I saw this video today and was blown away by the incredible attitude this man has. His foundation is in the God he has learned to trust amidst great personal struggle. Watch this video and pray with me that others would come to find this same inner peace, no matter what struggles come in life.
It’s windy out today, and as I sit here looking out the window, I can see dust swirling on the street and trees waving. It’s a blustery spring morning, but I’m comfortable sitting inside at my desk. And as I sit here, it occurs to me once again that this very separation seems to permeate a lot of how my American culture views the world.
Do you feel the tug like I do? Do you want to make a difference, and not forget about the hurting, the orphan, the widow, the lonely? Does every day life still seep in too easily? Listen to this:
“The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.” – Mother Teresa
I think about the kind of loneliness that is worse that not having enough to eat, and I can’t help but think of some of the kids I’ve had the privilege of meeting over the last few years – kids that know what Mother Teresa’s talking about.
Poverty: the lack of food and shelter is one thing. But the lack of love? It pales in comparison.
It’s been sitting on my desk for a week untouched – another update letter from another organization and frankly, I, like all of us do so often, set it aside until I “had time.” Too often, they just get thrown away after going unread for a week. But I finally picked it up. It started with James 2:15-16 which brings a scene like this:
“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?”
This morning I read an article about the importance of FAMILY in the kingdom of God. Since that’s a pretty big idea at LSM, I was intrigued to hear what another missional organization was saying about it, and was really encouraged as I read through so many examples through scripture of God using normal, unqualified family units to spread His glory. (Check out the full article here.)
Today’s World Water Day.
We want to talk about water today because of some very hard realities like this:
Every 15 seconds, a child dies from a water related disease. (These are preventable.) That’s 1.4 million children every year DYING because of lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
I ran into Starbucks this weekend to get a gift card for a friend. As I walked up to the counter and asked for a card and a coffee, the barista gave a little smile and held up a $20. “The guy who came in right before you left this for the next person to walk through the door. Your gift card is covered!”
They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
But words sometimes tell details we’d rather not know – about the reasons for the faraway look in his eyes, or the thing that caused those scars on that little girl’s arms, or the reason why this little boy was left to starve on the streets. Or why this little girl is forced to sell herself. Or why…
I heard a pastor from Southern California say recently that the church’s mission statement should look a lot more like Home Depot’s. Know what it is?
“You can do it. We can help.”
This pastor went on to say that “the church is the hope of the world. The church is a part of the picture. People inspired by the ways of Jesus – empowered to resource people.”
