Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY018074A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today. My name 01:13 is CA Murray. Allow me, once again, to thank 01:16 you for sharing just a little of your, I 01:18 suspect, busy day with us-to thank you, as 01:21 always, for your love, your prayers, and your 01:23 support of Three Angels' Broadcasting 01:25 Network. As for the last- oh, 3+ decades 01:30 together, we have lifted up the name 01:32 of Jesus and done our best with your help 01:35 and assistance to take the gospel of the good 01:38 news of Jesus Christ around the world. A 01:40 smile on my face this day because of my 01:43 guests and because of the subject matter. 01:46 These are two neat people that you may 01:48 have not quite met in this capacity before, 01:51 but ere this program shall have ended, you 01:54 will love them as much as we do at 3ABN. 01:56 They are Melody Caviness and Rendall Caviness. 02:02 Not Randall, Rendall. R e n d a l l. Praise the Lord. 02:09 And Melody. Praise the Lord. Good-looking 02:12 couple! Let's get a two-shot on them. 02:14 This is a good-looking couple. Wonderful 02:16 people, smile on their face, love of God in 02:19 their hearts, and we like them a lot here. 02:20 Melody is the founder and director of Your 02:25 Healthy Helper. Your Healthy Helper. In 02:29 existence for how many years? - Oh, 02:31 probably about 7. a little over 7 years. 02:34 And, Rendall is the social director- and a 02:37 musician of some note as you will 02:39 see a little bit later on in the program, 02:41 'cause we're going to play some of his music. 02:43 They're a good couple together. They work 02:45 together, they associate together; and the reason 02:48 they do so is because the Lord put them 02:51 together. We'll talk about that in just 02:52 a little bit. Give me the punchline first. 02:56 We are pleased to have them both as 03:00 our chefs for our camp meetings. 03:04 Now that we've sort of locked down on 03:06 Melody-and the world is beginning to know 03:10 that she makes a killer lasagna-she 03:14 will probably be our crew for camp meeting 03:16 until she can't cook anymore! But she 03:18 does a fine job. Brings the Spirit of God with 03:20 her; always a smile on her face, hard 03:22 worker. I happen to know she comes in 03:24 weeks before camp meeting and does her 03:27 preparation. And now, she's got a good-looking 03:29 guy by her side to assist her in lifting 03:31 stuff. They are a perfect couple. So 03:34 guys, first of all, good to have you here. - Thanks 03:36 for inviting us. - We are going to go to 03:38 your music in just a little bit, but I want 03:40 to do a couple of things and get a little history 03:43 from you. Did you grow up in an Adventist 03:46 home? - You know, probably from about 03:49 the age of 10. My parents were baptized in the 03:51 Adventist church, so that's whenever I was introduced to 03:57 Adventism. - Grew up where? What state? 04:00 - I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. 04:02 - Get outta here! - Yeah, I'm a valley girl! 04:04 [laughter] But you know, I've been all over 04:07 the United States, so...Texas; I got a 04:11 little bit of that southern and then Ohio, so I 04:14 sound like I'm from Canada. You know, "O." 04:17 [CA laughs] - I thought kind of Midwest. I 04:20 don't even know when we first met. You're 04:23 one of those kind of persons you figure 04:25 you've always just known kind of thing, 04:27 so I assumed- I would not have thought 04:29 LA. Bless your heart. Rendall, where you 04:32 from? - Well, my dad was a pastor and I 04:37 was born in Iowa. He pastored Iowa, Missouri, 04:40 Alabama, Mississippi, so I ended up being 04:42 southern at about 8 years of age. So the 04:45 accent- - The last imprint 04:47 on you was southern. - Yeah, exactly. 04:50 - How long have you been in Texas? 04:51 - Been in Texas- I moved there to Keene, 04:54 Texas to go to the university Southwestern 04:56 Adventist University, now, in '67, and 05:01 stayed there for 4 years and just never 05:03 left the Texas area after that. - Uh-huh. 05:05 Uh-huh. So you can hear it. Just a little kind 05:06 of a drawly thing going on. It's a nice drawl. 05:09 It's not a bad drawl at all. Adventist home? 05:12 - Yes. My dad's an Adventist pastor. 05:14 - Adventist pastor. Okay, very, very good. 05:15 How many brothers and sisters? - Have one 05:17 younger sister in Edmond, Oklahoma. 05:20 Works for the state there. She does 05:22 conflict resolution. - Ahh, okay. Melody, 05:25 brothers and sisters? - I do. I had 3 brothers 05:29 and one sister. Both of my twin brothers 05:32 are deceased, but there was a family 05:35 of five. My father, for years, when he 05:38 joined the church, was a colporteur literature 05:40 evangelist; raised five kids, put us 05:44 through school doing that kind of work. 05:48 He was a chef and owned restaurants 05:50 throughout, but when he became an Adventist, 05:53 he just fell in love with the Lord and 05:54 really wanted to serve Him in that ministry. 05:56 - Praise the Lord. Let me ask you both, 05:58 and take your time with this, because 05:59 it's one thing to grow up in an Adventist 06:01 home as you well know. It's another thing to 06:04 accept and know Christ for yourself. 06:05 You can go up with the trappings of 06:07 Adventism, the accoutrements of Adventism, but that 06:09 does not guarantee, by any stretch, that 06:12 YOU will know the Lord. When did that 06:14 happen for you, Melody? - You know, honestly, 06:18 I remember when I was in academy at 06:20 Bass Memorial Academy. I had a situation one night 06:23 where I just felt like I needed Jesus in my 06:26 life. So, here I am at 16 years old and 06:29 I just fell in love with the Lord, but 06:31 it soon left. It was just, I feel like, a 06:35 phase, almost, and I was back and forth. 06:38 I really feel like, growing up in the Ad- 06:41 we had good Adventist home; don't get me 06:43 wrong, but I don't remember ever being 06:45 taught the love of Jesus, so I was Adventist by 06:49 name long into my adulthood. I came 06:53 back to the Lord when I knew there was 06:55 just something missing in my life, and that's 06:57 what it was. It was the Lord and my 06:59 relationship, so I had to build the 07:01 relationship between Jesus and myself in 07:05 order to be that kind of person I felt 07:07 like God wanted me to be. So, it was 07:09 later in my life, really. - Yeah. There 07:11 was a time in Adventism, and I suspect we're in 07:13 the same a- - Generation. 07:15 - Yeah, ZIP code-wise- or, rather, same ZIP 07:18 code AGE-wise when we taught dos and 07:22 don'ts, and Adventism has degenerated-and 07:25 I use that term into dos and don'ts-so 07:27 kids never had a real opportunity to learn 07:30 the love of Christ, or a love FOR Christ, 07:32 because we were being force-fed 07:35 a dos-and-don'ts kind of relationship, which 07:39 was a substitute for a genuine relationship for Christ. 07:41 Those who taught that, I think, taught it 07:43 with sincerity- - They did. - But it 07:46 was wrong. - It was, because Sabbath was 07:48 never a blessing to be growing up as a child, 07:51 because I knew, "Well, can't ride my bike. 07:54 Can't get in the water. Can't-" and I don't 07:56 remember ever thinking, "I don't want to. This 07:59 is my day to be with the Lord." It was 08:02 always, "Well, I can't do anything 08:04 until after the sun has come down on 08:07 Saturday," and so we would wait. I'd 08:10 be like, "Okay, how many... When is it till sundown?" 08:12 You know, always looking at your watch or asking 08:14 mom what time it is, and to get through 08:17 the Sabbath. Now, I'm ashamed to admit 08:19 that as an adult, but that is truth. 08:23 Just in our Bible study the other day 08:25 when we were doing our worship, my biggest 08:27 regret in my life is not having that 08:29 relationship with the Lord and using the 08:32 talents He gave us. There were so many 08:34 years I wasted. So, that's a regret. 08:37 - Yeah. Rendall, same question now. Your 08:40 perspective may be a little different 08:42 because you're in a pastor's home, but there 08:44 is this set of expectations that 08:46 kind of drop on pastors' kids. Walk me through 08:49 that as far as your growing up is concerned. 08:52 - I fulfilled that expectation to be 08:54 a good little Adventist preacher's son. All 08:58 the way through life, though, I was not 09:01 close with the Lord. I lived up to 09:03 expectations. I put on a face. Later on, 09:08 I got into the music business, and I REALLY 09:11 got into the music business. I didn't live 09:13 the lifestyle, but I was always the 09:16 designated driver. [CA laughs] So, 09:18 I never gave up on the Lord, but I was 09:22 one of those that the Lord wanted to 09:23 spit out of His mouth. I was on the fence, 09:25 back and forth, balancing- trying to balance 09:29 both worlds at the same time, hoping that 09:31 nobody saw me play on Friday nights someplace. 09:34 So, it's been- when I retired from the work 09:40 that I did, I thought, "This is going to be 09:43 great," 'cause this is late in life. This is 09:45 when I'm 65. I'm 72 now. I thought, "This 09:49 is going to be great, 'cause I can play till 09:50 1 or 2 in the morning, sleep till the same 09:53 time the next day, and go do it again 09:55 for the differing bands that I played with. 09:58 The Lord had other plans. When I retired, the 10:03 bands either disbanded- the several that 10:06 I played with-or quit calling me to go out, 10:08 and I'm saying, "What's going on with this?" 10:11 Then I met some Christian singers- Wide Nations?, 10:16 for one (who's on the charts). Heather van 10:19 Dieren is another one that's on the 10:20 charts right now. I started backing 10:22 them up, and just kind of got closer 10:27 with the Lord. Then, I thought- oh, I 10:31 didn't think. I prayed, "I need a help, 10:33 mate." It's been about 8 years since 10:37 my divorce. We both started praying 10:39 at the same time, almost simultaneously. 10:43 So, I really got close to the Lord during that 10:45 time, came back to the church, started my 10:48 tithe that I had not been paying, and just 10:53 really got close to the Lord during that time. 10:55 - Praise the Lord. Doing that little 10:57 hiatus in some time to find the Lord again. 10:59 - Yeah. I've made bad choices in girlfriends 11:01 that didn't work out. I'm just like Melody. 11:04 I said, "Okay, Lord. I'm not doing this 11:06 well at all. I just want you to fix this." 11:09 So, that's when we started. - Mmkay. 11:13 Now, let me hit the pause button for you 11:15 and come back to Melody. When did the cooking 11:17 bug thing hit you? - As a young girl. 11:20 My dad was a chef. He was a chef 11:23 in the Navy for the officers, so I grew 11:25 up in a culinary home. My mother was quite 11:28 a good cook. She wasn't a chef. My dad owned 11:31 restaurants, so in and out, up until 11:34 my father passed away- he had a heart attack 11:37 at the age of 56, so I lost him early. But 11:40 my dad taught me everything and I loved 11:42 it. There was just something about it, 11:43 so he kind of tricked me. When I was about 11:46 6, he said, "Now, if you want to be a 11:47 good chef," he said, "every chef has to 11:50 start by doing the dishes." So for about 11:53 3 years, I washed my dad's dishes up on the 11:56 stool, and you know- I would wash the dishes. 11:58 I watched him cook. I watched- my dad had 12:02 a very sensitive palette. He knew exactly what 12:05 foods meld together and he could put things 12:07 together that I had never even thought of, 12:09 and he taught me that. At the age of about 12:14 10 or 11, I was actually the spaghetti cooker 12:17 in the house. My mom would always say, "You 12:19 cook spaghetti better than your dad." So, 12:21 I remember, at that age, cooking meals 12:23 for the family. I had an amazing love for 12:27 food. Not even so much in the capacity 12:31 as eating it-I loved to prepare it. It was 12:33 my way of being artistic, was through 12:36 the food. So, I started at a very 12:38 young age. - The desire to go from 12:42 not just good-tasting food, but to healthy 12:44 food-but nutritious food. Did that come 12:46 at that time or some time later as you 12:48 started? - That came in my 50s when I was 12:50 diagnosed with Hashimoto disease, which is an 12:53 immune thyroid disease, and also celiac disease. 12:57 At that time, I was probably around 285, 13:02 290 in weight. - Wow. - And I was taking 13:06 Corgard, which is a beta-blocker-a heart 13:09 medication. I had taken it for 22 years. 13:11 I had hypertension, high cholesterol, so 13:16 everything you can imagine somebody 13:18 having because of their poor diet, and of course, 13:21 most chefs- butter, cheese, everything. 13:25 We wanted the flavor to be there. That was 13:28 what was important so when you took that 13:29 first bite, you were like, "Oh, this is 13:31 just wonderful! So, I had to back up 13:36 and went to a cooking seminar at a church 13:40 to help somebody else because of 13:42 their lifestyle, and that's when God said, 13:44 "I need you to do this work for Me." 13:47 I thought, "I'm too fat and sick to help 13:50 anybody. How can I help them?" But He 13:52 opened up my eyes to what I needed to 13:54 do, as far as nutrition, and change my recipes. 13:58 That's when the transformation started 14:00 taking place at that time. - Praise the 14:02 Lord. Praise the Lord. Meanwhile, Rendall 14:06 has admitted that he wasn't the best 14:10 selector of girlfriends. How's your life 14:17 working out in that ? I'm just 14:19 asking that away unless you kind of take that 14:21 where you want to. - Nah, it wasn't 14:24 working out for me, either. I mean, in 14:26 the day we live in, everything is internet, 14:29 you go out on these websites- er, I 14:31 call it 'church hopping.' You go from one 14:33 church to the next and I felt like, "Lord, 14:36 I am really not good at this." I'm 14:38 not a good chooser of the men in my life. 14:41 Evidently, I'm looking on the exterior. 14:44 A pastor at the South Bend church, he was my 14:47 pastor at the time- needed help during my 14:49 off-season, 'cause during November, 14:52 December, seminars at churches, they're 14:54 too busy setting their schedules for the 14:56 year. He said, "I really need some 14:58 help. Would you commit to helping me in the 15:01 office doing the bulletins and all?" 15:03 I said, "Why not." - Yeah- let me tap 15:06 the pause button, because you WERE 15:07 married for a time. - 40 years. - For 15:09 40 years. And you have two- 15:11 - Children. Two sons. - Okay. So you were 15:15 married, but it wasn't the best of relationships. 15:17 - No. - Okay. So we're out of that, 15:20 you're kind of just by yourself. Are you 15:22 actively looking for somebody? - I had 15:25 met a few guys... Not anything you'd bring 15:29 home or anybody. [CA laughs] Again, I 15:32 mean, I'm one of these people- I want 15:34 to fix you. That's my personality. Get 15:38 the ones who are bad; fix them. - There 15:41 are a lot of people- there are men who do 15:42 that and there are women who do that. 15:43 You'll find out that you don't have the ability 15:45 to fix because in trying to fix somebody 15:46 else, you get broken down. - You get 15:48 broken down. - Precisely. - And I didn't realize 15:49 how broke I was, honestly. I knew I had problems 15:54 and I was praying that I had become 15:57 to where I could not get enough of God. 16:01 I was reading my Bible, I was praying; 16:04 I just wanted more of Him 'cause I thought, 16:07 "You know, Lord, You're going to be 16:08 my Husband for a while." So, I didn't 16:11 want the internet thing. I got to the place 16:14 where I didn't even want to date anybody 16:16 because I said, "Lord, when You bring my 16:18 husband to me when that time happens, 16:20 I'm not going to date." - So you had embraced 16:22 this. You were okay with this now. The 16:23 Lord has taken a new place, you're losing 16:25 weight, you're developing your ministry, 16:27 you're going through a lot of stuff, so you 16:28 were okay just following the Lord as He led. 16:31 - I was lonely in the capacity that 16:33 I felt like at least somebody on the other 16:36 end, a best friend, somebody- like a man 16:39 friend that could say, "Hey, where are you? 16:42 Are you safe?" Kind of looking after me 16:44 like a daddy. - Because you're on the road; 16:45 you're traveling, you're doing your thing, 16:47 you're doing it for the Lord. - Months; 16:48 sometimes a month or two at a time 16:49 before I'd even come back to where I left 16:51 off. Absolutely. - So, it'd be nice to 16:54 have somebody call and say, "Hey, honey, are 16:55 you okay?" - Yes. - So we're in South 16:58 Bend? - South Bend, Indiana. - Bless your 17:00 heart; in the wintertime? Been here, done that. 17:02 - Yeah. That's when you mall walk. 17:06 You can get to the mall. - Yeah, indeed. 17:09 - Yeah, I was there, and I was working with 17:11 Elder Thordeston He asked me; he 17:14 said, "Melody, why don't you have a 17:16 mate? Why aren't you with somebody?" 17:18 And I said, "I don't do very well." I said, 17:20 "I don't choose well, so for some reason," I 17:23 said, "I just feel like it's- I would 17:26 love to have that partner in my life, 17:28 but? I've just kind of given up 17:31 on that area." He said, "You know," and he 17:33 started telling me all these stories. 17:35 He said, "You know, you need to take everything 17:38 to the Lord about what you want then 17:41 ask God to give you peace." I've never 17:43 asked God to give me peace. He said, "And 17:46 wait on God's time." I said, "Okay. Would 17:49 it hurt if I ask Him to hurry?" [laughter] 17:52 Not that I was in a hurry, but it's like, 17:54 I just felt like I needed that person, 17:56 even if it was just to talk to them. 17:58 Desperately wanting that companion, that 18:02 male companion, to talk to- to ignite a 18:05 friendship and maybe more. - I want to 18:08 just get this stated. You had committed 18:10 to the Lord to wait on Him. In your heart, 18:13 of course you want it to be as soon as 18:14 possible, but you had said to the Lord, 18:16 "I'm willing to serve You and I will wait 18:17 till You bring the right person," which is a 18:20 good place to be. - Exactly. It was. 18:21 But, you know, I went home that night 18:24 and I could not quit thinking about what 18:26 the pastor said, so I got a pillow, 'cause 18:29 the floor was a hardwood floor and I thought, 18:32 "We're going to be down here a while." 18:35 I've got some requests, you know? So I got 18:38 that pillow, got down there, and I prayed. 18:40 I just poured my heart out and I said, "Lord, 18:42 this is what I like. This is what I want 18:44 in a man." First and foremost, for me, 18:46 was I wanted him to have a relationship 18:48 with the Lord, because I had been through a 18:51 relationship of being mistreated. I thought, 18:54 "If he has this relationship with You, 18:55 and he loves You, Lord, he's going to treat 18:58 me like You want me to be treated." So 19:00 that was my first and foremost. So, 19:03 my dislikes, my likes, I just threw it all 19:05 out there. I don't know how long I was down 19:07 on that floor, but I prayed and I 19:09 said, "Lord, I would like for him to be 19:12 from Texas, if that's possible, and I would 19:14 love for You to hurry, if that's possible, but 19:17 in Your time." - Okay. He can take that. 19:20 - I said, "Lord, give me peace while You 19:23 are working on this." And you know, CA, I 19:26 got up a different person, because every 19:28 day after that, instead of praying 19:30 for my husband, to find him, I thanked 19:33 the Lord for working on it and I prayed for 19:36 Rendall, not knowing who he was, if he 19:38 had children, what his health was like, 19:40 his finances, his spirituality. I prayed 19:45 for everything, 'cause I just said, "Lord, I'm 19:47 praying for my husband today." I didn't know 19:50 who he was, but God did. - God did. What 19:52 I like- and listening to you, Melody,- 19:54 is two things. You got your priorities 19:55 straight. 1) I want him to love the Lord. 19:58 I want him to have a functioning 19:59 relationship with God. - First and foremost. 20:01 - 2) I'm willing to wait on You. So, 20:05 once you kind of get those two things 20:08 established, everything else is gravy. The 20:11 Lord, He had no problem fulfilling 20:14 that list, obviously, because he's here. 20:16 Praise the Lord. But you put the most 20:19 important- the first thing was first. 20:20 "Has to have a relationship with You," 20:22 and "I'm willing to wait until You get 20:24 that person set for me." Meanwhile, in 20:28 Texas, you're coming back to the Lord 20:33 after being in a whole lot of stuff. What's 20:37 going on in your life as far as your 20:38 relationship with the Lord and how you're 20:40 looking at life, now, at this point in 20:42 your life? - Well, at that point, I went 20:44 to my knees as well, just like Melody did 20:46 and told him the same thing. "Lord, I made 20:50 bad choices. The people I've dated- it's wrong. 20:54 I know it's wrong in my heart. They 20:56 may be good people; they don't believe like 20:58 I do. They're not Sabbath keepers, 21:01 they don't have the same feelings to the 21:05 Lord like I do." I said, "You're going to have 21:08 to lead me with this." I said exactly the 21:12 same thing. "I'm making bad choices. I'm going 21:15 to leave it in Your hands. I'm going to 21:16 quit trying so hard. I'm just going to leave 21:19 it alone and pray about it, and that's where 21:21 I was. - Had you been married before, Rendall? 21:23 - Yes. I was married 14 years prior to this, 21:26 and it had been about 8 years since that 21:28 divorce. - Okay. Okay. So, now you're 21:31 coming back to the Lord, feeling stronger in 21:32 the Lord, you're willing to wait on the Lord, 21:35 also. - Yes. Right. Praise the Lord. So, 21:38 we kind of got you at the same point in 21:39 your Christian walk. Before we actually 21:42 get you married, I think we need to hear 21:43 some music from you, man, because you, 21:45 earlier today, came in and- I've not heard 21:50 you yet, but the boys say you're pretty 21:52 good, man. We praise the Lord for 21:53 that. -... [laughter] And we 21:58 didn't pay him anything. They say that from 21:59 their hearts. "Lord, I Want to Be a Christian." 22:03 Talk to me about, on this CD, which I really 22:05 like, "Jesus Will," Rendall Caviness. 22:09 There is this bandolier going across your 22:12 chest on the back cover. What am I 22:16 looking at? I hope those are not bullets. 22:18 Are those...harmonicas? - Yes. Harmonicas. 22:21 There's 12 varying degrees. I did a lot 22:24 of backup with other artists and when they 22:26 have to change keys, I have to be ready. 22:28 That's really the purpose for that. 22:30 In fact, one of the songs that I 22:33 play, it's going to 22:34 be on the program. There are two key 22:37 changes, so that's the purpose of that 22:39 belt. - So you just whip out another- 22:41 - Right. - Ahh. Praise the Lord. 22:43 And you were, I guess we can call you a 22:46 professional musician because you played 22:48 with some of the groups. For how many years? 22:50 - I'll let you be the judge of that when you 22:51 hear it. [laughter] - Well, you were a 22:53 wanted musician. You worked with a number 22:56 of groups- Christian and non-Christian. 22:58 - Correct. - So there must be a basic skill 23:00 level that attends that, so you're good 23:03 at what you do. Praise the Lord. - Thank you. 23:05 - All right. Let's hear it right now. 23:07 This is Rendall Caviness, and the 23:09 song is- what are we listening to? "Lord, 23:12 I Want to Be a Christian." 26:10 And amen! Rendall, well done! - Thank you. 26:12 - I saw you had a couple spares behind 26:14 you there on the piano, for which we praise the Lord! 26:17 But well done. How long have you been playing? 26:20 - 40+ years. - All right; good little 26:22 while. - Right. - Did you take that harmonica 26:25 up by default or just something lying around, 26:28 or did you seek that instrument out? 26:29 - When I started, they said it would 26:32 help put babies to sleep, so when my 26:34 first child was born, I started, 26:37 but it took too long. They were grown 26:40 before I perfected the ability to play 26:43 relatively well. - If you hadn't gotten 26:47 good, you still would've put 'em to sleep, so 26:49 praise the Lord. [laughter] - Yeah. 26:51 - Praise the Lord that you did a good 26:53 job. Well done. Very well done. And 26:56 I'm anxious to hear the second song before 26:58 we're done. When we left, we're both 27:01 praying for the Lord to send the right 27:03 person (which is a good prayer to pray) 27:06 BEFORE you get married. You're praying, you're 27:10 praying, your relationship with the Lord is 27:11 strengthening because you are by yourself and 27:15 you are giving time with the Lord. You 27:18 had a pretty specified list. - I did. - Yeah. 27:22 Walk me through the first time you met 27:25 him, how that happened, and then we're going to 27:28 find out how the light came on. What 27:32 was the first time? - I didn't realize that 27:35 he had noticed me like a year or two before 27:37 on Facebook. I don't even know how we 27:39 became Facebook friends except that I knew his 27:42 in-laws. I had known their family years 27:45 before that. I knew who he was because 27:49 his children were also in Pathfinders when 27:51 I was helping in leadership in Pathfinders, 27:54 'cause we'd lived in Texas. However, if 27:57 I had met Rendall, I don't know it. I 28:00 remember his ex-wife, I remembered the 28:02 family, so I knew who he was as a person. 28:05 That's probably when I accepted his friendship. 28:07 Two weeks to the date after I prayed that prayer, 28:13 he sent me a note and said, "I've noticed 28:17 you on Facebook, and I've seen," something like 28:20 some program I had done in the Fort Worth 28:22 area that was televised or something. 28:25 I don't know if it was through Good 28:27 News TV; I don't remember. He said, 28:29 "I'm trying to regain my health back after 28:32 years of neglecting it, and I don't know 28:37 if there's anything you could do to help 28:38 me, but I would appreciate it." Very 28:40 nice little note he said there as a 28:42 private message. - Okay, pause button. 28:44 Did you remember all of this connection 28:46 from- - No. I do not 28:49 remember her at all. We even attended the 28:51 same wedding in- well, it was a nice, large 28:54 house, but I don't remember seeing her- 28:56 at the wedding, either. - So this was not 28:58 an adavistic come-on; you were really trying 29:01 to meet her to take care of your health. 29:03 - Yes. Had it been, it would have been a pretty good come-on, 29:06 by the way. But you were not. You don't 29:08 remember all of these past connections. 29:09 You were actually trying to get- okay. Okay. 29:12 And you accepted it as such. - I did, and 29:15 I start- I could tell he was typing from 29:17 his phone, because it was taking forever. 29:20 [CA laughs] I'm thinking, "Oh, we're 29:21 going to be here all night long," you know? 29:23 He's just pecking away. So I said, "You know, 29:27 I don't-." First, I said, "I give my phone 29:30 number out to a lot of people, because 29:33 helping out-" I did. I said, "If you would 29:37 like to talk to me, then you can call me. 29:40 Here's my phone number." And, of course, I didn't 29:42 know what was going on at the other end. 29:44 He's like, "YES!" at the other end and he 29:47 sent back a message that said, "I'm doing 29:49 my laundry; I will call you in 15 minutes." 29:53 I'm thinkin', "Hey, this guy does laundry!" 29:55 [CA laughs] "Hey, this is a good thing!" 29:58 You know, I still had not thought of anything 30:00 as a relationship. - And you had not either, 30:03 Rendall? - Not really. - So the yes was that 30:06 you're going to get some help for your 30:07 health. You're not thinking anything 30:10 beyond that. - Oh, that's a little later; 30:12 yes. - But at this point, everything is 30:15 still pure. I use that term. Everything is kosher; 30:18 everything is fine. Okay. So, you get the phone 30:21 number- well done. [laughter] And you 30:23 get the phone number early. So, you're really 30:25 just thinking, "This is someone I can 30:27 assist." Did you know at the time 30:29 of initial contact- had you connected 30:31 the dots? Is this someone about 30:32 whose family you're already with? - I 30:34 already knew that, so I was comfortable 30:36 with him as a person because I knew the 30:38 family, I knew his children, so I didn't 30:41 have any fear. But 15 minutes later, 30:45 my phone rings and it's a Texas number 30:48 and it's him. I'll never forget when 30:51 he said, "Hello," there was something 30:52 about his voice that I thought, "I love 30:55 this voice." That kind of hit me right then 31:00 and it kind of- you know. So, we had- was 31:04 it a 3 or 3-and-a-half hour phone call the 31:06 first time? - And you're still in- 31:09 - I'm in Indiana; he's in Texas. We're 31:13 conversing, we're talking about health. 31:15 I told him, "You know, no matter where 31:19 you are, God can help you. With the 31:23 nutrition, you just gotta know what 31:24 to do," so he was telling me what he'd 31:26 been doing and I'm saying, "You might 31:28 want to change this or that." We talked. 31:30 It was late, and he said, "I'm so sorry. 31:33 I never meant to keep you that long." And I 31:34 said, "No, that's okay." If I didn't 31:36 want to talk, I would've said, "Hey, 31:38 I have to go." So, the next day- we 31:42 hung up. The next day, he sends me a 31:44 message on my phone- a text-and said, 31:46 "Would it be okay if I called you again?" 31:52 Well, then again, I thought, "He's a 31:55 southern boy and he has- he's askin' me 31:59 first!? This is kind of nice," you know? 32:01 I said, "Well, sure." So he called me again, 32:04 and it was another 3- hour conversation, 32:06 so I think the next day when he called, 32:10 he said, "I promise you it won't be 32:12 another marathon phone call." And I said, 32:15 "You know, Rendall, at this point, we KNOW 32:17 it's going to be another marathon phone 32:18 call." I said, "That's okay." - Now, at this 32:21 point, after two days, 6+ hours, is it 32:24 still clinical for you or is anything sort 32:27 of germinating in your mind? - Actually, 32:29 after that first phone call, it 32:31 started germinating in my mind, "Is this 32:33 the one, Lord?" Everything that we 32:35 talked about, I could tell I liked. And I think 32:38 it was either the third or the fourth phone 32:41 call, he texted me very early in the morning 32:44 and said, "Would you like to have worship?" 32:46 - Ooh. You get points for that. - Yeah. 32:49 - Praise the Lord. - Yeah, he got really 32:50 good points for that one. [laughter] 32:53 - Rendall, for you- now wait. You had seen 32:56 her. You knew what she looks like. - Just 32:58 on Facebook. - Had you any idea of who 33:01 you were talking to visually? - Just 33:03 on Facebook. - Just Facebook. Okay, 33:05 so you kind of knew what each other 33:08 looked like. So now we're in Day 4 and 33:10 we're having worship together. - Actually, 33:13 we're having worship AND we're having it at 33:16 night. In the morning, when we got up, 33:19 we had worship, and then at night, before 33:22 we went to bed, we had worship. - Now, 33:23 this became a fairly regular pattern fairly 33:26 quickly. - Every day, yes. - Other 33:28 than she were on the road, traveling. 33:30 Then we still did, because you'd be 33:33 driving and I could have- I could read 33:35 and pray. - So, within the first 33:37 several phone calls, the seeds of something 33:41 are being planted. Yes or no? - Yes, 33:44 sir. - Yes. And where I lived in Indiana was 33:48 with Brenda. you know, her husband passed. 33:52 You know Miss Brenda. I call her Miss Brenda, 33:54 but Chef Mark Anthony's wife now. - Yeah. 33:56 - So I lived with her for a long time 33:58 through my divorce and with her, as well. 34:01 So, I have a room in their house. Now, 34:04 I have my own room there because I stayed 34:06 there for a long time. I told her and Mark 34:10 both about a week into our conversation 34:12 that I was talking to a gentleman 34:14 from Texas and I told them what he did, 34:16 and Mark says, "Oh, Mr. Harmonica Man!" 34:18 So that's what they call him! Mr. Harmonica 34:20 Man! So, I said, "He wants to meet 34:23 me. I don't know how I feel about that." 34:26 Well, Mark was leaving to go out on seminars. 34:30 We had different schedules. We would meet and 34:32 we would do our filming, and he would leave; 34:37 go one direction, I'd go in another; 34:39 poor Brenda was home alone a lot 34:40 of times unless I was there. Mark 34:43 said, "Well, if you really want to meet 34:45 this guy, why don't you have him come 34:47 here before I leave, 'cause I'm going to be 34:50 leaving on Wednesday. He can just stay here." 34:52 Because I told Mark and Brenda both, 34:54 "I'm not going to marry anybody that 34:57 God doesn't want me to be with, and 34:58 I want you guys," because I knew they 35:01 were both praying people. Brenda has a 35:03 prayer room in her home where she meets 35:05 the Lord twice a day, so I knew that I 35:08 could trust them that God would help 35:10 them in that choice, too. So I thought, 35:12 "This is great. Somebody else can meet him 35:14 and give me their feeling about it." 35:17 So that's when I told him, I said, "If-" 35:21 and I had so many fleeces. I kept throwing 35:24 something out at the Lord. I wasn't trusting, 35:27 really, 'cause I was still so afraid. So 35:30 what I did was I said, "Okay. This 35:33 is what's going to happen. If you want 35:34 to meet me, you have to fly up here," but 35:37 it was on the weekend at South Bend when 35:39 Notre Dame was playing New Years 35:42 weekend. He had to get there. - Well, 35:45 he's lucky he can get a flight. - Yeah. 35:47 And he has to go stand by- his older 35:49 son's a pilot, so he flies standby. I said, 35:53 "This is when you have to come." So, 35:55 I'm going to let him tell you what happened 35:57 when he went to the airport the morning 36:00 he's come to meet me. - Yeah, 'cause she's 36:02 giving you rules and regulations. - These 36:04 are my fleeces. I prayed about it. 36:06 - She should've been a district attorney. Does 36:08 very well in that area. - Uh-huh. 36:10 But obviously, you had bit down just 36:12 enough so that you were getting on that 36:14 plane. - Yes. - If at all possible. 36:16 Okay, walk us through that. - 3 o'clock in 36:18 the morning- I had packed the night 36:19 before, excited; this is anticipation. My 36:24 youngest son takes me to the airport. 36:26 I get there 4 o'clock, 4:15. The plane leaves- 36:29 I think the first one is 7. So I've got 36:33 all my baggage checked; everything's good. 36:36 I go up to the standby to go standby and 36:40 say, "How's this flight look?" "Looks really 36:42 full." Missed it. 7 o'clock; missed it. 36:45 "When's the next flight?" "Oh, 8 something." 36:49 So, I go up to the counter prior to 36:52 8 o'clock and say, "How's this flight 36:53 look?" "Looks really full." Gone. Missed 36:57 it. 9 o'clock, another flight. 36:59 Missed it. I think it was 10 o'clock, next 37:04 flight, no-go. - Oh my goodness. - I call 37:07 Melody- - I was going to ask. 37:08 Are you giving her updates on- 37:10 - Yes! And this is like, at 2 o'clock. 37:12 He calls me and says, "I don't know what to 37:14 do. I don't think I'm going to get on this 37:16 plane." - So you've been in the airport 37:17 since 4 o'clock in the morning. - Exactly. 37:19 - We're now 2 o'clock in the afternoon. 37:20 - Yeah. It's 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and 37:22 I knew if he didn't come, he would be 37:25 a good friend but that was it. That 37:26 was my fleece. He had to get there. He 37:29 had to get to at least Chicago was 37:30 what I said. "Lord, if he can get to 37:32 Chicago, I can pick him up, but he's got to 37:34 get there." So, I said, "Rendall, where 37:37 you actually at, have you gone to 37:38 another gate?" He said, "No, this is 37:40 the only gate going to Chicago." Well, 37:41 I was a travel agent for 10 years. I said, 37:43 "No; their hub is Dallas for American 37:46 and Chicago." I said, "Go to another gate. 37:51 Try that." He went to the next gate 37:54 and he asked the woman, he said, "I know this 37:56 isn't your problem, but I'm trying to 37:57 get out of here." She said, "It looks 37:59 really full," and he has to tell you what 38:02 he did, because... - What she did, she 38:06 said, "Go out and look at the marquee of 38:08 flights. See if there's another gate with 38:10 another plane going to Chicago." I looked 38:13 at the marquee and there was one leaving 38:15 at 3:10. I look at my watch and it's 38:18 3:06, 3:07. - Oh, my soul. - I gotta run 38:20 down 3 or 4 gates, huffin' and puffin' 38:22 to get there- a little lady there 38:25 at the ticket counter and I came up the 38:26 counter and said, "Listen. I've been here 38:29 since about 4 or 5 this morning." I said, 38:34 "I'm trying to fly standby." She says, 38:36 "Yeah, I have your information." And I 38:39 said, "This isn't your problem. I know 38:42 it's not your problem, but I'd really like 38:43 to get on that plane. How's it look?" 38:46 She said, "It really looks full." So, probably 38:50 from where I'm sitting to where you are plus 38:54 just a little bit was the first section 38:56 of chairs. I sat down in the chair and I 38:59 just went- I said, "Lord, I'd really 39:03 like to be on this plane. And if you'd 39:06 help me with-" "Rendall Caviness." 39:08 Just at the minute I said that, they 39:11 called me up to get up on the plane 39:12 after everybody had gotten on the plane. 39:14 - Did you know that you're getting on that 39:17 plane was kind of a do-or-die as far as 39:19 Melody was concerned? - I wasn't sure, but 39:22 I felt like it was a serious time to go. 39:24 I thought- I had those inclinations that, 39:26 "Maybe this isn't supposed to be," and 39:29 I prayed that to the Lord. When I made 39:31 the prayer, I said, "Lord, let Your 39:33 will be done. If You want me on the plane, 39:36 if You want this to happen," and 39:38 that's when they called my name. - Now, a 39:40 fleece is a fleece. Were you prepared, 39:42 really, to cut and leave, had he not 39:45 gotten on that plane? - I hope so. I was 39:49 scared enough, I think I would have, really. 39:51 I was terrified. As excited as I was, 39:55 because I felt like there was so much 39:57 about him I already liked, I could not 40:00 imagine not talking to him again. So, 40:03 I was really hoping he got on that plane, 40:06 but I also said, "Lord, it's up to you." And 40:10 then I had another worry because I 40:11 thought, "What if he gets here and I 40:13 DON'T like him? What if there's something 40:14 about him he doesn't want me- or what 40:16 if he doesn't like ME?" You know? We've never 40:18 really met in person, so I also prayed 40:21 that, "Lord, do not let him like me in 40:25 the way to be a husband," 'cause I had already 40:27 told him; I said, "I have no interest 40:28 in dating. None." I said, "If you're 40:32 the right person, you're the right person. 40:34 If you're not, then that's- 40:35 - So you're not going to do this 40:36 protracted 2 or 3-year kind of thing, "Hey, 40:38 how you doin'? Here's a Christmas present," 40:39 kind of stuff. - Not 73 and 60 somethin'. 40:41 Hello! - We're old folk. We don't have 40:43 that kind of time. - We don't have time 40:45 to waste. We're dragging caskets! 40:47 [laughter] No! And I'm thinking, I just 40:52 felt like that he was going to tell me that, 40:54 and I prayed, "Don't let him fall in love 40:56 with me. I don't want to hurt this 40:58 man. And please don't let me fall 41:01 in him. I don't want to be hurt, 41:02 either." I thought, "Neither one of us 41:04 need this, Lord. This is not what we're 41:06 wanting." - So, you were getting indications 41:08 that he was invested. - I could tell. I thought 41:11 he liked me a whole lot more than I liked 41:12 him, because honestly, I was guarding my heart. 41:17 I was literally guarding my heart. So, 41:20 he got in. It was a wonderful time. I still 41:23 had, really, no feeling. I really liked him. 41:26 Mark and Brenda fell in love with him and 41:28 Mark's like, "You know, you could search a 41:30 world over and probably find another guy as 41:32 good as him, but it's going to take a 41:33 long time. That's a good man." And 41:36 Brenda's like, "I just love Mr. Harmonica 41:38 Man!" You know? So they- that was 41:40 fulfilled, and here I still am, and he 41:43 left, went back home, and the 41:46 next day, I asked him; I said, "How do you feel?" 41:48 He told me that very next day; he said, 41:50 "I'm in love with you." - Ooh. Harmonica man. 41:55 [CA laughs] - I said, "Are you sure, Rendall?" 41:59 And he said, "Yes." I said, "Are you sure?" 42:01 I must've asked him that 3 times and I 42:04 went up into my room that afternoon and I 42:06 said, "Lord, if there's someone or somebody 42:08 in my heart-something that's causing me to 42:11 not have these feelings that you should have 42:13 for a husband-." I said, "Would you please 42:15 release me from that?" - So the wall is still 42:17 up. You know how he feels, you know he's 42:19 invested, but for you, it just ain't 42:21 there yet. - It's not there yet, and I got 42:23 through praying that prayer. When I stood 42:26 up and sat down on my chair, it was almost 42:29 like my heart just melted for this 42:32 man! Like I could not imagine another minute 42:35 of my life without him. That quick! 42:38 It took me saying, "Lord, break down this 42:40 wall. Break down this hardness that I have 42:42 now." I flew out to his house about 10 42:47 days later, met his family, and from the 42:51 day he called me, CA, we were married 42:54 two months later. - Wow. - Now, I 42:56 don't- - We don't recommend 42:57 that for everyone. - But this was a 43:00 relationship that God had chosen and 43:03 far-exceeded my prayer, and that's 43:06 why we have to be so careful when we 43:07 pray, that we're not praying enough. We're 43:10 not asking boldly- you know, I think it 43:12 was Molly who said, "If you're going to be 43:14 a bear, be a grizzly." Well, let's be a 43:16 grizzly! I should've said, "Lord, I want to 43:19 a help mate to be with me in ministry." 43:22 From that- right after we married, 43:25 I had obligations in Florida that were 43:27 without him, and when my lanta found out 43:30 that I was married- just a newly-wed- 43:32 they're like, "You need to get him here!" 43:34 He flew in that next morning and we've 43:36 never been apart in ministry, and it 43:40 is such a blessing to have a ministry where 43:43 both people, their goals are the same. 43:45 - Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 43:47 I am so happy to hear that. 43:48 Now, my time is getting away from me. I want you to run 43:50 me through the story of the truck, because 43:53 it has to do with commission. There's 43:56 a bunch of things sort of tied in there, 43:58 sort of tie a little bow on that for us, if you will. 44:00 - Well, I'm a- people don't know me. I'm 44:02 a very strong-willed person. I'd been 44:05 single for a little over 5 years, so 44:07 all the decisions were up to me to make. 44:10 A lot, even in my relationship prior, 44:13 where I had to make decisions based 44:17 financially, a lot, on myself. So, we 44:22 had purchased a new SUV. It was not 44:24 brand new, but we purchased a new 44:26 one because mine had over 300,000 44:28 miles on it at that time. God had been 44:31 instrumental in keeping that alive. Then, we 44:34 went and bought another Toyota like my old 44:36 one. About a year, year and a half in it, 44:39 Rendall's like, "I don't like this 44:41 vehicle. It's hard to load. Gettin' 44:43 everything out, it's uncomfortable. I 44:46 think we need a truck." Well, the first thing 44:48 that comes to my mind is, "Ope, I married 44:50 a Texan. Everybody in Texas thinks they 44:52 have to have a pickup truck." And I'm like, 44:54 "Lord-" no. I said, "Rendall, we're 44:56 not getting a pickup truck." I'm just thinking, 44:58 "We're not getting a truck; no way. End 45:00 of story-we're not getting it." I laid in 45:03 bed, about a night or two after that. 45:05 It's like the Lord woke me up and said, "I 45:08 thought you prayed for a priest? at the 45:10 home." - All right. - I'm like, "Well, 45:12 Lord, I did." It's like, "Well, that 45:14 wouldn't be you." [CA laughs] "If your 45:19 husband is the praying man that you asked 45:21 and he's following God, then who are YOU to 45:25 make a decision based on what vehicle you 45:27 need?" Well, I tell you what. Sleeping 45:32 wasn't real good that night, and we were 45:34 on our way to Pennsylvania for a 45:36 seminar. I remember looking over at him 45:39 and I said, "Rendall, if you really think 45:41 a truck is what we need and we need 45:44 to invest in a different type of vehicle, I'm 45:46 going to leave that up to you if you promise 45:48 to pray about it." I said, "That's between 45:51 you and the Lord, and I need to submit to that 45:53 for whatever it is that God's placed 45:55 upon your heart." - Yeah. Because he had 45:57 fallen into your ministry. He's 46:00 working with you now and you're working 46:01 together. - He is; full-time. - It has 46:02 become a joint ministry. So, he's making a 46:05 decision as to what he sees, and of course 46:08 you do your work, too, but the loader, unloader, 46:10 packer, unpacker- he's the guy. - He's the guy. 46:13 - And so he sees something. Walk us 46:15 through the next- 'cause this is kind of 46:17 a cute story. I really like this. - Well, 46:19 he, through friends of ours-like, family 46:22 friends-he has a friend of his, Ernie, who's 46:25 like a brother (whose son worked for Nissan). 46:27 So he calls him and he's like, "Hey, you 46:30 have anything?" and we're talking, and of course, 46:33 he gets off the phone talking to him, and 46:35 I'm like, "We're not going over this amount." 46:36 My will is still there. He's like, "Okay, 46:39 honey," 'cause he's never harsh. Ever. 46:43 He calls back and he's like, "Okay. I have 46:46 something here I think is perfect for you." 46:48 Then I think I said to you, "This has to 46:51 be the payments. It can't be over this 46:53 amount." You know? Because I have a 46:55 mindset to make sure that there's enough 46:57 money in your ministry- especially our kind of 47:00 ministry. We're a faith-based ministry. 47:02 - And you travel the road a lot. - A lot. 47:05 - And so at that point, I left it to him. I 47:08 backed out of it; it was up to Rendall. 47:10 Now, we're in Ohio at this time, and the 47:14 person he's talking to is back in Texas. 47:16 In order for the deal to be done, we have 47:20 to drive our SUV back there and it 47:22 cannot be over the mileage that it needs 47:24 to be in order to make the deal. So 47:26 now it falls in his lap because when 47:28 he left the house that morning, we drove 47:30 back. One day- drove all the way back 47:32 to Texas. I thought, "If we don't get 47:34 a new vehicle, at least I'm home at 47:36 my own washer and dryer to get some 47:37 laundry done." So off he takes to 47:40 the dealership the next morning. - And? 47:43 Meanwhile, at the dealership? - Well, 47:45 we go to the dealership, I keep making phone 47:46 calls to Mel and I say, "Hey, it just keeps 47:49 getting better." We were supposed to come 47:51 in with some funds in the way of a down payment 47:53 that negated that. They said, "No, you 47:56 don't need to pay anything down." 47:57 They said, "You're not going to get the 3 48:00 or 4% interest." I said, "Why not?" 48:02 "'Cause you're going to get 0.99." So I said, 48:05 "That's better." - Praise the Lord. 48:06 - He's calling me each time. - And I keep making 48:08 these phone calls, and she says, "Well, why 48:09 don't they just give it to us?" [laughs] 48:11 - Well, then, they come in and they 48:13 said, "We're going to give you 100,000 miles 48:15 no maintenance. We're going to warrant 48:17 the car up to 100,000 miles." Then they- 48:20 he calls me again and says, "Guess what? 48:22 They're going to do all of our oil 48:24 changes free for a whole year!" 48:26 I said, "Are you serious, Rendall?" 48:28 And he said, "Yeah!" Then he calls me back 48:30 a little bit later, and I'm thinking, "I 48:32 wish he'd just get through with this 48:33 deal!" He keeps calling me on the phone and 48:35 I'm getting stuff ready. He said, "Oh, by the 48:37 way, we don't have to make a payment 48:39 for 3 months!" And that's when I told 48:41 him; I said, "Baby, they might as well 48:43 just give it to us!" And I'll never forget 48:46 him pulling in the driveway in this 48:48 beautiful black truck. You've seen it. 48:51 - It's a good-looking truck. - And I'm 48:53 thinking, Lord, we don't deserve this. This 48:56 is far better than we deserve. I walked 48:58 outside and I looked at it. We went around 49:00 the front of that car, and we dedicated 49:02 that vehicle to the Lord." - Praise the Lord. 49:05 - Mileage. 21 miles to the gallon at 49:10 highway speed. It's pretty amazing. - Yeah. 49:13 I remember you, during spring camp meeting, were 49:16 staying in the apartment next to us, and I 49:18 pulled up one day and I said, "Irma, 49:20 look at that truck! Whose truck is that!?" 49:24 - Yeah; and this is another thing! God 49:26 used my children who have extra funds, and 49:29 we were there. We brought it back. My 49:30 son loved it. He made an appointment for 49:32 the people in Mt. Vernon to have a whole bed liner 49:36 sprayed in there for us, free of charge! 49:38 - Amen. - No charge to us. $300 or $500. 49:42 Then, he said, "We need a tonneau cover," 49:45 found one; they installed it FREE of charge. 49:48 - To whether proof, because you're 49:50 carrying food equipment. - You know, it's 49:53 funny. I don't know if we're going to have 49:54 time. I'm going to do something right 49:55 now. Let's go to your second song, and 49:57 then whatever time we have left, because 49:59 if you're a truck person or a ministry 50:01 person, these little hugs from God are 50:04 crucially important to the success of your 50:06 ministry. To knock down percentage rate, 50:08 to get this done for free. You need 50:10 a bed liner so you're not beating your 50:11 truck up. You're taking stuff in and out. 50:13 All of this, blessings from the Lord. Having 50:15 said that, let's go to your second 50:16 song, then we'll kind of use that time 50:18 we have left to sort of wrap a little 50:19 bow on it. The next song you're going to 50:21 be doing is "Where the Spirit Is," and I think 50:24 you'll enjoy this. |
Revised 2018-10-10