11: God Isn't Outdone In Generosity & Trey QUIT His Job!!
In this solo episode, Mari shares the discernment process that led to her husband Trey quitting his job to go full time with West Coast Catholic. Just a few months ago the thought of Trey quitting his job caused anxiety and stress, but through prayer, listening to God speak through scripture, and trusting in God's fatherly generosity that turned fear into peace. Mari highlights how trusting in God and his abundance divine providence led to unexpected blessings. She encourages listeners to invite God into their life decisions, embrace generosity in their yes to Him, and experience His abundant provision. Our God is not outdone in generosity!
Transcript
Hey, I'm your host, Mari Wagner, and you're listening to the ever
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:be podcast where faith meets lifestyle.
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:I'm so excited.
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:You're here.
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:Whether you're a new listener
or a long time follower, I know
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:there's something here for you.
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:Pull up a chair and listen in for
insightful real life conversations
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:and actionable steps on how to claim
the full life God created you for.
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:If you're a woman desiring to live
a Christ centered life in today's
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:modern world, then this is for you.
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:Welcome to Everbe.
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:Speaker: Hi friends, welcome back to ever
be, I'm so glad that you're here today
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:and that you pressed play on this episode.
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:It's going to be a great solo episode.
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:Just me today.
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:, I'm going to just fill you in on an
exciting life update that we have.
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:And, uh, really what I want to dive into
is kind of our discernment process of how
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:we made this big decision in our life.
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:And how the Lord worked
through our prayer.
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:And ultimately what I really want to
get to today is just a beautiful example
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:that the Lord has allowed in our lives.
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:Just to share a beautiful example and
kind of just be a source of encouragement
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:and inspiration of how you can be
generous in your yes to the Lord and
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:how you can really trust in him when you
feel like he's calling you to something
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:and i'm excited because this is a story
that i've just been able to share in the
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:past two weeks with um our closest friends
and family just sharing the news and how
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:we made this decision and It just really
feels like today's just going to be a
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:cozy friend to friend chat with you today
I've got my sweats on i've got my bible.
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:I've got a blanket Um, so wherever it
is that you're listening Settle in and
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:get ready for just a really fun friend
chat today, just a little life update.
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:Um, and hopefully that you leave
inspired and encouraged to give the
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:Lord a more generous yes in your life,
a more, uh, a greater surrender and
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:a greater trust in his plan for you.
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:So just for backstory, this whole
episode essentially is going to be
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:about how we decided for Trey to come
on full time with West Coast Catholic.
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:West Coast Catholic is our Catholic
lifestyle brand that we own.
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:It's a business that we
started back in:
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:And it has been our dream for both of
us to work full time for this business.
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:We've had it, you know, like
what, five, six years now.
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:And so it's been a long time coming.
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:We've worked so hard.
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:We've poured our hearts and souls, time
and energy and just countless hours and
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:sleepless nights and just everything
that we have into this business,
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:into serving you and to, um, really
evangelizing through beauty and through
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:our products, bringing you closer to God.
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:And, for those of you who may
not be really, uh, involved
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:or really knowledgeable in the
entrepreneurship world, getting a
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:business off the ground is no joke.
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:It's really hard.
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:And I think the entrepreneurship
is a really special calling.
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:I don't think anybody and
everybody is called to it.
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:It takes a lot of great determination,
uh, hard work, and heart and love,
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:but really just it takes sacrifice.
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:And especially for us, we know that, Our
business is more than just a business.
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:It's really a mission and
that God's called us to it.
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:And so that's been our biggest
motivator to keep going and keep
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:fighting hard and working hard to get
our business to where it is today.
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:And like I said, us working side
by side full time has been a dream
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:that we've had for a long time.
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:And over the years, as our business has
grown, we've made strategic Decisions
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:to hire out other employees, whether it
be part time or now full time, we have a
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:few full time employees, um, and kind of
build out our team and get it to a place
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:to where it really could support both of
us full time and support the businesses
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:growth and the goals that we had for it.
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:So kind of what this
journey has looked like.
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:I mean, we started this business in
college and it was always kind of a
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:side thing up until let's say 2020.
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:It really started growing,
really taking off.
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:It was getting bigger and we were,
you know, starting to be full
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:time missionaries at that point.
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:And really, by 2022, we just knew,
you know, In order to sustain this
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:business, one of us has to go full time.
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:It's not really working for
it to be a side gig anymore.
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:And so we made the decision for me to go
full time actually here's the fun fact
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:is we actually made the decision for
both of us to go full time at that point.
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:So we left our, uh, jobs as
missionaries in May of:
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:And then we both went full time
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:and then I don't know, maybe
like a month or two in near like
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:the middle end of the summer.
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:We were like, okay, this isn't
really working financially for
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:our business or for our family.
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:The business wasn't really able to support
two full time jobs while also supporting
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:growth in the way that we wanted to
for the for the coming years and we
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:also, as a family, couldn't afford to
not have two full time jobs or two full
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:time salaries coming in for our income.
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:And , so we had to make a decision
there to actually not have Trey go
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:full time and have him go find a job.
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:So he found a full time job
with a marketing agency.
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:And then I stuck to full
time West Coast Catholic.
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:And this way we allowed our investment
to be put back into the business and to
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:grow the business and to continue the
trajectory that we had planned while just
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:kind of putting our dream of us both being
full time kind of on the back burner a
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:little bit until it was the right time.
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:And so in the meantime, we hired
a few other, you know, part
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:time and full time employees.
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:And that worked for us for a
while, for a few years or so.
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:Um, and then this past year, there's
been some amazing exponential growth.
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:The Lord has really, really
blessed us and we're so grateful.
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:And with growth, uh, naturally comes
a little bit more work and more
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:responsibility and it's honestly
become way too much for me to
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:handle on my own and even for try
to handle on top of a full-time job.
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:'cause he never really stopped
working for West Coast Catholic.
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:He's always been there and we would never
be where we are without all the time
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:and love and energy that he puts in.
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:So he was basically carrying two
full time jobs and I was carrying
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:way more than a full time jobs load.
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:And so we decided, you know,
the time is coming soon.
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:We need to start planning and preparing
for Trey to come on full time.
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:We started having this conversation
back in October:
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:that by December 2024, we'd be
able to bring them on full time.
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:Um, now ideally we were hoping for a
year out, so like maybe by October,
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:but we were like, okay, for sure.
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:By December, that's the plan.
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:Uh, and January through April, you
guys was such a whirlwind in our life.
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:Um, We're learning to, you know, find
better balance and reduce stress in
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:our life and, uh, really continue to
keep God and our faith, uh, as a top
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:priority above all things and really
how to balance, you know, work, faith,
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:life, marriage, social life, new
relationships, um, family relationships,
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:just caring for our home while you
know, that we also love to travel.
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:Um, and so, yeah, it
was all becoming very.
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:Very overwhelming and just
too much for us to carry.
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:We were getting burnt out
and we just knew that.
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:West coast Catholic needed
both of our full attention.
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:And so we really were like, okay,
we need to sit down and talk about
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:what is feasible for our family,
for our business financially,
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:timing wise, does it make sense?
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:And is the Lord calling
us to do this right now?
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:Like above all, like, is God behind this?
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:Like, we want to make sure
that this timing is God led.
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:And so we decided that after the
podcast launched in April, we would
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:sit down and start to really like look
at the calendar seriously, um, and
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:crunch some numbers and make decisions.
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:And so sure enough, a few days after the
podcast launched, we went to our favorite
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:coffee shop and sat down and had a long,
several hour conversation about the
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:future and about what is We could actually
do what our finances looked like, what
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:the business could support, um, future
goals that we had for the business.
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:And if that made sense, and if maybe the
Lord was actually calling us to do this
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:or not, um, and through that conversation,
we decided that by the end of the summer,
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:We would be ready to make that
jump for Trey to quit his job and
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:come on full time alongside me.
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:Now, that was an exciting conversation
because It seemed like August was
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:going to be pretty feasible, um, which
meant that it was going to happen way
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:before December, which was exciting.
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:But at the same time, I sort of
left the conversation feeling like,
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:I'm not sure that this is actually
what God is calling us to do.
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:Now.
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:I didn't know if God was maybe calling us
to wait longer and wait till the end of
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:the year, or if maybe his intention was.
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:Timing was sooner and that he had
it planned for us to have Trey come
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:on full-time before, I don't know.
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:Um, but pretty much anytime we had a
conversation about Trey going full-time
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:and leaving his job, there was this
like unrest in anxiety within me.
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:Um, and if you know anything about
discernment, you know that when there's.
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:Unrest when there's stress, when
there's anxiety, especially like an, an
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:anxious, like distrust or an anxious,
like unsettledness about something
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:that's usually not where the Lord is.
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:Usually when you're discerning
something, you'll find peace and clarity.
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:You'll find, um, kind of a serenity
and a stillness in your soul.
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:And, uh, we've just learned a lot
of big things before and I wasn't.
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:Feeling that, like I wasn't feeling that
confidence that I usually feel when I
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:know the Lord is calling us to something.
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:But I know that Trey had been waiting
a long time for this conversation and
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:he's, you know, itching to get out of
his job and be able to come on full time.
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:Um, and our family, you know,
the way that we were living
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:like really, really needed it.
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:Uh, the way that we were living was just
not sustainable, not healthy for us.
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:And we knew that our family really
needed that balance and for Trey to
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:step back from his full time job.
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:But when we had this
conversation, it was April.
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:So honestly, not that long ago.
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:I mean, it was about a month ago.
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:And we knew that by August, uh,
most of our goals and finances and
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:things would be in place to where
we wanted it to be, to where we feel
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:like it would be just safe enough.
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:Um, that was kind of our goal was to
truly, and just in total transparency,
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:our goal was to save up almost like pretty
much a whole year's worth salary for Trey
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:to have that year of safety, uh, as we
took the leap for him to go full time.
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:Now, by the end of August, we would have.
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:Almost reach that goal.
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:Not fully, but we felt like it was
safe enough for us to take that jump.
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:Um, and truly what we were searching
for was just security was just that
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:safety, that security for us to be able
to have everything like saved up and,
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:and perfectly safe for us to make that
decision ourselves for us to totally
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:provide for ourselves and for our future
without having to worry about anything.
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:We're really, really waiting to make the
safest jump, the safest leap, if you will.
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:So then fast forward to a few weeks
after this conversation, this was like
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:in mid April and then end of April,
we had our West Coast Catholic team up
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:in Colorado for our spring gathering.
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:And we went up to the mountains and
the drive up is about two hours and I
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:was driving with the girls in the car.
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:Trey was driving with the husbands in the
car because we like to have the husbands
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:join in on these kind of getaways as well.
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:And on the drive up, I was just so
grateful for our team and the gift
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:of West Coast Catholic and that this
is our work and our job and that
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:we're able to combine our strengths
and our passions with our ministry.
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:And I just like had this prayer on my
heart, um, just, you know, You know,
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:for Trey and for him to be able to spend
his time fully with West Coast Catholic.
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:And it was just kind of
a quick offhanded prayer.
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:It wasn't even something super deep
or intentional or outspoken out loud.
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:It was just a passing thought
where I was like, Lord, like, thank
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:you for the gift of West Coast
Catholic that you've given us.
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:Um, When is it that you have it
planned for tray to come full time?
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:You know, if this timing that we've come
up with in, in August, end of summer,
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:isn't actually your timing, just, can you
just please make that clear this week?
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:I think I just like would have so much
peace if you would make that clear,
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:which obviously anybody discerning
everything, anything is looking for peace.
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:Um, and so.
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:It wasn't that crazy of a prayer, but
again, like I said, it was maybe like 30
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:seconds to a minute, super random, just in
my head as we're driving up the mountains.
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:And then it just passed and I
didn't really think about it again.
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:And then we got up to the mountains
and, you know, settled in and,
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:uh, we're just ready to have such
an awesome week with our team.
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:Now, every morning at these team
gatherings, we start in prayer.
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:Usually in about 30 minutes to 60
minutes in adoration, if we're able to
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:get to an adoration chapel, this time
we were up in the mountains and the
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:church happened to be closed that week
because the priests were out of town.
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:And so we just kind of set up a little
like prayer altar space in the house
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:that we were at, and then we set up
our own sort of like prayer times, team
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:prayer times in the living room together.
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:And so one of the mornings, that
first morning actually, we did
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:Lectio Divina with our team.
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:Um, so we dove into my favorite
passage, which is the whole do not
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:worry passage, but specifically where
it ends, you know, Matthew 6, 33, seek
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:first the kingdom and his righteousness
and all things will be given to you.
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:Besides that's our anchor
verse for West coast Catholic.
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:And it's also just.
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:pretty much like the
anchor verse for my life.
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:Um, and so we just started
with that whole passage.
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:And if you don't want Lexio Divina is
basically you're praying and reading
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:through a scripture passage several
times and letting it soak in and
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:sink in and trying to pray through
what the Lord is speaking to you.
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:Maybe taking notice of nudges of the
Holy Spirit, um, you know, kind of drawing
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:you to one word or one phrase, or maybe
it's a theme that's really resonating
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:with you that you want to dive into.
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:And then we discussed it together as
a team, as friends to kind of just
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:share what the Lord was doing in our
hearts through this time of prayer.
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:So I'm going to open up to that
passage first because this is
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:really where it all begins.
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:So like I said, it is Matthew 6, 33.
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:If you have a Bible with you and you are
cozied up like I am, I encourage you to
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:grab your Bible, pause the episode really
quick, grab your Bible, and then come
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:back so that we can read it together.
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:Okay, here we go.
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:I am using an NAB translation of the
Bible, New American Bible, Matthew chapter
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:six verse, uh, we're going to go to the
verse 25 and read it through verse 33.
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:So the section is titled
Dependence on God.
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:Which is very fitting.
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:Not all the Bibles have the
same titles for each section.
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:And so this is just very fitting.
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:Dependence on God.
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:Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or drink,
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:or about your body, what you will wear.
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:Is not life more than food and
the body more than clothing?
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:Look at the birds in the sky.
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:They do not sow nor reap nor
gather nothing into barns, yet
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:your heavenly Father feeds them.
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:Amen.
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:Are you not more important than they?
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:Can you, by worrying, add a
single moment to your lifespan?
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:Why are you anxious about your clothes?
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:Learn from the way the wildflowers grow.
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:They do not work or spin, but I tell
you that not even Solomon, in all his
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:splendor, was clothed like one of them.
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:If God so clothes the grass of the field
which grows today and is thrown into
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:the oven tomorrow, will he not much more
provide for you, O you of little faith?
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:So do not worry and
say, What are we to eat?
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:Or what are we to drink?
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:Or what are we to wear?
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:All pagans seek.
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:Your Heavenly Father knows
that you need them all.
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:But seek first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness.
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:And all these things will
be given to you besides,
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:uh, that is just so, so good.
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:Like I said, it's my favorite passage
and it just brings me so much peace
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:to even just read through it and just
let these words sink into my soul.
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:Every single time I read it, you guys,
and every time I read it and every time I
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:spend time really studying it and praying
with it, I feel like something new sticks
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:out to me and something new like really
resonates with me and speaks to me.
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:And that's just the beauty of the word
is that the word of God is living.
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:It's, it's truly like alive
and active in our lives.
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:And if you spend time
reading it and studying it.
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:You'll find the ways that the Lord truly
like speaks directly into your life.
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:Um, if you just open your heart and invite
the Holy Spirit and allow him to do so,
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:to speak into your life through his word.
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:So this was the passage that we started
out in our Lectio Divina, that first day
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:of prayer on our team gathering week.
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:And like I said, I've read
this passage a million times.
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:It's my favorite one.
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:So I reflected on it a lot, but
this time something new stood out
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:to me, something that I never really
paid much attention to before.
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:And that was verse 26, where it
says, Look at the birds in the sky.
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:They do not sow nor reap
or gather into barns.
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:Yet your heavenly father feeds them and
that one stood out to me right away as
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:we were praying through it because it
just reminded me of the Conversations and
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:the plan that Trey had it Trey and I had
in place to have to make that decision
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:for him to go full time We were just so
Concerned on providing for ourselves.
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:We were so fixated on security
and on gathering, right?
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:Like saving up as much money as
we could waiting till everything
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:was perfectly in place till we
had control over every situation.
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:And then we would feel totally
secure and ready to take that leap.
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:Now in this passage.
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:Jesus points out, look at the birds
in the sky, they don't sow, nor
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:reap, nor gather, like, look at these
birds, like, they don't worry about
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:what they're gonna eat tomorrow, they
don't store up food, they don't gather
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:in case of an emergency, like, They
live completely reliant on nature,
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:essentially on God, the father, right?
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:And it says with yet your
heavenly father feeds them.
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:They fully rely on God's providence
to feed them, to provide for
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:them so that they can live.
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:And then it says, are you
not more important than they?
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:I mean, Jesus, like just directly
spoke to my heart in a beautiful, yet
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:like, kind of like challenging way
of like, Don't you trust in the Lord?
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:Doesn't he love you more than
he loves the birds of the sky?
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:Are you not more valuable?
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:Is your life not more valuable than
theirs as a son or daughter of God?
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:Aren't you more valuable
than a creature, a bird?
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:I sort of felt like he was.
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:He was calling us out a little bit
and then asking us to trust, to be
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:like, don't worry about gathering.
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:Don't worry about providing in yourselves.
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:Like, trust me, I'll provide.
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:My heavenly father will provide
as he does for the birds.
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:He will for his children, for those who
are much more valuable than the birds.
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:And so I brought that up to Trey.
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:I was like, Trey, like this
really stood out to me in prayer.
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:I brought it up to the whole
team and I was like, you know,
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:you guys, like, I don't know.
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:This is something to pray with.
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:Like this really, you
know, resonated with me.
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:Um, maybe we need to be more trusting
of the Lord, like even in West Coast
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:Catholic, like, let's just all pray with
that for a little bit that I'm just really
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:going to take time, you know, to mold this
over in my heart for the next few days.
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:Now, I, I just thought that I would take
that to prayer, you know, the next few
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:days, the next few weeks, and just kind
of see where the Lord was moving and
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:maybe revisit this conversation with Trey
about him going full time at some point,
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:but the Lord moved much quicker than that.
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:So the next day, uh, we were
all, the girls were hanging out.
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:Um, so I'm going to talk a little
bit about what we were doing
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:in the living room at night.
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:And the guys were having a boy's
time in the hot tub as they usually
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:do when we're up in the mountains.
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:And us girls were just chatting
in the living room about life.
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:You know how girls are.
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:I mean, we spent hours in conversation.
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:I don't even know what we talked about.
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:Just moving from one
conversation to the next.
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:Women have a great talent to just
talk for hours, uh, and never
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:run out of things to talk about.
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:So we were just chatting away and
you know, in the middle of our
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:conversation, one of our, uh, teammates
and our dear friends just brought up.
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:Brought this situation up to me of Trey
pretty much working for two full time
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:jobs of us being super Stressed and
tired these last few months and really
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:having too much on our plate and she's
just in all You know care for us just
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:asked me like so what's your plan Mari?
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:Like when is Trey gonna go full time
like you guys really need to make this
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:leap Like it seems like this is The
last few months have been a lot for your
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:family and like, I really care about you.
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:Like, what's the plan?
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:Like, what do you, what
are you guys going to do?
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:And you know, I looked at her and I
was like, I know they, first of all,
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:like, thank you for acknowledging that.
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:Like, I know it's been a really crazy,
uh, few months for our family, the
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:last six months, especially, but the
last four months were like insane.
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:Um, yeah.
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:It's insane.
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:And I was like, I don't know, you know,
we talked about it recently and maybe
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:by the end of the summer we could do it.
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:Um, and even if we did that, like we
would feel good about it, but even
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:that would be like taking a little
bit of a leaf, a leap of faith.
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:Um, and if we left today, like that
would for sure be taking a leap of faith.
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:Um, so I don't know, I think it'll
be a few months, hopefully soon here
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:that we'll make that, make that jump.
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:She just looked at me and she was
like, yeah, like maybe God is asking
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:you to take that leap of faith.
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:And she just smiled.
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:And I was like.
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:Lord, what are you doing?
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:Um, I just felt like a similar
feeling that I've had before when
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:I know that the Lord is calling me
when the Lord is challenging me.
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:And I felt that through my friend
saying this and I was like, yeah,
381
:you know, maybe, maybe he is.
382
:And then she went on to share with me, um,
just a recent experience that she had of,
383
:of trusting the Lord in his
call and not necessarily having
384
:family finances figured out and how
they felt the Lord to trust them.
385
:And then when they took that leap,
the Lord provided in abundance, um,
386
:and their family finances were totally
figured out and totally covered for.
387
:And there was so much peace in that
decision that they made as a family.
388
:And she just said, you know, I
encourage you to pray about this.
389
:You know, maybe the Lord is calling
you to take that leap to trust him
390
:and to trust in his providence.
391
:And I was just like, okay, thank
you, you know, for being a good
392
:friend, for challenging me, for
bringing that up, you know, we're
393
:definitely gonna pray about that.
394
:And I just took that to heart and
the next day, maybe it wasn't the
395
:next day, but it was the last day of
that week together as a team, we were
396
:driving back down from the mountains.
397
:And I really wanted to have
this conversation with Trey.
398
:I'm someone who like, if something
is like really pressing on my
399
:heart, I can't really wait.
400
:And I can't really like,
put it to the side.
401
:So I asked the team to drive in my
car so that Trey and I could drive
402
:on our own together in his car and
just kind of have a conversation
403
:us two on the way back down home.
404
:And I brought up the whole
conversation of him going full time.
405
:I brought up the time in prayer and
then the conversation that I had with
406
:one of the girls and just being like,
let's just revisit this conversation.
407
:Like, I just feel like the Lord wants
us to revisit this and we should
408
:just try and see if he is pointing
us to a different timeline, maybe
409
:something that we didn't have in mind.
410
:Maybe it's actually
sooner than we thought.
411
:And Trey was like, okay, why don't you
grab your Bible, open it up to that
412
:passage in Matthew that really stood out
to you, that line, and we can kind of
413
:pray through that on the drive down and
see if the Lord speaks to us anymore.
414
:And so I had my Bible with
me in the passenger seat.
415
:And I opened it up randomly, you know,
to start looking for the passage that
416
:we had prayed through a few days before.
417
:And when I opened up to this random
page, my eyes went directly to
418
:a few verses that I had
previously underlined.
419
:So clearly I had read through it before.
420
:Uh, my My eyes went directly to
Psalm 37 and now this isn't a
421
:psalm that I like frequently read.
422
:Not one that I, not one
that I knew by heart.
423
:I do now because of the way that
it's changed our life, but it
424
:wasn't one that I'd recognized.
425
:Um, and like I said, I just opened
to a random page of the Bible.
426
:My eyes went directly to here.
427
:I, my intention was to search
for that passage in Matthew, but
428
:my eyes were drawn to this one.
429
:And I have the NAB version,
like I said, but the Bible I
430
:was reading in the car was NRSV.
431
:So there's like one slight difference
of a word that I'll point out in a
432
:second, but I opened the Bible and my
eyes immediately go to verse three.
433
:It says, trust in the Lord
and do good that you may dwell
434
:in the land and live secure.
435
:Now in the version that I was
reading, it said that you may dwell
436
:in the land and enjoy security.
437
:Find your delight in the Lord who
will give you your heart's desire.
438
:Commit your way to the Lord,
trust in him and he will act.
439
:I read that really quickly in
my head when I opened the Bible.
440
:And then I told Trey like, Oh my gosh, um,
I think I need to read this to you, like,
441
:You won't believe what I just opened to,
you know, and I read him that Psalm again,
442
:trust in the Lord and do good that you
may dwell in his land and enjoy security.
443
:Find your delight in the Lord.
444
:He will give you the
desires of your heart.
445
:Commit your way to the Lord,
trust in him and he will act.
446
:And immediately when I read this out
loud to Trey, we both got emotional.
447
:We both like teared up and
pretty much started crying.
448
:And we were just like, Oh my gosh,
like the Lord is speaking to us.
449
:We felt in that moment, a clarity and
a peace through that verse that the
450
:Lord was speaking to us, especially
for me, the word enjoy security.
451
:It was like the Lord was speaking straight
into that fear that we had of security,
452
:specifically financial security, uh,
both for the business and for ourselves.
453
:And he didn't just say like, trust in me
and I will like meet your needs, right?
454
:Like the birds of the air.
455
:He didn't just say, and
I will just feed you.
456
:Like we saw in the Matthew
passage, it said, and how much more
457
:valuable are you than the birds?
458
:So in response to us, the Lord
said, trust in me that you may
459
:dwell in my land and enjoy security.
460
:That word enjoy is like.
461
:It signifies abundance, just like
the Lord always promises us that
462
:when we live a life of Christ,
we will enjoy abundance in him.
463
:And he was speaking this directly
to us, trust in me and enjoy
464
:security, delight in the Lord.
465
:And he'll give you the
desires of your heart.
466
:You know, like just find the light
in, in the work that I've given
467
:you in my mission, like delight
in me and my sacraments and
468
:prayer and relationship with me.
469
:And I will give you the
desires of your heart.
470
:And like I said, our biggest dream,
for the past few years has been for
471
:Trey and I to work alongside each other
full time and to have this work, this
472
:ministry be the full, the way that it
provides for our family completely.
473
:And here we just felt the Lord saying
like, yes, like delight in this
474
:delight in this work, delight in me
as your father, as your provider.
475
:And I will give you those desires.
476
:I will meet those desires and more.
477
:And then the last one, it says,
commit your way to the Lord,
478
:trust in him and he will act.
479
:And that just spoke so clearly, clearly
to me because it just reminded me of this.
480
:Promise that I've made to the Lord
that comes from that last verse in
481
:Matthew 6 33, that says, seek first
the kingdom and his righteousness
482
:and all things will be given to you.
483
:Besides, you know, commit your
life to the Lord, commit your way
484
:to the Lord, seek first God and
his kingdom and his righteousness.
485
:Trust in him and he will
act and all things will be
486
:given to you besides, right?
487
:I'm kind of comparing those two verses
to each other Psalm 37 verse 6 and
488
:Matthew 6 verse 33 Those spoke so
like symbiotically together into my
489
:life and into what we were Needing and
praying with at the moment that it just
490
:became so clear to us that the Lord
was like, yeah I'm Trust in me, do my
491
:work, enjoy the abundant security I'm
going to bring you, and the blessing
492
:that this will be for your family.
493
:Now, that call that we felt
didn't necessarily solve
494
:practically all of the problems.
495
:Not necessarily problems, but all
of the steps that we needed to
496
:take to feel secure in taking that
leap for Trey being full time.
497
:That was just the Lord calling.
498
:But for some reason, and I felt this
so many other times before when the
499
:Lord's called me to big things like
to marry Trey or to engagement or
500
:to become a missionary with focus
and to move to Nebraska where we did
501
:our, you know, years as missionaries.
502
:Or then when he called us to
move to Colorado, that was nuts.
503
:I mean, he called us to move to Colorado
in literally a span of four weeks.
504
:Like one day we were like, Nope, we're not
like, we're just living our merry lives.
505
:And then the next day, the Lord was like,
Move to Colorado in literally four weeks.
506
:And we were like, okay, that's nuts.
507
:So we've had a lot of other moments where
the Lord has moved in a similar way in
508
:our life, where he has called us to big
things and asked for trust and generosity.
509
:Now, what do I mean by generosity?
510
:And this is something that
I've learned from Trey.
511
:And, um, this is just something that he's
expressed to me in a really beautiful
512
:way, and that has strengthened my faith is
that when the Lord calls you to something,
513
:we want to respond in a generous way.
514
:Right.
515
:We want our yes to be generous.
516
:Just like Mary's in the time of the
Annunciation when he said, you know,
517
:you're going to be the mother of God
and bring salvation to the world.
518
:And she was like, yes, Lord, may it
be done to me according to your will.
519
:Right?
520
:She had a yet a generous yes to the Lord.
521
:We want the same response in our lives
when the Lord calls us to something,
522
:when the Lord calls us to trust in him,
whether it be big or small, we will
523
:always want to respond with generosity.
524
:And so when we knew the Lord
was calling us to do this.
525
:I felt a peace and confidence in this
conversation of Trey going full time and
526
:taking the sleep like I never had before.
527
:Remember before I always felt anxiousness
and restlessness and all of a sudden I
528
:felt like the Lord spoke clearly and I
had that confirmation that it was him.
529
:And due to my faith being strengthened
through other times in our life and
530
:him providing, I just knew that without
knowing what the future held, that he
531
:was going to provide just like he did
for the birds of the air and more.
532
:And so I told Trey in the car, you
know, after reading this together, I was
533
:like, babe, like I trust you completely.
534
:I trust the Lord completely.
535
:Um, whatever you decide, whenever
you feel like is, is the right
536
:time for you to take this.
537
:Jump for you to quit your
job and come on full time.
538
:I feel peace with that.
539
:I'm happy about that.
540
:I, I'm confident that the Lord
is working and that the Lord
541
:is blessing this decision.
542
:So I, I left it up to him to kind of like
choose when that right moment would be.
543
:And then, what was that?
544
:That was on a Thursday, I think.
545
:And then Friday, end of the day, he
came up to me, traded, and he was
546
:like, Okay, so I've prayed about
it, and I'm going to quit on Monday.
547
:I'm going to put my
two weeks in on Monday.
548
:And I remember being like, even then,
even after the whole discernment that we
549
:had and this, these beautiful moments of
prayer, I remember I was even like, Whoa.
550
:You're going to put your
two weeks in on Monday.
551
:Like that was really quick.
552
:Like we just, we just had all these
revelations like two days ago.
553
:I thought you were going to
take time to pray about it.
554
:You know, and in my head I'm like,
he's going to take a few weeks, you
555
:know, maybe a month to really make sure
that this is what God's calling us to
556
:and then, and then start the process.
557
:And he was like, no Mari, like the Lord
made it abundantly clear and I want to
558
:be generous He's promised us abundance.
559
:He's promised us providence.
560
:We have to trust in that
and we have to say yes.
561
:And the Lord's not going
to not provide for us.
562
:If I, you know, quit my job tomorrow
or in two weeks or a month, like
563
:he's going to bless that trust that
we have in him whenever we feel like
564
:that timing is right now that he
has confirmed that it is his call.
565
:And I was like, okay, all right.
566
:You're right.
567
:You're right.
568
:This is, this couldn't be more clear.
569
:I'm with you.
570
:Let's do it.
571
:And so we, you know, felt this
confirmation in prayer on a Thursday.
572
:That Monday, Trey, you know, talked to his
boss, put his two weeks in and which ended
573
:up actually being like a week and a half.
574
:And he actually ended his job.
575
:His last day was the Wednesday
after that next week.
576
:And then on Thursday, the next morning we
were on a plane to Hawaii to celebrate.
577
:And rest as a family.
578
:And if all this isn't crazy enough,
um, what's, what's really crazy you
579
:guys is that on Monday, Trey put in
his two weeks and not even 24 hours
580
:after that, the Lord brought in a huge
financial blessing for our family.
581
:Um, that's pretty much going to cover.
582
:What we needed to, um, for the
next few months for forever.
583
:I don't know.
584
:It's just a new source of income, uh,
that we weren't necessarily expecting.
585
:And I know, and I'm confident that
this was all part of God's plan, that
586
:this was a blessing that came from
the Lord calling us to trust him and
587
:his providence and us responding to
that call generously and quickly.
588
:And it's more than I would have
expected and we just feel so
589
:abundantly Like blessed that we get
to walk with the Lord in this way.
590
:And that through trusting him,
we are able just to experience
591
:his abundant providence, abundant
love and blessing in our life.
592
:And I share this to hopefully inspire
you to hopefully encourage you to take.
593
:These leaps of faith in your life as
well to take your life and big decisions
594
:into discernment with God, that you
wouldn't do anything alone, but that
595
:you would decide everything with him and
that you would invite him into your life
596
:and invite him into big decisions of
discernment, like Lord, who should I date?
597
:Who should I marry?
598
:What job should I take?
599
:Where should I move to?
600
:Um, you know, anything that is like big
and radical in your life, invite the Lord
601
:into that and let him have the final say,
let him show you what his plan for you is.
602
:Let him provide for you in the
ways that you're needing him to.
603
:And he will, I know, I know that he will,
if you truly surrender with a trusting
604
:heart, he always, always will, because he
loves you as his son or daughter, and he.
605
:wants to provide for you more than he
wants to provide for the birds of the air.
606
:And the thing that I really want you
to walk away with too, is just this
607
:theme of abundance and that the Lord
doesn't just provide what is necessary.
608
:He provides from a place of like, Overflow
of love, that's just what the Lord is.
609
:He's an overflow of love and he constantly
wants to pour out upon us and really waits
610
:for us to ask for us to trust, for us to
depend fully on him and for us to stop
611
:relying on ourselves, stop providing for
ourselves and feeling like we don't have
612
:an all powerful, all good, all loving
father that wants to provide for us.
613
:And so this trip to Hawaii that we took
the next day after Trey's last day of
614
:work was really just a continuation of
that abundant providence that the Lord
615
:was bringing into our life and the way
that he was showing us that he wanted,
616
:like wanted to love on us big time.
617
:And so we love to travel and
it's not totally uncommon for
618
:us to want to take a big trip.
619
:We love to travel.
620
:It's where we, you know, Choose
to invest our money in because
621
:we want these experiences.
622
:We think that it's really enriching
for our life and pours into our
623
:marriage and builds up our marriage.
624
:And so when Trey decided to quit
his job, I immediately was like,
625
:Trey, we have to celebrate, like
let's get away for the weekend.
626
:Like, let's, you know, maybe go to
California or Arizona or Florida.
627
:Like, let's do like a
fun quick weekend trip.
628
:Or like, let's, you know, take a road
trip somewhere beautiful in Colorado.
629
:And, you know, The more I was
looking into Airbnbs and stuff, I
630
:was like, no, like, let's go big.
631
:Like, let's do something fun.
632
:Like, let's go to Europe or Hawaii or
Mexico or like somewhere where we can like
633
:really like enjoy and especially relax.
634
:Like I said, the last four
months, the last six months of
635
:our lives have been crazy hectic.
636
:And I felt like We really needed time
just us to, to rest and relax and recoup
637
:and kind of like reset and reignite so
that we can go back into our life with
638
:more energy and excitement than before.
639
:And so as I was looking at these different
places, I landed on Hawaii because
640
:we had never been to Hawaii together.
641
:I'd never really been to Hawaii and it
seems like a perfect mix of adventure,
642
:uh, with all the outdoor natural
beauty that Hawaii has as well as
643
:rest with like the beautiful beaches.
644
:And so I put that idea out there and
Trey was kind of like, Whoa, that's kind
645
:of crazy, but I'm kind of down for it.
646
:And so we prayed for it.
647
:And so we decided to kind of like leave it
on the table, leave it as an option, see
648
:if we had, uh, good options for Airbnbs
and hotels and if the timing worked and
649
:you know, if it was the Lord's will.
650
:And so while that was
kind of on the table, I.
651
:You know, I prayed like, Lord,
like, I hope that this is your will.
652
:Just make it clear if this is your will.
653
:Like, I really want to take this trip.
654
:I really feel like we need this
time to relax, to be together.
655
:And again, just kind
of an offhanded prayer.
656
:Now, if you, if, if these things have
never happened to you in your life,
657
:you might be like, okay, this is nuts.
658
:And it, maybe it is, or
maybe I was reading into it.
659
:I don't know, but it just really
felt like the Lord was showing up in
660
:little ways, confirming like, yes.
661
:Like, I want you to take this trip.
662
:I want you to rest.
663
:I want you to pour into your marriage.
664
:I want you to relax.
665
:And what was crazy is that like
Hawaii and Maui specifically was just
666
:coming up in different ways in our
life that had never really before.
667
:Like I, like I said, like
I'd never been to Hawaii.
668
:Honestly, it wasn't like a huge dream.
669
:I had to go to Hawaii.
670
:It's not like I really talk about it or
see things on Instagram about it often.
671
:It was just in the moment I
was like, let's do Hawaii.
672
:and there's a few things that
happened in the following days that
673
:was like all pointed to Hawaii.
674
:So like, in mass the guy in front
of us was wearing a Hawaiian shirt
675
:and there was like nobody in the
church wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
676
:Like that was just like random
and he was right in front of
677
:us and Trey pointed that out.
678
:And then, you know, May is the month
of Mary and so the statue of Mary in
679
:the church had a beautiful like flower
crown that is really common for May
680
:crownings in churches, But the crown
Mary had with like these thick tropical
681
:flowers that looked like a Hawaiian like
lay like wrapped around Mary's head.
682
:And Trey was like, Oh my
gosh, look at Mary's crown.
683
:It looks like a Hawaiian flower crown.
684
:And I was like, Oh my gosh, that's crazy.
685
:Like maybe God wants us to go to Hawaii.
686
:And we were just kind of
joking about it, you know?
687
:And then we were invited to this
baptism and the photographer at the
688
:baptism had the gosh, I don't know
what it's called, but it's like the,
689
:the white and yellow Hawaiian flower.
690
:She had a clip of it in her hair.
691
:And while that's really common for people
to wear in Hawaii, you don't really see
692
:people wear that on a day to day basis,
at least in Colorado where we live.
693
:And so I was like, Trey,
look at the photographer.
694
:She's literally wearing a
Hawaiian flower in her hair.
695
:Like that's crazy.
696
:Like maybe we're supposed to go to Hawaii.
697
:And then I was like, okay, Lord.
698
:And this was like me praying
an intentional prayer.
699
:Okay.
700
:I was like, okay, Lord, if you really
want us to go to Hawaii, if we should
701
:actually like do this crazy trip.
702
:next week, then have somebody bring
up Hawaii at this baptism party.
703
:If Hawaii comes up in any conversation,
I'm going to take that as your go good
704
:to go on this crazy, awesome trip.
705
:And I didn't expect for anybody
to actually bring it up.
706
:Okay.
707
:I was fully ready to like, let
go of this and just move on.
708
:And we're at the baptism party, you guys.
709
:And I don't know, maybe like 30 minutes
into the party, I'm talking to one of my
710
:friends and, She just randomly brings up
like, Oh my gosh, like my husband and I
711
:were supposed to go to Hawaii with our
family next week, but something fell
712
:through and it turns out we can't go.
713
:And I was like, wait, what?
714
:She was like, yeah, we were going to go
to Maui but sadly we can't go anymore.
715
:And I was like, you're joking.
716
:And I like run over and pull
Trey and I was like, Trey,
717
:she just brought up Hawaii.
718
:Like we are going to Hawaii.
719
:Like God wants us to go.
720
:Like he wants this gift for us.
721
:Like I know in my heart, like
we've got to book our tickets.
722
:And Trey was like,
okay, girl, we'll do it.
723
:And we booked tickets.
724
:And this was even crazier.
725
:This was like the day after the baptism.
726
:I had a facial appointment and my
esthetician was like, okay, we're
727
:going to use a new scrub on you today.
728
:It's like tropical, like pineapple
guava, like, uh, Papaya and
729
:it's really good for your skin.
730
:She was telling me all these things
and I looked at the bottle and it was
731
:called Like maui sunset or something like
that and I was like, okay, that's it.
732
:We are booking our tickets So we did so
we literally booked our tickets I think
733
:on a monday or a tuesday and then we
flew out the thursday after It was nuts.
734
:It's crazy.
735
:We've never booked a trip that
spontaneously to somewhere
736
:that far away, but that whole
trip was crazy So wonderful.
737
:Just like following the big decision
that we made for Trey to go full time.
738
:It was a week of rest and relaxation
and we were able to just enjoy
739
:each other and our marriage.
740
:Um, and just how fun, like, that's
something that I feel like I
741
:don't talk about a lot is just.
742
:The unique challenge and the unique
circumstance of having your husband
743
:also be your business partner.
744
:It's worked out so beautifully for
us and we have so much fun with
745
:it, but sometimes our conversations
can really be surrounded with work.
746
:And so we really have to be intentional
about like work is work and then
747
:like hangout time is hangout time.
748
:Downtime is downtime.
749
:Like, you know, and so.
750
:On this trip, we were trying
to be really clear about like,
751
:Hey, this is time for rest.
752
:Let's leave rest for
rest and work for work.
753
:We'll get to work later.
754
:And it was really beautiful.
755
:And we just left just reignited and it
really felt like a honeymoon, honestly.
756
:It was really a wonderful time that
we got to invest in our marriage,
757
:in our friendship, have some amazing
experiences, and make some beautiful
758
:memories, and really celebrate and
commemorate this big decision and
759
:this call that the Lord has made.
760
:called us to for us to both work
full time in our ministry and
761
:to be able to serve you guys.
762
:And so we're back.
763
:We got back a few days ago and we
jumped right in this week and we're
764
:just feeling so grateful and so blessed.
765
:Um, so thank you.
766
:Thank you for being
part of this community.
767
:Thank you for following
along in our story.
768
:I hope that this brought you some joy.
769
:Inspiration and encouragement.
770
:Like I said, I hope that this moves
you to take more leaps of faith
771
:for the Lord and to know that your
heavenly father wants to provide for
772
:you in big ways, not just small ways.
773
:So take those big prayers to him,
ask big things of him because
774
:he wants to give it to you guys.
775
:He wants to pour it out upon you.
776
:So encourage you to do so.
777
:Encourage you to root your life in the
word, to take, um, Wisdom and knowledge
778
:from it and to let it inform your life and
to overflow your prayer and your heart.
779
:Um, yeah.
780
:Thanks for being with me here
today and for hearing our story.
781
:I know that I'm praying for you and
praying for your yes and for you to
782
:be generous in your life and for the
Lord to give you the grace to trust
783
:in him completely and just for his
abundance to pour out upon you as well.
784
:We'll see you next week, friends.
