A Lesson About Generosity

Last week Phil had lunch with a friend and came home to relate this story to me. 

Our friend has two daughters who are adopted.  For Christmas they received $100 from their grandparents.  They chose to use this money to buy presents to send to kids in need.  Their father related the great joy they took in doing this.

Phil said to him, “This shows me that you are raising caring and generous girls.  That is such a good thing to instill in them.”

Our friend said, “What it shows me is that they trust me to be their provider.  They know they can give that money away to the needs of others, because they have complete confidence that all their needs will be met by me and their mom.”

What a great lesson about giving!  I can give fearlessly because I have no doubt whatsoever that my heavenly Father can meet my every need without fail.  

May I keep this lesson at the forefront of all the decisions I make concerning money over the next year. 

The Radical Experiment

I recently had several blog entries in which I shared quotes from the book Radical by David Platt.  Platt had so many challenging things to say and the final chapter was no exception.  That chapter is entitled "The Radical Experiment: One Year to a Life Turned Upside Down."  In it he presents five challenges to undertake in the coming year.  I intend to take the challenge, and I'd like to invite as many of you that will to take the challenge along with me.  I know a year is a long time, but even if you fall short, you'll probably be further ahead than if you never attempted it.

Here are the five challenges:

1.  Pray for the entire world.  Although this sounds daunting, Platt suggests a resource called Operation World (www.operationworld.org).  Every day they present a country and tell specific needs to pray for in that place.  All this information is available free online or you can order a book that will place the info in your hands.  There is even a version for children.

2.  Read through the entire Word.  There are many resources available for doing this: online calendars, daily reminders, and many versions of the Bible set up to accomplish this very thing.  This past year I used 24/7 A One Year Chronological Bible.  I am a big fan reading chronologically, and I liked the version presented here, which is the New Living Translation.  It was very understandable and easy to follow.

3.  Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose.  Platt emphasizes that the key word here is "sacrifice."  Don't just give of the excess you have, give above and beyond what you feel is comfortable.  There are some things to consider as you decide where and how to give.  Spend your money on something that is gospel-centered and church-focused.  Give to a ministry that you feel passionate about.  If you don't have one that you feel that way about, find one.  Give to someone you can trust and in a way that is sustainable.  There are lots of possibilities.  Contact me if you need more info here.  I'll be happy to help you figure it out.

4. Spend your time in another context.  By this, Platt means to take some time in the coming year to go on a mission trip.  It could be out of the country or it could be in another city or state.  Just go somewhere to get another perspective, to see how others live, to experience another part of the world.  Dedicate whatever amount of time you can to make this happen; it might be a week, it might be a month.

5.  Commit your life to a multiplying community.  Be an active part of a church family.  Be a part of seeing it grow by making disciples of those who come.  Commit.  Be faithful.  Let others know you can be counted on.

I intend to take steps to make all these things a reality in my life over the next year.  I'd like to invite you to join "The Radical Experiment" with me.  If you're willing to give it a try, please let me know.  I'd like to be a part of encouraging you to stay on track throughout the year.  Let me help hold you accountable, and let me pray for you.

Let's do it for the glory of God and the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ!  Let's make it a "radical" new year!

Highlights of Our Trip

I thought I'd share a few highlights from our trip out east.  Phil had meetings in New York for the Teaching American History Grant he works with and I tagged along.  Then we took the train to DC to attend the National Council of Social Studies conference.  The pictures are not in chronological order but it's just too much trouble to change them.

We were able to have dinner and a candlelight tour at Mount Vernon.  Mrs Washington was delightful!

Andrea Boccelli was in concert.  Phil enjoys his music and would have liked to see him but instead he took me to the event of my choice...

Handel's Messiah at the National Cathedral.  I enjoyed it immensely. 

We toured the 9/11 Memorial.  It was a very solemn occasion.

Rockefeller Center was decorated for the holidays.  Beautiful!

We watched skaters and enjoyed wonderful weather.

We saw all our favorites at the Today Show.  We even shook hands with Matt.

I got this close to Michael Buble.  He sang in the studio.  Here he is collecting toys for the toy drive.

At the Museum of Natural History we saw this Christmas tree decorated with origami ornaments.

We saw the big Christmas tree but it was lit the night we left.

We had a good time kicking off the holidays.

At the NCSS this was the most interesting thing I came across.  Kids did history projects that they posted on the internet.  The projects were about local historic sites.  They then created these QR codes to place at the site.  People can scan these codes with their phone to access the kids' stories.  This idea took me in a lot of different directions.  What do you think?

I almost forgot to include the fact that I accidently attended the funeral of a billionaire.  What are the chances!