The Fruit of Obedience | Say Yes With Torilyn Quesenberry: Episode 7

In this episode, we sit down with Tori Quesenberry as she shares her powerful story of saying yes to God in a season that was both fruitful and incredibly challenging. As Tori stepped into leading and recruiting for a student-led youth worship team, she was also quietly walking through the pain and uncertainty of infertility.

Through it all, God met her in that season—using community to encourage her, speak life over her, and cover her in prayer. Today, Tori is the mom of a healthy, happy two-year-old boy, and her story is a beautiful reminder of God’s faithfulness.

We also talk about the lasting impact of her leadership, as so many strong worship leaders have been raised up through her obedience. Tori’s yes didn’t just change her life—it opened doors for countless others to step into their calling.

This conversation will encourage you to trust God in the hard seasons, stay obedient even when it’s difficult, and believe that your yes can have a greater impact than you ever imagined. 💛

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:07

Hey, what's up everybody? Welcome back to another episode of Say Yes with Callie and Jess. We are so excited to be joined by a very special guest today. Tori is with us today. Tori, tell us about yourself.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Hi, I'm Tori. I am a worship leader here at Christ Chapel Gaylax. Um have been on the worship team for seven, eight, nine. It's been probably about eight years now. Um love it, play guitar, sing a little bit. Um I am married and have a little boy and I work in healthcare. Yeah, that's exciting.

SPEAKER_02 0:43

So been here a while. Yeah. I know, doesn't it feel weird that like to say that it's been that long? It's like, wait, wait, we're getting a little old. It does. We're not old, but we're getting old and getting new. It's like Callie's been here for a quarter of her life now.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

A quarter of my life?

SPEAKER_02 0:59

I don't even know about that.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Yeah, a few years, but not since what am I saying? I don't know. I came when we had the new building though. I don't remember. You were you were here in the old building, right? That's crazy. Yes. That's wild. How did you end up like coming to Crash Chapel? What brought you here?

SPEAKER_00 1:18

My older brother actually started coming and he said that he had told my mom, he's like, I really think that you guys would enjoy this church. And I had grew up going to the same church my whole life, so the prospect of going somewhere else was a little bit scary. Um I had heard Christ Chapel was different, you know, whatever that means. Um I grew up, you know, Pentecostal. So I was very used to a certain style of church. Um, but we did come and we tried it out and it was amazing. And we just kept coming back.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

I think that's so cool to hear because like I grew up going to a church my whole childhood, and then like you said, it's it's different going somewhere after you've been so comfortable. But I think that that just speaks to the environment that we've created here. Like it feels like home.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 2:04

And I think that that's true for wherever you go to church, whether it's at our church or somewhere, wherever you're getting plugged in, go somewhere that you feel like you're at home. You should find your fit and and be with community that that you feel like family. That feels like family.

unknown 2:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

So we ask a question to everybody that comes on the podcast. Callie, you want to take it away?

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Yeah. So we ask um for you to tell us about it. See, I say um too. It's okay. Um for you to tell us about a time that you said yes to God and what that looked like for you.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

I'm sure you guys get kind of the same response. It's like once you are a Christ follower, it is a continuous yes. I would say one of the most defining yeses because it enter, it's connected to a other season another season in my life that was made that was really impactful for me. Uh so it's really when I said yes to becoming our adrenaline worship leader. Uh so it was probably back in 2019. Um I had been a part of our worship team probably not quite a year. And Chad, our worship pastor, had come up to me and he said, Hey, um, you know, God's put it on my heart to ask you if you would like to lead our adrenaline worship team. And so adrenaline is teenagers. Adrenaline is teenagers, yes. Leading the teenagers. Scaried scary not for not for the week. No, and I mean I was young myself, so at that time I was um twenty, twenty-one, probably. So when you're young, and you guys are young, so you know, sometimes you don't feel so qualified to lead others, right? So it was a big decision to make, prayed about it, and um ultimately I did say yes. And now it's important to note at that time we didn't have an adrenaline worship band. It was adults like me and Chad and other volunteers coming to lead worship, and he wanted to start a whole student-led worship team, and so that's what he wanted to create from the ground up, like starting with nothing, right? So um, yeah, I said yes to that and started to literally recruit kids, which is scary because they sometimes don't want to listen to you, right? But that really connected me with some awesome people, Callie. That's how you and I met. Callie was one of my students, which is crazy because now you're a whole adult now. Um and you know, lots of strong leaders and worship leaders that I've I've just got to watch grow from the ground up. But so I wanted to say that was my most prominent yes, because at that time in my life, about two years after I started with the adrenaline worship team. So with adrenaline, you know, I was also still leading Sunday morning and I was a part of a huddle. So I would lead our um, I was a senior huddle leader with some other uh adults. So during that time I was doing all of this. Um about two years into that, my husband and I got news that we probably couldn't have kids, uh, which was a very, very difficult season for me. Uh, you know, it was just very you feel very alone. Um both and both of us, like my husband and I both felt it was depressing, it was sad. We didn't know how to navigate those next steps. So while I was trying to do all these things and be all these things, I was walking through a very hard personal time, and I'm a very private person, and so I don't like to just talk about my feelings. And so it was I was keeping a lot internalized, and then also the job that I was working at the time, it was a really it was not a good work environment. So lots of mental mental and um physical just strains there. And so trying to lead worship, trying to stay strong and you know be a good leader for these teenagers was very difficult. And um what's so crazy is that one of our huddle leaders at the time, his name is Cody, you guys know Cody. He uh sent me a message, and Cody and I, it's important to note, did not know each other before church. We were just friends at church, you know. And he uh sent me a message one night after adrenaline, and this was probably three weeks after um my husband and I were told that we likely couldn't have kids, at least naturally. And he said, I I don't know how to ask this, but God has put it on my heart to ask you if you've had a miscarriage or is something going on in this, like what's what's going on. He's put it on my heart, he's like, I've tried to ignore it for two weeks now, and it just keeps getting stronger, and I have to ask. And so I was like, Oh my gosh. Because I hadn't told anybody in my life what what I was going through personally, probably not even my mom at that point, because I was just trying to process everything. And um, it really showed me how God didn't forget about me and didn't leave me, even though it kind of felt like I was walking in this so alone. And so if I hadn't have said yes to adrenaline, I wouldn't, Cody wouldn't have been in my path during that season. I wouldn't have met some of the most amazing people that I have. Um, I wouldn't have got to watch all these young leaders grow up to be amazing worship leaders and uh church people.

SPEAKER_02 7:28

Yeah, and to circle back to that, you know, I think that it's so important to just acknowledge the fact that if you hadn't said yes, honestly, Callie wouldn't be sitting here beside me right now. So I just I think that that's so important to acknowledge that you saying yes to God, just the impact that that's had on generations and lives to step into their their callings within ministry and within worship. And I know Carly and Ethan and all of these people that are now in college to do worship and and Callie working in it all the time is just incredible. You want to speak on that a little bit more?

SPEAKER_01 8:01

I had something to say, but I forgot what I was gonna say.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

I'm like thinking it's all right, I'll I'll keep talking.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

You can keep talking, and maybe it'll be.

SPEAKER_02 8:08

I was just gonna say, just with Callie stepping into worship, because did you you didn't come here until Tori reached out? I mean, really? You explain that just a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

Like how I got involved in worship? Yeah. I so I started coming back. It was I had a friend at that time, I was a junior in high school, and her name was Taylor, you remember Taylor, and we wanted to get involved in a youth group because we she was like really the only person that I had at that time who was like a Christ-like friend, and we really wanted community because in high school, like we just didn't have that, and we were kind of alone just in like some of the classes and things that we had. We were surrounded by people who really opposed that like view, I guess. Um, so she didn't want to go like she had been to adrenaline before. I had been right before COVID, like once or twice, but I didn't really stick with it because I didn't have any friends at that time, which is sad. But anyway, um, so we both wanted to go back, but we didn't want to do it alone, so we chose to do it together. And I also at that time, maybe for a couple years, had started I took guitar lessons when I was like 10 or 11 years old, and then had like started picking it back up, and I then I started learning how to play keys, like from YouTube and just things like that on my own. And I knew that I wanted to sing, and it that's always been something that was like instilled, I feel like, in me from a like very early age. I just didn't know what that needed to be used for. So I started writing songs like around that time and things like that, and I was so shy back then. That like would not open up at all, like would not talk to anyone, so shy. Um, and I knew that I needed to talk to you because you had said something, I think, on stage about like how you were looking for members to join the team. And I was like, I am not really like I was new and taking my faith seriously, but I'm like, I feel like I have to talk to her, but I don't know how I'm gonna get on stage, like I don't know how I'm gonna do that. And what it was almost like an out-of-body experience, but I'd kind of put it off for a couple weeks, and then one week I came up to Dorian and it was so funny. I was like, um, I just wanted to tell you, like, I play guitar a little bit, and that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

And she said, I can sing a little bit. I can sing a little bit. I play guitar and I can sing a little bit. Let me what you're saying. So I have had a lot of students come to me and say, I can sing, and then you're you have to really um you have to figure out how they can sing. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 10:43

And so it's a process like an audition and all this we do it. Because let's be honest, we don't want to put somebody on the stage that thinks they can sing but really can't. Like, you're not gonna put me, Jessica Berry, up on the stage to sing. Like, let's be honest, I can't do it. Can't do it. But yeah, you can't. No, I can't. And then I swim. It's fine. Like, but I would never say I know that about myself, but some people they don't know that they can't sing.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Right, and uh you have to lead that very delicately. Of course. Usually we try to get them involved in other aspects, or you know, definitely invite everybody to the choir because beautiful voices joined together is always is always beautiful. Uh, but Callie said I can sing a little bit. So it was a okay. Did you know she could actually sing? No, you didn't. I didn't know okay. If you remember, she said she was so shy. She was in my huddle. Yeah, I don't think she had spoken a word.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

No, not at all, not to anybody. I just kind of sat there. Like I was so closed off to anything, I was so shy.

unknown 11:41

That's wild.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

That's crazy. That's wild. Didn't think how far I've got. She's just blocking. She has. She has. Yeah, but I remember I don't know if it was that week or the week after I was you asked me to play for you or something like that, and I was. Or I did, and then you were like, Hey, I I want you to sing along to this song. She's like, D do you know this song? I'm like, and I I think that I did, but I I don't know, I didn't remember it. And then yeah, and then the next week I came and sang it for you. And then the week after that, I led that same song, which is crazy to think about. It was very fast. But it was also like I felt very comfortable. Even though I was so shy at that time and didn't talk to anybody, like I felt like I wasn't like when I was on stage, I wasn't like stiff and like playing like that. Like it was very it felt very natural, I guess. Um but circling back to I remember what I was gonna say before, um, like stepping into that and saying yes to that specifically. Like I feel like sometimes God will put things in our path that is like it's easy to say yes to. Like if you get a good opportunity or something like that, it's like, oh yeah, like it it feels like comfortable, I guess. And that was very uncomfortable. But I think that the Lord really recognizes that in like when he places I don't want to say a burden, because it's not like it's a burden, but like something that like you're actively having to work at while like you were talking about you're also in a really busy season, like he sees that and recognizes that and the fruit that's come from that is like insane. Like Jessica said, like I wouldn't be here, like working here, like I would probably be in college and like getting ready to become a teacher if that had never happened. Just things like that. Um, so like God recognizes the like again. I I feel like I'm using such negative words because it's not like suffering, but it's like yeah, it's just that that uncomfortable feeling and like really having to work for something, but the fruit of that, what's is it in like I don't remember the verse. I'm trying to think of scripture where he talks about like um like the harvest or whatever. You know what I mean? I don't know. I don't know. Do you get what I mean? Like yeah, pruning the fruitful leaves. Exactly, exactly. I don't know where that's at, but it came to mind. Um, but just like I don't know, stepping into that. It's just it's cool to see how far all of that's gone.

SPEAKER_00 14:06

It's amazing when I look back and think about that time and how everything has come so full circle because now Callie, you're over our adrenaline team. It's crazy. Um, and I would I would like to think that you guys will probably be in these same roles, even if I hadn't have been there, but it's like my yes did facilitate those doors for you guys to walk through. And so that's all.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

Your handprints are all over just her life and just you know, the our church in general, just saying your yes has had like just such a I don't even know what they're like a ripple effect. Yeah, like a ripple effect of of just contributing to to our teams and growing them and just raising up the next generation of leaders within this church. So I think that that that's just really cool to see and to just say, you know, good job, Tori. Good job, Tori. No, not you at all, but it's the obedience.

SPEAKER_01 14:57

Yeah, it's the obedience in that to listen to what God's calling you to do. Obedience is absolutely recognized and and we see it.

SPEAKER_02 15:04

So thank you for that. Now go back to your story. You had just gotten an odd message from a strange man that you didn't talk to very often, right? And he's just like, hey, uh I needed to ask you this. And obviously that would be something like if somebody sent that to you. I I can just imagine for myself, it's like, how do you know that about me? Because one, I don't know you that well, and two, I've not really shared this with anybody. So talk us through that. Like, what's what's next?

SPEAKER_00 15:29

Oh goodness. Um, well, I did, I opened up to Cody, um, because obviously he already knew, you know. Um, and then after that, he really just he prayed for me, he prayed over me. Um, he he spoke life, you know, into me. And it was it was so needed because I was just in a place that while yes, I was still praising and I was still coming to church and I was still checking all the boxes. I just felt so far away from God in that season. And so it really it honestly brought me back and it shifted my focus back to God and why I'm still doing adrenaline, why I still praise, it's because he does not for forsake us, he's always with us.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

Uh and to to ask you about that in that season, because it seems like we've we've just acknowledged that there were lots of yeses. You could obviously see the Lord working in your life with being adrenaline, like leading in that way, having community like that. But also there were prayers in your life that weren't being answered. So, how did you navigate all of the good things with saying yes? And you're like, I know this is where I'm supposed to be, I know I'm walking in the Lord's will, but also there's this thing over here that I desire and want, but those prayers are not being answered, and it feels like they're not being heard. I would, I mean, I don't want to put words into your mouth, but it kind of seems like that would be a devastating thing to hear when you are saying yes to God, and it's like, but God, why aren't you blessing me in this area when I'm doing what I know that you're calling me to do?

SPEAKER_00 16:57

Right. So something that, and I was thinking about, you know, our recording, our podcast today, and how because I knew our conversation would go into this area, and I was, you know, kind of praying, I was praying about it and and figuring out what to say. And the best thing that I can come up with is actually um something that I heard at our worship together conference that we had went to just this past year, and it put everything, it's like just this simple concept put things into perspective for me and how I did feel. And it was sometimes like you don't forget what God's done for you, you know, all that, but sometimes if you don't feel like you're a bad Christian and like you're doing all the things and you're checking all the boxes, God can sometimes not feel that good. You know what I mean? So like you don't feel bad, so God doesn't feel that good, but it then it you have to remember what he's done for you and realize how great he is. And even though my situation is bad, God is still good.

SPEAKER_03 17:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:57

There's uh a song lyric and it's it's a quote by um gosh, I can't think of his first name, his last name is Spurgeon. And it says, Wow, there it is. Yeah, thank you. That's why that's why she's here. She gets the words that I can't remember, and I get the ones she can't remember. But it says, I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me into the rock of ages. And it's just like when you stop and think about that, like, yeah, thank God that I go through these hard times because that teaches you how to lean on him more.

SPEAKER_00 18:22

Right. And it just it, you know, you can't forget how good he is, even if your situation is not ideal and you're walking through a hard season, you think back to, I mean, Jesus died for you and he knew what was gonna happen to you, you know. It's not a surprise, it doesn't take him by surprise. Um, and so it's just remembering that fact.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

It's easy to get caught up in like because I've wrestled with this recently too, of like, I don't feel like I'm a bad person. Like, I feel and it's almost like I feel like I deserve salvation at least a little bit. You know what I mean? It's like I don't do drugs and I don't murder people and I don't do this and this and this, but like remember, you know, like because that whole theme of that conference was remembering, and it's like, but remember like how dead you were, like in your sin, even though it wasn't like we compare sins a lot, 'cause it's just in our nature to do that, but like you were on the path to hell, like you know what I mean? Like, remember that. And like you don't deserve that. Like, even though I may not have done drugs and killed somebody, like I've still lied and cheated and you know, stolen and hurt people's feelings and said mean things and all of that. So it's important to to remember really what he's done. And something else that they said at that conference too was like when you when you forget how did they word it? I don't remember.

SPEAKER_00 19:47

It wasn't Natalie Grant that said it, but I don't remember that's the conversation that yeah was but she talked about like when you stop remembering what he's done, that's what you forget gets shaken.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

Yeah, yeah, and you forget who he is. Yeah. Like when you because remembering, I mean, even in those tough seasons like we're talking about, like when you stop when you lose that perspective of how big God actually is and you zoom out on the situation, that's when you remember, like, you know, even if this doesn't happen, or even if I never get these desires and these things that I want, God's still here and he's still got a plan. And like you're saying, like, it's not taking him by surprise, even though it takes us by surprise and our world is like so shaken, he's steady and he's seated and he he's gonna carry you through it.

SPEAKER_02 20:34

Yeah, and I think that goes back to the whole concept of is your salvation enough? At the end of the day, if God never answers another prayer that we have, and of course he, you know, hears the desires of our hearts and he is a good God and he's a kind God, but at the end of the day, if another prayer is not answered, is your salvation enough? And that's something that you know I feel like we all at times have to wrestle with and be like, ask ourselves that question, is that enough? To say, okay, God, you are still good. And at the end of the day, I know that if I don't wake up tomorrow, I know where I'm gonna be, and that's enough for me. So that that's hard to to navigate and our bodies and our flesh desire all these worldly things and all of these, you know, oh, I want this and I see this, and but at the end of the day, he's enough. Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

And that's that's what matters. Yep. And Beth says all the time what you focus on grows, you know. And so when you focus on how good God is and all the miracles, even if they don't affect your life, all the miracles that he's already done and what you've witnessed, it's if you focus on that, you know, that's what you'll see. And if you focus on all the bad things, that's just what you'll see.

SPEAKER_02 21:34

Yeah. That's good. So it's like kind of shifting your perspective to hey, it's a glass half full, it's not half empty, and this is what I'm gonna focus on and allow that to grow. So you told us earlier you have a family and a little boy. So tell us the tell us the rest of that story.

SPEAKER_00 21:49

Um It was a lot of prayer because we didn't know which direction to go, but in the end, we did end up trusting um the doctors that we went to see. And we pursued IVF. That's what we felt uh we were supposed to do. And that was successful. And now I have a beautiful little two-year-old boy that we love so much. The center of our world. So it's uh it it worked out. And I think it's all in in God's timing, of course.

SPEAKER_02 22:20

For sure. Yeah, he's so cute. He's just the cutest kid ever. Yeah. I saw him the other day in the nursery and I was just like, he's just cute. Like he just is a cute kid. So thank you. He is cute. He knows it too. He knows it.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Yeah. Watching him grow though, too, like it I feel like that for some reason is like a measure of time too. Like, you get what I mean? Because I remember that season of like when I was in adrenaline while you were when you were pregnant with Case too. And like then we met him for the first time. It's like now he's two. Like, what in the world? How and how did that happen? Just to see like how much has happened in such a short amount of time. And we were talking about that too the other day. Like we just had our women's conference and like that was the fourth the fourth one. Yeah. And that was like a really marking like that first women's conference was really marking because that was like the first time that I led in that capacity. Because I'd led on a Sunday before then, but I don't know. It's just so crazy. Again, like how much has changed and what the Lord has done in all of our lives since then.

SPEAKER_02 23:19

Things move fast when you truly say yes to God and say, okay, I I'm gonna do what you want me to do. But speaking of the women's conference, they asked a question to all of the speakers. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

They asked uh what the weirdest food combination that you like is. So what is your weird food combination?

SPEAKER_00 23:37

Ooh. Well, okay, it's not necessarily a combination, like I don't eat it together. Okay, so when I was pregnant, so I guess it's a pregnancy craving, okay? I snacked on hummus. Okay. Like crazy. Okay, but with my hummus, I would like chocolate milk to wash it down. That's interesting. That's very interesting.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

Now I was like, there's chocolate hummus. So I mean I could see how like the brownie, you know, all those kinds of things, but it was just the regular.

SPEAKER_00 24:05

It was like, you know, the red pepper with chocolate milk. With chocolate milk. Okay. So, but I will say now, my little boy loves hummus, oddly. He has a two-year-old that will eat some hummus and and uh crackers, and he loves chocolate milk. That's fair. Do you like will you eat hummus?

SPEAKER_01 24:25

Yeah, so it depends. Like not with like vegetables, but like with crackers, because I don't I'm not I got it, I have a texture issue when it comes to like vegetables and things like that, but I'll eat hummus. Okay. With like a cracker, not with like a I wouldn't take like a so you'd eat like the different flavored hummuses too with Yeah, like roasted red pepper and the jalapeno one.

SPEAKER_00 24:45

Okay. Yeah with chocolate milk. With chocolate milk to wash it down.

SPEAKER_01 24:49

All right. I've heard a lot of stories of like like people who've had pregnancy cravings and then their kids end up really like enjoying like that's like a common thing that I've heard. Same.

SPEAKER_00 25:00

I don't know if there's any science behind that.

SPEAKER_02 25:02

It's really odd. Yeah. So do you still drink chocolate milk with your hummus today? Sometimes. Sometimes. Yeah. Okay. I love it. I love it. Okay. So another question for you. Obviously, that was a big life-changing season for you in your faith and with community and just pouring into the next generation, but also growing your own family. So was there a specific scripture or Bible story or person from the Bible that you just kind of clung to during that season?

SPEAKER_00 25:30

Yeah. Um, so the scripture pretty much started it, and it's you guys have heard it, Esther 414. Perhaps you were made for such a time as this. And it just reminded me that I was put here for in this specific time for this specific purpose. And I just have to keep saying yes to God and what he wants for my life. And then when you look into just the story of Esther, she was amazing. I love her. She was so like just strong and obedient. And so her story in general is so inspiring to me. Um, and then that verse is it's what I clung to.

SPEAKER_02 26:08

And I think something too with her story that we always see is like, oh, you read it and it's like this book in the Bible, and it's not very long. It's not a very long book, like it's just her story. But if you actually read it, like that's over years. It's not like this is like a two-week story, like it's her life over several years, multiple years. So I think that that kind of speaks to that too. Like, yes, you're made for a time as this, but it doesn't just happen, and then you move on with the rest of your life, and it's all gonna be smooth sailing and easy. Like she went through it for a while, going through different like beauty treatments to prepare to become king, like queen and getting to see the king and all of those kinds of things. So put herself in danger.

SPEAKER_00 26:46

Yeah, you know, she was willing to die right I mean, really, and die for um to save her people and for her faith.

SPEAKER_02 26:54

Yeah, she was bold, yeah, she was brave. I like it. You got anything else, Esther? Not to add on Esther. Not to add on Esther.

SPEAKER_01 27:01

No, I'm excited because we're gonna teach on Esther at camp. We are at Kids Own Camp, too. So I love her. It's gonna be really fun.

SPEAKER_02 27:08

I I like that verse too that you that you just mentioned. And the beginning of it always gets me because it's like I was waiting for you to wait about that. This is like my my recent finding because like I've heard that verse my whole life. And it's like if you read the context of that before the the part that we all quote all the time, perhaps you were made for such a time as this. But at the beginning, it's like if you remain silent, relief and deliverance will arise from another spot, but perhaps you were made for such a time as this. So it's like if you don't say yes, somebody else is going to. And I don't believe that God obviously gives us free will to make those choices and to say yes to him, but I think that that's just so important that if we don't do it, somebody else is going to, but why not us?

SPEAKER_03 27:47

Right.

SPEAKER_02 27:48

Why not us to say yes and to to go all in with God and to allow him to use us to not just have an impact on our own families but those around us in his kingdom? So I think that that's that's pretty cool. Is that what you were waiting on? Yeah, I was waiting on because Jessica's been on a kick about that verse. So funny it's so fun that you brought that up because that has been my uh kick for the past couple months when we've been planning and preparing for some things that we have coming up in our ministry here at the church. So that's cool. That's so cool to see how God weaves those little parts in and continues to bring up themes again and again and again. And I don't know, have you guys seen anything like that lately in your lives where it's just like, hey, I was reading about this and then it was brought up here? So I just think that that's so cool to see how the Lord always works that way.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

I have an example like for uh when I was preparing for the women's conference, I was putting together a worship set and I was driving home from work one day, and the blessing by you know, Elevation, Cody Collins, and Carrie Job came on, and I was like, man, maybe we should do this at the women's conference. And I just like I felt like we needed to do it. And I was like, goodness, it's eight minutes long. You know, no, it's a song. It's a song, and I was like, I don't know if I should put that in. And then literally two days later, uh our Vanessa, our our worship team member, texted me and said, I really feel like we need to do the blessing for a women's conference. And I was like, Okay, it's done. We're doing it. Yeah. So just that God can speak to so many people, and you know, you get that confirmation.

SPEAKER_02 29:12

And I think that that kind of too goes back to that verse that you were just talking about, like that was laid on your heart, but it's like it was also laid on the hers. So that that God is speaking to multiple people because obviously his will is gonna be done, you know. And and it's like, okay, are you gonna act on that or are you gonna let somebody else do it? And obviously, some of those things can be worked together for his good and all of those kinds of things, but it's kind of cool to see those confirmations and those themes continue to come up. You got anything else?

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Yeah, so this is kind of funny because it also has to do with the women's conference. But so I'm going through a bit of a rough season right now. Just I think that I'm really wrestling with the fact that God has led me somewhere and it to a place that is a lot harder than I expected it to be. Just like and I had a lot of peace from him walking into the place that he Oops, the place that he took me, but a lot of issues have like arose from that.

SPEAKER_02 30:09

I would just say it's also a place that you never expected yourself to be in. Exactly. And it and it's also how do I navigate something that I did not intend on and did not see coming?

SPEAKER_01 30:20

Yeah, and that like I have also dealt with in the past too in a different way, but have walked through a similar season with different people in a completely different context, so it brings back a lot of different feelings. But it's just wrestling with like, God, I know I felt your peace in this. But why would you lead me to a place that feels so scary, that feels so dark, that is taking up so much of my energy? Like, why would you lead me here if I felt your peace? So it's just wrestling with like, was this was like God, was that you? Like, was that actually you speaking to me? Is this actually in your will? So going to the women's conference, we do this thing every year where we trade ours with someone else, like just write a Bible verse and just trade it. And there's been so many cool stories that I've heard of like women in our church who have like that has been like radical. Like Jessica had an experience with that. Um, but I knew that we were supposed to do that, but I completely got caught up in whatever. I like I just didn't even think about it. But I like had the bag and there was already a card in there with a verse on it, and I opened it. I think like I didn't even open the bag that day, like I didn't even look at it. But um, last night I was like putting that stuff away and like picked up the card, and I can't remember the like scripture reference, like where it's from, but it said, like, where God guides you, he's gonna provide. And I was like, that is so funny. Because even in like in that chaos and all of that, because uh women's conversations are a little crazy just with everything that went on, and I was also in a skit, and that was I've reprised my role as Boaz, which was a little insane. But even in all of that, God orchestrated that specific bag, that specific verse, like that all of that, you know what, like for that verse to be put in that bag, for that bag to be put in that position, for me to pick that up when I was going when I was really thinking about that and like honing honing in on that situation. And like it was just a reminder from him and like really a perspective change. And it's so cool to see how like even little reminders like that, and even when we hear like those little truths from God, how much they really do like change our perspective. Because now it's like, you know what, like that wasn't like I I'm not mistaking, and I'm not gonna mistake that piece that I felt because I'm so confident in that, and the Lord has continued to show me like this is the right path, this is the right direction. But I didn't promise you that it was gonna be easy. Like he never told me that. He never promised me that it was gonna be easy, and if anything, he's growing me in that too. Like, you know, dealing with things of having to be patient and give grace and watch my mouth a little bit and just be I don't know, it's it's growing me as a human and as a Christ follower too. So I don't know. It's just really neat.

SPEAKER_02 33:10

I love that. And it it kind of goes even back to the story of Esther when you look at her her life, like she had to say yes to some really hard things, but obviously the Lord was with her through that. And you know, she had a right to be terrified to go into these settings. Like it wasn't just like, oh, this is something she's dealing with. No, like it would be terrifying if you were going into a place where you shouldn't be there, and all these people could potentially be killed, and you could potentially be killed if you go and you do these things. Like, I think that sometimes we lose the gravity of like that these are real people that were dealing with those real things when we look at these Bible stories. Like, she should have been scared. Right. She should have been like, I don't know that I can do this, but still she she put her head down and she got to work and she said yes, and it's the same thing in those seasons that we don't expect to be in that are hard. And and that's not to to discredit that we don't go through things that are hard and difficult and challenging, but God's still there and he's still with us. Whether it takes two minutes or two years, he's still with us through all of that, and they are hard things that we have to say yes to and deal with.

SPEAKER_01 34:13

For sure. So while you were walking through that season, uh it was I worded that wrong. Hold on. I don't know what I'm saying. Um so that season was obviously very hard, and I know that the specific struggle and just the busyness and all of that, a lot of people will relate to and do struggle with as well. So if you could give a piece of advice or just wisdom in that area, what would you say to someone who is walking through a similar season? Or to yourself back then?

SPEAKER_00 34:43

One so I have uh two different little pieces of advice. So one is of course, you're never alone. But even when you feel like you are alone, God's always with you. You know, and He will pursue you and He will send people after you. And it's so important to have a community around you that um will pray for you and love you through those through those situations. Uh, you know, because you'll be late on somebody's heart even if uh you don't tell anybody what's going on, and people will be praying for you.

SPEAKER_02 35:11

Yeah, and I think that's that's so cool. I'm gonna interrupt you, I'm sorry. But just thinking about how Cody didn't have to send you that message and he had to say yes to God to be able to like reach out. So I think that that's so important to acknowledge too, that if somebody is late on your heart, reach out to them because you never know how that may impact their story.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

Right. Because that was a pivotal part of of mine. And you know, it not sure it would have really changed anything, but I definitely felt less alone and it really, like I said, it it shifted my focus at that time back to back to God and why I was worshiping and doing what I was doing, you know. And then my second piece of advice was um even though I was young when I said yes to doing our adrenaline worship team and leading worship and all of that, it and you don't feel so qualified, it's God does not call the qualified people, he qualifies the called. And you see that with all the disciples, you know, none of none of them were qualified to do it.

SPEAKER_02 36:11

So you talked about never being alone, but then you've also said you're a super private person. So talk about the balance between because I I mean I'm not an oversharer. I'm I'm learning how to open up and share more with people. That's something that I have been learning because it's like I I want y'all to think I got it all together, you know. Like I don't want y'all to know that I'm actually a hot mess on the inside. But how did you navigate not feeling alone but also not like oversharing?

SPEAKER_00 36:35

Does that does that question make sense? Yes, and I think it's just really finding your group that you're comfortable with because you can have a large community, like our church is a large church, and I feel comfortable with everybody that goes to our church, and especially in our leadership position. So I think it's really just finding that tight group that you know that you can share things with that will pray for you and that will love you. For sure.

SPEAKER_02 36:59

That's good. Just making sure you find the right people, right? And that can be easier said than done, but I think that there's something to that too of like you have to say yes to going to meet people and you've got to step into that, but also making sure that you do have those people that you know will be there for you and pray for you. And if you don't have those people, you've got to get out and find them. Right.

SPEAKER_00 37:17

Because you know, I've always struggled, not necessarily struggled, I shouldn't say, but where I am surprised, I it's not natural for me to make friends. You know what I mean? I have to work on it, I have to be intentional with my friendships or they won't happen. And uh so it's just realizing that and being intentional, and you want people to love you so you have to love them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:40

And I I I heard I hear the saying, I've heard the saying before. It's like you have to be a friend to somebody before they can be a friend to you. And I think that that's so true. You've got to show up and be there for them, so then in turn, you can continue to build that relationship.

SPEAKER_03 37:53

Right.

unknown 37:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:55

Okay, so we've talked she's looking at me like, what's going on? I didn't know where you're going. I didn't know. I thought you were getting ready to say something. But we've talked about worship, and obviously that's an important part of your life. So music is as well. If you have like a road trip playlist, what's on the top of it? But not just your road trip playlist, like you're gonna play in a van with a bunch of people. Like, what are you singing to the top of your lungs in your car on a road trip and nobody else is listening?

SPEAKER_00 38:19

Okay. So if we're gonna split this up into my church playlist, okay. I love like an elevation worship because I I love all their songs. Um their new album is so good. Uh now if we're talking about other music, yeah, like probably early 2000s pop. Okay. Yeah. That's fair. Who's on who's on that list? You gotta have some Britney Spears. Okay. I like it. Yeah. Um you gotta have. I even like old Taylor Swift, which I know that's not pop, but now she's pop. Um goodness. I like it. Yeah, I don't know who it's. It's just a good mix. Just a good mix of those early songs that you know in the world. Scream all the top of your words. Yes, I at the top of your lungs. My old middle school dances where it was just those random pop songs. And in middle school you just walk around the gym to them. Yeah. But those songs are ingrained into my mind. And they don't, you don't lose them. You don't lose them.

SPEAKER_02 39:23

You don't. Callie and I have this conversation all the time, like, and and you'll probably get this too, but like, we'll be in here just like watching Disney Plus while we're working or something, and I'm like, we can watch this movie, and she's like, I have no idea what that is. Like, I even some of like the older, like early 2000s, 2010s, like Disney movies, and she's like, Well, what even is that? What are you trying to show me right now?

SPEAKER_01 39:44

And I think we forget that we're like there's an age gap, like an almost 10-year age gap. And it's like, oh, actually, I don't know what you're talking about. What is high school musical? No, no one's high school. I I had a hand Montana birthday when I was little. I know what that is.

SPEAKER_00 39:59

See, Milas Cyrus would be on my playlist. Old Milas Iris. I can agree with that for sure.

SPEAKER_01 40:04

Old Katy Perry songs, yeah. Because those are those are becoming more popular again. And it's like that whole album that she released in that time. My gosh, she was working overtime for that. It was really good. Even the like Lady Gaga songs, like the from like that.

SPEAKER_02 40:20

That's like core. The old one, yes, 100%. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 40:23

Core movies. I love it. That's their fun. I used to make up dance moves to songs like that.

SPEAKER_00 40:30

Make like music.

SPEAKER_01 40:34

I don't.

SPEAKER_00 40:36

I don't. Okay. No. Did you ever make up dances with your cousins?

SPEAKER_01 40:41

Me and my very close cousin, we had like alter egos that we came up with. Like just I don't even know. Don't do that. What we do with the Mama and Papa stuff. But like we had like alter egos that we would like, and we were like dancers and stuff. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:01

I don't know. No, when I was little, my family, I used to make tickets, like draw little tickets and hand them out. And I have two older brothers, and then I have a younger brother, but he wasn't in the picture yet. So my two older brothers, and if they had any friends over, of course, and then my mom and my dad, I would literally draw them tickets and they would have to come to my show. That's fantastic. I love it. And I would perform in the living room. What did you perform? Oh, like dances where I would sing. Yeah. And around this time, I was uh 10 when I started playing guitar, so they had to listen to all of that. Your concerts, huh?

SPEAKER_01 41:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:33

I had a Wii growing up, and we had an American Idol game. I don't know if you did y'all ever play that? No. Okay, that was just me. Um, but it was like you were on American Idol and you it had a microphone and it would like record you singing and like score it and all of this stuff. And that was my aspiration when I was younger that I was gonna be on American Idol one day. Oh, same. Not an aspiration anymore. Yeah. Because then they canceled it for a while, and I was like, I was devast it's back, but I was devastated. I was like, I'm never gonna make it to American Idol. Like it was that was a crushing thing as a child.

SPEAKER_02 42:12

Okay. So I have another question that just popped into my mind. It's just something else that I just like to ask people because obviously you don't work within a church every day, right? You're volunteering and serving as as a volunteer and in that capacity. So, how do you balance working in the field of healthcare and with also like having your faith and being able to serve in that? Because I know healthcare is a very worldly career sometimes, right? And it's like your your faith and those kind of things, they don't always mix very well to the general public. So how do you navigate that and and being able to to kind of navigate using having both of those as such big parts of your life?

SPEAKER_00 42:48

Well, first off, you know, every every patient that I do come into contact with, it's just, you know, respect and love, you know. Um and I think that top ten, you know, top commandment, love your neighbor. So that's something that I can do, even if I in the healthcare setting, you know, we can't talk about our faith um you know to an extent. Right. And um, but you can love people and you can love them well. And so I just make sure everybody that I come into contact with feels that and knows that. And it's just it's it's a good balance, you know. You you do have some patients that will that will want to talk about faith, and that's kind of an open door. Uh co-workers, you know, because you're always placed in a wherever God has placed you at that time, you have work to do, right? And so with coworkers, you know, I'm constantly inviting somebody to church or you know, giving encouragement, talking to somebody.

SPEAKER_02 43:42

Yeah, just keeping those doors open and once somebody opens them, kicking them all the way down, right, and going in and having those conversations. That's huge. I think too that that's something that it comes up a lot when we're in conversation and having these conversations with with people is that you know, your ministry can be yes, it can be at a church, yes, it can be serving in. In a worship capacity or in an adrenaline or youth capacity, but it can also be in your career that's outside of the doors of the church building. Because the church isn't just a building, it's our community that we're around and stepping in and serving in that capacity and letting people see the Lord's light all the time.

SPEAKER_00 44:19

Because that same God that answers all the prayers, all powerful, he lives in you too. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 44:25

Yeah, it's kind of like I keep going back to that same story of Esther. It's like, yeah, she didn't go to a church to minister and to break down those walls. She went to the opposite place of a church, right? She went to those other places that you're not really supposed to be able to share the Lord and to be able to do that, but she did it anyway and she found a way and she lived a life that represented the Lord in all aspects that she did. So that's what we're called to do as well.

SPEAKER_01 44:50

Definitely. Are there any like skills that like I don't know how to explain what I'm saying? Yeah, I gotcha. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:57

Are there so things that you have learned, you know, working in healthcare and within serving within the church? How do you merge those two skill sets? Because that's obviously very different. Music is primary focus here, serving with students, those kinds of things. But then in healthcare, I know you talked about just coming from a skilled nursing facility, being with with a lot older people. So how do you kind of merge those two skill sets? Like how does that how does that work? Do you see skills that are transferable, I guess, is the question.

SPEAKER_00 45:24

I think just knowing how to talk to people and making people feel comfortable, that's um, I'm not, you know, I don't seek out, we talked about this, you know, I'm not somebody that is an overshare and I don't seek out too many people. But I feel like with my job in healthcare and in church, I am good at making people feel comfortable when they do come to me to talk about anything. Um, and that was especially important when I was working with our teenagers in adrenaline, making them feel comfortable, like they could come and talk to me and um, you know, we could talk about music and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_02 46:00

That's so good because I feel like in your career you probably have to listen to a lot of people telling you all of the things that they have wrong with them, and then you've got to figure out, okay, how can I help them and how can I do that? But it's the same with music and with ministry, is like you you want people to feel heard, and I feel like that too kind of goes back to making community and having those friends, making sure that people feel comfortable being heard and being seen and those kind of things. Is that what you were getting at?

SPEAKER_01 46:24

Yeah. Okay. I just didn't know how to word that. It also helps that I can ask you all my weird questions because I've done that a couple times. And you're keeping everybody in line with the energy drinks, because that those early Sunday mornings, they're rough. But our worship pastor Chad, he literally he texted in our staff group chat today. Hunter was like, Anybody need anything from Walmart? And every single time, Chad's like, Celsius. Celsius. He drinks, he said he had three on Saturday.

SPEAKER_02 46:53

And I was like, Chad, that's not healthy for anybody, let alone somebody that's had the heart concerns.

SPEAKER_00 46:59

And I think he tells me because he wants me to tell him it's bad. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:02

You know?

SPEAKER_00 47:02

He just he feels like he needs to tell me and just go ahead and get it off the house.

SPEAKER_02 47:05

Darla said, I need somebody else to tell him it's bad besides me because I'm tired of telling me.

SPEAKER_00 47:09

Oh, I have been telling bad for two years now, probably.

SPEAKER_01 47:13

Okay. Yeah, it's rough. But those those early mornings do get you sometimes. They do. Yes. The women's conference. I was exhausted after that. It's like I didn't even do anything like physically crazy, but it's just I don't dance a little bit. That's that's true. That is true. Boaz is broken down.

SPEAKER_00 47:35

Yeah, no, I do feel like whenever you you do uh a large event, or even when we do our holy roar worship services, it's a lot of uh it's like a taxing mental effort, you know, uh, and sometimes not really physical, but just that mental aspect of keeping um keeping upbeat and being happy and energetic. It takes a toll. It does.

SPEAKER_02 48:00

And I think that that there's something to that too, with you know, the weight that you guys carry when you are leading worship, you're ministering to all of those people at the same time, and that this is the spiritual weight of like having to to hold that and it's it's a real thing.

SPEAKER_01 48:13

This is reminding me of Sunday at 11 o'clock. So usually we have the lights are off and we can't see the people, which makes it so much easier because in each one of our services, I mean, our auditorium is full, there's like 500 people there. And when the it it's much easier to sing to a room of 500 people when you can't see all of their faces and you can only see the front row. Right. Well, we had an altar call each service, but they left the lights on at 11 o'clock, and you could see everyone at like all the way to the back of the room, you could see everybody. And I was like, I have never experienced this before. This is scary. Singing with the lights on. Yeah, because you can see everything. Everyone is looking at you. Like, even though it's not about us and it has nothing to do with us and everything to do with the Lord, like we are still leading them in worship. And like I think it's kinda it it's a really beautiful thing to be in the position to where you can help someone and like lead someone to enter that place with God. And I don't know, it's it's neat it was neat to see like because you see people in the back of the room raising their hands that you don't usually see, but it's also like okay. Stop looking at me.

SPEAKER_00 49:22

I noticed that too. Yeah, that was that is different.

SPEAKER_02 49:26

Yeah, okay. Very different. Any last thoughts? How about you, Tori? Any last thoughts?

unknown 49:34

No.

SPEAKER_02 49:34

I'm glad to be here. We've had so much fun. I think that it's just so cool to see how we have just kind of saw so many similarities of how your obedience and your yes has had not just an impact on your own life, but on the lives of others, and just knowing and seeing, hey, Esther means a lot to you. You can see that all throughout your story, and that's just so cool to see how the Lord has continued to work in your life, and it's it's cool to get to watch how that's going to continue to play out as as our lives continue to go on. So we just thank you so much for being here. And I'm so glad that we get to wrap up another episode of Say Yes Whip. We're doing it weird this time, sure.

SPEAKER_03 50:10

Kelly.

SPEAKER_02 50:11

And yes, it's kind of scary. It was a little bit scary. We'll see y'all next time.