Totally Crazy Cool Idea...

...are you with me?!

I guess I should tell the idea. Below you will find the email I sent to my family sharing my crazy, cool idea and thought I'd share it with you!

"Fam (and now friends and possibly strangers),

I was jacking around online late last night after the Colts game. I was thinking about this coming Xmas, gifts, money, same old same old stuff blah blah blah. Then because of my ADD...squirrel!...I started bumping around Kiva.org, a micro-financing organization that puts regular people's money with poor business women/men, organizations, and students from mostly 3rd world and underdeveloped countries looking for financing for their fledgling business or college education. It's really an amazing organization. I started thinking how God might use our little family to help finance some of these amazing people looking for help.

Then, again, because of my ADD...ooo, shiny object!...I started thinking about Tom's Shoes. That's the company that gives one pair of shoes away free to the poor for every pair of shoes sold. Such a cool, visionary idea. So I was thinking and talking to God and then, BAM, I got THE idea...Project 141 (read like one for one...like the idea behind Tom's Shoes). [name of the cause is still a work in progress, but 141 will be at the core of it].

Cut to the chase...

The idea is this: for every dollar we spend at Christmas on anyone (kids, family, friends, etc) Kelly, Sarah, Parker and I will put a dollar in our Kiva account to finance someone's dream to provide a more secure life for them, their family, and their community.

The question is this: will you join this slice of the Rings fam in this crazy cool idea? Think about it. Pray about it. Talk about it as a fam. Maybe it's not 1 for 1, but another percentage or fixed amount. But still, please consider it.

The grace is this: there are absolutely NO expectations. No matter how cool I think it would be as an entire family to finance 1, 2, 3 or more entrepreneurs in some developing country, if it's not for you, it's not for you. I totally get that. I just felt like God was saying, "Just make the ask." I know budgets are tight. Each family has their own family traditions and expectations for Xmas. I know that. But the ask was part of the idea. And it's all good...I really mean that (except for Marcie and Don - ministry is where the benjamins are at - make it rain! haha!). You all do so much for the Kingdom...it's crazy. So cool. But I still had to ask and invite.

The challenge is this: if you decide to come on board the crazy, cool, ADD ride of Project 141 (or some working variant of that name), you have to talk with two other families whether they be spiritual, blood, small group, neighbor, business/work, youth ministry, etc about accepting the challenge and doing something like this in their family or within your small group or ministry. We are going to share the idea with our small group (4 other families right there).

Hopefully this makes sense. If it doesn't just ask. I know it's a totally random email to get in the middle of September, but as Jesus and Bono say, "He moves in mysterious ways!"

Grace and peace,

Seth"

So that is what I wrote to my family and, in essence, to you. If you are crazy enough to join, leave a comment (or if you are reading this on Facebook, leave me a message or post something on my wall or send me an email) on how I can get you the link to our team on Kiva (right now it will be Team 141 until we figure out the name things...if you have ideas, I'd love to hear 'em!).