Brandon & Kendra Murr- Paradise Living/Aloha Hawaii

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Introducing first, from Lithuania, he weighs 123 kilos, the Russian nightmare, Nikita Kolod. Now, the Devil's Nightmare. Welcome back to another episode of It's Time to Man Up. Today is extra special for me because I get to introduce these guests.

My daughter, one of my daughters, Kendra Taylor and her hubby, her husband Brandon, all the way from Maui, Hawaii. Hey guys, welcome to the Man Up show today. Hello.

Hey grandpa. Hey guys, and so great to have you on the Man Up show. Thank you for making yourselves available. Yeah, of course. Well, I know there's a time change here from when we record these shows to the time it was in Hawaii. I partly know that because I just recently made a trip out there to visit the new grandbaby.

We're going to talk about that in a minute, Lenny Lu. And so, because you guys are from the East Coast currently, like a six hour time difference, I believe. Is that right? Yeah, it varies. I think right now we're six hours, but yeah, they, as here in Hawaii, they don't do time change. So when you guys, we fluctuate between five and six hours depending on what time of the year it is. So yeah, right now we're six hours behind you.

So nice and early for us. I wish the rest of America would take note of that. I mean, I don't get it. In today's world, why do we even need a time change? So you guys are smart, obviously, and wise out there. But hey, let's talk for real. It's such a thrill for me to have you guys on the show.

Let's cover a little backstory for our listeners. You've been out there, because people ask me all the time, when I say I'm going to visit my daughter, my family there in Hawaii, the first question they always say, oh, are they in the military? And I'm like, ah, no, they're not.

They are not in the military. But let me, Brandon, first ask you, because you're a North Carolina guy, born and raised in the Carolinas, correct? Yep. Was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and then lived all the way up, went through college. So till about 22 or 23 was in Concord, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. And then, yeah, we kind of when I was a little bit, I think, maybe ninth or 10th grade was when I first kind of started looking at Hawaii. And, you know, for the times of Instagram and all that.

So mainly just stuff to see on TV and magazines, stuff like that. I started putting pictures of surfers on my wall in my room and really just had a desire to come out here but wanted to get through school first. And so I did go to college in Charlotte with school to be a civil engineer. And then yeah, we moved out here after I graduated in 2014. So it's been eight years now when we moved, the plan was not be a long term move plan was come out here for maybe six months or a year and just live the Hawaii life for a little bit.

I had I worked at a restaurant all through college, so I kind of planned on just getting a job at a restaurant out here for a little bit, but ended up landing a civil engineering job like first week we got here. And that was kind of all she wrote. And then we loved it. And we've been out here eight years now.

Yeah. And so part of your story for those out there and listening land is, is in a sense, it's like, it's kind of a dream come true, right? So like I like you guys have posted, I've seen sometimes you're living the high life, right? Abbreviated for Hawaii, the Hawaii life, which for some would be a real dream. I mean, obviously to live in Maui, Hawaii, anytime I tell people that like, Oh my gosh, how was that?

How'd that happen? And so in one sense, it's kind of like, you're in eighth, ninth, 10th grade, kind of maybe even dreaming of this hopefully coming true one day. And for you, it did, right? And so that's pretty cool. And I know for, for, for Kendra, I know when, when you and I first discussed this and talked about this, you know, and you were kind enough to ask me what my thoughts were. Well, you've always been a beach girl and I feel like you've always loved the beach.

And I thought, well, you know, if for someone who loves the beach and the water and the ocean, and I can't think of a much better place than Hawaii to go live. And so you had my full endorsement and of course, encouraged you to step out. And I remember saying, I don't know if you remember this Kendra, but I remember saying, you know, worst case scenario, you go out there, you try it. If it doesn't work out, you come back home. I mean, but, but what I, yeah, but what I didn't want for you is to be 50 or 60 years old and looking back on, Oh man, what would ever happen had I moved out there, you know, and some call it living a life of regret or whatever.

So, so what, so, so, so you're dating Brandon, you, you hear about his, his hopes and dreams of one day living in Hawaii. What was, what was that like for you? What was the, what were those discussions like for you? Be sure to check them out today at wsmc1.com because you are number one.

Hi, Nikita Koloff. Be sure to check out The Man Up Show, now available on television, broadcast and podcast. Go to MorningStarTV.com or the Truth Radio Network. Check out your local listings or better yet, download the Truth Network app today.

You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. I mean, I honestly didn't plan on moving with him. Um, I, yeah, even though I love the beach, I don't think Hawaii was ever on my radar. Again, probably, but I mean, it's not like we're even that old, but we did not have Instagram.

Instagram was not around in high school, so I wasn't researching Hawaii or anything like that. So of course I'd heard about it, but I never had any dreams like Brandon to move out here. So once he started talking about it, it wasn't like an immediate draw for me of, oh yeah, I've always wanted to go here. For me, it was more like, uh, that's super far away and there's plenty of other beach towns around. So so originally when he was going to move here after college, we had two best friends who live here and I just was kind of like, okay, you can go with them and go have fun for six months, but I'm going to stay here, um, in North Carolina. And I just, I did not have a desire to move for some reason. And then I don't know, the Lord kind of changed my heart, I guess like not, I want to say maybe a couple months before Brandon was leaving is when I kind of started thinking, well, maybe I should go, maybe it would be like a fun adventure.

And yeah, so we obviously I changed my mind and ended up coming and we weren't married yet. So thankfully we, like I said, we had those two friends who lived here, so I was able to live with her and I got a job manning for a teacher and the Lord just opened doors for us to stay out here. Kind of crazy because people, people either ask how we got out here or how we afford to live out here. I'm like, honestly, it's the Lord, I feel like just opening doors because we moved out here with two suitcases. I'm pretty sure I maybe had like $1,000.

Like, I don't know. I feel like I didn't have much money. Brandon probably saved a little bit more than me, but we had technically no job, no place to stay. So yeah, it was very much moved out here with nothing and now we have bought our house and have two babies and life and careers and yeah, it's kind of crazy how it all turned out. Well, and just for, you know, just some of your story for those, as an encouragement for those out there listening to your story, you know, how I would kind of summarize what you just described, Kendra, is, I mean, both of you in a sense took a step of faith.

Like you said, you had no jobs lined up, no place to live or whatever. And for the record, I want to state this for the record, for those listening, you guys really honored them. I'm reminded of a scripture, you know, it talks about don't defile the marriage bed and you said you weren't yet married, but you guys really honored your relationship and that you stay with your friends. Brandon got his own place and you really honored that. And so when you say it was just the Lord, I too think it was the Lord honoring you guys for honoring that relationship and really the purity of it.

And then, you know, stepping out in faith and saying, hey, we're going to give this a shot and see what happens. And here you are eight years later and just again, just kind of living the dream, man, living the high life, you know, out there in Hawaii. Now let's go back though for our listeners just a little bit further back, like to, and Brandon, I'll bounce back to you for a moment, to when you first met Kendra. Talk about, just take a minute and talk about that. Oh, you're going to embarrass me a little bit, aren't you? I have a picture of you shirtless at a football game, just so you know, I'll paint it up with the first assembly letters, FYI. Yeah, football is interwoven all through our history.

Yes. So we met, or, okay. So the first time I saw Kendra would have been eighth grade. So in eighth grade, I was going to school at a little private school. Kendra was as well, not the same private school, but two smaller schools that often played each other in sports. And so on this particular night, our schools were playing each other. And so I was there with a couple of my friends. Kendra was a cheerleader, but this was the varsity game and we were still in middle school.

So she was not cheering at this particular event. She was walking around with her friends. And in eighth grade, I was one of those guys who had not hit my growth spurt yet.

So shorter size, little bit on the wider side. I had not stretched out yet, but Kendra was very cute in eighth grade. And so I remember walking, we were just walking around the track during the game with my friends. And I remember seeing her and just being struck at how cute she was to an eighth grade boy. Love at first sight is what I'm hearing, Brandon.

Yeah. I remember talking to my friends about her, saying she's cute, all this stuff. Then of course I got real excited every time we would play her school. And then I remember we played her school and we did go up with that group.

And a couple of my friends did talk to her and some of her friends, but I was pretty shy. If you would like to support Kolah for Christ Ministries, for a gift of $25, Nikita will send you his two CDs, Adoration and Declaration. For a gift of $50, Nikita will include his book, Wrestling with Success. And for a gift of $100 or more, Nikita will include a signed copy of his newly owned book, of his newly updated life story, A Tale of the Ring and Redemption.

Go to www.kolah.net and donate today. Nikita Kolah Fair, and I am excited. Did you hear the huge announcement, the big announcement? Well, maybe it's a minor announcement. Anyway, Facebook, go look up my new fan page, Nikita Kolah fans and like it and follow today.

You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. Probably not super confident at this point. So I remember being around her, but I don't know that she really remembers this event as anything spectacular in her mind. But you remember it.

That's what matters. You remember it. I vividly remember it. I remember it. I don't remember you, but I remember the group. Yeah, she remembers meeting the group from our school, but she doesn't remember me being in it. Because you were, Brandon, you were at Hickory Grove?

Is that where you were at that point? Yeah, when I was at Hickory Grove. And she was at First Assembly Christian School. Yep.

Yeah. That was the first time I saw her. And then I remember seeing her at basketball games after that. And then that following year, actually, because my dad worked at Hickory Grove, and my dad came to me in the spring and said, basically, he'd been offered a job at First Assembly.

First thing I thought was, oh, man, that's for kenja guts. I was really excited. Anyway, the next year, I ended up transferring to First Assembly and hit a little bit of a growth spurt that summer. So I had gotten a little bit more confident. And then... You were always confident.

Not in the younger years. I was confident after that. And then, yeah, so then I ended up having a couple classes with her and really ended up just becoming good friends. Never anything romantic throughout high school, unfortunately. So yeah, it wasn't quite up to her league yet.

I hear you. I was in her biology class, and I used to write her notes. And I always addressed her as the Russian daydream. Oh, come on. That's it.

The Russian nightmare, the Russian daydream. I love it. I did not know that story. That's awesome. That's cool.

Yep. I would write her notes during the day. Anyway, so, yeah, we ended up kind of dating different people in high school, whatever, but always stayed friends. And then, of course, she moved away for a couple of years and then moved back for college. And when she moved back, we kind of reconnected via Instagram, I think. We had just kind of started messaging and commenting each other, whatever. And then it turned out she was going to UNC Charlotte, which was where I was going to college. So we hung out.

I mean, pretty much the first time we hung out, we immediately just like hit it off. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. From there, started dating. Yep.

Moved out. Well, we'll get there. We'll get there. Don't get too far ahead of us here. Hold on here.

Don't fast forward the story too much yet. So by the way, a little side note. Absolutely love your mom and dad, Dave and Carrie Murr.

Absolutely love them. And, of course, getting to know your whole family, your brother, Brian, who's now married as a child of his own. But let me bounce over to Kendra here for a second. And so, Kendra, so what point did Brandon come on your radar, would you say? Was it college or was it back in school or at what point? Yeah. No, I would say not in school.

I had some issues to work through. I mean, I would say, I would say for sure. Again, that's Lord's timing too. I think had we liked each other in high school, I don't, who knows if it would have worked out, but I feel like it's very rare to like, you know, you're just not very mature in school. So growing up. So yeah, I would say not till college, but it's basically when we got together, when we started dating, that's when I really was like, Oh, because I don't know, I always knew he was a good guy. Like, I just always knew that. So I think that foundation had been laid because we had known each other for so many years. And so once we started talking, it wasn't me trying to figure out if he was a solid guy.

I already knew that portion. It was just, okay, how do we mesh together and all of that. So yeah, I would say he wasn't really on my radar at all until college when we actually started liking each other, which was 10 years ago this summer, like this summer marked 10 years that we have like been together now.

Yeah, 10 years. And so, so really again, what you're illustrating is you, you had this, this friendship. She had built a really good friendship over the years that eventually led into this more serious relationship that eventually led into a marriage, which for those listening can maybe hear a little infant in the background, perhaps you recently, I was just recently out there visiting you guys to meet grandchild number 10, Lenny Lu, as you call her, Lulu Lemon, and of course Monroe, Ro Ro. And so you got, you've got two girls now, right? Yeah.

And so let me ask, let me ask, Kendra, let me ask you first. So you got, you got two girls and Chris, you grew up with, with three sisters. So the curiosity question is, do you feel like now raising two girls that growing up with three sisters, do you think it was helpful, beneficial, maybe you learned some things from, from that experience that's helping you as a mom raise, raise, raise two daughters of your own now?

Yeah. I mean, I would say there's, yeah, it's definitely beneficial in different senses. Like there's some things that I know that I want to do differently in the sense of, okay, I know what it's like to have three sisters and have all girls in my family.

And so there's certain things that I want to do differently. And then there's some things that I take away from that I'm like, okay, yeah, I, yeah, it definitely gives me a better perspective because I know girls and I was immersed in, you know, toddlerhood, teenage years with, with the sister. Well, I mean, drama, I mean, look, I mean, we all center around drama, right? But that, I mean, that's a part of growing up too, right?

Yeah. So part of me is, or at first it's kind of like, oh no, this is scary. We're going to have a bunch of hormonal teenagers in the house at one time or another. But it also, I don't know, Brandon and I are, we kind of always wanted girls. Like before we got pregnant, when we would talk about having kids, we kind of imagined it being girls.

Not that we won't be excited if we ever have a son. But I think for us, girls are just super relational. And so that makes us excited for the future when they're older, because we feel like, yeah, we'll be able to have relationships with them and with their families and just our close knit because girls want to call their moms and want to talk. I know Carrie, my mother always says to me, which I'm super grateful for.

I love her. We're very good friends. And she says like, Brandon, I love him and I know he loves me, but I'm so grateful for you because he just wouldn't think to call. That's just not what guys typically do, right?

Yeah, absolutely. She has no hard feelings towards it, but she always tells me, I'm so grateful for you that you build that relationship between us. And Brandon's like, yeah, because you're a girl. You guys do relationships really well and communicate really well. And I hadn't really thought about that before, but that does get us both excited for the future. Okay, hopefully our girls will be relational in the same sense and want to spend time with us and all of that.

Absolutely. Well, Brandon, let me ask you real quick. So you grew up with a brother. I know your parents are thrilled because they raised two boys and then all of a sudden a granddaughter came in the picture and a second granddaughter and really actually a third granddaughter. So now they went from raising two boys to having three grandchildren all girls. And so just real quick on some insight from you as growing up with a brother and now raising two girls, just a quick insight really for our listeners out there, what would you say the difference being? Yeah, I think they're very different. I mean, the girls are still young, so definitely different. The thing that you can just immediately tell, especially with Monroe, just kind of to say what Kendra was saying, is just the ability to communicate, especially from her. Yeah, she's just so chatty and I love that because, yeah, my family was very close, but you grow up with boys and it's a lot of doing things together. It's a lot of playing sports and playing games and having a lot of fun. But especially, yeah, just a bunch of boys aren't always the best at communicating.

Yeah, that can't happen, but for sure it's just not as natural to us. And so I love having, yeah, I love having Lenny still a baby. So he just coos, which is great. But Monroe's chattiness combined with her imagination is just, it's a lot of entertainment. It's a lot of joy. It's a lot of, yeah, her telling stories and making up things. And yeah, I love the conversation piece and I'm just, that's obviously just going to continue to grow as she gets older and I think it'll build a super special ship. Right, so she's helping you learn how to, would you say, to better communicate.

And so, well, let me, in our last few minutes here, let me shift gears slightly. If people haven't already picked up on it, I'll just outright say it, but both of you absolutely love the Lord, which just absolutely blesses a dad's heart. And to know that my daughter's married to a guy who loves Jesus and just absolutely loves the Lord. And as late, as Kendra even said, had a good guy, solid foundation, your parents instilled some incredible values in you.

I want to get just real quick, each of you, your insights. For those listening out there, Brandon, you virtually or essentially raise up in a Baptist atmosphere, Kendra more or less raised up in kind of a Pentecostal atmosphere. Recently, I attended your church with you.

You've built a great community. People would probably not expect at an Anglican church. You guys are attending an Anglican church. So give me like 60 seconds, like 60 seconds, Brandon, on what that experience has been like for you.

And then for Kendra, for you. The church has been awesome. It has really changed my view and what I thought of, and been very informative about the history of the church. I think if someone was just to go into it with no background, which is kind of what we did right off the bat, it seems very Catholic, a lot of standing up and sitting down and repeating after me and chanting the Psalms and things like that. It definitely feels a little bit weird growing up in Baptist where that just isn't what you did. But the more you dive into it, it is not Catholic.

They do not pray to Mary or pray to the saints or anything like that. It's very much Jesus loving, God loving church. It is just very rich with history.

And most of the songs that you sing are going to be from thousand years ago and you're going through the songs. It's just saturated with Scripture, service, the liturgy, all of it. Yeah, we love it.

Give you guys a great foundation. And Kendra, from a Pentecostal background, just real quick in our last minute or so here, your perspective. Yeah, it was weird to me at first.

It was unknown, I guess I should say. But I think our particular church and pastor or priest, I guess would be the proper term, is super relational, which is important to us. So it was very community based and involving our children and our family and just kind of wrapping us up in that. And so between the solid biblical foundation and the community aspect, it's what makes sense for us, especially right now.

Yeah, in this season. Well, and I enjoyed meeting your priest and some of the people from the church. Of course, as I mentioned you, Joshua Gillum, a dear friend of mine, priest of an Anglican church here in Kannapolis, North Carolina, and most recently installed as a bishop. And so it just thrills me that you guys have such a wonderful community, your friends out there, Jamie, Dane, and so many other friends, the community of all, like age group and little babies and little Lenny Lu, newborn, Monroe, and just so thrilled for you guys. And God has you guys in such a sweet spot is how I would would phrase it.

And I don't know that I would change anything different from what you guys are doing, man. Just keep loving the Lord. And I know he's just going to keep honoring you and blessing you guys.

So, yeah, well, well, we're I mean, we're virtually out of time. These shows go way, way too quick and maybe have to have you back on again sometime down the road to give us an update as your family continues to grow and expanding. Brandon and Kendra Murb, AKA, she's my little sweet pea. She always will be.

I don't care how old she gets. You always just always will be, darling. You'll be my sweet pea. And now you got two little sweet peas of your own. I do.

You do. Monroe being a spitting image of you. And oh, my goodness, how God works, but just amazing. And Maui, Hawaii, Kendra and Brandon Murb, just such a joy and honor and a privilege to have you guys on the show today. Thank you so much.

Well, we can't wait to see you again, whether he's here on the mainland, as they call it, stateside here or make another trek back out to Maui. And thank all of you for tuning in, dialing in today. Hope you enjoyed this show today with my family. God bless you. We love you. This podcast is made possible by the grace of God and your faithful prayers, support and generous gifts. May God bless you for your continual contributions.

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