God and His people have been so good to my family and me recently - I truly have been overwhelmed by the generosity extended to us. 
Generosity by the Numbers
While I was out of the country for 8 days, 40+ volunteers put in over 200 hours of work on the main level of our home, unbeknownst to me. As I walked into the kitchen from our garage, I was completely surprised at the changes that awaited me:
· My kitchen no longer had an obnoxious buzzing fluorescent light, instead 1 quiet circular light fixture illuminated the room.
· Instead of boring white walls, I was greeted by the warmth of “Golden Wheat” color covering the entire back half of our main level (except for the wall with the fireplace at the end of our living room – that was painted a gorgeous red color).
· Instead of the falling popcorn texture that has been on our ceiling since we moved in 8 years ago, I was awed by the artful “hard knockdown” texture. It is a thousand times better than what was previously above our heads.
· A new light fixture was also installed in our half-bath on the main level.
· Many other smaller things were done as well! I would like to say a BIG “Thank You” to those from the BE[cause] ABF*, the Re:Focus ABF, the Marriage Matters ABF, the New Covenant SWAT team, and the staff at New Covenant that gave so much of their time and energy. Particular thank you’s need to go to Preston & Dan for their leadership and organization of this project, to Tye for his recruitment of the SWAT team and New Covenant staff, to Aaron for bringing guys from his workplace to texture our ceilings, to my wife for having the guts to try to pull this off without my input and support, and my kids for putting up with the mess while enduring the emotional unsettledness of having Dad gone for a week. Generosity in the Snow
As if an extreme home makeover wasn’t enough, I was given a 16” single-stage snowblower. Bryan was given the used snowblower by his son (who recently moved to Seattle). However, Bryan lives in an apartment. He asked if anyone at church needed one, and my back yelled “yes!” My corner lot will now be done in a third of the time it took me to shovel, which allows me to bless neighbors as well. Generosity through a Lens
Just days before I boarded the plane to fly to Jamaica, I found a Nikon D40 for an excellent price on Craigslist. Without even asking, my friend Steve offered to let me use his camera bag, which was perfect for travelling. Then my friend Craig offered to let me take his 55-200mm zoom lens since I only had the 18-55 kit lens that came with the camera. Craig also gave me an 8Gb SD card, as did my good friend, Kim. It was overwhelming to experience such generosity – and a nice welcome into the unofficial Nikon club. Generosity in a Home
Last Friday, February 26, I sat in the home of Kurt & Jill who generously allowed me to have my monthly spiritual retreat in their unoccupied space while they are away at work. I was deeply touched that they would offer their comfortable space for my use for a day. I had a great day in the Scriptures, prayer, reading, and more.
While I was out of the country for 8 days, 40+ volunteers put in over 200 hours of work on the main level of our home, unbeknownst to me. As I walked into the kitchen from our garage, I was completely surprised at the changes that awaited me:
· My kitchen no longer had an obnoxious buzzing fluorescent light, instead 1 quiet circular light fixture illuminated the room.
· Instead of boring white walls, I was greeted by the warmth of “Golden Wheat” color covering the entire back half of our main level (except for the wall with the fireplace at the end of our living room – that was painted a gorgeous red color).
· Instead of the falling popcorn texture that has been on our ceiling since we moved in 8 years ago, I was awed by the artful “hard knockdown” texture. It is a thousand times better than what was previously above our heads.
· A new light fixture was also installed in our half-bath on the main level.
· Many other smaller things were done as well! I would like to say a BIG “Thank You” to those from the BE[cause] ABF*, the Re:Focus ABF, the Marriage Matters ABF, the New Covenant SWAT team, and the staff at New Covenant that gave so much of their time and energy. Particular thank you’s need to go to Preston & Dan for their leadership and organization of this project, to Tye for his recruitment of the SWAT team and New Covenant staff, to Aaron for bringing guys from his workplace to texture our ceilings, to my wife for having the guts to try to pull this off without my input and support, and my kids for putting up with the mess while enduring the emotional unsettledness of having Dad gone for a week. Generosity in the Snow
As if an extreme home makeover wasn’t enough, I was given a 16” single-stage snowblower. Bryan was given the used snowblower by his son (who recently moved to Seattle). However, Bryan lives in an apartment. He asked if anyone at church needed one, and my back yelled “yes!” My corner lot will now be done in a third of the time it took me to shovel, which allows me to bless neighbors as well. Generosity through a Lens
Just days before I boarded the plane to fly to Jamaica, I found a Nikon D40 for an excellent price on Craigslist. Without even asking, my friend Steve offered to let me use his camera bag, which was perfect for travelling. Then my friend Craig offered to let me take his 55-200mm zoom lens since I only had the 18-55 kit lens that came with the camera. Craig also gave me an 8Gb SD card, as did my good friend, Kim. It was overwhelming to experience such generosity – and a nice welcome into the unofficial Nikon club. Generosity in a Home
Last Friday, February 26, I sat in the home of Kurt & Jill who generously allowed me to have my monthly spiritual retreat in their unoccupied space while they are away at work. I was deeply touched that they would offer their comfortable space for my use for a day. I had a great day in the Scriptures, prayer, reading, and more.
Generosity in a Family
Today marks my 37th year of life. (My 9-year-old declared me officially old!) My family lavished me with very thoughtful presents.
Generosity in You?
As you can see, I am truly overwhelmed by all of the generosity poured out upon me. And hopefully it's as clear to you as it is to me that generosity is inspiring. It makes me want to go be generous to others! So who are you going to generously give to this week? Whoever it is, I encourage you to overwhelm them!
Generosity in You?
As you can see, I am truly overwhelmed by all of the generosity poured out upon me. And hopefully it's as clear to you as it is to me that generosity is inspiring. It makes me want to go be generous to others! So who are you going to generously give to this week? Whoever it is, I encourage you to overwhelm them!
*ABF stands for Adult Bible Fellowship. I oversee 5 ABFs in my role as young adult pastor at New Covenant.
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