If I were really honest with you, I’d have to confess that I hate asking for help.  I’m serious.  I’m not a good receiver, and asking others for help has always been really hard on my pride.  You see, my personal life has always paralleled my vocation.  I’m an illusionist, and I have a tendency to live an illusion.  I’ve struggled my entire life with maintaining and managing perceptions, doing my best to control and manipulate how others perceive me.  If you’re good at that, it’s pretty simple to fake it, and leave others with whatever impression you want that person to have of you…humble, nice, kind, or even wealthy, popular, or successful.  Let’s just say that traits like authenticity, and transparency, have never been strengths for me.  Until…  

Until I found my life falling apart at the age of 21, and through a long series of events and circumstances, I no longer had a choice.  I couldn’t fake it any longer.  I did what was to date, the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do: I had to ask for help.

I had to confess my pain, short comings, and failures, and my need for help from others.  It was a season of life in which I was greatly humbled, and quickly brought to my knees.  It sucked. I cried.  A lot.  And the illusion I’d created for those around me to see, immediately started to crumble.  The curtain was pulled back, and my failures became visible to others.  Trust me, illusionists do not like getting caught.  But it turns out, us magicians aren’t alone.  It’s hard for all of us when our secrets are revealed.

That was over five years ago now, and though learning to be authentic was a difficult journey, I’ve actually found a lot of joy and freedom in the process.  Some of the most incredible things that have ever happened to me have happened over the past few years, simply in response to my willingness to ask someone for help.  Maybe it’s something you need to do, right now.  I’m about to ask you for help, but maybe you shouldn’t keep reading.  Maybe you’re struggling with an addiction.  Maybe there’s an illusion you’ve been creating and living.  Maybe you have a secret that needs to be told.  Maybe you should stop reading right now, and go get real. I’m tellin’ you, once you taste the freedom of living authentically, you’ll never go back.  Plus, if you’re willing to get real, you’ll be helping yourself get healthy, and it’ll be much easier for you to help others.

Please don’t get me wrong…I’ve still got issues! (Don’t we all?) But thankfully, I’m no longer too prideful to ask you for help, especially when I genuinely need it.  That’s what the church is for, and it’s a beautiful thing when people live in true community with each other, pitching in whenever necessary, and helping others when possible.  Over the next few days, once a day, I’m going to be asking you to do just that.

HERE’S THE DEAL

Just a couple of short weeks ago, I got news that our tour in Thailand had been cancelled. We were supposed to be spending about 6 weeks there, beginning at the end of June, performing at 28 different colleges and universities throughout the country.  Well, seemingly out of nowhere, government protesting starting taking place, and a group of people started bombing buildings and burning malls.  Travel warnings were immediately issued after the violence. Within days, 21 people were dead, and 874 were injured.  It’s the worst political violence in nearly two decades, and is causing all sorts of issues. The Thai government also put an immediate rule in place forbidding any form of large, public gatherings of people, and unfortunately, that includes really cool magic shows.  So, now there’s no tour.

Where does that leave us? Well, we now have the entire month of July and much of August open on our calendar, with nothing to do.  It also cancels out any potential income and/or support.  But I’m not asking you for money, and this is most certainly not a fund-raising letter.  The last thing I’m looking for is a hand-out!  But I’m going to get creative and make this work, and I think some really beautiful things are going to happen as a result of your willingness to pitch in!  I’ve quickly gone from the “Oh no, now what are we going to do” freak-out stage, and am now just flat out excited about the potential of what could happen if all of those who believe in us and what we do, all worked together!

There are some very simple, practical ways for you to help and support our work.  Cool?  Yes?  Maybe?  I promise, if you had the ability to discover, visit, and read this blog post, then you can handle these any one of these 3 things.

So please, stay tuned.  I really need your help!  And finally, I’m not afraid to ask for it.  ;-)

[Note: If you're interested in learning more about what's happening in Thailand, and the violence taking place, there are news stories all over the internet.  Click here to see an example.]

Tags: authenticity, Christian Illusionist, Harris, harris iii, How to ask for Help, magician, Master Illusionist, thailand, transparency, Violence

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