The power of doing small, ordinary attempts is that it can start a movement.  Everyone can play.  Everyone wants to.  This is an example of someone doing something doable, invisible, and anonymous.  This was so powerful that it continued to be passed on by each recipient for nearly five hours.

Spread the joy this Christmas season.  Do what’s doable.

Here’s the link to the story: LINK

Yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment that I showed up to on time at the start of their afternoon yet still had to wait 20 minutes before getting seen. So as I sat in a much-too-quiet waiting room, I chose to not bury my nose in a magazine but instead try to notice the people around me. I first noticed that I was the only patient in the waiting room, so I noticed the receptionist.

She was a brown-eyed girl in her twenties with long dark hair. She wore blue scrubs and had a nice manner with people on the phone. She hadn’t quite finished her lunch as I could hear the crunch of chips behind the wall she would retreat to to grab a quick bite. She looked coworkers in the eyes when she spoke with them and the patients as well as they finally started to file in.

I had to take rather quick glances because she was mindful of my presence in the waiting room as well and I was trying to avoid that awkward mutual glance … the one when you both accidentally look at each other at the same time without meaning to and then with embarrassment, quickly revert your eyes back the floor.

As other patients sat down, I noticed them as well. The silence was never broken by any of us and felt similar to standing quietly in an elevator with people. But at least for 20 minutes of my day I was intentionally thinking of and noticing others – giving my mind a break from the hours of thought revolved around myself =)

In the past couple of years a change has been occurring within me. I used to be (and often still am) a judgmental sort of person. I started noticing myself having negative judgmental feelings toward others who were doing something unsafe such as riding a motorcycle without a helmet, or speeding and passing unsafely while driving.

My natural response to this would be to get angry, and think that the person would “get theirs” by ending up in an accident – so obviously not a very Jesus-like response.

Then one day while I was driving and a young man on a motorcycle popped a wheelie on I-95, I realized that if Jesus were seeing this person he’d want to show love, not judgment. All of us are guilty of using bad judgment somewhere in our lives; and we wouldn’t others to think worse of us, or judge us unfairly because of it.

So, instead of giving vent to my negative feelings of how stupid my fellow man could be, I prayed that God would keep the young man safe. I do that now whenever I see an unsafe situation people are involved in. The people I pray for may never know it. However, I believe it makes a difference not only for them, but it has been transforming me from the somewhat self-righteous person I was to someone who cares about people whether she knows them or not.

From the Front Lines

When we invite people to volunteer as a missionary with Young Life, we have a four week training process where we give them all the tools they need to effectively reach kids with the Gospel. But as with any “real life” scenario, the theoretical and the practical are not always the same. Here’s what it’s meant to be a Young Life leader in Tulsa in the past month…

* You have a girl in your campaigner group who has recently been in drug rehab. Late one night you get a text message from her. She doesn’t want to talk on the phone, or in person, but she’ll text (it’s what kids are comfortable with). So you spend the next hour texting back and forth as she’s wrestling with addiction and questions. “Why do I feel this way?” “Does God care about my addiction?” “Why shouldn’t I just give in to the temptation?” You don’t have all the answers, but you love her and she knows it.

* You have a high school friend who loses a loved one. You show up at his house late in the evening and sit with him and his family. The four other adults in the room are smoking which puts enough of it in the air that you’re smoking too. You don’t mind because it’s a small price to pay as an expression of love.

* You sit with a group of teen moms trying to have a Bible study. There are 5 kids running around in the room so it’s difficult to lead a discussion the way you’ve been trained. Somehow you end up discussing tattoos, specifically the ones all of your girls are wearing. You don’t really have a personal reference point, but by listening you discover that for each of these girls, the tattoo is an expression of who they are. They want to be known, so they put a little bit of their story on the outside in the form of body art. Now you know them better, and love them more.

* You have a kid that comes from a difficult family situation. You are aware that this kid doesn’t eat on a regular basis (there’s no regular basis for anything in his world). When he shows up at a lock-in, you knowingly ask if he’s had something to eat. When he responds “no”, you give your credit card to another leader and tell him to go get the kid a meal, no questions asked, it’s just the right thing to do.

We can train all we want and we can prepare for every situation, but when real life hits, love wins the day. Thanks for supporting Young Life, and allowing us to love kids right where they are.

Dear Lord, Give us the Leaders

In the above article, you read about the heart of a Young Life leader. We’re praying for 60 leaders by March 15th. There are 8300 students in the schools were we currently have YL and there are 17,500 in the schools where we do not have a YL presence. The Harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Will you join us in praying for 29 new leaders and 6 new YoungLives mentors by March 15? And let us know if you are interested or if you know someone who is.

Young Life, Tulsa
10010 S 70th East Ave | Tulsa, OK 74133-6221 | 918 665 8525

I witnessed a random act of kindness today (what we call an “Ordinary Attempt here in DE Land) that moved and humbled me. I was thrifting at the WARC on Keystone (in Reno). This little gal that works there has some special needs. She went to up to a gal that looked like she could use some help. She looked a little sad and tired to me. The little gal said “That is such a pretty necklace!” The gal took it off and handed it right to her.

-Randy

I am a tightwad. Generosity doesn’t come naturally for me. Worse yet, I’ve been living like a Pharisee. Just like the Pharisees, I tithe. Faithfully. Just like the Pharisees, I also give a lot of gifts, sometimes big gifts, to others. Unfortunately, it’s easy to look at all this giving and pat
myself on the back, just like the Pharisees, who were proud of tithing their spices. But deep down, I’m a tightwad. I know this because I count what I give and it’s hard for me to give spontaneously.

I’ve been praying, and God is changing my “tight-wadness” in small ways. It began with a God-given idea:

I now try to carry one dollar bills with me, and whenever I’m in a public restroom, I “tip” the lady who is there with her cleaning cart. It is a terribly small act, but for me it is practicing spontaneous generosity and is doable.

I’m convinced that in most areas of my life, I can not make big overnight changes. Unfortunately, I am stuck in myself, but when I take small steps and do what is doable, God sees my pitiful attempts and mysteriously transforms my soul.

And so it is with evangelism and sharing Jesus. I can only do what is doable. I can only take small steps. Sometimes it means praying silently behind someone’s back. Sometimes it involves easy chit chat or doing a small act of kindness. But as I continue in these tiny steps, God does his part in creating situations and conversations in which I can talk about His Son. Plus, all the doable small steps are increasing my confidence.

I still stumble with words, but sharing Jesus is getting easier and more natural. Just like tightwad me now enjoys handing out one dollar bills.

I observed someone else making an ordinary attempt the other day. I was in line at a checkout and the lady in front of me was buying two huge bottles of vodka. I was busy having judgmental thoughts, but the cashier was busy doing what’s doable. She asked the lady how she was and the lady launched into a story about her mother’s illness and how she has had to care for her and the test results weren’t good.

The cashier really listened! She said things like “Oh honey, that is so hard! Remember that God will give you the strength you need!” I was astounded by her love and care for this woman. I was lost in judgment and she was primed for love. Awesome! When I got up to the checkout I said, “Way to minister love!” She laughed and said, “Well, I do what I can to bring hope!”

I want to be more like her.

This weekend we’ll show this video at a district women’s retreat in Colorado Springs and distribute brochures.

Your interest in Ordinary Influence means a lot, but I’m not sure what elements you are most interested in, and I don’t want to overload you with details. Here are some nuts and bolts:

Basically the conference will revolve around 4 “teaching sessions” that are only 1/2 hour long. Myself and three other women (the team putting together this conference) will each teach one session. Immediately following these sessions are discussion and application sessions, small groups, led by women who have read Evangelism Without Additives (EWA). By structuring the conference this way, it is challenging more women to read EWA and apply it in their lives. I want women to begin experiencing EWA. I don’t want to organize a conference in which women just show up, take notes, and listen to one keynote speaker. (and then go home, lose their notes, and forget it all) Anytime a person has to “teach” something, they learn more than the student, so I’m trying to involve many women in the “teaching” parts of this conference. The one requirement is that each “teacher” read EWA.

We will also intersperse videos in the conference: “Otherlyness” (from the Practicing Church website), two videos from Andy Stanley’s “Go Fish” series, and one video from Bill Hybel’s “Just Walk Across the Room” series.

Of course, there will be lunch and door prizes and other conference fluff.

Thank you for praying.

God recently gave me another house to clean, for a brilliant, retired orthopedic surgeon, in frail health, and is a man who Jesus loves the most. Last week he shared his life stories and photo album with me. Our conversation didn’t cover anything spiritual, but because I had read EWA, I knew it was more than just looking at old photos and listening to an old man reminisce. I’m begging God that my doctor friend will soon place his faith in Jesus.

Thank you for your ministry. Evangelism is doable! It still amazes me how God uses ordinary people.

Blessings,
Gretchen Carlson