The Countdown!

Happy News!!!!

We have had 3 pastors call/email us this week that they plan to send in a pledge from their church by next week.

THEN, I just had an older gentleman call me that we have NEVER met.  He is retired Air Force, and he lives in the DC metro area. He heard us speak at a church out there recently and wants to personally support us.  He just sent in his $50 monthly PERSONAL pledge!  Wow!

So we are officially Counting down from 50 now!!! We ONLY need 50 more monthly support pledges...in order to leave for Spain!

That of course means we will be going FAR FAR away - :(
But it also means we will begin doing the work God has CALLED us to do!  :)

If God has been tugging at your heart to join our support team - Here's how:

You can click here to do it from our website:  Support the McMath Family to Spain

Then click on the BLUE link that says: Click here to fill out a pledge form.

OR you can just  Click here to fill out a pledge form.  The link will take you straight to the Assemblies of God secure contributor site.  NOTE:  You do not need a donor number or need to know the District.  Just leave those fields blank.

You can become a monthly supporter in less than 2 minutes!!  And help us reach the goal of ZERO pledges needed!!!!  We will keep the blog posted as the COUNTDOWN continues!!!!! Wooo!  Keep praying for God to make it happen!!

Pledges Needed	Monthly Support
15	@$100
15	@$50
15	@$25
5	@$15

YUCKY Fruit

Wednesday in the Word for Families

Another favorite Family Worship night we have had recently was:

The Fruit of the Spirit!

We did several studies on Galations 5:22 - the fruit of the Spirit.  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."  We talked about when we DON'T have these fruit in our hearts - and instead we have meanness, anger, and bad attitudes - that is like having YUCKY fruit in our hearts.  And what does God want?  Good fruit!

We have done individual lessons so far on the fruit of love, another on self-control, and still another on gentleness.  It seems that in our little home that the sibling relationship seems to be lacking these strengths!  So we are talking about it and praying about it!

It was so CUTE that night when we prayed.  Mia prayed, "God please help me to have self-control and not yell at my sister....and help us to have good fruit in our hearts and not yucky fruit.  Amen."

Encyclopedia of Info at your fingertips

Tuesday technology tip

A cool app I have used here recently is called "Articles" and is put out by Wikipedia.  Anytime you are stuck away from your computer, and you suddenly need research or info about something, you can open your "Articles" app and do a search on that topic.  It then brings up encyclopedia type articles about that topic.  I have used it when I am stuck somewhere and have no email or Facebook to catch up on....and to do some reading about different nations we will be working in.

Just open your "App Store" button on your phone, search for "Articles", select "Articles - the Wikipedia App", and download for 99 cents.  Cheaper than a newspaper!  And it is ongoing!!  :)

Happy reading!

Prayer Update

New target date to leave for our field has now been pushed to June 30th.  We are in the document stages of obtaining our Visa from the Spanish Consulate, and we must have 100% of our budget raised before we can depart!

-Please pray that the monthly pledges that we need will come in during the next 65 days! Pray for FAVOR.  Pray for God to move the hearts of the pastors and missions boards to join our support team and get us to the field so that we can begin creating the media that is so desperately needed to reach and disciple the lost in more than 53 different countries!!


-Here is the board we have posted in our kitchen that we are praying over every day:

Pledges Needed	Monthly Support
15	@$100
15	@$50
15	@$25
9	@$15

It could be 27 new pledges at $100 each and we would be DONE!
But, more realistically - when you break it down among different pledge groups - it comes to 54.
Either way - would you please pray that God will provide the monthly supporters? 
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-We have applied for our FBI background checks. Once these come back we will start the Espana Visa process.  Please pray that this process goes quickly and smoothly.  Pray that we have divine favor and everything moves according to God's timeline with no delays.


-A few houses have come open in the community near the girls school in Madrid.  Please pray that God will open wide the door for us to be able to quickly secure a home to live in that will be perfect for us in both personality and affordability.


-Pray that God will prepare our hearts and minds for language school.  Pray that understanding and pronunciations will come quickly for us!

-Pray that God will begin now to prepare the soil of people's hearts to RECEIVE the message about Jesus and that lives will be ETERNALLY changed.


THANK YOU....friends, family, prayer team.  I love where God's Word says:
 "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

Let's PRAY!

Macy's Heart

Whew!  I promised my special post about Macy to be here 6 weeks ago!  That was before I looked at my calendar!  We have had a whirlwind trip to DC to speak, our presbyter &  missionary retreat in Missouri,  applications and document process for FBI background checks, appointments for passports, and tax document prep.  Geez.  Busy, busy!

So...finally I re-visit sharing my story about Macy's heart today, and hope to get back on my usual blogging schedule.
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DISCLAIMER: I KNOW THAT MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS ON GIRLS BEING BOY CRAZY AS JUST BEING PART OF GROWING UP....HOWEVER WE WANT TO TRY AND INSTILL IN OUR GIRLS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE THAT A RELATIONSHIP WITH A BOY IS NOT SHALLOW...AND THAT GOD HAS DESIGNED US FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL.

SO - THIS IS JUST THE WAY WE FELT LED TO HANDLE THIS TOPIC IN OUR HOME!

A few months ago I found a paper Macy had been writing on that talked a lot about a little boy in her class last year.  It mentioned seeing his private parts....   Yikes!!!!  I wondered what she had heard or seen at school.  We are VERY careful about what she watches on TV.  Even if is a "kid" show - if they are constantly talking about kissing and making out - we DO NOT watch it!  So I decided that the time had come to be proactive about teaching her purity.  This was in October, so she was only 7 at the time!

I did some prep work first.  I PRAYED.  I asked God to show me a way to communicate to her the proper respect for her body and her heart.  And here is what He gave me:

I went to Wa-Mart and bought 2 little gift card tins that were identical.  In one I placed a $10 bill.  The other one I beat the mess out of with my hammer and stomped it into the mud.  (I really took out my anger at having to teach my 7 year old about purity!)

I also went to the Christian book store and looked for SOMETHING like a little figurine that would help me teach this lesson...  and found the perfect thing...

Then I picked Macy up from school that day for a special Mommy & Macy date.  We went to Chili's and had some nachos....I knew if she didn't EAT - she wouldn't hear a word I would say!  The girl is starving as soon as she gets out of school each day!

Next, we went down the road to Cross Church, which has a beautiful campus with a little lake, fountain, and 3 giant crosses.  I told her I needed to talk to her about something.  I showed her the paper I had found, and she got really sheepish.  After I questioned her relentlessly about if she had seen anyone's private parts, or if anyone had touched her (as someone that was molested as a kid - I know these are important questions), I could tell that she had just been exposed to kids teasing about showing their private parts.  I could also tell that she innocently didn't really understand the joking, and the other kids may not either for that matter.... but the door to curiosity had been opened.  So it was time to DIVE in!

We talked about how God had created our bodies and that certain parts are private....and that when you get married you share your heart with your husband.  I showed her the two little tins and asked her to pick one.  I asked her why she didn't pick the dirty, smashed up one....  "because it is yucky" was her response!  I then shared with her that when we talk about our private parts or let people see or touch our private parts - that is like making our heart for our husband all dirty.

Me:  "Do you think that your future husband will want a dirty yucky heart from you?  Or will he want the clean one?"
Macy:  "The clean one!"
Me:  "If you talk about your private parts with boys or show each other your private parts - that is not saving your heart for your husband.  God has created you as a very special girl, and he has picked out a very special boy to one day be your husband.  You need to protect your heart from boys.  You don't need to be boy crazy and talking about kissing them or seeing their private parts!  You need to save your heart for your future husband!  Do you think daddy wanted to get a clean heart from me?  Or did he want my heart to be all dirty?"
Macy:  "Daddy wanted a clean heart! I want to keep my heart clean for my husband".

We then prayed that God would help her to keep her heart pure for her husband, and to help her to know how to handle when kids at school talk about things they shouldn't.

After we got home that night, Brad and I together gave her a gift to help her remember this day and this lesson. (We wanted Daddy to be a part of this conversation too!)

We gave her a really pretty figurine of a girl holding a heart.  We told her that this was to help her remember how important it is to protect her heart and keep it safe for her future husband. (Seeing it also reminds us to continue the conversation and ask her about boys, school, etc...)

Family Worship

Wednesdays in the Word for Families

We have started having "Family Worship" time at least 2-3 nights a week.  We all pile in the living room floor and get out Macy's Bible.  Our first MAJOR lesson was:

We memorized Deuteronomy 6:5 "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength".  We did motions to help remember it.  We rehearse it EVERY time we have a Family Worship night.  I ask them, "What is the MOST important thing for us to do in the world?"  Then they chime in saying this verse.  I LOVE IT!

Better Music App for your Phone

Tuesday Technology Tip

I posted several weeks ago about downloading the K-Love app for my phone.  I have been really disappointed with the music selection...it seems VERY repetitive and I like a more modern selection.  Especially worship music on Sundays.

So.... I downloaded the app for KLRC 101.1 ( the music station of John Brown University).  I LOVE the music on this station.  And I LOVE that they play worship music on Sundays!  That way when we are in hotels on Sunday mornings, I just open the app on my phone - and immediately have worship music playing to get me ready for church!

Just open your App Store button on your phone, search for "KLRC" and when "101.1 klrc- the positive difference" pops up, select it, and dowload the app for FREE on your phone!

Happy listening!