237 Stories Series: Prodigal and Redemption with Renee Endress

237. Stories Series: Prodigal and Redemption with Renee Endress

 

**Transcription Below**

 

Isaiah 61:1-3 (KJV) "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

 

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

 

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."

 

Questions and Topics We Cover:

1. Will you tell us a bit about your experience of surrendering your life to Christ? 

2. Will you share your journey with your prodigal daughter, Andrea?

3. Will you tell us about Grace Catering and your cookbooks?

 

Renée Endress is blessed to be the mother of seven children ranging from 16-32 years old, all of whom she homeschooled. Four of the seven are married and her six precious grandchildren bring her much joy and laughter! She is also part of a church family she loves and her dear parents passed on to her a love of sunsets, flowers, and the beauty of God's creation.

 

Cooking has been a passion for much of her life and she's written three cookbooks, which were later combined into one large book. For the past ten years, she enjoyed catering, which kept growing and eventually blossomed into an almost full-time job. A couple years ago, she refurbished a building in Peoria, Illinois, which is now her catering kitchen where they make homemade take and bake meals for people to purchase. Through it all, God has been so good!

 

Renée says, "I could share just the pretty parts of my life, but I've come to realize that something special can happen when people are real with each other -- when we share the muddy parts of our lives as well as the lovely parts. This can be used to encourage each other on the journey, and most of all, to point to the faithfulness of our amazing Savior, who loves to redeem our mud stories.

 

My story looks much different than my idealistic hopes for my future as a young woman, but through it all, God has been faithful every single step of the way. He was faithful in teaching me as an immature newlywed struggling through some very difficult relationship situations. He was faithful as I walked, tripped, and floundered with a daughter through some very dark teenage years, deep rebellion, ten months at a residential facility for troubled teens, and a teenage pregnancy. He was oh, so faithful when my difficult marriage of twenty-four years turned more and more destructive and led to an ongoing separation. He was faithful two years later when I was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent two surgeries and radiation treatments. He has been faithful through ten years of "single" motherhood. He was faithful as He opened doors for me to start a thriving catering business at the perfect time. He was faithful when He allowed me to be a part of starting "Beauty for Ashes," a group for women from my national church who have come from painful marriages. As I look back on my life, I see plainly His footprints all the way through.

 

These verses have been so meaningful in my life: "...He hath sent me (Jesus) to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound... to comfort all that mourn... to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified." Isaiah 61:1-3"

 

Visit Renée's Business or Order Her Popular Cookbook at Grace Catering

 

Other Related Episode from The Savvy Sauce:

78 Parenting the Prodigal Child And God’s Desire For Redemption With Mother-Daughter Duo, Claire Stanfill and Tindell Baldwin

 

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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] <music>

 

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. 

 

[00:00:18] <music>

 

Laura Dugger: Leman Property Management Company has the apartment you will be able to call home, with over 1,700 apartment units available in Central Illinois. Visit them today at LemanProperties.com or connect with them on Facebook. 

 

My guest today is Renee Endress, entrepreneur, mother to seven, and my dear aunt. Renee has walked through some extremely dark and difficult times, which does make the light of Christ shine that much brighter.

 

She's going to share one particular season as she parented her prodigal daughter. 

 

Here's our chat. 

 

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Renee.

 

Renee Endress: Thank you so much, Laura. It is an honor and a privilege to be here with you today.

 

Laura Dugger: Well, will you just begin by telling us a bit more about your experience of surrendering your life to Christ? [00:01:21] 

 

Renee Endress: Absolutely. My testimony of faith isn't necessarily one of those exciting, edge-of-your-seat thrillers, but I still feel it's relatable to others. I also think no matter how the Lord works in each of our hearts to draw us to Him, each story is a miracle. I feel beyond blessed to have grown up in an amazing Christian family. 

 

My childhood wasn't perfect, but it really was very idyllic. And my parents, as you know, lived out their deep faith in a very real way every single day. They were always looking for opportunities to love and serve others and bless the lives of those around them. 

 

Even though you're already aware of this, I can't begin to tell others of the countless thousands of notes of encouragement that Mom sent to others, or the number of times that they visited and gave gifts or food to widows, widowers, sick people, people with special needs, and the list could go on and on. [00:02:21] 

 

They truly modeled how to be the hands and feet of Jesus. They also modeled a beautiful, godly marriage. They loved each other so deeply and were also best friends. Way up to the very end, Dad would gaze at Mom with love in his eyes and call her his vivacious bride.

 

Family mealtime, Bible reading, and prayer around the table was sacred to them. Mom almost constantly had tapes of sermons or hymns playing while she worked. And I know that ages me there with the tapes. 

 

She was also a prayer warrior. It was a common sight to walk by their bedroom door and find her on her knees praying at their bedside. So, because of all of this, my five siblings and I were immersed in the Word from little on up. I had a love for Jesus, and I feel like I had a real level of innocence until I was a young teen.

 

Recently, we came across a book of poems I had written when I was about 11 or 12 years old. Many of them were poems about Jesus and heaven. [00:03:22] 

 

When I was about 14, I started feeling a deep conviction about my sin and knowing I needed to make the faith I'd grown up with my own. But during my high school years, I did my very best to ignore Jesus and the conviction that I was feeling. I convinced myself that I needed to experience all the fun of this world. For three years, I followed this elusive path of fun, but it was always so empty.

 

Satan is so good at planning excuses and reasons for procrastination, and he loves to make it look so difficult to surrender to Jesus. And it seems like he holds out all the things that we must give up as larger than life. 

 

Finally, after months of misery, it all came to a head one day while I was hanging out with a group of wild kids. There was reckless driving and heavy metal music and inappropriate activities. And I realized the depths of my misery, and I finally surrendered my life to Jesus. I'm so thankful every day now. [00:04:21] But I'm ashamed as I look back to see my spiritual immaturity at the time. 

 

My focus often seemed to be on the things I was giving up instead of on the goodness of God and Jesus and their tremendous sacrifice for me and my new life in Christ. As I look back now, though, I also see how my whole life's journey, and especially the deeply painful parts, have shaped me and deepened my faith and my love for the Lord. 

 

His word has been my absolute lifeline through the darkest days, and without His grace and peace to carry me, I know I'd just be a huddled heap of defeat and brokenness. His goodness and mercy never cease to amaze me. I'm so eternally grateful I can say, along with a songwriter, I'm thankful for the scars, for without them I wouldn't truly know His heart. I don't even want to imagine my life without Him.

 

Laura Dugger: Thank you for sharing your testimony with us. And just going back, you were the fifth child of six children total, and so a pretty large family to grow up in. [00:05:24] Did you envision having your own big family as well?

 

Renee Endress: So, I really did always have a desire to be a wife and mom. If I'm remembering right, I was asked in high school how many kids I'd like to have, and my answer was four or five. So, seven was definitely above and beyond what I'd envisioned, but I had always wanted to have a decent number of kids, and I certainly can't imagine my life without any of them.

 

Laura Dugger: Let's then just jump ahead to when you did have all seven kids and you were homeschooling. So, what was the age range of your children when they were all living under the same roof?

 

Renee Endress: So I started homeschooling when Andrea, my oldest, was 5 years old, so that was almost 27 years ago. My youngest will be a senior this fall, so I'm coming to the end of an era, and that is a lot of years of homeschooling. 

 

Andrea is 16 years older than Cambria, the youngest, so they were never all in their school-age years at the same time. But there were definitely years I was homeschooling four or five of them, from teens all the way down to the young grade school years. [00:06:34] And there were always at least a couple toddlers playing slash destroying things right beside us.

 

Laura Dugger: Renee, it runs in our family not to have very easy pregnancies, so going through that seven times in 16 years and homeschooling on top of that and living on a farm, there was so much on your plate. So, how did motherhood look different than you expected?

 

Renee Endress: Yes. For one thing, I have to say I'm thankful that my pregnancies weren't as hard as some of the other ones in our family. I definitely always had morning sickness in the beginning, but I feel like I got off easier than a lot of people as far as really hard pregnancies. 

 

But it's kind of crazy how much I've already forgotten about what day-to-day life looked like back then. Mainly, I just remember being extremely busy. I'd hit the floor running in the morning, and I wouldn't stop until late at night. I definitely had a lot more energy back then. [00:07:33] 

 

So, we usually all had breakfast together, and I'd do a few chores, like get some laundry started and a few things like that, and then we'd jump into our school day. I usually like to start off by doing some things together, like our scripture memorization and some sort of character enrichment story. And then the older kids would work on their assignments while I worked with the younger ones.

 

I'd maybe leave the school room long enough to go start a load of laundry or change a diaper, and then I'd keep taking turns with whichever one needed help at the time until lunchtime. We usually had a very simple lunch, and then afterwards the little ones would go down for naps, and I'd read history or a good historical fiction book to the others while they did some chores like folding laundry, or sometimes it was more like throwing laundry all around the room. 

 

Whoever hadn't finished their schoolwork would head back to the schoolroom with me, and we'd plug away until all their assignments were done. Then the kids usually had some free time while I graded papers and did some housework. 

 

I was pretty scheduled with the chores. [00:08:32] We had a chart up in the kitchen with a rotation of which one was assigned to each job after a meal. They also had their weekly cleaning schedule, and as they got older, they had their outdoor chores as well. 

 

We had a big lawn on our farm and a big garden, and we also had some animals like calves and goats off and on as well, so they each had their part to do to keep up with everything. 

 

As they got older, they loved to go out and help run the tractors and the combine on our farm. As much as they didn't always love doing their chores, some of them did them more willingly than others, but it was well worth it because they're all hard workers now, so I'm so thankful for that. It was worth the training. 

 

They also spent a lot of time playing and using their imaginations in the days before cell phones and social media took over. They enjoyed having me read books to them at night. We loved having other families over for meals and game nights. Another activity we loved was camping, so we did a lot of that in the summers. [00:09:31] 

 

So those were busy and exhausting days, and definitely not without their problems and stresses, but there were also a lot of good times and a lot of good memories made.

 

Laura Dugger: I agree, that is something that marks all of your children. They are such hard workers. It's very admirable.

 

Renee Endress: Thank you. 

 

Laura Dugger: Let's take a quick break to hear a message from our sponsor. 

 

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Laura Dugger: And we have a pretty large extended family, and like we mentioned before, we're related because you and my mom are sisters. I was sadly her prodigal child before I came to Christ. But then at that time, all of our family was praying for your first daughter, Andrea, who was also choosing to go down a difficult path. And mercifully, she's given us permission to share her story. 

 

In fact, one morning in my quiet time with the Lord, I had been praying for a while about reaching out to others to do a series on God's stories. And there was this one specific Monday morning He led me with a sense of urgency and I journaled about how I thought He was asking me to begin, in all caps, TODAY. [00:12:38] 

 

So that very day, I reached out to inquire about an interview with you and you said it was that exact morning that Andrea told you she was praying for ways to use her life to bless others. God's timing was such an encouragement to proceed. So now, will you share your journey with Andrea?

 

Renee Endress: Absolutely. Yes. So Andrea had always been a strong-willed child. She's our oldest, like we've mentioned, and so she was stuck being our guinea pig for our parenting journey. I always feel like somehow looking back, my parents made parenting look so easy. And then I remember thinking, when I was 16 years old, I thought I had all the answers on how to be a perfect parent. But I quickly found out, number one, parenting is not easy, and number two, I had absolutely no idea how to be a perfect parent. 

 

In looking back, I realized that in many ways I was too hard on Andrea, and I expected too much out of her. I expected her to fit my mold, and I made a lot of things into battles with her that really weren't worth it. [00:13:46] If I had it to do over, I'd make a lot of changes there. 

 

As Andrea became a teen, she began to go through some very dark years. She went into deep rebellion. She became involved with a scary group of friends who had prison records, and they smoked and drank and used drugs. 

 

Her friends even stole from us on multiple occasions. One time we found out that they had stolen gas, and another time we found a bunch of coins that had been given to us by Grandpa that were missing. 

 

The more we tried to set boundaries and keep her away from these people and the bad choices she was making, the angrier and sneakier she became. She got so good at lying, it was almost impossible to try to discern the truth. I often said her stories had more holes than Swiss cheese, but yet it was always hard, if not impossible, to prove that she was lying. 

 

There were so many terrifying nights that I woke up to find her missing, completely clueless where she was. And then we got some phone calls once that she had been caught stealing from a grocery store and one time from a gas station. [00:14:51] 

 

We were gone the day she got caught stealing alcohol at the grocery store, and since it was in the days before we had cell phones, we didn't find out till we got home that night that she'd been taken to a jail cell at the police station. I can't remember if a friend had bailed her out by the time we found out or what. I just remember the giant gut punch when we got the news. She would have probably been about 15 at the time. 

 

The time she got caught stealing gas from the gas station, which I later found out was certainly not the first time she had done it, I got a phone call from the station manager. She ordered me to bring Andrea to the station as soon as possible.

 

She was kind enough to want to give Andrea another chance instead of calling the police. So when we got to the gas station, she pulled us back into the broom closet and unleashed on Andrea. She let her know in no uncertain terms where her life was headed if she kept making these bad choices, and she assured her that if there was a next time, she would be heading to jail. [00:15:51] I stood there and sobbed while Andrea stood there stone-faced and seemingly completely unfazed. 

 

During this time, her anger was completely out of control, and it was often aimed at me. It was terrifying, too, when she and her dad went into rages, and I felt totally smashed between them.

 

My marriage had also become more and more destructive. I sometimes just wanted to pray a bomb would fall on me during the night to end this ongoing stress, terror, anguish, and chaos, but I knew I needed to be there and emotionally healthy for the sake of the five other children we had at the time. 

 

It was during this time in my life that God and His Word became my absolute lifeline. I had Bible verses on Post-it notes plastered all over my mirror. I memorized comforting hymns that I tried to sing through my tears. He was my anchor, and His Word gave me hope and courage when nothing else could.

 

I realized what a powerful thing hope is. [00:16:53] I hung that word up in different places throughout my house to remind me never to give up hope. I also started noticing how often hope is mentioned in Scripture, and I realized that it's a powerful gift from God. I underlined all the scriptures that I could find about hope. It was very interesting to me. It's a good study.

 

It was also during this time that God gave me an amazing sign to show me how much He cared about me and that He was right there with me no matter how deep and dark the pit that I was in. 

 

It had been a particularly bad day. The wind had been roaring in an unnerving way all day. As I got ready for bed, I cried out to God, "My life feels just like that wind. It's so chaotic and out of control. I just long for some peace and stillness."

 

The words had just left my mouth, and instantly, the wind stopped blowing. For about ten minutes, it was totally calm. And then the wind resumed its raging. But I will never, ever forget the night God stopped the wind for me. [00:17:57] 

 

Some verses that were very comforting to me during this time, and I had literally hundreds, but these are just a few I'll share. "They are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still." And that comes from Psalm 107.

 

"Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me, for my soul trusteth in thee. Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpassed." And during that time, I just felt like my life was going from one calamity to the next.

 

But after a time, God opened the doors for Andrea to move to a residential facility for troubled teens for about ten months. I was so thankful to know that she was in a safe place, and it was a blessing to be able to have some respite from the constant stress of her rebellion, as well as to be able to focus more on the other children. 

 

At the same time, all was not smooth sailing at home. Our marriage was in shambles, and I was pregnant with our seventh child. [00:18:59] So I was questioning God, Why? Why give us another child when our marriage was collapsing? Why when it seemed we were obviously doing a terrible job with the ones we already had? Just why? These were some very dark days.

 

Then after ten months, Andrea moved home, and she quickly started making very bad choices again. And then came the darkest days of my life so far. 

 

Our marriage was pretty much a total disaster. Things had progressively gotten uglier and uglier, and some very hard new things had just come to light. And then one Wednesday night, we went to our bedroom after church. There on my pillow was laying an envelope with our 18-year-old daughter's writing on the front, for Dad and Mom only. My heart started pounding as I began to fear the worst. With shaking hands, I opened the envelope, and there were the words, "I'm pregnant." 

 

God had prepared me for this day years before when I had read the story of a lady and her loving response when she received those words from her unmarried daughter. [00:20:06] I had tucked it into the back of my mind, hoping it was a lesson I'd never have the need for, but knowing it was how I wanted to handle the situation if I was ever faced with it. 

 

Because of God's grace, I was able to go to her bedroom that night, wrap my arms around her, tell her I loved her always and no matter what, and tell her I was so thankful she had chosen life, and let her know I would love this child with all my heart. 

 

She was a high school dropout working at Burger King. The father was fresh out of prison, but God gave me hope to cling to that this might be the very thing she needed to turn her life around. 

 

We've been challenged in our church in sermons to notice how many verses there are in the Bible that start with the words, "but God", and see how those two words just change everything. This was the uncontested, very worst time in my life with so many hard things hitting at once, BUT God gave me peace and joy in a way that I've never felt before. [00:21:09] 

 

My life was in absolute shambles, but I was filled with God's peace and joy in a way that I can't even begin to describe. 

 

I kept thinking about the Bible account of Jesus walking across wind-whipped waves toward his disciples in their boat. When Peter saw him, he got out of the boat and began walking toward Jesus. But when he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the wind, he was afraid, and he started to sink. 

 

I saw the parallels with my own life. When I focus on the size of the storm that's swirling around me, I begin to sink in fear. But when I can stay focused on Jesus and the size of my God, he fills me with his peace. 

 

So often during this time, I reminded myself of the words of Isaiah 26:3, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee." I also realized that when our eyes are open, searching for what I like to call hugs from God, they're there, even in the very hardest times. [00:22:09] 

 

Two examples of this come from the day my grandson was born. I was a 38-year-old woman watching my teenage daughter bring my first grandchild into the world. Labor was long and hard. The father and his brother were in and out of the hospital room between smoking breaks. Other friends of theirs were in and out. They were people I would have never chosen to be in my grandchild's life. 

 

And then the little man was born. And as I held him for the first time and prayed over him, and wondered what his life would hold, my heart was filled with so much love, but also fear and sorrow. 

 

When it was time to fill out his birth certificate, after all the questionable gangster-type names that they'd been contemplating, they named him Isaiah. That's one of my favorite books of the Bible. It's a book that has sustained me through waters that felt like they were going to overflow me, and through fires that felt like they were going to absolutely incinerate me. [00:23:15] Isaiah, the prophet who wrote the words, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. And Isaiah, the prophet who wrote the words of my peace verse.

 

And then Andrea snapped some pictures of me holding the precious little bundle in front of the hospital curtain, which was covered with random words. I went home and pulled that picture up on my computer. I noticed the hospital curtain behind us with all its jumble of words. Some of them were barely legible, but one, and only one word was lit up like it was glowing. It was just above my shoulder. The word "Peace". And God's peace just washed over me. 

 

It was during this time that I could first truly say along with Job, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth me." That comes from Job 42:5. There was just so much evidence of Him working in my life. [00:24:13] 

 

Things were still super discouraging. Andrea and Isaiah moved in and out of our house. She moved from one broken relationship to another. Some of them were abusive. And for a while they lived in a trailer with holes in the floor large enough for animals to get in. It was painful to watch her continue to make poor decisions, but one thing I will say, she always worked hard to support herself and Isaiah.

 

I prayed for change for her. I prayed for change in my marriage, but neither change came. I silently screamed, why? Where was my Romans 8:28 miracle? Aren't all things supposed to work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose? 

 

And then one day it hit me. These things might not look like they were working any earthly good, but God didn't promise that it would always work out for good on this earth. What if this was all for my utmost good? What if God was using all of this to shape me and refine me in ways nothing else could to conform me to be more like Jesus? [00:25:18] 

 

Over time, there were gradual changes for the better with Andrea. Isaiah has always been such a kind and loving boy with a very soft heart. We're so thankful he's a part of our family, and I love being his Grammy.

 

Andrea also loved him from the very beginning and always had a desire to give him a good life. He really was the beginning of gradual changes for the better in her life. She got her GED before he was born, and eventually with much determination and hard work she went to college and then to nursing school.

 

It was no small feat for her to commute to nursing school, raise Isaiah, and support them both through the process. I had always said if she could use that strong will for something good, it would take her places, and it has. 

 

After a lot of broken relationships, she reconnected with Jordan. He was someone she had met at her cousin's wedding when she was in 8th grade. That day she went home and wrote in her journal that it was the best day of her life and she loved him. [00:26:19] 

 

They had lost touch quite a few years ago, but then they reconnected a few years ago when he moved back to our area from out of state, and they've been together almost ever since.

 

For many years, she hadn't been attending any church. Also, after so many hard relationships over the years, she said she never wanted to get married, but my many, many prayers that God would relentlessly pursue her and the prayers of many others were finally answered a little over a year ago. 

 

God was working overtime in her heart. She always had a very close and special relationship with my mom. Isaiah coined the name Little Grandma for her, and it's stuck with our whole family ever since. Of course, you know that since she's your little grandma too, Laura.

 

Little Grandma, who was one of Andrea's biggest prayer warriors, went to be with Jesus in October of 2021. She had left letters behind for her family telling them that she wanted to see them all again in heaven someday. [00:27:19] That made a huge impact on Andrea, and she knew she'd never see her precious little grandma again if she didn't surrender her heart to Jesus.

 

She and Jordan began attending a local church after going there for the baptism of her cousin. Jordan was so ready to surrender, but she kept dragging her feet, although she told him she wouldn't hold him back. Sunday after Sunday, Jordan encouraged her to go to church with him, but then their pastor began a very convicting series of sermons on 1 Corinthians.

 

They realized again that they were living in sin, and they weren't sure that they were fully ready to commit. They justified. They were talking over all the good things they did, and the fact that they attended church every Sunday, and they prayed, and they gave to people in need, but deep down, they still knew that just being good people wasn't going to earn them eternity in heaven. 

 

Then, one Sunday of last year, they read in their church from Acts 2. Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [00:28:24] They looked at each other and they knew it was time to quit running.

 

First, they decided that they needed to commit to quit living in sin by living together unmarried, so they got engaged. That, in and of itself, was a huge miracle, since Andrea had always been adamant that she wasn't going to get married. 

 

And then they met with their pastor for premarital counseling. I will never forget receiving that amazing, miraculous text as I sat in Sam's Club parking lot. I wept tears of joy and thankfulness when I read those words that I'd sometimes thought I would never hear. They had made the decision to surrender their hearts and lives to Jesus. Thousands and thousands of prayers were answered that day. They were baptized last spring and then married in June on Andrea's 32nd birthday. 

 

I'm so grateful every day for the miracles in their lives, and for the miracle 14 years ago of our precious Isaiah. [00:29:28] Andrea has said many times that he saved her life. She is sure that without him, she would have continued down the path she was on and may have ended up in prison or a drug addict or something even worse. God is so good.

 

Laura Dugger: Wow. Renee, thank you so much. What an incredible story of redemption. It just points to our good, loving Father. And the story continues, even with Isaiah. There is just something special about him that he has been marked since birth. How has he adjusted now to Jordan coming into the picture and Jordan and Andrea marrying?

 

Renee Endress: Yes. I'm so thankful. He and Jordan have a wonderful relationship. He does still have a relationship with his biological dad, which I'm glad that he does have that. But he and Jordan have also developed a very special relationship. 

 

Yeah, recently I thought it was so cute. He told me that the day that his mom and Jordan got married was the second-best day of his life. [00:30:34] So, of course, I had to ask what the very best day of his life was, and he said, "Well, the day I was born, of course."

 

Laura Dugger: I love that so much. That just illustrates more of the redemption and the warmth in their family. That is so encouraging. I hope that that resonates with someone right now who has hope, but they're not seeing the fruit of it yet on the other side.

 

Renee Endress: Yes, don't give up. There were so many times I was so close. It just felt like... I don't even know how to describe it, but to keep hoping and hoping and never seeing the change. And then all of those years later, you know, when I think back, it was like 18 years, really, of the running. It did gradually, gradually keep getting better but it was a long road.

 

Laura Dugger: Well, and that reminds me of a scripture. Proverbs is my favorite book of the Bible. In Proverbs 13:12, one translation says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life." 

 

Renee Endress: Yes. 

 

Laura Dugger: And praise God that those desires, those prayers were fulfilled. And I just envision little grandma and grandpa celebrating in heaven the day Andrea came to know the Lord as well.

 

Renee Endress: Yes. I had to picture that in my mind, too. [00:32:02] 

 

Laura Dugger: You have been through so many trials and even more difficult that multiple things were happening at the same time where your marriage wasn't what you imagined or hoped it to be. You're struggling with a prodigal child. How did you combat the bitterness and resentment that can build from something like that?

 

Renee Endress: Yes. Well, I always remember that one of our ministers, he was actually an uncle of mine, and he preached quite often about how trials could make us bitter or better. I don't remember if it was him or if it was someone else, but definitely I've heard the story different places in sermons and maybe read it in books. 

 

There's the story of an egg, a potato, and coffee grounds. So if you put each of those things into a pan of boiling water, the egg becomes hard, the potato becomes soft and sometimes mushy, but the coffee flavors the water and it turns it into something new and better. [00:33:07] And so I thought about that often. 

 

I knew I didn't want these things to make me bitter. I didn't want to become hardened like that egg through my hard times, nor did I want to become soft and weak like the potato. So I just longed and prayed to be like the coffee, one who became better through the trials. So I just prayed my way through that, that God could help use those trials to make me better.

 

Laura Dugger: And it seems He certainly has. 

 

One reoccurring scripture that comes up for The Savvy Sauce is James 1:22. It says, "Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." And because our tagline here is "Practical chats for intentional living," we want to hear how you are applying these messages to your own life. What action steps have you taken after hearing one of these podcasts that has improved your life a little bit? We would love to hear it. [00:34:05] Please email us at info@thesavvysauce.com. 

 

Well, we've covered a lot about parenting, and yet we haven't talked much about your work. You have created a business that I can't recommend highly enough. So I want you to let us all in on the goodness. Will you tell us about Grace Catering and your cookbooks?

 

Renee Endress: Sure. Okay, so the story kind of starts I started writing little mini cookbooks by hand when my younger sister and a few of my close friends got married.

 

So I wrote these little like 50 to 100 recipes of favorites of mine and little books handwritten for each of them. And after a while, I was like, "Okay, this is enough handwriting this. I'm going to send this to the publisher. I'm going to publish these recipes, and then I'll just give them for wedding gifts for the rest of my life."

 

So my first cookbook, I think I had around 200 recipes in it, and I sent it to the publisher and printed, I think, 200 copies. [00:35:09] And I thought that'll last me seriously the rest of my life for wedding gifts.

 

And all of a sudden, people started finding out about these, and they liked these recipes because they were made with common ingredients that most of us have in our pantries at home. And they just tasted like good home cooking, I guess. So they started selling, and they sold, and they sold. So I had to keep reprinting and reprinting. 

 

And after a while, I made a second cookbook and then a third cookbook. And then I combined all three of those into one cookbook and added some more recipes. So that one has about 1,000 recipes in it. 

 

So now I think I've sold about 16,000, roughly, cookbooks altogether. So, yeah, that little idea back when Tammy got married kind of changed my life.

 

And because of this, then people started asking me to cater about 10 years ago. I guess they assumed if I wrote cookbooks, I must be an okay cook. So it was definitely a God thing, though, because it was right at the time that my marriage ended in separation, and I needed to start providing some income. [00:36:15] 

 

So God knew that, of course, and He opened the doors, and jobs just started falling into my lap. And by word of mouth... At first it was just friends and family asking me to cater wedding receptions for them. And then business just grew and grew by word of mouth, and it became almost full-time. 

 

So, like I said, that was about 10 years ago. And then, let me see, it was in the fall of 2019. It was earlier that year, I had started thinking, "I really need to make the decision whether I want to keep building this business and find a place that I can make a licensed kitchen." Because up until then, I was just totally doing it from my kitchen at home.

 

So I needed to, if I wanted to keep going, come up with a commercial kitchen somehow. Otherwise, it was like, okay, it's kind of the go big or go home, but I didn't know what else I was going to do. [00:37:14] 

 

So, I started praying about finding a building that I could use for a commercial kitchen. One day, I drove by this cute little building on the north edge of Peoria, and it was just such a great location. As soon as I saw it... it was a building I had noticed before. It was always just kind of an iconic little building at this weird little five-way stop sign there. And it just needed a lot of TLC, but I thought it would be the perfect location for what I was wanting to do. 

 

And so, God opened the doors for me to buy that building. And so, fall of 2019, I bought this little building and started coming up with plans to turn it into my commercial kitchen. Then I was tossing around different ideas too, how I could supplement my catering income just to help make that building pay for itself. I thought of different ideas of, I didn't want to do a restaurant because that was too full-time. I thought about a tea room or, you know, different things like that. [00:38:15] 

 

But I landed on the idea of doing Take N' Bake meals for your refrigerators and freezers. So, that's what I decided I was going to do with that little shop, make it into a commercial kitchen with a storefront where people could come in and buy Take N' Bake meals. 

 

Then, as we were planning and working on the blueprints, COVID hit, and everything came to a screeching halt. So, that taught me a lot of patience because it was the very day that I was supposed to meet with the health department to get my permits for going ahead with this kitchen. The health department got closed down by COVID that day. And they couldn't do anything, even by email or anything, the entire time. I think they were shut down for at least three months, and we couldn't work on anything. 

 

Then, they were so backed up when they opened back up. So, it just required a lot of patience. But I just had to keep believing that if this was all God's will, it was in His timing, and for some reason, the timing was right. [00:39:20] And I am glad it helped me to be able to really do a lot of organizational things and, during COVID, spend some special time with my kids before I got so busy with this new business. 

 

So then, in July of 2021, we were finally able to open our doors. Business has taken off from day one just much more than I ever expected. So, from the beginning, almost within a few weeks, we had to shut our doors early different times and close down for a day or two because we just couldn't keep up for the demand for these meals. So, it was kind of crazy.

 

I knew there was a need for it out there, but I just didn't know quite how much. So, I hired more workers. In the beginning, I thought, Mm, maybe three people would probably be enough employees for me. And now, I'm up to somewhere around 15 right now, I believe. 

 

And then, we just put more efficient systems in place over time. So, yeah, it's going great now, and I am just so thankful that God opened those doors. [00:40:21] 

 

So, we have our meals are on a six-week rotation right now for the Take N' Bake meals. So, most things just come around once every six weeks, so people don't have a chance to get bored of them. But then, some of our most popular items we make either weekly or every other week.

 

Then, besides that, I cater something just about every weekend. This last weekend, I catered two weddings, which was a little extra crazy. But I just love to see the way that others use Grace Catering Company to bless other people's lives, too.

 

It's so fun to hear people's stories as they come in the door and tell me that they're taking these meals to bless the lives of someone who has cancer or someone who had a new baby. Or there's a sweet older couple who comes in there a lot, and they buy meals to take to young widows and their families. So, it does my heart good to be able to see these meals going to bless other people's lives. [00:41:20] 

 

Laura Dugger: I just have to follow up with a few things. It's so neat to hear the whole story laid out. I didn't know the origins with Tammy's wedding, but it is our family's favorite cookbook, and we have used this for so many years. We've shared it with many people. It is just the best. 

 

So when you said some of your meals you keep on a weekly rotation, what would you say are some of the most popular at Grace Catering?

 

Renee Endress: One of the things we do almost every single week are our breakfast burritos. People just love those because they're so convenient to just grab one or two out of the freezer and pop them in the microwave or the oven. So, we make those almost every single week.

 

Then we make lasagna really often because lasagna is just a good standby. Chicken enchiladas come around pretty often. People love that. But we have a lot of them... The popularity of different things just kind of grows over time. So, in the wintertime, one of my managers makes chicken pot pies, and they're so popular, especially in the wintertime. And so, she makes those about every other week. [00:42:26] 

 

Recently, one that has just started gaining more and more popularity is spasagna, which is kind of funny. People are just discovering that. Just in the last couple weeks, we had so many orders for spasagna. 

 

And then another favorite in there is grandma's spaghetti, which is kind of a fun story because that was my mother-in-law's trademark recipe. So, that's one that I got from her. She never wrote it down, but she let me watch her make her spaghetti. So, I tried to kind of figure it out. She never knew exactly amounts. She just threw in this and that. So, I tried to figure it out from there, and that one's been very popular. So, lots of popular things.

 

Laura Dugger: They're so delicious. I see why they're popular. Is this something that you've always enjoyed, tinkering in the kitchen? You had a large family, so you had a lot of opinions to feed, especially working on the farm all day, they'd come in hungry. 

 

Renee Endress: Yes, exactly. So, I look back, and I always think, when did my love of cooking start? I think definitely it was there when I was a little girl, and I just never even really picked up on it. [00:43:30] So, I would do these meals. I would rope Tammy into doing these meals with me. I'd just boss her around in the kitchen. And we'd do a special, like, five- or six-course meal for Grandpa and Grandma's anniversary or things like that. And I had so much fun with that.

 

And then Mom, as much as she was a very good cook, but it was kind of the same basic things over and over that she liked to make. She didn't experiment a lot, and she wasn't a baker. I just loved homemade baked goods. So, I wanted to learn to bake. 

 

So, I got out the Betty Crocker cookbook and learned how to bake crescent rolls by myself from the Betty Crocker cookbook. And I also look back... Back in those days, I don't know if you remember, we had a Bookmobile that came to our neighborhood. 

 

Laura Dugger: Loved the Bookmobile. 

 

Renee Endress: Yes, it was so much fun. Every week, we would climb up the hill to go to the bookmobile, and I oftentimes would check out kids' cookbooks. And I would plan these elaborate parties for all the kids in our neighborhood. And then they never came to fruition. [00:44:31] But I had fun planning them and looking through the cookbooks and seeing what I could make. 

 

So, it was there. God had put it there in me from the time I was little, but I just didn't really realize it. But then, as my kids came along, and thankfully, the older kids were not picky eaters at all... And so, I loved. It was one of my most cherished things to do as a housewife was to cook meals and come up with fun things to put on the table. And I loved seeing them just enjoy what I set on the table in front of them.

 

Laura Dugger: Well, many people have enjoyed what you've set on the table for them. And like you said, you had two weddings this past weekend. You told me before we pressed record, you've had over 1,000 people this weekend, which just sounds miraculous.

 

Then I'm just thinking of your obedience where God was dropping those little seeds, even as a child, when you were drawn to cooking and how that has blessed so many other people. I think of us for tonight, because this is my workday. I get to record. [00:45:31] And so, we already have dinner that's tucked away in the refrigerator. I just have to put it in the oven.

 

But this weekend, Selah, Shiloh, Aila, and Kessler all helped me use your cookbook and we made chicken enchiladas, number three. And they were all learning how to do that. And we get to enjoy that for dinner tonight. So, I think your obedience is even inspirational to others that you may have no idea what kind of inspiration you've provided to them.

 

Renee Endress: Aw. I love seeing that, that you and your girls are cooking together in the kitchen. And it's even fun that it's out of my cookbook. So, thank you. Thank you for saying that.

 

Laura Dugger: Well, you know that we are called The Savvy Sauce because "savvy" is synonymous with practical knowledge. So, as my final question for you today, Renee, what is your savvy sauce?

 

Renee Endress: Okay. So, this is especially for the parents of prodigals. But it goes for so many other things in life, too. So many hard situations. I know there are so many. Everybody has their own hard situation at some point in their life. [00:46:33] 

 

So, my savvy sauce is never give up. Never lose hope. Never stop praying. And always remember, God loves to redeem our muddiest stories and create beauty from ashes. He is the God of miracles.

 

Laura Dugger: Amen. Well, Renee, you are just such an endearing person. So lovable, not just because you're my aunt, but I love you. And you are talented and kind. You also have a wonderful sense of humor and a deep, abiding faith. So, I adore you, and I just want to say thank you for being my guest. 

 

Renee Endress: Thank you. And I adore you, too, Laura.

 

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. [00:47:37] 

 

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.

 

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. [00:48:41] 

 

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. 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. [00:49:39] 

 

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.