better than I deserve

"Better than I deserve."

That's how I'd describe how I feel today.

I have no words to describe the depths of my thankfulness to God for being my Father and Redeemer... for my wife Katie​ for being my loving, beautiful bride... for my kids being amazing miracles and gifts (whether all if good or all is cranky)... for the committed core and growing congregation of Connection Church​ who continues to be a movement of God unlike any other... for my extended family and circle of friends who haven't gone anywhere on me over the years, but keep investing into me and letting me invest into them.

"Better than I deserve."

I love you all. Happy Thanksgiving.

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." (1 Chronicles 16:34)

beggars and choosers

Last month my oldest son and I joined our church in something called "Shirt Off Your Back." For two months, this rather amazing congregation brought in coats, socks, underwear, shirts, and so on that we might be able to share with the men, women, and children who live on the streets of Cleveland.

Cleveland, by the way, is the U.S. city with the largest homeless population. That's about 40 minutes north of where we gather each Sunday, which means it's easy to block that statistic out of our mind if we want. Or, it's just as easy to do something about it if we so desire.

I reminded my son the night before that we'd be doing this, and in his half-awake state his eyes popped back with life. "Oh yeah! I forgot about that. Hey, maybe I can use some of my allowance money that is extra - like all my loose change - to give to someone who needs it."

That's big stuff for him, considering he gets $2.50 a week, tithes the first quarter, saves the second quarter, and then can choose how to use the remaining $2. He's saving up for something big right now, so naturally my heart melted to hear of his concern for the poor.

"The poor." Now that's a subjective label. What makes someone "poor?"

In the city of Richmond, VA, a proposed ordinance was recently defeated that would have made it illegal for anyone to "panhandle" or solicit money (or help) from people passing by. If it would have passed, it would have meant that you could have sat comfortably in your car and not been approached by someone with a sign.

Ironically, this just happened not too long ago when my family was in Cleveland and stuck in traffic. The boys noticed a guy walking around with a sign that said he ran out of gas and needed help. They said we should help him, but we as parents elected not to since we didn't have extra money nor the time to stop. I kept telling myself (with tons of guilt), "I'll be back here on Saturday to help. I can make a difference then."

Which is sort of the point... perhaps beggars can't be choosers, but beggars make choosers.

We all have the choice to make a difference today or to wait until tomorow. Sometimes that choice is limited by today's resources, but the problem is that tomorrow we may forget about what we saw today. Kind of like one of our church members who said, "I didn't turn my tithe in, and I need to give it to someone today. I know if I don't I'll spend it tomorrow."

So, the choice is constantly mine. And the choice is constantly yours.

Because its true that beggars really do make us choosers.

30 days of thanks/giving

Our church recently began a movement that is quite simple... and yet so many seem baffled by. It's why special shows like "American Idol Gives Back" are more popular than the regular version, why Bono is so fascinating these days, and why teenagers like Zach Hunter are change-ing the world.

So we are simplifying it all down into bite-sized life change, calling it 30 days of "thanks/giving."

What would happen if instead of waking up each day wondering how the world was going to serve you there was instead a decision to let your focus be less demanding? What might it look like to take intentional steps of thankfulness and find ways to become more giving? It doesn't have to be an extreme version - even a small, practical version that has extreme ripples... would you be game?

I took that on myself this month, and have (like some in our church) been keeping track of my efforts. I'm almost halfway through the month and thought it was time to share an update:

• November 1: Tonight I was in the middle of some personal spiritual feeding time and got a phone call that someone I'd hung out with needed me to run an errand for him. We just met (knew each other via the internet beforehand) - but hey, the perfect opportunity to be "giving" sometimes comes by surprise.



• November 2: Today I get to have lunch with some good friends that I don't get to see that often. I will find a place where we can sit down, eat well (on a budget), laugh long, and speak honest words of encouragement and challenge into each other.



• November 3: Shelly (the gal who serves the needs for seminar folks like myself) has gone above and beyond the call of duty. Today I want to sit down and listen to figure out what's going on in her life - a gift of time - so that I can pray for her this week. More than the usual prayer that Christians say they'll do - the real stuff. And when I get home I will give my family a long, long, long hug and lots of kisses.



• November 4: I fell short of my goal today - I wasn't able to give my family the kind of time I'd hope to give them. This is horrible considering how I was gone over the weekend



• November 5: I'm in need of a new groove with God, which means I've grown out of some habits that I need to grow back into. But this needs to be more than just adding stuff to my spiritual to-do list - this is about jabbing at my faith from a fresh angle, even if it's an angle I'm familiar with. And so today I want to give God the gift of my attention - I want to do my best to hit slow-mo on everything I see and process today, constantly checking in with Him for perspective, guidance, and wisdom. When He says "do this," I want to start doing it in between the "do" and the "this." Oh, may I be as giving to Him today as I hope.



• November 6: I found out one of my neighbors can't go to Women's Connection tomorrow night due to no one to watch her kids. Now she has someone to do it.



• November 7: I was asked to share some insights with a group of pastors, but instead I want to give them the steering wheel. Granted, I'm responsible to get the ball rolling but I really want to serve their questions versus sound off my own agenda the whole time.



• November 8: Today I am giving encouragement all day long to anyone I connect with via email, phone, TXT, or in person. A little extra touch that hopefully matters. Not because I have to, but because I want to. Especially the kids I'm watching tonight for LIFE Group - another joy of giving.



• November 9: I am thankful for baptisms today. So thankful that I am writing this while I sit here in the building at 4am while the pool fills. Another all-nighter.



• November 10: This is family week... to kick things off, I'm going to be on the same schedule as my family. I'm normally a late night guy, but this next week is one where I try to rub shoulders with them more. It paid off right away - Joshua said, "Yay! We get to all have breakfast together!"



• November 11: I am determined on this day off to be fully present with my family. Meaning, I won't sleep in like I normally do... I'll be up as best as I can.



• November 12: Today I've chosen to say "yes" to whenever my kids ask me to do something with them. From playing cars to wrestling, I'm in.
  
• November 13: Somewhere today, I want to spend time thanking God. It needs to be an overflow, and so I don't want to force it out. But I just want to spend time thanking Him from a genuine place. Which means I need to get to that place somehow.

Perhaps this is the first you're hearing of this, or maybe you've been trying to figure out how to do it. In any event, you still have half a month left. Consider all that God has done and is doing in our lives, and let your heart be motivated to be thankful and giving, like a great big IOU to God.

I-nward

O-utward

U-pward

Maybe it’s time to talk about your faith out loud, give someone who annoys you a gift of time, forgive someone who doesn’t deserve it, sing a praise song with gusto, surrender your wallet to God, or write out a praise and read it to others. Celebrate at least one thing you do each day and find a way to track it - or download one of our cards HERE.

“All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.” (1 Cor 4:15)