Do I give sacrificially?
In the previous post, I shared 22 ways I’m simplifying, decluttering, and organizing my life.
Our church is at the beginning of a campaign called All In. It’s a movement of God’s people to give over and beyond to see His Kingdom advance. It has stirred our family. All 5 of us.
Here’s a video our church created sharing part of our story. A few side notes I must mention.
- Why is the video stopped on my face like this? Really??
- You can see who is the more talkative between the 2 of us.
- And who is the funny one. And the one who can land the plane. (Not me)
- I said I worked for a Jewish law firm. Ummm, I worked for an accounting firm. No idea how or why I said that. So, yeah.
We attended an advance commitment worship night Saturday night knowing God was asking us to sacrificially give way beyond what is not only uncomfortable, but what is impossible by our standards. It began to make sense why God has been speaking to us about scaling down, ridding ourselves of the burden of material possessions.
How far will He have us go we don’t know. We felt He gave us a number which made me scared quite honestly. It doesn’t fit in the budget. But we are trusting God on a day by day basis.
Here’s what I shared on Instagram about this:
“Being totally honest, I don’t sacrifice much. Steve and I discussed this morning after attending our church’s Advance Commitment worship night last night.
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The American version of sacrifice is quite laughable.
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We’ve made changes in order to give over and beyond our normal giving for the next 2 years. One of those changes is eating out less and also preparing simpler budgeted meals at home. Instead of date nights out, we will go back to the days of at home date night. Friday night we had our date night in the garage while the kids watched a movie in the basement. Last night we had an “apps” dinner. A salad, fruit and veggies, quesadillas, and pigs in a blanket. I looked at the spread and felt convicted that I considered it a sacrifice.
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Around the world sacrifice is truly sacrifice. Here we grow accustomed to living beyond our means or beyond our need.
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I’ve shared how God has been speaking to me about living life simply. I believe He’s been preparing our hearts to enter into a season of a new level of commitment to His kingdom work.
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I watched as our kids chose to commit personally to this All In. As we left Andrew realized what this now meant for his money. His response, “Well, it’s all His anyway.”
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Lord, give us a heart committed to your work. May we not be owned by the shiny things of this world. May we let go of more here so we can store up treasures that will last in eternity. Amen.”
Interestingly enough Sunday several issues popped up around the house that would cost a good bit to correct. We realized it was no coincidence. The enemy is on alert, firing his arrows to scare us and get us off course. We refused.
My computer wouldn’t power on. It’s only a year old. I tried several things to no avail. I remember reading in Beth Moore’s book Praying God’s Word that peace is our secret weapon against the enemy.
So I prayed and walked away and got busy on my next task – dealing with toenail polish that seems to have ruined my toenails. I became so engrossed in salvaging my toes, I forgot all about the computer.
When I remembered, I pulled up Apple’s troubleshooting. I’d already tried what they suggested but gave it another shot. The computer fired up and I yelled, “Oh my word! My computer is working.”
Steve came around the corner. “I literally just prayed in the basement.
Prayer works. Peace is a weapon.
So that is where we are. Entering a 2 year period of expecting God to perform miracles and provide as we trust Him, giving back to Him what is His to begin with.
What season are you in? What theme is God stirring in your heart?
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I’ve written and recorded a devotion on releasing our fears and anxieties by learning to see God for who He is. It’s a practice in remembering who He is and keeping our eyes on Him. It’s called Illuminate. Download your copy today.
Find out more here and listen to a sample.
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