What's on your to-do list?

Lists are one of my favorite things. I will make lists for just about everything.

There is the classic grocery list, two types of course. There is the one that gets made throughout the week as food gets consumed and there is the one that is made up spur of the moment just before going shopping.

There is the list of Christmas gifts. Every year I make lists of people and potential gifts and that eventually turns into a list of what has been purchased for my sweet friends.

There is the address list. Have you ever sent out invitations or announcements? It all starts with the list of people and then the list of addresses.

There is the list of preparation. Are you hosting an event or in charge of one? Need to make the list so no small (or large) detail is missed. Food? check. Decorations? check. Invites? check.

And then there is the to-do list. This is the one that applies to everyone on everyday. Sometimes, I feel like a to-do list could apply to the hour. For the mom's out there, it probably always includes laundry and dishes because those two things are never finished. Then there is always some sort of cleaning to be done. Vacuum the carpet. Wash the windows. Or maybe it is the dreaded, clean the bathroom.

My current to-do list often includes the following: read, work on online classwork, write a newsletter, write thank you's, complete reports, and other preparation tasks for this new endeavor. Sometimes I even put laundry, eat, and shower on there because life just gets that crazy at times. To be honest, I will probably need to start adding sleep to my lists.

One of the ways that Africa Inland mission has new missionaries prepare is working through study of concepts that fall into two categories: spiritual and cross-cultural. I get the privilege of meeting with a lady from my church to help me through this study. It has been such blessing to learn from her and process the information and apply it to what things may be like on the field. We usually take some time to discuss what God is showing us throughout the week. She mentioned to me that she puts what God is telling her on her to-do list. What a concept?!?!? In our busy, rushed, over scheduled lives we have to make a list of when to pick up kids and appointments of all kinds. We make lists of anything and everything to remind ourselves of what we need to do.

How often does our list include the things we truly need to be doing? The things that God wants us to do? If we are obeying Him, won't everything else fall into place?

If God wants you to work on patience, then put patience on your to-do list.
If God wants you to have more grace with your kids, then put grace on your to-do list.
If God wants you to be more grateful, then put gratefulness on your to-do list.
If God wants you to practice self-control then put self-control on your to-do list.

God may reveal areas in our lives that need growth or change. The growing and changing can't happen in a 20 minute Bible study and it won't happen in an hour on Sunday morning. These things need to be practiced daily until God shows us that our focus needs to move somewhere else.

I don't know about you but this concept has revolutionized my list making habits.
1. It forces me to take time to identify what God wants me to be doing.
2. It will regularly remind me of #1 so that I can keep it in the forefront of my mind.

I challenge you to reconsider what goes on your to-do list. Is there something that God wants you to be doing that you need to add? If you are not the list making type, then I encourage you to write down what God wants you to do and put it in common places like a mirror, where you keep your keys, the fridge, or the coffee area.

What's on your to-do list?

Tanzania Financial Update

God has blessed me so much!!! No, really! I feel so blessed that I can start each financial update with trying to convey how much provision through all of you God has provided. Even better I get blessed twice each time one of you decides to support me financially. I know that God has called me to Africa and He has opened the door for me in Tanzania. However, when other people can "see" that same calling and feel as strongly about it as I do to the point that they support it, I get encouraged and excited about this new endeavor all over again.

I can remember in recent years reading blogs about fundraisers for adoptions, trips, medical bills, and maybe new businesses. It was practically unbelievable how much those fundraisers would raise in a few short weeks and goals would be met. They may or may not have been Christian but either way it was mind blowing. I can confidently say that I feel like I fall into that category now.

Enough rambling, here are two crazy numbers.

My outgoing support:
September 26: 5,239
October 13: 15,100

Yes! My financial support for outgoing has almost tripled in just over two weeks. I have no doubt that God will continue to provide the rest through people like you. I need to have 16,107 by November 13th and a total of 18,949.

I also now have 1,000 committed for monthly support. I need a 2,139 by November 13th and a total of 2,516. The good news is that there really is not much left when it is broken down. Let's round it to 1,500 that is still needed. That comes to:
30 donnors @ $50/month
60 donnors @ $25/month

I do want to ask you to prayerfully consider supporting my ministry on a monthly basis. If you feel that God is calling you to do this, I pray you are willing to obey and you trust Him to continue to provide for you as He adds another line to your budget. Please visit THIS LINK to make a donation and/or commit to supporting me monthly. That will direct you to a secured website that will prompt you to provide the needed information.

Again, thank you for all you have done to support me new endeavor. I appreciate not only your financial blessing but also your encouragement as you provide the necessary means for me to serve where God has called me.

Pick a Number

Simple is usually a good thing. This is about as simple as it gets for raising support.

I started with 100 envelopes, numbered accordingly. If you want to donate towards my outgoing funds for my move to Tanzania with Africa Inland Mission, you pick a number. Donate that amount (in dollars) and you might find a prize inside your envelope. You can pick as few or as many envelopes as you desire. Some of the prizes include vouchers for baked goods, gift cards, handmade items from Africa, and facts about Tanzania. But be careful, because some envelopes are empty.

After all the numbers have been picked and donations made, I will be a a total of $5,050 closer to my total needed for this journey.

The following numbers have already been called for: 1, 20, 23, 25, 77, 50, 99, 100

[picture does not accurately reflect what has been chosen thus far]

If you would like to "Pick a Number", please comment below or contact me through email or text message.

Donations can be made by check or online.

Check: make payable to "Africa Inland Mission"
            please do not put my name on the check
            please give directly to me (important for paperwork reasons)
            let me know if you need my address so you can mail it

Online: you can also donate online directly to Africa Inland Mission
            click HERE and follow the prompts

           verify that you see "Rowe, Katherine - Outgoing/Monthly Support" next to the amount box