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A faith-forward podcast for people who love Jesus but also love being honest about how weird and wonderful life can be. Hosts Kerrye and Jill tell stories about the Bible, talk about their faith, and dig into what it looks like to follow God through the ordinary chaos of everyday, imperfect life. Real conversations. Real stories. No pretending to have it all together. Pull up a chair, turn the page, and let's go.
Welcome to Chapter and Verse, where people
come on and tell their real stories,
faith, failure, redemption, and the
occasional, "Lord, what are you doing?"
moment.
Some inspiring, some messy, and some that
probably should have come with a warning
label, because through every chapter
of every story, God is still writing.
And He's not afraid of a little chaos.
This is Jill.
And Kerrye.
Let's turn the page.
We're here with our good friends
Drew and Chrissy Huett, and we're so
excited for y'all to be here today.
Why don't you tell us about yourselves?
Hey, I'm Chrissy Huett.
Go to church with you guys at RFA.
Um, business owner, uh, married
for 20 or more years to Drew.
It's usually the husband that
doesn't, doesn't know how
many years he's been married.
That's true.
Yep, we've had that.
We a- we always say instead of,
uh, we've been married too long,
we joke and say not long enough.
Yeah, for sure.
That's sweet.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yep.
I'm stealing it.
Okay.
I like it.
Okay, cool.
Now stealing.
So yeah.
Just owning, borrowing.
Um, I'm Drew.
Um, yeah, so we, um-
Just live pretty, uh, pretty
normal lives, I think.
You know, pretty busy.
Busier than what I wanna be.
I definitely think that, um, the, uh,
closer that we get to, uh, end times,
that, uh, time ratchets up faster.
I think it's a- Mm-hmm.
Yeah ⦠definitely a, a scheme of
the devil to, uh, make time seem
like that it's, you know, going by
faster to distract us than- Mm-hmm
um, you know, than, you knowâ¦
I always thought that, you know, I'd
listen to my mother say, "Oh, the older
that you get, the faster time goes by."
Mm-hmm.
But, you know, like, the more that
I've, like, leaned in, I think that-
Mm-hmm ⦠you know, time ratcheting
up, you know, toward end times is
definitely something that, um, you know,
is a plot of Satan to, to distract us.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I mean, but anyway, side, side
tangent, but we, uh, we definitely- We
love 'em ⦠we definitely, um, just
lead pretty normal lives, you know.
I work, Chrissy works, our son's
in, uh, college and, uh, yeah,
we're pretty boring outside of that.
We go to bed at 8:30.
That's wonderful.
We get up- That sounds like the dream
we get up super early and, uh, yeah.
I'm like too way into cats
than I probably should be.
I almost wore my cat shirt.
I- Oh, y'all would've been BFFs.
Oh my gosh.
Wow.
Okay.
So I have- We were just talking about
cats right before y'all came in.
Mm-hmm ⦠I have tons of cat T-shirts.
It's kind of his thing.
But all of the cats
are smoking cigarettes.
Oh, this one I'll, I'll have to send
you a link so that you can get it
for him for, like, Christmas or a
birthday or something, but it, it's
just, like, cats in sunglasses.
Yeah, so- It's great.
So everybody's like, "Why
are they smoking cigarettes?"
I was like, "Because you know what?
I feel like that's what
cats would do- Uh-huh.
Uh-huh ⦠if they could."
You know, 'cause they just don't care.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Have you seen those videos whereâ¦
It's the Cat Diary.
You've gotta send them out.
He-- Like, day 297 of- Of
captivity ⦠being a internet or- Yes.
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's what he does in his spare time.
Yeah.
Mom's five minutes late
getting him his dinner.
Those are hilarious.
I love cat fights too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I love Jill sending cat fights,
and that's-- I just love them.
I mean- I sent her one last night, I
think it was last night- The little cam?
⦠of, you know, they put the
GoPros on the cats and they,
like, watch them run around.
Oh, I love 'em.
I sent her one of this cat just
terrorizing the neighborhood.
It was, like, a little black and
white cat, and then it was just
going after all of the-- All of
the cats it went after were orange.
Yeah.
It was like a gang fight.
Like, it was like, "Get outta here.
Orange cats aren't allowed."
Yes.
It was great.
Mm-hmm.
That was hilarious.
All right, guys, what chapter in your
life are we gonna talk about today?
Best one Yeah, the best one.
So, um, yeah, you know, uh, Chrissie and
I have only been going to RFA for, um,
you know, about I guess three-ish years,
um, or maybe even- You longer than me.
Yeah, I was going for a little
bit longer than Chrissie.
But, you know, as I, uh, alluded
to when we were first, you know,
you know, started that, uh, my
dad's a real Baptist preacher.
Mm-hmm.
So, you know, I was raised in,
um, you know, church and, um,
you know, my parents did a, did a
good job of raising me, you know.
Mm-hmm.
You know, like, I love how Brother Dean,
uh, talks about, like, you know, when
you're raising your children that, you
know, you shouldn't make your parents
the ultimate authority, that God should
be the ultimate authority- Mm-hmm.
Yeah ⦠of, you know, like, uh,
for reasons that we don't do things.
So if I was gonna fault my parents for
anything, I would say that that was,
you know, probably the thing that they
should have instilled in me 'cause
I turned out to be a horrible child.
Yeah.
When I was, when I was 15, like,
I just, like, ran as far away from
the church as I could, you know.
Didn't want to have anything- Yeah ⦠you
know, to do with religion or, you know.
So when I was able to drive, I
definitely, like, went as far the
op- opposite direction as I could.
And, you know, pre- had pretty
rebellious, uh, you know, teenage
years and, uh, early, um, early 20s.
Um, you know, when people always ask
me, "How'd you and Chrissie meet?"
So yeah, I was, um, playing in
a heavy metal band, and Chrissie
was bartending at a bar that my
heavy metal band was playing at.
Listen, all I'm hearing- Oh, far
out ⦠is more and more like you
and Ben would be, like, kindred.
Ben loves heavy metal.
Yeah.
Loves it.
So- Yeah ⦠um, yeah, so, you
know, that's, um, yeah, you know,
kind of the early, early stages.
But, you know, Chrissie and I met
when, you know, we were, uh, 25-ish.
Uh, got married pretty soon after,
and you know, what, lived what
I felt was a pretty normal life.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Um, I really prescribed to the
belief that, um, you know, salvation
was more of a works-based thing.
Mm-hmm.
Um, what I realize that now, but
then I was like, "Oh, if there's
a God, and he's good and loving,
and he created us, that, you know,
we're not gonna get sent to hell."
Mm-hmm.
You know, we're just gonna you know, he's
gonna realize that I'm a decent person.
I don't, like, throw banana peels in
front of old folks' homes- Yep ⦠and,
you know, like, I don't beat children
and, you know, all these bad things.
So, you know, I'm, you know, I'm gonna
go to heaven, so I'm just gonna live,
you know, the way that I want to.
And then I would see these people from my
past, and they would be like, "I found a
new drug, and he's Jesus, and it's free."
And, you know, like, I would
be like, "Why are these people
so, you know, like, hardcore?"
Yeah.
You know, like, when I knew this
person, yeah, they were doing bad
things, but, um, you know, I was like,
"Why can't they be more like me?"
You know, like, I just-
Or they're just chill.
Yeah, they're just chill.
Yeah.
Right?
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
You know, I just, I don't do
anything really bad, you know?
Mm-hmm.
But I just do what I want to, you know?
Mm-hmm.
So I was like, "Why does it have to
be extreme one way or the other?"
Right.
Right.
And that was how I felt like that
most Christians were, you know, that
you were either extreme one way or
the other, and nobody was justâ¦
You know, there were a select
few people that really got it.
Yeah.
That were in the me- in the middle,
and they could just, you know, live
a normal life, and they didn't have
to be extreme one way or the other.
And, you know, through the years as
we were, um, you know, raising Drake
and, um, you know, just living out
our lives, my mom, every great once
in a while, she's one of my, well,
probably my biggest faith hero.
Like I've, I've told her in, in Mother's
Day cards if I could pencil her into,
you know, Hebrews 11, you know- Aw.
⦠faith hero chapter, like I would
pencil her into my faith heroes.
And, uh, 'cause she
definitely walks with God.
And, um, but she would, you know, like
every great once in a while she'd be like,
um, "I wanna see you in heaven," you know?
Like, "I wanna see you and
Chrissy and Drake in heaven.
You need to come to church."
And I'm like, "Oh, you know,
I'm going to, I'm going to."
Mm-hmm.
And she went to a, uh, e- this
is even after my dad had stopped
pastoring and stopped going.
She went to a small, um, like
country Free Will Baptist Church.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
And, um, you know, like we would
go during, what's it called?
What's it called?
Like homecoming, yeah, every year.
Mm-hmm.
Like we would go to their-
Yeah ⦠homecoming every year.
Okay.
So, you know, we would always,
you know, go to that andâ¦
But anyway, my dad pastored at that
church, you know, early on, uh,
when, you know, that church was
first getting started, so like we
knew a lot of people at that church.
So when we did go to church, like
see, you know, good, uh, you know,
lukewarm C&E people, you know.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, we would go on Christmas
and Easter and homecoming.
Yeah.
Um, and, uh, you know, and I
measured my life by, um, like
success and how hard I was working.
Mm-hmm.
Um, like, umâ¦
And I tell you what, not long ago
when Alex, Pastor Alex was preaching,
and he preached a message on, you
know- It was in August of last year
being- I remember ⦠being too busy.
Mm-hmm.
I snatched him up after that was over, and
I was like, "Were you preaching at me?"
He was like, "Actually, I wasn't even
thinking about you when I wrote that."
And I was like, "Oh, boy."
He was out of town and he called me
and he's like, "What are you doing?"
I said, "I just got done
listening to Pastor Alex."
He's like, "Oh, heâ¦"
I'm like, "Yeah."
I'm bald.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, I was watching online.
Bald.
Yeah.
I was like, "Boy, better not
better be preaching about me."
Anyways, so, um, but yeah, I, um, umâ¦
But, you know, I was so busy trying
to be successful and, you know, like
I said, that's how I was measuring
myself that, um, you knowâ¦
And once again, my mother would tell me,
you know, she was like, "You're gonnaâ¦
One of these days, you know, you're
gonna, you're gonna work yourself
sick or, you know, some- you know,
something's gonna happen and, you
know, you're gonna get slowed down."
And I was like, "Oh, she
spoke it into existence."
But, um- Like, "Girl, don't
you know what you're doing?"
Yeah, exactly.
You know.
"Why are you speaking this on me?"
Yeah.
But, um, you know, when COVID happened,
um, we were just, you know, livingâ¦
Actually, at that time, um, when COVID
happened, it was some of my busiest
times 'cause Chrissie and I, and we
still do own, uh, a residential, um,
audio/video, like home automation company.
Okay.
Mm-hmm.
We really don't do that
much with it anymore.
Um, but at that time,
that was like my main gig.
And when lockdown happened-
People were using those stimulus
checks to get their stuff- Yeah.
⦠settled.
Oh my gosh.
Well, you know, most of my clientele
were, you know, higher end and like-
Mm-hmm ⦠when everybody got locked
down and they couldn't go anywhere,
they were like, just, you know,
our phone just went nuts and- Yeah
you know, we were just busier than
we had ever been during COVID.
Mm-hmm.
And, you know, like I worked the
entire 2020 year and the first part of
2021, like six days a week, and we had
been in and out of people's homes and
like- Mm-hmm ⦠we were going- Yeah.
It was justâ¦
You know, I was justâ¦
I was one of those people that
thought COVID was like, like
it just didn't exist, you know?
Like- Gotcha.
Yeah ⦠I, I, I, I've had
to already had it, you know?
Like- Yeah.
Yeah.
And, um, so yeah.
Um, in, um, August of '21, um, my
network engineer, uh, gave me COVID
and, um, you know, first couple days I
wouldn't even have told that I was sick.
You know, didn't even feel bad.
Wasn't running a fever.
Um, no body aches, no nothing.
Mm-hmm.
Day three, eh, didn't feel
the greatest in the world.
Day four Started having a
little trouble breathing.
And then, you know, day five came
around and, um, you know, I was like,
I told Chrissy, I was like, "I think
I'm having some trouble breathing.
Do you, do you think I should
go to the emergency room?"
And she was like, "If you go
to the emergency room, they're
gonna put you on a ventilator."
And I was like, "" Yeah.
Well, that was- So- ⦠practice then.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
I scared him.
So she did.
She, I mean, she scared
me, and I didn't wanna go.
Mm-hmm.
So, um, that was on a Friday.
And over the weekend, um, her and
Drake, um, started feeling, she
and Drake started feeling bad.
And, um, on that Monday morning,
I had gotten to the point where,
like, I was barely breathing.
Mm.
And, um, she was taking Drake to
get him checked out, and I told her,
I was like, "When you get home, I
have to go to the emergency room."
And, um, so when she took
Drake, he tested positive.
She te- she was, she was positive.
And, um, when she got home, um, she took
me to the emergency room and, like, I
remember getting out of the car and, like,
having to walk hunched over, like- Wow
barely taking steps, like dragging
my feet because, like, I was- It
was just that exertion- Yeah, it was
just that exertion ⦠was- Yeah.
It was- ⦠taking it out of you.
Yeah, it was bad.
And they got me in there and
they put me in this room and, um,
like he puts a little thing on my
finger and my oxygen was like 67.
Oh my goodness.
Holy moly.
And, um, he was like, um, he was in
a negative pressure suit, you know?
He looked like- Yeah ⦠an astronaut.
Yeah.
And like, I'm already
freaked out about that.
Yeah.
And he's like, "You have, um, you
have-" Respiratory failure, yeah.
Yeah.
He was like, "You have double,
double COVID pneumonia."
And I was like, "You, you don't,
you're not gonna do a chest
X-ray or anything like that?"
And he was like, "I don't have to."
Yeah.
"Look at how much oxygen
we're having to give you."
Yeah.
You know, he was like, so, so he was-- And
this was like the craziest thing to me.
He turns around and he was like,
um, "But what we need to doâ¦"
And he, he reaches to stick
the thing on Chrissy's finger.
And like immediately I thought,
"What if her oxygen is like bad, too?
What is Drake gonna do?"
Yeah.
At this, at this time,
Drake was only like 15.
Yeah.
You know, he's at home with COVID.
You know, I'm obviously, you know, I was-
You're like, "I'm about to be admitted."
Yeah.
I'm, yeah, I'm about to be admitted.
What if she has to be admitted, too?
Yeah.
So, and, you know, luck- luckily,
like, I just wanna stop real
quick and interject something.
Toughest woman that ever has been.
Like, she won't go to the doctor.
She doesn't take any ki- Like she'll
be like, "I got a busting headache."
And I'll be like, "Take something for it."
She'll be like, "Nah, I'll be fine.
I'll eat some salt."
You know?
Eat some salt.
That's my kinda girl.
Listen, that's usually the problem.
You know, so she, she's like so
tough and, uh, just never gets sick.
Uh, and even when she does, she
would never tell me that, you
know- Mm-hmm ⦠she was sick.
You know, it has to be like
really serious for, for her.
So she's way tougher than I am.
Like, women's pain threshold is
like way more-- Men are wussies.
Like, I, I mean, we are.
I'm not gonna disagree.
No, we, we are.
Like, I, I mean, blue collar men might
be, you know, like tough on the top
side- A step up, yeah ⦠but, you know,
like, uh, you know, you, you get us at
home and we're like, "Oh, I'm dying."
Yeah.
Um, you know.
Anyway, so, uh, yeah.
Um, they were like, um, Chrissy was
like, "I've gotta go, um, you know,
'cause I gotta go, um, be with Drake."
And, um- You know, I was like, "Well,
where, where, what are y'all gonna do?"
And they were like, "We're gonna have
to admit you, but we've already checked
and there's no rooms in Arkansas."
Oh man.
And I was like- Gosh ⦠"Okay, um, so
where do you think that I'm gonna go?"
And they were like, "We don't know.
You know, like wherever
a room comes open first."
Um, so he was like, "You might be in
Fort Smith, you might be in Jonesboro,
you might be in Fayetteville.
We don't know."
And that freaks me out even more.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, because at that time, that
was pretty standard, you know, early
COVID stuff, like- Yeah ⦠you
know, quarantine for 14 days.
Mm-hmm.
You know, I'd already been sick for, you
know, at this point, like seven days.
And, um, you know, they told me, I
was like, "Well, can y'all give me
the monoclonal, uh, transfusion?"
And they were like, "Well, we don't
do that here, but when they get
to-- you get to a hospital, they'll
probably, you know, give that to you."
Um, so anyway, um, so I sat there
for like 23 hours, and at 3:00 in the
morning they finally come in and they
tell me, you know, "Hey, we found you
a room at Baptist in Little Rock."
That's good.
And, um, like even looking back on
it now, like I know that this is a
long-winded story, but, um- No, we
want, we wanna hear all the details.
Yeah.
Um, you know, uh- Will, um, I will
see that that was even, you know,
God putting me there- Mm-hmm.
Right ⦠you know, at, at
that particular hospital.
Um, you know, that that's
where He wanted me to be.
And, um, so they take me to the
hospital, you know, ambulance ride, and
I get there and, um, you know, in this
intake, it's all real-- At this point,
it's all really surreal and creepy.
Like, um- Mm-hmm.
'Cause- It feels like a movie.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
In the intake room, it's this
concrete block wall room.
Um, and, you know, like, there's a
window on the side, and I can see,
like, all the doctors on the other
side of the glass, and I'm just
in this concrete block wall room.
And everybody that comes in is like,
you know, super, you know, garbed
up and- Yeah ⦠you know, just all
these masks and, and they're really
not doing anything to make me feel
better, you know, about being there.
You know, like- Mm-hmm ⦠an intake.
I guess this is just, you know, pretty
normal for them at this point, you know.
Yeah.
So anyway, they get me up to
ICU, and they're, they're a
lot nicer there, you know.
But, you know, reality starts to set
in of like, you know, we've, you know,
taken chest X-rays at this point, and
we've done, you know, like they'veâ¦
I can't remember what it's called
when they check your oxygen
based off of drawing your blood.
What is that called?
Um, it's a blood gas.
Yes.
That's it.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Blood gas.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So they've done the blood gas to check
everything and, you know, like, they're
like, "Yeah, double white-out pneumonia."
I mean, like, you couldn't
even see my lungs.
It was just- Oh.
⦠completely, you know-
Gosh ⦠white on the, the X-ray.
And come to find out, if you get admitted
to the hospital with COVID, um, y- they
have to quarantine you for 21 days.
So- Oh.
Wow ⦠depending on where, where
you're at, you know, um, whether
you're at home or whether you're
at the hospital, the rules change.
So, you know- Listen, the rules
changed all kinds of places.
Yeah.
With- especially, like, at the
beginning of COVID, it was crazy.
But- It was the unknown.
Yeah.
We, we didn't know.
But also, like, just my job, we, we
were told different things literally
from day to day of how to capture it.
And, like, my job provides the statistics
for COVID, so I'm like, all of the
statistics that we're basing all of this
on for later are all out of whack because
there's no consistency from the beginning.
It was just nuts.
So I'm not surprised at all that
there's like, well, there's this
rule and then there's this rule-
Mm-hmm ⦠'cause we heard all of that.
So yeah, I had to be there for,
you know, 14 days without, you
know, getting to see anyone.
And, um, I guess the thing that-- Well,
not the thing that scared me the most.
The thing that scared me the most were
all the people that were dying around me.
Mm-hmm.
You know, 'cause like at least once
or twice a day I would hear code blue,
and it would- Yeah ⦠be on the floor
that I was on, and then I would hear
the nurses talking about somebody
passing away literally in the next room.
Yeah.
And, you know, they were telling
me they didn't know what to do.
Um, you know, "It's just time."
You know- Mm-hmm ⦠"It's just time.
We're gonna have to see," you know.
And, um, you know, of course, they
were, um, totally against, likeâ¦
So, you know, they told me that I
would get the monoclonal, and then
I got there and they were like, "No,
it's, it's too late for monoclonal."
Yeah.
And I was like, "Well, no,
but you can get it up to like,
you know, day eight or nine."
And he was like, "Yeah, but we're,
we're not gonna give you the monoclonal.
We're gonna give you remdesivir."
And I was like, "I don't want remdesivir.
I've heard bad things about it."
And he was like, "Well, we
can put you on a ventilator."
And I was like, "Nope.
Pretty much I'll take the remdesivir."
Yeah.
"You, do you have any other
experimental drugs you wanna try on me?"
So- Yeah ⦠you know, "Just
don't put me on the ventilator."
Um, but yeah, so I like had to sign
the waiver- Mm-hmm ⦠for remdesivir.
Uh, and you know, they, they gave
me the remdesivir and, um, you
know, they had me on the high
flow, um, you know- Nasal cannula
the oxygen, you know, like it was
like strapped down to my face.
Mm-hmm.
And, um, you know, it's, um,
like 95% oxygen, 95% flow.
Yeah.
So I'm like five, you know, little measly
points away from them saying, "We've
gotta- Vent ⦠put you on a ventilator."
Yeah.
You know?
And like, you know, they would, it,
they would come in and they would try
to turn it down, and then like in the
middle of the night, like, like they
would come and wake me up, and then like
it, they would have to turn it back up.
Yeah.
And then they'd turn it down, and
they'd have to turn it back up.
And, um, I just wasn't getting any
better, and they just keep telling
me, you know, "Oh, it's gonna be time.
It's gonna be time."
But, you know, so that's all horrible
and, you know, looking back, you know,
it's, it was all part of my journey.
But, you know, the whole time
I'm laying there and I'm just
like praying my head off.
Yeah.
You know, like, you know, for, for
the Lord to save me and, you know,
to, you know, please don't let me
die, and, you know, I'll do anything.
Yeah.
And, you know, and you know, like,
and you know, I'm reading my Bible
every day and, you know, just trying
to do all the things, you know.
And like, you know, of course, you know,
um, my poor mother, like, you know, like
I've text her probably at least 50 times a
day, you know, "Pray harder, pray harder."
And she's like, "I don't know
how much harder I can pray."
Yeah.
You know, but like I've been
put on every prayer list, you
know, in, you know, multiple,
you know, churches and, you know.
And look,
interject one other thing.
I used to think that it was silly that
my mom would say That church that I
go to, those are some praying people.
They know how to reach
the throne room of grace.
Yeah.
And I would think, "What?
Do those church people have,
like, the red phone to God?"
Right.
You know?
Like, oh, okay.
I, I didn't understand- Yeah ⦠that,
you know, the difference in how they
prayed- Uh-huh ⦠at that point in my
faith journey- Right ⦠and versus, like,
how a normal person would pray, you know?
Mm-hmm.
So, like, I- Like the difference between
casual prayer and intercessory prayer.
That's right.
Exactly.
Yeah.
So I, I really didn't believe that.
Like- Yeah, yeah ⦠I believed that,
like, everybody that prayed just, you
know, prayed the same and that, you
know, God heard all prayers, which,
you know, I would later come to realize
that, you know, God probably wasn't even
hearing the prayers that I was praying
because I had not surrendered yet.
You know, I was laying there worried
about what it meant for me, you
know- Yeah ⦠and what I would
have to give up if- Mm-hmm ⦠you
know, I, uh, became a Christian.
And, you know, sitting there asking
God to save me when I really wasn't
considering what, you know, He
did- Right ⦠you know, to, to sa-
you know, what He ended up doing.
So, um, yeah, so a couple more
weeks goes by and, you know, there's
really hasn't been much change.
And, you know, like one of the, I think
one of the craziest moments of the whole
thing was, like, this one doctor that had
been on rotation, um, that I blamed for a
really long time, and I had to, like, do
some deep soul-searching to forgive that
guy because, like, he had taken me off
of, like, high-dose steroids early on.
And like, like, when I had started
to get a little better, like, it
just came back, like, full force.
And like- Yeah ⦠they
were consideringâ¦
Like, I heard him and a pulmonologist
standing outside of my room talking about
me like I wasn't there, um, with the
door open, talking about putting me on
a ventilator, flying me to Houston, and
then putting me on a lung transplant list.
Wow.
So, um, that was pretty wild, you
know, 'cause- Yeah ⦠I-- At that
point I was like, "I might die."
Yeah.
You know?
Like, I am, I, I, I've been
pretty, you know, optimistic up to
this point, but, like, I've been
here for three weeks, you know.
Mm-hmm.
They're, they're telling me that
they don't know what's going on.
Theyâ¦
And, like, that doctor walks in and,
like, sits on The air conditioner like
vent thing at the window- Mm-hmm ⦠and
hangs his head and says, "We just
don't know what to do for you."
And I'm like, "Oh my gosh."
You know, like the doctor that's
taking care of me just hung his
head in defeat- Yeah ⦠and said,
"I don't know what to do for you."
So that was, I think that was probably
one of the hardest days that- Yeah
I had while I was in the hospital.
But, you know, I was trying to stay,
you know, super positive, and I
was telling them like, "I'm," you
know, "I'm gonna get out of here.
I'm," you know, "I'm going home.
I'm gonna," you know, "I'm gon- I'm gonna
make it," and trying to stay positive.
But, you know, I had asked several
people, you know, like, what could I
read or were, were there any books or,
or things like that, that, you know, like
new Christians could, could listen to.
And somebody had recommended, um, C.S.
Lewis' "Mere Christianity."
And I couldn't read it because
they were making me lay on my
stomach for 18 hours a day- Right.
Right ⦠which I hate.
You know, I, I'm not a stomach sleeper.
Um, so like I'm literally laying on
my face, you know, like with my phone
propped up by my head on a pillow and,
you know, listening to books and watching
TV, but like literally with my phone,
like, you know, right beside my face.
And, umâ¦
But yeah.
Um, so let me pause that and
interject one other thing.
Um, so not beating up on my sister.
This is just, you know, what she told me.
And Kim, if you're listening
to this, I, I do love you.
Um, she, she came to see me, and my sister
is, you know, a, a devout, um, Christian.
Um, but, you know, I asked her a question.
I said, "So now that I'm gonna
start following Christ," I was
like, "Am I gonna have to stop
listening to heavy metal music?
Am I gonna have to stop watching
the movies that, that I like to
watch or watching 'South Park?'"
Yeah.
You know, I mean, I know that as
silly as that sounds, you know- Right.
It's- ⦠you know, like, am, am
I gonna have to stop like doing
the things that, that I like?
And she was like, "No," you know, like,
"I don't believe that following, you
know, Christ, you know, has to be, you
know, like, um, you have to give up
all the things that you enjoy in life."
Um, you know, she was like, "You just, you
gotta h- find this happy balance of, you
know, like, you know, following the Lord."
Mm-hmm.
And, um, you know, and, you know, that
doesn't mean that you can't enjoy life.
So literally seven weeks in later,
I'm in the hospital still laying-
Wow ⦠on my stomach, and I get to the
last five minutes of listening to "Mere
Christianity," and he's talking about
finding yourself identity in Christ.
Yeah.
And he says that if you're going to
Christ looking for yourself, then
you're not going to Christ at all.
Yeah.
If you don't have a true giving
up of yourself, then you're
never going to find Christ.
Right.
That you have to give it all over,
all of your hopes, your dreams,
your ambitions, the things that you
thought were you And then Christ
will give you your true identity.
And oh my gosh.
Yeah.
In that one moment, September the 16th,
2021 at 5:27 in the afternoon- Mm-hmm
it slammed me like no, nothing
ever has in my entire life.
Yeah.
That I had been laying there begging
God to save me for seven weeks and had
never once considered what Christ had
to do for me on the cross and what he
gave up for me, and I was worried about
what it meant for me to follow him.
Yeah.
And I was crushed.
Like, all of the sins that I had ever
committed, I got to see through his lens
for a second, and it was, it was bad.
Like, in that moment, I
wanted, I really did wanna die.
I was like, "I just, okay, I'm good."
I was like, "I'm good."
You know, uh, "I'm so sorry."
You know?
Yeah.
I was like, it, it was,
it was all about me.
Like, this entire 40 years has been about
me and, and what it, you know, what I
wanted and not what you wanted for me.
And I j- I'm ready.
If you, if you wanna take me, I'm ready.
I'm ready to go.
So I'm not getting any better.
You know, just take care of Chrissy,
take care of Drake, let me go.
And yeah, I s- started getting better.
And, um, you know, I think that's
probably when, you know, God looked
over and said, "Pour out the vials
of all the stored up prayers."
Wow.
And, uh, you know, I s- Goosebumps.
Mm-hmm.
I started to, um, you know, get a
little better every day, and it was
a long journey, um, of even getting
out of the hospital from that point.
Mm-hmm.
And, you know, like a couple of, you
know, uh, I got to go home a couple
weeks after that, and like they
took me off my steroids too fast.
I ended up having to go back to
the hospital and stay a week.
But the second time that I
came home, it was, um, it was
a, it was a whole lot easier.
Um, and, you know, I still had
a very long road of recovery.
Um, like I was chair-bound.
Um, ended up having to go home on
oxygen, um, and still like a lot, like
the, the most that they could give me.
Yeah.
Um, and pretty much just sat
in a chair for months on end.
And, um, I don't know how much
you guys have studied COVID, but
like it had really messed with,
um, like the blood-brain barrier.
Yes.
And like I had a lot of psychological-
Yeah ⦠um, trauma going on.
So like- Mm-hmm ⦠Chrissy can attest
to this, like you just look at me wrong
and I would start crying every- Yeah
⦠you know, it was like every afternoon
between 1:00 and 3:00, it was just like
pretty much guaranteed I was gonna cry.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Um- But, um, I would just, you know, try
to get better a little bit every day.
Did way too much research, uh,
about, uh, you know, why me?
Like, I, I went through this, this
whole, um, you know, why did this
happen to me thing for a long time.
You know, like, you know, I was
a pretty healthy, you know, like-
Yeah ⦠I would make the joke of,
you know, I was the healthiest fat
working guy that I know, you know?
Like, uh- Yeah.
You know, but I don't
understand what happened to me.
But, um, but I, I do understand,
like, I know God didn't give me COVID.
No, but he sure used it.
He did.
He did.
Yeah.
He used COVID, and I really believe
that I had to go through this, um,
season of, um, prolonged suffering,
um, because if God had healed me, um,
right off the bat, I would've just
turned and went right back to the world.
Yeah.
And I really believe that I had to
go through this, um, this prolonged
season of, of suffering to, um,
figure out how to live for Christ.
And, you know, like, so after I got
to the, um, you know, out and I went
to my first PFT, and we finally got
the first look of like what kind
of damage did it do I had, um, 26%,
um, lung volume and 41% function.
Oh my gosh.
Wow.
So, um, that was, that was pretty wild
because the guy that even did the first
PFT was like, "This can't be right."
He was like, "Let's give you albuterol
treatments and, and all this-" Mm-hmm.
"⦠and you get the PFT again."
And I just remember the
look on this guy's face.
He's like, like it was like, "I can't
believe this guy's sitting here."
Yeah.
You know?
It, it was, it was pretty wild.
And, um, so, you know, I just-- we just
go home and just start trying to live
the, the best way that I know how to live.
And like every time they t- try to taper
me off steroids, it would just get worse.
So, like, I just had to abandon, like
the, the, what the hospital said and just
work with my local doctor, and cannot
say enough about my local doctor, Dr.
Wilburston at Morrilton
Medical Clinic, shout out.
Um, Wilk and I like kinda worked
together to slow taper me like a
milligram at a time off of prednisone.
Okay.
Ended up being on prednisone
for nine months, like- Wow.
Oh my goodness.
Ended up, ended up gaining like 70
pounds, um, like had the moon face and
everything from, you know, steroids.
Mm-hmm.
But, you know- And meanwhile,
you're having to deal with
him- Yeah ⦠on steroids.
Business.
So me- That's no joke ⦠meanwhile,
Chrissy is running two businesses,
um, you know, without me being
at the helm that I started.
Um, we had employees that got
scared and quit, uh, 'cause they
thought that I was gonna die.
Uh, you know, I almost died with
all of the keys to everything in
my head, and it was, it was crazy.
But it's just, I think it's a testament
of how strong that Chrissy is, um, because
she like kept it all pulled together.
Yeah.
And she doesn't give herself enough
credit, um, for- She is a baddie.
She is.
She is a baddie.
Um, she doesn't give herself enough
credit for like how strong she
is because she like really, you
know, kept it, you know, going.
But, you know, like six, about
six months after, you know, um, I
did start to get a little better.
I ended up being on oxygen
for like almost three years.
Wow.
But, um, you know, I started
just trying to live out my faith.
And, um, you know, at the time, and I'm
gonna call you out, so I'm so sorry.
But at the time, you know, like I
would, um, ask Chrissy, you know,
like I would try to have, you know,
religious conversations with her.
And, um, like I knew that she
believed, but she probably was kind
of at that same point that I was in.
She wasn't like in a, you know,
I'm speaking for you now, but like
you probably weren't in a true
surrendered, you know, lifestyle.
Absolutely not.
And, um, you know, like, um, at, I guess
at about eight or nine months, I hadâ¦
didn't know where to go to church.
Mm-hmm.
So like the only place I knew
to go to church was my mother.
And like those people had been like,
you know, super hardcore praying for me.
So it was like- Yeah.
⦠it was like really amazing, like
to, you know, to see all of those,
you know- It was like a homecoming.
Yeah, it was.
Yeah.
It was.
It, you know, so, um, and boy,
the, the day that, like I couldn't
get into any like, you know, I
was like 270 pounds, you know.
Um, I couldn't get any, like any clothes
except for sweatpants and like, you
know, these just baggy clothes and
like here I come into church like, you
know, in these like rag- like I look
like I'm a homeless person, you know,
dragging this oxygen tank behind me.
And like everybody was like so happy
to see me 'cause it really- Yeah
was a miracle that, um,
that I survived all of that.
Yeah.
And I remember at the end of church,
like, you know, um, I told Brother Jeff,
I said, "I wanna, I wanna say something."
And, uh, like stood up in church.
Of course, it's, you know, a small
country church, only like 50 people there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it's not like I was making some, you
know, big pronounced speech, but I told
them, I said, "I, I really do believe that
I'm, I'm here because of the prayers that
I know that this church put in for me."
You know?
I said- Yeah ⦠"I know what my mother
was talking about all those years that,
that you guys did know how to pray for
me, and that when this church says,
'We're praying for you,' it's not like
somebody getting on social media and
saying- It's not lip service ⦠"I need
you, I need you to pray for my husband."
And all- Yeah ⦠people are
putting prayers, prayers.
Now, some of those people probably are
praying, but I would- Correct ⦠I
would think that, you know, most of
the people that are putting, "Oh, we're
sending prayers your way," you know, they
don't think another thing about that.
Right.
You know?
But when, you know, true prayer
warrior people tell you that they're
praying for you, holly by golly,
they're, they're praying for you.
Yeah.
You know?
Like, they're stopping what they're
doing right then and like, you know-
And they're lighting up heaven.
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah.
You know, they're, they're,
they are getting on that red
phone straight to God- Yeah.
Yeah ⦠you know, and
like praying for you.
So, you know, I, you know, I told them
that, but, you know, just throughâ¦
And I won't go into this, but just
through like this course of events,
um, you know, over the next couple of
months, um, you know, trying to get
Chrissy to come to church with me,
you know, and she didn't wanna go.
Um, and, um, because, you know,
it's just a bunch of, you know,
a bunch of old people, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Not saying there's anything
wrong with that, but- Yeah.
Right, but that's not your vibe.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
There's no youth there.
Yeah.
You know?
And, uh, I love those people and, you
know, like, uh, I, I still see them
and, you know, think about them- Mm-hmm
⦠and, and really care about them.
But I mean, it's not where God wanted us.
Right.
And, um, but my mom was like, "You
need to, you need to start listening
to some of the stuff that Dean
Caldwell is, uh, you know, doing."
Yeah.
And she was like, "He
is an amazing preacher."
And it was right about the time that Rob
and Dean-o started doing their podcast.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
So I started listening
to Elevating the Word.
Mm-hmm.
And on the first podcast that I
listened to that Dean-o did, he was
talking about when he had COVID and-
Yeah ⦠he was miraculously healed.
Yeah.
And I had a lot of feelings that
rushed through my head at that moment.
One, I got-- For the first time since
I had surrendered, I got upset with
God for a minute and I was like, "Why
would you heal Dean-o and not heal me?"
You know?
Yeah.
And, um, you know, well, you
know, and, and Dean-o should be
penciled into Hebrews 11 also.
I mean.
I mean, come on now.
Yes.
I mean, you know, if I was God,
I would save Dean-o over me too.
But, uh, but, you know, um, but I
really started getting invested, like,
and I didn't even know who this Rob
chucklehead was, but, you know, now I do.
Oh my gosh, yeah.
You know, I love Rob.
Mm-hmm.
But, um, you know, um, I was telling
my mom, I was like, "Man, I hope
Brother Dean, you know, comes somewhere
close where I can hear him preach."
And, um, like every week I was following
the podcast and then like, you know,
going onto Facebook and, you know,
kinda like checking him out, and I saw
where he was gonna be preaching at RFA.
Mm-hmm.
And I was like, "I'm going."
And I asked my mom, I was
like, "Do you wanna go?"
And she was like, "No,
I c- you know, I can't."
And, and she's, she's older.
She's in her- Yeah.
Mm-hmm ⦠you know, late 70s, so, you
know, she t- she's my dad's caregiver,
so, you know, it's a little harder
for her- Mm-hmm ⦠to get away.
Yeah.
So I was like, "Well, I'm going."
I was like, "I'm going by myself."
And I came to RFA, and, um, I was
like, "Oh my gosh, is that the guy
Ro-" That was like that worship leader.
This is like when Rob had a Mohawk.
I was like- ⦠"The worship
leader's got a Mohawk."
You know, and then, you know, like the
praise and worship was just like amazing.
Yeah.
And, you know, the Holy Spirit was just
like so present, you know, to me at that
moment and, you know, in that place.
And then, you know, like it was, you
know, of course, you know, it was the
first time that I ever got to hear,
you know, Brother Dean, you know,
uh, preach, you know, in, in person.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
And I mean, I was just likeâ¦
I was like, "I'm home."
I was like, "This is it."
You know, like- Mm-hmm.
Yeah ⦠"This is where I wanna be."
And I started going and, um, you know,
like I just, uh, I kinda felt like at that
point and like God was like, "You just,
you know, Chrissie's gonna come around.
You just, you need to live out your
faith, um, in front of Chrissie."
So, like, I just, I
just, that's what I did.
You know?
Like, so like a year rolled around
after I'd been out of the hospital,
and we went back and, um, you know,
I had gained like 51% lung function
and like 56%, you know, volume.
Mm-hmm.
Still, you know, still not great,
but, you know, getting better.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Um, you know, and, um, Chrissie told me
one day, she was like, um, "I think I
wanna go to church with you this week."
And I was like, "That's awesome."
I was like, "Come on, let's do it."
So she comes to RFA with me, and
at that point, my mom had started
coming with me 'cause my- Oh, okay.
Yeah ⦠you know, my mom was like,
um, you know, I forgot that whole
part of the story, but my mom was
like, you know, "Hey, I wanna, I
wanna come to church with you."
And then she comes there and, you
know, she was just, you know, likeâ¦
'Cause in small country church, you know,
like everybody gets to sing a special.
Mm-hmm.
So, like, there was like,
on Sunday morning, there was
like 15 specials, you know.
Like every, everybody wanted to
put a tape in and sing along.
Uh-huh.
So, um, you know, she was, you know,
really happy with like the structure
and, you know- Mm-hmm ⦠like,
um, you know, just like the, the
organization of, of the services.
And so she, you know, fell in love with
RFA too, and then, you know, Chrissie
started to come and, you know, she,
um- I think that, you know, I'm not
gonna tell your part of the story,
but, um, yeah, she obviously, I mean,
she's here today and she's like, you
know, you know, she goes to the, you
know, uh, leadership meetings- Mm-hmm
you know, and she's, you know,
in, in charge of SisGroup
and- Yeah, very involved.
You know, very involved in church.
And, um, you know, like I look
back and I'm like, wow, you know,
God's hand in all this was just-
Mm-hmm ⦠absolutely incredible.
And I'm not saying that all of those times
were easy, you know, 'cause there was a
lot of hard times that I'm leaving out.
Yeah, of course.
Yeah.
You know.
Um, but, you know, about, um, a year
and a half ago, I went to, um, the
pulmonologist and, um, I had done my PFT
and, um, I was back up to like normal,
what they consider normal- Yeah ⦠is
80% on both function and volume.
Yeah.
And I was like at 78%, um,
volume and like 76% function.
Wow.
And, um, he said I honestly can't
believe I'm, I'm talking to you today."
He was like, "You and one other person
that had the damage that you had
survived that I know of that I treat."
Wow.
And he was like- That
shouldn't have been here.
That shouldn't have been here.
And I said, "Well," you know, I said,
"I can honestly say that it was the
best thing that ever happened to me.
And if I had to do it again,
I would gladly do it again."
I said, "As bad as it was and
as scary as it was, it was the
only thing that saved my life.
Almost losing my life was the
only thing that saved it."
Mm-hmm.
Because I would-
Yeah ⦠never made heaven.
I believed in 11th hour salvation.
I believed that works-based salvation,
you know, like all the wrong things.
Mm-hmm.
I was definitely living a lukewarm
life, um, you know, in the hopes
that I would make it to heaven.
But now, like I know that's, you
know- Yeah ⦠like, you know,
I know that's where I'm going.
I have no doubt.
And- The same thing.
Yeah.
And, you know, I lived out my
faith in front of Chrissie.
And, you know, there's, there's so
much more, you know, like to the story.
Um, you know, like, uh, me and
Chrissie sold our business and, you
know, that was a really scary time.
You know, we got the guy that
bought our business, like tried to
beat us out of a bunch of money.
And, um, you know, we went through
this whole season of, you know,
of lack and not knowing that, you
know, if we were gonna, you know,
what we were gonna be able to do.
And, you know, I ended up starting
this other business just working
on data centers and then all
this, you know, money justâ¦
Or not money, but work fell in my lap,
and then money came along with that.
But, you know, like I've had the
opportunity to witness to so many
people- Yeah ⦠out in this industry,
this construction industry, where
most people don't get to hear
about what it means to, you know,
be fully surrendered to the Lord.
Yeah.
And, um, you know, just three
weeks ago, um, there was some new
guys that had came onto our crew.
And, um, I walked up in a
conversation with this kid and,
um, he was, um, you know, being--
They were giving him a hard time.
He was recently divorced.
He had bought some furniture for his
ex-wife, and the other guys were like
really ribbing him about, you know,
like buying furniture for his ex-wife.
And, um, he was like, "It's, I'm taking
care of my kids and, you know, I feel
like it's the right thing to do."
And I got to talking to him and, and,
uh, he was telling me that he was
trying to, you know, like start read his
Bible more and do a men's devotional.
And, you know, like I witnessed to him
and, and, um, you know, um, you know,
told him what it really, you know, gave
him my testimony, told him what it really
meant to, to live a surrendered life.
And, um, two days later, he pulled out
of the job site and had a wreck and died.
Oh.
And, um, and then like I, um,
I, I asked to talk to his mother
and they were-- And so his cousin
was on the, on the crew with us.
And, um, and I told her, you
know, like everything that I
got to, to talk to him about.
Yeah.
And then they asked me
to speak at his funeral.
Oh, wow.
Wow.
And then, um, you know, I, uh,
got up there and was the only
person at his, uh, funeral.
I mean, it wasn't held by a, a
minister or a pastor or anything.
Yeah.
But I was the only person at
the funeral that spoke from a
religious, you know, perspective.
And, you know, like, um, I talked
to Dean-o and, you know, got some
advice from him and, uh, you know,
he was like, you know, "Just talk to
these people, you know, and, and tell
them, you know, what it is gonna take
for them to, to see Blake again."
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know?
And, uh, so it-- I feel like that now even
though that I'm having to work more and be
gone a lot, that that's my mission field.
Yeah.
And, you know, like it, it hurts
me that I have to miss church on
Sundays some, and I'm not getting to
make as many serving opportunities
or any serving opportunities.
If Tasha's listening, I'm sorry.
Um, you know.
But you, you're, you have a purpose.
Yeah.
Right.
But- Right ⦠you know, I'm, I'm
getting to, I feel like touch a lot of
lives that I wouldn't get to- Mm-hmm
⦠if, um, I wasn't where I was at.
And it's, you knowâ¦
But anyway, it's just been, it's been
a really interesting journey and I'm
just excited to see what the Lord has in
store, um, you know, for us in the future.
But, you know, it's
definitely, um, all about Him.
Yeah.
You know?
And, um, yeah, that's, umâ¦
That is an incredible-
It really is ⦠story.
I mean- 'Cause that's a field that you
You know, there's not a lot of faith talk.
No.
No.
Mm-mm.
No, there's not.
You, you definitely have a purpose
for this ⦠I mean, it's clear.
Like, God's put you exactly
where you need to be.
Yeah.
So- At the right time.
Yeah.
Yep.
Like, I mean- Yeah ⦠'cause
he could've been in the
construction field years prior to.
Right, right.
You know, and he wouldn't
have been planting the seed.
No.
So at what point did you make a decision?
I mean, you started coming to
church when- Just woke up one
morning, and it was the day.
Wow.
I said, "I'm gonna go," and
haven't turned back since.
Yeah.
What, what year was that?
Like ⦠2023.
Three years now?
Yeah.
Yeah, 2023.
You just ⦠Both, I mean, especially
you seem like a very deep Christian.
Like, I wouldn't have- Like a- You
know, when someone told me- ⦠a
steadfast Christian ⦠"So
what someone else told us too"
"She's a Christian," like she's recently
⦠This was, like, uh, maybe a year and a
half ago, um, whenever we started this
groups, I don't ⦠Maybe two years.
But she's like, "Yeah,
she's a new Christian."
I'm like, "Okay."
And then I remember the first time I was
speaking to you, I was like, "She's not
just a new â¦" I must have misheard that.
She's not a new Christian.
I was like, "Nah, she's,
she's new to the church."
She's new to the church, but
she's not- Yeah ⦠new Christian.
'Cause you've- Yeah ⦠I've
never thought- Rob and Alex
told us the same thing.
Yeah.
We, uh, you know, took a, a trip
with them when we took some of
the supplies to the hurricane.
I remember that, yeah.
And I picked their brains the whole way.
And I remember thinking, "Good God."
Um, but that's what
they, they told us too.
Yeah.
Who was the lady when we were getting
ready to, um, take all the supplies, and
we were over in, uh, the youth activities
building, and we were loading everything
up, and she came up to you, and she asked
you, did she know you from another church?
No, she asked you, and
it was Lauren Atkinson.
Oh, okay.
And, uh, and she said, "Don't I
know y'all from another church?"
And I was like, "No, we were heathens
before we started coming here."
Yeah.
She's like- Of course ⦠"Don't
you go to Bethel?"
And Drew's like, "No."
No.
She's a heathen.
Yeah, she's a heathen.
So what was your church background?
Any or no?
Nothing?
I wasn't raised in church.
Cool.
I went, um, with another family-
Mm-hmm ⦠uh, when I was a little girl.
They go to like Assembly of God in London.
Mm-hmm.
Um, I would ride with them, you
know, the mom- Yeah ⦠dad and
their girls, who actually go to RFA.
Oh, okay.
Uh, small world.
Um, yeah, so ⦠And then my junior
high years, I'd go on and off- Mm-hmm
'cause it was the thing to do.
'Cause it was social.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Yep.
Going up to the altar- Mm-hmm ⦠I
didn't know what I was doing.
No.
So I knew right from wrong- Yeah ⦠but
I wasn't walking- Right ⦠with the Lord.
Mm-hmm.
Well, I mean, uh, you wouldn'tâ¦
Like, after I met you, like I said,
I was just like, "I did notâ¦
This is not the same
person that I ran into."
I was saying, I feel like some people
walk into the pool, and some people-
That's true ⦠cannonball into the pool.
Yeah.
Some people- You did a can- ⦠dive
in headfirst ⦠you did a cannonball.
And I don't know whether it's cannonball
for you or- Oh, I took all- ⦠or diving
headfirst, but- I wanted all the things.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
I, I mean, like, I leeched on to-
Mm-hmm ⦠a few people, um, and
just, I mean, just soaked it up.
Give- Yeah ⦠give me all the things.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
You know, I think I was
that hungry, that on fire.
Yeah.
I mean- Yeah, I wanted to
do it all ⦠you can tell.
Yeah.
Yeah, definitely.
And was baptized last year on Easter.
Wow.
Never been baptized.
Wow.
Yep.
That's cool.
And- Was 6 years old ⦠and
I was, um- It's never too
late ⦠baptized at, um, Kilgore, um,
um, maybe like year after I got
out of the hospital, so- Mm.
Yeah.
Man.
Had to take off my little
oxygen tank, leave it, it behind
the baptistry, go down in.
I was so worried.
I was like, "Oh, I'm
gonna take my oxygen off."
Like, I thought about dragging it
down into the baptistry with me.
I need this.
Yeah, I need this.
But, um, but yeah.
Uh, it's been a ⦠It's, it's been
such an amazing, um, six years, uh,
or five years, however long it's
been, um, because we've gotten a
chance to meet so many good people.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Um, and, you know, like I said, um, I
know, um, there are plenty of other great
churches out there, but, um, you know, I,
I definitely believe that God led us- Mm
to exactly, uh, where we needed to be.
If I had kept going to Kilgoreâ¦
And there's, listen, like I said, I
love Kilgore and I love those people.
Um, but there's, you know, if I had
kept going there, then I don't think
Chrissie would have ever started-
Probably not ⦠because there was, there
was something- But I have friends now.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, isn't that amazing?
I mean, I r- truly have girlfriends now.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, and you're doing such a great
job leading the Sis groups and- Yeah
⦠making that happen and, you know.
I love it.
Yeah.
I love it.
Yeah.
You know, like Chrissie's business, um,
you know, that was, um, that building,
um, was never meant to be what she wanted.
I wanted so bad to start a nonprofit.
Like, I ⦠When, when we sold our
business, like, I was just on fire to
start a nonprofit with, um, Rob and Alex.
And I actually did start a nonprofit
called Faith Walkers, and Rob and Alex are
on the board of the nonprofit, and that
building was supposed to be our office.
Mm-hmm.
And, you know, I wanted to, like,
uh, expand the kingdom, you know?
That's- Yeah ⦠I wanted ⦠I
didn't know how, I didn't know
what I was gonna do, but that's
what- Mm ⦠I wanted to do.
And we, um- Renovated that building,
um, and, you know, like really
felt like that it was a God thing,
you know, got it from Nikki.
Mm-hmm.
Um, you know, she was super happy
that we were gonna- Yeah ⦠you
know, put a, you know- Yeah
⦠brick-based business in there.
And then we remodeled it, and
then it just sat for a year.
Wow.
And we paid rent on it for a year, and
didn't really have the money 'cause
that was right through that season of
lack where, uh, the guy was, you know,
not paying us for the business- Right
that we sold him.
Yeah.
So we had no income coming in.
We were living off of money
that we had made from my, um,
really prosperous AV years.
And, um, then we just came to
this point to where we were like,
"We gotta let the building go."
You know, "We, we can't do this."
You know, it's just, it's too much.
And, you know, um, I remember having
coffee with Alex one morning, and one
thing that you gotta love about Alex
is he's just gonna tell it how it is.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
And, um, you know, I found myself,
um, 'cause the, the guy that
bought our business, you know,
he, um, he owed us a lot of money.
And I k- I kept finding myself
saying, "My money" a lot.
Like, that phrase just kept popping
up, like, "My money, my money,"
you know, "I want my money."
You know, and I was talking to Alex about
it one morning, and he was like, "You
know, have you ever thought that maybe
God doesn't want you to have that money?"
Mm-hmm.
That's my money.
Yeah.
You know.
Yep.
And, uh, and, you know, I
was, I was like, you know.
And we were at that point where we were
just-- 'Cause we were, we had a contract.
The man, um, asked us to stay
on and help run the business.
But about a month, two months into when
the contract was almost up, he fired us.
Mm.
Yeah, broke, broke the contract.
Not, you know, fired us.
So we, we were just gonna walk away.
It's like, okay, maybe we're
not supposed to have this income
from the sale of this business.
Yeah.
Even if w- we sold it, we built it,
we sold it, we made it profitable,
we're not supposed to have it.
Yeah.
So yeah, we were, we were ready
to just, like, let it all go.
And, um, I have to interject
this part of the story.
So I, I know I've said interj-
I've said interject way too much.
It's okay.
It's all right.
I'm so sorry.
It's all right.
No.
You can edit that out.
Um, but, um, so we were, like, three
months left in our, in our contract.
And, um, uh, Chrissy's dad
had been, um, battling cancer
for about a year and a half.
And, um, he was, um, not
doing, doing that well.
And, um, it wasn't from the cancer,
it was from, you know, some, some
stomach problems that he was having.
And, um, he had had surgery and had
to have, um, part of his- Colostomy
⦠yeah, he had had a colostomy, had
to have part of his colon removed.
And, um, so we get, we get fired
on a, like a Tuesday or something.
And then, like, Chrissy's
dad is pretty sick.
And, like, just two days later, I'm
like, "We need to go to your dad's."
Like, you know-
I was like, so anyway, we, we go
there and, um, you know, like little
did we know, like when we would
get there, like, you know, seven
days later he would pass away.
Oh my goodness.
But we got to spend, you know, like
we were fired and if, um, if we hadn't
have been fired, she wouldn't have
got to spend that seven days with him,
and I wouldn't have got to sit by his
bedside and read him Isaiah 65- Mm.
and talk to him about what we
were gonna actually get to do
in the new heaven and new earth.
Yeah.
And, you know, he was- Yeah ⦠an
outdoorsman and, you know, I got
to sit there and tell him that we
were gonna get to plant and sow and
no one else would get to reap that.
Yeah.
That we would get to build- Yeah
and no one else would inhabit.
And, um, you know, I really, you
know, got a chance to, you know,
talk to him about, uh, his salvation.
And, um, you know, I, like I said,
I just, I look back at, at all these
things that I thought were going
against us- Yeah ⦠that, you know,
God was using to work out for our good.
Yeah.
He's working in the background.
Yeah.
Always.
Always the detail God.
Handling those details.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So you just, you don't know, um,
you know, like how, you know, God's
using, you know, the things in your
life to touch- Yes ⦠other people.
Yeah.
That's true.
And, um, you know, like I've-- I
am taking no credit for this 'cause
it is 100% God, but like, you know,
I, um, I definitely feel like that
part of my journey has been, you
know, for, you know, God to use me.
Um, you know, and, and I know
that we can't all be part
of the fivefold ministry.
Mm-hmm.
You know, but, um, I don'tâ¦
You don't have to be.
No.
Yeah.
You know, to talk to people- Not
at all ⦠about their salvation.
Yeah.
You know, we're, we're all called to be
the hands and feet- Yes ⦠of Jesus.
Yeah.
And I see that in my store now.
Yeah.
Kind of like what Drew was saying.
We didn't know what to do with the
building, so we, you know, turned it
into retail, but we kept it faith-based.
Yeah.
Well, you can tell when
you walk in that store.
It's, there's peace.
It's peace.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
And, and that's where I was going a
minute ago when I had to, you know, stop
and, and tell about, you know, you know,
Chrissy's d- you know, dad and us, you
know, going there was, um, you know,
I had, you know, just dreamed of this
being this place that I was going to
be able to use for, you know, expanding
the kingdom, and it just never launched.
And then shortly after that, you know,
we were like, "What are we gonna do?
We don't haveâ¦"
I put in 200 applications for jobs
that I was very qualified for-
Wow ⦠and never got a single callback.
Mm-hmm.
Wow.
Not w- not one.
I, I did, I think I did one
interview out of, like- Mm-hmm
⦠putting in 200 applications.
And, um, you know, like I said,
that was right in the time when
we thought we were gonna, you
know, let the, the shop go back.
And then, um, I was like, "You know what?"
I said, "Chris, um, you have
blindly followed my entrepreneurial
ambitions for 20-plus years."
I was like, "You need to do
something that is yours."
Mm-hmm.
I was like, "That has Drew's name
completely removed," you know.
"Don'tâ¦"
I was like, "Do whatever makes you happy."
And, like, 'cause she, she had been,
like, discounting herself and, you
know, like, "I'm not smart enough to do
this," or, you know, "I don't wanna do
that," and, you know, "I can't do this."
And she was, like, looking at, like, you
know, Spark driving or, you know, do,
like, going somewhere and doing Uber and-
Yeah ⦠you know, which are all, you
know- App proper jobs as well in Dallas
⦠or, or, you know, great things, you know.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But, um, yeah, we, umâ¦
I was in Dallas, you know, and just
driving, and we were talking aboutâ¦
She was like, "I went into, um,
Painted Tree the other day."
And she was like, "I met this lady,
and, uh, she was a Christian, and
we just had the best conversation."
And I was, you know, I was like,
"That's what you need to do."
I was like, "Why don't you take
the sh- take this store instead of
letting, you know, Nikki get it back?"
Mm-hmm.
And I was like, "And, and start
a Painted Tree style store."
And she's like, "I don't know.
I don't know."
And, um, you know, we, um,
you know, we thought about it.
I prayed really hard about it, and
I was like, "You need to do it."
Yeah.
I was like, "You need to start a store."
Yeah.
And, um, and little did I know
that What I wanted was not
what God wanted for that space.
Yeah.
It was all, it was always all about
Chrissie- Yeah ⦠and, and her expanding
the kingdom through surrounding herself
with, you know, um, I told her, I
said, "This isn't a Christian store."
I said, "This is a store
full of Christian women."
Yeah.
And, you know, and that's
what I love about that space.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Like, every great once in a
while I'll ask her, I'll like,
"You know, you should doâ¦"
And then I'm like, "Ooh.
You know what?
Let me shut up.
You do whatever you wanna do."
And then she'll- Amen ⦠you know,
I'll be on the road and she'll say,
um, "I ordered this for my store."
And I'm like, "Oh, great.
You know, when's it gonna be in?"
And, uh, you know, she's just,
just knocking it out of the park.
Yeah.
She really is.
It's a good- It's exciting.
And if you haven't been by, you need to.
It's Define & Co.
Like, we're n- like,
close to Cracker Barrel.
It's really very peaceful.
And I love people.
I love to talk to people.
Mm-hmm.
And I have met some wonderful people.
Yeah.
And God's bringing people
for you to talk to in there.
Yeah.
He wantsâ¦
You're, you're a minister, too, so.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's awesome.
I feel like we could talk another hour.
Yeah, I'm so, I'm so sorry.
I know.
No.
No, I love it.
No, it's great.
And I, I mean, definitely, definitely
have to have y'all again soon.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
Because it's fascinating.
Like, I didn't know.
I knew you had had COVID.
That's all I knew.
Like, I didn't know- Yeah ⦠it was
such an extended, um, thing and all that.
I did not know any of that.
I knew you gotâ¦
Well, Alex said, "You know who you need to
have on your podcast is you and Chrissie."
No, this was a good one.
This was a good one, Alex.
And I was like, "Yeah."
And he goes, "Kerrye, it's
really, really a good story."
And I was like, "Okay."
Yeah.
You know?
But I feel like we need
another hour or two.
Yeah.
So, 'cause it's, I mean,
really, really good.
Yeah.
I've just really enjoyed it, but-
Oh, yeah ⦠and if we didn't have
Shannon Yarbrough coming next.
Thank Shannon.
No, I'm kidding.
No, no.
That's gonna be a long one.
Oh, yeah.
That's gonna, that's,
it's gonna be a good one.
Well, no, she has, she's coming
on her lunch break, so she's
like, "I have to be back by 2:00."
So I'm like, "Okay."
But then she's gonna cut it up.
So we'reâ¦
Yeah.
Yeah, so- We're corralled a little
bit, but it's gonna be all right.
What a powerful woman.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, she's so good.
I love her.
So amazing.
Can't wait.
But yeah, I've loved it, and
please, please come back soon.
Sooner rather than later- Yeah ⦠so
we can- Thanks for having us.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, it was, it was a pleasure.
Love it.
Yeah.
All right, we'll see you next time.
Okay.
Okay.
Thank you.
Bye.