In January of 2006, my husband had an accident at home that severely damaged his back. He could not work, and could only lay on the couch. After many chiropractor and doctor visits, stretching therapies, and an MRI, we finally saw a specialist who said that he had torn a disc in his back that could not be fixed to its previous state. In February, this doc advised him to wait 6 months to see if it would heal itself...if not, it would require a back fusion, which is not the greatest option for a 28 year old. So, we waited. And it did not heal. This was so difficult...that is, until we gave up control.

We had gone from an income of about $70K a year to $0!!! The only thing we were able to get was a small disability check from his union. Those checks only lasted 6 months. We came to the realization that God, who we strongly put our faith in, has said in His Word that He will supply all of our needs. And He did!!! And it was so amazing. Anonymous money orders would come in the mail, people at church would hand us money or gift cards along with a word of encouragement, and somehow, God met every NEED we had. The mortgage, the car payment, food, clothing, utilities, and ALL the medical bills. And we gave Him money back, in the form of tithe to our church. Praise God!!

Our change of life occurred about 15 months ago now, and dh is never going to be able to return to building homes like he did before, but that's okay. He has started a SMALL internet business, which generates a little income, and we are totally blessed by our Creator. He has taught us how to live, and be much happier, on much less. Let me just encourage you, ladies, we are not in control. God is. And if you are His child, He has promised to provide every NEED you have. Let's not forget to be good stewards of what He does give us. And His most precious gift to us is His Son, Jesus, who died for our sins. Without Him, we would be utterly lost.

Thanks, that was encouraging. Right now we're in a situation that is not quite as extreme, but it's very scary to us: DH is making <$200/week, and yesterday was my last day of work before the birth of our first baby. My paychecks and health insurance will run out in 9 weeks, and over the last 6 months, that money has been keeping us afloat, but barely. Even now we are way behind on our monthly bills. We are praying like maniacs that the Lord will provide for us, that He will put DH in a better job with benefits, and bless his side-business that he started up from home recently, and that He will enable me to make some money from home, too. My going back to work outside the home is not an option for us. The most discouraging thing to me over the last few months has been the inability to tithe and make our mortgage payment, when we have always given faithfully to the Lord before, even sacrificially.
But praise God we have a warm house and running cars and a healthy baby boy coming any day now, and He has blessed us with each other...we are madly in love with each other and can hardly believe it's been 6 years since our wedding. And the biggest blessing of all, of course, is salvation in Christ.
So thank you for sharing your story of God's provision... I'm sure pretty soon we'll have our own amazing story.

sarah, let me just encourage you...i know you say you can't tithe right now, but our experience proved to use we can't afford NOT to!! i believe that is part of being faithful to our Lord. He blesses our obedience to Him. so, just consider, even if you think you can't, you can.

DH and I can attest to this! There were times when we'd have to choose between gas money and tithe, and when we tithed, the gas money was provided (or God stretched the fuel). When we didn't, something always went wrong, whether we had enough money or not, to make things worse for us. Seriously, tithe in FAITH and KNOW that He WILL provide! He has promised -- and you KNOW He doesn't break his promises!

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~~Amanda~~ Mommy to one Little Man (3 1/2 yrs old), TTC #2

... I can't edit my previous post. Anyway, I wanted to add, check out Malachi 3:10 and Luke 6:38. they'll encourage you to continue tithing. At seminary, they taught us 'when you have a need, sow a seed' - the Lord will return and provide beyond even what you and your husband can do yourselves. Congratulations with the baby -- if there is something you need, I may be able to help. (I had a boy not too long ago) PM me if you'd like.

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~~Amanda~~ Mommy to one Little Man (3 1/2 yrs old), TTC #2

I appreciate what you say about that... and we haven't stopped giving altogether... but when it comes down to it, it's a little silly to us to put a $200 check in the plate and then ask the deacons for $200 to put some oil in our tank. And anyway, it has been a difficult decision prayerfully made by DH and myself. So we do the best we can to give more of our other resources back, like our time.

That's awesome Sarah, I bet the church is VERY grateful for your help. Sometimes others' pitching in is more help to a church than $. Please, forgive me if I offended you. I didn't mean for that to happen at all. The Lord is faithful and with your continued trust in Him, He will provide, just as you testified to above.. Praise Him!

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~~Amanda~~ Mommy to one Little Man (3 1/2 yrs old), TTC #2

I dont think you need to give 200. Just put a ten in! Or even five bucks, its about the guester not the dollar amount at this point. Best wishes, keep posiitive and things will happen

Well, yeah, that's what I meant when I said we haven't stopped giving altogether . I'm just sad that we can't actually tithe, as in 10% of our gross income or whatever. And so we ask the Lord to bless what we can give, and multiply it for His work, and we pray for the ability to give more soon.

hi again, sarah. i just want you to know that i pray for you and your family's financial situation. God is in control, and He can and will take the money you do give Him, and use it more abundantly than we ever could. You can never outgive God! Just listen to Him, obey what He says, and He takes care of the rest.