27. Banning Social Media Under 16 and Making the Most of Pentecost

[00:00:06] Speaker A: Hi, my name is Katie Malone. [00:00:07] Speaker B: And I'm Brendan, the husband. [00:00:09] Speaker A: And you're listening to the Little Flock, the podcast that offers practical insights about living a counterculture of goodness, truth and beauty in a world of increasingly hostile secularism and indifference. [00:00:19] Speaker B: So if you're looking to learn from two imperfect followers of Christ about how to live like the wheat amongst the Darnell, this is definitely the podcast for you. Katie. Welcome back to another episode of the Little Flock. [00:00:35] Speaker A: Thanks, Brendan. [00:00:36] Speaker B: Very formal, wasn't it? That suddenly came out of nowhere formal. [00:00:39] Speaker A: Welcome, welcome to my house where you also live. [00:00:42] Speaker B: Listeners, you can't see this, but I just literally went from the pause in silence before we start an episode two straight into full noise. Welcome back. And Katie's like, woo. So, yeah, there we go. Let's get some business out of the way. Katie. [00:00:55] Speaker A: Oh, your favourite. [00:00:56] Speaker B: The minutes of the last meeting, please. Oh, no, I live for those kind of moments, don't you? [00:01:01] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Moved and seconded. [00:01:03] Speaker B: I'd love a good committee. No, I don't, actually. If Moses was a committee, he never would have crossed the Red Sea. If you're new here, please subscribe. If you've been listening for a while, please share this with your friends. Let them know it really helps the show. Actually, just share it around your friends. Become that annoying spam bot who says to people, hey, are you listening to the Little Flock? Such a good podcast. So great. So, yeah, please share. Give us a rating if you can, whatever platform you're listening on. Two things. 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Probably don't say it enough, but it's thanks to you we can keep producing those episodes and all the other stuff that we're doing out and about in New Zealand and also around Australia now as well. One other thing, we've got this new podcast episode each week called the Lamp, and it's a deep dive into the Christian scriptures. So no politics, no current affairs, just looking at the scriptures. But allegory, a bit of exegesis, a bit of reflection, a bit of prayer. Yeah. All the big stuff. And to get access to that, all you have to do is become a supporter with as little as $1 per month. [00:03:00] Speaker A: Amazing. [00:03:01] Speaker B: So everyone who supports us with any amount above a dollar, that's the least amount. [00:03:05] Speaker A: You can't buy much for a dollar these days. [00:03:06] Speaker B: No, no. [00:03:06] Speaker A: Can you buy anything for a dollar? [00:03:08] Speaker B: Well, an episode of the Lamp each week. Apart from that, you get an episode of the Lamp each week. Also, we have a substack. Well, I have a substack called the Dispatches, and if you want to, you can support us that way. And there's written content on there as well. The Lamp gets posted there. So, Katie, first of all, we've got a few things to talk about today before we do that tomorrow. That's our wedding anniversary. [00:03:30] Speaker A: That it is. [00:03:32] Speaker B: 21 years. [00:03:33] Speaker A: We did very well scheduling it around Mother's Day. Having a child a week before, it was crazy. [00:03:39] Speaker B: Wasn't really was. So lucy's big old 18th birthday last week. [00:03:45] Speaker A: Yeah, that's right. [00:03:46] Speaker B: And then Mother's Day and 21 years of marriage tomorrow. 21 years of marriage. [00:03:51] Speaker A: Marriage as an adult. [00:03:52] Speaker B: It's kind of interesting. 20 years felt like a big milestone, didn't it? At 21, it's like, yep, we're just ticking a few more miles on the clock now. Yeah. But I look back on it and I think, man. Yeah, I just Forget. It's been 21 years. In a good way. [00:04:08] Speaker A: You know, like, then you go, where'd all these children come from? [00:04:09] Speaker B: Yeah. And I spoke at a family conference in Australia, an awesome event in Rockhampton. It's the furthest north I've been. I was in crocodile country and don't swim in the river. And I was speaking at a family's conference. And as I was talking about these issues, and it sort of dawned on me, holy moly. Yeah. We've been married 21 years. Like other people just starting out their journey and. [00:04:31] Speaker A: That's right. We're kind of at the other. Not the other end, but, you know, like, we used to go to family camps and be like, the baby. Married people. [00:04:37] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:04:38] Speaker A: Now people are like, wow, you've been married 21 years. What wisdom do you have? And I'm like, yeah, try not to. [00:04:44] Speaker B: Make too much of a message to each other. Yeah, yeah. Just keep loving each other and putting up with each other, following Jesus, you'd be right. The rest will sort itself out. I think that's the biggest problem, isn't it, in marriage? The biggest problem is that the closer we come, the more similar we are, in a sense, and the more that, you know, our human ego wants to get in the way and fight for our own little dominance. And initially, that's sort of covered over by the fact that, you know, you're in love with each other and it's all very new and fresh. But as that sort of starts to wane, that beautiful period moves into a new, beautiful period. Very important one. That's where the challenge of sort of not trying to exert your own dominance and your ego sort of starts to re. Emerge again. You know, you forget your first love. In a sense. [00:05:28] Speaker A: That's what children are for, right? [00:05:30] Speaker B: Yeah. They, because they call you, stop you. [00:05:32] Speaker A: From thinking about it all the time. [00:05:34] Speaker B: And I was thinking about that actually recently, about how. Cause I was thinking about our own situation. Lou, I was going to call her. Louis is in Louis, but Lucy. Lulu is what I call her. So Lucy, now that she's 18. And she's sort of starting to think about her life outside and beyond and what that all means. And the other kids were talking about it as well. And I'm gonna go and do this, and I'm gonna leave. And I'm thinking, what? I don't want you guys to leave. [00:05:58] Speaker A: We only just got used to having you around. [00:05:59] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. We only just sort of got used to this. And it's great. And also that fact that some, sadly, some marriages, when the kids go, they don't survive. That's a bit of a challenge point for some people because I guess in a good way, they're invested in the kids. But then also, they didn't. It wasn't a total complete investment in the whole family life, in a sense. So, yeah, there's something in there. Day, children, Mother's Day, good segue. Yeah, Mother's Day, important day. Segue into. I was gonna say the most important day of the year. It's not really. Is it Mother's Day 2025. Did you feel like. To me, it felt less politically confused. [00:06:41] Speaker A: Which means there wasn't as much. Men can be mothers, too. [00:06:43] Speaker B: Yeah. This whole men can be mothers. And always this, this. And we feel. And we have a sympathy, obviously, for couples who struggle to conceive and are carrying the burden of infertility. That was something we thought we were gonna be carrying, remember, early on in our marriage. Cause it didn't happen as quickly as we thought, having children. But there was none of that politicization. There wasn't the whole trans thing going on. It just felt very motherly. [00:07:08] Speaker A: There was a lot of. I did see quite a lot of media on, like, women who have miscarriages or still births and mothers too. And I thought that was quite good. [00:07:14] Speaker B: That's good. [00:07:15] Speaker A: Like a positive change to actually appreciate that. I was telling the kids in the car on the way home from church that in the UK they call it Mothering Sunday, which I actually think is a beautiful name for it. I think I know a better name because Mothering Sunday. So many women mother. That aren't mothers in a biological sense. No, I think that's what it was originally called when it first started, really. Yeah. And we just asked me where did it come from? And I couldn't remember. I looked it up last year, but I couldn't actually remember. But, yeah, I think Mothering Sunday is a beautiful. The Mother's Day is perhaps an American version. [00:07:47] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, it's like holy days becoming holidays. [00:07:50] Speaker A: If you look at mothering in that wider context, it's a beautiful way to name something because it highlights what it's actually about. There are so many women we know that mother. That aren't actually biological mothers. [00:08:02] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, you could also be an adoptive mum. [00:08:04] Speaker A: Yep. [00:08:05] Speaker B: You know, you might have never had spiritual mother. Yeah. You might have never had kids of your own and you've adopted, come into a family mother. You know, when. When the husband's former wife has died or whatever the case may be, you know, so, like. Yeah, yeah, that. That's. Yeah, that's. That's a good point. Yeah, it's a. A beautiful thing, actually. I think Mother's Day in such a. Yeah. There's just something about it. It's. I was worried for a few years there that this thing was going to be lost. [00:08:30] Speaker A: Hijacked. Get hijacked. [00:08:31] Speaker B: Yeah. And I could see it even sadly within Christianity. So there was the. There was the. I mean, the trans issue in the culture that was. That was kind of crazy and. And then. Cause that created a whole lot of confusion about what women actually are. And then that anything related to uniquely the unique otherness of womanhood gets lost then. And downgraded and Then also, even within the church, there was this trend for several years of people being really vocal and at times, I think, quite hostile in their vocalness about the fact that, oh, no, you know, what about all the infertile women? I'm like, yeah, that is a burden. And, yes, we must care and love those people. Care for them and everything else, but this is. This is not a time to hijack what should be a celebration once a year of motherhood, you know, and its unique place that's right in our midst. So, to me, it just felt. Yeah, it was kind of refreshing this year. I don't know, maybe it's me, but. [00:09:27] Speaker A: Maybe algorithm's just not pushing all of us. [00:09:29] Speaker B: No. Well, there didn't seem to be. [00:09:31] Speaker A: Yeah, I didn't see anything. [00:09:32] Speaker B: No, we saw an article that we thought we'd talk about. It's Kiwi mums sharing their top parenting hacks for Mother's Day. And I'm always kind of a little bit sus about these things. What do our kids say? That's sketchy, dad. It's sketchy because you're like, okay, who are these people? You know, like, literally, when the elites in the sort of, I guess, journalistic world just go and interview a few friends, you're like, are they really living the same life as the rest of us, or. And so you think, what kind of tips are you gonna get? But actually, there was some really good stuff in here. [00:10:06] Speaker A: If you read enough around, like, past the hippie names, you. Yeah, yeah, you can pick up some good stuff. [00:10:12] Speaker B: Well, and I was actually reminded, too, Brennan, don't be so cynical. True, that person who you think might actually be too out of touch, actually might have a bit of wisdom that you didn't recognise. [00:10:21] Speaker A: You're living a family life and, yeah, has the same struggles. [00:10:24] Speaker B: Hold the phone call. I'm just gonna turn on the heat pump while we're here. And I will not turn it on too cool. Let's turn it onto heat, shall we, Caddy? Yeah. Look at that beep, beep in the background. We're total professionals here because it's getting a little bit crisp in here, but, yeah, there's a bit of palaver at the beginning, but then there's these great little tips, so I thought we'd just go. There's only five of them, so I thought we'd touch on each one, share our thoughts. So Sarah Cowley Ross, former Olympian, broadcaster, and mum to Max and Poppy. I've never heard of her, to be honest. [00:10:53] Speaker A: Me neither. [00:10:54] Speaker B: Mind you, she doesn't play rugby. [00:10:56] Speaker A: So she's like an. What do they call that? Field and track. [00:11:00] Speaker B: Yeah. And obviously former Olympian. She's no slouch. [00:11:03] Speaker A: That's right. [00:11:04] Speaker B: She said this very much in her Olympian mould. A quick and easy after school option for a snack for your kids, keep them fed. Is a banana smoothie made with bananas ice cream. Oh, no, sorry. Ice cream. Had a heart attack there. Oh, here comes the diabetes shake. It's ice milk and milk powder. The milk powder makes it extra creamy and adds a protein boost. [00:11:25] Speaker A: Excellent advice. [00:11:27] Speaker B: Did you. Have you ever done anything like that? [00:11:29] Speaker A: I quite often make the kids smoothies. [00:11:30] Speaker B: Do you? But to that sort of. [00:11:32] Speaker A: I haven't done the milk powder trick. That's actually. I will give that a go. [00:11:35] Speaker B: No offence to our Auckland listeners, I'm calling this an Auckland smoothie. You know, it's not just avocado on toast, it's smashed avocado in Auckland. [00:11:42] Speaker A: All of those things are very affordable, though. [00:11:44] Speaker B: Yeah, they are. It's not. I didn't mean it was an elite smoothie. The elite level smoothie. But yeah, the protein powder is. I remember even protein powder. [00:11:53] Speaker A: Milk powder. [00:11:54] Speaker B: Milk powder, sorry, your protein boost. I remember as a kid, we milkshakes were kind of a thing actually in our house, but we had the powder. [00:12:03] Speaker A: Stuff. [00:12:04] Speaker B: I put water into, I think, and a little bit of whatever it was anyway. [00:12:07] Speaker A: You put water in it? [00:12:08] Speaker B: No, no, no. Actually, no. What we had was. Sorry, I'm just. I'm misremembering this. We had some milk and then you'd put this thick shake powder in. And it was, I think, quite a cheap substitute for our parents who were not very well off at all. Very poor family we grew up in. And so it actually worked quite well. Cause the quick. The thick shake. Sorry, quick powder, I think it was called, or something like that. That would just thicken it and really sort of. It was like a meal in a. [00:12:32] Speaker A: Stick to your ribs kind of stuff. [00:12:33] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, Stick to your ribs. That's a great way of saying it. And this was another one she had. When emotions run high, never underestimate the power of nature. A quick walk or play outside can work wonders to calm both kids and out. [00:12:45] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:12:46] Speaker B: That's true. [00:12:47] Speaker A: They say when your child is struggling emotionally, put them inside or put them in water. [00:12:52] Speaker B: Put them in water. [00:12:53] Speaker A: Put them in water. Sounds a bit ominous, but you know, that does. A bath can really switch emotions. Sometimes it's hard to get them in it, but. And then you can't get them out because it's done what it does. Yeah. [00:13:04] Speaker B: I think even for us as adults. Right. I find often now just walking outside down the back path and back again can be enough just when the kids are firing up. [00:13:13] Speaker A: Just don't forget the beginning of the first lockdown where it was absolutely pouring with rain and I thought we were all going to kill each other before six weeks was up. And it that Sunday night been 48 hours of rain. I just said to Nathaniel, oh, look, the gutters need clearing. [00:13:24] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:13:25] Speaker A: And he was out there in his raincoat and then they were all out there and they gun boots on and they were clearing the gutters of the whole street. And he still does this now when it rains a lot. [00:13:35] Speaker B: He should be paid by the council. [00:13:37] Speaker A: Should really be paying. But they were out there for an hour in the rain and I just watched them from the lounge and they were happy as well. [00:13:44] Speaker B: Yeah, Amazing mud. But outdoor, so it's water and outdoors. And he. What's funny is that recent storm we had two weeks ago, he went out and I found out afterwards, done the whole block. He'd done the whole block. [00:13:54] Speaker A: We drove somewhere the next day he did. [00:13:58] Speaker B: He walked around and. And spent several hours. He's like, that drain. There's a bit of a problem, dad, you know, we need to tell the council. It was quite funny. [00:14:07] Speaker A: Good on yourself steps in solve. [00:14:10] Speaker B: Here's Ashley Kametti, Viva Beauty editor and mother of Milo and Navy. [00:14:14] Speaker A: The names are great. [00:14:15] Speaker B: I know. And I was like, no offence to anyone who calls their kids after drinks. It's not really. Milo's a Greek name, isn't it? [00:14:21] Speaker A: Navy's my favorite color. One of my favorite colors. Milo. [00:14:24] Speaker B: Yeah, it's Miloanopolis or something like that. No, I'm pretty sure it's. [00:14:27] Speaker A: Oh, there is, yeah, there are some. [00:14:28] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, you could be right, actually. Navy, yeah. Is that a color or is that a name in this guy served in the armed forces or something. But yeah. Anyway, we won't make fun of the names. That's not. Let's not. But when I saw Viva Beauty Editor, I thought, oh, I wonder what this is gonna be. But hers was actually really, really good. And this was one of those moments where I was like, brendan, don't be so cynical. She said, my mum Hack isn't the most glam, but it certainly is practical. I keep a large plastic tub from miter 10, the big orange buckets in the boot of my car filled with a few essentials. Inside you'll find a big black towel for wiping down wet slides on Playgrounds or drying off wet kids after an impromptu swimming po. Bit cold down here for the old impromptu swans, really. [00:15:09] Speaker A: Well, Nathaniel has taken one or two. [00:15:11] Speaker B: In his earlier years. [00:15:12] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:15:13] Speaker B: An ice cream container and lid. My eldest gets car sick. A hat and spare set of clothes each. Well, that's for us. That might be a few buckets, nappies and wipes, plus a tube of sunscreen. The tub serves a dual purpose to store all these aforementioned bits and pieces, but also helps to keep sandy gumboots or muddy rugby boots and wet clothes off the floor of my car. Because if your kids are anything like mine, they'll love nothing more than getting dirty and my. Oh, we'll come to our other hack. But that was. That was a great hack. I thought. That is a great. [00:15:43] Speaker A: I used to have something similar. I don't really have it anymore. It's older, but I still have wipes in the car. [00:15:47] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:15:48] Speaker A: And. [00:15:50] Speaker B: Would you add anything to that? [00:15:51] Speaker A: My parents used to have a bottle of like, just a. Just a plain plastic bottle. [00:15:57] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:15:58] Speaker A: With water with a little bit of soap in it. Somewhere to go bathroom. If the kids got dirty. You could wash your hands. Yeah, they used to have that in the car. It was really for trips, but I think after a while they just kept it in there all the time. [00:16:08] Speaker B: Yeah. Because one thing about wipes, as we've noticed in our car, is that if you don't use them for even six months, you go to open the thing, that'll dry. [00:16:15] Speaker A: You just put a bit of water on them, though. [00:16:17] Speaker B: Yeah. But you see, if you had a bit of soapy water, then. [00:16:19] Speaker A: Hey. The soapy water bottle is a family tradition in my house. [00:16:22] Speaker B: That is. That's quite a. That is a good one. [00:16:24] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:16:25] Speaker B: I'd add some fishing gear. Hand fishing. Yeah. [00:16:28] Speaker A: Yeah, that's good. [00:16:30] Speaker B: Yeah, that was a good. [00:16:31] Speaker A: But also I think it's good because she's actually thinking about her kids and she wants them to have her childhood and not to be always like, oh, we can't get dirty because Mum will get angry. [00:16:40] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:16:41] Speaker A: You know. Or Mum will get a bit tetchy because the car's dirty. [00:16:43] Speaker B: Yeah. I thought that was great, actually. [00:16:44] Speaker A: The kids can be children. [00:16:46] Speaker B: Yeah. I did it. [00:16:47] Speaker A: And nobody gets stressed. [00:16:48] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. You just live your life obsessing over cars. Funnily enough, I think cars possibly used to be a bit easier to clean in this regard. It was like. I remember our cars, they're older cars, bench seats and that, sort of leather or vinyl. Yeah. And you just wipe it off. So now Everything gets, you know, you can tell when you buy a car that's been owned by a family, it's baked in to those seats. And her other hack, she has, she had two cheating, give a countdown for everything. I thought this was really good. For example, two minutes until you need to brush your teeth, five minutes until bedtime, et cetera. And I've done this a bit with our kids from time to time and it does help. Right, two more. [00:17:30] Speaker A: Yeah, three seconds. That's three. [00:17:31] Speaker B: Guys, like, if they're having a bit of screen time, like games or whatever, computers or something, I say, right, we're getting off at 5. So I give them a half an hour and I say, right, 10 minutes. And then I say, right or five minutes, whatever it is. And then I say right off. And that helps, I find. [00:17:43] Speaker A: Helps a little bit. [00:17:44] Speaker B: Well, there's still. I've noticed it's a bit better though, because what's happened is it's not like their little brains have gone shock, you know, 0 to 100. They've literally, they've had the warning and they're ready. I often also, can I say I cheat with my countdowns 100%. Well, what I normally do is I go five minutes, when actually I mean 10. And then I sort of. It just that little bit of buffer makes them think, oh, I'm getting a bit longer. And you know. But in my mind I was like, yeah, I always plan this. I know what's going on. Here's Gracie Hitchcock, podcaster, award winning podcaster. That's just like us, influencer and mum to Frank and Otis. And she said this. I really liked her. This was a very practical thing. I live by the NeilMed. Was it NeilMed or Neil Med? Nasal oral aspirator. Snot sucker for getting your baby to breathe, eat, sleep. And it's the little tube. And the, the thing is you don't have to suck on it either. They've got one with the hand pump. [00:18:41] Speaker A: The bulb sucking is effective though. [00:18:43] Speaker B: Yeah. We you. Like, I was gonna say we you primarily. Absolutely. [00:18:48] Speaker A: I don't know if you ever did this. [00:18:49] Speaker B: I did, I did, but not as much as you did. [00:18:51] Speaker A: Desperation. [00:18:52] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Lived by that device, eh? That was. I remember the first. [00:18:57] Speaker A: Oh, they hate it though. [00:18:58] Speaker B: Oh yeah. When they're young, they don't understand what's going on. [00:19:01] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:19:01] Speaker B: But what hurts as well when you, when you first brought it home, I remember thinking, well, yeah, partly I'm like, ugh, yuck. But also like, what a brilliant idea. [00:19:14] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:19:14] Speaker B: And it actually turned out to be a real. [00:19:16] Speaker A: You're right, we had the bold one, but we also had the. Yeah, the tube one. Yeah. [00:19:21] Speaker B: Well, finish now with our last positive one, then we'll come back to the one that I actually disagreed with, funnily enough. Yeah. Or had some disagreement with. So this is Jenny Mortimer. She's a chief lifestyle and entertainment report. So you see what I mean about the reporter, whoever wrote this interview. [00:19:35] Speaker A: This interview was glass of wine time. [00:19:36] Speaker B: Well, they sat around in the office. [00:19:38] Speaker A: You know what? Go for it. [00:19:39] Speaker B: Yeah, they sat around in the office and then they said, oh, we need one more. [00:19:42] Speaker A: Who do we ring some good wisdom with? Women chatting. [00:19:44] Speaker B: Yeah, actually, you're right. And I'm not going to critique that, especially on motherfuckers. [00:19:48] Speaker A: My friends, when we get going on. [00:19:49] Speaker B: Mothering day, you should hear that wisdom, among other things, shall we say, in a polite, charitable kind of way. So Jenny Mortimer said, whatever your kids come to you with or have to confess, and this is usually older, I think, simply be unshockable. If you nail this, they will be more likely to continue to confide Sorry. In you throughout their lives and you will be the person they turn to when they're in trouble. And. And I think there's a certain truth in that. [00:20:17] Speaker A: Absolutely, I agree with that one. [00:20:18] Speaker B: And I think particularly the big moments as they get a bit older and you want to be the one they go to, what you don't want is them going, I can't tell Mum and Dad because they'll hit the roof or whatever. I will get. Yeah, it'll be for the high jump. And so therefore I'm going to go to some absolute stranger or some reprobate or some loud. Who's going to give all the wrong advice, talk to my friends. [00:20:38] Speaker A: Because, you know, your friends are always so sensible and. [00:20:41] Speaker B: Yeah, so basically. And I've had to. I think as dads, this is something for us to work on, because dads need to be the discipline veterinarian. We need to be the firm hand of the law. That's just the way it works. [00:20:50] Speaker A: Stereotyping. [00:20:51] Speaker B: Well, yeah, it is. It's important. It's a stereotype for a reason, because it's a trait that actually is true and consistent and works. But the excess of that, of course, is when your kids go, oh, I thought I'd get in trouble with dad, you know, that they sort of. So you gotta sort of balance that a bit. And I. One way I do that is try and remind kids, hey, look, if anything ever happens, you can always come to Me. And I'll often say them too. Trust me. Sometimes I might be a little bit angry with you, but I still love you and I really want to know. So they sort of try and get that balance. But that's a. I think that's a good one. [00:21:20] Speaker A: I think it is. And she's only got a 5 year old, but I would say awesome that she's figured this out. Because you lay that groundwork when they're young. [00:21:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:21:28] Speaker A: Well, this is my experience. And we once again, our oldest is only 18. [00:21:31] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:21:31] Speaker A: But if you lay that groundwork when they're young, they know they can come to you through the years, you know, as the things get more serious or more need to be talked through or whatever. You know at 10pm at night when you feel like going to bed. [00:21:41] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:21:41] Speaker A: That's when they'll come to you. [00:21:42] Speaker B: That's often when they come to you. [00:21:43] Speaker A: And that's when you need to be unshockable. And if you've practiced doing that. Yeah, it'll be easier then. [00:21:48] Speaker B: I think too. The challenge for us is recognising that our job is to love our kids well. And we forget that sometimes. We go, oh, but this is my quiet time. But in actual fact, for them, this is this massive moment of turmoil. It's tumultuous. Life is throwing everything it can at them. They don't have the experience, the skills. They're still developing the brain muscles. They need for that as well. And we have an obligation to give that gift. This is what Christian holiness is about. It's about loving people. Even when it's hard. Not going. I'm sorry, kids. [00:22:18] Speaker A: When it's hard, actually. [00:22:19] Speaker B: Especially when it's hard work. To my schedule, please. This is why Mother's Day is so important. Celebrate mothers. Cause they do a lot of that. Okay, and this is the last one I actually had an issue with. Angie Gray from Hauraki Radio. She's a presenter. She said this lately. One of my favourite phrases to throw out. And whenever someone says lately, one of my favourite things. Let's figure this out. Yeah, it's kind of a trend. [00:22:41] Speaker A: I started this yesterday. [00:22:42] Speaker B: This might not be that good. And I think there's a problem here. Lately. One of my favourite phrases to throw out to calm that. What? Amygdala down. Sorry. Is I believe you. It's amazing how much agency these three words can give a little person and how much they value and how much value they can instill. Sorry. So she gives some examples. Mum, I'm scared. I believe you. And I'm like, yeah, that's. I got no problem with that as a starting point for that one. I'm so mad at you. Yeah, I believe you. And now let's have a conversation about whether that's appropriate or not. But this was. The third one was like, no. When the child says, this macaroni cheese is pants, in other words, this macaroni cheese is rubbish at that point. No, I'm not saying I believe you, because I'm gonna say, hold on a minute. In actual fact, that's rude. Yeah, that is rude. And not only that, but this macaroni and cheese might actually not be. That's a common thing for kids to do. Oh, I hate this. Or this tastes horrible and it's not horrible. [00:23:45] Speaker A: Can you try that? Last two dinners in our house, somebody said, I hate that. [00:23:48] Speaker B: Yep. [00:23:49] Speaker A: I've told you so many times how much I hate that. [00:23:50] Speaker B: Yeah. And I'm not gonna say in that moment, I believe you. I'm gonna say in that moment, I'm sorry, but you need to go away and actually think about what you've just said. Ay. Cause imagine being in a situation. Imagine you're a bit older and you've had this your whole life, and you're out at work with your boss, and your boss has shouted everyone to a meal somewhere, and you just don't like the restaurant and the food, and you just blurt out out loud because you think this is the normal thing to do. This meal is rubbish. And this place is just lowbrow. I hate it. And you're waiting for the boss to go, I believe you. And the boss goes, what? Yeah. I don't think you're going to be getting any promotions in this company. So, I mean, that's just one reason. But also, you should be a person of virtue, and that means humility. It means a bit of forbearance is a fruit of the spirit that you must have. And you've got to help kids to understand that. [00:24:36] Speaker A: I think it's fine to validate feelings. Like, I like that. She's. I've. I believe you that you're scared. [00:24:40] Speaker B: I believe that you're scared. That was a great one. [00:24:42] Speaker A: I have issues with those. To actually acknowledge and validate those feelings. But then you have a conversation about feelings and are they the most important thing? And that's what that comes down to. Is it the most important thing that you feel that this macaroni and cheese is disgusting? No, it's not. So you don't need to say it. [00:24:55] Speaker B: No. Yeah. So calm down. [00:24:57] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:58] Speaker B: And don't talk to your mother that way. Cause that's the common issue. It's. Mum has prepared the meal. And then you just get this, well, I wanted to eat something. I wanted to eat. And it's like, no, that is not how this works. Be grateful. Gratitude is so essentially I'm realizing that more and more as I age, gratitude is the fundamental essential orientation of the entire cosmos. Because it's built on the back of Father, Son, Holy Spirit, engaged in an eternal act of self giving love. And when you correspond to that and recognize that. Actually this sounds hippie, but it's not. But sort of connecting and tuning into gratitude. No, it is not. It's actually. It is understanding who God is and what he's called us to. And gratitude in all things is essential to that. Yeah. So that's the top parenting hacks. [00:25:44] Speaker A: Yeah. I was impressed with most of them. I was disappointed. My favourite parenting hack isn't in there, which is, don't feed your children rice the same day you vacuum. [00:25:53] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Cause you want it to dry. [00:25:55] Speaker A: Yeah. Cause like, you vacuumed and then the floor's covered in rice, but you can't vacuum again because it's sticky. [00:26:00] Speaker B: That is such a peak, Mum. Hack dads would be like, just smush it in there. Get the vacuum cleaner going, you know? Yeah. Mums have considered the ins and outs, the lefts, the rights, the outskirts. [00:26:12] Speaker A: Especially if you've got Karpa under your table, which we don't anymore. Also, good parenting hack. Don't have carpet under your table. [00:26:18] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. That is just a. [00:26:19] Speaker A: Change your life. [00:26:20] Speaker B: Yeah. Under the table and in the toilet. [00:26:23] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Which places? We had both. [00:26:25] Speaker B: Oh, we've had that before. Nothing beats the old toilet carpet. Gosh, that's a special place, isn't it? Imagine being the person having to get rid of that at the dump. You're like, what's this smell? [00:26:39] Speaker A: 30 years of your. [00:26:40] Speaker B: Yeah. Among other things, quite conceivably. Sorry, listeners. Okay. [00:26:46] Speaker A: Nitty Gritty in this podcast. [00:26:47] Speaker B: Speaking of nitty gritty, let's move on. The social media ban that's being talked about. It's just in a proposal stage by our New Zealand government right now off. [00:26:56] Speaker A: The back of the Australian one. Right? [00:26:58] Speaker B: Yeah. And also England and other countries as well. Social media ban for under 16s. And it's being proposed and I thought we'd just talk about this. I've got a podcast episode coming up actually of the Dispatchers, where I'm going to a bit more detail because I think one thing that people need to really appreciate, and they're not about all of this, is that social media is not simply another piece of technology. A good analogy is some people think it's like a bike or a chainsaw or a car or a whatever, you know, like an ax. You pick it up, use it, you put it down. And they think that it's sort of that simple. It's just a variation of that. It's not. And it's not really a helpful analogy. I've added another tool to my toolkit by adding social media or personal devices. A better way to think about it is like an ecosystem. So think about your life, your family, your brain, even your emotions. They're like an ecosystem. If you add a caterpillar, a brand new species of caterpillar to an ecosystem, you haven't just added something there for your sort of enjoyment. You go and look at the caterpillars and go, wow, aren't they lovely? You've actually added something that has changed and will change the whole ecosystem. It will then interact with it. It will change it. And that's what the device does. It actually interacts with you. Imagine if your chainsaw beeped at you, walked into your room and said, hey, cut this log. You know, all that. [00:28:18] Speaker A: I like you. [00:28:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I like you. Please. Hey, look at this Husqvarna catalog. Yeah. You know, you'd be like, whoa, this thing is interacting with me. That's what we're talking about. And I think people need to appreciate that. I'm speaking in Auckland to a group of school parents, actually primary school parents, next week about this issue. And I think that's something people really need to understand. And therefore, as parents, I think we need to think too. It's not just about our children. We often think, oh, social media and my kids, I'm worried about it. But it's like, what are we modelling exactly? Cause it's affecting us too. How's our addiction to social media going? And that's something I've been challenged a lot about in my life lately. And I'm working hard to actually rectify and put limits and do things practically to brick my phone and keep it, you know, as a phone. I came across this great quote before we talk about this, though, and I want to hear your thoughts on the under 16s ban. But Hugh Grant said this recently. This is from a news site he's opened up about his fight to keep his kids away from screenshots. At a campaigning event, the actor blasted schools for allowing Pupils screen time during the school day and he called for laptops to be banned from classrooms. The final straw, he said, was when the school started saying with some smugness, we give every child a Chromebook. He reportedly, that's more a wealthy school, I guess. Are they handing out Chromebooks? But anyway, he reportedly said, and they do a lot of lessons on their Chromebook and they do all their homework on their Chromebook. He said, this is the last thing they need and the last thing we need. I'm just another angry parent fighting the eternal exhausting and depressive battle with children who only want to be on a screen. It's pathetic. It seems to me that there is space here for a hero school, a set of schools to break the mould. And he's got three children, plus another from a previous relationship. And so, yeah, I thought, I think there's my senses. I'm speaking to a lot more parents who. This is their sense of it now that more and more parents are saying this exact same sort of sentiment and sharing that with me, that they just, they find it like this tired battle and they feel like they just, as parents, they're not being listened to by society and institutions who should be listening. Fair assessment. [00:30:29] Speaker A: Yep. Yeah, I agree. [00:30:33] Speaker B: What do you think about under 16s in the ban? [00:30:36] Speaker A: I support it. I wonder how well it will work. Although I have heard reportedly that it's working quite well in Australia. Yeah, Australia kids have been getting around age restrictions on social media. [00:30:48] Speaker B: You can't though, if you have to age verify. [00:30:50] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:30:50] Speaker B: So that means providing a credit card or ID, something that only over 16 year old could have. [00:30:55] Speaker A: Yep. [00:30:56] Speaker B: And, and, and that works. It does work. It like, for example, age verification has destroyed Pornhub's business in US states where they've bought it in for 18 year olds. [00:31:06] Speaker A: That's great. [00:31:07] Speaker B: And they like, they're like, oh, we're pulling out of your state. [00:31:09] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:31:10] Speaker B: Because they've done this because it's, it's just, it actually does work. [00:31:13] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:31:13] Speaker B: So, yeah, if it's just a tick. [00:31:15] Speaker A: Box, like what you were saying about thinking about social media differently, because I've definitely heard even among like friends of ours, it's just a way for kids to keep in touch. They need a way to keep in touch. And it's like, do they need, instead of keeping touch, like what? You know, there are so many other ways to keep in touch. [00:31:32] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:31:32] Speaker A: Don't actually need an Instagram account to do that. [00:31:34] Speaker B: And that's where the Australian ban's worth considering because the Australian Band is. It doesn't ban just straight messaging. So WhatsApp, which doesn't do it, doesn't have an algorithm, it doesn't feed you images, doesn't have a refreshing screen, all that kind of stuff. It's just a communication. [00:31:49] Speaker A: So you could Snapchat. [00:31:51] Speaker B: Well yeah, that's the thing. See Snapchat I believe has been excluded and I kind of have a problem. [00:31:54] Speaker A: With that because it's one of my biggest issues. [00:31:56] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Disappearing messages and also the fact that you can have total strangers. [00:32:00] Speaker A: I mean they'll always find a way around it. Right. But it's. The more we can do to protect our kids and to form their minds before they are exposed to this stuff, the better. Like I look at Evie and Maddie and they they've got Facebook and Insta but they don't use them very often and certainly both of them were off them for the whole of lent and seem to manage fine. [00:32:19] Speaker B: They do, yeah. But see this is the thing I think kids, this whole thing about. I've already seen some arguments that just really don't hold up. I'm going to go into it more detail in the podcast episode coming up. But people saying things like oh, but kids need it for coaching or to get in touch with their sports teams. I'm like, no, no, you can still use messenger services and there's this thing called a phone where you can actually dial a number and ring and talk to people. [00:32:44] Speaker A: Good old fashioned text messages. [00:32:45] Speaker B: Text messages, websites. Like the parents, it seems to me the parents should be involved in a sense. Like the parents can say I'll just check the rugby Facebook page and see what it says. Yeah, most parents are the ones that go between anyway. Hey, don't forget son, you got basketball practice this week. Cause they've been told about it. [00:33:02] Speaker A: Yeah, well they're the ones doing the drop offs and pickups and yeah, and. [00:33:05] Speaker B: The other thing about Australia is YouTube's not banned, which I thought was kind of interesting. But also then I'm like, yeah, that kind of makes sense, like. Cause YouTube is, it's got an algorithm. But YouTube, what it doesn't do is it's not a scrolling based mechanism, it's you watch video and you can watch like YouTube kind of makes sense too. Cause there's lots of good content you can avoid and parents can have a bit more control over that. I think so. Yeah. So I think, yeah, I really, I'm supportive of this. I think it's actually really important. It's a great example of the government using its Power to help parents. Whereas Hugh Grant, what he's saying is no one's helping us at the moment. [00:33:44] Speaker A: That's right. [00:33:45] Speaker B: And they're all working against parents. [00:33:46] Speaker A: Certainly on your school based scenario where they are on license a lot. [00:33:50] Speaker B: And there needs to be another education revolution and the next revolution. I might write an article about this. [00:33:56] Speaker A: Actually do it. [00:33:57] Speaker B: I really should. A substack article. Because I think the next revolution in education needs to be the removal of devices, basically. Except for things like computer science classes. I really do believe that I can. [00:34:09] Speaker A: See a purpose for them in terms of research at an older age for researching things. [00:34:14] Speaker B: But even. Yeah, maybe. [00:34:16] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:34:18] Speaker B: I would much rather see a revolution in the technology in school. So in a sense I would much rather see that the schools had a relationship with Kindle and kids had Kindles and there was a Kindle library for schools and the schools paid a flat fee and all of those research books were available and kids could actually read them on a Kindle. [00:34:36] Speaker A: Yeah. And know how to look things up. Yeah, yeah. [00:34:38] Speaker B: And you know. But you're sure? I think you're right. There is a place the problem. Ironically, this problem could solve itself because the technology's got so out of hand. [00:34:48] Speaker A: So you're talking. We're going towards AI now as well. Yes. [00:34:50] Speaker B: And what I mean by that is already I've heard of at least one or two schools where they've said now you cannot do your exams on a device. You now have to use pen and paper. Because that's the way to guarantee that AI is. [00:35:02] Speaker A: Someone was just saying Victoria University. Was it? Victoria University, Yeah. Taking back Britain exams. [00:35:07] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:35:07] Speaker A: And all those children, their poor wee hands. I don't know how they're gonna. [00:35:10] Speaker B: Well, and that's the challenge because AI, how else can you defeat that? [00:35:14] Speaker A: You shouldn't really be able to get a three year degree if you haven't actually had a sore hand at the end of an exam. [00:35:20] Speaker B: I really. And it really does make you question the value of an institution. Institution. When you hear some of them saying, and I've seen schools reporting this. Oh, we just allow them to use AI. And I'm like, what? [00:35:34] Speaker A: I think there's a NASA. [00:35:35] Speaker B: Come again? Come again? [00:35:36] Speaker A: I think there's possibly a. There's something in that. In the sense of there's going to be a learning curve for. How do you use AI? [00:35:42] Speaker B: Well, well, as a research tool it is phenomenal. [00:35:45] Speaker A: Yes. But not just for straight out writing your. [00:35:50] Speaker B: Well, I've heard of at least one institution, tertiary, to be fair with us Said we just don't check. [00:35:54] Speaker A: Wow. [00:35:55] Speaker B: And I'm like, what are you talking about? That is, that is absolutely unacceptable in my mind because what you're saying is I'm taking like that you're just a fee grabbing institution. I'll take your money, Katie. You come in grok AI or chat GPT. We'll just write all of your assignments for you, you hand them in and as long as you pay your fees, we're happy. [00:36:17] Speaker A: That's right. [00:36:18] Speaker B: It's like, okay. Then you come out the other side of it with a piece of paper that says, yeah, you're really smart. [00:36:22] Speaker A: In actual fact, you're not at AI ing. Yeah. [00:36:25] Speaker B: The AI is the one that earned that degree for you. And then you go out to the real world and the whole system starts to collapse because we have not been as prudent around technology. So yeah, I think the fantasy that, well, the tech bros. If you like have the fantasy is more technology equals smarter. Better, bigger, more prosperous. And I'm sorry, that theory is absolutely well and truly now starting to be proved false. And it always was false. But now more people are starting to realize, oh yeah. Like if, for example, if you can produce AI video evidence in a court case that looks real and, and it's not real, you can't trust your eyes anymore. [00:37:01] Speaker A: Yeah, that's right. We're not far off. That day. What was that TV program we both watched about the politicians with the fake videos and the name. I always forget, you know the one I mean though, I was it. [00:37:11] Speaker B: I can't even remember, was it the British one? [00:37:12] Speaker A: There's one called Cyber War. But there's one that's. Yeah, it's British. [00:37:16] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:37:16] Speaker A: And they manipulate like CCTV footage and they manipulate videos of. But it's. We are so close to that. I think we probably got that right. [00:37:25] Speaker B: Like what was that? [00:37:26] Speaker A: But it just goes to show. [00:37:28] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:37:29] Speaker A: How dangerous. [00:37:31] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:37:31] Speaker A: This, this technology is. I've already seen fake AI of the new Pope. [00:37:35] Speaker B: Yeah. And that fake AI video of the new Pope. [00:37:38] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:37:39] Speaker B: Is almost seamless. I'm someone who works in this video and editing space. Right. Cause it's part of the missionary apostolate work that we do. And so I'm working in the space on an almost daily basis and I use some of these tools. And so for me I was able to spot. Yeah. It took me if. [00:37:56] Speaker A: You know. Right. You can kind of. [00:37:57] Speaker B: Well, but to be fair, I didn't spot it straight away. Initially I'm like, hmm, is this real? And then I. So I Had to listen. And after about a minute or two, and normally it doesn't take me that long. I could see. Yeah, there's things I can see the edges, the rough edges, the seams, if you like that show. It's been sewn together. It's artificial and I could see them. But here's the thing. I guarantee you, and the fact that I saw people sharing this, I guarantee you that probably most people would not be that aware to recognize. [00:38:30] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:38:30] Speaker B: I'd have to look. That was a forgery. He's sitting there in front of a camera, speaking and delivering a monologue. In actual fact, the whole thing was AI crafted. [00:38:40] Speaker A: That's crazy. [00:38:41] Speaker B: But it. And what was interesting was the way I spotted it was not through the image because the video image was actually relatively seamless. The way I spotted it was through the actual pronunciation in a couple of places. You know, natural speech has a certain intonation and once you know the person you're speaking to, you hear their pauses and their intonation and the way in which they have a staccato in the way they deliver their speech and. Or you start to get used to it. Yeah, but what. So if all of a sudden someone is speaking and then you hear unnatural cuts and strange ups and downs, you know, at that point. And there were a couple of brief little tiny things that I went straight. I went, yeah, I don't think this is real. And I went and just verified. No, it's not real. But most people wouldn't. [00:39:29] Speaker A: No, that's right. Yep. [00:39:30] Speaker B: Can't believe your eyes. [00:39:31] Speaker A: The TV series is called the Capture. [00:39:34] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:39:35] Speaker A: Was that the two seasons of it? [00:39:36] Speaker B: Was that the one with the. It was the one at the truck stop, wasn't it? [00:39:41] Speaker A: Yeah. So there's a soldier in the first one and they say that he attacked a girl or something. They edit the CCTV footage to show he did something. He just got off a charge and they were angry that he got off. [00:39:49] Speaker B: The charge and so they faked the video. [00:39:51] Speaker A: To the. Fake the video. [00:39:51] Speaker B: What was this? [00:39:52] Speaker A: I don't think was about a politician, I don't think. And they. Oh, you should watch. You would. That is right up your alley. Okay, yeah, no, definitely. It was on tvnz. I'm not sure if it still is, but definitely worth. [00:40:02] Speaker B: I've gone back to my. I've gone back to my 80s TV shows recently, I have to say. [00:40:07] Speaker A: Anyway, not yet. [00:40:08] Speaker B: There's no AI in Battlestar Galactica 1978. Yeah, yeah, okay. But yeah, it is. So it's. It's I think the more that governments help parents, the one thing that's interesting. And again, I'll talk about this more in the upcoming podcast. People say, oh, but if I have to age verify, that's all of us. And the government has my data or this. [00:40:28] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, no, no, no. If you were on social media, your data. [00:40:31] Speaker B: I don't know how to tell you this, but your data is out there. If you own a phone, you're on any social media. [00:40:38] Speaker A: If you Google bought anything off Temu lately. [00:40:41] Speaker B: Yeah. If you. Even if you Google, your data is not just out there, it's being stored and it's being shared. [00:40:48] Speaker A: Yeah. So honestly, we're well past Big Brother, just watching. [00:40:51] Speaker B: Well, I like to say to people, would you, Would you. Have you ever bought anything online with a credit card? [00:40:56] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:40:57] Speaker B: And most people I know, I've said yes at least once. I've done that at least once. Most people, it's on a semi regular basis. Okay. That's all that's going to be asked of you again is to actually produce a credit card. Probably will be for most people. Will be enough verification. Because 16 year olds can't get credit cards. I don't think there's anywhere that will let them get a credit card I don't know of. So. Yeah, so, yeah, anyway. Interesting. But so in general, I think we're supportive or you and I are in agreement about that. Yeah, with the usual caveats. The thing to recognise though is, and Simon o' Connor said this the other night on a panel show that I was on with him. It is just at this stage an announcement like they haven't. It's a private member's bill, it's not a government bill in New Zealand. Hasn't been drawn out of the ballot yet. They're just talking out big time. [00:41:42] Speaker A: And of course they are. [00:41:44] Speaker B: And that's why Hugh Graham, I think what he said was so important. We actually want people to take action and be courageous and go, no, we need to sort this out. [00:41:51] Speaker A: There's other celebrities as well that are on this bandwagon. I think Kate Winslet's big on the. No, no phones. [00:41:57] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:41:57] Speaker A: The evil of social media. [00:41:59] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:42:00] Speaker A: I can remember who else. I saw another one the other day and I thought, yeah, you know, do. [00:42:03] Speaker B: You know who else is. Go on the. Some of the biggest heads of the tech companies. [00:42:07] Speaker A: Really. [00:42:08] Speaker B: Steve Jobs was notorious. No, I'm not letting my kids have an iPad, he says, because they're not ready for it. And he's pumping these products in the market and There was another lady I was just reading recently, I can't remember where she was CEO of, but she was like, no, we don't let our kids on. The rule is 16, I think in our house. And the research shows that 16 is the. Seems to be the minimum. That's been our rule. Anyway. Yeah, this related to this. There was this interesting thing I came across. My kid wants to be an influencer. Is that a bad thing? And someone asked Wired magazine one of those silly self help things. [00:42:42] Speaker A: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:42:43] Speaker B: Tell me, dear Katie, I'm having problems with my, you know, my juniper bulbs. How should I grow them? Well, you know, and you're like, yeah. [00:42:50] Speaker A: Wrong person to ask about bulbs. [00:42:52] Speaker B: But then they asked you the parenting hacks. And some of them today are, gosh, they used to be good, but now they're sort of some of the parenting tips and replies you get. And so Wired magazine. So someone said, my kid wants to be an influencer. Is that a bad thing? Wired magazine said all that collective angst about television, movies, newspapers and theatre. I honestly, who, seriously, who had collective angst about newspapers? [00:43:16] Speaker A: Maybe angst is the wrong word. Yeah, not newspapers. [00:43:19] Speaker B: What she's saying is like social fear of it. She's talking about a moral panic, you know, and people sort of freaking out about television. [00:43:26] Speaker A: Maybe people see about that theater. [00:43:30] Speaker B: No, I don't think so. [00:43:31] Speaker A: Tabloids. [00:43:31] Speaker B: No. So, yeah, and. And ironically, the angst about television. Yeah, it is a bit of a, an open sewer. It has been for a long time now. So at movies, regular R18 content now on TV. I think we're frogs in a pot here. [00:43:50] Speaker A: You finish the quote. [00:43:50] Speaker B: But anyway, sorry, says the author. So this is. The author in response said it's this. So, you know, in other words, don't worry about. In fact, they want to be an influencer. They said this is a lineage, a rite of passage through which all generations must proceed. In other words, through these major technological. [00:44:05] Speaker A: I'm not angst about these things. [00:44:06] Speaker B: No, no. Through technological developments and also angst, I guess. But I'm like, no, again, that is assuming the wrong things about social media. It's not just like a TV which broadcasts something at 5pm and if you don't watch it or video it, you miss it. And then you can just turn it off again. The TV is not interacting with your brain and your neural pathways. It really isn't. And certainly not in the same way. Cause it's funny that it's actually quite controlled. Like even binge watching it feeds your neural pathway. Addictive cycle. Cause it's like, more, more, more. And you watch. If you binge watch a show, what you'll notice is that each episode is designed to really. I was gonna say gesticulate your dopamine because that's not the right word. Articulate your dopamine levels, because what it does is you have a big burst at the beginning to hook you into the episode. You have what you might call the lull. And then bang, at the very end, there's a hook. Oh my gosh, the car went off the cliff. [00:45:13] Speaker A: You know, in credits for the kids watching 24. [00:45:16] Speaker B: Yes. [00:45:16] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:45:17] Speaker B: And then they'll give you a little. Often they'll give you a little preview of the next episode and your brain. I noticed this some years ago when I was. I watched a few episodes of something back to back and I thought I saw the cycle. It's like, yep, up through the middle, down and then massive high. And then you get hooked into the down again. And I was like, your brain likes it because what's gonna happen you. Dopamine. And so social media is, you know, a much more intense version of that. And your brain wants to be addictive. [00:45:46] Speaker A: I don't think it's a big bad thing for a child to want to be an influencer. The question is, what do they want to be an influencer of? So I think that our two almost 16 year olds are influences. [00:45:58] Speaker B: Yes. [00:45:59] Speaker A: In the sense of being witness to something that's a bit different. [00:46:03] Speaker B: Goodness, truth and beauty, Christian culture, pro life stuff. [00:46:06] Speaker A: We want our kids to have an influence. We want our kids to want to, quote, unquote, change the world. [00:46:11] Speaker B: Shape the culture. [00:46:11] Speaker A: Yeah, shape the culture. But I mean, and if social media is a tool they can use to do that without it becoming. [00:46:18] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:46:18] Speaker A: A negative. Awesome. Because you can use it. I. There are priests out there. There are people out there that I follow. Right. Christian ministries. [00:46:26] Speaker B: Our ministry's using it. [00:46:28] Speaker A: Yeah, that's right. So it's about using those tools to. To further the kingdom. Yeah, to further a good thing. [00:46:34] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's. You're right. And it's how. The how is quite important. But one thing I would encourage our daughters is like, if they. Cause they're already talking about. Yeah, I'm kind of interested in doing something in this space. And I would say to them, okay, think about things like, first of all, does it actually add goodness, truth and beauty to the world? Cause there's plenty of reactive garbage, low tier nonsense. I call it cat poster philosophy. You know, where you got a Picture of a cat or some. I mean, might not be a cat obviously, but. And the quote is, live your dreams. [00:47:06] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:47:06] Speaker B: And I often show a demonstration of this to people. I take that exact same poster and I replace it. No, I replace it with an image of Hitler and keep the phrase the same. And then I say, what do you think about it now? [00:47:16] Speaker A: Clever. [00:47:17] Speaker B: So you know, you've got. So try and add something deeper, something of value to the world. And also I would say to them use long form, either voice or, or, and, or video. [00:47:26] Speaker A: Oh yeah. [00:47:27] Speaker B: And written's another good one as well because they are more creative, they're more long form. You're engaging at a deeper level. They're not just. What would you call it? A digital Alzheimer's inducing. Because that's what it is. Digital dementia is a term that is being used now because people's memories are lapsed. [00:47:42] Speaker A: Well, those just the reels and the shorts and the. [00:47:45] Speaker B: I work in schools and I've had senior teachers tell me now when I'm going in to prepare for stuff. And I'm aware of this and they often, they have to speak to all of the people. They can only do short bursts of a few minutes at a time. And I'm like, I've had this from teachers and I'm like, I believe them. They're not. And, But I'm like. And it's not their fault. [00:48:02] Speaker A: Why though? [00:48:03] Speaker B: It's a technology. This is the technology. [00:48:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:05] Speaker B: So yes, I would say to them, think about the like long form video creating interesting, well researched videos. I watched a video late last night when I really should have been probably in be to sleeping, but it was a shortish one, but it was a great guy, just a historian guy who clearly had done his due diligence and it was a video about where he thinks possibly Hitler's real body is buried. Now it's not a conspiracy theory, so. [00:48:29] Speaker A: Definitely something you need to know and last thing you're going to be. [00:48:32] Speaker B: Well, yeah, yeah. It's not a, it's not a conspiracy theory. He's, he's actually. And he's done the due diligence. He's dug up the dug up. He's, he's produced the evidence and he's right. Like, like he shows that. Yeah. In actual fact there is a bit of an issue with the, There was a pressure, political pressure that was put on the Russians to say, hey, we've got his body. But there was always questions because there's actually several bodies in there and shades of Saddam Hussein. Yeah. And so he thinks, and I think this is right, he said he did not survive Berlin. So anyone saying, oh, he got out. No, he didn't. He died in Berlin. And he. All the evidence is clear. He died by possibly suicide or possibly one of his adjutants actually might have delivered the. The actual fatal shot. But that's irrelevant. The point is, though, that he said his loyal henchmen didn't want the body to be discovered by the Russians. And he. He's produced what I think is a reasonably compelling evidentiary case for why that would be the case. And therefore they had things like his loose dental work. They just dropped it into the grave with the other burnt bodies. And people go, oh, that's. But there's things that don't, like, the height's too short. There's other things that are not quite right. And so that's a fascinating video. So this guy sat down and done hours and hours and hours of research. His history is his thing. He's not an idiot. His whole channel is about history. He's not a conspiracy theorist. He's not just sort of randomly plucking stuff out of thin ears and. Thin ears, sorry. And producing like a five minute video, you know, And I'm like, that's the kind of value that people can add if they do it well. [00:49:58] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:49:58] Speaker B: You know, so, Yeah, I. The only thing I'd say is this is a question to consider because there is a negative version of an influencer. [00:50:05] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:50:06] Speaker B: How do you counteract that desire? [00:50:09] Speaker A: It's a hard one because we don't have any kids that want to be that. [00:50:11] Speaker B: No. Yeah, yeah, I think, yeah. What would you do to counter it? He'd probably. I mean, part of it's role modeling. Surely they're going to see what you value and what you say is important. I guess have the conversation with them and then maybe point them towards examples, you know, like, Nathaniel watches certain YouTube channels that are really, you know, he's got phenomenal facts about history. [00:50:38] Speaker A: He's come out with stuff and you're like, where'd you learn that? [00:50:40] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And he's. And, and they are like. And that's the kind of stuff you could sort of direct them towards maybe and they sort of get a feel for, oh, yeah, I could do something like this when I'm older. [00:50:49] Speaker A: Something with a bit more intelligence behind it. Again, shilling product. [00:50:51] Speaker B: It's like my guy, last night, my guy, my Guy produced this YouTube historian video. And I know people who would watch that and go, this is boring. It's Just a guy talking and with these images and footage and stuff and. And just presenting his case, you know, where's all the Minecraft, you know, the constantly changing flashing lights, all the product. [00:51:12] Speaker A: Ads every five minutes? [00:51:13] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:51:14] Speaker A: When are you missing those? [00:51:14] Speaker B: Yeah. So. But yeah, show them that kind of stuff maybe. Alrighty. So, Katie, that piece of music there, you know what that means? It means it's time for our moment of goodness, truth. Would you like to go first or would you like me to go first? [00:51:44] Speaker A: You go first because I have to locate my moments. [00:51:48] Speaker B: Hugo, my friend. Hugo. Hugo first. Okay. Well, my moment of goodness, truth or beauty? [00:51:54] Speaker A: Well, maybe I should go first, looking at yours. [00:51:57] Speaker B: Why? [00:51:58] Speaker A: Because my. Because then we'll be in the right order, you will see. [00:52:00] Speaker B: Oh, well, maybe you should go first then. You go first then. Okay. [00:52:03] Speaker A: Because both, in case you haven't guessed, both of our moments of goodness, truth and beauty about our new Pope, Leo xiv. [00:52:10] Speaker B: Yes. Strong name, out of the game. [00:52:15] Speaker A: What I loved about watching that first video of him on the loggia at St. Peter's yeah. [00:52:22] Speaker B: When he came out on the lodge. [00:52:24] Speaker A: Thing, the first words out of his mouth were from what, the Bible? [00:52:29] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:52:29] Speaker A: They were scriptural and I just thought it was so beautiful. And so I'm just going to read a paragraph. Yeah, the first paragraph of his first speech. The world. [00:52:38] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:52:39] Speaker A: Peace be with you. Dearest brothers and sisters. This was the. Because it comes straight from the gospel. This was the first grating of Christ, the risen Christ, the good shepherd, who gave his life for the flock of God. I too would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families and all people, wherever they are, and all the peoples and all the earth. Peace be with you. This is the peace of the risen Christ, A disarming and humble and preserving peace that comes from God. God who loves all of us. Us without any limitations or conditions, which is beautiful. And I love that bit about it being disarming and humbling and humble. [00:53:14] Speaker B: Beautiful. [00:53:14] Speaker A: Like, I just think for that to be his first words as the Pope was really. [00:53:20] Speaker B: That's beautiful tone. [00:53:21] Speaker A: And it's made me. I've been reflecting on it the last few days. Like, what is it? There's something about this man, you know, you can see his humility. And I feel like I was an adult when I really got to know JP too. You know, he was elected the year before I was born. I was probably more in my late teens, early 20s, when I really started to go, hey, this guy's got something, you know, he's got a Gift for preaching and teaching and disseminating the word of the Lord. [00:53:47] Speaker B: This guy's got it. [00:53:48] Speaker A: He's got it. And it reminds me of that. And the reason it reminds me of that, because I felt like, hopefully, I'm hope, I'm hopeful that with Pope Leo, as I was with JP2, I can sit at their feet and be a Mary and not be a Martha. [00:54:03] Speaker B: So listen to the teaching and get some. [00:54:06] Speaker A: Not even necessarily listening. It's like a process of osmosis. Because with Benedict, I felt like, not smart enough half the time. [00:54:13] Speaker B: Did you? [00:54:13] Speaker A: Yeah. And with Francis, I felt a bit confused sometimes. God, you know, rest in peace. [00:54:18] Speaker B: There were some issues. [00:54:19] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:54:19] Speaker B: Shall we say we'll leave it there. [00:54:21] Speaker A: And I think for women, we often Marthas in our religious life, we're running. In our life of faith, we're running around. [00:54:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:54:27] Speaker A: All the time, doing stuff for everybody anyway, so it's really hard to sit in prayer and just be. And just listen. But I feel like just having heard these words and I think you're going to talk about autom in a minute. Yeah, there's. There's an ability in it. And because of the way he preaches, maybe in the. The words he's saying, that I can just sit and be and listen and receive them. [00:54:49] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, that's good. And. And because it's just. It's. It's beautiful, deep, rich. But also it's plain speaking. [00:54:57] Speaker A: It's disarming. [00:54:57] Speaker B: Yeah, it's disarming. [00:54:58] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:54:59] Speaker B: Maybe we should Google or someone should Google and correct us if I've got that wrong. I might be. I should have. Maybe I interrupted you prematurely, but I saw reporting on this recently where they were saying, no, the BBC. So maybe the BBC just cut out the bit where he talked about Christ. [00:55:10] Speaker A: Find a video. Look, it's all. It's. My algorithm is pushing it. [00:55:13] Speaker B: No, we'll figure that out later because that's. We're pressed for time, but please forgive us if I've got that wrong. We did not mean to spread the great evil of misinformation or disinformation. Such things are vile, repugnant sins in the world today. So. But, yeah, maybe it was just. BBC cut out the second part where he talked about Christ. [00:55:31] Speaker A: Possibly. [00:55:33] Speaker B: But. Yeah. Anyway, that is beautiful. And that is a good insight, too, Katie, about the. Yeah, funnily you should say that about Benedict, because for me, yeah, I know Benedict XVI is, like, really concentrated on Benedict. [00:55:47] Speaker A: I had to really concentrate. [00:55:48] Speaker B: Yeah, you do have to. [00:55:49] Speaker A: That's not a bad Thing. That's a good thing to stretch yourself. But, you know, I had the. I had the beautiful experience of encountering John Paul II twice. And there was just something about his presence. [00:56:02] Speaker B: Yeah. He just had a way about a. [00:56:04] Speaker A: Mate, the way he spoke. [00:56:05] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:56:05] Speaker A: It could kind of just flow over you. [00:56:07] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. I think. [00:56:08] Speaker A: And invited you deeper for me. [00:56:10] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't know. And maybe it is just my cause. Not every pope or spiritual leader or teacher or preacher is gonna resonate with you. [00:56:17] Speaker A: And none of them are perfect because they're all humans at the end. [00:56:19] Speaker B: No. And they've got different charisms. And someone's gonna go, I really love this guy. Great Christian teacher. And others go, oh, yeah. Didn't really do it for me, but this guy did. It's like Jordan Peterson. Jordan Peterson, I think, really does speak to men more so than women. And I've met women who really have. Who love what he has to say as well. But generally speaking, I've met a lot more women who say, I don't get it. It just didn't really appeal to me. Then I have men saying that, so. [00:56:45] Speaker A: Because they're like, get up and make your bed. Well, do it. [00:56:47] Speaker B: Yeah. And so that's to be expected of any Christian teacher, I think, as well, obviously. Unless it's Christ, because Christ cuts through all of that, which sort of seems relevant then. That. I'm talking about his very first homily at the very first. First, sorry, Mass that he celebrated. And I don't mind admitting that I was in tears. I had a little tear. You remember I was sitting next to you on the couch and I. I kept just. Katie's like, I'm just trying to relax here. And. [00:57:16] Speaker A: You listening to this homily. [00:57:17] Speaker B: I was commentating. I was pausing and commentating and giving you bits of commentary. [00:57:21] Speaker A: And it's the Italian and your English going at the same time. And I'm like, look, my brain's. My brain. [00:57:25] Speaker B: You're Probably. Because she speaks Italian. So she's got the Italian. [00:57:28] Speaker A: I'm translating it myself and listening to. [00:57:31] Speaker B: An English translation over the top. And yeah, it was quite funny, wasn't it? And I'm like, we're back, baby. We're so back. But, yeah, it was great. But here's the bit that really, I think just really, it was great in many ways. I think you could call it the perfect sermon because it was spiritual. It was focused on the holiness of Christ, grounded absolutely in Christ. And it was short, sharp, and straight to the point. It drew out a scripture. Yeah. It wasn't just some guy getting up and just talking about stuff he'd seen that week or his personal story or it was really a hum. [00:58:06] Speaker A: Are you nervous about being Pope, guys? Yeah. [00:58:08] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:58:09] Speaker A: I mean, he is probably. [00:58:11] Speaker B: This is the hallmark, I think, of good preaching in that way. It's certainly like a homily or a sermon, which is the humility of the preacher is important. Are they able to sort of have us focus on Christ and not themselves, you know, or the deeper truth and not themselves. But anyway, here's the bit that I really loved. Today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure. These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised, or at best, tolerated and pitied. Like, I'm hearing these words and I'm going, this guy understands our culture. He really does. Yet precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed. A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family, and so many other wounds that affect afflict our society. And I'm so stoked to hear him say the crisis of the family. Today, too, there are many settings in which Jesus, although appreciated as a man, is reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman. This is true not only among non believers, but also among many baptized Christians who thus end up living at this level in a state of practical atheism. And I was like, holy moly. Yes, he understands. He this is it, right? This is the world that has been entrusted to us, a world in which we are called to be a witness to our joyful faith in Christ the Savior. It is essential to do this, first of all, in our personal relationship with the Lord and our commitment to a daily journey of conversion. Then to do so as a church, experiencing together our fidelity to the Lord and bringing the good news to all. I mean, it's just. And rereading again now I'm like, that is. Yeah, at the time, it was awesome. [01:00:14] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:00:14] Speaker B: Even going back again, I'm like, it really is good. [01:00:18] Speaker A: And I get how awesome it is. [01:00:19] Speaker B: Well, I read an article actually, just yesterday or the day before, and someone who knows him said one of the reasons why there was a little bit of delay in him getting down to the logie was he actually stopped to write down what he was going to say, and apparently this has been a trait of his. He does not want to speak off the cuff. And I could believe that as an Augustinian who studies Santa Fe, he had. [01:00:40] Speaker A: His notes there as well. Yeah. [01:00:41] Speaker B: And even if that was one change in the papacy, that would be a really. I'm serious, it would be a really good thing. Cause that off the cuff stuff is not great unless you're competent. And really, like, when you look at the papal speeches that, like, they released them, there's versions of them you can get from the Vatican where they have the actual prepared remarks and they. In red, where they go off the cuff. Pope Benedict spoke often off the car. I didn't realise how much, but that shows he was a deep scholar and he had so much knowledge when he talked, he was able to. Just to speak. And he was a bit, I think, slower and more careful in his delivery, but generally speaking. [01:01:17] Speaker A: So John Porteau used to read, but he. Every now and then he'd go off the cuff, but it was always sort of quite sweet. Like there was a time where they were yelling so loudly, JP2, we love you. [01:01:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:01:28] Speaker A: He couldn't keep going and he stopped and he said, JP2 loves you too. [01:01:31] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He was just a charismatic speaker, wasn't he? Something about him. But anyway, that homily and that message, it is perfect. And straight away, it signaled to the whole world. Yeah. And the culture needs evangelization and we need to understand the culture. And if you go back through his previous presentations and writings and stuff that are available before. Well, before he became Pope, I have been doing that. This man. You've been going down the rabbit hole every night, haven't you? This man understands the crisis of our age, that. That we are in. He understands that we need to speak to culture. Like, as I said, I was in tears. And I. [01:02:05] Speaker A: The last paragraph, where he talks about a daily journey of conversion. [01:02:08] Speaker B: Yep. [01:02:09] Speaker A: Like that. You can. [01:02:10] Speaker B: Our personal relationship with the Lord is essential. [01:02:12] Speaker A: It's every day. Right. Like, it's not just. It's every moment of every day. [01:02:15] Speaker B: This is shades of Pope Benedict, where he said, christianity is not an ideology, it's not a set of principles, it is not a dogma, obviously. It has dogmas and doctrines and everything else. He said it is a relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. And he said that multiple times throughout his papacy. And so there's just shades of that again, which is just great. And I think also for me, when I struggle a bit in my work, can I be Honest with our listeners that under the previous papacy I kind of felt like my work was sort of a little bit, what shall I say, looked down upon. In a sense it was almost. Yeah, it wasn't quite. And I knew that wasn't true. But at times it felt like I was sort of doing this thing and I was like, I wish I had more support from the top with this homily. I feel we're back into that mode of like when he talked about this is where our missionary outreach is most desperately needed, where it's at best tolerated and pitied. I often experience that in front of school crowds, you know, and young people and it's sort of like, oh yeah, there's religious people, whatever. And in actual fact, he's right. And we haven't had that encouragement for quite a while now and we need to get back to that. And again, I'm not trying to criticize Pope Francis. Pope Francis had an emphasis and all the rest of it. But I think it's really important that we're back into the fundamentals again because the culture needs that from the church right now. And yeah. So that's my moment of goodness truth of you. What about your scripture? [01:03:46] Speaker A: Oh, I was going to do something from old mate Isaiah because I love old mate Isaiah. [01:03:51] Speaker B: Yeah. But I've got Isaiah too. [01:03:52] Speaker A: I know. [01:03:54] Speaker B: And we didn't plan that either. I got Isaiah 33. [01:03:58] Speaker A: Oh no. I was saving mine for another time because he's one of my faves. [01:04:01] Speaker B: My guy. Hey, my guy Isaiah. [01:04:03] Speaker A: My favorites, Isaiah. He's always got something good. [01:04:06] Speaker B: He's not, he's not sketchy. [01:04:08] Speaker A: It was today's gospel really struck me today. And literally just the last line. [01:04:14] Speaker B: Yes. [01:04:14] Speaker A: Which is, which is what I command you is to love one another. And we've heard it. Everybody's heard it. You've heard it hundreds of times, probably thousands. But I'd never considered the word command as much before. [01:04:28] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:04:28] Speaker A: You have to do this. You have to love each other if you're a Christian. [01:04:33] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:04:33] Speaker A: And that means in every sphere, that means the politicians that you don't like so much. [01:04:39] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:04:39] Speaker A: You know, the teacher at your kids school that you might not get along with. See, I to Ito. You have to love. Yeah, that's. And it just, yeah. Just really struck me. [01:04:47] Speaker B: It's amazing. Hey. And it's like it's not, it's a non negotiable. [01:04:50] Speaker A: Yeah. If you're not doing it like maybe. And if, if the only question you ask yourself at the end of each day when you're reflecting on your daily journey of conversion is how did I love today? Or how did I not love today? Then that's enough. [01:05:03] Speaker B: Do you know what I keep saying to audiences when I talk about how to. Like one of the essentials on the list of essentials for the Christian life. What's that, Christians? If you want to live it well, just keep asking yourself this one simple question. At any given moment, doesn't matter when or where. And that question is this. How can I love more authentically in this moment? [01:05:22] Speaker A: Yep. [01:05:23] Speaker B: And the context will change the answer to the question each time. Whether you're in traffic, whether you're with your family, whether you're in a business meeting. But how can I love more authentically in this moment? And that's like Christ love. Like Christ. Keep asking yourself that question. [01:05:35] Speaker A: When I was overseas, we used to sing a hymn in Spanish and the like, a loose translation is, at the end of my life, I will be examined on love. That's the question you'll get asked when you get to the gates. [01:05:47] Speaker B: I'm scared about that. [01:05:48] Speaker A: Where did you love? Where did you not? Where did you fail to love? [01:05:51] Speaker B: You know, please, God, forgive me. [01:05:52] Speaker A: Yeah, where are we omitting love? And look, it's not easy, you know, Every day you're gonna fail. Sorry, sorry, guys. Break it to you. But you are gonna fail on this every single day of your life. [01:06:01] Speaker B: But, wow. [01:06:02] Speaker A: But we should be trying that little bit more every day or choosing to love a little bit more every day. And the hidden things that we do, and in the. The hidden line, especially in those in the hidden and the invisible, the things that people don't see. [01:06:15] Speaker B: It's so beautiful. That's good. Well, my scripture was Isaiah. I did go to my God, your guy, Isaiah 33. It was in morning prayer, actually, a few weeks ago. And it really struck out to me one particular part of it. I'll read it to you. The sinners in Zion are afraid. Trembling has seized the godless. Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings? He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, least they hold a bribe. Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil. He will dwell on the heights. His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks. His bread will be given him, his water will be sure. Now, I love the Isaiah and his. He's very poetic in the way he writes. And that's one of the reasons why I often say to people, when you're approaching Isaiah, be aware of that fact. Some people treat him like. [01:07:14] Speaker A: That's why I like it so much. [01:07:14] Speaker B: Well, I think it's beautiful. It is great. But some people treat it like, in places literally where they should be seeing the poetic nature he's teaching still. And it's true. And none of that changes. But the way he's teaching is. It's beautiful. But you know what really stuck out to me? That the person who is righteous is someone who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil. And the first thing I thought of was entertainment media, social media, the content we are consuming. I thought about gossip and I was like, far out. It's not just like, literally watching actual violence unfold in the real world in front of you, but it's also like watching stuff like that on tv and the sexualized content and the. Yeah. And I was like, man. And even, like, watching a YouTube video. That's just gossip. And you're watching along, you're like, well, I'm not gossiping. I'm just watching this other person's gossip. [01:08:07] Speaker A: To me, recently, we're talking about something completely different. But this phrase she used really stuck with me. She said, what's your why? Like, when you're doing something or making decisions about something or even that even watching something, what is my why am I watching this? And since Lent, with, you know, not having access to my social. Choosing not to have access to my social media. [01:08:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:08:25] Speaker A: I have noticed myself a lot more actually go, oh, why am I watching this? Like, just because I can now doesn't mean I should. [01:08:31] Speaker B: I think it's so true. And more and more, I'm seeing that in my own life. Yeah. Is why. And what is this actually doing? It's just sometimes it's just feeding himself. [01:08:39] Speaker A: I guarantee you Pope Leo's not sitting on his couch of an evening watching some random YouTube video. [01:08:44] Speaker B: No. Well, if he is, hopefully he's watching mine. Wouldn't that be hilarious? Shout out to one day, Pope Leo's in some public setting and he just talks about, oh, yeah, listening to the Little Flock podcast. We see be like, what the heck? You'd fall off your chest. That's it. No more episodes. We've had our peak. We've reached the top. Yeah, that would be hilarious, man. I often wonder about that one day if some famous person saw a piece of content. Because I've produced a lot of stuff over the years and some of it, I look back, oh, that was pretty garbage. I didn't really know what I was talking about. You hopefully don't stumble across something like that. But, yeah, funny. Yeah, that would be quite funny. That would be why. What is my why? [01:09:29] Speaker A: It's not your why. [01:09:30] Speaker B: My why of what produce. [01:09:32] Speaker A: Why you make the stuff. [01:09:33] Speaker B: No, I make it because I want to try and increase goodness, truth and beauty in the world. I didn't always have that focus, so forgive me if you stumble across stuff of mine that doesn't meet criteria. And secondly, also because I want to, if I can, if I can help someone come closer to goodness and truth, or particularly to grow closer to Christ, or at the very least, like, for example, when I talk about sexuality in relationships, if someone says, I'm going to change my life and I'm not going to live like a sexual hedonist, even if they don't go the full hog and say, I'm joining the Christian church and converting to Christ, I would still be happy that I've given them the gift of a life that will be far better and far less risky and damaged if they follow that vision. [01:10:13] Speaker A: You know, men to that. [01:10:15] Speaker B: That's the why. Alrighty, Katie. So that was our moment of goodness, truth and beauty. We've got one question to explore. How can families make the most of Pentecost? So I was thinking about this and really, I think it's probably an underappreciated feast in the church. Like, it's. Yeah. We got like Christmas and then Easter and really it should be Easter and then Christmas. You know, it's in the order of, you know, because Easter is the resurrection. It's our saving moment. Christ conquers death. Yeah. But then you think, yeah, Pentecost is sort of like just a bit of a tack on and it's. But it's like, it's really important. [01:11:01] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:11:01] Speaker B: So how can families make the most of Pentecost, do you think? [01:11:04] Speaker A: Gosh, I mean, it's a hard question because I feel like maybe we as a family need to. [01:11:09] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:11:10] Speaker A: Like, find a new focus on this. But. [01:11:13] Speaker B: Well, even maybe just having a focus on it. [01:11:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:11:15] Speaker B: Yeah. So. So saying, okay. Oh, oh, that's right, kids, today's Pentecost, but actually sort of having a sense of. Before you even get into it, say today in the Christian, next week in the Christian feast is going to Pentecost. And here's what it is. [01:11:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:11:28] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a bit different. It really should be. Funnily enough, if you're a Catholic, by the way, it used to be a massive. There was an eight day octave, which is eight days of feasting and everyday solemnities. There was the octave of Pentecost. So we have an octave of Easter, obviously. Christmas. Christmas. No, you're right. [01:11:47] Speaker A: No, Christmas is not an octave. Well, it's not. It is an octave, but every day is not a solemnity because otherwise you lose the actual solemnities that exist between Christmas and New Year. [01:11:55] Speaker B: Yeah, you're right. So. So Easter is though trivia for our listeners are not kissing. Come on, guys, stop the inside baseball, please. But the point I'm making is it was under Pope Paul VI in the 70s, unfortunately, it was taken out of the liturgical calendar in Catholic, sort of. [01:12:13] Speaker A: Accidentally, if you believe the stories. [01:12:14] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And apparently even the Pope didn't know what he'd signed off on. Some overly zealous liturgist who decided they thought it'd be in the best interests of the church to do this. But in actual fact, I'm not convinced it was. And you know, eight days of feasting around Pentecost would remind us. Yeah, this is important. This is the, this is the, the first moments of the Christian church where it's given its mission. [01:12:38] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:12:39] Speaker B: And that's why it's so important, because it's missionary focused. Easter is going out, right? Yeah. Easter is about us. And look, I was, I was. I'm preparing an episode of tomorrow's episode of the Lamp is about the woman at the well. And spoiler alert for those who are going to be tuning into tomorrow's episode as well. Apologies, but St. Augustine taught about the fact that she. Oh, actually, no, no, it wasn't St. Augustine. So I won't have to spoil this. I won't tell you this. If you want to hear what St. Augustine said about the leaving behind of the water jar, then tune in. But the point is that that woman at the well, we often forget this. She has a conversion. She gets the living water. Then she straight away she becomes a missionary. She goes and tells others in the village about him. And she's also an outcast in her village because she's at the well at noon, which she shouldn't be there at noon. She's alone with no other woman. Normally morning and night is the water gathering time. So clearly she's trying to hide something. And so she goes from that to having the living waters and then becoming a missionary. And so Easter is like, yes, the saving celebration, but it's like, okay, but Pentecost is the mission. And you know, like it should be. [01:13:46] Speaker A: It's a mission and it's also where the apostles are equipped for the mission. [01:13:50] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:13:51] Speaker A: Because of the gift of the Holy Spirit. [01:13:52] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:13:52] Speaker A: I think possibly that's. Yeah. I think our parish does a good job of Pentecost or has done for the last few years of making. [01:13:58] Speaker B: We have eight days of we make it and Easter. Easter Sunday. Pentecost Sunday. Like we were actually. I was at a planning meeting last night was being discussed and there's a big. There's going to be a barbecue afterwards and. And the feast. We have something called pedal mania around here, which is this guy who. A bit of an engineer and he comes out, sets up an area, roped off area. [01:14:18] Speaker A: Bunch of crazy bikes. [01:14:19] Speaker B: There's crazy bikes and. And all sorts of things that are just. He's welded bikes together and pedals that go backwards to make you go forwards. It's pretty. It's awesome. And even the adults love it. So he's going to come out and do his thing and there'll be barbecue. I believe we're trying to have karaoke. Even so, you know, like it's. [01:14:35] Speaker A: Whose idea was that? [01:14:37] Speaker B: Well, it actually was mine. I suggested it and I'm not even the greatest karaoke fan. And it just. It blurted out of me and you. [01:14:45] Speaker A: Couldn'T take the words. [01:14:46] Speaker B: I couldn't help myself. I saw the words leaving my mouth. So. But the point is, so. So we have a. Obviously we come together. Sunday worship and the sacrifice of the Mass. We're there for that. At the end of Mass, the priests will offer anyone who wants to come up the front and receive a blessing. They will lay on hands on them and pray for an invitation of the Holy Spirit special Pentecost blessing. And then we go and feast outside together. And that's Pentecost. It's for that purpose. And then there's a whole eight days of stuff. So that. That's. Yeah. I mean any church can do that. But in a family, maybe it's just even focusing on the day. [01:15:21] Speaker A: I'm talking about the gifts of the Spirit. [01:15:22] Speaker B: Yes. [01:15:22] Speaker A: Yeah. And the virtues, fruits of the spirit probably as well. That's what I was looking for. Yep. [01:15:26] Speaker B: That could be something for families to think about. How do we chart that out? [01:15:30] Speaker A: It's something we could be doing more in our. In our family and. And praying you've got there. Praying for your children to receive the Holy Spirit. I think that's really important. [01:15:37] Speaker B: Yeah. Like. Like we could do that. You could. You can actually do that. You don't need that permission. That's all I want to say. I give you permission. No, what, what I mean is, yeah, you can just. Just do it. [01:15:49] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:15:50] Speaker B: And yeah, don't be afraid of that. Sort of just say, okay, let's sit down one night, we'll sit around with a bunch of chairs or on the couch or whatever, and one person sits in the hot seat at a time and we all just lay hands on them and we just pray a simple prayer each time. It doesn't have to take. Doesn't have to be a Pentecostal snake handling gathering. No offense to my Pentecostal snake handling friends out there, but, you know, it doesn't have to be that. It can literally just be a small prayer and a little bit of silence and then the next person. And you know that. Yeah, I think we might actually make a big deal of that this year. And then of course, if your church is not doing anything, make a festival of it in your own home and explain to your kids why. And if you attach ice cream and KFC or something to trust me, to a Christian event, they're gonna go, oh, I remember that. Or it'll stick, shall we say? I don't know what my guy Isaiah would say about that, but. [01:16:43] Speaker A: Not very poetic. [01:16:44] Speaker B: No, no. So, yeah, I guess just give it an emphasis of some kind. [01:16:49] Speaker A: That's right. [01:16:50] Speaker B: What was the one? Did we have. No, we didn't have glow hearts, do we? It's not like we, you know, find some lollies or some cake or something. Spicy food, spicy food. Why the tongues of fire? My mouth is burning. [01:17:05] Speaker A: Come on, keep up, Brennan. [01:17:07] Speaker B: Possibly. Who am I to say no? Alrighty. So, Katie, what a lovely thing to end on that lovely note. I think it's time for us to wrap it up. Don't forget, folks, if you want to support, Support our work. Patreon.com leftfootmedia or lifenet.org nz and there's details about how to become a donor. You can make a one off contribution too, if you want to do that. A huge thank you to all of our supporters. You guys are just a beautiful blessing to us. You allow us to do this ministry and hey, we're emboldened again. There's going to be more of it, so let's keep at it. Don't forget, if you want to send us a question or a topic you'd like us to talk about, thelittleflockpodcast.org or lifenet.org nz you'll see the links at the top of the page to click on to send your questions. You can do that anonymously, by the way. And I guess the one other thing that we should say, too, Katie, is my brain is being wracked to come on work. It's like a. It's like a little mouse on a treadmill. My brain, I would say. Yeah. Don't forget to please share the episodes and tell your friends if you're getting benefit out of them, you say, hey, listen to these crazy lunatic God people, you know? Yeah. So please share the love. It all helps. And on that happy note, until next time, live by goodness, truth and beauty, not by lies. And we will see you again on the Little Flock. [01:18:22] Speaker A: See you then. The Little Flock is a joint production of the Lifenet Charitable Trust and Left Foot Media. [01:18:37] Speaker B: If you enjoyed this show, then please help us to ensure that more of this great content keeps getting made by becoming a patron of the [email protected] leftfootmedia thanks for listening. [01:18:49] Speaker A: See you next time on the Little Flock. Sa. [01:19:31] Speaker B: Sam.