The Highway Discussion Forum

Where the money goes…

2007-08-07T14:12:57-08:00

This was perfect for me.....money in hand, ready to disburse. I was like a Jesus ATM.

I feel I’m pretty good and hearing/seeing need. What stops me is one of two things. Either I’m worried about having enough money for myself or worried that the person in need really isn’t, and won’t be spending the money on what I assume they will.

How I used it? I got into a 65 minute talk with some hockey buddies about religion, and Christianity in particular. They were both complaining about run-ins with “born again Christians” and clearly with some negative residue. One was upset that his parents did let him go to science class as a kid when they spoke about evolution. The other couldn’t believe his brother’s wife wouldn’t let him go to a RUSH concert with him. They they asked for my opinions. Great talk......I was espcecially stoked when before their questioning, they addressed me as “a man of faith.” It made my heart grin.

For the most part...their beef was with the hypocrisy of Christians. I had to agree with them, but also reminded them that we are HUMAN and as HUMANS we are, and forever will be, flawed. And then I thought of a great book, Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller and decided I must buy it for them. And the next day I bought them each a copy. And they’re reading it right now......I can’t wait to discuss it with them.

A week later, I was in LA. I hate LA, but that’s besides the point. A man come up to me and says, “I’m not a beggar, but......” Yea right.....heard this one before. He said he was an electrician and would trade me tools for money, in order to get gas. My wife immediately grabbed the envelope. The man had his wife and friend with him. He was pretty disheveled and ratty looking. I got $20 and gave it to him. I told him to keep his tools. I didn’t need them, but I did tell him to do something nice for someone else in need. Pass it on.....He said “God bless you....,” as did his wife and friend, and they were off. After he left I thought that I should have checked his gas gauge.....and that made me mad at myself. Or I should have seen if he had tools in the back......Ugghhh.....I can’t worry about that.....

He’s God’s to judge and God is just, and that put me at ease.

Post your purple envelope story here!

2007-06-26T15:38:03-08:00

The “Money, Sex, and Power” series at the Palo Alto campus concluded with a final activity. 25 envelopes were taken from the stage, each containing $100, to be used both to bless someone else through giving and for the giver to experience, in a real and tangible way, the joy that comes when we give to others and the way that God’s power is manifest when we give.

Inside the envelopes, in addition to the $100 bill, were three instructions:

1. The money inside the envelope is to be used to bless someone outside of your own family. It cannot be used for yourself or a family member.

2. The money is to be given away during the next 2 weeks (ending July 8).

3. You, as a giver, are willing to share with the community about your experience of giving, either in the July 8 worship gathering, online in the Highway
discussion forum, or both.

So… here’s the thread where you can share the story of your purple envelope-- how it was used, how it felt to give, how God has spoken to you through the exercise and what impressions it has left, etc.

Also, if you’ve decided to participate in this exercise on your own, and you’d like to write here about your experience, please feel free. This thread is not limited to the purple envelopes.

If you’d like to contribute your story to this thread, here’s what you need to do:

• If you are not already a member of the highway website, you’ll need to register, which you can do by filling out the form here.

• Once you establish your user name and password, then login to the website here.

• Then, return to this thread, click on “post reply,” and tell your story!

* if you encounter any difficulties creating an account or posting to this thread, please john at highway dot org .

giving

2007-07-08T12:22:35-08:00

there’s a house on the corner of esberg and fairway in los altos. driving by it is inevitable. describing the circumstances of the home is difficult, but what we do know is that it functions as something of a home for physically and mentally handicapped kids, all cared for by a woman whose hearing is most certainly impaired. my brother has worked with them a few times; yard work, house chores, and such. and we’ve talked with the kids at several points just in passing. thanks to the highway community for connecting a visible need to an available resource.

in the end, my brother and i learned an invaluable lesson. there was really no need to deliberate over the purple envelope’s destination, and whether the gift would be welcomed. but we were both surprised by how easily we passed over the task of giving one day after the next. building this, meeting friends here, some new adventure there; our schedules and our pace displaced the all important opportunity from our minds. and what we discovered about ourselves was this: if giving does not remain active within our conscience, the weight and force of self will overwhelm goodness, that which is self-less. so while we truly hope and believe God will do something spectacular for the family on the corner, we also know that He’s reminded us of our need for His grace and inspiration.

Purple Envelope Story

2007-07-07T23:52:14-08:00

When John asked for people to come forward to take an envelope, I was almost sure I wouldn’t be walking away with one. It just seemed completely out of character for me to do something so bold. But as I sat there praying for the people who took envelopes, God really put it on my heart to take one. I had been praying for the past couple of months that God would use me as a vessel to serve him and I thought this sounded like a good opportunity.My first thought about getting the money was like “Wow, I could really change lives with this.” But little did I know that God was changing and working in me.
Each day since I got the envelope I had been consistently in prayer, hoping that God would show me right away who he was wanting me to give the money to. (You must understand I am a very organized sort of person who likes to get things done in a very timely fashion). Day after day went by and I was getting nervous because a week had already passed and I had not given the money away. I was getting frustrated, but the Lord was telling me to wait and be patient and that he would reveal who he wanted me to give to in his time.
The weekend came around and I was with a friend at a restaurant. We noticed that he was looking around the garbage for scraps of food and was hungry. My friend asked me if I had had given away the money from the purple envelope and I felt like this was the right time to give part of the money. I bought the man a gift card to the restaurant and when I gave it to him he smiled sincerely and told me thank you. A woman in the restaurant saw the exchange and went out of her way to tell me what a nice thing that was that I did. I thought about it and knew that the kindness and boldness to reach out was not because of me but because what Jesus was doing in my life.
The Lord had also pressed on my heart a boy that I watched in daycare a year ago and his mother who struggles financially and also struggles with a fatigue disorder. The Lord was telling me to call them and tell them that I had been praying for them. This is completely out of character for me again and awkward for me, but the Lord knew what he was doing and he blessed our conversation. I told her that I had a gift for her and her son and she was excited and touched. ( I bought them a giftcard to the movies and gave them the rest of the cash). She told me that me calling her was totally a God thing. Just before I called she told me a story of how her friend had just called to give her some good news about some furniture for her that she explained as “a blessing from the Lord.” She was also telling me how much her and her son wanted to go to the movies, and I told her that that was exactly the gift I wanted to give to her and her son. What a God thing! I have not given them the gift yet, but when I do later in the week I pray it will be a blessing.
Overall, God has helped me step out of my comfort zone and approach people I never would have approached on my own. He has shown me that I need to be more patient in my prayer life, and ultimately shown me that he can use anyone (even me!) to serve him.