Hi all! I hope that the Lord is inspiring you with your own creative ways to save so that you are free to GIVE! Last night my husband and I had the wonderful opportunity to watch the Southern Baptist Convention Pastor's Conference online while it was going on! Our whole family gathered around the computer to watch the Watoto children's choir sing and share about Jesus...it was just pure joy for us! Those precious sweeties were from Uganda and they travel the whole world singing about Jesus...and their JOY is amazing.
What is even more amazing is that these children are orphans and have seen more struggles and horrific things than you and I can imagine. Some of them were child soldiers in Northern Uganda and had their entire families killed because they were not "good soldiers" due to the fact they were scared to kill someone. These children are many times the ages of my two girls.
To see these precious children dance and sing and quote scripture with amazing JOY was ringing in my heart today as I ready John 15 for my gathering time with the Lord. Listen to this:
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."
Isn't that amazing to know that as the Father loved Jesus...He loves us??? Just like the Father loves His only begotten Son...Jesus loves us? Amazing. As we remain in that love by daily seeking His Word and following everything it says...then His JOY is in us and our JOY may be complete...not lacking anything!
Last night as we explained to our girls what those children had been through and seen in their short lives...we were all reminded that it is Jesus' LOVE and JOY that makes us complete. Even if we lack parents...Jesus' LOVE and JOY can make us complete. Even when we have been abandoned...Jesus' LOVE and JOY make us complete. When we are dealing with a chronic or fatal illness...Jesus' LOVE and JOY makes us complete. When our bellies are hungry and we do not have any clothes to wear...Jesus' LOVE and JOY makes us complete.
And in that LOVE...we are to abide in Him and follow His commands. We don't just keep all that LOVE and JOY to ourselves reveling in the fact we have been made complete. NO! We are commanded to GO!
Acts 1:8 tells us that those of us who have received the Holy Spirit will receive POWER and we WILL BE WITNESSES to Jerusalem, throughout all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth. We can't abide in the love of the Father and NOT follow Him to the nations. To the least. To the lost. To the homeless. To the prisoner. To the hungry. To the orphans. To the widows. To the WORLD!
I don't want to be content with a nice life...with a nice family...with a nice church...with a nice ministry to really nice women. Oh Father, strip me and my family of "nice" and propel us towards following Your global heart and your command to love all people and share the GOOD NEWS with each one we meet. May we stop putting a "Christian spin on the American dream" and abide in You. Denying self...taking us a cross...and following you.
In this alone will our JOY be made complete. Just like the Watoto children...who can now say Mamba Sawa...Life is good!!!
For more information on Watoto ministry please visit this site:
And then...if you are bold and unafraid...I challenged you to take a look at the Living Hope Project to women. This will open our eyes to the reality of the world. What is going on around us while we are shopping for another $70 purse at Kohls...spending billions on ourselves...and living like our 5% of the world is reality.
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