considering the hard time i give my friends for not updating their blogs, it’s a shame i haven’t posted on phos in nearly two months. perhaps it’s because this blog is primarily for my own spiritual growth, and i’ve lately taken to other activities to further the development of my faith. nonetheless, i appreciate how phos is a chronicle of what has spoken to me at different times, and to that end i want to keep it current.
one of the books i’ve been reading of late is henri nouwen’s “the spirituality of fund-raising.” a friend of mine tipped me off on this book, and i’m very grateful. what i like about this book is it frames fund-raising in the context of love, which is very much how i’m wired. the first page of the book says, “make love your aim” (1 corinthians 14:1) and the last page of the book says, “love never ends” (1 corinthians 13:8). here are some of the things nouwen says about giving:
those who need money and those who can give money meed on the common ground of God’s love.
asking people for money is giving them the opportunity to put their resources at the disposal of the Kingdom.
people have such a need for friendship and for community that fund-raising has to be community-building.
there’s a lot more that he says a lot better than i could ever say. his words are helpful to me, not because they tell me what to do, but because they remind me that my primary purpose is to love… that is why i am asking others for support (to take my love to benin) and it is how i should ask others for support (loving those i come into contact with).
it’s all about the love.
lauren laughs 