Hey Jude...

Thought I'd introduce you to my new nephew Judah...Born this morning and weighing in at 8lbs, 6 ozs, he's definitely cute and definitely a keeper! Here's some of his first pics at only hours of age. Too bad he was sleeping and only really had one pose...

and I quote...

Just thought I'd share some quotes from one of my favourite authors...Clive Staples Lewis. It is not only important to be an influence in the lives of others, but to surround yourself with peeps who are sowing into you and challenging you to become all that God has created you to be - however painful the process. Your experiences are no doubt incredible, but never forget to leave your ears open to the life learnings of others. God has given great wisdom to His children - no matter what their culture or occupation...blue collar, beggar, wall street or child. Never rob yourself of being edified in and thru His people.

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

“There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way”

“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.”

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”

“There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan”

“The very man who has argued you down, will sometimes be found, years later, to have been influenced by what you said”

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.”

“We're not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be”

“He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart”

Fix You

So I've been processing lots lately...and it's still hard to determine what the outcome of Africa will be in my life. There were so many revelations...I was equally stunned at the level of poverty and the overabundance of joy that flowed from those who had nothing. Images continue to replay in my mind...a little girl blinded by a simple eye infection, countless children who hadn't eaten in 3 days, boys playing soccer with a patched together ball in a junkyard of cars, sugar cubes in the bottom of tin cans - enough to sustain a child beggar for the day. The need seemed impossible to meet - how could one possibly make a difference?
And yet God does not call us to solve world hunger in a day...just to impact one person at a time. To do what we can with what we have.
In seeing this physical poverty in such a brief glance, I have been more overwhelmed by the poverty I came face to face with stepping off the plane in North America. We have so much, and yet our lack is equally as crippling...We lack community. We lack contentment. We lack compassion. Our possessions end up defining us. Our desire for more drives us. True self-sacrifice - which so many AIDS orphans find as a way of life - is a rare find in our culture. With so much, we have a harder time parting with our opportunities and things than those who have next to nothing.
When I got back, I had the opportunity to speak on poverty at a local highschool. This was my video presentation of my pics from Sengal:

We can offer a person food, but if we don't show them Christ, they will still die. Wherever on this broken planet God has called you - Africa, Asia, or North America...the needs are great - they don't always share the same face. Ask God to give you a heart of compassion for the lost...and be amazed at what He will and can do with just one life that is available to Him.