September 2, 2025 • 20 mins
Navigating the Storms: Faith and Resilience in Marriage
In this episode of the Home and Marriage Podcast, hosts Lennon and Christal Noland discuss the challenges of enduring difficult times within the family and marriage. Reflecting on their own experiences, including a major move and financial struggles, they emphasize the importance of faith, prayer, and community support. Drawing on biblical teachings, they offer practical advice for building a strong foundation in the Lord to weather life's storms. The episode concludes with a prayer for listeners facing their own trials.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lennon (00:03):
This is the Home and Marriage Podcast where we help
couples become better at homeand stronger Together, we are
Lennon and Christal Noland.
We're a husband and wife,parents and ministers who want
God's best for our home andyours.
And today we're gonna talkabout when your family is in a
storm.
Welcome back friends.
This is Lennon, and I'm herewith my friend, my lover, my
(00:25):
baby's mother, Christal, the,uh, the Christlike Noland.
Christal (00:31):
Oh my goodness.
What an introduction that is.
I still need to come up withyours and I'm working on it.
I'm not as great of an a rhymerlike you are, you're a natural
rhymer.
I know.
If you, you won some battlewraps back in your college days.
Maybe.
I I did
Lennon (00:46):
have my time.
It's true.
Christal (00:47):
So, so you have, you know.
A foot up on me.
What do you call it?
Lennon (00:51):
A foot up.
The leg up.
It all works A leg up.
Christal (00:54):
Oh my gosh.
I feel like Michael Scott rightnow,
Lennon (00:56):
the general lower part of the body, I have that
advantage over.
You have a leg up
Christal (01:00):
anyways.
I will, I will.
Maybe about the next episode,have some introduction for you.
Lennon (01:04):
Okay.
We'll see.
Everyone's waiting.
Christal (01:06):
Okay.
Lennon (01:06):
So today we're gonna talk about surviving whenever
your marriage, your family is ina storm.
Christal (01:11):
Mm-hmm.
Lennon (01:12):
And storms are really just part of it.
Like, none of us escapes a lifewithout going through storms.
Christal (01:18):
And the word even warns us that we're gonna face
trials and tribulations of manykinds.
Many kinds.
Yeah.
You know, not just one typeover and over.
Like, we will face things thatwe didn't see coming.
Lennon (01:29):
Right.
And
Christal (01:30):
You know what?
We as Christians really wantto, to remember is that it's
gonna happen.
We're not alone.
We're not without hope.
Mm-hmm.
But how do we handle a storm,you know?
Right.
What do we do when it'shappening?
Because I know we've beenthrough storms in our lives,
throughout our marriage, whetherit was marriage situations,
(01:52):
family, just stuff from theoutside happening.
Mm-hmm.
It's not even always sendstuff, just stuff that happens.
Right.
And when that's happened to us,we needed encouragement in the
middle of those storms.
We needed to remember what dowe do in this storm?
Lennon (02:09):
Right?
Right.
And so as we go through thisshow today, guys, we, we don't
want, we want you to know this,uh, experiencing a storm itself
does not mean that you won'tcome out the other side.
Into something, into somethingbetter and being and being
stronger.
There's a reason why in thevows it says, for better or for
worse, it's because the forworse part always shows up at
(02:33):
some point.
Mm-hmm.
But it doesn't mean that youwon't still have a until death
do us part story.
Right?
Yeah.
So what do you think, honey?
I was thinking we could talkabout in our marriage, you know,
we've, we've now been married,we're knocking on the door 20
years here, uh, soon, but.
Our first big for worse momentcame around year five, year six,
(02:58):
whenever we made a big movefrom Texas to North Carolina.
Christal (03:02):
Yeah, that, that was a season that really test our
marriage do we really are reallygonna practice the things that
we've said we believe.
Lennon (03:11):
Mm-hmm.
Christal (03:12):
And we moved up to Durham, North Carolina.
We were living, we're fromTexas, but we were called in a
big way, by the Lord to move upthere, to leave everything
behind, to start a collegeministry on the campus of Duke
University, which was not easy.
Place to start ministry?
Lennon (03:31):
No.
Christal (03:32):
So we move away from all of our family, all of our
friends.
We didn't know anyone there, soit was a brand new place.
We didn't have any money, you
Lennon (03:40):
know?
No, we were so broke.
We, we were entering a, um, wewent there with no credit card
debt and we left there with muchgroceries on credit cards, all
sorts of intense stuff.
And then our young family wasgrowing like.
Yes.
Um, gosh, remember the movieGremlins when they would throw
water on a gremlin?
Oh, wow.
They'd start popping outeverywhere.
Christal (04:00):
Is that how it was?
It sort of seems like that'show
Lennon (04:02):
it was.
I mean, it was only three, butit was three under three or
three.
Three and under.
Christal (04:08):
Well, when we arrived there, we had two.
Mm-hmm.
And they were, almost three anda few months old.
And then we, we got just in anamazing way, got to adopt our
youngest.
Lennon (04:18):
Mm-hmm.
Christal (04:19):
And, learned about her whenever we were only there for
a couple months.
Yeah.
And we adopted her.
And so we had three of threeand under.
And the two youngest were onlyseven months apart.
And so we really, it was reallysurvival mode.
So we're starting this ministryin a tough place.
No family.
You were, you know, I wasthinking earlier headed for
(04:42):
burnout, but really you were inburnout.
Lennon (04:45):
I burned out spectacularly during that time.
Mm-hmm.
And, you know, part of, part ofmy challenge now looking back
was to that point in our, in ourmarriage and in, in our
ministry career, we had only hadwonderful times.
Right.
To be honest.
Right.
I wouldn't say like nochallenges, but I would just
(05:06):
say.
That generally speaking,everything we had done had gone
pretty well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And for being young parents,um, we, our first one, we had
her sleeping through the nightpretty quick, a well adjusted
super sweet child and all ofthese kinds of things.
And so that first year wherethings were not going well.
I guess broadly speaking, wecould just say my career
(05:30):
portion.
I was really struggling withthat.
You were carrying a lot at homeand because of the financial
difficulties and all of theseother things.
Yeah.
By the end of that first year Iwas, I was really torched
emotionally.
Right, right.
And it all culminated.
Do you remember the breakingpoint?
Whenever I.
Started breaking things.
Christal (05:51):
Well, you broke something.
I don't know if you brokethings.
Did you break things?
Multiple things?
I guess not multiple things.
Lennon (05:57):
One thing, well, here's what happened.
I went to the bank one day guysand um, I was in the drive
through trying to do some sortof transaction that I needed my
driver's license for, and itturned out I had left my
driver's license at home.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, we live less than a milefrom the bank.
Not really that big of a thing.
But for me, a guy who wasabsolutely on the edge, uh,
(06:20):
emotionally, whenever I pulledout into traffic, it wasn't just
that I needed to go get thedriver's license, it is that I
had forgotten it.
And that was the straw thatbroke the camel's back.
Christal (06:31):
Mm-hmm.
Lennon (06:31):
And in the middle of traffic.
So sorry to put this out thereon for the world to hear.
Christal (06:36):
Well, here's what I will say about that too.
Just before you say whathappened.
Nobody else was in the car.
Nobody else was in the car.
That's right.
And I will say you were, Inever saw you really get angry
much.
And you've always been verygentle, very funny, very
lighthearted.
So this was just out ofcharacter for you?
Lennon (06:54):
Mm-hmm.
And it's because we were goingin a very long, we were in a VA
storm that.
Was was really seeming to last.
Yes.
Yes.
It wasn't just a tough week,multiple
Christal (07:05):
years.
Yeah.
It wasn't just a
Lennon (07:06):
tough month.
We were going into some reallytough years.
Mm-hmm.
And so what happened was, uh,you know, I'm talking to myself
like, you're such an idiot.
I can't believe you did this.
You always do stupid stuff likethis.
I freaked out and I punched thecar horn.
Mm-hmm.
I broke the airbag and the hornlocked in the on position right
(07:26):
in the middle of traffic.
So it's just
Christal (07:28):
blaring.
It's just blaring and everyonearound you is like looking at
you.
Everyone's looking at
Lennon (07:33):
me and I'm putting my hands up, like I have no idea
what's happening.
This car has problems, youknow?
But that really was a big, abig moment for us.
Whenever I went home later thatday, uh, we had some friends
over who.
Just wonderful friends, Nathanand Aaron.
Yeah.
They were asking us, how areyou doing?
And mm-hmm.
We really began to open up forthem and, my friend Nathan, he,
(07:56):
he said, my friend, you needhelp.
Christal (08:00):
Yeah.
Lennon (08:01):
You, you don't need to keep on going right now.
Right.
You actually need some help.
It was a storm that we neededhelp coming out of.
Yeah.
And, um, and I did, I went tocounseling.
Mm-hmm.
And you and I made some changesand it took a while.
Mm-hmm.
But things started moving in amuch better direction and we
learned a lot coming outta thatseason.
Christal (08:18):
We sure did.
Our, We learned a lot and welearned how god is faithful
through those storms and he, hecan bring you through them.
Lennon (08:27):
Mm-hmm.
Christal (08:27):
But.
What I feel like that timereally taught me was that I can
always trust in the Lord, evenif I don't know the outcome of
what's to happen.
But to remember that, he's gota plan and he's not leaving us
alone in these storms.
God is so good to get ourattention to help bring us in,
to remind us of the truth.
Lennon (08:47):
Yeah.
And the first big truth isremembering where to go.
Christal (08:51):
Yes.
And that
Lennon (08:51):
just, we've, we've gotta go to him.
So.
What we want to do is we wantto give you guys just a few
specific points, of when, notif, but when you're going
through storms.
And we know that some of youlistening right now are in a
tough spot.
We want to tell you some of thethings that we've learned and
some of the things that we knowwill help you because they,
they're biblical.
You're gonna face a storm, andso how do you stand strong and
(09:14):
not get swept away?
We're really told that Jesusgives us the insight for what to
do going through a storm inMatthew chapter seven.
And so, um, pretty familiarpassage, honey.
Christal (09:27):
Yeah.
So Matthew 7 24 through 27, itsays, therefore, everyone who
hears these words of mind actson them will be like a wise man
who built his house on the rock.
The rain fell, the rivers rose,and the winds blew and pounded
on that house.
Yet it didn't collapse becauseits foundation was on the rock.
(09:48):
It's so true.
What you build on is reallygonna show what's gonna last.
So if you do build it on thewrong things, it'll fall apart.
I mean, let's say you build iton finances, on money.
if your security is in yourmoney and then you lose all that
money where, what happens toyou?
So our foundation has to bebuilt on the rock, which is
(10:13):
Jesus is the Lord.
Lennon (10:15):
Yeah.
And I think the interestingthing that this passage reveals
to us is kind of what we've beensaying, that storms are coming
either way.
What it reveals is what you'vebuilt on.
And so if your foundation isbuilt on the Lord, then whenever
the storm is over, you stillwill be standing.
Your, your home may have takensome hail damage.
You may have to replace somewindows.
(10:35):
Who knows?
But you're still going to bethere.
And so it's your obedience toGod as a family and, and as a
person that overall builds Ahouse that can withstand a
storm, right?
Builds a life that canwithstand a storm.
Not because you're so strong,but because he is.
Mm-hmm.
And because he is faithful andbecause he won't let you down.
(10:57):
And even whenever, whenever astorm comes because of, because
you've blown it or becauseyou've made some sort of
mistake, it, maybe it wasn'tsinful, but you did something
that in retrospect, man, thiscost you.
Even just knowing who to repentto and to turn quickly back to
God.
Is the greatest of survivalmechanisms.
(11:19):
Right.
That he's always there for usand always ready to receive us.
And so that is the first thing.
A solid home will be built on asolid foundation.
Mm-hmm.
You, you've gotta stay with theLord.
Christal (11:29):
Um, Another thing when we are going through storms is
we don't need to shut God out.
Right.
We gotta keep talking to him.
And I think sometimes becausewe wanna control the situation
or we think we can fix it.
Especially at the beginning.
I think a lot of times we gothrough something we think, oh,
I'm just gonna fix it.
But the Lord really wants us torely on him and turn to him
(11:52):
first.
Yeah.
And to talk to him because wecould shut God out because maybe
we're angry about what we'regoing through.
Angry about the situation inlife.
We were talking about can'tcontrol the situation, so we
just tend to wanna put God.
I'll save you for if I reallyneed you, but I think I can
handle this.
Mm-hmm.
And then we get to a breakingpoint and realize we can't.
Lennon (12:14):
Yeah.
We can try everything.
But turning to God, wheneverwe're in a storm and feeling
desperate.
It's one of the things I wasreading this morning in my
devotional, I think it's inFirst Chronicles, whenever the
Lord is talking about King Asa,while he was relying on God, God
gave him great victories.
And then at one point later inhis life.
He goes through a moment offear and begins to strategize
(12:38):
and pull other countries in, anda prophet speaks to him and
reveals these words that weknow.
Uh, we just don't always knowthe context where it says the
Lord's eyes roam throughout theearth, looking for someone fully
devoted to him so he can bestrong on their behalf, right?
Like God wants to be strong onour behalf.
(12:58):
Mm-hmm.
It's not that we need to bestrong enough to handle all of
life.
We need to be smart enough topray to God so that he can be
strong on our behalf.
Christal (13:06):
Right.
I remember even during thattime that we were going through
this season in North Carolina,that, prayer was such a powerful
thing for me because I rememberwhen you were going through
this really depressive time.
You were, you were reallydifferent.
You were, you were always veryfunny and just, you know,
lighthearted never saw you.
(13:26):
Get to this place of likesadness or depression.
And so for me, I didn't knowhow to handle that.
I didn't know what to do, butto encourage you the best I
could, I would say things to youthat I'm like, I know this is
the answer.
He just needs to listen to it.
Mm-hmm.
If he listens to it, everythingwill be okay.
Yeah.
Right.
So for me, I'm like, I'mtelling you these things and it
was like my words were justfalling to the ground.
(13:48):
It didn't seem to make adifference.
I remember I praying and askingthe Lord to give me some
insight into what is happeningand what to do.
And he did.
He even showed me how you wereeven angry with the Lord.
I didn't even know that youwere.
You were angry with God.
Lennon (14:06):
Mm-hmm.
And
Christal (14:07):
so what was helpful for me as a spouse in that
moment is to really cling to theLord for the wisdom I needed,
and he helped.
Show me those things and then Iwas, it opened a door for us to
get to talk about it.
Lennon (14:22):
Yeah.
Christal (14:22):
And then it was, it was healing too.
Yeah.
So he really does wanna talk toyou and help you through your
situation.
Lennon (14:30):
Yeah.
That is a, that is the biggestdeal.
Like in a storm, we can beclueless, but God is, he's never
clueless.
Right.
And even if it's just, I'm withyou, hold on.
Or it's something moreinsightful and specific like he
shared with you.
Turning to God is always theright answer.
Right?
And turning to his word isalways the right answer.
(14:50):
Keep reading his word andstoring up good things into your
heart so that mm-hmm.
You know, so that you know whatto clinging to, and you have
wisdom, uh, that's available toyou, that is just not your best
friend's.
Best advice, whoa.
It's, it's God's advice.
Christal (15:05):
And your, your mind can go all over the place when
you're in a storm.
It can just head down darkroads that you did not.
Need to go on, you know?
Yeah.
Like, you have to really renewyour mind have some scriptures
ready to go for when you'restarting to feel the, the weight
of it.
Lennon (15:24):
Mm-hmm.
Christal (15:25):
You know, for me it's really listening to worship that
encourages me, that brings mecloser to God.
That reminds me of the truth ofwho God is.
Mm-hmm.
So for me, worship songs justhelp me.
It, it renews my mind.
Yeah.
Because it gets my mind in theright place.
Yeah.
When, when those storms happen.
Lennon (15:43):
Yeah.
Christal (15:45):
thing too is to keep showing up to church with those
who love you and love the Lord.
In a hard situation, you kindof wanna disconnect sometimes.
I mean, we're all different.
Some of us are veryintroverted, some are are
extroverted.
Some of our natural tendenciescan be to go find our friends
and just, I need to tell you, Ineed to talk to you about this.
(16:05):
But sometimes we can isolateourselves and really pull back.
From people that need to be inyour life and need to speak into
your life
Lennon (16:13):
Yeah.
That's something I saw in myown introverted nature.
I, I can tend to want to godark.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
For sure.
Um, and it's definitelysomething we saw over and over
again throughout the years as,as pastors that, you know, some
couple, some family.
Some person that we knew to bevery involved and saw frequently
(16:35):
would just fall off the map.
Mm.
And um, later on, eventuallysee them again or get hold of
them reaching out to, to talk tothem and they would reveal that
something in their life hadgone sideways.
Right.
And I, I think so often whathappens is we buy into the lie
that we can't be around otherChristians when things are going
sideways.
Or that God must be mad at meif things are going sideways or
(16:59):
angry at me because I've madethings go nuts.
But that is when you need to bein the presence of those who
love God.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and who can help be a partof restoring you and encouraging
you back to back to health.
We need sometimes voices fromthe outside.
Mm-hmm.
Nothing that we go through.
Is, um, being gone through forthe first time just by us.
Christal (17:22):
Yeah.
Lennon (17:22):
Everybody's been through stuff.
Christal (17:24):
Yes.
and I think we can really, puton shame in, in a way that we
shouldn't.
Like you said, sometimes thingsthat happen to us, we feel
shamed about even it's not ourfault, but sometimes things that
we've, maybe decisions we'vemade.
It's caused a lot ofrepercussion.
Lennon (17:41):
Yeah.
Christal (17:42):
Sometimes it can be hard to want to go and get
healing by sharing with someone,like confess your sins one to
another and you'll be healed.
Yeah.
You know?
So we need community for thethings that are happening to us
and not to feel shameful aboutthose things or the things we've
done.
We need to have community so wecan heal better.
(18:03):
Yeah.
It's hard to heal alone andisolated.
Lennon (18:07):
It is.
So friends, if you're goingthrough a storm, and if you're
not, you will at some point justwanna keep reminding you, build
on a solid foundation andyou're building up right now to
be, to be able to face a stormbased on what you're doing.
So stay in the word of God, uh,engage God in prayer.
Stick with the people who loveGod and love you.
(18:27):
Be in church.
Stay in church, and I thinkthat you'll find, you'll be able
to, you'll be able to face andcome out the other side of
whatever storm that you're in.
Would you mind praying?
Yeah.
Christal (18:37):
So if you're listening, we'd love to pray for
you right now.
Whatever situation you'refacing.
We know that God, is listeningand he's there, so, heavenly
Father, we just pray foreveryone that is listening right
now.
And they may be facing a storm,maybe right in the middle of
it.
And God, I just pray you.
Continue to encourage them andreach out to them and help them
(19:00):
know that you are not far fromanyone who calls on your name.
God, that you are right there.
And Lord, I just thank you thatyou are gonna get them through
this storm, not just to get themthrough, but to bring them
closer to you, to grow in wisdomand to grow, Lord, in your
strength.
(19:21):
Lord, I thank you that whenthey are weak, you are strong.
So, God, we thank you for yourlove, and we thank you that you
will take care of us and thatyou can get us through any storm
that comes our way.
In Jesus name,
Lennon (19:36):
Amen.
Well, friends, thank you forjoining us today.
We do.
So hope you're encouraged formore encouragement, remember,
look us up on the socials,Facebook, Instagram, TikTok with
home and marriage, and we willbe back with you next week.
Well, Friends, thanks again forlistening today.
We really do believe that yourhome can be your favorite place
and that however good things aretoday, you can be even better
(19:59):
at home and stronger together.
Thanks for being with us today.
This is the Home and Marriage Podcast where we help
couples become better at homeand stronger Together, we are
Lennon and Christal Noland.
We're a husband and wife,parents and ministers who want
God's best for our home andyours.
And today we're gonna talkabout when your family is in a
storm.
Welcome back friends.
This is Lennon, and I'm herewith my friend, my lover, my
(00:25):
baby's mother, Christal, the,uh, the Christlike Noland.
Christal (00:31):
Oh my goodness.
What an introduction that is.
I still need to come up withyours and I'm working on it.
I'm not as great of an a rhymerlike you are, you're a natural
rhymer.
I know.
If you, you won some battlewraps back in your college days.
Maybe.
I I did
Lennon (00:46):
have my time.
It's true.
Christal (00:47):
So, so you have, you know.
A foot up on me.
What do you call it?
Lennon (00:51):
A foot up.
The leg up.
It all works A leg up.
Christal (00:54):
Oh my gosh.
I feel like Michael Scott rightnow,
Lennon (00:56):
the general lower part of the body, I have that
advantage over.
You have a leg up
Christal (01:00):
anyways.
I will, I will.
Maybe about the next episode,have some introduction for you.
Lennon (01:04):
Okay.
We'll see.
Everyone's waiting.
Christal (01:06):
Okay.
Lennon (01:06):
So today we're gonna talk about surviving whenever
your marriage, your family is ina storm.
Christal (01:11):
Mm-hmm.
Lennon (01:12):
And storms are really just part of it.
Like, none of us escapes a lifewithout going through storms.
Christal (01:18):
And the word even warns us that we're gonna face
trials and tribulations of manykinds.
Many kinds.
Yeah.
You know, not just one typeover and over.
Like, we will face things thatwe didn't see coming.
Lennon (01:29):
Right.
And
Christal (01:30):
You know what?
We as Christians really wantto, to remember is that it's
gonna happen.
We're not alone.
We're not without hope.
Mm-hmm.
But how do we handle a storm,you know?
Right.
What do we do when it'shappening?
Because I know we've beenthrough storms in our lives,
throughout our marriage, whetherit was marriage situations,
(01:52):
family, just stuff from theoutside happening.
Mm-hmm.
It's not even always sendstuff, just stuff that happens.
Right.
And when that's happened to us,we needed encouragement in the
middle of those storms.
We needed to remember what dowe do in this storm?
Lennon (02:09):
Right?
Right.
And so as we go through thisshow today, guys, we, we don't
want, we want you to know this,uh, experiencing a storm itself
does not mean that you won'tcome out the other side.
Into something, into somethingbetter and being and being
stronger.
There's a reason why in thevows it says, for better or for
worse, it's because the forworse part always shows up at
(02:33):
some point.
Mm-hmm.
But it doesn't mean that youwon't still have a until death
do us part story.
Right?
Yeah.
So what do you think, honey?
I was thinking we could talkabout in our marriage, you know,
we've, we've now been married,we're knocking on the door 20
years here, uh, soon, but.
Our first big for worse momentcame around year five, year six,
(02:58):
whenever we made a big movefrom Texas to North Carolina.
Christal (03:02):
Yeah, that, that was a season that really test our
marriage do we really are reallygonna practice the things that
we've said we believe.
Lennon (03:11):
Mm-hmm.
Christal (03:12):
And we moved up to Durham, North Carolina.
We were living, we're fromTexas, but we were called in a
big way, by the Lord to move upthere, to leave everything
behind, to start a collegeministry on the campus of Duke
University, which was not easy.
Place to start ministry?
Lennon (03:31):
No.
Christal (03:32):
So we move away from all of our family, all of our
friends.
We didn't know anyone there, soit was a brand new place.
We didn't have any money, you
Lennon (03:40):
know?
No, we were so broke.
We, we were entering a, um, wewent there with no credit card
debt and we left there with muchgroceries on credit cards, all
sorts of intense stuff.
And then our young family wasgrowing like.
Yes.
Um, gosh, remember the movieGremlins when they would throw
water on a gremlin?
Oh, wow.
They'd start popping outeverywhere.
Christal (04:00):
Is that how it was?
It sort of seems like that'show
Lennon (04:02):
it was.
I mean, it was only three, butit was three under three or
three.
Three and under.
Christal (04:08):
Well, when we arrived there, we had two.
Mm-hmm.
And they were, almost three anda few months old.
And then we, we got just in anamazing way, got to adopt our
youngest.
Lennon (04:18):
Mm-hmm.
Christal (04:19):
And, learned about her whenever we were only there for
a couple months.
Yeah.
And we adopted her.
And so we had three of threeand under.
And the two youngest were onlyseven months apart.
And so we really, it was reallysurvival mode.
So we're starting this ministryin a tough place.
No family.
You were, you know, I wasthinking earlier headed for
(04:42):
burnout, but really you were inburnout.
Lennon (04:45):
I burned out spectacularly during that time.
Mm-hmm.
And, you know, part of, part ofmy challenge now looking back
was to that point in our, in ourmarriage and in, in our
ministry career, we had only hadwonderful times.
Right.
To be honest.
Right.
I wouldn't say like nochallenges, but I would just
(05:06):
say.
That generally speaking,everything we had done had gone
pretty well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And for being young parents,um, we, our first one, we had
her sleeping through the nightpretty quick, a well adjusted
super sweet child and all ofthese kinds of things.
And so that first year wherethings were not going well.
I guess broadly speaking, wecould just say my career
(05:30):
portion.
I was really struggling withthat.
You were carrying a lot at homeand because of the financial
difficulties and all of theseother things.
Yeah.
By the end of that first year Iwas, I was really torched
emotionally.
Right, right.
And it all culminated.
Do you remember the breakingpoint?
Whenever I.
Started breaking things.
Christal (05:51):
Well, you broke something.
I don't know if you brokethings.
Did you break things?
Multiple things?
I guess not multiple things.
Lennon (05:57):
One thing, well, here's what happened.
I went to the bank one day guysand um, I was in the drive
through trying to do some sortof transaction that I needed my
driver's license for, and itturned out I had left my
driver's license at home.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, we live less than a milefrom the bank.
Not really that big of a thing.
But for me, a guy who wasabsolutely on the edge, uh,
(06:20):
emotionally, whenever I pulledout into traffic, it wasn't just
that I needed to go get thedriver's license, it is that I
had forgotten it.
And that was the straw thatbroke the camel's back.
Christal (06:31):
Mm-hmm.
Lennon (06:31):
And in the middle of traffic.
So sorry to put this out thereon for the world to hear.
Christal (06:36):
Well, here's what I will say about that too.
Just before you say whathappened.
Nobody else was in the car.
Nobody else was in the car.
That's right.
And I will say you were, Inever saw you really get angry
much.
And you've always been verygentle, very funny, very
lighthearted.
So this was just out ofcharacter for you?
Lennon (06:54):
Mm-hmm.
And it's because we were goingin a very long, we were in a VA
storm that.
Was was really seeming to last.
Yes.
Yes.
It wasn't just a tough week,multiple
Christal (07:05):
years.
Yeah.
It wasn't just a
Lennon (07:06):
tough month.
We were going into some reallytough years.
Mm-hmm.
And so what happened was, uh,you know, I'm talking to myself
like, you're such an idiot.
I can't believe you did this.
You always do stupid stuff likethis.
I freaked out and I punched thecar horn.
Mm-hmm.
I broke the airbag and the hornlocked in the on position right
(07:26):
in the middle of traffic.
So it's just
Christal (07:28):
blaring.
It's just blaring and everyonearound you is like looking at
you.
Everyone's looking at
Lennon (07:33):
me and I'm putting my hands up, like I have no idea
what's happening.
This car has problems, youknow?
But that really was a big, abig moment for us.
Whenever I went home later thatday, uh, we had some friends
over who.
Just wonderful friends, Nathanand Aaron.
Yeah.
They were asking us, how areyou doing?
And mm-hmm.
We really began to open up forthem and, my friend Nathan, he,
(07:56):
he said, my friend, you needhelp.
Christal (08:00):
Yeah.
Lennon (08:01):
You, you don't need to keep on going right now.
Right.
You actually need some help.
It was a storm that we neededhelp coming out of.
Yeah.
And, um, and I did, I went tocounseling.
Mm-hmm.
And you and I made some changesand it took a while.
Mm-hmm.
But things started moving in amuch better direction and we
learned a lot coming outta thatseason.
Christal (08:18):
We sure did.
Our, We learned a lot and welearned how god is faithful
through those storms and he, hecan bring you through them.
Lennon (08:27):
Mm-hmm.
Christal (08:27):
But.
What I feel like that timereally taught me was that I can
always trust in the Lord, evenif I don't know the outcome of
what's to happen.
But to remember that, he's gota plan and he's not leaving us
alone in these storms.
God is so good to get ourattention to help bring us in,
to remind us of the truth.
Lennon (08:47):
Yeah.
And the first big truth isremembering where to go.
Christal (08:51):
Yes.
And that
Lennon (08:51):
just, we've, we've gotta go to him.
So.
What we want to do is we wantto give you guys just a few
specific points, of when, notif, but when you're going
through storms.
And we know that some of youlistening right now are in a
tough spot.
We want to tell you some of thethings that we've learned and
some of the things that we knowwill help you because they,
they're biblical.
You're gonna face a storm, andso how do you stand strong and
(09:14):
not get swept away?
We're really told that Jesusgives us the insight for what to
do going through a storm inMatthew chapter seven.
And so, um, pretty familiarpassage, honey.
Christal (09:27):
Yeah.
So Matthew 7 24 through 27, itsays, therefore, everyone who
hears these words of mind actson them will be like a wise man
who built his house on the rock.
The rain fell, the rivers rose,and the winds blew and pounded
on that house.
Yet it didn't collapse becauseits foundation was on the rock.
(09:48):
It's so true.
What you build on is reallygonna show what's gonna last.
So if you do build it on thewrong things, it'll fall apart.
I mean, let's say you build iton finances, on money.
if your security is in yourmoney and then you lose all that
money where, what happens toyou?
So our foundation has to bebuilt on the rock, which is
(10:13):
Jesus is the Lord.
Lennon (10:15):
Yeah.
And I think the interestingthing that this passage reveals
to us is kind of what we've beensaying, that storms are coming
either way.
What it reveals is what you'vebuilt on.
And so if your foundation isbuilt on the Lord, then whenever
the storm is over, you stillwill be standing.
Your, your home may have takensome hail damage.
You may have to replace somewindows.
(10:35):
Who knows?
But you're still going to bethere.
And so it's your obedience toGod as a family and, and as a
person that overall builds Ahouse that can withstand a
storm, right?
Builds a life that canwithstand a storm.
Not because you're so strong,but because he is.
Mm-hmm.
And because he is faithful andbecause he won't let you down.
(10:57):
And even whenever, whenever astorm comes because of, because
you've blown it or becauseyou've made some sort of
mistake, it, maybe it wasn'tsinful, but you did something
that in retrospect, man, thiscost you.
Even just knowing who to repentto and to turn quickly back to
God.
Is the greatest of survivalmechanisms.
(11:19):
Right.
That he's always there for usand always ready to receive us.
And so that is the first thing.
A solid home will be built on asolid foundation.
Mm-hmm.
You, you've gotta stay with theLord.
Christal (11:29):
Um, Another thing when we are going through storms is
we don't need to shut God out.
Right.
We gotta keep talking to him.
And I think sometimes becausewe wanna control the situation
or we think we can fix it.
Especially at the beginning.
I think a lot of times we gothrough something we think, oh,
I'm just gonna fix it.
But the Lord really wants us torely on him and turn to him
(11:52):
first.
Yeah.
And to talk to him because wecould shut God out because maybe
we're angry about what we'regoing through.
Angry about the situation inlife.
We were talking about can'tcontrol the situation, so we
just tend to wanna put God.
I'll save you for if I reallyneed you, but I think I can
handle this.
Mm-hmm.
And then we get to a breakingpoint and realize we can't.
Lennon (12:14):
Yeah.
We can try everything.
But turning to God, wheneverwe're in a storm and feeling
desperate.
It's one of the things I wasreading this morning in my
devotional, I think it's inFirst Chronicles, whenever the
Lord is talking about King Asa,while he was relying on God, God
gave him great victories.
And then at one point later inhis life.
He goes through a moment offear and begins to strategize
(12:38):
and pull other countries in, anda prophet speaks to him and
reveals these words that weknow.
Uh, we just don't always knowthe context where it says the
Lord's eyes roam throughout theearth, looking for someone fully
devoted to him so he can bestrong on their behalf, right?
Like God wants to be strong onour behalf.
(12:58):
Mm-hmm.
It's not that we need to bestrong enough to handle all of
life.
We need to be smart enough topray to God so that he can be
strong on our behalf.
Christal (13:06):
Right.
I remember even during thattime that we were going through
this season in North Carolina,that, prayer was such a powerful
thing for me because I rememberwhen you were going through
this really depressive time.
You were, you were reallydifferent.
You were, you were always veryfunny and just, you know,
lighthearted never saw you.
(13:26):
Get to this place of likesadness or depression.
And so for me, I didn't knowhow to handle that.
I didn't know what to do, butto encourage you the best I
could, I would say things to youthat I'm like, I know this is
the answer.
He just needs to listen to it.
Mm-hmm.
If he listens to it, everythingwill be okay.
Yeah.
Right.
So for me, I'm like, I'mtelling you these things and it
was like my words were justfalling to the ground.
(13:48):
It didn't seem to make adifference.
I remember I praying and askingthe Lord to give me some
insight into what is happeningand what to do.
And he did.
He even showed me how you wereeven angry with the Lord.
I didn't even know that youwere.
You were angry with God.
Lennon (14:06):
Mm-hmm.
And
Christal (14:07):
so what was helpful for me as a spouse in that
moment is to really cling to theLord for the wisdom I needed,
and he helped.
Show me those things and then Iwas, it opened a door for us to
get to talk about it.
Lennon (14:22):
Yeah.
Christal (14:22):
And then it was, it was healing too.
Yeah.
So he really does wanna talk toyou and help you through your
situation.
Lennon (14:30):
Yeah.
That is a, that is the biggestdeal.
Like in a storm, we can beclueless, but God is, he's never
clueless.
Right.
And even if it's just, I'm withyou, hold on.
Or it's something moreinsightful and specific like he
shared with you.
Turning to God is always theright answer.
Right?
And turning to his word isalways the right answer.
(14:50):
Keep reading his word andstoring up good things into your
heart so that mm-hmm.
You know, so that you know whatto clinging to, and you have
wisdom, uh, that's available toyou, that is just not your best
friend's.
Best advice, whoa.
It's, it's God's advice.
Christal (15:05):
And your, your mind can go all over the place when
you're in a storm.
It can just head down darkroads that you did not.
Need to go on, you know?
Yeah.
Like, you have to really renewyour mind have some scriptures
ready to go for when you'restarting to feel the, the weight
of it.
Lennon (15:24):
Mm-hmm.
Christal (15:25):
You know, for me it's really listening to worship that
encourages me, that brings mecloser to God.
That reminds me of the truth ofwho God is.
Mm-hmm.
So for me, worship songs justhelp me.
It, it renews my mind.
Yeah.
Because it gets my mind in theright place.
Yeah.
When, when those storms happen.
Lennon (15:43):
Yeah.
Christal (15:45):
thing too is to keep showing up to church with those
who love you and love the Lord.
In a hard situation, you kindof wanna disconnect sometimes.
I mean, we're all different.
Some of us are veryintroverted, some are are
extroverted.
Some of our natural tendenciescan be to go find our friends
and just, I need to tell you, Ineed to talk to you about this.
(16:05):
But sometimes we can isolateourselves and really pull back.
From people that need to be inyour life and need to speak into
your life
Lennon (16:13):
Yeah.
That's something I saw in myown introverted nature.
I, I can tend to want to godark.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
For sure.
Um, and it's definitelysomething we saw over and over
again throughout the years as,as pastors that, you know, some
couple, some family.
Some person that we knew to bevery involved and saw frequently
(16:35):
would just fall off the map.
Mm.
And um, later on, eventuallysee them again or get hold of
them reaching out to, to talk tothem and they would reveal that
something in their life hadgone sideways.
Right.
And I, I think so often whathappens is we buy into the lie
that we can't be around otherChristians when things are going
sideways.
Or that God must be mad at meif things are going sideways or
(16:59):
angry at me because I've madethings go nuts.
But that is when you need to bein the presence of those who
love God.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and who can help be a partof restoring you and encouraging
you back to back to health.
We need sometimes voices fromthe outside.
Mm-hmm.
Nothing that we go through.
Is, um, being gone through forthe first time just by us.
Christal (17:22):
Yeah.
Lennon (17:22):
Everybody's been through stuff.
Christal (17:24):
Yes.
and I think we can really, puton shame in, in a way that we
shouldn't.
Like you said, sometimes thingsthat happen to us, we feel
shamed about even it's not ourfault, but sometimes things that
we've, maybe decisions we'vemade.
It's caused a lot ofrepercussion.
Lennon (17:41):
Yeah.
Christal (17:42):
Sometimes it can be hard to want to go and get
healing by sharing with someone,like confess your sins one to
another and you'll be healed.
Yeah.
You know?
So we need community for thethings that are happening to us
and not to feel shameful aboutthose things or the things we've
done.
We need to have community so wecan heal better.
(18:03):
Yeah.
It's hard to heal alone andisolated.
Lennon (18:07):
It is.
So friends, if you're goingthrough a storm, and if you're
not, you will at some point justwanna keep reminding you, build
on a solid foundation andyou're building up right now to
be, to be able to face a stormbased on what you're doing.
So stay in the word of God, uh,engage God in prayer.
Stick with the people who loveGod and love you.
(18:27):
Be in church.
Stay in church, and I thinkthat you'll find, you'll be able
to, you'll be able to face andcome out the other side of
whatever storm that you're in.
Would you mind praying?
Yeah.
Christal (18:37):
So if you're listening, we'd love to pray for
you right now.
Whatever situation you'refacing.
We know that God, is listeningand he's there, so, heavenly
Father, we just pray foreveryone that is listening right
now.
And they may be facing a storm,maybe right in the middle of
it.
And God, I just pray you.
Continue to encourage them andreach out to them and help them
(19:00):
know that you are not far fromanyone who calls on your name.
God, that you are right there.
And Lord, I just thank you thatyou are gonna get them through
this storm, not just to get themthrough, but to bring them
closer to you, to grow in wisdomand to grow, Lord, in your
strength.
(19:21):
Lord, I thank you that whenthey are weak, you are strong.
So, God, we thank you for yourlove, and we thank you that you
will take care of us and thatyou can get us through any storm
that comes our way.
In Jesus name,
Lennon (19:36):
Amen.
Well, friends, thank you forjoining us today.
We do.
So hope you're encouraged formore encouragement, remember,
look us up on the socials,Facebook, Instagram, TikTok with
home and marriage, and we willbe back with you next week.
Well, Friends, thanks again forlistening today.
We really do believe that yourhome can be your favorite place
and that however good things aretoday, you can be even better
(19:59):
at home and stronger together.
Thanks for being with us today.
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