1.23.23 Made For Mondays

Hey everyone, welcome to Made for Mondays. Justin here. I'm so glad you're tuned in with us today. No matter when you're listening to this podcast, whether it's made, whether it's on a Monday or later in the week, I'm so glad that you're tuned in. There's something life giving that'll be waiting for you on the other side of these next ten minutes or so. Today we're continuing our journey with our book Necessary Endings. Some things need to die for you to live. I wrote this book in 2020 and now I'm going to take an intentional look to just go through each chapter with you. I want to pull out some points for it and ask you some questions. And prayerfully you can see that you can give yourself a licen to live if you haven't already. If you're on YouTube, kill the like button, kill the subscribe button. Those of you who are on itunes or Spotify or Amazon or Google Play music podcast, please be sure to subscribe to our podcast like our podcast and share it with somebody who you want to encourage to give themselves a license to live. What's kind of cool is that this year, as you guys saw, on the second week of each month, I'm bringing my wife into the podcast and this week we got a cool little space called Kicking it with Camden. And so Camden will be a part. My son, my 5 year old will be a part of our podcast for two minutes to have something fun to say to you. So hopefully it will enliven and give you something to laugh about. My son loves life. And so at the end of our time today, don't turn this off. We're going to kick it with Camden and then on the last week of each month we'll take some time and do our wine review. If you have a wine you want us to review, shoot it over to us. You can email me or go to our website jrlester.com and simply give us a wine that you want us to review. And we'll gladly take time to review that wine as well. Outside of that, kick back and relax or lean forward and engage as we jump into Made for Mondays. I think you really love our time today as we engage with your journey is your journey. Let's have some fun today. Necessary endings Part 2. Your journey is your journey. I believe we have to lead from our stories, our stories. I believe when we're authentic, we have authority and when we're inauthentic, we don't have authority. I'm a 30something husband, father of one and a pastor. I teach at a local university. I've written things. At one point in my life in my former church, I was the youngest pastor of the oldest church in the state of Rhode island. It was 202 years old. Currently I serve at a 75 year old church in Vallejo, California. I used to teach at a Providence college, a university in Providence, and prayerfully, in the next year I'll be back into that role as well. There's a lot that's on my plate and there's a lot, I'm sure, that's on your plate as well. I'm not speaking to people who don't know this. The fact that you're listening to this as you're going to work, you have a lot on your to do list, whether that's meetings or phone calls or relationships, friendships, not to mention the things in your personal life and then the things in your extra areas, your hobbies and your goals. We all have very full plates. And life can get unbalanced very quickly. So whether that's your prayer life, your work life, your personal life and your love life, they're all important aspects of who I am and who you are. And when a long period of imbalance presents itself, it creates tension. When a long period of unbalance presents itself, it also can create health issues. When a long period of imbalance creates itself, you are out of balance. So what I decided to do every two years was to take a week away or take two weeks away to find a time to refresh, to pause. When I wrote Necessary Endings. I did so by going to a tiny home in Vermont. I drove up to Blacksburg, Vermont and found a tiny home that used to be a church. It was a tiny little church. I had some time to sit in that room in those mountains in Vermont and actually had some fun just riding. I did the same thing about a year ago. I went up to Denver, found a little tiny home in Denver and did the very same thing. And whenever life gets unbalanced, tired people are tempted. People. We fall into the traps of our temptations when we're fatigued. So I got to Vermont for the first time and I stepped outside and I took a look at the night sky. And the stars were shining so bright it felt like I could touch them. I had never seen a sky that clear. I never seen a city where nothing was talking than two stories. This tree swayed delightfully. And to me they created a beautiful song. Because to me the trees reflect to us the creation song. In Genesis 1, without a doubt, you see nature's beauty in real time. So I took a journal. I went to a nearby fire pit on the property, and I sat down. And I did what I normally do on journeys. I set intentions. Intentions give you direction, direction gives you focus. And focus will lead you to purpose. I looked down the horizon. I saw nothing. And I remember in this moment, when I finally had a chance to breathe, I just cried. Because I've learned there's power and authority in our tears. And then the nothingness. As I was wondering about how I can handle all this balance and this weight as I was sitting in God's beauty, tears in my eyes, I wrote this statement down, which began the journey of this book. And it said, something needs to die, but it's not you. Throughout the entirety of my life, I constantly believed that at bad moments or moments where life was unbalanced, that I was the one who needed to go. I was the one at fault in my home. I was the one at fault at school. I was the one at fault in my friendships. And constantly throughout my life, it was always my fault. And a lot of times, a lot of the issues and things in our lives from guilt and shame and regret are our responsibility. We made poor decisions. We said something out of turn. We did something inappropriate. We have made bad decisions. But that does does not mean your life needs to be taken. Maybe it's a mindset, maybe it's a relationship. Maybe it's a location that needs to die. For the first time in my life, I gave myself a license to live. And I want you to do the same thing. And so what I did was I held four funerals while I was at a tiny home in Vermont. And that came necessary endings. They were endings to mindsets and endings to activities I could no longer bring into my future. I was determined to become what God needed me to be. And why is that such a big deal? When you commit to ending mindsets and thoughts, you are deciding to deeply engage with the core of who you are. You are deciding to ask yourself questions. You are deciding to leave behind something that you have intentionally engaged with. And now you're making a conscious decision to intentionally engage with what's yet to come. Now, why is that a big deal for me? Let me give you a secret about me. I hate funerals. Oh, I hate them so much. And I mean that like the word hate. I have to. I'm a pastor some at funerals almost every week, if not one, then two, sometimes even three or even four. I Can't stand funerals because of what they represent. That just mean death. And we can make it so beautiful to talk about life. But there's nothing, to me, fun about a funeral. And so I've learned to practice the Scriptures. I bless the Lord at all times, even this time, because Justin Lester can't stand funerals. But what I've learned about funerals is they access the heart of God in a uniquely and different way. One I seldom enjoy God accessing. Funerals raise questions. Funerals engage with theodicy. Funerals make you engage the core of your own theology. Funerals make you wrestle with who God is and God's word. Funerals make you wrestle with yourself. The language and imagery around having funerals is strong, stark, and it's necessary. Funerals create the space for you to mourn with those who are invested in your life. Funerals create the space for you to mourn about your own investment or lack of investment in your life. Because funerals are the one time we are confronted with life and death. Because in funerals, we are forced to remember, to reflect, and sometimes even commit to completing the work of the person. And I believe every one of us needs a moment like the ones we had in the woods. A moment to destroy, to kill, to put to rest, to bury those things that are keeping you from who you are. Dreams that don't exist any longer, visions that are too small, relationships that are dead, mindsets that are destructive, things that we have created, that are no longer welcome into who you're becoming. And enter into the reality that you have something designed for you in the future. It is your responsibility to make room for God to complete what he's already started. So as we continue this journey of necessary endings, I want you today to pause on your way to work, to pause on your lunch break or pause before you go inside of work today and give yourself a reason to live and go on your journey. What in your life cannot go with you in the future? What do you not need to engage with today? What needs to be buried and have a necessary ending? Let me ask you some questions. I don't have any points of power today. I just have some questions. Have you given yourself a chance to live yet? What are the things that block you from seeing grace in your life? What words do you use to describe who you are? What are the conversations you have with yourself? Are they grace giving? Are they painful? And who or what are the determining factors of your value? I want you to give yourself a chance to live. I want you to give Yourself a license to live. And I want you to know that today really is the best day of your life. Some things need to die. It's not you. Give yourself a license to live.

What's up, Maeve from Monday Screws? It's Justin here, and I'm here with a special guest. For third weeks, we're going to have a special guest on our podcast, and it's kicking it with Cam. So what's up, Cam?

What's up? This is me, Camden.

So Cam is just full of life, and I thought it'd be great to bring to the Made for Monday's crew. So, Cam, tell us a couple things about you.

What are.

Give us two cool facts about Camden.

I love this. I love this state. I love this world, and. And I miss Nana so much.

Nana is my mom who passed away last year, part of reasons why we haven't had the Made for Monday podcast last year, too. So I know Cam's talking about that. And so we're at the beach, right, Cam?

Yeah.

So tell everybody on the Made for Mondays podcast, what are three fun things they can do at the beach?

Play with sand. Sand castles. And. And go in water.

So, Cam, a lot of my Made for Monday podcast listeners are working every single day like your mom and dad do. And so what are some ways that you try to make sure that home is fun for your parents to play.

With them and make sure that they are okay and do fun things with them.

That's fun, Cam. And so what are some things you would tell parents to make sure they do with their kids after they get.

Off work to play?

What type of things you want to.

Play football with daddy and play with my toys with Mommy.

So you heard that Made for Monday screw get off work today. As we talk about what it means to have a reason to live in your journey, I want you to consider some things you can do with people around you, namely your kids. And Cam said football and playing around, so I hope that encourages you all today. Cam, is there anything you want to tell everyone to make sure that they are encouraged as they go into this.

Corvette with this day? It's a really fun day, and we hope the rain stops and we have a sunny day today.

Awesome. You guys heard that here. Get back to Made for Mondays.

Well, thank you for joining us for Made for Mondays. I hope that you see your journey is your journey, and I hope that you got to laugh a little bit and engage with my son. My son loves life, and hopefully you can see that life is worth living as well. Let's say our affirmation before we sign off today. Are you ready? Just repeat after me. Say I am me. I can be me. And no one will stop me from being me. Have an amazing day. You were made for Mondays. Your Monday doesn't own you. You own Monday. Have an amazing day.