Speaker 1: Welcome to the Funny Kind with Erica Gummeny bringing heart, humor,
Speaker 1: and hope to everyday life. Laughter and love really do
Speaker 1: make a difference, and Erica's here to prove it. Part
Speaker 1: deep dive, part stand up for the soul, this show
Speaker 1: blends humor, heart and real talk to help you stop
Speaker 1: believing the lies that hold you back. Whether she's flying
Speaker 1: solo or chatting with guests, Erica brings her signature mix
Speaker 1: of authenticity, wit and wisdom, reminding you that growth doesn't
Speaker 1: have to be so serious. So pull up a chair, exhale,
Speaker 1: and get ready to laugh, reflect, and reconnect with the
Speaker 1: extraordinary human you already are, because this is the funny
Speaker 1: Kind where humor meets healing and inspiration meets action.
Speaker 2: Hello, Welcome to this episode. I am so glad that
Speaker 2: you're here, whether you're watching or listening. Thank you, Thank
Speaker 2: you for being with me today. Today's episode is going
Speaker 2: to be a little bit different, so let me give
Speaker 2: you a little lead in before we kind of dive
Speaker 2: into what we'll be talking about, or what I'll be
Speaker 2: talking about, because I'm all by myself today. Okay, So
Speaker 2: a few weeks ago, I attended this women in business
Speaker 2: conference here in Milwaukee hosted by Wendy Babcock, who is
Speaker 2: the founder of When Stories and she does a lot
Speaker 2: of awesome things for women. I'm a certified when Stories
Speaker 2: coach or a speaker, i should say, and it was
Speaker 2: a wonderful opportunity and everything she does is amazing Wendy Babcock,
Speaker 2: I'll share information about her, but AnyWho, So I attended
Speaker 2: her women in Business conference a couple of weeks ago,
Speaker 2: and I was one of the speakers, which was so
Speaker 2: much fun. So one of the other speakers did a
Speaker 2: session and she had us break out in two pairs
Speaker 2: with somebody that we didn't know. So I met a
Speaker 2: woman named Bobby Joe, who I had never met before.
Speaker 2: But you know how it is when you meet somebody
Speaker 2: and you're like, you know, bizzell. So we fell in
Speaker 2: love instantly and started crying as we both introduced each other.
Speaker 2: And Sandy, the person leading the session, couraged us to
Speaker 2: not just talk about our business, but kind of the
Speaker 2: heart and the mission of what we were doing and
Speaker 2: why we were doing it, and really advocate for each
Speaker 2: other as we kind of communicated. So as I started
Speaker 2: talking to Bobby Joe, I was feeling. I was just
Speaker 2: kind of sharing about my book Journey from the Ashes
Speaker 2: and what that's all about and the podcast The Funny Kind,
Speaker 2: and out of just out of nowhere, I said, you know,
Speaker 2: and I really love connecting with strangers. And I started
Speaker 2: to cry. And in that moment, I remembered I originally
Speaker 2: started this podcast, and it was to kind of go
Speaker 2: out into the community, like coffee shops or wherever. I
Speaker 2: kind of felt like I wanted to go and connect
Speaker 2: with people there and either interview them or listen to them,
Speaker 2: or just have some kind of a connection and share
Speaker 2: them with you on The Funny Kind with the intention
Speaker 2: of showing that there really are great people in the world,
Speaker 2: and there is goodness and there is kindness, contrary to
Speaker 2: what our algorithms and the Internet wants to tell us.
Speaker 2: So as I'm telling her about this love of connecting
Speaker 2: with strangers, it just really made me emotional. So at
Speaker 2: the end of the session, Sandy the speaker, is like, Hey,
Speaker 2: does anybody want to speak about what really impacted them?
Speaker 2: So Emily, if you could, Emily's our producer today, Emily,
Speaker 2: if you could just pop up that picture here we
Speaker 2: are on stage. Sandy's on the left, Bobby Joe's on
Speaker 2: the right, and I'm in the middle, sobbing, telling the
Speaker 2: story of remembering why the Funny Kind started and why
Speaker 2: we're here. So I'm telling you that because I had
Speaker 2: my first i'll call it encounter. So a couple weeks
Speaker 2: after that conference, I went to a ministry leader's retreat
Speaker 2: and my friend encouraged me to go to this retreat.
Speaker 2: He's one of the leaders of it, and he's a
Speaker 2: pastor friend of mine, Jonathan. You might know him from
Speaker 2: some other podcasts that we've some other episodes we've done
Speaker 2: here on the podcast together. And I'm not a pastor,
Speaker 2: I'm not a minister, but Jonathan encouraged me that even so,
Speaker 2: the work I'm doing is a ministry So I said, okay, fine.
Speaker 2: So I went up to this retreat that was held
Speaker 2: in ryan Lander, Wisconsin, up way up now in Wisconsin.
Speaker 2: And that is a special city, Ryanlander, because my grandfather
Speaker 2: used to have a cabin up there, and while I
Speaker 2: was too little, I don't really I don't remember going
Speaker 2: up there my older sister, my sister remembered it fondly
Speaker 2: and it was her spirit place. She my grandfather sold
Speaker 2: the cabin but she ended up connecting with the person
Speaker 2: that bought it, and her and her husband and children
Speaker 2: went up there a lot. And she always wanted me
Speaker 2: to go, but I'm a city girl and I prefer
Speaker 2: buildings over tents and air conditioning over mosquitoes. So I
Speaker 2: said no, but she had She's been passed away now
Speaker 2: for a couple of years. So being up in Rhinelander
Speaker 2: for this camp made me really feel connected to her,
Speaker 2: and I could almost hear her in the spirit saying, yeah, sure,
Speaker 2: now you go up there. But AnyWho, So I go
Speaker 2: up to Rhinelander and I'm just kind of looking at
Speaker 2: my notes here just to stay on track, because I
Speaker 2: don't want to miss anything. So I go up to
Speaker 2: ryan Lander and I go to this ministry leader's retreat,
Speaker 2: and I connect with all these amazing people doing really
Speaker 2: powerful work to help people in this world, and to
Speaker 2: serve people who need service and help people who need help,
Speaker 2: and just people who have a heart to kind of
Speaker 2: heal former versions of themselves. If that makes sense, I
Speaker 2: think that's a lot of reasons why US entrepreneurs are
Speaker 2: in business in the in the you know, not just
Speaker 2: in making a million dollars, but in really helping the
Speaker 2: world be better and helping other people heal and find
Speaker 2: their way forward. Anyways, so I have this thought still
Speaker 2: in my mind about the experience at the conference. So
Speaker 2: we're at dinner one night at the retreat and sitting
Speaker 2: there chatting, and all of a sudden, the sweetest old
Speaker 2: man no offense, came and sat next to me, and
Speaker 2: I like instantly loved him. As he started talking, I
Speaker 2: was like, Okay, is it weird if I ask him
Speaker 2: to adopt me? Like I loved him instantly, just had
Speaker 2: this just kindness and sweetness emitting from him. And he
Speaker 2: was such a good storyteller. So he started telling us
Speaker 2: all these awesome stories about how his family founded Fort
Speaker 2: Wilderness like seventy some years ago, eighty years ago or
Speaker 2: something like that. And he's been going to Fort Wilderness
Speaker 2: since he was like ten. So I can't do math,
Speaker 2: but a long time, so him and his family and
Speaker 2: just all these stories of how he met his wife there.
Speaker 2: I mean, I was just bummed that I didn't have
Speaker 2: my phone on record. As he like instantly started telling
Speaker 2: these gems of stories. It was so great. So as
Speaker 2: he's talking, I'm like, oh my gosh, I should ask
Speaker 2: him to do some kind of recording with me for
Speaker 2: the Funny Kind podcast. And in my mind, of course,
Speaker 2: the other voice is like, don't be stupid. That's awkward.
Speaker 2: He's not going to know what's dagging about. Don't be dumb.
Speaker 2: But I thought, you know what, no, So I did.
Speaker 2: After he was done talking, I asked him if you'd
Speaker 2: be willing to meet with me the next day and
Speaker 2: have this conversation. And I gave him a little bit
Speaker 2: of background, and he was so cool. He's like, absolutely,
Speaker 2: how about tomorrow after breakfast you come over to the
Speaker 2: wood shop and find me and we can have a
Speaker 2: little chit chat. So next day, I get up and
Speaker 2: I bravely walk over. You know, it's like spring day
Speaker 2: in Wisconsin, so it was forty degrees, so I had
Speaker 2: my little park on and walk over to the wood shop. So, Emily,
Speaker 2: if you could pop up the little picture of mister
Speaker 2: Ron Robertson and I in front of the wood shop,
Speaker 2: that would be awesome. So Ron's there and he's waiting
Speaker 2: for me, and he's working on a wood project, a
Speaker 2: sawing project whatever, I don't know, sawing project, you.
Speaker 3: Know what I mean.
Speaker 2: And he's making this big tower for some game that
Speaker 2: the kids are going to be playing at an upcoming camp.
Speaker 2: And he's just smiling and telling me about these kids
Speaker 2: that are coming and how great it is. And he's like,
Speaker 2: all right, well, let me put my tools down and
Speaker 2: let's go over into the trailer where we can have
Speaker 2: a little office space and sit down and chat. So
Speaker 2: we get into the trailer and he leads us in
Speaker 2: a little prayer and he just jumps right in like
Speaker 2: he was just like, no big deal, you know, sure
Speaker 2: record me talking, no problem. He wasn't nervous. He had
Speaker 2: such ease about him that it made me feel comfortable. So, Emily,
Speaker 2: if you could play the first video so that you
Speaker 2: can meet my new Bestivron.
Speaker 4: Okay, Hi, it's Ron. It's a beautiful day up here
Speaker 4: in the north Woods.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 4: Last week I had an interesting thing happened. My daughter,
Speaker 4: who's forty, is having a birthday, so we thought, wouldn't
Speaker 4: it be nice to give her a just a gift
Speaker 4: card at a woman's store, which I don't often go into.
Speaker 4: And so I was stopped in at this woman's store
Speaker 4: to get a gift card.
Speaker 3: There was no one in there.
Speaker 4: There's a girl way in the back working on putting
Speaker 4: stuff on the counter, and then a girl at the counter.
Speaker 4: So I walked up and I said, hey, I'd like
Speaker 4: a gift card. And I noticed on her shoulder she
Speaker 4: had like a spaghetti straptop on it, and she had
Speaker 4: these very interesting tattoos, very colorful, beautiful color. And I said, wow,
Speaker 4: those are really brilliant. I said, those are really nicely done.
Speaker 4: Tell me what they mean. And she said, oh, my goodness,
Speaker 4: don't you love these tattoos. And I've learned that, you know,
Speaker 4: if you want to have a nice conversation with someone
Speaker 4: that has a tattoo, they love talking about.
Speaker 3: My skin's too old for them.
Speaker 4: But anyway, so we had a nice little talk and
Speaker 4: nobody came in the store. And you know, that morning
Speaker 4: I had prayed and said, Lord today I'm going to town.
Speaker 4: How can you use me today? You know, I could
Speaker 4: pray with somebody, maybe I could share the gospel with
Speaker 4: somebody or help somebody.
Speaker 3: You figure it out and just let me know.
Speaker 4: And so I realized, ah, this is the time right now.
Speaker 4: And so she said, well, this means my mother loved me.
Speaker 4: That's why I did this tattoo. And then she had
Speaker 4: faithful and few things out of her arms.
Speaker 3: I said, what do those mean?
Speaker 4: And she said, well, I've had some sad things happen
Speaker 4: in my life, and I want to find somebody that's
Speaker 4: faithful to me and loves me in a faithful way.
Speaker 3: And she had other things like that, and.
Speaker 4: I said, you know, I said, you missed something in
Speaker 4: your life and she said what is that? And I said,
Speaker 4: there is somebody who loves you a lot and is
Speaker 4: waiting to have a conversation with you. She said, no,
Speaker 4: nobody loves me. I said, yeah, there is somebody that
Speaker 4: loves you and really knows a lot about you. And
Speaker 4: she said, well, what are you talking about. I said, well,
Speaker 4: it's a little different, but it's Jesus, and he died
Speaker 4: for your sins and he knows all about you. He
Speaker 4: died for you, and he's been waiting to have this
Speaker 4: great conversation with you, and maybe that's why I'm here today.
Speaker 4: And she said, well, I want to know more about that.
Speaker 4: So I said, well, give me a minute. So I
Speaker 4: went out to the car and got a Bible in
Speaker 4: a little track that explains what we were talking about,
Speaker 4: and we came in. Still, nobody came into this big store,
Speaker 4: and so she took the stuff, and I said, I'd
Speaker 4: love to pray for you, and so I just reached
Speaker 4: out and grabbed her wrist so that I could have
Speaker 4: the human touch, and I prayed for her, and I
Speaker 4: prayed that God would meet her there and that she
Speaker 4: would learn more about him.
Speaker 3: She was very.
Speaker 4: Excited to know this stuff, and so I said, Lord,
Speaker 4: I hope someday to know the end of the story,
Speaker 4: if you would let me know. And I came back
Speaker 4: about ten days later just to check on her, and
Speaker 4: she had been moved to.
Speaker 3: A different store. But she's in God's hands.
Speaker 4: And when you tell somebody about Jesus, it's nice to know,
Speaker 4: but you know, it's in his hands.
Speaker 2: Said he said that he learned. You know, he didn't.
Speaker 2: So many times Christians get such a bad rap of
Speaker 2: being like, you know, so judgy and my way or
Speaker 2: the highway, and you're all a bunch of sinners if
Speaker 2: you don't believe what I believe. That is so not
Speaker 2: the vibe that Ron brings. It's so beautiful and so
Speaker 2: kind and not pretentious or aggressive in any way. And
Speaker 2: when she said nobody loves me, oh right, And for
Speaker 2: him to just go there and know that that's why
Speaker 2: he was there, and to be able to talk to
Speaker 2: her and tell her that somebody loves her. Who knows,
Speaker 2: who knows the impact that that had on her life
Speaker 2: that day? Who knows. I love how he said, you know, God,
Speaker 2: you you figure it out and just let me know.
Speaker 2: I love that he has such a willingness to just
Speaker 2: follow and not a I got it all figured out.
Speaker 2: I'm the master of my of my own destiny kind
Speaker 2: of a vibe. Oh and I my other favorite thing
Speaker 2: is when he reached out and touched her and said,
Speaker 2: you know, just to have the human touch. I know,
Speaker 2: the Pope just did a big thing about our returning
Speaker 2: to our humanity and the power of the connection that
Speaker 2: we have with each other. So just oh, I love Ron.
Speaker 2: So let's hear a little bit more from Ron. So, Emily,
Speaker 2: if you could play that second clip please, if you
Speaker 2: could summarize so many of these conversations that you've had
Speaker 2: with people, and so many lives that you see impacted
Speaker 2: because of God's love where they didn't feel like anybody
Speaker 2: loved them. How does one change from the moment of
Speaker 2: feeling abandoned or unseen to being like you came to
Speaker 2: that woman where some people would be like, oh my gosh,
Speaker 2: look at that tattoo, Oh my gosh, look at she's
Speaker 2: wearing spaghetti straps. Oh kids today, And here comes this
Speaker 2: sweet older man who just loves her as she is
Speaker 2: and speaks to her heart. How does that changed people?
Speaker 2: Do you think?
Speaker 4: Well, you know, when you see people that don't fit
Speaker 4: your norm you know a lot of times we go
Speaker 4: to church, everybody is exactly the same, and you go
Speaker 4: out in the world and if their hair is is orange,
Speaker 4: if you've gone to a church where no orange hair,
Speaker 4: you go, WHOA.
Speaker 3: I don't like that.
Speaker 4: That's the part where I said, Jesus, I want to
Speaker 4: be able to see the people. Those outside trappings mean nothing.
Speaker 4: They're just expressions of who they are. That's why people
Speaker 4: love tattoobs, because they go, hey, I've got a story
Speaker 4: to tell here, look at it. And so we need
Speaker 4: to be able to look past that, you know, because
Speaker 4: God loves them. Why can't we love them? And why
Speaker 4: should we be judging people? You can when we can
Speaker 4: see them for who they are or what their needs are.
Speaker 3: And so that's a freeing thing.
Speaker 2: I just want to be like Ron, you know, to
Speaker 2: be able to see past I like, can we call
Speaker 2: them trappings?
Speaker 3: Like?
Speaker 2: I don't think it's trapping the person, but it traps
Speaker 2: us into trying to put everybody in little you know,
Speaker 2: judge boxes. I know I do it. You know it's
Speaker 2: funny because remember the picture of the two of us
Speaker 2: were both not only don't we look related? I just
Speaker 2: want to point it out, okay, because I still want
Speaker 2: him to adapt me just ps. But we were both
Speaker 2: wearing parkas, so he had no idea that you know,
Speaker 2: I have tattoos and he didn't know that that ministered
Speaker 2: to me too. So really just love everything about him
Speaker 2: and his lack of judgment and just seeing past that
Speaker 2: and how freeing it is, how relaxing it is, how
Speaker 2: peaceful it is to just be at ease and to
Speaker 2: see people with love and not to judge people. Ooh, okay,
Speaker 2: let's watch the last little bit from ron Emily, if
Speaker 2: you could please share that last clip, tell us the
Speaker 2: three things again that are part of your everyday morning prayer.
Speaker 4: Oh yes, good morning, Lord. I'm available today, Lord, and
Speaker 4: I'd like to pray with somebody, or maybe I could
Speaker 4: help somebody with my hands, or maybe I could tell
Speaker 4: somebody about you and your love. Maybe I could witness
Speaker 4: to somebody today. I go from there, pray for my family, and.
Speaker 2: Then just things just happen, and you feel do you
Speaker 2: feel these like hey, maybe you like maybe you should
Speaker 2: go to Walmart today? Maybe you should go to this
Speaker 2: oil change place. And you're you're aware because of the
Speaker 2: way that you start your day, you have the intention
Speaker 2: to look for that that God is putting before you.
Speaker 4: I had a Bible study of like six couples and
Speaker 4: they met with us in our home and they were
Speaker 4: all different ages, and I would encourage them and say,
Speaker 4: do something radical today. And so one day Phil came
Speaker 4: back and he said, hey, I was he was a
Speaker 4: chef and he would buy He bought all these vegetables
Speaker 4: and everything, and he brought him up to the and
Speaker 4: Walmart and this girl said, how do you know how
Speaker 4: to do all that stuff? And he said, would you
Speaker 4: like to learn how to cook? And she said, well,
Speaker 4: maybe you know? And he said why don't you? And
Speaker 4: your is that your husband? She said, I have a
Speaker 4: friend I live with. He said, why don't you come
Speaker 4: to my house and I'll teach you both how to cook?
Speaker 4: And they came like seven different times and he led
Speaker 4: them both to Christ and we were having so much
Speaker 4: fun because these seven couples every week had a new
Speaker 4: story and they were excited and it had changed their
Speaker 4: outlook a little bit.
Speaker 3: So I have enjoyed this time with you and can use.
Speaker 2: The yeah for sure, thank you, yes, thank you, so good,
Speaker 2: so good, so good. I love that run inspired other
Speaker 2: people by his bravery. You know, he he has generations
Speaker 2: above him of pastors and people that would go out
Speaker 2: and talk to people like this, and so he was
Speaker 2: a little boy and he would look up and watch
Speaker 2: them do that, and so he was able to follow
Speaker 2: in their footsteps and can now go out and have
Speaker 2: these conversations with people so comfortably and kind of push
Speaker 2: past those awkward moments like can you imagine the guy
Speaker 2: at Walmart saying, would you like me to teach you
Speaker 2: to cook? Wasn't your first thought, like you creep? Right?
Speaker 2: Because we're so conditioned that way now that if someone
Speaker 2: actually reaches out in that way, we're already like thinking
Speaker 2: it's something picky. And just like with that girl who
Speaker 2: worked at the store, who knows the impact that those
Speaker 2: cooking lessons had, Who knows the ripple effect.
Speaker 4: Of that.
Speaker 2: Moment and how that went on, and how brave for
Speaker 2: that man to again just can go in a Walmart
Speaker 2: getting some food to make some dinner, and he has
Speaker 2: that conversation with somebody and pushes past that accordity to
Speaker 2: impact another person's life life. And I, you know, I
Speaker 2: talked about how Ron is such a great storyteller. There's
Speaker 2: this book that I picked up at the camp called
Speaker 2: port Lore. I tried to find a link pord online
Speaker 2: and I couldn't, So I have a link in the
Speaker 2: description for the camp. And I'm sure if you wanted
Speaker 2: to go to the camp or b get the book,
Speaker 2: I'm sure they'd ship it to you. But it is
Speaker 2: a whole little book of kind of the story of wilderness,
Speaker 2: the story of Ron and his family, and all these
Speaker 2: different little stories of people that have come to the
Speaker 2: camp and experiences that they've had there. And I mean,
Speaker 2: when you're with Ron, you want him to tell you
Speaker 2: a story. And it's just he's so sweet. So as
Speaker 2: my first like stranger connection kind of making my dream
Speaker 2: come true, I was so proud of myself that I
Speaker 2: pushed through the awkwardness and the uncertainty. I pushed past
Speaker 2: the awkwardness of putting this out there because I'm like,
Speaker 2: oh my gosh, people get so uncomfortable talking about certain
Speaker 2: things with our faith. But you know what, that's okay.
Speaker 2: We can we can handle it because God loves you.
Speaker 2: And you may not believe what Ron believes. You may
Speaker 2: not believe what I believe, but nonetheless God loves you,
Speaker 2: and you are not alone and God sees you. And
Speaker 2: I pray that every person that hears my voice, my Midwestern,
Speaker 2: strange voice, that we hear this call to see people
Speaker 2: and to go out and put our judgment down and
Speaker 2: love people the way that God loves them. Imagine if
Speaker 2: we started our day the way that Ron did, the
Speaker 2: way that Ron does, and say, Lord, how please use
Speaker 2: me today? Show me who I can help, show me
Speaker 2: who I can minister, to show me who I can
Speaker 2: see you figured out and you let me know. Imagine
Speaker 2: if we started our day that way, the world could change,
Speaker 2: the ripple effect, the impact, it could be amazing. So
Speaker 2: I'm really I was really changed by what Ron shared
Speaker 2: and inspired. And I am now now that I got
Speaker 2: that one out of the way, if you will now,
Speaker 2: I'm ready now I want to go to the next
Speaker 2: place and see who pops up and who we can
Speaker 2: talk to next on another episode of the Funny Kind,
Speaker 2: so they won't all necessarily be like that, I don't
Speaker 2: know what I don't know. That's going to figure it
Speaker 2: out and he'll let me know. So I love you.
Speaker 2: Thank you for being with me on this episode. Please
Speaker 2: share it with anybody who might need to know some love,
Speaker 2: to feel some love, to know that they're not alone
Speaker 2: and that there is hope. I love you even though
Speaker 2: I don't know you, and I see you see in
Speaker 2: the next episode. II.
Speaker 1: Thanks for tuning in to the Funny Kind with Erica Gummeny,
Speaker 1: where humor meets healing and inspiration meets action. If this
Speaker 1: episode made you laugh, think or become inspired, be sure
Speaker 1: to like, share, and tell a friend who could use
Speaker 1: a dose of heart and humor today. And don't forget
Speaker 1: to tune in to the Funny Kind right here on
Speaker 1: Transformation Talk Radio for more real talk, big laughs, and
Speaker 1: light bulb moments. Want to connect with Erica and learn
Speaker 1: more about turning your pivotal moments into powerful growth, visit
Speaker 1: your pivotalpoint dot com. Until next time, keep laughing, keep loving,
Speaker 1: and keep spreading a little bit of funny and a
Speaker 1: whole lot of kind,