I wasn't even sure we'd make it...

http://elevatejh.com/Elevate/giveLOVE.html

It was week 8.  I knew I only had a few weeks to motivate everyone again.  So I shared the story of the "Brown Box":  The story of a student who had been saving money for something special.  I had just shared that story with our High School group a week before... and I realized just what a powerful testimony it was.  What I didn't realize was that the "Brown Box" wasn't just one student's story.  It was actually OUR story.   That Sunday, I saw that so many of you guys had been doing the same thing.  And that absolutely floored me.

Two weeks before that... I really wasn't sure that we would finish the giveLOVE project.  For a moment, it seemed like the motivation had run its course, and the inspiration to give was waning.  Which, to me, made sense.  I mean... how could 150 JR. High students possibly give at a rate of nearly $1,000 a week for 12 weeks straight?  No way.  And then my mind flash backed to that horrible moment nearly 3 years ago when I had to call Compassion International and let them know that we could no longer support the 6 children that we had pledged to support.  And my heart just sank.  That's a phone call I never ever want to make again.  I felt defeated... and genuinely stressed out.  What if we come short?  What if we only make it to $8,000?  Should I raise up $2,000 on my own so we can say that we made it?  Those were the questions that I started asking myself... and then the story of the "Brown Box" connected.  And it reignited another flame... and then it was really over.

The week after the "Brown Box", I shared another story.  I'll call it "Pockets".  It was story of a student who stood in front of our giveLOVE box and emptied out his pocked of ALL the change he had.  I heard the coins clink in the bottom of our offering box.  That sound simultaneously broke my heart and made it overflow with joy... because those coins came with faith.  Faith that even a few dollars worth of change was worth something to God.  Faith that even though that student didn't have a lot, he gave what he had, and was unashamed about it.

The week after, I saw another student carrying a bag of coins.  I don't know if she was inspired by "Pockets"... but I know that the spark had turned into a fire.  Towards the end of our campaign... there were coins everywhere.  A pain to count... but a joy to see.  And then week 11 hit.

We knew were going to succeed.  There was a collective sigh of relief.  We had raised $9921.95 in 11 weeks.  We were only $80 away from our goal of $10,000 for 2 life giving wells.  I thought to myself at the time, "Wow... God is so faithful.  He recognized the heart of the students, and he enabled us to reach our goal."

But God had bigger ideas.

We started these well projects with the intention of teaching our students that life isn't about living for ourselves.  We wanted to teach the students that we are incredibly lucky and wealthy to be living and going to school where we were.  We wanted to teach the students that we could change the world.  That final day of week 12, we sat in our room for an extra hour, as people kept coming into the room to give.  I had just announced that "today was it"... there would be no more donations accepted.  And so even though our worship service ended at 12:30... we sat there until 1:30, counting the money that kept coming in.  Students that kept sneaking in and wanting to donate more.  You guys came with coins even.  We only $80 left to go... but you gave more that day than any other single day.  We all teared up as we heard the final number.

$11,773.

A month ago, I wasn't even sure we'd make it to $10,000... and here I was, staring at a piece of paper that had the final number we collected.  My heart swelled with joy at what we had just done.  My mind flashed to the future with pictures of people drinking from the two wells that we were a part of.  My mind flashed to the moment when we'd be able to see the coordinates of our wells on Google Earth.  But I held the tears back.  Real men cry alone... while their wives are sleeping... or they pretend they have to take a dump and cry in the bathroom.

The next week... I was stoked.  I was so excited to share with everyone the final number.  We all knew in our hearts that we had completed our goal.  But no one knew the final number.  I sat in the 8AM service that Sunday, doubly excited because the KM congregation was finally going to know what we had been up to these past few months.  The audio for the announcement wasn't working... but I didn't care.  I showed the same Charity:Water video that I had been showing everyone... the one with Hillsong's "With Everything" as the background music.  But I saw it differently.  In the quiet... with no audio... just the visuals... it hit me like lightning.  For the first time... at the age of 28... I was doing something to change the world.  And I had just shared that experience with fellow Elevate Staff members... and with our students.  That someone who was 12 or 13 or 14... that they got a chance to do something to change the world... crazy.   I still smile thinking about that.  And again... I just thanked God in my heart, and that day, I got to share with you guys some of the best news I've ever shared in my life. (Besides the gospel.)  I tried my best to encapsulate everything we learned from this experience.  About money, about life, about obedience/faith, and about giving.

But God had bigger ideas.

I really thought we were done.  And then the news came in.  An adult congregation member, upon hearing what we did... decided that they wanted to give to our well fund.  And so all of a sudden, $11,773 turned into $16,773.  A week later, I was told again that someone ELSE had decided to give... and now our $11,773 turned into $21,773.  I also heard of yet another amazing student giving story.  And it wasn't so much about money... but dedication and diligence.  The "vacuum" story.

And then just 2 days ago, I got a text message.

$26,773!

As of 3/21... that's our story.  And at this point, I'm not going to be so foolish as to think that we're done. I believe that the repercussions of our giving will still continue to echo throughout our church... but more important, I hope that you will allow this echo throughout your heart.

So to everyone who gave, thank you.  To everyone who put in $10 a month... to everyone who gave away their New Year's money... to everyone who gave up their lunch money... to everyone who gave on top of their normal tithe... to everyone who emptied their pockets every week... to everyone who thought that they would make an extra large donation in case we didn't finish... to the students who inspired this blog post and the three stories "Pockets", "Brown Box", and "Vacuum"... to the families who were inspired by what we did... thank you.  If nothing else...

I hope that you see that God has bigger ideas.

What the wha?!

It’s stunning.  It’s... amazing.  It’s awesome.  It’s breathtaking.  It leaves you wide eyed and wondering what happened.  There aren’t a lot of moments in life where you realize that God has used you to change the world.  In fact... for many people... they will NEVER experience that.  

But not for us.  For the rest of our lives, we will remember that God stepped into our lives, and challenged us to make a difference in this world.  With nearly a billion people in this world without clean water, we stepped in to make a difference.  

Just like Jesus multiplied 2 fish into 5 loaves of bread, he took our commitment to 2 wells and turned it into 5.  (6 if you count what High School is doing!)  And that’s the way that God loves working.  Give him a little, he’ll turn it into so much more.  That’s what the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives as well.  Take a little bit of our dedication... and turn it into something more.   Take an invitation we give to a friend to come to church with us, and the Holy Spirit wants to turn it into something more.  

So stop living like your contribution doesn’t matter.  Stop living like we can’t make a difference.  

Cause we just did.  You did.

Obedience

So I've been reading a lot of blogs about Haiti lately.  A lot of people now are able to go in and out of the country of Haiti a lot easier, and it seems like everyone is now making trips there.  The one thing I'm noticing about people going to Haiti is not only the fact that everyone is taking pictures there, but that everyone is going to find stories of the people there.  Everyone is not only taking a camera, but a video camera to shoot interviews and stuff.  I find it fascinating that when tragedy occurs... that's when we want to find out the stories of the people in Haiti.  I mean... 2 months ago... did it matter?  Did a person's life in Haiti matter to someone in the US?

Not really.  And that's perfectly understandable.  It's perfectly normal.

But God doesn't call us to be normal.  He calls us to radical obedience.  While the world is "rebelling" against our parents, God calls us to "Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land that the LORD our God is giving you." (Exodus 20, Ephesians 6).  And as difficult as that is on a day to day basis... there's a promise to that.  God will bless us through honoring them.  God will provide for us through our parents in some way.  And there's hope in that.  God isn't asking us to do something just for the sake of doing it, God is asking us to obey him, and honor our parents because it's for our benefit.  And I love that part of God's heart... that he wants the best for us.

Now going back to Haiti and learning about people's stories... what will it take for you to care about the people around you?  Many of you guys talk about how scary it would be if an earthquake of that magnitude were to hit SoCal... is that what it would take for you to wake up and notice the people around you that don't know the gospel story?  Is that what it would take for you to begin wondering what stories are going on around us?  It shouldn't take an earthquake for us to realize how fragile life is.  It shouldn't take an earthquake to realize that there are lost people all around us at all times.  It shouldn't take an earthquake for us to start caring about each other.  Life is too short to hate each other... life is too short to take things so personally that we let things just sit in our hearts for weeks or months at a time.

The world was changed by the few men and women in the Bible who were willing to submit and become obedient to their heavenly Father.  The choice is yours.

"The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself." - Galatians 5:14

-P. Kev

Discipline

So as the opener of "The Toughest Thing" series, I really wanted to open with something that we could all relate with: discipline. 

It's crazy... but this one thing in our life... if we could just get it down... it would solve so many problems in our life that stem from distractions, laziness, indulgence, etc.  We'd be healthier, we'd be better students, we'd be more productive people.  And as much as the idea of discipline and the idea of become a better person sounds good... in practice, discipline is so hard.  It's one of the toughest things in life to really get a hold of.  And not just as a student, but in all areas of life, no matter how old you are, I think this will always be a struggle.  

And because it will always be a struggle, I think that's why it's considered a "fruit of the Spirit".  As backwards as this may sound, it's difficult to "will" ourselves to self control and discipline.  Discipline requires more than just simply "wanting" change.  It requires something more.  It requires resolve.  It requires a change of heart.  It requires a radical departure of our current way of thinking.  And that's where the Holy Spirit comes into play.  It's the Holy Spirit that lives in us, causing us to change... and as we allow the Holy Spirit to do his work inside of us... that's when we bear his fruit.  Discipline doesn't come from us... it comes from the Holy Spirit and his deep work in our souls. 

So the big question: Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to build this self control and discipline in you?  Because the difference between a successful life and an unsuccessful life depends on your level of discipline and self control. 

Chew on that. 

-P Kev.