Your Heart's Desire

"It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus: and long ago ages He planned that we should spend these lives in helping others." Ephesians 2:10

During my prayer time today I began thinking about how much the desires of my heart have shifted. Deep down I had always thought one of my gifts was the "gift of giving". This is very difficult for someone who has never had a lot of money. When I did finally become successful in my career I found myself spending a lot of time thinking about the economy and which model Mercedes I would purchase next.

I knew in my heart that there was more to life than this. I had to give something back, so I began volunteering at my church. I felt a little better but that seemed like it wasn't enough or maybe that my time was not the only thing I needed to give, so I began tithing. I don't think that there is any better therapy for your life than giving away what is most important to you. When I got married last year, one of the first conversations my wife and I had was about giving. What a relief it was to find out that she was in agreement with my views on giving.

One short year later and here we are, starting a non-profit organization, planning trips to the Amazon and West Africa.

Rather than focusing on which new Mercedes to buy, we're now praying about start-up costs for HEsentme.org, mission trips and where we're installing the first wind turbine. I spend most of my free time researching renewable energy sources, writing grants, seeking out organizations that fund causes like ours and wondering what else I can give up so that I have more money to invest in those in need around the world.

For the first time in my life I feel like my heart is finally in line with God's.

Hot Chocolate

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired.

During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite, telling them to help themselves to the hot
chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said:

"Notice that all the nice looking; expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you
consciously went for the best cups..... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate we have been provided.

The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your hot chocolate!!!

HEsentme.org "Articles of Incorporation" are approved!

This email was just received this morning...

The Articles of Incorporation for HESENTME.ORG, INC were filed
electronically on October 20, 2008, effective on October 17,
2008, as verified by the letter and authentication number shown
below and were assigned document number N08000009702.

Please pray that God will continue to lead us in the direction HE wants us to go.

Dreaming Big

When I was in college I had big dreams. Dreams of having a family, finishing school, building a recording studio, gold and platinum records on the walls and winning a grammy. These were MY dreams not GOD'S.

I did finish school and I did build a successful recording studio for almost 10 years and I do have platinum records on my wall. But none of it was for God, it was for me. Through His love I lost everything and ended up in Central Florida. I found an awesome church, an amazing wife and a deep passion to get closer to Jesus and do what He wants me to do.

He found the perfect job for me. Media Designer for Walt Disney Imagineering. Through that job I learned many things including how to entertain people. It made me realize that there are other people in the world that don't need to be entertained, they need help surviving. They need food, water and a safe place to live and recover from illness.

For years I've been hearing Him tell me that I'm not dreaming big enough but through the scars of my past I have been scared to dream (big or small). Well, a couple of weeks ago I decided to listen to God's calling and start dreaming big again. Like the old days. I don't know where we are headed with HEsentme.org but I do know God is leading and I'm going to follow Him on the greatest adventure of my life!

About HEsentme.org

I attended my son's graduation from boot camp in the U.S. Air Force, San Antonio, Texas in June 2008. After the three day cermony, I spent four days in Washington D.C. (my first visit to D.C.)

On the last day of that trip I found myself at the botanical gardens exhibit on wind power. I have always romanticized wind mills but now I found a new attraction. Harness the wind to produce electricity to power my home for free.

The idea lay dormant in my mind until that fall when I couldn't stop thinking about it. To be self sufficient and loosen the world's reliance on oil consumption. Then I thought if I could make this work at my home why couldn't I do this for third world countries that either have no access to electricity or rely on diesel powered generators that they can only afford to run 3 or 4 hours per day.

Then I ran across the Bible verse "Share each other's troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ". Galations 6:2 while reading Rick Warren's book titled "The Purpose Driven Life". This verse increased my desire but there was more. On September 28, 2008. I attended a service at my church, First Baptist Church in Orlando, Florida lead by Pastor David Uth. He was speaking on the seventh letter in Revelations and went into great depth about how the church has become "luke warm" and how distressed God is by this. It was as if God was speaking directly to me. He had woke this desire, this passion and it was now time to act on it.

While Pastor Uth was speaking I had a vision of me installing a wind turbine in a desolate location and a man from the village asked me why I left my home in America to bring electricity to his village? I looked up at him and simply said "because Jesus sent me". Up until then I had not decided on a name for my ministry but at that moment I knew it had to be "hesentme.org".