Today I have the pleasure of introducing the Bryant family.
Speaker AThey are a Christian family who strongly believe in the power of God's word.
Speaker AThey are excited to share this message through the book.
Speaker AThrough their book, Trusting Timothy, a story about cheating.
Speaker AAnd they are a homeschooled family, and they are here today to talk us.
Speaker ATo talk to us about their homeschool journey and the.
Speaker AThe joys and the pitfalls that they both had.
Speaker AAnd so welcome.
Speaker AToday I'm going to actually have you all introduce yourself individually at this.
Speaker BAt this time, because this is a little different.
Speaker BWe've had two other guests on our podcast before, but this is the first time that we've had four people.
Speaker COh, nice, nice.
Speaker CThank you.
Speaker CWell, thank you for welcoming us.
Speaker CBobby, the second dad.
Speaker DI'm Ava Bryant, the daughter and sister.
Speaker EI'm Bobby Bryant, the third, the oldest child.
Speaker FAnd I'm Joseph Bryant, the youngest child.
Speaker BAwesome.
Speaker BThank you so very, very much.
Speaker BAnd that will help our audiences that are listening on audio only to say, oh, yeah, that is a different voice.
Speaker BAnd wait, no, why is there more than two over there?
Speaker BSo, absolutely.
Speaker BPoor people.
Speaker BAnd we're excited about this because, you know, as a family now, we get to see a little bit different perspectives.
Speaker BAnd you have to promise me, though, that at the end, if someone says something that you're like, wait a minute, I didn't know that before, that you're all going to be cool with this, right?
Speaker BYou're going to be awesome with each other if, like, wait a minute.
Speaker BWhat?
Speaker BI didn't know about that.
Speaker COh, yes.
Speaker COh, yes.
Speaker BPerfect.
Speaker BSo I want to actually jump in with why homeschooling?
Speaker BWhat was it about when the boys were a certain age or whenever you started homeschooling?
Speaker AWhen did you start homeschooling and why?
Speaker BThere we go.
Speaker CYou know, we homeschooled from the.
Speaker CFrom the beginning, starting with Bobby iii.
Speaker CInitially, it was that.
Speaker AThat.
Speaker CThat tough conversation between my wife and I.
Speaker CShe initially wanted to homeschool, and I was more hesitant or reserved.
Speaker CAnd I think the biggest thing for me, which is a common concern, was the social interaction.
Speaker CAnd so with us being both going through the public system, my wife and I, it was going to be a new process that was going to be new to the both of us.
Speaker CAnd so for me, again, socialization was the biggest thing.
Speaker CI wasn't concerned about the teaching.
Speaker CI thought, we can educate them.
Speaker CBut it was the social interaction which bothered me the most.
Speaker CBut after multiple conversations, the difficult choice was made.
Speaker CBut we were.
Speaker CWe're happy we did from the Beginning.
Speaker CSo they were all homeschooled from the beginning, from kindergarten through high school.
Speaker CAnd so we're very appreciative of the process.
Speaker CNo regrets, and I'm happy we did.
Speaker CSorry.
Speaker CBut so the biggest thing for us too, with the main concern was that we.
Speaker CWe wanted to make sure that we were instilling biblical values into our children.
Speaker CThat was the major factor, which is why we made the decision.
Speaker AYeah, that one's really huge.
Speaker ABut there's also a lot of Christian type schools.
Speaker AWhy did you decide to homeschool instead of moving into a more parochial school?
Speaker CGreat question.
Speaker CFor us, we thought about that as another option.
Speaker COne thing that persuaded us against it, we interviewed one of the administrators at one of the schools, and they let us know that the teacher didn't need to be Christian in order to teach the Christian.
Speaker CChristian school.
Speaker CAnd so that took us back a little bit, again with being teaching Christian values, the biblical values being the most important for us.
Speaker CIt was hard for us to imagine a teacher who wasn't Christian instilling those biblical values.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AYou know, it's funny you say that because.
Speaker ABecause that's actually even gotten more.
Speaker AA lot of the Catholic schools in the area where we were, there weren't enough Catholic educators.
Speaker ASo it's not that they didn't want to hire Christian teachers.
Speaker AIt's just there weren't enough of them to available to fill in the school.
Speaker ASo, you know, they.
Speaker AThey do the best they can.
Speaker ABut I completely understand where you're coming from with that as well, because I think it's now like something like 48% or almost 50% of the teachers in even Christian schools now don't identify as Christian anymore.
Speaker ASo again, great figuring that out and making that priority again.
Speaker AFamily values are so important, and you put that up at the top and then you made the sacrifices to make it happen.
Speaker ASo it's like my heart's totally with you right there.
Speaker AI wish that we had done that with our boys.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker ABut she was a teacher.
Speaker AShe wanted to be an educator.
Speaker ASo we went with the public education system because that was our life.
Speaker ASo again, seeing that ahead of time and pulling them out, well done.
Speaker BI want to hear from Ava for just a second.
Speaker BBesides the Christian values that you wanted instill, what else was it about homeschooling that really kind of drew you and let you stand firm, as I know we really need to do it this way.
Speaker DI'm sorry, I'm the daughter, so.
Speaker BOh, I'm sorry.
Speaker DYes.
Speaker BOh.
Speaker CMy wife.
Speaker AYeah, she's not so you were homeschooled as well?
Speaker DYes.
Speaker BHow did I miss that?
Speaker BI totally apologize.
Speaker AWell, as a couple here, we thought we were talking to a couple there.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ASo very, very.
Speaker ABecause we were a couple with two boys.
Speaker ASo again, took our, took our, our idea ideas and put it forward.
Speaker BSo, okay, so then think talk.
Speaker BLet's go into the kids.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BSo what was it about homeschooling that you enjoyed?
Speaker BWhat was it that really like, lit you up and made you want to learn more?
Speaker AWell, I, I got a better question.
Speaker AIt's like, because it's like you didn't know the difference.
Speaker ASo it's like not necessarily a lighting up experiences, but.
Speaker ABut when you first figured out that you were homeschooled and everybody else was going, well, not everybody, but everybody else was going to public school, how did that affect you?
Speaker AAnd your view of yourself is like, oh, all these kids are doing that, but we're stuck home.
Speaker AWhat was that like?
Speaker FFor me personally, it was a bit tough at times because, like, I have like family, like my cousins that like go to public school and like get that experience.
Speaker FYou know, sometimes as I was doing, I'll be like, thinking about the socialization aspect of it and what I could be missing out on.
Speaker FBut as I was doing it, I was glad that we ended up doing homeschooling because just the learning process itself was, um, in my opinion, better than it would have been public school.
Speaker FBecause having my mom as a teacher and like getting down extra family time as old like her, and I'm getting to have a better relationship as I was learning was just beneficial.
Speaker FGetting kind of also like, I'm spending time with my siblings as well more.
Speaker FIt was just great family time on top of them, the learning.
Speaker FSo getting the same amount of education and getting more family time was really big.
Speaker FAnd I think that helped our bond as a family now, while we're still close today.
Speaker FSo I thought it was beneficial, that aspect of it, getting a more family time.
Speaker FIt did.
Speaker FIt was hard sometimes not having as much socialization as it would have been public school.
Speaker FBut as well we had homeschooling groups to.
Speaker FFor example, I did, um, basketball, like, um, with um, other homeschool, um, home schoolers on a basketball team.
Speaker FSo there was, um, still some socialization on top of um, all the family time we got.
Speaker FSo I thought that was very beneficial in terms of homeschooling.
Speaker DFor me personally, I honestly was curious about public school.
Speaker DJust seeing of all.
Speaker DI heard movies and TV shows too.
Speaker DSometimes it can be like, oh, what if on this side.
Speaker DBecause for some reason it seems like when you didn't experience it, your work hears about it.
Speaker DSo I think that aspect of it just.
Speaker DJust made me like, okay, what if.
Speaker DBecause like Joseph said, the socialization.
Speaker DSo I was initially concerned with not being able to make many friends and not hang out with them other kids my age.
Speaker DBut I was involved in other activities as well.
Speaker DFor example, tennis.
Speaker DI played for some years, so I got experience playing with other kids and hanging out with them.
Speaker DSo that was really cool.
Speaker DWhat I liked about homeschool was being able to learn at my own pace.
Speaker DSo I feel like it really helped.
Speaker DWe were flexible as a family and we got to explore different interests and passions.
Speaker DFor example, from a young age, I've always enjoyed writing.
Speaker DSo we used to write different creative stories and different prompts.
Speaker BSo.
Speaker DSo I always enjoy that because I like to express myself through creative stories and writing.
Speaker DSo that was always a passion.
Speaker DI enjoyed reading as well, so.
Speaker DSo that was something fun.
Speaker DAnd I, when I was younger, I enjoyed spelling, so that was something I really like doing as well.
Speaker DLike we would listen to audio and try to spell the word.
Speaker DSo I like that too.
Speaker DSo just just my different interests.
Speaker DAnd then as Joseph touched on the family aspect, like, we got to.
Speaker DI get to learn with my siblings.
Speaker DThat's also cool.
Speaker DAnd sometimes a healthy competition, like, for me personally, like, I'm very competitive.
Speaker DSo like for grades, for example, like when we took tests and then I would compare my grade to theirs, like it was.
Speaker DI'm very competitive, so I like to do that.
Speaker DLike, it's very fun.
Speaker DAnd also my mom, of course, and my dad too, they both taught us very well and brought us up well in the ways of the Lord.
Speaker DAs Christians, we believe that that's important.
Speaker DAnother part we did always as a family and still do, we prioritize reading the Bible in the morning together.
Speaker DSo that's what we do.
Speaker DWe have daily readings that we read in the Bible and then we have discussions about it as a family.
Speaker DSo we protest that every day.
Speaker DWe.
Speaker DWe as Christians believe it's important to keep God first.
Speaker DSo that's.
Speaker DThat's the first part of our day.
Speaker DWe come together and read the Bible.
Speaker DWe would audio.
Speaker DIt's called Word of Promise.
Speaker DSo we read that every day and then we discuss together as a family.
Speaker DWe believe that's important because we believe that reading the word of God is important that we need to do every day.
Speaker DSo that was very important to us.
Speaker DAnd so yeah, just getting to.
Speaker DIn homeschool I feel like is very freeing just to get to explore interests and learning our own paces.
Speaker DAnd I feel like if we do that, then it kind of gives you a chance to see what level you're at.
Speaker DSo someone who is progressing faster might not be at the same level.
Speaker DSo I felt that helped you to.
Speaker DTo see where you are with learning and to help it be a better and smoother process.
Speaker AThe individualized process.
Speaker DYes.
Speaker AYour turn.
Speaker AYou want to go?
Speaker EAll right.
Speaker EWell, growing up, yes, we were homeschooled.
Speaker EAnd what I liked about homeschooling is tied to what my sister said.
Speaker EYou get to do it at your own pace and you don't really have to rely on the public school system or anything.
Speaker EYou get to run your own race.
Speaker EAnd growing up, I've been interested in making music and write my own songs.
Speaker EI've been doing some piano and currently, I mean, and I made some songs.
Speaker ASo.
Speaker AOne thing I would like to point out is how respectfully the three of you just interacted with each other.
Speaker AHow you calmly and patiently waited for the other person to talk.
Speaker AThere was no interruption.
Speaker AThat kind of family dynamic.
Speaker AIt's like, wow, I don't get along with my sisters.
Speaker ASo the homeschooling, one of the things that we missed with that was the way it does bring families together.
Speaker AAnd it's interesting that you talk about hanging out with kids your own age, because the only time that really happens consistently is in school.
Speaker AOnce you get out of school, do you ever ask anybody?
Speaker ABob.
Speaker ABob second.
Speaker ABobby second.
Speaker ADid you ever ask anybody how old they are?
Speaker FNo.
Speaker AIt comes up.
Speaker AYou're never going to be with people your same age ever again.
Speaker ERight.
Speaker ALike that.
Speaker AAnd so sometimes trying to force that interaction with that age group creates different kinds of issues that, that you have come up in public school.
Speaker AAnd I had one more interesting kind of like follow up question because you talked about both the socialization and the education.
Speaker AWhen you are talking with your peers now, can you tell the difference in your education?
Speaker ACan you tell the difference in your socialization skills now?
Speaker ABecause it said you were something you were a little worried about.
Speaker ANow that you're older, can you see a difference in your behaviors and actions versus your peers who've gone through public schools?
Speaker DPersonally, I do see a difference.
Speaker DFor instance, people who didn't grow up with that foundation, I noticed the different way they talk, the topics they talk about typically more worldly topics as opposed to when you grow up with that strong foundation in God's word.
Speaker DI feel like there is a difference with how you carry yourself, as the Bible says, the people you hang around.
Speaker DSo if you hang around people who talk that same way about different things you shouldn't be talking about, then that's probably what you're going to be more likely to do.
Speaker DBut since we grew up together in the ways of the Lord, I believe that actually we actually sharpen each other because we saw each other every day.
Speaker DSo if we're all reading God's word and talking about it together, I feel like that actually made us stronger and actually helped us to see that more positive interactions.
Speaker DSo I feel like that there is a difference just in who hang on alone because everyone can admit it's.
Speaker DIt's more enticing to do something that everyone else is doing even if it's the wrong thing just because everyone else is doing it.
Speaker DSo I feel like that peer pressure angle in public school would have been a lot worse.
Speaker DBut here at home school we don't really have to worry about that because we're all growing up in the ways of the Lord, So it's not really as strong as if it was have been in public school.
Speaker DSo I, I do like that aspect.
Speaker DSo I feel like that has benefited us because we're all of one mind.
Speaker DSo we're all Christians, we all believe in God's word.
Speaker DSo I feel like that that has helped us in interactions.
Speaker DAnd there is a difference.
Speaker DI notice.
Speaker BJoseph or Bobby, you want to jump in there as well?
Speaker EWell, well, the benefits of whole schooling is that, well, a lot of these schools, they teach the wrong things.
Speaker EA lot of these teachers are not really good at teaching the right stuff nowadays.
Speaker EAnd another benefit is that in public schools there are a lot of school shootings and numerous abysmal stuff that goes, that goes along, that goes on there.
Speaker EBut when you're homeschooled, you don't really have to worry about that.
Speaker EAll you have to worry about is the worst that could happen is that your siblings can annoy you to death.
Speaker ARight, I'll do that anyway.
Speaker BNow I just wanted to clarify, have you all graduated so already.
Speaker DYes, we all have got it perfect.
Speaker BAnd Bobby, the second.
Speaker BSo you know, you said that at the beginning you're worried about that socialization.
Speaker BHave you seen now that you know or did you understand?
Speaker BI'm not saying that right now that how are you feeling about it now.
Speaker AThat you were all done?
Speaker AWas the worry worth it or was the socialization a problem at all?
Speaker CNo, I don't think it was a problem at all.
Speaker CAs they alluded to part Partly, you know, there were different activities.
Speaker CSome of the activities that.
Speaker CThat we did with our home school partnering, group, field trips to numerous places, sports teams, music recitals.
Speaker CSo they did so much.
Speaker CEven our home church, there were basketball leagues.
Speaker CThere's the morning Bible study with the peers we had them going to for a while.
Speaker CSo there are so many different opportunities that we had to introduce a socialization that.
Speaker CNo, it wasn't a problem.
Speaker CAnd I like the fact that it was more.
Speaker CI don't want to say control, but some of the negative stuff they may be alluded to you, you kind of can avoid, but at the same time getting the benefits of socialization.
Speaker CSo if you're socializing.
Speaker CI'm sorry.
Speaker ANo, I was gonna say.
Speaker AThe way I kind of say that is for homeschool kids get to socialize in a cooperative matter instead of a competition kind of a way.
Speaker ABecause in school, it's like, there's a lot of competition.
Speaker AThere's grades, there's lots of pressure.
Speaker ABut in school, when you go to band practice, you're going to a whole bunch of people who want to play music instead of in school where the kids don't want to play music, they're there for 45 minutes twice a week, and they cause a lot of problems and act up because they treat it like recess instead of something serious.
Speaker ASo you get to go to music in a cooperative environment with lots of different ages.
Speaker ASo the socialization is more cooperative instead of.
Speaker AInstead of competitive.
Speaker ABut even then, when you are in a competitive league, like your basketball league outside of the school or tennis, it's still in a cooperative manner during the competition.
Speaker ASo that the difference between public schools and so that.
Speaker AThat's just the way I frame what you said.
Speaker AAnd so beautiful that I hear you talking exactly the same thing.
Speaker ASo that.
Speaker AThat's great.
Speaker ASo I had a question, but I lost it right in the middle.
Speaker ASo go.
Speaker CSo one of the problems.
Speaker CI was going to say that what I've learned, you know, talking with the various homeschoolers and public homeschoolers, I mean, public school kids, is that it really depends also on the personality.
Speaker CSo some kids, you know, I'll just take myself, for example, I was more reserved, laid back, and I went to public school all my life.
Speaker CSo I kind of gravitated to one or two friends.
Speaker CI wasn't big on social, you know, big groups, but I realized that there's some homeschoolers that, you know, they, you know, if you're a talkative person, you're going to Be talking to person in a small group, big group, public school, homeschool.
Speaker CBecause of personalities.
Speaker CYou can grow up in the same household but still have different personalities.
Speaker CAll three of our kids have different personalities.
Speaker CSome like to talk more, some are more reserved.
Speaker CBut so I think the.
Speaker CWho you are actually kind of determines how you're going to grow up as well.
Speaker BOh, absolutely.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAnd you know, like you probably did with you and your wife, you took those different personalities and you made sure those experiences happen for that child so they could feel fulfilled.
Speaker DRight?
Speaker CYes, yes.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AI was pretty introverted as well, so it was really easy to disappear in school and if I wanted to.
Speaker ASo.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AAnd.
Speaker AAnd then as an introvert, that whole being out in front wasn't me.
Speaker ASo, you know, that.
Speaker AThat it always like, wow, how come I can't be that guy up in the front of the class doing that?
Speaker ABut I was the introvert.
Speaker AI was the quiet, calm one, so I could disappear very easily through the school system.
Speaker CRight, I agree.
Speaker DExactly.
Speaker BSo I want to shift a little bit because part of the reason we're here is to talk about the book that you and your family have written.
Speaker BAnd so was that book part of the homeschooling experience or is something that you picked up after the homeschooling experience?
Speaker CI would say after the homeschooling experience.
Speaker CWe talked about writing a book together for a long time, and eventually we thought this was a good time to do it.
Speaker CAnd it was big for us because again, a family is so important for us to do it together.
Speaker CAnd so was.
Speaker CIt's been a great process.
Speaker CWe're learning so much through the process, but it's been fun and, you know, a lot of good brainstorming sessions throughout the process.
Speaker CAnd, you know, again, no regrets with it, with the book.
Speaker ATell us a little bit about the book.
Speaker AWhat it's about, what the.
Speaker AWhat the core theme is.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker BWhere the story came from as well.
Speaker CThank you.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker CSo, yeah, the title, Trust in Chimney and Store by Cheating.
Speaker CIt was initially inspired, excuse me, by my relationship with my paternal grandmother.
Speaker CSo in the story, Timothy has a great relationship with his grandmother.
Speaker CAnd so that was initially expired.
Speaker CInspired.
Speaker CExcuse me.
Speaker CI give my paternal grandmother, her name was Elnis, credit for me becoming a Christian.
Speaker CAnd with us, again, emphasizing that being the most important thing, I definitely want to emphasize that relationship with the story.
Speaker CAnd so that was what inspired it.
Speaker CBut again, being a big family, I wanted to bring our kids along and do it as a family and bringing everybody's creativity.
Speaker CWe all have different passions, different skill sets and different thinking.
Speaker CSo coming together, I just thought, we thought it would be a great process.
Speaker BBeautiful.
Speaker BAnd so then who kind of took the lead?
Speaker BDid you let the kids take the lead?
Speaker BMostly on it after we got the idea started, or did you kind of each take turns with the different parts of the book?
Speaker BWhat happened there?
Speaker CWe took turns in the discussion.
Speaker CSomeone would bring an idea and then we would discuss whether or not we needed it, needed to be tweaked or maybe changed.
Speaker CYou know, Ava and I, we kid each other a lot.
Speaker CI'll say that most of the discussions, her idea went out a lot.
Speaker CShe'll say mine and Joseph and BJ will say the same thing.
Speaker CMaybe someone's way won the discussion more than others.
Speaker CBut again, it was a good process.
Speaker CSome late night sessions as far as sometimes come in agreement on maybe small things.
Speaker CThat took a while, but it's been fun.
Speaker BExcellent.
Speaker ASo again, was it written in the same voice?
Speaker ADid like the same person write it after the decision was made to the direction of the story, or did you take turns writing it and then try and set the voice throughout the book?
Speaker CIt was a mixture of everyone's voice.
Speaker CSometimes it was, let's see what event in the book occurred.
Speaker CSomeone would come up with an idea and we would say whether or not we liked it or not.
Speaker CFor the most part, each sentence was, was voted on.
Speaker CSometimes it was hard because there's four, you know, sometimes they were tied.
Speaker CAnd so we would have to convince one side.
Speaker CWould have to convince one, one person on the other side to come join the other side.
Speaker CSo it was a lot of, again, late night discussions, a lot of voting, a lot of deep conversations, but we brought it together.
Speaker ASounds like a wonderful family building exercise.
Speaker CYes, I agree.
Speaker CIt really was.
Speaker CI mean it really, I think, I think it strengthened our bond.
Speaker AAnd how long did it take to get out, to become finished?
Speaker COver a year, I would say.
Speaker CYeah, a little over a year.
Speaker CYes.
Speaker CYes.
Speaker DGot it.
Speaker DIt was a long process.
Speaker EYep.
Speaker EAt the end he'll be worth it.
Speaker BAbsolutely.
Speaker AAnd so what is the theme of the book?
Speaker ATimothy cheating are in the title.
Speaker ASo what, how do we get there?
Speaker AWhat's going on?
Speaker EIt's about, it's about Timothy's friends cheating.
Speaker ATimothy friends cheating and how he has to deal with that.
Speaker EYes.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker CSo the main thing which we're trying to get across is that no matter what you're going through, cheating, relationships, family issues, the thing you can always lean on is God's word.
Speaker CAnd so the, the book includes A few scriptures that we were hoping that the kids can memorize.
Speaker CAgain, what we try to teach our kids growing up and what we're all trying to teach now as a family is that you can always find a scripture to help you with anything.
Speaker CYou're going through something at work, again, something in the family, you can always find a Bible scripture to help you get through that process.
Speaker CAnd we want to.
Speaker CWe want to teach that God's word is.
Speaker CIs the final authority, the foundation on which you can build everything.
Speaker ASo I didn't take my religion and my spirituality very seriously until very much later in life.
Speaker AHurt my head.
Speaker ALife fell apart.
Speaker AA lot of changes with.
Speaker AWith traumatic brain injuries and brain damage.
Speaker AAnd through that process, I started deepening my relationship with.
Speaker AWith God.
Speaker ASo I didn't have that as a foundation when I was young.
Speaker AAnd so some of the stuff you're talking about is like, I.
Speaker AI don't read the Bible every day.
Speaker AI'm still trying.
Speaker AI find that when I do read the Bible in the morning when my day goes better and I know this and, and still, again, because of some of the stuff going on in my head, in my brain, I can't make myself do it.
Speaker AAnd it's.
Speaker AIt's bizarre.
Speaker ABut then when I do, it's like I find such peace.
Speaker ASo completely understand how reading that the Bible every day can.
Speaker ACan really bring that sense of peace.
Speaker ASo.
Speaker ASo thank you for sharing.
Speaker ASo many people don't like to necessarily talk about the.
Speaker AThat these days.
Speaker AAnd so your openness and willing to go there is, Is joyful and beautiful.
Speaker ASo thank you for that as well.
Speaker EYes.
Speaker COh, yes.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker CIt's huge, Herb.
Speaker CYou know, we.
Speaker CWe believe that God has the answer for anything, Anything we're.
Speaker CWe're going through.
Speaker CAnd one thing we.
Speaker CWe emphasize is my wife and I, is that what I want to say when you base.
Speaker CGod's Word is the foundation of your family.
Speaker CBecause we know parents, you know, we.
Speaker CWe make mistakes.
Speaker CSo you can always say, well, dad, you did this, or, mom, you did this.
Speaker CBut you can never say that to a perfect guy.
Speaker CSo.
Speaker CBecause he never makes mistakes.
Speaker CSo when God is the authority or the example that you can compare to, then, then.
Speaker CThen everyone has to fall in line.
Speaker CSo they can always come to us, respectively, of course, because, you know, the Bible says honor your mother and father, but if they know, if mom or dad just did something, they can always point to the scripture.
Speaker CMom, dad, this is what God's word.
Speaker CAnd we'd have an argument.
Speaker CWe would have to stand because that is the foundation on which our family is built on.
Speaker CAnd because God's word is perfect, we can always stand on a strong foundation and, you know, everything works out.
Speaker BI love that.
Speaker ASo I have.
Speaker ASo you.
Speaker AYou said it's your brat.
Speaker AYour.
Speaker AYour paternal grandmother brought you into the faith, so you have a remembrance of not necessarily being in the faith and then coming into it.
Speaker AAnd your children then would have been in the faith the whole time.
Speaker AChristina's family was.
Speaker AWas Catholic, and some of her brothers are no longer practicing Catholicism.
Speaker AAnd so second generation, sometimes, sometimes even third generation, starts to move away from that family value.
Speaker AHow did children, kids, children.
Speaker ADid any of you along this point have doubt or not doubting God is.
Speaker AIs absolutely right.
Speaker ABut have any of you, like, started to move away or.
Speaker AOr thought that maybe I'll give it my question is my question.
Speaker AI don't know how to ask this question.
Speaker BMaybe I'll take a break for a while and see how it goes or something like that.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker CYeah.
Speaker FI think definitely throughout life is always gonna be like struggles and things you go through.
Speaker FAnd me personally, I've had moments in the past where I've been, where I've contemplated whether or not was God real?
Speaker FWas he so there.
Speaker FThere have definitely been times.
Speaker FBut I think tying that back into starting young, since that was instilled in us at a young age, no matter what I was thinking, I always was able to come back be to come back set as my foundation because of what was instilled me a young age.
Speaker FSo that belief was always there.
Speaker FNo matter.
Speaker FNo matter if I had moments of doubt or if I always knew inside God was real, he was in my life.
Speaker FSo I think that's just very important, instilling that young age.
Speaker FBecause the b whack.
Speaker FThe Bible says chain up a child and the way she go and when he's old, he won't depart from it.
Speaker FSo I think that when parents like our parents are very good at the best parents possible.
Speaker FSo the fact that they instilled in us at a young age, I think that's just very beneficial, that our walk with God is just going to be that much better.
Speaker FBecause it was instilled at such a young age that all that we grew up learning is how good God was.
Speaker FSo I think that was very beneficial.
Speaker DYes, for me personally, I did have doubts in the past.
Speaker DI think that's just a part of it though.
Speaker DBut I believe that reading the Bible every day, as that reinforcement did help because as a child you do go through questions and wondering Is God real?
Speaker DIs this the right thing?
Speaker DBecause even from, we were young, we were introduced to different religions and that was explained to us.
Speaker DSo just the different possibilities.
Speaker DFor me as a kid, I did, I did struggle with that sometimes.
Speaker DBut I believe since we did grow up with that foundation, like Joseph said from a young age, I believe since that was instilled in us, I believe since that reinforcement that every day reading God's word because God's word is powerful, it convicts.
Speaker DSo I believe.
Speaker DWe believe as Christians that we have the Holy Spirit.
Speaker DSo the Holy Spirit convicts.
Speaker DSo I believe that that actually was, was a major part in knowing for sure for, for myself because it's important to, to know for myself and not just what my, our, our parents say.
Speaker DBecause I believe a personal relationship with, with Jesus Christ is what matters.
Speaker DIt's not enough to say, oh, I'm, I'm a Christian just because of, of my parents.
Speaker DIt's important for, for us to know for ourselves that we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ because that doesn't.
Speaker BMatter.
Speaker DWho else believes.
Speaker DYou need to make sure you believe for yourself.
Speaker DSo once I knew that, then everything was great.
Speaker DSo I believe that's important to make sure that you know for yourself so you're not tossed to and fro like the Bible says.
Speaker DYou need to make sure that you have a strong foundation that you're affirming the faith that you know what you believe.
Speaker DSo we, as I remember when we were younger, we would do practice witnessing, so we would pretend that we were on one side and then the other side, one of us would argue for Christian and the other for another religion.
Speaker DAnd I think that actually helped because it actually helped us strengthen why we believe what we believe and how we can use the arguments to persuade other people.
Speaker DSo I believe that actually helped us for me personally in my walk to strengthen, not just memorizing the right answers, but actually believing what we're saying.
Speaker DSo I think that helps a lot.
Speaker AChallenge your beliefs to strengthen them.
Speaker ABeautiful.
Speaker DYes.
Speaker AOr.
Speaker AYour turn.
Speaker EWell, I hate to admit, but I had some doubts about God a long time ago.
Speaker EI was struggling to figure out if he was real or not because I couldn't really see Him.
Speaker EAnd I've been having some doubts and I'm sure a lot of people have had that experience before.
Speaker EBut then I realized who else would make all this wonder who else would make dirt?
Speaker EWho else would make the trees humans and animals, but, but a creator and, and all.
Speaker EAnd also I've been having some doubts if God would do wonders in my life because a long time ago, I.
Speaker EI was doing a driving test and I kept failing multiple times, and I was so frustrated, but eventually I passed.
Speaker ESo.
Speaker ESo it's kind.
Speaker ESo it's kind of like Lazarus or multiplying the lows.
Speaker EAnd I.
Speaker EI know it's.
Speaker EI.
Speaker EI know it may not be as big as that, but.
Speaker EBut still, God.
Speaker EGod could do wonders.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ASo I have an interesting personality type.
Speaker AI'm so an infj, if you've ever heard of Meyer Briggs.
Speaker ASo I.
Speaker AI've.
Speaker AI have a deep connection with God.
Speaker AI've always had that deep connection with God my entire life.
Speaker ABut the religion aspect of it in the Bible was where I had a lot of my problems.
Speaker AAnd when I hurt myself and I got my brain damaged, my life went really, really dark.
Speaker AI mean, my life.
Speaker AMy life was almost over.
Speaker AAnd coming out of that process, and looking back, I was so angry when I hurt my head that God took my life away, that God took away so much from me.
Speaker ABut now when I look back when I was alone, it reminds me of that song where there's only one set of footsteps on the beach because God said he was carrying you.
Speaker AI look back and I realize that God had me that whole time, and that sense of being alone and in the dark was necessary for my growth.
Speaker AAnd he carried me out of that darkness.
Speaker ASo.
Speaker ASo again, it's.
Speaker AIt's there for me, that experience, that.
Speaker AThat trust.
Speaker ATrust that knowledge.
Speaker BAnd beautiful testimony, beautiful witness everything that you were saying, how you connect.
Speaker BAnd, you know, it's.
Speaker BIt's okay to have doubts, and it's okay to, you know.
Speaker ABut I think the word Israel means actually we who struggle with God.
Speaker ASo the.
Speaker ASo it's like.
Speaker AIt's.
Speaker AThe struggle is.
Speaker AIs part of it, and it's absolutely the most beautiful part of it because as you struggle, you get stronger and you move deeper into it.
Speaker ASo it's.
Speaker AIt's.
Speaker AAnd so thank you for sharing.
Speaker AJust kind of.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker CNo, I was going to say, Herb, thank you for.
Speaker CFor sharing that.
Speaker CThat, that, that means a lot that you were able to share that, but I do want to encourage you that.
Speaker CYes.
Speaker CTo what you're saying.
Speaker CGod never, never leaves you.
Speaker CSo sometimes it is hard to see him sometimes when we're going through the process.
Speaker CSo.
Speaker CBut I don't want to minimize anything you're going through so that.
Speaker CThank you for sharing, but, yes.
Speaker CAs an encouragement.
Speaker CYeah, He.
Speaker CHe's always there for us.
Speaker CWe.
Speaker CWe strongly believe that.
Speaker CAnd we also believe.
Speaker AI'm sorry if you lose him, if it gets dark.
Speaker AIt's never permanent.
Speaker AHe's always waiting for you to come back.
Speaker AAlways.
Speaker CHe's always waiting for us.
Speaker CAnd when we, we know.
Speaker CAnd again, we're basing everything on His Word.
Speaker CYou know, you can always find a scripture, one of my favorites, Matthew 19:26.
Speaker CNothing is impossible for God.
Speaker CThat means, that means healing, that means peace, that means comfort.
Speaker CAnd if you, as the Word teaches.
Speaker CI'm sorry, I'm not trying to be too preachy here, but what the Word teaches is that again, he's everything.
Speaker CHe wants to comfort us.
Speaker CHe wants to do the heavy lifting like you're saying.
Speaker CAnd as parents, just think about it.
Speaker CAs earthly parents, we know we want the best for our kids.
Speaker CWe make mistakes, but we're talking about a heavenly father that wants the best for you, who doesn't make any mistakes, who can fix any problem that you're going through, who has the answer to your problem before the problem arises.
Speaker CSo I just want, you know, encourage you, say yes.
Speaker CWhich is why, just going back to the book briefly, we want to instill these, these, these traits and the Word at a young age.
Speaker CBecause anything that you practice, you know, let's say if you practice piano from a young age, but, and you practice to your adult, you're going to be, you're going to be great.
Speaker CSo we want to hit the, hit the kids early with the power of God's Word.
Speaker CBut also, as we're saying now, it's important for adults.
Speaker CSo, you know, this is a children's book.
Speaker CIt's important for adults as well to apply these daily principles because we're all facing challenges, all facing struggles.
Speaker CThat's a part of life.
Speaker CBut God always has the answer to no matter what we're going through, and he always wants the best for us, which is what we're trying to really instill through this book.
Speaker AAnd you know, the Bible is a book of amazing stories as well.
Speaker AAnd there were some stories that, that I heard told many, many times.
Speaker ABut until I picked up a children's book about that story and read through it, did it finally make sense to me in the way.
Speaker ASo it doesn't matter whether it's written as a children's book or whether it's written is really high level theology.
Speaker AThe Word has a way of finding the people where it is.
Speaker ASo children's book can, can reach adults?
Speaker AYes, just, I mean, it's hit me hard a couple of times going through a book.
Speaker AI was like, oh, that's what that means.
Speaker AAnd it's like, man, I gotta start adjusting some of my, my picture to, to incorporate this little thing that I've been looking at.
Speaker ASo.
Speaker AInterestingly so.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ASo even if it's in a kid's book, adults can still get so much out of it, which is.
Speaker BInto my next question.
Speaker BWhat are your plans?
Speaker BWhat are your goals?
Speaker BWe have our first book, Timothy, and what's going to happen next?
Speaker EOh, well, our goal is to be the next Veggie Tales, so.
Speaker ESo have you seen Veggie Tales before?
Speaker BOh, I like that.
Speaker DYeah.
Speaker BPerfect.
Speaker BAnother book plan.
Speaker AYou're actually, you're actually like just missing us because our kids just, just missed Veggie Tales.
Speaker AThey were just older and so we know what it is, but we haven't watched it because our kids missed that.
Speaker ASo I have seen it like a couple episodes, but I could not really.
Speaker ACould not really tell you what it's about.
Speaker ABut.
Speaker BBut yeah.
Speaker BSo what are the plans?
Speaker BYou have another book in the works or are you just working on this one right now and then jumping into another one?
Speaker BWhat are some other things that you're doing?
Speaker AYou want to get into animation, turn it into cartoons or just like the books?
Speaker FWell, well, for now we have plans from future books and we want, we want this to be a series.
Speaker FWe want more trust intimidate books in the future.
Speaker FSo that's our plan.
Speaker FBut like we all say we're not going to limit God, so we do envision potentially TV shows, making movies.
Speaker FSo we do have plans continue making inspirational stuff to can help people.
Speaker FSo we, we did, we have for now some kinds of books, but we definitely envision more stuff in the future as well.
Speaker ANice.
Speaker BBeautiful.
Speaker DYes, we're, we're very excited about this process.
Speaker DSo yes, we, we, we plan to continue making more and I, we envision it this being like very big.
Speaker DSo I'm very excited to see this progress and become something even bigger.
Speaker DSo very exciting process.
Speaker BExcellent.
Speaker BThank you.
Speaker AThink your next book will go quicker?
Speaker DI hope so.
Speaker BEspecially once you get the process down.
Speaker BThen things go a little bit smoother the next time.
Speaker AExactly.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker BAwesome.
Speaker BWell, Bryant family, this has been a wonderful discussion.
Speaker BI have enjoyed every single bit of it, from our homeschooling to our faith to the launching of the book.
Speaker BAll of this has been inspiring and insightful and hopefully other families as they're listening to this, pick up on the pieces and parts that help fulfill them and lead them to their purpose as you're doing.
Speaker BSo thank you so very, very much for joining us.
Speaker BToday.
Speaker BAnd in that spirit, can you please share a little bit of how people can get a hold of you, follow you, get the book, etc.
Speaker BAnd of course, things will be in the show.
Speaker DNotes.
Speaker FYes.
Speaker FSo our book can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and we also have a website, trusting timothy.com where the book can be found.
Speaker FWe also have an Instagram Trusting Timothy Underscore Official, that's our Instagram username where we post, um, content there as well.
Speaker FSo, um, that is, um, where we, um, can be found.
Speaker BBeautiful.
Speaker BSo, like, share and help them spread the word about this new book and this wonderful journey of this family.
Speaker ASo I really appreciated having you all here today.
Speaker AThe coherence of the family, the way you all work together is just beautiful.
Speaker AThat that wasn't taken away from you in public school, which is, which is a really awesome thing because again, my, my siblings and I don't necessarily get along so well after going to school.
Speaker ASo beautiful, beautiful message.
Speaker AAnd so many people now, you know, they, they don't put themselves out there.
Speaker AThey.
Speaker AThey take these and then they just hide away and they just keep it to themselves.
Speaker ABut you're out there, you're making a difference and you're sharing your story with the world, which is such a brave thing to do.
Speaker ASo thank you for doing what you're doing.
Speaker AThank you for, for being here today.
Speaker AIt's.
Speaker AIt's so important that people can see role models like you.
Speaker FThank you for.
Speaker CThank you.
Speaker CThank you for having us.
Speaker CYes, thank you.
Speaker DThank you for having us.
Speaker DAppreciate it.
Speaker BVery welcome.
Speaker BAll right, audience, this is the time to, like, share, subscribe, and make sure you're letting other families in on the secret.
Speaker BThere is some great information in this podcast bringing education home.
Speaker BLike the Bryant family, who are reaching out and doing the thing to help other families be healthy, happy and successful.
Speaker BSo take care of yourselves and spread the word and make sure that you are doing what you can to raise kids that can love and grow and be successful.
Speaker AAnd check out the Bryant family and Trusting Timothy.
Speaker DYep, exactly.
Speaker BUntil next time.
Speaker BBye for now.
Speaker AFor now, take care.