now that you have seen...

Few song lyrics have infiltrated my soul in the way that Brooke Fraser's "Albertine" has... the words of the chorus ring in my heart... "Now that I have seen, I am responsible..." 

Click. Listen. Be challenged.

Now that I have seen, I am responsible. Now that I know of the pain of a child, the hurt of a woman, the loneliness of a senior, the cold of the homeless.... Now that I have seen, I am responsible.

As I type this, there is a video that has gone beyond viral... it's become a pandemic. A pandemic of awareness and knowledge, opening the eyes of those blinded by the comfort of the American dream to atrocities occurring a world away.  As of this moment, 52,591,704 of you have clicked, likely on a facebook post, and watched the "Kony 2012" video on YouTube. [If you have not seen it, you can find it here.]

52,591,704 of you have seen. 52,591,704 of you are responsible. 

Children are being forced into slavery... and it is not okay to turn a blind eye. It is not okay to pretend we haven't seen. It is not enough to click "share" beneath a video link and hope that the next person will do something.

Now that you have seen, you are responsible. It's up to you to do something.

As I type, the anguish of these children is welling up with in me. Tears streaming down my cheeks as the faces of the enslaved flash before my eyes. I have seen them. I have seen the pictures of enslaved children, the vacancy in their eyes. Vacancy where hope once resided.

Kony is a terrible man. A horror. But he is not the only one.  Uganda, Sudan, Rwanda... these are not the only places darkened by the cloud of human trafficking... It is happening everywhere, even here in quiet Indiana [the I70 corridor is a known pipeline for traffickers. believe it].  It's happening on a Lake in Ghana.

I have seen their faces. I am responsible. 52 million of you have seen. You are responsible.

Children as young as 4 are sold into slavery
in Ghana for as little as $20. Their families think
that they will be fed, cared for, and educated.
Instead they are forced to work 14-16 hr
days, abused, and neglected.

I think about a conversation I had with my daughter and some friends last August. Telling them about friends going to Africa to rescue children from slavery... the look of horror on those little girls faces as they said "slavery still exists???". I imagine that same look of horror darkening faces of millions of Americans as they sat in shock watching the Kony 2012 video. Not only does it still exist, there are more people enslaved today than there were when Abraham Lincoln fought to abolish it.

Little girls who saw... and within their souls knew that they had become responsible. They had to do something. They started Kidz 4 Freedom ... and have since raised about $2000 toward the cause of ending slavery in Ghana. If two little girls can do that with duct tape... what more can YOU do? What more can WE do, banded together, hearts toward the cause of ending this horror!? 


It is not good enough to watch the video and be moved. It is not good enough to share the video. You have to do something. As Kidz 4 Freedom would say... Refuse to do nothing. Refuse to be the person who wipes the tears from her cheeks, and then goes on to giggle at a funny picture on Facebook, or update her status about dinner plans later that night. Refuse to be the person who lives in the very lap of luxury and so quickly forgets the desperate look of a child forced to fight as a child soldier, or work as a sex slave, or dive into the murky depths of a man-made lake to free nets beneath a boat. Refuse to be the person who hopes and prays that someone else will do something.

The next line of Brooke Fraser's song says.. "Faith without deeds is dead". Church, we have to do something.

I am so thankful for the makers of the Kony 2012 video... for the way they have used their gifts in filmmaking to raise awareness of these atrocities! But I want you to know that Invisible Children is NOT the only organization helping free children. In fact, some of my best friends have had their hearts turned toward this cause and are actively working toward caring for former slaves from their homes right here in Southern Indiana.

There are an estimated 7,000 children enslaved on Lake Volta
today. It costs less than $100 to buy a child back out of
slavery, but there is no where for the children to go. They
can't go back to families, that may sell them again... schools
are desperately needed so more children can be freed.

These women have walked the shores of Lake Volta... looking out on the children trapped there by poverty and slave masters who beat them with oars if they disobey. My friends have visited the schools that house these children. They have seen with their own eyes the good work being done there by Touch a Life Foundation.  They came back to the States forever changed. A passion in their hearts to do something, to do more. They partnered with Touch a Life Foundation [For the record, we did some research and found that only 13% of Touch a Life's funds are set aside for administrative costs, the rest go to direct programming. This is exceptional in the world of not-for-profits!], starting a "Find Your Mark" chapter which raises funds to support children who have been freed from slavery.

William and the woman he calls "Mom"... my friend Christy

Yet my friends were not satisfied with supporting a few children. Looking out on the Lake, they know the need. They have heard the desperation of child workers there who say "There are so many more children... but no where to take them". Children that must be left out on the lake, because there is no place to care for them. To teach them. To house them.

And so, friends... it's up to us. Now that we have seen, we are responsible.

We will be joining my friends Christy & Stephanie at Matthew 25 Ministries in building a vocational center in Ghana that will house and educate former child slaves. Children who right now are working up to 16 hours a day, fed one meal, denied an education. In this moment, they sit on a lonely lake, wondering if they have been forgotten by the world.


Don't be the one that forgets.


Since she returned from Ghana in October, Christy has worked tirelessly to get partners to join with her to support William, a Touch a Life Kid she met while in Ghana. A few have come along with her (this is where Kidz 4 Freedom money goes), but how many more Williams could be helped if each of you reading this now would commit to sending Matthew 25 Ministries $10 a month? I know how many of you read... I know how many of you are responsible... and I know the faces of the children that can walk in FREEDOM if you would commit even at this level!

But, what if you committed to $100 a month? A little more than $3 a day. A Starbucks sacrifice... that would result in a children being offered a hope and a future. What if you had a fundraiser, and offered a one time gift of $1000... or more. What if you share this challenge with your Facebook friends? Include them in the call to save the lost and free the captives!? Think about the mark that we can leave on the face of eternity. Children lost... now found.

It costs $1800 a year to fully support a former child slave in Ghana. That's school, clothes, food, therapy, training. $1800. The average American family spends about that much on Christmas. [Stop. Think about that.]

Now that you have seen, you are responsible. Faith without deeds is dead.

How many of your friends would it take, committing to a monthly giving program, to raise $1800 a year to support a child in a far off country? Ten friends, willing to give $15 a month... would support a child, a real child, for a year. Will you step up to the challenge?

What will you do?


There are countless organizations out there doing this same kind of work. Invisible Children, the force behind the Kony 2012 video, receives millions of dollars in donations a year. Their mission is three fold, movie making, movement, and mission- which means that 32% of the funds given to them go to direct programming... goes to freeing children. This is not a criticism of this organization at all. I am so thankful for the powerful work their movie making (which is supported by another third of the funds donated) has done to raise awareness. The final third of donations goes to cover overhead costs including salaries, advertisement, websites, accountants, etc which are necessary to sustain the movement. If you are led to give to Invisible Children, do it. If you click "see more" beneath the YouTube video, there is a direct link for donations.

But if you are led to give to people who saw with their own eyes, and felt the seed of responsibility growing within them... look into Matthew 25 Ministries (website coming soon). It is a young organization, with God-sized dreams. And we need your help. You can earmark funds to go to  Find Your Mark, which is sent to Touch a Life to support William, and if enough funds are garnered, other children.   Or if you are interested in building a place so that even more children can be brought home from the Lake, earmark your funds for the Micah 6:8 project. This is an enormous undertaking, and your help is desperately needed. If you are interested in acts of social justice here within the States, Matthew 25 also does regular outreaches in local prisons, homeless shelters, etc and your funds can go to support these causes as well. They are also prayerfully considering how to impact human trafficking that happens outside our own front doors, with a project coming soon to address this need as well. This is an inter-denominational organization, seeking to unite the Body of Christ and meet the needs of His children, locally, nationally, and world-wide.

There are a lot of child sponsorship organizations.  Many of them are extraordinary in the care they provide for children and communities. But my friend got to talk to William last night. She spoke with him, heard his voice! I know that the money that Tali and Grace raise with their duct tape projects is going to a real child, walking in real freedom. I know that he is being cared for physically and emotionally. And that is so important to me.

A few days ago I blogged about Mary Magdalene, how she found freedom in Christ, and out of that abundance of freedom came an abundance of love and devotion. Friends, do not take the freedom you walk in for granted... use it to bring freedom for others. Don't let your love of Christ be one of words, but one of action. One of being His hands and feet. One of sacrifice. One of going wherever He leads. Scripture reminds us that of whom much is given, much is required. We have been given much. So much more than we could ever possibly need. We have new iPads while others have no food. Extra bedrooms while others have no home. The finest of clothes while others sit in a boat in underwear. We have been given much, friends, do not ignore the fact that  much is required. Now that you have seen, you are responsible. Faith without deeds is dead.

Won't you join Matthew 25 Ministries? Won't you help them in their dream of building a vocational center in Ghana to house other Williams. To make a place for kids who are trapped on a lonely Lake? Won't you get with your Bible Study group, and covenant together to raise $1800 a year to support one of William's friends? Won't you donate toward their mission trip to Appalachia in June?  Won't you make blankets for them to take to the homeless next winter? Won't you share this challenge with your friends?

Won't you do something?


Find out how you can help by emailing Christy and Stephanie at matthewtwentyfiveministries@gmail.com.

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

-Emily Dickenson

tied together with love

This weekend was incredible. On Saturday morning I had the great pleasure of gathering with some beautiful women of God from our area who have a heart for Jesus and a desire to be His hands and feet. The project was simple... make blankets for those who find themselves sleeping in the cold this Christmas.

It started with piles and piles and piles of fleece... every color of the rainbow, soft patterns, even some jazzy zebra stripes. Next came cutting, tying knot after knot after knot after knot... then repeat. Twenty-one times.

As we worked, our thoughts kept turning to the homeless that will receive these blankets. It occurred to me as I worked along that we probably could have just bought blankets [already made] that would have kept these precious people warm... but isn't there something special about receiving a handmade gift? Knowing that someone cared enough, to do this just for you. Yes it is a special feeling to know that you are wrapped in a blanket tied together with love... each knot a prayer for your protection, that you would encounter God and the love He has for you, that He would make a way out of the darkness...

I saw the pile of "breakfasts in a bag" the SonShine Kids had put together for this same outreach, gloves donated by another...  I was so happy to be a part of the project, but I have to admit there was a longing in my heart to do more. Giving the gift of a blanket and a breakfast is a beautiful thing [especially a handmade one!]... but my heart still broke knowing that these blankets would find homes on the streets. Wrapping around people who feel hopeless, forgotten... cold. I found my heart crying out to God "don't let this be the end, show us how to do more. Show us how to love these folks well...to use the resources we have for your Kingdom... guide us Lord..."

You know what they say... be careful what you ask for.

How could I have expected to hear these words the following morning in my own church... "they are staying in their car, is it okay if they take one of the blankets...?" Of course! Of course... you didn't need to ask. Of course...

And then the quickening of the Holy Spirit. Maybe you can't make a way for every one of those 21 blankets, tied together with love, to make their way to an actual bed under an actual roof with actual heat. But what about this one? 


Over the next several hours, I was blown away as I saw the Body of Christ respond to this need. I sit here in tears as I recall the overwhelming response to a quiet plea to help. None of those who answered the call knew the people who needed assistance, and even more... They didn't bother to ask. They just gave. They tapped into their own, personal resources the week before Christmas. They pulled strings and called in favors. They mobilized resources from church. And within hours a couple was led to a modest room, with a real bed and real roof and real heat... Boxes and bags of food, toiletries, towels, toothbrushes all unloaded and put away... Gas cards tucked safely away in their pocket... bowls, skillet, dog kennel... Every perceived need met by anonymous faces. The hands and feet and heart of Jesus.

All of this, so that this couple who is seeking Christ could know and rely on the love the Father has for them. A Divine encounter in a hotel room where Jesus' heart met theirs.

I don't know why He would allow me to see this unfold first hand... except that He knows the desire of my heart to see the Body come together. And He knew how I would rejoice in seeing resources come from people connected to so many different churches and denominations. It was such a beautiful thing. It is such a beautiful thing. This weekend I caught a glimpse of His Bride... from quick fingers working hundreds of knots to quiet deliveries of food to text messages that say "I have room"... it was a beautiful, beautiful thing... and I could see why He is so ravished by Her beauty...!

So many times the church gets it wrong... we judge, and criticize, and stumble, and fail... but let us not forget the times when she gets it right. When her eyes are on Him, and she quickens to His call. When her heart is beating in rhythm with His, her hands are moving under His guidance, and her feet are going steadfast on the path He has laid before her... let us remember these times. Focus on them... and be encouraged to do more!

If you are interested in getting involved... let me know. We are going to continue to get together every month or so to make blankets so we can have even more to hand out next Christmas. You can participate by donating money, buying fleece, or showing up and tying knots. Let me know if you are interested and I will keep you in the loop on upcoming meetings.

You can also join me in praying for the other 20 blankets. I am believing God to make a way for each of those blankets to make their way from the street to a real bed with a real roof over it and real heat blowing through vents in real walls. And I am believing that He is going to use His Body to make it happen, and that He will be glorified through Her obedience! I know it may not happen immediately for all of those blankets, but I trust His timing, and it will be as perfect as last night was... His heart meeting ours. Our hearts meeting theirs. It is a beautiful, beautiful thing... being tied together with love.

keeping Christ in Christmas...

Over the last several years, I have noticed a trend building momentum around the holidays regarding the word “Christmas”… and this year it has been especially rampant among my Facebook friends with regular statuses declaring their desire to keep CHRIST in CHRISTmas. Or bemoaning the insult of businesses not allowing employees to say “Merry Christmas”.  I even saw one status copied and pasted several times that said in essence, “I’m a Christian and if you don’t like it you can shove it” (I am using completely different words because I don’t want to point fingers at anyone in particular… but that was the idea of the post).

Is that what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus?  This God-man who walked this world in such humility and love that He got on bended knee before the very man that would betray Him and washed his feet? Consider that...Jesus knew that Judas would kiss his cheek and so doing begin the trek to the cross… the ultimate betrayal… a friend, a trusted disciple, a follower… and He washed his feet.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately, especially in light of the offense swirling around the use of the word “Christmas”.  Wondering what WOULD Jesus do this time of year?  Would His response be one of anger and indignation… or instead would it be one of… love? humility?

Perhaps if the people who were refusing to use the term CHRISTmas were CHRISTians I could see the concern. We ARE called to raise the banner in Jesus’ name. We ARE called to hold one another accountable to living lives sold out for Him. But the last time I checked, Wal-Mart isn’t a Christian organization.  

I just can’t escape the notion that us believers are expecting non-believers to act like… well… believers. We hold them to a standard they cannot possibly meet, because it’s a standard one can only achieve through the powerful in-workings of the Holy Spirit.  We want to demand that they use the term “Christmas” when, perhaps, they are NOT celebrating the birth of a Savior.

We are.

And so I wonder why we become so offended when those who do not have the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide them, behave as people who do not have the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide them?

I don’t wish to suggest that we as believers should never be offended. There are things that should cause a swell of emotion to rise up within us.  Even Jesus had His moment of righteous anger when He entered the temple to find business men turning the sacred ritual of sacrifice into a mockery with over-priced and sick animals. He got mad, and He cleared the temple. So there are things that should raise our hackles…

When we see people taking advantage of those who have nowhere to turn (like in those in the temple courts who had to have a sacrifice).

When we see children purchased into slavery and forced to work from sun-up to sun-down.

When 5,000,000 children a year die from malnutrition.

When there are families outside our own doors going without heat, water, gas because the economy turned and they could not keep up.

When countless unborn babies never see the light of day because truth and hope were not shared with their scared mothers.

When little girls are stolen into the dark world of the sex trade.

Those are things that should offend us, church. Those are the things that should cause a cry to well up within us on behalf of those who cannot cry out themselves.  But a business displaying “Happy Holidays” on its sign should not insight us to speak rudely to that business owner, belittling her choice of words and in so doing, alienating her from anything having to do with “the church”.  And that exact thing just happened in our own community.  Proverbs 19:11 tells us that “it is to a wise man’s glory to overlook an offense”. That’s the standard He has called us to… one of meeting people where they are and overlooking small offenses that could otherwise become obstacles between them and grace.

And so that begs the question… what does it really look like to keep CHRIST in CHRISTmas? Surely it doesn’t look like a Facebook status expressing our great offense at the use of the phrase “Happy Holidays”? Instead, would it not look more like a holiday season spent with CHRIST at the center of our heart, lives, minds? Our gaze steadily and ever on Him? Joy being our language as we talk to others this season? 

Meeting people with the same grace and love that Christ met us with.

Ministering to His heart by ministering to the people that He most often spoke of… the poor, the needy, the oppressed… the least of these.  Sponsoring a family through the Christmas Clearinghouse.  Buying livestock from World Vision’s Christmas catalog for a family overseas. Donating to Heart-to-Heart so they can meet the needs of frightened and overwhelmed mothers faced with a choice. Sponsoring a child through Touch a Life, offering him or her  a hope and a future out of the dark world of slavery.

Isn’t that what it would look like to keep CHRIST in CHRISTmas?

Wouldn’t it be about being set-apart from the crazy, materialistic thing Christmas in America has become? Remembering that it’s not our birthday after all! Don’t get me wrong, my kids will wake up to presents under the tree… I am not suggesting we skip Christmas altogether… but we can celebrate while maintaining focus on the One we ARE celebrating. Making it about Him. Making it about looking more like Him. Making it about loving His children. Making it about making Him known… and not by forcing others to share in our “Merry Christmas”, but by joining them in their “Happy Holidays” and then shining Jesus into their lives from there.

I hope that you hear my heart on this. I love the term “Merry Christmas”. I just don’t think we should expect the unbelieving world to have the same standards as we do, until of course we have met them in love and grace and it becomes the believing world.

I would ask that you at least contemplate this idea as we move through the rest of this holiday season. Instead of a fighting the Christmas Vendetta, let us start a revolution of love, being the LIGHT in the dark places rather than the voice of negativity. Let’s focus on things that are worthy of our frustration and anger, and through prayer and sacrifice raise up the banner of justice.  Let’s follow the path of the Holy Spirit in wooing this unbelieving world into wanting to know Him more.

And let’s truly keep CHRIST in CHRISTmas. 

15: the little things (2)

I saw a family featured on a talk show today. This husband and wife so longed for children to fill their home, yet the children did not come. Coming to terms with the painful reality of infertility, they began the process of seeking out children that were as desperate for a home, as they were for children. Their search took them all the way to Ghana, to three brothers whose eyes peered into their souls through a computer screen.

The adoption process finalized, they traveled to Ghana to pick up their sons. Children desperate for a home. Yet the oldest did not want to leave his best friend to the hopeless life of an orphan in Africa. He begged his new mother to adopt his friend as well... his friend offering the following arrangement...

"if I eat only one meal a day, and clean your house, would you come back and be my mother too?"

Friends, if that does not break your heart... then what will? This beautiful, dark child who was more than happy to work his way into a family. Of course, this couple returned for the boy. He sat on the stage with them in his crisp, striped dress shirt, smiling with white teeth and declaring his hope of becoming a professional soccer player.

But how many more like him are sitting in orphanages in Ghana. Haiti. Ethiopia. Russia. China.

How many children like him are in America, bounced from foster home to foster  home to foster home. Every time hoping and praying that this will be the one. This will be the place that loves.

I cannot stop thinking about yesterday's blog. I cannot stop thinking that I did not take it quite as far as God was asking. That He requires more than that we would recognize our arrogance... that He is seeking people who are actually willing to do something. That when we have postured our hearts to be broken by the things that break His... we would do something about the need we see.

All day He has whispered the verses we find in Ephesians and James...

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no man can boast. [Ephesians 2:8-9]

Just as that young boy could not work his way into an American family by sacrificing meals or cleaning the house, neither can we work our way into Heaven simply by sacrificing things or doing good works. It is by grace that we have been saved, grace which is a free gift of God. Grace which brings freedom. Grace which brings life. Our faith in Him opens the portal of grace so that it can flow freely over us... through us. The recipient of grace knows that He has received a gift, and knows that the only boasting that can be done is in the goodness of our beautiful Savior.

But then...
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. [James 2:14-17]


If you have truly received the gift that brings eternal life... what then should your response be? When the awesome realization washes over you that Jesus Christ entered this world as a man, and climbed a tree on Calvary just so you could be reconciled to Him... just so you could know Him... just so you could have life and have life to the fullest... just so you could walk in freedom... just so you could live this life in the light of eternity... what then should be your response? To tell the hungry "Go in peace, keep warm and well fed"?  To see a need, and then wait for someone else to meet it?

But someone will say "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is only one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder. [James 2:18-19]


Faith, belief, relationship is more than just lip service. It's more than saying "I believe". After all, no one knows the reality of a just God more than the demons... they believe in Him, they know there is only one God... and they shudder with the knowledge. Knowing is not enough. The fruit of our faith is born out in our lives. Lives lived set apart. Lives lived differently. Lives that cry out for more of Him and less of ourselves (John 3:30).  Lives that are willing to do something radical, just because He called us to it.

And so tonight, He is asking you (He is asking me)...
Are you willing? Are you willing to pay Him more than just lip service, and instead love His children the way that he does? Are you willing to be His hands and feet in this lost and dying world? Are you willing to open your eyes to a need, and then do something to meet it?

Ezekiel 16:49 reads "And this was the sin of your sister Sodom; She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy" 


Read that scripture again. The sin of Sodom that aroused the anger of God, which required that the city be destroyed... was not the sexual sin of the city (as I had always thought)... it was that they did not help the poor and the needy. When God looked onto that city which is synonymous with gross depravity and sin... He saw a people who were overfed... arrogant.... and unconcerned.

He saw a people who were overfed while others starved... my serving at the Mexican restaurant tonight was literally enough to feed an entire family. Over 33% of Americans are obese. That's over 100 million people that are overfed while 5 million children a year die from malnutrition. Overfed.

He saw a people who were arrogant, seeing only their own selfish desires over the need and hurt of others... today I spent $18 eating out... while over one billion people in the world live on less than $1.25 a day. Someone's two week's salary went toward a couple of meals for just me today... and I threw half of that food out.  Arrogant.

He saw a people who were unconcerned, turning a blind eye to the gross need of others... did you know that American Christians spend $20 billion a year on soft drinks, while $13 billion would feed every hungry person in the world. That's American Christians who value their Diet Coke over a starving child. Unconcerned.

I don't want to be that guy.

And now that our eyes are open to the need, I pray that you don't either. So let's do SOMETHING. 


Here are some organizations that you can support... today. Where the dollars a day you will likely not even miss will have life changing impact. 

Compassion International  One of the most well known and respected child sponsorship organizations. If you want to know the impact child sponsorship has... read Ann Voskamp's blog here. I read this the other day and wept thinking about a sponsor's picture hanging in the lonely bedroom of a boy abandoned to the jungle.

The Water Project One of many organizations working to bring clean water to Africa. Put down that Diet Coke and bring life giving water to the thirsty!

Touch a Life Foundation  The heart's work of Pam and Randy Cope who are working tirelessly to free children who have been enslaved on Lake Volta in Ghana. Sign up to sponsor a child's room and board, or education, or BOTH. You can also support this organization through a local "Find Your Mark" chapter in Shoals, Indiana. Contact Christy Farhar at Uofkwldcatfan@aol.com for information. She would love to hear from you. Or you can click on my tab that goes to Kidz 4 Freedom... you can buy some super cute duct tape hair bows and pens and all the proceeds will go to Touch a Life!

The Mercy House A maternity home in Kenya which offers young pregnant women a safe place to bring their children into the world, all the while teaching them about the grace of Christ, parenting, and job skills. You can shop the Mercy Store or offer monthly donations to this very worthwhile cause.

And the list doesn't end there. Those are just a very few that He has put on my own heart to support or start supporting. There is so much more... so whatever your passion... whatever your heart has broken for... there is a way to get involved. Prayerfully consider opening your home to one of the thousands of children in foster care. Or if you can't do that, consider becoming a CASA so that you can be the voice of a child in the foster care system. [I've linked to Indiana's Child Advocate Network, but if you aren't in Indiana, I am sure there is one in YOUR area. Just see my good friend Google for details.]  Seek out your local crisis pregnancy center. They are always underfunded, undervolunteered, underadvertised. Offer young women in your communities healthy choices when faced with unwanted pregnancies. Find a Bound4Life chapter near you (or START ONE if there aren't any!) and become purposeful in interceding for the lives of unborn children. Donate to the local Meals on Wheels program that bring meals into the home of the aged and disabled. Clean out your closets and donate the excess to a local homeless shelter, or Salvation Army, or Goodwill, or church. Pick up extra the next time you are at the grocery store for your local food pantry.

Whatever it is...
do something.

This Thanksgiving, can we as a Body do more than just give thanks? Instead can we be a people willing to give radically out of our abundance? It's important to give thanks... don't get me wrong... but once we have recognized how blessed we truly are, how can we then turn a blind eye to those in desperate need?

He is asking us to put feet to our faith... are you willing?

04: uncle dave (friday flashback edition)

I love doing the Friday Flashbacks because it gives me an opportunity to reflect on where I have come from and how God has been so intricately involved in every little detail of my life. {Isn’t He beautiful?} And today, as I considered how to combine my flashback with something I am thankful for… I kept landing on memories of Uncle Dave and Aunt Marge. There have been so many people who God has placed along my path… guideposts along the road toward Him… but in Uncle Dave and Aunt Marge I see how such a simple act can have a profound impact.

When I was about three years old, my family rented a house in Bicknell, Indiana that was owned by Dave and Marge Morwood. Lucky for us, they also lived right next door. My family was poor, and we certainly had our problems, but they met us right where we were. My  mom tells me that as we moved from Cincinnati, the one promise she made to my Mamaw was that she would get me into a church. I suspect that Mamaw spent a lot of time in her knees talking to God about this, because within a couple of weeks of moving into that little gray house on Cedar Street, the man who I had already come to know as Uncle Dave asked mom if I could go to church with him.

At just over three years old, I stepped foot for the first time in First Baptist Church of Bicknell. Thirty-two years later, that is still the place I call home. In the decades in between, I have seen my baby brothers dedicated, my daddy accept Christ, my husband step into the waters of baptism, my children come to know Jesus… I have made some of the best friends I could ever imagine, and I have seen other friends get on fire for the Lord.

And to think, it all started when my next door neighbor invited me to church.

It doesn’t always take grand mission trips or enormous steps of faith to impact the world for Christ. Sometimes it’s as simple as looking around you, seeing who God has placed there, and meeting them where they are at.  I think of Uncle Dave often. I am so thankful for the guidepost he was in my life… and I believe that Christ is calling all of us to be along the path of other seekers…  pointing the way to Him. Who has He placed in your life? Who is looking to you for direction? Whose testimony would you find your name in?  

Praying you hear the voice of the Lord directing you to action today… and that you do something about it!  

my man, clive staples

If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. -c.s. lewis

Walk the Line

As Jim flipped through the channels today, he stumbled on the end of the movie Walk the Line. I hear it's a good movie, but all I've seen of it are the ten minutes we caught today. And as He seems to be doing to me a lot lately, God spoke. Johnny Cash was apparently meeting with some sort of record execs (they had suits on and looked official at least) about a show he wanted to record at a prison. They were obviously not big fans of the idea, and were trying to talk him out of it. This guy was explaining to Johnny (I scribbled this down quickly, so it probably isn't an exact quote)... "Your fans are good folks, Johnny, Christians... they don't want to hear you singing to a bunch of murderers and theives in a prison, tryin' to cheer them up".

Johnny's response...
"Then they aren't Christians".

Ouch.

There are a lot of people in this world, specifically in this country, that call themselves Christian but have never done one single, solitary thing to demonstrate a life led by Christ. In fact, there are a lot of church-goers who would sit in judgement just as this record exec predicted. But Jesus tells us to go to the prisons, to the needy, to the widows and orphans. He tells us that if we love Him, we will feed His sheep. That if we love Him, we will love our brothers. That if we love Him, we will be radically changed, a new creation, peculiar.

To be honest, I have too much going on in my mind and my heart right now to adequately communicate the whisperings of my Creator. I have written and rewritten this post. I want to share. I want to tell you about it. I want to challenge my brothers and sisters in the same way I've been challenged. But my words aren't working... In the words of Elvis... I'm all shook up.

It's a good thing. A God thing. He's calling us to change, church. And I'm excited.

granite countertops

I have a confession to make. I love HGTV. I love it. I love Spice Up My Kitchen, Divine Designs, House Hunters, Property Virgins, Designed to Sell, My Big Amazing Renovation... at any given time you can catch me watching one of these shows- or one like it- dreaming dreams of new cabinets and wood flooring, granite countertops and spa-like bathrooms. Aaaaaah. That's living the dream, isn't it?

And then I look around my little house and am smacked in the forehead with reality. Tali and Zach crammed into a bedroom barely big enough for one. A bathroom with vintage 1970's sink, bathtub, and sink in a color of yellow that would make even perky Genevieve a little nauseous. A kitchen so small that Jim and I can barely stand at the sink and stove (which are across the room from each other) without bumping butts. Oh how I dream of a Big, Amazing Renovation of my own. How I would love to knock out half a wall between my kitchen and dining room in order to achieve the "open floor plan" sought by all on House Hunters. How we dream of adding on another bedroom, so Tali and Zach can have their own space. In fact, I spent a good bit of time talking about these exact dreams with some of my beautiful church family on Wednesday.

We want nice things. And if you're honest, you probably want nice things too.

But then, last Thursday, I was happily listening to the radio, giving almost no thought to what was being said. In fact I'm not even sure of the context of this comment- but it smacked me in the forehead with an entirely different reality.

Some sort of montage was playing. Snips and clips from the radio program over the past year. And this guy was saying "I don't need $5000 granite countertops to cut my tomato on".

The radio show host (who probably has granite countertops) laughed... the caller went on "Just think how much support that money would be for a missionary overseas?" and then my mind continued... or the needy family at my kids' school, or the family at church that can't seem to catch a break, or a crisis pregnancy center... That's a lot of money, folks.

This is probably going to sound ridiculous. Maybe it is. But I have not been able to shake this man's words from my head. "I don't need $5000 granite countertops to cut my tomato on". How many times have my hubby and I watched these home improvement shows together, critiquing their choices of stone, cabinets, and hardware? Applauding their choice of stainless steel appliances over slick black designs? Dreaming of a day we would own a kitchen like that of our own? Wanting shiny and new things, things I could be proud of.

what a spoiled brat i am.

If I am really honest, we have what we need. We have a kitchen. And a bathroom. And places to sleep, eat, and rest. We have luxuries that are just that- luxuries. Game systems, dvd players, televisions, computers. We have heat and air conditioning, electricity and running water.

Somewhere in the world there is someone sleeping on a dirt floor. A child going hungry. A mother dying because she can't get the antibiotic she needs (the same antibiotic I just threw away because Zach didn't finish his prescription last time). Places where indoor plumbing is unheard of. And I am whining because my toilet is yellow.

How hung up have we become on things in this country! THINGS. When the money we spend on those things could feed a starving family. I know that it sounds cliche, but I am asking you to take a moment and really, really think about that... when was the last time you went hungry (and I don't mean "too busy to eat" hungry but I have no food hungry). We don't know what it's like. We can't remember. This scripture was on my day planner for today:

When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the LORD, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. [Deut 6:11-12]

God is delivering His people into the Promised Land. He has rescued them from slavery and brought them through the desert. It's the moment they have waited for... entering the land of milk and honey... but God knows the risk. He knows the wicked heart and short memory of man, so He reminds them [us]... when you've eaten your fill, don't forget me.

I believe that God wants us to have what we need. But we've become gluttonous Christians, haven't we? We don't want to stop with our fill, we want to eat until our stomachs hurt. We want to put our Jesus Fish on the back of a nice, shiny car. We want to live in a home where we can easily entertain our church friends, and show off our pretty things. We want to go to a church that is "modern" and "fresh". We want to wear cute clothes. Carry fancy hand bags. We want master baths, dual sinks, please. We want to cut our tomatoes on a granite countertop. But what of the money we spend on this stuff? The money that would be left over if we really stopped when we have "had our fill"... what else could God use it for if we would allow Him? What could He accomplish if we were really willing to sacrifice for His Kingdom?

Oh friends, I write this as someone as gluttonous as all the rest. If you happen to have granite countertops, don't think I'm talking to you. This one's all for me. I have things that I want [insert iPod touch here], and things that I will probably eventually buy that I don't need. But what would happen if I really let the Lord take hold of my finances and use them for HIS will? What if as a Body we all did the same? What if our churches stopped looking around at the physical work that needs done and see the spiritual repairs that are so much more important? My pastor, Seth, is quoted as saying during a mission meeting "Well, if we are going to go broke I don't see any better way to do it than feeding God's children."

That's the mind we need to have. That's the heart change I need. Meeting the needs of His people rather than the desires of this spoiled brat.

God has delivered us, church! He has freed us from the chains of sin and death. He has given us the gift of eternal life! What's that worth? How much are we willing to sacrifice out of love and obedience to the one who sacrificed EVERYTHING for us? Are we willing to give "til it hurts". Are we willing to offer our abundance to the least of these? Are we willing to meet His children at their point of need? To be His hands and feet? To acknowlege that none of this is ours in the first place? To stop worrying about whether or not something is "dated" and instead worry about how it could be used for His kingdom? To stop being ashamed by my little, dissheveled, mess of a house and instead realize that this home can be used for ministry? It's a challenge, church. The question is, are we up for it?

Are we willing to worry more about the tomato... about the need... than we do the granite countertop?? Are we?