A Lesson from a Manicure

I know how  Sarah felt. Time was running out…or had already run out and God didn’t seem to have a plan. When one’s back is up against a wall it is easy...oh so easy…to look for alternatives to the problem (Genesis 16). Sarah knew God wanted her to have a baby but it was getting so late and now she was old and well, God surely would appreciate the help! Her choice of helping God ended in conflict that rages to this day.

Or what about King Ahaz (2 Kings 16)who was up against the armies of Syria and Israel. Ahaz thought God could use a little help so he paid the Assyrians to “come up and save me from the hand of the kings who rise up against me”. Assyria was too happy to give a helping hand and in the end it was a disaster as Assyria was influential in Ahaz leading the people of Judah to worship other gods and would prove a thorn in Judah’s flesh and a mighty conqueror of Israel. .

Then there was Big Dream Ministries. Check out these journal entries:

October 26, 2002: Big Dream is up against a wall. We have almost no money. This has been the first time we have been behind in our payments. I got a call from _____ a Nashville media businessman who thinks he can get us into secular stores.

October 30, 2002: Today we have $1500 in our checking account and we owe $9000.We can go no further and today I need to call Soteria and tell them the work must stop. I am meeting with _________ who is very brilliant at raising funds from foundations. Hopefully she will be able to help.

But then after a week of grasping at everything but God, this entry records that our eyes were brought back where they belonged.

November 8, 2002: Big Dream has NO money. We owe Soteria $4500 yesterday, $4500 next week and $4500 the week after that. The board just met and we came to the realization that we have been looking to man to provide and to ‘save” us from this financial crisis, but we have not looked to God as was our original commitment. This week we have tuned back to Him in trust and confidence that He can provide when He wants to.

I felt relief and yet still worried about my ability to rightly hear from God. AND I questioned once again if we were truly being wise and not naïve. I guess in many ways I was questioning if God would truly provide for our great need.

Then something simple yet quite profound happened to me. Many would not understand but I received a touch from God. I had an appointment to get my hair cut. It took all of my “personal hygiene” budget that month. But my hands were a mess and I longed to have extra money in the budget for a manicure...but alas, it wasn’t there.

Soon after the board made their decision I received a call from the salon saying they had just hired a new manicurist and she was giving complimentary manicures. Would I like one? A free manicure is unheard of in my social circle but there it was. One for me right when I longed for it!

Sometimes the Spirit of God simply whispers, “This is a gift for you from God” and I knew it was. But it was more than that. It was reassurance that God could provide and that He would provide.

Over the next few weeks we received over $70,000. The crisis was over and we were changed.

It was a great lesson for us. It redirected our vision. We would NOT look to any foundation and would no longer even apply for grants. We would not look to man, not look to secular stores, not look ANYWHERE on earth…but we would look to God alone.

Sarah learned the hard way. Ahaz learned the hard way. We were spared the hard way but I am so grateful we learned the lesson well.

Psalm 31:1

In You O Lord I put my trust;

Let me never be ashamed;

Deliver me in Your righteousness.

Remedy for a Rebellious Brain

The first time I ever stood in front of a large group of people to speak I was absolutely terrified. I have read that after ‘death’ that is the one thing most people are afraid of and I certainly fell into that category. The real problem is that your mind decides to take a vacation about the time you reach the podium. It simply shuts down and tries to convince you that it really isn’t there. Try as you might, it is nearly impossible to pull up the brilliantly composed work you would like to present for the most interested listeners. Instead, words tumble over thoughts and in the end you can walk away feeling like a great fool and your audience is exhausted trying to make sense of your nonsense!

Lance Brady has been a wonderful friend of Big Dream Ministries since the beginning. He and his wife, Genie, have been great encouragers to us. In October 2002 Lance called with a gift he wanted to give to each one of the teachers. SpeakEasy is an Atlanta based company that provides excellent classes for people who have to stand up in front of others and give presentations. He had arranged for us to attend the classes so that we might be more confident in our presentations. We were blown away by his great generosity and immediately signed up for the classes.

However, shortly before we were to attend I got a call that our class was canceled and I would need to reschedule. Well, life got in the way and I didn’t get around to it until I got another call from Lance encouraging me to move forward. Because of his prodding, I began to sense that God was up to something. So the call was made and we were all set to take classes at SpeakEasy.

Entering a classroom of nine strangers is not always comfortable but I was so surprised to find the class included high powered businessmen and women, confident in what they did and exuding success. It was intimidating to say the least. We saw ourselves as neither high powered, business women, successful, nor confident.

Nevertheless, the playing field evened out as each person began to give their carefully written speeches. We had three minutes each to give our presentations. I was one of the last but found that other’s confidence fled out the window as each person got up in front of the group. We were all the same. Simply a group of people who would rather hide than speak in front of an audience.

Strange as it sounds, their fear gave me confidence! If they felt as I did, then together we could help each other move forward, become more confident and shape a talk that made sense. In other words, we could overcome our rebellious brain, force it to straighten up and behave, and remember what our purpose was all about.

As teachers our purpose was very different from our classmates. They were selling a product but we wanted to transform lives through the Word of God. For Eleanor, Linda, Margie and me that was great motivation. In the end, we left the classes more confident, more assured, better equipped and most grateful to God who worked through the enormous generosity of Lance Brady.

I Know That!

My mother did her job well but she had such a reluctant student. She was an expert seamstress and tried with diligence to teach me how to sew. She loved materials and threads and sewing machines and yarns and from those materials she could and would make dream dresses for me. I dutifully followed her instructions so by the time I went to college I had the knowledge I needed to sew but I refused to do it. It was boring. It was tedious. It took way too much time. And beside why should I bother? Mom continued to sew for me!

However, that all changed the day I got married. For some reason which I could not understand at the time, Mom put her sewing machine away and took up painting while I was left to fend for myself. I had gotten use to nice clothes....cheap. Now as we struggled financially to pay for graduate and undergraduate tuitions on $6300 a year, there was no money for clothes. However there was a little money for material. And so I dragged that knowledge out (along with an old sewing machine one of Mama’s friends gave me) and put it into service. Soon I was making my own dream dresses.

Like my sewing skills, one can have the knowledge without having it affect their lives, but when we put that knowledge to work it can greatly enhance it. But sometimes lack of putting knowledge to work can be brutally harmful even leading to destruction. Listen to these words from Hosea 4:6:

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priests for Me;

Because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.

…because they have ceased obeying the Lord.”

In this passage God is saying something important to all of us. Learn. Know. Study. Obey. There is much to be gained but equally much, oh so very much, to be lost if we choose to ignore the very words, guidance, counsel, and truth, that God gives us in His Word.

At least once a week we get a call at Big Dream Ministries from someone who tells us, “I never knew or understood the whole Bible. The Amazing Collection has opened my eyes to so much of God’s Word that I didn’t understand!” We love those calls. God’s Word changes lives. It sets the captives free. It brings joy to the depressed and courage to the fearful. But without it…..well words like “destroy” “reject”, and “forgotten” paint a sobering picture. Love demands obedience but before obedience there must come knowledge.

When it comes to sewing it really isn’t earth shattering if knowledge is not followed by obedience. But God’s Word? Well it really is.

Emotional Roller Coaster

Emotions are funny. They seem to hit with a mind of their own. Joy can turn to sorrow in a millisecond and sorrow can turn to joy. I remember as a young woman sending the man I loved off on a military cruiser for the summer as a midshipman. I had expected a letter at least once a week and probably more. But week after week passed with no word and I grew more and more distressed. After six weeks had passed and still no letter I was fully convinced that his love for me had grown cold and that I would never see him again.

But one day a telegram arrived (you can tell how long ago this occurred!). It had just a few small words: “I love you. I miss you. See you soon.” And in that moment all anxiety turned at joyful anticipation.

Emotions change and they can change quickly.

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October 3, 2002 a shipment of 1000 sets of DVDs arrived from CRT Custom Products out of Nashville. This included the books of Genesis through 2 Kings. The packaging was beautiful. The price was less than what we had thought. And as the many boxes were being lifted into the warehouse I have to admit I was overwhelmingly excited. We had worked hundreds and hundreds of hours and here was the culmination of all of that work, prayer, time and tears.

The shipping truck pulled away and I was left alone. The boxes were piled high all around the room. Boxes that contained 5000 companion workbooks also added to the enormous amount of “product’. And then a thought occurred to me. We had 1000 sets that we had to sell. We had no sales staff. We had no brochure. We had no mailing list and no advertising budget.

I raced to the office and looked over the list of all of the people who said they wanted a set as soon as we received them. One, two three, four, five, six, seven…..seven…that was it! That left us with 993 sets of DVD’s and 2493 workbooks! And at that moment emotions changed and all joy turned to raw terror! What were we thinking? Did we have any idea how many 1000 sets were? Couldn’t we have ordered 250 or better yet 25!!

Then I remembered the past. God. God providing the money we needed. God providing the perfect testimonies for every book. God providing talented vocalists. God providing our every need. And so, why would I think that God could not provide for our needs at this point?

That was eight years ago. The warehouse is once again packed only now we have reordered workbooks tens of times and the DVD’s have multiplied as we have added new studies. Seven broadcasting stations air the Amazing Collection in five languages world wide. Had I known that on October 3, 2002 I would have continued in my excitement, continued in joy. But isn’t that what Christ tells us to do?

Consider it all joy brethren when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

James 1:2