June 27, 2024 • 41 mins
What happens when you lose your way and then find a divine calling that changes your life forever? Join us as we vulnerably share our faith journeys, from early religious experiences to profound spiritual awakenings. We share Troy’s tale of growing up in a Lutheran church, drifting away, and returning with a deeper sense of purpose is juxtaposed with Shantel’s story of exploring various religions before fully embracing Christianity. Both of us faced moments of lukewarm commitment before realizing the necessity of a wholehearted 'yes' to Jesus.
In our heartfelt discussion, we underscore the essence of building a faithful family foundation, emphasizing the transformative power of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Moving to Atlanta by divine calling, we encountered God's presence in previously unimaginable ways, reinforcing our faith and commitment. Through parental influence, prayer, and leading by example, we reveal how to nurture a strong Christian home, even as children resist traditional church attendance. Our personal stories serve as a testament to the significance of remaining connected to Jesus to bear fruit in our lives.
Finally, we delve into the trials and triumphs that have shaped our marriage and business. From overcoming financial struggles to relinquishing idols like perfectionism and materialism, our journey reflects the profound impact of keeping Christ at the center. We explore the necessity of constant intimacy with Jesus, recognizing that God repositions our lives for spiritual growth. Our experiences are meant to inspire, offering a pathway to a deeper connection with Christ without enduring the same hardships. Tune in to discover how faith, surrender, and steadfast obedience can transform your life as it has ours.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In our last episode, we dove deep into our business
journeys and how they led us toworking together.
Today, we'll be talking aboutour faith journeys and how
everything came into alignmentonce we gave our full yes to
Jesus.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Oh and yes, it was.
So before we got to actuallygiving our full yes to Jesus, we
gave like a partial yes.
So, let's, let's just talkabout that just a little bit.
What brought us to our full?
Yes, troy, why don't you kickus off?
Speaker 1 (00:27):
So just the origin of this whole thing.
I'm gonna take them back to theGenesis, babe.
So I grew up in church.
I mean, like I grew up in aLutheran church.
We had church pews.
We had little benches that comedown for your knees so you can
get on your knees and pray.
We were all about church hymnsback in the day.
I was in Sunday school, biblestudy, all the things.
We had church lock-ins on theweekends, you name it.
(00:49):
I grew up in the church.
My family had me immersed inthe church and once I was old
enough to actually leave thechurch, I boogied and peaced out
on Jesus and came back to God.
Later on in life, as an adult,made a full decision to get
baptized, made a full decisionto surrender my life to Jesus,
went to Hillsong Church in NYC,did all the things like looked
(01:12):
at how I can serve the church,worked with the children's
ministry and really helping thenext gen.
We didn't have the term next genback in those days but that was
like the next gen Hillsong kidsand really mentoring those kids
, spending time with those kids,which was so fulfilling for me,
and then getting baptized andthat's a whole nother wild story
.
My baptism story is crazy andwe definitely got to get into
(01:34):
that one day, but that's when Igave my life.
I made a clear intention tohave a relationship with Jesus
and claim him as my Lord andSavior.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
And what did that relationship look like at that
time?
Speaker 1 (01:44):
For me at that time.
It didn't even, I'll be honest,it looked like lukewarm, as
they would say, Like I felt likestill half you know, halfway in
.
I don't feel that I was trulyseeking his face every day.
I don't think that I wasactually hungry for the word of
Jesus every day, the word of theBible.
I don't think that I wasseeking for his wisdom and I
didn't know about discernmentand praying over decisions and
(02:08):
having his spirit speak for me.
It was okay, Jesus, you're myLord and Savior, I love you, I'm
forgiven and I'm just going togo about life.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah, absolutely yeah , you know.
So my upbringing was totallydifferent.
I grew up in a Christianhousehold, but what that meant
to me was that we celebratedChristmas.
Maybe every now and then wewould like say a prayer if we
were with my grandmother orgrandfather from down South, and
that was it.
And so, yeah, there might'vebeen a cross here or there in my
(02:37):
household, but I really had noidea who this Jesus was, what
we're supposed to be doing withhim, the Father, the Holy Spirit
.
I had this vocabulary, but,honestly, had no understanding,
and so the spirit within me,though, was awakened and ready
and hungry to draw me in closerto Jesus and to learn him.
(02:58):
And I say that because,whenever I would stay in South
Carolina with my grandmother asa little girl, I'd always say
can you take me to church withyou?
And she'd bring me to theBaptist churches.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
And.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
I thought it was so much fun.
I would then go back to NewYork and ask my friends to bring
me to church with them, butthey were Catholic.
And so it was a very differentexperience and ultimately I did
experience a church in my teenyears.
That was great for me.
My friend Mia brought me and Iwas like, wow, like they got a
band.
This is a vibe it was.
(03:28):
It was, it was a greatexperience.
And so I still was like okay,but I still don't understand.
Like this feels good, but whatam I supposed to be learning
here?
What is like this whole faithwalk?
What is this faith journey?
And so now I'm an undergrad andI'm studying different
religions and I was reallycaptivated by Buddhism, hinduism
, judaism and Christianity and Iwould read about these
(03:51):
philosophers or thesetheologians or these people on a
quest to learn about faith, andwhat it showed me was that, wow
, like people are just on this.
Some people can be on thisjourney forever and not ever
have that understanding or thatfulfillment or know what that
purpose for them is and how sadthat was.
And so next thing, you know, Ifind myself getting invited to a
(04:13):
church that I fell in love with.
And next thing, you know, I gotbrought in to help found a
church with them, got baptized,like the day before I was
leading their children'sministry, like all of 22 years
old 23.
And I was like, okay, and sofrom that moment on I knew I was
(04:34):
a believer, I believed in Jesus, but I did not know still what
I was called to do as a person.
I thought I was supposed to bekind, be loving, be forgiving
and just do good.
And so literally for like thenext 15 years that followed, or
18 years that followed, prettymuch up until recent.
That is how I presented, that'show I did, and I thought I was
doing Christ's work by beinggood, doing good.
(04:57):
I didn't realize I was supposedto have that relationship with
Jesus either.
I didn't know it was supposedto be this reciprocation.
I thought I was supposed tojust perform or just be a
certain kind of person, notrealizing like there was so much
more in store.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
I love that and if you know being honest and
transparent, here too I felt thesame exact way.
I'm like, okay, I got baptized,I'm hugging some people, I'm
loving on these kids in thisministry.
I'm showing up to some of theseconnect groups Like we're all
about relation in this church,so we're building relationships
with people.
I'm in my YouVersion Biblereading devotionals but I'm not
actually in the word, trying tolearn the full word of God, what
(05:33):
his mission was for our life,what his intention was.
You know, I would go to church,hear the sermons, love all the
pastors, but just feel like Istill wasn't really walking out,
whatever it was.
Like I had no understanding ofwhat I was really doing.
I just knew that I loved Jesusand that I wanted to be good to
people, love on people.
I remember days walking in thecity.
I would go to Nike town, buyshoes, take my shoes off, give
(05:56):
those to homeless people Like Itried to walk out the acts but
as far as really being immersedin the word and seeking God, I
wasn't seeking God.
I was, honestly.
I think I was trying to just belike him, you know, which isn't
a bad thing.
I just didn't have the languageand the understanding and the
true fundamentals that I needed,but I feel like I was doing the
work.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, same.
And you know, I, as, I, as Ilistened to you and I think back
, it's like wow, you know, Iknow, between the both of us,
we've experienced some of thebest pastors, some of the best
pastors who've been able topreach such a great word, and
sometimes I'm like man.
I wish I could rewind 20 yearsand just sit back with my first
pastor and listen to all hismessages again, because clearly
(06:38):
he lit a fire within me to wantto be a kind, good, loving
person, a forgiving person and ahopeful person, but yet,
wherever I was in that timeperiod, it didn't click that I'm
supposed to have more withJesus, and so I am so grateful
for the encounter that we thenultimately were able to have
(06:59):
together that totallytransformed that for us.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I just want to shout out to all the life-giving,
life-speaking pastors out therethat are doing the same thing in
people now who might not knowexactly what it is you're
pouring into them, but later inlife God will connect the dots
and they will be used for thekingdom.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yes, and even you saying that, at times I go back
to my dad and my mom and I'mjust like, yeah, you just left
me out there, left mom.
And I'm just like, yeah, youknow, you just left me out there
, left me and my sister outthere, just to, like, figure it
out.
And my dad always said that youknow what?
We don't need to go to churchto be Christians, like we don't
need to observe these differentreligious practices in order for
(07:36):
us to have Jesus as our Lordand Savior.
And I didn't really understandwhat that meant.
And he said well, I knew thatyou're God's child and so he was
going, like it was hisresponsibility to bring you to
him.
And so, you know, we ensuredthat you had a foundation, a
Christian foundation.
There were crosses in the house,like for him, that's what it
(07:56):
looked like for him, and I amjust so grateful for his ability
to allow the Holy Spirit withinme to lead me and to follow
where the Spirit carried me,because I know there are parents
out there who might feeldiscouraged that their children
are perhaps lost or they haven'tbuilt a solid foundation of
faith in their home, and nowthey're in their early twenties
(08:18):
or thirties or teens, andthey're just.
You know.
They want to make sure thatthey can find Christ, and what I
want to say to them and remindthem is you know, when Jesus
ascended to heaven, he left theHoly Spirit within us to be
awakened and once we take him asour Lord and Savior.
And so don't worry, justcontinue to pray for your
children, continue to pray foryour loved ones who you feel
(08:41):
like are not yet on that journeyor that walk to Christ as you
would hope for them, because theHoly Spirit is there.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Yeah, and give yourself grace, I would say also
for the parents out there whoare so discouraged because their
kids don't want to go to churchor they don't feel like coming
to church, or when they're inthe church they're like, oh, I
don't want to get here.
We're like all trying tonavigate and find a way as
parents to raise children thatdo not hate the church.
But what we need to be remindedof is, honestly, in John 15,
(09:08):
verses 4 through 5, it saysRemain in me, as I also remain
in you.
No branch can bear fruit byitself.
It must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruitunless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are thebranches.
If you remain in me and I inyou, you will bear much fruit.
(09:30):
This passage basicallyillustrates a deep, abiding
connection that Jesus desireswith each individual person.
Chantel, you know what I mean.
So like highlighting thenecessities of maintaining a
close and personal relationshipwith Jesus is what the gospel is
truly about.
Church is amazing.
We love to be around otherkingdom-based families and be in
community with otherlike-minded believers, and it's
(09:52):
so important.
But maintaining that personalrelationship with Jesus and the
Holy Spirit and having thatintrinsic relationship, that's
what this whole thing is about.
So I encourage parents toreally just remember that and
refer back to this scripturewhen you're having those doubts
about your children that eventhough they like being there,
they're still trying to figurethis thing out and, more like
(10:14):
Maquenda would say, more iscaught than taught.
So you just showing them andyou showing up like that,
hopefully they are building thatrelationship.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Man.
That is such a great reminderfor parents to hear and to know,
and for us too.
You know we're new at this.
As far as you know, we havelittle ones and so.
I know something that matters somuch to us is that our children
have a solid foundation, afaithful foundation, and they
know that Jesus is there forthem, with them always, that God
(10:44):
is here to protect them andlove on them, and so at home, we
celebrate that.
We celebrate the relationshipthat we have, we talk about
talking to Jesus, and it bringsa smile to our faces, and now
we're able to see our childrenalso do the same thing, and so I
just love how we've been ableto take what we've learned and
the blessings that our parentshave given us and building the
(11:06):
foundation they built for us,and now we're like okay, that
was a great start, so let'scontinue to build on that for
our children.
And then, hopefully, ourchildren will do that for their
children.
I had mentioned before that wehad this amazing encounter with
Christ and this encounterhappened when we were here.
So let's bring folks back tohow we even got here.
(11:26):
Why we got here?
Because we didn't know thatwhen we moved to Atlanta that we
were going to have thislife-changing experience,
encounter with Christ right.
And yet Atlanta was put on ourhearts years ago to come.
And so let's talk about why wedecided to move, what led us to
leave everything we knew andeveryone we knew behind and go
(11:49):
into this isolation season thatwe did not know?
Speaker 1 (11:52):
it would be at the time.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
But what was it, what were we hearing and what were
we discussing that actuallybrought us to Atlanta?
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, god, just put this burning desire on us to
move.
It's 2020.
We have all these houses thatwe were trying to buy, put
offers on.
Nothing is going our way andwe're like we have to go.
And Atlanta just keeps comingup as one of the most diverse
and best places to live.
I mean, we've literally lookedat Dubai, we've looked at
Vancouver, we've looked at somany places and Atlanta just
(12:20):
kept coming up.
God just kept putting this onour heart.
Friends and family are like whywould you move to Atlanta?
Like you don't know anyonethere, like you're about to have
a whole nother child and youwant to just up and route your
family to the state 800 plusmiles away where you have no one
.
And we're like yes, this iswhere God is calling us.
We don't know why.
We don't fully get it.
We've never even been there tovisit, but we have to go,
(12:43):
literally walking by faith.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Absolutely.
And I remember when we thoughtthat we were going to close on a
house two days before ourclosing date where all of a
sudden the sellers pulled outbecause they couldn't find a
place to live.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
And I remember both of us looking at each other and
being so distraught for like awhole 60 seconds and then just
like swallowing it and beinglike God is saying go to Atlanta
.
We both heard it almost loudand clear, and two days later
you end up in metro Atlanta.
You're looking for homes.
Three weeks after that, weclose on our home they still had
(13:21):
our money in escrow.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
We had to fight to get that back.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
And it took three months to even just get to that
point.
That's what.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
I'm saying that heaviness.
And then when we get to Georgia, we close on our house in three
weeks.
We're going through a processof craziness for three months
and when God has his hands onsomething, he makes it happen in
a moment and he says my yoke iseasy, my burden is light, Like
(13:46):
that heaviness.
That wasn't him.
He's like my favor isn't onthis, my burden is light, and he
made it so easy for us to getthis house in Georgia.
That was just another furtherconfirmation that God had us
right where he needed us to be.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yes, I remember.
Right around this time we werelistening to a Justin Timberlake
song called do you remember?
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Just Be Justin Timberlake.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Just Be, and that song just held us down that
entire season and the nexttestament or confirmation of us
being exactly where we needed tobe was God putting it on us to
all of a sudden have a homebirth.
So we arrived here in MetroAtlanta in July of 2021.
Baby was due August 11th of2021.
(14:29):
And at this time we wereplanning to have a traditional
hospital birth, even though it'snot something that we were.
We just didn't know what toexpect down in Georgia.
And all of a sudden, you know,you read something, saw
something, we started doing alittle research and.
God just made it so clear thatwe're having a home birth, and
he even made that process ofgetting the right doulas,
(14:50):
midwives, all the resources.
He made it so easy.
Now the birth itself.
Another pod for another day.
That was so not easy at all.
But I remember on the fifth dayof my padromal labors, everyone
saying it's okay to go to thehospital now, and me really
tapping in to God and praying soheavily, more than I could ever
(15:15):
remember, just asking to helpget me through this, to
strengthen me, and that is whereEphesians 4.13 really came to
life in my life, that I can doall things through Christ, who
strengthens me.
And he did, and he broughtPhoenix into this world safe and
sound, and so that was suchanother strong, pivotal moment
(15:36):
for both of our faith to justgrow so much stronger, because
that was such a whirlwind of anexperience.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Can't wait to talk about that more.
Even in that moment, we wereworshiping.
We had a playlist of gospelmusic and we were literally
worshiping in that moment, and Itruly believe the presence of
the Holy Spirit was with us andgave you the strength to carry
through with everyone around.
Even the midwives were like hey, if you want to tap in right?
Now it's okay to tap in, but Ibelieve that God really had his
(16:03):
hand on you and saw it through.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
He absolutely did, and so that's the next
confirmation right, okay.
Confirmation, but also gave usthe ability to say, okay, this
is a great God, like again, wewere believers, right, but we
didn't have that relationship.
And that really was like I'mgetting chills even saying this
that really was like I am withyou, I am here with you and just
(16:26):
continue to lean into me andallow me to provide and show up
for you.
And so that was that.
And now we fast forward a fewmonths.
You know we talked about in thebusiness story last episode how
I tried to do all the thingsbut we ultimately decide to work
together, and so can you speakto.
How did that also allow ourfaith to grow stronger, us
(16:47):
coming together as one in ourbusiness?
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yeah, our faith started to grow.
It's surreal what God was ableto do with us.
Let me actually read scriptureif you don't mind.
I want to go to Ecclesiastes 4.
This is a New LivingTranslation.
A person standing alone can beattacked and defeated, but two
can stand back to back andconquer.
Three are even better, for atriple braided cord is not
easily broken.
(17:10):
So now, when we actually havethe presence of God right, we're
actually focusing on ourrelationship with God.
He is making us hungry for himand he is in the center of our
marriage.
We are starting to do thingsthat we were never able to do
before.
Since coming together, we aremaking more money than we've
ever had.
We are doing five figure monthsLike God is just blessing and
(17:30):
anointing our business in a waythat we can never even think or
imagine.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Right and we also saw him in our marriage.
Like our relationships got somuch deeper with one another.
We really incorporated prayermore into our life.
We were at this time attendingan online church but we were
listening to the word all thetime like every single day, not
even just on Sunday.
And we really started seeinglike, wow, god has his hand on
us, he has his hand on ourfamily, he has his hand on our
(17:58):
finances, he has his hand on allthe things.
And so we got excited.
We said this is why God broughtus here because he just wanted
to put favor on us.
He wanted us to work togetherand make partners.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
He wanted us to have autonomy, he wanted us to build
a legacy, and so we werechilling, we were outside.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
We were going on vacations.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
We were doing all the things.
Why did I have all thosewatches?
Listen, we definitely,definitely, definitely were not
humbled at that time.
We fumbled God's favor.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
We fumbled God's favor, yes, and we thought we
almost like were entitled to it,that we deserved it, that like,
oh, we worked so hard all theseyears Like this was coming to
us.
We finally are reaping what wesowed and we fumbled it, we
wasted it.
We were such bad stewards of allthe resources that God gave us.
(18:49):
And so, next thing, you know,we find ourselves in a new local
church that planted here.
We're so excited about it andagain Holy Spirit started
shifting within us, startedtwisting our stomachs, making us
even more hungry to serve andget to know Him, but starting to
not feel so good about what wewere doing on a day-to-day.
(19:10):
Like when it came to ourbusiness, it's like, okay, who
are we truly impacting?
And he really started makingSpartaners something to really
focus on more of, versus thecontent creation.
And so next thing, you know,he's like, all right, I got
something else for you.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Come this weekend to this church for an experience.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
And we weren't going to go.
Yeah, remember that night wewere like we're going to go.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Yeah, I remember that night we were going to just do
us.
We were like we're just goingto go grab some wine, have a
date night.
We're going to cut outBabysitter with the kids.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Yeah, and I remember saying to you you know what, if
we don't go, we're going toregret it, yeah so like, we can
always go to this event and thenget wine afterwards.
Absolutely.
And we left that weekendconference in unison with not
(19:57):
only each other but with Christat the center.
We left that weekend feeling soguilty, dirty, ashamed.
We know that wasn't God thatwasn't his intention.
No, but we also know that heallowed us to experience those
things.
So that way we will nevermismanage or fumble the blessing
and favor God gives us everagain.
So that weekend we call ourencounter.
(20:20):
How blessed are we as a coupleto be able to have an encounter
at the same time with our Lordand Savior that truly changed
our lives Absolutely.
I remember the pastors at ourchurch then said you know,
people have experiences withChrist all the time.
You go to service.
You hear worship music, you cry.
It makes you think of somethingoh, my goodness, that was so
meaningful.
But then the next day you carryon your life the way you were
(20:41):
before.
An encounter, however,completely changes your life.
There is no way you can go backto who you were before that
encounter.
And that is us.
That worship conference weekendthat has transformed and
changed our lives Absolutely.
And talk about a faith storybecause since then our faith got
tested and tested, and testedand strengthened, and
(21:05):
strengthened.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
We went from five-figure months to months
where we were not making anymoney at all and during those
times we were able to pray andlean in and still grow and still
maintain connection andfriendship and intimacy.
You know, when it comes to moneyspecifically, we know money is
one of the things that candivide a marriage and we decided
to lean into God during thosetimes, we decided to show up in
(21:29):
prayer, we decided to be mindfuland try to be good stewards and
God has anointed us in manydifferent ways through these
experiences.
We've come through so manytough challenges in this season,
but through all of it we havegrown closer in our individual
relationships with Jesus, butthen also within our marriage
and being centered in ourmarriage.
(21:49):
We went from being frivolousand beingivolous and having all
the idols and all the thingsthat were literally our gods,
whether it was perfectionism foryou and perception for you and
what it looks like and for me,my vanity and my body was even
an idol at one point and thewatches and all these things
that we put in front of us, andI just think it's so beautiful
(22:12):
what he's been able to do andever since surrendering to Jesus
and being on his faith walk.
He's just blown our world.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Yeah, absolutely.
And, like you know, when Ithink about the last 18 months,
as when this podcast is beingrecorded, and how much my faith
has just grown, I truly sit backand get like teary-eyed because
I finally now know what it isto have a heavenly father.
I now know what it is to havesomeone who will be a Lord of
(22:44):
provision, of protection, ofhealing, of grace, of mercy, of
kindness, of forgiveness.
I know what it feels like tohave someone who will provide
comfort and just the ability tolove me unconditionally, no
matter what, so long as I repent, so long as I keep my faith
(23:04):
strong and so long as Iacknowledge him as my Lord and
Savior.
And so earlier on in our timetogether, we mentioned you
mentioned how you were lukewarm,or we were lukewarm one foot in
, one foot out.
And after that encounter Iremember just wanting to having
to fully surrender and becomeobedient to God and me as a
(23:25):
control freak type, apersonality, all the things
surrendering and obeying anyoneelse but me was just not
happening, and obeying anyoneelse but me was just not
happening.
And so not only did I learn toobey Christ and surrender to him
and allow him to use me as hisvessel, because I'm not here for
my own fulfillment, I'm herefor his fulfillment.
He has put me here to completea task, to complete a ministry,
(23:50):
to do some good work for him,and so by me consistently trying
to control my own life, I'mfighting him.
I'm not allowing him to use meto do whatever he needs me to do
, and so I left that weekend infull in what I thought was full
surrendering, because I realizedwhen I did my life.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
I have to keep surrendering, every single day,
every day um but?
Speaker 2 (24:09):
but I left ready to surrender to him and to you as
the head of our household, asthe spiritual provider for this
family and for the person that Iknow will continue to
strengthen my own faith.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
And I thank Jesus just for that alone, because, as
you were to submit to me, I amto honor you and I didn't even
have the language, I didn't havethe understanding of that role
as a kingdom man, as a husband,what my role was.
But I thank God that you knowwe talk about.
You know all the idols,everything we've went through,
all the stuff, and no matterwhat, his grace is sufficient,
(24:47):
because we are owed nothing.
You know what I mean.
There's nothing that we can do.
We were bought at a price ofthe blood, right Like we saw
what God was doing in the Bibleearly on in the Old Testament,
before the sacrifice of Jesus.
And if it wasn't for Jesus, noneof us would be here right now.
(25:07):
Like that sacrifice has wipedour slates clean.
There's nothing that we can do.
It's already done.
He just wants us to love himand to trust him as our Lord and
Savior and keep him first.
And what we're supposed to doas believers is, you know, come
on this podcast and preach hisgood news.
We are supposed to shrink insize so that we can magnify his
(25:29):
good word.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
And we have been shrinking.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
We have shrunk.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
And you know, over the last 18 months of this faith
journey and this faith walk, Ibelieve that we we're like
babies, novices, newbies,because, yes, we took Christ as
our Lord and Savior.
We read the word we behavedwell.
Read the word we behaved well,you know.
(25:57):
But it's so much more than justbehaving well and doing good
and being nice and kind.
We are actually supposed to bein constant communication and
relation with Jesus because atany moment, at any moment, he
can ask us to do something andwe need to be available to
listen.
We need to be available to andwe need to be available to
listen, we need to be availableto act, we need to be available
(26:18):
to go, and last year, in orderfor us to get to that point that
we are now, in order for us tohear him, he had to remove so
many things from us and, as youmentioned, he did just that.
He wasn't going to be able todo that to us in New York.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
New York was too loud too chaotic New York was too
comfortable, too comfortableright, we had too many
distractions.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Like there was no way that we were going to be able
to move from where we were towhere we are now in New York.
And so I am so grateful thatJesus called upon us so loudly
to go, and I'm so grateful thatwe had the discernment and the
ability to hear it, because bygoing, we allowed for this
season of isolation, we allowedfor the season of pruning and we
allow for God to truly use usas he has intended Absolutely,
(27:08):
and that is where our faith istoday.
Our spiritual walk, our faithwalk, has been quite a
rollercoaster ride, but I willsay that it has grown stronger
and stronger and stronger themore he removes things, and he
don't need to remove anythingelse.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
He does not need to remove anything else.
He's not to be honest, he's noteven removing anything, he's
just repositioning.
You know what I mean?
Like I think that's even aspiritual maturity growth moment
.
That I'm having now is likesometimes we think that God is
just taking, taking, taking.
But again, his burden is light,right, his, his, his yoke is
(27:43):
easy and he's not necessarilytaking anything from us, he's
just repositioning things in usnow.
So it's like the things that wehad.
It's not a problem to havethose things, as long as those
things don't have you.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
You know what I mean Can you say that again it's it's
not a problem to have the thing.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
There's a problem for the things that have you.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
And what are those things?
Speaker 1 (28:02):
The things are the idols.
Anything that can get inbetween the relationship with
you and your Lord and Savior.
Your job can be an idol.
Your title can be an idol, thatcollege degree that you got can
be an idol.
The car that you drive can bean idol.
The sorority that you pledgecan be an idol.
Anything that is a part of youridentity can be an idol.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Your need to control can be an idol.
Your need for validation can bean idol, your need to be seen
can be an idol.
Your need to just have, yourneed to have whatever it is that
you feel like you need to havecan be an idol.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Yeah, and that's the thing again.
So God's not saying that youcan't have the things.
He's not saying that you can'tbe proud about the job you have
or all of those things.
But when those things becomeyour God, when those things
become your identity, that'swhen he's like no, I got to
reposition and move these things.
And when you steward properly,when you seek first his kingdom
and his righteousness, all theother things will be given to
(28:55):
you.
We serve a good God who wantsyou to have things.
He wants you to feel confident.
He wants you, but he wants youto know who is responsible for
everything that you have.
And that is truly what thisthing is about is seeking first
his kingdom.
He loves us.
As a father to my children, Iwant my children to walk this
life and I want them to have allthe things, but I want them to
(29:16):
also have gratitude.
I want them to not be entitledand I want them to know where
their provision comes from rightas their earthly father, and I
believe it's the same thing forour spiritual father.
He wants gratitude, he wantsglory, he wants us to be
appreciative and he wants us toseek him.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
You know what I mean and would you say, you've
learned all that through theseason that we've been through.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Oh, absolutely.
I believe that God has justbeen cutting at our hearts and
removing all the parts of ourlife that don't serve him, to
get closer to him so that he canbring back, and he's been
blessing us in so many differentways and I think he's been
revealing to us the true thingsthat are important in this life,
because we come from a place of.
(30:00):
These are the things like ouridentities were caught up in so
many things and it's like noneof these things are going to
sustain you.
And I believe that we are atrue representation of when you
think about.
You know, making all the money,the beautiful family, driving
the cars, the vacations, thefollowers, the this, the that,
like we've literally had all ofthat and still felt empty empty.
(30:22):
So I pray that people, you know,because culture says chase
those things.
That's happiness, that'ssuccess, that's freedom, and it
couldn't be further from thetruth.
Those things are not wrong,those things are not bad, but
without God in your life,without that relationship with
Jesus, you will be trying tofill a void forever that you
(30:43):
cannot fill.
Happiness doesn't come fromthose things, it comes from our
Savior.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
You know, and for us, we had to learn through going
through one of the toughestseasons that we've ever endured
in our lives.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
We, although we were in church, we just didn't get
the message.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
We just we didn't hear the message of like needing
to fix your eyes on Jesusalways have a relationship, and
so, as listeners and ascommunity members of our family
here on our Spartaners podcast,we want to help you be able to
have that relationship withChrist, and so we want to
encourage you to, without havingto go through a season like
ours, and it may have to miss amark.
(31:22):
We wanted to share some thingsthat you can do to help
strengthen your faith in Christ,and so the things that work for
us is prayer.
We pray all the time.
We pray as soon as we wake up,by giving God the glory and
thanks for allowing us to seeanother day.
We ask for supplication, we areasking for intervention or
intercession for other people orthings going on, but our prayer
(31:45):
life is very, very strong.
We also pray throughout the dayas different decisions are
needed to be made, as we getopportunities or blessings.
Throughout the day, we praiseGod, we worship.
We are a family who worshipsall the time.
We love to sing, love to dance,and we also do this as a family.
Just so you know, we do thisindividually and we do this as a
couple and we do this as afamily.
(32:07):
Just so you know.
We do this individually and wedo this as a couple and we do
this as a family with ourchildren worship and prayer.
What are some other thingspeople can do to just build
their faith and spiritual life?
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Well, earlier on in the episode, we said that you do
not have to go to church to bein relationship with Jesus.
But I also want to make it veryclear that finding a good
church, being around otherbelievers and having that
community is so important,because having a great circle of
people that will pray for youand pray with you can change the
trajectory of your life.
(32:34):
So having a community of peoplethat can pray for you, pray
over you when you're goingthrough a hard time, can change
things.
And if you don't have thatcommunity, you have that
community right here.
We didn't have that communityat one point, we didn't have
that wise counsel, but you haveaccess between me and Chantel.
Submit your prayers, submit yourrequests.
(32:56):
You can text us through thispodcast.
On every episode.
We would love, as pastors, topray for you, to pray for your
family, to pray that God blessesyou and anoints you.
We want to walk this thing outwith you because we know what
it's like to do it without acommunity and to actually build
a community.
So that's something.
Lean on the fact that you evenhave us to pray with you and
pray over you.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
Absolutely, and we're going to save the best and
maybe the most obvious for lastas a way to just really
strengthen your faith.
But it is to read the livingwords.
Get your hands on a Bible,whether it be a tactile,
physical Bible or the Bibleonline.
Read that word daily, everysingle day.
It is the armor of God that youwill be able to use as your
(33:35):
sword to fight off whatevercomes your way.
Read the word, and if you don'tknow how to read the word,
where to start?
We can talk about that in otherepisodes.
There are so many resources ofpeople trying to help you, but
pray about it and then open yourBible and begin Amen, I love
that.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
I'd also like to add to that that on the days and
this is I'm giving you advicethat I've taken from Wise
Counsel On the days when youcan't read the word, listen to
the word.
We always have our phones withus.
You're in the car, you'rewalking, you're doing something.
Open that YouVersion, thatdigital Bible and press play and
listen to the word.
Because when Jesus and hisdisciples were going from town
(34:15):
to town, people were not openingtheir Bibles, they were
listening to God's word.
That's how God's word wasministered was listening to
God's word.
So when you can't read the wordand get into it, listen to his
word.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
So when you can't read the word and get into it,
listen to his word.
And for those of you who arelike, but why, why, why?
If you have taken Jesus as yourLord and Savior, then you know
that you can find just how tolive your life by opening up
that Bible he has made it soclear.
If you are going through amoment of anxiety, a moment of
pain, a moment of humility, amoment of just disgrace, Open
(34:49):
the Bible and see how did Jesushandle this.
There used to be a saying whatwould Jesus do?
Speaker 1 (34:51):
But it is so real, what would Jesus do?
Speaker 2 (34:55):
So open the Bible and explore, and you can also open
the Bible when great thingshappen to you too, because the
living word is literally theliving word.
There's something for everyone,in every season of your life,
that you can find in that book.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Listen, I got scripture.
I got scripture to back it up.
Baby, Please Listen.
God just brought it right hereHebrews 4, 16.
So let us come boldly to thethrone of our gracious God.
There we will receive his mercyand we will find grace to help
us when we need it most.
Come to the throne of God.
His living word is another waythat we get to communicate with
(35:31):
him, and when you go to hisliving word, you will receive
mercy and you will find gracewhen you need it the most.
Whatever you are going through,you can find help in that book.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
All right man, we could talkabout our faith all day long,
but the biggest part that I loveabout our faith is how it has
been able to align our marriage.
It has been able to align ourbusiness with it, and so it's
not that our marriage is beingaligned with our business or
(36:03):
that our business is beingaligned with our faith.
No, it is the faith that wehave.
It is our faith in Jesus thathas aligned our marriage, that
has aligned our business andthat has aligned it all together
.
So that way we can be whole, wecan be used and that way we can
serve.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
Yes, I got nothing to say after that.
That is it.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Let's close out in prayer.
Babe, I love you, heavenlyFather.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
We thank you, lord.
We thank you for the awakening,lord.
We thank you for theopportunity to grow closer to
you, lord, in relation.
We thank you for your provision, lord, Jehovah Jireh, you are
our provider, lord, and we thankyou for your mercies, new
mercies every day.
Lord, we know that there'snothing we can do to please you,
lord, other than seeking yourface.
(36:50):
We were bought at a price, lord, and we thank you, lord.
It is by the blood, and theblood alone, that we are here,
and we are so grateful for whatyou have done and the sacrifice
that you have made for us.
Lord, may we seek you first ineverything we do.
May we live our lives tomagnify and glorify you and
bring people to you, lord, asshepherds, may we smell like
(37:10):
sheep all the time, lord, byglorifying you, by bringing your
people to you and being theproper representation of you on
this earth.
Jesus, we thank you, yourmighty name, we pray.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
Amen, amen Until next time.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Peace out y'all.
In our last episode, we dove deep into our business
journeys and how they led us toworking together.
Today, we'll be talking aboutour faith journeys and how
everything came into alignmentonce we gave our full yes to
Jesus.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Oh and yes, it was.
So before we got to actuallygiving our full yes to Jesus, we
gave like a partial yes.
So, let's, let's just talkabout that just a little bit.
What brought us to our full?
Yes, troy, why don't you kickus off?
Speaker 1 (00:27):
So just the origin of this whole thing.
I'm gonna take them back to theGenesis, babe.
So I grew up in church.
I mean, like I grew up in aLutheran church.
We had church pews.
We had little benches that comedown for your knees so you can
get on your knees and pray.
We were all about church hymnsback in the day.
I was in Sunday school, biblestudy, all the things.
We had church lock-ins on theweekends, you name it.
(00:49):
I grew up in the church.
My family had me immersed inthe church and once I was old
enough to actually leave thechurch, I boogied and peaced out
on Jesus and came back to God.
Later on in life, as an adult,made a full decision to get
baptized, made a full decisionto surrender my life to Jesus,
went to Hillsong Church in NYC,did all the things like looked
(01:12):
at how I can serve the church,worked with the children's
ministry and really helping thenext gen.
We didn't have the term next genback in those days but that was
like the next gen Hillsong kidsand really mentoring those kids
, spending time with those kids,which was so fulfilling for me,
and then getting baptized andthat's a whole nother wild story
.
My baptism story is crazy andwe definitely got to get into
(01:34):
that one day, but that's when Igave my life.
I made a clear intention tohave a relationship with Jesus
and claim him as my Lord andSavior.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
And what did that relationship look like at that
time?
Speaker 1 (01:44):
For me at that time.
It didn't even, I'll be honest,it looked like lukewarm, as
they would say, Like I felt likestill half you know, halfway in
.
I don't feel that I was trulyseeking his face every day.
I don't think that I wasactually hungry for the word of
Jesus every day, the word of theBible.
I don't think that I wasseeking for his wisdom and I
didn't know about discernmentand praying over decisions and
(02:08):
having his spirit speak for me.
It was okay, Jesus, you're myLord and Savior, I love you, I'm
forgiven and I'm just going togo about life.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah, absolutely yeah , you know.
So my upbringing was totallydifferent.
I grew up in a Christianhousehold, but what that meant
to me was that we celebratedChristmas.
Maybe every now and then wewould like say a prayer if we
were with my grandmother orgrandfather from down South, and
that was it.
And so, yeah, there might'vebeen a cross here or there in my
(02:37):
household, but I really had noidea who this Jesus was, what
we're supposed to be doing withhim, the Father, the Holy Spirit
.
I had this vocabulary, but,honestly, had no understanding,
and so the spirit within me,though, was awakened and ready
and hungry to draw me in closerto Jesus and to learn him.
(02:58):
And I say that because,whenever I would stay in South
Carolina with my grandmother asa little girl, I'd always say
can you take me to church withyou?
And she'd bring me to theBaptist churches.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
And.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
I thought it was so much fun.
I would then go back to NewYork and ask my friends to bring
me to church with them, butthey were Catholic.
And so it was a very differentexperience and ultimately I did
experience a church in my teenyears.
That was great for me.
My friend Mia brought me and Iwas like, wow, like they got a
band.
This is a vibe it was.
(03:28):
It was, it was a greatexperience.
And so I still was like okay,but I still don't understand.
Like this feels good, but whatam I supposed to be learning
here?
What is like this whole faithwalk?
What is this faith journey?
And so now I'm an undergrad andI'm studying different
religions and I was reallycaptivated by Buddhism, hinduism
, judaism and Christianity and Iwould read about these
(03:51):
philosophers or thesetheologians or these people on a
quest to learn about faith, andwhat it showed me was that, wow
, like people are just on this.
Some people can be on thisjourney forever and not ever
have that understanding or thatfulfillment or know what that
purpose for them is and how sadthat was.
And so next thing, you know, Ifind myself getting invited to a
(04:13):
church that I fell in love with.
And next thing, you know, I gotbrought in to help found a
church with them, got baptized,like the day before I was
leading their children'sministry, like all of 22 years
old 23.
And I was like, okay, and sofrom that moment on I knew I was
(04:34):
a believer, I believed in Jesus, but I did not know still what
I was called to do as a person.
I thought I was supposed to bekind, be loving, be forgiving
and just do good.
And so literally for like thenext 15 years that followed, or
18 years that followed, prettymuch up until recent.
That is how I presented, that'show I did, and I thought I was
doing Christ's work by beinggood, doing good.
(04:57):
I didn't realize I was supposedto have that relationship with
Jesus either.
I didn't know it was supposedto be this reciprocation.
I thought I was supposed tojust perform or just be a
certain kind of person, notrealizing like there was so much
more in store.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
I love that and if you know being honest and
transparent, here too I felt thesame exact way.
I'm like, okay, I got baptized,I'm hugging some people, I'm
loving on these kids in thisministry.
I'm showing up to some of theseconnect groups Like we're all
about relation in this church,so we're building relationships
with people.
I'm in my YouVersion Biblereading devotionals but I'm not
actually in the word, trying tolearn the full word of God, what
(05:33):
his mission was for our life,what his intention was.
You know, I would go to church,hear the sermons, love all the
pastors, but just feel like Istill wasn't really walking out,
whatever it was.
Like I had no understanding ofwhat I was really doing.
I just knew that I loved Jesusand that I wanted to be good to
people, love on people.
I remember days walking in thecity.
I would go to Nike town, buyshoes, take my shoes off, give
(05:56):
those to homeless people Like Itried to walk out the acts but
as far as really being immersedin the word and seeking God, I
wasn't seeking God.
I was, honestly.
I think I was trying to just belike him, you know, which isn't
a bad thing.
I just didn't have the languageand the understanding and the
true fundamentals that I needed,but I feel like I was doing the
work.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, same.
And you know, I, as, I, as Ilistened to you and I think back
, it's like wow, you know, Iknow, between the both of us,
we've experienced some of thebest pastors, some of the best
pastors who've been able topreach such a great word, and
sometimes I'm like man.
I wish I could rewind 20 yearsand just sit back with my first
pastor and listen to all hismessages again, because clearly
(06:38):
he lit a fire within me to wantto be a kind, good, loving
person, a forgiving person and ahopeful person, but yet,
wherever I was in that timeperiod, it didn't click that I'm
supposed to have more withJesus, and so I am so grateful
for the encounter that we thenultimately were able to have
(06:59):
together that totallytransformed that for us.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I just want to shout out to all the life-giving,
life-speaking pastors out therethat are doing the same thing in
people now who might not knowexactly what it is you're
pouring into them, but later inlife God will connect the dots
and they will be used for thekingdom.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yes, and even you saying that, at times I go back
to my dad and my mom and I'mjust like, yeah, you just left
me out there, left mom.
And I'm just like, yeah, youknow, you just left me out there
, left me and my sister outthere, just to, like, figure it
out.
And my dad always said that youknow what?
We don't need to go to churchto be Christians, like we don't
need to observe these differentreligious practices in order for
(07:36):
us to have Jesus as our Lordand Savior.
And I didn't really understandwhat that meant.
And he said well, I knew thatyou're God's child and so he was
going, like it was hisresponsibility to bring you to
him.
And so, you know, we ensuredthat you had a foundation, a
Christian foundation.
There were crosses in the house,like for him, that's what it
(07:56):
looked like for him, and I amjust so grateful for his ability
to allow the Holy Spirit withinme to lead me and to follow
where the Spirit carried me,because I know there are parents
out there who might feeldiscouraged that their children
are perhaps lost or they haven'tbuilt a solid foundation of
faith in their home, and nowthey're in their early twenties
(08:18):
or thirties or teens, andthey're just.
You know.
They want to make sure thatthey can find Christ, and what I
want to say to them and remindthem is you know, when Jesus
ascended to heaven, he left theHoly Spirit within us to be
awakened and once we take him asour Lord and Savior.
And so don't worry, justcontinue to pray for your
children, continue to pray foryour loved ones who you feel
(08:41):
like are not yet on that journeyor that walk to Christ as you
would hope for them, because theHoly Spirit is there.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Yeah, and give yourself grace, I would say also
for the parents out there whoare so discouraged because their
kids don't want to go to churchor they don't feel like coming
to church, or when they're inthe church they're like, oh, I
don't want to get here.
We're like all trying tonavigate and find a way as
parents to raise children thatdo not hate the church.
But what we need to be remindedof is, honestly, in John 15,
(09:08):
verses 4 through 5, it saysRemain in me, as I also remain
in you.
No branch can bear fruit byitself.
It must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruitunless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are thebranches.
If you remain in me and I inyou, you will bear much fruit.
(09:30):
This passage basicallyillustrates a deep, abiding
connection that Jesus desireswith each individual person.
Chantel, you know what I mean.
So like highlighting thenecessities of maintaining a
close and personal relationshipwith Jesus is what the gospel is
truly about.
Church is amazing.
We love to be around otherkingdom-based families and be in
community with otherlike-minded believers, and it's
(09:52):
so important.
But maintaining that personalrelationship with Jesus and the
Holy Spirit and having thatintrinsic relationship, that's
what this whole thing is about.
So I encourage parents toreally just remember that and
refer back to this scripturewhen you're having those doubts
about your children that eventhough they like being there,
they're still trying to figurethis thing out and, more like
(10:14):
Maquenda would say, more iscaught than taught.
So you just showing them andyou showing up like that,
hopefully they are building thatrelationship.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Man.
That is such a great reminderfor parents to hear and to know,
and for us too.
You know we're new at this.
As far as you know, we havelittle ones and so.
I know something that matters somuch to us is that our children
have a solid foundation, afaithful foundation, and they
know that Jesus is there forthem, with them always, that God
(10:44):
is here to protect them andlove on them, and so at home, we
celebrate that.
We celebrate the relationshipthat we have, we talk about
talking to Jesus, and it bringsa smile to our faces, and now
we're able to see our childrenalso do the same thing, and so I
just love how we've been ableto take what we've learned and
the blessings that our parentshave given us and building the
(11:06):
foundation they built for us,and now we're like okay, that
was a great start, so let'scontinue to build on that for
our children.
And then, hopefully, ourchildren will do that for their
children.
I had mentioned before that wehad this amazing encounter with
Christ and this encounterhappened when we were here.
So let's bring folks back tohow we even got here.
(11:26):
Why we got here?
Because we didn't know thatwhen we moved to Atlanta that we
were going to have thislife-changing experience,
encounter with Christ right.
And yet Atlanta was put on ourhearts years ago to come.
And so let's talk about why wedecided to move, what led us to
leave everything we knew andeveryone we knew behind and go
(11:49):
into this isolation season thatwe did not know?
Speaker 1 (11:52):
it would be at the time.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
But what was it, what were we hearing and what were
we discussing that actuallybrought us to Atlanta?
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, god, just put this burning desire on us to
move.
It's 2020.
We have all these houses thatwe were trying to buy, put
offers on.
Nothing is going our way andwe're like we have to go.
And Atlanta just keeps comingup as one of the most diverse
and best places to live.
I mean, we've literally lookedat Dubai, we've looked at
Vancouver, we've looked at somany places and Atlanta just
(12:20):
kept coming up.
God just kept putting this onour heart.
Friends and family are like whywould you move to Atlanta?
Like you don't know anyonethere, like you're about to have
a whole nother child and youwant to just up and route your
family to the state 800 plusmiles away where you have no one
.
And we're like yes, this iswhere God is calling us.
We don't know why.
We don't fully get it.
We've never even been there tovisit, but we have to go,
(12:43):
literally walking by faith.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Absolutely.
And I remember when we thoughtthat we were going to close on a
house two days before ourclosing date where all of a
sudden the sellers pulled outbecause they couldn't find a
place to live.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
And I remember both of us looking at each other and
being so distraught for like awhole 60 seconds and then just
like swallowing it and beinglike God is saying go to Atlanta
.
We both heard it almost loudand clear, and two days later
you end up in metro Atlanta.
You're looking for homes.
Three weeks after that, weclose on our home they still had
(13:21):
our money in escrow.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
We had to fight to get that back.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
And it took three months to even just get to that
point.
That's what.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
I'm saying that heaviness.
And then when we get to Georgia, we close on our house in three
weeks.
We're going through a processof craziness for three months
and when God has his hands onsomething, he makes it happen in
a moment and he says my yoke iseasy, my burden is light, Like
(13:46):
that heaviness.
That wasn't him.
He's like my favor isn't onthis, my burden is light, and he
made it so easy for us to getthis house in Georgia.
That was just another furtherconfirmation that God had us
right where he needed us to be.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yes, I remember.
Right around this time we werelistening to a Justin Timberlake
song called do you remember?
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Just Be Justin Timberlake.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Just Be, and that song just held us down that
entire season and the nexttestament or confirmation of us
being exactly where we needed tobe was God putting it on us to
all of a sudden have a homebirth.
So we arrived here in MetroAtlanta in July of 2021.
Baby was due August 11th of2021.
(14:29):
And at this time we wereplanning to have a traditional
hospital birth, even though it'snot something that we were.
We just didn't know what toexpect down in Georgia.
And all of a sudden, you know,you read something, saw
something, we started doing alittle research and.
God just made it so clear thatwe're having a home birth, and
he even made that process ofgetting the right doulas,
(14:50):
midwives, all the resources.
He made it so easy.
Now the birth itself.
Another pod for another day.
That was so not easy at all.
But I remember on the fifth dayof my padromal labors, everyone
saying it's okay to go to thehospital now, and me really
tapping in to God and praying soheavily, more than I could ever
(15:15):
remember, just asking to helpget me through this, to
strengthen me, and that is whereEphesians 4.13 really came to
life in my life, that I can doall things through Christ, who
strengthens me.
And he did, and he broughtPhoenix into this world safe and
sound, and so that was suchanother strong, pivotal moment
(15:36):
for both of our faith to justgrow so much stronger, because
that was such a whirlwind of anexperience.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
Can't wait to talk about that more.
Even in that moment, we wereworshiping.
We had a playlist of gospelmusic and we were literally
worshiping in that moment, and Itruly believe the presence of
the Holy Spirit was with us andgave you the strength to carry
through with everyone around.
Even the midwives were like hey, if you want to tap in right?
Now it's okay to tap in, but Ibelieve that God really had his
(16:03):
hand on you and saw it through.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
He absolutely did, and so that's the next
confirmation right, okay.
Confirmation, but also gave usthe ability to say, okay, this
is a great God, like again, wewere believers, right, but we
didn't have that relationship.
And that really was like I'mgetting chills even saying this
that really was like I am withyou, I am here with you and just
(16:26):
continue to lean into me andallow me to provide and show up
for you.
And so that was that.
And now we fast forward a fewmonths.
You know we talked about in thebusiness story last episode how
I tried to do all the thingsbut we ultimately decide to work
together, and so can you speakto.
How did that also allow ourfaith to grow stronger, us
(16:47):
coming together as one in ourbusiness?
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yeah, our faith started to grow.
It's surreal what God was ableto do with us.
Let me actually read scriptureif you don't mind.
I want to go to Ecclesiastes 4.
This is a New LivingTranslation.
A person standing alone can beattacked and defeated, but two
can stand back to back andconquer.
Three are even better, for atriple braided cord is not
easily broken.
(17:10):
So now, when we actually havethe presence of God right, we're
actually focusing on ourrelationship with God.
He is making us hungry for himand he is in the center of our
marriage.
We are starting to do thingsthat we were never able to do
before.
Since coming together, we aremaking more money than we've
ever had.
We are doing five figure monthsLike God is just blessing and
(17:30):
anointing our business in a waythat we can never even think or
imagine.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Right and we also saw him in our marriage.
Like our relationships got somuch deeper with one another.
We really incorporated prayermore into our life.
We were at this time attendingan online church but we were
listening to the word all thetime like every single day, not
even just on Sunday.
And we really started seeinglike, wow, god has his hand on
us, he has his hand on ourfamily, he has his hand on our
(17:58):
finances, he has his hand on allthe things.
And so we got excited.
We said this is why God broughtus here because he just wanted
to put favor on us.
He wanted us to work togetherand make partners.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
He wanted us to have autonomy, he wanted us to build
a legacy, and so we werechilling, we were outside.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
We were going on vacations.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
We were doing all the things.
Why did I have all thosewatches?
Listen, we definitely,definitely, definitely were not
humbled at that time.
We fumbled God's favor.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
We fumbled God's favor, yes, and we thought we
almost like were entitled to it,that we deserved it, that like,
oh, we worked so hard all theseyears Like this was coming to
us.
We finally are reaping what wesowed and we fumbled it, we
wasted it.
We were such bad stewards of allthe resources that God gave us.
(18:49):
And so, next thing, you know,we find ourselves in a new local
church that planted here.
We're so excited about it andagain Holy Spirit started
shifting within us, startedtwisting our stomachs, making us
even more hungry to serve andget to know Him, but starting to
not feel so good about what wewere doing on a day-to-day.
(19:10):
Like when it came to ourbusiness, it's like, okay, who
are we truly impacting?
And he really started makingSpartaners something to really
focus on more of, versus thecontent creation.
And so next thing, you know,he's like, all right, I got
something else for you.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Come this weekend to this church for an experience.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
And we weren't going to go.
Yeah, remember that night wewere like we're going to go.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Yeah, I remember that night we were going to just do
us.
We were like we're just goingto go grab some wine, have a
date night.
We're going to cut outBabysitter with the kids.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Yeah, and I remember saying to you you know what, if
we don't go, we're going toregret it, yeah so like, we can
always go to this event and thenget wine afterwards.
Absolutely.
And we left that weekendconference in unison with not
(19:57):
only each other but with Christat the center.
We left that weekend feeling soguilty, dirty, ashamed.
We know that wasn't God thatwasn't his intention.
No, but we also know that heallowed us to experience those
things.
So that way we will nevermismanage or fumble the blessing
and favor God gives us everagain.
So that weekend we call ourencounter.
(20:20):
How blessed are we as a coupleto be able to have an encounter
at the same time with our Lordand Savior that truly changed
our lives Absolutely.
I remember the pastors at ourchurch then said you know,
people have experiences withChrist all the time.
You go to service.
You hear worship music, you cry.
It makes you think of somethingoh, my goodness, that was so
meaningful.
But then the next day you carryon your life the way you were
(20:41):
before.
An encounter, however,completely changes your life.
There is no way you can go backto who you were before that
encounter.
And that is us.
That worship conference weekendthat has transformed and
changed our lives Absolutely.
And talk about a faith storybecause since then our faith got
tested and tested, and testedand strengthened, and
(21:05):
strengthened.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
We went from five-figure months to months
where we were not making anymoney at all and during those
times we were able to pray andlean in and still grow and still
maintain connection andfriendship and intimacy.
You know, when it comes to moneyspecifically, we know money is
one of the things that candivide a marriage and we decided
to lean into God during thosetimes, we decided to show up in
(21:29):
prayer, we decided to be mindfuland try to be good stewards and
God has anointed us in manydifferent ways through these
experiences.
We've come through so manytough challenges in this season,
but through all of it we havegrown closer in our individual
relationships with Jesus, butthen also within our marriage
and being centered in ourmarriage.
(21:49):
We went from being frivolousand beingivolous and having all
the idols and all the thingsthat were literally our gods,
whether it was perfectionism foryou and perception for you and
what it looks like and for me,my vanity and my body was even
an idol at one point and thewatches and all these things
that we put in front of us, andI just think it's so beautiful
(22:12):
what he's been able to do andever since surrendering to Jesus
and being on his faith walk.
He's just blown our world.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Yeah, absolutely.
And, like you know, when Ithink about the last 18 months,
as when this podcast is beingrecorded, and how much my faith
has just grown, I truly sit backand get like teary-eyed because
I finally now know what it isto have a heavenly father.
I now know what it is to havesomeone who will be a Lord of
(22:44):
provision, of protection, ofhealing, of grace, of mercy, of
kindness, of forgiveness.
I know what it feels like tohave someone who will provide
comfort and just the ability tolove me unconditionally, no
matter what, so long as I repent, so long as I keep my faith
(23:04):
strong and so long as Iacknowledge him as my Lord and
Savior.
And so earlier on in our timetogether, we mentioned you
mentioned how you were lukewarm,or we were lukewarm one foot in
, one foot out.
And after that encounter Iremember just wanting to having
to fully surrender and becomeobedient to God and me as a
(23:25):
control freak type, apersonality, all the things
surrendering and obeying anyoneelse but me was just not
happening, and obeying anyoneelse but me was just not
happening.
And so not only did I learn toobey Christ and surrender to him
and allow him to use me as hisvessel, because I'm not here for
my own fulfillment, I'm herefor his fulfillment.
He has put me here to completea task, to complete a ministry,
(23:50):
to do some good work for him,and so by me consistently trying
to control my own life, I'mfighting him.
I'm not allowing him to use meto do whatever he needs me to do
, and so I left that weekend infull in what I thought was full
surrendering, because I realizedwhen I did my life.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
I have to keep surrendering, every single day,
every day um but?
Speaker 2 (24:09):
but I left ready to surrender to him and to you as
the head of our household, asthe spiritual provider for this
family and for the person that Iknow will continue to
strengthen my own faith.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
And I thank Jesus just for that alone, because, as
you were to submit to me, I amto honor you and I didn't even
have the language, I didn't havethe understanding of that role
as a kingdom man, as a husband,what my role was.
But I thank God that you knowwe talk about.
You know all the idols,everything we've went through,
all the stuff, and no matterwhat, his grace is sufficient,
(24:47):
because we are owed nothing.
You know what I mean.
There's nothing that we can do.
We were bought at a price ofthe blood, right Like we saw
what God was doing in the Bibleearly on in the Old Testament,
before the sacrifice of Jesus.
And if it wasn't for Jesus, noneof us would be here right now.
(25:07):
Like that sacrifice has wipedour slates clean.
There's nothing that we can do.
It's already done.
He just wants us to love himand to trust him as our Lord and
Savior and keep him first.
And what we're supposed to doas believers is, you know, come
on this podcast and preach hisgood news.
We are supposed to shrink insize so that we can magnify his
(25:29):
good word.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
And we have been shrinking.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
We have shrunk.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
And you know, over the last 18 months of this faith
journey and this faith walk, Ibelieve that we we're like
babies, novices, newbies,because, yes, we took Christ as
our Lord and Savior.
We read the word we behavedwell.
Read the word we behaved well,you know.
(25:57):
But it's so much more than justbehaving well and doing good
and being nice and kind.
We are actually supposed to bein constant communication and
relation with Jesus because atany moment, at any moment, he
can ask us to do something andwe need to be available to
listen.
We need to be available to andwe need to be available to
listen, we need to be availableto act, we need to be available
(26:18):
to go, and last year, in orderfor us to get to that point that
we are now, in order for us tohear him, he had to remove so
many things from us and, as youmentioned, he did just that.
He wasn't going to be able todo that to us in New York.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
New York was too loud too chaotic New York was too
comfortable, too comfortableright, we had too many
distractions.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Like there was no way that we were going to be able
to move from where we were towhere we are now in New York.
And so I am so grateful thatJesus called upon us so loudly
to go, and I'm so grateful thatwe had the discernment and the
ability to hear it, because bygoing, we allowed for this
season of isolation, we allowedfor the season of pruning and we
allow for God to truly use usas he has intended Absolutely,
(27:08):
and that is where our faith istoday.
Our spiritual walk, our faithwalk, has been quite a
rollercoaster ride, but I willsay that it has grown stronger
and stronger and stronger themore he removes things, and he
don't need to remove anythingelse.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
He does not need to remove anything else.
He's not to be honest, he's noteven removing anything, he's
just repositioning.
You know what I mean?
Like I think that's even aspiritual maturity growth moment
.
That I'm having now is likesometimes we think that God is
just taking, taking, taking.
But again, his burden is light,right, his, his, his yoke is
(27:43):
easy and he's not necessarilytaking anything from us, he's
just repositioning things in usnow.
So it's like the things that wehad.
It's not a problem to havethose things, as long as those
things don't have you.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
You know what I mean Can you say that again it's it's
not a problem to have the thing.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
There's a problem for the things that have you.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
And what are those things?
Speaker 1 (28:02):
The things are the idols.
Anything that can get inbetween the relationship with
you and your Lord and Savior.
Your job can be an idol.
Your title can be an idol, thatcollege degree that you got can
be an idol.
The car that you drive can bean idol.
The sorority that you pledgecan be an idol.
Anything that is a part of youridentity can be an idol.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Your need to control can be an idol.
Your need for validation can bean idol, your need to be seen
can be an idol.
Your need to just have, yourneed to have whatever it is that
you feel like you need to havecan be an idol.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Yeah, and that's the thing again.
So God's not saying that youcan't have the things.
He's not saying that you can'tbe proud about the job you have
or all of those things.
But when those things becomeyour God, when those things
become your identity, that'swhen he's like no, I got to
reposition and move these things.
And when you steward properly,when you seek first his kingdom
and his righteousness, all theother things will be given to
(28:55):
you.
We serve a good God who wantsyou to have things.
He wants you to feel confident.
He wants you, but he wants youto know who is responsible for
everything that you have.
And that is truly what thisthing is about is seeking first
his kingdom.
He loves us.
As a father to my children, Iwant my children to walk this
life and I want them to have allthe things, but I want them to
(29:16):
also have gratitude.
I want them to not be entitledand I want them to know where
their provision comes from rightas their earthly father, and I
believe it's the same thing forour spiritual father.
He wants gratitude, he wantsglory, he wants us to be
appreciative and he wants us toseek him.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
You know what I mean and would you say, you've
learned all that through theseason that we've been through.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Oh, absolutely.
I believe that God has justbeen cutting at our hearts and
removing all the parts of ourlife that don't serve him, to
get closer to him so that he canbring back, and he's been
blessing us in so many differentways and I think he's been
revealing to us the true thingsthat are important in this life,
because we come from a place of.
(30:00):
These are the things like ouridentities were caught up in so
many things and it's like noneof these things are going to
sustain you.
And I believe that we are atrue representation of when you
think about.
You know, making all the money,the beautiful family, driving
the cars, the vacations, thefollowers, the this, the that,
like we've literally had all ofthat and still felt empty empty.
(30:22):
So I pray that people, you know,because culture says chase
those things.
That's happiness, that'ssuccess, that's freedom, and it
couldn't be further from thetruth.
Those things are not wrong,those things are not bad, but
without God in your life,without that relationship with
Jesus, you will be trying tofill a void forever that you
(30:43):
cannot fill.
Happiness doesn't come fromthose things, it comes from our
Savior.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
You know, and for us, we had to learn through going
through one of the toughestseasons that we've ever endured
in our lives.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
We, although we were in church, we just didn't get
the message.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
We just we didn't hear the message of like needing
to fix your eyes on Jesusalways have a relationship, and
so, as listeners and ascommunity members of our family
here on our Spartaners podcast,we want to help you be able to
have that relationship withChrist, and so we want to
encourage you to, without havingto go through a season like
ours, and it may have to miss amark.
(31:22):
We wanted to share some thingsthat you can do to help
strengthen your faith in Christ,and so the things that work for
us is prayer.
We pray all the time.
We pray as soon as we wake up,by giving God the glory and
thanks for allowing us to seeanother day.
We ask for supplication, we areasking for intervention or
intercession for other people orthings going on, but our prayer
(31:45):
life is very, very strong.
We also pray throughout the dayas different decisions are
needed to be made, as we getopportunities or blessings.
Throughout the day, we praiseGod, we worship.
We are a family who worshipsall the time.
We love to sing, love to dance,and we also do this as a family.
Just so you know, we do thisindividually and we do this as a
couple and we do this as afamily.
(32:07):
Just so you know.
We do this individually and wedo this as a couple and we do
this as a family with ourchildren worship and prayer.
What are some other thingspeople can do to just build
their faith and spiritual life?
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Well, earlier on in the episode, we said that you do
not have to go to church to bein relationship with Jesus.
But I also want to make it veryclear that finding a good
church, being around otherbelievers and having that
community is so important,because having a great circle of
people that will pray for youand pray with you can change the
trajectory of your life.
(32:34):
So having a community of peoplethat can pray for you, pray
over you when you're goingthrough a hard time, can change
things.
And if you don't have thatcommunity, you have that
community right here.
We didn't have that communityat one point, we didn't have
that wise counsel, but you haveaccess between me and Chantel.
Submit your prayers, submit yourrequests.
(32:56):
You can text us through thispodcast.
On every episode.
We would love, as pastors, topray for you, to pray for your
family, to pray that God blessesyou and anoints you.
We want to walk this thing outwith you because we know what
it's like to do it without acommunity and to actually build
a community.
So that's something.
Lean on the fact that you evenhave us to pray with you and
pray over you.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
Absolutely, and we're going to save the best and
maybe the most obvious for lastas a way to just really
strengthen your faith.
But it is to read the livingwords.
Get your hands on a Bible,whether it be a tactile,
physical Bible or the Bibleonline.
Read that word daily, everysingle day.
It is the armor of God that youwill be able to use as your
(33:35):
sword to fight off whatevercomes your way.
Read the word, and if you don'tknow how to read the word,
where to start?
We can talk about that in otherepisodes.
There are so many resources ofpeople trying to help you, but
pray about it and then open yourBible and begin Amen, I love
that.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
I'd also like to add to that that on the days and
this is I'm giving you advicethat I've taken from Wise
Counsel On the days when youcan't read the word, listen to
the word.
We always have our phones withus.
You're in the car, you'rewalking, you're doing something.
Open that YouVersion, thatdigital Bible and press play and
listen to the word.
Because when Jesus and hisdisciples were going from town
(34:15):
to town, people were not openingtheir Bibles, they were
listening to God's word.
That's how God's word wasministered was listening to
God's word.
So when you can't read the wordand get into it, listen to his
word.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
So when you can't read the word and get into it,
listen to his word.
And for those of you who arelike, but why, why, why?
If you have taken Jesus as yourLord and Savior, then you know
that you can find just how tolive your life by opening up
that Bible he has made it soclear.
If you are going through amoment of anxiety, a moment of
pain, a moment of humility, amoment of just disgrace, Open
(34:49):
the Bible and see how did Jesushandle this.
There used to be a saying whatwould Jesus do?
Speaker 1 (34:51):
But it is so real, what would Jesus do?
Speaker 2 (34:55):
So open the Bible and explore, and you can also open
the Bible when great thingshappen to you too, because the
living word is literally theliving word.
There's something for everyone,in every season of your life,
that you can find in that book.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Listen, I got scripture.
I got scripture to back it up.
Baby, Please Listen.
God just brought it right hereHebrews 4, 16.
So let us come boldly to thethrone of our gracious God.
There we will receive his mercyand we will find grace to help
us when we need it most.
Come to the throne of God.
His living word is another waythat we get to communicate with
(35:31):
him, and when you go to hisliving word, you will receive
mercy and you will find gracewhen you need it the most.
Whatever you are going through,you can find help in that book.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
All right man, we could talkabout our faith all day long,
but the biggest part that I loveabout our faith is how it has
been able to align our marriage.
It has been able to align ourbusiness with it, and so it's
not that our marriage is beingaligned with our business or
(36:03):
that our business is beingaligned with our faith.
No, it is the faith that wehave.
It is our faith in Jesus thathas aligned our marriage, that
has aligned our business andthat has aligned it all together
.
So that way we can be whole, wecan be used and that way we can
serve.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
Yes, I got nothing to say after that.
That is it.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Let's close out in prayer.
Babe, I love you, heavenlyFather.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
We thank you, lord.
We thank you for the awakening,lord.
We thank you for theopportunity to grow closer to
you, lord, in relation.
We thank you for your provision, lord, Jehovah Jireh, you are
our provider, lord, and we thankyou for your mercies, new
mercies every day.
Lord, we know that there'snothing we can do to please you,
lord, other than seeking yourface.
(36:50):
We were bought at a price, lord, and we thank you, lord.
It is by the blood, and theblood alone, that we are here,
and we are so grateful for whatyou have done and the sacrifice
that you have made for us.
Lord, may we seek you first ineverything we do.
May we live our lives tomagnify and glorify you and
bring people to you, lord, asshepherds, may we smell like
(37:10):
sheep all the time, lord, byglorifying you, by bringing your
people to you and being theproper representation of you on
this earth.
Jesus, we thank you, yourmighty name, we pray.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
Amen, amen Until next time.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Peace out y'all.
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Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!