4:13 Podcast: Three Things We Learned in 2022 [BONUS]

Jennifer Rothschild: Hey, this is Jennifer Rothschild. You know I love my audiobooks from Audible. That's how I'm able to read so many books in a year. If you've never tried it, you can get a 30-day free trial with no obligation. Plus you'll get a free audiobook of your choice that you can keep. So go to 413podcast.com/Audible to get started. And now the podcast.

Hey, 4:13ers, I'm so glad you're here. We are just sitting in the studio, me and K.C., and we're talking about what we learned in 2022, and we wanted you to be a part of it. So here we go.

K.C. Wright: Welcome to the 4:13 Podcast, where practical encouragement and biblical wisdom set you up to live what we call the "I Can" life, because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

Now, welcome your host, my soul sister --

Jennifer Rothschild: (Singing) Soul sister.

K.C. Wright: -- Jennifer Rothschild.

Jennifer Rothschild: Hey, my people. That was -- I call him my Bro Bro -- K.C. We're so glad you're here. And I know many of you have hung out with us all through --

K.C. Wright: Year long.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- 2022 --

K.C. Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- lots of you since we started this thing in the fall of 2018, and we're just so glad you're a 4:13er. You make our life richer. And I'm just going to say, lots of you also have given us lovely ratings and reviews.

K.C. Wright: Thank you.

Jennifer Rothschild: But we're never too proud to beg, so keep going, keep doing it. If you have not yet given us a review or a rating, seriously, y'all, it really helps. Those podcast platforms notice when there's some activity there, and it just helps get us in front of more people. So if our biblical wisdom and practical encouragement has blessed you, you know it's going to bless someone else, so be a part of spreading that. We appreciate it so much.

We have learned so much over this past year, as I am sure you have also. So K.C. and I were starting to talk about it, and we just decided we're going to turn on the mics --

K.C. Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- and we're going to talk about it with the 4:13 family.

K.C. Wright: Oh, I'm excited about that.

Jennifer Rothschild: All right. I just want y'all to know, though, K.C. is so organized in his thinking that -- he started telling me, I'm like, "Oh, no, we are turning on the mics." But you are going first, because you are so organized, and this gives me a chance to think of the three things that I learned this past year.

But K.C. all right, so you just started to tell me --

K.C. Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: You put it into three categories.

K.C. Wright: Right.

Jennifer Rothschild: Which is brilliant. All right, tell us what you learned in 2022.

K.C. Wright: Okay. Here's what we know. We are a spirit; we possess a soul that is our mind, will, and emotions; and we live in a body which is our earth suit.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yep.

K.C. Wright: I wish my body looked like Brad Pitt's. Unfortunately, it's a Chihuahua that's a little fluffy right now. No, I'm just -- okay. We are a spirit, we live in a body, we possess a soul. And so those are really -- spirit, soul, and body -- the three things that I've learned in 2022, and I'm going to put them in those different categories.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay. Wow, this is awesome. I love organization. All right, what is it?

K.C. Wright: Okay, spirit. Here's the number one thing I've learned in 2022. Prayer, hands down, the secret sauce. I can't live without it. And here's the thing. If it's big enough to worry about, it's big enough to pray about.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah. That's so true.

K.C. Wright: And nothing is too small for his attention.

Jennifer Rothschild: No.

K.C. Wright: God says that he delights in every detail of your life. That means that if it matters to you, it matters to him. Yes, your electric bill matters to him. Yes, that relationship at work matters. Yes, it all matters. So God cares for you and the things you worry about. So we have books on prayer, we have podcasts on prayer --

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes, we do.

K.C. Wright: -- we hear messages on prayer. But taking the time every single day and really throwing yourself into prayer is the secret sauce.

Jennifer Rothschild: Wow. And you've seen that this year, huh?

K.C. Wright: I have.

Jennifer Rothschild: I love that. I love what you just said, too, that if it's big enough to worry about, it's big enough to pray about. You know what I mean? If it's small enough to worry about, it's still worthy of prayer.

K.C. Wright: So lesson one learned in 2022, a daily meeting with God has to happen. Enough with the books, enough with hearing about it, reading -- just jump in.

Jennifer Rothschild: Just do it.

K.C. Wright: Prayer is what Jesus lived by. Prayer is what we're told in the Scriptures to never stop doing. Psalm 116:2 says, "Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live." So to me, failing in prayer is failing everywhere.

Jennifer Rothschild: Wow, that's good.

K.C. Wright: So that's spirit.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay. All right. Man, K.C. -- okay, that's inspiring to me. That's really good. Okay?

What's your second one?

K.C. Wright: Body. It's not selfish. I've had to learn to take care of you first.

Jennifer Rothschild: That's good.

K.C. Wright: Boundaries aren't mean.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

K.C. Wright: That's hard for a people-pleasing person like myself, but they're necessary.

So in my personal life, I've got a full plate of taking care of a lot of people, and even a few animals. But if I don't take care of me in the sense of eating right, exercising, I'm not going to be good to anyone.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

K.C. Wright: So if the plane's going down, they always tell you, put your mask on first, right?

Jennifer Rothschild: Right. Right. Right.

K.C. Wright: And so honestly, this year was a wake-up call. I woke up one morning and I looked in the mirror and I said, "No" --

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, man.

K.C. Wright: -- I'm not doing this. So I realized that I was out of balance, so I've been saying no more. I've been shutting off my phone more, I made a commitment to go to this gym.

Jennifer Rothschild: I know. And he's really doing it, y'all.

K.C. Wright: Yes.

Jennifer Rothschild: Like, I've talked to him on the phone when he's leaving the gym and he sounds like he's about to die. He is, like, really doing it. I'm proud of you.

K.C. Wright: I'm in it to win it. And honestly, I think I'm going to die in these workouts.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes, you do. You sound like you're going to die.

K.C. Wright: But the feeling I get walking out of just a focused hour on my body and health is honestly getting my life back. And I've had to throw myself also -- here's a big thing I've learned -- into an environment where everyone is better than me, where everyone's fitter than me, healthier than me. They are pro athletes, and I'm the guy that likes Chick-Fil-A and Taco Bell at the corner. And that's what I'm going to have to keep doing, and I'm not stopping. So I call it Operation Kill Santa, Operation Birth Captain America. So I'm putting myself first, and that's not selfish.

Jennifer Rothschild: No. Good.

K.C. Wright: So if you don't put yourself first, who will? The answer is no one.

Jennifer Rothschild: Nobody.

K.C. Wright: And also I always have this thing in my head: hospital floor or gym floor, which one you want?

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

K.C. Wright: It's your decision. So here's a question to ask. If I were really loving myself right now, what would I do?

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, K.C., let's just pause here. If I were really loving myself right now, what would I do?

K.C. Wright: What would I do?

Jennifer Rothschild: That's good. I never think like that. Because we're always so nervous that that's selfish and -- you know. But you're right, we are called to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, so we do need to love ourselves. So what would that look like? Ooh, that's good, Bro.

K.C. Wright: And I've had some moments where -- the other morning my work tried to suck me in and I almost canceled. And what I did was I just shut my phone off. Yes, things were on fire, people needed me, but I had to make myself priority and throw myself in. And guess what? After that hour, I turned my phone on and no one died.

Jennifer Rothschild: That is usually how it is.

K.C. Wright: No one died.

Jennifer Rothschild: No. That's usually how it is. That's good.

K.C. Wright: And it's been interesting, too, because I'll get out of the gym sometimes and -- I had a buddy call me, a pastor friend, "Hey, let's grab a burger and have our meeting." And I'm like, "Oh, no. Eating burgers is what's got me into this pickle. I'm on my way to Walmart to get a chicken."

Jennifer Rothschild: You go, K.C. Okay, I am so proud of you. It's a hard, hard thing, though, because it's a habit.

K.C. Wright: Right.

Jennifer Rothschild: But well done. I like that you didn't just give us the what, but you gave us the why.

K.C. Wright: Right.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay, that's really good.

K.C. Wright: We've got to take care of ourselves.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes, we do.

K.C. Wright: And honestly, Jen, you have been a great example in my life with this.

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, I've learned with the eating low carb. I'm still not super consistent with exercise.

K.C. Wright: But I've seen you really exercise self-discipline because I wanted to bring treats over.

Jennifer Rothschild: I know.

K.C. Wright: And you're like, "If you love me --

Jennifer Rothschild: Don't do it.

K.C. Wright: -- you will not bring that pumpkin slice over right now from Starbucks."

Jennifer Rothschild: And he doesn't because he does love me.

K.C. Wright: But I love bringing her something when I come.

Jennifer Rothschild: I know.

K.C. Wright: But she's like, "Nope. Keep it, Bro."

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

K.C. Wright: Okay.

Jennifer Rothschild: All right, what's your third one?

K.C. Wright: Okay, last one, soul, our mind, our will, and our emotions.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay.

K.C. Wright: By the way, I've got more than three, I know you're shocked, but here's the last one.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, okay. Well, I'm so impressed.

K.C. Wright: No. I'm just going to keep it to three because I want to hear yours.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay. All right. All right.

K.C. Wright: There are no bad days, only hard days.

Jennifer Rothschild: Ooh. You've had to learn that the hard way.

K.C. Wright: So watching my grandmother -- who I've affectionately called my entire life "Gma," because she was too hip and cool to be called "Grandmother."

Jennifer Rothschild: I love it.

K.C. Wright: When I watched my grandma this year breathe her last breath, it really was a pivot for me in soaking up every second. So loving stronger, complaining less. We know life is so short. One Bible translation actually says it's as nothing. You won't find that on a Christian coffee mug.

Jennifer Rothschild: No.

K.C. Wright: But it's as nothing. So making every second a gift. Toxic people, they got to go.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

K.C. Wright: Okay? Love you from a distance. The only people that deserve to be in your life are the ones who treat you with love, kindness, and respect. So taking an inventory on who's in your life. And also I've learned this from J.R., taking an inventory of what you're thinking.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, my gosh, that's the thing. Yeah, mind -- you're talking about your soul and your mind --

K.C. Wright: Right.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- yeah, that's...

K.C. Wright: I highly recommend J.R.'s book.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, the "Me, Myself and Lies"?

K.C. Wright: Boom.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, your thought closet --

K.C. Wright: Life changer. Life changer.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- makeover.

K.C. Wright: So a falsehood tolerated becomes a stronghold empowered.

Jennifer Rothschild: Ooh. Say that one more time.

K.C. Wright: A falsehood tolerated becomes a stronghold empowered, meaning --

Jennifer Rothschild: That is so true.

K.C. Wright: Jen has taught us, cast down every lie that seeks to shape your mind. Jen says, throwing it out of your thought closet.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yep. Exactly.

K.C. Wright: Dirty gym sneakers do not allow --

Jennifer Rothschild: No.

K.C. Wright: -- are not allowed in my clean thought closet. All right?

So watching someone transition from earth to Heaven, really this year makes you think of your legacy, how you're living your days, how you're thinking through your days, redeeming the time because it's short. How you spend it matters. Taking just a big inventory on where am I spending my minutes. And I'm so glad this right here, spending time with you on the 4:13 Podcast.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

K.C. Wright: Wow. Oh, Lord, make it happen more, because this is good time spent.

Jennifer Rothschild: It's life giving.

K.C. Wright: Amen?

Jennifer Rothschild: It's life giving.

K.C. Wright: So there are no bad days, just hard days.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay. So, K.C. --

K.C. Wright: Okay, I'm done.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- that's really good.

K.C. Wright: Thanks for listening.

Jennifer Rothschild: I mean -- and that's only three things?

K.C. Wright: Let's receive an offering.

Jennifer Rothschild: Could we please take a love offering for K.C. for the three things he has learned in 2022.

Okay, here's the thing. I love that K.C. That last one that you were talking about too, seeing your grandma transition and how it's made you -- so that's one of mine too, which I'll get to in a second. Mine are not nearly as organized, so...

But I'll tell you one thing that I have learned this year -- and this might sound kind of like, are you kidding me? It took you this long to figure that out? Or, are you sure that's a good thing to learn? Okay. But one of the things that I learned in 2022 was I can trust my gut. I can trust my gut. Y'all, I am a continual overthinker and I have an incredibly robust rewind button. Oh, I shouldn't have thought that. Oh, is that really true? Oh, is that correct? Well, let me analyze that against this. Oh, is that me? Am I just being guided by my feelings? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay. One of the things I've learned this past year is I need to trust my gut. Because I've recognized two or three times I've had a gut feeling, I have asked the Lord, "Is it okay? I'm going to go with a green light." I act upon it and it turned out to be right.

K.C. Wright: Whoa.

Jennifer Rothschild: I've not done that my whole life, y'all. I've been slow to act because I don't trust myself, because I think there's something inherently wrong with that. And I'm learning there's a lot inherently right with that. Okay? So that impulse, you know -- the longer I walk with the Lord, when I feel that impulse -- I've noticed this past year that has proven to be his prompting in me.

K.C. Wright: Yeah. So the red flags are red flags. And you're saying trust your gut, but you're saying --

Jennifer Rothschild: He'll give me a red --

K.C. Wright: -- trust your God --

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes.

K.C. Wright: -- the teacher living big inside you.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay. So, K.C. -- exactly, trust my gut is trusting my God.

K.C. Wright: Right.

Jennifer Rothschild: Because he's giving me the green lights and he's going to be faithful to give me the red lights.

K.C. Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah. So I don't need to second guess myself so much, and overanalyze, I just need to trust that if I'm walking with him, which I'm doing my best to do, he really is guiding me.

K.C. Wright: Good. That's so good.

Jennifer Rothschild: And he's speaking to me through my impulse, through my thought, through my emotion. And I could give you some examples, but really they're somewhat personal. I can be vague on this one. But there's a difficult situation that we were having with a bad relationship. Okay? And this person acted in a way that was challenging. And my normal response would have been to do a quick email back saying, "Oh, let me explain this," or, "I'm so sorry," or, you know, try to squelch it before it became something more, because this person had a tendency to go from 0 to 100 in ten seconds. And I had this sense of don't touch it, don't touch it. You let it be. Let them bring it up a second time. And it was so against my normal fix-everything personality, but I trusted my gut, because as you were saying, K.C., I trusted my God, and it went away. And it was such a -- I wish I could give you all the details because it was just amazing.

But it was profound for me to realize, okay, see. And that was just one of several things where I realized I need to trust my gut. If I'm walking with the Lord, I can trust my gut because I'm hearing from the Lord even when I don't realize it. Okay?

A second thing I think that I learned this year -- which in some ways relates to that first one -- is I've grown in having more confidence in God and less in me. Which sounds almost counterintuitive, except that what I mean by that is in a weird way, when I have more confidence than God, I have felt more freedom and confidence in doing my thing and just trusting that, oh, this is how God wired me? I'm just going to do the thing.

K.C. Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: And that's -- whereas before I think I had to feel like, oh, no, I don't have enough confidence to do that or I need confidence to affirm that that's something God wants me to do. No. It's like, no, I just got more confidence in God and so I can let go, and then it's funny how it brings more confidence in me. So I don't have to rely on my own sense of capability or confidence, because I'm realizing, K.C., the more that I do know, the more I realize I hardly know anything. I really -- you know, I don't. In some ways I feel less prepared and less qualified, yet at the same time I've learned I can just show up, because suddenly as I do it, I'm like, wow, God has really equipped me, far beyond what I thought I was capable of.

K.C. Wright: And you know what I'm thinking of right now is this year I watched you over and over again speak on stage at Liberty University. And I remember watching you going, this is a confident woman.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, right?

K.C. Wright: This is a confident woman. You stood on that stage and spoke for over an hour, and it flowed out of you like a river. And I'm sitting here at my house going, "Go, J.R." I mean, you're just in your element. You can see watching you, you're just -- this is who God has made you to -- this is what God has -- you're in your thing. It's your lane, it's your element, this is what God's called you to do. It's powerful.

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, and what's cool about that, K.C., is I don't feel that way. I mean, I feel God's called me, yes, but I don't feel super capable or confident. I mean, because I can run through my mind, well, I can think of this person who's better at this than I am, or this person whose message might be more relevant. And so what I've learned is it's okay, I don't have to have confidence in me. I can just let go and let it be, and God shows up and makes me more equipped and capable than I think. And if that's true about me, even if you, my family out there, if you haven't learned that yet, it's still true. It's still true.

K.C. Wright: So good.

Jennifer Rothschild: So don't try to wait for confidence to come to think you're capable. Just show up, be faithful, and watch how capable God makes you, and then the confidence will grow.

Okay, so here's the third one. Because I could probably do more too, K.C., but I'll stop at a third one. And it relates to your third one, which I think is so cool, and it's kind of about Heaven. Because thinking about Heaven has really helped me persevere through 2022, through every day. And many of you know that I'm blind. And so there are days that are extraordinarily frustrating when it takes a lot of patience, when I don't enjoy being me. And what helps me, I have recognized, more in retrospect -- like, I don't realize I'm doing it until I pause later and realize what I did -- is I literally will shift my mindset toward Heaven, and I literally will think, this isn't going to be all there is, there's coming a day. I can get through right now because this is going to be a blip on the radar eventually. It helps right size my sorrow, it helps give me perspective. But I think I have thought of Heaven more.

And I guess when I was younger -- not that I'm that old -- but when I was maybe in my twenties, thirties, I thought, oh, only old people think about Heaven. No. Here's the thing. Smart people think about Heaven. Wise Christ followers think about Heaven.

K.C. Wright: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: Because if it is true for that day, it can totally reshape this day.

So I'll give you an example. This past year, in 2022 I filmed my Amos Bible study.

K.C. Wright: Yes, you did.

Jennifer Rothschild: And if you've never been a part of anything like that, it is super challenging. Okay? Because it's eight teaching sessions, which I, you know, have not really taught before. They're all memorized. It's a live audience. I'm teaching two things a night, two messages a night. Of course, I'm changing clothes in between. And there's so many things you have to deal with with camera angles. I mean, it's a little complicated process. Okay? Eight messages, seven days in a row. It was very challenging -- all right? -- that I'm filming.

Well, right before -- it just happened kind of serendipitously the first night right before I went out. I had gotten my makeup done. You know, my friend's in there reading me my outline, Paula, trying to help me to remember it right before I go on stage. And she had read the outline for the last time to me and I said, "Hey, I want us all to just pause and listen to this song." It's a song by the Gray Havens, and the song is called "Far Kingdom." And it's literally a song about Heaven.

K.C. Wright: Wow.

Jennifer Rothschild: And it seemed kind of odd that I would pick a song about Heaven right before I'm trying to be so focused. Game day, go teach Amos.

K.C. Wright: Yeah. Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: But what it did is it right sized my perspective and it made me remember, oh, no --

K.C. Wright: Oh, yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- the reason you're persevering through this, the reason you're walking out there with all your insecurity clothed in the confidence of Christ, is because someday, someday.

K.C. Wright: Come on.

Jennifer Rothschild: You know? And so it turned out that every night before I went out on stage to teach that, I listened to "Far Kingdom" by the Gray Havens. Even now, before I go speak a message, I put on my earbuds, I listen to "Far Kingdom," because it is a reminder of Heaven for me. And there are times when I'm having a bad day and I'll just start singing, "There is a Far, Far Kingdom," and I start singing the song. And it's just this reminder of Heaven.

So I don't know -- you know, that's not as articulate and well spun as I would love to explain it to you, because, honestly, it's something I'm still learning. But I'm grateful for the seeds of that that God planted in me in 2022, and I want them to keep growing in 2023 so that Heaven helps me to persevere.

Anyway, those are the three things that...

K.C. Wright: So good. So good.

Hey, and speaking about Heaven, I think we could just end this by reminding all of us as a community of Jesus followers, as we launch into a new year, that the only thing we can bring to Heaven are people. And that's one of my biggest prayers for the new year, is that, Lord, would you give me the heart of an evangelist.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes.

K.C. Wright: You may not be called to pastor or teach on the stage at Liberty or whatever. Here's the truth, though. Here's truth. We are all called to the ministry of reconciliation.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes, we are.

K.C. Wright: If we talk to people every day of our lives about the weather and sports --

Jennifer Rothschild: And coffee.

K.C. Wright: -- and politics and what's in your cup -- take a moment, even today before the sun sets, that person in your life, do they know Jesus as their Lord? It's as simple as that. And it's as simple as your ABC's, telling people. You got to admit you're a sinner. We've all blown it. You got to believe that Jesus is the son of the living God. Then you got a C, confess. ABC: admit, believe, confess. It's that simple. And then pray with them to receive Jesus as their Lord. I get an itching in my soul when I haven't led someone to Christ in a while. I know at Fresh Grounded Faith conferences nationwide, Jen leads --

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, we do.

K.C. Wright: -- women to Christ. It's so powerful. But, man, there is nothing better in life, nothing better in life than leading someone to Christ. And so I pray that we all have the heart of an evangelist in this new year --

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes.

K.C. Wright: -- because there's a 100 percent chance we're not getting out of here alive, and people are the only thing you can bring to Heaven. You never saw a hearse pulling a U-Haul.

Jennifer Rothschild: No.

K.C. Wright: And so let's be about his business and do this 4:13ers.

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, if K.C. and I have just talked about the hope and joy that the reality of Heaven brings to us, how much more does that person in your life, who you know is having a hard day or a hard season, how much more do they need that hope? So, yes.

And, K.C., thanks for that very simple reminder. A, admit you need Jesus and you've blown it. B, believe in the name of Jesus and you will be saved. And C, confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. Dude, that's it.

K.C. Wright: Yeah, that's it.

Jennifer Rothschild: That's it. We got this.

K.C. Wright: Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. I love whosoever.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, because I am one.

K.C. Wright: Whosoever's whosoever.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes, it is. Yes, it is.

So 4:13'ers, let's be about what matters to God, which is loving people well. And we love you so much.

K.C. Wright: Yes.

Jennifer Rothschild: And remember, whatever it is you're going to face in the new year, whatever it is you face, however you might feel, you can do it. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. I can.

K.C. Wright: I can.

Jennifer Rothschild: And you can.

K.C. Wright: You can. We love you.

Jennifer Rothschild: Uh-huh. Yeah, tell us what you've learned, by the way, in your reviews.

K.C. Wright: Yes.

Jennifer Rothschild: Just throw in what you've learned. We'd love to hear it.