Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Memorial Box Monday (on Tuesday) - Praying Out Of The Box


I have been praying and praying about how to write this post and Linny (click on the button above) asked for people to do Memorial Box Monday post today and so I thought this would be the perfect time to do this post.

One reason I have been praying and praying over this post is because I really felt God asking me to write this but at the same time I felt a little weird about doing it. You see Chris and I have a passion of giving. We don't usually let people in on what we give but this time I think God really wants me to share the way he has blessed us by giving us the chance to give.

A couple of years ago Chris and I asked God for something very specific and he answered. We were very tight on money at the time but with our tax check that year we took $500 out and put it in a checking account that we called "God's money" because we specifically set this amount of money aside asking God to multiply it. We also agreed that a portion of the money made from this amount of money would go to care for orphans or support adopting families. Little did we know how much God would multiply that money.

Do we now have thousands in a bank account? NO! Better yet is that God took our prayer, gave us ideas to be creative, and now that $500 has been invested in many things that keep making money and keep helping families bring kids home or to care for orphans.



This is what happened:

We started going to storage unit auctions and buying units full of trash that people had not paid their rent on but many, many times we found hidden treasures inside that we were able to sell at yard sales or Craig*list. It's a very dirty job and a lot of work but it's a great way to make some extra money.

We then had money to buy broken cars. Chris is a very good auto technician that loves challenges so we started buying cars that people couldn't afford to get fixed or that technicians couldn't figure out how to fix and Chris would fix them and we would sell them at a low price.



Then came our dogs. Our kids had been wanting a dog really bad so we decided if we were going to get a dog we were going to get a dog we could breed and multiply the money with. We looked and looked for a special girl dog but God gave us a boy. As we prayed for a girl we knew that God had a very special purpose for the first puppy sold from every litter. I will share that with you below. God then gave us our girl who's puppies would have a very special purpose.


One night Chris was working in the garage and I asked him if I could have $300 of our "God money" to start making pendants. Chris said he didn't care because he trusted that I could make it work. As I was getting my shop ready God made it very clear to me that this shop was to help families fundraise for adoptions or missions for orphan care. Let me just say that that $300 has now helped well over 40 families help bring their kids home.




It is also because of that "God money" that Chris was able to start his own business.

Do you remember the dog story? I knew from the time we brought Kai Kai home that the first puppy of every litter sold was God's and not ours. It didn't matter if she had 1 puppy or 7 or how much the first puppy sold for. After we bred Kai Kai there were 2 times that I was sure she had lost her puppies. I cried out to God not because we were going to lose the money from the puppies but mostly because I knew there was a family that needed this puppy to help bring their child home. We honestly didn't even know until 3 weeks before she had them that she was pregnant.

Kai Kai has 3 beautiful, beautiful puppies and oh I will have a hard time letting them go to their new homes.



I prayed and prayed over which family would receive the money from this first puppy. I was kind of pushing a friend to start an adoption and get them to take it but I knew that wasn't right. I then prayed and prayed about giving it to some good friend of ours that are adopting but every time I tried to make plans for this puppy God kept putting another family on my mind. I can't even begin to tell you how many times God put this family in my head letting me know the puppy was to help bring their son home.

I wrote the mom one day and I told her that I couldn't believe I was telling her this because I wasn't going to say anything until we had the money to give them but I felt God wanted me to tell her. The mom wrote me back an amazing letter that clearly showed why I was to tell her and that we had the right family.

I wasn't going to share the family on here but I want to because I would love for you to read their amazing story on their blog. This is a family that stepped out in COMPLETE faith, and God is moving mountain after mountain for them to get this beautiful little boy home who just happens to have a limb difference like Jaxson. Click here to read there story.

I wrote this because I want people to know that if God has given you a passion for something or a desire to adopt don't be afraid to ask God for creative ways to make things happen. Don't be afraid to ask God to multiply your money to do good things, your family or even your boundaries. Ask God to help you think out of the box and get creative.

Little did we know when we prayed over that $500 what God had planned for us. We really didn't know how many gifts God would give us out of that $500.


8 comments:

Faithhebrews11 said...

You all are so amazing Sarah and your hearts are so big! You are such an inspiration!

Sally-Girl! said...

What an awesome MBM post!!! What a testimony to our Maker!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

Rachel said...

Wow. That is amazing! I love seeing God move!

Adeye said...

Yayyeeeee....awesome Father! What a beautiful post, friend. He is sooooo faithful!

Nellie's Cozy Place said...

Thanks for sharing that lovely testimony. You and your hubby are doing a great thing!!
God is certainly blessing in big ways!! Great to hear good testimonies like this in the times we are living in, nice to hear good news!! I just love testimonies of God's goodness.
blessings, Nellie

Tony and Rett said...

You guys rock. You ARE the hands and feet of Jesus!

Shelly said...

My heart is just so full and overwhelmed right now! Thank you so much Sarah & Chris for your amazing generosity and for your testimony of faith! We are completely blessed by your amazing gift and so moved by your example of giving! Your hearts are truly beautiful and I know Jesus is smiling to see the many, many ways He has connected our journeys. Praying this gift you are giving will be multiplied in many ways and that our Father will pour out a blessing on your lives so full that you can not contain the whole of it! Rejoicing in His goodness!

Kathy Schriefer said...

Sarah, what an inspiration and blessing this post is. Thank you for writing it to encourage people to step out and do what God is calling them to do. He is always faithful and we miss out on so much when we don't trust Him. You have really made my day with this testimony of God's goodness.