I Want To Be Tim When I Grow Up

OK, Tim may kill me for this!! But it has to be done because I seem to have no pics of him at all. So I did what any normal 4th grader would do, I looked online. I went to Goodsearch and here is what I found. But in all seriousness, I wanted to express who Tim Abare is to me. Tim has a story ,(like most of us do, or we wouldn't be here), a story that is cool , and very intricate. So detailed in fact, that I have a feeling that I don't even know the half of it. But his story is what seems to have led him to be who he is today. Tim went through a rough (underexxagerated) time in his life and through his dealing with issues and coming to a growing intimacy with Jesus, and also the prayers of an incredible wife., he overcame. I see Tim as a successful businessman, a father to out-of-this-world kids, a great writer,a devoted husband, , leader in his faith community Watershed, a humanitarian, and a follower of Jesus who has accepted who he is in this world. And that is who I want to be. Tim has given me counsel on various occassions and everytime he has, I have taken something away from it that has changed my life(close your eyes and picture....... :)). The scary thing about Tim is that we are, in my eyes, very much alike. I love my wife, Jesus, children, Brennan Manning and John Piper, and eating. We are both uncomfortable in public settings but come off as VERY comfortable. He and his wife are so different but that is what makes them incredible, just like Ashley and myself.

One way for sure that Tim has challenged me is by his families desire to give away more than they keep financially and of themselves. That's our dream as well. To get to a point where we can give , and give, and give and live, and live, and live.
All I know is that Tim has learned from mistakes in life and has allowed God to work deep within him to make the necessary changes to be who he is today! And that is who I want to be.

Rich?

I was reading this morning about what rich means. There were so many ideas in this world of what rich truly means but it got me thinking about my definition of rich. I used to put a monetary amount on it but after meeting the McCollums, I have learned that a dollar total doesn't equal wealth. Yesterday, Ashley and I went to North Point Community Church to hear Daniel and Jamie speak to Daniel's father's church about their hearts for global mission. But................Daniel threw the crowd a screwball. After Daniel and Jamie, both shared how God brought their hearts to a point of caring for the world's poor and hurting, Daniel then turned the message to a point of missional living. But the thing that really got me was when Daniel spoke of "Intentional Sacrifice". Defined, intentional sacrifice is when we invite discomfort and inconvenience on ourselves because we have chosen to follow Jesus down to a certain path. And that made me rethink about what we are up to as a family. We have been kicking around this idea of what it would like for the Grammatico family to move from the suburbs to a disenfranchised area of Charlotte to help bring some hope to hopeless situations. Well, none of this thinking and change of thinking would have been possible without the McCollums. We have walked side by side over the past 3 years and have seen each of our lives change. It is so cool when you see God doing the same things in your own life that He is doing in other peoples lives. I have watched as Jamie's smile has brightened up our days during rough times, as her love for my wife has grown Ashley in wonderful ways and how she has been an incredible bride to my main man, Daniel. And then there is Daniel. A guy who I have sat across from a lunch table and plotted to take over the world(for Jesus of course!), a guy who I have talked sports, love, religion, politics, and every other thing under the sun, someone who has helped position me as a leader and husband for a better way, and someone who has always taught me to think. I love these two people with all of my heart and I know without a doubt that we are a better family for having them in our lives.
PS----These two incredible people are giving up western living for a year and they are going to spend a year living in Blantyre, Malawi. You can read about it on their Malawi website. Read it and I urge you to give to their cause.

Poor

A friend of mine, Steve Cook, put on his Twitter feed yesterday this tweet, "I spilled some soup on the stove tonight and was so mad! Then I remembered that millions of people don't even have soup to burn. Reality." Steve has been a guy that I have been with for about 3 years. We got to know each other by leading  a BLOC at Watershed called The Man Show. Steve was an awesome leader who taught me a ton about actually being a man. What happened shortly after that is truly inspiring. He tells an awesome story of gaining a burden of wanting to be a modern day abolitionist and justice crusader. I have watched Steve from a distance and up close, as he has turned his non-profit Equitas  into a substantial vehicle to bring relief to difficult areas in this world. As you reference Steve's tweet above, you see how reality set in after a few moments. And that is the incredible power of movement of God's Spirit pushing and prodding people to be an example of Jesus in this world.

But what Steve has done has brought me to this realization that as Western thinkers, we have no idea what poor even means. So as I was reading this morning, I came across this excerpt from Robert Murray M'Cheyne:

"I am concerned for the poor but more for you. I know not what Christ will say to you in the great day....I fear there are many hearing me who may know well that they are not Christians because they do not love to give. To give largely and liberally, not grudgingly at all, requires a new heart; an old heart would rather part with its life-blood than its money.Oh my friends! Enjoy your money; make the most of it; give none away; enjoy it quickly for I can tell you, you will be beggars throughout eternity".

Ouch! What you hold onto says a lot about who you are. And we, as Americans, hold on to so much and tend not to give. Or worse, we give with a sad heart. THAT IS NOT GIVING! Check out Steve's website, Equitas, and take the chance to be different than the status quo.