What If Your Weakness Is Your Witness

Your feed might look peaceful, but your life feels loud. That gap is where comparison, envy, and quiet shame grow, especially when we start believing everyone else has it together and we are the only ones struggling. We get real about what happens when Christians hide the hard parts and only show the polished parts, then wonder why we feel stuck and alone.

We start with a simple story from our week: a boat trim pump that “should’ve been a quick fix” turns into delays, extra cost, and a whole lot of stress. It becomes the perfect example of what people never see behind the photos of fish, sunsets, and fun trips. When we compare our real life to someone else’s highlight reel, we will always feel like we are losing, and that mindset can pull us into resentment, burnout, and even doubt about God’s care.

From there, we bring it back to practical Christian living and Scripture, including Paul’s “jars of clay” in 2 Corinthians 4. Weakness isn’t a disqualifier; it’s often the place where God’s strength shows up most clearly. We talk about what honesty looks like without oversharing, why transparency matters for spiritual growth, and how sharing one real struggle with a trusted friend or small group can change everything.

If you’ve been carrying a private mess and calling it “fine,” come listen. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s one area where you’re ready to stop pretending?

https://www.missionsent.org/

Transcript

Real Talk And A Quick Ask

Josh 0:01

Alright, on this episode of Practically Christian Podcast, we're gonna get real. We're gonna take away the highlight reel, and we're gonna show you the hard truth about. We're gonna show you why hiding your struggles can sometimes be more damaging than being open as we're called to be. So we can't wait. Make sure you comment, like, share this with a friend. Now let's jump into it.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

You're listening to Practically Christian Podcast. Taking all that information you got, all in your brain, and giving you feel practically application.

Cold Open Banter And Catching Up

Josh 0:45

Hello and welcome to another episode of Practically Christian Podcast. I know what was that? Was that me? What? That sound? Yeah. I can't hear it. I think that was. I think that was your tongue. Yeah, that was disgusting. Did you just drink water? Yeah. But it was like that noise. That was bad. Sorry, guys. Um anyway. I know it feels like it's been a while, but it it really hasn't. We're only a week behind right now. Yep. Um, which is good, all things considered. Oh yeah. Um, we've gone much longer than that. But I wanna like this episode really hit me last night. And I was actually, for those of you that don't know, we do have a YouTube channel, right? Well, we have a couple. We have Mission Scent, which is where a lot of the church stuff lives. Um very rarely school stuff, because I don't know why you never send me that stuff. Um but for Mission Academy? Yeah. But anyway, anyway, so there's there's mission set. But then we have Mission Scent outdoors. Yes. Which honestly, if I had a passion project, that is it. Yeah, right? It is. That's where the fishing videos live, that's where hunting videos live, that's where you're anything on the water, anything, anything outside. Yeah, pretty much like it not a personal. What was that? I was thinking. Mulling it out for it. I was. I was like, what word do I want to use here? Not a personal your personal passions, but yeah, it it's it's that it's the outside stuff, which you know is the outside stuff you have inside. Don't get me wrong, I am passionate about Jesus. Oh, but I don't even think that's a question. As JT as JT saw, remember yesterday when he was like, I don't want to have this argument, and I was like just to compensate. So he said, Yeah, Daddy, but when you get passionate about something, you get all hyped up Yeah, a little hyped up about Jesus. And um But anyway, uh yeah, so I'm passionate about Jesus. But missions and outdoor stuff is is really like I love I love being outside, I love being on the boat, I love taking people out fishing, especially like people who don't normally go fishing. Well, you like seeing people experience what brings you joy and seeing the surprise and shock on their face when they're like, Oh, this is relaxing, this is fun. And everybody has the same reaction the first fish they catch, right?

The Boat Repair That Went Sideways

Josh 3:10

So last night, okay, so the boat has been down for like a week and a half, two weeks, something like that. Because I the the last time I went out, I took someone out fishing and and we got back and I was you know washing off the boat. And the last couple of times I thought I saw some oil coming out of the trim pump.

SPEAKER_03 3:35

Yes.

Josh 3:35

And I went, man, if oil is coming out, that means salt water can get in. And and so I, you know, I started researching. I've never rebuilt a trim pump before. And let me preface this by those that don't know Josh. If Josh thinks something um or or wants to know something, Josh is very incessive and is non, it doesn't matter what it is, non-stop until he figures it out. Yeah, I don't I don't like that. Not you know, any yes, I can I have a tendency to hyper focus on things. Um so I started researching, I was like, man, this doesn't look too hard to fix. It was a $50 part, and I was like, you know, the pump itself is fifteen hundred dollars. So I was like, I got this. Like, I got this. And and so last week, I think it was. Yeah, last week we went through the process of going, okay, let's go ahead and take it apart, let's replace the part, and then put it back together. In true fashion. This should only take a couple of hours. Sure. Anyone that knows us knows that that never works out like that. And yeah, a couple of hours turned into oh my gosh. Seven days. We have to replace the entire pump. Because apparently our boat motor manufacturer and their grand wisdom decided hey, like you're not gonna fix this piece, you will buy a whole new pump. Right. So we wound up having to buy a whole new pump. Not from the manufacturer. We did not go OEM. We we did go the cheap Chinese route. Um and it it was not without its flaws. Like $1,400 versus $400. It was not without its flaws. So there's some custom work um on the new pump motor. But I like that custom work. It took a lot longer. And and you know, that that just if it could go wrong, it did go wrong. Right. Which I think is more so normal for people. Right. I don't think it's normal that things just shoot the right way the first time. At least for us, we've never known that to be true. Right. So we finally get the pump motor back on. It's been like two weeks, haven't been on the boat, haven't been out fishing. Uh, we got all of these storms starting to roll in, you know, there's a some tropical, maybe possibly storm that might be hitting, may not be hitting. Possibly, yes. So last night we were like, finally, we can get back out on the water. And I took Debbie out with me because I went, hey, if something drastically goes wrong, it's better to have Debbie out with me, you know, than JT, who could actually you know, who knows how for a split second I thought you were complimenting me. I am. Huh. I'm gonna get there. I'm gonna get to the compliment. It's coming. But I had to set up everything that was going on in my head. I'm gonna I'm really interested to see how this works. Before I get to the compliment. Uh-huh. But I did go, but if I'm gonna get stranded out here, I'd rather be with Debbie because not only do I love spending time with Debbie, do you know how JT is when things are chaotic? When bad things happen. He does not remain calm under pressure. I am the calm to your chaos. He very much goes Oh, I love him. So there's that. There's still a lot of growth. He's still young, and there's some regulation that's still he ain't that young. He's still learning. But brain's still developing. I went, I don't want to be out there, but something crazily go wrong with it. Right. Now I'm mad because the boat's not fixed, and now I have JT throwing in attitude. Trying to calm him down, right. But how would how would you say last night went? It was um I absolutely loved it. It was calming, it was peaceful, though besides the flies trying to eat my face, it was the weather was great, the water was calm and peaceful, the sun. I relaxed. Yeah, but you did something like that. I caught a fish. There you go. I caught a trout. And thank you, Josh, for that. Because I was not having good luck on my with my lure. So Josh gave me his pole, and within three seconds I had a fish. Because I have a magic fishing pole, right? Like No, you just knew what lure was working, and you had caught several fish by at that point. And for those of you that are sitting here going, what is this mission sent outdoors? I would love to like my goal, honestly, I've caught thousands of fish. Yep. Um, my goal is putting other people on fish now. Like, don't get me wrong. Like, I love, love, love catching a fish. Yes. But it's the excitement I see in other people. Like, for me to catch another trout would have been very like, eh, okay, here's another one. You know, where when you caught that trout, you'd have swore you just reeled in like a won the lottery five-foot tarpon. So excited. You know, 40-inch snook. Like it was great. And you do want some of that fight when you're reeling in the fish, which I remember when I first started fishing, I did not like that. It made me uncomfortable. I didn't like fighting with the fish, and I'm hurting it. Yeah. I was sad. I was like, I'm poking it in the mouth, and yeah, anyway. And if you follow our page, I mean you see like on Facebook, and and I'm gonna push Facebook. Like, I know we have an Instagram too, but but foot Facebook's really where I devote more of my time. You can see I'm older than you, you should be on Instagram and not me. Let's be honest. If I didn't have to, would I be on any of it? No, that's true. Like if it wasn't for Mission Cent, if it wasn't for Mission Cent Outdoors, I would still not even be on social media. That's true. Um, but regardless, um if you follow it, it it's all of these fish we catch, it's all of these trips we take, it's you know, uh helping you get your family off the screen and outside, like like that's the goal of it. And you see all of these amazing sunsets and these landscapes, and because I mean being out in nature is just I mean it's phenomenal. It really is sunrises, like all of the things. I think uh people don't know real not everybody realizes how much decompression can come from being outside, being on the water, being near the water, um, walking on a trail, just disconnecting completely from um not reality, but from the day-to-day grind and and that's the key, right? It's the day-to-day. Like, yeah, it's easy to go on vacation, you know, once, twice a year and go to these amazing places, but it's the day-to-day. And and honestly, like, yeah, I know this goes out all over the world and there are people listening everywhere. Thank you, Germany. Still waiting on Germany to invite us over. Come to a live show. I would love some Metworth stuff. Um, I was actually way off the subject. Before you came in, I was thinking about lunch. Oh. And I was like, German food. Oh, Willow Tree has you know, hollowbacks has the um the deli. And I was like, hmm, maybe a trip to Sanford. But anyway, um But hang

Highlight Reels, Comparison, And Envy

Josh 11:05

on. You just said because I want to I want people to know the reality of life. Well, hang on, before you jump to that, because I want I I want to finish setting this up, right? Okay. So you look at these pages, like whether it's Mission Sent Outdoors, whether whoever you follow, and you see these amazing pictures. You know, that that person that you you know you kind of knew in high school and like, man, they're living it up. Yeah, you're like, how do how do they take vacation? Disney and they're always on a cruise and they're always at the beach. Russian right. And and you start looking at your own life. And you're like, I don't go anywhere, I don't do anything. Right, mine doesn't look like that. Huh. So so mine, there must be something wrong. I must be doing something wrong. And we get into this comparison thing, right? We start looking at everyone else's life, and we're like, like, there are people, you know, like we have a an uh a guest that we're trying to lock in coming up in September. Yeah, and it's someone I've really been like wanting to talk to. And I don't want to give too much away just in case like you know, we've had things fall apart before. Um, but like I'll look at like his stuff and I'm like, I want to go do that. Like that looks like amazing, like you know, the the alligator wrestling and all of that. And it's easy for me to look at my own life and go, um, I don't jump on 10-foot alligators like on the regular. And you said invite people to the show, you know, and I go, as we're sitting in the room of a building that we pay for every month and the air is out again and we're sweating. Yes, it is very hot in this office. But on the uh again, like when when you start doing this, right, you're you're looking at the things, and this is honestly, this is why why envy becomes such a big thing. This is why in the you know, you go into Exodus 20, and one of the ten commandments is you know, do not be envious, do not be jealous, right? Right, you know, because what you're doing is you're sitting here going, God must not love me if he gave you all of these gifts. What you gave me isn't good enough, yes, and we can very easily not see behind the scenes. Like, again, if you were to look at our Facebook page, I really went out of our way this week to post a picture of the the trim pump and to show, like, hey, this isn't always like, you know, boat, there's a lot of people that's you know, the acronym for boat is bust out another thousand, and people don't understand, like That is literally the truth. Right, and if all you're looking at is my highlight reel, and all you're looking at is the fish we catch and the trips we're on and and the smiles and the and we do have those like oh a hundred percent. Yeah, I'm not I'm not trying to downplay the the fun and the excitement and the the relaxation and the the getting closer, you know, being spirit-led and nature fed. You know, I'm not I'm not downplaying any of that. But what you very rarely will never see is is the honesty behind it. You know, you go on social media, you go on Instagram, you go on Facebook, TikTok. I I was like I don't know, I don't have a Twitch, is that a thing? Like I know JT's told me about it. Threads? I don't know. But no one looks like that first thing in the morning. Right. Like no one wakes up, makeup done, hair done. Right. You know. And actually, if they do, I'm concerned about their clogs being poured, but that's a hole. Or they're poured. See, I'm tired. They're poor being clogged.

SPEAKER_02 14:43

All I could think of was like a step dancing like team, like a clogging team with like holes in the city.

Josh 14:49

And honestly, with all the toilet issues we've had at the building, I was like, I was thinking a back toilet.

SPEAKER_02 14:56

Clogs being poured. Get 'em.

Josh 15:00

Oh, see, I'm tired. But that's the dangers we really do run into because they're getting home at one o'clock in the morning, being exhausted, and I'm trying to First of all, we didn't get home at one o'clock. We got home at midnight. We didn't go to bed till one. Y'all don't understand. I can't, my eyes, I'm right now. I look like I have two black eyes. Like, I'm so tired. But it's the same thing. Like, this is how we've started training our brains, right? You know, it's the highlight reels we're looking at. It's the shorts. It's the hey, here's you know, a minute out of a 45-50-minute sermon. Where you have someone who is strug on the struggle bus, like going, I can't take this anymore. I don't have any rest. I have no relaxation. I have no, I have nothing. And then they look at your beautiful, perfect life and go, that's not I and sometimes it's not even like that's not fair that they get to have that. They it's more it can be like in what's the word I'm looking for? Um pointed to themselves. Oh my gosh. Pride? Not introspective. Anyway, it doesn't matter. They will look at their own life and they'll internalize and go, my life is terrible, you know, I don't get anything good. And that can really take people to a bad place, a really bad place mentally, emotionally, spiritually. God doesn't love me. It's not it's not fair, it's not fair. But that's that's where that envious and jealousy comes from. Like when when you're looking at other people and you're like, that's not fair. I'm the only one struggling. Right, but and and that's what I that's really what we're driving at, right? You know, you are not the only one in that boat.

SPEAKER_05 16:38

Right.

Josh 16:38

No, none of us show that struggle.

SPEAKER_05 16:40

Right.

Josh 16:41

And if we do, we show it in a very curated way. Sure. Like even when people show up to church on Sunday, right? You say it all the time, you know, and it's like, hey, how you doing? It's like, oh, you know, I'm good. And even if there's they're not good, like really the I mean it's been a rough week, but but but you know God's good and gracious and he is, and instead of just getting real, you know, and going, oh no, like I almost popped my child in the mouth on the way to church. Or I'm just I've just had that week. Right. Right? Where everything that could go wrong went wrong, but we think that is a weakness. We think like it we don't want to appear to others. And I and I go, and then we wonder why we don't grow. Yep. We wonder why you know we're we're we're just stagnant where we are. But and that's a danger if you have kids, because what you're showing them is they can't be genuine, they can't be real, they can't struggle, and so they go, mommy and daddy can't share and just be open about it. Well, then I can't share with mommy and daddy, and I can't share with other people I have to put on this facade and everything's great and everything's wonderful. And you know, there's nothing wrong with going, it literally sucks right now. Yeah, and I and I remember like years ago, we don't we don't really do it as much anymore. I don't know why we got away from it. But but when we would eat like eat dinner, and it was like, okay, tell me one thing from today that you loved, tell me one thing from today that you hated, you know, and we would just go around the table. We don't do that anymore like that, but I do think our kids are just here's why, because two of our kids are no problem going, This is what I hated. I hate I hate that. I hate it when so we don't struggle knowing what they hate, but I also and I don't look at it as a bad thing. I think we did cultivate and put a foundation where they can just be like, oh, and just let it all out. Right, but on the flip side of that now, JT compares every restaurant to Sonapa, so it's like sorry, you know, we go somewhere else and he's like, Well, I mean Sonapa, Sonapa, and it's like, but that's what we do, like, and that's where like in in 2 Corinthians

Jars Of Clay And Strength In Weakness

Josh 18:49

4, uh verse 7, Paul says this, right? But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed. Yes, always carrying in the body of the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to the death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal flesh. And and really what that's drawing in is sitting here going, Hey, you know what? There are times when you're not okay, and it's okay to not be okay. There's a balance there. In fact, if you went back three chapters in Second Corinthians and in chapter one, Paul says that that we were afflicted to the point where we we like wanted to die because it was so bad. Right. And and you know God allowed this so that we would depend not on ourselves, but on him.

unknown 19:57

Right.

Josh 19:57

So that we would depend on his strength, so that we won't be boosted up, so that we won't be prideful. Because again, when all we're doing is looking at what everyone else has.

SPEAKER_05 20:08

Right.

Josh 20:09

You are really going like you're missing it. Right. Like, no, I don't have a 42-foot Viking. I don't know what that is, but I'm sure it's a big boat. It's a boat that Joe keeps sending me pictures of. Oh, wow. And it's like five million dollars. Or the Lady Elaine that we saw yesterday. We saw this boat, right? And it's a super yacht, right? It is huge. Um, it is twenty-two million dollars. And if you want to rent the boat out, which apparently they do, yeah, it is at a minimum two hundred thousand dollars a week.

SPEAKER_05 20:41

Yep.

Josh 20:42

And then you still have to tip the nine-person crew that runs the boat. And it can only fit up to twelve people. I know. I was like, this is wild money. So I was like two hundred thousand divided by twelve. I mean, that's still what, right around twenty thousand? Yeah. You know, a little, you know, especially by the time you put your tipping in and yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, and it's like for a week? Yeah. You said, do you know how long I could spend in the keys with $200,000? Right. Yeah. Do you know the lobster I could catch with $200,000 like down in the keys? Run the little bungalow and and I go, but but that's what happens. And then we we are so afraid to show our real selves because we're comparing our real life against everyone else's highlight reel.

SPEAKER_05 21:29

Right.

Josh 21:29

And it's like, no, your real life is not going to stack up against their highlight reel.

SPEAKER_05 21:34

Yeah.

Josh 21:35

However, your real life will stack up against their real life. And I'm not gonna say that there aren't people that have more than others, right? But why am I gonna look at someone who who can take the Lady Elaine out and compare us? Right. We're two different people in two different places. Right. My little 17 foot skiffs. Yeah. I'm loving it. Chug chug chugging along. I'm loving it. Like I can get players. Places that that boat's never gonna get, and I can catch fish that that boat's never gonna get. And the thing is, everyone's goal is different. The Lady Elaine goal, those people, their goal is different than our goal. Well, not just that. Did you eat today? Right. Like that should be the first check. Like, well, not even. Did you wake up? Yeah. That's the first check. Right. Then did I eat? You know? Like, can are there things in your life that you could probably go through and and like take a self-inventory and go, hey, you know, I need to do things. And there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with going, I have this, and while I don't want to be here, I'll appreciate what I have and work towards where I want to be. Right. And but what I wish some, especially Christians, would understand, you know, to get practical on practically Christian here. You may be going through that struggle for someone else. Yeah. Yeah. So that God can go, like, hey, you you know so-and-so, like they're struggling too. And honestly, I look at our lives, and there are times there were years that we were like, this is a joke. There's no way this many bad things can happen to one couple. And it was thing after thing after thing that I really thought to myself, Jesus has left me. He doesn't love me. He actually hates me and wants me to die. And he ain't taking the wheel. And he did not, it did not at the time seem like he was taking the wheel. But here we are now. And everything we went through, God has used that for his glory, and we've been able to relate to people in a whole different way. Well, we also see people differently. We see life differently. We see things differently. We don't let things get to us. Like there's just there's so much that came from all the awful things we went through. And and sometimes, and I think we forget this. Our most powerful witness isn't how we praise God during a perfect sunset. And I mean, last night between the overcast, the storms, and all that, there were some breathtaking pictures.

SPEAKER_03 24:05

Yes.

Josh 24:06

But we don't, it's not, oh, it it's easy to lift your hands when everything's going right. A hundred percent. But there's this song, Yes, I will, uh, it's from vertical. Vertical worship.

SPEAKER_05 24:16

Yep. Mm-hmm.

Josh 24:18

Where he says, I will choose to praise. Are you still going to choose to praise in those moments where it's hard to praise?

SPEAKER_05 24:27

Yep.

Josh 24:28

Because I'll tell you, like the boat being down like that, and then looking at it and sitting here going, I'll have the money to go out and just get a $1,500 pump. Yeah. I mean, we sat there and I was like, ah, I could go back to my, is there something I could sell days? Like, but I went, like, but it was still like, hey, you know what? If the boat's not working, like, I mean, we could always go surf fish. Yep, we did talk about that. We could go pier fishing. I mean, I I did it for years and years and years. You don't have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Right. Yep.

Stop Pretending And Share One Mess

Josh 24:59

And here's the deal: God doesn't want you to waste your struggles either. Like a lot of us, we look at bad times like, oh, we just have to suffer through until we can get to the good. And then go hide it away, not talk about it. And you know, it's a bad memory. And I'm not saying, hey, just air out all your dirty laundry. No. Some things you do need to be quiet about. Well, uh but keep private. Even with us, some things like some things that happened to us were out of our control. Other things We did. We wasted a lot of money. Yeah. Stupidity, making bad cheeses. Like we, you know, we got married. I was only 21 when we got married. And you know, we were young. We were dumb and we made you still are. Oh, I guess I am. We made um You're smarter. We made really good money and I mean Spent a lot of m money. We did. Like, you know, instead of saving, instead of doing all these trips that we talk about now, like now that we were doing them with all these kids and yeah, now it doesn't work. Expensive. But I go, but your struggle may help someone else's struggle. Right. And if you're too afraid to put it out there because you only want people to see your highlight reel, understand, like there may be someone walking through the same exact thing that you walk through. Yes. And you may be that light that God is that that Jesus is just sitting here going, like, hey, let them lean on you. Let them walk with you. Like you go walk with them because you've already been where they are. You know what they're struggling with. You know how it feels, and you know the things it took to get you from this side to that side.

SPEAKER_05 26:31

Right.

Josh 26:32

And and and and again, like that's that jars of clay, right?

SPEAKER_05 26:36

Mm-hmm.

Josh 26:36

You know, we we need to be transparent. We need to be able to go, hey, like, yeah, I messed up. Like, there's no shame. There should be no shame in going, I messed up. Or something's not working, or even if it's not in your control. Right. Because again, you don't know who you can impact with what you've been through.

SPEAKER_05 26:57

Yep.

Josh 26:58

You don't know who who you can help. You don't know who you can walk with. Like you don't know like what can come from that. Yep. And instead of hiding it, you can take the time to go, you know what? No, like God gave me this to bless someone else with.

Closing Encouragement And Ways To Connect

Josh 27:14

Right. So this week, pick one area where you've been pretending everything is perfectly fine and share that broken trim pump situation with a trusted friend, with your spouse, with your small group. Be honest about the mess that we are. Yep. Because I'm telling you, until you're honest, it doesn't matter, it's never going to change. Nope. The fake you is doing just fine. So until next episode, share. Be honest. Be open. Remember, it's to be known and to know.

SPEAKER_05 27:56

Yep.

Josh 27:56

So until next time, make sure you comment, make sure you share, make sure you review. Do all of these things because that's what helps us. And let us know if you have any questions. You can always reach out to Debbie. I will answer any questions. You want to get outside, reach out to me. Reach out to Josh. But other than that, reach out to Debbie. Anything else. We love you, we thank you, and we can't do this without you. All right, on this episode of Practically Christian Podcast, we're gonna get real. We're gonna take away the highlight reel, and we're gonna show you the hard truth about. We're gonna show you why hiding your struggles can sometimes be more damaging than being open as we're called to be.