A Whoop and A Poop Part 2

here's a question for you is marriage overrated ? Why aren't people getting married anymore ? A new pew research poll found that two and five young adults think marriage is an outdated tradition marriage rates are at their lowest right now .

Is marriage really even worth it ? More than half of marriages end in divorce .

If you get married , you have to be stuck with this person for the rest of your life , right ? That's why you get married . So that's why it's declining . Why would you get married if you don't , if you want to have just one partner ?

when you can have multiple Marriage is stupid . Welcome to the Married AF podcast , the self-proclaimed greatest marriage relationship podcast in the world . We're your hosts , matthew and Monica Powers , and this is part two of our conversation , where you Talk too much . You talk too much . Clearly , you talk too much .

Yes , you want people to be able to see Like in high school .

Jesus freak .

It was Jesus freak .

Yes , and ultimately that's our goal .

That's super If people can look at me and see Jesus .

I won .

Yeah , I was so irritated that people called me that in high school I got voted most school spirit and most likely to become a preacher .

Yes , you did . Looking back , that's hilarious .

Yes . Now I'd say ha should have known .

Look what you were doing , God Right .

All the way back then . But of course go to college and all those weird things happen . And it comes back full circle when you're like , what am I doing ? I now get to go to high school as a walking talking billboard . Not that I go in there saying , hey , let me tell you about j .

Yeah , you're not one of those people who walked up to a stranger and say I'm not those charismatic people . Hey , do you know that Jesus loves you ? Where would you go if you were to die right now ? You're freaking people out with that .

Yeah , because how many times did Jesus do that ?

Yeah , he didn't .

Ever no .

No , jesus was so kind and caring and empathetic and loving . He was very truthful . Yeah , he met people wherever they were and the crap that they're in , but he will let you know what he stood for , let you know what the truth is . He will correct you , but correct you in such a loving way . We get that wrong so much .

That's why Christians have such a bad . I guess this is a stereotype Of a Christian . Oh , you're a Christian .

Yeah , judgmental .

Yes .

Very , um , you know you're . You're not truthful , you're very two faced . Yes , and that's , that's the , and that's because we correct in such a horrible way . Well , if you don't change your life and do this , you're going to hell , and while there may be truth to that , that you'll be separated from God in eternity .

I'll be the first to say I've even said to our kids in the checkout line at Walmart when we're leaving the kids will ask where are we going to hell if we don't change our ways . As a funny thing , and then it gets somebody's attention and they're like wait , you just said that to a kid .

You're dang right . I will kids that you would never expect .

No , the kids that might not have the best rap , the kids that might get in fights or go to alternative school , those kind of kids . I get to walk in a very dark place and my light shines bright and I couldn't be more proud of that moment . So my opportunity is massive . And then it went to another person .

You don't listen to podcasts . You don't listen to podcasts . Sorry , If you listen to our podcast and have podcasts . Yeah , I don't want about podcasts .

You don't listen to podcasts . I don't listen to podcasts .

Sorry if you listen to our podcast and have podcasts . Yeah , I don't want to listen to yours .

I'll listen , I listen to them all the time , but you definitely don't . So I pulled up the stats . It was everybody's time that was done . I said I think I need to add to mine and they're like okay . I said I know . You said you haven't . You don't have these people in your life to be able to introduce them to Jesus .

Yeah , yeah .

And when we saw that , we were like , wait a minute , was this Czech Republic ? Turns out it was yeah , it's crazy . And it is so cool . That is our number two country , so we wanted to know a little bit more about who's listening there , so thank you from everybody there . We have learned a lot about the population of the Czech people .

That's what our prayer from the get go was God . If you want people to hear this , take it to him .

Yes , we have hardcore said if he's going to open a door for us , we're going to walk through it .

Yes , and whenever you don't want us to do this anymore , you shut it down . Shut it down , make it clear We'll do the next thing that you want us to do . But if this is what it is , then this is

I said did you not notice that ? Like what are you talking ?

about . Yeah , what do you mean ?

it's not . It's not like you didn't notice it , but you didn't see it the way I saw it no , exactly so there's that adh brain again going well , you didn't think about , you thought about it , but then you never thought about . Oh , look at that , that that's totally god , because I prayed for this and not once .

God's slapping you in the face , thinking here , it is dummy yeah , I mean I should have bruce's all over from the time so it's just like , dude , like you , you asked for this , it's right here in front of you . Will you please just take advantage of it already . I can't make it more clear . It's like that .

I feel like that's my every day yeah , well , the next day I didn't get to do the devotion , but the day after we had a question that said we , where are the lost people in your life ? Who are you discipling ? That was easy for me to answer too , because I get to walk and talk that every single day , especially to the next generation .

To the young generation .

Gen Z needs to hear it .

It's so overlooked how badly the next generation , the next generation , is so desperately seeking fulfillment and purpose and something , and man , the world is throwing all sorts of options we have failed gen z ?

oh badly , because no one we're considered millennials . They're the generation right after us , right , right everything . I just remember everything being blamed on millennials .

Millennials , millennials . Now it's Gen Z .

Here comes Gen Z , but how can we continue to blame the next generation when the generation before them was constantly blamed for everything ? So we get that stigma in our head . Well , it's millennials' fault . No one above us wanted to teach us anything . They wanted to just blame us for all the things .

Just because you were dealt these cards doesn't mean something can't change .

Yeah , because I had a . It was probably a question that has never been asked and I'm typically good at that , but do these children ever talk about hopes and dreams ?

Probably not .

And I had this conversation with Ethan . I was just on the way back from one care point , going back to the orphanage , and he goes oh , I mean , I'm sure it's talked about . And they think I said because growing up we always thought , well , I can't wait to be an astronaut , I'm going to be this , I'm going to be that .

Yes , I want to go on a safari . I want to do this while I'm there and this while I'm there .

I want to go experience this , and you're not going to do that when you're there , but that was my only . Juarez is one of the most dangerous cities in the world . I've been there when riots have taken place , baptizing children . At the same time , a riot breaks out and there is bloodshed all through the city .

That's proof that God , his hand , is all over hunger house , guiding them their next steps yeah , and they you know , ethan and lindsey have the , you know , they have the faith to trust that . I mean , that could be so hard for people to trust and be like , okay , god , I'm , I'm stepping out in faith on this .

They are living proof that you are to walk by faith , not by sight , because all the things that you can see you would just instantly nope .

Totally . That's just trusting in the Lord that when he says , hey , I will go before you , I will not leave you Believing the promise of his word .

So , thinking of all those kids who , yeah , they probably what do they have to look up to ? Mexico just had an election . It was an election year . They now have a female , the very first female , as their president . Alright , in the entire Country when there was new people being elected . I want to say it was country where there was new people being elected .

People who were running for office died .

Wow ,

that also made me start thinking about donald trump .

Yeah , were they trying to take . Is this or wait a minute ? What is happening in the world ?

it's a whole nother conversation for another day .

But hope deferred makes the heart sick . But dreams fulfilled is a tree of life . The kids that are probably having more hopes and dreams are the ones that come to the orphanage , because Hunger House is , that's like , the number one location . Multiple locations , but that location is a constant . There's someone there every day . They live at the orphanage .

They want to be there they want to be fed .

Not only are they getting food , they're getting fed the truth , which is the Bible . They have curriculum and it is so fantastic to see those kids are going to be able to continue because Hunger House will give them if they continue to go to Hunger House and get fed and participate in the things Hunger House pays for their school .

No , yeah .

But if you continue to do all the things , they get to go to school . Hunger House pays them to go to school . My thought was there are way more that are getting to the age , that are middle school . They've come through middle school , they're in high school now .

That's awesome .

Which is incredible . It's very few , but they have to get there . But what are their dreams ? What are they thinking ? Because they don't know . I mean , of course you can watch all the videos on YouTube TikTok , because we were doing TikTok videos with these kids and of course I don't have TikTok , so I'm like I don't know that song .

What did we just say ?

So of course I'm looking at the lyrics . I'm more worried oh God , is this sexual ? What are we doing , these adults with weird white people , with these kids ? This is not okay . So of course we had to look at the lyrics to make sure I was like don't post that . Don't post that . Don't post that . That's terrible . Why would you do that , monica ?

We do .

But the Lord determines our steps . Of course , his thoughts are greater than our thoughts . So he's gone and said well , you think you got this done . Watch this .

That's a good plan plan , but watch this . It's a great plan . The difficult part is is waiting for that to come through waiting just because you're waiting doesn't mean that he's not working somewhere in the background waiting , does it ?

it stinks , it's awful so for these kids that are actually there , might be a handful of them , five to eight maybe , that are actually in high school now .

That's so cool .

That are the ones that need to be maybe poured more into , because once they finish high school , what are they going to do ? The majority of these kids quit in middle school , mostly because their parents can't afford anything anymore . They need them to go work too , or while they're at work , you got to stay at home and watch the kids

You go work so we can have money and things and survive .

Yeah , but brings me back to Proverbs 13 , 12 . Hope deferred makes the heart sick , but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life . So keep dreaming , there's never a reason to stop . And if we have hope , just that small mustard seed of faith , you know ?

it's all it takes .

It's all it takes to believe that God can do the unimaginable make that plan , but he's going to determine the steps that you take for that . I just was thinking . Those kids need more things to think about so they can make that plan , so the lord can determine their steps yeah , and if that , as long , as long as the hope is put , and what jesus can do .

You're right , the hope is it can be deferred and it can be frustrating and we can think well , god's forgotten about who I am . This isn't going to happen . You're like that dog . This is just my life . This is where I'm stuck . There's no end in sight , there's no way out of it .

And that's not just for the kids in Mexico , that's for anything .

It's for anything and anyone , in any situation .

No matter what it is .

To just bring them and not lose in the hope of Jesus . And when you have that , when you experience it , you may not get any of the things in this life that you asked for .

Nope .

You may ask for the perfect marriage and you might not get it . You may ask for the perfect kids you may not get it . You may ask for your bank account to be full you may not get it . You may ask for no stress , no depression , no anxiety , no sickness . You may ask for all of these things and it may never happen . But you said in Revelation 22, .

There's that part where that waiting comes into you , because we don't know when that's going to be .

No , listen , it could be .

It's been 2,000 years .

It could be before we end this podcast .

Which is so cool .

It'd be great . It could be next week , it could be thousands of years from now . We just don't know when that's going to happen . So we live every day in honor of God , doing what he has called us to do to be the light to . In honor of God , doing what he has called us to do to be the light , to be able to be hope dealers for people .

I like that . I'm a hope dealer .

Be a hope dealer . Let them know that , hey , there is hope , that even if you don't get anything that you wanted in this life . Because what are we hoping for ? We hope for a lot of these different things , but are we hoping for all that good and all of that stuff , or are we going to hope in what has been promised to us ?

I agree with that .

It's so hard to explain . You know well Jesus and you know what is this about being a Christian and giving your life to Jesus and a relationship . I can't explain it . All I can say is it changes everything . Changes your mindset , your thought process , changes your heart , your patience .

It is .

That's what we want .

I know it's of course we hope and we want all that , but it's also you can hope , but you also have to deal , you have to endure .

There's a lot of enduring .

And to be able to get through those things , to know and believe that , yes , jesus is coming back , you have to find those people that believe that same exact thing those people that believe that same exact thing .

If you don't have people in your corner and don't have those people who will pick you up because you and I are no different . I mean , are there days I want to quit ?

Yes , yes , you do .

Are there days where I feel absolutely hopeless ? Yes , absolutely so .

But I have those same exact days .

We all do , every person . Uh , there , there's no way around it . Now . I don't care how close to close to god you you may be , you're still gonna have days where you just blow it up I quit , I'm done , it's over and I'm completely hopeless , but having those people in your life I was gonna say the person in my life .

I mean I have a lot of those people in my life , those encouragers yes I'm not necessarily one of the best , but when I know someone if you call me on your way home and you've just had a crap day- you can tell immediately too . Yeah , tone of voice , everything All right . What happened ?

Yeah , I don't even have to say it , I don't even have to like , oh , you don't believe how awful you can just tell immediately , hey , what happened . And then you have to be a . Well , you know you need to do this . It's just listening , you'll be like it's going to be okay , because the reality is , the sun comes up the next day .

It does .

No matter how much our world is crashing , the sun still comes up tomorrow .

We are very petty people .

Very , and we have to , like you said , we have to be able to endure it .

You have to have someone on the other end listening to you , listen to all of those things , whether you're right or you're wrong , and tell you keep your head up . What would Jesus do in that moment ?

He would hug you , he would love you and let you know . Hey , I know this sucks .

We're going to get through this .

We . That's the thing we are going to get through this . We's the thing we are going to get through this . We all need that . So I encourage people find those people in your life , find those people who can do that , who can provide that to you . You're not in this all alone . But hope deferred makes the heart sick .

So you're saying my ADHD brain rolled back into something good ?

It rolled into something good . And before we get out of here , just as we talk about Juarez , anyone who's interested , who's like ? What's this all about ? Hunger House International ? They are the ones .

They are the missionaries Ethan and Lindsay Everson .

We know them personally before they even went , before they ever even To become missionaries , before they were even married yes . But check them out .

We can put their website on our website .

I can find a way to put their website somewhere .

You said that people watch the YouTube thing they watch the YouTube . I know you can put links with YouTube .

Oh , I'm a master when it comes to putting things up there ? Not really , but I'll figure it out . Well , I just need to know what that website may be . But Hunger House International check them out . We'll put a link on everything so you can , because they are doing absolutely unbelievable things and it doesn't need to go unnoticed .

He always provides .

Always provides

Let's get out of here .

Okay , god , we love you . God , we're so thankful for what you're doing . We're thankful just to have opportunities that you have given us . We don't want to take those lightly . We pray for more opportunities . We pray that this , as always , reaches the ears that need to hear it .

Amen Play ball .