Karla Merrell on the Exciting Dance of Everyday Generosity (Ep. 137)

Karla Merrell was the first in her family to immigrate to the US from Panama to pursue the American dream. After years of success in the corporate world, Karla still struggled with the scarcity mindset that was passed down in her family’s culture. But during the beginning of COVID, Karla faced a sequence of events that led her to step deeply into both faith and generosity. One memorable act of generosity set the stage for an exciting and adventurous life of faith in the years that followed.   

Now, Karla is passionate about breaking generational cycles of scarcity and fostering a generous culture in her own home. She invites people to express generosity in multi-dimensional ways, and facilitates connection and spiritual growth in unexpected outreach avenues.  

Major Topics Include:

• Karla’s faith and cultural background
• How her generosity journey began with a single email
• Learning about the nature of God through her generosity awakening
• Comfort and hope in total dependence on Jesus
• A walk through the Women Doing Well process that revolutionized Karla’s mindset
• A view of generosity and money in a Hispanic context
• Growing out of generational scarcity into a culture of generosity
• Discovering the power of constant prayer through running
• How starting a faith-based running group became an outreach opportunity 
• Generosity as more than money
• Practical ideas for exercising relational generosity

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

• “I didn’t have a generous bone in my body.”
• “We are absolutely dependent on Jesus.”
• “There comes a point when you have to make a decision—do I want to return to the person I used to be, or am I courageous enough to change and become the person I didn’t know I needed to be?”
• “You have to decide if you are going to be a consequence of your background or you want to create a new generational story.”
• “When you give spontaneously in response to the Spirit, you never miss that money.”
• “When I decided to stop holding on so tightly to all the things I thought I could control and I thought belonged to me, a whole new world opened.”
• “The dependence on God is what makes the whole thing exciting.”
• “Generosity is not just money. Money is a great way to express generosity, but there is so much sacrifice in other things too.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

• Julie Wilson, President of Women Doing Well (see our past interview here)
• Journey to Generosity (JoG) with Generous Giving (see our interviews with cofounder, Todd Harper and CEO, April Chapman)
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes
• The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
• The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Luke 16:13 | God Or Mammon?  

No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

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