On Thursday, September 2, our family attended International House’s (iHouse) Annual Benefit called Abundant Love. Steve was the guest speaker and shared about Joy Matters as well as an emphasis on receiving Our Father’s abundant love.

Here are a few of our family’s takeaways followed by some bullet points from iHouse’s Executive Director.

As a playful way to incorporate our kids, I asked them to give me some random words that I had to use in my talk. I heard of this idea from some other speakers along the way as a joke. My daughter offered easy, simple words of which I already planned to use such as joy, pure, love, family. My son on the other hand gave me Abraham Lincoln or Gandalf. I chose Abraham Lincoln.

As I was about to be introduced, I realized that I forgot to type in my notes where to place “Abraham Lincoln” and began to panic. How was I going to use this? Why did I even care? As I was about to walk on to the stage, I said to my son, “I got it!”

As I was speaking about how our culture’s answer to most challenges or failures is “try harder,” I brought up Honest Abe. Start to think of Abraham Lincoln with his beard and tall hat. Now, try to stop! You can’t. You keep thinking of him. Unless you replace him with another thought. I made a fuller point but that is not what I want to share.

I want to share the sweet distinguishable laughter I heard from my two kids when I mentioned “Abraham Lincoln.” Without looking at them, I could hear my 8-year-old daughter’s giggles ringing throughout the ballroom. This was joy for me, for her, and for our whole family.

The first words from the emcee as I stepped off stage was about Abraham Lincoln and how he could not stop thinking about him. He mentioned how he just finished a book about Abraham Lincoln. Needless to say, Abraham Lincoln made an impact this evening.

Gentle presence matters more than perfect technique. With-ness matters. Let’s not overthink or get stuck in “what if’s” in how to care and serve others. Fear will keep us from ever encountering someone different than us.

I often say that Jesus is Triple A. **JESUS IS AAA** He is Always Available and Attentive to you. He sees us and interacts with us. Why is this important? Because . . . Suffering becomes trauma when we perceive that we suffered alone. We cannot change the events of our story. However, we can change the way in which we experienced our story.

The following is from our friend and iHouse’s Executive Director, Ann Heign:

• We raised $48,000 that will help us purchase ELL curriculum, trauma healing resources, and Biblical resources for children, among other things.
• A used van was donated, which allowed us to add more medical appointments to the calendar.
• 300 people attended, including a group from the International Restoration Church, which started at iHouse. 
• The event brought together volunteers (some who had started 20 years ago) in a safe place to share their stories while eating together. 
• It introduced people who may not have been previously aware of the plight of refugees and the opportunities the Lord offers them to build relationships and welcome people well.
• I had many comments about how impactful what you (Steve) shared about joy and appreciation was. The evening felt more like a gathering to learn and grow together than a fundraising event. It felt like family coming together to visit, rather than a formal fundraiser.