An Army of Normal Folks - Branden and Ashley Stathes: An Army of Generous Folks (Pt 2)

Episode Date: January 7, 2025

50 friends paid off their college debt, 7 families helped them buy a house, and they joined in on buying cars for 4-5 people. Branden and Ashley are members of an extraordinary Army of Generous Folks and show us what living in community can look like!Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, everybody, it's Bill Courtney with An Army of Normal Folks, and we continue now with part two of our conversation with Brandon and Ashley Stathis right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors. Hey, everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch and I'm exhausted. But turns out the end is near, right in time for a new season of my podcast, Next Question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some FOKs, friends of Katie's, to help me out like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Ested Herndon.

But we're also going to have some fun, even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha Bee, Roy Wood Jr., and Charlamagne the God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or

just trying to figure out what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right. So you saddle up. You did the whole cool proposal. You get married. You're living on ramen noodles. You're paying every extra penny you got toward this debt. This is when your own army of normal folks, your personal army of normal folks makes a

huge play in your life. And today's story guys is not about some NGO or 501C3 that you founded. The twist of this particular show is you're here to tell us what it's like to receive a blessing from an army of normal folks. I watched a video about it this morning and it's just so sweet, really. So, tell me about the day that it was revealed to you that you had an army of normal folks willing to support and love you because they saw the hard work you guys were doing

as a young married couple to do things the right way. guys were doing as a young married couple to do things the right way. Yeah. We got tricked into thinking we were going out to eat with a friend, which on 40 bucks. Well, he said he was paying because he's like, you never get to eat out and you're eating ramen. What does this friend do for a living? Chris? I guess. Oh yeah. He's in commercial development. Okay. So which to your point about, was he one of the 10 guys in the house?

No. No, he was older. He's a little older. All right, but a buddy. Oh yeah, close buddy. How'd you meet him? Through Young Life, yeah. He moved to the city. He was a F-16 pilot in the Air Force, moved to Austin.

That's cool. And he wanted to care for college guys. He got my number. We started caring for college guys together. We became close. Okay, so buddies. Just a bro, yeah. Just guys and he's in commercial development,

probably making a really good living, going on a track that you almost went down in financial whatever, but he loves y'all. Yep. Okay. And he knows that y'all are saddling up, not going out to eat, paying off this debt so that you can one day maybe have a kid or two,

and he offers to take you to dinner in spring for it because he loves you. Yep. Good enough. Yep. Friends do friends. That's what that is. And that's what that must've felt like to y'all, right? Yeah, for sure. We didn't sniff it out at all.

So were you gonna ride your bike to dinner or were you back at it? He picked, he had to pick us up. Oh, he picked you up. So were you going to ride your bike to dinner? He picked, he had to pick us up. He picked you up. So your tire hadn't been picked yet. OK, go ahead. He picks us up and we are going away.

Then I'm like, what restaurant are we going to? He's like, I'm going to surprise you all for a great restaurant. Take you all out. We pull up to my old house. What was her old house that she lived in before we got married. And he said something like, I gotta pick up a shirt from another friend of ours. Totally didn't think much of it.

I wanna talk about the family that you lived with. No, this was this, so I moved away with the, moved from the family's house into a house of five girls. So we had the stack of the 10 guys, the rack of the girls, the girls house. Are you kidding me? So you pull up to that house. To my old house with all my friends still living there.

So your friends still living there. Yep. All right. So why is he picking up a shirt at your... That was the worst idea. Why didn't we sniff that out? We just... Because those paths didn't necessarily cross too much.

So y'all are just blindly in the back, happy you're going out to eat and really don't care about your shirt at this point. We don't care, we're excited to eat a steak. And then he was like, y'all come in with me and we were like. Hold it. You need to pick a shirt.

Is he married at this point? He is not married. Okay, well, maybe there was a shirt left one night. Maybe, is that what you're thinking? I don't know. Definitely not. I'm trying to come up with a I'm trying to come up with a plausible event here. But anyway, he's springing for dinner, he's not married,

he's pulling up to a house full of girls to get a shirt. Really, whatever. I mean, whatever. And then he says, come on in. You're not his financial advisor, is he gonna get naked and change shirts? I had no clue. We were down for anything, just happy to go eat.

Yeah. He takes us out to the back deck and at that point it just says, surprise. Door open, surprise and we were like, What is surprise? Surprise what? What is it? I mean, there's 50 people there, maybe more.

In the backyard? In the backyard. Our whole life, our Austin community life. Girls that I was leading at UT, staff that he was on staff with, friends that we had lived with, our community was pretty robust at that point. Everyone was there. What about the shirt? No shirt at all.

Just two chairs. No shirt. No shirt. But 50 people in the backyard of this house. And you have to be thinking, hold it, it's not our birthday. It's not our anniversary. What on the good Lord's green earth are we doing in the backyard? And does this mean we don't get to go out to eat tonight?

Yeah, where's the food? What happened to food? The plot thickens because they tell us to sit down. And these two rocking chairs in front of the crowd were two rocking chairs and they were like, sit down. All right, this has got to be surreal. Right, it was very surreal. What are you all thinking?

A no clue. A no clue. We were like, why are we here? We have no clue. There was a truly zero clue. There was a sound system with a mic. There was a sound system with a mic. There was a sound system in the back yard? And then one after the next, people would get up

and basically tell us what we meant to them. So we were, up until the end, we were like, we still don't know why we're here. This is very kind. Are you looking at one another doing the husband- wife look at each other like what you were communicating with? I was only going, why is this Twilight Zone happening?

Yes, yeah, the whole time. And I was planning on getting the linguini. The whole time. The whole time. Truly, person after person went up, like this is what you mean to me. Were you goobed out a little bit? Nah.

No, I just was like, thank you for saying that. And then the next person, wow, thank you for saying that. Did you think you were gonna have to stand up and say something good about everybody else? I mean, is this reciprocal at one point? I don't know. I think he was like, we don't even know what to think in this moment.

I'm so fast in your shoes right now. Even after having watched this video, hearing you say it and thinking about it, I would have been looking at Lisa going, what the heck is going on right now and why? I mean- Why us? Why are y'all,

why do y'all feel like y'all need to bless us? And what for? And what for? What are we doing? Totally. I would, I'm telling you, I know me. I would have been uncomfortable. I've been like, this is weird.

I mean, there were tears. Like these people, they were telling us like what we mean to them. So there was like, they were tearing up. Oh yeah. They were tearing up. We were tearing up. We were like, it's like. I mean, if one of your boys, if you, if you went out to this backyard, your family would be there, your friends would be there. And then all of a sudden your son comes up and is like, dad, I just wanted to tell you like, this is what you mean to me.

And when you've done this, that meant a lot. You just be like, thank you. I mean, you felt like it was a funeral, but you're there, alive. You're hearing all these things. It's like, what is going on? Surreal. Very surreal. Even without the money.

The money has not been shown yet. The check has not been shown yet. Well, you just blew the story. The people out here don't even know. All right, so now you did it. Go for it. So at the end of all these people having their mutual admiration society conversation

about you, you two guys look at each other going, well, we're not going out to eat now. The shirt was a lie. I'm hungry. I'm not sure what's going on in the backyard. The reveal happens. And the reveal is? Lucy.

She stands up. Who's Lucy? Lucy's a friend of ours, was also on staff with me in Young Life at UT. Who you lived with in this house? I lived within that house as well. The shirt house. Yep, the shirt house.

She gets on the mic and she says, we wanted a night to bless y'all, but really what we're here for is for the last year, we've seen y'all fight tooth and nail and grind to pay off your student loan debt. And just as much as Jesus has paid the debt of your sins, we want you to know that you're debt free. Tonight. And we're like, what? She goes, we've paid off, all of us here have paid off the rest of your debt. And then she kind of notions to someone and they bring one of those big fat golf checks. It doesn't have an amount.

Golf checks. One of the big cardboard checks. Yes, cardboard and they put it here and all it says is to- Like the lottery check. Yeah, to Brandon and Ashley Stath, it just says debt free. From debt, the bank was debt free. Yeah, I'll start crying just thinking about it. Just like the weight of like, I think what we had been doing those days, and you know, the unseen moments where we're like,

okay, it's November and let's keep paying, you know, hundreds and thousands of dollars to this debt. Let's get it out. What else can we do? Can we babysit? Or what else? Let's keep going, keep going. You can kind of get that grind.

I think that's what they were seeing, sit business. What else get let's keep going keep going you can't kind of get that grind I think that's what they were seeing the sacrifices and For them to be like it's done. Mm-hmm. It was so powerful and they'd all just gassed you up You'd been juiced up by just all that I mean it would have been I blew the thing but like it would have been a fine an amazing night without the check Yeah, it would, who does that? Who gets to receive that? Who gets to hear that? We long to hear that stuff of like what people really mean,

what we really mean to people. And then on top of that, they're just like, hey, it's finished. What did it mean to you? It feels like now you can start talking about children. It feels like now you can start talking about children. It feels like now you can start talking about actually exhaling. You can live your young married life together.

Yeah. Yeah, because we really couldn't see past. Past that first year. It was like such a head down, gazelle like intensity. Dave, quoting Dave, that we literally were like, it was such a weight off our shoulders. We were like and they didn't have to do that. We'll be right back. Hey everyone, it's Katie Couric.

Well, the election is in the home stretch and I'm exhausted. But turns out the end is near, right in time for a new season of my podcast, Next Question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some FOKs, friends of Katie's, to help me out, like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Astead Herndon. But we're also gonna have some fun, even though these days fun and politics

seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha Bee, Roy Wood Jr., and Charlamagne the God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out what's going on,

this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. How many people do you think this was? 50? Yeah, 50 to somewhere between 50 and 75. I think more gave than those specific people but I think that... Okay the point is though this is not a 501c3. This is not some organization. These are just a community of people

seeing a need, loving, and deciding through their own generosity to fill the need. And in doing so really did change your young married couple's lives. And it's not like somebody wrote a $60,000 check. It's more like a hundred people got together and everybody pulled in a little bit of money that didn't really hurt them that much. I think the smallest amount someone gave was like 15 bucks.

Doesn't matter. Seven, 15 bucks. The point is they did, right? It's again, I'm going to butcher it, but it's the woman that came in that couldn't give much at all. But that gift meant more than someone giving a million because as a percentage of her worth, that was same thing. See, that was really good scripture. was same thing. See? That was really

good scripture. That was great. Yeah, it was really good scripture. There's a story in there. It also shows what you can do together because I think, so the frame was like no one gave more than a hundred, I think, and the lowest amount was 15 because when we started figuring like, who did this and how did it all happen? Essentially it was Lucy who was like, I just started rallying people

because I wanted y'all to be free. It was her, she was the torchbearer and she started calling around and said, hey, what if we got the stathesis out of debt? Would you be in? And they're like, I'm in. I bet nobody said no. I mean, if someone called me and said,

hey, you know this awesome young couple that working in young life, helping people, doing everything and everything else, we just wanna get together, pull a little money, and bless them with letting them start their lives and get off from underneath this burden. I don't know anybody that wouldn't pull something out of their pocket for that.

But that's the point, is this story is not about a 501c3 or something that you started. This story is about what the generosity and what just normal folks getting together, seeing it in your need and filling it, and it's one of the simplest ways in the world, change your lives. Yep. Yep. And I think that on top of that, I don't know if you watched part two of the video,

that same week we had figured out that we were pregnant with our first. And so the timing, that weekend, that was the party. And so it was this insane week for us of the crux of these two points crossing of going, our desire was to start a family debt-free. Days after we find out we're pregnant, we truly are debt-free. It was this very emotional moment for us where we were like, we feel so seen by the Lord.

Like, whoa, the Lord did that. Yeah, I did see that. and I had an initial thought, which was when you have no money and you can't go anywhere, I couldn't imagine you doing anything other than getting pregnant, because what else can you do? We had nothing else to do. What else could you do with your time?

It was free. Get pregnant. Get pregnant. That was free. Free entertainment. Yeah, you're finding something for you to do. So we had not told anyone we were pregnant yet. Oh, I didn't know this part.

You know how they say, once you find out on the little stick that you should wait X amount of time or wait until you get to the doctor or whatever. No one knew. We didn't listen to that at all. And we literally look at each other. And Brandon gave me a head nod. And I was like, I nodded back. And he was like, after we collected ourselves from tears.

Are you just bawling? Yes. I mean, we feel so unworthy to receive that generosity. I'm like, we're not any more special than any other person sitting in that room. Like why do you want to bless us? You guys are a pretty bright light together. Sitting here across from you. It's beautiful, by the way. It really is. But go ahead. We looked at each other. I nodded to Brandon and he was collecting himself and he was like,

we have something to tell you guys. And he goes, we're pregnant. And it was just this like uproar of excitement, jumping, we're crying, they're crying. And it was just this like beautiful moment of, wow, the Lord really sees and knows our needs. And what a blessing that we get to celebrate with this community. I mean, we rushed to call our parents after we were like, hey, by the way, we're pregnant. This whole group of people know. And it was just a very surreal moment.

It was amazing. Yeah, very humbling. That is such, see, it's a simple story. It's a cool story, but it just speaks to the power of what normal people can do. So somewhere along the way in and amongst this story is other little stories of the same type of thing that like some guy is at Young Life and needs to go to another Young Life and can't, he doesn't have a car. You want to tell me about that? Tanner Iskra Yeah. All of a sudden, it started to replicate itself of essentially the model of

if you see someone in need, someone speak up and rally everyone and we'll take care of it. And so there was a guy named Dale who was a Young Life leader. He would go to Cedar Park High School and his car broke down. Didn't have a car, didn't have really the means to fix it. And a guy named Casey, who was – they were all in the same kind of group that we were leading, was like, boys, send us all text, boys, we need to get Dale a car. If we can all give 20 bucks and we can find 100 people to give 20 bucks, we'll have two grand.

I'll find us a car for two grand." So everyone's like, in, in, in, and then it's over. Then it's just- You're college students, not making money. Yeah. It's just over. And so then Casey finds someone who tells the person about the vision to bless Dale and they're actually going to sell their car for five grand.

They're like, you know what? Take it for two. So then they're blessing too. And then we essentially have a similar night where we're having a group together, we're hanging out, doing whatever. And then we sit Dale down, we bless him. We tell him what he means to us and it's fun to be on the giving side. And then at the end they say, hey man, you know, you're trying to go to Cedar Park to love on those guys, but you need a fresh set of wheels. So we figured we'd just give you them. And he's throwing the keys and he's like, what? Walks outside, bows on the car.

And this is not a Mercedes or some sort of Rolls Royce. It's a $5,000 ride. It's like a, it was a used, but to him, it might as well been a BMW just, he was like, I'm really like, let's go. I mean, we're just a bunch of college guys getting pumped up. And we did it again and again. And I think we gave away four or five cars in that similar model. Twenty bucks, 20 bucks.

Everybody listening, this took a text string. Twenty bucks and an evening in a backyard. Everybody listening, this took a tech string, 20 bucks and an evening in a backyard to tell somebody how much you care about them and that you're gonna bless them with the significant need they have. That's how hard this is. And it's life changing. It's magnetic.

And this isn't a thing. This isn't a five, we don't even have a name for this. No name. This isn't a thing. This isn't a Bible. We don't even have a name for this. No name. This isn't a thing. This is just normal folks seeing need and filling it. It's a good way to live. And what? It's a good way to live.

So, because I am not good at scripture at all, I'm not going to quote, like try to quote off my head because I obviously have proven that I'm incapable of that, but I'm going to read this. Alex sent me this morning, 2 Corinthians 8, 13-15, not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality, your abundance at the present time should supply their needs, so that their abundance may also supply your needs, that there may be equality. I'm gonna read it again. Not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality, your abundance at the present time should supply their needs

so that their abundance may also supply your needs, that there may be equality. Whoever had much did not have more and whoever had little did not have less. Why don't you just explain that? Well, when I used to read that, I always thought, if you're a multimillionaire, you should share. That's exactly how I took it is, you know, Elon Musk should be given some money away. Isn't it interesting that when you read something like that, you always find what other people should be doing. It's so easy to point out all these things these other people should be doing.

Yeah. And it's actually not that, it's not that far away, meaning that truth, that scripture is like, it's simpler, it's more even elementary. If you have a little extra, share. So if you think about it, it's like, if you have 20 bucks, and some people don't have 20 bucks to share, and that's okay. If you have a $20 bill to share, you don't even let your right hand know your left, you just do it. And that was, that's what happened to us. Then it's what happened to these people that we gave away cars to just, you didn't give people time to think one, because it's not even that much money. It was just 20 bucks and everybody's in on it. And you're living out this communal magnetic way of sharing. So one of the reasons this show even exists is I was on your

side of the table one day and Alex was sitting here about two and a half years ago interviewing me after the movie and the book and speeches and stuff. I was interviewed a lot and Alex interviewed me for a company he worked for. During that interview I said what many people who listen to the show often or read stuff, I said there are communities all over the place where you look down the road and you see poverty and despair. You think somebody had to do something about that as if the cinema matters. And then as you pass by, you know, because you didn't want to have a flat tire there and you kind of exhale.

You think somebody had do something about that. And I think government has proven woefully inadequate, although well intentioned in many cases, obviously, all of these policy decisions and all the money we've poured at all of the issues, they're still there. So the data says they hadn't worked. All of these narratives crafted out of people in DC and New York on the national media. I don't see them fixing a lot. In fact, I see them sewing division candidly. So who is somebody ought to fix that one day? Who is this somebody?

Who is this proverbial somebody? And maybe a way out of kick that rear view mirror about 15 degrees to the left. Maybe that's the somebody that ought to fix it. Us, just an army of normal folks. And as I read that scripture, and I hear what you just said and I think about it is so easy to look at Elon Musk and saying, yeah, see, he ought to be doing more. Solve all the problems. Yeah.

Maybe it's us. Maybe we ought to be doing more. You don't have to be a multi-millionaire to affect change because it's just 20 bucks. It's just a whole bunch of people, an army of people doing what little bit they can that can significantly change lives. I think that's a lesson of that scripture. I think it's also the lesson of the blessings that you guys have received and what you've shared with us. So do you teach that in young life? Oh yeah. They crave it. They crave to be a part of something like that. You know, Christianity gets kind of boring if you just dim it down to going to church

and not sinning. But when you put the offensive playbook on somebody and go, we could bless people and love people together, and it doesn't have to be some far-fetched idea. It's actually that guy. We'll be right back. Hey everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch and I'm exhausted. But turns out the end is near, right in time for a new season of my podcast, Next Question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight.

I'm bringing in some FOKs, friends of Katie's to help me out like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Estet Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun, even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha Bee, Roy Wood Jr., and Charlamagne the God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about?

Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I think there's been a number of generations, even more than decades, of Christianity being its own worst enemy, floating the sales pitch that believe like me or you're doomed to hell. That's not a very hopeful narrative.

That's not a very... Attractive. What's that? Attractive. It's not, it's not. It's think like me or it actually, in my opinion, almost elicits paternalism. You know, I know better than, and if you think like me,

you're good, if you don't, you're a piece of crap and you're doomed. And I think for many years, especially in the American and European church, guilt and fear drove the narrative rather than hope and love and compassion. What do you think about that? I agree. I think we have a generation of people,

and I think I kind of grew up in this where I just, that's what I thought Christianity was about. I mean, if you go to church for X amount of years, and then you, and after you come out of there, you think, okay, I just need to be really good and try not, and sin less. It's like, that is not the gospel. In fact, even when you think about the famous verse,

the Tim Tebow verse of John 3 16, generosity is actually at the core of it for God so loved the world that he gave. So you can almost, it's a great litmus test to be like, if we are loving, if we are full of love, we should see generosity kind of over oozing out of our skin. And it's hard, it's hard to do. We want to protect ourselves, you know, take care of ourselves. But I do think it's about much more than kind of what you're talking about. People want to be a part of that movement of blessing someone.

It puts skin on all the theory of love your neighbor and love the Lord your God and all of those kinds of things. To keep it grassroots and to keep it kind of in the alleyways and on the front lines. What we would do at UT is we just would rally people to spend less time thinking about whether they sinned less or was good and wasn't good and go to this church and argue about predestination, whatever it's like, are you loving? Oh, it's funny. Did you love anybody?

Predestination versus predetermination. Why don't we kill each other over that? I mean, it's just like, even the smartest people can't figure that out, but I think I can love this other guy, take him out to lunch and listen to him. So Ashley, the debt was paid off, and you have this kid,

and now you're able to be free, and you're not locked in your apartment, but you have five kids. Yep. Why don't you explain all that, young lady? Five children, how old are they? Five kids. Three, five, seven, eight, and 11. Are you do homeschooling? How does that even work? I did homeschool for a year and it just isn't for me.

I don't blame you. It wouldn't be for me either. Trying to teach curriculum and being pregnant and taking care of babies, it just isn't for me. I don't blame you. It wouldn't be for me either. Trying to teach curriculum and being pregnant and taking care of babies, it just didn't work out for me. No, but that was like during pandemic, all the things. But we feel so blessed. We feel- Do you work outside the home? I do photography.

I'm a wedding photographer. Are you? I am. That's cool. I am. And so I'm home wedding photographer. Are you? That's cool. I am. I am. And so, I'm home full-time, but I do that on weekends and nights when I'm not with kids. So, you've recently changed from Young Life to…

Search. Which is? It's like Young Life, but to adults. It's a relational ministry. You pursue the kind of the furthest out. Where do you find the candidates? Everywhere. They live next to you. You work with them. So are you interacting kind of the same way just with a little bit of an older crowd?

Yeah, I think it's much more during the day, adults when they're home, they're home with their families and whatnot. But you essentially rally an army of people to think, I mean, it's just so basic. It's just like, oh, just being like a Christian, just to love other people in and around you. You don't have to go to Taiwan and be a missionary to see God move. It actually opens your eyes and love that one person in your office that you're like, I think I have some favor with them or I don't and I want to love them more. You raise up an army to do that and then, but it's really, you're not going after churched people. You're going after people that's like, oh yeah, I'm convinced. I will never,

ever believe that. I would never, ever step foot in a church or I'm out on God for X number of reasons. Those are the people that we're going after and trying to love. I hope when you leave here, you'll look up the name, Craig Strickland. He was a youth pastor at my church 40 years ago and he started a satellite church that met in a restaurant for its first three years on Sundays and became what's called Hope Presbyterian Church, which is now Hope Church. What he wanted to start was a church for the unchurched. That's what he called it. And he went out specifically to start a church for people

who had no church, who might lead lives that were principally what we would say is right in terms of the way they treated people, the way they acted in the world, were honest and fair, decent people, but had no faith. Because he said those people align with the principles and fundamentals of faith. They just don't have the faith component primarily because either they've walked from it because of the narrative we discussed earlier or they've never been introduced to it. He wanted to start a church for that church where people felt comfortable to come in and just say, okay, what is this whole Jesus thing all about? It is now a massive

church. That's cool. Wow. this thing all about. It is now a massive church. It almost sounds like search has the same fundamental mission. Yeah. What's interesting is I think middle school, high school, college, really 12 to 22, you have organizations like Young Life, Campus Crusade, FCA, even your local youth group, kind of. You even have people like me for 15 years who would pursue those people, care for them, pursue them. Once you become an adult, I haven't heard of an organ... like who's... you either go to church or you don't. You're either 40 and your life's going well or it's not.

Your community, it's very hard to find community outside of that. You're kind of, you're just trying to keep up. Like being an adult ain't for the faint at heart. Like it's, and so search is essentially trying to go after those people who are like, I'm out. And it's like, it's not too late. I think God's love is always pursuing.

So it, it's been, I've been only in it's like, it's not too late. I think God's love is always pursuing. So it's been, I've been only in it five months, but it's been, there is such a need. There are 30 year old men, 40 year old men, 50 year old men and women who are like, I guess this is it. And it's almost even more needed because when you're younger, idealism is at its highest peak. So even if you've hit rock bottom,

you're like, oh, my life's still ahead of me. I can maybe get married, make some money, have a family. When you hit 40 and you have hit all of those things, and it's like. And you're still going, ugh. Yeah. So. Dissatisfied.

Or unsatisfied. Unsatisfied, unsatisfied. Yeah. Or have everything that you thought was going to satisfy you and are still dreadfully unsatisfied. Yeah. That emptiness is, I think, very common for a lot of people. So actually, you've got these kids. You've got this family. Always wanted a big family. Well, you've got these kids, you've got this family.

Always wanted a big family. Well, you got it, girl. I know, we did too. I like to buck the system a little bit. What's it like pushing three kids through Walmart and pregnant? Lisa knows. Oh yeah, it's a challenge.

I have grown to, my husband is, not love it. I'm like, he's the errand runner, because I'm like, it's a little overwhelming sometimes. Yeah. So do you remember people looking at you like you were completely out of your mind? Still. Still.

Yes. Still, when I have to take all five to the grocery store, they're like, all yours? Are these all yours? No. Lisa used to get that question all the time. Because I just wanted more. Are those all yours? Do you know how babies are made? I'm kids because I just wanted more. Are those all yours?

Do you know how babies are made? I'm like, I do. Yes. Do you know how this happened? Yes. No way. Everybody gets it. I wanted this, okay?

I mean, we used to, now we had a little different twist on it, which we lived in the country when we first got married. Had all the kids and I've always said, you know, we had four kids in four years but we got on city water and it cleared up. So we know, maybe it was whatever we were. Something was in the water. That well water was doing something.

I don't know. So the last little story I want you to share is, you want a house for this big family. And that's a lot of money. The Dow payment is tough. We were living in this thing Austin has. It's called the Affordable Homes Program in this one newish neighborhood that was close to campus at the time.

We had one kid moving in there. Basically you have to have no debt, which, praise God, that provision. You had to make under a certain amount and have under a certain amount of assets. Well, because of your friends. Qualify. You had no debt. Yeah. And because of your job, you certainly

were not making too much. Yep. Yes. So you fit. And I was a stay-home mom, so we were on one income. So we were in this affordable homes, had another kid, had another kid, and I was like, I can't have another kid in this house.

It was how many square feet? 1200 square feet? It's like a glorified apartment, kind of. And so we were like, okay, let's start looking, and then we started looking, we were very discouraged because Austin Market is a little cray cray. And- It's not a little cray cray. I know, it's very cray cray. It is expensive. Yeah, it were very discouraged because Austin market is a little cray cray. And- It's not a little cray cray.

I know, it's very cray cray. It is expensive. Yeah, it's very expensive. So we were like, okay, just like everything else in life, we're gonna like kind of put a request in front of the Lord. And we're gonna write kind of our wish list of like what we would want in a home, what we feel like we need.

And we're not talking about a 10,000 mansion here with a pool, we're just talking about a house. Yeah. Yep. And so we were like, OK, I guess we're going to have to move to Waco. Yeah. Was that really the thought? No, no, no, no. We but it's very far north. Just far, very far away. And so we were we were like, OK, but here's what we kind of need in a house.

Our parents never can visit and stay with us. We know we want to keep having kids. I wanted sick, dreamt of six my whole life. But we were at three. And so we were like, here's our request. We were looking with some of our best friends. We found a house that we were like, wow, this would be really amazing. Like kind of above what we deserve and with how much we make.

Um, our friends bought the house next door the day after the house next door went up for sale after they closed. And every, it was everything we wanted on our list. We'll be right back. Hey everyone. It's Katie Couric. We'll be right back. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some FOKs, friends of Katie's, to help me out like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Ested Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun, even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha B, Roy Wood Jr. and

Charlamagne the God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. ["Next Question"] Comes another crazy story,

like all my debt gets paid off the same day I'm pregnant. And then our best friends by the house and the next day, the house next door to them just happens. It was a total God thing. We had been searching for a year ish. What was the down payment on this thing going to have to be? There's a bunch. Yeah, it was a lot. I mean, 110 maybe was the down payment.

No. I don't remember. Well, it depended if you wanted to get rid of PMI or not. But it was more than you had. More than we had, yes. And so there is a man who was like, I know Austin housing is very difficult. So if you find a house that you like, let me know. And if you can't afford it, let me know.

Maybe we can figure something out. And so we found a house and we were like, wow, this is like everything on our list, everything we've dreamt of, spacious, all that kind of stuff. And so we were like, I think we should call him and say, we really want to go for this. This would be the dream. And I guess you thought maybe he'd loan you a little extra money or something. Well, initially there were some people that were like, we'd love to maybe co-invest in the house.

Co-invest. Co-invest. Yeah, there were a slew of people that were like, we know you're in ministry. We love what you're doing at UT and Young Life. How can we keep you here, essentially? The housing market is going to push you and maybe other people like you away. And we gotta keep you here. And they did have means,

but they're very not clear on like how they wanted to help. It was ambiguous. It was just like, oh man, that's crazy. We really like you not to leave, find a house, let us know. Yeah, no clue what that means. Maybe we'll talk to the realtors. Yes, or maybe he knows a guy that could, no clue, no clue.

So we find it, but really the undertow of the whole thing was similar to the debt journey, which was Ash and I in our home being like, this is our reality and this is what we're looking at and there is a delta here. There's a gap. Lord, you know the gap. I mean, it's like, Lord, what do we do? This is all that you've given us and this is what we're looking at and here are our desires. And so when all of a sudden that house came up and we told this guy, he said, oh, that's really interesting. Blah, blah, blah. Didn't say anything. A week later, he said, once takes me out to lunch and says, hey, so what's the Delta? And I was like, 70 grand probably is what we would have to figure out to do.

And in no chance is anyone going to give 70 grand. Who does that? I don't think they're that wealthy, but he goes, well, it's not just me that wants to help keep you in Austin and keep you here. These other 10 families, we're all going to cover that Delta. So let's see if we can go get this house. And it was like, and again, he's starting to know if you're going to get it, you got to fight all the others and all that. It was just like, Lord, what's happening? We live in the house now. And that's not your home.

It is now our home. And I, every day walk around and I'm like, I, I don't deserve to be here. It's just an answered prayer. It is an answered prayer. It's God's provision. We're just like, you own the cattle on a thousand hills. And he owns the hills too. And he owns the hills. Once again, normal folks, seeing an area need,

appreciating the work you do, and stepped up, not a 501C3, not an organization, nothing. Just people that had the ability, seeing a need and filling it. I can't imagine that in turn that's not... It's a blessing to them, is what I'm saying. It's probably one of the greatest weekdays of their month to be able to do that for. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. To be able to do that for you.

Absolutely. Yep. Jesus says something that's very countercultural and very upside down when He says that it's better to give than to receive. And I think what's inverted is, you know, when we helped, you know, give those cars away, when we helped rally for some other people that were in debt, we've been on both ends. It's way more exciting to be on the giving end.

It means so it changes your life to be on the receiving end. The joy is on the giving end. The like, the momentum, the feel, the zeal, like, let's go. And so they, we walked away from both that night where we got our debt cleared. And when we closed on the house feeling that humility of like oh my gosh how did this happen everyone who participated in it walked away with that joy of like let's do it again and so I think there's a difference there for sure but it's been fun to now go oh let's be on the giving end because

that's where the actions at yeah An army of normal folks can change lives in so many different ways, and you don't even have to have an organization to do it. Yeah. Nope. Ashley, I want you to close us this way. Tell the people who are listening to us today, in the words of a mom of five, what 20 bucks can really do?

Change your world. It changed the trajectory of our lives for sure. It allowed us to walk into something that we deeply desired and allowed us to start a family with a new flag in the ground. And it's a blessing to any mom. Ashley, those blessings in that hell, your husband probably would have had to have left the ministry with five children and done something else to make more money. I'll just wonder if it's dawned on anybody yet that the blessings that were given to you are in turn through the work of your husband given to all of the kids at Young Life over 15 years that he was able to work with because without those blessings he wouldn't have

been able to do that work. For sure. I very much feel like we stand on the backs of hundreds. We absolutely do. Our income, our whole marriage has been on the backs of community. What does that? What does that make you feel? and known by the Father. We feel like in our lives we don't make as much as mostly all of our friends, but we lack nothing. Because not saying we live this abundant life, but He God knows our needs, He sees, and we're patient enough to go.

We submit these to you, Lord, and we wait on you. Brandon, actually, your love affair is so apparent when you sit across from us with one another. But your love affair and faith is also amazingly apparent. And I just got to believe that's what other people see in you. And why they're so eager to continue to support you and your work. And they're so eager to bless you with need. And I think you guys are a beautiful example of what an army of normal folks can do to further support down the road,

the work that you can do. How can people watch that video on YouTube? Where do they get that? That's on Generousgiving.org. Yeah, I think it's on Generousgiving.org, which is a, it's a chock full of a bunch of videos. Generousgiving.org. Yeah, Generousgiving is an organization, it's funded by a foundation,

and they essentially host people. They call it Journeys of Generosity, it's like a weekend away or a weekend away where you just talk about money, talk about what would it look like to be generous. They were the ones that had heard- Biblical generosity. Yeah, they had heard about the debt story and they filmed it. They're like, we need to reenact this and do this. I love it. So, if anybody wants to see your reactions when you're going in the girls' house

for a shirt, which I still can't believe you bought that. That's ridiculous, but it's awesome. Guys, thanks so much for coming from Austin to share the story. Thanks for having us. I hope our listeners will go watch that on YouTube. It's 10 minutes. It's worth the watch. And the expression on you guys' faces is pretty priceless. I loved it.

God bless the work you do. Appreciate it. Good luck with it. I know you've only been in it five months, but I got to believe you're going to pour yourself into it and be successful in it. And what a beautiful, sweet mom you are. Thank you. five months, but I gotta believe you're gonna pour yourself into it and be successful in it. What a beautiful, sweet mom you are. Thank you. And anybody listen to us in the Austin area,

if you have a wedding, call this woman. She will absolutely... I love it. I love my job. Do you have a website for a wedding? I do. Just my name, ashleestathis.com. You gotta spell the last name. S-T-A-T-H-E-S. So if you're in the Texas area and you want a really cute mom and a great couple with five kids doing great work in Austin who have given and received and you want to support her, she can do a really good job for your photographs at your wedding and stuff, right? She can. Maybe you'll get some calls, hopefully. Bring it on. I love it. I love it too.

Guys, thanks for being here. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you for joining us this week. If Brandon and Ashley Stathis or other guests have inspired you in general, or better yet, to take action by catalyzing your own army of normal folks to bless people in your community, or something else entirely, please let me know. I'd love to hear about it. You can write me anytime at bill at normal folks dot us and I swear to you

I will respond if you enjoyed this episode guys, please share it with friends Share it on social subscribe to the podcast Go on Google and rate and review it actually that's on Apple, but well, it's okay. All right Spotify I'm just gonna keep this in here. It's just kick why Well, then go on what Apple Spotify That's on Apple, but it's okay. Or on Spotify, I'm just gonna keep this in here. Just kidding. Why? I mean, yeah, why? Well then go on what? Apple, Spotify. Go on Spotify, Apple.

Can you go on iHeart? I don't know. Go on something and actually review the thing and rate it. Puts five stars down there for us. If Bill deserves it. Yeah, we, you know, make me feel good about myself. Join the Army at NormalFolks.us. Consider becoming a premium member there.

All of these things that will help us grow. An Army of Normal Folks. And make me feel better. Thanks to our producer, Ironlight Labs. I'm Bill Courtney. Until next time, let's do what we can. friends of Katie's to help me out like Ezra Klein, Jen Psaki, Astead Herndon. But we're also gonna have some fun thanks to some of my friends like Samantha B and Charlemagne the God. We're gonna take some viewer questions as well. I mean,

isn't that what democracy is all about? Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.