Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: This is the Morning Journey Rewind with Mark and Brittany. Never miss a moment.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: This week on the Morning Journey podcast, Mark and Brittany are still looking for toys in the cereal boxes. Pizza Hut brings back the BookIt reading program. And Stella, Brittany's daughter, runs another race. Also, Mark and Brittany talk about how to discern God's will, follow his calling and ask for prayers. For Journey artist Natalie Grant.
[00:00:22] Speaker C: Big question today is, did either of us find the toy in the box of cereal?
[00:00:29] Speaker D: Did we?
[00:00:30] Speaker C: Kellogg's has announced that they will have the Toy Story toys in boxes of cereal. Brittany's holding up one. It has it. You found it?
[00:00:41] Speaker D: I found one. It says surprise. Collectible character cards. So I'm not as excited as I was because it says collectible character cards.
[00:00:53] Speaker C: Oh. I thought they were gonna be like the figurines.
[00:00:55] Speaker D: So I don't think it's actual toys now. I'm kind of upset. It's cards. Let's see. Open that up and see what it actually looks like. See if I can get in this box, find out where that.
[00:01:04] Speaker C: It's probably like.
[00:01:05] Speaker D: Is it in the actual box of cereal? Did they actually put it in the box or did they put it like
[00:01:10] Speaker C: it's buried in there.
[00:01:11] Speaker D: Is it?
[00:01:11] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:01:12] Speaker D: No, it's not. Look at that.
[00:01:13] Speaker C: It's not it. You have to send away for it.
[00:01:15] Speaker D: No, it's. It's in here. It's not in the. I thought I was gonna have to
[00:01:18] Speaker C: open this and like, so it's in the bag.
[00:01:21] Speaker D: Sanitary. So it's.
[00:01:23] Speaker C: There they are.
I don't think that's.
[00:01:26] Speaker D: What kind of lame.
[00:01:27] Speaker C: That's not exactly what we thought it
[00:01:28] Speaker D: was going to be what we expected to be. Sure.
[00:01:31] Speaker C: Character cards. I know.
[00:01:33] Speaker D: I thought it was going to be actual, like, figurines. So we've got. Who we have here. We have Lily Pad.
[00:01:38] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:01:39] Speaker D: Which is like a tablet. It looks like frog shaped smart tablet. Lily Pad, also known as Lily.
Oh, this is what. I guess Toy Story 5 is about Lily playing or about Bonnie, the little girl from Toy Story, playing with Lily Pad instead of actual toys. And. And then we also got Atlas, which is a cheerful talking toy. Hippo.
[00:01:59] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:02:00] Speaker D: We'll stick by your side until you get there. He's equipped with a gps.
Pretty cool.
[00:02:04] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:02:05] Speaker D: So we got Lily Pad and Atlas.
[00:02:07] Speaker C: Well, hang on to those cards because one day they may be worth a lot of money. Did we talk about the Pokemon card?
[00:02:14] Speaker D: I know a lot of people save their Pokemon cards.
[00:02:17] Speaker C: A Pokemon card. We had this on our money minute feature last week.
It Was a rare card. It was in a diamond case, is what it came in. Sold for, like, $16 million.
[00:02:29] Speaker D: Oh, my goodness. Well, maybe they are gonna do actual figurines. And, like, these cards are just, like. Could be only in, like, one box, and I have them, so. Look at that. Maybe I'll be a billionaire someday.
I'll have to frame these and keep them safe. But, yeah, I'm kind of disappointed if that's all it is, if it's just cards and not toys. But that's all I could find so far, so I'll keep looking.
[00:02:50] Speaker C: All right, Brittany, check the box again, the cereal box, just to make sure I did that. The Toy Story toys were not in there. But you pulled, what, two cards?
[00:03:00] Speaker D: Yeah, I got two cards out of there. So they're like collectible cards. I got Atlas, which is the talking hippo, and Lily Pad, which is Bonnie, the little girl's iPad tablet thing.
Instead of playing with her toys like Atlas, I guess she's playing with Lily Pad in this new movie, so. Yeah, not what I expected. I expected actual physical toys.
[00:03:20] Speaker C: It says they were released on April 26. These are limited edition or special edition cereal boxes from Kellogg's.
[00:03:27] Speaker D: The box has Toy Story characters on it. On the side, it says, collect all nine cards. So are we getting actual toys or is this it?
[00:03:34] Speaker C: No, supposedly there are. There are the little plastic Toy Story 5 toys. This is for the movie coming out, I believe, in June.
It says you can also get playable spoons. Those are modeled after Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jesse. So playable spoons, the collectible trading cards, and movie ticket promotions in there as well.
[00:03:55] Speaker D: All I got was two cards, so I'm hoping to find one with an actual toy inside. But I'll keep the cards. Maybe they're worth something, I don't know, down the road. Yeah, that's kind of disappointed. And I. That's the only box I found. I found a lot of Kellogg's boxes this weekend. The only box I found that had any Toy Story anything on it.
[00:04:13] Speaker C: So you have to go back. You have to go back and continue your. Your hunt.
[00:04:15] Speaker D: I think I'm going to check again on Wednesday or Thursday morning because it says that Kroger restocks their cereal on Wednesdays. So maybe we'll get it. Lynchburg is one of the last few places to get a lot of goodies, and so maybe it's just not here just yet. So we'll keep looking.
I turn y' all on in the morning when I get in my truck. It's helpful I'm taking the kids to school. Here we go.
[00:04:36] Speaker A: It's the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:04:39] Speaker C: Well, if you were a kid in the 80s, you may remember Pizza Hut's book it summer reading program. They are bringing that back.
[00:04:47] Speaker D: The 80s. I was born in the 90s and I remember it. Yeah, we had it. It was great. You would read a bunch of books and then if you read enough, you'd get a little thing that would give you a personal pan pizza when you went to Pizza Hut. Now, the hard part about this is finding a Pizza Hut.
[00:04:59] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:05:00] Speaker D: There are not many of those left.
[00:05:01] Speaker C: That is true. The program began in 1984 and then it continued, but then at some point they discontinued it. So now it is coming back and kids can earn a personal pan pizza and more for meeting their reading goals. This is for kids in pre K through grade six.
[00:05:18] Speaker D: I'm downloading the app right now. That's how you get started. If you have an Apple or Android, you go to your Apple or Android store and you search the BookIt mobile app. You download it, you complete the registration form, then you track the amount of books that you read or your child reads, and then they can earn a personal pan pizza.
[00:05:35] Speaker C: Yeah, anything.
[00:05:35] Speaker D: I'm so excited.
[00:05:36] Speaker C: Yeah, Anything that gets kids to read more.
[00:05:38] Speaker D: Is it like, can adults. I wish adults could do this too, because as adults, we stop reading.
[00:05:42] Speaker C: Yeah, it's not. Unless you're an adult and you're in the sixth grade.
[00:05:45] Speaker D: Yeah. I wish they would continue this on for adults because we do. We get older and we stop our love of reading and we stop reading books. And so it'd be nice if we had some incentive, too. So I'm calling out to all the Pizza Hut. It's like, open this up to adults.
[00:05:58] Speaker C: The adult summer reading program.
[00:05:59] Speaker D: I mean, you could make it harder for us to get the personal pan pizza. That's fine, but I think we should be a part of this. I want a personal pan pizza.
Okay. Right now I have a preschooler, so all the reading, she does mine anyway. That's right. And then she'll have to share a pizza with me, too.
[00:06:16] Speaker A: Good company makes for a great day. The morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:06:22] Speaker C: Well, Brittany's daughter Stella participated in her third race over the weekend. Yeah, I ask this every week. How did it go?
[00:06:30] Speaker D: About the same. So this is like a runner series for healthy kids. And so she runs five times. And we're taking a for Mother's Day this weekend, so she won't run this week, but yes. So she's ran three this time was really cute because she got to invite her teachers. It was teacher appreciation, which, by the way, this is Teacher Appreciation Week, if you do not know that. So make sure you get your teachers a gift this week because it is Teacher Appreciation Week. But she invited her teachers and they came and it was really cute. They cheered her on and everything. But yeah, still towards the end. But she's having a blast. And like, you can see the smile on her face when she runs. And she was so excited to have her teachers there. Ran right past mom to her teacher. So I know where rank now, but
[00:07:10] Speaker C: she's having a good time.
[00:07:11] Speaker D: Yes, she's having a good time. And at this age, that's what it's all about.
[00:07:15] Speaker C: We got to get her to pass at least one. One person.
[00:07:17] Speaker D: Yeah, we got to get her like, maybe we can get her like, top two. Let's see. We'll find out.
[00:07:24] Speaker A: Start on a positive note. You're on the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:07:30] Speaker C: Well, Proverbs 16:9 says, the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. And here are some thoughts on how you know that those plan are actually of God. Number one. It aligns with God's Word. Okay. So the importance of staying in the scripture on a regular basis. It may not be easy, but you will have peace. If you think about reading the scripture, all the examples where God was leading somebody to do something, and usually it was not easy.
[00:08:01] Speaker D: No, it was not easy.
[00:08:01] Speaker C: It was going to be hard, but they had that peace about that. And then it requires faith and dependence on God and not you.
[00:08:10] Speaker D: Yeah, I feel like a lot of times we question, like, is this from God? And God will never ask you to do something that doesn't align with His Word. It'll also bring you closer to him, not further away. And it'll glorify him. That decision that you have to make, it also help you pursue his wisdom more and help you love and serve others more. And it really does demand a new level of trust. It's not easy sometimes stepping out into those unknowns and out of your comfort zone to follow what the Lord has for you. But he's with you in those moments. And so it might not be easy, but it will bring you peace. And you'll know that it's from him because it'll be exactly what it says in Scripture.
[00:08:44] Speaker C: I love reading or hearing somebody talk about that in their life. Like they were on maybe a different career trajectory, career path, and suddenly God said, no, I'm going to lead you in a totally different direction. And they were like, what? What are we doing here? But it required total faith and total trust in God. And then when they've gone through that, they basically testify and share that. I know it's of God because I can't take any of the glory for this. It is totally of God doing this through me.
[00:09:20] Speaker D: That's exactly why I'm where I'm at right now. Because of a donut eating contest. I never thought I'd be on the radio. And then one thing led to another and I ate donuts and here I am. So definitely one of those moments where I had to step out of my comfort zone and trust where God was leading me.
Maybe that's you this morning. And you're facing a big decision. You don't know if this is God's will or are you just forcing it?
Well, ask him.
[00:09:42] Speaker C: Yeah. And if you've been through that and you've put that trust in God and that's your story, we would love to hear that. You can share that this morning.
[00:09:48] Speaker D: Yep.
[00:09:49] Speaker A: Uplifting and encouraging. Because you need it now more than ever.
[00:09:53] Speaker C: You betcha.
[00:09:54] Speaker A: The morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:09:56] Speaker C: I think we've probably all been in those situations where we know that God is drawing us closer to him, maybe calling us to something.
And we've got an environment that we're living in. We may have family members, friends that are pulling in a different direction. And we know that God is saying, you're going to have to leave them and to follow me and trust me. And while all of that is true that God is there for you, that you can trust God, it is very difficult to do.
[00:10:28] Speaker D: It is. I feel like a lot of times we put our comfort above our calling.
Cause we don't wanna leave these comfortable situations. And you see it a lot of time with addiction as well. Like a lot of addicts will go through rehab and then go back to that same environment with those same friends and fall back into those same habits. And so we've posted on our Facebook page and we would love for you to call in and tell us what's a past environment or friendship or relationship that God has kind of called you out of. What did that look like for you? How were you able to do that? And what did you see? God's faithfulness in those moments? You can always call us at 800-424-9594 and tell us your story.
[00:11:02] Speaker C: We are called to follow Christ. And sometimes when we are called to Follow Christ. That means we have to leave behind. Maybe it's the environment that we were in, the friendship, perhaps a relationship, not easy to do. But we want to hear from you on this. We posted this on our Facebook page. What past environment, friendship, relationship has God called you out of?
[00:11:23] Speaker D: Yes, sometimes you have to take that step out of your comfort zone and leave that comfort to really live out your calling. And Connie did that. She said, years ago, when I became a Christian, I had made some great friends with someone at church, but it actually ended up not being healthy for me. And it really did help that I moved away. And so even sometimes those church relationships that you think are, you know, great godly relationships God might be showing you, like, hey, this isn't the relationship that I have for you. This isn't the environment I want you in. I want you to maybe move away and join a different church. And so just really being obedient to him. So if you have a story like that about how God pulled you away from something, an environment, a relationship, give us a call. 800-424-9594. Comment on our Facebook page.
[00:12:06] Speaker C: Yeah, exactly. And the reason why we're doing this is because we believe your story will encourage somebody else who may be going through that right now. They'll get to hear how and read how you did that, how God led you through it. It's not easy because you don't want to lose friends. You still want to be able to be there for them. But sometimes God says, I need you to take a break. I need you to step away from that.
[00:12:30] Speaker E: We're just going to worship. We're going to be encouraged, and we're just going to be together.
[00:12:35] Speaker A: That's the idea. You're on the Morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:12:40] Speaker C: Well, you may have seen this story about one of the Journey artists, Natalie Grant. She took a bad fall. They were moving their daughter home from college, and while they were in the process of moving, she tripped and fell, ended up in the hospital.
[00:12:56] Speaker D: I've never heard anybody fall so hard that they've hurt their organs. Like, she. Seriously, she wiped out. She thought she had a cracked rib, but it turned out that she actually had a bleeding kidney, a blood clot in her bladder, and ended up going in for surgery. She said, who trips and falls on the sidewalk and injures a couple of organs? Luckily, she is recovering okay. And so just keep her in your prayers as you think about her. But I've never heard tell of such a thing.
[00:13:20] Speaker A: Crazy story.
[00:13:21] Speaker D: Be careful. Make sure you watch where you're walking
[00:13:23] Speaker A: today, a great way to start your day. The morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:13:28] Speaker C: Well, big weekend for Brittany. She had her birthday weekend. Happy birthday. And how was it?
[00:13:35] Speaker D: It was actually really good. We were worried that the weather was gonna be bad.
[00:13:38] Speaker C: Weather was great.
[00:13:39] Speaker D: I wanted to go to Smith Mountain Lake and do the lake beach, but it was chilly, and so we decided not to do that. But I ate a lot of good food. And then we were able. In the afternoon, it got warm enough, we were able to get out on the little tiny lake in our new neighborhood.
[00:13:50] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:13:51] Speaker D: And so we took the kayak out and we explored the lake, and that was a lot of fun. And then we had a night at the house, so it worked out. But I have tons of dessert leftover, so I've been eating dessert all week, and we'll probably continue to do so into this week. But, yeah, it was a lot of fun.
[00:14:05] Speaker C: Good. What kind of dessert do you have?
[00:14:07] Speaker D: I had cookie cake. I had a. Like, we ate waffles for breakfast at this place that, like, has waffles on a stick. I have key lime pie. I have a fruit tart. I had peach cobbler yesterday.
[00:14:19] Speaker C: Good grief.
[00:14:20] Speaker D: Yeah, it's been a lot. So definitely eating the desserts and having a lot of fun for my birthday, for sure. But I definitely feel older also. So, like, I woke up and I'm like, now I'm old.
[00:14:32] Speaker E: We're just gonna worship, we're gonna be encouraged, and we're just gonna be together.
[00:14:37] Speaker A: That's the idea. You're on the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:14:42] Speaker C: We would love for you to be a part of the morning journey. Maybe comment on something that we're talking about. Or it could be an answered prayer or something that gave you hope. We would love to hear about it. Your story might be exactly what somebody else needs to hear today.
[00:14:55] Speaker D: Yeah. We have a question posted on our Facebook page right now. What past environment, friendship, relationship has God called you out of? We know not everyone is meant to go where God is taking you. And not every connection is healthy for your calling. So maybe you have a story that relates to that. You can always call us at 800-424-9594 and share that story. You can drop a comment on our Facebook page as well. If you call between 6 and 9, we are here. We will answer. But you can also call and leave a message. And we will get to that as well. 800-424-9594.
[00:15:26] Speaker C: I just kind of channel surfing through
[00:15:28] Speaker A: the radio families are catching on and
[00:15:30] Speaker C: I'm like, wow, this is pretty cool
[00:15:31] Speaker A: to the best way.
[00:15:32] Speaker C: But now this is the only thing
[00:15:33] Speaker A: I listen to now to wake up.
[00:15:35] Speaker C: My style of everything has started and changed.
[00:15:37] Speaker A: It's the Morning Journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:15:39] Speaker C: This is encouraging to see. Thousands of college students are saying yes to the gospel. There was a huge outreach at Oklahoma State University.
5,500 students attended the event and many made decisions for Christ.
[00:15:54] Speaker D: I think we're really lucky here and kind of spoiled because we're so close to the campus of Liberty University. We get to witness college students living out their faith every day because Liberty is a Christian university.
It's always impressive when you see it at places like Oklahoma State University that doesn't have a Christian base, gather in these big environments like this with their friends and worship alongside each other. Because this generation really does struggle with mental health. Mays Mental Health Awareness Month, by the way, if you didn't know that. But yeah. So watching them come together and realize that Jesus is the answer to all their struggles is so, so cool to see.
[00:16:28] Speaker C: And it's encouraging because for the last several years now, I mean, what we've seen on college campuses as far as the news has been protests and these type of things and demonstrations and to be able to know that this is happening on college campuses. We've seen that. We shared the story about Ohio State University, something that was really led by their football team, just the players themselves.
And then students began to come to those events and receive Christ. And you see students praising and singing worship songs and really expressing their love for the Lord.
[00:17:04] Speaker D: It really only takes a couple of people. So I encourage you today, if you're in an environment or a college that isn't a Christian based environment and you are a Christian, live out your faith, invite others to join you, start those movements yourself. Because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. And that's the only way people are going to overcome those mental health struggles and live out the life that God called them to. And so great to see, really, especially at campuses like Oklahoma State University.
You guys always make me smile.
[00:17:34] Speaker A: The Morning Journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:17:37] Speaker C: Great to have you with us today. Whether you're listening on the radio or maybe on the My Journey FM app, if you go to our Facebook page or right there on the app and you'll see a link where you can map the app, let us know where you're listening, or if you've used the app on vacation.
Aaron is a PGA professional and also a Liberty University online student. He travels a lot in Virginia and North Carolina. He says the journey has become an integral daily part of my journey. Wherever I go, I seek to serve the Lord and aspire to be a champion for him through my love of golf and teaching. Listens on the app regularly.
[00:18:14] Speaker D: Very cool. Thanks for sharing, Erin and Robin. She says she listens from Palmyra, Virginia most of the time, but she's taken us all the way to Alaska, Canada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Maryland, north and South Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana. She loves taking us with her while she travels via the app. So if you listen on the app, make sure you tap that little map on there and let us know where you're listening from.
[00:18:38] Speaker A: Thanks for catching up on the morning Journey Rewind podcast with Mark and Brittany.
