A $3150 ripple effect

Last week I got a front row seat to a HUGE answer to prayer, thanks to a Facebook post by a friend. I just delight when God answers a prayer with a resounding, "Yes. I've got this," and last week there was encouragement when an answer like that was shared on social media.

I have two friends from my college days. Let's call them Eric and Jen (not their real names since I'm going rouge and didn't ask permission to write about this event. Ha!). Eric and Jen met in college and married one another. They have both always had a heart for teenage students and helping them cultivate a personal relationship with Jesus. Eric was a youth pastor for many years. He moved from being a youth pastor within the church to working with a ministry that reached teenagers. Through all those years, Jen was by his side, being a part of the ministry with him. Now, Eric works in a ministry that does not include students, but adult athletes. (And Jen is still by his side, as a part of the ministry.) However, Eric and Jen still have a passion for reaching students for Christ.

Eric and Jen have two teenage children. So currently, they host what they call "Breakfast Club." Once a week Jen makes breakfast and a pile of teenagers cram into their house before school to eat and have a Bible study led by Eric. Jen has the gift of hospitality - seriously, she will welcome anyone in her home. And she will feed them. And she's one of those rare gems who can rock it, cooking for the masses. It does not phase her when multitudes of people stream through her door and into her kitchen. So Eric and Jen always say that Breakfast Club is "feeding their tummies and feeding their souls." She cooks, he teaches. Kingdom teamwork!

They often post photos on Facebook of how this Bible Study is growing. I have seen photos of their basement FILLED with teenagers. Seriously, they are piled on the furniture, there are folding chairs everywhere, and every space on the floor is occupied. Jen used to post photos of the giant pile of shoes by their front door, in the entryway. Until the shoe pile became too big for the space! Now the shoe pile is out in the garage. The group has grown to over 50 kids showing up in the early morning to eat and hear from God's Word.

Now, feeding 50+ teenagers a few times a month isn't a cheap endeavor. And I would imagine that as the group has grown, the cost has grown. So, Eric and Jen began to pray to ask God if they should continue Breakfast Club or finish out this school year and end the Bible Study. They asked God to make it very clear what He wanted them to do. No ambiguity, please.

About a week after praying about continuing Breakfast Club, Eric had someone ask him about the "pile of shoes" pictures he had been seeing on social media and what that was all about. Eric told him what it was all about and he asked how much it cost each month to make all that food for that many students. Eric told him and that was the end of that.

A few days later, Jen gets an envelope in the mail addressed to her and she opens it and finds this.

A check for $3150, which is enough to cover the cost of Breakfast Club for the entire school year next year. Like Eric said, in his post, "Who does this?" This money is from a couple who live several states away from where these students live. They will never meet these kids. But my guess is that they were being obedient to God and what He asked them to do!

The answer to Eric and Jen's prayer about continuing Breakfast Club was met with a resounding, "Yes!" from God. Wow. What a miracle. What a testimony this will be to those students about the power of prayer. Obviously God has plans for those students and He wants to continue to use the Bible Study to rock their world and create ripple effects for years to come. That personally is one of my favorite aspects of ministering to teenagers - the ripple effects. You know how you toss a rock into the water and the ripples just get farther and farther away from where the rock landed? That happens in ministry too. The way that kids can spiritually grow when taught through God's Word can shape them for years to come. And then sometimes, in their adult years, they turn around and minister to teenagers and the ripples of God's Love just keep reaching out throughout the generations. It's amazing to think about how God is going to multiply this $3150 many times over because of the Truth students will learn though another year of Bible study because someone obeyed and gave.

This world pulls at teenagers in a million different ways and there's a lot of "noise" out there, demanding their attention. This is just one small way God is using a couple to cut through the noise to teach these kids that they matter, they are loved, and they need Jesus.

This one's for the moms!

Happy Monday, everyone!

This photo of my baby is a fairly accurate representation of how our Monday was going before we even got out of the house this morning. The baby was very much out of sorts as soon as he finished his bottle upon waking up. If he wasn't being held by me, he was crying. Which is very unlike him. He is rarely fussy or needy. But today he was both and this was not conducive to our morning routine to get out of the house.

The sun was barely up and I already had a toddler that wasn't obeying, the baby spit up all over my bare foot (being a parent is so gross sometimes), there was laundry to dry, a diaper pail to empty and reload with the bag for it, a full kitchen garbage bag to take out, the baby had a nasty dirty diaper and I had a dreaded sink full of dishes to tackle - in addition to getting myself ready for work and the toddler ready to go to daycare. (How can it be that I get up at 5:00 every day and barely make my 7:30 deadline of getting out of the house?)

We are on day twelve of my husband being gone - I haven't even seen him yet this month and we're ten days into the month. So last night, when I looked at the dishes and bottles that were dirty, I didn't have the gumption to deal with it. I was just too tired to hand wash bottles AGAIN. It's a never-ending chore right now. But that meant that I had to wash them this morning so there were enough to get the baby through the day. The baby sat at my feet and cried the whole time I stood at the sink. Nothing could console him except being held. Which makes washing bottles fairly difficult!

As I was washing a bottle for about the 5,000 time in my life, I could feel the frustration rising and my attitude was about to go south pretty dang quick. I didn't WANT to wash another bottle - why does this baby drink so many bottles? I didn't WANT to pack my lunch for the day - why do I have to take leftovers to be heated in a gross microwave in our office break room? I didn't WANT to brush my toddler's hair - what did she get in her hair that was so sticky and impossible to brush? I didn't WANT to deal with a crying baby - what was his deal today? But as the pity party was taking root and I was scrubbing that darn bottle, suddenly this came to mind: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord. Colossians 3:23. Attitude check! I know that I know that I know that in everything I do, I should do it as working for the Lord - especially the mundane everyday things that need to be done. Especially the everyday things that get no accolades. Especially the everyday things that can grind down your joy in the moment. Especially the every day work that no one sees. And most days, I FAIL at working with all my heart, as working for the Lord. It's usually all about poor 'ol me.

Moms, we have a lot of those thankless, mundane moments, don't we? And yes, you are doing it for your kids. Because it's what you signed up for, because they can't wipe their own runny noses, because they can't pour themselves a bowl of cereal, because they can't zip their own jacket, because they can't buy themselves shoes for their never-stopping-growing-feet, because they can't do that science project all by themselves, because they can't drive themselves to soccer practice, because they can't put money in their lunch account, because they can't wrap that friend's birthday present, and on and on. For years and years. But all of those things you're doing? You're working for the One who sees. Who knows there are hard days. Who has asked you to be a steward of these kids and knows you're trying so hard. The Lord has given you these joyful, challenging, giggling, hot-mess little ones. And when you serve the children, you're serving the Lord as well. So, feel encouraged. There are a lot of moms who know what you're going through. There's lots of moms who know how you feel in the thankless moments. And if they could give you a high five, or a hug, or a gold star, or whatever you need, those fellow "moms in the trenches" would.

Keep working. With all your heart. Because your kids will never thank you for washing their bottles over and over and over. Or for any of the other millions of chores you will do just to keep them safe, healthy, and alive! But they will thank you for being their mom.

Do the unnoticed things for the Lord. Because He sees. He notices - because you are taking care of His kids. The gifts that He has entrusted to you for a short time. Take heart, momma. You can do it!