WHY to Fitness
The WHY to Fitness podcast is dedicated to supporting Christians in achieving peace of mind and heart in all areas of life because every aspect of life affects our health and fitness.
Hosted by Aaron O'Connell, an IFBB Professional athlete actively pursuing a Ph.D. in Counseling and Psychological Studies, the podcast's goal is to assist Christians in discovering their divine purpose while triumphing over spiritual, mental, and physical challenges related to their well-being.
At the core of this journey is the belief that God serves as the ultimate WHY, i.e., the ultimate driving force behind existence.
In this context, fitness is our ability to overcome the obstacles standing before the goal. It extends beyond exercise and nutrition to encompass relationships, mental health, finances, spiritual growth, and life experiences.
Tune in on a biweekly/weekly to access valuable insights, mindset strategies, theological discussions, interviews, and more to achieve success, which translates into attaining peace of mind and heart across every facet of life.
WHY to Fitness
Faith, Fatherhood and Fighting with MMA Professional Jason Eastman
When you hear the words faith, fatherhood, and mixed martial arts, you might not be quick to connect them. Yet, our guest, Jason Eastman, intertwines these elements in a profoundly meaningful way. A fighter and a father, Jason takes us through a captivating journey of how faith is not only a cornerstone in his life but also a pillar of strength in the demanding sport of MMA and his role as a father.
Jason's exploration of faith and fighting provides a refreshing take on how MMA is not a violation but a pure form of expression between athletes. He shares his personal story of overcoming challenges with self-control, revealing the transformative power faith holds. With raw honesty, Jason recounts his fight for his daughter's rights, illuminating the emotional terrain of fatherhood.
We delve deep into the impact of parental values, faith, and the legacy we leave behind. Jason opens up about his father's influence, including the faith-driven gesture of moving his mother out of an abusive situation. The conversation shifts to the importance of instilling values in children, nurturing trust in God's guidance, and creating a lasting legacy. We also discuss the power of community, accountability, and how God works in spite of us. Tune in for an enriching discussion with Jason Eastman – a father, a fighter, and a man of faith.
Work like everything depends on you, but pray like everything depends on God. You always got to go back to reading your word. Let them see you read, let them see you pray and let them see you worship. People, man, that don't understand Christianity. They think Christians are wimps and I'm there to show them like. Well, we're not wimps, man, you know, we're strength, under control.
Aaron O'Connell:Welcome back to WHY to Fitness podcast. I'm your host, aaron O'Connell, and today I am joined with Jason Eastman and we're going to explore the intersections of faith, mixed martial arts and fatherhood. I understand that those things don't always seem like they're going to be jiving and that there's going to be lessons to be learned, but that is what we're here to do to prove that wrong. So how are you doing today, jason?
Jason Eastman:Fantastic man. I appreciate you having me on. It's just an honor and a pleasure to mix some of my favorite things. You know. Jesus fighting fatherhood yeah, man, let's get into it.
Aaron O'Connell:Yeah, of course, of course. So we can just jump right in and start discussing the role of faith in fighting, because a lot of it seems like it's an oxymoron yes, wait a minute, we're supposed to turn our cheek, we're supposed to. So a lot of people may not know like, well, wait a minute, how can I really navigate faith while having my profession be fighting? So how do you, how does that faith take a role in your life?
Jason Eastman:Man, I mean it manifests itself in many different ways, you know? I mean that's kind of a classic question from you know, traditional Christians, can you hold that?
Aaron O'Connell:Yeah, let's do that.
Jason Eastman:But for me, really think about any other sport. You know, how can you play football and be a Christian? How can you do soccer and be a Christian? It's an athletic event. I'm not violating somebody in the parking lot. We're two athletes that have trained in martial arts for many years. We're both agreeing to go in there and compete against each other. I understand, to the, you know, the naked eye, I mean two guys cock fighting, you know two pit bulls in the cage fighting.
Jason Eastman:But really at its, at its heart. It's the most pure form and expression of an athletic event. There's no team as far as in there with you. There's no pads, there's nothing like that. But as far as the role faith plays, it's huge. It bleeds into every area. You know the faith and God's plan because there's so many unknowns.
Jason Eastman:When you walk into the cage, I mean, what if this happens? What if he does this? What if I? You could go crazy, playing every, every single situation in your head back and forth. You know, at the end of the day, you have to and I love this quote. It's by a guy, is it? Maybe it's Brian Tracy, I don't know. But work like everything depends on you, but pray like everything depends on God oh, I like that. At the end of the day, you do your best and you know the horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the battle belongs to the Lord. You know that's pray, probably just one of my favorites. So you prepare yourself as much as you can and at the end of the day you have your faith and you let it all hang out, man, you know I like that, I like that.
Aaron O'Connell:And just to dive a little bit deeper into that, how does faith provide that mental and emotional strength that's needed so much in the in the combat world? Because I know you're getting you're literally rolling with the punches literally and you're getting hit and you have to have faith in your technique. You're, I'm assuming, you know I did? I did one year of mixed martial arts. I did this in college and I'll just a quick little brief, sorry, I was benching like four or five for like eight times back then, Sick, sick Strong guy.
Aaron O'Connell:And so I go in there and it was called Tallahassee mixed martial arts and I'm strong, you know, and I get in there and it humbles me so quick. Yes, I got, because first we're doing three minute drills. I start on my back there and there's women in there.
Jason Eastman:Granted, there was probably pretty good, oh yeah.
Aaron O'Connell:Granted, there wasn't any like tiny women, but there was one. One girl is probably like 160, 170 or something like that.
Jason Eastman:You know strong girl but she would.
Aaron O'Connell:She would tap me out all the time because she's been there for three years and I would don't get me wrong. She would have me in the, in the choke. I would stand up, squat her because I'm so strong You're no G no, no, no, no, no, no. I would be able to squat while she's on my back, her up, and I'm like I could jump, probably like eight inches high, and land on my back and get you off my back If this was a real fight. But we're training, all right.
Aaron O'Connell:You can't do that Can't do that, so I would get choked out all the time. Quickly I learned if I wasn't like a raptor and kept my feet, my, my, my elbows close to my body. Arm bar, arm bar, arm bar. And I hated that because then I'm yanking on my muscles and it just hurt Especially being so strong and tight oh yeah, you don't have the flexibility, exactly.
Aaron O'Connell:So like that humbled me and also the guy that I was, that was like the head guy there. He was in the WEC, nice. And how much do you weigh? I walk around about 150.
Jason Eastman:You won 47.
Aaron O'Connell:What do you fight at?
Jason Eastman:125. Okay.
Aaron O'Connell:So. So this guy was right around the same. You know 130.
Jason Eastman:WEC was small guys.
Aaron O'Connell:Yeah, it was all small guys, but I'm, I'm this big guy, I'm on my back. He tied his hands behind his back and I couldn't get him off me. Yeah.
Jason Eastman:He had to have an equalizer, you know dude, I couldn't get him off me.
Aaron O'Connell:He would spin on me like a helicopter and just shove his hips down Every time I'm about to go. It'd be like he knew I was about to do it and he would spin, press it down and I would just get gassed. I couldn't get him off me. You know it's, it's real. Training is real. So I really want to just dive deep into that. You know that mental and emotional strength that's needed in the world of combat sports man.
Jason Eastman:For me, one of the reasons I love fighting and training and living that lifestyle is it really brings me closer to God. Because, you know, there's two types of people, like the kind where you have to say, like, chill out, you know they're a little too full of themselves. And the kind of people where you got to say, hey, man, you're better than you realize. You know, and I'm the kind of guy that, because of my upbringing and because of some of the things that I've been through, you know I wasn't always confident and so I need that. You know I need, I need something hard to do in my life, something difficult, something challenging, a big dream, because that drives me closer to God. That brings me closer to God because I know I can't do it by myself.
Aaron O'Connell:I need him, man, oh yeah, and we need that purpose in our life. We need something to aim for. We look forward to the prize set before us running our own race. But God also. He promises a great life in this life and the next blessings in this life. Maybe not a great life if you're using worldly standards, but a blessed life in this life, in the next, as long as we're not looking left and right. We're keeping our eye on the prize and with that purpose. So how would you say that you are fulfilling your God given purpose through fighting?
Jason Eastman:Man. So you know a lot of people that are in the fight world, especially the fans and stuff. They're not Christians. They're in the crowd drinking beer and killing whippers, but you know, and and all this stuff.
Jason Eastman:I'm glad I ain't in there, I just see red. So so basically, it's part of my platform that God gave me to, because after every fight, man, they give me the microphone and the first thing I say is thank you to you know, jesus, my savior, amen. Yeah, man, and there's a lot of people that hear that and they come up to me afterwards and like, wow, man, that's thank you for saying that. I felt something, you know, and I just love being a role model. And a lot of people, man, that don't understand Christianity. They think Christians are wimps, and I'm there to show them like we're not wimps, man, you know we're strength, under control.
Aaron O'Connell:Yeah, meekness Right.
Jason Eastman:Right, a biblical Christian, not not maybe a modern Christian. I mean, when you know we get a lot of things wrong and even though our heart may be in the right place, you know, sometimes I'm meekness right Like strength, under control, and so I love being able to live a real example of that and, at the end of the day, give God all the glory. And I usually give like a little 30 second message when I'm up there.
Jason Eastman:I can't even help it, it's just coming through my pores after I went to fight, because I'm such on a holy spirit Like bro, fighting and giving, putting your spirit and your soul into something nonstop, 24, seven, and then being able to, you know, do something like compete and put it all out there. It's such a spirit field thing that, like I said, after a fight I'm just oozing man, like I feel the spirit on me, you know and I've had fights where I literally fought a guy that I was supposed to lose to.
Jason Eastman:You know, like my first, my first place Professional fight, I fought a two time grapplers quest world champion. This is my first pro fight in 2014. Yeah, I was scared, bro. I was the super underdog man, two time world champion, and I watched his videos. He was submitting people in seconds, bro, seconds.
Jason Eastman:And this guy, you know, right before I fight, I saw him, his coach, rolly Delgado, who is a UFC vet, highly respected. He was tagging Dana White, the president of the UFC, telling him this kid is the next big thing and it's the guy that I'm about to fight. And I was nervous, I was scared, but that, you know, just brought me to a higher level and in that fight, I literally, I literally, actually God gave me a vision of how I was going to win that fight and literally, that's the exact way that I won. It was nuts. I body kicked him and he tried to clinch with me because that body kick hurt him. And when he tried to grab me, because he was such a great grappler, I like separated his hands and I threw a nasty elbow and the elbow split him really bad, right above the eyebrow and he was bleeding and the fight got stopped like that. But I felt it was weird, looking back like I felt power. You know, in a weird way.
Jason Eastman:And you know, like I said, traditionally Christians are like how can you do that? And you know I'm not mad at the guy. This is, it's an athletic event. You know we're signing on the dotted line. We understand that there's you can get hurt. I mean I'd love to win without hurting anybody, you know, but sometimes it doesn't. Doesn't happen that way. Like you said, football you can get hurt. There's actually more injuries in football. Soccer neck injury, you know, break the spine there, paralyzed. Boxing there's more brain damage because you can repeatedly hit somebody. They fall down. They give you a 10 count, you get up, you get hit again, you fall down, you get MMA. I hit you, you fall down, you're over.
Aaron O'Connell:It's over, because you're gonna you're gonna go choke them out.
Jason Eastman:You're gonna go do something.
Aaron O'Connell:You're gonna do one, two, three done and the referees will stop it. It's not, you don't get a second chance get 10 seconds.
Jason Eastman:No, no, no, no so it's actually it might seem superficially more dangerous because there's more blood, because you get cut with it, but it's brain injuries and and parap, parap, parap. I'm sorry, paralysis it never happens in MMA, yeah.
Aaron O'Connell:And I'd also assume that a lot of people you're fighting are fighting out of that anger. You know, I'm I'm assuming you'd be surprised, Really.
Jason Eastman:The rule. There are always exceptions, right yeah, but mostly no.
Aaron O'Connell:Really Because because you, I guess you see those UFC, you know those little news conferences before and you see one guy that's always like, hey, happy, go lucky, goes up against, and then there's the other one that's like mean literally has beef, or whatever yeah. But I guess that would maybe be the news just saying like well, we only show the ones that they are all controversial.
Jason Eastman:I think it could be two different things. It's um, sometimes that isn't a person you know. They went through something or they never made peace with it. They got a chip on their shoulder and they really are angry. In order for me to compete against you, I have to be mad at you Now. I think, personally, that points to insecurity, because if you're, if you're really confident in your skills, you don't need that anger and emotion. They hold you back, they cloud your judgment. Man.
Jason Eastman:They'll make, you make mistakes, but on the other hand maybe he's not really angry. Some guys they do that for the show because they know that's going to pump up the pay per views. They people. If I act a fool at a weigh in or a press conference, two types of people either people that are gonna wanna see me get my butt whooped, or people that are gonna wanna see me whooped. The other guys butt right. So it goes both ways, you know.
Aaron O'Connell:No, that funny thing is, I'm a big Star Wars fan and I'm just sitting here like anger clouds your vision and all this stuff.
Jason Eastman:I'm just thinking of the force, how they're using the force and all that other stuff you know, and I can just see those parallels.
Aaron O'Connell:But also, you know, just talking about that discipline and being able to follow through with that and having the faith and knowing what you're, what you're deriving your power from, because so many people are doing so much self-denial, going through the techniques and doing all these worldly things, but they're denying the very power that exists, which is God, that gives you that peace, that passes on understanding, which then allows you to see much more clearly, that doesn't give you that adrenaline rush, which adrenaline may help you within the first 10 seconds, 15 seconds but if you don't submit them in that 15 seconds now, you're gassed.
Jason Eastman:Yeah, man.
Aaron O'Connell:What goes up must come down. So when? Having that faith in something bigger than yourselves, I'm sure from now, just hearing what you're saying is going to go a long way.
Jason Eastman:It's huge man. And if you look at all the super successful athletes even if they're not Christian, right which most of them are Christian, by the way, but they all talk about man you got to look at something bigger than yourself. You got to have faith in something bigger than yourself and again, at the end of the day, that's what you got to do.
Aaron O'Connell:And I love that you found your purpose in it. Because first Corinthians 927 says I discipline my body like an athlete, training it for what it may do. To do what it must do in fear that I, after my own preaching, may be disqualified, is what he's saying, which means you need to figure out what your body is supposed to do. That is your purpose, and he trains and seeks that purpose and all to do what it must do, because he has the fear of God in him that he may be disqualified. So I'm sure that discipline from your faith goes right into fighting.
Jason Eastman:Man, I love that dude, like I fasted. I mean, look, when you're a fighter, you know you win three, four, five fights and you feel like you're on top of the world and you lose one, and it's like my world is crumbling and, dude, I have fasted over my career before. I have seeked God thoroughly, you know, and intensely, and I'm like, look, god, as much as I love competing, as much as I even just love training because competing can be scary, but I love training as much, god, if it's not of you, take it from me. I don't want to do anything as not of you, god, and that's been my attitude for many years, and it always comes back to this is your calling, and I'm like, and so finally, after doing that, I'm like, oh God, look, I'm going to get out of my own way and quit wondering, wondering, wondering.
Jason Eastman:Is this you? I've had yes so many times. How many times can you say yes? From now on, I'm going to remember that answer yes, and if you ever change your mind about it, you let me know. But until then, I'm going to have the confidence like I got, like I'm on your side with this and we're on the same page with this, and I'm going to walk that out, you know, instead of holding myself back, because really, what that is is fear of my own self, you know? So, um and man, if you look at me and you look at all my attributes, I am built for this physically.
Aaron O'Connell:I'm built for you mentally.
Jason Eastman:I'm built for it. I'm. It's easy for me to be disciplined. It's easy for me to eat very, you know, properly, correctly, I don't. I'm just different man. Anybody that knows me knows that and when you you look, you're like wow, he really is built for this and I'm just. I know that now, after I've matured a little bit in my career. I matured a little bit in my walk and seeking God and now that I know that it's really changed my me as a person.
Aaron O'Connell:You know, when you find that purpose, that vocation, that you can not only feel the you know the adrenaline, but the passion and all the worldly happiness, but also you get the joy of the Lord and you know that you're marrying the two. It just goes and explodes, because that's what I'm doing through this podcast, through you, through my training because I used to be a personal trainer I no longer do that you know, because I just didn't want to substitute one idol for the next.
Aaron O'Connell:I wanted to truly show them true freedom, peace of mind and heart, true success, and I had to step back for so long. But just even how we got to this podcast.
Jason Eastman:Grayson Levy you know he's got his Instagram handle.
Aaron O'Connell:If you want to check him out, is our full time adventure and that is he's finding his purpose in travel and he's going and he's going around and traveling to all these areas, talking about God, not as like a preacher, and it's my main thing, but there's these brief moments that they bring God into it, just them living the life, because it's it's not so much I heard it's an excellent quote that I heard and it's not it's more important how you do what you do than what you do. That's right. Everyone is beating themselves up of I need to do XYZ, I should do this, I need to stop this. That is legalistic, but it's more important how you do what you are currently doing. Are you bringing God into?
Jason Eastman:it.
Aaron O'Connell:Are you? Are you doing it out of love? Then you can be doing anything. You could be fighting, beating somebody up, causing bloody noses, you could be traveling, you can be a nurse, you could be a stay at home, you have that fruit to the spirit.
Aaron O'Connell:But you find it, you find that purpose, and when you find that and align it with God, that's when the Holy Spirit does walk, come in and gives you the faith, the patience you know, the love, the joy, the peace, the kindness, the goodness, the gentleness and the self control, or a ka sound mind.
Aaron O'Connell:You know, exactly and I want to actually ask you a question, and can you think of a time and of when it may have? Been you ready? You may have already said it in the very first fight, but you were experiencing like a mental and spiritual anguish, overdoing something, because I'm sure our listeners have this big thing, they want to do this over the scary thing, this, this problem, that they're thinking about it so much. I'm just wondering how, if you have a story like that, and how you were able to overcome that so really speaking of decisions again, right.
Jason Eastman:So, man, I used to go back and forth to what's right, what's wrong, what should I do? What should I do, man? I really think now, as long as you are doing the right things and what is right things, I mean reading your word, worshiping, praying, developing your relationship with God, you're immersing yourself in Jesus. That man, you know, whatever you do will be blessed and you just and if you're ever in question about it, what I do, it might not be the only way to do it, but I say, look, god, I feel like I should do this.
Jason Eastman:Sometimes I don't feel like I should do it, sometimes I lower this dude that they offered me to fight is, I don't know, lord, you know is tough, you know he's he's tough, but but, God, I'm not going to let my doubts, my fear, get in the way of of a success in my career on advancement of my family and advancement of my finances. So, god, I'm going to say yes to this opportunity. If it's not of you, lord, look, I'm going to lay that beyond. You. Take it away from me, because wins, losses, you know, in life, not just fighting, it's all, all things happen to the good of those who love him.
Aaron O'Connell:Yes, you know. So to me, I'm like yo. Lord, I'm going to say yes, I'm like yo.
Jason Eastman:Lord, if you want me to walk through this and I win, I lose. But Lord, if it's your will, I'm down. I'm down with it. So that's how I address those hard decisions. You know, especially if I'm on the fence about it or you gotta pray about everything, man, you gotta filter it through your heavenly father. You know, Like I don't want anything that's not of you, God, you make that decision, you know.
Aaron O'Connell:I love that you know, because you're speaking of victory, no matter what happens. You know, and 1 Corinthians 15, 57 reminds us that thanks be to God, he gives us the victory through Lord Jesus Christ. So, as long as we have Christ, we know that, no matter what happens, like you said in Romans, all things are gonna work for the better for us because we love Christ, we know we do, we're not halfway in and halfway out, because James already says we're gonna.
Aaron O'Connell:You know that's false religion, that's that you're gonna be tossed like a sea, like the waves of a sea. You know you're only fooling yourself. Double-minded man, exactly. But when you're all in, it really takes everything to the next level for sure.
Aaron O'Connell:I agree, I love that. So I wanna also dive in to self-control. It's a big one and it's significance in faith and in fighting, because I'm sure you have so many people pulling you left and right. You know, do this, do this, don't do this. You know, or you know even in your faith, but, like I think it within fighting is a good way for the listeners to kind of get like a layman's terms how to do things about. Like how do you increase that self-control? What are your, what are your aspects? Type of thing. Like what would be the one, two, three steps for somebody that's like, hey, I'm lacking self-control, I don't know what to do. What would your advice be to them?
Jason Eastman:So there's a couple of things self-control, man. Some things come easy, some things don't you know Some things is hard to control.
Jason Eastman:Some things is not so hard. Every discipline, every success builds on the next one. You know, you wake up, you make your bed, and then you're like, wow, I made my bed, now I do this. You know, you get your workout done and you're like, man, I might as well eat good now. I already worked out, I mean. But if you miss your workout, you're like I miss my workout, I might as well eat pizza who cares? And then the next day you cheat again, and then you so everything. It's like a snowball effect. You know, for your self-control, get small victories and build into your bigger ones, your harder ones. You know. You know, and again, you have to always lean on God. Some things it's not easy to control and you gotta really seek God on that. You gotta make your body a slave, you know.
Jason Eastman:Yeah, yeah, because this spirit is willing bro, but the body is weak man.
Jason Eastman:And look, I'll go ahead and speak about something that I struggled with for nearly half my life, you know, I mean I became addicted to pornography at like 13, 14 years old and I really, really struggled with it, man, up until about three years ago or so. Yeah, about three years ago, and the Lord radically delivered me from it, radically delivered me, and it was something I thought I could never, ever, you know. And the point is I really didn't overcome it myself. You know, I relied on him and you have to come to a point where you hate your sin so bad. You know, if you don't hate it, you kinda wanna keep that little pet sin.
Jason Eastman:It's not. You can't have that. You gotta, you know, yeah, you gotta understand that's getting in the way of the blessings that God had for your life. You know you might not go to hell for it, right, because God died for our sins. But, dude, do you wanna be a wreck over here on the earth while you're here, you know? So you gotta give it to God and you gotta begin to hate your sin and he will deliver you from it if you fall flat on your face in front of Him and just beg Him to take it from you.
Aaron O'Connell:Yeah, that I struggled with marijuana, for you know, like you, 13 to you know, up and about, you know, I can't even say a year ago really you know, because, like, even though I'd be going longer and longer, and longer I would go into those little bits and for a whole month or so I would I have a prayer journal and I kept praying Lord, help me hate smoking weed, help me hate it, help me be revolted of it. And then after I did that, like even I would even write that even as I was smoking type of thing, like if I was high type of thing like help me hate it and within about a month, all of a sudden, I'm like I hate this.
Aaron O'Connell:Every time I smoked, I usually would get relief because I was procrastinating and you know, when you're not doing what you know you ought, you're sinning. And when you constantly have this stress and this turmoil of things that you haven't done, or you're focused on the past depression or you're anxious of the future because you're not doing what you're supposed to do, you run to something, that false idol and for me it was marijuana and all of a sudden, just me praying that, praying that every single time it was like it gave me headaches. And I don't get headaches. I'm hydrated, I get my salt, I get my electrolytes.
Jason Eastman:I know what's up.
Aaron O'Connell:But I don't get headaches.
Jason Eastman:The Lord said let me encourage you a little bit.
Aaron O'Connell:And I would start getting headaches. But also on top of that, I usually my mind will go like in crazy places and I'm like, oh, I'm so creative Tomorrow, I'm going to do this Tomorrow. All these other things that stopped happening. All it was is just like this sucks. I would usually be able to. I don't get lost into TV series. I don't really watch much TV whatsoever, but when I smoked I could watch TV and just keep on watching it. I couldn't do that while I was smoking.
Aaron O'Connell:But now when I said God, take it from me, I make me hate it. It made me not be able to do those things, it made me just kind of sit there doing nothing, and not OK with doing nothing, but I couldn't do anything. And it just got to the point where I'm like I hate this. And now it's gotten to the point because when I stopped before for like the five months, two months, three months, two weeks, whatever it is I'd be going and if I saw someone smoking in their car I'd be like that looks so good.
Aaron O'Connell:It would just be like oh, that looks so good. Oh, lucky you. Now it's like I pray for them. I'm like man, lord, deliver them from, let them hate that, so they can be able to see you, to be able to see what's in front of them and give them an opportunity to better themselves.
Jason Eastman:Yeah, man.
Aaron O'Connell:Oh yeah, and I want to take that little segue because you mentioned you're a family man.
Jason Eastman:Yes, you're a family.
Aaron O'Connell:Yeah, how many kids you got.
Jason Eastman:Well, that's sort of a loaded question. So I had a son about 13 months ago, right, and he's amazing. I love him. His name is Leonidas.
Aaron O'Connell:After the 300 movie right, that's best say isn't it?
Jason Eastman:God gave me that name because it means son of a lion and his middle name is Judah, so son of the lion of Judah. So I thought that was sick. But God dropped that in my head. But so I have a son, right. But I also have a daughter who's eight years old, and I've been in this battle to get rights for her. I didn't know she was really mine until she was four, so I've been in this. You know, I'm a past life and past life comes to haunt you sometimes. Oh, I know.
Aaron O'Connell:And sometimes usually all the time Right exactly, exactly, thank you.
Jason Eastman:So I've been battling to get rights to her for a couple of years. Not that I want to take her away from her mother, but I just want to be able to see my little girl.
Aaron O'Connell:And so.
Jason Eastman:I've been in this legal battle for like four years now, so she's eight now, and so, yeah, so I have two kids, and also my wife is pregnant again, so congratulations.
Aaron O'Connell:Thanks, man, thanks, thanks. When's the due date, type of things Soon.
Jason Eastman:She's 10 weeks, ok, ok.
Aaron O'Connell:So relatively new you still got some more time to you know, get things a little bit more buttoned up.
Jason Eastman:I'll go ahead. Yeah, I'll talk about a family man, dude, like my wife, is incredible. She's a tough cookie, bro. And just to give you a little insight on the way we do things, we're people would call us weird, right, we do things a little different. When we had our son, we did an at-home birth with no medical intervention, just me and her, right? Yeah, natural at-home birth. It's called free birthing, right? Yeah, dude, it sounds like free birthing.
Aaron O'Connell:I know, yeah, you know.
Jason Eastman:So it was the most amazing, craziest, I mean most intense thing I've ever been a part of, and to see her go through that. And the Holy Spirit was just in that room with this man, oh I can't imagine.
Jason Eastman:And for her to give birth to our child right before my eyes, you know, and it was amazing. But that's how tough and how strong she is. Yeah, that's awesome. So she's a tough one. She's really sharpened me as a man, because when you have a woman, that's that sharp dude you'll either get left behind or you better tighten up, you know, yeah.
Aaron O'Connell:No, I like that. And what I want to ask you is like, what are some values and life lessons that you, as a fighter, can pass on to your children? Because Proverbs 22.6 says train up a child in the way that he should go? Yes, you know we never depart from it and you'll never depart from it. You know we need to make sure that we discipline them, because those that spare the rod from their children, you know, don't like or hate the child. Whatever. You know you say like you don't love the child, because you need to give them that discipline. You can, and especially in a world today where, like in California, they just passed the law, or the committee passed the law where it said, hey, like I watched this TikTok and it's like oh, where they're now able to take away the children from the parents if they don't affirm their gender.
Aaron O'Connell:And here's this woman saying like and it was the dumbest statement in the world and, like all the comments agreed, it was like it said something along it's like, as a parent, it's our duty to affirm our children and it's like that is so wrong. So clearly this is a spiritual battle. We know we don't wrestle with flesh and blood.
Aaron O'Connell:You know, but of the principalities of this world, and that's Ephesians 6, 12. So we know that there's this advancement that's going on at a rapid rate, at least here in the West. The West is going down, whereas the East and all those other countries seem to have more Christians and more Christians and more Christians. But us on the West side of the world, you know it's going down. So I'd really like to know as life lessons or values that you could take from fighting or not, that you want to pass down to your son, to your daughter.
Jason Eastman:Yeah, man, this is the Lord gave the devil a lot of authority over this world. You know, I think in my head all the time I'm like man, things are getting so bad, but I'm like this ain't heaven yet. What do you expect?
Aaron O'Connell:Exactly.
Jason Eastman:It's amazing that there's anything good that happens in this world at all, you know, because this is not heaven yet man, and anything good that happens to us or for us is purely by the grace of God because we don't deserve any of it.
Jason Eastman:You know, yeah, man, discipline I think is super important, like I mean, for me, growing up I was pretty tough, you know, like I got saved young, three or four years old maybe I still remember the moment but of course I didn't really start walking really heavily into my faith, like I didn't really blossom until about three, four years ago really, when I met my wife because I prayed about her. You know, when I got delivered from porn it all kind of happened at the same time. I prayed for God to take sexual sin from me the porn, the sleeping around and to give me a woman that was stronger in that area than I was. And he did, you know. He gave me my wife and she was an answer to prayer.
Aaron O'Connell:He'll give you what you ask for, as long as it's according to his will.
Jason Eastman:He says it right there in the Bible.
Aaron O'Connell:Amen, I love that.
Jason Eastman:I love that we're wicked we're wicked and do we want to give our kids bad presents? Right, there's a verse that says that who asks for a bread and I give you a rock.
Aaron O'Connell:Yeah, yeah, scorpion, you know, You're right, exactly so imagine our heavenly Father.
Jason Eastman:He wants to give us all the desires of our heart too, as long as they're in, according to his word. But I say all that to say that I really started walking out my faith really in the last several years and before that. It was a lot of ups and downs, a lot of backsliding, and I needed some of the harsh discipline that my father gave me because I was although I got saved young, I didn't love my family situation. My mother got divorced from my dad at a young age. She remarried me and that guy didn't get along, even though he adopted me. I took his last name for a long long time, until a couple years ago. I changed it back to my birth name, but he was somewhat abusive in different ways.
Jason Eastman:And then I got in trouble at school because I started acting out. I started gangbanging a little, started getting into drugs. My mother had no idea, man. She was into her own thing. She was sleeping around cheating on her husband at the time and home was just a mess man.
Jason Eastman:I was an angry kid and even though I had God deep in my heart, man, I hadn't started living it out yet. I got involved with gangs, got involved with drugs, got kicked out of school. And my mom was like look, because up until that point I had only seen my dad, my real dad. So much because I didn't have his last name anymore. I saw him some, but not enough.
Jason Eastman:My dad was a very military man, disciplinary, so I'd go over there and act like a robot, yes, sir, but he didn't know who I really was. I only got to see him probably, you know, maybe once a month or so, maybe a little more often, but when I see him, I see him just for a weekend or so, just long enough to fake it, and I'd go back home and I'd be who I really was. But I got in trouble in school and my mom was like I can't deal with you, no more, you gotta go live with your dad. For at least a year I like failed school and sent me over to my dad's house right in the nick of time, because with his harsh discipline, some would call that abuse too. But I needed it, plus the Lord, you know, man, they turned my whole life around so when did you find?
Aaron O'Connell:was it your mom that had the faith, that instilled it in you?
Jason Eastman:You, know I love my mother. She's a great woman and don't lose that thought because I might get off track here. I just moved her in with me, me and my wife. We just moved her in. In the last like two months she's been living in Mississippi. Of course we're here in Florida she's been a part of. She's had a new husband for about 12 years. He's a super abusive guy, super alcoholic, really, really bad, and we've been trying to get her out of that situation, pray her out of it. For like as long as I've lived here it's about five years now I've had me and my whole church, my wife, all of us have been praying for her for like five years. Finally, about two months ago, dude, I was on the phone with her praying the most fervent, powerful prayer I've ever felt myself personally pray and I felt the spirit move, dude. I felt something happen in the spiritual realm and literally it wasn't. A couple weeks later she was on my couch.
Jason Eastman:We had a one bedroom house we had one bedroom apartment and I was praying. I was like Lord, I need to get my mom her own room. Blah, blah, blah. About a month, two later now we're in a three bedroom apartment. I don't know how we afford it. I was breaking down my budget last night. I'm like man. I don't know how we afford it, don't even mathematically make sense. But God is making a way we're paying bills. So that's my mom right. But I did not. I did not get my faith really from her. You know she has an understanding of God and she's a wonderful woman, really lovely woman. We'll give you the shot off her back, but she's still growing in her faith. She's still baby stepping in her faith you know, but my dad.
Jason Eastman:Now, you know my dad. Nobody's perfect in everything, right, but my dad, he's the one that always instilled the importance of faith in God. He had me in church all the time, all the time. I remember getting bored as a kid trying to color. You're not listening to what nobody was saying, the pastor was saying. But I grew up in church because of my dad, you know, and he gets that credit because even when he was with my mom and all that, he's the leader of the household, you know.
Aaron O'Connell:He took me to church. I love that because a lot of times people you know have that testimony of oh I've been saved ever since I was a young kid and they don't think it's that powerful. Not everyone has the gang banging the drugs you know, because I chased, I chased, you know, the dragon smoking Roxy's off a tin foil. I've smoked cigarettes. I've slept around. I've been addicted to porn.
Jason Eastman:I've done. You know you name it, I've probably done it, or something like that other than super, super hard stuff you know, but, like, not everyone has that.
Aaron O'Connell:So they have this story. That's like, oh, you know, I've just been ever since I was young and they don't think it's a powerful testimony. That's a powerful testimony. It gives the testimony of what a generational impact is. It gives testimony of what a father is and what a mother or a parent is, and the importance of raising up our children in the way that we go and they go, and guarding our hearts above all else. You know we need, yes, we need to do that. That's Proverbs 4.23, that we need to do that. But it's so important as fathers to instill and mothers obviously, to instill these values, our Christianity, and not just by our words but also by our deeds, because you can identify a tree by its fruit. Kids don't do things just because you tell them to.
Jason Eastman:If you tell them.
Aaron O'Connell:Faith is dead without works. Yeah, like if you're smoking cigarettes and you tell a kid not to smoke, they're gonna end up smoking cigarettes, because you don't you're just everything you say that's dangerous. You're doing it, so they're gonna do what you do not what you say.
Aaron O'Connell:They look up to you, they wanna be like you. So, as a father, I know, because I have a daughter. She's seven years old and I do everything I possibly can to point things back to God. You know, no matter what it may be, I get my patience from that as well and just my level-headedness from that as well, but it's just so important. Yes, because we don't know when they're gonna have that prodigal season.
Jason Eastman:We had our prodigal seasons.
Aaron O'Connell:It could last a year. It could last a lifetime. If 15, it could go all the way up until 70, you know, whatever it may be, but I like what you said about that prayer. You were praying for your mom for five years. Our Bible says knock and the door will be opened, seek and you will find. And it may not be in our lifetime, but we know that God's outside of space and time. If a day seems like a thousand years, a thousand years is a day, which is just a poetic way of saying like your timeframe means nothing you know, because it's strengthening us and your prayer life, because if you prayed for it for two weeks and then it happened, you'd be like God's so awesome.
Aaron O'Connell:But when you do it for five years and how you just get deeper and deeper into faith and just trusting him, and then all of a sudden, after five years, it happens that explodes your faith Amazing.
Jason Eastman:Yeah, man, that's beautiful stuff. God has really done huge works in my life here recently, you know. But I think, as far as you know, bringing your kids up, man, I think the most important thing you can do and emulate, because we're gonna mess it up, dude. We're gonna try to get it right and we'll get some of the right, but we ain't gonna get all of it right. But you gotta show them the important things and again, you always gotta go back to reading your word.
Jason Eastman:Let them see you read, let them see you pray and let them see you worship and after I won my last fight it was a wonderful victory, bro. I mean, I was so reliant on God for that fight and I had an outstanding performance. I brutally finished this really high level guy and you know, the Lord was all over it, man. I was just really reliant on him. And afterwards I got home and I wasn't injured and I had this great victory and my son was in his high chair and I was just praising God. I had the TV on loud, listening to some of my favorite worship songs. You know the one that I really was really liked. I think it's Brandon Lake, if I'm not mistaken, but the song was called Lions. It's called Lions, bro. I'm gonna have to check that out.
Jason Eastman:Hell, hell, lion of Judah, let the Lion Roar. Oh, bro, bro, I was going hard, I was lifting my hands and I looked at it and he was lifting his hands. He's like 10 months at the time.
Aaron O'Connell:Oh yeah, lifting his hand, maybe less than nine months Bro.
Jason Eastman:so you know we're not gonna get it all right, but, man, if we get those things right, we are doing our job Exactly, and we're gonna fail no matter what.
Aaron O'Connell:But it's those little rhythms that keep us going. It's that reading, it's that praying, and so many people worry about saying the right thing. How do? Oh, I didn't respond the right way, or whatever it was. Oh, that short outburst. Okay, well, you took a deep, you took a. I went to look at it as a bank account. How often are you depositing these spiritual things, no matter how small they're? It's just a tally mark.
Aaron O'Connell:She sees me reading the Bible today, sees it today, sees it a hundred times. And then all of a sudden I go and lash out, I do something wrong. She, you know, my daughter, actually was one of the biggest reasons I started really feeling bad about smoking, because when she caught me, it makes you feel bad. You know Her mother, still, you know, smokes, vape and all that other stuff which I absolutely hate. You know, because she's seen it. And I, you know, and I, even when I promised her, I promised her, I was like, hey, I'm not gonna smoke more, I'm smoking weed. She, you know, like not just tobacco, but like she doesn't know better, no-transcript. You go five months and then all of a sudden you're hiding again. She finds it again and it just creates so much pain in you. But those are, those are right. There are withdrawals, but she also sees me in church, like raise my hands. Like you said, all I listen to is Christian music.
Jason Eastman:It's the only thing I was a hard thing for me to get over, but yes, now I'm like you. Yeah, for me.
Aaron O'Connell:Because if you really listen to the words, what do you glorify me? Because what are you worshiping? What? What is your mind focused on? Like? For me, it's the most amazing thing having my daughter Just sitting there, you know, and just starts belting out a song from Lauren Deggle or just, and she's a human jukebox and she, she really remembers it all, right she remembers every.
Aaron O'Connell:It's all about like the same knowing song she can learn a song so quickly musical very but like it's the best thing hearing her to be able to say those things you know saying I am nothing without you, Lord you know like thing these types of lyrics, because she, that's all she hears From me.
Aaron O'Connell:She see mine. I live with my mom as well and we have our Bibles out 24-7 on the, on the, on the dinner table, you know. It's just constantly there and she's catching us there. She's caught me and on my knees, you know, coming down the stairs and I'm on my knees just praying and she's like daddy, what are you doing?
Jason Eastman:I'm weird, I'm praying.
Aaron O'Connell:Why are you on your knees? And then I it's a time to teach, but like what? Also she sees me doing that. So when I fail and what I think so often parents kind of get wrong is they. They try to be Superman to them. They try to hide the Clark Kent and only show that superhero to them when they get caught, they almost like minimize their own Offense, you know, because they want to maintain this perfect look to their kids. But when you can sit there and say I am sorry, yes, I was wrong.
Aaron O'Connell:Do you forgive me? Model that to your kids, asking them to forgive you, like if I ever, you know, get Go on, avery, what are you doing? You know, even if it'll scare and it puts stops are in her tracks, you know, but even then, even if, like she didn't cry or anything like that, I all the time now will be like, hey, I'm really sorry for what? Raising my voice, I could have done that the wrong way, you, and then I can. But then I Explained to her why that happened. I'm weak, you know. I'm sorry that I that's because I care about you, that's why it came out, but we need to be able to control that and you know, and be able to just talk through that. And Because I'm somebody that started why to fitness, I had that desire to explain why always and I needed to know it. And I hate it when someone would just be like because it's because, just because whatever I'm like, that's not sufficient enough. Because I said so, because I said so, it's like wait now You're the authoritative power and I don't know about you if someone's being an authoritative person, a dictator, they aren't liked by the masses.
Aaron O'Connell:Yeah, usually so you know those that authoritative leader is not. But when you can actually have, where they feel like they have a say, you're empowering them. You're letting them Get these tools and tricks that you have and you're not just holding them back. You're saying we're the same. You have so much in you.
Aaron O'Connell:I struggle to I identify with you, no matter if it's a three-year-old, five-year-old, seven-year-old, 20-year-old, whatever it may be, because we, we need to train them in the way they go. We need to instill in them things that we have and also things we don't have, and show our weaknesses, because our weaknesses you know what was it I'm drawing a blank who had the, the thorn in his flesh. Jacob, jacob, there you go. He had a thorn in his flesh.
Aaron O'Connell:I always had something, whatever that may be, and it's like, wait a minute, we're all gonna have that one thing, but that is what's remained keeps us humble. We can't just hide it, but that's what's gonna keep us thinking we're better than everyone else because you may be better in seven areas out of ten out of Everyone else, but if you got those three, you just as bad, because they may have that big three. You know, and we. It keeps us humble, but I really want to know, on your side, what is it that you would like to instill? Like, what type of legacy Would you like to leave to your kids? Like, what would be that goal outcome? Would they that you would want them to say about you when, when, when you know you're no longer there, or when you're old, or whatever it is like?
Jason Eastman:What would that be? That's a good one, man, um, sorry, I didn't give you this on Good freestyle and no man, you got to know the answer to these big questions. You know, give you, give you some direction. You know, I mean, I live my life in such a way where, like I'm, I'm a protector. You know, I protect, you know, the women of my life, my wife, my, my mother I'm a big protector my children. You know, I think that's one of Um man's and husband's biggest roles protect, provide, cover. You know, I don't know man, I just want my, my son to be able to say man, my dad was a tough dude, but man he was, he was soft when he needed to be, you know he was, um, he loved God. You know that. What else can you ask for, man?
Jason Eastman:Like yeah, like he loved God. You know he, he didn't do everything perfect, but man, he um he always circled it back to the right thing. You know, and I think, talking about some of these things with with kids and stuff, man like being quick to apologize and and teaching them to forgive, you know, not be sticky.
Jason Eastman:Don't let stuff stick to you, man, let it, let it go. You know it's funny. Um, we have a goddaughter, um, who's basically like my daughter because her Father's not in her life. It's my wife's a close friend of hers, named Ashley, and then she's got a daughter named Natalina. We just call her Alina, but, um, she's older than my son.
Jason Eastman:She's about two and a half and I haven't we haven't started disciplining like my son yet, because he's so young, right, but I'm getting a little bit of practice with with Natalina, because there's certain things she understands and she decides to Disobey certain things you know, and so I'm, I'm I'm getting a little practice with her and learning when is the Proper time to discipline, and she's very sensitive. So sometimes you know if, if, like you said, you raise your voice or something, she falls apart and you're like, oh, man that hurts dude, and you got to be quick to apologize, you know, and they got to see that spirit and you can't be too hard.
Aaron O'Connell:Yep, you know, as a man it's important to have both and, and you know, we, we are supposed to rejoice in our trials because they produce endurance and produces strength of character. Strength character produces our hope in Jesus. You know, so what I like to like? Just recently actually yesterday I caught my daughter in a lie you know, and. And also she was stealing you know, this isn't like like she's the.
Jason Eastman:She's the perfect girl.
Aaron O'Connell:You know, like this wasn't supposed to happen type of thing. You know her mother's gonna kill me. I'm like put this on the podcast. But like I told her because it was like it was a couple days coming. You know, like first there was a little lie that I didn't know. I talked to her mom. She's like, oh, it's probably nothing. You know, I trust my daughter, type of thing, and then I just Figured out what it was. As I word this come from. She lies and I'm like, okay, do not lie to me and Everything will be so much better. Mmm, that's right, you know when she goes. Yes, I did steal it.
Aaron O'Connell:I'm like, okay, and then all of a sudden, instantly, she fabricates another story. Well, I told him and he said that I could have it also like so if I wouldn't ask them right now and give them a call, would he say that?
Aaron O'Connell:She's like oh crap, no, you know, I'm like yeah now you're lying to me again, you know, and it was the first time that I'm really having to do this. You know Cuz every time was just like a little bit of lie, but it's like no, I didn't grab, I didn't eat the candy. Yeah, it's like you clearly ate the candy, like some of it.
Aaron O'Connell:Yeah, like just little things, but, like, this was the biggest first thing you know, and and I had to Gather myself at first, you know I was doing real good. Then I brought her up to a room. You stay here for a little bit, like I had to. I had to go and pray about it. I went online. I'm like, oh, how do I do this? Like, what's the proper things to say to a seven-year-old at this moment? You know, and like, and I got a lot of wisdom. But then it gave me the opportunity To help her grow and that's. And so often I think parents get it wrong, humans get it wrong, that when there isn't a fence taken, when there is something wrong that's happened, our instant is to get angry and our instance is just to be like you're wrong and I'm gonna show you how wrong you are. And I, I didn't take that approach. It was out of love and I started explaining to her. I do understand that it's trust that is being broken.
Jason Eastman:We trust you so much.
Aaron O'Connell:That lying and stealing breaks that trust. And that's when her tears went from like a little bit.
Jason Eastman:I'm not mad at you, I'm disappointed.
Aaron O'Connell:That hurts, bro, exactly, but like and then it's, but it's not just that it's explaining it to her, because then she said I was like, and I was like, so explain it to you in my own words. And she said stuff, like you know, because I could go to jail, I'm like one longer terms, yes, that's why we're here to help you. I also. She also said because I could go to hell, I'm like, I'm like, I mean, I go. No that's not how it works.
Aaron O'Connell:It's not so I got a chance to explain to her that doing wrong things Isn't a ticket to hell you know and doing right things, so it gave me an opportunity for her to understand that a little bit more.
Aaron O'Connell:You know it's, and so I really put it through there and Allowed her to really process it. Then I said, hey, go write a letter. You know, I think I said that before the big old talk too. I was like, write a letter to him. I'm not gonna help you, like she can't really write too well, so like it's you could tell, a seven-year-old wrote this thing, like how was written? I was like you have to write a letter explaining to it and all that like to him, how you're sorry and what you learned, the, the lessons you learned, all that something. She started getting to it all that stuff and and I didn't Really discipline her that much Okay, no screen time today type of thing is the first defense, because the what a she's out up doing a birthday party right now, but also, I know, on Monday when she has to go back and Tell this man, it's not a kid.
Aaron O'Connell:Oh yeah, it's, it's her after-school teacher.
Jason Eastman:Yeah, you know that makes it better, because he'll kind of under. Oh, of course, you know, and it's the most littlest thing in the world.
Aaron O'Connell:You know, I, it's the principal, it's the principal of it and I'm like, and I had to tell her mother, mike, we shouldn't just do it more. I don't want to take something away, then let her go on this birthday party, then take it away, because then it's like a Double whammy, because I was like the double whammy is gonna come when she has to go there.
Aaron O'Connell:Give them this later music, face, the music you know. But I showed her and it gave me also an opportunity to tell her I'm like, I'm in your corner. You need me for the worst parts of your life. Don't just come to me with the good stuff, that's right. You need to especially come to me with the bad stuff. And I still love you, and I, because I still love you.
Aaron O'Connell:It went because if you don't come to me when you're in trouble, when you were had going through the consequences of bad decisions, when you're in the middle of that bad decision, whatever it may be, if you don't come to me, I can't help you. And that is the same thing with God. If we keep thinking that we have this sin and this sin and we got a button it up before we get to God, he can't help you, then, yep, we need to go to him with all of our pain, all of our afflictions, all of everything. Like you said, you brought your Portnography to him. I brought my weed smoke into him, my, my procrastination to him, everything I bring it to him because I don't. I've already proven to myself I don't have the power.
Jason Eastman:You know we're so funny man. You know you got to be vulnerable before God, but it's like he knows anyways.
Jason Eastman:He knows you yeah, do you think you're hiding it from him? Like it's really just an ego thing? Like admitted he already knows. But you got to get soft. You got to be vulnerable before your God so he can help you. You got to open that door, that gate, so he can help you. Man, you just got to admit it and you got to repent. You got to turn around, go the other direction and you know, as far as the self-control thing another good thing, like Like I'm strong now been going for a long time without watching pornography, but guess what, I still have software on my phone. I still have software on my computer that prevents me, bro, because I'm still human. I still have temptation sometime. You can't say, oh man, I'm beyond that now, bro. No, you're not. Life will happen. Life will smack you in the face and you'll be weak, and all it takes is one moment. And now you're stealing from your wife.
Jason Eastman:You need to bring your sexual energy for her.
Aaron O'Connell:And now you can't because something else is taking it, because you masturbated and you went out and now all of a sudden she comes home already and you're like, oh, and now? And don't think she don't know, because there's no heart, because now you're going 40 minutes and you're sitting there like, oh, come on Trying to force it right?
Jason Eastman:Yeah, no, exactly, man, exactly. And you know, sin is like a fishin', like a hook bro with bait on it. You think that bait is good, you eat it. It snags you and it keeps you longer than how long you wanted to be there, and it takes from you more than you thought it would ever take. Oh yeah, oh yeah, you know.
Aaron O'Connell:Mm-hmm, and that's just the thing is, there is that lingering effect. You know, like you know that, no matter what, even if you've experienced that freedom, you need to keep bringing God's power into it, because a lot of times we experience freedom from just methods of this world. I'm not gonna do this, I'm not gonna do that, whatever. But right there in Matthew I think it's chapter, I'm guessing right now chapter 11, all right, I'm pretty sure. But it says if you go and you clean your house, and you drive that demon out, seven's gonna come back.
Aaron O'Connell:Seven's gonna come back finding it perfectly clean in order and wreak havoc on you Like seven's that completion number that much worse. That's why, when you clean something out, you need to fill it back in with Christ, amen.
Jason Eastman:You have to fill it back in with Christ.
Aaron O'Connell:If not, it's just gonna come back that much harder. Why? Because the devil goes after those that are causing a lot of destruction.
Jason Eastman:On his side, he's gonna go after you.
Aaron O'Connell:So you need to keep those barriers in there. You need to have those boundaries.
Aaron O'Connell:You know it's the same thing as like hey, I wanna be free. Great, you found your freedom, but what started as driving? If you don't keep those lines in the road, you can be driving all free and all that stuff. If there ain't lines in the road, guess what? Lil Johnny's coming around the corner at 90. And you should be going 30. And you got your kids in the car and he's gonna be just drifting around it because there ain't no lines. Those boundaries, those steps, that proactiveness, understanding where you're weak is so important and a lot of people don't wanna do that. That's why we go to community. We have brothers and sisters.
Aaron O'Connell:So we have to hold us accountable. That care about us, that can be the voice of God when you're not hearing it because you're out sinning.
Jason Eastman:They can come and speak to you and breathe life into you and I wanna touch on something, man, so glad you're talking about this, because I've been a part of a lot of churches, I've moved around a lot in my life and stuff like that. But, man, the church I'm a part of now, I love it and we've got such a tight community and for me it has been one of the best things. Because I hear a lot people say, oh, you don't have to be a Christian and go to church and I mean, yeah, I guess not, but I could be a pro fighter and not train.
Aaron O'Connell:I wouldn't probably be very good you can be married and not go home very often. Very great example, great example.
Jason Eastman:But you wanna be effective in the kingdom. You wanna be constantly growing. You want to do this thing together or you wanna do it by yourself. That's not, bro. God died for his people.
Aaron O'Connell:He modeled it perfectly. He had his three, he had his 12, he had his 70 disciples Exactly. He needed those people to build him up.
Jason Eastman:Do not forsake the gathering of the brethren man, and it's so important when you're weak to have those people to lean on when you need trouble Advice man I used to be.
Jason Eastman:I had a lot of acquaintances but it was really hard for me to let people in. But I've you know, for a man to have friends he must himself be friendly. That's another verse. And once I started learning to let people in and really utilize people, godly counsel, godly advice, godly friends, you know, like you show me your friends, I'll show you your future. You know, if you don't have good God-loving friends, get some, because that's where your income is. Even studies are shown is gonna be the average of your friends within 10 to 15%.
Jason Eastman:You know your friends really, really matter, and I'm not saying you can't hang out with people that aren't believers, because we have to minister too, but the bulk of your friends, your main people, they need to be believers in good ones.
Aaron O'Connell:You know I actually was talking to a pastor about that, you know, because you're the sum of the five closest people that you hang out with and you need to have those people breathing life into you that you can go and boast about your weakness, because God's power is made perfect in our weakness.
Aaron O'Connell:You know we need to have that community. But he shook my world. This was a couple years ago. He was like I'm a pastor, I should be around all the bad people. That's where my ministry is. He goes yes, I have all my people that you know, that breathe in life. You know, if I'm going out into a place where it's gonna be filled with temptation, I'm trying to reach those people. I have somebody with me, you know. That's why he sent them out in pairs Because the devil's roaming around looking for someone to devour one person, not looking for people to devour.
Jason Eastman:A three-corded, three-stranded court is not easily broken, right, God, you and somebody else.
Aaron O'Connell:Exactly because we're two or more gathered. Surely God is there. And it's just so important to have that community and find that and don't be going into church going like I'm gonna quickly find it, just like this, you know, because the church is a hospital. We got sick people in there and that's where the most dangerous people are.
Aaron O'Connell:That's right, because lukewarm is what gets spit out. It's the people that say I'm Christian, but then turn on. You know whop? You know what was that? Wet ass. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, you know you know, like those types of those types of you know types of things you know, like that, are going out there and doing the drug, doing all this stuff.
Aaron O'Connell:You know you can, you could have sorrow in your heart and be struggling with these things, and then I come around you. I'm like, hey, man, you know, I understand you're going through this, but let's talk about Christ nearing it. But if there's no focus on Christ nearing that time, it's like those are the wrong people to be around, you know, because they're only checking the box and they're gonna be the ones that are like, hey, you don't have to. You're crazy, man, stop being so on fire. It's only by faith alone. Man, you're so legalistic it's like I don't know about you, but if you love me, you're gonna obey my commands. Jesus said.
Jason Eastman:It's automatic. Yeah, it doesn't give you a password, it's automatic, like you know you can identify that tree by its fruit.
Aaron O'Connell:You know you can prove your faith by your works. You know like my works showcase my faith. You know faith without works is dead is what our Bible says. So we need those people that are actually walking in as well. It may be the gimpiest gimp of the world walk but that's okay, you might have still some leadership inside of yourself.
Aaron O'Connell:You know some compassion, some you know you may be able to get rid of some pride because you're thinking yourself is so great, you know, because you're reading the Bible, you're praying and this person's not, and all this stuff. Yet they're trying, they're trying, they're doing their thing. Who are you to be the judge, you know? But you are there to be able to give them the law and say, well, this is what it says. And if they're not repenting of it, if they're not having that sorrow, if they're just constantly doing it, but yeah, and they make a justification for it, that's when you're like, wait a minute, this because we, the Bible is pretty clear the devil comes disguised as an angel of light. Oh yeah, I have that right here.
Jason Eastman:It says angel on my arm right there, the devil on the other side.
Aaron O'Connell:Because so often people are thinking they're doing so good. Well, I'm doing, you know, but there's the devil, right there, the devil.
Jason Eastman:The devil's not gonna show up with horns and he's red.
Aaron O'Connell:He shows up in sheep's clothing, bro, bifurcated tail, nah man. He comes well dressed, well smelling rich.
Jason Eastman:He's gonna look like a good looking woman Smelling good. You know he's trying to tear your world apart.
Aaron O'Connell:Exactly. That's why it's so important to be firmly in groups, you know, because we go to God's people for healing. We go to him for forgiveness, amen.
Jason Eastman:I love that.
Aaron O'Connell:Yes, yes, yes, and that's where we get to see it. And you can be forgiven and not healed, oh yes.
Jason Eastman:You know, because you can, God will forgive you, but you might not forgive yourself.
Aaron O'Connell:You already forgave all of our sins. You already died, that's right. But you need your brothers. You know your sisters.
Jason Eastman:If you're a woman, you need to lean on each other to get that healing. God already forgave you. Get your healing. Go to your brothers, you know? No, I love that.
Aaron O'Connell:So leave our listeners, we wrap things up and we could definitely talk for a while.
Jason Eastman:Oh yeah, man, I can see that.
Aaron O'Connell:But I just wanna be mindful of our listeners and all that stuff is what are some bits of wisdom, advice, whatever it may be that you would like to leave the listeners.
Jason Eastman:Man, I've always lived my life. You know the heart is deceitful, so you don't wanna get it mixed up and think, oh, follow my heart.
Jason Eastman:But, you know, as long as you wanna just make sure you're in God's will for your life, you know you don't wanna be pulled apart to the left, to the right, because you're living in such a way that your spirit doesn't agree with. You know some of the people. They have the job that they shouldn't have because they didn't pray about it and they're still in that job. God's got something better for you. You know, keep God. I mean you gotta pray about everything. You gotta keep God. You know the centerpiece for all your decision-making and all that. But you know, don't be divided amongst your spirit and your flesh. Walk the way. You know you're supposed to walk and work hard man. I'm a hard worker dude and the Bible talks so much about hard work.
Aaron O'Connell:You know a little folding of the hands you know, and poverty's ready to be pounced on Like a thief. Yeah, man, right outside your door, you know I think God really blesses hard work.
Jason Eastman:Man, I think you should do your best. Don't be afraid of really hard work and don't divide yourself. You know, I've always let my spirit I'm not gonna call it my heart because it's my spirit Cause I mean I'm a fighter because I do love a lot about fighting, but there's some things in fighting that I don't love and I could be making a lot more money doing something else. Be using my brain doing something. You know I could be living somewhere where it's not you know $2 million to own a house when I'm from. You own a nice house for a quarter of that.
Aaron O'Connell:You know or less?
Jason Eastman:You could, I mean, have acres of land, I could be taking care of my family better, I could be doing so many things differently and better and more easy. Right, but that's not the path God has me on. So you gotta do what not is necessarily comfortable, but you gotta do what God has for you to do, cause there's a job. One of my favorite verses I'm so glad I just thought about it. God made you for a purpose, but it says he created the purpose first. So he didn't make Jason and think, all right, what am I gonna have this guy do? He created something to be done first and then he made me just to be able to do that purpose. Oh, man.
Aaron O'Connell:Isn't that amazing?
Jason Eastman:So don't, let, don't, cause his will will be carried out anyway. Don't let him hire somebody else for your job. You know, follow your spirit. Make sure you're prayed up, make sure you're in the Word. You know you're letting God guide you. Do what your spirit, you know you're supposed to do. Don't let fear get in the way. Live God. You know, live your life according to God's will. And you know, fulfill your purpose. Cause only you can fulfill your purpose. Don't let him hire nobody else. You know.
Aaron O'Connell:I love that and today's episode we went through the power of faith and just facing challenges, the internal battles we all fight, and also just the importance of being a present parent, you know, and really instilling those things. So I just love all the topics that we're talking about. I'm praying that it just touches at least one life for sure. You know, I know that will happen, you know, but where can people find you? I know, like share your Instagram so people can follow you, man.
Jason Eastman:Yeah, man, my Instagram is godschamp125. So God's Champion, but without the. You know I-O-N Godschamp125, that's my Instagram. I post, you know, most of my fight news there. You know, verses with fight pictures. It's really just a for my fight business, my career. I don't put too much personal stuff there, but all my, you know a lot of biblical stuff, a lot of fight stuff. You can find most of my stuff there.
Aaron O'Connell:Excellent, excellent, well, thank you so much for jumping on this podcast with me. Thank you, grayson, for making this connection happen and just speaking so highly of Jason, and just he's like you gotta get him on the podcast.
Aaron O'Connell:He was the first person. I was like nice that just mentioned you, and I can see why now, because your fruit is evident, man, you can tell you're in the word, you can tell that you're walking the walk, not just talking. The talk, which is so rare in these days, and I just love what you said is just like don't be scared of that hard work. We are created to work. We were to be to subdue the land. We were created to be leaders of this place you know.
Aaron O'Connell:So that's what we must do, and I'll be honest, I'm just now realizing that I had so much turmoil in my spirit. I didn't pull the trigger for so long because I was literally lost in that. Oh, who can do least, the least amount to get the most?
Aaron O'Connell:Right, right, right you know, success you know, but no real success is peace of mind and heart, that inner peace, and I didn't have it, and that you are exactly right. Yes, it looked like I worked hard in the gym and all that stuff, but my home in Taliyah's how can I do less and get more results, you know, which is okay, because God will use all the way that you defied him to go reach out to other people that are defying him in that exact way.
Jason Eastman:One of my favorite things that my pastor says. He said God works in spite of us, not because of us. So, even if you mess it up, bro, we don't have to get it perfect, but he's gonna work in spite of us. Not because of us.
Aaron O'Connell:You know Amen, so we just know we gotta work hard and stay focused on Christ. Amen, awesome. Well, thank you so much, jason, for joining me.
Aaron O'Connell:Thank you very much, and this is another episode of the Y2 Fitness Podcast. If you're not subscribed, then hit that subscribe button on wherever you get your podcasts. Also, you can find us on YouTube YouTube slash Y2 Fitness, if you wanna actually watch the videos of all the different podcasts that are there. Thank you so much. My name's Aaron O'Connell. This is Jason Eastman. Y'all have a great rest of your day. God bless you.
