He is Holy

Dear friends, we continue our coverage of Compassion International's Blogging Trip to Nicaragua.

Day two posts were not up when I began writing, so today I present a message from the Lord himself. Yes, I'm pretty sure I heard His voice.

As I mentioned yesterday, the bloggers visited the trash dump where families forage for hours digging through trash, hoping to find recyclables worth less than $1 a day. One of the trip bloggers, Edie from Life in Grace, wrote:

"I was so haunted by the metaphor of this trash heap, by the decay, the smell and the hopelessness of it all. This is what separation from Christ feels like. This is Gehenna. This is hell on earth."

Man was created in the image of God. We were precious to Him, even as we smelt of decaying trash. While we were sinners, Christ died for us. He didn't ask us to leave the trash dump and get cleaned up first.

We were that precious; He loved us at our worst. Life itself was that precious to Him.

And it should be precious to us. Love your neighbor as yourself, saith the Lord. Whatever we need, we should also desire for our neighbor.

In light of this, what does God think about the trash dump and all the foragers who must work there?

He is grieved. 

And angry, too? Is God angry at these circumstances?

My goal when presenting world poverty is to season every post with gentleness and humility. I'm not there yet and that bothers me; the posts don't seem gentle, but rather preachy.

Okay, really preachy.

I prayed to God that I'd do a better job with this tonight. My mind contemplated it all day, through the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, the bandaids, the laundry, the baths.

My dilemma is this: there are two sides to God's character. To present truth, then, is to present both sides of who He is.

He loves us inexplicably. He's gentle, gracious, forgiving, warm, comforting. He's given us beautiful, life-giving prose in Psalms and solid wisdom in Proverbs. So many gifts and so much glory and beauty flow from Him and through Him.

That is one side of God--the side of Him that loves us, sustains us and redeems us.

The other side of His character has to do with His Holiness. This is a side often ignored, to our detriment.

For example, I have a relative visiting for the Fourth of July who professes to be a Christian, but is living with someone, out of wedlock. This is not a problem for her; she seems happy in fact.

Is she really a Christian? Were we fooled all this time? We knew she held liberal stances on many issues but this lifestyle change was still a shock. And now we have a responsibility, as fellow Christians, to redirect her, gently, during the visit. It would be more comfortable to ignore the sin, but we can't. We must give her the truth of the Word and remind her that she can't pick and choose what she likes from the Bible, because a Holy God demands obedience.

A Holy God possesses wrath.

Random House Webster College Dictionary has this to say about wrath: 1. stern or fierce anger; deep indignation; ire 2. vengeance or punishment as the result of anger.

I know better than to tell you if you spend too much on yourself and don't have any left to help the poor, God's vengeance will get you. This wouldn't help you want to change.

I can't change any hearts...not even my own. A new heart is a work of grace alone.

But I can remind you, and myself, that there are two sides to God's character. His Holy side will hold us accountable on Judgement Day for how we've spent the money that was His to begin with. And for how we've spent our time, which also is his. Since the Cross bought and paid for us, our time is not our own. Our life is not our own.

The Bible says we must help the poor. Like my wayward relative, we can't pick and choose what we'd like to obey in the Word.

Obedience in this area may mean no more salon-colored hair. Steak only once a month. Clothes from the thrift store. No new patio furniture. No kiddy pool for the kids. No vacation. Whatever.

The point is, this part of the Word must be dealt with in a sacrificial way. The heart of God in these scriptures is that we sacrifice for each other...that we live the gospel. If the $38 dollars a month to sponsor a child doesn't change your life much, then it isn't a sacrifice and it isn't enough. We give until it hurts to say thank you to God. Because we want to see Him glorified. Because we love Him.

Do you pray the scriptures? The Bible is God telling us: this is the path I want you to take. But we don't automatically get there; we are weak. We can't do it without asking for a change of heart. We have to pray the scriptures.

So let's pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, we love you. Thank you for saving us in our filth. Give us a burden for the poor, Lord. Give us the righteous stance you desire for our hearts. Help us spend less and give more. Help us give until it hurts so we can become more like you. Change the way we view money and time so that we see them as gifts to give away, not entitlements to cling to. Open our fists, Lord. Help us to see beyond our own desires. May we have the faith to act on your Word, knowing our daily bread is secure if we seek first your righteousness. We want to please you, live for you, glorify you. We want to reflect you to a child in need. I pray that each person reading, and my own family, finds room in our hearts for a first, or an additional, sponsor child. Take away every form of evil in our hearts that would prevent us from clicking Sponsor a child. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.

God is faithful, friend. If you've never sponsored before, this prayer is the first step. Cling tight to God's promises and let him renovate your heart. In no time you'll be running to your mailbox looking for a Compassion envelope that says: Message from your sponsored child.

That sentence will come to mean sheer joy to you, believe me. Obedience brings joy.

Sponsor a child here.

Follow all the blog posts from the week's trip here. 

View all the photos from the week here.

When a Two Year Old Naps on Trash

Good day to you, friends, and be blessed.

We continue our coverage of Compassion International's Blogging Trip to Nicaragua--a country that shares Denver's time zone, which means the bloggers are typing away and posting way after my bedtime.

Christy Jordan from Southern Plate posted earlier than the rest, so I can share a few highlights before I nod off.

Mrs. Jordan and the rest of the Compassion crew visited the dump today and went on two home visits--one to Christy's sponsored teenager's home.

Compassion International Photo - Nicaraguan Dump, shared on Southern Plate, 6/18/13

Do you remember the stench from your last trip to the city dump, however long ago that was? Lucita, a Nicaraguan grandmother, has worked at this dump for 22 years, picking plastic out of the trash to sell for less than $1.00 a day. She arrives at 5 in the morning and leaves after the last truck finishes dumping.

Christy shares what Lucita says: "I have worked here for 22 years. I am not ashamed to work here. This is what we do to survive. It is good work and I work hard."

It is good work and I work hard. Friends, that's a grateful heart. What do we have, instead, here in the first world? Grumbling and complaining and a sense of entitlement. We're all guilty at times, sadly.

Dear Lord, help us. Help us to open our eyes and see.

When Compassion takes these trips, who learns the most? The bloggers and readers, or the native people they visit? It's us my friends--the bloggers and readers.

We learn how empty we are, and how full they are.

We learn how little they have, and how much we have.

We learn how blessed they are, and how spoiled we are.

They have nothing, and yet they have everything. Dignity, joy, laughter, gratitude.

God isn't unfair in how He distributes wealth, and we aren't getting the better end of the deal. We have comfort and these people have God. We push God out of our comfortable lives because most of the time, we don't need Him. 

Those in abject poverty need Him every day to survive, and they don't forget him. They don't find better things to do than to sit down and talk with him. They don't use the material to push Him away.

Christy writes of a two-year-old child who accompanies her mother to the dump each day:

"A little angel, who appeared to be around two, found a pen top in a bundle of trash and began chewing on it, smiling as she pulled it out of her mouth to see how her teeth had pinched their outline into the plastic. Later she got tired and laid down on top of bags of trash for a little rest."

 I implore you, as you imagine a two-year-old child napping on bags of trash at the city dump, to sponsor a child, or spread the word. Please, do one or both of them today.

Because while that child may not mind napping on trash, God minds it a great deal. We are accountable for everything we've been given and we can't afford to mess this up.

The problem doesn't lie in how God's distributed wealth...but in how we're distributing it.

Luke 12:48 Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Follow all the blog posts from the week's trip here.

View all the photos from the week here.

Sponsor a child here. 

Both the quotes I shared here, and the picture shared above, are from Christy's blog post, here.  Keely Marie Scott takes all the trip photos.

The Heart of the Matter (Compassion Bloggers in Nicaragua)

Compassion International photo

Today starts the 5-day Compassional International trip to Nicaragua, which is one of the poorest Central American countries, second only to Haiti.

I'll be reading the daily stories published by the 5 Compassion Trip Bloggers, and those by Shaun Groves, bringing you the best excerpts and most amazing stories. Yes, I'm a Compassion Blogger, but often the assignments involve Twitter, which I don't use. This week I can actually be of use!

You can follow all of the trip blog posts here, or click on the Compassion Nicaragua trip button on the top right of my blog.

The Bible commands that we go and make disciples of all nations, and this is our chance to obey in a big way, even if we're not missionaries.

If you can't sponsor a child for $38 a month, maybe you can help by spreading the links, stories and statistics? I have powerful statistics below that you are welcome to copy and paste.

Consider that most Americans have little knowledge of world poverty. If you spread even one story, or a few statistics, you can change a child's life forever. Compassional International is one of the most successful child rescue missions on earth. Their integrity is flawless. Their hearts beat for God only.

I believe most people, if they knew how children suffered, would help, but sometimes it takes two years of intermittent exposure for them to make the final decision to click Sponsor a Child. So keep writing, keep sharing.

The key to the final decision is this: we don't own anything. The world and everything in it belongs to God. We spend God's money, not our own. So, where should God's money go? To what Jesus thought was important, not to what we think is important. Pride has to exit our lives and humility must take up residence in our hearts.

I've come to understand why world poverty still exists: prideful first-world hearts. We want to look good to each other, not to God. We please the world, not our Maker. Yes, corruption in third-world countries is a huge problem, but not as huge as misplaced first-world hearts.

If we spend less we'll look less important and less successful and maybe even less attractive. Yes. But someone else will be fed, clothed, schooled, given health care and told about Jesus and Hope. Someone else will get letters, be told possibly for the first time that they are loved, that they are valued and thought precious by their Heavenly Father and by their sponsor.

The decision can be broken down even further: Is my life all about me, or all about God?

If our image changes because we're spending less on ourselves, who will stare back at us when we look in the mirror?

Jesus.

We all start out assuming we've worked hard for what we have...that we've earned it on our own merit. But if we open our hearts, God gives us the truth. It is all gift.

Our abilities, our environment, our birthplace, our supportive parents...it is all gift. We cannot look at the world as a level playing field and say that hard work is the key to success. Hard work is crucial, but it's only one of the requirements for self-support. Hope is the most important ingredient and do you know what poverty really is? The absence of Hope.

Just the Facts:

Here are the facts for Nicaragua, distributed by Compassion in this compelling table:

Average American income = $48,112
Average Nicaraguan income = $3,812

99% of Americans are literate
67.5% of Nicaraguans are literate

75% of the population lives on less than $2 a day.

 79% of Americans own a car
5.7% of Nicaraguans own a car

99% of Americans have access to clean water
85% of Nicaraguans have access to clean water

55.7% of Americans attend college (though not all earn a degree or certificate)
8% of Nicaraguans attend college

77.5% of Americans use the Internet
3.5% of Nicaraguans use the Internet

46% of the population has no access to adequate sanitation

More than 40% of Nicaraguan girls are married while still minors (poor families see child marriage as a way to improve their lot in life)

33% of maternal deaths are teenage girls

65% of rural women are illiterate

71% of children will not finish primary school

The maternal death rate is 4.5 times greater than that in the U.S.

1 out of 3 children suffers from chronic malnutrition

Compassion began working in Nicaragua in 2002, and now 41,523 Nicaraguan children are served by Compassion International!

Friend, you can be part of the heart miracles this week. Please pray, sponsor, and spread the word!

Thank you.

Below are verses reminding us of God's heart in this matter, which you can use as you spread the word.

Matthew 25:40  “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Isaiah 58:10 If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.        

Luke 14:12-14  He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

James 1:27  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.    

Proverbs 28:27  Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse. 

Luke 16:19-31  “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.             
  

Making Sense of Joy...and Pain

Raising children brings so much joy. Inexplicable joy that can only be seen as gift, it's so priceless. Today I want to share some of the joy the Lord's flooded me with lately. He's so good and when I look on these children, I have evidence of God's love for me. Tangible evidence marking my walls and floors with mud, and piling my world with laundry. It overflows sometimes, this joy, and I have to share it.

A couple weeks ago the boys entered a children's fishing derby. There were prizes for the first caught, the biggest caught, and the most caught. Paul caught a 14.5 pound catfish, earning third place for size, but there were no third place prizes. Still, the catfish thrilled.



In case you didn't know...hamsters love pasta. Furthermore, when hamsters eat pasta, it's better entertainment than your favorite comedian's best monologue. Exaggeration you say, surely? Oh, but no, my friend; I kid you not. With surprising speed, they voraciously fill up both cheeks with it, looking more ridiculous with each centimeter. Try this at your house (plain pasta).



The beloved turtle was observed and let go, but not without posing for a picture first. He brought much wonder and entertainment to my children and to the neighbor kids. At his release, he found nothing better to do than to burrow in the mud, real quick like, as though he cared not what joy he brought and what fame he amassed. Oh, but to be so humble.



Dear God, thank you for the wonder of a semi-rural Ohio backyard...for frogs, crayfish, snakes, squirrels, chipmunks, praying mantises, bettles, ants, grasshoppers, worms, birds, butterflies and turtles. My children have a glorious gift here...a childhood full of wonder. Sincerely, A Grateful Momma.

Dear God, thank you for daughters who get dirty, and then clean up real nice and soft and pretty. Thank you for precious pictures I can show at their wedding, proving to their grooms that they're marrying girls who believe in living. Thank you for this climbing tree at our favorite nature park.

While I smile joyful today at giggling girls dancing in the sprinkler, thanking the Lord for the richness of this life, there are dear people hurting elsewhere. Here and here. There is a dear one who understands His heart and purpose and teaches it with poetry, from Uganda this time.

Our Savior says: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Oh...but the trouble hurts. Hurts deep.

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing

We'll have joy and pain in this life. Sometimes it balances, but other times, it's more pain than joy.

Here's a secret: Our response should be the same in both.

The same? How can that be? How can we respond the same to both joy and pain, when one makes us want to dance, and the other makes us want to lie down and die?

I wanted to lie down and die once, when I lost a baby. And again when my husband lost his job and we had four kids, one just three months old.

And I've wanted to freeze moments of joy, many of them, forever, they tasted so good.

The more I live, the more I learn...offer it all up. Offer it to the One who's overcome. We are His, bought and paid for, and that makes our joy and pain His too.

Offer it up, and share it. We can't turn away when someone hurts. Nor can we put on a false face and hide our own pain. We can't hold our blessings with tight fists, as though we've seen the last of them.

It's all about receiving from the Father, vertically, and sharing His love, horizontally, to those around us. I have a good grasp on life and purpose when I remember these three things.  

Vertical in, horizontal out, offer it all up to the one who's overcome.

Pain and joy have this in common: God's glory shines in both. We have the privilege, if we dare to be His servants, of sharing in that glory. Sharing in it brings the greatest sense of purpose, the highest fulfillment there is this side of Heaven.

 Make the most of this vapor time we have here....let His glory shine through you.

Isaiah 60:4 . . . the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

Psalms 63:1-3  O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

Homeschool and Mother's Journal, June 14

 
In my life this week:
The week started with much angst over a medical problem my husband was having, but thank the Lord, the news was better for him today. My nerves have calmed considerably.

I'm generally a positive, level-headed person, but now that I'm 47 (yikes!) the monthly hormonal fluctuation is far more exaggerated, and may stay so for several years. Let me apologize now to regular readers for the literary sobbing. (What else can I call it)? I'll try harder to keep silent one week a month from now on.  

You're welcome.

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. James 1:19. Even perimenopausal women. God bless us all, this is not fun. Thank you, Eve?

My husband is a saint. Sometime he looks at me and can't figure out where his wife went, but always, he's gentle and full of grace.

In our homeschool this week:
I stayed plenty busy praying and worrying over husband's health concern. Thus, my part in school this week was light, including only reading aloud and doing writing with the boys. The girls, ages 4 and 6, enjoyed extra play time. When I'm off balance, I like the assurance that we won't miss a beat; that's why we school 10.5 months a year.

I'd like to share three historical-fiction picture books we enjoyed this week:



William's House, by Ginger Howard, set in 1637, is about an English family's new life in the New England colony. They come by ship armed with English ideas about homesteading, but as the seasons change they must quickly adapt their established ways to fit life in a new land. A land they learn to call home. Very engaging book with repetitive parts and rich detail. Ages 5-8 (Lovely illustrations by Larry Day)

Publisher's description: It is 1637 and William and his family are leaving England for the New World. William is determined to build a house just like the one he left in England. It will be a house with a gently sloped, thatched roof, surrounded by trees. As the days wear on and the seasons change, William and his wife Elizabeth realize that living in the New World means adopting new ideas. Filled with illustrations rich with historical detail, this is a book for both classroom read-alouds and for up-close study.



 

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, by Deborah Hopkinson, tells the story of a young, industrious slave girl who sews her way to freedom. Students will learn about slavery, the Underground Railroad, and the glorious freedom sought in Canada. (Ages 5 - 11) Wonderful paintings by James Ransome

Publisher's description:  As a seamstress in the Big House, Clara dreams of a reunion with her Momma, who lives on another plantation--and even of running away to freedom. Then she overhears two slaves talking about the Underground Railroad. In a flash of inspiration, Clara sees how she can use the cloth in her scrap bag to make a map of the land--a freedom quilt--that no master will ever suspect.





The Rag Coat, by Lauren Mills, is a beautiful story about an impoverished Appalachia girl's desire to go to school. She needs a coat to attend school in the cold months, but there's no money. Her coal-miner father gets sick, making matters worse. For a few years she doesn't attend school at all, partly because her Momma needs her to help with quilt-making, their only source of income. Her father dies when she's eight and a coat remains a distant dream, until a love-your-neighbor project begins in earnest to bless this little girl. Her beautiful new coat, though, when it's finally done, is not received well by her classmates. Determined Minna remembers something her father told her about people, and she uses his wisdom to soften the school kids and bless them at the same time. The illustrations, done by the author herself, are as charming as the story.

Publisher description: With paintings that capture all the beauty of Appalachia in authentic detail, this tender story about a resourceful mountain girl's special coat will touch readers with its affirming message of love and friendship.

In other school news: Paul, my 9-year-old, is learning "The Star-Spangled Banner" on the piano. He still doesn't attend lessons, but he's motivated enough to teach himself using good piano books and the music he prints off the Internet. He amazes me!

Peter stayed very busy in his (our) garden, fertilizing with Miracle Grow, picking strawberries, and planting the tomatoes and banana peppers Daddy picked up this week. He lives to be in his garden, but can be distracted for a time by his friends. He's trying to instill a love for gardening in them, too.

Both boys are reading and enjoying Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes, and both are still enamored with Writing With Ease, Level Four by Susan Wise Bauer. 

 

We learned about a novel called The Book of Three, selections of which Susan Bauer chose for dictation and narration exercises this week. It's not uncommon for the boys to say about Susan Bauer's choices...."We really need to get that book. I want to read it!" We're all thoroughly hooked on this writing resource. 

Places we're going and people we're seeing:
I saw the Pastor for a meeting about children's ministry; we went to a library program on Tuesday; Speech on Wednesday, and also on Wednesday, to physical therapy for Beth's Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, at which I learned they're reducing her sessions to once a month. The methotrexate chemo drug (low dose) is really removing the sting of this disease. My little one is running and walking normally. You wouldn't even know she has this handicap--something I couldn't say last year. I remember being horribly distressed when they talked of giving her a chemo drug, but now, six months later, my little girl is thriving and I thank God for the wisdom of modern medicine.

My favorite thing this week:
Some of you know we don't have any money for entertainment, or a lot of extra gas to waste; we rarely go anywhere but nature parks and the library. Checking out a library movie to watch as a family on Friday or Saturday nights is one of our entertainment and bonding mainstays. This week we watched Because of Winn Dixie, based upon the book of the same title. So excellent, engaging, and heartwarming! My favorite thing this week, besides read-aloud time, was holding my girls while we watched this as a family.

My kiddos favorite thing this week:
Tomorrow we're going to a town party put on by our church. There will be bounce houses, free food, and games, and I daresay it will be my children's favorite thing this week, if not the pick-up baseball games they played in the backyard with neighborhood kids. My Mary though, age 6, votes this day as her favorite. Remember her four hours frolicking in the muggy Ohio rain?

Things I'm working on:
Baking cookies and preparing fresh fruit for the town party, and winding down emotionally after a stressful health week. And as always, I've kept up with the washing but not the folding. We'll need to have a folding party tomorrow sometime, in between preparing the house for our Children's Bible Study, and scooting away to the town party.

I'm cooking:
For dinner so far this week: gingerbread pancakes and fruit, crockpot whole chicken, spaghetti, grilled chicken, black-bean and corn chili

I'm grateful for:
my husband, my children, my prayer team, better health news, grace, being present to disciple my children, flexible homeschooling, beautiful picture books, the Lord's provision, a yard my children love, my son's passion for gardening, that our air conditioner still works, beautiful sunshine two days this week, and a strong, solid marriage 

I'm praying for:
Kristin Welsh and her Mercy House Kenya ministry, friends who have lost babies, my husband and children, neighborhood children, our Compassion children, online friends, salvation for extended family

Quote or Link to share:

How about a beautiful poem for Father's Day?

Only A Dad
Edgar Guest 

Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame
To show how well he has played the game;
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.

Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd,
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad but he gives his all,
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.

Have a blessed Father's Day with your family! Love to you, friends.

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