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Wow. I forget. I forget what life is all about way too often. This morning we got a letter from Anthony. He lives in Kenya and is 10 years old. We help make sure he gets enough to eat and a chance to go to school through Compassion International.

My favorite part reads:

During the holiday I visited my grandmother and helped her fetch firewood.

I’ve got a binder crammed full of letters from Anthony and our other little girl, Betzabeth.

We have their pictures up in our apartment, so Sophia sees them all the time. She’ll say their names and point to them. So I’ll pick her up and she’ll examine them more closely. Then, I’ll say “Let’s pray for them. Will you pray with me?”. She’ll fold her hands and close her eyes.

Jesus, please give Anthony and his family enough food for today. Protect them from Aids. Help them escape poverty. And, Jesus, you’re welcome to use us to do it. Amen.

I’ve learned so much at the Promise House. And, most of it has to do with hair. For example, I’ve learned that in a matter of 45 minutes big hair can become little hair. Look.

That’s one of our brand new girls. I wish I could show you her huge smile. She’s a cool kid. She’s due mid-September, so we’ll have her all summer. I’m excited to see what Jesus is going to do in her life. Who knows . . . Jesus might do to her life, what she did to her hair. Total transformation.

I was talking to a good friend the other day about what devotion was when we were bachelors. Following Jesus included extended times of solitude, prayer, and bible study. We had the freedom to take hours (or even days) to just be, to study, to think, to pray, to worship, to commune.

Circumstances have changed for both of us. Wives. Kids. Bills.

Now, I have to re-learn to study, to worship, to pray.

Changing a diaper becomes prayer. “Jesus, thank you for my daughter.”

Picking up around the house becomes worship. “O Lord our Lord how majestic is your name . . .”

Driving the Promise House girls to school becomes study. “Jesus, teach me how to respond to what she just said.”

Communion for me once looked kind of monk-ish. It meant being by myself, in the quiet, no distractions.

I’ve had to learn to let distraction become communion.

You feel me?

A lot of folks have gotten pretty upset about the Vintage 21 videos. I can understand why. However, they do make a pretty good point about how a lot of folks have come to view Jesus. Not to mention they are hilarious. You can see them here:

Video #1

Video #2

Video #3

Video #4

What do you think?

Click on the picture below. This is good stuff. I just wish we were going!

I love this organization. I’m sold on it. Read more about my experience with Compassion International here and here.

Want to do something amazing? Go here. You’re just a few clicks away from making Jesus smile. No, really. Helping lift kids out of poverty is probably in the top 5 of Jesus’ “What I Want My Followers To Do Today” list. Heck! Maybe top 3! Compassion International is the bridge between you and those kids. It’s a great organization. I know first hand. I’ve visited 2 Compassion projects in Lima, Peru multiple times. We sponsor a little girl in Lima and have seen with our own eyes the incredible impact $32 dollars a month has had on her and her family. Need more reasons? Here are a few:

- You will fall in love.

- You will change a child’s life forever.

- Tax deduction.

- The thrill of sacrifice.

- You’ll be obeying the two most important commands. (Mk. 12:29)

- You will make a new friend (I have a notebook full of letters our compassion kids have sent us).

- You will learn about a new culture.

- You will teach your kids (or roommate or whoever) to love God by loving people.

- One less kid will go to bed hungry tonite.

And if that’s not enough, maybe a picture of our beautiful girl in Lima will do the trick . . . Actually, I’m just a proud sponsor who wants to show off his kid.

Do you sponsor a kid?

Here is a list of things that I believed at one time or another about God and myself. Some are of more consequence than others.

What about you? Share some of your busted myths in the comments.

- God isn’t cool with having fun.

- God expects me to get dressed up for church.

- Knowledge of the Bible equals a relationship with God.

- I should say ‘bless you’ after someone sneezes because ‘That’s what Jesus would do.’

- I can be good enough.

- If I don’t capitalize the word ‘God’ I will be smote.

- If I don’t read the Bible and pray everyday, God gets mad.

- I have to earn God’s acceptance and love.

If there is one thing I’ve seen here at the Promise House, it’s pain. Not so much my own, but the girls’. Week after week these kids get jilted by their families and/or their baby’s father. Imagine the kind of pain you might feel you might feel if the only person you have to hold on to no longer cares about you. Maybe you don’t have to imagine it.

Every little thing is gonna be alright. That’s part of a song by Delirious?. I believe it’s true. It might take a while, but everything is going to be ok. And, more than that, pain and sadness are often necessary for growth to occur, for peace and joy to take root (Jn. 16:7). Jesus walks with us and strengthens us through times of brokenness so that we not only survive them, but come out on the other side with a deeper connectedness to him and a clear perspective of what life is all about.

I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

I’m in the process of writing my Greek paper over this passage. These words are really really good, a foundation on which to build.

There’s a great article in Home Life magazine this week about living space, the lack of living space that is. This family of four starting out in a small trailer home 10 years ago. It wasn’t the plan to live there this long . . . but they still do. Here is an excerpt of what the mom had to say about it.

Sure, I dream of having a larger home where I can entertain and host family holiday gatherings . . . My family and friends continue to drop helpful hints about floor plans or affordable building options. We smile, thank them, and stay with the plan God has for us. When the time comes, we’ll have a new house. In the meantime, we’ll continue to tithe and give to build his kingdom. We will not sacrifice that part of our worship for any house, large or small.

I do not want to someday hear my Lord say, “Sherri, why were you so worried about your house on earth? Didn’t you know I was preparing a mansion for you?” . . .

Jesus talked about an eternal perspective. He talked about living life with a proper view of how short it really is . . . and how long eternity will be. It’s not about what we want. It’s not about comfort or all this stuff we spend so much time and energy on.