Bridging the Faith Gap in Corporate Culture

What if you could unlock an astounding source of strength and guidance in your professional life? That's exactly what we aimed to uncover in our enlightening journey through the intersection of faith and professional life. 

Our guests share their personal journey of integrating their faith into their work, reminding us of the ethical implications of our actions. 

The conversation opens up to the power of prayer, the healing ability of faith, and the role of our childhood experiences in shaping our adult lives. We share stories of Jesus showing up in our darkest moments and the imperative to stay open to His presence.

Dive right in, for this journey is one of discovery and introspection.
#faithatwork #paradedeck #mrspie

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Come join us at our virtual events monthly. Visit our website to learn more.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
rear wheel drive.
안녕하세요, You're on mute, Shelley.

(00:46):
Oh yeah, we can't hear you.
You can't hear me, oh now wecan hear you.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
Oh, now we can hear you.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Listen, all right, so you can hear me, okay.
Yes, yes, there, somethinghappened just now.
I'll tell you all, after thecall, when we were going live,
that just something just poppedup.
So so we so thank God, we'rehere.
So, thank God, we made theprayer before we started.
This is a very special episode.
For some reason, some things onmy side are now frozen, so I

(01:21):
know we're supposed to have thisconversation.
So welcome everybody.
This is a very special episodeof Mrs Pi.
We're going to be talking tosome amazing folks about faith
at work and I really think thisis going to be blessing a lot of
folks.
So shout out to everybody who'son Facebook and LinkedIn and
YouTube and Twitter, andespecially those who are

(01:42):
watching on Paradek TV channel.
So I'm just, I'm just gratefulfor every single person you see
here in this room and I'm justhoping that this, this
production, goes without law,because already we're getting
together fight, but we're goingto have a really good
conversation.
So, first off, I just want toget I try to give flowers before

(02:04):
I start any of my calls andy'all please don't forget to
love, like and share the video.
But huge shout out to Audreyand Mckisha and Carmen and Nate,
and April and Keisha for beinghere and for sharing their
journey.
So how's?
everybody doing.
You can still hear me.
Are we all good?

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
So I feel really bad for those of y'all who are going
to be listening to this onSpotify and all the podcasts.
So the audio version, becauseeverybody in here looks amazing
I just set up Y'all.
Y'all look so good, so thankyou for showing up today, so I'm
going to jump right in.
So when I was telling peopleabout the episode, I said I

(02:45):
wanted to really focus on ourspirituality and professionalism
.
What does faith at work looklike?
So the idea was to just talkabout how we can encourage
ourselves, each other and folksthat are going to be watching,
about how you kind of bringdeeper meaning into your job and
purpose into your job, andwe're going to share some of our

(03:06):
own personal journeys.
But I wanted to start off bywhy, like why do you think it's
important for us to evenintegrate our faith and I'm
going to throw this question toKeisha why do you think it's
even important?
I know I'm going to take notes.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
Oh, you can see my pen.

Speaker 2 (03:26):
Yes, why do you think it's I'm going to Keisha and
then I'm going to go to Nateafterwards Like why do you think
it's important for us to evento bring, to show up with our
faith at work?

Speaker 1 (03:36):
For you, for me, I believe that it's important to
show up with our faith.
It's just a part of who I am,so it's not like I leave it at
home or I turn it on or I turnit off.
It comes with me wherever I goand I carry it with me.
And I do know that there was apoint in my career since we're

(04:00):
specifically talking about workor even in my life, where I said
God, if it's not, if you're not, if you're not in it, I don't
want it.
And it had to be that way,because what I understand to be
true is that no matter what youdo in life, no matter what you
pursue, whether you're pursuinga career, a profession, you're

(04:22):
going after.
You're trying to start your ownbusiness or do something
creatively, you're going to hitroblox, you're going to come up
against enemies and obstacles inyour way, and if you don't have
God on your side, if God is notfor you in that endeavor that
you're doing, if he has notcalled you to that, then you're

(04:45):
inevitably going to fail.
You're inevitably going to fall.
You may get so far, you're onlygoing to get so far without
Christ, and that's my feeling,and because I feel like when God
is in it.
When God is with you, no matterwhat you're up against, he's
going to give you the tools tosucceed, to get over those

(05:08):
obstacles.
If he's for you in thatendeavor.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
That's powerful.
How about you Nate?
What are your thoughts?

Speaker 3 (05:16):
I don't know.
For me it's one of those thingswhere I used to struggle with
this part, because you alwaystold, as a church person, this
is how you carry yourself.
But then in real life you don'tcarry yourself that way.
You're going to be in theseplaces and you're going to be in
a certain place.

(05:37):
You're going to be in a certainplace.
I used to keep myself up a lot.
I'm a God-given person.
I keep myself up a lot.
Then something happens and youcontinue to learn and it says be
the same whether you're inservice or you are out of
service, but you're always atservice and so because of that,

(05:58):
I'm always at his service.
And then the role that I'm inright now, the job that I have
right now, is ethics.
So I have to carry myselfethically because there's a lot
of eyes and visibility on what Ido.
So I use what I do to guide meethically because I'm like okay,
I don't want to be seen as aman who's not a good character

(06:20):
enough in his words.
So for me it's important towalk in that space and just
accept.
You know I made a mistake withthis, but it's important that my
character, that people notjudge my character and say, well
, he made a mistake, but I knowthat was not intentional.

Speaker 2 (06:37):
I love that, I love that.
So I was thinking about purpose.
This is something we talkedabout before and again, I'm not
sure if you're all hearing feedsthat I'm hearing all kinds of
voices and there's nothing inhere.
It's crazy.
So, yeah, there's literally I'min a.
There's nothing in here.
So so I'm going to ask Audreyand Carmen about purpose and how

(07:00):
.
What does purpose look like?
Is it different for you at thejob and how does that play out
for you when you think aboutpurpose and faith and you're
walking and things like that?
So I'll go to Audrey first, andthen I'll go to Carmen and I'm
going to go on mute.

Speaker 1 (07:15):
So purpose for me, you know, whether it's in my
personal life or at work, is toalways try to do my best.

Speaker 3 (07:26):
Right, it's one of those things that I do with.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
You know, as a child, whatever you put your, you put
out there to try to do foryourself, you always give it a
hundred percent.
And when it comes to my faith,I mean I started, you know,
following the Lord when I wasyoung.
I can remember, you know, beingat a Pentecostal church, just
as they used to say, parryingfor the Lord, right, just

(07:51):
waiting for the Holy Spirit tohit me.
And you know, even in that Igave it my all because I knew,
coming out of that, that he wasgoing to help guide it and
direct me in whatever it is thatI needed to do.
And giving again a hundredpercent, whether it's at home,
being a mom, or whether it's atwork, it's really important

(08:14):
because people see you and whenthey see you, they you want them
to see the Holy Spirit and theydon't want them to see Audrey,
because, as Keshia alluded to,this is not something you can.
There's not a light switch thatyou can turn it off and turn it
on.
So my whole purpose is to justhave people see who I am and the

(08:35):
God that I serve is real, andthere's no switch.
And whether that is at home orout in the workplace or even
just at Walmart.
Whatever it is, you still haveto show up and be the person
that the Lord has made you to beand take that with pride.
You can't shut that down.

(08:57):
You gotta ooze that, the faithand the grace that he's given
you in everything that you do,and that's kind of my.
Thing now so.

Speaker 2 (09:08):
Wow, that's powerful.
How about you, Carmen?

Speaker 1 (09:16):
Am I on mute now?

Speaker 2 (09:17):
Okay, we can hear you Okay.

Speaker 1 (09:21):
So for me and some of you already kind of know a
little bit about my journey butI actually separated my purpose
as a Christian with work becauseI was raised you know a lot of
people of color.
I raised, you go to work, youput your head down, you do a
good job.
You know, you do as you're told, and so it didn't dawn on me to

(09:41):
focus, to put my work and mypersonal life together.
I was at work to work and thenI would go home and it wasn't
until I just I felt this boy,like I kept asking God, what is
my purpose?
And, like everybody alreadyalluded to, you can't separate
who you are as a Christian withwho you are at work or at
Walmart or you know, whereveryou go.

(10:02):
You have to walk that Christianwalk 24 seven.
And I would say I'm still onthe bottle when it comes to my
purpose, like I haven't gottento the stake or to meet yet.
So the moment that I actuallyaccepted that and understood
that and started to walk in that, I started talking about God
more freely, more openly, as itapplies at work, there was no

(10:26):
filter, like I was talking to myboss about a challenging
situation and she made a commentand I said, yes, I had to go
into my prayer closet, right, itjust comes out, you know,
naturally, because you have tolet that light shine, you have
to let the God in you naturallycome out.
So when he said, do not beashamed of me, always thought
about you know, like Peterdenying Jesus.

(10:46):
But when you don't justacknowledge and walking who you
are as a Christian, it's almosta version of being ashamed,
right, because you're notwalking and who you are as a
Christian.
So I don't think you canseparate your Christian.
It's one in one.
Because God put us, he knewwhere we were going to be in
every single point of our lives,right?
So every moment is anopportunity to make a disciple,

(11:09):
every moment is an opportunityto let God shine in us.
So I don't think you know youcan separate those two.

Speaker 2 (11:16):
Wow, that's absolutely powerful.
Go ahead.
Was somebody gonna jump in?
Okay, so so, mckisha and April,I was thinking about what are
some of the challenges because,again now we're saying this as
folks who have been through somethings, y'all.
So it's not you know, just bearthat in mind.
We've had experiences, we'vehad trials, we've had

(11:38):
tribulations, we've had, youknow, we've had great days,
we've had terrible days.
It doesn't mean that everythingaround you is automatically
just easy peasy and we'resmiling all the time, and it
doesn't mean that we're includedin all, you know, every single
group.
It just doesn't.
It's just not that case,because we, I think we walk in a
different path.
But I wanted to find out alittle bit more about, like,

(12:01):
what are some of the lessonsyou've learned?
Or in the way that you showedup, you know, as a woman of God,
right, as a Christian, whatdoes that look like in terms of,
maybe, the challenges, again,just for the opportunity for us
to help somebody who might begoing through it right now.
So I throw it to April and thento Mckisha and then I'm gonna

(12:23):
open up to everybody.

Speaker 1 (12:25):
Okay, am I off mute.

Speaker 2 (12:26):
Can you all hear me?

Speaker 1 (12:27):
Okay, I would say for me personally, some of the
challenges that I've had justwith faith and career-wise
piggyback, kind of similar to ajourney like Carmen.
I grew up very religious in avery religious household where
it was the same thing Parents,you know you go to work and work

(12:48):
is work.
You know you're receptablethere and everything.
But then when you're home, youknow you go to the kingdom hall
and all these other things,right.
It was kind of like separateright.
And then when I got kind ofwhen I went over to college and
I started seeing other people'sjourney within Christ and how
they were open right to it, itkind of to me that was like okay

(13:09):
, wow, well, you can be openwith praising God and not just
kind of reserved with it, right.
So that started opening my eyes, especially in the workplace.
And then I think it was maybe afew years ago where one of my
peers at work would always speak, you know about God and you
know so thankful for how heshowed up and everything for her

(13:32):
.
And I remember looking at herand I was like and looking
around like is anybody, you know, is anybody looking at her you
know strangely, or anything likethat, and I'm proud of her for
doing it, because I feel thesame way.
But again, my whole life I hadto.
I was taught to be reservedabout it, right.
So with having those lines kindof intertwined and meshed

(13:55):
together, what I've learned isit's okay to be thankful for God
.
It's okay, like in a meeting,to be like you know what.
I'm here only because God gaveme the strength to be here.
Everybody's like yeah, Iunderstand that.
It's okay to speak freely andjust let it flow from you how
I've learned, because the morethat you kind of hinder yourself
and try to hold it back, italways seems the backfire on you
, right?
So one thing, the main thingI've learned professionally is

(14:18):
to you know people say like letgo and let God.
Like let him show up in thesituations that you need him to
show up with.
Like everything is alreadyplanned for us by him.
We just have to let him takethe lead.
And especially this year in mycareer, I've learned to do that
a lot.
You know a lot.
I've had to step back and belike you know what.
I'm not in control of this.
Someone else is.

(14:39):
I'm stressing myself out for noreason when I just need God to
just be in my life the way itneeds to go, professionally and
personally and everything else,and it's led to less stress on
me but it's strengthened a lotof relationships as well.
But then it's also kind of mademe question other relationships
too, right, professionally andpersonally, just what Hal is

(15:00):
perceived.
So one thing I can say is justbe true, you know to yourself
you may think people are lookingat you quote unquote crazy for
speaking about God or thankinghim, or you know playing your
music in your ear and they heargospel or whatever.
But it's okay because that'syour path, right, that's your
path.
You shouldn't have to hide whoyou are.

(15:21):
You know spiritually fromanyone.

Speaker 2 (15:25):
That's awesome.
How about you, Mekisha?

Speaker 1 (15:27):
Well, as you guys know I had to learn that my
service, even at work, is doneto the Lord.
So every day, learning thatkind of puts me in a different
headspace, because I know Idon't have to worry about trying
to get accolades or trying toimpress, because I know Jesus is

(15:49):
my work, my excellence is tohim, and so my focus switch to
trying to get accolades and makecertain people excited and
happy and stuff, because Godjust wants to say I will you let
you pray in secretly, I willreward you openly.
So I had to get to the point ofmaturity to know that man

(16:11):
doesn't control my destiny.
God has a purpose for me and Ihave an assignment.
I'm on the assignment and oncethe assignment is over, my next
purpose is gonna be in place.
Because he says I order yoursteps right, the steps of a
righteous man is ordered by God.
So my steps are ordered.
There's no accidents, there'sno coincidence, because God had
already ordered my steps, evenin my mistakes.

(16:34):
He already gave me a way ofescape, even in that.
Because he says when the enemycomes in like a flood, right, he
will raise up a standard.
So even in the midst of mysituations and things that I
thought that I was in controland he's like girl bye, you are
not in control.
I am steering this ship.
I'm just allowing you to ridethis ship.
You know what I'm sayingBecause I'm the one.

(16:55):
I knew you before you was inyour mother's womb.
I ordained you then for apurpose that you said yes to.
So you are gonna walk in thisassignment even though trust and
believe.
Some days I'll be like you knowwhat, god, I'm gonna try my own
path, but then I'll be likeMoses if you're not gonna go
with me, I don't wanna go.
I don't wanna go if you're notinvolved, if your glory is not

(17:17):
going with me.
Now I might be like, oh, I'mtired of the situation or tired
of everything going on, but fromthe heart of it is like, okay,
god, I'm gonna stop playing,because if you ain't going, I
really know.
If you're not gonna go with me,I don't want it.
I don't want the success, Idon't want nothing if it's not
overstated from you, because Iknow it's gonna take me away

(17:38):
from you and it's gonna be adisaster.
So if it's not from you, closeit, lock it, secure it, whatever
you gotta do, remove it,whatever you have to do, because
so you can protect me and keepme safe.
So that's where I had to do.
Wow that's a whole sermon y'all.

Speaker 2 (17:55):
So I'm just gonna open it up for just to talk
about our experiences and thingsthat we might have gone through
.
On the other side, we overcomeit, or maybe there's situations
that we're still in.
I was telling Audrey andMckisha before we went live in
the green room that my lesson,so we're in the month of August

(18:16):
and it's new beginnings.
And just this morning I waslike whoo-hoo, here we are, at
7.18 pm, eastern Standard Time.
I'm like, oh no, there'sanother lesson coming and this
one is about trusting God andI'm not ready for it because I
can't, you know.
So we're just talking about allof these things that happen
along the way, and I know in myheart and head that it's.

(18:39):
There's a pruning season also.
That happens.
So that's why I wanted to makesure I said that, look, all of
us are on a different path inour journey.
We're not saying this life iseasy.
It ain't.
It's easier to be honest.
It's easier to be out theredoing YOLO and FOMO or whatever
right, and not caring about youknow what the Lord thinks, or

(19:01):
thinking about what happensafter you leave this earth.
Quite frankly, that's what alot of people are doing.
They don't wanna care, youdon't wanna think about, you
know, being subjected to orunder anyone's or God's
authority.
That's why people kind of gocrazy and do whatever they want.
But when you truly accept theLord you can't go back.
Even if you're empty, like yourbrain, your heart, your soul,

(19:25):
you cannot go back to the lifeyou came from because you
understand what the path like.
So I just wanted to hear fromy'all just again.
Just chime in and share yourexperiences and tests and
challenges that either you'vegone through or you're coming
through or you know, just kindof share with our audience.

Speaker 1 (19:45):
Oh, I came off a mute , but I saw Keisha hand go up.

Speaker 3 (19:48):
I didn't know if you were about to say something.

Speaker 1 (19:51):
You go ahead, aindra, okay, well, just with not even
balancing you know your faithright with work.
But, justin, so personally, mytestimony is, like I said, I
grew up very religious, rightand everything.
And there was a point in mylife, like around 2017, 2018,

(20:12):
where I was one of those YOLOpeople, right, shelly?
Yeah, where I was like you knowwhat?
I have a good job, I have myplans, I have money, I'm having
all these kinds of things, I'mmaking decisions like just
willy-nilly with it, right, justgoing off of feeling and want,
right, and not what God had forme, right?

(20:33):
So I totally went off ofstraight Life.
My life like turned into a hugemess is the understatement,
right?
And then one day I woke up andI was like something has to
change, I need to go.
I moved away from my family youknow my faith, base, everything
and then one day I was like youknow what?
This isn't working for me,something has to change, because

(20:53):
I'm not happy, I'm sad, I'mconfused, I'm lonely, I have no
guidance, right, and it'sbecause I veered off that track
of you know, letting God lead mewhere I need to be at and as
soon as, when.
I tell you all, as soon as Imade the decision to find my

(21:15):
faith again, to at least try tostart living my life the way
that I need to live it again.
I got time to spend with mygrandma before she passed away
and become like her best friend.
I literally had gave upeverything in my life and I came
back and I had.
I found a job, I got anotherapartment.

(21:35):
I literally was able to justfurnish and rebuild my whole
life, materialistically butfaith-wise.
I had my family and my friendsthere with me and guided me.
It was like, hey, god loves you, come to church, come to church
with us, come to church with us, come to church with us.
And finally, one day I was like, oh, it's gonna be fine, I'll
come to church with you, right?
And it literally changed my lifebecause I had veered from you

(21:58):
know, actually going to churchto where I veered from, you know
only that neither is my Bibleor something like that, and I'm
okay that.
I wasn't okay with just that.
I needed to be aroundlike-minded people in order to,
in order to steer me back on mypath.
One bad apple can spoil thebunch, okay, if you're not there
, it's true, and the way, likemy God has blessed me since then

(22:24):
is imagine I met my husband,like I was at a point where I'm
like you know what, I'm gonnalive my life for myself.
And I remember I wrote on myrefrigerator things that I
wanted and a partner in life Iwasn't even thinking about a
husband at the time, but thingsthat I wanted and a partner in
life and I had it right next toa little card.
At the time I was going toPassion City Church and it was a

(22:48):
card from their 2020 kind ofconvention, right Like a seat of
a space, like hey, pray forthese people in this section.
So I had that on myrefrigerator and I one day I was
like you know what?
I'm just fed up.
I'm gonna write down all thethings that I need and a partner
.
And the first thing was theyhave to love God, they have to
have a family, like faith.
Then, like before, it was allthese other things.
But when I started just puttingmy faith back in there and

(23:11):
being around like-mindedindividuals in my family that
God led their lives andeverything came next, he started
to lead my life the same way.

Speaker 3 (23:19):
And so.

Speaker 1 (23:20):
I just had so many blessings since then and I
haven't looked back.
I want him to keep leading me.

Speaker 2 (23:27):
Wow, Thank you for that.
Go ahead Kisha.

Speaker 1 (23:31):
Gosh, I don't even know where to start.
You know, when you think aboutfrom the time when I was
conceived to now, you know, I'mgonna be 45 years old next month
, I'm starting my birthdaycountdown and it's like the
journey has been so rich, somuch has happened has led me to

(23:54):
this point.
But I guess I will start withby saying, you know, I didn't
grow up in a super religioushome.
My mom took us to church on theEaster and the holidays and
things like that, but I had apraying grandmother.
I had a praying grandmother andmy grandmother, you know,

(24:19):
really introduced me to Christ.
I remember being very young andher bringing over my first
Bible to the home.
And you know, there were timeswhen I was growing up where I
felt mistreated.
My parents were very I havevery young parents.
My mom was only like 16 whenshe had me and she married my

(24:42):
adopted, my stepdad, who's myadopted father.
He adopted me when I was 12.
And he's my dad.
I call him dad.
He raised me, but this man ishe's an incredible person.
We had a lot of turmoil growingup.
I honestly, you know now thatI'm an adult, it's hard to raise
a child that's not your own,even when you adopt them.

(25:03):
And you know, I think hestruggled with that, but not
only that.
He grew up, and it's importantfor me to tell you this, but he
grew up in foster care.
His mom left him when he wasyoung and he just has this very
had this and still does, thisvery strong determination to
make it in life.

(25:23):
You know, he's got like four orfive degrees, he's working on
his PhD, he's retired, he's, youknow, he's an incredibly
successful man, incrediblysuccessful man in spaces, that
where people don't look like him, and you can imagine the type

(25:44):
of aggressive energy it took toget there and be in his daughter
.
Okay, and I'm a no weak personeither, you know, and I don't
like to be controlled, I like to.
I have a mind of my own.

(26:05):
So, you know, I ended up goingto live with my grandmother.
We actually I had we actuallywith his job, cause he's an
engineer we ended up overseas,in Holland, and I was trying to
finish school and when I wasabout 17, 16, 17, I went to go
ahead and I just went back hometo the States and I lived with

(26:27):
my grandmother and I finishedout school and, you know, of
course, when I moved in with her, we were going to church and
that's when I really startedgoing to church on a regular
basis and really really justfeeling God.
Like even growing up, I feltGod's presence.
I felt like he was there.
I knew, I knew there was apresence, right, so I go.

(26:50):
When I went off to college, Iwould pray when I wanted
something.
You know what I mean.
It wasn't like a steadyrelationship with Christ and I
remember when I finished schoolwanting a job, wanting all the
things, and I was living in NewYork I'm from New York, living

(27:10):
in the city and wanting allthese things, and I used to
write down my prayers and putthem in my bra and walk around
Like I used to do, like littlespiritual things like that and
not, you know, not really havinga relationship.
Again, it was praying when Iwanted something or when I
needed something or when Ineeded God to deliver me and you
know, or when I was goingthrough something.

(27:31):
But it wasn't a consistentrelationship and there was a
point where, when I was gettingready, I was thinking about
moving out of New York.
I wanted to leave the city andI was thinking about different
places and I landed in Georgiaand one of my goals was when I
moved to Georgia.

(27:52):
I'm going to start going tochurch on a regular basis.
I'm going to start working onmy relationship with God,
because I realized that somethings from my childhood were
following me into my adult lifeand that was like something that
I understood about myself.
Like I was struggling with mymental health and I realized
that it was because of my child.

(28:12):
Things in my childhood that Ihad not processed, that I had
not healed.
And so I did that.
I came to Georgia and I didbegin working on my relationship
with God and it was just gosh.
I don't want to take up all thetime, but the journey has just
been intense.
It's been an amazing journey,but when you start opening up

(28:35):
doors and you start, I've beenthrough so much deliverance and
I feel like I'm in a place nowwhere the storm has settled a
little bit, but God's like we'rejust getting started and when
we have time, I would love toshare some details, but I'm
going to pass it to someone else.

(28:57):
But I will just say that God isreal, he has been so good and I
know Christ, not because whatsomebody told me, but because of
what I've experienced with him.
I know that when I was in mydarkest hour, when I was in my
darkest moment, it was Jesus whocame for me.

(29:17):
It was Jesus who held me when Ididn't want to live anymore,
when I just wanted to end it all.
And I can't go to a point whereI just decided to stay in his
arms, that I wasn't going tokeep getting up and trying to do
it myself.

Speaker 2 (29:34):
I am glued, I am honored.
I am trying not to bust out intears, keisha, because your
testimony is going to savesomeone's life and I know it
with every atom of my body thatyou needed to say that.

(29:55):
Somebody needs to hear that andI'm also grateful that you
share that.
It's not again.
It's not about it's arelationship and it's not about
a Christmas list or you run theGod like a laundry list or like
you run a.
Target run or it's not that itis a constant relationship and

(30:17):
it happens over time and Iabsolutely hear you and I hear
your heart and how much you loveChrist.
And I think someone mentionedI'm not sure if Carmen said this
it really doesn't matter, it'snot even that, it's not even
just at work, it's our lives.
Like this is like we're notfaking it.
This is literally who we areand we're bringing the

(30:40):
experience to work becausethat's where we are for the most
part, but this is literally whowe are.
So I recognize that each of youcarry something totally
different.
Keisha is the person who, if Iever need a Bible study or a
conference, I'm going to herbecause she knows where to send
me.
You know what I mean.
Like, everybody carriessomething different, but it is

(31:02):
through this refinement and thepurification and then what ends
up happening is, as you gothrough those trials, you learn
how to treat people who you workwith, no matter how ugly, nasty
and crazy things get.
You get refined so that you canoperate like that.
So let me pass to Carmen andNate and Audrey to have you guys
chime in and share what's onyour hearts.

(31:23):
Anybody can go.

Speaker 3 (31:28):
Yeah, you know what?
For me, the key or the changestarted to occur once I realized
that it's a responsibility.
That's the thing that mostpeople who haven't found God, or
when they stay away from Him orthey don't want to be connected
.
It's the responsibility Likeany successful relationship,

(31:52):
whether it's a marriage or afriendship, it's a
responsibility that comes withthat you can't just say, well,
today I'm going to be Shelley'sfriend, then tomorrow I forgot
Shelley's birthday.
It's a responsibility as yourfriend.
It's my responsibility toremember who I should remember
your birthdays and youranniversaries and when I talk to
you, to not just come to youwith a target list.

(32:15):
So, being a man of God, it meansthat I have to be responsible
to make sure that I pray for notjust the things that I want the
new car, a house and asuccessful job or the baddie on
my arm.
I should be praying forforgiveness, not just for people
to forgive me, but for that Ican forgive other people.

(32:35):
And that's the tone that youhave to set.
And so, like, because I havetwo daughters, that's important
that they see how my fathermoves, because as my father
moves, that's how I move.
So, in order for them to findthe right man in their life.
I do things based upon biblicalprinciples.
I treat them a certain way, Ispeak to them a certain way.

(32:58):
I try to make sure that if I'mout of pocket with them and he
sets that on my heart like Nate,you know you was wrong.
You need to go back andapologize to your daughter, and
so we have to have thoseconversations Because, again, it
is a responsibility that Godhas given me as the man to say
you're going to set the physicaltone for these ladies in your

(33:20):
life, and so acceptance of thatresponsibility is the key for
everything.

Speaker 2 (33:27):
Wow, thank you for that.
How about you, audrey, orCarmen?

Speaker 1 (33:36):
Well, I was just sitting here thinking about all
that's been said so far and oneof the things that I'm really
grateful for is God has given mea spirit of just being.
You know, people always sayAudrey is just very quiet.

(33:56):
I'm quiet because the Lordallows me to see, listen what's
going on around me, so that hecan guide me and direct me on
what I need to say and what Ineed to say.
So I try not to just mouth off,because if I mouth off it's
going to be Audrey speaking.

(34:17):
But if I allow the Holy Spiritto use me, then I say what the
Lord wants me to say at theright time.
And you know, sometimes itmight take me a day to think
about what happened yesterday.
But I'm grateful for the factthat he has given me that so

(34:37):
that I can then speak.
And again, it doesn't even haveto be anything about the Bible,
it's just direction at work,just guidance, just looking at
the people that are in my groupor in the group that I work with
and how things are going, andknow that they're wrong, right,

(34:58):
and taking that time to be ableto lay out the plan that the
Lord has put in my heart andpresent that and get the right
people on board with what theLord has said.
It's not, audrey, because I mayhave done something totally
different, but it allows me tojust write everything down and

(35:19):
present it in a manner whereGod's like don't worry about it,
just do what I ask you to doand you present it.
And I got to come.
And it's so funny I hear a lotof people talk about and we've
had these conversations.
I've been so blessed in that Igot laid off to Lexus, not once,

(35:40):
but twice, and I'm a boomerang.
Boomerang is when they let yougo and they realize they really
need you and they call you back.
And when they call you back,guess what I was hurt, can I
tell you?
I was devastated the secondtime because I didn't even get

(36:01):
to go into the office.
It was over the phone.
So I was broken.
Broken and broken to the pointwhere it affected my family.
It affected me being a wife, itaffected me being a mother.
It took only God to bring meout of that, because you feel

(36:25):
like you've given everything andthe Lord is like I didn't tell
you to give everything to them.
You was to give everything tome because I put you there.
They didn't put you there andit wasn't until it took two
years, took two years for me toget myself together and it was
God working on me so that Icould.

(36:48):
When they called me back, it washis time.
It gave me that time, gave methat chance for him, for me to
get back where I needed to bewith him.
So, therefore, when he calledme back different positions and
they were like you need to backand you're going to create this

(37:10):
position for you I went back andthey realized, even going back,
they weren't paying me enoughmoney.
I was like I'm going back, lord, but you know, something got to
happen and it did, it did andit all worked out where I got

(37:32):
the position that he wanted meto have and I got the money that
he wanted me to have.
And all of that to say, youknow, sometimes I was listening
to Jake on Sunday and he wastalking about God snatching you
out.
But God snatched me out becauseI got too into myself when I
was at the position the firsttime.

(37:53):
I was big director, this, thatand the other right.
No he snatched me out.
He snatched me out and hehumbled me and he, you know,
made me a better wife and abetter mom, because that was the
important thing, because my sonwas young and the Lord's like
you've been, I've been so careerfocused that I didn't know what

(38:17):
it meant to be a mother.
So he pulled me out of that sothat I could spend time with my
child when he needed me,dropping him off to date, and he
was the most important time ofmy child's life and you know, it
made me a better mom, I mean,and a better one because now we

(38:41):
can grow together.
So sometimes I'm saying allthat to say you know, sometimes
if you get too big for yourchild, the Lord will snatch you
out.
He will snatch you out and hewill build you up to where he
wants you.
So then you know, when you'remaking, you know one step, he's

(39:01):
making two, and you know it's areminder that we don't, you
don't do this on your own Everyday.
You got to, you know, when youwake up, you just all right,
lord, remove me out of the wayyou go forward, because I can't
do it without him.
I can't do it without him.

Speaker 2 (39:28):
Wow, that is thank you.
I can't, I'm at a loss forwords.
You said so much and there areso many moms that are facing
this same situation, that tossin between showing up for your
kids and showing up for the jobthat you desire not necessarily

(39:48):
the right one, and that is thatis so hard.
And then when he yanks us out,you know learning that lesson
and then being able to reboundwhat you did.
You overcame that and you did,and now you're in a much better
position and, as a mom, to justyeah, I mean, it's bringing back
days when I was choosing workover my daughter.

(40:11):
I did it so many, so many years, so many times, and it's just
bringing all those memories back.
So so let me tell Carmen.
And then I want to ask you guys,if you, what would you say?
Because you know we're onLinkedIn at least I'm on
LinkedIn streets all the timeand y'all see these reports
about job losses and I was onthere earlier today and there

(40:33):
were a couple of other largecompanies and numbers like 5,000
cuts, 10,000 here.
So there's a lot of people whoare dealing with job loss right
now and they may be people whodon't know, God right.
So what advice or whatencouragement can we give to
those folks?
And again, for those who are onthe live, most of our people

(40:57):
watch the replay and listen toour podcast, so, so what can you
share with them?
And then, Carmen, before weanswer that, I want to just make
sure you got a chance to sharewhat's on your heart as well.

Speaker 1 (41:10):
So for me, you know, we ask what does faith at work
look like?
Looks like, and we talk aboutpraying and talking about God.
But Audrey kind of already liketouched on it Sometimes faith
at work looks like you beingfaithful at work, yes, right.
So for me, a long time, when Iwas at work, I walked in the

(41:31):
ways of work.
That was my expectation.
Like I said before, I'm at work, right.
So if such and such has thesame skill set, why are they
getting promoted?
I was doing the comparison thingand justifying the comparison
thing because it was work, right, like at home.
I know I'm not supposed tocompare right At church she
sings soprano, I sing alto.
I'm not supposed to compare.

(41:52):
But at work I was walking inthat worldly thought because I'm
at work.
So why are these thingshappening to everybody else but
they're not happening to me,right?
So God finally showed me youhave to walk in that faith as
you would a personal issue, thesame way you would as a work
issue.
So he finally showed me don'tworry about her getting promoted

(42:15):
, don't worry about him gettingpromoted, because him getting
promoted is not what you'regoing to look like when you get
to that level.
So quit comparing yourself towhat this person is doing and
what that person is doing,because I have, even though it
may be the same title.
Your purpose is going to lookdifferent in that title.

Speaker 3 (42:32):
Come on now, ready Right.

Speaker 1 (42:35):
He was telling me you're not.
And he was telling me I didn'tsay you weren't capable.
I said you weren't ready forwhat I have for you and what the
purpose I have for you to walkin that role, because it's
bigger than what, like you know,the job wants for you Right.
I have a purpose for you in thisrole.
So you're not ready.
So I need you to sit your buttdown and learn the lessons that

(42:55):
you need to learn, because whenyou finally elevate, I'm going
to get all the glory in all ofthat Right?
So you are doing this for me,not because Katie and Karen and
Kathy and everybody else isalready at that level, you're
like, but I'm better than Katieand Kathy and Karen, right Like
into that worldly thought, andwe have to show up at work with

(43:18):
that same faith as if we weredealing with our marriage or our
children or you know the samething.
We have to walk that walk.
We can't forget that God put usin that spot for a reason and
quit worrying about everybodyelse.
So, and really quick, about the, about the um the layoffs?
Yeah, I can tell you, i'ma sayit real quick I was.

(43:41):
I lost, um, my my firstmarriage, um, I had three kids.
I was doing everything on myown.
I lost my first job.
I had got to the point where Ihad $2 in my pocket and I had
three babies to take care of andI finally got on my knees that
night and I said, lord, you knowwhat, I don't know what I'm

(44:03):
supposed to do, there's nothingelse I can do.
So if you want me to get mybabies and load my car and live
on the street, that's exactlywhat I'm about to do.
I had, i'ma tell you, I had$2.11 in my pocket and back then
I'm dating myself a roll ofturkey sausage was a dollar and
a box of rice was a dollar.

(44:25):
So I and you know we keepvegetables, you know we you know
we have to go to the house.
So I went to the store, I boughtme some turkey, I bought me
some rice, I put some vegetablesin together and that next
morning I got a call um from mycurrent job.
Today, Wow, the very nextmorning because I said, god, I
am going to deliver newspapers,I'm calling the newspaper people

(44:45):
.
Tomorrow I'm going to delivernewspapers, I will go work at
McDonald's.
You tell me what you want me todo, and the next day I got a
call.
Wow.
So for all of those people outthere that don't know what their
next steps are, if you don'tknow the Lord, you better get it
known.
Today I tell you what.
I have a similar story, becauseI've been laid off a couple of

(45:06):
times.
I mean, been through somelayoffs and I can remember when
my baby was my baby he's 14.
He got to start high schooltomorrow and, uh, but when he
was a baby, I was working atthis small company.
I was an operations manager ata staff firm and I went on
maternity leave, right, and I'mthinking everything's all good,

(45:28):
I come back from maternity leave, I'm ready to work, and it just
seemed like there's some funnyenergy in the air.
And so I'm there for about aweek and I get laid off and I
just came back and, you know, Ihave my baby at home and it's
like.
This is what my prayer to Godwas like Lord, I got two degrees

(45:49):
and I am more than capable ofworking and getting a job.
I said but if you want me to go, get in that line, I will be in
that line.
On Monday, I said, don't playwith me.
I just got real with God.
I said I don't want to be hereanyway, I will get home and I

(46:11):
will.
I will be that.
If that's what you want, I ammore than capable of working.
This is, this is your you.
You tell me okay, and and andI'm his child, so he's like oh
yeah.
She talks to me, but I'm goingto help her and I tell you what.
They gave me 30, 30 days notice.

(46:32):
I my last day on that job was aFriday.
I started my new job on Monday,making $20,000 more than I was
making at that job.
And I was like Lord, amen.
But let me tell you, I workedat that job for about two and a
half years before they laid meoff and I was like Lord, here we

(46:56):
are again.
And I ended up starting I, andthat was the job I had before I
came to Lexus and I said here weare again, lord, and I was in
Lexus Nexus.
When I tell you, they werepaying me some pennies on the
dollar Okay, it was a, it was acontract position I was like I

(47:18):
go to Walmart for this.
This is crazy.
But I knew Lexus Nexus.
I knew because I used to use itin school.
I went to school forcommunication, so we use the
tools in college and I said, youknow, this is a great company.
Maybe I can come here and I can, you know, find a position.
And I did.

(47:39):
And I did find a position andit wasn't paying what I was used
to salary that I was used tomaking.
But I tell you what I stuckwith it.
I went back to school on theirdime, I went and got my master's
degree and I stuck with it andnow my salary has exceeded what
it was before.

Speaker 3 (48:00):
And.

Speaker 1 (48:01):
I tell you, god has been so faithful and it was not
an easy journey.
It wasn't like boom, boom, boom.
It was some blood, sweat, tears.
It was some truths in my face.
It was it took some not gettingpromotions, not getting roles
that I knew I was qualified for,that I needed that.
It wasn't because I wasn'tqualified or I couldn't do the

(48:22):
job.
It was because you should, youneed to to to work on how you
dealing with people, because youknow I'm like I'm coming to
work and I'm doing the job andwe're going to get this done and
we can be friends later.
But I need to check myself onthat, because relationships mean
everything at work.

(48:43):
You know what I'm saying and youknow I've made up, been, you
know, a little harsher.
I may not have been asforgiving, because I think I'm
being excellent, I think I'mhaving a high standard where,
when you have people reportingto you and they make a mistake,
if you don't give them the gracebecause I wasn't giving them

(49:04):
the grace you know what I'msaying and I had to learn that
when I said I moved to Georgiacarrying a lot of baggage, I had
to let go of some thingsbecause it because it was
affecting my career, it'saffecting my myself as a person.
You know what I'm saying.
Like, when you're carrying allthat baggage, you don't want to

(49:25):
deal with people.
People are the enemy.
You know what I'm saying.
And sometimes we can just like Iknow for myself drown ourselves
in the work and forget aboutthe people.
And I had to come up and it.
And I tell you one thing therelationships that you have with
the people who really careabout you, when you open

(49:46):
yourself up far, are so worththe little petty stuff for the
people who are your enemy, orpeople that don't like you, or
people that are not going toaccept you for being your true
self.
The richness of therelationships you have when you
open yourself up with the peoplewho do accept you in your

(50:07):
authenticity, far outweigh allthat other stuff.
You know what I mean that yourhaters and everything, if far
outweigh, it's worth it.
It is worth it to feel that, tohave that richness in those
relationships.
And so and I couldn't do itwithout Christ he is the healer

(50:29):
of all things, you know, andwhen I pray, I don't pray.
I, yeah, I want things.
I'm not going to lie, I'm notgoing to say I don't want things
, you know, but prayer for me ishealing.
It is healing, it is a dailypractice, because when I was at
rock bottom, I said Lord, whatdo you want from me?
Because I'm going to God andI'm praying and I can't open my

(50:50):
mouth because I have so muchpain inside and I can't even
talk to God because I'm so angryand I'm so mad and I have so
much pain inside.
But I don't want to admit that.
I'm angry because I don't likethat word.
I don't like being a blackwoman and labeling myself as a
black woman.
Right, I had to admit and Isaid God, god told me, he said I
want you to open up your mouthand talk to me and I was just at

(51:10):
the point well, god, I'll dowhatever you say.
And when I started praying tohim and I started opening up my
mouth not just coming to him inmeditation, but just really
opening up my mouth and pouringout to him every day, every day
we have an appointment andthings started to change.
I just had so much healing andnow it's like Lord, where is my

(51:32):
prayer clause?
I can't wait to get to myprayer clause.
If I don't do nothing else, ifI don't do, I'll be like God.
We got some things we need todiscuss today.
You know, I got my name, I gotmy journal, everything.
And it's like you said, it's arelationship.
It's a relationship with Godand he is just.
He's always there.

(51:53):
He is always there when we needHim.
You know, the prayer closet isalways open.
I don't have to make anappointment.
I don't have to pay $1,000 fora session with God.
Exactly.

Speaker 2 (52:08):
There's no seed needed, right, no seed needed.

Speaker 1 (52:13):
And it's just.
I just am just in love with theLord.
I can't and I'm not perfect.
You know what I'm saying.
Yeah, I am not perfect person,by any means, but I know that I
know who God is in my life and Iknow that he is always working
on me and I know he's brought mesuch a long way.

(52:35):
He has brought me such a longway, like just delivered me from
so much that I can't even.
And in when I think I'm justdelivered, something else comes
out.
You know what?
I mean, yeah, and it's just ajourney, it's all a journey yeah
, it's a journey, and I'm justso grateful and so appreciative

(52:58):
I really am.

Speaker 2 (53:00):
Well, April, were you gonna say something?

Speaker 1 (53:04):
Well, I had a question for all of you, for you
all.
Yeah, off of what Hisha wassaying when we're on the other
subject, but first, just hearingjust your testimony about work
Hisha and Carmen's as well, andI have a similar story as well
that it's like it can be only byGod that brings you out of
those situations right when youdon't have anything, he comes

(53:27):
back.
But the question I had, hisha,you said that you felt you know
God's presence right, like whenyou start, you know, going to
church with your man, and Iwanted to ask you all what does
God's presence feel like to youall individually?
Well, I'll let somebody elsestart.

Speaker 2 (53:46):
It's amazing, it's okay.
Sometimes it's scary.
I grew up for a very, very longtime.
Angels have followed me always,so I've always had encounters.
I didn't really understand whatit meant for a long time.

(54:07):
I'm Jamaican, so in our cultureit's not really shocking Like
in the US.
For some reason people believemore demons than angels exist,
but it's just not the case.
But angels have always beenaround me, always followed me.
I've always had encounter,always had a connection there.
I knew I knew it was the Lord,and so there are times when it's

(54:29):
it's it's scary, like it'sscary because you're not like
I'll be in deep worship orprayer.
I had this.
I had two.
I have two things I'll sharewith you.
One one experience I had I hadlast year.
I was in in my house we have alibrary.
I was in the library.
I was in deep, deep, like onthe knee, worship, crying out,

(54:53):
and I was.
I was asking the Lord to showme what was on his heart,
because I felt like I wasn'tholding on my part of the
bargain.
Because I was.
I had my list and then Irealized I like he didn't care
about my list and so I was.
I was praying for days like,just show me what's on your
heart.
And and then what he showed mecrippled me.
I mean, I was floored down, butI felt the presence in my

(55:17):
library and I knew what.
I knew exactly what it was.
I also I'm very blessed to havewomen who've been placed in my
life, who confirm things to me,because sometimes I think I'm
crazy.
Audrey, you won't believe whatthis happened, right, you know.
So I have confirmation aroundme.
So so that was one and it wasscary.
And there's, there's been,times that I get dreams.

(55:39):
I get a lot of dreams, but Ihave, you know, I have, I've
figured out how to understandand receive, and these are
things I ask for signs andwonders.
So when I get them, I'm justokay, I know where it, where it
came from, so so the so theshort answer is it's amazing.
I think a lot of times peoplemiss the presence of God because

(56:02):
it's not always like that kindof an encounter.
Sometimes it's in the softestof things, sometimes it's you
know, sometimes it's just abreath and you know it's.
You just know if you're in thespirit.
You absolutely know, you knowwhen the Holy Spirit is involved
, and there's all theseconfirmations, so you don't
think you're crazy or you're,you're losing it, but it's

(56:24):
amazing.
It's amazing and it's open toeverybody.
It's not special.
I tell people all the time justa happy vessel.
I'm broken and I'm chipped, butI'm a happy vessel.
So it's not, it's not relegated, just to me.
You don't have to seed money toget it, it's free.
So yeah, so I'll toss it tosomebody else.

Speaker 3 (56:45):
For me it's, it's very, it's very calming, it's a
sense of serenity, because I amnaturally high, strong, so I'm,
I'm.
I always feel like I'm tenseabout everything.
When something is occurring, Iget, I'm easily excited.
So my blood pressure runs high,my hands sweat, I'm just always

(57:09):
my motor's always running whenI'm in those spaces of confusion
and I stop and God just kind ofslows me down.
It's almost like when yourunning fast and then you come
to a stop and you feel the windjust kind of yes that's what it
feels like, and when I'm in thatspace, I can feel his presence,

(57:31):
because I can hear my heartbeat, slowing down, and I feel
that presence and it's like okay, nathan, just relax.
You worrying about a bill, youworrying about this, you
stressed about that, youworrying about a thousand one
things, and all I need you to dois just look me dead in the eye
and hear what I'm saying to you.

(57:53):
Just relax.
Everything that you need you,you've already got it.
I've given you every tool youneed.
You just need to slow down,open your hands and realize that
it's already there.
And so like, as we're talkingabout the pressures of being at
work, and it's like one of myaunts told me she says, it's not

(58:15):
about who you work for, it'swhom you belong to.

Speaker 1 (58:19):
Come on now.

Speaker 3 (58:20):
That's the key to your entire process, because
we're in a bar to job and she'slike okay, companies, let you go
.
They changed directions.
They may come in and say youknow what, everybody who's
wearing black shirts, we'reletting you go.
Today, with Georgia being aright to work state, there's
nothing I can do.
Let me put on a blue shirt, itdoesn't matter.
They're going to say this isthe direction that we're going

(58:43):
in.
But just like I found one job,I lost.
I lost my job, the last job Ihad.
I lost it in the midst of adivorce.
So I'm going through a divorce,I lose my job, and then my
youngest daughter, her mother,tells me well, she's got to come
live with you now.
So all this is happening at thesame time and I'm like okay,

(59:06):
yeah, sure, oh, yeah, I am 48years old or whatever the age
was.
And I'm like what am I supposedto do with all of this?
And he's like, dude, you doingthat, you doing like Jonah right
now, you acting just like Jonah, I need you to get out of the
belly of the beast and juststand still and everything.

(59:28):
I was the part time job I wasworking at.
It was through a temp agency.
A friend of mine worked at thecompany I work for.
Now.
I say hey, man, I'm looking fora job.
He was like you know what?
Send me your resume.
He says we're going to get yourinterview on Wednesday.
I came in on Wednesday.
They called me back.
He said on Thursday.

(59:49):
He says I don't know what yousaid in that interview, but
they're going to offer you aposition on Friday, not the time
.
The company was hiring temp toperm.
Everybody was coming in wastemp to perm and for some, when
I got hired, I didn't go to himto perm, I came in straight
permanent.
And the manager was like howdid you go permanent?

(01:00:10):
I don't know, I just got hired.
So because he was like youshould be filling out the form
for for your hours through thetemp agency and I was like I
don't work for that company, Iwork here.
And the manager who hired me waslike your benefits and
everything starts on this dayand everything started the day I

(01:00:30):
.
Everything kicked in and I waslike, oh and again that phrase
that mine is not who you workfor is whom you belong to, and I
try to.
I keep that with me here andhere and, like I said, when I'm,
when I start stressing, I feelhis presence because I just
start, everything starts slowingdown and I see it starting to

(01:00:53):
occur and I'm like, oh okay,yeah, it's, it's, it's all good.
And that's that feeling for me,it's a feeling of serenity and
just being at peace with, likeyou know what, if this is the
direction that man is taking mein, that's fine, cause God has
taken me in a totally differentdirection.
I'm not supposed to be in thisposition anymore.

(01:01:13):
I'm supposed to be here becauseI am connected to the most
powerful thing in this world.
I don't have a just a superlife, I have a supernatural life
.

Speaker 1 (01:01:25):
And that's important yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:01:28):
So, you know that that's how for me to April.
That's kind of how it all worksinside of here.

Speaker 1 (01:01:34):
Go ahead, carmen.
For me, it's just two thingsApril peace and confirmation.
I'm starting to learn how tolisten, like you say.
How do you know it's Godspeaking to you?
The one thing that I learnedthat if it follows his wheel

(01:01:54):
that's one indication, right,like if it follows his word, if
it follows his wheel, that's himcause.
His word is what speaks to us,but it's peace and confirmation.
Like I got in an accident on ahighway.
I was with my daughter, with mychildren, and I thought that
somebody was trying to citeSwatney.
We on a busy highway and I'mthinking this car is rolling

(01:02:14):
right up on me, right?
So I'm in the fast lane withthe median and I just veer, and
all of a sudden the car juststarts spinning across the
median to the other side of thehighway and then I go through
the fence.
Not even 15 minutes later, apolice officer comes up to the
car and he said ma'am, I don'teven know, but I just happened.

(01:02:35):
He was on the same side of thehighway as I was going this way
and he just said I just happenedto look at my rear view mirror
and saw you spinning across theroad.
That was confirmation, right,like confirmation.
And then when, shelly, when youtalk about dreams, I'm always

(01:02:57):
the kind of person who's likeI'm not good enough for God to
use me the way he uses otherpeople, right?
That's why I said I'm still onmilk when it comes to my purpose
and my mother passed away ofcancer.
When I was younger, I didn'teven think about it.
When I was younger, I had adream that my mother died on a
roller coaster and thencompletely forgot about the
dream, right Like, never thoughtabout it ever again.

(01:03:20):
I was probably like 10 years oldand I had this dream and I'm
like I'm not telling my motherthat dream, right Like, and
completely forgot about it, gotit, raced it from my memory for
a while and then, when shepassed away, we found out she
had cancer in May.
She died in July and my familywas flying to Houston and going
to Georgia and we were just allover the place and in that

(01:03:40):
moment, like Chely said thatstill playing voice, god said I
showed you this.
Her journey with cancer was aroller coaster ride.
She passed.
You know, that was my dream andI don't think he showed me that
to give me insight about mymother.
I think he showed me that togive me insight that I need to
start paying attention to mydreams.

(01:04:03):
And I needed something thatimpactful to get.
He needed to do something thatimpactful to get my attention.
So for me it's like peace, andconfirmation.

Speaker 2 (01:04:11):
Yeah, that's powerful .

Speaker 1 (01:04:15):
Yeah, for me it's just calming.
I was telling Chely yesterday,you know, God was just been
working, just doing a lot in mylife and not necessarily all
good stuff, right, but it's goodfor me and so it's just clean

(01:04:40):
up and you know organizing andthings like that so that I can
hear, so that I can hear what hehas to say to me, and so it's
just really calming.
Yesterday I felt his presenceso powerful.
I was walking around my houselike this, like in awe, because

(01:05:04):
his presence was so real.
It was so real and I feltspeechless because he was.
It was just so powerful and socalming.
And the day went by.
I was like you know, normallyit's like, ooh Lord, if God
helps us, they hurry up.
Yesterday the day went so fastand I'm telling you, I went

(01:05:29):
through my entire house andprayed through my entire house.
I closed every time I prayed inthe room, because that's how
his presence was.
Every time I prayed in the roomI closed the door.
My husband and my son came homeand they were like, why are all
the doors closed?
I said because I went throughevery room in the house and I

(01:05:50):
prayed.
And my son he's such a littlesmart today.
He was like would you lockyourself in there?
I said nope.
I said I prayed and kickedeverything out.
Then I opened the front doorand kicked everything out the
front door.
He was like you gotta be.
I was like, no, when you go inyour room and you don't sleep
like a baby, it's just a calmingthing and some, like I said for

(01:06:16):
yesterday, it was just an awebecause it was so powerful and
it doesn't happen like that allthe time, but I definitely.
We were there yesterday andwhenever I start to feel stress,
I'm kind of like made.
I'm pretty high, strong and Ican get anxiety if I don't check

(01:06:40):
myself.
So I have to just kind of sitdown and pray and ask God to
help me and he typically does.
But it's really a calming forme when I'm in God's presence.

Speaker 2 (01:06:55):
Thank you for sharing that.
So we're gonna have Kisha andthen I'm gonna walk us through
our clothes.
How about you, Kisha, Well?

Speaker 1 (01:07:04):
gosh.
Sometimes God's presence is sosupernatural I don't even know
how to put it into words.
You know, we just feel anenergy around you and you know
you're not alone.
You know, I remember the firsttime I was able to speak in
tongues, I got filled with thisspirit.

(01:07:25):
It was one of those things.
I didn't even know what washappening to me.
I had gone to a new membermeeting at church and came home
and I was listening to someworship music and then something
just started pouring out of meand now I can't shut up.
You know, so many years ago andit has transcended.
But it's just a supernaturalexperience.

(01:07:47):
Sometimes I just feel hisprotection.
God speaks to me through myintuition, like I can literally
hear God speaking to me.
I don't have a lot of dreams andwhen I do dream, I don't
remember them.
So sometimes God speaks throughpeople, through their dreams,
and I'm always like, ooh, tellme about your dreams, cause God
doesn't talk to me that way, buthe talks to us in different

(01:08:09):
ways, cause I ask people say, ohmy gosh, I can't hear from God,
or God doesn't speak to me.

Speaker 2 (01:08:15):
I hear all the time.

Speaker 1 (01:08:18):
I heard you the first time.
Okay, I'm doing it, I'm going,but you know he speaks to us in
different ways and we just haveto embrace our kids.
It's just a supernaturalexperience, I would say.

Speaker 2 (01:08:36):
I love it.
This was so amazing.
I think we're going to have tocome back at the top of the new
year and kick us off withanother round and we can't see
how many people were in LinkedIn.
I just grabbed.
I just saw the comment thatthose numbers don't show up and
we can't see who's on the ParadeDeck Live TV.
So you know we can't.
But whoever's watching this,like I said, whether the live or

(01:08:58):
the replay, I absolutelybelieve in my heart of hearts
that this will bless you.
For anybody who's going throughanything you know, just know
that you're not alone.
And if you have nobody else.
There are at least seven people,eight people on this side of
the coin who are standing inagreement that all things are

(01:09:19):
working together for your good.
I am so honored.
Thank y'all so much for doingthis, for being honest and open
and putting your hearts outthere.
This is tough.
This is not something that isthat everybody does.
You know, people say authentic,but they really don't mean it
okay.
We mean it.
You know we absolutely mean it,and so we're going to tell

(01:09:42):
everybody goodbye and if youguys can just hang out in our
back room and you know while werun the closeout.
Thank you so much for watching.

Speaker 3 (01:09:51):
Thank you.
Thanks for having us, Shelley.

Speaker 1 (01:09:53):
Thank you, shelley.
There you go.
Hi, shelley, keep that in mind.
Have a great weekend.
Thank you, shelley.
I will see you next week.
Thanks, 198.
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