Making the Connection

I just got an update on the money we gave to charity: water for my birthday last year. It’s cool to know it’s still bringing life and love to those in need. Thanks also to Shep & Kristi West, Trey & Jen Williams, Yolanda Valderrama, Chuck & Irene Goocher, Kenneth & Joy Jordan, & Nic & Kristen Arce for your contributions to this effort.

I’m taking some time today to remember how blessed I am to have easy access to clean, safe water. To those in Ethiopia & Malawi today, may God richly supply their needs. To those here with excess, may we grow in our generosity.

Here’s the report:

Your money was sent to Ethiopia and Malawi.

About six months ago, your funds were pooled with those of other mycharity: water campaigns to help thousands of people in Ethiopia and Malawi. We invested your money with our local partners, Relief Society of Tigray (REST) and Action Against Hunger (ACF) in Ethiopia and Pump Aid in Malawi, to build and rehabilitate freshwater wells and spring protections for people in need. They’re also teaching communities about safe hygiene practices and forming local Water Committees to look after the projects when they’re finished.

When your projects are complete, our partners will go back and collect GPS coordinates, photos and other details from each community. Then, they’ll send all the data to us so we can create a project report for you and all your donors to share! We don’t consider a project fully finished until the local Water Committees have been trained and the community has taken responsibility for their water point. 

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch the video above where I just get to share my heart behind what we’re doing through “The Next BIG Thing.” Yes, we could just celebrate the incredible things God has done through The Connection Church to see atheists become missionaries. But we won’t slow down, let up, or back down from our mandate to lift up the name of Jesus and tell everyone we can about Him. And God has laid 4 specific next steps in front of us that we are excited about taking over the next year.

So listen in, pray up, and write down your commitment so you can fully be a part of this shared effort.

We have an awesome opportunity set before us to know God more intimately and see thousands of lives changed! And as we follow hard after God together, I know you’ll be better for it too.

Click here to view this photo book larger

I live in a house of girls. So, every night, we gather around and have a little awards ceremony to award the best actress of the day. Not really, but as the only male in a house full of females, I can tell you there’s a lot of drama! And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

But I admit that sometimes my man-brain has a hard time understanding the way that girls think. And as a dad, it’s especially challenging as I work to raise young godly women in a culture that, in so many ways, is geared against us.

In Greg Wright’s book, Daddy Dates: Four Daughters, One Clueless Dad, and His Quest to Win Their Hearts: The Road Map for Any Dad to Raise a Strong and Confident Daughter, I got a clear glimpse into the ways he has successfully navigated some of the turbulent waters ahead of me. This Austin native has four daughters and he’s passing on his wisdom to the rest of clueless dads. He says that our most important job as a husband and dad is to pursue the women in our family as long as we’re breathing.

It’s too easy to try to parent on auto-pilot. But Greg stresses the importance of winning our daughter’s hearts by being intentional through a strategy of having regular daddy-daughter dates, not just for the purpose of hanging out together, but to gain greater understanding into their hearts and to speak into their lives as they grow.

He offers some relational equations that are helpful:

1. Rules – Relationship = Rebellion
2. Relationship – Rules = Destruction
3. Relationship + Rules = Connection

And this one sums it up: Talk + Action + Time = Trust

While freely admitting his mistakes, Greg also seems to have done it right. This book gives me hope and encouragement as a dad. And I’m newly inspired to take being a dad to the next level. He gives insight into having good talks, ideas for great date nights, and guidelines for dealing with some of the particular struggles that our girls will face as they grow to maturity.

If you want to grow and learn how to better understand the girls in your family, I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book, available here.

I read the Kindle version provided to me by BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”