EP 56 - From Mahjong Madness to Miracles: What God’s Doing in Our Lives

Summary

---

More Than Reality with Adam and Danielle Busby

Episode 56: From Mahjong Madness to Miracles – What God’s Doing in Our Lives

Release Date: October 30, 2025

---

Episode Overview

In this lively and heartfelt episode, Adam and Danielle Busby invite listeners into a week full of milestone moments and personal reflection. From the relief of closing on their house (and finally ending years of double mortgages!) to the unexpected joys of decluttering, and Danielle's newfound Mahjong obsession, the couple candidly explores the chaos, blessings, and faith that shape their family’s off-screen reality. Most notably, Danielle details the journey of organizing her first women’s event, “After the Rain,” sharing the spiritual highs, challenges, and the deeply personal stories that unfolded. Throughout, they underscore the power of community, resilience, obedience to God’s prompting, and the importance of friendship—plus, there are plenty of laughs, light arguments, and memorable one-liners.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

---

1. Recapping the Previous Episode: Friendship Unfiltered

• Danielle reflects on the casual, last-minute recording with two of her best friends—the show’s first guests—citing audience feedback on the authenticity and inside jokes that are hard to share on camera.
• Adam discusses editing challenges, especially with friends talking over each other, but Danielle insists that “the best part is when you can’t understand what’s happening—that’s real friendship.”
  • Quote:

    "That’s the funny part where you're like, 'What is going on?'…that was probably the best part of the whole episode."
    —Danielle (03:02)

• They debate the idea of multiple “best friends,” exploring what makes deep connections endure over time and distance.

Timestamp: 00:55–06:40

---

2. Closing on the House: End of an Era

• The big news: the Busbys finally sold their League City home, officially ending years of double house payments.
  • Quote:

    "So we’re officially not leasing League City... Years and paying two house notes right now, which—oh gosh, that’s been fun."
    —Adam (09:35)

• Moving gives them relief, a chance to breathe, and an opportunity to declutter for the first time since having the quints.
• The couple laughs about their immense collection of Christmas trees (12–14 in total!), accumulated in the chaos of family life and reality TV production.

Timestamp: 09:06–13:20

---

3. The Decluttering Revelation: Thanks to Freehauloff.com

• Adam and Danielle stress how hiring a local junk removal and donation company transformed their move.
  • Quote:

    "We just piled all the junk and donation stuff, and one company—this really nice man...They just came and did all that. That was so much time saved."
    —Danielle (14:18)

• They recommend seeking out local small businesses for moves and hauling (particularly shoutout to freehauloff.com in the Houston area).
• The team’s kindness went above and beyond basic service, helping them sort, donate, and trash items quickly and affordably.

Timestamp: 13:20–18:17

---

4. Mahjong Madness and the Power of Women’s Gatherings

• Danielle details her latest passion: Mahjong, joking about its growing popularity among her friends and how she aspires to be the octogenarian with a card table club.
• Adam teases her about her busy social calendar and the cost of Mahjong sets and lessons.
  • Quote:

    "I know, I want—oh, my Mahjong! And one set's like $500 because you gotta get the cute ones."
    —Danielle (19:56)

• Adam learns how lessons with the instructor work and marvels at the affordability and community of the game.
• Danielle enthusiastically recommends in-person teaching over YouTube for Mahjong newbies.
  • Quote:

    "If you have someone around you that can teach you…I wouldn’t recommend just learning from YouTube…you want a person to teach you the right way."
    —Danielle (25:08)

Timestamp: 18:19–27:00

---

5. After the Rain: Miracles, Purpose, and Obedience

• Danielle shares her emotions in the aftermath of hosting her first faith-based women’s event, “After the Rain.” She details:
  • The spiritual prompting to hold the event, confirmed over the past year by God placing the right women in her life.
  • The intense “spiritual warfare” or enemy attacks (clarified as spiritual challenges, not interpersonal drama).
    • Quote:

      "When you’re usually shooting to do something for the Lord, you get faced with a lot of enemy attacks…spiritual warfare."
      —Danielle (31:09)

  • Persevering despite doubts, pressures, and disruptions—she held onto faith and purpose.
  • The powerful impact of the event through four different women’s stories about infertility, loss, healing, and resilience.
  • Her desire to create ongoing connections for women to support each other, sharing hope that “you are not the only one who has stepped in this phase.”
    • Quote:

      "There is a God who loves you and is not going to abandon you. And you can see the other side of it if you cling to him."
      —Danielle (36:20)

• Adam reflects on the musical talent of their friends, the “Man Band,” who played at the event, and the special experience of bringing their daughters to hear their parents’ story.
  • Memorable Moment: Danielle candidly realizes, mid-speech, the awkwardness of sharing infertility details (“Did I say turkey baster?”) in front of her teenage daughter, Blake.
    • Quote:

      "I did at one point go, wow, I forgot my teenage daughter is here. So it was—yeah, that kind of, like, took me off track."
      —Danielle (40:54)

Timestamp: 27:00–43:22

---

6. Looking Ahead: Changing Chapters

• Danielle touches on new beginnings:
  • Her devotional book’s release and giving signed copies to VIPs at the event.
  • How closing on the house, finishing the women’s event, and pulling family/friends together feels like closing old chapters and opening doors for new possibilities.
  • Hint at next week's topic: exploring homeschooling, with a promise to discuss first impressions and future plans.

Timestamp: 43:22–45:21

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Friendship Overlap:

  "I feel like Danielle has a best friend in every state…Oh, that's your Louisiana best friend. Oh, there's your Michigan best friend. Oh, that's your local best friend."
  —Adam (04:31)

• On Christmas Tree Overload:

  "I mean, how does someone have this many Christmas trees?...We literally probably had like at least 12 or 14 trees in the house."
  —Adam (10:18, 11:04)

• On the Power of Shared Stories:

  "A lot of women need this…to encourage you and give you hope, to say, you are not the only one who has stepped in this phase."
  —Danielle (35:00–36:00)

• Awkward Parenting Moment:

  "A few moments of the story got really awkward...she’s never heard it in a form of a speech, I would say."
  —Adam and Danielle (40:49–40:54)

• On Letting Go and Moving Forward:

  "We’re closing lots of chapters and making way and making room for a lot of new things to come, and it’s kind of exciting."
  —Danielle (43:41)

---

Episode Structure and Flow

1. Warm-up: Banter about previous episodes, editing, and the realities of authentic friendship.
2. Major Life Update: Closing on the old house and the emotional relief it brings.
3. Decluttering Breakthrough: Recommendations for moving and donation services; humorous tales of forgotten junk.
4. Mahjong Madness: Danielle's hilarious enthusiasm and Adam's skepticism about the new neighborhood craze.
5. Women's Event Reflection: In-depth sharing of the calling, obstacles, and outcomes of Danielle’s women’s ministry event.
6. Family Moments: The nuances of sharing personal stories in front of their kids; laughter about embarrassing details.
7. Looking Forward: Excitement and nervousness about future endeavors, including homeschooling and personal ministry growth.
8. Sign-off: Teaser for the next episode, full of hope and anticipation.

---

Final Thoughts

This episode captures the Busbys at their most vulnerable, relatable, and humorous. Listeners are treated to frank parenting moments, the messy beauty of moving on (literal and figurative), and Danielle’s heart for ministry and profound connection among women. The dynamic between Adam’s dry wit and Danielle’s genuine enthusiasm keeps the tone lively and accessible, leaving you inspired and eager for the next chapter—be it school choices or another round of Mahjong.

---

For listeners who missed the episode, this summary captures the milestones, laughs, faith moments, and practical tips that make the Busbys' world feel both extraordinary and like home.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

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. Hello. Hello.

[A]

We're back in the studio. Back in the saddle.

[B]

Who enjoyed last episode? It was a bit wild and random and different.

[A]

If you guys only knew. I probably cut a huge chunk right out of the middle of that.

[B]

First off, this is episode 56. Did you say that?

[A]

Yeah. Welcome to episode 56. More than more Than Reality podcast with.

[B]

Adam and Danielle Busby.

[A]

Yes, it's us.

[B]

We just kind of went rolling into it because we're back on the regular.

[A]

Yeah, but last week you did your little friend best friend couch conversation, just talking about friendship and actually had a lot of feedback.

[B]

I was just like person to person people telling me, like, hey, I actually got a lot of like, good information off of that and it helps me understand, like, yalls friendship. So it wasn't, at least it wasn't not intentional for like, at least it wasn't nothing. So I did get some feedback back even with like, face to face people, really. So that was good. But yes, Adam said he had to take out a huge, like 10 minute chunk.

[A]

I forgot to tell him. Like, so obviously I started the episode with them on the couch and then I had to go pick up the kids from school. And I was nervous because I was like, I don't know how this is gonna go because I'm not there. Like, I can't steer this conversation any or, you know, whatever. And so it's just all a matter of like, okay, well, I guess I'll see it whenever I start editing. And I forgot to tell y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

I think whenever, whenever y' all get on a subject, if you told us or not, it turns because, like all three of y', all, there was like a few times and it probably it even still happened on the episode, but it, it, there was like one particular story that y' all are telling and y' all all got super excited about it.

[B]

I know I want to hear it.

[A]

And it was just like all three of y' all talking at the same time. I'm like, I can't make sense of this, so I'm just going to cut this whole story out. And so I just cut it.

[B]

But that's like, what's the best part? Like, we were laughing when he told us that. We're like, we want to hear it. That's like the best part because I feel like, girlfriends, like, they understand that, like, they get like. I don't know what it sounds like, honestly. So you, more the professional when it comes to this stuff, can say, like, no one's going to understand that. People. People can understand. When I'm talking over you, they're like, I can't understand. So I trust your opinion.

[A]

People get mad. People get mad at us all the time for talking over each other.

[B]

And so I agree. It's probably couldn't understand it, but I'm like, that's the funny part where you're like, what is going on? Like, what. I mean, it happens on, like, reality TV and stuff, too, where you're watching, like, Housewives or something. You're like, what is going on? Like, what are they talking about? And. But that's the good stuff. So we were like, that's the best. That was probably the best part of the whole episode.

[A]

But I was also hoping that it wasn't just like, you know, because, like, whenever you have, like, really close friends and there's just like, you know, when you have close friends, you have, like, a lot of inside jokes.

[B]

No, that was the hardest part about.

[A]

Inside conversations and just stuff that only you know. And so whenever you're telling stories and you're just assuming that y' all already know this or it's like an inside joke or whatever. But then some of those, you can't really say on camera because obviously it's like an intimate close friend.

[B]

I really went in unprepared because it literally was like, let's do a podcast on friendship. And we're like, yeah, let's do it. Hey, Adam. And then it was like, let's talk. And so we started talking. We're like, well, we can't say that they wonders. No. So there was a lot of things we couldn't really share because of certain other things and a lot of inside jokes. And so it was like, is this even worth it? But it was fun. It was a. It was our first guest, which I felt like was awesome. It was like two of my best friends, which. It's the joke now. How many best friends does Danielle have? I shared that with Katie yesterday, and she told me. I listened to that, and it made me sad.

[A]

Yeah. Because I feel like Danielle has a best friend in every state. Like, oh, that's your Louisiana best friend. Oh, there's your Michigan best friend. Oh, that's your local best friend.

[B]

Oh, Brazilian best friend, but lives in Texas. Yeah. But it was fun. So anyways, if you listen to that.

[A]

Can they really technically be called your best friends.

[B]

They are, They're. They're the people who know me the best and know I thought you can.

[A]

Really only have like one best friend.

[B]

They're.

[A]

Cuz they're not all of them.

[B]

There's nothing different that they know about me.

[A]

Because I don't know, whenever I think of best, I think like, singular, like, oh, that's the best of this. So it's like, that's the one thing that's like the best. But I guess whenever it comes to like, friendship, like, it's like, yeah, I guess so.

[B]

But I guess you do think that. But like, if you think about, like, Katie being my best friend, that was like in college years. I met her in college and then we got married and moved away and we haven't lived by each other. So our friendship for the last 20 years has always been when we visit each other or conversational on the phone, you know, and so then that's when I met Priscilla here. So our friendship was. Has always been face to face.

[A]

But anyways, and like, those good friendships are always like, you know, even though you haven't seen, you know, you can go like a whole year without seeing someone and then like, that's how I feel about. You come face to face and it's like, y' all never skip a beat.

[B]

Yeah. And that's how I feel about Katie.

[A]

Like, I don't fall right back into where you were.

[B]

It's harder for us to stay, like, conversational with each other or like, be on each other's schedule. And like, usually when I call her, she's at the gym or she's picking up her kids or different time frame. Like, we always miss each other, so we play phone tag a lot, but it's always when we get to talk, it's like hours of conversation. But it's not like. It's not like we feel like we don't know each other, you know? So anyways, that was okay.

[A]

That was last week.

[B]

This episode is brought to you by Poncho Outdoors. This season. Give him something he will love and actually wear.

[A]

Yeah. I was super excited whenever Poncho reached out to us to sponsor More Than Reality podcast. Because I wear poncho all the time. I mean, right now I have on the, like the western denim and I mean, I absolutely love their shirts. Some of our friends actually will call me Poncho sometimes because I'm wearing Poncho, like whenever we go out to dinner and stuff like that. I wear Poncho shirts so often right I. I love the fit they have. They have standard and also slim fits, and now they just recently came out with, like, a tall fit. They have sizes for anything from, you know, your husband, your father. But they also have kids sizes too now, which is awesome because I don't have a boy, but if I did, he'd be wearing poncho. Also, I love the denim. I love the flannels. I have a few corduroy shirts. I've been waiting till the weather here in Houston has cooled off, and now I can actually, like, really wear, like, long sleeve shirts.

[B]

And if he's hard on clothes, you can actually get the tough thread, which is kind of like you've got the denim long sleeve, but it's like a denim.

[A]

Yeah. If you're actually out there working on the ranches.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Get the tough bread.

[B]

Yeah. But also with Poncho, you get, like, free shipping, free returns, free exchanges to make sure that the. The fit is, like, just right. And you're getting, like, the right gift for your husband or for your dad or whoever you're purchasing it for. So Poncho stands by every shirt. If it's not his favorite, he'll. They'll make it. Right. So, Adam, tell us what our special code is.

[A]

All right, so if you go to ponchooutdoors.com more than, you'll get $10 off your first order. That's P O-N C H O outdoors.com more than. And enter the code, obviously more than. And you'll get 10, $10 off your first order.

[B]

With free shipping.

[A]

With free shipping.

[B]

Yeah. For the man who doesn't ask for much but deserves the best.

[A]

And whenever they ask you where you heard about it, let them know that you heard it from More Than Reality podcast.

[B]

So thank you, Poncho Outdoors, for sponsoring our podcast.

[A]

Thanks, Poncho.

[B]

So today.

[A]

But today, this week, I mean, the biggest thing that happened this week, today, and we thought it was going to happen last week, it ended up not happen because the buyer, like, went out of town, he had something going on, blah, blah, blah. But today we finally signed and closed on our house.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Just a few hours ago. Put those people, like, on the screen finally behind us.

[B]

Yeah. So we're officially not leasing League City.

[A]

Years and paying two house notes right now, which.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, gosh, that's been fun.

[B]

I feel like we can kind of like, breathe in, like, just. Just a minute.

[A]

I know we're not. We're not really, like, in a rush to do anything new.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, because everybody's like, oh, yeah, you sold the house. Like now you're gonna start looking like.

[B]

It'S like, I just, I don't want a lot of house stuff.

[A]

Take a break.

[B]

Settle. And now that we're like literally approaching November, I'm like, this is the busiest time of year. I just. We want to now just get through the holidays. We'll probably only put up one tree, which is really sad because. How many trees did you move, Adam?

[A]

Oh, my gosh. We're like going through all the attics and stuff. I mean, how does someone have this many Christmas trees?

[B]

Well, plus, each kid has a tree, so each little kid, they're all like those little four foot trees.

[A]

So there's six trees and then there's. And then there's a tree for the playroom. And then downstairs we had the big.

[B]

Tree, 12 foot tree.

[A]

And then we have a new seven foot trees, like two really slim trees. And then we had another tree.

[B]

I got two new ones last year. And then we have the old one that I don't even know. We should just threw it away a long time ago. We literally probably had like at least 12 or 14 trees in the house.

[A]

Yeah. And there was like a few still in the attic that like, we just didn't throw out because they weren't really in bad shape. We had just gotten new ones because they looked a little different and they matched some of the other ones. And so, I mean, there. I think there was like 14 trees.

[B]

The best thing about moving, which we just discovered this house move because we finally, like, you know, we really. Since we've had the quints and been a family of eight, we. We've never really decluttered.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like at all.

[A]

Yeah. When we moved out of the mold house that you guys saw on tlc.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Literally that day. Because the. The home builder helped us move to our. The house we just sold. He helped us. They helped us move. And so literally they brought in like three separate crew moving crews that helped pack and like, like organize, pack and move everything. And it happened so fast that you couldn't. There were so many people in the house packing stuff up, wrapping stuff up, boxing it up that you couldn't see what was going in boxes. And I mean, they were just grabbing everything. Literally there could have been. When we were in the living room, I mean, in the kitchen, there was like, you know, there was like candy wrappers and blah, blah, blah, like on the counter, and they would just like grab it and. And then throw it into a box. And so, like, when we Got to the other house, we're like, oh, this says kitchen. You open it up and there's trash in it.

[B]

I literally opened a box and it was literally like. It wasn't even like, like school paperwork or like something you would, like, want to keep. It was just like scribble paper from like drawing at the house on the table. And I remember that being in a box with like wraps. Tissue, like the paper that you wrap, like tissue glass or something with, it was so random. Like, why is this in a box? Like, throw it away. But they. They could not throw anything away. So everything had to go in a box and everything had to be wrapped.

[A]

So anything that was already in our attics at the other house, it just got you instead of over here, you know, instead of being able to like, look through it. Oh, do we really need this? Do we really need to move? Just got threw in. Thrown in a truck and moved to the other house.

[B]

We also too were in like zero space of decluttering because we had Blake, who at that time was like seven years old, and the quintuplets were three years old, and we were filming. So there was no time to be like, let's declutter and deal with this mold and film and have three year old quintuplets and in a. In a seven year old. And I mean, there was no time for that. So. But when with moving, what I figured out, if you are going through the process of moving and you are being able to declutter and stuff, which this may have. May have been happening all these years, but we just came to. The knowledge of it is that we just piled all of the junk and even all of the donation stuff that we wanted. And one company, which was this really nice man. What was it called? Hall. Haul it off.

[A]

I don't know. I just know the guy's name.

[B]

Haul. Haul off. Junk. Junk. Haul off. I'm gonna find it and we're gonna. They only have a Facebook page.

[A]

His Facebook page.

[B]

He doesn't have Instagram or anything, but he has a Facebook page.

[A]

A friend of ours just saw it, like, on like our community Facebook page, and he just like sent me the guy's name and number.

[B]

But two neighbors in the neighborhood had used him too.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So anyways, they were incredible. It was like two guys came so awesome and just did a great job.

[A]

Extremely helpful, extremely helpful.

[B]

And they took the donation stuff. They took all the. However many loads it took. They did all that. And I was like, this was like the best part of like, we need to get all of our stuff out. And just to be able to get the trash or the things you want to donate or how many times would it take you to go bring stuff or do that? They just came and did all that. Like, that was so much time saved. And so if you are. If you are moving, I would look into companies around you to see if people do that. And there are people that do it for free. They did it for free. They do it for free. And you just pay, like, the. The yard fee of, like, the dump.

[A]

Fee or whatever, because some stuff they can salvage, some stuff they can use for, like, scrap parts or scrap metal, some stuff they donate or, you know, maybe able to, like, if it's good enough stuff, they could sell it, resell it or whatever. So they take it.

[B]

And that's where they get like.

[A]

Yeah, they take it to their place first. They kind of go through everything separate sort, you know, and then they just throw strictly the trash to, like, the landfill or whatever. But there's a lot of stuff that they salvage and disperse and do whatever with. And so it's a. I mean, like, I. I was blown away by how.

[B]

Cheap it was while we're talking about it, so I can everybody know. But I had it on my stories.

[A]

But they're super helpful. I mean, even because they saw that, like, I was, you know, moving everything out of the garage and stuff. And, you know, it's just like, oh, you know, we're here to pick up the trash and. And haul stuff off. But then there's this dad with just a bunch of kids, like, trying to haul stuff out of there. And so, like, in the middle of stuff, they're like, hey, you know, is there anything, like, big or bulky that you need help with that we could help you load in? But, yeah, I mean, they're extremely helpful. You know, they weren't just like, they're doing a job. Like, they were just genuinely, like, nice, good people that just were super helpful.

[B]

Yeah, they were. We looking through my stories in the archive stuff, but we still never. We never even talked about after the rain either, because I had that event. We probably would have talked about that last week, but, wow, I don't understand this archive stories thing. Oh, there's me. Okay, here it is. Freehaul off.com freehauloff.com so you can either go to that website if you're, like, in the Houston area, or they have a Facebook page. But these guys were, like, awesome. I think they said that they're like, they've had like, 500 top five star reviews or whatever. Except one four star review or. I forgot what he said. He laughed about it. But anyways, we love working with like more small businesses versus, like the big, huge large companies and stuff. And we like to support people like that. So I would recommend checking them out if you're in that area, but also if you live in a different town or whatever, like, look up stuff like that. Because now we discover, like, there actually are companies like that that do that kind of stuff. So. Cool. So I would highly recommend checking out freehaul off dot com. You can look at their website or check out their Facebook. They don't have Instagram or whatever, just Facebook. So, yeah, we. We enjoyed them a lot and they were just super, super helpful. Great guys.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. So we finally closed that chapter, League City, which it just actually was talking to. Because today I played mahjong, which, I'm.

[A]

Telling you, the new latest craze.

[B]

No, I'm gonna be like, I'm gonna be like, mall. You know, she used to play like bridge and stuff. I. I'm gonna be that. I am. I'm gonna be like 80, sitting around my, like, card table game, drinking gin and being like four mahjong clubs. My Monday club, my Tuesday club. Because it used to be like bridge used to be the thing, but it's going to be mahjong.

[A]

I wish I had that kind of time on my hands.

[B]

What? 80 at 80? You're retired. Are you talking about today or when we're 80? Oh, it was one hour and I got running around.

[A]

Barely keep my head above water. She's like, I'm playing mahjong today. There's a lady coming over. I got dinner tonight with friends. Dude, I'm going to Mexico.

[B]

Like, babe, all this stuff has been. Because all these things have been planned on the calendar. You're the one who doesn't like girls trip.

[A]

Girls dinner. Girls dinner.

[B]

Sorry. Brunch.

[A]

Brunch. Game day. Like, good gosh.

[B]

You wanted me to stay.

[A]

Welcome, babe.

[B]

You wanted me to stay home. This is what we do. Listen, don't start complaining. I'll go back to work.

[A]

You're gonna need to. To support all your game habits.

[B]

I know. I want my. I want. Oh, my Mahjong. And one set's like $500 because you gotta get the cute ones.

[A]

Like, how much does it cost to have the lady come here and set it up?

[B]

$25.

[A]

Why? How is it that cheap?

[B]

That's what it is.

[A]

Did she leave?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So she just comes and brings this she's teaching us. Of course she. But she stays the entire time you are playing?

[B]

Yeah, because that was.

[A]

She play with y'.

[B]

All. She's helping us learn the game.

[A]

She didn't come and just play with people.

[B]

Don't diss my Mahjong game. But Priscilla can't.

[A]

I want to. I kind of want to sit in on one of these and see how it goes.

[B]

I just. She. She gave us.

[A]

Today she charges you $25. I thought it was gonna be way more than that.

[B]

You're welcome. I'm budgeting.

[A]

I mean, I'm just thinking of a lady coming to your house, setting up this elaborate board, staying for a couple hours. Like it. It usually we do. In my opinion, it would be more than $25.

[B]

Well, if you want me to be honest, it was $25 for me per person.

[A]

Okay, that makes more sense.

[B]

But it's usually four people, so it's $100 for her time, which is usually two hours. It's 50 bucks an hour that she is for herself, which to me is still really cheap.

[A]

Yeah, but how many times have you all played this?

[B]

Now this is my second time.

[A]

And like a Mahjong board is like what, $400. So I think y' all could have literally pulled your money.

[B]

We don't know how to play and.

[A]

Just like buy your own board. So now it can just travel amongst the friends.

[B]

But we don't know how to play is the thing is that she's teaching us how to play the game.

[A]

I mean, I'm sure I learned an awful lot on YouTube.

[B]

Nope, nope. We learned. We talked about that today.

[A]

I'm sure. I'm sure she like talked like, oh, don't watch YouTube. Don't keep paying me 200 every time I come over.

[B]

Know she is amazing and she's so. She's so nice.

[A]

Don't trust YouTube.

[B]

I haven't won mahjong yet. I haven't won the game yet. And today the table won or the board won or the. The.

[A]

If that was my business model, I wouldn't be.

[B]

This isn't her full time job.

[A]

I'd be discouraging people from going and putting me out of business.

[B]

Also, this isn't her full time job. She does it for fun because she loves the game. I forgot what I was gonna say. Remember that happening after the rain? I totally went blank. And it. That one never came back. I was in the middle of talking on the stage. I'm like, wow, how does that just like, it just clearly leaves your brain.

[A]

That'S because whenever you get nervous, you're supposed to picture people in their underwear. And I was right on the front row. And so she just.

[B]

I wasn't nervous, and I did not think of anyone in their underwear. And people are like, why are you at a women's thing, Adam? Yes. So let's talk about that. I did have something else to say about mahjong and what I wanted. What I. Before we switch subjects, what I want to say is it is a really fun game. I always thought mahjong was that tile game that is in.

[A]

On your. On, like, a PC.

[B]

Yeah. Or in the Tesla.

[A]

It would come. It would come, like, on a computer when you would have, like, solitaire and mahjong. Yeah. Like one. Like snake or my. Like the mind game.

[B]

Yeah. And you have to match the tiles.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I'm like, why do people play mahjong? This is stupid. It's like, go fish. It's not that. It's not.

[A]

I always just thought it was a match.

[B]

Yeah. It's like, matching game.

[A]

Why are you. Oh, why is a bunch of moms getting around playing match? But apparently it's not like that.

[B]

No, no.

[A]

That's like the real game. It's not like we really.

[B]

We're really just calling it mahjong matching game. We're really doing something. I'm just kidding.

[A]

It's like getting around and playing guess who.

[B]

So. So I. Yeah. So anyway, the game is really fun, and if you haven't played it, I'm sorry to you husbands who might be listening, but your wives need to get involved in this because it's so fun. And if you have someone around you that can teach you, I wouldn't recommend someone teaching you person, because on. Because there. This is, like, American mahjong, and I actually think the lady from Dallas is the one. There's a lady from Dallas who's the one who, like, create it all, like, the cute. Like, change. Change it from, like, the Asian. Because it's from, like, it's an Asian Chinese. Like, it's where it's created from, but.

[A]

It'S still called mahjong.

[B]

Yeah, but this is, like, the American version. All the cute ch. Adam's gonna try to pull it up on YouTube right now, but no, because Ellen.

[A]

How to play.

[B]

No, I'm about to tell you. This is what I was gonna say.

[A]

How to play mahjong. No, actually understanding how the game invited.

[B]

Ellen, and she was like, oh, my God, I've been wanting to play, but she had never played, and this was like, lesson two. So she went on YouTube and watched two, like, tutorials, and she learned. She learned a lot. But there was a couple things that she said today, and I was like, that's not true. That's not even. That's not even what? Like, when you open a thing, that's not even the rules on the thing. So it's right. You don't want that to be told to you because that is.

[A]

You're learning the wrong dialect.

[B]

Yes. Great way to say it. Exactly. So you want a person to teach you the right way. And we have been learning, like, with a training, like, making it easier. But we were going to actually get to the big thing today, but I had to go because we had the closing.

[A]

It's just like playing dominoes in Mexican train. Like, oh, we have different. We play with different rules. Like, we.

[B]

No, this is.

[A]

We modify the rules sometimes based off of, like, who's playing? And blah, blah, blah. Like, I bear. I guarantee it's like that, babe.

[B]

You can only use Pong, and you can only use Kong in the right way.

[A]

Okay, yeah, you lost me.

[B]

I had fun with that the first time. Pong, Kong.

[A]

But please don't start talking in an Asian accent.

[B]

It's really fun.

[A]

And this girl's gonna get us canceled.

[B]

It's really fun. And you're gonna get me one for my birthday if I don't buy it for myself first. So speaking of when I lost my thought, my brain thought I brought up after the rain because that literally happened to me while I was on the stage. And that was fun. But a lot of women laugh because I think it. As we get older, it can happen. And women laugh because I'm not the only one that happens to. And I think this conversation can go a lot of different ways. But I want to talk about after the rain. So Adam was there, and there was a couple men because we had the man band. The band was great, but it was the man band because it was four men, just friends of ours. And it was awesome. They were great. But I did have a friend, Jen.

[A]

I mean, four. Probably the most talented musicians that we know.

[B]

Yeah. I couldn't believe that they were all just willing to come do this. So ultra, like, skilled that, like, can y' all come late? Y' all want to play at, like, this women's golf, women's night event, but incredible. They're like, what's the song you want? Got it in my head already. I know how to do that.

[A]

I just hear it one time, like, if anybody. Because we Talk about Ben and Corey a lot from Good Ranchers. They're very, very, very close friends of ours, Ben. And if you've, like, seen any of the podcasts and stuff that Ben and Corly have been on and they've told their story, you can pull him up on YouTube. Ben, in his former life was a worship pastor for like 15 years. One of the largest churches in Houston for like many years, like a decade or more. And just extremely talented. Like, whenever you watch him play piano, like, he is a prodigy. Like the. He is the most talented person I've ever seen on a piano. And he can just like, he can like, you know, it's just one of those people, they can list it, listen to a song already and then just start playing it. And it's just crazy. But he's extremely gifted. And then you had like Jonathan, who is the lead drummer for Lakewood Church, which is what, the largest mega church in the US and so he's like their lead drummer and like producer. He, like, produces all their music and like. And so, you know, that was like the head two people and like this band, the man band, and then Jonathan's brother and I mean, it was just extremely talented people.

[B]

Yeah. And no one really knew that. It's not like they were an actual band. I just called them the man band afterwards because, I don't know, they deserved it. They deserved a title. But we did have a friend, Jen, and she sings beautifully and she's talented and she's written music before and everything, but she got sick with fever and everything the day before and so she literally couldn't come sing. But she was going to be like the woman singer for the woman's event.

[A]

But to make it not the man band.

[B]

To make it not the man band. But thankfully we had the man band and didn't have to like scrounge around and find something last minute. But the event, if you don't know about this event, this is the first women's event that I put on in a different way. You know, this is something I've talked about for quite a while and I've talked about it on the podcast. Like, I'm throwing this women's event. God told me about this, that I'm going to put on some event for women last year. And he told me October 2025, and I'm like, okay, cool. How am I going to do that? Well, throughout this last year, he has literally just placed women in my life that I'm just like, wow, these are the women that are going to help me do this. And so these team of women, I told them that, like, I think God's put you in my circle so that we're going to put. Y' all are going to help me do this. And it had some up and downs. And you know, when you're usually shooting to do something for the Lord, you get faced with a lot of enemy attacks and enemy trying to defeat you and tear you down and.

[A]

Spiritual warfare.

[B]

Yeah, spiritual warfare. And so that was happening not just like our rivals. That was happening for sure. Especially towards the end.

[A]

We don't have any enemies around town, guys. Spiritual warfare.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

We're not in a gang.

[B]

Okay, But I love how you make everything into a joke. So that was all happening.

[A]

But I mean, but some people could be hearing this and you, you just say like, enemy.

[B]

Like, like spiritual. Yes. Spirit. Okay, you're right. You're right. Thanks for clarifying.

[A]

I mean, some people, like, don't think that way or some people may not understand that or believe that. But you're just talking about our enemies. I just want to make sure, like, okay, like, we believe in spiritual warfare. And that's like, that's fair. There's like a heavenly realm and like good and evil and stuff like that. And like whenever we're doing stuff for good, it upsets and the enemy, Satan and his demons want to disrupt that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Good. From happening.

[B]

Yeah. But we weren't going to let that turn us away from the purpose and the goal of this. And that was. I kept saying no, but God made this clear to me. God made this clear to me. I have to stay forward with this. I have to stay forward with this. And there was times that I was like, no, I'm going to postpone it. No, I'm just cancel this. Or just feeling defeated. But nope, just kept going. I was like, no, get in the scripture, reopen my journal, re reminded myself, like, this isn't about the trials. This isn't about anything. This is about what God called me to do. And it's about the other women. This is for the other women that are going to come to this. That's what it's for. And it ended up being perfect from what I envisioned a year ago from that day. So clearly what God told me, it was that day. And it was amazing. We had four speakers.

[A]

Your mama beared it.

[B]

I don't like that analogy or phrase. Give me another one.

[A]

Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It wasn't. It wasn't too big. It wasn't too small. It's just right.

[B]

Now.

[A]

Okay, Just hit that right in the mama bear.

[B]

My gosh, you're just, like on fire today. Usually you're tired in the evenings, but it really was. I mean, I needed more time to share and I was kind of like, got all. I needed more time to, like, keep going on, but it was beautiful. I've had a lot of great feedback and I. And I love. I love good and bad feedback. So we will have more of these. I've already got one location kind of identified for next year, and I think I will do another one kind of more locally around here next year. So I'm already kind of planting for two. What I have discovered is, which is something that I was aware of, is that a lot of women need this. A lot of women need this. And the stories that were. The stories that were shared were four different stories. And the purpose of these stories, or to share what God can do through trials. And when you feel that you have been defeated or suffering or loss and you can go no further in whatever state that you were in or whatever trial you were in, if you can hold on or maybe you've never even known a God, known God, and in that moment you can look up and ask God. So whether you've, you know, are finding God through the trial and you're facing the trial, but it's hearing these stories in four different scenarios of four different, you know, health and battles, you know, wedding and singles looking for, you know, your future husband or. Or trying to conceive, have a family, or literally just walking through, like, abandonment and abuse and stuff like that. Or we could talk about, like, loss. And these stories are to show you that, like, people is to encourage you and give you hope, to say, you are not the only one who has stepped in this phase. There's other people out there that. That have walked in a phase where you have been and they have made it through. And I want to help you understand that and help you realize that there is a God who loves you and is not going to abandon you. And you can see the other side of it if you cling to him. And he will pull you through that. And so to hold on to hope. Just feedback from this one event. It's been so beautiful to see what God told me last year. It's so good. He's so good. Because I don't know, there was a lot of these women, like, I don't know, or even some of the women that I didn't. I was hearing things that I didn't Even know was part of their story. Like, as long as I've even known some of these women, I, like, I had no idea. Had no idea some of these things. And so it's beautiful to see, like, when a group of women can come together and really just lean on each other, because some women don't understand friendship. And I'm kind of glad we did talk about that last week. Some women find it hard to connect with women. So to have a place where you can come and just be encouraged and have prayer be prayed for in the purpose of the heart of her, which is the ministry for this event, is to grow this to where women can connect with other women who are growing together so you can be connected with people in the same phase of life. So if you've, you know, lost a spouse or a friend or a husband, a child or, you know, family member or whatever, that loss is that we can be able to connect you with other people, possibly even in your location so that y' all could meet up for coffee or, like, talk these things together. So this is a growing thing, and this was the first event. Now it's figuring out kind of two next year, but also trying to figure out, like, how do I. How do I have more of these? Because I think it's such a need. It's such a need. There's a lot of. A lot of good to come, but a lot of logistics and a lot of planning still to be around it. So those of you who are connected with it, I would say hold on to it and stay connected with, like, the Facebook and stuff, because it's an. It's a new. It's a new startup. It's not like. Like, it's this huge. It's. It's really me with a team of people that help me put this event on. So there's no, like, backing for, like, this ministry page yet. So it's just. It's just me. So we're really just trying to grow that. But I have a deep desire, and I think God's really shown me, like, this is. This is what you need to do. So anyway, it's been. It was. It was a beautiful event, and we ended up bringing the girls, our girls, there last minute because I just felt like I wanted them. I didn't want them there because they were young and I didn't want them running around. But I also thought, you know what? We've been talking more and more with them about, like, our story, and, like, as they're 10 years old and getting older, like, they're coming into this world, and just the. It's not. It wasn't normal. And the NICU and all those things and just the trials through it and the hard things through it.

[A]

And so one of the more awkward moments of the night was I'm sitting on the front row, and Danielle's, like, telling our story. And I think this is really, like, the first time that you've, like, told your story to, like, your vulnerable side of your story about the infertility stuff and trying to conceive and everything in front of Blake. Like, she may have heard bits and pieces of her story here and there, but, like, you telling, like, your full story, like, in detail, like, everything, like, conceiving, trying to get pregnant, like, all these things, all the details.

[B]

Did I say turkey baster?

[A]

Yeah. And so, you know, I'm on the front row. Like, there was, like, you know, there's a big middle section, and then two sections on either end. And, like, I'm on the front row. And then just across the aisle, Blake sitting on the front row, like, second seat. She's still, like, here with one of her best friends. And I'll say, oh, my gosh, it was awkward.

[B]

I mean, she's.

[A]

A few moments of the story got really awkward.

[B]

She knows the story, but she's never. She's never heard it in a form of a. Of a speech, I would say. So. Yeah. But I did at one point go, wow, I forgot my teenage daughter is here. So it was. Yeah, that kind of, like, took me off track. But the quints weren't in there at that time. And we did have one of our speakers, Eugenia, which was an amazing story. I did. We did make sure. Graphic story, a very graphic source. Like, I made sure, like, the quints were out of there because I didn't want them to hear her story. And I had already vetted her story beforehand, and so, you know, just being cautious of that. They were too young to hear some of her things that she had to share. Yeah. But anyways, it ended up being just a beautiful night and just felt really, really thankful that God put that on my heart and called me to do that. And it was a full. For the first time I ever felt, like a full circle of obedience of something. The first time I ever felt, like, fully called to do something where something was so evident, like, written out, and then trying to be obedient over a whole, like, year span and being pulled in multiple directions, and then our life changing drastically to then all, like, so many things, and then actually like, seeing it coming, it was. It was very overwhelming. It was very overwhelming. Oh, and then my. My 30 day devotional came out, and the book came out the day before. It came to the house the day before. So I was able to, like, sign it and give it to all the VIPs, and so that'll be coming out online, which was supposed to come out on the 18th the next day, but it's not even out on the. Hopefully by the end of the month. So. Yeah, So I don't know. It's just been. It's been a lot. It's. It's, you know, it's never. It's ever changing. But I feel like we're kind of closing. We've kind of. We've. We've settled that chapter and it's been beautiful to see how God's work through all that and bringing people together and when God has equipped people with certain skills and abilities and you pull those people together, it's so amazing to see, like, the team that I had that just volunteer time and working together, like, how beautiful that was.

[A]

Yeah. You had a dream team.

[B]

I had a dream team, and I couldn't ask for anything better. I don't know if they'll do it again. I don't know. You know, it's like, oh, I hope they did. But, you know, I don't know. And so. And then, you know, we moved and then we closed on the house today. Just kind of closing that chapter. So I feel like it's just all in all been like a, you know, we're closing lots of chapters and making way and making room for a lot of new things to come, and it's kind of exciting. And Adam's over there just looking good in that poncho, which is not a rain poncho. It's like his clothing. Poncho. Poncho outdoors.

[A]

Yeah, it's a denim shirt.

[B]

Yeah. And I actually like the color of this one too. And I like the pearl buttons on.

[A]

It, like a lot of.

[B]

I'll probably wear it later.

[A]

No, you definitely will because you still all my denim shirts. But like, most. Most like denim shirts, they aren't like stretchy, but the poncho shirts, they have, like, a lot. They have some stretch to them. They're not just like, stiff. And I mean, these can, like, stretch and move with you. I like it.

[B]

I like the color of that one. Yeah, green's my favorite color. So thank you for getting that one for me. Anyways, guys, hope you all enjoyed today's podcast. And I think next week. Actually, I'm gonna set you up for next week because it'll be interesting to. Today I went to kind of shared on my stories today. I went to like, our first kind of, like, orientation for, like, homeschool, like, co op, kind of learning about what that would look like for that for the quintuplets next year.

[A]

Exploratory.

[B]

I said investigation today, which is kind of the same.

[A]

Investigate them kind of the same thing.

[B]

So we're going to talk about that next week. We were going to talk about today, but I still feel like I have to, like, kind of, like structure that better and just yabbering, jabbering, yabbering.

[A]

Yeah, it's off.

[B]

Yeah. So anyway, so stay tuned for that episode next week.

[A]

Yeah. Thank you guys for tuning in to episode 56 reality podcast. All right, we love you guys.

[B]

Peace out.

[A]

This is the new single from Juane. It's called Cuando estamos tu yo. Listen to Juanes. Cuandos tamos tui yo and more on Spotify.