Walking in faith: THE CHALLENGE!!!!!!!!!!!

The first few words of the back cover instantly captivated me.

What does God expect of ys? Is our faith just about going to church, studying the Bible and avoiding the most serious sins- or does God expect more? Have we embraced the whole gospel or a gospel with a hole in it?

The book is The HOLE IS OUR GOSPEL...written by CEO of World Vision Richard Stearn.

My friend Derik bought this book and bible study for me while at the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek Church in Chicago IL.

This study is not just an intraspective look at faith. It is a CHALLENGE to expand personal faith and translate that into how we relate to the poor.

For the next 42 days or so, I will be walking through this study with a dear friend of mine Brian. For the past month and a half, we have been working out and walking and talking. It has been very great to be encouraged by his faith and be challenge by his physical abilities. But we were talking about how we wanted to take the opportunity to use that time to HONOR God even more.

Our job requires a lot of us and sometimes it creates a sense of self-consumption. Jason and I have been enjoying our time at Sunny Glen, but also these are tumultuous, refining times for this place. We are suffering sometimes. I started to get consumed with the daily tasks of working in a children's home. My focus was started to shift in wrong directions, I was feeling fatigued and discouraged. It really bothered me because I knew that my little trial was so small compared to the real sufferings and challenges of those that live in physical and SPIRITUAL poverty everyday all over the world. I was really convicted and needed to wake myself up....and get my eyes checked!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I decided that the only way to see change was to change my attitude. In order to change my attitude I need to shift focus onto something greater and more important than myself.

I have always been very interested in POVERTY AND JUSTICE issues. I have seen a lot of suffering in the world like heartbreaking disease and famine.........

SO I will be writing and reflecting on this blog for the next 42 so days....as I walk through this journey with my friend. We really hope to grow in our faith...and we really hope that we might understand more and become even more compassionate to the needs of others.

We pray that God would INTERUPT our lives and INVADE our heart.

I am very excited for this opportunity and would encourage anyone who has a great Christian friend to join with them and proceed to complete this STUDY. It will be a great experience to share with someone else. I am fortunate to have a friend whom I share life with to walk through this journey with me. God please open our hearts and minds to the specific things you want to teach us. May this be more than just a Bible study....but a life changing experience.

Here is an excerpt from the introduction of the HOLE IN THE GOSPEL:

" We are carriers of the gospel- the good news that was meant to change the world. Belief is not enough. Worship is not enough. Personal moralities is not enough. ...God has always demanded more. ...When we commited ourselves to following Christ, we also committed to living lives in such a way that a watching world would catch a glimpse of God character- his mercy, his love, his justice."

LIVING OUT OUR FAITH PRIVATELY WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE AN OPTION!!!!

CHRIST HAS NO BODY ON EARTH BUT YOUR, No hands but yours, no feet but yours, yours are the eyes which CHRIST's compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with whish He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.
Saint Teresa of Avila

HERE's to the journey...................................................................................Thank you Brian for agreeing to walk through this with me. I know that it will be encouraging to us...and it will strengthen our faith and God will greatly bless our individual families if we are obedient to this challenge......Jason Christopher and I thank God for you, Iesha, and Micah DAILY...We thank God that we are at SUNNYGLEN with YALL and know that God has great plans for each of our families!!!!!!!!You are great friends to us! Thank you for the work you and your family are doing IN CHRIST! Be Blessed.