Intro And Psalm 32 Confession

Chris Grainger 1:34

Welcome to the Lion Within Us 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 fun Friday member spotlight. But before you get to meet our awesome member, which I that's I know that's why we hear, but we've got to get some scripture first, okay? So the scripture is Psalm 32, verses 3, 4, and 5. Normally we just do one verse that hey, you gotta just hang with us this week. So what the scripture says is when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night, your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped, as in the heat of the summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sins. Guys, the whole point of this week we've been talking about getting past guilt. If you guys are just walking around with that shame and that condemnation, whatever things are in your past, go back and listen to the spiritual kickoff episode. Go back and listen to the conversation on Wednesday. Guys, all these things are helped to build you up, to encourage you, and to equip you. And by the way, folks, we do the spiritual kickoff Monday through Friday at the Lion Within Us. We'd love for you to take part of that. It's growing by like gangbusters. We'd love to have you just jump into it. If you're in a continental U.S., we give you a free gift as well. And then also the best one of the best part of it, really, as far as I'm concerned, outside of the teaching you get every day, you get access to our prayer request space. And guys, we have prayer meeting every Monday. We open it up to everybody in the lion. And we just it's growing every week, it's getting bigger and bigger. The prayer requests are getting more and more, and we're just being intentional about going to the Lord on behalf of others, fellas. So if you need some support, some encouragement, just head over to the linewithin.us and hop into that. Okay. So let's get into our fun member now. I'm super excited for this one. So just want to welcome to the show, Chris Capri. Chris, what's going on, buddy? Oh no, I'm not sure. How are you doing, Chris? I'm good, man. I'm good. Looking forward to this one hanging out with you. It's because uh, you know, I don't have to worry about messing up the name, you know. Yeah, it makes it pretty easy, doesn't it? There's enough of us out there. That's right, bud. That's right. So some some of us get it right. So me and you, we got it right, you know. So that's that's it, man. Well, hey, before we jump into your story, man, what's something fun about you, Chris, that maybe not many people know about, bud? Fun about me?

SPEAKER_03 3:50

Let's see. That's a good question.

Chris Grainger 3:58

Well, there's lots of fun things, bro.

SPEAKER_02 4:01

Let's see. Um, I don't know. I like uh I like car stuff. You know, I used to uh race

Member Spotlight And Drag Racing

SPEAKER_02 4:06

cars out of high school. Nice drag racing mostly. Um drag racing, okay. So I've always been kind of into the uh the car modification scene, car racing scene. I really enjoy that stuff.

Chris Grainger 4:17

What do you do like uh eighth mile, quarter mile stuff? Quarter mile stuff, yeah. Okay. We have a little eighth mile track pretty close to us here, and uh but the quarter mile, that's where you can really get down on it, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

Yeah, yeah. I live right nice uh to uh Texas Motor Speedway, and they'll let me uh have a well, I don't know if it's a quarter mile there or not, but they uh let you race on the track a bunch too.

Chris Grainger 4:39

So that's cool, man. That's awesome, buddy. So well, we'll have to uh we'll have to talk some racing eventually at some point, man. Yeah. We always love these too, Chris, because it just gets to get our listeners get to hear from all our awesome members. Maybe talk tell us a little bit about your discipleship journey, man, how you came to know Christ. What is that what does that look like for you?

SPEAKER_02 5:04

Uh, you know, I was saved in middle school growing up. Um went to a Southern Baptist church. Wasn't your typical Southern Baptist church when you think of, you know, the no no music, no dancing, and that kind of stuff. We actually did things like that. You know, we had concerts in the gymnasium. Um, I remember one year, the Mercy Me, like in the mid-90s, before they really blew up, blew up. They had a concert in our gym. I remember buying a CD at the event because I liked them so much. And so uh That's crazy, man. Yeah, it was a long time ago. I was like, I remember having that CD in my hand, and then now I see everything that they've done. It's just it's weird how how big they've gotten.

Chris Grainger 5:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:44

But yeah, you know, my my church life growing up, it wasn't it wasn't your typical uh my dad's a Christian scientist, and my mom's a Southern Baptist, and so every other Sunday we actually went to a different church. So one Sunday I go to his church, and the next Sunday I go to my mom's church. Really? Yeah, he initially had told my mom that he was going to uh try to do the Southern Baptist thing, and he just couldn't make himself do it because he had grown up in the other church, it just felt wrong to him.

Chris Grainger 6:11

Um so how did that how did that feel, everyone? Was that flip-flopping for you?

Growing Up Between Two Churches

Chris Grainger 6:16

How was that, man?

SPEAKER_02 6:18

Uh I didn't enjoy it. Yeah, it was one of those things like, and most of my friends were at the Baptist church, so I really enjoyed going there. Okay. I go when I go to my dad's church, you know, it's a real small church, still is a small church. I don't know, you know, I always get asked, oh, is that like Scientology? Like, no, it's nothing like Scientology. They still believe in Jesus. Okay. They just don't believe in modern, it's just the modern medicine they don't believe in. So they don't go to the doctor, they don't do that. It's all prayer through uh healing through prayer.

Chris Grainger 6:49

Healing through prayer.

SPEAKER_02 6:50

Gotcha. Which which exists. I got no problem with that. Right, right. Um, but I feel like God put doctors in our lives for a reason.

Chris Grainger 7:00

So I'm sure that made it tough though, because you're building friends, and then you know, that back and forth, I won't be here this week, I will be here this week. I'm sure that made it challenging.

SPEAKER_02 7:11

Yeah, it wasn't easy, you know. Um kids I went to church with, I was I also went to school with them. So I did get to see them at school, but then on the weekends, you know, it was like I might be there, I might not. Right. Right. I got you, man. So that was, you know, that was uh that was that part of my life. And then, you know, I mean most of my life I've been real shy. You know, I uh I didn't really talk to people, I didn't interact, I didn't do podcasts.

SPEAKER_03 7:39

Yep, yep, yep.

SPEAKER_02 7:41

Um, I was the the guy behind the camera, not in front of it. Sure. Um and it was mostly just because of anxiety and fear. You know, I just I wasn't sure if people actually wanted to talk to me. Like, do they want to hear what I have to say? You know, do they think I'm the cool guy because I wasn't the cool guy? Um, you know, I joke with my wife about it because she's uh I always say she can talk to a wall and be happy. She just talked to anybody. She don't care. She's always been the talker in our relationship, or at least she has been for a while. You know, I'm stepping out and doing doing things I hadn't done before, you know. Right. Um, I was always kind of one of those guys who just said, you know, I've got this, you know, I don't need help, you know, one of those

Anxiety, Pride, And Needing Help

SPEAKER_02 8:21

type things, uh, just for everything, you know. Uh repairs around the house, car work, didn't matter what it was. Um, you know, you've always mentioned that a few times of quite a few times in SKOs, Bible studies, Bible plans, um, podcasts. So, you know, yeah, I never really mind helping people, um, but I rarely asked for help for myself, one of those kind of things. Um I I did get up to a point in my first marriage because I am remarried with my with my current wife, um, where her family and friends were just constantly asking for help with stuff. You know, I'm a I have a degree in computer network engineering, but they knew I knew stuff about computers. So if they ever had a problem with a computer, right, you were the guy that call. I'm the guy that call. And so I just got to a point where it was just like constant calling me to do stuff, and I just got sick of it, and so I just stopped stopped helping. Yeah. It just kind of reinforced the the I've got this mentality in me that I if I can do for me, then why am I doing it for everybody else all the time too? So sure. Um you know, it was one of those things since I I I felt like if other people don't want to help me, then I just gotta, you know, do it myself type thing, even though that was just really me not asking for help. Sure.

Chris Grainger 9:53

Right, right. I think Brian made you feel like there was some weakness there if you needed to ask for some insecurity in that as well.

SPEAKER_02 10:00

Yeah, oh yeah, yeah. It's like I'm a guy, I should be able to do that, you know. Shouldn't need to ask for help.

Chris Grainger 10:04

Right. So we come from the same claw, brother, I'm telling you.

SPEAKER_02 10:09

Yeah, yeah. It's easy to get there. It's hard to get away from it. It is.

SPEAKER_03 10:20

Yeah, let's see.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

Uh I'm a family five, um, more blended family. Uh I'm like you, I've got three daughters in the house. Yep. Um, two I got two 17-year-olds and an eight-year-old. Um, so my daughters are gonna be seniors this year. So they keep me busy too. Um, I got one in softball, one in in uh drill team and dance. Um uh my oldest son, he's 28 in the Air Force, he's up in Washington State. Okay. Uh my other son, he's 25, and he actually just got married like a month ago. So we've got to celebrate that. Uh and then my eight-year-old, you know, she's starting taekwondo tomorrow. So we'll see how she does with that. She's been she's been begging to do something, and that was something easy to do, and so she

Blended Family And Home Discipleship

SPEAKER_02 11:11

wants to try to do it. So she's my uh my little talker. She does not stop talking. She's also my uh, I call her my tail because uh, you know, when we decided to have a kid, you know, we're 38, decided, hey, let's have another kid, you know, why not? You know, it's only been 10 years.

SPEAKER_03 11:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:29

And so uh we had a kid, and I was really hoping for a son, you know, the one that I could call my own. Not that I don't love my stepsons, I love them both. I love all my kids. But we ended up having her, and boy, I tell you, she's she's been my little boy, even though she's a girl. She wants to do everything I do. She follows me all around the house. You know, if it's messing with tools or fixing something, she's standing right next to me wanting to do it with me. That's awesome, man. That's so cool, bro.

Chris Grainger 12:00

Hopefully, Taekwondo goes well. Make a little warrior out of it.

SPEAKER_02 12:03

Yeah. Yeah, that's what I'm hoping. So teach her how to defend herself. That's right. That's right.

Chris Grainger 12:10

And your wife, she's a believer as well.

SPEAKER_02 12:13

Yeah, yeah, she is. You know, when I when we met, um, she was deeply rooted in a church that we were going to at the time, and I just I saw that spiritual self in her and I just knew I wanted to be with her. You know, I wanted to be more like her, you know? Yeah, yeah. And it was it was it was motivation.

Chris Grainger 12:32

So that's great, Bo. How long have you guys been married?

SPEAKER_02 12:37

Uh it'll be 10 years in October.

Chris Grainger 12:39

Okay. Nice, man. There you go. That'd be a big celebration. Got any big plans celebrated for that 10-year? So my wife's a triathlete.

SPEAKER_02 12:50

So she likes doing the Ironmans and stuff like that. Okay. Every year in October, they have an Iron Man in North Carolina of all places. Really? And so the past two years, that's where we've been going. We go there, I watch her run her Iron Man. That's our anniversary.

Chris Grainger 13:06

Well, this year you need to do it with her, man. Come on now.

SPEAKER_02 13:10

Um, I'm working my way there. I I've started working out the past couple weeks again. I'm I'm the running thing's just not for me. Uh where's she do that where does she do the Iron Man at in North Carolina? Uh it's in Wilmington. Oh, okay. Okay. Yeah, down by the coast. Yeah. They start in the ocean, swim whatever it is, two miles or whatever it is. They swim, then they they they come in, they get on a bike, and they do like 56 miles on a bike, and then they do 13 miles on a run, and it's just, you know, it's a it's a all-day

Marriage, Ironman, And Showing Up

SPEAKER_02 13:41

thing for her. It's a long thing. So I'm sitting there jumping from one transition spot to another to cheer on and hold up the signs and do whatever it is I can. That's true. She calls I'm her I'm her Sherpa, that's what she calls me. I'll get her bike to and from everywhere and carry everything, do what I need to do.

Chris Grainger 13:57

So oh man. And that's in so that's when is that? October, you say?

SPEAKER_02 14:03

Yeah, it's in October.

Chris Grainger 14:04

Okay. Yeah. I mean, that that that area down in Wilmington is beautiful, man. I mean, we actually that's where we go to vacation with our family. We could go right through Wilmington every year. So Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:16

Yeah, she likes it because that everything down there's flat.

unknown 14:19

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:19

So when she's running, when she's running, it's flat. She doesn't got to worry about the elevation. When she's on her bike, it's all flat. She just goes. The only thing she's got to worry about is the wind.

Chris Grainger 14:28

Oh yeah, yeah. It's funny because when I go to the beach every year, I still run when I'm down there. And I always pick up significant time on my runs because I'm just used to running in the woods and up and down and dodging snakes and stumps. And, you know, so when I get on a flat, I can just say, oh, this is not as hard as it actually should be. This is a lot easier. You don't have to worry about, you know, running over a copperhead, you know. Yep, yep. Well, man, hopefully that goes well for, bro. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 15:00

Yeah, yeah. She's been doing it for quite a few years now. She really enjoys it. She's got that competitive side to her.

Chris Grainger 15:06

So I just can't do the swim, man. Like I'm a sucky swimmer. So I mean, I could do the bike. I feel like I could do the bike and the run would be well, not easy, but I but the swimming out just probably drown. You know, I'd rather avoid that.

SPEAKER_02 15:20

Yeah, well, they do relays. You can do it in teams of three. You each pick one you want to do, and y'all like it. There you go. She's done that a couple times to do.

Chris Grainger 15:26

So yeah. That may be something to look at. See, you you if you can swim, uh, then we'll just need to find somebody to do the bike and then I can do the run, and we'll just we'll have it, man. We'll have a lion team.

SPEAKER_02 15:37

Yeah.

Chris Grainger 15:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:38

That works for me.

Chris Grainger 15:39

There you go. Well, speaking of lion, something, how did you even find the lion, brother?

SPEAKER_02 15:44

Well, I found the lion back earlier this year, I kind of uh hit rock bottom with some stuff. So I was looking and reaching out, trying to find I knew I needed to find a man's group of some sort. Um, you know, I I made some bad decisions without discussing stuff with my wife. Broke the trust between us. And so had some real real hard weeks there for a while, you know. Wow. It wasn't it wasn't super long, but it was too long.

unknown 16:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:19

It felt like a lifetime to me. Um let's see, you know, the you know the line, you know, it's showing me and teaching me that I need to grow in what God calls us for and not for what the world shows us. And that's what I had fallen into, you know.

Rock Bottom And Sexual Integrity

SPEAKER_02 16:36

Lust is my issue, unfortunately. And and and the lion's really helping me progress through that. You know, I can see the progress and the impact it's making in my life, you know.

SPEAKER_03 16:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

Um I hate that it takes a huge mistake in our lives for us to open our eyes, you know, and see that hey, you know, you shouldn't be doing this. Right. So but you know, that's that's what happened to me. And so I found the line and you know, got really involved with it. Try to not miss the SKO ever, unless something's just you know happen absolutely happening, and if I miss it, I make sure I watch the recording. Um you know, um you know, I'm I'm part of the sexual integrity group with Justin. Uh fantastic, love it. Um, I bought his journal, you know. Uh I've been doing that daily, and that's something that was hard for me too, because I've never journaled before. Um, so writing stuff down for me is just, you know, it is I I'll start writing and and not even just answering the question, just writing down what it's prompting me about. And next thing I know, I read the page in half. I'm like, like, what's going on here? Where is this coming from?

SPEAKER_03 17:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:50

Because it doesn't, it's not coming from me.

SPEAKER_03 17:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

No. Um and so, you know, went to the retreat earlier this year. Absolutely loved that. You know, I was hesitant a little bit at first. You know, I knew I wanted to do it. I just wasn't sure if the the timing was right with everything. And so I discussed it with my wife, and she's like, hey, you need to go do it. And so I was like, all right, you know, and I'm glad I went and did it. It was a blast. Now anybody that missed it, don't miss next year. Yeah. You don't want to miss it. Uh just seeing all the other men there meeting them in person for the first time, you know, it's people that I talked to online that I hadn't, you know, really talked to in person. Um just helps you open your eyes to things, you know. I remember there at the very end, you know, Rob was handing out books. Um I grabbed one of the books on it over here. Um I've already finished reading it, but it's the a book about your mission field at your job. Yeah. You know, because I'm part of a small family business. And the the the fact that there was one of the questions that says, you know, who who runs your business? Who owns your business? And before I read that book, I would have been like, oh, you know, my dad owns the business. Like, well that God owns that business. So we just run it. Um getting to know that you know we spend most of our time at work. You know, that's really your mission, Phil, is you should be talking to people and you know feeding into people. And we don't do that because it's not the PC thing to do, you know, it's like politics in church. You know, things get unknown, so I'm supposed to talk about that with around people. Well, you know what? Yeah, you're supposed to. That's what he's calling us to do. So um that's right. Uh's also pushed me to get a mentor in my life. You know, um I had a a group of friends that I was pretty close to for a while. We kind of I kind of shied away from them. You know, they were trying to pour it into me and I could tell they were and so I I reached out here a couple, I don't know, three, four weeks ago, and asked one of them. And so uh we started meeting, you know, every couple weeks out of breakfast. You know, he's he's been helping me through work stuff, you know, any kind of issues that I want to go over with him. He's just, you know, he's essentially me 10 to 15 years from now. Okay. And so just you know, seeing these things through him, I'm just like, like, this is amazing, you know. Yeah.

Chris Grainger 20:24

So um and speak to like how that was getting that set up, man. So I'm sure guys hear that and they hear me talk about it all the time, but then they're like, I don't think I've ever had anyone to just share a recent example of even how you got that. Like, how'd you approach that guy? What did you say to him? You know, just to get the line.

SPEAKER_02 20:44

I used chat yeah, I use chat GPT to help me word it. Okay.

Chris Grainger 20:52

Was that his email or that you sent?

SPEAKER_02 20:54

Or no, I I I texted him because I've got a phone number and stuff. I knew that I was already friends with the guy. Uh you know, we we used to be in a small group of church together too. Um, but that that stopped happening, I don't know, probably a year or so ago. But we always kept in contact, they'd always had Memorial Day parties, stuff like that. We'd go we'd go hang out at the party, but then we wouldn't, you know, we wouldn't stay long. You know,

Mentorship, Mastermind, And Real Openness

SPEAKER_02 21:16

for for us, you know, come nine o'clock's bedtime. We're tired. Right. Um, but you know, I I so I put into that, you know, I sent him a text message that said, hey, you know, would like to start, you know, maybe having breakfast once a month, you know, maybe twice a month, you know. Um just have questions about life in general. Um you know, I I just see how much you've got all your stuff together. You know, he owns several businesses. Um and so I knew, hey, he clearly knows what he's doing. I've always seen how he runs his businesses and and and how he incorporates God into everything. And I just asked him, hey, would you be willing to do this? You know, you know, if not, no big deal. No, no skin off my back. And so he responded, he's like, hey, yeah, I'd love to. So and that was hard.

SPEAKER_03 22:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:13

It's like uh I uh a couple months ago I joined a uh a local Bible study, a men's Bible study group. And uh I probably had that form filled out on my church's website for two days before I finally hit the send. I just I couldn't do it. I don't know why. I just I could I was having so much trouble just reaching out. But once I did it, I love it, you know. I don't regret any of it. I even brought one of my friends here Saturday morning to uh sorry, this is new. Oh, you're good, bro. So Saturday I actually uh invited one of my friends when I was with my mentor at breakfast this past week. He said, Hey, uh your other friend in our group here, he's been looking for a Bible study men's Bible study group to go to. He's been going through some rough stuff recently in his life. It's kind of like all of 2026 has been for just about everybody. And so uh so I sent him a text message. He texted me back. He's like, Hey, I'd love to go. And so uh, no, he showed up at Bible study on Saturday. We had a great talk, great conversation. Um there was a couple of things that happened in Bible study that one of the gentlemen in there brought up that he's also been struggling with. And uh it just kind of felt like he was, you know, because it was completely random things that he brought up toward the end of Bible study.

unknown 23:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:50

And it just felt like, you know, God was telling him to say that stuff. For my friends. Yeah. So yeah, not a random of God, man. That's for sure. Tell him.

Chris Grainger 24:04

I mean, you've been taking some incredible steps, man. I mean, just reaching a mentor, having Bible study, and and and so encouraged because it sounds like this has been a a bit of a new leaf for you. You're you're kind of turning a new corner with your faith, brother.

SPEAKER_02 24:21

Yeah, yeah, it's it's it's been huge. You know, I've done a lot of hard things this year, you know, things that I would have never done before. And it's yeah, I don't regret any of it. So that's so good. It's funny too. My uh my mentor, we were having a discussion uh two weeks ago, and he was asking about my dad because my dad's been having some health issues. I told my I told him, you know, because you know my dad's Christian scientist, and blah blah blah. He's like, you know, that's funny. He's like, I grew up Christian scientists, and so he uh you know pretty much knew all the things I had gone through because he knew what it was all about. And so he was dealing with the same kind of thing with his parents, because that's what they were. You know, he's not that anymore, clearly. Because he goes to the same churches that I go to. So just the fact that he he was also at that same point. That's why I was like, you know, I'm in a family business. He's got his own businesses. I was a Christian scientist, he was a Christian scientist, and it's just so so that's why I said it feels like he is me in the future, or what I could be in the future.

Chris Grainger 25:30

So I'm just I'm so encouraged just to hear that, man. She took the intentionality to to go out on a limb, set that up, and now, man, we cannot we can see it and and we never know where it's going, but right now it's immediate blessings, man. God is blessing that relationship. You got somebody who knew that he had the same background for the Christian sciences. I mean, all and the crazy part is God into every one of those details. He was just waiting for that step of obedience for you for you to take, and now here we are. Yep. Yep. He's just waiting on me. Hey, bro, he's waiting on all of us, man. He's waiting on all of us. And and I know you also recently you jumped into a mastermind group at the line. So I mean, kind of don't mind, share a little bit about how that's been for you, bud.

SPEAKER_02 26:16

Okay, so the mastermind. Uh, I'm in a group with uh Steven. Steven's our leader. I can't say enough good things about Steven, man. Steven, he's uh he's a character.

Chris Grainger 26:28

Uh that's why it's a minute or too late for this for our podcast recording is because Steven was in a meeting with me and he I had to say, I gotta go, man, I gotta go. But anyway.

SPEAKER_02 26:40

Yeah, just with him, you know, there's no sugar coating or anything. He tells you what you need to hear. Now because you know, the world's gonna tell you everybody gets a trophy and just what you do what your heart tells you to do. Right. And and he'll he'll just tell you straight up how it is. You know, he's not gonna lie to you. Uh you know, I'm making friends with the other guys on there. I always check in at least once a week with them, see how things are going, you know, because I know you know they're just like all of us. We're all struggling. Right. Gotta make sure that you know they're doing okay and know that that I'm there if they need to talk. Um, you know, we don't do the typical hot seat thing. We have the hot seat available if we want to do it, if we need it. Um, but we're trying a little bit of a different approach. You know, we're going through the the pillars in your book and studying those.

unknown 27:27

Right.

SPEAKER_02 27:27

And then, you know, really discussing and getting in deep on those. Um and so uh, you know, it's been good, you know, it's expanded a little bit since the first week we were there. So I've got the other guys in there, you know, great. You know, I I've met two of them at the retreat, so I already knew two of them. Um but yeah, I mean, the the hot seat thing that they did at the at the retreat was what drew me so much to the mastermind program. You know, just the the whole way that thing works. Now I I had to join him. I had to be able, you know, if there's something I need to bring up, I want to be able to do that. I want to be able to have the guys feed into me and ask questions that maybe I wouldn't think of. Right. So but yeah, it's it's it's been a great experience, you know, just being able to have another group of men, close men, even if they're not here with me, that I can embrace and talk to and ask questions and and and really get closer to God with.

Chris Grainger 28:28

Yes. Well, I mean, I know one thing, you bring a ton of insight and comparison to the group as well, and maybe start thinking about the group. And I know you're kind of a little bit early in it, but what's been the most challenging part, or maybe what's been the biggest impact for you just being in those conversations and having that that dynamic?

SPEAKER_02 28:46

Uh I mean the biggest challenge for me is just being open, you know. Just letting it all out there and and and not having to worry about being judged by the the things that you are bringing out there, you know. You know, with the you know, the stuff in my past, you know, being part of the sexual integrity group, you know. Just knowing that you're not alone out there. That it's a whole lot of people struggling with it. Um so just that that encouragement that we get is just huge. Because you're not gonna get it from anywhere else. Right.

Chris Grainger 29:26

Well, there may be guys, Chris, that are out there that you know they've been listening to to the lion for a while or reading our Bible plans or whatever it may be, you know, all the different ways we're trying to encourage them, but they haven't taken a step to maybe the daily SKO or you know, not the mastermind's not for everybody. We know that. But the the lion's den, it really is. It's it's a great way to jump in and just be encouraged. What would be your your word of advice, or if you will, to that listener who's like he enjoys the lion, but he just hasn't done anything with it yet, man. Anything you offer up there?

SPEAKER_02 30:00

You know, you know, don't stop going to embrace it, you know, embrace God's plan for your life. As you say, find your Paul and your Timothy. You know, get on the weekly meetings if you can, not just the SKOs. Um, you know, just how God made Eve for Adam, you know, embrace a group of men around you. Get those 3 a.m. guys in your life. You know, let iron sharpen iron like we're told, because it will never let you down. You know, right. Just like uh, you know, Ecclesiastes 4-9, you know, two are better than one because they have more satisfying return for their labor. Or if either of them falls, they want to lift up his companion. You know, it's just if you don't have those guys and you fall, you're gonna struggle. So embrace it. Find those guys, just do the hard thing.

Chris Grainger 30:50

Absolutely. Chris, anything else that you want to share today that we hadn't covered before we jump into our last part here, buddy?

SPEAKER_03 31:04

That's about it. You know, just don't stop.

SPEAKER_02 31:08

You know, follow God's plan. Obey.

Chris Grainger 31:12

Obey, man. That's right. That's right. Love it, love it. Well, guys, I mean, that's been great having Chris on, and I know you've been encouraged by his story and his testimony. And uh, so hey, you can check out with him and connect with him directly at the Lion fellows. But our book of the week this week, we've already talked about it, is getting past guilt. I kind of mentioned that earlier. Uh Chris has done a lot of that, ironically, just getting past some of the guilt in his life. So he's he's kind of talked through some of what did that look like for him. Uh, this is from my old buddy Joe Bean. Uh, he came back on the show and shared this one. I got this one from um uh Al, actually, Chris, when I was having lunch with Al, he was talking, I was talking about uh resources for you know that's that's helped him and his wife. And he was like, man, that that that was the book that really helped them heal. And uh so I say I had to reach back out to my buddy Joe. So I did, he he came back on and shared with us. So, guys, that's the book of the week. Uh, I got a couple dad jokes going to run by you, Chris, man. So see what you think about these, okay? Okay. Hey, and this first was a racing one. I didn't know that. There we go. So, so how did the barber win the race? Do you know how barber wins the race? Oh. He takes a shortcut. Barber? Come on, man.

SPEAKER_03 32:29

Yeah.

Chris Grainger 32:30

All right. So um this is two racing ones. I must have been in a racing mood when I pick when I pick these back to back. That's kind of weird how God planned that out because you're racing. So anyway, here we are. So uh what did the tomato say to the other tomato during a race? You know what it what one tomato said to the other? You better catch up. That's it, baby. Catch up, man.

SPEAKER_03 32:55

I got it, man. Catch up. Yep.

Chris Grainger 32:57

So Chris, so Chris got him, man. So which one do you you like? Number one or number two?

Dad Jokes, Shame Question, Resources

SPEAKER_02 33:02

Uh we'll do number two. I like the topic.

Chris Grainger 33:05

Number two. There you go, bells. There you go. So, fellas, you can jump into Lion, you can vote on these dad jokes every Friday. And the cool part is wherever you vote, you get to see who votes opposite, and then you get to pick on them. You know, so I mean, we do allow that picking. You know, I'm just I'm just kidding, guys. But look, the dad jokes are a lot of fun. So, how did a barber win the race? He knew a shortcut. So, use that one once you bride. And how did the tomatoes say what the tomatoes safety all us tomato doing a race and that's catch up? Maybe use that one with with the youngins and see how that goes for you, fellas. But question of the week just week is where are you allowing Shane to keep you isolated and silent? So, fellas, if you're dealing with that isolation and that silence, like bring it to the light, bro. We got guys that are bringing this stuff to a light every day at the lion. Gotta get all the glory, but we're just coming alongside trying to help encourage these guys. So, fellas, all that stuff can be found at the lionwithin.us, Chris, anything else for you today, bud? That's it. Just have a good day, um. All right, brother. Well, guys, keep listening. Share this stuff out. Take this episode, forward it over to someone else, to one of your maybe somebody in your small group, right? Whatever that little group looks like. Or this could be a challenge for you guys who don't have a mentor. Chris kind of laid out how he did it. Hey, let this be maybe this you just send this podcast over to who you would like to be considered for you to be a mentor, and this, hey, I want to talk to you about the mentor part. That could be your icebreaker right there. That's simple. Don't have to worry about text, but hey, listen to this one. I want to talk to you about being a mentor and just see how that's how that works out for you, fellas. So again, linewithin.us, where you find all our resources, or open up the Bible app, constantly putting plans on there. Uh, I got a regular cadence of writing for the Bible app, fellas. So check that stuff out. Again, uh the website, Lions then, all that fun stuff, guys. You know where to find it. Give us a rating review. That stuff helps. And I just found out today, apparently, because like I'm I'm I'm a dinosaur when it comes to technology, apparently. And I have a technology company, so get that. But uh, you know, in the in the podcast world, you can do comments and things on Spotify and Apple. Start commenting, fellas. If you won't mind, give us a comment on the on the podcast. We're gonna try to do a better job of monitoring those and and responding back as quick as we as we can. So all that stuff helps, guys. It's a big help. So the LionWithin.us, if you want to go to support the show, thelion within.us slash donate, help us out right there. All right, guys, get after it, have a great day. Keep unleashing the lion within. If you're like me, you don't need another book just sitting around collecting dust. What I enjoy is something to help guide me when my feet hit the ground in the mornings. And that is why we put together unleashing the lion within. It has honest stories, scripture you can apply, and several steps to help you lead at home, at work, and everywhere in between. So if you've been feeling stuck or scattered lately, you may find this resource encouraging. Read a few pages. Take one step and watch what God does with your obedience. Hey, and if reading's tough for you right now, no problem. The book is also available in Audible version, so you can listen on the go. So if this sounds interesting, check out thelionwithin.us slash book or search for unleashing the lion within directly on Amazon. So there's no pressure here, just a resource that many guys are finding helpful. So grab the format that fits and take your next step.