I feel like the majority of my posts keep starting with “so when I was at Making Things Happen…”

But, y’all, I can’t help it!!!! I learned SO MUCH in 2 days, and I’m honestly STILL processing through it. Please go:)

Anyway, this is another one of those posts so bear with me:) When I attended Making Things Happen, I had the chance to listen to an unexpected speaker. What I mean by that is, I didn’t realize this person was speaking until I was there… so it was an unexpected learning experience for me and I am SO GRATEFUL for that!!!!

Will Ray is the husband of the amazing Nancy Ray. Not only is Nancy an amazing wedding photographer AND the founder of The Contentment Challenge… but she’s also has the SWEETEST heart, the cutest style & I seriously LOVED hearing her story & listening to her share her heart. She has such a heart for God, for change & for truly figuring out what matters most in life. She and Will have an amazing financial testimony, too! (I won’t give you specifics because I want you to go and hear it for yourself!!!) But, they have done AMAZING things because they’ve followed a strict discipline with their monetary funds… I was really, really inspired by their story & by hearing Will talk with us about personal and business finances. Again, I’m not going to tell you too much because I firmly believe you need to hear it for yourself, but I do want to share one item that drastically changed my thinking…

Giving.

Will said that in order to be financially stable, in order to get out of debt, to save & to have financial freedom, we have to GIVE. What? How is giving our money away going to help us have more??

Here’s what hit home with me … I have to remember that my life is not my own. My life belongs to Jesus. I have LIFE because of Him. We just celebrated Easter for that very reason!!! We celebrated His Death for our life… How beautiful!!! My finances (both business & personal) belong to Him first… and I want to use it to do good for Him!!!

NOTE: I believe the Bible calls us to be financially responsible with our funds. And although I believe we have them for a reason… to bless God and to bless others … I do believe that God wants to see our own lives blessed, too!!! The SUV Matt and I just bought? That’s blessing our lives so much!!! I don’t think it’s “wrong” to buy things… but I think we are called to be financially responsible when we do!

In terms of giving, I felt really called to act on that. Matt and I tithe to our church, but I wanted to do a bit more than that. Ironically, God had something in store:) Recently, our church decided to partner with Compassion International.  Our pastor and 2 other men went to Columbia a few months ago; they visited with Compassion, saw the children in need and were impacted by the testimonies they heard. On Easter Sunday, one of the representatives of Compassion (who was once a child sponsored by Compassion), gave his testimony. I promise you, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. We learned about the lives these children live, the struggles they face, the families they come from… and I was really convicted about all the “first world problems” I complain about daily. It hit me HARD, y’all. Matt and I had discussed sponsoring a child before, and I’m so, so excited to introduce you to the newest (and cutest!!!) member of our family:

Santiago is 3 years old. He’s a March-baby just like me and Matt, and he shares a birthday with our nephew! For $38/month we can help impact his life. We can help provide food & clothing & education … we can give him a little bit of hope, prayer & Jesus’-love through letters, fun gift-boxes and (hopefully one day) visiting his village. (Fun fact: Our church is sponsoring the village he lives in, so every year they’re going to take teams down to visit the children, encourage the pastor & serve them any way we can!) I LOVE to think that Santiago is friends with the other children who’ve been sponsored by members of our church. I hope they can run & play & laugh & know that somebody somewhere is thinking of them & praying for them.

I’m not telling you this to brag about what Matt and I are doing. I am telling you this because I think that in our society, we forget to give. We get & get & get. We want & want & want. But we don’t give. Compassion might not be the best fit for you, and that’s okay. But find something that IS! Find a way to give back to the world we live in… to help promote healing & love. Sometimes we feel too small… like the need is too big so we can’t really impact it. I want you to know that you CAN impact it… we ALL can.

I firmly believe the smallest things usually mean more than the big. Little, seemingly meaningless details in life are the ones we remember … think about that time a stranger held the door open for you for no reason, or when you were 2 dollars short & someone offered it to you, or seeing a simple smile, or hearing a genuine “how are you” … those things MATTER. I want my $38 a month to matter. I want to realize that my life is NOT my own, and that there are SO MANY PEOPLE with LESS than me who don’t complain near as much as me. Ugh. EYE-OPENING, friends.

I really, really challenge you to go and give. Make a tiny difference & I promise you, all those tiny difference? They add up:)

 

xo! kat