233 Stories Series: Surprises from God with Tiffany Noel

The Savvy Sauce

*DISCLAIMER: This episode contains thematic material and is not intended for young ears.

233. Stories Series: Surprises from God with Tiffany Noel

**Transcription Below**

Psalm 37:23 (NLT) "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives."

Topics We Cover:

1. Chaotic Childhood

2. Meeting Josh and Surrendering to God

3. God's Personal Way to Reveal Loving Reminders to Her

Tiffany Noel had a chaotic childhood experience filled with loss and abuse. Tiffany's life speaks of the goodness of God and how He continually reveals Himself in intimate ways despite being the Creator of the Universe. Tiffany studied at Bradley University getting her undergraduate degree in Psychology and her Masters in Human Development Counseling. She combines her experience in the "hard knocks of life" with her education to relate to and encourage other people who have survived trauma. Most importantly, Tiffany uses her faith in God to point people to the ultimate hope found in Jesus Christ. Tiffany and her family are active members at Summit Point Church in East Peoria, IL.

Tiffany currently works as a Psychotherapist at a group practice in Morton, IL called Genesis Counseling. Tiffany has served in this calling for the past few years. Prior to working at Genesis Counseling, Tiffany worked at OSF Adult Behavioral Health for ten years. She also has direct work experience with the homeless and geriatric populations. Tiffany has a heart for people who feel unseen, unheard and unloved. Tiffany mixes humor, tough love and Biblical truth to provide a safe space for her clients to rest, grow and heal. Tiffany resides in Morton, IL with her husband Josh, their two children, Lily and Oliver, and their two rambunctious dogs, Scooby and Daphne.

Book an appointment with Tiffany by emailing [e-mail]

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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: Today's episode includes some thematic material. I want you to be aware before you listen in the presence of little ears.

For anyone who feels like they don't have time to cook, but they still desire to have meals that taste just like grandma's, I can't wait to share more about one of my favorite sponsors, Grace Catering Company. Check them out today at gracecateringcompany.com.

Tiffany Noel is my guest today, and we met through our mutual friend, Julie Roth. Because of Tiffany's effervescent personality, humor, and transparency, I considered her an instant friend that first time we met for coffee. I was so grateful she opened up to tell me more about her life experience, and soon after that initial meeting, I invited her to be a guest on the podcast. [00:01:18]

She's now going to share her redemption story with us. Here's our chat.

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Tiffany.

Tiffany Noel: Thank you, Laura. Happy to be here.

Laura Dugger: So glad to have you join. Will you begin by taking us back and tell us a bit about your childhood?

Tiffany Noel: Of course. Yes. I actually grew up in a small town of Chillicothe, Illinois. In my early years, I was raised in a Pentecostal church. Mom was a believer, took us every Sunday, every Wednesday. But my dad did not attend church. And I remember that was part of our childhood was praying for Dad's salvation. And I remember one time him losing his coat and keys, and we prayed that they would be found. It was like three months later, they were found. I honestly can't even remember where, but it just stuck in my mind that God answers prayers from a very young age.

Mom was a stay-at-home mom. Dad worked outside of the home. Unfortunately, my dad was an alcoholic. [00:02:20] So if he wasn't working, he was usually either drinking or sleeping to recover from a hangover.

The rare occasions that he was present, I do remember him being very silly, very funny. He would make Donald Duck voices, and he was just kind of goofy and mischievous.

Outside of my dad's addiction, my childhood for the first eight years was pretty typical. It was just a lot of sleepovers with cousins and best friends and visits to Grandma's house, camping, holiday celebrations. We went to a lot of garage sales.

However, things quickly turned in the year when I was eight, and it's one sleepover that definitely will be forever etched into my mind. At that sleepover, it was my older sister who's 18 months older, and we would always switch kids. So the oldest daughter in my friend's family went with my sister and the younger one I stayed with at her house.

We were actually just playing, putting together a puzzle and I remember hearing, "Your dad's going to die tonight." [00:03:24] And I, being raised Pentecostal, was very aware of the enemy. And I was like, "I rebuke you, devil, in the name of Jesus." I immediately said that. Unfortunately, the same exact thought popped back into my mind again in a different voice and out of my own thought. And it just said, "Your dad's going to die tonight. Your mom's going to call, and they're going to say they're taking your dad to the hospital, and he isn't going to make it."

Before that sentence even ended, I heard my friend's mom pick up the phone that rang and said they were dropping my sister and her friend back home, because my dad was being rushed to the hospital. He didn't make it, but we didn't actually know that until later.

Our friend's mom had put us to bed at their house. I didn't fall asleep. Felt like I had this information that no one else had. But later, my mom and pastors picked us up and took us home, and told us the news that my dad didn't make it. For quite a while, I honestly was in a lot of denial. Although my dad didn't travel for work, I was convinced that he was on a business trip, and that's kind of how I went along with my life. [00:04:31]

From that point forward, we kind of just lived with a spirit of fear in our house. I just remember my mom would sleep on the couch every night. We never went back to our bedrooms. She slept on the couch, and we'd sleep on the floor next to her.

I remember in my adult years talking to Mom about that, and she said that she was just very scared that my dad's, quote, bar friends would come and hurt us somehow. She even said she realized how unrealistic that was because they were such nice people. But it was just the way the enemy was making her very afraid.

Fast forward, it wasn't even a year later when my mom met what she thought was her knight in shining armor at a revival at church. She was very afraid that she couldn't support us kids, me and my sister. She didn't have an education, and she really thought she needed a man to be able to provide for us. [00:05:33]

So when she met this man, it was very quickly after they got married that we realized he was very much a wolf in sheep's clothing. Specifically, he definitely treated my sister and I like slaves. We were required to do all the chores inside and outside the house. These weren't like typical childhood chores. It would be like pulling weeds until our fingers bled, cleaning the garage that was already cleaned, that we had just cleaned. Now looking back, it was all about control for him and manipulation.

He would tell us we could go to a slumber party if we cleaned our room, and we would meticulously clean our room. Then he'd come up and run his hand over the shelf and just knock everything off and say it was not clean and the bed wasn't made crisp enough.

Other types of manipulation and emotional abuse would include, he was a hunter and he would put dead deer carcasses and hang them up in the garage and then ask us to go out and get something, unbeknownst to us, the deer was hanging, dripping blood, and just obviously startle and scare us. [00:06:39]

He would force us to take care of our animals. I had pet rabbits and several dogs, cats. But basically, as soon as we started to bond with them, he would take them away. I was actually forced to, can't make this stuff up, but forced to eat my pet rabbit and later informed by my mom that he would drown our kittens. He sold, I'll never forget, Buffy, my favorite dog, just because, according to my mom, he said we were getting too attached, which is what you're kind of supposed to do as a family pet.

Then, unfortunately, his controlling and emotional abuse escalated to sexual abuse as I aged. Time and time again, he would use pepper spray, spray into the bathroom so that me and my sister would come out naked. He would force us to, well, force me to rub his feet until one day it became more than that. I would often go to bed crying, just immense feeling of shame for what was happening. [00:07:40]

Other instances of just control that I can remember is he'd hold me down and tickle me until I had to go to the bathroom and I'd pee myself. I mean, I was a teenager, so it was very humiliating. And then on numerous occasions, I would fall asleep on the couch and wake up to him touching me.

When my Mom and him divorced, we actually found a hole in the bathroom door that looked directly into the bathtub. So the man that was supposed to protect and provide for us completely betrayed us. He also spent all of our Social Security money for my Dad that was supposed to pay for like braces and college and just daily expenses.

He opened a pet store, bought a really expensive car, just was very frivolous with our money, and meantime, didn't hold a job for longer than a few months at a time.

So after years of abuse, I finally told my mom that the sexual abuse was going on. Unfortunately, at first, my mom didn't believe me. I understand now, I really do. She was just trying to survive. [00:08:41] But at the time, it was very hard that someone was supposed to protect you and love you didn't believe you.

I couldn't take it anymore, I ran away to my grandmother's house. And grandma was sort of a safe haven, a place that I got a little taste of childhood. My mom would beg me to come home and I would refuse. She said that one night her and my stepdad got into a big argument and my mom brought up the allegations, and he said, quote, "Tiffany wanted it." And that was when my mom knew I was telling the truth and she was married to a predator.

She immediately kicked him out and shortly after I came back home. However, unfortunately, the guilt and shame my mom and I both carried led us both to really backslide from our faith. So after losing my father, and then experiencing that hypocrisy of the Christians in my life, I started to seek out worldly comforts.

Laura Dugger: Wow. Thank you so much for sharing. [00:09:43] It's not an easy story to hear. Obviously not an easy life to live at that time. And understandable how everything felt chaotic, even your faith at that time. Eventually, you met a man who you would later get engaged to. Will you pick your story back up there?

Tiffany Noel: Yes, of course. So after all of that took place, and like I said, I went to the world for comfort. Specifically, I kind of got wrapped into drinking a lot of alcohol to basically just numb my thoughts and feelings, experimented a little bit with drugs, had some relationships with men, just seeking to be validated to get attention.

And in all honesty, I would always say I would never get married, never be in a relationship, I thought. I used to literally say that all men would either abandon me or they were perverts. [00:10:42] That was kind of what my mind frame was.

So when I met Josh at a mutual place of employment in 1998, I actually just graduated from high school and was working just as a telemarketer and going to college full time. He was working there as a second job. I just started to notice him, and he was just a little different than the men I had known before.

We ultimately started dating in 1999 after he invited me to his low-pitch softball games. Those were some fun times. But we both met during a time where we'd both gone completely away from our Christian upbringing. We were both living a very selfish life of comfort, pleasure.

However, when one of our party friends started going to church, we both kind of noticed a difference in her. We really specifically noticed a peace and a contentment in her that wasn't there prior to her surrendering her life to Christ. [00:11:42] And I wanted what she had.

So after she invited us to church, I ended up trying the church out and asked Josh if he'd come along and he said, of course. We both started attending services and got involved. Then at that point, we both rededicated our lives to Christ and fully surrendered our whole life to him.

We actually, just because I think it's noteworthy, so other people know they can do it too. After we were together, I want to say close to two years of having sex outside of marriage, when we decided to rededicate our lives to Christ, we actually stopped having sex and lived together for convenience. I was going to Bradley, he lived close, but we did not have sex for a solid year before we got married.

So I think that's important just because I think so often, you know, when we fall into sin, we think we were kind of trapped in it instead of realizing that it's never too late to ask God for strength and self-control to turn your life around. [00:12:44] So that's what we did.

We've been actually together now for 18 years in October. So we were able to really stick it out. And he was able to prove to me that all men aren't what I thought they were.

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Laura Dugger: That's incredible to hear how God was just starting to plant seeds, beginning to redeem your view of men and your experience with Josh. So at this point, you're engaged, can you catch us up to that part of the story?

Tiffany Noel: Yes. Actually, at the time I was in school, grad school, and so Josh and I had quite a long dating and engagement life. We were actually engaged in 2002 and married in 2005. My family actually always would tease me and say that they loved Josh more than they loved me. [00:15:46] He fit right into our family, kind of just... My mom always said it would take a special man to marry Tiffany, and he was the one that was the special man.

So he continued to just work in our life, and we ended up just going through a myriad of different heartaches and stressors that kept us both continually being sanctified by Christ and surrendering to Him again and again.

We endured a lot of heartache, but nothing really could compare to the sudden loss of my mom in August of 2018. I distinctly remember driving a few months prior to what had happened, and I was on my way to work and just praying as I often did. It was only like a 15-minute drive. It was kind of just the way I started my morning. And during my prayer time, the word "change" came into my mind, followed by the words "trust me".[00:16:47]

I cried and told God, "I promise to trust you." And in all honesty, I thought, you know, a third child, a job change that I never in a million years would have guessed what He was actually preparing me for. I realized it was sort of time to put my actions where my mouth was and trust that God is good and His timing is perfect.

Because my younger sister, Caitlin, I didn't mention her earlier, that was really the good part of my mom being married to my stepfather is that she had a child with him. Her name's Caitlin, and she's my younger sister by 10 years. She, my older sister, Sonny, and I have had a really close bond with all three of us and my mom.

Caitlin actually was due to get married in 2018 and my mom had called me that morning. I was on my way to get my son's first year photo shoot done. [00:17:51] That was the biggest stressor in my life at that point was, "Will my 1-year-old smile." You know, it was all I really was concerned about, thinking about.

My mom called, and my friend, actually the friend that started going to church, same friend, Sarah, was in the car with me. And we joked and laughed with Mom and just said goodbye and never thinking that would be our last conversation.

Mom was actually out shopping for shoes. It was a Thursday, and Caitlin's wedding was on a Saturday. She was out shopping for shoes to wear to the wedding, and she ended up suffering a massive stroke. She was in the parking lot of a department store, and someone called 911 and rushed her. They ended up sending an ambulance and rushing her to the hospital.

My sister got the call, and then she called me and just said that we needed to go to the hospital. My older sister and younger sister were actually ironing something for the wedding. They were ironing tablecloths or something. [00:18:53] So we got the call. Sarah stayed with my kids. Luckily, she was there. It was all a timing thing.

We all went to be with my mom in the ER. Basically, we had to make some really tough decisions, but we all knew that my mom would not want to live without quality of life. They said they could do a surgery, but they pretty much guaranteed that she would likely be a vegetable. And we knew Mom wouldn't want to live that way.

We'd actually all been praying for Mom to be free from her own addiction to alcohol. And we felt like, you know, sometimes God answers our prayers differently than we think, but we knew that this might be the freedom that He was intending for her.

So while we didn't understand God's timing of allowing this to happen two days before my sister's wedding, we knew that Mom's time to be born was literally written in the destiny way before my sister chose her wedding date, you know, to believe that there is a time to be born and time to die and that all of our days were written before we were even born. [00:20:06]

So God started giving us signs, though, that very night in the hospital and chose to give us more signs at my sister's wedding that my mom was safe and he was indeed very good.

Specifically, the first thing that happened was my mom had a breathing tube in, and after a conversation with the doctor, we had agreed to have it removed. My sister didn't feel comfortable with being in the room, but I couldn't bear the idea of my mom being there and could pass without anybody with her. So I chose to stay.

During the few minutes that the doctors and everybody left the room that I was alone with my mom, I remember just sobbing and holding your hand and singing the lyrics to Amazing Grace. I hadn't thought about this song or sang this song in a long time, and I can't sing, by the way. It wasn't beautiful, but it was just what was on my heart and mind.

The next morning, my little sister actually sent a text saying she knew that everything was going to be okay because in the shower that morning, she started singing the lyrics to the song Amazing Grace. [00:21:09] And she literally quoted in a text saying, "I haven't thought about that song in forever." I just quickly texted her back and revealed that that was the song that I had sang to Mom when they were taking out her breathing tube. And just gave us all confirmation that God heard us, saw our grief.

We felt like we could go forward with the wedding. That was one of our big things is like, should she still have her wedding? Everything was paid for. Everything was planned. But we all felt like, Should you have a wedding when you're in that state? But we really felt like that was kind of God's permission. I don't know if permission is the right word, but He just gave us that feeling that it was okay.

My mom loved frogs and she loved hummingbirds. So at the wedding, when all of us girls were down in the basement of my sister's mother-in-law's home, there was a window well, and we were all getting ready, and this big toad jumped into the window well and was like watching us. [00:22:18] And then at the same time upstairs, the guys were getting ready and there was a hummingbird pecking out the window.

And don't get me wrong, I don't think my mom came back as a frog or a hummingbird. I mean, make this clear. But I do think that we serve a really awesome God who cares. He literally cares that we were hurting. He wanted us to know that Mom was with Him.

We had set up a little memorial chair with a picture of Mom and just a saying and there was a butterfly that sat there the entire ceremony. My brother-in-law even tried to touch it, but the butterfly didn't move. Like it just sat there. It's like those things that were continually to happen were just to... They're more than coincidences.

Laura Dugger: Wow, that has brought me to tears so many times already in our conversation. But just how incredible at the same moment that we don't know everything about heaven, but that she was... it seems her presence was in both places at the same time. [00:23:21] That that really is supernatural.

And how God delighted in every detail of your lives to give you peace in a very personal way. And God began doing something else very personal to reveal loving reminders to you. So, Tiffany, will you share that with us now?

Tiffany Noel: Absolutely. It still just sometimes just catches me and gives me awe of the way He works. But shortly after my mom passed away, my sisters and I really felt strongly that we wanted to do something to memorialize Mom. Just remember her.

My younger sister, Caitlin, had already had like two or three tattoos. But Sonia and I were always like, "No way, we would never do that. We never wanted to be in pain." Like we wouldn't pay to be in pain, that kind of thing.

I walked into her house one day and she looked at me and she goes, "I'm going to say something crazy and you're not going to believe this." And before she even said it, I said, "You want to get a tattoo?" And she was like, "Yeah." And I was like, "Yeah, me too." [00:24:26] And we all had the exact same idea. So it's right here on my wrist and it's a hummingbird. It has the word "free" because mom's free from her addiction.

But when we took the idea to the tattoo artist, after she started to draw it, she added this little heart right at the hummingbird's beak. And didn't think much of it. But kind of from that point forward, I started recognizing that I was seeing hearts a lot more often. And it honestly took me a while to be like, I'm seeing hearts more often. Am I just making this up in my head? I really was like, Okay.

So we saw them so often, and I say "we", me and my kiddos, that they would call them Gigi hearts. Lily was only three and Ollie wasn't quite one when mom passed. But Lily is a special little soul and she has a really good memory. Her and my Mom had a very special relationship.

And so anytime we would see the hearts, Lily and Ollie, and they still to this day will be like, "Mom, a Gigi heart," and kind of take me to whatever they found. [00:25:34]

But what I recognize is that grief, it comes in waves is what I always talk about. One minute you're completely fine, you're living life and you're like, I got this. You know, I'm going to see my mom in eternity. And then the next minute, a smell, a song, a place, it just smacks you right off your feet. It just hits you.

So those moments would happen, and when they would happen, I started to be more intentional and specific in asking for God to send me a heart. One incident I can truly remember is we were at a little family vacation at Indiana Dunes Beach, just for like a weekend or a couple-day getaway, and my daughter and I were both just kind of feeling down at the same time. We were having one of those we miss Gigi days.

So my daughter being only three was like, "Well, mom, let's ask God for a heart." [00:26:35] Her faith still just like... you know, I'd say like faith like a child still blows my mind away. But she literally closed her eyes, we were in the water, and she prayed, "Jesus, tell Gigi, we miss her. We love her. We wish she was here." And then she was just like, with faith, "Just send us a heart. Send us a heart-shaped rock." And it wasn't like, can you, will you? It was like, "Send us one." That was convicting to me. She believed it would happen. There was no doubt in her mind.

Within seconds, we looked down and we both saw this reddish color heart-shaped rock. We picked it up and her and I both were sensitive little souls, we both burst into tears. It just has been sort of constant since then. Constant as in it never stops, but it's sporadic, you know?

It usually is either when I'm really feeling down and I ask or kind of out of the blue, almost like when God knows that I need it, like I just start to feel sad. [00:27:42] But I just feel like I'm just constantly humbled at how God loves us. He understands our grief and He gives us tokens of love and comfort.

I can't lie. I'll send you pictures. I sent you some that you can even maybe post. But I've seen heart-shaped rocks, shells, fruit, vegetables, acorns, leaves. The other day I was eating sausage and I cut into it and there was a heart in the middle of it. I mean, at this point I just laugh because I'm like, God has such a sense of humor. He's so funny. He just sees us and He cares is what always just blows my mind away that He cares. You know, He's obviously got a lot of other things to do and He cares to provide comfort. I've seen so many different things.

Another one I have, one incident, a bigger one I have to mention because that just sticks out in my mind was when we were in North Carolina. I was having one of those I miss... I always call them "I miss my mommy kind of days". And I just prayed silently. [00:28:47] I was kind of walking on the beach close to the shore and I just told God, I'm like, "I know that I'm selfish. I know that you've proved yourself time and time again, but I need another sign that mom's okay and that she's safe with you."

I was more specific because the Bible does tell us to be specific in our prayers. And so I asked to find a heart-shaped shell. Again, no lie, seconds later, I looked down, and right at the shore was a shell, but it wasn't the shell that was in the shape of a heart, which I thought was even cooler. It was a heart etched in the shell.

The reason I think it's so cool is because so often I'll find something and people be like, Oh, I think you're just seeing a heart or whatever. It's almost like the doubters. And this one was just such a heart in the shell that there was like no way that everyone wasn't seeing the same thing I was.

Then there was another shell that was sort of opened up that I thought truly looked like angel's wings right next to it. [00:29:46] Again, it was just like this reminder that the maker of the universe loves me and you, all of us enough to take the time out to reassure us of this love.

Now it's been almost five years since Mom's been gone and I just keep my eyes out for God's creation etched into the shape of a heart because I'm looking and because I know I'll always find them. And each time I do find one. Over and over, it seems like it revives my weary, doubtful little soul.

Even this morning on my way here to record, I went to a local coffee shop and they had wrote, "You are loved on the top of my coffee." And right after it, it was a heart. And I immediately giggled because I was, you know, preparing and nervous for this. And I was like, okay, "God, thank you."

Laura Dugger: How did you find out about The Savvy Sauce? Did someone share this podcast with you? Hopefully, you've been blessed through the content. [00:30:46] Now we would love to invite each of you to share these episodes with friends and help us spread the word about The Savvy Sauce. You can share today's episode or go back and choose any one of your other previous favorites to share. Thanks for helping us out.

I have been so encouraged by the pictures that you send. I remember hearts in Cheerios and when you cracked open your eggs one time and so many unexpected places. But it's also interesting how many of these are in nature.

If you don't mind, I just want to share a story of how God even let me in on it one day. Mark and I were on Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, California and I was just struck by the beauty of these water-worn rocks in that area. Most of them were the same. They were all smooth and gray and shaped like ovoids. But you came to mind in that moment. [00:31:45] And I asked God if he would be willing to show me a heart for you. Just like you said, seconds later, it was the very next thing I laid my eyes on. My eyes fell on the only heart-shaped rock I encountered that day.

I snapped a picture of the beach and then a picture of the heart stone and sent it to you to remind you in that moment how you are very loved by God and loved by others. I found out then later that day that we were actually allowed to take a few of the stones from the beach. So I went back to search for that heart, but I never found it again. That somehow made the experience feel even more miraculous.

Like you said, He sends you these reminders of His love and presence. I loved in one of our email exchanges when we were leading up to today, you signed off "still finding hearts". [00:32:49] In addition to still finding hearts, what else are you up to these days?

Tiffany Noel: Just have to add in there that I call those God winks. Actually, at one point I started looking into, do other people see hearts? I found out that a lot of people actually do see hearts after a loved one passes. A lot of people, they named them God Winks.

I remember when we had met once, you had told me about a friend who had recently passed. And so I was also praying that you would find a heart. And that's when you sent that, I was like... I still tear up and get goosebumps because I just think he answers our prayers when we ask.

I've been married to Josh for 18 years, like I've said earlier. We have two miracle babies, is what I call them. My daughter, who's named Lily, she's seven, and in the second grade this year and Oliver, who's five, in kindergarten. [00:33:51] Well, obviously all babies are miracles.

I have to add that my two were actually conceived after 10 years of marriage. We had infertility issues. And so we tried some fertility treatments. We became licensed foster parents. And we were told by several experts that we would never be able to conceive naturally. They didn't know that we serve such a great God. I got pregnant after 10 years of marriage. And after that many years of trying, 100% natural.

So they really are my miracle babies. Just because they're miracle babies doesn't mean that they're easy to raise. I wish that was the truth. But it's not. They're very sanctifying. But they're my life, along with my husband. We live in Morton, Illinois. We like the feeling of being in a small town. [00:34:50]

We also have two fur babies. We have Scooby who's 12. He's a Lab Weimaraner. And we have Daphne, who is my newest baby. She is a Golden Retriever and she's a year. And she has rocked my world. I can honestly say I will never have a puppy again. I love her. I'm learning to love her. But she's worse than a toddler because she chews shoes and pees in various places. Yeah, very, very humbling and sanctifying to have a puppy as well.

I actually work as a psychotherapist at a group practice called Genesis Counseling. Prior to Genesis Counseling, I actually worked as a psychotherapist at OSF. I like to work mainly with adults and couples, just struggling with various mental health issues.

Laura Dugger: And you are a fabulous counselor. So if anyone wants to reach out to you for an appointment, where would you direct them? [00:35:56]

Tiffany Noel: If they're actually wanting to schedule an appointment, they could call at [phone] and they could either leave a message or Dr. Emma Bucher will directly answer if she's available. If you want to reach me directly with any questions, my email is the best way to reach me. And that's [e-mail].

Laura Dugger: Wonderful. We will add links in the show notes to make it easy if somebody's driving or can't take notes right now. But Tiffany, you may already be aware, we're called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge or discernment. And so as my final question for you today, what is your savvy sauce?

Tiffany Noel: My savvy sauce is ask. We serve a God who wants an intimate relationship with us. He knows as humans we'll have doubts and want and need reassurance of His existence in our daily lives. [00:37:01]

I don't believe God is shocked or offended when we ask for tangible signs that He has not left us or forsaken us. One of my all-time favorite scriptures since childhood is found in Matthew. And it states, "Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened."

I truly believe if it's an alignment with God's will He will answer our prayers. There is nothing that's special about me. I see heart symbols in various objects because I ask and then I seek and then I find evidence again and again of the goodness of God.

Laura Dugger: Wow. When you share it with us, it builds up our faith too. You are such an incredibly faithful woman. I have loved your sense of humor and you're hilarious to spend time with. But you are also able to go deep. You're able to be real and transparent. [00:38:03] And in the short time that we've already known each other, I have just experienced so much joy getting to be with you. I'm humbled by even your prayer when we lost Heather. It was about three weeks later that found that heart-shaped rock for you. So God works in miraculous ways. And you've directed us back to that today. So, Tiffany, thank you for being my guest.

Tiffany Noel: You're so welcome. Thank you.

Laura Dugger: 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. 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. [00:39:04]

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.

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. [00:40:05] 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. 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. [00:41:08]

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.