"Milestone Testimonies"

 

"My husband and I are Tithing Together!!" 1 

Have you ever thought of how something would happen not knowing the turnout? Well, I have and it was in the area of tithing. The Lord has revealed to me the importance of tithing and doing so faithfully. I've done so for years, which has meant incredible blessings poured out on my ministry. Yet, my heart's desire was to be in agreement with my EH.

We have had some really rough financial situations and I knew that only my HH could speak to my EH about this very important principle. I surrendered to His will and my HH is so faithful He made a way to bring this area come to light. It happened within a crisis. I wasn't sure of the outcome, since my EH was skeptical about the topic of money and tithing, but I prayed and simply allowed Him to turn the heart.

The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he guides it wherever he pleases. Prov,. 21:1

Ladies, HE sure did! It went from "NEVER", to "YES". I was in awe and jumping for JOY!!

Today my EH and I, together as ONE, faithfully tithe here to RMI and all the praise and honor is HIS!!

The beautiful thing is now since we are tithing together, my HH allowed one of my EH's desires to come true, something we thought would be impossible to achieve. My HH is truly opening up the windows of heaven and pouring out blessings.

Tithing was not easy at first, especially when there was a lack and need, but my heart was His and I wanted to show my obedience. How beautiful it is to see His faithfulness.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:20 NIV

This was the scripture my HH gave me:

"‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim’s hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. I will make them into a single (ONE) stick of wood, and they will become ONE in my hand.’ Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God." Ezekiel 37:18-23

~ Lota

Restored after going THROUGH the Fire!

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“He Changed my Circumstances Drastically!!” 2

Today I want to write a Praise Report about how much I have been blessed since I started to Tithe & give offerings to this Ministry.

I want to tell our Brides - you beautiful lady reading this, how much my life has changed financially and to make a comparison using scripture on how much my life & the lives of my family has changed. Today I read the Partner Thank You dated June 14, 2018 and after I read it I sat thinking about how much my life has changed because let's be honest? Finances play a big part in our lives and marriages!!

"You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away . . . Why?" declares the LORD of hosts, "Because of My house which lies DESOLATE, while each of you runs to his own house." —Haggai 1:9 I had to look at scripture and be honest about where I was being spiritually fed.

This was my finances previously, I would get paid, bring it home, pay a couple of expenses then after a couple of days there would be nothing left... Even my cupboards would be bare. The last week of the month would be so difficult trying to figure out what to feed my family. I would even have to buy supper on my canteen account at work which I never felt very good about... Does this sound familiar?

Since I started tithing and giving offerings faithfully, I say faithfully because He changed my circumstances drastically after a period of time, not just my finances but my living situation too.

Matthew 6:19-21—“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Last year my EH "earthly husband" made a decision to relocate so I had to resign my job. I wanted to work for His kingdom and made a decision to work from home as a bookkeeper so I could do ministry work here but He knew in my heart that I actually wanted to work for Him building my treasure in heaven where moth and rust don't destroy. PTL!! An opportunity came up for me to become a Minister here (as most of you know)!! He gave me the desires of my heart and my passion!! Which is to encourage women and tell them how awesome our HH is!!! That He can do ANYTHING!

So now I enjoy the freedom of working from home and my cupboards are never bare!! Also this month I started buying linen I desperately needed which I never had the funds to purchase previously. He spoils me!! Just yesterday I got a bunch of flowers and Lindt chocolate ( my fav!! ) - no special occasion - from my EH but I know its just Him telling me how special I am. 🙂

My life is not rushed anymore. I don't rush home to immediately switch on my stove to start cooking! I don't do washing on a Friday evening and spend my whole Saturday getting my home cleaned! I work at my own pace. My EH takes us out for a meal regularly to spare me from cooking and the Lord blessed him with a job that allows him to look after us. This is another area that drastically changed for my good. My EH used to get paid less than I did—now he gets paid more and pays all our expenses. I no longer stress about paying the rent etc.

Test Him and see!

“Test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven,

And pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”“‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows’” —Malachi 3:10

Test me now in this x 2 - twice the Lord is saying we can test Him.

~ Atarah “Better for Me Then, than Now”

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“Gently Corrected Me”

He is so faithful! I have been reading WOTT and going through the FAL and LAL books and RJ again. I have been SG and asking Him to draw me closer and give me wisdom regarding His plans for me. I truly want to please my darling HL.

Yesterday, He lead me to read some PR's from Lota. He is so good to show me these lessons and provide answers so quickly. Like Lota, I didn't understand what has been happening with my finances. I have been faithfully tithing 10% and yet sometimes money falls short to pay bills. As I have been going back through some of my lessons, I saw this about tithing and He showed me clearly what I need to do. He also showed me all that I had read before, months ago, and never put into action.

Erin shared in this PR something she had shared prior, and I KNEW He had shown me earlier in my RJ. This is what Erin shared "As far as tithing on both your business and personal income, I’ve struggled with that before, but as I shared in one of the Ministry Commitments, even though it appears to be tithing double, and the enemy tries to convince us that it’s why there appears not to be enough to pay bills, that even when we are mistaken, He sees our hearts. AND we can never out give God."

This is what I needed to see and let sink in. Ladies, I have a business and personal account. Since I pay myself "wages" from my business account to my personal account, I never have paid a tithe on that since I always tithed 10% and more on the whole commission check (before any deductions) that He provided. The accuser allowed me to forget this truth. So, He led me to immediately look at my paid wages for the current month and had me pay my tithe on that. He also showed me that this is what He wants me to do going forward. It is not "double tithing" as the enemy tried to trick me into thinking. This is ALL Him showing me His perfect way.

I wanted to share this about tithing and how important it is. I pray that I can lead by example as His humble servant and be faithful to my HL and this ministry.

My prayer: Lord I come humbly to You to ask for Your continued wisdom with my finances and tithing. Please forgive me if there is something I am doing wrong in my finances, my tithing, my personal life or anywhere that is hindering You from rebuking the devourer. My Sweet Love, show me Your will and please guide me in everything I purchase, the bills I pay and the offerings I give, so I do nothing apart from You. I pray in Your precious and holy name. Amen.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.(1 John 1:9)

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1)

I am grateful for this opportunity to confess that my incorrect tithing may have hindered my ability to serve Him through this ministry. I ask for forgiveness. I see now the accuser used half-lies to slow me down with burdens. I praise my Beloved that I am forgiven. I am thankful that His grace is enough and I am set free and the burden is lifted as I confess.

He is truly a wonderful HH as He shows me His best plans for me and directs my steps. I am so thankful for Him and this blessed ministry. Praise You my Love. Thank You for showing me the error of my ways in tithing and now correcting me so I can confess before You and Your brides that the devourer may no longer steal from You, this ministry or me because of my mistake. Thank You for your mercy.

“Can a person cheat God? Yet, you are cheating me! “But you ask, ‘How are we cheating you?’“ When you don’t bring a tenth of your income and other contributions. So a curse is on you because the whole nation is cheating me! “Bring one-tenth of your income into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,” says the Lord of Armies. “See if I won’t open the windows of heaven for you and flood you with blessings." (Malachi 3:8-10 GW)

“I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts." (Malachi 3:11 RSV)

He is SO good to show me what I needed to know and gently correct me so That I could confess and move forward with Him showing me His way. I am blessed beyond words.

~ Pamela in Idaho

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“Take Care of All My Needs”

Once again my True Love brought me words of wisdom and took away any worry I had. He reminded through my time with Him and through "the Streams" devotion for October 5 that He wanted me to learn the difference between "trusting in the gift and trusting in the Giver. The gift may last for a season, but the Giver is the only eternal love."

Recently, due to the changing economy, my finances have decreased substantially. He has taught me that any money I receive is a gift from Him and that I am to use it according to His perfect plan. He reminded me to be content in all circumstances and continue to tithe and have a giving, servant's heart. He will take care of ALL my needs. Of course He will!! He has promised to and He always has in the past. By living by faith and not sight, my trust in Him only grows stronger. I am blessed. He will provide. I am not worried. On the contrary. He has made my joy full! Thank You my Love.

“Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with You; if I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count” Psalm 40:5 (NASB)

Ever since I can remember You have met all my needs and those of my family and more Sweet Beloved. You have ALWAYS been there for me. Thank You. Forgive me for ever doubting You for even a second.

"And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land." 1 Kings 17:7 (NKJV)

Sometimes, He leads me away to have time in the wilderness. He wants to have me rely on Him and Him alone for everything. This is for a time, a season. I am thankful.

~ Pamela in Idaho

“Showers From Heaven”

This praise report is overdue, I have no excuse. But I have been experiencing God moving mightily in my life. A few short months ago, I had lost the two part time jobs I had, and was facing eviction from my apartment. I was so afraid to tithe lest I wound up with not enough money to make it through. But I kept reading through the Encourager and other rmiew resources how it was just another fear to overcome, trusting the Lord’s word that He will provide from His storehouse of glorious riches. I swallowed my fear, and within days, I found not only another job, but was given an opportunity to move into a lovely villa without a deposit, security, or first month rent! Only God! I sit here now in my sun filled townhouse, in a lovely, safe area, enjoying the peace and quiet, and my lovely Christian neighbors, who keep bringing me cakes and pastries as welcome home gifts. I bring most of them to the rooms of AA, where sometimes you will find those who haven't had much to eat in a few days. As if this weren't enough, I received an email with an offer of an auto loan with 0 money down, so I figured, my car was rapidly descending into a money pit, now the gas tank was cracked, and the motor was leaking water into the interior so badly my shoes and pant legs were soaked by the time I got out. There was also the danger of a fire with the leaking gas.

I prayed on it, and SG as to what I should do. He led me to go to the dealership, and within an hour, I drove off the lot in a brand new vehicle. Ladies, I've never had a new car in my life, I've always put everyone else's needs in front of me, and have had a poverty mentality for so long, I didn't think I deserved it. One night, as I drove home in a storm, I couldn't help but feel so loved and protected by my HH. Safe at last! What a difference from when I first got back home and was trying to maneuver my way home in a terrible storm with bald tires, wipers that were all frayed, and because there was no ac, my windows were open and the wind was whipping the car across the road in a frightening frenzy. Sort of like a metaphor for my life, at that time. When I cried out to my God to take my life and make it new, I had no idea how far he would take it! He seems to never miss the smallest details, and He knows exactly the desires of our hearts, I didn't even ask for these blessings, he just opened up the heavens and showered them down on me! He has provided for me in a way that my EH never could, and I cried like a baby one night during my prayer time that I chose to worship my EH for so many years, instead of the One that breathes the very life into me. There is more to report, many small blessings along the way, it's magnificent to behold. We hold on for dear life to people, places, and things ,not realizing that our Heavenly husband may perhaps have greater things in store, and is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask. I am blown away. I never want to be without my Beloved again. I love you! I am starting to see that He has allowed these trials for me for my own good, as painful as the process is, I am grateful.

“I shall feed you like a Shepherd feeds his flock, and carry you in my bosom.” (Isaiah 40:11)

“I will never stop doing good for you.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

“Every good gift and perfect gift you receive comes from me.” (James 1:17)

“Delight yourself on me, and I shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

Angelina in Georgia

“Happy to Take the Next Step”

I had been having problems for me to tithe in my real Storehouse, YOU. I live outside the US and paypal charges you to change dollars into your country currency, I didn't tithe before because of this, but everytime I read something I felt the need to do it, and well, yesterday I tithe for the first time, and I became a Partner, woohoo!!! That's how I feel inside, I cannot explain how happy I am to have made the next step in my life, trusting my HH with EVERYTHING!! It's like the piece that was missing in me, and cannot explain how happy and encouraged I am.

I started tithing to the church my family and I were going, but following God's Obedience I stopped going, my EH just took us to church and waited in the car until the service would finish, so I knew I had to stop going, and I did. I still tithed for a few months but every time I did it I felt and knew that the church wasn't my Storehouse. I tried everything to fix the situation with Paypal, but still couldn't fix it, but that didn't stopped me yesterday, I said to my HH I was doing this for Him and I needed to make this next step of faith missing in my life, so I did. And today I'm experiencing that peace and happiness that surpasses understanding, my HH is Faithful and everything that I have is His!!!

“‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows’” (Mal. 3:10).

Our HH is asking us to test Him on this, and now I have and by just clicking and sending my first tithe I feel full and lighter at the same time, an experience that you can explain by only writing this word TRUST! I trust my HH with EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE, EVERYTHING!

~Sofia in Guatemala

“His Orchestration of Things”

Dear ladies, Today I want to praise Lord for His care, for hearing desires of my everyday life. I don't need to press on Him, He just knows and He cares, He gives.

Few years ago the situation in my EH´s job was not very profitable, his employer owed him from month to month more and more, it made few thousand euros, because he didn’t pay many invoices my EH sent him. It is about 2-3 years now since EH is not working for him anymore. Legally are many of the invoices probably invalid or irredeemable, but not for Him :). I mean the employer is not bound to pay them, we could address court, but I know this is not the way and I was not talking about this with my EH anymore (Before I did, I was pressing on him, I was like that dripping tap always. Thank God for the Wise Women book and for this journey.) Few days ago our washing machine broke down. It was not new, repaired two times, so my EH decided with me we better buy a new one. I was quietly asking: “Lord, why did this happen, even if I tithe consistently”. Today in the shop my EH was very generous, he wanted to buy a good model for me, he always says I deserve good things. Praise the Lord, before I didn’t appreciate it enough.

While I was talking with the sales lady, my EH got a call. I didn’t really pay attention. We paid for the washer, arranged some other things and went home. Later my EH was asking me to guess who was calling. I didn’t know, guessed some family members, but I was feeling I will not puzzle out this time, I really didn’t have a clue. Yes, you guess better than me, I didn’t expect this. It was the employer with a question how much he owes to my EH. He wanted to pay it this year! Praise the Lord, such a good news! My EH seems calm and satisfied, I know he was really worrying about this a long time. From my side I was sometimes thinking he could do something, call him, ask, press on him. But later I just gave it to my HH and told the Lord just that He knows it would be fair for my EH to get his reward, to get the salary for his work. And I told Him I know He would take care of this. Only few moments after all this news I came to realize that this was His answered prayer! His orchestration of things! In the very moment of a big extra charge we had to pay, He gave us a promise to get much more.

Thank you, my Provider, my Supplier of everything. I can’t thank You enough.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4, 6 NASB)

~ Rebeka in Slovakia

“Wow!! I Did Not Know That!!”

When I started the lessons in June 2015, I was not prepared for the awakening, I was not prepared for the immense truths I started to learn. There were times that I would literally sit in front of my computer after reading a specific lesson that I would say, wow I didn't know that! As the lessons progressed I felt embarrassed as I wasn't tithing. It wasn't because I had an obstacle, it was due to the fact that I am unemployed. I started praying to God, and He knew my heart.

I was visiting my daughter in Cape Town in October of 2015 and there I got to have a amazing visit with my father with whom I didn't really have a relationship. That visit resulted in my father and daughter blessing me with money before I left to come home, all in all R3000 which is a lot here in South Africa. When I returned home I wanted to tithe and tried to use the systems as provided by RMI but to no avail, every attempt I made failed! I then approached a friend of mine who was going to make the deposit for me into a bank account of one of our South African ministers, (there wasn't that particular bank in the vicinity where I lived) and she would then tithe on my behalf. When he arrived and asked what the money was for and I told him, he refused to do it for me and said I was being stupid and wasting my money! So then it just happened that this minister had another bank account at the same bank I was banking at, an account that she wasn't using but that was still open PTL!! Eventually she got the money and tithed on my behalf. (Thanks Yvonne in South Africa). It was then that God blessed me with more money given to me by my brother, a gift, so I was able to tithe once again.

Ladies this may not seem much to any of you, but to me it meant that I was finally able to give back. Give back something for what I had received. And to obey, the biggest lesson was to obey. I cannot properly explain how radical my life has changed since I started obeying. The blessings through the lessons, the blessings through answered prayer, the blessings through improving rocky relationships. Try it and see!!!

“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 there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:10)

These blessings comes in many forms, in my case not only monetary, but also blessings in the form of relationships, the biggest being the relationship with my HH .

~ Mercy 

“Cheerful Heart of Giving”

The Course 2 RRR lesson on Your Storehouse proved how important and significant standing in the gap is. And this doesn't always necessarily mean standing in the gap for your own marriage--though that's important too. We need to stand in the gap for each other and pray for each other and other hurting marriages around us. This is completely off subject, but don't you just feel some spiritual bond with the other people who are struggling in their marriage and on this restoration journey. I truly wish I could hug all of these women--the ones who are still struggling and the ones who have gone up ahead and called back to encourage me. Part of the changing that Jesus is doing in my heart is feeling compassionate toward others. After my dad died, I had a hard time feeling compassion for other people who came to me about "less" hurtful things. Although I still expressed compassion, I never quite felt it in my heart. Now, after I am a few months into this journey, I wish I could hug every hurting heart out there, especially the women who are still in so much pain from abandonment, abuse or adultery. I pray the Lord will use me.

Going through a tithing lesson for the second time, I at first faced "another" tithing lesson with a little disappointment (only because I have learned and applied this principle already when I completed "Opening the Windows of Heaven" in Course 1). But the Lord really spoke to me about this and this ties in with my off subject topic I mentioned above. He reminded me how absolutely important this lesson is, and how although I may have gotten it and applied it and benefited from it already, there are MANY other women who still haven't been convinced or are still struggling with the concept. So much of this journey isn't about me, I keep realizing. I really appreciate that many of these lessons repeat themselves because it is so important to have repeated lessons when you're trying to renew your mind. I have learned to go back and read books and verses and these lessons that I have already read so that they become heart knowledge, not just head knowledge.

I will never stop praising the Lord for breaking the financial stronghold that money had in my mind. I was always stressing and insecure about money. Never could really feel generous, even though I would try to BE generous. But giving is such a matter of the heart, and I don't think it's honoring to God at all when we give nicely on the outside but are resenting it inwardly.

My advice to all: even if you don't feel like giving, do it out of obedience and then ask the Lord to give you that cheerful heart of giving. Obey first and your feelings will catch up later! I can truly testify to this. You can ask anyone in my family or friends, I cringed and would sometimes feel physically ill at the thought of spending money. I would calculate my bank account in my head if I even took myself out for dinner! Not only has the Lord blessed me financially, He has healed my greed and insecurity. I still am financially conscious (because I am a steward of what He has given me) but I now can happily say that in a matter of months, I have a cheerful heart of giving!

Since it's my second time going through a lesson on tithing, I'm not learning but instead am showing how I've changed! In my circumstances, my full-time job went down to part-time, my husband quit his job so I lost all of my benefits and I had been paying many of our bills even though he asked me to leave. So in addition to my original bills, I added on VERY expensive health insurance and tithing, and due to a medical condition, I had to pay a lot of money for prescriptions. And guess what? I have just as much money, if not more, than I ever had. I know it doesn't work this way for everyone and I'm not trying to brag, especially to those who are tithing and are still struggling--I only mean to say that our sweet Lord provides.

What really weighed on me during this lesson was not worrying so much about dividing and protecting my assets in the divorce. As I have not hired any legal counsel, my mind sometimes drifts to me not having any furniture or some of my clothes or any money from our home, but like this lesson points out, why do you care about how it's divided when restoration means that all of the assets will remain once the family is intact? It reminded me that I was being double-minded. Believing and walking toward restoration and yet preparing for splitting everything up which I guess could happen temporarily, reminds me that material things are not worth worrying about.

My lesson also lit a fire in me to get knowledge on more principles to prevent divorce and to encourage restoration. I really want to reach out to hurting women, especially the ones around me to tell them that God can and will heal their marriage. So I want to arm myself with the appropriate spiritual food to do this.

“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”—2 Corinthians 9:6

This verse reminds me to not only sow just so you can reap, and not to do it just because you have to, but because of what God has blessed you with, you want to bless others and give back to Him!

~ Valerie in Illinois

“Creative Ideas from HIM”

My praise for this week has to do with my job! During my marriage, I was very resentful of the company I work for and strongly disliked my job. It affected my marriage because I had a wonderful job that I loved before I quit and moved out of state for my husband's job. So when I moved back to my home state when we separated, there were tons of new job opportunities for me. And I was downright determined to just throw myself into a new job and make money and be happy. In the meantime, my job asked me to stay on with the company while I transitioned back to my home state, working from home. That was a huge blessing. But I was still praying to God that I would find a new opportunity. Well, you all know how God works. He changes us before He changes our situation.

When I learned to submit under my boss' authority and respect her, I suddenly grew to really like my job. Then, my boss transitioned me over into another side of the company which I enjoy tremendously: I get to write about weddings! The more I started praising the Lord for this job, suddenly, creative ideas were coming from me left and right! I was promoted last week and received many compliments from my boss. I don't even know where some of these ideas are coming from, but the brand I work for is really growing dramatically and I know it is all because the Lord is working on my heart. I never thought I would continue to work for this company, let alone be promoted there and especially, let alone enjoy the job that I strongly disliked previously. This is one of many fruits I have seen from submitting and sowing seeds. This all began happening when I started tithing.

Also, the Lord has provided me with additional opportunities for income to pay my bills, like house sitting for a friend while she vacations! Praise the Lord for the way He changes us to see our situations differently and then He blesses us! I love that He works on us so we are better able to submit and obey and then we get to reap the blessings!

“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 there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:10 NIV)

I cannot tell you enough the benefits I have received from tithing. The biggest being, I was so anxious and insecure about money that I got no enjoyment out of spending it, either on myself or others. Since I started obeying in my tithe, I have experienced freedom and joy when it comes to money! Not only that, but I received a job promotion and additional opportunities to earn extra income by helping out friends!

“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” (Isaiah 30:18 NIV)

Once we do it His way, He doesn't waste any time in blessing us!

~Valerie in Illinois