$30,000 in 18 hours.
Nov 10th by JonDid that really happen yesterday?
Did we raise $30,000 in 18 hours to build a kindergarten in Vietnam?
Did a blog, that isn’t even based on an original idea, come together and do something much bigger than a blog?
Did a community of people who use the phrase, “Booty, God, Booty,” and know how to instantly score how metrosexual their worship leader is, really give $5 and $10 and $5,000 donations until they hit $30,000?
Did that really happen yesterday?
It did and if there’s one thing I want you to remember, it’s this:
The miracle of yesterday is so small compared to how much God loves you.
The sum of $30,000 is so tiny compared to the outrageousness of God’s love for you. He’d crossed countries and oceans and space and time to pull you close, traveling to Vietnam is but a hop skip and a jump for a God who can’t keep Himself away from you.
That’s the truth of yesterday, but what does tomorrow hold?
Good question, I think there are four things we could do …
1. We could stop.
2. We could raise the remaining $60,000 to build the two other kindergartens in the area.
3. We could figure out if it’s possible to raise money to sustain and nurture the one kindergarten from yesterday.
4. We could find sponsors (like Compassion International, Catalyst, Samaritan’s Purse, Zondervan and Desiring God) to send me, Abraham Piper, Tripp Crosby and a bunch of ya’ll to Vietnam next year to pour into that village in a 3D way and make a documentary film of the whole thing.
Clearly, that last one is far fetched, but after yesterday, I’ve decided to retire the phrase “far fetched” from my vocabulary.
I’m talking to Samaritan’s Purse today to figure out next steps, but in the meantime, if you missed the razor thin 18 hour window of craziness that was yesterday, you can still donate. We’re going to continue raising the money and I don’t want anyone to miss the chance to be part of this just because they don’t read Stuff Christians Like on Mondays. Click here to donate.
Yesterday in my journal, I wrote to God, “I pray you raise $10,000 today. I pray you blow everyone’s expectations out of the water.” And $10,000 felt big and impossible but I forgot something I learned a few years ago – God loves dancing.
In 2006, after a really tough season, such a fantastic Christian word, I realized that I had made God into an emo God. I had made him a God of weeping and tears. When life got hard and painful, I would go see him, take him my problems and weep with him. When life got good, I would walk away and eventually pat myself on the back for all the good times I was experiencing. The outcome of that cycle was that I associated God strictly with seasons of hardship, pain and suffering, and never with joy.
So one morning driving to work, I confessed, “God I’ve made you into a God of weeping. I don’t know how to dance with you.”
And I felt like God said back, “Well, the best way to learn is for me to give you lots of reasons to dance.”
Today is a day of dancing.
Let’s put the glory and the honor and the whoa did that really happen where it belongs – God.
Let’s finish this sentence:
God is _______________
I’ll go first:
God is just getting started.
God is bigger than my big dreams.
God has a huge heart for children and that includes me.
Your turn:
God is _________________
Comments
These responses have me on the verge of tears!
GOD IS UNSTOPPABLE!!!
God is bigger than the boogie man.
He's bigger than Godzilla,
or the monsters on TV.
Oh, God is bigger than the boogie man.
And He's watching out for you and me.
My 16yo daughter went to one of those Haunted Hayrides at Halloween and told me she got so scared that she started singing that song at the top of her lungs. THAT turned a few heads! Priceless.
God is bigger than anything we could ask of Him.
God is not into side hugging his children.
God is the giver of all good things. He is the One who deserves nothing less than our everything. God is love. God is peace. God is just one title/job that He has, because who He is is so much more than our finite language can describe. God simply is.
God is going to continue to do big things, we need to be open to letting Him use us to do them!
God is more than amazing.
God never fails
God is in control. God is awesome. God is excited for his children. God is bigger than the hard stuff. God is on my side!
God is the creator of goosebumps…
God is unpredictable
God is awesome. In the colloquial sense of being terrific and in the formal sense of inspiring awe. Like that dancin' fool David, "make merry before the Lord."
AHH—-MAZING!!!!
God is AMAZING!
God is a Father who loves to give good gifts to His children!
God is a God who rejoices and dances and sings over us!
God is glad that we act on who we believe Him to be!
God is great at multiplication!
God is !!!
God is: worthy of all of this praise, and so much more. (This feed could literally be ongoing until the rapture, and we still wouldn't begin to define our majestic Savior, or honor Him enough.
)
God is THE provider. God is our loving father. God is excited. God is enjoying this.
God is awesome.
….And Jonathan — If you really want to go route #4 — a documentary — Two things:
1) Grab the best camera you can find — a prosumer quality 3-chip camera at the very least — and someone who really knows how to use it (how to light, how to shoot) for more than taking videos of their kids at the pumpkin patch, and get footage NOW of everyone you can who was involved with yesterday. Do it today. Don't lose the moment.
2) When it comes time to crew up for Vietnam (and beyond), take a real crew, not just friends who say they'll be happy to help. You'll need a real cameraman, a real producer, and a real editor, at bare minimum. People who do these things for a living, and preferably who do them in the documentary arena.
And I'm only saying this 'cause I sort of think you're going.
God is awesome.
God is biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig.
Awesome stuff
God is the greatest artist who ever was. Seriously, have any of you actually LOOKED at a monarch's wings or the interior of a stargazing lily? PURE. FREAKING. GENIUS.
[...] The fundraising goal was met in 18 hours. I dunno ’bout you, but I’m blown away. Feel free to give anyway – all funds over and [...]
I totally missed the first 18-hour window! But better late than never: http://www.smoochagator.com/2009/11/talk-about-ou...
God is in the "Blow your Mind" business.
God is.
God is a tendeer loving father who cares for us as his children.
Not gonna lie, as one who is currently in the process of raising financial support full-time, this did not cause me to celebrate, but to envy.
God still has some work to do in me. I am learning to praise God for what he does in other people's lives. Thanks for the extra helping of humble pie. Just when I think I'm starting to grasp the gospel, I realize I'm still way too stuck on ME.
Fantastic news-if you go with the Vietnam film choice let me know-my daughter is a film student at SCAD and loves the travel…there is the start of your crew…
I'm up for going too – if God can fit it in around my university work
God is good!
OK, I am completely humbled and blown away. Last week, I was irritated at a post on this blog and judging what I know nothing about. Today, I sit here in awe, asking forgiveness for my attitude. What an amazing thing you have done here, and what an amazing God we serve. I am completely stunned at the way this community responded. God bless you all.
God is making a way
God is victory, never ever defeat.
God is working on His timetable, not mine. And He is ALIVE and AMAZING.
God is:
1. The Lover of My Soul
2. One rockin' party thrower & an awesome dancer
3. The Creator of laughter & joy
4. IT
God is relentless. He will stop at nothing to make his presence know, to bring our hearts closer to him and to draw us into the Kingdom.
God is joy.
God loves to surprise us.
God loves watching us surprise ourselves.
God is boogieing ….
God is Love. Love for you, for me, for the bum on the street, for the snarky teenager, for the alcoholic and drug user, for the politicians and prostitutes. Today, Love is given to some kids in Vietnam. Let's dance!
Pardon my straying from unique, witty prose, but HOLY CRAP! I was all, "I'll use my Saturday, 'informal' blog post to link to the effort and then donate." But I missed the party! I'll still link this Saturday, though, as this doesn't seem to be over by a longshot.
God is not to be underestimated.
$32,525!!! (just cos it's still exciting to update the amount)
God is…. weird cool. And I'm pretty sure he's the king of dorks as well as the king of kings. When I imagine him dancing, it's a mix of cool styles and the robot.
God is in control
God is in love – with you and me
God is saying, "We're just getting started!"
Yesterday was a rough day for my family. We were waiting to hear if a beloved member had cancer or not. In the midst of all that, I'm giving prayer updates to friends via my phone. I checked in with SCL for some comic relief and see your plea for help to build the school. Then I see how 90% is raised within hours. By last night, I'm seeing the funds are completely raised. Some days we just need to be reminded God is still on the Throne. Yesterday was one of those days and SCL was the means He used to remind me. Praise Him and thank you Jon, for being the instrument He used to remind me!!!
God is not just a dancing God…He is a BREAKdancing God! And He just did a Coin Drop all over this project.
WOW! God is so glorious!
i'm amazed and impressed! can't wait till i get on a secure network to give, give, give.
God is beyond. Preposition, adjective, and superlative.
God is my Father and I am deeply loved by Him!
Since we’re still on SCL, which has as its basis a sarcastic view of Christians and the silly things we do, how about we add one more to the list:
#653. Trying to out-spiritualize one another when finishing the sentence: “God is _______________”
(Sorry, Jon, I gotta call a spade, a spade on this one.)
That would be a good post topic!
God is more than words!
if you guys go to vietnam, i am SO there. i live in korea. it's only a hop, skip, and a jump!
God is beyond words. When we try to describe God with words, we fail to capture his true glory.
God is my daddy and He loves me!
Hi, the link off your post to 'BGB' is not working. thanks
[...] Acuff (of Stuff Christians Like) raised over $30,000 in 18 hours through his blog. Why? Go find out! This makes me wonder… if Christians can get together and [...]
[...] great example of power of groups happened just this week at the Stuff Christians Like blog. On Monday Jon Acuff kicked off an effort to build a kindergarten in Vietnam by asking his [...]