13 cents can go a long way!

It all started on Saturday night, March 29th. We were about three hours into our trip to Williamsburg when our van speakers starting howling, crackling and making weird noises. The radio and CD player was off as everyone but me (the driver) was fast asleep.

The next day it continued off and on. Then the dash lights started to fade in and out. Then the auto door locks and windows started choosing when they would or would not work. The parking lights would not turn off even when the key was out and everything turned off. It all came to a head on Friday April, 4th when after having to jump the battery which had died because the lights would not turn off....the horn (alarm) would not shut off. At 8:30 am in the morning in the place we were staying, my horn was blaring without having the key in and the van running. To keep from being beaten up by other peaceful vacationers, I had to jump in the van and drive away with the horn blaring. Finally after hitting a few bumps/holes the horn shut off. However, once I got back to my waiting family and unlocked the doors to let them in...the darn horn started going off. We headed to Busch Gardens in our van with the horn blaring, lights not working, auto doors not working, window stuck half open and not moving and no lights on the dash. A site to behold I assure you.

However, like Chevy Chase in National Lampoons "Vacation", I had promised my kids we were going to Busch Gardens....so we drove the van just like that and headed to Busch Gardens. Finally, about two miles down the road the horn shut off. However, I knew once we got to Busch Gardens and opened the doors....the horn would sing it's loud tune. We parked, the horn went off and I had to start pulling fuses out to shut it up.

We had a great day at Busch Gardens.

Yesterday, the Honda mechanic looked at our possessed van and said all of that was due to the fact that my sweet two-year-old had slid 3 pennies and a dime into the CD Player in the van. 13 cents placed in the right spot caused many, many, many problems that all linked to another problem that of coursed caused another problem. A ripple affect! 13 cents caused me $117 dollars service fee to find the issue and get the change out! 13 cents!!!!

A great positive spiritual lesson can be learned here. God promises us that when we do small acts of kindness and they are placed in the right spot....a ripple affect will occur. When we give even what we may think is a small amount of money or time, and give as God directs in the right spot....he takes it and magnifies the influence.

As Christ followers at CSF always know that God will take what you place in the right spot and make it a meaningful adventure. At CSF I love the fact that everyone here plays a role and can specifically make a HUGE difference when they do what God has asked them to do specifically!

Today's Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians chapter 9

Again, Paul in verses 6-15 says exactly what we believe about giving at CSF! Verse 7-8 is very clear! We give what we have been asked...God uses it to make a huge impact. As we move into our Expand Adventure please remember to focus on what you can do and not what you can't do.