Intentional intentional intentional

This morning I got a phone call from a man who said that he had stuff to drop off for "The Garage Shop." Essentially we have a system in place where kids 1st-5th grade have a chance to earn Jesus Bucks by doing things like bringing their Bible to church, bringing a friend, or even if they are just going above and beyond what is expected of them at church. On the last Sunday of the month we open up shop for the kids. It's pretty much like Chuck E Cheese tickets with those type of prizes.
So the call comes in and I wait for him to come in and drop off the expected super balls and whoopee cushions. He strolls in with 3 backs loaded with stuff! We're talking Zhu Zhu Pets, (which if you aren't involved with children is a very hot commodity) Lego sets, and even a DS i with a game. Usually when you buy stuff for the church you get reimbursed and the whole time he was standing in my office I was thinking, "Well there goes my budget." He then mentioned a hard lesson that I had to learn that was pretty stinking expensive and said "Here's another lesson for you. Purposefully put money away that you can give away later. I can't afford to go get a cup of coffee this morning, but I could afford to go out last night and get all of this for you guys." He then went on to talk about how he and his wife intentionally put money aside every month just to give away. They don't touch it, and they don't need to. Every once in a while they find someone that could use their help and they don't even second guess helping them because they have been intentional about preparing to help. There was no thought of "Let us examine our budget and get back to you," or "Hey I've got the electricity bill to pay and that is consuming all of our extra resources right now." Because of this man and his wife taking that money monthly and putting a "To Give Away" sign on it they don't have to think about any extra money in the budget because they made it part of the budget, intentionally. Amazing... truly amazing.

Part of the deal with accepting this job was the understanding that I would raise my own salary, and I have to deal with the "Let me see if I have room in the budget." I'm not harping on people because I think they are tightwads or anything like that. This is more of an introspective look at my own intentionality. I'll admit that I do not set money in a pile to give away, and if I saw the pile of money there and there was a bill to pay I don't know if I would be strong enough not to use it. The look on this man's face when he talked about how he could just go through Toys-R-Us and spend this money without a qualm or the heart palpitations that it would give the rest of us was absolutely priceless. The money wasn't his any longer he was just managing it, and before he could do that he had to be intentional about giving it away.

Thanks Bryan.

Good Bye Flip-Flop. I'll miss you

This is the scene of the crime where God stole my flip-flop. There I am having a rough day and I find a nice quiet spot to vent with a small stream running through it. So I roll my jeans up and start just wading in the shallows, then kathump! I sink up to my knee in mud. I manage to get my leg out, but there is no flip-flop. I am covered in mud, sand, and water trying to find the hole which has already filled up with more mud and there is just no use. So I get up laughing because not only did God steal my flip-flop He was beating me over the head with it. I went out to this place expecting quiet time and it's not what I needed. I needed the reminder that in the end, God is still in control.
I've been told in the past that I'm a pretty hard headed guy. I don't like to think that I am, but I guess if it takes God pushing me down in a cold-muddy stream then I guess I am. I can't help but think "God you owe me a flip-flop" but I understand it was never my flip-flop in the first place, neither was the $5 I payed for them at Old Navy. No need to push me in the stream again, God. I get it.

Pregnancy ups, downs and innies turning into outies

Pretty much everyone knows that Candice, my wife, is pregnant. We're due to have a little boy on November 15th, hopefully at a reasonable hour. Over the past few weeks things really have gotten hard for her. She can't get comfortable at night, toe nails which need to be painted are a strain to even see, and feet are swelling and are in a constant state of needing massage. Me as the husband, provider, and body guard am finding myself fulfilling these rolls, mind you terribly. Last night while laying on the couch after an extremely busy weekend, she sat next to me and up came the feet. I rubbed, I stroked, and tickled just to try to get her to feel better. At the end of it she was still pretty miserable. She is constantly hot and this makes it hard for her to sleep at night along with my stealing of covers and mindless jabber through dreams. It seems like she can't do any simple thing without getting out of breath or just needing a break. Even her belly button has transformed from the cute little navel to what I now call "The Eye of Sauron." All these little things would drive me nuts. I can't stand to be tired or feeling helpless, and I can't imagine how she feels. But every 2 or 3 nights she lays back on the head board or the couch and pulls her shirt up over her gargantuan belly and watches little Jude move. That really makes everything all worth it I'm sure. Pregnancy can seem like hell to an ignorant outsider such as me, but to see that baby move and even more so to feel it... amazing and I think it probably makes it all worth it.