From Dreaming to Living the Dream

Al and Mary remember taking long walks around an especially scenic neighborhood in the Pacific Northwest after they were first married.

“We would decide that it was time to exercise and take off and come up to this area,” recalls Mary.

“And we always kind of dreamed about one day this would be a great place to live, up here on the hill,” Al adds.

But they didn’t have the money. Prior divorces had left each of them in financial trouble.

Al explains, “It was a few bucks in the bank and a pickup truck, and that's just about all that I owned to my name.  I'd just started this new business. I was living basically paycheck-to-paycheck.

Mary shares, “Going through a divorce and not really having a lot to divide and bills to pay was scary. I was asking God, how I was going to make this work.  And I think He clearly spoke to me and said, ‘You need – you need to give, and I will care for you.’

And amazingly, through God's grace, I was able to pay every bill. I think it is God's response to my faithfulness.”  

When she met and married Al, he was already giving.  He learned about it from The 700 Club.

"I remember about the benefits of tithing and that you can't out give God and so I kind of tested it,” Al says.

Even during downturns in the economy, the couple obeyed God’s call to give.  One place they gave to was CBN.

“I just always feel confident that the money that I give there is going to a great cause and that it's actually meeting needs, for little kids and helping them out, and those are the stories that still get to me today,” Al emotionally shares.

They say faithful giving took Al’s medical supplies business from a two-man operation to a 50-person sales team.

Al explains, “God has opened up these opportunities for us, and that's one of the ways I think He does give back.  You know, we test Him, we give a little bit, and the benefits are incredible.”

Now Al and Mary don’t just walk abound that beautiful neighborhood. They live there, in a home that’s completely paid off!   

Mary exclaims, “Things have never looked better financially.”

Al concludes, “Test God. Start out as 700 Club member and see if God doesn't bless you and bring opportunities to you that allow you to give a lot more in the future.”