Season 1 Finale: A Quick Recap, Quick Look Into Next Season

STGO:  A QUICK HISTORY, A QUICK DREAM, AND A QUICK REQUEST

This is Something To Gnaw On, and I am your host, Nate Vainio and today is a special episode.   It’s not short, it’s not a parable  style devotional, it’s not a look into my personal journal.   Today is a celebration!!!   And while I didn’t plan it this way, this episode will drop on October 6, of 2023….   EXACTLY 1 year to the date that the first episode “MY LIFE AS A JERK” was launched.   

It has been an exciting year, a year of firsts.  Everything I have done for this project has been a learning curve, but to have accomplished what we have ….well, lets close out the year with a bit of a recap and celebration of what has happened, as well as look at where I see the podcast going in the next season.

As we get into this episode, I want to back up a bit and bring you all up to speed on where this all started.  This has truly been a “one step at a time” venture.  

When I was in high school I sensed a distinct call on my life for ministry, so much so that I left my beloved Montana and 4went to bible college in the Midwest.  I always thought I’d return, but through a few of the hiccups of life, I haven’t made it back (yet), and I never made it into full time ministry like I anticipated.

But ‘God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love him and are called according to His purpose’, right?

While I was at college I felt like a bit of an outsider.  I wasn’t the fiery preacher that so many in that denomination would seem to be, but I was clear on what God was speaking to me.  During one chapel service where there was a specific call for people to respond to missions, and as you might expect, I again felt like an outsider.  So much so that I left chapel early, went back to my dorm, and just moped a bit.  Then I prayed a bit.  Then God hit me with what I believe to be my calling in life.  And really it’s a strange combination of simplicity and difficulty (and maybe I should add that you should never equate simplicity with ease, or difficulty with complexity,…. Understand the distinction, Simplicity is the opposite of complex, and difficult is the opposite of easy…. If you doubt my assessment of the verbiage, consider a diet….   A diet is simple and difficult…   Eat Proper, Exercise More….  Simple instructions, but the discipline to execute such a difficult plan can be a challenge.

So, to summarize it, the simplicity that I felt I was hearing from the Lord, was to be faithful to share ANY word God gave me, it’s not rocket science.   The difficulty was to have the courage to sharing any word that God gave me, because it wasn’t always the peaches and cream message that scratch itching ears.  How this plays out in reality, and where it fits into the grand scheme of God’s plan is a work in progress.

As I talk about this, it’s as clear as if it happened today.  It wasn’t an audible voice, but there was an unquestionable clarity and uniqueness to what happened that, while I strayed for a while after college, I never lost sight of the call.  And honestly, sometimes that was really difficult, those times when you are living in an Egyptian prison… like Joseph… wondering what God was thinking! There is no audience around……………just a few hoodlums…. For me it has been truckers and miners as of late!!!  

But several years ago I began to find ways to minister, or in simpler terms, places to serve at church. And along the way God began to put thoughts in my heart and mind, and I began to write them down.  Eventually I began to share some of them in blog style posts, eventually a book was written, and all of that content has been dumped into this podcast.  (AND I WILL SAY THERE IS STILL A BIT IN THE HOPPER….BUT WE’LL GET TO THAT LATER!!!)

ANYHOW, With the exception of the recent series called “Handling Conflict King David Style”, most of the episodes (except one or two others) were written years ago.  Consequently, when I started I mentioned that the theme for this first season was “RANDOM TOPICS”.   It has been a bit of an information download, or a brain-dump,  of all that God has spoke to my heart and mind over the years.  

In 1998, when I graduated from College, I couldn’t fathom the possibility of podcasting, shoot…. The internet was only a few years old at the time, right?  Al Gore hadn’t got around to inventing the podcast yet.  Anyhow, God knew!!  This is the first time I have felt like I have found my stride in something ministry related, and it is exciting to see the impact it is having.  

It’s exciting to look back and see how God caused it all to come together.  

When I said this has always been a ‘one step at a time’ venture, it truly has, it’s not hyperbole.  As I run through this, please understand that before starting this podcast, I had no sound experience, no radio, no video, editing of media, I don’t usually even post video’s to social media, so the sound dynamic was a huge hurdle… and let’s be honest …. Sound is more than 80% of the process.   But God took care of me!!!

Somewhere along the line I sold something and was able to buy a used mixing board and every thing necessary to record on eBay for $60.   Step one down.  Now I needed a place to record.

I beat my head against the wall on this one because I saw so many people spending ton’s of money (sometimes into the thousands) getting their podcasting studios fixed up before they started…. These people seem more “Fixated” on having a podcast, than they do on having a message to deliver.  (I WILL SAY THIS, One thing that drove me in this process, and still does now, is a sense of urgency to get the word out, but I didn’t have hundreds of dollars or even thousands of dollars).  So, I did the next best thing.

I called on a local ministry that had a studio with the intention of simply renting their studio… maybe even working out some kind of trade.  And what ended up happening was a total God thing!

Their response when I asked shocked me a bit at first.  They were tearing the room apart and repurposing it… they were no longer in the sound recording business.  The lady’s shocking word to me was, “do you want the foam?”   For those of you who are not aware, sound quality foam is not exactly cheap, and they had a bunch of it… for free.  Not only did they give it all to me, but they gave me a few cabinets and a chair as well… and as you can see, this whole thing has become my studio Free of charge!  (you can see the podcast booth on the facebook page)…. Sure it’s an eye sore in the dining room, but it works great!  We live on a highway with semi trucks driving by all the time, and this setup does a great job killing the sound!  

So, to Victory Ministries and Sports Park, and Jef & Misty Frost.  Thank you for your contribution to the success of this podcast!

The lot of foam had several uniquely decorative pieces that I couldn’t use, and I sold them to someone locally, and turned around to use the money on a high quality mic.    I go to church with a DJ from a local radio station and this stuff was right up his alley, and he got me set up with a high quality mic, for a very reasonable price.   I would say this is important because, in the world of podcasting, a lot of people won’t listen to  one that doesn’t sound professional.  I have been amazed that $60 can sound so good!  Maybe sound isn’t your thing… frankly it’s not mine either, but the sound quality this ignorant punk has been able to produce has been complimented by many who have listened who are in the radio or podcasting world…   This is a total God thing… I couldn’t have done this on my own!  Randy Brooks, Thanks for setting me up with the mic!!!

Along the way a friend taught me enough with regard to editing a program called Audacity that I have been able to edit all the podcasts myself.  Granted, I would like to see some improvements, as I think I do best on the content side of things, I am grateful to those who have helped me edit to a reasonable degree of competence. TJ TEED… Thank you, Sir!!  Your input on the front end of this was invaluable!!!

And as the podcast got underway, some people who could see the value of it stepped up and have covered the hosting fee’s and the web fees.  It has been so cool to see how God has provided.  Doing a podcast isn’t cheap…. There’s a definite cost, from the equipment, to hosting fee’s, to hardware and software to production costs, to marketing costs…..  but God has either provided outright, or caused my path to cross with the right people at the right time to cover these expenses.  To all of you who have financially supported this endeavor, this adventure, dare I say ‘this ministry’….. Thank you…. There is no doubt that this could not have been done without you!!!

I love how often we see God partnering with us, and having us partner with others to accomplish his work.  It’s difficult to find people who worked in ministry autonomously,  even Jesus (although he could create miracles of fish and loaf) was funded by the work of the women of Luke 8…  I have always loved this story because you can follow the trail of money from Herod’s court actually supporting the ministry of Jesus…  The money always seems to come, and at that, sometimes its from some strange places!!

So, as of this episode, we have posted 51 episodes, with an average of 37 downloads per episode according to my host site (whose criteria for a download is pretty strict, more so than that of Apple Podcasts and Spotify).  And I would add that a “download” involves counting the device only, not the numbers of ears that hear that episode.   I have had several reports of multiple people listening in together, as well, it does not include multiple listens, or multiple downloads of a specific episode from the same device.  That is to say that there are probably more that have listened to portions of an episode, but my hosting site won’t count them…. So 37 is pretty conservative, and there is no doubt that I would love to see that significantly higher, but if I am being honest, 37 is a lot better than zero! Last year at this time…. The count was zero, the year before that …… zero.   But I will chalk this up as a win, and keep pushing forward!   At present the total download count is in the ballpark of 1800 according to Buzzsprouts conservative stats.

Podcasts have been downloaded as far away as New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Morocco, Germany, Bosnia and the main location internationally is England… and interestingly enough the most downloaded episode internationally has been Father Abraham Had 7 Smurfs… and I wonder if that has to do with the fact that Vader Abraham is predominantly a European Folk character.  … who knows why, but to my faithful few in England and abroad……. Thank you for your support, and I hope this continues to be a blessing to you!

At the heart of this podcast is the desire for people to deepen their relationship with God.  I have never wanted this podcast to be an end in itself.  I have wanted it to push people to dig into scripture more on their own, and to mentally gnaw on scripture.  Admittedly, it’s hard to statistically analyze that impact.  However, people leave reviews that state “For the length of it Nate always brings it home to a truth that will sit with you all day long.”  And another writes “Listen to it with your coffee in the morning and it will give you something to carry with you the rest of the day. “  I have seen the user names these two people use, and I don’t recognize them, at the same time I doubt anyone would call this imperical evidence, but It at least lets me know that we are on track… the message is settling in and people ARE gnawing on it.

All of this being said, I will say that I want to work more intentionally on this moving forward.  It is one thing to share a “Short parable style devotional for the Christian with a short attention span”, but in this next season I want to work on giving people the tools to accomplish it.  

BREAK, this is about the halfway point today……. Please take the time to listen to the whole episode, either by powering through, or by pausing and coming back.   There are some key items I will be rolling out toward the end, including a ….. well, I can’t say much about it without giving it completely away…. But you’ll like it, also there is a pretty big list of thank you’s that I would like to be sure is shared with everyone!

Back to Part 2

_____________________________________________________________________________________

In recent weeks I have thrown out the term, The Gnaw Initiative, and you will begin to see it more frequently on the podcast.   But the gist of it is this, too many people simply don’t know how to study their bibles confidently and become too focused on getting their bible engagement from other pastors, preachers, social media personalities, et cetra.   I spoke to a nurse practitioner a couple of days ago about the podcast, and she confessed that this was her issue…. Despite her education and advanced degree’s she cannot seem to get into the bible…. When I suggested what the Gnaw Initiative was all about, she got wide-eyed… and expressed that’s what she needed.    There are a lot of people who have no idea how to study the bible, where to start, how it’s laid out, and how to process it.

Maybe a good way to put it is this.   The Gnaw Initiative looks to build a mold in the hearts and minds of people, so when the WORD is poured into their lives, they have a way to retain it……so it doesn’t spill all over the ground, and is lost to the chaos of ignorance.

And I  am not throwing anyone of these under the bus, but I am saying that it is God’s desire to speak directly to people through his word….  And if people are not confident on how to read their bible, then we need to sharpen that skill!

Recently I posted a video on the Something To Gnaw On FaceBook page that dealt with a survey on Bible Engagement.  This survey was done years before I started this podcast, but it’s message bolstered my resolve because it statistically highlights the importance that this podcast has placed on driving people to get into the WORD themselves.    In fact, the most popular episode has been “Death  To Pepe’”, an episode that (although you may not be able to tell it from the title) is all about the power of the written word of scripture and speaking it out, and it changing our lives!    

Simply put, the survey studied 100,000 people over 8 years and came up with one startling conclusion….  There is no clearer predicter or spiritual growth than bible engagement…   everything else has its place, and is necessary (like church attendance, prayer, listening to Christian music, missions trips, )   but with 4 engagements in the bible per week, they report the following (and I will post the full survey on the show notes, as well as on the facebook page.):

·         With Regard to Negative Behavior (When you engage in the bible 4 or more times per week)….

o   Drinking to excess -62% ¯ Viewing pornography -59% ¯ Having sex outside marriage -59% ¯ Gambling -45% ¯ Lashing out in anger -31% ¯ Gossiping – 28% ¯ Lying -28% ¯ Neglecting family -26% ¯ Overeating or mishandling food -20% ¯ Overeating or mishandling money -20%

·         With Regard to Negative Feelings (When you engage in the bible 4 or more times per week)….

o   Feeling bitter -40% ¯ Thinking destructively about self or others -32% ¯ Feeling like they have to hide what they do or feel -32% ¯ Having difficulty forgiving others -31% ¯ Feeling discouraged -31% ¯ Experiencing loneliness – 30% ¯ Overeating or mishandling food -20% ¯ Having difficulty forgiving oneself -26% ¯ Thinking unkindly about others -18% ¯ Experiencing fear or anxiety -14%

·         With Regard to Christian Behaviors (When you engage in the bible 4 or more times per week)….

o   Giving financially to a church +416% ­ Memorizing scripture +407% ­ Discipling others +231% ­ Sharing their faith with others +228% ­ Giving financially to causes other than their church +218%

When God set me free from the stronghold of pornography, I had no idea what this survey was about, I didn’t have a clue it existed.  But through the power of the WORD He set me free, and you can look at that a bit deeper in the episode “DEATH TO PEPE”, I would strongly recommend you take a listen to a testimony of how God can set people free with HIS word.

This doesn’t negate other spiritual disciplines like praying, church attendance, accountability or fellowship groups, or counseling…   if anything it should compliment them.  But if you have been struggling with any life controlling issue, any fruit of the flesh and the consequences thereof, I’d bluntly ask you….  How often do you get into the WORD, and are you letting the WORD get into you?  There are a lot of people in church who are enslaved to various things while simultaneously seeming to fit in the church family.   It is my hope and prayer that these people would get into the word,  and the word would get into them….. and Jesus’ promise in John 8 would come into effect….. “then you  will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  The Freedom is contingent on the engagement in the Word

The simplicity and freedom involved in both John 8 and the survey I mentioned raises some pretty crazy questions.  Simply, why are so many Christians not reading their bible on a regular basis?  

The answers boil down to two things primarily.   There may be some other, low percentage, reasons, but primarily it comes down to one group not knowing how to approach and study a bible on their own, and another group that either fears what it will read – or knows what it will read and is subsequently avoids the bible intentionally.   I confess, that at one point in time, this was me!   I would have rather attended church, talked with fellow Christians, listened to Christian programs on the radio, than to have actually cracked my bible open to read it for myself….  The flesh has a way of subtly distracting us from the necessary activities, and justifying the lesser activities.  

For the purpose of the podcast, I should hope to target both aforementioned groups of people.   The podcast has always been about getting people to gnaw on scripture, to engage it, to meditate upon it, and whether an episode is classic Short Parable-Style Devotional, or a more instructive GNAW INITIATIVE episode, the goal will be the same…  to push listeners to gnaw on it for themselves, to engage it for themselves.  Episodes that bare the title GNAW INITIATIVE will begin with tools that people would need to study the bible for themselves, on their own time, dare I say that they would take the initiative and GNAW on scripture… and I am pretty sure that these episodes will be a good refresher course for others, so it won’t be lost on anyone, but I mostly… at this point, I just want to give you a heads up about changes the podcast coming up in season 2.

Additionally, I am looking forward to doing a few more interviews….  One is a series of conversations with some guys I know regarding sharing your faith in the workplace.   And this interview, or conversation space, is a part of the podcast that I have steered clear of, for the most part, but I think it’s time to add in a few conversations from time to time.  Partly because of the technical equipment needed, but The Lord has made a  way, and I will take advantage of it!!!  

As I round the corner to wrap this up, I want to say thank you again for your support.   I trust that if you have taken the time to listen to this in it’s entirety, that this podcast is a blessing to you.   Feel free to shoot me a message on facebook messenger, or at somethingtognawon@gmail.com, as I would love to hear what the podcast has meant to you.   And as we close out this season, and hit the ground running for Season 2, I would ask that you pray with me for the continued blessing of the Lord on the podcast.  More specifically:

·         That God would solidify the time I have in my schedule set aside for preparation, and expand that time as well.

·         And, to steal the prayer of Jabez for the podcast, that God would expand our reach, expand our audience, and expand opportunities for in-person presentations of the Basic Something To Gnaw On content.

·         That God would provide for the technical needs of the podcast (there are a few specific hardware, software, and technical items that would really increase efficiency, reach, and quality).

·         And Lastly, I had hoped to have it ready for this episode, but my technical ineptitude has caught up with me again!   As a means of generating some funds for the podcast, and as a means of getting the word out, I should have an online store up and running in the next couple of weeks.  I am really excited to bring this to our listeners, my first drop item is going to be a top shelf, high quality hoodie, and I have the designs for several other items , and I am pretty excited about getting these out for Fall and winter,…. If you are not a hoodie person,  I have a few items that will follow that may be to your liking…..in fact, if a hoodie is not for you, shoot me an email and let me know what you’d like…. Can’t guarantee I can get to it, but it’s well worth the conversation.    And remember, revenue goes to cover the cost of the podcast and branching out into new markets.  

At the end of a movie they roll credits………… so That’s how I want to wrap this season up….  I would like to thank a few people:

·         To Jamie and the kids:  thank you for your support and your patience….. especially with the podcasting booth being in the dining room

·         To mom and dad:   thank you for your undying support and encouragement.   What most of you don’t realize is that they have been my sounding board and my production/editorial/research team….. not sure I could have done this without you!

·         To my lifegroup brothers Joe Layton and TJ     thank’s for the encouragement

·         To my friends at Life Faith And Everything Else Podcast, Pastor Justin Carrier and Tommy Mosely  The journey together has been great, it has been great to see your success and I am honored to have been a part of it…. And honored to have your input and friendship…… one of these days we should record a conversation, …. Oh, one of these days.   Love you guys!!!

·         To Josh Marsh with the Honestly Radio Podcast…. Thanks for praying for me that first day we met/// online…   you have been a blessing and an encouragement, keep up the good work….. and to you as well, we need to get you to Joplin for a recorded conversation about your healing….no I haven’t forgotten….. just a bit overwhelmed.   Love you brother!!!

·         To Luke Taylor with the Cross-References Podcast, thank you for having me on your podcast…. It was a blast and the snippet that ended up on the radio was pretty cool too!!!  Thank you for all your support and your availability to chat about all things Podcasting….. as close to Joplin as you are tho…..we should actually get together more often…. LOL   God bless you brother!!!!

·         To Daniel Moore…. The fellow podcaster I walked by in church for nearly a year before realizing who you were!!!!   Thank you for your friendship and your feedback in the podcast world, your help has been appreciated far beyond what you will ever know…..  thank you for helping me out with some interviews and the blessed technical stuff.!!!  Love you Brother!!!  See you Sunday 

·         To  my brother and longtime friend, and guest on the episode entitled, “Two dudes who can fish, but can’t count”  Danny Mullins.  Words really can’t convey how much I appreciate you and your impact on my life.  I am pretty sure I owe you at least one or two more fishing trips to Montana…..    But seriously,…..  If someone could go back and remove Danny from my life 20 plus years ago, first off…..I’d be a wreck…. But I am relatively certain that this podcast would be non existent.   Thank you bro!  Thanks for being there, thanks for being you, and thanks for honoring the Lord in every aspect of your life!  It’s not a matter of if, but when… we will do more episodes….. what a blast!!!

·         And what would a list like this be without saying thank you to NUMBER ONE!!!!  To my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to the King of Kings, to the one who saved me from my wretched state of sin, set me free from it’s grip, the one who strengthens me, and who has seen fit to bless me…. I say a thank you that is so far below what you deserve…. But I pray that as I work on this podcast, that you are blessed, that you are honored, that you are glorified by all that is said and done.  

o   And Lord, as we wrap up this season, and move into another, I pray your continued blessing on the past 50 episodes – that people who need you would find these episodes and that their hearts and minds would be turned to you, that they would come to know you more intimately – more personally….  And as we turn the corner here into season #2, I pray that you would protect the podcast from attack, and grant your blessing on this work… Expand our boundaries, and bless us indeed….. for your glory.  In the mighty and awesome name of Jesus Christ I pray …. AMEN

And with that….. Season 1 has come to an end.     Season 2 will begin in 2  week!!!

God Bless