We Share 2010 -- Wrap UpMay sure went by fast! But then again it seems like all the months go by pretty fast now days. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that May was the 726th month I have seen go by.
I must say that I learned more than I thought I was going to on our little weShare2010 journey. I wanted to share just a few of the things that I learned last month.
First I learned that tap water will not kill me from some crazy bacteria. The source of the same water that our parents and grandparents drank is still available and is a whole lot cheaper than the handy 16oz bottles at $1.00 to $2.00 each. And when I was thirsty, cold tap water quenched my thirst just as good as those little bottles.
I also learned how much I spend on individual beverages. I was shocked when I saw that Joyce and I identified $177 we could have spent on individual beverages during the month of May. That is a lot of money! Could it be true that over the period of a year, we could save over $2,000 just by not buying individual drinks?
I also learned that I don't use that many $1.00 bills. If you recall, part of my weShare fast was to contribute all the $1.00 bills in my wallet at the end of each day to GBIM. After 31 days of emptying my wallet each night, I was only able to accumulate 22 one dollar bills. That is much less than I thought I it would be.
But there are a few other far more important things I learned last month. My fast was very small compared to what I think is "normally" considered a fast. But even with my simple fast, I found myself daily being reminded of the importance of fulfilling the Great Commission. Skipping a bottle of water or a morning cup of coffee was not that difficult, but it put me just slightly outside of my comfort zone and normal routine. This helped me to remember why I was there and gave me the opportunity to refocus my attention on God and His instructions to us to tell others of His love.
I also realized the importance of fasting. In Matthew 6, when Jesus talks to the disciples about fasting He does not say if you fast, He says "When you fast…" (Matthew 6:16). Fasting appears to be an expected discipline from both the Old and New Testaments. From my limited research in the Bible, it appears to usually be discussed in conjunction with prayer. If this is the case, certainly we as followers of Jesus Christ should be fasting today. Could this have something to do with the fact that so many of our prayers apparently go unanswered?
It also forced me to remember again the sacrifice that Christ made in coming to the earth. Of course anything I give up on this earth (including my life) would be nothing in comparison to what Christ gave up for me. But just the act of giving up something gave me the opportunity to remember what the ultimate example of sacrificial giving was.
Thanks Dave Lewis for asking me to blog along with others during the month of May and the weShare journey. I trust that all who embarked on this small journey learned as much as I did. Don't forget to send your sacrifices to GBIM or America's Keswick. -- George Hutchison serves on the Board of Trustees of America's KESWICK and is an instructor with Crown Financial
Dig This Quote: We are so depraved that God mus drag us to Himself. The beauty of the gospel, however, is that at the same time, the Spirit's work is to make us willing to come. R. C. Sproul
Determined Digging: Level 1 --Proverbs 15:1; Level 2 -- Psalm 91:5-10
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