The Power of One

The following was taken from All Pro Dad "Play of the Day" for December 25, 2008.

In 1926, Dr. James A. Francis wrote, "Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office.

He never owned a home. He never set foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He had no credentials but Himself.

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves.

His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth while He was dying -and that was His coat. When He was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Twenty-one centuries have come and gone, and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of progress. All the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as that one solitary life - Jesus Christ."

God's faithfulness

That's it. I'm back. I've waited entirely too long to post, and with so much spinning in my head these days, it's time to get it out!

God is so good, and He is so faithful. I'd like to say that better, but sometimes simplest is best.

Before our 2nd son Ben was born in June 2008 - or even conceived for that matter - Sarah and I dreamed of the day she would be able to stay home full-time with our children. It seemed a long way off with me in a mediocre IT career that wasn't really headed anywhere. My incoming was certainly smaller than our outgoing at that time. It was close, but we were not there.

We had discovered Dave Ramsey by that time, we were trying to pay off our remaining debts as fast as we possibly could with 1.5 incomes, we continued to give to our church and prayed for a way.

Fast forward to Spring 2008. We're debt FREE! But I was in a job I hated, Sarah was pregnant and due in June with our precious Benjamin, and my salary still could not even equal what we needed on a monthly basis. So we prayed and prayed about a job change that could potentially provide enough for us to live on a very tight budget, continue to give, but at the same time would allow Sarah to be home with our boys once Ben was born.

SIDE TANGENT: Do you ever fret over a fork in the road for a long time, wrestle with either potential outcome, pray so much about it that you think you might be annoying God? That was us on this job change. And once you decide on change, have you looked back and wondered, "What was the big deal? It was a no-brainer!" That was us after I decided to join Smart IT Staffing, the job I now love.

Things started slowly for me as a recruiter, which I'm told is typical, but was also concerning since Sarah's paychecks were due to stop on September 1. But just in time - God's typical way of operation - things took off for me in August and September with placements and income, and God validated our prayer for Sarah to stay home! We were and continue to be thankful for that.

I tell you our story to enforce this thought you may or may not have heard: you cannot out-give God. It cannot be done. Malachi 3:10 says, in a discussion about giving and or not giving to God:

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

My story is the story in Malachi. God continues to provide for us beyond measure; He continues to pour out blessing. Earlier in December, we were marveling as all of the following took place over the last few months:

Our gas bill dropped by $19 per month.
Our mortgage dropped by $45 per month, then again by $45, plus we received a large escrow refund.
Our car/home insurance dropped by about $15 per month.
Our cell phone has dropped by $70 per month.

This Christmas season, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus, we are thankful because He is faithful. In spite of tough economic times, in spite of a year's worth of job uncertainty for me, He is faithful. Our cup is full and overflowing. Thanks be to God!