Everyone Surrendered

Well, over the past few weeks, we've been looking at this tool that we're calling The Giving Journey.

And if you have your Everyone Guidebook with you, this is on page 24.

If you have not gotten one of these guidebooks yet, I would love for you to take one home.

There's plenty of them outside these doors.

You're even welcome to hop up now and grab one.

But we've been stepping through this giving journey, and I've asked each of us to use this as a tool.

And again, this is not a ladder to climb.

This is a tool for us to have an honest conversation with God to say, God, where am I on this journey, and what next steps might you be asking me to take? And this morning, we're gonna look at this third step in this giving journey, the intentional giver.

And I was thinking about some things this week, and this is probably...

This is probably the one portion of the giving journey that means the most to me personally.

About 12 years ago, God met my wife Carrie and I in a very powerful place, and this was right around this idea.

And I was thinking about my story, my giving journey, and just like everyone I've got, lots of steps to take and I'm excited about the conversations that are happening in our house as Carrie and I and even with our kids are talking about what God might be asking of us and calling us to and how we might take a next step of faith.

But I was thinking back to something and there was many years ago, there was something that always bothered me every single time it happened and I could never really fully put my finger on it.

But maybe you're like me and you've been to a store or a drive-through, that happens there too, but you get your groceries and you go through the line, they're checking out, and then the 18-year-old kid on the other side asks you this question.

Would you like to give a dollar to, insert awesome charity here.

And I don't know about you, but I feel like everybody in the line behind me is just like, right? I think that's why they ask you in those moments.

They know, right? Social pressure.

Do you love kids, or do you not care about children, sir? That's how I feel.

But there was something else about it.

I don't know why, because I felt like I was a generous person, and obviously, given adults, it's not that big a deal.

What was it? There was something stirring in me.

And I think it was this.

I noticed that this type of giving is random, and it was something that was happening to me instead of being something chosen by me.

And I want you to hear me, I'm not saying anything against this, okay? I round up, I give the dollars, I do these things, right? That's not what I'm talking about.

This is great, I hope you do too.