good reasons to watch TV

We had the chance to watch Law and Order: SVU a week and a half ago and were surprised and pleased to see that they were drawing attention to a real and serious crisis in Africa. Peter wrote about it in a special Prayerlink, and I want to share it with as many people as possible.

The world can be an ugly place. Most of the time we in the US can ignore much of the ugliness if we so choose, but I believe we need to face it head on and take it seriously. Jesus certainly would have.

Christ has no body on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which
Christ's compassion for the world is to look out;
yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good;
and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.

(Theresa of Avila)

world water day

I didn't realize until this afternoon that today is World Water Day. I hope many of you will join me in remembering the need for clean, fresh water throughout the world. Here are my 2 very quick thoughts about things you could do today.

Make a donation... $5 or $50 or $500, the size isn't the important part... to your favorite organization that is providing water for those in need. We love to donate to Water for Christmas at any time of the year.

Read a book about water. A Cool Drink of Water is a great picture book for all ages. Ryan and Jimmy is an inspiring book for older kids and adults. There are plenty of books about water, but these are 2 we really like.

exhaustion and sadness

This will be short because I can barely see straight to type.

I realize I've been out of touch. I realize I still haven't reported on Joshua's surgery as promised. I realize that I haven't returned phone calls to a bunch of you. Life has been crazy here lately. Mostly in good and exciting ways that I look forward to sharing with you. However, the past 24 hours have not been good, and I'm hoping that you'll pray with us.

You may remember 2009's busyness surrounding a Liberian family that was being resettled in the US. The 10 of them came in February and then became 11 in June when one of the daughters had a baby. Knowing them and all their struggles to settle in to their new life has been quite a ride.

Sunday the family left for FL in 2 vehicles to live near old friends. Monday morning they had a car accident in NC, but no one was seriously hurt. As the 16 year old daughter was climbing out of the vehicle after the accident, another car hit her. She died in a local hospital.

It seems so senseless. Mattu showed so much promise. She was a truly great mom, something you don't expect to say about a 16 year old. She was full of life and hope. She was well loved by many. I'm trying to reconcile the truths I know about God's character with the reality I can currently see, and it's tough.

I spent much of last night and most of today on the phone with people who knew and loved her. We're trying to figure out the best ways to support the family and honor her. Please pray for Mattu's family, her 9 month old son, and all the friends who are trying to process this terrible news.

love this quote

I just copied this powerful and convicting quote from a friend.

To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.

(Mohandas Ghandi)

surgery tomorrow

Sometime tomorrow morning Joshua will have his 3rd (and hopefully final) surgery to close the hole in his eardrum. This time will be a much bigger deal than the last 2. We have to go downtown to the main campus of Children's Hospital because they need better equipment to do a longer more complicated surgery. He'll have a more difficult recovery because he'll be under sedation longer and because they'll be cutting through the back of his ear instead of going through his ear canal.

Last night a friend asked if he was nervous about it. I said I didn't think so. As far as he knows, it's no different than any other time. My theory was confirmed at breakfast this morning as I listened to a conversation between Joshua and Patience. I couldn't write it down at the time, so I can't pass it on word for word as I usually do, but you get the idea.

J: Tells P that he's having surgery tomorrow.
P: Asks if it's fun.
J: Assures her that it's really fun because you get to ride in a wheelchair and have a special treat. (They gave him an Icee last time after he woke up.)
P: Says she wishes she could have surgery, too.
J: Tells her she can't. She has to go to school. Then proceeds to describe in more detail how fun surgery is.

Despite Joshua's enthusiasm for tomorrow, we would appreciate prayers for him. The 2 of us will be fighting rush hour traffic to get into town. Then we'll have a long wait plus however long surgery and recovery take. I'm hoping to get caught up on my reading and finish one of the many books I'm in the middle of. We'll see.

I'll post a report once we're settled back at home.

a great reminder

When you move with God, He always shows up. It's just difficult to predict what He will do or how He will do it. If you wait for guarantees, the only thing that will be guaranteed is that you will miss endless divine opportunities-- that you can know for certain.

***************

What is it about our conversations with God that we seem to hear the no more readily than the yes? Many times when we claim we are waiting on God, He is waiting on us. It is true that Jesus instructed His disciples to wait in the Upper Room until they received the Holy Spirit. But then He instructed them that once they received the promise of God's Spirit, they were to move out and change the world. We, too, have received the Spirit of God and are expected to move out with confidence that God is with us.

(Erwin McManus)