A TLP Snippet 4: We Won!

God's Provision for a Ministry Surprise

Welcome to a TLP snippet, Parenting Wisdom in Five Minutes or Less. I absolutely need to share something with you. It is an amazing blessing and it is so exciting, but please allow me to set the stage.

Okay, since its inception, Evermind Ministries, which is the the parent ministry if you want to call it that, that TLP and other ministries are underneath, we've been 100 faith-based ministry and to date we haven't received any funding or gifts from outside sources.

We're just saying a bit considering that we've been around since 2007 and we praise God for that. Our volunteers do all the work at their own expense. I can't brag on them enough and I can't praise God enough for the hard work that's been poured into Evermind Ministries, taking back the Bible, and now Truth Love Parent.

So when Truth Love Parent was launched in September of 2016, we didn't know what the future of the podcast would be, of course, but we signed up with a free account at Podomatic, the company that hosts our podcasts, and we started producing.

We did this because I saw the tremendous need for biblical insight for parenting. You know, for 10 years I've been counseling families, rearing my own children, and working with at-risk teens. The need for Christ honoring parents is great.

Our families are ripe for the harvest. God's Word has all the answers, but I saw a need for more laborers, specifically in the realm of Christian parenting podcasts, so we started publishing. But it wasn't long before we needed to upgrade to Podomatic's Pro account because the free account was quickly running out of online storage.

But even though we put our finances where our passion was, our funding only allowed us the most basic paid account. Still, we continued producing episodes because we believe to glorify God, to help parents learn to be intentional and premeditated.

Still, we knew we were only postponing the inevitable to a degree that in the very near future we would have to do one of two things. Either, one, remove our previous shows in order to free up storage and continue producing new shows, or two, start requesting donations in order to upgrade our account again.

This was a very difficult decision for us because our older shows are just as valuable to families as our new ones are. They're not pop culture related necessarily, or tied to current events, and I wasn't prepared to start asking our listeners for money.

A Podomatic Competition and an Unexpected Email

And this is when God dropped, of all things, a competition into our laps. At the beginning of February, Podomatic held a competition with just one simple rule. Include the hashtag Podomatic Unlimited when promoting new episodes on Twitter.

Even though I've never won anything in my life, I decided it was a great idea because we want to be the best stewards that we can be. So some of you may have even heard about this because I think we posted about it, about the competition, on our Facebook page.

Well, just a few days ago, while I was out of town with the boys at Victory Academy on a snowshoe retreat, I had a moment of connection where my cell phone was able to update, and I received an email, and it said this, Congratulations, you won.

In fact, it said you have, quote-unquote, been randomly selected to win. You see, it was my Twitter account at AM Brewster that was, like they said, quote, randomly selected. Well, I'll tell you what, friends, we were providentially selected.

A Free Broadcaster Plus Account for Life

But what did you win, you ask? And that's a fantastic question. Like every podcast host company, Podomatic has various accounts from their free option to their most robust and most expensive broadcaster account.

Well, recently, they rolled out their newest account, which is called the Broadcaster Plus. If an individual or business were to pay monthly, this account would cost over $900 a year. It comes with unlimited online storage and backup, unlimited bandwidth, and a host of other amazing features that include even free advertising.

Well, as of a couple days ago, Truth Love Parent now has a Broadcaster Plus account. For free. For life. That's right. For life. By God's amazing grace and divine provision, we never have to worry about running out of storage or bandwidth.

Anyone and everyone will be able to listen to any of our episodes as often as they like for life. And we don't have to pay for it. I don't think I need to tell you how amazing this gift is. We just want to thank our Lord, the wonderful people at Podomatic, and every one of you who prayed for God's will to be done in this competition.

God's Provision, Not a Confirmation

I've never been the type of person to see things like this as a, quote, confirmation that God is pleased with our work. I don't believe that's biblical because there are many, quote-unquote, religious institutions out there with tons of material blessings who aren't really being true to God's Word.

But I do see this as what it is. It's God's provision. He causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust, and we simply want to thank Him for the rain as we strive to be true to the Bible and be as just as we can be.

A Mother's Reminder About Miracles and Parenting God's Way

But I will share with you something my mother-in-law told me. I was so excited. I was calling everyone I knew, and she reminded me that many people ask God for miracles so they can start doing right, but God so frequently chooses to do miracles for those who are already doing right.

You know, that was a blessing to me as she said it, but that application is just as good for our parenting as well. Don't wait for some kind of sign or feeling or fleece to confirm for you that you need to parent God's way.

Start today, and God will give you everything you need to fulfill His will for your life. Have an amazing day, and thank you so much for partnering with us.