Monthly Archives: August 2013

How we (the Forsmans) give to God.

23 Friday Aug 2013

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Wow, what a crazy and fun week.  I’ve had some time to look back and reflect on the journey to where we are today, but not much.  As I write this we only need 5 people to give $15/month and we will have reached our 75% goal before deadline.  Wow.  The way things have been going, that may actually change before I finish this blog.  It has been a miracle after miracle kind of month.

Lindsay and I had about 50% of our budget raised and we talked about how we were going to show God that we appreciated what He was doing to help us.  We obviously tithe on everything we earn and even up to the gross, not the net.  That’s a given if you are a Christian.  Yes, God can get money from the mouth of a fish, but He won’t need to if we do what He has asked us to.  We decided that as we reach each 20% mile marker we need to give $20/month to another missionary who is trying to raise their own budget.  Well, we had passed 40% and decided to add 2 missionaries that we knew personally.  Once we did that, our increase came in at crazy speeds and from unforeseen places.  God was proving all sorts of things to us and  really just blessing us like crazy.

We had a deadline to reach 60% and we finally blew past that and hit 65%.  Wow, we were going into camp season and summer and everything else that brings and were just so happy to have gotten there.  We were given a 3 month extension to reach 75%.  Ok, that seemed doable at the rate everything was happening.  Well, summer was decent with a few people joining our support team, but it wasn’t what we were needing.  We were 40 days from our deadline and we posted that we needed 40 people to do $15/month to reach our goal by deadline.

Sadly, we had taken a little too much time to decide who that 3rd missionary we were going to add was.  Not that we did it on purpose, but we had just been very busy and distracted and very stressed.  One day about 20 days out, I messaged Lindsay about a particular missionary.  She laughed because she was looking at their facebook page at that very moment.  Ok, no questions, we added them that day.

So, we were leaving for General Council still sitting at 66% and in need of a miracle.  We had just added that 3rd missionary and wow, God began to do some amazing things.  In a week where I wasn’t able to really do much as far as support raising God increased our support by about $200.  Talk about 10 times return on investment.  It hasn’t stopped either.  We are now 9 days away from our deadline and only need $75/month more.  That’s a miracle.  God has done a miracle for us.

Why do I call it a miracle…because I’m not very good at raising support.  Trust me, there’s plenty of proof to support that statement.  In spite of me, God has provided.  He told me He would provide for our budget through prayer and it is working.  He is doing it.

Now, some would say that I’m saying I give so I can get from God.  No, I give out of obedience.  I give, because He has commanded me to give.  I give, because the more I get to know Him I love and trust Him all that much more.  I find pleasure in giving regardless of what comes in for us.  During the tough times when we were struggling and there was no increase (we’ve had months and months of that), we continued to give because there is no other option.  Not giving our tithe and now our missions faith promises is not an option.   I can cut out amenities before I cut out giving, because He can provide for me better on 10% income(which He did) than I can provide for myself on 100%.

Lindsay and I are  humbled by every gift given to us.  We are humbled by the $5 and the $250.  They are the same to God who requires equal sacrifice not equal gifts.  We have decided that as time goes on and we pass the 100% mark we will work towards a different goal.  Our finances will look like this.  We will tithe our 10% on the gross.  We will give 10% to missions, and we will put 10% in some sort of savings/retirement.  If we can learn to live on the 70% then as God increases not only will we be able to increase for ourselves some nice things, but we will be able to increase our giving.  At current numbers and depending upon our Faith Promise amount for each missionary we will be able to support at least 20 missionaries personally and hopefully more.  As God increases for us, maybe we can just give them each a raise every year.  How awesome would that be?

That’s just how we do it and the journey we are on.  I wish I had all sorts of Bible verses to support these things.  I know there are some, and as I learn more about Biblical giving I will possibly change some of the things we do and how we do them, but right now, I’m so excited about being able to give back to God.  He is fun to give to, because He can always do crazy things with what little we give to Him.

3 Cupcake War Winners and a Cakery…in my humble opinion.

14 Wednesday Aug 2013

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So, we have a new found fascination with cupcakes.  By we, I mean all of America.  So, as it happens, I have stumbled upon 3 Cupcake War winners and one Last Cake Standing Winner.  All I have to say is…well, I have a lot to say so keep reading.

Here is an amateur’s review:

Suger High – Frankenmuth, MI

Lindsay and I were able to go to Frankenmuth for my Birthday this past June.  We had lunch with her parents and then decided to walk a little bit.  We came across Sugar High.  It was hot outside and we had the baby so we stepped in.   It was a very neat little place that sold cupcakes as well as fun little tchotchkes.  We didn’t stay, but I did notice that it had a sign up saying they had won the Ninja Turtle Cupcake War.  We walked around a bit and then I just had to go back.  We bought one cupcake and decided to split it and call it my birthday cake.

WOW!!!  It was very good.  Lindsay and I both decided it was the best cupcake we had ever had.  It was a Peanut Butter Cup Cupcake and it was amazing.  We waited until we were home and each grabbed a fork and shared it while watching a movie.  By the time we were done we were sad that we had only purchased one.  It was delicious.  Great flavor and texture.  Loved it.

We are very glad we only live 40 minutes from this place.

The Cupcake Cowgirls – Spring, TX

Well, this was our second run in with a Cupcake War winner and we were excited.  We stopped and each of us chose one cupcake.  My mother chose 4 to share with the rest of the family that was coming, but I hid ours so we could try them later.  When everyone was gone, we each decided to try our choice.  The cake was very good and the flavor of the frosting was good, but the texture left a lot to be desired.  (FOR US).  You may love these cupcakes, but I had trouble getting past the whipped buttercream frosting.  It was a very soft whipped type frosting that had a good taste, but just didn’t have that cupcake feel in my mouth.  I did finish them, but almost like eating a spoonful of Cool Whip, I felt like I needed something else to really complete them.

You may like this type of frosting so this place might be perfect for you, but I probably won’t buy anymore from there.

Sweet by Good Golly Miss Holly – Orlando, FL

Now, this one I searched out.  I decided that if I was going to be in Orlando for a week I wanted to see if there were any Cupcake War Winners there.  Turns out, this place won 3 times.  Kinda awesome feat if you ask me.  So, I had forgotten about this place and Lindsay mentioned a cupcake place somewhere close by our hotel.  It jogged my memory so I took my nephew Adam and left my niece Brianna, Lindsay, and Madelyn at the hotel; and we booked it to this place which was 20 minutes away.

Brianna chose the Blackout Cupcake, Adam chose the S’Mores Cupcake (it was National S’Mores Day), Lindsay chose the Boston Cream Pie Cupcake, and I chose the Peanut Butter Cup, Whiteout, and S’Mores Cupcakes.  I knew I’d bring 2 of them home so we could enjoy them over the next couple days.  In fact, the last part of the Whiteout one is in my fridge right now.

We all enjoyed our cupcakes.  Time Out:::::We all loved our cupcakes.  I would say the cupcakes I tried were the best I’ve ever had.  They were perfect.  Delicious, great texture, amazing flavors, and perfect size for sharing.  I’m already looking forward to going back in 2 years for the next General Council.  They were amazing.  I really don’t have much more to say about them, because you will have to try one for yourself.  That’s the only way you’ll get it.

Cake Nouveau – Ann Arbor, MI

Unfortunately I have never had one of their cakes.  My wife saw the owner on Last Cake Standing and mentioned that she had gone to school with Lindsay’s older brother.  I like connections, so I insisted we stop by one day as we passed near there.  We walked in and they did not have any cupcakes or other cakes, for that matter, available.  There were some truffles and cookies.  We bought some, and even a couple flavors I wasn’t thrilled with…until I tried them.  Oh My!!!!!  If their cakes and cupcakes are even close to as good as what I tried from there that day then this place is my winner.  I’m already planning to get a cake from them for Madelyn’s First Birthday in December.  This is, so far, my bakery of choice.  The talent, artistry, and downright great taste of their stuff blew me away.  If you are in Ann Arbor, you must find them and try them.  You will not be disappointed.

I hope you enjoyed this blog.  I know you didn’t enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed researching it.  Hopefully there will be more entries in the future.