As a mother and son team, Debbie and Greg come together to talk about the realities and struggles we all face in today’s world. They cover a wide array of topics from mental health to current events to teaching on topics that will help you do life. As Christians, they know there is one thing that brings peace, hope, and encouragement to anything life throws our way, and that is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You don't know what you don't know, so come along on the ride. Your life and heart will be changed forever!
After a much-needed hiatus brought on by unexpected hardships, we've returned to share how life's curveballs have strengthened our faith and perspective. The past months brought a series of challenges—my youngest son's truck accident, Greg in a car crash a month later, and the loss of a dear friend—that tested our resilience but ultimately deepened our relationship with God.
When examining the crash site weeks after my son's accident, we discovered something remarkable: a cross pattern etched into the tree trunk exactly where the vehicle had impacted. This powerful symbol, visible in the photo we've shared on our website, served as a striking reminder of divine protection, especially given the severity of the crash and the miracle that no one was injured. These moments of divine intervention remind us that even in our darkest times, God's presence never wavers.
Romans 5:3-5 tells us that "suffering produces perseverance, character and hope"—a truth we've experienced firsthand. We've learned that abandoning victim mentality is crucial for spiritual growth. Instead of asking "why me?" we now ask "what can I learn from this?" This shift transforms obstacles into opportunities, helping us build resilience and deepen our faith. Through our church community, Bible study groups, and strengthened prayer life, we've found the support systems essential for navigating difficult seasons.
We're excited to announce that Debbie has completed her first Bible study guide, "Crossing Over," designed for Christians seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. Next week, we'll dive deeper into what a personal relationship with Jesus looks like and how it transforms lives. Visit our website at debbieandgreggold.com to see the miraculous cross in the tree and download Debbie's new Bible study. Join us as we continue exploring how faith sustains us through life's unexpected journeys.
Hello everyone, Thank you for joining us today. Greg and I are back with our season two Finally. Yeah right, it's been a while and we are beyond grateful for that.
Speaker 2:
It's been way too long yeah.
Speaker 1:
So we ended up having to take a pause in our podcasting, as the past months have been a season of curveballs for us.
Speaker 2:
It's been crazy.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, several unexpected events or several unexpected changes of events that have happened and they're not really happy.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, not the best, and joyous, yeah, like we did not win the lottery, yeah, so so it was one of loss and destruction and it's been difficult.
Speaker 1:
Maybe you've been in seasons such as this. I know it's hard, it can feel hopeless and it can distract us from our daily responsibilities, which is what I've been feeling a lot for the last probably four to six months.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I mean tough times can stop your motivation for certain stuff, you know, because I mean you're focused on the tough times.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so you get distracted with what's going on instead of trying to move forward.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, you're not focusing on the things that you were focused on before.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it's like a diversion.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, no, yeah, completely it is. It's like I took a wrong turn, kind of thing, Even though you tried not, or you didn't take a wrong turn, or just life hit you with that.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, yeah, so, anyway. So, in dealing with all these different things that have been going on, I really just wanted I think we were reminded that we really need to follow God more so in our lives and really be more focused on that.
Speaker 2:
We want to share that opportunity with you all and, yeah see where that takes you and if it can help you as we navigate life together. All right. Well, through our challenges, we're reminded of two things God doesn't give us more than we can handle, and that our struggles make us stronger. I think this is so true because, I mean, I was thinking of this one saying A scripture saying it's not a scripture, but it's just a quote.
Speaker 2:
Hard times create strong men Suggests that facing adversity and challenges can lead to personal growth, resilience, ultimately making individuals stronger. And there's this quote by the author G Michael Hoff. It's a quote hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men and weak men create hard times. So I mean going through stuff, I mean everything is a lesson in life. I believe, and like when you, when struggles happen, you can take a lot to learn from them and it's how you view them.
Speaker 1:
So right, you could say, oh, poor, pitiful me, versus wow, I'm going to grow from this experience, I'm going to get back up. Yeah, I getcha, yeah, so wonderful.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, and in the Bible, in the book of Romans 5, 3 through 5, says we glory in our suffering because we know that the suffering produces perseverance, character and hope. Just like I said, basically yeah exactly and different.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, yeah, it does, if we allow it to. It will give us perseverance, it will give us character, it will give us hope. There's been so many times in my life in the past where, once I've embraced that whole idea, I've seen how I've grown, I've seen how I have become a different person, a better person in many ways, um able to bring something bigger and better to the table the next time I was faced with something of adversity so yeah, I mean, I've been through a lot too and, like, I think I learned from mistakes and I think about it, and you know past experiences that are good and bad, so and I reflect on it.
Speaker 2:
So but, um, it's always a learning lesson for me.
Speaker 1:
I think so yeah, that's a great way to look at it, yeah, sure always a learning experience, so yeah, so, um, I think what we've been saying is that God uses our tribulations wonderfully in his life, right, he knows how much that we can take and that's what he's going to give us, and he carefully measures that the tribulations that he gives us. And you know he's not going to give us more than we can handle.
Speaker 2:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
And you know he knows us intimately and he will give us exactly what we can, at the level we are, to help us be stronger and better as a person. And I think that we should just really try, like we're talking about, we should embrace our struggles and our stresses, because they will help us to grow and to make us better humans, better person yeah, better people to make us better humans, better person, yeah, yeah better people, I think.
Speaker 1:
For some of those that are having a hard time embracing this idea, I would just want to encourage you to pray about erasing the victim mentality, because that comes from the enemy, and embrace the obstacles that God gives us. And I would just say you know, I know you love me and carefully measure every trial and have a loving purpose to accomplish in every tribulation, lord, and that I won't seek trials and search out tribulations, but I won't despise them or lose hope when they do come my way and I would trust that in every circumstance. And so that's a prayer that you can maybe embrace or write that down and take that into your life. Struggles do make us stronger and we do learn from them, and there's no doubt about that.
Speaker 2:
And going along with, like the erasing the victim mentality. I think, like a victim mentality, it just promotes weakness, you know Cause? It's like saying like oh, I can't do this, can't do that, oh, I'm stuck with this, stuck with that. It's like you can make a change with your life. You can make a change with this Right. So I mean, cause you're in control, so I don't think like anything's out of your reach, and that's what the victim mentality is like. Oh, I can't do this, cause that's just blaming stuff.
Speaker 1:
Oh, I'm you know, getting you know.
Speaker 2:
I'm not doing my work because uh, da, da, da, da da, you know, just blaming I'm being bullied at school, and so you know.
Speaker 1:
I guess you know life is over for me, um, or it'll never get better.
Speaker 2:
Never get better yeah.
Speaker 1:
You've got to say God is giving me this for a reason and I'm going to figure out how to get through it.
Speaker 2:
Embrace it.
Speaker 1:
yeah, and he will guide my process in that.
Speaker 2:
There we go, Talking about struggles, I mean recently to catch up.
Speaker 1:
Oh, Heavenly Father.
Speaker 2:
Oh boy, we've had stuff. Oh my gosh, what was it? I don't remember the exact date, but um I was.
Speaker 1:
you're talking about the truck wreck.
Speaker 2:
That was November 1st, november 1st, that's right November 1st of last year I'm out shooting pool with a couple of friends and I told, uh, my little brother who was going out to go see a friend or whatnot. I'm like be safe, be responsible and be home in a reasonable time. That didn't end up really happening, but let me go back.
Speaker 1:
So what's?
Speaker 2:
up. Yeah.
Speaker 1:
Dad and I were out of town. Right, we were just like an hour and a half away, not too far, but um, and and chase asked to take your truck and it was my fault for saying, yes, trying to be the nice brother, you know, the cool brother, the nice brother, whatever.
Speaker 2:
I was like, yeah, sure, sure go, and didn't really think much of it. And then my friends are like, hey, come play pool with us down at this dive bar. So we're like, okay, we're playing pool, having fun, there's like live music and stuff. And I remember the exact phone call you gave me at 11.48 pm.
Speaker 2:
I remember the time. I remember the time and you just said your truck is totaled and I've never felt a feeling like that before. And Chase, he was in a wreck Thankfully he's okay, no injuries at all and he hydroplaned and smacked a tree in the truck and ultimately the truck ended up being totaled and it was a complete loss.
Speaker 1:
Talk a little bit about what your truck meant to me, because this was a real loss for you, honey.
Speaker 2:
Oh, I mean it was my first vehicle when I was 16 years old and I put lots of money into that thing. I mean from I remember looking at it and just thinking, oh, it's looks like a normal Tacoma, and then looking at it in its final stage you know I stage every time I'd hop in that thing I'd be so proud. It's funny there's this exact Tacoma that looks just like mine at church, at City Reach Church, but it has a six-inch lift kit and bigger tires, which is funny because that's exactly what I was going to do with my truck if I still had it Same wheels I have on there, same tires.
Speaker 1:
Like it looks identical. I mean you added new rims, new tires, bumper, headlights and these were all like birthday gifts or Christmas gifts or things you saved up for.
Speaker 2:
I invested in that thing, so you had a new exhaust right I think oh, I had probably six different setups on there.
Speaker 1:
Yeah. The bumper on there. Yeah, bumper, that big bolt thing. Oh my, my speakers, my subwoofer, yeah, yeah, like you can only get three people in there because there was a big speaker that took up uh-huh. Big speaker in the back.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I mean, yeah, it was just, it was so personalized and it meant a lot to me so um learning. I mean, I learned something you know when your parents tell you to do something, do it so and listen to them, cause they know the best.
Speaker 1:
So and what does that relate to Uh?
Speaker 2:
listening to you guys saying, oh, he needs to stay at home tonight. He needs to stay at home.
Speaker 1:
You know we're going out. Chase was supposed to be staying at home.
Speaker 2:
He was supposed to be staying at home. I said, yeah, go for it. And that was my fault. So, and I said, yeah, go for it, and that was my fault, right, you were the babysitter. Yeah, I was, that's right. And then that happened on November 1st.
Speaker 1:
Okay, but let me tell you. So there were. You know it's crazy. I get a call in the middle. It's like 11 o'clock at night or something and we're down an hour and a half away or so.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, what was your experience? We were at Wars Fest with our supper club group and we were at a house New Braunfels New Braunfels, that's it Like an hour 20 minutes away.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, something like that. And so we're back from the festival. It's like 10-something. We start a fire and we're sitting on the river, something you know. We start a fire, we're sitting on the river, oh nice, yeah, it was beautiful and my phone rings, and I don't usually answer unless it says the name right right, yeah, and I went. I have to answer this and I I answered and it was the uh lake travis fire department oh yeah your son has been in a wreck wow yeah I'm so glad you answered holy cow I know it was crazy like what if you didn't answer?
Speaker 2:
I mean they'd probably call you back or they'd probably try a different number.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, but I mean, that was God speaking to me, right?
Speaker 2:
there, you just had to pick up. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:
No, it was a no brainer and it was crazy and so anyway, then the other thing about that was like I, Like I could not go. I saw the truck. We had to go do the truck and get everything out and go to the salvage place.
Speaker 2:
That was a mess.
Speaker 1:
It was horrible and then I couldn't go to the crash site. I knew where it was and it took me about two weeks. I went to church that one Sunday and I I um left church and I was kind of bold and feeling good and I was like I'm going to go check out where the crash took place because he had hit a tree. And I get to the area where it was I knew the area but I didn't know the tree. And I get to the area and I couldn't find the tree. And so I pull over on a side road and I pull up the picture of the tree that he hit that I got from the Lake Travis fire marshal and I narrowed into it and I went oh my gosh, there's a cross on the tree right in the middle. It's like in the trunk right about center of the trunk, from the top to the bottom. It's about center, right there. And I went oh, I mean, that was a divine intervention right there.
Speaker 2:
Because the amount of damage that the truck took.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
If there was a passenger in the passenger seat, in the front seat, we possibly would have been going to a funeral. I mean, the glove box was like literally sideways, it was crushed in. There was no room for legs. There was a huge, like just a huge dent of the tree in the passenger seat. Both airbags deployed. I mean the back seat was a huge dent of the tree in the passenger seat, both airbags deployed. I mean the back seat was a mess, all the glass was broken.
Speaker 2:
You know it was just a just plastic, was ever it was just. It looked like a bomb went off on the inside. Basically, like I got up to it, I opened the door. You couldn't even open some of the doors because it was like so bent in because of the metal.
Speaker 1:
I don't think we could open any.
Speaker 2:
Maybe a crack on that one, I don't know you could pull it a little, but the metal was just so bad like it was. It was a very bad wreck and we got so fortunate that he had no he had no injuries besides being bruised. I mean, yeah, from the airbag and stuff.
Speaker 1:
That was it um but anyways, I have um loaded or downloaded a picture of the tree with the cross on it on our website, which is at debbieandgreggoldcom. Encourage you to check it out Because, seriously, how does a cross get etched into a tree unless God is not present?
Speaker 2:
With a wreck that bad and zero injuries at all.
Speaker 1:
Totally insane. Just another miracle.
Speaker 2:
And he was going pretty fast, I believe too.
Speaker 1:
Because I mean if you hydroplane, you have to be going fast.
Speaker 2:
You have to be going fast and also to hit a tree of this size. It was a big dent, that was a big tree.
Speaker 1:
It really wasn't a big tree it wasn't.
Speaker 2:
No, really, look at it, it's not that big. He had to be going fast.
Speaker 1:
Anyway, we're not going to tell on our son.
Speaker 2:
Okay, I guess my son, but I mean, ah it's, it's a miracle that everyone's okay and he didn't hit another car praise god, yeah, so so that was november 1st.
Speaker 2:
Yes, december 1st, december 1st moving forward, me and my friends. Two of my friends were out late, um, and we're driving back from wherever we were and we're on the highway and I'm driving, my friends are, you know, one's in the passenger seat, one's in the back seat. And we're just talking and it starts to merge and I see a car coming up on my left and well, I realized, oh crap, this is gonna merge. So he tries to fit two cars into one lane and I'm like that's not gonna happen. So he goes over, hits me and there's a barrier coming up, one of those concrete barriers.
Speaker 1:
They were doing construction.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, because it's on like 183. If you guys, whoever's listening, if y'all live in Austin, y'all know 183 is a nightmare with all the construction.
Speaker 1:
It's crazy, it's terrible right now.
Speaker 2:
Yeah.
Speaker 3:
And so there is a nightmare with all the construction it's crazy, it's terrible right now.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, and so there was a barrier coming up. Yeah, so it's me. And I realized, oh shoot, he just pushed me over, there's a barrier coming up. I got to move over. So I turn left and I don't know what happened. After that, airbags deploy and we come to a stop and I'm freaking out because, mind you, my, my truck was just totaled and I was in my little brother's car that night and now that thing's probably totaled. So we get out and talking and all that, and then fire and EMS comes. But it's just, we've had a lot of loss and struggles recently. It's been crazy, so it's, it's been a, it's been a time, for sure.
Speaker 2:
Yeah sure, and thankfully everyone was unharmed as well. So we've been getting very lucky and I mean thank the Lord for that.
Speaker 1:
Right. So you know, I look at it like God's moving us in a direction and I can see every good thing that he's bringing in our lives because of this, like I'm not staying out as late anymore and just you know doing stuff like that and as well um and if you do want to go out or run downtown austin, he uber, you uber, you know so I mean not that I was, you know, under the influence or anything.
Speaker 1:
I was the designated driver right night but we just have learned and solidified some things in our lives that we probably should have had in place before, but we made some changes, thought about it, yeah, so so, like you know, it goes back to our point that god always brings some good into it if you're open to it but now, yeah, it's like I'm.
Speaker 2:
Now I'm motivated to get a truck that was better and bigger, possibly right because now greg has a car and not his truck, but which now I'm working on getting a truck eventually
Speaker 1:
right so it's going to be awesome, so so something to look forward to right um don't want to be, yeah, but then we also had my uh, one of my really best friends, dd, passed in december um. She was one of our supper club moms and she passed and then we just haven't.
Speaker 1:
You know just other stuff going on in our family. That's been crazy. But you know what? We're just trying to uphold it and I think what really gets us through it all is knowing that we have our relationship with God. You know our prayer time, that we have our church. We go to our church regularly and we're serving our church and we are also doing a Bible study. It's called Freedom. It's a great study.
Speaker 1:
It's like breakthrough stuff. It's so amazing and Greg and I are both doing it. He's doing the men's group and I'm doing the women's.
Speaker 2:
It's my first group ever I'm doing. It's pretty cool. Yeah, I just want to say about the struggles.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2:
God didn't promise a perfect life. He promised a better life. Yeah that's it. Nothing is going to be perfect. Stuff's going to happen, stuff's going to come up. That's random, we don't expect. But learn from it, process it, and I mean, life's not perfect.
Speaker 1:
Right, exactly. Well, we're not perfect because we are not perfect people, because of Adam and Eve sitting in the Garden of Eden.
Speaker 2:
God's not going to throw anything that we can't handle on us.
Speaker 1:
So I guess we're going to wrap up.
Speaker 2:
I guess. So I mean, you want to mention your little body.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, sorry, get up.
Speaker 2:
Excuse you.
Speaker 1:
Sorry, we will. Our website has been developed and we're getting lots of hits on that, and that is debbieandgreggoldcom. Go check it out.
Speaker 1:
For more information, look at more information on us and then also want to mention mention I've written um, my first bible study, which I've written when, when the kids were little and they were home, I did a lot of writing and I was a lot into um, you know, studying the bible and I which I still am but it became my passion and so it is officially written, it is officially done and it is called crossing over and it is available um in digital download on our website and it's a study for Christians who want to get to start a life-changing journey toward a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and I highly encourage you do that. And in the future I'll be talking a little bit I think our next episode a little bit about what my life was like before I started my journey and you know it wasn't so pretty and what it's like today and how different that is and yeah, so I'm excited about that. I hope you check it out. I think that's our show for today. I think so.
Speaker 1:
Again, it's debbieandgreggoldcom. We'll see you back here next week and we are going to be diving into a personal relationship with Jesus and what that looks like. And yeah, thank you, god for this episode. We love you and all you do to make our lives better?
Speaker 2:
All right, y'all make it a great day and see y'all next week. All right, nice.
