Monday, June 23, 2014

Live to Give

Blog »    Live to Give
Monday, June 23, 2014



Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together
and running over,  will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use,
it will be measured to you.” 

Luke 6:38 (NIV2011)

                                                              I Like $5 Bills

We attend North Church and today heard a very inspiring story and a challenge for us all to listen and obey to those God generosity nudges. Later in the day, me and my older two sons decided to do some Christmas shopping. Before we left, I said a quick and silent prayer for God to give us a nudge.  I then told the boys . . . "Be prepared to get one of those generosity nudges.”

Of course our adventures had to start with a swing by the local Sonic for a tasty vanilla coke . . . after all it was happy hour (half price drinks).

I pushed the button, gave the attendant our order and started to grab my debit card like always. You see, it is common for people to tip the carhops but I typically do not. Instead, my mind struggles with the idea of tipping on a $1.00 item. If I use my debit card . . . . it’s easy . . . . no tip. But in that very instant, I felt compelled to leave the debit card and grab one of the three $5.00 bills that I knew I had in my wallet. Before I pulled it out completely, I turned and told the boys . . . .  “Why don’t we tip this time? I will give the carhop a $5.00 since it is Christmas time.” The boys responded with a profound . . . .  “sure.”

I pulled it out of my wallet and sat it in my lap. A few moments later I picked it back up and turned it over. On the back of the $5.00 bill, someone had circled the words “In God We Trust.” Below that, they wrote with a pink marker . . .  ‘God Loves You.”

That was it . . . . I just knew it. That was the generosity nudge. I said to the boys . . . . “Look!” They both responded in their pre-teen way. One of the boys responded with a “Cool!” and the other one said “That is so weird.”

The boys talked about whether or not the carhop would even notice. She handed us our drinks and we all sat and watched as she walked away. Yes! She did notice. She read the bill and a tiny little grin showed as she walked away.

No, it wasn’t a huge tip . . . . only $1.37 but it was a true blessing for me to experience a very real God moment with my boys.

“Lord, lead me to be a giver not only for Your Sake, the sake of others and the sake of growing my own heart for others, but also for the sake of those who are watching me.   Amen”

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