SOLID START
Focusing on life from God's perspective.
SOLID START
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In this week’s episode of Solid Start, Brian joins Greg to explore one of life’s deepest questions: What will finally satisfy you? Together, they unpack the restless search for meaning that so many of us experience and wrestle with questions like, Is this all there is? and Why are we wired to long for something more? If you’ve ever wondered whether your life is accidental or designed with purpose, this conversation offers honest insight and hope for the journey.
Hello again, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Solid Start, a podcast designed to get your week off to a solid start by focusing on life from God's perspective. I'm Greg Greed, life coach at Merrill Bros, up in uh Kochmo, Indiana. That's our world headquarters, joined by my now returning co-host, Brian Herzog. Brian, welcome back. I hardly recognize you. Yeah, I got a haircut. Okay. It's been a while, man.
SPEAKER_02I'm just tan. It's gonna be down in Florida and all over. There you go. Yeah. So where are you where you been? Uh so we had a uh FWRC show in Florida, which was a really big show. Uh we promoted Merrill Bros and also Florida Green was a big uh big brand. Well, we've got a lot to show off down there. We do, yeah. It was a lot of fun. We gave we gave out two skids of fertilizer. Okay. It was so funny watching people walk around, you know, the trade show with bags of fertilizer. You get a pen or you got a bag of fertilizer that weighs how much? 32 pounds. Oh baby. Uh but I'd love to have a pen. They kept coming back getting more. So it was it was fun. And then I was in Kansas City last week. Oh wow. Had a had a great show there. It was more of uh an engineering type show. So little the conversations were a lot different. They were good conversations. Right. Uh so we had a great time.
SPEAKER_01Kansas City is a beautiful place. It is. I love yeah. I've my uh aunt and uncle lived in Kansas City, my cousins for a long time, and so we'd go to we'd make visits to Kansas City, usually in the summer when we were out of school. When we love Kansas City. I had I had the best brisket sandwich I've ever had.
SPEAKER_02I'm here. So Kansas City barbecue is legit. It's legit. It is legit. It's the real deal. The real deal. I uh enjoyed our time there. And so we've got uh the Kennewick Open House coming up um this next week, and then we've got another show in Wisconsin, and then back down in Florida for a scallop fest, as they call it.
SPEAKER_01Well, there you go. So yeah, you are all over the world. Yeah, yeah. Good. Well, it's good to be good to be back. Good to have you back. We had some uh great guests that uh joined us along the way as we talked about uh how how we've been shaped. Uh and so we've been looking at that acronym SHAPE, uh talking about our strengths, our heart, our attitude, our personality, our experiences. So we've had somebody on every week um thinking about uh hey, tell us about that particular part of your shape. So that's been uh fun. And all of that kind of over the last couple weeks, I've been thinking, uh, I wonder if everybody believes that our shape was on purpose, like there was a design for that, or if it was just a random accident. I mean, I talk to people all the time who think that it just all happened there was some big cosmic explosion, and then um we just, you know, eventually we started in the goo, we graduated to the zoo, and now you're you. And so that's kind of uh where some people are. So you may be listening to this podcast and and you haven't really settled this issue of accident or design regarding your shape. So we want to talk about that over the next uh several weeks. And I guess one question that uh that I'd love to ask uh those of you that are listening is this what will finally satisfy you? Um Brian, if you uh as a kid, what did you growing up, if you think, hey, if I if I could just be this or if I just got this, was there something that you thought, man, if I just got to there, then I would I would be satisfied? What would it have been for you maybe as a kid?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think if for as a kid it was daily. You know, if I could just get this new toy, right? Yeah. The next G.I. Joe or the next T-Man toy, yeah, it that would be that's the pinnacle, you know, until I got it, or uh some of those I never got it, video games or something like that. Like it was always the next thing that that I saw in advertising. Um broader, right? I think for me was uh sports and football, if I could um be a starter, or um if I could make it in, you know, did I want to play in college and those kind of things?
SPEAKER_01Um I know you love soccer now. Did soccer start that early, or were you a soccer guy? We didn't have soccer in my husband's.
SPEAKER_02Okay, okay, yeah. They didn't know what soccer was or football. It was just football. Yeah, they had no clue. Um, but that's okay. Uh yeah, so and i I didn't think too much about career path back then either. I didn't know what I wanted to do. Grew up on a camp and kind of wanted to do camp ministry and those kind of things, and I was just yeah, that wasn't a big deal where I know a lot of other people they're like, I want to be this, I want to do this, and sometimes it doesn't work out for them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know, I think for me sports as well. I love tennis, and I had a lot of success playing tennis, and I thought, man, this is you know, I'm just if I could just excel in all these sports, then that would that would do it. Um you know it's interesting that there is a you know, for some people uh it's this thing of retirement. I had two conversations over the last five days. Um so last Thursday talked with a guy who's back working part-time. He worked at a big factory in our community for 31 years, and he said he lasted about six months. And he said, you can only change pajamas so many times. And then then you've got uh so he's back at work and uh had a wedding over the weekend that I where I officiated, and the guy had worked in a uh uh in a factory uh setting again and worked there a long, you know, over 30 years, and he said he lasted a year and then he knew he couldn't take it anymore. He said I had to go do something. So he's been on a golf, been working at a golf course um for the last 17 years. So just this idea of, you know, I think for some people it's if I just got this promotion, or or if this just if this relationship would work out, or I hear, you know, I see people buying lottery tickets when I stop into a you know stop and go kind of place. It's like if I could just get this, you know, if I just win the lottery, then it would all be great, or some whatever the goal is, that that would finally satisfy. Um, you know, I uh I came across this uh Pixar movie. I did not take my grandkids to see it, but I think I'm gonna try to find it. It's a uh the Pixar uh Disney Pixar soul. Did you had you heard anything about that? It was a 2020. Yeah, I watched that. Oh, you did? Okay, and tell me what tell me what your impression was. I don't remember it that way. Okay, but I know I saw you saw it sometime. So basically it's this uh um the main character is a guy named Joe Gardner, and he's a music teacher, but his passion is jazz. And so his thought is like, if I could ever just get into a jazz group, then like I would finally arrive and I would finally, I'd finally have what I'm looking for in life. So he gets that chance and he gets a call and he's so excited because he thinks, man, that's it's it's in my future, it's coming up. And then on his way home, if you remember, he falls down in that sewer, uh, you know, like a manhole, and his soul is separated uh from his body, and then he begins this journey of coming back, and then he finally comes back to Earth. Uh, and so then he gets his there's this brief scene in the movie where he's uh he finally plays the nightclub and he comes out and the the lady that's kind of the head of the band, uh, she's like, Hey, hey, what'd you what'd you think? And he kind of pauses and uh do you remember what he remember what he says at that point? I thought I would feel different.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So that that part in the movie, I just watched that clip, but like he's finally arrived, and then it's like, oh, that didn't really fill me up, did it? Yeah, this is it. This is it? Yeah. So, you know, that so that whole thing of achievement versus meaning, he achieved his his goal, his dream in life. He achieved that, but yet there was still an emptiness. So, some of you that are listening to this podcast, my guess is you're still battling with this question of is this all accidental? Do I have to create my own meaning? Does life really not matter that much? Or why are we wired to search for meaning in the first place? That's the thing that as I watched that clip, I thought, we're all wired for meaning. Like, where did that come from? And I'll have you uh read. So the psalmist David, right in the middle. If you open up your Bible in the middle, you'll come to the book of Psalms. And David says, he God reveals to David, hey, here's where I came from, and here's why my shape has meaning. Why don't you read that from Psalm 139?
SPEAKER_02It's for you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's wound. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your words are wonderful, and I know that full well. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Wow. What a great, what a great reminder. So this uh these next uh six or seven weeks, we're gonna be exploring this theme of uh, you know, is there what's the evidence for our design, or are we just an accident? And so we'll we'll walk through that. I came across Brian over, and I've not I don't know if you've uh heard of the book, The Cafe on the Edge of the World. Never heard of it. Yeah, I hadn't either, but uh the story is is really fascinating. It's not a very long book, but there's a visitor and he goes into this remote cafe and he finds a menu, and on the back of the menu has these three unusual questions. And so he begins this journey of self-discovery that uh I understand involves a green sea turtle in some way. So the questions are why are you here? Do you fear death? And are you fulfilled? I think those are profound questions that all of us have to deal with. So if you're listening to this and you think, you know, I I thought it was just an it just all happened by accident, but I do wonder at times why am I here? And why do I feel I talk to people all the time about, hey, what do you think is gonna happen when you take your last breath? Shockingly to me, people will often say, I don't ever think about it.
SPEAKER_00Do you think that's possible?
SPEAKER_01Do you think there are people that just don't just like put it off and just don't think about it? Oh, absolutely. Yeah, because of fear. Yeah, that's it. Yeah, yeah, it's easier just to say, I'm gonna avoid that because I don't know. Uh and the other question is, are you fulfilled? And so if you uh though if you're listening to this uh podcast and maybe you're a reader and you like to read, the title of this book is The Cafe on the Edge of the World. And I would love to uh have a conversation sometime, maybe in uh in June or July, we can do some kind of an online uh conversation, maybe a Zoom call. But if you decide that you would want to read that book, then uh let us know that because I would uh I'd love to for you to be a part of that conversation. Um, because I'm uh I'm looking forward to uh reading what he has to say and saying, hey God, how how is what's the evidence for design or what's the evidence for the fact that maybe we're just an accident? Uh so this week, Brian, my uh my challenge is this is to pay attention to what you chase. I think we're all chasing something or someone. So I just want you to pay attention this week. And as you do that, I think you'll begin to wonder am I living life like it's just an accident, or am I living life that's designed with purpose? So that's uh that's kind of where we're headed this week. So, Brian, if people wanted to touch base with us and say, Hey, I want to read this book or tell me again the title, it's the cafe on the edge of the world. How could they get in touch with us and let us know that?
SPEAKER_02Reach out to us, just go to Merrillbros.com, click on the prayer tab at the top of the page, and that's how you can get in touch with us.
SPEAKER_01And also, if they wanted, if they had a prayer, if they say, Hey, I need for you to be praying about this. Same thing. Same thing.
SPEAKER_02Same thing. Just let us know, guys. Prayer, prayer matters.
SPEAKER_01It does. And that's because we believe there's a design and that there's a designer. And so even if you're not convinced of that yet, um, we just encourage you if you have these questions gnawing in your heart and mind about why am I here and what happens after I take my last breath. And is there something that could possibly fill up the emptiness inside? Uh, we would uh we'd love to hear from you. So I think it would be uh it'd be great. We talked about uh prayer. I want us to uh to pray today. And uh maybe it'd be great for have you to pray about two things, Brian. Pray for all the conversations we've had over the last several weeks that you've had with people, maybe about sludge, maybe about biosolids, and maybe it was about things that are a little bit more significant than that. And then also I would love for you to pray for the people that are graduating. Maybe somebody listened to this podcast, they have a family member that's graduating. Um, that's an exciting time for the graduate, but sometimes for parents and family members, it's it's kind of a melancholy time. It's like oh man, get ready for that void in your life. Yes, exactly. The void. There you go. Well done. So I'll have you uh to uh to pray for those, and then uh I want to pray for uh some of uh the things that are happening in Indiana and around the country as we uh are getting more and more uh work um all over the country, and as we have more and more people joining our team every week. I have the privilege of uh taking new people out to lunch, and uh we we're getting a gaggle of new people all the time. A lot of new faces, a lot of new faces.
SPEAKER_02I've been gone, and I come back and I'm like, wow, there are ten new faces.
SPEAKER_01Yes, just since you've been gone for the last couple of weeks. Yeah, yeah. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Well, let's uh let's pray. All right. Father, I just thank you for how you provide for us individually, how you provide for our families, and how you provide for this company. And over the last couple of weeks, God, we've had a lot of conversations with a lot of people from all over the country and actually all over the world. And amen. I'm just thankful for that. I pray, God, that within those conversations, God, that you are working and that uh you continue to provide for this company. And I just thank you for how you have led us and how we are like our our uh core values are based on your teachings and your love and your grace and um from integrity to customer service. And so, God, let us stay true to those things as we continue to have conversations with these folks. We're just blessed to be at a place where uh we are recognized as being one of the top biosolid companies in the United States, and so God, that's all all to you, all glory to you for that. So thank you. I pray for the graduates and the parents of those graduates, uh, either high school, even kindergarten sometimes, but in college. We we've got uh seniors uh moving on, and it can be very scary, exciting, all of those things wrapped up into one for both the graduate and for the parents. And I'm just praying, God, that you would just be with those students as they take their next step, you know, to either college or or the next job or whatever they're doing, God. It can be um a lot of unknowns. And so we're just praying for them, pray for the parents who are gonna be dealing with kids leaving the house, maybe for the first time, maybe if it's their only child, they're gonna be empty nesters for a while. And that's it's scary. There is that void. And God, I pray that there is that void in their life. Um, even with the kids going off to school, they're not gonna have mom and dad there. And so I pray that they would fill that void with you and just put all their trust in you, just continue to rely on your words and your love and your wisdom, uh, God, to help get them to through the early stages of that transition and beyond. And so, God, we just love you and we thank you for how you provide.
SPEAKER_01Father, we're excited about the uh new things that are happening and uh new projects and in particular new people that you're bringing on. People that uh want to be a part of this culture, people that want to say, I'm gonna give my life uh to making this world a better place. And so we uh are grateful for all the new uh faces that we see uh throughout uh the company and the new hires that we still need to make and the critical positions that are still open. And we just ask for your wisdom. You say if we lack wisdom, we can come to you and ask. And so we do that, and we're excited about those uh those opportunities and thank you for all the work that's happening all over the country, from the state of Washington to Florida, from Arizona all the way to the East Coast, uh, for equipment that's moving for safety for our workers, uh, safety for people that are on the road all the time, that are setting up equipment in uh locations that may be quite uh challenging. And so we're just grateful for this company, grateful for the opportunity to talk about how how you've shaped us. And thank you that uh you did that on purpose. And so as we explore this evidence, I pray if there are those that are listening uh that aren't yet convinced uh that these next several weeks there'll be plenty of evidence to understand that uh that we've been designed by an incredible designer uh who shaped us on purpose. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, if you want to uh join the five million other readers who have uh purchased a copy of the Cafe on the Edge of the World, go ahead and get that ordered this week. Get started reading, and then we'll uh we'll keep in touch with you. And if there are ways that uh we can pray for you, ways that we can encourage you, please uh let us know. Merrillbrose.com. There's a prayer tab, and uh you can connect with us that way. So have a great week, and uh, we'll look forward to uh talk to you uh next week and happy Memorial Day weekend uh a week away.