5/27/22 - Co-Laboring with God: Kenny & Clarisa Hill, Parables Media

Welcome to the, iWork4Him podcast. I'm Michael Miracle producer of the, iWork4Him radio program, the voice of the faith and work movement. Our mission is to transform the workplace of every Christian and do a mission field. What does that look like in your workplace? Let's find out right now.

Jim: You've tuned into, iWork4Him, the mouthpiece for the faith and work movement where your host, Jim and Martha brangenberg.

Martha: Thanks for being with us today. You know, Jim, I'm just excited that we get this opportunity to talk to our listeners, to have them be a part of conversations. But if you ever have any comments or anything that you want to connect with us directly, cause I know a lot of it's kind of you're in a passive position when you're just listening to.

Please reach to out to us, by going to our website, iWork4Him.com that's I work the number for him.com and there we actually have a contact us page. I'd love to hear from yet and see if there's anything that we can do to encourage you, or if you have any questions or comments or anything like that, we're just an open book. Aren't we, Jim?

Jim: Yeah, sometimes a little too far open. Hey, today's story is a fun one. A story with intrigue, divorce, financial ruin and amazing restoration. Not many of us would be willing to admit that for 15 years, we were busy striving to gain all the world had offer, but came up empty only to realize that without surrender, there really is no success.

God intersected our guest's life at a time when everything seemed hopeless. And that's where our story becomes really fun. Just like in the story of Joseph after much trial, humiliation and persevere. Kenny Hill saw God do amazing things in his work, personal and ministry life. Once he got started co-laboring with God.

Kenny started at Home Depot while in college and eventually rose to a much higher levels, but his favorite job was turning around the most troubled Home Depot in America. The one in Cascade, Georgia. Okay. I've rambled enough. Kenny Hill is here today, along with his wife. To share their story of how God rescued them and turned their home improvement store nightmare into one of miraculous impact and renovation, Kenny and Clarisa Hill.

Welcome to iWork4Him.

Kenny Hill: Welcome. And thank you for having us.

Jim: Yeah. It's it's fun. All right. Eh, you know, Kenny, when did you first meet first meet Jesus?

Kenny Hill: So actually I was raised in the church, so I remembered vacation Bible school when I was about eight years old. I gave my life to Christ. But somewhere around high school to college, I figured, well, I don't need all that church stuff.

So I figured I was gonna let education take me where I needed to go. So yeah, I, I did my own thing, but after college and beginning of my work career, God reminded me with a nice tap on the shoulder that I still needed to say. So I rededicated my life about six years into the 15 years of toil that I was experiencing.

Martha: And that toil started well, let's just say, when did you start working at Home Depot? Cause this is part of this story. So when did you start working there?

Kenny Hill: Yes, I actually started while I was a student in college. I started just a part-time. While I was in college and fell in love with the culture, fell in love with helping people and just never intended for it to become my career.

But that was God's plan for me. So it started in college and ended up being a one career career,

Martha: which is absolutely amazing that you have that story. But the first 15 years of that journey at home, Honestly, we're full of utter frustration for you. Why is that? And then tell us what part Psalm 127 plays in that.

Kenny Hill: Yes. So Psalm 127 just reminds us that unless the Lord builds the house, they, that labor build it in vain. And unless the Lord watches the city, the Watchman watching vain. So you can translate that to. Anything you're trying to do. If the Lord's not doing it, if you're not doing it with the Lord, then you're doing it in vain.

And I was trying to build a career. And when I look back mark, that it's really clear. I was suffering from rejection. I was - my mom was a single parent. Didn't have my dad in my life. So growing up, I was really focused on performing, trying to outpace the shame and the rejection of my past.

And I took that into a career in that if I would receive promotion, if I got a big title, if I was making lots of money and people were looking up to me, that would replace what I was missing on the inside. And that's what led to the 15 years of striving, striving only to never receive what I was attempting to gain.

So I was building the house of my career out of performance and the Lord was not in it.

Jim: When did you finally get to the end of your rope, which is when Clarisa comes into the picture when talk them about, because we often say on the show and we've often said it as teaching, is that until we get to the end of our.

We often don't realize that God's been holding out a rope to us all along gone. I got the rope right here. Why don't you just grab on my rope is better, but often we have to get to the end of our rope. Talk to us about that experience.

Kenny Hill: Yeah, Jim you're right. That's so true. I, I was at a crisis point where I had done everything that I could think of in my career.

I tried performance. I've tried networking and contacts, knowing the right people. I've tried, you know, everything that you can do in the business. And it wasn't working. And my careers was, was in a stalemate. It was a miserable place. And then my first marriage crumbled, it just, I didn't see it coming.

And so I found myself serving in my church, reading my Bible and praying every day, but just living in misery and I was like, something is wrong. And I needed to make an, I needed to change my perspective. At that time, I saw God as someone who was focused on accountability. He was someone focused on me doing the right things.

And if I earned through my efforts a blessing, then it was him to decided when that would happen and not having a father. I didn't know, God has a loving father. And so I had to come to the end of everything I was trying to do. To throw my hands up and say, this is not working. God, I need help. And he told me that I needed to refocus on love because that's where he is love.

And once I understood his love for me and, and I came to grips with that, then he gave me the charge of the challenge to go and represent him in my workplace. And that is when. I began to see that there was a whole different perspective than I'd ever learned in church that I'd ever tried to do on my own, that God was calling me to represent love in the workplace.

Martha: That's amazing that, you know, it seems like a simple lesson, but boy, you had to get, there was a lot that had to go into that. So hearing that firsthand is so great.

Jim: And you pull all that together. And in the end at the end of your rope, God says, not only am I going to teach you how to love at work.

Yeah. I'm going to teach you how to love and marriage. And that's when you met Clarisa and we're going to pick that story up and we'd come back right here. And iWork4Him as we're talking with Kenny and Clarisa Hill, she's been very patient. Don't worry, Clarisa. We're getting to you. You're listening to, iWork4Him with your host, Jim and Martha Brangenberg.

We talked with Kenny Hill, he's written his book about his story, and it's called Elevated: My Journey to Co-Laboring with God. And we're going to give away a copy a little later on this podcast, you got lots more of the story coming up right here. And iWork4Him. Hang on for just a second.

Martha: You know, the kind of person that always tells you about the latest trends or the special deals around town we'll lean in because here's a message from that kind of person.

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Go ahead. Check out Awaken Podcast Network.com and then be that kind of person and tell a friend,

Jim: Hey, welcome back to iWork4Him. As we're talking with Kenny and Clarisa Hill about their story and how God wove together, their work in the learning, how to co-labor with God as they learned how to love each other.

Clarisa, you met Kenny somewhere between the end of Kenny's rope and his March forward into Home Depot and to learn how to love it home depot. Describe for us, how you two met and what you saw God doing in Kenny's life. When he was at that frayed end of his rope and getting a hand, hold on God.

Clarisa Hill: So Kenny and I met through a mutual friend and we initially just spoke on the phone for about a month before I would agree to meet him in person.

It was too much. So then, you know, we allow for the blind date to come to completion by actually meeting in person. And I guess that's the end of the story.

I know. Right. Very true. Very true. In the process of right meeting Kenny and then entering into the covenant relationship of marriage. I saw that he was definitely committed in his walk with God. And that was that's what was important to me that here you have somebody that is a true believer and that's going to walk out what God has called him to do.

And that was inspiring to me. And that helped me to even realize the importance of clarity. So you just don't take the word in, in what God is saying for just what it says, but we actually live it. So that's what I kept on watching and seeing him being faithful and committed to what God called him to do.

Martha: You know, that is it. It's amazing that you could see that in here, man. See God is stirring in his heart and everything. So what was it about Kenny that made you decide to marry?

Clarisa Hill: I think it was that I think I, I love to see that he was committed and faithful first to God, but then he also in many ways showed me that just the quality and integrity that he had as, as a man.

So who would turn that down? You know, a woman, once you realize that here you have somebody that's serious about his walk with God. But then also knows how to treat a lady and how to be a man of integrity. Then that was enough for me to say, okay, God, my eyes are open. You know, I have to make a decision and say, yes, you know, this is, this is somebody that I need in my life.

Jim: No, that's good. I like that. So, Kenny, you're not only got married to Clarisa. You also had this real major turnaround in how you decided to work at Home Depot. You decided to co-labor with God. At work at Home Depot. What was your position then? And what did that, what's it look like to co-labor with God?

Kenny Hill: So that's a good question. When I first got that assignment, Jim, I kinda said the same thing. What does that look like? Because I actually was trying to get out of Home Depot. My church had an opening in the youth ministry where I served, they had a full-time staff position and I applied. Thinking out.

Here's my way to get out of, you know, the frustration at Home Depot and the directors, all me, you know, we love you. You, you do a great job when you volunteer, go home and pray about it. And then if, if God's good with you, then come back and we'll, we'll get you in position. And I didn't even get all the way home.

Jim, before the holy spirit said, your job is your mission field. And I was just like, what in the world is at me? I said, and I, and I really, I, I say God people and China, people in Africa, they need missionaries because they haven't heard of Jesus to all these people around me. They've heard of Jesus. And he say, yeah, they've heard, but now they need to see, and your job is to go and let them see.

So that became my challenge to, to be love personified, servant leadership. Investing in those people around me. I was kind of at that time, I wasn't assistant manager over the operations in the store. So I had about 30 employees that reported to me and I made it my business to pour in and nurture, support those 30 individuals any and everywhere I could.

And it began to change. First thing that happens, it begins to heal my heart at that time, being a divorce from my first marriage, that was, that left a scar. And it was healing that when I would help someone else and serve someone else, it was healing me. So it became contagious because it was like therapy.

But the more I poured into my people, the more people wanted to be on my team. So now I have the privilege of being able to choose who I had on my team. So I got the first pick so to speak. And so my team started performing better and better. And so it created two things. Basically love became my brand within the company.

And then I became the person that people wanted to work for. So I, my career, God just elevated it tremendously beyond my expectations.

Martha: You know, I'm curious because you talk about co-laboring with God and that's part of the title of your book. And again, it's called Elevated: My Journey to Co-Laboring with God.

I was trying to read it all at the same time, but that's okay. And actually now's probably a good time to segue and let the listeners know that Kenny is willing to give away a copy of his book. Call our listener line at (866) 713-9675 that's 8 6, 6 7 1 3 work. And one person will be able to win a copy of that book.

So I'm curious about this word co-laboring like, so you, you, God was telling you just get love, basically that became your brand. But what did that mean for you to co-labor with.

Kenny Hill: Yes. That's an important market because you can't do that in your own strength, you know, because people are hard to love.

People don't believe in God, people don't want your help. So in an, in my, I started in my own strength trying to do that. And it's like, man, I, I can do this for a couple of hours, but it's still got a long way to go. But so I had to count on God to love through me. I had to count on. Believing and receiving his love for me.

And then it didn't matter. Someone didn't want my help or if they said, you know, I don't get away from me. I don't need your help or whatever. It didn't matter what their response was. I was consistently pouring out of what he had poured into me. And that's the co-laboring part it's so it's not just like I'm going to go and be super nice to everybody.

I run in. 'cause you know, that that's only gonna last so long, somebody's going to tell you they don't like your outfit. And then, you know, there goes your day, but when you have a heart for people, the way God has a heart for. When you see people beyond their role as an employee or a customer, you see that's a creation of God that he wants them to know that they're loved.

And he's sending you to be an extension of that. That's the co-laboring part that you're allowing God to use you.

Jim: So what did you see as the results? I mean, were you talking about, you started loving people at work of which many of them I'm sure at first were quite unlovable. What did you see God do with your new approach?

Kenny Hill: Transformation. I mentioned before the problems at that store location had to, it was, you know, any area you picked, it was at the bottom.

It was just, but it's, the transformation started with me investing in, loving on the staff and charging them to show that same concern and love for every. And we began to, so it transformed the, the interpersonal first and then the transactional part happened where the numbers, the sales, the profitability, all those other things came after that relational component was secure.

What we're here to serve. Anyone who shows up qualifies, then we're going to love on you.

Jim: So Clarisa, you're sitting there alongside of Kenny through all of this. What did you see changing in his life? And how did that impact your marriage? As he learned a lot of people at work, how did that impact you?

Clarisa Hill: Well, I definitely saw that. And even from the beginning, when we met that he had a servant's heart. So Kenny loves to give in and very attentive to other people. So, you know, that was a challenge. As you have a family and he's gone or he's missing, or, you know, he's committed himself to certain activities then you know, we had to balance that out without a doubt, especially having.

But it, it made me realize in and see the importance of getting out of your own bubble, getting out of your own existence. And that's what God has put us here on earth to be relational or to, to really see other people in it that we all have needs. And we all have, we have or we want people to recognize sometimes just beyond the superficial and just go.

Dig a little bit deeper and say that, oh, you know, I care or you don't, you're not having a good day. What else is going on in life? You want somebody to take that step? So I really grew in, in knowing that that's who he is and he's taught me the same thing. You Clarisa, you got to go beyond just a greeting or a smile and, you know, really get in tune with somebody else. Take the time.

Jim: When we come back, lots more with Kenny and Clarisa Hill, as they share more of the story we're going to get to hear about Clarisa's job. But we're also going to hear about Kenny's cushy job at the really the headquarters store and how he left it to go back to the toughest store in America.

You're listening to, iWork4Him with your host, Jim and Martha Brangenberg. As we talked with Kenny and Clarisa. And it's all highlighted in Kenny's book, Elevated: My Journey to Co-Laboring with God, which we're going to give away a copy today, 8 6 6 7 1 3 96 75. We'll be right back.

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Welcome back to iWork4Him as we're talking today with Kenny and Clarisa Hill about their story of how God worked in their lives. As, as God taught Kenny to co-labor with him at Home Depot. And then he gets to me Clarisa and the rest of the stories, what we're talking about today, Kenny, you were for the, for about a year, you got to the manager position at the Cascade, Georgia Home Depot, and then you got promoted to the cushy Cumberland Georgia store, which was a store where all the new stuff gets tried out for Home Depot.

And it was, it was like the highlight store of America. And then God says, okay, Kenny, I'm going to see how much he really trusts me. And you were offered. And at the cushy Cumberland, Georgia store, you were co general manager. Then you were offered full general manager of the store back in Cascade, Georgia.

It was a hot mess. And they wanted you to go back and take over that store. Why did you leave cushy Cumberland world and go back to Cascade Georgia and what happened?

Kenny Hill: Yeah. So that was a real test of my trust and my heart for others. Sometimes when God teaches us to love and see things the way he sees them, he'll test us to see if we're only doing it to our benefit, or as long as it benefits us or if we really have the servant's heart.

So when I left Cascade and arrived at Cumberland, it was like going to Disney. I mean everything's new still a lot of hard work, but just every benefit that the company could provide and almost a year to the day that I arrived, they had an opening back at the Cascade store and the leadership team said, you know what add initially, will you just go back until we find somebody to permanently take, take over?

And I said, I'll go back temporarily. And I went back and I quickly reminded. There's a lot of work to be done here. But as I started to do the work for my temporary term, God started dealing with my heart that this is where I said, this was your mission field, and you're not done with that. And I start looking at the lives of the people and that's what did it for me.

There were people there who still wanted promotion in their careers, but didn't have the ability to navigate that on their own. It's kind of like Jesus, when he described the people as sheep, without a shepherd they needed a leader to show them the way and not just a leader who was there just to do enough, to keep things from getting worse.

So when the time came for me to go back to Cumberland, I told my leader, you know what, I want to stay. I want to take this store on and I want to turn it around. And it was because God had dealt with my heart. Finishing the assignment of this mission field and it, it, the job wasn't complete. So I had an opportunity to turn my back on this assignment and try to go on, on my own, but I had to learn without him.

The first 15 years of my career reminded me that that's not the, that's not the decision to make. I needed him. I needed to co-labor with him for the rest of my career.

Jim: Yeah. Oh, we all have to be, we can learn that lesson. Most of us learned the hard way we could do it our way it doesn't ever work out.

Martha: Well, it, like you said, you can love somebody for a little while on your own with your own efforts and things like that, even. But you know, God gives us the ability to see what that a little bit more of that story when he's in charge and where he takes. So Clarisa, you are actually Dr. Clarisa Hill and you are an OBGYN, which that's just amazing.

I am, I can't even imagine all that you deal with on a daily basis, but as Kenny started to practice more of the, you know, his work being his ministry and that mission field and loving on people, how did that affect you in your work?

Clarisa Hill: I think it really served more as an example, like I mentioned before, Clarisa dig deeper, I'm used to treating physical elements and talking about what I can do from the medical aspect, but then there's the mind.

There's the soul, which is the emotions, the, the the source of a person, you know, what makes them up that sometimes, especially ladies, if you get them talking, they will talk. ,

I

Martha: have no idea what you're talking about!

Clarisa Hill: Right. But I learned to, you know, to inquire more about, Hey, what's going on in life and what are your plans?

And just dig a little bit deeper, more than, oh, you're here for your exam. Do you have any problems? What are your complaints? And what else do I need to refute refills? So I learned to right to, to open up is say, Clarisa, you're not only a position by title, but you're a Christian and you're a daughter of God and you believe in him and you love him.

So you love. So, whatever it takes to, to show them, I'm not only here functioning in the capacity of my job, but I'm, I'm actually engaged in to making sure that, okay, are you okay? Do we need to pray? Do we need to, to find a scripture that we'll both meditate on for you? You know, like together we'll do this, you know, basically like somebody of accountability.

So that's what I learned while watching Kenny and how he engaged with his with his, his work.

Martha: Well, and every woman listening is going, where are you located? Because I want you on my team as a doctor.

Jim: You can, you can plug your where you go to work or not. That's entirely up to you.

Kenny Hill: That was a long list of patients who, if you want to see her, it'll be like November.

Martha: But it'll be worth it.

Clarisa Hill: Hopefully. So I know God has been good and right. Just like he says, as he's given us so much grace, that you realize where he's brought you in your life and the patients that he's even taken with you. There you go. It's just like, okay, take that patience and give it away. You know, take that time and invest in somebody else's life and make sure that you're not only serving because this is your title or this is your job, but you are truly you're truly concerned and you want to show love.

You want to practice love and you want to be available. And vulnerable to a certain degree with, with another person.

Jim: Wow. I was going to ask you to, to just share a word of encouragement with best, but you just went right at and did that as a beautiful, I just love that. And like Martha said, there's a lot of women out there in the world that are going, I want an OBGYN just like Clarisa Hill.

Kenny final words of encouragement. There are so many people that look at retail with. No, I don't want to work retail and certainly a home improvement store, which is a little dirty, messy, and you know, the floors aren't, you know, don't have carpet, but you, they had a career of ministry at Home Depot that lasted over 30 years, speak some words of encouragement out there, let people know what's on your heart and why they should consider it on the same thing.

Kenny Hill: Yeah. It's wherever you are. You need to consider, has God placed you there or did you arrive there of your own? And your own power. And if God has placed you there, there are people around you who need what he's placed in you. They need your career fairs. There's so many times I prayed for people. I used to pray for my whole staff.

I get the sheet out and pray over each person and just hear the testimonies, Jim, or people coming back saying, you know what I was thinking about suicide. But something told me, no, they need you at work. So you can't do. I mean just God using intercessory prayer which to me is the, is the highest level of a servant leader when you actually intercede for those people who got places under you.

So wherever God has you, there's a reason. And if we take the focus off yourself for just a minute and say, guys, show me why you have me here and who you would have me to show your love to who you would have me to be an encouragement to that. The world, the marketplace is full of people who are starving and deprived of love and compassion.

And we're called to be light lightened. And so I want to encourage you to embrace the opportunity no matter where you are, if your job is one that's miserable, it's probably because you're focusing on yourself so much. If you take that focus off of yourself and focus on who around you that God could use you to encourage or support, then the job that you're doing this miserable will become a place that is peaceful.

Just be encouraged that where you are is just not by happenstance. You are assigned by God. And while you're on assignment, he has provisioned for you. And he has an assignment for you to reach somebody else.

Jim: I love that. Kenny and Clarisa Hill, thank you so much for being on iWork4Him today. Thanks so much for sharing your book Elevated: My Journey to Co-Laboring with God. Thank you.

Kenny Hill: You're welcome.

Jim: We encourage you to go out to, iWork4Him.com and join the iWork4Him nation. Make that commitment to praying for your coworkers and employees by name each and every day. Looking for ways to serve them over and above what your job requires you to do.

Looking for ways to be friend of them outside of the workplace, but looking for ways to pray with people when you notice they're having a rough day, but all on being a person of excellence, you guys did a great job. You said all of those points you didn't even know we had, and iWork4Him. Nation pledge.

It's fantastic. But you also brought up this other point, we've said this on the show a thousand, maybe 2000 times your workplace, it's your mission field. And in that mission field, you and me, we may be the only Jesus, our coworkers, our employees, our bosses may ever meet the job that we hold in. The work that we do, none of that is by chance.

You hold the people that you work with, none of that is by chance, the people that you work with you to meet Jesus, and you may be their only chance can increase a Hill. You've laid that out for us and made such a great example again, once again. Thank you for being an iWork4Him. Awesome. Thank you.

You've listened to iWork4Him with your host, Jim and Martha Brangenberg. We're Christ followers in our workplace. It's our mission field that ultimately iWork4Him.

Did you know that God has a calling on your life? It's true. He's called you to bring Jesus to the world. For some that may look like a pulpit or a foreign mission field.

But for most of us, it looks like a construction site, the cubicle, a hospital, or a classroom, wherever it is that you work with volunteering and best that is your mission field. To learn more about integrating your faith into your work in retirement. Check out our books. iWork4Him. sheWorks4Him and iRetire4Him by going to, iWork4Him/bookstore.

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