As we’ve been praying and brainstorming about creative ways that our family can give to 3G, the Lord reminded me that I had a fair amount of change saved from years past. It’s not a whole lot, but it is something more we can give. As a sort of project, I dumped it out on our dining room table and had Trey help me sort it. I figured it would be a good exercise for him in matching and learning what the different coins are. Never would I have imagined what a rich and blessed time I would have with my busy little three-year-old guy. This exercise in sorting the change was not only a good patience builder for both of us, but it opened some great doors in conversation with Trey. We got to talk about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War and slavery. And, what can I say, he thought Daddy was on the nickel! But more importantly, we talked about being able to give to God’s work and towards building a church. We had not talked to Trey much about 3G or the new church building, and it was so fun to see him process what I was saying and the concept of giving. He is pretty insistent, however, that we don’t need a new church building because we have “Abigail’s house!” Our talk of money and giving led into a discussion on stealing and why it was wrong. I was floored when I asked Trey why stealing was wrong, and he replied unprompted that God tells us in the Bible not to steal and that God is King. He is getting it! And finally we talked briefly about the love of money and why we should love God more than money or anything else. Not only am I excited about being able to give just a little more towards our church building, but I’m beyond excited about the discussions and learning opportunities this giving has opened up in my son’s life. Little seeds planted now that I pray with grow and flourish as his character continues to develop.

Submitted by Jenna Fleishman

I just met today with a guy who manufactures colored stucco. Rick was baptized at NLBC about 6 years ago. His wife is the lady who was saved during the land purchase that I tell about in the new members class. He got saved about a 1 year later. This brother is on fire for the Lord and has attended seminary classes. Today he offered us over $15,000 worth of material if we go the route of colored stucco for the outside of the building. How very encouraging!

The Lord has been moving mightily in our lives lately. He has reminded us that His timing is perfect and that Romans 8:28 is a truth we can count on. We have had some challenging life circumstances over the last couple of years relating to our finances and our living situation. They have tested us to our limits at times. As the husband/provider of the family it has been especially hard for me. Many times I have felt like a failure. But, God is good! He has never left our sides, even when we have not fully trusted Him. Through our circumstances God has begun to reveal His blessings. We are still in many ways where we were six months, one year, even two years ago. The difference is we are now trusting God. We have not arrived and are by know means perfect at it, but we are growing. We are in a position today to be able to give so much more than we would have been able to had we not gone through what we did. We are so excited to be a part of what God is doing and going to do in this time in our church. I cannot wait to see the glory He is going to receive.

This 3G season in our church has been an amazing blessing to us with the devotionals and sermons these past couple of weeks. God has testing us in different ways. When pastor preached the sermon on ‘Who’s First?’ it really convicted us in the area of our finances. We want God to be first in our lives more than anything, but as we inspected each area in our life, our finances especially did not reflect that. Are we trusting God with our money? Are we trusting our money? God has been convicting us in this area, and we are so thankful because we want to give it all to Him and live for Him.

We recently had the chance to have our devotionals with another family in our church for a week, and it was a major blessing to our lives. Not only did we grow closer to God during this time, but it created a special bond between our familes. We were all able to share stories on what God was revealing to us and spending time in serious prayer. It just fueled the excitement that we already have for what God is doing. I encourage families to do this because it will add an element to this time that I cannot even explain in words. It was just amazing.

We are so thankful for everything the Lord is doing at this time. SO thankful to be a part of NLBC and to have a chance to be a part of what God is getting ready to do!

Submitted by Matt Rein

We were excited when Pastor first started talking about 3G. We knew that we wanted to be a part of this exciting time in our church and caught the vision of a future "Gospel Station" in Davie. However, due to certain circumstances, for the last 6 months our finances have been tight and we had been living month to month. God had impressed on us to be faithful in tithing, but to give any more would be impossible-we were already using many of the suggestions in the back of the 3G devotional. We committed in faith that we would give something on Day 40 no matter what and started praying in faith for what that would be. God has already answered our prayers in that friends and relatives have provided unforeseen and very generous gifts. With these gifts added to our finances we are now excited that God has answered our prayers and we will be able to give to the building fund!

Submitted by anonymous.

One of the things I love about our youth at NLBC is their responsiveness to the Lord. I got this letter in the mail this week from one of our kids. She writes:
(Click on the image to enlarge)

As my family and I have been praying about what to give we have been asking the Lord to provide more for us to be able to give.  I have always heard about people “getting checks in the mail,” but it actually happened to us this week!  We came back from the Memorial Day Weekend to find a $641 check from the IRS.  I had no idea it was coming; in fact I thought maybe I was going to have to pay more but it was just the opposite.  I find it interesting (and wonderful!) that it came during the 40 Days.  Now there is more to give on our 40th Day Celebration.  Praise God!

Submitted by anonymous.

Welcome to the 3G (Giving for Gospel Growth) blog. 

As the title suggests this is my first shot at a blog.  I hope this blog is a source of encouragement to you as we seek the Lord together during this 40 Days!

The purpose of the blog is for you to share your stories of God's work in your life during this time.  Already several of you are sharing how God is providing for you to have more to give for 3G.  As you read through the devotional and pray, we want you to share what God is dealing with you about.  It might be a new attitude, a new teaching, a new level of commitment, or a fresh realization of His grace in your life.  Maybe you have found new ways to save on monthly expenses freeing up more money to give to the building.  I don't know, WHATEVER good and praise worthy item is good for inclusion in this blog.

Let me say this blog is not really for questions about the campaign or the initiation of discussion.  It's for people to know how God is working in us during this time.  I hope you will check back frequently and give an entry even if its just to say you and yours are praying and are excited about the future with us.

The way you make an entry is to send an email to admin@newlifeindavie.com.  It will be reviewed before being posted.  You can sign it as from yourself or make it annonymous by writing, "annonymous" at the bottom of the email.  Even though we will know who it came from in the office, we will not reveal it in the blog entry.

Now let me tell you a cool story... 

Last Sunday, I shared from the pulpit that God had provided a bass guitar and an industrial pressure washer for the church shortly after we discovered the need.  We were going to buy a bass but we decided to just pray about it first and see if the Lord would provide one.  And He did, as He did for the pressure washer!  Lately, I have been feeling like we need to be praying for specific building materials for the building.  On Monday night at the 3G meeting at the Goode's house I closed the prayer by asking for several building materials and the last thing I remember asking for was the pumps we would need.  The NEXT day Phil (our maintenence man) came to me all excited.  He had been working on getting water from the canal up to the oak trees that need to be relocated.  We have to be able water them after they are root pruned for 6 weeks.  Our pump at the canal is burned up he told me but he was talking with Tony Rodriguez the night before and when Tony realized what Phil was working on he said, "I have an industrial pump in my garage that was used at my son's orange grove in Fort Pierce, you can have it!"  So Phil went and got it and it works great!  Once again the Lord has given us encouragement that He is actively involved in supplying for this building.  As we give our sacrificial gifts, He will multiply it in ways we would not have thought of.  I believe that!

So there is the first blog entry... Send in your thoughts, stories of God's provision, and your insights into God's Word as you read the devotional.

Love to all, Pastor