Mark 11:22-24
22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
So I was reading a blog online and the writer referenced this verse. My mom asked me the other day what she could be praying about and my first response was that I would get my 10 recruits during Dream Rewards so Pete and I could earn a trip to Mexico. As I've been contemplating this prayer request, part of me feels like it's a very selfish prayer request. I check my motives every time I pray it and almost feel guilty praying for this type of thing. Thirty-One gives these great incentives and last year I was able to earn way more than I ever thought I could earn, so I know it's possible. I'm the type of person that when a goal is set in front of me, there is something inside me that pushes hard, hard, hard so I can earn it. I really, really, really, really (REALLY, REALLY, REALLY) would love to have a vacation with my husband, away from the kids, for completely free. Maybe the reason I want this so bad is because I know the reality of us taking a vacation like Thirty-One would offer on our own is next to impossible financially. Another "honeymoon" type trip for us is out of the question for a long time...unless it was free. And so maybe that's why I want it so bad.
So I come across this verse in Mark and I feel like it can be used out of context in so many ways and that is the last thing I want to do. But at the same time, I want to believe that God can help me be successful in earning this trip. When I first signed up for Thirty-One my desire was to make it a ministry and even more so that is my heart now that I've been in it for a year and a half. I have 61 women underneath me and I want to love them and serve them in the best way that I can. I want to lead well. I want to set the bar high for them and show them what is possible. With that said, I am completely dependent on the Lord's blessing and favor to make that happen. I truly believe that God brought this opportunity into my life. The name of my team is called Team 33:9 and while that sometimes sounds like a tacky name to me, the meaning behind it is significant. The night I signed up for this "job" God gave me that verse in Jeremiah 33:9 - "Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it." My heart's desire is to bring God the glory through this business and I believe that when I do that, he promises to bring blessings because of it. Our family has already been more than blessed through Thirty-One and it has done exactly what I desired it to do...allow me to stay home with Keira and Kellen. But I now want more than that. I want to show the ladies under me who Jesus is. It looks different than what I'm used to being that it's not a "ministry" position at a church, but I believe that through my actions and the way that I lead, that can happen in a very tangible way.
So back to my prayer request, the Mark verse...and the 10 recruits. Knowing that God has given me this business and blessed it in more ways that I could ever imagine (this time last year I had 3 women under me!), I choose to believe that this trip is something that He can also bless us with. Is it wrong to expect blessing from God? Absolutely not. My prayer is that God would lead me to 10 women who are extremely motivated and who want to make Thirty-One a business. I want to believe that I am going to earn this trip and focus on doing my part in working hard to make it happen. So if you're reading this, would you pray with me? Not necessarily that I would get the 10 recruits, but that God would be glorified through the process of meeting and training these new women. That I would meet these new women and show them Jesus through my actions and words. And maybe through this process, I would be able to earn this time away for Pete and I...a trip that we could never afford on our own, but maybe an answer to prayer and once again another confirmation of Jeremiah 33:9.
