A WOW Moment with Vicki, Mercedes & (Date: November 29 2020)

Whitten Baptist Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

How'd you say regular and not normal? We're not normal. No, we're not.

00:05

Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Hey, one thing you need to think about. Oh. Isha.

00:13

Isha, can you hand me my backpack? Whoever it is. Hi, everybody. Hi, everybody.

00:23

Thank you, ma 'am. Maybe an engaged person here. Yeah, do engage people.

00:30

Do engage people. Do engage people. Jeremiah. Well, he doesn't count. He doesn't count.

00:40

It didn't happen to him. It happened to Isha. He just planned it. Because he proposed to her, he is also affianced.

00:50

Well, if he's not engaged, that means he can still play the field. Stop it. Who made the moon?

01:01

Who made the moon? Who made the moon? God made the moon.

01:09

Oh. Yeah, okay. Anybody want to say hi to mama? Say hi, mama.

01:17

She said no. No. It's fine. Good. Oh.

01:35

I can't. Okay. That's as close as I can get.

01:46

Do you want to do that real fast? We've already got it set in place. Should we get this on video?

01:59

After making his own sandwich? Yes, we should definitely get this on video. I hope everybody heard that.

02:12

Right? Nope. Are we work crooked?

02:17

Dang it. Sorry, y 'all. We just got through eating and trying to get this together here.

02:25

Better? Yeah. Glasses.

02:35

Oh, they're on your bed. Oh, wrong ones? Are they your Thursday glasses?

02:42

Driving glasses and Thursday glasses. Reading glasses. You've never seen me looking at your dad like this on Sunday morning.

02:50

Oh, I have. I love it. I don't have to see you looking awful long because I can see it in the back.

02:58

I don't have to see it either. She's staring me down. I just feel it. I'll take somebody near her and she's staring at me, isn't she?

03:10

She loves it when we're sitting beside each other and I have to feel like, I'm like, I already know.

03:16

She'll be like, I heard it. I heard it. First of all, hello everybody.

03:21

Sorry, we are running a little behind. We have rights.

03:27

We had food. Just ask Rebecca because we have rights. Plus, I was cooking food.

03:34

Tonight, we were at the Shipley household. Again, if he couldn't tell, when we first started, it was a little noisy, but hey, that's what family is all about, right?

03:50

We love noise. Quietness can make you go crazy. In fact,

03:57

I grew up in a house full of boys so when the house is quiet,

04:03

I have to turn the TV on. I have to turn music on because I will literally jump at everything.

04:09

I can sit in my house for quite a while with no TV on before I realize the house is completely silent. Number one, you don't have any kids.

04:20

I have a Mojo and right now that's pretty... Mojo doesn't talk as much.

04:28

He'll go... He fusses at me all the time. He does that to me too. He doesn't fuss at me as much as...

04:37

Oh, oh, oh. Let me introduce. Let's do that. Everyone, this is...

04:42

Say bye, Pastor. Bye. This is Mercedes. Welcome to our

04:50

Bible study. Sorry we are off to a rocky start, but hey, it's good because this is our

04:56

Bible study and sometimes our Bible studies are rocky. Sometimes they're slow starting.

05:03

Sometimes they're tear filled. There will be no tears. Thank you. I don't have tear ducts.

05:13

I don't like my eyes to bleed. I would like to... We'll talk about that later. I'm kidding.

05:20

Everyone, this is Ashley Shipley. She has been on One Other Time with... Twice. Once with Anna.

05:28

I was just Anna's moral support. And then at...

05:34

Oh, with Courtney. Oh, yeah. But y 'all had to reshoot that one. But it still went on.

05:41

It still happened. But nobody saw it, is my point. Thank goodness.

05:47

But anyways, this is Ashley. She's very, very, very single.

05:59

I'll throw that one out real quick, Pastor. Wow. Don't we always talk about it?

06:05

Yes, he always talks about it. This is true. That's actually one of the things that this is going to be about.

06:12

Oh, good. I mean,

06:19

I'm used to it. I mean, I'm women's most eligible bachelorette right now, right?

06:25

That can cook like crazy. Nobody's business. That was delicious.

06:30

I've never had that before, and it was really good. I can't see. Here you go. So, how do we start this,

06:38

Shanee? So, tonight, Ashley is going to tell us her verse that she has chosen, or her passage that she has chosen for tonight's study.

06:51

Well, before you start flipping pages... I'm just trying to get this. Oh, okay. Okay. Sorry. Excuse me.

06:57

Pardon me. Okay. That's so sad.

07:04

That's so sad. That one was for Josiah. She lost limitations.

07:10

It's so sad. I lost my limitations. Anyway. That's why

07:16

I was trying to fix something. Anyway, so tonight, what have you chosen for this evening?

07:23

So, tonight, I'm not really going to go over just a single verse or passage. It's more going to be a couple of things and kind of going over a bit of a testimony that's kind of happened to me over the last few years.

07:38

We're going to end up, the culmination of everything ending is going to be in Psalm Chapter 20.

07:46

However, let me pull up my verses so that... Oh, she's going to have two or three passages to read.

07:55

Right. I'm going to give you one and I'm going to give you one and then Mercedes can end it with the

08:03

Psalms Chapter 90. So, Mercedes, can you go to 2 Corinthians Chapter 12?

08:10

Oh, you don't read at all? The person who assists judges doesn't read.

08:17

Oh, that's not good. Because I have to do it all day. Okay, well then, 2 Corinthians Chapter 12 verses 8 through 10.

08:32

So, go ahead and start there. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me, but he said to me,

08:41

My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may reside in me.

08:52

So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and pressures because of Christ.

09:00

For when I am weak, then I am strong. So, with our weakness, we are strong because of Christ.

09:07

Christ's grace is sufficient for us and power is perfected in weakness. Okay? Let's remember that one.

09:16

And then, John Chapter 14 Verse 27

09:31

Mama Gwen is making herself a sandwich. Delicious. With the gluten -free bread that I found her.

09:39

Alright. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.

09:45

Your heart must not be troubled or fearful. Jesus leaves with us peace.

09:54

Not peace as the world gives us, but his peace.

10:00

Sorry guys, I'm a little bit nervous now. Excuse me. I don't know. I haven't found my

10:06

ATM yet. I'm over here digging. Then, the last passage before I start going is

10:14

Jeremiah 29 and I think you already know where we're going, guys. 29, 11 through 14.

10:25

I'm one of those people, I don't like just reading one verse. Like, there's a lot of verses that are famous.

10:32

That are famous. Well, I mean more like, there are a lot of verses that are famous. You know, like, we're about to read

10:37

Jeremiah 29, 11. Everybody knows that. But, I like reading more verses that go along with it.

10:44

So, you get the full idea and the full depth of those verses. 11 through 14.

10:51

For I know the plans I have for you. This is the Lord's declaration. Plans for your welfare, not for disaster.

10:58

To give you a future and a hope. You will call to me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you.

11:05

You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you.

11:10

This is the Lord's declaration. And I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you.

11:18

This is the Lord's declaration. I will restore you to the place I deported you from.

11:24

Okay. And that's just about God fulfilling promises that he has plans for us.

11:32

Plans for our prosperity, not for our demise. Did you finally find your pens? Three.

11:38

Oh, well that's good. Okay. Well, I will make sure you get the verses by the end.

11:44

Thanks. You're welcome. In fact, I'll just go ahead and Jeremiah 29, 11 through 14. And for everybody at home too.

11:54

John 14, 27. Second Corinthians 12, 8 through 10.

12:05

Thank you, man. You're welcome. Okay, so testimony time. So, as Miss Vicki, so fortuitously and just maybe more.

12:19

Just want to get like your dad was sitting here. Yeah, well, you know he's right across there. As she pointed out earlier,

12:25

I'm single. And I've been single for a very long time. I have not had, my dating life has been sparse if not, you know, uneventful in totality.

12:36

And I also, you know, I went to school and I got a degree for something that I currently do not use.

12:43

Psychology. So as we all know, student loan debt is fun. Well, it's just a thing. Yeah, some of us know.

12:50

But you know, I don't know who all has it. But anyway, so prospect of being a single

12:58

Christian female with student loan debt and you only have yourself to depend on is kind of scary.

13:07

On top of that, you know, people mean well, and I'm not saying that I'm hurt by this at all.

13:15

People say all the time, you know, actually there's somebody for you. It's going to happen. It's okay. You know,

13:21

I'll be like, well, I'm going to just stay single forever. And you know, a lot of people think I'm being self -deprecating but it's one of those things that I've had to have a recent journey that I'm kind of coming on the back end of now of trusting that if I'm going to stay single forever,

13:44

God's going to take care of me and I have to be okay with that. And maybe there is a reason and a purpose behind me being single, case in point.

13:52

So we're going to talk about our main verse today or main passage, which is going to be Psalms 90.

13:58

And I'm by no means trying to say that I know what God's will for my life is totally or what

14:05

God's will is in general, but I don't know. I recently just come out of a journey right now that gives me a lot of peace.

14:16

Like one of the verses that I have a peace that's not coming from worldly peace. It's not coming from anything else.

14:22

It's a piece of finally like, you know what? I'm good. I'm good. So like I said before, you know, the prospect of one, just financially security and stability, having a significant other, somebody who's got your back that you can rely on, somebody that, you know, you won't really be alone is one of the things that we're looking for when it comes to and one of the things we're looking for when, you know, we're seeking somebody else to go on this journey that God has for us in life.

14:58

And some of us are not fortunate to have that sometimes.

15:04

Some of us are just, that is what we're, that's what's destined to happen to us. And working at Evergreen and kind of what's been happening with my life lately has

15:23

God has definitely matured me or gotten me to a point where I'm like, you know what? I can do this. I'm okay. I've got

15:28

God. I'm good. So He's gotten you.

15:34

Yeah, he's gotten me. I'm struggling. I'm stumbling here, guys.

15:39

Bear with me. So let's talk about last year. Some of you, it's not a secret what happened with our company last year.

15:46

Before we get started, let me just say this, you know. It really doesn't help too much when you have a father that probably scares the wits out of anyone.

16:02

It's not the first time. I mean, let's think about it. And then you've got well, to be fair to my father, though,

16:08

I don't really bring a whole lot of people to test. It's still Ashley.

16:14

And then you've got your mom. Yeah. They're sweethearts.

16:25

He's the sweetest one of all. He's a little marshmallow bear. He could really damage someone.

16:32

Well, he could, but so here's the thing, though. Yes, you can blame my dad and my brothers.

16:39

And Joshua's still there, too. That's true. He's tall. Well, you can blame my dad and my brothers all we want, but I know,

16:49

I'm just saying, they'd probably go, yeah. Well, most of them don't really get past me before I even, like,

16:58

I'm not going to bring somebody to them like, here's my champion hat out and kind of So far, exactly.

17:10

I have yet to bring them a champion. So, at least not lately, in the last ten years.

17:17

So, I just wanted to put a little Thank you. That helped. So, let's talk about last year.

17:23

That helped me. Okay, let's talk about last year. So, last year, it's not a secret, Evergreen, we were struggling last year.

17:30

And, you know, also, just, you know, kind of shout out, talk about God's timing and God putting, you know, a long time ago,

17:39

I kind of came up with this idea of every single human being in your life that God puts in your life, whether it be good or evil, they are the tools that God if we are the clay and God is the potter, he uses people.

17:53

Amen. And sometimes, it's painful. Sometimes it's exes. It is the ugly old hag that took the last of your favorite bread at the grocery store and tested your patience.

18:07

Some people, they're used in great capacity. Some of them are small. Some of them are brushes and sandpaper that gently take the pieces off and refine you.

18:17

Some of them are hammers and chisels and they hurt like heck. Yes. So, there are a lot of people that God uses as tools to shape you into what you're supposed to be.

18:30

David Skelton is definitely one of those people that God put in my life to really shape and mature and change me.

18:37

Oh, hi, Ava. There's somebody else that God's put in your life.

18:44

Yes. So, David is definitely one of those people. I started out, David says all the time that when he first hired me,

18:54

I was just like a very quiet, demure, little teeny bopper. He never thought

19:00

I would be in sales or I would be in the position that I was in until I actually started showing some things through his wisdom, guidance, and training and his mentorship.

19:13

Fast forward to last year and I'm in a sales position and we had one of the, can you hand her off to her?

19:20

We had a really rough year last year. Last year I was probably half our sales by myself because I was what we had.

19:31

And so that was a lot of testing. It was a lot of pressure. And we were going through some really tough times and we were talking about, look, if something doesn't change, we're going to have to close our doors.

19:43

I was going to lose my job or have to go somewhere else. I didn't know what I was going to do. I didn't know what

19:49

David was going to do. I didn't know what our company was going to do. It was really, really bad guys. And then

19:56

I was freaking out. I mean, I'm still struggling with being single and I was like, if I lose my job, what am

20:01

I going to do? I can barely, I'm still living with my parents. I'm trying to just find a way to support myself.

20:07

How am I supposed to do this? How am I supposed to get rid of my student loan debt? How am I supposed to scratch my car?

20:13

Say you were single on top of in debt. I have no prospects at all.

20:19

I am a big, fat stupid loser. I have all these things that are wrong with me health -wise.

20:25

I have all these things that are wrong with me financially -wise. I am single. Nobody wants me.

20:31

I'm just destined to be alone because I'm a big, fat poo -poo head. Oh, actually you were in the ditch. Oh, I'm in the ditch.

20:38

I'm in like Grand Canyon or something like that. I'm just not in a good place. And then on top of that, you know,

20:44

I failed because I'm our entire sales staff and Evergreen can't, you know, we can't make enough money to sustain ourselves and it's all my fault.

20:53

Everything's all my fault. I'm just big, giant, fat poo -poo head. So, so I finally, you know, those those three verses, those are verses that kind of came to me and it was just like, you know,

21:07

I need to have more faith. God's peace is what, you know, just over and over again these little verses start popping up and so I was like, okay, stop.

21:18

And it was about this time last year and I started praying. I was like, okay, you know what?

21:25

I need to stop because I am not the God of this universe. I am not the one who has my hands on everything.

21:34

I'm not the one who I'm not God, basically. I mean, I can go on and on, but I am not

21:39

God. So I finally stopped and I said, you know what, God? Whatever you need me to do here, do

21:48

I need to go find a new job? Do I need to just stop and figure some stuff out?

21:53

Because I kind of started working with Evergreen and I didn't I stayed there. I just stayed. I was like, is this even your will for my life?

22:00

Is all this stuff happening because kind of like Jonah in the middle of the sea with the sailors, are all these people suffering because I'm not being obedient to you?

22:11

Yes. I was like, what is going on? What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do?

22:17

What am I supposed to do? So I was like, just I was like, I'm not going to do anything. That's the light of the world.

22:24

Well, yes. But I'm just like, I just need, I just like, God, just I was like, I'm stupid.

22:30

I'm not going to get it unless somebody literally just goes, hey over here, pay attention.

22:35

Sorry. I know that was loud. But I was like, God, I really seriously need you like Paul on the road in Damascus sit down in front of me and just tell me what to do because I'm sitting here guessing.

22:48

I'm just spinning my wheels trying to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to do. I call it being bodyslammed. Yes. I was like, oh,

22:54

I'm asking for it too. I'm like, can somebody please just give me like, give me a sign to something, do something please.

23:01

I just need to know what I'm supposed to do here. I'm waiting. You know, my parents, I'm looking if my parents think about, you know,

23:08

I think back to, you know, some of my discipline issues as a kid. Most of the times when I gave my parents the most attitude was because I like clear concise bullet point directions.

23:19

And if there's any ambiguity I get irritated and I'll catch an attitude. So that's not a really good thing to do with God.

23:26

Catch an attitude with him. But I was just like, just tell me what you want. Don't give me any ambiguity.

23:32

And sometimes God just tells you no or he just tells you to wait. That, that, yeah.

23:38

And I hate those. Yeah. Especially the wait ones. I'm just like, ugh. Please don't tell me just to wait.

23:45

I'm fine with waiting. Just give me a timeline. Like I need to know. You don't need to know. I know

23:51

I don't need to know, but I need to know. And I need to know. So anyway, that's what

23:56

I did. And I prayed that. And then this verse, this passage came up. That kind of started me on the whole oh yeah.

24:06

Mercedes. Yes ma 'am. Read Psalms 90. In totality?

24:12

No. Verses 13 through 17. And this is, let me, let me preface this.

24:18

I said, I finally just stopped and I said, God just tell me what you need me to do.

24:25

I was like, if you need me to find somewhere else to go, tell me that you need me to find somewhere else to go.

24:32

If you were to close the doors of this business and I'm still left being dependent upon my parents, still being a big fat stupid loser for a while, just tell me that I just need to suck it up and deal with it.

24:43

If I'm supposed to be alone for the rest of my life, just tell me and tell me to suck it up and move on with it.

24:48

If I'm supposed, whatever I'm supposed to do, just give me an answer of what you need me to do. So then this verse comes up.

24:56

Psalms chapter 90 verses 13 through 17. Lord, how long turn and have compassion on your servants.

25:05

Satisfy us in the morning with faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.

25:11

Make us rejoice for as many days as you have humbled us. 13 through what? 7, through the end of the chapter.

25:18

Make us rejoice for as many days as you have humbled us. For as many years as we have seen adversity. Let your work be seen by your servants and let your splendor by their children.

25:29

Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us. Establish for us the work of our hands. Establish the work of our hands.

25:35

Hey, this is all over Evergreen. Yes it is. Do you know why it is? When you said Psalms 90, I went there's something all over the place.

25:43

There's a reason why it's pasted over every door frame. So I come across this verse and I said yes, this is exactly what

25:51

I need to know. This is what I need to pray. So I prayed to God, I said God this is exactly what

25:57

I'm asking. I don't want the doors of this company to close. I want everybody here to be able to keep their jobs.

26:04

I want us to be able to still do big and great things and I believe in what we do in our business.

26:09

I really do and I need us to succeed as well just even for myself of being able you know

26:16

I've grown so much in this industry and grown so much in sales and grown so much in so many other avenues of my life because of this job that you provided for me and that David has mentored me in.

26:29

I don't want it to end because I see all these benefits but I'm going to pray this. So again just another thing of I decided this is what

26:37

I need to pray. God I am asking you. I'm begging you you know it says that if you ask for something in faith then he will answer you whether or not it's the answer that you want he's going to answer you.

26:49

So I said God this is what I need. If you need us to close the doors and I need to move on I'm willing to do that.

26:56

Just tell me that that's what I need to do. But God I'm asking you. I'm going to read it again.

27:01

I'm going to read it to you the way I prayed it. Lord how long turn and have compassion on your servants satisfy us in the morning with your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all of our days make us rejoice for as many days as you have humbled us and for as many years as we have seen adversity let your work be seen by your servants and your splendor by their children let the favor of the

27:28

Lord our God be on us establish for us the work of our hands establish the work of our hands.

27:34

So I said yes absolutely God establish the work of our hands and if y 'all have been in our company before I mean it was heartbreak 2019 was heartbreak after heartbreak after heartbreak it was like when it rains it pours we had a freaking hurricane last year of bad luck and and just every single thing that we've been working for the five years previously just one thing after another just happened and it was bad it was a bit heartbreaking especially since a lot of us our hopes and dreams were riding on some of the success of this company and so I said

28:10

God I don't want just for you to save us I want us to be able to bless the people around us bless

28:18

Witten bless the children of the people who work here I want it to I want what you do here to go to your glory but if that's not what you want that's not what you want so I said

28:29

God until you answer me I'm going to write this verse on my I had a big glass window in my office said until you answer me

28:37

I'm going to write this on my window every single day until you answer me and that was around that time that was in the middle of December guess what happened at the next month?

28:46

Coronavirus Coronavirus and so some of you know so I'm sorry guys it's my fault that we have a pandemic not

28:56

China it's not China's fault it's my fault so but like the

29:01

Lord said Ashley Chipley wants this I mean but like Mercedes said not only did

29:09

I write it over and over again I printed it out and I put it over every door post I was like I'm going to get literal at this you know it's you know in Egypt God had the people put the blood of the lamb over the door post and it also says you know put the word of the

29:25

Lord on your door post and sign on your forehead so I said alright so I got literal with it I put

29:30

I printed out this verse and I put it on every single door post on the mirrors in our bathrooms I put it everywhere in the building

29:37

I was saturating the building with this prayer with this verse this is what I'm looking for and I prayed this and wrote this every single day for about two to three weeks isn't it awesome that we work at a place where we can do that yeah it's awesome that we have a place that we can do that like but not only did and I'm not saying all this to like oh look at me look what

30:07

I did no God chose to bless us and not only did he choose to bless us bless our company but then

30:13

Mercedes look at who is in our company right now oh man so many so many people were able to have jobs when their shutdowns happened through some of the sales and the blessings that we've had we've been able to bless the church

30:30

I mean think about think of all the midnights that are working I was in quite a predicament with my massage license being suspended because I goofed a few years back was not getting continued hours and had already taken a lesser position at the job

30:48

I was at shutdown happened right after that started I've got somebody telling me well maybe maybe this is

30:54

God's way of showing of preparing me for something and then I end up at Evergreen so and I stayed at Evergreen yeah

31:02

I did and I love what I do but I don't want to bring a full circle around to one of the first things

31:10

I mentioned is about being single you know I sat there and I was talking to Jeremiah and a lot again a lot of you a lot of you have gotten to see work

31:20

Ashley while because I haven't been able to turn work brain off all year some people haven't liked work

31:26

Ashley but work Ashley exists and she's very different from church Ashley but I've been working an average of about 60 hours a week since February because again you know same situation of last year you know

31:45

David is busy running the business our other sales guy Derek is in Kentucky so when the phone rings guess who's supposed to answer it me and yes now

31:55

I have Sean and John and they're a big help but there was a lot more for me to do and I was sitting there talking to Jeremiah a month or two ago and you know

32:05

Jeremiah likes talking politics and Jeremiah likes talking but specifically when you bring up politics and we were just talking about politics and it's

32:16

God and then politics yeah we were just talking about women in the workplace kind of thing and why you know women's pay and all that you know he made up a really good point he's like you know

32:28

Ashley one reason why women don't get don't get paid as much as men is because women are more focused on home usually they usually don't spend as much time in the workplace as men do they're willing to you know men are more willing to work overtime whereas women are more focused on getting their kids home from school so they're not willing to work overtime and this and this and this and so I just asked him

32:49

I was like I'm not saying that this is what God intended and I'm not saying that this is what

32:56

God's will is I'm not trying to speak for God but it was like literal just like oh my

33:02

God I'm an idiot so all these blessings that we're experiencing because I am

33:07

I am the majority of our company's sales staff maybe not I'm a big part of our company's sales staff and I've been working 60 70 hours a week since all it started and I've grown a whole lot and all this other kind of stuff if I had children or if I had a husband some of the blessings and some of the work that we've been able to receive

33:29

I would not be able to be a part of and I was just sitting there thinking and everything that's going on in the world um maybe

33:40

God's intention for me and I don't know this but maybe God's intention for me of me being single and why he's kept me that way for so long is because of everything that's going on because and thinking long term about that you know

33:53

I think about I think about Ava you know she just came in here and all again all of this is hypothetical we just sit here thinking and being accepting of why

34:04

God's abilities me being accepting of and not just mad and bitter at God of why he's put me in the situations that I'm in circumstances yeah not being bitter at God at my circumstances you know

34:16

I think about Ava you know it's very it's kind of clear guys of what's going on we as Christians we see what's going on in the world we know what's happening so I think about Ava I mean what happens if God forbid

34:33

Ava or Ava's children um the rapture happens or whatever happens and they're still here

34:43

Witten there are people at Witten who are still here yeah that will happen it may not be the people that are there right now but it will happen somehow sometime some way there are going to be people who are still here maybe there are a few of us who are supposed to be untethered by worldly concerns so that like I'm supposed to be untethered by the cost of having a husband or children because I'm the beginning or I'm part of a plan that God has to prepare or to provide for people later because you will have the time and you will have ample opportunity to be able to counsel to be able to step forward and have that time for someone that needs a shoulder because I'll tell you now the age that I am which is um and having a husband and I have kids but my kids are mainly grown but now we have the grandson at the house and I work full time it's um it's very hard and to be honest with you it really pulls and tugs at me a lot because I don't have time well exactly and for somebody that needs me to have that time and so there are you know and I guess if I want to sum up this entire conversation into what

36:30

I want to say and what I want to share and what I've kind of discovered in a personal journey testimony kind of thing is you know

36:39

I've been irritated because again and I'm not I'm not saying y 'all should never say this

36:45

I'm not saying that I'm not saying well y 'all are just stupid big fat poopy heads for saying this to me but people want to comfort people who are struggling with certain things and so the common thing is oh he's out there you just have to wait on God and stuff like that sometimes the answer is no and again

37:03

I am not saying that I know what God's will is and he's just going to keep me single forever

37:09

I don't know these things I don't know I don't know and neither does anybody else you don't know that God actually does have something planned for me

37:17

I don't know that he doesn't but the point is that I have to be okay and not be bitter and be willing to have the peace that just like in John that we read have the peace that God has given us be willing to accept his plans and know that he has plans for one for my prosperity and something good for me but plans for my prosperity that have to do with his will yes you can't sit there and think that oh well

37:50

God wants me to prosper so I'm going to get all the good things that I want no you're going to prosper according to his will and according to his plan and you have to be willing and open to that once you do once you do

38:04

I'm not saying good things will always happen to you because I mean you know what there may be times you know this is what

38:10

I'm just thinking I could be totally wrong I could be completely wrong like Job let's take

38:15

Job you know my Sunday school class a while back we were talking about Job and that was one of the things that we talked about Job probably had no idea until the day he died he had no idea why he suffered because there was no purpose behind it read

38:31

Job you can literally read Job there was no purpose behind his suffering God tortured that man

38:37

God let things torture that man until the day he died and Job never knew why but the reason why

38:46

Job suffered was so that we could have this book about suffering and you know with you saying you don't know we don't know

38:57

I can't tell you what's going to happen in the future Mercedes sure can't tell you what's going to happen in the future because she forgot what happened yesterday but um but um you never know there could there could actually end up being because you know again it's all in his will you could end up with a man that has lost his wife that has a child

39:31

I mean you see what I'm saying? I could I mean there's so many things that if you didn't continue to stay in his will and continue to live your life oh it's a dog it's

39:46

Mr. Bingley I'm talking about her being with a man no it's a puppy it's the man in my life right now it's

40:00

Mr. Bingley um but you know if you didn't continue to follow if you didn't continue to have the faith if you didn't have the hope if you didn't have all that and you just decided you were going to do whatever you thought you needed to do then you would miss out on what he has for you and also again it's not that I've done whatever

40:23

I want to do it's just that I've still been obedient to God and I've still done my best of I'm waiting

40:29

I'm doing everything I'm supposed to where is he? oh oh you're going to give me the silent treatment now like those kinds of things of yeah

40:38

God's being a big fat poop in my head and he's not doing the things that he promised while I'm still doing being obedient and trying to be like I'm just sitting here waiting instead

40:48

I had to stop and be like you know what you know what you know you're doing you've done what

40:57

Psalm 91 verse 2 says I will say to the Lord my refuge and my fortress my God and my trust like you are trusting in him you're using him as your refuge and your fortress well not only that I'm using him as a sword too because I'm getting after it now yeah yeah what was that it's it's too funny

41:33

I told you there would be no tears alright that's pretty much all

41:42

I have to say but I want to hear questions and hear what people have to say I see somebody saying something there's a lot of text there oh okay you're more than welcome to though I can't because my phone's across the room girl don't you you can have the phone right here oh yeah

42:00

I could I can read it it's from Ashley if it's

42:13

Ashley I think it's Ashley hey Ashley that's my friend in Georgia okay well what do you say

42:25

I say it's about time it's about time for what to end?

42:31

that you finally said well I mean it was a process because there was like a lot of false starts of okay

42:39

I'm going to be obedient to God's will okay I'm going to be obedient to God's will and it wasn't until I was like alright

42:45

God and it wasn't until I actually put into practice and literally took the word of Lord and put it on the door post and prayed it every single day and said

42:57

I'm not quitting until you're listening to me this time God I'm going to bug the Jesus out of you while I'm I'm going to bug the

43:04

Jesus out of God laughter I think it's time to call it a night laughter

43:12

I'm working on very little sleep most of 2020 has been on very little sleep it's also like a testing of your faith to a degree because you know once you said okay whatever you want and it wasn't just blessings for myself because I'm almost to where my student loans are almost gone and I'm looking at building myself a house next year but it's not just blessings for myself it's the blessings for all the

43:39

Witten people and for Witten itself the as a group and just all the people who

43:46

I've been able to be like hey let's hire that person let's do this let's hire that person and being able to use it as a ministry too yeah there's people at Witten at Witten Evergreen Campus Witten 2 .0

44:02

there's people at Witten Evergreen Campus who have been able to minister to people that we've been able to minister to because we're there and they get to see that we're different I mean you know there are people who like some of these intertech people who are you know that purchase part of our company they were there was one of them who we did that prayer for Robert and one of them decided to join it and he's like I've never seen this so blessings upon blessings that are outside of just myself so when you're obedient and you submit to accepting the peace of God that comes from him and not from the world like we read in John you know

44:57

I mean it's kind of a splash effect God's going to pour out his blessings on you and they're going to splash on somebody else

45:02

Josiah decided Josiah was obedient and became and got ordained as a pastor as he was called to do which meant he had to stop teaching which meant he needed a job which meant he went to Evergreen which meant there was

45:18

Ava's blessed and the new one on the way was also blessed and by the way he didn't he's not just a plea he's a supervisor he's a foreman so which he finally listened it just takes a minute for some of us to listen which by the way there's people back there that he's working with that have he is already affected greatly

45:43

I've got to watch that it's been kind of amazing I mean well it's one of those things

45:50

I tell people all the time I really wish my brothers were not my brothers because I have three brothers working there

45:56

I have Josiah, Jeremiah and Jeff all three of them work with me I wish they weren't my brothers because not in that I wish they weren't my brothers but when we have to talk about strengths and people who are those three are mentioned the most often

46:12

Jeff works in engineering Jeremiah and Josiah work back in fabrication they people come to me all the time because like Ashley Ashley things change when they came here more they say that about every more they say that more about them than any other person that we've added to our team

46:33

Josiah was one of our first hires one of the first ones and you notice an immediate change in the way even one of my sales guy

46:44

Derek out of Kentucky he came and saw us before we had all these people there and then he came right after a couple months after Josiah was hired he said this place is different he's like I was just here something's changed he's like he's like there is a complete difference here than there was when

47:08

I was here last time that's what happens when everybody's here it is very evident so well we were running late and we're ending on time no we're running over oh are we?

47:29

it's ok it's ok that's the funny thing about it when we decided to do this he said what night do you want to do it on and I said

47:40

Thursday night because nobody's on on Thursday night so that'll be the night that this is when

47:46

COVID you had great aspirations for this didn't you? when COVID wasn't full effect when

47:55

COVID wasn't full effect when it was the beginning and so we we picked

48:04

Thursday night so now nobody goes on before us nobody's after us so if we start late we're fine if we finish late we're fine there's nobody it's just us on Thursday just us just just just well

48:21

I apologize to all of you for starting for starting coronavirus oh

48:27

I was like no because dinner was incredible well no apparently

48:34

I started the pandemic so I apologize well that was all Lord there was a lot of things that needed to oh yeah it was

48:40

God's fault a lot of crap a lot of crap has happened but a lot of good has also come out of 2020 like it's never ending so what the public page

48:53

Facebook live that's one of the good things that came out of it I get to work with Ashley everybody else but I mean there's just been so much good come out of 2020 that I think it strongly outweighs the bad at least in my own personal opinion for some out there that's probably not factual but from what

49:17

I've got to see with the people I am associated with on the content base a lot of good has come out of 2020 and your women's director

49:24

Jamie Coven that was literally I've had colds worse than that she got the worst of it she just got the leftovers honestly the way

49:41

Donovan was acting he feels like he got worse because he only had the loss of taste and he got it on vacation that is the worst of it so he didn't get his taste back until the end of his vacation he was like Ashley I was sitting there eating steak and I was so angry because I couldn't taste it let me tell you he did it to his uncle

50:02

I'm so angry no he was actual angry when Donovan talks like this that's actual angry

50:13

I came in contact the day we did

50:19

Anna yes I remember I didn't get anything I got nothing

50:25

I didn't either until later hey this was my thing I told Aisha when all this started

50:32

I said if I catch COVID it does what it is I said but I would much rather catch it from a white person than somebody

50:39

I don't know it's not an STD it happened versus being out in public you know what

50:50

I mean what's the difference I guess it's somebody I know somebody she chose to be around yeah that's what it is somebody

50:59

I chose to be around during the pandemic versus somebody I did not get a chance alright so we're done this is a great story this was great thank you so much

51:11

Ashley for having us thank you Pastor Jeff and Miss Gwen for allowing us to take up your kitchen again we'll be here again sometime we should do one with Jeff or Andrew you'd be funny he's done a

51:32

Q &A this is what I told him I told him I wanted him to get with this because I want a men's or a guys accountability group to do one with this he said that'd be good but we'll have to pre -record it because they all work but they know they have accountability around a certain time so we'll have to do it during that time but yeah that's what we're looking for so guys we need some men's accountability groups we need some more women's accountability groups

52:07

Mercedes and my work they've done it, we've done it twice in the two times our accountability group has done it, it's been fabulous oh so like doing the whole accountability group?

52:16

yeah that'd be so much fun I'm going to take that to my group we've done it, our accountability group's done it twice it was great and a couple of yours have already been on our live so it wouldn't be new to them mine?

52:31

has Jenny Sneed done it? oh so you have three of ours because I only have two other ones who probably haven't done it yet that would be fun so get with them

52:41

I'm coming for you guys they know who they are pick out where you're having it and who's cooking okay because when it's one of those nights it's a night and we're on for a solid hour if not longer but they're good it is because there's so many people usually involved they're good ours our last one we did was a godly one that was a good one so anyways thanks you guys for coming

53:17

I appreciate it thank you again for having us we'll do it again, maybe with your group since I've gotten up twice every time

53:27

I think we're about to be done we're not, anything else? no no I hope everybody has a happy Thanksgiving oh and by the way we will not be on live next

53:37

Thanksgiving night but we'll probably have one of the videos we've already done just reposted that's probably what we're going to do because I don't see us being able to get us one recorded and edited and all that stuff we talked about it

53:54

I think Thanksgiving we're going to be we're going to be hanging with the fam witches or with the fam thanks guys we'll see y 'all in a couple weeks have a great great

54:10

Thanksgiving wait one more thing I'm just kidding yeah it's next week