Dave Ramsey's Christmas Giving

Dave Ramsey encourages us to "give like no else" this Christmas - here are some of his ideas to get you started:

1. Buy several winter jackets at a discount retail store and deliver them to the homeless in your community.
2. Pay the power bill for a family who is struggling financially.
3. Purchase a restaurant gift card for a young couple who are new parents, and offer to babysit their kiddo for free.
4. When checking out at the grocery store, hand the cashier some cash and tell her you want to pay for a needy family's groceries.
5. Take a single mom on a Christmas shopping spree for her kids.
6. Clean the home of a shut-in and cook for them. Stay and chat with them over dinner.
7. Bless your pastor with a Christmas bonus.
8. Call your church and ask them if they know a family in need of gifts this year. Then, purchase a gift for each family member and drop it off at their doorstep on Christmas Eve.
9. Shovel snow, rake leaves, or pick weeds for an elderly couple in or near your neighborhood.
10. Next time you fill up your gas tank, give the clerk $50 and tell him you want to pay for someone else's gas bill.

A Solid Rock

We got no food, we got no jobs, our pets HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!

One of my favorite childhood memories is hanging out with my older brothers, watching Dumb & Dumber. They thought the movie was hilarious, and I idolized them, so I'd join in whenever they watched it. (I thought it was funny too, but I was only 8 when the movie came out, so it took awhile for me to get all the jokes). I even remember watching Jim Carrey back when he was on "In Living Color" on Fox (...or maybe I remember the syndication). He was hilarious then, and still is.

Early on in my life, I realized that humor could be an effective tool for obtaining and keeping friends. Everybody likes the funny kid. Laughing is better than fighting.

But you can't build a life on humor. Eventually you might take it too far, hurt someone's feelings, maybe even lose a friendship. Your sarcasm that was once hilarious can turn bitter and sickening. Humor is fine, but a continually pessimistic, perpetually sarcastic disposition? Not so fun.

This has been ruminating in my mind for weeks now, mainly as part of a deeper issue: Around/on what do we build our lives?

A few years back, Jim Carrey was quoted in the San Bernardino Sun (Feb 17, 2007):
"I used to think that the parts I did or the fame would define me and someday complete me. After a while, I understood that those things could be crossed off the list of things that will do that. I wish everybody fame and fortune so they can cross it off the list and move on to something else."

Carrey is so close, and yet so far. He's also quoted as saying this about his spirituality: "When it comes to Jesus, you know, he said a lot of incredibly impactful, wonderful things that were amazing and completely misunderstood for the most part. Somebody might not understand “nobody gets to heaven but through me.” They might take it literally. I believe it means “by loving like I love and forgiving like I forgive.”

This topic also reminds me of some song lyrics by the Dixie Chicks: "I've been afraid of changing 'cause I built my life around you." You can't build a life around a person, either.

The tricky thing is, even after we realize Jesus is the one true, perfect, consistent being on which to build our lives, we are still tempted to rely on other things to fill this void or be our rock. We see our value and worth in other things. Whether it's being the most popular, or the most merciful, having tons of money, or tons of faith, we put our trust in other things.

If you're going to build your life on something, Christ is the very best thing.

When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Transformed.

Two weeks ago we had a women's conference in Minneapolis called "Transformed: Laboring for a Lifetime." (Insert your witty comment here about a women's conference with the word "laboring" in the title).

As far as conferences go, this one was pretty typical- worship, a speaker, breakout sessions, campus time, free time, a dance party, lots of laughing, definitely some crying, etc.

It was a really encouraging experience for me as I wait for the last bit of funding to come in. My calling to ministry was definitely confirmed. I'm a passionate person, but not excites me more than hearing about a student coming to Christ in her dorm and seeking to be used by God to reach her friends and family.

I'd love to be able to solve the economic, political and social problems we face in America and around the world. I can't do much about those problems, but I can help college students discover the truth about Jesus. And someday, maybe they can make a difference in the economic, political and social arenas.

Jesus didn't give up his time in heaven to suffer, die, and then come back to life to give me a peaceful, safe, comfortable existence. One day I will have all those things in Heaven. But He came to earth for redemption. And because of this I can glorify God with my time on this earth, which ends up having a lasting difference in the lives of people I meet.

Here is a photo from the women's conference (I am in the bottom left, in front of a laptop at the sound booth).



This is what it's all about. A sea of college students, learning about Jesus. Some realizing their need for redemption for the first time in their lives. Some considering how God might want to use them to make a difference, for the first time in their lives. So awesome.

Thoughts on Shane Claiborne's thoughts.

Tonight I had the privilege of hearing a lecture from Shane Claiborne, author of The Irresistible Revolution and Jesus for President.

He touched on a lot of different topics in 45 minutes, but the thing he kept coming back to, even during the Q&A section, was the radical way Jesus lived.

Jesus challenged the pattern of the world when he lived on earth. And he bids us the same. Shane listed a few of the patterns we tend to follow today. Our natural reaction to crime and suffering is to move away from it, into the suburbs. Our natural reaction to a bad economy is to stockpile our money in an effort for financial security. He had a lot to say about this pattern (or I just took more notes during this section).

Americans constitute 5% of the world's population and consume half of the world's material goods. We try to fill the void inside of us with stuff. But it just ends up controlling us. Some of the freest people in the world hold onto stuff the loosest.
Mother Teresa said "the best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them away." Shane goes as far as saying that the more that we have the less we become.

In general, we all stockpile things and over-consume, (yes, even Christians). We live in a world where over-consumption of food is literally killing some of us. One out of three adult Americans are obese. Thousands will die this year from complications from being overweight, while thousands of people die every day from starvation.

Jesus constantly challenged the norm. Shane does the same, and evokes a feeling of fascination that leave you wondering if there are ways you can challenge the norm in your own life.

You may not agree with Shane's radical ways, but at least he believes in what he believes in 100%. I didn't come away from Shane's lecture wanting to buy his newest book or gush about how great he is to my friends. I left wanting to know Jesus more, and to consider what patterns of the world I was conforming to that I wasn't aware of.

Holidays + Jesus = Interesting Conversations

The holiday season is soon upon us. Turkey. Football. Family. Christmas cookies. Vacation from Work. Family. Putting up the Tree. Pie. Family. Christmas Music. Christmas Gifts. Family.

Oh, and Jesus.

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is to take a seemingly normal holiday conversation and take it down a rocky path to a specific person that everyone often avoids: Jesus. It is particularly fun to do this with total strangers and extended family members that already think I'm weird.

Here's an article for some ideas about sharing the "reason for the season" with your family, friends and others. Click here for the article.

(Sidenote: Is Jesus REALLY the reason for the season? More on that later).

Is it worth it?

As a student, typically Campus Crusade-sponsored conferences are pretty amazing. They are generally always done well, feature wonderful, relevant, challenging speakers, passionate worship and sweet fellowship with friends.

I had no idea said conferences would get better as a staff member.

You invest so much time in preparation. The chances that you will get frustrated, at some point, are very, very good. Chances are, this frustration will drive you to tears.

You pray that things will go smoothly. Even though you have a suspicion they won't (which is good, because then you can try to plan accordingly). You pray that a certain number of students catch the vision and register for the event. Sometimes you just end up praying that some number of students show up.

You pray for God to show up.

You may doubt He will, but He always does. Always. I'm continually surprised how He does - I don't know why - I shouldn't be!

You just want God to be glorified - in and through staff, but more important, in and through the students. It's all about God, but it's about them, too.

All the time spent planning, preparing, organizing and praying for things can leave you unsure about the end result.

Here's the thing (thanks Allison!): everything is worth it, so incredibly worth it, when you see students pouring their hearts out to the Lord. It's so incredibly worth the stress when you see God become more real to a student- to many students. You see them take steps of faith for the first time, you see them understand concepts they've never considered before, you see them grow closer to each other and closer to God.

I am blessed and privileged to be a part of bringing someone farther along on their spiritual journey, closer to the living, active, loving God.

All the frustration, confusion, planning, crying, frustration, phone calls, e-mails, voice-mails, frustration and stress and frustration are worth it. I hope you see through my words, at least in part, the excitement I have right now for what God is choosing to do in and through the college students of today!!

The future's not ours to see.

Monday morning rolled around this week, and I decided to grab a cup of coffee at the Panera down the road while I caught up on some reading.

I sat down at my table, arranged all my books and turned on my mp3 player, more out of habit than any other reason.

Deeply engrossed in a chapter about motivating and empowering volunteers, I looked up to see a blond-haired woman in a pink t-shirt and yoga pants standing at my table. She had her hand on the back of one of the four chairs; I assumed she wanted to borrow one, so I just took out one side of my headphones and said Hello.

She reciprocated the greeting, and then sat down. I had noticed her when I arrived - she had been sitting at a booth near me with who I assume is her husband, enjoying a cup of coffee.

I took out the other ear piece, very intrigued as to what was going to happen next. She said she was sorry to bother me, but she was really curious as to how I was able to read and take notes while listening to music. I shrugged my shoulders and explained that the background noise of the Panera microphone and the kids yelling in the mall on their way to swimming lessons were more distracting than a little music.

We continued to converse about the way my generation consumes many types of media at once, why we like to multitask, and whether it really hinders or helps our productivity.

Her eye caught my orange Campus Crusade for Christ book bag, and she asked what I was studying. A book for work, I replied, and the Bible. She lifted her chin and sighed. She shared with me that her son is constantly reading his Bible and talking about church stuff. He's 14. Her face showed obvious concern, and she explained: "I wonder sometimes, what will he grow up to be someday if the only thing he likes to study is the Bible?"

We talked for another minute, and then she was gone as quickly as she appeared at my table.

She thinks her son's hobby is very odd. I think it's odd that she thinks it's odd. And I think that kid is pretty special. His whole future is ahead of him, but whatever happens, he's already having an impact on others around him.

November Newsletter

By now, you’ve heard about the rescue of 33 miners, trapped in the San José copper-gold mine in Chile. The story captured the attention of people all over the world. One miner, José Henriquez, recently told his story to Christian Maureira, director for Campus Crusade for Christ in Chile. His account of the situation fills in the gaps that news stations often leave out – and shows one way God is using CCC around the world.

On day 16, the trapped miners still had no contact with anyone on the surface. The little food they had was rationed to each person.

But on day 16, the food ran out.

José remembered the story of how Jesus multiplied the bread and the fish, and led the men in a prayer, asking for the box to be full of food by the next day. They prayed for an abundance of food.

The next day, contact was made with rescuers on the surface. “José got choked up by remembering that the next day the probe made contact with them,” says Christian, recalling his conversation with José. “The multiplication was real. They saw how the box was filling up with food exceedingly. It was a miracle, a glorious moment.”

After contact was made with the miners, Christian started contacting public officials to see if he could send the miners a copy of the Jesus Film, a movie detailing the life of Jesus based on the Gospel of Luke.

Through a connection with family of José, Christian was able to send mp3 audio versions of the Jesus Film, and the New Testament in Spanish, down to the miners. José sent a thank you letter up to Christian, which ended with Psalm 95:4 "'In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him.'" José asked Christian a few days later if he could get the miners special T-Shirts to wear.

As the miners emerged, each one wore his tan t-shirt, reading "thank you Lord" on the front- and the text from Psalm 95:4 on the back.


Ministry & Financial Update
The next few weeks will be very busy, as the Regional Office Operations Team will help execute 4 conferences for our campus staff, interns, and student leaders. I’ll be helping with technical tasks at our women’s conference on Nov 12-14 in Minneapolis. The theme is Transformed: Laboring for a Lifetime, and will give women an idea of what it looks like to be transformed by the Gospel, and how we as professionals, mothers, and missionaries can be a part of God’s transforming work around the world. There is also a men’s conference the same weekend, centering on similar issues (from a more manly perspective). Pray for safe travels, Spirit-filled speakers, and an atmosphere that will encourage and challenge students.

I am just 7% away from my goal! I’m grateful for your prayers – they have been a constant encouragement to me on this up-and-down journey. God continues to show His Goodness to me in many ways – and each of you is one of those ways. If you'd like to make a contribution to my ministry, click here.