Blessed & Bruised: The Bridge Between Seasons

Substack—what’s up, guys?Seems like maybe a long time since I’ve done something specifically for Substack, but the reality is God has had me creating in so many ways lately. He’s had me contemplating, writing shorts, recording short videos, and telling a lot of the story of my past season—some of the stuff that you guys know already—and sort of recapping that, capturing some of that, capturing some of the day-to-day stuff that I have navigated in the last six years.As we are hopefully—and I’m not saying “hopefully” like doubtful, but hope fully, two words—walking out of the valley of the shadow of death.Now, obviously, the last big hurdle is full knee replacement. You know, it’s a very difficult procedure. It’s a very rough thing for me to endure physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. But I feel like God is calling me out of this season and into the next. And this project has been very much so focused and pointed in the contemplation of the things that I’m going to take from this season into the next.A lot of that is on Instagram or YouTube—some of it even posted on TikTok. I’ll leave a link for at least the YouTube, because on YouTube I’ve organized it in a way that you can just go to that playlist and kind of see all the episodes. It’ll be a minimum of 53 episodes, because God gave me this idea 53 days before my full knee replacement, and that’s where the content is going to live.But I really encourage you to go check out some of that stuff. It has been wonderful for me to kind of ask God daily, “Hey, you know, this has been the hardest six years of my life. I know that you’ve changed me and molded me into what you want me to be walking into my next season.” And I don’t think that He would give me this project if we weren’t walking into the next season.So some of the things that I know will be in the next season—I have dreams and visions and plans—and I’ve already begun to write for the Blessed and Bruised podcast. I know that this one has been called SHAREapy: The Podcast, and I think it is still going to be the intent to create a safe space for two people to meet and talk and share faith, food, fears. And so we’ll have some fun with that and invite some people into that conversation—some people that you may not exactly expect.I don’t feel super called to have a ton of pastors on—I mean, no offense at all—but I really feel like God’s called me into ministry in a bit of a wilderness. And I just want to talk to some people that have kind of gone through it too, you know?And so, you know, that’s the Blessed and Bruised podcast.There is still, very clearly, a plan to develop a course—SHAREapy 101, I’m calling it. So we will have coursework and curriculum on how to connect with love and empathy to others by SHAREing your blessings and bruises in a safe space.I also think that there’s still work to be done and the opportunity to develop the app for that faith-based connection that has a lot of this coursework and tools kind of built into it.So there’s a lot—there’s a lot coming.I physically have to get healthier for a lot of that stuff to kind of move into its next phase, but a lot of the work has started while we are walking out of this valley.So I just want to thank you, real quick, for supporting me on here. You know, it is going to be a journey. One month from today, actually—we are 30 days out from full knee replacement.I have gone to physical therapy twice in the last two days—two out of two days—started back into what is my prehab season, going back in an attempt to increase some of the extension, flexion, mobility, and strength so that I can be in the best possible situation for this upcoming surgery.That has not been easy, just in these last two days. It is very, very painful when I already deal with pain. This is like adding on to it.But when I tell you that my time—even though I’m not able to sit, even though I’m not able to stand as much, even though I’m not able to walk as much as I would want to—obviously, the time that I’m spending with God is just remarkable. And it’s never stopping.And this is clear—that this vision and this mission and this project in particular are all from Him—because it sustains itself. It’s not something that I have to come up with creativity to produce. It’s something that is very purpose-driven, and He’s only showing and revealing and solidifying and allowing me to wrestle with things that He’s compelling me to share.And that feels very sacred. That feels very special, even if it happens in bed, in pain.And so, I don’t know—I just wanted to kind of share something.I originally wanted to share a quick story with you guys about something that happened today, actually, kind of in this same space. I had a friend…One thing that God has been talking to me about a lot during this season—as I sit back, knowing that I am called to teach and share—but as I study communicators, as I study pastors, you know, everything from linguistics and cadence and delivery and all these things, right, that are like the technicalities of teaching and preaching, to the depth of knowledge, to the content, to the rich nature, to the moments when you can tell that someone is speaking in the flow of the Spirit—that it’s like, man, they are delivering exactly what God is putting on their heart in this moment.It’s palpable. You can see it. You can feel it.And obviously, I’m praying more for that than anything—because I’m not the most technically sound. I talk like I write. I write like I talk. There are so many things that I can get better at, and I am working at getting better at.But I don’t spend a ton of time beating myself up about all the ways that I’m not prepared anymore, because it has been so clear that all of this has been for a reason.And so, just one of the things that I have been able to take away from this season—about this flood of information that we get from the world all day, every day—Matter of fact, for the sake of maybe even splitting this recording into two separate recordings, I want to thank you for the way that you’ve supported me. And I promise so much more is coming. And I promise that I still need your support in everything that I do.I cannot do it without you. I have not done it without you—the people that have supported me and poured into me and my ministry and helped me keep the lights on in my house.It has been an only-God feat for the last six years—that I still have a home, that I am still able to put food on the table.And so I am just so thankful that people have allowed God to use them to bless me.If you want to do that, there’s a way to do it in here somewhere—I’ll put a link. But thank you so much for doing that.I’m going to start the next piece right now, and we’re going to go straight into one of the lessons that I have learned in this time.Hey thanks for making it this far!! Be sure to like share and support how you feel lead!! Love y’all!! Joel Buy Me a Coffee Support link - HERE This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wehavetoshare.substack.com/subscribe