Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

November 6, 2012November 6, 2012 / Erin Kirk / Leave a comment

I think God sometimes uses the completely inexplicable events in our lives to point us toward Him. – Bob Goff, Love Does.

I blog in a time warp.

The book I’m finishing, Going to The Sea – A Sassy Liberal Wades In With Jesus, follows a cynical, selfish but well-intentioned Left Coast girl, who submits to Jesus on a West Texas gravel road.

But Going to the Sea – The Blog lives three years down that road, where the inexplicable things of God happen all the time, in present tense.

Inexplicable things, like my decision to fly to LA next week to embed with the Los Angeles Dream Center‘s missionary teams.

Me, a Christian missionary? Come on. Yah, I don’t really get it either.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

I’ve blogged about The Dream Center before, but on Monday, I’ll put some actual skin in the game, in Watts, South Central, Compton, Imperial Courts, Crenshaw and Downtown L.A. This is inexplicable apart from God. This is what happens when you follow Jesus like you mean it. He messes with who you think you are and has you doing things you cannot imagine.

Here’s how the Dream Center explains what I’ll be up to next week:

If you made a mission trip to the LA Dream Center, playing with
neglected and abused kids in gang infested neighborhoods, busing
people to church from crack houses and cardboard boxes, handing
out warm plates of food to homeless people living on Skid Row,
would be a few evangelistic opportunities your team would take
part in…

With us you would be working hard, praying loud and returning
home exhausted. With us, you would be an important part of the
miracle for which we ourselves can take absolutely no credit.

Pay close attention, The Dream Center deals in the inexplicable things of God, like banks deal in money. God willing, I’m going to show you some of them, right here in real time.

Oh, and if you’re the praying kind, let ‘er rip, I need all the help I can get.

Chatting With NYT Bestselling Author Bob Goff

November 2, 2012November 2, 2012 / Erin Kirk / 3 Comments

I’ve been crowing all week about my new favorite book Love Does – Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World. Do yourself a favor and buy this book, if for no other reason than the proceeds go to build schools in Uganda.

Love Does made it to somewhere around #12 on the New York Times Bestseller list and in keeping of the book’s spirit of whimsy and adventure, the author, Bob Goff, put his cell phone number in the back. That’s crazy. Do you know what’s even crazier? He answers it.

“Hi, This is Bob Goff.”

“Wow, you answered! Hi Bob, this is Erin from Texas. I just wanted to call and tell you how much I loved your book.”

“That is so sweet, thank you.”

“I can’t believe you answer your cell phone, I barely answer mine.”

“Don’t you think we all need to be more connected, instead of less connected” he said.

Bob had just stepped off a 27-hour flight from Uganda. He turned his phone on moments before I called. I asked how many people have called since the book came out and if I heard correctly, he said at least a thousand.

“It’s the best thing I ever did,” he said.

I’m going to Los Angeles next week (more on why later) and I asked if I could bring him a cup of coffee on Tom Sawyer Island. He gave me his email, so we can set it up. He said to make sure and email him because, after three weeks in Uganda, he’ll be walking into a wall of stuff when he gets home and doesn’t want to forget.

Love Does is the reason I decided to go to LA, where I’m going after my own secretly incredible life by doing something new, something that’s a leap of faith for me – or as Bob would put it, a caper.

I told Bob, I had blogged about Love Does (here and here) and he said he was really happy to talk to me. He reiterated how surprising or lucky it was I caught him. But I don’t think luck has anything to do with it.

“When you write your book, you should put your phone number in the back,” he said.

That’s funny, I didn’t tell Bob I was writing a book.

Why Not Say Yes?

October 31, 2012 / Erin Kirk / Leave a comment

Last night, I finished Love Does, Bob Goff’s treatise on how to discover your extraordinary, whimsical, adventurous, purposeful, love-filled life. One key to doing that, I decided, is saying yes a lot. (Spend 77 seconds and watch the video)

What that meant for me yesterday was shooting guns. Lots of them. Multiple times.

We were visiting the ranch of a new friend to look at his excellent fishing ponds. When we were done, he asked if we wanted to shoot. Right away I said no, because I don’t really like guns and despite Sam’s best efforts, I’m scared of them. But most of all, I don’t like to trouble people when they offer to do something for me.

Then I thought of Bob jumping off his deck into what is probably 50 degree water in British Columbia and I changed my mind.

“Sure, if you guys want to, I will.”

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I learned to load and shoot a shotgun by doing it about 100 times and I managed to shoot many more of the flying orange things than I expected. When we tired of that, we grabbed pistols and shot itty bitty targets until dark.

I learned like ten things I didn’t know about guns. I learned how to be safe and competent around them, and now I’m less afraid.

All because I said yes.

I told you in my first post about Bob that he put his phone number in the back of Love Does and I plan to call him. I’m afraid to do that too, but I’m going to do it today because I bet something interesting will happen.

And yes, I’ll let you know.