Welcome to The Story Behind the Story.

Every ministry has stories that never make it into the teaching. The conversations after the camera stops rolling. The unexpected detours. The prayers no one else heard. The moments when God quietly changed everything. That’s what this space is for.

It’s where I invite you behind the ministry – not to spotlight us, but to celebrate God’s faithfulness in building something neither Eric nor I could have built on our own.

So grab a cup of coffee.

Pull up a chair.

Today, I want to tell you the story behind something people never see when they watch a finished video. They see the teaching. They see the graphics. They hear the music. They click play, and everything looks peaceful. What they do not see is the husband-and-wife team behind the camera… learning how to work together without driving each other completely crazy.

And yes… there is definitely a story behind that.

The Beginning

Eric and I are very different. I am a planner. A strategist. A document-everything kind of person. If I learn something, I write it down. If we build a system, I want steps. If there is a process, I want it captured somewhere so we can repeat it.

Eric is not that way. Eric dives in. He figures things out. He experiments. He learns by doing. And then somehow… he knows how to do it. No documentation. Not notes. No neatly labeled folders. Just Eric and whatever invisible filing cabinet lives inside his engineer brain. I have no idea how he does what he does.

But to be fair… he says the same thing about me. He calls me the Content Queen. I suppose every ministry needs one person who creates the message… and another person who can make the message actually appear on the internet. That is us.

But learning how to work together? That took time.

The Turning Point

For years, when frustrations would rise, I had one sentence that always came out of my mouth. “I wish you would treat me like Donna.” Donna was one of Eric’s former bosses. And every time I said it… it got under his skin.

At the time, I thought I was making a perfectly reasonable point. In my mind, I was saying, “You know how to be patient, professional, and kind at work. I need that version of you too.”

But recently, the Lord began dealing with my heart about that sentence. He showed me something I had not fully understood. Isn’t it strange how we often treat strangers with more courtesy than the people closest to us?

At work, people are polite. They explain. They pause. They use softer tones. They say, “No problem.”

Then we come home… and the people we love most get whatever version of us is tired, frustrated, rushed, or overwhelmed.

That realization convicted me. Because this was not only about Eric. It was about me too. If I wanted him to treat me with the same patience he would offer someone in the workplace… then I also needed to offer him that same grace. That lesson changed the way I began thinking about our work together.

 

What We Learned

Filming used to be hard. There were arguments. There were tears. There were moments when I wondered how in the world we were supposed to do this together. I am visual. Eric is intellectual. I need quiet, flow, emotional focus, and room to get into the teaching. Eric sees technical details. Camera angles. Sound. Lighting. Files. Uploads. Systems. Both matter.

But during filming, I finally realized something important. I cannot teach well if I feel watched, interrupted, or managed. I need space. So Eric learned to leave the room. He gets everything ready. He checks the technology. He makes sure the camera is rolling. Then he leaves me alone until I say, “Cut.”

That one change brought so much peace. Now filming is no longer something I dread. It is something I look forward to. We have learned each other’s rhythms. We have learned each other’s strengths. We have learned that harmony does not mean doing everything the same way. It means honoring the way God designed each of us to work.

 

Where We Are Now

Today, Eric and I work together with far more peace than we did in the beginning. Not because we became the same person. We did not. I still document everything. He still somehow remembers things I would have written in a twelve-page checklist. I still see the message. He still sees the machinery that carries it. But now we understand each other better.

And more importantly… we are learning to treat each other with the same patience and kindness we would offer someone outside our own home. That may sound simple. But it has changed us.

Because ministry does not only reveal what you believe. It reveals how you live with the people closest to you. And for Eric and me, learning to work together has become one more way God is shaping both of us. Not just for the ministry. For each other.

 

One “Yes” at a Time.

Reflecting back, every step of this ministry reminds me that God rarely shows us the whole journey.

He simply asks us to trust Him with the next step.

That’s how this ministry has been built.

One “yes” at a time.

Until next time…

Thank you for letting Eric and me share this journey with you.

– Lori Ann

🕊 ONE SHARE. ONE SOUL.
This week’s step:

Share this with one person God puts on your heart.

Then comment DONE so I can pray over you.

 “You may never know what your share starts — but Heaven will.”

READ · PRAY · GATHER · SHARE · MULTIPLY
#HopeWithHandles