Since moving to Charlotte a few years ago, my husband and I have only had one car and we’ve been believing God to provide us with a car for the past couple of years. We’ve been able to make it work, but then I found out my work hours will change. Our arrangements definitely would not work anymore. So we really started pressing in and believing God would provide for us. 

Around that time a member of the church was willing to take us to an auction to buy a car for a really good price. Our plan of action was to focus on paying down some debt so we’d be able to get a better interest rate on a loan, and that’s what we really believed God had provided for us.

I’m a teacher, and since I don’t work or get paid for three months, I was looking for something to supplement our savings and my husband’s income for the summer. Since I was at the mercy of my husband’s work schedule (with him having the car), it was hard looking for a job not knowing my availability.

Finally I decided I wasn’t going to get a job. Instead, I would make myself totally available for the church to use me in whatever capacity they needed me. I had a total peace about my choice, not even a hint of worry about making ends meet. That’s when things started happening, and I knew I’d made the right decision.

I asked my chiropractor if it’d be cheaper if my husband stopped coming. He said he’d treat us over the summer month’s for free! 

Then two weeks ago, a parent scheduled a parent-teacher conference. (She’s a believer who volunteers in my classroom, and she’d promised to pray about the car situation.) When we met, the first thing she asked me was if I had found a car yet. I explained about our debt and said we hadn’t yet begun looking. She went on to tell me that her husband called her from Toyota where he works. He felt God was really prompting him to sell us their car. I was shocked speechless, and she was giddy with excitement. She said I deserve the best and that I should be able to leave school whenever I want. (On this day school had ended at 2 PM, but I was still at the school waiting for my husband at 4:30 PM.) She said we could pay her whatever we could, take as long as we needed, and all interest free.

At home, my husband and I crunched numbers and figured we would never find a better deal: We were being offered a 2004 Toyota Corolla with less than 50,000 miles on it in perfect condition, interest free! This had to be God! 

In the meantime, her family needed a van. As soon as they offered the car, they found out Toyota was having a 0% interest sale. They didn’t want us to have to wait long for their car, but they had specific wants and needs due to her husband’s allergies that made finding the right van a challenge. As it turns out, in all of eastern America, there were only nineteen of the right models left, and only two were within 200 miles of us … and only one of those two met every single specification they needed in a van. Now if that’s not confirmation that this was a God thing, I don’t know what is!

I just had to share all this because God is just so good! He is our Provider and this is such confirmation of “Seek first the Kingdom and all else shall be added unto you.” As soon as I made the decision to not work, but volunteer all summer for FHC, things started happening! 

To top all this off, there are two chances for promotion opening up in my husband’s job—and we know he’s got God’s favor all over him. We are truly believing for him to get this promotion! We’re just so excited for all the people we could bless with the increase in finances, and the testimony of living in God’s favor!

Your journey of generosity is an adventure measured not in miles, but in personal transformation and growth.

Sometimes smooth sailing, sometimes uncharted waters, but always a course that deepens your faith and relationship with God. 

The message is not new, it is rooted in the timeless story told in scripture and lived out today … Explore and experience the generous life. 

” … But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving … ”   2 Corinthians 8:7, 13-14 (New International Version)

Just heard a great story about a couple of kids who were selling lemonade and snacks on the golf course for the Liberty Offering. They were not having much success. People were just passing them by and not stopping to get a refreshing lemonade. The dad told the little girl to be more aggressive. He thought, who could turn down those pretty blue eyes and blonde hair! 

She decided to start really going after some new customers by running out on the course as they were hitting their balls. One of the first people they came in contact was intrigued by the tenacity of the little girl. The dad looked at the gentleman and realized he knew him somehow. The guy emptied out his pockets of all the cash he had. The dad looked at him and said, “Are you who I think you are?” Come to find out it was New England Patriot wide reciever Randy Moss! He explained that he had grew up in Charlotte and was visiting some friends.

We just don’t know sometimes who will be touched by generosity!

I never really thought about not being generous. I guess growing up extremely poor, I should be very stingy, but by me not having anything, I guess my heart has always been soft for people who are in the same boat as I was. I find myself lending a helping hand all the time.

Then when I got saved four years ago, everything changed. God really started challenging me to be very generous, more than just lending a helping hand. I guess I have a soft heart when it comes to single moms who don’t have that person in their lives to take care of the “guy” things. Up until three years ago I was and auto mechanic for almost 20 years. So I came up with an idea … okay, God pointed something out to me! “Help those ladies out with their cars.” So I put together an oil change day. Between the church and myself we got all the stuff we needed and changed oil in about 15 cars that day. It felt very good, and the smiles were well worth it. God showed up in a big way after that and sent me some very profitable side work to make extra money from.

I would have to say that has been one of the most inspirartional things that has happened so far with my new life with God in it.

I HAD to take the opportunity to share what God has done in our lives over the last few months.

My husband and I decided to take the Crown Financial Study when it was offered through Freedom House Church in March. I can’t say enough (and I probably sound like a broken record to my friends and family) about how life-changing that has been for us. We always just kinda thought we were “doing ok” with our finances, always seemed to break even every month, and just took the class to get some helpful hints on how to manage our money better.

We had no idea the impact that Crown would have on our lives. We got on a budget, and as we learned more and more from the study, the biggest areas that we changed were our savings and our giving. Neither of us had any idea the hold money actually had on us, and how profound the difference in our hearts and relationships with the Lord would be when we began to better steward what God had so graciously given us.

I am paid bi-weekly, whereas my husband is paid once a month. When I was doing the Crown homework in early May, I realized that for budgeting purposes I would receive a third or “extra” paycheck instead of the usual two for the month.  As we neared closer to the time for the Liberty Offering, God began to move on our hearts. In a huge leap of faith we gave that extra paycheck in the offering.

This past Saturday there was a shareholders’ meeting for my husband’s company, and it was decided that he would receive a pay increase. What we came to realize yesterday was that the amount we had given in the Liberty Offering was the same amount that he will receive as an increase in his monthly pay!  How incredibly faithful is our God?

Maybe we just tapped into a gift of giving that we didn’t realize we had?  The exciting thing is, now we get to give more!

The Mooresville area LDG held a yard sale Saturday morning to benefit the Liberty Offering being held at Freedom House Church on May17th. Talk about generosity!

Ruth got up at 3AM and began baking some of the most amazing cupcakes you have ever seen. George contributed his golf clubs (not his old golf clubs…but his golf clubs.) Roddie brought her record collection. Can you say sacrifice? Can you say an original 1963 copy of Meet the Beatles!

Luke and Shelly brought their bed. Even some of the neighbors got in on the blessing and began bringing stuff to help. We enjoyed perfect weather, thanks to all the folks at the Khan LDG who were praying and fasting for their yard sale. Thanks guys! We did encounter a bit of spiritual warfare as Luke was viciously attacked by the Orca whale, but thankfully he escaped unharmed.

 Be Generous!

My story of generosity is two-fold, but both involve missions. Several times over the past few years I have had the opportunity to participate in missions trips. I would sign up but then let all the “stuff” get in the way. I rationalized how I couldn’t afford it. Who would watch my children? What about time off from work? I had ALL the excuses why I couldn’t go.

Last October a trip to New Orleans was planned through FHC. I decided immediately I would be going on this trip. I simply said, God…I know you can work out all the details and I’m not going to stress over it. After making the decision to go, I went to work the next day to request the time off. My manager’s reply was, “Sure! Just let me know the dates.” I had several family members and friends offer to watch the girls for me during the week I would be gone, so that was no longer an issue.

The total cost of the trip was $400. I know for many people this isn’t a lot of money, but for a single mom it is a HUGE amount. The first down payment was $125 and was due on a Sunday. That Sunday morning I decided I’d have to back out of the trip. I had NONE of the funds, and my checking account balance was about $10. During the first “meet and greet” during the service, a friend asked how the trip planning was going. I told her I wasn’t going to be able to go because of the money situation. She replied that she wanted to help me and would give me a check. I appreciated it, but in my mind I thought, “That’s great, but where am I going to get the rest of the money?” During the second “meet and greet” she handed me a check for $300! I was blown away! I cried like you wouldn’t believe because I simply couldn’t believe someone could be so generous. By Tuesday of the same week, I had raised the remaining $100!

[Are you on Facebook? Read more about Karen's mission trip here.]

The second part of my generosity story is still being written. I am leaving on June 21 for Costa Rica. The cost is around $1,000 (plus passport costs and supplies). I mailed out support letters and had several people send checks for support. At church Sunday two people stopped me and in total donated $100. As of yesterday morning I still needed $450. I know this seems like a lot of money (again), but God told me to “break down the need” for people. I posted this need on Facebook as my status. I asked for 18 people to donate $25 to get me towards my goal. The very first person (member of FHC) stepped up with a pledge and also said they believed God was going to provide this whole amount by the end of the day. True to this statement, when I went to bed last night EVERY dollar had been “spoken” for! Of these 18 people, 12 are members of Freedom House Church. One person was an acquaintance from high school that I haven’t seen in at least 17 YEARS!  God is SO amazing!

I can’t wait to see how God is going to use this generosity to reach the people of Costa Rica! I look forward to sharing again after the trip to share with everyone how their generosity is not just affecting Charlotte, but other parts of the world!

If you’ve ever spent time talking with someone who is homeless, then you know they want pretty much the same things you and I want.  The things that make them feel good…are the same things that make you feel good.

A group of ladies from the Charlotte community came together to provide haircuts for men who were staying at the Emergency Winter Shelter.  These ladies graciously donated their AWESOME barber skills to trim, shape, and cut the hair of over 50 men. Some of the men were also fortunate to receive a relaxing hand-arm massage from Shannon while they were in the chair.  They were transformed right before our eyes and left their chairs smiling from ear to ear.

In addition, we had collected food from local businesses and people in the community. It just so happened that the shelter did not have food for breakfast the next morning, so the food we brought went toward feeding the men breakfast the next day. I personally felt like I was watching a love story.

I am not going to get long-winded on this–and please, please, please keep this completely anonymous–I forgave tens of thousands of dollars in debts that people (family members and former business associates) owed me.  Just told them to forget it, and not to worry about paying me back

I wanted to let you know how proud Vindra and I are of our Life Development Group and how we became infected by a healthy virus called Generosity. You know, even before being generous became an experiment, our hearts were to reach out to the community somehow and in some fashion. We just didn’t know how. Our strengths as an LDG has always been fellowship, discipleship, and worship, but we knew that we needed extra help in outreach. After about five years of being LDG Leaders, we wanted and needed to change.

In January Vindra and I challenged our LDG to focus on outreach and our communities. One of our members, Karen (who has a heart for missions) informed us of a group called Lois’ Lodge, an organization that shares the love of Jesus Christ by providing free shelter and support services to women and their unborn babies. As a group, we decided to “own” Lois’ Lodge and partner up with them. In March, we took part in their annual Walk for Life and helped them raise over $20,000.

One evening in April, a few of our LDG members had a social with some of the girls at the Lodge, bringing food and playing games with them. Just recently, Karen ran into one of those girls in Wal-Mart. One of the first questions that this 16 year-old asked was, “WHEN ARE YOU COMING BACK? We had SO much fun!” Wow! What an impact we are having! It’s like a healthy virus, if there’s such a thing.

Then another amazing opportunity…the Liberty Offering! Vindra and I did not have to say it again, as our group was already affected by this virus. We challenged ourselves by having a garage sale to raise money for Lois’ Lodge and for the Liberty Offering. After lots of fasting, planning, making signs, delivering precious cargo, and waking up early, we raised approximately $300. It may not seem like much, but we did it without selling big items like furniture or expensive equipment. We were especially proud of them as we fasted for two days prior to the garage sale; some fasted from meals, Facebook/Internet, coffee, etc.

So what’s next on our horizon? Coming soon: a free showing of the movie “Fireproof.” We want to bless marriages in our communities. What’s the next challenge after that? Maybe a carwash with free hot dogs. There’s no cure for stopping generosity!

Special thanks to Colin and Ericka Mcknight, Norell Myers, Karen Mundy, Robyn Janneh, Tami Bartholomew, Brittany Long, and the LDG Kids!