SPEAKER_01 0:00

Here comes the Sun do. Here comes the Sunday. It's all right.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Hello, Fortitude Audience. Welcome to season two. My name is Amos Kittleson. I'm joining here with my awesome, amazing, wonderful wife, Heather.

SPEAKER_03 0:27

Hello. Hello.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Welcome. Welcome to be here.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

Welcome. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Welcome to be here.

SPEAKER_03 0:33

Welcome.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

We're kicking off season two with proper English. Folks, I just want to read Proverbs 3:13 to you. That is, blessed are those who find wisdom, those who find who those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand, and in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. Folks, we love learning from other people and helping others enrich their lives with wisdom. That is God's wisdom. How to do life. And that's really the focus of this podcast. How can we bring wisdom and hope to our listeners?

SPEAKER_03 1:21

Absolutely. Yes. I would be dead if it wasn't for learning the wisdom, the people I have surrounded, we've surrounded ourselves with. It has been the most delightful time ever these past five years in sobriety to be able to learn the things that I've learned and to be able to pass it on to others in my same world of um just addiction in general. But in all areas of life, we get to meet some of the most incredible people. So kicking off season two, we have so many great guests. We have in a complete lineup, another 40 that are coming, which is so fun.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

We actually have 40 in the queue, or we're just no, we're gonna do 40 and we've got some lots of those stories.

SPEAKER_03 2:10

Well, we have over 40. I have in the queue, I have well over 40 more stories.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

Just comes my mind.

SPEAKER_03 2:17

Stories of overcoming adversity. And so if you haven't listened to season one, go back to the beginning and listen to all the stories. They are so good. And we have had great feedback from just the people that have reached out and have said thank you. And not only to us, but to the guests who have called and said, Hey, can I can I reach out and talk to that guest? So you like you and I being able to sit with people and hear their full story of what they have overcome has been a blessing to us and our audience, and it's just gonna get better.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

I'm excited. What you don't or might not know, dear audience, is that I hear within a couple of days before they show up who it is, and then I don't know their story. I sit down and record, and I learn about their story in the moment, and that's kind of intentional. And um, so I'm excited to see who you've got lined up.

SPEAKER_03 3:19

Well, let's start with us, audience. Let's talk through a little bit of where Amos and I are today and give you a little update on our life.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Oh boy, is it time to be transparent and vulnerable?

SPEAKER_03 3:30

Just for a couple minutes.

unknown 3:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

All right, I'm ready.

SPEAKER_03 3:33

Do you still love me?

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Oh my gosh. We don't have enough time to talk about all that.

SPEAKER_03 3:39

We don't plan this, just so you know. We just jump on and let the Holy Spirit just roll.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

So um I was just sitting in a counselor's office this morning and I was just thinking, like, she was asking me questions about the family, and I go, I hope she doesn't ask about our marriage, because I won't be able to stop saying enough nice things about it.

SPEAKER_03 3:59

For those of you who are just maybe tuning in to season two, uh Amos's and my story really didn't get this awesome until about two years ago. Yeah. Took a long time. Yeah. We have we have stepped into a really cool place and it's taken a lot of work and a lot of obedience. Um, I have kicked and screamed. You've kicked and screamed. It's been, I don't know that we ever screamed. Let me put that differently. That's just more of a phrase, but and there wasn't much kicking. No, no kicking. We just we just are doing the hard. We're doing the hard. Yeah. And on the other side of it, it has just been, it's been so great. And we want that for each and every one of the people in our lives and our audience. And so that's why we do what we do. That's why we're doing this podcast. Because we just want people to learn and grow and step out of their comfort zone and get uncomfortable. Cause we are living it. Like we're walking it, living it. And every trial that we that we come into, like give it a I'll I'll give a quick example of like I used to in our marriage be very combative. It was, it, it's just, it was a nature thing of mine. Nature, natural, natural, yeah, natural.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

Yeah. Close thing.

SPEAKER_03 5:17

Um, where I would shut down and I would fight back without understanding the impact it would have on my husband or our marriage. And I have dug into that and I have swallowed so many times my pride and just thought, Lord, help me know differently, help me do differently. And so that the our marriage can be intended, it's intended for such beauty, the way God intended it. And I don't know what that looks like. Again, I keep saying over and over, like, I don't, I don't even think we've tapped into 10% of the greatness that God has for us in our marriage. And so for everybody that listens to us, and I've had people say relationship goals, like they'll tag that for you and I. Right. And like, it takes a lot of work.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:07

Every day.

unknown 6:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:08

Every day we're learning something new.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

It's not about us, but we have chosen to be transparent and share with what we've learned. So, what um what are these questions you've got?

SPEAKER_03 6:19

Well, what what do you mean, questions? Oh, I thought we had questions from someone. We do, but I'm not done being vulnerable. Sound good. There we go. Okay. No, um, because that was the number one question she had on here. She says, as a listener, I want to hear about transparent life updates from you as the hosts.

unknown 6:43

Nice.

SPEAKER_03 6:43

So we're being transparent. That is the first question.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Is it my turn now?

SPEAKER_03 6:48

Uh yeah. And then I want to give an example with our kids.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Okay. That's great.

SPEAKER_03 6:52

Because we're a year, we're a year in now of me being home and kind of home.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

Yeah, yeah. I one of the things that I've changed recently was I heard you say that you don't feel heard. And in my heart, I was listening. And in fact, for a couple of years, I think I said, But I I am listening to you. I do hear you. What you say makes it into my head. And you would say, Well, you know, you just you just decided you're gonna do what you're gonna do. And that really wasn't how I felt because I was receiving what you're saying. You had very wise things to say. I think about them, and sometimes I make a decision that's not in line with what you thought I would do. But that was was something we had to overcome. And so what I've finally realized was it was the words I was saying that made it sound like I wasn't listening. Because I would in a way contradict what you were saying. And to me was conversation. To you sounded like you were getting shut down or I was just disagreeing. And so what I've done instead was be intentional about asking more questions or clarifying or saying the words like that's received. I hear you. And uh just letting you know that the wisdom that you have that's God's given you, it makes it into this gray matter of mine and gets mixed in with every everything else. Have you felt like that's yeah, that's a good thing. I I felt yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:19

Yeah. Versus you asking things out of curiosity or not curiosity, um, can um where you'll say things, ask me questions, and I'm like, why is he even asking? He's he already is gonna do what he's gonna do. Why does he why why? Like and I would feel frustrated because I felt like you were it was a you're being quote unquote considerate, like checking the box. Being very inconsiderate by wasting my time asking when you already are gonna do what you want to do. Like that's how it felt. But the reality was not that, right? So again, going, my feelings are my feelings and your feelings are yours. And so I'm just being able to talk about it.

SPEAKER_00 8:55

Yeah. Being able to just share that was I wonder why it took so many years for us to figure that thing out.

SPEAKER_03 9:02

Well, we're both kind of stubborn. I mean, let's get real. Everybody has their own stubborn streak, but it could have been also I didn't know how to articulate it.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:12

Cause I'm just I'm still just learning every single day. And so to me, being able to articulate that with you, but I also want to trust you and respect you. Like every human being should to every human being. But I mean, as my husband, I'm like, I want to be able to trust you and not question you, but I also want to be heard. Like I trust the outcome of however this is gonna go because you're the leader of our house and I love and respect you. And then, but I I'm here. Like it's like, hello, I think. You gotta have a voice.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Yeah, that's exactly part of my my responsibility as a leadership is to trust in your point of view on things. And I can't and just realize I can't do what I need to do without you. It's just and this is a two-person job, not a one-person job. And I mean, biblically there's a hierarchy, but leadership is also talking and getting input from other people.

SPEAKER_03 10:00

It is.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

And I was failing at that. I was asking for input, but it's not making you feel like you heard you were heard. And that was my bad. So I got to take responsibility for that.

SPEAKER_03 10:08

Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_03 10:10

What's been the most uh fun is that it's in all areas of our life. So not just marriage, but in parenting in our friendships, in the things that we're being like our boundaries, making sure that we are prioritizing our faith, our marriage, our kids, and then everything after that. Like we're not um we're not getting into a world of fast. We're trying to slow things down, which is giving us more time. And I can't say this enough to friends and people that I help coach and walk through just life situations. And it's you gotta start purging. You have to start purging in order to have the time that you need to nourish the really good relationships that you already have. And I was sucking that up bad, like bad.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

You were super saturated, weren't you?

SPEAKER_03 11:03

Oh, I was so saturated that I didn't have time for to focus on you and I or to focus on the kids. I was really, I wanted to change the world. But like Mother Teresa says, if you want to change the world, go home and take care of your family. And that's not an easy thing to do. There's a lot that goes into that. But learning and jumping two feet in, like I said in that other podcast about jump two feet in. I just, if I had a job and I didn't know what I was doing, I would jump in and learn every single thing that I possibly can to do it really good. So I just readjusted my brain pattern and was like, well, this is my job. I am put on this earth to to not a job. This is my full-time ministry, is to love on you and love on the kids and these gifts I've been given. I want to nurture them and grow them. And so that's where we're at. And it's been so fun, but it it it has not been overnight.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

It's been an amazing change. Amazing. The house runs so much better.

SPEAKER_03 12:06

It does.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

It does so much more. There's peace in the house. It's it's comfortable, more comfortable, it's enjoyable. We we will enjoy spending time with our kids more now.

SPEAKER_03 12:16

And this is why you should listen to fortitude.

unknown 12:19

Right.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

Yeah, because it fixes all your problems.

SPEAKER_03 12:22

Yeah, no, we because we're we're open, we're honest, and we will just we'll we'll share it with with you what we're doing and how we're doing it, and our guests will too. And it's just there's so much great emotion and so much great wisdom. That's why you read that verse. It's like to be able to step into a world that you know is possible, you just don't know how to get there. It's podcasts like Fortitude that will just help you step by step. And if you start to apply it and you start to live it out and actually, uh, I mean, beyond the living it out, like the obedience in it and the repetition and all the things, it it starts, you start to go, whoa, I starting to see some results. And I like it.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

It's easy to get stuck, isn't it? And not know what to do. And you could be at the bottom of a valley and just feel like things can get any worse. And they're it's everywhere. It's hard and it's hard to think those moments. We've we've we've been there. And so when you lean on the wisdom and advice of other people and you hear that other people have gone through what you're going through and they've made it out of it and they're doing better and they're thriving, then yeah, that's what we're that's what I love hearing those stories.

SPEAKER_03 13:35

Yeah, grab it's like grab a hold and come with. Like just let's go on this ride together. Our past guests that we've had on season one, we can't thank them enough for being vulnerable and for sharing their stories because they are raw and they are real and personal, very personal, personable from divorce and suicide and um heart transplant to having Parkinson's to, I mean, all every single person on our podcast is their friend. I mean, they're they're dear to us. And so it's what I'm excited about. I want to share one more quick thing that happened just yesterday that Amos doesn't know about.

unknown 14:13

Ooh.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Um hot off the press live. Yeah. This is good.

SPEAKER_03 14:18

Brittany is our our oldest girl, and her and I kind of butt heads a little bit because we're, I think this, well, just both strong-headed, both stubborn, but both have love and empathy like no other. And so from my old toolbox and tool bag, I I tend to be reactive versus responsive. And I've been very, very strategically and intentionally um watching how I react. I'm literally feel like it's an out-of-body experience because I'm in so in tune with it where I'm watch, I'm doing something and I'm watching myself from the outside looking in.

SPEAKER_00 15:03

Wow, that's a cool trick.

SPEAKER_03 15:05

And it sucks because it you go as something's happening, you know how we react so fast to something and it's you're in the middle of your reaction, and sometimes you're aware, sometimes you're not. But what happened was I was preparing for a class I'm facilitating, and I printed off a bunch of a bunch of syllabus or a bunch of um outlines, and I needed them stapled. So I went and I handed them to Britney and I said, Hey, I need to leave here in 45 minutes. And I know you love to help me, so will you just staple these for me and um, I'll grab them. I gotta go get ready. I'll be right back. And as I'm getting ready to walk out the door, and I got maybe five minutes to spare, I look in her room and there's white pieces of paper all over her floor and they're wet. And I was like, and I I had an outburst. I was like, Brittany, what is going on in here? And I felt myself get heated and a little bit like, oh my gosh, I have to go. I don't have time to re gotta get to class. And she's looking at me, and I'm looking at her, and I just paused and I got tears in my eyes, she got tears in her eyes, and I said, Brittany, oh, it's okay. It's a total, it's okay. Cause she was trying to explain what happened. She spilled water on him and she felt terrible. She was trying to get him to dry before. And so, in her moment of already knowing, like, oh, I didn't do I'm like, she was sad. And I got mad, but I paused in the middle of it and I just looked at her and I gave her the biggest hug and I said, It is okay. It is okay. I am not mad. I am so sorry that I reacted the way that I reacted. That's the that's the old mom. I don't want to, I don't want to react like that. I don't want to like so just sitting and explaining it to her, she started crying, she embraced me and like like sobbed. You could tell she felt really bad. And then she spilt my coffee at the pool yesterday accidentally, too. And I and I did the exact same thing. Brittany. Yeah, you know, and she just looked at me and I looked back at her, I said, it's okay. It's just an accident. But I was going to react the way I always did. Yeah. And instead, I'm from all of the things that I'm learning. So that's the stuff that we love to pour into you guys. We want to help you be the moms and the dads and the wives and the husbands that we know we we know we're in there. We know it's possible, but we just have to do some rewiring. And that's what I am so excited about this because God can do anything. And we're a result of that.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

That's a beautiful thing, honey. Thank you for doing that, for being so intentional. You've affected her for the rest of her life. She's gonna remember that. I hope so with her kids. I hope. And so that's you've changed your family tree. It's now has a different branch just going off a different direction because of that. That's just beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 18:00

So good.

unknown 18:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:01

It it felt good. I didn't get into the car with terrible mama guilt, like I know so many moms do. Because we're in a hurry and we yell and we run and we go, and then we're like, oh, that just was awful.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

So Can I give you an example of something I'm working on?

SPEAKER_03 18:14

Yeah, please.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

I don't know if this is a dad thing, but um, you know, like leaving the the refrigerator doors open.

SPEAKER_03 18:24

I haven't I don't know anything about that because I don't ever do that.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

Our kids, our kids do that. And as a business owner, I think of terms of return on investment or ROI or the cost benefit analysis, things like that. And and so when I think about a refrigerator door being left open, I think about how much is that actually costing me in dollars and cents? And when I think about that, I realize it's nothing. It's like pennies. Long term, maybe it's maintenance in the fridge, and I gotta deal with that, but that's that's a maybe. But what's the cost to my relationship with my kids when I yell at them? And how and how I do it? Is that worth a fraction of a penny? Nope. Probably not. I think I'd rather pay the penny than actually than damage damage our relationship.

SPEAKER_03 19:11

Thank you for that too.

SPEAKER_00 19:13

Yeah. Yeah. They still need to close the refrigerator door.

SPEAKER_03 19:15

And they still need to shut lights off.

SPEAKER_00 19:16

But how I do it, how I talk to them about it, that needs to change because it's not worth the fraction of a cent that it costs.

SPEAKER_03 19:21

Yep.

unknown 19:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:22

There's so many things that I get worked up on that I'm not anymore because it is not worth Yeah, it's just not worth it. Not worth it. The relationship is so much more because as an adult, we can look back and I hear from so many people, I'm not doing it like my parents. I'm not doing it, but we do. We repeat it. Yeah. And so to our doesn't you're right, wrong, or indifferent. Parents are amazing, parents are loving. We just naturally repeat the cycle. So gotta switch it up a little bit. Try new things. I um I'm really excited, Amos, my awesome husband, for not only season two and the guests that are coming, but with our podcast, we're starting more. We're doing, we're doing, as I just said, we're slowing down and getting more peaceful. Here I am saying, hey, we're doing more, but we're building community. And we have hired an incredible marketing person who's gonna help so much with getting some of our social media and messages out there. But not only that, um, it it frees us up to do some more things that were really like to build the community and to have um a website and a platform where people can actually get help and learn more and tap into more than just the podcast. And God gave me a vision several years ago of an event. And I didn't know what it was gonna be called. I didn't know it was for sure gonna be, but it is in full speed happening on September 7th, called I Am Fortified by Fortitude. And this event is kind of the beginning, is kind of a kickoff to a bigger fortitude ministry beyond the podcast. But it's people's stories and passion. And um, we will post more about it. I'll put a link in, but it is we want to impact generational abundance. And it has to start when they're younger. And so helping people know better so they can do better from all walks of life, every walk, every ethnicity. When it comes to young girls, because we have three, and because I was one myself, I look back and go, the things I didn't know. What would I, what would I have done differently if I would have known certain things? And so this event is gonna be all day, December 7th, from nine to three, and is gonna impact young girls from ages 10 to 15. A guardian and then 16 beyond. I want, if you have a neighbor girl and you want to help just impact her life by just having knowledge, come. You don't have to have a young girl to participate in this event. It is for women of all ages. If you are 105 years old and you're still learning how to have a great life or to know more things impacted by the kingdom, come, come, come, come. Social, we're talking about social media dangers, finances, um, reproductive development. I have a beautiful MD OBGYN doctor who is gonna speak directly into the lives about the temple and our worth. And um I have a self-defense instructor coming. Like we're just we're building a community, Amos. And that's what I'm excited about. People are wanting more of the knowledge, things that we're not naturally told in the world. Um, the things that are kind of, I don't know, pushed under rugs and ah, it's gonna be fine. No, it's really not. You do need to know this because not only for you, but for your generational tree.

SPEAKER_00 23:12

Um there is a culture. There is we live in a fallen world, and there is a devil who wants to feed you lies. And he does you can do that through culture. And that can separate you from the joy of life that God really wants for you that we don't deserve, but He wants for you. And uh culture, I think, is a big, of course, a big avenue for his lies. And it's a constant thing, a constant drip feed of separation. It is biblical ways, yeah, and normalization. So this um this weekend will give you uh a a new foundation to work on and to some truth to to help counteract what the culturist tells you.

SPEAKER_03 23:58

Yeah, biblical truth, turning from the worldly ways and living a more abundant life. Uh if I would have known younger, I probably I would have I I know without a shadow of a doubt I would have done things different. Yeah, it's just having it accessible.

SPEAKER_02 24:13

Same here.

SPEAKER_03 24:13

Um, so with we we're gonna be interviewing the speakers. We're gonna have a few podcasts coming out here, some episodes with the speakers for the event, sharing their stories and their knowledge and their passion. Um, we also are bringing back a guest right out of the get-go. Uh, he will be, he was our number one listen to. So Paul DeYoung will be our next episode after this one. And um man, I it we got a new studio. I think people know that, right? Like we've talked about the studio. Got a marketing person. We're um what else? The audience wants they I don't know. Jill said she wants to know more. So how can our audience get involved, Amos?

SPEAKER_00 24:59

Oh. Um that's a great question, Heather. How can the audience get involved?

SPEAKER_03 25:04

Mid-conference.

SPEAKER_00 25:05

Remember, I just I just sit down at these things to start recording and then do the editing.

SPEAKER_03 25:08

Okay. Um how can people get involved? They if you have a story, please reach out.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

How do they how do they reach out? What's the best way to reach out to you?

SPEAKER_03 25:17

I will make sure that it is in the notes. We will put an email address. We have a Facebook site, we have an Instagram site, we have a LinkedIn. Shoot us messages. Tell us what you want to hear. If you know of a story, let us connect us. Um if there's other ways that our podcasts can be enhanced with like I think about subject matter experts, bringing on counselors, having people call in with questions. Um, I want to get a bus and I want to take it on the road and travel, but that's not in the cards yet. It might be 2026. I hope you're okay with that.

SPEAKER_00 25:57

I get it. That the we get a bus?

SPEAKER_03 26:00

Yeah, and we take fortitude on the road. That's how we're gonna build community.

SPEAKER_00 26:03

Pretty amazing.

SPEAKER_03 26:03

And how they all can get involved because we will say we're coming Minneapolis. No one doubt it. All right. You guys heard that. I just got permission. What do we need? I think that just involvement. We want to have more people sharing, liking, listening. Um, we are currently in the state of raising money. If you feel called to give to our ministry to speak in to the lives of anyone and everyone who wants to listen, who are just looking for hope and looking for Jesus Christ, and you want to come along for the ride financially, we we have we need money to keep doing the ministry. And I'm in fundraising mode right now, um, as we build it, which has been going wonderful. People really believe in fortitude. So thank you for everybody who has given. And um, if we can be praying for you, that's another thing. Let us know. We uh just reach out on any kinds of any of our platforms and social media. And if you have questions for us about anything weird, we love weird because we're weird. We are in a good way.

SPEAKER_00 27:12

Weird to be goofy, weird in a good way. Yeah, hopefully. Yeah, humbly so. So thank you, dear audience. Thank you for listening. Thank you for your support, your feedback. We appreciate you. We uh just want to be the hands and feet of of Christ, you know, and just it's not about us, it's about letting him flow through us and and our and our guests to those who need to hear what they need to hear. So thanks.

SPEAKER_03 27:37

Thank you.