In six months I will be celebrating my 10th anniversary at Injoy Stewardship Solutions. I have spent a lot of time lately thinking about the events that resulted into my being hired at this wonderful organization that helps fund vision for church leaders.
In 2002, my wife and I were deeply committed to her being a stay-at-home mom with our 2-year-old daughter.  I was in the middle of job transitions and was working multiple odd jobs trying to bring enough money to make ends meet. However, all my efforts were not nearly enough.
I was very angry and frustrated at everyone – myself, previous employers, and even God.  Our family was doing what we thought He wanted us to do but we were running out of money. The low point for me was one evening I came home from filling vending machines to eat a spaghetti dinner. I love spaghetti.
But something was wrong with that night’s meal. The spaghetti had no meat, only Ragu sauce. I said, “Sweetie, there’s no meat in the spaghetti?” She replied, “We didn’t have enough money for meat. I’m doing the best I can.” Have you ever been there? Have you ever been at a place where your best is simply not good enough?
Shortly thereafter my wife sat down with me and said, “Honey, we need a miracle. We’ve always heard you can’t outgive God. I think we should raise our church giving from from 10% to 15% and give the extra 5% to Precept Ministries.” So at her urging and out of sheer desperation, we tested God and try to out-give him. The 10% giving was already a HUGE sacrifice but going to 15% was at a completely different level.
I had been trying to work for John Maxwell and INJOY for five years. Over that time I had been interviewed on five separate occasions to no avail.
Approximately one month after raising our level of giving, a friend of mine called one afternoon and said, “Hey, I was down at the INJOY offices today and they’re hiring. They want to talk to you.” That was on August 21st, 2002. On August 26th, 2002 I started my first day with the company.
That was now almost 10 years ago. To be able to speak with pastors and church leaders about the joys of sacrificial giving, I had to go through a process of knowing what that means. There is a difference between exposure and experience.
There may be a number of ways to make a miracle happen. I only know of two. 1. Pray for one. 2. Give your way into one because I have learned that you cannot out-give God. You just can’t.Â
Somebody reading this post needs a miracle.  I hope my story encourages you. There are many people out there who can give you advice. The only advice I can give is for you to try to give your way into a miracle. Try to out-give God. My experience is that you will be blessed beyond anything you could ever imagine.
To get future posts on leadership sent directly to you, please click here.
Also, to receive a FREE copy of my new eBook The 2011 Year In Hollywood Movies – Leadership Edition, click here.