Give A Little Bit

Giving.  Doesn't sound too hard.  Maybe it depends on what you're giving.  To whom you're giving.  How hard or easy it is to give.  Deep questions I know, but what am I talking about?  Well, it all goes back to a 931 sermon series in November, November 7 to be exact (listen to it here).  We weren't actually in church that Sunday because that was my birthday weekend and Amy had planned a spectacular 30th birthday trip to San Antonio for us.  We had an awesome time.  But I digress.  Luckily we were able to listen to the podcast of the sermon because that's how Trinity rolls, 931 at least.  In the sermon our Pastor issued a challenge to the congregation.  A pretty powerful one.  Begin tithing, 10%, and if in 3 months if you could prove that God hadn't blessed you immensely (remember it won't necessarily be monetarily) then he would refund your 3 months worth of tithing back, guaranteed.  Sweet huh?  Yeah, 931 is pretty awesome.  If you can't join our awesomeness every Sunday you can follow along live here.  Anyway, we seriously debated it, but I'll be honest, we didn't do it.  I'm not sure why, but I think it boils down to the fact that we weren't ready.  Not ready to give up so much, not ready to fully trust in Him.  So why a post about giving?  Just wait, it's coming.  

Flash forward to this spring.  Trinity's new building is completed and we have a huge celebration service 2 Sundays ago to dedicate it and celebrate all the ways God has blessed Trinity and how he will continue to.  It also coincided with the kick-off of a new campaign, titled Hug2, where we are determined to finish raising money to pay off the new building.  Very Dave Ramsey-esque huh?  Well, Amy and I had been putting off discussing our commitment to the campaign.  Finally it was zero hour and commitments were due (the celebration service).  We had a serious discussion about what was right for our family.  See, Amy and I have been each getting much closer to God separately, but also together as a couple. We've felt our marriage and faiths strengthen.  We have seen numerous blessings bestowed upon us.  So, we decided it was time.  Time to give back to Him.  It's really all his anyway right?  Well, the point of the giving was sacrificial giving.  Something that should be hard, difficult, and uncomfortable.  None of those words are ones you want to use when you are discussing financial matters, but in this instance, it was the core point.  So, we did it, we took a giant leap of faith and gave.  Oh, it was sacrificial alright.  It made us uncomfortable and worried.  But, that's also how we knew it was right.  We also decided to begin giving regularly, and set an amount for that too.  I won't get into amounts and specifications because that's personal, but suffice it to say we made some pretty big decisions when it came down to what we would give.

So, we've been following our plan for 3 weeks now.  Sure of it and excited to give back.  After all, like I mentioned before it is all His already.  We are just a bank in which he invests it all, we have to choose where to place his money for the greatest return.  But our giving didn't stop there.  We also gave to another cause that is very close to our hearts.  Adoption.  From China to be specific.  To a very special family to be even more specific.  You might have noticed the "So Loved" button at the top right of our blog.  Click on it for more info or you can go here to find out more.  See, this is basically our adoption guru.  This woman and her family are our mentors so to speak.  We have been following her blog (here) for quite a while, since we began our adoption process.  She has inspired us in many ways through her adventures, her posts, her advice, and her faith.  So we decided to give back a little to help her and her family bring home their two beautiful daughters.  It is an amazing story that we are so excited to be a part of, in a very small way.

So, giving.  It's not easy.  But just like our pastor, and of course He, has promised us we have already seen a huge return on our investment.  Just this last week we have been blessed in a massive way.  A way that is in so many ways linked directly to our recent giving.  Not only has it all put us in awe of Him and everything He can do, but it also also excited us and inspired us further.  I just wanted to share with y'all because we are so blessed and so happy.  Maybe give a little to you in the form of advice, a personal story, a thought?  Maybe you'll give a little.  To something?  Someone?  Him?  You'll be amazed.  I promise.

All is well, giving and giving, in Drosche Land.