Like many Christians, Mac and Chelsea have always struggled with money. They knew that it belonged to God but weren’t sure what that looked like in everyday life. It was a lesson they needed to learn from each other.

“Before ‘First,’ I didn't really have a budget,” Chelsea said. “I knew I was making more money than I was spending, and I was tithing my 10 percent. That was about the extent of it.”

For Chelsea, freedom came without structure. For Mac, it was found in control.

“I used to be obsessed with money and thought that if I had enough of it, it would make me happy and make my problems go away,” he said. “I had practiced a lot of the things Dave Ramsey and the Bible taught about money, but I didn't do it from the right place in my heart.”

That began to change. After getting engaged, Mac and Chelsea began to wonder whether they should have a wedding at all. They knew the amount of money they wanted to spend, but weren’t sure that it was the best use of their resources. God had another plan in mind.

“During the ‘First’ faith commitment weekend, we felt like God was telling us to give that as our big gift,” Chelsea said about their wedding fund. “And we did!”

A few weeks later, they had a wedding with help from family. Instead of gifts, they asked guests to donate to charity and raised almost $8,000. Despite being difficult at first, God helped them see the value of giving from a kingdom perspective. That’s when they decided to make generosity the number one expenditure in their budget.

“The crazy thing was, it took two months of giving that additional amount, and God provided Mac with a bonus that covered the additional 10 percent and then some,” Chelsea said.

And God continued to provide in amazing ways.

“Six months into marriage, the lease to our apartment was coming up, so we started looking for a house,” Mac said. “It was a crazy market at the time, but we found one in the perfect location, within a reasonable price range. Since we had to act fast in order to get it, we bought the house while still having three months left on our lease. The first month we had to pay both our mortgage and rent, but Chelsea received a promotion that was enough to cover the entire rent.”

Even though it has been a long road, Mac and Chelsea look forward to growing in Christ, and exploring what that might look like in other areas of their lives.

“As we've seen God take care of us financially, it has also made us realize that there is more we can be doing for the kingdom of God with our time and talent,” Mac said. “At times we thought that we were making a sacrifice, but God showed us that we were just being faithful.”