A New Journey
Hello friends—
I pray you’re all settling into ’08 with a sense of hope in God’s redemptive journey ahead. It’s going to be a great ride – thanks for stumbling along with me!
Could I share three prayer requests with you at the beginning of this year?
1 ::: The DVD will be here in a week! Please pray God uses it in big ways!
2 ::: We are hoping to record a new CD in the next couple of months. We’re praying for finances, schedules, and
God’s hand on the music!
3 ::: Please pray our concert calendar fills just as God wants, and that He grants me His peace and wisdom in the process…
For those of you who have not heard of our year of faith, I’ve included the explanation letter below; “A New Journey”. God provided for us miraculously last year – growing and stretching us along the way. There’s been tough moments for sure, but we love the adventure and don’t ever want to look back! We’re diving into this new year’s calendar with the same conviction not to ask for any specific honorarium amounts or financial agreements…ever. It’s so thrilling surrendering and trusting that area to God in this unique way! So, if your church’s financial situation has prevented you from partnering with us, may it no longer! Contact me, and let’s dream together…
Thanks for your prayers and partnership!!!
Justin
A New Journey
Around November of ’06, my wife and I felt a nudge from the Lord to trust Him even more with our finances. I’d always felt like I was “walking by faith” in that area all these years, but God showed us how we had fallen into some subtle patterns of looking to churches, pastors, and individuals to be our “providers”. Passages in the Bible, our church’s Give Yourself Away campaign, and missionary stories from Corrie ten Boom and others began to fuel the flame for a deeper faith adventure, and we took the leap! We gathered our family together, and decided to surrender to the Lord our monthly budget, our home, our cars, and everything else we think we “need” in order to be free to pursue what GOD wants in our lives. It’s been an exhilarating journey!
One of the first things we decided to do was to no longer ask for any specific amount of money from churches for ministry engagements. It’s been fun! Pastors are stunned…unsure…encouraged… and then excited! I love the scheduling process now more than ever, and my calendar has been filling fast. So far, God has been providing for us through Spirit-led offerings and honorariums, meeting our normal budget just as before, but these days it feels so different: It’s all coming straight from Him, without me messing it up somewhere in the middle, and it’s so thrilling seeing God in action!
We’ve also been challenged to take even greater risks by giving away more money. Above our regular tithe and missionaries we support, we decided to donate a portion of our CD sales to Iris Ministries; an orphanage in Mozambique, Africa. It’s been awesome being able to provide calling cards, a washer and dryer, and 40 pairs of shoes… and we can’t wait to see what’s next!
This whole journey has brought a new sense of thankfulness for His gifts and goodness. My heart is light with fresh air, new songs, and a priceless freedom. Thanks for letting me share this with you! I just wish I would’ve figured this stuff out sooner, and I know there’s more learning ahead. Our future mission trips, CD releases and ministry dates have been completely given over to the Lord in a new radical way. Please pray along with us that we continue to honor Him at every turn…
With open hands,
The Foxes
