Anita Corsini (Co-founder of Red Barn Homes)

Today's episode will begin in three minutes. But first I want to tell you about something crazy I'm doing for my new book, five Mere Christians. I've never seen an author do this before, but I'm giving a money back.

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So that's the first reason this is a risk and I'm gonna de risk.

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Here's the second reason. I'm just confident you're gonna love this book. My friend Mark Batterson said, quote, five Mere Christians proves that biographies can be extremely entertaining, profoundly helpful, and mercifully short. If you're looking for a book that combines the punch of a great sermon with the pace of a great thriller, this is it. Highly recommended.

End quote. But here's the thing.

In order to qualify for this money back guarantee, you got to do two things. Step one, pre order five Mere Christians in any format, hardback, ebook, audiobook, whatever. And then step two, go to 5merechristians.com and fill out the form on that page and that's it. But you got to do it by midnight Eastern Time on May 9. By filling out that form, you'll also get all of the pre order bonuses listed on 5 mereChristians. Calm and be entered to win this crazy, epic trip for two to Europe. So visit 5merechristians.com right now to sign up. Now, please enjoy today's episode. Hey everybody.

Welcome to the Mere Christians podcast.

Jordan.

I'm Jordan Raynor. How does the Gospel influence the work of mere Christians? Those of us who aren't pastors or religious professionals, but who work as cabinet Makers and actuaries and school bus drivers. That's the question we explore every week. And today I'm posing it to Anita Corsini. She's the co founder of Red Barn Homes with her husband Ken, who together have bought and sold over 800 homes in metro Atlanta. But Anita is perhaps best known for her role as co host of Flip or Flop Atlanta, which you may have watched on hgtv. Anita and I have been friends, let's call it Instagram friends from a distance.

For a long time.

But we finally got a chance to sit down together and talk about how.

Her son's near death experience led to.

More freedom in her work. We talked about why Anita is intentional about working slower than she can and what practically it might look like to build houses without the curse, as we see in Isaiah 65's prophetic vision of the new Earth. Guys, you're gonna love this conversation with my friend Anita Corsica. Anita, man, this is long overdue. Welcome to the podcast.

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. And I agree with you. Very long overdue.

So I was like looking back through Instagram DMs.

You and I were trading DMs in like 2019.

I'm trying to remember. You must have recalled to create, like way back.

Yes, it was. Yeah, way back. I probably am overdue to read it again. I was reading, I think Ken, actually my husband, somebody gave him the book or he had heard of it somewhere. And then, you know, of course, then I get nosy and then I get into the. You know, and it started there.

But we've been talking for like 10 minutes before we started recording. Like we're old.

Old. Yeah.

Talking about the Holy Spirit. Talking about. Man, we just went deep, like right off the bat.

I know. Guilty. I do it every time. I mean, I am like. Because really, like, what's chit chat? Like, I'd rather know somebody is out of here. Yeah.

The Trinity and the forgotten.

Why do I do that? But, you know, part of it is, you know, I've read your books, right? So I know your voice, I know your heartbeat. And so I guess there's part of me that's like, oh, yeah, this is my friend Jordan. You know, we've known each other for years.

It is a weird.

I was thinking about this.

It's a weird dynamic as an author because books are so intimate. Like you're bearing your soul to the reader for five hours of their life and so they feel like they know you and a lot of times they honestly know your books. Better than you do. It's kind of this weird dynamic.

Yeah.

Do you find the same thing, having been on tv, that, like, when people see you, they're like, oh, my gosh, I know everything about you in your life.

Yes. And some of them will just know what they've seen on tv, so they make assumptions. But, I mean, honestly, on tv, I was very much myself. So, yes, they will walk up and they're like, hey, we. And then I'm thinking, oh, gosh. And there is nothing worse than, you know, I'm trying to think, did I. Did I teach you at one time? Are you a parent of one of my. Like, am I supposed to know you? Or do you just know me because you know my face? And I. Because I never want to ever, you know, make anyone feel silly or whatever, you know, I mean, and I'm just like. But in my head, it's like, compute, compute, compute.

That's so good. I love it. Hey, back up for a second. You breezed over this. You were a teacher for a while.

I was a teacher, yes.

Math education. How long did you do that work?

I did that work for seven years. So I wanted to be a teacher. Right. Like, I've always been this. I mean, even as a kid, I was, you know, like, I set up a classroom in my closet, and my poor little sister had to sit down and listen to me teach her. Right. And she had to behave in my classroom. Poor thing. She got indoctrinated early. And I loved mathematics. I mean, I just did. And God really gave me a heart for that. And I had amazing teachers in high school. And so when I went to college, I was like, I want to be a teacher. And my parents, you know, they're Iranian. And so in Iranian culture, like, you're going to be a doctor, you're going to be a lawyer, you're going to be a pharmacist. You know, you're going to be one of these prestigious, prestigious things so that you can be successful or productive or whatever that means. And, you know, and they were like, anita, I don't know if you should be a teacher. And I think their heart was, like, fear that I wouldn't be able to provide for myself. Right. Or take care of myself. Because, let's be honest, teachers make nothing.

Sure.

Which. We can unpack that on another date.

Okay.

I'm gonna leave that one be today.

And so do that for the Atlanta Live episode.

Yes, exactly. Exactly. Anyhow, so. And I remember standing in my dorm room, you know, my parents, my uncle telling Me. Well, we don't still know about this. So I went back to my high school teacher and visited her my freshman year of college. And I was like, they don't really want me to be a teacher and I don't want to upset my parents. And she goes, oh, oh, oh, Anita, I got this. I'll solve this problem for you. And I was like, what? And she said, just be a math major. She's like, don't be an education major. She goes, be a math major. She goes, you're going to get twice the math that any education major would get. So you're going to be way more prepared and you can get a master's in education. That's icing on the cake and you'll do great. And I was like, oh, problem solved, problem solved, problem solved. So, yes, so I have a mathematics undergraduate. I do have a master's in math education. Yeah. And to say that I love math is an understatement. Love it. I love teaching, I love every aspect about it. And I did that for seven years. I was at a small school here in town and was able to write curriculum and I built amazing relationships with students. And yes. So yeah, I was a teacher and that was my first love.

That's like the first I like to think of calling seasonally. We had my friend Brian Sanders on the podcast a while back talking about this. So it was like season one, vocationally for you, how did you make the shift into that second season of flipping houses? Right, okay, involved, but what's the narrative arc here?

Okay, I'm gonna back the train up for just a minute and say, here's something funny that God did when I was. We had just gotten married. We got married at 23 and I went to some. One of those women's, you know, tease in the arena. No, wasn't a tea. No, I'm not a tea girl. But anyway, it was like I went with my mother in law and my mom and it was, you know, those, the older lady Christian speakers with their feather boas and kind of silly things. Anyhow, I came home that night and Ken wasn't home. And I sat down at the computer because it was almost just like I was just filled with this word from the Lord and. And I was like, what is going on? So I just banged out on the computer. I need to find this document. It's somewhere in my files. And I was like, lord, this is what I want to do with my life. And it was, I want to teach and I'm going to be the best teacher that I can possibly be. I want to be a mom. And I, you know, and then I want to move and be a mom and be the best mom I can possibly be. This pillar in my household. And then after that, I wanted. At the time, it was like I had written that I wanted to be this public speaker, and basically it was to have this bigger influence, right? And, like, look at what God's done. I mean, so. So it all start. I would have never told you that. It would have happened. I would have told you I'm going to be a math teacher for my whole life. And we're going to live in the same house that we always bought when we first got married, because that was my little box, you know, in my 20s, so, you know, taught, got my master's. Ken was working, doing his. His first job, which was working for an insurance brokerage. He was working on the software side of that. And then he. Ken's an entrepreneur, like, born and bred. Like, there's nothing else that that child could do in this world. And I knew that. I saw that and I was like, if he doesn't scratch this itch, like, he's going to be miserable. So it was his turn, right? And, you know, I did my turn. I did. I got all the degrees I wanted and then passed the baton to him and he started working for himself. Well, I had always planned on, when we had our first baby, that I wasn't going to teach, because when I'm working, I'm all in. And when you have a baby, you kind of need to be all in. So that's. It would have been very hard for me to do double duty and have my heart 100. And he said to me, like, I just finished grading finals and getting my kids through AP exams and all of that. And he's like, hey, I need you to go get your real estate license. And I mean, I looked at him like, no, I'm not doing that. You don't get to just tell me what to do. Right, right, right, right. And he was like, yeah, exactly. No, I'm nesting. Like, I'm gonna eat bonbons and put my feet up because I'm really pregnant. By the way, do you see this belly? You know, it's kind of like that. And he was like, no, babe, I need you to go get your real estate license because you won't get it after the baby comes. Which he wasn't wrong there. And it'll be more. Way more difficult. And, you know, you can help me in this and do the licensing part because he didn't want to have a real estate license, but, you know, so he could do the investor part. And I was like, I was really confused because real estate was not my passion at all. Like, that wasn't my wheelhouse, that teaching people, people, people is my passion. Right. So. And I was like, okay, fine. What? He's like, babe, this will take you two weeks. You're so smart, you can go get it. And, you know, half the exam is math, which for me was the easy part. Right. And, yeah, got my license. And so then it was kind of like my toes were in the shallow end with real estate. And I was playing this very supportive role because I was home and I wasn't teaching. And so that's how it all kind of started. And then. Yes, and then it exploded.

Yeah. Yeah. So when did this explode? Was this the show on hgtv? That.

Yeah, yeah. Well, before that, you know, we had a big business going and flipping houses. And again, at that point, I was really much more supportive role helping and, you know, Ken was running the flipping business and real estate. If you're going to stay active and successful in real estate, you have to adapt. And we speak about this a lot because the market changes. Right. So if you're going to stay in one lane in real estate, it's going to be very hard to have, you know, continual success, because if you can't morph with what's coming and what's changing, then it's going to be very difficult. And so he is amazing at doing that. So we, you know, we kind of morphed and changed. And at the time when HGTV reached out, we were flipping a lot of houses. Like, we had flipped over at that point, maybe 800 houses. But that's because it was after the crash. Right. So their houses were like, I mean, a dime a dozen. They were everywhere.

Yeah. So I didn't know this before my team did prep for this episode, but your son had a really serious scare with cancer right before you joined hgtv, Right?

What's the story there?

Yes. Okay. That was. That rocked our Worlds. It was 2014 when that happened. So we're just, you know, living normal life. Right. I have twins that are three and an older daughter who's six. And one afternoon, you know, my kids are big kids, and I was, like, looking at my son's belly, and I was like, what? His belly looks really big. And, you know, usually it's like after they eat, you know, little kids, bellies poke out or whatever. And I thought it just. It's not going down, you know? And then I called the doctor, and she just said this was like after hours. So she said, you know, I need to just bring him in tomorrow. I'm sure he's fine. And so we did, and we brought him in. And she said. She just looked at me and said, I need you to make sure your girls are taken care of, and I need you to take him to choa, which is our children's hospital here in Atlanta. And I said, okay. And even still, it didn't dawn on me. Right. Right. That it was going to be something like that, because you just. You just don't go there unless you.

How old is your son right now.

At this time today?

He actually, last weekend, he just turned 12.

Yeah. How old was he when he had the diagnosis?

He was three. So it was July of 2014, so he was three, and he turned four in August. So late you go to Choa.

What happens?

It was kind of an awful experience, that whole ER thing. But they, you know, did an ultrasound, they found a tumor. We waited and waited, you know, typical ER experience. And. And then they were basically like, your son has cancer. And he barely had any kidney function because his tumor was on his kidney. And so he was so sick. And they did not do a biopsy of the tumor because he was so sick. Like, a doctor literally came in the room almost with tears in his eyes and said, I need you to sign this form. It was the anesthesiologist. Because if this gets to be an emergency, I'm going to need to put him under. And it's very dangerous if I put him under. But this is like a. Just in case. But first of all, I'm all a blur. And the doctors, like, literally with tears in his eyes, basically saying, I don't want to have to do this, you know, and they gave him. This is the crazy thing. They didn't know what type of cancer he had, but it looked like a solid tumor because it was on his kidney. And there's a very common solid tumor cancer called Wilms. And, you know, kind of like if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. So they started treating him for that. Well, the doctor who gave him his chemo's. The regimen for that is three different chemos. Somehow that night, because it was through the middle of the night, she only gave him two of the three. I don't know if she misread the protocol, if it was Just a slip. Now I know it was God's provision. I mean, you cannot argue with me on that one bit because you know, he was being treated for the wrong cancer. So this treatment made him very, very sick. His tumor was lysing, which is basically like breaking up. And a solid tumor when it does that releases a lot of potassium and that potassium can stop your heart. All of this I was learning, you know, like drinking from real time fire hose. Exactly. So he has surgery. And so that was July. So about September he has surgery and the doctor calls us. And I still have a piece of paper because I just. On the piece of paper, I was just kind of nervously writing as the doctor was talking because I knew this was about to be a big conversation. And I just wrote Jesus over and over again because. Cause I had no idea what else. I just needed the Lord, you know, and so I'm just writing Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. And I framed the piece of paper because it was such a significant time. And she said, we misdiagnosed Rocco and we have to start over in treatment. He has lymphoma, which explains why he was so sick because we were treating him for a solid tumor. So that treatment, you know, made his tumor do things that the right treatment wouldn't have done and we have to start over. And I was beside myself because he was so sick. And this treatment for lymphoma is fast and furious. His tumor was the most aggressive. It's called Burkitt's lymphoma. It's one of the most aggressive childhood cancers. Tumors can double in size in 18 hours. That's how aggressive it is.

Yes.

And so it's serious. And literally he's just my little like, you know, three year old boy. And I'm thinking, I'm like, you're putting poison in his body to kill this. And the first time it didn't work. And now, you know, so much of God's provision, Jordan, was seen through that whole experience. I just, I hate to even say that there was blessing in it, but there was blessing. And I hate to say there's blessing at expensive, you know, my son going through something terrible. But you know, the suffering, God was there. He was there and he was watching over him and us and was absolutely incredible. And the treatment did end up being tough. And let me just tell you, shout out to all the nurses because they held my hand through the whole process and we made it through.

Yeah, I would never tell anyone in that situation, including yourself, there's blessing in this. But on the Other side of it.

Yeah.

You can see. Oh, man. If this is what drove me.

Yes.

To my knees, of just writing Jesus's name repeatedly.

Yeah.

Blessed be the name of the Lord. That's easy for me to say with kids. Never experienced that.

Right.

But I hope my response on the other side.

Yeah. And I had, I'm telling you, like, when I say solid rock, people standing beside me and praying for me and reminding me, you know, reminding me even that non believers, you know, in our circles were watching. And they were. And that was hard. I mean, I honestly, I looked at one of my friends in the face and I said, I just want my son better. I don't care about anyone's salvation right now, you know, I mean, like, really and truly, because it just was. She was like, anita, just remember, this is in God's hands, you know, I mean, because it was. You are at such a real raw level of God allowed this for what you know, and it was powerful. And I mean. And she said, anita, I know, I know that's how you feel, but I'm going to remind you that God's in this and that there's a higher purpose here. And, you know, somehow it would get me back on the train tracks.

Thank God for friends like that.

Right? Oh, my gosh. Truth. I mean, it was truth. It was truth. It was tough.

Anytime I hear stories like this where people have just these, like, very real experiences with the reality of death. Right. I'm always curious, like, how this shapes their perspective after the fact on life in general, but given the work I do on the work specifically.

Right.

So obviously in that moment, the work stopped. You guys have this rapidly growing business and you just, like, ignore it for six months, right?

Yeah.

But after that, after he's healthy, was there a change in your posture towards your work when you got back to it?

Oh, a hundred percent. So it, you know, I've always been a relational person, Right. But I'm also a very driven person. So if you're looking just in regards to work, like, I was always striving for achievement, success. I wanted achievement, attention, you know, I wanted significance, really, you know, but yet I always had all these wonderful relationships around me. But I'm still discontent, right? Always. And then after this, you realize, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Like, life can be gone in an instant. And then it was like, all of the sudden, I'm so content with who I am with the people in my life. And God shows me, anita, I have given you all that you need all along. Look at. I have created you to be this relational person. I have created you to dive in deep with people. And you have had. So, like, I always joke with people. I'm like, if you can look at my bank account, that's one thing. But if you looked at my. The capital in my relationships, like, I. I am the wealthiest person in the world. I'm the most undeserving. I don't know how I ended up here, but I have the best people in my life, and that is really what is valuable. So those relationships drive my work. And it's no longer, did I sell the most houses in the brokerage, or did I. You know, it's, did I impact people? Did I grow in relationship with people? Did I love my family along the way? Like, what is it that it was like for Anita Corsini, who lived her life never having enough and being discontent, it showed me very quickly that I can be content, and I already had what mattered in a very real, tangible way. So much so that that's when HGTV called us, right? Was after he was sick. So he finishes treatment in, like, November, and then it was probably February of the next year. Ken came in the kitchen, and he's like, hey, babe, some producer called me today and wants to do a Skype interview with us. Skype?

What? An old.

Exactly. Skype interview for some television show on hgtv. Floating houses. And I was like, you know what, Ken? You only live once. Let's do it and have fun with it. I was like, that's fine. Whatever. And the exact words out of my mouth were, nobody's going to put us on TV anyway, so let's just go have fun. Because literally, you know, four months ago, you know, rewind. I'm in the hospital, and, like, waking up in the middle of the night to, like, code blue. And then a kid wasn't in the room next door to me when I woke up in the morning. That was there the night before. And it was like, this very harsh reality that we have finite time here on Earth. We just do.

So, I mean, your reaction is so inspiring to me, but a little surprising.

To me, because I think a lot.

Of people who encounter a situation like that would look to the work and almost operate from a sense of fear, right? Of, like, I can lose it all at any given point. So I'm gonna grasp it really, really tightly and be afraid that I'm gonna lose this business, I'm gonna lose myself, whatever. But it sounds like you operate from, like, more of a sense of freedom, of, like, well, yeah, you only live it. What's the delta there? I'm assuming it's Jesus. But in what ways does Jesus enable you, in the face on the other side of tragedy, to approach the work more freely?

I don't. That's a great question. I really honestly think it was just. I, at that point felt so blessed, and it was like, I have this opportunity and it's my choice. Right. I know what living in fear is like already. I know what living, you know, feeling like I've never done enough or I'm never going to be good enough. I already know that. And then now it's like, all that can be taken away and you can choose differently. And I chose differently and kind of surprised myself, and it really helped. I always say, had I not gone through that experience and HGTV call us to put us on this television show, which has, you know, put your face out there into thousands of places, my response would have been fear. It would have been like, I'd have been an anxious little ball of mess. Because it would have been, do I look okay? Am I this? Am I that? Where we did it? And I was kind of like, well, this is what you get. Do you like it or not?

You know, but this does make sense to me. Right. Because this experience gave you a deeper experience, if you will, of the gospel of recognizing that as long as you have Jesus, you have enough, and you don't need the acclaim and the applause from the work that you've been chasing after your whole life in order to have enough. Right?

Exactly.

Once that's off the table, it's like, cool. We can just work with joy and freedom knowing that we're running out of time to be a part of the blessing of partnering with God in his work.

Right, Exactly. Yeah, exactly. I mean, and then I just really embraced who he created me to be and what I get to do through my work. And yes, I work. Yes, I create. You know, we obviously, we created many homes. We, you know, we were able to buy and sell. I love selling real estate and buying real estate, all that. But that's secondary to the process along the way, right? Because even when we got the show, it's like, I probably drove everyone nuts because it would take me 25 times longer to do anything because I'd be at the tile store picking out tile, dancing in the aisles with one of the guys working, because it was like, you know, we're cracking jokes and trying to find whatever sanded versus unsanded grout or something stupid like that. But it's like, to me, it was all about how can I make a relationship with this guy at the tile store? Or everything takes longer. I mean, the joke in my family is nobody will go to Trader Joe's with me. Me, because I love Trader Joe's, but I know all the employees. And so it does take me longer because when I'm there, I visit with everyone. You know, I know about their kids. One of them's daughters has diabetes. I always need to check up, you know, someone's kid's been in trouble at school or someone's buying a house and their parents are sick or whatever. The freedom and the joy that that brings me in life is so incredibly. It's such a gift. And to me, that's really all I need because I know without a doubt that that's who God created me to be.

So it sounds to me. Let me try to put words in your mouth and you edit them. Okay?

Okay.

It sounds like for you, the way your faith influences the work is far less about this what exactly you do, but about who you are and how you go about doing the work with a explicit emphasis on people and going slower than you could. So less efficient, but perhaps more effective because you're slowing down in order to invest in the lives of those people around you. Is that right?

Yeah, that's right. And it is paramount to who I am, and it is where I truly find joy.

So this is hard for me, though, because. All right, Ania, you said you're driven. I'm driven, too. Yes, I know a lot of our listeners are driven. How have you made that shift from driven, driven, driven, build, build, build, grow, grow, grow. To the discipline. I believe it's a discipline. Right. Of slowing down.

Yeah.

And learning the names of the people at the tile store as. You're Right, right.

How did you get there?

How did you do that?

I think. Okay, so I just think that I realized because. Rewind and put Anita in high school. Right. Anita in high school, driven. I made straight A's. I did. I was president of everything. Blah, blah, blah. Right.

We would have been good friends. Yes.

Yeah, exactly. Like, if I was going to set a goal. Yeah. If I was going to set a goal, I was going to meet it. If I was going to say, I'm going to beat so and so at this, I was going to do it. Right. So I did it all. And it didn't bring that joy, you know, and it took me a while to obviously, to realize that. And I was very, you know, it was never enough. Right. There was never. And I knew the Lord then. It wasn't like I didn't have, you know, was it just. I didn't have that maturity to get there. And it took tragedy and it took heartache to go, anita, you have what you need. This is who you are. And I've given you everything all along the way, you know, and it was. It didn't take away my drive. It just took away, like, it changed my focus on my why. Why I'm doing what I'm doing. Because it's like, I still want to be successful, but my definition of success isn't. Did I sell $8 million in real estate this year? Yeah. If I did, great. If I don't, did I make a relationship with Bobby, who's a, you know, older man, a father of my friend who I was able to help send him on his mission trip. And then, you know, he lost his wife and we talk and do I learn tons and tons of wisdom from Bobby? Yes, 100%. You know, that's where it's at.

Yeah.

In life, that's where it's at. Okay. Whether I have. Who cares if I have a little plastic award that says I sold bazillion dollars in real estate, if I did great. But If I sold $8 billion in real estate and made no relationships, that award belongs in the trash. Yeah.

Yeah.

That's how I see it.

You mentioned a couple times, this is who God made you to be. I know you and your family are. Are fans of my children's book, the Creator. And you.

Yes.

I'm curious, as you personally read that book, you were generous enough to endorse it. Were you seen on those pages?

Oh, man.

Yeah. This is who God made me to be. To be a creator, partnering with him.

Yes.

To co create in the world.

I cried. I literally. I cried when I read the book for the first time, because I was like, yes, this is who, you know, we get to. Not we have to. Right. We get to join with him and who he created us to be to bless the world and create and bless him and others we get to. And so that's why I love that book, which I know I've shared this story with you, you know, and then I read it. My son and I read it together, and he even said the same thing because I wanted to know. I said nothing about it. Let me just read this to you. Tell me what you think. And his response was like, I get to do this. I get to create bridges and I get to make this. And you Know, And I said, yeah. And like I told you before, it's like we're the to be continued.

Yes. I love that so much. The to be continued. I wish I written that in the book. Maybe the next one. Yeah. It is fascinating, right? Like, God could have created all things on his own, but in his graciousness and goodness, he invited us to create alongside of Him. And it was interesting. I was thinking about you and Ken the other day when I was reading one of my favorite passages of scripture in Isaiah 65, where it says that we're going to be doing that for all of eternity. Right. Isaiah is basically describing the new earth, and he's saying, hey, God's not even going to create this new earth on his own. He's going to invite us to do it. Listen to these verses. Isaiah 65, verses 21 and 22. It says, God's people will build houses. Wink, wink. This is why I thought of you. Right?

Right.

They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them. My chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. End quote.

And I was just thinking, I'm like.

Man, as someone who flips houses for a living.

Right, Right.

What does that promise mean to you? That you're going to be building houses forever with literally, physically, Jesus alongside of you?

That's incredible thought. That really is an incredible thought. It's kind of like thinking of the difference between a house and a home. Right. For me, I distinguish it a lot that way. In a house. Right. Is just. To me, a house provides an immediate need of shelter. That's a house. And it can be beautiful or, I mean, shelter can look a lot of ways, but home is different. It's a place of the heart. And that's kind of where I. I love to see people be content in their home. And, like, I don't even know how to explain what's going on in my head with that verse. But, yeah, we. We get to do this alongside the Lord and build fraternity hearts, not just physical structures, you know? Yeah.

It's interesting to think, like, obviously on the new Earth, that relational component is taken care of. Right. We have perfect relationship with God.

Right.

We have perfect relationships with each other. I don't know. Like, so much of the work is taken care of there. Right. Like, so now it's just like, I don't. I don't know what that's going to be like. Maybe it's just like, maybe we're just freed to build the most beautiful homes possible.

Right.

As expressions of worship and Gatsby. I have no idea.

I don't know.

I think that's a cool.

I think it's a cool thought. And it's. To me, it's the peace, though, if you think about it, there's not going to be the turmoil of lumber prices going up and down or there's not going to be, you know, it's like there's just going to be peace in doing and, like, to be able to build and create without some of the, like, hardship and roadblocks.

I don't know.

That's just.

Oh, man. I didn't even thought about that. But that's beautiful, right? I mean, anyone who's built a home knows how painful it is.

It's so painful. I mean, we have. Yeah. You know, between all of our. We have so many irons in the fire. We have new construction that we build flipping, because flipping's a little different right now based on the market. And, you know, we've got a franchise business. We're growing. It's like all these different things, but even still, they're all something that's being built or created. Right. But there's roadblocks. I mean, that's just how it is, Right. Because Eve ate the dang apple. So there's stuff going on that makes it tricky. And I think, you know, that promise is that we get to do that without any of that heartache and the peace and the freedom that we can enjoy doing that. What a gift. Oh, my gosh. What a gift.

Yeah. All of the good, none of the bad, right? With Christ.

Right? If I could pick that today. I mean, like, I have to. I'm designing the spec house and dragging my feet a little bit. You would not be proud of me. I'm not redeeming my time. Well. I'm not using the system very well, Jordan. I feel like I'm gonna get, you know, I'm gonna be in detention for that for today. But, yeah, I mean, it's like, gosh, to be able to do that and not have, like, the headaches or the, you know, the tangible roadblocks there would be amazing. I mean, it's just a gift. Like, that's. I just think that's perspective is everything. And honest to goodness, really and truly, after walking that road with our son, our perspective changed. 180 degrees, you know, like, it just did. And life is just so much more about people and loving where you're at and getting to know people for who they are, accepting them for who they are through everything that we do at the end of the day, that's just it. And it's. It's perspective.

Yeah.

You know, it's perspective.

Yeah. And I think it leads us to, as you said, care about redeeming our time.

Exactly.

For eternal ends.

Exactly.

More in people, of investing more in the work we get to do with people. Right.

Yeah. I mean, that book that you sent me, that book, and I was redeeming your time. Yeah. Yes. You sent it to me, and I didn't know it was coming. And so someone at the office was like, this came for you. And I opened it and I was like, oh, wow, he's got a new book. This looks so good. And I read through that. It was a gift. I mean, really, it was a gift. And I think it was, you know, a nudge from the Lord that you sent it to me, because I went through that almost like a devotional and used it more instead of strategy. Because I will be honest, I'm a paper and pencil girl and I love that. I know, I know. That doesn't fit in there, but I was like, you know, but it was a gift because it was really, really that, like, wait, wait, refocus and come back to what matters most.

What was it about the way I love to think about using as a devotional? Like, what was it about how Jesus stewarded his 24 hour day that stood out to you and maybe influence how you spend your time right now?

Well, I want to spend it more this way. But, you know, what really stands out to me was Sabbath and the rest and the fact that we get more work done if we rest.

Yeah.

Than if we grind, you know, And I said that this weekend to the family. I was like. Because they were. We built a room for one of my daughters, so they each have their own rooms now. And so there was lots of, you know, turnover in the house this week. And I was like, I'm not helping y' all today. I'm not helping y'. All. I was like, mama's having Sabbath and I'm going upstairs and I hope y' all tomorrow, but I'm not working today.

And it's gonna make you a much better mom today.

100%. 100%. Because, you know, now I will say this, and I think this is again, like, call me. We're gonna do another podcast on this one because I. My kids are older, a little older than yours, where yours are. And your schedule changes when your kids are older and they have activities. Right. So it's harder to have that kind of wind down in the evening. And I just remember thinking, I get to talk to him. I'm going to ask him for part two of this because we need to discuss how is this going to work when your kids, you know, you're driving your kids all over the place at night.

So, you know, this is one of the top questions I get.

Is it really?

Oh, yeah, yeah. It's like, hey, Jordan, can't wait for the second or third edition of redeeming your time when your kids are teenagers. And hey, we're going to write it.

I'm going to figure it out.

You got to figure it out. Well, by God's grace, Lord willing, will figure this thing out. But I think here's the beautiful thing and why I wrote the book the way I did. The principles, I don't think change no seasons, regardless of your context. I think the principles of how Jesus stewarded a 24 hour day are the principles, but the practices will radically change based on your context if you're a hundred percent parent of young kids like me or a parent of teenagers like you. So, Anita, I'll be calling you, okay. How to make all this war okay.

And the wisdom that I asked God for this morning will hopefully come to me by then. Two pages in my journal this morning was, lord, give me wisdom. Do this so good. You know, and it's, it's tricky.

It is tricky, but it's worth doing 100 because the days are evil, kids get cancer. Yeah, we're running out of time to be a part of the blessing of, of partnering with God on this side of eternity to create and to bring him great glory as we do. Hey, Anita, you've listened to the podcast. You know the last three questions. We end with number one on the whole, which books do you tend to recommend or gift most frequently to others? Business books, Christian living books, whatever. Run the gambit.

Okay, well, so I do love to read the biggest book that we give away, honestly is Ken's book because I have, you know, those are the ones I give away. His book profit like the pros was. It's amazing. So my shameless plug there, he did an amazing job writing that. And so we give that away. I even, I have copies in the back of my car that I give out all the time because people ask me about real estate all the time. And it's such a good book and framework for how different people successfully did real estate because it can, you know, like I told you, it can look a bazillion different. Ways.

And I gotta put a plug in here for Ken. I have not read the book because I could not care less about real estate investing personally.

Sure.

That said.

That said, I was looking at the reviews on it. Ken's got, like, a 4.9 star rating on Amazon. And I'm not saying that I check Amazon reviews incessantly for my books and other authors. Books. Right. Not. Not admitting that here publicly, but that's a bonkers rating like that. That it is insanely hard to pull off a 4.9 star rating on Amazon. So if you're interested in profiting like the pros, go read Kent's book. That's a great answer.

It's a great book. And. And I will say he's such a good communicator, and he just did a great job with it. He worked hard on it. And, you know, it's nice because it's small chunks.

Yeah.

And honestly, you read it and you're like, well, I want to go do that. I want to go invest in real estate and trailer parks. Oh, wait. I want to go buy storage facilities. Oh, wait. I want to go. You know, like, it's. Yeah, it's great. So. So that's one that I give away a lot. I do a lot of Bob Goff's books. You know, Dream Big is one. I've given away a bunch. It's a good answer when people are having babies. Like, I have our sweet babysitter who helped me with our kids when they were little. I give your children's book because I like to do a children's book and then write something in it instead of a card because I feel like that's, you know, like, you don't keep cards. And I'm all about handwritten, handwritten, handwritten. And so, like, I'll write a little inscription in that and give them that, because I think that's something valuable to have.

I love that so much.

I'm looking at all my books right now.

So we give Jesus Storybook Bible nonstop.

I love Jesus Storybook Bible.

Give it away all the time.

Oh, my gosh.

Our top gifted book. Yeah.

Yes. My buddy gave that to my kids when they were little and love that.

So good.

Love that. Yes.

Anita, who do you want to hear on this podcast talking about how the gospel shapes the work they do in the world?

World.

You know who. Marc Richt. I think Marc Richt is who I would love to hear. Obviously, you know, I went to UGA and being, you know, sports fan, and really, like, I am a sports fan, but I'm more a people fan and he is someone who did sports well because he invested in his people and that was his priority that drove him.

So, spoiler alert. Word on the street is Mark is very interested in coming onto the podcast.

Amazing. Amazing. Well, tell him hello for me. He probably doesn't know me.

Can you interview him with me?

Yes. Can I?

Yes. That'd be amazing. That'd be so fun.

I would do it in a heartbeat. I mean, listen, like I said, right, I'm people. I'll talk all day long.

Mere Christians live in Atlanta with Mark.

Rick with Mark Rich. Let's do it. I'm buying lunch. I'll buy lunch. Let's do it. Do it. Let's do it.

Anita, what's one thing from our conversation you want to reiterate to our listeners before we sign off?

I just want everyone to know that people matter. How you treat people matter. And your perspective matters. And if that can drive your work, your work is successful.

Amen. So well said. Anita, I want to commend you for the extraordinary work you and can do every day for the glory of God and the good of others in your business and inside of your home and for taking time to spread the aroma of Christ to fellow image bearers as you run that business. Guys, if you want to learn more about Ken and Anita, you can do so@redbarnhomes.com and of course you can find Anita on Instagram at Anita Corsini. Anita, thanks for hanging out with me.

Thank you so much for having me. It was wonderful, Jordan.

Man, I hope you guys enjoyed that conversation. Conversation as much as I did some conversations where I just put down the pen and don't take notes and just start listening. And that was one of them. What a joy. What a gift Anita Corsini is to the world. Guys, if you're enjoying the Mere Christians podcast, do me a huge favor, take 10 seconds, 30 seconds right now and go. Leave a rating one to five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to the show. Thank you so much for tuning in this week. I'll see you next time.

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