This testimony takes place starting in May 2007 and extending to March 2011. In many ways, this is a macro version of the Test of Faith the Lord put us through in 2006. The reminder of that portion of our testimony was often the encouragement we needed to continue during this season. God is faithful.

There are far more details in this story than I’m able to share here, but I hope I’ve shared enough to give you the picture of the faithfulness of God and the fact that He does not mind stretching us far beyond what we think we’re capable of.

I shall not want (Psalm 23:1)

It all begins with a word from God’s Word. Late in May 2009 as I was spending my lunch hour at my desk in the Fortune 500 company where I’d worked for the better part of a decade. The Lord sent me to the 23rd Psalm and though I could recite it by heart with ease, I flipped to it as the Holy Spirit directed.

I read verse 1 and couldn’t move forward. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” I sensed the Lord telling me to read it again. And when I had, He said read it again. And so I did… and then nothing. No great new revelation. As I sat in my cubicle with my steady, generous salary checks rolling in it was easy to know I was provided for. I thanked Him for being my Shepherd and for providing for me and went on with my day.

Layoffs & New Job

Several months later the company I was working for announced they were doing a reduction in force. Immediately, when I heard the announcement the Holy Spirit brought to my recollection the word He’d given me in May… I shall not want. Standing on that word, I had no fear about upcoming job cuts knowing regardless of the outcome, I was covered.

In December, the Lord began opening a door for me to change jobs completely. Shorter commute, a promotion, more money – everything to recommend it. In prayer I felt released to choose either path, knowing His hand would provide either way, but this opportunity provided a way to exit before the layoffs and so I opted to take the new role and was excited about all the blessings that appeared to come with it.

After I’d accepted the new position, but a week before I left my old job I had a sobering moment. The Holy Spirit told me that what I was walking into would not be what I expected. I sensed a great trial ahead and yet sensed the Lord wanting me to choose it even though I was now walking in with my eyes wide open rather than in la-la-land with all sorts of high hopes and expectations.

Sabbath Rest & “You’re not going to miss it”

It didn’t take long at the new job to see it wasn’t a happy fit on either side. A little over 2 months into the new position, my husband and I visited IHOP-KC (International House of Prayer) with two of our closest friends. While we were there we had the opportunity to receive prophetic ministry and one of the ladies ministering to me had a word about the Lord bringing me into a season of Sabbath rest.

I was excited about the word. At the time I hadn’t had more than 10 days off in a row in over a decade and a half. I was tired and in desperate need of some serious downtime – the stress and strain of corporate America having taken a toll, especially when coupled with outside endeavors – everything from ministry to teaching to a thriving freelance business. I’d been asking the Lord for a break – a REAL break – for a couple of years at that point and was excited to know He had it on His radar too.

Two weeks after our trip to IHOP, I sat in my office at work asking God what needed to come off my plate so I could have this Sabbath rest. I had already stripped out virtually everything – my focus was my husband, my job, one young lady I was mentoring, and Dyed4you – which at that time was still very low volume. Truly from my perspective, nothing could be removed and as I vented my frustrations about this to God all He would say is “you’re not going to miss it.”

I’m ashamed to admit I continued to argue back with Him that obviously *I* was going to have to move something off my plate and He was going to need to tell me what it was so I could do it! He gently and firmly said again, “you’re not going to miss it.” I knew I was to wait and watch. So I did.

Getting Tossed off the Deep End

Two weeks later – on May 6th 2008 – I was let go from my job. I knew immediately when it happened that this is what God had meant. And that He was right (of course), I didn’t miss it. God did for me what I never would have had the chutzpah to do – quit my job and take a break.

My whole employed life I’d lived check to check. But God had arranged it in such a way we had enough money to support ourselves for several months. I quietly asked God if maybe I could have until November – six full months. I just knew I needed rest.

What made this moment even more interesting is that my husband had already taken a leave of absence from his job, and when I was let go we both sensed the Lord saying He called us to this place of rest together intentionally.

Prayer Room

My church had just started an IHOP-style harp and bowl prayer room a few months prior. And after a month of simply working on unwinding, the Lord replayed my own words to me – words I’d said many times during the last few months I’d been working, “Lord, if I didn’t have to be at work, I would be at the Prayer Room every day.” It was clear what He wanted. So my husband and I made our “jobs” being at the prayer room every day it was open. This was a rich season where the Lord was preparing us in ways we didn’t even understand.

Running Out of Money

When we hit November, we were out of money. Yet neither one of us felt like our season in the prayer room was complete, quite the contrary! And the Lord sent word after word from people who didn’t know us or know anything about us to confirm what He had us doing. Literally Dyed4you customers who didn’t know anything about me would contact me and tell me the Lord woke them with words for me and it would be identical to what the Lord had been speaking to us.

Disclaimer – Before I continue, I feel it necessary to say that I am NOT advocating randomly quitting your job and waiting for the Lord to provide. This season my husband and I were in the LORD walked us into – we did not choose it, He asked us to walk into it and we obeyed.

Many quoted 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “…If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” to us, but understand that work does not equal employment. Work is whatever labor the Lord puts before you. During this season our ministry to the Lord in the prayer room was part of our “work.” Additionally, we both volunteered extensively at church as well as discipling other believers. We “worked,” but we were not “employed.”

I also need to add that during this season the Lord did not have us ASK anyone for support (with one exception you’ll hear about below). With that disclaimer of “don’t try this unless GOD tells you to,” I will continue!

Free-falling in a Trust Test

The next 11 months was filled with an equal share of trying circumstances and divine provision. There were days we had food because someone thought to give us some or the lunchroom at church had leftovers they were unable to serve again that they would offer to us. To make the situation even more interesting, we had a missionary friend who stayed with us when she would come home on furlough, and this time was staying with us for an extended furlough (9 months); so we were providing food, lodging and transportation for her as well.

There were days the fridge was empty and the car was on “E” and we’d head to the prayer room trusting Abba to give us our daily bread, and unprompted – with no knowledge of our circumstances – someone would come and give us enough to get gas and buy some food. That happened more times than I can count.

One month our bank account sat at zero for 3 full weeks. We had an insurance payment coming up and no idea how we would pay it (by law we had to carry car insurance and our mortgage company requires homeowners – so both were included in the payment). Two days before the payment was scheduled to come out of the account, a check arrived in the mail from someone I knew through Dyed4you, but had never met. It was for $444.44! When we deposited it, the bank held the check for 2 days (since we’d been at zero for so long) and the funds became available just in time to pay the insurance – God’s timing is always perfect!

During this 11 month period, 3 times we were threatened with foreclosure on our home. We’d long since put our house on the altar and left it in God’s hands knowing He could and would have us where HE wanted us, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. In each of these 3 times, the money came in with just enough time to spare for the bank to hold the funds until they cleared. Each time we had only 1-3 days to spare, but God was always faithful and always on time.

New Level of Trust

In October of 2009, God took us to a new level. We were being threatened with foreclosure again, with the timely provision during the last 3 threats, I gave it little mind as the date approached trusting that God had it covered. But when the date came and went and no provision had come, I had to stop and ask the Lord, “What’s going on?!”

He simply replied, “It’s a new level of trust.”

The foreclosure process went into full swing. Capturing thoughts of worry and stress began to require significantly more time than before. Additionally, those who felt we should be working were becoming increasingly verbal about telling us so, sometimes in ways that were not just hurtful, but slanderous and unjust. People had been reluctantly tolerant of six months, but a year and a half they felt was excessive.

I was (and still am) surprised at how many people were offended that we weren’t employed – though we never asked for anything. People seemed to feel we had an obligation to be employed simply because we are capable of being employed.

The Cost of Obeying God

One of the things we learned quickly was the cost of obeying God. On January 11th – as our foreclosure date drew near – the Lord took my husband to Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost for His Highest, which perfectly articulated what we were experiencing:

If we obey God it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the sting comes in. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything, it is a delight, but it costs those who do not love Him a good deal. If we obey God it will mean that other people’s plans are upset, and they will gibe us with it – “You call this Christianity?” We can prevent the suffering; but if we are going to obey God, we must not prevent it, we must let the cost be paid…

Stagnation in spiritual life comes when we say we will bear the whole thing ourselves. We cannot. We are so involved in the universal purposes of God that immediately we obey God, others are affected. Are we going to remain loyal in our obedience to God and go through the humiliation of refusing to be independent, or are we going to take the other line and say – I will not cost other people suffering? We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but we shall be a grief to our Lord. Whereas if we obey God, He will look after those who have been pressed into the consequences of our obedience. We have simply to obey and to leave all consequences with Him.

Running Towards a Brick Wall

With the auction date for our home set, we asked the Lord if we should pack – “No.” So we continued our prayers for direction and the Lord continued to give the same response, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD…” (Exodus 14:13). So we waited feeling like we were running full speed towards a brick wall.

In prayer I asked the Lord what we would need to get out of this – I knew the amount of past due payments, but there were legal fees and whatnot that were involved now. I felt the Lord give me a number – so wrote it down. When we got the final tally, it was the dollar amount I’d heard plus some change! I thought if I could hear that right surely we must be hearing right on the rest – so I waited, excited to see the Lord move on our behalf.

And move He did. The Lord provided with 2 days to spare before the cut-off for the auction. We were beyond grateful!

Continued Testing

The next few months were a continuation of testing and provision, but everything after the last one seemed much easier. We knew He had us covered – even when it didn’t look like we would have preferred and even when it wasn’t in a timetable that we’d have chosen – He was consistently faithful.

Increasing Dyed4you & a New Test

During 2010, the Lord continued to increase the flow of orders through the ministry. By July, the Lord told me I could no longer refer to myself as “unemployed” and I fully understood why – the volume of interaction related to the ministry had become a full-time effort, even though the finances were not there yet.

One difficult test came when my computer crashed and needed to be replaced. Since an increasing flow of income was coming through this internet-based ministry, not having a computer was debilitating.

As I prayed about what to do, the Lord put someone on my heart to call and ask for them to buy a new computer. I hated the idea. After all thus far we hadn’t asked for anything! The Lord showed me it was my pride that was rebelling. When people would find out about our situation, I liked being able to say I hadn’t “asked” for anything. That was my defense against the comments that would often follow.

Finally, I made the call and asked the individual to prayerfully consider purchasing me a replacement computer. Without hesitation she said yes and explained the Lord had already put it on her heart to get it, she just hadn’t known what to get and so hadn’t acted on it. With tears of gratitude and relief, I thanked the Lord yet again for His faithfulness.

Full-Time Ministry

By the Fall, I believed the Lord was calling me into full-time ministry, but there were pieces that needed to fall into place first. One piece happened in October of 2010, when He structured our finances in such a way that secured our house. We would now be able to pay the mortgage payment on time and we wouldn’t constantly either be in the threat of foreclosure or going into it.

By the last quarter of 2010, we were consistently bringing in about 70% of the bare minimum we need to live on. As the new year began, I waited eagerly to see if it would hold steady or do a post-holiday retail dip. The first half of the quarter held pretty close to steady dropping only about 5%. I sensed this season of heavy financial testing was drawing to a close and awaited the final shift.

A Suddenly

One evening in a conversation with the Lord I was pointing out to Him some of the financial obligations that were awaiting funds and the Lord said, “I can tell anyone I want about Dyed4you any time I want to.” In my head I pictured one individual telling one of their friends, I nodded in agreement with His statement, and reiterated my point which I didn’t feel He’d addressed. He responded by reiterating His previous response, and so I let the conversation drop.

Two days later, on February 15th, while I was pausing for a break after dyeing, I heard my iPod ping. I reached over and saw I had a new order from a name I’d never seen. I thanked the Lord and set it down. No sooner had I set it down than it pinged again, I looked and it was another order from someone I didn’t know.

Within minutes I discovered that a well-known prophet to the nations (who one of my intercessors had sent a Dyed4you scarf to) had read his scarf letter on the air. People who had seen his “mantle” on the show were heading to my site to get one. Suddenly God’s words from 2 days prior had a whole different meaning! I wept at the beauty of how He works.

In the week following, I did as much business I had done in my busiest month to date. Not just that, but the increase volume held and I closed the quarter out with just shy of double the Dyed4you sales the previous quarter (which had been the highest to date).

In Closing

Some who have asked for details during this season have later said to me they couldn’t do what we’ve done. I always encourage them by saying “you don’t have to!” This is something the Lord called us to. This was a season of testing He felt we needed to go through for whatever He knows lies ahead. I don’t know what that is exactly (though based on prophetic words I could speculate), but what I know is that He is trustworthy and working toward our good and the good of His people.

So are we rolling in the dough now? Not hardly. But we know this season of testing is done and the Lord has been and is faithful to provide. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”

Related posts

• A Test of Faith (1)
• Tithing and holding out on God (Gross vs. Net) (1)
• Giving is a Heart Issue (0)
• Meeting a Need When in Need (2)
• Christmas Miracle (3)

A week or so ago, God had instructed Allen to use our “God money” to pay some bills. I realized I had almost a superstitious fear about obeying and had to remind myself that obedience to His voice was most important to God and that He doesn’t move through fear.

Afterward I had some orders come in, but I didn’t transfer the normal portion to the God account. I think I was then struggling with a fear of lack – after all He let us use it once…

Last night God dealt with me on that as well and I asked Him how much I should transfer over and He said $40. I was in bed at the time and said if it was really Him to remind me the next day and I would comply.

Today He did remind me. I could feel my flesh complaining as I transferred 20% of my balance out of the account into the God account, but I was determined to trust and obey (neither my husband nor I have been employed in 2+ years, $40 is a lot to us right now).

Literally a minute later, I got a desperate email from a D4Y customer needing a scarf immediately. She placed the order right then. The scarf she bought was the $40 scarf.

God is not subtle… and I love Him for that.

As a note, I did transfer the tithe on that immediately into the God account and within an hour had another order for more than 3.5x the first order… so yes, obedience is a very good thing!

Related posts

• Tithing and holding out on God (Gross vs. Net) (1)
• I shall not want (2)
• A Test of Faith (1)
• A Newbie Tither (0)
• Meeting a Need When in Need (2)

At this moment, both my husband and I are not working.  It was God’s orchestrating that put us in this position, so we’re waiting with full expectation that He will show up and do what He’s said He’ll do because He has tested our faith before, and frankly confirmations like this one help encourage us that we’re hearing His voice!

Anyway… so here’s the story!

We have some friends from church who are precious, Godly people.  They worked for the same organization not long ago and during that time became engaged and a week before their wedding found out that neither one of them were going to be paid for the last month that they’d worked.  Ouch!  What a way to enter into their marriage!

Both being strong people of faith they put it in God’s hands and they’ve consistently had what they needed when they needed it.  Different needs were met different way.  And I had been praying for them in the area of finances since I’d become aware of their needs. They had both found some part-time work to tide things over.  Then to make things more exciting they discovered they were pregnant!

One afternoon the husband (an amazing worshipper and worship leader) was called upon to lead worship at a church service that evening.  He stepped up without hesitation.  That evening, one of the leaders felt led to share their situation and open it up for the small gathering to give a love offering to them.

I looked over at Allen because I felt we were supposed to give, but he said he wasn’t getting that.  I was disappointed to say the least and asked him if he was sure a couple more times and then submitted to his decision as my husband.

I continued to pray that God would either release me of the burden to give to them or speak to my husband’s heart and tell him how much.

The next morning, Allen and I went to the prayer room at church and saw our friends there.  During one portion of prayer, they asked for anyone currently needing financial breakthrough to raise their hands and receive prayer.  Allen and I got up to get prayer as did our friends and several others.

As we were receiving prayer the Lord spoke a specific amount of money to Allen that we were to give to our friends.  When he told me afterwards I began to cry because I knew it was the voice of the Lord, and because it is such an honor to give to someone in need when you yourself are in need – it sets you up for the blessing of the Lord.

We quickly wrote them a check and handed it to them.  After prayer they came and shared their portion of the testimony.

When they got married they didn’t have anything but a twin mattress (which doesn’t work so well for marrieds!), and they’d felt led to buy a mattress set with the 90-days-same-as-cash option, believing God would provide the funds to pay it off before the 20+% interest kicked in.  They were 2 days away from the end of the 90-day period.

A week earlier, God had asked them to sow… to give to someone in need in the midst of their own need, and they had done so in obedience with expectation of God’s faithfulness.

On the way to the prayer room that morning they had thanked God for the offering the previous evening, but had felt led to pray more specifically.  So they asked God if He would provide the funds to pay off the mattress set.  And you probably guessed it, the amount God had told us to give them just an hour or so later was exactly what they needed to do that almost to the penny!

Praise God!  He is so good   We got to meet the need of some dear friends AND got confirmation we’re hearing His voice.

And in addition, because I had submitted to my husband and his ability to hear from God, the timing and amount were an answer to specific prayer, which is beautiful!

What a blessing!

W 16 July 2008 – Update

It’s exactly a week since I posted this testimony.  Today, I got a call about a settlement that I’ve been waiting on for over 9 months.  The person handling this situation for me was absolutely astonished because the settlement was 2.5 times what they would have expected.  They had no explanation for this and were completely baffled.

The difference between what was expected and what I got?  About 10 times the amount we gave last week!

Our God is an AWESOME God!

Related posts

• I shall not want (2)
• A Test of Faith (1)
• Tithing and holding out on God (Gross vs. Net) (1)
• Giving is a Heart Issue (0)
• Christmas Miracle (3)

Changing a heart

As Christmas approached in December 2006, we found ourselves in an interesting position. Out of obedience to the Lord’s instructions to us, we had destroyed all our credit cards. In working towards becoming debt-free, we were spending any “extra” funds paying off debt.

So we found ourselves with Christmas upon us with no extra cash to buy presents. We would certainly not buy presents in lieu of paying bills, nor would we apply for new credit and go into debt simply to purchase gifts.

Finally, Christmas Eve was upon us. It fell on a Sunday and on the way to church an interesting thing happened… the Lord changed my husband’s heart. It wasn’t that we wanted to buy gifts for his children out of obligation, but he realized he loved getting them even a little something just to say “I love you!”

Knowing we serve a big God, I said something to the effect of, “Who knows, God may provide a way for us to get them gifts yet!”

Our Miracle

The service was wonderful as always, and afterwards we made our rounds saying our hellos and holiday well-wishes to our dear family in Christ. In the midst of all that, one of the young ladies at our church came up to me and told me that she and her fiance would like a brief moment with us if possible.

I rounded up my husband and we found them again… they told us that the Lord had put it on their hearts to give us $100 for Christmas. We were completely surprised and overwhelmed! We are not known as “needy” people so there were no cues in the natural that could have let them on to our situation!

We told them how the Lord had used them and my husband even told them of my comment on the way to church that God might provide a way even still. We gave them teary, grateful hugs and went on our way.

Quick Provision

As incredible as the money was, we didn’t want to give the children money – we wanted to give them gifts, but we didn’t have time to spend shopping. We said a quick prayer in the car – knowing that if God could provide the funds He could direct us to the right gifts as well.

We headed to a nearby mall and in 18 minutes had found one gift for each child that was a unique fit for them… and we had $12 left (which we knew was the tithe!)

Conclusion

The Lord is mindful of all our needs – no matter how big or small. And when we are obedient and trusting, He is faithful!

August 2011 Additional Conclusion

It’s funny to read this now given our current position on Christmas (and Easter).  I think it only further reminds me that the Lord meets us where we are at.  We can’t put Him in a box (and shouldn’t try). He loves us and will use whatever we are focused on to talk to us through…

Related posts

• I shall not want (2)
• A Good Gift from God (2)
• Tithing and holding out on God (Gross vs. Net) (1)
• Renewed Marriage (Overview) (20)
• Meeting a Need When in Need (2)

First Fruits vs Tithe

Honestly, I never really understood the difference between first fruits and tithes. I had always thought they were the same thing. In January 2006, my pastor taught on first fruits though and really made the difference clear.

In short (for those who may not already know), it’s easiest to think of first fruits as in harvest. So, if you planted a crop of tomatoes and lets say that you have 10 tomatoes that get ripe first – that is your first fruit. So you offer all 10 to God – holding nothing back – in expectation that He will provide abundantly. The next group that gets ripe might also be 10 – this time though, you would give a tithe (1).

So how does that translate into modern life? Well, when you get a raise – the difference between your normal check and the new check with the raise would be an example of a first fruits offering.

I’ve heard of people who give their first paycheck each year as a first fruits offering. In our case, we had never given a first fruits offering, so we took it to God and asked Him what we were to give.

Our First First-Fruit Offering

As I asked the Lord what our first first-fruit offering should be I sensed God was asking us to do something significant (at least for us!). I was thinking it was to be my bonus check from work – a large amount of money for us. I kept my thought to myself and asked my husband what he was sensing – expecting confirmation if I was correct.

Over the next week or so, I continued to ask my husband what the Lord was saying to him on this topic. But he hadn’t gotten an answer yet.

In the meantime, we had found out we had a sizable tax refund coming… about three times the size of the bonus! We had been praying about where the tithe from that was going to go. We had not had to wait long for our answer on that – a precious young lady from our church (Maria) was planning a short-term mission trip to Honduras. She needed money to buy a ticket We both immediately sensed she was to have the money and we told her so.

In her excitement she began sharing about God’s call on her life. She was called to be a full-time missionary, but had a student loan that was holding her back. As we left that evening – I grabbed Allen’s hand and prayed a quick prayer – “Lord, I would love to help Maria with that student loan – if you can make a way for us to do that it would be awesome! I just pray that debt would be removed in Jesus’ name!”

A couple days later, Allen called me at work and said he’d finally heard from God on the first fruits. God had told him that I thought it was my bonus check, but it wasn’t (already I was floored!) – God had told Allen that we were to give the whole tax refund to Maria to pay off her student loan and give her about half what she needed for her Honduras airfare.

Confirmations

I did a big gulp – you see, I’d done the math and the tax refund was enough to take care of all the things we’d needed to do – we could have done without the bonus money, but to do without the tax refund was truly an act of faith!

Even as we prayed for wisdom and confirmation – more confirmation came – God supernaturally brought up a picture of her on my computer screen. I work in information technology – I am aware of what is possible and what God did was not possible!  And more confirmations came after that.

As I reasoned out in my head giving her the money – I knew cutting the check would leave us with about $17 and change in our account until payday. I thought to myself “I guess we’ll just live on credit cards until then.”

When we gave Maria the money she was overwhelmed – you see God had told her that her family in Christ would step in and would help with things like this… it had seemed impossible that anyone would, but with God NOTHING is impossible!

The Next Step – Freeze the Credit Cards

Still on the high of stepping out in faith – God followed it up with instructions to completely stop using credit cards. We literally put them in a block of ice in the freezer!

This was a big step because we were cash poor – but we were trusting God to show up.

That spring we’d taken the Crown Financial Ministries class. We’d always known that we were walking by faith being in our home (see Tithing and holding out on God) – the house was always held open in our hand ready for God to move us, but each month – He provided… we’d just never know exactly how much! During the class we discovered that we were running between $500-$1000 short each month! How incredible that each moth God provided the difference! (Note: let me just say I am not advocating going into heavy debt and then looking to God to fix it – however, in this case we found ourselves there, repented, were obedient with that which we had and God showed up!)

A Test of Faith

The First Fruit offering had taken a chunk out of our cash. As the end of May approached, we realized we did not have enough to pay June’s mortgage. We waited fully expecting God to show up just as He always did – especially after our big leap of faith!

Only the money didn’t come by June 1. It wasn’t there by the time the late fees were applied on June 16th. And by the end of June when we still hadn’t paid it and weren’t ready to pay July’s either… well, let’s just say my faith was being stretched!

Allen and I pressed in in prayer daily. We asked God for correction if we had acted wrongly. We sought Him with all our hearts. The only correction we recieved was a word from a prophetic friend who said “God says stop worrying! You’re dealing with doubt and unbelief.”

We knew it sounded crazy, but we felt like God had put us in this specific position as a test… we didn’t know what kind of test or why, but we felt it was His hand and we were simply to trust.

Right at that time, God came through with a smaller financial miracle – but it again confirmed that this test was from God.

Feeling Stupid

By the end of July, I was feeling really stupid. I knew in the natural what we were doing made no sense, but we both kept sensing that God was saying don’t try to fix it – just wait on me. All the words God would send our way lined up with this. Yet I felt stupid!

One day God sent a word of correction to me – He said, “Who are you to feel stupid about where I have put you?” Wow! It totally opened my eyes and freed me up to simply rest where He had me.

Fire Getting Hot!

The beginning of August arrived with letters of impending foreclosure. We still sensed that we were to wait on Him as crazy as that might seem to some. We were convinced either He would come through with the finances or a foreclosure officer needed to know about Jesus!

A friend who I had shared our situation with emailed me with some rather harsh words about what we were doing. Challenging that there was no way that God would do this. It devastated me! Through the heavy flow of tears I heard the Lord ask me who I was going to believe… Him or someone else?

I asked Him about my credit rating… and He told me where He was taking us it didn’t matter – that I just needed to have faith.

God is Faithful

In mid-August, two days before official foreclosure proceedings against us began we received an unexpected check that paid our full past due amount and all the way up through October! Praise God! He had shown up just like He said He would… and our level of faith had increased in the process… that’s for sure!

Conclusion

Sometimes we are called to take big steps of faith. No matter how big – God’s faithfulness is bigger.

In my mind – this story is only part of the testimony – there will be more coming as God continues in His faithfulness to bring forth the promises as He has given them

Related posts

• I shall not want (2)
• Tithing and holding out on God (Gross vs. Net) (1)
• Meeting a Need When in Need (2)
• Giving is a Heart Issue (0)
• A Newbie Tither (0)

When you adopt a pet – you never really know what their history is. To make matters worse – Sketch was sick when we got him – so sometimes it was hard to tell what was his personality and what was feeling not well.

We bought him a beautiful new brown leather collar with a shiny silver buckle. Allen (my husband) snatched it off the island in the kitchen and turned to put it on Sketch, but Sketch was busy scurrying off down the back hallway. Confused we followed him – Allen still with the collar in his hand.

As we appeared around the corner of the hallway – Sketch looked at us – looked at the collar in Allen’s hand and quickly ducked into a room and hid.

Immediately I heard the Holy Spirit tell me “it looks like a belt.” Suddenly, I realized the implications of that… who would run from a belt unless they’d been beaten? I shared the insights with Allen and we moved forward with caution.

After much encouragement and kind words, we were able to get the collar on the dog… but it alerted us to keep our eyes out for anything else.

Blessing or Cursing

One morning shortly after the collar incident. I sat on the floor petting the dog. I heard the words “Damn dog” repeating in my head. Since I don’t use language like that I sought the Lord’s face for understanding.

Lord told me the dog had been cursed – repeatedly – in his former home. I sensed Him telling me that His gift to me had also been a means to rescue one of His creations from a bad situation. I asked Him what I should do and He told me that we should bless the dog and command anything of the enemy that came in on the dog to leave in Jesus’ name.

Deliverance and Blessing

I called Allen in and shared with Him what the Lord had showed me. Together with my husband leading, we did exactly as the Lord had said. We physically could see the change immediately! The dog has been wonderful ever since

Conclusion

• We need to be mindful of the words that come from our mouths and whether they give power to God’s kingdom or the enemy’s.
• God desires for us to bless!!!
• God wants all His creation freed from curses and walking in the blessings He has for them.

Related Stories

• A Good Gift from God

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However, it didn’t take me long to realize that dog people are happiest when they have a dog :)

Praying Specifically

I knew exactly what I was looking for in a dog. I wanted another Rottweiler – a male with his tail (like Chester). I knew we wanted him fixed and also potty trained, which meant not a puppy (which could have made finding one with a tail a bit more challenging!) – yet young enough that we could have a nice long life with him.

With all that in my heart and prayers, I began poking around online looking for a fit. I made my way to PetFinder.com and then to the ARK (Animal Recycling Kennel) – a no-kill shelter a few hours away.

It was there that I found Sketch – a male Rottweiler with his tail who was about 1.5 years old and had already been fixed. The moment I saw his page I sensed the Lord saying, “that’s your dog.” He was exactly everything I’d asked for.

Submitting and Surrendering my Desires

When I got home I showed the page to my husband who announced he didn’t want another dog. I was floored! We’d always talked about getting another dog when Chester had passed… I felt a little like a woman who’d wanted children her whole life, had just gotten married and her husband announced he didn’t want kids! And I told my hubby that was how I felt.

But that said, I sensed the Lord checking my heart and instructing me to submit to my husband and trust my desires with Him… that if I pushed, I’d miss my blessing. So, I told Allen that I did not want to push him into this, that I would submit to his authority and his final decision – I just asked that he would pray about it.

For the next several days, I asked Allen if he had prayed about the dog – he would say no and declare again that he did not want another dog. One of his main reasons was that at the time the adoption fee was more than we could afford. The Lord was taking us through a huge test of faith in the area of our finances and so it was not logical to spend money on a dog.

A couple of times when I would ask Allen if he’d had a chance to pray about it yet he would say “just go ahead and do it.” Each time I would have to lay down my desire to simply ‘get my own way’ and I would tell him I was submitting to his authority as my husband, but I believed God had said this was to be our dog. If that was the case, we would be in unity.

God Hears ALL Prayers

Finally, on the fourth day of asking Allen to pray, he grabbed my hand and said a quick prayer that went something like this: “Lord, if you want us to have this dog just provide a financial miarcle in the next couple days and we’ll know we’re supposed to have it. Amen.” He looked at me said “There!” tossed my hand down and walked out of the room.

We both knew what Allen had meant in his prayer… he was thinking ‘God, pay our past due bills, pay a couple of the future ones, and give us some padding and THEN we’ll get a dog.’ But of course… that wasn’t what he’d said

God Knows How to Give Good Gifts

Less than a half-hour later our phone rang. It was a friend from church who told me that she and her husband had been praying about it and they felt like God was telling them to pay our adoption fees for us to get a new dog. In addition, they were giving us a Petsmart gift card for any start-up costs – a total of $450!

I started screaming I was so excited! Immediately, I realized it was God doing a number of things at once:

1. Confirming that the test of faith we were in was of Him
2. Reminding me that He was perfectly able to meet our needs anyhow, anywhere, anyway – in His perfect timing
3. Showing me that He is mindful of the little things we desire and those things matter to Him as well (see also Christmas Miracle)

I ran downstairs to tell Allen what had just happened. He just started laughing that nervous laugh that happens when you know you just got busted. He laughed because he knew God knew what he meant when he’d prayed, but God had answered what he had actually prayed. He also knew that this was of God and was blessed and overwhelmed by the testimony the Lord continues to write in our lives.

Conclusion

Sketch is a wonderful dog. He is a living breathing reminder of God’s faithfulness and His love for us. He is mindful of all our needs – no matter how big or small. And when we are obedient and trusting, He is faithful!

Related posts

• I shall not want (2)
• Christmas Miracle (3)
• Tithing and holding out on God (Gross vs. Net) (1)
• Renewed Marriage (Overview) (20)
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My relationship with my husband got started completely the wrong way. We first met when he was my student. He was married but separated and we were both in backsliding mode and both promiscuous. We ended up in a short-lived affair. After which I ended up in another ungodly relationship heading further and further away from God’s plan for me.

If this is not the man…

Fast-forward nearly two years, and I reached a breaking point. I prayed and I said to God, “Lord, if this is not the man you have for me – I just pray You would take him from me. I cannot imagine my life without him, but I trust that You will get me through it and I just ask that You’d bring the man You have for me into my life.” Less than two months later the man I was living with left me.

Dating Allen the 2nd Time

I started going back to church and one night at church I heard the Lord say, “call Allen.” So I did. When Allen and I started dating, we did not date the “right” way at all. He virtually moved in with me only going home on the weekends his kids came to stay with him. We would sleep together and then pray for God to forgive us – it was crazy. We were both a mess, but it appeared we were moving towards Him – sort of.

Married

We were married five months later and it didn’t take me long to realize we were not both moving towards God at the same pace – Allen continued drinking and it was not pretty. For a while, I held back in my relationship with God because I didn’t want to get too “church-ie” and offend him. The Lord convicted me that I was only responsible for my own walk – and that Allen not being right with God was not an excuse for me to not be right. So I began to pursue God more and He began to heal some things in my heart.

During this period, things with my husband got worse. He struggled with porn and was drinking more and more – he would say and do really hurtful things when he was drunk – it was really difficult. I knew he had a lot of past hurts – and so for the first year and a half I tried to fix him, but it only got worse. I’m embarrassed to say I spent more time trying to psychoanalyze him than praying for him.

Broken

Finally, I got on my face before God. I knew He had put us together, but I was miserable. Broken I cried out to God; I told Him I didn’t know what to do with my marriage – I couldn’t fix it and I threw my marriage at His feet. What God said next caught me off guard – He told me to “shut up and pray.” So, I asked Him to teach me how to be a prayer warrior for my husband, which He did (within a week He had people gift me 2 books, Power of a Praying Wife and Intercessory Prayer).

Almost harder than the “pray” was the “shut up” – I’m sure you all know how hard it is not to put your two cents in – especially when someone is totally messing up. But through prayer, God was helping me to hold my tongue and trust Him.

One night when Allen was drunk in a bar, the Lord sent a prophetess to the bar to give him a word. It was powerful and it shook him, but even more than that it rocked my world because I got that God didn’t need me to say anything, He was perfectly capable of sending anyone anywhere to tell him anything! It invigorated my faith and I began to realize how big God really is.

Prayer Warrior

I started a women’s prayer group, where we gathered weekly to pray for our marriages, husbands and families. I staked myself to other women believers. Then God began drawing me deeper into Him. He gave me promises of what my husband and marriage would be like. I spent a lot of time in worship mixed with prayer – especially songs that declared my trust in Him because the situation didn’t look good. I began fasting weekly for my marriage and my husband.

In the natural things would sometimes appear to get better and then they’d get worse, and worse and worse. I asked God to show me Allen as He saw him – and He began to. I began to be able to separate the amazing man that God had created with a call and a purpose from the behavior caused by past wounds and demonic influence. It enabled me to love the man but hate and fight against the enemy controlling him. I was in full battle mode. I was fighting for my husband – it was between the enemy and me and I had God on my side. And I was not going to back down and I was not going to lose.

Broken

After nearly two years came the hardest part of this trial – my Christian friends lost hope and began to encourage me to divorce Allen. One by one, all the people who I had staked myself to and who had been my support system turned. And the Lord told me to choose – who would I believe? The promises He’d given me? Or the counsel of friends.

I was reminded of Job’s friends – well meaning, but wrong. I chose to dare to believe that God was a big enough God to do what He said he was going to do – even though everything in the natural said I was crazy. It was a lonely period, but gratefully, not too long thereafter he hit bottom.

Rock Bottom

One night the police called me to retrieve my husband. He was the worst I’d ever seen him. I was in full battle mode, laying hands on him and praying over him while he was passed out, declaring the promises of God over him. The next morning I continued to press in and pray for breakthrough and it came. If God had not had me living in a place of continual forgiveness and hope – I would have missed it.

I told him he needed to get deliverance – that regardless of his best intentions, the enemy is stronger than him – than any of us – if he didn’t learn and use the authority God had given him as a believer he would continue over and over in the same patterns. He had to chose and fight for his own freedom. And he did.

Confession

The next day, Allen had his first fast. The whole day he fell under heavier and heavier conviction that there were things he needed to come clean with me on. That night he couldn’t sleep – he’d made choices trying to destroy a marriage he hadn’t cared about and was terrified to come clean because now he didn’t want to lose the marriage – but he knew he had to be honest. At 5 am he told God he was ready to tell me, but pointed out to Him that I was still asleep. God promptly woke me.

Allen told me he needed to talk to me, he said his “soul was being tortured” – the minute he spoke the words – a tidal wave of peace came down over me. I told him I forgave him – I knew he wasn’t the same man he’d been three days earlier and that no matter what it was – I forgave him. He needed to tell me and so I let him. I listened as he spoke and then told him again – “I forgive you and I love you.” He told me later that it was like I represented Jesus to him at that moment – it was unthinkable to him that I could forgive him.

Allen was baptized in the Holy Spirit a few days later and God has done some amazing things in our relationship since then. He has continued to draw and heal it.

At the time of adding this part of my testimony to this site it’s been two and a half years since my husband rededicated his life to the Lord. Most of the people we know can’t even imagine that he was ever like this because the Lord has so restored and renewed him. It moves me to tears to see how much my husband loves the Lord now and how relentless his pursuit of Him is.

Conclusion

• What was amazing to me was that as I trusted my heart with God – He protected it.
• I was able to maintain true joy through things that don’t make you happy! It was the supernatural peace God tells us He will give us when we seek Him. It was amazing.
• And that God is faithful and powerful – He will do what He’s said He’s going to do.
• And He is using it for good – already I’ve been privileged to see two marriages saved as a direct result of the testimony He wrote in our lives.

So to end, I just want to encourage you in 3 things:

1. pray for your spouse – because it works and it’s powerful,
2. trust your heart with God – it’s the only place it’s safe,
3. and finally believe that God is a big God – He can make a way when there appears to be no way, He is faithful.

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• I shall not want (2)
• Cursed Dog? (2)
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In Over Our Heads

About a year later, we bought a new house. It was a God-miracle that we were able to get the house – it was clearly from His hand. The problem was though we’d been in the house less than a month when I realized there was no way we could afford the house. I headed to the park up the street one evening to talk to God about this matter.

The Tithe Principle – It’s About Trusting God

I began to plead my case to Him, quoting Malachi 3:10-11 back to Him and everything. I began to say to Him, “Ok God, I’m going to test You in this – just like You said to because I tithe…”but the moment I began to say tithe He convicted me and said, “You are holding out on me.”

Immediately I knew what He meant. See we had been able to “afford” to tithe on our net income – to tithe on our gross income (pre-tax) would mean a couple hundred more a month! I began to argue with Him and say, “What a minute, I’m here telling you that we can’t afford this house and You are telling me that You want us to give MORE money?”

He replied, “If you can’t trust me with a couple hundred extra a month we have bigger problems than this.”

After spending a few more moments making sure He was serious, I asked Him if I was seriously supposed to go back and tell my husband this (he was not in a Good place with the Lord during this time). He said I should. So in faith I returned home to talk with my husband.

I marched in and told him that God had said we were to start tithing gross not net. He replied, “That’s fine. We’re going to lose the house anyway – it will just make it happen faster.” I started to argue with Him, but the Lord stopped me and pointed out that despite the attitude, he had said yes.

Tithing – Gross vs. Net

Let me pause for a moment and say that I don’t believe God has a rule about tithing gross versus net. It is simply a heart issue. If you seek God’s face and He says $5 a week – give $5 a week. He desires our obedience, not our sacrifice. But if God says tithe gross – I would strongly suggest you begin tithing gross!

So we began did begin tithing on our gross income and a miraculous thing happened… God showed up.

Seeing the Lord hold true to His word

First my husband’s job made him part-time. Yet each month, miraculously we had all the money we needed to cover our expenses. About four months later, my husband’s company went out of business and he was without a job for a few months and each month we had what we needed – sometimes things were paid at the end of the month instead of the beginning, but things were always paid.

Ironically, during this time God was allowing these things to happen to my husband because he was not walking with the Lord. God was using this to get his attention. He also was making it impossible financially for him to be able to leave our marriage! Who would have thought that a woman’s husband losing their job would be a blessing? Yet with God in charge, it was!

He finally got a “temporary” job and we were getting on top of things.

Allowing the body of Christ to minister to us

During that time, two friends of mine from work who were fellow believers approached me and told me they sensed that God had told them to take up an offering for me. Both these individuals were in jobs that I knew made less money than I did and I was moved by the fact that they wanted to, but I was not the type of person to received charity – I was the one who typically gave charity!

I thanked them profusely and told them it was not necessary. I will never forget the look on my sister in Christ’s face as she looked at me and said, “What if I told you we were going to do it anyway because Jesus told us we were supposed to.”

I reflected for a moment, silently repented of my pride and responded, “Then I would assume God was trying to teach me something here and I would graciously say thank you and release you to do whatever the Lord tells you.”

Several weeks later they arrived at my desk with huge grins on their faces. They gave me $375 they had collected. I was blessed, but I thought, “God, why this money? Why now?” I didn’t have to wait long to find out!

The Miracle of Obedience

Two days later, my husband called me to tell me he was having car problems. Periodically when he’d hit them the car wouldn’t stop. He’d pump them and then it would finally stop. Clearly, that’s a pretty big problem! He took the car into the shop. The total… $355+ tax.

It was the same amount that we’d been blessed with. What was so amazing is that had they not taken the collection – we simply would not have had the money to fix it. Since it still was sort of working, my hubby probably would have driven it at least a little. Who knows what plans the enemy had for him!

But God is an AWESOME God! And so a month before we even knew we had a need, He was prompting their hearts to meet a need we didn’t even know we had.

So God – through the body of Christ – provided for us and protected my husband. Malachi 3:10-11 in action!

Conclusion

God can be trusted at His word. He may take us places that make us uncomfortable, but it’s always for our own good. Had I never been in a position of need, I would never had had an opportunity for God to meet my need.

So be ready – be listening – and most of all be obedient!

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Tired of Being Alone

In my late twenties, I was tired of being alone. I wanted a boyfriend. I hadn’t been able to find someone who I liked who also liked me and who shared my beliefs. I had been a believer for about a year and a half and there was so much I didn’t know about walking with the Lord.

I actually remember the very moment I turned from God’s plan for me. I was standing outside work and was looking at a man I knew from there. He was very confident and had charisma. He was a strong man – something I always looked for because I am a strong woman and knew I needed someone who would not be run over by me!

The problem with this particular man was that he had a drug problem and he frankly, he was not walking with the Lord. That said, he was somewhat interested in me and I was definitely interested in him.

So as I stood there outside my work, I dismissed all the warnings the Holy Spirit was sending off inside me and decided I would choose my future. His voice became softer and softer over the next few months until I really didn’t hear Him anymore – I’d tuned Him out.

Losing My Religion

What I find interesting is that the world seems to know more about how Christians should live than Christians do. As this man watched my behavior – he even flat out told me I was “losing my religion” – and frankly, he wasn’t wrong.

I had started doing all the things I had previously been very self-righteous about; I started gambling, began doing drugs with him (and paying for them), and not only was sleeping with him, but I had him move in with me.

Although he had said early on he would visit church with me some time, he never did. Not only that, my church attendance tapered off because of the changes in my interests and activities. And because of the size of the church, if any noticed I was missing – they never called. I got one card in the mail, but given my outright rebellion it was too easy to set aside – it had been condemning and had hurt my feelings.

Losing Myself

I, the clay, had moved myself off the Potter’s wheel and was allowing myself to be molded by one who’s heart towards me was not God’s.

Days rolled into months as we stayed high – numb to everything trying to suppress a growing ache.

He would not marry me. He didn’t believe in marriage. I compromised myself again telling myself he was worth it. I nearly lost my home – almost went into foreclosure because of the amount of drugs and money lost on gambling and I was sued for other monies owed that had been spent supporting this drug habit.

As he continued to either not work or work part-time, he decided I could make more money at another job and so at his direction I quit the job I enjoyed that had been an answer to prayer and left for a corporate position that made more money, but left me working much longer hours and much more stressed.

The things I loved, the things I believed in were one-by-one sacrificed on the altar before this man that I had unintentionally made my god.

If this is not the man…

The thing was, I felt as though I genuinely loved him. And although I’m sure I did, in retrospect, I was also probably dealing with a good portion of ungodly soul ties. In my heart I treated this relationship as though he were my husband and I gave of myself and my resources as though that were the case.

One day a Christian friend I hadn’t spoken with in a while called me to tell me she was engaged. She was in her mid-thirties and was still a virgin. She’d met a wonderful Christian man and he’d popped the question!

When we hung up the phone, I simply began crying as the realization became so clear that I was never going to have the life I wanted with this man… at least not this way. All the seemingly small (and some not so small) concessions that I thought I’d been ok with now overwhelmed me.

I prayed for the first time in a while. I said, “Lord, if this is not the man You have for me, I just pray You’d take him from me because I want the one You choose, but I don’t have the strength to leave. I cannot imagine my life without this man, but I trust that You will bring me through this. I want Your will to be done.”

The Break-Up

Less than two months later, he broke up with me. I discovered later he didn’t intend for it to be over – little did he know he was simply doing God’s bidding.  Had I known he didn’t intend for it to be over I never would have moved on.  God is so merciful.

When he left I was heartbroken and cried for three weeks straight. Some days literally having to leave work because I couldn’t contain myself. During that time I began going back to church. I was still involved in a lot of sin, but I was at least beginning to move the right direction because I had put myself back on God’s path.

God’s Perfect Will

I believe that God has a perfect will for each of us. I picture it something like a navigation system where the start point is where we are and shortest route in-between the end-point or way-point is God’s perfect will. So often though we take a wrong turn or intentionally go a different way, but constantly God is giving updated directions for the shortest route – the optimum path.

I took a nearly two-year detour from God’s perfect will for me, but, in His mercy, the moment I turned He put me back on the path to His destination for me.

Conclusion

And the beauty of God is that He uses all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Through all this God knocked some pride and self-righteousness out of me. He’s taught me to extend more grace to others because one never knows or fully understands why or how someone ends up in a particular predicament.

Some lessons learned:

• Choose God’s path – even if you don’t understand why He’s taking you a particular direction (like keeping you single when you don’t want to be) – He has a plan and you can trust Him to have your best interests at heart
• Listening to God can save you a LOT of heartache
• God sees everything – the beginning and the end – He knows who is the right person for you. Trust Him in that.

I think one of my biggest regrets is that I totally lost my witness and this man (to my knowledge) is still not walking with the Lord.  God has a plan and a call for his life and I no more want to see him miss his than I want to miss my own!

To this day I pray for him every time he comes to mind… for God’s will to be done in his life and for him not to miss all that God has for him.  God loves him so.  And just like me, God has good plans for him – plans for hope and a future, plans to prosper him and not to harm him (Jeremiah 29:11).  Those are the same plans He has for you too…

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• Tithing and holding out on God (Gross vs. Net) (1)
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