Ordinary People Extraordinary Things
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Ordinary People Extraordinary Things
93. Curtis Fry: from Incarceration to Inspiration
Curtis is back and continues his story today. You all loved his story (#84) so much he's on to share more...
• Rediscovering life in the aftermath of incarceration
• Embracing God's forgiveness and moving forward
• Transforming a jail cell into a mission field
• Overcoming shame and understanding remorse
• Navigating the challenges of re-entering society
• Finding purpose and relationships post-release
• The power of storytelling in personal transformation
• Encouraging others to view difficulties as opportunities
👀 Watch the whole interview: https://youtu.be/lu3w3sSryEg
Curtis’s 1st interview 👇
#️⃣84. Forgiveness & Purpose in a Jail Cell with Curtis Fryhttps://youtu.be/CKLHdSm3ztQ
or listen at 🎧
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1882033/episodes/15862837
🤝Connect with Curtis at https://curtisfry.com/
https://generationstogenerations.com/podcast
ordinarypeoplestories@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/ordinarypeoplestory
https://www.instagram.com/ordinarypeopleextraordinary/
X: @storiesextra
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Stories shared by guests may not always be shared views of OPET.
Being a guest does not mean OPET approves of every decision or action in the guests' life.
We all have a story, all of us, share your story. You don't have to have the perfect answer or the perfect life - share what Jesus is doing in your life. This is an easy, real way to witness & share your testimony.
Welcome to Ordinary People. Extraordinary Things. Curtis, you're back, Thank you.
Speaker 2:I am Thank you for having me again. Yeah, I'm excited.
Speaker 1:So if you have not checked out Curtis's first interview, we will link that. You need to listen to that because we're not really going to go over the same things, because we had so many people listen and watch and they want to know more about you, and so thank you for being on again.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Anytime that God opens the door for me to share his story through my life. I'd love the opportunity.
Speaker 1:Well, could you give us three words or phrases to describe what your life is now?
Speaker 2:My life now definitely redeemed the life that I live now. If you look at that event that happened in my life and you look at it now, the only word that would explain that would be redeemed. The other blessed. Blessed beyond measure. My wife, my kids, just the environment that God has put me in definitely is a blessing to me. And the third one, I don't know, I would say just content, very content, with what God has brought me through the highs and the lows, Just this contentment for sure.
Speaker 1:That's good, that's really good. If people don't know who you are, I am going to ask them to go to episode 84. It's called forgiveness and purpose in a jail cell. You were in jail or prison for about five years, is that right?
Speaker 2:Yes, that is correct Okay.
Speaker 1:And for second degree murder? Is that also correct?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was charged with second degree murder. The judge, after going through trial, the judge ended up dropping it down to a 10 year manslaughter charge. So instead of the the 50 year second degree murder, I ended up with a 10 year manslaughter charge which, because of overpopulation, the time gets cut in half. So I had the five-year sentence basically.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, and if someone's just coming into this, I'm sure that that piqued their interest of. Okay, what? What's happening? Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Go to that story.
Speaker 1:So again go to that story. But in our first episode you talked about a man who came to Jesus while you were in prison. But then you also kind of for you to not just I don't be angry, be frustrated, be I mean, there's so many things that you could have been or just I'm just getting through this. I, you know, I'll just watch TV, I have no idea, but it seems like you use this time to be deliberate with where God had placed you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I had. It took about three months of being in jail that I was. I was still stuck in that like, why, why, why, why? Like God, forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, forgive me. And after about three months, it was one night. I was praying and reading and it was like God said Curtis, I forgave you the first time you asked. And I've been standing here with my arms open, waiting for you to give your whole life to me. I don't want just the convenience of me, of you to have the convenience of me. I want you to completely surrender your life to me, every step, every word, no matter where you are.
Speaker 2:And that night, when I realized that I was able to fully accept that forgiveness that God had given me, and then I had to face that question that you're talking about, like, okay, what do I do now? Like I'm here, yes, I'm here because of mistakes that I made. But what do I do now? Yes, I'm here because of mistakes that I made, but what do I do now? And that option of just kind of getting through and even maybe being bitter of why do I have to go through this when so many other people have not have done the same thing that I did went out on their 21st and they're not sitting in here, like, why do I could have chosen that. But instead, just the way that God impacted me that night I was able to change my prayer from God forgive me to Okay, god, here I am, I'm your servant, use me where you need me.
Speaker 2:And from that point on I I remember a conversation on the phone with my, with my parents, and my mom was just obviously really struggling through this time and I remember telling her Mom don't think of this as me being in jail, think of this as me being on the mission field, because in here there are a lot of people that know God, they know God's words. In fact, most of the guys in there knew the Bible better than I did and I grew up my whole life in the church and in a Christian home. But the difference was is people didn't live out Jesus, they didn't walk the walk. It was all talk over here, but then when that was done, that door is shut and you move on and then you're, you're someone totally different, and so I realized pretty quick that people didn't want to.
Speaker 2:In there, people didn't want to hear about God because everyone knew about God in there and they wanted instead they wanted to experience who God was through your life. And so pretty soon I figured out just rubbing shoulders every day with the guys gave me opportunities. Just continuing doing the same things like go every morning I'd go out in the day room and read my Bible, and it let that led. Just that in itself led to guys would kind of see who I was and see that I was. I was different, and they would get off the phone and they had a hard conversation with an attorney or their family and they would come in my cell and just open up and just, um, hey, curtis, you know I'm.
Speaker 2:I noticed that you have a faith. Like can, I is there, I don't know what to do here. Like, this is going on and I'm just overwhelmed. And at that time my pastor that had been coming in had encouraged me to memorize verses, and so it was amazing how many times guys would come in and they would say something and it would trigger a hey, this verse, right, you need to hear this. And so I'd just be able to speak God's word on them.
Speaker 2:And it was. It was amazing just that that in itself, that interaction that a lot of guys aren't able to have because obviously, like you said, they're not, you're not in that situation. But being able to be in that environment with them and just be someone that was just different, allowed me to minister for Christ in there in many ways.
Speaker 1:It's really beautiful. I think of how maybe some of our listeners are in a job or somewhere else where they don't want to be, but I hope that this encourages them. Hey, wherever you are, have that be your mission field.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and I and I think too, like there's a lot of times you bring up a good point, like there's a lot of people that you talk to and they're just like. They're just like dredging through life almost Maybe it is their job that they feel like they're stuck in, they're like I just don't have, there's just I don't have a passion. And I think if we change our focus like we're in there's different chapters of our life that we go through and if we change our focus from this is what I have to go through to hey, I can be an example for Christ, even in this time that I feel like is wasted time, it's not going to get me anywhere, there's. There's nothing good going to come out of this. It's it's in those times.
Speaker 2:If we just change our focus to OK, god, I don't see the good in this, I don't see what the fruit that will be produced, but God used me even in this time in my life. I think that is something that we look past so many times. We try and look for what's next instead of what God has put right in front of our face. I think I would encourage everyone who is listening to just take a step back and say okay, what am I looking towards and what am I missing? What opportunities has God given me right here, right now in my life?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I can't really think of anything more stuck than in a jail cell, Like or you know we're talking about. I feel stuck in this position, I feel stuck in here, but you are literally stuck.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:A lot of belief. Yeah, I, and in fact, when I it was funny, when I well, not funny, but funny to me like it was just people would assume that you know, you need to take some time and be able to live again. Once you, when I got out of prison, they were like you need to take some time to yourself and and start living again. I'm like I've been living the last four years like four and a half five years. God has has used me even in there.
Speaker 2:It wasn't wasted time. In fact I, when I go and speak a lot of times I will, I will share the fact. I wish I could take back the night of my 21st birthday and what happened to Mr McEwen. But all the time that I spent in jail, all the time that I spent in prison, it's through that time, through that hardest time in my life, that God turned me into the man that I'm supposed to be in him, not who I necessarily saw myself being or wanted to be originally, but who God intended me to be. It was time that he had my full attention, you know, and was able to speak into my life that I probably wouldn't have given him the time for if I had all the distractions of the world.
Speaker 1:I'm sure you must have gotten down, or frustrated, or depressed, I'm not sure. But if you did, how did you get out of that situation?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I can think back to a couple of times that I did feel overwhelmed, one time in particular. Well, I'll share two of them. One time was when a good friend of mine passed away while I was sitting in jail, someone who I had hung out with for the last two years before my 21st birthday, and so that time for me was probably just that relationship that I desired, and I couldn't even be there to just kind of have that closure. That was probably one of the hardest times for me in there. Um, there was another time that I remember.
Speaker 2:I remember, and that time I did like I just I wept for a couple of hours and it was, it was cool to see, even in that, some of the guys uh, comforting, like showing, trying to show comfort, and even I remember this one guy. He wrote a poem and he ended up sending it to my parents and it was all around this event that happened. It was just cool to see how even that in itself could be a witness. But another time I remember sitting in there and just feeling that overwhelmed, feeling overwhelmed and I desired to cry, I desired to just feel this like I don't know, I can't even put it to words, but I desired to just cry and just be in that pity. But there was just a peace even in that that God gave me.
Speaker 2:Every day I'd get up and there'd be 10 new letters or something from people of my community that would send me notes and cards and things like that, and I just had this peace, this overwhelming peace. That was like no, it's okay, curtis, I have you, I have you in my arms, and I remember just feeling that overwhelming presence of God in that time when I was feeling as though I was overwhelmed, but all I could do is just smile and thank God for him seeing me through that time. I don't know if I really answered your question. There was a time that I felt that and I wanted to feel it even more at times. I think that we can kind of do that. We want to feel downtrodden sometimes and I think that we have to remember that God sent his son, jesus to earth to take care of all that, to conquer that death, to conquer that overwhelming feeling. Yeah, I don't know, it's just. God just was able to bring me peace, even in that hardest time of my life.
Speaker 1:Did you or do you feel shame about?
Speaker 2:what happened? Yeah, so I got to start that off with. I have a very guilty conscience, to the point of I had a. I had a girlfriend right out of high school and I ended up, long story short. And I ended up, long story short, kissing another girl and I felt so bad the very next day I had to go and confess that to my girlfriend. And so, in saying that, fast forward to this, I remember sitting in jail and seeing Mr McEwen's face come up on the screen for the first time on the news, on the TV, and I remember, like there was no, there was no recollection of ever seeing Mr McEwen prior to that point and, and To this day I still I don't have that, that shame. I think God has protected, protected me from that. I do have a remorse, if that makes sense, that I know that because of the actions that I chose to do that night, mr McEwen ended up dying.
Speaker 2:No matter, no matter how that happened because, since I chose to go and get drunk the way that I did, I ended up in his environment and he ended up dead, and so I think God has has protected me from that shame, because that that in itself Satan loves. He loves shame.
Speaker 2:And yeah, and he is going to any chance he gets. He is going to continue to bring stuff up that we have a shameful heart towards, or a things that we haven't let go, that we haven't fully surrendered to Christ. I say a lot of times when I speak, I talk about that night that I was talking about earlier, that I realized that God forgave me, I was able to do something that I think every single one of us needs to do, and we need to fully accept God's forgiveness. And in fully accepting God's forgiveness, we need to be able to forgive ourselves for those sins that we have committed. We need to understand that God, as holy as he is, he's willing to forgive us.
Speaker 2:And if he's willing to forgive us for those things, then who are we to say, yeah, but I can't forgive myself, I can't let go of that. Like I deserve this punishment, and God says, no, no, jesus, I sent him to go of that. Like I deserve this punishment. And God says, no, no, I, jesus, I sent him to pay for that. So fully accept God's forgiveness. And in that fully accepting God's forgiveness, are there still consequences for our actions? Absolutely, but that, that shame of man. I can never get past this, because this is what defines me in life. That won't be there. That won't be there because it is understanding that what Jesus did on the cross, it matters, it matters and it paid the penalty in full.
Speaker 1:That's so good. I know a lot of people live with shame and I so love your answer, and I do like how you said that remorse and shame are two different things, right, I like that a lot. How do you not be defined by this, but then also you're so willing to talk about it and share your story. How do you balance that, I guess?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I look at, there's a lot of people that do allow, and I think it is Satan really making them think back to one event in their life and telling them hey, this is who you are, this is who you really are, and that isn't. God doesn't view us like that at all. So, thankfully, through that forgiveness that God has given me, that event that happened that night with Mr McEwen doesn't define me. Mcewen doesn't define me, and being able to speak about it, it allows me to help other people, as you're talking right now. Help other people understand that one event in their life doesn't define who they are.
Speaker 2:I mean, you think of a bunch of examples in the Bible. You think of David and the sin with Bathsheba, or with even going farther than that and and killing um, her husband, putting him on the front line of the war. Or you think of the apostle paul, who was saul, who who killed christians, who was there at at stephen stoning, and yet god still said hey, I want you, you, I choose you to be my apostle, I love you. So I think that we need to if we are allowing one event in our life to define who we are, apart from the fact that Jesus dying on the cross and that forgiveness he offers, of us accepting that, that should define who we are.
Speaker 2:If we're allowing anything else to define who we are, I think we need to really do some heart searching and say, okay, god, have I given this to you, have I allowed you to take this, or am I just talking about it and then pulling it back in? And so I think I think if we yeah, if we're at a spot where we're an event in our life we feel like defines us and there's a difference, too between us allowing an event to define us and the world will also put those defining moments on us, and we need to separate that from okay, who does God say I am? How does God define me? Well, god calls me his son. God calls me his daughter. He doesn't call me murderer or liar or thief or any of those things. God calls me you are my son. So I think we need to. If we are at a point in our life that we're allowing something to define, we need to surrender. Surrender it to God.
Speaker 1:This podcast is all about stories how has telling your story impacted others and how has it impacted you? I'm just always asking people not only to listen to these stories that we have, but also share their own story. Right, so could you maybe share about how telling my story to youth groups and stuff?
Speaker 2:And so it began clear back then. And then when I got out, I was obviously like asked if I would come and share. And I remember the first time that I spoke was at the Salt Company in Iowa City in front of about 225 college students, and I had spoke in front of a group of about 50 one time before that, before I went to prison, and halfway through my talk I had passed out, Like so public speaking was not my, my deal. And so I remember going up there and just feeling this before I went up there. You know my heart is just sitting up here just pounding, but my prayer before was God, I can't do this, but you can.
Speaker 2:And I think, in sharing our stories of what God has done in our life, yeah, it's not only like encouraging others to see redemption and to see God's love in your story, but it is also helping you surrender, Because we become vulnerable as we speak and share our life. There's a vulnerability and it is a surrender. It is okay, God, I'm going to do this, not because I necessarily want to, but because I know that your name is going to be glorified, and so for me it's surrender, it's God's story in my life, it's not mine to hold, it's what God has done in my life, so I'm going to continue to share it For other people. After about I don't know, I'd been probably six months, seven months, I had been out and I had shared my story a few times and I'm just like, OK, what am I doing? Is this doing anything?
Speaker 2:And I was sitting in church service at Veritas Church in Iowa City and they were doing baptisms and they do like these little video testimonies on the screen before the baptism. And this young lady gets up there and pastor is asking her questions and he said when did you, when did you to fully surrender to Christ instead of just go through the motions or do things because it was the right thing to do? And at that point, for me it was just that clarification of, hey, I'm going to use this and knowing that it impacted one life was enough for me to continue. And I know there's been a lot of other people that it has impacted and I've heard testimonies from people. Some people have emailed me and sent messages and just encouraged me to continue sharing because of the impact that it had on them or their kids or stuff like that. So yeah, stories, stories are powerful.
Speaker 1:Wow, that was amazing. Thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:When you got out, was it hard to reenter, was it? Did you know your purpose, did you? I know you said that you felt like you were ready to go and you hadn't just been sitting there and everything like that. But was it still kind of difficult or did you know what you were going to be doing next?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I had no idea. I knew that when I had got out I had a job lined up through a guy in my, in my parents' church, and so I knew that I had to being on. I was still on parole at that time and so I had to have a job and be in the same area and all this kind of stuff. So I didn't, I didn't have that like exact purpose, like that exact hey, where am I going? But I knew that sometimes we get stuck in not seeing far ahead in our life and so we're like well, what am I working towards if I'm not, if I don't have that exact direction and I would say I was probably at that point- in my life, I was one that after high school, I was ready to settle down and be married and start a family.
Speaker 2:Like that was just a strong desire in my life. Obviously, now I'm at this point that we're talking about, I'm about 26, 25, 26. And I still I still was was ready. That was something that was strong in my life, like I wanted to find someone that I could spend the rest of my life with, and I didn't know exactly who that was or where that was or what I was doing, but I knew that God had had a plan for me and I knew that, as long as he continued to ask me to speak and and share my story, that he would continue to provide for me. And so no, I didn't. I didn't have a a exact purpose, and I forget the first part of that question.
Speaker 1:There's two parts there oh yeah, it was hard to re-enter society, yeah yeah, re-entering.
Speaker 2:So that was as I um. When you hear someone say institutionalized people coming out of prison, that is a real term. I was. You know cell phones were out when I went in. When I came back out, I remember walking into a Taco Bell and just being overwhelmed being overwhelmed with decisions that I had to make, and I remember looking at my mom and saying what do I do?
Speaker 2:And I had ordered at a Taco Bell hundreds of times in my life before this. But that four years of not having to make decisions it definitely, it definitely made it hard. Like you, I forgot how to drive. I had to like relearn, like there's just this anxiety almost that came with getting in that car for the first couple of times and figuring all that stuff out, Cause when you, when you don't do the same stuff over and over again, you do kind of lose that, um, that skill that you have, that you had acquired.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, it was hard, but again, like God just continued to give me opportunities and I think, in those times when we don't know exactly what we're supposed to do, we just do what God has told us to do and that is to continue to live a life for him, live a life surrender to him, continue to work out our salvation, as it says, just continue to put one foot in front of the other until there is that clear path in front of you that you know that, hey, this is where God is leading me in life.
Speaker 1:That's good, and you were in there for, I mean, not really a short time. I don't want to minimize that in any way, but some people are for a very long time. I can't imagine how institutionalized they must feel after you know, two, three, four times as long as you were in there. That would be difficult, absolutely.
Speaker 2:There's one guy that I kind of after this event, so we'll kind of take a sidetrack here, maybe. So I had one time while I was in prison that I got in a fight, so to speak, and it was this guy who I worked on the. We worked on the rec staff together. We got transferred from Fort Dodge to Rockwell City together. We got put in the same room. We were in the same. There's 10 guys in the cell and we were.
Speaker 2:I was top bunk, he was bottom bunk. Um knew each other really well. His name was big shank and he we had yeah, it's funny name he was one of the biggest guys, um on the on the camp. Like he was one of the biggest guys on the camp. Like he was one of the biggest guys had like a 500-pound bench press, just a big dude. And there were two chairs in the cell and he would always lay his clothes out over the chair. Well, we would sometimes need to use a chair and go out and play cards in the day room or whatever, and so I would grab the chair, I'd lay his clothes out on his bed and go and use the chair, and one day I came in and he's like probably you aren't going to touch my clothes anymore. I was like Shank, I need to use a chair. I laid your clothes on the bed, I didn't throw them on the floor.
Speaker 2:He's like well, I got clothes coming up, coming up missing, and I already talked to the laundry guy about it. And now I'm talking to you because I know you touch my clothes. I was like Shank, you know me, you know I'm not going to take your clothes, or three times my size, I don't need them. You know who I am. And at that he got up and he got right in my face and I thought he was just going to stand there and try and intimidate me. But then he reached up with both hands, put both hands around my neck, lift me up off the ground, shoved me up against a bunk and I remember I just put my feet against a bunk and pushed as hard as I could to get him off of me.
Speaker 2:And it completely tore my sweatshirt in half on the way back, and that was it. And he went and sat back down on his bunk and we talked like what, what is going on? Like what just happened, and that would have been all it would have been. But Johnny was in the room there and he really didn't care for big shank at all, and so as soon as he grabbed me he went down to the correction officer's desk and was like hey, big guy's choking him, big guy's choking him, you need to save him. And so they came up and of course they heard about a fight. So then they had to investigate and see if there was, and my neck was just bright red and shirt torn and everything. So we both ended up having to go to the hole is what it's called, so solitary confinement. And I had this conversation with him and just starting to really play back the events that kind of led up to that and talking about this institutionalized Big Shank was up to see this was November and he was up to see the parole board in December and he wrote a parole paper, a letter to the parole board, and he brought it to me and asked if I'd read it.
Speaker 2:And this was all this all happened prior to this event and I read it and it was kind of that mixture between third grade grammar and gangster talk. And this guy, he was 43, 44 years old. He had been in prison for 12 years. At this point I remember just starting to put all the puzzle pieces together and I think there was just this anxiety of hey, there's a chance that I can sit before the parole board and they will release me, and I don't know how to, how to work in society. Like cell phones weren't even around before. He got locked up, hardly so that institutionalized for guys that had been in there longer. Um, it is real like we, we can get stuck in and I think you can actually use that with the environment that you're in, even out here free. Like the environment that you put yourself in is going to have an effect on your life moving forward.
Speaker 1:That's good, that's a good reminder. Well, I've had some people ask and you kind of alluded to you wanted to be married and you're married, you have a family. Do you mind telling us a little bit about them?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. So I got to share the story of how I met my wife. Yes, so, as I was in Rockwell City Prison, there was a Bible study that would take place and some people from the outside would volunteer and come in and help lead it. And a couple of ladies were coming in and helping out this Bible study and I shared my story a couple of times and just kind of chatted with them. Times and just kind of chatted with them and pretty soon this lady went and got on Facebook and looked up my parents and kind of verified my story with my mom to make sure I wasn't, you know, telling a big lie, which, believe it or not, that people lie in prison. People lie everywhere?
Speaker 2:right, they do, that is very true. So then she would go home to to. She went home to her daughter and she's like you need to meet this guy. And her daughter's like mom, are you kidding me? You want me, you're trying to hook me up with a guy in prison? Like really so? Um, jordan came in and it was just kind of hi, I'm curtis, hi, I'm jordan. There was no other conversation and she came in a couple of different times and it wasn't until about a year after I had gotten out of prison. Jordan worked at Hope Ministries here in Des Moines as one of the chapel coordinators and she asked if I'd come and share my story to the men at the shelter. And so I came up here one afternoon and shared at the chapel and then I stayed up here in Des Moines with her and her brother. They had a house in Johnston and I stayed with them and that night we just stayed up talking about life until about three, thirty four o'clock in the morning. About a week and a half later we started dating.
Speaker 2:And about a week and a half later we're sitting there at a campfire and we look at each other and say we're going to get married. And it took me three months to propose to her and 11 months after we started dating, we got married.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was June 1st of 2013. Yes, june 1st 2013. So that was 11 and a half years ago. And so, yeah, that story in itself. And I do have to put a disclaimer in here Any of you young girls that are listening to this video podcast, do not go to prison to find your husband. It's not a great idea. But, yeah, since then now, god has blessed us with three kids. We have Avery, who's nine, brayton, who's seven, who's nine, brayton, who's seven, and Carter, who is five. And we live on an acreage out in Dallas Center and my wife and I own a construction company cabinet shop and God just continues to bless us with work and we also serve as the young adult leaders at our church.
Speaker 2:And I sit on the elder board at the church. Yeah, god is just. He's pretty cool how he is taken. If you look at again that moment, that could define me, that the world might say does define me. If you look at that, and then what God has brought me through to the point that I am now, I don't know. There's no way that you can deny that there is God and that he will. He desires to give us blessings and, yeah, just give us enjoyment, enjoyment in life too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like how you said the defining and the words and you know the world could define you as a convict or whatever they would want to. I'm sure that some people do, just because people are people. But reminding yourself, no, I am a, I'm a son of of the most.
Speaker 2:That's right Amen.
Speaker 1:Amen. Well, this has been so fun, so glad we got to do this. I always like to end my episodes. I'll end with just a couple this time. But what are you grateful for right now?
Speaker 2:What am I grateful for? I am grateful for the people that God has put in my life. When I am feeling overwhelmed or overburdened or feel like I have too much going on, there are people that I can talk to, that I can go to, to just have one that to put life into perspective for me, because sometimes we can, we can have blinders on, and so I'm thankful, yeah, I'm grateful for those people that that God has put in my life, including my wife and some really good friends that I have right now.
Speaker 1:That's good. What kindness have you shown or what kindness have you received in the last week?
Speaker 2:I guess a kindness that I have seen is a um, a young man in our, in our young adults. He went out of his way to to make another person in our, in our group, uh feel welcomed and valuable and um, it was just real cool just to see the conversation we have, a chat that is between the whole group and, um, this one girl she's, she has some mental illnesses and things like that and just to be able to see this young man just, even in light of all that, just go out of his way to be overly kind and take her out and have fun and and things like that, when he definitely didn't have to. So it was just a. It's one of those things that just kind of makes you smile.
Speaker 1:That's great. Well, thank you for being on. I.
Speaker 2:I don't know which episode I like more.
Speaker 2:They were both just so fun and interesting and just jam-packed full of wonderful truths about God and about us. I love encouraging people to not just talk about God. Don't separate your life. Basically Don't separate your work life and your God life, or your family life and your God life, or your fun life and your God life. It is all God's life, and be that light in every aspect of your life. Be that light for Christ. He desires every part of us. He desires that full surrender, and so any chance that I get to just remind people of that, I'm going to jump at the opportunity for the sake of Christ.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you. I appreciate your time and I know that our listeners are going to be so impacted by this, so thank you.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. You are very welcome.
Speaker 1:Hold on. Ordinary people, extraordinary things. Your story is his glory. Thank you for listening. I hope that this podcast has impacted and inspired you. If it has, please share. This is the best way for others to find out about ordinary people, extraordinary things. Our next guest is Brad Nelson. You may know him from Walking the Text and if you don't, you're going to be in for a real treat. He is one of my favorite speakers and I'm so glad that he decided to be on our show.