Comments on: Gifts

By: Sarah Hensley

Sarah Hensley — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:43:37 +0000

wow. that so affirms something. praise god for that. haha- a blog written a year and a half ago is still blessing.
yesterday we were going to leave for our small group trip to chicago. it was just going to be a fun trip with a bit of shopping and getting to know the girls and we’d been waiting for it for a while. we were supposed to leave saturday morning and at 3:12 am God woke mom up and said “Don’t take them”. so she woke me up and we prayed and (haha it seems stupid now to even question it) but we were like ok god. is this really what you’re saying? why? we’ll obey but why? so we prayed about it and opened up the bible and got isaiah57. and we called the hilton people and they said that we’d have to wait til the shift supervisor gets in- his name was Abraham. haha. god isfunny. so we decided to go meet the girls at church at seven thirty as planned and talked about it as a group and make it a learning experience if God allowed so. so we get there and go hold off for a bit at starbucks and tell everyone what’s going on. and so we call abraham and said Abraham, we don’t know if you’re a believer but here’s what’s going on… and we need to change the date of our stay. so. we changed it. and some relationships might have been a bit jeopardized for what seemed to be an over-reaction or irresponsible decision to anyone who didn’t hear “Don’t take them” at 3:12. so funny thing is there’s been tons of affirmation since… we still don’t know why. we know it was a test of obedience. so praise god for affirming it even though we don’t know why.
so instead of going to chicago we went to the mall. and saw like two shirts that said “obey”. and in american eagle two shirts were lined up next to eachother saying Don’t… Go…
and mom talked to someone who totally affirmed it and also started going into how it reminded them of the story of abraham. affirmation.
and now i read this blog from a year and a half ago that affirms today. so praise god.
we don’t know why but that’s okay. i pray that god keep on showing me more about the story of abraham and his sacrifice and obedience. i’m going to go read that

By: Bobbie Lincoln

Bobbie Lincoln — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 06:11:06 +0000

Doug, you will never be without because you are so willing to be without. I can understand the feelings of the person who gave you the necklace, I am sure they love you very much. I also admire you for doing what God put on your heart.
Last year God told me to give away my Bible. This was not just any Bible, it was the Bible I had carried with me for over 20 years. It got me through the most challenging times in my life. It had notes, highlights, prayers, and anything else I needed to get through each day. My daughters asked me many years ago if they could have my Bible someday. It was never a question that I would give my Bible to them when I passed on. God had other plans and I wish I could say I was as obedient as you Doug. It took me a few days and many talks with God to make sure I was hearing him right. He was very gentle, he told me when and who, he even arranged the meeting place. I gave my Bible to a very special person, this was his first Bible and he said that the highlights and notes helped him grow closer to the Lord. It was not easy to share with my daughters what I had done. I watched my youngest daughter cry and my oldest daughter look at me with her big blue eyes. I explained that the very reason I can love them like I do is because God is in my heart. The same God asked me to give away my Bible. I told them that it did not belong to me anyways and it does not matter what we have, it is who we are in Christ. Giving my Bible away was the best gift I could have given my children. The other day when I met with my friend to study the word he said, if anything happens to him he wants my girls to have our Bible. I guess that says it all “we can’t out give God” Thanks Doug…..you have great thoughts!

By: dougehrgott

dougehrgott — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:29:56 +0000

Thanks guys, I am blessed and bouyed by your comments. Maybe it was the right thing or at least an okay thing to do. I believe God will use it. He never misses an opportunity to reward sacrifice. The fact is I didn’t do it looking for something in return and that is what I think true sacrifice is. If we do things looking for a return then it is not a sacrifice because we are expecting something else maybe better. Bless that kid wherever he may be.

By: Bill Wolfe

Bill Wolfe — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:49:59 +0000

Doug, love the story, but it made me think: What have I given away recently? What has God called me to do that maybe I’ve “conveniently” not heard or listened to?

The words that really struck me that you said were: “Everything God gives us He gives with the idea that we will reinvest”. We may never know what happened to the necklace and how it affected the lady’s son, but God knows. Like you said, the point is obedience and God smiles on us when we obey.

By: Ben Baumer

Ben Baumer — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:21:05 +0000

Definitely know what you’re talking about wanting to do something radical for Christ, even though it’s not the right thing. Sometimes when you look around at all the bad going on in the world, you just want to do extreme things to get everyone’s attention, however, that’s not always the best way (especially when it’s destroying someone else’s property.

I just wanted to share that right after I read this, I was reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven and page 94 it says this, “That’s the thing. Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to someone else.” I hope whoever gave you that necklace can take solace in that statement.

By: John Lane

John Lane — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:30:30 +0000

I enjoyed the story, identified with it, and I appreciate your sharing it. Those actions (Gifts) are the kind people do not forget. They’re lifelong examples and I’ll bet most of the time they’re “Paid Forward.”