Last weekend, Pastor Carter talked about the road trip of life.
All the adventures we will take, and how our road map doesn’t always match up with God’s.
We have this plan for things to be simple and go a certain way.
But you and I both know that’s not always what happens.
The sermon was super great, but the point that made me look up at the ceiling and say “REALLY?!”
[out loud…oops]
came towards the end.
He said that God is okay with our plans.
But he’s NOT okay with our pride.
We can bring Him our desires and thoughts and [post-it covered, color coded] planners.
But we have to be ready for him to mark them up with red ink, and tear out pages, and white out all of our days we planned in pen.
Because He’s really the boss here.
I’ve tried to be humble in this process of fundraising for The World Race.
I KNOW there is no way for me to come up with $17,000 on my own.
I KNOW I need to make phone calls, and ask friends and family and businesses and clubs and churches and EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. that I meet.
But I hate it.
And I find myself still trying to find ways to pay for everything all on my own.
SURE, I’ll work 80 hours this week.
SURE, I’ll move in with my parents and sell all my belongings.
SURE, I’ll sell my blood and my eggs and a kidney if it’s legal.
[And I’ll still think about it if it’s not.]
But this is a journey of faith.
One reason I picked this trip instead of a $5,000 trip was because I have never challenged myself to have that kind of faith in God with my finances.
Which are really His anyway and I just get to manage.
Then I tried to look at it another way.
I really enjoy helping people do good things.
I sponsor a Christian radio station, St. Jude’s Research Hospital, and a child in Mexico through World Vision every month.
And it’s not hard for me.
And I LOVE the letters every month telling me about who I get to help and what is being done with my donation.
I was told by a friend that some people have the gift of giving.
That they get the same kind of joy from helping people through giving that I get through going.
And if that’s the case, then I guess I don’t want to be in the way of that.
So, basically, this whole entry is to ask you to pray for me.
Pray for my heart and my mindset.
That I would work with the right intentions, and have faith that God will fulfill what he’s promised.
Pray that I would be able to lay down this pride, and be humble and gracious in asking for help.
God has called me to Go.
He has called others to Send.
While I will continue working as hard as I can to support myself, pray that I will not be too proud to accept help when it is given.
And pray that I would stop procrastinating out of fear and that awful p-word
[pride]
and be bold in telling others why this race is so important to me and why I feel so called to GO.
And believe me. Your generosity has baffled me.
I have been so humbled and grateful.
And I even did a dance right in the middle of my work in front of my manager, coworkers, and customers that resembled something combining the work of
Carlton (from Fresh Prince)
Joey (from Friends)
and Dory (from Finding Nemo)
because I can’t believe the ways God is moving.
If in your praying for me, you feel any tug to support me, there are a few ways to go about that.
You can click the “Subscribe” button on the side of this page so you can read and pray for me as I write blog entries.
You can send me your address and I’ll send you monthly newsletters.
[I LOVE keeping people updated and am excited to send you pictures and stories once I’m on the field.]
You can visit my registry to help me with supplies that I will need to live this year.
[www.myregistry.com/public/shannons-world-race]
You can click the “Support Me” tab at the top of this page to help me with the costs included in traveling to 11 countries in 11 months.
Thanks to all of you who have been praying and supporting me already.
I love watching what God is already doing, and can’t wait to see what will happen in 2016!!
