God Will Direct Your Steps

Hey guys, welcome to the show that gives you the tools you need to break through into all you were created to be, to live your life full of hope and purpose. I'm Pam Raimi and Jesus Girls, let's find our role. Music.

Hey, hey, hey, Jesus Girls and guys, thank you so much for joining us today on the Pam show and do we have a great show for you today it's very personal for me because i happen to have my little brother dino on the show today and we've got some fun things to talk about so little brother welcome to the studio hey hey it's happy to be happy to be here it is so good to see you just sitting across from me on this show, I would have to say this is pretty much a dream come true.

You know, I never thought I would be sitting here across from you, but I am so happy to be here. Well, let's learn a little bit about you first. I know that you are a very deliberate, organized thinker. And you're just pretty organized in your life overall. You're an athlete. You played collegiate football for how long? Five years at the University of Cincinnati. That is so cool. And you've also lived abroad. I lived in southern China, a city called Shenzhen. It's the southernmost city

in China. And I lived there for about five years. That is really something. That is really something. It was a very cool experience. I went over with my job and I really I got into the culture. I got into a lot of different things. And, you know, Eastern religion and Buddhism, I really I liked it was, you know, Buddhism is a way of being a way of thinking. And it's it was interesting.

And so I I enjoyed my time over there. I would eat Chinese food every day if I could find authentic Chinese food versus American food. But, you know, it's good. I enjoyed it, and it was a great experience. It opened up a lot of doors for me business-wise. I bet it did. You know, I want to go back to that in just a second. But first of all, I just want to share a little bit of our story in that we did not grow up together. We shared the same father, different mothers.

And I grew up in California and you grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. Yes. And I remember the very first time meeting you, you were five years old. Yes. You were the cutest five-year-old, by the way, I remember. And then we grew up separately. And we really did not have the privilege and the honor of getting to enjoy being siblings for many, many years. And then in 2002, we lost our dad, which was devastating to both of us.

And I remember one of dad's greatest wishes was that his kids could all come back together. And during that time of losing dad, you and I were the two that were with him up until the very end. And during that time, our souls and our spirits just got so knit together.

And that was really when we began our our journey as siblings don't you think so I do I feel like we reconnected during that period and you know it was a period of sorrow losing dad but it was also a period of great joy reconnecting with you and and having the relationship that we do today yeah it was really wonderful and I remember specifically during that time. That you and I were kind of blown away about how much we were alike.

Like we went to the restaurant. Remember we ordered salads the same way. I think our personalities are very similar and that's the cool part about it. I think that's what makes us get along so well and love each other like we do. Yeah. Yeah. It was. And we even figured out we have some of the same mannerisms It blew us away, remember? And we didn't learn those. It just is. It's just the way that God made us.

And so then from that time in 2002, we made a commitment that we were going to stay in each other's lives. That's right. And we kept that commitment. We did. We did. It's interesting how it all worked out because we kept the commitment, but you were in Atlanta. I was in Cincinnati. Natty. We would talk, see each other every now and then, but things surely changed after that. Yeah, they did. And God had a different plan because you were,

where were you, who were you working for? What was the company you were working for at the time? I accepted a job with Adidas and they were opening up a speed factory facility in Ackworth, Georgia. And, you know, I could have moved anywhere in the United States, but God moved us to Ackworth, Georgia, 15 minutes away from my sister.

I have to say, and I know I've said this to you so many times, but that is one of the greatest miracles of my life, that all of a sudden you are living 15 minutes away from me.

And we took advantage of that. We did and rightfully so. And I look back and think, what an amazing thing of all the places in the US and I move 15 minutes from you. And at the time I was thinking, yeah, I've got a job. Oh, my sister's here, that's great. But when I look back, it truly amazes me now. It's so supernatural, isn't it? Absolutely. It was like God just picked you up and put you here.

And, you know, it reminds me of this, this verse in Proverbs chapter, let me see, it's Proverbs chapter 16. And it says, in his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. And God was determining your steps. Without question, without question. And the things that have come from that. Just keeps going it's just amazing it's been it's been a domino effect it has i i remember.

Sitting in our dining room not so many nights so many nights and laughing and sharing and just building our relationship and we were just going deeper in our relationship and you began to share with us your connection to Buddhism. Tell us a little bit about that. I just got into Buddhism as, you know, as an Eastern religion and just understanding, once again, a way of life, a way of thinking, a way of being. And, you know, I really connected with that.

And so the thing that really changed for me was I, you planted the seed with me and God and I, you talked about the relationship and I remember sitting at your house and around the table and we would just talk and the relationship and I just got intrigued. And for me, that was really the beginning. And like I said, you were the one that planted that seed. I'll tell you, God had bigger plans for you than just your new job placement.

Without question. Yeah. Yeah. And I remember one of the things, I remember giving you the Psalms to read and you're so disciplined that you read it from cover to cover. And the thing that you came back and said to me was that. You were really taken kind of aback about the relationship. That was the stark difference between Eastern religion and having a relationship with Jesus was that relationship. And the seed was planted. But where did it go from there?

Well, you know, I would meditate. And, you know, in Buddhism, in meditation, you try to empty the mind. you try to think of the nothingness, just emptying your mind. Well, you're always thinking about something and it's hard to not think about anything. And with Jesus, you know, you have to fill your mind. And so for me, that was a big difference. And so I, through my work, I met a lady. Her name was Kelly. Still is Kelly. Whom we love and adore.

And so that's the next part of this chapter. You know, I met Kelly. You planted the seed. Kelly's a very faith-based person. And where did you meet Kelly? And at work. Also at the job. Okay. At the job, at the site that I was at. And, you know, it's great because, as I said, You planted the seed. Kelly waters the seed. And I just keep growing in my faith. And it has been an amazing journey. And I really have to thank you for that, because I don't know that I would be

where I am in my faith today if it weren't for you. And I genuinely mean that. That is the greatest thing anybody could ever say to me. And what a blessing and what a blessing. And, you know, just kind of an aside, I just was thinking about Dino, how before we lost our dad, that he came to know Jesus. Yeah, yeah.

It is something that I cherish. Kelly and I, we have a routine every morning. We get up, we feed our three dogs, we get ready, we read our daily devotional, we read our Bible, and then we go and work out. My mindset from this whole journey is I just have a different mindset. And it is truly a blessing for me. I just don't let things bother me anymore. You know, I just hand it over to God and I move forward. I believe that I will be okay and things will work out.

And it's a mindset that for me is, it has really been powerful. And once again, just a blessing.

Let's go back to Callie. So you dated for four years and you just recently got married. I did. We did. You got married and we just love her. We just love her. She is so perfect for you. And I was very honored that you asked me to be your best man. Well, I thought that was appropriate. And you're very fitting as a best man. I thought I did a good job. You did very well. I thought I did a good job. I handed that ring to you just, you know, meticulously. It didn't fall or anything.

It didn't drop or anything like that. But yeah, so I just wanted to sort of fast forward and let our audience to know that you and Kelly are together. You're now husband and wife. It's such a beautiful, wonderful thing. But I remember as soon as you met Jesus, you got saved. After you called me, I was so excited. I mean, I'm jumping up and down. If I could do a back flip still, I would have been doing them. I was doing them inside my heart.

You wanted to immediately get baptized, though. I did. And it felt right. It felt to be the moment that's what I wanted to do. And Kelly was a big part of that. You were a big part of that. And, you know, I feel I'm in such a good place. You know, I've got God and a firm foundation in my faith. I've got Kelly. I'm truly happy. We are like-minded. You know, we have a faith base. We like to work out. We like to do things together. And I'm just truly happy.

And the fact that I get to live 15 minutes away from my sister, does it get any better than that? It is so awesome. And ditto, ditto, ditto. You know, I have to say, from the time that you first moved here, and what was that year when you first moved here? 2017. 2017. I see the peace of God all over you. I see like your whole countenance has changed. I see the Prince of Peace being the Prince of Peace on the inside of you, little brother. I hope so.

That's what I want people to see. I just, I've learned what's important and what I can control and what I don't control. And that is my mindset. And so for me, it's all about control. Doing the right thing, of course, but also understanding that I'm not in control and I'm not, I may think I have a plan, but sometimes that plan works and sometimes it doesn't. And I've learned the hard way sometimes, you know, sometimes I think this is what I should do.

And then I realize that didn't work out so well. And so I've really, Kelly taught me about static. And she talks about if you have static about a decision, then you should probably pray about it and think about it and make sure that that's what you want to do. And so for me, I feel like I've taken that advice and I really have slowed down and tried to not move so quickly and think things through and pray a lot more than I did before. That is such a good word.

That is such a good word. If there's a hesitation, then we do need to wait on God. And even as you're talking about learning things the hard way, ditto on that as well. Well, but what I also love about God is He loves us so much. He's so for us. He's constantly leading us into triumph and into victory that even when we blow it, even the whoppers, whatever they might be, God has a way that only God can do of turning things around and using them ultimately for our good and for His glory.

And so we're not defined by our past. We're defined by His love. Yes. Yes. I'm all in. And so for me, I tell people that. I'm just all in. I have a true belief, a true faith. And. That has helped me so much that I just have a different mindset and I think differently. I feel differently. I am different. And so with that, I can't, I couldn't be happier. And you know, that's exactly what the Bible says is that really when we become born again, we're new. Everything, we're a new person.

We're a new creation. And that's exactly the transformation that you've been going through in these last two years. Yeah, but those aren't just words to me. I truly mean what I just said. And it may be written, but that's how I feel. You live it. I live it. It's your mind. Your mind has changed. You've been renewing your mind with his word every day. and it does make us think better. It makes us think differently.

Absolutely. Yeah. You know, I can say that for me, Kelly bought me a Bible called The Message. And the fact that I've read from start to finish is a true accomplishment for me. And I'm going back through it again in a different version of the King James Bible that Kelly bought me as well. So I, you know, I love it and I'm truly attached. God is so good, isn't he? God is good. He is so good. No question. Yeah. And he has great and awesome things for you and for every single one of our listeners.

And could I just ask you, Dino, if you could give our listeners just a piece of encouragement. Maybe they are feeling downtrodden. And they're feeling like, you know, they're hitting brick wall after brick wall. What would you say to encourage somebody based on your own experience?

I would say that through belief, things will work out. And I know it's more than just positive thinking. It's about positive feeling. And, you know, that feeling is what transpires into energy, and that's what you give off. You know, as you think, so you become. If you think negative, it's going to be negative. It's so true. If you think positive, it'll be positive.

And I'm not saying that positive thinking and all that stuff, But I'm saying if you exude what you think, then things will work out. And things won't be perfect, but they will work out. And if you feel there's any hesitation, you just have to believe that it will work out. I love that word. And it really backs up. The Bible backs up that word in Psalm. I think it's Psalm 34. I may be wrong, but it basically says this.

As a man thinks, so he is. However we think about ourselves, that's who we are. That's right. So if we think we're a victim, we're a victim. That's right. Right? If we think that we will never prosper, we will never prosper. And if you think it's not going to work out, it's not going to work out. It's not going to work out. Yeah. So that is where the renewing of our mind, getting the word of God on the inside of us and believing what God has to say about us.

Yeah, I truly believe if you can control your mind, you can control a lot because your mind is what really dictates how you move forward. It's true. That is so true. Would you say that your mind controls how you play Mexican Train? Oh, that's what I want to know. I would say yes.

We love to play Mexican Train. You do play a main game. Well, you know, I have trouble beating my sister. She, you know, speaks the language. Well, and you hide your dominoes. You cheat. That's right. I've gotten used to that. Well, it happens. I got to win somehow. If you're not cheating, you're not trying. I love having you on the show. Thank you for having me here. It's been a great pleasure. It's been like a dream come true. And will you come back with Kelly?

Oh, I'd love to. That'll be fun. Yeah, let's do another show. We have a lot of things to talk about, don't we? Perfect. We could go on and on. And so, oh, that verse is in Proverbs 23, 7, that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. And also, you know, I'm just kind of going back to that a little bit, that whatever we think typically finds its way to our mouth. And if we're speaking those negative things over ourselves, that also...

Can very negatively impact our lives, right? Absolutely correct. Yeah. No question. So how we think, that's such a great word.

Listeners, I want you to take that word. And we are encouraging you today to put the word of God into your mind, to renew your mind, to renew your thinking. So just like my little brother, your thinking has completely changed. Absolutely. And that's the biggest thing. is I think differently. I feel differently. I am different. And so that is the key. Yeah. Yeah. He makes us different. He makes all things new.

God just has a way of doing that. And again, what a miracle and how much God loves you personally, that he would pick you up and put you in a place where he knew you would be connected to the right people that would bring him to you, would bring you to him. You know, being here has brought me total joy and happiness. I've connected with you. I've married Kelly. I've got a great life. I'm very happy here. That's for sure. And I have to thank God. All true.

We give him all the glory. Absolutely. He's so good. He's such a good father.

He's such a good father. And we're going to do this some more. We're going to do this again. For those of you in our audience today, we want you to be encouraged that God is directing your steps, that God has something so great for you. And that if you feel downtrodden, remember God.

To think about how you're thinking, to take those thoughts captive that are negative about yourself, to take those thoughts captive that just like to stop your mind from thinking things that God doesn't think about you. You know, I look at it like this, Dino, we really can't afford to think anything about ourselves that God doesn't think about us.

And he thinks we're wonderful. wonderful he loves us he's always chasing us down he has our picture in his wallet for goodness sake i believe that yeah yeah so we're gonna land this plane it has been amazing to have my little brother on the show thank you sis i love you i love you i love you so much and i you are one of of my greatest gifts on this earth. And just to be able to have the relationship that we have in Christ and to have

the fun that we have, all of us together. It's pretty awesome. I would agree. Yeah, it's pretty awesome. And we are so happy that you have joined us today on this podcast. Podcast we hope you have been encouraged and as you go through your day today here's the most important thing for you to remember Jesus is absolutely crazy about you we're going to see you next time on the Pam Raimi show. Music.