Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Money and Ministry

As some of you may know, my husband, David, and I recently launched our very first GoFundMe campaign to fund our first CD together. This is a giant leap of faith for us in following the Lord in this ministry as we have had so many challenges this past year that have tempted us to question whether music ministry is right for us. I know that may sound crazy, but traveling/speaking ministry is not always easy and those who do it full-time make so many sacrifices.

This past year we were audited. Our ministry took a huge hit. The events that we did for charity, where we made no money - zip, zilch, none - were removed from our deductions and labeled as "vacation". Yes... that was vacation that time that I was seven months pregnant, driving through the night with my six month old to get to Joplin, Missouri for a fundraiser for storm victims. (sarcasm!)

This past year, prior to the audit but regardless of it, we also felt called to do two things monetarily:

1) To surrender our finances to the Lord. Whatever we made, we made. Wherever we were called, we went. Sometimes we didn't make much - I remember one gig, the collection came to $15. (It was Junior High kids, so actually, that was pretty generous!) Sometimes we made more which helps with our three beautiful children who were once all in diapers :P . But we decided we didn't want money getting in the way of where the Lord may be calling us. We decided we couldn't put a price on the Gospel - that price has been paid. We needed to pay our bills, but surrender to the providence of God through generous hearts and use the talents God has given us to spread His Word and witness to His love. There really is freedom in not worrying about what to charge for speaking/music, but it requires much trust and we are constantly reminded that the Lord will use us as He chooses -- "You did not choose Me. I chose you."

2) We consecrated our finances to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. God must have known we would need some extra protection!!

Right before I walked into my audit appointment, I prayed a Rosary. I clearly heard the words, "Will you still follow Me and do My work even in the midst of attack?"

I responded with a resounding,

"Maybe."

Haha, then I prayed for the courage to say yes. I heard the question again, and I was able, by the grace of God, to say yes.

It has been one of the most difficult "Yes"'s in my life. Late nights, tons of paperwork, agonizing over making sure I had all my ducks in a row for weeks.

But the Lord sent people into our lives to help.

And...

get this....

Our tax refund from 2013 covers, almost to the dime, the big fat bill the IRS sent us after disallowing our charity events.

God is good.

I just wish He'd send me a winning lottery ticket so I'd have the money in advance next time. ;)

Now, we are praying and trusting again in His providence to fund this CD. We technically need a bit more than our goal, but God is not a God of minimums. He is a God of abundance. Not always in the way we expect, and not without a cross, but He always promises Resurrection.

I share this with you as we pray for our campaign and see where God leads us in this ministry. I share this because I know so many who have undergone financial hardships and struggle to find hope, but who are making sacrifices and getting by day to day on faith and the generosity of God and others. I remember when David was laid off due to a parish merge/leadership change and we were looking for a new job, seven months pregnant. God had called me to quit my job with benefits to work part time. I remember people asking me, "Are you crazy?? David doesn't have a job yet!" I said, "Well, I have peace about this decision! God will provide!" (In the back of my mind saying, "Uh, Yeah God, Please provide, I'm counting on You!")  Then shortly after that, He called us to give a substantial donation towards a group going to World Youth Day Germany. David and I went to Adoration, and we came up with the same amount. "Are we crazy??" we thought.

Yeah, probably.

But we were inspired by the words of Ven. Fr. Solanus Casey, to pray for what we need, thank God in advance for answering our prayer, give generously, and go about our day, trusting in God's providence.

So that's what we will do.

Thank you, and thank you for praying for us. We need the prayers so much!

If you would like to donate, please see the link here for all the details: http://www.gofundme.com/9mm60s?preview=1

If you would like to commit to praying for this project, please message me on Facebook or comment below.

God bless!!