Chapter + Verse

Discover the courage of Dana Olvera in our latest episode! Learn how she overcame a turbulent past and found strength in faith, leading to a life beyond what she ever imagined. Tune in for a story that will inspire and uplift!

What is Chapter + Verse?

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 Carrie.

Let's turn the page.

Okay.

Well, we're here with our good friend
Dana Olvera, and we're so happy

you're here- Yay â¦ to share- Me too

a chapter in your life.

Mm-hmm.

And we'll just start in by saying
just tell us a little bit about

yourself, whatever you wanna tell.

I am old.

I'm- No, you're not.

We don't talk about age.

Okay.

Oh, yeah, we don't.

We don't talk about age.

Okay.

We just talk about numbers.

Yeah, we never talk about age on this.

It's like Bruno.

We don't talk about it.

We're just gonna call it age Bruno now.

Yeah.

Age is Bruno for sure.

Well, I just, uh, I grew up in a
little town called Mansfield, Texas.

Okay.

It's, uh, right on the
outskirts of Dallas-Fort Worth.

It's probably closer to, um, what a lot
of people would know where Sagoo is.

Okay.

Watsahatchie.

Mm-hmm.

Like, I grew up neighbors with them, so,
um, yeah, so I grew up in an area that you

had everything at the tip of your fingers.

Mm-hmm.

My family was pretty much-

Blue collar.

Mm-hmm.

You know?

Yep.

We grew up not a lot of money.

My mom and dad married fairly young.

They were, um, my mom
was 20 when she had me.

Mm-hmm.

So, Are you the oldest of- I am.

I'm the oldest.

So, I mean, it's just kind of,
I have a complex, background.

Like Okay.

It's just, like, my family is pretty,
pretty dysfunctional actually, you know?

Well, most people's are.

Yeah, I mean, at that point
I'm thinking like, "But what

is functional at this point?"

Yeah.

Correct.

Yeah.

But my, uh, mom and da- my mom grew up
on, like in, it's â¦ They were farmers.

Mm-hmm.

So, like, I didn't grow
up with a lot of fluff.

Mm-hmm.

You know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

She didn't know how to
teach me how to do my hair.

She didn't know how to teach me how
to do my makeup or that kind of stuff.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

'Cause, I mean, they just
didn't grow up like that.

Yeah.

But my mom and dad married.

My dad actually my mom and her
best friend met in school, and

they married each other's brothers.

Oh.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

Okay.

So my mom and my dad, m-
or my aunt and I you know.

Yeah.

His, my dad's sister and my mom's brother.

You have double aunts and uncles.

Yes.

Is that natural?

And so, so, like, my, my f- the, my first
cousins they're double first cousins.

And so th- we grew up with them
more like brother and- Mm-hmm,

yeah â¦ you know, brother and sister,
so we were really close with them.

But my dad was supposedly
called to preach.

Mm-hmm.

And so my mar- my mom
was like, "Oh," you know.

Mm-hmm.

He went off to the military, and
then come back not the man that she-

Was this Vietnam that he went to?

Uh, yes.

Or was it â¦ Okay.

Yes.

And it was not the, not the man
that she thought she had married.

Yeah.

And he was, ended up being an alcoholic-
â¦ and very physically abusive.

Um- That's terrible â¦ not
just to her, but then when we

came along, you know, to us.

Mm-hmm, yeah.

And it went on for â¦ I
think they divorced when I

was around nine and a half.

Mm-hmm.

Oh, gosh.

And I remember just sitting in the
backseat of the car the last time.

I'm gonna skip around.

It's, it's really hard.

Oh, it's fine.

No, it's fine.

Totally fine.

But I remember sitting in the back of
the car, um, the last time he'd come and

begged her to take him back, and he had
taken us to Dairy Queen to get ice cream.

Mm-hmm.

And I remember sitting in the
backseat going, "God, please

don't let them get back together."

Oh.

You know, it was just, it was horrifying.

Very traumatic.

I, I had I guess like a
calcium deficiency growing up.

Okay.

So I broke my left wrist, um,
once when I was six, skating.

Mm.

I broke my right leg three times.

Oh, okay then.

The last the last time, um, my sister
and I were riding bikes, and she

lost control of her bike and ran
into me, and I shattered my kneecap.

Oh.

And so I had to have my kneecap replaced.

And that was- That was the time
probably that broke the straw of

the, on the camel's back, when
my mom decided, like, no more.

I had just gotten out of my cast.

Mm-hmm.

Which was the third time in, like, three
years- Mm â¦ that I had been in a cast.

Yeah.

And, And this is like
a, a hip to toe cast.

No, it w- yes, yes.

Yeah.

It was from here all the way down.

Yeah.

And I was in it for several weeks,
and I had just gotten it off.

And you remember those old car creepers
that they got under the cars with?

Yes.

Uh-huh.

That's how I had to get around.

Man.

Because, I mean- Oh, gosh,
yeah â¦ it was just hard.

Yeah.

Well, and so after all those
breaks for some reason back then,

they put you on a high fat diet.

You know, a lot of calcium.

Mm.

Trying to get you that way.

So I put on quite a few pounds,
and it's, that's where I began

getting fluffy, like fifth grade.

And you can look back at my school
pictures, and from like fourth,

fifth grade, like it just got bigger.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

'Cause they wanted you to-
Yeah â¦ like gain weight andâ¦

Yeah, and trying to
strengthen those bones.

I don't know why they didn't
give me calcium supplements or

something else, but- Yeah, they just
didn't do it back then, I guess.

But yeah, back then it
was more of your diet.

Yeah.

And then anyway, so, I had just gotten
that cast off, and my mom was working,

and they had told my mom to help me get
up to walk just a little bit at a time.

Mm-hmm.

You know, well, my dad come home
drunk one day and decided, "It's,

today's the day you're gonna walk."

Oh, no.

Man.

And so he got me up, and he proceeded
to make me try to walk in a circle in

the living room, and if I fell down,
he got his belt, and he hit me- Oh

my goodness â¦ until I got back up.

Holy moly.

And so, yeah, that it was, um, my mom
come home and found out, you know, found

that out, and she was like, "That's it."

Yeah.

Like, I, I just- Yeah, I
can't do it anymore â¦ just,

yeah, I can't do it anymore.

Yep.

And so we went to live with my
grandparents and, excuse me.

So, um, we moved in with my
grandparents 'cause here she

is a single mom- Mm-hmm, yeah

you know, with two kids.

At that time it was just me and my sister.

That's the only full siblings I have.

Mm-hmm.

Now, after my mom and dad divorced,
he went on to marry six more times and

have- Oh my goodness â¦ other- Wow.

Yeah.

Okay.

Other children with other wom- you
know- Mm-hmm â¦ other wives and stuff.

But my sister Shannon, she's
two years younger than I am.

She has um, she's the
only full sibling I have.

So she had the two of us, so she moved
in with her parents, my grandparents.

And I wanna say probably a year after
that we moved in in with them, I mean,

which, now she took us to church.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Um, but the funny thing is my mom's
side of the family is all Baptist.

Okay.

Mm-hmm.

And my dad's side of the
family was all Church of God.

Okay.

A Pentecostal Church of God.

Mm-hmm.

And my, my dad's mom is
a Pentecostal preacher.

I mean, was.

Yeah.

And so I had two different,
very different worlds.

Very different.

Yeah.

But I, so I knew both sides.

And then, like- Everybody loves Jesus.

Yes.

But wow, do they have some
different rules to follow.

They do.

And so, but mainly I grew up, you know,
living with my grandparents and stuff.

We went to the Baptist church.

Mm-hmm.

And my mom was more Baptist.

So we went to church, and she tried to,
you know, tried to help teach us right and

stuff, but- To the best of her ability.

Yeah.

She worked- Yeah â¦ all the
time, and but I think we were

living with my grandparents for
about a, maybe about a year.

And my grandfather decided it
was a good idea to molest me.

Oh.

And so, um, luckily my mom believed me.

Yeah.

Because he had, I found out later, he had
done that to my aunt, like her whole life.

Oh my goodness.

But not your mom.

But not my mom.

And he never touched my sister,
so I don't know what it was.

How long did it go on?

It happened one time.

Oh, okay.

And I mean, which we still
had to continue living there.

Ugh.

But I had a lot of, I don't
know inward struggles.

Yeah.

You know?

I, it just, it really
messed my self-esteem up.

Of course.

There's, there's so much shame-
Yeah â¦ that comes with it.

Yeah.

For, and like for no reason, you
know, it's â¦ I hate the Devil.

Yeah.

I just hate how he twists stuff.

Yeah.

He took, I mean, he took a young girl
that, you know, had just come and was,

thought, "Here's our chance"- To be safe.

Yeah â¦ to be safe, and then that.

Um- He robbed you of that.

Yeah.

Oh my gosh.

And but now my mom ensured that locks were
put on my door, you know what I'm saying?

Mm-hmm.

So that he could never get in again.

But still, just living in that.

Yeah.

And then he was just a twisted man.

Mm-hmm.

You know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

And so different things, I could
never have any friends over- Yeah

because of him.

Yeah.

I just- Yeah â¦ there, I was, no way.

And so people were like, "Hey,
well, we'll come over to your

house to spend the night."

No.

You know- Yeah â¦ that's
probably not a good idea.

So I had very few friends,
you know, in school.

One, because I, we weren't that well off.

Yeah.

You know what I'm saying?

And then I was fluffier.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And then I was blessed with
the last name of Raper.

Oh, goodness.

So- The hits just keep
coming â¦ so, so I mean, that

one was from the get-go, you know.

Mm-hmm.

But, um, by our last name being
Raper, I just had a lot of cards

stacked against me it seemed like.

Yeah.

You know, as, as far, public school.

Yeah.

And you know how public school can be.

Oh, yeah.

So like I was- It just, yeah
â¦ bullied and teased- Mm-hmm â¦ you

know, as long as I can remember.

So I had no self-confidence,
no, you know- Mm-hmm â¦ nobody

that liked me and, and stuff.

And then as I got into high school,
I was just, I had learned to-

I guess, uh, still be happy in myself.

Mm-hmm.

But there was just a
lot of emptiness inside.

Yeah, yeah.

You know, that even, you know, which
by that time, by the time I got in high

school and stuff and could drive s- I
had started getting with friends that,

you know, I started smoking at 16.

Mm-hmm.

And, um, and then my cousins, the
double first cousins, um, he had,

they, him and his girlfriend at the
time were well into drugs by then.

And so I started finding a
world that accepted me- Mm-hmm.

And liked me in the drugs.

Mm-hmm.

You know, in the drugs-
Yeah â¦ and the alcohol and stuff.

And so I began at 16 to
start finding a new me.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And experimenting and, and getting to know
man, people like me, you know, but only

because I was the drug dealer's cousin.

You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And so, it was a false identity for
a lot of reasons, but but I found

acceptance that I had always wanted.

Right.

You know, and looked for.

And then I would say probably a
couple y- let's see, 16, 17, 18,

I'm started moving out on my own.

And got a, I gotta change jobs.

I worked at Pizza Inn for a long time.

And, and I would always say, "I'll
go back to waitressing any day

'cause it makes some good money."

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, if you can do it right.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

I couldn't do it anymore, but.

Yeah.

But, um, but yeah, I
was making okay money.

And I graduated high school at 17,
and I always wanted to be a lawyer.

You know, I thought I did.

I can see it.

But- But at the same time, I
was like, "Oh, I'm just gonna

take a year off from school."

And because I worked, I started
working when I was, like 15, I lied

about my age and started working.

I, I didn't really apply myself in school.

Yeah.

Which I look back now and fast-forward,
so when I decided to go to college-

to try to get my degree in, um, 2014
after I had all the kids and- Mm-hmm.

Yeah â¦ you know, I was working
for Jackson Hewitt, and, um,

a friend of mine's like, "You
should go back to school."

I was like, "I've never been to college."

Yeah.

But, um, but I found out my GPA.

Mm-hmm.

When I got my col- my high school
transcript, I found out what my GPA

was, which I didn't even know back
then 'cause I wasn't interested- Yeah

really.

And it was a, aâ¦

It was like a wanna say a

2.47

or something like that Oh, wow.

Okay.

And I was like, "Man,
that's just, like, average.

That's not even, like, super bad."

And like, I wasn't even-
Oh â¦ crying myself.

Yeah, exactly.

You know?

You're like, "Imagine if I
would've been all right."

If I would have, I could've
really been- Yeah â¦ aware of it.

Yeah.

But anyway, so I deci- I thought, "Oh,
I'll just take a year off from school

and then go", you know, a lot of our
friends and stuff were going to school.

I was like, "I'm just
gonna take a year off."

Yeah, right.

So but then I ended up meeting
a girl and we became, like, best

friends, and I moved in with her,
and she was also a drug dealer.

Mm-hmm.

And so I lost a lot of weight.

Uh-huh.

Like, a lot of that weight.

I imagine.

Yeah.

I got down to, like, 157 pounds.

Mm.

Man, I was, like, living
on cloud nine, I thought.

Mm-hmm.

But I was a lot of relationships
that weren't really relationships.

Yeah.

And, you know.

The pretty package isn't always pretty.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

And just a lot of one-night stands, and,
oh, the promiscuity was just unreal.

Mm-hmm.

Found myself at a party one
night, and then they needed

somebody to run some dope.

And I was like, "Okay,
I'll do it", you know.

And so me and another guy was gonna
deliver it, and we got pulled over.

Oh, man.

And found, come to find
out somebody ratted us out.

Oh.

But I was like, you know, "Okay."

So.

Comes with it.

Mm-hmm.

Yep.

Yeah, but I justâ¦

And they were like, "Well, you knowâ¦"

So I ended up sitting in a jail cell
overnight and- Just, what am I doing?

You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, yeah.

Just thinking, "What am I doing?"

But I was still too far in-
Mm-hmm â¦ to really want out.

Mm-hmm, yeah.

You know, I was just living- That was
the beginning of the light for you.

Yes.

Yeah.

I was, like, living the life.

Like, everybody likes me, and, you
know, here I am, I found my place.

I was not one of those drug
addicts that was irresponsible.

You know what I'm saying?

Yeah, you were functioning.

I was functioning.

Yeah.

I was going to work every
day and well, most every day.

And then and then making some
side money, and I was doing good.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, yeah.

And, you know, staying up for six,
seven days at a time, and- Goodness

yeah, it was crazy.

You know, I look back now and I
think, "Not for the mercies of

God-" Yes, yeah â¦ you know, that
I just didn't overdose or I didn't,

you know, just do something stupid.

Yeah.

Because then I always said, you
know, when you're young and you

go, "Oh, I'll never do that."

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

You know?

Uh, it's amazing what you
will do the more you do.

Yeah.

You know, so it wasn't
just marijuana and alcohol.

It was meth, and then it turned
into LSD, and you know, I neverâ¦

I thank the Lord I never liked needles,
so I never got to Yeah â¦ to that stage.

Yeah.

You know, because the addicts and stuff,
and I never got to heroin and that.

Yeah.

But the acid and LSD stuff, that
it'll mess with you, and I still

think, "What in the world", you know?

Yeah.

But so, somehow a judge came toâ¦

It was the tiny town of Mansfield, so.

Okay.

Um, the judge came to the jail
cell, and I mean, it wasâ¦

The jail cell was maybe not
much bigger than this room.

Oh, wow.

You know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

So it had just two cells total.

Okay.

And then another little room outside
of it, so it was, like, very small.

Yeah.

And, um, so the judge came in and he said,
you know, "We found you with this, but

you know, you were very cooperative," and
blah, blah, blah, and i- they let me go.

My mom come and got me-
Wow â¦ out of jail.

Wow.

And I never heard anything else about it.

Which really surp- I mean, I, no
court date, no, uh, you know- Wow

no other thing ever came up about that.

So I thought, "God, how did
you- Right â¦ you know?"

I look back now and think, there
should have been more- Yes.

Yeah â¦ more of something go on.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

So I don't know if it's because I
cooperated, handed it over, said,

you know- Yeah â¦ uh, uh- Or
God just did a, a miracle moment.

Yeah.

Yes.

Or, and that's what I
track it up to- Yeah.

Yeah â¦ is because God
just looked over me.

Um, so- Someone was praying for you.

Yeah.

And it was probably my
grandma and my aunt.

You know, my dad's mom and my aunt,
they â¦ And they would several times

throughout, you know, "Dana, you know,
wish you'd come to church with us,

you know," and, "Oh, yeah," you know.

And we'd go of course sometimes on Easter.

Mm-hmm.

I'd go see my aunt and go to church
with her occasionally on Easter,

not very often, but occasionally.

Mm-hmm.

You know, and sometimes if Mom, you
know, wanted to go, we'd go with her, you

know, to b- she had even fallen out where
she didn't even go as regularly- Yeah.

Yeah â¦ as she did
when we were growing up.

And so I was pretty much just living
on the wild side, living on my own.

Mm-hmm.

Well, then I got started
just here and there, moving

here, living there, you know.

Mm-hmm.

And I had moved back home, and I had
started seeing a guy that I worked

with, and we had gotten into a pretty
serious relationship, and he had even

mentioned, you know, marriage and w- and
I had fallen in love with his family.

And he decided he liked somebody else, and
so he, we broke up, and I was devastated.

I was just like- Aw.

How old were you at this time?

I was, let me think, 24.

wanna say, yeah, right around 24.

And so it was in, um-

Yeah, it was in '93, and itâ¦

I know, it is so long ago.

No, I was just sitting here
thinking, like, "Okay, you're,

now you're talking about Bruno."

Like, you, you've run into-
Oh, I'm dating â¦ the nose.

Oh, I'm dating.

Yeah, that's right.

It's okay.

That's funny.

If you are fine with it- â¦ and
wanna talk about it, you can.

So just- Well, so I was about 24,
and I, uh, I was, again, devastated.

I really liked this guy.

I really liked his family.

Yeah.

And we had evenâ¦

They were Baptist, so - Mm-hmm â¦ and
his mom, we had even gone to church

with his mom one Sunday, and I thought,
"Ah," you know, "maybe I can get back.

This'll be-" Yes â¦ "a family."

This'll be a turnaround and- Yes, yes.

And then he, he wanted to see
somebody else, and so anyway,

well, I started hitting the bars,
like- Mm â¦ really hard, and just

trying to drink my sorrow away.

Mm-hmm.

And just party, and
I'll find somebody else.

Well, this one night we had gone
to a bar, and I mean, I was just

drinking like crazy, likeâ¦

And then there was a, after we closed
the bar down, so like 2:00 AM, we

go to this little restaurant that
was open 24 hours, and we're eating,

and I was being obnoxiously loud.

And so- I can't even imagine that.

I'm just like, okay, so you were drunk.

But still, like- But- But yeah,
I mean, like- â¦ looking at

you now, I'm just like- Yeah

there's no way this is the same person.

Yeah.

So.

It well, I'm loud anyway, so that
part- Oh â¦ doesn't surprise anybody.

But, um- The obnoxious
part for sure surprises.

Butâ¦

Yeah.

The ob- I was being obnoxiously
loud and obnoxiously vulgar with my

language in this public restaurant.

Mm-hmm.

And- I can't imagine that either

and but I was so drunk, I did not
notice the police officers- Oh.

Oh my goodness â¦ sitting
in a booth behind us.

Hilarious.

And so I mean, that's
how intoxicated I was.

And so, we ate.

We said our goodbyes, and
I went to get in my truck.

Mm-hmm.

And I went to open a pack of cigarettes,
and I had started down the road, and I

let that cellophane, that little end- Oh

of the cellophane out the
window, and that's all he needed.

Yeah.

He pulled me over for littering.

But he knew better.

Yeah.

And so he pulled me out and had me do the
sobriety test, which I could not pass.

I would love to see that video now.

'Cause they recorded it
once you got to theâ¦

Listen, I'm just gonna say, full
disclosure, my husband is a police

officer, and we have had me attempt
a sobriety test, a field sobriety

challenge, stone cold sober.

I can't do it.

I can't pass it.

I probably couldn't now either.

I don't know if it'sâ¦

Like, I have a screw in my
foot, so I don't know if that,

like, throws off my balance or
whatever, but, like, I can't do it.

I can do, like, the, like, the
nose touch, like, with the fingers.

Yeah.

That, that thing.

But, like, the- Walk in a
straight line or whatever

walking in a straight line.

It, itâ¦

and I'm like, "What?"

Do you remember that night when youâ¦

I mean, do you remember this test?

I do.

Wow.

I- it's crazy.

And it was funny because no matter
how much I ever drank, I was not

one of those blackout drunks.

Oh, okay.

You know, I remembered
everything I did, unfortunately.

You know, and that's what one
of the sad things is, some of

those memories never go away.

No.

No matter how bad you try, it's, you
just one day it's random and you're

like, "I am, like, thinking about that."

Yeah.

Yep.

But yeah.

Well, I have plenty of sober ones of that.

Yeah, no.

So that's not, that's not a good thing.

Some, some of it's kinda spotty in places.

But, you know, but.

Yeah.

And, um, so, we, they took me to the
correction center there in, in Cleburne,

which was a different county and stuff
than what I lived in, was where I worked.

But yeah, they put me in the hole
and left me in there to sober

up by myself for a long time.

And then I got the one phone call, and
I called my mom, and I was like, "Mom."

She was like, "Diana."

I was like, "I know."

So, but I sat in there, and at
that point, I was like, "You

know, I gotta straighten up.

I this is not going well."

And so I got out of jail, and they,
that did result in a court date.

Mm-hmm.

And, you know, and all that stuff.

So, here I have a DWI on my record.

And, well, so I had gone home and
worked a coup- I mean, I think it was,

uh, maybe a couple of weeks later,
and I, uh, was just Saturday night.

I was like, "Ugh"

nothing to do.

Mm-hmm.

So I found myself down the road at
a, another small bar, and I thought,

"Well, I'll just go hang out," you know.

And at that time I had the it was
a Toyota four run- four by four.

Okay.

And so it was a cute little extended cab.

I loved that truck so much.

And so I had pulled in.

I went in, drank a couple of drinks,
and I was like, "You know what?

I'm just gonna go back home."

And I went to get in my truck.

Well, by that time the
parking lot had gotten packed.

Mm-hmm.

And so I was blocked in.

Somebody had parked behind me.

Oh.

And I couldn't hardly get out.

And there was a field behind, you
know, so where we pulled in, 'cause

this was in the country kinda.

And it had the grass was all growed up, so
I thought, "I'm in a four by four truck.

I'm just gonna pull out this way."

Yeah.

So I did, and I got hung on something- Oh.

â¦ the weeds was covering up.

Oh, no.

Mm-hmm.

And I was like, "What in the world?"

So no matter what I did, I
rocked that truck and tried

to put it in four-wheel drive.

Mm-hmm.

And was trying to get out, and
it wouldn't come off that thing.

And what ha- I got out and eventually
found out, like, somebody had built

this, like, trash cage kinda thing.

Mm-hmm.

And my truck had got wedged up on it.

Oh, no.

And I was like, "Oh."

And I thought, "That's all I need.

Here I've been drinking."

Mm-hmm.

"Just got a DWI.

What am I gonna do?"

So I sat in the truck for a minute,
and I said, "Lord, if you'll get

me out of this, I'll be on, I'll
be in church in the morning."

Yeah.

I rocked it a couple more times, and I
got off that thing and pulled out of that-

Wow â¦ parking lot, and I went home.

And I was at the church the next morning.

Oh, good.

So I went to church, and I went down,
and I gave my heart back to Jesus.

And I was like, "Oh, finally," you know?

Mm-hmm.

You know when you grow upâ¦

'Cause like I was baptized when
I was 13, and- Mm-hmm â¦ I had

accepted the Lord, and I really did
love the Lord- Mm-hmm â¦ back then.

Yeah.

But all that other junk.

Yeah.

I just let it crack me out.

Yes.

Yeah.

And â¦ Yeah.

So anyway, I went back to church
and started going to church.

And Cisco and I had, We grew
up together, which he grew up

going to my cousin's church.

My aunt, and uncle, and my grandma,
those- Mm-hmm â¦ the churches in there.

So him and my cousin that, that actually
introduced me to the drug scene and

everything, he w- he grew up in church,
but he grew up on the Pentecostal side.

Yeah.

Okay.

And so, um, I had known Cisco.

Weâ¦

Crazy, but we rode the same bus.

He lived on Fifthâ¦

I mean, North Street, and then
I lived on Newt Patterson.

So our bus picked them up first
and picked me up, and then we

always dropped them o- you know.

Mm-hmm.

So I saw him all the time, and
then seeing them at church when I

would visit my aunt and them- Yeah.

Yeah â¦ for church and stuff, and I
always just had the biggest crush on

him 'cause he was just so cute andâ¦

Anyway, so, but I had started going back
to church, and then my court date came up.

And I mean, I had literally really tried.

Iâ¦

So I walked away from the alcohol.

I didn't, I hadn't
touched any more alcohol.

Mm-hmm.

And this is probably around, I wanna
say July or so when I had my court date.

And so, in July I went and theâ¦

I went to meet the probation off-
so they ordered me to have probation

- Yeah â¦ and community service just
to- Yeah â¦ and then pay a fine.

I had to pay a fine.

So when I went to meet the
probation officer, he looks at me

and he goes, "You don't look like
somebody that should be here."

And- You had changed that much.

I said, "I'm not anymore."

And so I just, I met him once
a month for six months, and

he was like, "You're good."

Wow.

And I mean, the Lord really
did do a turnaround on me.

And then, well, I wasâ¦

So I was going to church regularly, go- I
had gotten involved in a Bible study with

the women's group at the Baptist church.

I wasâ¦

I mean, the church I grew up in.

Mm-hmm.

And it was r- some really sweet ladies,
and I was really gleaning from it.

But I couldn't put down the cigarettes.

I mean, I'd been smoking whenâ¦

since I was 16.

Yeah.

And so now here it is, I'm pushing
25, and, An addiction is real.

Itâ¦

Well, and you know, I always thought,
I mean, none of the other drugs

or alcohol, even the marijuana,
like, I put it down and no problem.

Yeah.

But not the nicotine.

No.

I could not.

I was two packs a day, and
could- Wow â¦ not quit.

I mean, I woke up to one, I
went to bed to o- You know, I'd

smoke- Yeah â¦ them all day.

Well, so, at the time my cousin, him
and his wife had gotten into church.

He, they got into some bigger trouble,
that that's their story and- I mean,

he went to h- he got in someâ¦

They had gun trouf- stuff.

Oh.

Oh, wow.

Like, they got in some big stuff.

And so he had gone to jail, and he
told his wife, he said, "I'm going

to church when I get outta here.

You can go with me or you can not."

Yeah.

You know, so they had
started going back to church.

'Cause we all grew up-
Going to church, yeah.

Mm-hmm â¦ going to church.

No, you know, knowing there's-
You had the foundation, yeah.

Yeah.

And so, I, uh-

She told me, she said, "Dana," she
said, "David had the same problem."

You know, she said, "But you're just
gonna have to put them on the altar and

say, 'Lord, you know, I can't do this.'"

Mm-hmm.

And so finally I was like, "Lord, I have
tried to quit these things, and I can't."

One day on my way to work I caved and I
bought a brand new pack of cigarettes.

Well, for anybody that doesn't smoke
or hasn't ever smoked, sometimes

you get what's called a stale pack.

Mm-hmm.

And it just has just
this funky taste to it.

So I open my pack of cigarettes
and I smoked one, and I was

like, "Ew, that tastes terrible."

And I was like, "Oh, so- Got a bad pack.

Yeah.

I thought I got a bad pack.

So I went a few hours later and
I opened ano- I got another one

and tried to smoke it, and I was
like, "This is terrible", you know?

But- Mm-hmm â¦ so, like, finally I went
to my friend who worked at the otherâ¦

At that time I worked for, um, a
fabrication company, and I worked on a

braze furnace that we run 2,500 degrees,
and we braze parts together - Mm-hmm

with copper rings.

And so she worked that end, I worked this
end where I inspected the parts and stuff.

Mm-hmm.

And so I went to her and I said, "Hey,
you gotta give me one of your cigarettes.

I got a bad pack."

And she said, "Okay."

And so I got one of her
cigarettes, and when I say I

lit that up, I about threw up.

Oh.

And had to run to the bathroom,
and I never touched another

cigarette- He did what?

â¦ ever again.

Oh, look at that.

That's God for sure.

Yep.

He answered that prayer.

So I mean, but again, I was trying.

Mm-hmm.

But He had to deliver
me of those, and He did.

And again, that was in
'93, and here we are.

Yeah.

Wow.

You know, and I've never
touched another one.

And now they stink.

And I was like- Yeah.

â¦ how could I ever do that?

But so after, after that, I had
been going to church a while

and my sister had this friend.

And he was going to
see, What was his name?

Ketchum, something Ketchum.

He was a country star, and he was
at Bi- he was gonna be playing

at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth.

Mm-hmm.

And he wanted somebody to go with him.

I didn't have anybody, you know, and
he was supposedly a Christian guy.

Mm-hmm.

And so I was like, "Well, okay, I'll go."

And, um, so I mean, he was really
good friends with my sister.

So I said, "Okay, I'll go."

So we went, and then we kinda hit
it off andâ Mm-hmm â¦ which he

was a, a lot older than I was, and
I normally didn't date older guys.

I liked younger guys.

Mm-hmm.

And so it was kinda just out
of the norm for me anyway.

But we dated, and then, you know how you
give in to things you shouldn't, you know?

Once you've had that touch.

Yeah, you just let it get to a place
where- Mm-hmm â¦ even though I wasn't

drinking, I wasn't smoking anymore.

Yeah.

I wasn't doing any- anything.

You know, you still just give in to the
temptations and stuff, and so I did.

And we dated probably a couple of months,
and he, same thing he had started seeing

another lady, and he was doing that,
and I was like, "What is wrong with me?"

Well, so I had gotten sick at that time.

This was around probably December.

And I had gotten, like, a cold or
a sinus infection or something.

Mm-hmm.

Well, so I was sick, so that
Monday, I was, like, terrible sick.

And so I went to the doctor, and
he gave me a prescription for mm-

an antibiotic, a strong one.

Mm-hmm.

One of those Z-Paks.

Mm-hmm.

And so something told me when I was
getting that prescription, 'cause

I was a little late on my cycle.

Mm-hmm.

And I was like, uh, you know
how that little voice says, "You

better get a pregnancy test."

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And I thought, 'cause I've been
I've always been like clockwork,

and to be late, I was like, "Ugh."

So I got the pregnancy test,
and I took that first Z-Pak pill

and went home, and I took that
pregnancy test, and it was positive.

Oh.

And I was, "What am I gonna do?"

Yeah.

And my sister was ecstatic.

And I was like, "What is wrong with you?"

Yeah.

Like, this is not where
I wanna be, you know?

And so, I called the doctor,
and they said, "Okay, come back

tomorrow, and we'll do a blood test."

So on Tuesday, I went and took a
blood test, and and he gave me a

different prescription just in case.

And so Wednesday, I
called in sick to work.

I didn't go to church.

I went and, uh, at the time,
Cisco's parents had a restaurant.

Mm-hmm.

And they had a Tex-Mex restaurant,
which they cooked everything.

She had the best chicken fried
steak you ever put in your mouth.

But, Sounds good.

Yeah.

Listen, I'll believe it just based
on what I've had- â¦ from Cisco.

Oh.

Like, I believe it.

His mom was fan- fantastic.

She was a phenomenal
cook, and his dad, too.

But anyway, so I ca- I called in and
got food for me and my mom and my

grandmother at the time, and I took
my nephew with me to pick up the food.

Well, I didn'tâ¦

I found out later, so Cisco had b- he'd
lived off out of state for a long time.

I'd wanna say like six or seven years,
and he had just moved back not too long

back to the area and was helping his mom
and dad work in the restaurant and stuff.

And so I hadn't seen him in a long
time, and, um- I found out later

that my cousin and his wife had been
going into the restaurant to eat

and stuff, and visiting with him.

And he hadâ¦

And Cisco had started going
back to church with his mom.

And so he was telling my cousin,
'cause they were closer than, you

know- Mm-hmm â¦ than him and I were.

And he was telling him, "Man", he said,
"I just want somebody, you know, to,

to talk to or to-" Mm â¦ you know,
just to go places with, you know?

He said, "I don't necessarily
need, you know, a relation.

I mean, just somebody to
hang out with, you know?"

And my cousin's wife, which we had
been best friends for a long time,

he's like, "Tell him, what about Dana?

Like, tell him-" Yeah.

â¦ you know?

And my cousin's like, "I'm
not playing matchmaker."

And he goes, "Well" Well, she said,
"I'm just gonna start praying about it."

Yeah.

And so they hadâ¦

I didn't knowâ¦

I don't know how long this had gone on,
'cause I didn't find out till much later.

But then David had ended up giving
in and, um, one day when they were

there talking to him and said, you
know, "Hey, you know, my Da- my cousin

Dana, she's, she's single, and I hear
she's going back to church, you know?

Like-" Mm-hmm â¦ "she's
grown up, like, knowing."

Mm-hmm.

And he was like, "Okay, really?"

So Wednesday, when I went back in
or went in to get the food, he was

working, and he helped me to take the
food out to the car, 'cause I had my

nephew, and he was two at the time.

And he said, "Hey, the stock
show's going on this weekend."

He said would you like to go?"

And I was like, "Yeah."

And so I, uh, I r- gave him my
number and he said, "Okay, I'll

call you on Friday, and then, you
know, maybe we'll go on Saturday."

Mm.

I was like, "Okay, that sounds awesome."

I went home and I told my mom, "You're
not gonna believe what the Lord just did."

Yeah.

And she's likeâ¦

She said, "What?"

I said, "Which everybody
knew him in Texas as Junior."

Mm-hmm.

'Cause his dad is Cisco Sr.

and he's Cisco Jr.

Mm-hmm.

And I said, "Junior
Albera just asked me out."

And she said, "What?"

And I said, "Yeah."

And so, Thursday, the doctor's office
called and said, "You are pregnant."

And I said

I don't know what I'm gonna do.

Yeah.

I knew, I, like, there's noâ¦

Like, abortion didn't even
come into my thought process.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Like, I just, there's no way.

Mm-hmm.

So I told the father, and
he's like, "It can't be mine.

Like, I had trouble conceiving
with my wife all those years."

He said, "Are you su-â¦"

I said, "Look, I'm not
asking you for anything."

Yeah.

You know, I'm just letting you know.

Mm-hmm.

This is how it is.

And so we just went our separate
ways, and he was like, "Well,

I can't afford to raise a kid."

And I was like, "I'm not
asking you for nothing."

So anyway, we parted ways andâ¦

Which we had already parted
ways- Yeah â¦ but I was like,

"I never wanna see you again."

Yeah.

And, um, so then Cisco calls on Friday,
and I s- I mean, I just couldn'tâ¦

I was just like, "Oh, my goodness.

What?"

So I just started the conversation
as like, "Hey, I got some news

yesterday, and if you don't wanna go
out with me, I completely understand,

and I won't hold it against you."

And I said, "But I found out
yesterday that I'm expecting."

And he said, "I love kids."

Aw.

And- Cisco, you awesome dude.

He's an awesome dude.

Oh.

And so it just began a journey.

He accepted us, and he, I mean, from
day one he became that baby's daddy.

Mm-hmm.

Wow.

You know, he went to
every appointment with me.

He, you know, helped me pick out stuff.

I mean, he helped us, you know, which
then by that time we dated, a whole two

months, and he asked me to marry him.

Oh.

You know, we- Well, I mean, you've
known each other since you were a kid.

Yeah, yeah.

But- That's, that's another
thing â¦ does- Yes.

Yeah.

It is a little different.

And he knew the family.

I wouldn't recommend it.

The young girls.

Yeah.

She knew the family.

Yeah.

She knew him, so.

Yes.

And so, um, anyway.

And even so, it sometimes it works out
even if you don't know him, you know?

It's- Yeah.

I mean, it's God.

To be- If it's God, it's God.

That's it.

To be fair, Ben and I met and
were married inside 10 months, and

we lived a thousand miles away.

So I mean, it works.

Sometimes it works.

Well, hey.

And it's supposed to.

When God is in it- Yeah,
yeah â¦ you know, it is for real.

And that's what it's so funny
that I look back still and think,

I knew the moment he asked me.

'Cause when I went home and told
my mom, "You're not gonna believe

what the Lord just did," it's
like- Yeah â¦ you know, you knew.

And all that time when I was younger,
like, you know, 13, 14, 15- Yeah

â¦ especially, you're in high school and none
of the guys are interested in me, and my

aunt would say, "Dana, you know, when the
right one comes along, you will know."

Yep.

Mm-hmm.

And I was like, "How do you know?"

Like, you don't know.

Yeah.

But she was right.

Yeah.

And, and whenâ¦

It's just like I tell myâ¦

I've told my girls, I
tell everybody, youâ¦

I mean, you just know.

Yeah.

I just knew.

Mm-hmm.

This was it.

And we were at the restaurant one
day, me and my mom, and w- again, we

had been dating a couple of months.

And he was acting weird.

Like, he was just kinda pacing a lot.

And I saidâ¦

We were sitting in a booth,
and then he disappears.

And I was like, "Where did he go?"

He comes back in with these little, you
know the little weeds that grow, like,

start springing up in the first of March?

Yeah.

With the little purple little- Yes

antenna.

Yeah.

He comes back in with a couple of those.

And gets down on one knee-
Aw â¦ and asked me to marry him.

And my mom and his mom were, we were the
only ones there, 'cause it was afternoon

and the, the lunch rush was kinda dead.

And we're like, I'm like, "What?"

And he said, "Yeah."

He saidâ¦

And then he told me, he said, like, when
we were there, the Lord had spoken to him

and said, "If you don't ask her to marry
you now, you will never get married."

And so he said, "I- All right.

Yeah.

"I, I gotta do it."

And that's, he still tells, which this
is his stor- that's his story, you know,

but- Yeah â¦ it's still, you know.

But it's yours too.

Yeah.

It is, 'cause I just
know how the Lord took

what I had made such a mess of.

Mm-hmm.

And turned it into the most
beautiful meaningful, you know.

And I look back when, and I tell my kids
now, I've never sugarcoated anything.

Mm-hmm.

You know?

Mm-hmm.

I tell them, "Look, this is where I was.

Don't go there."

Yeah.

And don't fall for the mess.

You know?

Yeah.

And tried to make sure that theyâ¦

Which life still happens, and- Yeah.

Yeah â¦ teenagers are still
teenagers, but it's, uh, you can

trust the Lord and you wait on him.

Yeah.

But, uh, have I talked too much now?

No, no.

No, that's so, it's such aâ¦

I mean, to know you now and to think
that what a change, like 180 degree.

It just, it brings the whole, like,
he will make you a new creation.

Yeah.

To a whole new life.

Oh.

You know what I mean?

Well, and what you said was like, if
not for the mercy and grace of God.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

Where would we all be?

Yeah.

You know?

Yeah.

And I look back and to a point when
I was, you know, I thought I was

living the dream and living the
high life and on the wild side.

I don't wanna get married.

I don't ever want kids.

You know, that's where I was, I
was deceived into think, you know,

that's where the p- promiscuity
went so crazy and wild because- Yes

I don't want a relationship anymore.

You know, I don't wanna- Yeah.

Well, yeah.

It turns into selfishness.

Mm-hmm.

It is a glorification and
an idolization of self.

Yes.

Yeah.

Like, it's just about what feels good
to me, what I wanna do, what, what my

plan is, and it's just so exposed in
that, like it's, ugh, just all of us.

Well, and it's just like proof that
how the Lord showed me, like, okay,

you're gonna get married, and you're
gonna have six kids, not none.

You know?

Just- I'll show you.

Yeah.

So like, you know, it, what he has
envisioned for us, and I loved what

Lori talked about a few Sundays ago when
she was talking about how he sees the

end picture from the very beginning.

Yes.

Right.

You know?

And he knew what he had planned
for me, even though I tried to

make it go all off the charts.

Yeah.

All the way.

Yes.

Yeah.

He still brought it right back.

He, yeah, he- But he knew all
that, so he knew the exact path-

Yeah â¦ that you were gonna take.

But it's crazy.

I, I think back now, and I was still
thinking, like, even in my most

lost place, you know, my darkest time.

I w- I remember even still to this
day times when I would look up into

the sky and look at the stars and
say, "Lord, just please give me a

sign you're not giving up on me."

Yeah.

You know?

And just show me that, you
know, you're not, you're not

gonna let me live here forever.

Mm.

You know?

Yeah.

And and I believe that there was
always still a connection even

though if I'd a died, I know, Yeah.

Yeah â¦ you know, it
would've been a sad story.

Mm-hmm.

But because He knew, I think, the
depths of my heart - Yeah â¦ that's

why His grace and His mercy kept
- Yeah â¦ like making, you know, drug

records disappear and- Yeah â¦ you know.

It's amazing.

I still look back and I think if I'd
have made it past that parking lot out

of that day at the restaurant - Mm-hmm

I'd a killed somebody or I'd
a killed myself probably.

Yeah.

That's how intoxicated I was.

So he, I didn't look at it
as, um, he's punishing me.

Right.

Yeah.

I, I really felt like he saved my
life and somebody else's that night.

Yeah, like he, he paused
you long enough to- Yes.

Yeah.

Yes.

Wow.

And then went on to have
fi- six beautiful girls.

Yes.

How many grand babies now do you have?

Yeah.

We have three.

Yeah.

So.

If you guys could- Okay â¦ see the looks
flying through the studio right now.

I'm like- Three beautiful.

Three.

Oh.

Yes, we have Jack.

Grandbabies are the best.

Hm?

Grandbabies are the best.

Oh, they are the best.

I'm getting to the point where
I can almost say I can't wait.

Yeah.

But right now, Chloe, Owen,
I can definitely wait.

Please wait.

I don't have to wait.

I got, I got great-grandbabies.

Yeah.

Oh, that's- I mean, not great-grandbabies.

I got awesome.

You have excellent grand-
I was like, wait, what?

Yeah.

No, no.

Oh, yeah.

That would be a treat.

It is.

It's been great.

And through the years it'sâ¦

So Cisco and I just celebrated 31 years.

Congratulations.

Yes.

It's been- Awesome â¦ awesome.

I mean, and we found some ups and downs.

Of course, yeah.

You know?

And, and but through it all.

And it's so funny because when some
of the presbyters Carrie Job's mom

and dad- Mm-hmm â¦ came one time, and
she just said, she, uh, called on me.

Mm-hmm.

And she said, "Every time I
look at you, I just keep hearing

that song, Through It All."

Wow.

"I've learned to trust in Jesus."

That's a perfect song.

Amen.

"I've learned toâ¦"

And it has been, for sure.

Yeah, like, I, I can't even
imagine, you know, where I would

be or just- He's been so faithful.

Mm-hmm.

You know, through it all, every bit
of it, he's been so faithful, and it

just makes me love him so much more.

Yeah.

Yes.

You canâ¦

We can never repay.

Mm-hmm.

I mean, it'sâ¦

I justâ¦

There are definitely times
where, you know, you hear

stories like this, and youâ¦

For me, I just stop and think, like,
if I really stopped and dwelled on how

much God has done for me, how much,
like, the details in it, everything, I

feel like my heart would just explode.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Like, it justâ¦

I don't think I can, I can handle it.

Yeah.

That's just something I can't handle it.

He, he is, like you said, so faithful.

So faithful.

So good.

And to, like, we don't, of course,
don't know, didn't know you back

then, but just to - Mm-hmm â¦ look at
you now, it's really hard to picture

anything but what we see right now.

Yeah.

And as somebody who's such an example.

Like, I love, like, when we
have our reading aloud, hearing

you read the Bible out loud.

Oh, yeah.

Oh.

I love that.

Mm-hmm.

I love hearing you because you are
so emotionally connected to him.

Iâ¦

He's gotâ¦

I mean, I've fallen short a lot.

But- Well, yeah, we all do â¦ but it's
kinda like that you hear that story in,

well, the scripture that says, you know,
"He who has forgiven much loveth much."

Mm-hmm.

You know?

And that is me.

He's, he's forgiven me a
lot, and I love him a lot.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

You know, that song, um, that CeCe
Winans sang, The Alabaster Box.

Yes.

Oh, yes.

For years, that was my- Oh, that
is such a great song â¦ anthem.

You know?

Yeah.

Because you don't know the cost of
the oil that was in my alabaster box.

Mm.

Yeah.

And it w- it, to me it cost a lot.

Yeah.

You know?

But I would pour it all out for him.

Mm-hmm.

And and he still, like, even in all our
shortcomings, you know, just testimony

after testimony how he's justâ¦

If you will give him your whole heart-
Yep â¦ you know, he will direct and

meet, and supply every need, and,
and- lead you to the right place.

There's several times that I've
thought, you know, if we make a

mistake then, you know, we mess up.

But- I found that in really truly
only wanting His will- Mm-hmm â¦ and

doing my best to make those decisions
on His will, He'll ma- even if you

make a mistake, He'll correct it.

Yeah.

So- Yeah â¦ it's just been amazing.

Just like He did with making
that disappear and- Yeah.

Yeah.

And, you know, I do think, I know we've
talked about it before, how prayers are

just eternal, so whoever prayed for you,
you know, in the past or I'm gonna say-

Or in the future â¦ or in the future.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Because God can place those
prayers anywhere in time.

Wow.

Yeah.

Anywhere in time, so.

Yeah.

So important to pray for your family.

Yes.

So important.

I tell my girls now- Even if you think,
"Oh, it's just a sentence," you know?

But a sentence makes a lot of difference.

It doesn't have to be the big fluff- Right

and, you know- â¦ and, and-
Mine never are â¦ mine neither.

Never are.

No, neither.

And that's whatâ¦

It's just, but if you just
pray sincerely from your heart-

Yeah â¦ you know, and sometimes
and just let the Holy Ghost speak.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

You know, because it'll be a prayer
that you don't even understand.

Right.

But, but He did.

Yeah.

And yeah.

Well, and there'sâ¦

Scripture says that there's
life and death in the power of

your tongue, and it matters.

Those prayers matter.

The things that we say matter.

Yeah.

It doesn't, and it does not matter,
like you said how you say it.

Right.

Just be sincere.

Yeah.

And honest.

Correct.

He already knows.

Yeah.

You know- Exactly â¦ everything about
you, so you don't have to pretend-

Yeah â¦ to be some kinda loftyâ¦

That'sâ¦

If I have never, if I pass nothing
else down to my girls, and I wanna

pass it to my grandchildren, you know-
Mm-hmm â¦ is that prayer changes things.

Mm-hmm.

You know, it changes things.

And then when I get them calling me, "Mom,
you know, this happened," and we, we say,

"Okay, let's just pray," and it changed.

Mm-hmm.

And I was like, yes.

I mean, just live on that.

Mm-hmm, yeah.

That's good.

I think the other side of that is to be
certain to acknowledge when the answer

comes that it is an answer to prayer.

Yes.

You know?

'Cause I think it's easy toâ¦

Well, I mean, like, weâ¦

I just had a situation this week
with Chloe where she had some

stuff going on and I was like,
"Well, we'll just pray about it.

We'll pray that we have some favor,
and, you know, it will be what it

is, but we'll pray for a favor and
we'll pray that things are all right."

And she ended upâ¦

I mean, there were some consequences,
but they were certainly fine,

and they were not nearly as
significant as they could've been.

And she was like, she was telling me
what had happened, and I was like,

"Okay, well, we prayed, we prayed.

Look at that.

There's your favor."

And she was like, "What do you mean?"

And I was like, "What do
you mean what do I mean?

We did this yesterday, girl.

What do you mean?"

Yeah.

And she was like, "Oh, yeah."

And it was like be- I think because
there was a consequence, I think

she, her initial thought was not,
"Oh, what an answer to prayer."

It was, "Okay, it'll work out."

A- and I'm like, "I'm teaching you,
'Okay, let's pray,' but we also still

need to teach like- Yeah â¦ acknowledge
the answer when it's there."

Acknowledge.

Yes.

Yeah.

Because then that, that
promotes more prayer.

Yeah.

You know?

When you see that He does answer you.

Absolutely.

It isn't always- Builds faith, too

100% absolution of what you may want.

Well, He sees the big picture, and
He knows- Exactly â¦ the lessons

we need to learn in the moment, too.

100%.

Yeah, so.

Well, and even the, even the nos,
you know- Mm-hmm â¦ mean something.

Exactly.

They sometimes, like,
like not, not, you knowâ¦

not working out with that boy or whatever.

Yeah, right.

You know?

It, there was a reason.

Right, there's reasons.

And now I'm glad, you know.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

So.

You obviously are very
well matched with Cisco.

Yes.

And y'all have a
beautiful life and family.

You just have a beautiful family.

Yeah, I am very blessed.

Yeah.

I have to agree.

Yeah.

You know, I don't I say that humbly.

I'm, I'm just so thankful, you know,
that He has blessed and moved and

then, you know, e- even up to now,
so like I was working from home.

Mm.

And miserable.

Like, I was so stressed.

Are you an extrovert?

I am.

See?

That's why.

I am.

I was- Being around people â¦ I
was stressing so bad, and Eden is

an introvert, and she was loving it.

You know?

Yeah.

And I was like I just can't,"
so but I didn't know what to do.

Like, I don't wanna start looking
for another job and blah, blah, blah.

Yeah.

And so I just started praying, like
hard praying, and the people that own

the office, they bought it from Joshua.

Jacob's the one that I worked for.

Um, they bought the office from him,
and then when they bought the office, I

went home and was working from home for
Joshua, and I just was not doing well.

And, um- This other girl in the office
and I, she started helping me pray, and

I said "Lord, I don't know what to do.

Please justâ¦"

And out of the blue, the owner, Luke,
called me, and he said, "Dana, I don't

know if you would even be interested,"
he said, "but would you think about

coming back to work here at the office?"

And I was like- Dang â¦ "Have
you talked to somebody?"

You know, 'cause I had shared
it with one other friend.

And he's like, "No."

Somebody talked to him.

Mm-hmm.

Yep.

And he said, and he said,
"I'm gonna be honest with you.

I called Joshua and asked
him if I could call you."

And he's like, "Yeah, call her."

And I was like, "Listen, you're
an answer to prayer- Yeah

like right here."

And it takes me back.

So you remember when I wasâ¦

we were at youth camp.

Mm-hmm.

And we were praying.

I was praying about it, and I felt
like I had got the answer then that

I was supposed to stay at the office.

Mm-hmm.

But Cisco really felt like I wa-
he wanted me to work from home, and

we've talked about it since then.

And I said I said, "Okay.

Well, you know, you're right.

My goal when I started doing
accounting and stuff was to

be able to work from home."

Yeah.

"And so here it is."

So maybe the Lord just provided.

I thought I was gonna get my CPA
license and branch out on my own firm.

You know what I'm saying?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

But that's not how it happened.

I was like, "Well, okay.

Well, here it is."

Well then, full circle, you know,
what the Lord had laid on my

heart that I was supposed to stay.

I mean, it's just an example of if you're
really praying the Lord's will and you

try- Mm-hmm â¦ you know, He'll fix it.

Yeah.

So, but we both found out,
like that's not for me.

Yeah.

I'm not, I'm not structured enough
to stay, stay on task by myself.

Mm-hmm.

And I need people.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And so he worked it all out
and right back, and so I, and

I'm where I'm supposed to be.

He gets you there one way or another.

Yep.

Yeah.

He is faithful to give you what you need.

He is.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, we always end with, um, asking
our people if you could go back into

the Bible times to any time except
for the crucifixion and resurrection,

what would you want to, like, be
in the moment real time to watch?

Joseph.

Oh.

I uh, just to see his,
Like beginning to end, or?

Yeah.

Okay.

Just the perseverance theâ¦

What's the word?

I guess the confidence that he had
in what he knew- Yeah â¦ you know,

that he had been told, and he stood
on it the- Yeah â¦ whole way through.

Yeah.

You know, I, I would just love to
see that face to face, you know?

That's a really good one.

Yeah.

That is a good one.

Good one.

No one said that.

I love Joseph.

I wouldâ¦

Just asking Eden, we were talking
about it earlier, and I was

like, "Joseph's my favorite."

Oh, really?

I love that one.

My favorite out of the whole Bible.

Yeah.

Oh, that's good.

I like it.

That's a good one.

Well- Oh, yeah â¦ we have so
enjoyed this, and- Thank you so much

we'll check back with maybe Cisco.

Yeah.

Like, that guy's a great guy.

He is.

My gosh.

I mean, I've, I've always liked him,
but then just hearing his answer to you

when he found out you were expecting.

Yeah.

He didn't even hesitate.

Like, wow.

He is very, very great.

He's good.

Yeah.

He's great.

But thanks so much, and- Thank y'all.

Yeah â¦ we will catch you later.

All right.

Yeah.

Toodles.

Bye.

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