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Testimonies
 In 2001, God called us from a ministry where we were serving in New Mexico to move to Texas and help Pastor Bracy start a Master’s Commission mentoring program. We both felt God was calling my wife, Teresa, to serve
full time to assist in the development of this program but that meant living on one income which we had never done before. Add to this the stress of leaving a ministry we had poured so many years of our life into, leaving our secure jobs and moving to a place where we had to basically “start over” in every area. It was a step of faith bigger than anything God had ever asked of us before. To obey would require trust and sacrifice but we knew He was calling us. It was His responsibility to take care of us and He has been so faithful!
Several years prior to the move, we felt God urging us to get out of debt so we could be free to go whenever and wherever He led. We were obedient to do so and, as a result, have grown more disciplined in handling our finances. We believe we not only owe God the honor of 10% of our income, but we purposefully determine to tithe our time and talent as well. The old saying, “You can’t out give God” is so true. During these 5 years in Texas we have come to know God in a whole new way. We no longer “bite our nails” while trusting God to come through because we have experienced His faithfulness first hand. There have been numerous times where finances have gotten really tight, but we continued to obey, tithe and give. God has provided every time, without fail. We know in our heart that
we can trust God to take care of us which has given us such freedom in our giving. As we seek Him and obey, He shows His faithfulness. We look forward to giving what God asks us to give to this campaign. We know He is going to do something wonderful and we are excited to have the chance be a part of it!
 Before the birth of our first child 5 years ago, Paula and I had never
worried much about money as we both had good paying corporate jobs.
Although we didn’t have a monthly budget, we controlled our spending enough
to get by each month.
Our financial landscape changed again with the birth of our second
child. We decided Paula should leave her job to care of our two girls, now
3 and 5 years old. With one income, a growing family and essentially the
same lifestyle things were getting tougher financially. I dreaded balancing
the checkbook and the near monthly transfer of money from savings to
checking to keep afloat. I told God I was ready to do things His way and He reminded me of my
neighbor, Steve. Several times over the previous month, Steve had mentioned
a book about making a financial lifestyle change. Paula and I both read the
book in one weekend and knew this was exactly the direction we had been
seeking without knowing it. We sold the RV and some other things, stepped
back our lifestyle a notch or two and began to adhere to a monthly budget.
Within 6 months from reading the book will be debt free except for our
house! These days I get to watch our savings grow instead of deplete.
This experience has taught me that God is watching over us. He uses people and events in our lives to help change our course when needed. My
wife and I now have financial peace and flexibility that will allow us to
follow God’s nudging when the next course change comes along. |
