How to Find a Follower Who Invests #socialmediatips #audienceengagement #findinghomepodcast

Literally, I posted that on that page, and I had never seen anything like really hit the algorithm or go viral. I had posted it and we had went somewhere, and I came back and on my little notifications thing, I had like this 99+ notifications. So I check and it's just immediately people just start following. And I just posted this video telling the story.

And just one video?

Yeah. And I thought, okay, so maybe this is like this is a story worth telling. This is a story that people want to hear.

Hey everybody, this is Caleb Hanshaw with the Finding Home Podcast. I had the pleasure of sitting down with a beautiful family. That you probably already know. I got to have such a highly valuable conversation with Josh and Rebecca Adair from Adair Farmhouse. This couple is from my hometown of West Virginia, now living in Tennessee, sharing their story with the world on TikTok, highlighting homestead living, cooking, and community building. I got to talk with Josh and Rebecca about their upbringing, their marriage, how they got their start in social media, and how they are uniquely building community with those that watch their videos. If you're like me and you want to learn more about social media and how to not just put out content but how to build a community, this episode is for you. So without further ado, let's jump in. So we are in what town?

Mooresburg.

Mooresburg. Okay, what town did I pass through?

Rogersville.

Rogersville, that's what you were telling me about. There's a lot of history in Rogersville.

Yeah.

So I think my first question before we jump into all the things that you're doing now— we have a lot in common, a lot, being from the same hometown. Yeah, even though we weren't as blessed to live as bougie as Josh did.

That's true, you know, it's true.

As I've now found out, I definitely married up. Yeah, yeah, we still lived in the same county, um, in West Virginia. So I, I want to kind of look at— because we didn't really connect until after high school. We went to different high schools.

Yeah.

And then through the connection of the revival that happened Started doing stuff together, some ministry together, and built a pretty cool friendship.

Yes.

So let's dive into a little bit of that past first, just so people can understand where you came from.

Yeah.

Maybe how you met, how you, this whole road of you guys getting married and starting a family. So I know it's a big question, but what was it like in Mingo County West Virginia, 100 years ago.

Um, well, Josh and I went to school together, um, and we, uh, I tell people he was my first and third boyfriend, jokingly. But, um, no, we, we started dating in high school and we got married pretty quick out of high school. Um, I don't know, we were— it wasn't a normal, I think, high school relationship even for that time. It was very slow.

We took things much slower than everyone else that was in our group of people, but we're the only ones that lasted.

So yeah, yeah, that's one thing I can tell from both of you because I watch, you know, your lives and your videos. You can tell like you have fun with one another. Like there's this real friendship that, you know, a lot of people try to fake. Yeah, you can tell.

Yeah, you can.

It's just infectious watching you guys that you really do enjoy each other's company. And, you know, first and third boyfriend, you know.

Yeah, first and third. He, he was doing—

the second one just proved it. Okay, the first one was the good one.

It was only a month, but it's fine. Not even that.

Talk about you, Harold.

It wasn't even a serious—

you know who you are.

Um, that's hilarious. No, we have— we've been, um very blessed in the sense that we knew that we wanted to be together, and we have given each other the grace to grow and to mature as separate people and also love the new people that we become. And that's, that's always been a big thing for he and I. Like, I don't want Josh to need me. Like, I would love for— I want him to have his own connections and his own life and his own all of that. But to be wanted by someone who doesn't need you is really special. And that's how we've always been. He's the same way with me. Like, we are two completely different people, um, but we come together and it's— it works.

That's interesting. Like, where did you learn that from? Because, you know, a lot of people would pay a lot of money to go to counseling. And, you know, did you— did you have, you know, a couple in your life that kind of helped direct you? Or was that— how did you get to that point? Because that's a very mature place to be, especially when you're high school sweethearts.

Yeah, I think we had a lot of people who taught us what not to do. Yeah, I think we had a lot of examples of that. But I think it is important. The both of us come from I think backgrounds in our lives where we both had to be independent at a very young age, and then coming together, it was important, I guess, that we kept that because— and again, just like she said, um, I'd rather us be together because we want to be together instead of that codependent thing on each other. Like, I can't live without this person. No, you can. You can, and you can thrive and you can do, but you're choosing to be together.

Well, and I think that the older we get, the more we've matured, especially in our relationship with the Lord. We realize that, you know, order is so important in all of our relationships. And if we put each other in the center of our universe, it's not going to work out because it's self-serving.

Yeah.

Um, so we both really try to follow the order that, you know, the Lord has established for us. Like, he is first. We, we, you know, and we believe in that and we trust in that and we grow that relationship. And then because of that, I know that Josh is also doing the same thing. So whenever Josh makes decisions or or does whatever he does with his life, I can come into agreement with that because I have this relationship with the Father and the Father's gonna take care of me. He's not gonna put someone in our lives who is not going to be that man or be that father, that leader, whatever. And we kind of just trust each other in that way because we know the personal relationship that we each have and we keep that order.

Yeah, I saw you guys were married in 2009.

Yes.

Right. I saw the mat.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah. I was like, impressive.

Yeah. Yeah.

So you've, you've been married for a bit.

That's what happens when you marry his children. Yes. I don't recommend it for my own, but my own children, you could wait a little bit. Let yourselves get a little more established. But I don't know, it worked for us.

It did.

It worked for us.

It's kind of like there's not a formula with this is the ideal way to do it, right? It's just like, because it's relational.

Yes.

It's not just you two, but it's Yahweh. It's, you know, the Father walking you through certain things. So it's hard to say like, oh, it's better to get married young, or you just never know.

Yeah.

Um, what's interesting though is where, where we live at, it's just you're enriched in that culture, in that way of life. So it's really hard to not get away from that. But sometimes people are called to leave, and that happened with you guys. So you're now in Tennessee. Yeah. I want to say you've been here almost 10 years. Is this the 10th year?

Yeah.

Yes.

Wow.

Yeah. So we'll fast forward from high school sweethearts. We'll forget Harold in the past.

Yeah, Harold.

And let's talk about I'd like to talk about that season where— I want to know where that came from, because I've shared a couple times on the podcast of, you know, what it was like for us to transition out of just a life-changing decision of being led by God to, to follow certain things. So I want to hear kind of where it started with you guys. Like, when did you start having this feeling of, I think we're supposed to, to leave and go to a different place?

I think For us, it was one of those things where we were in a time where, okay, so we had had a child and we were looking at the area in which we live and are from and thinking for the future of our child. We didn't see a lot of opportunity for him and our thought process at that time was that if we are going to have a life that he's going to be able to raise his family around us, we're going to hold him back by, by, by staying where we were. And he was too. So if we are going to make a transition, if we're going to make a change to better his future and give him opportunity, we need to do it now. Before he got into school and got established and made friends and those kind of things. So I think really at that point we had really just started praying about what that looked like. And then through that, I mean, through prayer, literally the doors just kind of opened.

I am— and I'm just going to be honest, for me it was not like a— it was a— God's hand was in it. The Lord's hand was in it. You could tell just by how it happened.

Just, yeah.

But for me, you know, we— Josh kind of mentioned that we grew up in situations where we had to grow up fast and, and be independent. And part of that for me was I have a little sister. A little sister. I talk about her and people think she's a child. She's actually, you know, 32, um, now. But she's— I have a younger sister and and she was mine. I don't know how to explain it. Like, we just— we had to care for her in the way that sometimes older siblings care for younger siblings. And even when Josh and I got married, she lived with us. Like, she moved in with us while she was still in school. Like, you know, she got mad when we got pregnant with Noah because she was like, but I'm your baby. Like, what in the world? And I'm like, you're in your 20s, you know? Um, but she had gotten married and moved to Raleigh, and she'd been gone for a year in Raleigh, and we visited a few times. And then she moved to Knoxville, and, um, she was pregnant, and this was in 2016, and with my oldest niece. And we come down for a visit. We were going to spend a couple days with her in Knoxville and then a couple days down here where we live actually now, not this house, but close at the lake with some friends. And I hadn't seen her in a few months, and as soon as I caught eyes with her, I knew that she was not in a good situation. Um, it was not a very healthy marriage. It was not a very stable place. Um, she was— she wasn't allowed to work. She didn't have a way to take care of herself. She was completely reliant, completely alone. And pregnant. And I literally, we got, we spent the night. The next morning we were like, we're going to run out and we're going to go grab some breakfast and bring it back. We get in the car and I looked to Josh and I'm like, we're moving. And he was like, we are? And I was like, yeah. And I called, I was blessed enough to work for a company that I worked for, Rue 21, the clothing store.

But remember that?

Yeah. Yeah. I was a store manager for Rue 21. And, um, I called my district manager and I was like, I need to get to Tennessee, can you find me a job? And she was like, for you? Yeah. And I had 3 job offers before we got back to the house. And it was 2 weeks and we— it all just kind of worked out. We come to the, the lake house with some friends, talk to them about it. They offered us a place to stay for free, um, which was amazing. And in the middle of this And looking back on it, there was such a great move in our community at the time with the revival that was going on. And I guess I felt a little torn. I felt like this is such a personal decision and we're— it's going to upset whatever that the Lord is doing here in this moment back home, like back home. But I just felt like I needed— we needed to be here. Um, so yeah, we literally moved in a couple weeks and we were here, and then she, um, ended up moving in with us, and now she's settled, married to a different gentleman. They've got an almost 1-year-old now too. So I mean, it's been great.

But yeah, it's— yeah, it's interesting because I was gonna ask, because, you know, normally this would be a really scary thing to do. Especially because when you talk about small town feel, that's our home. It's that small town. It's hard to get out once you're in. And I'm not hating on Mingo County at all. And you're not either. I mean, it's a rich place. It's got a lot of history. And I live there. And I'm not planning to move anytime soon. I just want people to understand, like, this is a small town. This is— mom and pops are still there.

Yeah.

You know, Walmart and Dollar General have made their way, right?

But it's still—

there's this nostalgia. There's this rich history. So when I hear like this all happens so fast, even though in your mind, you know, you want to do something for your son, it looked like a really quick—

It was.

—transition. It was. So my question is, even though you have all these things kind of falling into place, like you find a house for free, you find a job, and all these things are like, okay, God, you're in this. Yeah. There's still got to be some moments of, crap, you know, like, we're getting ready to— what was those feelings like? What were the thoughts, like, the biggest fears, I guess, that you walked through during the transition?

There definitely was just this fear of the unknown and not being out on your own and coming into a place that we didn't have anyone. You know what I'm saying? We, we, we walked into a, a place that you— we picked up our lives where our whole support system was and moved away, just us. And there was a lot of fear in that. And I think even— and again, not to, um, downplay or even say anything negative in regards to back home, but even the people who we were surrounded with, it's just so embedded that you just don't leave. You know, you, you, you're born there and you raise your children there and you die there. And to, to leave was just a crazy even idea to someone. Yeah.

And to add, add to that where you're going, like there was this revival happening that involved the entire community. Yeah. So there was even this new element of camaraderie. Yeah, that was happening. That was really the first time we really connected. Yeah, doing music together. Yeah, so there was this even new fresh thing, right? Right. So that's even on top of it. Yeah, like it's, it's, it's an interesting time for you guys to have that feeling. Yeah, I just can't imagine, you know, the, the conversations that you had with people, like, what the heck are you are you even doing? Yeah. So maybe pull back the onion a little bit more. I didn't mean to cut you off. I just want to add the context. Like, it's not just like, oh, it's the same old, same old. There was actually change even happening. Yeah. With new people being introduced into your friend groups. Yes. Uh, churches connecting with one another, you know. So I just wanted to add that piece of context for people that were listening.

So yeah, and I just I don't know, I'm different, I guess. And I've— because I was— I did have— I don't know that I had reservations or fears in the same way. I've always been a very big— not impulsive, but if I, if I feel like this is what I'm being led to, if I can feel, you know, the Father's hands in something, I'm like, all right, let's roll. You know, I tell him all the time, like, we did it once, baby, you want to do it again? Like, we can— let's just go. Like, what else you got?

Like, you know, and I was going to say that the, the move did prove something, I think, to the both of us, that, that fear of that unknown is not so much there anymore. Like, yeah, I would, I would have a way different mindset if I did it again because it's one of those things where it's like, I've done it and I've proved that, you know, you can establish yourself anywhere. Anywhere you want. So really the only thing that's holding you back is, is yourself.

Um, your own mindset, I think. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I, um, I remember you guys leaving and you connect with people that I knew.

Yeah, small world.

Shout out Joe. Yeah, um, so it was cool that you guys got plugged in almost immediately. Yeah, yeah, to a different community. So we can just— I've been in your house. I've seen the outside. This was from God. Yeah. This move was from Yahweh. And I think people need to be encouraged because he's speaking still. Yeah. He didn't write a book and lose his voice. I've heard other people say that. It's not my— I can't coin that. But he still is so relational with people. And I believe there are others that are hearing, like, we're feeling this nudge, and maybe they're not as adventurous as, like, hey, let's do it again. I think you guys are there. One, you have built history. You've built history with Yahweh that we do this and he shows up and he makes a way. What would you say as you would encourage other people? Like, you know what, lean into that. This is what you're going to feel because we felt that, but this is what we found on the other side.

I will say that there has never been a time in my life that I have experienced growth through the Lord, that he hasn't pushed me beyond where I'm comfortable. And anytime that I have been nudged or directed by him, it's in a way that doesn't feel good because it's this constant battle of, you know, us wanting to be— we're comfortable. We like to be comfortable. And I love routine and like, don't mess that up for me, you know? So he has a lot of fun with me. But yeah, I would just say that if there are things— and not everybody— I've lived a whole life of being a dreamer beyond the parameters that I had been in. Very much so. And you just have to know what you know. And when you know him and you know his voice, you can't allow other people to interfere with that.

You don't have to let everybody in on every decision that you make. You know, if you've got— if you within your family and you are feeling a nudge. Everybody's not privy to that because sometimes people will kill what you've got going with the most love, with the most love in their heart. And, um, especially being removed from the area that we came from, I can see looking back how much religion played such a huge role in our community and even people's desires to stay, how tradition and legalism is just threaded throughout it. And part of that is that I have to stay, like people are dependent on me to stay. I've got to do this. And even when you're feeling nudged, it's like, no, this is not of the Lord. I'm supposed to stay. Like this is out of what He's called me to do. I'm doing this in this place. I'm doing this in this place. And I want to encourage people to really build that personal relationship and hear that voice for yourself and know that there's nothing wrong with the tradition of— that we have of serving the Lord. There's nothing wrong with honoring those that have served and the elders who have come up before you, there's nothing wrong with that, but be mindful of what you're truly serving in that moment, whether you stay, whether you go, what decisions you make, because it may not be easy and it may feel hard, but your feelings lie, your emotions lie, but his voice won't.

Yeah, there's a couple things I want to peel back, 'cause those are really, really good answers. One was when you started getting into how you dream beyond beyond the boundary lines. And that's one of my passions is to really champion those that do dream because it can be a blessing and a curse at the same time, especially if you're dreaming beyond yourself and you just stay where you're at. Yeah. Because it demands change, demands partnership. Even if you're going into the prophetic lens, if you feel like God's calling you to a place, well, you first, you have to show some action. In terms of partnering with that. And a lot of people will, they can see things, right? They can vision things. They can know all of like, this could be this and this could be that and be so tormented by the lack of action. And even tying this in with what you said, one of the biggest variables that I see, because if you're called to be where you're supposed to be, you're going to be very sure of that. If you think you're called where you're supposed to be and you're confused, there's a red flag. Because as a relational being that Yahweh is, confusion is not the result of that relationship. Correct. So if there is this confusion, I'm not saying go buy a bus ticket, but you need to start having a conversation. You need to start having a conversation with Yahweh. And And we did that. My family did that. We wanted to move probably 12 times, and then we felt this hard no. And I'm glad. And it wasn't confusing. There was peace in it. And it was because there was things that we needed to pioneer with our family. And thankfully that happened because in the profession that we're in, It's good to be near a strip mine. Yeah. So I totally get what you're saying, but I believe people are going to listen to this and be like, oh, I'm really confused. And I felt this nudge, but the Lord's going to talk to Nanny and Peepaw first. Right? And he doesn't have to do that. Correct. He doesn't have to do that.

That is very much—

It was such a good way you put that. It is personal. Yes, right? I mean, it's personal. It doesn't have to go through Nene and PP, whatever. Now I've heard them all. I've heard them all.

All the names.

And a lot of times it don't make sense for a lot of people, and that's okay. And that's okay. And just like she said, everything doesn't have to be seen through the lens of everybody. And that is also something that I have had to learn throughout all of my creative life is that there are going to be a lot more people cock their head sideways and look at you funny than there are going to be people who say, you know, yeah, you should run with that.

Especially people who know you. Yeah. And who are in your everyday life.

And it shouldn't be that. I know, but it is. Can we just say that? It should not. We should have healthy family dynamics, healthy church government. Yes. To where the, the, the person I work for now— I won't name his name, uh, one of the best human beings I've ever met in my life. And during this season, he knows I'm leaving the company, right? And not only is he putting up with me, he's championing me. Yeah, yeah. And I'm like, this should be like this everywhere. It should be that in the church. Like, what happens when you leave the church? That you should attend. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, it's good. The Lord only speaks to our church, right? Right. The Lord only speaks to their church. So there's this, you know, there may be some, you know, on the surface, hey, we're happy for you, pray, pray for you, but I'm talking like really get behind. Is there really a championing happening? Yeah. And you're, you're opening up a lot of stuff here. Yeah. Because where you guys are at now, like, you're in this realm of creativity and building community where someone that does this really cares about other people's opinions, right? Yeah, it's like a glass house. Yeah, right. So I, I'll pump the brakes on that because I think we'll get to there. Sure. But before we jump into that, were there ever any moments where, like, you make the move— it just sounds like everything's fallen, falling together— was there any moments like, oh, this was really, really tough, we may have missed it?

For the first time since I was 14 years old, I was going to leave a job and not have one to go to. As the provider, as the one who was set to make sure that my family is taken care of, I had to take this leap of faith to end a job and know that I was going to walk down here unemployed and have to find something.

Um, that was, that was a moment that I was like, like, I even know how it ends, I'm getting nervous.

Yeah. Yeah. And it was fun being home though, right? It was fun being, being at home for— but no, we, we did, we came out, really enjoyed it.

Yeah. We got on the lake with Dad in the summertime.

Yes, we had a blast. For a whole month, and then I went back to reality. Yeah. Yeah. So like, does this redefine—

you know, we're on the Finding Home podcast, and I reserve a special question at the end, but we'll go ahead and kind of give a teaser now. Like, coming from a small hometown, you're not indoctrinated. I'm not, not trying to— yeah, get where I'm, where I'm going with it, but like What is— what does home mean to you now? Now that you've transitioned out of a different state, you've really put some roots down. You have a beautiful home that's going to be a project for the rest of your life, a beautiful project. Yeah, building home. And then you've given your kids opportunities to, you know, live near you. I know that's always a parent's dream. Yeah, right. So what is— what does it mean to, you know, coming from a small town is home— has it been redefined in a way?

Um, I will say that absolutely. Um, I think that for a long time I was real focused on things that were not important, and you come to realize that home isn't maybe necessarily a physical location as much as it is a feeling that you get to pioneer yourself and what that looks like for you and for generations later. I think what we tend to struggle with, or what I seen in my life, was that not being open to change was the hardest. I think that if going down the road, because of what I experienced, Noah decides that he doesn't want to be in this area, and that he wants to do something completely different for his life, I'll recognize myself within that in him and be supportive of it.

And I'll pack myself away in his suitcase. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. For me, home has always been, and that's what Josh's line, he has been someone who has dreamed of more since I met him. That was one of the, One of the things that appealed so much about him is the fact that he did have vision. And I mean, he did music, he did what— and even now, like, he's always like, what's the next project? What's the next project? And I've told him very early on that I would follow him anywhere, like even under a bridge. And I've amended it since the kids, because like the kids need— I'm like, can there be shelter? Can there be a nice box or something under this fridge? And so for me, home is people. Home is the people that you surround yourself with. Um, I miss home. I do. Um, my family is there, you know. I've since lost my father, and, um, he came from a big family, which he had, you know, 11 brothers and sisters. And when I was 16, my mama died, and she had 60 grandkids and great-grandkids. Like we— and we were all close. And I see my cousins, um, with their children and their children growing, and I, I long for that. Like, I miss that, um, but I don't regret not being there. And we can still have that connection without me physically being there. Um, I think that that's been the hardest part, is just leaving the people. But that's because for me, home is people.

Yeah, it's That's a good answer. And what's interesting, just knowing your story from kind of the outside, is I saw like even lifestyles changed. Yeah. Like there was, I don't think there was a homesteading. You probably had like a tomato plant or something like that or potted flowers. But now you guys are homesteaders. Like you're in the kitchen. You had a TV show. Yeah, the Highlight Your Lifestyle, which is fantastic. You can watch that, get the link in the show notes. I'm gonna get that link for you. Absolutely. Um, but there was this whole completely different, you know, shift. Like, like you said, I think that's involved in your path of, of building home. Yeah, right. Has a lot to do with that. Like, you're not just existing in a, in a home, in a place, but now you're You're building something for the future. And I think homesteading had a lot to do with that. What, what was the first couple of nudges, I guess, into that lifestyle? What did that look like and where did it come from?

I think that for, for our lives, when— so my mom was born and raised in deep Appalachia and Of course, I grew up there. And she passed away the year or the year before we moved. The year before. The year before we moved. And yeah, because Noah was 2. Yeah. But once we got here, my thing was, I had nothing holding me back. Like she was really the only family that I had very close to me and she was gone. So I'm like, you know, where do you want to go? But that, that heritage doesn't leave you. And coming here, even, even, even moving into the farmhouse when we got the keys, my first thought was, my goodness, my mom would love this place. And so I feel like immediately my way of honoring who she was and who we are is what we're doing. She grew a garden. She loved it. She loved to can. And do all the things. And she loved to cook and she didn't write anything down, you know, so there was no recipes to go by. So I decided that this is something that is dying and is so important and I don't want it to end with me. So I'm going to start applying myself in this area, and I'm going to learn everything I can so that I can pick this up and this be a normal thing in my family. And not only in my family, but maybe for my children.

How did you guys learn these skills though? Did— was there things that you learned from being around family, or was it YouTube? Or— because I want you to— because a lot of people want to get into this and they're just so overwhelmed on where to start.

Yeah, well, I mean, I will say I did not— I didn't grow up that way. Like, we didn't— we, we actually, uh, were interviewed. They were interested in us for a cooking show, and I think I killed it because it was about—

it was true. Food Network was very much so. Yeah, Beyond the Competition.

And it was— they were wanting me— they were pulling, trying to pull like times that I cooked in the kitchen with my family and like recipes that people passed down.

I'm like, the producer that was interviewing us was really trying to pull like the heritage? She's like, I got nothing.

I'm like, please, I can make a story up, but like, I don't, I don't want to lie to you. Like, I don't feel comfortable, you know, because we didn't— like, I fed us with egg sandwiches, you know. This is not my thing.

Um, like, have you heard of Giovanni's? Yeah, like, not even that. We have an Italian history.

Um, but I mean, I did I was in the kitchen several times with my aunts, and I did learn things at my aunt's or whatever. Josh makes fun of me because I call my aunts aunts.

Like, I do too. I'm on team aunt. Josh is like, your aunt with his pinky out and your double wide.

My aunt. Yeah.

But so yeah, I did things, but as far as like the heritage behind it and really trying to— that was not I mean, I wasn't sold. It's hot outside, you know, and it sounds like a lot of work and there's snakes out there. So, alright. For me though, the biggest, I guess, nudge in it is just the shifting in what I felt like the Lord was calling me into with motherhood. And the way that I was feeling led to raise our kids, which is not necessarily the way that society right now is, is popular for you to raise your kids. And part of that is the work that comes with whether you want to do it or not, you know, the discipline with it and just slowing things down. And yeah, that's kind of—

that way of life appealed to me. It's, it's intentional because you can't be in a hurry. Yes. Because if you're in a hurry, you're like, just let me do it myself.

True.

Because if you're involving kids, it's going to be 4 times as long. Yeah. I mean, maybe even 18 hours to make cookies with Israel. But so like, if you're going through the— like, that's important to you. Yeah, it's important. So it's worth it. So it's worth it. But you have to— that helps the patience, right? If you know like, this is missional. Yeah. Yeah.

And I will say, if you are overwhelmed There's about starting. There are so many resources and YouTube and even in social media you can find a group. Josh was in a chicken group for about 3 years, actively in a chicken group on Facebook. I was diagnosing chicken disease for 3 years before we even got chickens. Like he was like, look at what my chicken group's doing. And I'm like, Joshua, So, I mean, there are so many resources, and it's worth it to me. And just get your mothballs out, throw them out, go out early in the morning. It's fine, you know, it'll be fun. It's hot here.

Hey, is this thing on? Really quickly, we have an online community focused on helping you find land, and start your homestead. And it's free! So if you are overwhelmed with where to start, maybe you don't know how to homestead, maybe you would like to start living a more healthier life, maybe you want to build an income— Reese, where are you hanging out? This community is for you. We have weekly calls monthly workshops, direct access to not just me but to everyone else in the community. Try it, you will not regret it. You'll find the link to the community in the show notes. Click it, I'll see you in there. So this, this leads to you guys, you know, start growing the garden, which I was following on social media. This is before I knew what a TikTok was. So I was following on the old people, uh, social media, the Facebook. That's where I live, guys. That's where I live. It's fun. Um, but I'm like, man, so there was— I could tell that there was this passion not just to do that but to make it good. Yeah. And so there was a lot of professionalism about it. It was just— it was weighty, if that makes sense. Like, it didn't have to be perfect, but there needed to be, like, our best effort needed to go into this. And you could tell that comes from the Appalachian Heritage. But something really interesting happened during that time was you begin to share your story online. Yeah. And people really began to get involved with your story so much that you were approached with the TV show. And so before we get ahead of ourselves, let's talk about when that first started to take off. What led you to start you know, sharing what you do on social media, because that's, that's big for, you know, a homesteader, right? Because you're so— can be really reclusive in what you do. And there's this fear, like we had talked about, of what are people gonna think? Yeah, what, what's my family gonna think? They're gonna see me really losing my mind now since I moved away. So I'll— let's go through that whole thing, and we may spend most of our time here, but I just want to— I want to get— because I feel it's going to help a lot Yeah.

So I think it was really during— well, COVID is when TikTok, like, became a thing, you know? And I had a personal TikTok and was just doing the normal, like, the funny stuff and the normal stuff. And I never will forget the year that we decided we were going to plant a garden, just as something else to put on there, I was like, I'm new to this and I've never done this before, and I want to make a video in case there's somebody else out there who's never done this before, and we're going to figure this out. Yeah, together. So we started seeds that year, and like, I order.

Like we had an operation in our bedroom.

In the bedroom.

With that coming in and I've got all these grow lights and I'm like, what's happening? This is a lifestyle change.

But I just kind of started, um, through that, um, being honest with like, this is what this process looked like. You probably don't know because I didn't know, let me just show you, this is what I learned. Um, and it kind of grew from there. Then I started understanding that you basically need a college degree to understand algorithm, and I, I started understanding that there was a thing called a niche on TikTok and all of these places, and that they really want you to to pick a lane and drive it home. And when that happened, I decided, okay, well, this has been just me being me. I probably need to designate something for this. And that's when we established the Adair's Farmhouse TikTok page.

Can I just say that because I just want to give him his due. When he says we, he's not saying we, he's saying him. Like, this is a Josh thing. He is, and I don't mean it like to be funny, like this man, again, he's a dreamer and he sees this area and he sees this specific need in this specific community or whatever. And he's like, okay, I'm going to figure it out. Like, let's do it. And that's just, that's who he is. So when he says we, he's meaning him. I don't work on the TikTok. Just want to—

yeah, how important is it to hear that from her? And not just her saying that, but feeling that in that period of your life?

Yeah, it is. It's super important. It's one of those things where I guess as a leader, you are the first one to take all the responsibility when things go wrong and the one to give it all away when things go right. And my thought process is that anything, most of the time, anytime I talk about anything, you're going to hear me say we because she's automatically included. It just is. Yeah. But Yeah. And I mean, it was one of those things. I also tend to— I also tend to nerd out on things. So like, if this is the thing, then I'm going to read about it for a month and I'm going to try to figure it out and I'm going to understand it before— I mean, before we ever even got chickens, I had a running list of breeds that I had been studying for a year. Just because I wanted to know temperament. I wanted to know how well they worked with families. I wanted to know how many eggs a year they laid. I want to know if they were colored, why they were colored, what— all of it. And when I, when I, when I do something, I want to understand the front, the back, all of it. And then I'll go ahead and I want to have the knowledge.

So there's something undiagnosed there, but we just run with it.

I haven't figured it out. It's fine.

No, I mean, I think I figured it out, but we just We just ran with it. It's never not benefited me, so.

Just went with it. It's always turned out pretty good.

Except for the inflatables.

That was a bad mistake. But yeah, so I did. I just kind of started digging into, all right, if we're going to do this, then let's let's do this. And I thought immediately, because my brain works in that type of thing, well, our home that we have, that we have moved into, and I'd spent a good year researching that information, it has a story to tell. And the house itself is— has main character energy. So let's start this Adair's Farmhouse page by telling— like, if you scroll back to the very first video that was ever posted, it's the story being told of this house. And that's, that's where it started. So literally, I posted that on that page. and I had never seen anything like really hit the algorithm or go viral before. I say that term loosely, but I had posted it and we had went somewhere and I came back and on my little notifications thing I had like this 99+ notifications and I was like, so I check and it's just Immediately people just start following. And I just posted this video telling the story and just one video. Yeah. And I thought, okay, so maybe this is like, this is a story worth telling. This is a story that people want to hear. So it evolved from that to this is what— this is the story of the house. This is what we have been given. And now follow us as we steward what we have.

And that kind of influences the day to day because, and it's not in a way of I have to do this for social media, but it becomes weighty in terms of responsibility now. Right. But it's a good thing. It's not like you're enslaved to it. Sure. But for example, you wouldn't do a certain thing in the garden if you didn't have the page. So it's almost like this extra accountability and motivation. And that's what's beautiful about what I believe online communities. Yeah. Is there is this extra layer of accountability that your people are wanting to see. So it makes you want to do it. So it's like this yin and yang type of concept. So what was it like when you first got— because you said two things I want to hit on. One was you were just very honest where you were at. And I think this is where a lot of people get it wrong because they think they have to have the PhD version from the get-go. And I think a lot of people gravitated towards, again, honesty because they may be just a couple steps behind you. Right. And like, oh, I can get there. He's making it palatable for me and my family. Um, even though you held back on the knowledge of chicken that you, that you had the first episode. But I think that we get, we get it mixed up that we have to be absolute PhD pros on a subject before we start telling the story. Yeah. So I talk about that and talk about how you kind of, if there was a wrestle with that, or how did that influence your content creating plan?

So being from where I had been in my life, it was a— it was really pushing me because I had spent many years in the country music industry where I got to get on stage and I got to play a part that was just a part. I was a completely different human. I'm this introverted, quiet guy. And then I would go play these shows and like be the man of the room. Yeah. And then go right backstage and not say a word. So I was very used to playing a part. And I learned through this process that what people really wanted to see was just the honesty. We live in such a painted-up, cookie-cutter society that people see realism as refreshing, something that they can actually relate to. Is gold because we can't really relate to anything we see on TV. And even we learn that even reality TV is all scripted, you know. So I started there, and there even now there are things like— so we've had companies come alongside us and say, hey, we want we would love for you to, to talk about our product in this. And there, there are even times even now that I will record a video and I'll watch it back and I'm like, I'm not being me. Ditch that. Let's re— let's redo this and let me speak honestly, not think so much about the points I want to. So, so what I have learned is that even when it comes to things like that, people want you to market their product. But I always have to remind myself, even when it comes to that, they want you— they ask you to do that because of who you are. So even now, I'm very cautious about just trying to be real. And it's that, I really do believe, is what has made the difference in what we're doing. And if you don't know, just say you don't know.

Yeah, because I think people get stuck on level 1 because they're trying to— they're hearing all level 10 people. Yeah, you know what I mean? Like, they need to hear from a level 3 or 4. And not saying you guys are level 3 or 4 in anything, but a lot of people are 3 or 4 trying to pretend like they're level 10, and that's where the disconnection just, just happens.

They see it. And they feel like that is what it has to look like to be— I think people, you grow, you know, you grow. We, we had this conversation just the other night about how being— making these videos have come a lot natural to me, a lot more natural to me now versus when I first started. You wouldn't know that if you've seen an unedited version of what I do, but it's, it's easier now. And I think that, you know, people who are even camera shy right now would probably look at the stuff I do and say, oh, so it's so easy. Like, so I'm going to get on there and pretend like it's easy. People see through you every time. Just be honest and you'll get there. You know, again, you look at the people who have been doing it for years and have all of these followers and all of these things, and you think, okay, so straight out the gate, that's the kind of content I need to create. And it's not. It's not.

I, I think like that's the importance of mentorship too. Like there's a difference between someone that gives you information. Yeah. Versus someone that is, I'm actually interested in who's listening. Yeah, that's good. And I want to make sure that we're walking together and you don't get left behind. So that's the difference between even an educator and a mentor. And what I've seen you guys do is you have a pretty impressive following from where you just started. Yeah. But what you've done that's different is you've built community, and not everyone does that. And it's people that are invested would probably go to war with people. If I insulted you here, I'd probably get some hate messages like, how dare you mess with the Deer Farmhouse. Yeah. So that's— it's something very, very special. And again, a lot of people would say, well, it's all online, it's not real. Now I would disagree. I would— it's very powerful, the vehicle that you guys have. And I'm sure there— it's— you'll, you'll see some people that in person, and that's just a whole nother wealth, right? Yes. Of getting to meet some of these guys in person. But it's, it's such as such— there's such value in having this online community and not I don't want you to be repetitive, but you've already said a lot of this stuff. But how do you approach this? Like, when you post a video, you're, you're speaking to people where they are, and you've created this dynamic that I think a lot of people want to learn how to do. I really believe that content creators want to do that, but they get caught up in all the, the master classes, like how I'll get you 100 million views, and if you don't get it, then we'll move on. All that mess. They want to have something that's authentic the way that you guys are building this thing. So what advice would you give someone?

Stop seeking followers and look for a community of people. I think that one of the things that really changed the whole trajectory of what we were doing. I mean, people were interested in what we were doing. Yes. But when this really, really changed for me was just last year we had— and I was telling you a little bit about this earlier, but we had this thing happen with, you know, we have this beautiful chicken coop that is a replica of the Cades Cove Baptist Church. It's beautiful. That is painted absolutely to match our house.

Yeah, absolutely beautiful.

But I had just threw this idea out there that, you know, I'd hit like 1,000 followers or something and I could then be monetized. And I thought it was so cool. And I was like, bring in the money. Josh is quitting his job, you know? Yeah. And, you know, you get your first little dip from that and it was like $0.03. And I was like, oh, for 2 months worth of work, I got 3 cents. They don't even sell candy for that anymore.

Yeah.

So I had just threw it through this idea out there that Rebecca had seen this coop online and that she said I could have chickens if I could get a coop like this.

She was— you're against chickens?

Well, you know, she's against snakes.

Yes, you're getting snakes.

I'm against snakes, but I'm also like, I can remember very vividly the trailer 4 doors down from my trailer, um, smelling, but from that far away because of the chickens. But I mean, granted, fighting roosters.

Yeah, that was my Blackberry, baby.

Yeah, that was my frame of reference. Okay, so, and then too, also snakes and, um, our children are feral, especially the small one, and I just knew that she would be out there barefoot with the chickens and not care. Granted, she'd probably just snatch it up, but like, yeah, I was afraid. But I'm also a little bougie, so that coop was really pretty. I was like, it's pretty nice. I could probably get behind that and a few chickens. So yeah, few chickens.

I threw this idea out online. I was like, hey, so I'm monetized now. What if you all would like share this and comment on it and like it because you get like money for each of those things and help me get this coop? And I even put out there all the time, I was like, I've seen people on here buy cars this way. And pay off houses. Like, I don't want that. I'm just a homesteader who needs a chicken coop. Yeah. So my wife will let me get chicken.

Yeah. I'm like, Josh, you make me sound horrible.

Like, I haven't let you get every single animal you've ever wanted.

But people rallied behind that. And so every day I would post these updates. Hey, yesterday our— we brought in like this much from these views and they bought in so massively and it changed for me. This is again, this is really when it changed is during that time I start receiving messages from people just being like, I look so forward to this every day. I've gotten way too involved in this than I should have. I get messages from people who are like, I keep updating my husband on where you are on this. And he's like, I don't care. But it kept going on. And then I was receiving messages like, hey, I'm bedridden. I've been this way for a long time. I can sit on my phone and the life that this has, this whole chicken thing, has brought to me. I wake up every morning and the first thing I do is I go search for you to see what your video is today. And more than that, just, I mean, so many of those stories start coming through and I'm like, this is impacting people in a way. And then also messages saying, and I still get these, Thank you for doing what you do because it feels safe in all of the craziness in this world. I feel like we can come here and you always make us smile. You always talk genuinely like a real person, and I never have to worry about what you're going to say. So those are the moments that I started realizing there was weight behind what was happening. So then it did become intentional of this has now become a ministry. We blew up on that Adair's Farmhouse page. During that time, we're not huge, but we're big. But what I will say is that even as a small creator, I've had much larger creators come to me and say, your community of 25,000 is so much more impactful. Yeah. Than a community of— I've seen people have 100,000. And I think it's because, again, it's— I'm not out here to be a content creator. I'm literally trying to build relationship with people. And I mean, these people, I know I can name names. I can tell you I've got surgery dates, and like, people will ask to for prayer and just to be able to impact these people in a way that just built around these— this, this house, it's become so much deeper.

It's this realm that we're in where there's so much artificial. Like, that's where the statistic is. 80% of our jobs in the next 20 years will be replaced by AI. Yeah. So you have this huge momentum shift, a different age. Yeah. But then you also see this hunger for real interaction. Yeah. Someone that doesn't follow a script. Right. I don't think you follow a script. You're speaking from the heart. You know people's names, you know when they're going to the doctor, you know when they've had a win. Right. So it's different from— you don't have followers. Right. You don't have followers. And that's every guru is trying to teach you how to have followers. You have community. You have people that are really— and I thought why everybody's so caught up with this was because how do you have people so engaged? Not just watching, not just existing, but you have people that are reaching out, that are commenting, that are sharing, that are asking how you are, that are genuinely invested in your family. That's something very, very beautiful that I think people want to do. They just don't know how to get there. Right. Because that's all you hear is the education of the other side. Yeah.

And just to throw from an outsider in, what Josh does is so different because he is just genuinely such a humble person. And I think that that reads That reads with people, you know. They can tell that when he, um, is reading comments or he's making videos, or if people send him packages and he opens them, like, every reaction that you see is so very genuine, and he is so very touched. He doesn't expect anything from people. He, he gets overwhelmed when people care and, and want, and he still has such a hard time accepting that and wrapping his head around it. Um, but I think if you want to be successful in content creating— again, I'm not a content creator, I'm married to one, and I sneak in a video here and there when he— when I have to. Um, but he— it's just, it's the authenticity of it, and it's the, the humbleness of it, and the not expecting from other people, um, that makes him so special. You know, who he is. And he's gifted for it. Like, even before, back in country, like the country music area, like part of his life, even before it was so focused into this, he's— or even before he started serving the Lord, he's just gifted in drawing people in. Um, and that's—

I think that my brain is just I'm a creative person and there has always been an outlet for that in my life, whether it's writing or writing songs or performing or gardening or there's always been an outlet for that. There have been times that I thought I needed to— I needed to listen to the voices and I needed to not have— I needed to not bring that creative aspect in. And as someone who is literally wired that way, mentally, it can put you in a dangerous place without having that ability to create and dream and do it's like absolutely going against the grain. So it's important that you have it. And for me, you know, it is the fact that we get to do that, but then also the fact that we're impacting people. Yeah, through that, I feel like creativity is always— creativity is a gift, a gift that's meant to be shared. Yeah. So it's always your— it's downloaded inside of you. I feel like just given straight from the Lord. But every gift that you give is to be used for other people. Yeah. And I think that I've been blessed to share my creativity with people on many different aspects.

Yeah, uh, one big thing too of being a creative is sometimes that can be really weighty for a creative. Yeah, because even when you're invested into projects or your creative side is coming out, there's always this like time where you have to rest. Because you exhaust yourself very, very easily, and you can actually carry emotions at a higher level. Yes. So you get stressed out easier. Yeah, there's anxiety, there's fear. And to highlight Rebecca, like, this is like the perfect combination because you have someone that's one close to you. Normally you don't get support from people that are close to you. Yeah. That's— I found that. I'm shocked. We'll go into that. But so you have someone that is saying— that is supporting you, but giving you a place where there is safety. You know what I mean? Like, that's such an important thing because I don't know Rebecca that well, but even meeting her today and getting to talk with her, she just makes you feel like you're at home. Yeah. Like, I feel like she could roast me if she wanted to, and it'd be like in a loving way. But like, she can just— she's just creative and she's, she's quick-witted. And you need that support system from someone for this to really, really work. Yeah, it goes both ways, right? It's not that one's better than the other. It's just this is how I think the blueprint is. Yeah. And how it's so successful here in, in your ecosystem. Yeah. Because I lean more on the creative side. To where I can carry some things home. Yeah, right. And there's these times where I get— it's easy for me to hermit or to— and there's that support system just pulling you out of that. You're like, not like, buck up, Buttercup, right? Like, eat some of these cookies, you know? Like, it's what you need. It's what you need. So I wanted to highlight just the dynamic that I see with you. Like, this is This is such a good partnership. And it goes back to what you guys shared beginning was we genuinely just enjoy each other. Yeah. And you want the best for one another. So I feel like you can read Josh when he's getting into those moments. Like, yeah, there's definitely been—

we took off all of April last year and I was like, either you take a break or I'm not doing any of it. You're running yourself into the ground. Like, that's, that's the thing. And then even in October of this other— like, because we're filming the show, even in October, after October, I was like, November and December, we're not filming anymore the show. Let them know that we'll pick back up in the spring. And he's like, but, but Christmas. And I'm like, I don't care. We'll restructure it better in the spring. We need— we're out of order. You know, this has become the big thing and this is not the big thing. It's supposed to be the big thing. Let's line back up, you know, like let's take care of the home, let's take care of you, and then the rest of it will go. And so that's kind of where we're at.

Because when you're creative, a lot of the times you dream things that are really big picture. Yeah. And it's hard for you to, you know, see so far off. In that big picture dreaming that you miss the day-to-day stuff. Yeah, like how, how do I stay alive until I get there? Yeah, yeah, you have to have that, that support system. Yeah, to help you get there. And I think that's beautiful. I'm encouraged by y'all's marriage. Um, I know, I know you guys talk a lot about, you know, homesteading and that's your niche. I think the world needs to see this dynamic, man. Like, I just I'm blessed by it. And you're— you are very good.

I am. I say it all the time.

Listen, you are an introverted person. I'm not, but she's the personality.

She's like, got it.

Yeah, I'm extroverted, but I'm private. I'm protective of my kids. I'm protected— protective of my home. I'm protective of him, their relationship. And sharing that is Again, I've never been one to just be like, I'm not telling you that, or this is not where you belong. Like, I don't invite people into those spaces. I have a hard time with it. Um, I'm doing better. I'm doing better. I talked for 2 Tuesdays in a row. Um, but, and I'm good. I love people and I love relationship. I do. And That's been Josh and I's probably biggest struggle, is him trying to pull me out and making my view on this be so community, and to switching it from this is not just a social— because to me, I see the world having access to us. Like, that's through my eyes. Like, I see these people are going to be able to see my children, they're going to be able to see where I live. They're going to learn my routines. I mean, like, you know, like, I'm— that's just where my brain is. And I'm like, no, no, we're not doing that. Um, but for Josh, he's not seeing— he's seeing what, like, the two-way between it, not just what they can see and gain from us, but how we can serve them. Yeah. And, and it's, it's taken— again, I feel like in our walk, we always have moments where we deal with different— I'm gonna again just try to word this quickly— we always try to— we're dealing with different, like, little things that will pop up. Um, and I know I kind of spoke on it again, but like, being so— this is what serving looks like— almost, you know, I had to be like, hold on, Rebecca, like, serving can look like a lot of different things. Like you can serve someone in this way, like through social media and through that kind of content creating. You did. It's not— and I was almost religious about the way I was like, no, that's not what serving looks like. Like, I need you in my— we don't have to look at each other. Like, I need to, I need to feel what you're feeling. Like, I need to feel your emotions. Like, I need to connect with you that way. And I had to really just have some good conversations with the Father about, is this something? Is this— are you in this? And I feel more at peace about it. This is probably the most thing that I've ever— that I've had the most reservations about, most fear about, because I'm an all or nothing. Like, again, like I said, if the Lord says it, I'm like, all right, let's roll tide. Like, you know, whatever. Faith. And like, let's just go.

I'll bleep that out.

I don't know nothing about nothing. I don't know. I'm joking. Roll on. I don't know. Is that Alabama? Is that Georgia? I don't know.

Where are we? Yeah, you're in Tennessee. They know where you live now.

I'm kicked out of the state. But I don't know. It's been the thing that I've probably been the most resistant for with, just being honest. But I'm coming around.

Yeah, I think about too. This is such a good point in terms of serving, because we have this paradigm of what we think things are supposed to be like. Either we're taught as a kid and we grew up with that. Just think about content. When the internet first came out, it's like, well, this is dumb. This doesn't mean anything. I could tell you top 5 pieces of content that have really moved me. Right. Like— It's different. Life-changing, really got me closer in my relationship with Yahweh. I mean, so there's what you guys are doing. It's not just putting content out there. It's really affecting people. Like you said, the stories that you're hearing, it was hard to, I guess, believe that way because you're so service-based. It's exactly what you just hit the nail on the head. Got to be sweat of your brow, present, doing certain things to serve people. But thank, thank God that those people made that piece of content, right? Yeah, that I could watch thinking I was going to entertain myself, but then something really spoke in the inner parts of me and it really, it challenged me to live a certain way. Um, hey, is this thing on? Really quickly, we have an online community focused on helping you find land and start your homestead. And it's free! So if you are overwhelmed with where to start, maybe you don't know how to homestead, maybe you would like to start living a more healthier life, maybe you want to build an income—

Reesma right now—

this community is for you. We have weekly calls Monthly workshops, direct access to not just me, but to everyone else in the community. Try it. You will not regret it. You'll find the link to the community in the show notes. Click it. I'll see you in there. Believe it or not, we are almost an hour and a half into this.

Oh my gosh.

Oh my dear.

We're going to do some cool stuff. But we're going to do it just for our online community. That's the paywall, guys. The paywall is free if you join our online community. We're going to do some fun stuff. We're going to do a rapid fire round. Okay. May get spicy. You never know. And then we're going to give just some practical ways to grow an online presence, an online community. But before we do that, I want to ask you two questions, both of you. The first thing is, let's say someone wants to start tomorrow and they have, they have no page, they have no presence. What would be, you know, 2 or 3 things that you would give advice on how they can start?

I think, um, the first thing would be to make sure that you're making content that you're passionate about. Don't just throw things out there because. Two, and on that note, you never know. There are so many people who are interested in the things that you wouldn't think that they are. So the thing that you really like and you think nobody cares about that, they do. They do. And then Just going back to being authentic, there is nothing that makes me swipe away more than when I see someone who's really trying to pour it on, you know? So just be authentic with who you are. And you may think that no one likes that, no one likes who I am, but you're going to realize that there are a whole community of people out there who are waiting for you to just be you.

I wanted to add something to and get your feedback from it because I've always— I've struggled with this, that the knowledge that I know, well, everybody knows. And that's not really the case sometimes because you get so involved, like you nerd out, or— and you're focused on this one thing, you get all this information, you feel like everybody knows this. So why would I put it out there if everybody knows it? I would just say I think you'd be surprised at what people don't know. Yes. Because they don't nerd out like you. This is your passion. This is your niche like you were talking about. Yeah. Have you ever had those moments where, well, I'm not going to share this because I think everybody already knows how to do this and have any, any moments like that?

Kind of on the opposite side of that spectrum, I have definitely been saying something and then even in the video make a comment like I know that seems very elementary and you probably already know these things, and then I'll continue. And then I get comment sections that are flooded with, thank you for saying the elementary thing. Yeah, because no, we didn't know that.

You know, Josh gave me my best piece of advice when it comes to speaking at church, and is, um, I had spoke on a Wednesday and I come back and I was like, how was that? All right. And he was like, the only thing is it took me— I referenced the guillotine. He said it took me a long time to realize what a guillotine was. He said, never assume anyone knows the information. And I was like, okay, definitions it is.

And I do that a lot, especially, I mean, even, even in preparing a sermon, if I'm asked to speak, the context of scripture that I will use before we go in.

It was a gallows, not a guillotine.

But before we go any further, I'm then going to tell you, hey, this is what was going on in that time period, and this is why this was said, and this was the viewpoint that it was said from, just so you've got a full picture of this before we continue. Yeah.

Again, it's something undiagnosed, but we benefit from it.

It's so good though, because Like, we, we follow people too, right? If you— and as, as you know, with so many followers that you guys have, you're probably following people that are better in your field than you are. So it goes back to, in my mind, I'm like, well, I have to serve the pros. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I have to find out what, what have they not taught, or— yeah. And so I think like, well, everybody knows this because I'm learning it from this person, and so I'm glad you said that. Yeah. Because people don't know. They don't know. And they get left behind because you want to give them level 10 knowledge that nobody's heard before.

And because you assume that they knew, I don't know, but I'm not going to say anything because you acted like I knew. So I'm going to just hang back and not have the knowledge. That's so good.

It is so good and so freeing to hear out loud people. This is Gold right now. Um, one thing that I've— and I'm, I'm trying not to hate on anybody, but the verse that Jesus is talking about where, you know, you're not welcome in your own hometown. I— most of the support that I've gotten since we launched the Wild Country have been from people that don't live near us. And that's a hard reality, I think, to accept because people are just so used to you because they saw the 3-year-old version of you and There's just that familiarity. So it's harder to respect or honor someone that you've been given that much proximity to, I guess. I think it's also freeing on the other side. And this is where I really want to encourage people to get beyond that fear of what people will think. For me, I really cared about what people thought. I cared about the people that lived near me, right? I cared that because you make this big life change, you move out of the state, go to a complete— you want— you don't want to show them the struggle, right? It's like, oh no, we were good at what we did, it was a good decision. So there was this fear of, you know, I put a piece of content out there and like 2 people watch it, right? Yeah, that was the fear. And then it shifted to, okay, Let this be a future love letter for our children. And then that completely changed everything to where the fear of man is eliminated. And as being a creative, you probably had to deal with a lot of that because I think it comes with the territory. It does. I mean, it's a pattern that you see from anyone that's pioneering or doing anything with importance is bowing to the fear of opinion. So I think a lot of people are going to listen to this and say, you know, this is the biggest hurdle for me. Yeah. How would you encourage them to, to get over that hump?

Do it scared. I mean, really do, do it scared. It's one of those things where sometimes people, sometimes even well-intended people will support you as long as you fit in the box that they've put you in. And I have learned that I can't hold that against them. [FOREIGN] But I have to continue what I know that I should be walking in and You know, when we started the whole live thing, I mulled that over in my head so many times. And where was anybody even going to come on there? That's so scary to just sit and not know if someone's even going to show up. Mm-hmm. But I realized that if I had one person come in and have a conversation. What was important to me? Was it the number that was up there that showed how many people were there or the community that I was building? And I have to choose if I'm going to handle that for what it's worth or if I'm going to get caught up in what it should look like or what have you. Yeah. And that really is it. I mean, you have to know that what you're going to do is beneficial to someone. And you have to play it through the eyes of, I'm going to help someone. I'm going to do this for to enrich someone or something. You place—

you've placed value on a life. Yeah. I mean, that really highlights the importance of one person. Yeah. And I want to thank you for that conviction. Yeah, absolutely. It's— I think that you have to remind—

be reminded sometimes how important one person is. I've said it so many times since the beginning of 2006. We've talked about this at the beginning of the year. We've prayed and prayed about what this whole content creation thing was going to look like. And I told her— we were sitting at the Apple Barn eating breakfast, she and I went on a day date, day date— and, uh, I said to her, I said, this is kind of the slogan that I think needs to be. It was just a realization for me, and this has become the— I could, I could stamp it on my forehead. I, I literally write it on every idea pad that I have the whole thing. We are not building a following. We are building a table. And that is how I'm structuring everything that we're putting out. I want you to feel that you can come in and pull up a seat. Table conversation and sit with us. Yes, that's good.

You guys have brought just so much value in this conversation. I want to land the plane with this last question I ask everyone. This, this new season is, and you've— we've talked about it a lot already, so I don't know if we can add any new thing, but the, the title is Finding Home. That's important to us as our family. That's been our passion, you know, building a table, but we, we want to help people escape the systems and really find a place that they can call home and what that really means. So I ask our guests, you know, what does it mean to find home for you? And that's— it's really unique for your situation because I think you found it twice. Yeah, but it helped kind of redefine that. So I'll let you have the last words before we, you know, jump on the community. So if you want to hear the really, really cool stuff, you got to join our free community and it'll be uploaded there. We're going to do some rapid-fire questions, going to be really, really fun and scary. At the same time, but also give some really practical ways to, to start a social media presence and how to grow that in an authentic way. Yeah. Um, so I turn it over to you. What does it mean to, to you both to, uh, to find home?

Finding home for me is— it really hasn't changed. I'm always seeking people and connection with people. Um, I think in this new season of our life, how I define what that connection is and how you can come about that connection is different, is going to be different. Um, I am maybe not as focused on it having to look a specific way, um, than what it did before. But yeah, finding home is just people. It's finding a group of people you can come in and break bread with and have, do life and community and such with. That's me. That's me finding home.

I guess I would say that finding home for me looks like serving people in a way that seems authentic. I think in the beginning— for the last 2 years, every beginning of the year, I'm always praying and asking the Lord, you know, what is it that you want from me this year? And 2 years in a row I've gotten the same thing. And it was just simplicity. And I think that we're in a time that we're called to remove the noise. Yes. And I can tell you that I've been a part of some amazing moves of the Lord and, and corporately and they be loud and they be amazing. And I stand in awe of what he does. But the most impactful that God's ever been in my life is always in the quiet. Yeah. And I think that sometimes life gets caught up in the noise, and every time it does, he calls me back to the quiet. And I think that the Lord has given us the ability and equipped us with the resources to show that side of home to the world.