Vernon Brown: 0:00

Hey there and welcome back to Conversations at the Well. This is episode number two. Episode number two of 2025, season two of Conversations at the Well, which we're going to be talking about the year 2025. What are we expecting, what are we looking forward to? Some of our goals, and we hope to hear a little bit about some of your goals too. So join us on this journey we are kicking off in January of 2025. We can't wait to see you at the Conversation at the Well. Good morning, good morning, good morning.

Desiree Brown: 0:31

I had to get that in because I used to say that every Sunday, but I won't say it anymore, so maybe you do miss them with 2024. Anyways, good morning, good morning good morning.

Vernon Brown: 0:38

My name is Vernon Brown.

Desiree Brown: 0:39

And I'm Desiree Brown.

Vernon Brown: 0:40

And we are Desiree and Vernon Brown. We're your hosts, we're your hostse and Brandon Brown.

Desiree Brown: 0:44

We're your hosts. We're your hosts. There we go. We're your hosts.

Vernon Brown: 0:47

For a conversation that the wealth you caught, episode one. We were talking kind of recapping on 2024. And so this episode, we're going to be looking forward to 2025. Some of the things we're looking forward to, some of our goals, some of the things that perhaps we've been convicted of Some of, perhaps we've been convicted of some of those conversations, so we can talk a little bit more about what we expect for this up and coming year. And I'm going to start so.

Vernon Brown: 1:16

I think we often start years off with a long laundry list of goals and things we want to accomplish. Some people call them resolutions, some people call them goals, milestones, smart goals, whatever you want to call them. But I think maybe even more important than the goals we set are the habits we need to form to enable us to get to the goals we set. So, listening to my pastor, mike Todd, transformation Church and their big year, their big word of the year is death to distractions, no focus Subtitle, because you remember he was like don't leave before I give you a subtitle Cause somebody was walking out the church. Um, death to distraction.

Vernon Brown: 1:47

And for me, like as much as I do, as often as I'm trying to be productive, I've realized, and God's really shown me that I have a lot of distraction, like I don't have a lot of the like I don't watch a lot of TV, I don't watch like a lot of stuff like that. But just time suckers that have really been shown to me has been crazy. And how God's shown that to me was we were going through. You know, every church pretty much does their fast in January. Mind that was like, ooh, I hope God didn't hear that one Cause it can't be that.

Vernon Brown: 2:27

And it was the advertising for the well, like we, we do a lot of not advertising but the posting for the well, we do a lot of activity on social media. We're like posting. I think we're up to like eight or nine posts a day, consistently, like every day of the year. Um, so much so to where, if you see something posted and you wait a week, good luck finding it, cause your finger going to be tired from all the scrolling and like just the thought of not doing that and thinking about how that impact would impact the business and impact how people are aware of what we're doing, it was like, oh my gosh, I don't know if I can do that, and I never like thought of a fast where I was like I don't think I can do that. Um, so after a good amount of time I I got to the point where I was like, okay, I think we're going to do this. And then, as soon as I came up with I think I'm going to do this, um, I gotten from God that the business can be there but you can't, and so that kind of relaxed me a little bit.

Vernon Brown: 3:25

But as I started to like take the apps off my phone and not use it so much. I put like a blocker on my browsers and everything to where it wouldn't let me go to social media pages if I wanted to. I realized how mindlessly I just go, and just for no other reason than it literally became a habit. When I open up Chrome, the first thing I type is FAC. It's just what I do and like it's so funny because the app I use has this picture of this old lady that's like like this, like no, no, no, no, no. Every time you do it and I see it far too often.

Vernon Brown: 3:57

So I say all that to say for 2025, it's a focus on distractions and, specifically for me, I didn't even realize it within myself. I'd allowed myself to become way more distracted by, you know, social media and videos and all of that stuff that I need to be. So one of the major things I'm working towards doing this year is killing those things off, um, and also just spending a lot more time analyzing myself to say and also just spending a lot more time analyzing myself to say what made you do that? Why did you do that? Because I think a lot of our absent minded behavior isn't as absent minded as we think, we've been trained to do it. But what is the? What is creating that reaction? I just talked a lot. What do you think?

Desiree Brown: 4:39

No, I think that's great. I think I think for Well, I have, I've joined you in some ways on this like. So I did take off. I took off facebook from my phone because I felt like the other ones. I'm like I get, I get on there, but it's not like, it's not the same and and for us, just the people of our generation, it's been with us almost our entire adult life so it's kind of 60s for you?

Desiree Brown: 5:10

yeah, okay, so it's not, but legit it's been there. I think it came out. I think my profile was created in like 2004 or 2005. It's 2025 now, okay so yeah we're looking at. Oh no, that couldn't. Is that right, yeah?

Vernon Brown: 5:31

a long anyway.

Desiree Brown: 5:32

So it's been like 20 years of like just having this thing that's there, and you've just become accustomed to logging in and just scrolling and you, you know how much of a time suck it is, because I mean, it's it really. You look up, you look down, you look up and it's like an hour has passed. So you already knew it was a thing. But to actually like, okay, we're cutting this off. And then the subconscious thing, like you said, just like not even thinking about it. Even this, I think it happened this morning. I was like, ah, did it again?

Desiree Brown: 6:05

You know, like you, just don't even know how much of a habit it has become over time. So so that is. I've joined you in getting rid of that as a distraction. I'm sure there's other things that I can cut out. One thing that recently came to mind for me and I don't know if it's a, I don't know how to. I'm still trying to figure out how to explain this one. Okay, but for the last few years, this is a year's process.

Vernon Brown: 6:39

I'm so sorry for distracting you. I've just you know, I'm just such Sorry for distracting you.

Desiree Brown: 6:45

I've just. You know, I'm just such. It's not you, it's me. No, for the last few years there's been, I've come to this I think I need to like just eat. I need to eat fish. I need to cut out other meats, I need to just eat fish and I can eat other things. But as far as like animal things or like meats, Did the fish do to you?

Vernon Brown: 7:05

to where they're, the chosen?

Desiree Brown: 7:07

I don't, I don't fully know or understand, but I've kind of maybe dabbled with it like here and there, and then eventually I'm like oh, but I really want this burger, I really want this bacon, or I really want it's pretty much burgers and bacon, like I just those are things. And it has come back to me yet again fish, and I was like I probably should stop ignoring this, like I think I think this is something I'm probably supposed to do. Let's just do it.

Vernon Brown: 7:38

What do you do about the mercury in the Venus? I'm just kidding. They talk about fish.

Desiree Brown: 7:44

Have like a lot of mercury yeah, so I mean, I have to be conscious about those things, but there are fish that are low mercury fish like like um uh, salmon tuna oh, those are low because they were red.

Desiree Brown: 7:59

They had a lot of mercury, though no, they are lower in mercury and higher in, like interesting um, omega-3s. Okay, so anyway, yeah, actually that did come to mind, but I was like, okay, well, we're, I guess we're doing this, and I decided this. It felt like on a whim to you, I know. It was kind of on a whim because I was on my way home and I was like, oh, okay, I got, I had ordered a pot roast dinner that day and I was like, all right, this is gonna be it. You better finish this up and then that's it with a pot roast.

Desiree Brown: 8:34

It was a very good pot roast. I know you don't like it, but it was amazing.

Desiree Brown: 8:38

It was so good so I got some beef burgoge well, I didn't know that was going to be my last meal. I just it just was so. In any case, I I made the decision and that's one of the things that, with the series that you're talking about on focus, the first thing was about death to distractions and make and decisions. It was um. His last sermon title was the decision before delilah, talking about samson which he didn't even get to.

Vernon Brown: 9:05

He didn't even get touched on it. I was so mad.

Desiree Brown: 9:08

Well, you gotta wait till sunday.

Vernon Brown: 9:09

I know I was like you like I get set in the stone. Let's set in the stage to make sure nobody gets left behind. But I'm with you, like let's go maybe all right, anyways, I'm sorry, temper, temper yourself, so. So I just want to make this proclamation, now that you are attempting to go down this path pescatarian, now that you're pescatarian. I am going to change my phrasing from referencing you as having a funky attitude to a fishy attitude laughter, laughter. Oh, that was good okay, so moving forward.

Desiree Brown: 9:53

You think that was good?

Vernon Brown: 9:54

no, I've been thinking. I've been waiting to drop that nugget, like since you decided it didn't hit like I expected it to good.

Desiree Brown: 10:05

So, yeah, any in any case, I I think that there, I don't fully understand why this keeps coming back. I do fully understand why I have ignored it because I didn't want to do it and I'm like, but if this keeps coming back to mind what it was, something that was said in the sermon, like we have to stop thinking about the things that god brings us to and tells us not to do, as like, basically, us being like handcuffed is protecting us or setting us, it's getting, giving us a guard rail so that we can be free in this, this particular space.

Vernon Brown: 10:45

But how do you tell the difference between like God leading and diarrhea? Because they both can come back and one's not good.

Desiree Brown: 10:52

Well, I know for sure, Not diarrhea, I know for sure it wasn't. I wasn't like, oh yes, I want to eat fish every day for the rest of my life. That was not in my bingo cards. That was not what I wanted to do, because I really like food. Y'all, if y'all if those that know me know I like to eat and maybe that's the reason why. Maybe, maybe there are some things down the road that changing my diet will help with so it's not a fast lifestyle this is a lifestyle, like um, it makes me want to cry sometimes, but yes, yeah, that's what I was thinking about.

Vernon Brown: 11:27

Um, we talked last episode about the social media stuff. Like at first I kind of viewed it as a fast, but like, the more I looked I was like now this needs to be a lifestyle. I need to figure out where my groove is through here, like, is it off completely? Is it half in, half out? Like how do I find my place?

Desiree Brown: 11:44

but I get that from where you're talking about yeah, because I think if it were more me, it would feel a whole lot different. It would be like oh yeah, let's do this, but this is like no, I'm kind of mourning, a bit like chick-fil-a sent me a message and I was like dang, I missed those nuggets, like I you missed the nuggets.

Vernon Brown: 12:04

It you miss the nuggets.

Desiree Brown: 12:06

It's like one of those things where I was like dang, I wish I would have thought about this before I made this decision, so I could be like okay, my one last time. You know what I'm saying? So, no, but it changes things and I've been thinking forward. Like if I go out to eat, that means that most of my choices are going to be vegetables or some type of side fish, that's it. If they don't have fish on the menu, then it's sides.

Vernon Brown: 12:30

So 2025 is going to be fishy yeah, it's going to be distraction free so far.

Desiree Brown: 12:38

Yeah, I think reduced distraction, reduced distractions okay, and even meeting distractions with a different mindset is she mindset? A mindset that says, oh, you are a distraction, like not just oh, here's this, oh oh, you know, like so tying it all together, your eyes being opened, I it. You talked about last episode. Yeah, yeah.

Vernon Brown: 13:06

So so you're approaching it more with an I see you like. Call you who you are and approach life accordingly.

Desiree Brown: 13:14

Yeah.

Vernon Brown: 13:27

Cause it. It changes your.

Desiree Brown: 13:28

It changes how you, how you come to it or how you uh X, x, not not experience it, but how you deal with it, because before it was like oh, it's like I didn't even know it was a distraction. It's just like oh, okay, I'm on facebook, cool. But now three hours later yeah, now it's like oh, oh, oh, I see you and you. You handle it a little differently, gotcha, or you might choose to handle it. Maybe you decide to indulge in your distraction.

Vernon Brown: 13:51

But it's a decision. But it's a decision and not a mindless just. Yes, yeah, it's like yeah, let me drive into that brick wall. Yeah, sometimes it's like that yeah.

Desiree Brown: 14:00

Okay, okay, yeah. So those two things we have so far, yeah, for 25?

Vernon Brown: 14:06

what was the? I don't even remember the original question. I don't remember, but it was probably. Well, no, I think I just started talking about um reducing distractions for 2025.

Desiree Brown: 14:14

Oh, no you remember we talked about goals.

Vernon Brown: 14:16

But yeah, then we went into habits, habits that'll be that'll support us actually getting to those goals. So, living life fishy and death to distraction, yeah, anything else you want to add um, and I, I told you my year.

Desiree Brown: 14:34

My word is intention, intention. I said that in the last episode. My word for this, year is intention.

Vernon Brown: 14:42

I'm gonna go back and listen. I'm pretty sure you didn't say that I did y'all think she said that.

Desiree Brown: 14:45

I know I said it, it's intention, so I think that's another. What are you talking about? I was talking about like when I was just doing all the things and was like why?

Vernon Brown: 15:05

I still don't believe it, but but okay, I'll go back and listen.

Desiree Brown: 15:09

My word of the year is intention, and so this year, with me choosing to take on things or not take on things, I want to do it more consciously and, ideally, prayerfully, so that I'm taking on things that I actually should be taking on and leaving the rest behind. Yeah, so that is a new habit.

Vernon Brown: 15:37

Tension Wow, that's huge. For me yeah, Cause that's like you. Well, how does intention mesh with you being in the trunk?

Desiree Brown: 15:48

I'm in the back seat. Oh, I'm sorry in the back seat. God is not kidnapping me. I'm in the back seat. How does that met? I think because he's the driver and I need to be like hey, god, driver, is this the direction that I need to go, or?

Vernon Brown: 16:04

Or how can you go if you're in the backseat, Like I'm? That sounds like a question a driver would ask.

Desiree Brown: 16:13

The driver knows where the driver's going right.

Vernon Brown: 16:15

Yeah, so is this the direction I need to go? Is that a question that somebody in the trunk asks?

Desiree Brown: 16:21

Stop saying I'm in the trunk. I'm not in the trunk, is it?

Vernon Brown: 16:23

a question. Somebody in the backseat asks Is this where we need to be going?

Desiree Brown: 16:28

So maybe the question changes to is this where we're going? Yeah, either way, I need to ask the question. I wonder if you even need to ask the question.

Vernon Brown: 16:39

Or do you just trust that he's driving?

Desiree Brown: 16:42

But then there's always things are presented. Even this year things have been presented and I had to say yes or no to the things.

Vernon Brown: 16:53

That's where your scenario kind of falls apart, not in a negative way. Why is he trolling me today? What is going on, are you?

Desiree Brown: 17:03

okay, did I do something?

Vernon Brown: 17:05

no it wasn't in a bad way. It came off real bad, but I didn't mean it that way in this instance. I'm sorry it did sound real bad. That's where your scenario falls apart. I didn't mean it like that, but I meant it like this is where you know. It's like the end.

Desiree Brown: 17:20

I didn't bring up the analogy, you did.

Vernon Brown: 17:22

Well, yeah, but I was trying to make it work.

Desiree Brown: 17:25

And so your analogy fell apart.

Vernon Brown: 17:27

You know what Is this 2025?

Desiree Brown: 17:30

Yes, yes, okay, okay. But yeah, for me it is about Lord Are we or are we not? I need to know what you got in mind, because I'm good to be like yes, we are, and he's like no, we're not.

Vernon Brown: 17:53

So yeah, Okay, another thing that you've been doing, which is pretty cool, is like trying to get all the way through the book.

Desiree Brown: 18:00

Bible.

Vernon Brown: 18:01

Yeah.

Desiree Brown: 18:01

Yeah, so that's a goal. So I did write out goals this year. I did them in different sections, but one of my, I guess when we had some friends in town and I read off my list of like 20 goals and they're like, oh, wow, that's a lot, sounds great. What would make the most impact? And I was like, well, probably if I had to narrow it down, it would probably be bible fully cover to cover, and my goal is to read the bible in six months, because I've tried doing it in a year.

Desiree Brown: 18:36

I feel like it's kind of too long, it's just it just I get unfocused and I lose track and it just doesn't happen. So I've never read it fully for cover to cover, whereas now I have a reading plan that is six months and it's a lot more intentional because you have to pretty much stay. Like if you skip a day, you're going to have a whole lot more chapters to read the following day, and if you skip two days, like I did this week, I got like 24 chapters to read. So it makes you be like, okay, I gotta stay on it, right? So, um, but I mean, oh my gosh, it's been. I'm. I'm in leviticus, now genesis, exodus leviticus, so I've read genesis. I've read exodus. I'm in leviticus. I'm almost Leviticus. So I've read Genesis. I've read Exodus I'm in Leviticus. I'm almost to Numbers and I'm very excited about that.

Vernon Brown: 19:22

But about being in Numbers or about finishing Leviticus. Finishing, I'm gonna say, numbers is.

Desiree Brown: 19:28

Leviticus is rough, numbers is rougher perhaps, but anyway I'm. But I'm I'm so excited about, first of all, having gotten this far, because I don't think I've ever gotten this far, because I don't think I've ever gotten this far three books, I never got this far. But the other thing about it is just the additional understanding that I'm getting, even from these first three books, and I'm like, oh, and we talked about trusting God and trusting God more, and I'm like going, going through the scriptures and I'm learning about, of course, I learned about Adam and Eve, I learned about Noah, I learned about Abraham and his many sons, abraham, isaac, jacob, who became Israel, and then I went and their many sisters.

Desiree Brown: 20:12

And now I'm in Moses, yeah, and sisters, and then there's Moses, and pretty much where I am is really about Moses, and it's interesting just to watch his trajectory go from a man who got approached through a burning bush and he was like, I mean, are you sure it's me like you talking to me or you must be talking to the person like over there to God giving him such detailed instructions and him being like okay. So there was a process that happened between that first introduction to where he is in my reading now, where he's just obedient, like it's the craziest things. God's like yeah, I need you to do this and this and this and very specifically this. And now he's like okay.

Vernon Brown: 21:01

Well, which is which is kind of crazy, because if you think about how he received the instructions originally, there was a lot of how do I pull this off? How do I do that? Like a lot of me getting it but then me trying to figure out how I'm going to steer there, but to get to the point where you can follow the instructions that detailed you can't be in how do I get this done? Where's the gold going to come from, or where's the calf going to come from? It's just you said it. All right, cool, let's go.

Desiree Brown: 21:29

I, I am, I'm so like Moses. It's like kind of crazy in the in the old, the old Moses, in the sense of like how. I'm always like okay, but how?

Desiree Brown: 21:40

you guys like listen, like I, I got this, I just need you to do it. But how? And I, I've, I've struggled a lot in in that and I don't. I think that I've been, I've been. I think that some things that I was told to do or supposed to do was, I either didn't do it or I put it off, like this fish thing, because I was so bogged down in the details versus just the obedience of it.

Desiree Brown: 22:28

Now, I'm watching Moses and he's like I mean y'all? I was reading yesterday about the atonement for different sins or like the healing of a person with leprosy, and it was like, yeah, you need to dip their right finger in blood and dip their right toe, the big toe, specifically the big toe. And I was like why, what? I don't get this, I don't understand this, but it's oddly specific. But he's not even asking you questions, he's just like okay.

Vernon Brown: 22:46

Yeah, it's like do you want to heal him or not?

Desiree Brown: 22:50

Or yeah, like he's just like okay, whatever you say I'm doing, and I'm like I think I would, I would love to be in that place where I'm just like, OK, right, right toe, right, right, right finger, right toe, cool, we, we're going to do this. Why? Because you said so and I trust you. Because I've seen you part Red Seas and I've seen you deliver our people out of this and I've seen you come down on a mountain and it's thundering and lightning and I hear your voice and I've seen your glory and I've seen you like, I've experienced you in such amazing and personal ways that, yeah, of course, whatever you say goes, and so it's just. I'm so inspired just by the first three books of the Bible and I feel like my faith is, it's just like just bubbling up. It's great, let's say, faith comes by by hearing. So, and I've been reading, so I don't know if that's the same.

Desiree Brown: 23:51

But I have been listening to it on the Bible app, so I mean hearing the word of God. Listening to it on the Bible app, so I mean hearing the word of God. I mean it's just, it is really transformative already and I'm like three books in three books in not even a full month and I'm like man we got five more months of this and this is going to be amazing. So yeah, that those are just some of the habits, um, that I've started this year.

Vernon Brown: 24:20

So, as you think about the habits and recognizing that the habits are going to be what enables you to get to whatever goals you've set, where do you, assuming you can stay on a relative trajectory close to your goals, what do you think December is going to look like?

Desiree Brown: 24:41

Oh, my gosh. Oh, I don't even know. I think what do you mean? I think I don't know. I feel like I'm in training and prep mode right now. I think I'm getting my like. I'm getting, I'm getting filled and strong right now.

Desiree Brown: 24:57

Through the scriptures, I wrote down a bunch of goals. God told me to write down goals and I was like, why? Because you always change my goals, like you always change my plans, I make plans and then you go and change it. Why are you doing this? But I was explaining to someone who actually asked me the questions. Why do you think he had you write the goals? And I think it's because I needed to be specific about what I wanted. God says that he will give you the desires of your heart, but if I don't even know what the desires are, I haven't written it down, then I don't even know what those things are. But by writing it down, I think it gives me something to look back on it at the end of the year, and it will because I've been.

Desiree Brown: 25:43

Oh, we talked about the, the car analogy in the last episode, but that has really told me I need to. I'm the driver, god is the driver, I am in the back seat. So I brought that part up and he said I really I want you to rest, it is I need I, I want you to enjoy the ride, I want you to rest. And so how that relates to December is I think that there will be things that happen this year that I wrote down but didn't necessarily like In my own strength, like OK, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this. I strength like, okay, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this. But I'm predicting that all of it will happen, or at least most of it will happen, and it will not have been because of my own strength. It would have been because God was like you, trusted me, and so here, all of it. That would be amazing.

Vernon Brown: 26:42

You care to share one amazing thing.

Desiree Brown: 26:45

One amazing is it in here. I think it's on my phone because I don't remember all of it, but Uh-oh, where are we?

Vernon Brown: 26:59

that's so weird that you swipe through versus searching oh, okay, let me search like I. No, you don't have to. I just I never waste time. I don't.

Desiree Brown: 27:10

I never like I never you see he keep coming for me today. What is going on?

Vernon Brown: 27:15

I never waste time, it's just. It's easier to search in all cases whether I know where the app is or not.

Desiree Brown: 27:22

Okay, so here are my goals, some of them. So be obedient to what I hear from God. Well, just give me one amazing one oh an amazing one. Okay, let's see, uh, what I hear from god. Well, just give me one amazing one. Okay, let's see, uh, open the coffee shop and healthy snack bar here at the well, that'll be amazing um reinstate our weekly podcast episodes. Here we are check.

Desiree Brown: 27:54

At least we got two Lead a national initiative or become a board member of an organization with a positive national impact, that's much more specific than your usual goals. Like I don't do this.

Desiree Brown: 28:10

Yeah, I do not write goals like this. You'd be like join a group, yeah, like I don't write. This is very unusual for me, but I think I I don't even know if I won't say I won't have to try. That's not what I mean, but I think it will be so directed it will almost feel like of Like. It will feel like your daughter. It will be like a gift.

Vernon Brown: 28:43

All of the things will just be like a gift, because Like he just opens the trunk and just hands you everything you're looking for.

Desiree Brown: 28:49

And not in like a weird I don't want it to be like a weird genie kind of situation. That's not it. But it's more like I'm trying to choose my words. I want to say like a reward for my faith or reward for my trust. And that part is the work, the work is the trust, the work is the obedience. That part can be real hard. And then everything else is to seek first the kingdom of heaven and seek first the kingdom of God, and the rest will be added unto you. And so if I truly do that, if I'm like, oh, this word is, I'm reading this thing, I'm like deep in this thing, I'm going to read the thing cover to cover. I'm like, once I read it cover to cover, I almost like want to read it again. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there. But anyway, what I'm saying is like, just because my focus is more on God, because I'm connecting with him through his word like every day, or at least most days, then I'm expecting a transformative year.

Vernon Brown: 30:00

I love it. I love it.

Desiree Brown: 30:03

It's already happening. It's already great, yes. So what is my question for you, or do you want to ask another question?

Vernon Brown: 30:14

I'm done asking questions. You're done asking.

Desiree Brown: 30:16

I got all my answers okay, so we talked about the habits. Well, are there any other habits that you're, you're operating this year and how do you feel about fish? I don't know if you're gonna go. I I haven't. I didn't ask you to do it with me because I don't know if that's for you to do, but I think it's for me to do.

Vernon Brown: 30:41

I don't care what I eat, really just whatever. You eat a lot more fish, I'm sure, but I'm not making everybody in the household do this it's just food. You're the food person, not me so not your distraction.

Desiree Brown: 30:55

Yeah, um, what was your question? What other habit? Are there other habits that you're also incorporating?

Vernon Brown: 31:08

I want to study more and just like I have a lot of questions when I read the Bible and just not just taking it for what it says, but like really going down the rabbit holes and like searching stuff up. So we talked about Abraham and and his wife, abraham Isaac and their wives, and, like you know, when stuff looks weird, being like let me go look this up and see and confirm and highlight and do all of those things.

Vernon Brown: 31:37

So, um, I do wish to get through the whole Bible, but it's just taken a lot longer because I have a lot of questions and there's not always answers. Like Melchizedek, Like who the heck is that?

Desiree Brown: 31:50

And that is a very strange story.

Vernon Brown: 31:53

Just pops up out of nowhere and then disappears. But you know at least doing the, doing the work to see if you can find it and finding what people think about it and informing your own opinions about what you think about these different people and their lives and the different situations that they find themselves in.

Desiree Brown: 32:09

Yeah, I think, I think. Yeah, for you to just read through would be difficult because you do have all the questions. I have questions too, but I'm also like my goal is to finish and then I can always go back and do it again and maybe this time slower and this time with more like, let me ask the questions and all of that. I guess it's just with what intention you're setting forward.

Vernon Brown: 32:37

Another habit would be um regiment throughout life. So I think I think I'm finding tools that help me manage my life a little bit better, um, but where they fail is the regiments of using them consistently. And so if I, if I could end this year with 90% compliance and using the tools that I know would be helpful for me, that would be amazing, and I think it would like turbocharge everything.

Desiree Brown: 33:04

Yeah.

Vernon Brown: 33:05

But it's hard because even, like you know, just on a call somebody needs something and you know I've adopted just texting you my notes and but we talk a lot so it just gets buried.

Desiree Brown: 33:17

I don't know why you still do that. What do you mean? Why don't you write them down somewhere where they're not going to get lost?

Vernon Brown: 33:22

Well, because my thought is, if I put them in a random note, they're in a random note and it's like where's this random note? But I always talk to you and so I figured that was a good place for me to put stuff that I need to remember.

Desiree Brown: 33:32

I'm like yeah, I always talk to you and so I can't find anything from yeah it's not the smartest idea.

Vernon Brown: 33:38

Hopefully I can get some regimen around that because I think, as we layer more things on top, we have to be able to effectively manage what we have. That's right, and so figuring that part out, yeah, so it's.

Desiree Brown: 33:52

I don't know. I'm hopeful for 2025. Excited or you told me not to be hope, not like like hopeful. What was the other word? If it's not, you're not hopeful you're expectant that's 25, to be pretty awesome.

Vernon Brown: 34:09

Maybe we can get this room cleaned up this year.

Desiree Brown: 34:12

Are you expecting it or hoping?

Vernon Brown: 34:13

Hoping, I'm actually hoping a wall that's in.

Desiree Brown: 34:18

I think that would be a good idea. Yeah, so 25, I think it's well's. Well, I was gonna say it's off to a good start. It's been a little actually it's gone kind of. It's kind of been a rocky start, to be honest. It's been been interesting to say the least yeah, I don't know if you want to speak to any of those things or just let it go start with a flooded engine oh man, it's been.

Desiree Brown: 34:44

it's yeah, we're in january and it's already been kind of interesting. However, again, I think for me, the distraction and recognizing that these are distractions has really been helping me like, okay, all right, I mean it not, it's not ignoring that the things are happening, but it's just like, all right, these are distractions, let's just treat them as such, you know, like not lose focus, not lose hope, not get discouraged. It's just, it is what it is Right. So I've been, I've been really trying to be mindful of that, as we've been met with a few things just in the, in the first few days of the year. So I don't know how, what has your experience been like? Um, what over the?

Vernon Brown: 35:44

first few, so I don't know what has your experience been like?

Desiree Brown: 35:46

What Over the first few, first few weeks, first few days of the year?

Vernon Brown: 35:49

I mean I look at things a little bit differently. I think I look at them through the lens of responsibility. Versus responsibility versus like I, I guess the thing, the things that are my responsibility, have to get done, and so I try not to get too tangled up in the why or the how or whose fault and it's like it's got to get done, and so I think through that. It's like forget all the emotion and the thought behind it. What do we have to do to move forward? Um, so I think, by removing a lot of the emotion and the thought behind it, what do we have to do to move forward? So I think, by removing a lot of the emotion or the concerns with it, you're just able to function and take action, and I think that's been helpful. Does that make sense?

Desiree Brown: 36:33

Yeah, it makes sense.

Vernon Brown: 36:37

So I just think it's for 2025, it's just how do I, if I can, if it can go the way I need it to go, then I think my life will go the way I want it to go.

Desiree Brown: 36:48

What are you most looking forward to, or what do you want in December, looking back, what is it that you want?

Vernon Brown: 36:56

I think if I get the distractions and keep those under control and if I can find the regiment to use the tools to keep things going the way that they need to go, then I mean I could be doing anything like anything. I'd be flying a plane that'd be cool yeah.

Desiree Brown: 37:15

I like flying.

Vernon Brown: 37:15

I wouldn't want to, but I could. Yeah, because I think I'm just at a point where things get done but it's not getting done well or with excellence or the level I want it to get done. And by level it doesn't even mean the quality of it, but it means is it getting done ahead of time or is it getting done right when it needs to get done? And I think you know. Level one is do you recognize everything that needs to get done? Level two is is everything getting done? Level three is is everything getting done? Level three is is everything getting done on time? And then level four is everything getting done on time, decent and in order to, where, if more is added, you wouldn't sacrifice those timelines of being on time? And I'm trying to get to that point where everything is kind of planned out.

Desiree Brown: 38:01

You think that's you, or do you think that's God?

Vernon Brown: 38:03

I don't know. Be honest with you. Okay, that's fair. What do you think that's you, or do you?

Desiree Brown: 38:05

think that's God, I don't know. Be honest with you, okay, that's fair.

Vernon Brown: 38:07

What do you?

Desiree Brown: 38:07

think I don't know.

Vernon Brown: 38:09

Yeah.

Desiree Brown: 38:09

I mean I would say it's you, but because I just think that.

Vernon Brown: 38:13

Well, the reason why I hesitate on it is because I do think that God has a use for that.

Desiree Brown: 38:18

Yeah.

Vernon Brown: 38:18

But I think it's probably more so out of me thinking that's a formula to get me to where I want to go, more so than relying more upon God taking me there.

Desiree Brown: 38:27

Yeah, because I'm thinking again that why are you making me make plans, when you always change them and you're like oh well, this is my plan and it doesn't?

Vernon Brown: 38:42

feel like it doesn't seem right now. It does not seem like there's room for God.

Desiree Brown: 38:45

Yeah Well, I mean, as long as he's in the spreadsheet and this little cell I made for him, yeah, he need to take over. Okay, I can't even Trying to fit God into a little square. Okay, sir, there's room, look, room. Okay, that whole border needs to be God, like just whatever's in this spreadsheet. Like you are in control of this. So just my challenge to you to figure out, like those things, but where's God in it? And and and is he properly placed in those things that you have planned out? So, anyway, that's just put that out there, cause it, otherwise you're going to get um side swipe per usual, because he's like okay, you made a lot of plans and you did not consult, you didn't talk about, we did not none of this.

Desiree Brown: 39:34

We did not consult about this, you did this on your own, yeah, so just just make sure that you're this is a collaborative. Yeah, absolutely. Um. So anyway, I mean, I think 2025 is going to be. I think we'll look back and feel a lot differently about 2025 than we did about 2024. Um, I think we covered everything that I wanted to cover. You kind of led with the, the things that we need to do to like what habits we need to have in place, and I kind of wanted to touch on that. I want to hear from the, from the listeners, the viewers. I want to hear what you all, what goals you have. I want to hear, like, what habits you're putting in place to make those things happen and how you're going to like measure throughout the year that you're getting those things done.

Vernon Brown: 40:30

And where's God in it?

Desiree Brown: 40:31

I want to know about that too. I heard a lot of people take out a razor. I know Everybody was like, oh, we're good, I can send that. I can send that. Oh, wait a minute. So I mean, it's just a challenge. It's a challenge because I know our natural inclination is just to be like all right, go mode, let's do this and let's meaning like me myself and I, not me myself, I and God, it's just me myself. I.

Vernon Brown: 40:51

We're just out here.

Desiree Brown: 40:52

Yeah, we're just out here. Anything else you want to add, any other questions you have, thoughts you have? Before we conclude, oh, I think we're good, yeah, yeah, okay. Well, I want to thank you all for joining us for Conversations at the Well episode two, season two. I think this is going to be an amazing year and I am looking forward to sharing it with you all, and, of course, we'll be giving updates throughout the year about how things are progressing Right.

Vernon Brown: 41:20

How's your Sabbath going?

Desiree Brown: 41:21

How's my Sabbath? Oh OK, let's talk aboutbath. Oh okay, let's, we should talk about that.

Vernon Brown: 41:24

Yeah, it's changed has it, does it exist, it has it does for me.

Desiree Brown: 41:30

Mine is gone, yours gone so okay, so we change things at the well. We now have saturday classes and y'all know we reserve saturday as our sabbath. Saturday ain't the sabbath, no more. Okay. But also the thing that changed was that our activity at church has changed, because we we are no longer part of our previous church. Um, we're in the process of church hunting now, and so I have adopted Sunday that's a.

Vernon Brown: 41:55

That's a whole episode church hunting yeah, yeah, we're gonna that's.

Desiree Brown: 41:59

I have to actually have that on my mind you have it on there already.

Vernon Brown: 42:01

Yeah, that's crazy. No, keep going. Yeah's, I have to actually have that on my. You have it on there already. Yeah, that's crazy. No, keep going, I trust you.

Desiree Brown: 42:04

Yeah, no, I have to show you because, oh, did I erase it? Oh yeah, it was actually another episode that I wanted to do.

Vernon Brown: 42:13

Wait a minute. You got a list of episodes Since when. Yeah, I'm doing better in 2025.

Desiree Brown: 42:29

Hey, hey, but um, anyway. So I've adopted sunday more as the sabbath day for for myself anyway. Um, I mean, it already has church as a part of that, but, um, it's more of a a day to spend with the family and and kind of relax before we hop into the next, but, um, and, and actually I guess it's part of Saturday too. So there's still ways.

Desiree Brown: 42:46

I don't want our family, I don't want our children and every, all that we're in, I don't want all that we're involved with to swallow up our Like the, the, the foundation of our life, which is our family and our children, like I don't want them to get sidelined because we got all these other things going on. So I think it's really important that we're intentional about continuing to spend that time with them and making them a priority, um, reserving that space to just enjoy one another. Have fun, get outside, do whatever. It's been cold, though I don that space to just enjoy one another, have fun, get outside, do whatever. It's been cold, though. I don't want to go outside. But you know what I'm trying to say yeah.

Desiree Brown: 43:30

So to me it has shifted, but it hasn't gone away. Gotcha, yeah, now you, I'm clearly been doing this myself in my mind, but what?

Vernon Brown: 43:41

how are you? How are you?

Desiree Brown: 43:41

talked about it, yeah well, how do you want to, how do you want? Do you still want to have a sabbath?

Vernon Brown: 43:48

I think there's value to it, but I think we probably need to save that for another episode, okay yeah, we'll do that.

Desiree Brown: 43:55

All right, you want to wrap us up? No, you go ahead. I've already thanked you all and I thank you again for staying for this like appendix version right of stevenson 2, episode 2 um. Thank you for joining.

Vernon Brown: 44:03

I thank you again for staying for this like appendix version of Stevenson 2, episode 2.

Desiree Brown: 44:06

Thank you for joining us for Conversations at the Well. Please continue to like, subscribe, share y'all. We want this thing to get even bigger and better in this new year, so please share it with people.

Vernon Brown: 44:17

Comment she got some episodes, y'all she got some episodes, she got some stuff she want to talk about. Yeah, I don't know if Laura has done this list yet.

Desiree Brown: 44:25

We appreciate you and we thank you for joining us for a journey and just allowing us to talk it out, because clearly all this stuff is in my head.

Vernon Brown: 44:33

But I don't know what she thinking. Y'all All I know is she fishy.

Desiree Brown: 44:39

Please do not have people calling me fishy, that is not okay, right we'll see you.

Vernon Brown: 44:46

We'll see you next time. Bye.