Ordinary People Extraordinary Things
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Ordinary People Extraordinary Things
89. Intentional Parenting with Dawn Aitchison
Ever wondered how to tailor your parenting approach to fit each unique child in your family? Join us for a heart-to-heart with Dawn, a remarkable mother of nine from Iowa, whose journey of intentional parenting is nothing short of inspiring. Dawn opens up about the trials and triumphs of adapting her parenting style to nurture the distinctive hearts of each of her children. She underscores the importance of granting ourselves grace as parents, reminding us that flexibility and understanding are key to thriving in the ever-evolving landscape of family life.
“Intentional parenting is the never ending process of pursuing the hearts of my children.”
As we wrap up, we delve into the transformative power of building deeper relationships through personal influence rather than authority. Inspired by Matthew Kelly's "The Seven Levels of Intimacy," Dawn shares how vulnerability and intentional effort can nurture authentic bonds within the family. Through personal anecdotes, she emphasizes the importance of creating meaningful one-on-one interactions, fostering respect and individuality. Join us as we cherish the profound impact of personal stories and family moments, inviting you to embrace your own journey and stay tuned for more inspiring episodes of "Ordinary People Extraordinary Things."
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Thank you for making Ordinary People, extraordinary Things what it is today. Thank you for sharing. You are the best way for people to hear about Ordinary People, extraordinary Things, and about faith and hope and how it impacts us. We are in 42 countries. I cannot believe it. Continue to share. Continue to share with people all over the world, in your own city and the country where we remember that, at Ordinary People, extraordinary Things, your story is His glory. Welcome to Ordinary People, extraordinary Things. I'm here with Dawn Dawn, thank you so much for being on.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me. I'm delighted to be here.
Speaker 1:And we got in touch with each other because of my sister-in-law, jenny, so thank you to her for having us connect. Yeah, if someone doesn't know who you are, dawn, can you give three words or phrases to describe yourself?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm very persistent. I would say that I'm loyal and that I really like to ask questions and research and kind of study people. So but basically I'm just. I mean I'm married and I have nine kids ages 30 to 13. And I homeschool and we live on an acreage in the middle of.
Speaker 1:Iowa. How many acres do you have?
Speaker 2:We just have a couple acres, but our land connects and kind of butts up to my, my dad's and then my brother's, and so we're in the middle of this beautiful area in central Iowa though.
Speaker 1:So, oh, that's so wonderful, that's amazing. So when we got to chat, we were talking about intentional parenting. It's kind of where we're going with ours.
Speaker 2:What does that mean, or what does that mean to you? Well, so I made a few notes and when I was thinking about what's the first thing that comes to my mind, when I think about what I mean with intentional parenting, it's this never ending process of pursuing the hearts of my children and studying them, and knowing that that is that's always changing and with nine kids, you know I have very different personalities, but it's like this, this diligent commitment to pursuing and knowing them by studying them, and which I believe personally that it is. It's part of our responsibility, you know, a God given responsibility, to really know the hearts of our children so that we can accompany them in their strengths and weaknesses and cheerlead them well and then also disciple and discipline them well that's good.
Speaker 1:Have you always been intentionally parenting or have you always had this focus or the these words? Or is it somewhat?
Speaker 2:no, no, I would say from the beginning that I went at it with I'm going to kind of be all in, you know, I'm going to really know the hearts of my kids.
Speaker 2:Now, that being said, with nine kids and 17 years, there were seasons at it that I can see, oh, wow, you can tell I had a new baby, or I was pregnant, or I mean I was either pregnant or breastfeeding for almost 20 years straight, and so there was a lot of physical exhaustion. But what I say, that I have been committed to the abilities that I had during different seasons for being very intentional. Yes, I would say that I've just known my whole life, that I wanted to have a large family and that I just, I really wanted to know the hearts of my kids. As, that being said, I would also say that how I thought that would look when I was in my twenties is very different than how it has ended up in my 50s, because I'm I'm still learning more all the time what that means, and the deeper that you go into the heart of anyone in any relationship, you know you find more things and discover more things, but you also end up realizing how very little you know. You're humbled by the process.
Speaker 1:Do you give yourself grace for that, or does it frustrate you to think I didn't do that with this kid and I did this with this one, but couldn't do it with this one?
Speaker 2:So um, I think that when you have a large family actually I'm going to change that. I think with any family situation, we really need to go into it with an understanding that it's not always going to look the same, because it's not supposed to be the same. It's not about fair, it's about what they need, and so each kid is going to have different needs depending upon their right, their age, their season, what they're growing up in. My 13, I have seven daughters and two sons. My oldest is 30, a son, and then my youngest is 13, a son. Now my 13 year old is going to need very different things. Some of the same things foundational, right, that all kids need to be seen and secure and really soothed and all of that attachment stuff. But my son, my oldest son he didn't have a smartphone until he was 19. Like, there wasn't even all of that. He didn't have to know how to navigate that. So my younger son is going to need different things from me than his brother. So it's not supposed to look like a cookie cutter, but I have certain kids that would that.
Speaker 2:That's hard with seeing. Oh wow, these younger kids are getting a very different life. It's not so hard, you know for them as it was for us, or I don't know. There can be discontent in the tribe here and there, but as far as for me, I think I went through a period of time where I thought, oh my gosh, I'm doing things different. Am I going to scar my children for life? And then I don't know. I kind of wrestled with it some and realized, wait a minute, I am supposed to be different. I am very different parent. It's some of it's good. I mean, I should have some lived wisdom. And then, like you said, I do give myself grace now, better than I probably did five years ago. But yes, that's an ever-growing process, though, isn't it when we're always continually trying to give ourselves grace?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a good point. What about the expectation of not feeling like you're doing enough, either in parenting or homeschooling? I homeschool our kids too, but I think it can go with homeschooling or not. But you're always wondering, okay, this person's doing that, maybe we should. This person's doing that, they're in that sport or this or this, and am I doing enough? Should I change how I'm teaching? Should I change a myriad of things? What would you say to that?
Speaker 2:One of the things that I say to my older daughters. I have three daughters that are married and two of them have children, and I can already see this, this the society we live in has way too many choices. I mean when I first started homeschooling, for example, there were like three choices in math book, you know. I mean so that some of it is we have too many choices. I would say trust your instinct, you're the mom you know best. Just because Susie is, you know, doing violin and Japanese or whatever, doesn't mean you have to, and that it's really not about raising a well-rounded child, which is one of my least favorite statements, because that really isn't the goal. The reason I don't like that statement is because it's it's subjective and it's based upon one person's definition of what well, well-rounded means, and that's actually not our goal, but shouldn't be our goal if we're Christ followers. It's, basically, are we teaching our kids to love Jesus? And so that's going to look different because of my strengths are different than your strengths, but I think it's okay to say no.
Speaker 2:I'm a huge fan of Brene Brown. She does a whole bunch of stuff. She's like a social therapist kind of, all that kind of stuff, but she she said, choose discomfort over resentment was one of her phrases on how to like, how to say no. Well, and I thought, oh, that's so good, you know, like in the moment, just saying no to certain things, and sometimes we need to do that even to our kids. But a lot of times we just get asked to be involved in things or whatever. The best homeschooling advice anyone gave me years ago was, at the end of the day, just read, read to your kids. You're having a baby. Things are crazy, you know the everyone in the house is sick. Just read, because that's relational. And then if you ask my kids, what do you remember most, they're gonna say the books we read together. We know when we cried in the great stories. You know that's. That's what they're gonna remember.
Speaker 1:So and if they learn to read, then they should be able to pick up almost anything they need to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, and exactly if we. But it's not just learning to read, I think it's loving reading. So when they see that they can, that you love reading and that we read together and there's this relational aspect, I do think it spills over and can allow them to have that same love for reading.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you said you don't like the word well-rounded. Is it because it's totally subjective? Or do you think it means that you have to be in this and this and this and this and this? What do you think the word means? I think, when most people say it.
Speaker 2:I think that it's not necessarily a liberal arts education. I think it means more that they want their kids to be in all kinds of activities and I think at the end of the day, our kids get really tired and they really need way more downtime than we're giving them time to process, time to have those spontaneous conversations that simply aren't going to happen when they're exhausted. Especially, teenagers really are not getting enough sleep. They're not getting enough of that time where you just have we call it in our house carefree timelessness, where you just kind of waste time together but it's intentional, but yet it also leaves room, room for, you know, spontaneity in there. I value that. I also value play and playing together and then you know, ideally, encouraging that creativity that only comes from a certain amount of downtime.
Speaker 2:And I think, well-rounded when most people mean it mean, uh, an overabundance of activities, that you're just not going to convince me that those are all as fruitful as I think people believe they are. Twice a year I have for years I have asked myself and gone through all of our activities and said is this activity or a group or whatever? Does it have eternal significance? Is this helping my child grow in their love for others and God, and if it's not, then it kind of gets put on the chopping block, you know, and it goes on probation a little bit and then maybe six months later I can just get rid of it. So just things like that that's intentional to me is continually looking at our schedule and evaluating is this really fruitful?
Speaker 2:for this child for our family and then, if it's not, then you can just say you know that worked for a season and it's not working anymore, and being okay with that.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Do you think that's difficult Is we've talked about phases of our life, yeah, yeah, super difficult. What are some things that you had at phases of your life that you don't have, that were really, really, really wonderful at that time, but it just doesn't work?
Speaker 2:So my kids, the first four, five, five kids were super involved in 4-H. I don't know, are you familiar with that? Yes, yeah, yeah. So we were all in. Then we started to get involved my high schoolers in mission work in Nicaragua and I couldn't manage helping with both because I was running mission trips in Nicaragua for my high school kids and their friends essentially, and we did that for about 10 years.
Speaker 2:So 4-H was about 10 or 12 years and then we kind of faded into Nicaragua being more of where we put, like that, you know, like that mission kind of just the out of the house kind of energy, like that. You know, like that mission kind of just the out of the house kind of energy. And right now I have a lot of that energy is going into local stuff and I have kids kind of getting married and scattering and having kids, and so we're putting a lot of energy into those kinds of relationships. So these younger four kids that are at home are helping watch their nephews. I have seven grandsons and one granddaughter and so they're getting to help, you know, with that kind of relationship.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I mean I think being okay with saying you know what it's going to look different as the needs of our family change. And then, but yet, trying as much as we're able to kind of be all in for whatever it is that we're doing, we're teaching our kids and important to you know, stay with something for a while, but then also, at the same time, constantly evaluating is there good from this? Are my kids looking forward to this? Is this pulling us closer together? And then, boy, it can be really hard to stop something or try to, you know, kind of phase out of it. But every time we have, um, you know, like a few weeks later the kids will be like wow, it is, I'm so glad we're taking a break now from that activity or or whatever.
Speaker 1:So that's good. That's good. Do you think we get exhausted trying to fit in? I sometimes still get the I'm? Homeschooling has become really popular now. I'm sure it wasn't when you started, but I still get the thing of. Well, don't you? You don't want your kids to be weird for me. I don't want them to be like weird, but I want them to be weird For me. I don't want them to be like weird, but I want them to be different. I don't want them to write look like the rest of the world and exactly what. Do you have any thoughts on that?
Speaker 2:I've always felt really strongly. I was raised in a home where fitting in was never the goal and actually the language we should look different was used, and so that feels very familiar to me. My mom threw the TV away when I was 12. And so I always kind of I grew up kind of like knowing that we're the only ones without a TV and maybe feeling a little left out, but being really, really grateful in the end for understanding what it means to just focus your energy on not fitting in, and that that is actually biblical in a lot of ways. But it is very, very exhausting to feel like you're always going against the grain. You know there are times when you know it is a lot of work. Yeah, fitting in is is is hard to, even amongst our peers, you know. As moms, you know, we always kind of want to have like a few people, a tribe, you know, or whatever people that we feel like where we belong and that can sometimes change through different seasons too.
Speaker 1:Do you find that that's, that's the same as phasing out of different things, or because it's more relational. It's a little bit more difficult when, when friendships and those kind of things phase out or in.
Speaker 2:I feel like I'm in this unique place where I have married kids and still kids at home and I'm still homeschooling and I don't have very many people in my life that you know, know, I can necessarily relate to and, honestly, I don't have a ton of time and because I'm so intentional and committed in general, like I and all in, I have a son-in-law who taught me the phrase he'd rather have four quarters than a hundred pennies when it comes to friends and I'm, I'm so like him in that way. I'd rather have just a few people that are like super, really loyal and that know me well and stuff, than a hundred. I don't actually have social media anymore, partly because I just felt like it was getting like five years ago I got rid of it. It just felt like it was getting more and more watered down. Not that I was ever super into it, because I honestly, I don't have a ton of time for it with just all of the relationships around me.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I think, as women, if there was one thing this is a little bit off topic but if there was like one thing that I could say to the church boy we really need to be helping women is as understanding all the things that go on with menopause and how that changes like what we need as women from other women. Because I really feel like I went through this period of time where, like the hormones were and the lack of hormones and whatever, and just honestly for me, not having children anymore and having that identity shift. Two of my sons-in-laws were kind of really involved in my house. One actually lived with us for a while before he started dating my daughter and so like I kind of got had this shift of relationships and I wish there had been some accompaniment with that like or maybe a little bit more understanding of the fact that I was going to need different things.
Speaker 1:Yeah, why do you think they don't talk about it? Is it because every woman will go through it at if they live long enough?
Speaker 2:That is an excellent question, maybe because it does change for a woman to a woman and her needs. I think we don't talk enough about midlife crisis and those, those kinds of things, because it's kind of awkward and it's super vulnerable, like it's super, super vulnerable to say, wow, I got things going on inside me that this isn't what I thought it was going to look like. And I'm talking about, you know, from a biblical perspective of understanding, that you know, just cause I can't have babies anymore Doesn't mean I'm a mom. You know, like I actually really struggled with that and really had to, you know, talk to myself and like, yeah, I just I really went through a period of time where that was really hard for me that having that identity change, maybe like the shift I mean I don't think it's being addressed in the way that maybe it could be to be a positive.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I hear what you're saying. I would probably assume that it's just that we're not very good at actually being vulnerable with each other.
Speaker 2:I think I'm actually pretty good at it myself, but I think I'm a pursuer of other people and so sometimes I went through this period of time where I really needed to be pursued, and so a lot of people's it's not their default. And so I think in general, in general as a society we're becoming, we're we're actually really struggling to be pursuers. I think God kind of gives some people a certain gift to be, you know, a little more adventurous in the pursuing department, but I still think that as a culture we don't tend to pursue people, and because it is vulnerable for sure.
Speaker 1:And do you? What do you mean by pursue, like, try to get people to go deeper? Ask another question is that what you're?
Speaker 2:there's a book I read years ago, um, it's called the seven levels of intimacy by Matthew Kelly, and he talks about you know, most people kind of settle at three, and he's not talking about intimacy, only like within the marriage, like he's just talking about friends and what is it like to like have like a real tried and true friend? And you know, there's, there's a lot of stuff that you, you know, you go through. That's the hard stuff, you know, and that's the sharing of the dreams and the hopes and, um, that kind of stuff. That is what has to happen for those friendships to develop, um and get deeper.
Speaker 2:One of the things that I, going back to the intentional parenting too, is that I really kind of made this commitment that I was going to try really hard how to figure out as a parent, how to move from authority to influence with my older kids. Not that I wanted to be BFFs with all of my kids, because you know there's different dynamics in how that would work. Not that I wanted to be BFFs with all of my kids, because you know there's different dynamics in how that would work, but that I would offer it and then I would try really hard on my part to have those side by side relationships with them and so moving from authority to just like influence as a friend would influence another friend. There's a lot of fruit from that in my life that I I've seen. But that, once again, that there's a lot of fruit from that in my life that I've seen.
Speaker 2:But once again that also takes a lot of work. You know we're not limitless in our ability to be vulnerable. You know we have to get filled back up. I think I've noticed for me in my 50s and late 40s I'm 54, I need more silence and solitude to kind of refresh me and and kind of fill me back up to go out into the world again and be vulnerable, whether it be with my kids, my husband or friends, like it. Just I need something different than I used to. I used to, honestly, for about 20 years, a nap and a clean kitchen pretty much solved all of my problems. It's not that way anymore.
Speaker 1:Are there any tidbits you can give on what you were talking about the authority to influence and when about would you start that with your children?
Speaker 2:That's a really great question. Like I said, I like to study my kids. I think with each kid it changes. There's having this availability for our kids, especially in high school. I think it's just so important to not assume that just because our kids are moody or all over the place, that they still don't really need us in a different way. I think it requires us to change our mindset on what that's gonna look like and be super flexible and know that one day, one minute, they're gonna need mom and the next they're gonna. Just they wanna be like independent, but they're not quite ready. They don't really know what that looks like. They just flip flop back and forth for years. Honestly, and some personalities do it more than others.
Speaker 2:My advice would be to be patient and but but don't give up. Ask questions, listen really, really well. There was a period of time where my son, my oldest, would. I would say, hey, what's up? You seem like something's bothering you, and he would be like, no, I'm fine, and I would just go in his room and I would sit and like crochet, a blanket or something and just like hang out, and it would be when maybe all of his siblings were in bed. The house was quiet and sooner or later, if I was patient enough, almost always a subject would come up or something that he really needed to talk about or he would choose to share. But teenagers don't share unless they know they're going to be uninterrupted. And so in a house like my house, where I was very, very busy, I had to really intentionally create that space where they would know that they would get me uninterrupted. So one-on-one time, that would be a huge recommend.
Speaker 2:I still do it Like I'm still try and single people out because they're going to be different and they're going to be more relaxed, and that's saying I care about you as an individual, which is what friend time is right. It's being singled out by another person and then just really listening to them and do and creating activities and doing things where I know I'm not going to have to make any decisions for them, like asking them what do you want to do? If, what are you thinking? And then not saying, oh my gosh, that's the dumbest thing ever, even in your mind, if you're thinking, oh, wow, just really respecting them and respecting that they're going to have very different thoughts and ideas than you, and and delighting in that, saying wow, that is so cool. What a great idea.
Speaker 2:Delight is actually one of my favorite words. One of my son-in-laws teases me about that, but I think that's how God looks at us. I think he looks at us and just says you're so amazing. Like I just can't, can't get over how awesome. And he delights in us and and so he wants us to delight in these kids that he's given us. You know, and we're we're being given them and they're on loan, you know they're not ours.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's so good. What I hear you saying is that your ministry starts at home. It's kind of what it feels like it's boiling down to a lot.
Speaker 2:I have a piece of wood in our dining room that's six feet long and it says always mission, and it's right next to our kitchen table and it's there to remind me, yeah, that the mission starts at home, for sure. That's amazing. When it comes to discipline, one of the my least favorite phrases is because I said so and that's because there's no why in it. And if you really want your kids to understand something and honestly respond in obedience, they really need to know the why, which means you need to know the why. So I just I think that's really, really important that, as a parent, intentional parenting starts with knowing our own story.
Speaker 2:I also think that every person at some point has to forgive their parents for being human and forgive yourself for being human. And then a lot of people don't do this, nancy, and so you go through life, maybe feeling angry or frustrated or whatever, and maybe not even realizing it, but, just like you were saying at the beginning, giving ourselves grace. But that happens when we realize our humanness and we we get comfortable with it and we realize, you know, this is, this is all good. So I think we get that way also when we know ourselves. I heard somewhere someone say that you can't love other people any more than you love yourself, and I think that really comes from knowing our identity as a son or daughter in Christ first, and once you know that that's your foundation, then that helps you become a better parent, a better friend, whatever no, I like that about the articulating the why.
Speaker 1:I think that that's important for me, specifically in raising our children and then in homeschooling, because when there's a million things that come out at you, you to make a decision of are we going to do this, are we going to add this, are we going to subtract this? If I know why I am doing it, then it helps. Yes, no maybe.
Speaker 2:Well, and involving your children in that process too, like, why do you think we should keep this or get rid of this? It just it shows them so much love when we respect their opinions and their thoughts and honestly understand. They're given to us as a gift and partly because they're going to be different from us, like they're supposed to teach us something by their different strengths and weaknesses than ours, and so yeah, that's a good point.
Speaker 2:I think that our world today isn't very. We don't have a natural tendency to speak kindness to ourselves the way we would to other people. So one of the things I feel like I tell my daughters a lot is is you know, I just try, I want to, I so want to be their biggest cheerleader my sons too. I really want them to know that I believe in them right where they're at, but that I love them so much I want them to keep growing as well. And so there's that happy medium, you know, but it's the same with us. We need to love ourselves right where we're at, but love ourselves so much we want to keep growing too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you can't speak a truth into them of what you see if you're not, if they don't feel comfortable and that you already do love them. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Well, I have really enjoyed chatting with you and hearing about intentional parenting and just family and homeschool and just so many things. As we wrap up, what is your favorite Bible verse?
Speaker 2:or story. I really, really love the story of Esther. I love her grit and her surrender and understanding that God was going to use her, even though she had no idea how that. She believed and trusted trusted that I also. I really love the apostle John because he didn't leave Christ, he stayed and he was with him there till the very end.
Speaker 2:He was also the youngest Yep, he was also the youngest and of the four gospels Matthew, mark, Luke and John John is my favorite because of the words that he uses and just like how he describes things, so yeah, yeah, yeah, jesus gives kind of Mary to him to take care of while he's lying on the cross. Yeah, john was just like he just didn't leave, like I mean he just was loyal and stayed, and I admired those qualities. But Esther is probably one of my favorite stories too what are you grateful for?
Speaker 2:so super grateful for actually I really love living in Iowa, central Iowa, our community, the. I have some kids that have chosen to live around us. In general all of the kids are committed to relational stuff, so just my family in general. I've had the blessing of getting to do some ministry in Nicaragua for about 10 years. It's kind of fading out just a little bit because there's a lot going on in the country, but intentional ministry. I feel like I've been allowed to have some really special relationships with people that have lived in my house that weren't my children and super, super grateful for the opportunity to be able to do that and to continue to love them.
Speaker 1:How do you invite other people into your home? Is that just who you are, or that seems kind of difficult.
Speaker 2:You know, it was crazy when we did and I look back on it and I'm like, wow, that was crazy.
Speaker 2:I love hospitality, so that is part of who I am for sure and how I'm wired.
Speaker 2:I really feel like it was an answer to prayer, like I really feel, um, the people that have lived with us. It was very, very specifically that they were meant to live with us for a season because they needed our home environment. But also I can look at it now and see, wow, I actually really needed them for a lot of it was for them to be Christ to me in a way that I didn't foresee and I was probably just honestly following the promptings of the Holy Spirit where I just really felt like God said hey, this person is supposed to live with you, why don't you extend the invitation? So I think we've had maybe five or six people live with us. One was a son-in-law that lived with us for three years before he started dating my daughter, and then another guy and I still have a lot of relationship with him and yeah, but just sometimes it was just for maybe a semester or summer. I won't say I will say it's not for everybody, but it is something that I feel really passionate about opening my home up to.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it sounds like you're. You're very intentional, like you said, on mission and wherever God takes you in all these different directions. That's really neat.
Speaker 2:Thank you. I would say for sure that the people that have lived with us all felt like mission. You know that that was part of our family's mission at the time was just to live with these people. You get to really know somebody when you live with them.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, Right Right. What kindness have you shown or what kindness have you received in the last week?
Speaker 2:So I had a really especially unique opportunity this last week. I was, I was at a cabin and I annually I go to this cabin and, um, just kind of take some time to pray and walk, and I usually invite another person in my family, like maybe one of my daughters or son-in-law, to come. There's a second cabin next to me. My one of my daughters came and spent a whole day with me and we just walked and walked and walked and talked and walked and talked. It was just a huge gift.
Speaker 2:And then she swapped out and her husband came and he actually stayed in the cabin for a couple of nights. He took me out to dinner one night and paid for the whole thing and it was just like amazing. It was so special and he bought dessert and and we just had a really, really special time. So it was something he didn't have to do, but he wanted to and it was, yeah, it was really special. So I'm kind of have coming off of a high from having a whole week of just this special retreat time and then special time with a couple of my kids, which is my favorite thing to do. If I could just like rotate through every one of my kids and my in-laws you know, sons-in-laws and daughter-in-law and just take them away for a couple of days. That's what I would do.
Speaker 1:That is so neat. Well, thank you, for a couple of days, that's what I would do. That is so neat. Well, thank you for being on, dawn. I've loved our time together and I'm praying that it will bless someone with just a myriad of different things that we got to chat about.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:I enjoyed it. Come back next week for Ordinary People, extraordinary Things, where your story is His glory. I hope that this episode has been impactful for you and a reminder at Ordinary People, extraordinary Things your story is His glory, and so make your story known in order for His glory to shine. We do that with faith and hope with every story that we hear. We will be back in two weeks with a brand new episode. In the meantime, check out all five seasons of Ordinary People Extraordinary Things and make sure to share it with your friends and family that will be impacted by this podcast.