Learning to Love - Heidi and Rolland Baker

I have known of Heidi and Rolland Baker's work in Mozambique for some time but never had a chance to read their words until Learning to Love Passion, Compassion and the Essence of the Gospel became available.  The back cover alone tempts and convicts:

• What does LOVE look like?
• Love is food and comfort to a ten-year-old amputee, abandoned on the side of the road
• Love is a new roof for an elderly widow installed before the rainy season
• Love is sharing hope with the homeless man on your street corner
• Love is not just an ideal. Love is action. Love looks like something.

Heidi and Rolland alternate telling the tale of how our mighty God has worked in the lives of those who need Him most.

Heidi reminds us that the message of the Gospel is simple:

Despite what many would have us believe, the Gospel is not complicated.  It is very simple.  Jesus has given us everything we need.  It is so simple that a child of three can get it:  Love God and love the one in front of you.

This book reads like both an action/adventure tale and a richly moving romance novel, heavy with love.  If you want to be moved by the things that move the heart of God, this is a must read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Chosen, a division of Baker Publishing Group. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

 

Only one, but one

I blog for Compassion.  My husband and I sponsor a child in Uganda.  We sponsor a family of Canadian missionaries in Kenya. We have hopes, dreams and prayers to one day soon devote our lives to serve with Operation Mobilization wherever God sends us.  Through social networking I promote the ministries and mission trips of others, envious at times, I must confess.

Hunger and brokenness abound in places near and far.  The scope of needs can overwhelm, freeze my thoughts and leave me feeling totally impotent.  Sometimes I seethe, angry.  More often, my eyes fill with tears, my heart broken at my inability to "fix things".

I may be a single drop in the ocean, but I must not allow that truth to stop that drop from watering the seed God designed it for.

If, like me, you find yourself feeling like nothing you can do could possibly be enough, I encourage you to remember these words spoken by Helen Keller:

I am only one, but still I am one. 

I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;

and because I cannot do everything, 

I will not refuse to do something that I can do. 

May our drops spill out, one by one.  Living water to quench a thirsty world.


 

Justice for who?

Often we cry out for justice
wanting what is right for ourselves.
Pounding fists on tables
pointing fingers
how loud our demands.
"justice justice justice"
shouts out in the streets
"I want what is mine"

Where is mercy?
Where is kindness?
Where is the heart of our God that He longs to have beating in us?


And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ Zechariah 7:8-10 NIV

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 Amplified

Joining Peter today where we're talking about justice


 

End the waiting

I have never known many things you know
what its like to go to school
or hold a book in my hand
how it would feel
to not have constant hunger
gnawing away inside
or wonder if today is the day that I will die

I have spent all of my days in poverty.
But God loves His children
so He sent Compassion to a church near my home

There are so many benefits Compassion provides:

educational opportunities
health care and health-related instruction
good nutrition
and life-skills training
all this wrapped up in the love of Jesus
and the chance to hear the Good News of His Kingdom.

My parents took me to this church.
They asked lots of questions about me and my family, they even took my picture.
Then they told me I was officially registered.

That was an exciting day, not only would I get to receive all of these blessings
but they told me I would be connected to a special person
a sponsor from far away who has so much love in their heart
that they would want to share it with someone like me.

I was registered, but I had to wait for someone to sponsor me.

So I waited
and I waited
and I waited...
wondering if there is something wrong with me
no sponsor has chosen me yet
so I wait still...

When you see a heart in the lower left-hand corner of a sponsor child's picture, it means that particular child has been waiting for a sponsor for nearly six months - at least 180 days.

You can be the answer to the questions of worthiness that haunt a child like the one I wrote about above.



Compassion International offers you the opportunity to sponsor a child who has been waiting for six months or longer. 
Visit Compassion's website by clicking here to explore this chance to share your heart and your help.

Sponsor a child today and receive a free Compassion scrapbook. This scrapbook will be a great way to organize all the letters and photos you receive from your sponsored child. Just make your first payment today with your credit or debit card to receive this free gift. This offer is only available to citizens of the United States.

But the greatest gift is what you will receive in return, the joy of knowing the impact you have made in the life of a hurting and waiting child.


 

True gifts

There are packages under our Christmas tree that glitter beneath the lights.  These are small trinkets brightly wrapped in snowmen and angels and cheerful winter scenes.

But not everyone is facing a cheerful Christmas.  Some do not expect to have food to eat, or safe water to drink; some have never known what it is to feel healthy, many are dying.

That is why, again this year, as has become our habit, we did the majority of our shopping online.  No, not at Amazon.com or Sears or Ebay.  We selected gifts using the Compassion Catalog,  helping those in need as a way to honor our loved ones and our Lord.

Won't you take a few minutes to visit Compassion's Website; watch the videos, browse through the selection of gifts and give a gift this year that truly makes a Kingdom difference?  I believe it is what Jesus would have us do.
 

Word Filled Wednesday - Cast me not away

Cast me not off nor send me away in the time of old age;

forsake me not when my strength is spent and my powers fail 

Psalm 71:9 Amplified

Stop by Internet Cafe Devotions for more edifying Word/picture combos

Birthday word

I took my hot coffee to what I call my "Jesus chair" with anticipation this morning, opening my journal to wait for what He would share with me, on this my fifty-fifth birthday.  I knew that I would be receiving words of blessings from friends near and far, but I wanted to receive His words first.

Fifty-five years have you wandered in this world, child, and none of them out of My sight.  When you did not know Me, I knew you, watched you, waited for you.

My Father formed you to belong to Me and what a blessed homecoming it was when you turned and saw Me at last and I was free to gather you in.

It was then, little one, that I imparted My heart in you.  A heart that bled and still bleeds for those who are lost.

I have given you eyes to see pain - take it as a gift to be used for My glory.

There will yet be a greater scattering, and your heart will break with mine.

But, We will gather.  This is what you were created for, to love Me, know Me, speak of Me and love as I love.

Fifty-five years are but a flash when eternity waits.  Take these moments.  Love well.

On this, your birthday, I and My Father and My Spirit agree as One:

"This is good.  Yes, good indeed."

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.
Genesis 1:31a NKJV

Silent lament?

For days I have felt "without words" and thought it was perhaps mere laziness, writer's block, emotional "stuff"...
then this post from Laura at The Wellspring where she writes about Japan, tears and the lament of prayer...

and I wonder if my silence is the lament the Lord has requested of me?

On, In and Around Mondays - Frozen tears

Today seems to be day of breaking, again, yet again with things that grieve the heart of God.

He cuts through the hardness my heart builds as protection, and asks me to pour out in tears, in groanings beyond my understanding.  Through the day my spirit hears the faint cries of sheep; lost, wild, confused and lonely, tired of life wild in the world.

And like the icicles that flow jagged from the tin roofs of the old out buildings on our land, I freeze, thaw, refreeze.  Each time more fragile, more brittle, easier to shatter.

Will my prayers then, when the melts of Spring at last arrive, soak into soil made fertile by these tears of intercession?

Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest. Psalm 126:5-6

Stop by L.L. Barkat's Seedlings in Stone as we look at the world around us today.

Pleasantly disturbed on a Friday?

I know that today is the day after Thursday, but this seems to be a day to pull random strings together into one post, so I am pleasantly disturbed on Friday.

I'm thanking and praising today over at Everyday Testimony Project and praying that many others will grab hold of the joy that arises from testifying to the greatness of our God!  Stop by and shout out your own thank you, for He Is more than worthy of our praise.

As a blogger for Compassion I am blessed to be able to particpate in monthy blogging assignments.  This month we have the opportunity to help send Emilda, a sponsored child  to the World Special Olympics. 

Emilda lives in a squatter community in the Philippines and though she has the mental capacity of a three year old, she is very fast on her feet!  In 2009 Emilda competed in the Philippine Special Olympics and won a gold medal, two silver medals and a bronze medal in track and field.  This performance qualified her to compete in the World Special Olympics in Athens, Greece this Summer. But she needs your help to get there.

Emilda's parents are unable to pay her way to Greece and neither is the Philippine government. Her need is $19,857.
You can find more information about Emilda here and your donations can be made here.

One year ago today my father slipped from the grip of this earthly life.  Today I reflect back on the struggle surrounding his last days, a time I wrote about here.  I pray that he is resting in the arms of Christ, like a contented lamb, knowing the sweet peace that comes from walking with the One true shepherd.  I pray that same outpouring of peace for all of my family.  I miss you Dad, I love you still.

This morning, the Lord reminded me to keep a cup of cold water filled, prepared to share it in His name.  If you're in need of refreshment, give me a shout, I'll pour out.

And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.  Matthew 10:42 NLT

Stop by Helen's place and visit the rest of the random gang.

God knew this weeks topic

I finished reading Richard Stearns Hole In Our Gospel quite a long while ago and wasn’t at all sure what chapter we would be discussing today nor had I looked at the book or posts from others who have joined in these discussions.

Imagine then, my delighted surprise to find that what God spoke this morning in my journaling time was on point, to the topic at hand. Glorious, amazing, all knowing God!

More and more I hear My people trying to discern the times and seasons. This is good, for even I told My followers to have open eyes and ears. But to what end?

Is it merely to show your ability to solve puzzles and answer riddles and sort events to match prophecy?

Or does it spur you on, compelling you to action?

You can not say you know Me and love Me if your thoughts are only of yourself, for My thoughts were always for the broken, the weak, the lost and despised.

I Am the answer to all of their needs –

In the way I touch their their spirits and heal their hearts by My Holy Spirit and ….

In the way I work through My people, moving them to care for the physical needs of those who cannot help themselves.

Don’t say to Me that you do not have enough, instead offer what you do have, recalling the loaves and fishes. For I can take what you give willingly to create the miracle of sufficiency.

Yes, I feed the hungry, house the homeless and clothe the cold and naked – through you!

Yes, time is short. What are you doing?

I am left then, with this question – will I be the hands and feet of Jesus? Can I set aside fears of my own inadequacy and offer myself, trusting that He will provide whatever I might need to finish the work He requires?

Stop by Jason’s Connecting to Impact where this weeks discussion is Chapter 24 How Many Loaves Do You Have?

Snowblind

Image via Wikipedia 

 

Environment Canada predicted
only 5 centimeters of snow
a mere 2 inches
more or less
but who ever trusts
a forecast?

The falling was scattered
light, continuous
sun muffled
clouded skies
an appropriate backdrop
for the funeral
I set out to attend.

(I can't, in fact, recall any funeral days that have been bright.  As if God Himself weeps in loss)

I myself am not grieving
but intended my presence to be
a sign of support for a friend
a family
who will miss their mother
no matter how expected
was her passing.

I wished to be obedient to the Word
that speaks of compassion

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn Romans 12:15 NIV

I set out
down our country lane
where even such scant accumulation
created havoc with my vision
and unable to discern
what was road or field
my progress was tentative.

Empathy drove me forward
nervously to the highway
where wisdom
prevailed and turned me back
toward home.

Snowblind, I prayed
that the God of all comfort
would grant peace
to those who gathered
and arriving safely
in our yard
took a long, deep swallow
of that comfort for myself.

Empty fields

Day cracks cold
sun flashing on snow
I rise to praise
the One Who provides mercies
fresh every morning.

Who stretches out fields surrounding me
like sheets of paper
empty,
waiting for the words of a new day
to step through the thin ice crust
like footprints breaking trail.

So I begin a journey
known only to The Master
where fear meets faith
and the only goal
is the glory of His name.

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.  Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT

Join us at Jason's for more words from poetic warriors

Christmas shopping for gifts that count

In the poem Memories of Redemption I wrote about shopping:

escalators jammed
with those sweating warm
in winter wools
ascending to
the higher floors
to secure the choicest gifts
and finding more
of nothing

I admit that I enjoy gifting those I love with trinkets that will please, encourage and delight them and our Christmas tree is surrounded with brightly wrapped packages waiting to be given.

But what do any of us really need, who live in the richest of nations?  So again this year, our most important shopping was done prayerfully at our computer keyboard as we honoured our loved ones by purchasing gifts in their names from Compassion's Gift Catalog. 

These are gifts that help make a difference in the lives of children living in some of the poorest communities of the world. These gifts help provide clean drinking water, medical treatment, disaster relief, food supplies and much, much more. Meet vital needs and bring real joy with a Gift of Compassion.

Gifts include mosquito nets, soccer balls, chickens, goats, water filters, farm equipment, clean water and more. Gift prices range from $10 to $5000.

Why not take a few moments now to check out the assortment of gifts here.

If you are interested in making a long term difference on the life of a child, please consider sponsorship.  For more information visit the Compassion website.

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.  James 1:27 NLT

Sheep or Goat?

Cover via Amazon

This week Sarah, Jason and more of us are reading Chapter 4 of The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns.

Stearns discusses one of my favourite and also most sobering scenes of Jesus:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Matthew 25:31-46 NIV

My prayer has always been that I would draw close enough to my Lord to feel the beating of His heart and in so doing, my heart would be moved and broken by anything that stirs Him. I have wondered what would the least of these look like? Would I walk right past a hungry Jesus because I did not recognize Him?

Born, raised and still living in North America, I know that even those of us in the worst situations are rich beyond measure compared to third world nations, yet we still have those who are the least of these. Help us Lord to seek what You would have us do.

Then Richard Stearns proceeds to paint a picture of one of his own encounters with the least of these, young men that had been kidnapped and turned into rebel soldiers by the LRA in Northern Uganda. I could hardly read through my tears, for my heart had been likewise torn when I was right there in Gulu in 2007, visiting a similar rehabilitation centre.

Here are words I journaled while in Uganda:

The other evening the shapes in the clouds looked to be God’s hands reaching down from the heavens, and surely God’s hand IS on this nation. There is a stirring, a shaking, a hope in the midst of desolation. When God is all there is then God is enough. If anything else is placed above Him, then nothing is enough. He is, as He says in His Word, a jealous God, and He will have no other gods before Him. I believe and I will declare that His favour will rest upon this place.

The heart of Uganda appears in the faces of the children; smiles in the midst of deprivation, laughter rising up from a belly never filled with food enough. Tears of need and tears of sorrow, but joy returning upon the simplest act of kindness.Can we learn to need so little? Our hope could be their hope – to find our strength and joy in Him alone. It is as if they already do so, even those that cannot tell you why.

Oh Uganda, release yourself into His hands. “Pearl of Africa” is what a local billboard called you. Shine with the luster of a pearl polished by the Master’s hand. Shine as a witness to the darkness. Shine in the light of His love that more would be drawn to the light. Blossom and prosper as a sign even to the “first world” nations – “Look what our God can do”

Here I find a stillness. Here I find a peace. Here perhaps I will find a pathway that leads me to the heart of God.

I pray that the scent, sound and sights of Uganda do not leave me until I return again to do whatever God calls me to.

Stop by Sarah's Living Between the Lines to read the thoughts other people share about Chapter 4.

Saturday tears

The pain in my lower back continues to keep me stiff and slow. Rain clouds gather then the wind blows them away. It is not rain falling here today, but tears. God is doing some digging and my emotions are right on the surface, raw and leaking.

The desk chair in front of the computer is where my back feels best, so I've been catching up on the Compassion Bloggers that are in Guatemala. My heart aches for the needs but the tears... they come because the love of Christ is so evident and His Name is being glorified. You can read their stories here.

All over the internet I see the question "Where were you nine years ago when the planes struck the Twin Towers?" and I know part of what is raging within is the feelings, memories and fears of that day.

On September 10th I was in Winnipeg to receive my official "landed immigrant" status, making me a permanent resident of Canada. Interesting timing indeed for this transplant from the U.S.A.

The morning of September 11, 2001 found me in the kitchen of a restaurant in our very small town in my new job as cook/waitress. The owner rushed in babbling about a crisis taking place. At first I thought that he was worried because there were more than two customers ordering at the same time, for people rarely wanted more than the $1.00 bottomless cup of coffee.

We didn't have a television, so he turned on the radio. I couldn't grasp what I was hearing. Not being able to see it made it seem all the more unreal. With most of my family in the Chicago area, another big financial centre in the States, I felt fingers of fear tightening around my thoughts. It got busy that day as people wanted to gather together to talk. I don't recall how long I worked. I think I must have quit early so I could get home to call my parents. I turned on the television and it remained on, playing and replaying horrifying scenes, till we finally went to bed late that night.

Yes, there was indeed a sense that nothing would ever be the same, but God was, as always, still on the throne. I believe what saddens me most today is not that we have forgotten, but how little change endured. We have returned to walking in our own strength, viewing life through our own understanding, falling back into a deep slumber after what should have shaken us awake forever.

What more must God allow before we surrender to His will and His ways?

Take a minute to click here to view a tribute edited by Jason Powers. As your tears join with mine, perhaps you will ask the Lord, as I am today, "What would You have us learn?"

For the children of Gulu Uganda

Bridget Chumbley's One Word at a Time Carnival this week is the word Children. I am reposting words that i wrote for the children in Gulu, Uganda when Rick and I walked among them in December 2007.

Gulu children lost and forgotten,
living terrified in paradise.
Cannot trust in man. Cannot trust in God.
Will your silent cries fill the air around me?
Will the blood cry out?
Will the blood cry out?
Will needless shame cast your eyes down
as you pay for the sins of generations past?
Tender flowers picked too soon.
Young butterflies forced to fly
on wings that have not yet dried.
Will your hearts learn to heal?

I am leaving you now and returning to a life that you have never known. A life of safety and shelter. A life of peace and plenty. To days of freedom and nights without fear. Yes, it seems I am leaving you now but much of my heart will stay here. And on the rest of my heart, that part that remains with me, you are forever inscribed, etched by the hand of our Father. It is He Who brought me here. It is He Who shall bring me here again.

Join us for more words about children this week.

Word Filled Wednesday - New Every Morning

This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “ The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “ Therefore I hope in Him!”  The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:21-26 NKJV

Join us at the Cafe for more....

Help - Without answers

Our world has been shaken by news of the devastation in Haiti. We gasp, weep, pray. And we ask "why?"

While we may never have answers, we must respond. As mind boggling numbers of deaths, injuries and loss are reported, those affected by the Haiti earthquake cry out in desperation.



In an email to Compassion Bloggers, Shaun Groves writes:

The catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12 has resulted in unfathomable chaos and devastation for hundreds of thousands of children and families. Compassion sponsors and donors serve more than 65,000 children in Haiti. At least a third of them live in the areas that were hardest hit.

I am asking you to please send a generous gift today to help precious children and their families, and to encourage others to give to Compassion International through your blog, Facebook and Myspace pages, Twitter account and e-mail. Please utilize every on-line tool you have access to. The people of Haiti desperately need our help and hope.

Compassion International is working rapidly to assess the situation and determine the full extent of damage:

• Sadly, we anticipate there will be many deaths.
• We anticipate thousands of children and families will have lost everything.
• We anticipate many of our church-based child development centers will have been destroyed.

Without a doubt, the children we serve in Haiti are in shock and face immediate needs for food, water, medical care, shelter and counseling. We have teams prepared to respond, and we are deeply committed to helping each child.

We need your help immediately. Please reach out in the name of Jesus to bring relief, comfort, love and restoration to precious children and families whose lives have been devastated by this crisis.

Go to the Crisis Update Page to read the latest info from Compassion.

I'm asking that you take time now to seek the Lord. Listen to the way His heart breaks for the people of Haiti. Ask what He would have you do. Then in obedience to His call, act. Give. Help. Pray.

Waiting for His directions - The Ten Dollar Challenge

If you've never stopped by Billy Coffey's blog to enjoy the amazing way he puts words together to share insights the Lord gives to him, now is the time to start!

Just after Thanksgiving he blogged The Ten Dollar Challenge sharing a story about his friend Terri and the passing on of a blessing.

I know that the Holy Spirit is urging me to join in on the fun (yes, it is fun to bless others!) I have not acted yet for I am waiting on the Lord to hear what He would have me do, wanting Him to choose the time and place and person.

What better time than Christmas to shine our light in the dark places? What better time to be the hands and feet of Christ. The only way some people will ever see Jesus is for us to step out of our own comfort zones to be Jesus.

Today Billy posted The Ten Dollar Challenge Continues a blog carnival where you can add the story of how you passed on a blessing this year.

Stayed tuned....

When I complete my ten dollar challenge, I'll return to tell the tale.

And I do this for the sake of the good news (the Gospel), in order that I may become a participator in it and share in its [blessings along with you]. 1 Corinthians 9:23 Amplified