We have all heard the phrase from Acts 20:35 "...it is more blessed to give than to receive" and it's obvious why that is. You, as the giver, are able to benefit from the joy of making someone else happy. You are receiving something while at the same time giving away. That's great. A win-win, as they say.

In her former pre-mommy life, Shelly was a professional fundraiser. For that reason, we've been called on (and sometimes "felt called") to organize and assist with a number of fundraisers over the years. We've helped raise money and awareness for various causes from orphans in Romania through Pathway to Joy to rescues of babies out of Uganda a la the Levy Family to our daughter's private school auction and so on. Raising money can be a lot of work but Shelly has found that it's typically something you can do without getting your hands too dirty and it usually ends with some kind of fun party or gathering with your friends and lots of food. And when everything is said and done, you get to look like a big hero by handing over a pile of money to some people or organization in need... the people who are really doing the work and getting their hands dirty.

We've now found ourselves on the other side of the fence. We are embarking on a mission to Uganda - with a lofty goal of improving the living conditions of a terrible place where children are housed in very bad conditions. It seems strange to be the ones actually going and doing this. We are so accustomed to writing checks, or hosting parties and asking other people to write checks or gathering groups of people to pray and hear more about the cause. But with this trip to Uganda, we are stepping out of our comfort zone.

We're not technically raising money (yet) -- although we cannot say enough thanks to the many friends who have already stepped up and donated money to meet immediate needs at this place in Uganda while we are there. What we really need right now, as we begin this "crazy journey" is prayer. Our good friends, Garry and Laura Hill, are hosting a night of prayer & desserts (see, I told you these things usually involve food) for me and Michael on Thursday, April 22. If you live in the Atlanta area and are interested in joining us, please comment below and I'll get you the details.

All of that to say it just feels strange to be on the receiving end of such a function. Shelly and I are used to hosting these things, cheering others on, praying for them, writing our little token checks... but typically we don't get our own hands dirty. For us, there is much safety in being the ones who give. But we're making some changes... and as Paul says in Romans 8:14 "God's spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!" (The Message)

The sign in Pier One Imports encouraged us, the other day, to "Make Easter Easy", and why not? It is already very difficult what with getting the eggs hidden in the yard, making up the easter baskets, preparing for a monumental feast complete with family and guests. And then there's deciding which church service to attend, getting everybody ready early to take pictures in the front yard, and fighting all those crowds of newcomers that want to take your favorite pew and parking spot. It's just a busy day, you know, so take Pier One's advice and just make it easier already.

We watched Gibson's The Passion of the Christ again last night and were reminded in great detail how very un-easy the first Easter was. It was difficult because it had to be. There was no other acceptable option. There was no other way to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind and no other person on Earth that could possibly do it. He even refused to take the wine and myrrh on the cross which would have at least deadened some of the pain, if not killed him outright.

Our lives are so easy in comparison to most others in the world, and it's easy because we make every effort for it to be that way. Our constant forward motion is in the direction of reducing stress and increasing comfort. Ironically with the result of increasing stress, but that's for another time and blog.

In light of the great and awesome sacrifice that our Lord made for us on the cross 2000 years ago, perhaps we can look at our own lives and consider what thing we can change in our life that might help someone else's, even if it causes us some temporary discomfort.

We are a little bit speechless right now actually. I've never heard of a bake sale with call-in orders until today. We are incredibly grateful to all of you that showed up this morning for Cupcake Kids and especially those of you that bought $25 cups of lemonade. All told, the kids brought in $260. And after the parent's matching donation that's $520. That's pretty amazing if you ask me. It's like what I imagine a post-apocalypse bake sale would be like - people spending $20 on a cookie because they haven't had sugar in 8 months.

I arrived late on the Crazy Bike and learned that the kids had decided to send the money with me and Michael when we go to Uganda later this month so that we can meet some immediate needs as they come to our attention while we are there. They are very excited about the turnout and response and have decided to do more of them in the weeks to come. Stay tuned for the announcement of the next location and date. And now, the photos. Thanks to Joy and Davis for taking such good shots of the event and sharing their pics with me.

OK customers, come and get it.

Salesforce is motivated

That's good service right there

Woohoo, we met our sales quotas

Here you go Sir, would you like some cash with that?

Our kids have decided to get into the act. They wanted to have some money to give away and our oldest suggested selling cupcakes and lemonade at the park down the street, and even came up with the clever title Cupcake Kids. I'm sure you're reading this thinking "No. It has to be 'Kupcake Kids'." Well, sorry, I grew up too close to Pigeon Forge and can't bring myself to hillbilly this up too much.

The park, it turns out, is run by the city and they don't take too kindly to selling stuff there, even something cute and tasty. So, tomorrow morning along with the children of our friends the Harty and Mitchell families, ours will be selling cupcakes, cookies and cups of lemonade in the Harty's neighborhood (off North Druid Hills near the Brookhaven Marta stop).

The agreement is that any money they earn, we will match. Then each child can decide where they want their money to go. Our oldest has chosen a lofty goal of a goat and two chicks from World Vision.

The Cupcake Kids

Baker Baby

Who could resist?

You've heard the expression, be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. Same applies to prayer it seems. Shelly and I have been praying recently about how we should use some money that was burning a hole in our pocket. Specifically, praying for a need to be put in front of our faces so that it was completely obvious that it was from God for this very purpose.

You may recall my recently I mentioned how the friend that had brought a terrible situation to my attention was on his way over to Uganda to film a documentary about it and attempt to get the attention of folks to help. Last week I followed up with my friend asking when he was going and what the latest scoop was. He told me that the sponsors of his trip had backed out at the last minute and he was going to have to cancel... [sound of crickets chirping]. Honestly, my response to him was something along the lines of "wow, that's too bad. I guess there's a reason for it. I hope a good reason. ha." At this point you, the viewer would be no doubt screaming at me, the character on screen as if I were sauntering about in a dark basement somewhere while the killer is sneaking up behind me.

Meanwhile I got in touch with the folks that wrote the blog about Mukisa and found out that they had received a pretty good response so far of people donating and that they were seriously considering using some of that to get my friend over there to proceed with the documentary. They felt it was that critical to get the word out to people in the rest of the world. Yeah, this is the point in the dark basement where I turn around just in time, dodge the killer's swipe of the blade and avoid an untimely demise. Shelly and I pretty much looked at each other and said, "Hey, I think maybe this is where that money should go."

So the latest is this: Michael and I leave Atlanta on April 24 to spend a week in Uganda. We will film as much as possible at the prison to bring back and create a campaign to help build an orphanage. While we are there we also will be looking for ways to help meet some of their more immediate needs.

All of this reminds me, inexplicably, of the spot in the New Testament where Jesus feeds the 5,000. If you are familiar with the story you know that Jesus was preaching somewhere way outside of town where restaurants were scarce and it was getting on toward lunch time. The disciples came to him and asked him what they should do. And Jesus responded that they should figure something out themselves. In reading this in the past I've always imagined the disciples coming to Jesus in a panic like "Hey! You have to Do something." But lately it has dawned on me that that probably wasn't the case. They had seen Jesus do a Lot of cool and unorthodox stuff, so why should this be all that hard for him. I can imagine them walking up casually and mentioning "oh hey, Jesus, the crowd's getting a bit peckish. Why don't you whip up something for them to eat and they'll be in awe and really ready to listen to your message. It'll be cool." So Jesus' response to them doesn't seem off base. He was just resetting their expectations.

This thing with the children's prison in Uganda kind of hit us the same way. We were saddened to read about it and thought "wow, God should do something here." and he said "why don't you go do something about it." And so, we are.