Tory Farina

Make Room For More Stewardship... pt 4

Neil Charpentier
Mary and I started tithing before ether of us had committed our lives to a relationship with Christ. We had a hunger for God and giving was one way we tried to grow spiritually.

My first Malachi 3 experience of testing God happened before I knew the scripture. We adopted our first child, David, and used our entire savings to pay the adoption fees. Shortly after, I got my first ever bonus at work and it was the exact amount of the adoption fees. God had worked to provide as He had said even though I was unaware of His promise!

I am now retired the Lord has blessed us with good health and enough money to continue supporting orphanages and other Christian works. We also have enough left over to take mission trips internationally. Luke 6:38 “Give and it will be given to you.” God is good, and loves us beyond our comprehension!

Make Room For More Stewardship... pt 3

Brian and Jolene Kirchner
We married at 20.  My wife and I were both working, making typical entry level wages.  Jolene made more than I did at the time, but with our combined incomes we were able to live within our means, mobile home, old cars, and not much left over. At the age 23 we became believers.  We were very excited about our new found faith, attended church regularly, and were eager to learn God’s ways and His will for our lives.  We learned about how to care for our family, how to pray, and we learned about tithing and giving offerings.
 
The first time I heard about giving 10% of my income I laughed.  No way!  We could barely make it on what we brought in, yet we were encouraged to just do it and see what God did next.  Everyone would say “you can never out give God”.  This sounded ridiculous! But, we did it; we started to give regularly not only in tithes but in supporting missions.  Within a few days a check came in the mail.  Something about a class action law suit and money for the settlement.  Huh!
 
Around that same time we made the decision to have Jolene stay home with the kids. Even though it made no sense, we took the step of faith AND continued to tithe. I was able to work a part-time job to help make ends meet.  I received a promotion, then another, and then many more even when there were no positions open.  God created positions for me along the way.
 
Every time there was a need, God was there to meet it.  Every time we were prompted to give, things were taken care of.  I can testify to God’s faithfulness.  We love to give.  We love to see God do amazing things in the lives of others.  And, you really can never out give God!

Make Room For More Stewardship... pt 2

Craig and Priscilla Koeckeritz
We have been giving to our church throughout our married lives. As we were blessed, we tried to bless others. We moved from giving some, to giving more, but within our comfort zone. We felt good about what we gave. Yep, we were being faithful. But we began to feel we weren’t really tithing our FIRST and BEST. We realized that maybe we weren’t being as faithful as we could be.
 
God had more in store for us. While we were comfortable at our level of giving, he started pulling on us to give our best; the FIRST ten percent. It couldn’t have come at a worse time for us. Priscilla was knee deep in starting a business. We leveraged all we had to invest and keep the business alive while Priscilla often went without a paycheck. Craig was used to getting a bonus and then there was no bonus.
 
How could God lay on our hearts to do more? To give our best to Him? We felt this was not the time for us to increase our giving. We struggled. We realized that we had it all wrong. God wasn’t just asking us to give faithfully. He was asking us to have some faith because He was behind us and willing to be faithful.
 
We made the decision to step forward in faith and trust that God would provide. It was hard because we believed we had far more control over our earnings and provisions than God did. We prayed, we stepped, and it didn’t take long before we were tested by more need. Many times we questioned God, “Are you sure about this?” Each time there was some doubt, God came through for us, at home and in the business.
 
Last year we were able to give more than we ever have before. The needs of our home, our children’s education, and the business… all met. God is great, and He is waiting to do marvelous things for us. Giving requires faith, hope, and trust, and God has heaped out abundant measures of blessings back to us. It feels good to know that we will be taken care of by a great and loving God!

Make Room For More Stewardship... pt 1

The Make Room For More funding initiative provides all of us an opportunity evaluate the way we manage our God-given resources. I want to share with you the stories of people from High Point Church who have learned to be stewards, not owners, of all that they have. These are true stories of their personal stewardship journeys and the blessings that have overflowed in their lives and families as a result of their obedience to the Lord.

Through this funding initiative your faith is going to be stretched! Let these stories inspire you to take action in your own finainces. Begin tithing, get out of debt, look for a way to get wet with "Make Room For More" and believe for God to do a miracle in your own life.

Dan and Jenny Mechtel
Prior to attending High Point, Dan and Jenny had not attended church as a couple and life was quite a mess. They were buried in debt and thoroughly frustrated with how the future looked for them emotionally and financially. When they started attending church they had differing views on the importance of tithing. “Live first, give later” versus “Give first, so we can live better”. As they debated on tithing, the debt and frustration didn’t go away, or even start to diminish. It took a few months but they came together and agreed to tithe.
 
In 2007 the budget was redone to take 10% off each paycheck first and then start working on getting out of debt. There was a renewed sense of commitment to God and to each other wrapped up in this decision. They were unified in their giving and determined to tackle the bondage of debt together.
 
Faithfully, each payday, the tithe check was written first. On paper, it didn’t look like there would be enough to make much impact on the debt. But, somehow, each month the credit card statement came back with a smaller balance than the budget alone would have produced.
 
Coming into 2009 they could see the end in sight. If they kept tithing and kept paying on the debt, they would be debt free in May! The plot thickened, in February, Dan was laid off. But, despite the setback, Dan and Jenny remained committed to tithing and God had a blessing in store because of that faithfulness. April rolled around, Dan was still not working and it was tax time. The result was a tax return of the exact amount needed to pay off the debt completely! The return came April 30, 2009. Friday, May 1, 2009, Dan and Jenny wrote the final check to the credit card company, just like they had planned in December.
 
Dan and Jenny have seen God transform their marriage, their finances, and their emotional health as they committed more and more of their lives to Him. Each time they step out in a new way, they are excited to see what God has planned because they know He is moving!

Elizabeth's Mayo Clinic Story...

A note from Elizabeth:

Dear Friends,

On June 13, 2010 I went to the Emergency Room with an excruciating headache. I was admitted to Regions Hospital in St. Paul Minnesota and diagnosed with a carotid artery dissection with a pseudoaneurysm. This is basically a tear in the wall of the artery and causes a clot to form in the interior of the artery. The change of blood flow and clot usually leads to a stroke. My dissection was deemed inoperable due to its location inside my head at the base of my brain. I was treated with blood thinners and released from the hospital after two days in the ICU.

On June 23, 2010, I returned to the emergency room and a second arterial dissection was discovered in my vertebral artery. This one was also deemed inoperable due to its location at the base of my neck near my spinal column and is believed to be a result of the change in blood flow and stress from the first dissection.

Having one dissection is uncommon; having two is very rare (2.5 per 100,000).

I spent two nights at Regions Hospital where I underwent a neurological exam every four hours to watch for signs of a stroke. Due to my age, medical history and rareness of this situation I was transferred to Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota on June 26.

After consulting with a team of specialists from various fields, multiple MRA and CT scans, vile after vile of blood tests and two nights at Mayo, I’m home! The doctors have found no underlying condition to date (although I will follow up with a Geneticist on an out patient basis). I will be treated with blood thinners and have a follow up MRA scan in three months. They believe that without further injury the clot will dissolve and the dissection may heal. Once this set of dissections heals completely there is only a 1% chance each year that I will have any follow up dissections.

These next four weeks are very important to my recovery. I have a lot of restrictions to prevent any further tearing in my arteries. Among other things I am not to push, pull or lift anything over 5lbs - which will be hard to do with a two small children!  

We have seen the hand of God throughout this process and believe that the prayers of many have made a difference. I was already on blood thinners at the onset of this event due to my difficult pregnancy, a fact that Dr’s believe likely prevented a stroke. The Doctors actual words were “...you dodged a bullet”. Every nurse that treated me assumed that I had suffered a stroke, because it’s almost unheard of not to with this condition. I do still have a persistent migraine headache triggered by the upset blood flow, but no lasting physical impairment. Praise be to Jesus who shed his blood for me!

We have experienced the very presence of God, which has sustained us despite the gravity of the situation. When we have been troubled, He has comforted us. When we have had to make difficult decisions, He as granted us wisdom. When we were presented with physical unknowns, He has given us eyes of faith. We are moving forward one day at a time believing for complete healing and days free of fear. I’ve never been more convinced that my life has a purpose and I intend to live every day pursuing my full potential in Jesus Christ.

Thank you to the countless individuals who have prayed for me all over the world; to High Point Church for surrounding me with love; to the many friends who have visited me in the hospital and helped care for our kids; to my family who has dropped everything and made me their priority; to my fantastic husband who has not left my side.

My heart is endeared to you loved ones!

Elizabeth Farina

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"Clear lots of ground for your tents! Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big! Use plenty of rope, drive the tent pegs deep. You're going to need lots of elbow room for your growing family. You're going to take over whole nations; you're going to resettle abandoned cities. Don't be afraid — you're not going to be embarrassed. Don't hold back — you're not going to come up short." Isaiah 54

The Lord spoke to Elizabeth and me through this verse over five years ago. It drove us to move into an area of the city that needed a church like High Point. It challenged us as we had 25 people and rented a theater that seats 229 people. It now challenges us as we look to the future.

 

We are making room. We have been having a lot of volunteers come to help us at the office lately, and since our lease was up we renegotiated for more space for us to use and control. We went out and bought desks to house volunteers and a table for staff meetings with yet-to-be-hired team members. (We are interviewing for a couple roles to be filled. So far the people I have interviewed have not been the right fit, but I am confident that we are not far from having the team that will take us through to the next level of growth.)

 

There are lost people in this city who desperately need to "find their place, develop their faith and live their potential!" They need Jesus and we need to be ready to faithfully handle what the Lord brings our way. The Lord will never give us more than we can handle. Peoples’ eternities are at stake. So we need to make sure we are ahead or are at least moving alongside the growth curves.

 

Get ready, because if 2010 continues as it has begun, we are in for an incredible adventure!

Don't forget who you are...

I came across this in my notes last year. It is critical that we remember who we are in Christ. It will change how we live our lives.

Who I Am In Christ

		I am accepted...
	John 1:12	I am God's child.
	John 15:15	As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.
	Romans 5:1	I have been justified.
	1 Corinthians 6:17	I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.
	1 Corinthians 6:19-20	I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.
	1 Corinthians 12:27	I am a member of Christ's body.
	Ephesians 1:3-8	I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
	Colossians 1:13-14	I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
	Colossians 2:9-10	I am complete in Christ.
	Hebrews 4:14-16	I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.
		I am secure...
	Romans 8:1-2	I am free from condemnation.
	Romans 8:28	I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.
	Romans 8:31-39	I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God.
	2 Corinthians 1:21-22	I have been established, anointed and sealed by God.
	Colossians 3:1-4	I am hidden with Christ in God.
	Philippians 1:6	I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.
	Philippians 3:20	I am a citizen of heaven.
	2 Timothy 1:7	I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.
	1 John 5:18	I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.
		I am significant...
	John 15:5	I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
	John 15:16	I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
	1 Corinthians 3:16	I am God's temple.
	2 Corinthians 5:17-21	I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
	Ephesians 2:6	I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
	Ephesians 2:10	I am God's workmanship.
	Ephesians 3:12	I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
	Philippians 4:13	I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

The Ikea Experience

I have a love/Hate relationship with Ikea.

We are moving offices next week. Praise the Lord I get windows! I am kinda tired of having an office in a basement with no windows. Tory needs creative nature to stimulate his mind. The new place has that. We are getting a good deal it will actually save us a few bucks a month to move... the church also received a donation for office expenses! Thus the Trip to Ikea.

High Point believes in using money wisely. We are a pretty lean operation that makes a point to live within our means. I do not believe that the church should operate out of a debt first principle. God gives resource for the challenge at hand. I don't read the bible and see the Israelites traveling through the desert with a ton of stuff they had what they needed and God supplied them when it mattered.

God will supply you based on where you are at on the journey. He rarely gives churches millions of dolor's to work with unless they are ready for millions. I remember the first $100 check, then the first $1,000 gift to the church, Elizabeth and I took a picture of our first over $10,000 gift and we have yet to receive a $100,000 gift but I know one is coming. It is our next barrier. AS WE ARE FAITHFUL IN THE LITTLE GOD TRUSTS US WITH MORE!

Every Dolor God gives us he expects us to double in the weight of souls. Think about the story of the talents. The good servants were those that when God left them with money doubled them. How are you working on doubling the few talents God has given you? If you are not working on doubling your talents it is clear that God is not pleased. So we want to use every dolor to advance the ball down the field. I am excited as we grow in our operations this summer. Hire an admin and expand our effectiveness. Now The admin and I can be in the office together without Elizabeth or another person because there are two offices and there are always people around in the building. We are sharing the building with three other lawyers. More opportunity for ministry. More opportunity for multiplying talents.


So when I got the donation for furniture and other equipment I know we had to shop around. I did my home work... looked on-line and found that the nice looking and least expensive option was at Ikea.

This is Why I love Ikea:

• We had a huge breakfast for a grand total of $5.00. It wasn't the best food but it was cheap and had funny names so that made it fun.  I kept looking for the Swedish chef but couldn't find him :(
• The place was totally family friendly! High Chairs, bottle warmers, and more! I love when places think about Olive.
• I carried a coffee cup around the store and every few desks there was a nice Swedish cookie.
• The furniture is cool! Everything says I was designed by an artist not a widget maker.
• It is inexpensive.
• WOW are the Organized! they can tell you day of arrival of merchandise and they know exactly where things are and if they have it in stock. Nice Job. That is a mad house and massive and some one knows how to keep it all running well.

Why I Hate Ikea:

• I get lost every time I go in there. It is like the coat closet in Marnia you time warp and everything. It feels like minuets and on the outside it is really hours you are in there... very tripy
• I get disorientated... there are short cuts sand you can double back and they put some stuff in home storage and some in office and some in bedroom and if you don't have the GPS tracker out you wind up circling the same yellow shirted Ikea rep. I sat down and wondered why there is no window or light to chart your course with.
• You have to pick up and load your own 400lb desk into your own cart and hall it around. I think I took a lady out with my cart but couldn't tell if it was me our her own cart that had backed over her.
• Not enough help... When you do finally find someone they are helpful but it could be days between sections to get to a person. and don't forget to write down the isle and row or your screwed.
• People in Sweden must be elfin sized... Everything is smaller... I don't know why but the tables and chairs and couches and beds are all lower to the ground and smaller. I am 6'2" and I feel like the Jolly Green Giant.

We found the stuff we needed and hauled 3 heavy carts out the door and will now begin the assembly process. Pray for ME! Pictures to fallow over the next week!

The Half Mile Hill...

I was running today and on the 3.5 mile route I choose I had to make a decision. Do I run down the half mile hill? Which as you know is a lot easier and more fun. Or do I run up it at the end of my run?

I choose to run up it at the end but half way through I realized that that was not a fun idea. To make matters worse they had just put road gravel down so it was like running on the beach. I felt like David Hasselhoff. I wanted to quite. But turning around only meant I would have to go up the hill again when I was less tired. Stopping would have only given me a break for the moment and walking meant that I would be giving in to the pressure. I ran the whole way up. Slowly, but it was still defined as a run… I looked it up.

I think life is like this. We have half mile hills that we face all the time. If we are pursuing Gods will we will face Half mile hills all the time. I am talking about Noah this week. 120 years he spent building the ARK. That was a long time filled with a lot of stopping or quitting moments. He kept going. Why.

It says in the passage regarding Noah that he walked with God. When I am running with James “the machine” Zwiefel, he tells me that I am not tired yet. I argue with him between gasps of air but he usually wins and I keep running. By coach knows that I can do a lot more than I feel I am able.

The first time we ran 3 miles I was tricked into it. It was actually 3.8 and when we finished I realized that 3 was no big deal. So what in your life looks like a half mile hill? What feels as impossible as 3 miles did? God your coach wants to walk you through it. He wants to see you victorious on the other side.

One final thought: For every up hill there is always a down hill!

Run and God will see you finish

ISAIAH 40: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

We are about to run this morning... My foot has a cute on it  and I am feeling tired. But i realized as I was walking Daisy, sometimes you have to push through the tired call out to God and run.

This week I am preaching about embracing uncertainty. God is our certainty. His promise is that he will never leave us nor forsake us. The reality we live in as Christ followers is not like those who have no God to guide there step. He wants us to get to where he wants us to go more than we want to get to were he wants us. That is encouraging because I don't always no what the next step is but i do know that i can not stop i have to maintain momentum and GO...