Hello and welcome to another episode of Upfront and Undivided with Luke and Dean'na.
Hi!
Hey babe!
How's it going?
It's good, how are you?
Not too bad.
Like literally, how are you?
How are you feeling?
How are I?
Um, yeah, I'm getting better.
Good.
I am getting better.
Yeah, you are.
Yeah, because less than a week ago, I decided I wanted to go on an adventure and do something
that I've never done before.
And you took me with you.
I did take you with me, because you're my ride or die.
And we like to have adventures together.
So part of today's episode is we're going to tell y'all about that adventure.
It's true.
And kind of, we're going to kind of peel back the curtain, not just say like what we did,
what I did, I did.
Or what was done to you.
What was done to me, rather.
But kind of one of the things that we do, and this is kind of one of our big strategies
for when we do go out and about.
And especially when we're going through something pretty serious.
Kind of like when you were pregnant with Sebastian.
This is some of the stuff that we would do.
So yeah, so for fun, for fun, because this episode is all about fun, I'm calling this
episode Look Out, Reach Out.
I like that.
No, I like that a lot.
Because even in the adventure that we are about to go on.
Yes.
Because hey, you and I are about to celebrate 11 years.
11 years.
How cool is that?
Here we go.
Ready?
11 years, babe.
11 years.
That's a big deal.
One day we'll get awesome and we'll get like canned audience participation.
I don't think it would be as fun.
It wouldn't.
It probably wouldn't.
No.
Something about the simplicity and the really, I mean, it was so sweet because was it last
week?
Is Pastor Eric and Laurie?
A couple of weeks ago.
Yeah.
And like even it was so fun that because he even joined and he's like, ah, did the whole
clapping and stuff too.
So that was precious.
We appreciate that.
He is big into the sound and he gets it.
Yes.
But it's been a week.
It's been a week.
It's been less than a week.
But I'm like, but like last week, like it was like a week.
It's been less than a week, but people, it's been a week.
We had a great adventure of this weekend.
You healing, we're pushing your boundaries, seeing how well you can do.
Celebrated.
Yes.
Your parents 50th wedding anniversary.
Yes.
That was huge.
Because we are doing our best to try to get them on here.
Probably won't ever happen.
I shouldn't say that.
I don't want to be negative.
But it might or might not.
It may or may not.
It is open for when they want to take it.
That's right.
But to listen to their story, because were you in there when we sat down and we just
had a moment before all of the guests started showing up because we had it at their home.
They wanted the neighbors, which became family and just really sweet.
Your parents have become everybody's parents and grandparents, which I love.
I love that.
I think that is something that I can say is a common thread throughout both of our families,
which is really nice.
Our parents take on other people around them, which is really nice.
But asking, your mom had a slideshow.
I think it was your dad made the slideshow or something.
Yeah.
Probably dad.
But sitting there, cutest can be, and telling, Gabri and Sebastian and me, this is who this
is and this is who this is and these are the people.
Then they just to see the love oozing out of her eyeballs.
For the most part, it was pictures for those listening at home.
For the most part, it was pictures of their wedding day.
They met when they were both in the Air Force.
They were not near family.
A couple members of family drove in.
You said one of her brothers gave her away.
One of her brothers.
Yep.
Then I think my mom said my dad's parents.
Sweet.
Arrived for it.
But yeah, that was it.
Very sweet.
Yes.
Very simple.
Yeah.
But they had not known each other but four months.
Yeah, three, four months.
Three, four months.
They said four months.
I'm pretty certain they told us three once upon a time.
But that's not the point.
The point is that 50 years, 50 years are for better or for worse.
You being 40, how old are you, babe?
46?
Yes.
46.
Sorry, guys.
I had to think about it too.
It's fine.
But you being 46, your sister about to be 48, you guys literally have watched your parents
just grow, fall, get better, come closer.
Even in their older ages now, your dad's 72, your mom's 69.
We're standing back, we're watching.
And it's just too huge.
I just love watching your dad.
He's genuinely one of my favorite people.
To watch him say, this little grin on the side of his face because I'm sitting next
to him in his profile and he's just staring at your mom talking about this story.
And I'm like, you are so in love with this woman and it's absolutely precious.
The fact that you were like, how you said their ages just now, and I was doing the math
and I looked at my mom the other day and said, oh wow, you were 19 when you got married.
And she almost gave me a dirty look, calling out her age.
And she was like, wait, no, yep, you're right.
I was 19.
Okay.
Yeah.
But that's nothing wrong with that, that's cool, or 20 or whatever.
20?
Or no, she was 22 when Amy was just born.
That was it.
Okay.
But still.
Yeah.
It's just-
No, I was.
Yeah, I was.
Yeah, no.
And it's sweet because you look at your parents and your parents, honestly, I look at them
and that's always just the way that they've looked to me.
They have aged very gracefully and God has been very good to them.
And we continue to pray and speak the blessings of God over them, that their latter years will
be greater than their former.
Amen.
It'll just be good.
Yes.
It'll just be good.
But yeah, so even though they haven't been on here, we still want to interview them,
but that is just, now you understand why we want them here because they've got a sweet-
Yeah, they've got a good story.
They've got a good story.
A very sweet story.
Up and downs and struggles and successes.
But that's what you decide.
It is.
Your parents have decided, you're my ride or die.
This is, we're in it.
We're in it for the rest of our lives.
And I love that.
Yes.
I absolutely love that.
Okay.
So are you ready to talk about our great adventure?
I am.
I am ready.
How you want to play this out?
I mean, I was just gonna-
Just go, baby.
Just burst open the doors and just go.
Go.
All right.
So yeah.
So let's say we're recording this on a Monday.
So last Wednesday, I woke up with a sharp pain in my belly.
Correct.
And through Googling and by the end of the day, I had a feeling it was either weird,
bad gas-
Really wicked Chinese that we had the day before.
Yes.
Or I had a penicitis.
Which is funny because we literally, we recorded after we had our Chinese and went to the gym.
That's funny.
Yeah.
Sorry.
Go ahead.
So you had-
Did we record?
We did.
Oh, that's right.
We did.
That's funny.
I forgot about that.
Yeah.
So yeah, that was exciting.
Yeah.
So yeah.
So as soon as I got off work, we went to the hospital.
I was prepared for a doctor or nurse to say, stop wasting our time.
Go home and just burp it out.
But I was also prepared for, oh no, what if this is?
And they pretty much pressed down on my side and they're like, yep, you got a penicitis.
And so yeah, so we got to the hospital about 3.30-ish.
By 9 PM, I was in the OR getting cut open for fun.
Today, I watched a video of what that looks like.
Did you?
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
They're not gentle.
It's like we knew they weren't, but to watch them not be gentle.
Wow.
Now you're like, okay, I understand why this hurts, why this hurts.
Okay.
So yeah.
So by 9 o'clock, I was in the OR.
By about 10.30, 11 o'clock, I was in an overnight room.
I was admitted overnight just for observation and recovery.
Well, you were in recovery first.
Well yeah.
You went to recovery at 11.
I wasn't going to just break it all down unless you want to.
This is where it got really surreal.
And I was kind of in and out of it.
So recovery is more you.
Yeah.
It's one of those where-
I just remember getting yelled at that I couldn't rub my eyes.
I'm like, my eyes are dry.
It's true.
But everybody was very precious.
And from literally the moment that we came in, till the moment that we left.
And when we went into recovery, you let out this really wicked moan.
And I watched you almost pushing up off of the bed because you're hurting.
You're hurting at that point.
And one of the nurses leans over to the other nurse and I'm watching this come out in front
of me.
And it was basically, go ahead and this is the wife.
We need to get him basically sedated, get him to where he's calm.
Can you go have her sit down somewhere?
Yes.
And he turns around and he goes, hi, I'm Sheldon.
And I just smiled real sweetly and I said, you take me wherever you need to take me.
And just make sure you bring me back.
And he goes, yes ma'am.
And just very sweetly.
And so it was one of those where I was trying to comply and whatever.
But once they finally got you settled and then got me back there with you, I literally
watched you stop breathing twice.
And the beautiful thing about it was not the fact that you didn't breathe.
The beautiful thing about it was I saw these people just, they didn't even, like they didn't
miss a beat.
It was a gentleman, Daniel, I believe he was the Marine, the ex Marine.
Finding out people's stories along the way, getting into their lives, finding out who
are you?
What are you about?
And even the nurses before your surgery, getting to know them, Alana, Sarah, all of these different
ones that just were absolutely precious.
And laughing with them, joking with them.
They're like looking at you like you're in pain, but you're having a good time kind of
thing.
And the thing that you and I began over eight years ago because Sebastian's eight and when
I was pregnant with him, we had all sorts of complications.
Again, if anybody wants to know the story, it is back there.
A tale of two pregnancies, something like that.
Gabri's and Sebastian's, but what we decided from that moment forward, actually no, I'm
sorry, it was your motorcycle accident is what actually started us on this path because
we learned a long time ago that you know what, God, you've got us.
You've got us.
You're taking care of us.
You protect us.
You watch over us.
There is nothing that you cannot fix.
There isn't anything that you cannot take care of.
And so when we stand in that space, that's where your title comes from.
We start to look up.
We look around and we ask God, who is it that you want us to speak into today?
Who is it that you want us to share our story with?
Or do they need somebody just to pour out to them?
They're serving you or me, whoever it is in that moment, but it was like the moment that
we knew that you were okay from your motorcycle accident, it was like, okay, what are we here
for?
Who do we get to talk to?
And it was like nurse after nurse after nurse.
Let me tell you the story.
Let me tell you the story of how literally like my head hit the concrete or your head
hit the concrete.
But then within the next scoop, there's literally, you feel something between your head and the
concrete and we know it's either the hands of God or a hand of an angel, like protecting
you and to say this to people and them staring at you and seeing that you're very much alive.
You're very much here.
You're very much in your right mind.
There is a God.
Or at least we're putting, we're taking them to that crossroad of belief where whatever
it is that you believe in that moment, the thing is, is we know.
We know beyond a shadow of a doubt who has our life in their hands.
We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are literally here walking, talking that our
beautiful kids are alive because God was very much in the midst of that.
And it's like, no matter, even in the tragedies, because again, we've got friends that have
had tragedies, their story hasn't ended as well.
But the fact is that they continued to say God's not on trial.
God's not on trial.
And that's what we get to bring to this, basically just bring to people in the midst of the moments.
It's like, you know, we've, whether it's in a hospital, whether it's sickness, whether
you're going through a legal battle, whether you're going through, you're trying to figure
out what's going on with your life.
These things, it's like, if you completely just say, God, I surrender, I surrender and
I trust you.
And now I'm going to let you take me on a journey.
Now I'm going to let you take me on a ride.
What the enemy meant for evil, what the enemy meant to try to still kill and destroy, God,
you're going to bring it for your good, for your glory.
You're going to be, you're going to show up and show off in this moment.
And that is what we got to do even in the midst of this surgery with this, you know,
as far as your appendix going away.
Yeah.
So yeah, that was, I mean, you pretty much summed everything up.
Yeah.
But it is, it's, it's my favorite saying now has become ours.
And it's actually, it's, it's a saying, it's how we live our lives, but it's actually having
that saying going, that's it.
When you decide that you're going to leave people better than what you found them, whether
it's thank you so much for taking good care of my husband.
And I don't know how many times I would hear people say, you know, the people that were
taking care of you.
Well, it's my job.
Yeah.
But you could be an absolute douchebag and you chose not to be, or maybe you were having
a really rough day, but I'm going to be a very patient, patient, and I'm going to be
a very patient spouse.
And I'm going to continue to sit in this waiting room and I'm going to speak the word of God
and I'm going to pray the word of God.
And I'm going to just speak in tongues and I'm just going to pull down every stronghold.
And I'm going to ask that God gives you wisdom, that he's going to give you discernment, that
he's going to uplift you to the point to where even the nurses that walked in for your OR,
I'm thinking, y'all are like extra happy.
They were a bit extra caffeinated.
Extra caffeinated.
Yeah.
But that's what we needed.
Because by that time you and I are weary.
We're like, we're tired.
It's been a long day.
Oh yeah.
But to have somebody come in and just say, it's going to be good.
You'll be fine.
All this will be fine.
Everything is good.
And just speaking positive and speaking life and in just deciding that they're going to
change the atmosphere.
Cause on the times that we have been in the VA, because that's where we went, you are
a veteran.
Thank you for your service, babe.
And that's what we do when we walk into that specific hospital.
Our eyes are constantly roaming, looking around, who can I honor today?
These people literally gave their lives.
Well, they're still alive, Dina.
No, you don't get it.
Like this takes pieces of you.
It takes parts of you.
And what can we do to restore honor to this person that might feel like they're being
dishonored or they're not being taken care of as well as they could be, whatever it looks
like.
And that's not just with the veterans, but that's with everybody that we encounter on
a daily.
You're having a hard time.
Okay.
You're about to go to court, be honorable to the people around you.
I don't care what kind of day they're having.
You're going to have a good day.
You're going to speak goodness.
You're going to be honorable.
You're going to speak life.
You're going to be kind.
You're going to be patient.
You're going to be understanding, merciful.
You're going to be gracious.
Walking in these attributes of people that are around you on a daily, your coworkers,
they're just having a really hard day.
Well, you can't talk to me like that.
No, but you know what?
Maybe they don't know better.
Maybe they don't know how to talk in that moment.
Maybe they literally, you have absolutely no idea what that person is going through
in that moment.
But if you, you yourself, the Christian, you the person that has the spirit of God residing
inside of you, you're not allowed to have a knee-jerk reaction.
We're not.
We're not allowed to have a knee-jerk reaction.
So that's why we are constantly on a daily, not just in these emergency moments, but on
a daily, we should be saying, Father, who is it that I need to pour in today?
What do I need to say?
Do I just need to shoot a fun little emoji, a little GIF, a little reel, or do I need
to call them up on the phone, speak a word of God, just pray over them, remind them that
they're not by themselves, and that hope is on its way.
Hope is on its way.
Yeah.
Because it is.
I mean, that's what we get to do.
I like to look at it from the journey of how I became a Christian of, again, they always,
what is it?
They say they'll know our love for each other.
They'll know our love for each other.
They'll know we're Christians by our love for each other or something like that.
They'll judge us by our fruit and all that.
And again, the story of the reason I came back to church and became a Christian was
because I looked at people who happened to be my neighbors, and I was looking at their
lives and how they were as people.
And I said, okay, I want to try to have that.
I want to be like that.
And so again, it's one of those struggles.
I know the Bible says that it says go out and make disciples and all, and the big debate
about back and forth, what does that mean?
And does that mean that we need to...
And I think some people take that to mean that we need to almost beat the Bible over
people's heads at every chance we get to make them believe in the good news and believe
in Jesus Christ.
And I'm not always a fan of violent evangelism or aggressive evangelism, I should say.
That's a good word, violent evangelism.
Wow.
Because that's what some people do, and that's what some people believe in.
But again, it's one of those things.
Oh, sorry, revelation.
No, when you said that, I was like, okay, violent, violent.
Okay, wait a minute, violent, violent in the most negative way where it causes destruction
as opposed to...
Wow.
Okay, go ahead, babe, I'm sorry.
But again, it's one of those things that I think we as Christians, we are more effective
by sharing love and by sharing understanding and patience.
And again, how do you respond in this type of situation or in this type of situation?
If you get thrown off your motorcycle, if you're having an appendicitis, if you're dealing
with a pregnancy where they're literally speaking death over you at least once a week in a hospital,
how do you respond?
How do you react?
The fact that the only time you cried in front of one of the doctors was because she wasn't
going to be the one to deliver Sebastian.
And that ended up making her cry too, because she was hardcore.
Seriously, I forget what number it is, but go back and listen to tail tube pregnancies.
But I do, I think that's what we need to do.
And I love that you and I have grabbed onto this value, this principle early on in our
marriage and we try to do it in all instances.
Yes, we do it in the big ones of we're at a hospital or something major is going on,
but we do our best to do this when we're going on a date night.
How are we reacting to our server?
When we go to the grocery store, how are we reacting to the cashier, to the person behind
the meat counter?
Because again, that smile, that word of politeness and pleasantry might turn their day.
It might give them enough to say, what do they have?
Yeah.
Because I know we talk about the gym a lot, right?
And it's like, okay, so you want to go push this major weight, you want to go or hit this
major goal or do whatever, but you got to do the small.
You got to be in the consistent.
You got to stay.
One of my friends in the midst of it, when we were talking about the different things
that Sebastian was going through when he was in the womb and he was talking about the high
drops and she finds me and she says, oh my gosh, Dina, do you even know what this is?
And I said, oh, I'm very aware of what this is.
And she just stares at me and she says, that wasn't built overnight.
Talking about the faith.
And hear us when we say that this isn't a pat on the back, this is an encouraging to
you guys.
And it almost, we're wanting to fan your flame, okay?
We're wanting to go run hard, but be consistent in the small.
Be consistent in the everyday.
Have an attitude of gratitude, speaking the goodness of God.
Let it be something that just naturally bubbles up and out of you.
You know, build your faith.
We told a lot of people along the way, whether it was through your motorcycle accident or
whether it was through my pregnancy, that it's like, you've got to, I lost my train
of thought because you're coloring.
Sorry.
I was testing something.
It's okay.
But it's one of those things where you've got to build your faith.
If you don't have a testimony, there it is.
If you don't have a testimony of yourself, then go in the word of God or go surround
yourself.
Go find us.
Come find us.
Find some friends that have been through the fire, that have been through some of the major
storms of life.
And how did you do it?
Oh my gosh, how did you do it?
You know, because that's what it's about.
When we walk into these testimonies and we're telling the people about these great exploits
that God has literally done in our lives, it's, I want hope to be restored inside of
you right now.
I want you to know that we have a God that can go above and beyond anything that the
enemy wants to try to dish out, that he's greater than any scenario, any circumstance,
that there is no weapon formed against you that will prosper.
It will form.
That's your favorite line.
It'll form, but it will not prosper.
It will not take you out.
But you don't understand, I lost a loved one, but it didn't take you out.
You don't understand, but this happened.
Yeah, but you're still serving God.
But you don't under, no, see, listen, God is God and he is going to get the glory and
the honor in the midst of this.
Look, not just what you can pour out, but look, look and see what our father is doing.
Father, what are you doing in this moment?
Who do you, what do you want to say?
Or do you, the gentleman, let me tell this story.
The gentleman when I was there, right?
And I'm waiting on you.
You're going up to get your CT scan.
And I think for a moment I was having, I was just, I was tired.
I was getting tired.
Nobody else is in the room and I was just kind of sitting by myself and I had my jacket
laid over my legs.
And here comes this gentleman.
He's orderly.
It's precious as can be.
Walks into the room and he's pulling some stuff out to clean it and he's like, Oh, somebody's
here.
He walks out, doesn't say a word, comes back, has a warm blanket for me, unfolds it, literally
tucks it around me.
And I just look up at him and I said, God bless you, sir.
He goes, yes, ma'am.
Smiles walks away.
Later that night we're getting you out, getting you up, moving you up to the OR to get the
surgery.
He finds, he finds us.
He's still kind of going back and forth.
And I look and I said, sir, I just wanted to tell you, thank you so much for doing that
for me because it literally, I cried.
I saw you walked out and I kind of cried because it was one of those where God just reminding
me that I got you.
I've got Luke.
He's going to be okay.
And then this gentleman starts just speaking goodness over you.
And he says, I don't know what made me do it.
I mean, I just, something told me and I said, Oh, I know what told you.
I call those God winks.
And I just smiled to give him an opportunity to where he could say something.
And he goes, yes, ma'am, you know?
So it's like reminding people that they even get to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
That's who we get to be.
But we also need to allow space for others to do the same thing for us.
So it just, it was good.
And then you and I get to go celebrate our anniversary this weekend.
Yes.
And our eyes will be looking around to see who it is that we can speak into who God wants
us just to love on or just be kind.
That is the challenge for the week.
That has been our adventure.
That is who you get to be.
Even in the midst of this stuff, you get to be the one that changes the atmosphere.
You get to be the one that gets to dictate how this day is going to go.
And you get to decide, is it going to be a good day or not?
That's right.
All right, guys, have the best week.
So real quick, I looked back episode 23, 23 is a walking by faith, the tale of two pregnancies.
So episode 23, if you want to go listen to that fun story, that's it guys.
Have the best week.
Enjoy the journey.