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Step by Step—Growing Your Finances

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As the parents of nine children, John and Amy say life is never boring.  

“To me, it’s like a Nascar race without any brakes and with no finish line. So, it’s full speed all the time,” laughs John. “But, you know, you get these quiet moments that are lovely.”

Years ago, when Amy was pregnant with their first daughter, she left her full-time job as a teacher. Even though the family was struggling financially, they tithed, a practice they learned from their church.

Amy remembers that time. “It didn’t seem like it was ever gone--you didn’t miss it.”

John was working in construction and doing handyman work on the side. Over the years, he began receiving periodic raises. Meanwhile, their family grew to three children. At that time, Amy started watching The 700 Club.

“The kids wanted to give. They liked that CBN was helping other people,” Amy recalls. “I was like, ‘Oh, I want to give,’ and they were like, “We do too!” So we just did it.’”

McKayla, now in her twenties, recalls those days.

“It seemed like such a small thing, but it had such a large impact.”

Amy says that during this time, God provided even beyond her family’s basic needs.

“They’d go to a garage sale and the free box would have exactly the Polly Pockets that McKayla wanted. He just showed them that he was their provider.”

In 2013, John’s side job was doing so well, he decided to focus on it full-time.

“The jobs started coming in, the phone started ringing,” John remembers. “We were faithful from day one, increments and increments, he’d trust with a little, trust with a little bit more. And that’s where God has kept us. He’s kind of just walked with us the whole way.”

The couple continued to tithe, and recently, John received his largest contract to date, that alone amounted to his annual salary from just a few years ago.

“I don’t really even know how I got from small to big,” says John. ‘“And, you know, I know it’s not me because everybody was, ‘Oh, you do this.’ And I’m like, ‘No, I don’t do anything. God does it all. I just—I just show up.”’

Even though they’re raising nine kids on one income, the McHughs never stopped giving to CBN.  

“We like giving to CBN because it’s an opportunity—CBN can do with my money a lot more than what I can do myself,” declares John. “Like, I’d love to build churches, right? That’d be a great opportunity, but I can only do one thing. By investing in CBN, look at the huge ministry and all the countries, all the locations. They can do things I couldn’t dream about, but I’m still involved because I give financially, allowing them to support that ministry. So, to me it’s a great investment in the kingdom of God.”

The family say they’ve learned the importance of giving and want to it share with others.  

“‘God says, you know, ‘Try me in this.’ It’s the only place in the Bible where he says, ‘Try me. Try me," Amy declares.

“You give to God first,” John says. “And we want to teach the children that. You instill it to them young and early and they see the blessings, they see the return on that, and they’re going to continue to.”


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About The Author

Amy Reid
Amy
Reid

Amy Reid has been a Features Producer with the Christian Broadcasting Network since 2003 and has a Master’s in Journalism from Regent University. When she’s not working on a story she’s passionate about, she loves to cook, garden, read and travel.