I was so impressed with the house that I actually took a zillion pictures, but I thought I’d show a few that represented ways you, your church, or your small group could help your local Ronald McDonald House provide care and support for the families of children in need of medical care.

Make sure you read the entire post… there’s a great giveaway at the end!

We visited the house on Deming Place in Chicago. Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s across the street from Children’s Memorial Hospital, which specializes in very serious illness, so the 31 beds at this house are often full. Families with a child receiving care at Children’s Memorial can stay at the house for a recommended donation of $10 per day.

As you can see it’s just as pretty inside. This is one of playrooms that we were able to visit.

But just beyond all of the toys and beautiful decorations were constant reminders of what the house is intended for… to care for the sick and to show love to children and families. One of the things that really moved me was an encouragement board that hung over one of the couches in a reading room. The board was covered in encouraging note cards, some written in a child’s crooked block letters, others in a father’s heavy print, or this one written in a mom’s looping cursive. A prayer for hope and healing.

I also asked about ways the church can help. Here are three:

(Don’t forget to keep reading for the free swag!)

1. Volunteer

The names on this schedule represent church groups and families that have volunteered to cook meals for families. While parents have access to the kitchens and can cook independently, the houses also like to have group dinners. Not only does it give mom and dad a nice break from cooking after a long day at the hospital, it also gives them an opportunity to meet other families, which is so important for ongoing support. In addition to volunteering to cook, groups can also volunteer to do tutoring or host children’s craft nights. What a great small group opportunity!

2. Collect Donations

Like I said, families have the opportunity to cook for themselves. They are given access to a fully stocked family pantry full of dry and canned goods that they have free access to. The house is always looking for donations to keep the pantry stocked. In addition to food, they are also in need of household products like toilet paper, paper towels, and laundry soap. Call your RMHC to find out how to organize a donation drive.

(Note: I have a personal, first fruits-esque pet peeve – please donate the stuff that you would use – you know the good 2-ply stuff. I hate when we buy second rate junk that we would never put in our own houses for donations… stuff like waxy, icky crayons. Crayola people! OK, rant over).

3. Give Gifts

If you want to give something a little more exciting than a box of Pasta-Roni, I learned that every child (and sibling) who stays at the house gets a gift out of a giant toy closet. Toy and book donations are needed year round. Gift cards for fast food or resturants around the hospital are also a good gift idea.

The Giveaway

I’m giving away a reuseable, eco-friendly Ronald McDonald House shopping bag AND a $10.00 McDonald’s gift card to one lucky winner. Winner will be randomly drawn from the comments below on July 17th.

There are three ways to enter (and yes, you can do each one once for a total of three entries).

1. Leave a comment below with the location of the Ronald McDonald House closest to your home or church. Click HERE to search for the location nearest you.

2. Leave a separate comment below letting me know that you tweeted this: I support @rmhc and entered to win a gift card from @nicolewick http://www.nicolewick.com/2010/07/a-picture-story-and-giveaway/

3. Leave a separate comment below letting me know that you became a RMHC facebook fan and pasted this in your status: I’m a fan of RMHC and entered to win a McDonald’s gift card here http://www.nicolewick.com/2010/07/a-picture-story-and-giveaway/

Leave your comments to win!

Then I complained to myself again (with curse words added) when I had to wait in the looooonnnnngggggg check-out line for this $207 bill. Blah.

And today I repented (or at the very least felt some very intense guilt) when I saw this picture on my friend Matthew’s (@jesusneedsnewpr) blog post. This week he is traveling on a World Vision blog trip to the Dominican Republic.

The caption read:

Wanna believe God? Witness four young Haitian refugees laugh, jump up and down, and dance for joy three-and-a-half months after losing everything in an earthquake.

This changed my perspective.

I can no longer complain that I am wealthy (by global standards) enough to shop in a supermarket.

I can no longer complain about the privilege and honor of providing for my children.

I can no longer complain about unsacrificially spending $200 on enough food to feed a small village for a month knowing that I’m only planning to feed 5 people for 2 weeks.

I can no longer complain about the chore of putting away my 82 items (did you catch that!?) in my home that has heat. And air conditioning. And bedrooms.

And I can no longer complain about not having what I want when I have the luxury to buy things like this:

$5.00 on water – as if we (unlike a large portion of the world) don’t have clean, running water from the tap.

$5.90 on Diet Coke.

$14.86 on frozen, processed foods (because we’re lazy).

$10.36 on cigarettes (talk to my husband).

Total: $$36.12 Enough to sponsor one of those beautiful girls through World Vision for one month.

I can no longer complain.

When was the last time you had something totally rock your perspective?

You can follow Matthew’s blog trip in the DR this week on his blog and find out more information on sponsoring a World Vision child for $35 per month on their website.

]]> http://www.nicolewick.com/2010/05/a-change-in-perspective/feed/ 16 http://www.nicolewick.com/2010/05/i-see-hope/ http://www.nicolewick.com/2010/05/i-see-hope/#comments Sun, 02 May 2010 21:36:18 +0000 Nicole http://www.nicolewick.com/?p=2100 At the end of the clip he talks about hope and says, “It’s about connecting people and doing the work. That’s when change comes.” I couldn’t agree more. Despite it all I see hope in this and I love this city. What do you see?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Why is the connecting and doing often so difficult to do?

Andrew Marin is sure to ruffle some evangelical feathers with Love is an Orientation. This book asks – and tries to answer – some very tough questions about the contentious relationship between the evangelical church and the LGBT community. In it, Marin takes exception to the “love the sinner, hate the sin” mentality that has shaped much of the Christian thinking around homosexuality, seeking instead for a way to “elevate the dialogue” between the two communities beyond its current state of animosity.

Marin’s concern for ministry in the gay community began during his college years, when three of his closest friends came out to him within three months. He was stunned, not knowing how to deal with the fact that three people he cared deeply about were suddenly in a category of person he’d been taught to condemn.

Over the years that followed, Marin spent a lot of time listening to gay people. Not preaching at, listening to. And before anyone jumps to conclusions, no, he is not a theological liberal trying to prove that God promotes homosexuality. His concerned is with how to build a bridge between evangelicals and the gay community, because he thinks that what we’ve been doing doesn’t seem to be working. Love is an Orientation distills a lot of what he has learned through years of dialogue and through leading Bible studies for people in the LGBT community. Basically, it’s about loving people when love is risky and when they might well not love you back. It’s from the heart, thoughtful, and groundbreaking. Read it with an open mind. I loved it!

Q&A With Andrew Marin

I love the book but as I was reading I kept wondering, why is this not common sense? Why does the church struggle with this so much?

A big part of the reason is that divisiveness has clouded the culture war. When that happens, common sense doesn’t come to mind. Sometimes, someone needs to come into the conversation with a new perspective. I spent eight and a half years of my life looking at this issue and trying to figure out how to reconcile myself with it. What I found is that culture, the world, and both the gay and Christian communities were all waiting for someone or something to let them know that they each have a part in the conversation. Outside all the debate, there needs to be another medium of conversation, and we, the Christian community, need to be the ones who own this.

There is mainstream secular culture, and there is mainstream evangelical culture, and secular culture always points to evangelical culture as being close-minded bad guys. What the secular culture sees is the Glenn Becks and the Jerry Falwells arguing back, and it’s a fight. What we need to do as a Christian community is step into humility and elevate the conversation to reclaim the simple things that we believe about loving others. What I’ve learned is that all areas of my life are working toward biblical reconciliation with others.

In the book you talk a great deal about elevating the conversation with the gay community. Can you talk a little bit about what that means?

Well, first of all sexuality is an infinite continuum. Infinite meaning it goes on and on, and continuum meaning it starts at the far left and moves to the far right. Each individual’s personal beliefs, behaviors, and ideas about sexuality fall somewhere on that continuum, and that’s where we get our identity. Ultimately, all of this is about changing the conversation while still holding on to what we believe. But we need to find a new starting point with broader kingdom principles, as a broader, holistic community. And that is uncomfortable. We need to get to a point where we are OK living in that tension.

One of the problems with the church is that we are often having a conversation about the gay community without including them. So how do we maintain who we are but actually bring them into a conversation about spiritual things? Humility is difficult because it’s not satisfying, and on top of that, we don’t really know what it looks like to live with our enemies. Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.” What we’re taught to do is live at peace with our enemies and, in turn, have our enemies live at peace with us. When we’re able to do that, reconciliation happens. That’s the embodiment of Christ. Jesus came into the earth not as the prince everybody thought he would come as, but as a humble baby born in a barn. We think of his death on the cross as reconciliation between us and God, which is true and critically important. But we miss that his life up to that point was about showing us how to reconcile us human to human.

Is building bridges between the church and the gay community difficult?

It shouldn’t be. It’s something we’ve done a million times before all over the world with other groups. We’ve had this humble, service-oriented type approach to inner cities and foreign missions. It’s all been done before. We have to get past being resistant to serving this community. The lesson of Jonah 4 is about how to be in an authentic community with your enemies. In that passage we see what God’s compassion is like for those enemies. That’s our model, not what we see on Fox News or in the mainstream evangelical culture movement. Our example is God.

What role do you think the church should play in engaging with the LGBT community?

Andrew Marin is the author of Love is an Orientation and the President and Founder of The Marin Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to build bridges between the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) and religious communities through scientific research and biblical and social education. The foundations unique approach partners with both religious and GLBT organizations striving to make a sustainable, structural difference for the Kingdom in today’s socially driven secular and religious cultures. The foundation is also conducting the largest national scientific research study ever done in the GLBT community regarding spirituality and religion.

Follow Andrew on Facebook, Twitter, and his blog and pick up his book on Amazon.com

This is Daniel

Daniel is the adorable 10-year-old that we sponsor from Mexico through World Vision. Even though we have never met him, we love him. I love hearing about him, praying for him, and receiving beatuiful art work from him like what we received today (aren’t his flowers cute!).

I know that Daniel has 3 siblings, that his favorite subject is Spanish Grammar, that his favorite sport is football, and that he enjoys spending time with family and friends. I feel privileged that he shares his life with me. If you sponsor a child, I’m sure you know exactly what I mean. Hearing from a sponsored child is the highlight of your day. I’m excited each time we are able to learn more about our little Daniel. If you share that feeling about your sponsored child and want to learn more about him or her, or if you don’t sponsor a child but have wondered what sponsorship is all about, please follow my friend Matthew Paul Turner’s blog, JesusNeedsNewPR next week.

This Thursday Matthew is traveling to Uganda with World Vision and will be blogging about his trip starting this Sunday, Janurary 17th. Even though my Daniel lives in Mexico, I will be reading all of Matthew’s posts to learn more about how World Vision is supporting children all over the world, children like my Daniel.

Matthew is a dear friend and World Vision is one of my favorite organizations. If you follow Matthew or are interested in World Vision, would you consider joining me in supporting them? Here are four simple ways you can help:

• PRAY – Please join me in praying for Matthew, his travels, the people he meets, and his family at home.
• Follow Matthew’s blog next week and share the posts you like on Twitter, FaceBook, or email.
• Add a badge to your blog like the one you see on the right. You can get yours HERE.
• Make his trip a personal experience for you and your family by sponsoring Beatrice or another Ugandan child.

Name: Beatrice
Gender: Girl
Birthdate: Dec 09, 2002
Location: Uganda
Chores: Carries Water
Favorite School Subject: Writing
Favorite Playtime Subject: Dolls
Monthly Sponsorship Amount: $35

If you’re praying for this trip leave a note in the comments for me. I love seeing people agree in prayer with me :)

As many of you know, today is Nationl Human Trafficking Awareness Day. I am very proud that our government is finally giving voice to such an alarming epidemic. Human trafficking is certainly something that we need to be aware of. That said, about a week ago my friend Charles Lee wrote a post on his blog titled “Awareness Is Not Enough.” I couldn’t agree more. In the post, he wrote:

Awareness alone does not create the tangible change we want to see in the world. It may move us emotionally and intellectually, but it will never be able to do anything on its own.

In fact, awareness alone can be dangerous. It can actually create a delusional state of being where we fool ourselves into thinking that we are actually doing something by “being aware” or making others aware. No matter how pure or noble the intent, spreading awareness is not enough. Is it important? Most definitely. Nevertheless, our goal is not just to spread awareness.

If reading all of the excellent posts and articles on the interwebs dedicated to today’s awareness of human trafficking has left you feeling as if you need to do something, something beyond awarenes, I encourage you to check out a new conference that will help you take that next exciting step into action.

The Ideation Confernce will give participants an opportunity to sit with, and learn from, amazing activists, CEOs, and human service professionals. The goal of the sessions is to rub elbows (or brain cells) with the experts in order to take your ideas about compassionate ministries (from human trafficking to global proverty) from concept to implementation. The workshop facilitator  list is AMAZING: Scott Harrison, Founder of Charity Water; Ben Keesely, CEO of Invisiable Children; and Keith Hall, Executive Corporate Fund Developer of World Vision, to name a few.

If you agree that awareness is only a first step in combating human trafficking, homelessness, global poverty, or any other of the world’s injustices please consider checking out this important conference. You can link to the Ideation Conference website here.

What things, beyond awareness, are you doing (or would you like to be doing) in your community to take action on social justice issues?

Jesus Loves You The Review

Jesus Loves You, This I Know takes as its title a phrase that should have deep, soul-changing, heart-melting significance, but which instead has often become, in the words of the authors, “a trite, overused Christian cliche… a casual exchange in passing.” This is the problem authors Craig Gross and Jason Harper set out to tackle: the “hijacking” of the gospel message, the shift from a message of hope and love to a message of judgment and division.

Their way of reclaiming the meaning of that phrase is straightforward, if sometimes uncomfortable. They provide concrete examples out of personal experience to show how we can show the love of Jesus to those around us. Harper recounts his experiences as a cable company’s bill collector, going to the doors of those who can’t pay their bills. Gross discusses his surprisingly close relationship with the self-described “King of Porn,” Ron Jeremy. In both cases, Harper and Gross carry the love of Jesus outside the four walls of the church to those who need it desperately.

Above all, Jesus Loves You is a call to action — a call to every reader to follow in the footsteps of the authors, break out of our “holy huddles,” and go out to show Christ’s love to the world. If you don’t want to be convicted or challenged, avoid this book. If you’re looking for outside-the-box ways to impact your community for Jesus, read it and take it to heart.

Keep reading to learn about a special offer when you buy the book on Amazon THIS WEEK only.

A Conversation with Jason Harper

About a month ago I had the opportunity to talk Jason about Jesus Loves You. And this week I was able to spend some time with him while he was in town for the book tour (This photo was taken while Jason was in town).

NW: Jason, I loved the book. I loved the simple message and the personal stories that you and Craig shared in each of the chapters.

JH: Thank you. It was really important to Craig and I that we wrote a book that was really personal and about our experiences. We wanted readers to connect with the concept that Jesus not only loves them but also loves their neighbor who may not be anything like them.

NW: I was able to talk with Craig about the book and why he thought that the Jesus loves you message is such a difficult pill for the Church to swallow. What are your thoughts about that?

JH: That’s a really big question. One of the biggest obstacles that we face as a church is our pride. Pride can kill us spiritually just as fast, if not faster, than anything else can. Many people – not all people – but many people in the church are dishonest about living an authentic faith. What I mean is that they show up at church and try very hard to appear as if they have everything together. We’re too proud to admit that we have sins that we struggle with. When we have that kind of pride we become judgmental of other people’s sins. It’s like we want to cast others out in order to protect ourselves. That’s a dangerous game to play. We all need to realize that we all need grace and that Jesus loves everyone no matter who they are or what they have done.

NW: One of my biggest frustration is when I see Christians assign a point scale or rating system to sin as if some sins are worse then others. Do you see that often?

JH: All the time! Somewhere along the way we decided that some sins are worse than others. But, God doesn’t think that way. I don’t know if you’ve seen this but it seems like the sexual sins are the ones that people typically put at the top of that scale. We have Divorce Care groups in the church but things like addiction to pornography or homosexuality get placed at the top of the scale. They are viewed as the ultimate sin and we need to change that perception. This really hit home for me several years ago. At that time I really struggled with my weight and would preach from the pulpit about this kind of stuff without even thinking to look at my self. In the book we have a chapter titled Jesus Loves the Glutton. At that time I didn’t even realize how serious gluttony is or that I should repent of it. I don’t think i realized it because it hadn’t been placed very high on that manufactured point scale.

NW: My favorite chapter in the book is Jesus Loves the Disconnected. I loved reading about your time as the cable guy and your experience with Willie the Wino. In that example you went out into the world to meet people who needed to experience the love of Jesus yet you remained connected to a faith community so you could care for those you met. It was the perfect balance. For me it represented exactly what the church should be doing.

JW: In the book I describe how a woman at an event told me I would never understand how difficult it was for her because I worked in a church and surrounded myself with church people. Her comment suck with me and I decided to take a part time job in the collections department of a cable television company. My job was to drive out to people’s homes and disconnect their cable if they didn’t pay. That’s when I met Willie. The relationship that I was able to develop with him is an example of the kinds of relationship building outreaches we should be doing.

NW: What is the one thing that you hope readers will take away from this book?

JH: One thing? Well, first of all, Craig and I really tried to write a book that anyone could read. We didn’t want to write a book that was exclusively for churched people. That said, we hope that readers find that this book is something that they can share with both their Christian and non-Christian friends. I would hope that those who read this book and call themselves Christians will hear that Jesus loves them and that Jesus loves others no matter who they are or what they have done. I would hope that non-Christians would get the same message: Jesus loves you…this I know.

To learn more about the book check out the site here. To learn more about Jason you can check out his website, Twitter feed, or Facebook page.

Want a great deal on the book? Buy the book on Amazon THIS WEEK and get the following special promotion:

Here is what you will receive for buying the book this week:

1. A PDF of The Gutter by Craig Gross (all hard copies have been sold out), a $10 value

2. 3 FREE Audiobooks! Craig’s last books FREE.  The Gutter, Questions You Can’t Ask Your Mama and Starving Jesus, a $35 value

3. The song Jesus Loves Me, MP3 (written to coincide with the book by Aaron Keyes and Ben Smith)

So for $12.23, you’re getting a value of over $60!

Also, if you buy Jesus Loves You at Amazon this week, you will be entered to win one of three grand prizes.

1. A free trip to Las Vegas
2. A $100 credit in the XXXchurch online store
3. A free trip to the Atlanta Pride stop on the Jesus Loves You tour

Purchase the book on Amazon here. Then get your freebies and to be entered to win one of the grand prizes by writing down the order number, and filling out the form here: http://bit.ly/188YT6

But this house on Hazelwood is what really brought us to Citadel today. Craig and Jason are in the middle of a multi-city tour to promote their book Jesus Loves You. Instead of signing books at Family Bookstore or speaking at ticketed events they decided to take a gamble on the unconventional and are using their stops to demonstrate the love of Jesus rather than just talk about it. (Do you see why I love these guys!?) Tour stops include Folsom Prison, the Atlanta Gay Pride Parade, and the Las Vegas Strip. Today’s stop in Detroit was all about showing that Jesus loves the disconnected and included giving this house to a deserving family. Here is what was shared on Craig’s website about the winner:

The winner of the house was Thereatha Baker. Here is part of her story:

Due to the lose of her husband, which was the primary income of the house whole, she can not afford the rent where she is now. The landlord is selling the house and she has to move at any giving day with no money for first and last months rent. It’s been a trying time since her husband’s passing and with all the bills that due, there’s no money to live off of nor to put food in the house. If she pays her rent she has no money left to pay bills or buy food with that being all the money she has for the month to live off of. It has been by the grace of god she as made it this far.

While we were taking a tour of the house after the service we were given a little insight on the challenges that are facing the neighborhood. Lisa Johanon, Director of Central Detroit Christian Community Development Association and member of Citadel, explained that her organization is starting to see the effects that extreme desperation is having on the neighborhood as poverty increases and further disconnects the community. She shared stories of drug sales, auto theft, carjacking, and homicide – all happening in a five block radius within the span of a week. Yet, in that desperation these guys from the other side of the country were there to pray for the house, the family, and the community. And in that bleak, dark block of abandoned homes there was hope. My favorite part of the day was when an elderly neighbor excitedly yelled down the street at us, “Are you the winners, are you the winners!” A voice of hope.

So, here’s my question Detroit Church (and yes, I’m referring to the suburban church too): Why does it take two guys from the West Coast to put a woman and her children into a new home? According to Lisa there are 83 vacant homes in the neighborhood surrounding Citadel. 133 Detroiters, each with stories as heartbreaking as Mrs. Baker’s, applied for the Hazelwood home. What do we need to do to meet the need – both the housing need and the need to rid the community of the risks that come with abandoned property? What can we do to love our disconnected neighbors?

Check back tomorrow for a re-post of my Jesus Loves You book review and an interview with Jason Harper.

Here is how the people of Just One describe themselves on their website:

JustOne is a non-profit organization that was formed to stimulate greater global awareness about extreme poverty and to provoke compassionate ideas and intelligent giving in order to provide sustainable relief. We are a collective voice for the victims of social injustice––the one(s) living in geographical and situational poverty; the one(s) orphaned through death, disease and desertion; the one(s) trafficked into slavery throughout the world.

Here is how they describe Laundry Love:

Laundry Love Projects (LLPs) are regular opportunities to help people who are struggling financially by assisting them with doing their laundry. Relationships are built, and LLPs become small communities of common concern in which participants often find that they receive assistance and benefit with other areas of their lives.

Please consider starting a Laundry Love Project in your community. Find out how on the Just One site. You can also follow Laundry Love on Twitter. If you have five minutes, check out this video that demonstrates the impact that a few loads of laundry can have on your neighbors. You’ll be inspired.

As I was listening to all of the positive comments on the clip all I could think was, “Huh, and they did it all with out a mission’s committee, coordinating tee shirts, or volunteer weenie roast with a side of fellowship.” Imagine that. Maybe the lesson for us is to stop thinking about the elaborate rescue plan and just get out and love the city.

(Mini rant over. Sorry! I’ll be back to normal tomorrow *wink*)