Anniversary Special // S05E01

It’s been a year, a difficult year full of uncertainty and changes but we got through it. Regardless of the changes or challenges you saw last year you got through! For us this podcast has been about being obedient and now we welcome a new era, unnaturally flourished.

QUESTIONS WE TOUCH ON IN THIS EPISODE:

• How is your heart?
• Do you see change?
• How are you flourishing?

VERSES FROM UNNATURALLY FLOURISHED:

Psalms 92:13, 1 Timothy 4:15, Proverbs 31:25.

QUOTES FROM UNNATURALLY FLOURISHED:

“So yes, our hearts are wicked and you should never trust your heart over God’s word, but he is aligning your heart so over time we see changes in our heart.”

Michelle Watson, The Pantry Podcast, Anniversary Special

“It has been a wow like year, like just awesome edifying full, you know, we always talk about the fullness of God. And I learned something in this last year about his fullness that I didn’t know how full he really could be.”

Shea Watson, The Pantry Podcast, Anniversary Special

ANNOTATED TRANSCRIPT:

Shea: One year y’all you, some of y’all have been with us a long time. Some of y’all not so much, but hey, we got another year ahead of us, right? Oh man, it is good to be in the house of the Lord. It’s an important house.

Michelle: And you know, what’s funny is we’ve been in so many different areas of this house to film this thing as we’ve renovated the house and, and rearranged rooms is not right yet. Okay. Now we’re going live. Okay. Now we’re on. Now we have guests. Now we need, now we need, and we’ve had so many backdrop changes and seen changes and we had a cool neon light for a while and then it just busted out and we’re like bye neon light. And now we’re here.

Michelle: There’s always a sermon with something. I wish that I had someone who just ran around writing down anytime I said, that’s a sermon. So that could actually remember and do something with it.

Shea: Can you pull out your notes for me?

Michelle: I can. They’re real. They’re from like two years ago, but they’re there. You’ve got some good content somewhere

Shea: Hey look, it’s been a year. It has been a wow like year, like just awesome edifying full, you know, we always talk about the fullness of God. And I learned something in this last year about his fullness that I didn’t know how full he really could be until this last year.This is the year. I mean, I think a lot of podcasts are going to be a celebrating their one year in the next month or so. Because we were called at a time, of necessity. We were called at a time to be active, to bring the word of God out into the atmosphere in the ways that we could. A lot of people answered that call and it’s been just an awesome year to interact and talk with and be with and, and just mingle with those people, both in recording and just in zoom chats. We have said some of the greatest conversations in the last year that I think we’ve had, in the seven years that we’ve known each other. And I’m not saying that our conversations that’s always Edify. Well, we’re married. Y’all so

Michelle: Saying all that stuff, but they’re all sanctifying.

Shea: Yeah, definitely sanctifying, but because we’re putting the right nutrients into the soil we were definitely staying yoked to Jesus Christ. We were definitely staying yoked through Jesus Christ to one another. And we always find that compass bearing back to where it needs to be. And it’s really cool to watch how that grows. And, you know, you throw things like this in, with your job and, you know, you’ve you pretty much the year before that you’re like, I’m done with the university of Maryland and you got a contract, you know, it was, I have to pay, which is a blessing. That’s still a blessing. I want to stay home. I want to raise Calia. I want to be a mom. I want to work for myself. And just watching you tackle that has been amazing. And y’all, I’ve got to watch it cause I’ve spent 50% of my time at home.

Michelle: Yeah. And, and the chairs we record in our right behind my work desk. So when he comes home, he comes up, he says right behind me. So he literally sees me work.

Shea: But you know what I’ve been watching, like designing you. And, and, and I’m picking up just a little bit here and there

Michelle: A lot this year as well in everything that you’ve been doing with just the tech, I’ve seen you problem solve so many things to make this better and better and better all for God’s glory. It wasn’t because it was us building for ourselves. It’s just because you wanted it to be easier for people to listen, to sound better. When people listen to it, you wanted it to reach more people. So you’ve been a driving force and always focusing on quality, making sure that you make time to have intentional versus intentional thoughts, being so excited in the car, talking about what you want to talk about on the podcast. I’m getting so pumped up about our guests. And y’all let me just say, I mean, he’s mean he brings it up sometimes, but he does have a traumatic brain injury, but you know what? I can say that without fearing that it’s going to cripple him, because God has been such a Redeemer in it, in that he’s always been able to remember the word.

Michelle: Maybe not like exactly where, although he’s getting better at that too, but he’s always been able to remember the word. And he puts in so much effort to remember all the little details of this podcast that just come naturally to me, because I’m just a Mindfreak as far as just the things spinning all at once in my head, it’s not always the best, but it’s given me a new respect for him. And, and all he’s capable of and how much he loves the Lord to do all this extra when he already has so much on his plate. So with all of that said, this episode is the very first episode of season five unnaturally flourished. And we thought it was very fitting for this episode to be called unnaturally flourished. And talk about how this podcast just being obedient and faith filled with this podcast has unnaturally flourished us, over the last year.

Shea: Yeah. You know, when we look back over the last year and when you think of this flourishing, it starts somewhere though. You know, it’s like our relationship with Christ started with us saying, I do. I mean, you’ll get, you can say it however, y’all want to say it. Now, watch how it, whichever way your denomination sees that that’s fine. However you pray in that prayer. However you come to, into that connection with Jesus Christ. But it’s like that it’s like this nourishment and that’s where it starts. You know, we there’s verses that. Talk about, you know, going from milk to meat. And you know, sometimes we have to go back to the milk. Sometimes we have to get back to that spiritual milk. Sometimes we have to get back into that, that word. I was thinking about this, I think it was just the other night manna , right?

Shea: I’m like, please give me, man. I was praying. And it’s like, man, just give me this man. And, and, and it just like, I know probably everyone out there has probably thought of this before. It’s my first time y’all so I’m like, man, I, and I’m thinking like the word of God and I’m thinking of like food and I’m thinking of sustenance. And I’m just thinking about how, how many morsels are just wrapped up in that word of God that just flows into that. Just breeds into that feeds you, that drink. It gives you drinking your thirst. It’s amazing. So our seasons have, we did seasons and seasons have been fun. Seasons have been like it’s and it’s growing. It’s kind of like, you know, we started out podcasting and Michelle, I just thought about this. She goes, honey. Cause y’all I was about throwing my phone.

Shea: No I don’t. I’m trying to hook up some video cameras to get some, some stuff. And like I, listen, I fix medical equipment for a living. I go online all the time and search things and it just comes, this ain’t coming. So it’s a little frustrated. You’re like, Oh, this is like the first time. So going back to that first time, right? It’s like, I go, the microphone. Oh. But then like every episode, you know, from season one, starting with what’s in your heart, you know, to season two, we are second to season three worship is our worship to season four, a naturally nourished. Right. And it’s like this buildup and it’s just growing and now we’re getting into flourish, but we’re not stopping there, man. We’re going into rewired. We’re going into all of these great things and cause, cause we’re rewiring ourselves. We’re just growing and, and expounding and learning more about the word of God. I just got the eyeballs. Cause you know, yeah.

Shea: Just got a spoiler. So next season, because he can’t keep a secret because this is what God does. No get pumped y’all because that is, that is the next season. And we’re already recording for it. I think to jump off that real quick, just the seasons when, when we look back, when you and I look back on them, we’re thinking that the whole time we’re like, what do the people need? Lord, tell us what they need to hear from us specific. Right? Cause he’ll use different. But just like she just said, right. He gets so excited. I love him. But like he just said, looking back, it’s like, what did we need to hear? Right. Because we are so excited to feed, but then God feeds us right back. And that takes us that perfect bridge between last season where we’re talking about God will provide for you. Right. If you need the nourishment and t his season where it’s all about providing outwardly and how that, that just enables and nourish, like how he just like, that’s how he builds you up in that servanthood. And that we have this, this focus on like, okay, what are the people need Lord? And he’s nourishing and he’s flourishing us right back saying, this is what you need in this season too. And it’s manifested in the coolest ways.

Shea: And to open this, like with a verse, because you don’t mean, I love verses of course they didn’t have a verse. Iwanted this to be as natural as possible so that the unnatural could work. I like it that way. I like sitting in there. I like preparation. Don’t get me wrong. I liked preparation. But I remember when I first started preaching, it was like, I’d have 10 pages of notes and try and now I preach. And it’s like, here’s the verses. Here’s a few points in that verse. I let the spirit speak, but I, you know, it’s not like I’m just walking up there. No it’s, I’m studying. Um, I’m always in the word and because we need to be in the word, but see, in that nourishment, he brings us to flourish mint, right? Psalms 92:13, they are planted in the house of the Lord. They flourish in the courts of our God, man.

Shea: We have been planted. We have been planted by the stream, by the living water. We are just sucking up this, this, this, these nutrients we’re being fed. Of course that’s, if you’re allowing yourself to be fed, right, are you opening the word of God? Are you listening to sermons? Are you interactive with your body of Christ? These are all forms of nourishment and you know, we’re, we’re going into flourishing because that’s, that’s another step. You know, when you start to unpack that or you start to understand that you start to see that all of this nutrition, that the word of God is bringing you is really starting to solidify into your heart, your soul, your mind. And from there, it’s like your eyes awaken. You see things differently. You see the world for what the world is. You see the heavens for what the heaven is.

Shea: You see the dividing points of heaven and earth because earth has its, its its agenda and heaven has its agenda. And you start to understand. Think of things above things of this earth. Ooh, there has to be something in that. And so nourishing, right? You nurse that, and then you start to flourish because now your mind starts to take on the flourishing, the nutrients. And it’s like, it’s like, it’s like training, right? You train. I mean, I don’t know how many times we shot guns in army. And I was like, like, especially for what I did Friday, we were at the range all the time. We had things that changed. We had things that you had to rethink or you had this, but the basics had to be down because that would just be another attitude you wanted to be able to pull it out quick and just, and just be natural right. In, in one aspect. So the word of God imprinted into your heart and printed into your mind. Right. So then when things come at you, you have something solid. That’s already there. You can just throw a verse out or think of a verse in your head or, or move from there working in a kingdom and reality instead of earthly mentality.

Michelle: Yeah. That makes me think of as a graphic designer, how there was always a motivation to learn more, to get better at something else. But it wasn’t a constant like rehashing of the exact same skill over and over. Like, like watching the same tutorial, reading the same thing, trying to make the exact same thing over and over, you know, like there was always like, okay, I need to get better at this to achieve this goal. Right. And so you really invest, you spend time and you get to a point where you can kind of just do that. That’s like your thing, but there was never a, there was a contentment in the sense of this is great, but it was never like, okay, I’m going to resign to this level and just stay here. It was always this passion to keep doing and testing and pushing myself to do something.

Michelle: I didn’t know how to do. It’s mostly when you’re learning something new with a lot of nourishment, cause you’re having to consume a lot of stuff. But then after a while, you’re able to flourish to a certain degree without revisiting that, that old nourishment. But you’re always still pursuing nourishment to flourish in a new way. There’s always something more to be had. It’s just, what is kind of on autopilot for you at this current time and what are you excitedly pursuing or being put through because God knows what he has for you. So what kind of training are you going through right now to do something that later you might be able to say, I do this on autopilot and it’s not for your glory. So they, you should boast. But because the Lord has worked in you and given you this perfect training, this masterclass to get you to a level where that doesn’t have to consume your thoughts so much, you can just do that and you can use what you know now for the next thing I was, I’ve been talking about this recently because of how amazing it’s been to trust him.

Michelle: And I, and I told someone today that it’s kind of like a hack. And I said, hacking quotes. Cause it’s like, I don’t really like to say it like that, but if you’re having trouble trusting God, you’re like, how am I supposed to trust him with everything? I said, just pick something you’re trying to plan or figure out and you just give it to God and then throw out whatever half cocked, overblown, stress, inducing plot you’re coming up with for yourself and then tell God, throw me the breadcrumbs. And from there, you’re going to be hooked. I’m hooked. And the things that I have been able to experience and live through because I let go of the reins and said, no, Lord, you show me I want to do this, but is this what you want me to do? Like always checking in and and never hearing an audible answer, you know, for me personally, but an answer always coming in a way that’s just so clear. And it’s just, it’s amazing how he can, he can do that just by continuously exercising your faith.

Shea: I liked the exercising, your faith. I remember at 2014 starting Bible college. Wow. I did not have that vocabulary. And I, and we have a pastor, pastor Stephens, right. He long, long past, but they still teach off of some of his videos and okay, hi, hadn’t been an English class even long. And you know, and I’m telling you when you’re a war, you’re not worried about your, how you saying something, right. It just has to be clear, concise, and very, you know, and to the point and I got in his class and first of all, I don’t understand any Bible talk. Like what is the occasion? What is the glorification? Right. And it’s like, and then, and then he adds in like the participle to the noun or the verb and all these, all these, I mean, he breaks it and you know what now?

Shea: See then it was like, overwhelming. I mean, I would take a class and, and taking tests was like, and then see, seven years later though, you reading the Bible or, you know, I still take classes. Right. Because for more knowledge, I mean, who doesn’t love the Bible, check yourself, check yourself. If you don’t love the Bible, check yourself because every time I’ve read it, I think we’ve done it five times through, right? Yeah. It’s something new because I’m understanding more. So see, it’s like taking, it’s like being dumped on, right? Like you’re saying like the gravity sign is, you know, another, we’re just throwing out these analogies because it’s important for people to catch it on one level or another, you know, maybe the tactician is like, yeah, absolutely understand that when battle starts, I can’t be thinking about how to shoot my gun. Right.

Shea: I think about a gun and what I need to do while I’m doing that. It’s like, we’re, we’re dumped on. But see, when we dig in, it’s like, now I know the names of the Bible, Joseph, and you know, Isaac and an Eli to a book, right. Or a story, you know, it’s like, Oh yeah, it makes me think of this story. Or, and, and so then you start to understand more and really what it does to me at first, it’s like, it was almost like a religious kind of idea, right? Cause you’re like, it’s an overwhelming, do this, do this, do this. But you quite understand this whole why. And then, and then the more you do this, you know, you learn and then you start to see other things start to manifest out of the, out of the pages. You start to see, love, you start to see grace, you start to see mercy. You know, if at the beginning I was like, yeah, Jesus came. We had grace, yo Jesus was through the whole Bible. Right. And so, you know, you start to pick these things up and you start to see this grace continuous. And it’s like, Oh my gosh. Then you’d get back to the reflection of like, Oh God does love me. Like, doesn’t need me, man. I probably make it hard sometimes. And yet here’s this love.

Michelle: The way that he is able to transform us, we tend to focus. At least me, I focused on what are the things I’m not supposed to do? What are the things I’m supposed to, you know, very technical in the beginning because I’m used to reading manuals and instructions and test and certain, you know, all that stuff. And as I focus more on who he is, and as I learned who he is, was when he, as you start to follow what he wants for you, not because, you know, and can quote exactly the verse and line that he said, this is something you should do. This is something you shouldn’t do. You just know his heart and your heart’s aligning to his heart. And yes, our hearts are wicked. Right. But he does change them. He does heal them and he’s changing us. So yes, our hearts are wicked and you should never trust your heart over God’s word, but he is aligning your heart.

Michelle: So over time we see changes in our heart. And one of the things I’ve noticed is I don’t even think of the shoulds and should nots. I live life. And I, since when it it’s sin, it just is wrong. Or it’s not like when I used to learn when I was driving a car for the very first time, some I was overthinking the pedal. So sometimes I would accidentally hit the wrong one. Cause I was so nervous and it wasn’t second nature. And that’s kind of how I was when I was looking at the shoulds and should nots. And as I got past that, they’re important. They’re all wisdom. You need to know them, but there’s head knowledge. And there’s just that second nature. Subconscious. It’s a part of you where now if I have to do like, I don’t look down to see what gear I’m putting the car and I just know.

Michelle: Right. And people that drive manual relate probably a lot more. I don’t drive manual, but I just know because there’s so many, like there’s, it’s so that’s the idea you don’t even think about. You just know where they are. And so that’s, that’s our hope for everyone that’s listening. I mean, for, for this podcast, it’s blessed our marriage, the amount of pouring into we’ve received from our guests is so humbling because the Lord has paired us with our guests. He’s put people’s names on our hearts. Sometimes he’s brought them to us without us even considering them. But it’s ministered to us exactly how we needed. And it’s also built us up to be better parents to our daughter, which shows that he is investing in our daughter from the beginning. And then when, when we do look at our metrics, we very rarely do.

Michelle: But when we do, I love going to the countries map to see, and we’ve reached 35 countries so far, and that is just amazing. We’ve reached countries like Iran, Pakistan, Russia it’s amazing, like all around. I don’t think we’ve reached anywhere in South or central America, which is funny. Cause I know people in Costa Rica, but I’ll be calling them right. And I might be wrong. I might be wrong. We might have a small fleet, but at the same time, the predominant language is Spanish and we are English in our broadcast. Hey but challenge y’all if you know any English speakers down in the South and central America send us their way, but it’s been an amazing humbling experience.

Shea: Yeah, it has been. And, and then the people are hearing it, the people who are hitting us up, you know, and saying, Hey, look, man, this really, this really impacted me. I was about to say, hit me. You know, really hit me hard as mom. That’s more, my terminology. It’s like hit me hard and I try to change their animals. They impact. It’s really cool that we are allowing God to use us as conduits, to bring his word and encouragement to people. That is really what we, we came in guns blazing with the idea to do is just encourage and challenge people. And I, and I have a verse for that because I think that we need to progress, in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And in 1 Timothy 4:15, it says, practice. These things, immerse yourself in them. Immerse, maybe tomorrow I’ll read the Bible. Maybe tomorrow I’ll think about, or as one pastor says, you know, don’t make Jesus your side chick. I love that.

Michelle: By the way. It’s so triggering in all the right ways.

Shea: That is not mine. That is from a pastor. But we want him to be number one. We want to immerse ourselves. We want to immerse ourselves in his word because his word is living and active and it finishes. It says so that all may see your progress. See it’s about us. It is about us. He loves us. He cares for us, but we do have a greater mission. We do have a greater mission is so others may see your progress. What a testimony. And I think a lot of podcasts is bring people on for the testimony of the book they wrote her or something because what does it show? It shows the work of God. It shows the power of God. It shows how he can transform the and transformable, you know, the people that would just kick them to the curb or, or, or throw them out in the street.

Shea: That’s God’s right. That’s God’s right. So if we turn to him, immerse ourselves in him, we show him when we’re out there. When we come face to face with things and I can do better and I am doing better and I want to get better, see that I want to get better, but I don’t kick myself and say, Oh, if I, you know, I fell, nobody w we should all strive for the finish line. We should all strive and look ahead because that is where our eyes need to be. And so in this season of flourishing, I really believe that the guests that we have, that we’ve been able to, no, not that we have, but that the Lord has given us will demonstrate flourishing in different levels, the live broadcast that we’re going to do this year. I really believe they’re going to be authentic conversations.

Shea: And they’re going to show the light of Christ. I believe that what’s out there already will still impact people. And it’s not because I’ve sat here and took it upon myself, knows because I trust in the Lord. And I know we’re wrapping this up, wrapping this up, and we’re going to give them a shell. You know, her, her, her alibi, her, her last thought. Cause I see them wheels turning. I see the little turn it y’all, you know, what’s cool about sitting across from your wife and knowing your life is, you know what she got. So she closed the phone. She’s like, Oh, he wrapping up. And then I said, alibi, her phone came back up. I was reading, see that’s marriage, that’s marriage in the Lord. You actually like pay attention. But anyways, man hit us with it, hit us with it.

Michelle: You know, my life verses Proverbs 31:25. And that’s how I based off my business. But it’s because I just resonated with the verse so much. I wanted to be that. And when I look at it now at the season that we’re in our last season, in our current season, reflect it in that it says she is closed with strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future. And the first part of that verse is the nourishment. She is clothed with strength and dignity. She is sheltered from the elements with strength and dignity that has come from God. The second half of the verse is rooted in this flourishing because of what she’s nourished with. She’s able to laugh without fear of the future. And that is something that in the times we’re living in, I think a lot of people would look at that and say, that sounds crazy.

Michelle: Or how can I get that? And I can joyfully say I’m on this road and that I laugh without a lot of fear for the future. Every once in a while, fear gets the best of me. I have to admit it. I have to be honest, but day to day, even when I hear the worst news, it’s not every time that I start to panic and I start to fear because I know we’re doing the Lord’s work. And so we will live until it’s our time to live eternally and I don’t need to fear. And I think with that key in your head, the flourishing is unlimited. And so all of that said, it’s been an honor to sit across from you for a year. And I’m excited to see where we go.

Shea: I’m excited too. I’m excited too. I really am. Uh, like I can say almost speechless, like what Shea speechless, but it has been a good year. It’s been a very impactful emotional, battling year. A lot has gone on in our families. And I’m sure a lot has gone on in your families or people that you know, that I have an answer and it’s not the answer we always love to hear, but it’s the answer that I’ve come to learn to trust in. And that’s the trust in Jesus Christ. This isn’t my worst year. It’s not my worst year by far, not my worst year, but it’s been a year, but we’re going to all get through it and we’re encouraging you all right now, it just turned him flourish. It all comes from him. And on that note, we love you. I love you. I look at why do people say that?

Michelle: I love you with the love of Christ

Shea: She has pulled out the sword of the spirit in double double for us slash no, but I love it.

Shea: Yeah. And Hey, you’re going to hear this episode, Before mother’s day and man, there is a for podcast magazine, they’re having a mother’s day voting for a podcast mom and top 50 is at the top 50 and they’re being real generous to us ladies. Nice. But you know what? I’m going to say this, any mom in podcasts and we know the work goes behind it, I’m going to tell y’all supermoms. If you’re listening, you are super moms, especially if you’re doing all of it on your own. And so I’m giving that shot out. But in the show notes, we will definitely have a link to where you can go out and vote for Michelle. And actually if you know some other podcast moms, there’s, there’s a slot, there’s lots for three. You can put Michelle in there. You know, that’d be Michelle Watson, the pantry podcast at Podcastmagazine.com

Shea: But look, go out there and vote for some moms that are in podcasting build them up. Man. Everybody needs to built up and look, this is their season and it’s and man, I’m so thankful for the wife, the mom, the friend, the blogger she actually blushes sometimes she’s with that right now. I am going to say amen. Thank you for just being with us.

Michelle: Thank you guys so much. And remember the pantrypodcast.com is where you can connect with us across the board. So until next time.

KEYWORDS: CHANGE, TRUST GOD, EXERCISE YOUR FAITH, READ THE BIBLE, PODCASTS FOR WOMEN, PODCASTS FOR FAITH, PODCASTS FOR CHRISTIANS, CHRISTIAN PODCASTS TO FOLLOW.