Dear God, I could go and try to find a scripture to go with what’s on my heart this morning, but the truth is that I just want to pray to you about the fundraising dinner tomorrow night for the nonprofit where I work. I didn’t sleep well last night. I think it was over worrying how it will go. When I was thinking about it and praying silently as I got ready for work this morning, I felt the Holy Spirit tell me that it isn’t about how much money we raise. It’s about how much glory you get and how we use the opportunity to bless others through their involvement in our patients’ lives.
So my prayer to you for tomorrow night is not about how much money we are going to raise. I have goals that I’ve put in the budget, but the truth is that the donations are not the end. They are the means. The end is people experiencing love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, and self control through their participation in our work. The end is that people would see loving their neighbor in a different light. The means to get there is joyfully giving to your causes, whether it is our nonprofit or others. The means is to lay down our selfishness and our burdens, take up your cross and follow you. That’s what I hope our dinner can be about tomorrow night.
Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I offer you my worship this morning. Help me to give generously. Help me to understand what it means to really live the life you’re calling me to live. Help me to love my wife well. Help me to love my children well. Help me to love my family, friends, and neighbors well. I give you all of the glory for everything you are doing. I take none of it for myself. In fact, the more I can decrease over the next 48 hours the better. Be glorified, oh Lord.
I pray all of this under your authority and grace,
Amen
Emails to God 
Albert J Vasquez
May 1, 2023 at 10:40 am
Amen! To our God be all the glory! I needed to read this today.
Thank you for sharing.
Albert V
motiv8n
May 1, 2023 at 9:02 pm
Beautifully written post! Your prayer and message about the fundraising dinner is truly inspiring. I completely agree that it’s not just about raising money but about impacting lives in a positive way. My question is, what specific actions do you plan to take to ensure that people experience love, joy, and all the fruits of the spirit during the dinner?
John D. Willome
May 2, 2023 at 12:08 pm
Thank you. As far as how to encourage fruits of the Spirit while still raising money, it’s something I’m always praying through. One of the great things about our organization is that it was founded over 30 years ago by a woman who responded to God’s call in a simple way and then God took the seeds she planted and grew it into what it is today. So will spend time sharing that story of how obedience in just the next thing is all God is asking of us, regardless of what his ultimate plan is. Then we will have a patient of our charitable clinic talk about her story and how we were able to help her (we are in Texas, which leads the nation in percentage of uninsured and our region is higher than the state average so affordable, accessible healthcare is a big concern). Next, we will do the fundraising portion when we ask people to give. This is my least favorite part, because I’m just standing up there and asking people to raise their “paddles” and give to our clinic. But when I start to see it as blessing them with the opportunity to participate in their “neighbors'” lives and not just getting them to give me as much as I can talk them into then my own perspective on it and joy from it changes. Finally, when that is over, we will honor some medical specialists from our community as our “Good Samaritans of the Year.” These are specialists who work with our patients to give them access to care they would never otherwise be able to receive without their compassion and care. So by the end, we hope that everyone has felt the joy that God has for us in loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and then loving our neighbor as ourself. I hope that answers your question. 🙂
albert vasquez
May 2, 2023 at 4:27 pm
I am inspired by your message! Your event is already a success in the eyes of the Lord and your fellow Christian Family! Well done.
motiv8n
May 2, 2023 at 8:42 pm
Great answer. They’re not giving to you or the clinic, they’re giving to God’s work.
Pam Cotten
May 3, 2023 at 3:24 pm
John, you wrote, “The end is people experiencing love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, and self control through their participation in our work. “. I definitely saw that end TAKING FORM at last night’s fundraiser event. Yes, God is at work through His people who are carrying out His own design. It was such a beautiful thing to witness.