I think that Tom Davis may the the only friend that could bring me out of my extended blog break. And I know that he is the only friend that could get me to drive to KENTUCKY on a whim. Seriously though, I love Children’s Hopechest and it was my honor to meet up with Tom, Desperation Band, and Meredith Andrews last night for the launch of the Free to Live Tour.

This tour is “a night of worship, speaking, a call to action and an opportunity for you to become part of the family and movement to protect victims of the awful sex trade industry.” It’s a great night and it’s FREE (my favorite four letter word).

I loved spending an evening immersed in an amazing worship. I loved having this time to allow the Spirit to continue transforming my heart and adjust my sights away from myself and on to His passions, His desire for us to serve Him by meeting the needs of “the least of these”. Good stuff.

Here are my 5 takeaways from Free to Live (and reasons you should check it out!):

• I hadn’t known Meredith Andrews music before last night- wow… girlfriend can sing.
• I did know that Jon Egan can sing. I didn’t know that he can preach! The words he shared about Jesus’ heart for the oppressed and the necessity of our response were excellent. I was especially moved by his statement that “Truth triumphs over emotion. Jesus is our truth.” Preach!
• I love worship. Love. Jon Egan shared that “worship without action isn’t worship.” That is some serious truth. Spending the evening doing both – worship and action – was good for my soul.
• Tom shared that there are now 150 million orphans on the world. While that statistic seems overwhelming, doing something as simple as buying a pound of coffee can feed an orphan for a month. Even I can do that.
• The sign below was posted in the Orphan Experience exhibit (don’t miss it if you go) and it really, really spoke to me. It spoke to me as an orphan, a mom, a teen mom, a woman… it sung to my heart on every level. Last year we raised over $2,000 to help HopeChest build a counseling room for trafficking victims in Moldova. This may be the next push… detail to come ;)

You can find out more info on the tour HERE. Tonight the tour hits Atlanta (tickets are still available. And free!) then it moves on to North Carolina and two stops in Alabama. West coast tour dates will be out soon.

You can find out more about HopeChest HERE.

What is the one organization the makes your heart sing? Leave a comment and link them below so we can check them out!

I saw this photo on the Children’s HopeChest Facebook page, and it changed something inside of me. I emailed a friend at the HopeChest office to find out what this photo was all about, and I learned that this is a glimpse into the everyday lives of these 5-year-old boys and girls.

This is their classroom.

170 kindergarteners in one sweltering room with one teacher and no books. All they have is a deep desire for more. More food, more education, more hope. 170 of them. Together.

I love this quote from Tom Davis’s book Fields of the Fatherless:

To look into the face of a suffering child is to see the depth of humanity and the heart of God.

This is the kind of thing that keeps me up at night. It’s the kind of thing that makes me wish I had a magic wand that would instantly feed 170 bellies, produce 170 text books or shoes or clean clothes, and make 170 tiny hopes and dreams come true. I wish I had a magic wand that would instantly make the world a better place.

But I don’t. So I pray.

Tonight I pray for the fatherless.

If you could only do one thing to make the world a better place what would that one thing be?

I’m out of town this week for work and next week for fun so my blogging time is on the light side. I thought I’d pull this one out of the archives…

I’m sarcastic. Very sarcastic. Now, I prefer to think of it as quick witted but at the end of the day you still need to call a spade a spade. So, while other people would read through John 1 and 2 and want to write deep reflections on omnipotency or divine power I am choosing to write about the calling of Nathanael. Why? Because it is proof that even snarky people like me can be called by Christ.

43The next day Jesus decided to leave Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” 44Phillip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one who Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46″Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. John 1:43-46

I love the tone of this passage probably because I can remember being a new believer and the excitement that I felt when I shared what I had found with others. I imagine Philip running up to Nathanael voice raised, full of energy, and talking a mile a minute. And what he gets is a less than enthusiastic response from a very unmoved, skeptical friend. Yeah, that would be me. I have been known to make snap judgements and I have judged several books by their covers. In fact, like Nathanael, I had made judgements about Jesus long before I decided to follow him. And as I have admitted many times on this blog, I still question God’s calling in my life even when his voice is loud and clear. You want me to do what? You want me to go where? Nothing good can come from that Jesus!

Here is what I learned from this passage: Even when I think that Jesus’ claims or direction are ridiculous or at best far fetched, I need to follow him. I need to trust his calling. Even though Nathanael was sarcastic and dismissive with his friend (a nazarene, ha!) he went to pursue him anyway. Nathanael obviously had very little faith in Philip’s claim that Jesus was the one Moses wrote about. But he did have enough faith to get up and go. Yeah, that’s me too. Sometimes, that’s all the faith I have. Just enough to get up from my chair (or out from under my fig tree) and see what he has for me. I think it measures about a tenth of a mustard seed.

And here is why (or one of the million reasons why) I desperately love my God. Even with my sometimes lazy, lack luster faith Jesus is available to me and is there when I decide to show up. In verse 47 he calls Nathanael “a true Israelite”, a son of Abraham, the benefactor of his great inheritance. And more than that he blesses him. In verse 51 Nathanael is told he will “see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” And he blesses me too. Despite my sometimes snarky attitude I have been witness to the miracles of God and my life has been a living testimony of his glory.

And that my friends, is what I call grace.

All I want for my birthday this year is for you to do ONE thing to help one of my favorite organizations, Children’s HopeChest. Throughout the week, I’ve been sharing posts and links from Tom Davis and Anne Jackson’s trip to fight sex trafficking and provide orphan aid in Russia and Moldova. That is only a small part of what this amazing organization does. Children’s HopeChest’s mission is to provide orphans the opportunity to know God, experience family, and develop life skills for independent living. They provide interventions that prevent children orphaned from war, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and disease from becoming victims of criminal behavior, prostitution (trafficking), drug abuse, and suicide.

I have personally experienced the grace that comes from orphan care ministries, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the day I was born into an orphanage than by sharing my passion for orphan care with you.

So, if you would love to give me a birthday gift (of coure you would!) here’s what I REALLY want:

Become a part of the Children’s HopeChest community - become a fan of their Facebook page here or follow them on Twitter here.

Tweet a link to this post or share it on your Facebook wall – Knowing that others are reading this message would be an awesome gift.

Become a 5 for 50 supporter – commit to do five simple things: pray for 5 minuets each day for those suffering from HIV/AIDS, give 5 hours per week to fast for those suffering from HIV/AIDS, give $5 per month to the 5 for 5 fund which provides food, clean water, and education to the poor and to orphans, give 5 days per year to travel outside of the U.S. and serve, and share the 5 for 5 message with five of your friends. (CONFESSION: I haven’t done the 5 days of travel yet either, so don’t let that stop you). Learn more about 5 for 50 here.

Sponsor a child – $34 per month (the cost of 8 grande mochas) can transform an orphan’s life. Learn more about sponsorship here.

Add a button to your blog – My wonderful friend Sarah made these fantastic blog buttons for me using three of my favorite Children’s HopeChest photos. The HTML code is attached to the bottom of each button and is ready for you to cut and paste onto your blog. I love mine! I hope you add one (or three) to your blog too. :)

Please leave a comment for me if you tweet, become a fan, add a button… any of these things. It will make my day to read your comments!

And if you add the button please leave a link so I can visit and see it!

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?

As I read through Luke 6 and 7 I knew immediately that I wanted to write about Luke 6:36. That verse jumped off the page as if it was written in neon lights. It reads: “Be merciful just as your father is merciful.” I have struggled with this verse for two days now and have not moved past it, a clear indication that mercy is something I have an issue with and just hadn’t realized it. As I’ve struggled with this here are the two things that I’ve learned: I’m not as merciful as I think I am and I not sure that I really understand the true meaning biblical mercy.

I used to go to a church that sort of referred members to service groups based on spiritual gifting. This isn’t necessarily a bad concept, people should serve where they are gifted and/or talented. Anyway, one of those groups was the Mercy committee. Any “acts of mercy” that needed to be performed fell in their laps. Loved it! After all, it was very convenient. I never had to do anything. In all my years there I never had to get my hands dirty in service. What I did develop was a very bad habit that I am just now realizing. I have equated mercy with giving money. Had you asked me 48 hours ago if I exercise the gift of mercy I would have emphatically said “yes, of course!” I sponsor a World Vision child, pack multiple Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes, and give to charities I love. That’s mercy, right? Hosea 6:6 has really challenged this belief, “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God not burnt offerings”. I have been giving God sacrifices (money) and calling it mercy. This is certainly not being merciful as my Father is merciful. Not even close.

So what is His mercy and how do I do it? In his book ‘Relearning Jesus’, Matthew Paul Turner* has a great chapter on mercy. He says Jesus’ type of mercy, is “alarming and peculiar. It gives and gives and gives with out expecting anything from me in return. The mercy of Jesus catches me off guard at times. And I believe it’s the kind of mercy that’s most effective in this world – the kind that leaves me standing back saying what just happened.” (p.94). I love that explanation. It illustrates how amazing a merciful Jesus really is and it makes me realize how far I have to go.

I haven’t fully unpacked this topic in my head yet but in terms of application here’s one thing I can say for sure; I need to be less selective with the mercy that I give. I recently had an email conversation with Tal,** who I referenced in a previous post. He and I were discussing our frustration with people who have a manufactured point scale for sin. All sin is equal, none more or worse than the other. This has been a huge issue for me as I often complain that christians miss the mark by treating certain things as ‘big’ sins. Drives me crazy. Reflecting on Luke 6:36, I think I do the same thing with mercy. I have a tendency to give mercy and forgiveness when it is easy for me. When I don’t have to go to far out on a moral limb. And, worst of all, when I decide it’s justified. I pray that I will learn to grow in the understanding of and ability to freely show mercy, mercy like the kind the Father has shown me.

I hope you comment on mercy and what it means to you. I have a lot to learn from your thoughts.

Tomorrow I’ll be reading Luke 7 and 8

Here are two links for guys I’m learning to know and hope I can someday call friends:

* ‘Relearning Jesus: How Reading the Beatitudes One More Time Changed My Life” is a great book. I highly recommend it. Matthew’s currently offering this book for free, for a limited time, if you purchase his other book ‘Churched’ (hysterical!) through his site. http://jesusneedsnewpr.blogspot.com/

** One more shout out for Tal. He’s a cool (and merciful) guy with an inspiring story and great Sirius show that will challenge you. http://www.talprincelive.com/templates/System/default.asp?id=41919