Culture & Christianity: The Allen Jackson Podcast - Faith, Fear & Frosting [Featuring Gigi Butler]

Episode Date: May 23, 2025

To step into the future God has prepared, sometimes you have to let go of the past. Gigi Butler’s journey is proof of that. Before she was the founder of the wildly successful Gigi’s Cupcakes, Butler came to Nashville with dreams of a successful music career and ended up cleaning houses. What looked like failure was actually preparation. Failure isn’t final—it’s formation. Gigi Butler joins Pastor Allen in this podcast to share an important reminder that if you’re willing to let go, step out, and trust God, He’ll take your mess and make something beautiful.__ It’s up to us to bring God’s truth back into our culture. It may feel like an impossible assignment, but there’s much we can do. Join Pastor Allen Jackson as he discusses today’s issues from a biblical perspective. Find thought-provoking insight from Pastor Allen and his guests, equipping you to lead with your faith in your home, your school, your community, and wherever God takes you. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3JsyO6ysUVGOIV70xAjtcm?si=6805fe488cf64a6d Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/culture-christianity-the-allen-jackson-podcast/id1729435597

The devil's been playing chess way up here. He's been doing all the levels of the media, social media, TV, all of politics. We've been down here waiting for the rapture. And it's not working. We have to take hold up here, and we need to get a foothold up there. And I think we finally are. I really think people are waking up. There's a lot of brave soldiers out there.

Lots of people are really listening to you, and they are, implementing what you're doing, by the way. They are being foot soldiers out there, and they are getting criticized. Well, welcome back to culture and Christianity. Our guest today's Gigi Butler. She's the founder of Gigi's cupcakes. If you have missed out on that opportunity, you have missed out. I have a little sample here, and I will not share.

And you don't have smell of vision, so you can't appreciate it fully. But it's not a cupcake of a conversation, pun intended. It's a story really of perseverance and diligence of facing fear and overcoming it, of not allowing disappointment to shape your life. And all of that wrapped around a person with a genuine faith. It really, it's an encouraging conversation. I think it'll help you build the bridge to the best things in front of you and perhaps help fuel the determination not to give in to the temptation to quit. We all have voices fueled with fear and discouragement that try to convince us that our failure is permanent. And I don't believe that.

I believe with the help of God we can fail forward through life. And Gigi has a great voice and an amazing story and a vibrant faith. And I believe you can take those things and find some momentum for what God has for you next. We need Christianity in the midst of our culture, not hiding in churches. And we're going to keep finding people who are living this out in a bold way and sharing their stories so we can get stronger together. I think you'll enjoy the podcast. Welcome to Culture and Christianity. We're delighted.

You're back. I'm excited to hear my guest today. I'm very excited. G.G. Butler. Thank you. You have been a Nashville resident, not so much right now, but Middle Tennessee person. I was raised myself here. I was out of high school.

I lived in Nashville. and I just three years ago moved to Florida. And this is the first time I've come on the campus, but I feel like I'm home because I watch you all the time. And I hadn't even watched you before. I was, someone was like, oh, you've got to hear this Pastor Alan Jackson, and you need to, like, okay, and my brother goes here and some friends go here. And I thought, well, okay, I'll come here one day.

Well, I'm scrolling on YouTube. I'm like, oh, there's that guy. And I'm click, and he's like, put down your toaster struddle and your breakfast burrito. You all better stand up, you lazy Christians. And I was like, I like that guy. So I was like, I am in. I'm sold. And then the things you said, and I do want to brag on you, you've become one of my heroes of faith.

And you are made for a time as this. And I feel like you're Winston Churchill. Wow. For our time. You're a great orator. You really are. You're like, get off your couches. and get out, put your struddle down and get up and praise the Lord and let's do something.

And so you're creating foot soldiers and you're creating people that are really implementing. So that's what I see. I see a lot of implementation. No, I mean, I think we're going to lose our freedom if we don't stand up. Correct. If we think Donald Trump and his band of hardworking people who I'm very grateful for are going to secure our liberty and freedom, we're deceived. Right.

It's going to be average people living, on Main Street, leading normal lives that say we're not going to tolerate wickedness and ungodliness and stealing. And it doesn't mean we're perfect. We're not angry. Right. And we're not going to respond in anger. We may be angry about what's happening, but it's time for courage.

But for those that don't know, you are like at the top of the cupcake world. Well, I was. I was the queen of cupcakes until I sold. And then I came tumbling down. But that's another story. Yes, I built the Cupcake franchise, 125 stores in 24 states until I sold. So it was a, with $33 to my name. So it was an interesting, and I had a child and raised her by myself in that time as well.

So it's been a real act of faith. And a lot of hard work. Tons of hard work. I have a very tenacious spirit. That's what God has given me tenacity. So I'm just curious because I don't know all the details of your story. I have a copy of your book, but I haven't read it all yet to confess. Somewhere in there was a tipping point where you knew this was more than I'm pretty good with cupcakes to this might get traction.

Right. Where's the tipping point? The tipping point was I've always been an entrepreneur and I had a cleaning business at 15. And then I knew at seven that I was going to move to Nashville. I was like, I heard a Dolly Parton song. I'm like, I'm moving to Nashville. And my mom and dad are, okay, you're seven. And I said, no, I know what I want to do.

I know what my goal is. So right out of high school, I wanted to be either a veterinarian, like your father, or a zoologist, or be a country music singer. So I chose the hard knocks. That's perfect sense. Those go right together. You know, the bars and the titsies and the cigarettes and I didn't smoke. But I might have.

I should have because everyone else was smoking. So I chose that, which has been very interesting. It's taught me a lot about people, a lot about timing, which I think if you're a comedian, a preacher, or a singer, you have to have timing, right? Yeah, that's part of it. Timing is everything. So tipping point was, I was just finished, and I probably should tell you, I cleaned for many famous people here. I had built a really big business, and I was cleaning Taylor Swift's, not totally. Her bathroom. Let's just say bathroom. I'll be more ladylike. And she sat on her bed and she practiced her guitar. And she practiced a song she wrote. And I was cleaning her sink at the time. And I looked at her and like, did you write that song?

She goes, yeah, it's going to be my first album. And she was 15. She had a family that had tons of money to support her dream. I was nearing 30, cleaning her toilet. And then the night before I was getting my butt pinched at Tootsie's passing the tip jar around making $33. So I just knew that was my epiphany for that. And so I built my cleaning business. And at that point, who am I? You know, I was always the country singer since seven years old. So my identity just fell.

And I had to build myself up for a few years to. Who am I? And then there was an opportunity. My brother stood in line at a cupcake shop in New York City. He's like, you should open a cupcake shop in Nashville. Had my pink cleaning gloves on, cleaning a bathroom all my epiphanies happened near a toilet go figure. And I said, why not? Why not me? Why not just take the chance? I was, what am I going to do? I have to pay it back if I fail. I've already failed. I might as well try this. So I went to four banks. they laughed in my face. This was September 2007. And it was pretty popular to get a loan. I was a female. I'd been in business almost 15 years. I had excellent credit, a little bit of savings. They all laughed in my face. And I was like, really? You're going to laugh at my, in my face? I've heard no my whole life. That's not going to work for me. So I took out $100,000 cash advances on my

credit cards, and I went for it. Wow. And everyone, because I was cleaning for very high profile people. And they're like, you're crazy. You don't have a business plan. You don't. I'm like, nope, don't. And they're like, what are you going to do?

You're going to fail. And I'm like, I've got this. I'm just going to build. So I built the shop. And I was set to open. And I had $33 left to my name. And I opened my cup cake. I opened my doors, Cupcake shop, had my little apron on.

And I was like, God, I need you. I don't know what to do, but I'm being obedient. And it feels like you're pushing me into this. So, okay, if I fall and fail miserably, I've never been the person that's been embarrassed with failure. And most people are very embarrassed of failure, right? So they don't do it. And, yeah, I just like, well, if I fail again, I fail again. So opened up and it became like a snowball effect.

All of a sudden, they became in demand. across the country. And it just was like, no, these are my cupcakes. I'm not sharing. Go get your nugget of gold. These are mine. And it just, like, we want one here. We want one. And I was like, oh, I don't want to let go. This is my baby now. Because my cleaning my business was my baby. And I'm like, okay, I'll grow. And it just took off. And that's what happened. And here we are. It was in five years with $33 left to my name when I opened my doors that morning. I created the company along with great people. And we went to 125 stores and 24 states grossing $33 million a year.

I wasn't making that, but the company was. I know, I got that. So. So somebody's listening and they have a dream. Right. And they're willing to invest the hard work. Okay. Maybe don't max out all your credit cards or Dave Ramsey will come find us.

Well, he will hunt you down. Definitely isn't his plan, which I love Dave Ramsey. So I would never do that again. But that's all I had to do at that time. I didn't have anything else. So I did it. Well, there's a tenacity that really is amazing to me, to be honest. But there's a quote.

It was during COVID, which you have some opinions around that, which I think will come out of this quote. But I want to read it says it's so horrible to see a location for my first company shutting down. It was in Huntsville because of this global government BS shutdown of all small businesses. When the big boys like Amazon and Walmart are thriving, wake up people, support small business, so we don't lose all of our country to big tech and the big box stores. You did do your research. I'm applauded when I'm reading that.

I said that verbatim. So, yes, I was very upset about it. And that's why I feel like where we're at right now is so important because we're, in this pivotal time of our country. And what you say and what you preach about is you either preach and you stand up and you be a foot soldier and you go out there or we will lose it. That's true. And I started really standing up at about that time.

And I also, I know I normally don't, people normally don't read things that you say back on your program, but I think it's really important. It inspired me so much that I pulled off to the side of the road one day. and I don't even know when you gave this sermon, but I have this in my little book of notes because I'm a writer and I do blogs, and it inspired me so much that I wrote it down June 23rd on the 23rd. Okay.

So, and this, no, this was June, 2020. So this is you quoting. The apostles denied the Lord because they associated a consequence with identifying with him. The reason we are reluctant to talk about, our faith is that we imagine the consequence that we might have. Does this sound familiar? That's why we stay silent and we are shy with our faith because we might get punished. So we play nice or even sometimes deny him. After the apostles received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they were willing to be in chains

and be tortured for their faith. But we're afraid to speak out. We're afraid that we're going to lose a friend or even be bullied on social media or will be unfollowed. So this is what I put in. We also have the power of the Holy Spirit. What are we doing? Bland in our faith is not what we need to do. We don't have the luxury to be bland. It's time to be bold, bold, not bland.

So I feel like this is the epitome of your podcast. And I don't know when you even preach this. But this is when I was like, this guy is on it. So I just wanted to read that to you. Thank you. And I think that is the assignment. That's the assignment. Because the truth is, any point of history we take,

I think the other mistake we make, we'll just have some fun for a minute. You know, we want to look at the Christians want to look at this and go, well, it's the end of the age. So it's the last days. It's going to get really dark. There's nothing we can do. Let's just wait for the rapture.

Let's go get a cave and some dehydrated food. And Jesus will come get me. Correct. We're not supposed to be that. But a casual view of church history and biblical history is it's far more normal that we have to stand against some real challenges. Right. And we've had this perverted 21st century cushy American gospel. I know. And I'm not opposed to nice things.

I would rather eat good food than sardines from a can. I would rather have a Gigi's cupcake. You know. But on the other hand, our life has to have. a purpose. Right. Or we spiral into this horrible place. Correct. And we've been called to serve a king. And that's going to be hard work. And there are people that will reject us. And we're not going to be welcomed everywhere. And we'll be left off some invitation lists. Absolutely. If the current trend keeps going, they'll put us in jail. But it's okay, too. We're not the first group that's

gone. Right. And I hear that tenacity in you when I've met you and we've talked a little bit. And I hear about your story? I'm like, bring it. Yes. You have to have a tenacious faith because you just can't be, you cannot be passive in this time. And I learned that in 2020. I was really, you know, I was doing speaking gigs all across the country and it was a big part of my money for universities and Coca-Cola and, you know, other big corporations. And one of my speaking agents called me one day. And, and this was the epitome of where I knew. And she's like, well, you know, you've lost that gig at the university of whatever it was. I said, why?

She said, well, they said, if you took down some of your social media posts, that they would reconsider you in six months. And I was like, which one, the one where I'm, you know, not at all going to get the Vax? Or I love the Lord. Or if we don't get Trump back in office, we're going to go to hell in a hand basket? Which one should I take down? And she's like, all of them. And I thought about that.

She's like, everyone just wants you to be the sweet cupcake lady. Stay in your lane. Do what you do. Inspire people. But don't. And I was like, oh, that doesn't sit well with me. And it just hasn't for the past five years. It hasn't sat well because I'm not that sweet.

I mean, I'm kind. You know, people that really know me, I'm not, they wouldn't say, oh, she's the sweetest little thing. Because I'm not. I'm kind. I'm thoughtful. I mean, I love the people, but nice and sweet would probably, that wouldn't be what people would say. And then she'll cut you. She'll be kind right up until.

If someone messes with my child or the people I love or I, you know, I'm not, I'm tenacious. Jesus was not passive. No. And we have this idea as Christians that, oh, we have to play nice. And, well, that's why we're in this situation is because we've played nice and we haven't been. We've been playing checkers. The devil's been playing chess way up here. He's been doing all the levels of the media, social media, TV, all of politics.

We've been down here waiting for the rapture. And it's not working. We have to take hold up here and we need to get a foothold up there. And I think we finally are. I really think people are waking up. There's a lot of brave soldiers out there. Flashpoint is doing a great job. I love Flashpoint.

I love all that they do. Lots of people are really listening to you and they are implementing what you're doing, by the way. They are being foot soldiers out there and they are getting criticized. So many of you send us messages, letters, emails, notes in a variety of formats saying thank you for the ministry, for willing to speak the truth into culture in this rather tumultuous season. Well, I hear your feedback and it's very valuable. The question I'm so often asked is I feel like we should do more. What can we do?

How do we do something? Clearly, God is moving in the earth. He's raising up voices of truth. We're certainly not unique or alone in that. But there is something you could do that would help us. Join us as a monthly ministry partner. Our baseline for how we build our plans for next comes from those monthly partners.

Your gift of $25 or more enables us to imagine a different future. So if God has blessed you through the ministry, I would ask you to make that simple investment in what's next. And together, we will join God in helping to spread the message of a biblical worldview and its significance for our families,

our communities, our nation, and for the body of Christ throughout the earth. Join us in that partnership. We'll share some unique learning opportunities with you, and together we'll move with what God is doing in the earth right now. They're happy to do it. Talk about that with me for a minute, because people get up and walk out sometimes when I'm speaking,

or I don't get invited to some places because they can listen, or you'll forfeit, but we'll survive. There's still people in the building, but I'm very conscious that there are people that listen to us. A man came to me. He worked in manufacturing. And his supervisor, they were implementing some trans training. And he said, I won't do that.

Right. And he came and told me. And long story short, they fired him. And, you know, for some of the people, the consequences are more immediate and at least in the short run, more devastating. Correct. And so I'm always, I'm not trying to be cavalier when I tell people to stand up. It's hard. But I do believe that if we stand up for what is right, even if in the short run, there's a consequence.

That is the essence of our faith, I think. I do too. That it's not something theoretical just about eternity and going to heaven. It'll make a difference now. Even if we walk through a more difficult place, God gets involved in the making of those stories. He does. And it seems like you've lived that out. So we didn't just, it hasn't always been easy.

You know, I mowed the grass. I cleaned the bathrooms here. I didn't clean him for other people, but I was in charge of the cleaning service. Well, so was I when I built the company. I still did all of it. Right. You wear all the hats and you build and you grow. But there comes a point to where there's other people that come along and you have to grow and build your, you have to let go to grow, which was probably one of the hardest lessons I've learned being the type of person I am.

So it seems like you kind of are that way as well that sometimes you have to kind of let go to grow, give people grace, mercy. I wasn't given the gift of mercy. When they were dished that out in that line that morning, I guess I list. But I have to really be cautious, really, you know, think about it. With my daughter, I have to, okay, today I'm going to be merciful. You know, I wasn't given the gift of mercy either. My life blew apart when I was a young man in a very public way. Oh.

And there wasn't much mercy around me. And I had to recognize that it's because I hadn't been a very merciful person. And I was in a place where I didn't really feel like I had done something evil, but I got the consequence. And so I made a promise to the Lord. I went through a divorce. And it wasn't quiet or subtle. And I'd always said that if you're a good person, you do the right thing, good things will happen. and if you're a bad person, bad things will happen.

And I was a smug, self-righteous, sanctimonious, pleasant young man. Right. And when my life blew apart, and I needed mercy, and there wasn't much around me, it completely changed my orientation. And I told the Lord, I spent the rest of my life helping broken people that were interested in getting to know him. I love that. And I understood then church was a hospital, not a Hall of Fame.

That's for sure. That we limp into this place, and God begins to put us back together. He does. And it doesn't mean you don't have boundaries. I'm willing to call right and wrong and good and evil. Right. But there aren't any perfect people. And that's not about sloppy grace.

If you've listened to enough, you know. I have. But we have to have compassion for people. We do. We do. And God restores and renews. And then he writes an ending that's better than the one I wanted. And I had to get my broken heart and duct tape it back together.

Right. And the Lord brings healing and restoration and renewal. And he writes you a different story. I love that your life wasn't perfect. I think that makes you relatable. And I think that's why so many people can relate to you, because you get up there and you're not, oh, some pious, perfect preacher, you're a broken man who understands. You could, it's interesting.

I feel like I could put you in a barn or a ball or take you to a ball. And you'd fit in with anything because you're just that type of guy that just makes people feel welcome and feel like you're welcome. Come, I'm broken too. let me show you how to not get broken. Let me show you how to heal. It's in here, y'all. Come on.

That's how I feel you are. I'm probably more comfortable if we start in the barn. I can survive the other thing. But it is true. And the other piece to add to that is how God elevates our lives. God's dreams are so much better than our dreams. Right. You know, we want to pay the bills and find a way to earn a living

and be able to take care of ourselves. And God said, no, no, no. You know, I created you with the most amazing portfolio. And if we'll cooperate with him, that part I love about your story because it's unexpected. Very much. But you were persistent. You didn't just give in or give up or you didn't become, you know, the current mantra that I'm entitled and I've been mistreated to me is so unhelpful. Right.

So how do we help? If somebody's listening today and they're thinking about quitting, what are you going to say to this? them? Well, when I opened my cupcake shop, I wanted one cupcake shop and one dream. I didn't at all could imagine what God had in store for me. And so when people are listening to, well, I just want one thing. Well, then do the faithful thing and take the step out. But you might be surprised with how much God has for you. But you have to be faithful with the first step. Take that first step. I wanted one dream, one cupcake shop. With you taking a faithful step out, what could you do with your one dream, your one cupcake shop, your one store?

We don't know, but it's being the faithful, being obedient with that and going, I'm scared to death. And people are like, aren't you scared? Yeah. Do you feel like you're crazy? Yeah, I do. And I kind of probably am, but I'm going for it. So I've just never let people go, well, you shouldn't do that. Now I listen to Wise Counsel, of course.

But if it's gnawing in your gut, and my analogy for faith, and I'll give it to very quickly, it's a Temple of Doom, I think it's Temple of Dune, it's one of those, you know, and he's running down the cave, right? And his dad, the other guy was like, son, help me, son, whoever the guy would, the guy would double-07 guy. Sean Connery. So I don't know if it's Temple of Dune, it's one of those. And he's running and he's got the map in his hand, and he comes to this. stop. And there's a huge chasm, right? And he's like, and he knows he's got to get over there. But his son, help me. And he's like, oh, and he's going to go, and he's going to step out,

and he's going to fall to his death. But then he looks at his map, and he's like, okay, he takes a breath, and he goes, and he steps out. And then his path eliminates. And then another step, and then another step, and then he gets over there. But if you don't take that step and you're afraid of falling here, you're never going to be there, ever. You're just going to be stuck here. And I hate it that people are so afraid of being stuck right here. I don't understand it.

So I tell people, this is stagnation. Well, I'm going to fall. People are going to think, well, I've lost everything. I've made it been a fool of, you know, I've made it full. I've made a full out of myself. I've done, I've been embarrassed. Cameraman followed me around when the whole cupcake thing, Fiasco exploded.

But it's okay. And I'm not over. It's not over. I can take all of those skills that I used, all of the singing and the pie baking and the cupcakes, and I can bring it and I could put it here to what God has for me. If I'm open and willing, that's where we get stuck.

We're not open and we're not willing. That is so good. So courage is not the absence of fear. No. You can do courageous things when you're still wrestling with fear. Correct. Correct. You can fight the fear. You just have to do it.

Courage in the dictionary is the ability to do something that frightens you. Strengthen the face of pain or grief. Even strength in the face of failure or adversity. That's courage. So you've got to have strength in the face of pain or grief. Do it. Do it anyways. Oh, I'm canceled. I'll be unfollowed. Honey, I have been unfollowed. I have been death threats. People following me, people stalking me, horrible things that people have said. And I'm thinking, I do cupcakes. And I am getting this hate for,

I'm the sweet cupcake lady, and I'm getting death threats. I mean, when I tell you hate, I can only imagine what it would feel like to be a huge country singer that's going to step out, or an actress, or an actor, or someone that's a politician that feels, I'm like, this isn't looking right. They, I can't imagine their hate. If I'm a little cupcake person that made cupcakes people happy for a living and I'm getting death threats because I'm not willing to take the Vax, wait, I'm sorry. Or I'm going to say, yes, I'm a Christian and I'm going to stand on.

that I'm getting off the politically correct fence. And people will bark at you to get back on, I'll tell you. They will. The demons will come out. For sure. You know, you talked about fear and grief. I like to think of those negative spiritual forces as persons without bodies. They're just as real.

Right. And it helps me understand how to address them. Right. If I went, if I was going to leave the office day and there was somebody sitting on the hood of my car and said, I want this car. I'd say like heck. Right. And if they're bigger than me, I'll get an equalizer. But I'm not going to just surrender the car because they make a statement.

Correct. And so when fear shows up and said, you know, this is the scenario. I've learned to say, no, you know, in Jesus' name, you're not going to dominate my decision-making. I like that. And grief. Grief's a normal part of life. There are times grief's appropriate, but it's an appropriate visitor. It's not an appropriate permanent guest.

And so I'll say, you know, grief in Jesus' name, you have to go. And it's really given me a different platform. It doesn't paralyze me then. Right. It doesn't mean that I don't face frightening things or that sometimes I'm not afraid or I grieve my mom passed away last year. I grieve that.

But it also keeps you from being stuck in those places. We need an imagination for how to deal with our problems and not just wish them away. Correct. And I hear that in you. I read a book a long time ago called The E-Mith. That's my favorite book. Because it's about a lady with the pie store. No, I did not know that.

That is my all-time. Well, that is your story. That's my story. And that's when everyone says, well, what book would you recommend? The e-myth theory revisited. That is the best book that has ever been written on how to let go to grow. And most people that want to be entrepreneurs or want to be preachers or want to be business people are really type A. They're control freaks.

It is what it is. But if they can control it, and that's their like wonderful superpower, but then letting go and letting other people that do things better, that's when you can grow. And that's when you can implement something. But it's the person that gets, I can't believe you read that book. I read that book when the church had about 100 people in it. And I thought, this is like the secret sauce. That's the secret sauce to growth for anything.

for a pie shop, for a church. That is amazing. That is my favorite book. I love that. That's great. Well, you certainly lived it out. Well, I did try. I have failed many times, but I did try. Tell us just a little bit about your book, The Secret Ingredient Recipes for Success in Business and Life. Yes. Again, you've lived that out pretty well, too. I have lived that out. It is a life story, and it's all about how the cupcakes came to be. and then there is a business lesson and a little recipe at the end of every chapter. And so it's just life lesson and recipe. And I am in process of writing my second book.

And it's all about family and faith and cooking and hospitality. And Jesus was the king of hospitality. And he not only fed people, he fed their souls. And once their basic needs were met, then they were more open to learning about him. So I thought, well, can't I do something? That's what the world needs right now. They need someone that can open their house and be a Martha Stewart, but have a little bit of Joyce Meyer in there, some feistyness, but some godliness.

So I thought, why can't I do a cookbook and a show about that? So that's the project I'm working on now. I love the hospitality idea. That's a really biblical notion. It is. And one we've lost a lot of. We hardly even have meals as a family any longer. And if we can come back and rebuild that, then we can open our lives a little more fully.

Your home, doesn't it be perfect. No. You know, I told the store for years, I was still single, and I lived in this condo. And I had a structural problem. So if you came to my condo, you had to step over this hole in the floor, and you could see the dirt down. And I didn't care. It's like, we're having a party. Come on in.

Right. You know, nobody's going to confuse me with Martha Stewart. Well, people don't have that hospitality anymore. And food is my love language, obviously, with the book and the cupcake shop. and I thought, if food is my love language and I'm still not too old to just retire, what could I do? And I thought, well, when I get old, I'll have a Bible study and I'll cook for people. And I'm thinking, why would I have to wait to get old to have a Bible study and cook for people? Why can't I just put it on a TV show and cook for the world and show people hospitality and show them how faith and fear?

and so for instance, black forest cheesecake bar. Talk about the black forest cheesecake bar, but I also talk about the black forest that I was led through and God pulled me through and the black forest of our lives. So yes, they're delicious, but yes, the black forest, when you're going through the worst of your life, it's hard. And what I did to overcome that. That is so good.

So you do have a new cooking show? Well, it is to be determined on distribution. But yes, we have filmed the sizzle reel and the pilot and three episodes, and I'm very excited about it. That's exciting. It'll be fun. So is that next? Well, raising my daughter and getting her to be a trooper for the Lord and, you know,

Kitting her on the path. And I tell her, I say, honey, when you're looking at the world, they're here all in your face with social media, Jesus is right back there. So turn around because do everything that's counterculture to what the world's doing. You'll be on the right path to Jesus. So raising her is my number one priority. And then cooking and reinventing and recreating. I don't know what God has for me, but I'm excited.

Public speaking started back. Good. Yes. In spite of your social media. And people are like, well, I guess she's going to be, who she's going to be. Might as well hire her. So that starts in July, in Mobile. Awesome.

Yes. For 3,000 teachers. Wow. Yes. It'd be interesting. Better take an outline. I do. But, you know, truth is making its way back into the public square a little bit.

It's no longer being forced into the corners and shut down. There's some hope in that. There is so much help. I'm not sure that the outcome is clear yet. I think it's going to require some determination on our parts. I do too. But there is a privilege of telling the truth that we haven't had in recent years. I think so too.

I think it's coming around. You know, you always, we were so, I know you were punished. Everyone that spoke out in 2020, 22, 23 were punished. But now it seems like, okay, wait a minute. We're gaining ground. It's cool again, not that, but it's okay to speak out. and be who you are and tell people about God and faith. Well, once it was actually, the emperor really didn't have any clothes.

Right. So they may have been mad when we said it the first time, but it worked out in the public square. So God is watching out first. In his grace and mercy, he's like, let me show you what's going to happen, everyone. Just watch what I'm going to uncover in the next year. Well, I love the fact that you tell your story in the terms of, of honoring Jesus is not a limit in your life. It hasn't been oppressive to you.

No. And that he's met you at those places where there were real challenges and helped you navigate a way forward. He has met me in the darkest spots when I've lost everything. He again said, no, I'm your father. I'm the creator. You're not over. You can recreate.

And he has met me there. and I am so grateful of how good he is. And listening to you, and you're one of my heroes of faith, and every time I get low, even though I'm in Florida and I'm doing my thing out there, I feel like I'm home here because I put on and I'm like, yes, you're right. I can implement that. I can be that foot soldier.

There is faith, there is hope, and you have given me so much hope. Thank you. You're most welcome. You blessed us today. You know, we always close these with what can we do? And you've given our listeners today, I think, a lot of good ideas. I think we don't always close these with a prayer, but today that feels appropriate to me. I think that'd be great.

For the people who are listening and maybe your life unraveled, ours has. And all of my ideas on how to make it better didn't always work. But God led us through and brought us to places that not only we didn't imagine, nobody that was watching us imagined. Right. Grace upon grace. And we're not unique. we're just expressions of God's grace and mercy, and he will do it for anybody that will say yes to him.

He will. Let's pray. Lord, I thank you. I thank you for Gigi and her faith. Lord, I thank you for your grace and mercy towards us. Lord, where we are incomplete and inadequate, you are not. And I thank you that you're both the author and the completer of our stories that you'll write an ending until it's right.

And I pray especially for anybody listening today, that where there's pain or loss or fear, Lord, that you would open a door. Let there be a point of light in front of them that they can walk towards. And may they have the courage to choose you. I thank you for what you're doing, that you're moving in the earth, and that you've given us the great honor of bearing the name of Jesus. May we do that in a way that's pleasing to you.

Amen. Gigi Butler, thank you. You are a blessing, delightful. Very nice to be here. Hey, thanks for joining me today. Before you go, please like you. the podcast and leave a comment so more people can hear about this topic too. If you haven't yet, be sure to subscribe to Alan Jackson Ministries YouTube channel

and follow the Culture and Christianity podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Together, let's learn how to lead with our faith and change our culture. I'll see you next time.