The Eric Metaxas Show - Brant Hanson (Encore)

Episode Date: January 26, 2024

Brant Hansen returns with a new book: Life Is Hard. God Is Good. Let's Dance.: Experiencing Real Joy in a World Gone Mad

Folks, welcome to the Eric Metaxus show, sponsored by Legacy Precious Metals. There's never been a better time to invest in precious metals. Visit legacy p.m.investments.com. That's legacy p.m.investments.com. Welcome to the Eric Metaxis show. Back again, eh? Glutton for punishment, eh? When will you ever learn? Now, here's the host that you hate to love,

the man who was the reason your friend sponsored your last intervention, Eric Matt, Texas. Hey there, folks. Welcome to the program. It is Friday, and I am literally in an Uber, a Tesla, in Franklin, Tennessee, with my producer. What's your name? Chris Heimbs.

Hello. Oh, yeah, Chris Heimes. I confuse you with Chris Pratt. Okay, so Chris Heimes, I got a question for you. What are we airing right now in Hour 1? Brand Hanson, who has a new book out. That has a great title. You remember, it's a life is hard.

Let's dance. Brent Hanson, he's a great guest. We recorded it the other day. That's why I didn't remember. So, okay, we got Brandon Hanson coming up in a couple of seconds. But we are literally now in an Uber heading to the airport. And you and I, Chris, hard to believe. Last night we were hanging out.

Yeah, at an unnamed media event. It's like one of these invitation things. But we got to go to it. And there was a celebrity there. But the bottom line is, I was, hanging out with Dennis Quaid. And he and his wife have read some of my books. And it was just like a, it was just so fascinating to hang out with him.

The night before, I was hanging out with my old friend Patty Heaton, who some of you know as TV royalty from everybody loves Raymond and the middle. But she and her husband, David, they're so delightful and wonderful. So it was kind of a wonderful time to reconnect with people. I mean, I was just, I was just to me. So we're going to have Dennis Quaid on this program soon to talk about his gospel album. You didn't know that he sang. So he's done a gospel album.

We're going to be talking about that. He has a movie coming out produced by my friend Mark Joseph where he plays Ronald Reagan, a Reagan biopic. It is stunning. I mean, it is absolutely a big deal, huge accomplishment. Yeah, at the event last night, they played a two or three minutes sizzle reel of the movie with all this dramatic music. and it was like a trailer basically and it looks fantastic. It really is exciting to see it all

and I think it's going to be a big hit. Speaking of movies, some of the Angel Studios people were at this event and we are so excited about the launch of the Bonhoeffer movie which is coming out in November and I got to say,

they're going to give this audience, people listening right now, like a special deal tickets we were talking about this last night. So stay tuned for that. That's actually, I can't wait to get the details on that. That's exciting. And the other movie thing that we were talking about,

Letter to the American Church. Yeah, that's actually, that's actually happening now. So forget about the other thing for a minute. Forget about that. Epic TV. If you go to EpicTV.com, you can buy a pre-sale thing right now for a letter to the American Church. And by the way,

this is mandatory. for my audience. Yeah, this is a big deal. We want to make sure on, you know, kind of opening week that it does well. So any pre-sales that you guys are able to do, we really appreciate it. I'm going to buy a bunch of tickets myself. And yeah. Yeah.

And also, if you go to Lettersetheamericanchurch.com, I've said this before, any church get up a free screening. And I would see this as a litmus test for the church you're going to. If there's a free screening available and they're not interested in that, I would would want to know why you're going to that church because it's, it's not unimportant. Can I say that? Yeah, you can. And the other thing is that you can sign up your church for the screening. So you can fill in all the information and then, you know, put your pastor's email in there and send it over to them. How about that? Yeah. Letter to the Americanchurch.com. But folks, please, please do that. I've never done a radio segment in the back of an Uber before.

So I want to think, is there something I'm forgetting. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, socrates in the city. We have an event coming up in Seattle, February 8th. I'm interviewing John West of the Discovery Institute about C.S. Lewis and Scientism. He wrote a book about it. Obviously, I love talking about C.S. Lewis, but that's February 8th. If you cannot get to the event in Seattle, and most of you can't, You can watch it live.

We're going to be live streaming the event. But in order to do the live stream going forward, you have to be a member of Socrates Plus. Socrates Plus is $5 a month. This is all inclusive. So the live streams are all going to be available through Socrates Plus for free. It's included, right? But everything else we do, all of the Socrates in the studio programs that we're

We've already taped with Heather McDonald and Andrew Claven and everybody. That's all available right now. The gentleman's guide to New York is going up soon. So all that's available. You have to go to Socrates in the cityplus.com. Socrates in the city plus.com. So we have a February 8th event in Seattle. I mentioned that.

We have a February 29th event. I don't know if I'm supposed to announce this yet. Go ahead. But we're going to live stream this also, right? With James O'Keefe. Wow. Yes, yes. James O'Keefe.

That's, man, I can't believe. That's going to be in New York City. If you can get to New York on February 29th, obviously put it in your calendar. It's going to be a big deal. James O'Keefe is a big, he's just a big deal. What he's doing, it's a level of citizen journalism that is so brave and amazing.

and if we had a journalistic class in America, we wouldn't need James O'Keefe, but unfortunately we do, and praise the Lord, he is doing just amazing work. So that's February 29th. Yeah, and I was going to say he's kind of, you know, they had a little hiccup with Project Veritas, but he hasn't stopped.

He's just like, he's, you know, he's still going. He doesn't believe in stopping. So, but he has all this stuff that he's breaking. It's like it's almost like he's become more prolific since he's kind of gone out on his own. So that's February 29th Socrates and city, New York City. So we got February 8th in Seattle. We got February 29th in New York City.

And then we haven't announced this either. April 5th, Mark Helprin. I am right now reading his new novel. It's called The Ocean and the Stars. There is no way. People think I'm exaggerating. He is without a doubt the greatest living fiction writer, period. like without any doubt, without any doubt.

His stuff is unlike anything I've ever read. I'm in awe when I'm reading it. I just have to kind of put it down and think, how in the world did he do what he did? So this is the new book, The Ocean and the Stars. His other books are, he had a gigantic hit in the 80s called Winter's Tale in the 90s, Soldier of the Great War.

But these are just monumental works of fiction. So I'll be a new book, you know, the fiction writing process about the state of literature, about the literary tradition, where he fits into that. But that's going to be in Charleston, South Carolina. And Nikki Haley will not be at this event.

I just want to be very clear. It will not be at this event. Where is she going to be? I think she's going to be with Dick Cheney in a bunker in Wyoming. I'm pretty sure that that's where she's going to be at that point. Just don't go, was it duck hunting with Dick Cheney? I see the guy who's not a great. Yeah.

Oh, thank you for bringing that up. Last night, we were also hanging out with Willie Robertson. Ladies and gentlemen, Willie Robertson, who... He was so funny last night. It was so... He's hilarious. He, well, he just is. They're all funny.

The whole family, they're funny and serious and wonderful. And anybody listening to the program knows I love that family. I just love them. So I was thrilled that Willie was there. And he's working on a book. He'll be on our program. in a month or two. He's got a book out called Gospeler.

And we talked about this word. Gospelor is like an old-fashioned word, which means somebody who's preaching the gospel, but it's like a 200-year-old word. It's like a contraction between gospel and preacher, probably, right? No. Gospel preacher. Gospelor.

Gospelor is just like an 18th century word. That man, Johannes is a Gospelor. It's like before the word evangelist or something like that. I don't know. But in any event, he is, he's got this book coming out. So Willie Robertson is going to be on the program. So we just met all these wonderful people. And most of them will have fun talking to them on the program in the weeks and months ahead.

But most important thing, folks, letter to the American church. com. Sign your church up. EpicTV.com. please bought pre-order tickets for yourself. And don't forget Socrates in the cityplus.com. Socrates in the city plus.com, all inclusive, lots of events. Tell me why Relief Factor is so successful at lowering or eliminating pain.

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Hey there, folks. Welcome back. I once had the idea to write a book with the title, Life is Hard, God is Good, Let's Dance. And I thought, what a dumb title. But it turns out that a friend of mine, Brand Hanson, has written a book with exactly that title. And Brand Hanson, I just want to take back the unpleasant comment from seconds ago. I don't know what I was thinking. Your book is titled, Life is Hard, God is Good, Let's Dance, experiencing real joy in a world gone mad. Brian Hansen, that may be the longest title since Bonhofer, Pastor Martyr Prophets Spy. What were you thinking? You know what? I'm just being straight up with you. My wife got a T-shirt like 30 years ago that said life is hard, God is good, let's dance. And I was like, I guess a good name for a book. So I guess I should write a book titled I'm With Stupid.

Right. I haven't done that yet, but that's a follow-up to this. So I'm just going to go through all the shirts. T-shirts are all the best titles. Moby Dick, Sound of the Fury. Obviously, Melva got that off of a T-shirt, because where would you come up with Moby Dick or the Whale, unless you had seen it on a T-shirt? Yes, in Massachusetts.

So life is hard, God is good. Let's Dance, experiencing real joy in a world gone mad. Now, you, I neglected to say, are a nationally syndicated radio host and podcaster. You work with Cure International. But what possessed you to write a book with this title? What's the fundamental message of the title of the book? It's about being at peace because people aren't. As you know, people are overrun with anxiety in this culture.

And I don't want to live that way myself. And I don't think we have to live that way. And so I'm actually, I tried to make the book funny, But that's, as you know, it's always the eye of the beholder. That could not work or it works depending on the reader. Well, the good news is you actually are funny, so I believe that the book is funny, even though I haven't read it yet. But you have the ability to be funny when you're talking about serious stuff. And you just said something, I want to be, I don't want to forget.

You know, you said a lot of people are living with a lot of anxiety, and you said, I don't think we have to live that way. And I want to be clear, what you really mean is God, it is. not God's will that we live that way. And if something is not God's will, it means he will give the power to do his will. And the scripture says, be anxious for nothing, but in all things, by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving, make your request known unto God. So what that means is that in life, we will have reasons to be anxious, plenty reasons. And God says, okay, when that happens, you have to choose

not to be anxious, but to do what I tell you to do, but he won't force us. It is our choice. It is your choice. And what's genius about that verse that you have memorized, which is pretty impressive I'd say, but like that verse is, gratitude is at odds

with anxiety. This is something you can walk out in your own life. Like gratitude and anxiety are very difficult to coexist. So, we're told repeatedly to be thankful. So this is a very concrete, it's not like a religious pie in the sky thing.

It's something you can actually do is to capture your thoughts about what you're anxious about, realize I can't control everything, and then tell God what you're thankful for, and then let him deal with it. So I read, I was listening, I didn't finish the book,

but the book by Tim Ferriss, the four-hour work week. I don't know if you ever read that, but he was talking about how to be super efficient or whatever. I got the T-shirt. Okay, good. Okay, so that's the first step.

But the thing is, he was talking about how he outsources everything to his personal assistant in India. And that makes him very efficient. Like all his dental appointments, she arranges this, she's, you know, all this stuff. He said one day he was really worried about something. And this is not coming at it from a religious perspective at all. He said one day he was really worried and he actually asked his PA, like, I need you to worry about this for me. today. And it was a joke, he said. But the weird thing was, he said it worked. Like, outsourcing his worry actually helped him. And I thought, that is so interesting because

the biblical wisdom, its Old Testament, the New Testament is literally to outsource your worry, to cast your cares on God because he cares for you. Obviously, the assistant in India can't do anything, but God actually can. Well, you know something, this is part of this, because there's more to it than just doing this, right? You have to structure your life. I mean, I married a woman who believes this stuff. And because I married a woman who believes this stuff, she encourages me along these lines.

We need to encourage each other along these lines. A lot of times on my own, I will veer off. And I need the people around me to help me, just as I want to help those people. And so surrounding yourself with people who understand what the Bible says, who understand God's will, that's part of how we deal with this stuff. If you're hanging out with people who don't buy this stuff, it's going to be much tougher for you. If you're trying to quit smoking and everybody around you is lighten up, it's going to be tough. So part of living out God's will is surrounding yourself with people that are on board with that, that they're on the same process with you.

and they're reminding you of the scripture. Wait, look, this is what God says. We need to remind each other. That's everything. What you are paying attention to is everything. You are becoming what you're paying attention to. I mean, your attention is everything. I can't underline that enough.

So who you're hanging out with or who you're hanging out with virtually, like all of the information streams that are coming into your head, it shouldn't be a mystery if it's nonstop, barrage of news and information that you don't turn out to be an anxious mess. That's not a mystery. I'm amazed at how people fill their heads with anxiety and stuff. I watch very little news because it's depressing

because I already know what's going on. My question is, can I do something about it? And I'd like to spend my time doing something about it, praying about it, taking action about it, talking about it on this program. But just to fill my mind with, all the horrible stuff that's out there. You know, there's another scripture where the Lord commands us in Philippians' same chapter,

I think, as the one I just quoted, but, you know, whatsoever things are good and noble and true to think on these things. Why does God say that? He says that because he knows that when we focus on what is good and beautiful and true and noble and praiseworthy, it does something to us. It's not just to avoid the ugly stuff. It's to help us deal with the ugly stuff. And that's genius because what's really interesting, I was reading an article, I think it was New York Times, about clearing your mind in a yoga way or in a meditation way.

And they said it actually makes people more anxious over time. First of all, shame on you for reading the New York Times. Number one, shame on you. Number two, can you please repeat what you were just saying because I'm not sure that I understood? So it said that it actually makes it worse because you can't clear your mind. And I think what's really interesting is that that scripture you were just talking about is like whatever is true starts with true. It's not just happy, sloppy optimism, right? Whatever's true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, you fill your mind with that stuff instead.

It's not a clearing of your mind. It's being able to like bring truth back into the picture. If you actually trust God and God we trust, if you actually trust his goodness, you don't have to have all the answers. You don't know how everything's going to work out, but you actually just trust his character. you're dealing from a pretty strong hand because you know ultimately, no matter what happens, you're safe. Ultimately, this is Jesus taking his disciples out on that lake. That was his idea. He knew the storm was coming and he was asleep.

Like it was a test for them. They failed it. But he's trying to tell them even if the ship goes down, do you realize you're okay with me? Like, you can actually trust me. This is a great hand to play with. life because you can become lighthearted. You can be in the moment with your family and friends. You realize you don't control a lot of stuff. You can just focus on today. You don't have to borrow trouble from tomorrow. Like this is a much better way to live and it's a lot more fun.

So this book is called Life is Hard, God is Good, Let's Dance, experiencing real joy in the world gone mad. So what is in the book? Are there stories in the book? There's a lot of stories. So the thing you said about me working with cure, these are hospitals. People should, visit these. They're permanent surgical hospitals for kids that have correctable disabilities around the world and the poorest places. And it's all done, I'm coming at this from a Christian perspective too, but it's all done in the name of Jesus. So they charge them nothing. And these kids get to get up and run, dance, walk, play for the first time in their lives. They're eight-year-old girls, 16-year-old boys, by the thousands. And they get to hear that they're not a curse or a

monster that God actually loves them. That's what these hospitals do. Top-notch neuro and orthopedic surgeons. Can we get some cure hospitals in the United States of America? That would be a sweet step up. That would be a sweet step up from where we are. Because no joke, that's, I mean, healing has a lot to do with what you're hearing and with the attitude around you.

So that's so beautiful that at these hospitals. What is the website for cure? It's cure. It's just literally cure.org. But I'm telling you. Yeah, we're going to a break. We'll be talking more about it, but the website is cure. dot org.

I'm talking to Brand Hansen. The new book is called Life is Hard. God is good. Let's dance. Hey, this is Eric Mettaxas. For years, I've told you about Nutrametics, a professional supplement brand trusted by doctors since 1993. Nutrametics offers a variety of health bundles, whether you want to support your

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Again, Neutrametics, N-U-T-R-A-M-E-D-I-X.com. Neutrametics.com, use the code Eric for 15% off. Mike Lindell and My Pillo employees want to thank my listeners for all your continued support. To thank you, they're having an overstock clearance sale right now for the best prices ever when you use promo code Eric and you get free shipping for the entire order. Get 50% off the MyPillow 2.0 and the brand new flannel sheets that just arrived and won't last long. Get six-pack towel sets for only 2998 and take advantage of the free shipping on larger items like mattresses and mattress toppers. 100% made in the USA on sale for as low as 9999.

Everything is on sale from the brand new kitchen towels that have the same technology as the bath towels that actually absorb. dog beds, blankets, couch pillows, and so much more to get the best specials ever. Go to mypillow.com. Use promo code Eric. Again, mypillow.com. Use promo code Eric. Remember, you get free shipping on your entire order. You can call 800-9783057. 800-9783057. Use promo code Eric. Welcome back. We're talking to Brant Hanson, his real name.

And the title of the book is Life is Hard, God is Good. Let's Dance, experiencing real joy in a world gone mad. Brand, you were just talking about you are very involved with Cure International and the hospitals that share the love of God while they're doing these extraordinary medical procedures. How many countries is Cure International in? Well, it's got eight permanent hospitals, but it draws from about 30 or 40 countries because people come from all around because no one else is doing like neurosurgery's

for free to take tumors off of kids heads like and people will come as far as well they'll do anything to save their kids right well it's just so beautiful um but and so how does that relate to to to your book life is heart got as good let's dance well i tell a lot of stories that i've seen visiting these hospitals because it's the most beautiful thing and a lot of people lose faith like the first faith that can give them peace, actual peace. They lose it because they're like, oh, where's God now? Look at this tragedy. Look at this other thing.

I'm like, you know what? I'll show you where he is. I'll show you. I'll take you to one of these hospitals. Like, you get to see healing happen. Like, God is still using his people to heal. It's not on CNN. It's not on Fox.

It's not on. They're not, but I think they heal 25,000 kids a year. And it's all done in the name of Jesus. and it's all for free, top-notch medical care. Like, to me, that makes a lot of sense. So as somebody who's a skeptic by nature and has gone through a lot of religious hypocrisy and stuff, when I get to see this, man, it's like, okay, this makes sense to me. And it's so beautiful because it's the kingdom of God, right?

Like Jesus is saying, you want to see the kingdom and he heals people, healing. It's like heaven is breaking through. I'm giving you an advanced trailer of what heaven looks like. And that's literally what these hospitals look like. And there's literally dancing. There's dance parties in the hospital with the kids. Sometimes they're in wheelchairs, sometimes they're using canes or you have to hold them when you're, that they crank up the music. And it's the most joyful thing.

And it's so beautiful. Well, it's that kind of stuff. I'm like, if the kingdom looks like that, that's great news. And being able to actually have a trust for a God like that is really helpful in life. It gives you the peace that you need. I'm not kidding. We need hospitals like that in America. I don't know who's listening.

but God is calling you to get involved in that because we forget. We used to have hospitals like that. We used to have Catholic hospitals like that where the presence of God is at the center of why they're doing what they're doing. And let's be clear, it was Christians that created the concept of hospitals, ladies and gentlemen. It was Christians. It flows out of our Christian faith that we want to do good and we want to help people who can't give us back anything.

They can't pay us back, but we want to bless them. That's what cure is about. That's what it is to live the Christian life. And it's just a beautiful, beautiful thing. And we need to stop. I mean, this has been a big thing for me. When I wrote my book is atheism dead, and I began to see just the insane evidence for God

from science and archaeology. I just thought, you know what? Even Christians we need to rejigger our thinking. like the reality of God is so clear, so overwhelming, that all of reality needs to bow to God's reality. It shouldn't just be in these little Christian, these little church places or whatever. It needs to bleed out into everything, into hospitals, into our communities because it's true. Because this is, it's true. It's not just true for Christians.

It's true. Well, a lot of people are, you know, they talk about deconstructing. their faith or they're leaving. I'm like, man, I'm not leaving this. I am not. I've got my, like, I know there's a lot of hypocrisy. I know there's a lot of stuff that's messed up. But the kingdom of God is too beautiful. Like when you see something like that, I'm like, I'm like, I'm not leaving this. It's too good. So that's what I was trying to do in the book to tell stories like that about the individual kids I've met and the operating rooms I've been in. And like, they're so compelling. Each one of these kids' stories is like a movie. So I decided to

tell that to illustrate what God is actually. actually doing in the world and why he's worthy of being trusted when you're being told that so many things are bad and horrible like he's still doing stuff and it is obvious when you tune into it but everybody else is trying to distract you from it he's actually good and he actually can be trusted well um again there are there are a lot of people that they they think of themselves as as Christians but if you push him you say do you believe this or this they they give you the well like that's their way of saying no i don't but they don't want to say, no, I don't. They just want to say, well, it's complicated. Folks, there's a time

when you need to be crystal clear. The word of God tells us, God loves us, it tells us to rejoice in him always, to give thanks in all circumstances. These are God's commands to us. Why? Because he loves us and because he knows some stuff that we don't know fully, but he's trying to let us know, Like if you knew what I know, if you knew what I know, you would have a different attitude about what you're going through right now. He does that to help us, not to condemn us, to encourage us. I love that. I love that because if you think about it,

I think there may be a day at the end of our lives or something we can look back when we see the whole story, when we might say, you know what, I never actually needed to be worried. I never did. I think that's entirely plausible. And I think it's going to happen. Jesus himself, like you're saying, he knows stuff. Like he knows.

He's got the big picture. And he's saying, you do not need to be worried. Like, how amazing is that? So I have to believe that's true. And so if I do feel anxious, I should be able to like Jeremiah and limitations or David and Psalms able to talk to my own emotions and say, why are you so downcast? Why are you so anxious? Put your trust in God.

He's actually trustworthy. I'm actually safe with him. We will continue the title of the book. Brand new book, Life is Hard, God is Good, Let's Dance. The author is Brandt Hanson. We'll be right back. Brand Hanson is my guest. Brand new book titled Life is Hard, God is Good, Let's Dance.

Your books are readable. Your last book was titled Unoffendable. It sold 200,000, more than 200,000 copies. you have millions of listeners on your Brandt Hansen show on 200 radio stations. You know how to communicate. And obviously, that's important because sometimes you pick up a book and you start reading and it doesn't really pull you in. But you have the ability to do that. Now, can you think of any stories in the book that you could tell now?

I don't know. Oh, well, sure. Like I could tell about one of the, like any number of the kids that I've interacted with. There's just, this just show what God's doing in the world. Like I tell one story about one of the first kids I saw 17-year-old girl who had never been out of her house, basically, because she had a cleft palate, which if you're in the U.S., that's taken care of Lickety Split. But she's treated like a monster by her own family in the community. They think she's cursed. Okay.

Now, I want to interrupt, I got to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, if you live in America, okay, you don't understand. We have a biblical worldview in America. If you're not a Christian, you have a biblical worldview when it comes to disabilities. But in a lot of the world, when you have a disability or you've got something wrong with you, they have a pagan view. They look at you and they say, you are cursed. And it is to damn someone, to curse someone.

And those people are crushed. by what they're receiving from this community that doesn't have a biblical worldview. So when the Christian worldview comes into the situation and says to this girl with a cleft palate, no, no, God loves you. You are not a monster. You are not cursed. That is huge news. Even if they can't heal the cleft palate, just that idea, that biblical idea, which most Americans and people in the West totally take this for granted, that around the world, they have this pagan view of disabilities, of all kinds of things, which is wicked, folks. It is wicked.

It's not just a different point of view. It's wicked. And only the good news of Jesus Christ comes into that situation and tells that person, no, you are beloved of God. Can we imagine how healing that alone would be? But please continue the story. So this girl had never left her house. She'd never gone to school.

she was extremely shy. I met her before the operation. I was in the OR and watched the operation. It's just a cleft palate. But again, you're right. Totally right. Like around the world, the typical view is if you have any kind of disability, you're a monster. You're cursed.

And then the moms are blamed. You must have done something immoral. So your ancestors or the gods are blaming you. And now you've got this monster on yours. So this girl gets this operation done. She's out in the children's war. I was with her and her mom. She'd had it done.

Her lip is still, it's swollen, but now it's whole immediately. So you can see the sutures, but she looks totally different, man, unrecognizable. And I didn't have a mirror. So I wrote about this in the book. I didn't have a mirror. So I thought, wait a second. I had my phone. I want her to see herself because she looks totally different.

And I turned the camera thing around on the phone, you know, where you can see yourself. and she, I handed it to her and she just stared and stared and stared. She would not stop. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her face is whole for the first time. She's told not that she's a monster, but that God actually loves her. And then her face is healed and she's beautiful. I'm like, that's the kingdom of God breaking through.

You get goosebumps when you see it, and it happens over and over and over at these hospitals. So that's why I'm so sold on it. That's why I wanted to tell stories about it and actually explain how great the party is that the kingdom of God is when you actually understand what it is. Well, you know, we forget. I don't forget because I'm Greek, but like there are plenty of Greeks who would say,

oh, I'm Greek Orthodox. I was baptized in Greek Orthodox Church. I go to the Greek Church. They have this pagan view in the village. They have this view that you're cursed. They have this pagan thinking. They have not redeemed. all of their thinking and all of their views. So there are plenty Christians, including in America,

all of us, to some extent, have not really converted every part of us. We still have these pockets of lies, satanic lies, where we believe things that are not true. And it's God's will that we turn over every thought to him. And so I think of people living in mountain villages in Albania or Italy or Greece, who they have this kind of pagan worldview in their villages. Now, we know that that happens in India, it happens in Africa, but I'm talking about countries that you think, like, well, they're Christian, there's a church.

No, they still have these pagan worldviews. And how much more is that true in America? We may not believe that. We maybe got the memo that you're not cursed if you have a disability. but there are lies that we believe and that we promote about things and about people and about ourselves. And, you know, so God wants us to be in this process of thoroughly converting ourselves. It's called sanctification, but we have to get involved.

We have to desire it. We have to say, I'm going to choose to believe what God says. And that's not natural. That's a supernatural thing. You have to ask God to help you along these lines and reading a book, like this, I imagine we'll do that. I hope so. I hope it's funny, too.

Again, we'll see. But there's a light touch. And I appreciated there's a reviewer that doesn't always like Christian books. But the review said, this book has a lasting impact and a light touch. And that's what I wanted. Because I feel kind of like Forrest Gump tripping through life and getting to travel and stuff and see things. Like, I don't, I didn't plan that. And I think.

it's neat how God's made that happen. I don't have a big vision for my life. Like, I need to become this or that. Things are just happened. And I'm just trying to do each day and then let God have the pathway that he makes for me. So I'm astonished. And some of the book is about that. I think you can live that way where you're just like, I'm just going to be concerned myself with today and try to be faithful with it. And then see what God does with the rest of this stuff. And I think it's a much easier way to live with a childlike, joyful existence where you actually have peace that in our culture, people are not at peace, especially peace activists, like at personal peace. Oh, those are the most vicious of them all. We'll be right back, folks.

I'm talking to Brand Hansen, Brand New Book, Life is Hard, God is Good, Let's Dance. Welcome back. Talking to Brand Hanson, brand new book, Life is Hard, God. God is good. Let's dance, experiencing real joy in a world gone mad. Brandt, you said that part of it has to do with gratitude. And over and over in the scripture, God is telling us for our own good. Be grateful. Doesn't come naturally.

What is your, what do you have to say about gratitude? So I thought this is really interesting. I heard some neuroscientists talking about this who are believers. And they said a lot of times when we're grateful, we make a list. Like, okay, I'm going to be grateful. grateful for this, that, the other thing we make a list, which is fine. But they said there's another way to do it. And that is to picture moments in your life that you're really glad happened.

That like just the golden sterling moments. Like maybe it's the birth of a child. Maybe it's a time in nature where you were just overwhelmed with what you were looking at. Maybe it's the first time you met your wife. Just some moments. And then they said, like, write that down your notes app on your phone and spend like 30 seconds just being grateful that that thing happened. And they said it's really effective because it involves both sides of your brain, not just the categorical analytical side, because it becomes emotional. And that's good because we are emotional beings.

But there's something about entering into that sort of a gratitude. And they said you can add things to that list on your phone. and when you're feeling anxious, you go to that list and you think about these things you're so grateful for. This is a very biblical approach to anxiety. It's very smart. How is that different from the list? I feel like I'm not getting the difference between it.

Because you're invoking more of an artistic emotional thing when you're just kind of camped out thinking about, like for 30 seconds, thinking about being in that room when they handed you your child for the first time. Like, or that first time you met your wife. for that friend, that time with your friend that you laughed your heads off. It hurt because you laughed so hard.

Just thinking about that for 20 or 30 seconds and being thankful. God, I'm so glad that happened. So it's just a different way to approach it. I thought it was a fresh thing. And having practiced that myself, too, I have to say it is very effective. You're feeling nervous. You're feeling anxious, but you're reminding yourself with the goodness of God and all the track record that he has in your life of blessing you. that we forget about when we have something to be nervous about.

You know what I mean? Does that make sense? Yeah, it makes sense. And again, I want to say, folks, you have to be part of a culture that practices this. If you're around negative people, you have to tell them, no, no, that's a lie. Maybe you don't want to say it's a lie. Say it however you want to say it. But do not allow people to speak lies into your head into the atmosphere.

Do not allow that. because it's really like saying, nah, God doesn't love you. That is a vile lie. And there are many times people say things like that. They just say things that are effectively vile lies. They're not true. Can I also add this, especially for older people,

we need you at peace. Like generations always can look to the old people as for perspective, for peace, for a sense of well-being, regardless. But instead, we got a lot of older people that are just doing news and information 24-7 and they are worked up because those channels, they can do some good things, I'm sure. But it's like, you need to worry about this. You need to worry about this.

You need to worry about this. You need to worry about this. You need to work. That's too much for a human being to handle. Hey, old people, you listening? Seriously, no, this is what you're saying is absolutely true. You have the power of life and death in your tongue. And when you're bringing negativity to people around you, you're doing the devil's work.

Hate to say to put it that way. But since we're out of time, we've got to cut to the chase. You may be a believer, but if you're camped out watching news 24-7, you're not at peace yourself. And then you look at millennials and Gen Z. Like, why are they so anxious? Well, they're supposed to have a generation older than them that helps them not be anxious. Well, we're at a time. I can just say, folks, the book is brand new.

By Brand Hansen, it's called Life is Hard, God is Good. Let's Dance. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Bran Hanson. Thanks, man.