"We will tell of God's great story!"

God’s Story
August 26 – September 13, 2010

On Aug 26, 2010 God radically changed my life.  For three months I had been praying with a friend for God to provide.  I also felt as though in that time God was tugging at my heart to prepare for the “next big God thing” (I know that sounds crazy but that is the only way I can explain it). That Thursday morning I received an email from my Father-in-law stating that he and my mother-in-law wanted to commit the month of September. to pray for their children and that they wanted us to email them our requests.  Mel, my father-in-law was in Switzerland when he sent the email, and it was the first email I received that morning.  So I emailed him this back:

Mel & Patsy

Thank you for praying for all of us.  It is a blessing to know that you are always lifting the entire family in prayer.  Please pray for a job for me.  I am desperate to provide for our family and meet our financial needs.  We have been praying for God to provide in a miraculous way. To date we are now in default on the house and are facing a real situation of loosing the house.  We have applied for a loan modification and I have applied for several positions. Praying for something to happen soon! We have until September. 14 before the house goes into foreclosure.

Thank you for your prayers and love.

Cristina.  

Before packing up my stuff to go to Church for the Thursday morning kid’s activity I posted this on my Facebook profile:                                               

“Praying for JM, thanks for getting up everyday and going to work! I love you and appreciate you...pray for me, I need a job...it's that bad!” 9am

After I posted, I prayed “God how will we eat?” Then we left to get in the car.  I got a text “I have a treat for you when you get here!” My beautiful friend Margaret bought coffee for me, not just any coffee: a nonfat, 2 Splenda, lukewarm, latte.  To some people this would not matter but what it meant to me is that she took notice and remembered how I like my coffee, she remembered me. I sat down, she handed me the coffee, and I smiled and took a big sip. I got another text from AJ & Jo Sexton, our friends from church. “Could I bring you food?” It was as if I was in a bubble.  Everything seemed to slow down and it was just me and God.  With my coffee in one hand and kids all around me I said, yes.  It was the prayer I had prayed before I left the house.  This wonderful family would bring us 2 big boxes of food, the Sexton’s reached out to us in faith.  On the way home from a fun day of swimming a dear friend, Lauren Ashley - she makes me smile every time I think of her, left me a voicemail.  “Hey Cris its Ash call me, I may have some work for you!” This gave me hope. She saw my post and thought of me.  She remembered me in faith.

Coffee, food, and work all in 8 hours.

God was at work!

I was overwhelmed; I came to the conclusion the night before that if anyone where to ask me how I was doing I would tell them.  Life was hard, we where facing loosing our house going into foreclosure on September 14 (that’s today), this was a real date that brought extreme fear for me. We could not even buy toilet paper and we literally only had 1/8 of a roll left.  JM said to me “you will have to manage without toilet paper” easy for him! I was desperate.  For three months I had been praying for God to provide, I cried out to Him, yelled at Him, and it was not until I was willing to open my heart to change that God released his blessing.  These are the words that came to me: “If we just pray in secrete and we do not allow the body of Christ to support us, we have failed to live in community!” 

For the past few years we have had a lot amount of people come through our house.  We had prayed for our house prior to moving anything into it.  The kids where 4 & 2 years old; we got them, a picture I had made of our story and we all four knelt in the middle of our living room floor and prayed for God to be the center of our lives together, and that He would bless this house. We prayed for people to come into the house, to be loved, encouraged & rested.  For them to have a place to slumber and eat and for their needs to be met.  In the years we have been here we have feed an army of people, all ages, we have prayed with people, we have cried and asked God for miracles, we have prepared for missions trips, we have seen God work in the lives of his people.  People have come and gotten food from our fridge, washed their clothes, cooked with us, stayed here without us, all the while us knowing that this is a place that God has covered from the first day that the original owners moved into the house.   And I was afraid to let it go. 

I really did not truly think that God could save it all.  That is so ridiculous I know.  I had to let go of owning this house.  More than that I had to admit I failed, but that I was not a failure.  I have never had a picture of a dream house the only thing I have ever wanted was a place for God’s people. That could be anywhere and I didn’t even have to be the owner.  I had to believe that.  It has not been the actual structure that has allowed us to love God’s people and we could continue to love people no matter what house we lived in.  So we left it in God’s hands and moved on. 

We where called to live in community.  For us that meant leaving the doors open for who ever to come in.  On Wednesday night Aug 25^th God shook me to remind me that community was to work as a back and forth thing.  It was not just for us to give but we needed to receive it as well.  This meant allowing our friends and family to know that we where in need.  I had to leave my pride behind.  I needed to allow God’s community to love on us. In my brokenness God was asking me to be transparent, airing-out that we where in need.  HUGE PRIDE deal for ME.  I strive to provide financially for my family.  I love working, I love Robeck Design and I am so blessed to be able to make money and work from our home; the reality that we where going to loose our home became very real and it was entirely my fault.  (I had not made any kind of real money all summer).  JM and I always ask for prayer and trust that God knows what we need but before God could work a miracle in my job I had to surrender my heart completely to Him by allowing myself to tell the people around me (church, family, and friends) that we needed help.   

Prior to the 26^th John Mark and I where so full of stress that our communication just broke down.  So on top of not having money and waiting on God we where stressed out, you all know how that goes, much love in our house! There was much love but there where some hard conversations that needed to happen so that I could get to Aug. 26^th.  Friends I know that when stress arises it may be difficult to communicate but please remember without communication all relationships are broken and can not function in the way God desired for them to function.  I love my husband with a committed love that is full of God and trust.  I truly think that John Mark is a rock star of a husband!  We promised to always go through it together and this is where I had a problem.  I wasn’t, I did not tell him how much I felt like I had failed him by not bringing in money.  The economy hit our business hard and for the last three years we have been treading water and I finally sank.  I was embarrassed.  He said “I love you.” We prayed together and continued to trust that God would be with us and provide in ways we could not imagine and I am writing this today because He has. 

After receiving the food boxes this is what happened. My awesome rock star friend Pam had asked me a few days prior how I was doing and I said we where good, so in conviction I emailed her and told her I needed toilet paper and told her how I was really doing.  She emailed me right back and said she would be by my house tomorrow with some stuff.  She knocked on the door and the kids opened it and there it was, 16 rolls of Charmin toilet paper, yep the good stuff.  We walked out to greet her and she pulled out more stuff.  Here is where I know how much more God truly loves us.  It is important because He could have just given us just enough for the need but be blessed us even more by giving us gifts. 

She brought COKE and popcorn.  If you know our family and if you know my husband you know that he loves these things in this order of course: God, his family, his calling, COKE and coffee.  The kids yelled in front of our house “our dad is going to be so excited!”  Then they unpacked the bags and Caleb ran around the house yelling “ya…we got toilet paper, and then he grabbed the cereal and said - cereal, cereal!!!”  Forget about all that, there was popcorn and it was Friday night at our house, movie night! And now we had popcorn. SO BLESSED.  They giggled and said thank you! These are important things for only this reason, it brought so much joy, and God gave it all.  He had placed it on her heart to bring this stuff.  That night I was reminded that God cares about our need and our wants.  He wants to throw his arms around us & bless us and we allowed Him to do that by allowing ourselves to be open and transparent with our need.  So blessed by the Gibbons family!

A dear friend from church saw my post on Facebook:

“Is thankful to her friend who brought toilet paper to our house today....seriously we where down to three sheets!”

I think it was about 8 or 9pm that Friday evening when I got a call from Cher Zimmer, a dear friend from church.   I answered the phone and she said “What is going on?” She demanded an answer, and I hesitated for a second, I had to tell yet another person of my brokenness, so through tears I told her how we where loosing our house, I have not had a lot of work and that we needed God to do big things.  She said “come tomorrow to my house to go through the pantry and freezer.”

She prayed with me over the phone and all I did was cry.  I hung up with her and just let JM hold me as I cried on his shoulder, which he will tell you is very rare! But I was broken and I needed to tell him that I was done.  I cared too much about pride and about what people would think if they knew we where not making it.  He said “who gives a rip what people think!” That statement is so my husband and I love him for it. It was a conversation I needed to have, I told him I cared what people thought.  I did not want people thinking he could not provide for his family when it was me that was not providing.  He said “Well if people ask me I will tell them it is you not me!” I love him.  He smiled and I knew what that meant.  We prayed and it was as if God reached down from heaven and touched my heart.  I am forever changed because of what God did in those two days.

On Aug. 29 the phone woke us.  It was Cher “We have set up emergency meals for you for the next two weeks and we have a gift card for you for $100 from the HELPS Ministry at NMC.”  Our church had given us these gifts.  Our church is the reason we where able to take those next steps.  The people of God where being stirred for us.  We got everyone together in the house and where getting ready to go to the beach for a day of soaking in the sun, someone had emailed John Mark and told him to come pick up 4 boxed lunches and so we did and took the kids to the beach for a picnic.  Before we where able to get out the door a dear dear friend came walking up to our door.  All she had was an envelope, and as she gave it to me she grabbed me and held me.  She prayed over me and I was able to tell her of how great our God was and how much I appreciated her for standing with me in prayer for the last 3 months.  Thank you Cindy and Ken Edwards for your continual love and support!  We headed out to the beach with $100 cash and $60 in gift cards to the grocery store.  The beach was awesome, the best lunches and way too much food.  We headed out to the Zimmer’s house and it was wonderful to have Cher give me food that I could cook on my own.  I was able to make some of our family’s favorites with the stuff she gave me.  She took me by the arms and in her living room she said “We love you guys, your church loves you and we will be praying this is just enough for two weeks so that God can do the rest.” He did, with the meals NMC had set up, all the food and stuff that was given to us the days prior and the money through cash and gift cards, it allowed us to not have to stress out about what tomorrow would bring.

So what did JM do next, we rushed to the post office and put the $100 gift card and $60 cash into an envelope and sent it to some friends that where in the same situation as we where in that week.  With joy we prayed, and then went to look for people to give the extra box lunch we had. Caleb found someone on the way home.  We rolled Caleb’s window down to give the person in need the box, the man said thank you and Caleb said you are welcome.  I was glad Caleb was the one giving the box, honestly the only reason he did was because if you know the Robeck family you know we drive a jacked-up-jetta, and Caleb’s window was the only one that went down on that side. Praise the Lord for having at least one window that rolls up and down! (I am seriously laughing b/c I really do think that is awesome!)

We got home and had the best dinner and time together.  I was excited to go to church that next morning.  I wanted to be with the people of God worshiping Him.  What I did not know was that God had brought VU President, Carol Taylor to speak that morning.  From the first words she spoke I was in tears.  Her message “Lessons from an Unknown Women” spoke to the core of my heart.  I could close my eyes and although Carol speaking it seemed as though God was speaking directly to me.  She spoke of a woman who had prepared her house for God’s people.  She spoke of how God gave her back the house she had left to Him and how God blessed her more than she could have ever imagined.  After her message I went to her in tears and could only say a few things, (and at that moment I did not care that she was the President of the place where my husband worked, yes I thought about this) I told her that her message was specifically, with details, just for me.  I told her of how we may loose our house (the house that we bought from VU), here was my pride flying out the window.  I cried. She held me. I cried. A miracle in it self as I don’t allow people to hold me.  She looked at me and said, “WE will tell of God's great story!”

What she was saying was that we, God’s community will tell of his faithfulness.  She was saying to not loose hope in the God of wonders.  She was saying give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His love endures forever.  She was saying we are with you and we believe with you.  I cried and cried and ran into the bathroom and cried.  Then I found John Mark and the kids at the fountain and we went home. I did the most spiritual thing you could imagine, I took a nap.

From that point on I can not write, say or think about those words without thinking of Carol and her faithfulness, or without tears coming to my eyes. Those words, “We will tell of God's great story” - makes my heart pound and makes me want to sing praises unto our God.

My prayer for our house:
"Oh Lord let them come and be feed, clothed, have a place of slumber and that you may touch their hearts as they walk in your presence. May all who pass through these doors be given to you and may they know you are with them always. Amen & Amen."

Another amazing thing that happened was that we where not forgotten.  After that emergency weekend we were not left alone to feel desperate again for what tomorrow would bring.  What happened in the next 15 days only God could do.  First, the kids grandparents gave them each $100 for school clothes and a pair of shoes.  So blessed by them and the kids could run faster and jump higher because of those new shoes.  They were set.  Second the HELPS Ministry from NMC arranged four meals, Aug 30 - Atherton Family, September 1 - DeBoer Family, September. 7 – Creek Family, & September 8 - Gibello Family. Having these friends bring us meals was amazing; it allowed me to concentrate on what God was doing with RD.  It was unbelievable.  

Truly I could not on my own have called, generated, sold enough to make enough money to give us hope that we where going to be ok.  God blessed beyond measure.  In these days God provided in more ways than I can explain, financially we have seen more contracts/finances come into Robeck Design than we ever have seen in one month’s time and there is still more coming!  In 15 days God provided more than I had made in 6 months. We were overwhelmed with joy.  It was past clients & new clients. It was phone call after phone call, emails that flooded my inbox and it was all God. 

We were excited to write our tithe checks for the first time in some time this past Sunday.  Here is where God knew I needed to change my heart.  I needed to always without hesitation write that check first, no matter if I had no food in my house, because He would always provide for me and my family.  When I finally told JM that I was convicted of doing this he said “well it was about time!” I love him and he makes me laugh. (If you ask me about our story of tithing I will tell you it all in detail, it is truly amazing.)

 So this last Sunday I ran to my dear friend Becky, who with open arms allowed me to be held and cry on her shoulder in thanksgiving.  I then turned to her and another friend and said to them, “now how am I going to get it all done.”  Oh me of little faith. Seriously Cristina, do you not know by now that God does not give us more than we can handle. We laughed.  Thank you Lord! 

Then I walked out to the gathering place at our church and was handed an envelope by our friends Sandy and Jeff Fitzpatrick, $200 in gift cards to a grocery store. God is good all the time then to come home on Monday from a great interview for a potential client to find an envelope on my counter, thank you Cindy & Ken, $100 in cash and $60 in gift cards. This was significant because it had been some time since that emergency weekend, and God had already done so much.  We were reminded that we were still in the hearts of God’s people.  We were not forgotten. There is still much that has to continue, but believing in faith, I know we will not be forgotten for God is faithful to provide. 

More than the money that has come in and that will be coming in over the next few months I want to tell of God’s love for us all.  In being able to walk in obedience and without pride, boasting only of Christ’s gift of salvation because of this we are able to allow God to truly use us. John Mark and I have had some wonderful talks about all the amazing things that God has done in these few weeks.  

The outpouring of love and support from our church has been incredible. Words can not describe how thankful and blessed we are to be apart of this family.  We have learned and grown in our faith as people, husband and wife and our kids have seen God work in their own lives.  We are learning to live in community, lifting each other up in prayer and providing for one another.  I could continue to go on and on about how God worked in the lives of our kids or in my own life.  There is so much He has done and is still doing. Our story does not end hear.  Today is September. 14^th and today was the day that our house would be foreclosed on. I have the letter with the date. I can say in faith that today it is not in foreclosure. We are so thankful to our friend Sean Ryan for helping us to modify our loan.  We are still behind in our payments and we are still in much need of God to continue to do a great work in our lives but He has given us ways to see Him and believe.  We are more in love with God and we have seen Him use us in some incredible ways through this all. We are excited to see His plan for our lives unfold. He is indeed preparing us for something amazing! 

Thank you to all the people that are standing with us in faith, praying and believing. Thank you for your faithfulness in keeping us in your heart.  Thank you for thinking of us on Aug 26 and for thinking of us today.  Thank you for not forgetting about us and for living with us in community.  I pray that God would be glorified and that you would believe with faith, that you are deeply loved by God. 

To God be the glory forever and ever, AMEN! 

This song has brought me great encouragement:

Hillsong - Desert Song