Honoring Mothers

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Welcome to The Masculine Journey. We are glad that you're with us this week and I'm glad to be back this week. It's good to see most of you, so I'm really glad to be here again. Call us out now.

Yeah, I wasn't saying which. Just making eye contact with you, Rodney. That's why you said something. No, it's good to see all you guys. And you too, David.

And Dave, whatever. Whatever you go by today. It's good to see you guys and be back with you. I should tell you guys when I'm tired because I'm always more irritable when I'm tired. I know it's hard to tell. Yeah, it is really hard to tell.

I wish they could see our faces. I'm tired a lot, Danny. Usually it's followed by of Danny. I'm tired a lot of Danny right now.

That's usually how that finishes out. Man, he's all over the place. Yeah, it's on. Spit it out, Andy.

It's on, yeah. He's just a machine gun. Get a word. Get a word. Get a dictionary. Machine gun. Get a dictionary.

Machine gun. All right. Well, we're having fun. But Andy, it is your topic tonight.

No comment, Sam. It is. It's your topic, right? I mean, this is a great topic. Ding, ding, ding.

This is a great topic. And I think you suggest it every year. Well, I have the last two years.

Maybe not every year. Yeah, there is a trend. There is a trend.

I'm trending in that direction. Yep. So we want to honor mothers. Because today is an eve. Today is an eve. That's right.

And it's only one. What eve was an eve of? Mother's Day. There you go. Okay.

I just want to clarify. It's Mother's Day. So I would make it Mother's Day Eve.

Yeah, so if you haven't bought Mother's Day yet, listen to the show and then go buy it. One could call it Eve's Eve. You could. Yeah. But we won't. Get a pun. Andy already did, though. I thought I was sitting in well for Robby and shit and goodnight.

Well, you would have to throw some Hebrew in there. Tough crowd right here. It is tough crowd. But anyway, the show is about? Yeah, honoring our mothers. Honoring our mothers. Our mothers or mothers that are in our life or spouse or whatever.

And we have done it the last couple of years. Last year I just felt like God had put it on my heart to actually bring my mom. She had heard a lot about what the ministry had done and she came to eat with us. And then we did a show that honored mothers. She didn't sit in on the show, but she loved what I was doing with the ministry. And she knew that we did that, that we honored mothers come Mother's Day.

And we don't do it enough. A lot of times we spend a lot of time talking about the importance of fathers and then finding God as father. But, you know, my spiritual foundation came from my mother.

I mean, she's the one that. And dad played a role, too, but mom really played that role. And that was always a part of our relationship. Even when I was the wayward son as well here.

I mean, there were times that I did go off the rails, but she was always just my rock. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, Chuck, I called you Chuck this time. Chuck, you have the first clip today, so you want to tell us a little bit about your clip?

Sure, yeah. It's an important topic to me just for how instrumental my mom was to my life growing up and still is today. You know, and like Andy said, I struggled finding a clip for this just because I kept watching and watching and watching. And I just couldn't find one that really spoke to me.

But this one did just that. It spoke to me in a way that I hope will speak up to all the mothers out there. You know, no matter what role that is in your life.

Because I know my mom, she wore many masks growing up in my childhood and even today. You know, whatever I needed, she played that role for me. You know, and I wouldn't be the man I am today if it wasn't for her.

But if you want to go ahead and play the clip, then I'll talk about it a little more. To all the moms. Moms of children who are still at home or all grown up. Moms who've outlived a son or daughter. Or moms of babies they never got to hold. Moms who've raised kids all on their own. Or became a mom to someone who needed one. Moms of children who have wandered from God.

Or the longing to be moms who are still waiting. God perfectly arranged each of you into the role you have today. His word recognizes you as capable, strong, and praiseworthy. Everything you do makes our lives more beautiful. Happy Mother's Day.

That's certainly true. I mean, my mom made my life more beautiful. And what I love about that clip, it touches on the sovereignty of God.

You know, if you're a mother, that's an appointment by God. And I know my mom did not take that lightly. She dove into it 100% with myself, my brothers. And she just lived that role. I mean, she lived it to those around her. And just the love that she showed us growing up really taught me about the love of Jesus and that unconditional love that He stresses, that agape love. My mother always had my best interest in mind. No matter if it was a mistake or I was doing good. I mean, she was always teaching me how to love. And sometimes there were consequences with that, but it was still out of love. And I'll share this quote with you.

I think it kind of ties into this. It's from John Wesley. It says, my mother taught me more about Jesus than all the theologians on earth. And I can attest to that, you know, because I wouldn't know Jesus today and His love had it not been for my mom. I mean, she was that impactful for me and still is. I love my mom to death.

Yeah, as you were talking about that, it made me think about how ironic. My mom was showing me the love of Jesus before she knew Him because she didn't come to Jesus until after I did. I was a teenager when I did, and she did after that. But love, I knew I was loved. That was never a question from her. And so understanding God's love was not that hard because I'd felt it directly from her, as you talked about that. Yeah, actually, since you have a microphone in front of you, Kenny, you want to talk a little bit about your clip and play?

Thank you, Chuck. Yes, I picked out Wayward Son by Kansas because I was a wayward son. Even though I had a good mom, it really poured into me and tried to pour in the Christian. But I'd seen the religion of it, and I missed the relationship. So when I went out into the secular world, I seen it didn't have the answers either. So I think it's a road we all go down. Some people never come off of it, but thank God, Him.

And I think my mother's prayers, God working, and her mother's praying for us and all that, that really, by God's grace, He brought me back around and come to my senses. And if you want to play a clip, then I'll pick up on it. Here we go. Maybe? You want to try it again?

Yeah. And that's one thing I didn't realize I was doing at the time. There's a wound in all of us because it started in the garden when Adam and Eve decided to make an agreement with Satan. And it broke all of us. It broke that relationship from our Heavenly Father, which is the one that created fathers and mothers and showing us the roles, the deep parts of His love for us. But I thank God for my mom and what she patiently taught me and kept admonishing me even during my wayward years. And by God's grace, like I said, she was instrumental in me coming to Christ and getting away from the religious, Pharisaical parts that some people get called in and try to teach us and take us away from the grace, the mercy that really our heart needs and that gift of Christ for the atonement because we all fall short.

And like a Heavenly Father, He gives us what we need. And my mom reflected that. And we're all wayward sons, as you pointed out. Some more openly than others.

Some are quietly wayward. But we all have played that role. And continually, at times, we struggle with that role. We do, we battle that. Because Satan's always trying to pull us back.

Well, yeah, you have Satan, you have the world, you have the old flesh. You have a lot of things you're battling against that try to pull you back in that direction. So it's hard not to slip back into that.

It's easier to slip back into that hole than what you'd think. And so that's a great song to bring you out of that. So anyway, Harold, did you have something you wanted to share with us? Yeah, the impact that a mother and a grandmother can have.

I was born in 1941 down in a little town in Alabama. And from my earliest memories, my mother and grandmother were teaching me about Jesus and about God and how we should act. One of the things that was really important to me is that in spite of the fact that we were in an area that at that time was very unkind to people of color, and I was taught that that was not a proper way to judge people.

I was taught that you do not be unkind to somebody based on the color of their skin. And that stayed with me forever. And as a youngster, I was taught a lot of good things by my mother. One of the things she did for me when I was a teenager, I had some friends that would occasionally get into stuff I didn't need to be in and didn't want to be in, but I didn't want to lose the relationship. And so she would, I would tell her ahead of time, now when I come with my buddy and ask about going, you say no. So she was the heavy for me and let me get out of something that I knew I shouldn't have been in. Then later when I went off to college, I thought that was going to be my opportunity to do some things that I wanted to do, but really shouldn't.

And I couldn't. She was on my shoulder. I could never get away.

You know, every time, you know, it's like, James Harrell, you don't want to do that. So my mother was a huge influence on me. And one of the real blessings that we had is that the last six months of her life, she got to live up here with us. And I was with her for hours when she started having a heart attack early in the morning. And I was with her the rest of that morning and all through the day and pretty far into the next night.

And a couple of my brothers got up and they said, go get some rest. And so she passed when I was gone. But fortunately, Jan was able to be there with her. I had a wonderful mother. Well, thank you for sharing. And when we come back, we're going to talk more about mother's impact in our life, whether that's other mothers, our mother, and how that really works. And I want you to be thinking about this the next day or so.

You know, go out and thank somebody for being a good mother in your life. We'll talk when you come back. What we have at our boot camp is something that makes you stronger and gives you the strength to go on your regular walk with God. It's something that will make you be bigger than you were when you got there. I want to read the dictionary meaning of vulnerability. It's the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed either physically or emotionally.

I always had a negative aspect of vulnerability. But at boot camp, it's really different because we come and there's seven or eight guys here that speak and they all get vulnerable with the rest of us. And what comes from that is encouragement, just building up and knowing that, hey, I'm not by myself in this battle and warfare and growing up stuff. You guys have all had similar experiences and it's great to know that.

Register today at masculinejourney.org. On that day when my strength is failing, the end draws near and my time has come. Still my soul will sing your praise unending.

Ten thousand years and then forever more. Welcome back. Thank you guys. Andy, that was your bomb. You want to tell us a little bit about that?

Sure. So that's not necessarily a Mother's Day song. But as some of you know, I brought it up on the radio. Right around Christmas time this year, my mom passed away from heart failure and took me quite by a lot of surprise. I knew she was dealing with heart problems, but I didn't really expect her to go the way she did. I was with her.

Harold, I was just thinking about that. I was glad to be with her. She was always concerned during COVID of being by herself. But being with her meant a lot. I mean, it was hard, obviously.

I mean, really hard. But she said we had started talking a little bit about her funeral. We didn't really plan a whole lot. One thing I got from her was that she wanted that song played at her funeral. And I'd heard that song and I'd hear the chorus and stuff, but I hadn't really listened to the words. And that part there just talks about when the time has come and the end is near, I will still be praising God, and she was. And, you know, again, it was a surprise. But, you know, there's the comfort that I have that Mom shared her faith.

She lived her faith. I will see her again. You know, there's 10,000 years. It'll be like just a day. I mean, it'll be forever together with her. But it's difficult now.

Yeah, it is. Thank you for sharing, Andy. Rodney, you have a clip. This has become a tradition for you as well, I think.

And it really wasn't planned. I went off and started looking for, you know, where would I go with clips. And I went right back to old June Cleaver.

And I did this, and then after I clipped this, I was like, oh, that's what I did last year, a different clip. But, again, where I go with trying to figure out where's a good mother figure, it's hard in movies to find much. And you start looking things up, there's just not much out there that are good longevity role models. And, excuse me, sorry.

Yeah, it's better. You've got June Cleaver for many years as a very warm and loving mother. And, again, that's just the best TV mom I could probably figure out that comes closest to my mom. And then, again, that's my mother-in-law, just a wonderful mother as well. And then my wife is a wonderful mother just doing those things that only mothers can do. So in this clip, you have Beaver coming to mom with something that's bothering him, and she explains how she hurts when he hurts, and she's ill when he's ill, and she can just feel and sense and know things that only a kind of a mother can know.

Well, Beaver, I'm your mother. I don't always know what goes on in your head, but if you're hurt or unhappy, then I don't even have to guess. Why not?

Because I'm hurt and unhappy too. You mean right away? Almost right away. Without me even saying anything? Beaver, you don't have to say anything. When you were a baby, you couldn't talk.

You couldn't tell me if you were cold or hungry or you had a pain. But I always knew, and somehow, well, that just never changes. And that's the surprising thing that even today, you know, she's over 80, I'm over 50, and it just doesn't change. She knows. She just, by the way, I talk about something, can convey something. She can tell whether something's kind of wrong or it's okay. And those kinds of things when you're a kid are just very influential that you don't pick up on it to appreciate much. Sometimes you get a little older.

But when you're sick and just cared for and she knows just the right thing to say and do in those times, it's just wonderful. And being on the other side when you are a parent and having a wife, they can, well, this is what's wrong with them. This is what's going on. This is what they're really meaning by what they're saying and how they're acting. I'm like, how do you know these things? And, you know, how often they're right. Their intuition is just amazing. It's almost like they're omniscient, you know? And you're just like, man, how do you mothers know these things? But I remember my mom fooling me several times. I thought she knew stuff that she didn't know, you know, because she was that good at being able to say, yeah, I know these things. And just being able to portray that, it's like, man, like you're talking about having your mother on your shoulder there, Harold. It's like, yeah, I better not go do that. And that was always a good thing to know that, you know, where your mother stood on things because she did.

Again, for me, it was on the spiritual side, absolutely my mother and just the love and concern for things to know I know right from wrong because of my mother. Yeah. So if you use a clip from that next year, you're either going to have to be Wally or Beaver. That's going to be your nickname. So decide which one you want.

Oh, cool. Or pick a new clip next year. I'll be Eddie Haskell. You could be Eddie Haskell, but he wasn't one of the kids. Or won't be. He could be Lumpy.

He could be Lumpy. Well, thank you, Andy. We're actually going to get to your clip next. So if you want to. Oh, really? I thought you were going to say that for the after hours. Well, I thought so.

It's such a long clip. Yeah. Well, this is. Are we legal?

Can we use it? Yeah, just ignore part of it. 70s rock honors your mother. Yeah. Most of us grew up in the 70s.

Not being Harold, I know, but still most of us. He's still trying to grow up. Yeah. And David, you didn't grow up in the 70s. No. Yeah. Yeah. You ever heard of simple man, David? So he's going to make a comment, but yeah, go ahead. So tell us a little bit about your clip here. So this is from a simple man. Love this song.

I mean, I got to chatting with Kenny about it. It's just a powerful song about basically a mother kind of guiding her son. Just the simple aspects of life and kind of the foundational guidance of what's important in life. Listen to the words and we'll talk about it when we get back. Sounds good. What I say. Do this.

Some sunny day. Don't live too fast. They will. You'll find love. Don't forget. Pretty big understatement.

There's someone up above. We know who that is, but you know, just some simple guidance. You know, it's a beautiful song, but it's, there's a lot of truth in it. And she was the one that continually, I mean, I said at her funeral, she, you know, pretty basic guidance, but she's like, if you've missed eternity with Jesus, if you've missed heaven, you've missed everything. And it's, there's some pretty direct scriptures about that. But mom was, mom was so great. She loved God.

She, in her fifties, I've told how she did a short term missions trip to El Salvador. I mean, something that, you know, most. You say short term. It was, it was a year. A year. I mean, that's short term. Short term is life. Yeah, that's relative. Yeah.

Short term is usually two weeks or whatever. But she went, we went down there as a trip and for a short trip and God really impacted her. And she felt like that's where she was supposed to go. And, and she was, mom had her fears, but you know, she, she went and, and, and I'm just so happy that she did. She made some incredible friends.

God moved, did incredible things during that time. But there's so much I would like to say about her. Just a quick thing to honor her. I think I mentioned this, you know, at the, you know, right there around Christmas time. But just the trip, I really felt like God was leading me to go back to Missouri where our roots are from and, and give us more time.

Usually it's a week trip. We made it two weeks and she was able to connect with friends and other family. And, you know, mom, I just, the impact she had on my life, she had it on so many others as well. She mothered a niece of mine, I mean, a cousin of mine, her niece, like she was her own daughter. She did that with my wife. She did that with my granddaughter. She talked about, me and my wife, we talked about being separated. Mom began to really do some intense prayer for us as a family, but more as just individuals. And she mentioned each one of us and I think all of us saw the fruit of that. So, I mean, it's, it's just, I just want to honor her.

I believe I, I believe I have. I tried to do that as much as I could when she was alive. But there's times I want to kick myself where I could have done more to honor her, you know, when she was living. But one last thing, just a scripture. You know, a lot of times we talk about the father heart of God. But there are some scriptures that indicate that he loves us like a mother. Isaiah 66, 13 says, as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you. It's like what you were saying. You got Chuck and Kenny, it's just like that mother love, you got that from your mother, but you could identify with father love of God.

I mean, it's all one and the same. But a lot of times we don't think of God as a mother, but who is it we want to run to whenever we scratch our knee? I mean, it's not running to our dad.

We want to run to our mother and let her comfort us. So, anyway, just, my heart is full. I mean, I miss her like crazy, but my heart is full and she just played a big part of my life. Thank you, Andy. Kenny, is there anything you want to add about that song? One reason I love this song because she was pointing back to the basics.

Keep it simple. Keep the big things in your mind, which is God. You know, don't forget, you know, it's good to look for these things that can fill your life. But to really be your life and have your life full, you need that God. Don't forget, he's the one that's going to put all this together and he is the one sovereign.

Let him lead you. Keep it simple. Keep it simple. Don't try to figure it all out.

To me, she's saying trust. Keep it simple. Don't overthink it and don't overplay it. Thank you, guys. We have a boot camp coming up in November. It's the weekend before Thanksgiving, but before then, we have a weekend coming up. It's not a Mask on Journey boot camp, but it's a Mask on Journey co-boot camp.

Someone else is putting it on and we're helping. It's the Wild at Heart group from Ohio. And they're doing that up in West Virginia and that's June 1st through 4th. If you want to register for that, you go to our website, maskonjourney.org. Click on the link and that will take you to their website.

It's the very top of ours. Or if you want to register for the upcoming boot camp, you can do that from our website as well. If you want to reach out to any of us, we're on all the social media. Or you can reach out to us by email with our first name, at maskonjourney.org. We'll talk with you next week.