In this episode, Angie Austin sits down with Grace Fox to discuss the spiritual journey of finding joy in God’s precious words. Through their engaging conversation, they explore the role of daily devotionals and how establishing fervent spiritual habits can transform lives. Grace shares personal anecdotes of adventures and reflects on the universal lessons that come from embracing the path God has set for us.
00:22:59 Adventures and Experiences: Following God’s Path
00:28:47 Planning and Experiencing Family Vacations
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now, with The Good News, here’s Angie.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hey there, Angie Austin here along with Scott Montgomery. He is the author of How Did You Get Here? Lessons of Unconventional Success. We’ve done several interviews and we’re kind of breaking down, you know, how to reach that level of success through the chapters of his book. And today we are on the chapter titled Habits. Welcome back, Scott. Thank you, Angie. Good to talk to you. So give us kind of, yes, yes. Kind of just give us a brief, you know, if you had to give a, you know, a 30 second, one minute elevator speech about what your book’s about for people who’ve missed you in the past, just kind of give us a little overview and then we’ll get into habits.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, absolutely. Well, you know, I wrote this book as a way to kind of pay it forward for the next generation of business folks and folks that are driving success in sort of a different way than, you just conventional, get a degree, get a job, and call yourself successful. What I did is I tried to break down relationships and partnerships, how I communicate, my habits, my goals, and sort of correlate for my reader my experience with those topics and how they can then hopefully parlay their experience into those topics and drive and find their own happiness and success. I love it. It emerged in 2019 during COVID, and right after my brother had passed, So I wanted to kind of keep a legacy piece on the bookshelf for my family after I passed. There’s a lot of reasons for this book.
SPEAKER 07 :
And I think an interesting side note that I found in us becoming radio friends is that we’ve got – like our kids are – you’ve got three kids. Our kids are like basically the same age. They’re getting their driver’s licenses. They’re finishing up high school. They’re in high school. And so – It’s been kind of fun to go over all of that with you. We’ve done partnerships and relationships. And you talked a lot about people that you’ve worked with in the past who were like tens, who were shiny stars that you then hired in your own company. And then your relationship with your wife is so important and how she is a big help within your company. And I wouldn’t doubt at some point maybe you even have a couple of kids working in there too. But we’ll see about that. They’re a little young. But you said you had a funny story for me before we get into habits.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I did. And speaking of my wife and relationships, one of the stories that I tell in partnerships, the chapter mostly about my wife is when we were meeting with Zach Nicholas and his wife, Barbara, at a closed happy hour, we were talking to them about the trials and tribunes of being in relationship and also running a business together. And we had a really nice conversation around it. And it was there that my wife sort of indicated she felt like she was maybe more a string to my kite than she really wanted to be. And so we Sort of had an evolution in our relationship. It was back in 2017. Well, it turns out I’m going to be at this same happy hour again this month meeting with Jack and Barbara. And, you know, I call him Jack, Mr. Nicholas. And I’m going to bring my book and hopefully tell him all the good that has come of the story that I share about having met him the first time.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, I love it.
SPEAKER 04 :
I’m looking forward to it.
SPEAKER 07 :
That’s so funny you mention that because yesterday Jim Stovall, one of my favorite authors, he’s written like 60 books. He joins me once a week. He also was talking about Jack, and he’s interviewed so many cool people over the years. I don’t think he’s – those are the two times he’s been brought up in the last two days. So I love a good inspirational story.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right. Yeah, it’ll be nice to close the loop with him. Yes. I think it’ll go right into habits, and we’ll talk about that for sure.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, and then tell, you know, after you meet with him, give us kind of the update of your meeting per se.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, I want him to sign my book. I want to give him a copy, and then I want him to sign my copy. So, yeah, I hope I get both of those. We’ll see if that comes to fruition.
SPEAKER 07 :
Awesome. Awesome. All right. How did you get here? Chapter three, habits. So how is this going to help us reach success?
SPEAKER 04 :
So you know what I found in habits that I sort of learned at an early age is that habits sort of drive behaviors. And when I was in high school, I had bad habits. I was smoking cigarettes. I was eating unhealthy food. There was no routine to when I got up in the morning or when I went to bed at night. There was no real structure in how I was living my day-to-day. And my grades reflected on it. My attention at school and all that stuff sort of didn’t go well until about 11th or 12th grade when I realized, hey, wait a minute, why don’t I get rid of these bad habits and incorporate good ones? Go to the gym, eat healthy, plan my meals. And as soon as I did that, I started to realize my grades were improving, my outlook and outcomes were improving, my relationships were improving, my attitude and tone and tenor were improving. And I thought I’d talk about it in my book because I think people don’t realize they get lost in their own habits. And And if they’re not good ones, they can really pull you down.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes, and just a few bad habits can pull you down. Let’s talk about that because, you know, since my kids are the same age yours are, I find that their habits sometimes really need to be, like, reminded out of them. I think my son’s kind of past that stage where he, you know, gets up for work. You know, he’s always on time. He runs his own business. He schedules things. He keeps his own appointments. And so and he just graduated. So from high school. So that that’s cool. But the girls and they’re not going to like this, but, you know, you know, food. Oh, you’re leaving for practice. Did you pack anything healthy? Did you get enough sleep for your tournament? Did you stay up until three or four a.m. for a tournament when your parents are dropping huge amounts of money on you playing and trying to get you into college? Are you returning the emails from the coaches that are asking if they can do phone calls with you? Are you scheduling those phone calls when they ask for them? Are you studying for an exam that’s coming up? Or do you, as my daughter put it once at the end of the school year, I said, are you sure you’re prepared for this exam? She goes, oh, I have my ways. And so now it’s become a family joke because we’re retaking that class this summer. And so she’s doing a grade recovery course where she’s taking a college course to replace it. And she’s got an A right now, but guess who’s right alongside her reminding her every day to study. So we always say when the kids are like, I got to handle it. And I look at my husband, I go, she’s got her ways.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, and that’s funny. We talk, it’s so funny because when we talk about kids, I was lucky enough to realize that the 10th, 11th, 12th grade is when these fundamentals sort of start to get embedded. And they really do make a difference.
SPEAKER 07 :
And you did it yourself? That was all you?
SPEAKER 04 :
I did it myself, and I really will say I did it myself because I realized quickly. So cigarettes was a really bad habit for me in high school. And the minute I stopped and I replaced it with running, I felt better. So there was a really quick turn for me on, wait, if I put structure in things. There’s maturity. There’s examples. But there really is, if you put some structure on things, they will go smoother and more productively. They will yield you more happiness. which will ultimately drive that word success. And I think that’s where I learned it early, and that’s what I do now. So I still try and live in the patterns of, to your point, I have a daughter. Hey, did you make your bed? Did you clean up your room? Did you even just rinse out the sink or brush your teeth before you got up this morning and left the house?
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, my gosh. The teeth. I mean, the teeth. I mean, that’s why. Because they’ll be walking out, and I’m like, did you remember to brush your teeth? Oh. Oh. Yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
You’re 16 now, so let’s go ahead and brush our teeth and let’s march right back upstairs. Oh my gosh. But I think I’m hoping that the rigor of that and those habits will drive her and my other children to more successful goals, objectives, and happiness overall. No one wants to sit in the dentist chair and get their teeth drilled.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, my goodness. Oh, okay. All right. So you started those habits when you were in high school on your own, which is so awesome. My son’s been going to the gym like on his own because we do family gym night with everyone, but he kind of now does it on his own and goes later with his friends to a gym. a different gym than we go to, which I get it when you’re just going into college. You don’t really want to work out with mommy and daddy and your little sisters. So he’s on that road. So let’s talk about these habits for success for, you know, once you pass the high school years.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, yes. So, you know, I think it’s important that those patterns come into play. You know, habits are generally important. For example, this call. I’m prepared. I’m ready. I’m sitting down ready for this call 10 minutes in advance. That’s a habit that will yield me more focus, more attention, and hopefully more productivity in our time together. So when you’re in business and you’re emerging into business, showing up late, kind of having those loose edges, not doing things on sort of a consistent basis will definitely drive perception, and that will eliminate opportunity. So When we start to get into my book further, we’ll realize that because I had good habits, I then forged good relationships with people who would help me move into higher-ranked roles. So it’s not always about the skill I bring and the work I do. It’s the perception I bring forward that I’m in meetings 10 minutes before they start, always and forever. It’s a habit. And it shows interest. It shows intent. And for those who are joining me, it shows respect. And they’re now interested in driving or helping my successes. which ultimately helps theirs as well. Back to hiring those folks that I work with because they know the style of habit that I have in the structure we work in at Worldgate every day.
SPEAKER 07 :
You know, I was thinking about that too, just that when people come in, that it is really a show of respect as well, in addition to helping you be prepped and, you know, to put on a good presentation or to present good information and be organized. But it just shows the people, like, you know, I really respect your time, you know, and I’m not running, you know, by the seat of my pants, per se, to get into it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay, what else? Well, I think, you know, from those habits perspective, that’s good. And, you know, there was one I was just trying to recall here about You know, one of the other lessons that I learned in habits wasn’t around cigarettes or time management. It was also around finances. I found myself in a real money crunch in my senior year of high school. I was $40,000 in debt. I was driving the tiny new yellow Honda Prelude. I had all the leather jackets and I was to be seen when I showed up anywhere I was with things I couldn’t afford. So what I learned real quick, well, things that I learned real quick in that was hey, maybe the habit of balancing your checkbook, maybe the habit of living inside a budget, maybe the habit of sort of not spending what you didn’t earn yet. Don’t use the credit card unless it’s a way for you to bridge a gap or get points. And so I learned through the negative a lot in high school era that if you can switch it to what we started to talk about a minute ago, habits are all around us in everything we do. And I think if we can switch create that rigor and what i want to try and talk about in my book is creating that rigor and using these examples because then they reflect on what goals i can set for myself next chapter they talk about what relationships i have prior chapter how my partnership is instead every day how i communicate chapter six mentors and and uh coaches that engage with me that actually find me um competent because i show up 10 minutes early for example you know And so I think there’s a real golden thread through this particular chapter with all the others in the book that I really want to drive home to the next generation. And the next generation is in high school. It’s those who are wondering what they can do to make themselves more successful slash happy with what they’re doing.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, and it’s interesting how that financial piece can so adversely affect, you know, your success in every aspect of your life to be, you know, 40 grand in debt, you know, leaving high school. Right. That self-control, how difficult it is to go, wait a second, especially when, keeping up with the Joneses, my nephew lives in Los Angeles and his clothes are a little bit rough around the edges, shall we say, because he’s just kind of given up on trying to compete with the Joneses. He was talking to one of my girlfriends about dating in LA and how he doesn’t really fit the mold and Then somebody drove with him or met him at his mom’s place right outside of Beverly Hills in Century City. And they said, oh, well, I thought you were poor. Oh, wow. You know, just because, you know, people just go by. I mean, how do you just go buy a car and clothes? To me, that’s not indicative of wealth at all. But in some circles, that really is. And in some circles, that to me is indicative of debt. And I’m trying to teach the kids that, too. Like, I know you see so-and-so, the neighbor driving, you know, that car. But we know for a fact, you know, that their finances are strained or this, that, and the other. Because maybe I know the mom or this, that, and the other, you know. All right, so tell people where to get your book. How did you get here?
SPEAKER 04 :
So you can buy it on Amazon. We can get it at Target. You can get it at Barnes & Noble. It’s How Did You Get Here? Lessons on Professional Success. There’s also a website, howdidyougethere.com.
SPEAKER 07 :
Excellent. Thank you, Scott. Thank you.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
Colby, Kansas is listening to the mighty 670 KLT Denver.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hello there, friend. Angie Austin and Grace Fox with the good news. We’re talking about her book Fresh Hope for today, Devotions for Joy on the Journey. And today we are focusing on precious words. Hello there, Grace.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hi, Angie. It’s good to be on your show again.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes. So we both got in late last night, huh? You got in from helping out with the grandkids, and I got in from helping out my son at a big convention. So we’re a little bleary-eyed. So let’s focus on these precious words to bring some joy to our journey.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. Yeah, this one is really written about… god’s words being the precious words and i love what the prophet jeremiah wrote he said when your words came i ate them they were my joy and my heart’s delight for i bear your name lord god almighty and i thought you know as christ followers do we regard the word of god with joy and delight or do we sometimes treat it like a something on our to-do list. Oh, got to do my devotions. Check. Done. Okay, done. Now I can go on to the next thing for the day. But do we really long for them and hunger after them and look forward to digging into them? That’s a good question to ask ourselves.
SPEAKER 07 :
That is a good question because I think many of us do fall flat when it comes to pursuing the word in that manner.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I remember reading years ago somewhere where Beth Moore had made that her prayer. She had said, God, would you give me an insatiable desire for your word? And he did that, and she’s become such a wonderful Bible teacher. So I made that my prayer, too. And when my kids were still at home, I remember thinking, oh, I’m tired, and I’d love to sleep in in the morning, but well reality said i had to get up you know get some food on for them and then they had to catch a bus so we did have a schedule to keep and i found that if i waited until after my kids were gone to sit down and read the word it didn’t work for me because i just got caught up in other things that i’d see around me that needed to be done and so i said to one day lord you just Wake me up at the time you want me to get up and meet with you to dig into your word today because I know I need it. And so, yeah. And I thought this is between me and the Lord. This isn’t between my husband and the Lord and me. It’s not a triangular thing. So if I’m going to wake up at a certain time. I don’t think I need to have the alarm clock set when my husband’s going to wake up, too. Let’s just let him deal with that. He can get up when he needs to get up or wants to get up. And so I said, Lord, wake me up when you want me to wake up without an alarm. And the first morning, it was 5 a.m. I remember thinking, you’re kidding, right? You’ve got to be kidding me. So I got up, dragged myself out. It took me 15 or 20 minutes to do that that morning. And then the next morning, I said, okay, Lord, let’s see. or that night, you know, looking forward to the next morning, I said, let’s do this again. Wait, did he let you sleep in? Did he let you sleep in? No, it was five o’clock and it was that every single morning. And like, I would wake up to sing my eyes wide open. One time the cat came in and sat beside my side of the bed and meowed at like four 58. And it was, that’s the way it was. And so I got the message. And you know, it takes several weeks to develop a habit. And I just did it because I said, I prayed it. I asked him to wake me up when he wanted to meet with me in the living room. And I did it. And you know what? It was beautiful. It got to be, it wasn’t a hardship at all. It was, he’s waiting for me and I don’t want to disappoint. I don’t want to disappoint him.
SPEAKER 07 :
And so what did you do when you got up? Like, what did you read? What did you, do you have certain devotionals you like? Like, how does that work for you?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, one thing that I started doing right out of the gate when I got into that regular habit was I got myself a Bible in an easy-to-understand translation. And for me, the New Living translation is a favorite because it’s in modern-day English. We actually use that overseas, too, when we’re doing camps and studying the Bible with people whose first language is not English, just because it is so easy to understand. So that’s one that I use. But I bought myself a Bible that reads through the Bible in a year. And I got a Bible that’s got big margins in it as well. So I can write notes. It’s got lines for me to write on. And so I read a little bit of the Old Testament and the New Testament, the Psalms and the Proverbs. And it’s all written out for me. It’s got, you know, here’s day one. This is a chunk you read from each one. Here’s day two. Here’s a chunk you read. And I was amazed to see how I could see the thread of the gospel and the thread of Jesus woven throughout that day’s assigned reading from New Testament to Old Testament and the Psalms. It was amazing to me. So I started that habit many years ago because my kids are grown and gone and they have kids of their own. I’m still doing it using the read through the Bible in a year method. It really works for me.
SPEAKER 07 :
You know, I love that. And I have different friends who have different routines. For me, writing things down helps. So if I am praying, then journaling helps me to keep my thoughts more clear. And then I do feel like I write things in terminology or in a way that doesn’t seem like it’s all me. It feels like I’m definitely being led to think or say or write certain things that might help me. So that’s kind of cool. I also, if you don’t mind, I did, you know, of course, when I was flipping through to get to our devotion today about the precious words, I did actually flip to the next page. And if you don’t mind, I love this story. It’s called The Right Path. Because I think you’ve had some really cool adventures in your life, like living in Nepal and everything. You were in Poland in the last year or two since we’ve been talking, and you were meeting with people who were helping people in the Ukraine and running a ministry and your own ministry where you were going to build up some of your people who might be exhausted from trying to help others. And in this particular one, it’s called The Right Path. It says that you guys, your husband, you call him Sailor Man because you guys live on your sailboat. But anyway, you’re biking through Germany into Austria, which I have to be honest with you, not a lot of people have done some of the things you’ve done. I don’t know if you realize that. Like, you’re a grandma and you go take care of the grandkids, but I don’t know if you realize, like, there are little chapters in your life that not many people have done the things you’ve done.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I have to stop and remember that sometimes because I kind of get out there and I live my life and I do what the next step leads me to do. And I do forget that my life’s maybe a little bit extraordinary in that way. This one was some friends of ours had done several trips riding their bikes through Europe and they kept on it. You guys got to do this. And so one summer it worked out and we drove all week. We left on a Sunday, I think, we had a hotel in Germany and then on Monday morning we left on our bikes. I’d never done anything like this. Didn’t even know I had it in me to do it. But we biked every single day, sometimes through pouring rainstorms and blistering heat where we stopped for lunch and all of us were just so sweaty and hot. We couldn’t even eat. We had ice cream for lunch because we didn’t feel like eating anything else. But this was, yeah, we drove into a little village and We had hotel reservations, but we looked at a fork in the road, and we looked at a map. We didn’t know where we were, and we could not figure out where this hotel was. So this guy on a motorcycle drove by, and he saw us studying this map of the towns, And then he motioned for us to follow him when we chatted with him a little bit, told him where we were going. He didn’t speak English, we didn’t speak his language, but we were pointing and trying to, you know, the actions. And he just motioned for us to follow him. So he puttered along on his bike and we pedaled behind him and he led us to the hotel. And I thought, you know, that’s like God’s word. As we were talking a moment ago about precious words, God directs us on how we should live in his word. Now, if we had looked at this guy and said, We don’t want to follow you. What do you mean, follow you? We don’t trust you. That would have been nonsensical. The guy was a local. He knew where to go, and he was being kind. He cared for us. And God, with his word, he’s showing us where to go. He knows what’s best for us. He cares for us. And if we say, these words, you want us to follow them? Are you kidding? Nah, nah. That would be nonsensical. But the word of God is written for our well-being, and he knows best for us. He leads us on the path we should go and we need to follow. Those words are precious. And he cares, just like this guy in Germany cared for our well-being.
SPEAKER 07 :
I love it that, you know, you couldn’t communicate. You’re pointing. You’re trying to show him, like, the hotel. And he just waves, you know, follow me and goes super slow on his motorcycle to show you where to go. And you can’t even really communicate to say, I mean, obviously, there’s the universal communication of a smile and a wave, you know, thank you, you know, for taking us here, per se. But I love the idea that you just followed him with blind trust. And I think it is a good example of how we’re supposed to follow Jesus. And I like it in your ponder and pray section. He said, ponder, how has following God’s path brought a blessing to your life, your way? And then pray, God grant me the desire to follow you with enthusiasm on the path you know is best. I mean, To be honest with you, I think even taking that trip, it sounds great and glorious until you describe it as pounding rain and searing heat. So I am curious, overall, what was your experience and how long were you riding and how far did you ride?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, so we started pedaling on Monday morning and we arrived in Vienna late Saturday afternoon. I remember getting into the hotel where we stayed for… flopping down on my back on the bed and thinking, I don’t think I can ever move again. My bottom was so sore from riding on that seat. But it was great because we didn’t even do a hard ride. We rode along the river. We saw cruise ships going by. But because we were along a river, it’s mostly flat. There were a few places where we did have to deviate from the river and go inland more, and then we had a few hills and ups and downs. But we drove through vineyards where fruit was growing on the trees. Oh, you know, little fruit stands where the honesty system was there. So a little jar for your money and you could take a basket of freshly picked fruit. Driving through villages where you’d see the flower baskets hanging on people’s windowsills, overflowing with blossoms. It was just the most incredible trip. I would do it again, but I would have to get into better shape before I did it again.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, my goodness. I love these adventures because it takes so much to get to that adventure, right? Just your tickets, the bike, the rentals, all of the little details. You know, when we take vacations with the kids, they just jump in the car and get on their phones. And I’m like, well, somebody going to navigate me? And, you know, we’re going to do this, that, the other. Like my son yesterday, we got in really late because I helped him with a convention all weekend in Houston. And he wanted to fall asleep in the car. And I’m like, there’s a lot left to do here, pal. You know, we’ve got like four hours till we even have to get to the airport for the really late night flight. So what are we going to see? What are we going to do? Where are we going to go? You know, help me with the navigation. We need to get gas. We need to repack the suitcases. Like you’re not a kid anymore. You don’t just plop in the back of the van and get on your phone. But these kids, they think that just these vacations just are like, I use a magic wand and I’m like Tinkerbell and I go ting. And Like, here’s your vacation. No, it’s like the rental car and how to get there. Do we take a shuttle bus? How do we get direction? Do we take a toll road? Is there construction here? Is there a lot of traffic there? Which room are we going to stay in? Can we have pets? Can we not have pets? Do we have to smuggle our pet in a backpack?
SPEAKER 06 :
I mean, there’s so many little things that you have to figure out. The food, you know, I pre-ordered it.
SPEAKER 07 :
We have to go to the curbside pickup. But, you know, just getting to a vacation like that, it’s just such a… a hill to tackle just to get there and then the achievement of, you know, tackling the vacation itself. But boy, the memories, you can’t beat those. I love your stories, Grace. Thank you so much. GraceFox.com and the book is Fresh Hope for Today, Devotions for Joy and the Journey. Thank you, friend.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
