Taking Root: 4 Keys to the Most Fulfilling Life

By Joey Maloney

Taking Root: 4 Keys to the Most Fulfilling Life is a series of short stories from the life of Joey Maloney as he travels around the world and learns important life lessons. The book is filled with songs that add another dimension to the stories and the four sections of the book include Youthfulness, Family, Adventure and Faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Feb 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781098396480

Book preview

cover.jpg

Copyright © 2021 Joey Maloney

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Print ISBN: 978-1-09839-647-3

eBook ISBN: 978-1-09839-648-0

Contents

4-WORD

[PREFACE] [Story Time with Timi Jounson]

Book I – Youthfulness

1 [SEBASTOPOL] 1

2 [THE APPLE ORCHARD] 2

3 [APPLE BLOSSOM PARADE] 3

4 [FRIENDS] 4

5 [ANALY HIGH SCHOOL] 5

6 [FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES] 6

7 [OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE] 7

8 [MULLET MAN] 8

9 [NEVER GROW OLD] 9

Book II – Family

10 [PARENTS] 10

11 [A SMILE] 11

12 [BROTHERS] 12

13 [A HEART 4 PURITY] 13

14 [GRANDPARENTS] 14

15 [OH HAPPY DAY] 15

[PICTURES]

Book III – Adventure

16 [THE LAND OF ADVENTURE] 16

17 [Hopping Trains] 17

18 [Mark the Shepherd] 18

19 [THE LAND OF BEAUTY] 19

20 [TEARDROP SCARS] 20

21 [BROKEN TOOTH] 21

22 [ATTACKED BY FALCONS] 22

23 [THE ROADTRIP] 23

24 [REAL ZEAL] 24

25 [A MAN DATE] 25

Book IV – Faith

26 [SKATEBOARDING & MICHAEL JACKSON] 26

27 [A CHICK NAMED HAN SOLO] 27

28 [NAOMI THE SCOT] 28

29 [BRENDA’S RAINCOAT] 29

30 [BED BUGS & JESUS] 30

31 [BELMONT CHURCH] 31

32 [FASTING] 32

33 [AZUSA] 33

34 [THE HOLY SPIRIT] 34

[RESOURCES]

[GRATITUDE]

for

MY FUTURE GREAT GRANDCHILDREN

I love you

dedicated to

the HOLY SPIRIT

You are the best teacher

in loving memory of…

Duncan Brown

Ryan McCormick

Jim Shore

Larry L. Thomas

A special thanks to John Engelman for editing this book (I couldn’t have done it without you) and Jeremy Castro and Tucker Eason for designing the book cover

4-WORD

Life happens in 4’s….

So here are 4 ways you can read this book

From start to finish (listen to the assigned songs as you read via the QR codes)

Open it up randomly (this is a great bathroom read strategy)

Day of the month (there are 34 excerpts, so the last day of the month gets 3 or 4!)

Not read it, look at the cover then put it on your shelf (if you do this, at least look at the back cover too! Thanks)

[PREFACE]

[Story Time with Timi Jounson]

When I was in high school I had an alter ego. His name was Timi Jounson (Pronounced Timmy Johnson) and he was a tv host for every homework assignment I didn’t want to write, but was allowed to make a video for instead. He was smart, educated and endearingly awkward on camera.

My friends Quinn and Ren got really into making videos and invited me to join them and some other friends. We would make the goofiest videos with corny 80’s songs as the soundtrack, a character named Horse who would always make a cameo and we would do the most embarrassing things from dressing like women and riding a tandem bike through town to running through farmers markets dressed like superheroes. There was never a dull moment.

One of the videos we made started with a segment called Story Time with Timi Jounson. I proceeded to read a book and invite the viewer in to listen to me telling a story. I never realized that stories would be something that I would keep coming back to in my life. As a songwriter and a creative I’ve realized that there are few things that can capture someone’s heart like a story. Stories allow people who are complete opposites to connect. They open you up to an entirely new world and can give you a different lens to see things through. Mr. Rogers once said Frankly, there isn’t anyone you couldn’t learn to love once you’ve heard their story. It is so easy to write people off because of the way they treat you or the way they act but once you hear what they’ve been through and what has brought them to that place, it totally changes the way you see them.

I think everyone has a story. Some people have been through more than others, but everyone has experienced pain and hardships and had victories in the midst of them. So, I guess you could say that this book is story time with Timi Jounson, where I get to share some stories with y’all from my life which I hope inspire you, challenge you and give you a glimpse of the way I see Life and the Creator of Life, God. What an adventure and a gift life is. I also hope this book inspires you to take ownership of and share your own story because the world is waiting to hear your voice!

One more thing.

It’s all about hunger…

This thing called Life, which we are so blessed to live. And I want to live it to the fullest. On my dying day when I breathe my last breath I want to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I gave everything, I poured out my heart to love and serve and cherish those around me. I want to leave from this place knowing that I tapped into the fullness of my potential and utilized the skills, gifts and opportunities that I was given to add to the lives of others. And that those people might experience less suffering and pain but rather more joy, fulfillment and belly aching laughter because of me! I don’t want to settle for what everyone else has settled for, a normal life. I want to live a life of adventure, awe and wonder, excitement, freedom, mystery, bravery, courage, crazy risk-taking, mind-blowing generosity, random acts of kindness, an ever-learning spirit, and an ability to love and connect with people no matter their background or their baggage. I want to be SO alive and so on fire calling forth the gold and treasure that is buried deep within people who are hurting and thinking about giving up that wherever I go it feels like heaven just invaded that space. I didn’t always have this much Zeal for loving people but something changed in me.

The point of this book is to make YOU hungry. Hungry for more. Because there is so much more than what we settle for in life. It’s all about hunger. Hunger drives us forward. Hunger is this force that takes us further than we have ever been, beyond what is reasonable, fathomable or socially acceptable. Hunger is what makes us feel ALIVE. Hunger is what reminds us that there is always more. But the more is for those who will seek it out and risk it. The brave ones who feel in the deepest part of their gut that the mysteries of life are waiting to be unveiled upon relentless pursuit. Hunger. Hunger is unreasonable. It takes you beyond your previous limitations and reminds you that you are far more capable than what you had ever dreamed.

After you finish reading this book I believe you will have a greater hunger for life to the fullest, for adventure, and for encountering the divine mystery, God. Taking Root is full of short stories and lessons I learned in the first 28 years of my life. I believe that to live the fullest, most passionate and fulfilling life there are four essential ingredients that one must have:

Youthfulness

Family

Adventure

Faith

So come along for the ride. From hopping trains in New Zealand to praying for pimps in LA, I hope you genuinely enjoy every page of this journey. I am honored that you are reading these stories. Thank you. And buckle up buttercup!

Book I – Youthfulness

MY DEFINITION // YOUTHFULNESS

Childlikeness

Staying young in your heart

Keeping a childlike awe and wonder about life

Not being afraid to make mistakes and getting up when you fall

An exceedingly great curiosity that leads you to new experiences

Being able to laugh at yourself and not take yourself too seriously

Having the optimistic heart of a child

Learning how to play again

Not being afraid to sing in public

Looking at the world with fresh eyes, that anything can happen, anything is possible and the best is yet to come

"Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" – Jesus [Matthew 18:3]

1 [SEBASTOPOL] 1

Where you are from is important.

It says a lot about who you are and where you are going.

I am from Sebastopol.

Sebastopol is a small, dreamy, hippie town in Northern California roughly 20 minutes from the Pacific Ocean. The way that the United States sees Berkeley, Ca is the way that Berkeley sees Sebastopol. It is very green, liberal, artsy and organic. Many people care about the earth and conservation. On Florence Avenue there is a local artist who creates beautiful statues out of recycled goods and garbage. My family has one of his statues in our front yard, an apple tree with bluebirds. There is a local ice cream shop called Screamin’ Mimi’s that is a mom-and-pop shop, with the most delicious homemade flavors, my two favorite being Mimi’s Mud and White Tiger. There is a small bagel place called The Grateful Bagel, they have pizza bagels that will blow your socks off and Trevor at the counter who will leave you smiling from ear to ear. My specialty order is a Bacon-Eggel on a pesto bagel with Jack cheese, and with cream cheese and pesto. Delicious! Sebastopol is in Sonoma County, a county known for wine. Before it was known for wine it was known for apples. It also happens to be one of the counties with the least churches in the United States. I spent the first 18 years of my life in this hundred-dollar town. Nestled in the Redwood hills and looking out towards the four ridges of the majestic Mt. St. Helena, Sebastopol is a treasure. It is my happy place and truly a slice of heaven.

2 [THE APPLE ORCHARD] 2

I wish every child could grow up on an apple orchard.

It teaches you about seasons.

And the importance of planting, watering and harvesting a seed.

People talk about spirit animals but rarely spirit fruits. My spirit fruit would be the apple. I think it surpasses every other fruit by a longshot. There was never a dull moment growing up the third of four boys on thirteen acres of apple trees. They say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. I ate enough apples to keep all the doctors away if it only hadn’t been for football, rugby and baseball bringing me in to their office with injuries (broken arm, wrist, nose, foot, collarbone and multiple concussions). When my parents got married they played the song Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, which unbeknownst to them at the time, was prophetic since our family ended up moving to the apple orchard from a suburb in Sebastopol. I was six years old at the time. We moved into a 97-year old house. There was also an old barn and a pool that was green and filled with bullfrogs. My dad was a general contractor so he tore down the old barn, built a new barn and we moved into the new barn. Then he tore down the old house and built a new house, which we then moved into. People often say the phrase Close the door, did you grow up in a barn?! I like to respond by saying Yes I did. Do you have a problem with that?. Being a family of four brothers, spaced two years apart, we did our fair share of damage to each other and to the house. My mom’s favorite story to tell is of us hitting a ball through the kitchen window when she was doing the dishes and her yelling in response THIRTEEN!!!!! That’s thirteen broken windows!!!. She was one tough cookie putting up with so many guys. We had a female dog named Cheerio and almost a dozen chickens so we would remind her that technically the females outnumbered the males if we were to count animals also.

During the apple harvest in the fall, most nights the family would be in the kitchen after dinner slicing apples into apple chips. On Saturdays my dad would tell us that we had to spend two hours pulling weeds before we could do anything else. One of my brothers would refer to this as slave labor and Cooper, the youngest, would say Mom and Dad you just had a lot of kids so you could get free work. My mom wanted us to grow up without the pollution of technology so we didn’t have a TV and she enrolled each of us in a Waldorf school. These are schools where you learn how to farm, knit, play instruments and you spend a lot of time outside. I didn’t even have homework until I went to public school in Fifth Grade. At Summerfield Waldorf we started baking hot crossed buns in kindergarten. This planted the seed in me for sourdough bread baking to be one of my favorite hobbies. Jacob Parker, my oldest brother paved the way for the rest of us. When he got into football, we all got into football, when he got into paintballing, we all