Chris Grainger: 1:10

Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intends you to be. I'm your host, chris Granger. Let's jump in. All right, guys. Fun Friday time. Let's get into it. Are you ready? I am All right, so let's go.

Chris Grainger: 1:23

Romans, chapter 15, verse 13 is the scripture all week we've been focusing on. Made of God of hope. Fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Beautiful verse, guys. Go back to the spiritual kickoff. It'd be two back one. Two in your podcast feed we unpack that ad link to try to give you some ways to simplify and apply that to your life. Okay, and again, we do the spiritual kickoffs every day, monday through Friday, inside our Lion Within Us community. Go, start your community experience today. Thelionwithinus. Click on Join a Community, pop right in and be part with us. Everything from the daily spiritual kickoff to our Lion Lunches, to our Discipleship Masterminds, to our Friday Fours, to our Bible Studies. Guys, we lean in, we lean in hard. We're here to disciple leaders and if you know right now that you need some help in your discipleship, and if you're a guy I know you do because we all do the lion withinus that's where it's at really had a good time talking with my friend, matt drinkin on our last show, fellas. It was a really just a fun conversation. He's very optimistic guy, to the point. He wrote the Eternal Optimist. He's always after, he's always on fire, he's always got just a ton of energy. Really enjoyed the conversation with him, loved how he broke down, how his trust was really fractured within the church at a young age and how that impacted him as a man and his spiritual growth throughout the rest of his life. And so we just we talked about that a lot. Then we got down very to brass tacks on how can you lean in to be a true disciple maker. Right, you have to be a disciple, but then you also have to be making disciples. And that man I just feel like so many organizations out there from the Big C Church. They're missing it, they're missing this and I just want to wing it in and just encourage you. Look, there are simple ways to do it and if you need help, the Lion Within Us. This is literally why we built what we built TheLionWithinus fellas. Click on to that website, get started today.

Chris Grainger: 3:30

All right, now for a fun Friday guest for listeners. Rather, we always do a health, wealth and a self-tip. Okay, that's just how we roll. It's kind of like the three pillars at the land within us, and inside those pillars we break it down. The health is how can we build stronger minds and bodies? We got to have both right. You can't just have a strong body and not take care of it up top. So how do we build them both? Wealth tip is how do we be stewards really good stewards of our finances and our careers? God's called us to. That Self tip is not just about you as a person, but how can you step up to be the husband and father that God has called you to be? He's handpicked you to lead your family. So how can we do it better? All right, so a couple of things we're going to get into on this one For the health tip, matt even talked about this, which I thought was super interesting because I write the tips before we have the interviews.

Chris Grainger: 4:26

But he said he begins his day with gratitude, he journals, and that's the simple tip. Fellas, start your day with gratitude, because that's transformative, not just for your mind but for your body as well. So if you just take a few minutes in the mornings to reflect and write down a couple things one, two, three things that you're thankful for, they could be big stuff or small stuff. Maybe it's just because it's the a couple of things one, two, three things that you're thankful for. They could be big stuff or small stuff. Maybe it's just because it's the sunshine and it's finally warm right, or you and your wife aren't fighting, or your kids actually you know you're getting along and you're not struggling with any types of strife there. Or maybe the coffee's good that morning, I don't know.

Chris Grainger: 5:12

But when you start focusing on the blessing, it shifts our mindset from stress to joy. And if you start your day this way, you're setting yourself up for the Holy Spirit to really do some incredible stuff. It's going to reduce that anxiety, it's going to rewire our brain to really seek out the positive things in life. And then that gratitude it's just going to renew you. It's going to renew that spirit. It's going to help you start aligning your thoughts with God's thoughts and what he wants for you and his desires, and it's going to set the tone for the whole day ahead. So you got a choice. How are you going to go about the day? You'll go about, just you know, with Eeyore as your spirit animal. Or are you going to lean in and give God some gratitude and just let him and his goodness guide and direct you? There it is Health tip, fellas. Begin the day with gratitude, all right, wealth tip.

Chris Grainger: 6:05

This is super big. I even have the thing up here on my wall, but it celebrates small wins. And on my wall my wife gave me this when we started lying. It says big things often have small beginnings and too often we don't. We don't celebrate right the small stuff. Many times, if I'm being honest with what you got, a lot of you guys, you don't even celebrate big stuff. But usually the big stuff if it's big enough, it'll get some attention right. So maybe you get a big promotion at work or you got a big sales commission check or you finally completed that project that you could just put it behind you so you can actually breathe again, right?

Chris Grainger: 6:41

But life, as well as work and our careers, they're filled with small victories, fellas, and those small victories deserve some recognition. So those small victories deserve some recognition. So we use the sign on some different tools within a career and like when you complete a task, there you just click a button but that means you did something. So if you finish that task on time, celebrate. Did you encourage a fellow brother or sister in Christ out there today to stay calm under some pressure? Celebrate that, start acknowledging some of these small wins, and they can really. If you start doing that on a regular basis, it's going to help you maintain a helpful and motivated type of outlook, even with some of those larger goals seem like they're just BHAGsheads those big, hairy, audacious goals. They're just out there. This will help you because small celebrations remind us to give thanks to God for the progress that we're making. Man, because it may seem incremental, but the big, the big celebrations happen. You know the big goals, we crush those because we do the small things to get there. And these little moments of gratitude, fellas, I'm telling you, it's going to shift your focus on what you're lacking to what God is blessing you with. For me, when you think about your career, it's so easy just to forget that. Just go checking boxes and sometimes we don't celebrate at all. I'm telling you, fellas, you spend so much time at work, make sure you're taking time to give him the praise. All right Now, self-tip, and I talked about this a little bit with Matt.

Chris Grainger: 8:21

I talk about this a lot on the show with me in general, but you have to be transparent about your challenges, okay. So if you want to win at home, you know and I found this with me and my kids we feel a lot of pressure, don't we? We do, and that pressure can make it to where we feel like we always have to have the wall up. We have to be strong. We can't have any cracks in the armor. You've got to have it all together. And what I have found is that transparency is a really good way to connect and just let them know. And it means we've got to share our struggles. We've got to share what we're working through and how God is guiding and directing us, and that can be some very vulnerable conversations. Now you have to be wise about this. But maybe it's a work challenge or personal growth or spiritual battle.

Chris Grainger: 9:20

You know, for me, a lot of times I'm sharing with my kids the things that we're trying for the lion, and some things work, some things don't, and I just share them. Like here's where dad is and, to the point now, my oldest. You know she's proofreads a lot of stuff and and I and she gets to see cause I, I, really I'm able to share more with my heart through the writing, and she sees that and and it's teaching them and she's showing. She is seeing right now that her dad he doesn't have it all together but he definitely relies on God and, uh, he's definitely not perfect either, but he's progressing and I try to let them see that, let them know that and just be authentic.

Chris Grainger: 10:03

You know I can't sit there and tell them you know, eat healthy, eat healthy, eat healthy and just sit down in front of them and eat brownies for dinner, like that'd make no sense, right? That would be ludicrous. So I got to start showing them and I did, and I continue to, and it's not easy and it's uncomfortable at times. Did I share too much? I'd rather be over the top type of vulnerable with them than some secret, fake lie and I don't want that for you. If we're going to be a leader that God calls us to be, we have to have some real moments with our family. I don't think anything is wrong with that, so just lean into it, all right. So there you go. There's your health, wealth and yourself. Tip fellas Begin your day with gratitude is your health tip. Wealth tip celebrate those small wins. Self-tip be transparent about those challenges. Okay Now, book of the week.

Chris Grainger: 11:09

Now book of the week the Eternal Optimist. It is never too late. Borrowable Our buddy Matt here, fellas, go check that one out, it is never too late. Our buddy Matt here, fellas, go check that one out. I highly encourage you to. He even has a podcast. I've been on a show before. If you want to go listen to my episode with him, feel free to go check out the Eternal Optimist podcast.

Chris Grainger: 11:25

All right, now, dad jokes. We're going to get to a couple of fun dad jokes for you guys. You know we've got to have those each and every week on our fun Friday. So the first one is what do you call a group of musical whales? You heard me right. Whales like the, you know, out there in the ocean. Well, I call them an orchestra. Get it. I think that's going to get a few eye rolls.

Chris Grainger: 11:46

All right, number two why don't eggs ever feel hopeless? Because they know they're fixing to crack into something amazing. So there you go. I like eggs too, but I think I'm going with number one. I know everybody don't vote on the show, but I'm probably going with number one this week. So number one what do you call a group of musical whales An orchestra? Number two why don't eggs ever feel hopeless? Because they know they're about to crack into something amazing? So let me know which one you like. Fellas, and and.

Chris Grainger: 12:11

Again, if you have a dead joke that we haven't used that you want us to use one week, send it to support at the lion within dot us. That's support at the lion within dot us. If we use it on the show, we'll give you a shout out. We'll also hook you up with some free stuff just for helping us out. How about that?

Chris Grainger: 12:25

All right, now the question of the week this week is what gives you hope when life feels overwhelming or uncertain. I've talked about this a lot this week. We have to have. Our hope is grounded in something Usually some things in this world. We're just being honest, right, and for most guys, let's just be real. Our hope is in our bank account. If we get a certain figure, whatever that figure is, you know what that number is. When you get that number, you can breathe. I'm just here to tell you, though, bro, that number can change quick, or your hope is in your health. That can change quick too. You get a little virus, you're out, you go, or get that call from a doctor. I'm telling you, man, stuff happens, and in this business I see it a lot. But if you put your hope in something greater, man, there's so much more that awaits and that's what I hope that we did this week is just encourage you with that, all right.

Chris Grainger: 13:24

So, guys, head over to the lionwiththatus please. I'm really asking you to. If you head over there, why we have a few free resources. We have our weekly roar, which is our newsletter, and it's not some silly, stupid news. I legit take time to think, reflect, put some thoughts in. That hopefully will encourage you. It comes out every Monday morning. That's all you're signing up for. And then we also have our Christian Leader Assessment, and this thing is awesome. It's seven different categories. You walk through the website it's completely free and then at the end of it it's going to give you an assessment of where you stack up, as well as some free resources for you. Fellas, it's such a great tool. We want to see more and more guys utilize it.

Chris Grainger: 14:08

And then our Bible studies. We have Bible studies on YouVersion, tons and tons of Bible studies. I love writing the Bible studies and you can even connect with me directly on YouVersion and we lead them each and every month, usually about two a month. And if you want to come alongside the Lion Within us while we do a Bible study inside you version, that would be a phenomenal way to connect with us. All right, all right.

Chris Grainger: 14:30

So, guys, head over to lionwithinus and while you're there, click on offerings, jump in and start your community experience. I'm telling you, inside our community, guys, we have our Lion Lunch, we have our Bible studies, we have our Discipleship Masterminds, we have our Daily Spiritual Kickoff, we have our Friday Forge Guys. The list goes on and on and on. But the main thing, we're giving you a space for intentional conversations, connections and reflections that you're not going to get anywhere else. This is iron, sharpening iron. This is discipleship in action. And, fellas, we're discipling leaders, and I know if you're hearing my voice right now. You are a leader, god is calling you to lead and we're here to help you. So the LionWithinus is where you can get started. All right, so give us a rating and review. All that stuff helps with the show for sure.

Chris Grainger: 15:19

Subscribe to us on YouTube. That channel is actually growing pretty well, so subscribe to us over on YouTube. If you head over to YouTube and just search the Lion Within Us, you'll find it. Just click the little bell to subscribe. That would be awesome. That would be just to show your support there. And again, if you want to hop on board and support us as a sponsor, a fellow brother in Christ, or be a monthly donor for what we're building, thelionwithinus is how you do that. All lionwithinus is how you do that, all right, you guys have a great day. If you have a good weekend as well, hopefully we'll be back on Monday with you hanging out. Remember, whatever you're at this weekend, just look for opportunities to unleash the lion within.

Chris Grainger: 16:01

I don't know about you, but I used to find Mondays really rough.

Chris Grainger: 16:03

I would find myself trying to reset for work, trying to get my bearing on the family calendar, trying to find time for my own spiritual growth and development, and often I found myself overwhelmed or just flatly ignoring aspects of my life that I know are meaningful to me.

Chris Grainger: 16:19

What I learned was that if I had immediate access to important and impactful spiritual topics and reflections to start my week well, after the allure of a Sunday sermon has passed, I would set my whole week up to be more meaningful and for the opportunity to make a true impact. If you think that getting such a boost would help your week to get started on the right foot, we would love for you to sign up for the Weekly Roar, which is our newsletter that is produced by the Lion Within Us. Each week will deliver a powerful reflection and practical steps to help you apply Scripture with clarity and purpose, all being rooted in light and truth. Being rooted in light and truth. So in just a few minutes, we hope to arm you with insights for living out biblical leadership with confidence and strength, and maybe even have a little extra bounce in your step. If that sounds useful, head over to thelionwithinus slash ROAR to sign up today. That's thelionwithinus to get your weekly roar today.