“Give till it hurts”

“I can’t give away my money, I’m
saving to be a missionary.” Probably the most pathetic oxymoron
ever. But that is my number one excuse for not living out what Jesus
asks me to.

I can’t begin to guess how many times I
have heard this whispered in my ear from the Lord recently. “Give
till it hurts.” More recently, that whisper has grown louder and
into a voice that I couldn’t ignore or deny any longer. It wasn’t my
imagination…God really wants me to give till it hurts.

Since coming home I have been so
reluctant to give away my money. Maybe it would be different if I
were working a full time job, but that’s impossible with an
internship on the side. I was holding onto the money I had left over
after the necessities so tightly…even savings, like someone was
going to snatch it out of my hands. It was hard for me to even throw
money in the offering plate on Sundays. I had been feeling like God
has been nudging me to support some of my friends financially in
their future mission plans, or choose to support a Compassion child,
but I wouldn’t do it because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to make
it to Swaziland this summer. It’s funny that I would doubt the Lord’s
faithfulness in what He calls me to after me being OVERfunded when I
went to Africa.

So…there I was…holding onto my
beloved money with AFRICA written all over it. But I gave it away.
It’s not mine to keep, right? I was saving it for Missions, and it
will still go to Missions…just not my own!

Little to my knowledge, while I was
battling with this realization, Jesus was prompting a friend of mine
to support me financially in a big away. When I had fully decided to
give it ALL away, I had no more fear. And then a couple hours later-
YES, ONLY A COUPLE HOURS- the Lord’s promise came to life. Someone
donated close to $1000 for me to go to Africa.

“Bring all the tithes into the
storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do, ‘says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, ‘I will open the windows of heaven
for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough
room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” Malachi 3:10

Today, my trip is still not fully
funded. But I do have faith that it will be fully funded soon. Very
soon. I have several monthly supporters, and with their financial
blessings, I have $500 or so yet to raise. Would you prayerfully
consider partnering with me to get over that financial hump? If 5
people commit to supporting me with $25 a month for 5 months, I will
be fully funded.

Thank you for reading this far, and if
you haven’t already, read my previous blog with more information
about my trip here.

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1. If you go to the “Main Menu” below my Main Picture you will see a lot of cool options. To support me, click on “Support me here!” (circled).