IDENTITY

Ep. 5 | Ryan McSparran and The Great Outdoors

Hosted by Neil Eukel

IN THIS EPISODE

• What it was like growing up with an appreciation for God’s creation in nature | 2:02
• Pushing yourself to your limits and getting outside your comfort zone | 5:04
• Looking back it’s a lot of little events and circumstances that shape our relationships  | 12:24
• Having the right tools in the toolbox and developing mental toughness  | 13:58
• Making good decisions often isn’t the same thing as making easy decisions | 17:59
• Adapting the next generation to a life outdoors and sharing that joy with them | 22:18
• Be intentional with your time and shared goals as a family | 25:23

INSTANT TAKEAWAYS

1 | OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

America today is the most comfortable culture in the history of the world. It’s easy for us to go through our day-to-day activities and think we’re in control of our circumstances. But to actually go out into nature, into God’s creation, where you feel small and out of control is healthy. It helps us to begin to realize the power and scale of our Almighty Creator! When we step outside of our comfort zones, outside of our climate controlled, connected environments, we’re forced to rely outside of ourselves to get us to the other side. We have to rely on God in the circumstances and it teaches us to lean into him for comfort and security.

2 | GEAR UP

Ryan makes the point that when we have the correct gear; when we’ve packed the correct tools and necessities, we’re going to enjoy the trip that much more. If you’re on a winter hunt, and you have insulated shoes/socks, and the correct warm gear on, you’re able to think about finding the animal, sharing laughs along the way with friends and family, and taking in the sights. You won’t be thinking about how cold you are! Similarly, when we’re prepared in His Word, when we have studied and read and prepared, we’re able to tackle anything we encounter along the way. When we’re prepared, we are able to jump into action rather than thinking about, in fear and discomfort, our next steps.

SHOW NOTES

We’re glad to have you back today for a great episode of Uncharted as we continue with our Identity series. Today we have a life-long Mission Hills member, Ryan McSparran, who is an “outdoorsman” in every sense of the word. Ryan owns his own marketing company where he comes alongside Outfitters and elevates their digital platform.

With an interesting perspective on how the natural and digital worlds meet, and what they mean to us as Christ-followers, Ryan walks us through a multitude of interesting topics. Listen in as Neil and Ryan talk about everything from stepping out on faith to being a first-time dad.

You can also listen in on our Women’s Podcast Channel: Anchor + Waves, as we’re currently running a sister-program on that channel for female athletes also called Identity.