"Set your affection on
things above, not on things
on the earth."
Colossians 3:2
15 month old Joshua at
Navarre Beach, Florida
"...As for me and my
house,
we will serve the Lord."
Joshua 24:15
And to know the love of
Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all
fulness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that
we
ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Unto Him be Glory in the
church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages,
world without end. Amen." Ephesians 3:19-21 |
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Testimony
Joshua's story begins at the
early age of 5.
David and I made the decision for
me to be a stay at home mom and homeschool our boys. I had a challenge of teaching Joshua
to read because he didn't learn phonics well. He loved to read books at bedtime since he
was six months old. At age 5, David began reading the Bible to him at night. His love for
God's Word soon gave him the ability to read, where phonics could not. He began reading
small words at first, then whole sentences. His favorite chapter to read in the Bible was
John 17. The chapter where Jesus prayed for His disciples to be one with Him, as He is one
with God. Joshua's love for reading the Bible continued through the next few years leading
up to the following blessing-
In August of 1997, we began to
give our boys, Joshua age 9 and Jonathan age 5, a weekly allowance. Joshua's allowance was
$6.00 per week. Since he was taught God's Word at an early age, he knew that his tithe to
the church should be $.60 and his offering was his choice. He chose to give $1.40 in
offering, making his total giving $2.00 per week. David and I watched as he cheerfully and
eagerly gave to church week after week for over a year, asking for nothing in return. One
morning in September, I was reading my Bible in Luke and read Luke 6:38, which says "Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down and
shaken together, and running over shall men give into your bosom. For with the same
measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you
again." I thought on this verse and silently asked God how He was going
to bless a nine year old with this verse. I couldn't imagine how He would answer me, but I
knew His Word is true.
God is truly Awesome and worthy to
be praised. If you ask Him a question be prepared to receive an answer. He may not always
respond as quickly as He did for this one, but His Word is true, and He expects us to be
faithful and obedient, and when we are, His blessings are poured out upon us. I asked the
Lord this question in September, and it was just a few weeks later that Joshua sat down
beside me and discovered his talent in sculpting. The newspaper article came out in
December, and Joshua's Clay Creations was a reality shortly thereafter. I never told
anyone about my question to God, until after the newspaper article came out. It wasn't
until then, that I understood that this was the answer to my question. I knew that a craft
show, where he had made and sold 10 Nativity sculptures was good for a 10 year old to
accomplish, but I never dreamed of the magnitude of blessings God still had ahead for him,
and is still pouring out on him. Anyone who receives one of Joshua's sculptures will truly
be blessed, not only by the expert craftmanship of a 10 year old, but also in knowing the
Tesimony behind the child!
Signed, A proud & loving Mom -
Cheryl Burkhardt
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