Welcome to The Line 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, fellas, this is your last episode of 2025. It's your meat episode. Let's get right into it, okay? So scripture the week, this week is Isaiah 43, verses 18 and 19 says, Do not call to mind the former things, or consider the things of the past. Behold, I am going to do something new. Now it will spring up. Will you not be aware of it? I'll even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. Guys, man, that verse is right there. Just like, let's go. That's some great verses to go into the 2026 mindset with, right? So look, unpack that in the last podcast, our last SKO of 2025. I know it's sad, but guess what? We still got them coming 2026. Pray for the good little willing. And so that one's out there. So we try to simplify and apply God's word every day, fellas. And again, we do this in our Lion Within Us community. It's called the Daily Spiritual Kickoff. Get started today for free. Okay. So this episode, the LionWithin.us, forgot to say that. This episode, it's just going to be a reflection and out the windshield as well. We're going to look back at a little some things we did in 2025 just to share with you, just have a little bit of fun with you. I know lots of you guys are kind of off and chilling out this time of year. So look, for you guys that are listening, thanks for listening. Thanks for being loyal to the lion. And quite frankly, 2025 was a great year for the lion within us. Okay, we covered a ton of new ground at the lion, uh, and we found our footing in some pretty cool areas. I mean, primarily the Bible app was really cool in 2025. Uh, it's been a great way to encourage guys all over the world. I just keep like I'm always blown away. I got I remember getting on several calls this year. Like, how is this possible? Like one of them was a guy from Kenya, one of them was a guy from um uh Europe, another one was a guy he was from India, living in Paris, and found the lion. I mean, all over the world, and they're reaching out to us. They're coming to us because they're hurting, they they they need some support, they need some help. There's something that has been said to them in the Bible app, uh particularly in the I'm Just a Guy series, that has just spoke to them in a mighty way. And I'm sitting here like, wait a minute, God, I'm just uh basically you know two or three degrees removed from Jed Clampett in North Carolina. Like that's this is who I am. I I'm out here on the weekends with uh in my overalls, in my cowboy hat and in my muck boots, working on fences and helping with horses, and how in the world, I've never been to a seminary or anything like that, how in the world can reflections from me written through the Bible app be encouraging guys on the other side of the world? And I'll just tell you, my shirt says it, but God, bro, there's nothing with me. I mean, there's nothing. But God has can do some incredible things. And I'm just here to tell you, when he leaned into what God's doing, the way I have with the Bible app, uh, it's been pretty awesome just to see how that worked and how that is continuing to work. So now like we're trying to crank, I I really try to write about if one to two new studies every month, fellas. So, I mean, there's a lot of work that goes into those studies. I know you just think, well, just sitting there, all you know is typing on a keyboard, how can that be work? I was just telling you one thing, buddy. Sit down, open up your Bible, open up a brand a blank document or sheet of paper, and then you write something that you hope is going to encourage another brother, you know, that's gonna help them in their walk with Christ. I'm telling you, it's the hardest thing I've ever done. It just is, but it's the most fulfilling. It's the most fulfilling for sure. So the Bible app stuff, guys, if you haven't downloaded the Bible app yet, you gotta get it. Go just open, it's free, you know, all the stuff on the Bible app. But then if you're on it, go just search, just do a little search for the Lion Within Us. You'll find our page there. Follow the page that way when we send out plans and and the Bible app releases them, you'll get updated on them. Okay, all right. So probably one of the a couple big things we had in 2025 is we had our huge spring event. It was incredible, it was awesome. We do them at the end of April. We had probably 50 plus guys here. It was incredible. We were camping, we went, we did a lot of fishing, we went on an epic hike. We had some really good times just talking with young, because again, this is the one the spring event is guys from five years old and up, and we were just pouring into each other uh and just supporting each other and what it means to walk Christ, how do we do it? You know, what does it look like? What are tips we can have? We had some probably the some of the best conversations right at the hiking trail where we just answered questions from the kids around what does it mean to be a godly man? That was just such a great opportunity and just a wonderful time. Of course, we have a ton of fun at the shooting range and shooting ski and all that fun stuff, too. Just doing stuff that guys enjoy doing. Great, incredible barbecue, great big breakfast. Like it was an it was just awesome. And we always, for the spring event, we ended up with a uh church service by the pond, which is really special and cool. So it's if you if you're interested in that, I'll talk about more about that coming 2026. But the spring event was pretty awesome. And also, we did our second mission trip. And we did that at the end of March. We went back and served the people who were impacted by Hurricane Helene. Again, it was just a devastated area. If you've never done trips like that, I just highly encourage you, put it on your list. Like when people are hurting, when you have opportunities to serve, jump in. It's not, you'll find that you'll be more a whole lot. The blessing is gonna be for you way more than anything that you bless others with. I mean, you're gonna be doing, I mean, we did some incredible work. I mean, I'm not even gonna try to lie. God did some incredible work through us. Uh, just um the amount that we were able to get done during that week was phenomenal. I can also tell you, when we got home, we were tired. We were absolutely wore out tired. So that was a big one. Uh big trip. Thanks to Praying Pelican Ministries. Thanks for Lonnie, brother Mark. You guys are incredible for all the support you guys give us, just in getting this stuff lined up and executing it and just making it just be uh just a fun time. I was able to reconnect with one of my high school buddies. We just lost touch with. So, Ben, it was just so great to serve with you, brother. Hopefully you'll listen to this. But if not, just a just a chance to serve with so many great men out there. Um, it was awesome. Uh, the podcast, actually in 2025, if you're curious, it continued to grow. Uh, it was awesome to see the growth that the show had. A couple years ago, Apple did a thing where they cut off automatic downloads. So that took our podcast numbers, pretty much every podcast out there. It took your podcast numbers and almost cut them in half. And they in some of the podcasts it was even worse than that. But we started seeing growth again throughout 2025, and and we actually ended the year with some of the greatest download numbers we've ever had. So um that was pretty awesome. And and on top of that, my oldest, my oldest daughter, she started editing podcasts for us. I'm super excited for that. So she's learning that skill set now and and putting those pieces and components together. It's just great to have that and to be able to sit down with her, and she's like, I'm working on a fun Friday, or I'm working on a meet episode, I'm working on an SKO SKO episode, and she's getting to see firsthand what it's like behind the scenes and learning some pretty cool skills. I know she's 15 right now, so she's learning on some things there that hopefully we'll be able to transfer uh as skills into future roles for her. So I'm pretty pumped and super uh proud of her as well. Um probably the big thing for 2025 for The Lion, quite frankly, was releasing the book, you know, Unleashing the Lion Within. That was a the huge part of you know getting getting this content out. I've never thought we'd I'd write a book. Are you kidding me? Like there that that's for smart people, not for me, you know, but just the whole process there uh of the call from God to clearly get this done. Uh Pastor Joby with the encouragement that he gave, like basically like, look, if you get this done, I will provide the forward. Uh, getting that from him, uh, all the pieces that go through the the writing, the editing, we decided to self-publish because quite frankly, we're just a grassroots movement, as you guys know. So there's no money to pay a big publisher or anything like that. So it's it's all from us, and uh even the audible version. You know what? I recorded that because I need to record that. That's that's something I want to outsource. So all that stuff's done, fellas. Uh, the book's out there, it's broken up into sizable chunks. I mean, we're getting a lot of great feedback from guys on the book. Basically, it's broken down into seven sections, and within each section, there's subsections. I'm telling you, you're talking about two or three pages per per per sit-down. So if you talk about, well, it's not consumable, bro. What are you talking about? It's like two pages, like easily, easily consumable. Give you ways to simplify and apply, give you a couple of scripture references. I'm not hammering you over the head with a bunch of theological type of arguments. How do we apply God's word? How has it worked for me? And and and and is that if that's useful to you, maybe it's maybe you can try. So that's what that's how the book is written. It really is written that way. So again, unleashing the line within. If you just open up Amazon right now, just search unleashing the line within, you'll see it. Buy a copy, buy 30 copies. You know, we we we could use the support from there, but I can't guarantee these are great gifts. If you guys new year is starts tomorrow, right? Hey, this is a great thing. You could sit down with a guy and literally use this every week. I mean, it's got almost 50 chapters, so you could skip a week or two and you can use this throughout the entire year and just walk through one little piece. And there's reflection questions at the end as well. It'd be a great way to disciple someone and just open up some great conversations, okay? So, I mean, that that was a really big, uh, brilliant, really big for us in 2025. The other big thing for us last year is, and you guys hear me talk about the daily spiritual kickoff, okay? I talk about that pr pretty regularly. And the cool part with the daily spiritual kickoff is I get to go live within our platform. That's how it works. It's kind of like a live feed. Then I get to see like how many guys are on and things like that. Well, we started setting daily records in the last quarter of 2025 for our daily spiritual kickoff, setting numbers that I never thought we we would see. I'm not going to share what the numbers are, but they're still relatively small, but they're huge to me. And that has been such an encouragement that guys find value and basically just getting together and soaking in God's Word. So again, Monday through Friday, head over to the Lion Within.us, start your daily spiritual kickoff right there. It also comes with access to our prayer request area of the Lion Within Us. And guys, I find so much value in that. Okay. Um, the big thing really in 2025 that I'll remember the most is unfortunately not something good. It happened when uh broke my ankle. You guys heard me talk about that, and I kind of unpacked that uh back, I think the Thanksgiving episode. So go back and listen to that. I gotta tell the whole story there. But July 26th, my life changed. Um, my wife and my children, all their lives changed, and it's been a journey as I record this. I'm recording this actually early. So I'm I'm I'm in early, I'm in November when I'm recording this. I'm still out of the woods with this ankle deal. But it's changed things big time, but it's also caused me to pause and reflect and recognize I need to slow down a little bit more. Uh I need to to be intentional about going at God's pace and and being obedient to what he says and just trusting him along the way. And and uh thank you, Carl, for giving me those little nuggets as well. And and that's just been uh it's been a challenge. And I've had to I've I've but I've found my writing's gotten a lot uh crisper and sharper throughout this. And I've also found that man by by this getting hurt, it just my wife, I've talked about her all the time. I would be lost without my wife, Rebecca. I mean, she is amazing, she's incredible, she's a love of my life. She steps up, and uh, you talk about a hard-working Jovi Tospad, a humble, hardworking, holy in the hot, that girl checks all four boxes uh ten times over in every one of those boxes. But this that hardworking box this year, I don't know how she did it. I'll be honest with you. This girl getting up, taking care of horses twice a day, got feed them in the morning, needing to take care of them, muck installed, all that stuff, teaching horse lessons, taking kids to and from school because I couldn't drive. I still can't right now, as right now, I can't drive. Now I hope for be drive, be driving pretty soon, and just did it all. And never complained once. Was she tired? Absolutely, she was tired. But she showed me the love and commitment of a wife, like I I can't I can't even put into words. So thank you, Becca, just for how much you've loved me and uh showing me and my whole, all my girls, all even Judah stepping in and doing what he can. You know, it's just been pretty cool there. So that was a big thing. Uh also in July, before I broke my ankle, we kicked off our leadership masterminds. And that was pretty awesome to get started up. And it's just the feedback from the guys that are in those mastermind groups has been so encouraging. We've got a whole system around it. We got a whole thing that we develop around it. And look, if you don't have that solid band of brothers that you're walking with right now, the leadership mastermind could be really something that you would find a lot of value out of, guys. So I'm just telling you, it's something to think about, okay? Uh, we also established a formal oversight committee uh in 2025, and their insights and discussions have been incredible as well as leading us into new things we're building and leading us into new things that we're going to be creating and ways we're going to serve in 2026. Uh, the last thing we did, and really the big thing towards the end of 2025 that was incredible was the conference with Pastor with Pastor Joby. I mean, that was uh absolutely epic. And we went down there in October, uh, met the whole 1122 crew, got to hang out behind the scenes, all that fun stuff, had a table, 3,000 plus dudes coming by talking to us and loving on us, encouraging us. We were encouraging them. Just what a fun, great weekend, you know. Uh from a personal standpoint, in 2025, outside of the ankle stuff. My oldest got her learners permit. Uh, Judah's still learning uh potty training. So he's not officially finished with that. We're we're close. Uh, tons of volleyball. Spring, we had softball to fall, though it truly things transitioned big time to volleyball for us. My older girls are awesome. I love watching them play. Uh t-ball for my four-year-old little girl this year. Next year we're gonna have T-ball for both of them. Uh Judah uh kind of lost all of his baby looks, man. He's now he just looks like a little dude. My wife's kind of sad. I am too. But uh, and I just again, it's just a great year for me and Becca. We had a couple of weekends where we could get away. So that was super, we just try to be intentional about that. So that's 2025. All right, so we're gonna take a break. We'll come back back and we're gonna unpack just a few new things in 2026, some things for you to look forward to. Trying to find genuine resources to help grow spiritually can feel overwhelming. At least it was for me. For the longest time, the support that I was looking for didn't exist. And I knew I wasn't alone. And at the same time, God was leading me to take action. That's why we built the Lion Within Us Community, which is simply a place for Christian men to grow together in an honest, practical way that's always rooted in God's word. We've made it simple. We have our daily spiritual kickoff for that little boost to get you going. We have Bible studies focusing on discerning truth and applying it. And we have a private forum where you can speak freely amongst other guys who listen. And then we have things like Friday Forge, Couples Night, where we gotta tackle the hard items that guys are craving to talk about, but most face settings just refuse to explore these areas. So our community is about a growth mindset, intentionality, and transparency. Simply put, leave the mask at the door and come back you are. No perfect resume, just a willing heart and a desire to lead. I believe in what we've built simply because I've seen God use it to strengthen so many men. And I'd be honored to walk alongside you. So if you're ready, visit thelionwithin.us to explore the community. Start your free trial. Look around and see how this could help you lead with clarity and courage. So your journey begins here at the lionwithin.us. I look forward to seeing you inside the den. All right. 2026, like midnight tonight. It's gonna be here, bro. So we're gonna be what are some big things? The big thing, a couple, right? Fun Fridays are gonna change. They're not going away, they're just changing. Okay. So you know how we typically have a uh we do a health, self, uh, uh a wealth, a health, wealth, and a self tip. I should know. I've done hundreds of them. We do that, all that fun stuff. We're stopping that. So on our fun Fridays now, we're gonna have a member spotlight. They're going, these are gonna be guys directly from our leadership mastermind. So every week you're gonna hear from our guys. We're gonna be just uh sharing them because I'm gonna tell you what, the the value of the lion within us is nothing to do with Chris. It's the it's the guys. It's the guys, and we want to put a highlight and a spotlight on them directly. So you're gonna see that starting next week. We get one, you got one more fun Friday with a regular Fun Friday format. Then starting next week, we're gonna have this new this new format with the member spotlights. I think you guys are gonna be pumped about it. I know I am for sure. So that's a big change for the show, for the podcast, for you podcast listeners. Uh, we also I feel like guys pretty much give me the next book to write, and it's based directly off the U version series. So be be in prayer over that. I have no idea the timing or anything like that. I just know that that's something that's resonating with so many guys. We've got to turn that into a book and a bigger resource. So that's that's coming out. I'm also writing a strategic plan for discipleship. My mentor Buck has been just helping me think through things in 2025. I really feel like this is the next piece for the lion to help guys understand where they're at with their walk of Christ and what does this look like moving forward? Like how where are they at now? What's the end goal look like, and how can we help you get there? You know, so that's that's a big piece. That's a huge piece for the lion we're gonna be working on. We're actually gonna be adding some support groups in 2026 as well. We hear what you guys are talking about: marriage, divorce, finances, uh, guys struggle with debt. There guys we talk about pornography and addiction all the time. We talk about parenting all the time, and even when kids leave. Uh, and we talk a lot about just being fit, being healthy, and being well. So we're gonna develop these support groups. We're gonna have them Monday through Friday within our land within us community. These are just gonna be ways for guys to connect and enjoy uh having conversations with like-minded brothers in Christ. So I'm super excited about that because I think that could be a great way for guys to get to know each other, to love on each other, to encourage each other uh in a meaningful way. Uh, we're gonna definitely be trying to do some more conferences. Not sure on which conferences yet. We're gonna try. We're we're targeting some conferences, we're trying to figure all that out now. And we have our spring event already set. You guys heard me talk about that 2025 event. 2026 event is already set. It's April 24th through the 26th. It's the last weekend in April, okay? We always it's always the last weekend in April. Shooting, hiking, fishing, kayaking, camping, uh, outdoor games, um, uh great food, fellowship, some teaching from God's word, church by the pond. It's it's it's a great event, guys. Go to the lionwithin.us slash events. Get registered today for that, okay? And then we're also targeting a West Coast event. It'll be in the fall, and this is all pending, but this is a big thing on our hearts. I really, really, really, really hope we can make this happen, guys. Be praying about that. And then all the the last thing I'll share with you. I mentioned July 26, 2025. I broke my ankle. July 26, 2026, prayer for the good Lord Willard. I'm gonna do something to remember that injury. Hopefully, I'm not gonna hurt it again, but I want to do like a run or like one uh some type of workout or something like that. So I don't want to forget the faithfulness of God that I that He was with me during the storm of this 20 of this massive ankle injury in 2025. So I'm putting it on the calendar. If you're in the area and you want to hit the run with me, or if you want to make a trip, let me know. I'll I don't even know what July 26th, 2026 is. I don't even know what day of the week that is. Doesn't matter. I'm gonna do something awesome and we'll be talking about it, okay? So look, as we end, I just want to encourage you one thing. If you listen to the line within us at at all, if you if you follow anything that we've done and you haven't plugged into community yet, I I have to just implore you. Well please, what are you waiting on? Like we do a month free, okay, guys? And the the the subscription is extremely reasonable. We're talking about$15 for a subscription, guys. We're not talking about big big dollars here. Go get started. And if you need support, if you need help with your budget, we're here. Let us let us talk to you. Okay. The Lion Within Us community, this is where we have our Lion Lunch, our Bible studies, our Friday Ford, our support groups, our couples night, our access to our forums, our access to our prayer request board, our courses. All it's all found right there, guys, the LionWithin.us. And the great part is when you get this app, there's no women, there's no solicitation, there's no junk. Like it legit. It's only lion content. And guys, I'm telling you what, in the world we live in today, you can have the best of intentions, and that stuff's gonna sneak in and sneak in and sneak in. It's not getting in the lion. We audit it, we're in it regularly, and if there is any hint of that, we get it out. Okay, so head over to lionwithin.us, click on that lion's den community community, guys, and get started with that. Or put in an application for a leadership mastermind. That's your next charge. Like put fill out an application now. This application is 80 questions. This is not for the faint of heart. So if you're like that, you know, just a sideline participant, don't even do it. Don't don't even try it. But if you're actively wanting to start leading and leaning in harder, this assessment is a great first step. At the end of the assessment, it gives you a chance to connect with me one-on-one. We'll hop on, we'll talk about your assessment, we'll talk about the areas that you're struggling with. We're gonna also talk about the areas that you're crushing to make sure they don't fall off. That's a great first step. It is the first step, by the way. You can't get into a leadership mastermind unless you do the assessment. So to LionWithin.us slash mastermind. See what that's all about. All right, fellas. That's it for this episode. Thanks for hanging with us. The question I want you to leave you with is how can you stop clinging to the past as we move to the new year? Midnight tonight, you're in 2026, boys. So we gonna stop you gotta stop clinging to the up to the past. We've got to see what God's calling us to in the future, okay? So the lionwithin.us is where you find us at, guys. Ratings and reviews, please, please, please. They do help. You may not think they help, particularly if we're on Apple. They help big time. Subscribe to us on YouTube. Put a lot of stuff on YouTube, boys. So hopefully you enjoy that. At least it gives you a shot if you're on YouTube regularly to look get some lions, some good, wholesome content amongst everything else you're looking at. Okay. So subscribe to us over there, all right? That would be great. But again, the Bible app, find us there. Unleashing the alignment in. Go get your copy, holding it up right here. Go get your copy on Amazon. Just search Unleashing your line within. You should be able to find it right there, okay? Come back on Friday. We'll have our next our last fun Friday with the old format is on this Friday, okay? And then we're gonna be shifting it, guys. So hopefully you'll enjoy that one. Happy New Year! Thanks for the support of 2025. If you do want to be a donor to the show and help us out each and every month to LionWithin.us donate. That's a great way to connect with us. Maybe you want to make that one of your new year's resolutions. You know, I'm gonna start supporting the Lion because they're giving me so much great resources and just support and encouragement through the year. I want to help them in that way. That would be amazing. Would love to see that, okay? So have a happy new year. Be safe. Remember, don't ruin your testimony just because a calendar is changing over, okay? So you guys that are married, let's act like we're married. Guys with kids, remember all that stuff. Put your guards up. If you want to have, you know, a beverage or something, just be sensible about it, boys. Let's be smart about this stuff. And uh hopefully you'll have a good new year, all right? We'll see you in 2026. You know what's coming now. Keep unleashing the lion within. If you're tired of going at it alone, we understand every man needs wise counsel, but finding it can be quite the challenge. That's why we build our leadership masterminds. This isn't just more content, guys. It's real discipleship with a consistent rhythm, small cohorts of no more than seven guys, honest hot seat sessions, and biblical counsel that turns good intentions into action. You'll get accountability, clarity, and a circle of brothers who will challenge you and cheer you on. We open up new options regularly so there's room to find the right fit. It's not always easy, but it is worth it. The first step is simple. Take the leadership mastermind assessment. No pressure, no hype, just thoughtful questions to help you see where you are, where God is leading you, and whether this is a good option for your next step. Hey, if it's a fit, we're gonna follow up with details. And if it's not, we'll point you to resources to help you keep growing. Either way, you move forward. So if you're ready to take the assessment, head over to thelion within dot uslash mastermind. So that's the lionwithin.us slash mastermind to get moving today.