250. I Like Giving with Brad and Drew Formsma
Proverbs 11:24 (MSG) "The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller."
*Transcription Below*
Questions and Topics We Discuss:
What are the earliest seeds of generosity that were planted in your life?
What are the seven forms of generosity you write about?
What are some of the most practical ways we can pass this lifestyle along to our children?
Brad Formsma is the author of the best-selling book "I Like Giving: The Transforming Power of a Generous Life" and “Everyday Generosity: Becoming a Generous Family in a Selfie World.” He is the Founder of I Like Giving, an organization with the mission to inspire people to live generously. Millions of people across the globe have been impacted by the work of I Like Giving through its Generous Business, Generous Family and Generous Classroom initiatives. Brad is also the host of the leading podcast: The WOW Factor® “Words of Wisdom” from extraordinary leaders to help people grow in business and beyond.
Brad has had the opportunity to speak at businesses and conferences across the U.S. to share the message of living generously. He combines personal insights, humor, and the power of story with practical tools to help increase engagement and put generosity into practice in our everyday lives. Brad and his wife Laura live in Southern California and are the proud parents of 3 adult children.
Brad is also on the Forbes list for 20 speakers you shouldn't miss. Read the article here.
Drew Formsma is widely known as a voice to Generation Z and a peer who can communicate with them unlike any adult. He began speaking with his dad in 2016 at the age of fourteen to audiences of tens of thousands of people around the world on the simple idea that generosity is the key to a better life. Drew lives in Southern California with his family and has set his sights on playing the top 100 golf courses in America by the age of forty.
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Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”
Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”
Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“
Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“
Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
*Transcription*
[00:00:00] <music>
Laura Dugger: Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.
[00:00:17] <music>
Laura Dugger: Do you love to travel? If so, then let me introduce you to today's sponsor, Dream Seller Travel, a Christian-owned and operated travel agency. Check them out on Facebook or online at DreamSellerTravel.com.
I am so excited to host a father-son duo today. Brad and Drew Formsma are my guests. Brad is the founder of I Like Giving, which inspires people to live generously, and Drew is the creative director at I Like Giving.
Now, through story and scripture, these two are going to inspire each of us to enjoy the richness of life that comes from living generously. They're also going to share real ways that we can train up our children to live the same way.
Brad even has something in common with one of our previous guests, Jeff Henderson. [00:01:20] Brad and Jeff are both on the Forbes list as the top 20 speakers you don't want to miss. So I'll make sure and link to Jeff's episodes in the show notes as well. But you're going to quickly experience why Brad and Drew are both highly sought-after speakers.
Here's our chat.
Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Brad and Drew.
Brad Formsma: Great to be with you today.
Drew Formsma: Oh, I'm excited. We're going to have some fun today.[00:01:43]
Laura Dugger: Well, you are both amazing storytellers, so I'd love for each of you to begin and just share a little glimpse of your story into how you chose to fully follow Jesus.
Brad Formsma: Well, I love that question because I usually jump right into the generous life stories that I have so many and that are in my book, I Like Giving. But I remember being 28 years old. My first son had just been born, and we went to do a baby dedication, and I told the pastor to make it nice, and I would pay him. And he said, "We don't really charge for baby dedications." But I said, "You do all the talking." [00:02:28]
So when it came time for him to do the talking, he only talked for a few minutes. And then he said, "Brad's going to talk." And I was thinking, "This might have been why I wanted to be paying him, because I wouldn't be." He put me on the spot, and I pulled out all this religious Christian language that I got from high school and elementary school and Bible school, but none of it got to my heart.
So I walked out of there, and I really felt like I was being convicted that I was not living the way that I was speaking. And so I said, "Lord, have your way with me." And the rest is history.
Drew Formsma: Yeah, and for myself, it started at a young age. I was obviously raised in a family that embraced the lifestyles of Christianity. But for me to begin that relationship with Jesus, it was at 10 years old. I was out of church service and just said, "I believe." [00:03:30] And from that day forward, it's been a relationship with Him. I've been baptized.
That relationship is so much further than just works and obligation. That relationship with Jesus is something that I continue to strive for daily. And even though I fall short, it's an amazing journey that I get to walk through for life, to be one of His disciples, and to follow His teachings.
Laura Dugger: Thank you for sharing. I think it's so approachable. And if somebody hasn't made that choice today, I love how you lay it out simply, that you turned it over to Jesus and asked Him, and it's a relationship that builds.
But I'd also love to hear from both of you, what are your memories of those times of the earliest seeds of generosity being planted in each of your lives?
Brad Formsma: Oh, sure. I often think back to little Brad, who's 11 years old, and he's tagging along with his grandpa who had a commercial bakery, but yet he had a small test kitchen next to his office. [00:04:35] And so on Saturday mornings, we'd go and make these special 16 loaves of bread. And then when they cooled off, into the car they went. And we would go around the city and he would bring them to people and begin to show me the generous life through his modeling of it.
For example, he would say, "We're going to go see this widow from church," and we'd get several loaves of bread out. And then he would bring her a generous, encouraging word. And, of course, a few fresh loaves of bread. And then there would be another stop, and maybe this time a letter of recommendation and a few loaves of bread. Sometimes white bread and a white envelope with the check. And so he was showing generosity of money. So he really, for me, was the early modeler of the generous life, daily, weekly, monthly giving, as we like to say. [00:05:36]
Drew Formsma: Yeah. I mean, I carried that on through my life where I got to watch my parents, who obviously he was modeled this generous life by his grandfather. I got to watch my parents step into opportunities daily, weekly, monthly. And we talk about in our family that generosity is far beyond a dollar amount, right? It's with our thoughts and our words and our time and our influence and attention, our finances, and also our belongings. And there's many more ways than that, but these kind of set you up for a holistic view of how Jesus walked on this earth.
Something I would love to share with your listeners is people often go back to the verse, John 3:16, for God so loved that He gave. We use that verse in our family as well where it's, how are we going to show love to people in this world? And it's through giving to others that we get to show them the love of Jesus. [00:06:37]
I think it's one of the greatest ways to share the gospel because when you give, it opens someone's heart and they become a lot more receptive to the message of Jesus because they get to feel who He is through you and your actions. And that's our way of being able to love each other.
I mean there's two commandments in the Bible that it says to love God and to love others. And so how do we love? We believe that generosity is love in action. So as a family, we've taken that on.
My parents early on would model this. If it's the UPS driver, running out and giving them a beautiful cold drink of water with a snack. Or if there's somebody who's cleaning a table after a restaurant, going up to them and just thanking them for doing what they're doing and just being there and serving. So it doesn't always require a dollar amount, but it's the daily opportunities that I began watching my parents model that I began taking into my life as well. [00:07:40]
Laura Dugger: I love that because it makes me think of the word minister, which minister means to just simply meet the needs of others. And so you're expanding that view of generosity for us beyond just dollar amount, but even filling their stomach with warm loaves of bread or whatever the need might be. I think you said it well, it's the gospel in action.
God has clearly gifted both of you with a spirit of generosity, and yet it requires participation on your part too. Do you remember back to when both of you took your first step, maybe an obedience to participate in the generous lifestyle?
Brad Formsma: Well, you know, I want to be clear for someone listening. It's an adventure. I think it's a muscle to be exercised, and it can, in our society, be something like, oh, that's going to make me uncomfortable. Oh, what if I do it wrong? What if people don't receive it? [00:08:44]
So I think I would more look at one of our early stories in our family that would change the trajectory of our family and impact our kids and start our organization. That story could probably be a good place to go, Laura, if you'd like.
Laura Dugger: Love that.
Brad Formsma: The question is, should Drew tell it? Because he was in the back of the car.
Laura Dugger: Oh, Drew, how old were you in the back of the car?
Drew Formsma: I was 10 years old at the time. My dad came in with a newspaper article, back when people read those, and we were all sitting around our breakfast table, and he read a story of a Sudanese father and son who had their bikes stolen. It was the boy's main toy and the dad's transportation to work. And they had just came here from another country, and that's all they had. Somebody stole their bikes.
And we're reading the story, and that's all. It just stopped. [00:09:43] And it went on to say that crime is high in the city, and we all look around at each other, and my dad says, "Well, what should we do?" And my sister's like, "Let's go get them bikes." So we go to the bike store, load up two bikes. We get to the first stop sign, and my mom looks over at my dad and says, "Well, where do they live?" Of course, they don't put the address in the newspaper. So we end up driving all over our city looking. All we have is the picture in the newspaper. It has this small fire hydrant, and we're looking all over the city, street by street.
At this point, there's Cheerios all over the back, and we're stopping and getting McDonald's, and the time is ticking. We're not finding them. And then all of a sudden, we find the house. And we walk up, we knock on the door, and they're not there. So we're like, "Oh my goodness. We've been driving all over the city for four hours." And we said, "Okay, we'll give it some time." And we waited an hour and all of a sudden, they started walking up to their door. [00:10:57] And we jump out, and we're like, "Oh my gosh, we have two bikes for you." And because of the language barrier, all they could say is, "I like bike. I like bike." And we're like, "Oh, we're great. That's awesome. You like bikes."
And we head off that day, and my mom on the way back said, "I thought there would be thousands of bikes in that front yard." But there weren't any. It was almost like God had an assignment for us that day. Also, my sister from the backseat said, "That was so much better than going to the water park, which we were supposed to do that day."
I think that just shows that the generous life is the way we were created to live. And it sprung something in our family to begin to look for opportunities. A phrase we often say in our family is, when you move from awareness to action, miracles happen. And in that case, we became aware of an article. We moved into action, and something beautiful came out of it. [00:11:59] We were able to step into somebody else's world and be a part of answering prayer.
Laura Dugger: Wow. Again, amazing storytellers. That's so relatable. There's a lot of young families who are probably listening and thinking, Waiting even an extra hour, it required a sacrifice on your part. But oftentimes in that moment, we don't have the rest of the story. But just for fun, let's fast-forward to today. You said that story changed the trajectory of your lives. And so just give us a glimpse into what that launched.
Brad Formsma: Yeah, it launched I Like Giving, which is a nonprofit that exists to inspire people to live generously. Now, what came of that was the "I like bikes" story was the sparkler. You know when you put a sparkler next to one lit, one unlit, and it kind of expands? That's what happened with the "I like bikes" story. Because we started having people send Drew and I, like I like down coats, or I like Taco Bell. And I don't even like Taco Bell. [00:13:07]
And we started realizing, wait, there's something to this. The story is the thing that's making somebody go from awareness to action as Drew said. So we started with a very simple process of looking for biblical principles and telling them in a way that was winsome. That was the fragrance of Jesus, if you will. And from there today, we have several initiatives. I think for the sake of this podcast, Generous Family would be the focus. And inside of that, we have the Generous Kids Book Club, and we have a Generous Students Homeschool Program.
I'm going to flip it over to Drew to explain more about why our hearts have been so just busted wide open for wanting to create content with values that will help families, that will touch the life of kids. And so I'll turn it over to Drew for that to just kind of bring us full speed ahead of where we are today. [00:14:16]
Drew Formsma: Well, for your listeners, they're probably wondering, Okay, so this "I like bikes" story happened, and quickly after that, we began telling that story like you mentioned to people, and they would come back with their "I like" story. I like this. I like that. And so thousands of stories were submitted into our website.
And those stories soon turned into a bestselling book called I Like Giving, begin a nonprofit ministry to inspire people in their giving. We would go around... you know, between 2016 and 2020, we've spoken at probably hundreds of megachurches around the country, conferences, events.
And right before COVID hit, we felt like, man, it is so great to inspire people to live generously, but we'll change... I mean, how many times have we heard sermons or talks or podcasts where it just goes in one ear out the other? Where does true change happen?
And we looked at the pillars of society and found that families are not talking about this. Parents are not teaching it to their kids. [00:15:19] Companies are not instilling it in their culture. And a lot of times employees are just dissatisfied with their jobs because they don't find significance.
And then third is classrooms. It's not being taught in Christian schools across America. So we looked at that and we created three initiatives, one called Generous Classroom, one called Generous Business, and then the third that he mentioned is Generous Family.
So we kind of have three big initiatives that we're striving after all in an effort to teach those seven ways that I mentioned earlier. We're really serious about getting this message. No matter if you're a Fortune 500 CEO or a first grader, everyone deserves to be a part of the generous life. And we want to be a part of creating content and resources to help you get there.
Laura Dugger: I love that so much. And you did allude to those seven types earlier. Would you unpack that a little bit further and maybe give us a story or example of each one so that it sinks in? [00:16:21]
Brad Formsma: Yeah, I'm happy to do that. So let's go through them, right? We'll go slow. In fact, I'd love to read out of the front cover of our book the way we as an organization describe the seven ways. So we'll just start at the top.
Generous thoughts. Use a thought in my mind to think something kind.
Generous words. Use what I say to make someone's day.
Generous money. Use my money no matter how much if there is a life I can touch.
Generous time. Use any moment in my day to put generosity on display.
Generous influence. Use the choices that I make to affect the actions other people take.
Generous attention. Use my ears to look, ears to hear, listen well, and distractions disappear. That's one of my challenging ones.
Generous belongings. Use what I have to share. I can do this anywhere. [00:17:20]
And I think when I go to generous attention, our latest book this month just came out, Franny the Flamingo and the Amazing Attention, we are reminded of the day that I'm bringing my daughter home from school. And I didn't realize this. I have two older sons and then a younger girl who was a teen. And I didn't realize that teenage girls had drama. I just didn't know this. And so she was just telling me, talking, talking, talking away and I had my little earphones in because, ooh, I might get a phone call on this 10-minute ride home from school.
And all of a sudden we pulled into the driveway and she said, "Dad, dad," and then the third dad you know you're in trouble. "You're not here with me," she said. I did what a lot of dumb guys would do. I tried to sell her on why I should be distracted and not be there and not be generous with my attention. [00:18:26]
That night after dinner, dinner was warm, but the temperature in the room was cold. I got that tap on the shoulder. I believe the Lord does this nicely to us. And basically He said, this would be a good time to walk down the hallway and admit that you weren't generous with your attention and apologize. So I did that. And I don't like doing that, by the way, Laura.
So that would be one of my examples of the lack of generosity of attention. But I will tell you that it's a process and it's an adventure and it's a journey. That would be one of my stories for the 7 ways. I'm sure Drew has some. You get them right most of the time.
Drew Formsma: No, I don't get them right most of the time. I think that's the joy of being able to wake up and work on being part of this mission because it encourages me to daily think about it.
I think one of the easiest things is generosity and giving. [00:19:29] It's such a simple concept. And it's so difficult to actually live out. I think the most simple things can be the most difficult to actually do. It's like just save money, right? Well, most people have a problem doing that. It's a simple concept, but you have to become aware.
That's the large problem is we walk by opportunities every day. And these seven are great reminders. I think something I often do is I wake up in the morning and ask God, How can I give today? I'll give you a great example.
Yesterday, there was a buddy who I do not know the guy, but one of my friends mentioned that he needed $200 to sign up for a course in college. He was working at Chipotle, and he needed $200 by last night. My friend was telling me, "Hey, what should I do about this? I don't really have $200 to give." And I just said, "Hey, I'll go in half with you." And so I gave $100, and my friend gave $100, and we were able to help this kid sign up for classes. [00:20:40]
Those type of stories... I was not planning to share that story, but what it is is it's my approach to life. If opportunities come my way, I have created margin in my life to respond to opportunities. And that's something that we often talk about. You have to prepare for opportunities. If you're living budget to budget... Everybody has at least something. And it doesn't have to be financial. It could say, hey, I'm going to put away two hours this week and use my time to invest in somebody else, mentor somebody else, care about somebody else. It's these type of things that we can do. But it takes intentionality, planning, and at the end of the day, margin to be able to do it.
The best part is we talk about it in a lot of our resources is I'm not really worried if he wastes the money, if it doesn't go to the right spot. I felt the nudge in my heart to do something. [00:21:44] And if you feel that small nudge in your heart to step into a giving opportunity, you should do it. The rest is up to God.
There have been so many times that I've wasted money. And it's not for me to judge how somebody uses it. At the end of the day, it's not mine. It's the Lord's money. We are all stewards of not only our finances, our time, our influence, all of these seven ways.
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[00:24:12] <music>
Laura Dugger: You'll have to look up this scripture because I don't want to botch it, so it may be my own paraphrase. I believe it's Matthew 5:16 that let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. And so I think there is power in you all sharing these stories because it ultimately leads to praise of our Father, which is something we'd all desire.
But also, I appreciate how you expand generosity beyond just money, and you gave us some great examples. But scripture does have a lot to say about God's view of money. So I'm curious, for the two of you, do you have any specific scriptures that have really impacted your view of generosity?
Brad Formsma: So when I think about it in Galatians, it talks about, Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those that are believers. I think that is important that we don't quickly go to money, but understand money is there. [00:25:16] But it's a giving of our life, right? So when's the last time, Laura, somebody specifically authentically affirmed you?
Laura Dugger: Probably my husband very recently. He's great at that.
Brad Formsma: But you can remember it like it was recent. And even if it wasn't so recent, you can remember it. On the other side of that, if somebody was not generous with their words and said something hurtful, that could have been years ago, and it feels like yesterday.
So the generosity of our words and our thoughts, right? In Philippians, we hear about, think about things that are pure and right and true and lovely. So I just don't want to quickly leave the reality that we didn't just make up these other six ways. They're extremely biblical in their context.
So when I think about money and giving in the Bible, and you're talking about, you know, laying up for yourself treasure in heaven, I think one of those treasures is money. [00:26:23]
I think another one is when we start to talk about everything on the earth is the Lord's, right? So now we're like encompassing it all belongs to Him. And so I love that idea of, you know, even it's more blessed to give than receive. Again, you know, giving is this broad atmosphere of opportunity that we can... you know, we love to say daily, weekly, monthly, and we've kind of hit your listeners with that today. But it's important because society often tells us we'll give on Sunday or give at the end of the year. And have it just be a check and then you're done with it. Sometimes giving is messy. We write about that. We run into that all the time.
We enter into somebody else's struggle to help them, right? Therefore, as we, you know, carry each other's burdens. So that's how I would respond to your question. And I wasn't going to give you the Malachi and bring the whole tithe you know... because... I could but... [00:27:29]
Drew Formsma: I think the principle that Jesus is trying to outline is I think it's less about an amount. It's why it was a percentage that He encouraged. I think He wants to see, well, you at least be generous with a percentage of what I've given you at the lowest. That's like the "let's start". That's the starting line.
And I think what you see is then he follows that by the principle of when you give, you also receive. And that is the principle that has been taken out of context for a lot of times, which goes back to your intention and motivation behind your giving. Are you giving to receive? And it's a newer principle. I mean, it used to not be this way.
I mean, you go back to like the Rockefellers. They were the most generous human beings that we've had in this country before they got a tax deduction. There was no incentive for their giving other than they felt the moral obligation to give back to their community. [00:28:35] It's built some of the biggest hospitals in America today. And I think you look at it now there's a lot of... we've attached this. Oh, now it's a tax deduction. It's something I'm getting and receiving. And I think where I've seen the most fruit in my life is just giving to give. Like I'm not giving to pay it forward. I'm not giving-
Brad Formsma: To get.
Drew Formsma: ...to get. I'm just giving to be a blessing. If I give somebody a meal, I'm not expecting a meal in return. But I think what happens is sometimes it's like that. Sometimes somebody does buy your meal. But other times, God blesses you. If you give financially, you might bless you with great relationships or health or provision or favor. I think it's his unique way of saying, well, you give back what I've given to you so I can give it all back so you can do it all again. [00:29:34]
I think that's what he's looking for. At the end of the day, He's looking for a relationship with us. And generosity is the way we get to play with our heavenly Father on a daily level. The most wealthy people in the world need to be given to because there's a humility. I just feel like some of the people in our country, I think they need to feel that because there's a pride element to it, where if you can't receive well, that somebody has done something for you, I think there's some pride to that.
It can be hard to receive well. I feel like sometimes I'm a great giver, but receiving well can be hard. You know, people say, Oh, you didn't have to do that," or, "Oh, you know, I don't need it, or all that." And I always say, you could be blocking someone a blessing. So just receive well.
Laura Dugger: The two of you have really gotten more reps in for that giving muscle. But I'd love to hear then, would you just share from each of you maybe a favorite story or lesson that personally inspired you to be more generous? [00:30:42]
Brad Formsma: So I would imagine your listeners are moms, maybe dads, grandma, maybe grandpas. We see in this country, in the world, families saying, how do we talk about the biblical message of generosity? And so I like your questions about stories. I'm reminded of Jasper G and the Me -Thinking Madness. He's the first book in our Generous Kids Book Club series.
There's this very clear picture in the story about a grandson giraffe that's out tagging along with his grandpa, and he doesn't have a lot of friends and starts to realize that nobody really wants to be around him. And the grandpa connects with him and says, you know, I kind of know what that's like. Do you think your heart's grown small? Do you think you're a me thinker? Would you like to be a big-hearted giver? [00:31:41]
And so it begins this adventure of a grandpa modeling that what happens in our lives when we move from being a "me" thinker to a big-hearted giver. And every month, we've got a different element that we're trying to teach, because it's followed up by Ellie the Elephant and the Stinkin' Thinkin'.
How many times have my thoughts not been generous towards myself or others? And so for me, how can we bring God's truth and principles into a story that allows a parent and grandparent to engage and to talk and to even take the giving challenge that's in the end of every book to become ultimately a generous giver?
Drew Formsma: Yeah. I mean, the model that I continue to go back to is the greatest storyteller of all, Jesus. When He walked this earth, He lived with this exact lifestyle. He was interruptible. He was present, gave his full attention, was generous with His words, with His time, sat around and invested in people and His belongings, everything He had. [00:33:00]
And what was interesting about His life is He wasn't trying, and this is something we see in our society, He wasn't trying to grow Himself. He wasn't trying to grow His platform. He wasn't trying to grow His image. All He was trying to do is take care of the people in front of Him. It was the intentionality of... I think these days it's so easy to get so self-consumed into ourselves. And I think this is where we've run into issues in our society where the next generation has been raised in this place where it's all about us. Social media, identifying our... everything we have, it's all quick. It's right now. And you see these books... There are hundreds of self-help books out there, and you wonder why.
And I think it goes back to everybody wants to look so far inward. And at the end of the day, I think true significance comes from looking to the needs of others and being interruptible and stepping into the needs of others. [00:34:06] I mean, the greatest stories of our whole lives sit inside the Bible. And we get to read these times, just generosity stories over and over and over again. I think sometimes we're like... we don't even recognize we can do this today. Every one of us can step out. And I say that we all want to be a part of changing the world.
If we can all do that, if we just step into the needs of those around us, we all can do it. And it doesn't matter if you're 8 or 98, we're all a part of this greater life. But Jesus was the greatest one who did it. And He's the one that we should continue to study. He shared stories. Stories inspire people. The story of His grandpa, or the story I shared earlier, they're supposed to encourage people. You may not give bikes away today, but you might step into an opportunity. Sometime that's different than that. You might buy someone's meal or sit with someone in need or bring a meal to someone who is sick. There's so many opportunities that we each have. [00:35:11]
Laura Dugger: Well, and if you don't mind, I'd love to share a story. My own parents are both wonderful models of biblical generosity. And I think back to a recent story where one of our friend's kids was selling corn. I didn't know it at the time. My dad happened to drive by their house, saw this little boy selling corn, so he bought some, and then he tipped him a dollar. And that mom called and said he was just elated. He loved that dollar. You would have thought it was a hundred.
I passed that along to my dad and he said, "Oh, well, you know what they say, whenever you get a chance to be a hero for a dollar, take it." And I said, "That's so good. Who's they?" He goes, "Oh, me." So he had come up with that. But even for a dollar, you can really encourage someone. [00:36:09]
But then for both of you, now that those seeds have been cultivated in your lives and some brought into maturity, this isn't a life of drudgery that you're talking about. You've mentioned the word "adventure". So what are some of the other benefits of generosity that you've experienced?
Brad Formsma: So, Laura, first of all, the benefit of helping write on the soul of another person a good story by being generous to them, and what we say in one of the seven ways, that's pretty, pretty amazing. I said earlier, it's more blessed to give than receive. It really is true.
What we know is that we're less anxious. We have less stress. We're more others-focused. We have better health benefits all the way around. But let's go back to kids for a minute. We have a program called Generous Students that's just growing across the nation. We need help getting that into Christian schools. Once they get it, they keep it and they keep reusing it. It's powerful. [00:37:21] It teaches kids the gratitude necessity in their life and opportunity.
And then what happens from that is we learn that kids in the ages of nine to 12, they really are moving from a concrete to an abstract thinking and they're first developing their morals, values, and worldview. And so what a perfect time to awaken the generous spirit in all of these kids, where they can become lifelong givers as we say.
Drew Formsma: No, there's so many benefits to the generous life. I think the number one thing is you are truly living the way you are created to be. And what that returns is significance. And you look at people all over the world, and you can see people that have nothing on paper, but then you look at their life and they're full of joy and purpose and significance. [00:38:23] And you wonder why. And it's because there's nothing in this world that's going to satisfy other than loving Jesus and then loving others.
Across the board, people can agree kindness and generosity is so good for the soul, even if you don't believe in anything. But if you do believe in a higher power, there's something special there.
Laura Dugger: And so when you share that, it kind of leads into the question. So why don't we do this? What would you say that you've seen as the common barriers to distract or divert people from living generously?
Drew Formsma: I would say I can speak for myself. Why do I not live this out every day in every moment? I think it comes back to sin and selfishness and my own interests and busyness. There are so many of these things that get in the way, right? I get up and I'm busy, and I'm in my own world. And I'm just looking at what I'm supposed to be doing. [00:39:29] When I'm focused on myself, it's really hard to see the people around me.
That's what I've seen has been the problem where we live in a fast-paced culture that is always on the move. And it is really difficult to take a minute and look at the people that are constantly serving us in our lives. I mean, in America, we're getting served all the time. I mean, from the person that brings in packages, you go to a restaurant, there's people cleaning, taking orders, cooking in the back. Something my parents always did is they'd go back to the kitchen and thank the cooks for being there. Those people are in a thankless job. No one's talking to them.
So when you step into their world and thank them for creating such a great meal for you, it means the world. And that doesn't take any money. It takes about five seconds, but it does take intentionality. And it's a little awkward at times. [00:40:33] It's like, you know, I thank you. And they're like, Oh, great. But it means a lot. Words really do have a way of carrying that.
But that's why I think people don't do it. I think we all are givers at the core, but we have been created in this sinful world where we have to fight against it.
Brad Formsma: Well, we have billions of dollars telling us we need things to be content and happy. We have the threat of social media and then we just have like sin on earth that makes you want to be selfish, right? But what I find is that proverb that comes alive, the world of the generous gets larger and larger. And then finish it out for me, Laura. What happens for the world of the stingy?
Laura Dugger: And the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.
I want to make sure that you're up to date with our latest news. We have a new website. [00:41:34] You can visit thesavvysauce.com and see all of the latest updates. You may remember Francie Hinrichsen from episode 132, where we talked about pursuing our God-given dreams. She is the amazing businesswoman who has carefully designed a brand new website for Savvy Sauce Charities, and we are thrilled with the final product, so I hope you check it out.
There you're going to find all of our podcasts, now with show notes and transcriptions listed, a scrapbook of various previous guests, and an easy place to join our email list to receive monthly encouragement and questions to ask your loved ones so that you can have your own practical chats for intentional living.
You will also be able to access our donation button or our mailing address for sending checks that are tax-deductible so that you can support the work of Savvy Sauce Charities and help us continue to reach the nations with the good news of Jesus Christ. So make sure you visit thesavvysauce.com. [00:42:40]
I think this is just such a treat to get to be talking to two generations within the same family, so if we're really moving practical now, what would you encourage parents listening for very practical ways to pass along this legacy of a generous life?
Drew Formsma: Yes, from seeing my parents model it in different ways, I think it starts with something we always say is the ABCs of gratitude. So something you can do is ask your kids, hey, what are you grateful for? That starts with the letter A, and encourage them to begin... I believe before you can start living generously, you have to recognize all that God has given you, and that changes your heart posture. So beginning with gratitude is so important.
I once heard this counselor say when there's somebody with depression in their office, they will encourage them to write out five times a day, not only write but speak 20 things they're grateful for five times a day. [00:43:43] So you're writing it, and you're speaking it. And the results are incredible.
The people tend to fall away from depression, because depression many times is a focus on ourselves, where we're looking so far inward that we miss. And it's funny to see that gratitude is being used in counseling offices as a way to fight against this over a drug many times.
Laura Dugger: Anything else that you would add, Brad, even as you look back how you raised Drew in practical ways to pass along this legacy?
Brad Formsma: Yeah. My grandpa used to say, get your antenna working. I know we don't have those anymore. But it's just more of a context for becoming aware. I tried to bring our kids into the conversation of what I was seeing.
So if I'm in line at the dry cleaner, and Mr. Armscrossed, who's grumpy and blowing in my ear that it's taking too long, even though it's 90 degrees in there, and he's not thinking about the fact that he gets to get in his air-conditioned car in six minutes. [00:44:56] And so I have my little daughter with me. And I knew the lady by name, Rosa. And so I said, "Rosa, you got four people with you today?" "Oh yeah, four people, it's so hot here."
And we walked out, and my daughter said, "I know what you're going to do." I said, "What?" And she said, "We're going to go to that Chipotle right next to it and get them some iced teas." And we did. And when we brought it back in, it was so fun because Mr. Armscrossed was affected by our generosity. Do you know why?
Laura Dugger: Why?
Brad Formsma: Well, the way God created a human being is when a giver, an observer, and a receiver experience generosity, their bodies produce hormones. So he was toast. He had to crack a smile and unfold his arms because dopamine and oxytocin and all this stuff kind of... and it's fun. [00:45:56]
You know, there's such a joy in being able to look at the needs of others. And we teach in our programs, we want what we have. So say it again. We want what we have. That's part of this exercising the contentment muscle, right? So when we want what we have, then that helps us realize when more comes in, we can give it.
Drew Formsma: Yeah. And one last thing I would say is an emergency giving fund is a great thing that we've done in our family, where you can begin to prepare for a giving opportunity by you have your giving and saving and spending, but taking just a little bit of extra and having your whole family a part of it and say, Hey, this jar, we're going to put financial money in every month. And I want everyone in the family to be looking for an opportunity that we can sow into. [00:46:54] And it really gets everybody involved in our family.
We had multiple circumstances that happened, but my brother had a friend that he... his name was Nolan. The father passed away and we were able to help put new tires on their family car during the winter season because of that emergency giving fund. And the mom just came back and said, this was complete answer to prayer. That is what we get to be a part of it. But it wouldn't have happened without the preparation.
I think what emergency giving fund gets to do is everybody in the family gets to have their antenna up to see an opportunity and bring it to the fourth, the family.
Laura Dugger: That is such a helpful word picture of having our antenna up. I think it reminds me one of my daily prayers for our family, for each member to be spirit-filled and spirit-led. So I will be talking to them about that, of all of us having our antenna up. [00:47:55]
Brad, I think that you're the one who I heard say this, that a lot of times we aren't living this way because most of us are followers. But if we want to be a leader of generosity and see that it will inspire others, what's one actionable step we can take?
Brad Formsma: I think you just said it. The prayer. If I wake up and I'm giving thanks and then I'm being grateful... every day I try to find new ways of being grateful because there's so many. I think one of my fastest answered prayers, Laura, I don't know if I should dare say this on your show, but Lord show me where to give. Wow. Now some of my other prayer requests, I don't know if you have this, but some of mine are slower. And how old are your kids? [00:48:56]
Laura Dugger: Yes. Our girls' ages are just about to change. So I'll just say what everybody approximately is. Selah is 11. Shiloh is 10. Isla is 8 and Kessler is 6.
Brad Formsma: Are we going to be able to bless her family with a book club?
Drew Formsma: Sure.
Brad Formsma: 100%.
Laura Dugger: Oh my goodness, you guys. That's incredible. I would say we have read The Giraffe, who you just referenced, and they love it. And actually we are currently working our way through I Like Giving. That is a read-aloud that we are delighting in.
Brad Formsma: Yeah. Well, hey, thank you for being a good receiver. We'll get you started up there with Ellie the Elephant and the Stinkin' Thinkin'.
Laura Dugger: That's incredible. Thank you so much.
Brad Formsma: Of course.
Laura Dugger: Well, I would like to say, is there anything else that we haven't covered that you want to make sure we don't miss today?
Brad Formsma: You know, if it's okay with you, and again, we're a nonprofit, we're not asking for people to send in checks, but we would love them to check out GenerousKidsBookClub.com. [00:50:02] We just think it's not only an ideal gift for their own family, but it's a fun one to give. And we have a six-month subscription, a 12-month subscription, even monthly, but there's a neat way.
Drew says it so well. He's just fantastic. It's like the gift that keeps on giving, because every month there's a beautiful package that shows up and there's stickers. It's just so much more than a book. It's an experience, really. Yeah.
Drew Formsma: And we partnered with Candace Cameron Bure to really blow this message up, because her heart is how do we continue to instill values that matter into the next generation without making it overly political or focusing on fear-based tactics? We believe that the best is yet to come. And if you have kids in this day and age, you are prepared for this moment. God knew that you were going to have challenges that you do today. But there's never been a greater time to have a kid because you get to instill the values that you care about into your kids so that they can be world changers. [00:51:10]
Laura Dugger: That's incredible. Well, we will link to all of that in the show notes for today's episode. And you both may be aware that we're called The Savvy Sauce because "savvy" is synonymous with practical knowledge or discernment. And so as my final question for both of you today, what is your savvy sauce?
Brad Formsma: I feel like today we covered it. When we move from awareness to action, good things, miracles, joy happen. And so it's okay. Step out. Take a giving risk. Put yourself out there. Because remember, you started the day with a prayer that God would use you or show you where to give. So you've got him with you anyway. Go on that adventure.
Drew Formsma: Yeah. I would say, just try it. Just try the generous life. And if you don't like it, you guys can email us at andrew@ilikegiving.com and we're happy to get on a call and talk about why it didn't work. [00:52:18] But I think you'd be shocked to see that a better life awaits you and that the stress and the push and the pull of this world, it is heavy and it's felt. But it's important to recognize what we're pouring into our minds and hearts every day, and reminding ourselves that we get to be a part of God's great plan here on earth. And let's not forget, we're here to show his love. And we can do that through generosity. It doesn't have to be giving a car away. It can be a simple smile to someone that no one looks at. It can go a long way.
Laura Dugger: It's wonderful. Well, I was inspired since the first time that I heard each of you speak on generosity. I just want to say thank you for stewarding your gifts well, stewarding your stories well, and inspiring each one of us today. I just pray that this conversation goes further than we can imagine. You two are so enjoyable to spend time with. Thank you very much for being my guests. [00:53:28]
Brad Formsma: You're welcome, Laura. It was an honor. Thank you for inviting us.
Drew Formsma: Yes. What a blast. Thanks for doing this and sharing your podcast and letting us be a part of it.
Laura Dugger: Truly my pleasure.
One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term "gospel" before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners and God is perfect and holy, so He cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, we're separated from Him.
This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a savior. But God loved us so much, He made a way for His only Son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. [00:54:26]
This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with Him. That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.
We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
So would you pray with me now? Heavenly, Father, thank You for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to You. Will You clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare You as Lord of their life? We trust You to work and change their lives now for eternity. In Jesus name, we pray, amen. [00:55:32]
If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring Him for me, so me for Him, you get the opportunity to live your life for Him.
At this podcast, we are called Savvy for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you're ready to get started?
First, tell someone. Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision my parents took me to Barnes and Noble to get the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. Start by reading the book of John.
Get connected locally, which basically means just tell someone who is part of the church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.
We want to celebrate with you too. So feel free to leave a comment for us if you made a decision for Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process. [00:56:33]
Finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.
If you've already received this good news, I pray that you have someone else to share it with today. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.
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Welcome to The Savvy Sauce
Practical chats for intentional living
A faith-based podcast and resources to help you grow closer to Jesus and others. Expect encouragement, surprises, and hope here. Each episode offers lively interviews with fascinating guests such as therapists, authors, non-profit founders, and business leaders.
They share their best practices and savvy tips we can replicate to make our daily life and relationships more enjoyable!
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