Since completing my simple living series, and digging deeper into the topic of money, saving and frugality…God has really impressed a vision on my heart. We sat down with a lovely missionary couple last week as well which also inspired this vision. How can we be preparing now for God’s mission for our family?
Here it is…why not adjust our budget to such an extent that we provide for our basic needs and anything above and beyond that would be for God’s kingdom work? Can we make our budget work so that we are living a mission minded lifestyle? Can we figure out the very least amount we could live on month by month, and any earnings above that would be given to the Lord?
I met another young married woman at a training this past weekend (we are involved in coordinating Perspectives classes in our area), and she had a similar vision. She said she did not want to adjust and increase their living expenses with each raise her husband received. She wanted to live on a simple budget covering the necessities and give away the rest. Can you imagine how this example will impact the lives of her children, let alone all the lives they are able to minister through their giving? I was freshly inspired. What wonderful preparation for the mission field… and to be content with simplicity for the glory of God and furtherance of His kingdom!
So we sat down, reviewed our budget, calculated the very minimum we would need to cover our housing, utilities, food, etc. and narrowed it down significantly. Ouch! It hurts…things must go. But I am realizing more and more…each of these steps helps release my heart and hold on this worlds goods and turn my focus ever more on eternity. Lord, take it all! It doesn’t belong to me anyway.
The funny thing is…as soon as we began thinking this way…things started changing…full-time mission service is moving to the front burner. We aren’t moving anywhere at this point, but God is doing a wonderful work in my husband’s life. Showing him that his computer skills were given to him for a purpose…to further God’s kingdom by serving missionaries, agencies, and churches alike. Still quite foggy how all this will work out, but God is on the move…and I am excited to be along for the ride!
I stumbled on your post and felt impressed to share with you how much I appreciated reading your missions post. God desires to do so much through us if we only allow Him to- thanks for being open to allow God to work through you. I wanted to mention to you the “ABC” banks for children that teach them to A- give, B- save long term and C- save for short term things. It is a neat tool that comes with a CD full of resources for parents in teaching them God’s principles on money. Our church we went through Crown Ministries series- we gave the banks to all children 3 years old and up- now when the 3 year olds promote into the 3s class – they get a bank. As their children’s minister I feel it is my responsibility to come alongside parents in this venture.
Thanks for sharing that, Lindsay!
Dear Lindsay, I wanted to tell you how impressed I am with your wisdom and maturity. The ideas and beliefs you are living out have taken me YEARS to find! I guess that’s the blessing of being raised in a Christian family vs. not! We also have come to the same conclusion you have regarding finances. There are only 2 catagories believers fall into in the great commission: those who sacrifice to go and those who sacrifice to send. (Of course we can go back and forth between them because they are not exclusive.) Either way, it should involve sacrifice. Just because God hasn’t sent us to a foreign land doesn’t mean we get to have it all here instead. Our treasure should be in heaven and His Kingdom should be first in our hearts. It is a temptation for me to fall back into being “wordly wise” financially and to put extra to pay off our house and be “debt-free” but the Lord reminds me that we are just passing through anyways and my real home is in heaven. (I do advocate being debt free in other areas.) There is so much joy in living on less with a purpose. There is so much joy in seeing God provide for you so you can give more to Him. Our children have totally grasped the importance of being good stewards too. When the parents eyes are on the NEXT life, their children don’t become enamored with all the things that glitter in this world. So press on with discipline and purpose to experience the joy of having a heart fulling devoted to God’s mission!