Rooted & Rising: Growth from the Greenhouse

About Faith Through Life's Storms

• E's Greenhouse • Season 1 • Episode 16

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Have you ever wondered how your deepest struggles might actually be preparing you for your greatest purpose? In this heart-touching conversation, longtime friends Jen Bachman and Denise Jackson take us on a 15-year journey through faith, friendship, and the remarkable ways God works through hardship.

When Jen first arrived in Wimberley, Texas, she faced overwhelming financial difficulties that led her to seek help from Crisis Bread Basket just to feed her family. That humbling experience planted a seed that would later bloom in unexpected ways. Through tearful prayers and a willingness to surrender control, Jen and her husband Jay gradually built successful businesses including The Back Porch and later the beloved Wimberley Cafe.

The watershed moment came during the devastating Wimberley flood when they "gave everything" to help their community—their business resources, personal belongings, even the mattress from their bed. This selfless giving, without expectation of return, led to unexpected blessings as their business flourished in the aftermath. Years later, Jim's early experience of needing help has come full circle with her creation of a Service Industry Relief Fund for Wimberley.

Throughout their conversation, both women emphasize the transformative power of prayer, the freedom that comes from surrendering control, and the reality that our hardest experiences often become the soil from which our greatest purpose grows. Their wisdom offers practical guidance for anyone navigating difficult seasons: find someone trustworthy to confide in, embrace the power of prayer, and don't be afraid to ask for help.

This episode beautifully illustrates how faith-centered friendships can become vehicles for community transformation. As Jen advises, "Trust in prayer, read His Word, and get that into you, so that God can move you to do things that are unbelievable." Your current struggle might just be preparing you for a purpose beyond your imagination.

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Denise Jackson:

I'm going to be talking with Jim Bachman, one of my dearest friends. We became friends when I was teaching at Wimberley High School. She was already teaching there and we just bonded. We've gone through a lot of things together, but today I just want to talk about a few of those things. Both of us go through these things with faith. That's how we make it. We respond when we see hurts. We've talked about that.

Denise Jackson:

We're for other women, but the reason that we are, the reason that we feel like we can make it through life, through every hurdle that we face, is that God is for us. He is not against us, and we know it, and we know that he has put each other in our lives so that we aren't weak. We have people to lift us up. That's what girlfriend friendships, friendships period do for us. They lift us up. Friends pray for us. We pray together. We meet needs when there's needs. We laugh together. We laugh together. When I look at Acts, I think, okay, yeah, I live that. I live that here in Wimberley, Texas with my buddies, and Jim Botwin is definitely one of those important people in my life.

Jen Bachman:

What's that movie we watched the other day that we couldn't even? We had to watch it again Because we, when he's definitely one of those important people in my life. What's that movie we watched the other day that we couldn't even? Ya, ya, sisters, we had to watch it again Because we kept laughing so far.

Denise Jackson:

I'm getting discouraged, getting all out of joint. So if you want to, laugh with your friends.

Jen Bachman:

then watch Ya, ya Sisters, and some days you need to laugh even more.

Denise Jackson:

Yes, you just need.

Jen Bachman:

I mean, I think that's the most important thing about you and I is that we know we have a friend, we can cry together, we can laugh together, we can dream together.

Denise Jackson:

We've done a lot of dreaming together. We can pray together. Yeah, those are the good things that have come out of this, and we've been friends for a little 2010 and it's 2025 now oh my gosh. 15 years. Yeah, I know, I know I've got the but you know, like it doesn't even matter that we're getting older, because like we're having so much fun, like every year seems like it's you know our husbands are a lot alike too. They are a lot alike they're.

Jen Bachman:

They're both hard workers, more quiet they're quiet but deadly, because they tell us secretly what we need to hear, to hear exactly, to fill us up.

Denise Jackson:

They're our best friends. They are our best friends and you know, I think, that you haven't been married as many years as I have. How do you know? Because I've been married 51. And you're old enough to be 51.

Jen Bachman:

I was thinking you guys were the same age as me. I know it's not the truth.

Denise Jackson:

Plus, I got married at 16. So it makes a little bit of difference, but the thing is that Lee and I didn't start out like where that was the case. I feel like we've grown in our trust with one another and really one of the biggest things I've done is pray for him.

Jen Bachman:

One of the biggest things that I've learned in my life is that you cannot change who they are Exactly. You cannot change. You have to accept them for who they are, love them for who they are, and maybe we can secretly hope that they change.

Denise Jackson:

But we can be there for them and then, once they see the light during struggles, then we can pray about it, we can pray, and I think that's like you were saying, like we're praying more and more as we get older, because we're starting to realize how powerful prayer is in their lives and in ours.

Jen Bachman:

Yeah, that's one of the things that, as I'm almost 50, as I have gotten older through the years, from my early 20s all the way to where I am now, I have realized the power of prayer. The power of prayer is so and I call you. I had a miracle that happened the other day and I called you. I was telling you about it in your living room before we got on this podcast and and you said you already told me that and I said I'm just so excited that I was involved in all these miracles.

Denise Jackson:

So that's okay. Miracles do happen. God speaks, we hear, we both hear him speak, that still quiet voice inside of us that we recognize is not our own voice directing us. And so y'all went through some hard times when you first moved to Wimberley.

Jen Bachman:

Yeah, so we're talking about 15 years ago, right? Yeah, oh my gosh. So I was like 35. Yeah, so when I was 35, I did it. And when we first moved here, I wasn't in a situation where I knew that the power of prayer is how I can resolve a lot of my issues.

Denise Jackson:

But I was praying, you would pray for me.

Jen Bachman:

Yes, well, I went through a really hard time. There were some situations in my life with Jay that we went through. When we first moved down we had the small children. You know we have two kids I think Brooke was a year and William was like four and we were going through really really difficult times, and financially too. Yes, and my mom has suggested to move down here and I got the job down here.

Jen Bachman:

I was trying to like move on with my life and try to reset because there was a lot of things happening that was pulling my financials down with things that happened with just life and some Satan things were happening in our lives, and so when I moved down here I was able to, I prayed about it, and that's when I think I've just started with the prayer, really, really trying, because I didn't know what else to do, and so when I prayed about it, I love that because that's what I always thought I didn't know what I was at my last.

Denise Jackson:

You get to the point where you don't know what to do and you reach out. The cool thing is he says he's always there. So like even when you weren't praying he was right there beside you. But when you turned, he answered.

Jen Bachman:

So I went through a really, really hard time when I was 35 until I was 40. Even to the point where, I think, I went to Cress's Breadbasket. I was just lost because I didn't have any money. I didn't have money for food. I was struggling financially. It was back when Jay was not, he didn't have his own business then he was just trying to make ends meet too, trying to find you know, move down here with me trying to find a job somewhere. And what ended up happening is, um, that I just walked in the crisis bread basket and they said what do you need? I said I need milk, I need bread, I need, I need this, I need that.

Denise Jackson:

And I was like thank you. And I was like, wow, that was really easy, you know. You know, it blessed me and it planted a seed in you that, um, I can let go of my control. Yes, for sure that for both of us, like we thought especially we've talked about this when we were younger. We, we felt like we could be strong enough to control every situation, right and or help every situation. Yeah well, and we, I don't even know if it was help then. It was just help ourselves, like we want to solve the problem.

Denise Jackson:

We want to solve the problem we want to fix it and we reached moments in our life where we could not. We could not, it was out of our control. Yeah, I had to let go of that control. Story is that you knew what it was like to be in that place of I'm doing everything I can and I can't do anything else. I'm stuck and I need something, someone, something to help. Yeah, and you prayed and God helped. I had a dream yeah, to just pray, to let go. Yeah, to let go. Yeah, to let go, yeah, and praise God for those dreams, because he does give us dreams and he gives us visions, and those are powerful in our lives. I know that now, years later, you have walked through some things that have been really successful. You've become embedded in this town, and so the first thing that happened was Jay started this catering business in this kitchen on Southwest Creek.

Jen Bachman:

We were a little bit lost with him. I had my job, we moved out here for me and so he was kind of lost in what his purpose was. And we became members of the church here in Wimberley and he started getting involved more and we started praying as a couple more and we ended up buying all this catering equipment so that we could open up our own business.

Jen Bachman:

But then they pulled out right at the last second. So we had all this catering company, we had all this catering equipment, everything last second. So we had all this catering company business. We had all this catering equipment, even the mic, that it was like ten thousand dollars worth of catering equipment that we put everything into and we had nothing for it. And then all of a sudden it just kind of happened where we were able to start our own business down at this little kitchen down at the sepphoris falls. And that's before.

Jen Bachman:

The river was all beautiful because it was before the flood, and so we start. It was a. They had only weddings down there and there wasn't a lot of things happening because the water was kind of stagnant. And then, after the flood hit and after the cleanup, I mean it was a horrible thing that happened with the flood, but what you know when you give, you know we can go back to. Okay, we can talk about the flood for like hours. But basically, jay and I gave everything that we had during the flood. We gave up our business, we gave up our clothes, we gave up all, even the mattress on our bed. We threw into the gym. We gave everything up Because it was it was to meet that need at that moment.

Denise Jackson:

At that moment and you knew what it felt like to be in that situation you were not going to let those people in that situation If you had anything in your power to fix it.

Jen Bachman:

I think I even grabbed a milk out of my cross for a baby. I mean, I felt the same way.

Denise Jackson:

So many people in this town knew that the most important thing at that moment was rescuing our neighbors, doing whatever we could to do that, and it wasn't easy, but it was so worthwhile.

Jen Bachman:

But then afterwards we were worried. Well, we gave everything up and we thought okay, what else could we give up? We're negative in our account. Jay didn't even have jeans to put on because I had given them away.

Denise Jackson:

I did the same thing with shoes. I good, oh my gosh there, but but but.

Jen Bachman:

but what ended up happening is the water settled, the cleanup came, the water was beautiful and you know you should do a restaurant down here. Oh, I would never open a restaurant, he said I would never open a restaurant.

Jen Bachman:

I said we could call it something cool like the back porch, and he was like maybe you know. And then we did yes, and we loved it. All of us in town loved it. It was only because you gave everything up to christ, I feel. I feel in my life people say give everything and abundantly you'll receive.

Denise Jackson:

Yeah, but really I mean we didn't have anything and it's not really when you're giving it. It has nothing to do with the abundantly you receive. You're not even thinking about it. No, you're not. You are just here in the need. Yes, you are given to the need, but we do end up reaping.

Jen Bachman:

But you don't realize it until it happens. You don't do it for that no.

Denise Jackson:

Because it's the condition of your heart Right, like how you go into it, and abundance is not what the world thinks either. Like the abundance is, your needs are mad, you're given to good things. Your, your heart is right and and even if you keep going through some hard things which we do because we still live in the world so it's not disastrous it's like, well, the biggest thing that I think I realized over the years, because it when I think, when I'm 35, then when I'm 40, then when?

Jen Bachman:

I'm 45, now I'm 49, is that the power of prayer? You know, the power of prayer has really, like, saved me over the years and and just using the words trust, yes, trust in him. And so it's not abundance I'm talking about, it's more like realization, as I've gotten older, that if you just live in the moment, if you trust what's happening in the moment, if you give when there is a need, yeah, and not hold back, not hold anything too tightly.

Jen Bachman:

Then you will see an abundance of joy, not maybe that is exactly right for you, but maybe for them that you helped, or maybe in your life.

Denise Jackson:

But I feel like the joy does pour out on us too and we go through you know, sure we go through more stuff because that's we're living in the earth. It's not a perfect earth and we're here for purpose, so that's all that's left, and you have to realize that too.

Jen Bachman:

So you said that you're here for a purpose, but you have to actually believe it. You have to believe that you're here for a purpose, you have to believe that you have to trust that he's going to carry you. He is your father, he is your number one, he is right there beside your side, even though you don't even realize he's there. And you have to. You have to just know that, that if you feel that need in the present time, in the present time, then joy will come. An abundance of joy will come to not just you, I'm talking about for everyone around that surrounds you, everyone that's friends with you, everyone that knows you. They will reap the benefits.

Jen Bachman:

So, that's where I'm going right now.

Denise Jackson:

Yes, so the next step was that you had the back porch, yeah, and through that opportunity, the old owners, robin and Mac, decided that they wanted to sell the cafe.

Jen Bachman:

Yeah, but what you don't know is a week before that. Oh, yes, I do. We were going to get the cafe. Yeah, but what you don't know is a week before that. Oh, yes, I do. We were going to get the golf course. Yeah, and we were going to call it the back nine.

Denise Jackson:

And we had it all set up. I love that because I feel like God, we talked about this, we talked about that. I said it's popcorn, God. It's like when something's fixing to change. It's like all these things start happening. But we only want the door to open that God wants to open, not any other door, and so that one closed and it was okay, I was fine.

Jen Bachman:

I know Jay was upset about it and I said no, because he had the vision, he had the dream, you know. But I told him, I said and we're partners like your husband, best friends, and we're here to guide and lift up and validate each other. And I said it's okay. God wasn't, it wasn't a plan, we were supposed to do something else then, so don't be upset.

Denise Jackson:

And so two weeks later, and it was Robin it's. It's so timely that we're doing this, because tomorrow is her memorial. And you know I love that you guys have the cafe because this is an inheritance of being part of Wimberley to me and Robin ran the cafe for 15 years, I think.

Jen Bachman:

Since 2005.

Denise Jackson:

So we bought it in 2018. 18. So 18 years oh no 13 years.

Jen Bachman:

Do the math Sorry.

Denise Jackson:

I have to practice while my math goes. She ran it and it was such a welcoming place and it was the center of Wimberley and then it went to even a higher level, which is what we all want with whatever we create. We wanted to go even more and when you and Jay took over, it was even more a part of the center of the community and really such a blessing to you guys which led to you having Marcos now too.

Jen Bachman:

Yeah, that was really interesting because I remember the moment that Robin realized that it could be us taking over and I remember she started crying and I was. I was like oh my gosh, why are? You crying? And she said cause I'm I'm realizing that I'm passing the torch and you're going to do such a better job because you're younger and you have more energy. And I just am crying because I'm happy that it's going to someone that's going to live my life. So she said that to me several times, you know.

Denise Jackson:

I was involved.

Jen Bachman:

That's right, the accountant. How can I forget that I really wasn't the?

Denise Jackson:

accountant. I was just talking to them and talking to you and talking together with you guys about just how that could work.

Jen Bachman:

Oh, that's right. You were our advisor for for how? Because you knew us and they didn't know us that well and I knew them really well.

Denise Jackson:

So, yeah, we had several meetings. I forgot all about that. It's so funny, but but it was such a neat thing for me to get the privilege of being part of that, because then I knew what she wanted, yeah, and I also knew what you and jay could bring, and so I got to be that person that helped them see that, and and you guys, hold on and wait, because remember?

Jen Bachman:

no, you had to do that Because we didn't have any money. Oh yeah, and they were willing to let us pay them quarterly. Well, so it all worked out.

Denise Jackson:

All of that was just an amazing ordering of what God planned for you guys. And then Now you have more because you have a bigger presence in the town. But really, what I want to talk about is, all the way back to where you went, to Christ's bread basket, that one bag of groceries in a really hard time in your life Brand new to Wimberley.

Denise Jackson:

What a seed was planted through that act. There's another example of their lives just being in your hands, lord, and, and being able to go. He goes, jess stays, runs everything, and, and god's equipped them both to do this. Well, you know.

Jen Bachman:

But now there's something that's even come for wimberly, so much bigger there's something really big going on that I started right now, but I just want to say there's one thing. I know she's trying to keep me under control, but let me go on this one thing you know, every time that Jay deployed, every single time the devil would try to sneak in and I knew it was and I wouldn't let him because, remember, every time he would deploy.

Denise Jackson:

I'd put my little tool belt on and say what's gonna break today? It's gonna be okay, it's just the devil sneaking in and I got it, you know so. So, recognizing that, yes, recognizing it to destroy, yes, god's doing is important for us, and praying and and acknowledging that we have him under our fist and getting our prayer orders around us, she would always tell me and I on Sundays when we'd come in Wait let me pray with you, you need to be praying right now.

Jen Bachman:

And I'd say wait, let me pray with you because I can't go to church. I have to help the cafe on Sundays because my other stuff they want to go to church, and you know, god was fine.

Denise Jackson:

God puts us where he needs us to be and serves, but he also continues to bring people around us, so our fellowship is not lost in those seasons.

Jen Bachman:

And then, he leads us and puts us where we need to be planted so that we grow in the word, even in the midst of those crazy times. Well, if it wasn't for Jay not deploying and him being secure here with me and not knowing when he's going to leave and when he's not I mean, they, mercer Chefs, have built such a strong, powerful team that he's able to choose when he goes and when he doesn't go, and so that's really blessed us, because now he's able to teach us how to use this equipment, he's able to tweak menus and in his life he's important and he's got that validation.

Denise Jackson:

Because now he knows what he didn't. Yeah, now he knows he's got sense and he knows.

Jen Bachman:

God sent him for a price.

Jen Bachman:

I love that, and so when you go through hard times, that's what I'm going to say my advice is when you go I was just about to say that when get out of my head when I'm saying it for you too when when something breaks at the cafe and when jason was no, it's you know the devil trying to sneak in, it's kind of funny. I just kind of laugh about it and and I just kind of keep a journal and I pray about it and it's really not a big deal because nobody's hurt, everybody's safe, everybody has food in there in front of them. You know they're everybody's living their life. You still have favor with men because you're favored with God. So you just kind of take a deep breath and you say what are you doing?

Denise Jackson:

like you noticed as the owner of a, there were some things that you noticed. You noticed that when one of your waitstaff had something unexpected come up and, by the way, the waitstaff is so critical to the infrastructure of any community- it's not the waitstaff, it's service industry people, service, industry people, but you saw it through the street stuff, like if one one person had a car accident and you were like, great, now what are they gonna do? Yeah, one person had a sick kid one part whatever.

Jen Bachman:

Well, what well? What really happened? What really happened a lot of people don't know. This is um. When I heard about him getting hit by a car, I had an employee who was a cook didn't know anybody in town like I did when I first came in there gets hit by a car riding his bike to work. So there's no work with Scobie. He's not even on the job or anything. And the rental car hits him because they had hit someone the week before. So now all the insurance is tied up, because this person has hit multiple people the week before, so now all the insurance is tied up because this person has hit multiple people.

Jen Bachman:

And then I get on the forum and I'm like what do you do when you have an employee, when you have someone that doesn't know anyone?

Denise Jackson:

he started to go fund me and nobody contributed to it no one because nobody knew nobody knew who he was they're like what's this guy want money for you know, and then to be okay so we're so um, worried about giving, because there's so much deception in the world, right, right, and so when we give it, our own community and encourage us somebody we have to have, somebody we can trust.

Jen Bachman:

Yeah and so they were telling me um hey, jen, we know you would take care of them, I would donate, I, I would donate, I would donate. And I said, oh, this is great. And then I'm thinking let me just sleep on it. And so I slept on it. I dreamt this wonderful dream and I thought to myself why should I give all this money that people want to donate to this one person, when so many people in Wembley need help? So why don't we just do it for everybody? And so I started looking up Service Industry Relief Fund. There's a Texas restaurant. We created a Give Send Go because on the Wembley form it said give through give, send go. Give through Venmo, give through PayPal. So we used it all along.

Denise Jackson:

I just love you to see that if you're the one that's in the hard time right now, god's going to use that in your life. You're going to take it. You're going to trust him. You're going to walk through whatever you're going through. God's going to use that seed, that hard-bought, the tear-streaked seeds that you plant, and he's going to use them for your good and also for the good of others in the future. He's going to really he doesn't. Nothing is wasted Like Jen's coaching she's such a leader. Jen's teaching she teaches all the time.

Jen Bachman:

Jen's praying it doesn't matter if I'm in a personal teacher position, because that's just what I do in life.

Denise Jackson:

That's right, because those are the gifts that God's developed in you, and Holy Spirit is going to use those things and in me and in you. That's what.

Jen Bachman:

I want you to know God has this, so you just have to trust in prayer Honestly and read His Word.

Denise Jackson:

Read His Word, trust in prayer and read his word and get that into you, so that God can move you to do things that are unbelievable. They're huge, they're things beyond your imagination, and you'll be able to do them too, and that's why we're here.

Jen Bachman:

You know what I always think in my head is I say to myself what is my purpose? Why did you put me on this earth? How can I make a difference in the world and change, make movements happen? And every day I say what is my purpose here? And I try to do things that will make my father proud.

Denise Jackson:

Yeah, yeah, I love that Because he is proud of us. We are daughters of the King of Kings. You just have to know it and trust it. Yeah, yeah, I love that Because he is proud of us. We are daughters of the King of Kings.

Jen Bachman:

You just have to know it and trust it.

Denise Jackson:

Yeah, okay. So before I say my ending here, I just want to ask you, jen, like if there's one small piece of advice that you could give to somebody that's 20 years younger than you, what would you encourage them to do right now that could help them to walk this life better?

Jen Bachman:

I grew up with not a lot of friends, and so I think that's where my leadership comes, because I depend on myself. I think having someone you can talk to, that you trust, is important just to release and get it out. And if you can't talk to a person that's living, you always have your Father in heaven, and I really feel like the power of prayer over the years has just taught me a lot of lessons that just let go of your inhibitions, let go of everything that's happening in the world, breathe, go to a quiet place and meditate, and that's where I talk a lot about. I get answers through dreams because I have so much energy and I have so many things I want to do, so we stop and we go to sleep. And we go to sleep and when I reset and I dream about things that I'm supposed to be doing or I get ideas.

Denise Jackson:

So it's your vision. So he says to us that he'll give us dreams and visions, and I've had those, you've had those. I believe many people have them and disregard them, but I believe that God sends them for your good.

Jen Bachman:

And I think, and don't be afraid to ask for help.

Denise Jackson:

Okay so, this is we're coming to the end of this podcast. I'm so glad you girls joined us today. We're crazy.

Jen Bachman:

Sorry, I'm so sorry Together off camera. We are crazier.

Denise Jackson:

We are, but we want you to know that we love you and we want good for your life and whatever age you're at, all of the things that we've talked about really matter, and so thanks for joining. Rooted in Rising with Denise Jackson, jen Bachman, we are really glad you joined. Let us know what you think. See you later.

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