Setting It Right

Happy December 12, 2012, everyone! I've been thinking for a while about what to write in my next blog post, and finally decided to share something that has been on my mind for the past week or so.

Every Tuesday a couple friends and I meet at my favorite coffee shop downtown to spend time in the Word, talk, and laugh together. It's one of the highlights of my week - I practically live for Tuesday afternoons and the joy and refreshment they bring!

Two studies ago, we were reading through Luke 17 and something stood out to me in a new way. With a subject heading titled "When The Son of Man Arrives," Luke 17:20-21 (MSG) says,

"Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when 

the kingdom of God would come, answered, 

'The kingdom of God doesn't come by 

counting the days on the calendar. Nor 

when someone says, "Look here!" or, 

"There it is!" And why? Because God's 

kingdom is already among you.'"

Reading this passage made me a little sad. How heartbreaking is it to think that these men were looking (or maybe only pretending to look) for the kingdom of God, and yet could stand in front of the Son of God, even ask him questions, without even recognizing him! They were so busy trying to clear up the fuzzy details about their faith that they missed out on the opportunity to know Jesus on a personal basis!

As I thought about it, however, I realized that we are in danger of doing the same thing today, especially at a time like this when so many people have questions, thoughts and opinions about the "end of the world." Whether they're freaked about the Mayan calendar that only gives us nine more days to live or are disturbed by the state of national and international politics, many people are asking questions similar to those I would imagine were posed by the Pharisees to Jesus.

Where is God?

Why is he letting all of this happen?

When will he come and establish his kingdom?

I can't imagine what if would've been like to be Jesus in this moment...

I'm right here! Standing in front of you!! Not only have I come and entered into this messy world, but I'm here establishing my kingdom right under your noses - preaching the good news to the poor, announcing pardon to prisoners, healing the sick, setting the burdened free, and announcing the year of the Lord (paraphrase of Isaiah 61:1-2)! How can you be asking me all this and not see that I am your long-awaited Messiah?

Instead, he explains the simple, beautiful truth about his kingdom.

"The kingdom of God doesn't come by 

counting the days on the calendar. Nor 

when someone says, 'Look here!' or, 

'There it is!' And why? Because God's 

kingdom is already among you."

He meant this in a literal sense for these Pharisees, but the reality still stands true today. We try to count the days on the calendar or we try to "map out" the end times according to Scripture, but Jesus made it clear that we'll never know all the details about when he will return. And yet he also made it clear that he will never leave us nor forsake us... the kingdom is already among us! 

Over the past week I've been wrestling with this verse a lot. I don't want to miss out on the kingdom here and now in anticipation of the kingdom that is to come. We're only two weeks from Christmas, the day that we celebrate the fact that God came to earth in the flesh. He came, and by his birth, life and death, he set into motion the greatest story of redemption ever told. His kingdom has arrived and is in the process of being made whole and complete here on earth.

Because the kingdom of God has already arrived, I believe it'd be a mistake to live solely in anticipation of it's establishment. I'm a wholehearted believer in living in anticipation of Jesus' return, but I think it looks different than counting days on a calendar, fretting over who's been elected president, or despairing over the darkness we see in the world. 

As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (MSG),

"All this comes from the God who settled 

the relationship between us and him, 

and then called us to settle our relationships 

with each other. God put the world square 

with himself through the Messiah, giving the 

world a fresh start by offering forgiveness 

of sins. God has given us the task of telling 

everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's

representatives. God uses us to persuade 

men and women to drop their differences

and enter into God's work of making things

right between them. We're speaking for 

Christ himself now: Become friends with God;

he's already a friend with you. How? you ask.

In Christ. God put the wrong on him who 

never did anything wrong, so we could be put 

right with God."

We have been put right with God so that we might take part in his restorative work. We represent Christ to the world, and usher his kingdom into our world by greater and greater measures. 

We have entered into God's work of making things right.

I imagine Jesus looking at me tonight, begging me not to miss out on this opportunity...

Know me, he urges. Enter into relationship with me. Don't be so caught up in watching for my "coming" kingdom that you overlook the fact that I'm already doing kingdom-work right here, right now - and you could be a part of it! 

My prayer over the past week has been for myself to let the very here-and-now reality of Jesus' kingdom to propel me into deeper relationship with him. To live as a representative of Christ not by effort or obligation but because I'm compelled by his great love. To take part in his kingdom-work of setting things right now in anticipation of the day when he will set all things right, once and for all.

"I saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea. I saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as a bride for her husband. I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: 'Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They're his people, he's their God. He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good - tears gone, crying gone, pain gone - all the first order of things gone.' The Enthroned continued, 'Look! I'm making everything new." ~ Revelation 21:1-5

Enough For Today

This past weekend I went on the Mill Fall Retreat, the retreat for the college group at my church. It was an amazing couple of days and I learned a lot and had lots of fun, but there is one thing in particular I want to share this afternoon.

We had a guest speaker named Andrew Arndt (from Bloom Church in Denver) talk to us on Saturday morning about the Lord's Prayer. The entire sermon was extremely thought-provoking, and I encourage anyone who is able to listen to the podcast... you won't regret it. One of my favorite things he said was this simple-yet-profound statement:

We never get to graduate from trust.

Because the idea of trust has been on my mind lately (see my last blog post), this idea struck me in a powerful way. Pastor Arndt wisely pointed out our tendency to expect that we'll get to a point in our lives where we don't have to trust God anymore.

But if we look at the Lord's Prayer, he pointed out, this is unrealistic. Matthew 6:11 says, "Give us this day our daily bread." Jesus didn't instruct us to ask for anything more than what we need for that day.

It's like when God sent manna from heaven to the Israelites in the desert! In Exodus 16, "God said to Moses, “I’m going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day’s ration. I’m going to test them to see if they’ll live according to my Teaching or not.'" When they saw the manna on the ground, they didn't know what it was, "So Moses told them, 'It’s the bread God has given you to eat. And these are God’s instructions: "Gather enough for each person, about two quarts per person; gather enough for everyone in your tent."' The People of Israel went to work and started gathering, some more, some less, but when they measured out what they had gathered, those who gathered more had no extra and those who gathered less weren’t short—each person had gathered as much as was needed. Moses said to them, 'Don’t leave any of it until morning.' But they didn’t listen to Moses. A few of the men kept back some of it until morning. It got wormy and smelled bad."

It's such an accurate picture of the way I find myself "trusting" Jesus. He promised to provide. He has kept that promise every single day of my life. And yet I still don't want to trust him fully. I doubt he'll keep his promise tomorrow, so I try to take control.

Pastor Arndt talked about how we often pray for God to supply our needs out of a desire not to have to depend on him so much. We hope that God will bless us to such a degree that we no longer experience the kinds of pain or discomfort that would compel us to cry out to Him.

Talk about convicting! Jesus instructed us to pray for today's provision, which means that tomorrow's is in his hands. He'll take care of it. It's uncomfortable not knowing exactly how or when he is going to meet my needs, but as a Christ-follower I'm committed to learning to trust him in the midst of the discomfort. He is more than enough for today, even if I'm not always convinced of the truth of that statement.

I don't get to graduate from trust. It is my life's work.

"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation." ~ Psalm 13:5

Risky

I'm reading through Luke and can't get over what a radical man Jesus was (and is). At times, looking at his life and words makes me uncomfortable - I feel like the people from the Gerasenes, who after seeing what he had done in the life of the man afflicted by demons, "got together and asked Jesus to leave - too much change, too fast, and they were scared" (Luke 8:37).

Being a Christ-follower is scary. And yet, as I've been reading, I've also found extreme comfort in this man I love so much. I trust him... or at least I'm learning to. There are days when its easy, when I've watched him feed the five thousand and I realize that he is so much bigger than the problems I put in front of him. But there are also days when a storm is threatening to capsize my boat and he seems far too calm about it!

Today I'm challenged to trust Jesus more. He never fails to comes to my side, silence the storm and ask once again, 

"Why can't you trust me?"

Over and over he listens to me explain that the crowds are too big and the need is too vast, and he responds with the terrifying challenge, "You feed them." 

And yet, he never turns me away. He never abandons me to the storm and he never asks me to meet the enormous need alone. He's right there in the middle of every one of my messes, and for that I am learning to trust him. 

This morning as I read the story of the bleeding woman in Luke 8, I was moved by the way Jesus met the woman's desperation with such compassion and grace. When she admits to touching him and receiving his healing, he said something that wrecks me.

"Daughter, you took a risk trusting me,
and now you're healed and whole.
Live well, live blessed!"
~ Luke 8:48

Trusting Jesus is risky. With each passing season of my faith I recognize that more and more! But I am encouraged by his response to my messy attempts.

This I know. Jesus is worth my trust.

Worth My Time

Hi, my name is Sophie Tirado and I have a Pinterest account. For those of you with a life, Pinterest "is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests."

It makes total sense why I'm on Pinterest now, right? Because I have a wedding to plan (false), a home to decorate (also false) and recipes to organize (still false). Really it's just one of those things that I waste time on. I see cool stuff and I "pin" it so I can look at it later... it's super great. Or not. 

Anyways. This isn't meant to be a Pinterest rant! There actually are some reasons I like the site, and one of these is the fact that sometimes I find encouraging/inspiring/funny quotes. Stuff like,

or,

or,

or even

.

It's sometimes goofy and sometimes pointless, but then there are times when I see something that genuinely strikes a chord with me - that sets me thinking and puts courage in my heart.

The problem is, there are also pins that concern me. They're the ones that may sound good initially, but communicate something that is actually deeply disturbing. These pins say things like this,

or,

or,

or one that seems to be a particular favorite,

.

Obviously there is a theme to all of these. I'm sharing them because they all communicate a popular idea in today's generation. It sounds good, to a point... repairing individuals' self-worth is something that I do think that a lot of people - young women in particular - are in need of. But that's a talk for another day. 

I would argue that the ideas being communicated here hold a frightening potential to tear lives apart.

The ideas expressed here say that when people mistreat me - fail to "be there" for me, desert me, talk poorly of me, stop loving me, refuse to make time for me, treat me as ordinary - I have every right to walk away. I deserve more, and they need to learn respect.

But do you know what I noticed about the sentence above? 

Me. Me, me, me, me, me, me.

Yikes. That sends a red flag up in my brain.

As a Christ follower, I'm immediately compelled to compare these quotes with what the Word of God says. As it turns out, I'm having trouble finding anything that communicates these kinds of values. Here's just a few examples of what I found:

“Therefore, as God's chosen people, 
holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves 
with compassion, kindness, humility, 
gentleness and patience. Bear with each 
other and forgive whatever grievances 
you may have against one another. 
Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And 
over all these virtues put on love, which 
binds them all together in perfect unity.”
~ Colossians 3:12-14

The word "bear" stands out to me here. "Bear with each other" sounds so much messier than "love each other," or "forgive each other," both of which we are also asked to practice. And yet something about "bearing" with people who have grieved me speaks differently to me. It's not easy. It's not pretty. But I'm called to it, nonetheless.

“But the wisdom that comes from 
heaven is first of all pure; then peace 
loving, considerate, submissive, full 
of mercy and good fruit, impartial 
and sincere.” ~ James 3:17 

This verse gives me a little more comfort, reminding me that this wisdom regarding how to love and bear with people I struggle with comes from heaven, not from me. It's not about gritting my teeth and forcing myself to produce good fruit in my life and self. A tree doesn't force itself to bear fruit, it comes about naturally! In the same way, the ability to live in peace with others, to be considerate, submissive, full of mercy, impartial and sincere comes as a natural byproduct of my connection with the source of Life. He is the Vine, I am the branch, and he enables me to produce the fruit that would otherwise be counterfeit and short-lived.

And of course, the classic verse so often quoted but so rarely embodied...

"But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. 
If someone strikes you on the right cheek, 
turn to him the other also." ~ Matthew 5:39

Oi. How do you even begin to unpack a verse like this without sounding like a hypocrite? I could talk all day about how important it is to live this out - loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us - but the truth is that it is so counter-cultural, so unnatural, it's something that I feel only God can actually reveal to our hearts. 

That's the thing about Jesus. He isn't like a virtual pinboard - no matter how hard I may try, I cannot "pin" my thoughts, feelings or ideas on him. Just because something sounds good doesn't mean it's true. Jesus came and refused to conform to the standards of his time. He asked hard questions, broke religious rules, flipped tables, and challenged just about every "norm" his culture lived under. 

Today, Jesus hasn't changed a bit. He makes me uncomfortable, he pulls the carpet out from under my pre-conceived ideas, turns my world on its head, and offers me a better story than what I would otherwise settle for. 

Only he offers me the "mad, passionate, extraordinary love" that the quote above talks about. There is nothing mediocre about the way he loves me, but there is also nothing mediocre about the way he loves the person who bugs me most in life. The people who we think aren't worth our time, the people who have done unspeakably hurtful things and who have never truly loved anyone are just as loved, desired and valuable to the King of Kings as Mother Theresa was, the woman who spent her love everywhere she went. 

It's almost earth-shattering, isn't it?

I've loved Jesus my whole life, but every time I actually sit down to think about it my mind is blown again.

And because I've decided to let Jesus in to begin transforming my mind and heart - an incredibly long and difficult process - I'm learning an alternative to the knee-jerk reaction of turning my back on the people who hurt me, hate me, or annoy me. If I let him into my interactions with those people, Jesus's mad, passionate, extraordinary love produces a different reaction in me. 

Jesus says that everyone I encounter is worth his time, therefore they are worth mine, too. No one is beneath me. No one is disqualified, no one is ineligible of his love. No one. So why do I think I can excuse them?

Jesus in me, the hope of glory, is up to something pretty crazy. It's still unnatural. It's still uncomfortable. But it's good. Don't miss out.

"It’s in Christ that we find out who we are 

and what we are living for. Long before we 

first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, 

he had his eye on us, had designs on us for 

glorious living, part of the overall purpose 

he is working out in everything and everyone." 

~ Ephesians 1:11-12

The Story About a Forest

Happy fall, everyone!

I'm back at CC for my sophomore year and feeling as blessed as ever to be somewhere I feel so called to. Life has been hectic since I last wrote, with a month-long class in Italy, three months of nannying in New Hampshire, and then a month of geology that kept me out in the field for most of my days last block! So much has happened and I really feel like God has been showing me a lot over the past several months. 

A couple weeks ago I picked up a book called A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. The premise of the book is that "if what we choose to do with out lives won't make a story meaningful, it won't make a life meaningful either." Miller makes the argument that the same elements that go into a compelling story also go into a compelling life. He demonstrates this idea beautifully by telling his own journey through this discovery and the ways it changed him.

Although my entire copy of A Million Miles is marked up and highlighted from all the great material I encountered within its pages, there are a few key statements that Miller made that I'd like to share, simply because they've stuck with me the most since I finished reading the book. The first is when Miller suggests that life is always "staggering," but that we have somehow grown accustomed to it. He writes, 

"I've wondered, though, if one of the reasons
we fail to acknowledge the brilliance of life
is because we don't want the responsibility
inherent in the acknowledgement. We don't
want to be characters in a story because
characters have to move and breathe and face
conflict with courage. And if life isn't remarkable,
then we don't have to do any of that; we can be
unwilling victims rather than grateful participants."

I read that paragraph and scribbled "profound" next to it. It's easy to read and apply it to someone else - "Yeah, that's totally true for so-and-so..." - but the more I have thought about it, the more I've seen it in myself. During some seasons, life is blindingly brilliant and overwhelmingly remarkable. In those times I feel fully alive... I'm moving and breathing and facing conflict with courage! But then I go through seasons of what Christians have callously dubbed "spiritual dryness." Life loses its luster and all of a sudden everything seems commonplace. 

Though I am usually aware of this shift, I've seen myself time and time again choose to camp out in it. The feeling is hard to describe, and I almost want to use the word "numbing," but it's more of a sense of boredom than desensitization. In the middle of my fog I still know there's more to be had out there, but for some reason something in my nature urges me to play the part of unwilling victim. 

Maybe its laziness. Maybe its pride. Maybe its cowardice...

Whatever it is, I find it disengaging me from what I'd call "true" or "abundant" life and allowing me to settle into something that requires far less responsibility or participation. 

When I finally emerge from the fog, repent, and actively choose abundant life, I realize how foolish I have been. Jesus said he came that we "may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10b)" And in Galatians we are told that "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. (Galatians 5:1a)" 

I know what it looks like to live fully and freely like that. In January of 2009 I joined the Burn Internship at my church, and was immediately thrown into a group of Christ followers who radically changed my understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. The students and leaders I was interacting with were "on fire" for their King - they prayed, served, and worshiped harder and with more genuine passion than I had ever encountered before. And yet, somehow, they were also some of the craziest, goofiest, most hilarious people I had ever spent time with. At the time, I didn't know how to reconcile this. 

"If people could see these friends of mine and how real and full of life they are, their conceptions of Christians would be shattered," I remember thinking to myself. 

I craved the life and joy and freedom they possessed. I soaked it up like a sponge, and quickly realized it had nothing to do with the people's personalities and everything to do with what Jesus had done/was daily doing in their lives. 

The people I served with in Burn are only one example I've seen of life lived to the fullest like that. I've encountered so many individuals who are filled with an insatiable joy that is both appealing and contagious, and Donald Miller shares even more examples in his book. These people make ordinary life look extraordinary and I admire that so much!

Thinking about all this over the past few weeks, I've become really "jazzed" about the idea of intentionally telling a compelling story with my life. Over my block break I packed every possible moment full of laughter, memories, conversations, experiences and meaning. My facebook status to commemorate the amazing weekend and give thanks for the life God has given me, said:

"1st block break of sophomore year: Picked a new major/minor, hung out with Hannah Atencio, went camping/hiking with a ton of fun people in Elevenmile Canyon, practiced some rugby with Bryce Miller, went to Mill, spent the night and went to Cripple Creek with Morgan O'Tool, hung out with friends at Saige Fuller's house, went to church and out to lunch with Lexi Wortley, Noah Wortley and Mrs. Kathy, went to dinner downtown (and attempted to rescue 2 puppies) with Kaley Logan Wheless, went to Navs at David and Anna Rau's house, and hung out on the roof with my bro Will Tirado. Livin' the good life. :D

A weekend like that - despite it's being so full of activities and busyness - is remarkably refreshing. But it also requires sacrifice. Sometimes we sacrifice silly-but-tempting things like watching too many movies or messing around too long on facebook, sometimes we have to sacrifice good-and-valuable things like quiet or comfort, and other times the sacrifice is much more severe. Sacrifice often involves pain. 

"Here's the truth about telling stories with your life,"
Miller explains. "It's going to sound like a great idea,
and you are going to get excited about it, and then
when it comes time to do the work, you're not going
to want to do it. It's like that with writing books, and
it's like that with life. People love to have lived a great
story, but few people like the work it takes to make
it happen. But joy costs pain."

It will take pain and sacrifice to tell a story worth telling. But I think that it will all be worth it.

Which leads me to another part of Miller's book that really struck me. He talks about a time in his life when he was experiencing overwhelming heartache, and dissects his thoughts and emotions in a way that is refreshingly raw and real. After wallowing for a while in the pain, he came to an amazing conclusion. He writes,

"...I was a tree in the story about a forest... it was
arrogant of me to believe any differently... the story
of the forest is better than the story of the tree."

It's challenging to think about myself in these terms. And the more I think about it, the more I've realized how careful I need to be about how I pursue this "tell a compelling story with your life" idea. I think it is a worthwhile aspiration, but my generation - really the entire culture I live in - is plagued with a disease of self-absorption. Constant access to social media convinces us that our thoughts, feelings and experiences are supposed to be broadcasted for everyone to see, despite the fact that most of what we share is essentially meaningless. Without vigilant effort to remind myself that everyone isn't as fascinated by myself as I am, I quickly make my story about myself (the tree) and not Jesus (the forest).

It's not that my story isn't valuable, but if it's all I see or tell its missing the real glory of the bigger story! In the words of an old song I used to listen to by Steven Curtis Chapman, "I want my life to be a preview of coming attractions."

There's a good deal more I'm processing regarding all of this material, but I don't want the blog post to be too long. Hope it sparks some thought in you like it has in me. 

When They Bleed, He Bleeds

Hey there.

A lot has happened since I wrote here last... I finished my first year at CC, spent a month taking a class in Italy, and am now in New Hampshire for the rest of the summer, nannying for a family whom I adore! I've been back in the States for exactly a week, and finally feel ready to start processing all that has been happening in my life. The first order of business was to sit down and have some serious "soul-searching" with my King.  This past year has brought a lot of changes to my life, but I'm thankful that He is still the first I want to run to whenever I get the chance.  His presence really does get sweeter with each passing season.

I've been reading through Psalms this summer, and because I was nervous about bringing my Bible overseas with me, I have the only travel-sized Bible I could find before I left, which happened to be a Message translation.  Reading the Psalms in the Message is different, and while I miss my translation and all of its familiar passages, I've really enjoyed reading with a fresh set of eyes.  Tonight, Psalms 72:11-14 stood out to me in a new way:

"All kings will fall down and worship,
and godless nations sign up to serve him,
Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need,
He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out,
he restores the wretched of the earth.
He frees them from tyranny and torture -
when they bleed, he bleeds;
when they die, he dies."

There have been times in the past year that I have found myself slipping into feelings of discouragement or apathy and I often change my perspective by thinking about the day when "all created beings in heaven and on earth - even those long ago dead and buried - will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11)

It may be strange, but I try to picture specific people and friends kneeling before Jesus - not just the overwhelmingly vast crowd of people from all nations and generations that will be included in that act of worship.  Doing this reminds me that while I may look foolish for now, it won't matter in that moment of encounter.  And it also reminds me of just how desperately I want the people I love and interact with to be a part of the crowd of willing-worshippers.  I don't want that day to be the first time they bow in acknowledgement of Him. 

"All kings will fall down and worship,
and godless nations sign up to serve him..."

One of the things I love about traveling is realizing just how big my world is.  It's silly, but I tend to forget very quickly and easily just how not the center of the universe I am.  I end up putting God in a box, thinking I understand Him and losing the awe and wonder of realizing that every face I see when I travel - and billions of others I will never see - is intimately known and loved by my King.

For me, they're strangers. For Him, they're children.
I can't get over it... I can't even comprehend how deeply God knows me - more than I will ever know myself - and yet He knows every person who has ever lived just as much.  He has given each of them a story, and is working in and around their lives even when ignorant people like myself think that he is more occupied with me and my story.

"Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need,
He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out,
he restores the wretched of the earth."

His love is so overwhelming.  He is worthy of more than we can ever offer, and yet we so often think we could take Him or leave Him.  We love Him when it's convenient, He loves us with a love that "stops at nothing - it sweeps everything before it. Flood waters can't drown love, torrents of rain can't put it out." (Song of Songs 8:6-7)

One day - voluntarily or involuntarily - we will all fall on our faces in awe and acknowledgement of Him.  Every nation, every heart will confess that He is Lord.  One day He will reveal what He's been up to all along, and He will say,

"'I'm calling this meeting to order,
I'm ready to set things right.
When the earth goes topsy-turvy
And nobody knows which end is up,
I nail it all down,
I put everything in place again."
~ Psalm 75:2-3

I am humbled by how often I forget that God is at work at a larger scale than I will ever have the capacity to understand or imagine.  In every heart, every home, every nation, he is setting things right. He is using His imperfect people so its a pretty messy business, but somehow He works through our topsy-turvy ways to put everything in place again.

What a relief, to know He hasn't forgotten.  That He is not, has never been, and never will be far away.  His love binds us to Him in a powerful way.

"He frees them from tyranny and torture -
when they bleed, he bleeds;
when they die, he dies."

My God is near. He bleeds when I bleed. And somehow, in a way that I will never comprehend, He is equally near to the man or woman halfway around the world that I passed on the street but will never see again.

"You've kept track of [my/his/her] every toss and turn
through the sleepless nights,
Each tear entered in your ledger,
each ache written in your book."
~ Psalm 56:8

I'm just sitting here on my bed, completely and totally overwhelmed by this truth. I serve an incredible God. There is nothing more I could possibly say tonight that would appropriately communicate the depth of my awe or gratitude for this revelation.  So with that, I will say goodnight. 

Buona notte!

Abolish:

verb \ə-ˈbä-lish\

To end the observance or effect of.

As a believer, I want my life to be about bringing justice and protection to those whom Jesus came to give hope to. The site I list below will give you an idea of how wrapped up in the slave trade you are, and makes it really easy to send pre-written letters to the companies and stores you buy products from. These letters simply ask them to assess their supply lines in order to make sure that they are not looking the other way as people are taken advantage of and enslaved. Please consider completing the survey and writing some companies to show them that you care. It's such a small way of contributing, but the ripples of your faithfulness will stretch past what you can see now... I believe they will affect eternity.

http://slaveryfootprint.org/