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Tomorrow can be different from today.
Our lives often leave us feeling hopelessālike nothing will ever change. But perspective is everything. When you know where to look, hope can be found in the spaces and places you least expect.
Join Jason Gore (Lead Pastor of Hope Community Church) for a fresh perspective, practical steps, and weekly encouragement that hope really is possibleā¦ even in real life.
The gospel is both the simplest
and most complex thing that exists
because it is the simplest thing in that no other religion
on planet Earth, no other God requires nothing
of you other than your belief in him.
Yeah. Yep. There's no every other religion on planet Earth.
There's like this whole list of stuff. Yeah.
And God's like, just come to me.
Welcome to the Hope and Real Life podcast with Jason Gore.
Our team is passionate
and committed to bringing you more hope in the everyday real
areas of your life.
If this conversation and content is valuable for you,
please do us a favor, like, subscribe, and even share.
You never know how valuable it could be
to share a little bit of hope with someone else.
Let's get the conversation started.
Hope in real life family.
This is part two of our interview
with our guest Molly Stillman.
If you are ready for some more laughs
and even more hope, let's jump right in.
You said you inherited a quarter million dollars. Mm-Hmm.
Okay. Admittedly, a quarter
of a million dollars today is not
what it was say back in the early two thousands.
Mm-Hmm. But that's a significant amount of money.
Uh, there's a lot of people out there
that could be listening to this
and think, man, if I only had
$250,000, my life would be better.
Seemingly, it actually created even more challenges for you.
Mm-Hmm. Can you just unpack that a little bit?
Like what, what, what would you say to somebody
that would say, if I just had more money? Yeah.
Well, I mean, in short, you know, prior to getting it,
it was, I had this mindset of like,
well, I don't, I don't have money.
So like, if I just had more money, like it'll fix it.
And then all of a sudden I got all this money
and I was like, well, this'll fix it.
This'll fix it. And so I,
my coping mechanism became spending money.
Okay. It was like, but it was not like a, I mean, yes,
there were a couple of really dumb,
just irresponsible, large purchases.
Like I may
or may not have purchased a, like,
brand new $40,000 Jeep Commander,
like the day after I got the money.
'cause I was like, well, that's a pretty sweet car.
And then I may or may not have like, flown my boyfriend,
my college boyfriend, and I first class
to Rome for spring break.
So like I did some stuff like that. Okay.
But then, I mean, I did start a scholarship at my
university and my mom's name.
So like, I did do some good with it. I gave some to my dad.
I gave some to my sister.
Um, but then it was like, for,
it was like death by a thousand cuts.
Yeah. It was just kind of like, I, I just,
nobody ever thought to say like,
maybe you should create a budget.
Like maybe you should put some in a Roth. IRA. Yeah.
Like, no, no one ever gave me any guidance.
And, and I wanna be super clear is
that I don't blame anybody for my mistakes.
Yeah. Like, I own my mistakes.
I was young and irresponsible.
Um, but there are times where, um,
'cause when I got the check, like I had actual logistical
questions, I was like, do, do I just,
like, cash is bad, boy. Like do, what do I do
With it? Can I go to the gas station and
cash this?
Like, I, I was like, I dunno what to do with this.
I mean, it was a paper check. So, um, just
Tens and twenties please. Yeah. Like, I really,
I had no idea what to do like this logistically.
I had questions and so I went to the bank. Yeah.
'cause my dad was like, uh, just take it down to the bank.
And, um, so I did,
and the bank teller, like I remember, looked at me
and like, looked at the check, looked at me,
looked at the check, looked at me
and was like, go see that guy.
So I go to see Frank with the snap glasses at the,
at the table over there.
And I sit down with Frank with the snap glasses in the bank,
and he just like snaps his glasses together.
And he looks at the check and he looks at me
and he is like, you should, uh, put some of this in some CDs
and uh, then put some in your savings account. Oh
Yeah. They wanted all your money. That's
what it was. I mean,
That's literally what he, so my whole thing has been like,
Did you tell Listen, I know Colin Powell. Okay. Like,
I know, excuse Me.
I need, I need better advice. Please.
Right. But I mean, so part of me is like, dude,
you couldn't have given me like maybe a little bit
of a better suggestion. The
No, you made that guy's bonus for the money.
The irony is my husband is now a financial advisor.
So that's this. Like, God has a massive sense
of humor, but Yeah.
You, so is is there something that you, by the way,
when you said death by a thousand cuts, sorry, sweetheart.
If my daughter listens to this, I, I know.
I just envisioned my daughter getting $250,000 death
By, is death by thousand cuts back.
Finger me up. I'm sorry.
Karaoke. We got it.
No, I just envisioned there being like 25,000 Stanley
cups in my daughter's bed. The, oh, Stanley.
That's a different death by cut thousand
Cuts. Okay. Sorry. All.
So, uh,
if you could go back and do something differently Yeah.
Or if you were given advice to somebody,
you mentioned your husband's a financial planner.
Yeah. Hey, if somebody does come across some money,
or even if they don't like
what practical advice, what would you give to 'em?
Practical advice. Let me tell you a funny story.
So my, again, my husband is a financial advisor now.
And, uh, so about a year ago,
he had a guy come in to see him,
who is 21 years old.
Both his parents were killed tragically.
And he received a $1.5 million inheritance
that he was not expecting on his 21st birthday.
And so, uh, but somebody referred him to my husband
and he comes in to meet my husband,
and my husband says, huh, let me tell you a story
of what not to do.
Wow. But what's really interesting is because of my story
and my experience, and obviously it's not $1.5 million,
and I didn't lose both parents, but like,
because my husband has the context of receiving a lot
of money at a young age, grieving
and all of the mess associated with all of that,
he's been able to like really honestly walk alongside this
kid and, and help him in a way that like he is going
to be fine for the rest of his life financially.
Yeah. And it's, and it is like, in a lot of ways,
I'm really thankful because it's like he, my husband is able
to like, help this guy learn from my mistakes.
And so now he at, I think he's, you know, 22
or 23 now, like the amount of money he has saved in a Roth,
like he's got money that he's got in, you know,
a savings account, but he's now living in New York City
and he's able to pursue like what he wants to do
and like he's set up financially for the rest of his life.
Yeah. And so he is not gonna be able to make the,
the mistakes that I did.
And so, you know, practically speaking, the reality is, is
that if somebody ever, I mean, it doesn't,
and honestly, it doesn't matter what age you come into like
that kind of money or just even in general, like
overall your finances, you get your first full-time job.
Or like, I have a friend whose daughter is in high school
and has her, her first job.
She's, you know, working at Starbucks
and she's blowing her paychecks every single time.
Yeah. On Chick-fil-A
and more Starbucks and all these things.
And so it's a microcosm example
of just like when we don't plan financially for the future,
when you're not a good steward of a financial resource,
then, I mean, that's all, I mean, finances in general,
like we are stewards Right.
Of it. And whether it's a gift
that God has given you first Peter four 10,
or whether it's money or your home
or your relationships, whatever gifts you've received,
which everything we receive is a gift from God.
Because every good and gift, perfect gift comes from above.
When we are stewards of our gifts, like we don't own it,
A steward doesn't own it.
A steward temporarily possesses Right.
Something that somebody else owns.
And then you have to give account for what you did with
that thing when you know you were in possession of it.
Yeah. And so if God gives you something to steward,
whether it's money or whatever,
how are you stewarding it while you are
in temporary possession of it?
Yeah. And so that's something that, um, my husband tries
to do with his clients.
And that's something that I now try
to do, you know, in my life.
And it's something that I'm trying to pass down to my kids.
Um, and so just, I mean, you know, in summary is really just
understanding that whatever you have, if it's money,
you know, financial resources, a home,
whatever, it's not yours.
And so you're just stewarded.
And so you think like, okay, well what does the owner
of this thing want me to do with it?
Yeah. What does God want me to do with it? Hope
In real life family? I
want to take a moment and let you know about a resource
that we have for you, for your own personal development,
spiritual enrichment, and really a way for you
to find a bit more hope in real life.
We have a tool for you called the Hope in Real Life app.
It offers things like parenting tips, financial resources,
marriage insights, uh, if you're looking for it,
there's even Bible reading plans in there.
And there's a community
where you can even share prayer requests
and know that someone is praying for you for whatever it is
that you have going on in your life.
It's available right now in the Apple App
Store or in Google Play.
You can search hope in real life in both stores,
or you can use the download link that is in the show notes.
Remember, tomorrow can be better than today
and hope is possible even in real life.
You were talking about how God works
through different ways for different people.
Yeah. But for you, he actually worked
through the idea of tithing.
Mm-Hmm. Can you elaborate a little bit more on that? Yeah.
So, because especially anybody
who has ever struggled financially, um,
when you get into a position in which
you are literally counting every single dollar
that is in your bank account,
and when you overdraft that account for the hundredth time
and you see that, you know, that negative sign in the red,
and, um, I mean, I was at a point where,
like I said, I was working four jobs.
Like, I, I, I didn't have enough money for groceries.
Like I, I did not have enough money for food.
I remember I got in a car accident
and I was like, I don't know
how I'm gonna be able to pay for this ticket.
I don't know how I'm gonna be able to pay for.
Like, when you're at that point
where you're standing in line at a food bank
and you're like, I have a college degree
and I'm standing in line at a food bank to try
to get something to eat, it's a really, like,
it's a really humbling moment.
Right? And so my finances had held such a vice grip on
me my entire life.
Um, again, not coming from money, uh, then going to college
and, and just, you know, working
and then getting a lot of money
and then losing it all very quickly.
Um, my, my wallet held this grip around my heart.
And I believe that, um, God speaks to us through the avenues
that Satan wants to have a vice grip on us.
And, um, and so for some people, again,
it might be your sexuality, it might be your status
or your, um, your marriage, I mean, your parenting,
whatever it is, like Satan is gonna try to get in there
through the way that he knows you is your weakest point.
And, um, and so for me,
like when I started attending church within a couple
of weeks, I had heard a sermon on tithing.
And I, I, I'd never heard that term before.
I had no idea what tithing was.
And so this idea, this concept of giving my first fruits
to God, giving 10% of my income back to God,
because remember we're stewards of it.
Yeah. It's, it was his first.
And for our listeners that might not know,
tide literally means a 10th. A
10th. Yeah. Right?
And so that was an
entirely foreign concept for me.
And pretty quickly I felt this conviction
and that again, what I now know to be the voice
of the Holy Spirit saying like, you need to do this,
but remember I had no money.
And so like the idea of giving 10% of my, my, my income
to God was like, well,
this doesn't make actual financial sense.
No. Um, and so in December of 2010,
um, was the very first time that I, so I sat down
with John again.
We were dating and at this point we were
discussing marriage.
But I knew
that I had not told him everything about my story.
I, he did not know that I was in debt.
He did not know about my inheritance.
He did not know any of it.
Meanwhile, again,
he'd missed like five Sundays of church his entire life.
He bought his first house when he was like 23.
He tithe his whole life. Like he was in no debt.
And here I was like a mess.
And so I said, I know we're talking about marriage,
but I need you to know all of my stuff, like all my junk.
And I was certain this dude was gonna be like, we'll see ya.
Bye. Um, but I, I shared that with him
because I, I said, I think God is calling me to tithe.
Um, and I don't know how I'm gonna do this.
And instead of judging me
or like, you know, running away, he, uh,
and especially if you know
John, you would know that this is him.
He opened up his laptop
and he opened up an Excel spreadsheet.
'cause the guy loves a spreadsheet.
Um, and he was like, we're gonna figure this out.
I'm gonna help you figure this out.
And so we looked at my finances
and we realized that if I was to tithe 10% of my income,
I would not have any money for either groceries or food,
or excuse me, groceries or gas.
And so it was gonna be one or the other.
I could get to work or I could eat.
And he said, I can tell
that this is something you feel really called to.
So if you commit to this, if you commit to the tithe,
I'll buy your food for a couple of months.
I'll buy your groceries. It wasn't gonna be like filet,
it was gonna be like deli Turkey meat
and some box mac and cheese.
But he was gonna make sure I didn't starve.
And I mean, which I just thought was incredibly generous.
And so he did that. And so I started that.
I wrote that first check, and every paycheck I got,
I would get my physical checkbook out.
Kids, I don't know if, you know,
there's these things are called checks.
They're paper and you paper
and then, then you had a, you had your, your your the book
that then you had to balance your checkbook.
It was the whole thing. So I I would,
I'm gonna tell you a story.
I'm gonna tell you a story,
and then I'm gonna take my meta soul.
Sorry. Okay.
So when I was your age, we used to have
to back when I was your age.
Okay. I don't know why all of a
Sudden I'm like an old, I don't know
Where that voice came from back when
I was your age.
Um, so anyway, so I wrote a physical check
and, um, but truly, I have
No idea what we're gonna title this episode, by
The way, but I know, I'm so sorry. And now
It's, this Is great. Blame
Bradford Mitchell. Yeah. For all of this laughs
In real life, um, with Molly Stillman.
Um, but, uh, so I, uh, I, I started tithing, but within,
and, and let me say this
before I share the rest of this is I am incredibly sensitive
to, I don't ever subscribe to, nor do I preach or do I share
or believe in a prosperity gospel of any kind.
Okay? So I am not sitting here telling you
that if you decide to start tithing your 10% of your money
and, and your like blessings are gonna flow down from
heaven, that is not what I am saying.
And so I wanna be really super clear about that.
Um, so I, I say that with, with that sensitivity
because I know that that has been abused, right.
Um, by a lot of people for years.
Um, and so there are people that are sensitive
to that and can be triggered by that.
And so I don't want to say that I preach that message.
That is not what I'm doing.
What I am sharing is that it, this was an act
of obedience on my part and trust
and loosening again, that vice grip
that my wallet had around my heart.
Uh, you know, a lot of people when they come to faith in,
in Christ, I mean everybody, when you come
to faith in Christ, it's a, you know, the, that churchy word
of sanctification, like, it's a slow, very painful process
of turning over your heart, your mind, your body, your soul,
your wallet, all of it over to God and,
and trust and surrender.
And usually the wallet's the last one. Yep.
It's usually the last one.
For me, God knew that that was the thing
that held the greatest grip on my
heart, mind, body and soul.
And so through that I started to, again, writing
that paper check,
that was me taking an active obedience in trusting
that he was gonna provide.
And his way
of pointing me in the right direction was within a month
I got a bonus at work that was to the penny,
10% of my income.
Wow. Then the next month I got a raise that was
to the penny, an additional 10% of my income.
Come on somebody. And so, like,
literally every single month,
and my husband like, to this day, he's like,
it's the craziest thing I've ever seen is every single month
my budget literally to the penny evened out.
Wow. Every single month, my expenses,
my bills, uh, everything.
And God just, he, he never provided too much
and he didn't provide not enough.
He provided exactly what I needed
and he knew what to trust me with.
And so that was where it all began for me.
And then, um, a year
after I started tithing, um,
I received a job offer for a job I did not apply for, um,
but from a company that had,
was creating a job 'cause they wanted to hire me.
And the salary was exactly double
what I'd been making a year before.
And it was to the day that I'd written that first check.
Wow. And it was this moment of like, God just
looking at me and saying like, I told you to trust me.
Yeah. And I told you that I was gonna provide. Yeah.
Again, it was never too much and it was never too little.
Yeah. It was exactly what I needed.
Um, but at the same time,
it wasn't just like providing in a financial way.
It was, I was able to restore broken relationships.
Um, I was able to make amends with some
of the people that I had hurt.
Um, and so it was a, it was a beginning, a process of, of a,
of a restoration of from what was broken to
what could be.
And it's not like I gave my life over to Christ
and started tithing and everything was easy.
I mean, I mentioned at the beginning of the show, like,
I have two babies in heaven.
Yeah. Like, that was the worst.
Um, it's not like life is easy, um,
but life with God, uh, is a whole lot better Yeah.
Than life without him when I'm trying to do stuff on my own.
Yeah.
And that's good. I, I think we could sit in that, um,
for do a whole episode just on
and what happens when we're obedient.
Mm-Hmm. And again, to your point, it's not a prosperity
thing, but when God calls us into things he wants us
to see, he is faithful.
Yeah. Um, let's, uh,
let's press pause on that just for a moment.
Um, we talked a little bit about your book. Mm-Hmm.
Um, also a podcaster. Yeah. We're talking.
So you have a podcast now that's eight years old.
Yeah. Yeah. It turns eight this month is
September. It's older than a toddler.
I know.
I mean, that's impressive. So well done there. Um, podcast.
Can I laugh on your shoulder?
What was it that led you to want to, I mean,
you're essentially creating, right?
Yeah. As a writer, as a podcaster. Yeah.
Talk a little bit about like what is it inside of you
that makes you want to have that as a part of your life?
Yeah. Well, I, uh, you know, I used
to do comedy sketch and improv.
I've always loved to, uh, create
Shocking that you've always done comedy.
I know, I know. It really shocking. Yeah.
Um, but I, um, yeah.
So I was a creative writing major in college
and I've actually written online, um, uh, in some form
or fashion for over 20 years.
Okay. Um, and that was just, I had a, a professor in college
who said the only way to get better
at writing is just to write.
And so I did. And so I started, um, with a blog
and I'm really glad that the archive feature exists, right.
So you can't see some of that really bad early writing.
Um, and so I just loved to create.
And then, um, I got that job working in radio
and I loved working in radio
and did a lot of voiceover work and on air work.
And that was just really fun. But then I,
obviously I didn't work at the radio station anymore,
and podcasting had kind of become this thing
that people were doing.
And yeah, I was interested in it.
And after kind of mulling around with the idea for a couple
of years, my husband finally said like, oh my goodness,
would you stop talking about it and just do it?
Um, and so I did. And so I launched it in the fall of 2000
and, uh, 16 and, um, 410 episodes later.
I'm still, still every Wednesday it comes out,
but I get to sit down with, I mean, people that I would,
I mean, not Colin Powell, you know, may he rest in peace,
but, um, I, I mean, I get to sit down
with just incredible like, speakers and authors
and, you know, producers and content creators
and just hear how, um, they're using, you know, it's kind
of the undergirding of it all is one Peter four 10 is like,
each of us has received a gift
and we're to use that gift to serve others
as faithful stewards of God's grace.
And it's various forms.
And so how are people stewarding their gifts, um, in a way
to serve others and make their communities and families
and friendships better than they found them.
And, um, and I it's called, can I laugh on your shoulder?
Obviously, because it's this idea of like, uh, you know,
life is both beautiful and hard
and so it's a play on the, can I cry on your shoulder?
Right. Of just like, um, we're gonna have hard conversations
and we're gonna maybe cry a little bit
and we're also gonna laugh
and just get to know one, one another as humans.
And it's really fun. I love it. Yeah.
So I'm hearing this though. Mom, wife, podcaster, author.
How do you find time? Like, where does all the words, and
Now I'm gonna Seminary. That's
right. Now you're gonna seminary. Why?
Let's say, you know what, why do this to myself?
One more thing. Why did
I do this to myself?
I don't know. Uh, if I'm being totally honest.
Um, well, I will say that, uh, God has done a lot
of pruning.
Um, I realize that's a, a a another churchy word
that we see throughout the Bible.
But having lived on a farm and we have a, a garden
and fruit trees like pruning is essential, um,
to producing good fruit.
And God has pruned a lot.
The pandemic pruned a lot in my life.
Um, that's a whole nother conversation for another day
where I, he, he took, he stripped a lot, uh, away.
And I had to like, really in the last four years ask myself
what do I prioritize, um, in my life?
And I realized that for a while I was prioritizing,
I think in a different way, but like success.
And, um, I had the dream
of getting the book deal and all of that.
And, um, and then I, I realized that like, time is fleeting
and the most important people in my life
are my husband and my children.
And I don't want my kids to look back
and say, we never saw mom.
'cause all she did was travel or we never saw, you know, mom
and dad happy together.
And, um, I want my kids to like be grossed out
by their parents because we smooch in front of them so much.
And, um, I want, you know, my kids know like
how much mom and dad love each other.
Yeah. And my kids know that they are my number one priority,
um, outside of their, their dad.
And that is like our family unit is
the most important thing to me.
And so that is, that takes precedence over everything else.
And so it's, I've had
to learn some really hard time management skills and um,
and then also have conversations with my kids
where I can say things like, alright, we've spent a lot
of time together, children, I love you so much.
Now mommy needs an hour. Yeah.
You know, so sometimes there is a balance. Yeah.
Um, but I, I never want to like make my husband
or my children feel like they come second
to anything else that I do.
And so it takes, I do not ace this, so I just want
to like be super clear about that.
I am not like nailing this, um, especially with, uh,
now I'm starting seminary, so
who knows what that's gonna look like.
Your book, if I don't laugh, I'll cry.
What, what do you like when you wrote that?
What, what's the heart coming outta that?
What do you want people to walk away from that book
Yeah. Carrying with
them? I love
that you asked that question.
Um, because, uh, I mean, I knew that, I mean,
it's a Christian publisher, so like I knew
that Christians would pick it up.
I want Christians to read it.
I would love for you to buy my book.
Please do support your local author.
Um, and we will put a link
to it in the show notes and everything.
Yes. You get wherever books are sold.
Um, yeah, I obviously like, I, I,
I really believe anybody can listen to it.
Um, men, women, I don't think that it's really like meant
for just women in their thirties.
Like I, I've had 75-year-old men read it who love it,
and I've had high school seniors read it who love it.
So I think that it, something appeals to everybody.
But I can tell you that there were three very specific
people that I had in mind while I wrote it,
and I pictured them the entire time I wrote it.
I won't say who they are because I know them personally.
Um, but they were three people in my life
who I love very, very dearly.
And all three of them do not know the Lord.
And I pictured them specifically
because they know that I know the Lord.
And I've had a lot of conversations with them about it.
But these are three people
who are carrying really heavy things who are, I'm,
I'm watching just try to get
through the difficulty of life on their own.
Um, and they just desperately mean Jesus. Yeah. Desperately.
But I'm sure that there are people watching
or listening who have
that person in your life who doesn't know the Lord.
Um, and you have like tried to share the gospel
with them in some way, shape, or form.
But sometimes it, the, the har, the hardest people
to witness to are the ones that are closest to us.
Yep. And so I wrote this in mind in such a way that
I tell the story and the book, really 85%
of it is like not a testimony.
It's not like churchy at all.
Like I I, I wrote it in such a way that I invite you in
and I earn the right through laughter, through tears,
through bearing my soul
and sharing my story as honestly as I can to by the end
of the book, slap you in the face with the gospel.
Right. Yeah. And I used that term very specifically
because I said to my editor when I was writing it, I said,
I want to get to the point where by the end of the book,
you have been punched in the face with the gospel so
that you close that book and you,
there's no way that you can close that book.
And you have not heard
that there is hope to be found in Jesus.
Yeah. Because I knew
that those three people are gonna read the book.
Yeah. Because they're my friends. Yeah.
And I know that they would read it.
And I know, again, I don't have like these expectations.
Like I'm not, God is more concerned
with my obedience than my results. Yeah,
That's right. That's right.
He's more concerned with my obedience.
And, and I, my whole thing is did they close the book
and did they go, Hmm,
Jesus maybe isn't like so crazy.
And I don't know if I'm like a watering or planting. Yeah.
It's not my job to save them. That's God's business. Yeah.
But like did, was I obedient in how I shared the gospel
and was it just a little seed?
Yeah. Again, I don't have these like D Lulu, I'm not d lulu
as the kids say to think that, you know, uh,
no Cap. I'm not D
Lulu. There, there will
be a vocab test after this
Episode. Yeah, I know.
Um, I'm not, you know, that I'm not, you know,
d Lulu enough to think that they're gonna close the book
and like surrender their life to Christ right there.
That's, I did not expect that to happen,
but I wanted people who had never heard the gospel to
before to hear it in a way that was disarming.
Yeah. Um, and so that was my goal in it.
And, um, and I'll tell you, like based on Amazon
and Goodreads, uh, people either love that approach
or they do not Yeah.
Uh, their reviews, but I'll say overall
majority have have said, you know, I've even seen reviews.
I say like, I'm not a Christian,
but I really appreciated the way
that she shared her faith. Yeah.
Hope in real life family. I wanna pause for a moment
and let you know about an opportunity
that I believe can help you find a bit more
hope in everyday life.
Listen, I know a lot of our viewers probably aren't a part
of a church, or maybe you gave up on the church a long time
ago and, and believe me, uh, possibly for good reason.
I understand. Uh,
but I don't want you to miss out on the hope
that you can actually experience by journeying alongside
of a group of people that really are seeking
God's best for their lives.
If you are the least bit curious, uh, we try to make this
as simple for you as we possibly can, wherever it is
that you digest digital content podcast, you can go
to the podcast store, you can check it out on YouTube
and just search Hope Community Church.
You'll be able to find our messages
there and check those out.
Or if you actually want to tune in during a service time,
you can go to get Hope TV at four 15
or 6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time,
or you can tune in at nine 30
or 11:15 AM Eastern Standard Time.
Again, that's at Get Hope tv.
We hope that you'll take a chance with us
and experience what it is God has for you in your life.
You're gonna find practical messages
that will help you find hope in
the everyday moments of your life.
Hope you'll check it out. Well, Molly, I I say this like
to So we just met today.
Yeah, we did. Before we came. Came
Came on. We did. It's nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you as well. We've
Shared a lot. We talked about colon.
We
Have, we did a mutual Friend,
Our mutual friend. Yeah. I
mean, who'd have known such a small world
that we run such a small circles together. We
Both know Colin Growing up, you know.
Gosh. So what I was going to say sincerely,
you were certainly one of the funniest, um, but
but also one of the most inspiring people I think we've
ever, we've ever had thank on the show.
Um, so, but you said you threw laughter
and through bearing your soul, which you've done a bit
of both of those, that you wanted that to set you up
with an opportunity to be able to share the gospel.
Yeah. And I think your words were smack them in the face.
Um, punch them in the mouth. One of the two. Yeah.
Punch 'em in the face. Punch 'em in the mouth. Yeah.
Yeah, that's fine.
Um, I think you've done that on this show. Thank you.
I think you've, you've, I think you've buried your soul.
I think we've left, um, probably more than was anticipated.
So if somebody else was listening right now,
like you've kind of got to set up, what, what is it
that you would want them to hear
about where they can find hope?
Man. Um, it is the simp, the gospel
is both the simplest
and most complex thing that exists
because it is the simplest thing in that no other religion
on planet Earth, no other God requires nothing
of you other than your belief in him.
Yeah. Yeah. There's no every other religion on planet Earth,
there's like, uh, this whole list of stuff.
Yeah. And God's like, just come to me. Yeah.
I was teaching this past week on, um, on the life
of Abraham, and it says that Abraham believed,
and so God Yeah.
Credited it to him as righteousness. Yeah. On his belief.
Yeah. Not on his actions, not
what he did or didn't do, but on his belief.
But I asked you a question and then
interrupted for no reason at
All. No, I loved it. Continue.
I loved it. No, it's great.
And I can talk about this all day.
I mean, I really, it's, again, it's the, it's the simplest
and it's the most complex thing
because God requires nothing
of us other than our belief in him
and our trust in him and our love for him.
That's it. That's it.
But it's also like this incredibly complex thing
where we think about the fact that like, wait a second.
The, the God of the universe, the creator of all things,
this thing that we can't see or touch, like, wait a second.
He, he's a triune God. Wait a second. There's three in one.
Huh. And he sent his son on earth like a,
like a real person.
Yep. God. And flesh at, to live like a perfect life
and to then die on a cross for, for me,
for you, for you for like lit, for literally everyone.
Right. And then wait a second,
then he came back from the dead three.
Like, that is an incredibly like mind-bending
thing, and yet we
Could do a miniseries, the chosen or something where you
Don't even get me started on the chosen.
Oh no. Yes. Um, yeah.
I it's,
but it is a, uh, it is worth it every
second of every day that I wake up
and there is breath in my lungs,
and I go, thank you Lord, for another day.
Yeah. And I, and I go to bed at night
and I say, thank you, Lord, for this day.
And even in the midst of the hard and the challenging.
And, um, I love that you were, you were talking about,
you know, you were teaching on Abraham last,
this last weekend, and I preached at my church last weekend
actually on Paul when Paul's, um, on trial before Felix
and Festus and Agrippa.
And he's like in the dark
and it's like, wait, why would God let Paul, like,
why would he sit in prison for this long?
And, and, and Paul's then preaching the gospel in front
of Felix and Dilla and Festus and Agrippa
and like, none of them ever came to faith.
So like, did Paul fail? But like, no, he didn't fail.
He was obedient to what God had him do.
And yet, like that is really difficult when we are obedient
and sometimes we don't see the results.
Right. We don't see the thing that we are hoping
and we're like, wait a second, God, like you told me
to do this thing, and like, what?
Yeah. But it's like, it's those little steps of, of faith
and obedience that, that grow us.
Um, and I, uh, you know, I just, I look at, at the life
of somebody like Paul who just like, he, he turned it all
around and just from, you know, to the end, he,
he fought the good fight and he finished the race
and he carried it on to completion.
And like he just was obedient and then he was beheaded.
Like, it's not fun to think about. Yeah.
Um, my family and I, we traveled to Rome, uh,
actually in July, and I went to, uh, the basilica of St.
Paul where Paul is buried. Yeah.
And I stood there at the tomb of Paul and I started sobbing.
And I did not expect this.
And my daughter looks at me, she's like, mom, are you okay?
And I was like, uh, suddenly like,
fury, I have a lot of feelings right now.
And I think I was, I was pondering on it
and I was like looking at Paul's tomb
and I was like, this is where Paul is bare.
Like this is Paul. This is Paul. Yeah.
And he, like, we exist, like, we're here
because Paul preached to the Gentiles.
Yeah. Like, you know what I mean? Like it's Paul. Yeah.
But also like, he was real and he was human
and he was broken just like me.
But he was obedient until the end. Yeah.
And look at the legacy that he left. Yeah.
Because God, he allowed God to work through him. Yeah.
And so that was a really long answer
to your question and I'm very sorry.
Um, but uh, really it's just, it's taking
that next right step in faith and obedience and not,
and leaving the results up to God, not ourselves.
'cause when we try to create our own results,
like it's a mess, a mess.
But man, God is good.
Okay. So here's what I know you got a book.
If I don't laugh, I'll cry. Mm-Hmm. Podcast.
Can I laugh on your shoulder? Yeah.
If our listeners are like, man,
how in the world do I find a way to, to digest more of
what Molly Stillman's doing to,
to stay in touch with what she's doing?
What, what's the best way for them
to track you down, to follow you,
Um, uh, the quickest Way outside of buying the book?
Uh, yes. Please buy the book again.
Sport your local author. Um,
quickest way would be on the Instagram.
Okay. I'm at still being Molly on Instagram
and I, I hang out there a lot.
Um, and then my podcast, obviously it
comes out every Wednesday.
Can I laugh on your shoulder?
Wherever you get your podcasts?
And, um, I'm not on the TikTok. I'm not on the TikTok.
I feel a little old.
I'm, I'm trying to, people tell me I should be on the
TikTok, but I'm not on You feel
Old every time you were talking about,
and I was in high school here and then I did this here.
I'm, it's, I'm like, I was past high school
Then. It's fine. It's
fine. I mean, I'm, you know, again,
I'm gonna like, what was I, I was writing paper checks.
Okay. So I'm taking my Metamucil actually the other day.
Funny quick digression.
Um, I got some, um, some my shipment
of magnesium in the mail.
Okay. And I opened up my package
and I was like, Ooh, my magnesium.
And my 11-year-old looked at me
and went, wow, mom, you're old.
And she was like, you're excited about magnesium?
And I was like, yes. Yes I am.
It's great for sleep and digestion. That's
It. Is it is.
It certainly is. I
You're welcome. You can
cut this. I too
Lament the, today that I run out of magnesium
and realize I haven't ordered anymore on Amazon.
'cause I don't sleep as well. Yeah.
I'm just saying. But I also remember
right now I am remembering seeing my grandmother
with a pill box.
Mm-Hmm. Thinking, man, how old do you have to be
before you have to start taking all these pills every day?
Mm-Hmm. And right now, the only thing different for me
and my grandma in that category is I don't
use a pill box. Yeah.
Uhhuh. But I have a take a a
Lot of, I have a story about that that I won't tell
on this, but yeah.
Maybe for the next episode. Okay.
Hope and real life family has been a while.
We're gonna sign off. I'm so sorry.
We're clearly gonna have to have Molly back on the show.
Buy the book, check out the podcast,
follow her on the Instagram.
I forgot to ask this question, dad. Gum it.
Before we sign off. Oh, I like
to ask every guest one question.
Okay. Over the next five years of your life,
what are you the most hopeful for right now?
Hmm. Uh, right now I am the most hopeful
to just watch my children.
Uh, this maybe sounds cliche,
but it's to watch my children continue to grow
into the great incredible kids that they are,
that God is shaping them to be.
Yeah. Um, my daughter is 11
and she has a calling on her life.
Mm-Hmm. Uh, by God.
And I realize that maybe a lot of parents say that,
but I see something really unique in her.
Yeah. And I can't wait to see what God does and my wild
and crazy basketball obsessed son.
Like, I don't know what God's gonna do through
that crazy redheaded boy, but he's gonna do something.
And I just, it's the joy of my life to get to watch it.
That's awesome. Yeah.
Hey, hope in real life, family,
if there's somebody in your life, man,
gosh, we covered so much.
If there's someone in your life that you know, one,
maybe they're just thinking, I need a break.
I need the cash. I gotta find out.
I gotta figure out where that next sum
of money is gonna come from.
'cause that's gonna make some things easier. Man.
Share this with them. I've sat here and listened to someone.
Like, if you think somebody's like right on the edge
and just needs a little bit more push,
a little bit more inspiration to take a big step of faith
because of what God's calling them into, man,
share this content with them.
You never know the difference you can make
by taking a few seconds to offer a little bit of hope
to somebody right where they are.
Molly, thank you again.
Thanks for having me, for being on the show.
Absolutely. Hope in real life family.
We'll see you next time. Let's keep sharing
Some hope.
Thanks for tuning into this episode
of The Hope in Real Life podcast.
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