Raising A King: A Generous New Year

Part 1

I'm in our truck in the parking lot of one of our favorite restaurants as I'm beginning to write this, waiting for Matthew to come back with the little buzzer to tell you when your table is ready. It's freezing here and the restaurant is pretty packed, so we decided to wait in the truck. I want to tell you how we got here tonight, but for me to tell you please understand I'm not telling you this to brag or anything of that kind, and Matthew doesn't know I'm writing about this either... that is until he reads it when it's published. I want to tell you because it's God's good works, and I would like for all my readers to have the chance to experience some of God's magic and blessings, if your heart is in the right place to do so.

I recently started reading The Blessed Life by Robert Morris, and our lives have already changed within the few short weeks I've been reading it. Robert Morris is one of my favorite Pastors to listen to on podcasts or their Gateway website. In his book, he brilliantly breaks down everything you need to know about tithing and the gift of giving. If you don't already know, we are a young family in every aspect of our lives. We are in the thick of figuring out all of the highs and lows of this economically challenged world we live in today. Yet we are not intimidated by it. We live by our faith and that God has put us where He wants us for now. We have already reached some spiritual maturity in the area of giving since learning more about it, and sincerely doing it with your heart rather than thinking it's something you have to do.

The story starts at Matthews work on Christmas Eve, where they were doing a raffle drawing for two Christmas turkeys. Matthew took a ticket but my mom had already purchased our family turkey. Matt ended up winning one of the turkeys, but he knew we didn't really need it. So he gave it away to someone who really did. Soon after that the same day, a coworker came to Matthew and gave him a very generous gift card for our favorite restaurant. That's how we ended up where we are tonight. God told Matthew to give that turkey away, and in return He gave us double, a full meal. You can't out-give God. This thing we call money is not ours, everything we have, God has given us. It's all His in the first place. So if you're not already tithing, I really would like to encourage you to start. And to make sure you're doing it right, if you're confused about it I highly recommend reading Pastor Morris's book, and reading the scriptures about it as well in the Bible. Our churches need their body. As we ring in the New Year, I wanted to tell you this story so you might decide to set a goal for giving in 2015. Trust me, your life will be so blessed for doing it. I also recently started the One Year Bible and I'm ahead on my readings for January. One of my resolutions is to be able to say I have read the whole Bible by the time I turn 25 years old. Have you set some wonderful resolutions yet?

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and have a very blessed New Year!

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I'm also going to send out a prayer request for my readers today. When we got home from the restaurant last night, we didn't know one of our neighbors houses was on fire. One of their other close neighbors called the fire department and three different ones came. The fire got big but they worked until 2am putting it out. We thought they were going tell us all to evacuate but they got it contained. We have a lot of trees around where we live and the wind was blowing last night. Luckily no one was home but I was told they had some birds inside. The family is in Mexico visiting for Christmas except for one girl, she stayed because she had to work but she's safe and staying with her aunt. They had seven family members living in the house and I think pretty much everything is ruined, and we don't think the house was insured. We know the family, and our whole community is devastated that when they come back from Christmas vacation they won't have a home to come back to. Matthew and I went out and talked to people last night and we are all going to do everything we can to help. Please pray for this family, please pray very hard. Pray that somehow we will find a way to get them a home. My sister, Tosha, drove over last night during the fire and she has a terrible cold, but she still came and she had tears in her eyes but she said the most beautiful words, "I know I'm sick but I came because we are the church, we should be here."

We are the church.

If you're not already giving, please do with all your heart. Rise up, and be that light people see when they're lost. Be the church.

Here's a tiny piece of a story from the Bible that I've really fallen in love with, about Mary using a very expensive perfume to anoint Jesus. -

"Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. ” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.'” (John 12:2-8 NIV)

Part 2