We're going to M-E-X-I-C-O!!!
Please excuse the slightly enthusiastic title but I'm just a little bit excited!! I just got the txt I was waiting for ALL day. In less than 2 months, Gavin and I will be off to Mexico, living it up at a 5 star resort for 5 days - at absolutely no charge to us, whatsoever... God.Is.GOOD!
I'll back up a bit and explain from the beginning because I've been waiting to share this testimony for a whole year as we've watched this answer to prayer unfold. Really it's been year upon year of answered prayers in this department...maybe I'll write a book about that too? Or at least a very loooong Blog post to tell the full story.
So this year began in February with our Church's leadership weekend when a very inspiring speaker spoke about sowing in faith and believing for prayers to be answered. Not paying for miracles and not even sowing into that speakers ministry specifically (before I open a can of worms with people who totally misinterpret this situation). Now this wasn't new to us, in fact we have ticked off checklists of answers to EVERY prayer (within reason and with the right heart motives) that was scribbled on paper napkins or the back of envelopes as we sat down, agreed on what we needed and sowed (larger amounts than we thought naturally wise to do) into the offering at church, in according to the word of God that we had studied and come to understand that in principle, if we sow, this is the ONE area God says it's OK for us to test him in. So we did. And it totally worked. Year after year.
We were in year 3 of understanding this principle and applying this principle and quite frankly it's so fun testing God in this area because when you understand that He is limitless, you have none of this ridiculous shame in asking for big things! Somehow the minute we dream a bit big or out of the box, we get this internal 'telling off' about not being so demanding or crazy. Why not have crazy expectations? Somehow I'm feeling the need to 'insert here'that this is ALL about heart motive and in no way, shape or form am I saying that God is in any way like a fairy God-mother or a genie that we can expect 'stuff'' from in a selfish way. But, when we have an understanding that God is our Father and a GOOD Father at that, and add to that, that He has limitless resources to bless us and enrich our lives, then we approach this subject very differently. I have no shame in admitting I am believing for a massive house one day. On a huge piece of land. A place that will be full of children, my own and the adopted and fostered ones we collect along the way. It will be wonderful! We don't help anyone dreaming small. False humility isn't going to change a world people!
Ok, so, back to the story. It's February. We sowed in this offering, believing that after a year of diabolical sales failures;
A) God was going to work a miracle and that Gavin was going to hit his sales targets for 2017. Over and above that, we believed that he would hit $1 Million of sales!
B) We would be debt free (we were paying off a fridge we bought and our cars each month which wasn't too much but we wanted no debt to our name).
We were all happy with this and sowed in faith for this 'crazy' thing to become a reality. Then a month later our Church's Sacrificial Offering came up, the one they do only once a year. It is in nature a chance to really stretch yourself in what you can give and we as a church family get in behind funding all the amazing work we do as a church, in Auckland and around the world. SO this opportunity comes up and Gav and I really felt that althogh we had given what we thought would be our generous offering of the year, that we shouldn't let that opportunity pass and we should give again. We kind of thought,"what now?" thinking about what there was to believe God for.
Gav said that in his company their are levels of achievement you can attain at the end of the sales year. If you get a certain amount over your quota you get 'President's Club' which means at the annual prize-giving in San Diego, you get to choose a prize for a certain amount of money. I liked the sound of that one. But Gav said higher than that is the 'Chairman's Club' which is for the top 1% of the company's sales achievers. They get invited on an all-expenses-paid trip with the CEO at a 5 star resort to a different location each year... I liked the sound of THAT one even better! It was literally an impossible dream. From going to him not hitting any quotas to expecting and believing that not only would he hit his numbers but he would get over a $1 Million of sales. Not only would he get over a $1 Million of sales BUT he would get Chairman's Club!
This year we have sat back and laughed (in a good way) as impossible situations turned around in our favour. Month after month we tracked Gav's number, fully convinced that God's word is true and if He said we could test Him, we can test Him! Well we got to October, not even the end of the year and Gav had reached his $1 Million of sales!!!! Our first prayer request was ticked off! Fast-
forward to January 2018 and we now have the means to pay off ALL our debt AND with the cherry on the top, I got the call I KNEW I would be getting tonight saying WE'RE GOING TO MEXICO because he made Chairman's Club!!!!!
Needless to say we are SO excited for this year's opportunity to do this all over again. For those of you who aren't in Church or who aren't familiar with the whole 'sowing and reaping' thing, this will probably seem way out and crazy. It would seem crazy to anyone who looked at our bank balance at the time we sowed. But God's word is true and we have testimony after testimony of how God has answered prayers in this area of our life because He is a God of principle and a God who honours His Word.
It's early days still people! What are you going to believe God for this year that seems crazy, impossible, ridiculous even?! Those are the prayers that I think excite God, because it involves Him in your story! Although Gav is SO good at his job and he has worked his butt off (and I'm so proud of him for that!!), he will be the first one to give God credit for the favour He has walked in this year specifically.
I'm excited to be deliberate again this year in believing for great things! I hope and pray this story of God's goodness ignites even a small flame of hope in you to step out in this area as the year starts and to believe our BIG God for some BIG things this year :)
I'll back up a bit and explain from the beginning because I've been waiting to share this testimony for a whole year as we've watched this answer to prayer unfold. Really it's been year upon year of answered prayers in this department...maybe I'll write a book about that too? Or at least a very loooong Blog post to tell the full story.
So this year began in February with our Church's leadership weekend when a very inspiring speaker spoke about sowing in faith and believing for prayers to be answered. Not paying for miracles and not even sowing into that speakers ministry specifically (before I open a can of worms with people who totally misinterpret this situation). Now this wasn't new to us, in fact we have ticked off checklists of answers to EVERY prayer (within reason and with the right heart motives) that was scribbled on paper napkins or the back of envelopes as we sat down, agreed on what we needed and sowed (larger amounts than we thought naturally wise to do) into the offering at church, in according to the word of God that we had studied and come to understand that in principle, if we sow, this is the ONE area God says it's OK for us to test him in. So we did. And it totally worked. Year after year.
We were in year 3 of understanding this principle and applying this principle and quite frankly it's so fun testing God in this area because when you understand that He is limitless, you have none of this ridiculous shame in asking for big things! Somehow the minute we dream a bit big or out of the box, we get this internal 'telling off' about not being so demanding or crazy. Why not have crazy expectations? Somehow I'm feeling the need to 'insert here'that this is ALL about heart motive and in no way, shape or form am I saying that God is in any way like a fairy God-mother or a genie that we can expect 'stuff'' from in a selfish way. But, when we have an understanding that God is our Father and a GOOD Father at that, and add to that, that He has limitless resources to bless us and enrich our lives, then we approach this subject very differently. I have no shame in admitting I am believing for a massive house one day. On a huge piece of land. A place that will be full of children, my own and the adopted and fostered ones we collect along the way. It will be wonderful! We don't help anyone dreaming small. False humility isn't going to change a world people!
Ok, so, back to the story. It's February. We sowed in this offering, believing that after a year of diabolical sales failures;
A) God was going to work a miracle and that Gavin was going to hit his sales targets for 2017. Over and above that, we believed that he would hit $1 Million of sales!
B) We would be debt free (we were paying off a fridge we bought and our cars each month which wasn't too much but we wanted no debt to our name).
We were all happy with this and sowed in faith for this 'crazy' thing to become a reality. Then a month later our Church's Sacrificial Offering came up, the one they do only once a year. It is in nature a chance to really stretch yourself in what you can give and we as a church family get in behind funding all the amazing work we do as a church, in Auckland and around the world. SO this opportunity comes up and Gav and I really felt that althogh we had given what we thought would be our generous offering of the year, that we shouldn't let that opportunity pass and we should give again. We kind of thought,"what now?" thinking about what there was to believe God for.
Gav said that in his company their are levels of achievement you can attain at the end of the sales year. If you get a certain amount over your quota you get 'President's Club' which means at the annual prize-giving in San Diego, you get to choose a prize for a certain amount of money. I liked the sound of that one. But Gav said higher than that is the 'Chairman's Club' which is for the top 1% of the company's sales achievers. They get invited on an all-expenses-paid trip with the CEO at a 5 star resort to a different location each year... I liked the sound of THAT one even better! It was literally an impossible dream. From going to him not hitting any quotas to expecting and believing that not only would he hit his numbers but he would get over a $1 Million of sales. Not only would he get over a $1 Million of sales BUT he would get Chairman's Club!
This year we have sat back and laughed (in a good way) as impossible situations turned around in our favour. Month after month we tracked Gav's number, fully convinced that God's word is true and if He said we could test Him, we can test Him! Well we got to October, not even the end of the year and Gav had reached his $1 Million of sales!!!! Our first prayer request was ticked off! Fast-
forward to January 2018 and we now have the means to pay off ALL our debt AND with the cherry on the top, I got the call I KNEW I would be getting tonight saying WE'RE GOING TO MEXICO because he made Chairman's Club!!!!!
Needless to say we are SO excited for this year's opportunity to do this all over again. For those of you who aren't in Church or who aren't familiar with the whole 'sowing and reaping' thing, this will probably seem way out and crazy. It would seem crazy to anyone who looked at our bank balance at the time we sowed. But God's word is true and we have testimony after testimony of how God has answered prayers in this area of our life because He is a God of principle and a God who honours His Word.
It's early days still people! What are you going to believe God for this year that seems crazy, impossible, ridiculous even?! Those are the prayers that I think excite God, because it involves Him in your story! Although Gav is SO good at his job and he has worked his butt off (and I'm so proud of him for that!!), he will be the first one to give God credit for the favour He has walked in this year specifically.
I'm excited to be deliberate again this year in believing for great things! I hope and pray this story of God's goodness ignites even a small flame of hope in you to step out in this area as the year starts and to believe our BIG God for some BIG things this year :)
You guys are so faithful in what you do and the deep honouring love you have for God really does permeate all you put your hands to. Such a fabulous testimony and YAY for a well deserved vacay in Mexico!
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