|
|
| Enjoy
the blessings that come from the Law of Reciprocity.
Give
to CBN. |
| |
|
BLESSED BY GOD
Young, In Love, and Financially Secure
By Ken Hulme
The 700 Club
CBN.com –
Grant Cole was a high school football star. Eighteen-year-old
Candace was a member of the homecoming court. And when they met,
it was like something right out of a movie — a movie theater,
that is.
“I worked at the concession stand at the local movie theater.
And his friend, who worked with us, she introduced us,”
Candace said. “He threw a couple of straws at me to get
my attention… which was kind of cute. I told him I’d
get him back, and he didn’t believe me, so I took a handful
of straws and some sugar and he was watching his movie and I walked
in and dumped them on his head.”
“Who would do that?” Grant said. “It was quite
surprising.”
Candace is convinced that Grant started liking her at that moment.
They became fast friends and soon decided to get married.
So how can a young couple like Mr. and Mrs. Grant Cole make it
in today’s tough economy? Through a lot of hard work and
obedience to some principles they learned a few years back.
By age 15, Candace was working hard at a nearby Winn Dixie. She
didn’t make a lot of money, but she sure knew what to do
with the first 10 percent.
“I was always taught to tithe,” she said. “When
I worked at Winn Dixie, that was the first thing I did. The first
10 percent goes to God.”
By the time she married, Candace had worked for several other
companies as well — including the movie theater where she
met Grant.
Meanwhile, even before he met Candace, Grant was proving himself
at a local car dealer, earning top sales awards during his time
on the floor. But once he got married, he knew he would need to
find a new job.
“It was the hours,” Grant said. “The hours
weren’t the best for newlyweds.”
So Grant went to work for a cabinetmaker installing beautiful
cabinets. As a couple, the Coles had decided to continue doing
what they were doing as teens: to give.
“We know that we can help people through our giving …
we give to a lot of missionaries,” Grant said. “Just
knowing that you’re putting that seed in gives you gratification.”
But even as they tithed on their modest earnings, they decided
to do something more.
Candace remembers one day when Grant came home from work and
she introduced the idea of giving to The 700 Club. Grant told
her that they should “learn more about them.” He was
a little skeptical, she said.
“So I showed him, and we looked online at all the organizations
they were helping … feeding hungry people,” Candace
said. “And he said, ‘We can do it.’ So we called
and made a pledge.”
Less than a month later, they decided to increase their pledge
to 700 Club Gold. How can they afford to give $40 a month –with
a new baby on the way?
“There’s no way we couldn’t afford to give
the $40 a month,” Candace said. “The choice between
going out to eat once a week or giving to God and giving to His
eternal reward is so much more important than just fulfilling
some earthly need. God says the things of this world are just
going to pass away, and you have to have your eyes on heaven and
store your treasures in heaven. And that’s what we’re
working for.”
But as the Coles have found, they are already starting to reap
the blessing of their giving.
Grant, who has always loved the theater, was offered a sound
and lighting job at a theater within walking distance from their
new house!
That’s right… at 19 years old, the Coles have been
able to buy their first home—without help from their parents
or anyone else! In fact, in what has been a very volatile housing
market, where prices have jumped by 50 percent during the last
year, the Coles wondered at first whether they would ever be able
to afford a home.
“We were really blessed to find this home,” Candace
said. “The real estate here is very high. We had a friend
who was selling this house, and he wanted $110,000. There was
a lot that needed to be done in the house, and we offered him
$93,000, which was a lot lower, but we prayed about it. We got
a call later that night, and he said, ‘All right.’”
To what do they attribute these blessings? They attribute them
to their obedience to give and to the kindness of God.
“God’s been so good to us,” Grant said. “What
other 19-year-old has a house like we do right now? He blessed
us tremendously. He gave us a house that normally costs $250,000
in this area for under $100,000. That just doesn’t happen
without God.”
“If you’re not giving, you’re cheating yourself
out of a blessing,” Candace said. “It’s worth
giving to see what God can do.”
Grant and Candace Cole – Financial Secure at Age
19
God is true to His word! Grant and Candace acted in obedience
to God's word and were amazed by what He did in their lives. He
will amaze you too!
Discover God's secret of reciprocity by becoming a CBN partner
today. Through your partnership with CBN, you will help feed hunger
children here in America and around the world, give practical
teaching and biblical answers through The 700 Club broadcast,
and bring relief to those with physical and spiritual needs. Join
today!
CBN IS HERE FOR YOU!
Are you seeking answers in life? Are you hurting?
Are you facing a difficult situation?
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
|
