The Orphan & Beyond. Step One.

 

I am so excited to start the series today!  I'm going to be giving you five steps!  Five easy steps into how you can be a part of changing the world, how you can love like Jesus loved & how you can be His hands & feet.  Of course, changing the world in the name of Christ is so much more complicated than I am going to make it sound...but I hope this at least points you in the right direction, encourages you to do more, and motivates you to find what you are passionate about and stand up for what you believe in. My heart has recently found a deep desire to love & care for the orphans, the widow, the poor & oppressed...So that's what I am going to be sharing with you...

So, let's jump right into it!  Step No. 1

You will need: Your Bible

It's simple.  You need to know what the Bible says about the poor & needy.  More than 2,000 verses of Scripture talk about God’s concern for the poor & needy & His desire for us to have the same concern.   

Grab your Bible & turn to Matthew 19:21

"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 

It's a verse we've heard so often in the church, right?  Give it all up to the Lord & follow Him.  But what's often overlooked is we give it all up and give it to the POOR.  I think that must mean that Jesus wants us to care for those in need.  Not convinced?  Turn to Psalm 82:3 

Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. 

We are not only called to care & give...but we are called to defend the weak and FATHERLESS & the POOR & OPPRESSED.

Flip to Dueterononmy 10:18

...Defend the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.

Again, DEFEND the fatherless & the WIDOW.  Love the foreigner. 

I think you get my point, right?  If you really want to have a heart for the nations....if you really want to care...if you really want to make a change, the first thing you need to know is the Word.  We've gotta know where God stands on the issues & the widow, the fatherless,the poor & oppressed are A BIG DEAL to the Lord.  He not only loves them He expects US to love them, too...and not just to love, but to care, give & defend.  You can also look up these scriptures as well...

Isa 1:17

Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

Exd 22:22  "Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.

Psa 82:4    Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

 ...I pray that you take the time this week to look into it.  Don't just take my word for it...open up your Bible & see what God has to say for yourself!  I think you will be surprised just how often God's Word commands us to care for the least of these!!! 

The Orphan & Beyond Series

So, I've been pretty busy lately with all this "change the world" business & I'm not gonna lie...It's exhausting.  This world is a mess.  A complete and total mess.  I mean, we all know that.  We read the papers, watch the news, read the headlines on Yahoo!.  What is going on in this world is disheartening.  But this is not the way that God intended it.  We were never supposed to live in this broken world, but alas, here we are....

There are some people who are called, destined, and burdened to advocate for the needs of the animals.  Others are led to advocate for the environment.  Some lean towards the political side of things while others the more humanitarian.  I, myself, find an incredible need to be an advocate for the oppressed & impoverished.  It is among these groups that we tend to find the human traffickers, the sex slaves, the orphans, the widow & the prostitutes.  It is among these groups we find the child laborers, the HIV/AIDS positive and the forgotten.  I want to stand up & fight for them.  But I'm pretty lazy.

Yah, I said it.  I'm a lazy son of a nutcracker.  Between diaper changes & grocery shopping I don't know where I am going to find time to change the world!  Not to mention, I'm not sure there is much that one person like me can do.  It's not like I have a huge fan following like Justin Bieber or a trusted perspective like Greg Laurie.  All I have is my blog...and sheer will power.  But then, I realized that there are lots of other people out there in the world just like me.  The mom, the daughter, the friend, the wife.  The 20-something Jesus lover with a passion for His people.  So maybe if there were enough of us....maybe we could make an impact & maybe we can make a change.  So, that's exactly what we are gonna do!  I can't do it alone...and neither can you...but together, I think we'd make a great team!

I sat down yesterday morning & felt led to write and now I give to you the lazy man's guide to changing the world.  Or, to sugar coat it...5 easy steps to making a difference.  I am going to post one step at a time, making this a 5 part series & I hope you come back to read it & check it out.  I promise with the ease of breaking this HUGE problem of needing to change the world into SMALL baby steps, changing the world actually seems like a possibility & something that we can all team up & do together.

Come back tomorrow to start The Orphan & Beyond series & check out Step No. 1!  Hint: Get your Bibles ready!

What's Going On - An Africa Update

So much has been going on lately that I think I may just explode right now!  Well, it's either that or I'm going to explode from the latte and box of Peeps I just consumed....but that's not important.  Right?

First, let me catch you up on the trip.  If you have forgotten, or if you are new here then you should know that I am traveling to Africa on a missions trip through an organization called Man Up & Go.  The trip is 10 days long and is from June 5-15th of this year!  The total cost of the trip is around $4,000 and so far I have been blessed with $1,300!

While we are there we will be loving orphans, counseling/encouraging widows as well as helping the men "man up" and be Christ like leaders in their homes and communities.

I have sent out support letters & continue to get a check in the mail once or twice a week.  It's such a blessing!  I also have been so super blessed by a new friend, Kelli, from Then & Now Double Takes who is allowing me to sell her product & use the profit for my trip!  I was blown away by this, because seriously, I ordered an 8x10 from her & was blown away by the quality & beauty of the picture!!!  Check her out here & get ready to order!  These make PERFECT mother's day gifts, graduation gifts or just because gifts!  The photo I have is on my night stand & is a picture of Matt & I on our wedding day and a picture of Matt, John and I one adoption finalization day! (Details on how to buy & support my trip coming soon!!!)

My wonderful church is allowing me to accept donations at breakfast every Sunday & let me get on stage & hog the mike for awhile & share what we'll be doing while we are out there!

My mother in law is letting me take over her front lawn on Saturday and is helping me put on a garage sale!!!

Also, I am joining a weight loss challenge as of tomorrow night.  The challenge is 8 weeks long & the biggest loser (just like the show) with the largest percentage of weight loss will win a bundle of cash!  First prize winners have gone home with anywhere between $600 to $1,700!!!  So, if there are any weight loss tips, super easy recipes, juices, smoothies or words of encouragement I sure can use them!!!!  Truly, my confidence & my trip need me to walk away the first prize winner!!! 

...and the photographers from our wedding, David & Tania, have so graciously offered to let me auction off a family photo mini-session that values $300.  So excited because they are amazing people with huge hearts & huge love for Jesus.  Check them out HERE.

Also, a couple of local Starbucks baristas got together & donated 6 pounds of whole bean Starbucks coffee goodness & a couple of coffee mugs to auction off as well!  This gift values around $80.  Can't wait to auction that as well!

You can also donate!

...or if you have anything that could be auctioned or raffled I would so appreciate the blessing of your support & encouragement!

I'm blown away by the goodness of God & his provisions so far for my trip & I cannot wait to travel to Ethiopia & Uganda to serve God's people & am excited to continue to share with you how God is giving and give Him the glory!