Stewarship of Gifts THIS SATURDAY!!!

Paul Hennek’s story of giving:
     Some churches talk about money all year long.  At Mercy Street, it is just in January and then just to determine what programs and activities can be planned for the year.
     As a Mercy Street stewardship committee, we struggled with how to present our passion for giving to you.  When I couldn’t give, I used to go away feeling guilty.  What we would like to convey these next couple weeks or so are the motivations behind financially supporting Mercy Street.
     Hundreds of people have been encouraged, lifted up and transformed through our various ministries.  As you all probably know by now, we are in the process of adopting Joshua.  He came to us through Mercy Street’s Ministry of Healing and Reconciliation, which Peggy is involved in.  At first we thought we would care for this boy for a year to a year and a half.  Now, three years later, we are adopting him into our family.  That includes you, our Mercy Street family.  Through this process, we have benefited from Mercy Street benevolence, prayer, life groups and just tons of encouragement.
     As a side note, the God of my understanding talks to me pretty firmly, sometimes a little sarcastic, sometimes lacking the compassion others talk about.  Like, “Good thing I put that board there to break your fall when I am up in an attic.”  But when I was wrestling with whether we could afford to take a 12-year-old race horse into our then serene, empty nest household all I heard was “Put your money where your mouth is,” which meant, “trust me….where will he go if you don’t take him.”
     AA stresses the giving of time and experience to other addicts and not so much money.  We don’t have much when we come in. If we do and give what we have to an addict, they might not use it properly.  But at some point money should become a way of saying to the Lord, “I do trust you with my life and I am giving this and you promise to provide for my needs.”
     Then there is tithing.  What is that?  Is it only about money?  I don’t think so.  I think it is about every aspect of our lives.  Some of us have no money to give, but we have a gift or a talent we can share.  Some of us have extra time to give.  That talent or time can be used to help another person or group in ways money can’t.
Sometimes when I am trying to convey some new concept or idea to Joshua I use this visual aid. 
     Sometimes calmly and sometimes not so much, I show him a book to illustrate an open mind.  I open just a small crack of the book and say I just want a crack of your mind open. 
     So for the next couple of weeks as people talk of their struggles and successes in giving, it is our hope that the motivations behind those actions will come through and we can continue to reach more people who are lost, hurting and seeking.    
     -Paul

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Faith Sharing with Jim Jackson  
In this session led by Jim and others from the Chapelwood pastoral staff, you will explore the many ways you can share your faith with friends, co-workers, classmates, colleagues, neighbors, and family. Topics include: authenticity, knowing spiritual addresses, servant evangelism, and much more. The session is fun, informal, and non-threatening. Participants are not required to share.
DATES: Saturday, February 27, 2010
TIME: 9:30- 11:30 a.m.
LOCATION: LC 211/212
REGISTER: Margaret Bedell- mbedell@chapelwood.org
or 713-3564-4432.

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Listen here: myspace.com/fighttorescue