Episode 201: Blake Koteita | From Partying to Preaching: Blake’s Journey of Transformation

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[00:00:00] We’d get, you know, super high on Coke and a, a party would get busted by the cops and be like, yo, where we meet, oh, well, let’s go to the river bed. So we’d go to the river bed and we’d be chilling, like, you know, coked out of our minds. And I just would like start preaching. Mm-hmm. I would start telling people about God, I, I shut my Bible.

And I went into my room and I shut the door and I got on my hands and knees and I curled up my hands like this. And I got on the end of my bed and I just started to do what I thought was praying. Right? Yeah. And all of a sudden the Holy Spirit filled my bedroom. Yeah. And I start weeping. Just like my very first encounter with God.

Yeah. And I’m weeping. And I’m weeping, and I’m weeping, and I’m weeping, and I’m experiencing God. I’m encountering the Holy Spirit. His presence, his power. Yeah. And I was just like, I’m so sorry. I was like, Lord, I, I’m, I’m done. I just started to say I’m done. I’m done. I’m ready to live for you. I’m ready to live for you.

Hey, thank you guys so [00:01:00] much for jumping on to another episode of Rebuilding Life After Addiction. Really appreciate y’all on. Hanging around the channel, following along everything that we’re doing to bring hope to those struggling with addiction. I mean, that’s the mission, right? We want to put hope within reach of everyone struggling with addiction and um mm-hmm.

I’m excited to jump on here again and have another conversation. I’ve got Blake. Cotita with us and I get it right. Yeah. Cotita. Yep. Got it. And we, we are here at the harvest table and we’ll kind of talk about some of this here in a few minutes, but man, Blake, man, thanks so much for taking the time to sit down and chat this evening, man.

I really appreciate it. Yeah, for sure, man. How, how you doing? Thanks for asking me. Doing really good. Yep. Amazing. Yeah, doing really good. Sweet. So let’s, let’s jump right in, man. You know, the whole purpose here is I, I like to connect with folks who, who are on, on the other side of addiction, right? Mm-hmm. We, we talk about the battle with addiction, and I think a lot of times we see people kind of pulling themselves out of this rock bottom moment.

Mm-hmm. And [00:02:00] sometimes it’s hard to get a vision for what the future of our lives looks like. And so, you know, maybe to kind of jump into this whole conversation, man, would you be, um, well, and just share a little bit of your journey, you know, kind of some of your story. I mean, we’re here in your coffee shop.

Mm-hmm. You guys have another business, you’ve got a family, you’ve got kids. Um, but I’d love to hear some of the origin story, you know, before all of that happened. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Before this was even, you know, I wasn’t thinking this far. Right. You know? Yeah. So I grew up in Los Angeles, California. Okay. Um, my mom actually grew up in Virginia.

She moved to, uh, California when she was 18. Mm-hmm. Uh, she had me and my sister, um, and, uh, my dad is originally from Pennsylvania. Okay. Um, yeah, I grew up coming to Virginia, coming to visit, and uh, so I was familiar with the East coast a little bit. Yeah. Familiar enough that I was like, I can’t stand it.

[00:03:00] Right. You know? Yeah. Um, just because, you know, growing up in Southern California, you feel like you had everything. Mm. You really didn’t leave, need to leave the state. There was no state that or place that could compare to it, so I just. Didn’t enjoy going anywhere else. Right. ’cause I skateboarded, you know?

Right. Yeah. Then I got older and started smoking weed and then I couldn’t get the weed that I couldn’t get weed anywhere. So that was also an issue. But you couldn’t get California weed in Virginia. I couldn’t get Cali weed. Right, right. Yeah. So couldn’t get that chronic, you know, I’m just kidding. But, um.

Yeah, so I, I grew up in a Christian home. I grew up, uh, uh, you know, in the youth group, uh, you know, doing all the, the stuff, you know, being told, you know, um, the way that I should live my life, you know, and, um, I played, uh, instruments, uh, with the, you know, in the church and, but I never knew God for myself, you know?

Mm-hmm. And, um. My [00:04:00] parents’ relationship wasn’t very good. Uh, and as I got older, I started to see that more clear. Yeah. That it was very sneaky. There were things my dad would do to try to figure things out about my mom. And my mom was just very much, you know, did her own thing. And yeah, there was uh, um, uh.

Just a, a pivotal moment, uh, that really shifted my life. But leading up to it, you know, I, I, I was involved in, in sports. Um, I grew up in, uh, I grew up in a good area. I had a really great childhood, really great childhood. Me and the boys met up outside every day. You know, there was, there was like six of us, each one of us were a different race, Hispanic, uh, Portuguese, Korean, black, and, uh, we all were different.

Yeah. And uh, I grew up just, I felt like my childhood was really good. I enjoyed hanging out, I enjoyed being around people. I would be considered extrovert, you know, whatever. [00:05:00] Um, and everyone had brothers, so, you know, the brothers were typically into stuff probably they shouldn’t have been, you know, so then that was kind of opening a door to some things.

But, um. Yeah, I started to get a little older and just wanting to be in with the cool guys and doing the things that I probably shouldn’t do. And, you know, things started to be really corny and uh, um, as I got older. But there was a, let me kind of rewind a little bit. Uh, when I was really young, um, I was four.

I had a. Um, I don’t know why I’m, I’m kind of going here, so just kind of follow me. Yeah, for sure. Um, I had a, a, a sexual encounter mm-hmm. With a woman at four, four years old. And I, I think from that moment, I, I, I feel, I felt things and did things that no 4-year-old should ever do. Right. [00:06:00] Or feel, and so it, it did something to me.

It kind of set the course for a lot of things for me. Mm-hmm. So like. Growing up in the church and going into the nursery, or whatever you wanna call it, uh, the kids’ wing. I always thought the kids were corny. Like I always thought, like, you guys are lame. And I was, that, that moment that I had with that lady, it, you know, the Bible talks about not awakening love before it’s time.

Right. It, it stripped my, it took my innocence from me. Yeah. So it really, it started because that happened, it really opened a door to. Things that I shouldn’t desire. Right. And I didn’t know how to, didn’t know how to deal with those things. You know? I ended up getting addicted to porn as I got older, you know?

Mm-hmm. Porn was not really a thing on the internet until I was probably in, I mean, I wanna say probably eighth grade maybe. Yeah. How old are you? I’m 36. 36, okay. Yeah, so it is hard to even, it’s, it’s even crazy just to say that, like how far we’ve gone with [00:07:00] technology. But yeah, we came across a magazine maybe as kids, but there was no internet.

That’s right. Maybe someone, there was channels, uh, that was, you know, we had access to, but. Um, it was through the blurry lines, right? Late night you would try to catch lights was like that channels, right? Three. Weird. Yeah. Let’s turn my head to the left. I can, yeah. Yeah. So, um, yeah, so, you know, that, that really impacted my life.

Uh, I, um, so yeah, I was in the youth group, um, started dating a girl. Um, by then my parents’ relationship is, is not going well. Um. And, uh, yeah, there was a, a, a divorce that ended up happening in my home. Um, I’m trying not to go into, into into too much detail. Yeah. Um, and I saw why, uh, uh, what I kind of had to call my dad and tell him some things that happened ’cause I was firsthand to see it.

And my dad was actually outta town. And, um. [00:08:00] So, you know, my whole life growing up, my parents were telling me what to do and pretty strict on my life. Um, you know, I wasn’t really allowed to go to the movies and with my buddies because they were afraid of us getting into trouble and mm-hmm. Um, and plus I wasn’t super.

Old enough and mature to do that stuff anyway, you know, I mean, rightfully so. Um, so, but you know, they told me not to do these things, but then it wasn’t modeled. Right. You know, you’re, you’re trying to give me these rules, but like, you tell me I can’t watch these movies and, and, but like when we go to bed, I, we hear the raid movie on the tv, right?

And so it was like, you know, so, um. That moment, uh, that my parents, ’cause I was already starting to dabble in, you know, marijuana and things like that. And, um, um, drinking and, and the girl that I dated at the time, they were heavy. Like, uh, it was like a Portuguese community. They were pretty heavy.

Everything they did was party. Right? Like, there was church events. You would go [00:09:00] from the church to the bar. Like it was just, it’s just part of, it’s just ingrained in the culture, right? With the Portuguese. Yeah. Um, so it started getting heavy in that. And then just, you know, it. Because of my brokenness that was really drawing me.

Those things were really drawing me, you know, like I was finding fun in my brokenness, you know, it was like an escape. And now at that, at that time, did you, um, you know, you talk about the incident that happened when you were four, right? Yeah. I mean, were you kind of aware some of that was driving? No idea at the time.

You didn’t have no clue. Okay. No. Yeah, no, no clue. It wasn’t until, you know, uh, I was aware of. You know, when I had my encounter with the Lord, and, and you know, God kind of just reveals those things. You understand what brokenness is. Right. You know what I mean? Yeah. Um, and so, um, yeah, so my, my, my parents end up getting a divorce and that was the moment that I said, ’cause I was really angry at that time.

That was the [00:10:00] moment I said. Uh, now I can do whatever I want and I’m gonna do whatever I want. Mm-hmm. Because I knew they were gonna have two different homes. Yeah. They weren’t gonna be strict on me anymore. Now, I’m, I can make my schedule, no one tell me what to do. Yeah. Basically. So I would go from my dad’s house to my mom’s house, depending on who was at work, who wasn’t at work, and, uh, kind of just floated and did what I want.

And so then I got introduced to heavier drugs. Uh, you know, I, I ended up getting introduced to, to cocaine and. My buddy’s dad was in and outta jail and uh, one day we dropped him off, um, somewhere he needed a ride and he jumps out the car and pulls out a pistol and this sack of coke. And he goes, here, thanks for the ride.

And runs down the street with his pistol, like full sprint. I’m like, what the heck just happened right now? Yeah. And so here we are sitting with this rock. Of cocaine. Yeah. And like, I can feel the darkness. I, I was aware that this was like a threshold almost, right? Yeah. And I’m like, [00:11:00] man, I just insides tell me like, I, there’s nothing in me that should be doing that right now, but like, don’t be a woos.

Like let’s, let’s move past that. Mm-hmm. And so we ended up doing it and man had the high, had a high of our life. Right. And, uh, felt like you were Superman. And so now I got this new thing added to my list of things to do, right? Like, I can do cocaine every once in a while. And, um, then it progressed, uh, started, you know, uh, I got introduced to Ecstasy Mm.

And went to my first rave and, uh. For anyone who doesn’t know what a rave is. I mean, they’re, they’re called radical audio vis visual experience. And there’s like, usually like, I don’t know nowadays, but there was like five different stages that you can go in each stage played a different type of electronic dance music and everyone there was high on ecstasy.

Yeah. And it was a, it was a whole nother world. So now I’m living for these experiences, you know, I’m living for these raves. And, uh, they’re very spiritual. Was this all on the West Coast? [00:12:00] Still all on the West coast. I mean, they have ’em at Laker Stadium, right? Yeah. They were having ’em at, uh, the, you know, Anaheim, uh, I mean, you name it, they were just, they were hosting them at stadiums.

Yeah. And they’re still going on now. Yeah. Um, and so they had these main, uh. Main raves. Uh, every year there was like four or five main ones and we always like prepared for the next one, prepared for the next one, prepared for the next one. And so at this point, you know, my, uh, jobs, I’m just, I’m keeping jobs just for the weekend and then, you know, I get tired of it and I leave.

So I’m keeping jobs for like two weeks, you know, longest, maybe a month. So I’ve had, had a ton of jobs. Man, just couldn’t keep jobs. I wasn’t stable. Uh, I just wanted to party. I wanna have a good time, be with my friends, and I was broken. You know, nobody can tell me what to do, and I’m living. As soon as I wake up in the morning, I’m like, who, who can I call?

Let’s get high and have, have a good time. And so, um. Yeah. Uh, a couple, you know, there was a couple very wild experiences. Like I saved a dude’s life [00:13:00] one day that, uh, he took, he had like taken two pills at once and, uh, I was always afraid to do that. Like, there, there was always like a threshold in my life that I felt like I.

There was always thresholds, right. That I knew like, all right, if I do this one, I feel like it’s gonna open a door to something else. Yeah. And so I always was like, I was always faced with these moments where, um, I, I just didn’t, I was too afraid to go go that far. Right. And, you know, and, and one of those things was taking more than I should drug wise.

Yeah. Did those, because you mentioned, since, since we started talking, you mentioned the kind of, the progression from. From pot, cocaine, ecstasy. So like, did those thresholds, I guess, increase over time? I mean, did you kick, kick the line out a little bit further? Oh yeah. What was that like? What was that process mentally, I guess, that you were going through?

You know what I’m saying? Yeah. When you decided to make that leap. Right. Here’s a big sack of cocaine just dropping into my lap. Mm-hmm. And I mean, you know, kind of what. Were there any catalytic [00:14:00] moments, if you will, that like kind of pushed that, or was it just kind of in the moment enemies in your face and the flash just takes over on in those moments?

Yeah, so I mean, like, you know, uh, I’m a, I’m a firm believer that. Uh, you know, walking with the Lord, uh, the enemy’s walking right alongside you the entire time. Mm-hmm. And, uh, you know, everything that God does, Satan wants to twist, pervert, manipulate, destroy, you know, John 10 10, the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

But I have come to give you life and give it in abundance. So you have these two parallel. Opposing things constantly going on. So I think every time I would enter a new phase or chapter of life or a new job for in instance, um, you know, for instance, coming outta high school, uh, 18 years old, uh, I finally get my license.

I end up working at this restaurant, you know, I fill in this freedom. My parents are divorced and I have a car. Yeah. And I’m [00:15:00] working at a restaurant and all these guys are like partying, like, Hey yo, you gotta hang out with us. And like, have you ever tried this? Have you ever tried that? Yeah. And so that’s how that ended up being.

And because of where I was, I’m like, let’s go. Let’s do it. Yeah. You know, I don’t want ’em to look, think, and also there’s a level of pressure not wanting them to think that I, I wouldn’t. Do something like that, you know? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So that’s, you know, I was really presented it, it came gradually.

Um, and so it’s interesting how we get there, man. ’cause I, I remember, um, my, my line in the sand was always no needles. Hmm. For, for a long time. Mm-hmm. Until it wasn’t. Yeah. And it’s like, and until somebody, I remember the first time I got shot up by somebody, dude, um, shot me up. We couldn’t get meth, and he shot me up with, on it was like some sort of pain pill.

Okay. And literal left me in the apartment. Like I, I blacked out. I, I, I don’t know for sure, but I think I almost died like that night. Wow. And I remember waking up, you know, hours [00:16:00] later and then. Instead of it being a moment for me, like, like, oh, I should never do this again. It was like, okay, it’s on. Mm-hmm.

It was crazy. Crazy how the enemy works. Yeah. And there’s like, you cheat death and then it’s like, okay, let’s keep rolling. Yeah. There’s a thrill to it. I mean, there’s this sense of like, I’m doing something with my life. Yeah. There’s a journey. Yeah. And we all want this purpose driven journey and sad, like, you know, that we can be driven, like, you know, as kids you wanna play hide and seek.

There’s something about being hidden, right. And hiding and not being found like, yeah, yeah, that’s good. We, we adapt that. I mean, it’s just in us as kids, you know. And then as we get older, there’s still that, you know, level of secrecy and, you know. Yeah. So, so going through those years, I mean, how long did that lifestyle last for you?

And then kind of what was the culmination of it ending like? Um, you know, there’s some people use the term rock bottom, spiritual awakening, whatever it is. I mean, however ever you [00:17:00] describe that, like, what was that, that catalytic moment that made you realize like, mm-hmm. I, I can’t do this anymore.

Something’s gotta change. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, so something that would happen, and I don’t know if, because I was in the church and, and the word was, was in me, um, planted seeds, you know, seeds were planted. I would like, we’d get high man, and like, you know, cocaine will lead you doing weird things at night because you’re, you just want to be high.

It doesn’t matter. You can be under a table, right, with like five people under a bridge. And so we would, you know, either we’d. Find a place we could stay all night or we end, end up somewhere that we can kind of low key hide all night. Right. And one of the spots we would go to was called the Riverbed. And that’s like where the, it’s like a storm drain where all the water goes out to the ocean.

So we would, we would skateboard ’em, ride our bikes on ’em. But anyways, we’d get, you know, super high on Coke and a, a party would get busted by the [00:18:00] cops and be like, yo, where are we meeting? Oh, well let’s go to the river bed. So we’d go to the river bed and we’d be chilling like, you know. Coked out of our minds, and I just would like start preaching.

Mm-hmm. I would start telling people about God. Yeah. And like, so you’re one of those people that would’ve freaked me out Chick that used to read her Bible when she was smoking a meth pipe. I’m like, I I thought I was gonna get struck by lightning. Yeah. She was doing it. But go ahead. Well it’s, it is so weird how you connect on a spiritual level.

Yeah. You know, and like it because I was exposed to Christianity and the spirit realm in that way. Um. Yeah, I could, I was connecting a level of understanding with my emotions, like, man, could you think about God? Like, look at the stars. Like, and you know, everyone that wasn’t grown up, everyone around me that hadn’t been grown up in a Christian home was just like, whoa, dude.

Yeah. Like, that’s like serious, like. It was the eye-opening stuff and they were like, you’re gonna be a preacher one day, dude. You’re gonna be a preacher one day. And um, you know, I would [00:19:00] go home at night high and I had to sleep with my light on because I was so afraid. Um, ’cause I started to feel presence.

Mm-hmm. Dark presence around me. And so I was experiencing, you can keep talking a, a spiritual presence. That was, I was becoming more aware of, uh. The reality of the spirit realm without knowing it. Yeah. And so, um, there was, like I said, like I was being led up to like co culminating moments that were leading me to do more things.

It’s all free will. I mean, I was making decisions though. The devil wasn’t forcing me to do anything. Right. But it was, it was, but also at the same time, the Lord was doing something. Yeah. The Lord was doing something. And so, um. Uh, let’s see. I, I, I ended up getting a DUI, I had my license taken away. At this point, I’m just, you know.

Uh, [00:20:00] couch surfing. I, I’m my, I’m also at my parents’ house. I mean, I wasn’t a complete low life, but I was, I was, you know what I mean? Yeah. And, uh, being a, being a couch surfer has a different, uh, um, meaning than it does in Virginia. Like if you’re surfing couches in Virginia, dude, you got, everyone’s gonna tell you, dude, it’s time to get your, but in California it’s like almost normal.

Okay. Interesting. Especially at the age we were, I mean, eight, you know, and so, anyways. Yeah. I mean, you know, we were fighting every weekend. We were getting fights and guns were getting pulled out, buddies were getting stabbed. Mm-hmm. And things were getting worse. Like the, you know, we’re always pushing the envelope everywhere we went.

You know, we were doing like six to eight pills a night of ecstasy and just, you know, and so. Um, I was at home one day and I was, I was making a cd, uh, for a party we were having that night. Mm-hmm. And, uh, I ended up [00:21:00] coming across some, some worship music, and I don’t even remember why or how, but I ended up downloading some of the songs.

And, uh, I give one of the songs a listen, and I’m sitting there and all of a sudden she starts to sing these words. And, uh, I start to weep. Hmm. And I felt the Holy Spirit fill my room. Wow. And um, I. I used to tell myself for years, like, you can’t cry. Like there’s something wrong with you. Like your heart is so hard.

Like there’s moments where I’m like, you need to be shading a tear right now. And there was nothing in me that could. Right. And so when I started to cry, like weep, I knew who had walked into my room. Yeah. Wow. I knew what was going on. I knew that that was the Lord. And so the. I’m sitting there, I’m weeping, and I’m feeling this presence that is so pure.

I’m feeling this presence that is so clean and I’m [00:22:00] feeling like I’m, I’m taking like a spiritual bath. Hmm. And simultaneously I am telling the Lord, I’m so sorry. Hmm. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. You know, like, I can’t believe. All these things that I’ve done, it’s like I could see everything I’ve done up until this very moment and like I can sense that God had been with me all the way up until that point.

Yeah. And I’m just like, I’m so sorry. I was like, Lord, I, I’m, I’m done. I just started to say, I’m done. I’m done. I’m ready to live for you. I’m ready to live for you. And interesting thing is there was no pastor in the room. Right? There was no leader in the room telling me what was happening. Yeah, the Holy Spirit was leading me in an encounter with God.

That’s, yeah. And so I literally was a completely different person based on. The encounter with God. Mm-hmm. And so I took the cd, I ended up going to the party, or maybe I didn’t even finish burning the cd. I don’t remember honestly. Uh, ended up going to [00:23:00] the party that night. We had a big old fire. And I’m just sitting at the fire and I’m like, the way that I felt, the closeness that I felt with God in that moment and the, the, the renewal Hmm.

Of who I was in that moment. I felt like I could have sat there for a thousand years staring at the fire. Wow. Literally, I felt like I, I had nowhere to ever go again. Hmm. Ever, ever again. I was so content, I was so at peace. I didn’t even desire drugs. Hmm. I didn’t desire to go snort a line of cocaine. Yeah.

And my buddies were telling me, come on dude. Come on dude. Let’s snort. Let’s snort real. And I’m just like, no man. I’m done. I’m done. I’m done. They’re like, yeah, whatever. Later on you’re gonna, you know, why are you even like messing around? Yeah. Right. And so, sure enough, I ended up, you know, doing it, but I had no enjoy enjoyment from it.

Hmm. I actually felt like dirty. Yeah. Like, you know, I can put context or words to it now, but I feel like I was breaking [00:24:00] the Lord’s heart. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Wow. And, uh. So from that moment rose the question like, God, what do you want me to do? Yeah. Like, what am I supposed to do now? So for three months, I, I kept asking the Lord God, what do you, what do you want me to do?

And so my grandma who lived in Virginia. She called me and she wanted to surprise our granddad for his 70th birthday. Mm-hmm. And uh, she said, we want to fly you to Virginia, you and your mom and your sister, and surprise granddad. And it, I heard the Holy Spirit inside me say, that’s where you’re moving.

Wow. And so, so is that the last time, those few times in those few months leading up to the going to Virginia, was those the last times that you used? Yeah. Is that kind of where it stopped? Yeah. I, I heard somebody say a long time ago that it’s, um, when, when, when the Lord gets ahold of you, it’s not that we don’t have the ability to sin anymore.

Right. He doesn’t stop us from doing it, but like the pleasure goes away in it. Yeah. And that, that conviction starts to [00:25:00] show up. Right. That’s the difference of the, the regenerated heart. You know, the heart that’s been made new in Christ is that now. The as sin is pleasurable for a season, but that joy starts to, and that conviction starts to speak to you and it’s so palpable, like you just said.

Yeah. And then that transition, so, so you end up in Virginia and the Lord speaks to you and he starts to, you know, uncover his will for your life. Um, go into that a little bit more. Yeah. So I moved to Virginia. I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t tell anyone that I was moving. We, we came, I packed my guitar on my skateboard.

Yeah. And, uh, just like a usual trip, you know? Um, and, and I was looking for, uh, jobs in the paper and which is so not me. Like number one, I’m looking at the paper, right? Yeah. Number two, I’m looking for a job, right? Already my life’s changed. Like that’s a testimony, right? You weren’t checking out the rave scene or anything like that?

No. Not that there is any in [00:26:00] Virginia, but you know, you know, like the fact that he even had the mind to do that. My mind was not wired that way. Yeah. Like before I got saved, I never read a book because I couldn’t read a book. Yeah. I would try to read sentences and nothing would register ’cause I was just not.

Uh, you know, focus, but, so yeah, I came to Virginia and found a job in the paper. The day before we were supposed to fly back to California. I told my grandparents I found a job. I was like, will you gimme a chance to stay here with you guys? Mm-hmm. Live with you for a little bit and get my own place. Um, they’re like, all right, we’ll give you a shot.

You know, we’ll let you stay Around that time, my aunt owned a bar in Harrisonburg called the Pub. Okay. And it was a super college, you know, bar. I’m, I’m at this point I’m still drinking. I’m not doing drugs, but I’m drinking. Mm-hmm. Not drinking all the time. I have a job and, um, I. Uh, yeah, so I, I, I’m not really, I, I wasn’t really connected in a church.

Um, I [00:27:00] think I went with my grandparents a couple times. I think they went to a Pentecostal church, things like that. My encounter, my experience with the Lord, I kind of wrote on that for a while. Mm-hmm. That one experience. And it, it carried me. Yeah. Um, because it was so life changing and I knew he was with me.

Um, but I didn’t know a whole lot. I didn’t know anything at all. And so I lived, I lived, uh, I by rules. Mm-hmm. I set rules for myself that I broke 24 7. But, um, I tried to live by them, so I was really depressed. Right. You know, not drink, don’t do drugs. I’m still addicted to porn. Mm-hmm. And I’m still addicted to smoking cigarettes.

I still had those two addictions. Right. Like, I, I like everything else but these No. Like, I need. Right. These are gonna take time. Right. Yeah. And so, um, uh. We’ve had, it was, we’ve had more people leave our program over the [00:28:00] years because of cigarettes. Mm. ’cause we don’t allow people to smoke in the program.

Oh, wow. And we’ve had more people leave over that, that particular stronghold, like clean off heroin they’ve done come down three, four days. Done the dts, done all the rough detoxing. But will man it is fighting words. I’m telling you. No stuff is a stronghold. We’ve had a serious, uh. Some serious, um. Issues with addiction to tobacco.

Mm-hmm. Just within our family. And, uh, it’s caused like a break. Like just, it’s, it’s serious. I mean, it’s, addiction is serious. It doesn’t matter what it is, but for some reason cigarettes are just. It’s a major stronghold. Yeah. So anyways, I, you know, for a long time was just trying to get live right. You know, and winter hit, uh, my buddy from California actually ended up coming and moving in with me.

I, I found an apartment six months later and, uh, we, the, we. [00:29:00] Talked the guy into giving us a six months lease and it was Hunter’s Ridge. It was right across the street from JMU. Yeah, I know Hunter’s Ridge. It’s full blown. I had no idea. I was just like, oh, six 50 a month. Yeah. We got, I could split this, me and my buddy.

Right. So I had two jobs at this point. I didn’t have my license. I would walk from one job to the other and then I would walk home or catch the bus if I could. And, uh, I like to walk though. And, um, so at this point it’s winter’s coming and I’m like. Trying to follow these rules for myself. And my whole apartment complex is raging, right?

I mean, partying like crazy and I’m like, my identity’s bound up in what they’re doing, right? Yeah. And so, but I’m not trying to be that person anymore, yet I don’t know who I am still, right? So I find myself going into depression. And, um, we had a couple crazy nights. The first two nights we moved in. We had two fights.

I threw a party and we got into a fight, and then we went to another party and got into a fight and a [00:30:00] gun pulled out. So that was my last shot with, with, with, uh, drinking in Virginia. Yeah. I was like, I’m done. Yeah. And so, um, I was still smoking cigarettes, still addicted to porn, you know, still broken. Um, really wasn’t involved in church.

Um, about three months in I meet. A girl and um, I, uh, start to feel like this joy, like this excitement. Yeah. Like life’s coming back and, uh, she is, uh, a lot in of her. Where she was at in that moment was where I was at. She was done with some things and she was ready to kind of live for God. And, and, uh, you know, the, the language we used was very, you know, we had no idea what we were talking about.

Right. And, uh. So, um, we start dating, you know, we’re together. Now she knows I’m trying to refrain from sex, you know, the whole thing. Yet I’m still addicted to porn. Like, how’s that even possible? Right? [00:31:00] Yeah. And, uh, we end up, you know, falling into sin together. Uh, I ended up finding out she was Mennonite, uh, she was changing her clothes and, and coming and hanging out and she would change her clothes back.

And I’m like, what? What’s going on? Yeah. And then that. Took me into another spiral of like, right, I can’t take on your, your stuff. I got enough stuff. Like I’m, I’m going back to Cal, like my go, my plan was to go back to California. Mm-hmm. So we were kind of rocking our relationship, you know? I knew I was going back to California, so I really wasn’t get, trying to get too attached to her.

Um, California rolls around, it’s time to go back and I’m like, man, I can’t fall back into the same group of friends. Right. It’s time. Like I, I need to get serious about this. So my grandfather, he’s a, he’s a minister. He is been, he’s tr traveled the world and plant a churches and he’s a prophet. And I get ahold of him.

I was like, grandpa, where? Where should I [00:32:00] read in the word? Like I don’t even know where to start. Yeah, he was like starting the gospels. He said, read John. Yeah. And then Matthew, mark, and Luke. Yeah. And I’m like, okay. So I get back to California and I’m like, Lord. I was like, I do not understand anything I need you.

To reveal your word to me. ’cause I would read the word and it was like not, it made no sense to me whatsoever. And so I remember open up my Bible in my house and my dad was at work. I’m back living with my dad again, and all of a sudden it was like, I can understand everything I was reading. Yeah. Wow. It was like a light went off.

Yeah. And it was like everything I read, my, what was inside my stomach was confirming what I was reading. Like I knew it already for thousands of years. Right. Yeah. I was just like, yeah. I was like, it was like this confirmation Yeah. Of the spirit in me. Yeah. It’s so good. And so I came across the spirit testifies with our spirit that with his children.

Right. That’s exactly right. It’s so good. Yeah. So I’m, I’m [00:33:00] encountering the word. Yeah. And I come across a spot that says, when you pray, go into your room and shut the door where no one’s looking. Mm-hmm. And I was like, uh, just kind of, you know, I don’t remember what I did, but nobody was home, right. So I, I, I shut my Bible and I went into my room and I shut the door and I got on my hands and knees and I curled up my hands like this.

And I got on the end of my bed and I just started to. Do what I thought was praying. Right? Yeah. And all of a sudden the Holy Spirit filled my bedroom. Yeah. And I start weeping just like my very first encounter with God. Yeah. And I’m weeping. And I’m weeping, and I’m weeping, and I’m weeping, and I’m experiencing God.

I’m encountering the Holy Spirit, his presence, his power, and my, I’m changing. Yeah. I’m changing. And. Um, but I still have, my life was still compartmentalized, like mm-hmm. This is my time with God. This is my sin, [00:34:00] this is my, this, this is my that, but this is where I meet God. Yeah. And so I was still had muscle memory of certain things.

You know, my thought patterns were still, and I wasn’t super involved with church, but. When I started encountering the Lord, like I wanted to go back to the church I came out of. So like I, I went all the way back to the church. I started getting connected with them a little bit. So was that conversation with your grandfather then?

’cause you talked about different encounters that had happened up to that point. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Was that like the beginning of your discipleship journey, would you say? Was that kind of like, you know, ’cause I think we, we have a lot like. The encounter with the Lord is phenomenal, but then we both are, I know from y’all an experience that, yeah.

Are very passionate about discipleship. Right? Yeah. And seeing that, so would you say that was almost a kicking off point, that initial conversation for you? Oh, for sure. And then discipleship continued from there. Oh, I told hundreds of people. We’re to start in the word now, because that’s what my grandpa told me.

Yeah. And I That’s awesome. I had my experience of, you know, if you’re [00:35:00] gonna start anywhere, you start with, uh, Jesus. Yeah. You know, salvation. Yeah. And so that’s good. Um, yeah. So, I mean, I just, I started to get, I started to be changed, like my desires. I wanted his presence, I wanted his word, and I wanted to live for him.

Yeah. And so, naturally in me, like I would, I didn’t have a job, but I’d get on my skateboard, I’d pack my Bible in my backpack. And I would just skate and I would stop at a Starbucks and sit outside and wait for someone to ask me a question or like, get an opportunity and I would just share Jesus with people.

Yeah. And just, we were just coming out of me. I, I didn’t, I didn’t really want anything else. And, uh, you know, I started gravitating to some of my friends, not all of ’em, and, and they knew how I was living and I was really trying my best to impact their life with my life. And, um. All this has happened within a month.

Mm-hmm. Since I’ve been back from California, my life’s completely changed. I’m on a another level with God, like I’m like looking at trees and I’m like, I cannot believe God created that [00:36:00] tree. Right. Like the sky. I was like, it is so blue. Yeah. The grass was so green. Like I was looking at life from a different lens.

Yeah. A different perspective. So good. Yeah. It was like Jesus is the way, he’s the truth and he’s the life. And when I would add the life deposited in me, I was now able to enjoy, uh, what God created for me to enjoy. Mm-hmm. And so sin had kept me away from it all those years. Yeah. You know, my brokenness, everything blinded me.

And that was the enemy was trying to, you know, if I would’ve stayed on that path for another, even just. Three years, I probably would’ve been dead. Yeah. You know, I, I would’ve been way more addicted to drugs. Yeah. Um, you know, so it’s just that, that, that, that life is just only gonna, was only gonna destroy me, you know?

Yeah. You talked, you talked earlier about how you’re trying to live life in the rules, right. And how, um, I shared this illustration a few months ago in a sermon. Um, I had a camera. Or I had this really nice lens and I dropped it. Mm-hmm. And the [00:37:00] mirrors inside of the lens got all jacked up. And so anytime I put it on the camera, the, uh, you couldn’t see anything.

Mm-hmm. The picture was all blurry. Mm. And I thought it was, the camera at first took me a while to realize that it was, the lens had gotten broken. And it was crazy ’cause I went and finally went and bought a new lens, put the new lens in the camera and everything was fine. And um, the Lord showed me in that illustration, that’s like the old covenants of the new covenant.

Mm-hmm. It’s just a whole different lens, you know? Yeah. We start to step out of that. That rules-based religion. Mm-hmm. Which creates things very blurry and it’s, you can’t seem to find your way through that. And that new lens gets attached and it’s like everything opens up again. It’s like relationship.

I’m not, I’m not doing this because I have to, but I’m doing it as outta love. Like I’m loved and driven in that. It’s him. Yeah, it’s him. Because you realize from the beginning when he created man. And he, he created life and existence. He gave man and woman the responsibility, subdue the earth, [00:38:00] multiplying it.

Yeah. And they had, they had harmony in fellowship with God. Mm-hmm. You know, and Satan was so mad about that. Yeah. He was so ticked off about that. Yeah. And so, you know, um, he’s, he’s, he’s been trying to destroy our oneness with God all along. Yeah. You know, sep bring separate, he just wants separation.

Separation, separation. You see it in the home. Like he’s trying to divide the home and you know, Jesus came as a baby into a home. Like, it, it’s, it’s, you know, so it’s family. So, so I’m gonna kind of segues to that ’cause uh, I wanna be respectful of time too. The tel, I think we went like, what, 30 minutes so far.

I’ll edit. We’re fine. Send this out. But, um, but, um, just wanna kind of segue to that right. Fast forward now. Married, you’ve got children. How many kids do you guys have? We have three. You have three? Yeah. Okay. And so how has your, like how I’m always, as a parent myself, always interested to ask this question.

Mm-hmm. How was some of the stuff that you kind of went through as a [00:39:00] kid? I shared with somebody earlier that I was interviewing for the podcast. I, I, I grew up in the early internet era. I’m 38, so I had a on computer in my bedroom right. And we had 56 K Mode a, a Miracle online. Napster on the computer was burning the CDs.

Yeah. Took four minutes to download one picture of a naked woman, you know, and just that whole process. My parents didn’t know. That that wasn’t even a thing at the time. Right. And so they kind of let it roll. Mm-hmm. They didn’t really, really on top of it ’cause they didn’t really know what to look for it.

Yeah. And so they did the best they could. But now as a parent, you know, all these years later, my experience from back then. It shapes the way that I parent, you know? Sure, sure. We’re very intentional with our kids on devices. Yeah. I’m on them. ’cause I know the access to that. Yep. So, I’m just curious how has like some of your past kind of shaped, you know, how you, how you do fatherhood now?

Mm-hmm. And on, you know, if there’s any, anything from your, your history that’s kind of adjusting, you know, how you’re raising your own kids. Yeah. [00:40:00] Um, one thing I’ll say, you know, my son, he’s 14 now, and, uh, he’s kind of mentioned a girl to us and that’s new. You know, a girl, like he’s in eighth grade and, uh, but I want to be real with those.

’cause when I was growing up, I was ashamed to bring a girl to my parents. Mm-hmm. Because anything surrounding a girl to me felt wrong. Because of what happened when I was four. Yeah. Wow. So I never, I never put those two together. Uh, but like I was always ashamed to even talk about relationships or a girl or anything like that, um, because of that moment.

And so we’re in a new. Thing to be able to discuss. Like, I’m, I’m really trying to, you know, I don’t want him to feel ashamed. And I realize like, I’m like, dude, you don’t need to feel ashamed about it. And he’s like, dad, I’m not ashamed. And I’m like, yeah, oh yeah, you’re, you didn’t go through what I, what I went through.

Yeah. You know, it’s a whole [00:41:00] nother, it’s a whole nother thing, but also like, want to be completely open and transparent with everything. Yeah. You know, trying to, trying to be open with that. But isn’t that how we break generational curses though? ’cause it’s realizing that, right. It’s, it’s. Unknowingly. We project that stuff onto our kids.

Yeah. Not realizing they didn’t go through the same things we did. Yeah. But then we can, if we’re not aware of it, if we haven’t done the work Yeah. And we haven’t been honest mm-hmm. About the pain from our past. Yeah. Then we start expecting that they’re gonna react the same way we did. Yeah. But yet their circumstances.

Be by the grace of God and everything that’s happened are wildly different than what we went through. Yeah, that’s good. It’s really good. It’s, it’s incredible. Yeah. But we try to, you know, we definitely, I tell my kids, like I told you that my parents would say, Hey, don’t watch this. And then when they go to sleep, they’re watching it.

Right. I tell my kids, if I tell you not to watch something, especially a, a, like a movie or a tv, like pure Entertainment, right. I’m not gonna sit in front of something that my cat, my kids can’t sit in front of. [00:42:00] Right. That’s my, that’s my. Decision. Right. Um, you know, language and, and there’s different things with, you know, RA raid around movies have nudity.

I mean, like, I’m not trying to look at that stuff like PG 13 is even tight these days. Yeah, it’s, we tried to watch a movie with our girls the other night and I was just the amount of F bombs That’s right. In a PG 13 movie. I was like, it’s now the crossover is not the F-bomb. It is nudity. Okay. I think the nudity is now R but like you can say the F word in some PG 13 movies.

Yeah, it’s crazy. And some of them are off too, because I’ve, I was watching movies that said they were PG 13 and they were not PG 13. Right. So I was confused on like the ratings. But anyways, we, you know, we definitely. Set the standard, uh, since they were really, really little, you know, and, and have brought a sensitivity to right and wrong.

Yeah. And so when they come across something wrong, it’s, they’re sensitive to it. Yeah. You know, [00:43:00] they can’t, they can’t just like, let it linger. It bothers them that they had seen something. Yeah. And actually had a, a moment with my son. My youngest son, he’s seven now. Um, but we were, uh, there was just some games that they were downloading on their Kindles.

It wasn’t even iPads, it was Kindles. Right. And I was sitting with my son. I downloaded Uno. On the iPad and the Uno gave us a ad, uh, the Uno game gave us a ad. I’m laying on my son’s bed. We’re playing this game and it’s an ad of a cartoon girl completely bent over in front of the screen. Mm-hmm. With like an enormous, uh, over exaggerated butt.

Yeah. With really short shorts on and it’s bouncing. And this was Uno. And I’m laying in my son’s bed. Yeah. And it like, uh, I got so angry in that moment. Yeah. And so even with games like where they don’t have Xbox, they’re not playing Call of Duty. Yeah. [00:44:00] Like I grew up playing Call of Duty. Right. It was, you know, my wife was super against it, so that helped, kind of helped me with my decision because I, I mean, all they are doing is killing.

Right. I mean, let’s, let’s, let’s be real. I mean that we should be sensitive enough to like, whoa, dude, you just shot that dude in the head. Like, right. Yeah. And, but we’re not, we’re desensitized. Yeah. So we’ve really tried to make, be sensitive before the Lord. Like what? What hurts him should hurt us. And, and so, yeah.

Um, but yeah, so my youngest son had a whole moment with a, he was playing a game and he, he started to confess it to me. Mm-hmm. He was like, dad, I had this ad, and then I. Like swiped and then he went inward and he was so ashamed that he saw it. Yeah. And he wouldn’t tell me, and I’d like, for like an hour was like, dude, you have to tell me.

And he’s bawling and you know, I’m, I didn’t know how to handle this situation. Right. But I’m like, you can’t keep this from me. [00:45:00] You’re not, you’re, he was probably six at five, maybe at the time. I think he was probably five. And, uh. He ended up telling me a little bit to know that in the game there was a girl that would stand in front of you.

It was an ad. The girl would stand in front of you, but you can slide your finger and remove her clothing. Yeah. Wow. And this, this was the ad. Yeah. And so when he told me that he started to cry, but there was such a sensitivity that he knew that it was wrong. Yeah. Um, and uh, so we’ve tried to be very careful.

Like our son doesn’t have an iPhone. We’re not against the iPhone, but like we, there was just too much access, um, for him. Yeah. With certain things we really trust our oldest son, but we just felt like. We, we, we just feel like we need to keep them sensitive enough for a period of time that when they do get older enough to, they’re gonna have to, like, I, I’m not gonna, I can’t control my kids to make their decisions.

Right. But when it [00:46:00] comes time, they’re, they’ve, they’ve worked that muscle enough. Yeah. Where it’s like, I don’t want to do that. Like, that doesn’t feel good. Yeah. Yeah. It’s good. And I think modeling it is huge. Uh, huge. Yeah. I mean, that’s why I’ve, I said like, man, I don’t, I’m not gonna tell you don’t watch this movie.

And I go sit and watch it. It’s one thing if I’m watching like a informative thing and it’s, maybe it’s about, you know, ex Navy Seal or something and, or, you know. Sometimes that stuff can be a little bit, um, obviously too much for kids, right. But like, pure entertainment, sit down and watch a radio movie.

Like, I’m not ever Yeah. I’m not gonna do that. That’s just me. Yeah. And so that, that has helped our kids, um, because I knew, I knew growing up, growing up as a kid, that I felt like if I would’ve saw it modeled. If I would’ve saw my parents praying, if I would’ve saw my family in the word like active and like operating in their faith throughout the day, like laying hands on people, praying for people.

Like I didn’t, I didn’t really see that. Yeah. And [00:47:00] so now do your kids on, I know you, you had, you guys got married, had them after all the addiction lifestyles mm-hmm. You know, past that. Right. And so do they know your story at all? I mean, your oldest, does he know? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, he does. I, I don’t know about the detail, but he definitely knows, uh.

You know, he’s heard me share my testimony. I don’t, when I share my testimony, I don’t get into detail. Right. I don’t, yeah. Like I used to think like, man, people need to know the funk. Right. And that way they can see where I came from. Be like, no. Like I’d much rather share about how good he is. Yeah. But the testimony’s.

The testimony is a testimony. It’s powerful. So I don’t, I don’t, I don’t usually go into super detail. Sure, yeah. Uh, with my, with my testimony, but no, even into my marriage, man, I was still struggling with porn. Okay. I kept it from my wife. Mm-hmm. I was still struggling with tobacco. Um, the lord really set me free of that in two, 2017 actually.

Okay. Wow. So my encounter with the Lord was 2009. And, um, so it was, it was years of like, uh. You know, desiring [00:48:00] to be healed, but didn’t know how. Yeah. It was, had such a shame around it, you know, but so, I mean, I, I, it was, it wasn’t until 2017, man, where I got set free from it. That’s awesome, man. Yeah. So let’s, um, I wanna wrap up, man, ’cause I know we’re, we’re getting close.

I think you’ve got a, uh, party to get to, but I want to ask you a question. So I’m, I’m 22, right? Mm-hmm. Um. I’m trapped. I’m in this isolated alone feeling, man, just like struggling with identity. Maybe there’s been some stuff that’s happened in the past that’s kind of shaped that, but like I’m battling addiction, feeling trapped.

Yeah. And I, I don’t, I don’t know what to do next. Mm-hmm. Right. And you, you, you encounter somebody like myself on the street and, um, man, what are you saying? You know, to somebody like that, just off the cuff, you know, like Yeah. Um, to give them some direction on, on how to move forward. Yeah, man, I mean, that’s pretty, that’s pretty loaded.

You know, I guess it all [00:49:00] depends on the person and, and that moment, but like, um.

God is good. Yeah. God is really, really good. And if you get anywhere alone in God’s creation, uh, whether it be in the nature and you just listen and look, you see that God is good. Mm-hmm. And the, the people, the, the evil in the world is from man. I mean, it’s not from man. Um. But it’s, it’s from an enemy, an adversary, the devil.

Yeah. And, um,

you know, I, I would say that there’s hope, hope’s a real thing. Yeah. And there life’s a real thing like. You’re, you know, you feel the, the hopelessness and the brokenness now, but man, like there’s nothing that can’t be fixed. Yeah. It’s nothing that can be fixed. [00:50:00] Yeah. So, so I, somebody told me a long time ago, I, um, I was having a conversation with one of our former Teen Challenge students, and I’m, I’m gonna turn this into a question in a second, but, um, he, he, they were always calling and saying, pastor Justin, we really admire you.

You know what I’m saying? And, and I’m like. At the time I didn’t see it. I didn’t see why. I’m like, well, what do you mean? Like, I’m, I’m just doing life. You know? My wife and I, we just try to be obedient to the Lord. Mm-hmm. I’m really nothing special. You know what I’m saying? Mm-hmm. And he said, he made a statement to me that floored me.

He said, pastor, you’re living the life we’re all dreaming about. And it really, I never saw it from that perspective. Right. And so, so Blake, how do I, how do I get from this point of coming out of addiction, like. You know, to sometimes I think it’s hard for young men to see, they see somebody like yourself doing well on the other side of all the struggle, right?

Mm-hmm. And, um, and sometimes it’s hard to see that like, man, that’s, that’s just a pipe dream. Mm-hmm. I could [00:51:00] never have that. And, and yet we were talking earlier and you’re like, I never, never saw any of this coming. Mm-hmm. You, you know what I’m saying? And so I guess what has been the consistent consistency in you that’s allowed you to continue to pursue the Lord?

And then be open to the Lord blessing you. I mean, wife, kids, you guys have the businesses, you’re, you’ve been to Dubai Missions trips, you know, we were just talking offline about opportunities in another country and all of that stuff and mm-hmm. That seems like such a far distant future. You know, for for sure for, for Blake in 2009, right?

Oh, yeah. To Blake in 2024. Mm-hmm. And so what’s been the consistent thread through all of that? Yeah, so, um,

you know, consistency number one, staying the course, staying the course, um, seeking the Lord. You know, I, I know I’m probably talking to [00:52:00] people that never met the Lord before. Right? Yeah. And, uh, he’s a person. Yeah, he’s real. And, uh, he, he stepped into earth, um, and gave his life up to us and modeled a life for us to live.

Showed us how to walk in purity, showed us how to treat each other, and uh, the disciple says, teach us to pray. That was the one mystery. It was like the one question, Lord, how teach us to pray. Yeah. And uh, it’s a mystery, but. Until we do it, we’ll never learn how to do it. Yeah, and I say this for any, any religion that is says their God is real or they’re believing God.

And every religion, a religion is the same. Unless you’re truly seeking God. Right. And I’ve said this, I feel like something the Lord’s put on my heart recently. [00:53:00] ’cause there’s always this, well what about, you know, the Muslims who have been taught a certain way, they, they really believe God. And I’m like, you know, there was, there was the Pharisees in the Bible who put Jesus on the cross.

Mm-hmm. They believed in God. Yeah, but what happened was Jesus proved that they really were not, they really didn’t care about God, right? Yeah. Because they were more worried about the image. They were more worried about the tradition. But I think anyone who truly is seeking God. We will meet Jesus. Mm-hmm.

We’ll have an encounter with God. Yeah. That’s good. I believe that 100%. Yeah. God will never, ever, ever, it says anyone who knocks the door will be open. Mm-hmm. Anyone who seeks will find Yeah. Anyone who asks will receive. Yeah. He’s a very giving God, he gave his life. Yeah. Gruesome, gruesome life. Gruesome death on the cross and so.

Um, I kind of forget [00:54:00] what your, your last question was. Yeah, no, you, you hit it head on and that’s on. I mean, that’s, that’s the part right there. I think sometimes I, I’m a fan. I’m a, I’m a, um, big believer that this recovery freedom from addiction thing is, like the statement we have at TC is that Jesus is the program.

Like, that’s it. If you get a hold of Christ, you pursue a life of discipleship. Amen. All this stuff is gonna fall off. Mm-hmm. It’s not, it’s, it’s really not a lot of times more complicated than that, you know? And so, you know, sometimes it’s hard to hear that, especially if we’re kind of caught in bondage.

Yeah. And we’ve been resistance or we’ve had some poor experiences with religion or all of that in the past, you know? But, but what I’m hearing and what I’m seeing of your life is there’s just been this song. It’s not been perfect, right? Mm-hmm. From the first encounter. Mm-hmm. But it’s just been this consistent pursuit and going back and on.

Yeah man. So just so we wrap up man, how can people connect with you? You know, um, either [00:55:00] your businesses or whatever, you know, wherever you’re at. How can folks connect with Blake? Um. Uh, my Facebook is Blake Cota. Okay. I have an Instagram, Blake Cota. We have some things we’re trying to do. I know social media is such a huge thing now, and it’s a huge way for people to connect, but we don’t have some of those things, uh, developed yet.

Mm-hmm. Um, harvest Table, Dayton, uh, that is our cafe. Um, through you. Yeah. If, if someone wanted to reach out to me, um. Yeah. Sweet. Yeah. Well, I appreciate it, man. Thanks for taking the time to chat this evening, and I’ll drop those links into the description thing below. And um, man, thank you for watching and joining into Rebuilding Life for another conversation and, uh.

Blake, thank you. Um, again, if this is your first time here, please hit like, subscribe to the channel, but also, um, you have any questions, feedback, um, maybe you’re struggling with purpose. Don’t hesitate to drop [00:56:00] those in the comments or shoot us a DM and we’ll be happy to connect with you on. God bless you guys.