9/11 & 35,000

Let me start by saying that I am not anti-America at all. I happen to love being an American, and I wouldn't want to be a citizen of any other country. However, that does not mean that I am proud of or condone everything that goes on.

Why is it that it takes tragedy to bring people together? What if we, as the body of Christ, actually truely cared about people on a day to day basis?

I am not trying to discount the events of September 11, 2001. What happened was terrible, and I would not wish it on anyone. I think the men and women involved in rescue and cleanup did an incredible thing.

But.

Over 50 million children have died as a result of abortion. That is more people than Hitle and Stalin killed combined.

Every year, 35,000 people die of starvation and lack of clean water.

Yes, we should rush to help in times of tragedy. But there are people in personal tragedy every day, and we do nothing.

All the world could have clean drinking water for a little over $10 million. That really isn't very much if you think about it.

Why is it we think it's ok to ignore those around us? Jesus calls us to love widows, orphans, and our neighbors.

It's time to start.

Remember 9/11 and the great loss.

Just don't forget those still alive. Those slowly dying every day. Those we have the power to help.

Do something.

Love them like Jesus.

You matter

"When the Creator of matter tells you you matter, THEN you have purpose!" -Brad Stine

(super funny Christian comedian. Check him out. No, seriously. Now.)

Today I was reading some book/pamphlet (Just what IS a pamphlet anyway? How does it vary from a brochure?) that the mom has on modesty, and something interesting stood out to me.

When Adam and Eve realized that they were naked, they made loinclothes out of fig leaves, which have the consistency of sand paper.

When God clothed them, he made tunics out of sheep skin, which does not have the consistency of sand paper.

Is this awesome to anyone else?

They had just disobeyed, deserted, and betrayed the Lord, and what does He do? He covers their shame and embarassment, and He does it in a way that blows their minds (Reading between the lines...).

They tried to make do with some dead leaves that only partially covered them. They tried to hide and run from the God who made and loved them, but nothing they did was successful.

Then God came along. He didn't zap them. He didn't yell. He called to them. And then he clothed them. He replaced their makeshift aprons with soft, covering tunics. They had just basically condemned the world, yet He was proving to them that He still loved them. He cared enough about them to take care of them even when they turned their backs on Him They still mattered.

So do we.

So do you.

We (I!) screw up. We ignore and forget about the Lord. We run away from Him on purpose. We give Him every reason in the world to cast us aside. But He doesn't.

He still loves us.

He takes us back.

Everytime.

And He replaces our homemade, scratchy solutions with His perfect soft ones.

You matter to the Creator of the universe. More than anything.

A brief summary of aforementioned mission trip

Sunday and Monday, due to heavy rain, we
stayed inside and worked in the Dream Center. We sorted donations, painted
walls, put office furniture together, and stained the floor. It was a great
time of coming together as a team and just working for the Lord.

Tuesday we went to the town of Wounded
Knee, where we prayer walked, fed children lunch, played with, and loved them
all afternoon. Thursday we did the same in the town of Evergreen. These
children have incredibly difficult lives. On average, they begin drinking at
the age of five, and join gangs by age nine. One six year-old girl told us that
her fifteen year-old brother had been killed in a gang fight just a few days
previous. I got a chance to talk with some of the mothers, and one of them told
me that many of the kids around us did not have fathers, and several lived with
aunts or grandparents.

On Wednesday we
went to White Clay, Nebraska. It is located right across the border and just
off the reservation. It is basically a large collection of bars and liquor
stores. Its purpose is to provide the Natives from the “dry” reservation with
alcohol. Many people choose to stay in this town, and sleep in ditches and on
sidewalks. Business owners in White Clay make an average of $7 billion a year.
We served lunch at a small ministry on the main street and talked with some of
the “residents.” Their stories were unbelievable and heartbreaking. We were
going to actually go out onto the streets after lunch, but a fight broke out in
front of the building, and we ended up sneaking out the back door. It was not
an experience I’d like to repeat.

Overall, the week was
eye-opening and awesome. Our team became very close, and caught a small glimpse
of the Body of Christ laughing, crying, working, sweating, and wondering as
one. The Lord showed us how to worship Him in everything-from feeding a hungry
child to scrubbing concrete. We truly serve an amazing God.

Thermal shirts are my favorite..

I am currently sitting at home alone with a Mt. Dew and some super cool green socks. My entire family has been abducted by aliens and they are currently negotiating with the government for the nation's supply of cheese balls.

This morning I had to work super early. As I was about to leave, I heard the front door open and close, and it freaked me out until I realized it was just the newspaper guy. Then when I left, his car was across the street, still running, with the lights on, but he wasn't in it. Which was also frightening. I almost thought I was going to die, but then he came back from the other house whose paper he was delivering and drove away. Long story short, I did not die.

For the sake of blogging

Jason and Brendan said I should blog about something. However, I don't remember what that something was, so therefore I cannot blog about it. Sad day. Oh well. Such is life I suppose.

On the bright side, I got 99% on my last Design project.

On the downside, my puck rocker self died in English today. I did, however, get a few votes. No, I did not vote for myself.

Math is evil. That is all there is to it.