All I have needed, Thy hand has provided....

The last Bible study I completed was "Experiencing God," and out of all of the Bible studies I've done and loved, this one impacted our life in a big way. The beginning of the study was back in January and those first few weeks were on praying and how to listen in prayer. That was such a new concept to me because I had never thought of prayer as a two-way conversation, it was more about "bless this, bless that, thank you and amen." Once I started listening, THAT was when I clearly heard God's voice for the first time in my life. Ever! As you know, I'm a newer Christian (three years old, to be exact!) and tithing was something I hadn't been convicted about. My husband encouraged me to tithe, but I just didn't see how we could afford to, so I didn't. At the time, he was making $13.50/hr and supporting our family of four. You can imagine my opposition to giving any of it away. During one of my quiet times, while I was praying (again) for a raise for my husband, I just kept asking, "Why God? Why can't we have a raise now? You know we can't afford it. Why do I have to keep waiting?" Clear as a bell I heard that still, small voice, "Child, if you can't trust me with your 10%, how can I bless you financially?" WHOA!!!!!! It was nothing short of amazing and jaw-dropping. I immediately called my husband to tell him what had happened and he said, "So what are you going to do?" He knew I still had a choice to tithe or not to tithe, but what I was learning from the study was the disobedience that I would be committing to have heard from God, and still not listen, and I was not going to do that!! It made complete sense, we even read about it. "If God can't trust you with the small stuff, why would he give you the big stuff?" I was proving that I couldn't be trusted with the small stuff, while shouting, why can't I have the big stuff!? Ha, it almost makes me laugh to think about that.

 

 

 

 

Faithfully, I began tithing every paycheck after that. Not even cheerfully at first- which I've learned to grow in that area too! But faithfully I gave and I watched, looking for the showers of blessings. They didn't come right away, but having heard that voice tell me once what to do, I knew better than to give up.

 

A friend gave me (free) her Dave Ramsey book and I began to study. We snowballed our debt and now have ZERO credit card debt. We snowballed our one car payment and will pay the LAST payment this month. We will be debt-free, besides our mortgage (which I plan to snowball) after this month. Friends have helped us with gas, groceries, even change for an extra gallon of milk, Starbucks coffees (yum!), and new shoes for Cory.

 

Our insurance offered to take 25% one of our major medical bills as a "special" that month.

 

Our mortgage compay sent us a letter- they lowered our mortgage payment AND we got a refund.

 

Jackson EMC sent us a letter- also included was a refund.

 

We were given TWO free vacations. A whole week in Hilton Head, SC, and 2 nights in the mountains.

 

We were able to buy EVERY gift the boys asked for this Christmas and still have enough left for our friends and family. At my husbands Christmas party this past week, he was given his raise, along with a work truck, all gas paid for. We were also told to be watching our bank account, because a Christmas bonus will be coming shortly. How AWESOME is our God? To think I wouldn't let go of 10% and to watch how he's blessed that small offering over the past year, giving me MORE than I asked for.

 

 

I'm so excited to share this with you! It has been amazing to see God work in our lives. I can't wait to see what He's has in store for us in the upcoming years.

 

Last, thank you honey, for continually praying for me on this matter. I'm so proud of you and how hard you've worked for us. Love you!