“Let’s focus on today and let God handle the Big Picture.” ~Brant Hansen, Radio Personality, Author, & Fervent Dancer
Erica and Brant Hansen chat about his latest book, “Life is Hard. God is Good. Let’s Dance.” Find out how Brant can shimmy through life with a smile, even during hard times.
Catch hope & encouragement with Erica on weekday mornings from 5:00 AM – 10:00 AM, and Sundays from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Erica:
Hey, Brant. It’s great to talk with you.
Brant Hansen:
Hey, how are you?
Erica:
I’m wonderful. How about yourself?
Brant Hansen:
I’m good. Yeah, real good.
Erica:
I’m really excited about your new book. I love saying it on the air. “Life is Hard. God is good. Let’s Dance.” And I have to tell you, you know how I’ve been giving it away this week? I’ve been saying, tell me your dance stories. Who do you dance with? Why? And people are just loving that and they’re so excited to read your book. So I have to start out by asking you Brant, do you dance?
Brant Hansen:
You know what? I do. I’m a kind of nerdy and all that, but I dance with a fervor that is almost alarming to people. I don’t hold back.
Erica:
Okay, I need to know more.
Brant Hansen:
I mean, yeah, you name it. I’ll fuse different styles together, like self-defense moves with traditional Russian folk dance and Mc Hammer stuff. I fuse it all. The worm.
Erica:
I can get down with the worm. Now, are there any dances that go with accordion music by any chance or…
Brant Hansen:
Yeah, polka, salsa, all that. Hey. Oh man. Honestly, the accordion is respected in almost every other culture around the world. It’s just here that people don’t respect me.
Erica:
I’ll tell you what, I totally respect you, and I’ll tell you why. When my mom turned 40 years old, we’re going back a little bit in time here, we’re a big Italian family, and at the party cousin Frankie came out playing the accordion, and it was one of those really special moments in my life. I’m still remembering it right now.
Brant Hansen:
See? Yeah, people remember me too with the accordion. They don’t remember it with the fondness that you seem to have.
Erica:
I’m in your corner. I’m so in your accordion corner, we’re sitting there together. Brant, I appreciate you so much because I just feel like there is a coffee mug Christianity out there, and you’re the opposite of that. I could see, choose joy on a mug, and that’s great. There’s nothing wrong with that. We need to choose joy. But it’s like how? And I love how your book is exploring that. I feel like maybe it’s more looking for joy. So how do we look for it, Brant?
Brant Hansen:
Well, it’s about what we pay attention to. And when I talk about joy too, I use the definition, a pervasive sense of wellbeing, regardless of circumstances. So, it’s not just a happy slappy, Hey, be positive. It’s becoming a sort of person who just has this sense of wellbeing, no matter what happens. That is something that’s very accessible, if you’re somebody who trusts God, if you’re a follower of Jesus. This supposed to be part of our lives. But unfortunately, we traded in and put our attention on stuff that’s actually going to make us anxious wrecks, frankly.
Erica:
Yeah, you’re right. Where are you seeing joy in your life right now? I immediately think of your dog because I love pictures of your dog, Cozy.
Brant Hansen:
That’s true. But at this deep level, it’s like I do have a sense of wellbeing no matter what. And I’ve come to realize, and I’ve seen that with other people too, they’ll go through even worse case scenarios. And even you can even be grieving and still have a sense deep down of wellbeing. And that’s that piece that exceeds understanding that you have to practice. I mentioned this in the book, that you have to practice, gratitude has to become a discipline deciding that you are literally going to outsource your worries to God. Cast them to him. Tell him, I can’t handle this. You’re going to have to handle this. I don’t have to worry about it. You’re going to take care of it. And then you tell him what you’re thankful for and you’ll experience a peace that’s different.
Erica:
And it’s a promise.
Brant Hansen:
Yeah, it gets woven into your life. And when Jesus is saying, we don’t need to be anxious, he’s not crazy. People will be like, yeah, but realistically, no. Realistically, Jesus is quite, this is very doable.
Erica:
Just talking with you. I’m thinking about the times that Jesus lived in. We’re living in some crazy times that you address in the book. You don’t shy away from them. And I get this feeling, with the exception of maybe when he went to the temple, he was a guy who had low blood pressure. He wasn’t running around freaking out, getting everybody agitated. He said some pretty big things. He made big statements, big claims. But the man also had joy. And I feel like it must’ve been contagious.
Brant Hansen:
He was relaxed. Even in the temple thing, it says he sat down and started making these whips. So, even in a simple thing, it didn’t just go off. It was like he trusts his Father. And so that’s the thing. I keep trying to encourage people. It’s good to have faith in Jesus of course, but having the faith of Jesus… we’re going to wind up more relaxed. He’s not in a hurry, he’s not stressed out. That’s the remarkable thing about Him. So, I have to think that as we become more like him, that we get more childlike and more humble about what we can handle and what can’t. That’s a really sweet spot to be in. And you wind up laughing more. You wind up being a lot more lighthearted. And again, it’s becoming a sort of person that’s not going to be anxious, and that’s something we can do.
Erica:
I want to know how you and I can become more childlike. I’m thinking about my nephew, Brant, Matthew. I love hanging out with him. He’s five. He doesn’t understand where I live. He lives in North Carolina. I live in the Seattle area. So he has come to believe, he tells his mom all the time, Auntie Errie lives in a plane. That’s my home. I’m in a flying house and I love this so much, and I kind of don’t want to correct him, Brant, because he has this idea. That’s me, that’s my home. So, how do you and I live that way with a brighter, more vivid imagination? I just feel like it’ll bring more joy and peace.
Brant Hansen:
Well, I talk about this a lot in the book, but briefly one thing is the gratitude piece. You can’t be anxious and grateful at the same time.
Erica:
Boom.
Brant Hansen:
Gratitude will teach your heart some things. The other thing is I think this is the right way to live what Jesus said, to pray for your daily bread. That’s just today. And so, that’s what I do. I ask God to please give me the resources I need for today. I’m an introvert, so I ask him for social energy. I’m a radio guy, so I need words to say that’ll be a blessing to people. But I ask him just for today, and I let him handle the big long-term stuff. I don’t know what I’m doing with my career. I don’t have a master plan. I never have. I never have. But He has guided me in a way. I couldn’t have done it myself, but I just concentrate on today. Well, that frees you up to be more childlike, literally not worrying about tomorrow because tomorrow will have to take care of itself. Jesus is genius. His way of life is like, give us, let’s focus on today. Let God handle the big picture. And I’ve found that to be a wonderful way to live. It’s much more lighthearted.
Erica:
That’s beautiful. I want to ask you where you write. I have a dream of writing a book. I believe it’ll happen one day. I also know I need to make it happen and just sit down and do it right. But I’m wondering, what does that look like for you? Where are you? And the most important question is Cozy your dog beside you?
Brant Hansen:
Usually. Well, sometimes she sure is. She’s at my feet, which is great. But sometimes I’ll just go to the coffee shop. I’ll be like, okay, I’ve got to write a chapter. Even if it’s bad, I will write a chapter and I will get it done today. And that’s really the only way to get over the hump. I found for people that want to write, it’s like you have to free yourself to not be good at it and just get it done. And then you’ll maybe surprised that it turns out it’s a blessing to people and it’s better than you thought. So, that’s a big part of it is just not being perfectionistic and just going, okay, Lord, let me have some words here that are really going to mean some to people. And I try to make it funny too, but that’s up to the individual reading it. They might not think it’s funny at all, but I definitely try that.
Erica:
Oh, you succeed at that every single time. And my final…
Brant Hansen:
Thank you.
Erica:
Oh, seriously. And my final question for you is, I’m curious about this. As an author, do you prefer somebody finishes your book? They get something out of it. They’re like, wow, I gleaned something from this. Would you rather, here’s, would you rather game, have them put it on the shelf and refer back to it or pass it on to a friend or, I do. I like to put ’em in the library by the ferry so that somebody else can pick it up. What’s your preference as an author?
Brant Hansen:
Well, my preference would be that you highlight it and you keep reading it and going back over it. That helps me when I’m learning something. But honestly, I would love for other people to get it. If people want to get it at the library, they don’t pay anything. That’s fine. The reason you do something like this is you want to add value to people’s lives. You want to free people. I’m asking God every day like, God, please help me describe your kingdom to people in a way that’s compelling. So people get a glimpse of it. So, I just want the ideas to propagate because I think what I’m trying to do is help people get discipled, and that changes everything in people’s lives, which is a very, very good thing. Even as I’m growing, that’s the goal, that winds up being a blessing to your people’s families and friends and neighbors. If we all change and become more like Jesus.
Erica:
Bran, I want you to know on behalf of the whole SPIRIT 105.3 family, God is answering your prayers. You are such a tremendous blessing. Thank you for being who you are. What I want to say is thank you for being our friend.
Brant Hansen:
Thank you. I’m honored and I love it. I love being part of the family.
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