This is the Truth Network. The heart of every man craves a great adventure, but life doesn't usually feel that way. Jesus speaks of narrow gates and wide roads, but the masculine journey is filled with many twists and turns.
So, how do we keep from losing heart while trying to find the good way when life feels more like a losing battle than something worth dying for? Grab your gear and come on a quest with your band of brothers who will serve as the guides in what we call the masculine journey. The masculine journey starts here now. Welcome to Masculine Journey. We are recording our favorite show from boot camp.
This is live from boot camp, and this is one of our favorite shows of the year, isn't it, Danny? It sure is, and it sure is good to be here, too. Yeah, partly because we don't have to do much, just ask what God's been doing. And so that makes it very freeing for us, you know, we don't have to try to think anything. Yeah, we actually let him be in charge.
Yeah. One weekend a year. Yeah, well, to be fair, he pretty much leads every show we do 'cause we don't really have a big plan going into it if you really want to know the truth. But we are live from boot camp. What a beautiful weekend it's been so far.
A little bit of rain on Thursday, but didn't really hold anything back. And the rest of the weekend's just been gorgeous. Yeah, we've done a little bit of ski shooting, and those things are hard to boil enough till you can eat them. But pretty good though. Yeah, I didn't have to worry about it.
It really hit, but just one.
So not a lot for me to do there. And we're going to have a fun afternoon. We're going to go along the what's the name of the river out there? Broad River. We're gonna go along the Broad River and do a little hiking and fishing, and so that's gonna be a fun afternoon.
we come back for some more talks but onto the meat of the program We have our campers that come out here, the attendees of camp, we ask them a couple questions, each, you know, how's camp going for you so far, that type of thing, and how's God coming after your heart? Right, and we just kind of let them run where God wants to take them. And so, we're going to start in first of all with Corey.
Now, Corey, you're kind of both, you've been on the show. Right, you do the show with us? And you also are a camper here. Yeah, yeah. This is my third camp.
And as always, it's fantastic because. One, it's a getaway from day to day. Two, I get to be around brothers. And three, I get to intentionally. Spend time with my father.
That's difficult to do in my day to day because I am so busy. Yeah. Um with it being your third camp, I mean, obviously, we have the same talks for the most part. We usually have one additional talk that's unique to that camp. But with them all being the same, does the camps feel the same when you come to each one?
No. No, they don't. And that's what I was worried about with my second one: is it going to be the same exact stuff as the first one? And it wasn't. And Whether it is the same or isn't, it still feels different because God is wanting to speak to me in a different way.
No matter what. But for instance, this time Uh um The second time I remember specifically, it was son, you don't have to earn my love. It's here and it's free for you. And this time he's really been digging in on. me growing up without a dad.
in my life and him really trying to Impress on me what it means to have a father that loves you in your life. And that's been really difficult for me. And I'm still going through. a lot of that and unpacking a lot of that and what that actually looks like in my life. That's probably going to be a long process.
Absolutely. It's going to take a while because it's been 37 years of me not having a father in my life. Yeah, in a lot of ways, that you've learned to adapt. Right. And to deal with life without that presence.
And to have God come in and say, Okay, we're gonna We're going to re-look at this a little bit and go back and undo some things and and and correct some things, you know, as you walk with me. And so It is a process. It'll be a very freeing process for you. Yeah. I'm very much looking forward to that too.
To knowing what it actually means to have a father in my life and and For me, it's going to be easier for me to reflect what it means to be a father to my kids. That's good, Corey.
Well, thank you. Anything else you'd like to add about the weekend? If you're available. You need to come to this. If you're listening to me or listening to this show, you need to register for the next one.
You need to be down here. You need to experience this. It will legitimately change your life every time you come. Yeah, and there's something special about this camp.
Well, God's here, that's what makes it special, but it's just such a It's a guys' camp. It just feels like a guys' camp. You know, you come here and Everything here, it's really well done, but it just feels like This was made for men. Oh yeah. Without a shadow of a doubt, it's wonderful.
I love it here.
Well, thank you. Well, Danny, um, it's been your first boot camp in a few now. Yeah, it is my first one here in Royston, Georgia. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Okay, I missed all last year and it's been pretty special and you're right. This is a man's camp. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, so how's it been being back at your First camp in a year. Oh man, it's been wonderful. Just listening to the chatter. like at dinner time. It's just been good for my soul.
And to be with you guys, you know, it's uh. Because I've been absent from the radio show and everything else with his cancer and everything, but you know. We're getting back in the swing of things. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Hopefully, you won't be calling in remote. You'll just be in person with us. Yeah, that's coming shortly, I think.
So that's awesome.
Well, our next guest is Mike. And Mike, you have the furthest traveled. You know, so you get if we had an award, which we don't, if we had an award, you would get it.
So you can walk away feeling like, okay, I could have earned something there. Yeah, that would be pretty cool to have earned something for me. But But God's really touched my heart here. Uh He's uh he's shown me that it loves me. Yeah.
Uh He put his hand on my heart and says, I love you, Mike. And that's the way my dad used to do. You know, he used to. Tap on my heart, give me a squeeze with my hand. And then tell me he loves me.
And I'm wonderfully made. I am a person that It's very competitive. And uh And Robby humbled me a little bit. He's a huge man. He's tall.
And we were playing featherball. And uh Man, he could hit that ball over my head, and he pounded it in my face. You know I realize that I'm not Robby, but I'm Mike Davelt. Mm-hmm. And God loves me the way I am and who I am.
And he's going to use me the. who I am and And he's going to be there with me. And I have the tools now from this boot camp. to follow him. Um And conquer.
the enemy that comes against us every day. Um God loves us, and He shows us that here. And I'm so grateful, and I'm so glad I traveled that far. Yeah, it's quite a distance. Yeah.
Eight and a half hours, yeah, and um. You know, I'm going to try you driving back and reflecting on that as well. I'll be glad that. I am Reflecting on the some things that you know What the devil's come against me about. And uh And I have not, like I said, I have the tools that I can conquer these things.
And I've been blessed here. The food's been great. The hospitality, the love that you get from people are awesome. Um the the the caring Um I I loved how they put these on Ammunition boxes out, and you were able to put prayer in. But I only put one thing in it.
And Um But I said, okay, God, what next in my life? And I think I found that out here. That's awesome. I hope to see you back at another camp at some point. Why?
Yeah, it's hard to get here. You know, the devil doesn't want you here, that's for sure. But um yeah uh whatever it takes um I'm gonna be uh I'm going to try to do that again. Hopefully, if people are listening, It's well worth your time. and money.
an effort. God will bless you. He'll get you really close to your heart. And and um He'll draw you near to him. That's a better word.
Yeah, yeah. That's awesome. Well, thank you, Mike, and looking forward to spending some more time with you this weekend. Thank you.
So Danny, you know, put you on the spot, gonna treat you like a camper a little bit. Um how's God come after your heart this weekend?
Well, there's a there's a series of restoration going on. That You know, for so long, it's felt like, I mean, it's been a year, but. Getting back to doing the things that are normal and that I love to do. You're going to put a fish hook in the water in a little while is going to be I may do a Pentecostal Holy Ghost fit down there because I hadn't been able to do that. And we were shooting skeet yesterday.
Yeah. I woke up this morning, it was wonderful. Badge of honor, it's a bruise on my shoulder because 12 gauge and a 20 gauge kick. But but it's those kind of things that I have missed so much. But it's also the talks is the it's the thing but I've also had to learn the You know, Danny, you got to take care of yourself too.
Yeah. And that's been hard on me because I'll go and go and go and go until I drop.
Well I'm out of drop in the parking lot if I don't go rest every now and then. Oh, yeah. But you guys have been so gracious and so kind.
So No, that's not our nature, but thank you. God's for you. That's not yours.
Now I'm sitting between two manes. I don't know. Yeah, that's not a good sign.
Well, we have a guest with us. I would say it's a guest, but you've been a camper to a couple different camps. It's my oldest son, Caleb. And so Caleb, uh how's this camp? Compared to some of the other camps you've been to.
Yeah, a long time listener, first-time caller. It's different. Every camp is different because you're in a different stage of your life. And so when I first started coming to these camps, I was definitely a boy, and there's still a boy in me, right? And that's still developing, but as I've You know, I think I was 13, maybe in my first camp.
I'm now 28. You know, these look a lot different from when they looked back then. Back then it was a lot more. Finding direction, and it's still finding direction, but it's Also, being reminded of what that direction was and where did you lose it along the way. And let's reclaim that and take it into your next step.
Yeah. And it's been really beautiful. A lot of things where I felt like I haven't been able to to feel God's love maybe. You know, talking about being fathered. I grew up with an okay dad, Natalie.
Yeah, yeah, I know he's pretty faulty. I know the guy. I grew up with a great dad, but that's, I think, in ways shielded me from feeling God's love because I felt like I didn't need it. Right. I had a good dad, I had a great dad, and a lot of things were great.
And, you know, you had your faults like anyone else, but I think I always told myself. I don't necessarily need God's love because I'm okay. And that's what God's been working on with me for this camp is. Hey, yeah, you do. Hey, dummy.
Yeah, you do. You're not going to make it without me. And he's really just shown that he delights in me. And I am the apple of his eye. And just really being able to feel that this camp.
has been a lot different from anything I felt. It's been a little while since you've been in camp. Couple years. Yeah, it's been, I think, three or four years and then, you know, that camp was there's probably a six-year gap in between camps. Football years.
Yeah. Yeah. So a lot of things have changed. Um, but it's funny how much uh remains the same at the same time. But uh it's also been good to hear the other guys' stories 'cause ultimately we all share a lot of the same stories.
Um they all look different. But we're all going through the same emotions, the same things. They just take a different kind of. face to each man. And it's really cool to hear everybody's story and and how God's loving on each one of them.
Absolutely. That's awesome. Anything you want to add to the weekend so far? Uh not so far. I think there's some more to be revealed, I think.
Yeah, okay.
So so far it's going exactly how you'd hoped. Oh no, I was just amazed to get here and And just taking the place in and itself is amazing. It really is, yeah. Yeah, after the questionable ride with the person you had to come up with, questionable dad, you know, yeah, that brought you up here, but uh, anyway, yeah, we have a uh member of the team that's going to set in on and answer some questions and provide some other feedback. It's Jim.
Hey, Jim. Hello. Good to be here, as always. Almost always. One of the things that I was sitting out there, and the reason I wandered up.
I've been, I don't even know how many boot camps I've attended, 20 plus. My first one was in Alaska in 2003, been to Colorado twice. And I've never not heard from God in all those experiences. And today I was out there for a while. I know I've gotten four new names over the years.
And the first one was wonderful. It was in Alaska. We did a lot of fishing. I had a lot of fun, and I had no clue. That all this was there.
And, but it set me on fire to get to Colorado and then. As the story's been told, with the four of us sort of starting things in the area. And that was very significant and uh Said something to Darren today about, you know, thank God he was taking notes at that. Boot camp. But the the years have come and gone the Yeah.
It's always a different experience. Corey said that over three. I can say that over. 23 or whatever it is now. And It is always an encounter with God, and I'm not.
Sure, yet I got to talk to God about it some more. And I think I got another name this time. And I think there's one I forgot along the way because I thought I had five, but I couldn't think of one.
So apparently, that one was me and not God.
Well, they do have a thing called a journal. Yeah, I know. I've heard about it. I've had a lot of nice empty notebooks at home from being given the opportunity to do journals, but. I strongly suggest doing that to all of you that aren't.
Okay, that was one of the things I was told not to do anymore. Claim that I'm lazy. I don't like writing. I'm left-handed. Like Told me I couldn't write when I was young, and I can type pretty well, but that's it.
Yeah, well the other thing is once you do write it, you gotta learn to go back and read it. That's the part that I've never done, so that's Ultimately why I quit trying to take notes.
Well, it does help you remember it even if you never look at it again. Yeah, I've had an experience this year where I've been going back and looking at some things that I'd written in the past. And a couple of things that amaze me is, I get to see where I was in that relationship with God back at that time. but the reminder of the things that he was telling me then, how much I still need him today. You know, and things that I had forgotten.
You know, so it's been kind of good to go back and hear what he was doing at different points and remember: okay, thankfully, I'm still not there. And I'm at a much different place in him and in life. Yeah. God, generally we have short conversations because I'm not that attentive. Even when it's him.
But your question first question, as soon as I sat down and and I read it, you know, what what names are not right that I've had. two right off the bat and another one two or three seconds later. And I've already been tempted to do one of them.
Okay. But. They're not who I am. And that can sometimes be more important than figuring out who you are and what God calls you. is getting rid of the names that you've picked up along the way.
I know it's hard for people to believe. You know, after so many different boot camps, I've lost track of how many I've been to. But the thing is Even though it's the same subject matter. God can take you deeper and deeper and deeper into that subject matter, just alone, the wounds. Right, when we're talking about wounds, that You get this feeling of Well, I'm kind of over that when God's dealt with it.
Then he peels off another part of it. And you're like, oh, okay, there's still more. you know, and how well that's been entrenched in your life. And how the enemies used it. You know, and it's just a constant unearthing.
process and and reclamation process i don't think Well, actually I know it was my third boot camp. Before I heard anything about the wound, and I was sort of making it up. But uh On the fourth boot camp? That was an earthbreaking one. And the first one was: like your son, I had an outstanding father.
Right. And the biggest one, there were really two that I came up with that were pretty superficial. One was: I'll never live up to who my dad. Yeah. and now was.
And the other was I had I would hear, Jimmy, you did a great job. But if you'd done this, it'd have been even better.
So I won't say it was conditional. I got praise from both of my parents. But Sometimes it it felt more like a A correction that appraised. But that wasn't every time. It was often.
I heard you've done great. But the one where my father died suddenly in 99. And then the fourth boot camp I was in, that I went, he said, you can't find a. Place by yourself in Colorado. I decided to go behind the stage, and there was a huge closet.
I mean, it had to be 30 feet long and eight feet wide. Why I call it a closet, I'm not sure. But I went in there, it was totally empty. I think they hung stuff there when there were. Yeah.
But I sat there and And God, like I said, God usually talks to me quickly and doesn't say much. And this was just a question. He said, Why are you angry with us? And I immediately knew what he meant. I thought I was okay with my father dying suddenly.
I'd even prayed that for my parents two weeks before. And As soon as he said that, I knew he meant I was mad at him for Taking my father, and I was mad at my father for dying because it was three weeks before my daughter was married, and the timing was. very painful. But I still miss my dad. And people say, Oh, you should be over it after a year.
Well, it's been working on my twenty seventh year and I'm not over it. And I'll look forward to seeing him.
Sooner rather than later now.
Well, thank you, Jim. I appreciate it. We got a few more minutes, I think. Andy, we'd love to get you up here. Even though you're able to do this every week, we don't get to do often live from camp with the team.
So it's nice to kind of hear what God's doing in real time, not later time.
So uh typical question. What's been your impressions of this camp this time? What's a little different? Being that it's a smaller camp, um I probably haven't done it as much. I hope to do it a little bit more, is to get time to speak with guys individually and hear their story.
Sometimes I get busy with all the activity. And But you know the the talks have been Great, and I feel like this is probably one of the best camps for the integration of the talks. We make a lot of references back to each other. And it kind of Um I don't know, reinforces the idea that all this stuff is related. You know, I work in IT, and you see sometimes these wheels of process wheels, and things are like, all dependent on each other.
There's a process, this healing process that we go through of identifying your pose and your wounds and tying to. Your new name and your sonship, and how all those are integrated. And I don't think it's linear where you do them all in line. Because they just kind of that's not necessarily how God works, but they are all related, and it truly is a process. to where you really were are able to Walk in breakthrough, walk in victory, and really see the fruit of what it is to become a son and that whole process that he guides through.
And then you hear guys stories. Of how they're impacted by the talks and stuff. It's encouraging because I've been here. I mean, I've been there. Um, years ago, and it's you know, it just is like hearing the same story the way you felt way back then.
Yeah, you you know, talk about being a process, but You know, it was built on a process. Right. And so maybe God has to say, okay, I got to take at this point, at this wound, how did you pose? What was your warfare like? And just peel it back a segment at a time.
You got to just. Destroy the fault building first to where you can rebuild the new. You know, true building. And that's really what you're telling. He built it, God builds sons, and this is there's just a process to it.
I mean, you're in construction, you know that. And uh Most everything you do in life is a process. It just doesn't happen all at the same time. And that's another thing: in this process, It may take years, but if you're doing it with him, that's not a big deal. You know, it used to be, I wanted to.
The answer is right now.
Well, I still do. I mean, I'm Microwave society, fast food society. You know, if I have to wait five minutes for my burger, I'll use. But You know, you'd learn patience. There's scripture that references that, that the process of maturity.
in the process of becoming a son, those things take time, so Yeah.
Now so how how's God been coming after your heart this weekend? Um He was gracious in helping me prepare in my talk, and there were things that I was receiving. For that. I spoke on spiritual warfare. Haven't done that in a while.
And I enjoy doing that. He's also come after me in the talks again because you guys, what I'm hearing from the stage. Or things. I'm hearing more of your story. Darren shared some stuff that I didn't know about his story.
Robby shared the part about. Being fathered by his granddaughter, which I'd never had heard him put it in that way. I've heard the story of when they went fishing and stuff. And You know, this everybody's had that impact on me. And, um, But I I you know, there's just a sense, I think.
Of God's love, but it's in the context of the group of men that we have. And um, you know, a lot of the guys that are c campers as they come in They sense that God's presence is here, and there's just a lot of unity in this camp, and not a lot of drama. It's just, I don't know. And I know I'm kind of rambling, but sometimes I don't process everything that God's doing. Until I get home sometimes.
Oh, yeah. Well, it takes a while to understand, and God has to continue to work in it. Right. Now, we have an exciting announcement to make about our next boot camp. Yep.
Andy, do you want to announce this? We haven't done one in a while, but we're going to do an advanced boot camp. Which, you know. If you've come to a lot of our boot camps, it's a lot of the same content, and everybody says there's something new and fresh every time, but this is a totally different. context, cont um content stream.
You know, we're going deeper in some subjects and introduced to some totally new subjects. And um You know, I think you need that. I think you need to go beyond. where you've been and get some new content. Bible is an amazing book and there's tons of stuff in there.
So That's awesome. And so when is it? It's the weekend before the weekend before Thanksgiving, November 19th to the 22nd. Is that right, Robby? Yeah.
Yeah, and so we don't have the link up yet. We will have the link up here probably in the next week or so, and we'll announce it. But you go to Masculine Journey. Dot org to register, not quite yet. If you have any questions about the upcoming advance camp, If you have some challenges getting there, go ahead and start reaching out to us now.
Just send our first name. Whatever name you want to reach out to, Andy, Danny. at masculinejourney.org and we'll get back to you and we'll help you out. Yeah, you do. The intent is for you to have already been through a boot camp.
That's kind of a prerequisite because it wouldn't make a lot of sense if you just picked up in the advance. But a lot of people have been to the boot camps and they feel like they've kind of got the content down. This is something new.
So please come back. If you've been to boot camps before and wanted something different, this is it. I think we've done, what, a couple in the last couple years? Yeah, we usually do them every two to three years, you know, build up a base of people that's been here that haven't been to one. And there are new talks, as you talked about, and you are going deeper on warfare.
There is much more warfare than the agreements. And so we'll be continuing to do that and looking forward to what God does, not only at that camp, but also. in our hearts as we prepare for it. Yep. Yeah, please do come, though.
It made an impact on me. Um just the new the new content. Um Again, it's You know, one of the first things out of the gate is really about hearing from God. walking with the Walking with Jesus, loving Jesus is another topic, and so we're please come. November 19th to the 22nd.
