June 12, 2024 • 36 mins
What happens when childhood friends reconnect and discover a profound love that endures through life's toughest challenges? Join us in this heartwarming episode as we share the extraordinary journey of Troy and Shantel Brooks. From middle school friends to soulmates, their story reflects the beauty of personal growth, faith, and finding a love that feels divinely ordained. Hear how Shantel's pattern of dating men she wanted to fix and Troy's transformation from a ladies' man to a man of deeper values led them to each other.
You'll be captivated by their serendipitous reconnection through a simple Facebook message, leading to an unforgettable Valentine's Day training session. Listen to how meaningful conversations and setting clear boundaries laid the foundation for a relationship built on authenticity and intentionality. Troy and Shantel discuss the raw, honest moments that tested their connection and the unwavering commitment that saw them through. Their playful exchanges and heartfelt reflections offer valuable insights for anyone navigating the complexities of dating and relationships.
As they celebrate a decade of marriage, Troy and Shantel open up about overcoming infertility, financial struggles, and the transition from traditional roles to entrepreneurship. Through their unwavering faith and dedication to each other, they have not only survived but thrived. Inspired by Ephesians 4:2-3, they share their journey with the hope of inspiring others facing similar battles. Tune in for a powerful testament to the resilience of love, the importance of personal transformation, and the relentless pursuit of a partnership that truly glorifies God.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Spartaners Podcast, where faith,
marriage and business align.
We are your grateful hosts,Troy and Chantel Brooks.
Yes.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
We have unlocked a cheat code to not only enrich
your marriage, but also a way tobring glory to God's kingdom.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Yes, indeed.
So get ready for real stories,genuine testimonies and valuable
life lessons shared withhonesty, openness, vulnerability
and what we hope to achievefrom you guys' many laughs.
We're excited to navigate thisjourney together.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
So over the next few episodes we'll dive deep into
our love story, our businessstory, our faith story and the
encounter we had of our lifetime.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yes, and today we will dive deep into our love
story.
So buckle up.
You're in for a ride, let's go.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
All right.
So far back long, long, longago was a girl named Chantel,
and so, no, seriously, troy andI were friends since middle
school and, despite middleschool being one of the most
horrific times in my life, troywas definitely a pleasurable
memory.
Always chill, always cool, healways kept it platonic.
(01:07):
Personally, as I just grew frommiddle school into high school,
into even early college, I wasalways just drawn to the guy
that all the girls wanted andthe guy who knew that all the
girls wanted him, and so I foundmyself in relationships where I
was cheated on, lied to, used,taken advantage of, where I just
felt like I was cheated on,lied to, used, taken advantage
of where I just felt like I wastrying to fix them.
(01:28):
I was definitely a girl whofound guys that she could fix or
thought I could fix, notrecognizing that that wasn't my
job and so, as a fixer, thosewere a lot of the relationships
that I found myself in.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
So that kind of started like that and that just
that was the trajectory for thekind of guys that you dated
throughout the existence of youdating guys.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Pretty much, pretty much.
However, through that journey,I started learning exactly what
it is and who it is that I wasmore attracted to.
Drawn to what I was not about,I started really learning myself
.
I didn't really talk to friendsabout certain like what is it
that you like in a guy?
Those conversations didn'treally happen.
I was reading books, that's's tv, right like that don't happen
(02:06):
in real life I was definitelyreading books but, like I don't
know if any of y'all are outthere like book smart, but when
it comes to street smarts, Idon't know.
I was a little, I liked it alittle bit um, and here comes
troy.
Yeah, and then here comes troyand I will say, prior to meeting
troy, I was engaged.
I knew when I was proposed tothat it wasn't going to work but
, because I didn't know at thattime how to create that boundary
(02:29):
, or just be honest, I said okay, knowing in the bottom of my
heart and the top of my mindthis was a mistake and this
wasn't really going to last long, which it did not at all.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah, now I grew up you know what I'm saying.
I'm glad that God kept us apart, because during that time I
wasn't like the JV captain oranything like that in high
school, but I was definitelybest dressed class cutie, I was
the ladies man, I was moving andshaking and that kind of was
the trajectory of my life.
Like that's where I was going,like I was a club promoter, I
(02:59):
was mixing, I was mingling, Iwas a celebrity personal
assistant and for me marriagewasn't even a thing I was
interested in.
Until a little later on in life, just like Chantel, I was
engaged to be married andhonestly, looking back at that,
nothing is wasted.
All is fair in love and war.
But I definitely think I wentinto that engagement with all
(03:20):
the wrong intentions.
I went in it just for love andlater on in life I found out
that love is not enough to marrysomeone.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, that's a whole episode right there.
Listen to me, we will have togo down that rabbit hole one day
.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
But for real, I found out that love wasn't enough.
So to anyone listening out herewho loves their partner, please
listen to me with everything inyour heart and your ears open,
that love is not enough to marrysomeone like.
Surprisingly, you're gonna findout later in life that your
marriage isn't even actually foryou.
It's to glorify god.
If you're happy in yourmarriage, that's a blessing, but
(03:56):
it's actually not even for you.
So later down the line Istarted to understand, you know,
what marriage looked like forme, the kind of values that I
wanted within a woman.
So dating a multitude of womendating and really exploring that
helped me kind of narrow downthe focus of what I think a wife
could look like.
And it's funny what God can doin you and through you, because
here I am thinking I'm going tohave a Ferrari, a penthouse in
(04:19):
Miami, somewhere, just movingand shaking.
Never did I think that I wouldbe like a married guy.
So that's crazy how God works,you know, and that's my story.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, well, it's funny how you say that God was
just really working on you,because I felt the same exact
thing for me.
I remember reading like the 10baddest B words of the Bible
back in my 20s and Ruth was inthat book and it was really
talking about how important itwas for Ruth to just almost like
prepare herself for her Boazright.
And so that is what I took withme.
(04:55):
It's like you know what.
I can't just be out here justlike picking up all these people
who I just want to fix andchange.
I need to actually changemyself.
Come on now and so I went on athree-year abstinence run.
I wasn't dating anyone, seeinganyone.
I was just having a great oldtime in my 20s and really taking
so much time to learn me.
I changed my eating habits.
(05:16):
I just changed so much about meinternally that I truly
believed.
Helped me.
One find God, because that iswhere I became baptized, amen.
And two found you Come on nowAgain.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Come on now, see.
Similar to you.
The same thing kind of happenedfor me, right?
So when that engagement brokeoff, I could have been this
bitter, jaded guy who was justlike you know screw women,
da-da-da-da-da.
I'm just going to run in thesestreets and be wild.
And God put something in myheart and I didn't even know at
that time.
It was like no, I still believein love, I still believe that
(05:50):
my person's out there, and whileI'm waiting for God to bring
that person into my life, I'mgoing to focus on becoming the
best version of myself.
During that time is the timewhen I got really fit.
That, that time is the timewhen I got really fit.
That's when I lost over 100pounds.
That's when God put me in theposition to get into the fitness
and wellness industry, whichultimately brought you back into
my life.
So God was working on me andfixing me and putting me in the
(06:13):
position where I was able toactually attract you into my
life.
He said stay humble and fixyour eyes on me.
And that's what I did.
I said, lord, I want to knowyou, I want to grow in our
relationship.
That's when I got baptized,that's when I started going to
Hillsong.
So I was really working on mymind, I was working on my body,
I was working on my spirit andit ultimately brought me to you.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
So that's really crazy.
So we have these two parallellives happening in different
area codes zip codes.
And yet God knew exactly whathe was doing by grooming both of
us for each other which.
I love and I love that you saidthat you weren't jaded, because
if you look at my track record,there's no reason why I should
have been excited to ever getmarried.
(06:51):
But yet it was something that Isaw in my parents that I valued,
and so getting married wasdefinitely something that I
truly did want for me, but Iwasn't going to settle.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
And so.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
I'm just so grateful that God always allowed me to
have a softened heart of hopewhere I knew that my Boaz, my Mr
Troy, Brooks was just rightaround the corner.
So let's talk about that.
Let's talk about how we finallyreconnected.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Listen, man, first and foremost.
Proverbs 18, 22 says the manwho finds a wife finds treasure
and he receives favor from theLord.
And I can't lie, chantel.
We've had our ups, we've hadour downs, we've been through
the ringer, but one thing thatGod has done is he's blessed us
and he's given us favor.
He's given me favor with you inmy life and I love you.
(07:36):
I love you and I appreciate you.
So y'all I love you, so y'all,I'm bad with the years, but many
moons ago, when your boy stillhad a wavy tape fade slash
Caesar situation and the muscleswas muscling, I was in the
training industry and as apersonal trainer I was marketing
my business independently at agym in Midtown Manhattan.
(07:58):
Now the crazy thing is thephoto that got Chantel.
I took that photo at a New Yorksports club in the city that
had brand new sexy turf floors.
It was amazing.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
It was a great photo.
It was a great photo, right.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
And I was using that photo to promote my business.
The thing was, that's not whereI was training at.
The place I was training at didnot look as sexy as that.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
But either way, but the man in the photo did.
Come on now is that.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
But either way, the man in the photo did come on now
I'm getting me, but that photowas the photo that got
chantelle's attention at thattime.
I've removed all photos, videos, any content that had my
ex-fiancee in it.
I definitely was like hashtagrebrand all right, brand new
things ain't putting new wineand old wine skins out here.
So we did, we did a rebrand onthat page and chantelle went
there.
She said said right.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Well, yeah, we got to run it back just a little bit
though.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
We got to run it back a little bit.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
So Troy mentioned that he was a party promoter and
he used to always invite me toparties just to come.
You know, I was a pretty girl,I liked to hang out, like to
dance, have fun, and so heinvited weekend, and not for any
(09:08):
reason.
She curved me every time, butnot for any reason, just because
I was busy or had other plansor didn't want to go to the city
or whatever the case was.
But then one day my friend raninto him in LA and she hits me
up on Facebook like, oh my God.
I ran into Troy and I was likereally, let me check out, let me
see what.
Troy's up to these days and forsome reason I cared to look on
Facebook to just see him in adifferent light.
Or I didn't even know I wasgoing to see him in a different
(09:28):
light.
But God, truly, the spirit wasmoving in my mind and said take
a look.
And so I took a look and then Isaw that there was a rebrand on
that page where there was nolady in his life, but what I did
see was that he loved to eatout, he loved to still have a
good time, he was always withhis family, friends, he went to
church, he served at church,y'all, and these were the
(09:50):
characteristics that I wasdefinitely looking for.
Not to mention he was sexy.
He loved to work out and justhad that entrepreneurial hustler
, just vibe to him.
So I had to hit him up onFacebook on that same chat that
invited me to all the clubs Iwas like hey, so I see you back
in New York.
Are you training?
Speaker 1 (10:10):
And then what happened?
Every time I look back at thatchat I just shake my head.
I didn't see the signs, theflirtatious signs, the little
XOs after the messages.
I'm paying it no mind, becauseevery party I ever asked you to
come to you curved me.
So I just put you in thiscategory of like, all right, I'm
going to send something, maybeshe'll show up when she shows up
(10:33):
.
But I had no intentions foranything more.
But Chantel reached out to meone day and was like hey, you
training?
And I was like, yeah, I'm like,these are my packages, blah,
blah, blah, come in.
And she came in and we did anassessment and I'm looking at
Chantel and I'm like man, like Ican't go against my code as a
trainer.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
But she looks good, and he was taller than me and I
was taller than her.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Can y'all believe it?
I was actually taller than her.
So here I am, taller than her.
The muscles is muscling.
You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Your boy's feeling good and I didn't feel it
immediately, but I, like this,feels different, you know, and
so Chantel trained we did ourassessment and then and, by the
way, I knew exactly what.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
I was there.
Yes, she did, she did.
I was so naive like I'm usuallynot naive I could read the room
.
I didn't need a trainer, y'allI did not need to come
definitely into New York City toget trained the lie the lie
about oh, I'm getting ready forthis wedding and I got it, fam,
you was ready, you came in thereready to go.
If anybody knows chantelle,y'all know she was ready.
If you know chantelle, you knowshe don't need a trainer.
(11:32):
She still don't need a trainer.
But here we are right.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
So we're working out and we're doing the assessment
and we leave, and then you know,the next training session
happened to the next trainingsession was supposed to be on
Valentine's Day, coincidentally,and so before we leave, like,
oh my goodness, valentine's Dayis the next session.
If you have a date, no worries,we can cancel it and just
resume next week.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
And I was like nah, I'm good, we could do it.
I'm here to make my money.
I got to work.
I'm here to make my money, Igot to work.
I'm a businessman.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
And then he gave me an invitation to cancel if I had
a date.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
I said, you know, if you got something to do, handle
your business.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
And I said, no, I'd rather work out.
But then what he did say iswell, then, let's work out and
grab a drink afterwards.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I did.
We were friends.
It's platonic.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
It's just let's catch a vibe.
That Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
And then we went out for drinks.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
The spa was across the street.
It was on like 50, what wasthat?
Like 45th between 5th and 6th.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Resetti 57?
Something like that.
The spa was a vibe.
Shout out to Resetti if you'restill open.
Yeah, if you're still open man.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
And when we got there , chantel just turned the oven
on hot immediately and startedasking me some wild questions.
Y'all Like Wild questions.
Y'all Like questions that youdon't just ask somebody that
you're trying to catch a drinkwith.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
I wanted to know.
So what's the relationship withyour mom like?
Tell me about the relationshipwith your father.
Where do you see yourself infive to ten years?
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Do you want children?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
How many children?
Why do you want children?
What do you want to be knownfor?
Speaker 1 (12:56):
What is your FICO score?
Asking me all these questions,and like a G the G that I am I
answered everything.
I answered every question, andthen she proceeded to take
things to another level.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Because that was not enough.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
That wasn't enough.
My wife is AKA doing the mostand she had to do the most that
day and let me know that she isthe queen of doing the most.
She asked me if I would take astrength finder test.
If anyone on this podcast islistening right now knows what a
strength finder test is.
That is a test that you usuallygive to your corporate teams to
see what their strengths are,to see how they could actually
(13:28):
help each other grow and growthe business.
This is what she wanted me totake.
And the crazy man that I am.
I said yes.
I said sure, I'll do it.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Now for the record, the strength finder test is
really awesome to have astrength based team, and so I
said why would I want a partnerwho I don't?
Speaker 1 (13:45):
know his strengths.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
I know what I feel like, my strengths are, what I
know my strengths are, but Iwant to know yours, and who knew
that at that time how importantthat would be for the remainder
and the current status of ourrelationship today, for our way
in working togetherprofessionally.
That was seeds y'all.
That was again God justplanting seeds.
And also for the record numbertwo.
I was never that girl to justask questions straight out.
(14:08):
I was never that girl to justbe like oh so like, tell me
about this, I need this.
I was very assertive andliterally of all the people I
dated, I've never come with thatlevel of heat, that level of
strength and confidence,conviction in who I am as a
woman, but because nothing iswasted and because God was
grooming me from the earlystages of when I started dating,
(14:31):
he really helped me see exactlywho I was as a daughter in his
eyes and who he wanted for me asmy husband.
And so, when speaking with Troy,I already knew that there was
something really special aboutour relationship and our dynamic
, even though it was afriendship at that point.
But I just, I just, I don'tknow y'all the spirit had me.
He was just like listen, thisis what you're going to do.
(14:52):
And because of his ability tojust answer the question so
honestly, so vulnerably, so justtrans and willingly, he had me.
I was like all right, all rightnow.
And willingly.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
He had me.
I said all right, all right now, chantel.
I don't know why I was sowilling to do that.
I don't know why I was justlike sure I'll do that, but I
knew that.
That was the moment when Istarted to feel something Like
when we were sitting there.
I was like, okay, this isdifferent.
Not only is this womanbeautiful, intelligent, loves to
work out, fun, really chill andconfident, but the confidence
(15:23):
thing.
I felt like you knew your valueand you knew what you wanted.
And I know, even in that phaseof my life I told you I could
have been bitter, I could havebeen like I'm just going to run
these streets, blah blah, blah,blah, blah.
I was in a space in my lifealready where I was like God,
I'm starting to become ready forwhat it is.
I was doing the process ofelimination.
I told you I was dating a fewpeople at that time and I was in
(15:46):
a season in my life where I'mlike I'm dating with the
intention of finding someone tosettle down with.
So I think God just knew Troyanswered these questions,
answered them authentically,answered them with patience, and
he just put something on myheart that I didn't even know or
have the language, a lot of thethings that we're talking about
now.
Back then, we didn't have thelanguage to even understand what
(16:06):
that was, so it's beautiful towitness what he's done.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Yeah, absolutely.
And so for our friends outthere who are seriously dating
or engaged, or just those of youwho just come across this
episode and like, hmm, what aresome gems they're dropping?
Episode and like, hmm, what aresome gems they're dropping If
you are still single, it is soimportant that you ask the
questions that you really feelconvicted to ask.
There are so many women whoI've spoken to are like, oh, I
(16:30):
don't know, if you know I don'twant to ask, I don't want to
seem too intrusive, I just wantto like let it go, like take it
slow.
Taking it slow, absolutelygreat.
And if there are questions thatyou need to know answers to, so
that way you know you areworking in alignment with where
your spirit wants to lead you asfar as marriage life goes, or
just like your love life goes,then ask those questions.
(16:51):
If that person is unwilling toanswer them, or that person is
just resistant, like why do youneed to know?
Then that speaks volumes to you.
And so if they are not ready toanswer the questions that you
want to ask, then that is fine.
They're on prerogative, butit's important for you to see
that, for you to give them thatopportunity, so that way you can
have what you need to make thedecision for you.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Absolutely.
I think you nailed that and Iwould say just again same thing,
reiterating exactly whatChantel said, but just also
understanding like your antennasshould go up, because if the
person is looking for somethingserious, if the person is truly
looking to level up and findsomeone that they want to settle
down with, they're not going tohave a problem answering those
questions.
They might be like well, that'sa lot for day one, so you might
have to gradually breadcrumb.
(17:35):
You know what I'm saying?
Don't just all guns blazingEveryone's not going to be as
receptive as I was but go intothese dates with the intention
of finding out who the personthat you're sitting in front of
truly is, where their values are, do they align with you, so
that you can see if you actuallysee yourselves going in the
same direction.
You could save yourself a lotof frustration, a lot of
resentment and a lot ofheartbreak by asking the tough
(17:57):
questions and if they value youor they value the potential of
what you guys can have, thenanswer those questions.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Yes, and when they answer them, accept them.
Do not kind of accept them withthe hope that you can change
them.
Like, oh, they said they don'twant kids now, but let them just
wait, you know, two years.
They're going to change theirmind.
Or they said that you know theyhaven't worked through this
event.
That has happened in their lifepreviously.
But you know they're going togo to therapy.
That's fine.
But again you have to acceptthat they haven't.
(18:23):
And then there's going to bethings that you're going to need
to work through.
So whatever they say to you,accept it.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Amen, and that's a mental.
Take a mental note.
Take a mental note, park thatthing, put a pin in it and then
revisit it.
If it's something that you feellike, it's a non-negotiable you
know what I'm saying, don'tfold on the non-negotiables.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Non-negotiables.
That's a whole nother thing.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
We got episodes coming down the line, y'all
Boundaries and non-negotiables,so important.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
So you do the Strength Finder test and you
answer my 101 questions.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
And, as he mentioned, he was dating a few people but
just really trying to figure outwho was going to be his girl.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
And it was me.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Yes.
So we started datingexclusively and we only actually
dated for like two monthsbefore we needed to take a break
and we broke up y'all, yes, yes, we broke up because in the
time that we were talking, yes,we had lots of fun serving at
church together, but I startedseeing something in Troy that I
wasn't really meshing well with.
(19:25):
He was, at the time, just alittle bit loose with his words
when it came to his friends orfamily Never with me at that
time and so I was like you knowwhat I'm not even going to give
you an opportunity to talk to mecrazy, because I'm watching how
you talk to your friends theclosest people to you and I
don't want that.
So I told him that he needed towork on that if he wants a
chance to be with me.
(19:45):
But in the meantime, we'regoing to have to break up.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Absolutely, and I'll never forget like we had just
came back from a vacation.
The vacation was great.
I kind of was blindsided, right.
It was bad you know it was bad,but I think at that vacation she
was just like, yeah, this isn'tit.
And if I got to be honest andtransparent with everyone, this
is an area where I needed tomature, this is an area where
(20:09):
God needed to grow me and Ireally love and appreciate who
Chantel is, and I knew that thatwas a clear sign for me that I
had found my wife, because I meta woman who truly understands
her value and sees herself inthe image of who Christ sees her
as.
And at that time again, Ididn't have the language, but I
was like this woman is notplaying games, she's not here
(20:31):
for it.
So for me, at that time when webroke up, that was really time
for me to focus on myself,really focus on unlearning some
of the behaviors and then alsohaving honest conversations with
her.
I'm not placing blame, but alot of relationships that I was
in prior to being with Chantelwere toxic relationships.
The problem here is, whathappened is due to some of the
past relationships.
(20:52):
I started to normalizedysfunction and normalize
behaviors that are notacceptable.
And the thing is, when you'redealing with someone who is
whole, when you're dealing withsomeone who is confident, when
you're dealing with someone whosays, hey, I have a boundary in
front of this, like I have toprotect myself.
That should show you something.
You know what I mean.
I'm so happy and so gratefulthat I was able to unlearn a lot
(21:14):
of those things.
So, ladies, gentlemen, sometimesyou have to take a step back
and look at some of thebehaviors and you have to look
at the man or look at the womanin the mirror and truly ask
yourself am I operating indysfunction?
Have I normalized unhealthy,toxic behavior that I should not
normalize within my life?
And sometimes you got to take astep back and then you have to
unlearn those things.
(21:35):
I was able to gain the respectof my wife.
I was able to gain the respectof my friends.
I started treating my friendsbetter, talking to them better,
and that's something that I hadto learn.
We all have things to learn.
We all have things to grow from.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
And I was one grateful that I can actually
even deliver that, because, asyou mentioned, we were on a good
vacation, but it was stillsomething that was like brewing
in me and I think somethinghappened and I just was like, ah
, okay, this is it.
And what growth for me.
Because again, mrs Fix it, Iwas really spiritually evolving,
where I again, mrs Fix-It, Iwas really spiritually evolving,
where I again knew my value,knew my worth and knew what
(22:11):
boundaries and non-negotiables Iwas going to have.
And so I'm just so grateful forall those relationships I had,
because it prepared me with theshield and with the armor to be
able to say you know what, no,I'm not going to allow myself to
experience this or toleratethis.
And then it wasn't evenhappening to me yet, but I saw
it as a red flag or as acautionary flag.
And so that's the first thing.
(22:32):
But the second thing is it takesso much discipline and
obedience and really knowingyour own self and believing in
your own self to be able toreceive feedback and say you
know what You're right.
And that is something that I'vealways valued with Troy because
literally since day one, he isso quick to say you know what
(22:52):
I'm wrong and this is somethingI need to fix.
And it's very few times.
Very seldomly do you ever haveto repeat yourself twice to him,
because he learns.
And so he took that breakupseriously in the point of, yeah,
he still had a little fun, buthe did the work.
He did the work.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Yes, yes, absolutely, and I definitely did have a
little fun.
But again, a blessing, becausein that time of trying to get
over you but also fix myself,like I learned, the grass ain't
always greener out there duringthat time.
Yeah, I'm gonna say it rightnow in front of everybody the
grass ain't always greener inthese streets.
(23:28):
So just a reminder.
But I'm glad that during thattime of reflection and dating
and moving around, that God gaveme a revelation.
I said I can't do this anymore.
I miss Chantel, I want Chantel,and that's when I decided I was
going to propose to you.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
All of that?
Yes, it didn't happen that way.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
But you know, for some reason you decided to reach
out to me.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Yeah, yeah.
So of course, while he'sworking on himself, I also see
the grass isn't greener and Ialso see my own ways that I need
to grow, and so I definitelytapped in and said, hey, like
what's up how you doing?
And we started just likehanging out every now and then.
And then one day I gave him acall and said like hey, I need
(24:11):
to see you.
And it was at a different tone.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
At a different hour.
It was like 8 pm, I wasn'tcrazy.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
It was a little later than that.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
I was at that point in my life.
I was at a Kanye West concerton a date y'all and I always
pray through this one All isfair in love and war and I tried
to explain to the young ladythat I have to leave.
I was like I know we're hereand this is crazy, we're at this
Kanye concert in Brooklyn, butI have to go.
And I literally left at theconcert and met up with you and
the rest is history.
And I tried to explain to leftat the concert and met up with
(24:43):
you and the rest is history.
And I tried to explain to herat the time.
I said I'm leaving and I knowthis is going to hurt, but I'm
going to leave to be with theperson that I'm going to marry.
I knew at that very moment andI hate that it hurt and that it
had to go down the way it did.
I prayed over it, I've spokengood words to the young lady and
everything.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
But I had to go.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Yeah, Because God has something in store for me and I
was not going to miss thatblessing.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Right.
So you left and you came to me,and then, one month later, we
got engaged.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Crazy.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Yes, and so I just want to take a moment to just
pause and say how important itis to do your own inner healing,
your own inner work on yoursoul, your heart, your mind.
There's so much work to dowithin yourself and when you are
dating or trying to find yourpartner, so much of us just
wants what we want.
But then you really need to askyourself would I want me, right
(25:34):
?
Would I date?
Speaker 1 (25:35):
me, would I marry me.
Am.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
I actually ready to be the wife that I foresee
myself being.
What do I need to change withinmyself?
Or work on within myself, orheal within myself, or ask God
for healing in me, so that way Ican be that partner that I
actually foresee myself being.
So yeah, so we got engaged andgot married about nine months
(25:57):
later and we celebrate 10 yearson September 21st of 2024.
Crazy, high five, high five.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Love it Awesome.
So you know life gets crazysometimes.
There's no linear road to whatit's supposed to look like for
you and it's not always pretty,but thank God, we serve a God
who is merciful, who is kind andwho has something in store for
us if we are smart enough to payattention.
So anyone that's out there whois dating someone and it just
(26:27):
doesn't feel like it's a goodthing.
More importantly, if it doesn'tfeel like it's a God thing, I
really encourage you to pray onit fast.
Do what you need to do, butmake room for what God is trying
to do in your life, and if itdoesn't feel like it's a God
thing, it might not even be agood thing.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Absolutely.
Can you just speak on?
Why did like?
How did you know that I wasgoing to be your wife?
Or how did you know you wantedto ask me to marry you?
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Again, the grass isn't always greener.
I think it's really importantto understand your value and I
know immediately.
When you broke up with me, ithurt me a lot and my ego got in
the way and I was like this issummer in New York, I'm just
going to be outside, whatever.
I finally took that approach.
That ain't it, y'all.
When you're home alone, whenyou have time to be by yourself,
when you're not out with yourfriends, when you're not moving
(27:15):
and shaking and you have to sitwith yourself, that's when the
thoughts really started to hitme about what I was doing, how I
was living my life, and how itjust didn't feel good.
And there were days when Imissed you.
There were days when I missedyou.
I missed our connection, Imissed our conversations.
I just missed your presence.
With that time, there was timefor a lot of self-reflection
about who I was and the man thatI wanted to be, and I felt like
(27:37):
I was falling short.
So, again, looking the man inthe mirror and trying to do the
best I can.
So I ain't gonna lie to you, Iread a lot of books during that
time too.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
So men are from Mars, women- are from Venus, like I
actually read that book before.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
But I had to like dust that thing off and bring it
back and really just understandthe difference between us and
really focus on what I can do toshow up to be the best I can
for you.
So I was.
I was getting myself ready.
I had no idea you were going tocall me, but I said, if she
does call me, I'm going to bethe man that she needs me to be.
I'm going to be the man thatGod wants me to be and I'm going
to step up.
I knew I wanted to marry you.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
So it sounds like you knew you wanted to marry me
because of the confidence that Ihad and because of the way that
I showed up.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Absolutely Clearly.
I think you're the mostbeautiful woman alive.
I'm not just saying that Ify'all on the camera look at her.
She's beautiful.
She's gorgeous, she's alwaysbeen beautiful, but again, it
was a posture of your heart.
The reasons that I fell in lovewith you anyway were, obviously
, I thought you were beautiful,but you were a friend right.
So we had this establishedfoundation of friendship.
I think friendship is superimportant in a marriage.
(28:39):
I'm going to say that one moretime.
Friendship is extremelyimportant in a marriage.
It's not just about loving theperson you're with.
You actually need to like them.
You should want to spend timewith them.
We live in this culture whereit's like yo.
People are like why do you wantto be with your wife?
Because she's dope.
She's the person I love beingwith.
(28:59):
So I missed that part when webroke up.
You know what I mean.
It was things like that thatreally made me fall in love with
you and I was like I don't seethis with anyone else.
I don't want it with anyoneelse.
I want it with you.
But I also wanted you to knowthat, if you were going to take
me back, that I was in it forthe long haul and I was serious.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
Yeah, I totally agree , it was your heart posture.
It was friendship first.
We say friendship first, likeover everything, friends First.
We say friendship, first likeover everything friends, then
lovers, then business partners,and I'm so grateful that we had
that friendship from like earlystages.
But then also when we got backtogether because we knew how to
(29:34):
have fun together, we had asimilar hobby interests.
We had like same kind ofpalette.
We enjoy doing the same kind ofthings.
But beyond that, we also reallyhad servant hearts where we
both felt like called to servewithin ministry and in churches
and we both really loved familyand spending time with each
other.
We wanted to create our ownkind of family and so we also
(29:57):
love to travel and so, again,these are these things.
But beyond that, we used to jokebecause of my profession was
always like your nine to fivetypical career.
He was the entrepreneur.
I love that.
He had this entrepreneurialspirit and at the time I never
thought that we would ever getinto business together.
But I said you know what?
That's the kind of man that Iwant to be with, because when,
(30:18):
when Ish hits the fan, I know hegoing to take care of us,
because of his hustler way, andI didn't see it again in myself
at the time.
but I just trusted the fact that, with his skill set, that we
were going to be all right nomatter what happened.
And so, yeah, so he married mefor my benefits and I married
him because I knew he was goingto take us far, but he brought
the passion to what he did atthe time.
(30:41):
So, yeah, those were thereasons why I wanted to marry
you beyond God, just really justmoving me to just be all about
you.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Yeah, and that's great Cause you know, in today's
society, provision looksdifferent and what you know, we
oh man, they got to bring homethe bacon, we got to be
providers blah, blah, blah, blah, blah Everything that society
says.
You were the breadwinner in ourfamily for a long time, but God
has given me he's casting mevision right, and with the
vision, that vision, some ofthat vision, is rubbed off on
(31:11):
you and I was able to sparksomething inside of you to show
you that nothing is wasted, showyou all the talents and things
that you've done in the pastthat have got us to where we are
now, where you're anentrepreneur, we're
entrepreneurs together.
So, like, god has given us notonly like the stability
standpoint, but just new life.
You wanted to be with mebecause I'm the fun guy who's
going to open up these doors,but now God has put us in a
position where it's like, no, hecan open these doors, but now
you guys are opening these doorstogether.
(31:31):
So that's the thing that isjust so awesome to me.
It's like you go into somethingthinking it's going to be one
thing and God is just like no,I'm going to blow your mind to
most people's love stories.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
We have that yin-yang relationship.
We have yin-yang personalities.
We are so opposite from eachother but by the grace of God
and through the 10 years thatwe've been married, we've been
able to learn how to reallyleverage and optimize those
differences to work for our love, to work for our connection,
for our intimacy, for ourrelationship, for our parenting,
(32:03):
because we've endured somehardships in these last 10 years
, everything from infertility toloss of income, to parenting,
to finding a place to live.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
We lived in seven different places in 10 years.
We've moved around a lot.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Yeah, we've.
We individually have dealt with, you know rejection with
perfectionism with being aworkaholic.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Yeah, relocation, honestly for me.
You know weight gain was aserious thing For us tribe
friends being in a new place,trying to find your community.
And then financial hardship.
You know we were blessed beyondbelief with resources that we
just didn't steward properly and, thank God, god has given us an
opportunity to come back and todo things better.
But these are a lot of thethings that we've been battling
(32:46):
since coming together.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
And even, most recently, loss of loved ones.
And so we've experienced in ourmarriage so many different
challenges and obstacles that atany moment could have truly
divided us.
But because we were friends,because we value God first in
our relationship, followed byeach other, and because we
really, really love going overour love story just to talk
(33:09):
about all the reasons and waysthat we have already had to
overcome to get together tobegin with, it truly has allowed
for our love story to continueto flourish and be enriched.
And in our next episode, whenwe talk about our business
journey, you'll see just how wewere able to bring our love
story from floor one to floorlike 10.
We never knew.
(33:30):
We never knew that the lovethat we share for each other can
become deeper, can become morefruitful, more blessed.
We never knew that we can havethis sort of love.
And so we're excited to shareour next story with you all
about our business journey,because it has such a great
connection to our love story.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
Amen.
I'm so excited, man.
This has been a great episodeand we hope that you guys learn
something here.
We hope that you see somethingin this episode that resonates
with you.
I hope that this episode, thatour honesty, that our
vulnerability, frees some of you, because I understand that some
of these things that we weregoing through had us captive and
we feel that we are free fromthese things.
(34:08):
So we pray that these thingsalso free you, man.
This episode was great, chantel, and there's definitely a
scripture that came to mind whenwe were talking and I just
wanna bless the folks with that.
So this one is Ephesians 4,verses two through three, in a
new, living translation Alwaysbe humble and gentle, be patient
with each other, makingallowance for each other's
(34:30):
faults because of your love.
Make every effort to keepyourselves united in the spirit,
binding yourselves togetherwith peace.
We've shared a lot about who weare today.
Obviously, we are fleshly humanbeings.
Who we are today?
Obviously, we are fleshly humanbeings.
We are going to make mistakes,but we have been blessed to have
softened hearts, to meet eachother with love, compassion and
(34:56):
understanding, knowing thatwe're not perfect, we're not
always going to get it right,but if we stay together as that
triple-braided cord with Jesusin the center that we can
withstand anything.
We've been through a lot and weknow that there's much more
that we'll go through.
It's always about peaks andvalleys in this life, but that
we stand together with God inthe center and if you guys do
that within your marriage, therelationships that you're
building you can stand the testof time.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Praise God.
Praise God, let's close out inprayer.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
Yeah, let's pray.
We're praying on the podcast.
Why not?
Why not?
Heavenly Father, spirit of theliving God, we thank you, lord.
Thank you for the opportunityto get on these mics today and
preach your good news withhonesty, integrity and, lord,
with your authority.
May this podcast free somepeople, lord, from things that
are keeping them captive.
(35:41):
Lord, may this podcast freepeople from thinking that they
have to have it all together andthat they can't get it together
with their spouse.
Lord, we pray that this podcastepisode glorifies your kingdom
and helps to enrich marriages.
Help people that are seriouslydating and engaged find that
with you in the center of theirlife, lord, they can do
(36:02):
exceedingly and abundantly morethan they can ever think or
imagine.
Lord, as this podcast continuesto grow, we ask that it just
glorifies you.
Helps people stay together,come together and live in
peaceful, holy matrimony, lord,with you in the center of their
lives.
There is only one cheat codey'all.
The biggest cheat code on thispodcast is Jesus.
(36:24):
Lord, we love you, we honor you, we praise you and we pray that
people see you on this podcast.
In your mighty name, we pray.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
Amen, well, until next time now.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
Peace.
Welcome to the Spartaners Podcast, where faith,
marriage and business align.
We are your grateful hosts,Troy and Chantel Brooks.
Yes.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
We have unlocked a cheat code to not only enrich
your marriage, but also a way tobring glory to God's kingdom.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Yes, indeed.
So get ready for real stories,genuine testimonies and valuable
life lessons shared withhonesty, openness, vulnerability
and what we hope to achievefrom you guys' many laughs.
We're excited to navigate thisjourney together.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
So over the next few episodes we'll dive deep into
our love story, our businessstory, our faith story and the
encounter we had of our lifetime.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yes, and today we will dive deep into our love
story.
So buckle up.
You're in for a ride, let's go.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
All right.
So far back long, long, longago was a girl named Chantel,
and so, no, seriously, troy andI were friends since middle
school and, despite middleschool being one of the most
horrific times in my life, troywas definitely a pleasurable
memory.
Always chill, always cool, healways kept it platonic.
(01:07):
Personally, as I just grew frommiddle school into high school,
into even early college, I wasalways just drawn to the guy
that all the girls wanted andthe guy who knew that all the
girls wanted him, and so I foundmyself in relationships where I
was cheated on, lied to, used,taken advantage of, where I just
felt like I was cheated on,lied to, used, taken advantage
of where I just felt like I wastrying to fix them.
(01:28):
I was definitely a girl whofound guys that she could fix or
thought I could fix, notrecognizing that that wasn't my
job and so, as a fixer, thosewere a lot of the relationships
that I found myself in.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
So that kind of started like that and that just
that was the trajectory for thekind of guys that you dated
throughout the existence of youdating guys.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Pretty much, pretty much.
However, through that journey,I started learning exactly what
it is and who it is that I wasmore attracted to.
Drawn to what I was not about,I started really learning myself
.
I didn't really talk to friendsabout certain like what is it
that you like in a guy?
Those conversations didn'treally happen.
I was reading books, that's's tv, right like that don't happen
(02:06):
in real life I was definitelyreading books but, like I don't
know if any of y'all are outthere like book smart, but when
it comes to street smarts, Idon't know.
I was a little, I liked it alittle bit um, and here comes
troy.
Yeah, and then here comes troyand I will say, prior to meeting
troy, I was engaged.
I knew when I was proposed tothat it wasn't going to work but
, because I didn't know at thattime how to create that boundary
(02:29):
, or just be honest, I said okay, knowing in the bottom of my
heart and the top of my mindthis was a mistake and this
wasn't really going to last long, which it did not at all.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah, now I grew up you know what I'm saying.
I'm glad that God kept us apart, because during that time I
wasn't like the JV captain oranything like that in high
school, but I was definitelybest dressed class cutie, I was
the ladies man, I was moving andshaking and that kind of was
the trajectory of my life.
Like that's where I was going,like I was a club promoter, I
(02:59):
was mixing, I was mingling, Iwas a celebrity personal
assistant and for me marriagewasn't even a thing I was
interested in.
Until a little later on in life, just like Chantel, I was
engaged to be married andhonestly, looking back at that,
nothing is wasted.
All is fair in love and war.
But I definitely think I wentinto that engagement with all
(03:20):
the wrong intentions.
I went in it just for love andlater on in life I found out
that love is not enough to marrysomeone.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, that's a whole episode right there.
Listen to me, we will have togo down that rabbit hole one day
.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
But for real, I found out that love wasn't enough.
So to anyone listening out herewho loves their partner, please
listen to me with everything inyour heart and your ears open,
that love is not enough to marrysomeone like.
Surprisingly, you're gonna findout later in life that your
marriage isn't even actually foryou.
It's to glorify god.
If you're happy in yourmarriage, that's a blessing, but
(03:56):
it's actually not even for you.
So later down the line Istarted to understand, you know,
what marriage looked like forme, the kind of values that I
wanted within a woman.
So dating a multitude of womendating and really exploring that
helped me kind of narrow downthe focus of what I think a wife
could look like.
And it's funny what God can doin you and through you, because
here I am thinking I'm going tohave a Ferrari, a penthouse in
(04:19):
Miami, somewhere, just movingand shaking.
Never did I think that I wouldbe like a married guy.
So that's crazy how God works,you know, and that's my story.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Yeah, well, it's funny how you say that God was
just really working on you,because I felt the same exact
thing for me.
I remember reading like the 10baddest B words of the Bible
back in my 20s and Ruth was inthat book and it was really
talking about how important itwas for Ruth to just almost like
prepare herself for her Boazright.
And so that is what I took withme.
(04:55):
It's like you know what.
I can't just be out here justlike picking up all these people
who I just want to fix andchange.
I need to actually changemyself.
Come on now and so I went on athree-year abstinence run.
I wasn't dating anyone, seeinganyone.
I was just having a great oldtime in my 20s and really taking
so much time to learn me.
I changed my eating habits.
(05:16):
I just changed so much about meinternally that I truly
believed.
Helped me.
One find God, because that iswhere I became baptized, amen.
And two found you Come on nowAgain.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Come on now, see.
Similar to you.
The same thing kind of happenedfor me, right?
So when that engagement brokeoff, I could have been this
bitter, jaded guy who was justlike you know screw women,
da-da-da-da-da.
I'm just going to run in thesestreets and be wild.
And God put something in myheart and I didn't even know at
that time.
It was like no, I still believein love, I still believe that
(05:50):
my person's out there, and whileI'm waiting for God to bring
that person into my life, I'mgoing to focus on becoming the
best version of myself.
During that time is the timewhen I got really fit.
That, that time is the timewhen I got really fit.
That's when I lost over 100pounds.
That's when God put me in theposition to get into the fitness
and wellness industry, whichultimately brought you back into
my life.
So God was working on me andfixing me and putting me in the
(06:13):
position where I was able toactually attract you into my
life.
He said stay humble and fixyour eyes on me.
And that's what I did.
I said, lord, I want to knowyou, I want to grow in our
relationship.
That's when I got baptized,that's when I started going to
Hillsong.
So I was really working on mymind, I was working on my body,
I was working on my spirit andit ultimately brought me to you.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
So that's really crazy.
So we have these two parallellives happening in different
area codes zip codes.
And yet God knew exactly whathe was doing by grooming both of
us for each other which.
I love and I love that you saidthat you weren't jaded, because
if you look at my track record,there's no reason why I should
have been excited to ever getmarried.
(06:51):
But yet it was something that Isaw in my parents that I valued,
and so getting married wasdefinitely something that I
truly did want for me, but Iwasn't going to settle.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
And so.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
I'm just so grateful that God always allowed me to
have a softened heart of hopewhere I knew that my Boaz, my Mr
Troy, Brooks was just rightaround the corner.
So let's talk about that.
Let's talk about how we finallyreconnected.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Listen, man, first and foremost.
Proverbs 18, 22 says the manwho finds a wife finds treasure
and he receives favor from theLord.
And I can't lie, chantel.
We've had our ups, we've hadour downs, we've been through
the ringer, but one thing thatGod has done is he's blessed us
and he's given us favor.
He's given me favor with you inmy life and I love you.
(07:36):
I love you and I appreciate you.
So y'all I love you, so y'all,I'm bad with the years, but many
moons ago, when your boy stillhad a wavy tape fade slash
Caesar situation and the muscleswas muscling, I was in the
training industry and as apersonal trainer I was marketing
my business independently at agym in Midtown Manhattan.
(07:58):
Now the crazy thing is thephoto that got Chantel.
I took that photo at a New Yorksports club in the city that
had brand new sexy turf floors.
It was amazing.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
It was a great photo.
It was a great photo, right.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
And I was using that photo to promote my business.
The thing was, that's not whereI was training at.
The place I was training at didnot look as sexy as that.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
But either way, but the man in the photo did.
Come on now is that.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
But either way, the man in the photo did come on now
I'm getting me, but that photowas the photo that got
chantelle's attention at thattime.
I've removed all photos, videos, any content that had my
ex-fiancee in it.
I definitely was like hashtagrebrand all right, brand new
things ain't putting new wineand old wine skins out here.
So we did, we did a rebrand onthat page and chantelle went
there.
She said said right.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Well, yeah, we got to run it back just a little bit
though.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
We got to run it back a little bit.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
So Troy mentioned that he was a party promoter and
he used to always invite me toparties just to come.
You know, I was a pretty girl,I liked to hang out, like to
dance, have fun, and so heinvited weekend, and not for any
(09:08):
reason.
She curved me every time, butnot for any reason, just because
I was busy or had other plansor didn't want to go to the city
or whatever the case was.
But then one day my friend raninto him in LA and she hits me
up on Facebook like, oh my God.
I ran into Troy and I was likereally, let me check out, let me
see what.
Troy's up to these days and forsome reason I cared to look on
Facebook to just see him in adifferent light.
Or I didn't even know I wasgoing to see him in a different
(09:28):
light.
But God, truly, the spirit wasmoving in my mind and said take
a look.
And so I took a look and then Isaw that there was a rebrand on
that page where there was nolady in his life, but what I did
see was that he loved to eatout, he loved to still have a
good time, he was always withhis family, friends, he went to
church, he served at church,y'all, and these were the
(09:50):
characteristics that I wasdefinitely looking for.
Not to mention he was sexy.
He loved to work out and justhad that entrepreneurial hustler
, just vibe to him.
So I had to hit him up onFacebook on that same chat that
invited me to all the clubs Iwas like hey, so I see you back
in New York.
Are you training?
Speaker 1 (10:10):
And then what happened?
Every time I look back at thatchat I just shake my head.
I didn't see the signs, theflirtatious signs, the little
XOs after the messages.
I'm paying it no mind, becauseevery party I ever asked you to
come to you curved me.
So I just put you in thiscategory of like, all right, I'm
going to send something, maybeshe'll show up when she shows up
(10:33):
.
But I had no intentions foranything more.
But Chantel reached out to meone day and was like hey, you
training?
And I was like, yeah, I'm like,these are my packages, blah,
blah, blah, come in.
And she came in and we did anassessment and I'm looking at
Chantel and I'm like man, like Ican't go against my code as a
trainer.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
But she looks good, and he was taller than me and I
was taller than her.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Can y'all believe it?
I was actually taller than her.
So here I am, taller than her.
The muscles is muscling.
You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Your boy's feeling good and I didn't feel it
immediately, but I, like this,feels different, you know, and
so Chantel trained we did ourassessment and then and, by the
way, I knew exactly what.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
I was there.
Yes, she did, she did.
I was so naive like I'm usuallynot naive I could read the room
.
I didn't need a trainer, y'allI did not need to come
definitely into New York City toget trained the lie the lie
about oh, I'm getting ready forthis wedding and I got it, fam,
you was ready, you came in thereready to go.
If anybody knows chantelle,y'all know she was ready.
If you know chantelle, you knowshe don't need a trainer.
(11:32):
She still don't need a trainer.
But here we are right.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
So we're working out and we're doing the assessment
and we leave, and then you know,the next training session
happened to the next trainingsession was supposed to be on
Valentine's Day, coincidentally,and so before we leave, like,
oh my goodness, valentine's Dayis the next session.
If you have a date, no worries,we can cancel it and just
resume next week.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
And I was like nah, I'm good, we could do it.
I'm here to make my money.
I got to work.
I'm here to make my money, Igot to work.
I'm a businessman.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
And then he gave me an invitation to cancel if I had
a date.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
I said, you know, if you got something to do, handle
your business.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
And I said, no, I'd rather work out.
But then what he did say iswell, then, let's work out and
grab a drink afterwards.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I did.
We were friends.
It's platonic.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
It's just let's catch a vibe.
That Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
And then we went out for drinks.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
The spa was across the street.
It was on like 50, what wasthat?
Like 45th between 5th and 6th.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Resetti 57?
Something like that.
The spa was a vibe.
Shout out to Resetti if you'restill open.
Yeah, if you're still open man.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
And when we got there , chantel just turned the oven
on hot immediately and startedasking me some wild questions.
Y'all Like Wild questions.
Y'all Like questions that youdon't just ask somebody that
you're trying to catch a drinkwith.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
I wanted to know.
So what's the relationship withyour mom like?
Tell me about the relationshipwith your father.
Where do you see yourself infive to ten years?
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Do you want children?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
How many children?
Why do you want children?
What do you want to be knownfor?
Speaker 1 (12:56):
What is your FICO score?
Asking me all these questions,and like a G the G that I am I
answered everything.
I answered every question, andthen she proceeded to take
things to another level.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Because that was not enough.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
That wasn't enough.
My wife is AKA doing the mostand she had to do the most that
day and let me know that she isthe queen of doing the most.
She asked me if I would take astrength finder test.
If anyone on this podcast islistening right now knows what a
strength finder test is.
That is a test that you usuallygive to your corporate teams to
see what their strengths are,to see how they could actually
(13:28):
help each other grow and growthe business.
This is what she wanted me totake.
And the crazy man that I am.
I said yes.
I said sure, I'll do it.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Now for the record, the strength finder test is
really awesome to have astrength based team, and so I
said why would I want a partnerwho I don't?
Speaker 1 (13:45):
know his strengths.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
I know what I feel like, my strengths are, what I
know my strengths are, but Iwant to know yours, and who knew
that at that time how importantthat would be for the remainder
and the current status of ourrelationship today, for our way
in working togetherprofessionally.
That was seeds y'all.
That was again God justplanting seeds.
And also for the record numbertwo.
I was never that girl to justask questions straight out.
(14:08):
I was never that girl to justbe like oh so like, tell me
about this, I need this.
I was very assertive andliterally of all the people I
dated, I've never come with thatlevel of heat, that level of
strength and confidence,conviction in who I am as a
woman, but because nothing iswasted and because God was
grooming me from the earlystages of when I started dating,
(14:31):
he really helped me see exactlywho I was as a daughter in his
eyes and who he wanted for me asmy husband.
And so, when speaking with Troy,I already knew that there was
something really special aboutour relationship and our dynamic
, even though it was afriendship at that point.
But I just, I just, I don'tknow y'all the spirit had me.
He was just like listen, thisis what you're going to do.
(14:52):
And because of his ability tojust answer the question so
honestly, so vulnerably, so justtrans and willingly, he had me.
I was like all right, all rightnow.
And willingly.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
He had me.
I said all right, all right now, chantel.
I don't know why I was sowilling to do that.
I don't know why I was justlike sure I'll do that, but I
knew that.
That was the moment when Istarted to feel something Like
when we were sitting there.
I was like, okay, this isdifferent.
Not only is this womanbeautiful, intelligent, loves to
work out, fun, really chill andconfident, but the confidence
(15:23):
thing.
I felt like you knew your valueand you knew what you wanted.
And I know, even in that phaseof my life I told you I could
have been bitter, I could havebeen like I'm just going to run
these streets, blah blah, blah,blah, blah.
I was in a space in my lifealready where I was like God,
I'm starting to become ready forwhat it is.
I was doing the process ofelimination.
I told you I was dating a fewpeople at that time and I was in
(15:46):
a season in my life where I'mlike I'm dating with the
intention of finding someone tosettle down with.
So I think God just knew Troyanswered these questions,
answered them authentically,answered them with patience, and
he just put something on myheart that I didn't even know or
have the language, a lot of thethings that we're talking about
now.
Back then, we didn't have thelanguage to even understand what
(16:06):
that was, so it's beautiful towitness what he's done.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Yeah, absolutely.
And so for our friends outthere who are seriously dating
or engaged, or just those of youwho just come across this
episode and like, hmm, what aresome gems they're dropping?
Episode and like, hmm, what aresome gems they're dropping If
you are still single, it is soimportant that you ask the
questions that you really feelconvicted to ask.
There are so many women whoI've spoken to are like, oh, I
(16:30):
don't know, if you know I don'twant to ask, I don't want to
seem too intrusive, I just wantto like let it go, like take it
slow.
Taking it slow, absolutelygreat.
And if there are questions thatyou need to know answers to, so
that way you know you areworking in alignment with where
your spirit wants to lead you asfar as marriage life goes, or
just like your love life goes,then ask those questions.
(16:51):
If that person is unwilling toanswer them, or that person is
just resistant, like why do youneed to know?
Then that speaks volumes to you.
And so if they are not ready toanswer the questions that you
want to ask, then that is fine.
They're on prerogative, butit's important for you to see
that, for you to give them thatopportunity, so that way you can
have what you need to make thedecision for you.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Absolutely.
I think you nailed that and Iwould say just again same thing,
reiterating exactly whatChantel said, but just also
understanding like your antennasshould go up, because if the
person is looking for somethingserious, if the person is truly
looking to level up and findsomeone that they want to settle
down with, they're not going tohave a problem answering those
questions.
They might be like well, that'sa lot for day one, so you might
have to gradually breadcrumb.
(17:35):
You know what I'm saying?
Don't just all guns blazingEveryone's not going to be as
receptive as I was but go intothese dates with the intention
of finding out who the personthat you're sitting in front of
truly is, where their values are, do they align with you, so
that you can see if you actuallysee yourselves going in the
same direction.
You could save yourself a lotof frustration, a lot of
resentment and a lot ofheartbreak by asking the tough
(17:57):
questions and if they value youor they value the potential of
what you guys can have, thenanswer those questions.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Yes, and when they answer them, accept them.
Do not kind of accept them withthe hope that you can change
them.
Like, oh, they said they don'twant kids now, but let them just
wait, you know, two years.
They're going to change theirmind.
Or they said that you know theyhaven't worked through this
event.
That has happened in their lifepreviously.
But you know they're going togo to therapy.
That's fine.
But again you have to acceptthat they haven't.
(18:23):
And then there's going to bethings that you're going to need
to work through.
So whatever they say to you,accept it.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Amen, and that's a mental.
Take a mental note.
Take a mental note, park thatthing, put a pin in it and then
revisit it.
If it's something that you feellike, it's a non-negotiable you
know what I'm saying, don'tfold on the non-negotiables.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Non-negotiables.
That's a whole nother thing.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
We got episodes coming down the line, y'all
Boundaries and non-negotiables,so important.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
So you do the Strength Finder test and you
answer my 101 questions.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
And, as he mentioned, he was dating a few people but
just really trying to figure outwho was going to be his girl.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
And it was me.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Yes.
So we started datingexclusively and we only actually
dated for like two monthsbefore we needed to take a break
and we broke up y'all, yes, yes, we broke up because in the
time that we were talking, yes,we had lots of fun serving at
church together, but I startedseeing something in Troy that I
wasn't really meshing well with.
(19:25):
He was, at the time, just alittle bit loose with his words
when it came to his friends orfamily Never with me at that
time and so I was like you knowwhat I'm not even going to give
you an opportunity to talk to mecrazy, because I'm watching how
you talk to your friends theclosest people to you and I
don't want that.
So I told him that he needed towork on that if he wants a
chance to be with me.
(19:45):
But in the meantime, we'regoing to have to break up.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Absolutely, and I'll never forget like we had just
came back from a vacation.
The vacation was great.
I kind of was blindsided, right.
It was bad you know it was bad,but I think at that vacation she
was just like, yeah, this isn'tit.
And if I got to be honest andtransparent with everyone, this
is an area where I needed tomature, this is an area where
(20:09):
God needed to grow me and Ireally love and appreciate who
Chantel is, and I knew that thatwas a clear sign for me that I
had found my wife, because I meta woman who truly understands
her value and sees herself inthe image of who Christ sees her
as.
And at that time again, Ididn't have the language, but I
was like this woman is notplaying games, she's not here
(20:31):
for it.
So for me, at that time when webroke up, that was really time
for me to focus on myself,really focus on unlearning some
of the behaviors and then alsohaving honest conversations with
her.
I'm not placing blame, but alot of relationships that I was
in prior to being with Chantelwere toxic relationships.
The problem here is, whathappened is due to some of the
past relationships.
(20:52):
I started to normalizedysfunction and normalize
behaviors that are notacceptable.
And the thing is, when you'redealing with someone who is
whole, when you're dealing withsomeone who is confident, when
you're dealing with someone whosays, hey, I have a boundary in
front of this, like I have toprotect myself.
That should show you something.
You know what I mean.
I'm so happy and so gratefulthat I was able to unlearn a lot
(21:14):
of those things.
So, ladies, gentlemen, sometimesyou have to take a step back
and look at some of thebehaviors and you have to look
at the man or look at the womanin the mirror and truly ask
yourself am I operating indysfunction?
Have I normalized unhealthy,toxic behavior that I should not
normalize within my life?
And sometimes you got to take astep back and then you have to
unlearn those things.
(21:35):
I was able to gain the respectof my wife.
I was able to gain the respectof my friends.
I started treating my friendsbetter, talking to them better,
and that's something that I hadto learn.
We all have things to learn.
We all have things to grow from.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
And I was one grateful that I can actually
even deliver that, because, asyou mentioned, we were on a good
vacation, but it was stillsomething that was like brewing
in me and I think somethinghappened and I just was like, ah
, okay, this is it.
And what growth for me.
Because again, mrs Fix it, Iwas really spiritually evolving,
where I again, mrs Fix-It, Iwas really spiritually evolving,
where I again knew my value,knew my worth and knew what
(22:11):
boundaries and non-negotiables Iwas going to have.
And so I'm just so grateful forall those relationships I had,
because it prepared me with theshield and with the armor to be
able to say you know what, no,I'm not going to allow myself to
experience this or toleratethis.
And then it wasn't evenhappening to me yet, but I saw
it as a red flag or as acautionary flag.
And so that's the first thing.
(22:32):
But the second thing is it takesso much discipline and
obedience and really knowingyour own self and believing in
your own self to be able toreceive feedback and say you
know what You're right.
And that is something that I'vealways valued with Troy because
literally since day one, he isso quick to say you know what
(22:52):
I'm wrong and this is somethingI need to fix.
And it's very few times.
Very seldomly do you ever haveto repeat yourself twice to him,
because he learns.
And so he took that breakupseriously in the point of, yeah,
he still had a little fun, buthe did the work.
He did the work.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Yes, yes, absolutely, and I definitely did have a
little fun.
But again, a blessing, becausein that time of trying to get
over you but also fix myself,like I learned, the grass ain't
always greener out there duringthat time.
Yeah, I'm gonna say it rightnow in front of everybody the
grass ain't always greener inthese streets.
(23:28):
So just a reminder.
But I'm glad that during thattime of reflection and dating
and moving around, that God gaveme a revelation.
I said I can't do this anymore.
I miss Chantel, I want Chantel,and that's when I decided I was
going to propose to you.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
All of that?
Yes, it didn't happen that way.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
But you know, for some reason you decided to reach
out to me.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Yeah, yeah.
So of course, while he'sworking on himself, I also see
the grass isn't greener and Ialso see my own ways that I need
to grow, and so I definitelytapped in and said, hey, like
what's up how you doing?
And we started just likehanging out every now and then.
And then one day I gave him acall and said like hey, I need
(24:11):
to see you.
And it was at a different tone.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
At a different hour.
It was like 8 pm, I wasn'tcrazy.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
It was a little later than that.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
I was at that point in my life.
I was at a Kanye West concerton a date y'all and I always
pray through this one All isfair in love and war and I tried
to explain to the young ladythat I have to leave.
I was like I know we're hereand this is crazy, we're at this
Kanye concert in Brooklyn, butI have to go.
And I literally left at theconcert and met up with you and
the rest is history.
And I tried to explain to leftat the concert and met up with
(24:43):
you and the rest is history.
And I tried to explain to herat the time.
I said I'm leaving and I knowthis is going to hurt, but I'm
going to leave to be with theperson that I'm going to marry.
I knew at that very moment andI hate that it hurt and that it
had to go down the way it did.
I prayed over it, I've spokengood words to the young lady and
everything.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
But I had to go.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Yeah, Because God has something in store for me and I
was not going to miss thatblessing.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Right.
So you left and you came to me,and then, one month later, we
got engaged.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Crazy.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Yes, and so I just want to take a moment to just
pause and say how important itis to do your own inner healing,
your own inner work on yoursoul, your heart, your mind.
There's so much work to dowithin yourself and when you are
dating or trying to find yourpartner, so much of us just
wants what we want.
But then you really need to askyourself would I want me, right
(25:34):
?
Would I date?
Speaker 1 (25:35):
me, would I marry me.
Am.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
I actually ready to be the wife that I foresee
myself being.
What do I need to change withinmyself?
Or work on within myself, orheal within myself, or ask God
for healing in me, so that way Ican be that partner that I
actually foresee myself being.
So yeah, so we got engaged andgot married about nine months
(25:57):
later and we celebrate 10 yearson September 21st of 2024.
Crazy, high five, high five.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Love it Awesome.
So you know life gets crazysometimes.
There's no linear road to whatit's supposed to look like for
you and it's not always pretty,but thank God, we serve a God
who is merciful, who is kind andwho has something in store for
us if we are smart enough to payattention.
So anyone that's out there whois dating someone and it just
(26:27):
doesn't feel like it's a goodthing.
More importantly, if it doesn'tfeel like it's a God thing, I
really encourage you to pray onit fast.
Do what you need to do, butmake room for what God is trying
to do in your life, and if itdoesn't feel like it's a God
thing, it might not even be agood thing.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
Absolutely.
Can you just speak on?
Why did like?
How did you know that I wasgoing to be your wife?
Or how did you know you wantedto ask me to marry you?
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Again, the grass isn't always greener.
I think it's really importantto understand your value and I
know immediately.
When you broke up with me, ithurt me a lot and my ego got in
the way and I was like this issummer in New York, I'm just
going to be outside, whatever.
I finally took that approach.
That ain't it, y'all.
When you're home alone, whenyou have time to be by yourself,
when you're not out with yourfriends, when you're not moving
(27:15):
and shaking and you have to sitwith yourself, that's when the
thoughts really started to hitme about what I was doing, how I
was living my life, and how itjust didn't feel good.
And there were days when Imissed you.
There were days when I missedyou.
I missed our connection, Imissed our conversations.
I just missed your presence.
With that time, there was timefor a lot of self-reflection
about who I was and the man thatI wanted to be, and I felt like
(27:37):
I was falling short.
So, again, looking the man inthe mirror and trying to do the
best I can.
So I ain't gonna lie to you, Iread a lot of books during that
time too.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
So men are from Mars, women- are from Venus, like I
actually read that book before.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
But I had to like dust that thing off and bring it
back and really just understandthe difference between us and
really focus on what I can do toshow up to be the best I can
for you.
So I was.
I was getting myself ready.
I had no idea you were going tocall me, but I said, if she
does call me, I'm going to bethe man that she needs me to be.
I'm going to be the man thatGod wants me to be and I'm going
to step up.
I knew I wanted to marry you.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
So it sounds like you knew you wanted to marry me
because of the confidence that Ihad and because of the way that
I showed up.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Absolutely Clearly.
I think you're the mostbeautiful woman alive.
I'm not just saying that Ify'all on the camera look at her.
She's beautiful.
She's gorgeous, she's alwaysbeen beautiful, but again, it
was a posture of your heart.
The reasons that I fell in lovewith you anyway were, obviously
, I thought you were beautiful,but you were a friend right.
So we had this establishedfoundation of friendship.
I think friendship is superimportant in a marriage.
(28:39):
I'm going to say that one moretime.
Friendship is extremelyimportant in a marriage.
It's not just about loving theperson you're with.
You actually need to like them.
You should want to spend timewith them.
We live in this culture whereit's like yo.
People are like why do you wantto be with your wife?
Because she's dope.
She's the person I love beingwith.
(28:59):
So I missed that part when webroke up.
You know what I mean.
It was things like that thatreally made me fall in love with
you and I was like I don't seethis with anyone else.
I don't want it with anyoneelse.
I want it with you.
But I also wanted you to knowthat, if you were going to take
me back, that I was in it forthe long haul and I was serious.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
Yeah, I totally agree , it was your heart posture.
It was friendship first.
We say friendship first, likeover everything, friends First.
We say friendship, first likeover everything friends, then
lovers, then business partners,and I'm so grateful that we had
that friendship from like earlystages.
But then also when we got backtogether because we knew how to
(29:34):
have fun together, we had asimilar hobby interests.
We had like same kind ofpalette.
We enjoy doing the same kind ofthings.
But beyond that, we also reallyhad servant hearts where we
both felt like called to servewithin ministry and in churches
and we both really loved familyand spending time with each
other.
We wanted to create our ownkind of family and so we also
(29:57):
love to travel and so, again,these are these things.
But beyond that, we used to jokebecause of my profession was
always like your nine to fivetypical career.
He was the entrepreneur.
I love that.
He had this entrepreneurialspirit and at the time I never
thought that we would ever getinto business together.
But I said you know what?
That's the kind of man that Iwant to be with, because when,
(30:18):
when Ish hits the fan, I know hegoing to take care of us,
because of his hustler way, andI didn't see it again in myself
at the time.
but I just trusted the fact that, with his skill set, that we
were going to be all right nomatter what happened.
And so, yeah, so he married mefor my benefits and I married
him because I knew he was goingto take us far, but he brought
the passion to what he did atthe time.
(30:41):
So, yeah, those were thereasons why I wanted to marry
you beyond God, just really justmoving me to just be all about
you.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Yeah, and that's great Cause you know, in today's
society, provision looksdifferent and what you know, we
oh man, they got to bring homethe bacon, we got to be
providers blah, blah, blah, blah, blah Everything that society
says.
You were the breadwinner in ourfamily for a long time, but God
has given me he's casting mevision right, and with the
vision, that vision, some ofthat vision, is rubbed off on
(31:11):
you and I was able to sparksomething inside of you to show
you that nothing is wasted, showyou all the talents and things
that you've done in the pastthat have got us to where we are
now, where you're anentrepreneur, we're
entrepreneurs together.
So, like, god has given us notonly like the stability
standpoint, but just new life.
You wanted to be with mebecause I'm the fun guy who's
going to open up these doors,but now God has put us in a
position where it's like, no, hecan open these doors, but now
you guys are opening these doorstogether.
(31:31):
So that's the thing that isjust so awesome to me.
It's like you go into somethingthinking it's going to be one
thing and God is just like no,I'm going to blow your mind to
most people's love stories.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
We have that yin-yang relationship.
We have yin-yang personalities.
We are so opposite from eachother but by the grace of God
and through the 10 years thatwe've been married, we've been
able to learn how to reallyleverage and optimize those
differences to work for our love, to work for our connection,
for our intimacy, for ourrelationship, for our parenting,
(32:03):
because we've endured somehardships in these last 10 years
, everything from infertility toloss of income, to parenting,
to finding a place to live.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
We lived in seven different places in 10 years.
We've moved around a lot.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Yeah, we've.
We individually have dealt with, you know rejection with
perfectionism with being aworkaholic.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Yeah, relocation, honestly for me.
You know weight gain was aserious thing For us tribe
friends being in a new place,trying to find your community.
And then financial hardship.
You know we were blessed beyondbelief with resources that we
just didn't steward properly and, thank God, god has given us an
opportunity to come back and todo things better.
But these are a lot of thethings that we've been battling
(32:46):
since coming together.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
And even, most recently, loss of loved ones.
And so we've experienced in ourmarriage so many different
challenges and obstacles that atany moment could have truly
divided us.
But because we were friends,because we value God first in
our relationship, followed byeach other, and because we
really, really love going overour love story just to talk
(33:09):
about all the reasons and waysthat we have already had to
overcome to get together tobegin with, it truly has allowed
for our love story to continueto flourish and be enriched.
And in our next episode, whenwe talk about our business
journey, you'll see just how wewere able to bring our love
story from floor one to floorlike 10.
We never knew.
(33:30):
We never knew that the lovethat we share for each other can
become deeper, can become morefruitful, more blessed.
We never knew that we can havethis sort of love.
And so we're excited to shareour next story with you all
about our business journey,because it has such a great
connection to our love story.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
Amen.
I'm so excited, man.
This has been a great episodeand we hope that you guys learn
something here.
We hope that you see somethingin this episode that resonates
with you.
I hope that this episode, thatour honesty, that our
vulnerability, frees some of you, because I understand that some
of these things that we weregoing through had us captive and
we feel that we are free fromthese things.
(34:08):
So we pray that these thingsalso free you, man.
This episode was great, chantel, and there's definitely a
scripture that came to mind whenwe were talking and I just
wanna bless the folks with that.
So this one is Ephesians 4,verses two through three, in a
new, living translation Alwaysbe humble and gentle, be patient
with each other, makingallowance for each other's
(34:30):
faults because of your love.
Make every effort to keepyourselves united in the spirit,
binding yourselves togetherwith peace.
We've shared a lot about who weare today.
Obviously, we are fleshly humanbeings.
Who we are today?
Obviously, we are fleshly humanbeings.
We are going to make mistakes,but we have been blessed to have
softened hearts, to meet eachother with love, compassion and
(34:56):
understanding, knowing thatwe're not perfect, we're not
always going to get it right,but if we stay together as that
triple-braided cord with Jesusin the center that we can
withstand anything.
We've been through a lot and weknow that there's much more
that we'll go through.
It's always about peaks andvalleys in this life, but that
we stand together with God inthe center and if you guys do
that within your marriage, therelationships that you're
building you can stand the testof time.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Praise God.
Praise God, let's close out inprayer.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
Yeah, let's pray.
We're praying on the podcast.
Why not?
Why not?
Heavenly Father, spirit of theliving God, we thank you, lord.
Thank you for the opportunityto get on these mics today and
preach your good news withhonesty, integrity and, lord,
with your authority.
May this podcast free somepeople, lord, from things that
are keeping them captive.
(35:41):
Lord, may this podcast freepeople from thinking that they
have to have it all together andthat they can't get it together
with their spouse.
Lord, we pray that this podcastepisode glorifies your kingdom
and helps to enrich marriages.
Help people that are seriouslydating and engaged find that
with you in the center of theirlife, lord, they can do
(36:02):
exceedingly and abundantly morethan they can ever think or
imagine.
Lord, as this podcast continuesto grow, we ask that it just
glorifies you.
Helps people stay together,come together and live in
peaceful, holy matrimony, lord,with you in the center of their
lives.
There is only one cheat codey'all.
The biggest cheat code on thispodcast is Jesus.
(36:24):
Lord, we love you, we honor you, we praise you and we pray that
people see you on this podcast.
In your mighty name, we pray.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
Amen, well, until next time now.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
Peace.
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