I just read an article on cnn.com that I LOVE! It’s about a church in Texas that gives away it’s money all of the time. That’s who we are striving to be. So generous to our community and congregants that we are known for giving away things. I think it starts in the little things as well. That was actually the thought behind a free cup (or ten…) of coffee at church. I have never understood why churches have a coffee pot with a little cup for donations next to it. It’s the same cup of coffee, but the message behind it is completely different. We spend about $10 a week on coffee and creamer. Not a big deal, but it sure helps our people and guests feel welcome and comfortable. A little money for a culture of warmth, relationship, and generosity.

I look forward to the day when we can go from a cup of coffee to paying off someone’s mortgage! Come on, let’s be generous together and make a difference in this world!

Here’s the full article:

(CNN) — The pastor of a non-denominational church in Argyle, Texas, passed around the collection plate to his congregants earlier this year — and asked them to take money from it.

Donations at the Cross Timbers Community Church had slumped because of the economic downturn. Pastor Toby Slough thought that his congregants had to be hurting, too.

His gesture, instead, was met with an unexpected response: The church had its highest offering ever.

It was a eureka moment for Slough: Give away money to those who need it, knowing his church members will help fill the need.

“In these economic times, we can’t be so into church business that we forget what our business is, and that is to help people,” Slough told CNN television affiliate KDAF in Dallas-Forth Worth, Texas.

In the past two months, the 9-year-old church has done just that: handed out a half-million dollars to members and non-members who are struggling.

“We’ve taken $200,000 and spread it out to organizations — four local, two missions that are feeding and clothing people in these tough times,” Slough said. “We’ve paid utility bills for members of our church that are unemployed or under-employed.”

His favorite giveaway came three weeks ago. The church gave 1,400 families $50 each and told them to hand it out to someone else.

One of the recipients was Katie Lewis.

“I’ve been alone so long. Just to be thought of and to be remembered, to be welcomed — it’s amazing,” she said, crying.

Church members are pleasantly surprised.

“You don’t hear about a church giving money away,” Amy Sullivan said.

Slough said he is not concerned if people try to take advantage of the church’s generosity.

“I told my church a couple weeks ago, if I’m not being taken advantage of, I’m not being like Jesus,” he said.

The church has now formed a group to look into the best ways to give out money. And, Slough said, it plans on doing so as long as there is a need in the community.

Wow! Yesterday was BUSY! Here’s my weekly highlights:

It was my mother-in-laws birthday! Happy Birthday, Alvina!

Jeremy Macias, our former worship leader, came back to visit before heading off to Africa with the peace corp. He’ll be living in a hut and growing his own vegetables. He won’t have running water or speak the native language. To top it all off, he’ll be there for two years. Now that’s an adventure!

We also had my friend’s 15 year old daughter, Chelsey, staying with us. She’s a lot of fun and my girls love her! She’s very easy to have around and I can’t wait to see what God does with her life!

Several families from our church are going to be joining a small group. That’s awesome! Getting people connected in relationship is one of our most important agendas. We just can’t do life without people…even if we want to some days!

Pastor Kris had a youth staff meeting…what an amazing leader!

Mike, Chelsey, Marcus and Cheryl rocked it in a skit! Thank you to all four of you for highlighting the point of the sermon in such a creative way.

Chrystal and Amanda decorated the stage. It was really good! I love when people “own” a ministry and knock it out of the park. If you want to be involved in the stage ministry, let me know and I’ll pass it on to Chrystal. The more the merrier!

The sermon was about how dangerous our words can be. That’s a big one. We don’t take this one issue as seriously as we should!

My children were so exhausted by the end of the day that it was one big ol’ meltdown at my house. You wouldn’t have wanted to see it, but it might have confirmed for you that Pastor’s have the same issues as everyone else in the world. By the time they fell asleep, I was pretty relieved!

I hope that you have an incredible week!

Last night was our MarriedLife Live event! It was really fun! We had a band (Jackson Jackson) and great speakers (thanks, Tortoras!). The food was amazing as usual and everything went off without a hitch,!

The theme was Fight Right, so we spent the whole night talking about how we fight, what we should do differently, and what other people have learned about fighting in marriage. It was encouraging to hear that other people do have disagreements, but the key is to settle those in a way that doesn’t damage your relationship for the long haul. The best thing that I picked up was that as you get older, you stop caring about who wins and who loses the fight because even if you win, the relationship loses. It’s more important to share your reasons and perspectives rather than to battle it out to the death! It’s basically OK to agree to disagree sometimes.

I think that everybody learned something, laughed a lot, and enjoyed the company! That’s a win at North Creek! Great job, Jeff, fo a well-planned, fun evening!

I love the Biggest Loser! The season finale was last night and although the person I was rooting for didn’t win, I did love watching the changes. I found myself sobbing several times. Both for the people with great success and for the people who wasted an opportunity. Both circumstances are moving for me, but for completely different ways.

My favorite moment of the show was when the oldest man on the show, Gerald, came out to show his “new” body. The picture of him looking overweight and sad popped up on the screen. There standing next to the picture was his new and improved self. The crowd began to cheer wildly! He raised up his hands in the air and shouted, “He’s GONE, He’s GONE! I’m here!”

What a parallel to our new life in Christ! Once Christ is in your heart and has forgiven you, the old self is GONE! We should be so excited about that! Just throw your arms up in the air and shout for joy! What a glorious day!

The other parallel is that now that little old man has a choice. He can continue in his new life with discipline and perseverance or he can sit down with a hamburger and fries and walk away from all that has been done for him. Oh, how often we do that! We get tempted by the same old sin and forget how miserable being “out of shape” was! We forget that discipline is so much more rewarding, even though at that instance it seems like a mountain to climb before us!

Gerald is a great reminder to me that the work is worth it! Christianity is not a cake walk. Just like exercise, it takes work. And just as the people on the show carry less burdens and are more free, we too can walk in the freedom that living for Christ can bring. So, commit with me to the exercise of discipline. Yes, we’ll have bad moments where we slip, but may that be the exception and not the rule. We can do this!

Ahhhh, Sunday! And it’s Mother’s Day. Here’s my favorite moments of the day…

First of all, this was the first time that I have ever preached two sermons in a row. I seriously have no energy left to think! That takes it out of you. When we go to three services, I’ll need an IV drip of caffeine.

Moms are the coolest people on the planet. We have some of the best at North Creek.

I talked with someone who has been trying to get pregnant and it hasn’t happened…yet. We have several couples in our church with that same story. Let’s commit to praying daily for those couples! God happens to be in the business of miracles.

Thank you to Pastor Chris Harold for encouraging me after the first service! I’m a words of affirmation girl, so that kept me going for another round. I appreciate our team so much. We look out for each other and do what it takes to stay strong.

I heard through the grapevine that Marcus thinks we are the church with the least amount of “church politics”. That’s a high compliment in my book. It’s all about God, so check your ego at the door.

Did I mention our amazing moms? Donna is one of my favorite. It’s easy to preach to someone who laughs at literally any joke you tell.

Speaking of laughing, I find it ironic that the 9:00 am service is a much more energetic service. They laugh more, clap more…it’s weird. I wish I was still sleeping at 9:00 am.

I talked with a mom who is really struggling right now. I hurt for her, but I believe God has a great plan, purpose, and agenda for their family. That being said, it’s tough to be in the middle of the struggle. Add that one to your prayer list as well!

I think God is going to use my message today to send our people all over the world. That’s awesome!

I love this church.