4:13 Podcast: Spill the Beans LIVE with Kelly Minter and Meredith Andrews at Fresh Grounded Faith Little Rock, AR [Episode 214]

Jennifer Rothschild: Pack your bags, 4:13ers. We are heading to Little Rock, Arkansas, for a Fresh Grounded Faith conference with author Kelly Minter and singer songwriter Meredith Andrews. We are spilling some sizzling beans today, and the questions from the audience were fantastic. You're going to hear my answer when I was asked if I could see when I dream. Kelly and Meredith also gave great answers about how to deal with silence from God. And then somebody asked even how K.C. and I met. And then Kelly talked about being single in the church, and what that was like, and how to know your purpose. And finally, I cannot wait for you to hear what Meredith Andrews said about my husband, Dr. Phil. I am just saying, this is fun and it's rich and it's meaningful, and we saved you a seat.

So, K.C., let's spill some beans.

K.C. Wright: Welcome to the 4:13 podcast, where practical encouragement and biblical wisdom set you up to live the "I Can" life, because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

Now, welcome your host and my soul sister, Jennifer Rothschild.

Jennifer Rothschild: Hello, our dear people. Welcome back again. I know that some of you are here with us every week, and it means so much to us. So thank you for hanging out and being part of the 4:13 family. I'm Jennifer, here to help you be and do more than you feel capable of as you live, alongside me and K.C., this "I Can" life.

It's a busy season around here. October, I'm always -- that's the time of the year when I'm traveling every weekend. I call it the season of the three-day week, because I'm only home three days. So K.C. and I jump into the closet and we get to talk to y'all while I'm home, and so we're super grateful.

So what I thought I'd do this week is take you on one of the Fresh Grounded conferences with me. This one, I was in Little Rock, Arkansas. And it was such a good weekend, you guys. And so what happens is we ask the audience to let us know what questions they have, and they jot them down on these little Spill the Bean cards, and then we sit up at the bistro table and we answer these questions. So what you are about to hear is me and Kelly and Meredith at the table.

But I don't know if you know this about Kelly Minter. She is also a singer songwriter. So the weekend was just so beautiful and musical. And Kelly had just sang this old song, and of course she gave it a new spin, "I'd Rather Have Jesus." And it was really beautiful. So after K.C. introduces these ladies, when you hear us begin to speak at the bistro table, you probably need to know that so it'll make sense to you. Kelly had just finished singing "I'd Rather Have Jesus."

So let's introduce them, K.C.

K.C. Wright: Kelly's got some good stuff to say, so let's get to know her right now. Kelly Minter is a singer songwriter and Bible teacher. When she's not on the road speaking, she loves picking homegrown vegetables with her six nieces and nephews or riding a boat along the Amazon River with Justice and Mercy International. She is God's girl for sure. She's written ten books and Bible studies and lives in Nashville.

Meredith Andrews is a Dove award winning Christian artist and worship leader with six albums to her credit. And that doesn't even count her singles and EP's. She's married to Jacob and they've got three kiddos. And like Kelly, she also lives in Nashville.

Now, let's pull up our chairs to the bistro table -- there's room for you -- and join in. Lean in on this great conversation.

Jennifer Rothschild: That was so beautiful. I love Kelly's story. I love that song. My daddy, who could not sing -- was the true picture of making a joyful noise -- he loved that song. And he sang it so I could hear his voice.

Phil, did we move the table? Then I'm moving my chair. Sorry. I'm way too far.

Kelly Minter: Jennifer, you gotta get where you want to be.

Jennifer Rothschild: I got to be where I need to be.

Kelly Minter: That's right. That's right.

Jennifer Rothschild: Right. I feel like I'm in an island over there.

Kelly Minter: No islands.

Jennifer Rothschild: No islands.

Okay. That was just beautiful.

Kelly Minter: Thank you.

Jennifer Rothschild: Meredith, beautiful too. What a morning, right? What a morning.

Kelly Minter: I feel like we all need to, like, sing something one of these times.

Meredith Andrews: When you were singing that, I just wasn't singing --

Jennifer Rothschild: Take those.

Kelly Minter: Thank you.

Meredith Andrews: -- because I was just listening. It was so beautiful.

Jennifer Rothschild: It was beautiful.

Meredith Andrews: And then Jennifer was harmonizing on the front row, and I was like, "Oh, yes, Lord." It was so sweet.

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, you don't know this, Meredith, but Kelly and I have been your backup singers all morning.

Kelly Minter: I know, we have been. We've been harmonizing together with you.

Jennifer Rothschild: We have.

Kelly Minter: Yeah, uh-huh. It's awesome, I know.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes, we should. It was beautiful. Don't you just love seeing how the body of Christ is woven together as one voice? It's just a beautiful thing.

Y'all asked some really neat questions. Terrie Bitter, our National Conference Director, and I go through the questions. She reads them to me. And I got to say, what an interesting, fun group you are. I want to have coffee with all of you. And that's what Kelly and Meredith are going to think, too, when they see these questions. Y'all asked some really, really good questions. So let's spill some beans.

Meredith Andrews: Okay. Well, I don't know if my mic's working.

Jennifer Rothschild: I don't think it is.

Meredith Andrews: I can talk really loud.

Jennifer Rothschild: No, let's get you working.

Meredith Andrews: It's on.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, there she is.

Kelly Minter: There we go.

Meredith Andrews: Hello. Okay. This first question says for Jennifer. "When you dream at night, do you see in vision?"

Jennifer Rothschild: That would suggest that I sleep. I am a very notoriously bad sleeper, so I don't know that I ever get in REM enough to actually dream. But here's the thing, when I do dream, yes, I do see pictures. And I think that's so weird. But I think it's because my brain once saw, so I still think in pictures. What's very interesting, though, I do not see facial features in dreams. Like, I might see a body there and know -- you know, even see what they're wearing, but the facial features are totally blurred, which is interesting.

Kelly Minter: Yeah, it is.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, analyze that.

Meredith Andrews: All right. Second question says -- and I guess it's for all of us. "Have you walked through a season of silence from God? How did you keep from getting discouraged?"

Kelly Minter: Well, I -- since you're looking at me, Jennifer --

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes. Go.

Kelly Minter: -- and really staring at me --

Jennifer Rothschild: Waiting for you.

Kelly Minter: No, No. I think all of us go through these seasons. And I'm not 100 percent convinced that the Lord doesn't allow us to go through those seasons so that it will drive us --

Meredith Andrews: Yes.

Kelly Minter: -- closer to His Word. Because the thing is is that the Lord ultimately really doesn't stop speaking to us, because he has spoken through Jesus. And we find that out in Hebrews. So he has spoken through his Son and -- and I know what the question means, though, when we just don't feel him --

Jennifer Rothschild: We don't feel it, yeah.

Kelly Minter: -- we just don't see -- we don't think about -- or we can't sense him in our lives, we don't feel like he's working in our lives. And all of us have been there. But I do think that there's something to be said for being in that season and asking and seeking and knocking and what we learn in those seasons about the Lord, about ourselves. Because if he was always speaking and if we were always hearing super clearly, what would we -- how would we dig down, you know? What would we really -- and I think it's -- in a weird way, it's almost like we get to know him more deeply when he is quieter.

Meredith Andrews: Yes.

Kelly Minter: I don't know.

Meredith Andrews: I agree 100 percent. I think it's almost like a -- it's almost like you graduate to a different place and God is saying, "How much more do you want?" Because there's so much more to be had. Like, he's such a vast, mysterious God, like, we could never find the end of him, you know? So I think when we do walk through those seasons, that's where faith comes in.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes, yes.

Kelly Minter: There you go. There you go.

Meredith Andrews: We are meant to walk by faith and not by feeling. And we can't be led by our feelings. They're terrible leaders. I think you even talked about that --

Jennifer Rothschild: They are terrible leaders.

Meredith Andrews: -- Jennifer, you know? They're important, 100 percent, but we can't base what we know on what we feel.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yes.

Kelly Minter: Right. There you go.

Meredith Andrews: And so we go back to the Word and we -- I think in those moments what I do is I'll remind myself of God's promises and what he's said to me in the past, or I'll go back through my journal and just be like, God, I remember when you said this to me or I remember when you were working in this way in my life, and I remember.

It's kind of like the Old Testament when they would build an altar when God did something. They would put a literal pile of rocks right there to remind them of what God did. Because it's kind of that same thing, like, if he did it before, he'll do it again. And so many times he is just inviting us into this deeper space with him when we get to know him in ways that we haven't before. Yeah.

And I thought about a quote, even as you were talking, Kelly, that -- I heard this before. Pruning is the reward for growth. And I know that that doesn't speak to silence necessarily, but it really is -- that kind of thing is like -- if we're growing, if we're maturing, then we can anticipate there are going to be some things cut out of our lives or there are going to be some things that we walk through that just kind of solidify our dependence upon God.

Kelly Minter: Yeah. That's good.

Jennifer Rothschild: Refines us.

Meredith Andrews: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: And I think it's important -- you know, how can I keep from being discouraged? You can't necessarily. I think that's part of the process. That we feel uncomfortable emotions that perhaps -- seasons where it does not feel silent, we don't hear -- we don't feel those emotions because we keep them at bay.

But I had a crash, is the best way I can call it, seven or eight years ago of depression, and I was, like, totally internally dismantled. To the extent that once I entertained one thought, it led to another. I got to the point of trusting the goodness of God, then trusting the existence of God, then trusting the deity of Christ and trusting -- the whole deal. It just was a dismantling.

I share that with you because I'm not ashamed of that. I wish it hadn't been that way because it was painful. But even in the midst of that dismantling and what felt like silence from God, I still had, like, this vapor of awareness, to the extent that I prayed, Lord, I -- God, it just -- everything feels wrong. I'm having trouble believing everything I believed is real. But I know it is, so help me get back to that.

And literally, the rescue I found came through reading C.S. Lewis' books. Not Scripture initially, because I had so much trouble even processing Scripture. Not because it wasn't good and true, but I just was not in that place. But when I began to read C.S. Lewis, I learned this guy was a million times more bright than I ever could have been. He was an atheist. Then he converted to basically deism and acknowledgment that there is a God, and then came to faith in Christ. And we all know how that impacted him and culture.

And so truly during that season I was like, okay, I'm going to just trust him until I can trust God again. And he became for me this authoritative God. In the discouragement, when God felt silent, God used another person to bring me back to that place, a full, complete, strong, solid faith in Christ, hearing his voice again.

So if you're in that season of discouragement -- even though my ally came from a dead author, there are humans around you who can walk with you through that process. And you need her. You need her.

Meredith Andrews: Yeah. So good.

This question is for Kelly. It says, "How do you deal with always fitting in at church when church is geared towards families or people with children?"

Kelly Minter: Mm-hmm. Yeah. No, I totally get that question. So -- that's a hard one. I mean, it is just the reality most places. I was blessed in Nashville to find a church, for the first 15 years that I was there, where the pastor and his wife actually did not have children. So that was kind of a unique thing, and I think it kind of geared them toward being more aware of people who weren't just married with kids. Which is great, and I love that, and I get why church is geared that way, but -- so that kind of attracted people that were more like myself, I think, in certain stages of life.

Now I'm at a church that is, like, massively family oriented. I mean massively. But I am so -- and I don't even want to say but, because I like that. I'm not for that. I love it. But I do have some really dear friends that don't have children or -- you know, just for whatever reason are not married, and I have a really, really rich community. I just have a really rich community. And so I always feel bad in some ways when I get that question, because it's not a pain point for me. Just honestly, it's not. And there's a lot of Sundays that I go to church by myself, and it just doesn't bother me.

Jennifer Rothschild: You don't even notice?

Kelly Minter: It doesn't -- yeah. And I don't know if that's just -- I don't know why that is. But I think if you just have even -- you know, making any kind of connection friendship-wise with marrieds or with singles, it just helps so much. And I would also say that there is a place for you in the local body and that your singleness doesn't need to be a disqualifier, that actually can be -- it can add. And, you know, it's sweet, like -- and this is not a normal -- this is actually not normal for me. But tomorrow night, a couple in our church, they're having, like, five of us over. And we're all really dear friends and we all are single. But it's not weird. It's just like -- but I can tell that they are -- you know, they want us to be over and they want to be with us, and it's natural. And so I appreciate that. And I have a lot of kids in the church that I'm an aunt to.

And so I think if we go into the local body thinking I don't fit, this isn't geared to me, this is so annoying, you know, then, yeah, it's going to be an uphill climb. But if we can go in seeing that we are needed and really just even find some people in the local body, it's such a game changer. I have so many little kids that I just love over there. And so in some ways I wish I could say, yeah, I know how hard it is -- and I don't want to say that it's never been hard -- but I'm really just blessed in my body of life.

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, I think you also said you have made choices, and so have the people in your local family --

Kelly Minter: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- that gathers, they've made choices so that there is a sense of belonging.

Kelly Minter: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: Which to me is always a good thing to be reminded of --

Kelly Minter: Uh-huh, yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: -- especially in a family-oriented church.

Kelly Minter: Uh-huh. Yeah.

Meredith Andrews: So good.

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, I'd have you over for dinner tomorrow night.

Kelly Minter: I know. I know, right? I mean, I'm so excited I don't have to cook and --

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, come on. I know.

Kelly Minter: Well, and that's another thing. I do a lot of stuff at my house, so I cook a lot.

Jennifer Rothschild: So you invite in?

Kelly Minter: Yes. And so that's the other thing, too, I think when you're single, or if you're married without kids and you want kids, or whatever, we can focus on what we don't have and let that be the defining factor, as opposed to like, Hey, I don't have three kids that I've got to get into the bath and all this stuff, so I can cook today and have people over. And so I just think if we can see how it can be a plus is helpful.

Meredith Andrews: That's good. It's a mindset, right? I love this perspective. It's so good.

"Jennifer, was it difficult to take care of your children without your eyesight, and how did you overcome that trial?"

Jennifer Rothschild: Challenging, probably difficult. I'm not sure because it was all I knew. But I would -- when the little guys were toddling around, I would pin jingle bells on their back, on their shirt. That's how I would know where they were. The house was, of course, very childproof, but I was home alone with the babies most of the time. And they just learned -- I was probably one of those mamas who was in my baby's faces a lot. They got a lot of one-on-one attention out of necessity.

Interesting, when they would sit in the high chair and I would go to feed them, I would put the spoon in the baby food jar and I would hold it up and they would come toward it. When Phil would go to feed the children, they'd just sit there and wait for him to put it in their mouth. They learned -- they knew the difference.

So, yeah, there were some challenges, especially when the little guys were little. But the Lord, you know, he compensates. He helps us to grow in whatever situation he's allowed us to be in. And he did for me with the babies.

Meredith Andrews: That's so awesome. I love the jingle bell story.

Kelly Minter: That's so funny.

Meredith Andrews: Okay, this question was to me. It says, "What was the inspiration for your song 'Can Anybody Hear Me'?" Well, first of all, just side note for that song, it's not one that I sang this weekend. It's an older song of mine. I feel like sometimes songwriters write the same song over and over in different iterations of it. And every album, I feel like I have a -- my first album, I had a song called "You're Not Alone." The second one was "Can Anybody Hear me?" My third one was "Not for a Moment." And it's that thought that even if I don't feel God -- it's kind of like what we talked about in the first question -- I know that he's there and I'm going to stand on his promises.

But I remember this song in particular, I was kind of walking through that season and feeling like God was silent. And I was praying and I was in the Word and it just felt like everything's bouncing off the ceiling. And I remember being on tour with Phil Wickham -- this was probably 2008 or '9 -- and I sat down at this church piano in Texas, just in this back room, and I started just playing out this honest prayer, like, can anybody hear me? The silence is deafening. I don't remember the rest of it. Again, it's been a long time.

Jennifer Rothschild: It's been a while, yeah.

Meredith Andrews: And what's just -- side note -- funny about this song is that whenever -- it was a radio song and nobody could ever get the title right. It was like, "And here's Meredith Andrews with 'Is Anybody Listening?'" Or "Does Anybody Know My Name" or -- it's just like all these different -- I'm like, it is what it is.

Jennifer Rothschild: That's so funny. That's awesome.

Kelly Minter: That's great.

Meredith Andrews: All right. Next question is for all of us. It says, "I'm having a tough time finding my purpose in life. How did you find your purpose?"

Jennifer Rothschild: Well, let me bust the myth that purpose is an arrival. I think purpose is a path. Because sometimes it -- it looks different in different seasons. So if you're not, like, living in full-blown sin and selfishness, likely you're living your purpose. Whatever God has put before you to do, whatever you are drawn to or people ask you often to be a part of because it's like your wheelhouse, likely that's your purpose. It doesn't have to be something huge and elaborate that involves a great following or a platform. It's what obedience looks like.

Kelly Minter: That's so good.

Jennifer Rothschild: And don't assume that once you arrive there, it never changes. It can change. It can change. I've always said -- you know, for me in ministry, I started out with music, and then a little bit of speaking, and then writing, and then writing Bible studies, and then teaching. This whole gamut. And I realized you could look at my life and say, well, clearly her purpose was to sing, or her purpose was to write. No. My purpose is to communicate. There's different vehicles by which I do that. And so I think we can take a little pressure off ourselves when it comes to finding our purpose. Like I said, unless you're big in sin and selfishness, you're probably living out your purpose.

Meredith Andrews: Yeah. That's really good.

And you know that verse in Psalms that says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he'll give you the desires of your heart," I think we sometimes misread that as like, well, if I just do everything God says, then he's going to give me everything I want. It's not that.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

Meredith Andrews: It's that when we delight ourselves in him, our desires begin to change and we begin to love what he loves and want what he wants, you know, even for our own lives. And he begins to put things in us that we're drawn to, you know, the things that we feel that are life giving for us. I mean, I've struggled with this so much, but I think we really can overcomplicate it and overanalyze it. And it's not about what we do. I think we actually have to get back to, like -- instead of asking the question, like, What am I doing with my life, it really is, like, Who am I becoming? Who am I? What is our identity rooted in? It's not about -- because I think you meet somebody and you go, "Oh, what do you do?" and that kind of defines -- that can define us. Especially in America, it really can define us so deeply sometimes.

But when you strip all that away -- and that's what 2020 was about for me, because I couldn't travel. And I find so much joy in getting to be with women especially and see them encounter God, you know? And so then I was, like, at home, homeschooling. What? And then I'm like, Who am I? Like, What has happened, you know? So it's this midlife crisis. But it was beautiful because it was like the Lord just stripped all that away and -- like, you're not a human doing, you're a human being, and I've called you to be first a daughter, and everything else comes from that.

And then last thing I'll say -- I love this quote. I said it last week. One of my favorite authors and speakers is named Graham Cooke. And he says, "We treat the will of God like a tightrope, but it's actually a wide-open green pasture." I think the closer we get to the Lord, the more we understand his heart and the more we know our purpose on the earth.

Jennifer Rothschild: Wow. That's good.

Kelly Minter: That's great. That's awesome.

Meredith Andrews: All right, next question. It says to Jen. "Have Jennifer and Phil ever had a serious disagreement --

Jennifer Rothschild: Holy cow.

Meredith Andrews: -- and how was it resolved?"

Jennifer Rothschild: Glad we get to bust the myth that we're perfect. Yes, we have disagreements. Sometimes on the way to conferences or on the flight home, especially when we're tired. Oh, my gosh. Yes.

Here's the thing. Phil and I have this unique relationship in that I am always right and he's never wrong. So you put that together and we're both very strong-minded and strong-willed and, yes, sparks fly because of that. But that's okay. We haven't always handled conflict in the most Godly way, absolutely not, but we're learning over the years to do that better. But when you love each other, there's going to be moments like that.

Early on in our marriage, we were really stuck. Went to marriage counseling. Which I highly suggest a Christian counselor. It helped us so very much. And there's still so much we have to constantly learn from the Lord and other married couples who do it better, or at least we think they do it better. By the way, that is the illusion. We get to see -- just like on Instagram, we see everybody's five seconds of perfect. When you see all those people at church and you're like, I wish my husband acted like her husband, trust me, when they're in private, he's not all that. All right? We've all got our stuff. We've all got our stuff and we need to be humble and honest about it.

Meredith Andrews: Amen.

Okay, can I really just -- side note. I've told Lydia this, I told my husband this, and it was so beautiful to me. Last week we were praying before the night session last Friday, and Dr. Phil was praying, and he was kind of praying for Jennifer. And it was -- I mean, I was like -- nobody knew this, but I was, like, bawling at the dinner table because of your humility, and the way that you have given your life to support this woman is so beautiful to me.

Jennifer Rothschild: He has.

Meredith Andrews: I just want to honor you in a room full of women, the way that you serve, Jennifer.

Kelly Minter: That's good, Meredith. Thank you. That's good. That's good.

Jennifer Rothschild: He is the real deal. I will say that, he is the real deal. Yes, we can be sparky with each other as a married couple. But he is the real deal, no question.

Kelly Minter: That's sweet.

Meredith Andrews: Well, I just wanted a chance to say that.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah. Thank you.

Meredith Andrews: Yes. And, Jennifer, you couldn't see it, but half the people stood up. They gave him a little standing ovation.

Jennifer Rothschild: What's wrong with the other half of you?

Meredith Andrews: This is a question for Jennifer. It says, "How did you and K.C. meet and when did you start working together?"

Jennifer Rothschild: So I chose to answer this question because of my main guy. Okay. So my 4:13 Podcast -- I have a seeing eye guy on my podcast. His name is K.C. K.C. and I have been friends for 15 years. He's a radio guy. Used to do a lot of morning radio in our town, and I would come in and do radio shows with him. And he said, "Someday if you ever have a podcast" -- I'm like, "I'll never do that." "If you ever have a podcast, I want to be on it."

Well, when the Lord drew me to have this podcast, I wanted to have a seeing eye guy. I did not want it to be my favorite guy, Phil, because we don't need another area where we have to work together and have potential conflict, let's just be honest. We just didn't need that. And he's a busy guy. He's a full-time professor. He doesn't have time. So K.C. and I have done this for years together now, and he is just a delightful friend, who is single, by the way.

Kelly Minter: Hey. All right.

Jennifer Rothschild: He's a really good guy. So that's K.C. Yeah, you'll hear him on the podcast.

Meredith Andrews: Awesome.

Kelly Minter: Cool.

Meredith Andrews: Okay. I can't -- oh, there it is. Thanks, Dr. Phil. Thank you.

Okay. For Kelly, "As a single woman, is there a point where you'd give up hope of marriage? Or how do you continue to hold on to hope when it's still a desire and your life doesn't seem to be moving in that direction?"

Kelly Minter: Yeah, so --

Jennifer Rothschild: I wonder about that too. I do. As a married woman looking into a single woman's life, I wonder about that.

Kelly Minter: Yeah.

Jennifer Rothschild: How do you do that?

Kelly Minter: Well, I think it's different for everybody. And that's the thing that it's just -- everybody has a different story of this. And a lot of times people will come up and they'll be like, Oh, you know, this has been so hard for me. And I will say, it was a lot harder for me in my 20's and into my 30's. It was really hard then. And I don't want to say that it's never hard now. I think there's seasons that you go in and out of the hardness. And you talked about, like, the quasi midlife crisis. I feel like a little bit going through that too where you start to all of a sudden -- because my parents have moved to town, and I'm watching them, and I'm like, oh, like, so how am I going to do this when I'm by my -- like, if I'm by myself?

But the reality is no one has a guarantee of -- nobody has a guarantee that you will all grow old with one another and then die five minutes apart or -- you know, we all -- so I would say -- have I given up hope? No, I don't give up hope because of the Lord, I mean, obviously. But do I think I'm going to get married? I don't. I mean, I'm just going to tell you that, because I just don't think I will at this point, because it just hasn't come close for so long.

So I really have a very full life, and I -- but it didn't always feel that way. So I guess -- that's the hard thing, is, like, I want to be able to really connect with whoever's asking that question, because I get it. I get that life can be lonely. It gets hard to do everything by yourself. I've had this remodel going on, or construction addition, for a year. I hate making the calls to the builders. I wish I had a husband that was like, Are you kidding me? Like, Where is that -- I hate doing that stuff. I don't like having to always deal with my finances or have to stand up for my --

Jennifer Rothschild: Carry the whole load.

Kelly Minter: Carry the whole thing. But then, like, my mom will remind me -- it was my dad who was so sweet. But she's like, "You can be married and Dad's still not going to hang that picture ever," you know. And so -- and I know that about my dad.

Jennifer Rothschild: That is so funny.

Kelly Minter: So it's kind of like --

Jennifer Rothschild: I love that.

Kelly Minter: But God has given me -- and I will say this. He has given me community in the body of Christ, and I really do have a family. Like, I really do.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah, you do.

Kelly Minter: I have a family family. When God brought my brother and his wife and the kids, I mean, that was amazing. But I also have friends that are family. And we do go to the Amazon together, we go to Moldova together, we go to trips, we have dinners. I have a home, I have people in my home. I cook. I have a full life. And so I guess I would say this, that -- don't give up hope in having a full life.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, that's a good way to put it.

Kelly Minter: I mean, I don't have hope that I will necessarily be married, but I'm very fulfilled. I'm very fulfilled. Like I said, it wasn't always like that. The first several years in Nashville were very painful while I was trying to find my place and my friends and my community and my church and all of that. But the Lord really is sufficient, and I have found him sufficient in extreme seasons of loneliness and disappointment and stress and depression and anxiety. But I've also found him extremely sufficient in fullness and in rest and in peace. And so I don't think anybody, whether you're married or not, whether you have kids or not, whether you have grandkids or not, no one is meant in the body of Christ to live hopeless and alone.

Jennifer Rothschild: Amen.

Kelly Minter: That is -- no. So I have full hope for everyone here that no matter your season or status, that in Christ we really are to live fully.

Meredith Andrews: Yeah.

Kelly Minter: And so that is what I would say to that question.

Jennifer Rothschild: That is a good answer.

Meredith Andrews: That's a good answer.

Jennifer Rothschild: That is a good answer.

Meredith Andrews: Awesome.

Okay. Well, we've only got 25 seconds, so what is your favorite kind of dessert, and why?

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, we're going to end on a sweet note.

Meredith Andrews: Yes, we are.

Kelly Minter: That's easy.

Jennifer Rothschild: Okay. Because you are the cook among us --

Kelly Minter: Well, I don't know about that. But tiramisu. I love tiramisu.

Jennifer Rothschild: Ooh, tiramisu.

Kelly Minter: But you either love it or hate it. There's not really anybody that's like, Oh, yeah, sure.

Jennifer Rothschild: It's like boiled peanuts, you love them or hate them.

Kelly Minter: Yeah, you get in or you get out.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yep.

Kelly Minter: But I love it.

Jennifer Rothschild: Tiramisu. Okay, what about you?

Meredith Andrews: I mean, I'm such a kid. I love Sour Patch Kids and Funfetti cupcakes.

Kelly Minter: That is awesome.

Meredith Andrews: But I can't even have gluten right now, but I'll eat them anyways if somebody makes them for me.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, that's awesome.

Okay. Well, I love dark chocolate on anything. The darker the better. But if I'm really going all out, creme brulee.

Meredith Andrews: Ooh.

Jennifer Rothschild: All right, now the beans are officially spilled. Would you thank these ladies. That was awesome. Thank you, guys. That's great.

K.C. Wright: This is why I personally love Fresh Grounded Faith. And these are some of my favorite podcasts. I mean, my favorite podcasts are when, Jennifer, you have a full teaching. I love Jennifer's teaching, because I'm over here taking notes in the podcast closet. But I love the Spill the Beans because it's so live.

Jennifer Rothschild: I know.

K.C. Wright: Well, I don't know how it could get anymore live.

Jennifer Rothschild: Right?

K.C. Wright: You're there, right?

Jennifer Rothschild: Yep. Exactly.

K.C. Wright: So if you've never been to a Fresh Grounded Faith, you gotta go. You gotta go. Make it a goal. Put it on the bucket list.

Jennifer Rothschild: Yep.

K.C. Wright: We will have a link to the tour on the show notes right now at 413podcast.com/214.

Jennifer Rothschild: And weren't those women in Little Rock -- you could hear them, the audience. They were awesome. They asked great questions. And Kelly and Meredith, I just thought gave exceptionally insightful and compassionate answers. I always learn a ton from these women I get to partner with in ministry, and I learned a ton from them. I always do.

In fact, y'all, there were two things that Meredith said that I just want to remind you. She said our feelings are terrible leaders. I don't want that just to get past you. Meredith said our feelings are terrible leaders, and she is correct. And then she also said pruning is the reward of growth. And I thought that was such a good point, because you might be feeling the pinch right now. And that is the reward of growth.

So, our people, come join me and my friends at a Fresh Grounded Faith conference near you. And if you can't come, then you need to get with your own people, you need to sit around the bistro, and y'all need to spill some beans, because life is better together.

K.C. Wright: It is definitely better together. Check out their books and their music. You need to hear their voices speaking into your life or --

Jennifer Rothschild: Or singing.

K.C. Wright: -- singing into your life, right?

Jennifer Rothschild: Yeah.

K.C. Wright: We will have links to Kelly's and Meredith's books and music at the show notes right now, 413podcast.com/214.

All right, we're signing off. Leave us a kind review if you have time. And remember, we love you, and we mean it. And whatever you face, however you feel, you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. I can.

Jennifer Rothschild: I can.

K.C. Wright: And you can.

Jennifer Rothschild: You sure can. All right, K.C.

K.C. Wright: Nobody ever asks me to sing.

Jennifer Rothschild: Oh, I'd ask you to sing, but I'd turn off the mic first so no one else could hear it.

K.C. Wright: When I sing, dogs howl, garage doors open by themselves.