Saturday, March 11, 2006
if Jesus is Lord...
why are we so anxious about the details of our lives? why do we worry so much about our finances or relationships? Jesus offers the antidote to our anxieties: Himself.
God is God
if He is God He is worthy of my worship and my service. i will find rest nowhere but in His will...
(e. elliot - through gates of splendor)
(e. elliot - through gates of splendor)
integrity
how many of us compromise our integrity. we know the principles God wants us to live by, yet we see something that we want and we go for it. nothing else matters. including God. we go for what we want. and we leave Him out of it.
what happens when we leave God out of our lives. i am reminded of how we told God to stay out of the schools and being the gentleman He is He has. do we really want to continue to compromise our integrity and leave God out of our lives.
we hurt ourselves and so many others by our decisions yet we may not see the impact on our lives for years. how do we live with ourselves when we know that our actions are not in accordance with God's principles. we can't possibly have peace. my spirit is in such turmoil there is nothing i wouldn't do. every thing of this world is temporal. there is no choice, there is nothing and no one that is going to bring us the joy of a right relationship with God. we can't hide our sin from Him. if we give up everyone and everything to follow Christ He will give us joy beyond our imaginings. the love we've sought elsewhere we will find in Him.
did you have integrity? did you live for God? did you compromise your integrity? are you just happy now or are you joyful to be restored to a perfect relationship with God?
our worldly relationships that are not in accordance with God's principles are not worth having if it takes us away from God. nothing and no one is. do not let yourself be deceived by evil spirits, rebuke satan, and let your spirit commune with God's Holy Spirit. listen to His voice and do not be deceived by temptation.
what happens when we leave God out of our lives. i am reminded of how we told God to stay out of the schools and being the gentleman He is He has. do we really want to continue to compromise our integrity and leave God out of our lives.
we hurt ourselves and so many others by our decisions yet we may not see the impact on our lives for years. how do we live with ourselves when we know that our actions are not in accordance with God's principles. we can't possibly have peace. my spirit is in such turmoil there is nothing i wouldn't do. every thing of this world is temporal. there is no choice, there is nothing and no one that is going to bring us the joy of a right relationship with God. we can't hide our sin from Him. if we give up everyone and everything to follow Christ He will give us joy beyond our imaginings. the love we've sought elsewhere we will find in Him.
did you have integrity? did you live for God? did you compromise your integrity? are you just happy now or are you joyful to be restored to a perfect relationship with God?
our worldly relationships that are not in accordance with God's principles are not worth having if it takes us away from God. nothing and no one is. do not let yourself be deceived by evil spirits, rebuke satan, and let your spirit commune with God's Holy Spirit. listen to His voice and do not be deceived by temptation.
30 hour famine
World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine, an annual event in which thousands of young people across Canada forego food for 30 hours to raise money and awareness for hunger and poverty.
Famine participant Jesse Samok, 16, says he knows some families in his community don’t have enough food because many children come to the school’s breakfast program. Jesse raised nearly $200 for the 30 Hour Famine, which included $120 of his earnings from his part-time job. “I feel sorry for those kids who don’t have food and water or any money,” he says.
That kind of generosity is typical of Inuit, who traditionally place a high value on sharing. Year after year, they top the statistics for charitable giving in Canada. “People in Chesterfield Inlet are so generous,” Ana says. “They’d rather give to someone who is less fortunate than keep what they have to themselves.”
so if you're not doing or supporting the famine - why aren't you?
for the full story go to:
http://www.worldvision.ca/home/content-archives/content-stories/nunavut-youth-do-the-30-hour-famine/
Famine participant Jesse Samok, 16, says he knows some families in his community don’t have enough food because many children come to the school’s breakfast program. Jesse raised nearly $200 for the 30 Hour Famine, which included $120 of his earnings from his part-time job. “I feel sorry for those kids who don’t have food and water or any money,” he says.
That kind of generosity is typical of Inuit, who traditionally place a high value on sharing. Year after year, they top the statistics for charitable giving in Canada. “People in Chesterfield Inlet are so generous,” Ana says. “They’d rather give to someone who is less fortunate than keep what they have to themselves.”
so if you're not doing or supporting the famine - why aren't you?
for the full story go to:
http://www.worldvision.ca/home/content-archives/content-stories/nunavut-youth-do-the-30-hour-famine/
poverty
in travelling throughout costa rica and nicaragua on mission trips for the past 5 years i saw a lot of poverty. each year after coming home to my house with just me in it i looked around at all my stuff and wondered why i had bought some of the things in the first place. each year it was harder and harder to come back to my house. i had too much. i wanted less - things. i wanted something more. i wanted to live there, not just to visit for 2 weeks each year. then God made it happen. i ended up living with a large family in a small village for 15 months last year. i lived in a dump of a house that was literally falling apart (we had a coral snake come through a hole in the floor in the bathroom) but it was filled with laughter and love. here we build bigger, fancier houses and may never run into each other, never talk to each other. before when i had asked why they fasted i was told simply, there is no food. we had potable water in our village although not everyone had water because they couldn't afford to pay for it. one cluster of 7 families had one shower between them. we had electricity, many didn't.
we take so much for granted and never give it another thought. clean, safe drinking water, enough food to eat, shelter from the storms. they have nothing and we have so much yet i wouldn't wish my 'riches' on them. here the more we have the more we want, we are never satisfied with what we have. we seclude ourselves inside from family and friends playing games on the computer. there they spend time with their families and friends. here we rush around greeting someone with hi how are you and never stop to hear the answer. there talking with each other is an important part of every day. we drive our cars to the store 2 blocks away. there people walk miles in the darkness to work 12 to 16 hours in the fields in the blaring sun or heavy rain every day for $1 an hour.
i visited schools and when asked what the greatest need was the principal said food, the children are hungry and there is no food and no money to buy it. i was going to the schools with the ministry of health to promote good nutrition. what an oxymoron. how do you promote good nutrition when there is no food? what do they eat after we've gone. there were teenagers in grades 1 because they had never had the opportunity to go to school before and kids not going to or quitting school because there was no money to pay for it.
one nicaraguan boy in our house had left his family and country at the age of 9 to come to costa rica in search of work in order to eat. he was, miraculously, reunited with his own family last year after a 12 year absence. can you imagine sending your young children to work in the fields in another country because you don't have enough food to feed them. before the sun was up i watched as young children, carrying their machetes, walked to the fields with their parents.
i have encouraged my grandchildren to watch the world vision programs so they can see how fortunate they are to have easy access to food, water, shelter, education, health care, to live in a country without fear of war.
why did i come back? God told me to. would i go back? if He sent me - absolutely - in a heartbeat.
i could say i can't afford to sponsor 3 kids but in all honesty - no i can't - i can't say that. i have so very much. they have so very little. i do not need to have more things. i do not need to change my lampshades because the colour doesn't match the walls or bedding. they need to have the very basics of survival.
we take so much for granted and never give it another thought. clean, safe drinking water, enough food to eat, shelter from the storms. they have nothing and we have so much yet i wouldn't wish my 'riches' on them. here the more we have the more we want, we are never satisfied with what we have. we seclude ourselves inside from family and friends playing games on the computer. there they spend time with their families and friends. here we rush around greeting someone with hi how are you and never stop to hear the answer. there talking with each other is an important part of every day. we drive our cars to the store 2 blocks away. there people walk miles in the darkness to work 12 to 16 hours in the fields in the blaring sun or heavy rain every day for $1 an hour.
i visited schools and when asked what the greatest need was the principal said food, the children are hungry and there is no food and no money to buy it. i was going to the schools with the ministry of health to promote good nutrition. what an oxymoron. how do you promote good nutrition when there is no food? what do they eat after we've gone. there were teenagers in grades 1 because they had never had the opportunity to go to school before and kids not going to or quitting school because there was no money to pay for it.
one nicaraguan boy in our house had left his family and country at the age of 9 to come to costa rica in search of work in order to eat. he was, miraculously, reunited with his own family last year after a 12 year absence. can you imagine sending your young children to work in the fields in another country because you don't have enough food to feed them. before the sun was up i watched as young children, carrying their machetes, walked to the fields with their parents.
i have encouraged my grandchildren to watch the world vision programs so they can see how fortunate they are to have easy access to food, water, shelter, education, health care, to live in a country without fear of war.
why did i come back? God told me to. would i go back? if He sent me - absolutely - in a heartbeat.
i could say i can't afford to sponsor 3 kids but in all honesty - no i can't - i can't say that. i have so very much. they have so very little. i do not need to have more things. i do not need to change my lampshades because the colour doesn't match the walls or bedding. they need to have the very basics of survival.
girls nite out
tuesday i went to a 'girls nite out' event at northview. awesome testimony - so much so i have written the speaker to buy the cd hopefully to show at our ladies retreat. so much of it was like my life.
it was sponsored by world vision who at the end of the testimony passed around folders with pictures and information about children needing sponsorship. it was so awesome to see so many women at the world vision table afterwards to hopefully sponsor a child or get information to sponsor a child.
we can make a difference.
please go if you get the opportunity, you'll be glad you did.
it was sponsored by world vision who at the end of the testimony passed around folders with pictures and information about children needing sponsorship. it was so awesome to see so many women at the world vision table afterwards to hopefully sponsor a child or get information to sponsor a child.
we can make a difference.
please go if you get the opportunity, you'll be glad you did.
worship
when i came back from costa rica and went to church there was a new group playing worship and i didn't know the songs they were playing in english. i found a spanish church and started going there on sunday nights so i could worship God in spanish.
wanting more worship i started going to the early service at northview on saturday nights then club 365 afterwards.
5:00 saturday - northview
7:30 saturday - club 365
10:00 sunday - new heights
7:30 sunday - spanish church
it's wonderful - i love it.
we are so blessed to live in a country where we can worship freely, whenever, wherever we want.
soon what was once called street church will be coming back with a new name, the gathering. an opportunity for the street people of mission to get together in community and hear worship. for some the only opportunity they may have to hear worship music. and to come forward and ask for prayer in what may feel like the only safe place to do so.
thank You Lord that we are free to go to any number of venues to worship and praise You without being persecuted.
wanting more worship i started going to the early service at northview on saturday nights then club 365 afterwards.
5:00 saturday - northview
7:30 saturday - club 365
10:00 sunday - new heights
7:30 sunday - spanish church
it's wonderful - i love it.
we are so blessed to live in a country where we can worship freely, whenever, wherever we want.
soon what was once called street church will be coming back with a new name, the gathering. an opportunity for the street people of mission to get together in community and hear worship. for some the only opportunity they may have to hear worship music. and to come forward and ask for prayer in what may feel like the only safe place to do so.
thank You Lord that we are free to go to any number of venues to worship and praise You without being persecuted.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
it's all about attitude
yesterday i had the opportunity to be an irate customer but God used it for Himself. i bought a bed & desk at ikea, choked down the price, and after i went through the checkout looked at my bill. the bed was on sale for 25% off but the clerk hadn't given me the sale price. i pointed it out to her and she gave me the credit and rang the sale up again. the sale goes through instantly but the credit doesn't so the second charge wasn't approved because i was now over limit. she apologized and called the supervisor over. he spent the next 1/2 hour calling the visa centre, the bank, the visa centre again, the bank again. at first i was getting impatient, i wanted to be on my way home before rush hour started. as i could feel the impatience hitting me a God thing happened. i started thinking about a video i'd seen the night before talking about how blessed we are. i started thinking how it really wasn't such a big deal and before i knew it i was smiling and laughing. the supervisor was apologizing profusely and after a lengthy time he called another supervisor over to see how they could resolve the problem as the bank / visa said they couldn't do anything. had i been impatient it would have made me miserable and added to the discomfort the supervisor was already feeling. then the sales clerk came over and apologized again. when i thought of all their apologies i had a thought they might give me a discount coupon or something. instead i got something better. i got that good feeling that you get when you brighten someone else's day.
that wasn't as a result of my nature. i was ready to be impatient. that was a result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. He changed my attitude from going to be miserable to choosing to - here i was going to say choosing to be in a good mood. i didn't choose it - it was His work in me. thank You Lord.
that wasn't as a result of my nature. i was ready to be impatient. that was a result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. He changed my attitude from going to be miserable to choosing to - here i was going to say choosing to be in a good mood. i didn't choose it - it was His work in me. thank You Lord.
God's in the small stuff too
do we only look for God in the big things. or do we find Him in the very small, everyday things. for the past 2 months i have been using the plastic knife, fork and spoon from the plane. yesterday the knife broke, this morning the spoon broke, this weekend i'm moving and will have regular utensils. God gives me what i need, for as long as i need it.
suffering produces character
If you find yourself in a time of suffering, now is the time to press into God. Let your roots grow deeper. Whenever there is a famine, tree roots are forced to drive deeper into the soil to find water. These times are designed to create such a deep-rooted faith that our natures will be changed forever.
boy do i know a lot of characters.
boy do i know a lot of characters.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
piano for sale
$800 and you pay to move it. otherwise it's going to toew's music store where they will charge $1100. need to move it soon - if not sold in a week it's going to toew's.
it's a yamaha, in mint condition and it's played regularly and i'm told it's smooth.
if you're interested send me your email and i'll email you a picture of it. i can't get the picture in the blog.
it's a yamaha, in mint condition and it's played regularly and i'm told it's smooth.
if you're interested send me your email and i'll email you a picture of it. i can't get the picture in the blog.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
wow! what a revelation
sometimes God puts us through the experience and discipline of darkness to teach us to hear and obey Him. God puts us into "the shadow of His hand" (isaiah 49.2) until we learn to hear Him. pay attention when God puts you into darkness, and keep your mouth closed while you are there. are you in the dark right now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? if so then remain quiet. if you open your mouth in the dark, you will speak while in the wrong mood - darkness is the time to listen. don't talk to other people about it. don't read books to find out the reason for the darkness; just listen and obey. if you talk to other people you cannot hear what God is saying. when you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else once you are back in the light. (from my utmost)
in the time of My favour I will say to those in darkness, 'be free' isaiah 49 (from God)
i can't count the number of time i've been in darkness. talked to a lot of people, read a lot of books.
in hindsight i know it was only in the time of the Lord's favour that i was delivered from the darkness.
in the time of My favour I will say to those in darkness, 'be free' isaiah 49 (from God)
i can't count the number of time i've been in darkness. talked to a lot of people, read a lot of books.
in hindsight i know it was only in the time of the Lord's favour that i was delivered from the darkness.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Four places I have been:
1. Costa Rica
2. Nicaragua
3. Panama
4. Mexico
Four places I would like to go:
1. middle east
2. Africa
3. the Amazon
4. anywhere in central america
Four jobs I have done;
1. secreatary
2. receptionist
3. dispatcher
4. hairdressers assistant
four places i've lived:
1. costa rica
2. vancouver
3. new westminster
4. burnaby
four things i like to do:
1. worship
2. travel
3. dance
4. read
Four things I detest;
1. hedonism
2. materialism
3. lewd music videos
4. pornography
Four things I love:
1. worship
2. sunshine
3. plants
4. puppies
Four foods I love;
1. chocolate
2. coffee
3. avocados
4. black beans
Four people I would like to meet;
1. Jesus
2. my dad
3. peter
4. sponsored kids
1. Costa Rica
2. Nicaragua
3. Panama
4. Mexico
Four places I would like to go:
1. middle east
2. Africa
3. the Amazon
4. anywhere in central america
Four jobs I have done;
1. secreatary
2. receptionist
3. dispatcher
4. hairdressers assistant
four places i've lived:
1. costa rica
2. vancouver
3. new westminster
4. burnaby
four things i like to do:
1. worship
2. travel
3. dance
4. read
Four things I detest;
1. hedonism
2. materialism
3. lewd music videos
4. pornography
Four things I love:
1. worship
2. sunshine
3. plants
4. puppies
Four foods I love;
1. chocolate
2. coffee
3. avocados
4. black beans
Four people I would like to meet;
1. Jesus
2. my dad
3. peter
4. sponsored kids
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
The HDI measures achievements in terms of life expectancy, educational attainment and adjusted real income http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2005/ (united nations report sept 2005)(to me that translates as the richest and poorest nations in the world.) just think what we, as the 5th richest nation in the world, could do to help the poorest nations in the world. if you're not sure check out the link at the bottom.
HDI rank - High human development
1 Norway 2 Iceland 3 Australia 4 Luxembourg
5 *** CANADA *** (what's considered the poverty level for canada? $25,000? we live in a rich nation, free from war, with enough food and clean water, health care and education.)
6 Sweden 7 Switzerland 8 Ireland 9 Belgium
10 United States 11 Japan 12 Netherlands
13 Finland 14 Denmark 15 United Kingdom 16 France
17 Austria 18 Italy 19 New Zealand 20 Germany
21 Spain 22 HongKong,China(SAR) 23 Israel 24 Greece
25 Singapore 26 Slovenia 27 Portugal 28 Korea,Rep.of
29 Cyprus 30 Barbados 31 Czech Republic 32 Malta
33 Brunei Darussalam 34 Argentina 35 Hungary 36 Poland
37 Chile 38 Estonia 39 Lithuania 40 Qatar
41 United Arab Emirates 42 Slovakia 43 Bahrain 44 Kuwait
45 Croatia 46 Uruguay 47 Costa Rica 48 Latvia
49 Saint Kitts and Nevis 50 Bahamas 51 Seychelles 52 Cuba
53 Mexico 54 Tonga 55 Bulgaria 56 Panama
57 Trinidad and Tobago
HDI rank - Medium human development
58 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 59 Macedonia,TFYR
60 Antigua and Barbuda 61 Malaysia 62 Russian Federation
63 Brazil 64 Romania 65 Mauritius 66 Grenada 67 Belarus
68 Bosnia and Herzegovina 69 Colombia 70 Dominica 71 Oman
72 Albania 73 Thailand 74 Samoa (Western) 75 Venezuela
76 Saint Lucia 77 Saudi Arabia 78 Ukraine 79 Peru
80 Kazakhstan 81 Lebanon 82 Ecuador 83 Armenia
84 Philippines 85 China 86 Suriname
87 Saint Vincent & the Grenadines 88 Paraguay 89 Tunisia
90 Jordan 91 Belize 92 Fiji 93 Sri Lanka
94 Turkey 95 Dominican Republic 96 Maldives 97 Turkmenistan
98 Jamaica 99 Iran, IslamicRep.of 100 Georgia
101 Azerbaijan 102 Occupied Palestinian Territories
103 Algeria 104 El Salvador 105 Cape Verde
106 Syrian Arab Republic 107 Guyana 108 Viet Nam
109 Kyrgyzstan 110 Indonesia 111 Uzbekistan 112 Nicaragua
113 Bolivia 114 Mongolia 115 Moldova,Rep.of 116 Honduras
117 Guatemala 118 Vanuatu 119 Egypt 120 South Africa
121 Equatorial Guinea 122 Tajikistan 123 Gabon 124 Morocco
125 Namibia 126 São Tomé and Principe 127 India
128 Solomon Islands 129 Myanmar 130 Cambodia 131 Botswana
132 Comoros 133 LaoPeople’sDem.Rep. 134 Bhutan 135 Pakistan
136 Nepal 137 Papua New Guinea 138 Ghana 139 Bangladesh
140 Timor-Leste 141 Sudan 142 Congo 143 Togo 144 Uganda
145 Zimbabwe
HDI rank - Low human development
146 Madagascar 147 Swaziland 148 Cameroon 149 Lesotho
150 Djibouti 151 Yemen 152 Mauritania 153 Haiti 154 Kenya
155 Gambia 156 Guinea 157 Senegal 158 Nigeria 159 Rwanda
160 Angola 161 Eritrea 162 Benin 163 Côte d’Ivoire
164 Tanzania,U.Rep.of 165 Malawi 166 Zambia 167 Congo,Dem.Rep.ofthe
168 Mozambique 169 Burundi 170 Ethiopia 171 Central African Republic
172 Guinea-Bissau 173 Chad 174 Mali 175 Burkina Faso
176 Sierra Leone
177 NIGER (earnings less than $1 a day - less than $365 a year)
HDI rank - High human development
1 Norway 2 Iceland 3 Australia 4 Luxembourg
5 *** CANADA *** (what's considered the poverty level for canada? $25,000? we live in a rich nation, free from war, with enough food and clean water, health care and education.)
6 Sweden 7 Switzerland 8 Ireland 9 Belgium
10 United States 11 Japan 12 Netherlands
13 Finland 14 Denmark 15 United Kingdom 16 France
17 Austria 18 Italy 19 New Zealand 20 Germany
21 Spain 22 HongKong,China(SAR) 23 Israel 24 Greece
25 Singapore 26 Slovenia 27 Portugal 28 Korea,Rep.of
29 Cyprus 30 Barbados 31 Czech Republic 32 Malta
33 Brunei Darussalam 34 Argentina 35 Hungary 36 Poland
37 Chile 38 Estonia 39 Lithuania 40 Qatar
41 United Arab Emirates 42 Slovakia 43 Bahrain 44 Kuwait
45 Croatia 46 Uruguay 47 Costa Rica 48 Latvia
49 Saint Kitts and Nevis 50 Bahamas 51 Seychelles 52 Cuba
53 Mexico 54 Tonga 55 Bulgaria 56 Panama
57 Trinidad and Tobago
HDI rank - Medium human development
58 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 59 Macedonia,TFYR
60 Antigua and Barbuda 61 Malaysia 62 Russian Federation
63 Brazil 64 Romania 65 Mauritius 66 Grenada 67 Belarus
68 Bosnia and Herzegovina 69 Colombia 70 Dominica 71 Oman
72 Albania 73 Thailand 74 Samoa (Western) 75 Venezuela
76 Saint Lucia 77 Saudi Arabia 78 Ukraine 79 Peru
80 Kazakhstan 81 Lebanon 82 Ecuador 83 Armenia
84 Philippines 85 China 86 Suriname
87 Saint Vincent & the Grenadines 88 Paraguay 89 Tunisia
90 Jordan 91 Belize 92 Fiji 93 Sri Lanka
94 Turkey 95 Dominican Republic 96 Maldives 97 Turkmenistan
98 Jamaica 99 Iran, IslamicRep.of 100 Georgia
101 Azerbaijan 102 Occupied Palestinian Territories
103 Algeria 104 El Salvador 105 Cape Verde
106 Syrian Arab Republic 107 Guyana 108 Viet Nam
109 Kyrgyzstan 110 Indonesia 111 Uzbekistan 112 Nicaragua
113 Bolivia 114 Mongolia 115 Moldova,Rep.of 116 Honduras
117 Guatemala 118 Vanuatu 119 Egypt 120 South Africa
121 Equatorial Guinea 122 Tajikistan 123 Gabon 124 Morocco
125 Namibia 126 São Tomé and Principe 127 India
128 Solomon Islands 129 Myanmar 130 Cambodia 131 Botswana
132 Comoros 133 LaoPeople’sDem.Rep. 134 Bhutan 135 Pakistan
136 Nepal 137 Papua New Guinea 138 Ghana 139 Bangladesh
140 Timor-Leste 141 Sudan 142 Congo 143 Togo 144 Uganda
145 Zimbabwe
HDI rank - Low human development
146 Madagascar 147 Swaziland 148 Cameroon 149 Lesotho
150 Djibouti 151 Yemen 152 Mauritania 153 Haiti 154 Kenya
155 Gambia 156 Guinea 157 Senegal 158 Nigeria 159 Rwanda
160 Angola 161 Eritrea 162 Benin 163 Côte d’Ivoire
164 Tanzania,U.Rep.of 165 Malawi 166 Zambia 167 Congo,Dem.Rep.ofthe
168 Mozambique 169 Burundi 170 Ethiopia 171 Central African Republic
172 Guinea-Bissau 173 Chad 174 Mali 175 Burkina Faso
176 Sierra Leone
177 NIGER (earnings less than $1 a day - less than $365 a year)
Thursday, February 09, 2006
lottery tickets
birthday / valentine's / christmas cards... we sign them 'with love'
the next time you want to give someone a lottery ticket in their card, enclose a gift card in their name instead... feeding a child... 'with love'
the next time you want to give someone a lottery ticket in their card, enclose a gift card in their name instead... feeding a child... 'with love'
valentines's - a time of love
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/default.stm
go to this site and watch the video "How the gift of a goat has helped one Rwandan community" and see how a 15 year old girl has made a difference. Ethical gifts to the developing world enjoyed bumper sales over Christmas, with Oxfam taking 5,000 orders a day. Teenager Eleanor Paish, who bought a goat, was invited to Rwanda to see how the gifts have helped communities."
christmas - a time of giving. what about the rest of the year?
how much are you spending for valentines? for one day to show someone how much you love them. what about for the same amount of money you could buy a piglet, or 2 rabbits or 2 ducks to help feed a whole family or seed packets and tools to enable them to grow their own food and/or earn income... or if you were really doing it up big with a night on the town you could buy a goat for the same amount... now that would be love.
matthew 25:35 for I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.
if a 15 year old girl, still in school, can make a difference... you can too... if you love enough.
go to this site and watch the video "How the gift of a goat has helped one Rwandan community" and see how a 15 year old girl has made a difference. Ethical gifts to the developing world enjoyed bumper sales over Christmas, with Oxfam taking 5,000 orders a day. Teenager Eleanor Paish, who bought a goat, was invited to Rwanda to see how the gifts have helped communities."
christmas - a time of giving. what about the rest of the year?
how much are you spending for valentines? for one day to show someone how much you love them. what about for the same amount of money you could buy a piglet, or 2 rabbits or 2 ducks to help feed a whole family or seed packets and tools to enable them to grow their own food and/or earn income... or if you were really doing it up big with a night on the town you could buy a goat for the same amount... now that would be love.
matthew 25:35 for I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.
if a 15 year old girl, still in school, can make a difference... you can too... if you love enough.
i dare you
I heard a story about a small church that was having a reunion. A former member who attended the celebration had become a millionaire. When he testified about how God had blessed him over the years, he related an incident from his childhood. He said that when he earned his first dollar as a boy, he decided to keep it for the rest of his life. But then a guest missionary preached about the urgent need on the mission field. He struggled about giving his dollar. "The Lord won, however," the man said. Then, with a sense of pride he added, "I put my treasured dollar in the offering basket. And I am convinced that the reason God has blessed me so much is that when I was a little boy I gave Him everything I possessed." The congregation was awestruck by the testimony—until a little old lady in front piped up, "I dare you to do it again!" from our daily bread feb 3/06.
from bbc news "Before Christmas I asked Zambia's finance minister, Peter Ngandu Magande, who is to blame for the poverty of so many of his countrymen.
He wrote: "Poverty . . . Most times is the perception of other people who decide to give a tag of poverty to another person . . . Only two days ago, someone in Europe defined me as being poor because I receive a monthly salary of $1,400 against his $5,000".
$1400 a month is poor by some standards but $1.00 a day is extreme poverty by anyone's standards and yet most of the world's population live like this daily.
check out bbc news on other countries and learn about poverty. we, one of the wealthiest nations, know nothing about real poverty.
Dominic Nkhata, 29 and his wife Patricia, 27 are a young Zambian couple with a two-year-old daughter. Dominic works as a factory hand while Patricia is a housewife. The couple are also responsible for four orphans, the children of Dominic's deceased sisters. The family live in two rooms in one of Lusaka's poorer neighbourhoods, a shanty town called Garden Compound, about five kilometres outside Lusaka city, and are typical of the millions of Africans who live on less than a dollar a day.
can you imagine trying to feed 7 people on less than $1 a day? oh did i forget to mention that most of their income goes to pay rent. or that they are dying of aids so they will leave 5 young children to care for themselves.
what are you doing to end poverty? are you doing enough? are you doing anything?
or are you buying another new cd, a new set of dishes or towels or decorations to go with the new paint job?
what do you perceive as poverty? your $3,000 a month, $2,000 a month. it's true the more you have the more you will spend. have you ever thought of spending it on someone other than yourself?
do you already sponsor a child somewhere? or two? if you can do one you can do two. if you can do two you can do three.
what would you give to have clean drinking water? food to eat?
can you not find it in your heart to deny yourself one new cd a month or one timmie's or starbucks coffee a day and send it to support a family in africa or india that is literally starving to death.
i dare you.
from bbc news "Before Christmas I asked Zambia's finance minister, Peter Ngandu Magande, who is to blame for the poverty of so many of his countrymen.
He wrote: "Poverty . . . Most times is the perception of other people who decide to give a tag of poverty to another person . . . Only two days ago, someone in Europe defined me as being poor because I receive a monthly salary of $1,400 against his $5,000".
$1400 a month is poor by some standards but $1.00 a day is extreme poverty by anyone's standards and yet most of the world's population live like this daily.
check out bbc news on other countries and learn about poverty. we, one of the wealthiest nations, know nothing about real poverty.
Dominic Nkhata, 29 and his wife Patricia, 27 are a young Zambian couple with a two-year-old daughter. Dominic works as a factory hand while Patricia is a housewife. The couple are also responsible for four orphans, the children of Dominic's deceased sisters. The family live in two rooms in one of Lusaka's poorer neighbourhoods, a shanty town called Garden Compound, about five kilometres outside Lusaka city, and are typical of the millions of Africans who live on less than a dollar a day.
can you imagine trying to feed 7 people on less than $1 a day? oh did i forget to mention that most of their income goes to pay rent. or that they are dying of aids so they will leave 5 young children to care for themselves.
what are you doing to end poverty? are you doing enough? are you doing anything?
or are you buying another new cd, a new set of dishes or towels or decorations to go with the new paint job?
what do you perceive as poverty? your $3,000 a month, $2,000 a month. it's true the more you have the more you will spend. have you ever thought of spending it on someone other than yourself?
do you already sponsor a child somewhere? or two? if you can do one you can do two. if you can do two you can do three.
what would you give to have clean drinking water? food to eat?
can you not find it in your heart to deny yourself one new cd a month or one timmie's or starbucks coffee a day and send it to support a family in africa or india that is literally starving to death.
i dare you.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
you are so not worthy
I love you so much I gave my son's life for you.
ok so who are you going to believe. if you're a christian you have to believe the 2nd one because it's God telling you how much He loves you. right out of the bible - john 3:16.
how many of us had / have parents or other people in our lives telling us we weren't worthy.
well we're not, not in and of ourselves. it's only because God loves us so much that we become worthy. He gave us His Holy Spirit to live in us so how can we say we're not worthy. He made us co-heirs with His only Son Jesus, so how can we say we're not worthy.
so there's the truth - that's from God. and there's the lie - that we know is from satan because he is the father of lies.
who are you going to believe?
believe it - you are worthy. you are a precious, worthy, child of God.
ok so who are you going to believe. if you're a christian you have to believe the 2nd one because it's God telling you how much He loves you. right out of the bible - john 3:16.
how many of us had / have parents or other people in our lives telling us we weren't worthy.
well we're not, not in and of ourselves. it's only because God loves us so much that we become worthy. He gave us His Holy Spirit to live in us so how can we say we're not worthy. He made us co-heirs with His only Son Jesus, so how can we say we're not worthy.
so there's the truth - that's from God. and there's the lie - that we know is from satan because he is the father of lies.
who are you going to believe?
believe it - you are worthy. you are a precious, worthy, child of God.
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