It is so stinking easy...

"and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday." -
Isaiah  58: 10

Woooo, in my life that has been the Absolute TRUTH! My eyes have been opened wide! I have been to desperate orphanages, I hang out in a slum of one of the poorest countries in the world and have held hands, hugged and became friends to prostitutes and beggars. I have seen some of the most offensive, horrifying, and desperate living conditions in the world. And it makes my "night" (my bad days) undoubtedly shine like the noonday.

 But all I can think about in those seemingly desperate settings is "Wow, my friends living here have joy." And it is a Joy that can not be filled with money, TV, or other distractions! They are filled with Love, family, community! 

Every time I leave Ethiopia I make a commitment to live more communally, less materialistically. To live simply, like my friends in Ethiopia. I make a decision to come home with my focus wholeheartedly on the Love that our Father gives so unconditionally! And also to continue give generously to my friends in Ethiopia and to spend myself on behalf of them, because I know that that is where it is at!

And when I get home I try to do just that...

But, Dang It All! It is so stinking easy to fall back into wanting things you do not "have." To fall back Fast and sometime even MORE furiously then before! WHY IS THAT?!?! Why do we see what other people around us have and desire it SO BAD... why can't I constantly be thankful for what I do have and not just materialistically, but to be thankful for each and every one of my blessings... Why can't I settle on the fact that I am LOVED and I am alive and that is all I need!?!

Because, I know without a doubt that there is a constant battle for my heart.  And that battle is intense. So today, I choose Joy and a heart full of thankfulness! 

Will you join me today in being Thankful for what we do have and not desiring anything other then the Love of our Father?