What It Was Like Competing in a MrBeast Challenge

In this episode, JB shares the full story of competing in a Mr. Beast survival challenge. She shares some stories from blindfolded bus rides and freezing nights to surviving 17 days on little food and constant pressure. 

We talk about what the experience was really like behind the scenes, how journaling and Scripture helped her stay grounded, and why stepping away from phones and distractions brought unexpected clarity. JB also reflects on friendships formed during the challenge, respectful conversations with people who see the world differently, and the moment she had to decide whether staying longer was worth it.

Tune in to hear all about JB's recent adventure!

Mr. Beast YouTube Video

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Transcript

Welcome And The Big Reveal

SPEAKER_05 0:00

Alright, this is an episode. Before we get into this, let me let me set this up. This episode that a lot of people have been waiting for, a lot of people have been asking about. I'm real excited to do it. I've been wanting to do this episode now for about three months, knowing that we were going to sit down and do it. And uh after talking with JB beforehand, I'm even more excited now. And uh so we're gonna talk about JB's recent adventure, which by now a lot of people are aware of what it was. JB went on a reality show, she went on Mr. Beast and was um took part in in one of the challenges on the Mr. Beast uh YouTube channel. And which, if you're not familiar, the night we watched it, Sunday night we did a watch party and we all watched it together. And at that point, it had been on it had been up for a little over 24 hours and had 44 million views. So it's like very watched, and um it was a cool platform um for JB, cool opportunity. And so we're just gonna get into what the experience was like, some things she learned and uh the details of it. It's gonna be uh I think probably a little bit different than uh uh the normal episode that we do. It's gonna be I'm just excited about it. I'm excited to hear from her and excited for y'all to hear about the adventure. And uh I will say we had a hoot the other night. We had a watch party, had JB get up and sort of narrate it, pause, uh, talk through different scenes. It was so fun. It was about 50 people at my house. And um, so I'm excited for y'all to hear about this. So, welcome to this week's episode of No Sanity Required.

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Welcome to No Sanity Required from the Ministry of Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters, a podcast about the Bible, culture, and stories from around the globe.

Applying For MrBeast By Accident

SPEAKER_01 1:55

All right, everyone, the secret's out. I can finally talk about it. I was on a Mr. Reese video and it was crazy. It was awesome. So I want to start. I feel like a lot of questions that I get is people being like, How did you even get yourself in this predicament? So it all happened in the media office. I applied, and like another guy, Andrew, was like, I'm gonna apply. Josiah was like, I'm gonna apply. Andrew like found the Instagram account. It's like Mr. Beast Casting or something. And I was like, okay, I'll apply. I think I'm I'm the only one that actually applied. And I did not take it seriously at all. Like, you have to submit a video. I took it right there, sitting in the media office. Right there. Yeah. Didn't put any thought into it.

SPEAKER_05 2:39

On your phone?

SPEAKER_01 2:40

On my laptop. On your laptop. Pulled up the like camera on my laptop. And it was me and Josiah Sneed, my intern, and we were being so dumb. Like, hey, Mr. Beast, let me come on your video. Like, so sarcastic and so dumb because I thought there's no way. No way. There's no way I'm gonna get actually casted for a Mr. Beast video. And then I submit all the stuff you have to put in, like your hobbies, your interests. So I put in like, I like to play pickleball. I'm a whitewater raff guide, like just random stuff. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 3:10

Which comes into play.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Yes. It does.

SPEAKER_05 3:12

They ended up costing you a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

A lot of it. And so then, like, I'm not even kidding you. Two hours later, work had ended. I'd gone home. I get a text on my phone that says, Hey, this is so and so from Mr. Beast casting. We'd love to schedule a Zoom call with you. And I immediately thought, okay, this is a scam. Somehow I enter entered my phone number. It's a scam account. So I texted back, is this a scam? Because I was like, what is happening? And she said, No, this is real. Like, I work for Mr. Beast, sent me like some like LLC, like, I don't know, something official. And I was like, oh, okay, this is happening. And so I immediately text my boss Austin. And if a lot of our viewers know Austin, he is reality TV Mr. Beast fanatic.

SPEAKER_03 4:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

And so I knew Austin was gonna freak out. So I'm like, Austin, like this might be for real. He starts freaking out. He's giving me all these tips, like, you gotta like really beef up your personality or like do this or that or the other. And so I get on this Zoom call and I start to notice that they're asking me a lot about like outdoorsy stuff. And I kept being like, I mean, yeah, I like to play pickleball. Like, yeah, I like to be outside. But I said, and I quote, but it's not like I'm going outside and like starting fires and like living off the land. I literally said that in my interview. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 4:32

But you had said you were a What Water.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

And I work like it asked where you work, Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters. So she was asking me about Snowbird. I was like, yeah, we have like high adventure rec. You know, I'm like telling her all through that. I'm like, I train a lot of the recs. I like work all summer, I work year round, like all this stuff. And so she's like, we'll be in touch. I'm like, okay, great. Then push comes to shove, and they're sending me plane tickets to Raleigh, all this stuff. So I'm like, oh crap, like this is actually happening. It was the whole thing was like a pinch me moment. I was like, this is not real.

SPEAKER_05 5:06

It happened quick.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

Quick, quick. Because I I was trying to keep it kind of on the low because I didn't want to be like, oh my gosh, I'm going on a Mr. Beast video, and then it actually doesn't happen. And so I talked to Brody like a couple days before I left. I was like, hey, totally understandable. I know this is last minute. If you say no, but like, can I be gone for I don't know, two weeks?

SPEAKER_04 5:26

Indefinite.

Travel Secrets And The Blindfold Bus

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Yeah. And Brody was like, yeah, sure. So grateful, grateful for my team, for Brody, for Austin, for Josiah, Carter, all the guys, Chris, that really picked up a lot of my slack when I was gone. So shout out to them. But basically, they fly me out to Raleigh, and it's like crazy. All they said, I got like a total of three emails. All they said was you're in a Mr. Beast challenge. They said pack for a cold long trip. That's all they said. So I didn't know. I went to Walmart the night before I flew out and was like throwing stuff in the car. Yeah. Mind you, it's February. So all their winter stuff is like going out of season. They're bringing in all their spring stuff. So I had like three XL sweatpants that I was like, okay, this will have to do. Like, I don't know. That's all they had. Anyways, up until this point, I had no idea what the challenge was. No idea. I was told I could take one carry-on, and that's what I had. And I'm just in for the ride. So we stayed at this hotel. We're like put up in like really nice hotels. They give us really nice food. I immediately meet all these people that are staying in the same hotel. And we all start to put the pieces together, like, oh, we're all here for a Mr. Beast video. Now I'm starting to pick up on everyone here is like way more outdoorsy than I am. They're like through hiking the AT. Their livelihood is like living in a van and visiting national parks, or like they've backpacked all throughout Europe, or like they're a survivalist. And then it's me, like a podcast editor and producer. Like, uh, okay. So I'm already starting to feel like a little bit like, uh, what am I supposed to be here?

SPEAKER_05 7:06

One dude legitimately homesteads, lives off the land, bushcraft, survival.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

He would call himself a primitive survivalist. Like, can make traps, can like forage off the land, and then it's me. Um, but it's not that I'm like super unoutdoorsy, but I'm also not like that's their thing.

SPEAKER_05 7:29

Yeah. That's what they're doing in the afternoons on their day off. That's their job. Most of them don't work a single job.

SPEAKER_01 7:36

No, yeah. So fast forward, we are taken on a bus. We're blindfolded on a bus. And we're taken, we're driven like two hours, and then they finally tell us for two hours you got blindfolded. No, we're blindfolded just like the last probably 30 minutes.

SPEAKER_04 7:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

And um, they're like, no peeking. I was telling them during the watch party. I was like, it was almost like frat hazing, but also they don't want to get sued. So they were like, no peeking, like keep walking. Does anyone need water? Like, everyone good? All right, keep moving, keep moving. But it was such a weird experience. And so we're like put in lines off the bus. We're all mic'd up, and then we're still blindfolded at this point, and then we're walked in a line like this. So I've someone I'm holding onto their shoulders, so shoulders, and then someone's holding on to my shoulders, struggling with that word. And then we're just walked for probably about like a mile. I don't know, all blind all blindfolded. Mind you, they said pack for a cold long trip. So all of us are bundled up puffer jackets, hoodies, leggings, like, and then they start passing stuff out to us, and they're like, put this on. Mind you, I can't see anything. And so we put this on. I'm dripping with sweat because we're outside. It's kind of hot outside, and I'm wearing a ton of layers because I'm thinking we're going to Alaska or something. I don't know.

SPEAKER_05 8:59

That literally was the buzz down here. Somehow it became, I think they're going to Alaska. To Alaska. Like Austin Scott was sold. You were going to Alaska.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

I didn't know what to expect. Because if you guys are familiar with Mr. Beast videos, they're so different. Like some of them are like uh trapped in a house with your ex-boyfriend, or some of them are last to leave a circle, or some of them are like they're just so different.

SPEAKER_04 9:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

So, and he's also insane. So I didn't know what he was gonna pull out of his butt crack. Like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_05 9:30

And so And there's they literally do do episodes all over the world. All over the world.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Yes, like crazy. And so eventually we're walked, we're walked, we're walked, and then we they say pause, and then I just start hearing yelling.

unknown 9:47

Woo!

Plane Crash Set And Team Twist

SPEAKER_01 9:48

And so I'm like, am I allowed to take my blindfold off? I rip my blindfold off. I turn to my side. There's 50 other people wearing red jackets. You're wearing blue. I'm wearing blue, they're wearing red. I'm like, what is going on? There's a Boeing 747 crashed on the floor. Sorry, it's pouring down rain. We're underneath like a tin roof, so it's kind of loud. So loud. Apologies if you can hear it or notice it. But there's a whole plane crash, like simulation. Our luggage, like my carry-on suitcase, is like thrown around. There's stuff everywhere. And at this point, I still don't know what the challenge is.

SPEAKER_05 10:24

Like, and you you came in on this bus and in the walk with all these people wearing blue. Yep. And you're just now realizing there's a whole other group of people all wearing reds you didn't you've never seen before. I've never seen it. You were in the same hotel and we're on the bus.

SPEAKER_01 10:40

No idea. Okay. And so then my brain is just going a mile a minute. I'm like, what is this? What is this gonna be? I'm thinking it's like gonna be like Hunger Games. So I'm like scouting the area. I'm like, I gotta get out of here quick. Like these survivalists are gonna kill me, like quick. And so I still have no idea what's going on. There's cameras literally everywhere. There's drones literally everywhere, like so many crew, like there's just like a sea of people, like filming drones, lights. It's crazy. All of a sudden, Mr. Beast comes on out of nowhere. And then he's like, Okay, blue team, red team, get together. And that's when he announces I have here with me 100 people, 50 survivalists, and 50 normal people.

SPEAKER_05 11:23

And you are a survivalist.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

My jaw is on the floor. I'm literally looking around, like, what? Like, I'm a survivalist. So at this point, I'm like, what is going on? Like, I'm dead. Like, I'm going to lose. And so essentially, you guys need to go watch the video, but essentially, it's the survivalists are given nothing. We were given literally one sack of beans and one sack of rice and a pan, a single, singular pan in one water filter. And then the other team, the red team, were sponsored by Bus Pro. So they got tent sleeping bags.

SPEAKER_05 11:58

Each got a$300 shopping spree.

SPEAKER_01 12:00

It was like$200, something like that.

SPEAKER_05 12:02

We found out watching the video that when they arrived while you were at the hotel, they had taken them on a shopping spree where they each got to store credits so they could buy sleeping bags, gear, tents, food, water, and we literally got nothing.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

Only the stuff that we brought.

SPEAKER_05 12:18

Okay. So then the idea is normal people against survivalists. Normal people get Bass Pro good uh goods or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

And then the blue team gets nothing. The survivalists get nothing. Exactly. And so after that, we're marched to our camp. We're staying at different camps. The red team gets to stay where the plane is. So they also get the plane for shelter. Yeah. And we are marched.

SPEAKER_05 12:42

Which was huge. Huge when it causes what it's doing right here right now, pouring. They just go in the plane.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

And we're marched to another camp, and it has nothing except for the box of money, like the 250,000 that's like up for the winners. And that's it. That's all we have on that camp. And so chaos ensues immediately. People are like, what are we doing? Like, there's so many strong personalities. So everyone's like, we need to do this, or like, we need to build this shelter, or we need to do that. It's literally insane. But things start to settle down after the first couple days.

SPEAKER_05 13:18

And what was your first night like?

SPEAKER_01 13:20

Oh my gosh. The first night we're out. We get there probably around like 3 p.m. So after all the filming and all that stuff, the sun is setting. So we don't really have time to like make a shelter.

SPEAKER_05 13:31

Yeah, because it's getting dark at 5:30, six six o'clock.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

Yeah. And um, so we just slept out. There was like a big open field of like tilled dirt. It looked like recently tilled. It was looked soft, softer than like the cold, hard ground. So we're like, okay, we'll just sleep here. So I have my jacket. Let me grab it.

SPEAKER_05 13:52

Yeah, let's do that.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

Here's my jacket.

SPEAKER_05 13:54

I mean, it's just a little thin windbreaker.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Thin windbreaker.

SPEAKER_05 13:58

Yeah. Nothing. Piece of vinyl.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

So I would just lay on this. You can see it's like really nasty. But I would try to like pile up leaves and put it on top of this to have like some sort of insulation. It didn't help at all. I would wake up literally shivering. It was so cold. Um, we had multiple nights where it had dropped below freezing, like 19 degrees, 23 degrees, and we're just sleeping on the floor. 19 degrees. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 14:30

They give you a windbreaker.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

A windbreaker. And so I would just sleep on this. Uh, it's hard to see. Like, we didn't ever know what time it was or like anything like that. So it's hard to know like how much slept sleep I got that first night. But I would literally doze off to sleep. We made a fire and we were all kind of like sleeping, cowboy camping, like around the fire. And I would wake up, it felt like every five minutes, but I'm sure it was a little bit longer than that, like maybe 20 or 30 minutes. I would wake up being so cold. Mind you, I'm wearing every article of clothing I brought. So I'm wearing like long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt, hoodie hoodie jacket, pants, pants, leggings, like sweatpants. Like I'm layering up. And one thing that I will get into, I brought my journal that I had out there with me. The things you don't realize that you miss a blanket. Like it's so weird going to sleep with nothing on top of you, especially in the cold. Like I miss that comfort of like having something on top of you, and you just had like nothing. But I would wake up in the middle of the night and there would be bugs like all over me, like spiders crawling all over me. So every single night I would go to sleep with my hoodie and I have like my buff. I have like all my buffs and bandanas that they gave us. But I would go to sleep with my buff, one buff around my neck to keep my neck warm, and then one buff like over my mouth so bugs wouldn't get in there. And then I would tie my hoodie like so tight, and all that would be showing was like my eyes. Because I was so scared a spider was gonna like crawl into my mouth or something. But there were so many wolf spiders, and luckily they're kind of nice though. They didn't bite. Yeah, they're harmless.

SPEAKER_05 16:09

But it was so are you scared of spiders? Yeah.

Cold Nights And Tiny Meals

SPEAKER_01 16:12

If anyone knows me, like my roommate Allison, anytime there's any bug, I'm like, Allison, get it. Not after this, though. I've killed my fair share of spiders after this, but it was definitely mental, like getting over okay, it's just a spider, it's not gonna kill you. But, anyways, yeah, spiders, colds, like it was pretty intense, and like we had nothing. And luckily, my friend Maggie Joe, like one of my closest friends that I've made out there, she brought a sleeping bag for herself, and genius.

SPEAKER_05 16:45

So you didn't bring a sleeping bag. She did she know to bring one?

SPEAKER_01 16:50

No, none of us knew. She just rolled the dice and packed like a camping pack, like sleeping bag, so it's tiny.

SPEAKER_03 16:56

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

But luckily, she would like share that with me. And like, she was so kind, she was so generous with her stuff. She would share that with me. And um, so that got me through a little bit of the nights, like, definitely better than just like the cold hard ground. But for the most nights, it was literally cold hard ground. Um, eventually, like we got our little shelter set up, and that's just like sticks and leaves piled on top of it. But they held up honestly fairly well. We had hail storms, like monsoons, like it is right now. Like I said, below freezing temperatures, like, but then during the day, it would get really hot. And so you'd wake up every morning freezing, go, we'd have breakfast, and breakfast was like this much rice and beans or like whatever.

SPEAKER_05 17:47

Literally, like one bite of rice, one bottle beans.

SPEAKER_01 17:49

And I would just chew it for like a really long time to like make my trick my brain. No salt, nothing. And uh sometimes like you'll see in the video, he introduced like apples and a few other like potatoes and carrots. And so it was a treat if we like put one of those like in our little mush because it added some flavor, you know? And so um, yeah, we would just wake up every morning, go sit around the fire, someone would make breakfast, and then pretty much the whole day we were sitting around doing nothing, like just all at the camp. So the first couple days, like we were helping people build forts, we were building our own little shelters, like we were getting into a good root routine, but then third day in, everything's built.

SPEAKER_04 18:33

There's 50 of y'all.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

There's 50, but pretty soon people dropped.

SPEAKER_04 18:38

Papping out or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

Yeah, the the point of the challenge was there's 250 dollars, like the prize pause 250, yeah, 250,000. Not just 250, 250,000. And it's it's a weird dynamic because the more people that drop, the more money you would get. Because you're splitting the money, you're splitting the money between everyone.

SPEAKER_05 19:01

There's two teams.

SPEAKER_01 19:02

Yep, the winning team gets the money, the winning team, but whichever team has the most when the challenge ends wins. So let's say like so many people drop from the blue team, we don't win anything. Because so many people dropped, the red team wins, but it's like a weird dynamic because you don't want people to drop because you don't want to lose the challenge, but you almost do want people to drop because your prize pool gets bigger. So each person that drops, that's more money for you.

SPEAKER_05 19:29

So if you if when the game ends, there's 10 of y'all and nine of them, nine on the red team, y'all would win and each would get$25,000.

Friendship And Gospel Conversations

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Exactly. And so um it's just a weird dynamic. It's very weird. It's also very weird putting a bunch of grown adults. I was the one of the youngest girls. There's another girl that was younger than me, but only by a year. I think she was 22. I'm 23. So that was kind of weird. I was expecting to be like in the mid-range, but I was like one of the youngest people there. Everyone else is a grown adult. So it's like weird being put in a situation with 50 other grown adults that all have different beliefs, different lifestyles, different jobs, like everything is different. And then all of a sudden, you're put in the same spot and have to like live and survive. Yeah. And so that was a crazy concept.

SPEAKER_04 20:22

That was crazy.

SPEAKER_01 20:23

A lot of the people that I met were so awesome, like super, super cool. It was super interesting because, like I said, my really good friend MJ, that like she was truly my closest friend. Like, we stuck by each other's side the whole time. But it was really interesting because she lived a very different lifestyle than me. She was lesbian, she is lesbian, and so it was just interesting. A lot of our listeners will know a little bit of my story and like my family's story. I have a sister that years ago was also living uh in an LGBTQ lifestyle. And so it was very interesting. Like, we had really, really cool conversations that I'm really grateful for. Like, MJ is one of the kindest, funniest people ever and has like great morals. And that's something that we talked about a lot is like she has great morals, and uh basically we would have like pretty cool gospel conversations, and we would just kind of get stuck in this cycle of like she believes in like the morals of Christianity and like all the good things about like the community and like having good morals and being kind and all this stuff, but she just kept getting hung up of like I I'm gay, and like clearly like God does not respect me or want me because of that. So we had really cool conversations of that of just like, hey, sin is sin, like it's not your specific sin. It's not like oh, MJ is gay. Like, I hate MJ because of that. Like, God cannot be in the presence of sin, like he hates me for my sin, but that's like the whole point of why Jesus came and like was sent to bear like our sins and Our shame and take that. And it now it's just up to us to like live in submission to that. And so we had really cool conversations, and MJ is really cool. And like none of neither of us got like defensive or like mad at the other or screaming at the other. Like we both listened to the other side respectfully. And like she listened to me, I listened to her, and just had like really cool conversations. And I think that was super eye-opening to me because you just see on Instagram or listen to people's podcasts or like whatever. And people are just constantly yelling at each other. Yeah. And everything is a debate and everything is it's my way or the highway, or everything is like you're wrong, you're hateful, you're a bigot, like whatever it is, and vice versa, like you're you're psycho, you're mentally ill for believing this. And it's just so hard because that's what you see. And then whether you realize it or not, that's what you start to expect. Like, even if I don't um what's the word? Consciously admit it. If I go to a coffee shop and see someone with a septum piercing and green hair, I immediately almost go into like, oh, there's gonna be an issue if I say God bless or something. Yeah. And it's like that's not always the case, you know?

SPEAKER_05 23:09

Say yes, ma'am, or yes, yeah, exactly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

And like, not to say yes, those people do exist where they are just super angry and stuff, but I think it was really, really eye-opening to be in a situation situation with 50 people that believed different things. And it's also a bit odd because it's like I'm used to camp. Like, I'm not I'm not unfamiliar to talking with strangers. So that's like a big part of our ministry here at campus. Kids, youth pastors come in and they're strangers to us, and we meet them and talk with them and build relationships. But it was one, odd that they weren't here for like a Christian thing, you know. And two, it was a bit odd that they were all grown. So, like a high schooler, it's like they are still forming a lot of their opinions. They're still in a very like malleable state. Yes, they're very influenced by things, but an adult, it's like not to say they can't be influenced, but they're what they believe is what they believe. Some of these people have been there was a 66-year-old out there, you know what I mean? So it's like what he believes is so set in stone, and he's lived on that, and like whatever. And so that was definitely a bit different too. And like, I think in some ways, like maybe shifted my approach in some ways. And I think with camp, when kids come here, they're coming to hear the gospel, you know. So it's the door's already kind of open, but for this, it's like the door's shut. And it's like they're they're content with the way that they live. And it's worked for them for so many years. And so it's like kind of difficult. It's like, how do I get my foot in the door, you know, to like open up the gospel? I think one way that was super helpful for me is I shared my testimony a lot, or like I would say something like make a joke, or like say, Oh yeah, like I used to do this, and someone would be like, Oh, you don't seem like that anymore. And I would be like, Yeah, it's because like I really started taking my faith seriously. Or a lot of people out there, now who am I to say that someone's not a true believer, but a lot of people would say, Oh yeah, like they would mention God in the same breath that they would be cussing someone out, you know? And so, not to say that they're not believers, but I think true, authentic, fruit-bearing Christians, like I think that was, I think people saw a difference in me. And like someone even asked me, this guy that was he was on the younger side. We were sitting by the fire one time, and he's like, Hey, what's the difference between like Catholicism and Christianity? He's like, I'm just curious. Like, a lot of my friends are Catholic and I'm a Christian, but I'm just confused, like, what's purgatory? Like, just had questions like that, and it's like I obviously couldn't answer him to the best, like I answered him to the best of my ability, to the best of my knowledge, but I think it's still I think just the way I carried myself, not even in a prideful way, but me actively choosing not to cuss, or me actively choosing to not gossip about someone that's really getting on my nerves, or like I think it really grew me in that way. Just there's a lot on the line. Like, I think it kind of encouraged me, even living in a Christian community. There's sometimes where I take the back seat where it's like, oh, we're all Christians. It's fine if I like gossip about this person or like vent to this person, we're all Christians. But it's like, no, the scripture's clear that you need to treat your brothers and sisters in Christ with like the utmost love and respect because the world is watching and the world is looking. And if we're rude and gossiping about each other, then that what's appealing to the world, to like the lost people, you know? And so I think that grew me a lot. Like if someone was getting on my nerves or being really annoying, like I would just go for a walk and pray for them and just pray for patience, pray that I would hold my tongue. Because if you guys know me, I can mouth off sometimes. Like I'm not the most like patient person. And so it grew me a lot in those areas of like just being patient and truly like trying to represent Christ, even if I'm not standing on a pulpit preaching or like whatever, having a Bible study or whatever, but just in my little actions.

SPEAKER_05 27:17

Because you're literally, I mean, all day the first week or so, all day, every day, you're just all hanging out. It's just like a waiting game.

SPEAKER_03 27:27

Yep.

SPEAKER_05 27:27

Eat your little hand half handful of rice and beans and see who can stay out here the longest. That's literally the name of the game.

Bible Time And Survival Journaling

SPEAKER_01 27:33

It's crazy. And so luckily, I had my Bible. Praise the Lord, I had my Bible.

SPEAKER_05 27:39

So we weren't sure. We had prayed on this episode. I had said, Hey, pray for JB. You know, she may not have scriptures, she's gonna have to call to memory. So, when did you find that out?

SPEAKER_01 27:49

So basically it was a bit weird. We could pack a carry-on, and we were told from the beginning that that carry-on was going with us on the challenge. And we could pack one personal bag, and we were told that that personal bag would not be going with us on the challenge. So they gave us like a couple seconds to be like, take anything you need out of your personal bag and put it in the carry-on. Whatever doesn't fit, you can't take, like, switch around what you need to switch around. And then they also said, like, we're gonna be going through your bags and taking. So I'm honestly surprised they didn't take MJ's sleeping bag. But like, yeah, if we packed, like they took some people's food or like um those like hiker meals, you know, that it's like just add water. Some people would pack those. They took those out. And so I just thought, okay, my Bible isn't technically like a survival thing. I'm just gonna pack it and hopefully they don't take it out. So I switched it from my personal bag into my suitcase and my journal and one pen, two pens, and just was hoping, like, okay, hopefully it stays in there. And then when we got our luggage back at our camp, I opened it and it was there. So praise the Lord they didn't take it. Um I'm genuinely so grateful because I definitely don't think I would have made it as long as I did without it. Because during the day, like the middle of the day, it's hot, there's nothing to do. You would try to sleep the day away, but it's like it's not comfortable, you know, like you're just still sleeping on like hard ground. At least it's warm. So that was a little bit comforting. But for the most part, I would try to nap and then I would read my Bible and journal and document the days. So I would be like, This person left today, or like this drama happened, or just like pray like Lord, sustain me, give me strength. Like, I have my journal. Hold on, it's right here. It's like this little thing. So I used up pretty much all the pages. Oh man, and would just be small, yeah, just journal. Here's the list of like everyone that got out up until the point that I got out. And so it's like I tried to document it to my memory. Yeah, RIP Blue Beasts is what we called ourselves. And I would just journal at one point. I wrote down every food that I was craving. Yeah, hold on, let me try to find it. Some of the pages are like falling out. Uh, let's see.

SPEAKER_05 30:10

This is gold that you've got this.

SPEAKER_01 30:12

Oh, this is funny. Okay, so if you watch the video, the first person that left, her name was Ambreen, and it was funny. She was from up north, and so she kept being like, Oh my gosh, I miss my dog so much. But she was so funny. She was a hoot.

SPEAKER_05 30:26

How long did she make it?

SPEAKER_01 30:27

One night. One night left after that night.

SPEAKER_05 30:29

Did she just say, I'm not doing this?

SPEAKER_01 30:31

Pretty much. What in the world?

SPEAKER_05 30:33

Like, what was she thinking?

SPEAKER_01 30:35

I don't know. I think she had some other reasons, like just stuff at home. I think once people figured out this is a challenge, I think a lot of people were like, Yeah. But luckily, Amberen left me a pack of her electrolytes. She like opened her suitcase and she was like, Can I give you guys anything before I leave? That probably wasn't allowed, but she gave me electrolytes. So this was like my motivation. And so I would write myself like day four reward, clean socks. And then I would write myself some encouragement. Like, you're killing it. I'm genuinely so proud of you. Fight, rely on the Lord for strength. You can do it. And once I made it to day four, I would like color in the star and give myself the reward. Wow. And so it's like little stuff like that because it's mental. It's like truly a mental game to keep going. Um, day eight reward, half electrolytes, and a full body wipe. Wow.

SPEAKER_05 31:28

So y'all had you had like wet wipes?

SPEAKER_01 31:30

So we had um a hygienic station, two porta potties, and it was just like a little sink. It wasn't even a sink, just a little bit of water would trickle out, and we had baby wipes, but it was like a far walk away from our camp because it couldn't be in camera sight. And so anytime you had to go to the bathroom or anything like that, you would have to walk all the way over there, do your business, and then come back. And so I would try to like taper it and like like this use it as a reward because it you have such low energy because you're not eating a lot of food. And so that walk would truly just like drain you. And so, yeah, they they gave us a few like feminine wipes and wet wipes, and then like some feminine care stuff, and then the porta potties.

SPEAKER_05 32:15

So you're like day eight, I'm gonna walk to that porta potty, take a some wet wipes and take a full body wipe, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:21

Because we had no like running water, we had no, there was like a river, but production was very strict, like you can't get in it at all. Like no part of your body can get in it.

SPEAKER_05 32:30

Okay, pause. When you we won't, I don't want to jump ahead, but when you finally because you went way past eight days, when you finally got out of there, how long did you take a hot shower?

SPEAKER_01 32:41

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_05 32:41

I took two. How long did you stand in the shower?

SPEAKER_01 32:44

I they when you like flare out or whatever, they immediately get you in a car, drive you to a hotel. I will say, kudos to the beast team. Like, there were some things that were a little bit rocky, but they really take care of their people. Like really nice hotels, felt safe, like super safe the whole time. Like, um, and so they put you up in a nice hotel.

SPEAKER_05 33:03

And so you smelled awful at this point.

SPEAKER_01 33:06

Hadn't showered in I think like 18 days or something. Like, water had not touched my body in 18 days. And so, like I said, you can wipe down your body and your face, but like your hair is like I took a selfie when I first got my phone back. I took a selfie and you can see, I'll try to insert it in this. There's a bug in my hair, and I had no idea. But in the selfie, you can see like a leaf or a bug or something, like right here in my hair. But I got in the shower and like literally just stood there, brown water. It's just like going into the drain. And I like did my full like shampoo conditioner, scrub my body, and then just did the whole thing again. Like, did shampoo conditioner scrub my body. And then I think I went to dinner that night at the hotel, ate, ordered some insomnia cookie.

SPEAKER_05 33:52

So you're by yourself. You go down to the like at the restaurant at the hotel, and it's on your tab or whatever. Yep. What'd you get to eat?

SPEAKER_01 34:01

A hamburger and fries. I craved a burger so bad. Yeah. And um, and then I think after dinner I went back up and showered again because it was like, it just felt so good sleeping in a bed. It was almost, I'm not gonna lie, the first night in the hotel, I had a hard time sleeping because you're just so hard to like, it was almost too comfortable. You know what I mean? Like, but didn't stop me. As soon as my eyes were shut, I was out. But yeah, keep going on like 12 day or day 12 reward, full electrolytes.

SPEAKER_05 34:30

And then how many packs did you have? Two.

SPEAKER_01 34:33

So I did half electrolytes and then on day 15, another half electrolytes, but day 12 full one.

SPEAKER_05 34:40

And that was did that feel like when you drunk that you could feel it.

SPEAKER_01 34:43

I would I would have to stop myself from chugging it because like all you're having is lukewarm water, sometimes hot water, because it's just sitting in this water filter. The sun is beaming at it. In the water filter, we only had like one or two, and it would go so slow, and you would just have to sit there and let it like drip into your water.

SPEAKER_05 35:01

It was a saw, do you remember? Is it like black with blue?

SPEAKER_01 35:03

It was all blue. I think it was called life water.

SPEAKER_05 35:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 35:07

And um, but yeah, I I would just reward myself another pair of clean socks. Woo-hoo.

SPEAKER_05 35:13

So you would save this pair of clean socks and you put them on day 12.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

Yep. And I would just save it and give myself these rewards. Finish strong, make mom and dad proud, make Swoe proud. Yeah. That's like my little encouragement on there. But it was definitely like mentally hard. And the day that I finally left, I wrote everyone that was still there a note. So here's like everyone that was left. And I wrote them little notes. So I just like tore out pages of this and just told them like things that I appreciated of them and like just grateful for them, stuff like that. This is me and Maggie Joe. We would play tic-tac-toe and hangman and stuff. And just to like pass the day, or like, yeah, I'm trying to find that one page where oh, here it is. Things I want when I get out big juicy burger, fries, milkshake, all one meal. Jenny's ice cream, it's like an Atlanta ice cream.

SPEAKER_05 36:08

Did they have milk?

SPEAKER_01 36:09

Sorry. You're gonna have milkshake at the no, they didn't, but you ordered cookies. I ordered, so they gave us like uh credit for Uber Eats also at the hotel and gave us meal vouchers, like they really treated us well. And I think I ordered like$80 worth of insomnia cookie and ate it like milk ice cream cookies. I ate it and then threw it immediately back up, but it was so worth it. It was so good. Um, and then my friend Maggie Joe was telling me, now, like reading this now, I'm like, ew, that sounds nasty. But I swear to you, in the challenge, I'm like, that sounds so good. Like, I would do anything. She was telling me, you need to put olive oil on vanilla ice cream. She said it tastes really good. And so I was like, I need to try this. So I wrote that down, but I haven't tried it yet because now when I have all the ice cream flavors, I'm like, ew, that doesn't sound good.

SPEAKER_04 36:56

I'll try it tonight.

SPEAKER_01 36:57

But out there, I'm like, that sounds so good.

SPEAKER_04 37:00

Like I would do that. Olive oil on vanilla ice cream.

SPEAKER_01 37:02

Yep. I said, I want good pizza and ranch. I want a soda, I want a big Caesar salad with chicken and a cider fries and a large dite coke. I want an asebo. I really want in and out burger. I don't know why I wanted that.

SPEAKER_04 37:17

Huh.

SPEAKER_01 37:17

I said a steak would go crazy, salt and pepper on everything, chocolate, ice cold water, a long shower, a comfy mattress, coffee in all caps.

SPEAKER_05 37:26

Oh man.

SPEAKER_01 37:27

And then I said toast with butter, honey, and salt on it. And then chocolate chip cookies. That's one day thing.

SPEAKER_05 37:33

Yeah. Every day you gotta be just like, uh, I need some coffee.

SPEAKER_01 37:38

Yes. I just like would journal this and literally go back and read this and be like, oh, that sounds so good. But yeah, I would just journal every day and some of my pages have like fallen out, which is kind of sad. But at the end, like the day I got home, not even home, I was still in the hotel. I wrote some takeaways because it was a really, really cool experience. And although it wasn't like a Christian experience per se, or like a Christian camp or whatever, I still learned a ton.

SPEAKER_05 38:08

Did you stay out there 18 days?

Why JB Leaves Before The End

SPEAKER_01 38:10

I stayed out there, I think seven, a total of 17, but I was gone for I think around like 19 days with like the travel and stuff like that. Um but here are some takeaways that I want to go through. And I think that's like the meat of this episode.

SPEAKER_05 38:26

Before you go to this, um, you came out on after 17 days, and you were there were 50 people on your team. When you came out, there was still 20 left.

SPEAKER_01 38:38

There was, I think 22.

SPEAKER_05 38:39

And you explained, you made a I was curious why you came out when you did. Not like I was bummed that you came out, but why didn't you come out day seven? Why did why day 17? Why did you not stay longer or come out sooner? You had a reason. It wasn't I couldn't do it anymore. Yeah. You could have kept going.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 38:59

There was a reasoning process.

SPEAKER_01 39:01

I don't know how like in detail I can get about it, but essentially there was um at the end of the day, it's a reality TV show. So with any reality TV, even the way they edited the video portrayed things that how they actually weren't. So it's reality TV. Some things are a little bit, you know, manipulative or grimy or whatever, just to get the outcome that they want. It's just like the name of the game, you know? And so there was some um, I don't even want to say miscommunication, but just some things that happen out of my control. Originally, we were supposed to be out there for I think 14 days. And then production comes, makes us sign new contracts, and those new contracts said that the challenge could go on indefinitely. So at that point, it was kind of like a kick in the stomach. Like I'd already gone those 14 days.

SPEAKER_05 39:50

Because you're thinking, okay, at the on day 14, I'm getting ready. Whichever team has the most wins, and we split the money and go home.

SPEAKER_01 39:57

Yeah. And so day 14 comes and goes comes and goes, and nothing happens. Like, and so it was a little bit of a kick in the stomach. And at that point, it was like, okay, indefinitely, like, indefinitely. I got a job. And even like, I know that Brody and Austin would have loved, like, they wouldn't have cared that much if I'd stayed, you know. But just in your brain, you don't have your phone, you can't contact anyone, you can't text your parents, like, hey, I'm okay, or I can't text Brody and say, is it okay if I stay an extra week? Like, you just don't know. And um, and so I just spent, I think, three days like really pondering like, should I stay? Should I go? And it got down to the point where it was obvious that I think production wanted numbers to get low to make a good video, good TV. And so I knew I I wasn't willing to. There were some people that were like, I lost my job, I'm staying. Like, I have to stay.

SPEAKER_05 40:54

They had stayed so long, they had lost their job.

SPEAKER_01 40:55

They had already lost their job. And so I was like, Well, I didn't lose my job. And like, I can't stay until May, you know? Um, it happened, it was a perfect storm. Like the window that they asked me to be gone for this video was the perfect window because it was wasn't too far away from summer, but it was in a pocket where it's like we didn't really have much going on, no retreats or anything. But it got to the point where it's like, is it worth me staying and missing all of these retreats and like prep for summer? That because I just kept going back to at the end of the day, like, I'm gonna go back to this life. This Mr. Beast, in a way, is like made up, never land, you know, fairy land, you know. And so it's like, yeah, I could stay here and prove a point and like win this money, but am I going back to a good spot? Am I gonna come back May 16th when summer's already started and be really stressed out and you know, and lose all this time? Also, I got engaged like two days before I left, I'm pretty sure. And so just a lot of things were floating around in my head of like, is it worth it for me to stay in this video for a chance to win? Who knows if we're actually gonna win? Miss like two months of my life of summer planning, of retreats, of time with my fiance, of like all this stuff. And so it was a really hard decision for me to make because obviously I proved I could do it. Like mentally and physically, I'd lasted over two weeks. I was like, I know I can do this. I know I can like, I've been through a hail storm, freezing temperatures, like I've been through it all. Um, but then it was just kind of like like in between a rock and a hard place. Cause you know, it's like I want to prove that I can finish it. I don't like quitting stuff. But at the end of the day, I don't want to, I wanna be in a good spot coming into summer. I want to be in a good spot coming in to respond. Like there's just responsibilities that I think I value more here at Snowbird or like in my actual life than saying I want a Mr. Beast video, even though that would be so cool to sit here and say, I want a Mr. Beast video, you know. And I'm super proud of those who did, and I'm not bashing on those who did. Like I envy their commitment and their willingness to stick it out. Um, but I think that's what it really boiled down to.

SPEAKER_05 43:12

10 or 11 made it to the end.

SPEAKER_01 43:14

11. 11. So spoiler, my team won. Let's go, blue team. It was 11 people had stayed, and then on the red team, nine people had stayed.

SPEAKER_05 43:22

And the you were telling me that game show winnings, the IRS takes half.

SPEAKER_01 43:27

Yeah, so I'm not I think it goes by state, but I'm pretty sure most states um for game show winnings taxes are 50%. So if I went, if I won$10,000, I would I would only technically win five thousand.

SPEAKER_05 43:40

We're gonna bring home five red. Yeah. And you would have missed literally the one those of us that work on the inside of SWO, there's not a more enjoyable, exciting time of the year than a like March, April, May.

SPEAKER_03 43:54

Yep.

SPEAKER_05 43:55

We're ramping up every once we finish our retreat season, all we have in the That window is our Be Strong Men's event and our Respond Women's Conference. And we're we're we're ramping up towards summer. There's so much that goes into preparing for staff orientation weekend. Um, it's it's a it's an exciting time. And so uh yeah, I get it. You don't want to, I mean, you love your job, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:21

You're good at it, and you're and it's also like I think, and I would try to explain this to some of my co co co-workers, not co-workers, cast members, I guess, the people I was out there with. And I think they had a hard time kind of understanding it. And once again, I'm not bashing anyone, but it's almost like if I had just worked in nine to five, yeah, yeah, I don't care. Like, take my pay time off, my PTO, I don't care. But it's like at Snowbird, especially my summer responsibilities, I will be teaching the girls on Wednesday. I'm teaching for the element girls, and so that takes a lot of like time and effort and like just time in the word and time like prepping those things. And so I think for me, that just meant more like getting here and being able to be in a good spot to where I can confidently speak and teach the word of God and not think, oh, I should have done this more, or like I should have had time to prep this more, you know. And that might be like a lame excuse, but to me, it means like a lot. Like I just wanted to be in a really good spot for the responsibilities that Snowbird has entrusted me with, and more than that, that the Lord has blessed me with. And I like I'd never thought of it until I'm saying it right now. But on my last day, this page might have fallen out. They're kind of mixed up, but I was praying through, should I leave? And I just kept saying over and over, Lord, am I squandering this opportunity? Like you have blessed me with this opportunity. I don't want to squander it. And now I'm just like, as I'm speaking this, it's like, well, yeah, the Lord has also blessed me with this opportunity to speak every Wednesday to girls that come to Snowbird and to speak to the element girls every week going through First Peter and to encourage other staff. And it's like, well, Lord, I don't want to squander that opportunity either, you know? And so I think that's another thing that I think the Lord really impressed in my heart is like he has blessed me so much. And I just want to like don't squander those things and like live that to the fullest and do what he's called me to do. And I'm not saying, oh, the Lord called me to lead the Mr. Beast challenge, but I also think like the Lord has given me so many great opportunities at Snowbird that I don't want to squander for like selfish gain. And I'm not saying it's selfish to like stay in the Mr. Beast video, but I just think that's where I fell.

SPEAKER_05 46:38

You know, that's where I Yeah, I think I would I would say you have a higher calling and a higher purpose, and you and it you know what that higher calling and higher purpose is, where uh and and other people that left the show, even if they're not Christians, oh yeah, they left for the same. There's people that you told me left a guy, he's got something here, a family or a a kid on the way. Yeah, that's a higher thing. That's a that's a greater purpose. And so this at you know, when it's all said and done, this was a game that if you won was going to give you a little bit of money in the big picture of your life, a very little bit of money. Um cool experience. Really cool experience. You already checked that box, yep, yep. You you checked it, and I will say uh not only are we all really proud of you, we're like, it was fun for us. Like, yeah, not just well, we're proud of JB, but also because we are everybody's very proud, but it's like this is so cool. It was just a lot of fun. You kind of brought us along on the journey, you know. And yeah, um, which was evident at the watch party. You know, so many people there and cheering you on.

Digital Detox And Key Takeaways

SPEAKER_01 47:49

Yeah. I want to bring up these takeaways, but also first. This is the pottery that I made when I was out there. If you guys watch the video, there's a really cool guy, Seth, on our team, who's like actually a primitive survivalist, like knows what herbs you can eat, knows how to make a squirrel trap. Like, really cool guy. And so this is what I would eat out of, if that kind of tells you the type of like portions I was getting. But now I use that as like a little jewelry tray. But we just made it out of clay that we found out there, shaped it, so cool, fired it in like our campfire, but really cool little souvenir. And then I made a little figurine for Blake, it's really like botched, but it's like a little heart with a smiley face on it. But it's so cool, it probably looks like a piece of poop, but still really cool.

SPEAKER_04 48:37

He probably loves it now. That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 48:39

Yeah, super awesome. But I want to go through my takeaways.

SPEAKER_04 48:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:44

So, like I said earlier, you don't have your phone out there. And so, like I said, all during the afternoon, I would just read and journal and pray. And my biggest takeaway is like my phone distracts me of so much and robs me of so much. I didn't realize like what a dependence or like addiction, honestly, I had to my phone until you get out of that and you're like, this feels so good. Even though I'm doing nothing during these days, I feel so much more productive and aware and awake. And I'm reading so much more with my body. Like, I'm just sitting down and reading my Bible, and there's no even option to be like, oh, let's see what this commentary says, or let's see what this podcaster says, or let's let me play some worship music in the background. Cause like I do that all the time. I'll be like, well, my quiet time has to look like this, or like I have to play music, or like I just feed myself these lies that ultimately distract me so much. And like this challenge was really cool because I just literally sat there and read my Bible. And that was the most fulfilling I've felt reading my Bible in months, you know? And it's just like, I think your phone just distracts you. And I know this like is kind of going off on a tangent, but I was thinking, I was like, man, I want to encourage youth pastors, don't let your kids bring phones to Snowbird. I know that's like kind of a touchy subject. I know parents want to reach out to them, but truly, like, even though your kids might hate you at first, I think they'll really say thank you in the long run. Our youth pastor, when we came to Snowbird, always took our devices and I looked forward to it. So I'm not telling you what to do, but I'm also like, it's awesome. It's an awesome opportunity to just disconnect. Anyways. Um, another thing, another takeaway is I can do hard things, like pushing myself physically and mentally. Like, I, if you told me beforehand, hey, you're gonna stay over two weeks in the woods with nothing, I would be like, I can't do that. Like, I fully would be like, no, there's no way I can do that. Um, but it was really cool to just see like your body, like on not even a spiritual level, but like your body, like push yourself in a workout, push yourself on a run. Like your body can do really cool things. And I think we just limit ourselves a lot. And it was really cool to just see, like, like I said, all these adults that a lot of them weren't believers, but they were really cool people and did really, really cool stuff. And that just encouraged me, like, push yourself, do cool things, like mentally, physically. And then also, like through this, it's like every single prayer, I'm relying on the Lord. I'm asking the Lord for strength. I'm asking him to rely on for me to rely on him. And also, like while I was out there, I read through pretty much all of Matthew. And it was really cool because right when I got out there, like the first I think two days we fasted. And I was reading the part in Matthew where Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. I was like, the timing cannot be more perfect for this. But it was like really cool, not even to be corny, but it's like it was really, really cool. And I felt it in a different way. It's like, okay, Jesus was human, like he was flesh, a human being, fully God, fully man. And like he felt the same hunger pains I'm feeling, and he relied on his heavenly father to like get him through that. And so I know that sounds like super corny and like over-spiritual, but truly, like it was really, really cool for me to like read those words and experience that and just like push myself to rely on the Lord and then like push myself physically, push myself mentally. Um, so I just want to encourage you guys to try to do that. Um, and then this kind of like flows into the next one, just like do things, like live life to the fullest. Like I said, I met really cool people out there that were just cool. Like one girl lives full time on a sailboat, and like just like they're just really cool people, and I learned a lot from them. It was cool because it was like I was one of the youngest people out there. So, in some ways, I was like soaking up some of their wisdom. And then I think on the flip, sometimes I felt like one of the more mature ones out there. I think I attribute a lot of that to my faith and like morals and beliefs. But it was just cool to like kind of soak up things, like ask questions and be bold and go camping more and go swimming and just like do fun stuff and adventure and stuff like that. Um, the next one, I kind of mentioned this about like the phone, but the word of God is my daily bread, and that's truly all I need. Like I mentioned before, I can get into like ruts of like, well, I need to listen to this podcast before I read scripture, or like, let me play some like soft worship music before I read, or like just like I said, kind of just get in this over-consumption mind of like, I need this, this, and this before I can read my Bible. And it's like, no, this truly was so good. It was like while as we're talking about fasting, like when you fast, it almost like cleanses your body out. And even though we were hungry and like had no food, I felt good, you know, because like I wasn't pumping my body with like um what's the word? Like super, like all the dyes and the colors and like all the crappy food that we can. Yes, preservatives, yeah. And so, like that cleanse, even though I was hungry and tired, I felt good. And it's like the same thing with like my time in the word. It was almost like a cleanse. Like, I didn't have the chance or the opportunity to pump my mind with stuff that isn't the word of God. And so I think that was really, really good and definitely like shifted and shaped the way I study. Like I just was reading out there. Like, yes, commentaries are great and like have helped me understand scripture, but it also was so good to just like eat the word of God every single day, just like feast on it. And I I wish sometimes I wish I could go back because that's all I had. Like, I didn't have entertainment other than that, or like anything other than that.

Journaling Scripture Without Study Tools

SPEAKER_05 54:23

So I would just read for hours, and it was can I'd like to elaborate on that a little bit. For I think that there's a tendency. Remember a couple weeks ago, we did an episode where we read people's questions, and one of them was about journaling. I think somebody asked, do y'all journal? What's that look like? We talked a little bit about that. And I'd like to comment on what you were just describing. I feel like people are the way you were describing that if if someone would have asked you, can you go live in the woods for 17 days with nothing? you'd have said, I can't do that. People take that same mindset, and if you say to them, can you read the Bible each day for 17 days with no devotional app, no study tools, just the scripture and a notebook and a pen, can you just spend half an hour a day or an hour a day in the scripture each morning? I think that overwhelms people. But if they could understand, just like again, something that you said about fasting, you said you're hungry and you're not eating, but you felt good. And I think if people would take the word of God, open it, just let the word of God speak to you. Take your time, don't have your phone accessible. Get up in the morning, put your phone away from you, out of arm's reach, in the other room, whatever. Um, spend time in the word and write something that I do in my journal is I literally write my own commentary. Now, here's something that's fascinating. I'm preparing to teach at Red Oak Church Sunday. So I spoke this past Sunday and I'm speaking this coming Sunday. I got to do two weeks in a row because the two texts kind of go together. It needed to be like a part one, part two. And so the the message I'm doing this Sunday, I wrote out, not a sermon outline, but uh wrote out a verse-by-verse commentary on the chapter. It's a short chapter, 12 verses, and I wrote out a commentary. I wrote that three weeks ago. Haven't looked at that. Took it out this morning or yesterday morning, read through it, and I'm like, oh, this literally is explaining what this text is.

unknown 56:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 57:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 57:02

Two, three weeks ago on a morning, and I don't even remember this now. And now I'm looking at it and it's encouraging. And when you journal and write down the things the Lord's teaching you, you can literally go back and look through that, and the Lord will refresh your mind and renew your mind. And I, man, I wish I would love for our listeners, those who are Christians, who are believers, who are who are following the Lord, to just say, you know what, I'm gonna read the scripture. I'm gonna put all distractions aside. Yep. Don't do a six-minute devotional. If you got to put the word, the letters A L on the end of devotional. Yep. You know what I mean? Like I'm not throwing off because I read one to my kids every morning. I read a little devotional lesson to my kids every morning.

SPEAKER_01 57:49

But nothing beats nothing beats the word of God.

SPEAKER_05 57:53

And you can read it and understand it even if you think you can't.

SPEAKER_01 57:56

Yeah. And I think what you said is a really good point. Like, write your own commentary. And that's that sentence almost gives me like a heart attack. I'm like, I can't do that. But I think a big excuse, I don't know if excuse is the right word, but I guess hesitation, I've heard a lot in like younger girls, younger people my age, is like, well, I don't want to get something wrong. I don't want to get something wrong. And I think that's coming from a a pure part of your heart of like, yeah, you don't want to misinterpret scripture. But I think if you're reading the word of God and you're just journaling what you you feel he's teaching you or he's illuminated in your mind, you're not gonna randomly be like, abortion is good. Like, you know what I mean? Like if you're just reading and only getting your takeaways from scripture, you're not gonna be far off. You know what I mean? It's okay if you don't get a the specific name of a specific theology term or whatever. That's okay. But the point is just writing it down and working it through in your brain. Like you think of how the brain works and how it learns, it's like repetition and writing it down and relearning it. It's like this the same goes for scripture, you know. Like you can't just read one devotional or do a six-minute read and close up your Bible and say, Well, that's it, you know. But it's like once you're expositing it for yourself and reading it for yourself and just like journaling through it, like that's when it really starts to shape and change and mold the way you think in your life and renew your mind and it and stuff.

SPEAKER_05 59:25

But even, yeah, I appreciate you saying that about you might not know a theological term, especially as it's known in a certain school of thought. You know, I was thinking about literally, I was thinking about this. I was on my mountain bike, uh, did a long ride this weekend, long for me. And not long for Micah Mustin, who I had on we had on the show.

SPEAKER_01 59:49

I think about him often, like 300 miles races.

SPEAKER_05 59:53

So I did a short mountain bike ride this past weekend, but I was on my bike for a couple of hours, and one of the things I love about that, I heard somebody say, You're a weirdo because I don't play music when I ride. I don't put in, I don't go out and take my phone and play, I go, you know, kind of what you're talking about.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:10

Like uh I want to be, I I want to hear trees and birds and squirrels and my own self just breathing to make it up a hill, you know. But you get alone in your thoughts about an hour into that. You know, if you go on a long run or a car ride or you sit on a lawnmower or you go for a mountain bike ride, um, about an hour into it, you realize, man, I am deep in just thought.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:31

Thought.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:32

Yeah. That's a good place to go. And I was thinking about Laley, and I was thinking, you know, I was very intentional with Kilby, Laley, and Tuck not to raise them, and now with Jujum, with certain like like terminology associated with theological schools of thought. So I didn't teach them like I don't know that Laley would know what the word Calvinism means. Definitely not coming out of high school, she wouldn't have. I don't know that she would have known certain um you know doctrines as they're associated with a person. Um but I know this she there's a love for the word that I want to cultivate in my kids. And a word for, I mean, a love for God's word and for time with the Lord. And and I believe that if that if that is cultivated in your heart, what you're describing, JB, is when you're reading the scripture and you're writing things down, what you just described is God will confirm and solidify doctrinal truth in your heart. But there's a danger when we just look, when I look up on my shelf and I say, what does Grudom say about this? Or what does Boyce say about this? Let me see. That's where I go first. I think a lot of times I lose the beauty of God communicating directly to me by his Holy Spirit. He illuminates the word by spirit. And there's a uh there's there is uh Alistair Begg is a person that I've enjoyed listening to him preach and teach. And he has and I've talked about it on here before. I've talked it I talked about it on here actually fairly recently. But there's this process where he prepares a sermon where he talks about um writing himself empty and reading himself full. He's talking about the scripture.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:32

Yep.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:32

You know, I want to I want to read the text and saturate my brain and it, and then I want to write myself empty where I got nothing else to say or think, or you know, and then you start to add study helps as he's preparing to teach. And I man, if if every day you can take the time you've got and write yourself empty and and read yourself full, and then he says, pray yourself hot. Pray and spend time with the Lord until there's a burning desire in you for the Lord and for holiness and for his word. There's a lot of power and strength in that. That's what you're describing. That's you literally that's what you experienced out there.

Community Outside The Christian Bubble

SPEAKER_01 1:03:09

Yeah, truly. And that's like like I've read my Bible consistently for a couple of years now, but I it's like I've never felt like that before, you know, where it's like just pure, like no distractions. And it's like, even now, I crave that. And it's like, I still try to put my phone in a different room, but it's still, it's just different, you know? And so I think what you're saying too, I'm really I very recently have been very interested in how the brain works and like just kind of looking at different decades and different times and different people and how they lived and how whatever. And what you're saying, it's like the brain was created to problem solve. The brain was created to that's how we got to where we are right now, you know. Like you think about cavemen and like the Mayan ruins and like all the Mayan people and the Aztecs, it's like they made calendars and problem solved. And so I think that's something I also like really want to push myself because even it's like I know all these things, and as I'm reading them, it's like, dang, I remember feeling like super excited and hot and like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna go home and do this, and how quickly I've fallen back into habits, you know, because everything is so easy and accessible and your phone's right there and whatever. And so I think it's like really cool to like forcing your brain to problem solve, even if it's just scripture. And I know it's like weird terminal terminology, but force your brain to not know something. And that's another thing. Like out there, I would be like, hmm, I wonder if this happened. Let me Google it. Oh, wait, I can't, you know, it's like just let your brain run, problem solve. And it's like so healthy, and like truly, that's the best I felt, even though I'm sleeping on the on the cold hard ground and not eating not eating, but like mentally, I felt a little bit groggy, you know, but like mentally I felt very good, you know? And like I said, I was pushing myself, I was problem solving, I was, you know, fighting for my purity and holiness with like my speech and with my thoughts of others. And like it was just a very challenging challenge, but it was so good. Um, a couple of like the last two things kind of go hand in hand with some of these other ones, but keep things simple, like just in general. Like my time in the word, like we just talked about, just keep it simple. There is a time for commentaries and there is a time for podcasts, but that's like I think to me, I think okay, the main course of the meal is scripture. And then a dessert is a commentary, you know, like a bread appetizer might be a devotional or something, you know. But it's like the main core of the meal or the main core of your study should be the Bible, not oh, let me use the Bible as a reference for this commentary. It's like, no, like you got it backwards, you know. But just keep things simple food, like makeup, phone, everything. Like I it's like I said, it's so weird how you you can trick your brain. brain to think, oh, I need this, I need this, I need this. And then until you have nothing and you're like, wait, no, this is nice. Like I'm not stressed about, oh my gosh, I got to get up early to put my makeup on or like, oh my gosh, I got to get this new app on my phone or like whatever it is. It's even now reading this, it's like, man, I've already fallen back into some of those old habits of thinking like, I need, I need, I need, I need, instead of just being simple and living like a simple life. And it's so good. Like, like I said, I had a really good time out there with nothing, you know? Um, and then the last one, which I think I kind of already touched on, but I think it's still really important to talk about is appreciate like-minded community, but also appreciate humans. Unbelievers are not villains, they're just lost. So it's kind of like a loaded statement. But the first one, appreciate like-minded community. I don't think I realized how blessed I was working at Snowbird and working with a hundred or so believers that are all on the same mission. And it's like I remember getting in such a tizzy if like Chris didn't like the t-shirt color that I suggested or like something random like that. I just use Chris as an example. That didn't actually happen. But you know what I mean? Like just getting so like annoyed or frustrated or being like, I can't believe they didn't agree with me or whatever. And it's like, no, I miss that like minded community so much when you're not in that, you know? And like I didn't realize how comfortable and like blessed I was. And it like I said, I think pushed me to honor that and treat that with more respect and like treat my brothers and sisters with more respect. Try to curb gossiping or think like even my thought life of like she's so annoying or like whatever. It's like no nip that in the bud like you don't know how like what a blessing it is, you know, to live and work in this community. And then also that second part like appreciate humans. Like I said, I think it's twofold because I love working here and I love working in this snowbird community. But also at times if you if you let it it can insulate you know if you let it you'll just stay here or like not physically but just mentally stay in this bubble of like well everyone's a believer I don't have to share the gospel. I don't have to push myself to you know whatever it is. And so you can get in this bubble especially now that plus you're adding a podcast that's super conservative. Plus your Instagram feed is now curated to what you believe. So it's very conservative people or like it's people making fun of liberals or like whatever. And so it's almost like this perfect storm of now that's how you think like like I kind of mentioned earlier like I think we so quickly can like be close fist and like ready to fight. And there is a time to fight for what the word of God says but I think like unbelievers are not villains. They're just lost like I cannot be mad or angry at someone who had a differing opinion of me or differing opinion that I have out there when they don't hold they're not Christians. So I can't hold them to that same level you know and I think at least for me I was almost getting in this like train of thought that's like they're all villains like we're the good people they're all villains they're against us. But it's like no they're just lost like they don't they don't have the Holy Spirit in them. They don't have the word of God living and breathing inside of them. And then they also don't have community surrounding them encouraging them. And so I think that was a really good eye opener eye opener for me of like man I've been like assuming that these people are like the worst people and maybe it's the same for them. Maybe they've been assuming Christians are like the worst people.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:34

And so I pray and hope that maybe some of them maybe my friends I made out there kind of had the same takeaway of like man Christians aren't so bad you know I love the way you worded that they're not villains they just need the Lord. Yeah and yeah it'd be pretty cool if somewhere someone that you're out there with is doing what we're doing. They're telling the story and when they think of you they're like okay I do know this one Christian who I think maybe has got this a little a little better picture of what this is supposed to look like than what I've always assumed Christians were.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:14

And a good reminder to people who profess to be Christians just to to think about what matters most it may not be posting a political statement on your social media.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:28

Anyways right now I'm like you talk about being politically homeless. Most of us I think feel like I'm not I'm not affiliated with a party I'm not affiliated with a movement. I just want Jesus to sweep the earth with the gospel and for people's lives to be changed and and then I'm excited about him coming back you know and I want to reach as many people as I can before then Sunday night at church uh Sunday at Red Oak I was setting up this we're we've just finished as you know we just finished a study in First Thessalonians and so Sunday was the setup for 2 Thessalonians and uh was ex explaining to our folks eschatology drives ethics. I said the theme phrase of first and second thessalonians should be eschatology drives ethics. You know we did that whole series on eschatology eschatology is simply how do you think it's all going to end what what it's it's the study of it's theology of the end of yeah the way things end. And your eschatology determines how your ethics how you live how do I work how you know it like in Thessalonians in those letters basically he addresses work, laziness, sexuality holiness sanctification purity joy thanksgiving um the celebration of of of the gospel in our lives so there's all these things and what I believe about how the end is going to go down you know how this is all going to end it drives how I live in each of those categories. And for a person that's not informed by the Bible or by the by the Holy Spirit they have an eschatology everybody has to think how's it going to end? Where am I going? Everybody's got to ask the same questions. Where's my value? What's my purpose? Where'd I come from? Where am I going? How's it all going to end? Where am I going to end up when I'm no longer alive? You know everybody's got to ask those same questions. And so for us eschatology drives ethics. So you're out there day nine you've you're starving you've lost 10, 12, 13 pounds. But what's motivating you that day is your eschatology. I know that Jesus is going to come back. I know that we're going to give an account for our lives. Yeah and when you see things in that context I think it helps you not get caught up in a movement or caught up in an ideology or fixated on an enemy it's maybe not really your enemy.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:05

Somebody needs Jesus.

Speaking Truth With Love And Courage

SPEAKER_01 1:13:07

I also think like relationship especially when sharing the gospel can be everything. That's not for every situation but even here it's like you learn if a camper comes and they're sleeping with their boyfriend, you're not just gonna be like you're wrong, you're going to hell like you've got to build that relationship, build that equity to then hopefully share truth and let that be heard on like soft ears and a soft heart, you know? And so like I think of my friend MJ if I immediately when I found out she was lesbian if I was like oop nope can't be around her like and immediately distanced myself it's like one what good would that have done for me? I mean she was like a dear friend to me out there. Like I would not have gotten as far without MJ, you know? So one, what good have that done for me? And then also what good have that done for her and like our relationship and then the conversations that we had in the future you know like we had some really good and hard conversations about Christianity and faith and just really good conversations. And so if I just immediately shut that down because she had a differing lifestyle than me, then boom, that sucks like end of end of question, end of relationship, end of everything. And so I think that's also a good point of like what I was saying earlier. If you're living a Christian life you it's really easy to stay insulated. Like if you want to it's probably easier yeah to shelter your kids and stay in that church community and not branch out and it's easy and it's safe and it feels good. I'm gonna be honest. But it's like reaching out those like olive branches and like forming those connections with people who are different than you who are still some of the greatest people ever like MJ I can't rave enough about her. She had a great character like great morals great human being and she lives a completely different lifestyle than me. But we still got along great and we're able to have really good conversations. I just think like it was eye-opening in that way too of like man I have been insulating myself a lot and like just shutting doors that the Lord has clearly opened or like paved a way. And he's like oh have this conversation or like have this relationship with your sister or like whatever it is. And I'm like well nope we have differing political views. That's blame you know like it's sad to see how quickly like those doors are shut. Um and it's like me and MJ clearly differed on a lot of things and we said that to each other in a kind way that's wasn't argumentative and it's just like man well this is what I believe and like I need I literally told her at one point I need to tell you this and I don't I don't know how you're gonna receive it but I need to tell you like I disagree with what you're doing and like so does the Lord. But like I still think you're great but like that's not what's going to get you to heaven. You know like I think you have great morals and you're a great person and you have a great character. Like truly one of the kindest people I've ever met and it scares me and it frightens me. And that's what you said led me to have those hard conversations because I want to see MJ in heaven. Like I want because she's a great gal like but it's that's like what scared me not scared in a way of like and a crater's gonna hit the earth and we're all gonna explode but it's like that burden we talked about this in the Men in the Fire episode too. It's like because I have the love of Christ in me I have a burden for MJ and a burden for all these other people that it's like I I would rather us not talk ever again I'd rather say these really hard things to you and you get mad at me and never talk to me again than me sit here with you and we're having this conversation and I avoid and I beat around the bush, you know? And luckily like MJ, like I said, she's a great person didn't fully agree but like we were able to just have those conversations and I pray for MJ a lot and you know there's a story where the there's there's one of the it's like an older princess of Wales.

Humor Equity And Closing Thoughts

SPEAKER_05 1:16:59

It's not the modern royal family this was about a I think this is about a hundred years ago there's a story where someone in the royal family in England um goes to goes to church the rector is what they call the pastor there the rector the pastor gets up gives a message in the text there's a reference to hell afterwards she goes up to him he's pretty like taken by the fact that there's a royal there at the church service she says Pastor do you believe in hell and he said but it's almost like you it's a caveat it's like but I want to explain and she he says I do and she's like do you really believe in it? And he said Yes. And she says then why don't you just talk about it? Yeah say what's if you believe this why would you not preach it I think a lot of times Christians it's a lot of times our struggle is not that we're too heavy handed with something it's that we're scared to speak the truth um and I appreciate that you you say in that like there's a point where what does it matter if I've cultivated this friendship with this person if I'm not will willing to say what's hard and true. I would say also to Christians who you know we we do work in a in a pretty um pretty amazing context. You know being a part of a team that is like minded and and and that is committed to when we don't agree on something working through it. I'm committed to everyone's everyone around me I'm committed to their sanctification and I want them to know the Lord in a deeper fuller way and um but maybe you are and and a lot of people that listen to this maybe work in a secular context but they're really plugged into their community their school and they're surrounded for the most part by like minded people you might be like like my son Tucker he is in a world right now where I'm praying God sends him a strong faithful brother and we've talked about man it's critical that you get to church on Sunday. Can't be part of a small group can't be part of a he's in a unique season of life where and we talked about this the other day we spent the day together and he came through spent a day and a half here and he said man I don't know when my career's gonna shift and and I'm gonna be out of my current career path but I'm looking forward to biblical community and day-to-day interaction with God's people and you know a world that's not propped up by really really um superficial things a superficial value a game yeah a game that dri is driven by millions and millions of dollars and and 30 and 40 and 50 year old people that are commenting on what 20 year olds are doing and it's a weird and people are like yeah but snowboard's not a realistic place. I'm like nobody lives in a realistic place. The things we entertain ourselves with the money we pursue the careers we pursue like what makes your life real is when you see everything through the lens of eschatology who I am in Christ how I see this person doesn't know the Lord. So I would encourage a person that's you might be the opposite of what JB and I are talking about where we're surrounded by people that are like minded. You might be in a world where man you're not surrounded by any other believers I would say to you it's critical that you find a church where you can go and experience the warmth of God's people on a Sunday and if you can be part of a small group community's so important community's important and then so is solitude and I think man this this experience you had hyper evaluated and analyzed and and shine a light on both of those. Yeah the importance of solitude the importance of community yeah both so critical.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:06

Yeah also one thing I know we've gone for a long time but I was just thinking about this while you were talking I also feel like sometimes at least for myself I'll get in my head and be like well if I'm in a situation with a lot of unbelievers I can't laugh at any jokes. Like I almost have to become this like wet paper towel of a personality you know and I think it's it's important that you don't do that. Like I still probably laughed at jokes I shouldn't have out there or like made jokes I shouldn't have, you know? And I think that just almost builds that equity even more of like me making a joke and be like maybe I shouldn't have said that, you know, or like laughing at someone else's joke or like you don't have to be this bland cardboard cutout of a person like still have that personality and laugh at things and make jokes and have a good time. And I think that shows hopefully like people who are lost like oh wait they're not these like cyborgs that are like super strict and have no fun. It's like no me and MJ still joked and laughed and me and everyone out there like not just MJ but she's just one of my closest friends. Like we were just able to joke and I still like just the other day one of the guys that I was out there with he's like pretty big on social media and he makes content as well and he posted on his story he was like I'm looking for a former drug dealer to be in a video like and it had like all these requirements. I think he's gonna make a video and I slid up I said I can step in and he texted back and said I said former not present. And so it's like even stuff like that. It's like you can still maintain that same sense of humor and like have a good time and play and joke and have a good time but that's good.

SPEAKER_05 1:22:40

Still spread the love and truth of Christ but heck yeah well Lord definitely wired you for this he gave you the right personality gave you the and then he gave you favor while you're there we're proud of you. It's so fun watching that the other night it was awesome.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:56

I'll link it down below hopefully give Mr Beast a few more views like he needs them.

SPEAKER_05 1:23:02

Yeah like he needs them.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:03

Yeah it was awesome I told a lot of people about NSR so hopefully NSR has gained a few sweet thanks for listening to No Sanity Required.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:15

Please take a moment to subscribe and leave a rating it really helps. Visit us at swooutfitters.com to see all of our programming and resources. And we'll see you next week on No Sanity Required.