[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 talk Spooky Ranch. Halloween cereal, s', mores, goldfish, and coffee. Brittany is back to being excited about the football season. And did you know that you don't have to be in ministry to do ministry?
[00:00:18] Speaker C: Ranch is jumping in to the. I guess these are mashups. I don't know what this is called. A different flavor.
[00:00:26] Speaker D: Spooky Ranch tastes the same, supposedly. But do you remember, like, ketchup, when ketchup was different colors?
[00:00:32] Speaker C: No.
[00:00:32] Speaker D: No. You don't remember that? Okay, so, like, in the 90s, like my childhood, I remember when ketchup came out and there was, like, green ketchup and pink ketchup and purple ketchup, and it tasted like ketchup, but it looked different. And I never got to. I don't think I ever bought it, but it was out there. And so now Ranch is making Spooky Ranch. And they said it's flavored with fruit and cocoa is what makes the color. But it's black.
That's like ranch dressing, but it's black.
And the black color comes from fruit and cocoa, which to me means it's gonna taste different. Like, how does it not taste different?
[00:01:04] Speaker C: Exactly. Yeah. I'm not in on this. Sorry.
[00:01:07] Speaker D: I don't want to put anything that looks black on my food. I think that would make it look really gross. Unless it's, like, black beans.
Yeah, I don't know. I don't think I'm gonna be getting spooky with Ranch this. This fall. No, thanks.
[00:01:20] Speaker A: Uplifting and encouraging because you need it now more than ever.
[00:01:25] Speaker E: You betcha.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: The Morning Journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:01:28] Speaker C: Brittany already got her boxes of Booberry. But you already had Count Chocula.
[00:01:35] Speaker D: Well, we've been through two boxes of Frankenberry already because of my daughter. And then, thanks to a very sweet listener, I was gifted two boxes of Count Chocula. And so my dad came into town, and I was like, we'll get through the Frankenberry. I don't care about Frankenberry. That's all Stella. And then my. My dad came in town. He likes Count Chocula, too. So I was like, cool, we'll eat Count Chocula altogether. Well, Stella has gotten to the point where she will eat the marshmallows out of it and then let the rest of it just sit there.
[00:02:00] Speaker C: So she doesn't like the rest of it.
[00:02:02] Speaker D: I don't think. She just. I think she only cares about the Marshmallows. And then it'll just sit there and get soggy. And then I'm like, you know, the milk's chocolate. Like, you can drink the chocolate milk. Like, hello.
[00:02:11] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:02:11] Speaker D: But she. I have to, like, force her to even do that. So I'm. I'm getting to the point now where I don't want to share my Count Chocula with her. Like. Like, we've been through one box of it already, and I have one more box, and I'm like, I think I'm just gonna like it.
[00:02:24] Speaker C: It's also not even stash it away.
[00:02:26] Speaker D: It's also not even October yet. Like, we've been through all of this, like, fall cereal. And I'm like, maybe we should just pump the brakes a little bit. Wait till October, and then I'll eat my Count Chocula, like, in the pantry, by myself, away from everyone.
[00:02:41] Speaker E: I just kind of channel surfing through the radio.
[00:02:43] Speaker A: Families are catching on, and I'm like, wow, this is pretty cool to the best way.
[00:02:47] Speaker E: But now this is the only thing I listen to now to wake up my style. Everything has started to change.
[00:02:51] Speaker A: It's the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:02:54] Speaker C: S' mores are a great snack. You got the graham cracker, you got the chocolate, the marshmallow. Now, these are traditionally eaten outside over a fire pit.
[00:03:03] Speaker D: Yeah. It's fall times, campfire times. And so my husband and I, Phil, we were gonna do a campfire the other night, and then we decided not to, but I still wanted us s'. More.
So I like to. And I've always done this because I think it melts better. I like to put them in the microwave.
[00:03:17] Speaker C: Really?
[00:03:18] Speaker D: Yes. And I like to put peanut butter on my s'. Mores. So I will spread the graham cracker with peanut butter, do the chocolate, the marshmallow, and then I'll put it in the microwave. What happens is if you microwave it even a second too long, it becomes this, like, soupy mess.
[00:03:30] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:03:31] Speaker D: And my husband will look at me and be like, why? Why do you do this all over the microwave tray? All over my hands and everything. And so the other night, I did this, and I used, like, the Reese's chocolates instead of, like, smearing the peanut butter. So it was a little less messy. I think I microwaved it a pretty decent amount of time. And he looks at me and he goes, you know, we have a gas stove. And I was like, so? And he's like, so you could have roasted the marshmallow like you would over a campfire, and then it wouldn't be so gross. And I'm like, I like it melted. The marshmallow never heats it up enough to melt the chocolate. It just never does. So then you're eating this hard, crusty graham cracker and you got this, like, chewy marshmallow. No, the microwave's the way to go. If you've never microwaved with s', more, now is the time. Try it. Trust me, you will like it.
[00:04:20] Speaker E: We're just gonna worship, we're gonna be encouraged, and we're just gonna be together.
[00:04:25] Speaker A: That's the idea. You're on the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:04:29] Speaker C: If you're looking for goldfish crackers and you've got some extra money laying around, you may want to check out ebay. An ultra rare six cracker clump was listed on eBay for 25 bucks.
[00:04:43] Speaker D: Look, I got a lot of goldfish and I've never even taken the time to look and see if I have, like, weird anomalies. Like the. Like you said, like the six stackers together. Like, sometimes they're touching, sometimes they don't have a face. Like, people are really getting into this. They're finding them that are like two by two, and they're posting them on eBay. 1. What are you gonna do with it once you buy it?
[00:05:03] Speaker C: Yeah, it's $25,000 for goldfish crackers.
[00:05:08] Speaker D: People who have that kind of money to buy on goldfish crackers are the wrong people who have that kind of money.
[00:05:12] Speaker C: Somebo posted 25k for something I used to accidentally vacuum off the floor of my minivan.
[00:05:19] Speaker D: For real. I mean, my daughter eats a lot of goldfish and I've never once looked and seen if they're like, stacked together or anything. This is also the thing about ebay. I have a lot of beanie babies and they always say, like, oh, you can sell your beanie babies on ebay. Make a ton of money. And I have some rare ones and like, someone has to buy it. Yeah, like you're telling me that somebody's spending $25,000 on a six cluster goldfish cracker.
[00:05:41] Speaker C: Yeah. It's going to be interesting to see how long that sits up there.
[00:05:44] Speaker D: That, like, what, you eat it, you store it, you frame it and put it somewhere. Like, what happens when you buy it? Like, what happens then? I don't understand. You can buy a whole. Think about how many packs of goldfish you could buy for $25,000.
[00:05:58] Speaker C: Yeah, I would think for $25,000, you could do a lot better with your money.
[00:06:03] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. You could give it to the journey if you wanted to.
[00:06:05] Speaker C: There you go.
[00:06:07] Speaker E: I turn y' all on in the morning when I get in my truck.
[00:06:10] Speaker D: It's helpful when I' kids.
Here we go.
[00:06:13] Speaker A: It's the morning journey with Mark and Britney.
[00:06:16] Speaker C: A lot of people start their morning with coffee. They gotta have the coffee to wake up. But for some people, they feel sleepy after drinking coffee.
[00:06:25] Speaker D: I will say that coffee really doesn't do anything for me. I do drink a cup when I get up. That's mostly because I like, like, the warmth of my throat and everything. It doesn't ever. Caffeine in general just doesn't wake me up. My husband will drink coffee to wake up, and he will not talk to you until he has his coffee. But I am very much the opposite. Like, doesn't do anything for me.
[00:06:42] Speaker C: Well, if you are one of those people that say that you feel a little sleepy after drinking coffee, so it's not really the coffee that is making you sleepy. Evidence points to fatigue hidden in your system.
[00:06:56] Speaker D: Well, it's funny for me because I think the thing that wakes me up, like energy drinks don't wake me up. None of that. But if I drink electrolytes, that does. I feel awake, and so I'm like, am I just constantly in a state of dehydration? I drink a lot of water all day long, but. But if I have electrolytes, like those little packets in my water, I feel that makes me feel wide awake for some reason.
[00:07:17] Speaker C: But coffee does nothing for you.
[00:07:18] Speaker D: Coffee does nothing for me. Except for tastes good. That's why I put a lot of creamer in it.
[00:07:23] Speaker A: Start on a positive note. You're on the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:07:29] Speaker C: Well, Brittany is wearing her Washington Commanders jersey. That means the Commanders won yesterday. They defeated Seattle 33, 31. Playing with their backup QB. That was a good game.
[00:07:40] Speaker D: Look, I told you guys I was done with football, and that has been determined to be a lie because we won and we won with our backup quarterback. I didn't think it would happen. Seattle won the super bowl last year, so I definitely counted this one as a loss. I was like, that's it. Season's over. Our quarterback got hurt. I was done. Well, I'm back. I've won fantasy the last two weeks now as well. So I'm excited. I'm excited for football this year all over again.
[00:08:03] Speaker C: I don't think anybody really believed that you were done with football.
[00:08:05] Speaker D: That's probably true. Hey, you guys are often not at such a bad start.
[00:08:09] Speaker C: Either two and one.
[00:08:10] Speaker D: See, look at that.
[00:08:11] Speaker C: Carolina. Yeah, 2118 yesterday.
[00:08:14] Speaker D: Well, I think we're going to win the next one. We're actually playing in London, so we have like one of those 9:30 games against the Colts next and I think we can win that one too. So definitely surprised to be where we are already and definitely surprised to beat the reigning super bowl champions yesterday. So I'm back. Football's back on
[00:08:32] Speaker A: a great way to start your day. The Morning Journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:08:36] Speaker C: There are some things to consider. You don't have to be in ministry to do ministry.
[00:08:41] Speaker D: I do feel like everything you do is ministry. God has called you to what you're supposed to do and you can minister to others in that calling. You don't have to be, like you said, in ministry to do that.
[00:08:53] Speaker C: I think that's one I know over the years that's something that I have struggled with because I've got family that's in ministry and that's what they do for, for a profession.
And there have been times when I've kind of wondered, well, I'm not really in ministry, so how do I minister to people? But yeah, what you said is true. Ministry doesn't have to be your profession in order to share the gospel.
[00:09:20] Speaker D: I like this too. One ordinary conversation can become someone's answered prayer. A lot of times we think, oh, we just talked to someone in the store, but you don't know what that person's going through. And they might have been praying for someone like, lord, I need someone to see me today and to talk to me because I'm really struggling. So that one simple conversation you have could mean the world to someone else and could have been exactly what they're praying for.
[00:09:42] Speaker C: Your small act of obedience can remind a hurting heart that God still sees them. I think that one is truly important.
[00:09:51] Speaker D: Yeah, that one's kind of like the other one. Like you never know. Just being obedient to God could really change someone's day and life.
Whether you have a title, a stage, a microphone, whatever you do. If you love people that you encounter and show them Jesus, that is all that's really required and asked of you.
[00:10:08] Speaker C: Exactly.
[00:10:09] Speaker A: Start on a positive note. You're on the Morning Journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:10:15] Speaker C: Well, sometimes it just takes one person. That was the case of 15 year old Briar Sams. He showed up at his school for See youe at the Poll to find out he was the only one participating.
[00:10:26] Speaker D: We talked about this last week. It was national CU at the poll day or the week before last.
And I've done this. Like, when I was in school, I would do this at school every year and tons of people would show up. But I can't imagine showing up and being the only one there. And then you think, you know the amount of faith it takes to stand there alone and continue to pray for your school and your friends and your classmates. But being the only one at the pole, I mean, would you do that? Like, I mean, it's kind of. Kind of awkward standing there all by yourself.
[00:10:55] Speaker C: Yeah, it is. He had a great attitude about it. He said sometimes his. He said he hopes that his small step lets other people know that they can make a change in the world and that it just takes a little leap of faith.
[00:11:07] Speaker D: It really does. So good job for him standing by himself for his faith at his new school. Hopefully he got some friends and we'll have some more people do it with him next year.
[00:11:16] Speaker A: We just wanted to say thanks for making us part of your day. It's the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:11:23] Speaker C: Well, you can get connected with the journey through the journey prayer connection.
[00:11:26] Speaker D: It's super easy to do. It's a private Facebook group. Just search journey prayer connection on Facebook if you're in need of prayer. We've heard a lot of stories over our partner invitation of people seeking prayer. That is a great place to go where the journey family can come alongside you and whatever you're going through. Or if you just like praying for people, that's a good spot for you as well. And then posting your praise report so we can all celebrate what the Lord is doing in your life. The journey prayer connection is on Facebook. It's prayer private group request to be a member today.
[00:11:53] Speaker A: Turn on hope and encouragement. It's the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:11:59] Speaker C: Well, if you're listening or using the my journey FM app this morning, let us know. You can just tap map the app right there on the app. Mel did that. She's checking in from St. Petersburg, Florida.
[00:12:11] Speaker D: Yeah, we'd love to know where you're listening from. The app is absolutely free. You can search your app, store my journey fm and download the app. You can send it to your friends who might not be in the immediate listening area, but. But it's a great way to just get plugged in. And if you're traveling, it's a great way to stay connected as well.
[00:12:26] Speaker E: We're just going to worship, we're going to be encouraged and we're just going to be together.
[00:12:31] Speaker A: That's the idea. You're on the morning Journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:12:36] Speaker C: Hey, be sure and check out the hometown events
[email protected] to see what's happening in our communities. We have a lot of fall festivals and concerts coming up.
[00:12:45] Speaker D: I just updated it today, actually, so if you've submitted an event, it should be on our page now. Myjourneyfm.com Click click on Hometown events. You can see what's going on in the community. You can also post your event there as well. And so, yeah, like Mark said, lot of fall festivals, some trunk or treats coming up, some worship evenings, and lots of fun things going on. So if you want to mark your calendars, get them all filled up for the fall. MyJourneyFM.com, click on Hometown events.
[00:13:14] Speaker A: Start on a positive note. You're on the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:13:20] Speaker C: Brittany, your parents were in town last week. They got to participate in your daughter Stella's very busy schedule.
[00:13:27] Speaker D: Yeah. So they're both retired now, and they came up to help with partner and, like, working the extra shift with the new baby and everything. So they got to experience dance and gymnastics and soccer. And at the end of it, they're kind of like, maybe just gymnastics.
[00:13:41] Speaker C: Sounds like that's what they think.
[00:13:43] Speaker D: Yeah, maybe just gymnastics. She did actually behave really well and dance this week and, like, followed along. And then gymnastics has always been, like, her best thing. And so Phil was with them for that. And then they said they wanted to stay until after her soccer on Saturday. And I said, are you sure? And they said, yeah, we want to see it. I said, okay. And so they got to experience all the joys. That was soccer as well. The hard part about soccer is she looks like she's having a miserable time. Like, sometimes she will be running up and down the field crying.
[00:14:13] Speaker E: And.
[00:14:13] Speaker D: And then afterwards you ask her, like, still like soccer. Do you still want to do it? And she's like, yeah, I love it. And I'm like, okay.
[00:14:21] Speaker C: I enjoy. I enjoy the pain.
[00:14:23] Speaker D: Is this the question? Is this one of those actions speak louder than words moments? I think it might be.
[00:14:30] Speaker A: Thanks for catching up on the morning Journey Rewind podcast with Mark and Brittany.
With mark and brittany.
[00:18:24] Speaker E: You guys always make me smile.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: The morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
Your day starts with encouragement. The morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
Your day starts with encouragement. The morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:21:22] Speaker C: Well, willpower Christian cyclists began back in 1993. They are celebrating 33 years of ministry.
[00:21:29] Speaker E: And.
[00:21:29] Speaker C: And they have a big, huge milestone coming up on October 28th, willpower plans to hit 1 million miles pedaled. Judy Bowman is the founder of Willpower. She's with us this morning. Judy, good morning.
[00:21:42] Speaker E: Good morning.
[00:21:43] Speaker C: Great to have you with us this morning. That's incredible. One million miles coming up.
[00:21:48] Speaker E: Well, that's actually the personal record. Our ministry collectively has done 3 million miles.
[00:21:52] Speaker D: Wow.
[00:21:53] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:21:54] Speaker D: That's amazing.
[00:21:54] Speaker E: One million is going to be the woman's world record. That's what I'll be setting.
[00:21:58] Speaker C: That's amazing.
[00:21:59] Speaker D: It's not only just a woman's world record, it's also on your birthday, which is a pretty big deal.
[00:22:03] Speaker E: I decided to finish on my birthday and have a big splash. Right.
[00:22:08] Speaker C: So what led you to start wheel power? How did it all begin?
[00:22:12] Speaker E: Well, I got my bike when I was really young, six years old, and always started biking. And when I was 15, I was actually born in Portland, Maine and my folks moved us to la. And on that trip, I told my family one day I wanted to ride my bicycle across America as a 15 year old girl.
[00:22:26] Speaker D: Wow.
[00:22:27] Speaker E: And at that point I said, I want to meet people and I want to see our country. So I joined the Air Force. I'm a veteran. And anyway, as life went on, I came to know the Lord when I was 28 years old and went through a tough time. I was beaten, abused and cheated on by my ex husband. I was a single mom and my son was three.
And anyway, through all of that, after I came to Christ, I just felt like everybody needed to hear what I had heard because I had kind of lived in, you know, not a Christian kind of world type thing. I mean, I was always a good person, always thought I was good enough, you know, things like that.
And in fact, you know, the funniest story is my mother was a nun, so she was in the convent.
[00:23:05] Speaker D: Wow.
[00:23:05] Speaker E: She was in the convent for a couple years, but then she left the convent and she got married and she got out of the habit and had seven children. So, yeah, so I was raised in that environment, but I never had the personal relationship and I just was so burdened that so many people didn't hear truth.
And anyway, as God led me to continue bicycling all my life, one day I was riding and I just thought, wow, what a great opportunity to talk to people. You're wide open.
[00:23:33] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:23:33] Speaker E: And so God gave me the vision to start the ministry because of things that had happened in my life. And we've never had anybody hit by a car.
[00:23:43] Speaker D: That's amazing.
[00:23:44] Speaker E: And we've had thousands of people have come to the Lord. I've written a book called the Wheel, Meaning of Life and a lot of salvation stories.
Just encouraging Christians. It doesn't have to be on a bike. I mean, I witness in the grocery store and Walmart.
[00:23:57] Speaker D: I was gonna say, how have you connected riding the bike to being able to witness to people? Because you are biking, a lot of times people are driving by in their cars. But how do you actually make that connection with people while you're riding?
[00:24:08] Speaker E: Oh, we're going across the country and I've done 15 coast to coast trips. But when we're on the road, we actually will stop when we see people or we have to stop and use a bathroom or we've got to go have lunch and we just. So it's really. I disciple all the people that come with us to get them used to just starting a conversation. It's connecting with people is what witnessing is all about. You know, God told us to go and make disciples of all nations. And in John 15:16, Jesus says, you didn't choose me, but I chose you to go and bear fruit. So my really, my message is speaking in churches all over the country to have them get out of the pews and outside the walls of the church is. And we can change our world by just sharing the truth of the word of God.
[00:24:50] Speaker D: It's so true. Getting out in the community really is kind of the first step.
[00:24:53] Speaker C: And coming up on October 28th, Judy is setting a world record. She will bike 1 million miles.
[00:25:04] Speaker D: Now this is so cool because you're going to Florida and you could have completed this million mile marker in Florida, but you're actually going to come back here to Lynchburg to do this.
[00:25:13] Speaker E: Well, I decided it'd be more fun to finish with my family and people in town and just kind of make it a big splash, so to speak. So on the 28th, which will be my birthday, Happy birthday. I don't know if I should say how many decades it is, at least seven decades. But no, it's exciting. But I went down to Florida to do those last few hundred miles because they have paved trails and there's no traffic and I don't have to think about being out in the roads and stuff like that.
Plus I've got an opportunity to through this world record that's coming up to speak in Christian schools down in Florida. I'll be in several churches, I'll be doing some youth programs and just encouraging Christians.
It's not about riding a bicycle. It's really about the heart of loving the Lord. And wanting to love people and tell them about Jesus. And that's what our ministry's always been. It's not been the bicycle, but it's really been the purpose of what we're doing. So my passion and my purpose is to tell everybody I can about Jesus every day.
[00:26:11] Speaker D: So on the 28th, you're coming back, you're doing the Blackwater Trail with all your family. What time. Do you know what time of day yet you're gonna do it?
[00:26:19] Speaker E: I think it's gonna be close to the after afternoon. And I'm trying to work that out with my son and family. So it's probably gonna be looking at maybe 4 o', clock, ish, 4 to 5 before you know it's gonna be fall. So it's the weather change and time change, but yeah, so I think it's gonna be that afternoon, three, four o', clock, hopefully.
[00:26:39] Speaker D: Fun.
[00:26:40] Speaker E: Anybody that wants to bring a bicycle and do those last 10 miles or so with us, I'll post some more things on my Facebook page and you can do the same. That'd be fun to have a.
[00:26:51] Speaker D: That would be a blast.
[00:26:51] Speaker E: A group of people.
[00:26:53] Speaker C: So the date is October 28th, so be looking for that. Judy, how many times have you ridden across the country?
[00:27:00] Speaker E: I have done 15 times across America.
[00:27:02] Speaker D: Wow.
[00:27:03] Speaker C: Amazing.
[00:27:03] Speaker E: Like I said earlier, when I was 15 years old, I said, I want a B. And I thought it was interesting that I kind of ended doing 15 across country. But all 50 states I've pedaled in and I've led 63 mission trips on the bicycles.
[00:27:17] Speaker D: That's awesome. And you were talking to us a little bit about how it really is just about conversation. Opening that door, having that conversation. Someone simple as I like your outfit can lead to sharing the gospel. And you've seen several people come to know the Lord through this ministry?
[00:27:31] Speaker E: Oh, yeah, thousands grocery stores. I mean, anywhere you go, there's people. Obviously there's people. It's just finding that connection with people. And I've recently written a book called the Wheel Meaning of Life. And it's not about bicycling. It's about the stories that we've met on the road. We have thousands of them. I've picked my top 28. 28 is my kind of number, my birthday number. I got saved when I was 28. I kind of followed that little pattern. But the stories are just amazing. If anybody wants a copy of the book, I'd be glad to send them, mail them to them. But it just helps you to think about the people that we meet every day wherever we go. Even walking in the park or grocery shopping is one of my favorite places.
[00:28:12] Speaker D: Everybody's got to go to the grocery store. That is for true. Well, thank you so much, Judy. And if you want to get involved and ride those last few miles with her on October 28th, we'll have some more details as it gets closer. But thank you for being with us.
[00:28:23] Speaker C: Thank you so much.
[00:28:23] Speaker E: And I hope the both of you will get your bikes and dust them off and join them.
[00:28:26] Speaker D: Yeah, I know. We got a new bike trailer for the kids, so I'm ready to go.
[00:28:29] Speaker E: Go, Mama, go.
It.
