generosity

Real Time Warriors for Christ (Vlog: Factor of 7)

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Sharita

It has finally happened. I have finally gotten the guts to take a leap in to the “Vlogging” world.

For all of you newbies to the techie world (don’t worry, I only learned the term “vlog” about a month ago) “Vlog” is a simply a video plus a blog. Get it? Vlog. (I think Blideo would have been an interesting choice as a close second for techie terminology.)

Anywho… My beloved husband joined me on my inaugural vlog attempt. We were finally forced to get to crack-a-lacking on this mission after a local pastor saw the article in The Bayonet about our Latte Love Factor of 7. Pastor Heather contacted us saying that our ministry was an “answer to her prayers” as she is heading up a kids camp this summer with the theme of “Real Warriors for Christ.” The whole idea stems around defending our faith everyday, right where we are. Which is exactly what Factor of 7 is all about.

She asked if we could record a short video to share at the camp… and Voilà! A vlog was born! (I am all about doing the whole two birds, one stone business.)

So welcome to our first attempt at vlogging. (Oh, and don’t worry… we don’t talk for the entire time. There is a rather humorous interlude smack dab in the middle of this vlog.)

If you cannot view this video in your email, click here.

We would LOVE your feedback! Please leave a comment below! (And don’t be shy about sharing our video message about our mission with folks in your life. Hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.)

Fighting on the Frontline,
SGK (and Brandon)

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”–1 John 3:18

Categories: adventure, blessings, Factor of 7, fight, generosity, kingdom, positive, prayer, servant evangelism | Tags: , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Thirst No More (Factor of 7)

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Sharita

Ever been thirsty?

I don’t mean a smidge thirsty like “Yeah, I could use a drink (of water.)” I mean, “Holy cow, I am so thirsty my throat feels like the Sahara desert.”

We’ve probably all been there. At least a little bit. (I experience this phenomenon anytime I do a long run without a Camelbak water pack strapped on myself. Or when I talk too much. Either way.)

When you get that thirsty, soda pop (oh, I mean Coke for my southern readers) won’t suffice. Water. H2o. That’s the remedy.

Jesus is the living water… So my beloved husband and I tried to sprinkle around some Jesus water through our latest “Factor of 7.”

On Sunday after church, Brandon and I set out on a mission for Jesus– not only to give literal water to those who might be thirsty, but  to plant (and water!) a little seed of Jesus love. We were going on a walk of epic proportions.

Unlike our previous Factor of 7 experiences, this one was a little different. Instead of taking $107, God called us to get a little creative. (And get fit, apparently.) Here’s what we did: We bought two cases of water (that’s 48 bottles.) We loaded up Brandon’s army assault pack and set out to walk, hand out FREE bottles of water  and pray… for SEVEN miles.

As usual… God blessed our journey.

This Factor of 7 experience was by far the most challenging to date. Not only was it physically challenging to haul full (and cold) bottles of water around for seven miles walking in the Georgia heat (See: sweet sunburns and sore muscles), but it was also the most spiritually challenging. I was concerned about God’s logistics.

When you are walking on paved trails, you really don’t encounter many other folks on foot in the middle of the day. Bikers are on a mission (and usually already equipped with water) and runners are also in their zone, not wanting to stop or carry a water bottle for any distance. (Hey, I totally feel them– it’s hard enough for ME to keep my feet moving on a run without worrying about where the next trash can is.)

About three miles in, we had only given away 5 bottles of water from our first 24 pack that was in Brandon’s bag. I was starting to panic. “God, did you really tell us to do this? Or am I making this up? I know that One is Enough, but I just need some affirmation that this is from you.” 

Right after I finished my prayer (and as a drop of sweat dripped into my eye) I looked to the left of the trail. We had walked into a lower income section of town and there was a run down hotel… With several people sitting outside in the heat, listening to music on a Sunday afternoon.

I asked Brandon if we should venture off the trail and hand out water… His answer, of course was yes… So we branched off our path… and became ridiculously blessed.

The folks sitting there were so excited to receive what we were offering. We passed out water and took down prayer requests. Just as I thought my heart couldn’t experience any more joy, we turned around. Behind us, a single file line of children had formed… ready to receive their free bottle of water.

We passed out all but three of our remaining bottles in under a minute. Each child was incredibly grateful– some of them so much so, they came back asking for another bottle for a sibling or parent. We told each child that Jesus loves them. Their smiles about melted my heart.

Whew… 7.17 miles is a long way to walk on a Sunday– but so worth it.

Brandon and started the trek back to the car to refill our depleted supplies. After restocking, we finished out our final mile. In total, we walked for 2 hours and 30 minutes for 7.17 miles. We took down 22 different prayer requests and gave out over 34 bottles of water.

Our bodies were sweaty. My hair was fuzzy. Our skin was sunburnt pink. But our hearts were full.

And 34 people were less thirsty (for water AND Jesus) than when we started.

Here’s to being thirsty no more,
SGK

“Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” –John 4:13-14

PS: Have you ever given anyone a drink of “Jesus water?” How did it go? Leave a comment below to share you experience! :-)

Categories: accomplishment, adventure, Factor of 7, fitness, generosity, God, Jesus, kingdom, prayer, sacrifice, serving | Tags: , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Helping Hands & Burgers for Babies (Factor of 7)

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Sharita

Did everyone see the awesome article in The Bayonet yesterday documenting our latest “Factor of 7: Latte Love?” If you read it and were inspired, I have some GREAT news for you… You can share the love of Jesus RIGHT NOW!

Mandy Gramkow is a friend of mine from college, a fellow blogger, a wife, a mama to two precious little ones and a daughter of Christ.  She ran across 7 Days time and realized that she was actually in the middle of her own Factor of 7. Team Gramkow’s journey of faith will simply blow you away, so please check out her message below to answer her call of sharing the love of Christ!

****

Our miracle preemie, Beckett was born at 2 lbs. 2.6 oz. at 25 weeks gestation. During our a 88 day NICU stay, we walked alongside so many parents who were in need of support of this difficult journey. Beckett’s neonatologist, Dr.Grubbs, and his wife Lisa founded NICU Helping Hands here in Fort Worth, Texas. Team Gramkow believes in their mission to helping families who endure a NICU journey.

Our Beckett turned SEVEN months on Monday….So in honor of Beckett’s SEVEN month birthday, we would love to have SEVEN people pledge to donate TODAY to our fundraising efforts for NICU Helping Hands. We only have SEVEN DAYS to reach our goal of $2,500 to get a table at Burgers for Babies! The Burgers for Babies event is here in Fort Worth on May 10! May 1st is the deadline for us to receive donations. 

We are so appreciative of any support you can lend to this cause. God’s blessings to you! 

Love,
Team Gramkow (Ben, Mandy, Ellie and Beckett) 

(See Beckett’s 7-month birthday challenge blog post  for complete information and how to make your donation today!!)

Ellie and Beckett... Celebrating God's faithfulness! High Five!

*****

Wow, folks. That is powerful stuff, huh? I personally have been following Team Gramkow’s journey ever since Ellie was also born prematurely at 28 weeks in 2008. They are such a powerful testimony to God’s love and faithfulness! As of this writing, Team Gramkow has received donations totaling $1300. Pray about this opportunity to share the love of Christ. And if you feel so led, then pay it forward by making a love offering to this wonderful mission. Don’t delay– we only have 5 days left to help them out!

If this story has touched your heart, don’t hesitate to show the love via leaving a comment here or making a donation. Every little bit counts. Remember that you will be part of Helping Hands, Burgers for Babies AND multiplying HIS love by much more than a Factor of 7!!

Little babies and great love,
SGK

“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”–Matthew 19:14

PS: HUGE congrats to our Latte Love winner Tina (Aka GoldenPrayerBear) over at Pot of Manna!!! You have won a Starbucks gift card! (I will be in touch with you asap to get info) Thanks to all of you who shared the love of our ministry and left encouraging comments… Keep ‘em coming :-)

Categories: baby, blessing, challenge, Christ, Factor of 7, faith, Family, generosity, God, Love | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

A Latte Love (Factor of 7)

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Sharita

Yesterday at 5:45am, my phone alarm went off. But unlike other days as of late, I had NO problem bounding out of bed.

It was time for third month of Factor of 7. I was so excited about it, I woke up three times throughout the night to make sure I hadn’t overslept for our Jesus adventure.

As I write this, I can’t tell if my excited jitters are from the skinny caramel macchiato I had or the remnants of our Starbucks Factor of 7. (Talk about some legit Jesus Caffeine!)

So yes, yesterday my beloved and I found ourselves at McGraw housing complex Starbuck’s here on a Fort Benning. At 7:00am. Ready to bless some folks with free coffee. $107 of free coffee, to be exact.

And as it has proven the last two months… It. Was. Awesome. Jesus was there– and blessed us immensely.

My beloved approached the cash register and ordered our personal drinks. (Perk of Factor of 7 experience: We get an excuse to treat ourselves to coffee/yogurt etc.) He asked the cashier/barista to break a $20 bill. (We needed a couple smaller bills to get our exact cash amount.) Needless to say, the cashier/barista looked a smidgen annoyed at our request.

But in less than thirty seconds, that all changed.

Brandon handed me the $5 bill I needed, then I stepped up to the register and told Shauna that we were going to pay for the next $107 worth of coffee that came through the line.

Her expression was PRICELESS. Her jaw dropped, eyes got big and she gasped…. “WHHAAAA… ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!”

The entire atmosphere of that little coffee shop changed quicker than you could say “double shot espresso.” For the next 45 minutes or so, Brandon and I stood at the pick-up counter, notebook and business cards in hand, watching peoples’ reactions and asking how we could pray for them.

That's us on the right. Sharing some Latte Love

In total, we were able to buy coffee/breakfast for 22 people. One of our bless-ees is having a baby in June. Another is deploying to Germany. Several families were preparing to watch their son/brother graduate from Basic Training today and tomorrow. (Fun conversations ensued when I told them that the handsome man behind me was a drill sergeant. Fortunately they weren’t in his battalion, so my beloved wasn’t one of the drills who probably made their son cry ;-) )

When I asked one lady how we could pray for her, she leaned in close to me, eyes misty and whispered gently, “I am a cancer survivor.” I very loudly (and enthusiastically) blurted out “WELL, PRAISE THE LORD!!” I’m sure the other customers were intrigued.

It was a fantastic way to spend part of our morning. Oh… And did we mention that a reporter from The Bayonet (the local Fort Benning newspaper) was there? She is going to run a story on our ministry in next week’s paper. (Thanks for that one, Jesus!)

Today we encourage you to share the love of Christ around you. Get creative. Pop over to the Factor of 7 page for ideas. You never know who you will bless… and how YOU will be blessed in return.

Oh, one more thing… To celebrate this successful event, we are doing a GIVEAWAY!!!  We are sharing a little more Latte Love with a chance for you to win a Starbuck’s gift card!

The contest starts today and will continue until the story runs next week in The Bayonet. (Approximately one week.) To enter, share this post (and/or future/past posts) with folks you know via Facebook, email, Twitter, etc. And then leave a comment here to give your reaction and how you shared.

The more you share/comment, the more times you can enter to win some of your own Latte Love!

We are so thankful that we have been called to serve in this way… More than 22 different kinds of drinks were purchased on Wednesday at McGraw Starbucks from frappuccinos to white chocolate mochas… But every single one of them was made with little Jesus Latte Love!

Caffeinated with Christ,
SGK

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
–John 13:34

Categories: army, blessing, Drill Sergeant, evangelism, excited, Factor of 7, generosity, giveaway, God, husband, Love | Tags: , , , , , , , | 36 Comments

Factor of 7: “Chill” with Jesus

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Sharita

I love frozen yogurt. And I love Jesus.

So what happens when you put the two together? A dang good, heart-healing, God glorifying experience.

Last night my husband, my cousin Hailey from Oklahoma and I had the chance to do our 2nd official monthly “Factor of 7.” (For more information on this movement, click here.) In addition to blogging daily for this ministry, God has laid on my heart to DO something at least once a month.

So this time, we took $107, my nifty new info cards and a notebook, and we camped out near the register of one of my favorite treat spots: Chill Frozen Yogurt in Columbus, GA.

The principle was quite simple. We paid for the next $107 worth of yogurt that came through the line, then asked people how we could pray for them .

It was probably the coolest 30 minutes… EVER.

As folks came through the line and the sweet cashier Whitley told them to put their wallets away, their reactions were priceless. Some were suspicious. Some thought they were being punked we were bringing back ol’ school candid camera. But as they approached our table and I said, “First name and how can we pray for you…” Their was nothing in their hearts but gratitude.

Many of them were shocked… I mean shoot, I would be pretty stoked about free yogurt on a random Tuesday! But shock aside, every single one of the 35 people that came through the line were receptive to our request of letting us pray for them. Talk about knocking our Jesus socks off!

A few folks gave us hugs, some just laughed, a couple others teared up. Some asked “why” and I said “Because Jesus loves you… and told me to.” We met a newlywed couple, parents of kids of all ages, and even some students who were having a powerhouse study session for their AP statistic test today. (I am praying extra hard for them– because if they do math like me, they might need it. Just kidding, girls. You will do great :-) )

As we were nearing the end of our $107 amount, one couple came back in the store after they left and handed us a $20 bill… They wanted to make a donation. (Side note: My heart almost exploded with joy!) I told them to add that to our “total” at the register. So overall, we were able to share a spoonful of faith with 35 people and provide $127 worth of fro-yo on a random Tuesday.

I could write about 12 blog posts from the reactions, answers and great little Jesus moments that grew out of this small 30 minute event. But instead, I pose a question to you: How will you give someone a spoonful of Jesus lovin’ today?

Sharing His love doesn’t have to be an all day event. Pay for someone else’s lunch today. Mow your neighbor’s yard without being ask. Buy the person in line behind you their Starbucks for the day. Give someone a hug and ask how you can pray for them. The possibilities are endless, folks.

Be a Factor of 7… It can be simple as finding somewhere (or someone) to “Chill” with Jesus.

Keeping Cool with Christ,

SGK

 ”Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”

Categories: disciple, Factor of 7, generosity, gifts, glory, God | Tags: , , , , , | 16 Comments

Factor of 7: Joy for Joyce

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Sharita

Some people say that money talks.

I have to say that I sort of agree.

Sometimes our money says “Hold me tighter!” Other times, it says “Me, me, me, it’s all about me.” Sometimes it sounds like the old NSync song… “Bye, bye, bye.”

But last Thursday, our little wad of money said “God is love. Give me away.”

My beloved and I participated in our first official “Factor of 7″ love movement. Here’s how things went down.

It is pretty simple, actually. Brandon was preparing to go to Ranger School, so one thing our our list was to do our inaugural Factor of 7 act before his departure. We headed to the bank last Thursday, drove up to the window and withdrew $107 from our checking account.

I put it in an envelope that had the following words written on it:

Right behind the bank was a Winn-Dixie grocery store. I had been praying about this for a few days, and God revealed to me that a grocery store in lower-income section of town was a good place to start.

We parked the car in the grocery store lot, held hands and prayed for what we were about to do. Boldly (ok, slightly nervously), I got out of the car, grabbed the envelope and my husband’s hand… off we went.

We made a quick partial lap around the outer sections of the store… Past the frozen foods and dairy, beyond the seafood, through the bakery and emerged near the produce before we spotted her.

She was wearing blue scrub pants, a dark jacket and a stocking cap, browsing the coffee aisle. Brandon squeezed my hand and said, “How bout her?”

Gulp. Here we go. 

We approached her and explained that we wanted to help her pay for her groceries. I told her that there was $107 enclosed in the envelope. I shared with her that the 7 dollars represented that we all have 7 days time a week to live for Him, and 100 dollars because God loved her 100 times more than she could imagine.  Her eyes got wide and filled with gratitude-ish tears. She kept saying “God bless you, praise Jesus” (or something like that… my mind was a little blurry cause the Holy Spirit was so intense.)  We talked for just a few seconds. She told us her name was Joyce and gave us both big hugs.

We asked how we could pray for her. And we departed.

Easy as that.

Yes, I would like to think that our actions brought some Joy to Joyce. (Hey, if someone walked up to me with an $107, I would probably pee down my leg. Heck, I would be excited about $7. <can you say “pee down your leg?” in a Christian blog?>) So yes, I hope it blessed Joyce. But, as usual, God had more plans. I have thought about that moment every couple of hours since it happened. And it probably blessed us more than her.

I was feeling a little uneasy about my husband leaving, an ache that I knew only God could fill. Guess what? By giving our hearts to Joyce, God filled that gap. I was fulfilled. By Him. We were immediately strengthened for the separation ahead of us. It. Was. Awesome.

I can’t wait til next month when I get to do it again. (Although this time I will be flying solo.) Oh, and please know that I don’t tell this story to get all self-righteous, bragging about how “great”  we are in a legalistic sense. My fleshy side of me would have loved to hold onto that 107 bucks. But God told us otherwise. That said, I invite you to join us. Get creative. There are no rules to this movement. You can use money. You can use your baking skills. You can use your ability to pray. (Check out the Factor of 7 tab for more ideas/guidance.) Heaven is the limit! Bring the joy!

Pay for someone else’s lunch, groceries or gasoline. Ask a stranger how you can pray for them. Look into your life to see how God has blessed you– and pay it forward! We added some Joy to Joyce’s life… But God gave us ten times more joy, strength and hope through our simple attempt of  loving a random “neighbor” and a tiny act of obedience.

Join our Factor of 7 experience. If you do, please share how the story blessed you by commenting below. Believe me… God will not let you down!!

Receiving through giving,

SGK

“You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus.” –Philippians 4:19 (MSG) 

Categories: Christ, excited, Factor of 7, faith, fulfillment, generosity, giving | 2 Comments

Show the Love. Share the Wealth.

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Sharita

Money. Cash. Dinero. Wampums. Moolah. Dough. Coinage. Bread. Buck. Gravy. Loot.

Huh. With so many names for it, you would think that we kind of love money or something…

Don’t get me wrong. I love the things money CAN buy, specifically food, clothes, technology, medicine… well you get the point. But as 2012 showed up this week, my husband and I sat down to look at our budget.

Let me rephrase that.

We sat down to CREATE a budget. A real one. With the goal of actually sticking to it.

I have personally made several attempts to budget in the past. I got all excited about color-coding my spreadsheet and doing simple formulas, but as far as the follow-up and use? Yeah. That lasted about 7 minutes.

This year, however, we truly do need to follow a budget. We have went from a double income budget to single, and that take some adjustment. We kept wondering: Where did our money go?

Where is YOUR money going? Do you know? (Is it like socks in a dryer? You put the debit card in your pocket and somehow the cash on it magically disappears?) Brandon and I have created a pretty intense budget guestimating where we spend our dough… The month of January will be interesting to see where we come out, especially since we are recording our expenses.

But this post isn’t really about financial advice. Believe me, I am no numbers expert. In fact, I despise numbers and money, at least when I have work with them to make them match. Instead, this blog is about looking at how richly blessed we are. Literally.

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I am reading a book called “Guerrilla Lovers” by Vince Antonucci. Just says after creating our new Knobloch family budget, I got to the part of the book where Antonucci showcases how richly blessed we are…

Compared to the world, we are rich. Yes, rich financially.

Antonucci says in chapter 14 on page 119 that…

  • 1.2 billion people do not have access to clean water. (Do you have access to clean water?)
  • One billion people live in extreme poverty, meaning their access to food, water and shelter is so limited that death hangs over them. In fact, every 3 seconds, some in the world dies because they didn’t have enough food. (As you read this, is your big question “What ‘s for dinner tonight?” or “Will I live long enough to finish this chapter?”)
  • 80% of the world lives in substandard housing.
  • 70% of the world is unable to read.
  • Only 1% of the world has a college education.
  • Only 8% percent of the world owns a car. (So if you own one car, you are richer than 92% of the world! if your family owns two cars… well, you figure it out.)

Um, yeah. We own two cars. I have a great house, a masters degree, possess the ability to read (and write) this (ahem, on a computer!) and I AM thinking about what’s for dinner tonight.

Where do you stand?

Maybe the better question is… where will we stand when we come before the throne of Jesus? He has given us this financial richness not only to give at least 10% (aka first fruits) to the church, but to give the excess away. Sharing the literal wealth doesn’t mean you have to sell everything you own (unless of  course you are called to do so.) Rather it means showing the love of Christ by sharing the wealth with acts of kindness/generosity.

He gives it to us so we can give it away… and ultimately bring more people with us to heaven. Show the love. Share the wealth. After all… we are livin’ rich– in more ways than one!

Cashing out,

SGK

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” –Matthew 19:23-24

Categories: generosity, Love, rich, tithe, Wealth | Leave a comment

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