"Something is wrong when our lives make sense to believers"
-Francis Chan
More often than not, I think my life makes sense.
Noah built an ark for God.
Moses lead a nation out of Israel.
God's disciples dropped everything they owned to follow Him.
Heck, Abraham was willing to sacrifice his own son, Isaac, when God commanded him!
Then there's me :)
I complained yesterday about the drive back to Austin.
I complained about my four hour chemistry lab.
I dramatically sprawled out on my bed in exhaustion when I got home.
I ate an awesome dinner that put me to sleep early.
^yes. This was my day.
No sacrifice, what so ever, to be found.
Maybe, like me, you typically like to play the "Christian walk" safe?
Go to church.
Read your bible.
Pray for others.
(And if we are really radical!!!!) Go on a mission trip.
And for the rest of the day...its all about "me"
My schedule.
My plans.
My complaints.
My comforts.
"whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did"
-1 John 2:6
What did Jesus do?
Love.
How did Jesus love?
He gave.
Loving by giving.
There it is!
The perfect and simple direction for our lives.
This doesn't just mean money.
No, we should be giving our time, our resources & the truth we learn.
Unfortunately, we have a habit of being takers.
And we have to actively practice being the givers.
And many days, we just don't wake up in time for practice.
But taking & keeping all the time.
It's unattractive.
It's unfulfilling.
It's forgettable.
Am I right?
Who looks at someone who only takes & thinks "Wow I really wish I was more like them!"
I think we may admire their stuff.
But I don't think we admire who they are.
I cannot tell you...how many...sorority T-shirts I collected in one year.
It's embarrassing.
My drawers were actually so stuffed with them, I had to make a special storage box for them in my bathroom.
Wanna know how many of them I actually wear?
Two.
Disclaimer: I'm not really a "t-shirt wearing" kinda person.
HOWEVER, I know for sure, NO ONE on earth needs the amount of T-shirts I had.
Why did I do this?
$15, $20, $25 down the sorority drain every other week because...
I HAD TO HAVE ANOTHER LARGE CORAL COMFORT COLOR TSHIRT!!!...in my drawer.
When we are bogged down with so many good things,
more things than we need,
life is cluttered.
Where is the joy found in an overpacked dresser?
Who comes into my room and admires that overpacked dresser?
Why does that fulfilling feeling go so quickly after we buy another purse, a better phone, a bigger bed?
And why do none of these things ever seem to stop the tears when life gets hard?
One day this summer my best friend had an amazing, inspiring idea.
She wanted to start making lunches for the homeless.
("gourmet lunches" as she called them)
("gourmet lunches" as she called them)
It cost us a grand total of $15 to make five meals, all with four courses and a drink.
Less than a sorority shirt.
Unlike my last date event T-shirt design, I will never forget the look of those people faces who we encountered through this experience.
And I still get a warm feeling thinking about it.
Yet it was such a simple sacrifice we made.
Nothing to even slightly boast about.
But it's that feeling that counts.
It is the perspective I gain.
It's the freeing.
It makes life feel a little more meaningful
and closer to Him.
It makes life feel a little more meaningful
and closer to Him.
I'm not a perfect giver and I know that.
But gaining the knowledge and truth about "loving by giving" has redirected my life goals in incredible ways.
I have figured out that the "$100,000 and over" paying salary will never make me happy.
That being able to buy every new iPhone,
own a huge, well-furnished, two story home,
or pay for two international vacations a year,
will never satisfy me in the end.
In Crazy Love, Francis explains us perfectly..."we like to find refuge in what we already have rather than in what we hope God will provide"
God calls us to "surrender everything."
God tells us to trust Him when we do.
He will be our refuge.
Despite your pride, fear, friends and family telling that you've given enough,
sacrificed enough,
done enough...
It's about listening to the Lord telling you to keep on giving,
Every day.
And in faith and trust, believing you are able.
And from this you will see more God.
Experience more joy.
Find more blessings.
And be more happy.
-Deuteronomy 15:10
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