Well, hey friends and welcome to the messy table, an ordinary space for meaningful conversations. Because right

in the middle of this wild and wonderful and often complicated life, it's sometimes nice to

slow down long enough to remember that God is at work in our mess. So if we haven't yet had the

chance to meet, my name is Jen Jewel and I do consider it such a joy to host this faith-fueled conversation-style podcast, which unleashes a new episode and a fresh perspective into your earbuds, your speakers, every other Tuesday. And as a lifelong includeer myself, I also enjoy having different co-hosts join me from time to time.

Today being one of my good friends who took her turn in the hot seat way back on episode two,

who runs a market gardening farm hub business, like basically she plays in the dirt for a living,

the cat Robinson.

Y'all, we are partnered with the women of our church, Life Church,

and we just love locking arms with all kinds of genuinely brave women from all over,

from all walks of life who are willing to share a piece of their story. So guys, we do not have

all the answers, but we are following the one who does. Well, there's a popular story

from a famous book about a bunch of seeds, but it's interesting. Though the seeds are certainly

a big part of the story, the narrative itself is about the soil. So a farmer went out to plant

some seeds. And as he went, some fell on a path, some on rocky ground,

some in the middle of thorns, and some on good fertile soil. It's documented in Matthew 13,

where Jesus takes a minute to explain this parable, which y'all he didn't always do, and that

probably means we should pay close attention. He said, now listen to the explanation of the parable about

the farmer planting seeds. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the

message about the kingdom and don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the

seed that was planted in their hearts. Now the seed on rocky soil represents those who hear

the message and immediately

receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away

...