Faith First with Alicia Bell of GraceWorks Ministries
Alicia Bell’s word for this year: Surrender.
When Alicia was promoted to her dream job of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at GraceWorks Ministries, she was shocked to have a cancer scare at the same time. Uncomfortable ambiguity was amplified when Alicia was faced with unexpected challenges in her family.
While Alicia was blessed to have Jesus in her heart since she was young, this time required even greater trust. Alicia began to let go of her expectations, plans and very self in order to live the will of God and allow the Holy Spirit to do miraculous work.
Alicia experienced how God’s grace reaches to the innermost details of her heart and life.
In this Easter podcast, learn how God’s grace really does work.
GraceWorks’ mission is to share God’s grace, through food, shelter and support. It does this by neighbor serving neighbor. Learn more at: https://www.graceworkstn.org.
Transcript:
Lindy Wynne (00:01.925)
Welcome to Mamas in Spirit, a podcast pointing you towards God in everything you are and everything you do. I'm Lindy Wynne and it's a blessing to be with you. Hello everyone and happy Easter. It is such a delight to say those words, happy Easter. And in our faith tradition, we celebrate that for about seven weeks. So we have seven weeks of podcasts, of Easter podcasts to...
to really experience the joy and the goodness and the eternity of the Lord who loves us beyond understanding. And I am absolutely thrilled to be here today with Alicia Bell from GraceWorks, which is a nonprofit in my hometown where I live. Alicia, thank you so much for joining us.
Alicia Bell (00:47.542)
Yes, thank you for the invitation. I'm looking forward to it.
Lindy Wynne (00:50.813)
Well, I have to tell you, Alicia, I moved all the way across the country. My husband and I drove across the country in an RV, everybody, to really pray about and discern God's will in our lives about where to move. And we landed in Franklin, Tennessee, where GraceWorks is. And I have to say, GraceWorks touched my heart. The moment I got here, we furnished our house with GraceWorks. We live in a much bigger home than we came from. So that's how I originally found GraceWorks.
I have purchased much clothing that I have posted on my social media from GraceWorks including, which I did not tell Alicia, the dress that I am wearing to record this podcast that you can see on YouTube and then also the earrings. Yes, thank you. And the earrings I'm wearing, very Eastery, this pink that I'm wearing today, Alicia. What I love most about GraceWorks is the way that you are the hands and feet of Christ and love people and meet people where they're at in our community and
Alicia Bell (01:31.629)
Beautiful.
Lindy Wynne (01:47.804)
our neighbor, which you'll talk about, I'm sure more, are a neighbor to our neighbors because we are community and family in Christ. And I have met so many wonderful people who volunteer at GraceWorks and work there. And I want to dedicate, which I also didn't tell you, this podcast, this mini retreat, a podcast to Donny who I believe works there. And not only do I chat with Donny every time that I go to GraceWorks, but I want everyone to know Donny dresses up.
every year as a turkey for the Turkey Trot and does a kids run and the kids chase Donny who's dressed up as a turkey. I will post a picture of that too because I've taken pictures with Donny dressed up as a turkey including my very own daughter. youngest has chased Donny the turkey. So Alicia, I would love for you to share with everyone just for a moment a little bit about GraceWorks and the wonderful work you do before we get into opening prayer and your story.
Alicia Bell (02:44.792)
Sure. Well, Donny is a perfect example and summation of GraceWorks. He is so joyous and works so hard. He's been here for a very long time. And I believe that GraceWorks is this welcoming ground for God to use every skill that he has created and gifted folks in our community. And he says, you know what, if you are wondering how to use that for my glory,
GraceWorks can maybe show you how to dust that off. Not that you always have to stay with us. Of course, we love our long-term volunteers and long-term staff, but it's definitely a place where we can hopefully inspire everybody to just bring their heart and trust that God is going to flourish them in the gifts that he has given them to go love their neighbor. And Donny's a great example of that because he loves people and he loves talking to folks and building relationships.
Lindy Wynne (03:33.339)
.
Alicia Bell (03:43.438)
and he's been able to serve our ministry in many ways because of that. So, but yeah, so GraceWorks, what you've referenced already is our thrift store, which is what we're very well known for, and it's a big part of our ministry, but the thrift store actually helps fuel the ministry itself. And GraceWorks is a ministry that focuses on sharing God's love through food, shelter, and support programming. So we serve about 15,000 neighbors a year, buying
being able to provide food or shelter services and then additional support services while they are walking through poverty or crisis. And so it is an absolute gift. We've got a board member who always says we're the Matthew 25 ministry. And I think that that's a beautiful reference as well, because it really is a place where we, I mean, I can't believe that it's my job to actually just focus on loving your neighbor and providing for them so that they can take a breath.
and decide what their next best step is in life. So yeah, we've got a beautiful model. It's called a wraparound care model, but it's a community resource center model where we have lot of different services in one place so that we can quickly stabilize somebody and then help them by directing them to another more specialized ministry or just helping them breathe enough to get caught up and then take the next step in life.
Lindy Wynne (04:49.919)
.
Alicia Bell (05:07.29)
and it's a blessing. We get to see people in some of their darkest moments, most vulnerable moments, and we just pray that we're shining Jesus in their life so that they can have everything that they need for whatever they face the next day. So that's GraceWorks. Our vision is neighbors serving neighbors by the power of God's grace. So our vision is that this ministry is honoring that second greatest commandment to love your neighbor as yourself because we love God. And so
Lindy Wynne (05:16.059)
.
Alicia Bell (05:36.63)
That's where we get to spend all of our days. So it really is a joy to work and lead here. And it's been a dream of mine that I didn't really know I had, but a dream of mine that is just amazing to live out every day.
Lindy Wynne (05:50.291)
Yes, and I imagine that we will get much more into that. And Alicia is the CEO of GraceWorks. And when you talk about living out the gospel, I'm so looking forward to diving into your heart and your story to learn more about that. So before we do that, can you please open us in prayer?
Alicia Bell (06:10.188)
I'd love to. Lord, thank you for the gift of fellowship, for the design of bringing people together so that we may be uplifted and better know you, Lord. So I just pray that this conversation binds us together. Any who hear it and any who are uplifted by it, Lord, I just ask that it glorifies you and that it inspires others to abide in your presence and to share it with others. In Christ's name, I pray. Amen.
Lindy Wynne (06:40.306)
Amen. Thank you so much for that beautiful prayer, Alicia. And I would love to know how your heart has abided in the Lord coming from your prayer and how you were really drawn to this in your own story.
Alicia Bell (06:52.738)
Yeah. So a short backstory, I was born and raised in Franklin and my parents are from Kentucky. So they moved down here like a lot of folks are moving to come and build a life and raise their family here. So I was just one of those lucky ones that get to be called born and raised in Franklin. And so I had a very beautiful childhood. I had a very provided childhood. I had an incredible community, my entire world.
was built around my church and my family and my education. And Williamson County provided all of that for me in abundance. And I grew up in a home with a beautiful marriage to witness and I'm the baby sister of two, older sister. And so just a really beautiful way to grow up. And I was able to meet and know God at a really young age and in a really...
Lindy Wynne (07:25.921)
you
Alicia Bell (07:49.142)
real way. It was not just practice and habit and something that I couldn't reconcile my heart with. I was able and guided into a true relationship with Jesus at a young age. And so I'm very grateful for that. I know that that is a gift to have Christ in my heart at a young age and carry him forward while I'm building my life and making those decisions in my life.
Lindy Wynne (08:14.425)
.
Alicia Bell (08:18.702)
you know, from education to who I'm going to marry to where I'm going to live. So I don't take that for granted. so, you know, went to school, went to college and actually really, really struggled my first year of college. I felt like school wasn't for me. I felt like I didn't need school that I was I knew God had something for me to do. And I just didn't think I was going to find it in education and at school.
I mean, I enjoyed education, I enjoyed school, but I really struggled and I kind of make the joke now that really has the salt of seriousness in it, that that was my existential crisis year where everything kind of my freshman year of college where I just, came home from school, I remember that Christmas break and was just crying and saying, I don't want to go back. I don't know what I'm doing there. It feels like a waste of time. Even if I get my degree, is that really what I'm supposed to be doing? And so,
Lindy Wynne (08:59.289)
.
Alicia Bell (09:18.124)
I had very wise parents who kind of helped coach me through that, let it happen and were open to me doing whatever I needed to do. But I just started then to trust the process a little bit more instead of always being focused on the outcome. Just trust that God can use this. And that's still a struggle that I deal with today. Just trust the process even if the outcome isn't exactly what I had in mind.
Lindy Wynne (09:32.228)
.
Alicia Bell (09:47.5)
And so anyway, went to school, ended up, I was studying psychology and I thought I was gonna be a counselor. And my first internship was at a crisis shelter in Nashville. And it was incredible. I got to learn the heart of the nonprofit sector, but I also got to learn that I would be a horrible counselor. And so I went on and finished my degree and...
Lindy Wynne (09:54.904)
.
Alicia Bell (10:14.132)
I asked at the end of that internship, I'm backing up now, at the end of that internship I said, I know that I cannot be a counselor, so put me anywhere else. Whatever it is, I will clean, I'll do whatever. I just want to keep understanding this work and understanding this ministry. And so they put me in a position in their development team, which is kind of like fundraising and PR and marketing. And I was at the very bottom rung, inputting data and I still fell in love with it.
I knew then something was happening. God was showing me that you need to stay in this line of work and I will deliver you to what I'll have you be doing after that. So I ended up going to grad school for nonprofit management in Indiana and then got married right out of grad school, worked a little bit and then ended up coming back to Nashville for another job. Then I got the call about GraceWorks.
And while I did grow up in Franklin and I was familiar with GraceWorks, I really didn't know the origin story of this incredible place. I didn't know the heart of it. And so when I came to tour during the interview, I said, OK, everything's lining up. This makes sense. From that existential crisis moment my freshman year through my education and the experience that I had already acquired, this is exactly where
I wanted to be. And it was in my hometown, which just blew me away. I had no idea that this incredible engine was here. So that's how I arrived at GraceWorks. And then since then, I've learned so much more as well.
Lindy Wynne (12:00.242)
Yes, before we get to that, I wanna talk about trusting the process that really touched my heart. And this might start tying into the work that you do, Alicia, because one of the things that you don't know is that me and my husband, our parents do the gift of adoption and
two of our children were in foster care. And so what's coming to my heart, and also because we chatted a little bit before we started, is that for everyone listening, trusting in the process, so much of our lives is trusting in the process and really surrendering the outcome. Like we are in God's will when we don't have expectation and when we surrender our very lives to the will of God so that God's work can be done.
And that unique call that you were talking about on each of our own lives. And so here you stayed in school and you finished this counseling degree, but yet you weren't called into counseling. And I was kind of tickled pink since I'm wearing pink here. I was kind of tickled pink when you said that you were a terrible counselor. That's sweet and humbling and filled with a gift of humility. So I was really touched by that. But yet when you said I'd even clean and then you started at the bottom rung of
Alicia Bell (13:03.374)
Mm-hmm.
Lindy Wynne (13:13.952)
the marketing and that whole area, that all was many years of work and preparation to bring you to where you are now. Yet I bring up also my husbands and my, I like to call our small v vocation because I know with many of the people that you work with, it's all about just the process and it's all about really just encountering people where they're at and loving them where they're at without expectation. And as we're called.
So I'd love for you to dig a little bit more into that, maybe both within yourself and then if you could transition also into the work that you do.
Alicia Bell (13:49.004)
Yeah. So it's funny because my word for this year is surrender. I don't do resolutions, but I do words. And it's just something I can pray over throughout the year, a big need or something I want to know better. Because I have found that even though if I'm given a project or a job or
something new in my life where I feel like I'm equipped, I'm skilled, my resume meets it, I know how to do this, I know how to tackle it. I have found that if I surrender to what I don't know and I surrender that to God, it's gonna go even farther. If I feel comfortable in that space of saying, okay, I've produced what I know how to produce, but if I wanna take this to the next level or I want something new for this project or place,
It's, I've got to let go. have to surrender and say, okay, God, what are you going to do here? Because what else would I want to be spending my time doing? I don't want to spend my time only doing what I know how to do. I want to spend my time in what he is teaching me to do or what he can do in my marriage, in my home, in my career. so I guess I've kind of had to learn that more on like a personal front.
of just surrendering. mean, motherhood for me was just this huge act of surrender. I felt uncomfortable. I felt untrained. This was the first, I mean, most significant thing in my life to raise a child. And I had no credentials for this. I didn't go to a class for this. And so really having my first daughter is when I...
Lindy Wynne (15:35.285)
.
Alicia Bell (15:40.882)
I clicked into how much I need God and how the act of surrender is a beautiful thing, right? And faith has to come first. I have to believe that if I surrender, I'm surrendering to the God Almighty who knows everything, who knows me and knows exactly what my future holds. And so there's that relationship between faith, which I've always, my friends and...
Lindy Wynne (16:06.773)
.
Alicia Bell (16:09.292)
And family, think even have noticed that I kind of came out with that. faith is one of my gifts, I think, of just believing that God is who he says he is. But then to translate that into surrender was a big act for me. And now I'm doing it, not a big act, a big task, thing to learn for me. And then now I'm praying over surrender just in my new role here at GraceWorks as well.
because what God has in store for this ministry is way beyond what I've ever done before. So he's going to be the one that shows me how to do this and what he wants. So I don't know if I answered your question exactly.
Lindy Wynne (16:37.653)
Yes, you for talking to you about motherhood because that is very vulnerable and that's still somewhat new to you. Your children are still really little and so talking about being in ambiguity and kind of liminal space and
Alicia Bell (16:59.117)
Okay.
Lindy Wynne (17:05.405)
and learning and surrendering and there's no such thing as perfect. There's no perfect mothering. And that comes with everything in life. There's no such thing as perfect other than our perfect Lord. And so what's coming to my heart listening to you is that grace works. God's grace works. And I don't even know why grace works was named grace works. But when you talk about surrender and you talk about like laying it all down for the Lord,
that's choosing to be dependent, fully dependent on God's grace. Do you have a story that you could share, Alicia, either from your own life or being there, working there at GraceWorks or really in any of the work that you've done where you found yourself reliant on grace in a new way and that you were able to witness the workings of God's grace?
Alicia Bell (18:01.432)
Yeah.
trying to decide between two. One is more vulnerable than the other, so I should probably go with that one. Yeah, so, and it's recent, so I'm still kind of processing a little bit, but it's definitely been the boldest move of Grace I've ever experienced. So I got this role, I've been at GraceWorks for seven years, I got this role in July. So I've been in the seat since July. We announced to the organization months before that, so there was this
public long transition period. the day that I actually the board offered me this job, the CEO role, which was just everything I wanted, you know, I was so excited. The day that I got that offer, I also got a phone call saying that I have to likely have my thyroid removed because they think it's cancer.
And pretty much since then, like the minute that I was gifted this opportunity to serve God at this level, in this seat, I should say, a lot of dominoes started to fall down that I had kind of been stacking, right? And so, and I'm totally fine. I ended up not having cancer, but it did have to be fully removed and it was preventative and all of that. But I went through about three months where we,
We didn't know and all of that. so, well, long story short, the diagnosis would have been cancer a few years ago. And so it's also just this miracle that they caught it and it's gone now. But that was just really an example, that medical call. But then even between that medical call and me actually taking the role, other things started to get very difficult. And I said, you I never really spent a lot of time thinking about
Lindy Wynne (19:59.706)
you
Alicia Bell (20:01.038)
spiritual warfare growing up. it just wasn't something in my faith history and denomination that was a common discussion, but it was the first time that I felt like, gosh, are we being attacked? Like, is my family being attacked? Our health, mental health, just a lot of the strength and foundation that I had at home that's really necessary if you're going to go into a role leading a ministry like this.
Lindy Wynne (20:29.362)
you
Alicia Bell (20:29.95)
it required so much more of me than in the past. So anyway, that season was just super tough. And I was asking myself, okay, God, is this, do I really need to take this role or not? And I haven't really told anybody that it got that intense where I was asking that question. I was trying to discern, is this me learning, don't do this, you know? Or,
or not. And so that was just a very vulnerable and hard time. And while at the same time, it was some of the hardest professional stuff I've ever done. So, you know, we were gearing up for big transition. I was trying to organize my thoughts and, what am I going to do coming out of the gate? What does all this look like? And so to the grace part. And it's funny because this actually ties into Easter and we're on an Easter podcast, but the
The Easter of the year where I was going through this very vulnerable, trying time, that particular Easter is when it was the first time I hosted my family at my home. And Easter is my all-time favorite holiday. Love everything about it. First time I hosted my family at my home and the wheels just kind of fell off. not like hospitality or logistics wise, but it came to a point of escalation.
in all of these other factors like our mental health and medical factors and everything. And it was literally on Easter. And I thought, OK, God, I'm paying attention. get what you're... There's something that you're asking me to give to you that I need to trust in who you are and start handing it over. So anyway, through that, there was a lot of resources and community that I needed to build.
Lindy Wynne (22:00.53)
.
Alicia Bell (22:27.638)
and resources and community that I needed to start to surrender and trust in my life. And then God, there was so many prayers, so many prayers. Just show me Lord, is this what you have for me? Is this what I'm supposed to be doing? How do I support my family and get ready for this job and do it all to your glory? And God just kept moving ahead of me before
I even knew what to pray for. And then when I would arrive at this gift that he would give me and it was already prepared and ready, I was like, okay, it was only the hand of God. It was by his grace that this obstacle was cleared or this resource was provided. So all of that to say that this transition from my previous role to the current role was a full different understanding of who God is.
Lindy Wynne (23:02.994)
.
Alicia Bell (23:27.47)
just how big his grace is for the most detailed parts of your heart, not just the easy or easy to understand things. So yeah, that may have been a more ambiguous storytelling phase, but did that kind of help you?
Lindy Wynne (23:45.646)
Alicia Alicia you have touched my heart so much and you started out in this podcast talking about a personal relationship with Christ and then
You just use the words, the more detailed parts of my heart. And I love that wording so much and that strikes my own heart so deeply because that's where Jesus is. And all the spaces and places and all the nooks and crannies of our hearts and of our lives. And before you shared the story, the image that kept coming to me was Jesus in the garden. And I'm like, why is this image coming to me? Like this is an Easter podcast.
We've talked about that a lot during the event. Like why is this coming now? And now I know why. It's because you had this experience of Alicia in your garden, in your moment where you were uncertain about God's will yet surrendering that Lord show me your will. And if this is your will, I will follow. And Alicia, I so appreciate you sharing.
this story because there is a part of it that is kind of fresher and newer for you that I hear that and that is so tender and precious that you're sharing that with us. And so I wanna unpack this a little bit in hopes too that I hope that this blesses your heart too, our time together, because Alicia, you are a relatively young mom with young children.
and you went through a time of great ambiguity of not knowing if you were very sick and that you'd be really fighting essentially for your life. Whenever we hear the word cancer, like sometimes it's not as serious, we never know, yet it always touches on our finitude, our finiteness. And having that experience while looking in the eyes of small children is a very difficult heart rendering experience.
Lindy Wynne (25:43.822)
And I've had other guests on that have done it and my own husband has done it. My own husband was very, very sick many times and especially when our children were very young. That's a unique experience and that's a very, very difficult experience. And yet, like you said, you've been blessed with all these gifts, Alicia. Most of all, the gift of who you are and this precious, inspiring faith you have, yet also your giftings that you recognize in a very healthy and wonderful way. And so God has prepared you for
this position that you have that is a very significant position to be the CEO of GraceWorks. At the same time, all these other vulnerable things are unfolding. And I wonder too, which we can dig into a little bit, if that also shifted the scripture that has been most on my heart since we started is that our treasures are in heaven. And like knowing what our treasures are and thinking like here, you had such a desire, like this was your dream job per se. Granted, it's in the nonprofit sector and you are serving our Lord and this is kind of your
your dream to be in a role like this. And here it comes, yet here at the same time comes this great tenderness and vulnerability at home with illness and looking in the eyes of your little children and not knowing what is to unfold in regards to your own health. And then what I'm hearing for you, from you, which I so appreciate all your levels of protection for your family, is that all of these other vulnerable things were also going on in your home life and in your extended family. And so,
We can all relate to that. I can relate to that. We have that in our own home and I've had that in our home home and in our extended family, like all of us gathered. So even though you're not touching on the intricacies of the story, which is wise and protective and right, you're touching on all of the dynamics that unfold in life. And the longer we live, the more that we experience and we see. And yet what I'm also hearing from you is that
you listened to the voice of God and that you allowed God into your heart and you're continuing to allow our healing divine physician into your heart and into your life to heal, to nourish, to nurture and to help you to move forward by his grace, by God's grace.
Alicia Bell (27:58.326)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, and I think that's a constant practice. Like even as someone who I feel like I know the gift of receiving grace, I mean, I don't think we can honestly really know it fully until we're in his full presence, but I feel like I have been blown away by his grace before, you know? And even still, I have to remind myself daily.
to posture for that, right? And to remind myself that I need to slow down and hear what he's calling me to pay attention to and what he's saying, just give it to me. Just give it to me and I will take your load, but I will also take maybe the wrong calls you made or the way that things could have been better.
my grace has you covered because we're going to bear fruit through this. We're going to bear fruit through the harder season. So yeah, and it's funny, the verse you said about treasure, I started pretty recently, but there's a wall in my closet now that I've started to just write on. And I wanted to remember some of the things that I felt God revealed through prayer or through coincidence during
this season and so I just started to kind of remember verses or things that I heard in prayer and one of them was the concept of a precious treasure and how that's how God sees us as well that that we are a treasure to him and that he's just here to make sure that
we can reveal that for others as well. So yes, the word treasure is something I've been carrying a lot.
Lindy Wynne (29:54.505)
Yes, and that is.
That's so beautiful and yes, life is the treasure. And it's so funny because you're at GraceWorks and I remember a friend came to my house and she's like, know, Lindy, you don't have to tell everybody that, you know, this antique piece or whatever you got at GraceWorks or wherever else. And I'm like, what are you talking about? I'm so excited about this because our treasures are in heaven. They're not here. That's why I'm willing to buy a basically like a ball gown.
Alicia Bell (30:03.256)
Mm-hmm.
Alicia Bell (30:15.234)
Yeah.
Alicia Bell (30:21.688)
Right.
Lindy Wynne (30:24.886)
at GraceWorks and then put up on my social media, hey, I got this GraceWorks because our treasures are in heaven. They're not here on earth and humans are the treasure. And that is also the work that you do. I'm in middle of a Bible study and we're really exploring in Luke this concept of like kingdom and like the kingdom that humans have seen historically, like kings and wealth and all the things, verse like the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom, who does the king, our king come to, the poor?
Alicia Bell (30:48.472)
Mm-hmm.
Alicia Bell (30:53.528)
Mm-hmm.
Lindy Wynne (30:53.805)
Jesus is born in a manger and who does Jesus spend so much of his time ministering to is the outcast and the most poor and the most vulnerable and that's what you're doing. Another thing that really struck my heart from what you're sharing is just that deep connection that you have with our Lord. It's interesting, I started this year with my own word which was connection and I think that I thought
Alicia Bell (31:05.4)
Right.
Lindy Wynne (31:21.483)
that that meant connecting with other people, but yet it really means connecting with the Lord even deeper in the morning and just the way that I feel called in this season of my life in a very specific way. And you use the word posture at the very beginning of this kind of like portion after I asked you the question. And I love that you use the word posture because what was in my heart before you even said it,
that I never shared until I did a talk for the Nashville Diocese not long ago and I was interviewed on Nashville Catholic Radio. And I shared because I'm just so much, God has blessed me to be just more and more transparent and open. But part of me, I'd never really shared this because I always think of the scripture about going into your inner rim and not sharing about our time of prayer.
yet I think this really embodies my own dependency on God's grace every day, which you're talking about, Alicia, and praise God that you know that, especially the work that you're doing, because to me, that's the only way that my work, your work, any of our work is going to be glorious for the greater glory of God is knowing the full dependency on God's grace to do it, to do His will. So before every podcast, every talk, everything,
Lay down and I just surrender to the Lord and actually I could get a little bit teary I almost got a little teary when I saw it because before we started Recording I had this little blue gem in my hand that it's kind of a long story But a precious girlfriend of mine in heaven who was gonna do mama's in spirit with me But she ended up passing away and she was already very sick and when I went to
where she was buried to the cemetery. There was like, it wasn't like fully, like the dirt wasn't fully compacted yet. And there was a hole and I looked in the hole and there was a blue rock down there, but it was like a gem rock, like a glass rock. And I pulled it out. And so that's what I was holding and I couldn't find it before we started recording to hold it in my hand. So instead I have this thing called the chaplet that I'm holding that she made. But I looked over to where I always lay.
Lindy Wynne (33:34.355)
right before recording these podcasts in what my husband and I call our prayer room, and the blue rock is there. It's still sitting there right now. I can see it. But it talks to the posture and the dependency. And I know that people are gonna hear this from GraceWorks and from our community and much wider. And I think that this is so much at the heart of the matter. And this is such a beautiful invitation from this Easter podcast is to know like, we can't make glorious works.
We can't just like do the great glory of the Lord through our own will. It's too much for us. I say this often, people will say like, God won't give you more than you can handle. And I'm like, I so do not believe that. Like, I can't handle it. Like I cannot. For my human self and self-dependency, I've tried that many times in my life as you probably have Alicia and all of us here gathered, and it doesn't work.
It's when I lay down my heart, when I surrender my life, when I surrender my very being to hopefully by the grace of God, God's will, that's when Easter works can be done because they're not my works, they're God's works.
Alicia Bell (34:42.23)
Right. I know I agree completely and I feel like that really was and again I'm still learning it right. This is fresh but my husband and I were talking about that. I do feel like it got me in a different posture before I took this role to just be very reminded. And you know I always knew it in my head and I always could say it and I knew that that's why I was attracted to GraceWorks was
this was his ministry, right? There's really no failing here. This is his ministry. We're just, we're trying to do our best to live out what he said. But I didn't, it was in my heart now that I feel more convicted and I'm more sensitive to now being in, you know, leadership meetings or strategic planning meetings. And I'm able to kind of feel when we start to take it more into our own hands.
and say, this is what we're gonna do, or this is what we can do, we know we can do this. And now I'm able to say, great, let's work on that. Now, what is God calling us to do? Like, what if we thought bigger? What if we thought not just within the confines of the box that we know, but in the God that we know? And...
Again, this is still something I'm practicing and especially in my leadership and in my own life, but it has already been so fruitful. And just to align the ministry into, this is an act of worship. Everything we do here is an act of worship. I everything we do all the time can be an act of worship, but particularly this job, we're doing it wrong if we're not worshiping, know, if it's not out of response to Him.
not out of duty to him, but out of response to who he is and what his grace is. And so, yeah, we're learning more about that and we're strategic planning right now. So we have a lot of conversations about what if and what does our future hold and what would we need to get there and all of that. it's funny because it's all these, you know, I spend most of my head space and my job is to look at the horizon for grace works, right? I need to be protecting and looking at what's next and
Alicia Bell (37:04.95)
making sure my team is ready for it and inspiring alignment, making sure everyone's looking in the same direction. But the whole reason I do it are these stories of just one neighbor. I could get one neighbor story and be fueled for the whole year, for three whole years, just because the power that grace has in that one neighbor interaction is worth everything.
It's almost something to be envious of. Not that you would ever be envious of the trials that they had to endure or go through, but the way that a neighbor from GraceWorks could know God is just mind-blowing.
Lindy Wynne (37:52.881)
Yes, and I actually would like you to share some stories and I'm gonna share one real quick that I think that you are speaking to from my own experience. So I was blessed this last.
Advent season before Christmas to volunteer for what GraceWorks calls their manger. And so essentially it's like mind boggling the amount of donations that go into and the amount of like organizing and volunteers. I mean, it is just tremendous. It's so amazing. It's miraculous. And so what happens is this one specific church has all these volunteers come and then GraceWorks sets up
Alicia Bell (38:20.354)
Yes.
Lindy Wynne (38:31.556)
all of these different stations for a parent or parents to come in or probably I would imagine to like foster parents to come in and to gather gifts that are specifically for the boys or the girls in their age level. So if you go in there, it's like tables lined up per age and whether it's for boys or girls and then people are assigned specific times to come shop for their child and they can get a certain number of items for their child and books and
All the things, it is amazing. So this man and woman, they're married, they came in and they got a bunch of stuff for their children because I think they had at least eight children. But this is how I found out. When they were about to leave, I was walking out at the same time to help somebody else and they had all of these bags. And I think I offered help.
And the man turns around and he was quite a tall, like quite a big guy. He looked like he could be like a football player. And he had all of these hand prints on his t-shirt, it could make me teary, all the way from like a tiny hand print to what looked almost like a young adult hand print. And it said number one dad, and it was clearly homemade. Well, many of you know that I have never.
born a child biologically. And I think that if I could have, maybe we would have a house filled with both adopted children and biological children. I've never had that experience. And now, you know, I'm getting, I'm almost 50 years old. So I, that is likely barring a miracle, which is always possible, not going to happen. And so I see all these handprints and I could just sense that this couple was such a joy. And I look at him and I go, you are such a wealthy man.
And then I was like, my gosh, I just said that to a man who is at a program because he financially, they financially do not have enough financial resources to get all these gifts. They are at this program because of that. And I just told him he is a wealthy man. And yes, everybody, sometimes I do not have a filter probably like all of us. And I almost was like, I can't believe I just said that.
Lindy Wynne (40:59.556)
And he looked at me and he and his wife laughed joyfully and he said, yes, I am. I am a wealthy man. It's like one of my favorite stories. was so, cause he got it. He understood. I had just spoken a little bit ago because of what you had shared, Alicia, about life being the true treasure. And that's who you're trying to serve at GraceWorks.
Alicia Bell (41:12.034)
Mm-hmm. That's beautiful. Yeah.
Lindy Wynne (41:26.534)
our lives, humans that need you. And so that's my grace work story. But I would love to hear, one or two that have most touched your heart.
Alicia Bell (41:36.91)
Yeah, I do love that though. That's, mean, that's what's so beautiful about Grace Works. It just puts everything into perspective. You we were talking earlier about treasures and the thrift store and you know, we, was talking with our truck scheduling team member today. So he helps schedule our trucks to go pick up furniture all across Williamson County. And he offers sometimes to pray with a neighbor because
very often a furniture pickup is induced because someone has passed away and they're clearing out a house and they need help to do that. So it actually can be a vulnerable interaction sometimes. And I was just so proud of him. I was stopping by because I heard he prayed for a neighbor last week on the phone. And I said, my goodness, you well done. Always make time for that. Make sure that that's what we're doing here and not just picking up furniture. But it keeps things into perspective because we literally receive
people's physical treasures all the time. And it's how we fund the ministry in a lot of ways. And these are things that, you know, we're dear. We get China sets. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had of people with their China sets. And they call beforehand because they want to make sure we're going to take care of it because it was their mothers or their grandmothers and they don't use it anymore. And I said, we're going to find someone who loves it here. You know, that's that's how we do that. But anyway, I'm kind of already.
deviating off of that, but it's so true that wealth is so different. It really is not the tangible things because most of the time they end up right here at GraceWorks being sold to somebody else. But anyway, so a couple stories. One of my all-time favorite stories was actually, perfect for this podcast because it was also a really vulnerable moment in my motherhood. So I had had my little girl
Lindy Wynne (43:21.511)
.
Alicia Bell (43:27.921)
And I was back from maternity leave. I think it was my first week back. So, you know, this was a big moment for me. We had reoriented our whole lives so that I would go back to work. And, you know, I was there was a lot on the line. I was like, is this going to work? Can I do this? Can I mother and do this?
And so anyway, I was already in a pretty vulnerable state and it was hard. know, like I mentioned earlier, I was a well resourced family. My family's in town still. I had everything you could have to have a successful newborn phase. And it was still hard. And so I'm here and I'm in the administrative office, which we have two buildings on our campus. One is the actual service center and the other is the administrative office. We rent both of those spaces.
someone walks in, which is rare that a neighbor who is looking for assistance would find the administrative office. It's just, it's a smaller building. It's not one you would normally think to go to unless someone's told you to go there. And she comes in and I also happen to be the one to greet her and she just says, Hey, I'm looking for food. Someone said I could get food here. And I said, that's great. So I turn, turn the corner and I looked down and I noticed she has a little baby carrier and baby in there.
And so we got to talking, was a little girl. And I said, oh my goodness, I just had a little girl, you know, when we were connecting over our sweet babies. And I said, man, how old is she? She looks so young. And this neighbor said, oh, I'm on my way home from the hospital right now. And so she had just gone through this experience. She had her child. She was single and she didn't have food to go home to. She was about to bring her child into her home and didn't have food for that. And
Lindy Wynne (44:47.294)
.
Alicia Bell (45:13.646)
So I just kind of stopped in my tracks and I was like, okay, you've come to the right place. We're gonna get you taken care of. I had been taught by my team too to always ask if she owned the car seat because very often they will borrow a car seat from someone just to be able to leave the hospital but they themselves don't own a car seat. She said, no, this isn't mine. Said, great, we're gonna get you one of those too. So we walk her next door and she's able to get the.
things that she needs, you know, the food and the diapers and the car seat and a pack and play for her her new daughter to sleep in. But it was also just this moment of, OK, I'm not alone. I'm not alone. When you're when you're about to walk into the sum of a very lonely time, it's a beautiful time, but it can be an incredibly lonely time to go through postpartum and.
And she made the choice to do this, to have her daughter and to try and raise her daughter. And so now she had been welcomed into this GraceWorks community. And it's funny because I ended up seeing her by accident a few months later and she was in our waiting room getting another cart of food and the father was there as well. And so we were talking with them about how to, what next step they could take in their shelter situation to stabilize a place to live and all of that.
It was just a beautiful thing to witness and to realize, you know, all the stuff that we gave her was helpful, right? I mean, obviously it's helpful, but I knew that feeling of feeling alone and she felt completely alone. And the fact that GraceWorks could restore that, right? That's what we're really about. The stuff is a conduit to how, how can we make her feel? How, what does Jesus see in her?
And how can we address that right now? So yeah, that was one of my favorite interactions. And then we have another one that I absolutely love. And actually this is a video, maybe it's one I can share with you later, but it's a story of a mother here in Williamson County. And this is what a lot of people don't understand about our work and about our community, actually, Williamson County itself. But I mean, she never had to ask for help.
Alicia Bell (47:37.238)
She had no idea how to do this. Could have been a donor to GraceWorksInThePast type of life. And she had a beautiful home. They had everything that they needed. And just in an instant, everything went away. So there was a divorce that happened and all the money kind of got ripped out from under her and she was starting to rebuild. She had her two children.
And it got to the point where her son was having an asthma attack one night, which I also, I had asthma growing up. So I knew what it felt like to not be able to breathe and need to be rushed to the ER. So this is probably one why I connect so much. But her son had an asthma attack and she took him to the health department because she knew she couldn't afford the ER. She said, if I went like that's it.
we're going to be upside down, I will never come out from under that if I take him to the ER. So of course the loving people at the health department did everything they could. They stabilized him and they told her, they said, but listen, if it happens again, you need to go to the ER. This is, you know, been figured out. Well, long story short, the person at the health department gave her GraceWorks number and they said, listen, just go over there. I've already called. Go over there. They're expecting you. And so she had just had this very traumatic
incredibly vulnerable evening, you know, thinking about protecting her son and feeling ill equipped to do that, feeling like she couldn't provide what he needed. and so she comes to GraceWorks and I love the way that she tells it. This, this was probably 20 years ago. she comes to GraceWorks and she said, I got there and they said, we've been waiting for you. We've been waiting for you. And she said, they filled my car.
They filled my backseat. They filled my trunk. It was just overflowing. I was amazed at the amount of food that they had given me. she, with a laughter in her voice, tells the story that she looked at her son and she said, honey, look, you know, isn't this amazing? We have all this food and everything's going to be okay. And her son just starts crying and breaks down and says, mom, I know how hard this has been for you. You know, I know how hard.
Alicia Bell (50:00.386)
that this season's been for you. And she had not probably yet realized how much he was seeing and how much he was carrying that as well. And so was this vulnerable restorative moment for them to connect. And then they drove home, he never had another asthma attack. And she actually never came back to GraceWorks. And she only needed that one moment. And she tells the story, she says, from that day on, God just started blessing her.
She started her own business and got on her feet. the reason that I met her, so this interaction, I believe it happened about 20 years ago. works at 30 years old. The reason I met her was a few years ago. Again, she comes into the administrative office and the first thing I hear out of her voice, her name is Stephanie, the first thing I hear is, this feels big. And I'm in my office, I'm like, who is in here saying this feels big out here? And I thought, hey, can I help you?
She comes in and she said, yeah, I need to talk to somebody. And so me and the CEO at the time sit down. And we're talking with her. And she hands us a check for a donation. And it's one of the largest donations we had ever received. And she said, you all gave me a of food 20 years ago. And I dreamed of the day I could do this. And how that cart of food, know, the donation was incredible, right? It was powerful and beautiful.
Lindy Wynne (51:02.403)
.
Alicia Bell (51:26.542)
that she thought to do that. But what really stuck with me was, you know, it was that one interaction that she credits to changing her whole outlook about God's gonna be here for me tomorrow. I've got somewhere to go, you know. And he's, we've got this. We've got this. After she had gone through a season where she said she genuinely asked God, do you see me? You know, do you see me?
And we got to be that small, just a small part of revealing God saying, we see you. You know, I see you Stephanie and this is gonna be okay. And so she was just so compelled to come back and tell us whether she brought the check or not. Just the fact that we had been able to do that, right? Is, yeah, is why I love my work and why I love GraceWorks. And I just wanna...
clear the way for God to have as many of those experiences as we can possibly host here at GraceWorks.
Lindy Wynne (52:33.374)
Yes, praise God. Alicia, that is so profoundly moving and I cannot thank you enough for sharing. Your sharing, your testimony today, your witness reflects how we're all the same. We're all so vulnerable and we need one another and we need the Lord. And that's the way that the Lord crafted and shaped and molded us for that deep need of God, God's self, of Jesus and one another.
reflecting the love of Jesus. So I cannot thank you enough. And how can everybody learn more about GraceWorks?
Alicia Bell (53:08.962)
Yeah, so graceworkstn.org is our website. Everything is there. And of course, you're welcome to come and visit. We're open Monday through Saturday, 9 to 4. The thrift store is open. And so that's always a way just to come check us out. And then our service center is in the heart of that building as well. yeah. And we're on Instagram and Facebook. We've got an incredible social media game. So follow us there if you want more inspiring stories. We have a
Lindy Wynne (53:29.589)
Fantastic.
Alicia Bell (53:38.092)
daily word of grace to just to center your heart and around God. So if you are looking for those types of frequencies of just connecting with the Lord in a social platform, be sure to follow us.
Lindy Wynne (53:51.073)
Okay, thank you so much. And if you do not live in the Tennessee area, because many of you do not know that you can always make a donation to GraceWorks and you can hear how it will go to this magnificent cause. Wonderful. Alicia, can you please close us in prayer?
Alicia Bell (54:04.856)
Yes, absolutely. Lord, thank you. Thank you for this space of vulnerability, Lord, and just teach us to feel comfortable in that and just use that, Lord, to draw others to know and trust in your word and your grace and in your provision. And we praise you for that. And we praise you for giving us Jesus, Lord. Thank you.
Thank you for showing us the way. And in Christ's name we pray, amen.
Lindy Wynne (54:39.585)
Amen. Thank you, Alicia. Thank you so much for being here and thank you everyone for gathering. You can go to mamasinspirit.com or wherever you love to listen to podcasts, to listen to many more faithful mini retreats and a podcast. Can't wait to be together again next time. Happy Easter. This is Lindy Wynne with Mamas in Spirit. May God bless you and yours always.