In God We Trust

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be also.

(Matthew 6:21 NLT)

Money isn't evil, money is what WE make of it - we can use it for good or for bad.  We recently started Dave Ramsey's 'The Total Money Makeover', I learned so much about biblical principles for paying debt off and building a nest egg (and really so much more), so if you have been like us and have struggled with finances - do yourself a HUGE favor and check out his book! I've always been a clinger when it comes to money, afraid to let it go, hoard it for my security, but that's the wrong attitude as well. I'm putting too much faith into a dollar bill when I need to be putting my faith into God - Jehovah Jireh is my provider, not my husband's paycheck.  

"Look what happens to mighty warriors who do not trust in God. They trust their wealth instead and grow more and more in their wickedness." (Psalm 52:7 NLT)

Today I was staring at the inscription on our money, "In God We Trust", and it all made perfect sense to me - our currency is nothing without God.  Money, wealth, and possessions will come and go, but if we put our trust in God, we won't have to worry about the next paycheck or the next bill that comes due.  If we're struggling with our finances we need to focus on what Jesus said...

"So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." (Matthew 6:31-32 NLT)

The Sweetest Fragrance

I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume. In fact, God thinks of us as a perfume that brings Christ to everyone. For people who are being saved, this perfume has a sweet smell and leads them to a better life. (CEV) 2 Corinthians 2:14-16  

When we put our trust in God, when we have no where else to turn, when we have nothing left but faith - that is when we truly have everything we need. That 'nothing left but Faith' is a beautiful fragrant offering to God and that my friends, is when God can deliver His miracles.

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT)

I want to share with you that I am so far from being an ideal Christian and how far from deserving of forgiveness I am. If you've read my past posts, you've seen that I've been suffering from depression and from some heavy burdens. I've dealt with those attacks from the enemy with the best weapon, God's Word and I knew God's Mercy and Grace were the only way out. 

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16 NKJV)

My prayers never ceased during this tribulation, but my fear was taking over my faith - yet once I grabbed hold of God's Promises, the fear began to break off with only my faith remaining. This has been by far, the most difficult trial/challenge I have ever dealt with and would never want anyone else to go through this without God.  Now, looking back I can see how much stronger mine and my family's faith have become simply because we walked through the fire and survived -  I imagine we will need that strength for the next attack the enemy sends our way. 

God gave us a miracle, we knew that Jehovah Jireh (Genesis 22:13-14) would supernaturally provide for us - because that was the only way to get out of the pit we were in. We didn't know how, but we knew He would. I want to encourage you to not give up, to keep moving forward, no matter your circumstances, no matter what the world and your flesh tell you - hold on to your faith, hold on to God's Promises and don't let go.

"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6 NKJV

Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will Provide

Well, I made it through a whole week of Homeschooling and let me just say, it was amazing!! I am so overjoyed that God has led our family to this exciting adventure! I've loved spending so much time with my sons and getting to know a different side of them (I really do think teachers see a side of our children that we don’t always get to see, after all they get 40 hours with them a week).

One lesson that Mommy/Teacher learned this past week: one sure fire way to discover if you are on the path God has for you – constantly taking direct fire from the enemy - if you have that happening, you are probably doing something right! 

So it’s no shock when there have been various little issues that have plagued us – my sons and I would stop what we were doing and pray for God’s provision.  Each time we were blessed by God’s provision, building up and strengthening our faith. Now, a HUGE financial pitfall/disaster/circumstance has occurred and the weight of it was simply too much for me to bear, so I did the only thing I could do – I gave it to God, and you know He is faithful and true, His mercies are new everyday –  I've been so blessed by the sweetest peace He has given me! This issue hasn't gone away and I don’t know how the Lord will provide, but I KNOW He will.

I feel like the devil is attacking us especially hard right now, simply because of the glory we are giving to God for this opportunity. More people have come up to me and asked about homeschooling, which has opened the door for me to talk about God and how He is the reason we are doing this.

Although I was sure homeschooling was what God wanted for my sons, my husband hadn't received that answer yet – time messes with you when you’re sure what God wants for your family, but your spouse hasn't received the same answer yet – you will question yourself. I knew that in order to homeschool, I would need to put our sons back in Karate – they had been out for only 6 weeks but my budget was pretty tight that month, so I wasn't sure how I could pay for it. Then I got a call from our church on Dec 21^st , someone had anonymously given a monetary gift for my family (no one knew we were having a hardship – no one except God!). So on the way up to the church I was thanking God for however much I was about to receive; I then said, ‘God, I honestly believe you want us to homeschool, and I believe you want us to start as soon as Christmas Break is over – but God, I would need to be able to put the boys in karate and I don’t have any extra money for that right now – so if this ‘gift’ is enough for that, I’ll know that without a doubt, you are telling me YES, go ahead and do this NOW’. So when I got home and opened the envelope, it was enough for karate and ‘then some'.  I knew in my heart that God had said YES, but knowing there was ‘more’ to this - I held on to the cash, waiting to discover what the ‘then some’ was for.

Our church has an awesome Youth Retreat every January; four days of teenagers worshiping God, having fun, fellowship,  and drawing closer to God – but again, the cost was more than I could afford at this time and I believed it was really important for my teenager to be able to go, especially now that I knew we would be homeschooling! A friend at our church told me that I should apply for a scholarship (after all my teenager volunteers every Sunday to help with the Pre-K kids) I would only have to pay a smaller deposit with the scholarship.  Totaling up the cost for the karate lessons and then the deposit to the youth retreat, that would leave 10% of the total blessing (hello, tithe!!) – Which showed me, without a doubt –that God’s hand was in this; he showed me that HE is our provider, no one else!

So now, I’m clinging to that promise – God was so exact in that blessing, that He needed me to see before the seas got too rough, before I would even have a chance to take my eyes off of Him, that we are doing His will and He will not leave us or forsake us – HE is Jehovah-Jireh (The Lord will provide)! (Genesis 22:7-14)

Every school day, we start out with prayer and then read from our Bible and have a devotional time together. I was even able to share this experience (God's provision) with our sons last week, they were in awe - not realizing how intricate God's provision can be and just for them! This time has been my favorite part of our day and my sons have even told me, that it’s their favorite too. God knows exactly what we need, when we need it and how we need it – the blessings He gave us, are an anchor to hold onto during the storm we are now experiencing.  We know that God doesn't give us the storms in life, but He will give us shelter through them and having His promises to fall back on gives us a peace that only God can deliver.