Giving Away My Birthday

When was your last birthday? Think back on what you did (or what you didn't do that you normally do). I'm betting that, if you live in the US, you at least acknowledged it in your own particular way. It's unlikely that you just forgot about it or shrugged your shoulders. And why shouldn't it be a great event? It's a designated time to sit back and celebrate you as a person (unless your birthday falls around Christmas or New Years Eve like my dad's and brother's birthdays. In that case, bummer!). Each one of us was carefully made and bring something to the table that no one else can. That's reason for celebration!

Well, today is my birthday and I am excited to be posting this blog. This year, I decided to celebrate my birthday in a different way: I'm donating it to charity. I'm turning 26 this year and my challenge to the entire internet is to donate $26 ($1 for every year I've been alive) to one of the charities below. With both of these organizations, every penny that you donate will go directly to the cause you're donating it to. You're not paying any administrative or support staffing costs; you're giving right to the spiritually and physically thirsty.

Gospel for Asia

The first charity I recommend to you is called Gospel for Asia. This is what they do: "Our mission in life is to be devout followers of Christ and to fulfill the Great Commission among the unreached in Asia through training, sending out and assisting qualified laborers in partnership with the Body of Christ." By giving to this charity, you are lending much needed support to an area of the world that is prime to explode with the power of the gospel. Here is a link to their donation page: http://www.gfa.org/donation/.

Charity: Water

If you would prefer not to give to an organization whose sole purpose is to spread Christianity, please give instead to Charity: Water. It is a fantastic organization with a purpose that anyone can get on board with. As "a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations," all of your money woudl be going straight to creating sustainable sources of water for people who normally have to spend the entire day walking to get water. Here's a link to their donation page: https://donate.charitywater.org/donate.

My further challenge to you is not just to give because I asked you or just to give once. My deepest desire is to hear that you gave with excitement about the cause and with intention to give to that charity or another on a regular basis, no matter how small the amount. Maybe you'll also feel inspired to give away your birthday or do something else unconventional to help others in deep need. To quote Paul, my desire is that "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7).