The Bond Fam Life Update:

I’ve been holding back sending this until we have all-the-things in place but it has been challenging to wrap my head around all of this and I keep writing letters and not sending them.

Not today satan!

So, here is the update on all-the-things we have figured out now.

How is the House Coming Along?

The answer is slowly but surely by the grace of God! We’ve lived in our home for over a month and have learned the tension of living in a place while going through an extensive home remodel. We are all still sleeping in the living room, the one room with A/C and helps maintain our sanity. The rest of the house is pretty much a sauna most of the time thanks to dysfunctional windows, no a/c and the humidity and heat of Florida’s summer. The foundation has had some improvement but the worst of the foundation issues still needs to be addressed for us to move forward with the bathroom/kitchen renovations. Everything needs another thing to be fixed in order for us to fix the thing that needs fixing and that line of thinking goes on with almost any project in this house. We decided to take the bedroom walls down to the studs so we could update the wiring, drop in additional outlets and install insulation and we are most of the way through our first bedroom, which will eventually end up being the boy’s room after we vacate. Our room is a little more involved as we need to move a wall to widen the narrow hallway and in the process are building out an additional bathroom and more closet space where a tragically small bedroom sits now. The learning curve is steep, as is the expense, but we feel like it is something that would make Jesus smile….restoring the waste places, so we press on.

In the midst of all this, I’m doing everything I can to keep my mind in a straight line and hear what God is saying to us and do what I can to live in the light of what He has for us to do in this season. It’s very difficult. The house tries to be the everything. It is overwhelming and I find myself regularly in a state of ADHD paralysis trying to decide how I should tackle the problem. It’s been a very challenging few months to say the least.

“Seek 1st The Kingdom of God…”

Yet, in the middle of it all, God has been encouraging me to seek His Kingdom in new ways. He’s been teaching me that maturity in the kingdom looks like child-likeness. The trust, awe and wonder that children are capable of… their hearts and minds haven’t been tainted yet by the cynicism of this world’s orphan culture. This is what we have access to when we are born again into the kingdom.

Part of what this has looked like for me has been the invitation to follow my curiosity like a child. To search out what intrigues me. To allow wonder to be what leads me in place of the cynicism that the ways of the world have imparted. So far, many of the best developments in my life have happened as a result of following my curiosity. This is how I ran into one of the more significant connections of our time back in Florida so far.

I mentioned earlier about our struggle with the house and the parallel but superior struggle of keeping our eyes focused on what God has for us. Our conviction for years has been that our main call is to seek first the Kingdom and “all these things” will be added to us as a secondary consequence. The house is an “all these things” for us, though it tries to be the number one thing we seek in this season. Curiosity and dreaming are the last things that come natural in a season with so many problems that need solutions. Following my curiosity has become one of my greatest acts of faith, and it is bearing fruit.

“Following my curiosity has become one of my greatest acts of faith”

I had driven past a specific building in Eustis for nearly a year before deciding to finally follow my curiosity and check it out. It’s a building on Bay Street that just says “Awesome” on it. It felt like a burning bush. There’s another sign out front that says “One Fire Church” and I’ve been told by a number of people that I would get along with these guys if we ever crossed paths. They’ve got an organic farm, a sweet thrift shop, a cafe and a church in the back. These are my kind of ppl. I ended up spending the better part of the afternoon getting to know the pastors, John and his wife Mia, while running some errands with John related to church things.

John is quite the guy. A ripped and heavily tattooed man with an undercut and a single dreadlock that has something like deer antler or bone hanging around it. He ran a number of businesses including tattoo shops in Daytona and was a part of a couple biker gangs in his past life and then spent years as a corrections officer in a high security federal prison…..and now he has pastored a church for the past 10 years. His story is one of simple obsession and obedience to Jesus. He was preaching on the street the same day he gave his life to Jesus. He never really stopped from what I’ve gathered and eventually the ministry formed around the substance of his walk with Jesus and his compulsion to preach the gospel after being radically filled with the Holy Spirit.

I really like John.

After hearing about him and the ministry, he asked about me. What I was up to, what I did for work and the usual line of questions related to getting to know someone. I shared our journey and explained to him that we are strange Jesus people who simply do what He leads us to do and how the last 5+ years were spent in the wilderness learning to trust Jesus and be healed of all manner of brokenness and trauma including grieving the loss of my dad. What struck me about John is that he saw me. Where most people would hear my answer to those questions and write me off because I didn’t fit into the boxes they are use to categorizing people into, John saw me and understood the path God has us on as He is on a similar path, just a bit further down it than us. He heard about the house, because how can we not mention that? He then informs me that part of what he and his crew does is construction related. It appears that they serve people who have construction needs and they help them get their houses in good repair among other things.

By the next day, he and David, one of the guys that are part of One Fire, were out at our house assessing the needs and the day after that, David was under our house checking things out, jacking up joists and putting in shims to help bring it into level and the day after that, they were working on our A/C to get us cool in our home. It’s been a bit of a process as one can imagine and we don’t quite have the A/C up and running but progress started happening right after I ended up meeting John and Mia and the One Fire crew. They are installing a used central unit in the house that will be far more efficient than the ancient unit that came with the house.

“I sought the kingdom first and now, all-these-things with the house are slowly being taken care of.”

This guy started helping us without a minute of hesitation. It’s got my attention for sure. I just made myself available and told them that I want to find ways to help them and be a part of what they are doing over there as The Lord leads. He invited me to lead worship at their Tuesday night bible study at the farm. It was my pleasure and it went really well. They like what I bring and I like what they do. It feels real. It feels wholesome. It reminds me of the downtown prayer room and where I spent a lot of time ministering to the homeless. The raw, the real. Ministering to the people that really need Jesus. Not so much the perfect, polished fog machine light show of modern churchianity but the raw and real expression of what the kingdom looks like when it’s in direct collision with the very people who need it the most.

So, Tirzah and I have been going to their services on Friday nights and we both really like it. This past Friday, the whole family went. It’s not perfect and polished, which is honestly what we love the most about it. They gather around food, they meet in houses and the church building but the church building isn’t just a church building, it’s a shop, it’s a place to eat and meet. Struggling people know that they can find help and mercy there. It feels like The Father’s house. A place where the prodigals and orphans can find home. A place where the hungry can find food and fellowship.

Embracing the Calling:

John asked me to preach in a couple weeks which is right in alignment with what God has been asking me to do. God’s been asking me to preach and lead worship and serve again. To get back into the fray, back to the front line and the tension of His kingdom advancing on the earth. So, I’ve started leading worship and preaching again. I’m back to doing ministry as God opens doors.

Some of you may have seen that I turned 40 this past Friday. And now that I’m 40 I’m learning to accept certain things about myself. One of them is that God has called me as a minister. That may be pretty obvious to some of ya’ll but my whole life has been on the alter for the last 5+ years and nothing has been assumed. Everything has been surrendered and I’ve been more willing to do anything else than at any other time in my life. What’s become clear is that I am one of those people who give themselves to the Lord’s service full time. There are businesses that we will build to support us but my primary focus in life is serving Jesus and being a vessel for His word and His presence into this world. So, we will be raising support again while we create some businesses to better serve our mission. We dropped every last cent of our savings into obtaining this property and now we need a little boost to get our heads above water until we get sustainable again.

God has us focusing on Isaiah 61 as an inheritance word in this season. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me to preach good news to the poor…..” He even led Erika to write it really huge on the wall of our kitchen so that we see it every day as a reminder. I’m 40 and I’m accepting and surrendering to the fact that “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because The Lord has anointed me to preach.” This is what I am called to do with my life. This is the focus of my life. The Hebrew word for “preach” also means “to publish” and I’ve been writing what will become a series of books (by the grace of God please help me focus and get this done). One is called “The Bright Hope” where I tell my personal story. A kind of memoir. Another is “Paradigms For The New Reformation” where God has been showing me the paradigms the church will need to be able to represent Jesus well in the world in the coming days.

I’ve been asking God to open doors and He’s been doing it. I’ve started preaching on Facebook live again and now invites are coming for me to speak.

Introducing….. The Bright Hope Collective:

One of the projects that we feel is really important for us to work on is to streamline and firm up our communications with our people and begin strengthening community. We desire to draw in the creatives and inspire them to give themselves to their original purpose in the Kingdom. This world needs what only they can manifest. So, we birthed The Bright Hope… a collective of Kingdom fam who exist to make the earth more like Heaven. Our hope is to create a safe place for them in person and digitally, so they can find their Kingdom tribe and run with like minded individuals.

Facebook has been the primary method for communication for the past few years but since 2020, it has become clear that it no longer serves to help us stay in touch with our people but it stands in between us and our people. That said, we have been praying into how to make it easier for us to stay connected.

One solution is to build up our email list… coming soon. That way we will have a hard copy of our email list should a season of censorship happen again.

Another solution is Patreon. Patreon helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to its subscribers. It allows us to cut out the middle men and connect directly with those who want to support our journey and the the things we make. For a small donation ($7 a month or more), our Patrons can be part of the creative process in all of our projects. It’s a place where we seek to inspire and collaborate with our community and receive much needed feedback and support. This also helps us financially to give our time to the work God has called us to do. Click here to check out the The Bright Hope Patreon Page and pray about becoming a patron.

The idea is to create a safe place to try things and share our works in progress with you all as we develop resources to bless people. The idea is that the Patreon will be the laboratory, the creative incubator where all our content will start that we will eventually be blasting out into the world through our other social media channels.

God has been telling me to release the revelation He has been giving me. We also have plans to build out a sound studio for audio/video production with full audio/video streaming capabilities and the capacity to host small gatherings and a full live band. This is the goal. Now is the season. We are getting the ball rolling.

Partnership:

There are a few ways you can lend our family your support.

1.) Please pray for us to have Protection, Provision, Wisdom, Clarity of Vision and for all

Hinderance to be removed as we push forward.

2.) You can join our email list at mattbondmusic.org to be alerted of new music drops and local

ministry updates. (This will hopefully be active soon…..Erika is working out the kinks)

3.) You can join us on Patreon It is in its infancy right now but it will be a launch

point for many of our additional content moving forward.

4.) You can send a one-time or monthly gift through our Giving Page.

5.) If you resonate with the content that we provide, please share our posts and get the word out

to new audiences. Every little bit helps.

Immediate Needs:

We do have some pressing needs that we were encouraged to make known. These are time sensitive and we would be tremendously blessed if you feel led to contribute.

1.) We need around $2000 to take care of bills, buy homeschool books, a dumpster to haul off

construction trash and register the Santa Fe this month. I’ve been working odd jobs here and

there but we are still getting established financially and could use help this month as we gather

our team of partners and work to establish more avenues of financial flow.

2.) General fund for the renovation. Our loan makes it to where we can buy materials new from

Home Depot, but if we had cash earmarked for renovations, we could find great deals on some

of the things we need on the used market. An example is we need some ceiling fans. The ones

we like are $150+ if we buy them at home depot but we found them brand new in the box on FB

marketplace for $50 each. There are loads of examples like this that could save us hundreds of

dollars. If you’d like to give towards this put “renovation fund” in the memo line.

3.) Furniture. We need bunk beds for the girls and dressers. We will need more as more rooms get

renovated.

4.) I need a phone. My phone has been dying a slow death since the beginning or July and is no

longer reliable. I can get a good one for $400 or you may have an extra one you’ve upgraded

from that may work. I’m in the apple ecosystem so iPhone is preferable though I’m open

minded.

If you would like to partner with us this month, you can do so by messaging us directly or by going to mattbondmusic.org/give .

Prayer Support:

If you would like to partner with us through prayer, then here are a few key topics where we could use some breakthrough.

1.) On September 19th through the end of the month, Matt will be driving a box truck back from Oregon to Florida to help some friends move and bring in a little extra money. We would love to have extra prayer covering while he is away from home and on the road.

2.) Prayer for clarity of vision, so we can pull together and flesh out all that we are seeing.

3.) That we would find our way in Florida to provide for our family.

4.) Good friends for the kids. They have endured a few years of transition and their hearts need some good friend time to help them feel rooted here.

If you have stuck with us this far, then you are ruly a friend and clearly love us! As always, feel free to reach out to us for prayer needs or even some light coaching if you are walking through a difficult time. We love helping to restore hearts and vision and would love to come alongside you.

Bond Family Update