time for change...

tonight i shared a tough message with the ms/hs students at MBC. we touched on the idea that God gives to us, so that we can give to others. not for self comfort or satisfaction; it's a means to something greater. as i prepared, i came face to face with numbers, faces, and lives of so many displaced and hurting people. real, actual human beings. after doing some homework on invisible children, i was deeply moved. it's been racking my brain -- what can i do TODAY to make a change. im sure i can give a few bucks here or there. but truly, what can be done now?

call me crazy, but do you think that it would be possible to organize something here in miami to help those who are in need of help? to provide some form of relief to those that suffer from social injustice?

im not talking about a rally or a info gathering. rather a place where a group of people committed to change can actually stand together for something greater than themselves. can we do that?

something else that keeps me up at night, it's not the church that's leading the way towards social reform, towards educational reform, toward defeating poverty, sickness, or any other killer of life. why is that?

do you think that it would be possible for 'church' to be the one to lead the way to world reform? not gov't. not obama, mccain, hillary, or even hannah montana. nope. just the hands and feet of the savior; the church.

tell me, what would it take and would you be willing to be a part of it.

let me know - maybe this is the beginning.

control le bouche...(french for 'the mouth')

have you ever noticed how some folks find it difficult to control what they say? sometimes it's those soccer moms that are too competitive; the ones that yell at 4 year old kids trying to distract and belittle them. sometimes it's those people that are too smart, even for themselves. sometimes it's the people that you work with, live with, do life with. either way, controlling what we say is critical to our character and development. both now, but more importantly in the future. as we continue to grow in life and relationships, do you always think before you speak? do you always speak to those that will in turn spread what you have shared?

proverbs 13:3
he who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.

what steps have you taken to control what you say?

how do you monitor what you speak out loud?

who loves you enough to correct you in truth?

fill me in.

a bowl of warm soup...

people often expect life to be a piece of cake. i'm not sure why. if there is one thing that i've learned, it's not easy and i don't think that it was meant to be easy. something else that i've seen, when we don't get our way, we make decisions to get our way as soon possible. instead of dealing with the situation, we try to go around it -- we prefer to do that than to have to deal with the matter head in. sounds good in theory, but what i've learned is that 'going around' typically leads to someone compromising something, somewhere, along the way. compromise, can be painful. not immediately, but eventually. in genesis 25, esau gives up his birth right for some food. jacob trades him soup for the rest of his future. a bowl of 'instant goodness' was far better than the rest of his future that was before him. instead of dealing with the situation, like a grown up, he simply caved in and did what he had to do to get what he wanted. it was as simple as that. i bet you that esau didn't even think about the significance of his decision. the people it would impact, the lives it would change -- the life that he would no longer have. the part that kills me, it's over a bowl of soup.

i know it sounds silly, but in retrospect, how often have i compromised something great for something instant? how many times did i see that 'thing' that i 'needed' to have and i did what needed to be done in order to take hold of it - without thinking who it would affect and how it would affect them. we sometimes forget that our decisions don't just affect us, but those that we live in community with. a bowl of soup. something nice and warm for the moment.

the part that sucks is that a few hours later, he was probably hungry again. then what? what do you do when the 'food' has run out but you are hungry again?

what have you found the toughest areas of compromise to be in?

what kind of safe guard to you have in place to protect you from not compromising in these areas?

how do you continue to move forward in your resolve?