Kris Volpone, the volunteer coordinator for the Fort Meyers Salvation Army, did an amazing job facilitating our meeting with their various client groups. She also offered an interesting observation.
“I was interested in how you invited the clients to encourage each other. We talk to them so much about being self-reliant and leaning on God, but you’re saying supporting each other is a big part of the process, too.”
She’s right. We were made to live in community. Life isn’t an individual enterprise.
I use the word “encourage” intentionally. If courage is the willingness to move forward in the face of fear, then encourage means giving courage to others, helping them find the ability to face their fears.
Courage is one of those things you can’t really give away. It’s like love—the more you give, the more you get. I believe when you help someone face fear, you somehow gain a bit of that ability in your own heart. So by encouraging each other, the clients actually become more courageous.
God’s amazing. He fills us with things like love, courage, hope, joy, and peace. Then He tells us to spend them lavishly. And in His economy, as we try to give them away we only receive more.
# # #
Friday was incredible. 7 am speaking at Cornerstone drug/alcohol rehab unit at Fort Meyers Salvation Army, then a quick drive to Venice. Hopped on the bike, rode for a couple of hours, and met a TV crew for an interview. Then spoke at noon Kiwanis in Sarasota. Drove out of downtown to the beach, hopped back on the bike, and cranked to the hotel in Bradenton.
557 miles since we left Jacksonville, and looking forward to a big day riding to Tampa on Saturday. Hopefully we’ll pass 600 miles, and it’ll be time to find a bike shop and get some new tires.
# # #
Two people asked me today how much money we’ve raised so far for Convoy Of Hope. Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t really want to know.
There’ll be time to add up the numbers when we’re done, and those numbers will change the world for a few kids. That’s a very good thing, but this tour isn’t about numbers.
I hope people contribute generously to Convoy because they’re a great organization doing life-and-death work. But I don’t want us to be focused on money. I don’t believe dollars are at the center of this story.
Too often we substitute something that’s easy to measure for what’s at the heart of an endeavor. The numbers we use as measurables rarely reflect what truly matters.
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