Season 3, Episode 26: When Silence Is Deafening

Can We Talk?
When Silence is Deafening - Episode Description

Join us for a whirlwind week as we share the highs and lows of returning home from an uplifting summer camp with our PAR family. From the unexpected demise of our AC unit and a stuck doorbell causing an electrical scare to a malfunctioning water heater and an ant invasion in our kitchen, it seemed like everything that could go wrong did. Despite the chaos, we reflect on the incredible experience of summer camp and the importance of community and support during trying times.

Then we explore the struggle of feeling, or not, God’s presence. We discuss the importance of reading scripture, praying, and recognizing daily mercies as evidence of God’s ongoing work, even when His presence isn’t felt. Reflecting on past experiences where God has been present fuels our current faith, even during difficult and confusing times, and we highlight the significance of accepting God’s sovereignty and trusting His decisions.

Lastly, we take you through our fun and eventful camp experience, starting with a barbecue by the lake, an engaging scavenger hunt, and a humorous noise complaint incident during our ladies’ pajama party.

When Silence is Deafening - Transcript

0:00:00 – Announcer

We go together like Peas and Carrots. The Peas and Carrots Podcast, sharing life from our piece of the vegetable patch, Brian and Kayla Sanders. 

 

0:00:11 – Kayla

Welcome to the peas and carrots podcast. 

 

0:00:13 – Brian

I’m Brian, I’m Kayla. Welcome to this week’s edition, mercy where do we begin? Y’all, it has been a week. It has. It has been a week If you’ve ever seen a meme of this gopher that just sits on a fence and screams. 

 

0:00:30 – Kayla

That’s what we feel like doing. 

 

0:00:31 – Brian

That’s exactly where we’ve been. 

 

0:00:33 – Kayla

But let’s start here so we’ll start with the reason that we kind of went AWOL. Last week Our PAR family came together for summer camp. Our PAR family came together for summer camp and what this is is it’s an opportunity to come together to do some mid-year training and culture building. We’ll share some stories about that in a few minutes, but the entire PAR team traveled to Tennessee Our WCQR team, who is in Johnson City, Tennessee. 

 

They hosted it, hosted us, planned it, planned it, hosted it Knocked it, hosted it, knocked it out of the park. Incredible, it was amazing. So that’s where we were last week. And then we came home on Thursday evening and what did we discover? 

 

0:01:16 – Brian

That our AC unit had died. 

 

0:01:18 – Kayla

Yeah. 

 

0:01:19 – Brian

So we called the company that we normally work with. They come out Friday and they tell us it’s not an easy fix. The whole system has to be replaced. Yeah, when it went south is when we asked well, could you? When? And they said August 14th, which would be like three or four weeks of us living in a house with no air conditioning. 

 

0:01:41 – Kayla

And 90 degrees outside Now listen. 

 

0:01:43 – Brian

I understand that for some of y’all that’s not a big deal, but yet for Fat Boy here that’s a big deal. I’m just saying. 

 

0:01:49 – Kayla

It was a big deal for me too. We ended up, long story short, we ended up doing five nights with no air conditioning. God smiled on us even in the fact that the temperatures were weirdly low for July. We had some stormy evenings and then it went down to the 60s, but y’all our house got up to 81 degrees. 

 

0:02:12 – Brian

And yeah, and let me just say this I want to thank James Kramer with Radford Mechanical. We’ve known him and his family for. 

 

0:02:21 – Kayla

He fit us in during a very busy season for himself, spent an entire day and a morning to assure that we would have air conditioning before next week goes back to the 90s. 

 

0:02:35 – Brian

So, thank you, he fit us in. We would highly recommend him. I highly recommend him. 

 

0:02:41 – Kayla

And we are not getting any kind of discount for that. 

 

0:02:44 – Brian

So I just need to say that there is no, we did not of discount for that. So I just need to say that there is no. 

 

0:02:46 – Kayla

We did not get prompted to say that. 

 

0:02:48 – Brian

We wanted to say that when the original company came out to investigate what was going on, they rang the front doorbell and that doorbell is 20 years old. 

 

0:02:57 – Kayla

That doorbell got stuck, uh-huh well, he said there was a short in the wire between the doorbell and when you walk upstairs, you, when you walk upstairs, you could hear it. 

 

0:03:07 – Brian

And then you started smelling electrical burning, went back downstairs and we unstuck the doorbell, got it stopped and whatever. That electrical burning stopped and so we had to call another company to come out Replace our unit and replace the doorbell. And one of us was always home I think that happened on a Friday, so one of us was always home on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, because we didn’t want somebody coming up ringing the doorbell and having a fire, having a fire, yeah, and so that got changed out Monday morning. So there’s that. That got fixed, that’s done. And our water heater didn’t give us hot water, but that was a simple fix. 

 

0:03:44 – Kayla

we got that done but we thought we were looking at a new water heater. And then the thing that broke me all of that ac unit, okay, that stinks, but roll on um water heater, man, that’s a cold bath. Roll on doorbell. Thank god the house didn’t burn down while we were gone. Ant-palooza. We wake up yesterday morning and it’s as if ants have stormed the gates. The kitchen is covered in ants. 

 

0:04:14 – Brian

And I just need to say this is that my wife keeps a very clean house. 

 

0:04:17 – Kayla

Okay, they apparently came in with the change in weather. I read and learned that ants will they like air conditioning too? Well. 

 

0:04:29 – Brian

Can you blame them? 

 

0:04:30 – Kayla

It went from being very, very hot to very, very wet. We started getting rain every day, and so I read that they were trying to find somewhere outside of the rain and they were getting in and they found your kitchen. And I just I looked at you and I said I’m done, I just I can’t handle it anymore. But you went and bought this stuff called stem there was this stuff at Target and, knock on wood, we’ve not had any ants today. They were all gone as of this morning. 

 

0:05:00 – Brian

And then I bought some stuff for outside. You sprayed outside. 

 

0:05:04 – Kayla

So it has been a first world problem kind of week. Let us say that Even in the midst of all of it, we are both okay. Our home is nice and cool. There were no health effects of being in a very hot house, which I was worried about for you, so I was not sleeping at night because I was afraid you were going to have a sugar crash or something. I had Hampton Inn in the back of my mind that you know. We had a place we could go if we had to. It was just a lot in a very short amount of time and the reality is we can see how the things that took place at summer camp the worship, the community, the culture that was built, the love that was poured out between team members the enemy didn’t like that and he came out and he came out, and it wasn’t just us. 

 

A lot of our team members are walking through some hardcore stuff coming out of camp, so we would welcome your prayers. We are fine. Our house no longer smells like it’s burning and it’s cool. 

 

0:06:12 – Brian

And the team will be fine. 

 

0:06:13 – Kayla

They will be. It’s just a lot. So we will share some fun stories about camp in just a few minutes. 

 

0:06:23 – Brian

Silence. I do not enjoy silence and if we’re having a conversation with somebody and there’s like that awkward silence, I can’t. That’s a recipe that like we’re not going to be friends. I don’t sit here and just look at somebody for 10 minutes. Somebody needs to talk, but what happens? How do you deal with, how do you move forward when you feel that God is silent or you can’t feel him? 

 

0:06:55 – Kayla

And this is very honest and kind of scary to admit because, first of all, what I do in my work, I’m there and I admitted that to you the other night I feel and there’s a key word in there I feel God is silent and I’m really struggling with not feeling his voice or his presence in my life. 

 

0:07:21 – Brian

There’s some Kleenex. 

 

0:07:22 – Kayla

So we’ve talked about this. No, I’m hoping not to cry. 

 

0:07:25 – Brian

Well, you’ve already started. I can see life. 

 

0:07:26 – Kayla

So we’ve talked about this. No, I’m hoping not to cry, but I am stuck in a place of believing that God is for everyone else and this is not a therapy session. 

 

0:07:39 – Brian

So don’t charge each of you $125. 

 

0:07:42 – Kayla

You’re not going to get a bill. 

 

0:07:44 – Brian

Oh, I’d like to, I mean help out the ministry. 

 

0:07:48 – Kayla

What did you remind me? So, for those who perhaps have either been there yourself or you are there, that you also are struggling with feeling that God is just not active, you’re not seeing or believing or feeling his strength in your life, what are some key things that you’ve reminded me this week, and I’m clinging to them, but I’m still struggling. 

 

0:08:13 – Brian

First thing I would say is listen. Now, this is for me because I’m a fixer. I mean, as soon as you start talking to me, I had six or seven solutions in my head and I started talking and the first thing would be would you just listen? 

 

0:08:28 – Kayla

Yeah. 

 

0:08:29 – Brian

Okay. So whoever’s going through this, talk to somebody, but make sure that they’re a listener. So here’s some things that I tried to nudge you on. First of all, RC Sproul said this who God is doesn’t depend on how I feel about him. 

 

0:08:48 – Kayla

Yeah. 

 

0:08:49 – Brian

He’s still God. That should give me hope and confidence, because my feelings can be all over the map. Let me give you an example. You ever read the Psalms? Yeah, in this first Psalm, David’s like oh, you’re the greatest God, oh, you’re great, I’m worshiping you. In the next Psalm, he’s in the pit. Yeah, somebody just throw dirt on me and bury me because God hates me. So my first encouragement to you was read the Psalms, because it will tell you that you’re not the only human who has ever dealt with this. 

 

0:09:22 – Kayla

Which lends to keep praying, keep reading His Word and something that you have said to me many times remember in the dark what you learned in the light, and that’s tough when you are in a season that, if you’ve never been here, I actually do pray, that you never have to. It is a terrible feeling that God is just void and I’m reminding myself every single day of his word. I’m reminding myself of how he has shown up in the past, of the things you encouraged me and I do. I journal every day, but you have reminded me to specifically journal. What are the things that today prove to me? 

 

the tiny mercies that, and I think we all kind of get on autopilot. We’re living our life. Maybe we take a little too much credit for it. Maybe we believe that we can somehow earn it. 

 

You wake up in the morning, or if I’m good enough if I do, enough if I, and none of that changes. And maybe that’s some of the things he’s trying to remind me. But I keep picking up my Bible and I keep talking to him. Sometimes it feels like it’s bouncing off the ceiling, but I can’t just stop doing that, as hard as the outcome may feel. 

 

0:11:05 – Brian

The Puritans actually taught that God will sometimes remove his ability for you to actually feel him, and so that, as a result, you become more dependent on him. So that’s what they taught, and it comes from the Psalms, actually, that you see that. And so here’s what’s amazing is that you want to sense his presence, you want to feel again that he cares, and so what are you doing? You’re reading his word, you’re praying, and so I guess, in a sense and this is where you get into like, in other words, why is God doing this? I don’t know the answer to that. 

 

0:11:38 – Kayla

And I don’t either, but not yet, but yet. 

 

0:11:41 – Brian

I can say this I see you pursuing him, I see you reading, I see you praying, so I can see evidence of what he’s doing. I don’t know his actual motive. 

 

0:11:56 – Kayla

Yeah. 

 

0:11:57 – Brian

But let me say this his love for you hasn’t changed. His grace and mercy is still there and I encourage you and everybody else who’s going through this I do this all the time because I have more doubt than like I do. Faith Write down every day tiny mercies like I woke up, I have health, I have a job, I have the most amazing wife in the world. I mean I could just keep going with all this. Our home, I’m saved, I’m not going to hell, I will never have to face the wrath of God. You just keep going and you’re going to realize he is there, but I may not be able to necessarily feel him. 

 

0:12:41 – Kayla

Yeah. 

 

So, another thing that you reminded me and again, obviously you are my safe space is we don’t live in a vacuum. We aren’t meant to carry things solely on our own, and you could tell that I was really in a hard struggle and I shared my doubts with you because you are a trusted confidant. Find someone in your life that you can just lay your soul bare, because you can’t always pick yourself back up and you’re being very patient. I can tell you just want to fix this, you want it to just be a thing in the past and I know in time that it will work out. I’m believing for that. But also keep leaning in to someone else. Don’t try to handle all of it by yourself, because that’s just going to lend to more feeling oriented thinking, and that’s another thing that you keep reminding me. Don’t trust your feelings. 

 

0:13:55 – Brian

I think that there’s a lesson here is that when you are struggling, don’t be Job’s friends. Don’t show up and tell that person well, here’s what God’s doing. You just need to sit in the dirt with the person and let them cry and let them get to about Job 41 or like Job 42. And that’s where God shows up and says all right, you ready to talk, put your big boy pants on. And that’s literally what shows up and says all right, you’re ready to talk, but you’re big boy pants on. And that’s literally what God says to Job. And so my job is to sit in the dirt with you, walk with you every day, listen, pray for you and just keep looking forward. I will say this as the last thing for you and anybody else who’s walking through this Look in the rearview mirror, because what he’s done in the past can be fuel for your faith in the present. 

 

0:14:50 – Kayla

Hmm. 

 

0:14:52 – Brian

Think about this Moses and the Israelites are at the Red Sea. They can’t go forward because you have an Egyptian army who’s coming up behind them and they can’t go backwards. I would have been flipping out, I would have just been losing my mind. But there’s one thing they had just come from Egypt, where they saw plagues and miracles and where God had delivered them. So by looking at the past, they had fuel for faith there in the present, and that’s I’m just saying. I mean that this isn’t easy. 

 

0:15:27 – Kayla

And another truth that’s hard to swallow is don’t look at what he hasn’t done. That’s hard to sit here and confess my disappointment, my frustration, my, but God, I did this, and do you care? Or my, but I have been faithful in this, and do you care? It takes nothing away from who he is, and that’s a head knowledge that I’ve grasped. It’s something that my heart is still wrestling with is but why haven’t you done X, Y, Z? And he may never do that, because that’s not who he is, never do that because that’s not who he is.

 

0:16:16 – Brian

I’ll just sprinkle in a little scripture. It says that he shows mercy on whom he shows mercy and he doesn’t on whom he doesn’t. And that’s his prerogative to be God. We want to actually control him when he’s the one who’s actually sovereign. So, baby, I just want to tell you this I love you, I’ll walk with you every step of the way, and I love seeing God at work in your heart, even though I know it’s painful. 

 

0:16:40 – Kayla

Right back at you. Okay, so before we all need to like go drown our sorrows, let’s go back to camp. That was. Thank you all for listening to that. I know that was a lot of a lot. 

 

0:16:56 – Brian

No, it wasn’t, it was beautiful. 

 

0:16:57 – Kayla

Camp was fun. 

 

0:17:00 – Brian

The entire team comes together under one roof twice a year. 

 

0:17:04 – Kayla

It’s for like a day and a half. 

 

0:17:06 – Brian

This camp and then at the first of the year we do what’s called Vision Week. So this was camp and people arrive Tuesday evening for dinner and a barbecue out at a lake and then we leave Thursday around noon. 

 

0:17:19 – Kayla

Noon yeah. 

 

0:17:21 – Brian

And we stayed at a beautiful place down in Johnson City. 

 

0:17:24 – Kayla

Oh, my word, If you are ever there, there is a hotel. Now, listen, I’m going to go ahead and tell you we got a discount because we had such a large group and we have a Ronda Lacey. We stayed at the Carnegie Hotel. In Johnson City, Tennessee, which every single one of us, our jaws dropped when we walked in it was gorgeous Y’all. I had a clawfoot tub. Why is that a big deal? Because I’m a girl and I like baths. 

 

0:17:51 – Brian

Okay, but anyway, Tuesday evening, If I got in that thing, you have to put butter on the side. It but anyway, Tuesday evening, if I got in that thing, you have to put butter on the side. Just get me out of it. 

 

0:17:58 – Kayla

Go ahead. You made a new friend. We had our kickoff with a barbecue and a concert led by Ben Fuller. 

 

0:18:07 – Brian

He’s a CCM artist and he’s had who I Am was number one song and I mean he’s got other great songs out. But I learned we’re sitting there chatting and he loves Abraham Lincoln and I said shut up. He pulls out his phone and starts showing me all this. He’s got pictures of Lincoln. He’s got memorabilia. Well, we sat there and chatted. I bet you 45. We exchanged phone numbers. We text every single day about Lincoln. 

 

0:18:37 – Kayla

Thank you, Jesus if you have the opportunity to say thank you Jesus, because you’re you’re able to talk Lincoln with someone else and it’s wonderful now. 

 

0:18:48 – Brian

Now you’re about to have this, now you’re about to hit Kayla’s passion point, because we went to a restaurant called Cootie Brown’s. And what was dessert? Let’s just go ahead and skip. 

 

0:18:58 – Kayla

Y’all do not skip the key lime pie If you are in Johnson City and you go to Cootie Brown’s, which it is a legit restaurant. Everything is made on site, it’s fresh, it’s incredible. 

 

0:19:11 – Brian

I could not have the key lime pie. 

 

0:19:13 – Kayla

He could not have it, but I cheated on my diet. 

 

0:19:15 – Brian

But it was the size of your head. 

 

0:19:17 – Kayla

It was massive, I couldn’t finish it. 

 

0:19:19 – Brian

I could only eat half of it. On a scale of one to ten. How good was it?

 

0:19:22 – Kayla

A twelve. Wow. It had a layer of very tart key lime and then it had a layer that was more mousse-like, smooth and creamy. 

 

0:19:30 – Brian

Hairy mousse. 

 

0:19:32 – Kayla

Oh yuck. 

 

0:19:33 – Brian

Did it have horns? Oh, you meant moose is in like a little ice, yeah not that, oh, okay. 

 

0:19:38 – Kayla

So Okay, we had a game night, oh, and a PJ. Hang on, I’m confessing, the guys had a game night, the girls had a PJ party. It was not the guys that got a noise complaint. 

 

0:19:54 – Brian

Yeah, so the phone rings. This is Jordan, from the front desk. 

 

0:19:58 – Kayla

We’ve had a complaint about your room and all the noise coming from it, so yeah, he did tell us, though, that quiet hours did not begin until 11, and it was only 930. So if we were planning to go past 11, we were going to need to move, and I said, oh, we’ll be done by then. And we were going to need to move and I said, oh, we’ll be done by then. In case you think that all we did was goof off, we spent an entire morning with Dr Natalie Pickering, wasn’t it? 

 

0:20:26 – Brian

Lauren Pickering. 

 

0:20:28 – Kayla

Oh, I thought her name was Natalie. 

 

0:20:30 – Brian

Her name is Dr Pickering. There we go, okay. Pickering. There we go, okay. And she taught us all about the Enneagram and what it reveals about us and how it helps us work together as a team, and different personalities, and what we like and don’t like and how to approach people. 

 

0:20:45 – Kayla

It was quite eye-opening to learn how we all mesh. 

 

0:20:49 – Brian

Yes. 

 

0:20:50 – Kayla

And I know that the Enneagram is controversial with some people. Enneagram is controversial with some people, but using it as a tool to be able to communicate and to be able to respect each other’s boundaries and the team that works well together accomplishes more and she helped us to see something. I mean, she nailed me to the wall and if any of you are huge Enneagram people, I’m a one wing two. 

 

0:21:16 – Brian

I’m an eight with a seven wing. 

 

0:21:19 – Kayla

But what I learned, and this is what was just mind boggling for me, even as a one wing two, when I’m at my healthiest, I trend towards a seven. You have a seven, and both of my dearest, closest work confidants have a seven, and so I am surrounded by sevens. If I’m at my best, that’s where I trend towards. 

 

0:21:45 – Brian

So that was comforting and kind of wild. I’m an eight with a seven wing, which means I want to change the world. I have big dreams, I have big pictures. Yeah, okay, I don’t do details, so this is what cracked me up my wife, who is my number one confidant, is an Enneagram one with a two wing. All about the details, all about them. Adam McCain, who is the VP of operations, who is my number one here in the organization, he’s a one with a two wing. 

 

So when, I start presenting him plans, he’ll say Bina, what about this? How will we do this? How are we going to scale this? 

 

0:22:24 – Kayla

And then, what is your executive assistant? 

 

0:22:27 – Brian

Adam Reed is a two with a one wing. It takes three people to wrestle me to the ground to keep me alive? Yes, it does. 

 

0:22:37 – Kayla

It was fascinating. It really was. We did an actual scavenger hunt where we had an hour and a half and we had to visit. So I will just admit to some of the things that I did. We got points. We could choose from an entire list of things. 

 

0:22:53 – Brian

I’m sitting in my Kia and I see you piggybacking on the back of a team member going into a store in. 

 

0:23:01 – Kayla

Johnson City, but I got points for doing it. You had to go in one door and out the other, piggybacking. You had to ask a stranger, I had to ride through the parking lot in a shopping cart and shout to infinity and beyond. 

 

I had to sing with a stranger. One of our team members had to pretend that she was a dog and be led along. So this was, and again, we got points for each of these crazy things that we did. It was a whole lot of fun, but we will end with this. Not to end on a serious note, but it is. One of our team members actually got hurt. She fell and she is actually in the hospital and recovering from a broken leg and a broken hand and even in that we have seen how God has worked and God has brought his family together to take care of her. 

 

But if you would pray for her, her name is Donna. She’s one of my favorite humans in the entire world. 

 

0:24:04 – Brian

She’s amazing. 

 

0:24:05 – Kayla

And she’s hopefully moving to a rehab center any day now. We just need a bed to come available. But, as you are listening, if you would just keep her in your prayers. This was scary and she’s a rock star. 

 

0:24:22 – Brian

She has the sweetest spirit. 

 

0:24:25 – Kayla

I’m not going to say that I would be as content as she has been. So, yeah, that was hard, but it was a wonderful time with all of our team until then. But it was a wonderful time with all of our team until then and we have some pretty funny core memories that we’re carrying away. 

 

0:24:46 – Brian

So, hey, we’d like to share a little bit of peas and carrots with you. We’d like to send you a coffee mug, a notepad, a pen and some Cute little stickers, Cute little stickers and a sticky note. 

 

0:24:55 – Kayla

There’s a sticky note too. Really, Do we send them out a sticky note? 

 

0:24:56 – Brian

There’s a sticky note too. Really, Do we send them out a sticky note? There’s a notepad with sticky notes on it. Oh yeah, a notepad. 

 

0:25:01 – Kayla

So the first two people that go to our website. We say this every week. There’s a trivia button there. If you will click that trivia button and to find that you go to peasandcarrotspodcast.com. If you will click that trivia button, there is a question. 

 

0:25:18 – Brian

And this week’s question is when did we go for summer camp? What’s the name of the town? 

 

0:25:21 – Kayla

What town were we in? Yeah, so again go to peasandcarrotspodcast.com. 

 

0:25:26 – Brian

Click on the trivia button and answer this question. 

 

0:25:28 – Kayla

Where did B and K go for summer camp? What town were we in? 

 

0:25:32 – Brian

Hey, thanks for listening and you can search Peas and Carrots Podcast. 

 

0:25:36 – Kayla

Wherever you get your podcasts, visit our website, which is peasandcarrotspodcast.com, and when you do, please don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast. 

 

0:25:44 – Brian

You can follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Just search for the Peas and Carrots Podcast. And please don’t forget to pray for Donna. 

 

0:25:53 – Announcer

For more about the Peas and Carrots Podcast and to reach out to Brian and Kayla, visit peasandcarrotspodcast.com. Growing through the challenges we face and finding hope along the way. That’s the Jesus Fix It Podcast with Jess. Check out jesusfixit.com or search Jesus Fix It wherever you listen to podcasts.

 

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

Season 3, Episode 15: Goodbye, Grandest of Dames

Can We Talk?
Goodbye, Grandest of Dames - Episode Description

Caught in the whirlwind of life’s changes, from celebrating the fruits of our ministry’s fundraising to navigating the emotional currents of a college town during graduation season, we’ve got a lot to catch up on. The hum of activity in our little corner of the world is as vibrant as ever, but there’s a special place in this episode for quiet reflection, especially as I honor the memory of my grandmother, Mary Slade, whose wit and wisdom have left an indelible mark on my heart.

Boundaries: we often misunderstand them, and yet they’re vital for nurturing healthy relationships—and that’s a big part of our discussion today. Far from being a sign of strained connections, they’re the scaffolding for peaceable living, as taught in Romans 12:18. We’ll share how these principles apply not just in ministry, but across the spectrum of life, and we hope to clear the fog surrounding boundaries with personal insights and some eye-opening anecdotes. It’s about carving out a space where self-care and respect for others coexist harmoniously.

Rounding off, we pay tribute to a woman of formidable character and humor—my grandmother, Mary Slade. From the enigma of her ever-present green purse to her no-nonsense take on taboo topics, her stories are sure to spark a smile. We invite you to join us in this emotional journey as we reminisce, laugh, and perhaps shed a tear, and we encourage you to share the tales of those who’ve shaped your life, too. So tune in, as we celebrate the legacies that continue to touch our lives long after loved ones have departed.

Goodbye, Grandest of Dames - Transcript

0:00:00 – Announcer

We go together like Peas and Carrots. The Peas and Carrots Podcast, sharing life from our piece of the vegetable patch, Brian and Kayla Sanders. 

 

0:00:11 – Brian

Welcome to the Peas and Carrots Podcast. Hello, I’m Brian, I’m Kayla and good to have you along. It’s been a while it has, and y’all you just need to know that the studio in which this is recorded is a mess is also the studio from which I do fundraising for the ministry here, and so Miss Sanders just came in about five minutes ago and you’ve been reorganizing. 

 

0:00:37 – Kayla

Cleaning up is what I would call it. Well, I didn’t leave trash, no, but there’s stuff everywhere, good stuff, anyway. Where have we been? 

 

0:00:48 – Brian

Nowhere. We have been right here fundraising for the ministry. 

 

0:00:54 – Kayla

So our ministry is a nonprofit and we actually have to raise our own funds, and we do that twice a year. So we apologize. We were very ambitious, thinking that we would get to keep recording. We have not had time to do that, so yeah lots of very full days, but our ministry is funded for several months 102% I believe, yes, so. 

 

0:01:22 – Brian

Congratulations, Ms. Sanders. It’s awesome. 

 

0:01:24 – Kayla

We have some amazing team members and, yeah, as we record this, what is happening in town this week? B? 

 

0:01:32 – Brian

Virginia Tech’s graduation. 

 

0:01:34 – Kayla

It’s like ants on a molehill out there. 

 

0:01:36 – Brian

And let me just say this 20 minutes ago we were at a little place downtown here that sells ice cream and we walked down there and it’s like 20 000 people it’s pretty busy. 

 

0:01:48 – Kayla

They need to leave. I want my town back well, our town is about to get much quieter because all these people are leaving. 

 

0:01:54 – Brian

All the students will leave yeah you’ll be able to get through target in 10 minutes instead of 55. We will not that I’m grumpy little bit. There you go. We are excited for summer. 

 

0:02:08 – Kayla

Why. 

 

0:02:09 – Brian

One month from today, I believe we’ll be, at Disney? We will. We are Going on vacation. 

 

0:02:17 – Kayla

We have some vacations planned. We’ve had some opportunities presented to us to serve within our church and we’re excited about that opportunities presented to us to serve within our church and we’re excited about that. 

 

0:02:26 – Brian

I’ll be teaching the gospel I mean the gospel, the life of Joseph and you’ll be leading a women’s study. 

 

0:02:32 – Kayla

I’ll be helping with. There’s several of us that are going to facilitate that. I’m excited about that and scared all at the same time, but I’m looking forward to time in the garden. Finally, there’s snakes there. Time on our back deck. 

 

0:02:45 – Brian

Spiders. 

 

0:02:47 – Kayla

We’ll whack them with a shovel or something I don’t know. 

 

0:02:50 – Brian

You said you was excited to be in the garden. 

 

0:02:53 – Kayla

You’re looking forward to getting outside. I am. 

 

0:02:58 – Brian

Our back deck is one of our favorite places and I really struggle with allergies, but it seems as if my allergist has me on a good cocktail, shall we say, of medications, when I can get them. 

 

0:03:14 – Kayla

At the end of April we lost a giant and we’re going to talk about that in a few minutes. My grandma passed away, so we will come back to that in just a few minutes, but we do have some reflections we would like to share. 

 

0:03:30 – Brian

It’s going to be fun, so stick around Boundaries. It’s a favorite topic of yours. You read books about it and you talk about it every now and then. 

 

0:03:43 – Kayla

They’re very important to me, books about it and you talk about it every now and then. They’re very important to me. You and I have been talking about this some lately because there are a lot of hot takes on boundaries and a lot of myths, so we thought that we would take just a minute. You’ve read some of these books as well, so I want to give full credit that some of our resource here is coming from a book Set Boundaries, Find Peace by Nedra Glover Tawwab, and she is much more experienced in all this, but we have both been able to take some knowledge from what she has written about. But there’s this kind of mentality that when you say the word boundaries, some people, people, just they start to twitch because it’s like, oh, nobody should do that. So we’re going to dive in and just spend a very short amount of time because again today we really want to share with you about my grandma. But what would you say is the first myth? 

 

0:04:42 – Brian

That good Christians don’t need boundaries, because we’re called to love everyone. And we are called to love everyone and you are called to forgive, but it doesn’t mean you have to do life with that person. You can forgive them, you can set a boundary, but you don’t have to do life with them because you don’t have to keep taking that. 

 

0:05:00 – Kayla

Well, one of the things that you and I have learned. Thank you, therapy. Some people are not safe, and this can range from for various people. If this speaks to you, it’s because you’re feeling that someone is not safe physically or mentally or emotionally for you, and there is a verse Romans 12, 18 comes to mind If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 

 

0:05:28 – Brian

Yeah, as far as it depends on you. Yeah, if you’ve gone as far as you can go, if you’ve done all you can do and that person still is abusive or manipulative over and over again. Now, this is separate from forgiveness. You can forgive, but you don’t have to keep going back and taking that abuse. Yeah, so that’s a different thing. 

 

0:05:49 – Kayla

And here’s one truth that resonates for me we live in a broken world, and sometimes living in a broken world that has no boundaries. 

 

0:06:00 – Brian

Broken people continue to break others, and that’s not a good place so you know, some people are going to say to us that actually boundaries say that like I don’t care yeah, that’s our second myth and actually it’s saying you know, first of all I care about myself yeah but I can’t right now. What’s that mean? 

 

0:06:21 – Kayla

I can’t right it means maybe, that someone has so much on their plate already. I can’t take that on right now, or I can’t be available right now, or I can’t make time for that right now, or I want to help you, but I don’t feel I’m qualified to give the help you need. Sometimes people genuinely need to go talk to a therapist. A professional. 

 

0:06:44 – Brian

Sometimes people genuinely need to go talk to a therapist. 

 

0:06:46 – Kayla

Yeah to a professional. We aren’t all necessarily meant to fix everyone else’s problems. 

 

0:06:51 – Brian

And it’s okay to say I’d prefer not to talk about that. Yeah, you don’t have to be an open book to everybody. 

 

0:06:59 – Kayla

Think about Thanksgiving dinner, some of the questions that the family member you haven’t seen for 364 days. I’re on turkey. I know, I realize that there are certain things that you may want to be able to look at them and say I’d prefer not to talk about that. If it’s your personal life or it’s your decisions you’re making, what’s something else that comes to mind? 

 

0:07:21 – Brian

I’m not seeking advice. I just need to decompress, and that’s something that you say to me on a weekly basis. 

 

0:07:27 – Kayla

I say it a little different than that, though. What is it? I usually say to you B I’m not looking for you to fix this. I just want you to listen, but I’m built to fix, but you’ve gotten so good at it you really have. 

 

0:07:40 – Brian

As long as. 

 

0:07:41 – Kayla

I give the disclaimer. Don’t try to fix this. 

 

0:07:44 – Brian

Okay, all right, I’m a good fixer. There’s another one. 

 

0:07:49 – Kayla

I’m sorry, but we disagree over this. However, my love for you has not changed. So there are people that they don’t like the boundary of disagreeing, that they feel like if you’re really a good, a friend or spouse or I don’t know what a family member, you’re going to always agree that’s not true, and it’s not true you can have different opinions and yeah and still get along. 

 

0:08:17 – Brian

Uh, my no is to protect both of us no is a complete sentence I guess for me I say no. There are certain people like you and maybe two other people that I should explain that to if it’s a personal nature but others. No, I don’t owe you an explanation about certain things in my life or certain things that I’ve been through. 

 

0:08:44 – Kayla

Yeah. 

 

0:08:45 – Brian

And I think that that’s a very good boundary. What’s the third myth, Ms Kayla? 

 

0:08:51 – Kayla

Boundaries are just a justification for holding people at arm’s length. 

 

0:08:55 – Brian

That’s. 

 

0:08:57 – Kayla

But they can actually include things like what Well, not sharing confidences. Yeah, you don’t have to be an open book to everybody. No, you’re not meant to be. You don’t have to be an open book to everybody. No, you’re not meant to be. 

 

0:09:08 – Brian

You don’t have to demand people’s time, yeah. 

 

0:09:12 – Kayla

Sometimes you have to refuse space to others. You literally have to say I cannot do this relationship or I cannot spend this time with you.

 

0:09:24 – Brian

Here’s something I’m guilty of is telling people how to feel. So, because I like everything to be at peace, I like everybody to be happy, I like everything to be like a calm sea, and it’s not because, if it’s not, it affects me in a negative manner and that’s selfish and that’s that’s just. That’s just my broken, but I don’t have the right to tell people well, this is how you should feel about that. That’s the Lord’s job to do that. 

 

0:09:55 – Kayla

And another one, finally, is for this myth is not respecting their boundaries. There’s got to be give and take. If I’m asking someone to accept that I’d prefer not to talk about certain things, or I’d prefer to be able to feel how I want to feel, or I want to be okay with us disagreeing, or I can’t, right now, I’ve got to give other people the same freedom. And then finally, our fourth, and this one’s a quick hit Only people in dysfunctional relationships need boundaries. 

 

0:10:28 – Brian

No, that’s not true, and let me say this Everybody practices boundaries. Yes, you need to know that, whether you think you do or not. Whether you, think you do or not. Yeah, because with your best friend you’re going to share the bulk of your thoughts and your feelings, or whatever, somebody who you just met. Hopefully, not, hopefully not. 

 

0:10:47 – Kayla

You see, that’s a little awkward. 

 

0:10:49 – Brian

Yeah. 

 

0:10:53 – Kayla

So boundaries actually create healthy relationships. That’s the whole point of this is if you are willing to accept that boundaries exist and they have value, to accept that boundaries exist and they have value. The last thing we will say if someone is telling you that boundaries make you an evil person, that’s a red flag, because it definitely means that they don’t handle boundaries well. 

 

0:11:17 – Brian

Yeah, so be cautious and be wise and remember boundaries are good things whenever they’re practiced within a biblical context. Your grandma.

 

0:11:31 – Kayla

Yeah, so a couple of weeks ago I got word that my grandmother had passed away. Now let me start by saying this she was 94 years old. 

 

She lived in Hadley she lived in Hadley, Suffolk in England. She had a full and wonderful life. A half of her family lives in America. The other half lives in England. She spent a lot of time coming back and forth across the ocean to visit with all of us. She stood at four feet 11 and a half an inch. We were talking about Four foot 11 and a half an inch. Sorry four foot 11 inches and half an inch. Do not forget her half an inch. 

 

0:12:08 – Brian

We were talking about this last night and I said why you got to say half an inch and how would she respond if you didn’t include the half an inch? Oh, she was ticked yeah. Was she really oh? 

 

0:12:17 – Kayla

that half an inch was important because she was nearly five feet tall. So that half an inch was important because she was nearly five feet tall. So she was little, but to us as a family she was a giant. 

 

0:12:27 – Brian

Made out of metal. Made out of steel. 

 

0:12:30 – Kayla

For me, she was a safe place when I was growing up. She was the glue that held our family together. I remember her roses chocolate candy tin, which she gifted to me later in life and I still have it. She would watch the original Poseidon Adventure movie with me over and over. 

 

0:12:52 – Brian

How many times do you think you’ve seen that? 

 

0:12:53 – Kayla

Well, let’s just say that the last time she visited our house and I asked her if she’d watch it, her response was oh, bloody hell. Okay, and she sat through it, but it kind of let me know that she’d had enough.

 

0:13:07 – Brian

Okay, so Grandma, she was married to Norman, her husband 50 years at least, 50, 51. 

 

0:13:16 – Kayla

Right at 50 years. He passed away after that so they were very spicy with each other. I mean he loved to wind her up, so she would go to the pub almost every night. She would walk down to the pub. 

 

0:13:30 – Brian

Y’all are getting the real y’all getting the underbelly this week. 

 

0:13:33 – Kayla

One summer I had gone to spend three months with my grandmother, and I’d gone to the pub with her most every night. But this night I was tired and so I opted to stay home and just spend some time, you know, chilling on the couch. Well, that front door clicked shut, and no sooner had she left than my granddad comes out of his room. Context my grandfather had a stroke when I was very young, so I hear these feet shuffling down the hall. He comes and sits down on the couch next to me. 

 

0:14:05 – Brian

Michaela. 

 

0:14:06 – Kayla

Michaela, you want to watch TV. So we watch television together. Five minutes before it’s time for her to come home from the pub, he doesn’t say goodnight, goodbye, sayonara. He gets up off the couch, shuffles back down the hall, click and shuts his bedroom door and my grandmother walks in five minutes later and I am dying laughing on the inside. 

 

0:14:30 – Brian

Now she went to the pub every night. 

 

0:14:32 – Kayla

At that time yes, she would go to the pub Three hours a night. About three hours a night. If you visited her, that’s fine, but you were going to visit her at the pub at that time of night. 

 

0:14:42 – Brian

She wasn’t giving that up. That was her that was her thing, that was her people, that was her community. They’d play trivia. 

 

0:14:47 – Kayla

She had an amazing community there, to the degree that there will be a wake at the pub in my grandmother’s honor, I think that’s fantastic, but we’ve had some fun with her through the years B. What happened at our wedding. 

 

0:15:02 – Brian

Hang on. Before we do that, we went to England for your grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary. We did. We walked in the house, uh-huh, and I love your grandmother Can you describe the kitchen to our listeners Well.

 

0:15:20 – Kayla

It was chaotic, but she had done her bit for years. I mean, in her defense she used to be. There’s a British phrase she had done her bit. 

 

0:15:29 – Brian

Yeah. 

 

0:15:30 – Kayla

Towards the end, she just it didn’t matter so, but that was. Yeah, I want to be careful what I share and what I don’t. But yeah, she just she wasn’t much for housecleaning. Towards the end, okay, but at our wedding, something happened that caught you totally off guard. 

 

0:15:51 – Brian

We were leaving to go on the honeymoon. We were outside. 

 

0:15:54 – Kayla

We were saying goodbye to everybody. 

 

0:15:57 – Brian

And they were supposed to throw bird seed at us as we walked down this thing. 

 

0:16:01 – Kayla

Well, somebody had given my grandmother a bucket, yeah, and she were supposed to throw bird seed at us as we walked down this thing. 

 

0:16:03 – Brian

Well, somebody had given my grandmother a bucket, yeah, and she comes up to me, pulls the back of my pants out and pours bird seed down my bucket down my hind end. That was an uncomfortable ride to the hotel. 

 

0:16:18 – Kayla

Let me just say Three hours yes. 

 

0:16:20 – Brian

Birds were attacking the truck. And I’m kidding, oh, they were not. But she just say Three hours yes, birds were attacking the truck, and I’m kidding, oh, they were not. But she just found that hysterical, also at the wedding. 

 

0:16:28 – Kayla

If you watch the wedding video you might see her put her teeth in. 

 

0:16:33 – Brian

She goes down the aisle to her seat With her big green purse. What was in that purse? 

 

0:16:40 – Kayla

Everything. No, what was in it? 

 

0:16:41 – Brian

Oh, everything. No, what was in it? 

 

0:16:42 – Kayla

Oh, her life insurance papers, her will, her certificates, her bank books. Okay, and that purse went everywhere. 

 

0:16:49 – Brian

When you say everywhere Bathroom. She didn’t yes sir. She took if she was in the living room. 

 

0:16:57 – Kayla

If she was at our house and she went to the bathroom, she took a purse with her. 

 

0:17:00 – Brian

What about in her own house? 

 

0:17:01 – Kayla

I don’t think so, but she was at home. 

 

0:17:05 – Brian

I love her and your grandma’s name. 

 

0:17:08 – Kayla

Mary. 

 

0:17:09 – Brian

Mary Slade. 

 

0:17:11 – Kayla

She was the OG for practicing boundaries. You did not discuss government politics, religion or money in front of her. 

 

0:17:21 – Brian

Or sex. 

 

0:17:22 – Kayla

With family in two countries. She knew or money in front of her or sex With family in two countries. She knew how to minimize squabbles and that’s how she did it. She was brilliant. So back in the day, before boundaries even had like a label, she made clear that we were, and I mean, you did not want to incur her wrath so you did not. But I will say this. I watched her sit with you for about two and a half hours One day. You were curious about British government and she knew you weren’t taking fun at her. So she sat there and answered every question that you had about British government, and the rest of us were just in awe of the fact that you were getting away with this. So we’re going to we’re going to say this delicately she had an issue Grandma had a flatulence issue. 

 

She did. That’s a very nice way to put it. 

 

0:18:12 – Brian

But she never took responsibility for it. It was always something Okay. So we’re going to meet her for the first time. I think she was actually coming over here and you pull me aside and you say, baby, I need to tell you something? 

 

0:18:26 – Kayla

What was the first time you were meeting her?

 

0:18:28 – Brian

I said baby, I need to be with you for something, that’s okay. You said my grandma farts a lot. I said wait a minute. Run that by me one more time. 

 

0:18:41 – Kayla

But she’s the most pristine woman you could ever have wanted to meet. 

 

0:18:45 – Brian

But that was her thing if she was sitting, but she never took responsibility for it, for example like a sailor. So if she passed it would, it’d be bloody cough syrup, bloody coke, oh, bloody liver and onions, I mean. And here’s the thing, she knew what’s going to happen because she’d actually raise up, like she would literally raise up to push it out. This happened and I am in, I am in awe. We’re delicately in the oversharing place of life there’s this little four foot eleven and a half lady blowing, I mean, but never took, I mean she never said it was her fault. No, it was always something else that attributed to it Bloody medicine. 

 

0:19:33 – Kayla

It’s just something and the rest of us are just trying to keep a straight face. Oh it’s hysterical. 

 

0:19:39 – Brian

Now we told y’all that she went to the pub every night the day of the wedding or the day before the wedding. 

 

0:19:48 – Kayla

The morning of the wedding, my grandmother wanted to host a brunch for my bridesmaids and my wedding party. Well, the place that we could figure out that could do this for us at that time of day was Applebee’s. So we end up at Applebee’s. I’m wiping away tears, and she offered everyone at the table a beer and Kayla and all of her bridesmaids come from this little conservative. Baptist college. Yeah, but that was her and she, oh girls. 

 

0:20:21 – Brian

would y’all like a brew? 

 

0:20:24 – Kayla

She was the most responsible and yet generous woman when it came to her money. She saved relentlessly, but she gave so big heartedly. I have to say this on a serious note. I embraced her love of family gardening. I remember many times she and I would be out weeding her garden, taking care of her flowers. We loved puzzles. We loved dogs. She always called sprocket pooch how’s the pooch? I inherited her practicality with money and resources. I don’t like to waste anything, and I get that from her. I have watched my grandmother sit and knit her own sweater set, wear it for several months, then unravel it and re-knit in another pattern. She was that generation that you just did not waste things. You used them until they were no longer usable, and so I had a front row seat to that. She did not have much for lavish. 

 

0:21:32 – Brian

Well, let’s be honest, though, but yet you don’t knit Right.

 

0:21:35 – Kayla

We’ll get to that, okay, yeah, that’s just no. So she tried.

 

0:21:39 – Brian

There’s another favorite story of mine yeah, you and your mom took your grandma out to a Chinese restaurant. It’s one of these buffets. Yeah, like you had all this Chinese food, Chinese food, and there’s one long thing of desserts. Tell everybody. 

 

0:21:52 – Kayla

She had so much dessert we could not see her head. She had her plate, she was walking back to the table. 

 

0:22:01 – Brian

Hang on, is this her? It’s stacked that high but she had not gone to any, that was her dinner. So she didn’t eat any egg, fuyon or General Tso’s chicken. 

 

0:22:08 – Kayla

She went straight to the desserts. She was my hero, I mean a plate as tall as her head. We could not see her face behind her dessert. 

 

0:22:16 – Brian

Did y’all laugh. 

 

0:22:20 – Kayla

Died laughing. What could not see her face behind her dessert? Did y’all laugh? Did you died laughing? What’d she say shut up. So yeah, so we were at a wedding, my brother was getting married and you were supposed to be unbeknownst to you. You were supposed to be babysitting grandma the wedding’s outside. 

 

0:22:33 – Brian

It’s in Arizona, 110 degrees, I kid you not and so stayed in the it’s attached to this resort. So I stayed inside the resort until wedding’s supposed to be at 10 o’clock. At 9:59, I walk out because I know I’m going to be sweating like a dog. Well, I did not know, grandma had been looking for me and there’s two or 300 people already seated facing the front. Grandma is facing the front as well, but she’s been looking for me. Well, I walk out and in front of and she sees me. 

 

0:23:04 – Kayla

She stands up. 

 

0:23:05 – Brian

In front of all these people. Brian, where the bloody hell have you been? I’m dying up here. Well, they had hauled in this fan A stadium fan it’s some kind of huge fan and turn this on. I I mean, there’s 300 people, there’s 300 sets of eyes watching this. I turn on the fan and it had one speed and it was it just, oh, that blew her hair back. Her hair is now blown back. So she said it’s too much, it’s too much, so I got to turn it off. Oh, and then the wedding started. 

 

We couldn’t get her hair fixed for the pictures no afterwards you couldn’t get her hair fixed One of my favorite, favorite memories of her. I have one more memory I want to share. I’ve never seen this. 

 

0:24:00 – Kayla

Okay. 

 

0:24:01 – Brian

But I love this image. 

 

0:24:03 – Kayla

Grandma used to smoke Mm-hmm and she would fly to New Orleans Now, hang on, I need to set the stage, okay. 

 

0:24:11 – Brian

And there was this half a wall. As you come off the jetway, there was half a wall and this is when you could actually go back to the gate. Yeah, people back then and y’all said you couldn’t see her, we couldn’t see, but we could see the trail of smoke. Trail of smoke y’all like there’s grandma, there she comes, yeah, and she turned the corner have her cigarette. 

 

0:24:32 – Kayla

Yep, oh yeah, they say I have her hands and I find myself staring them a lot and sadly. But this is where it gets funny. These hands did not figure out knitting and sewing. I tried, Grandma, I really did. She was very patient, she tried to teach me to knit, but it just wasn’t working. 

 

You did cross-stitch for a while I did cross stitch but knitting and sewing. That gene did not pass to me. So I’m proud to have her hands, but sadly my clothes come from the store. And she even gave up and handed me an envelope full of money and said oh, go shopping. So yeah, we tried. The most important thing to me was that she loved you. 

 

0:25:21 – Brian

Oh, I loved her. 

 

0:25:23 – Kayla

And that meant a lot to me. I needed my grandmother’s approval, oh, and it came quick and easy and watching you with both my grandfather and her. She absolutely delighted in you, so we will miss her. But, as you can tell, we could go on for hours. We have a lot of stories. 

 

0:25:44 – Brian

We have time for one more. Can I tell one more story? 

 

0:25:47 – Kayla

Maybe. Okay, I’m already in so much trouble about some of what you’ve shared. 

 

0:25:51 – Brian

This is before I knew you. They came to America to visit and your grandfather got the shingles, oh my goodness, and he was in the back bedroom. 

 

0:25:59 – Kayla

But and your grandfather got the shingles, oh my goodness, and he was in the back bedroom, but we did not know. 

 

0:26:01 – Brian

he had shingles, so and it’s August and he’s in Louisiana and he’s wearing thermal underwear. Ok, so he’s in the back bedroom suffering. She didn’t know this. Well, they’d be sitting there, so let us role play this, because she was tired of dealing with. 

 

0:26:19 – Kayla

Well, he, legit, was just sitting around. It was to the point where he was just sitting around in his shorts and his like tank top, but they were thermal and it’s August in Louisiana, so everybody just assumed the poor man had a heat rash. 

 

So he’s sitting under the fan Picture that he’s in the living room just sitting in nothing but his skivvies under the fan and he’s not healing. The. The air quotes rash is not going away. So we finally take him to the doctor. The doctor says this poor man does not have heat rash, he’s got shingles and so he’s miserable. He wants to go home. 

 

0:26:56 – Brian

So he’s in the bed fast forward to. 

 

0:26:58 – Kayla

He’s pouting and he’s laying in the bed. 

 

0:27:00 – Brian

So here we go, my grandma’s in the living room. 

 

0:27:03 – Kayla

Mary, what Mary, oh, what the bloody hell do you want Norman. 

 

0:27:09 – Brian

This went on for how long? Like 10 minutes, and it finally got to where it was Mary and she’d respond with Norman. They just went back and forth Like a tennis match. Miss Kayla, you’d make her proud and she was very, very proud of you and you know that, and she loved you dearly. 

 

0:27:27 – Kayla

And one day we will get to spend the rest of our life with her. 

 

0:27:32 – Brian

So yeah, so y’all, before we all start crying here, we’d like to give you a peas and carrots coffee mug, as well as some, as Miss Kayla calls them, cute little stickers. Yes, you have to answer a trivia question to get that, and to do that, you go to our website. 

 

0:27:48 – Kayla

Peasandcarrotspodcast.com. And when you go to the website, look for the trivia button. If you will click that button, again that’s peasandcarrotspodcast.com. Again, that’s peasandcarrotspodcast.com. 

 

0:27:58 – Brian

The question is who in your life has had a positive impact to who you are today? Yeah, who in your life has so influenced you that you’re a better person because of it? 

 

0:28:10 – Kayla

And we’d love to know why. Yeah, so yeah, go to our website. Click the trivia button. 

 

0:28:19 – Brian

You can search the Peas and Carrots Podcast wherever you get your podcasts, or visit our website peasandcarrotspodcast.com, and when you do, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast. 

 

0:28:26 – Kayla

You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Just search for the Peas and Carrots Podcast. Mary! Norman!

 

0:28:33 – Announcer

For more about the Peas and Carrots Podcast and to reach out to Brian and Kayla, visit peasandcarrotspodcast.com. Growing through the challenges we face and finding hope along the way. That’s the Jesus Fix It Podcast with Jess. Check out jesusfixit.com or search Jesus Fix It wherever you listen to podcasts.

 

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

Season 2, Episode 37: Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas - Episode Description

Join Brian and Kayla as they share their Christmas wish for YOU for 2023. Our listeners have been such a gift to us this year and we can’t wait to rejoin you after a couple of weeks off for the holidays. With love from Peas and Carrots, Merry Christmas! “See” you next year! 

Merry Christmas - Transcript

 

0:00:00 – Announcer

We go together like peas and carrots! The Peas and Carrots Podcast, sharing life from our piece of the vegetable patch Brian and Kayla Sanders.

 

0:00:11 – Brian

Welcome to the peas and carrots podcast. I’m Brian and I’m Kayla. Okay, right before we came on the air, miss Kayla told me quote “be nice to people. Today you look cranky.”

 

0:00:22 – Kayla

I don’t think I’m cranky. Okay, you have to say it I think I’m a little crank. What’s up in the world of peas and carrots?

 

0:00:30 – Brian

Well, apparently I’m cranky. Well, you went to the doctor yesterday, three weeks after you fell.

 

0:00:42 – Kayla

I did and I just want to say thank you. Many have checked on my situation after my fall down the stairs, and my hip is healing.

 

0:00:53 – Brian

You didn’t.

 

0:00:53 – Kayla

I did not break anything. It’s going to take some time to heal. There was some tissue damage and there’s apparently a sack near your hair, so that Mine is. It’s got some fluid and so it’s just. But I am healing and I’m a little gimpy.

 

0:01:10 – Brian

You still can’t lay on that side I cannot, and I’ve still got some swelling. But you said it could take months.

 

0:01:16 – Kayla

It could take a while. I did a good job. I don’t do anything halfway so, but I do appreciate all the concerns.

 

0:01:24 – Brian

I just want to go on the record for everybody’s made the stark comment. I was in the truck Waiting on her to come out. I did was not in the house, I did not hear her fall, did not see her fall when I knew something, as happens when she came limping out in the Garage and then I ran to and I even tried to play it down, but it hurts so bad that I couldn’t.

 

0:01:44 – Kayla

But anyway, no, you did not push me down the stairs, you did not have anything to do with it.

 

0:01:49 – Brian

So I do feel guilty that I wasn’t there.

 

0:01:52 – Kayla

Oh stop, it’s all good. Okay, nothing broken, so Hallelujah number one.

 

0:01:59 – Brian

Okay and hallelujah number two which is we are done Christmas shopping.

 

0:02:04 – Kayla

We are. It’s a true Christmas miracle.

 

0:02:07 – Brian

We’ll think of something.

 

0:02:08 – Kayla

We’re fully. I know I’m like who did we forget cuz?

 

0:02:11 – Brian

hopefully the right people oh.

 

0:02:13 – Kayla

Oh, there’s that cranky.

 

0:02:16 – Brian

It’s a lovable crank. I’m trying to be. Accurate a lovable crank Okay if I, if somebody ever writes my life story, it should be called lovable crank.

 

0:02:30 – Kayla

Okay, so I have a confession. We are literally the only house on our side of the street that has not decorated outside for Christmas and it all fell.

 

0:02:42 – Brian

How many Christmas trees do we have in the house? Three, and you got little gnomes. And you got I’ve got Christmas decor all over the. And you got where is Snoopy? This is in his Downstairs.

 

0:02:53 – Kayla

And you got Mickey and Minnie and but we never got out, we never got decor up outside and it’s less than two weeks till.

 

0:03:01 – Brian

Christmas we have these neighbors live across street and they never decorate outside never. And they did. She’s walking down the stairs the other day and she says you know, I don’t feel as bad because the neighbors across street Don’t have anything. Well, all of a sudden other night I hear dang it. I said watch. She said the neighbors across street put lights out.

 

0:03:21 – Kayla

I May have to break down and put the outside Christmas tree on the porch. It’s less, we’ll see, okay, I’m just saying so.

 

0:03:30 – Brian

There we are, so it doesn’t bother me Again, lovable crank, I could care less. Then people don’t come in mind, you know, then people Doesn’t matter.

 

0:03:42 – Kayla

We’re all in the spirit outside. We’re lovable crank outside. There we go.

 

0:03:50 – Brian

This is gonna be a shorter podcast this week, yeah, so just know that, and we just want to take a few moments and wish all of you a very merry Christmas.

 

0:04:01 – Kayla

We do. We have a few wishes for you this Christmas, and it will. It’ll have a different feel to it, but we just wanted to say may your heart receive, receive whatever it needs this year.

 

0:04:14 – Brian

May God meet you use a cookie.

 

0:04:16 – Kayla

Yes, okay, we’ll find some.

 

0:04:20 – Brian

I’m not allowed to have them anymore.

 

0:04:21 – Kayla

Well, that’s true.

 

0:04:22 – Brian

Very sad. May your heart receive whatever it needs. Do you need forgiveness? It’s available. Do you need some hope? It’s available. Yeah, so we do pray that your heart receives that. Next, may you give yourself grace, no matter what this holiday looks like. Yeah, and this is a big, this is a very big principle for you that don’t force yourself into a situation that can cause stress or heartburn or something like that. It isn’t worth it, it’s not, it’s not worth it. So, again, give yourself some grace, no matter what this holiday looks like.

 

0:05:01 – Kayla

Your holiday does not need to be Instagram worthy. It can be exactly what your family needs, full stop.

 

0:05:13 – Brian

I’ve always I heard this about people who take these beautiful Instagram pictures and I’ve always wondered what’s on the other side of the camera? What are they not showing?

 

0:05:26 – Kayla

Yeah.

 

0:05:27 – Brian

Because I think sometimes we’re trying to live up to this expectation that isn’t, that’s just impossible, I mean.

 

0:05:35 – Kayla

And it just creates more pressure. So do not succumb to the pressure.

 

0:05:39 – Brian

At some point. I think we’ve bought that like hallmark movies. Can be true they can be real. And they’re not. There is never the perfect snowfall, there is never perfect peace, there is never any of these things, and if it is, it’s short lived, because we live in a fallen world. But, yeah.

 

0:05:56 – Kayla

On a more positive note, may what God did through a tiny baby be bigger than anything else that this year has sent your way. May you come to the end of 2023 realizing that it’s all about what happened.

 

0:06:13 – Brian

All that happened in a, in a manger over in Bethlehem. With that I’d like to share just a brief Lincoln story.

 

0:06:22 – Kayla

Really. Yes, it’s Christmas.

 

0:06:25 – Brian

This is a Christmas Lincoln story.

 

0:06:27 – Kayla

Of course it is Okay Is it okay.

 

0:06:30 – Brian

Yes, Lincoln had a side office next to his main White House office and it’s where he made tea. He had two secretaries, john Hay and John Nicolay. Well, Lincoln was in that office making tea and he heard a baby crying and he said, Nicolay, is there a baby in the White House? Now, in that time anybody could go in the White House and request to see the present.

 

0:07:01 – Kayla

Don’t try that today.

 

0:07:02 – Brian

Yeah, I wouldn’t try that today, they’d probably arrest you. And he said yes, sir, there’s a woman here to see you. So Nicolay walks out and brings the woman into this little side office and she’s cradling a baby in her arms and the baby just keeps crying. Lincoln never makes eye contact with the woman, he just stares at the baby and she says sir, my husband has gone AWOL from the Union Army and there’s a warrant out for him and if they find him they will kill him. Would you please pardon him? Lincoln just keeps staring at the baby as it cries.

 

Lincoln steps to the side, takes out a quill, writes out a pardon, signs it, hands it to her, and he can’t stop looking at the baby. Where he hands her the pardon, she turns around and she runs down the hallway and she’s screaming I did it, I did it, I did it. Nicolay here’s this. And so he starts running after this woman down the hallway of the White House. She gets just outside and he finally catches her and he grabs her by the arm and he turns around. He says, madam, you did nothing. The baby did everything.

 

0:08:23 – Kayla

Wow.

 

0:08:24 – Brian

That’s here’s what I’m going to say to our friends. You can’t do anything to get to heaven. It’s what the baby did.

 

0:08:34 – Kayla

That’s right.

 

0:08:36 – Brian

So that’s my Lincoln Christmas story. That’s pretty good isn’t it?

 

0:08:40 – Kayla

Okay, I’ll give you that one, all right. There you go. We will end with this. You have been such a gift to us this year. Thank you for all your comments and messages. We have enjoyed getting to air quotes meet so many of you this year. We are excited to rejoin you in a couple of weeks after the holidays.

 

0:09:02 – Brian

We’re going to take a few weeks off.

 

0:09:03 – Kayla

But Merry Christmas from our home to yours.

 

0:09:07 – Brian

Hey, thanks for listening this past year. So many of you now have peas and carrots, mugs and stickers and from our home to yours Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. You can search the peas and carrots podcast wherever you get your podcast or visit our website at peasandcarretspodcastcom.

 

0:09:25 – Kayla

When you do, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Just search for the peas and carrots podcast.

 

0:09:34 – Announcer

For more about the peas and carrots podcast and to reach out to Brian and Kayla, visit peasandcarretspodcastcom. Life’s not perfect. That’s why God gave us friends like Melody and Candy. Check out QuirksBumpsandBruisescom, or search QuirksBumpsandBruises wherever you listen to podcasts.

 

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM