Joanna Cried Thinking Her Dream Had Died. Until God Revealed His Plan For The Fixer Upper Star!

There’s Something Special About This Couple

If you've ever watched Fixer Upper, a super popular home improvement show, you’ll notice that there’s something quite different about the husband and wife duo Chip and Joanna Gaines. Whatever that special something is, it causes 24 millions of viewers to tune in for a dose of it.

Credit: Magnolia Homes

Chip, a contractor, and Joanna, a designer, work together to renovate old worn-down homes into something new and beautiful. But it’s not just the work they do that sets them apart… it’s the way they encourage, giggle at each other, and hug their children that make you realize that there’s something very different about this couple. And now we know their secret — the foundation of their love is Jesus Christ.

Chip said, “As for Fixer Upper, we have been surprised at the impact of our faith through the show. We haven’t been overtly evangelical, but the rich feedback we have received on family and love all source from our faith. Jesus said the world would know His disciples by their love for one another, and we’ve glimpsed this in practice and strive for it every day.”

Credit: Molly Winn Photography

Chip’s journey with Jesus started in 1975 at a Billy Graham Crusade building when he was just a one-year-old ginger baby. Chip’s mother Gayle rededicated her life to Christ and became serious about her faith.

“Even though my mom had been baptized at the age of 8, she decided to go forward to answer the invitation to believe. My parents made attending church a priority, (which) strengthened their marriage, and they involved themselves in a young couple’s Sunday school class. In the 1990s, my mom worked at Word Publishing, which published books for Billy Graham. She found continued encouragement in his writing,” Chip recalled.

And as Chip grew older, God continued to use the work of Billy Graham to pour into his life. Chip attended college with Billy Graham’s grandchildren, and when he spent a week at their home, it was their father, Danny Lotz, who began to take Chip under his wing. Danny discipled and mentored Chip, teaching him how to live more like Christ.

“He wasn’t a pastor, but he was influential in showing me how to live out my faith, even in a secular environment,” Chip said. “He impacted my life by spurring me to shape my choices with my faith and to walk in my faith regardless of my ‘calling.’

“He challenged me to process what God was doing in my life and train my mind with God’s truth. I learned so much from him, and he always spoke so highly of (Billy Graham), who he said talked the talk and walked the walk. So, to this day I think about talking the talk and walking the walk because of Billy Graham and Danny Lotz.”

It was inevitable that one day Chip would be tested on everything that he had learned.

Credit: Hooked On Houses

Years later, Chip and Joanna married and were pregnant with their second baby. They owned a furnishing store called Magnolia Market, but they were sensing that God was telling them to trust Him, close the store, and focus on raising their family.

Joanna wasn’t sure about the future, but she was obedient, and as she closed the doors to their store she felt like her dreams were closing with it. Ironically, that’s when the peace of God overwhelmed her, and He reminded her to trust Him with her dreams. God made the plans for her life, and they were better that what she could imagine.

Credit: Molly Winn Photography

“God taught me to study the Word and believe it, even when it hadn’t been fulfilled yet. I really had to cultivate a place of faith that I never had before. I had to trust Him as He would speak His promise to me,” she explained.“This trust brought peace, although my circumstance hadn’t yet reflected his promise. His Word doesn’t return void, and God was working in my heart to establish deeper levels of trust that I now look back on and am thankful for.”

At just the right time, a production company heard about Chip and Joanna’s home renovation business and now you can find them on HGTV being the cutest couple you ever did see.

Credit: Getty Images

Through their success, Chip and Joanna won’t forget their journey and their faith, they hold on to their strongest foundation — Jesus Christ.

“Our family has made a commitment to put Christ first, a lifestyle our parents modeled for us very well. They showed us how to keep our marriage and family centered around God.”