The Kingdom Assignment

Stories of a single dollar, a humble servant, and a GREAT BIG GOD!

Inspired by The Kindom Assignment by Denny and Leesa Bellesi.

See Cindi, Colleen, Dee, Cindy D, and Willow's stories in the comments section. Also see another new entry, January 3, 2009 from Karen in the comments below. Great stories!

Amazing stories... One after another. Oh Jesus may your name be honored above all names!

To Read the original post and all the Amazing comments, click here: The Kingdom Assignment.

New Entry 6-9-09 from Pam of Jacob's Gate:  Dear Lynn, It has been so long since you sent me money to give to someone as the Lord directed and I have waited and waited. This past Sunday, I was feeling very encouraged from our Pastor's message about Dealing with Discouragement so after church I took my daughter and her boyfriend out to lunch. As we were getting into our car after lunch a woman approach me and began to explain her embarrassing situation in that she desperately needed money for her family. I spent some time talking to her, learning that she had been there all morning and had only received 2 dollars, she had twin boys, had been raised Catholic, there was no longer a husband around and she had been unsuccessful finding a job and was waiting until Tuesday to receive a food basket. I prayed for her and we emptied our wallets including the money you had sent to me. I claimed the blessings that you had prayed on it for this young woman and thanked God for this opportunity to share His kindness. Oh I suppose there's a possibility the woman was dishonest but I felt that the time was right and I gave all I had. Thank you for letting me be a part of this blessing and I ask God to bless you according to His will. In Christ, Pam

New Entry: January 5, 2009 from Lizzie at Lizzie's Home: Meet My Woogie.

From Bernadine at Keeping It Real. Girl Talk

I received my Kingdom Assignment in the mail today and although I knew it was coming I still got very excited.  It came right in time because I've just put the finishing touches on Girl Talk and planned on distributing them by week's end.  Now I'll have an opportunity to pray over all of them and ask God's guidance about which magazine to put my envelope in.  
 
I've attached a photo, the envelope you'll see contains a sum of money to which I plan to add the dollar pictured.  I had already decided to keep the dollar you sent me, I'm going to laminate it so I'm not tempted one day when I'm strapped for cash BTW, the US$ is used interchangeably with Bahamian currency here, so if you ever decide to visit the Bahamas don't worry about acquiring foreign currency.
 
Thanks again for encouraging me to participate in this assignment.  I'm going to see if I can get some of my family members to match me and put something into more than one magazine.
Love you,
Bernadine

2-9-08 Update:

Hi Lynn,

I'm doing great thanks, I had planned on dropping you a line this week to let you know that your Kingdom assignment is still going strong.  I recently met the mother of a GT reader and she told me that her daughter had received one of the magazines that I placed the envelope in.  According to her it inspired her and her family to buy Christmas gifts for two little boys next door who had recently lost their mother.  She said the father brought the little boys over to say thank you on Christmas morning and that they were clutching the gifts tightly to their chest.

I haven't heard back from the other recipients but hopefully they were equally as inspired.  I certainly was.
 
Love you,
Bernadine

From Cheryl at Your Friend - Cheryl    Hello! I just wanted to share what I did with my dollar. When I received my dollar I was really excited to share it. I could not wait to see who would receive it. I folded and stuck it in my wallet as to have easy access. A few days later I was at Wal*Mart and was standing in line and was thinking, O.K. Lord is this the right time? the check-out lady or someone behind me? Nothing....Another week passed and my daughter and I were shopping for make-up and some lady there started a conversation with us. She had been sick and the Lord had healed her, so I'm thinking, is this the right time? Nothing....After this I felt sick thinking maybe this was the opportunity and I missed it. I had a few more opportunities. Nothing... I added a few dollars with it and put a sticky note on "the dollar" saying "Jesus loves you". I had been reading about the many blessings the others have been receiving upon receiving their dollar and so I was kind of getting selfish about giving mine up because I have been receiving BLESSING after BLESSINGS myself. Sorry.....I love getting HIS attention.

My niece has a boyfriend that lost his Mom to sickness a few weeks ago.

They do not live in this area so I did not get to go to the funeral. He is such a young boy (19 years old) and has a little sister that is 6.

The Dad is in prison so they are having to deal with this situation alone. Please pray for them. They visited with us yesterday for Thanksgiving. The Lord says, "now is the time", I did not hesitate to add a few dollars and give this young boy a card with money. The look on his face was priceless. I want to thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to participate in this project for HIM! Many thanks to you and Merry Christmas!

Hi Lynn!  I wanted to write and share my Kingdom Assignment story with you.  God bless you,  BP

 

When I received my Kingdom Assignment I was excited. I began thinking of how I could use my dollar. I prayed that God would show me what to do and how it could benefit someone else.

Now it's been a while since I received my dollar. There were a few times I thought "now is the time I should use it" but then I didn't and I felt I let the opportunity slip away. My eyes have really been opened because of this assignment to notice the blessings in life as well as to seek ways to bless others.

Since receiving my dollar I have had numerous examples of blessings that my family has unexpectedly received. One day we were at the mall and stopped for a free pretzel using a coupon my son had earned in the summer reading program. As we were exiting the mall, a man stopped us and gave us two more coupons for free pretzels! It was such a little thing but made us all smile. That same evening we went out to eat at a Mexican food restaurant. After we had ordered and sat down, our son asked if we could get some chips and salsa. At this particular restaurant you have to oder and pay for a bowl of chips so we normally don't get any. My husband and son went back to the front to order some and the manager said , "Oh here I'll just give them to you, no problem." Another small thing, yet I saw it as a blessing. Now just this week a friend from church asked if we could use some clothes for our son that she had bagged up from sorting through her grandson's things. I was amazed and overwhelmed with thankfulness to look through this huge bag of clothes. It is a blessing for us now as well as in the future because there were bigger sizes included too!

When these things happened I remembered my Kingdom Assignment and would think how such simple acts of kindness blessed my day and brought a smile to my face. I have learned from this assignment that I need to be watching for ways to help others. I have thought of so many different ways I could use my dollar and have really gotten excited about what God can do. After talking to my husband, I've expanded my Kingdom Assignment to be something we do on an ongoing basis. I decided that I would take $5 each pay period (every two weeks) and do something to bless someone else's day to show them God's love.

Since my husband was paid this week I took out five dollars to put with my other dollar. Today I specifically put it in my pocket for easy access. My son and I went to drop off our shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Another woman walked in at the same time as us. We gave our boxes to the volunteers, and I began filling out the information sheet. The other woman told the volunteer she didn't have money this year to pay for the $7 they request to help with shipping costs. I thought this is my time! I took the money from my pocket and gave it to her. She was very appreciative and passed it on to the volunteer. As we were looking at the stickers and other promotional items, the woman told the volunteer they normally do two boxes but this year could only do one. I was blessed to hear this and realize this woman's family was probably struggling yet she gave of what she had to fill a shoe box for a child to hear God's love. I know God's timing was perfect. I look forward to what else He can do because of this simple project in loving my neighbors.

 

http://raindropsrainbows.blogspot.com/

From Laurel Wreath at Laurel Wreath Reflections.

Laurel did an entire post at her blog including pictures: Go here for: What Has Touched My Heart This Morning.

From: Laurie Ann at A Magnolia's Heart Beats

The day I got my dollar, a friend who has been having a hard time financially really wanted to participate in something she would have been otherwise unable to do, so I prayed about it and felt led to combine my dollar with a few others I had to fund her participation in a group thing we're doing. Because I chose to do this, this meant that I would be unable to afford to purchase a book someone had stressed to me the importance of reading due to a circumstance in my life. I found

the book laying at my office door the next morning, and I had not even told the person I couldn't afford it until after payday. I began reading the book, and it helped resolve a question I had regarding something I had read in the Bible but didn't understand. I saw the person later holding the same book she had mentioned, so that meant she went out and bought an extra copy, either for me or herself. This kingdom assignment is a miracle of blessings. In blessing someone else, I was blessed in less than 24 hours. Seeing God moving like that is amazing, Lynn. Very humbling.

Read Dineen Miller's Post: I Was A Kingdom Assignment (click here)

From: Lynn Donovan, Spiritually Unequal Marriage (hey, That's me)

I went to the mailbox last Thursday. Inside rested a single pretty envelope. A rarity as I always have ton of mail. But there it was a card to be sure. I opened up the card and a cute little kitten was looking at me and the words on the card said, I Have My Eyes On You.

Opening the card a large denomination of currency fell out. No name.... Hmmmmm. The amount of money in the card was almost the same exact amount of money I invested in this Kingdom Assignment, including postage.

I came to find out that it was my mother who mailed that envelope even before she knew of the Kingdom Assignment.

We serve a fantastic God. Just invite Him to work in your life and give Him room. There is NO limit to what our God can do.

From Denis at Shortybear's Place.

The day I received my dollar, was the day I also received my first chemo angel assignment. So, I took that dollar, added more with it, and created a gift basket for my angel. God is so good.

This from Marsha At Marsha's Musings.

Oh dear ones, I've just got to tell you, I'm just so overwhelmed (in a good way), that I can bearly contain myself!  God is showing Himself to me in several ways as I prepare for this trip to Africa.

I'm going with no agenda.  I just want to be there and hold my precious babies!  Along the way, God is working in hearts, including mine.  Let me give you a bullet list of what's happened thus far. 

~ My cousin gave me lotions to take to the women in Kenya.

~ My dear friend, Angie asked if I would take 24 beautiful purple tee shirts that say Sisters of Faith.  They are on their way to me now.

~ Another dear friend, Lynn, decides to sponsor a kingdom assignment through her blog.  She sends me $1 and asks that I use it in some way to advance the kingdom and bless someone in some way.  I have the dollar.

~ In our devotions last week, I challenged "my girls" to participate in two things with me.  1) Participate in the 1000 Gifts gratitude journal.  Check.  They are doing it.   2) The kingdom assignment - I challenged them to each match my dollar and see what God wants to do through our willing hearts.  Check.  The dollar that Lynn sent grew into a pot of $7.

~ Yesterday, my friend Nancy from GA came with some school supplies.  Included were 10 spiral notebooks, 24 pencils and 20 pens.  hmmmm - Mrs. Selfish thinks she'll add them to the school supplies here at our learning center.

~ And now today.  I went into Dollar General and saw some really cute nylon bags on clearance for $1.50.  Selfish me thinks, "Oh, I'll get one for myself, Laura and the 3 girls.  Mrs. Selfish goes and pays for the bags.

~ I went to the grocery store and while I was there, just as clear as if the Lord was standing next to me He says, "You know, those bags would make GREAT literacy bags for the class Laura is doing out in the Mara.  Go back and get them."   So I called Laura to ask how many are in the class.  They have about 23 participating.

~ I go back inside Dollar General, and cleaned them out!  They had 25 bags.  So that meant that the kingdom assignment money would pay for almost 5 bags.  Super!  I'll pay for the rest as a contribution from our ministry.  I get into line.  The lady in front of me is getting some small items to put into shoeboxes for the Samaritan's Purse ministry.  We small talk as she second guesses herself as to whether or not the items are appropriate.  She has no children or grandchildren.  I assure her any little boy and any little girl would be happy to get the items she's buying as she sets them on the counter.  She asks me what all my bags are for and I told her about the kingdom assignment and our ministry buying the rest.  Here's her response:
"Oh please, let me buy them for you!  I would love to provide these bags and participate in this assignment with you!"  So now I'm in tears, she's in tears, the CASHIER is in tears!! 
This woman does not even live here!  She's from Florida. She attended a church on Sunday that's participating in the Shoebox ministry and wanted to take 4 boxes back to the church on Sunday before they head back to Florida on Tuesday.  Is this a God thing or what?!

~ So now I have 23 beautiful pink and white bags and 2 pink and black bags sitting here waiting to go to Kenya, totally provided by the Lord.  There are 25 bottles of lotion, 24 gorgeous purple tee shirts, miscellaneous supplies my friend Nancy brought, and I STILL have the $7 to be used towards the kingdom assignment!  

~ The Lord's not finished, y'all!!!  I can't wait to see what He's gonna do next!   We head to the airport next Saturday. 

Totally Blessed,
Marsha

From Rosheeda at Beauty For Ashes:

Ok.

 

So I was like 'what on earth do I do with this dollar?!'

 

Then I remembered that one of my best girlfriends is pregnant with her first child. She is not married and she does not make a lot of money. So this baby will be a huge shock to her already tight budget.

 

She is already planning and preparing for this little one and I know that all she has she will spend to get ready to be a mother. 

 

So the dollar you sent me is the start of the baby fund for my friend. I am putting aside an additional $15-$20 every pay period (which is weekly right now), and when my pay increases (supposed to happen this month), I will increase that amount to at least double that as an investment in this new life.

 

I'm not sure what the Lord will have me do with the money once the baby is born or if I will just continue to save for them, but I know that for her, this investment in her life and my niece's life (because I think the baby will be a girl ) goes beyond the physical. Somehow it will impact them spiritually.

 

I DO know that at least part of the funds will go toward a Mommy fund. So that she has some reserves to treat herself every once in a while to something special just for her. That fund she won't know about, but the baby fund I will share with her once the Lord gives me more direction.

 

For me, because my pay is so little, this is a pretty big sacrifice, but I believe it will be blessed tremendously.

 

I also believe that this has given me an idea for the single mothers in my community, as part of the Lord's vision for my life.

 

I'm gonna give her a mommy shower around her 4th month. Something simple and elegant and just for her - because she has needs that need to be met too and everyone's focus will be on the baby.

 

I think that I will begin a fund separate from this - possibly thru the pregnancy center at my church - to do a quarterly mommy shower. And that I ask retailers and stores to donate things just for moms - gifts cards to stores that cater to women and our feminity and such. Gift certificates for manicures & pedicures, and for hair stylists and the like. And whatever else the Lord brings to mind.

 

So the dollar you gave to me will go to my pregnant friends, but it has sparked a whole new idea to impact the community as a whole.

 

I will keep you posted on how the funds are used and what the Lord leads me to do, and also on the impact spiritually for my girl.

Comments

[Cindi]

When I received my Kingdom Assignment I was sooo excited to see what God had in store for me. After a few days, my husband gave me $7 just because(not knowing anything about the assignment). Wow....I put it with the dollar and now God, there is $8. Ha! Hmmm...I kept praying and looking around to see where God would have me share his $8 gift. Nothing. It was like walking around shopping and finding nothing. I was discouraged at first but kept praying what He would have me do. Yesterday I was coming out of the Post Office and a man came up to me asking if I had any money so he could get something to eat. Well, in the past, I always saw people asking for handouts as lazy, or even really that their begging was a supplemental job. God immediately changed my heart about this. My job wasn't to judge but just to be a cheerful giver. I gave the man 2 of the dollars and he was thrilled. I said to him, "God Bless You." The Holy Spirit immediately filled me with such joy to prove how pleased He was of me.What a blessing! I want to give the rest to a group at church that is feeding the poor. $1.50 will buy a bag full of groceries for 1 family. Wow! I woke up in the middle of the night with God telling me that giving is not about getting back, ANYTHING. When we actually step out in love and serve others with love, is when we are given such wonderful gifts! Thanksgiving is not just about being "thankful" because the other half of the word is "giving". I am thankful Lynn, for such a wonderful assignment that blessed "me" while blessing others. :)

[Colleen]

I put a donation with my Dollar and donated to the St Jude's Children Hospital.

[Bernadine]

Hi Lynn, I'm so blessed by the stories I've read so far, your Kingdom Assignment really is an awesome one and not at all as scary as I thought it would be, lol.

I have not received my envelope yet but I'm sure it will reach right about the time I publish a new issue of my teen girl magazine.

I plan to put $10.00 with your dollar in a random magazine along with a note for the person who finds it to pass $1.00 (or whatever they decide) on to someone of their choosing. I don't know who will receive it but I'm praying God will allow someone who really needs it to pick up that particular magazine.

Thanks for encouraging me to join in.
Love you,
Bernadine

[Cindy G.]

Hi Lynn,
I just wanted to report back to you on how my Kingdom Assignment went.
First of all, when I accepted the assignment I thought it was going to be about helping a neighbor and you would have some task for me to do, especially for a neighbor I might not like. (I guess because that is what Pastor Gregg has been speaking about, Love your neighbor.)
Well, anyway when I got the Kingdom Assignment Letter I was disappointed. I thought, "Now what am I going to do with this dollar?"
Then God gave me an idea. In my Bible study class one of the girls had just announced she was raising money to go to India on a missions trip. I would raise money for her mission trip as my Kingdom Assignment.
I sent out letters to friends and family explaining the Kingdom Assignment and that with their help I wanted to raise money for this mission trip. I told them I would match what ever they sent in. I only asked for a few dollars each but God put it on peoples hearts to give much more.
As of yesterday, Nov. 20th I was able to give my Kingdom Assignment recipient a check for over $400. (This was in about a three week time period.) God is amazing.
(I only put my first name because I do not want to be like the Pharisees who announce how much they have given or done. But I wanted you to know how much God blessed the Kingdom Assignment.)
Thanks Lynn for the opportunity to take part in the Kingdom Assignment.

[Dee]

My Kingdom Assignment dollar serves a great purpose. While it is clipped onto a magnet on the door of my refrigerator, this particular dollar reminds me to give to those in need. It also reminds me of God's goodness and provision; my refrigerator is stocked well, thank YOU Lord! Sadly, in my city there are many homeless people and I know that many will go without a Thanksgiving dinner. This Kingdom Assignment dollar reminds me of my blessings and my Christian responsibilty and joy to help those in need. With that in mind, the Lord has enabled me to donate to two city non-profit organizations to help provide Thanksgiving meals to the homeless and needy. I will not spend this dollar; it will remain on my refrigerator door as a reminder to me from God to share with those in need.

[Willow]

This Kingdom Assignment proved hard for me. I lost my first opportunity due to a lack of boldness. I've been searching for other opportunities and other than putting money in the Salvation Army kettles, which we do every year, I haven't found the opportunity that seemed right. But we've been trying to save money on groceries, since like everybody else things are tight here, which has entailed going to the WalMart Superstore. So I've been there 3 times recently and at least 2 of the 3 times (I can't remember about the first one) as you exit onto the highway from the store there has been a middle-aged gentleman there holding a cardboard sign that says Homeless Veteran Needs Your Help. I have just driven by. My husband and my late mama would have 10 hissy fits if I stopped to give money to a stranger on a corner.

I pulled out of there in a hurry this morning because I had more stops to make. Before I had even gone a block, God whispered in my heart "this is it." Now truthfully I know a lot of people take advantage of other people during the holidays, scamming folks out of money. This guy might not be homeless. He might not be a veteran. But everything in me said that didn't matter. What mattered was listening to the voice whispering to my heart.

So I pulled in to the Goodwill parking lot to see what kind of money I had on me. I had the money from the Kingdom Assignment, and additional $6 and a $20 bill. So I got out the $7 and started to drive around to where the man was. Before I even got out of the Goodwill lot, the voice whispered "no". So, not even believing that I was about to be doing this, I pulled the 20 out of my wallet to get ready to hand to the guy. It would have to be fast because that's a REALLY busy spot.

I asked God to please bless that money and its use, pulled back around to where the man was, and handed it to him out the window with the biggest smile I could muster. He thanked me and then I got out of everybody else's way.

I didn't get to witness and I wish that I had but I also think I wasn't meant to. The Kingdom Assignment was about loving our neighbors, I know, but it became about me blindly doing what God was telling me to do. I hope that man will use the money wisely and well as it is cold here (for Florida anyway) but that really isn't the point. The point was listening to what God was telling me and loving my neighbor whatever his true circumstances.

Thank you, Lynn, for providing me the opportunity to participate in this. It has been a particular blessing.

[Karen]

When I received the Kingdom Assignment, I put the dollar in the back section of my wallet and added to it from time to time. I waited expectantly as I kept praying for the right time to use what I called "my kingdom money". But, truthfully, nothing seemed to happen. The only thing other than my normal giving was the Sunday our church took a special offering to mail our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Because of God's blessings, I was able to write a check for a larger amount than I would normally have been able to give. So, at first, I did not really feel that was "my kingdom money" because I would have done this anyway. I had hoped it would be something so unusually or jaw-dropping that I almost missed the point of giving when and where needed and that it doesn't have to be large. As time has passed, I have come to realize that any time I give to something or someone that shares the gospel with others I am giving to further His Kingdom. And, there will be other times that I am directed to give out of obedience to the Lord not worrying that the money will be misused. So, I am making a special place in my wallet to always keep at least one dollar to be able to give when I feel the Lord's urging to do so. Thank-you Lynn for the opportunity to participate in this assignment. May God bless you and your family in 2009.

[Lynn]

Wow, Karen, this is awesome. You have inspired me and I am going to do the
same. Wonderful... wonderful. God bless you my sister. Thank you for sharing
what the Lord is doing in your life. Hugs~

<http://unequalmarriage.typepad.com/> Spiritually Unequal Marriage