Garden of Talents Founder: She Built Calgary's First Christian Creative Market

She started promoting Calgary's first Christian creative market with five vendors and no venue booked yet. She trusted God and went anyway.

Vanessa Rodas is the founder of The Garden of Talents, a Christian creative market built entirely through prayer. In this episode she breaks down the calling intersection framework, what it looks like to truly surrender a business to God, and what happened when she finished her first successful event and quietly disconnected Him from it.

She also shares her full testimony from lukewarm Christianity, to a Stampede conviction, to the Sunnyside camp night where 20 people shared testimonies until 5am and she was saved through someone else's story.

Topics covered: building a God-led business, the calling intersection, modesty and image bearing, Christian dating, singleness, equally yoked relationships, and what it actually means to find a man of God.

The Garden of Talents Year 2 📅 Sunday June 21, 2026 📍 1204 20 Ave SE, Calgary 🕑 2 to 8 PM

🔗 The Garden of Talents: https://www.instagram.com/thegardenoftalents/ 🔗 Vanessa's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nessrodas/

🎙️ ABOUT UNTUCK YOUR CROSS A Christian podcast covering athletics, fashion, entrepreneurship, and daily life all through a bold, honest, faith-first lens. New episodes every other Tuesday.

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Transcript

Trailer

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Like when I was creating the market, I already started promoting and paying for promoting when it had like five vendors. Like I didn't even have like the venue paid for yet. Your calling is kind of like this intersect from the needs of the world. And then this is like your God-given gifts and your passions. That middle point is your calling. Every single vendor, every single like venue I'm looking at, every payment that I'm making was like, God, they just need everything. After the first market, I was like, what now? And I think I disconnected God from it. There's people there that even knew from high school that were in the world like me. We were both drinking the same places, both partying the same places, but look at him now. God was like, hey, what the heck happened to the person that was there with me, like praying about this and so excited about this, like just last week.

Meet Vanessa Rodas

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Untuck Your Cross. And today I have my first female guest and the founder of the Gardens of Talents, Vanessa Rhodes.

unknown 0:51

Hi.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Thank you so much for being on the on the podcast. Thank you for having me. So, first off, would you be able to explain to our viewers what is the Garden of Talents?

What Is the Garden of Talents?

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Yes, it's a Christian creative market that I started here in Calgary. Um, we're currently in our second year, thank God. And basically it's just a space for believers to present their God-given gifts. And I feel like there wasn't a place for that yet. And I wanted to, well, God gave me the idea to just start something like that. And it's basically all the vendors are Christian, and but we want to give it to the world so the world can see that as believers we also have these amazing gifts, and hopefully we can reach the world with it.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

I think it's an amazing idea. Or in our city, Calgary, there's so many different markets uh throughout the year, but having one that's specifically for Christian creatives and people that are trying to use their gifts to glorify God, and again, like you said, to show Christian uh art to the world and hopefully use that as a way to um just reach lost people, I think is a great idea. So, would you be able to tell us about that day that actually this whole idea happened? Can you walk us, walk us through before the first event happened? What was that leading up?

Born Through Prayer

SPEAKER_01 2:05

It was, I was literally in my condo at the time, and it was through prayer. Like none of it was my idea. It was straight through prayer. I was kind of, I think it was, yeah, it was last year. I was kind of just struggling in that place, like figuring out school and what I was gonna do, and business-wise, because I think God know I I always had this like entrepreneur-like minded passion and like wanted to start businesses, and I consider myself a creative, but I didn't know what to do with it. And it was just through that fervent prayer, like, hey God, like give me something. I don't really know what I'm doing. Um and I think I can't really like pinpoint what it was, but it was just like it wasn't it didn't come from me. It was just in my mind as I was praying, I was like, oh, okay. And we're kind of like just partnering, working together on this prayer, on this thought, on this idea. And like, what about there's just a space for creatives? And like that's what it was. And I was like, okay, like what's a space? Like, is that like just a one-time event, or is this like a continuous market? And I think he also used my passion for event planning. Um, and we just kind of created this idea that okay, like I know that my daughter, she loves event planning, she loves marketing, she's a creative boom. This is like something that she can work on that I'm gifting to her, and that's basically where it came from. It was just a prayer. And then, like, with that, I was like, hey, God is with me on this. I'm not doing this on my own. So every decision I made for this market, God, like I asked God for like approval for everything. Because, like, this is not of my own. I have to ask my father for approval. And every single vendor, every single like venue I'm looking at, like every payment that I'm making was like, God, they just lead

Did She Ever Doubt the Calling?

SPEAKER_01 3:46

everything.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

That's awesome. Yeah, like if you're running a Christian creative market and you're not doing that with God at the very beginning of every decision, like that's not gonna be successful. So I'm glad that that's doing that. Tell me, have you ever had any doubts about running this event, whether or not you had the ability to run this event, whether or not God wanted you to run this event?

SPEAKER_01 4:08

Yeah, definitely. I think I kind of I I was, I'm not how many years am I into this? I found Christ in like 2022. So I think that was like three or two years in. Um, so I'm like, am I equipped enough to do something like this? Like lead such a huge thing. Um, but I don't know. I think in a way, because of how intentional it was from God, I didn't question it too much. Like, I obviously have those like human, like natural battles where just like, hey, am I Christian enough for this? Or like, am I well enough in my faith in this to lead? Um, it's such a heavy burden to have. Um, and people obviously are gonna question you. Like the last market, people are like, is this associated with the church? Or like, dah-da-do, what are you doing? I'm like, oh no, it's just me. Like, it's not associated with the church. People would question that, but like, oh, okay, so it's like kind of step away. Um, but I think aside from like those battles, like I said, like it was just an intentional gift, like with the marketing and my passion for event planning and then just being a believer, obviously, it felt very like just God given. So I I just had full trust in God. I'm like, hey, this is what he wants

God Qualifies the Unqualified

SPEAKER_01 5:21

me to do.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Amen. Praise God for that. Um, oh, yeah, a lot of people will come into their faith and then feel some kind of calling a responsibility that they think might be coming from God. And normally it's something that they tend to be scared of doing it. And that can sometimes be a sign that that is something that God wants you to do because you might be avoiding it. And but but God doesn't uh like we don't step into something qualified, God qualifies us. And um, it's like that verse in Isaiah where um he asks, uh, where God says, Who shall I send? And then Isaiah says, Uh, here I am, send me. And sometimes that's all God is looking for, is just people who are willing to do that. Yeah. Regardless if the world says that you're qualified to do something like that. It's God is gonna be the one that's gonna lead you through that to that finish line. So I'm glad that you had the the boldness and courage, or God gave you that boldness and courage. What would you talk? What would you say to the person who might be feeling like there might be a calling from God to do something creative or maybe it's ministry or something for God, but they're hesitant because they feel like they're they're not ready or they're not the person that's supposed to be doing it. What would you say to that person?

The Calling Intersection Framework

SPEAKER_01 6:31

Yeah, honestly, I had a friend who told me he read somewhere that um your calling is kind of like this intersect from the needs of the world, and then this is like your God-giving gifts and your passions. And that like that middle point is your calling. And I think like the people I know that have like followed their calling and they're it's so intentional. I can see that they have like their passion, their personality, and like those gifts are in it, and in there's something that the world needs from it. So I would just say, like, it's shown throughout the whole Bible that like God qualifies the qualified, and you don't have to be like God doesn't want you to be this perfect Christian or have everything set. Like when I was creating the market, I already started promoting and paying for promoting when it had like five vendors approved. Like I didn't even have like the venue paid for yet. Like, and and it's just people putting trust in me and also just like my full trust in God. Like, I'm gonna do this. So I think like the pillar of it all is just full trust in God because I'm like, hey, I don't have the money to pay for a venue, I only have a few vendors, like what if this doesn't work? But just the trust in the Lord and less focus on self and like where am I as a Christian? I'm only X amount of years in, or I don't know the Bible like front to cover, like it doesn't, it doesn't matter. Like it really is try like the trust in God that's gonna bring you from A to B and finances, pray over every single one of them. Like if that's your struggle with starting something, pray over every single dollar that you're putting towards it. Pray over like the ambition that you have. Is this dream like self-centered? Is this actually what God's will is for your life? Does it connect with God's will for your life? So I think just kind of that fervent prayer is like the the basis of everything that I did. Um, so I would just say that would be my advice there.

God-Led or God-Labelled?

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Is that a struggle that you've ever had, whether or not this was something that God wants, or maybe it's something more that you want? And maybe making it an idol, what what was that struggle with?

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Yes, I think just the I don't know, because I business I think can get a little bit difficult with faith in a way, just because people there's a lot of people that kind of just can put like a logo, like a cross on a t-shirt and like start a business. Like, hey, I have a Christian clothing business, but it's like where is your genuine like heart towards it, or you're just doing it for financial gain. And I was scared, I'm like, hey, is this something that maybe I'm just doing so I can like work on my marketing um career or whatever, or is this something so I can just like make social media content because I do have a passion for that stuff? Um, but I think I think just through praying about it, um, I haven't really put like I told you before, I haven't put myself in front of anything really, like made it about me or promoted like this is mine, this is mine, this is mine, and kind of just taking full credit for this. Um, I don't know. I just I think it always I have really just given it to God. So I do have those struggles, but in a way, like going back to it, just like the trust. I I think it's taken all the like worries I've had in that area, but that makes sense.

The Post-Market Spiral

SPEAKER_00 9:42

Have you seen a a difference between before you had the uh the market happen and after in your faith? Was there any difference, any gr any specific growth that you've noticed?

SPEAKER_01 9:54

Um, I would even talk the opposite. I think after the first market, I was like, what now? Like I was real I went through this horrible season of just like, okay, I did it. And like I felt I had felt like all the congratulations and all the like you did it, da-da-da. And then it was just done. And I was like, okay, I know I want to do it next year, but I felt like that I can I didn't have the enough like spiritual maturity to understand like this is a calling that God wants to do like for your life and not just like this summer of 2025. And I was I went like went through this like just this whole. I was like, oh my gosh, now what? Like what do I do? And I couldn't like focus on anything. I feel I don't know. I just went through this like weird spiral of just okay, once I did this accomplishment, and I I think I disconnected God from it. I was like, hey, like you start getting into those superficial things. Like I didn't make like a dollar from it because that's not kind of like the purpose I had for it. Like, I don't really need financial gain from this. It really is just like this passion project. But that started started getting to my head because I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm going on like 24. I want like a business that I can have. And I started to like disconnect what God really wanted for me for that project for the Garden of Talents, and like separate it from business and like money or career. So I was like, oh my goodness, this isn't gonna feed my family, like help my marriage, this isn't gonna like fulfill me as a person. So I really struggled, I think, negatively after it. Um, just like it's human, like we struggle financially, and like it the world is so expensive. So it was like, there's no point in me doing this anymore. Like, I don't need to do this again because I didn't make anything from it, da da da. And then God was like, hey, what the heck happened to the person that was there with me, like praying about this and so excited about this, like just last week or the months before. So I would say kind of experienced a little negative toll there, and then slowly kind of and towards the year, I I think my fiance really helped me, honestly, because I was just like, What do I do with school? And I started like applying for school and everything like that, just that career, like what am I doing with my life? Um, he was like, Hey, this is like focus on gratitude, and like even if God gave that to you for just the season or just that one time, you should be so blessed that he gave that to you and gifted you with this project. And like be grateful no matter the circumstances, because like this could also be something where I can reach multiple cities like across Canada. It's gonna be something where like it's a huge expo, or like I'm I have like great guests involved, or it could just be this little project that God gave me, and I have to be okay with that. And I think that was the growth I took from it was just being okay and being like blessed and grateful for whatever it ends up being. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

Yeah. I mean that could that can be hard for people to to view it like that, where you're putting so much sweat and tears into something. Yeah, and it's for God. But then the reality is is that we also live in a society where we need money to to go about it. And if you're sacrificing time to put into this, that's less that you have towards building your future, your your family, putting food on the table, and those it seems like the enemy can start skewing those, and then you start making it more for personal gain. Yeah, personal gain. But having and so what have you found to be uh you you mentioned how your fiance helped you with gratitude, but yeah, what about in your relationship with God that helped you kind of get out of that season of just doubt and spiraling?

Christian Community Saved Her Faith

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Yeah, I honestly think it was just reaching to like wise counsel and like to friends that um God used them to help me. Because I think sometimes it's so hard when you're like experiencing that spiritual desolation, like and you're so secluded that you it's hard to reach to God sometimes. Um like he's always there, like he's always been there for me. Um, but I think sometimes when I'm like my lowest, I'm just it's hard to go out of your way to reach to God, even though he's so good. And then I think it's just being vulnerable with people was I think like the greatest asset for me. Cause then like I said, God spoke to them and then helped me and that allowed me to like build my like re like trust in God. Um, so I really think just like the importance of fellowship held to me. And obviously, God just speaks so highly of like having your community and the table and the people you meet, like just fellowship in general. So I would say that there has just been great people in my life, like my family and my friends, who just this is not like your identity, this little market, and like just because you might it might be a one-time thing and it doesn't like define you, like God is such a powerful, loving father. Like if you feel like that wasn't for you, he has like something else. So I think it's just like fellowship was like the key, I think, for getting me out of the rut. And then I found myself going back and having that childlike faith and running to God even when I'm sad, upset, happy, like no matter what. So I think I've just gone back on track after that.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

No, that's great. Yeah, I think having other Christian friends and fellowship is so important to the development of your faith and your relationship with God, where if you think that you can do it alone, you're handicapping yourself. Yeah. God can speak through your Christian friends, and I've said this before on other podcasts, but it's it's so important. There's a reason why like being in a church community is so important because we're never meant to be alone in that. And yes, God can maybe grant you discernment on certain situations, but sometimes I find it in my life um that seems like somebody's washing the windows super great timing. Yeah, super convenient. Uh, but it seems like uh God's voice tends to be louder through my friends when I'm being vulnerable about something. I wanted to ask, what what does the garden talents mean? What is the um I know there's a specific verse aligned with that name and certain scripture? Walk us through what exactly

The Parable of Talents

SPEAKER_00 16:01

that is.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

So the verses from Matthew, it's a parable of talents. So it really connects to just kind of what are we doing with the talents as it says in that parable, like the gifts that we have that we're given, what are you doing with it with your life? Because I believe it's in that parable, there is one who is given X amount, like 10 talents. The other one was given three. And the one who had more, they didn't do as much with it. Whereas one who had less, like they they they invested it. They did little with what they had, or they did more with what they had. Do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Yeah, yeah. I think it was uh there was yeah, multiple people had different amounts of talents, and one of them, uh each each one of them ended up doubling it for the master. And then the last one, he just hit it in the ground. Yeah, and then the master got mad at him and gave the talent to somebody else.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Yes, yeah. So it's like, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

Yeah, no, you're all good.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

Yeah, it's I was like, where is it again? Okay, but my point is like I that name, I it was genuinely through a prayer because I was like, I struggle, or like the fun part's obviously like the marketing of it all, and like, hey, what a what logo are we gonna use? What's the name? What's like the color scheme? And I didn't want to idolize that too much, so I literally just prayed about it. And I think just also did like research in the Bible, like what is like the creative aspects of the Bible, or like what is seen as like gifts and like that parable, the talents, just like it spoke to me, and I feel like hey, that's perfect. It's like God is giving us these gifts, and like, are you gonna invest it? Are you gonna throw it away? What are you doing with it? Um, and then I just needed a longer name. I'm like the garden of talents, you're like the house of talents, the people of talents. So yeah, honestly, I think it was just through prayer and reading of that scripture, it just poofed the name.

SPEAKER_00 17:51

Yeah, when I when I saw it, it and I saw the garden of talents of I just thought like the Garden of Eden. And then I thought about that parable with the talents. And right away before I even looked into it, I knew that it was like a Christian, like something Christian. And I thought that was so uh great job on on coming up with that name and and praise God for helping you with that. Yeah. So what kind of people are at these events? Walk us through what happens, what happened last year uh during

What Happens at the Garden of Talents

SPEAKER_00 18:18

the event.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Yeah, I mean, do you mean like the attendees?

SPEAKER_00 18:21

Yeah, like who who's attending? Who are the um the the talents that are at this event? What's what was the day like?

SPEAKER_01 18:28

Yeah, the day was honestly went so smoothly. It was such a gift from God. Like the attendees, I think majority were Christian, like people I knew from church, just like coming to support, which is amazing, and people who like knew the vendors. So it's like a bunch of believers, bunch of non-believers. And I think it was great that the first event was majority of believers because they're obviously supporting. I think I my hope is to obviously reach the world and to reach people that are like, what is this? I have no idea what this is, and just promote it in a way where it's like someone who has no idea who God is can just come into this place and be like, What are these? Is it just like a regular market? It's like, no, there's Jesus' name is everywhere. And then we can glorify God through a baked good or a t-shirt or like a painting, and people can see that wow, like gl, like God is can be in anything and it's given in like these people's ideas and these gifts. So yeah, it was definitely a mixture of both. Um, the vendors, we obviously want to be believers because that's the whole purpose of it, is for our community to have representation because obviously the world, like every single industry, like fashion, music, is led by secular beings, people. And obviously, the mission is for us to have more influence on the world and to be able to be better representations. And imagine like the greatest actor who won an award in their speech, they're they're Christian, like they can literally share the gospel in that moment. It's like trying to give an ounce of like to the world, being like, hey, there is tons of believers who are so gifted and so talented. And I just hope that we can create a space for for non-believers to also see that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

That's great. Well, yeah, I'm looking forward to it. And so when is the next event uh your your second version of the Garden of Talents? What day is that happening?

Event Date

SPEAKER_01 20:21

June 21st. It's a Sunday. So our plan for it is to kind of be like a post Sunday. Like, you know, people go to brunch and hang out with their friends. I hope that it can be like a community space for everyone to just come and hang out and support other believers. I know it's also Father's Day, so I hope people can still make it out with their dads and kind of just support the local creatives. But yeah, it's on a Sunday this year.

SPEAKER_00 20:44

For sure. And what time and where is the location?

SPEAKER_01 20:46

Oh, it's it's um Inglewood area and it's from uh 2 to 9 p.m. So it's like a nice like evening thing. I think I noticed last year we did the earlier routes where we're like, hey, let's get like the families out early, and it was more like towards the evening, all the young adults kind of come were coming, and then that's when we were closing. So we're like, oh, I think this year we need to have more hours in the evening.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

That's good, yeah. And I'm hoping or the plan is to release this before that event so people can um see this, hear your story, and be inspired to go. Um take me to that day of your first uh, you know, the first uh garden of talents. What was the most stressful or hardest moment of that day? Because running something like that is not easy, and I'm sure something went wrong.

Behind the Scenes of Year 1

SPEAKER_01 21:33

I think there was miscommunication with like one vendor and they left early, like mid-market, and we're like, oh, are you where are you going? They're like, Oh, we have some like somewhere else to be. Um, so I think that was one of the struggles. We're like, oh, okay, like we just would hope like everyone commits to kind of being there for the whole the whole day. So I think that also helped me with just my communication skills, like making sure I'm like communicating to every vendor, like, hey, we're like you're kind of requested. Be from this time to this time. So it's definitely helping communication skills and just pre-preparing vendors for kind of like the outcome of the day. I would say that was one issue, just because there was like an empty table in the very front for the ending. So I was like, oops. Um I think, yeah, I think I had some people like coming asked her, like, where's the the creator of this? Like, can I speak to them type thing? And I kind of had to answer questions on the spot. Um, like someone's like, is this associated with a church? And we're like, no, it's just me. Um, and some people either like appreciate that or like don't, because they're like, oh, like, is this really like Christian like centered or Christ-centered, I guess. Um, besides that, I think God's hand was literally the Holy Spirit was just there because it went like amazing. Like, I think there was a great amount of people for the first event. Um, the vendors, they were selling, they were promoting their arts, they were getting good representation. And a lot of those vendors got um other opportunities after that, which is really exciting because that I think was like one of my greatest accomplishments from that was just them being able to connect with other creatives in the city and have other events to go to afterwards and make like money for themselves after or show their arts somewhere else. So that was like my favorite part, I think, of it.

Vanessa's Testimony Growing Up

SPEAKER_00 23:18

Now you you mentioned that you came to Christ about three years ago.

SPEAKER_01 23:22

Yes, like summer 2022.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

That's awesome. Praise God for that. So walk me through what was your uh did you know God before that? Just what what was your testimony?

SPEAKER_01 23:33

Yeah, I mean, I grew up in a household where we went to church on Sunday and like did the Sunday school stuff, church on Christmas. Um, but we didn't intentionally like follow Jesus, we didn't practice the faith. Um, it wasn't until that year, 2022, I started going to Teila. Um, we always we went to First Assembly church for I think like five-ish years. Um, and then me and my sister, we started going to Tehila, which is the young adult nights at First Assembly. And we were we're very introverts, so we kind of just sat in the back. Um, we watched all the people like worship and go all crazy and meet people, but we were very shy because we were like, hey, we don't really know what it's like to be a believer that like really practices this and does it for real. So we kind of hit in the back. Um, and I think it was like a few tahilas later where there was a mutual of ours. Um, shout out Jaden. He we both knew him in high school and he pretty pushed us like to his community. He introduced us to his friends. Um, and we had to get out of our comfort zone. Like, you know, talk to people, like sit closer, and like if you saw us sitting in the back, he would bring us to the front. And I think, side note, that just goes to show how powerful you can be. Like, you can be a stepping someone's faith. Like, because of that, like we've made friends for life that we have to this day, and we have community, we understand the importance of fellowship. So I think just a little shout out to Jaden for being that friend. Um, but yeah, so we started meeting a bunch of people and seeing what it's like to kind of live as a Christian but faithfully. Um, and then it was June where my sister, my brother wanted to get baptized, but I didn't feel like I was well-knowledged enough. Like I felt so nervous in the moment. I was like, I don't know what this really means. Um to be baptized and kind of like the power behind it and the meaning. Um, and I remember we were like in a separate room where they kind of asked you, they're like, What is like why are you getting baptized today? And what did Jesus ask us to do like before we get baptized? And I was like just I was so nervous. I was like oh my gosh, I don't know what I'm doing, I'm scared. Um, and I kind of I think I just saw it only as this like public decoration thing, kind of like updating your social status. Like, no, I'm a Christian, and like didn't see it as anything deeper than that. Um, but then I did it anyways. Um, and but like I said, I didn't take it seriously. It's not that the baptism didn't have power, I was just like, okay. And I like went on and like I went back to like drinking and partying, and I was kind of just living that like lukewarm Christianity for that beginning of the year. Um, and I remember I went to Stampede that summer, and you know how they have the tents. I was tempted, I went to the tents, and I remember um came mind you at this time I was also dealing with a very verbally and emotionally abusive relationship, and I remember it was just very on and off during that year, and then one of his friends saw me in the tents, and he was like, Oh, didn't you get baptized? I was like, Yeah, he's like, What are you doing here? And I was like, Well, like, I kind of was just making excuses. I was like, I can be in here, like, why not? And then I think that was probably the first time I ever felt like the holy conviction, just like, oh, I actually probably shouldn't be in here. Cause how am I one day posting that I got baptized and I'm changed and she just saved me the next day? I'm like posting the next story. You tap it's like me at the club or something, it's me drinking. Like, I think at the time we don't realize that you really are an image bearer, you're a representation of Christ and like everything you do, people see. And if people are being like, Oh, Vanessa just got baptized, but she's at the club the next day, so that means I can do that. I'm gonna be a Christian too. Like, if that's what we can do, then I'm gonna do that too, and just claim I'm a Christian. So I just felt like I was obviously I didn't notice till later that I was just misrepresenting the kingdom entirely. Um, so yeah, that was the first time I felt holy conviction. And then I remember it was the month right before Sunnyside. It's like this young adult camp.

The Bouncer Story God Protecting Her

SPEAKER_00 27:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 27:47

Heard of it. Um, but I found out about it through FA, through First Assembly. Um, and my friend was visiting from out of town, and she wanted to go to national, like the club. And but I think at this point I started like understanding God more, understanding the Bible more, and I was like, no, I don't think I should go there. Um, but obviously I was tempted. I didn't have enough spiritual maturity, and I was like, we were in line for the club. We were in line, and then we saw some of our friends there from high school and we started chatting, but then the conviction just started hitting me like while I was in line. I was like, I should not be here. And I was literally vocally saying to people, I was like, no, I go to church now, I shouldn't be here. Um and then I remember the bouncer was like, no one is getting in tonight. Like, just leave. Like, none of you guys are getting in. Because it was just a really popular spot at the time. And they're like, just leave. You're not getting in. So we're like, let's just stick it out. Like, let's just stay that my friend really wanted to go. And I was like, I feel like I should just leave. Like, I should just go. And then we were getting like slightly closer to the front, and I finally just allowed myself to listen to the Lord in that moment. I was like, you know what? Let's go, let's leave. And we get in our car. Mind you, it's not even five minutes later. I decided to text my friend. I was like, hey, did you guys end up getting in? And he was like, literally, right after you guys left, the bouncer let us in. And I was like, Oh, I genuinely believe that God is protecting me in that moment. And I allowed myself to listen to the conviction, and I saved myself from participating in the world. Like he called me to be set apart, he called me to be not of this world, and so he convicted me, pushed me out of that area, and then little do you know, like the bouncer lets everyone in, like, right after we leave. So I really do think that was God saving me. Um, and then right after that was the sunny side camp, was August. And mind you, I'm still kind of wrestling with this kind of manipulative relationship. And I was praying to God, I'm like, what do I do? What do I do with this? Because now he's kind of like teasing the idea of I might join this God thing that you're doing, and like I might get baptized or whatever. I'm like, oh, okay. I'm like, that would be nice if like you genuinely wanted to do that, um, and not just do it for the sake of like getting back together, you know? Um, so I was like, hey, what if we could potentially be together, follow Christ together, and I can help him find God the way that maybe I thought I knew God at the time. Um, and it was the first night we were worshiping in the chapel, and then I prayed about it. I was like, God, I need an answer. Like, is this for me? Is this relationship for me? Is this lifestyle for me? Um, and

Sunnyside Camp Saved by Testimony

SPEAKER_01 30:37

I prayed that he would actually show me in human form to just like if this life is not for me, like take it away. Like, I don't want it. And then the next day, I met like amazing friends. And I met the next day, I actually became friends and hung out with my now fiance. So at the time I didn't see that as like anything. I was just, oh, it's just a guy. But I really do think it was like an answered prayer. Like God was using him as an answered prayer, and he through that, he saved me from horrible people. He also was raised a Christian, like he's a pastor's kid. He he has that knowledge of Christ and understanding, and I really think he used us together to just find God in a more intentional way because he was also in that point where you're kind of struggling, like understanding your faith, like that relationship stuff. And that was just a side note. Well, yeah, I just think God like just use both of us at the same time. And I think it was just so beautiful. Um, and then there was a night at Sunnyside that same night, I believe there was like 20-something of us. We shared our testimonies till 5 a.m. in the morning, and every single person shared these beautiful stories. And I remember I saw there's people there that I even knew from high school that were in the world like me, who did the drinking stuff, the partying stuff. And there was this one particular person like I just knew in the world, and he he shared his testimony, and it was beautiful. Like he was just he was just this amazing encounter with Christ. Um, and I was like, wow, if God can completely transform this person's life, just like like he lived the exact same life as me. Like we were both drinking the same places, both partying the same places, but look at him now, this believer who desires, and like it's so evident that they love the Lord and that God is actively working in their lives. I like in that moment I wanted nothing more than that. I believe I was just truly saved through testimony, like in that moment. And I think from there, that's when it like really changed for me. Like just hearing people have like these real life experiences, like it wasn't a movie, just these real people in front of me that had lives like me, like, or were even in it worse than me. And they were so transformed by the love of God and just understanding um his sacrifice and what it means for their lives. Um, and I wanted nothing more than to be a part of that. Like just like I want to be just like these people. And like from there, I like was was like crazy on fire for God. Like, and I took it all seriously. Um, it was very cold herkey. I just like stop listening to the bad music, stop the clubbing, like kind of threw out the like immodest clothing. Um, and yeah, like like pushed away the like abusive relationship and just took God seriously. Like I wasn't even like in the market for a guy, obviously, because like I'm just getting out of something so toxic. I want to focus on God. But then, like I said, that answered prayer that is my fiance. We like continued this beautiful friendship that obviously led to where it is now. I joined um Tila Ministry School. I started serving in the kids' ministry. Um, and now I am where I am. And I think it's literally through that just the sharing of all those testimonies like completely moved my life. So if I think my piece of advice there, like if you're ever like worried or scared to kind of share your testimony and like it's scary to you to be vulnerable, I think it can literally save someone's life, like bring them their salvation, like draw them to God. So that's exactly what those people did for me that

Host Testimony Deliverance from Addiction

SPEAKER_01 34:24

summer.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

Praise God for that testimony, and congratulations on the engagement. That is that's that's awesome. Yeah, give a give give the camera a quick that's that's a big rock. That's awesome. Um, yeah, I think it seems like God will deliver us from something, and then our responsibility is to turn around and be able to be used for God to help somebody else deliver it. Like I went through the exact same thing. I believed in Christ my entire life, but my uh lifestyle didn't reflect even after I started going to church. Yeah, I was still actively uh struggling with drinking and smoking meat. Those were my two vices that were holding me away from being able to get a deeper relationship with Christ. And then just some stuff happened with my family with some health scares that I was able to quit cold turkey from that. And where before I was ashamed about my testimony and thinking I was, you know, like nobody God couldn't use me or anything like that. But now that testimony is something that certain people are able to uh relate to when I say that I was this deep into this addiction and look how uh God has delivered from now. And yeah, it's it's the most beautiful thing. And but if you're keeping that testimony quiet because you hear you feel shameful about it, you're almost letting that go to waste for all the other people. Because it's it's good that you were delivered, but imagine the amount of people that God could deliver through you, yes, and you're holding that back if you're not open about your testimony. Um, so I was I was wondering you you mentioned about the about being a lukewarm and being convicted about that. Yeah. What is wrong about being Christian and then still going to club drinking and all this stuff? What's what's so wrong about that if God forgives everybody? What's wrong

Why Lukewarm Christianity Is Dangerous

SPEAKER_00 36:06

with that?

SPEAKER_01 36:06

I think like most importantly, is that it's in the word, like God calls us to be like Jesus. And it's literally as easy as that. Like what you're doing right now, the spaces that you were in, the people that you involve yourself with, do they glorify God in any way? And I think it was just recognizing and also being like in fellowship made me see like women in Christ. Then like, because I think for women it can be a little bit hard when you deal with like the clothing stuff and modesty and like going to the clubs because we're in a world where it's attractive to wear like less things or to look a certain way. And so I really struggled with that because it's like, well, this looks really cool, but all the women here are like closed neck down. I'm like, what the heck? Um, so it's like it's new to you, right? And but I think just understanding the word and like reading your Bible is what will like just show you why it matters so much to not be an in and out Christian and just to do it for spiritual status. It's just say you have like a verse in your bio, like you're right there, you're trying to represent Christ. But if you're posting yourself at the club after, you're gonna people are gonna connect that verse in your club stuff, and they're gonna be like, I can do this too. So then we all can be Christians, we all can say we follow Jesus, and I think it's really just it's dangerous to his kingdom, so you're really affecting so many people that could truly generally be following Jesus, and you're it's an injustice to God's kingdom in a way. Um, like I was saying, I think as a woman, the modesty stuff was like a huge struggle, and I think for women, we don't realize how much it can have an effect on other people. Because like obviously it's for yourself, it's for obeying and glorifying God, like with your temple, with your body. But you also can cause other people to sin. You can cause other people to fall. If you like dress or present yourself in a certain way at church, just think about the effect you're having on all these other believers. For like one, like people think they can do that too. You can cause someone who may be struggling with a horrible addiction or struggling just horribly with a certain sin. You probably could potentially be causing them to fall and like leading them astray from something. So I think the important part is just separating it from yourself. Like it's not just about you, like you're affecting so many more other people with the way you live your life, and I think that's what made it very important to me. Like, I need to honor and glorify God and every single thing I do and every single thing I wear and what I post is so important because social media is forever. Like everyone's gonna see your post like at one point and it's it's on there forever. And it's just dangerous. It's just we, like I said, as vessels, we are image bearers. Like we have to understand that he has called us to be set apart from this world. Like it's it's all just in the word, and I think that's just my piece of advice there. It's just it's all in the all in the word to just why we have to look different from everyone else and why it's so detrimental to his kingdom.

Modesty A Female Perspective

SPEAKER_00 39:23

I think that piece about modesty can be very hard for some girls. Yeah. Because it seems like, why is that my problem?

SPEAKER_01 39:30

Right.

SPEAKER_00 39:31

And from a guy, like that is a weird conversation to have. Yeah, no. And so I appreciate you you bringing it up because so so what would you say to that person to that girl specifically who feels like the way that they um uh show themselves to the world, how they might be thinking that it's not their problem. And they if they have something that they think is cute and whatnot, that's all that matters. Yeah, and I can wear that. What would you, from a female perspective, say to that that girl?

SPEAKER_01 40:01

Yeah, I would even say just through my own testimonies, like huge. Because I like I loved dressing that way with like the mini skirts and like the crop tops, like at that, obviously, if you're in the world, you're like, who wouldn't want to dress the way as a woman? Like everyone just wants to show off themselves. And I struggled with that exact thing where you want to wear anything that kind of just flatters your body, and it's obviously also society's fault for kind of just I think sexualizing women in a way where like you feel like you have to wear the tiny things and you don't have you you can't be beautiful in like covering your body. So I think obviously the world is it just sucks at where we're at. And I think also as believers, we struggle with discerning self-conviction. Um, I think myself, like I've and I've struggled like with other friends, just like, oh, it doesn't convict me to wear a mini skirt, or like it doesn't convict me that um booms are showing or something like that. Um, I think we really, really have to pray and discern the difference from like conviction, or you're just genuinely like not wanting to obey. Like you have your own agenda. Like, I think sometimes we allow our conviction to just change what we do, if that makes sense. Like, we'll be like, oh, well, that doesn't convict me, did it uh so like okay, well, I'm gonna do this then. Um, but there's also just a standard, like conviction aside, there's a standard that God calls us to be, like as women. We're in a church, we're representing women, I think, outside the church as well. Like, if you're at work, like are you dressing like your employee or your co-workers and looking like the world, or are you doing your best to represent God and honor God in your body? Because people are gonna follow that too. Other women are gonna see that, and that was the same for me, where I was, like I said, like in love with these testimonies and these women of God who were beautiful inside and out, and they didn't have to show off their entire bodies in order to do that. Um, and the conviction stuff is such a struggle, I think, for a lot of women. Um, and I think just just fervent prayer through that, being like, does this actually convict me, or is it just me wanting to wear whatever I want? Um, surrounding yourself with discipline women in the faith, I think was so important for me because they taught me in a humble way about modesty, just like what this does for God and then how it affects other people. And I think what's important is if you're trying to help other women or men, because I think men obviously can struggle with modesty as well, it's not just a women thing. Um, but if you're trying to like call a brother or sister out higher, do it in a way that's humble and graceful. Like, don't like if you like you have to be like just discern the way to approach about it. Don't be like, your sh your skirt is too short. Like, don't just do it in a way that's humble and graceful. Cause I think I even encounter that. I've had friends that encounter that in the church where people feel like the need to just call it in a very rude way. And I understand, like, sometimes you just gotta do it. Like if someone's literally just looking wild, but there's a way to just do it humbly and gracefully. So I think that's just my piece of advice for like the multiple areas. Just make sure you're calling people out higher in a way that is like God-led, not just like what your opinion is of their skirt, right? Your opinion is of their sure, how they look. Like pray and ask God before you feel the need to call someone higher in a way.

Judging Others Righteously in Love

SPEAKER_01 43:34

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:34

Like you want to be doing that in a loving way, and also that conversation has to be going from a girl to a girl or guy to a guy, because that it it's just that conversation doesn't work any other way. Yeah. Um, and yeah, like you want to be calling him out. Some people will will say, Hey, like you shouldn't be judging me like God. Only God can judge me. Only God can judge me. And I think we're called to judge each other righteously in the right context in a loving way. Yeah. Um, but you're not condemning that person. It's a different thing. So um, I want us to switch over to now. Um, if you're okay talking a little bit about your relationship with your fiance, I think a lot of girls will be watching this episode and be wondering what do I need to do as a uh as a daughter of Christ to find my you know my fiance, my future husband. I think that's especially with young adults our age, the whole conversation over dating and marriage is a very tricky conversation. Yeah. Seems like a lot of people think that they all need to be like Paul and be single for the rest of their lives, yeah. Or that it's very hard to find somebody um that is of like faith in this secular world and that can be leaders for you in your faith. What would you what's your experience with that? What would you say to that girl who's like looking for uh hopefully be married one

Christian Dating and Equally Yoked

SPEAKER_00 44:50

day?

SPEAKER_01 44:50

I can say so much. It's such a like huge conversation. Um, but I think just to start, um obviously everyone wants to find love and to be that like equally yoked they talk about in the Bible. Um, but I think it's it's hard to obviously say because sometimes I I know I've have had friends who struggle in their singleness and like um allowing God to kind of determine the timing of it all, and then people are could just keep throwing in your face, like, just trust God's timing, trust God's timing, and they're probably like, I'm sick of hearing that. Like, I want to be loved and all that stuff. Like I have many friends that deal with that, and I truly am like a believer of just like the places you put yourself and like where you're at in your life, and like I said earlier, like I wasn't in the market, I wasn't searching for a man, I just was getting out of this horrible thing. But God really just controls the weather conditions, he controls all of it, and like if that was his time for me to meet this person, then that was his time, and I know it's really hard to believe, but God is really like the director of all of it. But at the same time, I think God gives us a little bit of freedom to like seek certain people, and it's not he's like, there's just like this is the person for you, da-da-do. I think that God saw like there was an interest there, there's a friendship there, and like you allow God into that relationship. And I think just praying and involving God and having him at the center of all of it is like the key. If you're in a relationship, you're starting a relationship and you didn't start it with God, you didn't ask God for direction, for insight, for approval, it's probably not a Christ-centered relationship. And that's where lust can start being a horrible issue and just being led astray. Is this person really of Christ? Is this just a wolf in sheep's skin? Like, is this someone that's actually gonna take me away from God? Um, so I think just ensuring that Christ is the center of all of your actions, of everything that you do. Um and I think the marriage stuff is difficult because at least the community that I was in, we were kind of pressured to get married very early. And I think kind of discerning and like allowing yourself and your relationship to be shared with like one or two, like wise counsel that God like shared with us through his word, and like the whole world, the whole community does not need to know about like the circumstances of your relationship, they do not need to dictate everything. So, and we struggled with that a lot because we were dating for a month, and we had people asking about like what's your marriage timeline, and we're like that's really quick. Oh my gosh, it was crazy, it was crazy. So I think that's just my fear for like a lot of the friends I have in the faith, or even outsiders see it. They obviously see Christians getting married in like like really short periods of time, and I just want to hope and pray that it's for like the right reasons and like that you're praying to God, being intentional about it. And I know a lot of people go to that verse, like where Paula is like if you're if you're less like get married, like yeah, yeah, it's if it's uh it's better to be single.

Paul's Gift of Singleness

SPEAKER_00 48:24

Um it also Paul says that it's a gift to to want to be single. So I heard that from uh from uh a young adult pastor saying that if you are struggling with being single, then you probably don't have the gift. So it probably doesn't mean that you need to be single for the rest of your life, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:37

Um so it's just like they're picking and choosing which verse they want to listen to, and then we kind of just got pushed into like when are you getting married? When are you getting married? And we're like, oh my goodness, like we also had, I think, a longer of a talking stage than regular people did in like church is kind of and people would even like I ever hearing stuff where they were like, if I was Vanessa, I couldn't wait that long, like to start dating and like do-do-do-do, and I'm like, oh my goodness, like it's kind of scary, I think, like as a new believer, coming to a church and hearing that type of stuff, being like, oh my gosh, do I have to get married right away? Am I is he waiting too long to ask me to be official? And I think that's sometimes a danger of certain like church communities, and I'm not saying this like push people away from church in the slightest. I think it's just allowing a few people into like what you're doing. And like above all, is letting God be like the final say in like the relationship you're entering, because people will always have opinions, people will always want you to get married earlier, you shouldn't be doing this, or they're gonna start asking about your your lust and everything like that with the relationship. So I think I kind of straight off the question. But I think just yeah, um, finding a man or a woman who are or yeah, we're talking a woman. Um, finding a man of God is just the like the spaces you're in. Like you're not gonna find a man of God at the club. So if you're like wherever you are in your life, you're not gonna find him at a party, whichever type of party it is, like the bars or whatever, he's not there. So it's like if you're expecting and you're praying, like, God, give me a husband, give me a man of God, um, like check yourself first, check like your circumstances. Are you a woman that is ready to be in a relationship, in a godly relationship? Are you gonna edify that man? Are you gonna take that man away from Christ? Like, are you in a place yourself where you are prepped to like be a wife potentially? Because that ultimately, like, as Christians, that's the goal for our relationship from dating is like you're you want to marry that person. And obviously it doesn't work out every single time, but I think just the initial like preparation and prayer like am I equipped? Would I cause this man to stumble? And sometimes we just do, but I think just seeing where you really are in your walk as a woman is like so important because we focus so much on the like bring me a husband, bring me a man of God that will lead me, do do do do like you want the man to be so perfect, but I think I would just say, like, check where you are, check where you are, like pray to God, because that's that's kind of where I was. Like, I was such a new believer, like, and I was like, Oh my goodness, I don't know anything about God or like what it means to be a wife or what it means to be a woman in a relationship in a Christian relationship. So we like those months that people were like, why is she taking they're taking so long? Those months we were using was to pray and to be friends, like focusing on our faith. Like we focused on our spirits, like growing that individual relationship with God so that we can be disciplined together eventually. And I think it worked out amazing for us. Um, we didn't feel the need to kind of rush into it, we were so new to it. Um, so yeah, I guess it was just like a huge piece of advice for like believers that are in the faith for a long time, but also I think just for like new believers, don't kind of idolize the idea of like the Christian relationship and the Bible studies together and all that stuff because it's like it just doesn't mean like anything compared to like where you I don't know if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 52:20

That makes sense. I think, yeah, a lot of a lot of people see Christian relationships and they just think coffee shop dates with their Bible and uh and and then yeah, you uh I mean we're not one to judge of what that person's relationship is like, but I think people will people tend to say, like, oh, if he's he's okay with coming to me uh at the coffee shop and reading her Bible, then he's the one. And it's like this like very low bar. Yes. And so I'm wondering if you were to give a criteria for that girl watching of what she needs to be to be ready to start looking for a relationship, what type of daughter of Christ and where does her relationship with Christ have to be for when she does enter a relationship? She's only bringing him up and not bringing him down.

Are You Ready for a Godly Relationship?

SPEAKER_01 53:08

I would say there's like we're never gonna be perfect. Like, we're not supposed to be this set standard of a woman in order to find a man. But I think like like where I was, I wasn't, I didn't know anything. I didn't know anything about God to well, any of a few, but like not where I am right now, where I feel a lot more equipped to be a wife and I have an understanding and the like I read Ephesians, like understand what it means to be husband and wife. And I think it's just focusing on your individual walk. Like, are you okay in your singleness? Like, are you at peace in your singleness? Like, or is it like during this time, are you just finding, finding, trying to find a man? Like, what are you doing with this beautiful time of singleness that like it's such a beautiful time? Like, really is like you don't not to say that relationships are distractions, but they take up so much of your time. They really do, like mentally and just like physically take up so much of your time. And I think women and even men just like struggle to be okay in the singleness and use that time so wisely. Like, you have all your time to yourself to be with the Lord, to study the word, to really study the Godhead, to understand all of it. And you can have those study dates with the Lord. Like you can be with him, have like prayer time with him, like at a cafe. You don't need a man to be at a cafe with you. So I just think being okay and like truthfully trusting God and like the timing and not like idolizing the relationship because it can be so dangerous. Cause I know social media really like presents the godly relationship so like beautifully, and it's it is amazing, but you can really idolize it in your singleness and um forget why and like the meaning, because that's leading to marriage. So it's like, do you understand what that means? Like, do you understand what it means to be responsible and like to support to help another person? So I would say a whole lot of just spiritual maturity. Um, and like I said, no one's gonna be like, okay, level 100 maturity, like no, like it's just I think just more of an understanding and like peace and love of God, like in your singleness. It doesn't mean like okay, but it's okay to be single, I think. I think a lot of people are just not okay with being single, but it's such a beautiful time that you eventually will God forbid, like you you'll never get again because like you're gonna be in this marriage, you're gonna have family, you're gonna have children, God willing. And it's this time to really prep yourself to be a wife, to prep yourself to be a daughter of Christ, to like make sure you did what you needed to do in that singleness. Like you spent your time with the Lord so intentionally, because when you have the relationship, your whole like dynamic, your routine, it switches completely. And you like you're praying for a whole other person, you're living like eventually with a whole other person, and like I don't know, faith just looks a lot differently when you're with someone.

Singleness Is a Gift You Won't Get Back

SPEAKER_00 56:19

Yeah, I think some people tend to idolize that Christian relationship because when you start when you're going to church and you're going to these church groups or you're going to Tehila and you see other Christian relationships, and you tend to be like, Why don't I yeah, you you compare like why do not why do I not have that? What is wrong about me that somebody's not pursuing me like that, uh, or I'm pursuing them? It's it can be very lonely when you're surrounded by a lot of Christian relationships and 100%. Think that there's something lacking. Yeah. But I think you have to realize that being single is a a gift because there's certain things you can't do when you're in a relationship. Like right now, when you're single, you can essentially up and leave and change your life and go somewhere else. But when you're when you're with a uh person, every decision has to put that person. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 57:13

Yeah. And I sorry, I don't know about you. I think I experienced that myself because obviously I it was only like it was like I don't know how many months, like six months after like finding Christ, where I was in a relationship, and I was like, oh, I think in a way I was like, I kind of wish I enjoyed my singleness more, and I don't regret my relationship, but I think the singleness is just so beautiful. Like you have like this intimate time with God, and like, yeah, you can make life-altering decisions. Whereas everything now, I always consider him. You always consider like your family, like above all, because you're like, hey, where are we gonna end up? Is that family safe? What are we gonna do with school? Like everything. So it's like when you fall in love with a person, you consider all of your actions. So I would just say, like, in your singleness, really like pray fervently about like your life and the calling that God has on your life because it could lead you somewhere else. And what if your partner is over here? So it's like, like you said, it's just there's so many more decisions

Best Part of Being Engaged to a Godly Man

SPEAKER_01 58:14

to make.

SPEAKER_00 58:14

Now, what is your favorite part about being in a Christian and godly relationship, engaged to a godly man?

SPEAKER_01 58:20

Yeah, I think like the first thing I think about is family and our children. Like, oh, I see so happy just in think that I get to raise children to know Jesus and to know Jesus from the very beginning. Like, I'm so excited. Um it's so exciting to me. Like, I know it's a girly, but just like you, I don't know, because a lot of us are like raised, we were like, oh, I was raised in a Christian household, but we just went to Sunday school, like how I was. Like it wasn't practicing wasn't very intentional, and I'm so excited to be able to do that with someone who also loves Jesus the same way that I do. And you guys can raise God willing, like children that hopefully just understand God better, and you obviously have to do it in a godly way. I know a lot of people can kind of fall off once they have children, and it can get scary, but and children start going doing their own thing, like you, like my parents, obviously, we they believed in God and like we believe in God's existence, but it wasn't enough for me to stop going to the club and everything like that, you know what I mean? Um, so I just pray and hope that our family, I'm just so excited to raise them to understand what it means to like carry your cross, what it means to follow Jesus, what it means like his sacrifice, and just to read the Bible to them, and like that's what we're gonna like consume them with in a way. Like they're not gonna watch certain things that like don't glorify God, and you can really like raise children to love God like their whole lives, God willing. Um, I think that's just like the best part of it because you're just growing his kingdom, and obviously that's like the ultimate goal, like that's just the greatest plan. So I think that's what I'm most excited

Closing Thoughts and Event Promo

SPEAKER_01 1:00:11

for.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:11

That's awesome. Well, I'm excited for you guys. Praise God for that. Uh, was there anything that you from the Garden of Talents, your testimony, um, dating, engagement, marriage as a Christian, anything that you feel like we didn't talk about that you were hoping that we would talk about?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:29

I don't think so. I think I hope that I was able to help a girl, a woman out there that's struggling with immodesty or struggling with or just like putting it, like stepping out in their faith in trying something. Like if you really don't have an idea or direction for your life, I think just think of that intersect, like what like and pray about it and like involve God in every single thing you do. So I think that's hopefully what I tried to get across is just like believing wholeheartedly and trusting God and what you're doing, because he led me to where I am right now. And if this market just ends up ending year two or it takes me and ends up providing for my family, then I'm so glad either way, because I fully trusted God and like I'm gonna be happy with whatever outcome it is. And yeah, for women and just relationships is such a tricky thing. Um, and the church, I think just like I said, like trust the church, trust close people, like trust wise people, don't like share everything with everyone because then there's so many opinions that really just they matter, but don't matter as much as God does, and like like just the wise counsel that you're keeping close. And I think just yeah, if you're a creative and you um are scared to start something or you have a passion or an art or a gift, I pray and hope that talents, the Garden of Talents, can be a space where you can come comfortably and be yourself wholeheartedly. And I pray eventually that um our market can be something that has live performances eventually. Cause I've had a lot of people ask, just like, oh, I'm a dancer or I do poetry or I sing. And obviously I want to be a space where I can do like show everything, show all the arts. Because art is like or God's gifts is not just like in a product you can buy. It's not just monetary, like it's in everything, it's in like the actual like physical arts. So I pray eventually that that is something I'm working towards. Um, or it's just no, I'm working towards that. Um, and hopefully, if that is you and you're listening to this, that you are just comfortable enough to reach out to me like anytime and just like ask about it. And hopefully I can pray for you and encourage you to join.

unknown 1:02:56

Yeah.

Final Three Questions

SPEAKER_00 1:02:57

Thank you so much, Vanessa. Uh, with every uh episode to land it, I always have three questions for the for the guest. The first two are simple yes or no uh questions, and the last one is kind of explain the last two. So the first one is Is your relationship with Christ where you want it to be right now?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:13

No.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:14

Is your relationship with Christ where Christ wants it to be right now?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:19

Probably not.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:20

And why no to those two?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:22

Yeah, I would just say that with all the stuff that I have going on, like I'm I'm working, I'm a student, I'm getting married, I like I moved out, I'm like I'm paying rent, like I'm doing like the adult stuff already. And like I know I'm youngish, like 24. Um, but um it's hard, I think, to want to put full effort into all these things. It's like and also like have such a disciplined like life and um in everything. And like like I hate when I like miss a day of praying or I didn't read my word, or like I just didn't talk to God. Cause like God is like the same relationship as like talking to my fiance. Like, if I missed a day or a day or two talking to my fiance, he'd be like, What is up? Like, what are where are you? And like I want to be able to respect God that way. And like, hey, I missed a day, like I need to be on my knees and be praying and like seeking his space and just being in his presence. And I'm not doing that. Like, I think with just everything I have going on, like I'm having those prayer times where I'm like, God, like, bless this market. Like, is this vendor? Like, should I make this decision? And like, I think wedding stuff, like praying over everything you're paying for, is like such a huge thing. Like, I think we need to trust God a lot more with our finances. And I think right now, with so much I have in my head that it's hard to bring God into every single situation. And it's not that it's hard, I'm just like lacking. I'm just lacking and doing it. And I think um I'm thankful for this podcast to kind of just like remind me, I think, of my testimony and like remind me, like recall those stories of grace where God was so good. Cause then it really is just such a great reminder and like reminder like why I do this and why I follow Jesus and that he's always there. And so I'm thankful for you.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:19

I'm glad I was able to do that for you guys.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:20

Yeah, I'm thankful. And yeah, so I would love to be in a better position, but regardless of where I'm at, God is great, God is good, he is always there for me whenever I reach out.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:31

Amen. He's always there. Amen. Vanessa, thank you so much. I will be praying for for the garden. I will be there. Um, I will be praying for um your schooling as you figure out what to do, and then most importantly, praying over um your marriage with you and your fiance. That's exciting. And I pray um just the best that God is able to use both of you guys um as lights wherever you guys are.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:51

Thank you so much. I appreciate the opportunity.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:53

Guys, thank you so much for joining this episode. Um, I pray that this is an episode that uh convicted some of you guys about um uh living lukewarm lifestyles. And I pray that it's just a call for you guys to uh find out more about Jesus, um, to realize that he is uh your savior, that he loves you, and nobody in this world is going to be able to love you unconditionally like Christ did, um, especially with what he did on that cross. Um, so until next time, stay bold and stay blessed. Thank you guys.