Hope For The Next Generation

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This is kind of a great thing, and I'll tell you what. Where pop culture, current events, and theology all come together. Speak your mind. And now, here's today's Truth Talk Live host. Welcome to Truth Talk Live.

This is Russ East, your host today. I'm going to be talking with a friend of mine named Ryan, Ryan Westover. Ryan, are you there? I'm here, Russ. Excellent, excellent.

Well, today is Missions Monday. And you know what what was it that Stu Epperson told you when when he came out to one of our banquets? With our kind of our celebration vision banquets that we'd have once a year. You were talking to them about a vision that you felt like the Lord had given you. To do some outreach, getting the gospel out, discipleship going on.

But what was it that he told you? You shared it with me when we were at Chick-fil-A. He said something really important. What was that? You betcha, his words to me was my first ministry as to my children, and I will never forget that.

Yes, yes.

Well, well, we are going to be just diving into a ministry that is nationwide. It's called Trail Life USA. We're going to talk about this ministry that deals with. kind of like if you're if you were ever growing up in the Cub Scouts or this Boy Scouts You know, it it's really like a super strong Christian A based Kind of a scouting program. I don't want to cut it short.

I don't want to, you know, give a certain kind of a vibe to it that doesn't tell exactly what it is.

So that's why we have Ryan on today, and he's going to share about this ministry. And if you'd like to call in, you can ask questions. You can maybe even share some of the tips that you've had. in the in the past on how to be a father. What tips do you have to being a father that would give God glory and please the Lord?

You know, the theme verse for Trail Life USA is Colossians 1.10. It says, It says that they may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. And so Ryan, before we get into the Trail Life USA, let me just give the number for people that they wanted to call. That number is 866-4666-6666-6666. 348-7884.

So big shout out, hello to all of our listeners all across North Carolina. In Ohio, in Virginia, in Utah. That number again is 866-348-7884. Would love to hear your tips. On being a father that really, you know, none of us are perfect, but what kind of things have you found to be the kind of father that God would want you to be?

But Ryan, you grew up in Utah. Tell us a little bit about your testimony and how you came to the Lord and. Did you grow up in a Mormon fo um kind of a home, a Mormon kind of landscape and environment? I did. I did.

I grew up I grew up in a little town called South Weaver here in Utah. And growing up in South Weaver in the seventies and eighties was a whole lot different than it is now. Uh you know uh and uh and being in that uh Small town like we were. I I grew up in a LDS church and and uh my my parents were more part of the Mormon church until I was nine years old. I continued going with my friends because I was part of the scouting program, and I loved the scouting program.

That and I and as we get into the talking about the Trail Life USA, I really felt like the Scouting program grounded me. And as a young boy, I was a little bit confused too as we as wondering why We were not going where my friends were going to church. And so we had my parents had a lot of questions with. uh theology. And I think it was a mutual agreement for them to leave.

They continued, my dad. He, um would ask questions and they would continue to tell him that we that these are questions that that he's not supposed to ask. And from the conversations that he and I had before he passed away, that just didn't sit well with him. And that's why one of the reasons why he ended up leaving the Mormon Church.

Okay, okay, and then You got a little pushback, I guess, as you would go visit other churches a little bit and just kind of investigate things. And so for that, tell our listeners what was that like for you? You know, it was tough. Exactly. It was tough.

It was tough because, you know, we would I think at that point my dad was very confused. He was searching for the truth and he wanted to visit different churches and we bounced around to different churches. We went to the Seventh-day Adventist church. We went to the we went and visited a Jehovah's Witness church. We did it bounced around to, I think, five or six different churches.

before my dad realized it wasn't about a church. It was about a relationship with Jesus Christ. And then my parents were saved. And we continued and stayed in South Weaver. And that was tough.

That was real tough for us. Right, right. And so as to was it your your dad or was it through other people that That you came to Christ? Was it through like a combination of things for you, or was it later on in life where you came to Christ? You betcha.

I continued to to go uh to scouts until I was about twelve years old and and at that point I was getting so much flack that I I just I quit going and and then I kind of just struck out at everybody. I struck out at the the the Mormon church. I was I I became a very mean Very uh um Veried. Hurt child. And that stuck with me for a lot of years.

My parents, they introduced Jesus to me as we were going to a church. And I, you know, kind of had one foot in and one foot out for most of my life. It wasn't until about my twenties, my early twenties, that I accepted Jesus Christ, where I truly believe I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, but I didn't. fully commit to him. Does that make sense?

Well, yeah, I'm sure like many of us, you know, we have these highs and lows, and we have moments where, you know, or phases, just seasons where You know, the Lord, he chastens those he loves, and we have our bumps in the road, you know, and God gets a hold of us for sure. I'm curious, though, could you tell me though, was it like a work associate, or you're out there working on the farm? and he came across a Christian or you went to a church, how did the gospel get presented to you? Was it through? Christian radio or a book, someone just left with your handed you a gospel track.

How did that happen, Ray? How'd that happen?

Well, no, I I I I am I always wanted uh to to to serve the Lord. I I I think I was born with a servant's heart. But I believe that my pride got in the way of that. It was a combination of a lot of people who who Who helped me along the way? It's just.

I just felt like there was not that full surrender that I didn't give. uh to God until I I started having. There was a gentleman that I worked with one time who offered me an opportunity to start a boys' ranch. And he brought that up to me when I was about 27 years old. But I was struggling at that time.

I still had struggles with Mormonism. I still struggled because I had gone there long enough as a child to be told that that was the true church. And so in my 20s, I was still struggling a little bit with that. I had a daughter. That had a severe brain injury at birth, and I really was upset with the Lord about that, Russ.

I blamed him for that. And so I struggled with that. And so through my 20s, I bumped along and I had a hard time giving myself to him 100%. And like you say, with the lows and the highs and the lows and the highs, there was a lot more lows than there was highs for me in my 20s and 30s. And it wasn't until I got into my 40s when I realized by immersing myself in the word that there was nobody who was going to bring me to Jesus except for me.

And that didn't happen until I got into my 40s. And once I've surrendered myself, it opened my eyes to a whole new world that I didn't even know existed. And so to help our listeners also just Get a sense of what it was like coming out of Mormonism, making that transition. Do you remember some of the things about maybe, oh, hey, we got the music coming up, so we have to take a break? But stay with us.

And if you have a question for Ryan, give him a call. Give us a call here at 866-348-7884. We'll be right back. We're going to talk more about Trail Life USA and how. You can be praying for us here in Utah, and maybe you can get a trail USA chapter going in your town.

So stay with us, and we'll be right back here on Truth Talk Live. Truth, talk, life. Welcome back to Truth Talk Live. This is Bruce East, your host. Speaking to you from our new office here at 2417 Grant Avenue in Ogden at the Coffee Compound.

Would love to set up a time with you and just show you some of our cool Bible history museum pieces here. We'd love to come out to your church too. Youth group, church setting in the lobby between services. Got some great things to show about how the Lord has preserved his word and So I'm just talking with my friend Ryan Westover. He's the chapter director for Trail Life USA here in the Ogden area.

We have one over in Toula, just kind of west of Salt Lake City. But we're trusting the Lord to see a boys ranch get started and just more churches get involved. You know, Ryan, when I was newly saved, I was saved in 79. out of the Mormon church. And then in 85, or around eighty maybe eighty two, eighty one, something like that.

Um I went to to Utah and on a little like a mission trip with my youth group. And guess where we did ministry at? We did ministry at Kaysville Bible Church. That church was still starting, it had been going on. way back then.

And that's the church that I think that you shared with me. has kind of joined arms with you. For the Davis County, Weaver County area for trail life. Is that right?

Well, we have a couple of gentlemen out of the Cayesville Bible Church that we're real excited that are that are on board with Trail Life USA. The way Trail Life USA works is you have to have five dedicated men to start a chapter. And there's all kinds of reasons for that, and you can get caught up on their website with that. But yes, they're out of Cayesville Bible Church. I haven't had the honor to meet the pastor of the Cayesville Bible Church, but I have had the honor to meet a couple of his men that and they are really looking forward to starting this Trail IPUSA and getting this thing up and rolling.

Absolutely, absolutely.

So, where did we leave off? We were just talking about what were some of the things that you remember growing up? Like, just even like doctrine-wise, things that you had to scratch your head and ask some questions, and just give us, like, and we'll get more into the trail life in just a second, but. Just help our friends that are listening today to get us kind of an empathy for the kind of teachings that you had. Does anything jump out at you?

the three levels of heaven or Jesus being, you know, Um I don't know, uh, you know, that he he was not truly God. He was He was not considered. in the same way as as Christianity teaches about About who Jesus is, the devil being the brother of Lucifer, being the brother of Jesus and so forth. What jumps out at you? that you tried to make sure there was a lot of different things.

A lot of things that at that time that jumped out at me. And I'll tell you one thing that jumped out at me when I was a young child. And I was I think I was around eighteen or nineteen when they when the Mormon Church changed their their Their way, their what they wanted to be associated with. But one of the things that I remember being told when I was going to school, the Sunday school class there, that that time we were not Christians, we were Mormons, and we were to stand on Mormonism. And I do remember being taught that.

And then, like I said, when I was about 18, 19 years old, I do remember them coming out and saying, and this is when we weren't part of the church, part of the Mormon church at that time. And I remember them coming back and saying that they do want to be Christians. They do want to be another. And so those are some of the things that make me scratch my head. And like I told you, I struggled when I was 23 years old and I was upset with the Lord about my daughter having this brain injury at birth.

I struggled. I struggled. I didn't know which way to go. And so you're right. A lot of the things that I struggled with, I had to go back and I started visiting some of the.

Old bookstores around Utah at the time. And there was one in Salt Lake, and I can't remember the name of it. Utah Lighthouse Ministry, I believe that's what it was called. Oh, yeah. Yeah, for sure.

Yeah, and years ago, I went to some of these. These stores, and I picked up these old books that were from the Mormon church. And once I started studying those things and seeing the The contradictions and the way that the doctrine of covenants would say that God was once a man on his own earth and he gained celestial exaltation. Correct me if I'm wrong in any of this because it's been so long. But then you go back into the, I believe it was in Nephi when Nephi explained that God was never a man, never a flesh and bone.

And so those were the things that really stuck out to me and made me realize that maybe what I had been taught even up to that young age, you know, that it needed more looking into.

So that was one of the reasons where I got to a point where I was comfortable with saying, okay, I'm going to put this behind me. Amen. Amen. Yeah, we're We're so much wanting to see our friends who are Mormon come to know Christ as Savior. and just see who he is.

Well, hey, as we continue to talk about this exciting new ministry that is just getting butted started right here in Utah Trail Life USA. Uh There's a verse here in Psalm 148, 12 to 14. I'm going to read it. And Ryan, I think it's gonna spark some more of your passion for what God has called you to do. And I wanna ask you out there listening to pray for this man.

Pray for Ryan Westover. If you feel led, you'd wanna get in contact with him or us through Truth Network. Maybe you wanna even help support a a a a a ranch that can be used. May maybe that's something that's close to your heart. And just helping helping young people get out, helping these guys get away from the screens.

And video games are fun to a degree, but You know, we got we gotta we gotta. Engage, you know, we got to go back to some things that maybe we've forgotten, you know. I think, but listen to this verse, Ryan says, Both young men and maidens, old men and children, let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is excellent, his glory is above the earth and heaven. He also exalteth the horn of his people. The praise of all his saints, even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him.

Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 148:12 through 14. You want to see dads and their sons Get like tight You know, and serving the Lord, right? And bringing. bringing this all into like a continuity.

Uh that maybe we've lost a little bit. Yeah, tell us about Matt. Tell us about your heart and this. Amen. Amen.

My heart is for boys. I said this to Stu Epperson when I met Stu Epperson. I realized when I had an opportunity to enter into a boys ranch opportunity when I was in my late 20s, I knew that that wasn't the time. I knew I wasn't the person. I knew that was not for me at that time.

But I knew that we were facing a problem, and this was clear back then. And I realized that we were facing is fatherless boys. And I've had a heart for fatherless boys. I've had a heart for a lot of these kids that are growing up with no dads. And, you know, as I've gotten older, I'm seeing a society has changed a lot in the last.

Well, about 20 years, that well, over 20 years now, but that we're seeing a lot of these men who are being disconnected from their sons and the sons that are just disconnecting from their families. And we're seeing more and more of it. And my heart is bleeding and bleeding for that. And so, as God has put things on my heart. I love this trail life USA.

This is something that we've been trying to get going for five years here in Utah. up in this northern area of Utah. And this this Trail Life USA is is not a youth group. It's more the Trail Life USA even explains it's more like a men's ministry. It's it's it's a ministry that That these boys can get out.

And you're right when you say, Russ, we've got to get back. We've got to get back to the basics. We've got to get back to the basics and get. Get these men out with their sons and get them away from the screens and get them away from the hustle and the bustle and get them out into those raw moments where we can see God's creation and we can bond together as men and gain that trust between father and son again. And it is changing, people.

And I'm so excited to get this thing going. It has been a long time coming. We have struggled and struggled and struggled to get this up and going, but we're finally here. And boy, we just praise God for where we're standing right now. Excellent.

Hey, well, there's the music for another break.

So stay with us. Call us at 866-348-7884. Maybe you'd like to contribute in the program today. Maybe you have a tip. On being a father, there's a young father out there that might be listening and he needs to hear from you, who's been a father for 10, 20 years.

You've got some tips, you've got some hacks that can help the young fathers. Call us right now, 866-348-7884. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Truth Talk Live. This is Russ East, your host for today.

Today's Mission's Monday we never want to forget. the importance of reaching our own Kids. and and our neighbors and and everything, you know, to to introduce them to Christ. And Trail Life USA is a great way to do that. I've been talking with Ryan Westover.

He's the chapter director for the northern Utah part of Trail Life USA. It's up in Idaho, and it's in a lot of places around the country. But I was thinking, Ryan, about how we have a model that's been kind of set forth. We we know that Jesus Had 12 younger men that he for three years you know spent time with. And it was a unique time.

One of the things Trail Life does is that it probably gives you. and affords for some activities. in the mountains or at the lake to learn the ways of survival. It probably just bonds you together like building a fire, and just kind of share some of these different things that you guys might be doing on a typical outing or meetings and things like that.

Well, yes, you're right about that. And you know, it's I we we don't have our uh uh Activities up and rolling yet. In fact, we're going to this weekend, we're going to take the boys and we're going to go to rodeo for our first activity this week and take these kids and let them go see some dirt stomping. But But what we're excited for is those activities, like you say, Russ, the camping and the building the trust with each other and getting out into God's creation and helping them understand how to build a fire, how to get these survival skills. These men that have chosen to dedicate themselves for this are amazing men.

They've all got something different to offer. I have something different to offer. You get us all together and we've all got something that we can offer. I've got lots of people who have wanted to teach the boys how to fish. They want to get out and teach the boys how to use a saw.

They want to be able to help. You know, with cooking breakfast and taking the kids to different events.

So, so you know, these are all different things that all these different men can come together and help these boys understand. And it's something that's real, real valuable to these kids. And this Idaho group that has been helping me have just had amazing things. North Carolina came out and went with them on a white water river trap or whitewater river. And in the Snake River in Idaho was in nine days.

And I just can't imagine what you could learn about each other in nine days, Stu. Man, I'll tell you what, yeah, that sounds like an awesome experience. I'm going to read a passage from Luke chapter 15. This is a passage of scripture that we're all familiar with, but I might be speaking to a father or a grandfather. Who might be able to identify here.

And so, Ryan, when I'm reading this, if you wanna just jump in, just interject, just do it, okay? But this is where I'm at. Chapter 15, verse 11. And we're talking about dads, we're talking about sons. But listen to this.

It says in verse 11 of chapter 15 in Luke it says, A certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that fall to me and he divided unto them his living. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

Now, just we'll just kind of stop there, right? Because, Ryan, there might be dads out there that have a son. And maybe they kind of resemble this particular example of the sun. That's going to be difficult, right? I mean.

Uh we we want everyone listening who might be a dad out there Yeah.

Sometimes it's a two-way street. We don't know exactly what was going on between this father and the son. Maybe the father dropped the ball on some things. But we're going to keep reading. But do you have any thoughts so far on this passage?

Just thinking about what if a son. Said this to his dad, basically saying, I wish you were dead, so just give me all my inheritance now. What comes to your mind on this? That's that you know that I am that bad. I've got a son now that's aged out.

Well, he could still be in Trail Life USA, but he chooses that he doesn't want anything to do with Trail Life USA.

So I do have a son this way, and I do pray for his heart, and I pray that he comes back to Christ because he does know the love of Christ. He knows. He did get baptized at a camp down in Oklahoma. And so I say to any of these fathers and these grandfathers out there who are watching your sons or your grandsons struggle: get a hold of us. Get a hold of us.

You could call me any time. You could call me at any hour and let us try to help you. There's going to be opportunities in this trail IPSA for fathers and grandfathers to be able to help lead in this. And we want that. We want leadership.

We want people to get behind this. But let's see what we can do to help you restore that bond between that grandfather and the grandson or the father and the son. But we can't turn our back on these young boys. We've got to do whatever we have to do to get these boys saved. Right, right.

There's so much that could be said for maybe regrets that we might have. We all have things where we've said maybe things to our sons, and we wish we could take it back. I know I love my son so much, and there was one day when I said something to him that wasn't very nice. And it didn't help, but things are good now. But we're going to pray for your son, Ryan, and that we'll see a miracle happen, that we'll see him come back.

Because as we read on this passage here, it says, And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his field to feed swine.

So you know there is a time when sometimes You know, our our sons have to go through some stuff again. They have to go a little bit deeper. And it's hard, it's difficult, but but then we continue reading that says. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. But then it says, and when he came to himself, came to his senses, he said, How many higher servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare?

And I perish with hunger.

So there's a turnaround. We've all had, I think, probably most of us have had.

Some level of a turnaround, you know, like even like the road to Emmaus. I've got a picture of these guys that Jesus is talking to, he's walking with them for three hours patiently. And then it took a while. And then they had a big turnaround. You know, they went back to Jerusalem where they were supposed to really be, but they were afraid.

They were down and they were kind of away from. from from what was happening in the city of Jerusalem. But as we continue on, do you have any thoughts to add to this, Ryan? Just thinking about Uh where where we're at in the story how This turnaround moment. I'm sure that.

Well, I can just imagine, like, you know, the the times I've been to camp before and you have those camp fires. Have you ever experienced that before? I mean, great Christian camp experiences. And you have some singing going on, and you've had a good Bible message. And that's what you guys are going to do in it.

And that's what you're looking for. here with Trail Life USA here in in in Utah. You're trying to define these people, right? Yeah. US and USD.

You're right about that. And what you're saying there, Russ, is I think I was that young man too. And I think that a lot of us fathers and grandfathers were that young man. But, you know, these sons, these boys need to hear from another man. And, you know, I was this way.

My dad would come at me and he would tell me all about Jesus. And, well, I didn't want to hear anything. But when another man talked to me about Jesus, my ears perked right up and I listened. And I think that happens so many times in so many different lessons in life. And that's the one thing about if you do let your son go to one of these, sit back and watch as some of these men will crowd around these young boys because these men are these men that I've only known them for a short time, but they've got a heart for these young boys.

And I'll tell you, I'm so excited to watch God move in this. From what I've seen in the last five years of studying Trail Life USA, I'm so excited to watch what God can do with these young boys. Yeah. And I want to just give the number out again. Maybe you're driving around and you're at a safe place and you can make a phone call to us.

Maybe you're in Lynchburg, Virginia. Maybe you're in Dayton, Ohio, Toledo, Ohio. Maybe you're in Charlotte. Maybe you're in Raleigh. You're in Winston.

You're in Salt Lake City. You're just listening and you have maybe a question for Ryan about this. Or maybe you have something that you'd like to share. Maybe a moment when you were a young man. And you experienced a kind of a camping kind of a experience with your dad or with your grandfather.

You're out fishing, you're out hunting, you are. Building a fire, you were, you know, setting up the tents and you're you just got to know your son or your grandfather in just a very kind of a unique way without a lot of distractions. And Jesus did that. And he took the disciples out to a solitude place and they prayed and they got away from the hustle and bustle of everything. But the number is 866-348-6.

7884. That's 866. Three four eight. 7884. We'd love to hear from you.

Maybe you have, like I call it, a hack. You know, maybe a tip on On a way that we can be the kind of fathers that we want to be. What kind of advice would you give a young father today? Or if you had to give advice to yourself A younger self side of you, you know, what would you say being a father? What does that entail?

How have things changed? And we know a lot of things that change. With the dynamics of phones, a lot of good can come out of using our phones. Um and the internet and such, but But there's a lot more competition for the minds and the time of our young men. And so this is a great opportunity that we have with Trail Life USA to partner with a group of men that Really want to instill biblical principles into the lives of young people.

And just be accountable to each other. Sharpen each other, you know. Sharpening each other is a very important concept. That we have as men, and we just need to do that.

So, we're going to continue on reading here. Let me get that number one more time: 866-348-7884. I'm reading about the prodigal son, but I think there's a lot of things going on here.

So then we have verse 18 of chapter 15. It says, Uh he the the the young man, he says, I will arise and go to my father. and will say unto him, Father, I've sinned against heaven and before you. and am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.

And he arose and came to his father, but when he was yet a great way off, His father saw him and had compassion. and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

Now that's that's a picture that But boy, I have some thoughts on that. Ryan, do you wanna jump in first and just share any thoughts that come to your mind when you imagine this father? Who's supposed to be kind of like Back in those days, you know, you weren't supposed to be like running around, I guess. It wasn't as uh dignified or something like that to do is what I've what I've been Hold on to your thoughts, 'cause there's the music again. We have one more segment of Truth Talk Live.

We'd love to hear from you. We need to hear from you. We want to hear from you. 866-26666666666666 348-7884. Is it worth it to invest into our sons?

I think it is.

So Give us a call right now, 866-348-7884. We'll be right back. Truth taught life. Hi, I'm Barry McGuire, author of Ignite Your Life, explaining how you can have wholehearted faith regardless of your circumstances. As we look ahead to 2026, it's clear that the world is searching for hope, truth, and meaning.

That's why sharing our faith can't be an afterthought. It has to be a top priority every day. Evangelism isn't about pressure or perfection. It's about love. It's about caring enough to speak up, to listen well, and to point people to Jesus in everyday moments.

Our faith was never meant to be private or to be hid under a push-off basket. What God has done in us is meant to be shared through our words, our actions, and our relationships. This year, choose intentionality. Pray to not miss opportunities God puts in front of you and trust God with the results. Whether it's a conversation with a friend, an act of kindness in His name, and just being a listening ear for someone in need, know that God will use it all and that His Word will never return void.

Ignite your life. Go to IgniteAmerica.com. Hello. Hi, I'm Barry Maguire, author of Unite Your Life, explaining how you can have wholehearted faith regardless of your circumstances. As we look ahead to 2026, it's clear that the world is searching for hope, truth, and meaning.

That's why sharing our faith can't be an afterthought. It has to be a top priority every day. Evangelism isn't about pressure or perfection. It's about love. It's about caring enough to speak up, to listen well, and to point people to Jesus in everyday moments.

Our faith was never meant to be private or to be hid under a bushel basket. What God has done in us is meant to be shared through our words, our actions, and our relationships. This year, choose intentionality. Pray to not miss opportunities God puts in front of you and trust God with the results. Whether it's a conversation with a friend, an act of kindness in His name, and just being a listening ear for someone in need, know that God will use it all and that His Word will never return void.

Ignite your life. Go to IgniteAmerica.com. And now, today's Pathway Minute with Dr. Robert Jeffers. Welcome back to Truth Talk Live, which is our last segment.

I'm with my friend Ryan Westover. He's with Trail Life USA. It's a great ministry for dads and for sons to get together. And we're going to continue talking about. Luke chapter 15.

We're we're we're about halfway through through the the uh the account there of the prodigal son and the other son. what's going on there. But before we do that, I'd love to hear from you again at 866-348-7884. Um Ryan, I wrote down about seven or eight different just words here that I think. We can just talk about just briefly.

Uh And there are things there, they're kind of areas where we can We can use them to spend time, quality time with our sons. Um I want you to just feel free to mention Any thoughts you have on some of these things? Things that we might have gotten so busy. With our work week and everything, we just haven't. May time To time with our sons in these areas.

What about something like with your car? What about teaching our sons how to change oil or change a tire? What about fishing? What about hunting? What about camping?

What about hiking? What about cooking? What about building something? What about reading together? What about praying?

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Those are nine things. Do you think? You think I'm all wet, Ryan? Do you think you think that that this might be just kind of a waste of time or?

Or do you think, like with this father, this father could have shoved his son away and said, No, you made your bed, you lie in it. Forget you, but no, I don't think that's what happened here at all. If there's a data up there that's listening. Those things might just rattle up. A father can can can You know, kind of reactivate the relationship with your son, right?

It's never too late. You're right about that. It's never too late. And I would say to those dads out there that. don't want to don't want to step into a a church or don't want to uh don't feel comfortable doing that.

This is going to be a real great opportunity for you to meet with a bunch of guys that are that we won't be meeting in a church. We're in the midst of trying to locate a property now to be able to do this. We've got two or three different options. And if there's anybody listening that has an option, we'd love to hear from you. for some type of a meeting place to do these activities.

But you're exactly right, Russ. Everything that you said is amazing. That's everything that we have talked about with the other gentlemen or I have talked about with other people about different lessons that we can teach. And Russ, we're finding out that a lot of the dads need some of this stuff too. And it helps the fathers and it tears down these walls.

And from talking with these other groups that are in the Idaho area, The best thing that they say that happens is that you do see those father-son relationships. Rebuild, and you do see these men tear down these walls that we build up as men. And they become at the end of the trip, it becomes camaraderie, it becomes a brotherhood. You're now, you know, you strengthen each other off of all those lessons that we that I love. The one thing that I love about trail life and can't say enough about it is that they provide those lessons for you so that when you're teaching these lessons, these kids can come back to a lesson that God teaches us in His Word so that we can explain and connect those things so that these kids do understand that, and so do the fathers.

Hmm. Amen. Amen. That's exciting. Yeah, we can't lose hope.

We can't lose hope. It's easy to lose hope and just kind of just give up, you know, and just say, well, you know, I haven't been the kind of father that I should have been. And so I'm just gonna just kind of isolate myself. I'm gonna just kind of just sclude myself from everything. And that's a temptation.

And maybe if you've done that, okay, just tell the Lord, you know, Lord, I'm sorry I did that. Tell your wife, tell your sons. You know, I messed up, but I want to change. I want to get involved, you know, back into your life. And so maybe you can prevent some of these.

these these negative things from have ha t to happen just by Get involved now.

So let's see what happens. whisked up with the rest of this story here. We see it says, and the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

So there's some humility there. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. and bring hither the the fatted calf and kill it and let us eat and be merry.

So, this is like a barbecue. This is a celebration. And I'm going to be praying. You know, for your son, that this is gonna happen. You know, it's something that I'm sure.

You could get a little discouraged about, but don't give up. Don't give up, Ryan.

So be praying for Ryan. Pray for his son. Pray for all the dads out there who have this kind of situation going on right now. Um Let's keep reading on here. He goes on and he says, For this my son was dead and is alive again.

He was lost and is found. And they began to be married.

Now, here's where we get some family dynamics happening here.

Well, it gets a little challenging here.

So the elder son, maybe it's the firstborn, okay? And he's in the field and as he came and drew near the house, He heard all this music and dancing, and he called one of the servants. He said, Hey, what's going on? What's happening here? And he said unto him, Though your brother's come back.

And your father has killed a big fattened calf. We're having a great barbecue, you know, because he's received him safe and sound. And then in verse 28, it says, And he was angry.

Now, Ryan, can you talk about that a little bit? Is it possible we could be doing all this? And then maybe somebody in our life, we're trying to do what's right.

Someone might come at us and say, no. You shouldn't be doing this. Is that possible? Oh, you betcha. That's something that I'm sure is going to happen.

I've talked with some of the other leaders out of Idaho, and they've run into those problems. But those problems can be dealt with. And I think that those things can be I think they'll be easily dealt with for us. Right, there might be a sibling, there might be a brother or a sister that may not understand that. that there there might be someone in the family that maybe they've gone astray, but But the Bible says here that You know, we should be celebrating when that person comes back into the family.

And sure, there might be some things we need to do to kind of do some safeguards and stuff and really make sure that they've made some changes in their heart and mind. and so forth. And there's i s some complexities to this, but But I think the lesson here is there's so many good reasons to not give up. to anticipate Ways like through Trail Life USA, where we can. Instill that relationship that we want with our kids, but We've got to do it sometimes through activities.

And that's where. You know, just building something, building a treehouse. You know, reading God's Word together, praying together, singing. Going on a hike, you know, doing it maybe in the morning and look seeing seeing the sunrise or. you know that those are just amazing things i remember going on a mentor retreat and and we did that And it just it just gets you out into God's creation.

And we spend time together. And it's just a very unique kind of opportunity. Yes, we need to spend time with our spouses. In the church family and everything, yes, but there's something special about. how Paul would take Silas and Timothy and And Luke together when they went off to Philippi and so forth.

And Jesus had his 12 disciples, and for three years he trained them and. You put them to work and interacting with the people. all of this so we can't miss it.

So let's go on here with the time we have remaining. And I'm just going to check and see if we have any callers that are calling in. Let's see here. We've got the number again is 866-348-7884. We've just got a few more minutes left, so if you've got a tip on Parenting, we need to hear it from you.

Give us a call, 866-348-7884.

Okay, here we go. That's the last time I'll give the number.

So we're going to continue on here. It says here in verse 20. 28 and and he was angry. And would not go in. He wouldn't even get into the go to the house.

Therefore, came.

So again, Ryan, look at this. I've never noticed this before. But the father, again, he kind of leaves his. kind of his more comfortable environment, and he goes out. Again, it's the father taking initiative.

Can you talk about that a little bit? This father has taken initiative again. to reach out to his son. Go for it. Talk about it.

You betcha. That's what us as men have to do. We have to reach out to these boys. These boys aren't going to come to us. And dads, if you're listening, grandpas, if you're listening, and even a few mothers with some boys that might not have a dad are listening, we have to invest in these boys.

We are staring down a barrel of a gun that these kids are looking at some sobering statistics that we're looking at. 80% of men say they have no one in their life that they can be transparent or accountable to. Boys are sending a desperate message with some sobering statistics with suicide rates among boys ages 10 to 14, ranking among the highest in the nation.

So when you say that he invested in that fat and calf, I can't imagine what a fat and calf was worth in those days. But we need to invest in these boys. We have got to make that move because these boys won't. We've got to get these kids out of these comfort zones and we've got to build those relationships with them.

Well put. I'm so excited for what God's doing. And you in your life. And through this ministry, it's very exciting just to see all that God's going to do. We've been in Utah for you, and I have both been in Utah, you know, roughly about the same amount of time.

You've been here a little longer than me, actually, but by about 10 years or so, probably. man we've seen we've seen churches started we've seen like the bridge and the mission church and lifeline community And then there's ones that have been around for longer, you know. But yeah, things are changing in Utah.

So we're grateful for this. And maybe in your hometown area, maybe you've seen some churches start up. And hey, we don't have enough time to read the rest of this whole passage here, but you can finish it off yourself, Ryan. Thank you for taking time out to share about Trail Life USA. Just Google that out there and learn more about it.

Go to TruthNetwork.com. Find me Rust East here in Utah. I'd love to talk with you. I'll connect you with Ryan. Thanks, Ryan, for being on Truth Talk Live.

We'll see you again next week. Truth.