Vegetable Garden Faith and a Corvette

By Scott Russell

One families exceptional stories and life lessons learned when trusting God for finances and provision.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781105191213

Book preview

Vegetable Garden Faith and a Corvette

Vegetable Garden Faith and a Corvette

Contents

Introduction

Chapter One:          A Snap Shot Of Our Lives

Chapter Two:       Curses Can Be Blessings

Chapter Three:       Unusual Small Events

Chapter Four:       Transition

Chapter Five:       Those Who God Used To Encourage

Chapter Six:       Healing Started

Chapter Seven:       Measuring Progress

Chapter Eight:       Spirit and Soul

Chapter Nine:      Florida

Chapter Ten:         Pure Love

Chapter Eleven:     The Natural Way

Chapter Twelve:    Maintaining Freedom

Chapter Thirteen: Resting In God

Chapter Fourteen:   Marriage and Family

Chapter Fifteen:       The Children

Chapter Sixteen:      Complaining

Chapter Seventeen:   So Many Questions

Chapter Eighteen:    The End Is the Beginning

FOREWORD By John Lyon

We all have the option to build possessions for this life that will decay and wither or store up treasures that have an eternal consequence. In Scott‘s story, not only I have had the great privilege of witnessing his way of life – a life practicing faith every day or even a faith practicing life every day – but also his thirst to store treasures that will benefit others in their journey. He will undoubtedly not see all the harvest, but has spent years sowing seeds that will blossom into healthy vibrant channels for God to work His purpose.

As is often the case in the Christian Kingdom, meetings are not coincidental and neither was ours. I was over in Boston during a weekend – over the years I had spent many a weekend travelling on business and bearing the pleasure of one large city that looked not dissimilar to another. I was jetlagged but used to the feeling and woke up late on the Sunday morning - my first thought was it is Sunday, I want to rest and worship‘ – so quickly showering and dressing, want to the lobby to ask times and directions to the local fellowship of believers. The response was clear - No Sir, there is not a church within ten blocks of here and at 11.15 am, you would just about make the final hymn.

I was dejected walking back to the elevator and pressed the button to what I thought was the correct floor. The elevator door opened at floor two – one floor beneath my intended destination – and there was the sound of a familiar chorus coming from a room with an open door. Before I knew it, I was in the middle of a service that felt warm and genuine and at the end of the service was left with an Aussie and a family that seemed to fill half the room – that was my first meeting with Scott some six years ago.

Since that time although separated by the pond, we meet when we can, but more so share fellowship by phone or email. Many of the things Scott introduces in this book I can testify to in terms of accuracy and truth, but that is not the reason for this introduction or this book. The reason is firstly to glorify our God, but secondly to be both a practical guide and a source of inspiration to others coming up in the faith, to be able to tie in scripture with both battling and victorious Christian living in a very practical sense. There are few manuscripts that deal with the practical aspects of this essential part of the Christian faith.

Scott allowed me to review an early draft and I believe there is no better review than to try to see if the words live and inspire – so I gave the draft to a young man who has both a thirst for the faith journey but also searches for real examples so he can be encouraged as he moves higher on his own personal mission.

He concludes I have read the book from start to finish, I couldn’t really stop, I found it to be literally a rollercoaster of emotion, making me laugh, think, cringe, worry, happy, at peace, shocked, saddened, ultimately smile and feel encouraged. I had a sense of recognition with what was being said. When I read and looked at the examples it reminded me of times when I have been in need over the past few months and asked God for help...’

If you are after a theoretical textbook, this book is not for you, but rather if you need encouragement, instruction and examples of overcoming in the Christian life, read on, enjoy, be edified and know you belong to a kingdom that has a cost but also the ultimate reward of an inheritance that surpasses anything our earthly lives can offer or even imagine.

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this book is to demonstrate through personal examples that despite how insurmountable the challenges in your life appear that there is a way through it with God. I might be showing my age, but I remember as a kid trying to tune those TV antennas. Someone would walk around the room until we told them to stop because the reception was fixed and the picture could be viewed clearly. But somehow they would always move, and a fuzzy picture would return. My desire is that this book shows you how to move from rabbit ear spiritual antennas to the direct feed from heaven for life. I totally believe we are all born winners with a purpose, but often we never bother to find that purpose and more so we often fail to live like winners while the mud of life sucks us into a stuck position

I will touch on how many live out of the soul or feelings they experience in life rather than pushing past it and walking by the spirit. The Bible clearly separates the soul and the spirit and although this is not a book about such it does reflect on it to provide you with an understanding. There is a huge lack of teaching in this area, which results in believers in Jesus often falling into the trap of running their life through feelings rather than following their faith.  Often doing such only brings confusion when life tries to bury us with fears, troubles or uncertainty. I will talk about how to walk by the Spirit and overcome this stumbling block no matter what is going on, in or around your life. Change is possible. You’re never too old, too young, too hurt, too depressed or too confused. There is no time limit on turning to Jesus to help find your way.

I was recently challenged again in myself to write and made many excuses as to why I could not. The next morning a man called and said, Scott I was in the shower and felt God told me you were supposed to write a book and then God proceeded to give me the plan how, So here is what came out of that. Not the shower, but the challenge to write. This is how Jesus truly became the lover of our soul. A person we could no longer draw a breath without, a person who was real and walking with us and a consciousness of that spirit was born within us. Jesus the lover of my soul!

CHAPTER ONE - A SNAP SHOT OF OUR LIVES

And in the beginning, God said, let there be light

Starting my Spiritual Journey of bringing people closer to Christ was an inherent calling within me. To begin, I was raised in a minister’s home in Australia that truly was a Christian home.  Throughout my childhood, I have fond memories of my parents helping people in many different walks of life – from biker gangs to Satanists, businessmen to families – they seemed to have gravitated towards my parents for help knowingly or often by happenstance. Regardless, at one time or another, they ended up on doorstep of our lives.  Despite the devotion my parents had to assisting those seeking spiritual guidance, they were always able to balance family priorities with ministering.  So I never had a time where I felt ignore and rebellious and ran from God.  Instead, our Christian life was embraced daily on a knowing that Jesus never fails us.

I fondly recall my father sharing with me ways to avoid temptation particularly in my teen years, so I could humbly remain on the chosen path. One time in particular I remember him telling me, Son, never take your first drink and you never have to worry about becoming an alcoholic. It was smart advice that to this day I have followed.  I never raised a glass of alcohol to my lips, and witnessing the destruction it has made of many people’s lives, I’m glad I heeded his good advice to this day.  Along these lines, drugs also fell into this same category.  My parents were the ones called by God to pick up the broken pieces of the many lives destroyed by these manmade vices—by what the world said was OK to depend upon instead of seeking solace in a higher power.

I deeply respect my father for what he has taught me. He is a man of admirable faith and is the longest standing minister in the city where he labors. And in over 50 years of ministry has seen every possible scenario of self-induced human suffering you can imagine. Thousands of people have been positively affected by my parents in ways small and large. I believe people listened to them because they honestly practiced what they preached and were consistent in how they lived their life.  There was no duplicitous behavior - what they were at home they were in public.

They loved the unlovable, the lost, and the hopeless, and I saw Jesus through them and was raised in a happy home of love.  I understand that his life is quite different from many others, but I believe like my parents, I too was called forward to follow this path of ministering to those in need.  From a very early age, I surrendered my life to Jesus and never looked back.

Of course, I still made mistakes, and still do, I’m human, and I have to deal with sin and temptation like everyone else. However, underlying it all, there was never a day where I refused Jesus in my life.  How could I? I witnessed the miracles He provided to those suffering nearly every day. 

As a child I remember going to meetings held by my parents and seeing people enter the room walking with a cane and leaving with it proudly held over their shoulder. I also recall an elderly Chinese woman come in with a withered hand and be healed.  I remember miracle provisions given to my parents.  Incredible miracles continuously unfolded around me, and I feel privileged to have seen them at such an early age. This was not a religion of rules. Rather, it was a daily relationship with Jesus.

Being raised in this environment was infectious.

I’ve seen disheartened people daily who kept showing up ask for help because they became slaves to money, careers, drugs, alcohol, abuse – everything you can think of but sooner or later – usually when they hit rock bottom, they knew deep down what they needed was healing – what they needed was Jesus.

In witnessing remarkable changes that people experienced after coming to follow Jesus, I never even considered a life other than devoting myself to do the same, and helping people as my parents have for so many years.

By way of formal education, I did not attend a seminary or cemetery as my father jokingly called them.  My father told me the story of picking up a hitchhiker one day who turned out to be a professor at a seminary.  Ironically, he did not believe in God.  Many a good man has thought seminary would serve them well