After preaching this morning’s message on the Path to Generosity, I am humbled by the fact that God used me to share His heart for the needy. I showed a clip from "the Goonies" and one of my volunteers actually believed me when I mentioned that I was one of the kids who found the map, and it was actually a clip from my childhood! Sorry to have mislead you, but my nickname was not "Chunk" growing up!
As we are creating our own Path to Generosity, we have been challenged to ask Jesus to open our eyes to see the "X's" all around us--that when X marks the spot, we'll be seeing needs everywhere. When we give though, we are remembering to 1. Keep it Secret, and 2. Keep it Simple. So, as you’re out doing those things, we want to hear your stories. You’ll have to listen to the sermon as I address the irony of asking you to keep it secret, but then asking you to share with us what God is doing through you. Here is a way you can do it anonymously. Just post a comment here in an anonymous fashion, and I’ll make sure it gets shared with our church! We want you to accept the challenge to take the rest of July to create your own path to generosity, and share what you’re doing for the needy.
After beginning a series on Generosity, I've been marveling at how generous God has been to me and my family. I am so blessed to have a wonderful wife and two sons that keep me on my toes every moment I'm with them.
We've ventured into a new arena with our boys, and are wishing that the days of potty training will soon come. They both have had some kind of stomach virus because they have been doing number 2 a lot, and often times it exceeds the capacity of their little diapers, exploding onto the crib, at which point they start wiping it everywhere: the sheets, the crib bars, their clothes, their hair, daddy's shirt...you get the picture.
Needless to say, we are needing to invest in some new sheets, and lots of laundry detergent and stain remover. Even with all of the adventures that aren't so fun, we realize that life would be completely different without them in it. Josiah's laugh is contagious, and he makes me smile from ear to ear when I see him after I come home. Watching Jayce learn new things amazes me, and I love how he often wants to crawl up in my lap and just sit with me. It's as if he knows that I'll let him come and enjoy my company anytime he wants.
I am so blessed to have a wonderful, beautiful wife that shares the joy with me of raising these two fellas. She is an amazing mom, and a more amazing wife. Watching her play with the guys and teach them new things is so much fun. And finding out that they are doing something new because of her makes me so proud. I'm happy to say that I'm still in love, and am enjoying every minute of being a husband and father.
In my quest for generosity, I've found most of all that Jesus expect us to live this out as a lifestyle, and not just an occasion. Even as I write this, I'm pondering my level of generosity for today--yeah, I put in a few extra hours prepping for this coming week's sermon with the photoshop, powerpoint, outline, and work on my sermon prop, but all the while, what is my motivation? It could be, "I need to get this done quick so I can go home", but it's really, "this weekend is gonna rock, and Lord, I'm putting the effort in, but it will still fail if you don't show up!"
I hope you'll show up to hear part two in my series on "The Quest for Generosity"; I think you'll enjoy Sunday's service! Plus, we've got ice cream afterwards, and a way for you to get a buy one get one burrito from Chipotle!
