The Question Game
Warning: This post may be bit uncomfortable…
Before I sponsored my first child back in college, I had a lot of questions:
- Where is all my money going?
- Will this child actually know about me?
- Is she really the one writing these letters?
- Does she really need my money?
Wow! Those questions are somewhat embarrassing to write out, but I want to be honest with you. And honestly, the answers to those questions were about to dictate my opportunity to glorify God and bring hope to a precious little girl.
Since that time and over the years I have learned that I often ask the wrong questions, which can be a problem when I am looking for an answer.
Ever notice how Jesus would often answer a question with a different question? That is one of the reasons why I am so wondrously captivated with Him … His initiative to give us new understanding. He knows the answer but He also knows the question we need to be asking.
Our questions can be very critical to how we are living our lives and what we are putting our hope in.
I’m curious, what questions do you find yourself asking? Be honest, I won’t judge.
If you need a little nudge, I just so happen to have one.
This is Eric Timm. Listen to what he has to say.
You can also view the Question Game on YouTube.
Did you get that? Instead of continuing to ask, “Why is there poverty?” he is now asking, “Where are God’s people?”
This clip, which I saw awhile back, has challenged me to keep my mind focused on the things above when everything in me starts producing a list of questions.
Here is what I believe I should have been asking when it came to sponsorship (or my spending in general):
- Am I glorifying God with how I use my finances?
- Will I be faithful to encourage and support this precious child?
- Am I obeying God in how He has asked me to use His money?
- Do I really need all the stuff I think I need and spend my money on? And if I don’t, who does?
How is that for a dose of perspective? I think it is challenging but in a refreshing kind of way!
OK, here’s your cue. Remember those questions I wanted to know you were asking? Well, through this lens, what questions are you asking now?
Continue Reading ›Song of Hope
He is the most remarkable storyteller there is. More than that, the brilliant author. He speaks and there is light. From His voice comes life.
His workmanship becomes ingrained within our being. He weaves stories into our lives. Stories of triumph, of sorrow, of sheer joy. Stories of hope.
Reading your stories of hope captivated me as well as resurrected a story of hope I have seen in my life, in a place before Compassion.
When He gave me this story, my life became enriched. My heart now scarred with such sacred radiance:
Continue Reading ›World AIDS Day
Poverty is multi-faceted. It is much more intricate than just a lack of money.
And like many other aspects of poverty, HIV and AIDS have the ability to take a frightening toll on children.
Today is World AIDS Day, and I’m taking it as an opportunity to let you know how committed we are to fighting the disease.
It begins with our AIDS Initiative program, which is working on a grassroots level through the local church to take on the AIDS pandemic, one child at a time.
Ok, pause.
AIDS Initiative, pandemic, poverty . . . I don’t like throwing around these words. It is easy to just roll over the keyboard and punch out the words. But can you imagine? I mean really, can you even imagine what it is like to be infected with HIV or affected by AIDS?
To better understand the effect HIV and AIDS have on people, particularly people in the developing world, and to get a better glimpse into what the Lord is doing through Compassion, I think we need to unpack a few details. I hope your mind is engaged and your heart is prepared because I am about to give you just that.
Now, as I was saying, our AIDS Initiative works to aid one child at a time. For example, this child:
Famous Inspirational Quotes
“You’re a little mover and a shaker. You’re going to change the world.”
Ok, I am not sure why I am tearing up as I write that sentence, but I am. It’s just me, I’m emotional.
I heard that phrase from my mom for over 23 years. I heard it on my first day of school, my first presentation, my first test, mission trip, job, my first “what am I doing with my life” crisis . . . anytime anything robbed my hope and joy my parents were there with that phrase.
So now I am a bit older (but just a bit) and I have these little phrases I repeat over and over in my head. They help me through my job, they remind me of my worth, they remind me of His love.
Words can transcend time and history. They can resound within our heart for years. That’s what words do: they impact a person . . . a child.
So in celebration of words, and the message given to us in the Word, below are two famous quotes.
I want to know what resonates with you. Which one inspires you most and why?
Mother Teresa, Roman Catholic nun
“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
Princess Diana, Princess of Wales
“You can’t comfort the afflicted without afflicting the comfortable.”
Which one makes you want to become a mover and a shaker?
