Bigstuph Blog – Thoughts from Steve

What started as a small company initiative at Stuph Clothing has grown to something we never imagined.

In April of 2009 I picked up a package of the Kids Against Hunger meal package while I was in Haiti at the Hands and Feet Project. In November 2009, we opened up our Stuph Clothing offices to become a packaging satellite for Kids Against Hunger. Every morning at 7:59 we gather as a staff to package 864 meals. This daily routine is what helps us focus on leveraging our resources to Change This World.

Little did we know that the 40,000 meals we packaged in November and December would be needed in such a HUGE way once the earthquake hit Haiti in Mid January. Since the devastating earthquake, our Change This World, Inc. non profit, in conjunction with Kids Against Hunger has packaged nearly 400,000 meals and shipped them off to Haiti.

Initially, as a staff at Stuph Clothing we had committed to packaging 350,000 meals in 2010. We decided that every shirt we sell, we will set aside $.25, which provides a meal and safe drinking water. Our partnerships with Kids Against Hunger and Hay’s Pure Water For All Foundation became the foundation in which we would build our Change This World, Inc. initiative.

We had the opportunity to have a 60 day dress rehearsal before we needed to be mobilized to action. In 2010 our satellite for Kids Against Hunger will package 6,000,000. Father, I pray for your direction, blessing, and wisdom as we leverage all we have to Change This World. To God be the Glory.

In 24 hours we had 60 volunteers come together

This year two words come to mind as I look to set goals.
Dependence and Contentment

This year I want to be content and completely dependent on God. Interestingly enough these two characteristics are somewhat “childlike” in their origin.

Lord, Help me to be childlike in my ways in 2010

Here is a thought.

What would it take for YOU to never lose faith in God? I have been chewing on this all day. I have seen so many miracles over the last six months as we have launched our Crazy Love in Action ministry. Our ministry is dedicated to identifying those that are idealistic in their faith, empower those that are idealistic (through a social network of like-minded people), and mobilize this group to action as they become the hands and feet of Jesus.

This ministry launch has been under attack since God began to shape it in our hearts. Francis Chan’s book, Crazy Love is just the beginning of where we want to take this ministry. Our goal is to shake up the American Church. Please pray for us to stay the course.

The question of what would it take for us to not lose faith in God? If Jesus Christ himself came into my room, and woke me up and then spent 30 minutes telling me about creation, walking on the earth, and staying focused on the tasks at hand – Would this be enough to never make me doubt my Lord? God has delivered in such amazing ways over the last few months, and yet I forget so quickly how good God is and how much He loves me.

God, forgive me for my lack of faith, and for not trusting you, the creator of EVERYTHING.

Please pray for our ministry, www.crazylove.org
We want to shake up the American church.

If you want to help, let us know.

My faith has always had bumps in the road where I lose sight of simplistic nature of how God wants me to trust Him.
Every time that I get in these “funks” I usually find my way out after talking to my 11 year old. She is one of the most godly people that I know. She loves the Lord, but her faith is enormous.

Everytime I have a tough decision to make, I go to her and ask for her opinion. And usually she points me to a simple question – What will make God happier? She believes that God’s way is the only way. She also believes that God can do anything. She also has seen her guardian angel on many occasions. She in many ways points me to God in all she does.

Matthew 18:3-5 (New International Version)

3And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5″And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

I need to become like a little child to enter the Kingdom. No longer will I look at what is safe, or prudent, or better off for me and my family. I want to look at what is going to make God happier. I love my sweet daughter. She is a spiritual giant.

Yesterday was a weird day.

Since my childhood I have accrued some baggage that makes me look at the world and consequently God in the wrong way. We all have baggage, but if you don’t deal with it, you end up having to haul a bunch of things around that slow you down in life. These bags make it hard to travel on life’s journey.

Yesterday I sat and wrote out all my messed up perspectives. As children we are sometimes “marinated” in these false or harmful perspectives. I am not one to blame my past for the mistakes I make today, but I certainly can see patterns in my life that are consistent.

I want to be free of my baggage. Yesterday, I shared ALL of my insecurities and skewed perspectives with my 18 year old son. In someways it was a real risky proposition. Up until this point I have always tried to be STRONG in his eyes. This false bravado is the opposite of true authentic vulnerability. My son graduates in less than 3 weeks, but I felt “lead” to show him the real broken me.

I don’t remember the last time my son and I had a real life conversation that lasted an hour. Maybe when he was still a small child and hung onto every word that I spoke. Over the last year I have watched him grow into an adult and one that is in a passionate pursuit of God.

I let him read my deepest insecurities and frustrations that have shaped my life. I showed him my crazy world that I live in everyday. When he was done reading he began to minister to me in a way that no one else could. He started by saying, “Dad, I understand what you are going through.” He went on to give me advice on how to fight against the attacks of the enemy. He encouraged me to be a warrior, and yet love those that hurt me in a supernatural way. We talked a lot about The Matrix and Braveheart, and Lord of the Rings Trilogy. My 18 year son laid out an action plan that can change the world – at least MY world.

Initially I felt guilty for relying on my son who is searching for life’s path as he prepares to head out into the “real” world. When we were done talking I felt as though I had a lot less baggage in my life. As importantly, this morning when he went off to school he looked me straight in the eyes and told me he loved me. I don’t remember the last time my son looked me in the eyes with such affection and love. Today I am a warrior. My son reminded me who I am in Christ, and that we wrestle not against flesh and blood.

I will never be the same.

I am sitting in the airport in Fort Lauderdale, waiting for my wife (heather), and my son Josh to fly in from Orlando. I just arrived an hour ago when I flew in with Will McGinness from Nashville. I am flying to Haiti for the first time tomorrow morning for a chance to see what Mark and Will are doing with Hands and Feet. This is a ministry started by the guys from Audio Adrenaline that serves orphans in Haiti. They have a children’s village that is changing the world in that region.

For years my wife and I dreamed of the opportunity to come to Haiti and find a ministry that we could partner with that was making an impact. In 1986 my wife’s dad passed away in Haiti when he was serving as a short term missionary. He was rebuilding a roof on a church and fell and tragically died on his trip.

My wife and I are so excited to get a feel for what her amazing dad experienced before he died. He was only 46 years old when he died, but what a life he lived. Hundreds of people were impacted by the life and tragic death of this amazing man. Tomorrow we step foot in a land that has in some ways has become forgotten. What can we do to make an impact? We can tell our story and let God do the rest.

Tomorrow is LONG overdue. Dear God, Bless our efforts to impact your kingdom.

This week I have been on spring break with my family.  My oldest son Taylor is graduating from high school in a couple of months, so we wanted to make this one special.  God has been doing an amazing work in Taylor’s life.  Over the last 8 months or so, God has become real to me in a whole new way.  Ironically the journey that my oldest son is on parallels my faith journey in so many ways.  I am so very proud of my son.    

A year and a half ago, Taylor suffered a severe head injury playing football.  He was the middle line backer for his high school football team.  At 225 lbs, and a 6 foot frame he was built for football.  In November 2007 he suffered 3 concussions in one football game.  His helmet was defective.  He had no air in his “air cushioning”.  

For nearly two months we watched Taylor struggle to differentiate from his right and left, or even complete simple addition or multiplication.  He was slurring his words, and his short term memory was shot.  We had him tested, and the neurlogical psychologist informed us that in 3 of 4 the measurables, Taylor either did not score at all or was below the 10 percentile.  He had the cognitive ability of pre-schooler in some areas. 

Two months later he began to acclimate back to school, but it was extremely difficult for him to get back to “normal”.  He was unable to take the ACT test for college until the fall of 2008.  He was unable to even finish the test in two sections.  In order for him to concentrate he is on Concerta, which allows him to focus, but it makes him almost OCD (based on the amount he has to take), and as a result he was unable to skip over questions he did not know on the ACT.  

The bottom line we were beginning to determine that there could be some lasting effects of his head injury.  It has been very painful to watch an amazingly gifted student athlete unable to proudly proclaim with confidence where they are going to college.  But I would not trade it for the world.  Taylor has found God in a whole new way as a result of this experience.  He now wants to serve God as a missionary in one of the most persecuted regions of the world.  He told me today that he wants to sell his pick-up truck and buy a beater, so he can give the rest away to those in need.    

This 18 year old young man has found God and has inspired me to give EVERYTHING to follow Christ. Pray for Taylor as he finds his calling.  This week, while hanging with the family at the beach, I have seen him reading the Bible 3-4 times a day.  He can not get enough.  God is filling him up for a reason, a purpose, a calling.  Thank you God how you work. 

The cost of following Christ is EVERYTHING.    In Luke 14:33 it says unless you give up EVERYTHING you can not be my disciple. What does that mean?  I want to follow Christ.  I am willing to give you EVERYTHING. 

During my 5 month sabbatical I was “introduced” to Francis Chan, although I can not recall who told me about him.  After watching a handful of videos, I started to listen to his podcast sermons.  The guy was speaking TRUTH from God’s word.  He was wiping away the grey that I had let filter into my life.   When I was 14 years old, I was hospitalized after a water skiing accident.  I was trick skiing and I was “attempting” a helicopter.  This trick was being performed for about 12 or so spectators that were riding in the boat.  My attempt to hit the wake and do a 360 failed and I shattered my right femur.  As a result of the accident I had to be in the hospital for 6 weeks in traction.  The trauma of the accident somehow punctured my right kidney with a quarter size hole.  In order to see the hole in the kidney I had to have an x-ray with iodine.I was severely allergic to the iodine, and my throat closed up and eventually my heart stopped beating.  I was in and out of consciousness for 45 minutes or so.  After it all ended the doctor came in and said “son you were on your deathbed, God must have a purpose for your life, because you should not be here” Shortly after this experience, I began to felt called to shake up the church.  I use to read scripture as a 14 year old and recognize the obvious differences between what scripture says and how I was living my life.  I read scripture in a “black and white” fashion.  This “idealism” for seeing God’s word for what it was slowly went away over the years, and although I have always felt called to “wake up the church” I began to live my life just like everyone else. Until I ran across the sermons and the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  This reading scripture for what it says, rekindled my spirit and desire to learn more and so I was provided the chance to spend sometimes up to 8 hours a day in God’s word.  This went on for weeks, then months.  During this time the word of God became alive again.  More to come…