New Vision, Same Mission for the Podcast.

Hey, this is Tim, and welcome to the Student Life Podcast, where we explore the everyday challenges and big questions of life through a biblical lens while navigating the realities of a secular world. Enjoy. Yo, what up? So it's been a minute, it's been a minute, but I am back, and this is a bonus episode. I'm actually— I have redesigned the entire format. Um, so I know I've said a few things, and I apologize because some of those things I, I, I, uh, followed through and some I didn't. I always start with myself. I don't— I'm, I'm really just not in the business of making excuses anymore. So I dropped the ball in certain areas and, and certain things I feel like I did. But nevertheless, we're here, and I want to just give this audience an update because I do believe in the power of consistency and again following up and following through. Uh, that being said, uh, let's just get right into it. So, um, since I've been doing this podcast, I started in 2019. Uh, before that, I think I was like blogging for 2, maybe 3 years before then. I want to say I started blogging in 2016. Yeah, 2016, maybe 2017. And then I moved over, like I said, to the podcast format. And, uh, I, I like to write. I do. Uh, I was I'm naturally by default a quiet, curious person, but I have been a little bit more talkative lately. Um, I don't know, I don't know what's, what's going on there, but I'm actually kind of getting back to that like more reserved curiosity standpoint. Uh, and anywho, man, I, you know, it is what it is, and I'm trying to stop saying you know, but nevertheless, uh, to just get right into it so I'm not chasing rabbit holes, is that, uh, I, I wanted to switched after a lot of prayer and a lot of thinking and just looking at the season of life that I'm in. I wanted to move to a monthly podcast format, uh, and a lot of people know that I really love John C. Maxwell. I think I've quoted him a lot on here. Pastor Greg Croeschel— I love Pastor Greg Croeschel and many others out there. And I, and I really kind of adopt a lot of what Pastor Croeschel does, just try to make it in my own way. And he does a leadership podcast, and I highly encourage you to subscribe to it if you're not. Uh, but typically he posts once a month, and every now and then he does like some bonus content in there. And that's what I want to do here. Uh, so I still want to talk about leadership, faith, stewardship, all things just life, man, like through a biblical lens. Sometimes we kind of just run off a quote, and we might not really just quote scripture verbatim, but we're heavily inspired by scripture. And even you can tell, like, some of the guests I have brought on the episode, on the podcast where— sorry, not the episode, but the podcast, uh, kind of similar things. And so, uh, just going forward, uh, I just personally want to do once a month. And like I say, throw in bonus content in there. So I will be moving from the seasonal format where I like load up a lot of weekly episodes and then I go away for a while and come back. So there should be a level of consistency with once a month. And another reason I want to do that, again, kind of leveraging Pastor Greg Crochell here, is I want to put out a student life guide, uh, a student life guide. And so basically it's just in every episode now, um, I just want to kind of have some additional, uh, ways to like get information so you can be reflective, kind of study the content where it goes a little bit deeper and unpacking the episode and something that God might desire to speak to you through that I didn't communicate. And I love that feedback. I love to be challenged because I know everything. I'm consistently growing. I'm consistently being corrected. I'm literally corrected every day, not necessarily by always a person, but every time I listen to something, I open up my Bible, I read, I pray, I'm corrected, I'm being encouraged, I'm being edified, all that type of stuff. So, uh, so anywho, I just believe that it's time to just move to the monthly format. And another reason is there's no shortage of podcasts. There no— there's no shortage of mics and people with an opinion and all this stuff out here. And I'm one of them, um, but I think it's a lot of noise. And so like the weekly format, uh, I don't have a huge platform now. It could change depending on how this platform grows. So I know that I want— I won't be here like weekly and putting out that, you know, but it's more about substance to me. Like I, I, I think it goes back to Darren Hardy in the, uh, the book The Compound. I don't think it's necessarily in the um, the quantity of how many episodes or books and all of that stuff that we read. I believe it's what we chew on and we meditate on. Because like a passage of scripture, um, I can feed on this scripture for 2, 3 weeks straight and still not like live it out the way it needs to be lived out. Um, but at the same time, I'm still wrestling with it, I'm still going through things. And so what I'm trying to convey here, communicate, is that Uh, sometimes again, it's not just about the quantity of what we listen to or how much we do, but the quality of it, the substance of it. And one thing about me, um, I— you kind of see my life play out, and I'm gonna get into some raw stuff in, in this new format, and even trying to bring back voices because I don't want it to always be my voice, but just bringing back people that I can actually have a conversation with. You know, what if we disagree or see things differently, but the, the power of God, or just whatever, you know, just like works through us and we, we just learn from each other. And iron sharpens iron. I might even bring in on people that just totally oppose my view, but at the same time we can stay respectful. So I'm gonna pray and just ask God because that's what it's about to me. That, that is what the Student Life Podcast is about to me, uh, because I do believe life is more gray than it is black and white. I personally do. It's a lot of nuances there. That's why like now I'm starting to like just live in the gray and live in the nuances, not to stay stagnant or stuck. But just to say, like, yes, a lot of things at face value is simple, but when it goes through the human mind and human experiences, it's not. And so that is what the Student Life Podcast is, like I said again, really all about. It's just helping us all grow in our leadership, our faith, our stewardship, um, and just all, all around the multifacets of life. Um, and so that's, that's what I'm, I plan on, um, coming with through, again, through this new format. With for surely trying, uh, for surely giving you once a month content coming out. I'll kind of pick the date, but the first of the month. So right now it's August 22nd, so I need to be getting ready for September, and then it'll just go out first October, first November, first December, and so on. And then like I say, every now and then with a few bonus things in there, and I might package some things up and kind of drop like a series or something. So like a part 1, part 2, part 3, and just drop it all together. I don't know, I'm gonna just play with it and just see where God leads me, as well as, you know, the creativity ability that he's given me to just try and experiment with things, and we just stay adaptive. So, uh, that being said, that, that's really it in a nutshell, like just where we're headed. And, uh, I just want to encourage you, like I said, if you've been rocking, you've seen my growth on the podcast. I'm pretty sure I butchered the mess out of some stuff, probably even made some of you cringe and like, oh, I don't know about that, Tim. Uh, and that's cool, that's cool. Some of that stuff, I'm not gonna take it down unless I go back and just like, oh wow, you know, I need to take that down. But I, I, you have seen me where I've challenged myself. I was like, well, I don't really see it that way no more. But it's all a part of life and growth. Like, I really want that to capture the heart of the Student Life Podcast. So anywho, I've been rambling long enough. Um, but that's, that's— I just want to kind of give you an update, uh, of what's to come. So we're going to challenge everything, like kind of even probably speak to some things that are just hot topics. Like, if I see something out there and I pray, you know, do my studying, just kind of try to bring a balanced, um, but biblical view. And some stuff we're just going to confront head-on, um, going forward. So, um, man, I just want to encourage you all to, uh, for one, hey, send this and tell them— yes, I am rambling on this episode, just kind of giving an update. Just bonus material. But, uh, man, just encourage your friends and family and all of that nature to just really lock in and subscribe to this, uh, review it, you know, be honest. If you want to give it a 1, give it a 1, it's cool, uh, but I, I, I highly encourage you, if you feel like it's a 5, it's a 5. I want to put out really good quality, but at the same time, I don't want to overly edit, uh, I want to keep it raw and transparent as possible, uh, just being authentic. I just think we're in a world where everything is always about perfection. And I don't believe that's an excuse to put out crap, but I just believe in putting out realness. Uh, so hey, I'm here to challenge us, like, together. We're all in this together, all collectively. But, uh, go ahead and subscribe because I'm telling you, uh, we're gonna get into some things, man, that I just believe that we need to chew, we need to meditate on. And, um, we just really need to lock in and make sure that we are just not emotional, like emotionalism and just going through the motions, but really taking that time and say, wait a minute, man, I'm really going to level up and challenge myself month over month, week over week, day by day, uh, by the grace of God and what he has equipped us to do. So, man, I love you all. Again, I appreciate you all for rocking with me. I'm gonna put my heart in this, uh, and I'm gonna just end with this. It's like I told my wife, um, and if nobody else ever listened to this podcast, I have 3 kids, um, and you know what that means for me as I look at my kids. You know, my oldest Cameron is growing up. About to be 16. My son, my bonus son DJ, um, our middle son, you know, and then my— I was about to turn 13, and then my, my daughter, uh, Navy, uh, is about to be 4 soon. And, you know, one of the things I look at is now that I'm just being more intentional in life as I journal and things of that nature, um, and I do this podcast and I get back into blogging and things of that nature— uh, I just said that, uh, things of that, uh, I'm just Um, I'm at the point now, man, where they can point to something. They can be like, wow, man, I can see how my dad was processing things and his growth and kind of what the various things that he was speaking to, you know, through the power of God. And, you know, and being inspired by the Bible and being inspired by other men and great leaders and people that are more mature than him just can call him up. You know, I can learn from anybody. My daughter just taught me something this week in the posture of just slowing down. So, uh, that's what it's about. That's what it's about here. Um, and so that is kind of my why, is that if nobody else listened to it, I really believe in my heart— I, I know a lot of you are because you subscribe to it and review it and send me messages— but if nobody else listens to it, it's not to look past you. My why is to put my heart in this and, and walk in a level, a level of sincerity. And if nothing else that my kids, as they grow up, if I'm not here anymore, anything happens, uh, it's a voice out there they can say, man, that's my dad. And he had a lot to say, and he always pointed us to the scriptures or pointed us to somebody that's a bit more mature than us, but that is truly living a life, uh, privately just as much as they profess it publicly. And so that's where I'm at. So again, man, the Student Life Podcast, we are here, and I truly believe if you rock with us Man, you're going to be challenged, you're going to be inspired, you're going to be encouraged, and most importantly, man, you're going to be pointed to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Be blessed. Love you all. Take care. Thanks for joining me today on the Student Life Podcast. And remember, learning never stops and wisdom grows as we seek truth in both scripture and life. And until next time, keep walking faithfully and thinking deeply. Be blessed.