I am doing something for the next couple of days that I don’t know if i have ever done.  I am taking a personal retreat.  I am really seeking the heart of God on many things.  Dreams, passions, vision…etc.  I am so excited to be using The Storyline Conference as a major piece of it! I was struck by how much money and time I spend on so many different things to make my life easier or better or more efficient, but when was the last time I actually spent money, got away and did a serious inventory and self examination of my life. What kind of man, dad, friend, lover, hero, villain, or saint am I? What are my weaknesses, my blind spots and my greatest temptations?

My desire is to have some time to just think on my life; my past, my present and my future.  I want see God in the storyline of my life but also to make some changes so that the trajectory of the story becomes even better.  When I read about the Storyline Conference my heart skipped.  I have appreciated Donald Miller, his heart, his authenticity, his vulnerability and his love for Jesus.

So I watched this and was sold…

So when was the last time you stopped, carved out time in your life to do some focused self-examination? If you are anything like me, the answer is probably, not for a long time…if ever. The time is now.  At least for me!

Three things YOU can do!! Don’t give into apathy or stagnation!! Just do something…

PRAY FOR JAPAN

Jesus brings Hope to the Hopeless.
The People of Japan need HOPE.

Jesus brings Peace to the Restless
The People of Japan need PEACE

Jesus brings Healing to the Brokenhearted
The People of Japan need HEALING

GIVE SOME CASH

These three organizations I believe in, have seen their work and know that your hard earned money will be put to immediate work in Japan!
1- Samaritan’s Purse
2- Medical Teams International
3- Churches Helping Churches

BUY SOME THINGS THAT BENEFIT JAPAN

My good friends at HEY JOJO STUDIOS have created a great poster.  100% of the money is going to help the people of Japan.

Head over to HELLO SOMEBODY and help make a difference!

These are just some ideas. There are many more places that you could give money  and many more artists that are trying to raise money for Japan. The biggest thing is that we fight against being caught in apathy or being stagnant.

I don’t care what you do just help make a difference. Play your part!!

www.LightTheStreets.com

My good friends at Africa New Life in partnership with humanitarian photographer Esther Havens and film-maker Ryan Youngblood have released a very important and life changing campaign.

I have been to these places in Rwanda.

I have played soccer with these boys that get so hungry that they sniff glue to calm there stomachs.

I have seen the life change that happens in these boys as someone, maybe for the first time, offers them a bowl of food.

I have cleaned wounds on some of these boys feet and have given them new shoes.

The work Africa New Life Ministries is doing is nothing less than supernatural!! Look what Executive Director Fred Katagwa says:

I remember that day, on my way to the market to pick up some things just before Christmas and as I walked toward the entrance these boys in dirty clothes approached me with their hands out and said. “Boss, could you give us some money? We need something to eat.” They were street kids, who had nothing… I couldn’t bear it. So I took a handful of them home for dinner. It was out of that experience that we decided to start our feeding program, which has now grown to several hundred kids every time we open our doors. Feeding, fellowship and fun are great but now the question most of them are asking is “Uncle Fred what’s next”?

Play a part of bringing Light the the streets of Rwanda. Go look at the pictures, read the stories and watch this video….

Let’s be known as a people that don’t just hear, watch and look at pictures but are moved to action!!!

PLAY A PART…

I love the church I am a part of. It is a true community of messed up people that are seeking to live as followers of Jesus. This past week we asked ,

“Is the Gospel Worthy of Your Generosity?”

It is a question that cuts to the core of selfishness and fear. It causes one to really wonder if they believe that God is Lord of all and that they can trust him with everything. This video that we showed just talks about how The Gospel is causing life change in people. Not a punch list and pat on the back of what we have done, but just a reflection on what God is doing and how we long to keep that the main thing.

So watch it and really ask yourself

“Is the Gospel Worthy of Your Generosity?”

WATER

I have loved Living Water and their work for years now.  This year they have introduced an incredible gift for Christmas. Check this out:

A physical gift card that allows one to ENTER THE STORY of a village somewhere in the world that desperately needs clean water!!  It is a cause oriented relation gift that allows the gift-reciever and friends to huddle around a computer, type in the redeem code on the card, and then put that money to work in a chosen village or area somewhere in the world!!  What an incredible tool to use for friends, family, acquaintances and for our family our kids.

We are putting one of these cards in each of our kids stockings.  On Christmas morning, along with many other fun things there will be a moment when they open these cards and the the consumer morning takes a screaming halt to ENTER THE STORY of a country, a village, a family, or a person that desperately needs clean water and is dying with out it!!

So join me…watch this incredible video and go purchase a card and  join me and my family in our new Christmas tradition – WATER!!!

because CHRISTMAS [IS] CHANGING THE WORLD!!!

Christmas [is] changing the world from Living Water International on Vimeo.

My good friends at i5810 media asked me to go interview someone for their Hope to the Hungry campaign to raise money for Rescue missions that help the homeless.

I love hearing and seeing stories of life change. You know those stories that are crazy and wild and are only created by God. I got the chance to sit down with one of these God stories. His name is Brian “Head” Welch. He is the ex co-founder and lead guitarist of the band Korn! God has used this guy in great ways. Take a few minutes and watch!!

What is God doing in your life??

Rwanda, a 9 Year Old & A Forever Changed Family

Many of you know about our adoption of our amazing daughter 4 years ago.  It still amazes me that we have her and she is ours.  The complications of the adoption were many and at times we were told it wasn’t going to happen. I will never forget the day I was standing in the Minster of Family and Genders office in Kigali, Rwanda and out of the depths of my heart and holy justice came these words

I will do what you need me to do…I will drive all over your country and get whatever papers you need with whatever signatures you need but I WILL NOT LEAVE RWANDA WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER!!!

I will never forget the look on the ladies face when she just realized Aslan had stepped into her office !!  At the time Rwanda didn’t really work with adoption agencies and so this was an independent adoption.  I had no idea what was going to happen, but after 7 weeks of begin stuck in Kigali, Rwanda and then Nairobi, Kenya and then back in Kigali, Rwanda and then back in Nairobi, Kenya, getting another US Ambassador and US Consular from another country involved, crying and praying and crying some more…we boarded a plane for home!!

It still brings me to tears even as I write this…I wanted to share this Adoption Story through pictures!! Enjoy!!!

What about you??   Why not adopt??

HAUNT (hônt) – To come to the mind of continually

I have been reading a ton about Mother Teresa lately. Her life and how she lived has begun to haunt me, in the best of ways, on a daily basis.  I can see her humble, love filled eyes and the way she scurries down the roads of the poorest areas in the world and under her breath she whispers  Ek… Ek… Ek…

But Why?…this is why:

She has been spurring me on towards love and good deeds. She has been leading me to be in the world but not of the world. She has been showing me that the greatest of all these is love. She has been modeling to me that the most important thing is to love God and love your neighbor. She has been challenging me to find Jesus with the poor, oppressed, thirsty, hungry, social outcasts and those on the margins of society. She has been teaching me to deny myself, take up my cross daily and follow Jesus.

I am so grateful for those that are more concerned about The Kingdom then selfish gain!

I want to make a difference…I want to make an impact in peoples lives…

I have been thinking a lot lately of how quickly we as Christ followers can write people off!!  As soon as people say something we don’t like, do something we disagree with, stumble, mess up, or fall flat on their faces we turn the other way, run from them, and treat them with anything but grace and mercy.  I think of the women that was caught in adultery and brought before Jesus.  He said to the religious leaders if any of you are sinless, throw the first stone…kill the women. One by one they walked away. Jesus, the only one that could have destroyed this lady, heaped grace and mercy upon her!

So why do I, why do we, so quickly, use our words, influence, or action to “throw the first stone”??  I long to live a gracious and merciful life like Jesus. I want to be a Person of the Second Chance!!  I want to surround myself with People of the Second Chance.

Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite started a movement called People of the Second Chance. They are the real deal and didn’t just start a movement because it would be sexy, but they started it out of their lifestyle.  They are People of the Second Chance.

People of the Second Chance gives voice to a scandalous movement of radical grace in life and leadership. We challenge the common misconceptions about failure and success and stand with those who have hit rock bottom in their personal and professional lives. We are a community that is committed to stretch ourselves in the areas of relational forgiveness, personal transparency, and advocate for mercy over judgment.

Read about their Core Values

So Join The Movement on Twitter or Facebook and begin to live a life that values and represents a new kind of Christ follower!!!

WE ARE POTSC!!

I have decided I don’t want the American Dream
I don’t care about working up the corporate ladder for my gain
Bigger and better are words that I hope never lead me in my consumption

I am reading a book called RADICAL by David Platt that is resonating so deep within me.  My worldview in the past could be summed up in one word CONSUMERISM. It was all about me, my stuff, my way, my job, my fame, my whatever. Basically the “American Dream”. The tag line of RADICAL is “Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream”.

…in the American dream, where self reigns as king (or queen), we have a dangerous tendency to misunderstand, minimize, and even manipulate the gospel in order to accommodate our assumptions and our desires

Consider the cost when Christians ignore Jesus’ commands to sell their possessions and give to the poor and instead choose to spend their resources on better comforts, larger homes, nicer cars, and more stuff. Consider the cost when these Christians gather in churches and choose to spend millions of dollars on nice buildings to drive up to, cushioned chairs to sit in, and endless programs to enjoy for themselves. Consider the cost for the starving multitudes who sit outside the gate of contemporary affluence

I WANT TO LIVE DIFFERENTLY…What about you?? I want to see the church live, move, and strategically plan differently. I am just more and more convinced that the majority of decisions we make in our lives and in the church are not based on the leading of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God but on a consumerist “American Dream” worldview… WHAT ABOUT YOU?  What do you think??

Buy the book, read it and be ready for your life to be changed