Almost Brothers Podcast
Whats up whats up whats up.. welcome to your new favorite podcast. Join your hosts Michael, Richard, and Tyler as we discuss God, church, life, and the journey through this crazy world. Get away from the stresses of life with this podcast. We will be hitting on various topics from sports, to life with Christ.
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Almost Brothers Podcast
Church, Ketchup Packets, and Crying at Anime
The age-old parenting question takes center stage in this thought-provoking episode: Where's the line between guiding your children and forcing them into activities? Our conversation dives deep into the complex territory of parental authority, childhood development, and the delicate balance of raising independent thinkers while instilling important values.
"You force your kids to brush their teeth and go to school—so why do we question whether to require church attendance?" This powerful perspective frames our discussion about the responsibility parents have in educating children about faith and providing experiences that help them develop into well-rounded individuals. We explore the critical difference between requiring participation to explore possibilities versus demanding continued involvement in activities children genuinely dislike.
Our hosts share personal approaches to extracurricular activities, with a consensus forming around the value of trying things before deciding against them. "You need to try it, but if you don't like it, that's okay," offers one perspective that balances exposure with respect for individual preferences. The conversation naturally extends to church attendance, where we examine how church should feel like an extension of family—a place children want to be, not somewhere they're forced to go.
Perhaps the most practical takeaway emerges when discussing the importance of explaining the "why" behind parental decisions. When parents default to "because I said so" without providing context, children often create their own negative narratives. By contrast, taking time to explain reasoning builds understanding and acceptance, even when children don't fully agree with the decision.
The episode concludes with a surprisingly vulnerable discussion about emotional growth, as our male hosts share experiences of becoming more emotionally responsive with age—from crying during anime to feeling deeply moved during worship. This honest exchange highlights how maturity often brings greater emotional awareness and appreciation for life's meaningful moments.
Whether you're wrestling with decisions about your child's activities or simply interested in perspectives on balanced parenting, this episode offers thoughtful insights without easy answers. Subscribe, share, and join us twice weekly as we continue exploring life's complexities with humor and heart.
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and there it is, oh gosh and you're on what do you mean?
Speaker 1:we're on with richard hey, guess what?
Speaker 3:my phone's going off as soon as we hit record it's nathan.
Speaker 2:This is what happens.
Speaker 3:Answer and put him on should you answer and put him on? Oh, you get. Yes, absolutely, who's?
Speaker 2:that, hey. What's up, buddy?
Speaker 3:hey, not a lot man what?
Speaker 4:I was in the factory here in Jonesboro working.
Speaker 3:It's okay, we love you anyway. What's going on? Welcome to the Almost Brothers podcast. Hey man, what's going on? How's it going? How you doing? Oh, not too bad.
Speaker 2:Work, work and more work. You called while we were recording so I decided to put you on. I'm sorry. No, you're fine. You're, you're one of our.
Speaker 4:Uh, you're one of our listeners, so it's good to hear from you, man. Yeah, I've been listening to it every time I get in trouble.
Speaker 2:That's what I'm talking about and this is the guy that that had his supervisor check on him yeah, oh, yeah, yeah make sure he was not dying yeah, uh, can I give you a call back after we get done?
Speaker 3:yes, sir, you can, alright love you, buddy, and that's what we're all about here at the Almost Brothers Podcast. Liv, you said yes to that, so just you know, yeah, just making sure you, what's up, what's up, what's up, what's up, what's up, what's up, what's up, what's up, what's up, what's up everybody. Welcome back to the almost brothers. Thank you for joining us yet again With me. As always is Tata, do it Exactly, and Richie Rich, how's it going?
Speaker 2:It's good man.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and also we have a guest on today, one of the Almost Sisters, livels. How's it going, livels?
Speaker 4:It's going good. Me and Jamie are going to make our own podcast.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Y'all need to the podcast. I will help produce that. I'm down with that I can imagine you would absolutely so down with that, we have a big announcement we are going to be moving to two episodes a week. Yes, yes, yes, yeah, yeah, we're going to be moving to two episodes a week. So any of our listeners, we're going to be doing uploading a new episode every monday and every thursday, so every week, stay tuned, listen to us, smile, laugh, share, comment, subscribe all those all of that.
Speaker 3:So we are excited for that. Also working on live. We're working on cameras we got them, but we're we're working on kind of uh, getting all the kinks out of it, and we're gonna be live also. So keep an eye on, uh, the youtubes, the tubes, the tubes, the youtubes and the facebooks the book of faces tyler, what do you think about that?
Speaker 3:do it exactly? Yep, yep, that's what I'm talking about, but on today's episode we're going to be talking about should you be forcing your kids into anything? So we're going to make this right. You know about more than church, something they don't want to do, right, so rich.
Speaker 2:This is your idea, so I'm going to let you open up well, and the idea, the idea originated because, you know, as our kids get older, the idea of do I, do I make them go to church, yeah. And, but like you said, it could be anything. You know I I had a parent one time when they said that their kid's job was to play sports and get good grades.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:What if they don't want to play sports?
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So should you make your kids do something, even I mean cause it's for their own good, right, but if it's not, something that they're interested in, passionate about, and specifically church, because that's something in my house it's a rule you live in my house, you go to church yeah that's. That's the way it is, so I just wanted some feedback on what everybody else thought about that particular point.
Speaker 3:That's good. So I'm going to start with this. Where's the line? If you're somebody and I don't think forcing your kid into your religion like you, want them to make their own choice, how can they make their own choice if they're not educated? On the choice Number one? Number two where's the line at we force them to go to school, we force them to take showers. We force them to go to school, we force them to take showers, we force them to brush their teeth. So where's the line of oh, am I forcing my kid to do this? Well, you're forcing your kid to do a lot of things.
Speaker 3:So it always kills me when people, oh, you force your kid to go to the church of your choice, to wherever you go. Yeah, absolutely, because I want them to learn, to learn something. Now, whether or not they follow it is up to them, absolutely, but they need to at least learn it. You know, I had alia asked me one time she's like well, I really want to study into other religions other than ours. Is that something? That that is okay? And I said absolutely, you need to educate yourself on these things, because if you can't defend yourself on why you believe what you believe, then do you really believe it?
Speaker 2:Well, one of my favorite. I don't know what you would call him, but Cliff Nettle, is that his name?
Speaker 3:I don't know. Yeah, older guy, something like that.
Speaker 2:So I love him because he's educated in everything like the Quran and Buddha. I mean he knows every religion, so when people attack Christianity he can come back with. Well, this is why, this is why you know we're called to defend our faith.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So, but like you said, you do, you, you make your kids do all kinds of things for their best interest. Yeah, so why?
Speaker 3:not we just somehow make church optional, right like now. Forcing your kid into sports is is kind of on that edge of okay, because because not only are they having to to do the sport, but they're having to show up to practice, they're having to put forth the effort that goes into it. There's a lot that goes into that, and there's I mean outside of teamwork things like that there's not a lot of education that goes into those sports and there's not a lot of like again.
Speaker 3:You can learn leadership skills, you could learn teamwork, stuff like that from those sports, but that's not something that necessarily they're going to use the rest of their life.
Speaker 2:Well, Tyler and Liv, y'all have been fostering for a while and y'all are about to have twins. So, I'm interested in what y'all's stance is on this, and are y'all on the same page, which is a whole nother thing?
Speaker 4:OK, I guess I'm going to start.
Speaker 1:I think we are. I think we are. Yeah, okay, I guess I'm going to start. I think we are.
Speaker 4:I think we are. Yeah, so we. It's really. I've noticed it's really interesting like being married, like because we've our four year anniversary of being married is going to be coming up in like a couple of weeks.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:So we haven't been married for that long, you know, um, and it's just interesting to see like all the things that we actually like agree on without having to talk about it. Yeah, so I feel like with this, we'll be on the same page as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:But correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 1:Oh boy, this could be an interesting episode. This could take a turn.
Speaker 4:So we'll see how this goes. No, the way that I think about it with, like, I'll start with sports. So, like with sports, I think that, um, it's not gonna hurt them to try it. Yeah, because they don't know if they like it right they've never done it before. Um, so, like with our kiddo, we have now like um, we were talking about jujitsu and he was, you know, he was kind of, he was scared about getting hurt.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I understand.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's any kid like you know, and he was like oh, I don't want to, I don't want to be like hitting people, I don't want to get hit. You know things like that. I was like, I understand that, I was like, but that's not something you need to. You know, you have to worry about they're not going to do that Kind of explaining the whole thing. And Tyler showed him videos like he. He knows more about it than I do.
Speaker 4:But, um, and so we're like well, let's at least try it, and if you like it, we'll keep doing it. If you don't we're not going to make you do it. So I think that that's going to be our approach, you know, with our own kids as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:You know, like you at least need to try it Sure. But if you don't like it, that's OK. Like you're not going to get in trouble if you don't like it.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because, I know a lot of kids.
Speaker 3:They're worried that oh I'm going to get in trouble, if you know, if I don't like it like I can't have right, so yeah you know, yeah, and that's how it was in in our household, with, with, like, I'm gonna say extracurriculars, because it wasn't even just sports.
Speaker 3:We told alia you're gonna do some kind of extracurricular, right, you're gonna do band, you're gonna do choir, you're gonna do art, you're gonna do sport, you're gonna do something outside of just school because you need to be a well-rounded individual. That is just for for your own good. That's not even I want you to play a sport, because I played a sport, but that is. I want you to be well-rounded and being a whole person and not just be because you see kids now that are really good in school but they have no communication skills. Ty is live on the right page.
Speaker 1:Yeah, A little more in-depth with it.
Speaker 3:I first he starts with yeah now he wants to go in depth okay, go ahead now.
Speaker 1:I'm kind of, I'm kind of on your same page. Yeah, too, with the you need to do something. Yeah, um, because there's practical life skills, that many, many practical life skills that aren't taught in school, that you don't learn unless you're part of some kind of group activity a team, something, something like that, and and then also you know, things like that starts teaching them. Leave me alone.
Speaker 1:I didn't realize I did it, you know it now teaches them a sense of discipline, responsibility. And you know, by all means I'm not going to force my kids like, let's say, basketball, because I like basketball. They're gonna try it. If they don't like like it, I'm and I know like, because you can, you can tell if that's just it's not clicking with them, it's just not their thing, I'm not gonna force them to do it. If it's a no, they do, and they do it over time, then oh it starts to get tough.
Speaker 1:You ain't quitting, yeah you ain't quitting just because it's getting tough yeah yeah and that's what alia.
Speaker 3:So she played, uh, one year of basketball and she's six foot tall. She killed like she had 15 rebounds a game. Well, about halfway through this season she's like dad, I don't want to do this anymore. So I said you have to have a legitimate reason on why you don't want to do it anymore. She said, well, I just want to focus on my art. You know, I don't really like basketball. I want to focus on art. So at that point it's like, okay, that's a pretty good, at least you have something that you're wanting to do. So I told her you're going to finish a year. We don't quit in the middle of the season.
Speaker 3:So you're going to finish a year and then you're good to go. At least she had a reason for it. So that was always our thing. It's like you're going to do something, you're not going to school, coming home and playing video games. That's just not.
Speaker 2:So where do y'all land on church?
Speaker 1:I land on what verse? Is it Because I had it pulled up? 2 Timothy.
Speaker 2:Joshua 24. Land on what verse?
Speaker 3:is it because I had it pulled up second timothy joshua?
Speaker 1:24. Nope, that was really close. Um, yeah, I was to do it. I was on it, man, which I don't, because I'm not bible scholar. I don't know the context of it, but as for me and my house, we will follow them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, I was thinking they raise up your children in the way they should, and that too, and that, yeah, that one too, yes, that's a good one. And going along with the forcing your kid to do it if church is, to them, being almost viewed as punishment, yeah, or we have to do this because my parents said so. Like you, as a parent, need to reevaluate your, uh, your raising of that child yeah because they're seeing church as a punishment.
Speaker 1:They're seeing church as something to uh what's the word? Not to not look forward to, to dread yeah?
Speaker 4:like oh, we have to go to church, right like yeah like church, like it.
Speaker 1:it should be a thing where your child's saying when are we going to church Right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and a lot of that could be where you're going to church, yeah, and that too, yeah, it should be fun, make it.
Speaker 3:The church should do their best to make it fun, especially for kids and for youth. Like, make it fun, you want to teach them.
Speaker 1:I mean, you don't want it just to be dodgeball and pizza, but yeah, you should be trying to make it fun for them where it's not a where it's not just sitting there reading right your church, your church, your home church should be, should almost feel like your second home right, yeah it should feel like your home away from home yeah, and, and, and.
Speaker 3:they should see, I think, a lot of times where parents get into this, some kids are just stubborn, they're just going to not want to go. There's nothing you can do. But when you're different at church and at home, I think your kids see that. So they see church as something you go to and you act so it's not something where they even feel like I need to go to to get change and to get connected, because they don't see the change in you, yep.
Speaker 1:And I was going to say kind of going along with that. I've noticed that the kids that are not wanting to come to church have the parents that are we got to go to church.
Speaker 3:Not wanting to go to church Right.
Speaker 1:We need to because we're good Christians. Yep, and it is.
Speaker 3:It can get to the point if you're good Christians and it is it can get to the point if you're not careful. It can get to the point to where church becomes a hassle, like if you're there five days a week, if you're there constantly and you're not having any family time, all your family time is at church. Like it's too much, like you need to have some breaks from that. But make it a family event, make it a hey, I've got to go be at the church. Y'all come up here and hang out, y'all come and play, y'all come and like it'll be.
Speaker 3:I think church for a long time made it to where, oh my gosh, don't go, don't let the kids in the sanctuary, don't let them. Like, keep them out of there. Like it's. It's a sacred place, that's, and it's like I want children under pews playing with toys during service. I want there's nothing better than a baby noise during a sermon. It's like man, that is awesome that they are here. We want them to be here. We want this to be. It's more than a church. This is a meeting place of God's people.
Speaker 2:Well and we've talked about it before we have a lot of kids and Jennifer kind of leans people Well and that's and we've talked about it before we have a lot of kids and Jennifer kind of leans on that as well. We can't do this at the church, can't do that at the church because we have all these kids. Yeah, no, we just need to teach them to be a part of it, versus avoiding it.
Speaker 1:Right and going back to Pastor Stevens, talk about how, back in, was it the Old Testament, the church they would just meet.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they were at houses yeah.
Speaker 1:Not the church building, but the church as the people, the body of Christ. The church it shouldn't be. We're going to church, it's the church building, and blah blah is we are with family yeah we are with friends and family and it's a great time yeah it's supposed to be an extension of your home, yeah because it's not it. It shouldn't be as oh, we're going to church, oh, we're going to hang out with our church people, right?
Speaker 2:and I love it. I mean, I love everybody that we go to church with. I think it's an amazing thing to just hang out, just to just be together and fellowship and it doesn't have to be at the church and I think, and that is important too, because that, that, how do I put it?
Speaker 1:it almost doing, when you're only doing stuff at the church, it, and not just you know, on the aspect of kids, but it just it makes you feel limited and what you can do and what, what really what we're supposed to be doing, which is, you know, doing life, as, again, the church is not the building, it's us, yeah, yeah, and it's just an extension of you.
Speaker 3:You go to your individual families at home, but then you come together and it's just an extended part of that, or it should be. You know, it should feel that way. So your kids should feel that way. They should want to hang out with your friends. Kids, they should all mingle and mix and want to be around each other.
Speaker 3:And that's when you have a healthy organism, right? You know when, when, when you have something that you all belong to, you're all a part of, you're all feel connected in, it doesn't become, oh, we're stopping our family time and then we're going to church. It's, we're extending our family time with our church family, you know. So creating that type of culture where they want to be around each other. Like when me and Jamie was in youth. We had 100 youth, but we were always together, we always wanted to be together. So Wednesday night at church and a Friday night at someone's house was the same thing to us. We got to hang out with our friends. That's what we wanted. So it didn't become, oh, it's time to go to church, it was just another day, it just was at the church building.
Speaker 2:And that become oh, it's time to go to church. It was just another day, it just was at the church building, yeah, and that's, and that's something I've tried to instill in adriana, but she just, she just didn't get it like it just she was one of those stubborn people that thought she was just too cool for church. And she just she is the definition of making somebody go to church I mean as soon as the last amen is said, she's out the door yeah, you know she's. She checked the box.
Speaker 3:She did what she was supposed to do and that's the thing they get when they get to a certain age. They have to decide that for themselves. Right, like, you can go to church, but are you a part of it? You know, and if you're not up, if you're not connected, if you're not chasing after god, you're gonna feel like I'm not a part of it. You're gonna feel like, oh, this is a hassle, so it the the blame shifts after a certain age onto them. The responsibility shifts from the parent dragging them to church. Now you, I still have a rule if you're in my house, you're going to church. Right, regardless. Because even if you're not connected to god the way you should be, you can still take a lot of these principles and apply it to your life.
Speaker 3:You know, there's a lot of people that they don't believe in Jesus, but they believe in his teaching because it's just good principles to live by, whether or not you follow him or not. Now that's a whole nother conversation, but you know, uh, it's. It needs to be something to where you're going. Whether you live here or not, you're going, you need to go. It's structure, it's principle, it's all these different things that you need to be learning, regardless of if you follow Jesus or not. You need to learn leadership and how you do it, because you use that in your job, you use that in your workplace, you use that in your everyday life. You need to learn communication. You need to learn how to hey, how's it going, how's your day going? You need to learn how to talk to people.
Speaker 4:You learn all that from church, church is a huge area where people can learn things they can use in the rest of their life. I feel like whenever it comes to like you were saying a minute ago, where the blame shifts over onto the kids themselves, because that happens at different ages, no two kids are the same you know and because they each understand things differently at different times sure so, um, it's not like a overall, like oh, by the time you're 12 or 13, you need to. You know, do that no?
Speaker 3:and it always drives me crazy like parents that let their kids decide what they want to do.
Speaker 3:They're children yeah like none of us. There isn't a human on the planet. You got teenage prodigy prodigies. They still don't fully have a developed brain. Like they're not equipped to make those decisions it always well, I'm gonna let my kid decide for themselves. Yeah, you don't let them decide what to wear to school. You don't let them decide anything else for their self, but somehow, when it comes to church, I'm gonna let them decide what they want to do.
Speaker 2:It's like what are we doing? I let my kid become the stinky kid in school, right, because yeah and, and that's a perfect big daddy.
Speaker 3:That is a perfect example of if you just let your kid. Hey, what do you want to eat today? 30 packets of ketchup, because that's what a kid would decide they want to do right you know what? Do you want your name to be frankenstein, because that's what a kid would do.
Speaker 1:You know, like we can't allow them to make these choices because they're they're not able to make these choices, right, it's the parents responsibility again to raise them up, and the way they're supposed to, but to build them up to the point where, when they are at that stage in life, they are able to make those sound decisions.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:They are able to think things through. Yeah, they're able to weigh pros and cons, they're able to do these things on their own and and yeah, really I feel like the answer to the question should you specifically with church? Should you force your kids to go to church? I'm going to raise my children up in the way I believe they need to be raised up so they will be in church, but I will raise them up in a way to where they want to be in church.
Speaker 3:And they know the why. I think that's where the parents miss out a lot helping them understand why we do this, not just because dad says so we do right yeah, we go to church.
Speaker 3:because we go to church, like, help them, explain to them why, and then they will get, it'll click to them. Oh, here's why I go. And again, some kids are just going to be especially teenagers because they know everything about the world. But for most kids, that is the big gap where they're not understanding the why. Why do we do this? Because I said so. That's not a good answer. That is coming from parents that don't want to explain themselves because either they're too selfish to explain themselves or they don't have a good answer to the why we don't do this. Why? Because I said so.
Speaker 3:And it's like you don't really have an answer, do you? Exactly? You know, it's like it always killed me with mom, and I even do this with our kids to the detriment, because Jamie gets mad at me, like when I was a teenager and it was summertime. I'm like, hey, can I go spend the night at so-and-so's house? No. And I'm like, do we have something going on? Well, no, all my chores are done, like everything. Like what do I? Well, no. And it's like, why not? So I get to this point where, hey, can I spend the night that y'all? Yeah, absolutely come on and jamie's like really another kid at the house and I'm like, yeah, but why not?
Speaker 2:right, do we have something going on? Well, no, did we plan something? No, so then why not, like, especially at a certain age? You don't like. They're not babies, right? You don't take care of them, right?
Speaker 3:it's like they're just up playing they may get loud, tell them be quiet. That's it right. But it's like I never understood that as a teenager. Because I'm like, why? And it was never an answer. You know, it was never a. Here's the explanation for and even well, I don't want to have kids, I want you to be at home tonight, I don't want to have to worry about Like even that. You can understand and go. Oh, okay, I get it.
Speaker 2:I just want to hang out with our family, right, yeah, right.
Speaker 3:But it was never that. It was always cause I said so. It was never asked why. It was never explained. It was because I said so and I get it. It was it. That was a different generation. That's just how parents were back then, because that's how their parents were painstakingly. Tell my kids the why. Okay, here's why we don't want someone over tonight. We've had someone over every night. We want to just hang out with y'all. We want y'all to be here.
Speaker 2:We give a list of why so that they may not agree with it, but they can understand it Well, and sometimes I do that, but if I'm busy or maybe it's wrong, whatever, sometimes I don't want to explain. Yeah, 50 reasons why. Because we have kids that will ask why about? Yeah, yeah, yeah and amen.
Speaker 1:That's that's where. That's where we were last night, because we had a conversation with inman last night, because he's had a issue with when we tell him to do something or not to do something. He wants to kind of talk back and be like oh well, I was just doing like, and so we're kind of like like brother man.
Speaker 1:Brother man I was like brother man, listen, we're the adults, we know better. We need you to trust that we do so when we tell you to do something or, more importantly, not to do something, we don't. We're not being mean, but we don't care why, you're doing it, we're telling you not to, because one, if we're telling you not to do something, it's not safe or whatever it is yeah we're not going to tell you to do something. Not do something that we wouldn't do ourselves or we think isn't good for you.
Speaker 3:It is your job at this point to be obedient to us and even, and even that, not going into detail with the thing, you're still giving them a why, you're still expecting. So, even with you, when you say, well, there's times I don't have time to expect, that's still a why, that's still a, this is why I'm not taking time to break it down. So you're still giving them that. Parents, that just stop at, just don't ask questions, don't even you, just do it because I said so. Because what happens as a kid, as a teenager, as a small child, you begin to make up the why in your own head. So then it becomes a resentment Well, I'm going to church, I'm going to this, I'm doing this, and then they make up their own a resentment. Well, I'm going to church, I'm going to this, I'm doing this, and then they make up their own reason why. Well, they're making me play sports because they weren't good at sports.
Speaker 1:So now they want me because you're not giving them the explanation, and all these, all these things all these things translate, and not only translate but multiply in a way, when they're adults, because they're in that sense, you're now building up a resentment towards any source of authority. Yeah, now they're a trouble employee. Um say they're in the military, they're a disgruntled soldier yeah or insubordinate, whatever it is.
Speaker 1:That's one thing we always explain to inman when we have these conversations. These like it's not just a youth thing. As an 11 year old, we go through the same stuff as adults. Yeah, it's just we have more responsibilities and the consequences are a little bigger.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. Well it's. It comes from a place of experience. You know, the more years you live, in theory some people don't mature. But you know, with maturity comes comes knowledge. You know you don't jump off of high things because you'll break something.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:I broke something because I jumped off a high thing. I'm telling you to keep you from doing that Right.
Speaker 3:Don't put your hand on a hot stove.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 4:And those. Those are things that we've even talked about, like because, like we'll tell him like hey, you don't need to do this.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And he'll continue to do it.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And we'll tell him maybe two more times After that if he gets hurt, he gets hurt.
Speaker 3:Yeah, right, like Yep. Now you've learned the hard way.
Speaker 4:Yeah, obviously, if it's something that's going to put stop and not say anything. We're going to be like hey, if you don't stop, there's going to be major consequences because you could get seriously hurt.
Speaker 1:I've been told before. I said dude, you've got to listen to us. And the first time too, I told them I was like I'm at a point where if you don't listen and you do something, that will probably hurt you a little bit, I'm going to let it hurt you and then you're going to come crying to me. I'm not going to feel bad for you.
Speaker 2:My kids are bad to run up on stray dogs and I've told them.
Speaker 4:And I've told them.
Speaker 2:And I've told them, and I've told them Just because our dogs are friendly does not mean all dogs are friendly.
Speaker 1:You're going to run up on the one, don't get it.
Speaker 3:That's another episode, so we're going to move into a segment. We're going to start a new segment. We listen and we don't judge. Oh boy, so I want to go. Michael's been on TikTok for too long, do you know?
Speaker 2:why we're doing this segment? Because Mike has something on his mind that he does not want our judgment about.
Speaker 1:That's why Is there a waiver that we have to sign to adhere to the rules, because I didn't sign nothing.
Speaker 3:I want to go around because I feel like I share stuff with y'all.
Speaker 2:I told you and a couple things happen.
Speaker 3:One, y'all judge me because it's what y'all do, because it's fun, and two, it ends up being my thing that I share, and then y'all just laugh and don't share anything about y'all. So now everybody's just laughing at me.
Speaker 2:But the good news is it becomes future podcast material.
Speaker 3:Exactly, but still.
Speaker 1:So we're going to go around the room. We don't share nothing, because then that ends up in your service.
Speaker 2:That's a true story.
Speaker 3:I mean, that's true too.
Speaker 2:We're going to start with me.
Speaker 3:We're going to start with me.
Speaker 1:We're gonna start with rich, like what do, like listen, we don't like share and don't.
Speaker 2:What are we?
Speaker 3:we listen, what are we sharing, so you're sharing something embarrassing about yourself that you'd like to share with the? Uh, why would I do? That because we're not judging. That sounds counterintuitive. It doesn't because you're getting it off of your chest, it's not really.
Speaker 1:It's not a, it's not a burden that I'm just trying to to keep packed away.
Speaker 3:Maybe it should just be me then, I guess we listen and we judge.
Speaker 2:Maybe you should start yeah, we weren't prepared for this.
Speaker 3:We were not well, I mean, neither was I, you know. I'm just saying I feel like that's off the cuff.
Speaker 1:I feel like that, that football player from that one movie. I feel blindsided.
Speaker 3:Blindside.
Speaker 1:Wow so.
Speaker 4:Mute his mic.
Speaker 3:I need to, so I found myself lately.
Speaker 4:I feel like there needs to be a music.
Speaker 3:I haven't even started started.
Speaker 1:He's already judging it feels like we're about to have the most serious conversation, but it's completely gonna be the opposite.
Speaker 3:So I found myself lately okay at home okay, okay, lately at home he can't do it.
Speaker 2:He can't do it.
Speaker 3:Okay, okay, go Lately at home he can't do it, he can't do it, being more emotional than I should be. So I was sitting. I started a new, a new anime Gosh dang it.
Speaker 1:I thought, I started.
Speaker 3:Go ahead, go ahead. So I started a new anime this week and it was first episode and I found myself just like Torn apart In my heart For the so.
Speaker 2:So I'm crying with you.
Speaker 3:I'm trying real hard I am, I really am seriously, I really this is something that I feel like you actually are disturbed by this, uh I want to share this with y'all. I'm, I'm, I need to get this off my chest, okay? So, like I was saying, and there was this scene, it was his brother and he was saving his sister and he was carrying her through the snow and I sat there in the middle of the day on a Monday sun's out, birds are chirping and I'm like just crying, sobbing because of the anime and I don't know if it's because of the anime or because I'm getting older.
Speaker 3:Jamie told me I'm getting more sentimental as I get older, but it seems like a song, a podcast, a commercial. You ever cried at a commercial?
Speaker 2:yeah, hallmark just like well, and I I will. I'm gonna go right off of what you were saying. So I'm also experiencing the same thing. As the older I get, I am more emotional, for real, though.
Speaker 3:Wait, whoa, whoa, dang Whoa.
Speaker 1:He said you're emotional for the worst reasons.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 4:Darn Darn diddy dern dern.
Speaker 2:So I've been exercising, I've been on the exercise bike. So while I was exercising the other day I don't know where it came from, I have no idea I was listening to Praise and Worship music while I was on the bike and I don't know Like I was praying for something specific as I was exercising and I didn't realize that that would become such amazing god time on this exercise bike.
Speaker 2:But whatever god's where we need him to be right he's on the elliptical it's not an elliptical, but yes so, as I'm listening to praise and worship music my specific prayer it felt like it was answered through the music, like the two songs in a row spoke about what I was, so I just broke on the exercise bike. I'm crying praising, and it was. But it's like what you said the older I get which I don't even know if it's the older I get, I think it's more that I'm growing closer to God.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I think it's just the realization of how blessed you are.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:I think that's a big thing with it. It's just you look at, your priorities, change on what's important to you, so more things make you emotional because you're just happy to be alive and you're happy to be blessed and and you know things like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but that was, that was that was that was yeah.
Speaker 3:Do you feel good? Do you feel like you have to hide that from your wife because you look like a little wussy?
Speaker 2:I and I guess, because I'm older, I don't hide my emotions.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I've, I've come, I just you ever get you ever got busted, just just crying like are you crying right now? Like no, I got something in both my eyes no, I say absolutely, I'm crying.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that guy just died I was I was I dude. I cried on hell divers like multiple places on hell divers audiobooks. There's lots of time, but no, don't hide from your emotion and we as men have to do better about supporting each other in our emotional state versus saying you're a wuss, rub some dirt on it, crap. That Tyler would say.
Speaker 3:Yeah, just judgy.
Speaker 2:Judgy.
Speaker 3:Liv what do?
Speaker 1:you got Skip me.
Speaker 4:I mean I'm just emotional. So yeah Well, you're pregnant, that just comes with it.
Speaker 1:No, it only enhanced. It only enhanced. She's been, she's. She cried.
Speaker 3:Oh, just wait till them babies come out. They wreck you every little thing, like now zeke's got a mustache. I'll literally sit and watch this kid eat and just my heart's just melting, yeah yeah, I did that this morning.
Speaker 2:I was just sitting there, it was dark, zane was sitting in the chair beside me and I just looked over. I was like dude, I love you yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:But yeah, I'm so scared to ask tyler it's not gonna go well what hey, we're doing a podcast if you want to jump in here. Here's something else I'm going to share before Tyler goes. We listen and we don't judge. Okay, there are times on this podcast where I want to dropkick Tyler right in the shin. Right in the shin when he's telling a story and it takes 512 years to get to the point. Then he gets to the point and it's like there's no point to that story.
Speaker 1:okay, go ahead carry on, carry on. I don't, I don't know if I have anything, of course.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he's a, he's a, just still still trap.
Speaker 1:I mean like like we're supposed to share something like like embarrassing or something like I don't really hide things that are embarrassing, I don't think okay I'm a pretty open book.
Speaker 3:I think you do tyler, you do, you hide things that are embarrassing. I remember one day I said tyler, I've never noticed your thumb, uh-oh, look, look at his face now, that's sensitive he don't, he don't want to talk about that he's not that sensitive that's how I yeah, now you know how I feel sharing, and you're over here laughing at me.
Speaker 2:It's completely different about an anime that he feels emotional about dude completely different.
Speaker 1:If I could change it, I wouldn't if I could change me being emotional. I would Bull crap You're embracing it.
Speaker 2:All up in it.
Speaker 1:I don't know. I don't know, I'm like I have one for him.
Speaker 4:Yes, oh, you're not.
Speaker 1:You're. What happens in the marriage stays in the marriage.
Speaker 2:It's now podcast official, apparently.
Speaker 4:No, I don't. I guess it was mikey that got you started on it. You have an insane addiction oh, I like it.
Speaker 3:I like this is going okay to dude wipes bro, that's not embarrassing, but they're just a fact.
Speaker 1:We're life-changing, ain't they?
Speaker 3:I have a, I bought a pack from office at the church yeah, yeah, because the bathroom's it's not embarrassing. That's just a fact. Life-changing, ain't they?
Speaker 1:I bought a pack from the office at the church? Yeah, because the bathroom's right around the corner.
Speaker 4:We should have talked about addiction today.
Speaker 1:That's what we should have. Yeah, it's not an addiction. It's a lifestyle choice. It is.
Speaker 3:It is absolutely man. It is life-changing. Richard, we listen and we don't judge. Why are you looking over here with those judgy?
Speaker 2:eyes, we're talking.
Speaker 1:I was looking at you, oh we need to be judging him right, right what did I do? Not use dude wipes not not sponsored. Not sponsored, however unless, unless there's a representative listening. I 100 I agree with.
Speaker 2:I don't use them, but I agree with the thought process behind them so good yeah makes your booty clean I don't know, makes me feel a little weird. Maybe I'm just not used to them, but a couple times I've used them they just kind of feel weird. So yeah, I don't know how we got here.
Speaker 1:Thanks.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, I love my dude wipes.
Speaker 2:Almost Brothers that dude wipe together, stay together. Hey, listeners, we just want to thank you for your continued support for the Almost Brothers podcast. Do us a favor and go to your favorite platform and rate us and like us and share with everyone that you know. Thank you so much, love you.
