Posts by Tammy
Generosity is Contagious
Generosity is contagious. VERY contagious. We know this is true. So why does it always surprise us when we watch it multiply before our eyes? Tuesday, we witnessed Ryan Westbrooks’ excitement as his dream of attending the START Conference came true. It was due to a generous anonymous donation made on his behalf. We celebrated with him and encouraged him to take great notes and represent the #STARTExp well. For many, it was another example of the acts of generosity that have been contagious in the group. But for one person, it was the birth of an idea. Casey Lewis loved watching Ryan’s excitement over receiving a gift that meant so much to him. And in true STARTer fashion, he got a big idea, and instantly decided to take action. He started talking to a few people he trusted and they quickly joined forces to formulate a plan. What if we could do this for someone else in the group? What if we could include airfare, lodging and a ticket to the conference? What would it take to make this happen? We are so excited to announce The Generosity Project – A Start Conference Scholarship. It is the first project of #STARTJoy, which is a movement being developed by FrankenSTART. The goal is to spread joy, scholarships, and awards for STARTers hustling on their dreams. It is an extension of the Start Experiment, but just like FrankenSTART, it is completely independent from The Lampo Group and Jon Acuff. Our goal with this first project is to join together as a group and raise $1,000 in seven days. This will cover the cost of awarding one scholarship to the Start Conference. What would it take, you ask? Only 100 people (out of 3,390) willing to donate $10 each, will make a dream come true for a fellow STARTer. UPDATE! We thought it would take 7 days to fund one scholarship. You proved us WRONG. It took only 90 minutes. So, we know you want to do MORE! Let’s do it. Let’s go for 5 SCHOLARSHIPS. #DriveFor5 Let’s show everyone what it feels like to #STARTjoy! Knowing what we know of the people in this amazing Experiment, we are absolutely convinced we can do this. We have made it super easy for you. To help fund the scholarship, you can donate through our GoFundMe campaign. If you want to attend the START Conference, please use the Google Form to submit your completed essay to be eligible for consideration. It contains three questions, and we simply want to know about you, and why you want to go to the START Conference. You can see all of the details of the scholarship process listed below. We can’t wait to see how generosity multiplies through this awesome experiment, and the many #STARTJoy projects to come. The Generosity Project – A #StartConference Scholarship Purpose: Join together as a community and help a STARTer get to the Start Conference in Brentwood, TN on September 13th and 14th, 2013. Deadlines: Fundraising takes place 8/24 through 8/31 Applications received: 8/24 through 8/27 at 11:59pm Submission guidelines: Applicants answer three questions and complete the application via this Google Form. Winners will be selected by a group of five panelists who will review submissions. All names will be removed and replaced with a number for anonymity. The panelists will choose five finalists, and then the Start Experiment group will choose a final winner. The winner will be announced on 9/3/2013 at noon CST. Winner receives: Scholarship towards Start Conference ticket, hotel accommodations, and airfare/transportation (Meals and incidentals not included) Jon Acuff has also generously offered to schedule a 30 minute coaching session after the conference with the winner! Contest funding: Donations will be collected from the Start Experiment members through GoFundMe. Minimum suggested donation: $10 No donation required to enter scholarship contest. Additional details: Money raised will be used to fund the winning prize package. If the minimum of $1000 is not raised, we will refund the money given. No purchase necessary. No cash value. To qualify, you must be willing and...
Read MoreFear Fighter
The memories are still haunting. Her two year old being pulled from her arms. Her four year old screaming he promised to be good if they let him stay. Having to watch helplessly as they took away all four of her children. She was sick, and her desire to live was gone. “My spark was almost dead because my body felt like it was dying and my mind was almost gone,” she recalls. Those memories are hard places for Shanna Delap to return to. It was the most difficult time of her life. But this story, including all of its challenges, is what fueled an incredible transformation and the birth of a dream. Shanna was hospitalized after her children were taken away. She had been misdiagnosed previously, and was on a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs. Her doctors later told her that the combination she was taking should have killed her. During her hospitalization, she discovered she was pregnant. Doctors quickly suggested an abortion, as they believed the baby would be disabled due to the drug complications. Shanna refused. She left the hospital with the clothes on her back, and found herself without a job, a car, and homeless. She was estranged from her family and had lost every friend she ever had when her kids were taken away. With nowhere else to turn, she went to the Appleton shelter. During her initial meetings, doctors and social workers told her the situation was impossible. They said “The kids you already have deserve better, and you need to sign this paper to give your baby up for a special needs adoption. You can’t do this.” What they didn’t know about Shanna is that she was a fighter. She loved her kids with everything she had, and she committed to doing anything she could to get them back. It was seven months of hard work before she was able to see her kids again. Even then, it was in a supervised room with a two way mirror. It only made her fight harder to find a place to live and prove she could support and care for her children. She continued to hear from everyone that she couldn’t do it. It was impossible. Yet, she didn’t believe them. She knew she could do it. During mandatory morning meetings at the shelter, she would hear people list all of the reasons they couldn’t do something. It would light a fire under her as she would tell them “Don’t tell me you can’t do it. I’m pregnant and homeless. I’m still doing it, and you can too.” When she delivered her daughter, Grace, the only person in the room was an administrator from the shelter. Not long after the birth, the shelter started a program to help raise awareness of kids and homelessness. They chose to name it Project Grace, after Shanna’s daughter. She developed a strong relationship with the shelter staff, as they watched and encouraged her to keep fighting. She was quickly becoming an exception to the rule when it came to beating homelessness. The staff noticed something different in Shanna. She was fighting like many others weren’t, and she was determined to prove everyone wrong. She found a job. She took taxis and buses to work. She walked wherever she could. She worked extremely hard to do what she knew was best for her family. It took just over one year, but she did it. She was reunited with her kids, had a steady job, and had found a place of her own to live. She had beaten the statistics. Fast forward ten years later. Shanna’s life has not been easy. She has continued to beat the odds by fighting for everything she has. She was reunited with the shelter staff when she returned to her hometown of Appleton after living in Florida for a while. They were in the process of writing a story on the 10 year anniversary of Project Grace. Grace and Shanna were invited to be interviewed and attend...
Read MoreWomen’s Ministry // Andrea Lowe
Andrea Lowe In starting this experiment, my goal was clear. My desired outcome was clearly marked and ready to be achieved: Women’s ministry. I had the women selected that I would contact to learn from. I knew these were the very women who would help guide and direct me in fulfilling one of my heart’s desire. However, as I began taking steps, risking, and sharing my heart, I began to discover that my vision for ministry is not mine at all. I admire women in leadership positions for various reasons, but in truth, I just expected to start where they are today, and some have been in ministry for as long as I have been alive. How am I going to help encourage, equip and empower others to fulfill their dreams if I cannot even clearly envision my own? As round 1 of the start experiment continued, amazing things started happening. I was asked to take on new leadership roles at my church. These roles would allow me to be creative in developing the gifts and talents in others. Amazingly, my leaders know me well, even when I don’t, and continuously challenge me to step out of my comfort zone and refine the gifts and talents in me. So, has my passion changed? No. My vision has been enlarged and I am overwhelmed with excitement and joy as I continue to take steps, strides and leaps of faith. The unknown can be scary, but I am finding great comfort in knowing that a risk taken is much more fruitful than a fear...
Read MoreMoving abroad // Kaylei Ward
Kaylei Ward Ginger. It’s the smell that can bring up a thousand emotions. It’s the smell that can take me back faster than any other smell. It races me back to a faded pink building and black hair snuggled against my neck. It races me back to alligator tears, finger paint, and fits of giggles. Ginger races me back to China. I have read “God calls you where the world’s deep hunger and your deep gladness meet” I just always questioned what that would look like for me. When I joined the Start Experiment, I knew that my gladness was not meeting the world’s hunger. I was stuck in a job that focuses on first world problems, was a dead end, and I knew that it wasn’t where I wanted to be. I told my group that I just wanted to find the next step. With that God opened the door, the large door to change my life. The day after the experiment I received an email asking me to come and move back to China and help out. Excuses were futile, and fear was pointless. Any time I wanted to talk myself out of it, Jon’s email would show up first thing that morning. I was invited to go back to the place that stole my heart five years ago. To walk back into the faded pink building and snuggle with the unloved and the unwanted. To share a love so much deeper than one I could ever show on my own. In one month I will fly to China and be the hands and feet of Christ in the best way I know how. I pray to be broken and drained of anything that is me and only reflect Him. My gladness is loving the orphans of the world. My audacious goal is to put orphanages out of business and to find a home for each child. I’m beyond excited to START and take that next step, loving and holding one child at a time....
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