Happy Thanksgiving, friends! I can't
believe it's that time of year already.
Next week I'm hoping to have a little
vlog for you of me and Mini and James
and her first Thanksgiving-ish time, but
today I want to share with you a
Thanksgiving story. And it's a
Thanksgiving story not because it
happened at Thanksgiving, but because
it's just something I'm so thankful for.
So there's this amazing verse in the
Bible in 1 Chronicles 29:14
which says, "All things come from you O
Lord and of your own have we given you." I
want to share with you my story about
this, and I call it: "When God asked me to
give $1,000 that I did not have." It starts
off small because I think a lot of times
before God asks us to take that huge
leap of faith that feels impossible, He
like builds our faith slowly in small
ways. So there were two small ways that
stand out to me right before He asked me
to give the thousand dollars. So when I
started traveling and speaking (and I
have a vlog about that process linked down
below), I had quit my job and my
apartment and all this stuff right? I
still had student loans to pay off and I
didn't have a ton in my bank account. I had
like a small emergency fund but that was
it cause I was just paying on my loans
with everything I made. So I'm driving
through Chicago on this first speaking
tour and I notice that my tire is low
on air and so I pull into a gas station
and I'm praying, I'm like. "God I've never
filled a tire with air before," which I
should have done before I left on a
cross-country road trip, but I was like,
"I'm not exactly sure how to do this. Would
you provide someone who can help me?" And
so I pull into the gas station over to
the air pumps and there's nobody there.
And I'm like, "That's fine God, like it'll
be fine. I'll figure it out, watch a
youtube video on it." And so I go into the
gas station to get change for the air
pump and I come back out and there is a
man there filling my tires with air! I
did not even ask him; he's just doing it!
And I was just like, whoa. Like it was so
cool right? That was the first step in
learning to trust God that He's gonna
provide. Second step for me was um about
a month later, I was in Pennsylvania and
my computer started dying, and I needed
my computer because I was going to be
teaching some online courses in the
spring. And I just started praying. I was
like, "God would you provide a computer?" So
one day as I am praying, a friend of mine
from my church back home texts me and
she says, "So I just feel like God put on
my heart to ask
if there's anything you need?" And I was
like, "Well I need a new computer so if
you know of someone like selling one
secondhand, like an old Mac or something
like that, let me know." So I get home from
that trip around Thanksgiving time.
Thanksgiving story! And I have an
envelope on my kitchen table that's come
in the mail. And a bunch of people at my
church put some money together to send
me to buy a new laptop! And on top of
that, one of the colleges I had just
spoken at that I only charged
them like a hundred dollars and they paid
me a thousand. And so I contacted them
like, "I think you added a zero, like
the check is wrong." And they were like,
"No we wanted to pay you more." And so
between those two things, I bought a
brand new MacBook Pro! And I was like,
:Jesus you are gonna take care of me!" So
those were the stepping stones right up
to this big ask.
So in January I'm in DC meeting with
this ministry there and I'm at the hotel
working out on the treadmill beforehand,
reading this book "Radical" by David Platt,
which talks a lot about living a radical
life and like giving generously even
when it hurts and all this stuff. And I
was like really into the book; I'm
thinking about it, praying about it, and
all of a sudden I feel like God puts
this in my heart. I felt like He was like,
"Tiff, I want you to give $1,000 to this
certain ministry." And it was a missions
ministry that friends of mine from
growing up had actually started. Like at
the time, that felt impossible. I was like,
"God have you seen my bank account? Like
I've got my miniscule emergency fund
and like all these student loans!" And I
was like, "But if you provide the money,
I'll give it." So I left on that tour for
the spring and and it was just so cool
cause like all these places were like, "Yeah,
come speak here, come speak here," and I
like wasn't charging very much at all
and a lot of them would pay me more than
I'd asked for. And I was like: This is
crazy.
And I started just setting aside money.
I'd like pull out some cash and just put
it in an envelope after each place I
spoke. And I get home and not only have I
been able to pay above and beyond - way
above and beyond the minimum amounts of
my student loans and get a lot of money
paid off, and not only had I been able to
give to other places, but I now have
$1,000 cash in this envelope as a gift
my friends' mission organization! And I
was like, "What?? This is crazy!" I'm like - it
was so cool because it wasn't like I
came up with the money on my own. It was
like God asked me to give it and then He
gave me the money
to give! Like how crazy is that? Like all
things come from you Oh Lord and of your
own have we given you. Another
translation puts it this way: "For all
things come from you and from your own
hand we have given to you." Like what a
cool God we serve that like He even
gives us what we need to give! So that is
my Thanksgiving story and I would love
to hear in the comments what are some
ways that God has given to you so that
you could give back to Him or give to
somebody else! Would you comment those
stories down below? Because I'd love to
hear them! And I'll see you next week,
hopefully for a vlog with me and James
and Mini celebrating her
first Thanksgiving! I love you girls and
I'll see you next week. Bye!
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