"For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;" 1Corinthians 1:26-27


You know how they say once you hit bottom there is only one way to go...
While we did not hit all the way to the bottom, it was only because many miracles kept us from being there.

I would say the biggest miracle was when we nearly lost our home. Ben says we have been in a financial crisis for the last two years. I suppose that is true. Building your own business definitely has its downs before its ups. But when  our money was non-existent it left us with only one place to turn. A friend of mine said once "you will not need to depend on God until you have no security in the bank account". Our Bishop said "everyone wants a miracle in their lives, but they don’t realize that means you have to be in an impossible situation and need a miracle to receive one." And boy did we ever stand there.

We lived the last two years completely in faith. Not knowing from one month to the next if we were going to pay our bills, lose our home, or even whether we would have groceries or not.  I remember at Thanksgiving watching on the news how The food pantries were low, economic crisis being what they were people were donating less, and more than ever were in need. I saw the lines of people standing outside the shelters and food pantries hoping there would be enough to feed them and their families and crying my eyes out. Some of them looked as middle class as me, and I was truly thankful just that I was not down there in line with them. (Mostly because I knew how close I was to being there.)
But God....

Last summer was a real breaking point for us. We had been behind on our house payments but not quite as close to foreclosure as we were this time. It seems just as you find the strength to believe him to a certain point, he stretches you even further. We were down, three months behind on our house payments, and NO CLUE where it was going to come from. Every deal we thought was going to save us fell through one way or the other. (That is another thing we learned, He will never do it through the avenue you expect because he intends for you to know HE did it.)  Finally the DAY before Foreclosure procedures were to start, and we were still praying and believing for God to come through for us, then someone came to our door. A client of Ben’s.  They told us that God had put it on their heart to give us a financial gift, $3000 . The exact amount to save our home!

I want you to know we never stopped tithing or giving to God in spite of our circumstances, and the little bit that we were giving at that time would not have saved us anyway. So we gave, and He gave back to us more than we had at that time. That may not seem like a significant amount to some, but it was our HOME! He continued to stretch us, and I can not say that we have not had financial struggles since then. (I just told you about Thanksgiving, and you can imagine Christmas was a fun faith walk.) But we have had what we NEEDED every time. The children of Israel received Manna from heaven every morning, but only as much as they needed.

Then this January Our Bishop challenged us to give more. Stretching everyone to grow. "If you have never tithed just give $20, start there and as God blesses you, increase it until you reach the Full tithe. If you are already tithing give $20 as seed." (He calls it The 20/20 vision.) Well we have done that since The last week in January. Every month since then we have seen our income increase more and more every month. Last month (March) we made double and triple what we have made in any month in 2007. God has been faithful to bless us, give us creative ideas to bring in the passive income, and we know He is blessing us that we might be a blessing to others. God is good, and God is real! There is a God, and I am not Him. 

I now have a job as a Writer and Producer’s Assistant on an Online Talk Show which I love !!! (It is soon to launch, but you can preview it a TheDrBethShow.com )  I am able to work part time from home, be in the studio for recordings once a week. I am meeting new people from all over the place all the time, and hearing their stories of faith. I could not have asked for a more suited job for me. I am able to write, talk, and build relationships, and I am able to be a full time mom, have my website and other mom ministries,  and be the wife I want to be. Ben is prospering in his online business and meeting and talking with others he never thought possible. Literally ministering to men everyday through his work.

It has not always been easy, I have cried on the shoulder of several friends questioning them and God whether I was being Faithful or Foolish. (I mean when you are taking your trash in the trunk of your car to dump it because you couldn’t afford to pay the trash man this month, you have to just go God, what’s up?)  But God uses the foolish things to confound the wise. While I may not be King Solomon I can tell you I am still dumbfounded by where he is placing me. ( I have no more than a High School Education, while as a teenager I saw myself possibly in front of the screen I never imagined doing what I am doing now. The opportunities He is bringing me, and the people He is connecting me to astounds me just to think about it.)

 Financial prosperity was not HIS goal. The things He has burned out of me, taught me, and strengthened me in is unbelievable. The financial blessing is a tool, simply a testament to others of God’s faithfulness.