husband, father, mission pastor, jesus-follower. attempting to live out my faith every day in my family, my community and the world. this is my personal blog and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the church i serve, the denomination i serve in, or the family who i might embarrass with my posts
“We shall not finally defeat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, or any of the other infectious diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe drinking water" -Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary General
Let me begin by saying that there is no direct correlation between Swine Flu and safe drinking water. Swine flu is trasmitted just like other flus, from coming in to contact with sick people, coughing, sneezing, etc.
However there is a correlation regarding safe drinking water and your ability to recover from a disease like swine flu, and other diseases like those that Kofi Annan talks about in the quote above.
Think about what it would be like trying to recover from the flu if you didn’t have a source of safe drinking water. Flu symptoms dehydrate you (sweating from the fever, vomiting, and diarrhea.) If you are trying to rehydrate with contaminated water, the flu symptoms and associated problems are exacerbated.
Healing Waters International works in Mexico. We work to provide access to safe drinking water to the poorest of the poor, those who are most impacted by diseases like the flu and water-borne diseases.
Some happy kids in the Dominican Republic, smiling a lot despite having so little.
JJ Gomez, the National Director for Healing Waters/Aguas de Unidad in the Dominican Republic, shared the bible study/reflection below with me. It really resonated with me so I want to share it with you. Enjoy!
GOD SMILES WHEN WE USE OUR ABILITIES
"He has shaped each person in turn; now he watches everything we do" (Psalm 33:15 MSG).
After the flood, God gave Noah these simple instructions: "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything" Genesis 9:1,3
God said, "It's time to get on with your life! Do the things I designed humans to do. Make love to your spouse. Have babies. Raise families. Plant crops and eat meals. This is what I made you to be!"
You may feel that the only time God is pleased with you is when you're doing "spiritual" activities like reading the Bible, attending church, praying, or sharing your faith, and that he is unconcerned about the other parts of your life. Actually, God enjoys watching everything you do, whether you are working, playing, resting, or eating. The Bible tells us, "The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives" (Psalm 37:23, NLT)
God especially enjoys watching you use the talents and abilities he has given you. God intentionally gifted each of us differently for his enjoyment. You may be gifted at mechanics or mathematics or music or a thousand other skills. All of these activities can bring a smile to God's face.
You don't bring glory or pleasure to God by hiding your abilities or by trying to be someone else. You only bring him enjoyment by being you. Anytime you reject any part of yourself, you are rejecting God's wisdom and sovereignty in creating you. God says, "You have no right to argue with your Creator. You are merely a clay pot shaped by a potter. The clay doesn't ask, ?Why did you make me this way?'" (Isaiah 45:9, CEV)
In the film Chariots of Fire, Olympic runner Eric Liddell says, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast, and when I run, I feel God's pleasure." Later he says, "To give up running would be to hold him in contempt." There are no unspiritual abilities, just misused ones. Start using yours for God's pleasure.
Ok, so I know I am a little bit behind the times here, finally blogging about Susan Boyle. I had actually bookmarked the video on YouTube more than two weeks ago, but just didn't feel inspired to write a blog post about it. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, watch the video above.
At the most basic level, I love the musical Les Miserables and enjoy the music from it when it is sung well. So I enjoyed the peformance for that reason, but that certainly wasn't enough to insipire a blog post and it wasn't what everyone else was talking about either.
So I sat on the video and thought about it some more, looking for inspiration. As it turned out, the pastors at my church have incorporated the Susan Boyle story in to their sermons for the past three weeks. On Sunday morning, pastor Pattie Kitchen talked about it again and even showed the video for those who hadn't seen it. It was her sermon and analysis that finally inspired me to post something about this.
So much in this world and in our lives centers around striving for acceptance. We don't want to be laughed at, made fun of, mocked, or disrespected. We want to be accepted and feel loved.
This is a nearly universal human desire, to feel accepted and loved. And we have all struggled with it, some more than others. I have no doubt that Susan Boyle has had her share of struggle wanting to feel accepted or loved.
Seeing the way the crowd initially reacts to her when she comes on stage made me sick to my stomach. It brought back flashbacks of awkward and painful moments in high school. Somehow I was relating to a 48 year old woman in Britain on a very basic level. Susan Boyle and I had something in common, we had both been treated unfairly by people who didn't even know us. People made assumptions about us based on appearance or on one or two things we had said without caring enough to get to know who we really are.
And then, the glorious redemption! As soon as she opens her mouth and begins singing, the crowd cheers for her and is brought to tears. A standing ovation follows! But why did it take an angelic voice for people to treat Susan Boyle with basic respect and dignity?
Dig deep here, think about yourself, the way that you treat and interact with people, strangers, or people who you have only exchanged a few words with. Now reflect on your faith and what accepting the love of Jesus calls you to do and defines how you should treat people.
I hope and pray that the Susan Boyle example can impact the way that you treat people. Be the person that God created you to be and let the love of Jesus shine through you, especially in how you treat other people.
I have used this quote in a previous posting, and found that someone had incorporated it into a cool video for Healing Waters:
"Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words." -St. Francis of Assisi
This really exemplifies the work that Healing Waters does. We set up most of our water projects in churches in developing countries. We then empower the church to run the water project. They use the tool of safe drinking water to affect physical, social and spiritual transformation in their communities, without saying a word. That is the most powerful way for the church to impact lives, by providing a basic need to the people. Check out the video:
Photo of a child in Guatemala that, despite not having a lot, has a great perspective on life (and a great smile!)
I am forever working at trying to have a positive outlook and perspective on things. I love coming across things that flip a negative perspective on its head. One great example of this is a friend of mind who was driving home and complaining to someone on his cell phone about the rush hour/commuting traffic. His friend commented, "What a blessing that you are stuck in commuting traffic. It means you have a commute, which means you have a job."
BOOM! It hits you over the head like a 2x4. I am blessed.
My friend sent me the attached prayer that kind of reasserts that. Enjoy!
Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings. Thank you, Lord, that I can hear. There are many who are deaf.
Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as possible. Thank you, Lord , that I can see. Many are blind.
Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising. Thank you, Lord, that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.
Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, toast is burned, tempers are short, and my children are so loud. Thank you, Lord, for my family. There are many who are lonely.
Even though our breakfast table never looks like the picture in magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced Thank you, Lord, for the food we have. There are many who are hungry.
Even though the routine of my job often is monotonous. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to work. There are many who have no job.
Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my circumstances were not so modest. Thank you, Lord, for life.
