Another year has passed, and Christmas is just around the corner. I think it's safe to say that in the past Christmas certainly has not been my favorite holiday, for multiple reasons. But this year I was a little more excited as the holiday season approached. I'm not sure why. But as it gets closer and closer I'm starting to remember all the reasons I didn't like Christmas so much in the past. Or at least didn't like how it is done here in America. For the last few years I had the privilege of celebrating Christmas in Honduras. In Honduras most families cannot afford to buy a lot of toys, if any for their children. Some of the "lucky ones" can buy one or two gifts for their kids. That's it. But in their culture the celebration is far more about spending time with their loved ones. They don't go out and spend hundreds of dollars ( even the ones that could afford that) on presents. Instead they get a few small gifts and spend the holiday season surrounded by the ones that they love. They go to church and thank God for how he has blessed them, and for the Gift that Jesus is to the world. I think I get angry when I spend Christmas here. I'm trying not to. I really am. But I just wish that our culture would move in that direction, spend less money and spend more time with the people they love and celebrating how blessed we really are. This year my family has asked me a hundred times what I want for Christmas and I honestly could not think of one that I wanted, much less "needed" for Christmas. Sure, there are things I'd like to have. But it just doesn't feel right to expect a hundred gifts this year. And if I'm really honest, the things that I really want for Christmas are not things that can be bought. If I'm really honest, this would be my Christmas list...
A place where little girls don't have to fight for their life because malnutrition and dirty water have plagued their life.
A world where 30,000 children don't starve to death every night.
A world where no child sleeps on the streets because they have no place to call 'home'.
A Uganda where children don't live in fear of being abducted and turned into a " child soldier".
A Honduras where mommas don't have to dig through mounds of MY trash to feed their babies.
A world without DUMPS where human beings live.
A world where little boys don't have to be scared of a daddy that gets drunk and beats them.
A world where sweet kiddos don't die of curable diseases.
A world where 8 year old little girls don't have to be blind due to cataracts.
W world where pain and suffering have ceased.
A world where little ones don't have to sniff glue to numb the pain of hunger, and to feel warm at night as they sleep on the streets, alone.
An America that accepts everyone, and strives to make life a little easier for those who are not as privileged as we are.
A world where little girls all over the world don't live in fear of being sold as a sex slave.
An America that would stop pretending not to see poverty.
An America that would stop enslaving people to satisfy our own selfish wants and desires.
A world where hate, violence and war have ceased.
A world where families don't split up and divorce is not prevalent.
A world that believes that Jesus really meant what he said.
A world that surrenders their life in reckless abandon to follow a God that IS redeeming us and making ALL things new.
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The Poverty and Justice Bible | American Bible Society
I HIGHLY recommend purchasing this bible. But, be warned, it changes everything.
The video above is of a 6 year old girl named Marisol doing laundry. Marisol is Sarahi's older sister. Ever since Marisol was two years old she has had cataracts. She now is completely blind in one eye and almost completely blind in the other. So for most of her life she has not been able to see. This has prevented her from being eligible to attend school. Therefor she is significantly behind developmentally wise. However, Marisol is able to have surgery here to correct this. So for the last month or two I've taken her to multiple doctors and had multiple tests run to make sure that there are no infections of any sort inside her eye that could make surgery dangerous and by the grace of God, she has no infection. So she's ready for surgery...as soon as we come up with the funds. The surgery and medical needs directly following the surgery will cost about $2,000. Some close friends of mine have heard me talking about Marisol for about a year now and recently have started telling their friends and so lots of people have already donated and we've raised about $1,000 of it already! So now I'm writing to ask for your help. We only need $1,000 to perform this surgery that will forever change this little girls life. If there is any way that you can help there are multiple ways of doing so. On the left column of my blog you will see a button that says ' donate' if you click that you can easily and securely transfer money from your bank account to my paypal account. Another easy way is to make a check payable to Belpre Church of Christ [ if you want a tax deduction, or you can also make the check out to me] and mail it either to: Belpre Church Of Christ 2932 Washington Boulevard Belpre, OH 45714 OR 639 Henrie Lane Williamstown, WV 26187 [ the second one is my mom's address and she will get it to the appropriate places. ]
Thanks so much for helping this little one out. I know she really appreciates it, and she is SO excited to have the surgery done!
I'm gaining more and more respect for Bono these days. Everything I read that he's written is so incredibly compelling to actually get out into the world and do something about the poverty and injustice that consumes most of the population. I recently read this quote from Bono in 'The Hole in Our Gospel' { which by the way I STRONGLY recommend all of you read that book!!}. The Hole in Our Gospel: What does God expect of Us? The Answer that Changed my Life and Might Just Change the World
I LOVE what Bono has to say in this quote. And I think he's right. It's time we do something. Our generation has no excuse not to do something. Generations way before us didn't have ways of knowing about the poverty and injustice around the world, and certainly didn't have ways of doing much about it. But that's not the case for us. We have all seen pictures of starving, disease- stricken children and adults too. And I'm here to tell you that those pictures are real. Those faces you see, they have names and they have a story. Our generation has so many resources at our fingertips that shame on us if we choose to ignore this crisis, and ignore them. I am more and more convinced that our generation is going to be the one to change the world, but for that to happen we must link arms and fight this thing together.
" We can be the generation that no longer accepts that an accident of latitude determines whether a child lives or dies- but will we be that generation? Will we in the West realize our potential or will we sleep in the comfort of our affluence with apathy and indifference murmuring softly in our ears? Fifteen thousand people dying needlessly every day from AIDS, TB, and malaria. Mothers, fathers, teachers, farmers, nurses, mechanics, children. This is Africa's crisis. That it's not on the nightly news, that we do not treat this as an emergency- that's our crisis.
Future generations flipping through these pages will know whether we answered the key question. The evidence will be the world around them. History will be our judge, but what's written is up to us. We can't say our generation didn't know how to do it. We can't say our generation couldn't afford it. And we can't say our generation didn't have reason to do it. It's up to us. "
- Bono
We CAN change the world. And its time for us to stand up and fight for what's right. WHO'S WITH ME?!?!
I recently changed my blog around a bit and added a few new things. The first new thing is on the left side, and you will see a button that says ' donate'. If you click on that button you will be able to donate money to the ministry quickly and easily. It runs through paypal and you can chose how much you'd like to give and the money will be automatically deducted from your checking account or credit card. The other thing is on the right hand side near the bottom. First you will find a box that has a number of books in it. Those books are ones that I strongly recommend. Every one of the books in that box has in some way changed my life, and challenged me in my faith. I'll continue adding to that list. ;) Below that box you will see a search box for Amazon. If you use that search box to buy something off of Amazon, I will receive part of the profit and the money will be used for the ministry. Back on the left side you will find a link to my facebook account..so we should be friends if we aren't already. And you will also see a link where you can follow me on Twitter. :) That's all of the new stuff for now. So now all of you should go buy books from amazon. :)