EP 43 - What It’s Like to Hear from God: Our Real-Life Stories

Summary

Podcast Summary: More Than Reality with Adam and Danielle Busby
Episode 43: "What It’s Like to Hear from God: Our Real-Life Stories"
Release Date: July 31, 2025

In Episode 43 of "More Than Reality" titled "What It’s Like to Hear from God: Our Real-Life Stories," hosts Adam and Danielle Busby delve deep into their personal experiences of divine communication, obedience, and the challenges they face while navigating their faith amidst life's chaos. This episode offers listeners an intimate look into how the Busbys discern God's guidance, handle skepticism, and maintain their spiritual walk while managing a bustling family life.

---

Health Challenges and Overcoming Pain

The episode opens with Adam discussing his ongoing battle with knee pain, a lingering effect from carrying quintuplets. He explains the severity of his condition and the recent surgery he underwent to alleviate the discomfort.

Adam (02:04): "Ever since I had carried the quintuplets, one of the things that my body suffered with was losing a lot of cartilage in my joints...now I have like arthritis in that knee because I just rub joint to joint and it fills up with fluid. It's just ultra painful."

Danielle adds context to Adam's pain, linking it to their current move and the physical demands it entails.

Danielle (02:27): "All the moving got Danielle's inflammation up... Danielle had a bunch of fluid taken out of her knee."

Adam shares his gratitude for a close friend in the medical field who assisted with his treatment, highlighting the importance of community and support.

Adam (03:50): "We'll take care of that. I was like, this is amazing. Blow that fluid out and then put me some gel, you know, put me some cartilage in there."

---

Life Changes: The Move and New Beginnings

Transitioning to their recent move, Adam and Danielle discuss the logistical and emotional challenges of relocating a large family. They emphasize the mixed feelings of leaving behind a familiar neighborhood for a new community.

Danielle (09:09): "Like it is here. The houses are a lot closer together and so you just have that neighborhood feel... the girls have had friends over every single, which they're here right now."

Adam shares a humorous anecdote about neighbors recognizing him, underscoring the blend of their public life with personal experiences.

Adam (11:37): "She's like, oh, my gosh, are you Adam Busby?... It was just funny."

---

Hearing from God: Experiences and Discernment

A significant portion of the episode revolves around the Busbys' experiences with hearing from God. They explore various ways divine communication manifests, such as audible voices, visions, through others, prayer, and scriptures. They emphasize the importance of peace and clarity as indicators of God's guidance.

Adam (19:04): "If our six girls hear our voice over some other adult, they know it's our voice. There's a comfort level in there... this is how we know this is from God because it's outside of us, but it's a peace and a trust that we instantly know."

Danielle (20:05): "The Bible talks about a peace that passes all understanding. If God is speaking to you... there is an overwhelming amount of peace... it's a bright light shining on the next step."

They reflect on personal milestones, such as their struggle with infertility and how divine intervention led to the birth of their quintuplets.

Adam (42:16): "Whenever we were going through so much trying to get pregnant... one night very clearly. I was waking up, like, in a dream, and I saw Danielle and I and a little girl... it just felt right."

---

Responding to Skepticism and Criticism

The Busbys candidly address the skepticism and criticism they face, especially given their public profile from the TV show "OutDaughtered." They discuss how they manage negative perceptions and use these challenges as opportunities to strengthen their faith and testimony.

Danielle (37:49): "Something happens that doesn't happen the way we want them to... God orchestrates... He's protecting us."

Adam (47:12): "We're still being attacked from all sides and it feels, sometimes it feels like the world is completely rooting against you."

Despite the negativity, they emphasize resilience and the importance of staying true to their beliefs.

Danielle (50:56): "I feel for the people that like, oh, well, this didn't happen... it's hard to have an answer for that."

---

The Role of Faith and Obedience

A core theme of the episode is the significance of obedience and trust in God. Adam and Danielle share insights into how they discern divine will and the transformative power of obedience in their lives.

Adam (24:03): "How do you discern that it's from God... it's a peace and a trust that we instantly know."

Danielle (29:47): "When we're brokenhearted, like, he’s closer... God is always with us."

They discuss the balance between maintaining control and surrendering to divine guidance, highlighting the challenges and rewards of living a faith-driven life.

Adam (51:09): "It's about trust... trusting that when I think of that first and do that first, all things fall into place."

---

Community and Support

The Busbys highlight the importance of a Christ-centered support system. They credit their close friendships and community ties for helping them navigate difficult decisions and maintain their spiritual focus.

Danielle (16:02): "What does that look like to us?... How are we following that?"

Adam (48:31): "We have that close circle of Christ-centered friendships where we can say, this is hard... alignment and making sure this is from God."

---

Encouragement and Hope for Listeners

Towards the end of the episode, Adam and Danielle offer words of encouragement to listeners facing their own struggles. They stress the importance of faith, prayer, and community in overcoming challenges and discerning God's will.

Danielle (55:58): "Thank you guys for listening to episode 43... take that step, even if it's hard."

Adam (56:08): "Love you guys."

---

Notable Quotes:

• Adam (03:42): "I just live in pain and I'm like, whatever, just deal with it."

• Danielle (07:05): "It's just the gift that keeps giving."

• Danielle (20:05): "There is a peace that passes all understanding."

• Adam (51:59): "Obedience is hard... it's really about trust."

---

Conclusion:

Episode 43 of "More Than Reality" offers a profound exploration of Adam and Danielle Busby's spiritual journeys. Through personal anecdotes, honest reflections, and heartfelt discussions, they provide listeners with valuable insights into living a faith-driven life, the challenges of obedience, and the comforting presence of divine guidance. This episode serves as a testament to their resilience, unwavering faith, and dedication to sharing their extraordinary life beyond the reality seen on screen.

Transcript

[A]

That's always kind of been her thing, right?

[B]

Drawing.

[A]

You have to promise not to freak out. Amber drew that.

[B]

She's working through some stuff.

[A]

You know, feelings aren't bad when you get angry, sad, or scared. Put it in here where it can't hurt anyone. Here's the thing.

[B]

Life is all about balancing the good and the bad. I saw an eyeball with legs.

[A]

Every part of that was horrifying. Sketch in theaters August 6th. Get your tickets now at angel.com sketch Amber's drawings might be. You have to promise not to freak out. You're not an evil person just because you drew pictures. Amber drew that. What?

[B]

In the.

[A]

Sketch in theaters August 6th. Get your tickets now at angel.com sketch this is more Than Reality podcast where we dive into all things faith, family, and marriage and share that there is so much more than the reality that you see on the surface. Welcome to More Than Reality with Adam and Danielle Busby.

[B]

What's up?

[A]

Hello.

[B]

We're still in the new space. This is More Than Reality podcast with Adam and Danielle Busby.

[A]

And, guys, Adam loves gadgets and we have new headphones. He hates the big air puff headphones. And I like them.

[B]

It's not that I hate them. It's just. I don't know, it's just not necessary.

[A]

I feel like I'm wearing a headband, and then if, like, my hair is dirty, I feel like it covers up some of it. So now I have to be more cautious about what my hair looks like and everything. But these are. They're. These are more comfortable. And I guess you can see, like, if I have earrings on and stuff, because those other ones always covered up. And, like, I'm an earring person. Feel naked without earrings. And I have all kind of different rings on today because I'm so inflamed and swollen. I can't fit any of my jewelry on my fingers. So these are all of my.

[B]

All the moving got Danielle's inflammation up. Yeah, big time. She. She had to go to. Oh, but this is episode 43, by the way. Oh, but, yeah, this week. You had to go to the doctor. Yeah, she's got a band aid on her knee. She had. Danielle had a bunch of fluid taken out of her knee.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, ever since I had carried the quintuplets, one of the things that my body suffered with was losing a lot of cartilage in my joints just with the weight and the impact of carrying quintuplets. So I had knee surgery. I don't know, like, maybe like a Year and a half after having them. Like I remember them, they're mobile. We're in the, the moldy home, which was, we didn't know was moldy home at the time. But I want to say that they were like maybe a year old or 9, 10 months old maybe something like that. I don't remember. But I know I had knee surgery. I had tormentiscus and like 11cm of cartilage just floating around because. And so basically now I have like arthritis in that knee because I just rub joint to joint and it fills up with fluid. It's just, it's just ultra painful. And so I haven't done anything to it because when we switched insurance a while back, I need it to be like a year of no treatment for pre existing or something. And then that led to, oh, I forgot. Oh, I forgot. But I just live in pain and I'm like, whatever, just deal with it. During this move, I was like, I can't. I like, I can barely walk. And there's so much we got to do. I got to go get something done to it.

[B]

And so luckily we have friends in high places. We have a very close friend of ours, owns a big medical practice.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He's like, you need to come to the office.

[A]

Yeah. So that was.

[B]

We'll take care of that.

[A]

I was like, this is amazing. Blow that fluid out and then put me some gel, you know, put me some cartilage in there.

[B]

So that's what it was. It wasn't like a cortisone shot. They like put gel in there to like cushion it.

[A]

Yeah. And I've done that in the past before, but I hadn't done that in a long time, in years. And so it's just been so bad. And you could just see like my knee, it looks like an old person's. I call it my fat knee.

[B]

Fat knee.

[A]

I do. It's. It looks like a completely different leg to me. But anyway, so yeah, my leg is feeling better. My knee is feeling better. And he said yesterday, make sure, just take it easy. Since we did some, you know, work to it. Got home at like 7:30 last night and I'm like, I didn't really take it easy today. I'm just now getting home.

[B]

Well, it's just, it goes back to like all the times whenever the, the quints were babies.

[A]

Yeah. Like money never recovered properly.

[B]

Carrying multiple kids up and down, up and down, up and down the stairs all day long.

[A]

Yeah. And then in the car.

[B]

And then here we are, we're in the Middle of a move. It's a two story house. Been moving stuff up and downstairs.

[A]

I know the other day you were like, from. From, like, I'm worried about my back, but my knee really feels like it's just about to break. Like my knee feels like it's about to break.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So.

[B]

And you don't really know, like, I don't know what that feels like, but.

[A]

I had like instant relief. I mean, it keeps me up at night. Like, I can't. I can't sleep because it's been in so much pain. I have to move constantly and adjust it and. But I had instant relief just with the fluid coming out of it. But it takes, you know, a day OR 2 for 24, 48, 72 hours for that gel to really, like, kind of coat the joint and not really feel that pain anymore. But those feels. Feels a whole lot better. Even though it's still kind of achy.

[B]

Right now, I bet it feels a lot better after getting all that fluid out.

[A]

That was a lot.

[B]

Danielle sent me a photo of the syringe. Like, I mean, it was like this big around. If you're watching on YouTube, it was like this big around. It was full.

[A]

Yeah. And I've had two full ones of those pulled out my knee before. Yeah. This was like one in like a quarter of another one. Yeah. He's like, you're too young to have this much fluid. I'm like, yeah, welcome to my life.

[B]

You try having quint. A lot of weird stuff happens to you.

[A]

Yeah. And, you know, it's one of those things that, like, it's something that, like, you know, would this have happened in my life if I didn't carry the quince? I don't know.

[B]

But maybe it may just happen a lot sooner.

[A]

Yeah. And it's one of those things that even though I, you know, have a lot of health struggles and like, pains in my joints and my back, a lot of that is because of carrying babies and stuff. And so it's something like, it's hard to complain about because it reminds me how blessed I am in a way to be able to, like, have the life with the girls. And so the pain is worth it.

[B]

It's just the gift that keeps giving.

[A]

It's just the gift. Yes. We'll call the pain a gift. Yeah. But I mean, it is. It's a constant reminder, too. This is worth it. And I'm going to live with this pain. And it's fine. I mean, it's fine, but it's a suffering that we all in. In theory, we all are sinners in a way. And so I'm kind of like trying to relate that to that we all live in sin, but to remind us we need Jesus. Right. And so this is my. Whenever I'm going, all the things in my head right now, but it is just a reminder to me that, like, my pain, it doesn't connect to you. It connects in my head. I'm just not saying it right.

[B]

So what's Jesus? Is it the jail or is it him removing the sin, which is your fluid from your life?

[A]

Yeah, I don't know. I haven't thought that far yet. It just was making sense in my head. But, you know, you know, sometimes things, I don't say it outright. So we're just. Let's move on.

[B]

Trying to connect the dots here. I'm trying to track.

[A]

I know it was tracking to me, but, you know, I got a little jammed in there. Yep.

[B]

Add it to the board.

[A]

I think that's already on the board. Actually. I say that one a lot.

[B]

I mean, this week, obviously, we're still. We've still been moving stuff around and trying to organize a house and we're still waiting on a lot of pieces of furniture to come in so that we can organize. And so, I mean, there's still stuff in boxes everywhere and clothes everywhere because we don't. Our rooms are the worst. Everything's just.

[A]

All we have is a bed and a nightstand with no dressers. The closet's a lot smaller, but it's like, whatever, whatever. It's fine.

[B]

It's good.

[A]

It's cozy home.

[B]

It is. We still, I mean, I love. And I mentioned it on last week's podcast. I just, I. I missed the. That neighborhood feel.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like it is here. I mean, obviously the, the houses are a lot closer together and so you just have that neighborhood feel like you walk outside and like your neighbor is, you know, 40ft away instead of 100 yards away. So, you know, it. It just makes it a little bit more homey and stuff. And you know, you can just say hi to your neighbors and it's just different. I mean, the girls have had. Especially the quints. The quints have had friends over every single. Which they're here right now. Right on the other side of this wall.

[A]

Yeah, it was 9:30 this morning. Mom, friends here. Bring him on in. I'm like, I love it though.

[B]

Like, I realized really quickly that I need to get it. I need to install a ring camera or a doorbell. Video. Video camera on this house because now my office is upstairs. Instead of being right, you can't see.

[A]

What'S going on down there.

[B]

In my old office, it was literally right adjacent to the front door. Which when somebody would come and ring the doorbell or knock on the door, it's like, oh, I can just look over and see who it is. But now I have to get up from my desk, walk downstairs, look. And it's just a pain. And sometimes it's like four times in a matter of 30 minutes with little girls coming over to ask if the coins can.

[A]

But it was funny the other day. I mean, Reese was here spending the night, but there were some other kids in the house. And I was like, Adam comes downstairs and I'm like feeding them pizza or like, whatever. I'm like, hey, Adam, this is. I don't remember the names. This is Libby, this is Emma, this is. And he's like, okay. He just thought I was making up names for all the kids. And then.

[B]

I know, I thought you were playing like a game with him later.

[A]

He's like, oh, wait, there are more kids here.

[B]

It's happened before. The girls will be like role playing or. Yeah, just make believe playing house or something like that. And they'll give each other different names. And so I walk in and I know Reese was here, the quint's friend from our old house neighborhood. And she was here to spend the night. And so I just thought that you were telling me a new name for Reese. And I was like, oh, hey, blah, blah, blah. And then it was like 15 minutes, I'm getting something in the kitchen and I'll look up and there's like two other girls in the house. Like, oh, okay, these are new kids. We're not playing because you're actually there. Kind of blend in with all the other other blonde heads.

[A]

And yeah, they're like literally all the same age. So it's been. It's been really fun. The. The girls are loving it for sure.

[B]

Yeah, we walked over and met two of the neighbors. One of the girls that has been here almost every day playing was one of the very first girls that the quints met. And we went and met there.

[A]

Her. She's spunky.

[B]

Yeah, they're cool people. I mean, we're slowly but surely like meeting neighbors. And it was. Funny story. So I'm walking out of the house yesterday or two days ago, and the lady that lives right next door to us, which I. I've only seen her a couple times here and there, just coming and going. But she's never said Hi. And then she was like passing. She's in her car and she was passing in front of the house and she stopped and rolled her window down and like, yelled at me. She's like, oh, hey, I'm sorry I haven't said hi yet. You know, I'm just an old lady with a walker. And then she stops for a second. She's like, oh, my God, are you Adam Busby? I just started laughing and like, threw me off because I was just walking up to like, introduce myself. And she was like, oh, my God, are you Adam Busby? And then she's like, I thought I saw Ava running down the sidewalk. And I was like, of all the, of all the kids, you thought you saw Ava? It was just funny.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So she's like, oh, my gosh, I'm so, so happy you are right next.

[A]

Door if you never need anything.

[B]

I'm just right. I'm always at home.

[A]

So I'm using my phone today for notes. Adam doesn't like, Adam doesn't like this. But I, I gotta have structure, like pinpoints and so I don't ramble on. And you try to have to connect the dots.

[B]

But over the, over the course of the last few podcasts, we've gotten a lot of just great messages from people talking about, man, like, this hits close to home. We've just recently moved or we're thinking about a move or we're thinking about a better. A better fit for our family, a better place to raise our family and stuff like that. And so a lot of the things that a lot of the. And just been wrestling with the change. And a lot of people have been reaching out, saying thank you so much for just, this is good timing. This has encouraged us so much. You know, just watching your guys story play out, it's spoken to me in this way or whatever. And so we've gotten so many.

[A]

It's like moving closer and closer because.

[B]

This is like angled backwards. But, you know, I've gotten a lot of great feedback and a lot of great messages from people just like thanking us for just being open and, and sharing our story, just of obedience. Just hearing from God's direction and stuff and just following that. You know, we've also gotten a lot of people that just don't understand it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, whether.

[A]

And some of it's very like, why would you move away from that house that had everything and had the pool and the yard and the space? Why would you move away from your sisters? Why would you move away? Like, why would you make such a change and do this to your kids. And it's a solid question. Yeah. And it's a question that I know that we've, like, pondered ourselves, but, you know, this is what we really wanted to kind of do our best to kind of explain. I'm sure I will ramble, and hopefully Adam can take the ramble and, like, make it clear.

[B]

But I was like, please don't.

[A]

That's why I'm like, I gotta look at my notes.

[B]

I was like, I think we should. I think we should talk about this and address it. But I'm just bringing this on you right now because it's so fresh and so new. I don't want. I don't want us to, like, stumble through it. I don't want to feel like we.

[A]

Don'T know what we're talking about.

[B]

We're just gathering our thoughts about answering these questions. But also, Danielle and I leave bright and early tomorrow morning. My parents are coming in tonight to stay with the girls, and we're leaving bright and early in the morning to fly to. For. We had mentioned, like, we're going away for a little anniversary trip. And so I gotta edit, upload, and all this stuff for the podcast. I'm like, please don't be all over the place, because it's gonna be hard to edit this podcast, and I don't have that much time.

[A]

It's okay.

[B]

I don't have all day tomorrow. Tomorrow is usually my editing day where I can just like, get everything knocked out, but I don't have that luxury.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Anyway, I'd rather not do it on an airplane.

[A]

What we wanted to talk about was how. How do we explain obedience to someone who doesn't understand?

[B]

And also, like, what. What does that look like to us? Because a lot of people don't quite understand. Like, whenever we talk about, like, how do we feel? We feel like God led us to do this. We feel like God led us or spoke to us in this way. And how are you following that? What does that look like?

[A]

How do you. Okay, so how do you discern that it's from God.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So let's start with that. How do we. When we say that we are following an obedience in. It's hard. It's not always easy, but we know that this is from God.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How do we discern those voices? And you know. And I know that you've said, like, sometimes it can be an audible, sometimes it can be a vision. Sometimes it can be, you know, God speaking through other people, your community, and over Prayer and.

[B]

Or it could be a legit audible.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Voice.

[A]

Yep, yep. And I had experienced that through this season of, you know, transition to. That's always kind of been her thing. Right.

[B]

Drawing.

[A]

You have to promise not to freak out. Amber drew that.

[B]

She's working through some stuff.

[A]

You know, feelings aren't bad when you get angry, sad, or scared. Put it in here where it can't hurt anyone. Here's the thing.

[B]

Life is all about balancing the good and the bad. I saw an eyeball with legs.

[A]

Every part of that was horrifying. Sketch in theaters August 6th. Get your tickets now at angel.com sketch the new school, which.

[B]

That's very rare. Yeah, that's very.

[A]

That was the first time that ever, Ever happened.

[B]

Typically when if it's an a legit audible voice, and that's like God needing to grab you by the back of the head and say, hey, I'm trying to get your attention, you know, so that doesn't happen very often. The people that I've spoke with that have, like, heard from God and, you know, very astute, very prominent figures in faith that we follow and stuff like that. I mean, one person in particular that, you know, we look to for a lot of just wisdom and stuff like that, he's like, man, you know, in my 40 years of ministry, that's probably happened to me twice. So it's not. That's not something that is a very common occurrence. God speaks to us in other ways.

[A]

Yeah. And, you know, so scripture in John 10:27 says, My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. If I can say, how do we know that voice is from God? So take this analogy of Adam and I are parents to our six girls. If our six girls hear our voice over some other adult, they know it's our voice. There's going to be a comfort level in there. There's going to be a I trust you level in there, and I'll follow you because you're my parent. Right.

[B]

And we would never put our kids in danger.

[A]

Yes. Yes. And so there's a love behind all. All things that we would speak and say to our children. But what I'm getting at is that your kids know your voice. There is a different distinct voice, whether the voice that you hear can be from prayer, from your community, from. From church services or podcasts that you're listening to. Like, God can have his voice, not always audible, but can be in a vision. So, like, that's the Holy Spirit. It can be seen to you as you Interpret that as from God. Okay. So just as your kids can know the difference that this is your voice versus someone else, this is kind of how I would say we know this is from God because it's outside of us, but it's a peace and a trust that we instantly know. Yeah, right.

[B]

And it's a piece, you know, the Bible talks about a peace that passes all understanding. If God is speaking to you and is. And he's revealing something to you, you know, there is. It's going to be accompanied by an overwhelming amount of peace about. And. And just clarity of, oh, yeah, and this is the way God is. You know, and I've talked about this before, like, God just, like, shining a light to the next step that you need to take. And it's, like, so clear because it's a. It's a bright light and it's shining that next step. And sometimes he may just give you that next step to. Just to see if you'll take it.

[A]

Yeah. And then. And it's hard. I mean, sometimes it's hard. Especially for my instincts as, like, someone who likes control. It's been a whole long process of trying to let go of what do I want to do and think and think what's best versus, okay. Really taking the time to, like, listen and listen and be in the moment. And sometimes that is a quiet, still moment, and. And sometimes it's an overwhelming sense of peace or something happens. As we talked about in our past stories earlier on in the podcast about, you know, finding out we're pregnant with the quints and being told that we need to reduce down to twins, and how do you do that? And it's not something I ever wanted to do. And, you know, us having to really say, okay, God, what do we do? How do we do this? And, you know, you can go back and listen to the earlier episodes in the podcast to really feel the depthness of these stories, but in that moment, as we call it, home 45. 45, there was an overwhelming sense of peace. And there's no way to explain that except it just felt right. It felt right. And you felt protected and you felt comforted and you felt loved, and you just. And you just felt like there was no other option but this. Because that's what we were flooded with was, we know this is from God because the amount of peace that we felt with a hard decision to make. And I relay that into this whole season of moving and the questions that a lot of, you know, some of the followers have that are like, why would you leave something that was so good because it's not about the pool. It's not about the pool. It's not about what we had there and what we have there. It's about the family. The family. You know, when we think of eternity and life and what are we all doing here, we can't take those things to heaven with us. I want nothing more than to see my family and the people around in heaven in eternity. Right. I can't take this plant. I can't take my favorite pair of shoes. But like I said, I can't take this pool and this house. I can't take all these worldly things. It's in that, yes, we get so strung up in, like, things we like and hobbies and all this and that. But, like, when it really comes down to it, what really is important. And this was one of those decisions. Like, man, we're feeling like God wants a change for us. We don't really know. But, like, and it's been a journey and it just slowly, slowly trying to, like, pray about it and ask for prayer and be, you know, vulnerable with our close circle and like, looking in scripture of how to. How to be obedient, how to follow God and how to listen. It takes practice, just like you would with any other thing that you're going to learn new and try to be good at or try to understand in anything you do. Yeah, it takes practice to learn how to be obedient and how to hear and receive. Was this from God or was this me? Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Communication and just not always been easy to even have Adam and I, two different heads of, like, how we process how we think and how we communicate. And, you know, it's a big struggle between us. But sometimes when I can feel so strong about this is from God and it might take a little bit more.

[B]

Like, I haven't heard that yet.

[A]

He hasn't heard that yet. So we have to talk about that because, like, we want to be together on what is God saying for us and for. And I think that can also to be different gifts that one can carry more stronger than the other as far as, like, discernment and whatnot. And I think that I can discern a little bit quicker than you can. You also doesn't mean that I'm making its decisions.

[B]

Daniel also has the spiritual gift of gifting of faith.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so it comes very natural for her and very easy for her because that's where she. Her gift lies, is in faith. And so, you know, whenever God says move or God says, jump, Daniel, as open and acts on it. And. And so it's still.

[A]

But don't get me wrong, it's not always easy.

[B]

Oh, of course not.

[A]

It's not always easy. Like, this was a big life change, but I was. So I would say it was one of the easier decisions to make because it felt right. And like, I go back and say this, you know, in times of careers or work, or I can look back and say, like, man, I really do think that that was me controlling the situation and that's why XYZ happened. Or. Or it didn't really prosper the way that I thought, because it wasn't God's timing. It wasn't. I was trying to, like, lead that and not let him lead that season of life, in a sense. So, you know, trying to understand. Trying to explain these feelings of, like, how do you. How are you obedient? And what does that feel like? How would you explain it? As you. You know, because I. You say that I have gift of faith. And so, like, I. I'm. It comes easier to me. And so I can tune in and discern a lot quicker and can feel that. Which is very funny because I'm not a very Philly person, but I am with the spirit, so. But that's taken a lot of practice, too.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I feel like I. I feel like. I feel. Feel differently when I'm focusing on that, which therefore, in a sense, inspires me to keep going.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. So it's like I, like, just. Yes. And like, now if I look at, like, our move, I'm like, we're here. And, like, I've already seen, like, little fruits. God winks, we said. And we've been in here for a week. Like, there's just been. I mean, it's. It's just so different.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, and it's only 20, 30 minutes away.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And how. How would we do that? Why would we do that? Because this is what God wants and we really do trust and believe that, you know?

[B]

Yeah. Because, like, a lot of. A lot of people will say, well, why don't you completely uproot? And you're only like 20 to 30 minutes away. I mean, it's a difference. It's a good 30 minutes. But I mean, it's a completely different town, completely different community dynamic, completely different. Just, like, community structure around us. And so there's a lot of factors that aren't in play whenever it comes to just, like, location. I mean, there's so many other things that carried weight in that decision. But also, you know, if God said, I want you to move the next neighborhood over, okay, well, so be it. Yeah. So we'll go.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so I feel like God orchestrates. Obviously, it takes us to be open and to be close. I mean, God wants us to draw near to him, and he'll draw near to us. And, like, he wants us. Like, he's. You know, if you look at. What is that, that painting? Is it in the 6:16 chapel, where God's, like, reaching out to, like, Adam, and God has his hands stretched out, and it's like God's always, like, reaching for us and, like, wanting to guide us and, like, carry us through something. But if you look closely, the way that they depicted that in the painting, Adam's hand, his fingers are, like, curled back because he's not doing what he should in that moment. And he. And it's like a beautiful representation of, like, us.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, it. It caught it. It requires us to draw near and.

[A]

And.

[B]

And if we're not close with God, like, close in our walk, reading our Bible, spending time just in prayer and. And not just in prayer, like, just talking to God. Like, sometimes God just wants you to be quiet.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So that he can speak. Like, shut up. So I can talk to you. You know, in a sense.

[A]

And that is a hard. I remember a couple years ago going through, like, women's retreat, and that was one of the things that we practiced. And we did a book over the summer, and it was about how to be still and silent with God. And it was starting and having two minutes of solid quietness, no disturbance, which you sit. You sit for 15 seconds with no noise, with your eyes closed. It's hard. So, I mean, it. It's hard, but there is a lot.

[B]

Of distractions out there.

[A]

There's a lot of distractions. A lot of distractions. But it's so. It's so nice when you can get yourself to just be still, be still. And that's what God's been telling me for, you know, about two years now. Like, be still, Danielle. Be still, be still, be still.

[B]

I've noticed the biggest seasons in my life, and a lot of people make fun of me for saying seasons, but times in my life that I have had the most anxiety and. And worry and fear are those times where my walk with crisis. Like, I'm not close. Like, I'm not reading my Bible like I should. I'm not spending time just in prayer or just meditating on, like, God. What do you have for me? You Know, in order to give me wisdom or direction or guidance. And I can look back at the past and see that, like, man, in that. In that season when I was dealing with this time of just anxiety and worry, where was I with my walk with Christ? And it directly correlates to just distance. And so drawing near to God, like, he draws near to us. And, you know, he's near to us. And especially like in when we're brokenhearted, like, he. He's closer.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's so good.

[A]

Like, I mean, I have seen God heal anxiety. I've seen God heal depression through, you know, I mean, I ran into a friend the other day, and she has just had major life trauma. And she spoke about it. She lived. She has lived in with years and years of just like, abundance, amount of anxiety. And she is a. An. An amazing Christian woman. And she talked about. She shared a little bit about, like, how she went through this process and whatnot and spiritual thing with trying to allow and accept God to heal her. And she doesn't. She does. Has zero anxiety, off of medication, all the things. And. And she's like. It is like a completely different life. She's a mom, she's got four kids, married, you know, and is a. Because I remember this, I mean, from 14 years ago, like, she has been struggling this for so long. And God heals. And so I believe that I've lived, that I have walked it. I've been in close proximity with family, friends and community that God heals. He heals the brokenhearted, he heals the hurting, he heals the suffering, he heals the sick. And he still does this today, and he can still do this for you. But I love what we were talking about at church this past week about, you know, God is always with us. And Brian's analogy of like, the boating and, you know, God is the dock, the dock is firm. And you were in the boat on this unsteady water, right? And someone throws the rope out to you, you have to pull yourself closer to God. He's not gonna. The dock's not gonna come to you. You have to go to the dock, the boat, right? And so I love that, like, God is there for you, but you have to be willing to pull yourself into him, allow yourself to have quietness, allow yourself to read scripture. And it's some scripture still to this day. I have a hard time interpreting and understanding it. And that's where, you know, there's different forms of, like, forms. There's different versions of scripture, like the Bible and stuff. And King James would not recommend start reading that because I don't understand a word. But I love the Bible that I, I just recently got a new living translation application. Study Bible. Oh, I like, it's like, and I'm not a reader. I love reading that thing because it makes sense to me.

[B]

Yeah, there's, it's just so good. So there's a couple, John and Lisa Bevere. They will have like a very in depth discussion about certain topics in the Bible. And but they always, they do it so much. They'll reference, there's a version of the Bible, a translation called the Message and they'll reference the message a lot just because it's so real world language like right now that allows people to be able to like understand what it's talking about. So they'll, a lot of times, you know, they'll talk about a subject and then they'll reference a verse in the Bible but then also bring in the message that is a little bit more applicable to like our tone and our voice right now this day.

[A]

Like those, those reels and stuff about like the, what do you call the, the teen talk? How the teens talk.

[B]

Like Chris.

[A]

Yeah. Have you seen those reels on Instagram or whatever where it's like the youth pastors, wherever they're going and saying the scripture in the way that the teens talk today, it's hilarious.

[B]

But I mean also it takes an immense amount of trust and just like trusting God. I mean there's a lot of things that happen in our lives that we will not know the answers to on this side of heaven. And you know, whether it's good or bad or I feel like God is constantly orchestrating things in our lives or allowing things to happen in our lives that we don't understand. Why, you know, say you have, you know, a death of a loved one or something and you just, you have an immense amount of hurt by it and you don't know why and causes you to distance yourself from, from God thinking that God did this to me and that is. Could be furthest from the truth. Like God. God brings good gifts. Yes.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, all good things come from above. And you know, people that are out there that are struggling with like you know, a child that passed away or something like that, they're like, well, God wasn't here for me for this. I mean there's some things that we're never going to understand on this side of heaven, but things can come from that situations in our life can come from that could be years down the road. Yeah, where God gets your attention on something and either reveal something or a door opens or something like that. And so I know there's a lot of people out there that are struggling with, like, you know, this happened or wanting to blame God for something. God is not a God of like, hurt or pain or allowing, you know, like a death. I mean, like, hey, we have a very real and present enemy on this world that is wreaking havoc on things and, and orchestrating things and I mean nothing. And he's seeking to steal, kill and destroy. And his only mission is for you to doubt God and for you to. To pull you away from God. Daniel was talking about, you know, I believe that God will heal and yes, he will, but sometimes it just doesn't happen. You know, you just gotta have that mindset of like, God, he wants you to draw near and he wants you to be close and he wants the best for you. But something, sometimes it doesn't always pan out. And, you know, you just have to have faith that there's a. There's a bigger purpose, there's a greater purpose. And some things we'll just never understand. And so, like, I feel for the people that like, oh, well, this didn't happen. This didn't come through. God didn't heal me. It's hard to have an answer for that. Yeah, but, you know, we have.

[A]

But I believe that that is purposeful for whatever was the will be done. It's purposeful. It's just sometimes our human nature, it's.

[B]

Hard for us to understand.

[A]

It's hard for us to understand in.

[B]

The way that they do.

[A]

Right. Especially if they don't happen the way that we want them to. So even in a small, like whenever.

[B]

Whenever Satan did enter this world, I mean, so did death and sin and destruction and disease and all these things until, you know, that final battle where God casts them out and back into hell, you know, those things will be here, you know, and he's wreaking havoc on the world and he's. His sole focus is to. Is to pull you away, pull you away from drawing to God and running to God in those situations.

[A]

And so, yeah, and sometimes, I mean, it's hard. So, like, if I look at, you know, us wanting to. Feeling that we knew we were going to be over here in this town and we had that house and it just felt right. Yeah, I wanted it to work. And then like, last minute it didn't. And it was like, man, that was crushing. And so it was hard to be like, man, did we seek too strongly for that specific place? Did we. What were. Like, what were we doing? What was I maybe possibly trying to control and make that happen and it wasn't the will of God.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, and so I. I trust and I see that that rejection was protection, which. I love that phrase. I shared that podcast or two ago, and here we are over here, and I'm just like, man, I'm just so thankful that that house didn't work out.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, and though we're in a situation where we're like, here in a temporary phase for however long, but that's okay because it's been so good here in.

[B]

And we're gonna look back maybe two years from now because, like, I mean, right now we have a. You know, we signed a lease on this house for a year. I mean, we may here be here right at that, or maybe a little longer.

[A]

Who knows?

[B]

But, you know, he may. You know, we may be looking back two years later at this perfect house in the perfect location and stuff and realize, oh, it was all because of this.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, he had this for us, and he wanted us to wait.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so, you know, we. We try to look at, you know, these rejections and stuff as protection and a blessing and a blessing in disguise sometimes. But, you know, going back of, you know, hearing from God and stuff and, like, what does that look like to me? Just. Just in the past and the things that, you know, I felt at times where, like, I've heard from God and stuff, and I remember very distinctly back whenever we were going through so much trying to get pregnant with our first daughter, get pregnant with now Blake. I mean, it took us years of going through infertility stuff and me going to. Getting test, doing testing and trying different drugs and stuff like that, and then waiting two months and. And then Danielle doing the same thing. And it went on and on and on for years to the point where, I mean, you just get beat down and, like, you just get consumed of is. Is just this just not gonna happen or, you know, it builds like this wall and this frustration between us. And, like, all this stuff starts with building and building. And it was just one night very clearly. I was waking up, like, in a dream, and I saw Danielle and I and a little girl, and. And I was just filled with this, like, overwhelming amount of just peace about. Just trust me, that was right about the time that we just stopped and we focused on, you know, like, okay, God, like, what do you have for us right now? What do you. What do you want us involved in. What do you want us to do? Where do you want us to put our. Our attention right now? And that's whenever we kind of moved into high school ministry for a little bit and just focused on that, and we stopped trying going through all the fertility stuff, and we just took a break. And then God spoke to you one day through that season of just, like, out of the blue and let's do it and said, okay, like, it's time.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And she. Danielle, told me, okay, it's time. I think we need to, like, let's try one more time or let's try. And, like, I just feel good about it. And then, boom, within, like, two months, like, we were pregnant.

[A]

It was that.

[B]

Yeah, it was that. That very first time we were pregnant with Blake, and, you know, just God wanting us to draw near to him, focus on him, and being obedient to him through that time, and, you know, he immensely blessed us through that, and we were able to have Blake, and.

[A]

And it's so. It's so hot. Like, I think Adam and I could go story after story of all the blessings that we have been poured out onto from God by being obedient. But there's also time after time where we still struggle and we still have a hard time, you know, with things because there's so much distraction. And, you know, I say this a lot where I'm like, I just want to take us and just, like, just remove us from all of this, like, all of this nastiness in the world. You know, like, let's just move, you know, not. Not saying, like, let's move to the island or whatever, but you know what I mean? Like, move away from all the things that are distracting. And, like, yes, there's a lot of, like, our world today that we live in as far as, like, you know, business and stuff, where it's. You're listening to a form of social media, and, like, that's a lot of things that we do, and. And how do we utilize that for business and to support our family and stuff. But there's so much bad that comes from it, too. And so raising kids. How do you want to raise your kids to adapt but let them know that, man, like, that's not important. There's a lot of things that are just not important. And I think as I look back at those times, you know, I guess I was saying that to say, like, we can talk blessing after blessing and stories after stories of, like, when we are obedient, but we still. Today, still, we're not perfect and we'll never be. And we know that. We know the good that comes from being obedient. But it's still very hard to be obedient because we're selfish, we, we're needy, we want our own ways. We like control and we want to do things our ways. And sometimes that is what is crippling us or own self. You know, we're crippling our own selves. So I guess for, you know, like just encouragement. I think what has helped us to stay on track with being obedient is really having that close circle of Christ centered friendships where we can say, man, this is hard. I feel like God's telling us something. Adam doesn't get it yet, but I feel so, I feel like God has spoke to me and we need prayer. We need prayer so that we can align and make sure this is from God. And just that is like the power of prayer is so powerful. And I believe in that and I've seen the works of that. And I mean we are testament to prayer, like living through people praying for us when we had no control over anything, you know, with the quintuplets and the NICU and the blessings that came from all of that. And.

[B]

But like I said, even so, just like the provision and the protection that God brings us, obviously having he is.

[A]

A heavenly father for sure.

[B]

And having a TV show on secular television for 10 years, you get attacked from all sides and it feels, sometimes it feels like the world is like completely rooting against you. And you know, people are constantly out after you because they see a marriage and they've seen things that have happened in the past with other people in our position and they're like, y' all are never gonna last. But we see that and, and I feel like, you know, this is one of those things of like God using us as an example to show other people. Because Danielle and I could not be any more opposite. And then we've gone through 10 years of just being in the public eye and just getting criticism and scrutiny on every single front. And here we are today because just celebrated 19 years of marriage and he's carried us through. And you know, know, this weekend we're going to be celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary.

[A]

And I want, and I. And I've said that from the beginning. Like, I think we both handle commentary to our lives very differently.

[B]

Differently, for sure.

[A]

Very differently. I like what we're doing right now and saying we're actually answering the questions of the people who don't understand. And I Like, I like that bit of. I love the support in the community that we have around people who walk with us and, like, know who God is. But I also love the fact that there's people who are still coming and asking questions, skeptical or skeptical and saying, like, I don't know why you do that. Well, let us try to explain it. And it might. And you know, just for that hope of something we might have said today that would help one of you. Something click and say, okay. Okay. And to me, that's beautiful. It's. It's not about. There's going to be always so much negativity and so much destruction, especially public figures coming towards us. But a lot of that, to me, Adam will get worked up about it, want to fight. But I always. I also see, like, oh, that's it. There's a challenge right there. I see. What can we do in this situation? Like, kind of what we're doing today, like, let's see, what are the people who don't know what we know? How can we better teach that and how can we better talk about that?

[B]

And, you know, there's. And this is a hard topic, obviously there's a big difference between, like, somebody coming, you know, from.

[A]

Oh, hiding behind the. No photo.

[B]

Yeah. A position of just like. Like wonder and just doesn't really understand and maybe ask like, a legitimate question about, like, what does that mean? I don't. I don't understand it. Or in my point of view right now, I don't necessarily agree with maybe a decision that you've made, but I don't. Because I don't know what that looks like. I don't know what, like, hearing from God looks like. But then obviously there's the other side of it. And, you know, people that either are unbelievers or something like that, that just think we're lunatics and. And think we're just dumb and they just want to attack. And, you know, obviously that's not from God. And, you know, those people just want to attack and they just want to fight and they want you to. They want a response. And I mean, sometimes I give it back. Sometimes I was just like, kind of ignore it. But sometimes I'm just in a mood. I want to fight. It's fun to me sometimes, but if I have. If I have 15 or 20 minutes to, like, engage with somebody, like, I'll. I'll poke the bear sometimes.

[A]

But it's.

[B]

It's all in good fun for me. Like, it's not really rattling me that much. It's Just like, okay, well, this is why.

[A]

But so.

[B]

But there's. There's also been, you know, I gave, like, one or two examples of, like, times that we've heard from God, but, you know, all through the quintuplet pregnancy and through different aspects of, you know, trying to get pregnant with the quintuplets. And then the. The revelations that God has given us through, you know, the fear of the things that the doctors have said to Danielle. You know, he's spoken to us, you know, in those ways. He's spoken to us through people in those times, in our times in the nicu, whenever the kids were in the nicu. And, you know, the times and the peace that God's given us and. And the revelations that he's given us through those moments of. Things are going to be fine. You're going to be okay. I've got you. And you just feel. I mean, you feel the presence of God in the room those times and.

[A]

In that peaceful feeling is because it surpasses.

[B]

Because what the Bible says, it surpasses all understanding. It's so hard to explain unless you have felt it before.

[A]

And I want everyone to experience that because it's. It's like, magical in a way, because it's like. I don't even know. It's so hard to explain because. And this has happened to me a couple times where this overwhelming sense of peace has taken over, and it's just this complete love of comfort, and you just feel protected. And, you know, this is it. And, you know, obedience is hard. Yeah, it's hard, but it's not about control. It's really about trust. So trusting. And as part of my life. Trusting is hard.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Life story. I think I've talked about it a little bit, but you just. You don't have to know the whole plane. You just need to be able to take a faithful step forward. And that comes with just trusting. Yeah, trusting. Like you said, like, there's this one spotlight. I'm just gonna go there, you know.

[B]

So sometimes God just wants us to take that next step just to see if you'll be obedient in it, and then he'll shine a light to the next. So a lot of. Sometimes it could just be like a test. Like, hey, are you gonna take this step? Yeah, like, I want you to go here, but I'm not gonna show you that yet. I'm gonna show you this and what's right in front of you. Just take the step, and then I'm gonna reveal something. Then, you know, Sometimes in our life, like, we don't get the full picture. We just get that next step.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And he wants to see if you'll take it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And, you know, a lot of times, I mean that through this journey, when you follow that step, coming to the realization of closing down the store. We're going to sell the house. We need to move away. I feel like through that season, like, God's been showing, like, okay, take this step. Take this step. Let's.

[A]

And we're like, what?

[B]

What, God? Yeah.

[A]

This was. All these steps were not taken lightly. Like, there was a lot of, you know, we know we need to do this. We feel we need to do this. We know you're calling us to do this. We want to be obedient. And nothing happened overnight, guys. It's been months and months of. Of understanding what is the obedient path that we need to take. Some people's stories, things can happen in, you know, a miracle overnight. And some people's. It takes time. It takes years. I mean, if you look at, like, Abraham and Sarah, when, what was she, like, 90, 100 years old, and he's like, you're gonna have a baby. It's like, okay, my wife's old. And they did. So timing is not. Like. Our timing is not the same as when it comes to God's timing. And so I just want to say, like, you know, we. We thank you for listening, and we are very thankful that above all the things that we've gone through in life, that we are here today to be able to, like, witness, to share, and to hopefully help some of you grow a little bit closer into understanding, like, your walk and what that might look like in today's episode of, like, what does obedience look like? And how did we experience obedience? And I really do hope that something through here, because it's kind of hard to talk about because you don't really know how to explain what.

[B]

It's hard. It's hard to fully, like, explain unless you felt it, unless you've lived it, unless you've. But there's fruits.

[A]

There's, like. I can tell you in stories of, like, when we are being obedient and following the path that God. We feel God is shining the light on. There's so much fruits that come from that. But when we sidetrack and go off on our own self, there's destruction. There's a lot of hard things. There's a lot of brokenness. There's a lot of hurt. Like, when we try to step away from that. And it's like, man, I don't want that. I don't want that fight. I don't want that struggle. Like, God, bring me. Bring me this way. Bring me this way. Keep me aligned with scripture. Keep me aligned with my focus on you. Because when I think of that first and do that first, all things fall into pieces, you know? And that's. It's true. Just. I just want to say it's true. You follow the right path, it will lead to. To joy. You follow the wrong path, the darkness is going to lead to destruction, you know? So thank y' all for listening, and, yeah, we hope that God's used some of our words to touch you today, and that might bring you a little bit closer, a little bit more questioning of what else do you want to know from us and how can we help? So thanks for listening.

[B]

Yeah. Thank you guys for listening to episode 43, a more than reality podcast. And we will see you in the.

[A]

Next one and take that step, even if it's hard.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Love you guys.

[B]

All right, Love you guys.

[A]

Sam.