Archive for June, 2009
God is above it all
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
Its an interesting story, and I will be slightly vague in parts on purpose here….
Saturday night my family did not attend services at Northwood’s. We had dinner with some friends, and the “faith stimulus” message was never on our radar. We were as a family quite oblivious to what was happening at Northwood’s this past weekend.
So on Sunday morning I was in the back of the store I work at when I was paged upfront. Now on a Sunday at 10:30am you usually get called to help a customer for 2 reasons. A) They were in the midst of making pancakes and they remembered that they did not have a spatula, or fry-pan, or B) Something they purchased something Saturday that made them so unhappy that they woke up early Sunday to ensure that they got there right away to tell you about it. From my experience its usually the latter……
When i arrived upfront the girl at our “service desk” motioned to a woman standing in the aisle. I approached her and asked if I could help her. She said, I have something for you, and handed me two envelopes. I did not know who she was much less what this envelope was.
“What is it?” I asked clearly taken aback.
“Money” she said.
All I could say at that point was, “Who are you?”
She told me that I had taught her daughter in a class, that I inspired her daughter, and that God told her to give this to me.
At this point I had two main focuses, the first was trying to process what was happening, and second trying to keep myself even somewhat composed because tears were coming. I gave her a hug, and she told me she needed to go.
I went into our office called my wife. Now weeping I told her what had just happened. She asked me what was in the envelope? (It had not even occurred to me to look inside. It could have been just a few dollars, and simply the powerful act of coming in, and God at work would have been enough.) So I opened the envelopes, and told my wife what was in them. We both could barely breathe, and were crying.
Its not about the money though, that is a blessing, but its about the fact that God will always provide a way, and a means. That we have to trust in the fact that serve a mighty God who is above the economy, above the turmoil, the worry, and above all the junk.
We have to trust that God “will”….and quite often He “will” through the people we are in relationship with. That’s why its so important that we move together as a community in relationship because its then that God always “will” show up, and do amazing things.
An aside that connects the dots as only God can….
It was interesting that shortly after dinner Saturday night my friend told me a story of faith in his own journey that involved envelopes, and trusting that God will always provide a means.
- Jason S.
What an awesome feeling!
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
We have a friend with three kids who is going through a divorce and in the process of moving out of their house. I knew she had been having financial problems. After adding some more money to the envelope and praying over it, we took the money to her. She cried and said some days she has difficulty getting up to face the day and then something like this happens. She said she didn’t know what to say. I told her she didn’t need to say anything that the Lord did this. Then she said she hadn’t paid her last months Cilco bill and the new one had just arrived. I told her that the Lord works in mysterious ways and is always there. As I walked out tears welled in my eyes. What an awesome feeling! — Jan & Steve H.
Northwoods Faith Stimulus
Posted by kirt.manuel | Filed under faith stimulus
The Northwoods Community Church family wants to pour out blessing all around our community.
As part of the weekend “Let Freedom Ring” services of June 27-28, 2009, Senior Pastor Cal Rychener introduced the Northwoods Faith Stimulus. Cal invited heads of households to take one of 1,500 sealed envelopes, each containing an amount of money ranging from $20–$100. In total, $60,000 was distributed to church-goers—but the money came with some simple rules:
- You can’t spend it on yourself or your family.
- You can’t give it back to the church.
- Be creative and make the money go as far as possible.
It was a simple assignment: go make a difference in the life of someone. Pray for God to show you how he wants you to use the money.
This blog is a place to share your story about the Northwoods Faith Stimulus. Click on the “Tell Your Story” page to share.
If you would like to track the Faith Stimulus Stories as they happen and are shared, you can follow NwoodsChurch on Twitter.
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