236 Stories Series: God's Power and Light with Jaime Farrell

The Savvy Sauce

236. Stories Series: God's Power and Light with Jaime Farrell

**Transcription Below**

John 3:30 (NIV) " He must become greater; I must become less.”

Jaime Farrell is first of all, a beloved of her Lord. She is also wife to Jonathan, and mother to Jorja, Jolie, Jemma, and Job. She can be reached through Instagram or Facebook and she would also love to invite you to sit with her at church! Find out more about the church where her family attends and her husband serves as Lead Pastor at gracemorton.org.

Questions we discuss:

1. As an adult now, when you reflect back on your childhood, what was it that specifically made the most significant impact on you and your faith journey?

2. Now as a wife and mom of four, what values and traditions and rhythms have you carried forward in your family?

3. Since becoming a Jesus-follower, what ways have you continued to see God at work, in ways both big and small?

Other Episodes mentioned from The Savvy Sauce:

#2 From 2022: Fresh Take on Hospitality with Jaime Farrell

Patreon 48 Conversations with Your Teen About Sex, Puberty, and Identity with Janelle Rupp (Interview with Jaime's Sister)

Patreon 43 Better Together with Jon and Jolene Rocke (Interview with Jaime's Parents)

Recommended Books and Series for Tween/Teens:

This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms The Teen Years by Jaquelle Crowe

Choosing Love by Heidi Johnston

God's Great Story Devotional by Jon Nielson

Lies Young Women Believe and The Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Dannah Gresh

10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) About Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin

Truth Matters by Andreas J. Kosstenberger

The Case for Christianity by C.S. Lewis

The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Timothy Keller

Fiction:

Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers

The Rendigo Tales J.A. Meyer

The Epic Order of the Seven Series

Allegories:

The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

Other Book Mentioned:

When People are Big and God is Small by Edward T. Welch

Little Pilgrim's Progress by Erik M. Peterson

Food Recommendations and Recipes for Hosting:

*Reach out to Jaime for Rocke's "Essential" Seasoning through Instagram or Facebook.*

Pretzel Cereal Crunch from Taste of Home (Optional: add MnMs)

Ranch Snack Mix from Taste of Home (Optional: replace cashews with Cheese-itz and Rice Chex)

Cookies and Creme Puppy Chow from Sally's Baking Addiction

Red Velvet Oreo Brownies from Sally Baking Addiction

Cookie Dough Bars from The Recipe Critic

Salted Caramel Cookie Bars from Brown-Eyed Baker

Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars from Brown-Eyed Baker

Recipes:

Joy's Dip:

Mix together:

1 block Velveeta

2 cans Hormel Chili No Beans

Several Dashes of Worcestershire Sauce

Honey Mix:

⅔ cup butter

1 ½ cup brown sugar

½ cup honey

1. Combine in a sauce pan. Do not stir! Boil 2 ½ minutes. Add 1 tsp of vanilla.

2. Pour over 6 cups of Crispix, 2 cups mini pretzels 1 cup salted peanuts.

3. Put into a greased baking sheet and bake at 250 for ½ hour stirring half way through. Pour onto wax paper to dry. Break apart.

Candy Bar Bars- Freeze Halloween Candy Bars/Chocolate

2 ½ sticks of butter

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 tsp salt

2 ¼ cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

1. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla.

2. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Add in chocolate chips.

3. Grease a jelly roll pan and spread dough. It may be hard to do but keep patting and spreading.

4. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. It will be golden brown. Cool completely.

   *Cut candy bars while cooling. Cut into small bits and bites. Any type of bar/chocolate works!!

5. Melt 1 ½ cup chocolate chips and 1 ½ cup peanut butter in a microwave slowly. Spread over the bars and immediately sprinkle with cut candy bars- always end the top with M&Ms for color!

Thank You to Our Sponsor: Sue Neihouser

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Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”

Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

**Transcription**

[00:00:00]

Laura Dugger: Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.

[00:00:17]

Laura Dugger: Thank you to the Sue Neihouser team for sponsoring this episode. If you're looking to buy or sell a home this season, make sure you reach out to Sue at [phone]. Sue would love to walk alongside you as you unlock new doors.

My friend Jaimie Farrell is my returning guest. You may remember her from the second most downloaded Episode of 2022 when we discussed her fresh take on hospitality.

Well today, Jaimie is returning to share her testimony and memorable moments of God revealing His goodness in her life. Our conversation took a few surprising turns. So the first half is really practical and revolves a lot around parenting, and then the second half is when she dives into some spiritual moments that leave us in tears and leave us in awe of God. [00:01:25]

So we hope it nudges you to also look up and recognize His goodness, kindness, and love that's evident daily in your life as well.

Here's our chat.

Welcome back to The Savvy Sauce, Jaimie.

Jaime Farrell: Thank you so very much. It's so fun to be here with you.

Laura Dugger: Well, if anybody didn't go back yet and listened to our first episode together, can you just start by giving us some context into your life? You can go back and even begin with your upbringing.

Jaime Farrell: Yeah. Honestly, my upbringing is such a gift of grace in my life that I love to just share about it. So I was born to two kids, in a sense. My parents were married at 18. In fact, they were married three weeks after my dad turned 18. Then nine months later, they had their first daughter, my sister.

Prior to marriage, my parents were both individually pursuing the Lord, and then together in oneness, they continued to prioritize the Word of God as their central authority. [00:02:27] This led them to leave the family business that my dad was going to supposedly take over. Instead, he went to pursue a Bible degree, with the dream of him being in ministry in some capacity. So they went to Grace Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana, and that is where I was born.

My parents were dirt poor, and my dad was in school full-time. He worked at a grocery store as he could. My mom cleaned as she was able, but she was managing two girls. We rented a house with no air conditioning and an alley for a backyard.

Times were hard and lean, but I have just beautiful childhood memories of playing in the alley with neighborhood kids and making chocolate milk out of dirt and water, and then also feeding bread to ducks at the lake across the street.

And then graduation neared for my parents, and they found out they were expecting for the third time, which was my brother. So they kind of came to grips that the wisest financial move was to move back to Morton, Illinois, and have my dad work again at the family company to try to pay off debt, save money, get in a better financial position as their family was growing. [00:03:37]

So when I was about four, we moved back to Morton, and essentially I've been here ever since. And now, ironically, in fact, my husband is the pastor of the church that I grew up in.

Laura Dugger: That is incredible. It's been so fun to enter your story. When we were in our 30s is when we first met. And now I will have to do a lot of links because I have had your sister and your parents on the podcast as well. But you are all wonderful.

But now that you're an adult, when you do reflect back on your childhood, what would you say were some of the things that specifically made the most significant impact on you and your faith journey?

Jaime Farrell: My parents, they were a massive influence on me. The older I get, the more I realize what a gift of grace they were to me in my life. They were always set apart in their gospel living. Obviously, without the Lord loving them first, they never would have turned to Him. But His faithful pursuit of them individually and together was lived out in their faithful following of Him. [00:04:42]

They were wise beyond their years because they were saturating themselves with His word. They often said that they were growing up alongside us. So asking for forgiveness and being quick to repent was normal in our house. Truly, the gospel was lived out before my very eyes. They loved each other. Oh, how they loved each other. As a kid, it was kind of, too, like a sickening amount. And even to this day, it sometimes feels like they can't function without each other. But they never stopped being high school sweethearts.

I saw them serve in the church. My mom led the kids choir. My dad was a Sunday school teacher. They both served as coaches for a Bible quiz program. They would say that primarily my mom served in programs her kids participated in. And that was such a blessing to me as a young kid.

Both my parents are incredibly musical. My dad formed an acapella singing group of five guys called Pentella. And they did covers of songs by the group Acapella. But then my dad also wrote songs, and they produced their own album in the end. [00:05:47] My mom ran sound for that group with another one of the guys' wives. And that group was also incredibly instrumental.

The biblical truths that were set to music really did sink deep into my heart. And then the fellowship of just gathering with other families for practices and attending concerts. And then even as kids, we got to participate on a song. So that was all awesome.

So many of their choices and how they lived and the ways they served, the Lord used all that to shape me spiritually and instill a foundation of who He was as Savior and Lord to me personally. Through them, I saw unconditional love and grace and wisdom and forgiveness and joy in Jesus.

Then also my home church was instrumental. As a kid, I participated in our kids' choir, which was often over 100 kids. Still to this day, I firmly believe that singing God's truth is invaluable for our souls.

Then I got to be a teenager, and I participated in our Bible quiz program where we learned the word of God. [00:06:51] This program got me studying God's word, aiming for memorization of it, but it was also incredibly fun and totally spoke to my competitive nature. I learned biblical literacy and systematic theology, which are big words, and I had no idea I was learning those through quiz, but now looking back as an adult, I see that I did.

Both of these programs, learning to sing God's truth through song as a kid, and then directly learning His truth through Bible quiz as a 7th through 12th grader, those were mightily used by the Lord to pursue me and draw me to Himself.

But in answering this question, I also just need to make clear that our church wasn't perfect. There were things we, and I wished that we could change, as it wasn't like every single one of our preferences were being met. Youth group was not always easy for me. But my parents had demonstrated what faithfulness and longevity in a local church that's being faithful to the gospel looks like. They demonstrated what that meant, and so we, I persevered. [00:07:52]

I was grown and sanctified because of the church I grew up in, and I'm so thankful for God's pursuit of me through that body of believers. Then I also need to circle back around and say that our family, me specifically, isn't perfect. I just want to make sure I make that disclaimer clear.

I have always been an envelope pusher. I am stubborn. I am proud. I'm judgmental. I believe I'm right pretty much all of the time. I struggle with anger most definitely. I have quite the winning combination of sinfulness. And I wish I could say that all of those are past sins, but many of those are still present. I'm daily dependent on the Lord for His sanctification in my life.

As a teen tween, I especially struggled with identity. I've never been a small skinny person, and I envied those who were. I longed for people's approval, and I constantly felt like I was falling short.

As a middle child, belonging was always something I wrestled with. [00:08:53] My mom had my sister, and they were close. My dad had his one and only son. And with every turn, it felt like I was always the third wheel.

So with all of these feelings and emotions, and without the maturity to really even understand them, or even the tools to manage them, I lashed out in anger and I took liberties on the ones who loved me most. I lashed out at my siblings, and I most definitely lashed out at my mom.

But my family never gave up on me. They loved me unconditionally. And my mom has told me since, and this is just so wise and good for anyone with kids, where a relationship with them is especially challenging. She said she always knew all of my passion could be used for the Lord. And she desired not to break it, but simply bend it.

My dad repeatedly told me growing up that our greatest strength can also be our greatest weakness. So as I struggled with sin, which impacted our relationship, my parents pointed me to Jesus. [00:09:57] They refused to let me die in my sin, and they faithfully called me to repentance and heart change through hard correction. Yet they also extended grace as they were sinners themselves, and they could relate to the need for a Savior and a Lord of their own lives. They loved me fiercely and unconditionally, and never stopped pursuing a relationship with me.

My mom read The Five Love Languages during the time when her and I were really struggling, and that book was instrumental in changing how she approached me. And then I remember my dad would just so patiently listen late at night as I was spewing hateful remarks against his wife, and his verbal response would consistently be slow and wise and laced with grace and understanding.

This is what I remember of childhood. And what is so incredible is that now as I see it as an adult looking back, I see my parents and my influences fading and the Lord just being magnified. It was His faithful pursuit of me, and He used all of these things as instruments to draw my heart to love Him because He first loved me. [00:11:00]

Laura Dugger: Wow, there's so much that stands out in that. First of all, just knowing you, such a close family now that they are some of your best friends.

Jaime Farrell: Totally.

Laura Dugger: And yet looking back, I think there are so many pieces of encouragement for those who are parents alongside of us listening right now that you said when I asked what was most influential, they were not just focused on you kids. You said first that most influential was their relationship with the Lord, and then with one another in their marriage, and then the practicals too of just having conversations with you and doing life with you. We always hear more is caught than taught. But as you reflected back, you really modeled that, so that was very encouraging.

Now you are a wife and also a mom of four. So what values and traditions and rhythms have you carried forward in your own family? [00:12:01]

Jaime Farrell: Yeah, I have told this to my parents several times, but I truly just long to follow their example and really just try to repeat what they did. So growing up, vacations were important. And I've already said my parents were poor, but my grandparents who owned the family company owned a condo in Florida as well.

Each year we would get to go as a family of five and use that gift of free lodging and have time away. Now we always drove our own van. We packed ham and cheese sandwiches for the drive. We cooked all our meals there. But we had dedicated family vacation time.

And Team Ferrell is trying to replicate that ourselves. There is no more grandparents' condo we can use for free, though. But whether it's a weekend away or a full week of vacation, we strive to prioritize time together outside the walls of our home to connect and refresh relationships with each other.

Also, when we were young, my mom had a prayer group of moms who met together and would pray for each other and for their families. [00:13:01] And I did this same thing when my kids were young. And though hers is still going and mine isn't because everyone else moved away on me, just prioritizing the power of prayer was something I saw modeled and something we try to emulate as well.

So my girls are aware that I had a prayer group when they were young, but now prayer looks like prayer time in the car as we taxi drive, prayer as we have hard conversations at the start and at the finish. Prayer around meals, bedtime. Prayers as you unload the dishwasher. Prayers just sprinkled throughout the day.

Then I've already mentioned how my mom served in church in areas where her kids were involved in, and this has been valuable to replicate as well. But additionally, growing up, my parents made sure our home was a gathering place for us and our friends.

They sacrificed friendships themselves to foster friendships for us. They saved up to put a half-basketball court in our backyard and were always willing to host our friends. My mom gladly cooked and made sure there was delicious food for all who came. [00:14:01]

Team Ferrell really is just trying to replicate this hospitality too, as well as prioritizing our kids' friendships above our own at this stage in our lives.

Team Ferrell is also trying to carry forward faithfulness to a faith-filled gospel community of believers. Again, church isn't perfect for us or for our kids right now, and it never will be here on earth, but we persevere with our family of believers and stay engaged and involved because that's what family does. We will not neglect meeting together to encourage one another as long as the day approaches.

Specifically, my parents had us sitting smack in the front of church growing up, and you can find Team Ferrell sitting smack in the front of church every week. And this totally is not my nature. I'm a back-row, balcony kind of girl. In every college class, I sat as far back as possible.

But church is different. I want my kids to see and participate and feel connected. And for us, that just can't happen from the back and on the fringe. [00:15:03] So we open ourselves up to our body of believers, and we love them, and they love us in all of the good, bad, and the ugly.

And then lastly, communication. There's a couple things my parents did in regards to communication that, looking back, I see are so wise, and something we try to replicate.

First, my parents would often invite us to speak into decisions. And now, as an adult, I totally see how they did this. It wasn't that they were asking for our help in making decisions by any means, and it wasn't that their minds weren't already made up. But they allowed us to be heard and express our opinions, and I definitely felt valued because of that.

Whether it was things happening in the family business or whether it was family dynamics, we would sit down together and we would talk. For my family now, we call ourselves Team Ferrell. When Jonathan and I were in Louisville for a seminary degree, the mentor I had for parenting told me the importance of giving your family a nickname, just something to unite yourselves around and that feels special for your people. [00:16:03] We are not overly creative, so we love sports, so we just went with Team Ferrell.

So we often call team meetings when we sit down and talk something through. And so often Jonathan and I already have a plan, an idea of how things are going to go, but we still enjoy hearing perspective from our kids and for them to feel kind of like an MVP on the team. So I loved that as a kid then, and I love it now.

Then secondly, when it comes to communication, for this season of life that we are in as Team Ferrell with older kids, Jorja is 17, Jolie is 15, Jemma is 13, and Job is 10, I find myself becoming my dad and asking "why" a lot. I find it super ironic that when my kids were little, they were the ones asking why, and now as they're older, I'm the one asking them why.

Jolie just got some further ear piercings, and in that process, she expressed her considering getting her nose pierced one day. [00:17:04] And immediately it brought me back to high school when I told my dad I wanted to get a tattoo, and he simply responded calmly with "why".

It was just what they did often. They didn't argue or give a lecture immediately or give a sermon from their perspective. Whenever I would share something with them, like a thought or an idea or even a conclusion I had made, they would just ask a question, why? And it would just probe me.

Why do you want that tattoo, Jaimie? Why do you want to listen to Celine Dion and Mariah Carey? Those were the divas of my day. Why do you want to hang out with that group of people? So I find myself asking why a whole heap these days, like my parents often ask me. You know, I did eventually get that tattoo and a few others, but it wasn't until I was 40.

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Laura Dugger: You have such an abundance of great book recommendations, especially for tweens and teens. Then also, like you said, there's that theme of hospitality. That's what we talked about last time on The Savvy Sauce. And you have great ideas for food to feed a crowd.

I think this fits in well with, as we're discussing even parenting here, because we are raising our children as tech natives. The access to technology is all around. And so there's certain things that I think we're all doing to try and minimize. But we also need to replace it. [00:21:15] And I think of our RO box that is upstairs that is such a good visual prompt to put away the technology.

But then instead, to not be in a vacuum where you just take something away, but to put something good in. And I think reading and family time and hospitality are great things to put in. And they also help us naturally train character in our children.

So I'd love to hear maybe your top 10 in both of these areas. And then I can link to these book titles and recipes in the show notes. But Jaimie, what are your maybe top 10 recommendations for character-shaping tween teen books and some of your favorite snack mixes or desserts or meals for feeding a crowd?

Jaime Farrell: Yeah, it's just such a great question. One of the things we do on kids' birthdays is gift them a privilege, as you've seen them grow in fruit that past year. [00:22:17] Typically around 13, it's the gift of privilege of staying up later and working through a book. And it's been mom because it's the girls. We've had three girls and then Job. So it's been mom, but working through a book. Again, while this hasn't been perfectly, and it takes us sometimes forever to get through a book, it's still something we've tried to practice.

So I wanted to give some of the books that we either have read with our girls or are in the process of reading with our girls. And these are great for tween teen books.

First is This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms the Teen Years. That's by Jaquelle Crowe.

Then secondly, Choosing Love is something we're about to start with Georgia right now, who's 17. That's by Heidi Johnston.

God's Great Story Devotional by Jon Nielson. That's one that we haven't read together, but that's a devotional book that your teen can be doing.

Lies Young Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free. That's by Nancy Wolgemuth and Dannah Gresh. That's what we're reading with Jemma right now. [00:23:25]

10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) about Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin.

Truth Matters by Andreas J. Köstenberger. That was what we've just given to Jolie. We've read that with Georgia. It's such a great small but digestible book.

And then just two small books that are short. One is The Case for Christianity by C.S. Lewis. That's definitely for older teens. It's mentally deep, and that's one that you should read together with your teen just so that they can help process it, but so important.

If your kid is not a reader, sometimes you need those little, thin, but super powerful. The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Tim Keller is so good.

And then I wanted to include a couple fiction books for this stage. Francine Rivers' A Voice in the Wind series for teens is excellent.

The Rwendigo Tales by J. A. Myhre for tweens is great. [00:24:31]

And then two allegories that I think allegories in the story is so powerful. Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan and Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard.

Laura Dugger: Okay, I love all of that so much. I also want to add one that was recommended. I guess maybe it's for slightly younger, but it could be for tween age group. But this book series that Shiloh right now is devouring, The Epic Order of the Seven.

Jaime Farrell: Max and Liz, they are the best. And I almost included these on here, but they are... my kids read them a little bit... I wanted to do a little bit older, but those books are so fantastic to give you the whole overarching picture of the Bible. The whole story from start to finish. It's a fantastic series. Unmissable.

Laura Dugger: And I had never heard of them, and so it has greatly benefited our family. If people are looking for even younger, Little Pilgrim's Progress is such a great read-aloud as well.

Jaime Farrell: So good. [00:25:32]

Laura Dugger: So go ahead and you can share recipes or snacks or desserts you recommend for a crowd too.

Jaime Farrell: So then when we are having people or hosting, we love to do Joy's Dip. As I talked earlier about those, that Pentella group that my dad started singing, Joy's Dip is a dip that Joy, one of the wives, brought to almost every practice. And we still make that all the time. That is a go-to recipe.

Honey Mix, my mom... that is from my mom. I had a friend from high school message me on Facebook and say, "I remember this Honey Mix that your mom used to make, and can you give me that recipe?" So my mom's Honey Mix is always something we have in our freezer.

Candy Bar Bars, this is a recipe from a friend. It uses up Halloween candy. So if you have all of your Halloween chocolate, stick it in the freezer, and then use this recipe for all of that chocolate. [00:26:38] I make those for Georgia, her basketball team, they love those so much. So Candy Bar Bars using your Halloween candy.

Pretzel Cereal Crunch, that's a Taste of Home recipe. We add M&Ms to that, just a little disclaimer. Then there's a Ranch Snack Mix that we use from Taste of Home. We do not put the cashews in, and we add things like Cheez-Its and Rice Checks to that as well. But that is a snack mix that I even throw in my freezer and bust out for when teens come over.

Cookies and Cream Puppy Chow from Sally's Baking Addiction. Red Velvet Oreo Brownies from Sally's Baking Addiction. Cookie Dough Bars from The Recipe Critic. And then Salted Caramel Cookie Bars and Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars from Brown Eyed Baker.

As you can see, I like bars because you can feed a whole heap of people with those, and cut them small, and they're great.

Laura Dugger: Okay, now I'm hungry, and that all sounds amazing. [00:27:37] But I'm just thinking, as you're talking, we're missing a huge one that I was not aware of until we were living in your parents' basement as our home had some renovations. And you sell it now nationwide.

Jaime Farrell: Oh, yes!

Laura Dugger: The Yankees Seasoning. So can you share about that? It was the best-kept Morton secret.

Jaime Farrell: Yeah, I totally would love to share about that because anybody could still get that from me. So I talked about my parents' family business, and one of the things from that family business that my dad developed was this seasoning. He had a steak seasoning and a barbecue seasoning, and we still do the steak seasoning.

Actually, I'm in the process of... I even want to change that name to not steak seasoning, but essential seasoning because it is good on everything. I don't know how to roast vegetables without it. I put it on vegetables. I put it on all my potatoes, all my meat. We do a lot of salmon and tilapia in our house, and I put it on my fish. I don't know how to season without it. [00:28:39] Whenever something says salt and pepper, I use Rocke steak seasoning.

So if you would ever like a bottle, just reach out to me. I can get you a bottle. So it is fantastic.

Laura Dugger: I'm telling you, we keep multiple bottles on hand now because you don't ever want to be out of this once you've experienced it.

Jaime Farrell: I took it over from selling it for my parents because I need it in my life. And I kept running out, and they weren't making it fast enough. So I said, I'm going to go for that.

Laura Dugger: Well, and then, truly, can you give us the best way to reach out to you if anybody does want to try this?

Jaime Farrell: Yeah. It's on Instagram, at Rocke Seasoning, but I would say that I'm just delving into it. But you can either find me on Facebook or Instagram and truly just ask for a bottle. It is $6 for a bottle, or you can get a box of six bottles for $30. I can either drop it to you. I've done that before, or people pick it up from my porch. It's that easy.

And, oh, we do ship nationally. So it's totally fine if you don't live in Illinois or near Morton. We can ship it to you. [00:29:42]

Laura Dugger: Wonderful. We'll link to that as well. But Rocke is spelled R-O-C-K-E when you're searching.

I want to take a moment to say thank you. You are the reason our team gets to delight in this work. And we appreciate each of you so very much. If you're benefiting from the lessons learned and applied from The Savvy Sauce, would you take a minute to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts?

Five-star ratings and reviews help us reach more people around the globe, and that promotes our goal of sharing joy. So join us in that endeavor with your valuable feedback. Thanks again for being here with us.

Well, Jaimie, let's also just start to hone in on your spiritual journey. So will you share how God drew you into a loving and personal relationship with Him?

Jaime Farrell: I love that you state the question like this, that you start that it's God who draws us into loving relationship with Him. [00:30:43] He's the one who loves us first and who pursues us, and it is His act that changes our heart.

It's not anything my parents did. I've listed a whole heap of things, but there's also kids who grew up in Pentella as well, and there's kids from Kids Choir and kids from Bible Quiz who don't walk with Jesus. So there is not a formula that draws you into loving relationship. It's God does the work in your heart. So I can't emphasize that enough.

But as I've already shared, God used my parents and God used my local church to draw me to Himself. I confessed my need of Him as a Savior around six, and I distinctly remember desiring Him as Lord of my life when I was around 13. And then I've been in the process of sanctification ever since.

Laura Dugger: Thank you so much. It is always just encouraging to hear other people's testimonies and God's creative individual work in each of our lives.

Jaime Farrell: It's a passionate pursuit. [00:31:46]

Laura Dugger: Well, since becoming a Jesus follower, what ways have you continued to see God at work in ways that are both big and small?

Jaime Farrell: So the Word tells us in Joshua 3 that as the Israelites crossed the Jordan River that the Lord had parted for them to walk through. One person from each tribe was to collect a rock that they could stack as a memorial of remembrance of the event. It literally says "so that when your children ask you in due time, what do these stones mean?, you will tell them about the waters of the Jordan being split so the Ark of the Covenant could pass."

I believe each of us have rocks that we can point to and say, Here's evidence of God at work in my life. Here's when I know He was changing me and growing me in my understanding of Him. Basically, like here's where I know He renewed my mind, right? It's where we see Him changing our thinking. I could sit here for quite a while sharing my rocks, but I want to just share a few of my past rocks. [00:32:54]

One was when I was young, it was what actually sparked my desire to even be baptized. At that point in time, I switched schools and moved from public to private school. And I've already shared the depth of my sin nature, and the importance of this decision to switch schools was monumental for me, but not in the way you might think.

Switching schools didn't solve my sin problem. It wasn't that the changing of my circumstances was going to fix my irritability or my anger or my envy or my pursuit of people's perception of me. It was deciding in my heart that I'm going to follow Jesus and love Him with all of my being, no matter what school environment I am in. Going to private school helped me see that sin is rampant no matter what environment I'm in and my need for Jesus as both Savior and Lord was the same everywhere I went.

Another rock for me was in college. I read a book, When People are Big and God is Small. And I believe beyond the Bible this should be required reading for all people. [00:34:00] I shared earlier my sin struggles of envy and people-pleasing and their perception of me and wanting to belong to groups beyond just Jesus. And the Lord really did a number on my heart in college with those struggles through the reading of this book.

I finally laid down the root of minimizing God and maximizing people. And that's really just Romans 1 right there, the worshiping and serving created things, rather than the creator who is forever praised. Amen.

Laura Dugger: That's what Romans 1 says.

Jaime Farrell: In my journey of sanctification, that was just a massive gift of grace to learn to delight in the bigness of God first and foremost.

And then I'd love to share two more recent rocks when God shifted my thinking, when He changed me that slight degree, just that one degree of glory, and grew me in my understanding of Him.

One was nearly a year into our marriage. I had gotten a job teaching fourth grade at a private school in Louisville, Kentucky. And for months, I was coming home hoarse and with no voice left. [00:35:06] And for a long time, I chalked it up to I am just a loud person. I'm projecting all day long, so I'm just straining my vocal cords.

Also, I had noticed that by the end of the day, even swallowing was starting to feel uncomfortable. But again, I chalked that up to the strain of my voice and really believed that just once my voice got used to the daily extra speaking, it would just go back to normal and be fine.

Well, at the end of one school day, a mom of one of my students pointed to my throat and said it looked like I had a baseball in my throat. And I touched my neck for the first time and sure enough, I had a huge ball protruding out.

Why I had not noticed it, I have no idea. But the moment I looked in the mirror, there was no denying it. I had a mass on my throat that was clearly visible. So we went to the doctor, and they ordered a biopsy of the lump. And mercifully, the biopsy came back clear, no cancer but the lump was significant in size. [00:36:08] The doctor was recommending surgery to remove the lump along with most of my right thyroid.

However, before surgery, he called Jonathan and I to discuss the risks. There was a high risk of damage to my vocal cords. Now, I love music. And as you've already heard, my parents instilled that in me. And singing was something I have loved since I was young.

My family was always singing. My dad taught me to match my voice to those divas I loved listening to. He taught me to aim for, quote-unquote, ear candy. I was a music minor in college and I was serving at our church in Louisville as part of our choir and worship team.

So when the doctor communicated that speaking would not be affected, but singing could be, it stopped me in my tracks. Did I really want to do this surgery and risk being able to sing?

As we prayed about it, I was wrestling with the Lord. [00:37:11] This surgery, in many ways, felt necessary. I was more than uncomfortable with this baseball in my throat. The pressure was becoming painful and it was impacting my ability to do my teaching job well.

But to do surgery and risk not being able to sing? I mean, that was like what I was known for. That's what I found notoriety and significance in. And in the wrestling with the Lord, he was teaching me that I had found my identity in what I did, not in who I was. And this is something I should have already learned.

You see, my dad had told us every single time we walked out of the door, remember who you are and whose you are. And this is something we have carried to our kids, too. And when you have a moment, just think about how that phrase, remember who you are and whose you are, truly roots your identity in truth.

It's huge, and it's vital for ourselves and our kids to hear again and again and again. [00:38:15] And I had heard that over and over growing up, and now I was needing to apply that.

Yes, the Lord had given the gift of song, but I was far more in love and attached to the gift than I was to the giver. He had revealed my Isaac, so to speak. Was I willing to sacrifice that, even that, if He asked?

So convinced that this is what he was asking me, we went ahead with surgery. And when I got out, the surgeon said, removing the lump and my thyroid went smoothly. And then I kid you not, he said it was as if there was light shining on my cords. I knew the Lord had done it.

And more importantly, I knew He had shifted my thinking, that my identity was not in my voice, but in His. As his sheep, I know his voice, and His voice is far more important than mine.

Laura Dugger: Wow, oh my goodness, that gets me every time you share that story. [00:39:17] I can just visualize God's light right on your vocal cords. And that it was such an intricate surgery. You had said if they made any wrong move, it would have damaged it, and just His protection, and He gets so much glory for that.

Jaime Farrell: Totally.

Laura Dugger: And He was so good.

Jaime Farrell: So good. So good.

Laura Dugger: Well, you also said there was one other recent spiritual rock. You can continue.

Jaime Farrell: Yeah. Another more recent, not from my childhood rock, was the following year after that surgery. And this would be a rock that I would have to experience not once, but twice. We became pregnant, and we had just shared the news with our parents.

One night I was waiting for Jonathan to get back home from picking up a to-go order of our favorite dessert from Olive Garden at the time and I went to the bathroom and saw that my underwear were soaked with blood. [00:40:16]

That night at the ER, it was confirmed that our baby was no longer with us. I spent the next week sobbing my eyes out, bleeding continually, trying to go to work every day and act as if things were okay to these dear 10-year-olds who were in my class. After another week, the baby still hadn't moved. It was still very much attached, right in the same exact spot, as if it didn't want to leave.

Honestly, tears still come when I think about how my baby had to be cut out of me because no matter how long I continued to bleed, it just remained. We unintentionally got pregnant right after, and mercifully that baby survived and is now 17 years old.

But our third pregnancy, we once again were thrilled to see a positive test, but something made me hesitant to rejoice over this life. We went to the doctor's office, and it confirmed my suspicions. Our baby would once again be one we would never hold this side of heaven. [00:41:15]

And while we waited again for that baby to release on its own, this time I barely bled. Finally, after weeks of waiting for things to move on their own, I had surgery for a second time. We would go on to have three more pregnancies after that, and those kids are now 15, 13, and 10, praise God. But each pregnancy meant a surrender for me.

There is nothing I could do to sustain or save those lives. And the Lord knew that I needed that shift in my thinking. Being in control, believing I'm capable, leaning on my own understanding, these are things I struggle with. And then when I apply those things to my kids, mercy's sakes.

And while I wish I could say I've experienced full victory or freedom from those ideas when it comes to my kids, I can't. But the Lord needed to remove those two babies from me to show me with each and every pregnancy that life is His, not mine. [00:42:15] That these are knit together by Him, not me. That their days are numbered by Him, not me.

You remember that tattoo I talked about before? It's why I did eventually get His, the word "His", tattooed on the top of my left foot, so that I can forever be reminded who I belong to and who my kids truly belong to. So these are just a few of the rocks in my life. And I love when my kids ask about them, and I love that I'm getting to share them with you today.

Laura Dugger: Well, I'm such a mixture of grateful and humbled that you were willing to share with us. So thank you. Every time we share these testimonies, it is so glorifying, I believe, to our Lord.

Jaime Farrell: Thank you.

Laura Dugger: Miscarriage is something we haven't shared in-depth on The Savvy Sauce, and it is so prevalent. Would you even have it in you to pray over those who are in the midst of that or who have gone through that? [00:43:22]

Jaime Farrell: Yeah, I would love to. Before I do that, I just want to say again, this just reminds me that in the loss of our first, when I was sobbing, my dad said, "God's going to use this, and you're going to be able to comfort others with the comfort you're being able to receive right now." So yeah.

And then I also want to give one little just encouraging thing that we have continued to practice. Somebody, when we lost our first, how they honored the life of our baby was by making a donation to an orphanage in Africa, and we have continued that practice.

And that's a great way that when you hear of somebody who's miscarried, write them a note, make a donation. We donate to Camp of Champions here. That's a local ministry for us. But make a donation in the name of that baby as a way to honor that life.

So let's pray. Father, thank you so much for the truth of Your word that says You knit and fashion us in the womb of our mother. [00:44:25] And that includes every life from the moment of conception.

We praise You for every pregnancy You have ever created as we see it as an act of the Alpha and the Omega. We trust, Lord, that whether that pregnancy comes to fruition or not, that you have planned and purposed it for Your glory and for our good.

Lord, You know the ache. You know the lament. You know the grief. We don't get to experience the joy of that baby here on earth. And for all the mamas who have experienced that or who will experience that, Father, I pray that they would find their portion and their strength in You.

Father, for the loss of those couples, Lord, we had to learn how to grieve together as a couple. [00:45:28] I pray that You would strengthen those marriages. I pray for the physical outworking of those miscarriages for those women. I pray for their bodies, that You would be that great physician.

Lord, I pray for even... I want to speak to even abortions, those pregnancies that don't happen because of choice. I pray for the hurt that that causes the moms. I pray for that secrecy, and I pray, Father, that even, Lord, you would come alongside all mothers, whether miscarriage, whether abortion. God, I thank You so much that You are the rock to cling to, You are the one we can turn to. You are the foundation. You are the hope.

Thank you, Lord, that we can remember who we are and whose we are. And, Lord, that truly these babies, these pregnancies, are gifts of You in every form, whether cut short or whether ones we hold here on earth. We love You, Lord God, and we thank You and praise You that, in the end, You're going to make this right and that there will be an end to loss of pregnancy. We love you, Lord Jesus. In your name we pray. Amen. [00:46:49]

Laura Dugger: Amen. Indeed. Even as you modeled how we can just turn to the Lord in anything, it automatically makes me think of Scripture, too. And so as we're starting to bring our time to a close, do you have any favorite Scripture to impart to us for some final encouragement?

Jaime Farrell: Yeah, the first is John 3:30. I feel like that verse defined my early decades, and it's short and simple and sweet so we can all memorize it. He must become greater, I must become less. Whether it was changing schools or learning to love Him first before people and keep Him big and people small, or laying down my doing and to be more concerned with my being, He was teaching me John 3:30. He must become greater, I must become less.

Then in my late 30s, I walked through Deuteronomy and just fell in love with that book. It's basically Moses' summary to the people of all that's happened and how God has loved and pursued His people and how people can love and pursue God in response. [00:47:57]

In chapter 30, it specifically starts by recounting all that God has done for His people and all that God wants to do for His people by circumcising their hearts, by making them new. And it says that this new heart isn't too hard for us. We simply accept His free gift. Nor is it too far from us. Jesus was coming, yahoo!

And so it says in verse 15 that God has basically set before us two options, life and good or death and evil. And at the end of that chapter it says, and now I'm going to stop paraphrasing and start actually quoting, it says, "Therefore, choose life, so that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice, and holding fast to Him, for He, He is your life and your length of days."

This is my deepest desire, to daily live alive in Him. And being alive will look like loving Him, obeying Him, holding fast to Him, clinging to Him, not to my kids, not to my husband, not to the people around me, not to my job, not to my gifts, because He is my life and length of days. [00:49:14] He is the one going with me to eternity. And living in such a way like this gives my kids an opportunity to follow my example as I follow Christ, the same opportunity my parents gave me.

Laura Dugger: Wow. Amen again. And just getting this special hour set aside to chat with you, I am just reminded of the abundant gift of friendship. I can't believe the Lord gave you as a friend and I'm so grateful. I learned so much from you. And you clearly have such a gift for teaching. You use that in our church through the week, leading women's Bible Study. But if anybody else wants to get to know you better, where can they also join you?

Jaime Farrell: Yeah. You can find me on Facebook or Instagram. Jonathan & Jaime Farrell. And you're always welcome to reach out there or, truth be told, you can reach out to Laura and she can connect us together as well. [00:50:15]

I just also want to invite people to join in on a couple different spaces that were instrumental in my life that I've already talked about and they're still happening today.

So first, if you're local, Kids Choir. I lead Kids Choir at Grace Church on Wednesdays, 5:45 to 6:25 p.m., starting in August around the time school starts and running through the first half of December. If your kids aren't singing truth alongside other kids, come join us.

And if you are not local, I would really strongly encourage you to start something like that in your church or look for ways that you can do that in your local area. Singing truth alongside kids, it just deeply implants the words into their hearts.

Then Bible quizzing. This is for 7th grade to 12th grade. Again, if you're local and you want to get your tween teen interacting with the Word of God, learning how to study it, learning how to memorize it, learning how to ask questions of it, learning how to apply it, all in a super fun way alongside others, this is the place to do it. [00:51:16]

They meet on Sunday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Grace Church and then most attend a SNAQ, S-N-A-Q, Sunday Night After Quiz, where they go to the home of someone in the church and play games and eat food and enjoy each other's company. It is fantastic.

Again, it's not a perfect program, but as our youth pastor said, show me another program that a church does that really gets the kids engaged with the Word of God. It's just a great way for students to be learning the Word of God in such a fun atmosphere.

And then if you've got any questions about either one of these, even if you're not local and you want to know how do we do that, whether it's Kids Choir or quiz, reach out to me, again, through Facebook, Instagram. I'd always be happy to give you my phone number and we can chat or meet up face-to-face.

You do not need to attend Grace Church to participate in either one of those things. Of course, that would be incredibly awesome. And again, if you reach out to me, my family would be glad to meet you at the door of Grace Church and sit with you if ever you want to visit. [00:52:17]

Laura Dugger: Wonderful. We will add the links to all of those options in the show notes. And I echo all that you said.

But Jaimie, you are already familiar, we're called The Savvy Sauce because "savvy" is synonymous with practical knowledge. And so is my final question for you today, what is your Savvy Sauce?

Jaime Farrell: So last time I shared, my dads' remember who you are and whose you are. And today, just after our chat, I would just say take a moment today and note one or two of your own rocks. Think about the ways you've seen God at work and then today, be willing to share a rock with someone.

Tell your kids. Tell your friends. Tell your neighbors. Speak often and quickly about all the ways you've seen God at work. Psalm 78:4 and 7 says, "We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and His might, and the wonders that He has done. ...so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments." Today tell a rock to someone. [00:53:24]

Laura Dugger: Wow. I love that. I have experienced the Holy Spirit over this entire conversation.

Jaime Farrell: Thank you, Lord.

Laura Dugger: And we got to even pray together before we pressed record. And you prayed, Lord, send the angels even to guard my lips. And He was faithful and good again and answered that.

And the way that your scripture and stories spoke to my heart were so encouraging. And that is my prayer that everybody listening right now. If you're feeling stirred or you are encouraged and motivated to share a rock, I believe that is the Lord speaking to you and prompting you and nudging you that way. So, Jaimie, I just love you so much. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for coming back. And thank you for being my guest today.

Jaime Farrell: Thanks so much, Laura. Love you.

Laura Dugger: Love you.

One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term "gospel" before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. [00:54:25] Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves.

This means there is absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a Savior.

But God loved us so much, He made a way for His only Son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with Him. That is good news.

Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. [00:55:28]

Romans 10.9 says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

So would you pray with me now? Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to You. Will You clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare You as Lord of their life? We trust You to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring Him for me, so me for Him. You get the opportunity to live your life for Him. And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you ready to get started?

First, tell someone. Say it out loud. Get a Bible. [00:56:25] The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes & Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible, and I love it. You can start by reading the Book of John.

Also, get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps, such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.

We want to celebrate with you too, so feel free to leave a comment for us here if you did make a decision to follow Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process.

Finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.

If you've already received this good news, I pray that you have someone else to share it with today. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.