How Can I Fight Poverty?

How Can I Fight Poverty?

Average

I like to think of myself as your less-emotional-than-average type of girl. And maybe I am, maybe I am not. I cry VERY rarely for movies. But I cry every single time I start reading the Compassion blog.

What is average anyway? I just googled the average world income. When I have jobs that include room and board, I actually make less than that. It is not a lot of money. But average does not necessarily mean it applies to many people. At $7K/year, one is in the top 7th. Nearly 6 billion people live off less than that. Six BILLION. After playing around with this calculator a bit, I found that their estimates put $850 a year as the median annual income. I no longer feel so average. Wow. I have so much less than my fellow Americans, yet I have more than over 80% of the world.

When I was in school, I consistently scored higher than the 90th percentile on standardised tests. I remember getting an 86th percentile once, and feeling terrible. Out of my entire class, I was often the top student. Well, for standardised tests. Not for grades. I could not imagine what it would be like to be scoring at the median. Average sounded like a terrible word to me. I get so much chaff for being a college dropout. But again, I have a terrific education in comparison to everyone else.

I realise I am so privileged. Not only did God give me great abilities when it came to penciling in bubbles but he has given me so much more in terms of money and 'stuff', than most people could even imagine.

I do not give $38 a month so that I can feel good about myself. I do not give $38 a month because I feel like I have money to burn. I do it because I am responsible to be the hands and feet of Jesus. And in doing so, I find that it does feel good. And I see just how much more I have than these children.

I am not your average girl. No, I am rich, and I am well-educated. And I am going to put that money and that information to good use.

I am Nothing

Funny, Pastor Rob was talking about this using a similar analogy this morning, but this post has been in the making for the past couple of weeks.

Is Jesus a crutch for the weak, as many say? I say not. He is my life support. Without him, I am dead in my sin.

To live IS Christ. The effects of the sin remaining in me, and the sin controlling the world around me still causes pain, but I am able to continue with life. My heart and my flesh fail, but he is my strength and my portion forever. The death of sin suffocates me, but he breathes life into me. Apart from Christ, I am NOTHING.

How do I become convinced that I am responsible for anything worked in my life? My pride simply tells me that I am the hero. But no, apart from Christ, I am nothing

AIDS

Click the title

Making Love

I just re-read this section of The Mark of a Man by Elisabeth Elliot. I happened to also read it a few days ago as I was skimming through the book, and then my grandma totally started talking about this!

To make love refers to a performance. It is an act which technically does not require anything remotely resembling real love. To love, by contrast, requires leaving the self behind, abandoning it for the other.

Calling

I am realising yet again that the time is going to come where I have to make a choice determining the course of my life.

See, I am old enough now, and hopefully mature enough to get married. I even have a prospect in mind. There is no denying that my passion is people, including, and especially children. I read the Compassion International blog frequently, and EVERY day I wonder what more I should be doing. There is no doubt that to help the poor and needy is among the calls of the Christian. Yet, it seems to me as though throwing a portion of my paycheque and a few letters to the child who I sponsor is not enough. I know that to change one life carries the possibility of changing hundreds or even thousands. But then again, it may just change one or a few. And yes, God cares so greatly for each individual, and it is such a great thing to see one life given to him. But there are 7 billion people on this earth, and a good deal of them live in extreme poverty and see only injustice around them. And here I am, rather comfortable in comparison to them. Even at my toughest times I still have so much more than they do. And instead of pondering the numbers, and feeling 'sorry' for them, I wonder what more I should be doing. I am not sure that God is calling me to actually GO there--to any other country. In fact, I am somewhat confident that he is not. At least not at this time. And this is where the issue of marriage comes in.

When two people marry, they are then opened to a whole new world of ministry. A FAMILY can accomplish different things than two separate people can. Likewise, two individuals can accomplish things a family cannot. I believe the right time to marry is when two can better fulfill God's calling as a unit than as individuals. And this is where I wonder--is there something more I need to accomplish while I am still single? As of yet, I do not know of anything further I need to do. I wonder how the practical day-to-day fruition of my calling will change when I get married. I have no explicit calling that I know of. I simply know that my life is to be dedicated to people, and that DEFINITELY includes children and adults. I know that more of my calling as it relates to adults can be accomplished when I am married. But the part that I am mixed up about is the children. Sure I can HAVE/adopt children when I am married, but I no longer have the opportunity to go to children in other places, or even to make the decision how much money goes to releasing children from poverty. I believe I already know the answer, otherwise I would not be 'in a relationship'. I also know, however, that I would sacrifice said relationship if I knew that it was not what God wanted for me.

Tune

I have my suspicions. Now I seek to find an answer.

I like to think I really do know, but I NEVER take my intuition as a truth. It is truth only in confirmation. An answer is necessary. And soon.

On Money-

I am beginning to realise what a good idea it is to be financially responsible as a young adult BEFORE getting married. Finances are a top reason for divorce. I see now that my desire to not bring a single penny of debt into a marriage is a worthy aim.

If you don't have the cash for it, don't buy it. SAVE for it.

Love Like Crazy

They called them crazy when they started out
Said seventeen's too young to know what loves about
They've been together fifty-eight years now
That’s crazy

He brought home sixty-seven bucks a week
He bought a little 2 bedroom house on Maple Street
Where she blessed him with six more mouths to feed
Yea that’s crazy

Just ask him how he did it; he'll say pull up a seat
It'll only take a minute, to tell you everything
Be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I Love You
Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common since
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy
And love like crazy

They called him crazy when he quit his job
Said them home computers, boy they'll never take off
He sold his one man shop to Microsoft
They paid like crazy

Just ask him how he made it
He'll tell you faith and sweat
And the heart of a faithful woman,
Who never let him forget

Be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I Love You
Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common sense
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy
And love like crazy

Always treat your woman like a lady
Never get to old to call her baby
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy
And love like crazy

They called him crazy when they started out
They've been together fifty-eight years now

Aint that crazy?

Pilgrimage

It is pretty obvious to everyone that I do not want to live in California any longer. I hate being called a Californian. Call me a Coloradan, and I will be rather excited that you recognise and acknowledge that I am to be associated with such a great place. This has got me thinking about my spiritual life. We are pilgrims here on the earth, citizens of heaven on earth for just a short time. I do not find myself pining for heaven the way I do for Colorado. I am rather desperate to get to Colorado, but I do not long for heaven in such a way. I have struggled with this my entire life as a believer and I only recently began to see a glimpse of the longing that I should have. I was greatly saddened as a result of a sin committed and I could not imagine what I should continue to live for. And for once, my wish for death was accompanied by an actual wish for heaven. BUT. But then circumstances changed once more and my fickle heart was caught up in circumstances. Circumstances. Why must I base my person on event, and not on the person of my Saviour? Why is my emotion so capricious? I am convinced that the degree to which one's behaviour is based upon emotion directly correlates to the degree of worldliness and selfishness they possess. We would not be so prone to the whims of the heart if we were enraptured with Christ. In His presence, the presence of His perfect love, fear dissipates. Bitterness ceases. Self-pity has no place in His light. He must increase, I must decrease. Christ cannot fill a heart that is still occupied by self. And a heart filled with Jesus is a heart that longs to be with Him.

As is the usual case, I have a song for this--

but since the band isn't well known there are no lyrics or audio clips to be found!

Well, you can hear the beginning of the song if you click on the title.

I bought it here

Soul Tie, Part 2

"I am a part of your soul, boy"

Guard Your Heart

I know now why they told me to guard my heart. Value is determined by what someone is willing to pay. When we ask little, we become cheap. But when we DEMAND a higher price, only a man worthy of such treasure will be willing to pay the price.



This vignette tells the safety of guarding one's heart-

It was 1:30 A.M. on Friday, December 6, 1991. Patrolman Tommy Garrison of the Byhalia (Mississippi) City Police had pulled over a gray Monte Carlo for no tag on Highway 309. Garrison walked to the car where three men were waiting.

The driver said he didn't have his license with him but knew the number. Then Garrison saw three VCRs stacked in the back seat.

"Where did you get those VCRs?" he asked. That's when all three men got out. The first attacked Garrison with a knife. While the police officer was wrestling with him, a second man pulled a handgun and shot twice.

The first bullet struck the officer in the stomach and knocked him off balance. When the second hit his chest, Garrison was flung to the ground.

The three men jumped back into the Monte Carlo and spun out, heading north toward the Tennessee line. Before they were out of sight, however, Garrison stood up and ran back to his car to put out an all-points bulletin. He was shaken up and bruised, but unwounded.

That morning Garrison had put on one of the department's bullet-proof vests. The seven-year-old vest was two-and-a-half pounds of discomfort and reeked with sweat. Garrison had not been wearing it regularly because it was such as nuisance. But that Friday had been cool, and Garrison had worn the vest all day. And at the critical moment, it had saved his life by guarding his heart.

God warns, " Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellsprings of life" (Prov. 4:23). In other words, maintain your purity, your integrity, your commitment to the Lord.

Whenever you keep something precious safe, you can cherish and enjoy it, and its value appreciates. The longer we guard our heart--the more time and attention we invest in its care--the easier it is to keep up the watch. The more carefully we guard it, the more secure it will keep us.

Officer Garrison told me that ever since that bullet-proof vest saved his life he has worn one every hour he's been on duty. The rest of the officers on the force were motivated to start wearing them too, but it wasn't long before most of them left their vests at the station once more. When the critical moment comes, they won't be ready.

Guard your heart. Keep it for Jesus alone. If Jesus were to appear before you right now, and you were to ask, "What do want of me?" I believe that He would say, "I want your heart. Just give me your heart."

If He so greatly desires to have your heart, it must be a precious treasure indeed. Guard it carefully.

--Steven Singleton

You have but one heart. Guard it as if your life depends on it.