Hello and welcome to another episode of Upfront and Undivided with Luke and Dean'na.
Hi.
Hi babe.
How's it going?
I am good.
Yes.
It is well.
Yes.
It is well.
Um, it is well.
I am not trying to talk myself into it, but it is well.
Yes.
Um, I kind of sprung our podcast on you today.
And, um, we had a couple of different things that we had in mind that we wanted to talk
about and our household is kind of buzzing right now.
Um, more so than normal.
More so than normal.
Um, our beautiful brown eyed girl, uh, gets to have her surgery tomorrow.
And so, uh, we're on pins and needles a little bit.
And I just came down stairs to you after talking with her and I said, babe, we need to talk
about being anxious for nothing.
Yeah.
And learning how to, um, be anxious for nothing, but trusting God in everything.
Yeah.
And that's been something that has been a common thread with us throughout our marriage,
through different circumstances.
One of the topics that we've been asked to talk about was, um, about Sebastian and how
he came about and things.
Um, but today, um, I think if we can kind of maybe just give a quick foundation, just
some of the things that, um, that I'm thinking through because my mama heart is, you know,
that this is, I've been working myself through this and I'll look at you and I'll start crying
and I'll go, but I'm okay, but I'm okay.
And I was like, you know what?
I think our listeners need to know that it's okay in those moments to say, um, I'm not
okay right now, but I am going to be okay.
And knowing that they have that firm firm foundation.
And so one of the scriptures, um, it's Philippians four and it's almost the whole chapter, but,
um, what I was at four and six and I'm going to read until I just stopped reading, but
it says, do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything, every circumstance
and situation by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving, continue to make your specific
requests known to God and the peace of God, that peace, which reassures the heart, that
peace, which transcends all understanding, that peace, which stands guard over your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus is yours.
So finally, believers, which, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of
respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God's word, whatever is pure and wholesome,
whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute, if there
is any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things,
center your mind on them and, and plant them in your heart.
I like that.
And so a lot of the milestones that we've had in our lives, a lot of, um, oppositions
that we've had, whether it's been health, death, um, circumstances, situations, just
life, you know, one of the things that has kept us moving forward and kept us steadfast
has been holding onto the peace that goes beyond even our own comprehension.
You know, um, looking at our beautiful brown eyed girl and saying, you know, God has got
nothing but good for you.
One of the things that creates the anxiety in her, particularly in a me in my past has
always been a lot of times we're afraid to let go of the old or we're afraid to let go
of the familiar because it's what we've become accustomed to.
It's something that we say, this is my identity.
And the whole time God's like, no, that's not your identity.
Your identity is in me.
Your identity is your mind, your emotions, your heart, who I've created you to be.
This shell is not who, you know, that's, that's our description, not our identity.
And so it's like, um, the fear of the unknown is what traps us so many times and creates
that anxiousness.
It's like even, you know, PTSD, different things like that.
You know, you have mental depression, you have, you know, health issues.
There's different, I mean, just anything, anything that we, that we might be going through
in a moment, we can like the enemy can say, well, that's who you're always going to be.
This is who you are.
As opposed to saying, wait a minute, I'm a new creation.
Um, I'm set apart, I'm delivered.
I'm saying saved, I'm sanctified.
I'm being set free, you know, and being able to take on that scripture of saying, God,
you've got, you've got a hope.
You've got a future.
You're a good father.
You give nothing but good gifts.
And if it's something that he's like, I'm going to take this out of the equation or
I'm going to cut this off or I'm going to remove this relationship or I'm going to take
away whatever this is.
We know we've got to know it's for our good.
And even if it hurts for a moment, you know, I looked at Gabriel and I said, there's a
very good chance you're going to mourn over what you used to look like as opposed to what,
what you're being designed into now.
And that's natural to almost mourn for the thing of the past.
But it's time for us to like not stay there.
You know, too many times there's too many people that say, well, that's good for you.
You and I say this a lot, right?
We've encountered a lot of people, unfortunately over time, that when we share our testimony
of what God has done in our lives and they either a question it and say, well, God couldn't
have done that in you.
Or they like make it, try to make it smaller than what it really is.
And the thing that we've kind of noticed is, oh, you never got your complete breakthrough
because of X, Y, Z of whatever reason.
You know, or you're, you're speaking out of a place of, well, you never walked in complete
forgiveness.
So you don't believe that this should even be forgiven, you know?
And, and that breaks our hearts because we're like, when we walk in the fullness of God,
when we walk in the forgiveness of God, the love of God, the peace of God, then it starts
bringing forth this completeness, this wholeness in every area of our lives.
And then we get to start sharing that with other people and then they get to start becoming
set free too.
And so it's like, I'm looking at Gabriel going, I promise it's going to be better.
It's going to go above and beyond what you could ever ask or think or imagine.
That's what his word says.
That's what he promises that it'll go above and beyond his, his ways are better than our
ways.
His thoughts are better than our thoughts.
You know, he has a greater grasp and understanding of even what tomorrow is.
So he's like, Hey, if you let go of this today, I promise you that tomorrow is going to be
even greater.
Yeah.
And I find it kind of funny that this is the, that that's the, the scripture you pulled
out.
Okay.
Um, because it does talk about peace and it does talk about, you know, finding the good
in the situation.
And it's really good scripture to come against and, and to, to talk against anxiety and all.
But I find it kind of funny because we used it last week when we were talking about the
strategies of, of having disagreements and stuff in a relationship.
So cause again, it talks about peace and it talks about finding the good in the situation.
So I kind of you're going through it, I'm like, wait, didn't that wait.
Yeah.
So, so let's talk about that then from last week, as far as, um, you know, the arguments,
right.
And learning how to fight fairly or fight whatever.
So would you say with anxiety, that anxiety itself is us fighting against ourselves or
us fighting against whatever that situation is?
Do you know what I'm saying?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I, and I kind of, I kind of would, um, because there is it's, you know, I, I know it, we,
we kind of touched on it with when we were talking with Heather about PTSD and it does,
there's, there is a lot of times, you know, it's not necessarily always, but there are
times where anxiety comes with PTSD and at times anxiety comes with depression.
And, and it is, it's, you know, to a degree, anxiety is normal.
Yeah.
We all, we all need some level of anxiety when it gets unhealthy and bad is when it
goes past that line.
Right.
And it is, it's, you know, whether it's asking all the what if questions, asking the what's
going to happen, um, running through all the different scenarios in your brain, um, going
through all the, I must do this, I must do that.
I should be doing this.
I should be doing that.
Right.
Um, I, I had a, I had a somewhat crass, uh, saying a friend of mine said as far as with
musts and shoulds, um, okay, if there are little ears, just beware.
Um, don't muster bait or you will should all over yourself.
I love that.
No, I'm pretty certain I remember you telling me that before.
So yeah.
But so the clean version, the clean version would be, um, if you're trying, it's like,
almost like you're trying to go down the highway in a rocking chair.
Yeah.
You're just, you're, you might, it's too much work.
It's just, you're just doing something and, but you're not getting anywhere.
Yeah.
And so I think that that's one of the number one things that I absolutely love about that
scripture where he's just like, don't be anxious about anything or just worry about any of
it.
But in everything, every circumstance and situation by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving,
you need to make your specific requests known to God.
And before I left our beautiful girl to get her, you know, and say, okay, it's time for
you to start prepping up and getting ready.
Because there's a couple of things that we need to get done before we get in there tomorrow.
Um, is I said, I need you to say out loud and I'm going to say this for our listeners.
I, I mean, we're saying all of it for our listeners.
I don't know why I say that, but I mean, all of you, to remind you guys that we're talking
to y'all too.
I mean, you wouldn't anyway.
And the thing that I said to her was say out loud.
And I've said this to you, okay.
Going through like at the very beginning of our marriage when health was an issue for
you.
And then going through this with our little boy about what was going on with him.
And we promise that we will give you guys that full story.
And even some of those issues that you had when you were pregnant with Gabriel.
Yes, because Gabriel was very much, she's our, she's a miracle girl too.
Um, and genuinely out of our mouths, we need to say, God, I trust you.
God I trust you.
I may not understand.
Right?
We don't have to understand because ultimately God, your thoughts are higher than our thoughts.
Your ways are higher than our ways.
I don't have to understand, but I've got to trust you.
And I'm asking that you work a muscle inside of me.
You know, like, was it the Centurion soldier that came to Jesus and he's like, I believe,
but help me in my unbelief, you know, or whoever one of the, somebody had come to him and anyway,
somewhere in the scripture.
And it was just, he's like, I'm just being real with you, Jesus.
I believe, trust me.
I believe.
But there's, there's parts of me here because I've never been here.
Or maybe I have been here, but I got, but it didn't go the way that I thought it was
going to go.
I stood in the gap and they died anyway.
I stood in the gap and, and this got destroyed anyway.
You know what I mean?
It's, it's, go ahead.
Or I, I thought I was over this and it came back.
And it came back.
Yeah.
You know, those things of God, I don't understand.
I believe you.
I know who you are.
I've seen your hand.
I know what you are capable of.
There is nothing impossible with you and I trust you, but right now I'm, I'm a little
shaken.
I'm a little, I need you to help me.
I need you to help me.
Holy spirit.
I need you to come and I need you to help me.
And so that's, that's what I came downstairs tonight of, you know, there's so many of our
amazing friends that have been walking with us through this.
Like we said, God has met us here.
The fact that Gabriel is even able to have the surgery is because of so many amazing
people that have rallied together and said, we're standing with you and we're going to
sow seed into your girl's life because we believe, you know, and we are forever grateful,
you know?
And it's like, so it's one of those things too.
When we see what God has already done, if we can't even see, so if we can't see what's
in front of us, those are the days that I have to turn them back around and look and
see what God has already done.
God, I already know you're before, you're for me.
God, I already know that you're going ahead of me.
I have to remember that you, you didn't leave me back here.
You know, remind me, let me see your hand, you know, show me your glory and then walk
me boldly into whatever it is that I'm about to walk into next.
You know, gird me up with your strength, gird me up with your armor, gird me up with prayer,
gird me up with your Holy Spirit.
You know, let me dig into you because right now I can't do this in my own strength, but
I know that you can.
Definitely.
And I mean, again, and I know that it has been affecting the house and there's been
other things that have been going on in the house that have kind of, a lot of stuff has
been adding on and just life happens, you know, because again, just this past week I
had a procedure.
I mean, granted, it was just a screening, you know, so far everything's turned out right,
you know, no problem, but it's still, it's something that happened, you know, again,
for something that I thought I had a breakthrough of and I've been struggling with lately, you
know, again, I'm getting help for it and some information came this past weekend or past
few days and all of a sudden it was like that hit that all of a sudden it's like, yep, I'm
taking these steps.
And so, you know, to kind of peel back the curtain, yes, I deal with, I mean, we talked
about it so I don't know why there's a curtain, but I am, I'm starting to go back to therapy
for my anxiety and PTSD and all that and I got a workbook to work on it like as homework.
And yeah, for some reason just like getting that, getting that in the mail like all of
a sudden just hit a little extra.
So just kind of there's been, yeah, it's been heavy in the house.
It has been.
I mean, not like bad, like, oh my gosh, we're going to perish.
It's not doom and gloom.
No, but there's extra emotion going on.
Yeah.
There's definitely warfare over our heads.
There's a battle going on.
There's a lot of days where we pray.
Yeah.
I mean, we pray every day, but there's a lot of days that we pray and one prayer, and it's
so funny because it came from a book series, remember the book series that you read and
it was God cover us in this day of war.
And if we ever post something of that nature, just it's, it's because the battle's raging.
Just because we're Christians doesn't mean that the battle stops.
It almost escalates at times.
And the thing is, is we are in a warfare.
We are in a battle, but we get to fight from a place of victory as opposed to a place of
defeat.
There's a different stance.
You're going through what it is that you're going through.
You're not camping out there and you're not taking that on as your identity.
And that's something that we have held, held onto strongly that we continue to hold on
to strongly that we know that whatever reason, some things come back up again.
We just say, that's okay, father, we trust you.
God, we trust you.
Yeah.
And I think, I think part of, to kind of go back to some of the anxiety and some of the
stuff that we're, that is in the house, you know, Gabri, I know Gabri's dealing with it.
I'm dealing with it a little bit.
You are.
But it's the question of, you know, again, it's back to the, the what ifs and the what
will.
But you know, Gabri's looking at, you know, four to six weeks of recovery, according to
the doctors.
Yes, God can, can heal quicker than that.
But, you know, but she's looking at that as my whole life.
My whole life has to be unpaused.
Right.
And, and I think a lot of, I'm going to put it out there.
I think a lot of Christians, whether they be new Christians or, or seasoned vets.
Yes.
You know, sometimes they expect, you know, a move of God or, you know, when, when healing
comes or a breakthrough comes, you know, it, they, they want it to be the, you know, Jesus
spit in the mud, rubbed it in my eyes and all of a sudden I can see like, boom, I'm
healed.
Thank you, Jesus.
And again, it's, you know, I know we had a whole episode about it, but it's a process.
Yeah.
You know, sometimes that healing can last.
Yeah.
Can take a week, can take a month, a year.
You know, there are, you know, sometimes you got to, you know, yes, you get your miracle
on this day, but it might not be completed until sometime down the road.
And I think, you know, and I, I know we've had the conversation about some people, they're
like, I'm a brand new Christian.
I came here to church and my life's going to be better because I listen to all the testimonies
and I see what's going on.
And all of a sudden it's like they're Christian and they're, they're worrying and they're
having fun and they're worshiping and they're praying.
And all of a sudden their life seems, they think their life is getting worse before it
gets better.
And it's like, that's part of the process.
You know, you got to clean all that junk out.
And when you're doing spring cleaning, it looks messy before it gets cleaned up and
organized.
I mean, watch any of the shows on, you know, organization or anything like that.
Your house looks like a train wreck.
Plus an F5 tornado.
And then all of a sudden it's like, you go through the process of I got the totes, I
got the bins, I got the label maker.
And all of a sudden everything's in its place.
I know how she goes.
You know, but it is, you got to go through that process.
You got to get rid of the junk.
You got to go through that healing process that God wants you to go through.
You know, yes, the doctors and the professionals might say, these are the steps you need to
take.
You know, yes, listen to them because God has given them wisdom whether they believe
or not.
But you'd have to go through God's process.
You know, to get from A to B, to get from hurt to heal.
Yeah.
You know, and I think a lot of people forget that.
You know, again, they see so many awesome stories in the Bible.
They hear so many awesome testimonies of, man, I saw that tumor shrink right before
my eyes.
Right.
You know, it's like, that's amazing.
I want that.
Yeah.
And yes, you can have that.
Yeah.
But I think a lot of people forget that, you know, healing could take years.
Yes.
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
It's funny.
Like, one of the songs, and it talks about, and I don't know what this song is.
I'll have to maybe find it.
But it says, I want faith like Daniel and the lion's den.
Yeah.
I want faith like David when he was on the battlefield with Goliath.
You know, I want all of these abilities.
I want like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, how they stood in the fiery furnace.
I want this kind, you know, God, I want this kind of faith.
I want to be this kind of person.
Yeah.
And there's that part of me that goes, but then you have to do what they did.
Right.
That means that we have to do what they did.
That means we have to dig stuff out.
That means that we need to live lives a little bit more steadfast.
That means we have to stand up for something.
Because, I mean, you're going into a lion's den, you're being thrown into a furnace because
you're standing up for something, you know, as opposed to bowing down to other stuff.
And then having the faith to know who your God is, you know, knowing that, yes, you're
an amazing shot, number one, David with Goliath, but also knowing that ultimately that stone
is in the hand of God.
Father, you can move that wherever you want to.
And so it's like, even if we're in the middle of whatever it is that we're in, you know,
we always say these baby steps.
Now we tell our children there is no face so small.
There's no situation too small or too hard.
It's whatever you're going through today is going to ultimately build that strength, build
that faith, build that stamina to make you go into the next season of your life.
Because you don't know what it is that you're about to face.
And so whatever it is that he's creating in that moment, let him do it.
You know, sometimes we want like the big monster ministry situation going on and the whole time
God's like, I just want you to go minister to your neighbor.
I just want you to bring them cookies and just say, hey, I was thinking about you today.
Let them know that they're seen, you know.
And then if there is a situation going on, like what's going on in our house, again,
there's a lot of stuff happening.
But standing on the firm foundation, no matter what father, we trust you.
No matter what God, you're not on trial.
No matter what God, we believe your word and we know that it's true.
And we believe every good and perfect thing that you've got for us, that's who you are.
Yeah.
I mean, again, like with David, you know, everybody sees, you know, he took out Goliath
and everybody, I want the faith to take out a lion or I want the faith to take out a giant.
I want, give me the giant God, give me the giant, I'm ready.
And it's like, but did you take the time to take out the bear?
Did you take the time to take out the lion?
Right.
And what's not in the Bible, there were probably wild dogs that David had to take out.
How many thousands of stones, how many hours of practice did he have with that sling against
a dead tree?
Right.
I mean, how many, as we as Christians, are we patient enough?
Yeah.
To throw stones at a dead tree.
Yeah.
Which in my mind is the prayers.
Yeah.
What are we saying with our words?
What kind of faith are we building inside of us now?
You know, are we sharpening our swords?
Sword of the spirit, belt of truth, putting on the breastplate of righteousness, all of
these things.
It's like, I absolutely agree with you.
It's like, what are we doing in the times where stuff isn't happening?
Right.
You know, I mean, again, we had the podcast where you were talking about where the soldiers,
they're going through fighting maneuvers, they're talking, it's time of peace.
They're training.
Are you, what kind of training are you putting in your life in that moment?
So that way when the storms come, he says when, not if.
He said when.
When the storms of these life come, when the trials and the tribulations come.
What are you going to do?
Where is your firm foundation?
Is it on the rock or is it on the sand?
You know, are you going to be bowled over by every wind and wave of, you know, whatever
the latest fad is, whatever the latest, you know, uproar as far as whatever's going on,
social media.
You know, what is it that, or are you going to say, man?
My God is very much in control.
Father, I thank you that you've got my family.
I thank you that you've got my community.
I thank you, Father, that you've got my nation.
Father, I thank you that you've got the world.
None of this, nothing that's going on right now.
Wars, rumors of wars, things, you know, earthquakes, stuff happening.
God, this doesn't take any of, this doesn't take you by surprise.
Not one thing.
And so when we have our eyes on you, the author, the finisher of our faith, the alpha, the
omega, the in-betweens, then we can trust you in a place and we can say, you know what?
The surgery is going to go well.
Father, I thank you that this, this homework that you're going to do is going to go well.
Father, I thank you that healing is going to come forth.
Father, we thank you that you're pulling up the dross in our lives and the muck and the
mire and that you're going to come and you're going to eventually just push that off and
that we get to be refined one more time.
Yeah.
And again, I know we've mentioned it before, refining is not a fun, easy thing.
Is it hard and hot and I have cried a lot.
Yeah, you have.
But it's okay.
Yeah.
It's okay.
It is well.
Yeah.
And it's good to, it's good to go through and feel those emotions.
God gave them to us.
It's not getting stuck in them though.
Right.
Yeah.
It's not getting stuck there.
Yeah.
The joy of the Lord is our strength.
Yeah.
You know, the joy.
Yeah.
And so today we tap into the joy.
We keep looking at our beautiful girl and saying, don't let the enemy steal your joy
from this.
This is nothing but good.
And it's nothing but good for our listeners.
It's nothing but good for you.
It's nothing but good for me, for our household.
That's what I got, babe.
I like it.
Thanks for coming on this journey, y'all.
Yeah.
Thanks for having me.