Sunny & 65 with Madi Schultz
Join Madi Schultz as she imperfectly pursues Jesus and emphatically encourages you to do the same. Through scripture, conversations, and testimonies— Madi's prayer is that you would walk away from listening to each episode with a greater affection for Jesus + experience the freedom He has for you in deeper ways.
| madi@sunnyand65.com | @madelinschultz_ | @mackandbenj
Sunny & 65 with Madi Schultz
Episode 72: Josh and Katie Walters
Josh and Katie Walters are GOLD!!!! Oh my goodness. I adored this conversation. Josh and Katie are parents to 7 beautiful children. Josh pastors at Seacoast Church in South Carolina while Katie is an author + speaker + runs their home and is the founder/visionary of Francis + Benedict. Their book, New Marriage Same Couple: Don't Let Your Worst Days Be Your Last Days, is out! After walking through something that should have destroyed their marriage, God redeemed and restored it to better than it was before like only God can! I've been impacted by this thriving marriage for years now on the internet and getting to chat with them was such a treat. Jesus exudes out of both of them. You guys are going to be so impacted by their story. Enjoy!
____________________________________
Subscribe to my emails and Monthlyish Newsletter here!
Join the Sunny & 65 bookclub here!
mackandbenj.com
LET'S CONNECT: madi@sunnyand65.com
____________________________________
FROM THE EPISODE:
#SA65Bookclub Book of the Month for May: Amy Carmichael: Rescuer of Precious Gems
New Marriage, Same Couple: Don’t Let Your Worst Days Be Your Last Days by Josh and Katie Walters
New Marriage, Same Couple Workbook
@JoshWalters
Francis + Benedict
Francis + Benedict | Apply to be an advocate or affiliate!
Simply Pray: How to Ask, Seek and Knock for Answered Prayer by Deb Hopper
Date Night with the Walters Podcast
Fledge: Launching Your Kids Without Losing Your Mind by Brenda Yoder
The Power of A Praying Husband by Stormie Omartian
OTHER FUN THINGS:
MADISCHULTZ.CO
My Favorite Things
Glory Presets
MUST-READ Books
30% Off Lifetime Subsc. to Dwell Bible App
The Daily Grace Co.
Hey friends, Welcome back to the Studying 65 podcast. I'm your host, Maddie Schultz, and today I have a conversation with Josh and Katie. Almost two decades ago they walked through something that should have completely taken out their marriage, but God had plans of restoration and redemption and abundance. Gosh, I can't wait for you guys to hear their story. Hi, Josh and Katie, Welcome to the podcast. Hi.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having us, Maddie. We're so excited to be here.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I know who the Walters are. You guys are in South Carolina.
Speaker 3:Yep.
Speaker 1:Right, okay, so they're in South Carolina. I'm in Omaha. I doubt you even know this, katie. Maybe you do, but over six years ago and I know when it was because my oldest just turned six last week and I was very pregnant when I went to this I drove three hours from good old Omaha, nebraska, to small town Pella, iowa, to listen to your sister, jess Conley, speak, and you, katie, were there with her, and afterwards you had a table set up sharing it all about Francis and Benedict and the clothing which we'll talk more about later, and I got to meet you and chat with you, had a table set up sharing it all about Francis and Benedict and the clothing which we'll talk more about later, and I got to meet you and chat with you for a moment.
Speaker 1:And then, of course, I followed you because you're the most lovely human and I've been following you ever since, getting to be so encouraged by your wisdom and your winsomeness and just your joy for the Lord, and also when you guys are both on there sharing nuggets of wisdom about your marriage. So then, in turn, getting to be blessed by you also, josh. So, katie, when you pop up on my feed and when you come to mind. I just think joy, and so I just had to share that little backstory. I don't know if you remember that you and your sis are some of my favorite sister pairs and I'm so grateful for your guys' life and ministry and, yeah, I'm so grateful and excited to chat with you guys. So, did you know that? Did you know?
Speaker 2:that I did not know that I met you there in Iowa, but I remember now because I've only been to one trip with her. Okay, no way and she always will ask me not always, but she often asks me, but usually we have something going on in my family, so I was so glad to go on this one with her and I remember what she said, the preaching, all the women there, so I do remember that moment that's incredible, oh my goodness.
Speaker 1:Well, it's so fun to get to chat with you now. I didn't expect you to remember, but I'm also like, oh my gosh, thanks God, that's the one that you went to and I got to meet you and then be encouraged like just his providence in that. That's so cool. So, okay, you guys tell us the quick gist about yourselves.
Speaker 2:Well, we are Josh and Katie. We live in Charleston, south Carolina, which it is a pretty day here today too. You said it's sunshiny in Nebraska, where you are, and it's actually getting nice outside here, so that's been awesome. We have seven kids which is probably shocking thing about us.
Speaker 2:They are awesome. They are really so great. We wanted seven since we were 18, so we can't believe we actually have a dream come true. For sure there's three girls. The two oldest are a girl and the littlest one is a girl, and then four boys in the middle. So we've got our hands full over here in Charleston. We got our hands full over here in Charleston.
Speaker 2:Josh is on staff full time, of course, as an executive pastor at Seacoast Church here in Charleston. He's been on staff in pastoral ministry pretty much the whole time we have been married, except for the year of brokenness that you'll hear more about. That's in our book. He was off staff during that year, really because of me, and then God saw fit to reestablish him in ministry, which has been awesome.
Speaker 2:And I've been working pretty much our whole marriage these past 22 years, part-time, off and on in different places. I have a master's in counseling, so I started out as a school counselor and I started. I came on staff at our church at some point, led a couple of things there and then I started Francis and Benedict eight years ago. So I'm still on staff at Seacoast and do Francis and Benedict, but my primary job is homemaker, and that that seems wild to say because I work pretty much every day, but it's a flexible. I always have jobs that are flexible so that I can try to be the person that is providing stability. I mean, there are so many children and schedules and things like that, but that's kind of what I would say. Anything else you would say about us. I mean, since we launched our first book in January New Marriage, same Couple we've done a lot more speaking together, traveling together.
Speaker 2:We've been speaking at our church for several years and pouring into couples there, but God's definitely been opening new doors for us to do that, which has been so exciting and such a joy. Yeah.
Speaker 3:No, I don't think I'd add anything else. That's been the dream and God's done it over the last few months. So, yeah, that's been exciting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's amazing. Can you each tell us about when you came to know and follow Jesus?
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, so I'll go first. It was my junior year of high school. I grew up in a couple of different Baptist churches that my parents always went to the same one but I would kind of bounce around with a couple of different friends and kind of youth events and so I would say very well versed in terms of like the Bible and Bible stories and knew a lot about God. But and really didn't know that I didn't know him until my junior year of high school I kind of thought much of a relationship with God was more just about proximity of the message and going to church and be a good person, you know but then my junior year of high school I was at this youth event and really only went.
Speaker 3:I just got my restricted driver's license and it was a night event and I picked up a bunch of buddies and just thought it would be event. And I picked up a bunch of buddies and just thought it would be fun to go to this event and uh, really heard God speaking to me there for the first time, just saying uh kind of inviting me to respond to the invitation, and I remember, um, kind of being shocked, you know, crying eyes, watering. My friends are like what are you doing, man? I just remember taking that step and that kind of being the to where everything that I had learned became personal and really started to impact my life more from a relationship standpoint.
Speaker 1:Did you feel then that the Lord was calling you to vocational ministry, or when?
Speaker 3:then that the Lord was calling you to vocational ministry or when. No, I always thought I was going to be a school teacher. The guy that had most impacted my life was a football coach and math teacher and I was all about math but liked history and so I thought, man, I'm going to be like that guy and coach and just impact middle schoolers. It seemed like such a critical time in life. So I wanted to be like that guy and thought I would just spend my life investing in middle school students and it's overlooked, and thought, man, I could really make a big difference there.
Speaker 3:But then when Katie and I met, got pregnant and we were serving at a local church and we graduated on a Saturday and we're supposed to start our master's that Monday and kind of in that week, the youth pastor at our church was. They were in transition. They were like, hey, how would you feel about working at the church? And it was just like, man, that I kind of need a job, we need insurance, yeah, married, and so so yeah, we thought. I thought maybe I'll just do that for a year and then we can, I can pick up the master's later. But just realized over the course of that year. It's like man, I really can't imagine doing anything else. I kind of wanted to do this as an undercover missionary in the public schools, you know.
Speaker 1:So cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and my story was similar. You know, I grew up in a Methodist church and some my parents had gotten divorced when I was really younger, like six years old, but my mom was at church all the time. I mean she did the choir and all kinds of things. My sister and I were both there, I think, and I even look back. You know I went to camps and did some mission projects like in the, you know, in the States. But I think for me I'm such an all or nothing person and in a lot of things that I do.
Speaker 2:And I look back on those high school adolescence years and I just realized like I did not want Jesus or God to affect my life, jesus or God to affect my life. So I mean I never talked to him, I never prayed, I never opened my Bible. I don't think I ever remember opening my Bible once, you know, all growing up, and so I think it was more just, even if I was hearing about him, I wasn't having any kind of relationship or dialogue with him. I remember thinking like I'll think about Jesus when I'm 30. That was a real thought in my mind.
Speaker 2:And so I got to college and I was on the dance team and so I heard about Fellowship of Christian Athletes and I was feeling a little lonely because everybody that I knew was doing sororities and stuff like that. So once dance practice was over, I was just kind of back at my dorm and I heard these girls talking about going to FCA and so I asked if I could go with them and, sure enough, that night the man that was preaching just helped unpack John 3.16, but he talked about John 3.14 and how we really needed to turn with our life to believe. You know that's what the word belief meant Like we had to turn and look at Jesus and I still say it was just like the Spirit of God, same as Josh, must have come over me because I ended up on my faith amazing floor and looking back on it, one cool thread between our two stories is the same guy that preached when I got saved was the same guy several years before that Josh had gotten saved.
Speaker 1:No way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's really cool. He's like a traveling still to this day and he did our marriage counseling and premarital counseling. He's incredible. His name is Adrian Dupree, but anyway. So from that moment on, I think what happened is because he had, you know, I had surrendered to him in that way and was really born again.
Speaker 2:Through his spirit, I was able to start to develop the relationship you know, turn towards him, start to seek him more, and a lot of things in my life started to change radically. So I met Josh about three months after that, so he never even really knew the. You know the.
Speaker 3:I knew enough she had some the you know the I knew enough, she had some she, she got saved, but it took her wardrobe a solid semester to uh everything.
Speaker 2:Well, that's amazing.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness, I knew she had a story. I knew she had a story. Well, praise the lord, that's. That's so sweet, that sweet, and just the Lord being so kind to intertwine those stories, what You're just like, that's. Only God is just so attentive to the littlest details and that's such a sweet part of your guys' story now. So, along with that, god has made you guys passionate about marriage, and not just marriage, but marriage is flourishing. And you guys, as you mentioned earlier, you guys have a book coming out this year called New Marriage Same Couple. Don't Let your Worst Days Be your Last Days. So tell us all the details that we need to know about this book. What's it about? How God led you guys to write it, and I'm sure this could be it this question alone could be an hour long, but some of the main things God has taught you guys through your marriage.
Speaker 2:Yes, thanks for asking.
Speaker 3:So I think one just to speak to our kind of passion for just marriage in general and investing in other couples largely comes from you know, anytime you've been through a valley yourself and I felt like in ours so many of the things that we maybe knew about God, or truths we knew from scripture, he like took from our head to our heart in the sense of we know his words, true, but man, you see him as your healer or your provider or your comforter, or you see him show up and do a special work in like the most precious area of your life. You can't then really go and fight for that in others and are kind of the inspiring verse which I always I want to say it's 2 Corinthians 1 or 2, 3 and 4, something like that.
Speaker 3:Maybe, if I just throw out enough references you'll find it somewhere, but it's the that praise be to the God and Father of our Lord, jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all of our troubles, so that we can comfort others in couple with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Speaker 3:And so that's where I feel like for us, the prayer and belief we've just seen him do it is that there in some way would be a supernatural transfer, not of like Josh and Katie, wisdom, because really our story is from ashes and the sense of like man. We showed people how you can burn this thing down and ruin what's the most important, and God was faithful to show up and restore and comfort us in our troubles. So we always pray as we're, you know, pray one through the book, no-transcript, but we have seen God move. But we have seen God move, and so maybe, if we can write this in a way that couples anywhere could get their hands on it, meet them in their small group or living room or wherever, and that's what we really think.
Speaker 2:We've seen in our prayer that there'll be this supernatural transfer of hope that we can get through the worst days, that they can also get through the worst days if they're in that spot. And also, you know, what he taught us through that time is we really had to rebuild and start totally over, and so we learned these principles of growth that we think can help couples to start totally over, even with the same person.
Speaker 2:And I think often in our culture, you know all the lies that you believe is that you do need to start over, you do need a second marriage, but that that can't be with the same person or that it's excruciating to try to do it with the same person. So that's really. The book is about practical principles, our story and vulnerable raw parts of it, but also practical principles that really that can help you go to a new place in your marriage. And so I'll say, like, the darkest Valley that it came out of was, you know, we met at 18, we got married early. We're 2021 and really just thought we were going to rock marriage, you know, and have an incredible love story.
Speaker 2:It was going to be us and, you know, looking back on the time, there were so many things that you can see in hindsight that I think, led us to a place where the enemy was just waiting. We had our life versus John 1010, but we focused on the part that says Jesus came, that they would have life and have it abundant. The fact that the enemy does also come to still kill and destroy, that we have to be on guard, that we have to be protecting things. And so, through the course of we had moved out to another church. Josh was a youth pastor at a smaller church. We were pretty isolated when another couple came into town, so we started to really just probably blur boundary lines with them, meaning hang out with them too much you know, in each other other things that we would really wouldn't have done in the, in our, the foundational for marriage.
Speaker 2:But because we were in this new culture that no one was setting the tone, we were setting the tone, you know. That became a really uh, a struggle for us. And so, looking back, I know now I was probably having what we call an emotional affair for about a year, just thinking on this guy, coveting him their life. You know things about their life and I would say the biggest principle from that is that there was really no confession, no repentance at all and walking with God as a believer. In order to keep a pure heart, you know you have to have repentance and Josh would always tell me my name means pure at heart, but in order, none of us are born with a pure heart.
Speaker 2:You know, and so, in order to keep a pure heart before God and each other, we have to be able to be open to confession and repentance. And so that wasn't happening. It was a lot of hiding and then came a full-on affair. There was a point my son was born, my third son. He was in the NICU and it was in that time that he was in the NICU that the other guy and I confessed that we had feelings for each other. And then we went through what I call kind of the summer of hell, where it was just hiding from Josh, trying to make plans to leave my family. And I tell you that because those months actually were so devastating, because I confessed to Josh in August, but just a couple months time was enough to really have taken my heart, my love, and move it to someone else.
Speaker 2:And I started to put up all these walls against Josh, which often you do when you're in a cycle of sin. Because you have so much self, you start to blame and, you know, get this perspective on the other person. And we have met with so many couples since then that even if it wasn't something like this betrayal or hurt or something as grave as infidelity, they have had distance with each other emotionally, physically, maybe it's because of woundings, but then the perspective that they get from the other, it puts up walls that can feel insurmountable. They can only see that person in one way. And so when I confess the smallest thing in August to Josh of what if it's me, what if I'm the problem in this couple's marriage, what if I'm the problem, is really all I said. It was the open door miracle that led to more confession, more repentance, but we're still on a ground of just rubble with our marriage, you know, because of the consequences.
Speaker 2:And so I mean, honestly, it probably took us a full year to feel a physical lift from the heaviness that happened, to even start to be able to rebuild. So during that year you know, some of the principles of this book come out of that year too because we basically committed to stay, to walk forward and try to walk forward in healing. But just the fact of us staying that scripture that says God will fight for you. You only need to be still. I mean that was true for us because he was fighting and moving for us when we didn't have what it took to rebuild and really what it. What God needed from us in that time was just endurance, to stay. And Josh had that, you know he he said, asking you to go to a new place If we can just stay together, stay faithful.
Speaker 2:And so once we got through that year which again thank you, jesus and Josh, for helping us get through that year I think once we got to the other side of that really heavy year, we could really start to rebuild on a better foundation, because I could see more clearly. I could see my own sin, I could see my own struggles, the self-love and selfishness that had led me there. I could see that I probably did not have the right perspective about Josh and who he was, and that he did have a deep love for me that I needed to grow towards learning how to love him sacrificially. So I think then we could really start to rebuild. And, uh, over the past 16 years you know it's been 16 years since this happened but, um, over the past 16 years, the principles that we learned during those times we still use today and that's what the book we we were leading a small group Monday night and we were talking about a small issue at the last argument that the couples had and we were talking about the principles from the book that really changed.
Speaker 2:Our last argument, like one of the principles is start with me, and it basically just makes you do an introspective inward look instead of blaming the other person, instead of you know making it about them and their fault. The other person, instead of you know making it about them and their fault. Well, even in small arguments, it's really challenging to stop in the middle of an argument and to say, okay, what? What is my part?
Speaker 1:that I'm playing.
Speaker 2:How have I led us there? You know what am I what demand am I putting on the relationship that's um, you know what am I asking for from the relationship that really needs to go to God. So, these principles, while they're practical and simple, they are challenging to do, but they will shift everything you know for for the two of you. So would you say anything else about the book, or?
Speaker 1:our story. I mean, I don't, I don't think anything else.
Speaker 3:I would add I mean, I don't think anything else. I would add I mean.
Speaker 1:I've got to say about it, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, wow, I mean just chills and my initial thought, just listening to you, katie, is just like thank you guys so much, like just chills, thinking about God getting to meet people through your guys' story and help marriages all over the world.
Speaker 1:I'm just blown away by your humility to put in the labor to write this and share this to ultimately give God glory.
Speaker 1:I'm literally just a thank you that you guys wrote it and just so many things that you said.
Speaker 1:I'm just like I'm so excited to read the book, just the encouraging reminder, too, that you guys are getting to show people that God wants to use your story, everyone's story, and I'm reminded of in Revelation, when it's like the enemy will be crushed by the blood of the lamb and the power of the testimonies, and so I hope whoever's listening is one so wildly encouraged by your guys' story and also reminded for themselves like, whatever it may feel, like your life is broken and, like you said, burnt to the ground, and it's's like no, we have a God of redemption that wants to redeem and then use that story to comfort, back to the scripture that you shared, josh, someone in there suffering and so just humbled by your guys' vulnerability to be bold and to share that and to get to see God, get so much glory as you guys are.
Speaker 1:You're getting to see straight on as you're meeting with couples week after week, night after night, and you won't even know till heaven after this book how many marriages God saves through his work in your life and your guys' obedience to share it.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I'm just so grateful. I'm just so grateful and and I'm just have chills when you're sharing all of that. So what is something that you each have learned about God specifically through your marriage story?
Speaker 3:I would say man, so many things. Ultimately, katie, there's a word that I use that she doesn't like when I talk about it this way but, I, feel like our. Our book is like a, a journal of revelation and the sense of like stuff we. We learned about God in that season that if you'll, just apply and and claim as truth for yourself.
Speaker 3:You can experience the fruit of. But I think the the most personal things are um, you know, we, we hear that he's our counselor, comforter and friend, and I think so much of me in that season. It was like such a deep sadness.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And loneliness.
Speaker 3:You know, we moved to Charleston for a new start for us, but Katie had a job, I was home with three kids, we were like broke, brokety, broke, and so we only one car were just at a tight spot and so, like you know, deep sadness, lonely, scared, hurting, and uh, even as a pastor, it was really probably the first time in my life where, like, um, you know, I had to, I had to have him, and that I was.
Speaker 3:You know, make it through the day for where my, where my thoughts were at or my feelings were at a lot of like anger, fear, anxiety, fill in the blank that I saw man. If you seek him, you'll, you will find him, and it's not like always in the moment or way that you would expect, but in in all of the emotion and and need that I had, he showed up and met as my counselor, as my comforter, as my friend. So I would I would just say that for anybody listening that, uh, again, like I could have taught you on that before this crisis, but walk through that and see God be that for you. It carries a new weight of like man. If you're hurting, if you're lonely, if you're down like, turn to him. He wants to comfort you, he wants to meet you and he'll do it.
Speaker 2:That's so good, I think, for me one, you know, I definitely learned a whole new, so much new about the character of God through our, through the brokenness of our, story. But one of the main things was that, you know, we hear his kindness leads us to repentance, and that is true. Like it was because of his kindness that I do think I was able to fully repent. And then that didn't even happen the very first night when I told Josh it more happened through the course of me really repenting to God, not just being sad or full of shame or, you know, sorry that I people, but really understanding the gravity of what I'd done to God and to Josh. His kindness led me to that. But I also think I really learned is that it is his kindness that leads us to repentance and the sense of like. It is because he is kind, he's kinder than any person we know. I always say he's kinder than any Christian we've ever known. But his kindness has good plans for us. It has plans for life, it has plans for freedom, it has plans for abundance, and repentance is required to get to those new places.
Speaker 2:But I think I just learned how much I wanted His way over, my way and in our story. I cannot tell you how much I wanted my way. I just thought there's no way that he knows best, that God knows best. Maybe this was a mistake, Maybe I needed something else and being able to repent of my own self-love and self-pride and plan for my own life and really trust him for new life, and then seeing, oh my gosh, what I would have missed, what I would have missed the greatest love of my life. You know, this kindness that has love and repentance and it's continued to. You know, even when we we always wanted seven kids, but our last two kids I mean once I had five, I was at capacity, you know what I'm saying and thinking like, well, maybe we adopt.
Speaker 2:but then, um, we had a six and I'm praying okay, I gave you this one, god, it better be twins or it is game over for me.
Speaker 2:I mean, I even told my doctor, like, if it's a C-section tied up, cause we're done. Um, and then God started asking me to have our seventh. And I knew it was God asking, but it was his kindness that led me just to repent and say, okay, my way is not best. And our little seventh angel, I mean, every day she has been a gift, every single day, and I look at her all the time and I feel like I see the kindness of God. You know that His ways are just better, they are just plain better. And so I think I learned from our story that I really want His will and His ways over my will and my ways, and I need His kindness to get me there. Over and over and over again. It's not going to be something that I've conquered in 10 years that I don't have to repent of, but that, as I do it, I can trust Him for new life.
Speaker 1:I'm so encouraged by what both of you said and one thing that I heard you both saying is that I heard you both saying is that, like you kept seeking the face of God, you know you kept seeking him, trusting that he was gonna. His kindness was going to lead you to repentance, His kindness was going to comfort you, Josh, and even you talking again, Katie, about confession, confessing, and how earlier you had talked about like we put up walls when we're in a cycle of sin and we're not confessing and repenting. You had talked about like we put up walls when we're in a cycle of sin and we're not confessing and repenting. And I think I just want to repeat again what you said because I think someone needs to hear that and I need to hear that daily Like, if we're not actively repenting to the Lord and our brothers and sisters, he tells us in James he's going to if we repent, he calls us to repent to our community so he can then heal and restore us and just the power of speaking out the sin and the darkness so that he can restore and bring it to light.
Speaker 1:The enemy just often, always wants us to feel this shame and embarrassment and then isolate and not tell anyone. And then we're just deeper, deeper into it, thinking and then isolate and not tell anyone. And then we're just deeper, deeper into it, thinking gosh, I can never tell anyone blank, I would never. Or just we've justified it by then Like I'm not wrong, I'm not wrong and I'm not going to tell anyone this because I'm not wrong.
Speaker 1:It's like I feel like there's two ditches there and just encouraged by, yeah, how you told us, we put up walls when we're in a cycle of sin. So yeah, and reminding people whoever's listening hey, we got to repent and there's often, God willing, if you're listening and you don't have anyone, you're like I don't know who I would repent and share this with I don't know who. Ask God for a friend, or, if it is your spouse or your pastor, ask God to bring someone into your life to repent to and confess to and, by God's grace, if it's a believer of Jesus, they will receive you with grace and love and the kindness of Jesus, and if they don't, that's not how Jesus would respond. That's not right.
Speaker 1:So I'm just I'm encouraged by you reminding us confession, repentance. So yeah, I'm so encouraged by both of those things. What do you guys feel like is a lie in marriage, specifically that you've believed that God has had to in the past or maybe still is uprooting in your heart, and what gospel truth has he been reminding you or reminded you to squash that lie, if you both want?
Speaker 2:to share one.
Speaker 3:So what is he uprooted in our heart?
Speaker 1:Yeah, what's a lie? You've believed in marriage, and like what gospel truth does he remind you to help you squash that lie?
Speaker 3:That's a great question. I think, man, why don't you go first? I've got like three. That's a great question. I think, um man, why don't you go first?
Speaker 2:I've got like. I think, honestly it's along the same lines, but it's about the whole idea of death and you know, we see in scripture that it says husbands love your wives, does Christ love the church and gave himself up for her, and wives respect your husbands. And, um, or does it say, submit to your husbands after that, I don't know, but the idea is this submission, you know, this dying to yourself to serve the other person. And I just think the lie that I hear, or that culture hears, is that you know, dying is bad and it is bad, but but this, this idea of that like dying, and it is bad, but this idea of dying to yourself is going to lessen you.
Speaker 2:It's going to lessen what you want. It's going to lessen your desires. It's going to lessen your satisfaction to the things that God asked us to. You know the things of God. And again, we're not talking about this book isn't for people in harmful situations or like that. I have to say that. But when it's a dying to yourself, there's always so much life on the other side of it, so good. So I think that's the lie that I probably most consistently believe. I want my way, my plans, my agenda, even the love I want to receive and the way I want to receive it. And I think the truth of the gospel is that Jesus really did come to serve and he had no offense. He put himself in a position to have no rights and that you know, through his life we're supposed to be following that path, trusting that it's going to lead to life abundant you know so, I think, so good.
Speaker 3:Of all the things, I think I would say something around.
Speaker 3:So like there's a few things that that we read that God hates in scripture, one of which being divorce, that he's permitted because of the hardening of our hearts, and so like are there exceptions for when it is like quote allowed by God in scripture? Yes, but in no way does it mean like it doesn't still grieve heart and so for us, like man, you think about the number of passages that speak to like while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, or when we were enemies of the cross. You know just the number of times where, on my worst of days, that he chooses me, he loves me, he forgives me, and the call being for me to love her, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for. Like it is the, the modern translation of the love of God and Christ within marriage. That like when you have been hurt to your core by someone's willful choice and sin and can choose to love, it doesn't mean like choose to start over or intellectually dismiss their faults, you know. Just like commit to stay.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Be God, do really a death to life, like like all the stuff all of us would want in marriage. But nobody wants to walk through, I think, the faithfulness of god, like I remember a long time ago, katie, was. I forget the way you phrased the question, but my answer was faith. What was the question? The question was like what do you want?
Speaker 2:What was the question? The question was like what do you want people to say about your marriage at the end of your life? Like their marriage was blank.
Speaker 3:And I was thinking that they were faithful. And and I feel like the faithfulness of God is one of the like, least sexy, least celebrated, least appreciated attributes of God. But really in a in our culture, like man, we just do not see faithfulness modeled Like if you're not happy at your job, man, look around, start interviewing for another, apply elsewhere. Um, not that you shouldn't do that at times, but it's just like with our friends, with our vocations, with our fill in the blank it's like if you're not happy and you only got one veil, find somewhere where you'll be happy.
Speaker 3:And so there's just not a lot of examples of hey, when it gets hard, when your heart is crushed, like endure, be faithful to goodness on the other side of that. So I think that's the thing of um, again one of those like truths that I knew and had read in scripture, but um, that, by his grace, I even desired it, but now I'm just so like man, if there's a message that I wish the world and by the world, you know, believers and non-believers alike could hear it's just that there is not just some roommate chum like, hey, we did it, but that was awful on the other side of it.
Speaker 3:If you can endure through what you might label your greatest pain, your darkest night, you know, fill in the blank, that God can author epic love and delight on the other side of it.
Speaker 1:So so good, so encouraged by both of those things. Um, I Katie what you were talking about essentially a continual death of self. Um, just, uh. This last week I went on a trip with my family. I have three kids and, um, and right before I left, totally the Lord's providence.
Speaker 1:But I was flipping through a few books that I was going to decide to bring and know that I wasn't going to get to read. But I was halfway through this one called Humility and I just was looking at the last couple chapters and one of the chapters is literally titled death equals love or like something along that. And God was so kind because I didn't even bring that book. But I remember that we have a three month old and our like first night there.
Speaker 1:Just so much God, just revealing so much selfishness in my heart, of like of with having to feed the baby and hold her, and we're on a trip where it's nice out and we live in Omaha, so it's not nice right now, and just like God reminding me, like, no, this is your best, yes, and this death is love, and like that's where I'm going to do something and that's where I'm going to bring you freedom and joy.
Speaker 1:And so I'm just like I'm going to bring you freedom and joy. And so I'm just like I'm so encouraged by, yeah, what you were saying and just that constant reminder and culture telling us the opposite. Like you're saying, like, love yourself, do what you want to do, but that our true joy and freedom in the Lord comes through a continual crucifixion. And like that doesn't mean it's without pain, like a death is painful, like you were saying, in the joy and the life abundant that we get to experience on the other side. And I'm like, no, this is my best. Yes, feeding my three-month-old being in the shade when everyone else is in the pool. Like, no, this is my best. Yes, and Lord, like, help me to die another death for your glory.
Speaker 2:Yes, it's true. It's funny you say that because we love sounding music in this house right now, my three-year-old loves sounding music and there's this song that they sing to Maria and they basically say, like there's this dream in your heart is going to require all the love that you have to give, and I think about that a lot with motherhood, like it requires all the love you even have to give and then more. You know um that. But you think about what we go through with our children, from, you know, newborn stage to the then toddler stage. It is a forced death, yeah, whereas in our marriage there is no, there is no forcing. You sit at the pool.
Speaker 2:I'm going to go sit in the shade right now. You thrive in this season and I'm going to let it cost me sleepless nights. There is no force dying. And think about how much growth happens for children while forcing that death. They are literally changing overnight.
Speaker 2:They're growing and becoming new and whole, and I think our marriages, honestly, were made to do the same and they can grow that exponentially. You know we will if we'll put the same constructs around. No one's telling us to and no one in culture is telling us to. Yeah, Like if you're in the shade for your husband to sit in the sun with his friends for a long extended period of time you know people are like oh, People would be up in arms.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, she just you know, so I think you're right. Yeah, she just you know, so I think you're right. It's such a good analogy because the children really do help us do that. You know, they help force it, but I think you can model it in marriage and get the love that God has required.
Speaker 1:That's really helpful. And then, josh, what you were talking about the gospel ultimately calling us to stay is also the exact opposite of what, like you said, everyone else is saying. And do you ever just like, are you ever just like, gosh God, you really know what you're talking about. Like you're, after a fact, you stay, you faithfully endure and stay and you follow what Jesus. You're following Jesus, the person of Jesus. You're looking to him for an example. You stay. And now you're getting to see like God's name be brought so much glory through your family, through your seven children. And like, sometimes, after that, I'm like, gosh God, you really know what you were. You don't really know what you're telling us.
Speaker 1:Like you, of course you do, but like it's funny, I'm like, yeah, like what's the call? Oh, outdo one another in honor, see yourself. God helped me to see myself rightly, which is that I'm the same as my spouse and I get to die for that. And so often we want to look anywhere else, but scripture to like tell us, oh, what can help my marriage flourish? And you guys are like, no, he said it all right here, where the gospel calls me to stay, it calls me to look to Jesus. What did he do? He laid down your life for your bride, like he did the church, and so, just fired up and so encouraged by that, what encouragement would you give someone who is currently in a discouraging or hard season of marriage?
Speaker 3:I would say that this too shall pass and that he came for us to have life and have it more abundantly. And if you can find it in your heart to go after him with all you've got Commit to staying Like close the, what would I say? I would read them our whole book.
Speaker 1:Right, I literally was thinking that I was like go get the book, and I was just thinking of that line.
Speaker 3:I'm like, if you're going through hell, keep on whatever, go and don't turn back if you're scared but there's I think, uh, I think believing, um, because even in our story, like we brought the hell on ourselves, and there's times when you find yourselves in trouble or in a tough spot, and it's because it's life and life is hard. But there's times where you've caused it and you could feel like I'm in this situation because I deserve it, uh, because I'm a screw up, because I fill in the blank, and so just to know, he has accounted for you.
Speaker 3:And when it says he came that you would have life and have it more abundantly. That that does not mean like when you're worthy and deserving of it, it's because of who he is. I went in a tough spot to just believe. Is it possible that he is a kind, loving father who wants good for you, whether you're in a? You've caused or not, and if you can um, I forget who it was that said. What you, what you believe about God, is the most important thing about you.
Speaker 2:And I think oftentimes we can.
Speaker 3:We can see him as angry and disappointed when he loves and has good in store for you. And if you can, if you can stay through the tough, lifeless, painful season while also going hard after God you can't just stay and wishful think and hope that things get better. But if you can stay and go hard after God because he's going to speak to you, he's going to sustain you, he's going to help you change and grow Like. Ultimately, he's going to speak to you, he's going to sustain you, he's going to help you change and grow Like. Ultimately, he's going to do the heavy lifting. You just have to commit to being around for it. He's going to bring about goodness.
Speaker 2:And I think along that same line. I would just say, you know, often you hear pastors talk about going hard after God, like what does that mean? But the truth is like that would be. My encouragement is don't try to do anything without him. Don't try to rebuild your marriage, don't try to get all the self-help books. Don't try to leave without him.
Speaker 2:Don't try to go your own way without him, and really that going hard after God is just creating intimacy in that relationship. You know, seeking Him. My mom has a book coming out also soon, called Simply Pray. But it's like ask, seek and knock. How simple it is to just, you know, to turn towards the heart of God. And I think in most people's lives we may say these things but we don't actually create the time and space and margin to turn on worship music, to pray, to ask him to help. You have endurance. You don't have any help, you have great. When you don't have any help. You stay silent when you need to be quiet and patient. You know our marriages are supposed to be helped by the Holy Spirit, by God, and so that would be my encouragement to you is just to lean in and to don't try to do it without Him, but with Him everything is possible.
Speaker 1:So encouraged by that, don't try to go your own way. I love that. Okay, what is a rhythm or rhythms that you guys have made in your marriage that you felt like has made an impact?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I love rhythms. That's like my thing. I always tell him, like the dance choreographer of our home. And so when anything feels out of place. I'm like. I feel like we need a new system, a new rhythm, so we have several, have several.
Speaker 2:you know, um, Sabbath is a really important rhythm in our marriage, just because it's really important for me and for him. But we do it in different ways, so we kind of individual Sabbath rhythm, but then we which really does help and protect our marriage we have a rhythm of date night every single week. We even have a podcast that we just started that's called Date Night with the Walters, that you could check out.
Speaker 2:It's only 10, 12 minutes, but it just sets you up with a great question for your date nights, because we really try to make our date nights intentional, fun, have so much great time together, but also to help us grow. So date night is rhythm. We like to try to decompress together each night. So we have rhythms, or at what does that look like? How do we get time to talk and hang out together? We have rhythms of confession, which we talk a lot about in the book, of just really giving each other our vulnerable shadow selves and creating intimacy by confessing things one to another. Would you say any other ones?
Speaker 3:Um, I think that I wouldn't say anything else, but the way I would frame that up is the just around the language of um dialogue daily daily quarterly are kind of the wait.
Speaker 1:Can you say that one more time?
Speaker 3:uh, dialogue daily, date weekly and depart quarterly are in terms of framework and I would say each of those carry their own meaning in the sense of, like most couples talk every day, you talk about a thousand things, but dialogue daily is just more about kind of your head and heart, of where are you at processing that together and so making time to really talk each day.
Speaker 3:The date weekly is um kind of the romantic side of pursuing each other, creating shared memories having fun together and uh, again, simple concept, but man, I I had become a master of putting that on the shopping block for many years. So, uh, a hard one to to walk out at times, not because it's hard to date, but it would feel we had an event out somewhere. Well, we were out together on Tuesday. I was like, ah, that wasn't a date, we just had a work thing, whatever. And then departing quarterly is just we're going to prioritize kind of removing ourselves from the chaos and joys of home to remind ourselves that this is the end goal.
Speaker 3:Like we had all these babies and we're raising them up to send them out, and it's going to be the two of us every day, so let's make sure we don't forget how to have new adventures and enjoy each other.
Speaker 1:So encouraged by that. And if you're listening to this, they have seven children, so if they can depart quarterly, so can we people. Okay, okay, when does your book come out? Can people preorder it?
Speaker 2:Yes, it's out. Now it's out. It did Okay, oh my goodness, yep, so it's out. It's live on Amazon. No-transcript, um, but the book is an easy read and it's just.
Speaker 1:it's been incredible, so yeah how does it feel so good having it out? Is it like? And now like, yeah, what's that? What's the feeling?
Speaker 3:yes, I think it did honestly yeah, it was an epic in some ways some new yeah, some new adventures have have began as a result of it. But, yeah, yeah, it was. Uh, you hear people talk about like a book baby, and I always thought it was the dumbest thing. Like you write books, it's not a book, but you, man, you get a book done and it just feels like nine months of like sleep and agony.
Speaker 2:We really started writing it in 2020. So I mean, it didn't come out until January 4. Okay so, and it's a long, it's a long path Wow. Okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, go order the book today, people. I don't know why I didn't think it was out yet. I'm going to go order it. Okay, amazing, okay, you guys have seven kids. Amazing, with kids ranging from three to two to 20? Yes, three to 20. Three to 20. And I feel like I need to have you guys on for another full episode to talk about parenting alone. But could you give us a quick piece of parenting wisdom that you either received or that God's given you over the last two decades and then coupled with that? Well, actually we just answered how do you guys stay intentional. You just told us how you guys stay intentional, so we already answered that one. But, yeah, give us a piece of parenting advice that you guys have learned or been given over the last two decades. Oh man.
Speaker 2:I would say humility and prayer. We have stayed learners. I love that. Parents, I just got a book the other day called Fledge and it's basically like launching your children without losing your mind. You know, it's like a new company gave me from a mentor that I had to ask about a new season with our 20 year old. You know, we stayed humble and stayed learners. And then, you know, we've prayed. We've prayed a lot for different things and just speaking life over them, you know.
Speaker 3:But, um, I don't know what it's hard to put it like in quick, but they're so different, they're all so unique in every single season and a lot of humility has been required, I would say, for sure I would probably say just the importance of um, your, your spouse, and knowing that man, I feel like anytime, like last week Katie was in Togo for the week and I was thinking about single moms, single parents the whole week, yeah. But I feel like in marriage, and especially in parenting, Katie and I are very similar in a lot of ways that make marriage fun, but we're very different in a lot of ways that I think are important for our kids and oftentimes it could pin us, as one rights one's wrong or, you know, we just see things different or we just see things different. But I feel like the one piece of advice I would offer is just the gift that your spouse is in parenting to help you see things you don't see. Don't be offended Like man.
Speaker 3:The number of years wasted where Katie would be trying to help me or me help Katie, and it was coming across as a fence but the reality was I'm like the, the, uh, the only one in the room that's on her side, that wants to her, and so, uh, man, I just think she's sharpened me as a man believer, but especially a father, and helping me see ways that you know, I like to think I'm really fun, loving and fun to be around, but there's many a day at six o'clock in the afternoon, where I'm a grumpy jerk and I wouldn't have even seen it. It didn't help me.
Speaker 1:Wow, so cool. Stay humble, stay learners. I feel like I need that, just like written on my mirror every day. So just so encouraged by that. Okay, one of the last kind of big things that we're going to talk about today. God's made you guys passionate about mission, specifically through your nonprofit. Francis and Benedict. Can you tell us all about Francis and Benedict? Is it Francis and Benedict or Francis Benedict? It's Francis and Benedict. Okay, francis and Benedict, what?
Speaker 2:is it?
Speaker 1:how it got started and what you've seen God do through it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thanks for asking. So it's actually named after two real people in Togo, west Africa. Their names are Francis and Benedict Avoye Cool and I met them about eight years ago. They had been doing work among the poor and vulnerable in Togo, west Africa, since they got married, which was back in 1996. But then they also received a prophetic word that their names would be known all over the world and they just laughed at that.
Speaker 2:You know thinking how could God do that? And this podcast is an example of how God does that. He is so faithful. So eight years ago we started it with this idea of creating clothes out of African wax print with seamstresses there. Seamstresses in Togo um, most every woman knows how to sew, even those that are widows or very vulnerable or haven't had any education. So it's a great kind of on-ramp job for people, and they also hand make these beautiful clothes that we could design for an American woman that she would want to wear, that would be fashionable, and then use the profits to go back to these women and children in one of the poorest countries in the world.
Speaker 2:Togo is a really small, tiny country in West Africa. It's near Ghana and Nigeria, if anybody has seen those countries, and so you can imagine the discrepancy between where they live and where we live and what we believe is our responsibility to step into that gap, to care for the poor, just as Jesus teaches us to do, to decide that our wealth, our affluence, is enough. We have enough, we have what we need so that we can give to others. And you know, I don't know about you, but I've always loved fashion, and so I think just this concept of our purchases have power you know they really can impact and change the world.
Speaker 2:It's a global. All the opportunities are open to us, I think, for good and for bad. We can choose our clothes based on just our selfish wanting them quick and cheap and many, many of them. Or we can choose to purchase something that's really going to affect someone's life, and so that's what Princess Benedict is, and there's a nonprofit. We sell the skirts and clothing.
Speaker 2:We also have advocates, so we have women all over the US S that sell them for us and with us. They can just post the link on their Instagram stories or they can have pop-up shows. They can go in their kids' schools. Some of them speak at their kids' chapels and then have the skirts available, so they can make it, you know, as much as they want. And those women have been incredible because it has really multiplied the voice of the women in Togo, and that's why we got back this week from our advocate trip where we all went to Togo together. We had just an incredible time in what we say is the land of the big God, because while we are investing in them with physical resources, they are investing in us with spiritual resources. You know they have so much joy and strength and integrity and peace and you know desperation for God. That really increases our faith. So they mark us also you know, as a sisterhood.
Speaker 2:It really is a sisterhood. So that's Frances, and Benedict. Josh helps lead the nonprofit side, which is just all the donations that come in. We're 100% donation-based. No one's paid on the nonprofit side with donations that come in. We use those donations to really increase the impact of the skirt sales for the nurses and their kids. Is there anything else you'd say about it?
Speaker 1:Why Togo? How did you meet Francis and Benedict?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was a crazy story is I was going on a mission trip to do counseling but there were a lot of business leaders there and they started kind of telling talking about business and how much business would help in a third world country and it was mostly going over my head but I was drawing dresses to have made because I love fashion.
Speaker 2:And then I got home and you know I was really affected by that trip and on the plane I remember just saying God, if you can use me in any way, like I'm your girl, you know you have my heart and I really want to do something. And I started about a month later having dreams about the company, so I could see the skirts and the name of it and all of it, and that's really where it started.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness. And the skirts are absolutely gorgeous. I mean all of the products that they sew. They're just amazing. So a way that they could get involved is someone could be an advocate and they can apply for that. I'll link your guys' website. They can apply through the website and stuff if they'd want to help sell and learn more about it.
Speaker 2:So easy to do it right there on the website. Advocates also get 20% off of everything, because that's what they make on the sale. So it's it's it's. It's very easy to do. You know, we all are in a world of selling things on social, so if you're going to buy, well, be an advocate and then tell people about it.
Speaker 1:Amazing. How often do you go to Togo?
Speaker 2:I usually go about four or five times a year. That's amazing. This year we don't have plans to go back that much. I'll definitely go twice, but you know four times.
Speaker 1:How have all the kids been there, or just some of them?
Speaker 2:No, just my girls. Okay, I did to take the boys. My oldest son is now 15. So he's he's at a great age to go. We usually, you know, say they need to be 11 or 12, but now we just recently got a new property there where we can sleep up to 34 people. So we're going to have a family trip sometime soon, so we'll see if God opens the door for that.
Speaker 1:That's so exciting. Okay, well, go check out Francis and Benedict and just the beautiful ways that God is using them in Togo and here. Oh my gosh, I love that. Okay, last, love that. Okay, last two questions. Could you guys share a piece of scripture that the Lord is currently using to encourage, exhort or convict you with lately?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so mine was this morning in Matthew 10. It was an encouragement to us. But it basically says that if you receive someone, if you receive that, he was talking to the disciples to use the context of it, he had sent the disciples out and he had sent them out to cast out demons, raise the dead, like, act in full authority in his name and at the end they come back to him. And he basically tells them when you go into villages or when you go into towns, as people receive you, they're going to receive the father, and as they receive the father, they receive me. And he's telling them, like, when you receive a prophet, you gain a prophet's reward, and when you receive a righteous person, you gain the reward of that righteous person.
Speaker 2:And I just felt like God was really encouraging me. Josh and I both feel like we have a gift of hospitality on our life. We like to be in people's homes and have people in our homes. We like to go into people who are in pain and we also like to be with people that you know maybe don't see their pain. And so I just think he was encouraging me that that's a gift he's given us and that we can really walk forward in that, knowing that as people receive us, they're going to receive the Father. And what an incredible promise you could encounter people one-on-one in His name, with His Spirit and they could be gifted by that, so that would be mine.
Speaker 3:I would say Hebrews 12, 11, which is no discipline, seems pleasant at the time but painful later on. However, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it, and just the many gifts that God has given us. The bending towards disciplines and pretty much any area of life are not among my strong suits, and so I think he's wanting to. It's just crazy At my core. I'm like this rebel who wants to bend the rules, break the rules, do it a new way, different way. My way, and all of the paths of discipline just feel like this breaking of like so that's where it's been really challenging.
Speaker 3:But I'm like you know, if it's gonna lead to a harvest of righteousness and peace, then, uh, it takes a kind of stubborn obedience and trust on my part.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that. Okay, God willing. Someone's out there listening to this and, maybe for the first time, thinking I want to respond to the gospel. I want to know and follow the Jesus that Josh and Katie and Maddie love and know and follow. What's a tangible next step for them? What advice do you have for them?
Speaker 3:I would say when the angels appeared to the shepherds out in the field and they said I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people, just kind of. The thought of good news becomes great joy when it becomes personal. And so if you simply believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, and so decide that you know what I believe, that I'm not good enough, I didn't earn this, I don't deserve this. But the beauty of why it's good news is that he knows that and he so loves you, that if you just believe in your heart, you know what Jesus came for me. He died for my sin. Confess with my mouth that I believe this Jesus. I want you to be Lord of my life, then you will be saved.
Speaker 3:And so I'd say, let it become personal and let it become on a friend. Tell somebody um, don't something that, uh, you know that you, you keep to yourself because the enemy's gonna. You do have an enemy number one, but he would love to let you downplay it, dismiss it. Um, you know, yeah, continue life as usual, but let it be news that you share and it's, it's something to celebrate yeah, that's so good.
Speaker 2:I also just add at the end of that chapter, the this verse god gave me a couple days ago on the plane, like literally, it was one of those moments where you're just here, you know, all of a sudden here, luke 10, 14 or whatever, and you open it thinking like but the verse says glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth for over those whom he is pleased, please, or for those who his favor rest. And I would just say for anyone listening to this right now, if you feel that peace, that he's leading you, he's inviting you to a deeper relationship, it's going to give Him so much glory he is a God of glory but also that he is pleased with you, his favor is resting on you, because just for you to be listening to this podcast or responding to that invitation means that His favor is on your life, that he is pleased with you, so that you can see Him like that, see Him as a God that's standing there, smiling and waiting to embrace you.
Speaker 1:Amen, okay, to wrap up our time together, we have some rapid fire questions. Keyword rapid key web fire. Are you guys ready? Yes, okay, katie, you answer first, then Josh, and after every, after every question. Okay, most impactful verse on your life all time john tintin yeah, john tintin favorite book all time, oh maybe the giving tree.
Speaker 3:I love it I think the first like christian book that I read, uh the power of a praying husband, and so uh.
Speaker 1:I think, I love it. I love it, favorite song right now.
Speaker 2:I mean we love music, so it's going to be super hard. Usually it's like our lifestyle. I mean we love good old days by Macklemore.
Speaker 3:I'm just going to say that one but of a crack.
Speaker 2:But we love Brandon Lake. I mean, he's a true good friend of ours.
Speaker 3:But all the time if you're in our house you're hearing Brandon Lake, I love Define the Appropriate 90s Music and so when you say like top of mind right now, it's like you don't want me to say that out loud.
Speaker 1:I love it, favorite food.
Speaker 3:Mexican.
Speaker 1:Pizza.
Speaker 3:Favorite, love it favorite food mexican pizza favorite podcast things you won't hear on sunday oh, never heard of that.
Speaker 1:I'm excited to check it out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm probably gonna go, jess connelly gotta, I agree.
Speaker 1:Okay, something not many people know about you.
Speaker 3:Two of my kids have webbed toes.
Speaker 1:That's something I don't know. That's true, that's true, but he's just, he's just taking it for himself.
Speaker 3:Listen, part of me made them.
Speaker 2:That's true, I think mine would be that I'm pretty good with numbers. I love that.
Speaker 1:What are you loving right now? Could be literally anything A toaster, a restaurant, a candle, our love that.
Speaker 3:What are you loving right now?
Speaker 2:Could be literally anything a toaster, a restaurant, a candle. Our new house, yeah, new house we just renovated. We're still renovating it, but it's vibing.
Speaker 3:It's a lot closer to school and church and a different vibe than we've gone for in houses before. So it feels.
Speaker 2:It's smaller, but it's more right.
Speaker 1:I love that. Okay, how can our friends listening today be praying for you guys? Oh?
Speaker 3:The discipline word for me Anytime you think of the name Josh Walters. I would appreciate prayers for strength in that regard For Katie and I. I feel like somebody asked me yesterday like, hey, what's been the funnest thing about all the book stuff? And it's honestly felt like just anything I've gotten to do with Katie. We've wanted to build something together for so long. Even this feels different than the nonprofit for profit stuff or just cause it's our story and together. So I think, just prayers that, um, we want to see God do something which he has like in our marriage, but it's us and others, couples lives in a way that is like tangibly powerful for them and glory. So just pray that our ministry would be marking on couples' lives in that way.
Speaker 1:I love that If you are listening, would you just pause and take a moment to pray for Josh and Katie and their story and pray for the couples that are going to be impacted and that God would use their story for his glory and redemption and other couples' marriages. Where can we find you, guys, if you want to be found?
Speaker 2:Yes, so the great. We're both on Instagram Katie Walters, Josh Walters but we also are joshandkadywalterscom. You can easily find like our messages there. Our podcast is there. You could book us to come speak at your church there. If you have a church, we'd love to come and preach at churches, so that's a great place to find us. But we also love to connect online, so connect is also on Instagram.
Speaker 1:Yes, Easy to find I will link all of those things in the show notes. Guys, so grateful for your life and your story and just so encouraged by all the ways that God's using you, and just thanks for taking the time to be here today. Thank you, maddie, for having us.
Speaker 2:We've loved it.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness, these two were such a joy to chat with. You know, when you meet someone and this sadly doesn't always happen, but like you maybe follow them or you know that they love Jesus Do you know how you've probably experienced this it's so delightful when you then meet them in person and they actually exude the fruit of the spirit, like you can just like feel Jesus and just humility and grace. That's how I felt talking to these two, like Jesus was just exuding out of them. It was so evident the whole conversation, and God doing what only God can do rebuilding something out of ashes, something that's completely destroyed to better than it was before. And, gosh, I just was so encouraged by their testimony and all that God is doing and their willingness to share it and, yeah, that was just so powerful. I'm so encouraged by their faithfulness to stay and fiercely pursue and trust God. And, gosh, I'm praying that you were encouraged by that too. I've been reminded continually this year that the Christian life is one of continual repentance and faith, repentance and faith, repentance and faith turning from our sin, repenting to God and others, and then faith, believing that his blood, that Jesus's blood, covered it and walking in victory and freedom and joy. So, gosh, I'm just continually reminded how grateful I am for Jesus's sacrifice on my behalf, on your behalf, that, even though we mess up daily, we get to repent, turn from our sin and walk in joy and victory. Knowing his blood covered it oh, that is honey to my soul.
Speaker 1:Friends, I made a website maddyschultzco M-A-D-D-I-S-C-H-U-L-T-Zco, c-o. I'm so excited about this. I was so excited to create just a catch-all space for different resources for the podcast, really just longing to serve you and your walk with the Lord, hopefully in a bunch of different ways. And so, if you go there, there's gospel resources, there's books that I've loved, there's the things that have helped my formation in the Lord, things I love for my kids, things I love to wear. I mean, really, there's so much on there there, lord, things I love for my kids, things I love to wear. I mean, really there's so much on there. There's part of my testimony on there and I'm praying that that is just a helpful space as you follow and pursue Jesus. So, maddyschultzco, go check it out.
Speaker 1:Also, if you haven't subscribed to my emails, there's a link to subscribe to my emails in the show notes. You can also subscribe to them at maddyschultzco that subscribe to my emails and the show notes. You can also subscribe to them at maddyschultzco that should pop up and you can sign up for them Another space that I love to just send out truth and encouraging things and random things that God's teaching me. So, as always, I would love to connect with you. You can email me at maddie at sunnyand65.com. That's M-A-D-I at sunnyand65.com. I'd love to hear what God is teaching you or showing you, or how he encouraged you through these episodes. It is seriously so sweet to receive emails from some of you guys and just how God used these conversations for his glory and in your life to encourage you, convict you or exhort you. So, friends, go, be bold and love big, and we will see you next time.