Skip to main content

Just Ask



I have been more than amazed by the amount of support and enthusiasm we have found as we have asked people to help with the DREAM Project. We emailed some friends and family and checks started showing up within days. Yesterday we wandered around town explaining what we were doing to a few business owners and we now have a BBQ fundraiser and benefit concert set up for this month. We ran into Sam Schultz (Sammy's) at the copy store and I opened my mouth. We went to Broulim's and the manager volunteered his grill, Coke trailer and ice as well as any food we might use at their price. I highly underestimated our power to influence others for good and the willingness to support a good cause that most people demonstrate. We are getting very excited for the challenges and adventures that await us this summer.



Today in Sunday School, I taught a lesson on John 9&10. We discussed Christ's invitations to both see and hear what he has to teach. I told the story of John Newton, the man who wrote the famous hymn, Amazing Grace. We talked about his life and the miraculous change that he went through on his path from working as one of the most vile men of all time on a slave-trading ship to becoming a minister and devoted disciple of Jesus Christ. In John 9, Christ heals a man that was blind from his birth. It was interesting to talk with the kids in my class about the spiritual blindness that we each encounter from day to day. In the movie Amazing Grace,John Newton is portrayed as a repentant sinner on the road to redemption who is haunted by 20,000 ghosts. Toward the end of his life in the film, he completely loses his sight, thus becoming blind. It is then that he pens the lyrics to the song, "I once was blind, but now I see." We talked about the significance of these words and the ability Christ has to heal us from our spiritual blindness.

I started thinking about how hard it seemed to raise money for our project this summer, but all I had to do is ask and dozens of generous people have answered our call. It was such a simple step that has proven to be a great success. All I had to do was ask. How much harder is it to live in this world of sin and confusion? Sometimes I try to do everything on my own because I think no one else cares, or I make the ultimate mistake of thinking that I can do things better than everyone else. I wonder if I would be pleasantly surprised more often if I were quicker to call upon the Lord in my moments of need, great or small. What would I attempt to do if I knew I could not fail?

Just ask.

See what happens.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Their Proper Place

The past few months have been exciting for me. I have made a lot of changes in my life in an attempt to truly find joy in my journey. My journey of motherhood. My journey of teaching. My journey to being the healthiest and happiest version of me I can be.  After each of my three boys were born, my body has obviously changed a lot, and my depression has become more prevalent. Over the past several years, my autoimmune disease has played a fairly big part in my health, and anxiety kept creeping back into the forefront of each day. While I have (and had) a wonderful life, I was becoming overwhelmed on a daily and sometimes hourly basis with...everything. All. of. the. things: My kids, my house, my body, the noise, projects, papers to be graded, lack of focus, feelings of inadequacy and failure, pure exhaustion, back problems, lack of energy, constant bubbling anger, guilt for constantly blowing up at my family...I felt out of control all the time. Before marriage and kiddos...

You're Eyes Are Beautiful!

The other day, I was wandering around a health fair that David had a booth at for our business. (Music is good for your health, okay?!) Anyway, I was chattin' it up with people I knew and meeting some people who had recently joined our music studio. For awhile, I just walked aimlessly following my kids as they went from booth to booth collecting goodies. Out of nowhere, this lady walks right up to me, a little too in my bubble for comfort, but says, "You're eyes are beautiful!" And then walked away just as quickly as she came. I stood there for a second maybe wondering if I had just imagined it. It was so quick that I didn't even respond. I just stood there. In spite of the randomness of the moment and the briefly uncomfortable feeling of being confronted, it put a smile on my face and I am still thinking about it almost a week later. Be kind to other humans. Even if it makes you a little weird.

"I call redo!"

Anytime we made mistakes playing games or doing anything really, as little kids (especially playing 4-square), we would yell, "I call redo!"  This was the all-inclusive, error-erasing phrase that could never be contested, and always allowed one the chance to try again.  You could use this phrase in many circumstances: when you messed up yourself, or when others messed up in a way that gave you a disadvantage.  Either way, it was a saving grace throughout my childhood. Well, today, I call redo. Earlier this week, I posted about my thoughts on the "Wear pants to church" controversy that people were talking about all over Facebook and in the news.  I had one friend who helped me to see that I hadn't really considered all sides of the story.  I am grateful for the time she took to point out some of my unjust and partly ignorant thinking. Just because someone participated in, or even initiated this event did not mean that she was demanding to be given the Pries...