I've had several people ask, so this post is for a little peak. For those of you who would much prefer to see a video of where I'm doing in Mozambique instead of read about it- this post is for you :) Here it is...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH51jzCwxlw
You can read more about what I'll be doing in the first paragraph of the post below. I'm at the final count down...6 days & some change. I feel like I'm Lucy about to enter The Wardrobe. Its a crazy, wild, wonderful, overwhelming, surreal & humbling thought all at once to know Father has decided its my time to go. One of the things I love that Mama Heidi (Heidi Baker who founded Iris Ministries & Harvest School) says about her life & minisrty is this: "Anyone that discovers who He (Jesus) is would give everything for him. He's the pearl of great price. He's the lover of our soul. He's beauty itself. There is absolutely nothing, nothing extroridinary about me. I'm nothing at all, but He's captured my heart. Its Him, He's the one. He's so lovely, He's so beautiful, He's so amazing that what else could you do? What other response could you have?" I can't add anything to that. She said it perfectly, so that's it for today :)
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Thursday, September 19, 2013
She showed me Kingdom Giving
In order to be able to share this story I need to give you a little back info first-
For those who don't know, 4 weeks ago Father told me to quit my job, drop my plans & move to Mozambique Africa for almost 3 months to attend a school called the Harvest School of Missions with Iris Ministries. I leave in a week & a half (yikes!) It is an amazing place where people are equipped for international missions & ministry. Jesus is glorified above all else, & their main mission is to love people into an encounter with Him. The supernatural is a normal part of life there. They see the deaf hear, food multiply, the lame walk & more on a daily basis. The power of Father is at work in mighty ways there & I am so honored to be able to go be a part of what He is doing as I'm more equipped to move forward in His calling on me. For the last 4 weeks I've been busy getting things ready to go & trying to raise a substantial amount of money to cover the costs of this adventure. The generosity that has been poured out on me while I fund raise has been amazing. I had almost $6,500 to raise, & now with a week to go, I only need $2,400 more. People have blown me away with their eagerness to give & be "senders". Father has been SO sweet to me in all of my preparations, & this story is one of the testimonies of that...
Since finding out I was leaving, I've been trying to see friends who are dear to me over lunches & dinners before I head out. Last week I got to have dinner with an amazing friend that we will call "E". E is one of those friends who you are connected with in your spirit. You can go months even years with out seeing each other but when you get back together you just pick right up. Those friends are rare & precious. She is also living life in full time ministry so she knows the lessons to be learned in being supported by Father for your income & provision. I was sharing with her about how my preparations for leaving & fund raising had been going & how faithful The Lord had been to me. He had been providing just what I needed right when I needed it but I still had several thousand dollars to raise. She started sharing with me testimony after testimony of how The Lord had provided for her & her family over the years. Her stories so encouraged my heart & reminded us both of The Lord's commitment to make the way for our obedience to him.
She shared her most recent story of provision that had just taken place the night before we had this dinner. She was helping lead worship for a bible study group & they surprised her in taking up a love offering for her. Through that offering The Lord provided more than what she needed to cover her expenses for the month. She had such peace in living from provision moment to provision moment with The Lord & it so encouraged me to see that in her. She was content to wait on Him to provide because she was 110% confident that he always would.
In sharing her story she had already encouraged my faith, but then she went a step further & reached into her wallet & pulled out all the money she had left over from that offering after paying her bills. "Here, this is for you. I don't even know how much it is but The Lord gave me more than what I needed last night so now I can give it to you." I was overwhelmed. She could have easily taken that & gone on a nice little shopping spree, gotten herself a spa day, saved it for next months bills or any number of things that a girl would love to enjoy doing. Instead, however, she chose to joyfully exemplify what it looks like to live out kingdom giving & love for a sister. Father met her needs & she was so confident in his goodness & faithfulness that she felt no need to hang on to the "extra". She kept her hand open to Father & did what he asked with what he gave her, even when that meant giving it away. It did so much more than help me with my financial support. It powerfully reminded me of what community with Father looks like. We receive what we need & give the rest away because we know we have a Daddy who will never let us go without. Her rest in his love was contagious, her generous heart was humbling, & she looked like Jesus to me in that moment.
This was a week ago & it still stirs my heart. I know her only intention was to love me & be obedient to what she heard Father say, but what it did for me was challenge me to practice more kingdom giving in my own life. When we all can learn to live open handed, like E, we allow The Lord to not only meet our own needs but to use us to provide for others because He trusts us to assist in meeting the needs of our family. This is his plan for community. He wants to see his family care for each other. It is easy to give out of security, but when we give away what could easily be used on our own needs he always shows off his goodness to us. My challenge to you is the same one that was issued to my heart last week- look for your next opportunity to practice kingdom giving, not when it is comfortable but when it is obedient. It may not necessarily look like a financial sacrifice. It may look like time, talents, or emotional support but what ever it is, you can bet that if you follow Fathers lead he will give it back to you " ...a good measure pressed down, shaken together & running over." -Luke 6:38
SHAMELESS PLUG- If you'd like to help me get that last $2,400 covered, you can give on line at www.wearecitychurch.com/give - follow the prompts, select "short term missions" in the drop down box next to your donation amount & put "Madison Hopkins Mozambique" in the "notes" section. Thank you!
For those who don't know, 4 weeks ago Father told me to quit my job, drop my plans & move to Mozambique Africa for almost 3 months to attend a school called the Harvest School of Missions with Iris Ministries. I leave in a week & a half (yikes!) It is an amazing place where people are equipped for international missions & ministry. Jesus is glorified above all else, & their main mission is to love people into an encounter with Him. The supernatural is a normal part of life there. They see the deaf hear, food multiply, the lame walk & more on a daily basis. The power of Father is at work in mighty ways there & I am so honored to be able to go be a part of what He is doing as I'm more equipped to move forward in His calling on me. For the last 4 weeks I've been busy getting things ready to go & trying to raise a substantial amount of money to cover the costs of this adventure. The generosity that has been poured out on me while I fund raise has been amazing. I had almost $6,500 to raise, & now with a week to go, I only need $2,400 more. People have blown me away with their eagerness to give & be "senders". Father has been SO sweet to me in all of my preparations, & this story is one of the testimonies of that...
Since finding out I was leaving, I've been trying to see friends who are dear to me over lunches & dinners before I head out. Last week I got to have dinner with an amazing friend that we will call "E". E is one of those friends who you are connected with in your spirit. You can go months even years with out seeing each other but when you get back together you just pick right up. Those friends are rare & precious. She is also living life in full time ministry so she knows the lessons to be learned in being supported by Father for your income & provision. I was sharing with her about how my preparations for leaving & fund raising had been going & how faithful The Lord had been to me. He had been providing just what I needed right when I needed it but I still had several thousand dollars to raise. She started sharing with me testimony after testimony of how The Lord had provided for her & her family over the years. Her stories so encouraged my heart & reminded us both of The Lord's commitment to make the way for our obedience to him.
She shared her most recent story of provision that had just taken place the night before we had this dinner. She was helping lead worship for a bible study group & they surprised her in taking up a love offering for her. Through that offering The Lord provided more than what she needed to cover her expenses for the month. She had such peace in living from provision moment to provision moment with The Lord & it so encouraged me to see that in her. She was content to wait on Him to provide because she was 110% confident that he always would.
In sharing her story she had already encouraged my faith, but then she went a step further & reached into her wallet & pulled out all the money she had left over from that offering after paying her bills. "Here, this is for you. I don't even know how much it is but The Lord gave me more than what I needed last night so now I can give it to you." I was overwhelmed. She could have easily taken that & gone on a nice little shopping spree, gotten herself a spa day, saved it for next months bills or any number of things that a girl would love to enjoy doing. Instead, however, she chose to joyfully exemplify what it looks like to live out kingdom giving & love for a sister. Father met her needs & she was so confident in his goodness & faithfulness that she felt no need to hang on to the "extra". She kept her hand open to Father & did what he asked with what he gave her, even when that meant giving it away. It did so much more than help me with my financial support. It powerfully reminded me of what community with Father looks like. We receive what we need & give the rest away because we know we have a Daddy who will never let us go without. Her rest in his love was contagious, her generous heart was humbling, & she looked like Jesus to me in that moment.
This was a week ago & it still stirs my heart. I know her only intention was to love me & be obedient to what she heard Father say, but what it did for me was challenge me to practice more kingdom giving in my own life. When we all can learn to live open handed, like E, we allow The Lord to not only meet our own needs but to use us to provide for others because He trusts us to assist in meeting the needs of our family. This is his plan for community. He wants to see his family care for each other. It is easy to give out of security, but when we give away what could easily be used on our own needs he always shows off his goodness to us. My challenge to you is the same one that was issued to my heart last week- look for your next opportunity to practice kingdom giving, not when it is comfortable but when it is obedient. It may not necessarily look like a financial sacrifice. It may look like time, talents, or emotional support but what ever it is, you can bet that if you follow Fathers lead he will give it back to you " ...a good measure pressed down, shaken together & running over." -Luke 6:38
SHAMELESS PLUG- If you'd like to help me get that last $2,400 covered, you can give on line at www.wearecitychurch.com/give - follow the prompts, select "short term missions" in the drop down box next to your donation amount & put "Madison Hopkins Mozambique" in the "notes" section. Thank you!
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