Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to On Purpose with Paul Peters. Today we're uncovering the passions, principles and divine guidance that leads to a meaningful life. You're watching now Media Television.
So I'm going to tell you the story which I may have shared with you before the story of Joseph. Joseph was given a vision at the age of 17, had a rough childhood. His brothers were very jealous of him and sold him into slavery. Joseph was falsely accused, ended up going to jail, spent, spent many, many years in jail. And in a weird sort of situation, he had the gift of interpreting dreams.
And because he could interpret a dream, he was asked to interpret the dream of the, the pharaoh, which was, would be like the king of Egypt. And because he was able to correctly interpret that dream, he was given freedom and he was risen to power.
This was, I believe, about 17 years later after that original vision God gave to him, which was he was going to be in a position of power.
And so it's interesting when that seed is planted in our life and you often wonder, what is that seed in my life? Well, I'm going to tell you, it's often the very things that you are absolutely passionate about, the things that you love and you have such an interest as a child or a young adult and you follow those passions and you begin to invest time and energy and you begin to get good at what you do. Sometimes it may be photography, sometimes it may be music, sometimes it may be sports or writing.
Those are the seeds that God puts in you at a young age. You don't know what is going to manifest from those, from that seed. But as you follow your dream, follow your passion, you begin to realize and certain people come in your lives. I want to remind you the story of Dr. Davis actually sat here in this studio and interviewed him at the time when he was a young adult, he was in the foster care system and he had certain people that were brought into his life that at the time he probably did not know that they were going to be later mentors and people that would have an impact on his life. And as he went through his life, especially at the time that I interviewed him about a month ago, looking back in hindsight, you could clearly see that the things that he was most passionate about ended up playing out in his life. And now he gives back to hundreds and thousands of young men and women. And so it's often when we follow our passion, follow our dreams, that they begin to play out. I liken it to an unseen hand that God is directing our paths and directing other people into our paths. Going back to what happened to me a few days ago where I met these gentlemen whose paths had crossed different states they grew up in. They were, they were different in their ages, but their paths crossed to ultimately, I believe, fulfill one of God's purposes. And that is to be able to be a tool and instrument in the, in the lives of those who are in the foster care system. And so another story I want to share with you, it's the story of David. I shared this with you several weeks ago. David was a young shepherd boy. Ironically, he too was 17. And I don't know what, maybe it's something God has about 17 year olds, but he was 17 and he was hand picked by the prophet. And for those that remember, a prophet is one chosen by God to be the spokesman for God to the kings of Israel during the times of their reign. And so God spoke to Samuel, Samuel then and there was a king of Israel. His name was Saul.
God spoke to Samuel and said, you were to go and anoint a king. He didn't tell me, tell him exactly who, who that person was. He was going to tell him at the moment that Samuel was in front of that young man.
And let me stop for a second because we often wonder, God, why don't you show me the way? Why don't you tell me exactly what I need to do to know my purpose?
And he does, but he does it in his timing and he does it in his way. And probably brings a question to mind.
[00:04:12] Speaker B: Why?
[00:04:12] Speaker A: Why does he do that? Well, because he wants us to completely trust him. God is pleased by our faith. Our faith is our trust in God as we go forward in our life and we look to him to give us the direction and the answers. There's a particular passage in, I believe it's in Proverbs. It says, thy word is a lamp unto my feet. And it directs our paths. And God will reveal to us in the right timing. Because the thing that matters most to God is our character. Because if he's going to reveal something to us that he wants us to use especially in the lives of others, he wants to make sure that we're being good caretakers and we're going to be responsible for that gift he's given us because he's putting within our hands the life of another person. And so God spoke to Samuel because Saul was not doing what God wanted him to do. He was not being obedient as the first king of Israel. So God told Samuel to go to the family of Jesse. Jesse had many, many sons. And As I shared before, he went down from the oldest to the youngest. And when he got to the youngest and he saw David, he said, God said him, this is going to be the next king. And so David was anointed by Samuel. That's how the kings were chosen by Samuel to be the next king. But there were many, many years that went by, many, many struggles that what David had to go through.
Actually Saul sought the life of David because he was so jealous. But ultimately David became king, went through a lot of challenges as king. But ultimately it's recognized in history that David was a man after God's own heart.
There's another story, some of you may have heard it. It is the story of Esther.
And Esther was a young Jewish.
And it was during the captivity where the Jews were. They weren't necessarily slaves, but they weren't in power, they weren't in, in command. And so the king had a wife. And there were certain duties that the wife had to fulfill. And there was one particular time that the king asked the queen to come forth and she refused.
And the king was so upset, he pretty much, I don't know what the term would be. He didn't really divorce her, but he removed her from queenship. And so there was a time when the king was, was seeking after a new wife.
And this particular ceremony was very long.
They had many, many women, almost like a beauty contest, come forth and be chosen. Well, Esther, being a Jew was a very beautiful woman.
And she was chosen of one of the many that the king would have to choose ultimately. Well, ironically, there was a man under the king who absolutely despised the Jews. And she was, he was pursuing a strategy or a plan to have the Jews annihilated as a race.
So that would be mean that all Jews within the known area would be killed.
And so he devised a plot to have the Jews killed. This was all going on simultaneously while the new queen was being chosen. And so there was, I believe, a one year process to be able to prepare the queen so that she would be presented to the king. And Esther was chosen.
Esther being a Jew and this plot was going on, Esther was able to discover the plot and share with the king.
And let me back up a little bit. In order for the queen to come before the king, there were certain ceremonial things. She couldn't just knock on his door, she had to get approval. And so there were a lot of things that had to happen in her favor for her to be able to approach the king, to be able to share the plot with him. Ultimately she was able to share that plot.
And the man that was plotting to kill the Jews through the hands of the king was ended up being killed himself. And it was interesting because her purpose and her uncle, who was part of this whole thing, trying to help her put her in position, said, do you not know that this was a time for your life, that God had chosen you for such a time as this? The Bible says, and it's often that God uses us, our gifts, our talents, for special missions, like Esther, to save a whole race, to save a child, to help somebody in need. And we often have to allow God. And it's interesting that I recently talked to these gentlemen. When we discover or have an inkling of what God's purpose is, one of the very important things, the element of faith is the where we have to surrender. Surrender is a vital part because if you are going to be in the hands of, of somebody who wants to make the best decisions for you, and we have to do this in our everyday life, we just don't realize it. We don't like to use the term surrender because we want to believe we're in control.
But when you look at, in this context of God, who is the Creator, who always has the best interest for us, always wants to seek our best, and wants to use us for his purposes, because we weren't necessarily created for our purposes, we were created for God's purposes.
And we also have to recognize that God, who is outside of time, works past, present and future, knows our future. And in order for us to be able to be where he wants us to be in the future, it requires us to surrender. And the surrender is simply that we surrender our will, we surrender our control over to him so that we look to him, we trust Him. And much like, much like Samuel, he trusted God. And when he was before David, it's almost like, is he the one? And God said, yes, he's the one. And so when we recognize, we follow our passion, we follow our talents, we begin to recognize that God is going to lead us in the direction he wants us to lead us. And so I wanted to tell that story to you so that you would understand that God is seeking your best, so that you would discover your purpose. Thank you so much. Right back with more stories and insights to help you discover your calling and live with purpose. This is On Purpose with Paul Peters on NOW Media Television.
I'm Paul Peters and you're watching On Purpose with Paul Peters on NOW Media Television. Let's continue the journey towards your best.
[00:11:03] Speaker B: Life about success I'm Jack Canfield, often referred to as America's number one success coach. Also chairman of the Canfield Training Group and the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and most recently, the Success principles, How to get from where you are to where you want to be. And today, I'd like to introduce you to Paul Peters, who is my guest today. Now, Paul spent his life exploring the profound questions of purpose. And his journey began as a gymnast at Homewood Flossmoor High School and continued through his academic pursuits in psychology and philosophy. And he says that every one of his experiences has culminated in his current mission, which, which is guiding others in discovering their own paths. Now, Paul's life story is one of service and empowerment, from finding his spiritual connection during his time in the Army Reserves to establishing the Nehemiah Project, Covenant of Love, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people worldwide improve their lives. And Paul has an unwavering commitment to his mission. In addition to founding his nonprofit, Paul's also the owner of Covenant Case Management Services, where he supports people with disabilities and people in marginalized communities. He also hosts On Purpose with Paul, a TV show where he inspires his viewers to uncover their life's purpose. Paul, welcome to the show.
[00:12:19] Speaker C: Thank you, sir. Honored to be here.
[00:12:21] Speaker A: Good.
[00:12:21] Speaker B: Now, before we dig into the incredible work you're doing, let's discuss a little bit about your background, which started in high school. And then I went through it very quickly there. I'm sure there's more details.
It's really significant part of your story. And I think the viewers, when they hear that, it'll impact how the rest of this goes.
[00:12:37] Speaker C: Sure. Well, it actually goes back even before high school. I was the youngest of six, raised by a single mom, and we grew up in the projects. My mom was abused by my dad. They actually went to jail because he attempted to kill my mom, put six bullets in her, left us. My mom was in the hospital for a year, and we were separated with other relatives. And it was that impact that affected me most of my youth. Because one, I didn't know my dad.
At one point, he came back after he got out of jail, had tried to kidnap me and had never seen my dad. Found out. He died when I was about 13.
And because I did not have a father, it left an imprint on me. Because I desired to have a father figure. I was left very insecure. I was bullied as a young kid. Ultimately, that led to addiction in my late teens and ultimately almost tried to commit suicide. And because I didn't, thank God. I started the long road to recovery. And it was really about that experience, trying to understand what was I created for. You know, all these things that happened to me, why did they happen? I didn't want to play the victim anymore. I learned a great lesson from you is, you know, take responsibility for your life. And because I did, in that long journey, I ultimately found my purpose, you know, which is helping people find their purpose. And I've committed to helping people find their purpose, which is what I'm here for.
[00:14:00] Speaker B: That's great. Let's talk about your TV show.
[00:14:02] Speaker C: Sure.
[00:14:03] Speaker B: On Purpose with Paul helps people discover their purpose in life.
Talk about it.
[00:14:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:10] Speaker C: Well, it's interesting. I interviewed one of my folks on my show. He had been in two aviation accidents, had died twice. He gave me this motto. And I thought to myself, because what.
[00:14:19] Speaker A: I use, I use that show as an opportunity.
[00:14:21] Speaker C: People tell their story. And he gave me this motto, your story is God's glory. Often we discover our purpose in looking in hindsight as to what things we went through, what do we learn from them? Because if we learn from the things we've gone through, it's insight as to what, what we're created for. And so I basically use that opportunity to help people discover their purpose by seeing how other people have found their purpose. I'm also using an opportunity to teach principles. Many of those which you've taught me, that there's ways, I call them puzzle pieces, that God gives us a little puzzle pieces to figure out what our purpose is. And once we figure those puzzle pieces out, we put them together and creates a masterpiece. Masterpiece, which is our life.
[00:14:59] Speaker B: So this person who died twice, did they have a near death experience where they went and saw the light and all that, or just.
[00:15:05] Speaker A: They did, yeah.
[00:15:06] Speaker C: They had a near death experience. Correct.
[00:15:08] Speaker B: I love those stories because it's like they. The way I used to say it is that they have died and gone. You're about to have an exam. At the end, they ask you a couple of questions. You know, what do you learn in life? And do you expand your capacity? Love? And I remember reading a book about that experience. I thought, oh my God, there is a final exam. And some people have actually snuck into the professors, figured out what the final questions are, so they come back with the answers. You know, about living more lovingly and being present and all of that. I think it's fascinating. That's very cool. So, you know, you talk about purpose, that's a big thing for me too. Living your purpose. Knowing your purpose. So many people never figure that out, and they're just kind of drifting. And I know for me, you know, a lot of my work's about helping people find their purpose as well. And I know you're doing that as well. So you have a company called Covenant Case Management, and that's part of your purpose. Talk about that.
[00:16:03] Speaker C: Well, when I actually went to school for psychology, more to try to figure out my life, had the opportunity to work with folks with disability, working in a group home, and actually thought my purpose was to go to Mission Field. And when I had gone through a divorce, actually two divorces, and realized under the nomination I was going to. That was not something that they wanted you to do. So I reassessed, and I just asked myself, what is it I'm called to do? And it was working with folk with disabilities? And so I've committed the last 30 years of my life helping people with disabilities. Disabilities find their purpose, discover their dreams, and live them out. So that's something I just absolutely love doing.
[00:16:38] Speaker B: Now, when you say you discovered I was working with people with disabilities, is that something you experienced and said, I want to do this because I love it? Or something? Like, was it a download that you got? How did you come on that?
[00:16:49] Speaker C: It's interesting you asked. After I had gone through my divorce, I had gotten with a gentleman who basically helped people find what their purpose was. He spent the whole weekend with me, and he put these little white pieces of paper on the wall, and he had me walk through my life. And when I walked through my life, all the things I'd experienced, there was a common thread, a common pattern. And it was working hard of compassion to serve other people. And knowing, like I said, often your story reveals part of your purpose. And as I looked at some of the things I'd been doing, working with folks with disabilities was a big part of that. And I knew that I loved helping people.
[00:17:23] Speaker B: So one of my mentors talks about, let joy be your guidance system. You look back at your life and say, when did I experience the most joy?
And for me, it was when I was teaching something. Learning and teaching. And for you, it was that. That's very cool. Now, you also have a nonprofit called the Nehemiah Project, Covenant of Love. And you're working with senior citizens and people that are marginalized and veterans and helping them struggle with addiction and mental health and all those issues. Can you talk about the Nehemiah Project?
[00:17:50] Speaker C: Sure. I'll briefly tell you why I call the Nehemiah Project. There's a book in the Bible called the Nehemiah Book of Nehemiah. It's basically about a man who was enslaved, separated from his home. He comes to find out that his home had been destroyed. He is then commissioned by the king to go back and rebuild the community. He goes back there, unites the community, shoulder by shoulder to rebuild that community, and we see lives restored. It was a picture that I got on how we are to work as a community, no matter what the difference is religious, race, whatever it is, how we can restore and focus on the areas of each community, such as homelessness, seniors, veterans, folks with addiction, domestic violence, victim at risk kids, how we can work collaboratively and rebuild our communities. And that's what my nonprofit is based on.
[00:18:33] Speaker B: It's funny, I saw the word Nehemiah and I said, okay, that's a name I'm going to go to Google, look at what does that mean? And it means the Lord comforts.
[00:18:41] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:18:41] Speaker B: So you are working at comforting people and helping them take the next step. I love it. So I know that a lot of your life is dedicated to service, making a difference. And I.
I remember I went to a conference once and I heard this man talk, and he talked about there were four stages of his life. The first stage was stuff. He thought he'd be happy if he got all his stuff. He wasn't happy. Second stage, he said, well, maybe I need more stuff. So he bought a bigger car, a bigger boat, a bigger airplane. Still not happy. Then he said, maybe I need different stuff. I'm focused on the wrong stuff. So he bought a football team, the Seattle Seahawks, with some friends, still wasn't happy. And then he got invited by a friend to go to somewhere, I think it was Bosnia Herzegovina, and helped give out wheelchairs to kids who'd lost their legs.
So they're handing out the wheelchairs. This one boy grabs his leg and won't let go. He turns around and through an interpreter and through tears, this boy says, please don't leave yet. I want to memorize your face so when we meet again in heaven, I can thank you one more time.
And he said that was the first time in his life he felt pure joy. He came back, he started the foundation that gives away. I think he gave away 50,000 wheelchairs to people in. In countries. And so I think about so many people find that they're happiest when they finally realize what their contribution is. Their contribution can be a good mom. It could be teaching in a school. It could be what you're doing with the Nehemiah Project.
So when you look at that, in this desire to serve and we look at our country in the world, there's so much division between the right and the left and the haves and have nots and so on and so forth.
What's your. What's your take on all that in terms of how what you do could contribute to that?
[00:20:17] Speaker C: Yeah. Well, I want to reference back to my nonprofit, Nehemiah. Nehemiah brought a community together shoulder to shoulder. And yes, they had some obstacles, they had some people against them, but they had one purpose in mind, and that was to rebuild their wall. If we stop focusing on our division, focus on what is the need within the community, we can really make changes. We can impact our community for good. And I think that's what we need to focus on.
[00:20:39] Speaker A: Call it love, whatever you want, but.
[00:20:40] Speaker C: If we simply just put aside our differences and begin to get to know each other a little bit and begin to focus on what my gift is and how I can use my gift and how you can use your gift to bring healing to the community, we would see the world a lot better.
[00:20:53] Speaker B: Off just for our viewers, because I studied this a little bit, knowing you were going to be here. The wall you're talking about was the wall around Jerusalem.
[00:21:02] Speaker C: Correct.
[00:21:02] Speaker B: And he got the whole community to focus on that project together and connected and much happier together instead of fighting with each other. And I think that really what I've noticed, if you really dig down below the surface stuff that people argue about, everybody wants the same thing. They want to be free to express themselves. They want to be free to love. They would like to make a living. They want to have their children to grow up healthy and educated and strong and with values and so forth. And then we argue about how to do that.
But if you go to the bottom of what we all want is the same thing. And we can call that the wall. We want to build together instead of, like fighting each other, kind of building a wall between us instead of around us. It's a community. Well, good for that. I love that.
Okay, cool. I know you have a book coming out soon. Let's talk about that.
[00:21:47] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:21:48] Speaker C: This is actually going to be my fourth book. My first book was called Discovering Embrace youe Life Purpose. The second book was the Ways of Wisdom. The third book, I had the honor of writing co writing with you, which is Success Redefined. And my fourth book is called the Inheritance. It is a fiction book based on how to discover your purpose, where a man who goes through his Life and goes through some tragedies.
You know, a couple times in his life he wants to contemplate suicide. He figures out through a vision that he gets from God what his purpose is and he becomes very wealthy and successful and he ultimately leaves it as his inheritance to his grandkids. But they've got to discover their purpose in order to get the inheritance.
[00:22:25] Speaker A: Write back with more stories and insights to help you discover your calling and live with purpose. This is On Purpose with Paul Peters on NOW Media Television.
I'm Paul Peters and you're watching On Purpose with Paul Peters on NOW Media Television. Let's continue the journey towards your best life.
[00:22:42] Speaker B: I've always admired people who are willing to try to write self help in a novel form. You know, the One Minute Manager and you know those kind of books and I've never had the courage to try to do that. So I admire you for that.
Great. And you got those other books as well. So you.
Okay, good for you. Now going back to your purpose. And I always talk about purpose and passion tend to go together.
Talk a little bit about how you help people discover their purpose. Someone's out there watching this, listening to this and they go, well, I want to know what my purpose is. What do you recommend?
[00:23:16] Speaker C: Well, it's interesting, I love that you said passion. And I was recently looking at one of your programs on the Passion Test because I'm one of those individuals who believes if you begin to discover your purpose, you found your joy, you found your reason for living. And part of that is what fills your heart with joy. And I often tell people, what did you love to do when you were a kid?
[00:23:36] Speaker A: Because you're uninhibited, you just love, I mean, certain things. And so often that is the key.
[00:23:42] Speaker C: To what your purpose is. And so what I've done with my show is I've had interviews with people who found their purpose. I'm actually going through the various assessment tests. The passion test being one disc, the Love Language, Myers Briggs. I'm actually going through each of those assessment because they consider them puzzle pie.
Once you begin to understand who you are, then you begin to understand why you're here.
[00:24:04] Speaker B: That's great. That's great. I'm just curious, what is your love language if you've gone through that?
[00:24:09] Speaker A: Oh, I'm a hugger.
[00:24:11] Speaker B: So nurturing touch.
[00:24:12] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:24:13] Speaker B: That's my main love. Yes too. It's interesting. My wife is what I call it conversation, like present, being present to her and not really very physical that way. And so I had A teacher to hug me for 20 seconds, count to 20 seconds.
So, because we often marry someone with a different love language, you know, and it can be challenging at times. That's very cool. Well, I love that. Following your bliss, following your joy, you know, I was interviewing a guy named Ken Honda who wrote a book called Happy Money. He's from Japan. It's kind of the Tony Robbins of Japan. And we started talking, and he said, yeah, people, if you go back to when you were a kid and you could do whatever you wanted to do, what did you love doing? And he loved to talk.
He loved to talk. In fact, he got a report card once that said, ken talks more in class than I do as a teacher, you know, which kind of meant they wanted them to slow down a little bit. Now, what does he do for a living? He stands on stage and he talks. And mine was to learn something and teach it to others. So I would get really good at throwing baseball cards and playing jacks and marbles and teach everyone else how to do it. And here I am today, teaching people how to be more successful. That's really cool.
So as you look at everything in your life and you've got all these experiences, all this learning, all the teaching you're doing, if you could boil this down to say, if you had one major message for the audience today, what would it be?
[00:25:32] Speaker C: It would be to ask that question.
Because I tell people, you ask the question, why am I here?
You will have to seek out that answer, because in asking the question, you desire the answer. And when people are asking that question, why am I here? They're going to begin to search for it. And it's almost like so many people are unfulfilled in their life because they've not been guided. A lot of people don't know how to find their purpose. And if you begin to ask those questions, you're going to begin to discover the answers. And when you begin to discover the answers, you begin to discover your joy, your passion.
[00:26:01] Speaker B: I really want people to connect with you. First of all, I like you a lot.
Secondly, I really think that this is the key thing in my book. The first chapter is about responsibility, because if you don't take responsibility and you're blaming everyone for your life, nothing's going to work. But the second chapter is, you know, be clear why you're here. And so it's so core, because once you know that, then you can build a vision to support that. You build goals, reach the vision. Everything lines up. Your values get clear. And so Forth. So tell us how people can get in touch with you, like your TV show, your website, your books, anything at all?
[00:26:39] Speaker A: Well, I've got several websites.
[00:26:40] Speaker C: I have a mentoring school for at risk kids. But you can reach me at PaulPeters World.
You can reach me at www.covenanttoserve.com Nehemiah projectoflove.org those are the best ways to reach me. My email is Reece R e e c e052301tt.net we'll put all that in the show notes.
[00:27:01] Speaker B: Why Reese?
[00:27:02] Speaker C: It's my son's name.
[00:27:04] Speaker B: Oh, okay. Got it.
[00:27:05] Speaker C: My kids are my number one passion.
[00:27:08] Speaker B: Very good, very good, very good. Anything else you'd like to share? Any question you wish I'd asked you? Anything. You're gonna walk away and go, oh, I wish I'd talked about that.
[00:27:15] Speaker A: Well, first of all, I want to.
[00:27:16] Speaker C: Thank you not having a father. I don't know if you remember this, but you have been a father figure for me. You've been a mentor, coach, and a father figure. And I remember the first time that we were in the training and I literally wept because not having a dad, I look to people who could be that father figure for me. And you have been a guiding principle for me. So I want to thank you for that. And I just encourage people, find a mentor. If there's something you want to learn, you feel like this is something that you're called to do, find somebody who can teach you. And you've been that for me. So I want to thank you.
[00:27:46] Speaker B: Well, you're very welcome. And I. My dad got divorced from my mom or my mom left him, actually. He was violent sometimes, alcoholic, would get enraged sometimes, and he left. That happened when I was 6. So I can relate to some, not necessarily the project, but that reality. And I've had so many mentors in my life. You know, people say, well, who's your main mentor? I said, well, I've got six or seven of them, you know, so let me tell you who they are. But thank you so much for being here. I love, love what you're about. It's so important. And all of you that are watching, I want to make sure that you reach out to his websites and find out more and read his books. If you don't know what your purpose is, you're kind of floating around in the ocean like a cork instead of a ship that has a destination that's going to where it goes and where it wants to end up. So make sure to tune in next Week where I'll be interviewing another transformational thought leader.
Until then, take advantage of Paul and his information and get your purpose lined up and then start taking action to manifest that. Take care, everybody.
[00:28:57] Speaker D: Hi, I'm Alyssa Smith.
[00:28:59] Speaker E: Hello, my name is Pam McAllister.
[00:29:01] Speaker D: My name is Carla Poplin. Beverly Hartzell.
[00:29:04] Speaker A: Hi, my name is Paul Peters. I'm here to tell you my why.
[00:29:08] Speaker C: Is domestic violence victims.
[00:29:12] Speaker D: My why is I was very poor when I was growing up. I pretty much lived in a shack.
We were the kids on welfare and food stamps through that time. In the eighth grade, my parents got divorced, so they're. I was a kid that had parents in two different situations, so that made me the at risk kid. My why with Nehemiah is I want to help those people.
I want to be the person that someone can come to and that someone can say, hey, you know, my story is your story. You know, I need help. And just someone that understands my why in joining Nehemiah is because I was an at risk child. And so I intimately understand some of the concerns and some of the things and challenges they have to contend with. And because Nehemiah addresses those, I want to be a part of that. Nehemiah's building on the wall, and I want to join them in that effort.
[00:30:14] Speaker E: My why is to help educate people about addiction and what the stigma is that's placed on individuals. Unfortunately, in today's society, so many times people are labeled when actuality they are someone's daughter, they're someone's son. And never at any point in their life did they hope or wish to become an addict with addiction. A lot of times people are not given the opportunity to even explain themselves or for you to get to know them.
[00:30:44] Speaker D: My why is my son Brayden, he's 14 and he has autism. And the way that I explain what it's like to be a family of a child with special needs is you don't know what's going on in the beginning before you have a diagnosis. So you're kind of like in the middle of the ocean on a life raft.
And when you find out your child has autism or whatever's going on, it's.
[00:31:11] Speaker F: Like they gave you a paddle, but.
[00:31:12] Speaker D: You don't know which way to go. You don't know what services are right for you. You don't know just the things that you need to know. And I see Nehemiah as the lighthouse. They are the ray of light, the support, the beacon on the other side.
[00:31:31] Speaker A: My mom was abused as when I was a young child by my father who ended up putting six bullets into her.
[00:31:38] Speaker C: And she ended up being a single.
[00:31:39] Speaker A: Parent raising six kids. My father ended up going to jail. So we are about Nehemiah, about representing those victims who often are silent so that they have a voice. And because of what I went through, I did not have the discipline, did not have a father.
[00:31:54] Speaker C: I chose to get into the military.
[00:31:56] Speaker A: I served eight years in the Army. It provided the discipline I needed. And I wanted to make sure under Nehemiah that we were providing that support necessary for the veterans who have fought hard for this country, have won freedom that we all take for granted. And we need to make sure that we're representing them and providing for them.
[00:32:13] Speaker D: I've seen Nehemiah build on the wall and they can and they will watch them work.
[00:32:21] Speaker E: Why Nehemiah? That's very easy. Nehemiah has given me a platform for me to be able to go out into the community and share my life story and share my experiences with others.
I'm a mom, I'm a sister, I'm a gigi, I'm an aunt, I'm a granddaughter, and I'm a recovering addict.
[00:32:43] Speaker D: So my why is to help the people that I wish were there whenever I needed help.
So that's my why.
[00:32:54] Speaker A: Right back with more stories and insights to help you discover your calling and live with purpose. This is more On Purpose with Paul Peters on NOW Media Television.
I'm Paul Peters and you're watching On Purpose with Paul Peters on NOW Media Television. Let's continue the journey towards your best life purpose with Paul. This is Paul Peters, your amazing host, entrepreneur, founder of the nonprofit DMI Project. I'm here to talk to you about how to find your purpose.
My name is Paul Peters. I'm a proud father of the three kids. I want to put that as a priority for me. I have a company called Covenant Case Management Services in North Carolina where I primarily work with folks with intellectual disability, mental health, substance abuse. We are looking to expand outside of North Carolina this year. Also have a nonprofit based in North Carolina called the Nehemiah Project. We basically work with individuals that are struggling with addiction, homelessness, seniors, veterans and at risk kids, domestic violence victims and those with mental health, intellectual disabilities. I want to take my message about what I have discovered helping people find their purpose. And I want to take it worldwide because I believe if people find their purpose, they're going to find their joy. They're going to find the reason for.
[00:34:00] Speaker C: Their existence and how they connect to this world.
[00:34:13] Speaker F: Hello, my name is Brandy Jordan Nehemiah is an amazing resource that is located here in Stanley County.
Our objective is to network with our local community partners to help bring hope to those that are hurting and support those that are in need.
[00:34:27] Speaker E: Hello everyone, I want to introduce myself. I am Pam McAllister and I am with the Nehemiah Project Covenant of Love.
I am a Certified Peer Support Specialist with the State of North Carolina.
Some of you may wonder what a peer support Specialist is and I'd like to share that with you.
A peer Support specialist is an individual with lived experiences in either addiction or mental health.
I am myself a recovering addict and have been since May 21st of 2003.
With me being having those lived experiences, I'm able to not do things for an individual that is seeking recovery, but I go along beside them and help them achieve their goals.
Here at Nehemiah Project Covenant of Love, we want to reconnect, rebuild and restore. Thank you and God Bless One in.
[00:35:22] Speaker G: Five children in the US Live in a home with a parent who is addicted to drugs or alcohol. Parental substance abuse severely impacts children's health and development. It establishes an unspoken understanding of the role substances play in being an adult.
Norms are established from a young age, and when addiction and substance abuse are part of those norms, children learn to follow suit, often from a young age. The combination of childhood experiences, environment, and genetic factors can increase children's likelihood of having addiction at some point in their lives. Children who come from homes in which parents were addicted to drugs or alcohol are more likely to start using drugs earlier in their lives and become addicted more quickly than peers from homes without substance abuse.
Regardless of our age, we are always deeply influenced by the people who raise us.
These influences include not only the genes inherited from biological parents, but also the behaviors, habits, values, and communication styles that we learn from our adult caregivers.
This same pattern applies to the way we use alcohol or drugs. The National Institute on Drug abuse estimates that 25% of American kids grow up in households where substance abuse is present.
In homes where one or more adults abuse alcohol or drugs, children are approximately twice as likely to develop addictive disorders themselves, according to the current Drug Abuse Reviews. These children are also more likely to experience poor performance in school, emotional and behavioral problems low self esteem a higher risk of physical, verbal, or sexual abuse a higher risk of developing anxiety or depression earlier onset of experimentation with drugs or alcohol and a greater chance of becoming addicted once they start using drugs or alcohol.
[00:37:27] Speaker F: Albemarle yes, super small town.
Everybody knows everybody here. It's a great Place to live, Great place to raise children in.
You know, you can't go across the street without bumping into somebody that you know.
And we found that there was a need here in Albemarle for our boys and girls type club. And so we decided that we were going to find a location and we were going to make that happen.
[00:37:53] Speaker H: Pick them up from school, bring them here to the program.
We just partnered with Aquadelle Baptist Church, so they feed them hot meals, so you get some good food.
[00:38:02] Speaker E: Thank you, guys.
[00:38:04] Speaker H: We do a word of the week with them.
Highs and lows of their day. Like, what was something that happened today that was good or bad? Talk about that. Then we do the pledge, and after we eat, we have a block where we do. We help them with their homework, if they have homework.
[00:38:22] Speaker F: Usually when we're doing our mentorship with our kids, we go and we have lunch with them. So we're enjoying a meal with them, and we're just having really good rapport with them. Laughing, talking, getting on their level, finding out what it is that they enjoy to talk about.
[00:38:36] Speaker H: He didn't give me no chips at lunch today.
[00:38:40] Speaker F: Ask them what do they want to be when they grow up. Why do they want to be that when they grow up?
Ask them what was the best thing about their day, or is everything going okay? Is there anything you want to talk about? So just having that really good communication with them and allowing them to be heard and allowing them to speak and talk about whatever they want to talk about.
[00:38:59] Speaker H: For the kids in this community, they don't have structure at home. They might not have a father figure or a male role model in their house. And I think that's important because these kids are the future of our community.
And if we don't step up and try to help and change these kids, then who will? You know? So that's why I kind of help as much as I can.
[00:39:23] Speaker F: I wanted to be an encouragement to kids. I wanted them to know that if you can believe it, you can achieve it. And that's what I wanted these kids to. To take away from things in life. It's not about where we come from. It's not about what we've been through. It's not about any of those things. It's just about, you know what? You're worth it. We all have a story, and you're just as important as anybody else's. For a lot of people, they think, oh, well, you know, you're so wonderful. You're doing such great things for the community. Until you serve. You don't realize, honestly we are the ones that are so lucky because I'm so blessed every time I get to go see, spend a moment with these kids. It's amazing.
[00:40:00] Speaker H: Hey, what's going on everybody? I'm Landon Deaford.
[00:40:02] Speaker G: I'm Chase Jordan. We're here at Growing Minds mentoring center located in downtown Albemarle where we look to partner with the schools that are located here east and Central elementary where we work with some of the local youth. We help them with their schoolwork and just working on life and character skills.
We offer transportation and we kind of came about this partnership with the schools through our lunch buddy program where I'll let Landon tell you a little more about.
[00:40:33] Speaker H: Yeah, so with our lunch Buddy program we're at east and Central. We work with at risk youth, kids that just need somebody to love on them and spend time with them and go in there and spend about 35, 40 minutes with them twice a week and just show them that we, we care about them and that their life matters and it's just a good way to establish relationships that carry over into the after school program.
[00:40:55] Speaker E: My heart is forever broken since my son died from his overdose, accidentally or otherwise.
It's soon to be 20 months since he passed and he should have turned 30 on March 15th of this year 2023.
So I don't know what the future holds for men. Is now 10 year old daughter who has lived with me since she was five years old.
All I can hope is that Yalls program will evolve into a true intervention for children like Shelby, devastated by their addicted family members.
Plus her mom is currently incarcerated for felony charges including drugs and possession of a weapon by a felon.
[00:41:38] Speaker A: Hello, my name is Paul Peters. I am the founder of the Nehemiah Project. We are based here in Stanley County. We serve populations of senior citizens, folks struggling with addiction, veterans, homeless, at risk kids and those with mental health and intellectual disability.
We decided to focus on this area in Stanley county because Stanley county was one of the number one counties in the state that was struggling with opiate addiction. We have tried to address this issue in two ways. One, through our peer support program which is where we have individuals who have gone through addiction. Basically work with folks, adults who are going through addiction and helping them get the needed help that they desire and deserve. The other aspect is we are working with many of the kids who are the children of these folks struggle with addiction in our growing Minds mentoring center in our hopes that we can prevent some of these kids from making the choices that they're parents made. So we are hitting it from two directions. One, from the parents, getting them into recovery. Two, from the kids to give them a new direction. Through mentoring and hopefully working together, we.
[00:42:41] Speaker C: Can change the lives of the adults.
[00:42:43] Speaker A: As well as the children to change our community. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
