Two and a half years and over fifty thousand dollars and we are finally debt free except for our mortgage. To some it might sound like no big deal, or to others it may seem like bragging, but to Torrey and me, it’s the most significant hurdle we have overcome, and it was only by the grace of God.

Three years ago, I was barely able to pay my bills, let alone tithe and give to others. I was 34 years old and had almost $25,000 in credit card debt. Not a proud moment in my life, but it’s the truth. When Torrey and I decided to get married we knew it had to be by God’s rules and not our own. That included our finances. What had to happen was a heart transformation that would put my total trust in God for his provision and blessing.

So I sold the car that I loved and started driving an older car that had belonged to my mother but was paid for. God put the idea on my heart to ask a dear friend if she minded a roommate until I got married five months later. I had never had a roommate before so this was new to me, but she immediately said, “Yes!!” I paid very little rent as Torrey and I saved to pay for our wedding in cash.

While we were engaged, Torrey and I attended the Crown Ministries (www.crown.org) class at Victory. (Click here for class registration and info.) This was more than a financial stewardship class. It was a heart-transforming lesson on what the Word of God says about how he desires for us to handle all that he has given us to manage; time, money, our jobs, future children, investments and so much more. This was the foundation.

First and foremost, we faithfully and cheerfully tithed and put ourselves on a budget and did not stray from it. We made sacrifices that were sometimes hard, but we never went without food, shelter or the basic needs. We sacrificed travel, entertainment, eating out, and new clothes and, sometimes, we ate peanut butter and jelly during the last week of the month when the food budget was gone. If something came up and it was not in the budget, we did not buy it.

But God was always there. We have had a lot of fun in these last few years. I have won tickets to concerts and sporting events, and people have given us tickets to events and blessed us in many ways. We were able to have people to our house to eat on many occasions. Our hearts’ desire was to go on a mission trip to Mexico, a first for both of us. We were left with only three weeks to try to raise the money and a few days before the trip, we were blessed with the exact amount we needed to go, plus a little spending money. We also found that things were going well for us. Our cars did not break down. We were not sick and things around the house were maintained and in good shape.

Now we are following the sound financial advice of Dave Ramsey from his book Total Money Makeover. This is a book that provides sound, common sense advice with a Christian value system. A theme in his book is “If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.” Our goal is to be “supernatural sowers” in God’s Kingdom, as my husband says!

We don’t know the plan that God has for our life yet, but we want to be ready to carry it out when we are called. Our journey so far has shown us that God is faithful, and being obedient to His calling reaps huge rewards for the greater good.

Amy and Torrey Edwards

This week, we received the following updates and pictures from Pastor Mark in India:

Dear Victory,

Greetings to you in Jesus name! We had a wonderful Christmas together with all the children. [We have attached] pictures of the children enjoying Christmas programs and [receiving] the presents we distributed. We did invite local village children and some village elders too. [All of] the children send their greetings to you. Thank you very much for sending your support regularly from “Victory World Church.” We were able to use your donations towards Christmas presents and clothes for the children, etc. Thank you very much for all your help and prayers. We love you and we are praying for you. And [best] wishes for New Year 2009. God Bless.

Love and Prayers,

Pastor Mark and Francina Mark

Rays of Peace - India

 

Dear Victory,

Greetings to you in Jesus name! Attached are the Pictures of two new calves that the villagers donated. [These] two calves will be [very] useful in the future for the children for the milk. We all had a wonderful Christmas and hope you [did] too! We thank Victory World Church for all your help and prayers.

Love and Prayers,

Pastor Mark

We want to invite you to join us for 30 Days of Prayer and Fasting beginning January 2nd. If you’ve never fasted, now is the best time, as this is a joint venture! In the New Testament, Jesus made mention of when we fast - not if - telling us that this should be a regular discipline in our lives. Also, we encourage you to join us each Sunday evening at 6pm in V1 for a time of Corporate Prayer and Worship. When we fast and pray together, tremendous breakthrough is released, and we’re excited to see what God will be doing through this fast. Won’t you join us?

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In order to help you in this venture, we’ve compiled this information:

Types of Fasts - You may choose a “Daniel’s Fast” - a diet consisting of fruits and vegetables, or you can participate in a total fast, consisting of water only, or a liquid fast of fresh juices. Other ways to participate include fasting from television, radio, internet, or anything that you recognize as having control over your life. Fasting is something the entire family can participate in to varying degrees - each person in their own way.

About Fasting - It is much easier to fast while active. Fasting will cause hunger pangs initially, but you will get the energy you need from stored fat in the body. If you are under the care of a physician, please seek his/her advice regarding the level of participation that is best suited to your physical condition.

Why Fast? - Fasting is the most powerful spiritual discipline of all those discussed in the Bible. Through fasting and prayer, the Holy Spirit can transform your life and produce incredible results. Prayer alone is mighty, but when combined with fasting it produces a powerful force which hell cannot prevail against.

Filling Ourselves during a Fast - The secret to being filled with the Spirit of God is first to empty ourselves. Through fasting, we empty ourselves of food so that He can fill us. Food is man’s greatest carnal impulse. Fasting helps you to master this appetite. When you can control the strongest appetite, you can gain control of the other carnal appetites as well. Your appetite acts as a prayer alarm. Instead of eating to satisfy your cravings, you pray. This keeps you focused all day long. We replace pleasures of the flesh with spiritual pleasure. Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Taste is a trigger which sets off certain physical and mental reactions or connections. When you taste the Lord through fasting and prayer, it triggers various reactions in your heart.

Best Ways to Prepare Physically for the Fast - While hunger pangs and weakness can be expected, you need not dehydrate, faint or get sick while fasting. There are several ways to prepare yourself physically for a healthy fast:

Days before the Fast

1. Stop eating foods that are high in caffeine or sugar.
2. Begin drinking more water than usual.

Day before the Fast

1. Eat something small every two hours.
2. Avoid foods with caffeine or salt.
3. Drink plenty of water.

Final Meal before the Fast

1. Plan your final meal early enough in the afternoon so there’s no rush to finish before your fast begins.
2. The menu of this final meal should contain high carbohydrates and low salts.
3. Do not eat too much in the meal before the fast, but drink plenty of water

Good Advice for Ending Your Fast - After 30 days of fasting you may be tempted to “jump right back in” and eat some of the foods you’ve missed. However, it’s much better to ease back into your normal eating habits rather than suffer from an upset stomach by loading it with foods it’s not ready to digest. Here are some healthy ideas for ending your fast:

1. Begin with the simple B.R.A.T. diet recommended for upset stomachs - Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast
2. Begin with brothy soups and avoid heavy carbs and proteins
3. Eat something small and light every two hours and drink plenty of water

Here are some questions we have received about this fast and our answers to them:

Q. Can you provide us with the additional scriptures on fasting as well as the types of fast?

A. Here is a good online resource that lists all the major scriptures on fasting: http://www.dianedew.com/fasting.htm

Q. Are we supposed to fast continously for the 30 days or do we break at some point in the day for example after 6pm?

A. The direction of your individual fast is completely a personal decision between you and God. For the Victory 30-day Fasting and Prayer, there are no set rules regarding which types of fast you choose or how long you fast during the day. Many people choose to follow the Daniel Fast for 30 days or split their fast up into four separate weeks of different fasts such as water only, fruits, Daniel fast, etc. Some are being led to Media fasts or other types of fasts depending on what God is trying to do in their personal lives. The main objective is that as a church we are joined together in fasting and believing God for strength and blessing for our church, our families, our nation and our world this year.

Q. I am married, is sex allowed during the fast?

A. Regarding sex during a fast, as a married couple you are allowed to have sex during a fast unless both you and your spouse are in agreement to abstain for a certain period of time. Essentially, one spouse cannot call a sexual fast without the agreement of the other spouse. However, a sexual fast doesn’t necessarily have to coincide with other types of fasts.

Q. I was wonder if I may participate in the 30-day fast even though I’m not a member (yet)?

A. Absolutely, we welcome your participation and partnership with us in the season of fasting.

God has a plan for each of us - often we don’t know what He wants to accomplish. Yet, we can trust that because He is good, His plans are good. Sometimes, things that seem more like evil to us are actually things that God is using to accomplish His purposes.

Often, when things get difficult and uncertain, God is trying to shake things up a little bit in order to get our attention. He wants us to draw close to Him. When we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. His desire is intimacy.

In order to walk in intimacy with the Father, we need to:

• Surrender to God’s plan for our lives, pushing past the barriers of fear, pride and confusion and learning to trust and obey Him.
• Encourage one another. We are not meant to do this on our own. We need one another. We have much to learn from one another.
• Rejoice in the Lord, no matter what the circumstances are. If God is good, loving and in control of our lives, we can trust Him completely and rejoice, knowing that He is accomplishing His good purposes in us.

If there is some shaking going on in your life right now, consider that this is probably God at work to bring you into deeper intimacy with Himself and to accomplish His higher purposes in your life.

That’s a good word. As we face the coming year, the best way to have a certain and secure future is by connecting deeply with God. To learn more about doing that, let me encourage you to listen to this message again (or for the first time if you missed it last weekend).

Also, let me mention this: one of the best ways to draw nearer to God is through fasting and prayer, and God has invited us to set aside 30 days at the beginning of the new year for just that. So, I encourage you to join us in 30 Days of Fasting and Prayer beginning this Friday, January 2nd. I’m excited to see what will happen as a result of our church coming together and drawing nearer to God as a body. What a great way to issue in a very happy and blessed new year! And that is my wish for you and your family!

We are created in the image of God; intended to reflect God in the earth. Family is God’s idea of how to reflect His image, His idea of relationship, in the earth. He wants us to work together as a team - to work as a “we” rather than just a “me.” He is calling us back to His original purpose for the family. That purpose includes four areas of focus:

1. The family is to be a shelter from the storms of life. Everyone experiences storms, especially in the areas of failure, change, unexpected events and rejection. Family should be there to help shelter us in the midst of them.
2. The family is to be a learning center for life. Our goal is to establish and then move children from parental control to self control and then ultimately to God control. Families are intended to train children in godly relationships, character and values.
3. A family is a place to enjoy life together. HAVE FUN TOGETHER!!! Life needs to be full of fun. Don’t be boring. There’s too much at stake in your kids lives to let them tune you out just because you’re boring.
4. A family is to be a launching pad for ministry. Parents have the opportunity, and indeed, the commission to mold and shape their children to prepare them for God’s purpose for their lives. That means getting the foolishness out of them and training them in the ways of the Lord.

Let me encourage you to take advantage of the many family resources we have available here at Victory, if you haven’t done so already; listen to or watch this week’s message (and previous messages in our current series, WE: Unleashing the Power of Family), going through the Ancient Paths seminar or taking some of our Victory Family University parenting courses.

God has a definite plan and purpose for the family. If we want to put a stop to the devil’s plans and the prevailing trends toward the destruction of our culture, we need to know and pursue God’s purposes in our families. As we do so, one by one, family by family, we can make a tremendous difference in our world.

Marriage is a lot of work. But, it’s worth the work when you do it the right way - God will bless it! From the very beginning, God’s plan was for men and women to come together in marriage; to come together as one flesh; to live in loving relationship with one another; and, to model the marriage that we would ultimately have with Him - joining with Him in love for eternity.

But, society has made a mess of this. There’s so much brokenness. We live in a “me” generation and we need to change that. A healthy marriage is simply not possible if we are only focused on ourselves, our wants and our needs. We have to move from “me” to “we” if we want our marriages to work. In fact, that holds true not only for marriage, but for every relationship.

This week, I want to make you aware of some (though not all) of the main qualities of a healthy marriage. If you’re married, these are things to implement. If you’re single, they are some things you should expect.

1. You have to give more than you take. The more you give in a relationship, the more fulfilling that relationship becomes. Conversely, the more you take, the more your marriage will suffer.
2. You can’t take yourself too seriously. Laughter is good. Both spouses need to be able to laugh with each other and at themselves. We’re funny people. If you never laugh and have fun together, your marriage will suffer.
3. Learn to communicate at deeper levels. This is always at the top of the list for needed improvements in a relationship. You have to communicate in the deeper levels (dealing with emotions and being transparent) to have a healthy marriage.
4. Work on staying humble in your relationship. Pride is at the core of every failed relationship. Be humble enough to admit when you’re wrong even when you don’t think you’re wrong - it’s not worth it. The relationship is more important. There’s nothing that two humble people can’t overcome.
5. Make a decision that divorce is not an option. If divorce is an option, you will divorce. God does not see marriage as merely a contract on a piece of paper, but as a covenantal vow. God never intended divorce to exist. God hates divorce.

Marriage is not easy, but it is wonderful…when it’s a healthy, blessed marriage. If you want that, whether you’re currently married or would like to be someday, I encourage you to listen or re-listen to (or watch) this week’s message to find out What it Takes to Make a Marriage Work. By unleashing the power of family in this way, we can begin to reverse the trend toward increasing brokenness in our society and experience a whole new level of blessing in our lives which will carry on for generations to come.

Our hearts were moved by the response to this weekend’s iCare Christmas Gift to the World offering. After seeing the video and learning more about the problem of modern day slavery and child sexual exploitation in Atlanta many of you were moved to tears and compelled to take action.

This Christmas as part of our iCare campaign and Christmas Gift to the World offering, we are partnering with three ministry organizations to make an impact on the problem of child sexual exploitation and human trafficking in our city.

First, prevention, through our support of Innocence Atlanta, we help raise awareness not only of the problem but of it’s root cause – the demand for sexual services. Innocence Atlanta focuses on raising awareness and shining a light into the darkness.

Second, intervention, through our support of Not For Sale, we help provide valuable resources to our local law enforcement community, churches and others who are focused on ending modern day slavery in our lifetimes. Not For Sale works closely with law enforcement to not only identify human trafficking rings in the local Atlanta are, but provide valuable evidence needed for the arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of the perpetrators.

Lastly, restoration, through our support of Wellspring Living, we help provide a new life, healing and hope for young women rescued from sexual slavery and exploitation. Wellspring works with the girls to give them a home, reconnect them with their families, restore their education and help them come into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.
If you weren’t able to be there this past weekend, we encourage you to get involved. Watch the video below for more information:

We want to thank you for your prayer support and financial participation. Don’t forget to leave your comments!

Last week, I talked about Breaking Generational Curses. This week, for the second message in our current series, WE: Unleashing the Power of Family, my wife Colleen talked about the next and more exciting step: Releasing the Blessing. She brought a message that was full of power, life, encouragement and hope. Here’s a little bit of what she said:

Home is the most important place on earth. Yet, our experience tells us that it’s not always the best place. It’s certainly not always the place that teenagers want to run to. But home is supposed to be a place where you receive attention, blessing, love, affection and value; a safe haven. That kind of a home doesn’t just happen by chance. There are things we need to do in order to create it.

For most of us, our parents gave us the best they had, but too often what they had was a lot of cursing. However, we live in a generation that has access to a lot more understanding and wisdom about generational curses and blessings. We are a transitional generation. We can be a catalyst for change. We can stop passing on the curses and start passing down the blessings - blessings that will last a thousand generations.

It’s never too late to start creating a “Blessing Zone” in our homes. Here’s what this kind of household looks like:

1. The family is committed to honoring the Lord Jesus as the center of the home.
2. Each family member is accepted and honored for who they are uniquely created to be.
3. The climate of the home is positive, void of negative undercurrents, and overall, the state of the home is non-judgmental.
4. Guards are established, preventing toxic communication in the home; harsh and unjust words are avoided.
5. Communication is done with regard to that which is honoring, live-giving and acceptable in God’s sight.
6. Members of the family genuinely care for one another and demonstrate their affection on a daily basis.

There’s a tremendous amount of power and blessing in this teaching. Make sure you listen to or watch the whole message if you want to learn how to release generational blessings into your family line for generations to come. Also, if you haven’t already done so, let me encourage you to take advantage of the Ancient Paths Classes that we offer regularly throughout the year. It covers all this and more in depth, going through the process of breaking generational curses and releasing generational blessings. Let’s stop the destructive power of the enemy in our families and in our culture. Start releasing the blessing!

There’s been quite a breakdown in our society. Broken homes have become more and more prevalent. Fewer and fewer people can honestly say they were raised by a loving father and mother according to biblical family principles and in the fear of the Lord. Those who have been raised in dysfunctional families are going on to create even more dysfunctional families. People are even trying to redefine what a family is. Historically, one can readily see that every time a society begins to do this, its days are numbered. The breakdown of the family leads directly to the breakdown of society. It’s clear that unless something changes, our society is nearing its end.

So what can we do? First, we need to be aware of some things that are going on “behind the scenes.” I’ve discussed previously the fact that as we read the scriptures, we see two powers at work in the world, both vying for our future. The first is God, who seeks to bless us and set us free from the power of sin and the curses that it brings. The other is our enemy, the devil, who seeks to bring dysfunction by ensnaring us in sin, iniquity and curses.

In God’s Word, we see that iniquities - areas of repeated sin that we can’t seem to get free from - are passed from one generation to another through the bloodline. This becomes what we call a “generational curse.” And, along with that curse comes a familiar spirit - a demonic spirit that follows a family generation to generation, intimately knows all their weaknesses and works to extend its influence indefinitely.

Many of us can see this at work in our own lives if we will take even a moment to think. Let me ask you; are there things you’re struggling with that you just can’t seem to get free from? Have you noticed that you struggle with the same kinds of sin as others in your family? Are there things that you thought you dealt with a long time ago that keep trying to reestablish themselves in your life? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re dealing with generational curses.

Thankfully, there’s good news! Jesus died on the cross and rose again to set us free. We are now redeemed from the curse, and God wants to break these curses off of our lives. We no longer have to be bound in our sin, and we can stop the curse from being passed on to our children or others in our family.

How? Well, it’s a process. That process consists of seven steps that I’ll list briefly below. However, there’s a lot more to this teaching - more than I have space to write here - so I encourage you, if you want to experience true freedom from generational curses, listen to or watch this message, go through the steps and then, as soon as possible, take the Ancient Paths seminars that are offered regularly throughout the year here at Victory. If you’ll do that, you and your family will experience true freedom as never before.

7 Steps to Breaking the Curse

1. Acknowledge and confess the iniquities of your family.
2. Forgive any of your family who have sinned against you.
3. Confess your participation in any sin or iniquity that is a part of your life now.
4. Ask God to forgive you and cleanse you.
5. Repent before another person and commit to change.
6. Submit your will to God.
7. Declare your authority over the curse.

Earlier this month, nearly 150 women joined Pastor Colleen and her special guest, Ann Platz for an interactive time of sharing about some of the issues that are closest to the hearts of women. They began the evening with some delightful hors d’oeuvres and refreshments in the lobby. Then, after some praise and worship, Pastor Colleen and Ann began to share some of the things God had put on their hearts. Here are some of the highlights:

God has a plan and a purpose for each individual woman. That purpose was in His heart long before we were even conceived. Understanding that truth is foundational to our identity as women. Every woman is called to do things just as great as those Esther did. Yet this is often hindered by our perceptions. We need to allow God to destroy our faulty perceptions and replace them with true ones.

Learn to cultivate being a good listener. That means: look in people’s eyes; engage, be attentive, respectful and honoring. Then, when you speak, everyone will want to listen to you. Simply learning to listen well will have a tremendous impact on how you are received. It can quell hair-trigger situations and open many doors that wouldn’t open otherwise. Practice on your husband or your children (if you have them) and see the difference. This has to come from a heart that is sincere and full of honor towards others. But, that’s not really that hard to do. Once you understand your value in the eyes of the Lord, it’s so easy to see how much He loves everybody else, too. Then, out of that, you honor people in the way that you engage them.

This is missing in our society because women are not leading in this. We need to start leading in honoring others, in being gracious, to our children and our husbands, and to strangers in the line at the grocery store or in traffic. Women have tremendous influence in this world. We all have a sphere of influence. Why not decide to put on a cloak of honor for the next month and respond to everyone around you based on that? Ask God to give you a love for people in every circumstance. Consider this: Manners will often take you places that money and education will not.

Women need to embrace femininity. Femininity is the softer side of God; it is the mothering heart of God; the privileged place of the female. It’s part of God’s purpose for women. A woman who embraces femininity, who embraces her purpose, commands respect. A “purposed” woman is focused, confident, more of a listener than a talker, on mission, understands what she’s to do and where she needs to go. Esther is a great example.

In addition, Pastor Colleen and Ann addressed questions from some of the ladies in attendance about: recapturing femininity, identifying your purpose, the importance of and finding mentors, mothers being in the home versus in the marketplace, dealing with a husband’s addiction to pornography and the pitfalls of multi-tasking. Their answers were full of wisdom and insight that ministered deeply to those who asked the questions, as well as many others.
Well, that’s a brief look at the latest ChickChat. We’re sorry if you missed it, but hope you can make it next time! You won’t want to miss another one. So, be on the lookout early next year!

(Click on the thumbnails to view photo gallery of this event)