Wednesday, October 10, 2012

make God proud.

please note: i scribbled down this blog post in about 5 minutes flat.
the thoughts may not be completely coherent, but i think the point is still there!
i'm on my soapbox today. 
:)

*******

last night i read about an orphanage in bulgaria that needs $2800 to buy a new van.
the van will be used to transport sick kids back and forth to the hospital.
they are having trouble raising the funds, hence the blog post asking for help.
i donated $50 and prayed that my donation would multiply.

here i am almost 12 hours later and i just can't seem to move on.
i'm pissed.
ONLY $2800?
i wonder why it is that situations like this exist, why we live in a world where brothers helping brothers is really just a corny cliche.
when we hear of someone making a large donation to help someone or a community stepping up to support a cause, it is truly something extraordinary and exceptional and rare.

it is not the norm...
the norm is all "hey, look at my fancy new house!" or "look, my new phone is better than yours!" or "i really needed this new purse even though it cost $300.  it's so awesome!"

and i just don't get that.

i mean, i GET it, of course i do.
i'm human.  i like new things and fancy things and expensive things.
i buy them.
i want them.
i want and want and want.

but i also see my home bulging at the seams with EXCESS.
i see my greed, my sloth, my gross desire to own something more than to give something.
and i want to change that.

i am a Christian.
i believe in God.
i believe that one day my body will die and i will go to Heaven.
i also believe in the Bible and believe it is the Word of God.
does this all sound familiar?
are you a Christian too?
yes?


then we must truly examine what our motives are.
yes, we work hard.
we feel like we deserve that new car or new truck or that vacation or that expensive new blouse.
we've EARNED it, even!

but you know, i'm not sure God sees it that way.
and if you are a Christian, you believe in God, you go to church on Sundays, say a blessing before every meal, etc, i'm pretty sure you will admit that God might just NOT see it that way.

imagine the day you meet Him and he says to you,
               "oh but what about the time when your neighbor/friend/coworker/sister/brother/son/daughter needed help from you but didn't help him. you did not give to them.  instead you used that money to buy a new car/truck/house/earrings/vacation/clothes/whatever."

i can't imagine that the best response will be,
               "well, God, i earned it, i DESERVED it."

do you really think this is what He wants to hear from us?

i just can't believe in my heart that God is going to accept that from me.
He knows, all too well, the greed, the envy, the vanity, the selfishness, the pride, the grossness of my heart.
thankfully, He loves me despite of it.

even still, i don't want to let Him down.
his demands are clear and i don't know about you, but i want to make Him proud.
my greatest desire is to be the giving, loving, selfless, caring, kind servant that He asks me to be.

i cannot be the Christian that God wants me to be living a life where i am the only recipient of my good fortune and hard work.

Christians are not self-centered; we are Christ-centered!

so why are their so many people in need?
why don't we give all we can and help all we can?
why do we feel like it's ok to turn away and NOT help others?
why do we hold on the money in our pocket like it's going to give us salvation?
why do we love our possessions more than we value eternity?
why do we feel like helping others is such a bother?

these are the thoughts in my head that keep me awake at night.
i lie in bed and i think about davis and the other children at his orphanage.
they have nothing of their own.
nothing.
even shoes are shared.
they have never, ever known the love of a family.
they go to bed every night without a kiss and a hug and a warm cozy bed.
there are hundreds of thousands of them.
some of the children are sick.
some need surgery and medical care.
these children are subjected to things that we just can't comprehend.
they learn coping techniques like rocking or biting their hands and fingers just to soothe themselves.
babies actually learn to NOT cry because no one will come for them anyway.

i'm in tears now, but guys, seriously, this is REAL.

please don't turn away and close the computer and ignore these kids (or others in need).
give.
give all you can.
go to reece's rainbow and choose a child.
pray for them.
pour your heart out to God and ask that he show mercy on that child.
support an adopting family.
send a family an email and encourage them.
there are so many things you can do that don't cost a dime!
encourage, support, pray.

if adoption isn't your thing, choose another way to be selfless today.
i beg you.
i beg you to make God proud today.






11 comments:

Laura Jean said...

Your heart cry is clear. Thank you for spurring me on.

Krista S. said...

Just had to comment (first time:) today. I feel this way day in and day out, but never do a thing about it. Thank you for the reminder, I want to make God PROUD!!!!

{cuppakim} said...

i'm glad you shared this.
on it.

<3 you and your big giants enormous heart jupemom.

grey rose (they/them) said...

oh, amy.
praise jesus for this post.
i am perfectly uncomfortable,
and praying for my action plan right. this. minute.


p.s. i love you.

Kimberlee Jost said...

Your words are clear and so is your heart.
I'm so glad that you share it so often.

Laura said...

the best posts are the ones that literally pour out in minutes directly from the heart.

I agree with it all
we are here to glorify God with our lives
but in our world of excess and greed and really....iphone 5??? is there a need for the 5?????....well, we have so much material attachment, that we lose the desire for GOD. Our desire for THINGS just gets bigger...although never satisfied...because what we all crave is GOD, whether we know it or not...and it goes on and on and on.

emptying myself...
losing attachments to wealth, power, pleasure, and honor...the 4 addictions we all have that keep us from Christ...
it is NOT easy
I try
and try
and fail
and fail
but I keep trying

because I have hope, Amy
hope in Christ
hope in you
hope for the world

we need more prayer
prayer for grace
prayer to be less selfish
prayer to help others
to put our needs last
to serve with joy

keep writing these 3 minutes posts from your heart
they are small steps to making a difference

love you

Unknown said...

so honest and so clear. how I fail God every.single.day. how I get so wrapped up in stuff that I miss the real. I miss the friends that are broken, the strangers that are needing. thank you amy for writing from your heart.

Unknown said...

Amen friend. Your heart is so shiny. I love you.

Anonymous said...

Amy,

I read your blog once in awhile and came upon this today and loved it! I am an advocate for Elden in region 14 and really, really want to see him and his friends like Davis go "home" soon!

Sue H.

Anonymous said...

Don't give up Amy! God will make a way for you and Davis. This post hits the mark. Bullseye.

Jeannett said...

i like you.
how come i've never given you a hug?
geography is lame.
you nasa folk need to come up with something that can just teleport me around to all my bloggy friends.
get on that, will ya?