The Navy and a Guitar with Justin Gambino, episode 173

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If you love a prodigal, you can discover help

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and hope for your wilderness journey right here

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at the When You Love a Prodigal podcast. And

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also help and hope for your own life journey.

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Now, personally, I have had a good summer, followed

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by a serious injury to my shoulder that sidelined

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me for several months. But we're glad, and I

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am excited. about this special guest that I have

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today. Justin Gambino is a new Texas friend for

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me. He lives in Freeport, Texas, where my wonderful

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Aunt Frances lived. I spent time with her every

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summer in junior and senior high school. And

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Justin knows where her beach house was and her

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house in town and the Riverside Country Club,

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Surfside Beach, all the places that I would visit

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when I would spend some time with her each summer.

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And so when I found out he was from Freeport,

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I was excited to just say. We're like friends,

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brothers and sisters almost. And we finally got

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to talk about his life, and he has an eventful

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prodigal story to share with us. So, Justin,

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welcome. Thank you so much for having me. It

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is definitely my pleasure. So I want to give

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you a little bit of time to talk about some of

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your early life, your family, the church you

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were a part of, the upbringing. Yeah. So I was

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one of six kids or am one of six kids. And growing

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up, my mom and dad, we were all homeschooled.

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My dad was, you know, he worked full time. My

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mom worked full time. homeschooling us. That

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was a full, I'm sure that was like three home,

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uh, you know, full -time jobs at home. And so,

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but my parents were very, very, um, very dedicated

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to the Lord and very dedicated to bringing us

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to church. Every time there was something going

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on at church, if there was Sunday night. You

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knew the church well. Wednesday night. I mean,

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if there was a youth group event happening, my

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parents would make sure that we were a part of

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it and that we were included in all that. And

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that was like majority of my childhood. At the

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age of five, my mom would say that I would bring

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my Bible to church and I would strum on it like

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a guitar during the worship. And I think that

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was mainly because the... the pastor that was

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leading worship, you know, he was playing the

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guitar. So I was just kind of mimicking him at

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the early age of five. And at the age of nine

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is when my parents decided to put me in music

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lessons, starting off with the piano. And I did

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not like the piano one bit. I was I was very,

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very quick on my feet to tell my parents like

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I did not like. I did not like doing the piano.

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But once I landed my eyes on a guitar, I knew

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that that was going to be my instrument of choice.

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And so at the age of 15 is whenever I started

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learning how to play guitar. I got my first guitar

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and leading worship. You know, it's crazy how

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like at the age of five, I'm mimicking the worship

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pastor, you know, on my Bible. And then 10 years

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later, I'm actually up there with him strumming

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on the guitar, playing the songs. I love it.

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But at the age, I think it's kind of interesting

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how at the age of 15 is not only was the Lord

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putting the guitar in my hands, but that was

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also the same year that I got my first paying

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job. And which also led me to hanging out with

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a completely different crowd than what I was

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raised around, which was in church. And and that's

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whenever my prodigal story began. So kind of

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give us a little description of how it progressed.

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Yeah. So whenever I first got my guitar at 15,

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got my first job, just really started getting

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pulled in by the wrong crowd that I just wanted

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to fit in with them. I wanted to fit in. I wanted

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to go to all the parties. I wanted to hang out

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with the kids. I just wanted to be. quote unquote,

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cool like them. I wanted to, I wanted to fit

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into a group of kids that I didn't, I didn't,

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you know, I wasn't raised around, you know, so

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these were kids, not, not, not, not, uh, say

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anything bad about public schoolers, but they

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were all public schoolers and they were, they

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weren't the greatest influence on me. And so,

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uh, two to three years of going out and partying

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and drinking underage and everything led to,

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um, Me, really. I mean, I've been saying this

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on tour, too. Like, you hang out with someone

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long enough, you're going to start acting like

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them. You're going to start talking. It rubs

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off. Yeah. And so before I knew it, I was committing

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theft. I was breaking and entering. And I had

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just turned 18 whenever I was standing before

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a judge in a courtroom looking at a felony on

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my record. and uh going to jail um but that that

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was that that was like a big turning point because

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that judge saw a good kid that just made a wrong

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turn and um i recently and how one i recently

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learned uh or at least recently heard a sermon

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um about like you know whenever you're sailing

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and you're looking at your compass if you're

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one degree off on your compass and you go to

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start sailing 10, 20, 30 miles, 100 miles, you're

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sailing, which is one degree off. You could be

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way off course in a matter of days or months

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or years. And so three years of me just taking

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a wrong turn, I was sailing in the wrong direction.

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But that judge saw that, and he said, you know,

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I see a good kid in front of me that just made

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a... made the wrong turn. And I want to give

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you, uh, I want to give you an opportunity to

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make a good choice today. Um, he said, you can

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take the felony. You can, you can go to jail.

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Uh, the choices, how long would you be in jail?

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I would have been, it was, I know it was going

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to be a minimum of six months up to two years.

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And, um, and then of course a felony on my record.

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And, and how, how, How were your parents responding?

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Oh, my parents. My mom. I remember because whenever

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I got caught, I was very cooperative. So I kind

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of feel like they were a little easy on me because

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whenever I got caught, I was just, like I said,

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very cooperative. I didn't put up a fight. I

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didn't run. And they're like, man, you're just

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a kid. I mean, if you find my mugshot online,

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which it's still out there, still available,

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I look like a 14 or 15 -year -old. I do not look

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18 years old. And so they never put me in handcuffs.

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And so when my mom came to pick me up at the

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jail, she saw me just sitting on a bench outside

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the jail cell. with no handcuffs on and my mom

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was livid she would she was barking orders at

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those jailers and she said you put that boy in

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handcuffs he needs to feel uh you know the the

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He just needs to feel the full effect of his

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decisions today. Were they aware of the several

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years of the changes that were occurring? They

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could see it. I remember my mom just pulling

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me to the side a couple times. She's like, is

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everything okay? You're acting different. We

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want you home by 10 p .m. You're coming home

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late. Yeah, I mean, yeah, they could see it definitely

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a different shift in my attitude and just, you

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know, just me being at home because I was still

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living at home. But then again, at the same time,

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there's five other kids. So I feel like, you

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know, if I was an only kid, they probably would

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have been down my neck a little bit more, but

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they had their hands full with five other kids.

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Right, right. And so, you know, it also just

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took them by surprise as well, because I was

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doing a good job of just keeping it all in the

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shadows. So that you were in jail must have been

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a huge shock. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And yet your mom

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said. Don't let him get away with this. She came

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down to the jail and saw that I wasn't even in

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handcuffs. She said, put that boy in handcuffs.

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He needs to realize what he's done. And I said,

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well, he's been very cooperative. We're just

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going to book him in, book him out, get his fingerprints

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and his mugshot done. And I think my mom even

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drove home and made me walk home. Because it

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was... It was it wasn't it wasn't, you know,

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we live down the country. And so the jail, the

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county jail was just maybe five miles down the

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road and it wasn't down major highways or anything.

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And and so she was like, he can walk home. And

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I still I was I remember I was walking home and

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there was a sheriff that pulled over and he said.

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Where are you headed, son? I still scored me

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a ride on my way home, walking home. And my mom

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didn't like that either. You look like a good

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kid. You said if you only knew. So what was it

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that the judge offered you? So the judge offered

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me, of course, he said the choice was mine. He

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said that, you know, you can go to jail today

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with a felony on your record. He said, I'm prepared

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to. make the felony into a misdemeanor instead.

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And if we did that, then you're going to need

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to do, I think it was like 14 weeks of community

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service followed by signing up to be in the military.

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And so the Navy was my choice of branch. And

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I signed up for Six active years and two inactive

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years in the Navy following my 14 weeks of community

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service, which consisted of the beaches that

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I grew up on, the Freeport Surfside Beach. My

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childhood memories was my dad taking all six

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of his kids to the beach to play and throw the

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football. And now I'm going out to the same beaches

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to pick up trash. Awesome. Well, the Lord's sense

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of humor is always fascinating to watch. Yes,

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it is. What he does. So you did that community

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service for 14 weeks and then you were in the

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Navy. For eight years. Yeah. And, you know, I

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would like to say that. you know, joining the

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Navy and serving in the military, serving my

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country, that it was something that I was very

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proud, proud to do. Um, but really, I mean, I

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was, I was dealing with a lot of shame and a

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lot of guilt because of my, because of my, uh,

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you know, decisions that I made. And so that

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was really, I, I, I didn't feel proud to serve

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in those first couple of years. It came with

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time. Um, It was just two years into my enlistment.

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It was 2007. I joined in 2005. In 2007, we got

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deployed to Iraq, which was just another huge

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reality check for me because now not only am

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I dealing with all the regret and the shame and

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the guilt of my decisions, but now I'm fighting

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for the very freedom that I had been taking for

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granted. That was a huge wake -up call. That

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was also where the Lord, I really sensed that

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the Lord was pursuing me whenever I was over

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in Iraq. Because that's whenever I decided to

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attend a chapel on a Wednesday night. And it

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was, I hadn't been to church in months, Judy.

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I hadn't been to church in months. And the first

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night I go to chapel in Iraq on base is whenever

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the chaplain. uh, asks the whole congregation.

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There was only about a dozen of us, but he asked,

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does anybody here know how to play guitar? Does

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anybody here know how to play worship? And I

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was the only one. I was the only, from what I

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recall, like no one else was raising their hands,

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but, but me. And, uh, and that was, you know,

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that's whenever the Lord put the guitar back

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in my hands. And up until then. where were you

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in the Lord? That's probably, I can honestly

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say that I was, that was going to be the, whenever

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I was furthest from the Lord, I had put God on

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the back burner. Um, I was so caught up in, and,

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you know, the regret and depression and the,

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the guilt and, you know, why I was in the sandbox

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and in the first place, you know, was my, was

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my decisions that I made. So I was, you know,

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not only the furthest from home that I'd ever

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been. I mean that from a physical standpoint

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and from a spiritual standpoint. I was just so

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far from my heavenly father's house. I was so

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far from being in communion with him. And how

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did the chapel and the guitar begin to make a

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change? Well. If I could, I kind of think of

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it as like, you know, the table has been set

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for us. Right. The Lord has set the table and

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there's an invitation and a seat always for his

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kids. And I felt like me leading worship was

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an invitation to that table. It was always set.

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But I was just I kept saying, all right, Lord,

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maybe a rain check. I'll come over for dinner

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next week. Yeah. I mean, I think it's I think

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it's so easy for us to, you know, make dinner

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reservations, so to speak, and then change them

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last minute, you know, rain check it. And the

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Lord, the Lord had that table set and he had

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the he had the he had the seat with my name right

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there at the table and just waiting for me to.

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to answer. And, and so that's kind of how it

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felt from a spiritual standpoint, that it was

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just an invitation back to the table. And so

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for the rest of your time in the, in the Navy,

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that was a growing thing again. Yeah. Especially

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whenever I was in Iraq, because I had called

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my dad and asked him to send me my guitar to

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Iraq. So there, you know, I get my guitar that

00:15:53.539 --> 00:15:55.259
I, you know, there was my first guitar at the

00:15:55.259 --> 00:15:58.820
age of 15. That shows up in Iraq. I'm leading

00:15:58.820 --> 00:16:01.860
worship. I really thought that after my deployment

00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:06.759
in 2007 that I could just come home and return

00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:09.820
home, kind of hit the reset button, start over.

00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:15.580
The Navy tries to, all branches, really try to

00:16:15.580 --> 00:16:19.000
prepare you the best they can for what you're

00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:21.159
going to experience, the emotions and the feelings

00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:22.759
that you're going to have whenever coming home

00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:26.139
from a war zone. And really that all just went

00:16:26.139 --> 00:16:28.039
in one ear and out the other. I was just so ready

00:16:28.039 --> 00:16:31.179
to get home and hit the reset button. And I just

00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:34.679
started getting hit blindsided with the PTSD

00:16:34.679 --> 00:16:39.840
and addiction to alcohol. And just felt like

00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:46.200
I just went right back into that rut of guilt

00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:52.529
and shame. So that must have been. sad for your

00:16:52.529 --> 00:16:55.289
parents yeah well whenever I first came back

00:16:55.289 --> 00:17:00.289
from Iraq my parents let me uh stay home and

00:17:00.289 --> 00:17:02.929
uh for like the first like three I think it was

00:17:02.929 --> 00:17:05.470
for like three months maybe I came home from

00:17:05.470 --> 00:17:10.450
Iraq and um and you know they let me stay at

00:17:10.450 --> 00:17:12.950
the house until I found my own apartment and

00:17:12.950 --> 00:17:14.950
got back up on my feet you know just kind of

00:17:14.950 --> 00:17:18.549
transitioning from a war zone which wasn't easy,

00:17:18.690 --> 00:17:21.630
but it was whenever I was able to hide it pretty

00:17:21.630 --> 00:17:23.849
good for the first few months. But once I got

00:17:23.849 --> 00:17:25.809
into my first apartment, that's whenever the

00:17:25.809 --> 00:17:29.269
addiction to alcohol, the PTSD really settled

00:17:29.269 --> 00:17:34.569
in. Even thoughts of suicide snuck in. The enemy

00:17:34.569 --> 00:17:39.470
was just planting seeds of lies in my mind. But

00:17:39.470 --> 00:17:45.269
the turning point really was a mentor and a friend

00:17:45.269 --> 00:17:48.480
of mine. could see that I was struggling on the

00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:51.720
outside. And he invited me to a Bible study.

00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:54.779
It was a Friday night Bible study. And you went.

00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:59.819
And I went. And the wild thing is that the invitation

00:17:59.819 --> 00:18:02.339
was just like that chaplain had for me in Iraq.

00:18:02.759 --> 00:18:04.460
He said, hey, why don't you grab your guitar

00:18:04.460 --> 00:18:06.440
and lead worship? And that's what this mentor

00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:09.359
and friend of mine was doing. He said, you know,

00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:11.720
why don't you grab your guitar and come help

00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:13.940
me lead worship at the Friday night Bible study.

00:18:16.269 --> 00:18:18.630
And that's what I did. I started showing up.

00:18:18.710 --> 00:18:22.210
And that's whenever I started writing songs for

00:18:22.210 --> 00:18:24.089
the Lord. That's whenever I started writing songs

00:18:24.089 --> 00:18:30.289
just out of my experiences, even from my doubt

00:18:30.289 --> 00:18:32.990
and those emotions that I was feeling in that

00:18:32.990 --> 00:18:38.569
time, but also how the Lord was interceding for

00:18:38.569 --> 00:18:41.089
me and how the Lord was fighting for me. I just

00:18:41.089 --> 00:18:45.220
started writing those songs. So every time you

00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:49.019
heard the Lord, but then kind of turned your

00:18:49.019 --> 00:18:51.940
back again, the Lord came after you again. He

00:18:51.940 --> 00:18:57.099
was just so... I like to say that God's love

00:18:57.099 --> 00:19:01.380
is like the waves in pursuit of the shoreline.

00:19:02.519 --> 00:19:08.299
And that might be me speaking from just living

00:19:08.299 --> 00:19:11.319
on the coast for such a long time. And I've just

00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:17.000
been such a lover of... God's creation and just

00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:19.920
always love the coastline wherever I'm at. You

00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:22.559
know, the last time I was in England, I found

00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:25.220
myself on the coastline. The last time I was

00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:27.500
on the West Coast, I found myself, you know,

00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:29.779
on the coastline where the Redwoods were. And

00:19:29.779 --> 00:19:31.980
I was just, I can't get enough of that. And so

00:19:31.980 --> 00:19:34.839
I kind of think of God's love kind of like, you

00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:37.839
know, just wave after wave, just crashing on

00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:40.960
the shore, just never, never giving up, never

00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:44.200
relenting until. reaches the shore and in a way

00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:47.720
i feel like i'm the shore you know and he's just

00:19:47.720 --> 00:19:52.720
always in pursuit of me so besides your mentor

00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:55.359
there was another special person god brought

00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:59.779
in my wife my my wife i i married my wife in

00:19:59.779 --> 00:20:06.859
2013 her name is ashley and uh so 2013 let's

00:20:06.859 --> 00:20:10.160
see we have let's see march this coming march

00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:16.539
will be Yeah, 13 years. And the crazy thing is,

00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:21.500
is we are, for the first time, pregnant. And

00:20:21.500 --> 00:20:28.740
we're expecting a little boy in April. And you

00:20:28.740 --> 00:20:31.500
know so much more about how to think about raising

00:20:31.500 --> 00:20:35.079
a child by now. I think so. And I think back,

00:20:35.220 --> 00:20:40.720
we started trying to get pregnant. Five years

00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:43.799
into our marriage. So it's been seven years of

00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:49.480
on and off trying. And those times that we couldn't

00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:51.079
have kids, we're just like, well, we can just

00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:53.799
have dogs. You know, they can be like our four

00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:58.579
-legged kids, our furry kids. Yeah, I want to

00:20:58.579 --> 00:21:01.400
hear some more about the furry kids. What's that?

00:21:02.299 --> 00:21:05.000
I want to hear about your dogs. Oh, my goodness.

00:21:05.099 --> 00:21:12.400
We have two boxers. And one is the son of the

00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:16.680
mama. So we got a mama and her boy. And the boy

00:21:16.680 --> 00:21:19.440
is actually in between my legs right now. He

00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:22.359
hears me talking, but there's no one else in

00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:25.799
the room to him, you know? And so he's just like,

00:21:25.880 --> 00:21:28.279
who are you talking to? And he's looking around.

00:21:28.819 --> 00:21:33.559
And so, yeah, the two boxers that we have, they're...

00:21:33.819 --> 00:21:36.359
They're quite the handful. I'm anxious to see

00:21:36.359 --> 00:21:39.220
how they respond to a little human being in the

00:21:39.220 --> 00:21:43.480
house. Oh, yeah. One of the things you told me

00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:45.660
when we talked before, though, was that the dogs

00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:50.059
actually played a role in helping you in your

00:21:50.059 --> 00:21:52.980
walk back with the Lord. We recently lost one

00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:56.759
of our boxers in July. His name was Hank. And

00:21:56.759 --> 00:22:03.210
Hank was on the road with me a lot. He was always

00:22:03.210 --> 00:22:05.529
on the road with me. So he saw me do ministry.

00:22:06.109 --> 00:22:09.470
And it was kind of crazy. I mean, there were

00:22:09.470 --> 00:22:12.589
times on the road where he would almost be like

00:22:12.589 --> 00:22:14.890
a therapy dog for other people at the shows.

00:22:15.509 --> 00:22:19.529
I've seen him cheer up autistic kids. So I think

00:22:19.529 --> 00:22:23.710
in a way, I could see the love of God through

00:22:23.710 --> 00:22:29.670
the dogs as well. So you are expecting a baby.

00:22:30.670 --> 00:22:33.369
You're on the road a lot. Tell me, what's the

00:22:33.369 --> 00:22:37.210
focus of your life right now? What has God given

00:22:37.210 --> 00:22:40.750
you to do that he prepared you for long ago?

00:22:41.829 --> 00:22:46.349
I think what he's preparing me for now, not only

00:22:46.349 --> 00:22:52.150
to be a father to my son, which is just crazy

00:22:52.150 --> 00:22:57.849
to think that. I see how my earthly father loved

00:22:57.849 --> 00:23:02.730
me. And I've seen how much my Heavenly Father

00:23:02.730 --> 00:23:06.269
has loved me and pursued me. And so I feel like

00:23:06.269 --> 00:23:12.150
even though I wanted to be a dad five, seven

00:23:12.150 --> 00:23:15.269
years ago, I feel like I wouldn't have been that

00:23:15.269 --> 00:23:17.930
great of a dad then. I feel like I would have

00:23:17.930 --> 00:23:19.650
just kind of gone through the motions. But now

00:23:19.650 --> 00:23:22.829
I really sense that the Lord has just done a

00:23:22.829 --> 00:23:26.950
lot of character building and just molded me

00:23:26.950 --> 00:23:30.329
into who He wants me to be for this. this kid

00:23:30.329 --> 00:23:33.710
that we're about to have, um, which is just,

00:23:33.730 --> 00:23:38.849
which is just wild to me. Like even, um, the

00:23:38.849 --> 00:23:40.829
excitement that I had last night was the last

00:23:40.829 --> 00:23:43.710
night, Ashley and I were watching TV and I get

00:23:43.710 --> 00:23:49.630
to feel him push like in my hands on her stomach.

00:23:50.230 --> 00:23:53.089
And I give a little push and I feel a little

00:23:53.089 --> 00:23:57.309
push back. And, uh, and I was just like this,

00:23:57.430 --> 00:24:01.470
I, I, I haven't loved something so much and it's

00:24:01.470 --> 00:24:05.509
not even here yet, you know? And to think that

00:24:05.509 --> 00:24:09.269
that, that in comparison to the Lord's love for

00:24:09.269 --> 00:24:15.910
me is just nothing compares. Awesome. So mostly

00:24:15.910 --> 00:24:18.930
right now, you're what you're doing for a living

00:24:18.930 --> 00:24:22.890
is running around the country. Speak a singing.

00:24:23.049 --> 00:24:26.170
I've been, I've been doing music full time for

00:24:26.170 --> 00:24:29.500
10 years. a little bit more than 10 years. June

00:24:29.500 --> 00:24:34.539
of this year was 10 years. Um, and yeah, writing,

00:24:34.619 --> 00:24:37.720
releasing music, even though I've been on the

00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:41.259
road. So this last tour, I was on tour from June

00:24:41.259 --> 00:24:44.819
to November. And, uh, even in the midst of all

00:24:44.819 --> 00:24:47.180
that, I was going back and forth to Tennessee.

00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:51.700
I was, I've been writing new music. Um, we have,

00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:55.839
even though, even though next year I'd have decided

00:24:55.839 --> 00:25:00.390
to not, travel as much to be home with Ashley

00:25:00.390 --> 00:25:03.869
and the son, at least for that first year. Um,

00:25:04.089 --> 00:25:07.509
I have a lot of new music to release next year,

00:25:07.589 --> 00:25:11.250
which I'm very, very excited about. Um, so yeah,

00:25:11.309 --> 00:25:14.190
I just been staying busy while the baby's inside

00:25:14.190 --> 00:25:16.829
the womb, been getting as much done as I can.

00:25:18.009 --> 00:25:20.809
Oh, and they, the baby, he can hear that music.

00:25:20.910 --> 00:25:25.619
Oh yeah. All right. So. Are you writing most

00:25:25.619 --> 00:25:29.099
of it yourself? I've been writing, I would say

00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:31.920
maybe 50 % of it myself, and the other 50 % has

00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:35.180
been co -writing, collaborating with friends

00:25:35.180 --> 00:25:40.559
and industry friends in Tennessee. And this upcoming

00:25:40.559 --> 00:25:43.460
project, which is going to be a worship project,

00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:47.160
that has been mostly co -written with friends

00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:54.619
of mine. Tell me about that. Whenever I decided

00:25:54.619 --> 00:25:57.259
to start telling my testimony through music,

00:25:57.660 --> 00:26:02.960
that has just been, I'm trying to put it into

00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:07.480
words, it's been uncharted waters for me of sharing

00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:09.819
my testimony that I had kept hidden for a long

00:26:09.819 --> 00:26:13.200
time. I didn't share this story for a long time.

00:26:14.059 --> 00:26:19.200
Not until I started sharing my testimony 2022,

00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:24.859
2023. So it's been pretty recent. But if I can

00:26:24.859 --> 00:26:29.000
put it into words, what this music has been like

00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:33.359
writing, it almost feels like the Lord has been

00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:36.099
inviting me into this garden to show me things

00:26:36.099 --> 00:26:39.359
that need to be pruned and uprooted or watered

00:26:39.359 --> 00:26:42.819
or tended to. And out of those times where it's

00:26:42.819 --> 00:26:44.579
just been in a secret place with him, I've been

00:26:44.579 --> 00:26:47.319
writing these worship songs or these song ideas

00:26:47.319 --> 00:26:49.380
have been coming to mind or coming into my heart.

00:26:49.950 --> 00:26:52.450
And so that's what this project is going to be

00:26:52.450 --> 00:26:54.430
about. It's going to be just about a walk in

00:26:54.430 --> 00:26:58.309
the garden with the Lord. And I'm really excited

00:26:58.309 --> 00:27:00.950
about it. And that's the title of a book that

00:27:00.950 --> 00:27:03.829
you have? The title of the book that I've been

00:27:03.829 --> 00:27:07.349
working on is called Made New, which was the

00:27:07.349 --> 00:27:11.930
title of the album in 2023. So the 2023 album

00:27:11.930 --> 00:27:16.730
Made New, that was the album that I decided to

00:27:16.730 --> 00:27:21.440
tell my story in 13 songs. And that's what embarked

00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:24.759
this journey of sharing my testimony with with

00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:29.960
media and on podcasts like yours. And that's

00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:32.460
what has felt like uncharted waters for me, because

00:27:32.460 --> 00:27:36.140
I'm sharing a story that I had I had kept, you

00:27:36.140 --> 00:27:39.779
know, secret for so long, not knowing that whenever

00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:42.319
I decided to start sharing my story, there were

00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:46.660
so many people that were just there were. So

00:27:46.660 --> 00:27:49.079
many. You were moved by it. Not only prodigals,

00:27:49.079 --> 00:27:54.220
but prodigals' parents. Well, yes, especially.

00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:59.859
Yeah, they do. So tell me about December 12,

00:28:00.099 --> 00:28:03.359
2012. Yes, December 12, 2020. I'll never forget

00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:11.220
it. It was the first, well, it was whenever,

00:28:11.480 --> 00:28:16.069
that was my reviving moment. I'll put it that

00:28:16.069 --> 00:28:21.410
way. The Lord called me to do a night of worship,

00:28:21.569 --> 00:28:25.769
a night of revival at the very courthouse where

00:28:25.769 --> 00:28:30.049
I was judged at the age of 18. And I was very,

00:28:30.170 --> 00:28:33.250
I did not want to do it. I said no the first

00:28:33.250 --> 00:28:35.670
time to the Lord. And I lost that argument because

00:28:35.670 --> 00:28:38.170
I did not want to go back to the place where

00:28:38.170 --> 00:28:39.769
I had bad memories. I just didn't want to do

00:28:39.769 --> 00:28:44.220
it. But I lost that argument with the Lord. I

00:28:44.220 --> 00:28:48.220
flew my band in because my band and I were all

00:28:48.220 --> 00:28:51.000
from different states. So I flew them in. We

00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:53.339
had a night of worship on the lawn of the courthouse

00:28:53.339 --> 00:28:57.779
where I was judged. And it was that night whenever,

00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:02.839
honestly, I was still prideful. I was still thinking

00:29:02.839 --> 00:29:06.640
selfishly that the Lord has brought Justin Gambino

00:29:06.640 --> 00:29:11.160
here to bring revival to my hometown. And the

00:29:11.160 --> 00:29:14.269
Lord just... ever so kindly said, no, Justin,

00:29:14.450 --> 00:29:17.309
I brought you here for you and me. I brought

00:29:17.309 --> 00:29:19.150
you here because I've been calling you home.

00:29:19.509 --> 00:29:21.329
You've been going through the motions. You've

00:29:21.329 --> 00:29:24.009
been checking the boxes. You've been doing all

00:29:24.009 --> 00:29:30.349
the things. Whenever you're on stage, you've

00:29:30.349 --> 00:29:31.750
been saying all the right things. You've been

00:29:31.750 --> 00:29:35.549
doing all the right things. It's time for you

00:29:35.549 --> 00:29:40.430
to be all in. I remember falling on my knees

00:29:40.430 --> 00:29:44.740
that night. And just really fully surrendering

00:29:44.740 --> 00:29:48.619
to the Lord. And my life hasn't been the same

00:29:48.619 --> 00:29:52.359
since. You can go back to the songs that I was

00:29:52.359 --> 00:29:59.180
releasing. 2017, 2018, 19, 20. And I think they're

00:29:59.180 --> 00:30:01.059
good songs, but there was something missing.

00:30:01.140 --> 00:30:06.819
Once you hit 2023, my catalog, the library of

00:30:06.819 --> 00:30:11.700
music from 2023 to now. To me, it's like, okay,

00:30:11.799 --> 00:30:15.119
I've decided to get very authentic and very just

00:30:15.119 --> 00:30:19.940
transparent with my story. And the crazy thing

00:30:19.940 --> 00:30:25.259
is that next weekend is the sixth annual revival

00:30:25.259 --> 00:30:28.059
at the very courthouse where I was a judge. So

00:30:28.059 --> 00:30:31.740
we've been doing it every year. We've been seeing

00:30:31.740 --> 00:30:34.940
prodigals come home, which is what happened in

00:30:34.940 --> 00:30:38.900
my life. You know, this prodigal. Found his way

00:30:38.900 --> 00:30:41.480
back to the father's house. And that's been my

00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:43.539
prayer for all these revivals that we've been

00:30:43.539 --> 00:30:48.460
doing at the courthouse, is that the prodigal

00:30:48.460 --> 00:30:53.539
would come home. I love that that's continued.

00:30:53.700 --> 00:30:58.299
And it's kind of like a marker for you every

00:30:58.299 --> 00:31:02.440
year now to take what God's done in your life

00:31:02.440 --> 00:31:07.970
and make it up. possibility for others as well

00:31:07.970 --> 00:31:17.089
so we are excited to hear um your music and uh

00:31:17.089 --> 00:31:20.390
the book you've you've is the book out or are

00:31:20.390 --> 00:31:22.769
you still working on it working on it now yeah

00:31:22.769 --> 00:31:26.829
so i'm hoping to be done with it um around this

00:31:26.829 --> 00:31:29.930
time next year so it's it's gonna it's gonna

00:31:29.930 --> 00:31:32.049
be i think it's gonna be pretty long i think

00:31:32.049 --> 00:31:35.759
it's gonna be about 15 16 chapters and You know,

00:31:35.779 --> 00:31:37.819
a book that you can sit down with for a month.

00:31:39.940 --> 00:31:45.400
I like that. It's basically everything I learned

00:31:45.400 --> 00:31:50.039
about loving a prodigal came out in the book

00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:53.680
I wrote. And it's devotional in that sense. But

00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:57.599
it's God uses it tremendously. So I believe he's

00:31:57.599 --> 00:32:01.640
going to use what what you. Are going to let

00:32:01.640 --> 00:32:04.200
him work through you. And the lives that you're

00:32:04.200 --> 00:32:08.519
going to touch. Will surprise you. The Lord's

00:32:08.519 --> 00:32:13.200
been surprising me. Yeah. And I believe. That

00:32:13.200 --> 00:32:18.700
he will continue to do so. So. You have how many

00:32:18.700 --> 00:32:24.119
albums out? Since 23? The ones that are. More.

00:32:25.779 --> 00:32:31.180
Since 2023. I've released two CDs. In total,

00:32:31.319 --> 00:32:35.720
I have six CDs. So in the last 10 years, I've

00:32:35.720 --> 00:32:43.579
released six. But yeah, it's a new journey. It's

00:32:43.579 --> 00:32:47.599
a new season. And I'm excited to keep on writing

00:32:47.599 --> 00:32:49.799
songs that the Lord just writes through me and

00:32:49.799 --> 00:32:54.039
glorifying Him in the process. Well, we're going

00:32:54.039 --> 00:32:57.359
to make available a couple of your albums for

00:32:57.359 --> 00:33:05.490
drawing. into our audience so that so we'll let

00:33:05.490 --> 00:33:09.470
them know how they can go online and request

00:33:09.470 --> 00:33:12.549
to be in the drawing so that we can send them

00:33:12.549 --> 00:33:19.250
your at least a couple of them and bless them

00:33:19.250 --> 00:33:23.210
especially the most of the people who are listening

00:33:23.210 --> 00:33:27.960
are going to be ones who have a love person who's

00:33:27.960 --> 00:33:31.180
been on a journey, maybe not like yours, but

00:33:31.180 --> 00:33:37.740
in that same idea of really turning away from

00:33:37.740 --> 00:33:41.859
what they were raised as and then the Lord pursuing

00:33:41.859 --> 00:33:45.740
them and not giving up. And we want to always

00:33:45.740 --> 00:33:51.119
be able to give them hope that their loved one.

00:33:51.500 --> 00:33:54.240
can come back. And I know that personally, and

00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:57.779
your story tells it beautifully. And so I think

00:33:57.779 --> 00:34:02.539
it's going to be a blessing to many. Any special

00:34:02.539 --> 00:34:05.440
prayer requests that you would have before we

00:34:05.440 --> 00:34:09.679
close? Just that the pregnancy keeps on going

00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:15.059
healthy. And yeah, that's the first thing that

00:34:15.059 --> 00:34:19.960
hits my mind. And then, you know, of course,

00:34:19.960 --> 00:34:23.079
the process of writing the book and the new music

00:34:23.079 --> 00:34:27.000
coming out that the Lord would just use it to

00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:32.400
further his kingdom. Okay. Well, thank you so

00:34:32.400 --> 00:34:36.739
much. And I'm just, I'm confident that you've

00:34:36.739 --> 00:34:41.800
touched a lot of people who are fearful, discouraged,

00:34:42.119 --> 00:34:47.349
thinking, will it ever happen? And you told a

00:34:47.349 --> 00:34:51.510
story that God's intervening, God's following,

00:34:51.710 --> 00:34:54.510
God's not giving up, and they can keep walking

00:34:54.510 --> 00:34:58.269
with him as they wait for their loved one to

00:34:58.269 --> 00:35:03.789
say, okay, here I am, Lord. So thank you so much.

00:35:03.829 --> 00:35:06.750
You're welcome. God bless you beyond what you

00:35:06.750 --> 00:35:08.750
can ask or imagine. Thank you, Judy, and thank

00:35:08.750 --> 00:35:09.690
you so much for having me.