAKER_06: So, um, and we'll also put that in the show notes as usual.
47:17
SPEAKER_06: You know, you guys know that by now, right?
47:20
SPEAKER_06: But if you don't, be sure and check out our show notes and we try to put all the helpful information and links to follow all our guests and anything that we talk about that would be interesting and pertinent to you during the show.
47:31
SPEAKER_06: Now, I just wanted to highlight real quick, I talked about at the beginning of the show that we're gonna be talking about Advent.
47:37
SPEAKER_06: Advent is one of those things that I used to observe as a kid, and you know, we kind of light the candle every week and we do reading and we try to incorporate the family devotional on a regular basis, and for most of us that is kind of difficult, and the reality of reading with our kids feels a little bit more like herding cats.
47:56
SPEAKER_06: Um, I've been doing that a lot lately, in fact, in my house, but uh we do it nonetheless, and we strive to engage our kids into this Advent season.
48:04
SPEAKER_06: So I've just been enjoying um journeying on the Advent path and learning more about it and educating myself from the the beauty of the church calendar um to the liturgy of preparing our hearts for Christ's arrival and what we're celebrating this Christmas season.
48:21
SPEAKER_06: So next week I'm so excited we're gonna be having Ian, uh Ian Spear join us, and he's gonna be talking about all things Advent and giving us a little bit more information about the history of Advent and what it has meant to his family and how they go about teaching it and sharing it.
48:38
SPEAKER_06: So if you want a little sneak peek, they have a website called keepingadvent.com and you guys can check that out and you can download their new Keeping Advent and Christmas, the family guide to the seasons, and it's just um been updated for this year, and it's gonna follow the church, the current church calendar.
48:58
SPEAKER_06: And so you're really not that far behind.
49:00
SPEAKER_06: You can easily just jump into uh today would be the 7th of December.
49:05
SPEAKER_06: Just um jump into the reading.
49:06
SPEAKER_06: Advent just uh started on Sunday, the 3rd, if I get that right.
49:12
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, the third.
49:13
SPEAKER_06: So we're just a few days in, and you can um jump in on the 7th and then um just take a you know read a couple extra, and I just think you'll find that as a beautiful way to prepare your heart for the Advent season.
49:25
SPEAKER_06: So we'll be looking forward to sharing that conversation next week.
49:29
SPEAKER_06: So until next time, I hope you find more ways to live simply, wholehearted, unplugged, purposeful, and intentional.