Exploring the Importance of Faith in the Military Transition with Eric Brew

WEBVTT
00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:04.639
Welcome to the Lessons Learning Productions Podcast, your military transition degree.
00:00:04.959 --> 00:00:12.320
I'm your host, Lori Norris, and I've helped thousands of military service members since I fully transitioned out of the military since 2005.
00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:22.719
Thanks for tuning in to hear the after-election reports and real stories of your fellow veterans who are here to help combine, educate, and inform you as you navigate your own military transition.
00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:26.640
By the way, if you find value from today's episode, please share it with others.
00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:30.160
Leave us a review and post about us on social media.
00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:37.840
On today's episode of the Lessons Learned from Us podcast, I am so excited to welcome back my friend Eric Prew.
00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:43.359
Eric retired after more than 24 years of service in both the Marine Corps and the Army.
00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:59.439
And after his military service, he made the decision to continue to serve his military brothers and sisters, first at Still Serving Veterans, then with American Corporate Partners, and now as the director, as the Georgia director for Warrior Set Free.
00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:10.879
This is Eric's second time on the show, but today we're gonna speak about his organization, the work he does, and how he is continuing to live his purpose with this new mission.
00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:12.079
So, Eric, welcome.
00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:13.439
Thank you, my name.
00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:14.959
I'm just so I'm so excited.
00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:15.680
I'm a two-timer.
00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:17.040
You know what an armor that is?
00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:17.920
I'm a two-timer.
00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:21.439
So exciting.
00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:24.879
I know it's just like you could probably wear a badge, you know.
00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:25.920
I think I should.
00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:27.680
I should get some of an award.
00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:32.000
Well, um, I am excited to have you back.
00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:34.640
I'm sorry that I missed you this year in Atlanta.
00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:35.040
Uh-huh.
00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:36.319
I'm sorry to not be there.
00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:38.480
But makes you so much fun.
00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:38.959
Yeah.
00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:39.920
Oh, wait, that's right.
00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:41.439
We're it's Florida, isn't it?
00:01:41.599 --> 00:01:41.840
Yeah.
00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:44.640
So I've never been to I've never been to Tampa.
00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:46.480
That was a hard sticker for me to keep.
00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:50.079
I I knew a little ahead of people, and so I could, but I was told I couldn't say anything.
00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:51.760
I'm so excited.
00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:56.079
All right, I'm gonna have to pick room for some other insider info later.
00:01:56.319 --> 00:01:57.519
So we'll get back to that.
00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:02.239
So well, you know, the show's about the military transition, right?
00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:09.520
And so everybody can go back to season three because your previous episode was a killer.
00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:11.199
It was it was uh very powerful.
00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:13.520
You gave us a lot of really good information.
00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:24.319
Um, I want to start today because I know, as your friend, every position you've landed from the very first job to today has been about networking, right?
00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:24.639
Yeah.
00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:28.080
I mean, literally everybody knows Eric Brew in this space, right?
00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:30.800
So you're you're you're like a celebration.
00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:31.919
Maybe it's dredge now.
00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:33.919
Maybe it's a dredge.
00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:36.080
But how did you make that happen?
00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:47.039
Like what advice can you give about networking and kind of how you created that environment, those relationships that have really truly led to your career progression?
00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:50.639
That's such a that's such a wild, open-ended question.
00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:53.840
And it's and it's not, it's it's it's hard, right?
00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:58.159
Because there's a certain, there's a certain way that God designed me, and I'm an extrovert.
00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:00.000
I I love people, people energize me.
00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:03.280
I don't get drained by people, I'm not afraid to talk to people.
00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:05.840
And so those are things that I have naturally gifted to me.
00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:08.080
So that's it's a little bit of a cheat code, right?
00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:16.800
My wife is an extreme introvert, and so the peopleing, like her people meter starts to, you know, it starts to get a little alone sometimes.
00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:21.280
Um, for me, it's the opposite when I interact, like when I do things like go to the Mick, right?
00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:23.039
That energizes me.
00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:31.840
And so um I learned that the first thing I learned is that it's okay to not wear the uniform anymore.
00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:32.560
Right.
00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:35.680
That was the first thing I had to accept and I had to learn that it was okay.
00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:40.800
That when I got my DD214, whether anybody wanted to admit it or not, I was a civilian.
00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:42.719
That's that's what I am.
00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:45.280
A veteran is an indication of something you used to do.
00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:48.240
It's literally in the definition, right?
00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:57.199
Um and so I I kind of took that on and said, Well, then I need to go find people that can help me learn how to be this thing.
00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:02.800
Because I it'd been almost a quarter of a century since I had been just like a civilian.
00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:04.560
I won't say just a civilian, but a civilian.
00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:06.560
Yeah, it'd been a long time and I was a kid.
00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:08.400
I didn't know any, I didn't know anything then.
00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:10.000
I'd proved that throughout my 20s.
00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:12.319
I proved it over and over again I don't know anything.
00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:21.680
Um, but as I stepped out of the uniform, recognizing that I was gonna be a civilian and being okay with it was a was a a hurdle for me to get over, but I had to.
00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:27.360
Um recognizing that being unapologetic with my story was was gonna be valuable.
00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:34.399
Um I think that there is something to be said for an authentic and unapologetic delivery of your story.
00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:43.920
And I think far too often we the, and I mean people, I I would love to say that veterans have the corn the market cornered in this, but we don't, right?
00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:44.959
I think it's people.
00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:53.759
I think we let ourselves get shut down out of guilt and shame, um, or embarrassment or the worry of what somebody else might think.
00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:55.759
And so we don't share our stories.
00:04:55.920 --> 00:04:57.439
We don't talk about who we are.
00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:01.279
And I think that was one thing that I believe, and truthfully, I you know, you know my faith.
00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:06.319
I believe that God instilled in me is an ability to share my story without feeling that guilt and shame.
00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:09.199
I know who I am, I know the mistakes I've made.
00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:12.639
Um, I was there, I was there for every one of them, right?
00:05:12.720 --> 00:05:15.920
I was I had a first, I had a front row seat to every stupid decision I made.
00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:22.000
Um, but in that same breath, that created the man that I am.
00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:24.000
And so I'm not ashamed of who I am.
00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:25.519
I'm not ashamed of what I've become.
00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:27.519
I'm I'm I'm grateful for what I've become.
00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:28.560
I'm grateful that I'm still here.
00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:32.639
And so I took that and I I had to begin to bring that into my story.
00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:36.480
Um, and so in order to network, you have to be unapologetic.
00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:40.639
You you have to, you have got to find a way to be comfortable in your own skin.
00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:47.279
I mean, we talk about in the military being comfortable with the uncomfortable, and that's great until things are uncomfortable, and then nobody wants it, right?
00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:52.160
Like we used to say when I was kicking indoors, you say it's like you know, everybody wants to do gangster stuff until it's time to do gangster stuff.
00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:53.920
Like you, it's hard.
00:05:54.160 --> 00:06:06.319
Like it's so learning to be unapologetic, learning to accept where I was in life, um, and then being able to tell my story to those around me, I think is what really helped the most.
00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:11.519
And I think, you know, you said like, this is how God made me, this is who I am.
00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:12.319
Yeah.
00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:19.839
What if God made us like your wife and we're introverted and we're not, you know, we're not there yet?
00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:21.120
I mean, how would you?
00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:23.519
I know that's not you, so how do you give advice on that?
00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:28.639
But what do you what would you say to that person that's like, gosh, that that's just not how I was made?
00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:35.279
I I think I would, I would, the advice I would give is the same advice I've given to veterans um about being civilians.
00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:39.120
And that is, I don't want you to deny your natural design.
00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:45.600
But if you want to really enjoy your time in a foreign country, you might learn their language, right?
00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:46.000
Yeah.
00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:47.680
Even if it's for a time.
00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:51.040
And so I don't want a veteran to stop being a veteran.
00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:56.240
I want you to be able to stand around a bonfire with an adult beverage and a cigar or, you know, and tell stories.
00:06:56.399 --> 00:07:02.560
But then I want you to be able to walk in the boardroom on Monday morning and speak civilianese and speak that language of your culture, of your organization.
00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:05.120
Um, I would say the same thing to an introvert.
00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:07.839
I don't want you to deny your natural design.
00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:10.720
However, you are gonna have to learn how to be bilingual.
00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:19.439
You are gonna have to learn how to, for a time, exist in that world and then get away and get alone and recharge, right?
00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:25.360
Um, know your battery, recognize your battery and and and obey your battery.
00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:34.560
I think that, yeah, you've got to know kind of, you know, you say, like, oh, go into somewhere like the mix, like charges of my battery, and I'm like, mm-mm, that drains mine.
00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:45.920
This past weekend, my kids and I were in very people-y places, very crowded, lots of people touching us.
00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:54.560
And my my youngest daughter and I were like, I don't want anybody touching me, I don't want anybody looking at me, or they're a little more introverted, you know.
00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:57.279
So um, I think that we we do.
00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:01.360
We have to like just figure out who we are and what works for us.
00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:02.160
Yeah.
00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:08.160
But we also have to, I don't know, play the by the rules of the game.
00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:12.079
And that sometimes means we have to step out of our comfort zone, right?
00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:15.519
And well, and I think I think there's value too for even extroverts.
00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:20.480
Something I've had to learn and had to practice is being okay being alone.
00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:21.519
Right?
00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:25.439
For somebody like me, that seemed almost insurmountable.
00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:31.519
When I went through my second divorce and I was living by myself, that was that was gut-wrenching.
00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:34.399
I didn't know how to be by myself.
00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:38.080
I had to learn who I was without people around.
00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:38.639
Yeah.
00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:52.799
And there's value, there's value in all of us stepping out of our comfort zone, no matter which direction we go, and getting alone or getting with people and building community or getting alone and spending time getting to know yourself, right?
00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:54.720
There's there's value in that.
00:08:55.440 --> 00:08:56.960
Okay, I like it.
00:08:57.200 --> 00:09:00.080
I think you know, there is no cheat code.
00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:00.799
No, right?
00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:02.559
No, I wish there were.
00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:04.559
That would be awesome.
00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:11.200
But yeah, I mean, I think that we all just have to figure out what works best for us and who we are.
00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:18.320
And I really like what you said in that, you know, like you have to be yourself, you have to be authentic.
00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:23.039
Because I think everybody knows when we're putting on a show, don't you think?
00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:30.320
It's so hard to because like what what we pride ourselves, especially, and I'm gonna say veterans in this, I think veterans do have a unique ability.
00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:34.320
Veterans can sniff out a disingenuous human being really quickly.
00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:50.000
Like, we have got our our meter for being able to read the crap, um, I think is really finely tuned because of environments we've had to survive and then the ways that we've had to be successful and the performance mentality.
00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:57.440
Um, I think that we have an innate ability um to sniff out um the disingenuous.
00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:06.159
And so um I think it's important for us to recognize that and then to um avoid that at all costs, right?
00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:11.360
Yeah, like who we interact with, but also for us, you know, that way, right?
00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:12.720
So okay, yeah.
00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:13.759
I think that's good advice.
00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:17.519
Like see, you told me you were gonna follow my thing and you're doing it.
00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:18.399
I love it.
00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:28.960
All right, so I want to talk about your organization because what you're doing now is completely different, right?
00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:35.679
So your first job was really about supporting people in the transition, you know, with still serving veterans.
00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:46.559
Your second job with ACP was all about connecting people with mentorship and just kind of um building those bridges between the business world and the military veteran world.
00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:49.840
And so now you are with Warrior Set Free.
00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:51.759
So let's talk about your organization.
00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:52.399
Okay.
00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:55.279
Kind of like what's the mission, what's its history?
00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.279
Like, give me a little bit of an overview of it.
00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:00.320
Okay, so I'll give you the the the 30,000-foot view.
00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:06.879
So, roughly 30 years ago, um, Dean Vandermee, who's our founder, him and another gentleman started set free ministry.
00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:08.320
So take the warriors off.
00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:11.919
Um, and really what set free was built on is the idea of freedom in Christ.
00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:17.840
So it is a full it is a full-time ministry, um, it is a Christ-centered Bible standing ministry.
00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:22.000
Um, and so what the idea is, is that we can find freedom in Christ.
00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:27.840
We can, through scripture, we know that that Christ offers us freedom from the crap that we carry, right?
00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:31.440
So we all walk around with this rucksack on, and I'll use language that we speak, right?
00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:39.759
We all walk around this rucksack on, and we might have a thousand things that weigh a thousand pounds, or we might have one little pebble that weighs a thousand pounds, but we've got crap in our rucksack.
00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:47.360
And when we're tired of carrying it, scripture tells us there's a place to take it.
00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:50.159
Um, and there's a way to go about it.
00:11:50.240 --> 00:12:00.720
And so Dean built this ministry, this incredible ministry, on helping people lay stuff at the foot of the cross and walk away from it and be free from it.
00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:11.679
Um, and that grew and it blossomed, and it grew into this thing where he's got he's got set-free global, which is in a bunch of different countries and Uganda and building high schools and education and doing freedom.
00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:13.360
And it's incredible.
00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:19.919
Well, 11 years ago, a guy named Steve Prince, and I won't tell Steve's story accurately or or better than he can by any stretch of the imagination.
00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:26.879
Um, but Steve Prince went through the program, and essentially what happened is he walked out down the other side and said, This is what our community is missing.
00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:28.559
And he's he was an army veteran.
00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:30.320
Um, and he said, This, this is the thing.
00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:33.759
This is, I don't know why nobody's doing this, but this is this is the answer.
00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:40.960
And so they built a third leg for the stool, right, under the set-free umbrella called Warrior Set Free.
00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:49.759
Um, and so Warriors Set Free exists um to walk with our brothers and sisters, to help them grow in their faith, to heal from the past, and to win life's battles.
00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:50.960
And that's really it.
00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:54.799
Life, you know, you and I joked before we came on, life is still gonna life us in the face.
00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:56.080
There is no avoiding that.
00:12:56.320 --> 00:13:00.080
Nowhere in scripture will you find that if you become a Christian, everything turns out awesome, right?
00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:01.519
Like that's just not how it works.
00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:02.960
Life still gets a vote.
00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:04.960
Um, and we learned that in the in the military, right?
00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:07.919
When I was deployed, we always, you know, the enemy gets a vote.
00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:10.639
The truth is, everything around us gets a vote.
00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:26.240
What we know for a fact coming through scripture is that when you surrender and submit those things and lay them at the foot of the cross and walk away, although bad things happen, you get to experience it differently.
00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:30.159
You get to walk through that hard thing differently.
00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:41.039
You have something and someone to lean on and to lean into and to receive comfort from and to experience joy from in places you wouldn't understand or you wouldn't comprehend, right?
00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:44.000
In scripture, we call it the peace that passes all understanding.
00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:45.919
That's a peace that doesn't make sense.
00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:48.000
That's a piece I can't wrap my head around.
00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:54.320
I don't know why I'm feeling peace, but I'm experiencing this turmoil, this trauma, this loss, this hurt, this pain, this guilt, this shame.
00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:57.600
And I'm feeling peace in all of it as I navigate it.
00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:00.240
And that comes from a true surrender to God.
00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:06.879
And so warrior set free exists to help people understand where that is, where it comes from, right?
00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:12.960
And the hard part is really truthfully, like scripture, the Bible as a document is offensive.
00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:16.159
It's really offensive because it points out our sin.
00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:19.759
And nobody likes a finger wagged in their face.
00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:25.840
I I do not like having to own the crap that I've done wrong.
00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:29.600
But it doesn't make it untrue.
00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:30.080
Yeah.
00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:34.080
I can get mad at gravity, I'm not gonna start floating.
00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:35.600
Right?
00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:40.720
Just because I'm mad or I don't agree with or I don't like a truth doesn't make it untrue.
00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:45.840
So we walk with those folks to help them lay that stuff down.
00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:53.120
Um, and so two years ago we launched the Georgia expansion, um, which is kind of exciting because they've never done an expansion before.
00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:58.799
So we got 30 years with set free, 11 years with Warriors Set Free, and two years ago they launched their very first expansion.
00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:06.399
So um I like to call myself the proof of concept, or this this team down here, the group, not myself, but this team down here, the group, the proof of concept.
00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:08.240
Um, Steve would call us the test dummies.
00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:09.919
I think that's probably more accurate.
00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:14.879
Um, but but now Steve is our national director, and I get to be the Georgia director.
00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:21.679
Um and together we get to steward this thing that God has given us, which really does a couple of things really uniquely.
00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:23.519
It meets people where they are.
00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:29.519
I don't, again, I don't care if you have a thousand pounds, a thousand one pound things or one thousand pound thing, right?
00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:30.399
It doesn't matter.
00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:33.759
We get to meet people where they are, we get to love them the way Jesus loved them.
00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:38.559
We get to be honest with them and tell them the truth, even if it hurts sometimes.
00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:56.480
And then we get to watch God work in very real ways and in very real time as He as He helps someone experience and feel and walk through and process their forgiveness and their ability to lay their crap down.
00:15:57.039 --> 00:16:00.639
And that is probably one of the most beautiful things I'll ever get to see.
00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:01.679
I love it.
00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:06.399
Is so you are in Georgia, you oversee all the operations in Georgia.
00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:09.120
How many other locations do they have?
00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:09.759
That's it.
00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:10.559
We're the first.
00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:12.639
We have not, yeah, we've been doing this for two years.
00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:16.879
Um, and it's a little, as I'm thinking about it, they haven't expanded again.
00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:18.080
So maybe this wasn't a good idea.
00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:19.039
No, I'm joking.
00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:22.720
Um, no, we're we're we are actively looking at other states.
00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:26.960
Um, and we're actively actively looking at the how um because that matters, right?
00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:29.200
Organizationally, expansion matters, right?
00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:30.240
Scaled growth matters.
00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:34.000
We can talk about all of those things that matter um when you grow organizations.
00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:44.480
Um and and also we believe because because of our faith, we believe that following and obeying God and the Holy Spirit and how they drive us and where they have us to go, that that also matters um primarily.
00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:48.000
So So I'm uh I'm in Arizona.
00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:50.960
How can the organization help me if I'm a veteran?
00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:53.919
So what's really cool is we can do everything we do virtually.
00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:54.480
Okay.
00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:56.159
So um That's what I thought.
00:16:56.399 --> 00:16:56.879
Yeah.
00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:00.080
And and I will say this, and it's it's it's it's not everything.
00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:02.000
I probably it's probably a misnomer.
00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:06.400
So the the the organization is built on an on a process we call the freedom appointment.
00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:12.640
Okay, so a freedom appointment is a one-day kind of intense spiritual house cleaning, right?
00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:15.920
Um, I often compare it to 12 weeks of therapy, right?
00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:20.000
You go to the therapist once a week for an hour, we do it all in one day.
00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:23.519
Um, and so and it's it can get intense, right?
00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:29.680
But it but it's it's a it's a what's great about this with veterans is that we know how to do the hard things.
00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:31.359
We know how to do the hard thing.
00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:33.200
We know how to suck it up and drive on.
00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:34.640
We know how to adapt and overcome.
00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:36.880
We know how to get in there and get our hands dirty.
00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:49.200
Um and so when we get somebody who sits down, because the truth is, this whole process, Lori, this I have led people to Christ through this ministry and watched them come to Christ.
00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:52.319
But if you don't believe in God, then this doesn't matter at all anyway.
00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:56.000
And I'm not, I'm not, I don't, this, this Bible was not meant as a blunt force instrument.
00:17:56.079 --> 00:17:57.920
I don't beat people with the Bible, right?
00:17:58.079 --> 00:18:01.680
So if you don't believe in God, then not anything I'm saying is gonna matter anyhow.
00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:07.359
But if you do, or if you're questioning, or if you've got an idea that maybe I'm just tired enough.
00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:10.240
Maybe I'm just tired enough.
00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:12.240
And there's gotta be something different.
00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:16.160
Well, then we can sit down, then we can come to an understanding of what the truth is, right?
00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:20.640
So we we work off of our our our framework, which is trip, and we'll talk about that.
00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:21.440
I know you want to ask that.
00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:23.440
I'm see how I'm obeying.
00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:30.400
Um I am not demanding obedience, just structure, Eric.
00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:30.799
Come on.
00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:32.640
I thought it was a fun word to use.
00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:38.480
Um, but no, I mean it's it's again, it's it's a matter of just getting.
00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:42.640
We we do our best to set a table to create opportunities.
00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:47.440
Um, but the freedom appointment is that one day intense spiritual house cleaning.
00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:49.119
Um, we go off seven steps.
00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:50.799
We call it the seven steps of freedom in Christ.
00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:54.319
There are seven things that we go through, and there's a a manual because why wouldn't there be?
00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:56.880
We have acronyms because why wouldn't we, right?
00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:01.119
Um, can't be a real ministry that leads that that loves on veterans if we don't have those things.
00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:01.680
Exactly.
00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:06.079
Um but the freedom appointment can be done in per or done in person or virtually.
00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:10.880
Um, but we also do every Tuesday morning we do a Bible study, and that's one of the things we do for discipleship where we just kind of guide people.
00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:12.880
I do I lead it on Tuesday mornings.
00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:15.279
Uh Steve Prince leads it Tuesday evenings.
00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:18.640
Um, we have a thing called the Warriors Battle, which is really exciting.
00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:20.720
That's a four-day men's event here in Georgia.
00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:22.079
Um, that is not done virtually.
00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:23.839
You're gonna have to come to Georgia for that.
00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:30.559
Um, but it is a unique opportunity to get around brothers um and again to lay some heavy stuff down.
00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:34.240
It is similar to and nested with the Freedom Appointment, but they're not identical.
00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:37.519
And we did that intentionally because we want you we want you to do all the things, right?
00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:40.079
There's not a one and done with God, unfortunately, right?
00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:45.680
There's a one and done for salvation, but there's not a one and done for, you know, for for the work you got to do.
00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:53.200
Um, and then for the ladies, we have an opportunity called the Heroes Reflect, which we will be hosting our very first one uh March of next year.
00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:54.000
We're very excited.
00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:57.200
My wife will be leading that one with um the founder's wife.
00:19:57.279 --> 00:19:59.839
Um, and so we're very, very excited about that.
00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:05.119
I am super, super excited about finally getting the ladies um involved in this stuff.
00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:07.440
This has been um my wife being a veteran.
00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:11.359
I I obviously have a vested interest in our female veterans, our spouses, and such.
00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:15.440
But um but anyway, yeah, so we've got we've got all those opportunities.
00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:19.279
The ladies' event is for veterans and spouses.
00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:21.119
So we're gonna this is how we're gonna run it.
00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:28.480
It's gonna go active duty, veterans, first responders, and any family member.
00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:33.119
So if it is a mom, a daughter, and my heart really goes out to the daughters, right?
00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:35.680
The ones who were raised by us, right?
00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:41.440
I have I have I have five adult children, um, and I know I made mistakes.
00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:43.519
So I want them to get loved on too, right?
00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:46.160
They they suffered through my services as much as I did.
00:20:46.319 --> 00:20:50.079
Um, and what's cool is all of my kids have been through one of these events.
00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:54.880
Like I get to personally, like my children have been through these events, um, which is really cool.
00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:59.359
Even even my youngest son, Jordan, who's who's 16, um, he's been through a young men's event.
00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:00.480
Now we host that up in Michigan.
00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:04.319
That's not here in Georgia quite yet, but it is it is phenomenal.
00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:05.839
Okay, excellent.
00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:07.599
All right, well, let's talk about that.
00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:09.599
You mentioned the framework, right?
00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:11.119
So let's talk about it.
00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:16.640
I heard about it because you and Sean well sat sat down and uh went through it, right?
00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:18.640
And so let's talk about it.
00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:21.279
You I mean, it's an acronym, of course it's an acronym.
00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:22.720
You're for veterans, right?
00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:23.200
Yeah.
00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:26.880
So we we love a good acronym in the military, right?
00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:30.000
So z you you talked about earlier, the TRIP framework.
00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:34.960
So tell us what that is and kind of how your program operates around that.
00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:35.599
Sure.
00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:40.400
So TRIP is a very simple acronym, it stands for truth, relationships, identity, and purpose.
00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:45.279
And so what we want to do is we want to build out our understanding of those things.
00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:52.400
Um, and I love this analogy that I is is super personal to me because it's exactly how I came to understand the truth of God's word.
00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:56.079
Um, but with my last name being Brew, I have to be a coffee connoisseur.
00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:57.119
Like I have to, right?
00:21:57.200 --> 00:21:59.039
That's this, there's just no other rule.
00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:03.839
Um, and so the way I look at the truth of God's word is I enjoy coffee.
00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:09.920
When I have a warm, hot cup of coffee, it brings me joy, it brings me happiness, it gives me energy, right?
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:12.960
There are there are benefits to me drinking that coffee.
00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:20.960
However, if I reach my hand into a bag of grounds and I shove them into my mouth, I'm going to have a very different experience.
00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:21.359
Right?
00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:24.240
It's gonna be bitter, it's gonna be gritty, it's not gonna taste good.
00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:25.440
I might get some energy.
00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:29.279
I would I've been in a couple of schools where I had to like suck on some coffee grounds.
00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:36.079
Um, but um it's it's not gonna give us that same exam, that same that same result, right?
00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:43.119
And so what happens is I run it through a filter, and it's the thing that comes out on the other side that's beautiful, right?
00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:44.880
So I look at life the same way.
00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:49.279
If I reach into the bag of life and I try and I try to consume it raw, right?
00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:53.759
It's generally speaking really gritty and bitter, and it's hard.
00:22:54.079 --> 00:23:11.359
But if I take that same life, that same experience, and I run it through the filter of God's word, what comes out on the other side is something that we can enjoy and we do get to find peace in, and we do get to find happiness in, and we do get to experience hope, and we do get to experience grace, and we get to let go of guilt and shame, right?
00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:17.680
And we get to let go of these things and we get to have this cup of life that is so much better, right?
00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:19.519
So that's that's the truth.
00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:22.319
The truth of God's word is with him things are better.
00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:26.160
Not that life stops happening, but you experience them differently.
00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:32.480
Um, with relationships, we want to understand how, not just how how to restore them, but also what order they belong in.
00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:34.720
And again, I just go to scripture for that very simply.
00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:37.920
In Genesis, it tells us that first he created them male, male and female.
00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:40.720
So the first relationship we ever had is with our father, with our heavenly father.
00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:42.799
So with our relationship with God is first.
00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:45.680
Then he made them husband and wife, and that's the second relationship.
00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:49.039
Then he gave them children, that's the third relationship, and so on and so forth, right?
00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:55.920
Scripture lines out God's, I think you and God would get along really well because he likes things in order too, right?
00:23:56.480 --> 00:24:01.279
And so, and and to be honest, like my wife and I have even adjusted our marriage to fit that model.
00:24:01.359 --> 00:24:05.759
I've told my wife, and she tells me, I love her second.
00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:12.160
She has to come second, she won't come second to any human being on this earth, but she does come second to my God.
00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:16.000
She is not God, she cannot hold that place, and I can't hold it.
00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:19.039
It relieves so much pressure, right?
00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:22.559
And next is identity, and that's understanding what's your identity.
00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:25.759
What does the Bible say my identity is according to God?
00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:27.440
Who am I designed to be?
00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:30.319
And that was something that was really hard for me as I was coming out of the military.
00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:31.839
See, I grew up in a Christian home.
00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:37.519
I went to a Christian school, I graduated from a Christian high school, I went to a private school for most of my 12 years.
00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:40.480
And there's a whole story behind that.
00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:43.440
But the fact is, when I graduated, I ran away from God.
00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:48.079
So I knew God, but I didn't know God.
00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:48.880
Right?
00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:51.279
Most people miss heaven by 18 inches.
00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:52.960
They might know him, but they don't.
00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:56.160
They have not, they have not, they have not allowed him to infill it, right?
00:24:56.559 --> 00:25:19.200
Um and when it comes to identity, when I came back to Christ five years ago, six years ago, I struggled with the idea that after nearly a quarter of a century of kicking indoors and chasing bad dudes down and doing things like that, I didn't know how to go back to what at that point was my mentality, my understanding of what a Christian man was.
00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:23.440
This soft, turn the other cheek, weak, right?
00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:26.559
And I didn't, I couldn't, I couldn't wrap my head.
00:25:26.640 --> 00:25:28.480
I couldn't, I didn't know how to go back.
00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:33.279
I didn't know how to undo a quarter of a century of the other.
00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:41.599
And God took me to Exodus 15.3, and I don't memorize a lot of scripture because well, IEDs and TBIs are real.
00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:45.759
Um, but you can only get blown up so many times before things stop working.
00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:54.160
Um, but I I God took me to Exodus 15.3, and Exodus 15.3 simply says, the Lord is a warrior, Yahweh is his name.
00:25:54.400 --> 00:26:00.079
And that clicked with me, and I realized, wait a minute, if if I call him my father, that means I share DNA with him.
00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:01.039
He created me.
00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:04.799
So if he gets to be a warrior, I get to be a warrior.
00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:08.319
I don't have to undo everything I've done, I just have to reframe it.
00:26:09.519 --> 00:26:10.559
And so that helps.
00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:18.799
So we want to we want to help men understand their identity and who God says they are, really, not who the world says they're supposed to be.
00:26:19.119 --> 00:26:19.599
Right?
00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:24.559
I get so tired of people talking about um how men are simple-minded, one-track minded.
00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:25.920
I've even heard pastors talk about it.
00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:27.200
Oh, guys are just simple.
00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:30.559
You just gotta, I cannot be fearfully and wonderfully made.
00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:32.079
I cannot be uniquely made.
00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:36.160
I cannot be made in the image of my creator and be simple-minded and stupid.
00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:40.000
I cannot be called to be the spiritual head of my home.
00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:43.359
God would never put that on someone who was less than.
00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:46.079
I am complex.
00:26:47.359 --> 00:26:51.839
I have a lot of emotions and a lot of things, and I've got to learn how to experience them all.
00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:53.839
And that's all part of my identity.
00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:54.319
Right.
00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:56.559
And then after identity, we want to talk about purpose.
00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:57.759
What is the purpose?
00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:05.599
Now that we've got this framework and this idea of kind of like where we come from, how we live life, who lives life with us, and how do we do business with them, right?
00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:06.799
And who am I?
00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:09.519
Now I start looking at what is my purpose?
00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:12.720
What is my God-given purpose in this life?
00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:14.640
Where do I go now?
00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:16.000
What do I do with it?
00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:20.319
And I'm not saying that everybody has to go into ministry or go be a preacher, right?
00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:20.960
Right.
00:27:21.119 --> 00:27:22.880
If you're gonna be a banker, be a banker.
00:27:23.119 --> 00:27:28.720
Scripture says very clear, whatever you do, do it as though you're working for God, not for man.
00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:34.559
So, whatever you do, I I I often think it's funny when people will ask me, Well, what should I do when I retire?
00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:40.160
What should I do when I get out of college, or what should I do when I scripture says I picture God up there going, whatever, man?
00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:42.240
I don't know, pick something.
00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:45.599
But what you pick, glorify me in.
00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:47.920
Right?
00:27:48.160 --> 00:27:50.079
So, anyway, that's the trip frame.
00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:50.960
Okay.
00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:56.000
And a lot of what your organization does is built around that framework, right?
00:27:56.079 --> 00:28:00.799
So that's kind of what you're walking people through and helping them figure all of that out.
00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:03.359
And it gets a little more complex as we dig into each person, but yeah.
00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:04.160
Obviously, yeah.
00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:04.400
Yeah.
00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:04.720
Okay.
00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:08.880
What I really like is that as we do that, none of us are clinicians.
00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:13.519
None of us are counselors, none of us are therapists, none of us are pastors, right?
00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:22.079
And what that builds is this really cool soft middle ground landing zone for some people who maybe don't want to say that they need counseling.
00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:22.480
Right.
00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:26.079
Or who maybe even have church hurt and don't want to talk to a pastor.
00:28:27.359 --> 00:28:43.359
We have created what Steve and Dean created and what I get to steward, and what James and Mary gets like this thing that we've got here is this really cool soft landing ground for people to just come sit with people who are not going to judge them and help them navigate things we've all done.
00:28:43.440 --> 00:28:45.440
I went through my freedom appointment in 2021.
00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:47.599
I did my 40 men's event.
00:28:47.680 --> 00:28:49.519
I've I have I have done all of this.
00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:51.519
My children have done all of this.
00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:54.160
My wife has done all of this, right?
00:28:54.319 --> 00:29:02.480
Like this is I'm telling you, Lori, if God can put a dumpster fire like me back together, He can do it for anybody.
00:29:05.039 --> 00:29:09.200
You are probably the most humble man I know, but we'll just leave it at that.
00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:13.920
So okay, I have to ask this question, right?
00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:14.480
Yeah.
00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:24.559
And I'm gonna guess that if someone does not have the same relationship with their faith that you do, they may have already stopped listening.
00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:26.400
That's okay, right?
00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:28.559
Not every episode is for every person.
00:29:29.039 --> 00:29:40.880
Um but if you're listening still and you're like, I just don't have that same relationship with my faith with Christ that Eric has.
00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:48.640
I think Eric already told us that you know, maybe I don't know, six, seven years ago, you didn't have the same relationship, right?
00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:52.559
But anyway, I don't have that same relationship as you.
00:29:53.359 --> 00:29:55.039
I I don't think I can do this.
00:29:55.440 --> 00:29:57.759
Like I don't think this is for me.
00:29:57.920 --> 00:29:59.440
Like, what would you say to those people?
00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:05.440
First of all, my heart breaks for someone who isn't ready for God.
00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:06.480
Right?
00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:08.720
However, I get it.
00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:10.000
I've been there.
00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:11.839
Um man.
00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:15.920
The question I'd have to ask them is how tired are you?
00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:28.880
How tired are you of fumbling around in the dark, trying to figure it out, bouncing off the same walls, making the same mistakes, figuring out that it just doesn't work and I can't nothing I'm doing is working.
00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:30.079
How tired are you?
00:30:30.319 --> 00:30:33.119
If you're not tired of it yet, then you're not ready.
00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:36.960
And my prayer for you is that you'll get there.
00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:38.160
Right?
00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:43.759
Um scripture tells us in 2 Peter 3:9, and this is one of those ones that really hits hard.
00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:48.960
It says that God doesn't, God isn't slow as some people understand, slowness.
00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:57.359
It says, no, he's patient for our sake, because he doesn't want any man to be destroyed, and he wants all to come to salvation.
00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:09.039
So what I would tell you is that God's a gentleman, he's not gonna chase you down and beat you and drag you over, drag you back to salvation, he's gonna stand and he's gonna gently knock at the door.
00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:28.720
And when you're done fumbling around in the dark, and when you are done trying everything like me, and ruining two marriages and screwing up and failing every which way you can, when you're done, just cry out to him.
00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:31.519
And if you need help with that, please call me.
00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:32.400
Yeah.
00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:33.279
Okay.
00:31:33.839 --> 00:31:34.799
I think that's fair.
00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:36.000
Yeah, thank you, Eric.
00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:46.000
I so I know that you know what you're doing now isn't necessarily the aspect of transition that I I talk about a lot, right?
00:31:46.079 --> 00:31:48.079
The careers and the job searching and all of that.
00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:58.880
But I think that what I've learned in the five seasons of doing this is that transition is so much more than writing a resume and getting a job, right?
00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:01.200
Which, you know, we already already all knew that.
00:32:01.440 --> 00:32:14.480
But any last kind of words of advice for like how to bring all of this together and kind of like focus on like the whole person, if you will, in the military transition.
00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:17.680
This isn't your last transition.
00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:18.480
Yeah.
00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:19.359
Right.
00:32:19.519 --> 00:32:21.039
My my youngest son is 16.
00:32:21.119 --> 00:32:22.400
I'm about to be an empty nester.
00:32:22.559 --> 00:32:23.599
That's gonna be a transition.
00:32:23.839 --> 00:32:25.839
We're going to experience loss of loved ones.
00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:26.559
That's a transition.
00:32:26.640 --> 00:32:29.039
We're gonna experience changes in jobs, that's a transition.
00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:33.119
This is not your transition, it's not the last one, right?
00:32:33.359 --> 00:32:36.400
Um, it might even be just it's not your first.
00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:38.799
You transitioned into the military, right?
00:32:38.960 --> 00:32:40.960
So it's not even your first transition.
00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:45.519
Um, you graduate high school, you graduated college, you got married, you had kids.
00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:49.759
We've all been through these transitions in life, and they're going to continue.
00:32:50.880 --> 00:33:02.480
So as you start to make a framework for yourself and how you navigate transition, ask yourself, how do I navigate transition?
00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:08.000
It's this is the this is the most, this is one of the most important ones because it's the one in front of me right now, right?
00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:09.519
Especially if I'm transitioning right now.
00:33:09.599 --> 00:33:11.680
This is this is the big scary thing.
00:33:11.920 --> 00:33:19.519
But it'll be the big scary thing too when your wife and your and you are looking at each other, standing at the front door, wondering why the house is so quiet, right?
00:33:19.839 --> 00:33:25.680
Or the first time you bring a grandkid over to spend the weekend, or like there's all these transitions we go through in life.
00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:27.759
Start building your framework now.
00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:32.960
And I would be remiss if I didn't say I'm begging you to include God in that.
00:33:33.920 --> 00:33:38.640
Include a faith in God, not just a faith, not just religious.
00:33:38.799 --> 00:33:39.759
I'm not talking about that.
00:33:39.839 --> 00:33:46.480
I'm talking about a real solid understanding of God's character and his voice and a relationship with him.
00:33:46.799 --> 00:33:49.759
I've had so many people stop me like, oh, I don't, I don't do religion.
00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:50.640
Fantastic.
00:33:50.880 --> 00:33:52.079
Me either.
00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:53.920
I do relationship with Jesus.
00:33:54.079 --> 00:33:55.519
Like that's that's where I'm at, right?
00:33:55.599 --> 00:34:03.119
I this this this dogma stuff that we've got going on and the the he said, she said, and all this religious stuff that we're put piling on top of Jesus.
00:34:03.279 --> 00:34:06.000
It doesn't, it's not, it's not, that's not what I'm talking about.
00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:08.239
I'm talking about understanding the person of Christ.
00:34:08.400 --> 00:34:12.800
I'm understanding, I'm I'm talking about understanding his sacrifice and why you need to lean into him.
00:34:13.039 --> 00:34:21.440
And when we do that, it makes the transition easier because we have now filtered our transition through the word of God.
00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:26.880
We understand that things are gonna go differently and things are gonna happen, and but I've got somewhere to go and I've got somewhere to lean.
00:34:27.119 --> 00:34:27.760
Yeah.
00:34:28.079 --> 00:34:29.119
So yeah.
00:34:29.360 --> 00:34:30.239
I like it.
00:34:30.559 --> 00:34:32.000
Thank you very much, my friend.
00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:35.840
I appreciate you following my framework, sir.
00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:38.639
No, I've enjoyed it.
00:34:39.280 --> 00:34:40.480
I I love having you.
00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:41.360
I love talking to you.
00:34:41.440 --> 00:34:43.119
I'm sorry I didn't get to hug you this year.
00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:43.920
Next year.
00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:45.599
Yeah, I hope so.
00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:47.920
Yeah, we shall see.
00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:49.760
Thank you, friend.
00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:51.199
Yes, ma'am.
00:34:55.280 --> 00:34:57.440
Thanks for listening to today's episode.
00:34:57.599 --> 00:35:06.079
My goal is to give you actionable strategies to help you learn to market your military skills and smooth your transition to the next phase of your career.
00:35:06.239 --> 00:35:08.719
If you learned something valuable today, share it.
00:35:08.880 --> 00:35:18.159
Subscribe to our podcast and our YouTube channel, leave us a review, and write a post on social media about the lessons that helped you today from this episode.